Every now and again, usually by accident, I have a day in the life of the kind of life I would like to have every day. Today was one such:
-First, on a rather momentous note, Spangles and I signed our lease!!! We are now contractually obligated to move into our beautiful new place come July!
-I made good headway on some work on a beautiful day while sitting in a coffee shop watching the world go by. It's always nice to feel like an effective human being in a pleasant location.
-The Twin called me and we caught up a little, which was lovely (although some lily-livered cur stole her bike wheel today)
-I poked around in the thrift store and purchased a couple celebratory knickknacks for cheap.
-Spangles and I went and got tofu hoagies and then ate them in Clark Park, when we randomly ran into two of my favorite people, let's call them Smiley and Squeak.
-Smiley, in addition to being an all-round good guy, also had just the info I needed relating to a project I've been whimsying about in my head for a while. A most fortuitous coincidence.
-We sat there and chatted and joked throughout the golden hours, watching the dogs jump and the kids play soccer and the tree leaves flutter. What a day.
The unexpected gift of a lovely day. To whom it may concern: thank you!
Showing posts with label secret ingredient: Vitamin D. Show all posts
Showing posts with label secret ingredient: Vitamin D. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
An Ordinary Easter Miracle
I feel all filled up again. Over the weekend the Twin and I worked on getting the house ready for Easter. The weather was stunning; spring is really clobbering me over the head with a frying pan this year. As I was scurrying to and fro, readying things, cutting branches of brilliant forsythia to decorate, I realized that the gloom was gone and I felt light, energetic, even giggly.
Since I've been keeping this blog I've become more aware of moments like that, and perhaps more prone to dissecting them. Was it the idea of a project with an outcome that would be pleasing to others? Was it just the pleasure of movement again after feeling stagnant, goal oriented activity? Looking forward to seeing the whole clan together again?
But perhaps there's something to be said for not looking a gift horse in the mouth and just going with it. Our Easter was gorgeous. Family, flowers, sunlight, the deck, lots of food, watching Neph's golf moves in the backyard and cuddling Niecey. It was an event that felt like the good old days, except we are living them right now.
A year ago now, I was (and we, my family, were) right in the middle of what I didn't know at the time was a cluster of painful occurrences that was not yet over.
But it is now. And even though I am still gun-shy and tend, more than I used to, to think that every zit is symptomatic of a horrible disease and every stray sound in the house is impending structural collapse... no bad stuff has happened in a while now. And I'm beginning to be able to believe that in fact a personal armageddon has not occurred, rather, a tidal wave of crises swept through but now I'm coming down the other side. And things are ok. On days like today, even great. If nothing else, my year of yucky has brought into sharp relief the delicious and savory moments of normalcy.
And to those, I toast.
Since I've been keeping this blog I've become more aware of moments like that, and perhaps more prone to dissecting them. Was it the idea of a project with an outcome that would be pleasing to others? Was it just the pleasure of movement again after feeling stagnant, goal oriented activity? Looking forward to seeing the whole clan together again?
But perhaps there's something to be said for not looking a gift horse in the mouth and just going with it. Our Easter was gorgeous. Family, flowers, sunlight, the deck, lots of food, watching Neph's golf moves in the backyard and cuddling Niecey. It was an event that felt like the good old days, except we are living them right now.
A year ago now, I was (and we, my family, were) right in the middle of what I didn't know at the time was a cluster of painful occurrences that was not yet over.
But it is now. And even though I am still gun-shy and tend, more than I used to, to think that every zit is symptomatic of a horrible disease and every stray sound in the house is impending structural collapse... no bad stuff has happened in a while now. And I'm beginning to be able to believe that in fact a personal armageddon has not occurred, rather, a tidal wave of crises swept through but now I'm coming down the other side. And things are ok. On days like today, even great. If nothing else, my year of yucky has brought into sharp relief the delicious and savory moments of normalcy.
And to those, I toast.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Recipe for Happiness: Harbor Style
1.Make plans to go visit a beloved friend.
2. Drive down in warm spring sunlight with the windows open and the music loud.
3.Once you arrive, flap your jaws for hours the way you only can with someone with whom you go way back.
4. Go out for sushi, drink some wine, continue to flap jaws.
5. Go back, keep flapping. Drink some more wine. Start listening to songs you love until it devolves into karaoke using spice bottles as microphones. Before you fall asleep, have her tell you a silly bedtime story.
Serve warm. Enjoy.
2. Drive down in warm spring sunlight with the windows open and the music loud.
3.Once you arrive, flap your jaws for hours the way you only can with someone with whom you go way back.
4. Go out for sushi, drink some wine, continue to flap jaws.
5. Go back, keep flapping. Drink some more wine. Start listening to songs you love until it devolves into karaoke using spice bottles as microphones. Before you fall asleep, have her tell you a silly bedtime story.
