this week in three good things + other stuff
Plus: How has it already been two years since our #vanlife adventure?!
They say start before you’re ready, right? Well, here goes. The idea for Even Ordinary has been rolling around in my head for months now (possibly a year) as an extension of and potentially replacement for Trajectory of a Life, my legacy blog that hasn’t been getting much attention as of late.
Even Ordinary is meant to be a celebration of observation and gratitude for those ordinary moments, which, let’s be honest, make up most of our lives. I’ll still be publishing my blog for now, and will focus on my monthly reviews there, while reserving this space for what I hope to be a weekly celebration and reminder that ordinary can be extraordinary if we just pay attention.
I’m kicking things off with a weekly post that blends my three good things gratitude post with some other mentions from the week. Hope you enjoy!
Good thing number one
Getting our annual flue and CoVID shots because vaccines are a modern medical wonder.
Good thing number two
Being among the trees because it truly is good for the soul.
Good thing number three
Continued exploration in our temporary home because there is so much to discover and appreciate here.
Other things on my mind
🏙️ We’re continuing to explore Portland and the surrounding area. Here are a few gems we discovered this week.
KEEN GARAGE (flagship/HQ)
Hawthorne Asylum (food cart pod)
Poler flagship store
Hawthorne Business District
Buckman, Kerns and Belmont neighborhoods
🍲 We ate out a bit more than usual this week, but we did manage to cook two yummy recipes:
📚 I continue to struggle with feeling motivated to read, but did turn a few pages this week:
Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
Latest issue of Harvard Business Review (Sept - Oct 2023)
🕯️We’re burning snif’s half-baked pumpkin smash candle and loving it. It’s the second year we’ve purchased this candle for our fall scent and there are no regrets.
📺 We finished Better Call Saul this week and I want more! 😭 Who wants to discuss this masterpiece of a series with me. The cinematography, the storylines and Kim Wexler — definitely on the list of my top TV characters of all time. Just. So. Good.
Also:
Still chipping away at Gilmore Girls
Started season two of The Afterparty
New season of Great Birtish Baking Show (I’m rooting for Tasha)
Rewatched the Portland episode of Somebody Feed Phil
🇲🇽 I finally committed to my goal of improving my Spanish skills with the purchase of a six-month Babel subscription. It’s on my 2024 goals list, but I decided to dig in now. One unit down and many to go. I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
🚐 It’s been two years since we returned from our epic four-week road trip across the U.S. and I’m having big nostalgic feelings about it. Wishing we could do it all over again.
🔗 Because no email newsletter is complete without a links list, here’s mine:
appreciation for vaccines
did your favorites make this list?
the nones are rising as the Christian population declines
simple changes to improve your life
be a tourist in your own city
currently reading (and loving) one of the books on this list
🖋️ And, as a bonus, an excert from one of my favorite poems:
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved youall your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.~ Derek Walcott, from LOVE AFTER LOVE