7/31: working through
...some communication & technology glitches with my doctor's office. I wasn't completely graceful in the process, but I did it nonetheless. (And if I hadn't started the process there'd still be no progress.)
7/29: glad
...I went to the walking track. I almost didn't because my arthritis was hurting, but it felt good--maybe the pain medicine started to work; maybe moving helped (it doesn't always); maybe it was luck; maybe it was a little bit of all these things. And on the way I caught the segment of This American Life about a woman's relationship with Little Women during her difficult younger years.
7/28: making
...a very quick cardamom rosemary shortbread. Next time I'll halve the amount of sugar in the recipe and I think it'll be even better.
7/26: cool(er) weather
...than usual. July is usually a month with temperatures in the 90s and 100s, but we've had some 80 degree (and even some 70 degree) days this year. Especially wonderful for kayaking after dinner.
7/25: submitting
...an abstract I've been working on. It's not due until September 1st, but it was finished and I didn't want to spend another month tinkering with it or second-guessing myself, so in it went.
7/23: laughing
...with Chris as we listened to the audiobook of Mr. Harrison's Confessions by Elizabeth Gaskell.
7/22: finally
...going to my doctor for a check-in.
...getting a package ready to mail off tomorrow.
...tinkering with some plumbing to stop a small leak.
These things should have happened weeks ago, but they're done now.
...getting a package ready to mail off tomorrow.
...tinkering with some plumbing to stop a small leak.
These things should have happened weeks ago, but they're done now.
7/21: cleaning out
...a work/storage area that had gotten overgrown with office supplies and computer stuff. Chris helped me face it this afternoon and get it in order.
7/20: energy in the refrigerator
I found a recipe for no-bake "cookies" using peanut butter, oat bran, and dates. We keep them cold in the refrigerator, and I love pulling one out for a quick bit of energy.
7/19: morning, afternoon, evening
Getting a tricky part of my abstract written early in the morning.
Going out for lunch (and beer) with Chris.
Having an aha moment with a pamphlet after coming in from kayaking.
Going out for lunch (and beer) with Chris.
Having an aha moment with a pamphlet after coming in from kayaking.
7/18: first spins
Chris has been building a pole lathe, and today he and I tried it for the first time.
7/16: moving
...from the reading-and-thinking phase of a research project to the structuring-an-abstract phase. I'll still be reading and thinking, but it's time to shape my thoughts a bit. It's a bit uncomfortable, but I had to start this next step sometime.
7/14: settling on
...the perfect-for-me proportions of sugar, water, and instant coffee for a Greek iced coffee. And shaking a little water with the sugar and instant coffee in a jar beforehand creates a perfect foam.
7/13: discovering
...that I could extend the paper tray on our home laser printer to fit legal-size paper. It made today's pamphlet-printing much easier--no hand-feeding each sheet!
7/12: 3 things
I was going to make orange-cranberry cookies. I didn't mention that to Chris, but when he went to the store this afternoon he bought orange-cranberry cookies himself!
I worked on a pamphlet, and the final "aha" moment felt like a breath and a breeze, a lift and a lightening.
I went kayaking in the evening. The way out was hot--the wind was with me so I couldn't feel it. The way back was wonderful, paddling into the soft cooling air.
I worked on a pamphlet, and the final "aha" moment felt like a breath and a breeze, a lift and a lightening.
I went kayaking in the evening. The way out was hot--the wind was with me so I couldn't feel it. The way back was wonderful, paddling into the soft cooling air.
7/11: 10+ things
There were some things that were hard about today (arthritis! worries about self! sadness about patriarchy!), but Chris was good company and I held myself to Barbara's idea of keeping at things until you've done at least 10. Here's some of what I managed today.
Finished The Guineveres.
Wrote an email to a friend; texted some friends as well as my mother; received an email from a former student; wished another former student happy birthday.
Reserved viewing times at MASS MoCA.
Went to a flea market store with Chris, where we found great steel rulers. Mine breaks inches into tenths, which is great.
Deposited $51 worth of change at the bank (they weren't thrilled that I had rolled it--who knew that wasn't standard practice anymore?).
Made rosemary-basil-mint simple syrup.
Set up a new shelf in my room.
Photographed a glitch in an order from Moo and emailed with them about it.
Made some one-inch circular micro-collages.
Put my home office in order.
Gathered some recycling.
Watched Orphan Black with Chris.
7/10: coinciding
I'm working on a collaborative poetry project with a friend, and mostly I try not to predict what he's going to do; being surprised by another mind is part of the point, after all. But yesterday, as I made one choice, I wondered if (and even a little bit hoped that) he'd make a certain decision in response. Of course it would have been alright if he hadn't, but it was super fun to wake up this morning, check my email, and see that out of 80 possibilities he chose the one I was wondering about.
7/9: putting up
...my 1-inch x 1-inch collages on my new storage cabinet using magnetic tape. There are more than 400 of them, made over the past 18 months.
7/8: trying out
...the macro settings on a new camera.
I often see this kind of bug on flowers, but I didn't realize how detailed and colored it is until I took the picture.
I often see this kind of bug on flowers, but I didn't realize how detailed and colored it is until I took the picture.
7/7: finding
...a favorite paper-doll set from my youth, based on Disney's Alice in Wonderland. For instance, I love the pantsuit that gives Alice Cheshire Cat stripes!
7/6: without a plan
I usually map out my days. Sometimes it doesn't go according to plan, but I at least start with an idea of a possible structure. Today I just winged it.
7/5: binding
...32 notebooks using upcycled manila folders for covers and paper that had been printed on one side only for pages. I'll leave them out for free on campus at the start of next semester.
7/4: stowing
...my bookbinding materials in a big new cabinet. I'm thankful for Chris doing most of the work of putting it together yesterday (I helped), so today it was ready to be filled. It feels good to have all that stuff out of boxes and in one place.
7/3: listening
...to Molly Harper's Even Tree Nymphs Get the Blues and enjoying how it turns on the head some mythological traditions about nymphs.
7/2: ambient sounds of two kinds
Brian Eno's Music for Airports.
And then the frogs and cicadas making themselves known in a great clamor as I sat on the porch and talked with a friend on the phone.
And then the frogs and cicadas making themselves known in a great clamor as I sat on the porch and talked with a friend on the phone.
7/1: receiving
...a great piece of mail today: someone sent me their favorite double-simile from Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter.
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