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Well, you get my point: You've go one life with zero guarantees, so you do your best, adapt if possible, and keep on breathing. I recommend striving for happiness, but many opt for duty and responsibility. Mileage varies.
Beth Harbison -
Myself, I couldn't help think of anything in the world better than stirring sharp white cheddar, smoked Gouda, creamy Havarti, Monterey Jack, and a touch of piquant Maytag blue cheese into a bubbling hot white sauce, stirring it to a thick honey consistency, and pouring it over al dente macaroni to toast to a crispy deep golden on top.
Beth Harbison
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I put a big slab of butter into the pan. The Olekseis didn't give one damn about health, which made them refreshing to cook for, and my motto was pretty much, 'When in doubt, add butter.' Right now, I was definitely in doubt. I added more butter.
Beth Harbison -
She could no longer see herself without him somewhere in her life, & there was no one she could even imagine being her 1st besides him.
Beth Harbison -
The only thing here was a long gray ribbon of road, stretched like tape stuck by a toddler onto a rolling carpet of green hills under a huge arch of blue sky. This is Virginia. My Virginia, anyway.
Beth Harbison -
Well, that's what everyone wants, isn't it? Even these people who go out and have their noses shaved down to pencil erasers, and who get implants, and fillers, and who Botox their faces into immobility, they're all in search of the miracle that's going to make them feel like..." She searched for the word. "Like themselves.
Beth Harbison -
I wanted to tell him I loved him, that I'd always loved him, & that life-& I- had never been the same without him there.
Beth Harbison -
I had to work out that he was always going to break my heart as long as I was willing to let him in.
Beth Harbison
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I turned and headed back to the parking lot to leave. Passing the tall tree I'd passed every day on my way to and from Nate's car when he'd drop me off and pick me up. Somehow it was the tree that got to me. It made me tremendously sad, not just because of the time that had gone but because the time had somehow gone without me really noticing it.
Beth Harbison -
Now he would always be part of her. She just didn't know it yet.
Beth Harbison -
God forbid, if something happened & she lost him for good, she would give up anything to have him back. Anything & everything.
Beth Harbison -
That is just one more thing I love about cooking. Recipes are certain. Use good ingredients, follow the directions, be sure your oven temperature is true and monitor your stove properly, and you are assured success. There are not many variables once you understand how cooking works. Life, on the other hand, is full of variables. Nothing is predictable. Not the weather, not other people, not traffic, not even our own bodies. We are like seaweed, whipped around in the current of an erratic ocean.
Beth Harbison -
No one promised life would be easy or that the game wouldn't change without warning. There you are, all ready to pass Go and collect two hundred dollars, and suddenly Colonel Mustard is trapped in the conservatory, ranting and raving and waving a wrench, and no one knows what exactly a conservatory is or why anyone thought a wrench - of all things - would be a good murder weapon, or what branch of the military Colonel Mustard even served in! Has anyone seen his credentials?
Beth Harbison -
I was here, & now, but I was also swimming in the past, living these same motions we'd made so many times before.
Beth Harbison
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She would forever remember how warm & secure he made her feel. How could she ever live without that?
Beth Harbison -
Writing is always a solitary experience, but living, if you're lucky, is not.
Beth Harbison -
Avocados are one of my weaknesses. Creamy but firm, even plain, they call margaritas, chips, and good times to mind. Fortunately, they are so nutritious that the fat content is pretty much canceled out.
Beth Harbison -
I'd rather love you and be alone than love you and be with her or anyone.
Beth Harbison -
She couldn't have cared less when she got home or if she ever got home. All that mattered was this moment & that this moment continues.
Beth Harbison -
And I could go the rest of my life like this, don't get me wrong. This was reality and I'd certainly learned to adapt to that reality. I didn't love it, I'd never love it, but I lived with it pretty well.
Beth Harbison
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Standing in the small space, Holly was overwhelmed by memories and a strange protective feeling for the child she'd been.
Beth Harbison -
My life had gone right; it had gone exactly as it needed to in order to bring me here.
Beth Harbison -
I was always in complete control of everything in my life and I was just so tired of having to do that alone. Not that I wanted someone else to take over my life for me or tell me how to do things, but when you're the only one accountable for everything, that can get old.
Beth Harbison -
I guess everyone likes praise for what they do, but that night I enjoyed cooking for the Olekseis more than I ever had before. Everything about the ingredients, the smells, the textures, everything delighted me. Maybe I should specialize in Russian food. I sliced the garlic and dropped it into the pan. It started to sizzle, and I turned the heat down and began slicing the onion. It was very fresh, very pungent. My eyes watered, and I got sniffly. Then I smelled a hint of burn on the garlic and hurried back to the stove and shook the pan. Just in time. The slices were brown but not too brown. I was getting good at this. I could detect the smell of burning just before it happened. That had to be some sort of superpower. As I put the rest of the dish together- dicing deep, ruby beets; slicing carrots and Yukon gold potatoes, sizzling spicy sausage in the pan; spicing and tasting, and mixing, and finally pureeing the whole thing into a savory maroon liquid- I continued to marvel at the perfect ripeness and freshness of every ingredient I'd picked out.
Beth Harbison