Tutti Fruitties

I made a plate of scones today.
Not a big deal, I know.
But it was fun, creative, and I enjoyed doing it.
I made “Tutti Fruitties” with fresh blueberries and fresh strawberries; then I spontaneously added in some chopped peaches, as well.
I made “Ali Babbas” — dates, pecans and cardamom spice.
Ham and cheese “Deli For the Belly.”
“Violet Beauregard’s Nuts” — fresh blueberries, toasted sliced almonds, and vanilla.
I used buttermilk in the dough.
It was a creative process.
It took much more work than I had anticipated when I started out,
Toasting Nuts and chopping dried fruit, grating butter and such…
I was absolutely delighted by the result.
I made “Hello Dollies” — Coconut Chocolate Chip.
I made “Tropical Amaretto,” with dried apricots toasted sliced almonds and shredded coconut.
I made up all the titles.

Tropical Amarettos and Hello Dollies

I know it’s not a big deal and it likely won’t make a difference in most people’s lives.
But it made a difference in mine.
It was a Joy-Filled Day!
Simple Joys —
Rich and Robust and Satisfying.

JANET, the Magical Kitchen Sorceress at TreeHouse Point, taught me how to make them some years ago. It was something I had never made before.
It was fun to try something new and it delighted me how the same dough could be used with so many different kinds of fillings — both sweet and savory, and achieve equally good results.

It was a really Fun day, and I found myself smiling all afternoon.

Prior to this, and quite unrelated, I served as Casting Director for Bill T Jones FELA! on Broadway and national tour, and more recently, this season’s TENNESSEE WILLIAMS 1982, among dozens of other projects.
These were Fun, Creative, and I enjoyed the entire process.
I felt very good about the results.
So Proud of my Casts!
Projects often turn out to be more work than anyone initially anticipates,
but I am Grateful for each experience.
It is nice to see Audiences’ delighted reactions.
When I think on this work, it leaves me with a feeling of great satisfaction.

In addition to My Work in Show Business and Being Creative in the Kitchen, I teach.
I enjoy teaching, working with my students, and watching them grow.
It is a Full-of-Joy experience.
Every semester, it somehow turns out to be more work than I had originally anticipated.
But it is Creative, and Fun.
I Love how they invariably express more confidence going out into the World after taking my Class than they had before.
It leaves me with a feeling of great satisfaction.

On an ongoing basis, and in the category of ‘Life Happens,’
I take care of my 89 year old Mother.
I am So Grateful for the gift of our time together.
It is more work than I might have guessed it would have been.
But I genuinely enjoy it.
It’s Fun.
We Laugh and we Talk and we relish the simple Gift of one another’s company.
It leaves me with a feeling of great satisfaction.

…And so Life passes.
The Years go by.
We do the things we do — sometimes Lots of Different things, filling the time with Simple Joys
Or perhaps, more complicated ones,
And the tasks at hand.
It doesn’t have to mean much to anyone else.
These things we do may not make much of a difference to the World;
People may not remember them or think much on them a season later, or the next day, or after we’re gone.
But it is how we pass the time.

Perhaps you Write.
Perhaps you catch salmon in Alaska by wrestling them out of the stream with your bare hands.
Perhaps you’re making a podcast or a webseries.
Perhaps you Audition.
Perhaps you just baked a summer cherry pie.
Maybe you campaign door to door, politically.
Maybe you raise Children
or Care for the Elderly
or ride horses
or sew clothing…

Perhaps you play drums
or work in chemical engineering
or Sing
or splice genes
or clean hotel rooms
or wait tables
or win Oscars
or play piano
or Draw…

I know people who do all of these different things.
In many cases, the doing of these things is their Life.
It is how they pass the time.

What are you doing with your time?
Does it bring you Joy?
Can you find the Joy in it?
Is there some Simple Joy that it makes you Smile to think upon?
Can you make time for doing more of that?
Doing what we Love,
Doing what is Fun,
Doing what brings us Satisfaction,
Doing what we Enjoy…
If we’re Lucky
It is a great way to pass the time.
As James Taylor tells us, “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.”

Ali Babbas

I made a plate of scones today.

Deli for the Belly

They are delicious!
It makes me smile to even think of it.

What are you doing today to enjoy the passage of time?

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