The Things I Used to Do

A sunny April morning at 10 am but still dark when I woke at 6. I’m not bouncing out of bed yet. I am more bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. I am grateful for what I am and for what I have. I am still me. I have my spirit though it is a bit dampened. I have recovered my hearing. It, too, is a bit dampened. I can hear the running of the furnace and the flush of the toilet. I can carry on a converstion, listening and speaking, no longer relying on pen and paper.

Life is good. It is full of wonder and mystery. I try to bask in the warmth and light. I try not to ask too many whys to questions that have no answers. I am still healing. I do not want to lose any unnecessary energy. I try to dwell in moments of “remembered wellness.” I pray and ask for prayers. It all has helped me to be here today – tapping on the keyboard, finding my way back to the things I used to do. I’m doing it slowly, taking James Clear’s advice from his book Atomic Habits. I want to make things easy.

THE THINGS I USED TO DO

I woke up this morning. The jukebox in my head was playing. First, it was Bobby Darin singing Splish, Splash, I was taking a bath. It was a good waker upper. Then he was singing Things, another good one that got me thinking of things I used to do.

It got me started thinking. What happened? Why did I stop? Why don’t I start doing them again? So this morning, I made 2 jars of fermented beets, using this recipe. I flavoured them with coriander seeds, ginger and orange rind. It takes a week. They look pretty, don’t you think?

Another thing I used to enjoy was making sourdough bread. It was quite an adventure for me, starting from scratch, making my own starter. Then somehow, I stopped but kept feeding Oscar, the starter for sourdough pancakes every Sunday. We had the pancakes this morning. Now, I am in the processing of making one loaf of sourdough bread.

I don’t know why I stopped. It is actually quite easy. I used the recipe on this site. It is a slow process. It won’t be ready to bake till Tuesday morning. The photo was after the first pull and fold. I have to do a few more tonight and let it sit covered tonight. Then I have to prep it tomorrow and let it sit in the fridge till Tuesday to bake. Here’s hoping for a fantastic loaf.