saving my life: frigid January edition.

Hello, friends. It is so cold – the high yesterday here in Boston was 14 (!) degrees. It feels much warmer today (we’re above freezing!), but between the cold and the endless pandemic anxiety, I’ve been struggling with the blues. At least the sun is (mostly) shining; we had a solid week of rain and fog around Christmas/New Year’s and it was rough.

I’m isolating in my apartment this week after a positive COVID test. My symptoms are mild and I have enough groceries, etc., but of course it’s a bummer. And the headlines – and their individual impacts on each of our lives – go on and on.

So, in the spirit of hope and trying to find some joy, here’s what’s saving my life this week:

• Sunshine, as always. Even when it’s bitterly cold, these blue and silver winter days (and the sunlight pouring in my kitchen windows) are so beautiful.
• The Twisted Tomboy shower bombs I found recently at the Booksmith – so potent and refreshing.
• Abby Rasminsky’s gorgeous, honest newsletter – she writes so well about pandemic life and trying to find the good.
• The teas I stocked up on in December: one batch from my beloved local MEM Tea, one from the wonderful McNulty’s in Greenwich Village, NYC.
• Related: my favorite mugs, including an old one from Obvious State and a newish one from Flour.
• My friend Micha’s lovely, contemplative podcast, The Slow Way.
• Hannah Jane Parkinson’s quirky, lovely collection The Joy of Small Things, which I found at the marvelous Three Lives – exactly what it sounds like.
• Texts and calls from my people, and a friend dropping off a bag of groceries the other day.
• My leggy, lovely geraniums, which are reaching for the light in my kitchen window.
• Good books, including a stack of library finds and a virtual stack of e-galleys for review.
• Fun Spotify mixes: jazz and movie soundtracks, folk and Motown, nineties country – whatever I’m in the mood for.

What’s saving your life in these long winter days?

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looking for the light: Poetry Unbound.

Back in the early months of 2020 (which seems a thousand years ago), I stumbled on a new podcast, produced by the good, thoughtful folks at On Being. I am the slowest podcast listener ever, but Poetry Unbound, hosted by Irish poet Pádraig Ó Tuama, saved my life on some of those long, dark evenings in early quarantine.

Now that we’re back to long dark evenings again, I am savoring the second season: an episode here and there, usually while I’m cooking dinner or putting dishes away. I am not much for longform podcasts (I’d rather read a book or an article), but these short, lyrical episodes feel just right to me. They consist of Pádraig reading a poem, then musing on it in several short segments, then reading it again. The repetition is soothing, and I often notice things in the second reading that I missed the first time around.

Pádraig’s poetic commentary includes musings on meter and word choice and metaphor, but he also muses on a range of broad and specific human issues: love and heartbreak, the complications of family and politics, the quiet bravery of healthcare workers, the wisdom of teachers, the utter devastation caused by fire and illness and grief. He is wise and thoughtful and tender, and his voice, with its Irish lilt, is a balm to my ears and my soul. As a serious bonus, many of the poets he features are new to me, and I’ve loved discovering their work alongside him.

What podcasts – or poems – are bringing you life, these days?

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Stories from quarantine: You and Me and Everyone We Know.

One of the strange gifts of this time in quarantine is the chance to reconnect with friends I haven’t talked to in a while. I’ve had several phone chats, FaceTime dates and Instagram exchanges with girlfriends from college, and am texting with my best friend from high school more regularly. And last month, I spoke to my friend Brent for his coronavirus podcast, You and Me and Everyone We Know.

Brent and I were part of the same friend group in college, and we followed each other’s blogs as I went back to Oxford and he went to the Peace Corps, and then I moved to Boston (after another stint in Abilene) and he found his way to Minneapolis, where he lives now with his husband and their kids. We keep up on Instagram, but hadn’t actually spoken in years. It was such a treat to catch up a bit and hear his warm, kind voice.

The episode I’m on includes two other conversations: one with Brent’s younger sister, Macey, and one with his friend Kedrin. Brent and I talked running, isolation in a one-bedroom apartment, social distancing with friends at the park, the approach of spring, and more. You can listen on his website, on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts. Enjoy!

