jillsalahub

1. Morning walks. This week we heard an owl, saw some deer, ran into Ringo’s nemesis (don’t act surprised that he has one) and lots of garbage trucks. It’s so dark right now in the morning that the sun only starts to rise when we are on the way back home and I need my headlamp on for almost the full walk.

2. The color of the Colorado morning sky, particularly in winter and fall. Something about the moisture and cold makes it especially magic.

3. Practice. Still keeping me here. Sometimes Sam “helps” me meditate. It makes me so happy that he just wants to be with me.

4. Finally finding a new therapist. I have more to say about this, but for now I’m just grateful.

5. My tiny family. Kitchen counter love notes, cooking together, laughing together, watching Guy’s Grocery Games with Eric, reading in bed at night while Eric and the dogs are sleeping, the way Ringo and Sam come in and guard me while I take a shower, the summer red still in Sam’s coat, the way Ringo catches a frisbee, how both Sam and Ringo decide who they love and who they don’t like and that pretty much will never change, seeing Sam and Ringo playing in the backyard (it’s been at least a year since they have), being able to spend so much more time present with them.

Bonus joy: getting all the laundry done and folded and put away in one day, clean sheets, Broccoli Slaw, Sweet Onion Upside Down Broccoli Cornbread, taking a day off from the gym to work on finishing my Yoga for All teacher training and realizing as I work my way through it that I already know a lot more than I realized, planning something fun with Eric, aqua aerobics, sitting in the sauna on a cold day, my infrared heating pad, good TV, good books, good podcasts, a really soft sweatshirt my brother gave me, wool socks, down blankets and pillows, writing in the morning with my HappyLight, gold and red leaves, smelling a skunk but not running into it, teaching yoga.

From our walk

1. Adding the wrong words from Austin Kleon. “My 4-year-old leaves so many drawings lying around that sometimes I steal them and add my own captions.”

2. This remix of Ellen’s pathetic defense of George W. Bush is devastating.

3. Initiative from Seth Godin.

4. Victoria’s Secret Hires Anti-Fat Plus-Size Model from Dances with Fat.

5. 5 No-Fuss Self-Care Ideas For Introverts.

6. hilariously, clumsily, grossly visible, a really great post about patiarchy from The Collected AHP (Anne Helen Petersen).

7. Wisdom from Ronna Detrick’s Notes From Her: “I kept myself busy with so many responsibilities. I took them on because they needed to be done, but more, because they seemed like the best way to keep from feeling crazy. When I slowed down, when I rested, when I stopped, my mind fought against the silence, the space, the calm. But, in truth, silence, space, and calm was what my heart wanted most; what I needed most. It took time, but I learned that it’s not in working harder, faster, or smarter; but in sitting, resting, and leaning that feeling crazy eventually vanishes, that transformation comes, that love shows up.”

8. Yoga For Writers | Yoga With Adriene (video)

9. This Daily Truth from Melody Ross about choosing the path that’s right for you, making your own decisions. “The messages are often conflicting, confusing, frustrating, and they can make us feel small and inadequate. Sometimes we feel so confused that we are just paralyzed and instead of making decisions, we just stop doing anything at all.”

10. Imagine a Pine Tree on Lion’s Roar, “Thich Nhat Hanh answers a retreatant’s question on what to do in the face of suffering.” My favorite line of this piece is, “The basic thing we can do to help the world is to be healthy, solid, loving, and gentle to ourselves.”

11. 10 Easy Ways to Cut Down on Your Plastic Use Right Now from Sandra Pawula.

12. Fort Worth Officer Kills Woman In Her Bedroom In Response To ‘Open Structure Call.’ In related news, Where Are the Good Cops?

13. Honey Bees Complete Mixed Media Artworks by Building Comb Around Embroidery Hoops.

14. Prince’s Estate Condemns Trump’s Use Of ‘Purple Rain’ At Campaign Rally.

15. How Mainstream Body Positivity Has Failed Us.

16. Florida Man Who Killed Black Father Over Parking Space Will Stand His Ground in Prison for 20 Years.

17. Power Is Gradually Restored To Thousands Of Californians After 2nd Day Of Outages.

18. ‘If you can’t make jokes without hurting people, maybe you’re no good at it’, “Marc Maron reacts to claims ‘woke culture’ is killing comedy.”

19. White Women doing White Supremacy in Nonprofit Culture.

20. Wisconsin Spice Company Spends More Than $100K On Pro-Impeachment Ads. “Wauwatosa-Based Penzeys Spices Behind Only Trump Campaign In National Spending.” This company makes a good product, then takes some of the money they make from that and does good things in the world.

21. Get a Dog, Live Longer? on The New York Times. “Benefits of dog ownership may be particularly pronounced in those who have already had a heart attack.”

22. Forty-three new women came forward to describe assault and harassment by Trump. Newspapers ignored them.

23. Matt Lauer Issues Victim-Blaming Letter In Response To Brooke Nevils Rape Allegations.

24. Why Veggies Won’t Save Healthcare in Real Life. “Is maintaining a healthy lifestyle one’s responsibility, or a privilege? It’s time to start asking the harder questions, and recognize the health care disparity that exists in real life.”

25. Meatless meat is becoming mainstream — and it’s sparking a backlash.

26. What It’s Like Growing Up as a Highly Sensitive Child in a Chaotic Home.

27. I threw out 10 years of journals. Just to be clear, I’m sharing this because I want to reinforce the fact that if we aren’t ready to let go, even if we never are, that’s okay too.

28. With Abortion Rights On The Line, Planned Parenthood Announces 2020 Push.

29. Trump Administration Says It Won’t Comply With Impeachment Inquiry.

30. 15 Ways White Women Avoid Accountability On The Internet.

31. On Finding the Freedom to Rage Against Our Fathers, “Minda Honey Tells the Story of a Daughter Who Refused to Walk on Eggshells.”

32. Columbus Day Or Indigenous Peoples’ Day? In related news, I’m Dreaming About a Modern World That Doesn’t Erase Its Indigenous Intelligence.