Cluttercore

Cluttercore is apparently the reactionary response to minimalism and the KonMari method.

[Edited after this point to completion; this untagged, obviously incomplete, post was discovered while writing other posts around Christmas 2023 and topped off for some semblance of completion then.]

It is probably more in line with my current state of being and upbringing than KonMari-ing, to which I aspire. Despite being separately gifted two copies of Marie Kondo's book (the irony does not escape me), I have yet to finish reading it, let alone made any progress in that direction. Quite the opposite - I have embraced Buy Nothing in my life, though am attempting to be more discriminating with the items I bring in from there, with uneven success. Hence, the trepidation I feel about exploring cluttercore, which I fear could validate my latent hoarding tendencies. My home and I remain works in progress....

To finish out this post with even more irony, I present the above photo: Festive, decidedly not spare - very much in line with cluttercore - holiday decor in the lobby I passed through while accepting a Buy Nothing gift.

Shifty Solstice

Winter seems still to be deciding on its temperament. 

It was bone chillingly frigid last week, but with vividly warm-hued sunsets after the skies cleared up - maybe to make up for the extinguishing of the lights from the Christmas trees - and then bouncing back up the thermometer to allow for outdoor dining today (albeit requiring some bundling up).

Nods to Xmas

Bringing the Christmas celebration back to its Pagan roots in a Vietnamese-American home.

My family and I are casual, secular celebrants of Christmas, which leaves a lot of flexibility to incorporate many traditions. 

Their first Christmas in the States, Mama Hen and Papa Rooster said they were surprised, and disappointed, by the lack of nighttime activity around Christmas in Syracuse, where we first landed. It was in contrast to the lively Christmas evenings in Saigon, where everyone went out on Christmas Eve, walked about, visited friends, stopped into cafes, whether Catholic or not - the legacy of imported French colonialist celebrations and priorities. I had queried whether the calm of Syracuse weren't due to its being a much smaller city than Saigon, and, well, wintry - those were years when there were frigid temperatures and yards of snow on the ground, typical of the mid-1970s (and making periodic comebacks in these extreme days). They shrugged off my rationale - if people wanted to party, they'd find a way to do it. Oh my sweet parents! Once young and carefree in their tropical stomping grounds, before global geopolitical forces upturned their lives and dumped them into waist deep snowdrifts.

We've all shifted into quieter Christmases - middle-aged children with their elderly parents, going through the rituals in a leisurely fashion, with no eager and anxious little ones demanding and exerting a pressure for the mass media magic of an early Christmas morning. So we didn't even start preparing until Christmas Eve evening, nor finish unwrapping gifts until after midnight on Christmas - so, Boxing Day, fittingly (and its corrollary, unboxing).

At the end of the day, it's just about spending time with family on a day when just about everyone else is also off, hopefully doing the same.

We set up the tree in a new spot, in the middle of the livingroom, before the television playing the WPIX "Yuletide Log," set beneath an entirely different mother and child than the ones the holiday was meant to celebrate (ours are a traditional Vietnamese motif of mother nursing her child in a hammock, done in mother of pearl on lacquer).

Before tackling the big tree, though, looking for small, manageable ways to jumpstart the rituals on Christmas Eve, we foisted some holiday spirit onto Lil' Bro. I had an extra mini tabletop tree (collected from Buy Nothing, out of obligation, when I was really after another item, which the gifter could not locate when I arrived); there were extra fairy lights from a set of multiples from last year; Sissy had had the idea to unload the tree at his place, and had gotten ornaments from Buy Nothing with that plan, so everything was free, essentially. He pretended to be Scroogey, but we know he liked it. Ironically, his place was better decorated for the holidays than either of our places - time got away from us this year. Maybe next year for us.

So that was one little accomplishment that evening.  And for a small reward, en route back to the Mothership, we got Mickey D's nuggets and fries to fuel us through the rest of Christmas Eve, including the big tree setup, and decorating, and wrapping. Consuming the epitome of fried food, in solidarity with my Jewish friends during Chanukah - because, despicably, a beautiful giant menorah carved from ice was vandalized in Yorkville on the fourth night. 

(This year, I was delighted to be invited, and was able to attend, a friend's Chanukah party preceding the first night. I used to adore another classmate's past "Latkes and Vodkas" party, before he and his wife divorced; back then, the holidays started with one friend's "Pie and Port" party after Thanksgiving, followed either by "Latkes and Vodkas" or another friend's annual  "Christmas Cookie Party" with heavy attendance by her then-fellow LDS members - my holiday social calendar was once quite full. That was a different season of life.)

Earlier this season, in this season of life, it was quieter activities - community tree lightings, small workplace office parties and gatherings, a children's concert at the Czech consulate ...

