Simple, As It Should Be

It is always the simple
that produces the marvelous.
-Amelia Barr

The basil is going leggy and spindly-looking. Of course, it is almost September. I suppose it's time for it to. No matter. The simplest basil always makes the best pesto.

Yes, I was snipping basil yesterday - whole stalks of it - when the phone rang. It was a lady named Pam who represented a company that handles blog advertising for an ad firm. I'd never heard of such. "Oh, yes," she said, "advertisers are realizing they can get excellent product placement ads directly in front of target audiences through blogs. We've heard of you," she said, in one breath. "And we have some clients... Kraft, Macy's... who may be interested in running banner ads on your blog."

Really?

She emailed over documents, which I read two pages of and promptly deleted. When she called back to ask if they'd come through, I told her yes... and no thanks. "But you don't have to do anything differently than what you're doing," she argued. "It's easy money. For instance, you talk about food three days a week and we'll run a food product ad. When you mention clothes or shopping, we'll post a clothing retailer ad. It's a win-win."

I declined. "I talk about butlers and caves and fall and ... myself. This is my life," I said. Silence. "Besides," I continued, "we're all tired of being bombarded with advertisements. My blog is simple: I write, they read. I'm content or excited or inspired or convicted, and hopefully they are, too. This is our place, not a place for Kraft and their flashy, animated vegetable cracker ads. No thank you, but my blog is fairly straightforward and simple and will stay that way."

Basil snipping resumed.

Maybe I'm too backward-thinking. Or maybe I'm business stupid. The money would have been nice. It's just that life is about so much more than the game and getting caught up in the game, isn't it?

So here we are, you and me. Just you and me and the basil. No flashy ads or catchy tunes compelling us to buy, buy, buy and spend, spend, spend. Nope, it's just us.

I rather like it that way, don't you?

Here's to us. Here's to us and a holiday weekend and the coming of September. Simple September, as it will be known around Freeman House. I hope you'll join me for a month of simple recipes, simple fall decorations, a simple firepit celebration, and, of course, simple days. I wouldn't have it any other way. See you in September! -Brin

(By the way, there's an excellent and simple recipe for herb oils and dressings on the Country Living website. Besides making and freezing pesto, it's a great use for all these end-of-the-season herbs.)