CHAPTER 1

Spring

Lilacs in dooryardsHolding quiet conversations with an early moon.

—Amy Lowell

Home

"April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks Go."

—Christopher Morley

A Job Well Done

I'm a window cleaner and I get very attached to the windows I work on. I know theirindividual personalities, their mineral deposits, bad seals, and BB holes. I remove everyspeck of bee gunk, snail trail, fly crud, and bird doo that desecrates "my" windows, as wellas the damage inflicted by that natural enemy, the painter. I bring garden clippers andprune bushes and plants that dare to interfere with my windows. As I drive my route, I getgreat enjoyment from seeing my glass glistening in the sunlight.

"We will have to give up taking things for granted, even the apparently simple things."

—J.D. Bernal

THINGS TO DO

Healthier Cleaning Pleasures

When the weather starts getting warmer and the days longer, you know it's time for a goodspring cleaning. There's great satisfaction in a major cleaning project, but the result shouldbe a clean-smelling house or apartment, not one over-whelmed with chemicals or artificialscents of some mythical forest glade. How many plastic containers of chemical spraycleaners do you need under the sink, anyway? They aren't good for you or theenvironment. Fortunately, nontoxic cleaning substitutes are within easy reach.

Baking soda is a mild cleanser for kitchen and bath fixtures; just sprinkle it straight fromthe box onto a damp cloth or sponge. A couple of tablespoons dissolved in a quart ofwater can be used to wash the interiors of refrigerators and freezers, neutralizing odors.Add a tablespoon to coffee pots and vacuum bottles, then fill them with water to freshenthem, too. Still on supermarket shelves, venerable Bon Ami cleanser (with the drawing ofthe chick that "hasn't scratched yet") is a little more effective than baking soda, anddoesn't contain chlorine, phosphates, perfumes, or harsh abrasives.

Borax or baking soda with lemon juice will handle soap film in the bathtub and shower.Adding a couple of teaspoons of vinegar to a quart of water produces a handy glasscleaner, and there's even a less pungent solution for the dishwasher—equal parts of boraxand washing soda (sodium carbonate, often labeled as "detergent booster"). Discoloredcopper pots? Try a cleanser from early in the twentieth century: a tablespoon of salt mixedwith a half-cup of vinegar.

There are also all-natural air fresheners made from the concentrated oils and essences oforange peels that can neutralize odors, not just cover them up. Orange-based freshenersare available in hardware and larger natural-food stores. Cedar oil spray can freshen petbeds and closets and renew the scent of cedar chests and shoe trees. And, for more thana century, Mrs. Stewart's Liquid Bluing has been added to the laundry rinse water towhiten sheets, shirts, and other fabrics that have yellowed or grayed with age. Mrs.Stewart—whose no-nonsense portrait is still on the label—would be pleased that she's stillteaching us a thing or two about housekeeping.

Psychic Cleanup

When I accumulate too many people, experiences, and fatigue in my life, I get emotionallyand spiritually disheveled. The sign that this is happening is that I have a dream full ofcluttered, kaleidoscopic images. Then I know I need to set aside a day for a good old-fashioned clear-out. When I wake up on the appointed morning, I go on a cleaning bingein my trailer. I put away books and tidy up papers, empty the old cream cheese out of thefridge, and wash my clothes. I clean up my body, too, by drinking only juice and maybegoing for a very long run. I unplug the phone, keep the radio turned off (news is clutter),and if anyone comes to visit me, I say, "I'm sorry, I'm not talking to anyone today."

At night, the clean-up ends when I go to bed in fresh, clean sheets and read somethingpeaceful and uplifting. Then I have a good long sleep, free of cluttered dreams. The nextday I feel completely replenished, with all my psychic garbage hauled away.

"What a gift of grace to be able to take the chaos from within and from it create somesemblance of order."

—Katherine Paterson

THINGS TO DO

"Scent" sational Idea

Take your favorite essential oil (peach, rose, and vanilla are very nice environmentalscents) and rub it on the light bulbs in your bedroom and the night light in the bathroom.The room will be infused with scent as light heats up the oil. For a "higher tech" approach,you can also buy inexpensive clay light bulb rings that hold the oil. Good sources for theoils, as well as all kinds of other yummy simple pleasures are: Body Time catalog andstores (510-524-0360), The Body Shop catalog and stores (800-541-2535), BareEscentuals catalog and stores (800-227-3990), Cost Plus stores, Earthsake stores, GreenWorld Mercantile (415-771-5717), Red Rose catalog and stores (800-374-5505), andHearthsong catalog and stores (800-432-6314).

"We should all just smell well and enjoy ourselves more."

—Cary Grant

The Zen of Vacuuming

I never wear shoes unless I have to. I always go barefoot if I'm painting or cooking. I like tofeel the ground against my skin, with no interruption in the energy that comes through myfeet. I prefer to live in the desert, where I don't need shoes either inside or outside. Andwherever I'm living, clean floors are essential.

