Weekly recap of my ritual of existence in this liminal space called life. (See here for more info.)
- Weather
Wet week, with rain every day but Sunday, and 2.4 inches on Friday. In all, 3.55 inches of rain. Temps are cooling, with the average high temperature this week of 74°F and a range from 79.5°F to 68.9°F. Lows averaged 57.9°F, ranging from 52.5°F to 63.5°F. We ran the bedroom A/C on Monday and Tuesday only. We have been hearing geese calling as they fly south all week, so fall is officially on the horizon.
- Beginnings/Firsts
As mentioned above, Canada geese are flying south! Nooooo!
We picked our first peach from the trees this year on Wednesday, and ate it when it ripened on Saturday! We started picking lots of peaches from the trees on Sunday.
- Wild Flora, Fauna, Fungi
Many shown below, but some others include
Merlin heard this week (mostly in the garden, a few around the lake)
- Wandering
We walked around the lake (3-mile loop) twice this week, on Wed. and Sunday. Otherwise, it was in-town walks, including a long one (4 miles) on Monday and shorter ones (sometimes two in a day) on the other days.
lake walks
in town walks
- Curiosity & Discoveries
Scentless plant bug (genus Harmostes), a new one for me I think.
- Creating
On Saturday afternoon, I collected photos of our friend Annie, whose (delayed) memorial service we went to that morning, and made an album of them to share with her kids.
- Repairing and Maintaining (everything but the house & yard)
Body/Mind: I walked over 14,000 steps on three days this week, and on two more days I walked between 10,000 and 11,000 steps. I forgot to take the FitBit off the charger on Friday, so very few steps were recorded that day. I worked out 3 times (3 hours) this week.
- Gardening/Yard
Weeded the vegetable garden for an hour on Monday and harvested throughout the week (see that section). Didn’t have to do much watering this week. Harvested all the garlic on Monday, as rain was beginning; they’re drying in the garage. As mentioned above, the peaches are now going to be the main focus for the next week or two or three. Hazelnuts are coming along well, too.
in the garden this week
- Nesting
Cleaning/Maintenance: I did towel laundry on Tuesday and clothes laundry on Wed. Friday I vacuumed the kitchen, hallway, and laundry room.
Food: My husband made yogurt on Tuesday. I made cod with Old Bay, corn on the cob, and rice pilaf on Tuesday and kale & summer squash frittata on Thursday. We feasted on appetizers at our friend’s memorial reception on Saturday, and we got takeout from a local restaurant on Sunday (fish & chips and meatloaf Wellington). We ate everything with cucumbers and sungold or Bloody Butcher tomatoes. I used all my friend’s (GV’s) Swiss chard for breakfast one morning (sautéed with jasmine rice and soy chicken). I found about 25 shelling peas I had picked on 9 June in the fridge on Monday (5 Aug), which I shelled and ate – they were great.
Supplies: I spent a half-hour on Friday looking over and changing the Amazon Subscribe and Save items for the rest of the year. Also on Friday I ordered four Christmas gifts for friends from Shop Fog Linen. I ordered a batch of Aura N95 masks for us on Tuesday for the likely coming avian flu and/or other possible infectious pandemics and epidemics, plus some magnesium glycinate.
Financial: On Thursday, I checked our new mortgage company’s website to ensure our autopayment for August had been logged properly (it was).
- Sleeping & Dreaming
Sleep was OK this week, with an average of 7 hours 43 mins per night and an average FitBit sleep score of 83. I had a little over 12 hours of REM sleep and 7 hours 22 mins deep sleep. On Thursday I dreamed I was in charge of taking care of the queen (of England).
- Reading / Words & Ideas / Listening / Watching
Books: I’m plowing through the fiction this summer. I finished three this week: One Perfect Couple (2024) by Ruth Ware, an action-packed suspense novel set on an Indian island, the location for a reality TV show — it disappointed a bit and I found myself skimming — and two books set in Nantucket by Elin Hilderbrand, The Blue Bistro (2005), which I really enjoyed for its details of day-to-day operations of a very fast-paced upscale restaurant in a tourist town, and for main characters who are more or less decent, kind people, and The Castaways (2009), which was interesting for its complex web of relationships, not only among a core group of four couples but including others outside the group and external factors like 9/11 (but lord those rich people on Nantucket drink buckets of booze every day).
Watching: We’re watching the third season of Shetland this week.
Other: I read this July 2024 article in The Cut (may be paywalled), “Blindsided by Breast Cancer: When a mammogram hides a deadly truth,” by Dyan Neary, which was eye-opening and alarming.
Words on hope by Howard Zinn:
- Connections & Community
Local Support: We bought Two Good To Go bags from a local bakery twice this week, Wed., and Fri., receiving all muffins and pastries in one bag and in the other a spinach-feta croissant, a baguette, and two apple danishes.
We got takeout dinner from a local restaurant on Sunday. We ate breakfast and bought produce at a local farmstand-café on Sunday.
I bought produce at another local farmstand on Monday and Friday. My husband volunteered at a local car museum for eight hours this week.
Relationships: Our friend (SCh) came to pick up her repaired Electrolux vacuum cleaner and left us a bottle of gin in trade on Tuesday! I hosted our permaculture Zoom on Thursday morning, with five of us. Salon didn’t meet this week. Chatted with someone briefly at the local bank on Friday (T) and a friend (JS) I ran into in the grocery on Friday, and on Saturday had good lengthy conversations with our friend Annie’s daughter (TC), friends we sat next to at the service (A&AS), and with another good friend (CF) at the reception. On Sunday I picked up and delivered produce for two friends (LM, RL) from a farmstand. Emailed and texted with several friends about upcoming lunches, dinners, and visits.
Donations: I renewed our membership to Longwood Gardens on Thursday with a 10% early renewal discount (for Oct.).
- Endings /Harvest
Food harvesting galore this week.
As mentioned above, we said a final goodbye to our good friend Annie Kieffer on Saturday at an Episcopal memorial service with eulogies, communion, music, and a committal, followed by an indoor-outdoor reception that evening at an inn on the lake. All beautiful, moving, reflective, and full of good humour and affection, like Annie herself.
- All This Useless Beauty
Addendum: I learned after posting this that the co-founder of our weekly Salon group died on 8 August at age 94 in Florence, MA. May she rest in peace, love, and joy.
Leave a Reply