Wednesday morning Banana Muffins

Those who know me well know I have a secret passion.

Ok. Not so secret as it’s a passion I love to share with others. I love the smiles on their faces, the conversation, the gathering of personalities and sharing of stories that happen when I indulge in my secret passion.

Curious?

I love to cook and entertain. Fortunately, my beloved loves to indulge in the ‘entertain’ portion of my passion just as much as I do. Though I should add, he’s a not bad chef himself and we make a pretty good duo in the kitchen!

In the past, weekdays were for working. I’m moving in a new stream.

This morning I awoke and decided I’d make muffins. To understand how wonderful it was to be in my kitchen at 8am, baking, you need to know how that just wasn’t possible in the past. Usually, I was out of the house by 8ish after getting up around 5 and wouldn’t be home until after 6pm.

Weekends weren’t necessarily for relaxing, baking and doing things around the house. I often spent a few hours working and though we did often entertain, I didn’t indulge myself in days of preparation — like I can now!

Which is why I’m already starting to think about how I’m going to set the table and what to make for a dinner party we’re having Saturday night for friends — actually they’re Beaumont’s friends as they are people he either stays with, or come and walk and convene with him when we’re away. But, regardless of whose friends they are, they’re coming for dinner and I am in full, “Hmmm… what shall I make?” mode. Which, for those who know me and my dinner parties, I don’t generally figure out what I’m cooking until the day of, not 4 days in advance!

And that’s the beauty of wide open time and space to soak in it.

Yesterday, I cleaned and cleared and decluttered and organized the kitchen. I had intended to get down to the storage area to begin the process of organizing my studio but somehow the kitchen/pantry were calling for my attention. And while it might be considered by some to be procrastination, I consider it prep work for the really big job ahead.

Sometimes, when faced with a really big task, it’s good to start with a smaller, more achievable one where the results are immediate and the satisfaction level high (like baking muffins). Albeit, 8 straight hours organizing my kitchen is not a small feat, I know the task ahead is many 8 hour blocks of time. To set the stage, to prepare my psyche (and body — man was I tired last night!), beginning with the smaller goal made sense.

Today, it’s the beginning of taking bites out of the big goal, one day at a time.

Wish me luck!