slow.

mornings have never been very much trouble for me.
the rise, and the shine,
the waking up and getting started and getting busier as the minutes pass...
all of that stuff is, and has always been, easy going for the woodsly goodsly
warrior spirit inside my head, hands, and heart.
i want to get into a fight with all the hours i can beat up,
before i finally succumb to slumber.
fitful and fleeting that sleepytime may indeed be,
but it gives me just enough recharge to attack a new day, first thing,
before the sun rises,
and well in advance of any sense of kinship with the waking world.
y'know?
ok,
hold on-
i was doing my thing, in the dark, by myself,
awoken by the howl of the wind,
knowing there was a storm of savage snowy winter weather
blustering about in the mountains, pushing ice and bending trees,
and doing whatever else it could to blowhard and bellow
about what a great big bad dire wolfen war warg of worry and woe it was.
now, i hate wind, super hard, because i seek my answers out on my own,
instead of waiting for them to waft in on the waiting breeze....
i'm pro-active, and i'm professionally activated,
and i'm telling you something else, too, kids-
i can't sit in bed doing nothing.
huh?
oh.
once the whipping frenzy of forceful cold air rocked the curtains
and the curtain walls of the Folk Life & Liberty Fortress with gusts
hard enough to stop my dreams from unfolding any further,
i got up and i got at 'em,
and i got my knife, and i got to work.
diced up onions,
discs of carrot,
shards of celery,
cloves and cloves of crushed garlic,
and patience....
patience?
yep.
duders,
the snowstorm that heralded the end of days or whatever?
ew!
it was a big fat letdown.
but,
i stayed inside all day anyway.
i mean,
if i'm getting a snow day,
i may as well make the most of it, right?
so,
i started a super-huge pot of soup for myself.
and i added stuff into it as the day progressed.
that's right.
add-ons and mix-ins and hook-ups and lentils.
ha.
by lunchtime,
i had a big ol' vat of turbo-elite hottness,
and i did it proper justice by barreling through bowl after bowl of it.
y'feel me?
i ate it allllllll day long, and i regret not one spoonful.
*
check the soup-is-good-for-your-face-type teleport:

mmmmmmmmm.
the simmering was a lengthy process,
albeit a relatively low effort situation-
i had a couple kinds of saucy red tomatoes,
a couple here, a couple there, sort of from all over the place,
diced and pureed, and dumped onto the red lentils.
whoa!
where did red lentils come from??
y'gotta bulk up your broth with some protein and fiber, guys.
c'mon.
don't be dumb.
and when it all gets seasoned...
with g.p.o.p.;
and black pepper;
and nootch;
and better-than-bouillon, which is a pretentious name, but also a true statement;
and white wine vinnegar;
and liquid smoke........
neighbors,
it starts shaping up to be an expert meal for your expert faces.
i also added a few fitsbump punches of green lentils.
yep.
double lentils for twice as much hearty stew-style bulk!
i gotta stay warm after all, y'all.
and spinach leaves  drifted into the juice, as well.
before too long,
i started thinking about grains.
that's right, grains.
who doesn't love a little seed or somethin' in their burly bowl
of barbarian-style one-pot indulgence?
word.
quinoa, brown rice, kaniwa, and millet.
hmm?
i used ALL of those.
i did.
tossed 'em right into the boiling cauldron.
this wasn't just soup, friends.
it was an experience.
too much is the right amount.
you know the rules.
*
and what do you soupy poopers even know about croutons?
yep.
all anyone needs to know is: croutons are dope!
junior-sized toast sprankles for my food!
so expert!
i cut myself some sourdough cubes of stale loafy density.
and when i had enough to decorate four or so servings of my stuff,
they all got shaken up inside an olive oily bag,
and then generously doused in herbs and spices.
dill, mustard seed, celery seed, rosemary, sage, nootch, and g.p.o.p.
yeah!!
that takes the whole shootin' match to eleven, man.
it's just water and stuff, plus heat, over time,
but i'll tell you what-
there's a lot of it, and it keeps getting better.
worse ways to start a day off are everywhere,
and that's no joke;
never quiet, never soft.....