Vote for Goodness Sake

Here’s Vote! She is the doll I created honoring the 100^th Year Anniversary of the passage of the 19^th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. She is right in front of me as I fill out my ballot.

“To vote is to rise to the occasion of an opportunity to say YES and to take a stand for the shared heart of our world,” says Kristi Nelson, Executive Director of A Network for Grateful Living.

Here’s what I’m saying YES to: goodness, kindness, compassion, intelligence, ethics, humaneness, decency, civility, honesty, heart and hope. These are the words that are guiding my vote for people and propositions in this election and for the future of our country.  

I’m also “voting” for as much health and happiness to all through these challenging-on-many-levels times.

Keeping healthy and happy for me right now involves, among other things—no surprise—food. I have recently enjoyed creating some simple dishes. One of my favorite meals was grilled salmon, sliced cucumbers and tomatoes from our garden, and a mozzarella salad with celery, black olives, anchovies, olive oil and pine nuts. The latter combination is from a newish (June 2020) cookbook called A Table for Friends: The Art of Cooking for Two or Twenty by Skye McAlpine, author of A Table in Venice which I mentioned in a recent post.

I love the simple recipes–can’t wait to try butter and sage roast pumpkin and Sicilian couscous salad– and the ideas for easy sharing of meals with friends. I also enjoy the rustic look and muted matte finish of the book’s photography and pages; the book itself is a comfort to look at and hold.

I also like the author’s aesthetics regarding setting a table, as in fruit bowls and bread loaves as décor and the mixing of differently patterned vintage dishware and glassware. Ironic that the title indicates something that is probably not as possible during these pandemic times. Maybe, though, like voting, it is an expression of hope for the future…a table for friends…I remember that!

So, may there be many things that “bring joy to the table” in these next few weeks. I vote for that! Oh, YES.