Hidden Treasure

The Captain and Mr. Chippy

My sweetheart came home! He was away for most of this week, and this is the second such trip in a month. Sigh....

When The Captain travels for business I always feel a bit at loose ends. He works from home (except for the travel) and I truly love having him here. We have a rhythm to our days. If he is gone long the days lose their natural order. I don't sleep as well either. And, there's more work to do (he does so much around here that I don't really have a grasp on), which means either I have to figure it out or I have to engage the kids to do the most necessary things (filling our water tank is high on the list!) (O.K., I can do those things, but I have enough else to do...)

As it happened, the kids were not around much this week either, what with school, work, sleepovers, etc. I did get The Bosun to top up the water yesterday so I could shower, but I haven't seen a lot of anyone in the last few days. I am a Moon Child through and through, so family and home are the center of my life. That makes weeks like this one unsettling. I get lonely.

I think, though, that blogging made a big difference this time. Planning my posts and talking with The Captain about them and the feedback I have been getting has given me something meaningful on which to focus. Thank you all! You have really kept me on an even keel, just knowing that you are interested. Please keep the conversation going, and if you haven't joined in yet, leave a comment below--it means so much.

What about my thesis, you ask? Ah, yes. Funnily enough, I also believe this regular blogging is helping me clarify my ideas for my thesis as well. It takes me a lot of rumination to get to the actual writing time, but then the writing usually flows. Giving myself the job of writing about new topics is a meditation in itself. I learn so much when I have to organize my thoughts coherently!

Along those lines, if there are topics of interest to you, or articles/books, etc that you would like me to review or address, do let me know, because I want this blog to be part of a larger community, not just me talking at people.

Back to The Captain... So, normally he is the one to sweep and do the tidying around the boat. He maintains the hottub, a finicky job because we use peroxide instead of bromine. He does any mechanical sort of care needed. I am in charge of the galley, the shopping and cooking, medical care, laundry, that sort of thing. We never made formal agreements, we just sort of claimed the jobs we cared about. Every Friday, when Blondina and I are at our homeschool group, The Captain makes a special effort to ready the boat for the weekend, shaking out rugs, filling the oil lamps, and so on. We often grill steaks and have a leisurely dinner.

Not only was today The Captain's homecoming, it was also Friday. So I cleaned: scrubbed the head (bathroom), the galley, (finally) cleared the winter boots/mittens/snow pants/heater off the aft deck, and yes, I swept and shook out the rugs. I took steaks out of the freezer, anticipating a family meal.

I met the little commuter plane and brought my sweetheart home. And wouldn't you know (I did, because I know him that well), he was absolutely thrilled! The sun was dancing on the water, shining on the little cafe table and chairs that replaced the kerosene heater on the enclosed aft deck. It was quiet on the boat, but it was filled with warmth and the gorgeous sun of a long-awaited Spring afternoon.

But no kids. They all went in different ways, to work and sleepovers and hanging out. With The Captain home, though, that was just fine. I braised a steak for me (with stock, onions and tomatoes I dried last summer) and pan fried his. I made vegetables for us to share, and a salad for him. And we sat face-to-face, talking about this and that, just being together. Even Mr. Chippy wanted to reconnect, looking for his favorite "daddy-rubs" (ever noticed that men interact differently with pets than women do? The Captain can somehow get away with literally rubbing the cat's fur the wrong way. I mean, the cat loves it, and comes back for more! If I did that, he would bite me.)

That's it. Quiet married life (tonight, at least!) We support each other, miss each other when we are separated, share our load in unspoken but equitable ways. This makes everything else in life do-able. Remember, we have everything we need...  And if your life doesn't look at all like mine, I am certain that there are equal blessings, though you may have to find and celebrate them. Even in my troubled first marriage, there was hidden treasure. I had my precious children (whom I would not have had otherwise), supportive friends, relative health, sanity, my senses, and so on.

You could say I am blessed. I am not religious, but that seems to be the right word. It means I have received a precious gift, that I am content, that I am fortunate and joyous. And indeed,  all of that is true. I wish the same for you! Happy Friday!

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What gifts are you celebrating?  Have you found the treasure in your challenges?

We Have Everything We Need (and another recipe)

One (small!)geoduck=Abundance!

I toyed with calling this post "Abundance" because that is what I have been receiving lately. 30 pounds of geoduck (pronounced "gooey-duck") and horseclams dropped into our laps yersteday, I have been harvesting and drying foraged nettles like crazy, and a friend met me at her door the other day with a huge bundle of rhubarb from her garden.

