Monday, December 12, 2005

an orgy of cookies

on saturday morning, a fuse blew power to the water pump and heat in the house. it started a lousy day for brian and a really great day for me. he absorbed all the stress like a sponge, and i was completely untouched by it – a nice floaty feeling that stayed with me throughout the day. he was trying to get a side job done that day, so his stress was understandable, to say the least. i, on the other hand, was going to do yoga and bake cookies, and i felt the whole day as if i’d done a shot of felix felicis.

when i went to meet RB at a yoga class, they told me at the ymca that it had been cancelled. i was disappointed and very slightly annoyed that they hadn’t called me (their organization was lousy, i suppose). but i didn’t have any problem seeing it as a blessing in disguise. RB didn’t feel like the hour-and-fifteen-minute workout anyway (her foot has been bothering her lately) so we went to the co-op and spent some time browsing. i was looking for some herbs and stocking stuffers, and she was looking for a useful face soap and something for her husband. it was fun and relaxing, to wander without a list, without a clock ticking in the background.

i was missing an important element for my stocking stuffers, so i decided to try the other natural product store down the road. it’s run by a guy i know from the last gym i worked with, and the best massage therapist i’ve ever had used to work there. i wondered if i might be able to find out what happened to her, because her number had been disconnected the last time i tried it.

dave was there, and was pleased to see me. he couldn’t remember my name, but once he placed me, he said, “you look great – you’ve lost so much weight i wasn’t even sure it was you!”

wow – talk about gratification. *blushing furiously*

ok, now i remember why i wasn’t supposed to go in there – this is the same guy who commissioned sam to do a lot of artwork for the bagel shop attached to the store, then reneged on the deal when he saw the artwork and didn’t like it. oops. i knew there was something, but it was so long ago i couldn’t remember it. i’m sorry, sam. next time i see dave i will tell him that i bought one of those pieces and that it was his loss entirely. also that he has lousy taste in art.

dave and i talked for a while, and he gave me lauri’s new number. nice to know i haven’t lost my favorite massage therapist after all. i mentioned that the yoga class had been cancelled, and that RB and i were considering checking out a yoga studio in asheville. he said, “you might check out some hendersonville practitioners before you do that – if you see someone you like, you could save yourself the trip.” he recommended someone, and i went on my way.

things were pretty hectic at home. blissfully untouched by the stress surrounding me, i gave duckie lunch and laid her down for a nap. she’s still protesting this on weekends, but she’s so much happier when she’s rested that i’m willing to put up with a bit of hollering.

i started on the cookies, then realized i had forgotten to pick up my order at a local bakery. so when she woke up, we got a snack and headed out. she was lovely at the store. i got her a cookie, because you can’t expect a two-year-old to see a brightly-decorated clown cookie and not freak out if she doesn’t get it – not when you’re picking up five and a half dozen other cookies. on the way home, i drove up a road that promised christmas lights – i’d seen a glow from pace road a couple of weeks ago and decided to investigate. not far up the road, there was a sign pointing to the right that said, “davis road christmas lights – drive-through.”

no way. i turned right, down a little dirt-road loop that had been, as promised, decked with lights. they were classy and tasteful, and they followed the Rules as laid down by my husband: only one baby jesus, three wise men, and one santa. oh, but it was so pretty. i was in tears by the time we drove through – it’s something about being able to share this holiday with my daughter, and thinking about how far we’ve come since last year at this time, that just gets me all weepy.

back home, made dinner, put duckie to bed, then the real cookie orgy began. things got a little hazy after that as the riesling mysteriously disappeared, but i learned a great deal about perfect shortbread, and how freaking hard it is to cut 90 gooey brownies, even if you do butter the knife. brian came home late, having had his night out (i stole friday to see sam’s show), he and skipper hollered at each other as usual, and i was tipsy enough that they were almost funny, as long as they stayed the hell out of my kitchen. crashed at 2 am.

next day duckie got to have a cookie party, too. i had reorganized the kitchen so that the butcher block table (built a few years ago for me by my father) faced the tv, to have something on in the background. i set up a chair for duckie to stand on across from me. she helped me roll out dough for the sugar cookies (almost a disaster, but we made it work), kept flour on the working surface (ok, probably a little too much, but at least the cookie dough never stuck), cut out stars and circles and trees and bells, and even decorated them herself with colored sugar and nonpareils. she gave huge belly-laughs when she saw her creations, and really was a great helper, considering she’s only two. they are without a doubt the prettiest christmas cookies i have ever seen. i’m looking forward to easter already.

elizabeth, it was wonderful talking to you this weekend. forgive me for my incoherent drinking-and-dialing episode saturday night, but the riesling was flowing nicely and i was awfully proud of that shortbread. can’t wait to get the pralines – how’d you know they’re my favorite? and we did get your package yesterday – thanks so much for the book. i guarantee we’ll put it to good use.

i don’t know how many gingersnaps and chocolate crinkles we made – i stopped counting after a while. around four-thirty, the drive to bake finally deserted me, and i flopped on the sofa with a grateful sigh, quickly joined by duckie and her newly discovered favorite doll. the rest of the night got a little rocky, but i finally collapsed into bed around 10:30, leaving the kitchen under a mountain of shirt boxes turned into temporary cookie storage.

i’ve decided not to work out this week. there’s too much stuff going on, too many packages to be wrapped and mailed, and too many errands to run. and my daughter has made it eminently clear that despite her love for daddy and papa, she notices when i’m not paying enough attention to her. last week she made her displeasure known to me and most of henderson county over two nights of rage-filled tantrums. the only thing i could think that was different was my schedule – and that i had been relying on her dad and papa to keep her occupied.

well, live and learn. nothing’s that much fun if you’re stressed out by trying to meet a timetable, so whenever my stuff gets done, it gets done. there was no way i was going to finish all those cookies (and fudge, and wrapping, and packing, ad infinitum...) this weekend anyway. once i let go of that entirely unreasonable expectation, i was a lot happier. so was she.

2 comments:

SB Gypsy said...

You are so right about letting go of unreasonable expectations. Stress just ruins everything it touches. I have finally started to let go and try just to enjoy whatever I'm doing, but unfortunately my husband hasn't gotten there yet.

andi said...

SB_Gypsy:

ain't that a pain in the ass? wouldn't it be so much easier to maintain a sense of zen calmness if your significant other would make a freaking effort to do the same thing????

*giggling at my own lack of zen calmness this morning*