jillsalahub

1. Morning walks. Still staying mostly away from the river and ponds, walking though neighborhoods, winding our way around and back with no real plan. One of my favorite places to walk this time of year is Grandview Cemetery. According to Wikipedia, “The land for the cemetery was purchased in 1887; at the time it was west of the city limits of Fort Collins. The first interment at Grandview took place on November 21, 1887, when a three-month-old infant named Felix Scoville was buried there. As of 2009 Grandview consisted of approximately 45 acres, 34,000 grave spaces, 70 crypts, 336 niches, and over 22,000 burials.” There are tons of massive trees (one used by owls each year to raise some babies); sometimes deer and rabbits and of course squirrels and crows and geese; nicely maintained paths that loop all the way around and through; so much shade; a water fountain (Ringo gets thirsty this time of year); and lots of beautiful peonies, lilacs, irises, and roses. It’s also right next to City Park and Sheldon Lake as well as Mountain Avenue, one of the prettiest and probably oldest streets in Fort Collins. It’s just so peaceful. If we walk from our house, do a loop around the cemetery and go through the park, we can turn back towards home and go 3.5-4.5 miles, depending on the exact route. Don’t worry, Ringo stays mostly on the trail, isn’t allowed to pee or walk on anyone’s plot or headstone. If I were buried there, I would LOVE having dogs come to visit.

2. Eric getting good news. Eric went hiking up Dead Man’s Road this week. He was pretty sure he’d hear back about a big project proposal that day so told himself if he saw a bear or moose, that’d be a good sign.
“And you saw?”
“A porcupine! What does that mean? Is it a bad sign?”
“Well, you’ve never seen a porcupine and if I’d asked you before you left to list 20 things you might see, you NEVER would have said ‘porcupine’ so it’s kind of like seeing a unicorn, so probably good.” And it was — proposal accepted. I’m so proud of the good work he does, recognized or not. And an added bonus is that this particular project means we get to rent a really nice beach house for a longer amount of time the next time we go to Oregon.

3. Books. I have sat here for a few minutes, curser blinking, trying to figure out what to say about this one because what I have to say could fill its own book. I just love reading so much, have learned so much and have experienced so much joy that it’s hard to find words that could contain or communicate even a small measure of my gratitude. They are one of the great loves of my life, along with my dogs and Eric and practice.

4. Peonies. This really and truly is the end of the season in my garden. The few I still have in vases in the house have about one more day left in them. I’m sad to see them go but also grateful I got to be here for the whole season this year. I guess it’s time to start going to the Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings and see what flowers they’ve got. There’s an art teacher who kept a flower stall there in the “before times” and I’ve almost been afraid to go back, worried she won’t be there anymore, but it may be time.

5. Danielle Ate the Sandwich and Pamela Machala show at Avo’s. Avogadro’s Number is a great local music venue, bar and restaurant we’ve been going to for the past 30 years. I’ve seen Danielle perform before but this was my first time seeing Pamela, and WOW, what a great show, a great time with our friends who came to have dinner and listen to music with us. It was outside on Avo’s back patio stage and the weather was perfect. Danielle moved to Kansas City after being here for a long time and it was good to see her again.

6. My tiny family, small home, little life. It has been a really great summer so far.

Bonus joy: teaching yoga at Red Sage, texting with Chloe’ and Chris and Mom, good TV and film, good books, listening to music and podcasts, making each other laugh, getting our new internet hooked up, everything bagels from Gib’s, plans to have dinner with Chelsey and Jon, pay day, the hydromassage chair, the pool, training with Shelby and the gang, sitting in the sauna, grocery shopping, seeds I put in the ground turning in to plants, good neighbors, blue tooth speakers, a new computer monitor and speaker, dark chocolate covered walnuts, a big glass of cold clean water, finishing the laundry, clean sheets, my jellyfish tshirt, writing with the wild-ish sangha, Sunday morning yoga with Jamie, being missed by the massive hail and tornadoes, pictures of my family, the group family text, the collapsible wagon I got to move yoga props from my car to the therapy rooms at Red Sage, Eric’s help loading and unloading the same props from my car, not rushing into anything, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.

