a lapse in meditation / a meditation for lunch

For these last few months I've been reading up on meditation, different forms, by different groups, different outcomes, different approaches. It's been so eye opening. I felt like I'd read enough by various authors and dabbled to the point where I was ready to try give the daily practice a jingle.

Low, with July came our summer house project. The one week we had put aside for it (well nine days, we added the second weekend for follow-up) turned into one month. And we're still moving back in, slowly. Amidst the dust, living out of boxes and eating out too much, I had lost track of my meditation goals.

As luck would have it, garlic scapes are in full force in early-mid July and pesto is incredibly easy to make. And now it's been scientifically proven that, if you skip the bbq & fireworks on July 4th, you can make 5 full batches of garlic scape pesto to fill the freezer while listening to a WTF interview of Iggy Pop. And garlic scape pesto will always remind me of Iggy Pop now.

But I digress. That same pesto became one with my daily sandwich everyday I was home with hubby, sanding floors and painting walls. I pint of milky iced tea accompanied it. The chunky texture of scape pieces, richness added by the romano, the chewy bread and coolness of the iced tea. None of the experience went to waste. That daily lunch became my exercise in mindfulness.

After four hours of working in 95 degree heat, my focus only on the task at hand, a full stop to sit and enjoy the front porch and my same lunch. A few deep breaths, taking in the fresh shaded air, and I was ready for another four hours of labor.

Update: walls are all painted and floors are all sanded & sealed.