Monthly Archives: June 2019

Gratitude Friday


1. Morning walks. I’m in charge of all the walking for the next few days while Eric is in Oregon visiting with his parents. I’m so grateful my knees are doing better and I can walk without completely wrecking myself.

2. Blooms. Our vegetable garden did not love the cool, wet, long spring we had, but the flowers and strawberries sure did.

3. Being able to rest. Just when I think I’m starting to get my energy back, I get knocked flat again. Burnout is no joke.

4. Practice and joyful movement. These are the two things I can consistently do, and are helping me to feel better.

After a fitness class at the gym, my face was as shiny and red as the car I parked next to

Sam likes to “help” me meditate

5. My tiny family. Even though he’s not here, I can text Eric whenever I want, and the boys have been good company.

He carried her for two miles this morning

Bonus joy: Good food, going to bed early, good TV (watching HGTV’s Good Bones), a big glass of cold clean water, Ricola Lemon Mint throat drops, Wild Writing with Laurie and Mikalina and Chloe’, getting a tour of Carrie’s garden, knowing I can even when it’s hard, teaching yoga, aqua aerobics, sitting in the sauna, Pilates, air conditioning.

Something Good

From my garden

1. Why INFJs Struggle With Major Life Changes (And How To Deal). This post is perfectly timed for me. The poem at the end though…

2. Wisdom from Jena Schwartz, a few lines from her most recent newsletter: “As I sat down with my coffee, these are the words that floated down: What we can do. I thought it would be a list. The list wound up having just one item: 1. Be present.” Amen.

3. You Will Lose Everything by Jeff Foster, which Laurie Wagner reminded me of at exactly the moment I needed to hear it again.

4. 7 Tips For Introverted Entrepreneurs To Succeed In An Extroverted World.

5. Good stuff from Austin Kleon: Finding something new to say, and Found notes to myself, and You are fine without advice and suggestions.

6. 10 Quick Questions that Will Change the Way You Think Today. These work really well as prompts for journaling.

7. What It’s Really Like Being a Highly Sensitive Person.

8. YA literature has more LGBTQ characters than ever. Here are 5 books to read.

9. They Are Concentration Camps — and They Are Also Prisons. In related news, Open Letter From An Ex-Border Patrol Agent, and U.S. Border Patrol Finds 4 Bodies, Including 3 Children, Near Rio Grande In Texas, and At least 24 immigrants have died in U.S. custody under the Trump administration. Immigrant detention has also become a big business, here’s who’s profiting the most (video), and A firsthand report of ‘inhumane conditions’ at a migrant children’s detention facility, and Ocasio-Cortez Calls Migrant Detention Centers ‘Concentration Camps,’ Eliciting Backlash on The New York Times, and ‘There Is a Stench’: No Soap and Overcrowding in Detention Centers for Migrant Children on The New York Times, and ‘Guats,’ ‘Tonks’ and ‘Subhuman Shit’: The Shocking Texts of a Border Patrol Agent.

What can you do about it? 5 Ways to Support Undocumented Folks, and There’s No Excuse for Mistreating Children at the Border. Here’s What To Do About It. on The New York Times, and What You Can Do to Close the Camps, and Advocates say the fastest way to help immigrants separated from their children: Post their bail, and How You Can Support Detained Immigrant Families, and How You Can Help End Child Detention Horrors TODAY.

10. Ravelry, a popular social network for knitters, places ban on Trump supporters.

11. PS22 Chorus performs “Red Ribbon” with Madilyn Bailey. (video) In related news, PS22 performs “Jar of Hearts” with Christina Perri. (video)

12. Mary Lambert: Grief Creature on Kickstarter. “Grief Creature is my life’s work, my masterpiece, a break-up album to shame, an ode to mental illness, a love letter to hope.”

13. Meet Joy Harjo, The First Native American U.S. Poet Laureate.

14. You Are Doing Something Important When You Aren’t Doing Anything on The New York Times. “We need to rest, to read, to reconnect. It is the invisible labor that makes creative life possible.”

