24-Mar-2020
Comforting minimalism…
I baked a cherry pie in partial regime of autarky.
I kneaded the dough from scratch and I used frozen cherry from the old cherry tree in our garden.
A couple of years ago, my husband was nearly decided to cut down that tree, because it looked in poor conditions.
I opposed, irrationally maybe, simply because I was used to see it in the garden and I have always had a liking for old trees. So we simply pruned it rather massively and waited.
I like imagining that the tree, grateful to be spared, engaged itself to do its best.
Actually it bloomed gorgeously and then produced a lot of tasty cherries.
I think we had never picked up so many before.
So we shared them with neighbours and friends and had still enough to freeze in portion.
Right now, the faithful, old cherry tree is ready to blossom again.
I have seen its buds and I think that in a few days it will be in full blossom, unless the temperatures dropped unexpectedly at night.
So I baked a cherry pie, with a feeling of gratitude for the energy of life, which can be showed also by a humble old tree.
I'd like to think that we'll have the same inner energy to get over the present difficulties.
Sometimes it's not easy to be positive, I know.
I have been reflecting on the difference between optimism and hope. Exaggerate optimism may be even counterproductive, because it can generate a wrong feeling of security.
Hope is engaging ourselves in something meaningful, regardless of the immediate results.
Ah, by the way, the cherry pie was delicious…
23-Mar-2020
Social distancing...
Let me start with a disclaimer note.
I had promised to myself to post only relatively accurate pictures in this gallery, avoiding snapshots.
Alas, I didn't fulfil my promise, because this photo is really a badly taken snapshot.
The light was awfully strong and my subjects were not cooperating, this is my only justification.
So, please, consider only the essence, not the form (smile). I'll do better tomorrow, at least I hope so.
We have been asked to respect social distancing and this is one of the few ways we have, at present, to reduce the contagion.
A side of our garden borders our neighbour's courtyard and we had always carelessly walked through that invisible line to have a chat.
Things have changed and now my husband and the neighbour remain each on one's own side, social distancing oblige…
Nevertheless it's always enjoyable to meet, also from distance, to exchange thoughts and encourage each other.
When something creates practical problems to normal communication, as a paradox, it improve its quality, because we feel more engaged, rather than being dragged to a superficial, social conversation, among many people, for whom we don't necessarily care that much.
We take communication for granted because we do it so frequently, but it's actually a complex process.
22-Mar-2020
The importance of a morning treat...
It has happened to each of us to complain, at least once, about monotony of daily life, repetitive gestures, banal little things, always the same.
Everything is relative and, if we think over, routine can be reassuring and even pleasant, when it gives us some certitudes, like fixed points on which we can rely.
The scent of coffee at breakfast has a special value for me, although it's regularly repeated.
Real coffee, I mean. You'll forgive me for being fastidious about that, but I categorically refuse instant coffee.
A dear one, who pours me a cup of coffee, while the entire kitchen smells good, is a privilege that I keep on appreciating.
In these difficult days it's so important to have a few enjoyable points of references which help us to remember that our daily life still has a rather regular rhythm.
Virginia Woolf said:
"Rigid, the skeleton of habit alone upholds the human frame."
21-Mar-2020
One more day...
Sometimes it's harder to think constantly of the dangerous times we are facing.
But it's exactly when the good mood runs the risk to drop that we must do everything to stay positive.
It doesn't mean to be carefree, reckless or indifferent. It means to be conscious without dramatizing.
There are things that can be temporarily uplifting around us, we should trust their effects.
I know I'm repetitive, but our days have become repetitive.
Watching birds, sunrises, flowers won't solve the serious problems menacing our lives, but it will give us the necessary sparkles of serenity which will help us to keep on doing our best.
I like magpies, they are always in couple and, in this early spring, there are many of them over here.
This couple greeted me from the top of a tree with their shrill cries.
Not the day only, but all things have their morning.
20-Mar-2020
A brand new day is coming...
Many birds have started migrating.
I see them flying in the sky over my home.
They know exactly where they are going, following their instinct and their usual paths.
Sometimes I'd like we could have the same basic certitudes about what we must do.
Birds leave and come back when they feel it's the right time for that.
