Things That Make Me Happy

There are some things that never fail to make me happy if only I can slow down long enough to enjoy them.

This weekend I slowed down long enough.

I love freshly-laundered sheets, drying in the sun.

I love lavender. Did you know I love lavender?

It was time to harvest it, and I brought some of it in to refresh my little lavender hanger, which is attached to the stairwell. I cut some of it and lay it to dry in the sun because I’m going to start making soap.

Me! Making soap!

As for the rest, I decided to make lavender-infused vinegar for my homemade cleaning products. (Thanks to this website for the tip). I filled empty jam jars with blossoms and some leaves.

I got my faithful assistant to add the white vinegar. (Grandparents – doesn’t he look so big??)

I only have two regular purple lavender plants. Otherwise I have the English blue variety, which looks pretty but doesn’t smell as good so I didn’t use that. I also have white lavender. That smells great so I used those blossoms as well.

And look! Successful domestic industry makes me happy.

A neighbour gave us some figs, and Matthieu made jam so we’d have something to accompany our foie gras this Christmas. That’s my favourite way of eating both figs and foie gras. 

I was telling him how I’d like to replace our hazelnut tree with a fig tree. They’re both about the same size but the fig tree seems so much more lush. And our hazelnuts are too small to eat so the tree doesn’t serve a purpose other than shade and holding nests.

Well, lo and behold! We discovered a fig tree growing out of a crack in our wall! (At least we think it’s a fig tree).

Because who doesn’t have random fig trees growing out of cracks in their wall? We’ll have to cut the roots in order to remove it from the wall so I’m not sure if it will take. I went down the street and clipped some willow boughs to put in the water, hoping that would help the branch to root. 

Other growing things are making me happy. Our peach tree, which we planted to remember the baby we lost, is having a good year.

Little fuzzy peaces on the way.

The grapes climbing the swing set get better and better each year as the vine grows stronger.

And our kiwis are growing for the first time ever!

Fuzzy kiwis in time for the fall, just when we’ll need the vitamins.

Banana coconut (clean eating) muffins make me happy!

Recipe based on this one.

But the clincher? The clincher in overwhelming happiness? Homemade tomato sauce with ripe tomatoes from our garden! The last time we had enough tomatoes to do this was a couple of years ago and I almost cried from the joy of it.

Here’s the sauce as it begins to cook. It doesn’t look like much right now, but – as with many things in life – it just needs a little time to season. A good long simmer, a turn in the blender, a half a sugar cube later … Magic!

With all my wanderlust and thirst for adventure, I’m starting to think that maybe the things that make me the happiest are found right here in my home.

What make you happy?

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