15. Cities Nationwide Refuse To Cooperate With ICE’s Mass Deportation Raids. In related news, Trump Says He’ll Delay Deportation Operation Aimed at Undocumented Families on The New York Times, and ‘We Have No Choice’: Acting ICE Director Defends Planned Immigration Raids, and ICE Raids to Deport Migrant Families Set to Begin Sunday in 10 US Cities, and ICE Is Expected to Begin Operation on Sunday Targeting 2,000 Immigrant Family Members on The New York Times, and Trump postpones ICE’s planned deportation raids in 10 big cities.

16. Trump Sat Down With Time Magazine and Then Threatened a Reporter With Prison. In related news, Donald Trump is trying to gaslight us on E. Jean Carroll’s account of rape, and Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status, Not Economic Anxiety, Study Finds on The New York Times, and Transcript: ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos’ exclusive interview with President Trump, and Donald Trump assaulted me in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room 23 years ago. But he’s not alone on the list of awful men in my life.

17. Crocheter Uses Her Skills To Turn Dried Leaves Into Works Of Art.

18. Review: ‘Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am’ powerfully profiles beloved writer.

19. This kid’s goal is to get EVERY single dog in the U.S. adopted. (video)

20. Carnegie medal goes to first writer of colour in its 83-year history. “Dominican-American Elizabeth Acevedo wins prestigious children’s award for The Poet X, while Jackie Morris takes illustration prize for The Lost Words.”

21. If Meditation Is Not Your Thing, Try a Walk in the Woods. “Hiking is a near-perfect combination of elements known to relax us, raise our alertness, elevate our self-esteem, and physically prepare us for true rest afterward.” Even better, adopt a dog and take them with you.

22. Warren’s Guidelines for White People. If you are white, I absolutely expect you to read this and TRY.

23. 50 Amazing Books By Black Authors From The Past 5 Years.

24. ‘Starving’ Polar Bear Wanders Into Siberian Town.

25. Japanese Company Creates Sea Creature Teabags That “Come Alive” Inside Your Cup.

26. The Weirdness, Wonder, and Terror of the Contemporary Zoo. “Molly Reid on the Way We Use Language Changes the Way We See Animals.”

27. Police Are Still Killing Unarmed Black People. “The Hands Up Act could do something about it.”

28. Why Juneteenth Should Be a National Holiday. “The 152-year-old tradition launched by formerly enslaved people has emerged as a celebration of freedom.”

29. The hired guns of Instagram. “Companies can’t advertise on social media — so they have female influencers do it for them.” So gross.

30. Chennai water crisis: City’s reservoirs run dry. India’s sixth largest city “runs out” of water.

31. Father Of Sandy Hook Victim Wins Defamation Suit Against Hoaxers. “Lenny Pozner’s 6-year-old son Noah died in the shooting. Two authors wrote a book saying it never happened.”

32. Felony Charges Dismissed Against Miami Cop Who Shot Black Caregiver With Arms Raised.

33. Kyle Kashuv, pro-gun Parkland teen, loses Harvard acceptance for past N-word use.

34. Mitch McConnell Says Obama’s Election Means We Don’t Need Reparations. “‘I don’t think reparations for something that happened 150 years ago for whom none of us currently living are responsible is a good idea,’ McConnell said.” Sure we elected a Black president, but immediately after we elected a white supremacist fascist, so Obama doesn’t prove anything. In related news, Ta-Nehisi Coates Clapped Back at Mitch McConnell for Saying ‘No One Alive’ Is Liable for Reparations. So We Came Up With a List.

35. Roxane Gay and Debbie Millman Are Girlfriends, Invite Us to Consider Love Might Not Be a Lie???

36. 10 Things I’ve Learned About Gaslighting As An Abuse Tactic. This article is almost four years old, but still a good read.

37. I Restore ‘Unrestorable’ Photos, And Here’s The Result.

38. Julien Baker – “Appointments.” (video)