The Verdict: Soup Beans Are Tasty and Filling

I'd definitely make them again, and I actually like that it's a long process, as anything bean-related is. It feels more substantial, like I've accomplished something. Corn muffins are an essential accompaniment, though. Wow, what a combo. (Do we hear fried potatoes next? I've made those before, just not as part of a full Appalachian dinner.)

I thought of another food-related literary gem that has inspired me in the past: Celia cooking a whole beautiful table of food for Minny, in The Help. 

Cooking makes me happy, it turns out. 

Work today has felt weird - the time is stretching out to what feels like forever, AND I can't quite shake this sense of urgency, almost emergency. I was super distracted earlier while trying to complete the usual paperwork and couldn't figure out why.