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On gardening, reading, and dreaming

tabboulah
Lilac bush budding in April


Yesterday was a spectacular spring day. After getting dumped on with a late snow in mid-April, and then days and days of cold wet rain, the sun and 70-degree weather was a welcome respite. 

Gardening

We headed into the garden early, just after breakfast, with carrot, radish, and lettuce seeds in hand. All cool weather crops, we usually have luck planting them early. If all goes well, we’ll be eating from our garden in mid to late May. The rest of our plantings will have to wait until Mother’s Day weekend or later, when the chance of frost is long past. 

Cooking

As we poked around the garden, we were able to harvest some kale and parsley which somehow survived the winter. To celebrate, I made a big bowl of tabbouleh which will take care of a few lunches this week and made creamed kale to go with the shrimp and grits my husband made for dinner last night. I don’t know why I feel so much happier when I’m eating food directly from my garden, but I do. I know it’s all in my head, but I feel the vitamins and minerals infusing my body, bringing me health and energy directly from the place I call home.

After doing some weeding and raking, I took a little walk around the garden, snapping some photos and enjoying the yard in this emergent stage of life. I feel an infinity to this time as I transition into the idea of retirement. 

Reading

After gardening, I set up a little nest on the deck and read for a few hours. I’m reading a fantastic book by Ruth Ozeki, The Book of Form and Emptiness. I read her book, A Tale for a Time Being a few years ago and absolutely loved it and this new book is just as good. Her writing reminds me of Haruki Murakami, another favorite author. (Are you familiar with either author? If you like magical realism, then these are books for you!)

It's hard to describe The Book of Form and Emptiness but let’s just say that the book itself is a character, there’s a boy who hears insentient objects speak to him (like the window he hears crying because a bird flew into it and the window was upset for inadvertently hurting it), and a zen nun who wrote a book about decluttering (a la Marie Kondo). It’s a wild and wonderful read.

Dreaming

While reading Ozeki, I thought about how much I admire her lifestyle. (Or at least what she shares on Wikipedia and her website.) She is a successful author, teaches creative writing at Smith College, has a home on Cortes Island (I love the Salish Sea!), is a Zen priest, and is married to an environmental artist. She makes me feel lazy yet inspired.

She and Ann Patchett are both literary women of a certain age that I look up to and aim to emulate some elements of their lives in my own. Ann Patchett, another favorite author of mine, is a prolific writer and runs an independent bookstore in Nashville.

So based on this admiration, it looks like my perfect retirement would be to live on an island in the Salish Sea, write books, practice Zen Buddhism, and run a small bookstore. Bits and pieces of any of those dreams are completely possible. If I’m honest and brave, all are possible.

How are you doing? What’s new? What are you reading? Who do you look up to?

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Comments

  1. Nicole MacPhersonApril 26, 2022 at 4:13 AM

    HIIIII!!! I am just perusing your blog and I love it so much. I have an Ann Patchett on my pile of library books right this minute (haven't started it yet). The snow is melting so I am hoping to do my own yardwork - maybe this week? Maybe?

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    1. Laura BrayApril 29, 2022 at 9:58 AM

      HIII! I love your blog too. Let's visit each other more often. Hope your snow melts soon!

      Delete
  2. Dana BarbieriApril 26, 2022 at 11:34 AM

    That's so funny you mentioned Ruth Ozeki! I just listened to a podcast interview with her and I'm going to go borrow A Tale For The Time Being from the library. I hope I enjoy it.

    Your garden plans and your cooking sound great. So does your retirement. :)

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  3. AnonymousApril 26, 2022 at 3:11 PM

    Hooray for gardening season. My kale did not survive the winter this year but I have seedlings inside. I've never put kale in tabbouleh, but that sounds good. I always love it with garden tomatoes.

    Thanks for the book recommendations! Over the weekend I read The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister and really enjoyed it. At first thought of it as being a bit like people watching but then I started thinking about how with its chapters from different characters perspectives without an overarching story, it was also a bit like tapas (especially as it is all about food and cooking).

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    1. Laura BrayApril 29, 2022 at 10:00 AM

      The School of Essential Ingredients sounds great. I'm going to see if my library has it. And, I guess it wasn't clear, I didn't use the kale in the tabbouleh, just the parsley. The kale all went in the creamed kale recipe!

      Delete
  4. SarahApril 27, 2022 at 1:03 PM

    My idol is Georgia O'Keeffe, living quietly in the southwest and painting. Oh, that would be the life!

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    1. Laura BrayApril 29, 2022 at 10:02 AM

      That sounds great. You can come visit me in the Salish Sea when it gets too hot in the southwest and I'll come to the desert when I get tired of the cold and rain. Deal?

      Delete
  5. MichelleApril 28, 2022 at 11:53 AM

    There is definitely something magical about eating food from your own garden! Thanks for all the book recommendations!

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    1. Laura BrayApril 29, 2022 at 10:02 AM

      Thanks Michelle. Let me know if you have any good book recs!

      Delete
  6. C. Jane ReidApril 29, 2022 at 6:37 AM

    I finally felt on top of my gardening plans until the snow hit. Now I'm working to get the garden ready to plant in between rain showers. I'm a little frustrated by it, but still excited to get everything planted and watch it grow. I think my favorite part of gardening is watching it grow.

    A very curious about the books and authors you mentioned. I would jump right into looking them up except my recently set myself a reading goal to work my way through my book stacks. So instead I am starting a list of books recommended to me or that look interesting.

    Currently I am working through a couple of books. One is the audio version of "The Good House" by Tananarive Due. It is excellent and I highly recommend it. She is a wonderful writer, very detailed, and the reader is spectacular. It is a subgenre I've never read before, Black horror. It is extremely creepy.

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    1. Laura BrayApril 29, 2022 at 10:03 AM

      I'm tired of the rain too. I feel like my garden is going to end up growing inside at this rate!

      Delete
  7. SueApril 29, 2022 at 10:50 AM

    Your reading sounds interesting. I'll have to look for those books. I'm reading Fannie Flagg's Fried Green Tomatoes (I'm one of the few who hasn't read already). No deep insights but it is like hanging out with some sweet friends which I enjoy.

    I think there is something satisfying and elemental in eating food we've grown ourselves.

    Ah...dreaming of islands and bookstores. A lovely way to combat the dreary weather. Thanks for another thought provoking post.

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    1. Laura BrayMay 2, 2022 at 12:02 PM

      I loved the Fried Green Tomatoes movie but never read the book. I've read other Fannie Flagg though. Her books are a gentle read.

      Delete
  8. Michele FawcettApril 29, 2022 at 10:52 AM

    I feel the same about my own garden. One of my favorite things is to step outside and gather salad makings to go with dinner or with lunch or starting off in the garden for some meal inspiration. It feels like such a wonderful treat to eat food your grew for yourself. Loved seeing a bit of your garden! I also love your retirement plans they sound perfect :)

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    1. Laura BrayMay 2, 2022 at 12:03 PM

      Dinner from your own garden is the best. Summer can't get here soon enough!

      Delete
  9. LoriApril 30, 2022 at 11:05 AM

    I think your retirement plan sounds splendid. And I love "if I'm honest and brave all is possible." I love envisioning you in your bookshop on the salish sea! :) And I love having "idols" at each stage of life, women who embody the kind of lifestyle I strive for.

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    Replies
    1. Laura BrayMay 2, 2022 at 12:03 PM

      Thanks Lori. Be sure to come visit me when I get my bookshop!

      Delete

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