Tomatoes, Lettuce, Buddhism, and Such

Had my first of the winter season grocery store tomato for lunch yesterday. Blurghhhh. A mealy, mushy, tasteless globe of badness. I couldn’t eat it after one bite. God, I miss the summer garden. I did the math this morning: 227 days until June 20, 2016, the summer solstice. A gardener’s life is a waiting game.

Last night, I potted up a big, red hippeastrum bulb for my mom. I’ll give it to her this weekend. I give her one every year around this time. She really enjoys watching it grow and bloom. And she was, after all, the person who sparked my interest in gardening in the first place. Thanks, mom!

The garden lettuce is ready for harvest. We’ve had no deep freeze yet (it’s 70 degrees today), so it’s been doing great. It’s very cool to pick fresh lettuce for salads in November. The garlic is resting under about 6 inches of chopped leaves. In spring, I’ll clear those leaves and let the blessed sun do its magic. Fresh, homegrown garlic is very sexy. Thank you, Mother Earth.

The Shin Buddhism studies are moving forward nicely. It’s been great to have finally found a local sangha where I can study, group meditate, and fellowship. I consider myself very lucky to have found the Buddhist Faith Fellowship near my home. And the fact that it’s headquartered at my alma mater, Wesleyan University, makes it even better. So grateful.

Last night, after dinner, my husband and I got into bed super early, snuggled, and watched the Bengals defeat the Browns 31-10. As much as the short, cold days and sleeping gardens of winter are not my favorite thing, long, happy nights in bed with the love of my life is always a good thing. 

This month, Todd and I celebrate the day we met, four years ago. It was wintery that day, but both our hearts were ready for love. And love it was, at first sight. Such an amazing moment. So here’s to winter, beautiful people.

I love you all.

/II\

Namaste