Life Lately | Late July 2020

Thinking:
Covid as per usual. And we’re 100 days from the election. All I’ve got to say is that I hope the aftermath isn’t a shitshow, either in that he’s out of office and doesn’t go off the rails for the few months until inauguration, or in that he doesn’t win. No winning. No winning. No winning. Because we are well and truly screwed if he does.

I’m not really in the mood for a comprehensive write-out of what I think but here are a few items of note:

AOC’s speech to Rep. Yoho the other day.

The Poison of Male Incivility – RE: AOC and Yoho

To Be a Parent Right Now Is To Be A Liar — this whole thing speaks to me. I’ve tried to explain to Forest that he won’t be seeing his friends from daycare again. He used to mention it more often and I’ve had to tell him that it likely won’t happen. You can tell it doesn’t quite sink in but that it is also painful for him to think about. I’m constantly thinking of when he will get to play with kids his own age again. Since we’re starting kindergarten with online learning he won’t even get the kid interaction. And it isn’t even like he would have gotten the kid interaction as well if it was in person with so much social distancing happening. It honestly breaks my heart.

Gardening:
The edible garden has slowed down in production as heat increased and rain disappeared. We’ve gotten a great soaking from the far outer bands of Hurricane Hanna this weekend so we’re very thankful for that!

Mercer Arboretum had an online plant sale last weekend. All you had to do was order and then pick up a few days later. I bought a couple of gingers and a silphium and ended up getting two extra gingers because the lady giving out the plants was being extra generous. Chris bought two Texas sotols for the cactus bed and a Hercules club tree! I’ve been searching for that for several years now.

I need to get on top of weeds again and made an effort for about twenty minutes today before another round of rain came through.

Loving:

+Live Rootbeer Kombucha still!
+I made bagels. A few months ago I made pretzels and the recipe for the dough is the same and the process is nearly identical. I had a hankering for bagels and made them up Friday evening. Delicious!
+Bike Rides!
+A hammock that I got for my birthday! It hasn’t been up all week due to the rain. Ready to get back into it

Reading:
I recently finished A God in Ruins, a sequel to Life after Life by Kate Atkinson. I’m currently reading Wild Island: A Year in the Hebrides by Jane Smith. It’s a journal of sorts with entries and watercolors throughout. It is an easy and lovely read. I’m also reading Cross Creek by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, a book I’ve wanted to read for years but never made the time.

Making:
I’m working on an iris painting in the studio that I should be wrapping up this week. I have also been painting in a watercolor sketchbook with some new paints I bought for my birthday. My friend Meghan convinced me to actually buy some professional grade watercolors instead of something of lesser quality. I went with Daniel Smith brand and have been loving them! I also bought some water soluble pastels from Caran D’Ache and those have been really fun to play with. Now I’ve become a person who goes down watercolor journal flip-through rabbit holes on YouTube!

I’ve been thinking of doing some more crochet again soon.

Watching & Listening:

I have literally never listened to a Taylor Swift album in my life but someone mentioned there were Lana Del Rey and Lorde vibes and so I gave it a listen and have been blown away. I might actually buy the album! It’s a great art studio album!

Always love The Chicks and this album is a stunner! Lots of subtext about Natalie’s ex husband in there! March March is my favorite but I also love Texas Man and My Best Friend’s Weddings.

On the watching front:
I hit the bottom of Netflix a while back and hadn’t been interested in anything. But I finally gave Cable Girls a go. I remember trying to watch an episode a few years ago but because it is a Spanish show you either need to put captions on or listen to it in dubbing. I was doing a lot of work in the evenings when I needed this so captions weren’t going to be feasible. It starts in 1928 in Madrid and focuses in on 5 women who work as cable phone operators as Spain’s phone system starts broadening. Lots of flapper vibes and intrigue in the late 20s and early 30s. I actually had to do a lot of reading online because I didn’t know women didn’t get the right to vote or divorce there until the 1930s. The latter seasons jump to the end and aftermath of the Spanish Civil War so you see how the rise of fascism happened there and how the social justice movements slid backwards for nearly 50 years until Franco died in the 1970s. Highly recommend it if you can deal with dubbing and/or captions!

I also really loved the rebooted The Babysitter’s Club on Netflix. This series was what catapulted me into being a devout reader. I was a little wary at first because of some changes to the cast but honestly, it was the right thing and everything goes so well! Unlike the Anne of Green Gables reboot on Netflix, this one is a homerun!

And I’m back on a “there’s nothing to watch!” phase so I’m starting Alias again. It’s on Amazon Prime. The last time I went through that was when we moved in here 8 years ago. It’s very funny to see how the tech aged now that it is nearly a 20 year old show!

Looking Forward:
Lots of birthdays—mom turns 60 tomorrow! Then my niece turns 12 next week and my nephew turns 9 in mid-August. And of course Forest is also antsy for his birthday in early September!