homemade tastes better

i boil water for tea in a kettle.
why?
because it tastes better.
and i want better tea.
i make bread from scratch.
sourdough, naturally leavened, shaped, and baked.
why?
because it tastes better.
and good bread makes better people.
that's a thing.
is it more work?
than going to the store and getting ready-made sh!t?
yeah, it's a lot more work than that.
but it feels good, and it tastes good and it makes me happy,
and presumably it makes me healthy, too.
and those're all good things.
i'm better because of it.
...and really, it doesn't take that much effort.
but it looks like something extra special, i'll say that:

yup.
homemade, fresh-baked bread.
a loaf of high-hydration high-protein bread flour,
and a loaf of low-hydration super-high-protein white whole wheat.
the bulk-up rise was huge,
the oven spring was just as big,
and the crust was crisp and crunchy and full of flavor.
you need better bread to make the best dressing,
and the best dressing is kind of my specialty.
that's no joke.
check it:

gently toasted sourdough cubes,
homemade seared red lentil seitan sausage,
plus seasoned and sauteed leeks, celery, carrots,
and a whole lotta boilin' broth to saturate that whole scene.
there's sage and thyme and a little crushed fennel and rosemary stirred in
with the sausages, which were browned in a splash of oil in a hot pan, man.
i added a handful of from-scratch tempeh bacon, too.
i did.
more flavor is what we want, isn't it?
i think so, bro.
every year i mess with this mixture a little more.
every year, i think of how to make it even better.
every year, i get more into the craft and creation and see what i can summon up.
i used to use cornbread, but that gets too soggy and falls apart.
i used to use store crOmbles to make the sausage, but the pieces are too small,
and the taste was always overly salty.
i used to think i couldn't ever get any better at anything.
until i did.
and now, i just can't leave it alone.
it's homemade, because homemade tastes better.
but it's also homemade because it feels better.
-
i spent thursday making myself feel better,
and letting myself feel worse.
it's sort of a numb, neutral, in-between sensation.
like being almost asleep with a fever.
you're close to oblivion, and that's a relief because awareness is awful
in all of  the preceding moments.
i'm a homemade home alone homeboy,
and that's all that's happening;
never quiet, never soft.....