Treasure Hunts

Last week I for some unknown reason started looking through my bookshelf as well as a box of what I thought was junk in my office and lo and behold I found treasures.  A tiny book measuring 4 by 7 inches full of amazingly profound, witty and thoughtful  quotes from John F. Kennedy. Quotes that I find inspiring and eerily timely in their recognition of man’s pettiness in governing.   The book is not just a commentary on politics, but on our relationship to nature and the awe-inspiring beauty of this planet and its fragility, on the goodness of our species, of our foibles and failures. They are observations on the human condition.  So I open it every morning randomly selecting a page and read…….here today’s quote. 

“There will always be dissident voices heard in the land, expressing opposition without alternatives, finding fault but never favor, perceiving gloom on every side and seeking influence without responsibility.”  JFK

Another treasure found - a series of tiny children’s books I bought while in Johannesburg airport a couple of years ago. They are charming in their size, their illustrations, their sweet stories.

And maybe the best find was my great grandmother’s handwritten recipe binder – with her name and year 1956 on the inside cover.  It is beat-up, falling apart, pages brown and crumbling, snippets of newspaper recipes falling out as I leaf through it but ohhh what treasures it holds.  Grandmom Authenrieth’s elegant cursive hand-written recipes recommend, comment, and instruct. I have already tried making the “Icebox Rolls” solely based on her comment on the upper left corner “Very good” underlined twice.  Yep they are yummy, maybe not the healthiest but fresh out of the oven with a slab of salted butter - nothing better.