I was working in the garden and saw this little guy: it's the tendril of a long bean plant that grew away from the main plant and managed to find a tiny, bug-made hole in our nearby rhubarb. The picture doesn't do it justice because the rhubarb is huge and the bean tendrils are so small. Such precision! How the hell did the runner find that small hole and grow into it? It couldn't have covered all the underside of the rhubarb leaf, it would've expended too much energy. There's something awe- inspiring about how such a seemingly delicate thing can unerringly find its way through the obstacles around it, ending up exactly where it needs to go.
Every day has so much beauty and happiness if you notice it. But I think you have to actively notice it, call it out from the background of the mundane that it weaves its way into. Luckily, there are so many small riches you can find in the everyday that it makes the act of searching worthwhile, because then you have an inexhaustible supply of happiness. And it's one that belongs entirely to you, grounded in the interactions you have with the world, so it's reliable as well.
I love sitting here, listening to bird chirps and bug noises, looking out at the growing things. I'm kind of going to miss living by myself at home when my family comes back from China. One thing I've learned more and more is that all things pass. Everything. What happened yesterday suddenly becomes something that happened two days ago, four days ago, a week, a month. To be honest, when I was in China I sometimes counted the days until I could come back to America--in the moments when even my heels hurt from the weight of my feet resting on them because the bed was so damn hard, when everyone was nagging like it was an Olympic sport and they were all going to win gold...of course, I didn't spend all my time thinking like that or even much of it but there were moments. And I'd be like, oh my god there's still x amount of days until I can get a good night's sleep again. But now, suddenly, I'm in America and it's been almost two weeks since I came back. Which just goes to show--why not enjoy some unique things of that stretch of time while you can? Even if it's not something you expected to enjoy, it'll probably never happen again. Even if it's something like the absence of someone, or silence, etc. Be happy!
Aaaaand here's a granola recipe, randomly. It's so easy to make and so tasty for snacking or pouring some kefir over it or eating with yogurt or eating as cereal or using as confetti haha no:
HEALTHY HIPPIE GRANOLA GREATNESS
3-4 cups of grain. Oats will be the major grain, usually, but you can also include things like flax seed, rolled barley, other such edible grainy/seedy things. Using rolled oats will be better than using steel cut oats.
Eyeball amount of nuts. I tend to use the kind that you can buy in bulk which has almonds, cashews, walnuts. You can add sunflower seeds, peanuts (if you are into that kind of thing, being, boringness), sesame seeds--go crazy, you're a granola making hipster now! If you want a rough measurement, anywhere from 1-2 cups. Chop up the larger nuts. You can also include accessories like shredded coconut.
~1 tsp salt. If you used unsalted nuts, add some salt for taste.
Cinnamon. Eyeball, or apply liberally.
Roughly 3/4 cups of goo. You can use straight-up maple syrup (although this is very expensive, especially if you use actual pure maple syrup which I'd definitely recommend--Aunt Jemima should stay out of this) or make a mixture out of melted butter, brown sugar, honey, and/or some sort of vegetable oil. You can also add maple syrup to that for some maple taste. Just estimate how much of everything you'll need, the point is to create a sticky sauce that will clump together your grains. Oh, but you'll definitely use more oil and honey than melted butter, I only use about 1/2 stick.
Mix the grains, nuts, cinnamon & salt together, while making the goo in a saucepan. Once that's done, pour it over the dry stuff and mix in evenly. Spread the granola mix over a large baking pan. Bake at 325 degrees for anywhere from 15-35 minutes. Every ten minutes or so, use a spoon to turn the granola so the bottom layer doesn't get burnt. If you spread it out in a thin layer, it will only take 15 minutes but will require two batches. Once the granola is a golden brown color, remove from oven and let cool--the longer you let it cool, the crispier granola will be.
Once cooled, mix in your favorite dried fruits and/or chocolate.
Enjoy, too often probably.
