I think my brother is right, winter break is boring. The problem I have is that I go from being ridiculously too busy with work, and cookie season, and general holiday preparing, then the holidays are over and I get some free time, and I don’t wanna do the stuff I should do. And this year, I think it’s been especially acute because we’ve had fewer people in the house, so no cooking adventures – or limited anyways, plus everyone’s starting to feel surfeited with rich food from the holidays. I mean, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day there were only four of us, New Year’s Mark and I went out, and Megan and John made steak frites in, and on New Year’s Day morning only me and Mark for brunch. And no more School Woods brunches. So I can’t get too carried away with elaborate meals.
So yea, like the bro says, thoughts of all the things you should do don’t really have the power to get you off the couch. I’ve been reading a lot, and watching TV, and the last couple of nights have gone to bed on the early side, around 10:30 – 11:00, with a book, and then slept in, 7:00 AM or even later. I’m reading this, by Michel Faber, and a book about Alex Chilton, with the same title as one of his records, although I have to admit I skimmed a lot of the section where the author detailed how the Chilton family got to American in 1660 (even though Alex himself did the genealogy), and didn’t really pay attention until the 1930s, when Chilton’s father Sidney was playing jazz. Funny coincidence, when the obit for John Fry came on the radio this morning, and I’d just been looking at his picture at Ardent studios in the book. I’ve been watching the Sopranos – I’m up to season 3, and almost to where I started watching last winter, when HBO was running them at 10:00 PM weeknights. But it’s spotty – it must be a combination of me falling asleep, plus some episodes get played more than others. I watched one yesterday that I swear I have never seen at all, but the next one up, Pine Barrens, I’ve seen multiple times. I started watching Lillyhammer, and got Mark started, and we’ve also been watching The Honourable Woman. And of course, Downton Abbey Season 5 premiere tonight – can’t wait.
I think mostly, I just feel guilty. And worried that I’ll get fat, or fatter, because I’m not exactly thin – during cookie season, I spend so much extra time on my feet baking into the night, that I am sure I burn more calories than my post-holidays couch potato life style. Although I did shovel snow yesterday morning and this morning. Mark and I walked to the downtown indoor farmers market yesterday, and today I went for a little walk after the snow shoveling – and I’ve been doing pretty well at keeping my resolution of 10 minutes of yoga per day. Another piece on NPR reminded me that I’m not doing as well at daily meditation. I kind of stopped sometime last fall, when I got up to 20 minutes and couldn’t fit it in as easily in the morning, and exercise, too. Maybe I could meditate as soon as I get home from work …
Yesterday I made granola (see above, and below) and roasted vegetables, and was planning some kind of dinner featuring leftover black-eyed peas – but we went to a movie – The Theory of Everything, so ate our separate dinners. At least, I ate some of the leftover black-eyed peas, with the last of the greens, and some of the vegetables I had just roasted. Not sure what, if anything, Mark ate. I had tea, and we shared a few of the last jam cookies when we got home after the movie.
Almost the last of my winter share CSA box roasted: carrots, sweet potato, parsnips, green & purple cabbage. Still have a big bag of beets & half a celeriac in the basement
Apricot almond granola. It has pumpkin seeds & ground flaxseed in it too, and maple syrup instead of honey
I did finally do one of the things I’m supposed to do, today – sort and recycle papers and magazines. Yay! I guess I can get a little more couch time, now. And it’s back to work tomorrow, anyways.
Boxing day, but January 4th, and the papers are going into a kitty litter bucket instead of a box
