PNewL PNewS 28.2 finally

PNewL PNewS

                      Volume 28 Issue 2                  "All the pnews that phits.”                July 2020

Editors Note: I lost track of time.

In the Time of the ’Rona & Other Observations Part II

              It feels like it is time to write the next PNewS. Things bubble up, things you might find entertaining—obviously things I find entertaining—I wouldn’t bother otherwise, but, honestly…has anything changed since the last issue? Well, I have developed the tong idea. My hair has grown another ¾ of an inch, I finished painting the bathroom though there is still some finishing to do…I apparently have time.

Business Opportunity

“Just one word…are you listening? Tongs…there’s a great future in tongs. Think about it. Will you think about it?” Okay, so I stole the quote from The Graduate but to me it rings so true these days and I am sharing it with you in hopes that someone can take the idea and run with it. I have talked with some of my most favorite entrepreneurial types and we have all agreed that we do not work in the medium that are tongs and so it must be suggested to someone who does. Please feel free to share.

I s’pose I should explain what I mean. I think there is a huge opportunity here now that, should we get together, physically distanced, we will want to also distance ourselves from shared food, if we dare to share. This first came to me when, in the beginning (March), Susan was going to a birthday party where there were going to be..I think it was Jelly Bellies, in a large bowl. I loaned Susan these precious sterling silver tongs that I think were probably sugar cube grabbers that my mother gave me back when I entertained and it didn’t look like I was going to be getting married and have showers and wedding presents. (Poor woman—how she wished she’d had children who married…if only to get some payback on all the wedding presents she’d given…but I am getting off track…)

As time went on and we were having some shared items at Take Out Fridays and at Cocktails In Joanna’s Backyard, I thought—it’s all about the appropriate size tongs. And then, what about if we each had our own set…like in a travel case, color specific—a new individual accessory. I LOVE THIS IDEA. Can you tell? Gini has tongs with red silicone at the end in a fun grabby shape. Very cool—that’s the idea—now someone: Go!

Happy Birthday to Roger and Martha

Today is my little sister’s 60^th birthday and Roger’s 12^th*. Happy birthday to them both—accomplishments all around. Two of my favorite beings. Roger celebrated by having many breakfast snacks and eating some old dead chicken (mostly feathers—TMI??) found in the field. Yum! I have not gotten Martha’s report on her day—I suspect it will be different. I sent her a box of goodies–-partly filled with stuff from our past. She’ll think I’m goofy which she knew before. I am so grateful to them both for being in my life and being such loyal friends. *Up until recently I thought Roger was going to be 11. I’m usually pretty good about this sort of thing but when I did the math recently I realized he has been with me for seven years not six and we never really got to celebrate him being 11. We’ll make it up this year and I will cut him some slack for being a little old man.

The Little Things have gotten Smaller:

• When I did the “Whole 30” food choice shake up a few years back, I got pretty good at making mayonnaise. I have made it ever since. It is a wonderful thing to see it emulsify, bloom and come together. Recommend.

• I guess being home and paying closer attention, I am more aware and oddly appreciative of that brief time when all of my underwear has been washed, dried and in the drawer. True.

• I have taken about 40 photos of summer flowers in the fields across the way. They seem to change every day and it makes me happy.

• This is bigger than a little thing but I am over the moon: I inherited a printer from Patsy and Ernie when they downsized. My printer, which is so not old, stopped printing black text. It was explained on a website by a techie that the ink in the large Black cartridge of a Canon printer is a lower grade ink and clogs easily. Not a fan of companies who know but don’t fix or improve. Being able to print in black makes me haphaphappy.

Stuff that may not fit Anywhere Else & Zoom

• I got my first tattoo the day before the world shut down. That’s all. It was kind of a big deal at the time and I forgot to mention it. It’s a penguin taken from a photograph I took on the Falkland Islands. And for those who don’t know and are curious: getting a tattoo is like being scratched with a not so fine pin for an hour (mine is smallish so it took an hour—y’all who have large tattoos, I don’t know how you do it. Not so much because of the pain, but I found it boring.)

• I am fine with Zoom—I find several a day exhausting but a couple can be manageable. I squawk when someone says there’ll be breakout rooms or we need to turn our video on if I hadn’t planned accordingly but for the most part, it’s manageable. Yoga on Zoom: oh yeah. No one knows when I have gone off topic, can’t manage to figure out how to move that limb out of the way or am flattened by a pose. Seeing Osawa family at the Annual Meeting was surprisingly sweet. And I’ve just started attending a handwork circle where everyone is doing different crafty stuff and chatting. These times were made for introverts.

• Speaking of Zoom—the small differences in the kinds of Zoom interest me. I never know if I will have to be let in, or use a password or if I have to mute myself or will automatically be muted. It often feels just a wee bit different.

• And one last Zoom comment: "In this moment" and, "That's SUCH a good question," are overused and annoying.

• Eating oddities continue though I should mention the baking phase is over. I am still eating weird combos like too many pistachios and radishes and lemon wafers. (I have none of those in the kitchen right now, thankfully.)

• I found my scissors in my purse. I know why they were there (moving them from a place they shouldn’t have been to the place they should be but then of course I forgot)—but there was a brief moment when I thought, what the…heck?

• Getting my haircut was not the pure ecstasy I was hoping for. Because I had gotten past the awkward part, I thought I should try something new and longer, in the dead of summer with humidity high. That has presented a bunch of hurdles and new challenges but as I have mentioned, I have the time.

• My idea of dressing up has gone from a clean T-shirt to a button down shirt. I’m making progress I think. I actually remember to put on earrings sometimes.

