Sunday Musings

It feels as though I haven't rested in weeks.  Sometimes busy seasons just hit hard.  I see the the first symptoms in my plants: they're always the first to feel the shock of my occupied mind.

This weekend I hosted a bachelorette party at my house.  As soon as everyone left- I knew I had to seek some normalcy immediately.  So I walked barefooted through my yard and spent some time with my plants.  I noticed my basil was in a state of decay.  So I promptly picked a bouquet to turn into pesto later tonight.  My tomato plants are surprisngly in a late season bloom.  My succulent leaves starting to propogate properly.  The oregano needed watering.

Quality days to me means having the means to make many pots of tea through out the day.  Morning: a dark Black Lemon.  Afternoon: Green.  Evening: Peppermint.  The same mug follows me through out the house.

My meals have been simple too: hunks of bread, cheese and a sliced tomato.  A ploughwoman's lunch of sorts.

We're four weeks into the school new year.  My daily rhythm has still yet to be found.  But I'm thankful for these small things. 

Paris Magic

A list of Paris magic:
1) Waking up early one morning, putting on my best Parisian outfit to walk the neighborhood and buy crossaints for breakfast
2) My favorite neighborhoods are Montmartre and Le Marais (18th, 3rd & 4th arrondissement)
3) The plants are lush.  The buildings, beautiful.  The people are stylish.  A hint of je ne sais quoi in the air.
4) There is no such thing as a sophomore slump when visiting Paris.  It delivered an even deeper, richer experience the second time around.  
5) Late dinner culture- sipping wine, eating a salad of frisee, and perhaps a savory crepe.  Perhaps this overall ties into my love of defined mornings and evenings.   



Thoughts from my journal 7/15/16:
"Sad to have left Paris.  Its charm and beauty is a hard thing to capture in one's mind permanently.  You think you've had enough time to take it all in, study it, to keep its legacy going when you return home- only to find it quickly slips through your fingers".  

Paris has remained my quintessential favorite city.  The fresh breath of air.  This time around we stayed in an apartment with a view of the Eiffel tower.  Since we've done the tourist stuff, we watched around neighborhoods, took the metro, lounged in parks and indulged in long meals. My favorite time of the entire trip- it really is unfair to all the other cities that I play favorites this badly. 

Morocco

Morocco: Rich in color, texture, pattern, and people. Twisty old streets in the Medina.  The colors were dusty red, pinks, and blues.  Hot temperatures.  Minty tea.

Doors of Morocco

Reflections on Summer 2016

Written 8/23/16 at 1:22 AM

I’m on a greyhound bus somewhere between Buffalo and Cleveland.  The bus is dark and silent and I keep gazing up at the 3 quarters moon.  The moon continues to follow us.  I’m on my way home from Ithaca where I was Alicia’s “transition companion” for a few days.  We moved her out of her storage unit into her beautiful new apartment. We made tons of food for the freezer and bought some beautiful plants.  I feel lucky that I have started and now ended my glorious summer 2016 with her.  I feel lucky that I’ve spent the in-betweens with my baby sister Lo in Ann Arbor.  One of my fondest memories with the Do was going for a loooooong walk and listening to her passionately talk about her hatred for garages.  I love that my sisters are quirky and unique and truly who they are. 

I always feel sad at this point of the summer- I have a dreadful time of letting o.  But then I remind myself “Emily, you really lived life to the fullest this summer”.  Which is true.  I’ve climbed mountains, explored the landscapes of the west, ate at delicious hippie bakery cafes in the middle of no where, ate delicious vegan food at my favorite spot in Ann Arbor, long walks with Michael, long soulful sunset walks with myself, nourished some plants in my garden, traipsed in Europe for two weeks, sipped wine in Paris, ate romesco in Spain, tagine in Morocco, saw my extended family and spent time with both grandparents, explored Michigan islands with Michael, kayaked beautiful clear great lakes bays, smelled the powerful healing scent of Michigan cedar, said good bye to my beloved bachelorette pad, made a rye blueberry pie, witness a friend’s love at a wedding, snuggled the dogs, read a lot of books, felt healed and reconnected with my deeper self.  Gosh I really am fortunate.  So like the waves of Lake Michigan, I must leap into them and let them graciously take me into the next season.  Fighting it will only get me knocked down.