“To be happy you must have taken the measure of your powers, tasted the fruits of your passion, and learned your place in the world.” Santayana
“When I’m feeling blue all I have to do,
is take a look at you then I’m not so blue
when you’re close to me I can feel your heartbeat
I can feel you breathing in my ear”………
these are wonderful lyrics from one of my favorite songwriters, Phil Collins, Circa 1988 – Groovy Kind of Love……….. and yes, I do, associate them with my feelings about Springtime – yes, the heartbeat of Spring and even the breathing in my ear! That’s just precisely how close I want to be to Spring right now…….. I know objectively that it is way too early to begin hoping but, in my heart, I am already deep into yearning for some, even the tiniest of signs……… 
first concrete sign that Spring is coming
I have this rather pathetic little pot of chives on my kitchen window sill. I guess I bought it last Fall when I began my annual hoarding of the plants ritual – which begins when I know that everything is going to die soon. Anyway, I have noticed over the past few days that an amazing thing has begun to happen. New dark green shoots (see above) have begun to emerge, due to the changes in the light. So, whenever I begin to obsess about a season which is yet over 8 weeks away, I can look at this little plant and know that things ARE changing – and we are moving closer to the seasons of life here in NJ. I am desperate and I’ll take anything……….
Whenever I’m feeling blue (a lot right now), restless (a lot right now) or even suffering from yes, cabin fever (a lot right now), I shuffle into the kitchen and rustle the cake pans out. As is with part of my instinctive urges which tend to occur in the morning, I love to dream about cakes and, the fun part – baking them. While most people consider the fun part to be eating them, I love the making part. A lot of people I know get the urge to clean their closets, drawers, basement and attic at this time of year. To me, this is awful, depressing and mundane. I need some excitement! For me, creative activity is the savior. I take to visual stimulation to indulge in a great amount of self-diversion and deception.
Yesterday, I did a tour through my flower pictures from last Spring, Summer and Fall. This was indeed a mixed blessing. On one hand, I reinvigorated myself by seeing all the beautiful gifts of those seasons that I relish, and which invigorate me. I tried very hard to not go to the “other hand” which is the fact that Spring’s really quite far off.
Today I awoke in a slightly more optimistic mood and began obsessing about Strawberries, for some reason.
So, if you are anything like me, and need a little something to make today to cheer things up, here is a nice compendium of ideas. You may be able to indeed find some decent strawberries in the market or, unless you are like me, you have these little babies in the freezer:
photo courtesy Smitten Kitchen
http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/06/strawberries-and-cream-biscuits/
photo courtesy userealbutter.com
http://userealbutter.com/2009/05/06/strawberry-chiffon-buttercream-cake-recipe/
photo courtesy Bon Appetit
Double Ginger Sour Cream Bundt Cake with Ginger-Infused Strawberries – http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/double-ginger-sour-cream-bundt-cake-with-ginger-infused-strawberries – i would do a swirl of strawberry coulis in this cake – just pour half the batter into the pan, add the coulis, and then top with remaining batter
photo courtesy Epicurious
Strawberry Basket Cake http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Strawberry-Basket-Cake-101353
http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/06/strawberry-tarragon-jam-recipe.html 
photo courtesy make-fabulous-cakes.com
http://www.make-fabulous-cakes.com/strawberry-mousse.html
photo courtesy Epicurious.com
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Strawberry-Shortcakes-242601
make a triple berry pie or
simply berries and mascarpone:
http://www.kitchen-inspirational.com/2012/05/17/berries-with-fresh-mascarpone-cream/
or this little baby all the way from Australia:
photo courtesy the neffkitchen
http://theneffkitchen.com.au/steamed-mixed-berries-with-mascarpone/
or, fly out to LA and have one of these: Surfer Girl Ice Cream Sandwiches with Strawberry-Balsamic Ice Cream http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/videos/surfer-girl-ice-cream-sandwich.html
So, as you can see, you can travel vicariously or literally, if you can to indulge. Or, if you are like me, you can walk across the house right into your own kitchen and indulge right at home. There are many great recipes to try today. If the luscious-looking cake shown above doesn’t do it for you today, try one of these other beautiful desserts! Enjoy! After all, tomorrow IS another day closer…………
and, in closing, a line from You’ve Got Mail which reminds me of……me..
“I lead a small life, well, valuable, but small” – Kathleen Kelly – courtesy You’ve Got Mail
*today is the first day of my newly installed theme on my blog; we are having a few little glitches here and there, so please hang in there with me! thank you!