• My new hobby is trapping flies between the screen and the window. My personal best is five. Then the window has to be kept closed until they die or escape. Perhaps it’s cruel, but they are flies. I now have a minor infestation of the giant dumb black ants. Not sure how to turn that into a game.

• The contacts app on my computer has stopped opening. What’s that about? I’m sending out pretty notes to improve the mail and I can’t get into my address book? Harumph.

• Tater tot waffles. It’s a thing. Google it. Try it before you dismiss it.

• Suddenly my social media is full of friends’ visits to the beach. What’s up with that? I thought we weren’t supposed to go anywhere? I do not remember the last time I slept so many nights in a row at my house. I’m moving to the guest room I am so sick of my bedroom. Yes I am a whiney entitled person. Now I feel better. Thanks.

• I had my annual physical yesterday which is a glorified phrase for a nice chat with the Doc and oh as long as you’re here I will look in your ears, check your blood pressure, and listen to heart and lungs PERIOD. I feel confident I will live forever after that. There’s a new questionnaire I had to answer about my mental state (with the young PA/nurse who liked my tattoo and thought my Black Lives Matter bracelet rocked). I was fine before she asked the questions. On the way home, I thought, Have I had thoughts of suicide? No but now that you mention it…KIDDING.

Taking advantage of Time

• In the beginning of “the time we are in,” I was envious of all the people who were cleaning out closets while I was hunkered down reading or listening to audiobooks and knitting. Slowly I started going through stuff, took old paint to the hazardous waste drop off, took the recycling away, etc. I have sent some things to people who might like or use things, and I’ve got several boxes of miscellany to go to thrift shops etc. though nowhere near the amount of stuff it should be!

• I painted the bathroom. I recommend this sort of project (which I don’t normally). I don’t like to paint. But this was a focus and I needed that. I recognize—and accept—it could/did take longer than I would like. I discovered as I was pulling out painting supplies that a lot of things in my garage are unusable, unidentifiable and/or I have no idea where they came from. I live alone—that’s just weird.

• There are days Roger and I return to bed (his favorite place) during the day and I have decided to be okay with it. Thankfully it has been a gorgeous spring and not a bad though humid summer and I have a faithful dog. When I can take a break from worrying about people less fortunate than me, I can enjoy it. Mostly I am so afraid for so many. Napping is okay every once in a while.

• My pal Gini is moving to town (yay) and wound up buying a house during the pandemic. Being a part of looking for and buying a house when I have little “skin in the game” is great fun. It’s so much easier now with online access to what’s on the market. (Ironically, the house Gini is buying had online photos that turned out to be six years old.) I love looking at houses—being critical and/or appreciative of people’s choices, picking up ideas, paint color combos, opening closets or rather having them opened by a gloved and masked realtor, snooping etc. The hard part is being careful about what comes out of my mouth when asked, “So, what do you think of that house?”

“And then it [bleeping] SNOWS.  (Let us pause and reflect here that while May snow is technically legal in Canada, it seems like a bloody insult when we’ve already got a pandemic and murder hornets. This plot is overwritten.)”

From the Yarn Harlot, one of my knitting gurus, in a blog post

••• Fill out your census. • Make sure you are registered to vote. • 

Sign up for an absentee ballot. •   

Please and thank you. •••

PNewL PNewS 28.1!

PNewL PNewS

             Volume 28 Issue 1            “All the pnews that phits.”                        April 2020

Editors Note: Much of this was written in March. By the time you read this, it’s likely that it will feel like a different time and we may be into a new phase. What I have added since March is dated for my own purposes.

In the Time of the ’Rona & Other Observations

Eating & Drinking

• Early March: I bought 35 cans of bubbly water. March 31—that is not going to be enough. (A lot of the bubbly water was a new brand which it turns out is from Coke. It has some good flavor but I find a couple 8-packs in, I am over it. Just thought I’d share—it’s too much for my delicate palate, I guess!)

• I bought 12 rolls of TP purchased in panic shopping at Trader Joe’s. It was the last package. I should buy it. March 31: I am a single person living with a dog who doesn’t use TP and I have 27 rolls. I am ashamed of myself. Will deliver—within reason—should anyone run out. April 7^th: May keep it just in case. (It took me several readings to realize this is not about eating…really. But it is staying here anyway.)

• My pantry tends to be well stocked but the longer we are invited to stay home the menus are going to get a little weird. (Blueberries and salmon w butter beans? The other night I had salmon and sweet potato pancakes! yum) Last night, I wanted something comforting. (I’d seen a NYT Cooking ad on Facebook for cheesy tomato and white bean bake, which seemed in the right vein but no white beans ready to go.) I started by chopping an onion and I noted I was willing to take the time to chop it more finely than I usually do. Garlic, jars of miscellaneous red sauces that “need to be eaten.” One was chipotle pepper related and the other was a sweet hot Korean sauce I made from a recipe I found online. At this point, I knew I had something pretty tasty but it all needed something to stick to—I was baffled. Chopped up some tofu and threw in some garbanzo beans. It was comforting and good and spicy.

• My Pinterest page has grown—the recipe folders are filling up.

• I am one who has a tendency to eat weird combinations so this is nothing new, but there is the part where I have half a grilled cheese sandwich, some red bell pepper and a handful of pecans for lunch knowing tonight I will have [insert restaurant food here].  Knowing that I am less likely to do that now, the period I spend standing in front of the fridge and sighing has lengthened. 

• Early on, I asked the folks at the liquor store if they’d heard talk of closing them down. They laughed. Job security, essential employees.

