Thursday, June 30, 2011

Morning ritual: the kitchen


There is nothing like a ritual,
and each morn, I look forward to my ritual in the home kitchen.

After awakening, I walk, slowly and deliberately - from bedroom into kitchen. Our home is small, so the distance from room to room is a short one, albeit long enough to shake off the sleepies.

After surveying the situation to see if there are any unexpected surprises (a note of 'Hello' or 'Please do this or that today' from HubbyDear, a sink full of dirty dishes that were left unwashed from the night before, a dead mouse lying on the floor...),

I proceed to empty the dish drainer of last night's washing. We have an automatic dishwasher, but with only two people living here day in and day out, it takes a week to fill the machine with dishes enough to warrant running a load. Invariably, there are things we need to use again with a day or two. So usually end up hand washing.

The morning drowsiness completely gives way to wakeful energy as I carefully put the dishes away, sort the cutlery into their proper places in the drawers, hang up the pots and pans. I perform these acts with a very deliberate hand, adding to the purposefulness of the ritual.

Next - is setting up for cooking a bowl of oatmeal.
Rolled oats are ready in 5 minutes, steel-cut takes a lot longer (15 minutes), so I opt for rolled. I take down the sparkling glass container of sugar and the other of dried cranberries. Pull the carton of 2% lactose-free milk from the fridge. Choose the perfect sized bowl and spoon. Measure and pour ingredients, mix together, pop in the microwave. Walk back to the bedroom to make the bed whilst the oatmeal is cooking.
Return to the kitchen to put the finishing touches on breakfast, take the bowl of hot oatmeal to the computer desk and proceed to eat while perusing the internet.

I so look forward to this morning solo dance in the kitchen.
Step by meaningful step.
For such a long time, I viewed this set of actions as a ritual.

This year, as I turn the big 6-0, I'm beginning to view it as 'old people routine'.

Yikes.

image of Morning Sun from istockphoto.com

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

incongruent feng shui and other incompatibles


aka
Your Yin is Outta Whack with My Yang
aka
A Few, Just a Few, of My MANY Pet Peeves
aka
I Loves Me a Curmudgeonly Blogpost

* wall mounting a flat screen TV above a fireplace.
- besides providing a small amount of warmth, fireplaces traditionally evoke a sense of the heart of the home. The Hearth. peaceful, crackling, mesmerizing. quiet yet interactive - prompting some, or a great deal - of mental contemplation.
- television sets are visual as well, with their fast flickering images accompanied by visually and audibly jarring advertisements. TV, also mesmerizing - is something of a passive- aggressive, yet minimally interactive, form of entertainment.
- mesmerizing describes both the TV and the fireplace, but to pass the two off as compatible enough to share the same bit of wall space is, well ------ desperate.
and it's gotta be some kind of bad feng shui, right?

* kitchen counter top surfaces that are not conducive to heavy kitchen usage.
- it's almost impossible to find a kitchen counter top that is impervious to the messy realities of cooking, slicing, spilling, burning and slopping foodstuffs. oily spots, berry drippings, coffee and tea stains are to be expected, on numerous occasions, to slosh across the kitchen counter. so why all the fancy schmancy high cost slabs available as kitchen surfaces?

- is there one that is truly compatible with humans wreaking spill, stain and cutting mishaps? most counter top material come with a warning: that normal kitchen use could irreversibly mar or stain the material. hey - shit happens in the kitchen. on the floor (don't get me started on the latest kitchen floor materials...) and on the counter tops. surfaces should be user friendly. cleaned up with a quick wipe off. once in a while, a thorough scrub down. no more. no less.

- silly too, is the idea of presenting one's kitchen as yet another decorative 'admire-but-don't-use-like-the-work room-that-it-should-be' area of the house, with surfaces that are more to look at than to actually perform kitchen duties upon. this too ...... is ludicrous.

* clothes that are not washable with soap and water.
- having to clean an article of clothing (that is not a suit, fur coat or pair of leather shoes) with a special chemical process. 'wear it knowing that it'll cost you $10 to $20 when time comes to clean it' ------ is impractical. for me it is anyway. since most of my togs only cost once or twice the dry cleaning fee.

* social gatherings where just about everyone is plugged into their cell phones, and for all intent and purposes - not socializing - in the least.
- if choosing to ignore others in your midst - and turning full attention to the delights of what your phone or other handheld techno gadget offers, then may I suggest that you and said gadget 'get a room'.
socializing with your cell phone in a setting meant to promote human-to-human interaction ------- is rude.
&%#!ing rude.


Thursday, June 23, 2011

decisions decisions


up.
down.
and upside down.
on how to proceed with my blogging.

here's what i've decided to do.
rather than drop this blog entirely and start up a whole new one ----

for, y'see ----
i've already got a second, photo blog to maintain as well as a third, artsy fartsy one with ongoing painting projects > this one is 'private' and only gets updated once or twice a year...

so, yes.
i've decided to stay put and vary the posts on b's little bit o' dis and little bit o' dat.
much the same, but different.

thanks to your input, i'm planning to get into even more free associating here.
and won't work quite so hard on the entries.
but have them be more frequent.
with more dibbly dabbly doings instead.

WHOT?
continued ramblings based on nothing much at all?
raving and rumbling and retching?
ruminations, rips n' rags?

YEP.
you bet'cha.

xo
to my
readers,
from
b
who is
me.

Friday, June 03, 2011

blank blog page


I've been sitting here staring, for the longest time, at a blank blog page.
What to do.
What to do.

So let me tell you what's on my mind, short of delving into an interesting blog topic that might engage your interest for the next minute or three.

Let's talk about keeping a blog and writing blog posts for it. Personal blogs. Like this one.

b's blog has always been about a little bit o' dis and a little bit o' dat - lacking any particular theme. 'Much ado about nothing' could be an apropos second byline.

I originally set it up that way so I could free-associate about any number of topics, save for politics and religion, of course - which makes for trouble any which way you look at it.

Having this as my blog format has certainly proven a therapeutic exercise in personal interest writing,
and great fun, to boot.
In addition, one always hopes to enlighten and/or entertain the errant internet surfer who happens by now and again.

But
now
I am
seriously
re-thinking my blog.
Considering a re-do.
A re-vamp.
Or to begin
completely
anew.

Seriously.
It's becoming more and more of a challenge to think of subject matter I am inspired to 'blog about'. Tougher to write with any wit/humor/freshness/conviction/passion on a topic that comes (typically, in the middle of the night) to mind. Something that will actually move me to put up a new post.

Perhaps this is a low energy week for me.
Haven't been sleeping well.
Feeling kinda crabby.
Contemplative - now that's always a dangerous sign.

It may not be the most ideal day to consider changing out the blog format.
Yet change is on my mind...

What to do.
What to do.