As I offer you these links to browse, and I hope you do so at a leisurely pace while drinking your favorite Saturday morning hot beverage, I am on a mandatory rest thanks to strep throat. After sleeping eleven hours last night I don’t feel like resting; I feel like being up doing stuff. Buy my husband insists. So at least I have more time for reading at a leisurely pace and sipping my favorite coffee and later gulping homemade soup, right?
Okay then let’s make that soup filled with chicken and kale and ginger and garlic. Because I forgot to buy more acorn squash, again. Oh! Maybe some pumpkin or lentils in the soup? Maybe. For now, this morning, perfect dark coffee. Maybe some cream. And antibiotics.
Shall we?
Over at Hither and Thither we find a succinct and elegant commentary on a New York Times Magazine article about the freedom that comes with minimalism, sort of. The author of Narrow Down Your Sense of Need draws a distinction between sailing around the world (physically) and sailing through it (spiritually). I loved this so much. Maybe it’s a lesson we all need to refresh once in a while, and of course it grooves me these days as Handsome and I strive make the farm literally less cluttered.
But it occurs to me that narrowing down one’s sense of need for external validations and affirmations could be another way to think about how to access freedom.
Somehow while sewing aprons on Thursday I stumbled onto a series of lectures by a group called Healthcare Triage. I listened to maybe twenty in a row, of varying lengths, and became smitten by their pairing of process-heavy research, casual but helpful explanations, and some pretty funny skepticism. In a world noisy with buzzwords, this information source was a breath of fresh air. Rather than point you to a specific article or video, I just want to introduce you to the whole shebang. If you are a wellness junkie like me but crave more fact-backing and less corporate sponsorship, then this might be worth your time.
The next link was brought to my attention on Facebook when a dear friend posted it and I unwittingly entered a barely heated exchange. I have been thinking of both the article and the fallout ever since and would love to hear more people’s opinions. The 30-Day Relationship Revitalization Plan. I will resist framing it too much and just let you read it for yourself. Please feel free to email me if you’d rather keep your opinions private.
The title of this Minnesota Public Radio article caught my attention, then its short content just raised more interesting questions. The statistics just made me want to read more, but more of what I already read. Not so much poetry. Literature Reading Rates Down.
You know by now that I have the biggest girl crush on Joy the Baker, and it’s not not because she lives in the most magical city ever. Really, the two just fit each other to my thinking. I am excited for her new cookbook to release, and I am really excited about her Bakehouse announcement! The interior decor here is spot on, and how amazing to open your home to students and readers. Very cool. Very cool indeed.
Have you seen this documentary yet? Sugarcoated. A lot of it will feel familiar, but many of the statistics are new and get extra credit for being disturbing. (All eyes on liver disease in kids who never drink alcohol.) I am paying close attention to my sugar intake not just for fat loss but also because eating it so often makes me feel weird. My mom was diagnosed with diabetes just a few years ago, so it has my attention. I mean I still want a perfect, steaming, complicated homemade cookie now and then. Please make sure it’s oatmeal-chocolate-chip with crushed walnuts or pecans, and please bring me cold milk. Otherwise, yeah let’s pay attention to our sugar intake for many good reasons.
Speaking of sweet stuff…
At a recent beekeepers’ club meeting in Noble, OK, I heard some folks talking about the winter forecast, about how mild it promises to be, and how that’s more or less good news for our fuzzy little ladies-not-of-leisure. The Farmers’ Almanac agrees, and so far Oklahoma weather is holding steady. I just yesterday bought a few fall plants on clearance (what few they had left), and it still feels too early. This does make being outside nice, though.
30 Thoughts Runners Have at the Grocery Store. “I’m so virtuous!” Ha. Yep. Also, bring on the kale.
Side note: I had approximately nine more running article to share with you guys but decided to have mercy.
Okay, Klaus’ brother Lincoln has spent a couple of nights with us at the farm, and those two big German Shepherds plus one husband are beckoning for a cuddle. I hope you have a wonderful Saturday filled with great reading and zero strep throat germs. Send me a link or a new book title!
“Rest and be thankful.”
~William Wadsworth
XOXOXO
