Sunday, August 17Alas, another morning of ants welcoming me in my kitchen. It’s been pretty ridiculous. I couldn’t deal. So, I took the water bottle, sprayed the trail, wiped up the casualties, and then sprayed a corner baseboard with Raid where the persistent ants seemed to seep through.
I had to get out. I met the girls, Susan and Kerry, at Everett Street Bistro for brunch. We had’t had brunch in ages. And I hadn’t seen them in forever. We had lots to catch up on. I ordered my scrambled eggs with mushrooms and a side of rosti potatoes, with a glass of orange juice. Then I gave Susan her present.
After, we walked up to our favorite shop, Anthropologie. There were so many adorable things, from pajamas to cute fall sweaters. I practiced incredible self control and left before getting too tempted.
I drove up Hawthorne to go to Yoga Union for the hot yoga class. I had been longing for yoga since before I left for Montana. I hadn’t practiced in so long – except for some sun salutations here and there. It was a really tough class for me. My muscles shook, barely holding some of the positions, but it was a welcome challenge.
When I got home, I was ready for another challenge. To combat this militant ants needed to be pushed out for good. So, I moved furniture, I vacuumed the floor up, all along the baseboards, sucking up any crum of kitchen glory, or from the kitties’ dishes, and then washed the floors to remove the scent of the original ant trails. Next, I sprayed Raid along every base board where the ants had been bunkering. I pulled out the trash can, that had a major infestation – it was pretty gross, and I hauled it outside to do the proper fumigation. It would have to get washed out over the weekend. Meantime, I would have to dispose of food in the garbage disposal and carefully throw things away, mindful of what has fallen to the kitchen floor and gone unnoticed. Nope, I would have to be more careful.
I sat down for a little while to rest. I took a much needed shower post hot yoga and this mad cleaning session. It was still very hot in my apartment, the humidity unbearable, and the shower cooled me off significantly. I made a pizza with a gluten-free rice and potato crust I had never tried before. I heated it up in the oven and then removed it to brush it with olive oil, and then I topped it with a thinly sliced heirloom tomato, wet mozzarella, and goat cheese soaked in olive oil and basil, with garlic and red pepper on top, finished with sea salt and black pepper. I baked it for about ten minutes. It was incredible. I ate half of the small pizza.
I then made a delicious salad of butterleaf and radicchio lettuces, white cabbage, topped with heirloom green tomato, and a fresh salsa made of diced red tomato, green onion, red onion, cilantro and lime. Finally, I topped it with fresh crab claw and drizzled a creamy Caesar dressing by Amy’s Kitchen, careful not to use too much dressing. It was amazing.
I have just thirty days left for this blog, just a month. Have I even begun to find love in all of its manifestations? I can’t help but wonder about this. It’s the purpose behind this journaling journey. It’s strange. I think I have found plenty of love in my life. I am lucky. Blessed even. Apart from the seemingly mundane actions of my daily life, I have found my share of good things, things that I have come to love. I know it’s not the same as finding the kind of love you share with that special someone, I’m not even convinced I am supposed to be with one someone. But, I have come to appreciate the other loves of my life - my gluten-free life, my artistic-creative life, my dear friends who continue to show me how good life is when you have a cadre of soul sisters, and my long-distanced family back east who have made my phone my second heart beat. Yes, I have lots of love in my life. Lots of good love. And I do know when to count my blessings.
Before I went to bed I checked in on the ant situation. They were nowhere to be found. This round, I won.
