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The Recipe Box

Book by Viola Shipman · 2 quotes · Sam Mullins, Baking, Orchards

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The Recipe Box Quotes

“From this vantage point, Sam's view was pastoral. Rabbits and squirrels scurried on the hillside, while birds darted in and out of the orchard's trees and bushes. The morning's low light illuminated the world from one side in a dramatic way: apples were split in two, red and black; halves of trees were luminescent of green, while the other halves were dark and brooding. Life is divided into shadow and light, Sam thought. You can see it either way, based on your own perspective Sam stopped and considered that, before adjusting her thought. Based on your own light level.”

“She looked out the window, and her heart jumped: the expanse of the pie pantry and orchard shimmered in the early-morning light in front of her, the bay and LaKe Michigan glimmering in the distance. To Sam, it looked as if one of her grandmother's paintings had come to life: red apples bobbed as tree limbs swayed in the breeze; bushes thick with the bluest of blueberries shimmied; peaches, fuzzy and bright, nestled snugly against branches; shiny cars and people dressed in bright T-shirts and caps danced into the pie pantry and into the orchards; near the distance, the cornfields seemed to move as if they were doing the wave at a football game, while cherry trees dotted with the deep red fruit resembled holly bushes out of season. And yet there was an incredible uniformity to the scene despite the visual overload: everything was lined up in neat rows, as if each tree, bush, and person understood its purpose at this very moment. I've forgotten this view, Sam thought, recalling the one from her own bedroom window earlier in the morning. There is an order to life's chaos, be it the city or country, if we just stop for a moment and see it.”