1. Finding a Way Forward When the Path isn’t Clear. “The gift is, that in struggling along our own trail, we become the trail makers. Each of us makes it possible for the next person coming along, the next person who can’t see a way forward, to make it to the next cairn. And the next one. Making their journey forward possible.”

2. Which team? from Seth Godin.

3. You should sign up for Hugh Hollowell’s Life Is So Beautiful, “a weekly email handwritten, non-AI-generated, personally crafted, and curated by Hugh Hollowell, devoted to the idea that our hope for survival in this brutal world is rooted in finding the beauty that is everywhere, but sometimes hard to find.” If you need a reason, here are three from his most recent newsletter: Eternal Spring (video), and Still Life (video), and So, About This HAIR… (video).

4. Honoring Juneteenth on PBS, a collection of videos, a link shared by Omkari Williams in a recent Activist Micro Action Dispatch, (“Have an action you can do in 10 minutes or less delivered to your inbox each week”), in which she says, “My relationship with this holiday is complicated. On the one hand I celebrate that slavery was abolished. On the other I recognize that abolishing slavery is one thing while freedom, freedom is something else entirely. We don’t fix anything by ignoring it. We can address our issues of injustice and racial harm if we choose to do so, but it’s a choice we must make each day. Educating ourselves and our children is one step towards building the world we want to see.” You can also preorder her new book, Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World (Without A Bullhorn).

5. The Conversation with Amanda de Cadenet, “a groundbreaking series of one-on-one interviews featuring candid conversations with women and non-binary individuals…for raw and honest discussions on topics that need to be addressed right now. Each week, these incredible guests share their personal journeys, the insights they’ve gained and often hard lessons they’ve learned along the way.” I bring it up because her most recent episode sounds really interesting — As Sick As Your Secrets: Recovery From Addiction with Jamie Lee Curtis.

6. Doing Water Aerobics in the Senior Living Community with Janie Bird from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. I love aqua aerobics.

7. Xinyue: Delight in the Everyday. “Are you seeking to make your daily life more joyful without spending too much effort or money? Xinyue Wu’s thesis project, Xinyue: Delight in the Everyday, offers simple, affordable solutions for 24-35-year-old workers. By transforming ordinary experiences into delightful ones and using everyday products as emotional intervention tools, Xinyue aims to bring joy into people’s lives in a more accessible and sustainable way. With this approach, individuals can unconsciously infuse their daily lives with new-found vitality and happiness.”

8. Parker Posey Doesn’t Know If She Can Live Here. “The actress on aging in the city, terrible boyfriends, and why she doesn’t read her press.”

9. The Food Expiration Dates You Should Actually Follow on The New York Times. “The first thing you should know? The dates, as we know them, have nothing to do with safety. J. Kenji López-Alt explains.”

10. Good stuff from Lion’s Roar: Cultivating the 5 Powers (“Faith, diligence, mindfulness, concentration, insight: these are faculties found within us all. It’s up to us, of course, to develop and bring them out. In this conversation with Buddhadharma, author, medical doctor, and Plum Village monastic Sister Dang Nghiem — a.k.a. ‘Sister D’ — talks about how her teacher Thich Nhat Hanh taught the ‘five strengths,’ and how we can transform and harness them into powers that drive and deepen our dharma practice”) and Grow Your Mindfulness in the Garden (“Cheryl Wilfong on how to practice the four foundations of mindfulness in the garden”).

11. Why Gardening Is the Perfect Summer Hobby for Introverts.

12. “Everything Rots,” Thank God, “in defense of half-assing it.”