My love affair with vacuuming began when I was a child. The noise blocked out mymother's scolding, and I could feel like I was doing something that made grownups proudof me. Vacuuming is still my joy and meditation. I totally check out when I'm running myElectrolux over the floor. Sometimes I go over the same spot over and over again. I feelabout my Electrolux the way some people feel about classic cars. It's like an old DeSoto orStudebaker. It never gets too old, it just keeps getting more stylish, and it gets the jobdone. The only thing better than walking barefoot on a freshly vacuumed floor is getting afoot massage.

"That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest."

—Thoreau

THINGS TO DO

If a foot rub is your idea of a good time, try doing it with peppermint foot lotion. Manypeople swear by it as the only curative for a long day's walk or a hard day of work (orshopping!). The Body Shop has a superior one. You can also make your own by adding 1tablespoon of peppermint oil to 6 ounces of unscented lotion. Or try this therapeuticindulgence courtesy of the Fredericksburg Herb Farm in Fredericksburg, Texas: Grateapproximately 1 cup of fresh ginger. Squeeze gently and add, along with a few drops ofolive oil, to a foot basin or tub filled with hot water. Cover the bowl with a cloth or towel topreserve the heat, and soak for fifteen minutes. Then dry your feet and slip into a pair ofwarm socks.

Hanging Out the Wash

On Saturdays as soon as spring arrives, I take the sheets and undies outside into thefresh air and hang them up in the sun and wind. No one else is allowed the job—I tellthem it's because they don't know how to hang out the clothes. I feel the early morningsun on my back and listen to quiet sounds as I leave the long week's raggedy daysbehind. I bathe in the morning light under the clothesline and delight in the feeling of air onmy skin after being shut up in the office all week. When I bring the laundry in, I press myface to the sheets. They smell like all the promises that detergents make but don't keep;they smell like the very essence of spring.

Oh yes, I have a dryer, but on nice days it sits silent. Placed on the bed, the fragrantsheets from the line become a silent welcome after a tiring day.

"Smells are surer than sounds and sights to make the heartstrings crack."

—Rudyard Kipling

THINGS TO DO

A Bird Haven

When the birds have begun to build their nests, that's the time to clean the lint screen inyour dryer. Instead of throwing the lint away, put it out on a porch railing or even a branchof a tree. The birds will use it to line their homes.

"I was always a lover of soft-winged things."

—Victor Hugo

The Duct Tape Fan Club

If it ain't broke, don't fix it. That's a motto I can agree with, but I'd take it a step further—ifit's broke, don't fix it with more than you need to. When things break, it's a pleasure to beable to fix them with whatever's close at hand, with minimal time and expense. Peoplewho share this philosophy usually swear allegiance to some universal solution for fixingthings.

I've always been partial to duct tape. It doesn't matter if the broken item is a canoe or acomputer or a chair, I'll always turn to duct tape first, and it's always a great satisfaction tofind new uses for it. I've run into several other types of universal-solutions people whohave tried unsuccessfully to convert me to their methods. There are the Krazy Gluepeople and the epoxy people and the minority group that favors little pieces of wire.Finally, there's the tiny fringe group that goes in for a mixture of glue and duct tape andwire. These are the desperate people who couldn't fix anything if their life depended on it.You can tell which group you're in by what you reach for in a crisis.

"What a people—we make something out of nothing and revel in its simple delicacy."

—Carol Talbot

THINGS TO DO

Instant Room Makeover

If you are tired of the way your living room or bedroom looks, do an instant makeover byrevitalizing old throw pillows. Place a pillow kitty-cornered on top of a pretty scarf orbandanna. Bring opposing corners of the scarf or bandanna together and tie them in aknot. Do the same to the other corners. You have a new, colorful look for your home.

Bear Essentials

I make teddy bears and the best part is right at the end when I sculpt a face on the bear. Inever know till I've finished stuffing the bear what its personality is going to be. Somethingabout the way the fur lies gives me my clue, and I go to work. Usually teddy bears have aworried, poignant expression that shows how empathic they are, but now and then theyget a wild gleam in their eye and a foolish leer on their face. You just never know. Theirsex is also a mystery until the very end, and sometimes remains so. I once dressed one ofmy bears as a boy, and it took me weeks to realize he'd be more comfortable in a dress.I'm still not sure if he was a girl or a transvestite.

"Simple pleasures are the last refuge of the complex."

—Oscar Wilde

THINGS TO DO

As the weather begins to warm and you no longer use the fireplace, evoke the romanceand beauty of a fire by placing four or five pillar candles inside it. The soft light they willgive off will compensate for the loss of the roaring fire.

Garden and the Great Outdoors

"The cherry tomato is a wonderful invention, producing, as it does, a satisfactorilyexplosive squish when bitten."

