for today ~ june edition

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Looking out my window ~

I have a beautiful view of clematis out my bedroom window.

I am thinking ~

about Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade, Chester Bennington ~ and several people I personally knew who took their own lives. Depression is a horrible mental and systemic disease. PLEASE - if you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to Speaking of Suicide - Resources for more resources.

I am thankful ~

for my yoga instructor and the class itself. After my meniscus surgery last year, I couldn't fully do yoga for a long time because of the limitations on my knee. Once my knee healed, I started going to a class in a wellness center right up the road from my house. But the instructor was just not a good fit for me. So, a couple of months ago, I tried a couple of classes at a yoga studio in a neighboring town. I loved the instructor and the vibe of the studio, so I bought a 10-class package so that I would stay committed. I go every Wednesday morning and I am hooked! I look so forward to this class every week. It's a gentle class with a lot of stretching and strengthening exercises. The instructor is friendly, compassionate, professional, knows how to teach and accommodate those poses where one might need a block or strap, has that beautiful, mellow "yoga voice", and incorporates different breathing techniques and some meditation into the class, too. In just four weeks, my chronic lower back pain is so much better.

One of my favorite things ~

fresh flowers to grace the kitchen table.

I am creating ~

pretty garden spaces.

I am wearing ~

a lime green (but not bright) cotton top and Levis capris.

I am reading ~

I'm a big fan of Ruth Reichl, the food writer. Two of her novels, Tender at the Bone and Comfort Me With Apples, were two of my favorite reads. Garlic and Sapphires is a little disappointing. I get that she uses disguises to get herself into restaurants so that no one recognizes her, but you can only read so much about this until it gets boring. She gives little hints about her husband and son that make the reader want more of that personal touch.

I'm also a huge fan of Susan Branch ~ her writings and illustrations are cheerful, homey, and comforting. Martha's Vineyard - Isle of Dreams is an illustrated memoir. It's actually part of a trilogy, with The Fairy Tale Girl being the first book, this one - Martha's Vineyard being the second, and A Fine Romance: Falling in Love with the English Countryside being the third. However, they don't have to be read in order - or even as a trilogy. I read A Fine Romance last year. I just happened to come across Martha's Vineyard in my library. I'll be starting this book as soon as I'm done with Ruth Reichl's book.

From amazon:

  I"n the winter of 1982, long before she became the watercolor artist and author we know today, Susan Branch, 34-years-old and heartbroken from the sudden and unexpected end of her marriage in California, "ran away from home" to the Island of Martha's Vineyard hoping to gain perspective.

    

      Based on the diaries she has kept all her life, Susan Branch relates her inspirational tale of lost love and self discovery, her search for roots, purpose, and destiny with laugh-out-loud honesty. A road map for overcoming loss, following your heart, and making dreams come true, charmingly hand-lettered and watercolored in Susan's inimitable style, there are diary excerpts, recipes, and hundreds of photographs."

I am listening to ~

Coming Home by Leon Bridges

I am hoping ~

for a lot of things...that Brian's leg injury heals in good time with PT; for the roofing fix to go smoothly (still waiting on two more bids); for my father-in-law to receive good care in the nursing home he was placed in; for my friend's healing from breast cancer surgery. And on and on...

In my kitchen ~

garlic naan bread pizzas with fresh mozzarella last night for dinner; chicken fajitas with homemade guacamole for tonight's dinner; gluten-free pasta salad with tons of cut up veggies and diced, cooked chicken kept in the fridge for lunches. This weekend I'm making a favorite vegetarian dish - Golden Red Lentil Dal with Cilantro Rice.

Post Script ~
(Add a favorite link that you would like to pass along. It can be someone else's website, etsy shop, Instagram feed, Facebook link, OR it can be your own.)

My new go-to potato salad that I actually like even better than traditional mayo-laden potato salad. I first had this potato salad at my aunt's house and knew it had to be in my repertoire. Just make sure whenever you buy potatoes, to buy organic. Conventional potatoes are sprayed with 37 different pesticides (see here for a good article on this subject - you can find out much more by a simple Google search). Needless to say, potatoes are also on the Dirty Dozen Produce List.

Shared quote ~

"We have a hunger of the mind which asks for knowledge of all around us, and the more we gain, the more is our desire; the more we see, the more are we capable of seeing.
(Maria Mitchell - 1878)

A moment from my day ~

making guacamole.

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