Simple Pleasures by Annette Dashofy

How are you all doing? I hope you’re staying well and staying sane.

Two weeks ago when I blogged here, I wrote about my grand plan for getting through this out-of-control time. Today, I confess I’ve only had partial success. I’ve maintained my morning yoga practice, which is often the most peaceful part of my day. I’ve been getting out and walking on our ten acres, spending time on the bank of our creek. 

Unfortunately, those creekside walks are quickly coming to an end. The briars and brambles are weaving a natural barricade to my access. The grass in the pasture is getting tall and providing perfect hiding spots for ticks.

Funny how Lyme Disease has taken a backseat to other terrors this year.

The spring-cleaning part of my plan, especially the decluttering part, has failed. When I decide to toss stuff, I need a place where I can repurpose it. DVDs and (a few) books go to the library. Except the library is closed. Other items go to charities like Goodwill.

Except they’re closed too.

I started clearing and making piles…and then realized those piles with nowhere to go looked worse than the cluttered shelves and closets.

So I’ve put the brakes on decluttering.

It’s still too chilly to power wash the porch or plant flowers, but I do look forward to both those chores.

Instead, I’ve found peace in the simpler things. Reading a novel or how-to book. 

Playing and cuddling with Kensi Kitty. Baking bread.

Ahhh… Baking bread.

I have a bread machine which takes up too much space on my counter. The bread it creates somehow makes my jeans shrink. So I’ve kept it packed away unless I receive requests from family for a loaf.

Since very early on in this quarantined state, I’ve been intent on baking my own bread. Those first weeks of TP panic also cleared the store’s shelves of baked goods. And of yeast. Store-bought bread soon became available. Yeast? Not so much. Apparently, I wasn’t alone in my desire for fresh carbs.

This week, my husband, whose job is deemed essential and who has been dutifully going off to work Monday through Friday, stopped at our small Amish grocery on his way home and snagged two bulk packages of yeast! One for me and one for his mother, a home baker from way back (no machines for her!)

The part that made me laugh hysterically? That same day, I’d placed an order on Amazon for yeast!

Yes, I’m going to be making a lot of bread around here.

Even though I have the machine and don’t have to knead the dough, I find the process soothing. Perhaps it isn’t the process but rather the smell. Seriously, does anything smell quite as delectable as baking bread?

And then there’s the anticipation. Waiting for that golden-crusted loaf to come out of the machine…the soft crackling sound of carving into it…the way the butter melts on the warm end slice…

Heaven.

My closets may remain cluttered for a while yet, but in the meantime, I’m embracing the little things. Simple pleasures. A purring cat. Some morning stretching. A loaf of bread.

What simple pleasures have you rediscovered during these crazy times?