#ill get some white wine. some garlic. a leek

[musherum]

i can stay alive long enough to make the mushroom soup ive been wanting to make. i can do that, at least

[sisterofiris]

Everyday life in the Hittite empire

Have you ever wondered what your life would have been like if you had been born in central Anatolia 3500 years ago? No? Now that I’ve brought it up, are you curious to find out?

Well you’re in luck, because that’s just what this post is about. So sit back, close your eyes, and imagine yourself in Anatolia - that is, modern Turkey. Are you ready? Can you see the mountains, the red river and the towering buildings of your capital, Ḫattuša? Can you hear the chariots driving up the road? Can you feel the electric brewing of a storm in the distance?

Then let’s go.

(With a brief disclaimer: while I study Hittitology, this is not intended as an academic-level post. It was written to give general, approachable insights into Hittite culture and can be used as writing inspiration or to titillate curious history nerds around you, but if you’re writing an academic paper on the subject, I would recommend you check out the bibliography instead.)

About you

First things first, are you older than five? If so, congratulations on being alive. Child mortality in this place and time is very high, so you’re one of the luckier ones among your siblings. You probably have at least a couple of those; you may even have as many as six or seven, especially if you come from a well-to-do family with access to good healthcare. When you were little, your parents might have told you the tale of Zalpa, in which the queen of Neša gives birth to thirty sons then thirty daughters who marry each other, but you know this only happens in the stories - not to normal people.

When you were born, your parents rejoiced regardless of your sex, as sons and daughters are equally valued in your society (albeit for different reasons). Your father took you on his knee and gave you a good Hittite name: maybe Armawiya, Ḫarapšili, Kilušḫepa or Šiwanaḫšušar for a girl, or Anuwanza, Kantuzili, Muwaziti or Tarḫuzalma for a boy. Gender-neutral names, such as Anna, Muwa and Šummiri, would also have been an option. Many people around you have Hurrian or Luwian names, even if they are not ethnically Hurrian or Luwian themselves. (This is comparable to the modern popularity of Hispanic names like Diego, or French names like Isabelle.)

It’s hard to say what you would have done during childhood. While your earliest years would have been spent playing and babbling in grammatically incorrect Hittite, by the age of six or seven you may well have already started training in the family profession. If a girl, you would have been taught to weave by your mother; if a boy, you might have helped your father out on the farm, tried your hand at making pottery, or spent long hours learning cuneiform. (There may have been careers requiring gender non-conformity, as there was in Mesopotamia, but as far as I am aware this has not been proven.) You know that even the noblest children are given responsibilities - king Ḫattušili himself was once a stable boy.

Now, as an adult, you are a working professional contributing directly to Hittite society. You look the very portrait of a Hittite: as a woman, you have long, dark hair that you probably keep veiled, and as a man, your hair is around shoulder-length and your face clean-shaven. Ethnically, though, you are likely a mixture of Hittite, Luwian, Hurrian, Hattian, and depending on when and where exactly you live, maybe Assyrian, Canaanite or even Greek. There’s a fair chance Hittite might not actually be your native language. Still, you consider yourself a Hittite, and a subject of the Hittite king.

Well, now you know who you are, let’s get along with your day!

Your home and environment

Your day begins the way most people’s days do: you wake up at home, in your bed. As an average Hittite, you probably sleep on the floor rather than on elevated furniture. Your floor is either paved or of beaten earth, and your house itself has stone foundations and mud brick walls, with a flat roof supported by timber beams. Windows are scarce and small, to keep the indoor temperature stable.

Outside, the rest of the settlement is waking up too. Statistically, you live in a village or small town, surrounded by forest and mountains. Summers here are hot and dry, and winters cold and snowy, with spring and autumn being marked by thunderstorms. Most inhabitants work as farmers, relying on the weather for their survival. Contagious illnesses are a constant threat - under king Muršili II, the land suffered a deadly plague for twenty years - as are enemy invasions. If you live within the bend of the red river, in the Hittite heartland, consider yourself lucky; if not, your settlement could well be shifting from one kingdom’s property to another and falling prey to both sides’ raids on a yearly basis.

