--Wednesday morning, a student came to my office to ask if I had any old magazines. She was making a vision board and needed images. I was so pleased that she thought of me as a source of creative supplies. On Wednesday, I only had 1 magazine in my office. I said, "I wish I had known. I have more at home." She said, "I can come back tomorrow." I brought every magazine I had, and she did return on Thursday.
--On Friday, I made this Facebook post:
Holiday approaches--time for the ritual washing of my mugs that I keep at the office. I confess to irregular washing of them--after all, I'm the only one who uses them, and I only drink water or unsweetened tea. As I scrubbed at them, I thought of a haiku-like creation:
Solstice cup washing
Tea stains dark as cypress swamps
Light comes back slowly
--On Thursday, in the shower, I found myself singing, "Mary did you know / that your baby girl / would some day walk on water"--a poem idea for later!
--Yesterday I wrote a poem about the Snow Queen who is having a midlife crisis, which begins with a yearning for tropical fruits and a snorkeling vacation and ends with thinking about where to retire in a time of climate change. I fret about sea level rise, but the Snow Queen worries about the melting of the most ancient ice.
--I wrote that poem because Jeannine Hall Gailey posted a broadside of her poem about the Snow Queen. I am so grateful for these connections with poets and artists that our wired world has made possible.
--I went to the grocery store yesterday, much to my spouse's surprise. He feels it's much too close to Christmas to venture into stores. But we needed food. Now we will have turkey for Christmas. I love turkey, especially leftovers, and I don't get enough of it at Thanksgiving.
--I have picked up a variety of treats this week. I got eggnog yesterday, a lower fat version. I bought peppermint syrup at Starbucks on Friday. The store didn't have the small containers for sale, but the store manager offered to sell me the larger bottle that the store uses. She even included the pump.
--After my wonderful Starbucks experience, I wrote this e-mail to my family:
So here we are on the cusp of a government shutdown with General Mattis soon on his way out--but let us not focus on the scary parts of life.
. . .
And I also wanted to say that I thought of us all when I bought peppermint syrup at Starbucks today. I thought about the time in California, where Rob bought us all a special coffee drink. I thought of the many coffee dates we've all had together. I thought of the time when we'd never heard of Starbucks, when Dad brought some back from a west coast trip--and Mom eventually loved it so much that she bought stock in the company. I thought about all the times we've had Christmas blend at Thanksgiving and Christmas. I thought of Megan, pre-Jack, who used to take a day off to have a Starbucks drink while she got Christmas shopping done.
So, I also bought myself a peppermint mocha, along with a big bottle of peppermint syrup, and the Christmas Blend coffees by the pound that are on sale right now. I look forward to the days when we're drinking coffee together again!
I love all of you very much!!
Love,
Kristin
--Yesterday I changed the batteries on the fairy lights that come attached to a cork that means they can light up old wine bottles. Last night, we sat on the front porch surrounded by pretty lights. I filled my markers with ink, sketched a bit, and enjoyed the season.
--I hope to continue enjoying the season as we move to Christmas and on to the new year. May we all find some twinkly lights and spots of joy!
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