Urge for Going
Every spring I get hit with the urge for going. It doesn't matter how—it could be by canoe or truck or plane—and the destination matters even less. For me, it's the most liberating experience to get up and go with no idea where I'm going to end up. It's about having no fear, no expectations, no obligations. I don't have to be anyone for anyone, and I'm open to meeting anyone and everyone. It's one of the few times when I feel there's no separation between me and life.
“Following the sun we left the old world.”
—Inscription on one of Columbus' ships
The Taste of Rain
In early spring, I like to catch on my tongue the drops of rain suspended from branches on trees and bushes. The best are witch hazel catkins, which have phenomenal small perfumed droplets—or so my imagination tells me. And the drops that hang from the red berries of hawthorns seem to carry inside them the reflection of the whole upside-down world. I also consider myself lucky if the night has brought a freezing rain that coats each twig in an icy casing. Then I do what deer do and chew on them, no hands. The clear, glittering ice on a twig is far better than any popsicle I ever tasted.
“We do not remember days, we remember moments.”
—Cesare Pavese
THINGS TO DO
Heavy snowfalls are blessings for people who love their maple candy. The good news is that you don't need an acre of sugar maples and a bucket of sap to make it. A bottle of maple syrup will do just fine.
Maple Candy
½ cup maple syrup
1 baking pan full of packed, clean snow
Leave the pan of snow outside or in the fridge till the moment you're ready to use it. Then heat the maple syrup in a pot to 270 degrees (check with a candy thermometer).
Carefully dribble the hot syrup in small patches over the snow. Each one of these patches will magically and immediately turn to chewy toffee that will amaze and delight your friends. That's all there is to it.
We've already said you don't need a sugar bush for this. Truth to tell, you don't even need snow. You can get the same result with crushed ice, if your fridge makes it.
Body and Soul
“Modern beings have forgotten their beautiful and simple natures. The only way to live is by living fully. We should create our lives into a festival of growth and permanent creation.”
—Chamalú, a Wuechua Indian mystic
Why Pianists Don't Give Up
A Chopin prelude may be only a minute long, but I might spend six months working on it, and it still gets away from me. Sometimes when this happens, I let it sit for a week, without practicing at all. And then one day I sit down at the piano and it's there. Without being forced, without straining, the piece just appears under my fingers—a perfect, fleeting gem. That happy moment of discovery is worth the months of searching.
“Whenever I play, I throw myself away. It doesn't matter where I am. I close my eyes and leave this earth.”
—Mary Lou Williams, jazz pianist
THINGS TO DO
Your Own Perfume
With essential oils, you can create your own perfume, based on your mood at the time. All you need is an eyedropper and a variety of oils. Kimberley D. Wheat, buyer for Bare Escentuals, offers her favorite secret recipe; she calls it “Little Black Dress”: 2 drops ylang ylang, 1 drop patchouli, and 1 drop bergamot added to 1 teaspoon jojoba oil. “Apply to pulse points!” Remember, essential oils are to be used only externally. Be sure not to ingest them; they can be toxic or even fatal. Be sure to keep them out of the reach of children, and test each one on a spot on your arm before you use them liberally in baths or as perfumes.
Dressing for Bed and Breakfast
I used to read magazine articles by mothers on how to save time. One of the tricks was to bathe the kids at night and then dress them for bed in shorts and a t-shirt so they'd be ready to go in the morning. Now when I go to bed, I often dress myself for the next day in a T-shirt and my long, cotton, wrinkle-proof skirt with the latticed waist and the material that stretches down to my ankles. When I do this, I think of those mothers. It's such a pleasure to get up in the morning and stay in my bed clothes, and it feels so good to walk to the store for milk without even bothering to get dressed.
“Life, within doors, has fewer pleasanter prospects than a neatly arranged and well-provisioned breakfast table.”
—Nathaniel Hawthorne
Hegel at Dawn
When I was doing my doctorate on Hegel, I once woke up at three in the morning, and went to an all-night restaurant. For reading material I decided to take along a volume of Hegel. Much to my surprise, it was all much clearer and more plausible than it had ever seemed in the daytime—perhaps because my mind in the hours before the dawn had not yet lapsed into its mundane ruts. Nowadays, one of my greatest pleasures is awakening very early in the morning and slowly savoring a few paragraphs from a choice philosophical treatise.
“Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.”
—Mark Strand
Cleaning Eye Glasses
Towards the end of the day, when I'm getting tired but still have a lot of work, I wash my face and clean my glasses, and then I'm good for another few hours. It's just a little ritual, but it leaves me feeling fresh and renewed, and I have the comfort of knowing my glasses won't slide down my nose. I also take pleasure in taking other people's glasses and cleaning them too.
THINGS TO DO
Natural Hair Care
A simple, effective, old-fashioned rinse is simply vinegar, preferably cider vinegar. Mix 2 tablespoons in 2 cups of warm water. Work through hair after shampooing and rinsing, then rinse again with clear water. For light hair, use lemon juice instead of vinegar. This will help restore the natural acid balance of the scalp and get rid of all traces of soap and shampoo.
For an all-purpose hair conditioner, combine 3/4 cup olive oil, ½ cup honey, and the juice of 1 lemon. Rinse hair with water and towel dry. Work a small amount of conditioner into hair, comb through and cover with a shower cap or plastic wrap for ½ hour. Shampoo and rinse
