"Downtime is where we become ourselves, looking into the middle distance, kicking at the curb, lying on the grass or sitting on the stoop and staring at the tedious blue of the summer sky. ... a hiatus that passes for boredom but is really the quiet moving of the wheels inside that fuel creativity." Anna Quindlen
It's a beautiful day, not too hot, not too cold, blue sky with pretty, puffy white clouds, floating gently along. I went for a walk this morning, with an empty mind and a not very athletic body, taking the odd photograph of things beginning with C - my third day of photographing my way through the alphabet. They aren't very wonderful, or indeed, very numerous. This perhaps is my favourite - curls of bark clustered around the bottom of the tree from which they came. But, yes, a bit brown. Other things I saw? A cyclist - almost disappearing out of frame, clouds, an Eltham painted chook, a cone from the pines, chains, cracks in a log, clothes on the clothes line ... A different way of looking at the world however - something to keep the brain working. My greatest thought was to ponder on how the letter C can make three quite different sounds depending on its relationship to other letters. Whilst B is always the same. English is such a non-phonetic language.
However my brain is not working very creatively as regards today's blog. I think it's something to do with the time of year. There's all that frenzy that builds up to the anti-climax, however joyful, of Christmas itself. Then the deathly quiet of the local shops on Boxing Day, because everyone else is either away on holiday or desperately seeking bargains in the sales. And then we are in that period of hiatus between Christmas and New Year. Ready for a new beginning, but somehow not ready to plunge into one, because it's not yet the first of January of a new year. Which, of course, is stupid, because it's just another day.
As regards food I am still in the in-between creation of our Christmas Eve feast and the end of trying to think what to do with the leftovers before they all go off. How much time do I have before the turkey goes off I ask myself. One more day after today? Should I freeze some now? Maybe make some more stock with the really scrappy bits? I managed to make room in the freezer for a few more small items. So why not? That might be the best solution as I think we are both getting a tiny bit bored with turkey this and turkey that.
Even on a heavy leftover week in ordinary time, there is rather more variety in the leftovers, and many more days to turn over to making something new - or at least something derived from what is in the fridge, even if that is past its best too. I really look forward to making something that doesn't involve turkey, even if it's something I have cooked before.
I am tempted to say I am bored. But boredom is really entirely self-inflicted. Because as Bertrand Russell once said:
"The world is full of magical things patiently waiting for our wits to grow sharper."
And those magical things may suddenly appear out of almost nowhere. Below a selection of recent ones: a horse-drawn carriage passing by, clip-clop, clip-clop, as I walked near Montsalvat; that weird pink 'list' of things pasted on some kind of official box, a group of girls dancing in the park; mysterious plants growing underwater, and a 51 year-old son, with his younger son, who still likes to dress up as Santa and spread joy at Christmastime.
Such things happen almost everyday and we must be on the look out for them. You don't have to go on grand excursions to find them. And don't listen to the news. You will hear about the really important things, come what may.
I am also tempted to say it's all just 'same old, same old' - nothing new or exciting around the corner or to look forward to. Which, of course, is just not true, and also at least partly down to one's own actions. I am lucky enought to choose, if I wanted to, to book a flight, pack my bags, and fly to some exotic spot around the world, but mostly I just don't feel like it. Maybe it's because I live in such a perfect environment and have such a great family and group of friends. I want for nothing, and so it is difficult to consider what else I might want - or would like to do. Not cook turkey for a while is my greatest aim in life at the moment.
Which, of course, is so very elitist. The vast majority of the peoples of the world do not live in such idyllic circumstances.
It's a weird time between Christmas and New Year anyway - a hiatus waiting for the new beginning of the next year:
"The problem with waiting until tomorrow is that when it finally arrives, it is called today." Jim Rohn
So keep your eyes out for those little bits of magic every day.
YEARS GONE BY
December 29
2023 - Tasters - this was my last post last year. My mind must have been blank then as well.
2021 - Those damned leftovers - especially the turkey. Which just proves there's nothing new under the sun.
2020 - Marzipan and Eccles cakes
2019 - Hot, hot, hot
2018 - Barbecue party anxiety
2016 - Pesto
Great memories! 😅