Sometimes Life Hands You Lemons...

Sometimes life hands you lemons. This annoying phenomena is a just a part of living on this chaotic earth in this crazy universe.


But sometimes life hands you Meyer lemons and you squeeze them into a marinade composed of olive oil, champagne vinegar, sea salt, fresh-ground pepper, herbs de Provence, ground Dalmation sage, bay leaf, and other assorted herbs. So instead of crying over sour lemons you marinate some chicken and cook dinner in what might be the nicest kitchen you’ve ever utilized.


You also roast some fingerling potatoes with fresh rosemary and garlic and top them off with some fresh chives. In a pan on the stove you cook up some baby broccoli—a hybrid of broccoli and kale—with luscious olive oil and chicken broth.


You also throw together a little oyster mushroom creation where you brown oyster mushrooms in olive oil and butter and let them simmer in a little chicken broth. It just happens to be the perfect accompaniment to the crispy potatoes.


A salad created by your hostess combines the best of all fresh produce: farmer’s market mixed greens, avocados, and tomatoes, lightly tossed in olive oil and vinegar. It’s the perfect complement to your other creations.

Then you share that dinner with caring people who have welcomed you into their home in Portland, Maine.


Such is life when it hands you Meyer lemons. And by “you,” of course, I mean “me.” This is my life. And I love it. I have to say that my life is pretty damn good. I’m blessed that right now everything is falling into an eerie balance. I don’t want to disturb it, just appreciate it, and yet there is that element of treading lightly. Do I dare disturb the universe? Do I dare to eat a peach?

Yes, I do dare. Happiness is there for the taking and our lives our own making.

Sometimes life does hand you lemons, but sometimes it hands you good friends, loving family, decadent dark chocolate, ripe strawberries, luscious wine, briny and buttery oysters, melt-in-your-mouth foie gras, sexy olives, crispy chicken, and a beautiful world. What can we do but accept when our plate is overflowing that we’ve got it made? We don’t know when the universe could snatch it all away from us, so we might as well appreciate what we’ve got. And when that heavenly buffet does close to me, you know I’ll be holding on tight…knife and fork in hand, ready to bite in to whatever the universe has got waiting for me.