Tag Archive | self care

Breakfast for Dinner

Feb22

It was a beautiful Saturday: abundant sunshine, spring warmth, not too much mud in the yarden or the woods. While sitting on the stone bench on the south side of the house I spotted one butterfly floating by, and another landed shortly after in the gravel a few feet away. From this terrible shot I used the iNaturalist app to identify it, and the Audubon butterfly app to confirm that it’s likely a Milbert’s Tortoiseshell, new to me. I’ll take it. It felt great to spend an hour outside trimming bunch grasses in the south border to clear the canvas for spring bulbs, and cutting the tall grasses around the cherry tree in the garden. What felt the best was my ability to bend and reach and move without any support other than my own two feet. At five months out from the hip replacement, I’m not quite a graceful swan yet, but hardly ever need to use the cane.

I am still using walking poles to roam the forest with my tiny crew. What’s that sticking out of that tree? And where’s Wren, in the photo below? They’re so much fun.

We stayed away from the burrow today, but these two faced off in the shadows under an ancient juniper. Seconds after I zoomed in for the image below, Topaz reached up and tapped Wren as though counting coup, whereupon Wren darted away and circled back to me. I count that as progress, that Topaz didn’t smack or scratch Wren, and that Wren didn’t retaliate but bounced away playfully.

There’s a compelling synopsis of the past week’s White House outrages in the Democracy Index from Joyce Vance on The Contrarian. This is a weekly feature giving a clear picture of trends and providing talking points. After a relatively easy and calm day light on politics and work, I finally made the dinner I’ve been dreaming about for weeks: waffles with blueberries.

I’ve never made waffles, can you imagine? Or, maybe I tried once a hundred years ago, I have a vague memory of a disaster. A year ago I bought a mini-waffle iron partly because it was advertised as also making hash browns. But I had yet to use it! The blueberries were approaching their turning point, so it had to be soon. I mixed half a batch of batter, froze six waffles, and layered three with butter, topped with Greek yogurt, blueberries and Vermont maple syrup. It was every bit as fulfilling as it looks. I’m always grateful when I get to enjoy breakfast for dinner.

Engage, Rest, Repeat

Feb18

Wren and I got a special treat yesterday when I had to leave my car at the shop for a couple hours. A friend picked us up and took us to The Velvet Lounge, a private venue hiding in a Victorian house in town, where she entertained us with original live music and treated us like princesses.

I sat in a comfy chair at a little table with a cold beverage and a plate of snacks. Wren sat in the chair next to me for awhile, and seemed to really enjoy the show. After awhile she crawled into my lap for a hug and curled up. In the warm, inviting ambience we enjoyed a deep and rejuvenating rest.

I’m energized and grateful for having participated in our local Indivisible meeting online this afternoon. Our usual one-hour meeting lasted forty minutes longer, so filled with enthusiasm and intention were we. Our numbers doubled with new members since we reconvened a month ago. If you’re looking for a way to get involved in saving our democracy, check out some of these links that we compiled. Each day, engage, rest, repeat: and amplify the good work by getting others involved. We’re in this together!

ESSENTIAL:

https://indivisible.org

https://indivisiblecolorado.net

https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com

Vetted INFORMATION SOURCES for news and actions:

Robert Hubbell https://roberthubbell.substack.com

Robert Reich https://robertreich.substack.com

Heather Cox Richardson  heathercoxrichardson@substack.com

Joyce Vance joycevance@substack.com

Ryan Grim https://substack.com/@ryangrim

Harry Litman https://harrylitman.substack.com/?utm_source=global-search

Inside Medicine, up to the minute public health news: https://insidemedicine.substack.com

Let’s don’t forget the climate: https://350.org/?r=US&c=NA

ARTICLES

Here is the link to the Atlantic with images of some of yesterday’s nationwide Not My President’s Day rallies, ranging from Alaska and California to Massachusetts and Florida:         

https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2025/02/thousands-gather-protest-against-trump-musk/681721/?utm_source=atl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=share

February 28 Economic blackout Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/nationwide-economic-blackout-february-28-list-stores-being-targeted-2030269

From Choose Democracy: https://choosedemocracy.us/what-can-i-do/?fbclid=IwY2xjawIcqiRleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHXmNa7WUAZqJwiSB-98yUY_Qa-GWrE_NUNKyYUJAeShgGQUA7V3obC-4Fg_aem_yUKME3-xczyin1bVWZrDzA&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

X-Rays

Dec14
It’s their third winter together. I had hoped by now they’d be cuddling in front of the stove. I was grateful to see them lying peacefully, but seconds after I took this Wren succumbed to the Topaz vibe and gave up the rug, went back to her pillow. Oh well. At least they’re communicating in their own way.