• 4/6: I recognize now that the Baking Phase really needs to stop—as I keep saying: this is a marathon not a sprint. I never eat this stuff in normal times. Okay, there might be one thing but not all of them. The Freezer is full of scones and hot cross buns and sweet potato rolls and homemade bread. It’s.Got.To.Stop. 

• 4/20: I have fallen for Samin Nosrat, author of Salt Fat Acid Heat. I had heard her on just about every NPR show around and liked her style but never followed up much. In this time of plenty of time, I paid attention and now I am a follower. Her HomeCooking.show blog is fun and informative. (I love that she is this successful chef with a tiny freezer. I guess in the old days we could shop whenever we wanted? I can’t remember.) I have made her Tahdig twice now. It’s rice of any kind fried til crispy. I was just thinking about how it is comfort food, which I have just discovered. Since I usually think of “comfort food” as something from a simpler time, I find it interesting how easily I have adopted it.

Living with a Dog in the Time of the ’Rona

• Roger hates screen time. He used to just hate the computer—now he is unhappy with the IPad and the phone. It is all okay if we are on the bed.

• In the “we have to find amusement somewhere” category, Roger sometimes comes into the bathroom when I am there and he will turn around and close the door. Then he tries to open it again. He seems to like the closing part but hasn’t figured out the opening part. 

• I sense that Roger knows something is different, it just doesn’t bother him.

• The new game is he goes to my bed or one of his beds and then barks. When I come to ask him to please stop he is happy to see me – he got his way. 

• His battered legs seem to be getting stronger as we take several short walks with rests in between. That’s nice.

• Amend the previous comment: his battered legs have moments of getting stronger and then everything falls apart and I think I will have to get the car to drive him home from across the road. This aging thing sucks. Thankfully he has better doctors than I do and he comes back to the new normal of Senor Limpalong. Just hang in there for a little bit longer little dude.

Me in the Time of the’Rona

• I haven’t even bothered to look at my calendar in a couple days—it’s probably not necessary, everything is crossed out though there are actually a few things I should be aware of—Zoom meetings, deadlines--it’s highly likely I could miss something. (And, oh, I have!)

• April 26^th: I am going through the past month of emails. So many I can delete. So many Zoom meetings I wish I’d been to, so many articles to read and jokes to laugh at and emails I read three weeks ago but which are seemingly brand new on the second read. It's grueling this life of...leisure? Deleted approximately 200 emails in each of my email accounts and added 12 zoom calls to the calendar. Only registered for two.

• Peter’s recent email about how he is managing in this time of isolation spoke to me: “I find I've been singing a lot as a partial remedy for the covid protocols, and I find myself singing these parody songs often. Not to mention I've also been doing some reading on quantum time theory.” Okay, except for the quantum time theory part.

• It’s funny how easily it is to lose track of days and times and when I took my last shower. There is something to be said for routine.

• March: When things started getting concerning—news was dire far away and it was getting closer and we are led by someone I do not trust--I went to a Deep Dark Place. My concern for so many people made me feel like I was carrying the weight of the world. I felt like I needed to fix things, take care of all the people. I knew this wasn’t the case but it felt that way. I finally heard from someone that I was not responsible for everyone. Somehow it took a lot of weight off. 

• One day, I started baking. Then, I reached a new phase in this experience. Everything is so funny, it brings tears to my eyes. Yesterday, I was active. I found stuff I couldn’t find, I mowed, I brushed cobwebs. Today I have done paperwork and need a nap. Can't wait to see what the next phase is. 4/19: I dropped following phases. Went quiet. Wondering how I will learn to converse again. I don’t feel depressed, perhaps a little numb. People are getting stuff done. I am in full on Adult Onset ADD with half-finished projects everywhere.  I’ve planted but not everything, I’ve weeded and cleaned (hell hath frozen over apparently) but only a few places. Not good at completing.

• April 2^nd. This morning, I was listening to Ruth Reichl’s memoir “Save Me the Plums.”  I decided to make “Easy Blueberry Scones” from Bon Appetit, ironically, Reichl’s competition when she led Gourmet. I had bought some of the ingredients before…and they needed to be baked. I do not feel like I have gone back into a Baking Phase. I just hate wasting things like heavy cream. Despite the “easy” part, I struggled a little with the recipe. I dirtied a lot of dishes, wondered what the hell a microplane was (fine grater), and there was another glitch I don’t recall, and right then Ms Reichl started telling the story about what it was like to be heading Gourmet Magazine on 9/11. Wow. Timing. Her family got away safely and then she realized she had all these kitchens and cooks and they could make food for first responders. As I finally got a pretty nice looking pan of scones into the oven, I had tears streaming down my face as I listened to how grateful the recipients were to receive the food. One guy said thank you for reminding me of home. It was chili she said, just chili. And she has made that chili on Thanksgiving ever since. It makes me wonder…you know. What our memories will be. What will we take away. Will we learn anything?

• April 6^th. Today I finally got brave and tried to start the riding motor. It turned over pretty quickly and once I gassed her up and pumped the tires (with the bike pump, Peter!), she did a fine job of the first mow of the season. My neighbor Susie said, doesn’t it feel good to get that done? I said I wished it felt better. I’ll work on that.

• Speaking of the bike pump—it’s one of those things I always have to search for. I need it a couple times a year and then it goes missing in between uses. Fly swatter—same thing. Today I found them both AND I got the mower started. It was a red-letter day. I had said to Sydney yesterday that the days are all kinda the same. I will work on appreciating the differences.

