Things I'm Loving (v.2)

In this issue of Things I'm Loving, discover a: new poet, fun film, journal-collage class, and more!

Thanks to all the new subscribers who've joined in the past week! Welcome. 🥰

I've decided I like this version for format, so we're going to stick to it for a while.

As always, if you have something you love, send it my way, or drop it in the comments below. And, if you enjoy this, please share with others.

Something for play

For a long time I used to schedule play into my calendar. “Practice play.” 🤦🏻‍♀️

Last year, when I was in a business course, the teacher suggested using stickers and fun pens in a business journal to write down ideas and draft out offers.

I went all in— and started using stickers in my list-writing, my notes, and more. Slowly, a sense of playfulness returned to my writing and I was able to start writing again for myself.

Even though play can feel hard in our culture, it doesn't have to. This art journaling class that Jen Davis is offering starts on Monday and it looks like an incredible opportunity to play for three weeks alongside others. Jen is a gifted artist and I own several pieces of her work (some angels and a collage piece).

From Jen's course page

Something to read

I could share so many things with you for this section…

For this week, how about a book by Kimiko Hahn, a poet and teacher. In September I attended a workshop where she taught about the zuihitsu genre and after the class, I borrowed several of her books from my local library. Btw, if you are in the United States, did you know that most libraries include intra-library loan? Here in Maryland, that means that I can get books from libraries across the state, even though I only live in one county.

She has loads of books, but this is one that I really love.

This book nods to Matsuo Basho's Narrow Road to the Interior

And here is a poem of hers, from poetryfoundation.org.

Foreign Body

BY KIMIKO HAHN

This is a poem on my other’s body,
I mean, my mother’s body, I mean the one

who saved her braid of blue-black hair
in a drawer when I was little.

Meaning one I could lean against — 
against not in resistance. Fuzzy dress

of wuzzy one. Red lipstick one.
Kitchen one. Her one to me,

bad-ger bad-ger — 

or so I heard. The one body I write on

like Daddy’s blank studio wall
with my colored pencils.

About seeing her skin

as she bathed in the afternoon — 
was I five? It was summer.

Then today’s winter where again
I call that bath to mind.

I cannot leave her body alone.

Which is how I found Mother in the bath
escaping the heat of a 1950s house,

Father on a ladder with blowtorch
to scrape the paint off the outside.

•

badger badger

•

The sun in the suburbs
simmered the tar roof over our rooms

in the town where only wasps lived
inside paper cells beneath eaves and roots.

And they hurt very much, the wasps.

•

Now I am sixty. Sweet as dried papaya.

My hair, a bit tarnished,
my inmost, null.

Memory is failing away
as if an image shattered to shards then

recollected for a kaleidoscope:

I click the pieces into sharp arrangements — 
grouse, crow, craven
 — no, now, my own daughter turns sovereign

Something to listen to

If you like ambient noise while you work, there’s an abundance of sites to choose from— maybe even too many. This is one of my favorites. The main page is organized with over 20 categories of sound, including: Natural Noises, Landscapes, and Cinematic. Plus, it’s ad-free and you can search by keyword. If you get sick of the options here, or can't find what you're looking for, the site has links to other ambient noise sites on the web.

A note, though— it's really easy to go down a rabbit hole of adjusting the different inputs to create your perfect soundscape. Ask me how I know.

Something to help you relax

This week’s find comes to you thanks to Marian Knopp, from RadReads. A few months back, she introduced me to some products from Crystal Bar Soap, including this little Cottage Core Bath Bomb. Some of you know that I don't have an actual bathtub in my home… but, I do have a blow up bathtub (yes it's a real thing!) that works just as well.

Because mine is a blow up bathtub, I really go all in when I use it (maybe once every few months). Here's a pic, with it all tricked out. The drink holder and the zip up cover are probably my favorite features of the tub.

Something to watch

If you haven't seen “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande” you’re missing out.

I first heard about this movie, streaming on Hulu, from Gwen Montoya. She described it as feeling more like a play than a movie and she was right. I think it's because the majority of the movie transpires in one room and only involves the two actors.

Emma Thompson plays a widow who hires a sex worker played by Daryl McCormack. The story deftly explores ageism, love, connection, power, and more. Here’s the trailer so you can take a look!

Something to help you slow down

When you eat your next meal or drink your next beverage, pay attention to each sip or bite. Notice if this changes how you experience the meal.

I have COVID, so today that looks like drinking spearmint tea. I boil a large pot of water on the stove, add dried spearmint leaves, let it steep, and then pour it through a strainer into my cup.

How often do you chew every bite of food you eat or sip a drink rather than gulp it?

Wildcard

This section will change every week! It might be something that: made me laugh, I'm exploring, I'm loving, I'm learning (or someone I'm learning from).

But this week, with US elections around the corner, I wanted to share a great resource with you.

Americans of Conscience is run by Jennifer Hoffman and it offers small and actionable steps that US Americans can take.

From their website:

I learned about AoCC from Crys Wood, who has a great newsletter with resources for digital content creators (and folks who like to see cool curated lists).


Thanks for reading along, friends.
˜Monica