Probably similar to most all of us right now, the days still seem to blend into the weeks, and even into the months. Have we really been in this pandemic and this quarantine lifestyle for almost six months now? Sadly we have been. Life is definitely still very different. Our weeks are far quieter than they ever used to be. But in the midst of so much quietness, I’ve found a much greater and deeper sense of gratitude for the smaller things in life. Because right now, the small things and the small moments are really all that we have.
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We picked the final crop from my garden, and it seems that even my garden suffered a bit of an off season. We really gave it our best go, but sadly it just never took off. The final tally for what we harvested was something like 16 cherry tomatoes, 2 San Marzano tomatoes, one very small green pepper, one minuscule jalapeño, a few pinches of parsley, 3 dime sized strawberries, some rosemary that never grew in size at all, and a handful of basil. Two of my tomato varieties never bore fruit. Scratch that, three of my plants never bore fruit, the chives kind of acted like they never had a chance, and my romaine really went the way of the dodo.
It seems like everyone else is getting ready for Fall to blow in. But nope, not us. While Mother Nature did graciously give us a few cooler days this past week, it’s been anything but Fall here in San Diego. In all honesty, with our recent heatwave it has felt more like we are just hitting the peak of Summer. But then there it was. Just as we were about to hop back in the car after an extra early morning run on Coronado, I noticed this little cluster of leaves and pollen. Although our temperatures are saying something very different, the site of these leaves sort of tricked me into believing that Fall really is on its way.
The hubby surprised me big time this week. I’ve talked about this before, but if you don’t know, you will be grateful to know now. There is an insanely delicious pastry called Kringle, and there is really only one place to get them from. And that place is the O&H Danish Bakery in Racine, Wisconsin. And yes, that was my surprise. Ryan ordered us two insanely delicious Kringles that we have been happily nibbling on all week. But believe me, when I say nibbling, I really just mean that we are doing our best to not completely inhale them all in one sitting.
I had almost forgotten about this kitchen rug that I ordered several weeks ago, but it finally arrived and we absolutely love it. Yes, we are prepared that it will eventually get splattered and maybe even stained. But it has already managed to instantly warm and cozy up our kitchen in the best possible way. I have always loved spending time in the kitchen, but now my face literally lights up with a smile when I see our new little rug in its new little home.
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And that’s really it. We really don’t have a whole lot that is new or exciting. But we are blessed. We have our health, we have a roof over our heads, and our life is overflowing with love and abundance. Some days I try to imagine how life could possibly keep going like this (without having some sort of nervous breakdown that is), but then I remind myself that this will all pass. The days will keep passing, and so will the virus. And until it does or as it does, we will just keep counting all of our small blessings, and celebrating life’s little moments.