My continuation of Sharon Astyk’s now-completed “Independence Days” project (June-Aug 2022), which offered a framework for recognising how we’re building resiliency, community, and accountability that will make our lives better now and in the future. Many of Sharon’s categories are (or could be) related to gardening, so it seems to fit here on this blog. Equally, none of them has to do with gardening. They’re all multifaceted.
Earlier this year, I modified Sharon’s categories to better match my own life and community. Starting in 2024, I’ll have a new format and purpose for this weekly record. Stay tuned!
- Plant something: plant, start something
Nothing planted, though it’s almost warm enough (51F on Tuesday). There are fungi in the yard.
Began to arrange my new office upstairs this week (formerly a guest room). A long time coming!
- Harvest something: harvest, forage, glean, or bring to fruition
I guess Christmas was brought to fruition, though it was going to happen whether we were ready or not. We were mostly ready.
- Preserve something: food, local community resources
Local resources: Got takeout from local restaurant on Friday for dinner.
- Waste Not: reduce waste, reuse, salvage & repair, give away
Saved a lot of our Christmas wrapping, ribbons, and boxes for next year, as usual.
- Keep Stocked Up: with food and emergency supplies, financial resources, and experiences that make life worth living
Supplies: I ordered more floss and toothpaste from CocoFloss on Friday. Really love their floss.
Financial resources: On Tuesday, I paid online that big medical procedure bill (from May 2022) that was sent to me at Thanksgiving; it was sent to me again (via email), noted as past due, on Christmas morning! The timing of these folks is heartless. Fortunately, I had enough in my (tax-free) health savings account to cover it. Soon I’ll be adding the max amount again to the HSA for 2023 (by April 2024).
Experiences: Honestly, I’ve had better Christmases and birthdays. This one fell flat for me. But I really enjoyed the Jacquie Lawson Advent calendar throughout December — a highlight of the season for me.
This week I enjoyed getting together with a friend on Wednesday afternoon for a few hours to have tea and snacks, catch up, and exchange gifts,
and it was lovely to receive hand-knitted raspberry fingerless mittens from another friend on Saturday.
I took a long walk in town on Tuesday that was very necessary — one of those days I could have walked another few hours — and on the way a friend pulled his pickup truck over, got out, and thanked me for my friendship. That simple gesture was so sweet and appreciated. Big hug!
The takeout Indian food on Christmas and several days thereafter was yummy and meant not having to think about cooking much this week.
I received some very wonderful gifts on Christmas too.
- Food Stuff: learn new food skills, try new recipes, use what’s available in the pantry, use what’s grown/made locally and what’s seasonal
As mentioned, we had takeout Indian food on Monday (Christmas) as well as on Tuesday, Thursday, and (one of us) Friday. We had leftover (from last week) crab bisque on Wed. with a green salad of arugula, black beans, cukes, red bell peppers, and corn. On Friday we got takeout from a local restaurant, which one of us had that night and we both had Sat. and Sun., along with broccolini & garlic on Sat. and couscous with garlic, artichoke hearts, & peas on Sunday. I also made cocktails this week, including rosemary-lime gimlets, a pomegranate gimlet (when none of the stores in town had limes on Tuesday!), and on Sunday negronis.
My husband made a giant loaf of sourdough that’s the best so far (he hand-kneaded it instead of using a mixer, for one thing), which he proofed and rose in a banneton that friends gave us for Christmas.
- Be Neighbourly: contribute to community support systems, look for ways to help neighbours and others
Nothing really. I spent a lot of time in the house this week, reading, watching football (those Georgia Dawgs!), cleaning up from Christmas, and basically not doing a lot. Oh wait! We did pick up some litter on my route (only about 1/4 of my route) on Saturday after noticing it while walking to the library. Check that off the list!
- Skill up: learn new things, especially skills or knowledge that remind us of our place in the natural world and within the social fabric
Husband is still skilling up on sourdough bread making, with new tools and new techniques.
- Tend & Maintain: maintain our bodies, minds, and relationships to keep us resilient; and do what’s needed in the house, yard, and elsewhere to prevent failure/breaking/hassle down the line
Bodies/Minds: I worked out four times (4 hrs) this week and was really into it. I also took that 2-hour in-town walk on Tuesday, but that was the only walk. It rained on Wed., Thurs., and Friday and just wasn’t very conducive to walking most of the week, but also I was just hibernating.
House/Yard: I cleaned up all my Christmas gifts on New Year’s Eve, a little earlier than usual. As mentioned, I worked on arranging my new office upstairs this week. I watered houseplants on Thursday and composted a big jade plant (given to me by a now-93-yr-old friend several years ago) that had been slowly dying over the last couple of months (the friend OTOH seems healthy!). That was sad but it needed to be done. I must have overwatered it but I don’t see how given my lackadaisical houseplant care. Here are healthier houseplants, blooming:
On Friday, I did a load of regular clothes laundry and a small load of sweaters on a delicate cold wash – one sweater was hung, one (90% wool and 10% linen) was ironed and laid flat to dry, and one was tumbled gently on a very low temperature.
Relationships: Texted friends after an important scan one of them had on Wed. Mailed a card and some little gifts (from other friends of hers) on Thursday to a good friend in Vermont. Talked with my sister on the phone for about 40 minutes on Tuesday. Texted a lot with family and friends on Christmas, New Year’s Eve, and in between! Also did quite a bit of emailing with friends this week. Enjoyed catching up with my friend here on Wednesday and the conversation among a few of us (four) on the permaculture Zoom call on Thursday.
- Winter is coming: notice Earth’s seasons and our own seasons of life and daily rhythms, and look ahead to what’s needed now to make life better in the future
Still in hibernation mode, along with the cat,
but some things need to be done this week. I want to plan a new format for this weekly posting and also look ahead for a theme/inspiration for Write 28 Days in February. I need to post and tally/summarise my “books read in 2023” for my other blog in the next day or two. And this very dry Christmas tree will be heading outside to provide some animal habitat asap.
I’m seeing the potential for a winter snow storm next Sat night and Sunday (6th and 7th Jan). Fingers crossed!
Here’s the cat finishing up the last of the brie at a little past midnight New Year’s Eve.
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