The broccognocchini that kept on giving. For the second leftovers, I sautéed sliced portobello mushrooms and the next-to-last garden onion, then tossed in the gnocchi and more tomato sauce. Simple. Delicious.

The third leftover meal was even more simple, gnocchi boiled, drained, back in the pot with more red sauce, topped with parmesan and fresh chopped basil from the sunroom. The fourth and final leftover leftovers from the night before came out of the fridge, got a dollop of mayo, half a can of cannellini beans, celery salt, a sprinkle of homemade paprika, a sprig of fresh parsley, and an accidental cat hair I only just now noticed in the picture! Ick. And oh well. Hope I shook it off before I broke up the parsley but I don’t remember. The salad was delicious anyway. And so simple.

And now for something completely different! I’m grateful for a gold star at my three-month post-op visit. How the time has flown by! On the one hip, I mean hand, it’s hard to believe it’s been that long: I still remember that full moon night in the hospital vividly, and how utterly helpless I was when I first came home. On the other hand, it feels like a long journey from then to now, walking around without the cane half the time in the house, squatting to put firewood in the stove for the first time in years, shoveling snow, going up and down stairs like a grownup this week. Because the PT exercises gave me such trouble in my right hip initially, they x-rayed that as well as the left hip last week. The news was great for both hips: mild arthritis on the right side, just a little pinch at the front but a good smooth ball joint, “nothing like the deterioration of the other one”; and good bone growth starting onto the socket cup and top of the post in the right hip. He could see it, I can’t, but I’m willing to take his word for it. Not for the first time in my life, I’m grateful for x-rays.

Driving home after a successful venture out into the world, I was grateful to see this beautiful big buck strolling into the woods along the driveway. I paused and savored the vision. He was like my prize for a good doctor visit, for good healing, for taking care of myself.

Planting Seeds

Jul28
Here I’ve tipped over and pinned the arugula stalks, in order to open sun space over the carrots beyond, and to allow self-sowing of any little rockets that pop out of the drying seedheads. In between I planted rows of flowers I failed to get started this spring. If they make it, great; if they don’t come up, oh well.

I’m grateful that the monsoons are truly upon us, even though there’s been precious little moisture on this mesa. The foothills are getting some rain, and we a bit farther west are getting humidity and clouds. This helps the plants and ground (and our skin) retain some moisture, and keeps the temperature down in the 80s and even 70s for much of the day, a welcome respite. Wren helped me plant some seeds this morning, anticipating a midday shower though none came. I resorted to a watering can to set flowers, lettuces, cilantro, and two varieties of carrot seeds into the soil, grateful for a forecast of moderate temperatures and increasing chance of precipitation over the next two weeks. I’m grateful for planting seeds both in the garden, and in my heart and mind: seeds of kindness, forgiveness, compassion, and equanimity. What we water grows.

I’m grateful for this beautiful Sirenevyi sweet pepper harvested this morning. I used half of it along with some red onion, basil, oregano, and ricotta cheese to make stuffing for the four blossoms the zucchinis offered up. After sautéing diced pepper and onion and chopping the fresh herbs with the herb scissors I mixed them up with a pinch of salt and pepper, stuffed the flowers, and put them in the fridge for later.

Then we did some other things for awhile.

And then it was time for a late lunch. I had awoken achy and queasy, and optimistic for rain, so I cancelled Boyz Lunch. It was a hard call. It turned out to be for the best, though it never did rain. I was forced to eat the fried blossoms by myself. No shortcuts this time! I made the batter with one egg, a third cup of flour, and a quarter cup of 7-Up. The recipe calls for beer, but what it wants is the bubble action, and the soda worked fine. The smooth thick batter clung beautifully to the flowers and fried to a golden light crisp.

I mixed a dip with some mayo and sour cream, and a splash of Penzeys Arizona seasoning. I added some chopped celery and mayo to leftover cold pesto pasta, garnished with some sliced avocado, and enjoyed another simple, virtuous lunch. It brings me great pleasure to prepare simple, delicious meals, even just for myself. Like many single people, I used to think it wasn’t worth cooking for one. It’s been a long road to learn that I deserve my love and compassion as much as anyone else does. And it’s been a joyful journey learning how to make the most of simple ingredients and techniques, leftovers, and effortless aesthetic touches. I’m grateful I’m finally learning to care for myself.