Therapeutic things

As a note to self and in no particular order, here are activities I find relaxing:

• Caring for leather shoes or boots
• Oiling wooden countertops or cutting boards
• Watching birds in Strathcona Park
• Standing at the lookout behind the Supreme Court
• Eating a bowl of pasta with sauce
• Watching an episode of Star Trek (any episode, any series)
• Looking at maps, like the one of Ottawa hanging above my desk
• Skimming through a book I’ve previously annotated¹
• Sketching letters (especially a double-story ‘a’)
• Walking (just about anywhere, but especially these routes)
• Eating a clementine in the winter
• Handwashing a few items of clothing
• Holding Madness, Rack, and Honey, by Mary Ruefle, in my hands (it’s the perfectly sized book)