Assuming comfort food is code for food that’s very palatable but not necessarily good for me, I have to go with a big plate and seconds of spaghetti and meatballs, or pot roast with mashed potatoes and gravy, or sausage gravy and biscuits with a couple of fried eggs, topped off with a decent sized piece of apple or pumpkin pie and a chunk of dark chocolate.
Tag: dailyprompt
Fun ‘n’ Games
Probably Solitaire. I can just take out my phone and play a game. It’s on my iPad, too. Dominos are fun, and so are Cribbage and Pitch/Setback. The grandkids are getting old enough to enjoy some of the classic board games, like Trouble and Sorry, even Blokus. I don’t have the time for or interest in committing to Monopoly, or anything like that. I like games that involve some strategy, but are moreso just fun to play with a few other people.
Mostly Basic Fare
I’d like to learn how to make bread. I’ve watched my wife do it many times, but have never tried it myself. It’s an art, of sorts, and a commitment.
Falafal would be on the To Do list. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a general familiarity with the Mediterranean diet and various spice palates, be able to whip up a tasty meal at a moment’s notice, but I’ve never felt inclined to invest the time.
I think I could live on stews and soups.
Easy Choice
Dogs, though cats are less labor intensive and lead a more autonomous existence. As I was once reminded, they’ve been domesticated for about half as long as dogs, and it shows sometimes. And, at least in this neck of the woods, we don’t have to worry about feral dogs.
Absorbed In A Moment
Writing, listening to music, watching a good TV show or movie, reading, sometimes working outside. Quite a while ago, I once sat at the piano for three hours and remember marveling over having been there playing away for all that time.
At the moment…
Water in our basement is bothering me. Water doesn’t belong in basements. We had over 4 inches of rain in about 3 hours yesterday, and the saturated ground revealed some shortcomings in our foundation’s capacity for repelling water. In the larger scheme of things, it’s a mere flesh wound compared with what’s been happening in other places around the country and world, but it’s still a pain to deal with.
And of course the ongoing follies and painful reality of the current presidential administration is an ongoing dark cloud. Washington hasn’t seen such crass ineptitude and evil intent since, well, the first go ’round five-plus years ago.
Decalogue, of a sort
The sun will rise and set.
Humans will continue to be brilliant and short-sighted in varying measures for the foreseeable future.
In the absence of love, we suffer.
Time is a construct.
Clean drinking water is a necessity.
There’s no need for all the food prep shows.
The universe is huge.
We don’t all share the same musical tastes.
More isn’t necessarily better.
The earth will survive our ignorance and mismanagement, but we won’t.
Variations In Routine
Yes.
Security, and adventure on my terms. I don’t need to be scaling a sheer cliff or swimming with Great Whites in order to have a good day. I’m definitely not an adrenaline junkie, never have been. I feel plenty alive most days just tending to yard work, playing with the grandkids, or taking a walk with my wife. I consider the 26 years I spent as a pastor the adventure years, since I lived most every day so far out of my comfort zone.
Kind of boring, I guess.
For Starters
Daily writing prompt
If you could host a dinner and anyone you invite was sure to come, who would you invite?
Assuming this would be a meal hosted by my wife and I, I would invite our siblings and spouses, kids and spouses and grandchildren, a few college friends, Paul McCartney, Bobby Orr, Billy Joel, Pete Buttigieg, Desi Lydic, Rachel Maddow, Paul Simon, Bill Nye, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Greta Thunberg, David Brooks, Jonathan Capehart, Amna Nawaz, Geoff Bennet, and the cast from The Big Bang Theory. It’d be a catered buffet at a local community center.
Distillation
Certain relationships, one’s appreciation for being alive, i.e. slowing down and savoring a moment. Maybe you stop worrying so much about some things, while other things emerge– the sand in the hourglass dynamic helps one clarify, become more proficient at prioritizing, saying no and saying yes. Relationships move up the list in importance, and maybe the need to keep up with the Joneses fades– because that was always an unwinnable rat race, anyway.
Maybe as one ages, one gets better at discerning what’s real, what feeds the soul.
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