Dear Readers,
Uncharacteristic for me, this past Sunday I had to admit to myself that I was bored. I woke up from a nap feeling a general sense of ennui, which I know had been building for a while. How could that be when on the face if it I am plenty busy with the same old things?
Therein, perhaps, lies the rub: The same old things. After four months, life in quarantine has gotten old. My family and I have established nice, even fun routines. We have settled comfortably into country life. City life as we knew it has vanished, and unfortunately it doesn't seem to be returning any time soon. The fact
that there's no end in sight adds to the ennui. On two recent trips back to Chicago I was appalled at how lifeless the city is. There are no rush hour traffic jams. Favorite restaurants are take-out only. The beaches are cordoned off. Museums remain closed.
57th Street Beach in Chicago as seen from our car window last week. My kids and I used to spend many a summer day there.
Now the sign on the barrier reads "Keep moving." All beaches in Chicago remain closed.
Boredom is not a feeling I am going to tolerate, however new it might be. So I asked myself what I could do about it given the limited choices I have. I needed to get excited about something! Although I don't have a mental list of what to do in case of boredom, I do have one of things that make me feel better
when the blues hit. Surely among those things I could find something that would get me out of that ennui?
My first boredom remedy was to learn something new. I always feel better after doing my Hebrew studies but that fell under the "same old" rubric. Then I remembered I had a free SEO class available from upgrading a plugin on my blog. So I dug into that class, and it worked! Frying my brain on tech stuff and improving my website at
the same time was perhaps not exciting, but it got my attention. And it was a productive way to battle boredom that Sunday evening.
Second remedy: Explore a new place. This is what truly gets me excited! I realized that part of my ennui was due to not being able to travel. I am a traveler, and after a few months of sitting at home, the same old is starting to bother me.
We can't travel like we used to, but we can visit a new place nearby!
So yesterday my daughter and I seized the one day this week when temperatures were in the 70s and headed for Potato Creek State Park. This Indiana State Park is only a 40-minute drive away. Nevertheless we had never
been there because, before quarantine time, we never spent that much time at our country place to feel the need to get away from it.
We had such a wonderful and restorative day exploring that park, I can't even tell you! We hiked through the woods for nearly three hours. It was pleasantly cool and no bugs bothered us. We also only met eight fellow hikers in all that time.
We discovered fun things like this springhouse in the middle of the woods. From a sign we learned that before refrigeration, the farmers in the area built this small storage house over a natural spring to keep their food cool.
After our hike we got to sit on a floating dock (see cover image), enjoy the late afternoon sun and the breeze, and watch those fishermen silently glide past, casting their lines.
Later we drove around to explore the other side of this lake, where the rent-able cabins are located. We enjoyed ice cream cones on a bench by the beach. Now if that isn't a true summer activity, I don't know what is!
Needless to say, that day at Potato Creek Park was pure bliss! It made me feel alive, and it nourished my soul.
So if, like me, you're feeling some ennui these days, I can highly recommend doing a little traveling by exploring a new place nearby. And if you have other recommendations on how to beat boredom, please let me know!
Nature continues to delight with beautiful surprises like these gorgeous blossoms on what I learned is a honey ball bush. It just grows wild around here!
I have also been thinking about anniversaries lately, probably because they are powerful time markers in this time of sameness. Last year at this time we were about to leave for Peru and I am planning to create a bunch of photo essays on my blog to
celebrate and relive that trip. Keep your fingers crossed that I pull that off! (See my post on the Ballestas Islands to see what I am planning.)
July 8 was the two-year anniversary of my hip surgery and I decided to devote a blog post to reflect on the experience:
From all the comments I got, mainly when I shared it on Facebook, I realized, once again, that so many people suffer through surgeries and chronic pain. Yet very few share their experience, even if they are writers. So I guess this is one of my contributions to society...
I also realized that writing down our experience of ailments is a worthwhile contribution to family history. So many ailments run in families! I would love to be able to discuss my hip problems with my grandmother from whom I apparently inherited this predicament. At the very least, it would be helpful to hear who she managed through that pain day to
day.
Last but not least, I don't want to wrap up without sharing a recipe as has been my custom in this newsletter of life during the pandemic.
Remember I talked about all those berries that are ripening on our land? Well, just a few days after I sent that last edition, my son collected a whole box full of serviceberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, and I made the following cake that I adapted from a Martha Steward Living recipe:
Oat Cake with Berries
1/2 stick (4 tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened, more for the pan
3/4 cup flour
1 cup plus 3 tbsp. quick-cooking oats
2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light-brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups mixed berries
Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour an 8-inch square pan. (I used a regular cake pan as I don't have a square pan like that. At home I use a slightly smaller round class pan and the cake is even better in that as the middle remains a bit soggy, which is sooo good!)
Combine 1 cup of the oats with the water and let it stand until the oats have softened (about 5 minutes).
Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
In a medium bowl, beat together the sugars and butter at medium-high speed until the mixture is fluffy (about 3 minutes). Reduce speed to medium and beat in the egg and vanilla until just combined. Be sure to scrape the sides.
Add flour and oat mixtures and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Carefully fold in about half the berries.
Spread batter in pan. Sprinkle with the remaining berries and the remaining 3 tablespoons of oats.
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 40 to 45 minutes. It really depends to the pan you are using, so start checking after about 30 minutes of baking time.
Let cool on a wire rack but serve slightly warm.
We love this cake with whipped cream!
With this summery recipe I shall wrap up for today. I hope you are able to enjoy the dog days of summer, making the best of what is possible during these times.
Be well and feel free to write back! I love hearing how you all are doing.
Greetings,
|
|
|
|
