I am a generally well organized person. More than some, less so than others. But one of the things that I just love are not the things that I work hard to organize, but the wonderful surprises that fall into my lap.
Recent examples of this phenomenon have been a huge bag of green tomatoes from my next door neighbor who was hacking away at her plants, (really, they were out of control!) and the joy and surprise of a library book randomly pulled off the shelf that ends up being one of the most beautiful and moving novels that I’ve ever read.
The tomatoes now line every windowsill, slowly ripening in the somewhat sporadic Oregon sunshine, and I even made fried green tomatoes for the first time ever, (which I shared with my neighbor as course!) A huge one was ripe today and was the pièce de résistance in our Mexi-bowls dinner. (Rice, beans, cilantro, avocados, cheese, lettuce, cucumbers, salsa, sour cream and wait for it, wait for it . . . tomatoes!)
I ♥ a perfectly home-grown tomato. And yes, I would marry one.
I just finished reading, (as an audio book) The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister which is an incredibly moving story of a number of people taking a cooking class and the woman who teaches it. The author’s writing is so fluid and beautiful that it brought me to tears more times than I care to admit. And the message of slowing down to savor the exquisiteness in food and in life is always well timed, (especially since I just finishing writing up the chapter about time for The Non-Consumer Advocate book club.)
I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
I just love how life leads me down unexpected paths which surprise and enrich me. Ain’t life grand?
What have been some recent wonderful surprises that have fallen into your lap? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”
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My landlord got tired of mowing an unused strip of lawn behind our four-plex. He built raised beds and planted a big variety of vegetables, plus four apple trees, and even put in a small deck and furnished it with chairs and an umbrella. He is doing more work than before, but enjoying it more, and all we need to do is help with weeding and watering, and enjoy the harvest!
Kroger had a Discover Local event and we got two full bags of locally grown produce, a loaf of bread, a bag of chips, a mini-bar of honey and tea tree oil soap, and a $5 off a $25 purchase coupon, plus tons of samples to try.