Tomorrow is the last day of the year, and the day after that is New Year’s Day, so today felt like a day for getting ready. We had several visitors recently, so I wiped the kitchen floor with a wet cloth to freshen it up, went shopping for ingredients for the year-end and New Year meals, got my hair cut, and even opened a brush pen—almost like a rehearsal for New Year’s calligraphy, which is a Japanese tradition.
Then my daughter said she wanted to bake bread and make lunch. Since it’s winter break, I got enthusiastic and said yes… and the kitchen floor was soon back to how it was before. I felt a vague, nowhere-to-put sense of my effort, but maybe I can just wipe it again tomorrow. I do yoga in the kitchen, so dust and dirt on the floor really bother me. Or maybe the strange thing is that I’m doing yoga in the kitchen in the first place. I hope I can solve this little problem next year.
Oh, and thanks to an Amazon recommendation, I started reading volume 1 of "しあわせは食べて寝て待て" (Happiness comes from eating, sleeping and waiting ... such a good title!) on Kindle Unlimited—and I’m completely hooked. I might end up reading it all tonight. I’ve long been interested in Chinese medicinal cooking, but after repeated false starts, I feel like this story finally helped me step naturally into its world.
Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. I hope to close this year peacefully and welcome the new one with the same calm.
明日は一年最後の一日、明後日は新年ということで、その準備をするような一日だった。来客続きだったこともあり台所の床をぬれ拭きしてすっきりして、年末年始の食材を買いに行って、髪を切って、書き初めの予行演習ではないけれど筆ペンをおろして・・・。
子供がパンを作りたい、昼ご飯を作りたいというので、冬休みだしと張り切ったら、台所の床は元通りになってしまった。やり場のない徒労感にもやもやしたけれど、明日またぬれ拭きすればいいのかな。キッチンでヨガをするので床の埃や汚れが気になる。そもそもキッチンでヨガしているのがおかしいのか。来年はこの問題を解決できるといいな。
そうそう、Amazonのおすすめで紹介されて、Kindle Unlimitedの読み放題で『しあわせは食べて寝て待て』の1巻を読んでダダハマりで、読み切ってしまいそうです。興味はあったものの、何度も挫折を繰り返してなかなか進めずにいた薬膳の入り口に無理なく立てた気がします。
明日は大晦日。平和に一年を締めくくって、新しい一年を始められますように。