Weekly recap of my ritual of existence in this liminal space called life. (See here for more info.)
- Weather
High temperatures ranged from 56.1°F to 32.7°F, with an average high of 46.5°F. The average low temp was 29.5°F, with a range from 22.1°F to 36. We got about three inches of snow on Monday and about a half inch of rain between Friday and Sunday. Next week is spring and the snowdrops are starting to bloom.
- Beginnings
Purple hellebore in yard is starting to bud.
This is how neatly stacked and how many carts are available at the local grocery early in the morning, around 8 a.m. (Thursday)
- Flora, Fauna, Fungi
All birds.
- Wandering
Walked to and from my poetry group meeting on Tuesday afternoon (about 4 miles), a shorter walk around town on Wednesday, another 4-mile in-town walk on Thursday (taking advantage of the 56°F temps) and yet another on Saturday. Some photos from those walks:
- Curiosity & Discoveries
I participated in a Zoom Dharma Sunday on the Feldenkrais method, which was very interesting. Wikipedia says it’s a method that claims to “reorganize connections between the brain and body and so improve body movement and psychological state.” We did body movements that involved turning our torso when turning our head from side to side, slowly, in an ever-narrowing arc. I liked it. You can read more about the Feldenkrais method here.
Watched a really great webinar on raising baby birds and writing and illustrating books, with Julie Zickefoose, through Maine/York County Audubon on Tuesday evening. I’m recommending it to everyone!
- Creating
Nothing really. April, which is National Poetry Month, may usher in another poetry-writing challenge, though it’s already a busy month for me.
- Repairing and Maintaining (everything but the house)
Body/Mind: I worked out three times (3 hours) this week. Attended the Botany in a Winter webinar on Wed. evening as well as a useful webinar on Saturday morning from the Chatham Conservation Foundation (Cape Cod) on planting native plants, by Cathy Weston. I got a (masked) haircut on Thursday morning (7:30am).
Botany in a Winter (continuing with monocots):
Native Plants for Cape Cod:
Yard: Husband cleared fresh snow from the driveway on Monday.
Cat: Checked in on Tuesday with catsitter for next week’s trip and created a schedule for Bumble’s visits. Here’s some cat tax.
Financial: My husband called our cable/TV provider on Thursday and got a $20 “loyalty” discount. I cancelled the Canva Pro Plan on Tuesday, a few days before the free trial ended; I like it but am not sure I will use $20 worth per month. I scanned Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, HomeBot, and others on Wed. to see what they show as our house “value” (sales price/range); I do this every couple of months just to keep tabs.
- Nesting – Design/Decor, Maintenance, Supplies, Food, etc.
Decor: Ordered and received a new midweight (summer) bed comforter from The Company Store during 30%-off sale this week; the other one is about 30 years old.
Cleaning/Maintaining: Cleaned both toilets on Monday. Vacuumed Thurs. or Friday.
Food: Made seafood casserole and had that with sautéed fresh local spinach on Monday (and with other veggies on Tues., Wed., and one of us finished it on Sat) Made penne with asparagus and pine nuts on Thursday and had it that night and Friday, and one of us finished it on Saturday.
Sunday we ate big salads (greens, candied pecans, cheddar cheese cubes, pumpkin seeds, cranberries, etc.) we received in a “Surprise Bag” from a local bakery/café through Too Good To Go.
Supplies: Bought some more Girl Scout cookies from a neighbour’s granddaughter on Friday.
- Sleeping & Dreaming
Not a great sleeping week, with time asleep all over the place — from 5-1/2 hours to a little more than 9 hours, for average of 7 hours, 27 mins. — with sleep score average of 83.4 (range from 70 to 88). I recorded a dream on Tuesday morning involving a friend (MAB), a pilot who reminded me of Brian Keith in the TV show Family Affair, and a plane that the pilot landed in a hanger, flying low and wheeling down the street almost right after we took off; I thought he was going to get a snack but he wanted a long white plastic knife, which the hangar attendant brought him in a portfolio of plasticware.
- Reading / Words & Ideas / Listening / Watching (was Reading & Ideas [including words/memes])
I liked the way this Covid-19 handout is put together. Also, apparently trying to avoid an infection that can have serious, longterm, and even deadly neurological, vascular, and immunological consequences through simple means like wearing a mask is now considered by some to be evidence of psychopathy.
I appreciated these bits from two books I finished recently. The first, about the subway as heterotopia, is from Michael Cunningham’s novel, Day. The second is from Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s memoir, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life, on wabi-sabi.
Handy pesto chart!
- Connections & Community [relationships, local support, giving/donating, receiving, friends, neighbours]
Local Support: Voted on Tuesday in the local elections for selectboard, library board, budget committee, and concerning several zoning amendments. We got a snack and sat inside at the local bakery/café on Thursday before they closed. Picked up Too Good To Go items from them on Sunday afternoon. Had breakfast at 7 a.m. at a local spot that was very uncrowded at that hour on a Monday.
Donations: Renewed memberships, on Thursday online, with Heritage Museums & Gardens on the Cape and with Mass Hort.
Relationships: We had a poetry group meeting on Tuesday, with six of us in attendance for two hours reading poems and talking about poems (and town politics, our lives, etc.). Attended Zoom permaculture group meeting on Thursday, where five of us talked about the weather, gardens and seedlings, our lives, etc. I hosted Salon on Friday in person for three of us plus one on Zoom from Oregon.
Got to run out and pat a local bulldog walking by on Sat. Chatted with a neighbour/friend for several minutes, also on Saturday, while we were out walking and he was passing in his car. Attended Dharma Sunday via Zoom on Sunday, with a sangha of about 25 people. Drove friends to the Park & Ride for a bus to a plane on Monday at 5:15 a.m. This is what it looked like when we drove home around 5:40 a.m.
- Endings [finishing/harvesting]
Nothing comes to mind.
- All This Useless Beauty
I think rock walls are beautiful, and also rocks, and stones, and things that grow and accumulate on and between them.
Julie Zickefoose’s illustrations are remarkably beautiful (and not useless).
And this sunbeam:
