It happens every year: As much as I like autumn, I mourn the loss of summer. I do like summer best. I like sun and warmth and the old conviction, cemented in childhood, that summer is for freedom and new opportunities. I'm twenty years beyond a life ruled by school
Last week I turned forty-three years old. It seemed like a momentous occasion until the day of, and then it seemed rather normal. Getting older seems to be a lot of that. In any case, I haven't felt as much impulse to reflection as I usually do around my birthday.
Hey, only half a month late this time. I'm improving. Apologies for missing May's edition entirely—I was in the thick of moving, which is an inherently awful process and, while nothing went terribly wrong, it was, inherently, awful. I am still settling into my new place and likely will
April was quite a month. So much so that I completely forgot to send a newsletter at the end of it. My apologies for the delay, and for the fact that my list is going to be even more freeform than usual. I usually link to things I have made,
Note: this was originally sent out on 31 March 2024, but then gremlins got into my newsletter machine and I had to restore everything from an earlier backup. I've now recreated this newsletter as a post on the site, but if you are a subscriber and noticed any discrepancy, that's
Every year, I promise myself that I'll defeat February, and, every year, February ends up at least mildly defeating me. I felt particularly overtaxed this past month— although largely for good reason, because I added to my regular load of job, parenting, and part-time school the process of buying a
Traditionally, late January and February are gloomy times. The flush of the new year has faded and winter starts wearing on the soul around then. I took myself off for a quick trip to New York to go to the opera, which was lovely, but too quick. So I'm just
Usually, I send a list of things from the month just passed; but in this liminal time when one year blends into the next, I felt compelled to incorporate a bit longer range of retrospection than usual, and maybe a little more looking ahead. This past year was one of
I did virtually nothing throughout November (other than regular work and home responsibilities) but read, watch movies, walk long distances, go to yoga and write. It was lovely. I'm ready for a calm winter season. Here is a list of nice and quiet things I did, made and absorbed over
Every October, I take a trip north to the land of the House on the Rock. I have done this for several years now and I have written often about that weird and wonderful place. I suppose it's not for everyone, but I get a lot out of the experience
I am an autumn person, but I'm an autumn person who is also a summer person. I love, love, love summer, and I'm not generally fond of change. So when summer starts to fade, I start to mourn. For a bit. Then I remember I love autumn and make the
Over this past month, I read both of Mason Currey's collections of artists' daily routines and rituals (Daily Rituals: How Artists Work and Daily Rituals: Women at Work). The older I get, and the more I aim for simplicity and space to think, the more I am drawn to routines.
Hey, it's the last day of July, my birthday month. I turned forty-two years of age last week. It's pretty cool so far. I'll keep you posted about how it goes. Here's a list of things I did, read, and made over the past month. 1. I posted two collections
Last month I sat down to put together a list of things for May and I discovered that my newsletter had inexplicably broken. I did many things to try to fix it and yet I only managed to melt everything down to a digital lump. Of course my backups failed.
