Sunday, January 15, 2012

Everything is Everywhere

This afternoon I made a blueberry pie.  Seriously.  An honest-to-goodness blueberry pie.  I rolled out the crusts--which I'd made by hand last night--and filled the lower half with blueberries and cherries, flour and sugar, a little bit of cinnamon.  And then I fit the upper crust over the whole, and pressed the edges to seal the berries.  Cooked for about an hour.  First time I've ever made a blueberry pie.

What does my blueberry/cherry pie have to do with anything?  Not much, I suppose.  Except that it filled the house with sweetness.  Except that it slowed me down long enough to enjoy a Saturday afternoon at home.

Taking some time off this January.  Getting into a better routine, regular exercise, healthy foods.  Thinking about some goals for the next twelve months; thinking back on some of the blessings of the past twelve.  It was a powerful year, a full and rewarding year.  Worth savoring some.

Pulling my pie from the oven at last, I treasure this quiet Saturday at home.  I treasure the slow passing of time, the slow browning of the crust, the anticipation of family cutting into homemade pie.  I'm listening to a new song on my iPod.  It's called "Everything is Everywhere," a lovely tune by Carrie Newcomer.  It hits me: the cosmos is here in my kitchen.  The berries picked off bushes, rooted in the earth and nourished by rain.  The fire of beginnings, the holy heat that makes something of my stirred ingredients.  And the recipes and memories: passed down through generations, loved and improved on in other kitchens by other families.  Everything is everywhere.  Holy here.  

I need to do this more regularly.  Savor the experiences that come my way.  Savor the challenges of work, the opportunities for collaboration and creativity.  And it would do me well, very well, to bake a blueberry pie now and then.