Life since my last newsletter—a list:
My husband broke his leg and, following surgery, has been on bedrest for 11 rather long days
A copy of KC Davis’s How to Keep House While Drowning has just arrived in the mail. Perfect timing!
I’ve realised my compulsive list-making and Post-Iting isn’t so much an attempt to create the illusion of order as it is to make the chaos more bearable
Dr Kristin Neff’s self-compassion meditations have been offering much succour lately (especially the Tender Self-Compassion Break, the Affectionate Breathing meditation and the Compassionate Body Scan)
I am now the proud owner of a California driver’s licence. While taking the practical test was a lot easier than the South African one (no parallel parking, yay!!), I was still extremely nervous—and, upon passing it, embarrassingly ecstatic
I am also now in possession of a Mendocino County Library card; this came in useful when needing something to read while a flat tyre was being patched (my first book I borrowed was a collection of stories by Alice Munro)
(Dis)appointment TV: Made it through S2E1 of And Just Like That… but only just. Gave up on Glamorous before the first episode was up. Finally dipped a toe into The Bear, and liked it but all that yelling was rather stressful (and brought back bittersweet memories of my own brief foray into hospitality)
Holy Week—The Atlantic’s podcast about the aftermath of Martin Luther King’s assassination—is sumptuously produced and beautifully told. I hope we’ll be hearing a lot more from its incredible, sonorously voiced host, Vann R. Newkirk II. (I also loved Floodlines, his show about Hurricane Katrina)
Other pods I’ve been enjoying immensely lately: Al Jazeera Investigate’s exhilarating Gold Mafia, Crooked Media’s zany Dreamtown, and the BBC World Service’s devastating The Story of Aids
After a June filled with deliciously misty mornings, summer has finally and emphatically arrived. The novelty of sweltering sun, dusty pink dusks and very necessary cold showers hasn’t worn off yet, and perhaps won’t before my (postponed) departure to chilly Cape Town
The ‘swing’ function of our new evaporative cooler sounds (almost) like waves on a rocky shore
In the garden:
As I spray the lavender bushes with a hosepipe, a burst of serene scent wafts back at me
Last year, we left the crop of a dozen or so artichokes unharvested until it was too late. This year, there’s one—yes, just one—artichoke to harvest. Unlike three years ago, at least I know now how to cook it
I’m trying to pay closer attention to birdsong. As it turns out, it’s good for your mental health! (But then I bet most twitchers already knew that.)
Wow this is amazing to read, really enjoyed it. Also learnt about food called Artichokes, i don't think i can get it at fruit and vegetable store in South Africa.