• I fear we will all come out of this with some form off PTSD, or maybe agoraphobia. I hear children on the radio talking about fear. Kinda hard.

Knitting and other Distractions in the Time of the 'Rona

• I finished a sweater in the early days of shutdown and I really love it. It was fast and it is so cozy and warm and of course the weather has shifted and it’s not likely I’ll wear it any time soon but it was very satisfying.

• Next up, I started several projects, almost forgetting that I had started something new already (there are already 20+ projects in bags surrounding my chair). It’s a bit out of control but I don’t really care. I have bought several skeins of yarn from young women independent dyers who are struggling. I can’t fix everything but I can support them. And I buy patterns. Everyone has patterns on sale. I have enough yarn and patterns and other stuff to get me through this and my next lifetime. 

I am now knitting potholders because I can finish them quickly and that will feel good. I also have a couple of the 20+ that are almost done. I can finish those. Bigger projects feel too big.

• Books feel too long—reading articles. Attention span is shortening noticeably.

• I am finding Netflix and YouTube are my close friends. Instagram too. I have been watching Mary Chapin Carpenter on Instagram and after she plays a “Song from Home” she says Stay Mighty so I offer that...

• I am reading a memoir by Madeleine L’Engle—well I am trying. She is smart and writes well. It is a different time. Most nights after reading, I have no idea what she wrote about it, but it is somehow comforting.

• I just finished listening to Nomadland: Surviving America in the 21^stCentury by Jessica Bruder. She follows several folks who moved into vehicles after 2008. It is really interesting (and a good audiobook). I wonder what will happen after this—more nomads on the open road.

• I just loaded the washing machine: one pair of jeans, two pairs of sweatpants and two sweatshirts, three pair of socks and ~10 pairs of underwear.

• The PNewL PNewS is now 28 years old. Not bad!

Well, I have been compiling this for five weeks or so and on occasion wonder if I am finished—

how will I know, what does that mean? Today I decided I should put this out there and start fresh tomorrow. So here goes. I hope this finds you all safe and sane. And I hope you are enjoying a Spring that is as beautiful as the one we are having.

As my Dad used to say, Keep smiling!

Two quotes this time, because, why not?

“I hope the United States of America is not so rich that she can afford to let these wildernesses pass by, or so poor she cannot afford to keep them.”Mardy Murie

"I say simply, ‘Learn how to be useful.’ It’ll take a lot of the mystery out of life.” Harrison Ford

PNewL PNewS Volume 27 Issue 5

PNewL PNewS

Volume 27 Issue 5                 “All the pnews that phits.”                               February 2020

Pork, Cork, Storks & Dorks: Our Travels in Portugal

     I didn’t mean to be traipsing around Portugal in a red-orange coat but I left my black jacket at Heathrow. That and a bit of rain that managed to fall on me through the light fixtures in a posh pousada at 5:30 in the morning are the only negatives on an otherwise close to perfect trip. Oh and a mishap with language and gas vs. diesel but I’m not supposed to talk about that.

     This was a bit of a different trip—travelling with a group of people I know and/or have known earlier in life. The cast of characters included Cousin Bill who I have traveled with before who lives in Hamburg Germany; his sister and, not surprisingly, also my cousin, Diane (Vermont); Bill’s very good friend and now also mine, Denis (Paris), who is a frequent Osawa visitor and who has become known by me as the Dip Master (see previous issue) and is my hero behind the wheel; and me. The nice part of travelling this way is we rented a car and went where we wanted when we wanted to. Time-savings all around. We did have destinations each day and places to sleep. We called it the Reconnaissance Tour, which we mostly said aloud because spelling it is tricky. (Online definition edited to fit our situation: Tour to observe a region to ascertain strategic features.) This way of travel might be familiar to many of you but it was new to me. (Mostly I have travelled by myself or with strangers, or with a friend and a bunch of strangers, either finding the best way to get from Point A to B on my own, or being herded into the transport that was determined to be the best way.) And thankfully this worked just fine—very well, great even!

     Bill and I have been talking about moving to Portugal for over a year, thus the need for this tour. I had never been there which made it essential for me to visit and Bill had not been there enough. He wants some place warmer. I want to be elsewhere in a more in-depth way and as I have said before, there is something really charming about being in a country that is not responsible for a lot of craziness that is going on in the world. Plus the food is great, the people are friendly, many of them speak English and something else I can’t remember right now.

     Over our time driving around, we saw some of the west coast, the southwesternmost point of Europe, the towns of Porto, Evora, Vila Nova de Milfontes, Tavira, Ereceira, and some others we stopped in briefly. After we offloaded the car, we explored Lisbon and its environs via public transport and on foot. Before I went, I asked for suggestions and everyone who had been there had them. After being there a few days, I came to realize it’s hard to screw up in Portugal. Every town seems to have something to offer. Granted we were there during low season and we lucked out with nice weather, but I found travel pretty easy and keeping fed and watered and well taken care of also easy and satisfying.

     So…what’s next? I think a return is in the works. I have scaled back my plans to move permanently but I’m not sure about Bill. We are talking about renting an apartment for a month in the winter. I am not interested in being on the coast with all the surfers and package tourists during high season. (I did not know that Portugal has some of the biggest waves in the world!) Whatever happens, it’s fun to ponder.

P.S. Perhaps there needs to be a bit of explanation of the title of this piece.

• Pork: We ate a fair amount of ham plus some bacon and there may have been some pork belly along the way. I had a tosta mixta/mista almost every day. It’s grilled cheese and ham. And there’s some very tasty bread in them thar parts. And they are cheap. And so am I.

