Everyday, around four or five o'clock, I take a break from whatever chore I am in the midst of and have my own little happy hour. It is very informal, usually occurring at my computer desk. The essentials are Chardonnay and a snack, either pistachios or cheese and crackers. Today, the pistachios were gone, so it was cheese and crackers. Specifically, white cheddar cheese and Triscuit Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil crackers. Break the crackers into thirds and cut the cheese into very small pieces so I can stretch out the time that I get to enjoy them. (I am not as conservative with the wine.)
It's a ritual. It marks a place in the day, a place where I have accomplished something that warrants a break. It is that place where I can pat myself on the back and say, "Good job! You tilled the garden beds/cleaned up the perennial gardens/built that stone wall/did all the laundry/paid all the bills/wrote a poem/changed the cat litter/painted that furniture/renewed your donotcall status/wrote a letter to the editor. Whatever it was, it deserves cheese and crackers. And wine.
It is usually at this time that I write my daily post for this blog. So what could be conceived as a chore becomes, instead, an extension of the HAPPY hour!
As the weather gets warmer, my cheese-and-cracker time will move to the front porch, where the late afternoon sun will decorate the porch swing such that my cat will join me in a contemplative hour of appreciation for this home in the country. Either the blog post will have already been written or it will await my return to the computer. Which one, it remains to be seen. Either way, I will have my cheese and crackers at the appropriate time. Because ritual is ritual, and I will not mess with that.
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