this is lovely! i really admire how your blog takes us directly inside your life—what you're thinking, cooking, feeling, reading—in such a comfortable, familiar way. i'm excited to read what next week brings!
May I please assure that your last wish ("I just want to be read") is fulfilled every time I receive notice of your posts. I imagine many others would echo this sentiment.
Thank you in particular for this sentence: "I needed to slow down, to stop striving, to let experience slide in favor of reflection."
What an important nugget of wisdom from which we might all benefit!
I really enjoyed This. Especially the musings about your weekend off. And the photos of the giant plant and the columns. It offered me such a sense of place.
I had been thinking about columns—the kind that hold up structures, not the drivel that flows from my cursor—for some time. As I noticed them, I took photos. And then I saw this big-leaved plant, and it was an acanthus. I remembered Corinthian columns, and it all came together.
It seems we both were living under the same moon recently. I decided against going two blocks where the Pride Parade was going on last Saturday. I didn't go to the Festival either. I wasted at least a million hours on Substack ranting my rage against everything that was annoying me.
I guess I might've been showing off because my comments got no recognition, then suddenly I'm getting as many as 100+ Likes and a nice amount of replies.
The TV is my constant companion. I have trouble cooking the nice meals I'm accustomed to making.
But, I know I'll get over this slouching. I planned on going to Michigan August 1st to visit my older brother and 91 year old sister before one of us croaks. I'll be darned. My car decided to repeat a problem it did less than a year ago. The cost was $500.
Sometimes life just sucks.
Now relief came when I found your latest post in my email. I'm always mesmerized by your magnificent way of describing everything. Thanks for waking me up. I forced myself to make the Reese's Muffins I've been putting off forever.
Decades ago (1996) I was working on a lengthy family cookbook & crafting xmas gifts for friends. I had errands and a to do list longer than my leg but for some reason, on one particular Saturday, I resisted and sat at my kitchen table needleppointing an xmas ornament for my BFF. In the midst of that moment, my 10 year old beloved dog had a seizure (bladder cancer, as it turned out) and I will *always* honor the instinct to stay home, to be still...Had I gone out on my errands, he would have been alone. And, thank you for reminding me that, 40 years later, honoring our intuition and our loves is the way to live. Love your posts.
There must have been something in the wind. Sounds exactly like our week, sitting outside, snacking on fruits and vegetables, working in the garden, enjoying down-time with the older grandchildren at Driftwood Coffee on South Vermont, cleaning out and organizing the garage.... Love the look and sound of this week's poems, too. Nice naps, too!
My unmet aspirations haunt me. Along with the lumbar issues. Projects at the home front and being the retired help mate for the hair stylist spouse keep me busy. Yoga at the community center. Nope. Kayaking with freind nope. Reading great novels yes. A beer and a pool game with a stranger at laurel thirst. Nope. Overnight baby sitting very young grand children yes. Obsessing on a carpentry project yess! Wasting time on laptop with humming birds nearby. Shade and breeze under the pergola oh ya. The male imperative. Be financially successful. Etc. nope. Oh well.
Sometimes you just have to pass on the exterior life and get reaquainted with the internal one. Lots of naps. That is my favorite part. Good ole REM sleep pulls you way into the deep dark rooms of your soul and psyche. Sounds like you actually accomplished a lot more than you think. Festivals and crowds can be a distraction.
There came a time for me when I felt less comfortable exploring the world outside the fence line or engaging in it much. I decided then to focus on that enclosed realm which I had some control over. It was a good decision and one that helps me keep my sanity. The couple of outings a week are enough engagement. There's a very active wildlife world right here in my garden with its little dramas and soap operas going on as well as a lot of personal interest pursuits that fill my time and energy. Community activities are just too peopley for me these days.
this is lovely! i really admire how your blog takes us directly inside your life—what you're thinking, cooking, feeling, reading—in such a comfortable, familiar way. i'm excited to read what next week brings!
May I please assure that your last wish ("I just want to be read") is fulfilled every time I receive notice of your posts. I imagine many others would echo this sentiment.
Thank you in particular for this sentence: "I needed to slow down, to stop striving, to let experience slide in favor of reflection."
What an important nugget of wisdom from which we might all benefit!