13. When Words Fall Short from Summer Brennan.

14. A Commencement Speech For Us from Frederick Joseph. “Sharing a few words many of us might need.”

15. Compassion becomes you from Patti Digh, who asks that we “resist dehumanizing people, no matter what.”

16. Let Kids Get Bored. It’s Good for Them. on The New York Times. “A reminder to parents soldiering through the summer: Boredom has its virtues.” I’ll add to that: boredom, it’s not just for kids.

17. 5 Painfully Obvious Truths We Tend to Forget When Life Gets Messy.

18. Everything Must Be Paid for Twice.

19. There’s No Such Thing as Getting Ahead.

20. The Man Behind Nature’s Driftwood Creatures // 60 Second Docs. (video) In related news, Slinky Artist Felix Semper // 60 Second Docs. (video)

21. CBS Sunday Morning Featuring Replacements, Ltd. (video) “Correspondent Nancy Giles visits Replacements, a North Carolina-based company that is the world’s largest supplier of active and discontinued tableware.”

22. Recipes I want to try: Rhubarb Butter and Favorite Rhubarb Recipes.

23. The White Woman Whisperer. “In 2019, I moved my life to the Midwest for my first ‘well-paying job’ and, through some painful experiences, found out that racism is not only still pervasive, but can be presented as allyship. To make things worse, those who DO want to advocate for racial equity are not equipped to do so without causing further harm. So… instead of succumbing to the dehumanizing nature of ‘professionalism’ and screaming into the abyss of Diversity & Inclusion initiatives, I am choosing to believe that we can, and will, break this cycle.”

24. 36 Random Animal Facts That May Surprise You.

25. Already Very Queer Comedy “The Lake” Gets Gayer in Season Two.

26. Dr. Sanjay Gupta: It’s time to rethink what we call ‘old age.’

27. A Heartwarming Short Film That Pays Beautiful Homage to Role That Dogs Play in Human Lives.

28. Powell’s Q&A: Gail Tsukiyama, author of ‘The Brightest Star.’

29. 6 Key Figures of the Harlem Renaissance’s Queer Scene. “Harlem in the 1920s and ’30s offered the Black creative class a sense of pride and possibility. It also had cross-dressing blues singers, extravagant drag balls and literary and artistic salons.”

30. People Are Sharing What Forced Them To Cut Ties With A Former Best Friend Of Theirs, And It’s Truly Toxic.

31. What to Do If Your House is Overflowing with Books. “Emily Grosvenor Offers Some Interior Design Tips for the Struggling Bibliophile.”

32. Unlikely Hikers is Making the Great Outdoors Way Greater.

33. Jack Hanna’s Alzheimer’s has progressed to the point he no longer recognizes most family members.

34. Winners of the 2023 BigPicture Natural World Photography Competition Embrace Our World’s Biodiversity.

35. I’ve written 10 books on happiness—here are 5 tiny habits that make me feel happier and healthier every day.

36. Artist Reimagines Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’ with Adorable Dogs.

37. Quote from a current read: “I rediscover a few key facts about friendships: They take time. They require attention. They need nurturing. Not the friends, necessarily, but the friendships. The quality and durability of any friendship reflects all that is put into it by both parties. Honest conversation. Availability. Sensitivity. Care. Compassion” (from Slow Love: How I Lost My Job, Put on My Pajamas, and Found Happiness, which I’m not sure yet if I’d recommend, especially considering the reviews).

38. Why does everything have to be Flamin’ Hot? a hilarious rant from the always hysterical Roy Wood Jr. (video)

39. New to me music: Pamela Machala. We saw her in concert last night with one of my favorites, Danielle Ate the Sandwich, and she was SO good. One of the friends that went with us said, “I could listen to that voice all day.” Pamela also has two ADORABLE cattle dog mixes so I did the most me thing ever after she played and showed her a picture of Ringo Blue.

40. I Asked AI What The Typical Person From Each State Looks Like, And Here’s What It Came Up With.