Eat Pray Love

Written by Heather

I thought about that book title so many times over the day. It seemed to be our theme, though in a unified family quest sort of way.

We felt the need to be home. The weather was fine, we could have ventured out and perhaps we should have. The day before one of our animals had a worrisome vet visit that included a biopsy with a grim looking diagnosis. I didn't feel much motivation to leave home, to leave her. Thankfully my family felt the same.

It turned out to be one of those meandering sort of days - no agenda, not even much of an idea or interest in anything. Just keeping the basics afloat: eating, praying, loving. It made sense to just go with what was in front of us, support each other as needed and check in on our little kitty throughout the day.

There was still the need to be outdoors, to run around freely and feel alive in a physical sense. Always getting creative with our options here - how about a little badminton with a bed of day lilies for a net? Sure!

As for me, I needed to spend some time in the kitchen. Just as my husband heads to garage to think and process something, I go to the kitchen and cook. I especially love cooking something like a soup, pasta saute, or quiche. These things don’t require recipes, I just sort of chop and go... seasoning and layering along the way. 

Many things were going at once. Onions caramelizing, swiss chard chopping and washing, lavender harvested for syrup making, yeast rising for bread. And throughout the day, plenty of moments to just be - with each other and with our animals. 

My favorite part was how the day stretched on and on, it is amazing how much time the internet can erase from our days. 

To learn my method for making quiche, please visit this post for all the details. 

This weekend coming up, the weather looks pretty good and we will get out and enjoy it. We have more answers now than we did last weekend, we have a better idea of what is to come for Hazel. While the prognosis does not look good, I am grateful to have gone with the flow last weekend and followed my instincts to lay low and stay at home. 

Whether a joyful or sad day, “be here now” is an important mantra to me, and our little unplugged practice allows for this in abundance.  

What I am noticing too, is that this mindset is slowly but surely seeping into the rest of our days as well. It is a welcomed companion indeed.