Stay Gentle (Brandi Carlile)

[Art by the amazing A. Silivonchik]

First of all, I need to stop apologizing that I I haven't posted in two days, two weeks, two months.  Ack... and oh f*cking well!  Life has been blissfully, joyfully, delightfully... well... full... 😄

Case in point:  my 68th birthday was this past Friday (August 5).  I spent the morning in the Hope Garden, then most of the rest of the day at my laptop, and posted the following a few minutes before midnight (here's the fundraiser I created to benefit The Caring Community, which has changed my life over the last year.  My goal was $200, which has, only four days in, more than doubled... 💖):

" “There’s a particular feeling in your body when something goes right after a long time of things going wrong. It feels warm and sweet and loose... For a moment all my bees have turned to honey.” ~ Lily King, Writers & Lovers

Thanks again to my friends and family for contributing (via your posts and comments, text messages, phone calls, fundraiser donations, gifts, etc.) to one of the best birthdays I've had in a very long time.  Many of you know I deactivated my Susan Moss account in late-December 2019, meaning I went two years without fanfare, until I was encouraged to create a "ghost" profile (Daisy!) for my gardening presence.  Despite its many frustrations and glitches, there is really just nothing like a Facebook birthday!  I am grateful to you all for making me feel loved and appreciated... 🌼

This aging thing is not for the faint of heart but, so far, I still have my original knees, hips, shoulders... as well as eyes, lungs, and kidneys (none of which I take for granted).  I'd like to think I have also retained my generosity of spirit, my unrelenting optimism, my joie de vivre.  I can even get out in the garden every week, although this summer's heat has taken its toll on my endurance.  Biggest lesson:  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!

Actually, no; it's Expectations.  Inheritance from my mom + Leo tendencies = disaster.  One of my major life lessons in the last decade has been letting go of them (I have slips now and then), and I find that life is easier and I am happier as a result.  New Day, Tabula Rasa, Starting Over has become a mantra.  I am also working harder to re-set my boundaries, such that everyone's default is based on a respectful, loving place.  If we model it, they will come (around...  😍)

As Joni sings:  

"Calendars of our lives circled with compromise

Sweet bird of time and change, you must be laughing..."

So am I! "

And then this:

FREE WILL ASTROLOGY, week beginning August 4, copyright 2022 by Rob Brezsny

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In the coming weeks, Leo, I urge you to always be confident that YOU ARE THE PARTY! Everywhere you go, bring the spirits of fun and revelry. Be educationally entertaining and entertainingly educational. Amuse yourself by making life more interesting for everyone. At the same time, be kind and humble, never arrogant or insensitive. A vital part of your assignment is to nourish and inspire others with your radiance and charm. That formula will ensure you get everything you need. I foresee bounty flowing your way! PS: Regularly reward your admirers and followers with your magnanimous Chesire-cat grin.

And this:  August 5 birthdays:  Neil Armstrong, Wendell Berry, Loni Anderson, Rick Derringer, Maureen McCormick, Mark O'Connor (to name the ones I recognize!)

P.S.  Cynthia is throwing a Croning Party for me next week, which will most certainly be blogworthy... ✌ 💥 💞

SONG:  Stay Gentle by Brandi Carlile

BOOK:  To The Women: words to live by... by Donna Ashworth

POEM(S):  Change the Way You See by Donna Ashworth

I don’t have crow’s feet,

I have happy happy memories of laughing with friends until the tears flowed.

I don’t have frown lines,

I have the marks of my frustration and confusion, which I battled through, smiling in the end.

I am not going grey,

I have shimmering highlights of wisdom, dashed throughout my silver hair.

I don’t have scars,

I have symbols of the strength I was able to find, when life got tough.

I don’t have stretch marks,

I have the marks of growth and the marks of motherhood. My womanly evolution.

I am not fat,

I bear the evidence of a life filled with abundance, blessings and good times.

I am not just forgetful,

I have a mind so full of stories, memories and moments there is scarce room to hold much else.

I am not old,

I am blessed, with a life of great length, something not everyone can say.

