LIMINAL LIVING #107: 12 JANUARY to 18 JANUARY 2026

January 18, 2026

Weekly recap of my ritual of existence in this liminal space called life. (See here for more info.)

Weather

Weather was on the mild side this week, with highs ranging from 49.1°F to 23.2°F, averaging 34°F overall. Lows ranged from 6.8°F to 27.9°F, averaging 19.6°F. Because of the above-freezing temps on three days, we had some melt (measured as about 1/3 inch by our weather station), and we also had some light rain and mix on Thursday, about 1/4 inch, and light snow all day on Saturday, maybe 2 inches.

Beginnings/Firsts

The first purple finches (two pairs) and a pine siskin (one) showed up at the feeders this week.

Wild Things (Flora, Fauna, Fungi) in addition to others elsewhere in this post

Pretty much everything wild these days is either a bird or a squirrel.

Wandering

Wandered to my dermatologist’s again on Thurs. to have him look at something (sent for pathology) and as usual, took the opportunity to visit one of the regional co-ops in the area (a different one this time). Walked in town on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday.

Curiosity & Discoveries

These Birdfy-created curious motion captures amuse me.

Creating

Still thinking about possibilities in Feb. Rewrote most of a poem from a few years ago on Tuesday.

Repairing and Maintaining the human(s), the cat, and the cars

Human: Walked outside on four days and treadmilled on two, ending up with over 8,000 hard-won steps on five days and over 10,000 on three days, with only one day (Sat.) reaching over 14,000 steps. I treadmilled a total of 1 hour & 40 mins, 6.75 miles. Went to the dermatologist on Thursday to have something checked.

Nesting

Cleaning/Maintenance: I did a big project on Tuesday, massively clearing out and organising the utility closet that we mostly use for boxes, packing material, large mailing envelopes, gift bags, et al., as well as some cleaning supplies, the vacuum and its filters and attachments, the broom and dustpan, plungers, and the like. It took me almost two hours and generated a lot of material to go the dump and recycling.

I also watered the houseplants on Tuesday. I did clothes laundry on Wed. and vacuumed the family room, kitchen and hall, and my husband took what I’d cleared from the closet to the dump on Wed. too.

Financial/Admin: Nothing.

Yard: My husband cleared the new snow from the driveway on Sunday.

Food: Veggie burger on arugula on Monday, with sautéed broccolini and leftover risotto. Made a room-temp tortellini salad (with corn, peas, sautéed artichoke hearts, olives, dill & parsley, olive oil and lemon juice) on Tuesday and we had that — with sautéed red bell peppers and broccoli added — on Wed., along with (homemade) bread. I made penne with asparagus and pine nuts on Thursday (husband had it with sausage), which we also had on Friday with another pound of roasted asparagus added, and carrots, radishes, and cukes + the Harvest Maine celery root & red pepper dip. Saturday we had Martha Stewart’s orecchiette and chickpeas (a one-pan dish that also includes garlic, kalamata olives, rosemary, tomato paste, red pepper flakes, and Pecorino Romano) over arugula, with raw veg and dip, and the same on Sunday.

My husband made three baguettes on Sat., and on Sunday from sourdough discard made Old Bay cheese crackers that a friend (RL) had a recipe for and had made for us.

Sleeping & Dreaming

Sleep was pretty good this week, with five of my seven sleep scores in the 90s (including a 95), averaging 91.4. I got slightly more than 8 hours of sleep per night this week. REM sleep accounted for 15 hours 22 mins and deep sleep for a little more than 8.5 hours. Fri/Sat and Sat/Sun were particularly dreamy.

Reading / Words & Ideas / Listening / Watching

Reading: Didn’t finish any books this week.

I liked these pieces:

Phosphorescence; a Sermon For Dark Times by Nadia Bolz-Weber in the newsletter The Corners. “Jesus of Nazareth did not overthrow Rome. He laughed at it. He saw it for what it was: temporary. Fleeting. Harsh and demanding and tyrannical, yes—but temporary. That is what every Petulant bully cannot abide, by the way. The idea of their own insignificance. Which means the gospel might not promise us control—it does promise us clarity. Illumination, even.”

The rare people who are solid: Notes on congruence by Sasha Chapin in her newsletter. “This is one of the gifts of congruence: the more of it you have, the easier it is to spot it, or its absence, in others.” Psychologist Carl Rogers, who popularized the word, … “defined it (roughly) as a state of unity between your experience, your self-concept, and your outward behavior. … Deep congruence requires accepting all of the stuff of your life, every particle of feeling. If you are highly congruent, you disown none of your experience. None of it. You agree with what you’re doing with your time. You accept the stubborn approach of death, the arbitrariness of your fortune, your unimportance on the cosmic timescale, your potential importance for the local environment, the emotions of you and the people around you, the resources you’ve squandered. What stops congruence from occurring are layers of denial that are unpleasant to pass through.” It’s something I strive for.

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Listening

Some Shazam’d songs this week

Watching: Mostly ‘Inspector Lynley’ murder mysteries on Britbox, and NFL playoff football on the weekend. I watched a couple of ‘House Hunters’ one evening while treadmilling.

Connections & Community

Local Support: I ordered flowers from our local florist this week for a neighbour who recently lost her dog. I bought some pastries at a local bakery on Wed., shopped at the regional co-op on Thursday, at the local co-op on Friday (asparagus, penne), and at the local farmstand on Friday (their spinach, their parsnips, and their carrots, + Maine Harvest dip). We ate at a local bakery/café on Friday.

Relationships: My poetry group met on Tuesday afternoon with 7 of us (beautiful light in the host’s (JW’s) living room — see photo, which includes some knitted hats!). My husband drove a friend of ours (JS) to his chemo/infusion appt. at a regional hospital on Tuesday (from 7:30-3 p.m.). A friend (RL) came over on Wed. for 3 hours to exchange Christmas gifts (second round). My husband helped a friend (SD) replace a faucet on Friday. Salon met on Friday afternoon for two hours with 6 of us (four of us carpooled) — beautiful light in host’s (MBW’s) house, too! On Sat., we walked a baguette over to friends’ (ND & TD & their visiting son) and hung out for an hour or so. Texted and emailed with friends (CF, AA) and family this week. Christmas gifts arrived from my sister on Tuesday and several farmstand gift cards from various friends (JN, CJ) and my sister arrived on Wed. as well as one with no sender’s name (??).