I thought to come back and write more about things that uplift me, happy things that don’t involve death and ectoplasmic soda pop. As such, I’m going to list some of my uplifters here. A few I’ve referenced before, so I suppose this could be a compendium of those songs, foods, etc. that are happy makers. Guaranteed. I can put on the song below and instantly grin, or make the cauliflower dish and bask in internal sunshine.
Every time.
Maybe something below will do the same for you?
First, please try not to be Little Miss Happy Skirt while watching this video:
Upendo means love in Swahili and this song IS lyrical agape (I’m mixing languages like a true woman of the world). To the max.
Next?
“`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.”
Each time I navigate Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky, I am delighted and bedazzled. I adore this poem with every kid cell I have left.
And so now here we have:
You heart Moonstruck too, right? It doesn’t matter how I feel when this movie starts, I am in love at the end. It’s funny and loud and boisterous and sad and perfect.
Fourthly.
This recipe:
(My recipe book uses “grams” and I have no idea how to convert that into cups, so I completely wing the measurements. (It still turns out lovely.)
Also, I forgo the potatoes. I like it better that way. (And I’m a potato person.)
Cauliflower Bake of Awesomeness, Rainbows and Non-Extinct Unicorns
450g Cauliflower, broken into florets
2 large Potatoes, cubed
100g Cherry tomatoes
Sauce
2 tblspn butter, or vegetarian margarine
1 leek, sliced
1 garlic clove, crushed
25g plain (all-purpose) flour
300ml milk
75g mixed grated vegetarian cheese (parmesan!)
1/2 tspn Paprika
2 tblpsn chopped, flat-leaf parsley
Salt & Pepper
Chopped fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions:
1. Cook the cauliflower & potatoes and then drain well.
2. Melt butter (or margarine) in a saucepan and saute the leek and garlic.
3. Add flour and cook for a further minute.
4. Remove pan from heat and gradually stir in the milk, 50g cheese, the paprika and parsley.
5. Return the pan to the heat and bring to boil, stirring. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Spoon the cauliflower into a deep ovenproof dish. Add the cherry tomatoes and top with the potatoes.
7. Pour the sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
8. Cook in a pre-heated oven at 180*C (350*F) for 20 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbling.
9. Garnish with parsley and serve immediately.
Serves 4+.
Onto a Wrinkle in Time.
Mmmmm mmmm mmmm mmm mm. I can cry (happy tears) just thinking about this book. It’s the one that inspired me to want to write children’s books and each time I read it, I am transported.
More recently, I once met a boy whose mom neglected him. Each time she picked him up from daycare she smelled like booze and yelled at him until he cowered. The only respite he seemed to have was reading and so (among other things, like alerting the proper people to his mother’s behavior), I bought him The Wrinkle in Time box set.
I’ve never seen him again, but I hope he was transported too. And that his mother is a mother.
Finally, I’ve saved the most improper thing for last.
Oh but how it makes me laugh.
Meanwhile, anything you’d like to share?
I’m all ears and inappropriate laughter.
I forgot all about that crazy Lawrence Welk skit on SNL. What a freak.
My uplifters:
I have a folder of funny things (idiotic memos, ridiculous quotes, goofy collages) I’ve made or found over the years that I pull out on occasion when I need a good laugh.
Also: any “Seinfeld” episode; taking a walk in the woods no matter the season; listening to anything by The Greenhornes or the B-52s; and sunny days. We don’t get very many around here so when one comes along, it’s an instant mood lifter.
I am copying your cauliflower unicorn rainbow recipe and trying it. I need something new for an upcoming potluck. Thanks.
I nearly spit all over my computer with that SNL skit. I didn’t see the tiny hands at first.
I love the L’Engle books. I used to work with a girl named Ananda, like the dog Meg curls up with when Charles Wallace is away and recites the rune in “A Swiftly Tilting Planet.” I was so excited and I told her “Oh, I love those books. How cool are your parents!” She was less than thrilled to be named after a dog.
My uplifters:
Any contact with my sister, Katie. Email, text, card, letter, or phone call. Any time I see her name or hear her voice I light up inside. I really adore my sister.
Candy Corn.
Squirmy happy puppies.
The first snow (even though I don’t get to see it anymore).
This is one of the best posts ever, the song had me dancing in my seat, I was just thinking about cauliflower today and now want to try this recipe, and A Wrinkle in Time is one of my favorite books!
I think the recipe involving unicorns is way more improper (and down right rude to do to your readers) than the SNL skit. I heart that character with the nubs.
My go-to uplifter is When Harry Met Sally. Actually, anything from Meg Ryan’s pre-nose job phase is a guaranteed mood boost in my book.
The Party, starring Peter Sellers. It’s a totally obscure, absolutely hilarious film from the 60s that makes me laugh hysterically every time I see it. Birdie num num. Watch it, and you’ll get that.
You actually saved the second best for last [LOVE that skit — I’ve seen it before — SO funny!], because the best was the beautiful photo of your precious bundles. If I could clothe my boys in red dresses and black mary janes and have it be “okay” in even the smallest way? I’d do it.
oh deb, how i needed that… thank you.
Favorite line of the Moonstruck scene:
“In time you will die and I’ll come to your funeral in a red dress!!”
Thanks for the Cauliflower Bake recipe. :)