Well, hello there. I missed my post last week because my website was down. After spending a few hours this week live chatting with my website host and learning way too much about SSL certificates and subdomains, it is working again. It’s actually appropriate that I missed last week as I’ve had a lot of big change in my life recently and I’ve been nice and cozy in my turtle shell. I’m ready to stick my head out now. Let’s get into it…
Quote of the week:
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” –Anais Nin
What I’m reading:
The Every by Dave Eggers (I finished this one last week and would like to discuss it with someone. If you’ve read it, holler)
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan (loving it so far, recommended to me by my favorite indie bookstore–hi, Lisa!)
Red Comet: The Short Life and Blazing Art of Sylvia Plath by Heather Clark (Fun fact: Sylvia Plath and I share a birthday–October 27. I’ve always loved her writing and think it’s a shame she’s known mostly for her suicide. This biography of her is fascinating so far)
What I’m listening to:
Classic Krakauer: Essays on Wilderness and Risk by Jon Krakauer (If you like Krakauer, you’ll like this)
I also recently listened to this podcast episode with Elaine Aron, who has written extensively about the trait of high sensitivity. I FEEL SEEN.
What I’m watching:
The Alpinist on Netflix. Wow. Incredible documentary about what we seek in the wilderness. I was not expecting the ending and it continues to haunt me.
14 Peaks on Netflix. Started this one last night. Loving it so far.
I’m really into nature/wilderness documentaries lately. I think all the Mary Oliver poems I’ve been reading are getting to me.
Writing news:
Less than 3 months until Ways the World Could End comes out. I’m excited for this book. I am officially back on the writing train and working on a new novel, aiming to have a draft done by summer.
What I’m talking about:
-The trucker protests in Canada. Come on, Canadians, you’re better than this. I’m also holding out hope that you’ll accept me as one of your own if Trump runs again
-The recent wave of book bans, which disproportionately target books by black and LGBTQ+ authors (good article here). I am, quite obviously, very opposed to this ridiculousness
-The carbon footprint of publishing. I’d never really thought about this until I read this article. It is good to know that many big publishers are working toward carbon neutrality
-Composting. As of the new year, California is requiring residents to dump food waste in a separate bin. This made me look into the benefits of mass composting and they are huge. Organic material like food and yard waste makes up half of everything in California landfills and a fifth of the state’s methane emissions. Many environmentalists say the easiest, best thing you can do for the environment is compost your own stuff or participate in a program like California has
Interesting things I learned this week:
-The state with the highest life expectancy is Hawaii (followed by California). West Virginia came in last
-We misplace, on average, 9 objects a day and spend a total of 6 months of our lives looking for lost things (learned this while listening to this beautiful book)
-Almond milk produces 78% less carbon emissions than dairy milk
-In a recent report, the US was ranked 43 out of 81 countries surveyed about how well their health systems provide for the wellbeing of patients at the end of life
-27 times more men than women joined the labor force last month–yikes
Weirdest thing I googled this week:
“llama llama single mama?” I realized that the Llama Llama books I read my daughter never include a dad character. Turns out the author, Anna Dewdney, was a divorced mom of two. Makes sense.
What I’m grateful for:
Health, new beginnings, beautiful runs, cats, my sister, and puzzles.
Snapshots from the week:
