taking stock // 5

making: Toothpaste, shampoo, face scrub, litter box deodorizer- all relatively simple. I'm not spending an inordinate amount of time doing these things. It looks more like throwing together some toothpaste in the morning when I realize I'm out, or quickly looking up natural litter deodorizers and throwing it in the stinky box before rushing out the door.

drinking: Water filtered with charcoal and held in glass Weck jars. How very fancy.

reading: New Seeds of Contemplation by Thomas Merton. Trying to chew on a little bit each morning.

wanting: I have been wishfully eyeing Vetiver essential oil for months- said to increase concentration, memory and calm. 

watching: Our garden grow. Alice and I stroll around our yard daily to check on things and cheer them on. "Great job pear trees! Looking good!" and "Good work sugar snaps! Keep going!" Alice plays along and occasionally applauds. 

listening: It is all Beatles and Johnny Cash in our home these days. Sure wins to get Alice dancing. "The World of Peter Rabbit" is on in my car. 

eating: Jake made the best BBQ chicken pizza for dinner last night.

smelling: The last of the lilacs. They're already passing- don't they smell like thick perfume at the end? 

wishing: That we had land enough for goats. That's the other thing we've been watching- goat husbandry videos on youTube. A younger version of myself is laughing at me right now. 

enjoying: I discovered a little park on the campus of our office park! It has picnic tables and tall trees and bright sunshine (this week anyway). I had it all to myself at lunchtime today and it was so lovely I cried. That's what those pics up top are from. 

loving: Dreaming about goat farming with Jake! He's sometimes taken off guard by the sincerity with which I dream of wide open spaces and all the animals we can manage. Fair enough- it wasn't so long ago that I thought I'd end up back in NYC. 

hoping: For lots and lots and lots of Alice hugs. Every now and then she pats my back as if she's consoling me. It is my favorite thing in the whole world. 

needing: For Alice to be happy when I leave for work. When she's sad, it throws me into a disheartened funk for the whole day. I'm stuck with that image of her crying and reaching for me as I leave. Can you tell that we had a rough goodbye this morning? 

feeling: Ready for the weekend. SO READY.

wearing: This chambray (a Christmas gift from Jake's folks). I'd wear it everyday if I could. It matches every skirt I own- easy-peasy grab from the closet. I understand why she wears the same thing everyday. Simplifying is addictive. 

bookmarking: This journal about living simply, naturally. This blog about young goat farmers in VT.