Little Things

My family unexpectedly suffered a loss last week. While I've been muddling through the shock and sadness, it's been nice to have these little things to appreciate. Some of them came to me last week, and some are just the happy product of the world continuing to roll around through space.

This was my Grandma's garlic keeper, and the "Dial a Pick" toothpick holder I remember being in Grandma and Grandpa's kitchen when I was a kid. I'd forgotten about the garlic keeper until last week, and was really happy to see it. I think it's pretty funny, and I like to think my Grandma did, too.

Here's the back:

This is the dish my Grandpa would always have peanut brittle in. It sat on the desk in their living room, waiting for the odd sweet tooth to get curious and take a peak.

Here's one of the first tight curls of rhubarb starting to unfurl through last year's dried leaves. It's a strange, sort of alien looking thing, but the first vibrant sign of spring to brave the chilliness.

A blown open crocus. It's so amazing how those delicate little things can manage through the cold nights, isn't it?

Ah, the surest sign of spring. Short of making bread or maybe folding sheets, there's no work as honest and mind cleaning as breaking up the garden and getting it ready to go another year. That hoe is my parents ( I "borrowed" it a while ago), and the handle is nice and worn. It's nice to keep using old thing like that, I think. It's reassuring, ya know?