• Cork: Portugal, in case you didn’t know, is where more than 50% of the world’s cork comes from. Driving along, we saw trees that have had their bark removed. It’s a sustainable practice and according to the Internet (so it must be true), the bark/cork can be harvested every nine years. And the trees are protected--you need a permit to cut a cork tree down! You can buy just about anything made of cork, from bookmarks to purses and shoes. Apparently even NASA has used it.

• Storks: White storks live high above the roadside on telephone poles. Their nests are huge and they are pretty big themselves so it was an impressive sight. We stopped several times to say hello and take pictures.

• Dorks: Well, that would be us. (I hope this is not considered to be an offensive term. When I looked it up, the Internet [again] said it’s “a contemptible, socially inept person.” The contemptible part is a bit harsh but I think most tourists are at some point socially inept and I found most of the people we ran into found us perhaps a bit socially inept but charming too.)

Things I am Learning & Miscellaneous Observations

• This silver hair part of my life is doing surprisingly little for me. I expected doors opened, seats offered, luggage lifted into overhead bins, apologies made as people smash into me, but no. The entitled younger folk will have none of that.

• Speaking of hair, I have been having a hard time settling on a haircutter here since Cathy retired over a year ago. As I got ready to leave on this trip, I thought, I am going to have to get my hair cut in Portugal or just be miserable. It wound up being great fun—I will do it again. The woman who cut my hair did not speak English. We communicated through another employee who had some English vocabulary. We smiled and laughed and everyone in the shop was entertained and smiling by the end and she let me know that I need to start using the shampoo that prevents yellowing in my hair because I was looking blond—she knew that word!
• Grazing last night for a snack, I came across Brussels sprouts. Yum. When did they become a snack and yum?

• There are some pretty common symbols representing Portugal in the tourist shops and on logos. It’s not always obvious so I thought I’d give you a quick run down so should you go there, you would be in the know. Roosters are available on everything. Short story is a guy said, “If that guy is innocent this rooster on the grill will come back to life to declare the innocence of a man set to be hanged,” and the rooster came back to life, saving the man’s life. The crow represents the birds that guided sailors through the fog into Lisbon harbor.  Swallows come back every year to the same nest, which I guess is a nice consistent thing in an inconsistent world. Oh and sardines are huge there, just cause. That’s what I learned. (I bought a refrigerator magnet in the shape of a sardine, decorated with swallows, and made of cork. A trifecta?)

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• I don’t remember the specifics but Bill said something in French and Denis said, but that doesn’t mean anything, I thought huh. What does that sound like—a phrase that doesn’t mean anything and I looked up and there was the orange juice container with a banner in English that read, “Travel in this flavor!” and then later, I was at lunch and I looked at my placemat where I was served my first and best tosta mixta--in huge letters it read, “Surprise tastes well!” (Granted this restaurant was called Oh my Tasty!) Okay, I get it.

• Whilst I was out gallivanting, Gini was here holding down the fort and seeing how she liked winter. Little did she know what she was in for! A few days into my time away, Roger fell apart and required a lot of attention. For a while, he was paralyzed and then he had to be carried out to go to the bathroom and through the care of Gini and a team of neighbors and the good Dr. Lisa and acupuncture, he is up and walking (like a drunken sailor). It is to my mind a miracle. I just had to cancel an appointment for my health because of an appointment for Roger, but I’m hoping at some point things will right themselves. Meanwhile, I am ever so grateful to the village of people who kept the faith and got him where he is today.

• In the fall, I joined the Social Justice Book Club that is held at the Leicester Library one month and Firestorm Bookstore, the radical cooperative bookstore, the next. It has been inspiring—each book I’ve read has captivated me. The first few books were on racism (I missed the first couple gatherings for I'm Still Here by Austin Channing Brown but I’ve read it and it’s good—interesting to hear from an African American Christian on Racism, and How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide by Crystal Marie Fleming is pretty great too—she doesn’t pull any punches. I would love to take a class from her. Then came The 57 Bus (Dashka Slater), a YA book that is the true story about two teenagers. It’s complicated—about gender and race--and SO smart and educational and cool. Highly recommend. We hit on homelessness (Evicted by Matthew Desmond---read it and be oh so grateful) and this month’s book is A Line Becomes a River by Francisco Cantu. I’m most of the way through it and it is heart wrenching—a memoir of a former border patrol agent. I don’t know how anyone does that job. Anyway, the book club is an emotional rollercoaster but so worth it.

• My newest hobby is looking at real estate in real life and online for and with Gini. It’s super fun when it’s not my own where I am going to put my stuff life or money. Houses are getting expensive. Decisions about housing in different areas have new ramifications—moving into a gentrified area or onto former farm land? Um… Moving into an over-50 community? Hmmm. It’s complicated. On the other hand, it’s fun to be along for the ride!

 

“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.” Gary Snyder

(I read this quote on Instagram from a socially responsible yarn dyer in Australia. She wrote about the fires there, saying that we can’t ever go back to normal—that’s what got us here in the first place. It has made me think…a lot.)

A few pretty Portugal pictures (Porto, the Alentejo Coast and the Pena Palace in Sintra)

 

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PNewL PNewS 27.4

PNewL PNewS 

Volume 27 Issue 4              "All the pnews that phits.”                 December still 2019

An Almost Perfect Day: Friday 12/20/2019

Let me tell you about my day. It started just as the light was creeping in which is not always my favorite time of day but it was okay—it’s winter, these things happen, I had to leave the house early. I got Roger up and fed and we walked and I could see it was going to be a nice day and it was cold but not too and it was garbage day and I confess I like to see that stuff leave my house. I convinced Roger (bribed him with biscuits) that it was time to go home to my breakfast and preparation for departure. He likes the cold but he likes biscuits more. I had oatmeal and coconut milk and blueberries that Gini picked last June when I was in Norway.