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Poetry Friday: Joy Harjo

Hello, friends. These are strange times, aren’t they?

Like many people, I’m self-isolating at home these days: working, baking, running, reading, doing yoga, checking in with my people and trying not to go completely crazy. My workplace, like many colleges and universities, is going online for the rest of the semester. We’re all adapting, and I’ve been through the gamut of emotions. I’m sure many of you can relate.

Not surprisingly, one thing that’s helping a bit is poetry: specifically, the luminous new Poetry Unbound podcast from On Being. Narrated by Pádraig Ó Tuama (in his lovely Irish voice), it brings us a new poem every Monday and Friday. (I usually share poetry here on Fridays during April, which is National Poetry Month, but I decided to start early this year.)

This poem was featured in the Feb. 28 episode of Poetry Unbound, and I thought it was beautiful and wise. I hope you enjoy.

Praise the rain, the seagull dive
The curl of plant, the raven talk —
Praise the hurt, the house slack
The stand of trees, the dignity —
Praise the dark, the moon cradle
The sky fall, the bear sleep —
Praise the mist, the warrior name
The earth eclipse, the fired leap —
Praise the backwards, upward sky
The baby cry, the spirit food —
Praise canoe, the fish rush
The hole for frog, the upside-down —
Praise the day, the cloud cup
The mind flat, forget it all —

Praise crazy. Praise sad.
Praise the path on which we’re led.
Praise the roads on earth and water.
Praise the eater and the eaten.
Praise beginnings; praise the end.
Praise the song and praise the singer.

Praise the rain; it brings more rain.
Praise the rain; it brings more rain.

—Joy Harjo

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Every day I’m podcasting.

That’s not quite true. But it has felt true lately, as I’ve added podcast-hosting duties to the round of life at my new job.

My colleagues and I take turns hosting Sounds of Berklee, our weekly podcast featuring songs by and interviews with Berklee students, alumni, faculty and visiting artists.

Here are my first two episodes, if you’d like to listen. The first features Avanti Nagral, a Berklee student pursuing a dual degree with Harvard and making great music while she’s at it:

The second is a Q&A session with Cristina Pato and Edward Perez, two artists from Silkroad who came over to talk about their collaboration with some of our students, and treat us to a live performance (of bagpipes and double bass!) in the studio.

It’s been fun to explore a new medium, and record at the studio on campus. Happy listening.

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Laundry + scones + podcasts.

Here’s what I know about laundry, after a decade and a half or so: it’s one of the chores I don’t mind.

Make no mistake: sometimes it’s a pain, especially when I’m not eager to schlep a full hamper down three flights of stairs to the basement and back up again. I also know that it’s easier for me than for many people, thanks to my electric washer and dryer: I don’t have to spend hours scrubbing clothes, or days waiting for them to dry.

That being said, I love a warm, soft pile of clean laundry, heaped onto a bed so I can sort it and put it away. I love a full drawer of patterned cloth napkins, a neatly folded stack of clean sheets. I love emptying the laundry hampers after a trip or a harried week.

As Kathleen Norris has noted, laundry is “one of the very few tasks in life that offers instant results, and this is nothing to sneer at.” Laundry is also one of the ways I take care of myself and my husband, putting a part of our lives to rights, creating (some) order where there was previously chaos. And about once a week these days, you can find me combining laundry with a couple of other rituals: podcasts and scones.

I’m a slow listener to only a couple of podcasts. I love Krista Tippett’s wise, thoughtful, wide-ranging conversations with all sorts of folks on On Being, though I admit I don’t get to them all. And I never miss an episode of All the Books!, which features Liberty and a rotating cast of other women talking about the latest and greatest books they’re reading, or highlighting old favorites. There are frequent digressions to other topics, which is part of the fun, and I love hearing their warm, funny, generous voices in my ear as I putter around the kitchen, washing dishes and wiping counters and watering the thirsty geraniums.

The third part of this ritual is Molly’s scones, which I’ve been eating for breakfast nearly every day for a couple of years now. They’re hearty and delicious and not too sweet, and by now I know the recipe by heart and by hand.

