A design for this tattoo had been rolling around in my head for years. (See my first tattoo, here.) I knew I wanted to get something like this for my 65th birthday and due to COVID I finally got it last week, more than a year later.
This tattoo really feels like a portable resumé of my life, filled with so much meaning…some of which is too dear and close to my heart to share. But I can tell you that I have spent most of my life in partnership with needles and thread. (The metaphors for mending the world seem endless these days). As I sat down with Pat at Black Meadow Gallery and Tattoo, I realized that rather than have a thread with a knot at the end I really wanted to include a square knot, one of the strongest knots around. If you tug on a square knot it just gets tighter and stronger.
I’m still getting used to catching the tattoo out of the corner of my eye, and I smile every time I see it.
And this, dearest ones is a motto I am keeping front and center these days. As my brood of grand children grows, I’m reminded of the passage of time, of shifts in the generations. I am certainly not feeling like I’m getting to the end of things…but there is more behind me than in front of me. Of that I am aware. So, Rilke’s words bring me comfort.
And as for creating an oasis…I thought I’d bring you a smorgasbord of things that have brought me relief, distraction and comfort in the last few weeks…
BOOKS
Our book group just read The Dictionary of Lost Words, by Pip Williams. It’s a gem, and I recommend it to you. I did not realize it was historical fiction until I was well into it, and I recommend reading all the goodies at the end of the novel, too.
I got two books through our inter-library loan program. Frances Palmer’s Life in the Studio has been recommended to me by several friends. The photos alone are an inspiration, and the text just adds to the pleasure of the book.
I learned of the second book via my dear, dear friend Dolo. Written in the 1990’s by historian Howard Zinn, the title is You Can’t Be Neutral On a Moving Train. Eerily timely, it’s a refreshing read on the role of hope in the world.
Do you know of Libro.com? It’s a free app where you can purchase audio books from independent booksellers. In fact, you can help support your favorite indie bookseller with your purchases. This July, Libro.com is giving away two free downloadable audiobooks, and the link can be found here. The two books have me intrigued…Let’s Talk About Hard Things by Anna Sale and High Conflict, Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out by Amanda Ripley.
CONNECTING WITH KINDRED SPIRITS
I’ve been making a point of setting dates for phone conversations with “old” friends. Not Zoom calls, or Facetime, just old fashioned phone calls. Hearing the voices of dear friends and giving and getting updates has been profoundly gratifying.
I went to an in-person gathering of our quilt guild this morning and it was just a delight. We were careful about being socially distanced, some wore masks, but we were all together, much like my book group meeting on Friday.
We’ve been gobbling up the Montpelier Farmers’ Market each Saturday, wandering from stall to stall, basket in hand, chatting with farmers and crafts folk and bakers. Such fun to see the same folks week after week and begin to have the kind of connections that have been so missed these last few years.
REASSURING WORDS
Another resource shared by several friends are words from Mary Pipher, whose Raising Ophelia is a gem of a parenting book. Her opinion piece in a recent issue of the NYTimes titled How I Build a Good Day When I’m Full of Despair at the World is worth a read (or two).
The first Gen Z candidates are running for Congress—and running against compromise, a story on NPR a few weeks ago, will bring hope to your heart.
Do you know of Insight Timer? Another phone app, it’s free, with an option to upgrade. I often use the free mediations to start my day. I am very fond of this one right now. It’s just 6 minutes long, and it really sets a nice tone for the day.
IN THE GARDEN
Be sure to check out my friend Anne’s blog. She invited her readers to submit photos and she took us on a grand tour of 12 gardens! Check out the variety here.
Batman and I have been rehabbing overgrown flower beds, weeding the veggies, spreading new mulch on the paths between the raised beds and chipping more branches downed by the winter winds and trimmed with Batman’s clippers. Getting into the dirt while the sun kisses our shoulders and the breezes discourage the bugs…being a team, still after all these years…an oasis, for sure.
I really am a list maker. Are you? Here’s my list of the fun things ahead for the week (vs the ordinary, keeping up with commitments things)
piece a promised quilt top to help our guild reach its goal of 22 donated quilts in 2022.
catch up on snail mail
FaceTime with Maggie
How about you? Where are you finding hope? What’s on your fun “to do” list?
Sending buckets of love and hope and joy and comfort to each of you, dearest readers. xo