Don’t change the way you look my friend,

change the way you see,

change the way you see.

home body by rupi kaur

give me laugh lines and wrinkles

i want proof of the jokes we shared

engrave the lines into my face like

the roots of a tree that grow deeper

with each passing year

i want sunspots as souvenirs

for the beaches we laid on

i want to look like i was

never afraid to let the world

take me by the hand

and show me what it’s made of

i want to leave this place knowing

i did something with my body

other than trying to

make it look perfect

QUOTE(S):  “I want to live the rest of my life, however long or short, with as much sweetness as I can decently manage, loving all the people I love, and doing as much as I can of the work I still have to do. I am going to write fire until it comes out of my ears, my eyes, my noseholes, everywhere. Until it's every breath I breathe. I'm going to go out like a fucking meteor!” ~ Audre Lorde

"I was pondering yesterday why I am enjoying getting older so very much. I think it's because of this fact: That unless you are making a sincere effort to wake up early every single morning and work hard at staying stupid, then you are probably — just by sheer default — getting smarter as you age. (Because seriously — you've gotta REALLY not be paying attention to life, to not be getting even a little bit more wise as you go along.) All that I have ever wanted and longed for was to be wiser, smarter, more clear, more peaceful, more expansive, more prepared for life. The years are bringing that intelligence, my dears... the years are bringing it at last. (And not a moment too soon, may I add.) I look forward to all that I have yet to learn. I plan to keep paying attention, and to let it all in. Stronger by the year, better by the day. It's awesome." ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Joy (Carlos Santana and Chris Stapleton)

Full, satisfying, lovely week!  Zoom with Nancy and Judi... a fasting/bloodwork appointment with a follow-up doctor visit in a few weeks (on the surface, all looked good)... two library pick-ups... a sweet phone chat with my sister Mari... Zoom book club with my OverReaders Anonymous group (since September 2001 and counting!)... picked up Colin from preschool... a Dollar Tree shopping spree ($24 and so much great stuff!)... and this morning our regular Community Garden get-together (today we installed netting over some hooped beds, repotted plants into smaller containers to sell at our Pop-Up Market, and even saw some donkeys:  the collective noun is herd but, since there were only four, that doesn't really apply...  Two more garden events this weekend:

Mulching and Pollinator Garden on Saturday:  

https://www.facebook.com/events/224145272915317

Pop-Up Market on Sunday:

https://www.facebook.com/events/857790578206545

...and on the seventh day, she rested (ha ha ha ha ha!)

P.S.  I am also faithfully/obsessively back in my walking routine, for two reasons:  1) the weather is a bit cooler, and the humidity a tad lower... and 2) a dear friend has been converting a series of *mixtapes* I made in 1997/98 to Spotify playlists.  Talk about Memory Lane, literally as well as figuratively!  Thanks and love, MW... 💞 ♭♭♭ 😎

NR:  The Leavers by Lisa Ko

It is indeed Feel Good Friday (cutting it close again!) and, as is tradition, five items below of beauty, interest, and humor to brighten/enlighten your day/weekend/week.  Enjoy!

~ Scenes from the Life of Roz Chast:  In the past four decades, the cartoonist has created a universe of spidery lines and nervous spaces, turning anxious truth-telling into an authoritative art.

~ 10 Ways To Connect To The Earth and Others:  How do you feeling complete and connected to the Earth and others? It takes effort, but it is worth it. We must bring our focus outside of ourselves to allow us to reach out to people and to the world around us in positive ways.

~ Do You Believe?:  Michael Dean as Cher wows audiences with his uncanny ability to impersonate the one and only Cher.  He is available for corporate

and charitable events, celebrations and other special occasions.

~ Welcome to She’s Full of Lit!:  While book blogs and book reviews abound on the internet, the three of us (Elizabeth, Moira, and Shannon), felt that we had a distinctive voice to bring to the book world.  

~ Feeling Anxious? Journaling Might Help:  Guided notebooks that borrow principles from cognitive-behavioral therapy and mindfulness are aiming to put mental-health tools in the hands of the people.

~ Bonus item:  Matt Amodio’s ‘Jeopardy!’ Streak Ends After 38 Wins:  The computer science Ph.D. student had the second-longest winning streak in the history of the game show. [Susan's note:  I record Jeopardy every night, and watch it either later that evening or the next day (have been doing that for years).  Of course, I am impressed and in awe of Matt Amodio's mad skills/memory/brainpower, having won $1,518,601 over the course of his run since July 21.  However, it just wasn't fun anymore, as the Ph.D. student bulldozed over his competitors with his knowledge, his strategy, and his high-risk betting, making every game a runaway... except that last one, obviously.  It feels good to be back to "the good ol' days again", with an even playing field... until the next wunderkind comes along... 👀

 

SONG:  Joy by Carlos Santana, with Chris Stapleton

BOOK:  These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett

POEM:  five acts of protest by Maya Stein

1. It is too late in the season for the tomato vines to bear fruit. Nevertheless,

a bloom has appeared the color of a kindergarten sun.

