| | |

Best Possible Holiday Walkabout

ByElizabeth

I may have a nagging cough from a cold that started over a week ago, and it might not have been the ideal of a walk in the woods with a beloved, but I had the best walkabout possible today.  The air was mild, and the rain held off until mid-afternoon, leaving plenty of time to get out and appreciate the day.  Enjoying that I did not need hat or gloves, I walked for a couple of hours around the neighborhood before I went to the Sunday jam to dance.  I picked up a few things that I needed, said hi to neighbors who were also out walking, and looked at trees and clouds and invited myself to be filled with gratitude for what I have.

I was thinking about the exhortation to have the “best possible day.”  Before I started my walk, I got an email from a friend about setting a date for lunch, and she said that she’d had the best holiday possible.  I think it was in response to my wishing her such–the best holiday possible, that is.

I’ve long stopped exhorting people to have a happy holiday or a merry christmas because I have no idea what might be going on with them (or, I do have an idea).  I have enough friends, neighbors, co-workers, and acquaintances who are facing serious challenges–illness, difficulties with work or difficulties getting work, kids stumbling to get through life, relationship complications, elder care navigations, loss of a loved one, or loneliness–that wishing a happy holiday might be kind of clueless.  And then there is the state of society and the world.

Thus, I wish that we are able to recognize and experience what we have that is good (while working to make healthier and more life-enhancing choices/changes for the things that are not good that can be changed) and bring out the best in ourselves in navigating all of life–the best possible holiday, day, year, etc.

best walk 1a best walk 1b best walk 1c best walk 1d best walk 1f best walk 1g

 

 

Similar Posts

  • | | |

    State of the Garden

    ByElizabeth

    I think during World War II, backyard gardens supplied something on the order of 40 percent (don’t quote me on this) of the nation’s produce. Were we to do that, how much it might contribute to alleviating any shortages–with so much of our food from beyond closing borders.

    How might it help shift our growing climate imbalance and social inequality and the hideous chaos it unleashes? Wouldn’t growing some of your own food be a healthy strategy?

    The generous harvest from today’s garden all came up from prior year plantings. I may joke about how many variations of greens and grains and pulses I can come up with, but the greens are from my back garden, bursting with nutrients, and everything else is a long storage pantry item (including in recent years, dried beans, for having grown enough of them). Most anything else is a luxury. I can go a long time between trips to the grocery store and still have well-flavored, healthy, and inexpensive meals.

  • | |

    Coincidence or Correlation (and Overnight Cinnamon Apple Oatmeal)

    ByElizabeth

    On my way to and from work, I watched the buds and blooms–some brown, some bravely hanging on, some withering around the edges and starting to wilt; the cherries–mostly in bud or just starting to open–that haven’t fully blasted yet, will do so by the end of the cold period following the storm.

    I’ve seen years when the cherry blossoms were torn from the trees at their lushest by a violent storm coming through with a cold front and and years when a spring snow added to the blossoms and years when the blossoms were well before or after the parade.  I haven’t seen a year in my over 30 years here, where the blossoms just died from a weirdly early false spring followed by a winter storm with bitter cold.  I am sure it is just coincidence and not correlation that this sorry withering of the loveliest part of Washington spring happened this at this particular time.

    In the meantime, I am certain that I will need to go out first thing in the morning to shovel and then will need to turn on my computer and go to work.  I’m sure I will find the snow (when I am not thinking about the impact on flowering and fruiting perennials), even the shoveling, invigorating and somewhat enjoyable.  To provide nourishment that takes into account the extra exercise and how the shoveling time will impact my usual morning routine, tonight after washing up, I put up overnight apple oatmeal.  Into the slow cooker went a couple of diced apples, a handful of raisins, steel cut oats, cinnamon, a bit of butter, and a dash of salt.  When I wake up, It will smell something like apple crisp, and it will be just the thing to fuel snow shoveling.  With the extra, I will make muffins for later in the week.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.