We remain here, saying silently goodbye to them, maybe with a pang of jealousy for their freedom.
What is probably the more destabilizing element in this present situation is that we have no idea about its duration.
But resilience is knowing that we are the only ones that have the power and the responsibility to pick ourselves up.
The sky didn't fall on our heads yet, and very probably it won't.
It's still there and it comforts us with his endless beauty.
Let's be responsible and patient!
19-Mar-2020
Awakening...
The worst way to start our day is with complaints.
It seems to me infinitely more effective to start out with relief and serenity for the opportunity to breath the air of another day.
We might appreciate it and feel encourage to keep on, as positively as we can.
I awakened early with the birds chirping and the comforting certitude to be home with my husband, and some freshly grounded coffee for breakfast.
While still in bed, I looked at the window and I saw the waning moon, still shining.
I took this picture, which—I admit—is technically quite average, but I felt like capturing the feeling it gave to me.
This infinitesimal planet, which is our entire world, is going through a hard time, but the moon is still there, indifferent in its distant beauty and the sun still paints the sky of its magic colours.
The primary cause of unhappiness is never the situation but our thoughts about it.
18-Mar-2020
There is also something enjoyable in the name "Corona"...
In my opinion we should not be too easily conditioned by certain superficial features like names.
At the same time, as I often repeat to myself, when the situation around us is getting serious, one of the few means we have to face it is keeping a little of humour.
A sound dose of common sense makes us respect all the precautions and safety rules, without useless displays of self-pity.
That's all we can do, keeping always in mind that a lot of people, at present, are in much worse conditions.
My husband and I found a way to exorcise the negative value of a name, neutralizing it with a huge dose of chips (carefully home-made, of course).
By the way this brand of beer makes me remember when I was in California, so many years ago, that it seems to me another life, and I wanted to visit Mexico, but I remained blocked in San Diego.
Anyway this is another story, that— logically—no one of you cares for.
17-Mar-2020
Smiling sympathy…
My pleasant and clever niece Emma offered us to brave corona virus at our place, although it was a thoughtful way to stress that she's young and we are old (I'm joking. Joking is often silly, but always good for mood).
So she asked me to give her a list of errands and then, with perfect efficiency, she made a blitz to a couple of nearby supermarket and she found all, absolutely all that we needed.
She was even able to bring us François' favourite canned peaches, besides all the rest.
We are not sure if in close future my fellow citizens will be still allowed to go out and circulate.
At present we are only asked to remain home, not obliged.
All restaurants, cafés and shops are closed, except groceries, food shop and drugstores; all meetings are cancelled and, obviously, theatres and museums are closed too.
So young people like Emma have not many things to do outdoors.
She's a passionate traveller and recently she spent several months in Patagonia and other remote places of Southern America, on her own.
She's a free spirit, but she's also very responsible.
I know that for her being "grounded" won't be amusing, but she never loses her smile.
Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day.
16-Mar-2020
The power of beauty
Every sunrise looks unique and repeated at once.
It depends on what we want to see in it. I have been at home, on voluntary quarantine with my husband for two weeks and still the general situation is getting worse.
The charming daily show of nature is regularly performed, indifferent to our struggling, our worries, and our lives.
When I wake up I nearly forget that I'll spend the whole day at home, as logical precaution that we have been invited to follow strictly.
The painted sky fills me with enthusiasm. I feel lucky in spite of all the rest. Beauty cannot solve everything, but it can comfort.
I hope that each of you can still find more than a simple sparkle of joy in the simple things which surround us.
It's not the solution, but it surely helps.
14-Mar-2020
Resilience
This is a small plant of orchid, which I received as present in December 2018. When the flowers withered, only a few leaves remained and I always postponed the decision to throw the small plant away, since it seemed still alive somehow, but I confess I have totally neglected it, watering it casually, when it came to my mind, nothing more.
Then last December I noticed by chance that there was something like a small bud or new root appearing from the two left dark and apparently gloomy leaves. In few weeks it became a twig, then, little by little, buds multiplied and now the small, brave plant is in blossom.
I might see it as a metaphor of the resilience of life, and I think that my small plant deserves a photo…