Orion of Bluster

When the house is filled with the aroma of roasting pork, I feel wealthy and accomplished, even though I am not. Other things can have that effect, like the smell of bread baking, or fresh coffee. Picture me at 8 am, in my pjs, apron, and boho bandanna, browning those chunks of spice-rubbed pork in a skillet, before putting them in the oven for three hours. It was mostly cooking frenzy today. Since I was out there in the kitchen anyway, I thought I might as well cook the fish chowder that I hadn't done on Friday. I put it in the freezer for Wednesday. I also made some more cole slaw, because I had a two-for-one coupon for some that was already prepped at the store. I just added the good dressing. The pork came out extremely well. I made the extra barbecue sauce for it, and it was tangy. We also took some buns so people could make sandwiches. Once you have some pulled pork, it cries out for cole slaw and buns.

When we got to the potluck, another friend had made some pulled pork too, so there was an abundance. And a good thing too. While the other offerings were better than usual, they were still kind of pitiful. Still, we had a nice time. The glorious thing was that even though we were a little later than usual heading home, a blazing sunset was still in the sky, and there was still a little light until we were nearly home. This is such an improvement over the last time, when it was completely dark and there was a horrid icy fog. What a difference a few weeks can make.

Another thing that gives an impression of luxury and successful endeavor is clean sheets. I don't know why fresh sheets feel different, but they do, especially the flannel ones. I'm looking forward to enjoying that feeling again very soon.