... with a tiny Christmas market that had Czech chocolates...

... sold with ornament hooks! (Presumably, Czech society is less litigious than American society.) Saved those to share with the family on Christmas - it became one of the gifts from Santa, wrapped in fabric and ribbons from prior years. So much faster, so much less waste.

And the gifts that Mama Hen gave us were Christmas Eve bun bo Hue - a warming, spicy, central Vietnamese pork and beef noodle dish.

And Christmas and Boxing Days' banh cuon - rice crepes with minced meat and mushroom filling.

All of which I happily devoured, clad in this year's holiday uniform of candy cane-reminiscent red and white striped shirt (a Mama Hen gifted castoff from the last year or so) and the gag reindeer antler headband from at least a decade, maybe two, ago, eagerly anticipated meals for which I awaited beneath new-to-us snuggly seasonal throws, patiently gathered by Sissy, our Buy Nothing expert.

We all bring our own giving to the family. Lil' Bro with his humor; Papa Rooster, who, at 85, is reverting to the enthusiasm of a child in opening gifts with little thought of how they got there... And I, taking it all in this year with so much less external stress and pressure from my day job. That was the whole point of changing in this season of life.

[Edited December 29, 2022 to finish entry.]

Odds, Ends, Aubergine

Food waste averting cookery, with bonus fresh harvested greens - in December!

Every so often, I impress myself with my cooking. Every so often, I prove to be rather resourceful. Once in a blue moon, I delight myself by doing both. And so it was that this post-dinner dish came to be.

My leftover lunch quinoa-kale-carrot soup turned out to be not quite filling enough for dinner (though it, too, was quite tasty). So what's a girl with languishing Chinese eggplant going 10 days unbagged and unrefrigerated, with the stem end starting to go brown, supposed to do? Cook it - browning end and all, cubed. In some oil and salt, tossed quickly, lidded to steam itself. Sauce - what sauce? A leftover ketchup container from fries that accompanied a takeout mushroom burger consumed 3 weekends ago + one pouch of sauce for vegetarian egg rolls that goes perpetually unused and saved because I don't like it with the egg rolls --> mixed, container rinsed with some water, dump in and toss with eggplant. Lid again. Needs some freshness and color, some garnish... Ooh, ooh! The scallion root ends planted outside last Spring were still surprisingly green and sprightly upon last inspection, considering the frigid mid-December of it all. Grab knife, go out into the darkness of the Jardin, cut some of the taller scallion leaves - trust that NYC rain and precip have done all the washing necessary (hope there are no heavy metal traces in said precip). Back inside; kill flame under eggplant. Slice scallion greens, dish eggplant, sprinkle scallions over eggplant.

Photograph. Consume. No spoiling produce, leftover condiment, nor  frost-endangered, homegrown, vivacious-for-now allium shall go wasted in these parts! And it was all pretty tasty. Go figure!

And, even better, I made some headway in the goal of resuming preparing relatively healthy, home cooked meals - for both lunch AND dinner. After an evening of decent sleep, entirely in my bed (without the usual interlude of a sofa sleep). And that's not all! I even got in some exercise, outside, with a quick walk in the park at lunch! Not major accomplishments. But, baby steps back to normalcy.

Festive By Osmosis

Behind for the holidays, saved by the park and the community spirit.

How are we a week out from Christmas Eve and a night before the first night of Chanukah, with all of the other holidays steadily advancing toward us?

I am so very far behind this year on the homefront. Not one card written. A few decorations up, but that's only because last year was so overwhelming that they never came down (that's right - confessions of the year-round holiday displayer).

So I am glomming off the Carl Schurz tree for my holiday spirit. Thank goodness for New York City parks! (Don't forget to support your local park if you are a year-end donor!)

And the office, too - I have colleagues who are far better organized and cheerily festive. We had the lighting of the mini office tree the same night as the Rockefeller Christmas tree lighting, organized by one of our team assistants. And she shepherded our toy drive donations. So I did manage to get some toys for that, which were fun to select. I've also gone to the couple of office gatherings, and partaken of the holiday treats and sweets (to the detriment of my waistline).

I saw a classmate yesterday, too, who is still in a rehab facility for a medical issue from last year. I went up with a few others. It is inspiring that he manages to stay in good spirits. We made sure he's decorated for the holidays, so that was a nice step closer to diving in.

Perhaps I'll try to do some holiday postcards tonight. And there's a Chanukah party tomorrow... it's like my approach to summer - dipping my toes in, rather than taking a big leap; it's just how I roll.

Wintry Precipitation

Season's first frozen precipitation.

