Quote of the Day

The surface of things gives delight; their inwardness gives life.
--Piet Mondrian

Among my favorite things in life are the humble implements that fall to hand, every day,  in my kitchen. Especially dear to me are those items that have come to me from my family: my great-grandmother's enamelware pan, her wooden-handled German steel spatula,  my grandmother's coin silver spoons, my mother's dishes and demitasses. And then there are the things I've collected as much for their aesthetic qualities as for their utility: linen tea towels, a Depression glass honey pot in the shape of a beehive, wooden spoons hand-carved by the Tarahumara in Copper Canyon, mismatched brown transferware plates, more teapots than the law allows. Each day it is my privilege and pleasure to reach for these sturdy and enduring items and find them ready, like good and noble friends, to greet the day with me. I shape my hand to them without a thought, knowing their weight and curvature. My eyes fall on their color and texture in simple joy. In this season of miracles, it seems no less miraculous that these old friends wait, each day, to join me in my humble tasks, uncomplainingly, peacefully and with good will.