Only Happy News Today

— Simple but magnificent beauty. —

I stopped watching television right after 9/11 because I kind of got my fill of it that day. Unfortunately, the news sometimes seems to drift in no matter how many times I try and shut the door in its face.

This past week’s events left me a little creatively crippled. I was going to do my post on maitake soup or maybe show you the Belgian Endive I have sprouting in my dark cupboard or possibly talk about how to make Gravlax flavored with lapsang souchong tea, but I just couldn’t get in the mood.

Instead I’m just putting a little scrapbook of my happy things together: things that I like to do or eat or see.

At The Muddy Kitchen, while the news may not always be good, the garden is always pretty, the food is always delicious, the wine flows with abundance, and the friends and family are loved and appreciated each day.

THINGS THAT MAKE ME HAPPY

— The Sugar Shack, waiting patiently for the maple trees to give up their sap. —

— Cipollini onions ready for pickling. —

— My work desk in the late afternoon. —

— Kuri squash and a crock of fermenting tomatoes doing their best to look as pretty as a painting. —

— A quiet house. —

— A bounty of carrots. —

— Looking up. —

— Tractor talk. —

— Hanging out with the fish. —

— Being with family. —

— Making new friends. —

— Dreaming in color. —

Take your boots off before you come in here!