The weather finally caught up to the decor. Well, sort of. No actual snowflakes in these parts, more like frozen rain pellets. Close enough.

Sissy has been more seasonally spirited than I. The LED snowflakes were at her insistence, her contribution to the shortened days, early night. They ARE cheery to look out upon.

Abject Neglect

The neglected December garden.

That was my approach to the Jardin for much of this year. I suppose I'll blame the new gig and the studying for licensing exams for the time crunch. Easier than admitting my real faults.

As a result, there are unharvested tomatoes in December - even though we had a freeze a bit back. One perfect red grape tomato, lots of green. Fruit that was ignored on the vine, that maybe will seed for next year.

But there's still some color, even in December. Surprisingly vivid pops of red and burgundies, some bright green onion leaves, too.

At some point, perhaps we harvest and eat. For now, we let them go a bit longer.

Neighborhood Christmas

Neighborhood Christmas tree lighting in Yorkville.

One of my favorite Yorkville rituals (back for the first time since the arrival of COVID - yay for vaccines!).

It has gotten a bit more crowded over the years, but this tree lighting still knits together my little corner of the city, giving it a bit of the small town feel that I love so much, that vindicated my decision to move to the "far east" way back in the years when the Second Avenue subway was but a wish and hope.

Now I feel like I can dive into the season 😊.

Night Lights

Big city, bright lights a no-no when sleeping.

Bed in the guestroom in which I stayed while in Bali, beautifully made every day by a lovely housekeeper. These flowers were so beautifully scented. (The entry on the trip to Bali is quite tardy.)

Apparently, my habit of falling asleep on the sofa with the lights on while watching television are not just bad, they could be detrimental to my health. I already sort of knew; this just hammers it home.

And I have the exacerbating behaviors, too - television in bed, phone scrolling in bed. I picked up employer branded blue light glasses recently and have them at my bedside - unclear how much that will help.

I've had this issue since high school, at least. Back then, it was so much homework that I was unable to finish; I would stay up, get tired, creep toward bed for a little rest without having brushed my teeth, leaving the light on because I always intended to get up and brush them and complete the bedtime routine. And I didn't kick it in college, or law school, or into my career. And the whole thing just blew out of proportion during pandemic work from home. And so here we are.

Really - how does anyone get everything done AND sleep the recommended number of hours?!

Sigh. More work to do on myself. The never ending project. Well, I suppose living is, joyfully, a never ending project - until it does.

[Edited December 4, 2022 - because I decided to prioritize sleeping over completing this blog entry.]

Freedom in Winter

The beginning of the end of the year.

The year feels as if has sped by - somehow, it's already December.  And what have I to show for it?

Part of the whizzing of the hours and days was spent in studies - for exams for the new gig. So I guess I have three new licenses to show for it. They're not ones that I think are actually pertinent to my core role, so I approached studying a bit resentfully. Though some of the subject matter was interesting general knowledge - I should have kept that perspective more to the forefront, and shoved the negative loop more to the back.

What I haven't had are as much of the better hours I was seeking as I'd hoped. They ARE better, but the dark looming cloud of the exams hung low, the guilt of failed plans to study, keeping me from doing other things - tending to the garden, exercising, cooking, kayaking... so many plans by the wayside.

A friend posted a bit from Jimmy Kimmel poking fun at television anchors stating disbelief about it being the beginning of December, and my response was:

Really, though. I know it is, but I don't know what I've done!

Analogy: I just finished what I hope to be my final licensing exam, have finally figured out the best way to study, but now have no more to apply this method to. So all I can do is share my thoughts with colleagues and hope they have an easier time of it.

And I sorta think that's how life will go? I guess that's how it always goes?

It always feels like I spend all my time preparing, practicing, and by the time I think I might have gotten it figured out, time has run out, and the real deal hasn't happened yet. So I suppose the secret is to step back and realize the journey IS the current destination. I could practice that more - ha! Maligning the practicing process, yet so ingrained that it is necessary that I subconsciously fall back to it; I am practiced at practicing. Maybe not so much at living, being present, experiencing something for what it is right then and there.

With those dratted tests now behind, I hope to resume living the life I wanted, or maybe just start doing that...

...Started with a work-from-home enabled extended lunchtime walk in the park, where there are still trees in their party clothes. Other than one newbie, a temporary exchange student, this year's Christmas tree, still unadorned for a couple more days before she gets her baubles.

So, the mandate is to seize the day. Do the thing. Today, it was getting the vitamin D while the sun was still out. And my little park, all of my park jaunts, my nature baths, have always made me feel like time slowed just a wee bit, enough so that I could savor some of it. More, more of THAT!

[Edited December 3, 2022 to add link.]