Tags
Aging, Bathroom Remodel, Dimensions of Prayer, Douglas V. Steere, Home Restoration, Oklahoma Gardening, Prayer, Sarah Richardson, Snow Storms, Soul Care, True Self
AT HOME, CURRENTLY READING: “The Paying Guests,” by Sarah WatersAfter all the go-go goings defining this long season of Pentecost, I am relishing moments of holy leisure today, the guilt-free sort that arrive on wings of winter chill.
It’s no small miracle the difference a few days can make to one’s priorities and state of mind. Why all autumn long, prior to knowing that there was such a thing as an “ARCTIC BLAST” (“AB”), I’ve been cocooned in an Indian Summer insouciance, preparing the garden for future summers rather than getting ready for the certain reality of a winter that — let’s face it — could have happened anytime.
I put off decision-making on how best to winterize our fountain — whether to store it or keep it operating with a heater — in favor of reworking and expanding large sections of the garden. Rather than taking time to ensure I had paper tape to protect trees most susceptible to sun scald, I instead focused on editing plant material — adding, and relocating plants within my garden… passing along other plants that needed more spacious digs.
So to read how AB ended up catching me off guard could surprise no one… but maybe myself. The day after AB arrived, the fountain was still operating…without its needed heater. Tree trunks of those normally wrapped were still bare. And the most prolific tomato plant I’ve ever been privileged to nurture was loaded with hundreds of little green tomatoes… just waiting for someone to take note… and pick, pick, pick.
The gardener shapes the garden and vice versa, but both are shaped by seasonal changes. Take this winter freeze, for instance. Before this, I’d never considered how effective winter can be at making things happen. When a freeze means do or die, it’s time to do. Which in my garden meant that the fountain heater finally got installed. The trees got taped. And a few hours before temperatures dived below thirty-two degrees, my husband and I picked too-many-to-count little green tomatoes, fifty of which have already ripened.
Winter makes things happen in other ways, too, though often, in less perceptible ways. In an out of the garden, new growth occurs below the surface of life; as roots develop for spring growth within the cold, dark soil, something analogous goes on in the life of this gardener, too, as I’m snuggled into some warm and light-infused spot of my lovely home. Like no other season of the year, winter invites me to settle in and get still, it offers me creative space to catch my breath, to rest my tired body and recharge my spirit, to ponder life and my response to life, often with the aid of a good novel or fine film in front of me.
It also gives me time to ponder future projects I may one day undertake. Last January, my bathroom remodel was the stuff of wintertime day dreams. I devoted time to study of the space. I took measurements. I made lists of features that I’d like to have in my new bathroom. I considered the ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of many remodeled bathrooms that appealed to me. I probably overdosed on remodeled bathrooms designed by Sarah Richardson. But only after pondering all of my wishes and restraints for a very long time did I begin to sketch out possible floor plans. It took weeks to come up with one I was ready to develop further, to invest time needed to selecting materials and fixtures. Marble tile for the floor. Ceramic for the tile wainscoting. Shimmery glass mosaics for the upper half of the shower. Calcutta Gold Quartzite for the countertop. A large vessel tub. Pendant lights.
Buy why bother with words when I can show you the ‘before’ and ‘after’ so easily with photos?
Before.
And after.
And a few more, for good measure.
Most see it as an amazing transformation. But then, how could it be otherwise? It’s always seems to be a step in the right direction wherever light illumines space and whenever narrow views grow to be more opened. What’s true for room design holds true for life in the garden and, most importantly, the life of this gardener, too.
Though, sometimes, I do wonder at all the changes that have taken place within me over the span of my adult life. Changes in attitude. Perspective. Philosophy. Changes that have occurred in my spiritual life and in religious affiliation. My choice in films and novels. My preference in how I furnish my home and dress myself. My taste in food. How I once loved eating a McDonald’s cheeseburger…
Why, even the way I perceive myself has changed. Six years ago, I would never have considered calling myself a gardener, though I did garden a fair amount. So who can say how and when it happened,… I only know that today, I refer to myself as a gardener. And that life as a gardener shapes my view of the world.
These inward personal changes cannot be documented with the ease of ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos, though they live within me nevertheless…which reminds me that “To pray is to change.” Like all the other changes that have slowly shaped my present identity, I cannot pinpoint where I first read…and absorbed…these words. I only know that the saying feels true to my experience.