Admitting no enemy forces are in the area today, you take your time to get up. You might tiredly stumble to the outhouse to go pee. Eventually, you’ll want to get dressed.

Clothing

As a man, your clothes comprise of a kilt or sleeved tunic, with a belt of cloth or leather. As a woman, you wear a long dress and, if you are married, a veil. All clothing is made from wool or linen, and a variety of dyes exist: red, yellow, blue, green, black and white are all colours mentioned in texts. If you are rich enough, you may be able to import purple-dyed fabric from Lazpa (Greek Lesbos) or the Levant. You will also want to flaunt your wealth with jewellery, regardless of gender.

Of course, your shoes have upturned ends in the Hittite style. Historians will tease you for this. Don’t listen to them. You look awesome.

Mealtime!

It’s now time for one of your two daily meals (the other will take place in the evening, after your work for the day is done). This will be prepared at the hearth, a vital element of every home, and which is likely connected to an oven. The staple of your diet is bread; in fact, it is so common that “bread”, in cuneiform texts, is used as a general term for food. It is usually made from wheat or barley, but can also be made from beans or lentils.

Worried you’ll get bored of it? You needn’t be: your society has enough types of bread that you could eat a different one each day for a whole season. Fig bread, sour bread, flat bread and honey bread are just some of your options, along with spear bread and moon bread... yes, in other words, baguettes and croissants. (Something tells me the Hittites and the French would have a lot to talk about.)

You also have various fruits and vegetables available: cucumber, leek, carrots, peas, chickpeas, lentils, beans, olives, figs, dates, grapes, pomegranates, onions, garlic, and more. Your diet is completed by animal products, including cheese, milk, butter, and meat, mainly from sheep and goats but also cows and wild game. Honey, too, is common.

These ingredients can be combined into all sorts of dishes. Porridge is popular, as are stews, both vegetarian and meat-based. Meat can also be broiled and quite possibly skewered onto kebabs. And of course, food would be boring without spices, so you have a variety of those to choose from too: coriander are cumin are just two of them.

As for drinks, you can have beer, wine, beer-wine (good luck figuring out what that is), milk or water. If you’re well-to-do enough, you may own a rhyton, a drinking vessel shaped like an animal such as a stag or bull. Don’t forget to libate to the Gods before drinking your share.

Daily work

The next thing on your plate, after food, is work. What you do depends on your social status and gender, and most likely, you do the same work as your parents did before you. You could be something well-known like a king, priest, scribe, merchant, farmer or slave, but don’t assume those are all the possibilities; you could also be, for example, a gardener, doctor, ritual practitioner, potter, weaver, tavern keeper, or perfume maker.

It’s impossible to go into detail on every career option you would have in Hittite society, so for the sake of brevity, let’s just discuss four - two male-dominated, and two female-specific.

Farmer

As a farmer, you are the backbone of your society. You and your peers are responsible for putting food on the plates of Hittites everywhere, thus ensuring the survival of the empire.

Like many farmers, you live on a small estate, most likely with both crops (or an orchard) and livestock to take care of. You may own cows, sheep, goats, pigs, horses, donkeys, and/or ducks. Your daily routine and tools aren’t that different from other pre-industrial cultures, though you have it a little rougher than most due to the Anatolian mountain terrain. If you have the means, you hire seasonal workers - both male and female - to help out as farmhands, and you may own a few slaves.

You get up early to milk the cows, and at the onset of summer, you or a hired herdsman may lead your livestock up to mountain pastures to graze. Depending on the season and the work that needs to be done, you may spend your day ploughing the fields, harvesting grain or fruit, tending livestock, shearing sheep, birthing a calf, repairing the barn, or various other tasks. Make sure to take proper care of everything: new animals are expensive, and losing one could get you into a precarious situation. In particular, you’ll want to keep an eye out for bears, wolves, foxes, and even lions and leopards.

