Weekly Roundup: July 15, 2022

My brain is fried this week so let’s get right into it!

Quote of the week:
“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put foundations under them.” –Henry David Thoreau
(Fun fact: this was the quote I picked in my high school yearbook. I came across it in something I was reading this week and had that little memory. It still resonates today)

What I’m reading:
I’m currently reading Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett. It’s been on my list for a while and I’m loving it so far. I’m also reading Cohousing: A Contemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves. I’m continuing to explore intentional communities—perhaps for a future novel plot, or maybe for my real life!

What I’m listening to:
I’m listening to The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier by April White. I knew nothing about this part of history before—so interesting!

What I’m watching:
I’m watching How to Change Your Mind on Netflix, based on the book by Michael Pollan.

Writing news:
No big news this week. Still writing poetry and fiddling around with a couple children’s book ideas.

What I’m talking about:

• The BA.5 variant. Sigh. I would like to never hear the word “variant” again. This pandemic is exhausting
• Inflation. Prices climbed 9.1% from last year in the US, the fastest pace since 1981. While costs of everything go up, incomes don’t see to be increasing… So… how is that sustainable?
• Ada Limón is the new US Poet Laureate. I credit her for my recent foray into poetry. Highly recommend her work, even if you think you’re “not a poetry person”

Interesting things I learned this week:

• The calcium in our bones and teeth likely came from stars exploding in supernovas and scattering the mineral across the universe
• An American tourist fell into Mount Vesuvius while trying to retrieve his phone after taking a selfie. He survived
• A typical outdoor cat kills about 100 small animals and birds over the course of a year
• Neurasthenia was a popular diagnosis in the late 1800s, described by neurologist George Miller Beard as the exhaustion of the central nervous system’s reserves, attributed to modern civilization. Might need to bring this one back
• The word psychedelic is from the Greek for “mind-manifesting”
• Bill Wilson, cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous, credits psychedelics with helping him get over his addiction
• The dollar has risen to parity with the euro for the first time since 2002
• Orcas are one of only three animals species that go through menopause (the others being humans and short-finned pilot whales)
• Starting July 16, Americans can call or text a new number — 988 — if they’re experiencing a mental health crisis or are at risk of suicide
• Maya Angelou is the first black woman to appear on a U.S. quarter

Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“My cat keeps eating my cashews.” One of my cats is obsessed with cashews. I get these snack-packs from Trader Joe’s and he can hear me open it and comes running from the other room. I give him small pieces, which google says is ok. Shrug.

What I’m grateful for:

• Fun Queen cover band concert last weekend. I LOVE Queen. Watching old footage of Freddie Mercury in concert gives me chills. It was just me and my daughter and she loved it (as long as she was sitting on my shoulders and/or eating shave ice)
• Dinner with my mom—just her and me. We rarely get that time together and it was so nice
• A 10-mile run this morning that felt good. Been in a bit of a running funk so this one was needed. I’m training for a half marathon next month!

A few snapshots: