Good Morning,
I am still wearing my new blue sweater. I think I wore it six times since we last spoke. I have heard that some of you are also pulling the best of your things out of the cupboards and going for it. Who says that everyday is not a day for fine china if you love it?
Use it up.
Give it everything you got.
Be present for every little thing.
All the while holding life in your hands like the fragile little birds' nest that it is and
sing.
On Friday morning I texted my friend Denise to see if she wanted to take a drive to Moncton, the little city just north of us. I don't like a plan. I like to get up and find the day. See only then what the day has in store. That morning I was on a mission to seek out the new bakery I had heard about that had almond croissants. Off we went.
When it comes to almond croissants I can honestly say I am the equivalent of a sommelier. I know very little about wine, or scotch, or olive oil, or coffee or the many other things that people people cultivate a palette for. But I feel confident with my knowledge of almond croissants.
I love Julians in Halifax because they don't skimp on the almond paste in the middle. That heavenly sweet and sticky paste. I love how Tony's in Moncton has the crispy almonds on the outside dusted in sugar.
I have an almond croissant wherever I go when I travel. I am always comparing, evaluating. Looking for notes of butter and sugar, and almond essence. I am a seeker.
This is just one of my weaknesses.
There are many but this is one of my favourites.
I'll tell you about some others when I know you better.
You see I am not really sad about a weakness like this.
It just brings so much pleasure.
So I was happy to see that Copain, the new bakery was in good standing with their almandine wrapped like a cinnamon roll of croissant with swirls of almond paste in nearly every bite.They also have the best white bread I have tasted in years. I am a lover of white bread having been raised on white bread toast and potatoes. In fact right now I am thinking about a piece of toast with that bread as I write to you.
Food. It is such a beautiful part of life. I wake up in the morning and think about what I might cook for supper. Tonight's not looking great based on what is in the fridge..six eggs, 1/2 tub of yogurt, a bit of butter, a stick of old cheddar and some potatoes, six slices of white bread and a box of macaroni left and some flour.
But you know what, I could manage a perfectly good dinner out of that if I need to. If I had to do it every night we'd eventually become susceptible to scurvy. But soon I'd go the Highland Market and buy some oranges. I did notice the apples are falling off the neighbours tree up the lane so maybe I'll grab a few. There you go. All set.
When I think about the options they are plentiful.
Could do fried eggs and potatoes.
Could do an omelette.
Could do grilled cheese dipped in egg like a french toast grilled cheese. That's if we don't eat all the bread today.
Could scrounge up a mac and cheese.
Gee I could even make those fancy hasselback potatoes and have yogurt on the side. Maybe there are a few chives outside my door?
Baked apples or an apple crisp for desert maybe? Should I take those apples? Would he mind? They are falling off the tree for heavens sake? Well that's another thing altogether, we'll talk about that in another letter.
See, what I have learned writing this is that it's not what you got.
It's how you look at what you got.
Actually I knew that before this letter but I had no idea where I was going with this when I started talking about food.
So here we are. Back to a place I often bring you. That place called gratitude. I could never remind myself enough of the importance of appreciating what I have. I could never remind you enough.
Appreciating your own abundance, your own abilities, and making friends with your creativity is the essence of a good life.
It's not what you got. It's how you look at what you got.
Whatever it is, if you look at it creatively, with love and appreciation, life will feel better, it will even taste better.
Hope you have a nice and a good supper. Enjoy it whatever it is.
I hope you'll join me for the tiny landscapes course. I have lots to teach you about hooking them and they will make great gifts for people you love.
Thanks for reading.
Deanne