Scribe

Few people are literate in Hittite society, and you are one of the lucky ones. You have been learning to read and write in three languages (Sumerian, Akkadian and Hittite) since childhood, and after long years of copying lexical lists and ancient myths, your education is now complete.

As a scribe, you are the dreaded bureaucrat. In a small town, you likely work alongside the town administrator, recording tax collections and enemy sightings as well as corresponding with other towns, and with the capital. You and your peers are the go-to people for officialising marriage agreements and divorces, drawing up work contracts, and creating sales receipts. If not in the town administration, you could also work in a temple, recording the results of oracles, cross-checking the correct procedures for a ritual, and making sure everything necessary for a festival is available. If you are particularly lucky, you may be employed by the nobility or even the palace, and be entrusted with such confidential tasks as writing the king’s annals or drafting an international treaty.

Regardless of where you are, two things are essential to your job: a stylus and a tablet. You may be a “scribe of the clay tablets”, in which case you will need to carry around a bit of clay wherever you go (and some water to moisten it). Otherwise, you are a “scribe of the wooden tablets”, in which case you use a wax tablet in a wooden frame, which requires less maintenance. It’s unclear whether these types of tablet are used for different purposes.

Fun fact: you likely have a few pen pals around the Hittite empire. After corresponding with other scribes for so long, you’ve started writing each other messages at the bottom of your tablets, asking each other how you’re doing and to say hi to each other’s families. Your employers needn’t know.

Weaver

Weaving, to a Hittite like you, is the quintessential female activity, along with textile-making in general. Like farming, this is a backbone of your society: without weaving, there would be no clothes, and without clothes, well, you can’t do much.

As a weaver, you produce textiles for your family and in many cases also for sale. You work in an atelier within your home, along with the other women of the household, keeping an eye on your smallest children as they play nearby. While your husband, brothers or sons may transport and sell your handiwork, you are the head of your own business.

You are skilled in multiple weaving techniques, and can do embroidery and sew fabric into various shapes (including sleeves - take that, Classical Greeks). You create clothing for all sorts of occasions, including rituals and festivals, outdoor work, and winter weather, and if you are lucky enough to be commissioned by the nobility, you put your best efforts into clothing that will show off their status. Don’t try to cheat anyone out of their money, though; prices are fixed by law.

Old Woman

Contrary to what you might expect, you don’t need to be old to be an Old Woman - this is a career just like any other, though it probably does require a certain amount of life experience and earned respect. As an Old Woman, you are a trained ritual practitioner and active in all sorts of cultic, divinatory and magical ceremonies.

Most commonly, you are hired for rituals protecting against or removing evil. Your services may solve domestic quarrels, cure a sick child, or shield someone from sorcery (a constant threat in your society). This is done through symbolic acts like cutting pieces of string, breaking objects, and sacrificing and burning animals, which are of course accompanied by incantations - sometimes in Hittite, sometimes in other languages, like Hurrian.

Far from a village witch, you are high-placed in Hittite society and trusted by the royal family itself. You have taken part in major rituals and festivals, including funerals, and you perform divinatory oracles too. This last responsibility gives you a large amount of influence over the king and queen; if you establish that something should be done, then it almost certainly will be. Use this power well... or not.

Your loved ones

After a long day ploughing fields, writing tablets, weaving clothes or reciting incantations, it’s finally time to reunite with your loved ones. For adults, these likely - but not necessarily! - include a spouse and children. You may just live with your nuclear family, but living with extended family is also common, and there may be as many as twenty people in your household. Siblings, aunts and uncles, parents, grandparents, children and babies all share the evening meal with you, and some nights, you might gather afterwards to sing and dance, tell stories, and play games.

You also have relationships outside of home. Friendship is valued by Hittite society, with close friends calling each other “brother” and sister”. You might meet up with them regularly at the local tavern for a beer and a bit of fun. Someone there might even catch your eye... Interestingly, there are no laws against that person being of the same gender as you. So, same or different gender, why not try your luck tonight?

