There and Back Again

The past two weeks have been a journey. Over the misty mountains, through Mirkwood, and to the Lonely Mountain. Okay, over the Chuckanut mountains, through the mess of Seattle, to the foot of Rainier. Close enough, right?

My new job has required me to travel south, away from my beloved home, for training. All expenses paid (including a per diem, how exciting!) and early days off, but it is disruptive nonetheless. My writing has suffered, my nutrition has suffered, and my sleep has suffered!

Life should regain a new rhythm soon. This is my last week traveling, and then I have one more week of on-the-job training but that is local. After that, I will have a dependable rhythm to my days.

A daily rhythm is important. I wouldn’t want every single day to look the same, how boring! But it is nice to know the basic ebb and flow throughout the days and weeks. To have a framework in which everything slots neatly into place.

Mornings are my favorite time of the day, and I tend to wake up relatively early. About 6 am is ideal and when I tend to wake up most naturally, without an alarm clock. I like to spend the first two hours awake reading, doing my yoga stretches, meditating, and journaling. By 8 am, I am ready for the day. 

My new schedule may mean waking up earlier if I want to maintain my morning rhythm – 5 am instead of 6. My mornings will be spent working, as I have always done, but so will my afternoons. Previously, post-lunch was my creative time – time to sew, paint, work on personal writing, tend the garden, or hike. 

Many of those activities will be best reserved for one of my days off. Others may find a place in my evening rhythm, as I wind down from my day. At least my work days will include plenty of activity and walking, sometimes even in beautiful natural areas.

I must be very honest – I am frightened. I thrive best when I can practice simple, slow living with lots of routine. For a little while, at least, I will be at the mercy of a rotating schedule so I won’t know when I am off, when I am working, or what my day will look like until the week of. 

This is scary.

I do not want to give up the things I love, like writing, poking around in the weeds, cooking for my loved ones, or creating a natural and beautiful home. 

It is time to remind myself that I do not know what the future will bring. So I will prepare a rhythm with plenty of room for the unexpected. I will make up my mind to embrace a bit of chaos in the short term, and be kind to myself when I simply need a break. 

This is how one builds a beautiful life. 

Wren Reads

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

I liked this book a lot more than I thought it would, and I look forward to reading more of this author’s books. It takes place post war London and includes a bit of magic (or is it science?) along with a taste of the historical period.

The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood by Susan Wittig Albert

Yep, another one of the cozy mysteries featuring talking animals, faery folk, and Beatrix Potter as the sleuth! I am absolutely adoring this series and already dreading the day I read the last one.

The Seeing Stone by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

I grabbed this installment of the children’s chapter book series The Spiderwich Chronicles because it makes a nice quick paced read for breaks at work. And of course, these authors never disappoint when it comes to a fun and magical read.

 Written Words

The Lovely Larder

 Another week of work travel meant there were few home-cooked meals. We did have a nice skillet saute, thrown together from fridge odds and ends. I caramelized a onion with an added spoonful of honey and some rice wine (mirin), then tossed in some Italian sausage, shredded cabbage, and sliced mushrooms. Simmered until everything was cooked through and the liquid reduced. Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and lots of thyme to finish. It made a full meal served over rice

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Being in the city, we decided to splurge on some actual ramen as there are few options near home. I thoroughly enjoyed the garlic tonkatsu ramen!

I also decided to have fun with my work lunches. Here’s one I packed that included hummus, naan bread, sausage, grapes, snap peas, chive tomagoyaki, and some dark chocolate squares.

Errata

We had two November birthdays! My sister’s and my son’s girlfriend’s birthday are just a few days apart. Both are wonderful creative, artsy types so I put together similar gifts for both consisting of a handmade kitten pencil pouch and a set of nice drawing pens. I used fabric markers to add the face and other details to each pouch.

These were both quite simple to sew up once I figured out the pattern. I had seen similar pouches on Pinterest, but didn’t feel like purchasing a kit so I engineered my own version. Both gifts were appreciated

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In garden news, pretty much everything is to bed for winter.

•  I pulled the last of the parsnips, as I was worried they’d be impossible to dig if we have a freeze.

•  I’m still harvesting broccoli raab and kale, of course. 

• I renovated the strawberry bed, positioning the runners to maintain spacing and to finish filling in the patch.

• The garlic is finally in, yay!

• I cut back the perennial herbs for winter, and finished pulling the dead weeds and riff-raff from the garden verges. 

I probably won’t do much more in the garden other than dropping off our kitchen compost weekly, and harvesting kale and raab periodically.

"I was wise enough to never grow up while fooling most people into believing I had."

- Margaret Mead

Fondly yours in love, peace, and gratitude,

Jenny Wren