getting there is half the fun

There was an article about Little Dog Orchard in my CSA's newsletter this summer.  The owners of Little Dog Orchard are Manhattan transplants who moved upstate a few years ago and are in the process of converting the orchard from conventional to natural growing methods.  If you lease a tree, one is assigned to you and is cared for during the growing season.  When the apples are ready to be picked, you can go spend a day upstate and collect apples from your tree.  My husband and I decided to lease an Empire apple tree.  I liked the idea of local, spray-free apples, going directly from the tree to my kitchen.  Not to mention that leasing a tree guaranteed me an autumn day upstate picking apples!

This past Saturday we went upstate for a lovely afternoon of apple picking. We may have gotten a little carried away, because we came home with 6 huge (huge!) bags of apples. After giving away as many apples as we could, we still had more than we knew what to do with. Applesauce, apple butter, apple pie, apple apple apple...?

After standing in the kitchen peeling apples for what felt like a very long time, I decided to get comfy on the floor with a bowl for my peels.  I started cooking and kept peeling apples until I had a blister on my finger.  As that blister grew I became increasingly grouchy.  Luckily it wasn't long before my baby woke up from his nap, so it was time for a break.  :)

Soon our apartment was filled with the scent of warm apples and cinnamon, and my mind was racing into the future.  I thought about apple picking when Baby A is older.  As an urban baby (urban child) I want to make sure he knows where his food comes from.  Picking apples, bringing them home and then creating all sorts of delicious edibles out of them is one great way to help him understand that.  Next year I'm definitely getting one of those apple peeler/corer/slicers though!

back to the mat

My yoga mat has not been entirely neglected. I unroll it every day and keep it out all day. Sometimes I have 15 minutes on the mat, sometimes an hour, and other days I only manage to squeeze in one sun salutation.


Working from home (on call full time) and taking care of a toddler doesn't leave much time for those luxurious, relaxing yoga breaks I remember from days passed. But despite some ebbs and flows, yoga has been a constant in my life since 1998. I want to do a yoga immersion this spring. It's time to become more serious about yoga and to devote myself to this thing that is so important to my health and happiness, and which will in the long run, only make me a better person and a better mother. A plan is brewing...

be here now

I have studied yoga and meditation, but I have never been more present in my body and in my life than I am and have been during the different stages of growing, birthing and nourishing a baby. I love him, my babe, in a way I never knew existed. He is constantly changing and I am constantly working on being present in my life, for this too shall pass. This time is precious and fleeting.

Be Here Now has been sitting on my shelves for months. I pulled it down today and started to look through it. My 13 month old baby crawled into my lap. I read "Don't think about the past. Be here now... Don't think about the future. Be here now." He started turning the pages faster than I could read them. With that thought fresh in my mind I laughed and tickled him and we rolled around and went into the other room to play.