Friday links
Walking with Joanna to the Warren on a crisp Autumn evening.
The last several Fridays, I’ve gotten home from the school pickup and just felt drained, exhausted, and overstimulated. The first time, I grabbed my house key and my boots and told everyone I was going for a walk. I ended up at the Warren, our town’s biggest spot by the river Wye where there is a lovely pebble beach and a good swimming stretch and a huge field leading up to it that has several footpaths coming and going. It’s a favorite spot for many, resident and tourist alike. It was the peaceful walk I desperately needed to clear my head before making dinner.
The next Friday it happened, Joanna asked if she could join me. We donned our coats and she added a hat and scarf as October has come in quite chilly. We chatted as we walked, pausing occasionally for her to collect acorns or leaves as they caught her eye.
At one point, I stood there listening to the nature sounds, watching her look for things, and it felt so perfect. Maybe it is because I was recently reading the third book in the Emily of New Moon trilogy by Lucy Maud Montgomery; but the moment felt very Anne of Green Gables (mostly the film). Emily of New Moon would call it the flash. I could just hear the background music and imagine us being captured strolling together. It was silly, but it also made me stop and soak in the time in a way I don’t think I had been noticing. Time is passing, visible at the very least by the fact that I can look her in the eye without any effort and we are often borrowing each other’s clothes.
I’m no Lucy Maud, but I wanted to write it down in some way to capture the moment.
collecting pebbles
THINGS I BOOKMARKED
The 25 Greatest Picture Books of the Past 25 Years - Fun article from Slate by Dan Kois and Rebecca Onion cultivating their list of the top picture books in the last 25 years. Most of these I knew about, but a couple were new or at least I hadn’t given them much of a glance before. I always enjoy reading other people’s picture book lists!
The Children’s Book Page That’s Like A 360-Windmill Slam Dunk – Also loved reading this interview by Dan Kois with the author and illustrator of a beloved book: Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña and illustrations by Christian Robinson.
An Interview with the Little Girl - Now All Grown up - Who Inspired Olivia the Pig – And Dan Kois is just warming my picture book loving heart this week with another interview with the real life inspiration behind the classic picture book Olivia.
The Sagrada Família Takes Its Final Shape – I adored reading this article in The New Yorker about where the progress of The Sagrada Família is after 99 years of work so far. I visited the church in 2005 as a young university student living in Spain for a summer and it is incredible to see the progress in the photos just 20 years later! The whole thing is crazy and fantastic, and visiting it was an experience I will never forget. I have long hoped to go back and take my family to see it as it nears completion, but I also realize it will be so different – not just because of the progress made on it; but because of the obsessive technology of our society that means it will be overcrowded and full of people taking photos and Tik Toks. Nothing sacred left there en masse, but maybe it would still be worth it… I don’t know. Reading this article was incredible and I will always love watching Gaudí’s plans come to realization and the other works of Gaudí that I visited that insanely hot summer of 2005 while traveling entirely alone.
Is DEI Discrimination? – Really appreciated this historical look at Affirmative Action and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion policies in the States. I have seen this argued about generationally much more than I expected and this kind of article is thoughtful in looking at historical background as well as the pros and cons each side are putting forth. It’s not as clear cut as either side would have us believe.
WHAT I LISTENED TO
LOVED by Parcels – I’ve been loving this new album by Parcels (no pun intended at all). I didn’t know anything about them before this album released last month; but I love the beat, harmonies, and mood of all the songs.
”All Things Together” by Andrew Peterson – We introduced this song at our church for our Harvest Praise service on Sunday night and it remains a favorite.
”I’m So Blessed” by Cain – This one has been on my morning playlist for quite some time. The playlist helps me as I make breakfast some days, just to change my mood or morning malaise. Last week I played the playlist a couple mornings during the school run and it seemed to be a pleasant surprise to some of our other riders (we have 6 girls in our school carpool, two of which are mine). I put it on again yesterday for the morning ride and I couldn’t help but grin when just a few lines into this song, most of the car was belting out “On my best days, I’m a child of God. On my worst days, I’m a child of God. Oh, every day is a good day, and you’re the reason why.” It’s a bit saccharine perhaps, but it’s a great reminder to start the day and not a bad song to get stuck in your head. Sometimes we need those simple, sweet reminders of truth of identity.
Autumn surrounding this little building in Weobley that I see every week during dance practice.
THINGS I MADE
I’ve barely been in the studio this week due to illness and schedule issues from our family and friends, but let’s see if I managed to make anything other than the usual meals every day.
GF Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Cake made for our Harvest Supper at church.
Brussels sprout & Salami Pizza. Need I say more?
Linocut cat chef. I’m still wrapping up work on my Welsh alphabet linocut book, so this week at Print Club, I did a quick little print from a sketch I found buried in my sketchbook. It was fun and a low pressure print, which I haven’t done in quite a while.
THINGS I FOUND
I didn’t even make it to the market this week due to the crazy busyness. So my collected stuff is slim in objects, and a bit larger in moments. The trees are just stunning right now, even amidst the constant grey of days. I’m so grateful for them as I’ve been in the car a lot more and every turn makes me gasp with delight at the colors.
black and white Weobley with autumn colors peeking about
our town of Hay in rooftops and autumn tones
rare moments at a playground near school. I’m not sure if I miss NYC or just a stage of life when I say I kinda miss the afternoon playground moments after school everyday. One day a week, I have to get the youngest 3 and we wait for 45 minutes until the older 3 finish an afterschool activity. We were all thrilled to find a playground a few minutes away that we can pass the time with snacks and fresh air. I don’t actually miss the wrestle with my schedule to go to the playground every day; but going once a week right now reminded me of those days and the full playgrounds.
hedgehog in our back garden. I was delighted to find this friend in the back garden, though I became increasingly worried for a while as hedgehogs are not generally out in daylight and this one was quite still. Thankfully it was on their way after a half hour much to my great relief.
cat on a gate. This will likely become a sketch or something. I just had to run out and snap this when I spotted our neighbor’s cat resting on their gate.
blurry photo in my photos. I couldn’t help but laugh when I found this photo in my photos after that cat on the gate moment. Vinny the neighbor’s cat hopped down shortly after my photo to say hello to me. I don’t usually pet cats as I am allergic, but we definitely had a moment together and Joanna spotted us and decided to grab a blurry photo on the iPad.
the hedge roads. I won’t ever love driving on these crazy roads, but they are certainly impressed on my memories of these days. And when they are clear and dotted with autumnal colors, I find them charming.
my girl collecting things.
Happy Friday to you. I hope your October weekend is lovely and restful, if at all possible. 💚