Greg, thank you for your kind words. And for reminding me to listen to my own advice!
those quiet days inside, where time just passes at home can be lovely. the outside world will always be there.
As long as there are widows, looking out …
I really enjoyed This. Especially the musings about your weekend off. And the photos of the giant plant and the columns. It offered me such a sense of place.
I had been thinking about columns—the kind that hold up structures, not the drivel that flows from my cursor—for some time. As I noticed them, I took photos. And then I saw this big-leaved plant, and it was an acanthus. I remembered Corinthian columns, and it all came together.
It seems we both were living under the same moon recently. I decided against going two blocks where the Pride Parade was going on last Saturday. I didn't go to the Festival either. I wasted at least a million hours on Substack ranting my rage against everything that was annoying me.
I guess I might've been showing off because my comments got no recognition, then suddenly I'm getting as many as 100+ Likes and a nice amount of replies.
The TV is my constant companion. I have trouble cooking the nice meals I'm accustomed to making.
But, I know I'll get over this slouching. I planned on going to Michigan August 1st to visit my older brother and 91 year old sister before one of us croaks. I'll be darned. My car decided to repeat a problem it did less than a year ago. The cost was $500.
Sometimes life just sucks.
Now relief came when I found your latest post in my email. I'm always mesmerized by your magnificent way of describing everything. Thanks for waking me up. I forced myself to make the Reese's Muffins I've been putting off forever.
Have a wonderful future, Fran!
Richard
Congrats on the likes! You never know with Substack what will click with readers.
Decades ago (1996) I was working on a lengthy family cookbook & crafting xmas gifts for friends. I had errands and a to do list longer than my leg but for some reason, on one particular Saturday, I resisted and sat at my kitchen table needleppointing an xmas ornament for my BFF. In the midst of that moment, my 10 year old beloved dog had a seizure (bladder cancer, as it turned out) and I will *always* honor the instinct to stay home, to be still...Had I gone out on my errands, he would have been alone. And, thank you for reminding me that, 40 years later, honoring our intuition and our loves is the way to live. Love your posts.
Your words make me feel warm all over. Thank you.
There must have been something in the wind. Sounds exactly like our week, sitting outside, snacking on fruits and vegetables, working in the garden, enjoying down-time with the older grandchildren at Driftwood Coffee on South Vermont, cleaning out and organizing the garage.... Love the look and sound of this week's poems, too. Nice naps, too!
Reflection time is conducive to writing poetry. Ideas just float up, ready for me to skim them.
I’m going to try Driftwood. Or maybe not. The bus doesn’t run close or often.
My unmet aspirations haunt me. Along with the lumbar issues. Projects at the home front and being the retired help mate for the hair stylist spouse keep me busy. Yoga at the community center. Nope. Kayaking with freind nope. Reading great novels yes. A beer and a pool game with a stranger at laurel thirst. Nope. Overnight baby sitting very young grand children yes. Obsessing on a carpentry project yess! Wasting time on laptop with humming birds nearby. Shade and breeze under the pergola oh ya. The male imperative. Be financially successful. Etc. nope. Oh well.
I went kayaking with. Friend on willamette river. Just a couple hours. Excellent outing for two 70 year olds.
Thanks, Bernie. You make me smile. We do have so many choices.
Love this.
Sometimes you just have to pass on the exterior life and get reaquainted with the internal one. Lots of naps. That is my favorite part. Good ole REM sleep pulls you way into the deep dark rooms of your soul and psyche. Sounds like you actually accomplished a lot more than you think. Festivals and crowds can be a distraction.
Yes, Sue, you are right. When you let your subconscious do the work, a LOT of work gets done. As FOMO fades, I’m glad I stayed home.
There came a time for me when I felt less comfortable exploring the world outside the fence line or engaging in it much. I decided then to focus on that enclosed realm which I had some control over. It was a good decision and one that helps me keep my sanity. The couple of outings a week are enough engagement. There's a very active wildlife world right here in my garden with its little dramas and soap operas going on as well as a lot of personal interest pursuits that fill my time and energy. Community activities are just too peopley for me these days.
Wow, Fran. The sky rinsing, cleansing its palate for the taste of the stars — just wow. Fantastic image, I love it.
Coming from someone whose work I admire, this really is affirming. Thank you.