A Cure for the Winter Chill
A couple nights ago, I had this dream where I was outside with the dogs (who are just HATING this farm life if you couldn’t tell!) when a baby bear appeared.
Now, this was no sweet little black bear - it was a burly cinnamon-colored grizzly. One moment I was looking out at the distant foothills and the next it was there right in front of me. I waved my hands in a “shoo!” sort of motion and hoped the dogs might bark and scare him off…but no luck. They continued to snoot and snuffle without a second thought for the bear.
At this point in the dream, the bear approached and my feet forget how to move. Suddenly, I was sitting and the bear had its paws on my lap, my hand in it mouth, and we were eye to eye. I yelled for Eric to help but he moved slowly, as unconcerned as the dogs.
I just had to sit there, heart racing, because the bear had me. From the gleam it its eye (and the weird knowledge that so often accompanies dreams) I knew it wasn’t going to kill me - but it wanted me to know that I was caught. That I could struggle, but I couldn’t get away. And with that sort of miserable, desperate feeling, I woke up.
Even I can see the connection between that dream-bear and stress. I mean, come on - the feeling of weight on my body, no one else rushing to help because they couldn’t see (or feel) what I could. The bear though…that puzzles me. I can’t remember the last time I’ve even thought about bears - they’re just not one of the animals I feel drawn to. It’s going to take a little more thought to work that one out.
So, where did this latest round of stress spring from? Well, probably the fact that our old house went on the market. It seems to be going well - lots of showings, we’ll be reviewing offers today - but even still. So much of what we’ll be able to do in the new place hinges on money and budget and so much of THAT now relies on the sale of the old house. Regardless, though, the bear dream was a kick in the butt and I’ve been putting significantly more effort into de-stressing and self-care since.
One of my favorite self-care routines this winter has been making golden milk - if you haven’t had it, it’s a spicy, turmeric based drink that helps fight inflammation. I also find that, for me, it’s incredibly warming and comforting - so much so that I haven’t felt the cold much this winter. I make a batch every 2-3 weeks, when I start to feel the winter chill getting to me, sip it till it’s gone, and I’m good to go.
Into a pot, I put:
25g peeled, sliced fresh turmeric root
15g peeled, sliced, fresh ginger root
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 whole cinnamon stick
4 cups of oat milk (though almond/coconut/etc. works too)
I bring the whole thing to a simmer and then hold it there for 15 minutes. Then I pour the whole concoction into a blender, whir it up, and run it through a juicing bag to remove the solids (but you could also just strain out the termeric etc., skipping the blending step altogether). The last step is to stir in a 1 can of full fat coconut milk.
For me, this recipe makes four to five 1-ish cup servings. I just heat up a little on the stove whenever I want some and leave the rest in the refrigerator. If it’s too strong (I like it to have some kick), diluting it with more oat milk can do the trick. You can also add a little honey if it needs some sweetness.
Friday saw me wielding my torch for the first time since the move. Unfortunately, I’m back to the old “ventilation in the window” song and dance (this time around, complete with cardboard to help fill the gap!!) but oh well. It’s not as slick a system for the time being, but it gets the fumes out which is what matters at the end of the day.
I’ve been thinking a lot about the dried zinnias that stood so cheerily in my garden two winters back…and making saddle rings in remembrance while I plan where to plant this year’s patch. There are so many fiddly layers, rings and rings of petals, but I’m loving the process as I always do. Fussing with silver is just how I like to spend my time.
I’m actually starting to seriously think through creating some e-courses so I can share some of these skills and techniques with other makers. On my list, I’ve got a metalsmithing basics class, saddle rings, signet rings, bezel setting…it’s a long list. I can’t say exactly how I’ll go about doing it yet, but it’s starting to come together in my head (which is always the most time consuming part of the process for me). Once I can visualize it, the “doing” flows like water.