Six Weeks In

Not a bit stir crazy yet! I'm kind of surprised. I knew I was an introvert, but I hadn't realized just how much I enjoy the quiet home life. And as the weather slowly improves and I can get out into the garden, it will be even more enjoyable. I am content to putter and read and dig and bake and crochet. I really don't need much else. The only thing I really miss is being able to cuddle my grandkids.

What I've Been Doing

Another set of kitchen towels fresh off the loom.

Food in the Time of Cholera---er---Covid

Threw some bread in the bread machine this morning. Thought about making the fat-free loaf, and then thought, "I'm planning to put beans and wieners on it. What's the point?"

Why is it that food tastes so much better right now, while we're staying at home? Is it just that our stressed-out bodies are craving fat and sugar right now to comfort themselves? Or is it that we're finally taking the time to slow down and taste our food without other distractions? How often did I used to eat at my desk, typing at the computer with one hand while holding a sandwich in the other? How often did I drag home at the end of the long work day and throw together just any old thing for supper that was quick and easy? And then eat it mindlessly in front of the television?

This quiet time at home is the chance to redefine our relationship with food. And when I consider it's almost time to start growing vegetables in the garden, I am giddy with joy. The snap of pea pods, the crunch of radishes, the soapiness of carrots, the abundance of kale... God was very kind when he allowed us to help with this tiny bit of creation.

I just have to share this

You may know I work for eleven physicians, and so this video that appeared on Facebook especially touched me. So beautiful. I hope this link works.

Physician Choir

These Are Quiet Days

These are quiet days,

busy lives grown calm and slow,

daily noise distilled to this:

soft humming in the kitchen,

wind whistling at the window,

snapping flames in the fireplace.

No longer in high motion,

multi-tasking, dashing out.

Steps confined to the back yard,

we take the time to listen,

feel, ponder, and to wonder

at bright stars, bird song, sunrise.

No more lunch gulped in the car;

now there's the chance to savour

tart oranges, crisp apples,

nourishment for heart and mind.

There's time for contemplation,

grounding the soul, sheltering.

It's not the time to make plans,

bustle, dream up big journeys.

Content instead with today,

this moment's small joys enough,

full of thanks for simple things,

family and home.

- K (written for my brother's birthday spent quietly at home)

The Covid 19 (pounds)

I have a theory that my body can tell I'm a bit anxious right now, so it's dashing around in a panic saying, "Oh my word, something's wrong. Is it famine? Maybe it's famine. Let's get her to eat all the carbs and sugar she can RIGHT NOW in case it's famine!"

Self-Pressuring and Re-evaluating

So in the past, when I've been home all day, it's because I've been on vacation. I've spent the time gardening or writing or bottling fruit or whatever. But this time around, I'm actually at work while I'm at home. I've been working solidly from 6:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. most days, which is more hours than I usually put in, but still less when I consider I no longer have the 4-hour commute every day. So I'm being more productive than when I go into the office.

There's a funny phenomenon, though, when I sit at the laptop and still feel that guilty little tug in the back of my mind that says, "You should be gardening. You should be writing. You should be spring cleaning and painting your ceilings and baking bread and practising your banjo and sorting through clutter and digging out the composters." I would really hate for this whole thing to end without my having accomplished anything, you know? And I would really hate for this to end and find myself weighing twenty pounds more, which seems the likely track if I keep on the way I have.

So while I'm working at home, I need to make sure I put up boundaries, only work the hours I'm supposed to, take the time to do some gentle yoga and work in the yard, and let myself be at home.

There's a meme flying around Facebook right now that says: "In the rush to return to normal, take this time to consider which parts of normal are worth rushing back to." (Dave Hollis) I think in general my life is pretty simple and slow-moving. I don't have a lot of social activities at the best of times, and I ordinarily spend most evenings after work reading, cooking, gardening, or watching people on Youtube cook and garden. Are there parts of my normal day-to-day life that I want to re-evaluate and perhaps cut out? I think I've probably gone through that exercise already, and life is streamlined to basically what I want it to be. But there are probably some things I need to slot in -- more ministering time and more temple service come to mind. I will spend some of this quiet time at home thinking about how I can incorporate those things into my normal life a little better. Less TV, more service. Since the kids are grown and pretty-much gone, my life has become perhaps too inward-focused and self-centered. It's time to expand a little and reach out a little more.

As soon as I get those composters dug out.