Week in Brief

I love writing here. I really do. I’ve got a book full of ideas, a camera full of pictures, and note cards with post schedules strewn all over my desk. I love it. And I love the routine and the discipline that I’ve set up for myself, to post something here Monday through Friday without fail. I write my posts at night and schedule them to be published in the wee hours of the morning, for my friends on the East coast. Because I write my posts when the day’s work is done, and I have the luxury of some reflective time, it’s a relaxing part of my nightly routine. And then there are some nights, like tonight, when I’ve just got a rough headache. That’s life. Instead of giving up on posting, I like to challenge myself to adapt to my circumstances. To let the post I had planned wait for another night. To roll with the punches. That’s life.

And so tonight, I want to just tell you a few things about my week, a few things that made it special. Life is made up of little moments like these, so here is a necklace I’ve strung of my pretty little beads of memory, shimmering in the sunlight. This week I had my first Turkish lesson. It was so much fun. I love understanding how languages work, and I love wrapping my mouth around new sounds and new words. Being able to do this makes me feel like I am living the dream. I’ve been practicing my vocabulary on Eric. It’s fun. This week Eric and I spent several nights at our parish, where a wonderful monk from a California hermitage led us in prayer and reflection. It was beautiful. This week I hardly cooked anything at all, since Eric and I were both fighting colds. At least now victory has been secured! This week I made a skirt from a thrift store mumu. It has red polka dots. I love it. This week I started reading Allegra Goodman’s The Cookbook Collector, which I am thoroughly enjoying, as much as I am enjoying steeping in decadent Bay area nostalgia. This week I made a new schedule for myself and am finding it beautifully impossible to cram all the things I want to do into one day. It is so wonderful to be alive. This week, and every week, I am so very grateful.