Day 104: Flitch Day and the Hospice Unique Boutique

July 19th is Flitch Day. What is a Flitch? Well, a flitch is measurement of bacon, equaling half a pig. (Flitch = side)   In the United States: A side of unsliced bacon was once known as a flitch – it is now known as a slab.

What is this Holiday for?  This holiday began as an old English custom.  Every year on this day, since about 1104, any married couple who could prove that they had been faithful and loving to one another for one year was awarded half a pig, known as a flitch of bacon. However, very few couples would actually “bring home the bacon!”

What does this information have to do with today’s pie? Absolutely nothing. I just liked this useless bit of trivia that was found on the directory for weird and wacky holidays. And since today I made pie number 104 and this custom has been in place since “about” 1104, I felt there was enough of a coincidence to include it.

The “pie” I made today was in the form of a cheesecake. It was baked in a pie tin with a graham cracker crust as is common, but then I took fresh dark cherries and made a topping for the pie. Once it was assembled, I placed it in the fridge to chill for a while until I knew where to deliver it.

Cherry Cheesecake Pie

My first thought was that I should come up with a “married couple” to honor (as the “flitch” custom dictates) but somehow I began thinking of a shop called the Hospice Unique Boutique. If you haven’t visited this place yet, you should stop by soon. They sell gently used goods (clothing, dishes, kitchenwares, books, linens, etc) and their mission is “to raise funds to support the work of all hospices and end of life programs in Jackson and Josephine counties.”   What a wonderful idea!

I didn’t try to figure out why I should go to the boutique; I just drove there. I walked up to the counter with my pie and the young lady took a look at the pie and said, “That’s not something we see here everyday.” Then I told her about my mission and asked her to share it with the volunteers from the store. That’s when a lady sitting nearby told me that today is the birthday of a woman named Sarah, and Sarah was the person who had written the initial grant to help get this boutique started.   Is that another coincidence or just perfect timing?

“Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.”
— Albert Einstein