Posts filed under ‘Wood’
Beautiful Things
When we were living in Bozeman, we were friends with a lovely family that used lots of wooden bowls and utensils. He could tell you exactly where he was when he carved a certain spoon. When you ate from the bowls and used the spoons…you just felt so connected and earthy.
When we were back in Minnesota, I enrolled in a “Intro to Wood Carving Class” and learned how to carve my very first wooden spoon. It was a delightful experience and was a great arm workout! It solidified my love of all things wooden. Then, I ran across Anthony’s blog about eating from wooden bowls. I knew that I needed to go on the hunt for beautiful wood pieces to eat from. I had been checking thrift stores, etc. with no luck…but I ended up finding four beautiful bowls at a store in Florence. They were priced to sell and I snatched them up so fast 🙂
We put away all of our metal plates and we now each have a wooden bowl to eat from and bamboo wooden utensils that I had previously purchased from To-Go Ware. We eat everything and anything in these wooden bowls. I am in love. I have been using the bamboo chopsticks to eat my salad at night and it’s been such a great way to slow down the pace of my meals. I truly savor every leaf and morsel that I am able to grab with these 2 sticks. As I slow down my pace of eating, I am able to relax and be more conscious of what I’m eating and how much I’m eating. Growing up, I was notorious for being done with my food before everyone else, so this is a big change for me. Eating slowly aids in better digestion…taking time to chew eat bite slowly before moving onto the next is the first step of the digestive bliss (tip: your food should be “mush” before you swallow it!). I am slowly learning my body’s true signals for fullness, and by eating slowly, I am able to stop eating before I am stuffed. It also enables me to be more thankful for my food as I have more time to consider how blessed I am to have food so readily available to me.
I want everything in my life to be artful and beautiful…and the kitchen is no exception. My goal is to have only wooden or handmade items in my cupboard…things I consider to be beautiful. I currently have a nice collection of pottery cups and small bowls and every time I look at them I smile. They have been gathered from different travels and different artists and I feel their love in them whenever I use them.
I challenge you all to have at least one beautiful wooden bowl and/or piece of pottery in your kitchen and to try one meal this week with chopsticks. Eat mindfully… you’ll love it!
