Things of Beauty #71
Hot dogs, basil, and rainbow-colored cats
Last month, Nadia Bolz-Weber shared A Useful List of What is Still Happening. She explains that she noticed buds on a tree during a walk and thought "spring is still happening." She then posed a prompt to her subscribers, asking them to share things that are "still happening" despite uncertainty and fear and a relentlessly negative news cycle. The responses are lovely, and I highly recommend clicking that link above and giving them a read.
In so many ways, that's what these bi-weekly lists of little things that have sparked joy, curiosity, or wonder for me are—glimmers of hope. That people are still making art. And writing thoughtful things. Playing amazing music. And cooking delicious dinners.
Reminders that there is beauty alongside the mess.
Tiny glimmers I've squirreled away lately:
🐿 Did you know that over 7,000 people apply for 12 spots to drive one of the 6 Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles around the country for one year? I had no idea, but now, one conversation with one of those drivers later, I know all about it! We even got to go inside the iconic vehicle! (The glove box is shaped like a hot dog and called the "bun box.")
🐿 This basil plant with leaves as big as my hand! It's from the farm that we send our compost to (you get points for each bucket of compost and they can be redeemed for things like eggs and herbs). Seriously, one leaf of this beauty would be all you need to top a pizza.
🐿 This squirrel eating a peanut.
🐿 Brown Butter Roasted Potato Hash. This is a recipe that we clipped out of the Wall Street Journal years ago. It lives in our binder of recipes (basically a self-created recipe book of things torn out of magazines or jotted down on notecards). Sometimes I'm flipping through it and stumble on something we haven't made in a long time. This was that. The boiled then roasted potatoes are perfectly crispy, and the combination of brown butter and lemon juice is simple perfection. Here's the original and here's an un-paywalled version.
🐿 I love this chalk-covered cat. I am encouraged to know that 16,560 other people also love it. We still have cat photos on the internet.
Will cat pictures save the internet from itself? Do you have a binder of recipes—found any gems in the archives, lately? What's your favorite thing to do with basil? Tell me something good in the comments!
Be well, find tiny joy—
Mary Chris