you fill the door way and 

unknowingly 

block my way.

i can not move past you. 

normie

she pulled up to the counter in her 

wheel chair, 

fumbling with her black wallet with the 

golden clasp..

The old man waited behind the counter, 

his eyes full of

patience and compassion. 

She waved a crispy 

one hundred dollar bill

asking sheepishly 

was there any way 

he could break a hundred?

To which he replied 

with ready wit, 

"Yeah i can break it. 

You want me to rip it in half?"

She laughed. 

for a small minute, 

he made her feel 

more human, 

the easy banter between them

bolstered her. 

she straightened in 

her chair. 

the number of hours we have together is actually 

not so large.

Please linger near the door uncomfortably

instead of just leaving.

Please forget your scarf in my life 

and come back later for it. 

-mikko harvey

little garden

 the window is open,

the scent of my 

Jasmine Blossom & Woods candle 

lit nearby.

i can hear the twinkling sounds of laughter and hollerin’ 

of the boys in the 

backyard. 

the bed is made, 

lumps from the comforter, 

bunched together like an accordion, but it is freshly clean, 

and the sight of the huge botanicals sprawled out give me 

great joy. 

i haven’t vacummed the carpet yet, 

but i am almost there. 

i took out the trash and there is also a now empty laundry basket, 

black and waiting to be filled.

emptying the chaos and 

filling the room with 

spritzes of shalom,

this finally feels like a little

garden of eden

and i can now rest until 

dinner..

Strawberry Spinach Salad with Homemade Poppyseed Dressing

 We were headed to a lovely couple's home, they are engaged to be married in just a few short weeks, and they asked us over for dinner as we would talk over wedding details.  My husband is officiating and he is so excited to marry this darling couple. Jacob and Alina made turkey burgers, with homemade burger buns-like whaaaat, sweet potato fries, and all the fixings. I was tasked with contributing a salad. 

I love strawberry spinach salad, i remember my mom and I used to go to Arnie's, and my mom would always get this salad called the Riveria Salad, which was basically spinach salad with strawberries with poppyseed vinaigrette.  I remember sitting in the car with her afterwards and watching her check her teeth in the overhead mirror and looking to me asking,  "Do i have any poppyseeds in my teeth?"

I would never guess i would grow up to enjoy this salad myself one day, or that i would put together a dressing from scratch. I have come a long way, truly. 

Let's get into this salad. 

you'll need:

1-2 bags of fresh baby spinach 

1 cup fresh strawberries sliced

1-2 shallots, finely sliced (i used a mandolin)

feta cheese, crumbled

toasted slivered almonds:

1/4 cup slivered almonds

butter 

brown sugar 

toast in a small pan, stirring constantly, so the nuts do not burn. you want them fragrant and a bit caramelized, you can roughly chop them again if you prefer, or set them aside once you finish assembling the salad..

for dressing:

a small chubby glass jar with lid for shaking 

honey

rice wine vinegar 

1 tablespoon ground mustard 

1-2 tbs poppyseed

pinch of salt 

Toss salad in large bowl. Add sliced strawberries, most of the shallots, as well as some feta. 

Add in toasted slivered almonds once they have cooled a bit.

Shake dressing after stirring or whisking ingredients in jar.

Pour over desired amount on salad to coat it as you wish. 

Serve immediately!