Soup On A Late Summer's Day

"Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens the appetite."

-Auguste Escoffier

I wasn't sure about today. The air was cool, but the sun was brilliantly hot. The fog rolled up from the bay earlier than usual, but the temperature stayed warm till late in the afternoon. It was the perfect late summer day, and yet, it was also the perfect early autumn day. I guess it was both. Sigh. My thoughts get all scattered on days like that. Decisions are especially difficult to reach, if they can be reached at all. I don't know why, but I tend to miss people more, and if I can find my own car keys, it is an event. But then again, I am not complaining, because misplacing my car keys isn't as bad as misplacing my shoes, which I also do from time to time. LOL.

With my keys, resting comfortably in some secret place, I decided to do a bit of walking today, between appointment. I am never without my camera when I go out, and I was feeling especially inspired today, because the leaves around town have started to turn. In another couple weeks, the whole town of Berkeley will explode into brilliant autumn lights. Right now, the most prominent indication of the end of summer, are the brown and gold leaves, that are serving as a crisp blanket along almost every street. Sigh.

I was a bit world weary today, my knee was acting up, I forgot my Yoga mat when I left the house, therapy was super nifty fun, and I forgot to eat, so I was feeling a teeny bit off-center. But I had my camera, so while it may not have been the most ideal day, it wasn't all that bad either. As I was coming out of my appointment with Sarah, I saw this old can of Campbell's Chicken Gumbo soup laying in the leaves outside her office. It was old and rusty, the label was faded and worn, but it made me smile because it reminded me of how a bowl of warm Campbell's Vegetarian Vegetable soup, would always make me feel better when I was a little girl. I thought of a couple days when I was around 6 or 7, that had been just awful, at least it had seemed so at the time. I came home from school, refusing to speak, so my mom went into the kitchen, and made me a can of soup. Yum.

To this day, when I am feeling blue, or indecisive, or just off-center, I know I can fix myself a bowl of soup and soon I am all better. I always stop for some veggie pizza on Wednesdays from my favorite pizza shop down on Shattuck. Today's featured pizza was goat cheese and fennel. It was delicious with a bowl of Campbell's Tomato Bisque. :) So, in honor of the goodness of soup, I have created a new poll which you will find on my sidebar, so be sure to vote for your favorite flavor of Campbell's soup! And feel free to share any fun stories you might have about soup in the comments thread of this entry. Sometimes, the simplest times are the best...aren't they?

Your pick for "Favorite TV Supporting Character."

Cpl. Walter Eugene "Radar" O' Reilly - M*A*S*H

"I don't think that this place is turning out to be that great an experience for me. I mean, I work under terrible pressure, and there's lots of death and destruction and stuff, but other than that, I don't think I'm getting much out of it." - M*A*S*H (Fallen Idol)
Click here to see the full results from our last poll, "Your Favorite TV Supporting Character."

-OndineMonet
"Soup On A Late Summer's Day"
Berkeley, California
September 13th, 2006
Afternoon