Serve warm. Enjoy.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
The Sacrament of Sunlight
I almost don't want to mention it, for fear of jinxing anything but... I think spring approacheth!
The sweet, sweet, sun is shining; green shoots are poking up out of the dirt; the flower shop is selling tulips and daffodils; there are actual BUDS on actual TREES!; and the surest harbinger, pre-schoolers are out in their lines on the sidewalks, holding hands, being ushered around by grown-ups.
The first arrival of spring always makes me feel Scarlett O'Hara, dragging myself over muddy ground in a torn dress, all "God as my witness, I'll never be shriveled and pasty again!!!"
At least until next winter.
The sweet, sweet, sun is shining; green shoots are poking up out of the dirt; the flower shop is selling tulips and daffodils; there are actual BUDS on actual TREES!; and the surest harbinger, pre-schoolers are out in their lines on the sidewalks, holding hands, being ushered around by grown-ups.
The first arrival of spring always makes me feel Scarlett O'Hara, dragging myself over muddy ground in a torn dress, all "God as my witness, I'll never be shriveled and pasty again!!!"
At least until next winter.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Recipe for Happiness- Double Feature
Sea Food for the Soul:
1. Acknowledge to yourself and/or your traveling companion that you are damn tired.
2. On your way home, plan a small detour to a spot by the water (Kiptopeke State Park in Virginia is nice, but anything local and in season will do)
3. Get out the car, take a deep breath, gaze out onto the sparkling water ripples. (Sunny days are best for this; even more delicious if you are incredibly sick of winter and it's just starting to be spring.) Keep breathing throughout.
4. Go down to the shoreline; remove shoes and socks.
5. Dig your toes into the sand, walk along the edge of the water, observe the doggy footprints, listen to the waves lapping and the birds chirping. Admire the way the sun clings to everything and makes it lovely.
6.Keep walking until your brain mellows out and starts to match the rhythm of the waves and the sunlight and quiet soaks in.
This recipe makes a happiness with a mild, relaxed flavor which can be enjoyed even if you're tired. It can be ready in fifteen to twenty minutes if the ingredients are already on hand.
Breakfast of Champions
1. The night before, come home to your sweetheart. If you've been apart for a few days, this recipe can be particularly fresh. Enjoy each other's company.
2. Sleep until you wake up. Be sure to plan in advance that both of you have nowhere to be in the morning. Add some lazing or lolling about if desired.
3. While your sweetie sleeps in, work on downloading songs for your happiness playlist. (I'm into India Arie lately, but season to taste.)
4. When your sweetie wakes up, go together to the coffee shop around the corner. Order a large coffee with cream and a healthy muffin.
5. Sit outside and watch the neighborhood go by: dogs, bicycles, people, cars. If a sparrow or other bird approaches fearlessly close, feel free to toss it breadcrumbs - harbingers of spring are especially nice this time of year.
6. Enjoy the burgeoning hint of warmth in the air and soak in subdued morning sunlight.
7. Linger as long as you feel like it.
1. Acknowledge to yourself and/or your traveling companion that you are damn tired.
2. On your way home, plan a small detour to a spot by the water (Kiptopeke State Park in Virginia is nice, but anything local and in season will do)
3. Get out the car, take a deep breath, gaze out onto the sparkling water ripples. (Sunny days are best for this; even more delicious if you are incredibly sick of winter and it's just starting to be spring.) Keep breathing throughout.
4. Go down to the shoreline; remove shoes and socks.
5. Dig your toes into the sand, walk along the edge of the water, observe the doggy footprints, listen to the waves lapping and the birds chirping. Admire the way the sun clings to everything and makes it lovely.
6.Keep walking until your brain mellows out and starts to match the rhythm of the waves and the sunlight and quiet soaks in.
This recipe makes a happiness with a mild, relaxed flavor which can be enjoyed even if you're tired. It can be ready in fifteen to twenty minutes if the ingredients are already on hand.
Breakfast of Champions
1. The night before, come home to your sweetheart. If you've been apart for a few days, this recipe can be particularly fresh. Enjoy each other's company.
2. Sleep until you wake up. Be sure to plan in advance that both of you have nowhere to be in the morning. Add some lazing or lolling about if desired.
3. While your sweetie sleeps in, work on downloading songs for your happiness playlist. (I'm into India Arie lately, but season to taste.)
4. When your sweetie wakes up, go together to the coffee shop around the corner. Order a large coffee with cream and a healthy muffin.
5. Sit outside and watch the neighborhood go by: dogs, bicycles, people, cars. If a sparrow or other bird approaches fearlessly close, feel free to toss it breadcrumbs - harbingers of spring are especially nice this time of year.
6. Enjoy the burgeoning hint of warmth in the air and soak in subdued morning sunlight.
7. Linger as long as you feel like it.
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