low-tech winter

I don't have an iPod, a hi-def flat screen TV, a Blackberry, a Wii, a GPS, a Mac, an iPhone, an Xbox, or a Kindle. I resist much of this, knowing that there's a certain amount of technology I have to keep up with just to function in this world. I have what I need, and these days I'm paying extra close attention to the difference between "need" and "want", and to my own personal definition of "luxury".

I do have a hot tub. It's just big enough for two people, and while I do think of it as something of a luxury item, I also credit it for eliminating the need/want for trips to Ojo Caliente Hot Springs, vacations to tropical beaches, a massage therapist to un-kink my beadmaker's shoulders, or a shrink-therapist to un-kink my head. This morning, feeling the need for all of the above, I tromped through the snow in my swimsuit and flip-flops, and settled into the steamy water while snowflakes fell softly on my towel-wrapped head, my glasses, and my book. An actual book, made out of paper. I know the whole downloadable book gizmo craze has its merits, saving trees and bookshelf space and all. But I can't cozy up to an electronic plastic thingy that just glares back at me and never learned how to rustle its pages. Just can't.

In a nice satisfying stretch of insomnia last night, I finished The Secret Life Of Bees. Next in the To Read stack on my night stand was Three Cups Of Tea, sent to me in previously read condition by my friend Laura. (Thanks Laura!) I'll read it and pass it along too, doing my own bit to save a tree, if I can actually part with this book once I've finished it. I only got through the introduction this morning before the snowflakes started coming down too hard for me to see anymore, leaving puckery wet splotches on the already well-loved pages. But I can tell already, this book is going to speak to me in a big way.

So here I am, back in the house. The warm dry house we've decided to stay in for a while longer, waiting out whatever it is that's happening, and waiting for whatever it is that's going to happen next. It's comforting beyond measure to have this nest to cozy up in, with its minimal technology, a stack of good books, and more than enough tea to sip through the snowy afternoons.