When I got downtown, I found a parking space with a meter that wasn’t working so I left a note on the dashboard that said, I tried but it wasn’t working. I didn’t get a ticket. Free parking! Woo hoo.

When I walked into the Center for Craft, I was reminded that the theme for Creative Mornings was Silence. Perfect. On the nametags, it says something like... I am___Peggy. To me, Silence is___and I wrote ‘truly GOLDEN.’ As I hit the top of the stairs to the basement, there was a guy with a sign that said that the basement was a Silent Space (Confession: In being a “Break-down volunteer” I came home with one of those signs). For this event, the basement is often a raucous onslaught but I love the event so I persevere. This one was for me. For 10-15 minutes (I get there late), ~150 people were silent. It was exquisite to be in this usually crazy loud space in silence. I can’t explain it. It was magical and everyone was so darned respectful of what was requested of them. Yay team!

            I enjoyed the speaker, a self-described extrovert who had a problem with silence. It was an interesting choice (not a positive one for fellow introvert Heather, I learned later) but for me it was good and only ironic that the volume was too high. Anyway, this extrovert worked his way through having a problem with silence to learning lessons about it. I was still a wee bit high on all those people starting their day silently and the whole thing felt so good. Even part of the volunteer break down team time was silent.

            Sometimes, part of my volunteer gig involves delivering leftover food from the event to a local shelter and it is one of my favorite things to do—we are so glad to have someone eating the super good food and they are so grateful we donate it. From there, I delivered a bon voyage gift to a friend who is leaving town—a happy sad thing.

            On the way home, I kept looking at the clock, saying out loud, It’s 11:10 or 11:42 or 12:04 and still a perfect day. I really wanted to remind myself, remember, acknowledge. Meanwhile, I did everything on my list for today and finished everything from yesterday too. At home, it was sunny and chilly—warm sun, cool air. I got the bird feeders up which always feels good and the birds started coming before the sun set.

            At some point in the late afternoon, I lost the perfect day. I don’t know what happened but I know that part of it was I stopped reminding myself it was a Perfect Day. It wasn’t a bad day after that, just average. I had a brief visit with a friend and we ushered for a play. And that ended the day. I still had the warm fuzzy feeling of a perfect day but it made me realize how easy it is to miss that or to never see it in the first place.

Things I am Learning

& Miscellaneous Observations

• On one of our walks from downtown to North Beach, Sara and I stopped at Allbirds, a groovy shoe store in San Francisco. It was a weekday afternoon and the place was full of people. Sara says it usually is. When we got back to their flat, I found ads for Allbirds on my phone. I had not used my phone in the store…it was just in my purse. They know where I’ve been. Creepy.

• I am working on my issues with Procrastination: this year I cooked my Thanksgiving turkey a week early. I bought Christmas presents for myself in November and used them right away. Way to get it done!

• I have a tenant in the doublewide next door. Before she started to move in, I had my new favorite human being, a reliable handyman!!, do some fixes over there. One of the things I discovered was that someone (Previous tenant? Former owner??) had taped one of the tiles on the step down with a loop of masking tape--not duct tape, which I could almost understand--and it had held for a good amount of time. Really? Wow.

• On the Tuesday of Thanksgiving, I was volunteering at the Library. I was going through the DVDs to see what hadn’t gone out since May. I was amazed by how many went out in November. I knew that doing this job, I would come home with a stack…eleven to be precise. (Ten is the limit at my library but 11 years of volunteering has its privileges…) Don’t judge my choices.

… Get Smart. I loved this show. It turns out there was a second version with Max and Agent 99 and…Andy Dick, their son. I did not need to finish this disc. (Watched two episodes)

…A Christmas Story. Everyone but me loved this movie. I thought I should watch it again. It was filmed in Cleveland, the home of my birth. I still don’t care much. Sorry.

…Coyote Waits. Tony Hillerman. PBS Mystery. Mom loved the series (books) and it was one of the first when I stopped reading because I lost track of what I had read and what I hadn’t. Chee doesn’t look as I expected…

…Family TV Classics. Watched a couple episodes of Ozzie & Harriet, complete with Eastman Kodak ads with Ozzie doing the selling. They even tell you how much the cameras cost! An episode of The Dennis O’Keefe Show (not memorable), The Dick Van Dyke Show (1.5 episodes—bad scratches), The Ed Wynn Show (1949-50), and one episode each of Petticoat Junction, Sky King, Sea Hunt, The Edgar Bergen Show, The Milton Berle show, Lassie. Favorites were Sea Hunt and The Edgar Bergen Show.

…Darling. (Julie Christie). Painful. Didn’t finish it.

…Giant (Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson) Good movie!

…84 Charing Cross Road (Anne Bancroft or as I knew her, Mrs Brooks, Anthony Hopkins and Judi Dench) fine…predictable.

There were four others I didn’t get to and I don’t remember what they were. Apparently not memorable.

• My new favorite book is Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger by Rebecca Traister. I started reading it this summer and had to put it down because it made me so angry. Started over and got through most of it. Took the audiobook out of the library and listened to the whole thing. I felt like I had made a smart new best friend—listening to her was oddly comforting. She is so insightful and thoughtful and full of so much information. I will read it again.