Greater powers

It’s impossible to spend a day in the Hittite empire without encountering religion. The Land of a Thousand Gods is aptly named: Gods are in everything, from the sun to the mountains to the stream at the back of your house to fire to a chair. You should always be conscious of their power, and treat them with respect. Though there are few traces of it, you may have a household shrine where you make libations or offer a portion of your meal. Your Gods may be represented by anthropomorphic statues, by animals such as a bull, by symbols such as gold disks, or even by a stone. Either way, treat these objects well; the divine is literally present in them.

You should also be wary of sorcery. Never make clay figures of someone, or kill a snake while speaking someone’s name, or you will face the death penalty. Likewise, always dispose of impurities carefully, especially those left over from a purification ritual (such as mud, ashes, or body hair). Never toss them onto someone else’s property. Has misfortune suddenly struck your household? Is your family or livestock getting sick and dying? These are signs that someone has bewitched you.

Some days are more sacred than others. You participate in over a hundred festivals every year, some lasting less than a day, some lasting a month, some local, some celebrated by the entire Hittite empire. The most important of these are the crocus festival and the purulli festival in spring, the festival of haste in autumn, and the gate-house festival, possibly also in autumn. The statues of the Gods are brought out of the temples, great feasts are held, and entertainment is provided through music, dance and sports contests. Depending on how important your town is, the king, queen or a prince might even be in attendance. All this excitement is a nice break from your regular work!

Sleep and dreams

Phew, what a busy day it’s been. The sun, snared in the trees’ branches, has set on the Hittite land, and you are ready for bed. Time to wrap yourself snugly in blankets and go to sleep.

You may dream, in which case, try to remember as much as you can. Dreams can be a vehicle for omens. Maybe, if the Gods are kind, you might catch a glimpse of what the next days, months and years hold in store for you.

Good night!

Bibliography

Beckman, Gary, “Birth and Motherhood among the Hittites”, in Budin, Stephanie Lynn, Macintosh Turfa, Jean, Women in Antiquity: Real Women across the Ancient World, Abingdon 2016 (pp. 319-328).

Bryce, Trevor, Life and Society in the Hittite World, Oxford 2002.

Bryce, Trevor, “The Role and Status of Women in Hittite Society”, in Budin, Stephanie Lynn, Macintosh Turfa, Jean, Women in Antiquity: Real Women across the Ancient World, Abingdon 2016 (pp. 303-318).

Golec-Islam, Joanna, The Food of Gods and Humans in the Hittite World, BA thesis, Warszawa 2016.

Hoffner, Harry A., “Birth and name-giving in Hittite texts”, Journal of Near Eastern Studies 27/3 (1968), pp. 198-203.

Hoffner, Harry A., “Daily life among the Hittites”, in Averbeck, Richard E., Chavalas, Marc W., Weisberg, David B., Life and Culture in the Ancient Near East, Bethesda 2003 (pp. 95-118).

Marcuson, Hannah, “Word of the Old Woman”: Studies in Female Ritual Practice in Hittite Anatolia, PhD thesis, Chicago 2016.

Wilhelm, Gernot, “Demographic Data from Hittite Land Donation Tablets”, in Pecchioli Daddi, Franca, Torri, Giulia, Corti, Carlo, Central-North Anatolia in the Hittite Period: New Perspectives in Light of Recent Research, Roma 2009 (pp. 223-233).

[pattycordoba]

PATTY CORDOBA | While most people focus on social distancing, face coverings, hand washing, and even self-isolation to protect against the deadly coronavirus now ravaging the world, too few are paying enough attention to two other factors critically important to the risk of developing a Covid-19 infection and its potential severity.

Those factors are immunity, which should be boosted, and inflammation, which should be suppressed. Severe Covid-19 illness is accompanied by acute inflammation throughout the body, including the lungs, heart, and brain.

