simplify.

I'm sure I've posted this link before, but for awhile, this manifesto was my roadmap for learning to live with less. In the past year or so, I have fallen away from this a bit. But as I prepare to uproot myself once again and move on to another place, it seems prudent to start to review these things once more.

As much as I dream of a simple life, the truth is that there is still plenty of clutter awaiting my return back home. And as long as it is there, even though I may not be carrying it around with me physically, it is still a heavy weight on my mind. The best I can do right now is simplify what I have with me, both tangible and intangible, and work towards that goal as much as possible here. The more comfortable I get with simplicity when I'm on the road, the easier I find it is to declutter my life when I return home, because I become uncomfortable with the state of things there and need to declutter as a way of correcting the balance. When I "run out of steam", it is because I have met myself in the middle-ground between the simplicity I was living and the cluttered state of my room back home. That is why I can never seem to get it over and done with: I tarry too much and end up reaching a feeling of comfort before I overcome the clutter monster.

Does that sound a little too zen for you? Don't forget about the desert fathers - they sought simplified lives too, and they were intense Christians.

Anyway, I've got to get ready for bed and get some reading in before I can go to sleep. There's plenty of pages to go before I can turn in all my library books, and just a few weeks more before that day comes. This weekend, the simplifying begins again.

Blathering

Can I just say that I love tunics? (Well, I think I just did.) But I do, I really do! Tunics are about the best, most comfortable shirts. Ever. Period. Not to mention they're very pretty. I bought one from Goodwill in Flagstaff about a month ago or so and it's become my new favorite shirt. I'm wearing it today for the third time in the last seven days. Although I think that I haven't washed it since I bought it (and have worn it more than 3 times...), but only just now is it starting to look (and possibly smell?) like it needs to be washed. Mostly it's because the linen sleeves are starting to look wrinkled. Other than that, the shirt is mostly fine. The long sleeves are protective from the sun while I'm out and about, but the breathable linen allows me to stay cool nonetheless. The whole thing is so light and airy, and comfortable!

Anyway, now that I got that out of the way.... In just a few days I will be at the one month mark. That's right: I have a mere 33 days before my internship comes to an end here and I move on to my next great adventure. It's an exciting prospect. I need to finish reading my library books. I've got Stephen Lawhead's "Scarlet", Che Guevara's "Notas del viaje", and Mark Sundeen's "The Man Who Quit Money". Think I can do it? I'm not sure I can, but I suppose if I read a bit every day (like I really should anyway) I might be able to do it. And then there's my coworker's copy of "To Kill a Mockingbird". He said I needed to read it if I hadn't, and it's been sitting, unopened, on my bookshelf ever since. I suppose if I get through all the library books I'll take a crack at reading that, too. But it really all depends on timing.

Today is a big day for my cactus, Chloë. Last week I bought a new, larger pot for her. This week I got some potting soil from a coworker. Today, I'm going to transplant her into the larger pot. She's been getting plenty of new growth, so I know that she's doing very well and I'm sure she'll appreciate having more space. The new pot is a nice shade of green plastic - I would've rather gotten something terracotta, but being that I'm a traveler right now, I need something that won't break in transit. C'est la vie.

Actually, I think I'll go do that right now...

Until next time!

Homemade Cereal - The Follow-up

So, after my first success in making my own milk and cereal, I decided to try and expand my repertoire. That is, I shook things up a bit in the recipe. For those who were wondering what recipe I used, it can be found here.


I have yet to actually make it exactly according to the recipe. Maybe someday. :)

Today I went to Mount Hope Foods here in Cottonwood after work and picked up just under a pound of blue corn meal, organic yellow corn meal, and sprouted brown rice flour. Yum, yum, yum! If you're referencing the recipe, I put each of these in the mix in place of the "bran flour". Yes, I could've bought bran flour, but that wouldn't have been nearly as fun! Nor as colorful! I did four batches (and did separate the dough before "rolling out" this time) - one wheat/blue corn, one wheat/yellow corn, one wheat/brown rice, and one all brown rice.



For those who are experienced in gluten-free baking, you will not be surprised to know that my brown rice flour batch pretty much crumbled. In fact, I'd be surprised if there are actually any whole pieces left in the mix. - That's right, I mixed them all up. I made a gluten-free cereal and mixed it with all the others. Oh well. But I look forward to experimenting with all the other myriad combinations I can come up with for this cereal recipe. Particularly, I want to obtain some graham flour (holler to my NPU buddies!!!) and make some graham cereal. Mmmm!!!!!

I have to say that making my own cereal is the most fun. Ever. And even though I did 4 batches this time, it only took me about an hour and a half. The real test is to see how many breakfasts this will get me through.