I look for the little moments all month long. Sometimes they strike me immediately. Sometimes I have to chisel them free of 30 days' worth of mundanities until I can really look at them. And sometimes, like now, I look back on the last month of my life, these precious days that I will never relive, and I wonder, what exactly was I doing for all this time? What do I have to show for it?
There are flashes of wonder, moments of beauty. While I was driving, I saw a bald eagle carrying off a rabbit. I read a book that made me cry. My daffodils were blooming on St. Patrick's Day. But there is nothing to say about them. They happen, and then they are over.
I don't just want to find the beauty; I want it to track me down and whisk me off to some transcendent realm where I can live, if not forever, then at least long enough to gain some transcendent wisdom that will prepare me for the real world, which is often boring and sometimes ugly. Some months I get that. I often think about the angels in the park and the clouds on the dock, and they are a comfort to me even still. I decided a long while ago that it is good for me to sit and write about these moments of beauty even when few people read them, and it is worthwhile to look for them even when I do not find them. Some months are a spinning blur of busyness, and even if there is no one experience I can fix my eyes on, I see flashes of what I am looking for, and I am keeping my eyes open.
Here's what I read, cooked, and created in the month of March.
What I Read
Hamnet, Maggie O'Farrell (★★★★★)
How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas C. Foster (★★★★★)
Parable of the Talents, Octavia Butler (★★★)
The Secret Book of Flora Lea, Patti Callahan Henry (★★★)
If you want to hear the rationale behind my rating, head to my Goodreads for full reviews.
What I Cooked
Difficulty: ★★
Flavor: ★★★★
Keeper: Yes
Comments: I did these smashburger style, and my goodness, they were delicious.
Difficulty: ★
Flavor: ★★★★
Keeper: Yes
Comments: I added some scallions and grated garlic, both of which were good choices. I made this as a lunch for myself rather than an appetizer, but I'm sure it would be a popular one if served at a party.
Difficulty: ★★★★★
Flavor: ★★★★
Keeper: Mostly?
Comments: These make my favorite cinnamon rolls feel easy and low-maintenance. Even though I followed directions, I never really felt great about the rise I got on my brioche dough, and the fact that this makes more dough than is needed for the rolls just irritates me. I can see myself retrying this with my tried-and-true cinnamon roll dough and extra pecans for the top to see if the payoff is as good with less work.
Difficulty: ★★
Flavor: ★★★★
Keeper: Yes
Comments: This was just a good, classic egg bake. It wasn't astonishingly amazing, but it was good.
What I Created
Original sonnet "He Rested"
A little continued progress on my project
May your days be filled with beauty, and may your heart be filled with the willingness to see and give thanks for it.