Older people have weaker immune defenses and are especially vulnerable to this disease and its potentially fatal consequences. With advancing age, the natural killer cells, a major immunological weapon, become less effective at destroying virus-infected cells. At the same time, inflammation in tissues throughout the body also increases with age. This allows the coronavirus to get into the body, bind to molecules in the nose and lungs, and wreak havoc.

People who are obese, have cancer or chronic health conditions like type 2 diabetes and heart conditions have higher inflammation in the body as well and hence, are more vulnerable to a severe outcome when infected with Covid.

Thankfully, there are manageable ways to enhance immunity and diminish inflammation. The basic lifestyle weapons, like diet and exercise, are available to everyone and can have a major impact on a person's immune system.

Skeletal muscles reinforce the immune system because their contractions produce small proteins called myokines that dampen inflammation and increase potency of natural killer cells. The more extensive or vigorous the exercise is, the lower the inflammation. Studies found that people who do fewer than 3,000 steps a day have much more inflammation than those who do 10,000 steps or more daily.

The other big health challenge during the coronavirus crisis is to consume a varied, nutrient-rich diet and keep calorie intake under control. As baking has become a popular pastime for many sheltering at home, overconsumption of sugar and refined flour can lead to increased weight, abdominal fat, and a weakened immune system. For this reason, it is advantageous to eating a wholesome, varied diet comprised of grassfed/organic meats, sustainable seafood, healthy fats, as well as vegetables and fruits.

The following will focus on plant foods and how their unique phytonutrients can support your immunity and tame inflammation in the body. Phytonutrients are chemical compounds produced by plants to help them resist fungi, bacteria, and virus infections. Unlike protein, fats, vitamins, and minerals, phytonutrients are not essential for keeping you alive, yet, they can help prevent disease and keep your body working in tip-top shape.

Since every plant food has its own unique benefits, it is helpful to organize them into different colors - white, yellow, orange, red, green, and blue-purple. Certain colors are particularly useful for supporting immunity and lowering inflammation. Nevertheless, it is beneficial for everyone, no matter whether you are a carnivore or a vegan, to incorporate different colors of plant foods in your diet.

Why Plant Foods Are So Remarkable

1. Plant foods benefit your gut microbiome

The average human gut microbiome is made up of about 40 trillion bacteria and consists of more than 1,000 microbial species, although most of the gut bacteria belong to just 30-40 species. The vast majority of these bacteria reside in the colon.

Numerous research studies have confirmed that the microbiome has an enormous impact on almost every aspect of health, including immunity, inflammation, gut, brain, skin, and heart health.It is important to maintain not only a predominance of beneficial bacteria (versus bad bacteria) but also a high diversity of the types of bacteria in your gut microbiome.

Eating the wrong types of foods can promote the growth of bad bacteria. These include refined sugar, processed foods made of chemicals and artificial sweeteners, trans fats and bad oils, as well as animal foods that are sources of antibiotics and pesticides.

In contrast, by regularly eating more fermented foods (which contain live bacteria) such as sauerkraut, kimchi, tempeh, miso, and cultured yogurt, you can introduce different strains of healthful bacteria called probiotics into your gut.

Plant foods contain various types of fiber. Fiber is not digestible by the body, hence, it promotes regularity. One type of fiber called prebiotics is fermented by the good bacteria to use as food. Examples of some prebiotic foods include garlic, onions, leeks, asparagus, unripe bananas, apples (with skin), jicama, wheat bran, oats, barley, flaxseeds, burdock root, cocoa, Jerusalem artichoke, and dandelion greens.

By eating a wide variety of probiotic (fermented) and prebiotic foods regularly, not only will they help increase the beneficial bacteria count, but also the diversity of the types of bacteria in the gut. Your immune health is greatly affected by your gut microbiome.