I measure out the flour, whisk in baking powder and salt, grate in a few tablespoons of butter and stir in white sugar and dried cranberries. I can do all these things while I’m listening, and while the laundry spins downstairs. I pop them into the oven and then head downstairs to check on the dryer, or hang up sweaters or corral my husband’s socks. I come back up and pull out the cookie sheet, letting it cool on the counter. And I exhale.

It’s been a fast and full stretch around here lately: change, the only constant of the past few years, has been coming faster than I can keep up with. I’ve found myself scattered and frustrated, more often than I care to admit. But this ritual and a few others, when I can sink into them, help ground me.

As we head into summer – with more change ahead – you can (sometimes) find me in the kitchen, baking and folding and listening.

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Saving my life: midwinter edition.

Regular readers know that I periodically turn back to the question of what’s saving my life now. I got it from Barbara Brown Taylor, and I always find answering it a helpful exercise, especially in the winter.

My friend Anne agrees. And today, at the halfway point of winter, she’s gathering all of us to share what’s saving our lives these days.

Here’s my list:

• Paperwhite narcissus in my kitchen window. I started a new pair of bulbs last week and they are growing a bit every day.
• The sunrise out that same window, every morning (when it’s not snowing).
• Related: any scrap of blue sky I can find.
• Tulips and daffodils for my desk and my kitchen table.
• The weekly chats with my florist. Dear man.

• Spicy chai and scones from Darwin’s, and checking in with my people there. (Always.)
• My winter gear: snow boots, warm gloves, hats, scarves and my two coats.
• The days when I can wear real shoes to work. (Related: clear sidewalks, when I can find them.)
• Tangy, bright clementines.
• Fleeced-lined tights on frigid days.
• Any time I can spend on the river trail: walking, running, taking deep breaths.

• The sleeveless gray sweater I found in Oxford this fall: the coziest thing I own. I’m wearing it almost every day, usually over a striped dress.
• Good books: the latest Marisa de los Santos novel; Ada Calhoun’s wise, candid essays on marriage; lots of mysteries.
• My favorite podcast: All the Books!, which features Rebecca and Liberty talking books and all sorts of randomness. Makes me laugh out loud on the regular.
• The Wailin’ Jennys, in my ears on the river trail.
• Lots and lots of water.
• So much tea: ginger peach, Earl Grey, peppermint for the late nights.
• My light box and Vitamin D pills, for the grey days.
• Texts from a couple of dear friends.
• The occasional glass of red wine or cup of strong tea with a girlfriend.
• Monday night boot camp + yoga, both taught by the inimitable Erin.
• Huevos on Mondays after that doubleheader workout.
• A couple of upcoming trips I’m excited about. Having something to look forward to always helps.
• Listening to Acoustic Sunrise as the hubs and I drive to church on Sunday mornings.
• Good pens, and a minute to scribble in my journal here and there.
• My Thursday morning writers’ meetings across the street: sarcastic and fun and so informative.
• Season 8 (yes, we’re behind) of Modern Family, which makes my husband laugh harder than anything, these days.

What’s saving your life now? Please share in the comments, and/or hop over to Anne’s site to read her list of lifesavers and more.

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Listening, slowly

After I read Krista Tippett’s memoir Becoming Wise last spring, I did something I’d intended to do for a long time: subscribed to her weekly On Being podcast, which is the foundation for her book. I quickly realized a few things: one, the podcast is fascinating and lovely (as I expected). And two, I could never hope to stay “caught up.”

I wasn’t trying to listen to the whole On Being archive – that would take years. But even the current episodes, each nearly an hour long, ask for more time than I sometimes have (at least in one long spell). They also, critically, ask for my attention: these are not conversations during which you can zone out. Krista and her conversation partners – who are poets, physicists, activists, musicians and above all, deeply thoughtful people – are fully engaged in their talks about the big questions of being human. As a listener, I don’t want to miss anything.

My solution? I have been listening slowly.

