2016

I AM THANKFUL…for the woodstove keeping my body warm and its light doing the same for my spirit.

IN THE KITCHEN…navy beans and almonds are soaking, the fridge is full of greens and I will be spending some time with my cookbooks looking for some variety almost a month into anti-inflammatory eating.

 .I AM WEARING…everything is soft today (as it is most days) pale green long cotton knit dress with ruffles at neck and just below the knee, knee-length brown light-weight cardigan pinned at my bosom, plum-colored corduroy ruched skirt underneath, stripey leg warmers made from old tights, fake-fur-lined pull-on boots I wear like slippers…tho’ they inspire action, not curling up.

I AM CREATING…a new look for Wisteria & Sunshine’s rooms and gardens. After four years, it was time. It is being pared of unnecessary bits that were acquired over the years and is now so comfortably arranged with just what we need and want.  And beautiful, of course…gentle and peaceful.

I AM GOING….no where in terms of travel, not even into town for days to come. But I am traveling deep inside as I continue to make my way with health issues and also refining my ways of being in the world…mostly the online world.

I AM WONDERING…so many things that are hard to put into words but are mostly to do with how to successfully follow a feminine path of being.

I AM READING…finishing Sandpiper, a biography of the poet Celia Thaxter, one of the Beatrix Potter mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert (may I confess to being bored with it?), waiting to get to the library for the last Jackson Brodie mystery by Kate Atkinson (these are re-reads), dipping in and out of a few anti-flammatory diet books trying to find my sweet spot with all of the advice.

 

 

I was alone for most of this past Easter Sunday, with no visits from children or to parents-in-law. Solitary time is almost always something I welcome and treasure. And so many holidays and significant days can be fashioned and designed to still be meaningful without the usual traditions or ingredients. But I must admit, tho’ I enjoyed my walk and my fire and the ease…it was not Eastery.

Easter for me has always been family…from the beautiful Easter baskets my mom made for us each year (and for me particularly until I was out of college), to visits home in my young woman days, and then the storybook Easters as a young mother creating Easter baskets for my own children (hidden outside in the wee hours) and reading stories, decorating, egg hunts and making lovely Easter meals.

And I came to realize this Easter that the food and candy are truly a part of it for me. I am still eating a very pared-down diet, so there were no eggs, flour, sugar, milk, etc. all day long and, well, our bowl of strawberries and oatmeal was delicious, but very much like our breakfasts every other day of the week. No traditional egg salad, bowls of Easter candy around or even croissants and butter. Sad.

Easter dawn service, Quaker Meeting and our occasional “church in the fields” with dear friends on our land have all featured in our honoring in the past. But I am in a different place now. And some of the spiritual facets were celebrated on the Spring Equinox. So I am going to take what I learned from this Rosehip Easter and go more thoughtfully into next year’s honoring…try harder to gather my family, make sure I am eating more widely at the time, keep my eyes and heart open for new traditions.

I wonder if your traditions have changed over the years and if you are finding fresh ways to celebrate?