2. Plant foods lower inflammation

Inflammation is your body's normal response to injury and infection. It is when damaged tissues release chemicals that tell white blood cells to start the repair job. However, when inflammation is chronic, low-grade, and widespread, it starts to do damage to the body. For instance, it can play a role in the buildup of plaque in arteries that increases your chance of heart disease and stroke. Chronic inflammation is associated with a higher risk of cancer, obesity, and diabetes, and possibly a worse outcome in case of a Covid-19 infection.

Fortunately, plant foods are full of anti-inflammatory nutrients that can help promote your health, such as:

Omega-3 fatty acids

- Flaxseeds, chia seeds, hemp seeds, walnuts, and Brussel sprouts.

Hormone-like nutrients

- Vitamin D (mushrooms)

- Vitamin K (leafy greens, fermented foods)

Quercetin

- Apples, onions, kale, cherry tomatoes, and broccoli.

EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate)

- Green tea

Resveratrol

- Red wine, red grape juice, blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, peanuts, pistachios, cocoa, and dark chocolate.

3. Plant foods are a powerhouse of antioxidants

Antioxidants have the ability to prevent oxidative stress, destroy free radicals, and protect the structural integrity of cells, including immune cells. There is strong evidence that adequate antioxidant intake is key to a strong immune system, regardless of age. It is also important to take in antioxidants from different foods as each antioxidant serves a specific function and is not necessarily interchangeable with another.

Vitamin C

- Berries, citrus fruits, cherries, kiwi, papaya, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, bell peppers, tomatoes.

Vitamin E

- Avocado, leafy greens, nuts and seeds, and wheatgerm.

Selenium

- Brazil nuts, brown rice, banana, mushroom, oatmeal, and spinach.

Zinc

- Nuts, whole grains, and beans.

Polyphenols

- Apples, berries, greens, and tea.

Carotenoids

- Sweet potato, yam, carrots, tomatoes, red and yellow peppers.

Last but not least, spices are full of antioxidants too.

- Black pepper, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, oregano, and turmeric.

Benefits Of Different Colors Of Plant Foods

YELLOW for Digestive Health

Rich in lutein and zeaxanthin (e.g. ginger, lemons, pineapple, bananas, and plantains)

- Antioxidant

- Enzymatic activity

- Gastric motility and regulation

- Reduce glycemic impact

- Role in fostering a healthy gut microbiome

ORANGE for Reproductive Health

Rich in beta-carotene (e.g. carrots, oranges, orange sweet potatoes, and yams)

- Antioxidant for fat soluble tissues

- Hormonal modulation

- Role in ovulation and fertility processes

RED for Lowering Inflammation

Rich in lycopene (e.g. beets, red bell pepper, tomatoes, strawberries)

- Anti-inflammatory

- General antioxidant activity

- Immune modulation

GREEN for Cardiovascular Health

Rich in folates (e.g. leafy greens)

- Blood vessel support

- Role in healthy circulation and methylation (biochemical process in the body)

BLUE-PURPLE for Brain Health

Rich in flavonoids(e.g. purple grapes, blueberries)

- Antioxidant

- Cognitive support

- Healthy mood balance

- Role in health of nerve cells in the nervous system

Most COLOR-DENSE Plant Foods

These plant foods contain all the phytonutrients from the 5 colors:

- Carrots, grapefruit, mango, papaya, red cabbage, rutabaga, tomatoes, watermelon.

Practical Ways To Eat More Colorful Plant Foods

Think of eating by color helps to increase the intake of different plant foods. Make sure you cover all the colors at least several times per week.

Vary the cooking methods, such as eating raw as in salads, steaming, sautéing, or roasting.

Use spices, herbs, and seasonings.

For those having difficulty in making time to prepare vegetables, incorporating vegetable juices and powders can be helpful.

Eat more meals at home versus in a restaurant. People tend to eat more vegetables with home-cooked meals.

Not All Plant Foods Are Good For Everyone

If you have an allergy or food intolerance to certain plant foods, you should avoid them.

