Better

Better, yes better. 

The post Holiday fog is passing,

I've baked Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I've tended to my home.

I've been myself, once again. 

Thank you for your encouragement. 

Do you love dishes?

I do. 

I love a pretty table setting. 

It's welcoming and peaceful. 

When we have Summer dinners outside, often I use my 'real' dishes.

The sound of dishes chiming together outside 

on a Summer evening is enchanting. 

A few years ago I found a set of dishes I adore. 

Pistoulet

 There is inspiration for the pattern...

I found this excellent book review online:

'Far away in the remote, untraveled southwestern French countryside, there is a small village which contains two homes, an eleventh-century church, and a very special farm known as Pistoulet." Thus begins The Secrets of Pistoulet, a charming and beautiful little book filled with food, magic, and love. Part fiction, part cookbook,  this tale of Mademoiselle J., who arrives at Pistoulet with a broken heart. There she is welcomed by the farm's tenants: Madame Claude; Monsieur Andre; the black dog, Marcel; and a chicken that lays golden eggs. Soon, such soul-strengthening dishes as Potage of Babble (guaranteed to cease excessive chatter), Potage of Passion (Cooks beware: this soup has been known to result in marriage proposals!), and Tart of Sunshine (sure to heat both body and soul) have Mademoiselle J. on the road to recovery.'

I made a tasty stew for dinner, yum.

I was going to take pictures, but I had a mishap with the knife while chopping the celery.

Nothing serious, just a nick off the very corner tip of my left thumb,

 enough to be irritatingly inconvenient. 

It's been a good day.

The Girasole Lady