SAVORING THE SIMPLE PLEASURES OF LIFE
The new year is here and with it comes the renewed energy of making plans and goals.
The Maple Press goals for this new year are as follows, with a list of reminders to help create effective and exciting goals, as well as a blank template for readers to make their own copy.
Until next time,
With only so many hours in a day, it can often feel like time is slipping by with little fulfillment and an incomplete to-do list. Perhaps there is a mental wishlist of enjoyable things to do or goals to achieve, "if only there were the time". Well, with a little planning, there may just be enough time after all.
To create an effective daily schedule, begin with a blank schedule, one that shows each day of the week and the waking hours. Then create a list of what must fit into the schedule, things that should fit into the schedule, and things that would be wonderful to have time for. Do not hold back, write it all down! The goal is NOT to create a rigid schedule that must be adhered to each day. The goal is to see what is possible, and perhaps find a rhythm that feels right. The schedule is meant to be changed as often as needed to reflect what is realistic and enjoyable. Try one out for a while, see how it feels, then adjust as needed.
The next step is to fill in all of the non-negotiable and non-flexible times of the day (work for example).
For this next step, determine how much time should be spent each night sleeping, then decide when those wake and sleep times of the day should be (the example below would allow for about seven and a half hours of sleep). Everyone is different, but determining these wake and sleep times first will quickly show the waking hours of the day that are available for scheduling out.
Now it is important to work meal times into the schedule. Planning enough time to prepare, sit down, and enjoy the meal can feel luxurious and it is such a simple adjustment to the daily schedule. Perhaps weekday breakfasts and lunches will need to be a bit shorter, but planning for an hour or more on the weekend can be a special treat. Perhaps small snacks need to be scheduled between main meals for medical needs. Perhaps the last meal of the day needs to be a specific number of hours before bed to allow for proper digestion and improve sleep. Everyone is different.
Personal health and movement should be a top priority. Start small and simple if movement and exercise are not currently a regular part of the day. If it is a current routine, this step will be easy to schedule. Perhaps other areas of health need to have time set aside each day to care for. If so, fill it in.
An important part of a daily schedule is the time it takes to prepare for the day and prepare for the end of the day. These prep times should account for the routines currently in place but can allow for some dreaming of what those times of day could look like. Perhaps just enough time for a quick shower is all that is needed, or perhaps a luxurious evening routine could include face masks, dry brushing, and more. These prep times can vary from day to day as well.
If there is a pet in the home, they require specific times scheduled during the day to care for them. Some pets require daily care (walks, training, playing, brushing fur, or caring for teeth), weekly care (trimming nails), and monthly care (trimming hair, bathing, treating paws). Perhaps monthly care can take place on the fourth Sunday of each month.
These times of day are the sweetest and make life the vibrant and wonderful thing that it is.
The home is not going to care for itself, and caring for it is what makes it feel like home. Homekeeping, like caring for a pet, requires daily care, weekly care, monthly care, semi-annual care (twice a year), and annual care. Daily care may consist of making the bed, doing the dishes, or getting the mail. Weekly care may consist of washing the car, laundry, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, or planning meals. Monthly care may consist of cleaning the refrigerator, pantry, or microwave. Semi-annual care may consist of cleaning light fixtures, fans, walls, doors, baseboards, carpets, windows, curtains, oven, or the mattress. Annual care may consist of cleaning the garage, basement, porch, gutters, outdoor furniture, or annual landscape care.
Perhaps annual homekeeping can take place on the first Sunday of each month, semi-annual homekeeping on the second Sunday of each month, monthly homekeeping on the third Sunday of each month, and leaving the occasional fifth Sunday free of any homekeeping at all.
Additional homekeeping, as outlined in the image below, could consist of grocery shopping each week and weekly landscape care (mowing the lawn in the summer, monitoring irrigation systems, or simply taking some time to intentionally spend time in the yard, enjoying what each season has to offer).
Hopefully, this helps to make that precious recourse of time feel better spent, more enjoyed, and more fulfilling.