Some people have the genetic mutation that results in the inability to digest lectins (a type of protein in plants). Lectins are usually found in plant seeds. Some of the most lectin-rich foods include beans, lentils, peanuts, tomatoes, potatoes, peas, soy, barley, eggplant, fruits, wheat, and rice. One way to avoid the lectins, say in tomatoes, is to peel off the skin and throw away the seeds. There are also methods to reduce lectins in beans, such as pressure cooking, soaking, fermenting, or sprouting. White rice has less lectins than brown rice.

PATTY CORDOBA | Individuals who have arthritis may find that nightshade vegetables worsen their condition. They include eggplant, Goji berries, peppers (bell, cayenne, chili, and paprika), pimentos, potatoes, tomatoes, and tomatillos.

Do not opt for processed or junk plant foods. Potato chips are usually fried in vegetable (seed) oils. Donuts, cookies, and sweets are often made with refined flour, vegetable oils, and sugar.

[effywild]

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been a bit (a lot?) overwhelmed with a steady stream of terrifying/outrage-inducing no good terrible bad news lately. In the midst of *waves hands at all the things* I’ve been doing this dance, lately, between being ‘in here’ and ‘out there’. Some of my life’s hours are spent in outrage. Some are spent in my blanket fort with my lovely dog. Some are spent reading and retweeting. Some are spent listening to The Witching Hour by Anne Rice on Audible. Some are spent happily creating. Some are spent creating in a fit of frustrated weeping.

I dance. In here. Out there. Peace. Struggle. Outrage. Fierce love.

Cha-cha-cha.

For once in my life, ‘in here’ is pretty good. Lonely, but in a deliciously spacious, anticipatory way that I’ve never before experienced – like, this loneliness is a portal through which good things may emerge. Quiet. Peaceful. Full of my own ‘head down, do your own work’ type stuff. “Out there” is – well. You know.

The dance is good for me. It means I’m asking myself what I need on a regular basis. I find myself slamming the lap top shut and indulging in something soul-nourishing more and more often as a counter measure. I ask myself “what can I *actually* do”, and I do that to the best of my ability, and then I go do something else.

Christopher Penczak posted this on his Facebook Timeline today:

Remember despite a world of madness, life continues… People are mourning loved ones lost, getting diagnosed with serious illnesses, facing disasters, and filing for divorce. People are also falling in love, getting married, creating art, raising children, making new friends, playing music, having sex, advocating for their rights, and making magick. Remember to live.

I took a deep breath when I read that. It’s not like I need permission to do these things. I don’t. I’m a grown ass woman. But I do, occasionally, need *reminders* that I can do these things.

I like to remember to live ‘out loud’ in spaces like this, because I find myself emboldened by sharing. When I share, I feel safely gathered in to a tribe of witnesses. It also keeps me accountable if I call a thing I’m doing ‘a thing’ and I endeavour to do it habitually.This is how pretty much every community project I’ve ever created began.It all starts like this:

OH HEY! I want to do a thing, but I’ll probably drop it after five minutes because SQUIRREL, so I’m going to make it a thing, okay? If it’s a THING and I know you’re doing it with me, I’ll do it for longer than five minutes. Maybe not MUCH longer, but at least a little longer! So TADA! This is now a THING.

As a way of balancing my reaction to my news feed, I want to do a thing. A “Friday Five” type of thing. Five things that are rocking my life, every Friday. Some of the things will be me things. Some will be things I find out there in the world. All of them will be soul nourishing. They will be heart-centered, desire-led, pleasure-seeking, spirit-lifting.

Good things. Moving things. Things that restore my faith in humanity, or my faith in myself. Not because I’m one of the ‘positive police’ – I’m not, and anyone that knows me knows that I am a huge fan of being with all the things, including the deep dark scary stuff. So, no. This is not about spiritual bypass or whitewashing all of *waves at everything happening around her*. Rather, attending, at least for a few moments a week,to what’s *right*.