I pray.
I act.
My actions shape my prayers and my prayers, in turn, shape my actions… until the two blur to become one… and my prayer becomes my action.
In other words, as I often like to say, my life is my prayer. But unlike Douglas V. Steer, I do not know whether I believe that my prayer… or my life… can really tip the cosmic balance (p. 69 of Dimensions of Prayer) of what will occur without either my prayers or my life.
But who can say what impact our words or deeds might have on the lives of others?
Who can say whether or not that maybe we all tip the balance a little every day?
I only know that, today, I’ve settled into sweater weather. And that at certain times in my life, I have felt the warmth of prayers spoken on my behalf as much as I do the warmth of this coral-colored, cotton sweater that, today, covers my arms and heart.
Sweater weather! How grateful I am to be within your seasonal embrace.
Curious sorts might be wondering whether I’ve done little but stew about Oklahoma’s crazy weather since last dropping a few words onto this blog…given the laments of my last post and the headline of today’s…
Juggling these two outside chores has meant not only that I’ve dropped writing, but that I’ve tethered myself to hourly forecasts as if everyday life depended upon them. Of course, in a real way, it has. For I’ve no shame in admitting that slipping my smart phone in and out of my pocket every few hours to see whether the winds of change say it’s best for me to pick up my paint brush… or shovel… or simply head to the showers till another day.. is as natural as breathing… has become (at best) a fidgety tic…. or, at worst, a mild sort of addiction.
This year, in a Fat Tuesday post, I gave up all my lovely planting plans. But come May, I saw I was too quick to give in. Because in spite of our wetter-than-normal summer– or maybe because of it… (since I always seems to get more done when I feel as if I have limited windows of opportunities of “making hay”) — it’s good to report that the bones of all my ornamental gardens are now installed. And that my two year old front gardens — taking up space in this post — are “toddling” about, needing very little attention.
In between all the work, my husband and I are still making plenty of vacation plans … after Alaska, comes Australia and New Zealand….which seems odd, I suppose… to run away from everyday life when it’s time to step back and savor all that’s been accomplished. But such in life, I suppose. And not just for us, it seems, since our very own weather god, Gary England, at the height of a glorious career, will soon be retiring as chief meteorologist for Channel Nine…our local CBS affiliate.
When things stop being fun, whatever “things” are, those lucky enough to have choice in the matter move on to the the next fun thing. For Gary, it’s an executive job at the television station. For me, for now, it’s being outside painting with latex formulas and flowers instead of painting with words at my computer. And I don’t regret a single minute of being away — for what a glorious time it has been to be out of doors. Why this is the first time, in a long time, that Oklahoma lawns have been lush and green entering August. Or that I can recall tomatoes still setting fruit this late in the season, and evening temperatures hovering below eighty at night. Today’s morning forecast is mid-eighties and sunny — a change from yesterday’s 50 percent chance for showers.
Some times, during all that planting and painting, I’ve wondered whose summer weather we have had the good fortune to experience. I’ve wondered whether, perhaps, the jet stream made a wrong turn and lost its way… giving us some other fine state’s weather in the process. Because if I didn’t know better, I’d think I was living in Oswego, New York rather than Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. However it happened, whatever its source, wherever our fine summer weather has hailed from, I don’t imagine I’ll soon forget it. Nor Gary England, the T.V. weatherman, either.
Add the following ingredients to an oven-safe casserole dish and bake 20-30 minutes at 350 degrees.
2 strips of crumbed crisp bacon
1/2 cup of chopped onion, sauteed in 2 Tbsp olive oil.
1 12 oz bag frozen green beans
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup, scant 1 Tbsp, Soy Sauce (original recipe called for Teriyaki Sauce)
1 – 2 Tbsp water
Thanks to Kate, who told Kara, who told me about the wonders of using broth instead of water… to Mom for the bacon… and Aunt Jo for the chopped onions, that she used to season most vegetables cooked upon her stove top. This is a true hither and yon family combination….
2 strips of crumbled crisp bacon
1/2 cup of chopped onion, sauteed in bacon fat or olive oil
2 cans of drained green beans
2 cups of beef broth
Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes before serving.
an everyday life 