Blessings

We live in a huge house in a quiet neighborhood. We have a skylight and two sinks in the bathroom. There is a we to speak of. There are dreams that are more than things you scatter and pile in a basement. We are free from illness and hunger and free from want. We have jobs where we are valued and well compensated. We can cook what we like and watch movies or just read quietly. We can live without harm and help each other grow.

Early August Heat

-An overactive icemaker that can be heard for miles around
-The bottom drawer of the fridge freezes everything you give it on account of a vent that circulates air between the freezer and fridge compartments
-Getting used to (a new set of) other people's kitchen and cleaning habits
-Condo association regulations on the size of trashcans
-A little less space that is indisputably my own
-Violence Cormac McCarthy describes in minute detail that only seems to lead to more fastidiously explicated violence

An afternoon spent stewing

The kitchen is heating up gradually and it's on account of me! Stew day is here. We have pounds of carrots, potatoes, cabbage, and broth. We have gas (as of Thursday). We have a drafty, commodious new house to fill with smells of cooking. What better than stew to solve these problems?

The container of Trader Joe's Carrot Ginger Soup in the pantry was calling my name too (and the expiration date was calling 8/9/2012, more pointedly).

The color orange has figured prominently in my life at home of late. It's A's favorite color. Orange is quite visually attractive, I've decided spontaneously after being exposed to it so much. A stew of sweet potatoes, carrots and curry powder; are we detecting a theme here?

DC Tap Water

Hot days make you want to stay inside, where the air moves artificially. Crumbs on a plate. Audio is my favorite. Newspapers pile up during the week. A giant pot of beans benefits from the addition of corn. End tables can be moved easily. A sandwich in a box reminds me of you last night at dinner. An undefeated person should think about not playing anymore.

With the lights out

Power outage for 24 hours that had me thinking of dystopian fiction. What if we lived in a land of constant shortage? How would I provide for my unborn children? We're incredibly reliant on electricity. I counted myself accomplished just to make coffee this morning by the elementary step of pouring boiling water over grounds in a filter. This can't mean anything but that I'm coddled. Resolved: to find ways to decrease my reliance on cars and electricity, even in this suburban Maryland environment. I might have to become a pedestrian activist, or an activist pedestrian, or both.

Clear some space out so we can space out

I'm about to accuse myself of being insincere- would anyone like to defend me?

A bientot

She stood, not 6 feet away and leaned down and waved at him, smiling the brightest smile. Just saying goodnight, for the second time. It was a moment of untrammeled happiness. She smiled and waved and smiled more. He couldn't even see her without ducking beneath the roof of the car, and yet there she was, waiting for a reaction to her happiness.

Hello

He is happy. He is drinking coffee in the morning, or walking at lunchtime, or driving on long flat stretches of road at night. And happy and surrounded by love and light and warmth. Peace came on suddenly, with the knowledge that it was there all along and could be found again.

In our post-industrial Western democracy,

Cooking as career seems counter-intuitive. Too much striving and slaving for something that ought to be magical and exciting. To prove my point, I'm making curry while I write this post. To wit, I already made rice pilaf this evening. It was simple, enjoyable, and gave me the thrill of the chemistry experiment I never knew how to do. Why beat all the fun out of that activity? This will have to be one of the places where I stand on simplicity.