This feels somehow magical right now. It feels like I already attend to what’s not okay, like, all the time. I notice it, I call it out, I do what I can to counter it by creating safe spaces where people can share without fear of reprisal for feeling their feelings. But lately it feels a little bit like I’m in danger. Like I’ve swung all the way over to the omgdoomy side of things in my desperation to stay on top of it all, and that’s no way to live, right? Because in the midst of everything that’s going on, there are these lives we’re living.

FYI, unless otherwise explicitly noted, my shares are fangirlish squee, and not affiliate linkage.

So. Friday Five. Here we go.

Thing One As someone who spent most of her life struggling with a serious self-care deficit, the preparation of beautiful food *for myself* even when there’s no one else to feed has been a hugely nourishing undertaking. When my marriage ended, I knew how to cook for a houseful of people, not ONE person, and so at first, I shopped like I used to, and cooked like I used to, and then threw out 3/4 of what I’d bought/cooked. In time, I lapsed into a habit of ordering in, which was okay, because I wasn’t wasting food anymore, and I wasn’t experiencing that horrible sadness I experienced when I realized I’d cooked enough for an army of mouths and bellies for no reason other than I had no idea how to cook for one.

Shortly after I moved to my new apartment, I signed up for a service* that delivers raw ingredients (everything you need except salt, pepper, olive oil, and occasionally a couple of eggs) and recipes for multiple meals a week. Serving sizes are healthy. Everything is, wherever possible, locally sourced and of the highest possible quality. Everything is incredibly fresh. I opted in for four entrees per week, and I usually select at least two vegetarian options (to which I often add lean protein so I can make the recipe stretch a bit). This means that pretty much every day, I’m eating something beautiful and healthful, since each recipe makes 2 – 3 servings, and more if I add my own lean protein to the veggie recipes.

At least four times a week, you will find me in my kitchen, apron on, listening to an audio book or music (see Thing Two), doing my mise en place, shaking my booty, singing out loud. I sip Perrier Lime or Chardonnay. I cook, and then plate whatever I’ve cooked, photograph it, and sit down to eat. Mindfully. Slowly. Steak, sliced against the grain served with black garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed snow peas. Moussaka. Naan panini with bocconcini, roasted red pepper, and HOMEMADE PESTO. Caribbean sweet potato hash with honey glazed pork loin.

If I have a guest, they sit on a comfy bar chair I have in my kitchen so they can sip wine and talk to me while I cook. I plate for two, photograph the prettiest plate, and then we sit down to eat.

Every plate I create is a love letter to my body. Every meal I make is a Valentine.

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Chana Masala with Naan

Potato and Leek Galette

Panini with bocconcini and roasted vegetables with a basil & baby arugula pesto.

*Because I know you’ll ask, here’s where I get my food from. 

Thing Two

Spotify. I love it. It has become a near daily companion. I love to create playlists, but my very favourite feature is “Discover Weekly” which is a new playlist created for me by Spotify every single Monday. You can find my profile here.

Thing Three

 Couch art. Mmmmm. Especially now that I have a wee box of Jane D’s MM stuff, thanks to two shopping trips to Michael’s with coupons.

This wee girl (she’s about 7 x 10) was created with the INKredible pen, both of the watercolor palettes, the Mermaid Markers, and Magic Wands. I’ve also got some white acrylics paint in there (Golden Fluid). I have made a deal with myself that if I want to binge on something on Netflix, I have to have a journal spread on the go – not because I’m a tyrant, but because it is much more soul nourishing for me to multitask in this way.

Thing Four This post by Tanya Geisler that helped me feel a little less wobbly.

Thing Five

This new project by my lovely muppet, Sarah Trumpp, that is making my heart swell.

I hope you have a weekend that is full of your life. See you next week!

xo Effy Journal52 | MiniMoleyDaily | Classes | Blog | Facebook | YouTube | Twitter

            Friday Five If you're anything like me, you've been a bit (a lot?) overwhelmed with a steady stream of terrifying/outrage-inducing no good terrible bad news lately.