6/30: starting

...to read There There by Tommy Orange.  Chris and I decided to read and talk about it as our own book-club-of-two.

6/29: receiving

...nice feedback about some of the recent swaps I sent out.  It had been awhile since I'd participated in swap-bot, and it's been good to do some exchanges this summer.

...news that an abstract I wrote while visiting my mother earlier this month has gotten accepted for presentation.

6/28: learning

...how to do some cool things with type in Photoshop Elements.  Possibilities for more "typewriter" art.

6/27: watching

...movies with Chris because we were both feeling ill.

...and then the moon on the water from the bridge.

6/26: seeing

...all the plates in the Typewriter Art anthology and wanting to try more experiments myself.

6/25: being grateful

...for the new shower-head Chris bought for my shower.  I would have just bought a basic one at the store, but Chris did research and, yep, it's a nice way to start the day.

6/24: being comforted

...by Tilde in the middle of the night and by Emma mid-morning.  These cats know when their care will make all the difference, and I am so grateful.

6/23: kayaking

...two nights in a row.  My arthritis kept me company both times (alas), but I would have ached whether I had been on the water or not, so at least I got to enjoy the lake and light.

6/22: making

...little movies of the moon's reflection jumping on the water.

6/21: 4 things

Collaging a little circular sun using bits of yellow and gold paper in honor of the solstice.

Making one-inch x one-inch mini-collages with a former student when we got together for lunch and a chat.

Doing my annual kayak-washing in the evening, since it was too windy to take the kayak out on the lake.

Writing about my experiences with audiobooks for a letter swap.

6/20: starting

...a new audiobook while walking:  Patrick Ness' Knife of Never Letting Go.  It starts with this quotation from George Eliot's Middlemarch:  "If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrel's heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence."

6/19: picnicking

...with a friend in the town square park in Altus.

6/18: paging

...through anthologies of concrete poetry.  Our library had not one but two!  (And it looks like I'm the only person who's ever checked out one of them, purchased in 1971.  As if it's been waiting for me all this time.)

6/17: making

...a lovely brunch with Chris.  We had thought of going into town for a fancy brunch at a new-ish restaurant, but then Chris remembered that it was Father's Day: we realized the restaurant would likely be packed, so we stayed home.  And we probably had a better brunch than the one we would have paid more for:  we had poached eggs with pepper and za'atar on garlicky ciabatta baguette slices plus mimosas with fresh orange juice, sparkling wine, and a mint-basil simple syrup I made last night.

6/16: letting myself

...read for pleasure pleasure pleasure (even though it made me feel a little guilty / self-indulgent).

6/15: writing & running

Writing during my Friday afternoon slot and following myself into a topic that kept me engaged for the full hour.

Then running errands with Chris.  Though they were errands, we were together for them.

6/14: being grateful

...for a good phone conversation today and the kindness of the person I was talking with.

6/13: watching

...an adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma with Chris and having a good time together.

6/12: getting good news

...about a former student who was accepted to graduate school.

6/11: printing out

...a full draft of a long project I've been working on with a friend.  We've been working electronically so this was the first time I saw (and held) the words on paper.

6/10: working through

...some general technical issues with the Heron Tree site and some specific challenges with this week's poem.

6/9: poking around

...in Chapman's Homer.

6/8: reading

...articles in frieze during morning-coffee porch-time.

6/7: unpacking

...almost as soon as I got home so I wouldn't have to wake up and do it tomorrow.

6/6: smiling

...at an unexpected visit from a friend.  He knew I was leaving in the early afternoon and stopped by for a quick farewell.

6/5: enjoying

...my last full day in Loretto.  It included a long walk in the morning to my favorite spots and an evening playing cards with friends while enjoying my mother's hospitality.

6/4: the twinkling

...of fireflies low to the ground across my mother's front lawn.

6/3: regathering

...some inner quiet after two less-than-quiet afternoons.

6/2: walking

...a beautiful Pennsylvania trail with a friend and his dog.

6/1: visiting

...with a long-time family friend over lunch with her and my mother.  She's a yoga and meditation instructor, and she seemed to really like hearing about my doing Greek penmanship meditations with my students.  I felt validated and am also grateful for her suggestions about how to make them work better in the future.