Lunch

Posted by Tania Kindersley.

I am obviously in a high rage over the American Senate's charming refusal to repeal Don't Ask Don't Tell, but I have gone all political on your ass for the last few days, so let us instead contemplate lovely things. I'll save the fury for tomorrow.

I went to have lunch with my sister. We ate: dressed crab, because the Fish Lady was in the village, and pheasant with roasted root vegetables, and griddled courgettes with pine nuts, goat's cheese and tomatoes. I know. Two courses, on a school day.

We talked of: family, dogs, the Pope, Jung, lap-dancing, the goddess Isis, death, gardening, dreams, optimism, vanity, love, and whether the pheasant was too dry. I said not.

I think that just about covered the waterfront.

We laughed a lot. It was very sweet.

Here is the delightful food:

And she sent me away with some sweet peas from her garden:

Family can be a complicated thing, and ours has had its share of difficulties, over the years. But when it is good, it is very, very good. That is my tiny thought for the day.

Also, since I am in bumper sticker mode: sometimes the glass really is half full. Sometimes, when the light is coming from the right direction, it is full all the way to the top, whatever the cynics might tell you.

After all that, the least you deserve is a good quote for the day. Even sceptical old Oscar Wilde had his chicken soup for the soul moments. Take this:

“Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you.”

And now I am going to go away and smell my sweet peas.