Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Winter Idyll

A winter ice storm has kept me home from school for the second day in a row now. Pure luxury! To stay in where it is safe and warm, a perfect excuse not to leave the house. For a fairly social person like myself, that doesn't happen very often.

Making the most of it, I spend time in the kitchen. So far, I've made a batch of ginger snap cookies for Derrick, two loaves of seed bread, carrot bread, and banana bread. A roast chicken with orange and carrots for dinner last night and a lasagna with garlic toast for dinner tonight. Not to worry! I'm not eating all of this (well maybe the seed bread) . . . I'll most willingly share with my school friends upon return. And hopefully have enough left over to take to the lake this weekend. How I love the smell of baking, the sight of raw ingredients mixed together, and the actual tactile exercise of mixing. Without a doubt, I get the best deal when I'm the cook, not the ones I share with. They only get the end product. It is the process of cooking I love so much.

The gift of this extra time off has also let me work on a sewing project. I'm determined to have the purple dress ready to wear Saturday! Not to mention the time to fuss over the current mixed media piece, wanting to get it just right. Other teachers are spending their time doing taxes, working on lessons, progress reports, and such. A glimmer of guilt runs through me when I think of those things I also need to get done. But it fills my soul to work on some creative projects instead, something that doesn't happen for work projects.

Last night, eating our roast chicken in front of the television, Derrick and I watched Dr. Zhivago, one item on my "Things To Do List" before he leaves home. Wanted to do it over Christmas break, but never had time. I knew he'd like it! And he did! Such a treasure to have a son like him. Not at all what the stereotype of a teenage son brings to mind. Now he wants to know what other movies Omar Sharif was in. So watching Lawrence of Arabia gets added to the list.

These days of idyll are so precious. I hope they get added to Derrick's storehouse of memories. Much as my memory of spending time with my family in late January of 1978 fill mine. Everyone deserves to have those memories to call back, days filled with simple nothings and the comfort of being cozied in with those we love.

Watching Dr. Zhivago before bedtime sent my romantic mind to dreaming. I dreamt of a long ago love for the first time in years. He was quite present to me in the dream, in the way that was the best with him. Thankfully the dream didn't include all the angst associated with him and the torture of letting go. Must be a good sign, ready for a new love to take root. Bright days ahead.


(Photo of the steps via my niece Jessica, downtown Chicago.)

Winter Birch

Winter Birch

Books Recently Read

  • Grace (Eventually) Thoughts on Faith by Anne Lamott
  • Think Like a Freak by Steven Levitt
  • Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
  • The Red Tent by Anita Diamond
  • The Dinner by Herman Koch
  • The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
  • A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
  • The Lake House by Karen Morton
  • Memories of Heaven by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  • The Whip by Karen Kondazian
  • Purity by Jonathan Franzen
  • The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
  • The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain
  • The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty
  • The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker
  • The Rosie Effect by Graeme Samson
  • The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
  • My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor
  • Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
  • Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
  • I Can See Clearly Now by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  • The Best Part of the Day by Sara Ban Breathnach
  • Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline
  • The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
  • Chanel Bonfire by Wendy Lawless
  • The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
  • Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
  • Gentlemen and Players by Joanne Harris
  • Peaches for Father Francis by Joanne Harris
  • Five Quarters of the the Orange by Joanne Harris
  • Blackberry Wine by Joanne Harris
  • The Girl With No Shadow by Joanne Harris
  • Chocolat by Joanne Harris
  • The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - A Novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
  • There Are No Accidents by Robert Hopcke
  • You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay
  • We Thought You Would Be Prettier by Laurie Notaro
  • The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron
  • Room by Emma Donoghue
  • House at Riverton by Kate Morton
  • Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes
  • The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron
  • Peace and Plenty by Sarah Ban Breathnach
  • The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
  • On a Day Like This by Peter Stamm
  • Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay
  • Brida by Paulo Coelho
  • A Stopover in Venice by Kathryn Walker
  • Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho

Cats don't belong to people. They belong to places. - Wright Morris
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