And then there's the people. The wonderful group of women blogging about doing GAPS Intro, my old friends on Facebook, my local friends, and my amazing family. Support comes in subtle as well as overt ways--a joke, a comment on my blog, the offer to take our youngest for a day. It all helps to smooth the rough edges in my days.

And then there's living in our own corner of Eden. Today was almost painfully sunny and clear, with the insistent energy of leaves and blossoms forcing their way into the world. Gorgeous. Surrounded by mountains yet covered with snow, evergreen forests and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Suffice it to say that people come here on vacation and we get to live here.  On a boat. With a hot tub. As the kids would say, for reals.

Still, I am one of those women who frets. I worry about the kids and their choices, my husband traveling, the economy, our health, earthquakes...  I can always find something to worry about.

Which is why, some years ago when things were tight, when we had six kids at home, one in college and the seemingly limited resources of one income, we created the mantra "we have everything we need." Because we do. We have love and creativity and even luck. We have essentially healthy, totally gifted kids. NINE of them. Who else is that lucky? We have skills and the smarts to use them. We have great siblings and parents who love us, despite our quirks.

We have everything we need. Truly. And with that, we have some responsibilities. We have to do the work to utilize what comes our way. As a matter of fact, we have to first recognize that which is coming to us. That's not always so easy, especially if I have a dour attitude.

I remember wanting a particular chair for our old boat. I was trying to accommodate our large family, but wasn't going to spend any money on this. I left the boat on an errand with the thought "today I am going to find the chair." Well, about 10 minutes later I saw a trash pile by the side of the road. Wouldn't you know, The Chair was sitting there, waiting for me. Along with a pair of vintage curtains with Moby Dick, Ahab and the crew--one of which I used to cover that chair's new cushion. The other is still with us, as the curtain for The Bosun's cabin.

I know that sounds a bit hokey, like The Secret or something. That's not what I mean though. The thing is, we pass by all sorts of opportunities every day. Making something happen is often as not a matter of just grabbing that thing/idea/situation that's flying by at light speed. That's why we have to stay focused, and also to remember to be grateful for what we have. Many is the day that I remind myself to give some things up in order to make room for the abundance that comes our way. That might mean donating clothes, helping someone out (that is, giving up time), or ceding my side of an argument (ok, that's hard, but I do try!) If I feel lacking, needy, grasping, well--I am stuck and nothing good will come from that (as The Captain is fond of reminding us).

I have spent the last two days working with our abundance. I canned stock, rhubarb and clams (both geoduck and horse). I made marshmallows, nut brittle and truffles.  I look into the hold and feel rich, secure, and appreciative of all we have. We have everything we need. I have the right tools to feed my family, to preserve what we forage, buy, receive. I have the skills to do that, and the wit to learn new ones as necessary.

I love holidays for the rituals, the joy, the fun they bring to our lives, the excuse to eat with friends and family. Passover is a thanksgiving of sorts, a time to be thank-ful for our situation, whatever it is. My ancestors took what little they had and fled tyranny. And yet, they had everything they needed--each other, divine protection and their freedom. Maybe we tell that story each year to remind ourselves to appreciate what we have, even in our more trying days.

Perhaps I need this reminder more often. We have everything we need. We just need to open our eyes.

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I was asked to share my nut brittle recipe, so here it is, with the same note as yesterday: I have been making this so long that I can't trace its origins. If it's your recipe, do let me know.

Nut Brittle

Ingredients

3/4 lb unsalted butter (unless you want salted caramel, a legitimate choice)
1 cup of honey (doesn't need to be raw--you are making caramel!)
2 cups of chopped or slivered nuts, previously soaked and crisped (as in NT's crispy nuts)

Jelly roll or other flat pan, lined with parchment and buttered
Largish saucepan
Candy thermometer

Procedure

~Measure the nuts and set aside.

~Put honey and butter in the pan, affix the thermometer, set over medium/high heat.
~Watch the caramel carefully, it goes slowly at first, but can burn easily toward the end. You may have to stir the bottom to avoid burning and sticking at that point.
~When the caramel reaches 300 degrees, take it off the heat, stir in the nuts, and pour into the prepared pan. Even it all out and set in a cool place or the refrigerator.
~When it is hard, crack it into small pieces (you can pick it up and smash it on the pan--great for those frustrating days--or whack it with a mallet a few times, or any combination you choose. Refrigerate the pieces, they will get sticky if left out.
~Save some for me!