October notes

I'm counteracting a flood of food related posts with a good old-fashioned list of things I'm thinking about and doing and thinking about doing.  I've missed my weekly posts of 2018 for giving me a way to look back on what I was doing a year ago.

Here are some highlights of late.

Good things I've read:

We've Reached Peak Wellness (via Outside magazine). This is all stuff I know but need to be reminded of frequently. There is no miracle anything. We have to put in the work and do things.

The Sum of Life: Zora Neale Hurston (via The Bitter Southerner). This article came across my feed just as I was rereading Their Eyes Were Watching God. She deserved so much more in this world.

The Beauty of the Ordinary (via NYT). The loveliest perspective, and one I needed.

Good things I've watched:

The Great British Baking Show (Netflix): The current season is my cure for the Sunday blues.

Sneakers: That movie from the 1990s, when we had no idea that one day data would truly rule the world. And when Robert Redford was still as winsome as ever.

Good things I've heard:

The 1619 Project podcast is poignant. There are so many prevailing effects of slavery in our country, and this podcast takes this overwhelming subject and breaks it down in ways that I think about every day.

Weeknight Kitchen podcast with Melissa Clark. While I've unsubscribed to most food blogs and podcasts, Melissa is my ongoing connection to reliably delicious and unfussy recipes. I was so excited to hear she was doing this in partnership with the Splendid Table. What I didn't expect was how much I would enjoy listening to cooking: the squeakiness of leeks when they're sliced, the washing of hands, the clattering of utensils. It's ear candy to me.

The Pointer Sisters: Energy. I haven't listened to much Pointer Sisters beyond the hits, but we were hooked instantly on this album when we heard their version of Steely Dan's "Dirty Work." The rest of the album mostly covers, I think. And it is goooood.

Good things for self-care:

Reading. I had a book with a one-week check-out this past week, so I spent any spare moment reading. It was a good reminder to continue to fill spaces with books, not with scrolling social media.

Identify a routine and make it a sort of ceremony. I love the early weekday morning sameness of feeding the cat, feeding the dog, turning on the kettle, turning on the stove, poaching the egg, toasting the English muffin, steeping the tea, and then....silence. Meditation over breakfast.

Wearing lip color. I've probably mentioned this before but it makes me feel more alive.


My next sewing project:

This funnel neck pattern, with this fabric.