2. Potato chips, eaten in a moving car, napkinless.

3. A coupon will arrive in the mail and it will appear glossy with promise, or a celebrity

you admire will begin a new skin care routine that leaves them ebullient with youth

and you will want that same glow bestowed on your tired face. Instead, make applesauce.

Write a chirpy Post-it note to your neighbor. Scotch tape it on a Mason jar you’ve filled

to the brim. Deliver it, unannounced, to their doorstep.

4. Stillness. No, really. Stop moving for One. Whole. Minute.

5. Grief and its surrender. Joy and its surrender. Any act and its surrender.

QUOTE:  "Some days I am overwhelmed with sadness, a heavy heart, and a sense of loss; some days I awaken already infused with a sense of gratitude and joy. Every day, however, I wake up prepared to be curious and interested, to approach all interactions with myself and others with compassion, and to do what I can to challenge thoughts and beliefs that I don’t want to take into my future. I just know that next year will be a better year." ~ Catherine Nabbs

Sun, Flood, or Drought (The Avett Brothers)

Our regular Thursday morning weeding in the Hope Outreach Community Garden was cancelled yesterday, because we are meeting up Saturday (tomorrow) morning to plant cover crops, a term that was heretofore unknown to me.  It's basically a "placeholder" to add nutrients to the soil until we plant the regular fruits and vegetables in late-September.  Ours will be sunn hemp... ☀

On the recommendation of a friend (over a month ago), I watched a film that was so beautiful, my heart literally hurt... and I want to view it again, soon.  They even discuss cover crops!

The Biggest Little Farm chronicles the eight-year quest of John and Molly Chester as they trade city living for 200 acres of barren farmland and a dream to harvest in harmony with nature. Through dogged perseverance and embracing the opportunity provided by nature's conflicts, the Chesters unlock and uncover a biodiverse design for living that exists far beyond their farm, its seasons, and our wildest imagination. Featuring breathtaking cinematography, captivating animals, and an urgent message to heed Mother Nature's call, The Biggest Little Farm provides us all a vital blueprint for better living and a healthier planet.

Thinking positive thoughts that Tropical Storm Fred does not become a hurricane and, even if it does, hoping it causes little to no destruction.  At this point, it appears to be headed up the west coast of Florida (after it crosses The Keys), but one never knows with these disturbances.

It is indeed Feel Good Friday and, as is tradition, five items below of beauty, interest, and humor to brighten your day/weekend/week.  Enjoy! 

~ Allison Larkin’s love for Ithaca inspires the setting in her new novel:  “The People We Keep” is a coming-of-age novel that follows a 16-year-old songwriter as she leaves home and tries to find herself in the world. (partially inspired by Dar Williams' song Iowa... 💗 )


~ How to Shop Online More Sustainably:  As I’ve since learned, the consensus among independent researchers is that online shopping can in fact be much less damaging to the environment than traditional, in-store shopping—but only if we do it the right way.


~  The Desert Dolphin Skatepark was constructed as a part of the international feature film titled ‘SKATER GIRL’:  After filming completed in April 2019, the skatepark remains a free public use skatepark, with the aim of continuing the social impact such skateparks have on rural Indian villages. 


~ Inside the Annual Ernest Hemingway Look-Alike Competition:  If you’d gone for a walk around Key West in the 1930s, chances are you might have bumped into Ernest Hemingway. Whether making the short stroll from his house on Whitehead Street to the bars on Duval, one block over and several up, or perhaps on his way to the nearby marina where he moored his deep sea fishing boat, the Pilar, Hemingway was a near constant feature of island life between 1931 and 1940. 


~ Strong Back, Soft Front, Wild Heart:  Brené Brown says our belonging to each other can’t be lost, but it can be forgotten. Her research has reminded the world in recent years of the uncomfortable, life-giving link between vulnerability and courage. Now she’s turning her attention to how we walked into the crisis of our life together and how we can move beyond it...

