works of wanderlust

Category: life & stuff

Generally just words and thoughts on the progress of my day-to-day.

  • Meta Monday & Moving Forward

    The inevitable question that every blogger faces is balancing all the pieces of time, effort, content, ideas, and purpose.

    You may have noticed (if you are a regular reader) that as of late my posting rate has dropped off to somewhere much lower than daily.

    This has been a factor of a number of things: a vacation that spanned into the New Year, the never-ending pandemic which I assumed would end much sooner and leave me open to exploring more adventure content, a couple other little side projects that have captured my attention, work (of course) which is getting busier with a couple big new projects, and so many other little details.

    That said, I love writing here and it gives me so much joy to explore cooking and adventure and running and all the other little topics I write about in a space that is my own.

    But I also want that to be a quality effort.

    Posting daily is a great way to be consistent and force yourself to write, but it also leads to (and I’ll be the first to admit this) a lot of filler content.

    And maybe, who knows, someday I’ll be inspired to write here daily again and keep up that pace that I tried so frantically (yes, it’s a lot of work) to keep in 2021.

    For now, however, I’m going to keep writing but continue as I’ve done for the first month of this year so far on longer, more carefully planned and written content that is on topic and interesting to readers. I’ll try to write, say, three or so posts per week but in doing so avoid the sidebars and more casual “filler” writing to hit a daily post quota.

    With nearly three hundred posts in my archives, this blog is not going anywhere … but hopefully the next three hundred will hone closer into my original mission of bringing my readers interesting ideas about uncomplicated things, life lived, and a mindset that reflects the philosophical practicality of well-seasoned cast iron frying pan, enduring, simple, down-to-earth & extremely useful… just not daily.

  • Mask Up

    One quote that sums up your 2021 is…

    “Masks on at all indoor locations.”

    everyone

  • Merry Christmas

    What did you want this year
    … and get?

    Too much.

    As I was wrapping up my work email for the holiday break yesterday, thumbing through my last few messages, a long thank you note rolled in from the president of a company with which my team does a significant amount of business.

    It concluded with a bit of an explanation:

    “We had thought about sending out our usual gift baskets this year,” he wrote, “ but with the logistics of everyone working from home we decided not to do that.”

    ”Instead,” he continued, “we have made a large donation to the food bank in the names of all our clients.”

    I remember in past years when over the last week before the Christmas break a few big boxes of chocolates or candies would appear and everyone would pick away at them as the last few days wound down to vacation. As much as I know the work I do is appreciated by some, the mundane and behind-the-scenes nature of being a technology professional means a lot of it also goes unnoticed. It’s nice to be appreciated, and a bix box of treats definitely helps.

    It’s a weird thing to miss, but then again there a lot of things missing these days, huh?

    I hit the reply button and typed something back, thanking him and wishing him a Merry Christmas.

    We miss the sweets, but most of us are doing the kind of work we do to make the world a more interesting place, not for the Christmas baskets.

    I got too much of the things I thought I wanted this past year, but seeing a simple little gesture like that, as basic and seemling obvious as it is reminded me that what I really wanted this year was for the world to be a little gentler, more caring, and generous to each other.

    So, I guess I got a little of that, at least.

  • Happy Things

    Compared to this time
    last year are you
    happier or sadder?

    the scent of freshly baked bread
    crisp autumn leaves cracking underfoot
    cuddles from an energetic dog
    grilled meat over an open fire
    fresh snowflakes reflected in my run light
    churning my own ice cream
    a freshly seasoned cast iron pan
    saturn aglow in the evening sky
    vaccinations
    beers shared with coworkers in the backyard
    runs through the rolling wilderness
    airline tickets
    looking across the mountains after a long climb
    watching the construction of a new ice rink
    games played with friends
    completed projects at work
    watercolour paints on coarse paper
    a new leaf appearing on a houseplant
    hugs from my daughter
    text messages from old friends
    freshly waxed cross country skis
    spicy mustard
    words shared on a not-so-new-anymore blog

  • Another Life Reset

    Nearly every day for the last year this blog has given me space to think about and write about living a more simple, purposeful life.

    Better food.

    Longer walks.

    Moments of captured creativity.

    But so what’s my point?

    Who or what are you
    leaving behind in 2021?

    I guess getting to the end of a year of being someone who works in digital technology but plays in the very analog world of cast iron, fire, wilderness, and trails has found me at a bit of a crossroads.

    I turned forty-five this past month.

    I’ve been working at a post-university career-type job for a little over twenty-some years.

    I suppose (and if I’m lucky) I could expect to work for a little over twenty-some years until I’m supposed to retire and pack up my suitcase to see the world as an old guy.

    But all this thinking and writing and pondering a different sort of life has left me with a particular notion of switching things up.

    I seriously looked into finding a bakery apprenticeship (or something similar) over the summer. It didn’t work out, but it did put me in the mindset of what exactly might be encompassed in a career change, even one massively dramatic as moving from a keyboard to a cutting board.

    So while I’m lucky in another way in that we didn’t lose anyone close to us this year (despite a global pandemic raging everywhere we look) I did lose a piece of me, a particular certainty of myself and who I am, and not necessarily in a bad way.

    What am I leaving behind in 2021? I’m stepping away from the resolute and stubborn guy who knows exactly where he’s going to be sitting in twenty some years. I don’t think I do anymore. I think he faded away sometime over the summer and in his place is someone who wants … needs … a simpler bite of meaning in his life.

    Whether that’s a result of all this writing, or just an obvious correlation, I’m not sure yet.