I just made toast for my 22 year old and myself. A decades long tradition of breakfasts in our house. It’s no wonder the Reading Room’s specialty is toasts, really. We are a toast family. My mom makes jam fresh every summer and we covet it all year long. The taste of her sweet jams is a salve to friends far and wide and a hint of memory spread on buttery bread. She used to make fresh toast, slathered with butter and her fresh hot jam, in her steamy summer kitchen filled with love and garden and summer. It tastes like that. When I butter the bread I see her hands and can’t help but laugh because the way I butter bread is exactly the way she does. A strange thing to notice I know. It’s also no wonder that it made me think today of my absolute favorite children’s book series, Mercy Watson. If you haven’t read it, you must. It’s about a pig named Mercy who lives with a couple as their child and gets up to all manner of hi-jinx in their town. And no surprises…LOVES hot buttered toast. Find the book, cuddle up and enjoy your hot buttered toast. After a week of holiday and family, take your Sunday to really give yourself a break. If you don’t have any toast on hand we can provide that too.