On our lanai: arugula alongside newer, milder lettuce, but to really spice things up, some curry leaves, basil, dill and the freshness of mint in other planters.
On our kitchen counter: the gorgeous abandon of gardenias opening up in the warmth of the evening. Scent, spice, greens, goodness. Balm for the soul.
It’s the end of a week in which SCOTUS might just as well have been the Supremes, hitting the high notes, confounding the left and the right by not just affirming Obamacare but by the flourish with which Chief Justice Roberts stole the show.
Against the backdrop of that drama with its unlikely hero upholding a law that Paul Krugman calls “an act of human decency,” the House of Representatives trotted out their demeaning side-show, doing the very indecent thing of passing a contempt vote against the Attorney General.
Mis-matched bookends for a week of high drama: one mean-spirited, unwarranted and devoid of any real power, the other high-minded, history-making and changing the lives of ordinary people for the better in very real ways.
The Nuns on the Bus have it right. They have supported the Affordable Care Act as a law that is pro-life; that helps sustain their work to those most in need. The bishops, by contrast, opposed passage of the law, citing its lack of adequate conscience protections and other flaws even while asserting the “moral imperative to provide decent health care to all.”
Yes, we shall all eat broccoli. And smell the gardenias.
Dawn Morais 
Just read this today and feel very cheered by it. Yes to broccoli and gardenias.