Today I give thanks for...
These
muffins from Huckleberry. I find that this is the perfect starter batter to add fruit to as well. The batch I made this week was half dark chocolate chunk and half blueberry so as to satisfy multiple cravings. I think the stars are the almond flour and the yogurt.
These Dani Shapiro words on writing: When writers who are just starting out ask me when it gets easier, my answer is never. It never gets easier. I don’t want to scare them, so I rarely say more than that, but the truth is that, if anything, it gets harder. The writing life isn’t just filled with predictable uncertainties but with the awareness that we are always starting over again. That everything we ever write will be flawed. We may have written one book, or many, but all we know — if we know anything at all — is how to write the book we’re writing. All novels are failures. Perfection itself would be a failure. All we can hope is that we will fail better. That we won’t succumb to fear of the unknown. That we will not fall prey to the easy enchantments of repeating what may have worked in the past. I try to remember that the job — as well as the plight, and the unexpected joy — of the artist is to embrace uncertainty, to be sharpened and honed by it. To be birthed by it. Each time we come to the end of a piece of work, we have failed as we have leapt — spectacularly, brazenly — into the unknown.
I finished The
Royal We. I have one word for it: rubbish!
Coach is back from Toronto. I don't sleep well when he is gone. Tigger missed him lots too.
Something always happens when he is gone too. This time a big branch from our ash tree fell on my neighbor's new roof the other night. Thankfully she is the nicest neighbor ever and it didn't do any damage.
Sam is back for the next 5 weeks. The kids are both stoked to hang out with him.
Lily started jumping today in the arena and then she took Admiral out on the trails. She was sky high.
My Dad and Step-mom took the kids golfing on Wednesday. Lily usually just drives the cart, but she played this time and she loved it. Grandpa is regripping a set of clubs for her now.
While they were away, I spent 6 hours cleaning the garage, the mudroom and the yard.
Teddy is going to caddy this summer.
Lily distributed her mother's helper/dog walker brochures around the neighborhood and then she came straight home and waited by the phone for someone to call. She's still checking the messages frequently, but she's a little less obsessed.
Peonies in a pretty vase.
Melon. When I was cutting this the other afternoon, I thought of my grandma. Every summer my brother and I would spend a week with her in Salt Lake City, and every morning she would serve us a slice of melon with a sharp spoon before we would head to the pool or the mountains for the day.
Cousins.
The little things. My girl's a collector. This is a little corner of her desk and it makes me smile.
Ted received a letter from his 4th grade teacher the other day. A long, encouraging letter. He sent her a letter last week thanking her for the impact she had on him as a student and a boy. It was a meaningful project all the 8th grade students participated in, and another one that I feel embraces so many teachable moments. She truly inspired him and helped him develop a love of learning.
Gratitude. Is it redundant to be grateful for gratitude? Well, so be it.
See this blurry picture below? I almost deleted it, but then I really studied it and I saw the other teacher Teddy wrote a thank you letter to. She was his 5th grade reading teacher and she too is a gem. She's got a first rate fan in Lily as well. Do you see her expression as Teddy is walking down the aisle to Pomp and Circumstance? You can see how invested she is in "her" kids.
All of the teachers at the middle school have been first rate educators. I feel so fortunate to be a part of a school community that embodies such dedication and commitment. I truly get the sense that for these teachers, teaching is much more than what they do.
Egg yolk ravioli. They are so decadent, and while they are easy they do require patience. Last night I went through a dozen eggs for 3 ravioli. I think the trick is to use very fresh eggs.
