1. Morning walks. Temperatures are cooling down and things are turning golden. It’s not always easy for me to get up so early and get out into the world, but when the sun comes up and I’ve got my best boy with me and it feels like we have the whole world to ourselves it makes it all worth it.
Image by Eric
2. Practice. Yoga at Red Sage with dogs, writing with my Friday morning sangha led by Chloe’, meditating in my practice room, reading and writing in the morning with a warm mug of green tea in front of my HappyLight.
3. All the good people, family and friends. My highly sensitive introverted self was very social this week: brunch with Carrie and then a visit with her family and my boyfriend Tony the tiger dog, hanging out at my kitchen table with Chloe’, acupuncture with Lindsay, my yearly haircut with Elianna, yoga at Red Sage with Teri, aqua aerobics with Tracy and getting to say hello to my gym dad Frank, wildish writing, getting a massage from Dana, going to lunch with Jon and Chelsey, book club, texting with Chris and sharing selfies with Mom. It was good and also I am so tired!
4. Cooking and baking. I love being able to make what I want, how I like it at home for myself, and now that it’s cooling down, I can finally start using my oven again. This week I want to try a few new recipes, one is for a smash falafel wrap and the other is for cornmeal pancakes.
5. My tiny family, small house, little life. I love it here, with them.
Bonus joy: peaches, corn, watermelon, bean and cheese burritos (we call these “old styles” because when we first got married, we ate them a lot), birds at the feeder attached to the window over my writing desks (yes, I have two, side by side running the length of my “office” — one has my desktop computer and the other has more space for writing by hand and making art and piling books), tiny brass animals (I showed Chloe’ my collection when she was here and it reminded me of this part in Mae Martin’s comedy special Sap — which I totally recommend, it’s SO good), libraries and librarians, poetry and poets, listening to music while I drive around with my windows rolled down, Sunday morning pilates, the hydromassage chair, getting in the pool, sitting in the sauna, other people’s dogs and kids and gardens, stickers, sharing stickers, picking out a new sticker for the front cover every time I start a new blank notebook, the way the top of Ringo’s head smells when he’s been out lounging in the sun, the whole house fan, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.
2. Grief and Gratitude, Ollie Schminkey’s August Newsletter, in particular their poem “Instead Of An Infestation” and what they wrote about Andrea Gibson. Also, as I have before and probably will do again, I highly recommend their book Dead Dad Jokes, one of my favorite collections of poetry about grief, in particular the loss of a father.
6. Today Is Andrea’s 50th Birthday, a love letter by Megan Falley. “My hope is that, for the rest of my life, people will look at me and see you. They’ll see many smile lines and know you were responsible for every one. They’ll see that every kiss you pressed into my cheeks still blooms beneath my skin. That my eyes, deep and so full of water, are lakes you are forever nightswimming in. And they’ll know, without needing to be told, that I am still your wife. Still so wildly in love.”
8. Wisdom from Elizabeth Kleinfeld:Disabled People Need Time Off, Too (“On internalized ableism and the myth of the ‘lucky’ disabled person”) because “This reveals something painful about how our society views disability—the pervasive belief that disabled people are somehow getting away with something, living easy lives on the government’s dime. The reality is far different,” and June 6th: Surgery Day, Anniversary Day (“Grief at four years out”) because “Four years ago, I lost my daily laughter partner. This year, on the anniversary of his stroke, I gained something else: proof that I can believe in my own resilience. Both losses and gains, it turns out, can happen on the same day. Both can be true simultaneously.”
9. Wisdom from Morgan Harper Nichols: “When you are working on things that matter to you but others might not recognize the value of this work, it can be disheartening, and can lead you to feel uncertain about what impact you might even have. However, instead of only relying on external validation, you are allowed to explore new ways to measure the impact of your efforts. You are free to explore how slow and steady growth is actually still significant, whether or not others notice.”
12. How We Became Captives Of Social Media. “Today’s social media has shifted from social networking platforms to AI-enhanced conveyor belts of vapid entertainment. Is there any escape?”
15. Chatbots Can Go Into a Delusional Spiral. Here’s How It Happens. on The New York Times. (gift link) “Over 21 days of talking with ChatGPT, an otherwise perfectly sane man became convinced that he was a real-life superhero. We analyzed the conversation.”
16. Farmer’s Almanac Predicts US Weather for Winter 2025. “The Farmers’ Almanac has released its winter forecast for 2025–2026, with the coldest outbreaks expected from the Northern Plains to New England and significant snow risks across parts of the Pacific Northwest, Great Lakes and mid-Atlantic, the publication said.”
17. Wisdom from Kaira Jewel Lingo: “It is heartbreaking to witness the ongoing starvation and destruction in Gaza — to see such suffering, and to know how long it has been allowed to continue. Many of us are carrying sorrow, rage, confusion, and a sense of helplessness. It can be overwhelming.
In this pain, it feels more important than ever not to turn away — from the truth, from each other, or from what we know to be just. Staying connected to community, to our capacity to care, and to the truth of what’s unfolding can help us stay human. It can help us respond in ways that are grounded in love and committed to a future where such violence is no longer possible.”
18. Emergency practices from Josie George:#7 and #8. “Throughout the month of August, in order to help pull myself out of a downward spiral, I’m sharing a choice I’m making every other day. These choices aren’t trying to change or control anything. Each one is simply a fresh turn towards what I know will help my mind, body and the people around me. Perhaps you’d like to try them too.”
24. The Danes Resisted Fascism, and So Can We. “Danish resistance didn’t arrive all at once during World War II. But taken as a whole, the Danes’ actions are a testament to what’s possible when we work together to fight fascism.”
25. What We Leave Out, “On narrative and omission eighty years after the atomic bomb” by By Rachel Greenley.
26. The “Most Days” theory (“you’ve probably heard about ‘Let Them’ — this one is better, imo”) by Emma Gannon.
34. Wisdom from Mychal Threets: “You are not a failure if all you can do today is lie down watching your show, reading your books, eating your snacks, and drinking your little drinks. Life is hard. One day at a time, please stay another day.”
“here is your gentle reminder that there are dandelions growing through cracks in the sidewalk. there is a fence lizard on the porch who is growing a new tail. there are trees growing through an abandoned house, branches tearing through the ceiling, ferns carpeting the floor. there is life pushing forward, pushing through.”
36. Zoe Branch, typewriter poet on Instagram. I’m constantly amazed what she can come up with on the spot like she does.
38. Who the F*** Is Marc Maron Without Podcasting? He’s About to Find Out. “Sixteen years after his show launched an industry and saved his career, the curmudgeonly conversationalist is feeling conflicted about what followed: ‘Things were better before everyone had a voice.'”
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 