In Appreciation of Life's Rhythms
There's a lot to be said for learning to slow down and appreciate the rhythms in life. Today, I got in touch with this in ways that really leave me feeling much better.
Yesterday was a bit stressful at the end. I spent the day in and around the house, and by the end of the day, I was starting to feel the itch of worry that I used to get all the time. It's reassuring that it's under control now and that I notice it as an occurrence now - and that I can control it. So I went to bed feeling a bit anxious, and woke up to a lot of snow (yikes!) and gray skies.
Because the snow was tapering off by noon, I decided to go out and shovel the bulk of it from the walk, steps, and around the car. Since it was supposed to turn to rain or sleet after, I didn't fancy shoveling really heavy piles of snow tomorrow. Better to get the bulk of it over with. So I settled in to another round of shoveling. Scoop, fling and push, pay attention to your posture and back so you don't hurt yourself. It's true with any exercise: when you start to get tired, your form is more likely to go to hell. With that and my old back problems in mind (once you've hurt your back you'll do anything you can to avoid doing it again), I kept focused on the task and my movements. A half hour later, I was winded and I had cleared things away. I made a pass through the back yard, clearing a path for the dogs (poor Miss Kittin needs some help, it's getting ridiculously high out there) and making sure I could get to and open the hot tub as needed.
A few days ago I bought cranberries, and today I made the cranberry nut bread I haven't made in ages. When I was in the Air Force in Oklahoma, I had a number of the women in the office (and some men) ask for the recipe for this bread I got from a really weird American cooking cookbook. To give you an idea how weird, it's grouped by type of food (the bread recipe is under "cranberry") and has recipes for possum as well as lasagne. I've never tried the possum recipes, and there are a LOT of lasagne recipes, so I haven't tried them all. A lot of these recipes are old, with things like shortening and melted butter in the recipes that you wouldn't see as much today. But there are a lot of great recipes in there.
Preparing the batter, chopping the cranberries (I have a little food processor now that I love - easy to use, easy to clean), stirring things together - I found myself slowing down, relaxing to the tasks. I've had the Graham Norton show going on the TV, which brought laughter at some moments (damn, he's so funny, did anyone ever see the short-lived show on Comedy Central - it was great) and I just felt all of my anxiety had dissolved. As always, Mikey was lying about in the kitchen, hoping I'd drop something he wanted (cranberries are just one of the few foods he won't eat), and I had company. As I put the bread in the oven and set the timer, I felt that great sense of accomplishment you get when cooking.
Cleaning up, washing all the dishes (oh, so many things get dirtied in cooking), smelling the baking bread - it was a wonderful kind of therapy. Now I've got bread cooling on the racks and I'm ready to eat a late lunch/early dinner.
What a way to relax.
Yesterday was a bit stressful at the end. I spent the day in and around the house, and by the end of the day, I was starting to feel the itch of worry that I used to get all the time. It's reassuring that it's under control now and that I notice it as an occurrence now - and that I can control it. So I went to bed feeling a bit anxious, and woke up to a lot of snow (yikes!) and gray skies.
Because the snow was tapering off by noon, I decided to go out and shovel the bulk of it from the walk, steps, and around the car. Since it was supposed to turn to rain or sleet after, I didn't fancy shoveling really heavy piles of snow tomorrow. Better to get the bulk of it over with. So I settled in to another round of shoveling. Scoop, fling and push, pay attention to your posture and back so you don't hurt yourself. It's true with any exercise: when you start to get tired, your form is more likely to go to hell. With that and my old back problems in mind (once you've hurt your back you'll do anything you can to avoid doing it again), I kept focused on the task and my movements. A half hour later, I was winded and I had cleared things away. I made a pass through the back yard, clearing a path for the dogs (poor Miss Kittin needs some help, it's getting ridiculously high out there) and making sure I could get to and open the hot tub as needed.
A few days ago I bought cranberries, and today I made the cranberry nut bread I haven't made in ages. When I was in the Air Force in Oklahoma, I had a number of the women in the office (and some men) ask for the recipe for this bread I got from a really weird American cooking cookbook. To give you an idea how weird, it's grouped by type of food (the bread recipe is under "cranberry") and has recipes for possum as well as lasagne. I've never tried the possum recipes, and there are a LOT of lasagne recipes, so I haven't tried them all. A lot of these recipes are old, with things like shortening and melted butter in the recipes that you wouldn't see as much today. But there are a lot of great recipes in there.
Preparing the batter, chopping the cranberries (I have a little food processor now that I love - easy to use, easy to clean), stirring things together - I found myself slowing down, relaxing to the tasks. I've had the Graham Norton show going on the TV, which brought laughter at some moments (damn, he's so funny, did anyone ever see the short-lived show on Comedy Central - it was great) and I just felt all of my anxiety had dissolved. As always, Mikey was lying about in the kitchen, hoping I'd drop something he wanted (cranberries are just one of the few foods he won't eat), and I had company. As I put the bread in the oven and set the timer, I felt that great sense of accomplishment you get when cooking.
Cleaning up, washing all the dishes (oh, so many things get dirtied in cooking), smelling the baking bread - it was a wonderful kind of therapy. Now I've got bread cooling on the racks and I'm ready to eat a late lunch/early dinner.
What a way to relax.