—Miss Manners

Garden Surprises

Every spring I make a trip to the nursery to load up on puny little plants that have noblooms. It's an act of faith, because half the time I have no idea what they'll look like. Thenin summer, the color combinations in my garden come as a wonderful surprise, far betterthan if I'd planned them. Gardening in spring is life-affirming. The outcome is often lessimportant than the promise of things to be, and the plants transforming in my flower bedsremind me of the potential for growth in other areas of my life.

"Anticipate the good so that you may enjoy it."

—Ethiopian proverb

Confronting Reality

Very early in the morning, when the mist is on the lake, I go down the hill in my nightiewith a cup of hot tea and a handful of cat crunchies for Minnesota Fats, who comes withme. We get into the dory (Fats takes the bow), and I row out into the middle of the lakeand just float there, luxuriating in the peace and stillness. When we come back to theshore, Fats rests on the dock, and I drop my nightie and slip, naked and quiet, into thewater. It's a wonderful sensation to swim in the mist when you can't see the edges ofwhere you're going or where you've been, and the air and the water are the sametemperature so there's no feeling of separation. When I start to feel chilly, I go back up thehill to the pleasure of a hot bath on the deck, and I warm up from my swim in preparationfor work.

My colleagues can always tell when I've been early-morning mist swimming by the dreamygrin on my face that lasts most of the morning. When I hear people come back from awonderful experience and say, "Oh, well, back to reality," I remember the lake and themist and the stillness and I think to myself, who decides reality has to be drudgery insteadof intense pleasure?

THINGS TO DO

Aromatherapy, au Naturel

Every time you pass a lilac bush or an iris or daffodils in flower, take the time to bury yourface in the bloom. Lilacs have a sweet and heady scent, and irises are musky and erotic.Close your eyes, breathe deeply and imagine the fragrance passing all through your body.

The Perfection of Peas

Now and then an entire row of peas germinates without the cats rolling in them. They'remost beautiful when they're maybe an inch high, before they get all straggly. They're justso fat and round and perfect, like a row of green stars in the sky.

"What can your eye desire to see, your ears to hear, your mouth to take, or your nose tosmell that is not to be had in a garden?"

—William Lawson

THINGS TO DO

Planting the Seed

Gardeners are by nature optimists, and if there's anything more therapeutic and satisfyingthan working in a garden, it's planting the seed of wonder in the mind of a child. There's asmall investment in a packet of seeds or—for the most impatient children, grandchildren,or young neighbors—a half-dozen tiny plants in a plastic packet.

Remember playing with puppet-like snapdragons when you were a kid? It's not a lost art.Youngsters may also enjoy fast-growing, towering sunflowers, fuzzy lamb's ears, fragrantsweet peas, lavender, and mint. And with a strawberry in a pot in a sunny location, kidscan have their gardening project and eat it, too.

Or help youngsters sprout seeds indoors. Fold a couple of paper towels together to form astrip as wide as the towel and a few inches high. Moisten and place inside a peanut butterjar or similar-size jar, forming a border at the base. Crumple and moisten another papertowel and stuff into the center. Carefully place seeds—beans are easy to grow andhandle—between the folded paper and the glass. Keep moist, but not soaked—for severaldays as seeds germinate. Kids can watch roots and plants sprout. When plants reachabove the jar and two sets of leaves have formed, transplant to pots of soil or into theground.

THINGS TO DO

Reflected Glory

Martha Stewart is renowned for making beautiful things that are often complicated to do.However, sometimes she has an idea that is simplicity itself. One such suggestion werecently saw is to line the edges of a garden path with pure white stones, pebbles, shells.That way, when the sun sets, "they'll reflect the moonlight, showing you the way."

Art for Mules

As an artist who works with handmade paper, sometimes I make something that's too bigor confrontational for someone's living room. Then I have the problem of owning andstoring it.

Recently I started designing works of art that I install in the woods and let return to nature.I made a paper flag from maté with cutout images of figures with vegetables growing outof their arms that I got in Mexico—offerings to the gods of corn and tomatoes and beans. Iput the flag in my garden, and it gave new life to my crops as the garden began to absorbit back to earth. I also made a giant book, in the form of a teepee, with text that spoke towild creatures of the woods. I made it large enough for me to sit in, and I installed it in thewoods. The messages in the book were meant to be for the deer and the mice. I had noidea that my book would speak as well to the mules that came and ate it.

THINGS TO DO

These delectable treats are easy to create; use them on top of ice cream or cakes. Pickthe flowers fresh in the early morning.

Candied Flowers

violet blossomsrose petals1 or 2 egg whites, depending on how many flowers you usesuperfine sugar, to taste

Gently wash flowers and pat dry with a clean towel. Beat the egg whites in a small bowl.Pour the sugar into another bowl. Carefully dip the flowers into the egg whites, then roll insugar, being sure to cover all sides. Set flowers on a cookie sheet and allow to dry in awarm place. Store in a flat container with waxed paper between layers. These will last forseveral days.