The post below was sent as an issue of my newsletter, Ready for Rain.
A few months ago I read an article about morning rituals that explained the idea of a tea meditation. Iām not Buddhist and know very little about it, but this idea seemed to stick in my mind. The author described his morning:
Admittedly, this is one of my favorite parts of my day. I call this tea meditation, but when you fully engage yourself in what youāre doing with mindfulness everything becomes meditation, so this is really just ādrinking teaā, nothing more than that.
After reading this, I started to notice my morning rituals, which often involved a handful of things at once. At the very least, Iām reading the news while sipping hot coffee. I donāt think thatās bad or something I need to change. But the idea that I could just drink the coffee was fascinating. Why donāt I do that?
I donāt do it for the same reason I canāt watch TV without checking my phone. Itās a habit. I have grown used to letting intrusive thoughts into my consciousness and then acting on them without hesitation. It often goes like this: Weāll put on a movie and Iāll start to wonder about an actress. Whatās her name? Iāll look her up on IMDB. Sheās Australian. Interesting. She does an American accent really well. Oh look, she was in another movie I like. Who directed that I wonder? Meanwhile, the plot of the movie passes me by.
Lately, Iāve tried remediation techniques. Before the movie starts, I will put my phone in another room and promise myself not to get it until the movie finishes. It should be so easy. Itās in this situation that I can see my mind at work. It wants answers and is used to getting them. I will find myself reaching for the phone, only to find itās not there. I tell myself, āLet it go, let it goā and try to move on. Knowing where a movie was filmed does not matter. āJust watch the damn movieā I say to myself in a scolding tone.
Before we moved to Orcas Island, I had a record player and we enjoyed listening to albums. Itās safely packed away for now, but once we move into the new house, it will be part of lives once again and I expect it to be a tool for doing just one thing. Thatās part of the beauty of an album. It has a terminus that works like a timer. I hope to do one thing for at least one side of an album again soon.
Now that Iām thinking in this framework, I notice activities that are perfect for focusing. On our property, weāve planted a number of trees that will serve as privacy screens and I want to do everything I can to make them grow. This summer, that means watering them often and I love watering those trees. It feels healthy and productive. The other day I was watering and thought to myself, āWatering is a great example of just one thing!ā As I moved to the next tree, my mind wandered and I started to think about writing about watering a tree as an example. Then I thought that a photo would really round out the post. So, while watering, I got out my phone and took a photo.
And here it is, an unremarkable monument to my inability to do just one thing:

Story: Rolling Out the Roof
Youāve probably seen metal roofs on houses. They usually have āstanding seamsā like this:

The roof on our house will be no different. In fact, itās one of our only options because the slope of the roof is so flat. For us, itās exactly what we need. A metal roof can last over 50 years, especially when it is installed with the panels extending the entire length of the roof. This is where we have a challenge. To have panels with no breaks in them, they will be 60 feet long on a large part of the house.

The question becomes: how? How do you deliver and install metal panels that are 60 feet long?
I recently participated in this process and itās fascinating. The metal is delivered in large, heavy spools and then formed and cut on-site in a process called āroll formingā. Itās like a giant mechanical tape dispenser. Photos and more belowā¦




Watch the machine in action:
Now we just have to get the panels from the ground to on top of the roof. Iāll get to that a little later.
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