flexagon | Back to nature... well, kind of... (Reply)

So... this weekend, on Friday night in fact, I suddenly remembered that we have a porch. I remember meaning to buy some furniture for it immediately upon moving in, but never did and never did, and so mostly the porch has been for the kitties (we have a cat door in the window) and for me when I feel like sitting on the floor. But for whatever reason I suddenly remembered that it's there, I like it, I like being half-outside, I even like sleeping outside, and dammit, making this easier wouldn't be a tough thing to do. So on Saturday, after doing some stretches out there in the morning, I bought us a cloth and metal folding armchair--it's cool and it was really cheap too, $12 I think. I sat in it reading Coraline and watching the rain fall, or not fall, for whatever difference that makes with the humidity so high. Then on Sunday I went out there with my yogurt and did morning stretches again while reading Yoga Journal. Such a tiny thing to do but it felt fantastic. It's amazing how much more stimulating it is, to be outside... the tiny touches of air all over, the way you hear when it rains a tiny bit and stops before the ground is even wet. I know what you're thinking... the next Thoreau you are not, little cityfetus. And that's true enough. I don't suppose the feeling of space I get out there counts as "connecting with nature" in a particularly huge way compared to what some people enjoy. But I still like it, and hope we get an air mattress soon (we need one for all our wedding guests anyway) and connect with what we do have. The autumn when I was 12 I remember sleeping outside in the yard for about two weeks in a row... it really was great, though I don't remember if it was cold or fear of spiders that finally drove me back in. Hmmmm, I want to do that again, yes I do.

Creativity: perhaps inspired by reading more of The Artist's Way, on Saturday I wrote a (short, tongue-in-cheek) poem and also finished up a story HLM and I started to collaborate on a long time ago. It's essentially crap and I don't even feel the urge to polish it up, but it was a great exercise in just-do-it style writing. I'm not displeased with either piece. It felt good to be doing something creative (besides aspects of the wedding, that is)... I've spent a TON of time in the last year or so learning other people's systems of this and that. That can be as interesting as anything I might do, but the process doesn't feel the same at all, ya know? I've thought before of trying to do something creative with TKD just for the pure wild hell of it; make up my own form or something. But on second thought, since I can't even do this level's form for real yet, I'd better put that one on hold. <grin>

And finally, we tried the cornstarch. HLM knew that I wanted to try some "stuff", and I told him we had the stuff and that we needed to put an old crappy sheet on the bed, and that it was something dry, not wet. Then I blindfolded him and started sprinkling him (you can't really pour it, because it clumps). It really does feel great falling on you, especially after a day of being hot and sticky, though I recommend starting out as cool & dry as you can (AC helps with that). Anyway, I sprinkled him and rubbed it on, then put a bunch in his hand and got him to do my back. It felt soooooo smooth and silky, just as advertised. So it basically just helped with the foreplay. The mystery probably helped, for HLM anyway--he could not guess what it was. Afterward we didn't have trouble brushing most of it off ourselves and taking a shower (no clogging). Not sure yet what we'll do with the sheet; possibly hang it off the back porch for a while before washing. Anyway, thanks for the tip, and HLM does owe ya one,