Monday, March 22

Oh, papaya. I am grateful for you. The best of the three fruits we are served, you are nearly always ripe and sweet. Firm enough to maintain the ridged shape you've been put into, but soft enough to cut with a plastic knife.

If you're reading this blog, I imagine you've noticed that the first photo from every entry gets blown up on the home screen, kind of standing in as the title image of the post. I really don't want that image to be of my breakfast every morning, but it can be hard to figure out any other photo I can include before breakfast. Hence, my ode to the papaya.

Breakfast was papaya, Tetley tea with milk, and French toast with honey, strawberry jam, butter, and Trapani Italian sea salt sprinkled on top.

I am trying to maintain some of the wisdom I tapped into yesterday. I've set different intentions for myself starting on Day Four—Be Present, Be Compassionate with Myself, Be Brave, and Be Brave (I needed it enough for a second day!). I am trying to think of the intention that goes with the mindset I'm trying to access. Maybe Don't Try So Hard?

Boring photos require sparkles

It's probably less what I do than how I do it. I woke up around 5am and meditated for as long as I wanted, then showered and wrote and breakfasted and talked with lovely Sybylla over WhatsApp. I worked on a NY Times crossword, chatted with Roman on the room phone, and drank rooibos tea with milk.

It rained last night, and for the first part of the day it was a slightly cooler 81 degrees, with 84% humidity. Reasonably good tea weather.

Mid-morning, I did a difficult yoga class with long holds, and was still a little shaky and breathless when I met Roman in the garden for our hour of Outside Time.

We saw several doves (maybe zebra doves?) in the garden, and one small gecko that Roman snapped a photo of.

Lunch was a basil mushroom stir-fry that was quite spicy but otherwise unexceptional.

Then I read, I meditated, I made a kind of chai tea with a teabag of Tetley, a teabag of Chai Rooibos, and a packet of sugar two packets of sugar. I did yoga, I read some more, I looked at stuff on my phone.

For dinner...I had fish and chips.

A dubious choice, I know! It was...not terrible. Well, the fries were terrible, the fish was so-so, and the batter was surprisingly good. First time, last time, for that meal, I think.

And then I watched Project Runway, drank more tea, did a face mask, talked with Roman, and went to bed.