Tending heart and hearth

Sunday afternoon, over a foot of snowpack outside, and I've finally been able to carve out time to catch up on reading and writing.  

I've been so wrapped up in work these days that my old hobbies now seem like luxuries, and when the evening comes and all work and chores are finally completed for the day, I typically have only about an hour left to decide what to do with before it's time to crawl under the covers.

But I don't want to complain or come across as ungrateful for my work. For me, it is just a matter of making sure to eke out these little blocks of time each week, wherever I can find them, to keep from losing the essence of myself. While career and domestic duties take up the bulk of time, still it is crucial to keep the fires of heart and hearth tended as best I can too. I assume many of us are in this same boat, going about it all in the most sincere and balanced way we can.

So after checking off all the work tasks and deadlines this past week, and having finally shaken off most of the jet lag from our cross-country flight back home last Saturday, I spent yesterday doing one of my very favorite things: riding with my husband through wild and winding mountain roads, listening to our favorite music, enjoying a breakfast sandwich and coffee, off to explore new territory. 

We ended up clambering up Kruger Mountain, which was 1,000 feet of elevation gain in 3/4 of a mile - not the most gentle first hike of the year, but certainly served to shake the dust off!

Eventually, we ran into hard snowpack and weren't able to go any further, so we sat a while and looked out over the Similkameen River, toward Ellemeham Mountain and Nighthawk, and listened to coyotes oo-yip over whatever little [unfortunate] snack they had just procured before side-shuffling our way back down.

This morning, I slept in only a little, as glimpses of a blue sky and sunshine teased me on up and into the day. The local mule deer were knocking at the front door, as they do most mornings for me, so I quartered a couple of apples which they took from my hand. 

After a hot shower, we teamed up for some house cleaning, and then with the house smelling like Palo Santo and Dr. Bronner's eucalyptus (which I use to mop with), we enjoyed some butternut squash pancakes before each parting ways to get into our respective inspirations. I have tinkered, washed all the linen bedding, organized, enjoyed a conversation, started flower seeds, but mostly read, with my beeswax candle companion swaying alongside. 

Now, I sip a hot cocoa, while the light outside weakens and blues. It's nearly time to start dinner, and to curl up on the couch with my love, before tomorrow morning's alarm sounds again. This week is full of meetings and tasks, lots of talking to people about websites and their search engine rankings, and while I am in it, I must switch my brain almost entirely into a world of other concerns. But restful and grounding weekends like this help bring me back to what I am, what I love, and give me something to glance at sideways throughout the week when I begin to feel overwhelmed and thin.

"... I love Pascal’s phrase that you should always keep something beautiful in your mind. And I have often — like in times when it’s been really difficult for me, if you can keep some kind of little contour that you can glimpse sideways at, now and again, you can endure great bleakness." (John O'Donohue, The Inner Landscape of Beauty - listen here)