I’ll turn on an episode of On Being while I cook dinner, some nights: peeling carrots, chopping peppers, stirring a pot of soup on the stove. I’ll listen to a chunk or two – 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there – while I’m running errands in the car, baking a batch of scones, or folding laundry. My head has to be in the right place: open, curious, sometimes a little melancholy. (The episodes, while they wrestle with real and sometimes insoluble issues, always leave me feeling heartened about the state of the world – and usually jotting down the title of a book written or recommended by that week’s guest.)

Generally, I hit the pause button at least once during an episode: when dinner is ready, or it’s time to go pick up my husband from work, or I arrive at yoga class or the library. I don’t think I’ve ever listened to an entire episode at once. But I’m coming to prefer it that way. These conversations contain so much that’s worth mulling over. They are slow, wise, witty, sometimes meandering. And they reward slow listening.

Some of my favorite episodes so far have featured Mary Karr, Michael Longley, Maria Popova and Naomi Shihab Nye. But there’s a wealth of honest, thought-provoking, warmhearted conversation to be found in the On Being archive. If you’re looking for an antidote to the rapid-fire headlines, I’d recommend listening – slowly.

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My favorite podcasts

Thank you so much for the thoughtful comments on my recent post. It’s good to know I’m not alone. And now, for something completely different…

Since I came late to the smartphone game (and never owned an iPod), I also came late to the world of podcasts.

I’m still a novice – I don’t listen as much as Anne, who shared her favorites recently, or Elise – who hosts her own podcast and also wrote about her favorites. If I’m riding the subway, I’d rather be reading (an actual paper book).

But I have a few podcasts I love – one reliable standby and several newer discoveries – and I thought I’d share them with you.

Books on the Nightstand

The first podcast I ever fell in love with – and still my favorite – is Books on the Nightstand, co-hosted by Ann Kingman (a Twitter pal I’ve met in person once or twice) and Michael Kindness. Ann and Michael both work for Random House, and they started this weekly podcast to talk about their favorite new books. I started listening a couple of years ago, and now I never miss an episode.

Nearly 350 episodes (!) in, BOTNS has regular features about new books and audiobooks, a monthly segment highlighting older books (called Don’t You Forget About Me), an annual Summer Book Bingo game, and much more. I love the glimpses into the inner workings of the book industry, the “themed” episodes such as 500 Pages Plus, and the warm, generous, often funny conversation between Ann and Michael. Their tastes don’t always match mine, but I love hearing them talk about books and book-related issues.

Magic Lessons

Elizabeth Gilbert (yes, that Elizabeth Gilbert) recently launched a podcast called Magic Lessons, in advance of the release of her new book, Big Magic (out this fall). I haven’t read the book yet, but I am loving Liz’s conversations on creative work, bravery, motivation and – yes – magic with people who are struggling to build a creative life.

So far, she’s alternated between talking to people who are dealing with frustration or feeling “blocked” in their creativity, and talking to people like Cheryl Strayed and Rob Bell, who may have helpful insights to share. Liz’s voice is so warm and friendly, and I love what she has to say about creative work. This is a new podcast, so I’m excited for what’s to come.

Book Riot: All the Books

How could I not love a podcast with this title? Liberty Hardy and Rebecca Joines Schinsky, known as “The Well-Readheads,” are both part of the (smart, sarcastic, book-obsessed) team at Book Riot, and they chat once a week about brand-new books they can’t wait for people to read. This podcast launched in May and I’m slowly making my way through the backlog of episodes. Not surprisingly, my TBR list gets longer every time I listen.

Liberty and Rebecca both read widely (of course), and they talk about (and/or gush about) books on this podcast that I might not hear about otherwise. Also, they are good friends (like Ann and Michael above), and it’s so much fun to listen to their exchanges.

Elise Gets Crafty

I’ve been reading Elise Blaha Cripe’s blog for a while now, and I’ve listened to quite a few episodes of her podcast. Some of them are aimed at small business owners (which I am not), but nearly every episode also touches on some combination of blogging, motivation, inspiration and balancing creative projects with your daily life. Super fun and accessible.

Do you have a favorite podcast, or a handful of them? Please share in the comments!

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