Just Lauren

Now that the mornings and evenings are cooler, the opportunity to use the oven again presented itself. Friday night I baked a spice cake I’ve been craving for a few months and Saturday morning I baked cinnamon rolls because I wanted Shari to try out the recipe my mom and I have perfected every time I visit my parents. I misread the directions, however, and let the dough rise prior to filling it and cutting it into the rolls (oops), but they still turned out tasty. They were a great breakfast to gobble up while Shari and I celebrated Batman Day.

Now, Shari is more of a Batwoman fan than Batman, but Batman is part of the iconic Bat family (I mean, he is the head of it) so she still took part in the festivities. She printed out the activity book that DC created and we spent a happy Saturday morning going through it. We cut out bat masks (I chose the classic Adam West version), we attempted to find the differences in the Spot the Difference pages (I could only find 3 out of 5), and we colored some of the coloring pages. I’m particularly proud of my colored creation. I envision Batman saying something like, “I can look fierce too,” as he puts on his hot pink crop top and rainbow cape. Or maybe he says, “Sometimes I just want to have fun and let loose. Let Damian and his awesome butt handle the bad guys today,” in that typical way Batman always speaks, you know. 😉 I am grateful that Shari wanted to share Batman day with me and that she was willing to have a childlike heart for a couple hours and enjoy herself. We tried out the three mason jar experiments that were also part of the activity book and the tornado in a jar was definitely my favorite.

After Batman celebrations we headed over to meet our friends at the Kirkland Museum. I loved seeing everything in there and will explain in more detail about all of it in this week’s What I like Wednesday post. Afterward, Shari treated me to ice cream from Bonnie Brae and we sat at Washington Park under the shade of a large tree for a little while. I thought it was important to soak up the last bit of warmth we’ll get for the rest of the year. I am appreciative that the hot days are coming to a close – I’m pretty sure I’ve said that recently but I’ll keep saying it – but at the same time I want to appreciate them now while I still have a couple of them left. These days of waking up to the sun. Of being able to sit on my balcony in the morning or the evening. To see the sun shining through the green leaves, to look down and see the green grass. To hear the birds and see the squirrels. I want to be in the moment with all of that. I want to be content and feel at peace. And when the winter comes and the days are shorter and I shiver in bed and my hands are cold, I want to remember these moments. And I also want to be in those cold moments and feel content there too. I will try.

This morning I took time to water and care for my plants and do a tiny bit of rearranging. I have been reading the book, Braiding Sweetgrass, recently, and the author, who is a botanist and is Indigenous, speaks so eloquently and beautifully about plants, our planet, and our relationship with nature that I felt more connected and happy in today’s watering than I have lately. I tried to be more purposeful and careful watering the plants that rely on me for life. I wiped their leaves and I cleaned their containers. I fertilized them and turned them so they could grow strong on all sides as they reach for the light. I was reminded today of how important it is to be outside. To spend time in the world that created me, for I am of the soil, the sun, the water. Without this planet, without our star, I would not exist. I would not be able to think these thoughts and craft these words. I would not be able to water my plants. I won’t always enjoy watering my plants, human minds are often fickle, as our thoughts flit from one concern to another, but I will be thankful and purposeful when I can.

Shari and I watched the movie, Jungle Cruise, this afternoon and then went walking at a new park to us, Cherry Creek Ecological Park. I liked the movie as it made me laugh and I was fond of watching Emily Blunt and Dwayne Johnson explore the Amazon. I liked the park too. It’s more on the wild side with no grass lawns to speak of but instead native grasses and bushes. There’s a little pond and a creek that runs through the area where we watched children and adults alike splashing through the water right alongside the tiny fish. Sandstone benches scattered along the path for those that needed a rest and near the parking lot was a gazebo overlooking a lovely area filled with all kinds of trees and plants. The park’s trails connect to the Cherry Creek trail and one section of the land is dedicated to “walking in the past” where you can see a partial log cabin, some apple trees, and what I imagine are poles of a tee-pee structure. I will have to go back another day when it’s a little cooler and I have a snack on hand. Maybe I’ll bring a book and sit on this grassy area I saw by the creek to read and munch while the world around me whispers, “Welcome home.”