Happiness is...

Finding an oak leaf in your salad. Why? Because it means you know from whence the lettuce came. You planted the seed, watered the seedling, picked the leaves when it grew big enough. You washed each lettuce leaf and spun it dry, but somehow missed the oak leaf which floated down from the big tree on the other side of the house.

Salads are not my specialty, but last night I was inspired. George picked the lettuce from our garden and I sliced up some strawberries and red onions, and chopped some walnuts. For the dressing, I mixed some olive oil, champagne vinegar, honey, brown mustard and a pinch of salt. It was the best salad I've eaten in ages. Fresh, local, in season - a salad worth repeating.

Happiness is also Bench Monday.



I'm usually not a fan of Mondays - like salads, they're just so much work - but thanks to the Bench Monday Flickr group, I've been looking forward to Monday all weekend. Kristin mentioned extra points for having a chicken in the picture. Thankfully, Avery helped me out by sharing some of her leftover rice to entice Smally to stay on the bench. Here's a fun outtake.



If your Monday needs a little brightening, check out the Flickr group. Lots of fun pictures. I'm already planning for next Monday.