SONG:  Sun, Flood, or Drought by The Avett Brothers (written for The Biggest Little Farm film documentary)

BOOK:  Homegrown Humus: Cover Crops in a No-Till Garden by Anna Hess

POEM:  Self-Portrait by Afaa Michael Weaver

I see myself in the shadows of a leaf

compressed to the green blades growing

to a point like the shards of miles of mirrors

falling and cracking to perfect gardens.

I never inspect the withered assumption

of my face’s petty dialogue in raindrops,

the deceptive spreading of the words

oozing from the skin to the edges of water

etched on the ground by gravity and wishing.

Passing for the seriousness of my eye,

platitudes of my white collar or

the perfect posture of my lips, it skirts

from the leaves of the plant hiding me

and sits stoic like stone in my pupil,

mute and unassuming, like Rashi.

To gather myself I will swim naked

in the wind, bending my blind elbows

in circles, stopping now to dance

like the cherubic gold on the ark,

and gather myself from the particles

of this excitement another structure,

one closely resembling the beginning.

QUOTE:  "A good morning text that says, 'have a good day and try not to burn anything to the ground in a furious rage.' " ~ Samantha Irby

Watching the Wheels (John Lennon and Yoko Ono)

Such a great birthday yesterday; I hit the ground running in the local community outreach garden, which I have committed to do once a week.  It kicked my *ss, but in the best possible way; I was dirty but happy (and delighted to wear a pair of the adorable gardening gloves Melanie sent... 😍 )

Chico and Rob took me out for lunch (Pollo Tropical has a vegan wrap - yum!).  Came home, showered, napped, then headed to Sarah and Colin's for an early dinner from Parlour Vegan (and Eric surprised me there, when I thought he had to work!).

Was delighted by the plethora of phone calls, texts, e-mails, gifts, and thoughtfulness in general all day from family and friends near and far.  I remain grateful for my support circle, which is sometimes a parallelogram, which is perfectly fine as well... 💞  

Lower back.  Ouch!  Upper hamstrings.  Eek!  More stretching in my future so I can kick the garden's *ss this time, instead of the other way around... 😁

It is indeed Feel Good Friday and, as is tradition, five items below of beauty, interest, and humor to brighten your day/weekend/week.  Enjoy! 

~ The 2021 Met Gala Is Going Plant-Based—Here’s Why:  Yes, people eat at the Met Gala. And this year, for the first time ever, the chef-curated menu will be 100% plant-based.

~ So Many Tchotchkes, So Little Time:  Instagram stores that specialize in knickknacks are booming. Blame the pandemic.

~ ‘Wicked’ Hits the Road, Carrying the Hopes of Broadway Tours:  The production, which starts Tuesday in Dallas, is the first Broadway tour back onstage, a test as American theaters seek to rebound from the pandemic shutdown.

~ Our Buy Nothing Project Mission:  We offer people a way to give and receive, share, lend, and express gratitude through a worldwide network of hyper-local gift economies in which the true wealth is the web of connections formed between people who are real-life neighbors. (thanks and love to Michele for the heads-up to this wonderful project... ❤ )

~ The Extraordinary Presence of Frida Kahlo

SONG:  Watching the Wheels by John Lennon and Yoko Ono

BOOK:  Great Quotes For Gardeners: Reflection, Inspiration, And Some Humor For Those Who Love Gardens by Craig Hlas

POEM:  I Would Like by Jane Hirshfield

I would like

my living to inhabit me

the way

rain, sun, and their wanting

inhabit a fig or apple.

I would like to meet it

also in pieces,

scattered:

a conversation set down

on a long hallway table;

a disappointment

pocketed inside a jacket;

some long-ago longing glimpsed,

half-recognized,

in the corner of a thrift store painting.

To discover my happiness,

walking first

toward

then away from me

down a stairwell,

on two strong legs all its own.

Also,

the uncountable

wheat stalks,

how many times broken,

beaten, sent

between grindstones,

before entering

the marriage

of oven and bread—

Let me find my life in that, too.

In my moments

of clumsiness, solitude;

in days of vertigo and hesitation;

in the many year-ends

that found me

standing on top of a stovetop

to take down a track light.

In my nights’ asked,

sometimes answered, questions.

I would like

to add to my life,

while we are still living,

a little salt and butter,

one more slice of the edible apple,

a teaspoon of jam

from the long-simmered fig.

To taste

as if something tasted for the first time

what we will have become then.

QUOTE:  "First say to yourself what you would be; and then do what you have to do." ~ Epictetus