     When I got to the section on what we call cussing here in the south, I felt right at home. I have always done my best to curb my language when I am around people who I know are offended by expletives. When I am around others who speak four letter words, I let ‘er rip. It is satisfying to me. There I said it. So here’s some good info: “The psychology professor Richard Stephens told the New York Times of a study he had done, in which he’d asked subjects to submerge their hands in ice water for as long as they could, repeating a word that was either a profanity or a neutral term. Those who swore were able to keep their hands in the ice water for fifty percent longer and reported that the pain had felt less intense. Cursing, the Times summed up, ‘can offer catharsis…[and] might help you tolerate the pain better.’” At some point, the author said she appreciated this because she liked swearing. (I can’t seem to find the quote. Read the book. Really.)

     Whilst reading it, I had the chance to hear Rebecca Traister in conversation with Alicia Garza, co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement among other groups (and a member of a group I traveled to Brazil with, before she was the rockstar of social justice she is now). It was somehow musical. Their voices were so different but were equal in their passion—a dynamic duo. If you get a chance…hear them.

Things I am Thankful For

• The holiday season is almost over

• Travelling in the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Breaks up the endless holiday season.

• Perfect Days, or even Perfect Moments

• Roger the dog + other friends and family

• Opportunity

• There’s still so much to learn

New Year’s Resolutions

• Learn how to knit brioche

• Go to Oskar Blues

• Make it possible to eat at the dining table without spending hours clearing it.

• Destash yarn and fabric

• Deal with a very old computer (that hasn’t been used in 6 years)

• The usuals: Eat better, get more exercise, laugh more, have more fun, dance more.

“I envy words for doing what we can never do—how they can tell all of themselves simply by standing still, simply by being.” Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

 

PNewL PNewS Volume 27, Issue 3

PNewL PNewS

Volume 27 Issue 3                            All the pnews that phits.”                                   October 2019

Another Report Back

     It has been a(nother) year of travel. I think by the end of the year I will have been away from home a total of around three months. Didn’t plan it that way—it just happened. Opportunity dontcha know. Or maybe it was Sydney telling me that I am in the go-go 60s. I am not sure I want to continue at this pace but I do feel a sense of urgency (well, that might be overstating it) and I have over 25 items on the Bucket List. (I just added a couple more after removing Portugal where I will be in two months!)

     I just returned from the Galapagos, which has zoomed to the Top Five of my favorite places, and one I need to go back to. Besides the obvious charm of swimming with sea lions and sea turtles and wandering in fields with wise old Giant Tortoises and finally seeing for myself the remarkable Blue Footed Booby, the way that the Galapagos has managed to maintain itself is…awesome. Our group leader, a hero in my book and a native of the islands, said that he defends tourism to the locals, saying that the islands wouldn’t be in the shape they are if the restrictions and tourism weren’t part of the picture. The money that tourism brings in allows the islands to stay in their pretty much natural state. You may be able to argue this point but I am going to believe it because it means I can go back without too much guilt.

     We went with Intrepid Travel, which I believe is based in Australia so this was not a trip of just us US folks. I like that part. It’s at the lower end though in no way cheap. We were land based which didn’t really appeal to me early on but wound up being fine…even good. In off hours, we could wander independently. I went with Gini, which was fun. We bobbed around in plenty of boats—snorkeling or traveling between islands. The water, that bright Caribbean blue (yeah, I know, nowhere near the Caribbean, but a color popped into your head right? THAT color) is stunning and what lives beneath is very appealing. I could have spent much more time in the water but I admit—it was chilly. We wore wetsuits (humiliating outfits), but still, chilly.

     When Gini and I arrived in Quito late in the evening a few days before our trip started, the initial rumblings of “civil unrest” had occurred. Okay, so how often is Ecuador in the news? Never? Rarely? That’s what most people say…but lo and behold there we were driving through heaps of burning stuff in the streets. In the morning, the nice man at the hotel, Alejandro, suggested we head to the north of Old Town rather than into it. By the following morning, the problems were reported to be finished so we got some time to wander around. I suspect the barricades took away from the charm of this UNESCO World Heritage Site but it was a beautiful day and everything appeared calm (I’ll skip the part about the guys who sprayed us with salad dressing in hopes of getting our bags!). Then we met our group (or the ones who had been able to get in—some didn’t arrive til late because of airlines concern about landing in Quito).

     The following morning we were off to the Islands and the real fun began (see above comments about sea lions, sea turtles etc). Among the humans, it was a nice group of people. Mostly friendly, open, like-minded folks. A good time was had by most I believe. As I mentioned, we were led by a great guy named Cesar. He was a physical machine, unloading luggage from and to boats, herding us in a respectful way, an unending source of information in a very consumable way. He helped make the trip the success it was for me.

     Meanwhile back in Quito, things heated up and turned, well, violent. It was hard to get information but in the last few days Delta started communicating about changes in flights--the airport was shutdown completely for a day or so. We bounced around from a Monday night departure to Sunday to Tuesday and finally got out then. It was one of those rushed goodbyes at the airport as everyone went off in different directions. And the following day, Gini and I were picking up the hounds at puppy camp and another wonderful adventure had come to a close. Lucky me, lucky us.

Things I am Learning& Miscellaneous Observations

• I have been working on a project that involves spending someone else’s money. It doesn’t really matter the specifics as I have had this happen before. When I told the person how much I had to spend, she said I think this is your best choice—and it was $50 more than I had to spend. I spose this is good salesmanship, but really, I have $200 to spend and you think I should spend $250? Who taught you math? I am annoyed.

