The iPhone has been a god-send to me: especially apps like Tramtracker, the real-time tram information service which means I can cut down on waiting for a tram, and the shopping list app which means I can spend my 2-3 minute safety margin planning meals for the next few days.
Sometimes, though, I enjoy the chance to be slow.
Today I was doing some potting. It took me over an hour to pot 3 plants and tidy up my potting bench ( two hurdles and spare plank of wood at the side of our house.) In my defence - and I somehow feel it requires defence - I had to get some sticky labels off the new ceramic pots before I could start work. I had to trundle a couple of heavy plants from the house to the potting bench. I had to find some screening to prevent the soil coming out the bottom. I had to carefully water the plants to be repotted and wait for the water to get in before shaking them loose. In short, I found all sorts of reason to potter about. It was lovely.
The same thing happens when I cook for recreation rather than to get a meal on the table before NCIS starts. A friend who is a chef once told me it hurts here to watch me chop vegetables. I gather the urge to rip the knife out of my hand and do it properly (ie. quickly) was quite compelling, but she woman-fully restrained herself.
My approach to slow is different from those who think things need to take as long as necessary to be done well. My gardening/cooking is a LOT slower than that! It's the slow that pretends an autumn afternoon will last forever. When we slow down, time slows down (not at work, but in the rest of our life it may).
Enjoy the rest of our weekend - I hope it is a slow one!
This is post 17 of 100 posts in 100 days.
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