The Uses Of Anger

[crockpotcauldron]

Sometimes, self care is sanding the shit out of a dowel, violently peeling a butternut squash, slashing two large cardboard boxes into strips to make cat scratching boards, and angrily scrubbing the car. I have not run out of anger, but I have accomplished some useful things and tapped off a lot of the restless energy. My cat appreciates the scratcher. Tomorrow holds many thrilling possibilities, such as kneading bread dough, beating the carpets, and using polishing compound on the car. It is a pity I don't live in a climate where I can chop firewood.

Comments

[which_chick]

Depending on what you are doing with your butternut squash, there is a less-theraputic but easier way to mess with it.

For soups, I do them like this but obviously that won't work if you want chunks for some purpose. If you pre-bake, they get really soft and won't hold a nice chunk very well. But if you're looking for a puree-structure, by all means give the pre-bake thing a whirl.

Chopping firewood (I use a chainsaw for the cutting parts but frequently wedges and a maul for the splitting part) is very theraputic though one does tend to lose enthusiasm for the project well before heating season is truly complete. The last month or so of splitting a couple of quarter-logs down to stovewood kindling sizes every evening is kind of a slog. And it's typically during the steel cold rains of March, which doesn't help with the 'slog' aspect of it.

[crockpotcauldron]

Last time I lived in wood stove territory I was a middle schooler, so it is possible I am vastly underestimating the amount of chopping that must be done.

Bread dough was a smashing success, though. I currently have cinnamon rolls.