jillsalahub

1. Another birthday. I turn 56 years old today. I’m so grateful to keep getting older, considering the alternative. No big plans (I’m not a big plans kind of person) — I got a massage yesterday, and this morning I slept in, went to the gym (hydromassage chair, pool, and sauna), ordered pizza, put clean sheets on the bed. After this, I’m going to shower, read, and maybe take a nap. Later I might talk Eric in to watching a movie. I’ve gotten lots of birthday love in the form of texts, emails, cards, Facebook posts, hugs, and presents. The only things I really wanted for my birthday were for Ringo to feel better and to take a nap, so I’m good.

2. Ringo is feeling better. Ringo has a history of having a wonky belly from time to time. Sometimes it’s triggered because of his allergies, sometimes stress, sometimes eating something gross, and sometimes it’s a total mystery. Luckily because this isn’t something new, we know what to do and typically catch it faster than we might otherwise, so after a few hard days, he’s feeling much better. His birthday is tomorrow and he’ll be TEN years old. Only two of my dogs made it to ten years old, and even those didn’t make it much longer after that. May Ringo have much more life left, and an easy death when he doesn’t.

3. Morning walks. It’s not so much about getting out of the house as it is getting out of my own head.

4. Texting with Chris, Mom, Chloe’, Eric, Chelsey, Annie, and Dana. Sometimes a short conversation or funny memes or an interesting link can turn the whole day around.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. Eric is on Fall break and technically I am too and that makes me very happy.

Bonus joy: Hanging out with Chloe’ and Hendrix, commiserating with Dana, ideas for art projects, clean laundry, a big glass of cold clean water, good TV and movies, listening to podcasts, how much Ringo loves Teri, sunshine, down blankets and pillows and coats, wool socks, Cookie, the smell of citrus, the blooms on my cactus plants, twinkle lights, my moon lamp, my HappyLight, a pile of new books, a warm mug of green tea, stickers, practice, knowing I can always start over and it’s okay to rest, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.

1. An American Disease. “Anders Carlson-Wee on Dumpster Diving in a Culture of Waste.”

2. How I’ve Changed My Thinking About Burnout on Culture Study, which suggests, “burnout is caused by 1) problems on the societal level (lack of social safety net, precarity, dealing with being a person in your particular body with your particular identity in the world); 2) problems at the level of the workplace (policies, norms, work culture, productivity expectations); but also 3) problems on the level of the individual (self-value derived exclusively through work, inability to adhere to guardrails against overwork set by yourself and others, obsession with micro-management).”

3. How to Ask for Attention as an Introvert.

4. Thich Nhat Hanh’s 5 Practices to Nurture Happiness on Lion’s Roar. “The late Thich Nhat Hanh taught these five practices to nourish daily happiness, offering a pathway to transform suffering into understanding, compassion, and joy.”

5. Project resistance from Seth Godin.

6. Trees on A Grace Full Life. It makes me happy that other people geek out on trees like I do. Here are some of my favorites. And I don’t mean favorite kinds, I mean specific individual or stands of trees.

7. 99 Inexpensive Ways To Slow Down And Enjoy The Present Moment from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

8. We Alive, Beloved by Frederick Joseph. “Cover reveal, preorder, and plans to support Palestinians and Congolese.”

9. deep breath, full life, can’t lose from Karen Walrond on Chookooloonks.

10. What the Mermaids Sang, a poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

11. What Place Do You Write From? from Jami Attenberg.

12. We think you’ll like this essay from Danny Gregory.

13. What do you long to say? from Patti Digh. “It’s the unfurling, the diving into, the deeply human recognitions that burn most brightly.”

14. Seasons and the psyche. “SAD isn’t the only example of a seasonal impact on our psychological functioning. In fact, it’s the proverbial tip of the iceberg, write Ian Hohm at the University of British Columbia and colleagues in a new paper in Perspectives on Psychological Science. As the team reports, recent work has documented seasonal impacts on everything from generosity to colour preferences.”

15. Introducing: The Essay Series from Summer Brennan on The Writer’s Notebook. “A rough guide to the different kinds of essays you may find yourself wanting to write.”

16. What to expect when your in-laws are expecting charcuterie. (Facebook reel) Funny, because it’s true.

17. Nature’s Hidden Beauty. (Facebook reel)

18. Working conditions. (Facebook reel)

19. Embroidered Leaf Artist from 60 second docs (video). “Laura Dalla Vecchia from Guaratuba, Brazil embroiders dry leaves. The leaf embroidery artist discovered the art form experimenting one day, and has since been creating works inspired by native Brazilian birds.”

20. “The Feelings Song” by Heidi Rojas. (video)

21. “Unhinged” by Elyse Myers | Unofficial Version. (video)

22. ‘I’m a sex symbol? That makes me embarrassed’: Monty Don on love, class and his future on Gardeners’ World. “He has presented the same show for 20 years, been married to the same woman for 40, yet his life refuses to stand still. Don talks about his unhappy childhood, his failed first career – and his war on fake grass.”

23. I Just Lost A Dog For The First Time. Here’s What I Learned About Surviving Pet Loss.

24. Olga Prinku Grafts Blooms and Branches Into Expansive Embroideries.