Now seems like the perfect time to go back to a daily ritual of writing down 3 idle pleasures, or as others might say, things that I am grateful for. With every day rife with fear and anxiety it seems apt to focus on all that is good.
At first I thought this would be an impossible task. Listening to the news for Ontario’s prediction had me on the edge of tears. A normally swaggering Doug Ford had a look on his face that I could only describe as fear. The news was bleak with only a sideways mention of timeframe. They gave death predictions for the next 18 months, numbers based on assumptions of current ‘social/physical distancing’. They’d be putting stricter measures in place.
Thankfully, preparations for supper interrupted and I headed to the kitchen, which brings me to the biggest pleasures of my day. Bread, buns actually, were needed for tonight's Italian Beef sandwiches. It was a new to me recipe which came together beautifully. My kitchenaid took care of most of the kneading, but of course I had to get my hands on the dough for a few minutes! After the first rising, I punched it down - is there any sensation as wonderful? Little balls of dough (not very evenly proportioned) were laid down on baking trays. A second rising and they were in the oven. Oh my, the smell of fresh bread has to be up there in fragrances that soothe the soul. So as you can see, it was an afternoon full of pleasures.
The pleasures didn’t end there. I tried a new recipe for Italian Beef and it was wonderful. I never knew that getting a rare, yet tender and moist roast cooked in the instant pot was possible. Thinly sliced then piled on fresh buns, topped with spicy pickled vegetables made for a 5 star meal. Oh gosh, so good looking and the flavour!
The thing about knowing I am going to write down my pleasures is that I tend to pay more attention through the day, and then when there is something, I have to keep it forefront in my mind so I don’t forget. This has the effect of stretching the pleasure for the whole day.
I challenge you to write down your three pleasures in the comments. Let’s keep this up while we adjust to our new reality!
Headline tonight: Trump intercepts an order of N95 masks sent to Canada. Ontario predicts 3,000 to 15,000 deaths. There are a total of 12,375 (11,283 yesterday) cases of Covid-19 in Canada today, with 208 (173 yesterday) deaths to date.
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
~Paulo Coelho
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