Until next time,
This publication is the first of a new series within the Gazette where the first Monday of each month, The Maple Press will share monthly meal plans with its readers. Weekly meal plans were shared in the past on the Gazette, however, sharing monthly will be a far simpler process.
Summer is in full swing with all the fresh produce. Planning seasonal meals is a wonderful way of becoming immersed in the season and enjoying the natural pace of real food. July's menu highlights the fresh berries, rhubarb, peaches, and greens that are in abundance in the garden.
For lunches in July, two options are alternated throughout the week providing simplicity and variety. The Maple Press will be enjoying a vacation the second week of July resulting in no need to meal plan.
Each week on Wednesdays is what The Maple Press likes to call "scraps supper" where a scrappy meal is thrown together using food items that are not needed to prepare dishes later in the week. This practice helps to eliminate food waste and makes meal planning far simpler. If there is a rare occasion where there are not enough food "scraps" to create a scrappy meal, dining out is the alternative.
Some dishes are listed without an accompanying image, which means the dish was thought up without any sourced inspiration to credit.
Dessert is thrown together on whatever evening feels most fitting. The dessert item typically makes enough for a couple of evenings for enjoyment.
Flourishing Foodie for creating the:
Strawberry and Peach Salad recipe
"The Best of Metropolitan Market" publication, containing the image of the grilled cheese with tomatoes and basil (the inspiration for the Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Tomato & Basil Pesto Filling)
The Lemon Apron for creating the:
Mocha Chocolate Pudding recipe (the inspiration for the Chocolate Hazelnut Spread Croissants with Berries)
Rhubarb Vanilla Custard Pie recipe
Rhubarb Curd, Honey and Lime Strawberry Crepes recipe
Diner Burgers, AKA Smash Burgers recipe (the inspiration for Burgers & Fries with Grilled Corn on the Cob)
Pomegranate Molasses Pork Chops and Peaches recipe
Peach Sour Cream Pie with Basil in a Pretzel Crust recipe
Brooklyn Supper for creating the:
Savory Peach and Ricotta Tars with Basil Oil recipe
Cherry and Peach Cornmeal Cobbler recipe
Grilled Chicken and Peach Salad with Basil Vinaigrette recipe
My Diary of Us for creating the:
Southern Fried Chicken, Spinach, and Berry Salad with Yogurt Chive Dressing recipe
Easy Fluffy Pancakes recipe (the inspiration for the Pancakes & Berries with Eggs)
Half-Baked Harvest for creating the:
Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon recipe
Honey Mustard Pretzel Chicken and Avocado Bacon Salad recipe
Bojon Gourmet for creating the:
Gluten-Free Garlic Bread Bruschetta recipe (the inspiration for the Bruschetta served alongside the Garlic Butter Creamed Spinach Salmon)
Vindulge for creating the:
Margherita Pizza recipe (the inspiration for Pizza with Side Salad)
Jamie Oliver for creating the:
Salmon with Rhubarb Sauce & Tarragon Mayo recipe (the inspiration for Salmon with Rhubarb Sauce & Side Salad & Potatoes)
Food52 contributor Grant Melton for creating the:
Honey-Butter Pork Chops with Rhubarb Sauce & Herby Peas recipe
Real Simple contributor Grace Elkus for creating the:
Ginger-Lime Melon Salad recipe (the inspiration for the Melon Salad served alongside the Burgers & Fries with Grilled Corn on the Cob)
The Modern Proper for creating the:
Grilled Flatbread with Burrata Cheese recipe (the inspiration for Grilled Cheesy Flatbread with Grilled Tomatoes & Squash)
The Original Dish for creating the:
Green Goddess Salmon with Peach Salad recipe (the inspiration for the Salmon with Creamy Basil Sauce & Peach Salad)
Dennis the Prescott for creating the:
Smoked Rosemary Garlic Beef Roast recipe
Delallo for creating the:
Berry Trifle recipe (the inspiration for the Berry & Pound Cake Trifles)
Wood and Spoon for creating the:
Peanut Butter Pie recipe
Until next time,
