Enjoy what you have

I'd hoarded this jar of Branston Pickle for too long, I decided, so I opened it up some weeks ago and have been enjoying it steadily. Let's have no pantry hoarding, I say. Not safe, not thrifty, and not fun.


The jar is now in the recycling, but for its celebratory photo I plunked it onto a clean but well-used knitted item from a standard pattern you might recognize. This particular dishcloth was from last summer - leftovers from niece ponchos and a string bag I made for thomasina. Was amused earlier this spring when my mom caught sight of a knitted dishcloth near my sink. "You made that, right? And diagonal - very you." She was rather taken by the idea of my bothering to do something stylish with something so pedestrian. Isn't it great when you can be this old and your mom still thinks you do things with flair?

But you know, I'm a bit taken with the whole thing myself. I'm impressed with all the pedestrian and artful dishcloths and washrags and swiffer covers and everything else being knitted out there. Every day works and every day works of art are ways to do more than use what we have - we can enjoy what we use.