Although founder and gatherer Cynthia Lee is taking a bit of a break from the Scattered Life Collective, I find that I not only enjoy doing a weekly peek-into-my-universe post, but also that it helps me kind of wrap up my week with an overarching sense of gratitude. So yay for that!
out the window: Today is our annual block party. We do a communal lunch and dinner and the rest of the time everyone hangs out. I need to take lots of breaks from the intensity of so much sustained togetherness; I’m a big believer in taking care of yourself and I know my limitations. There’s a bouncy house for the kids at one end of the block, several kiddy pools set out, an expected visit from the fire department truck and crew, the much-anticipated piñata breaking, and later this evening they’ll be a DJ spinning some tunes. We have a Hawaiian theme going this year so there are plenty of leis and someone is teaching the kids a few hula moves.
on the menu: My contribution to the lunch was a rice dish with pineapple, green onions, toasted coconut and macadamia nuts. What really made it good was cooking the rice in a mix of pineapple and orange juice and coconut milk.
good things:
- Perseids meteor showers. While we have way too much ambient light here in the heart of a huge metropolitan area for good viewing, I do occasionally catch sight of a shooting star or two. And I tell you I think they’re all the more spectacular because they’re so rare.
- The other day Pete and I were discussing idioms and the expression “until the cows come home” came up. The very next day I stumbled upon a wonderful card from Pamela Zagarenski of Sacred Bee. And then today this video made its way into my awareness. I love the synchronicity of it all, and I certainly intend to celebrate later with a black cow. Which in Hawaiian would be ‘ele’ele pipi wahine. I think. But I say yum in any language.
- Having the kind of friends who send me energetic doses of love and support when I navigate challenging situations. I am so blessed!
- Working on a project that requires folding multiple “star” origami journals. I like being the creator of a universe.
reading: It’s been kind of bothering me that the 9-planet solar system I grew up with isn’t the current paradigm. Not that I’m particularly happy about the demotion of Pluto planetary status; but I don’t like that my brain has been stuck holding an old framework. So this week I’ve been pouring over Solar System: A Visual Exploration of Planets, Moons, and Other Heavenly Bodies that Orbit Our Sun by Marcus Chown. It’s filled with wonderful photographs and I’m quite enjoying this exploration.
watching: Someone mentioned to me this week that there’s a kids book introducing the late jazz man and eccentric Sun Ra. While looking for it, I came across this video – Sun Ra: A Joyful Noise. Feels like exactly the right thing in this week of cosmic discovery.
listening: Zoe Keating’s Escape Artist
favorite word of the week: Eucatastrophe. It’s a J.R.R. Tolkien creation meaning “that moment when all seems imperiled and doomed and then, at the last possible moment, redemption, salvation, and joy step forward and resolve the drama.”
out and about:
- April Elliott Kent’s article about our tribes.
- Ship of Theseus kite.
- I want to live a life so someone can write an eulogy with love like this.
- Write a letter to your future self.
- I like Erin Faith Allen’s work. There is truth here.
And there you have it – some of the shining stars populating my personal sky. I’d love to hear what’s up for you this week.
Funny how we’ve both decided to keep up with our weekly roundups in Cynthia’s absence. I find that it’s become a valued ritual for me. Your block party sounds delightful, but I know what you mean about sensory overload. The cow quote reminds me of another, and a funny family story. When my nephew (who lives in another city) was young, my brother would often buy Christmas gifts for him on our behalf and then we would send my brother the money, so that we could avoid the hassle and expense of mailing big packages. One year my nephew asked for the Fisher Price farm, so it was decided that that would be his gift from grandma and grandpa. My mom was on the phone with my brother, and in the background, my sister-in-law, who is a francophone and doesn’t always get the subtleties of the English language, called out “Tell your mom I bought the farm.” Tee hee.
Oh that’s hilarious Sarah! How I LOVE language – and of course I know you feel the same way.
My grandfather had a dairy farm…. the cows were milked early in the morning and put out to pasture and roam around. At the end of the day the cows came home….. to be milked! Always, everyday, like clockwork….. the cows came home.
It all sounds so pastoral and peaceful. However if one has been a nursing mother the urgency of ‘milking/nursing’ at the proper time is a highly motivating factor on one’s life!
Well that certainly explains it! 🙂