• I am hoping I live in a more innocent time. In the last couple weeks, I have dropped a piece of luggage and a lawn mower each off at a stranger’s place for repair, hoping everything goes okay and that somehow they come back. The luggage was at an actual business but the employee was gone and her friend was covering things. He didn’t know what he was doing but he was so earnest, I had to trust him. My receipt is one of those shiny computerized ones that will eventually go blank. I took the mower to the end of the dirt road, so rutted I only got to 5 MPH for a little bit, past not one not two but three trailers with confederate flags. I was worried. I won’t go back. He will come to me. Heck, if he met me at the gas station a couple miles down the road I would be happy. Though really, if I get my lawnmower back, I will be happy.

Follow up: The mower was eventually retrieved by Jeff—I had kinda worn out my welcome by repeated queries on when I could get it back. The luggage is still unaccounted for. Well that is not true. Turns out the place I took it to did not send it to the warranty place but some goofball who takes three months to get to it and charges $75 to replace a wheel. I am still sad about it—the woman at the local store got into a yes I did no you didn’t with me (if she really called three times while I was out of town wouldn’t it have shown up somewhere on caller ID?). I suggested this didn’t really matter but I want my bag back. This all started on July 22^nd. Some-times living in a small area with limited services sucks.

• Laurie asked me what I planned to do when I couldn’t do things for myself any more as a single person living out a ways. In some ways, I am already there but I choose to think of it as things I am choosing not to do any more. Maybe I am practicing.

• I think I must enjoy in some deep-seated way the panic before leaving on a trip because I do everything I can to make it a mad dash will-she-complete-everything-that-seems-necessary-to-complete to departure.

• [Note to reader: read this slowly. There are long rambling convoluted sentences that might seem to go nowhere but it eventually makes sense. I promise.] As I was terrifying my dog, bumping down Shawanaga Bay on a blustery afternoon at the end of August, I thought of what Val had said when I told her I was going to bring everything I need to feed myself over ten days on Osawa, using nothing from the communal pantry. She said she would be afraid she’d forget something. I thought—at a very odd time, since the boat really was slamming into the waves, I was having a hard time getting it to plane at a speed that might calm the hound, and, the hound, Roger, looked like I was torturing him and he didn’t know why—we historically eat very differently. When I am on the island, I do sit down and eat which I don’t usually do at home. (That, in and of itself, is interesting to me, though part of it may be that I don’t really have a clear horizontal surface all the time at home.) But I do not have meat + three or even two and most times I don’t eat meat—I eat that when I eat out where someone else does the dishes. I have long training for making do. I can work around things that are missing (though ironically, I left the TP in the van on the mainland and that’s a tough work-around). Last night I had a quesadilla and sliced tomato which was delicious. I can have that nine more times as there are nine tortillas left in the bag and 11 tomatoes (yay). When I was at Sobey’s, I bought an odd item—pancake mix…just in case. I could eat pancakes if everything went south. Reminds me of a time when I asked my neighbor Chris early on in our friendship if she and her husband sat down to dinner every night. She looked at me like I was crazy—“Of course!” So there’s one way to do it…and another, mine.

• There may be as many bugs on Georgian Bay as there are in Western North Carolina in the summer-- they are just different bugs. And how is that so many small bugs can find their way into my nose?

• As we were walking along the path I recently heard called the Power Line Path, I was spacing out, enjoying the soft moss beneath my feet, the irregular up and down, and keeping an eye on Roger. Then I heard a loud booming, “Girl(s?), you are going the wrong way.” I thought…no I am not. I think I would have known if I’d passed the main path…I think…oh wait…it’s not me…as two very busy dogs came around the corner with Roger in their sights. Aha! It was Terry walking his dogs, a longer timer, and a new pup who came to them from China, en route to her demise rescued by a Canadian do-gooder. I was still a bit confused as we rounded the path. I was not expecting to see them, much less be told I was going the wrong way, and I don’t think he expected me. Onward.

• I hit 11,381 steps on a day when all I did was drive, grocery shop at three different places (okay one was a liquor store and one was a vegetable stand), unload the stuff from the van into the boat, and drag it all up the stairs to the cabins. Yay for me!

• I have a very vivid memory of standing on the rocks in a strong wind, shivering, naked, with a storm approaching and knowing that I was going to take my morning dip or disappoint the memory of my grandmother. I was 9 or 10.  This went on into my 50s. Not that long ago, I thought I will take my morning dip but it might not always be in the morning. Then I learned about Denis—there’s a new sheriff in town and he’s not even a lineal descendent and he’s French, though I am not sure that has anything to do with anything but it is true. He has been coming up to Osawa for years and when he first started, he was introduced to the morning dip tradition and he took it to heart. He is the Dip Master for this millennium. And I did my best to be in the water in the morning, except when the temperature was 43F…he and Bill went in, but I did not.

• I read this on the internet so it must be true. It was called “(something about how to throw a) Crappy Dinner Party.” It was about how people don’t get together because no one has the time and energy to fix up the house to have people over. I thought the solution was something I could adopt. Here are the rules. You are welcome to have me over any time as long as these rules apply.

1.     No housework is to be done prior to a guest’s arrival.

2.     The menu must be simple and not involve a special grocery shop.

3.     You must wear whatever you happen to have on.

4.     No hostess gifts allowed.

5.     You must act like you’re surprised when your friend and her family just happen to show up at your door (optional).

"It is not how far we go in miles that counts, but how deeply we allow the world to enter us." Richard Schiffman