it's a world where I can follow Lizzy Gadd

get better at video

I'm on the schedule, two actually. One I get paid for, the other I live for and there is video evidence that those video schedules intertwine and intermingle. I gotta get better at video.


Today I am grateful for the opportunity and place to work and create.

Writing on the Wall in Como

(And in response, I am grateful for your kindness. Do you have some type of COVID-19 soundtrack happening?)

cheating with coffee

I was completely off of it. No caffeine and none of those withdrawal headaches when I stopped it. Think of the money I could save by cutting out that habit all year.

But,

I would cheat. Go over to my mom's and drink hers. It started in the afternoon but now the mornings here with the music in the candlelight and sometimes I do wonder if I've lost my mind. It's not just the habits. It's also the rituals we create around them.

All but the kitchen light above the burners are turned off in the house. I can hear the refrigerator running and the clock ticking. I boil the water in the smaller of the two saucepans and unload the dishwasher as the water heats. I pull down the coffee grinder, unwind the cord, plug it in, and place as many beans as will fit into the small cup which contains the risk of overflow and the result of coarse ground coffee wasted on the cabinet. The challenge is to do it cleanly.

I light the candle and the wax warmer before I turn on the music.

Or not.

This morning it is only the hum of the refrigerator, the ticking of the clock, and the steady song of the crickets.


Today I am grateful for the quiet, his voice, his face, their talent, her kindness, a small but sweet, sweet party, and two cups a day.

team hope

Number one thinks in numbers and knows about confirmation bias or how we are all inclined to find information supporting our ideas. It's all out there, whatever you want to find.

But yesterday, for the first time, his spreadsheet entitled "im an idiot" showed a 27% decrease between the actual dead as a result of COVID19 and the projected number of deaths with a spread rate of 1.35 and an incubation to death period of 14 with death rate of 2%. Though people still died, somewhere/somehow in the past 14 days something changed to change the projected number of people losing their life to this thing.

Today I am grateful for the conversations we have.


Also, I want to take this guy's class.

focus then, focus now

Not something I need to share, he thinks. Because of the disappointment he now has. He doesn't want you to as well, but what I tell him is something I've always said in times like this,

"I believe in magic."


Today I am grateful for a conversation with a kid who is great at math and awesome at thinking and those plans we made for a couple of days on the Pinhoti.

getting out the yoga mat

It's the right hamstring which feels tight or it's making sure I'm aware it exists, but it's not unkind. Just acknowledgement. Right? So I change up my routine. Lay off the now 20 lap hill. Attempt yoga, eat, and take it easy on the 5-mile hike.

Today I am grateful for energy, for how my body communicates with me, and for Adriene.

the porch

If we are to judge someone by the way he or she looks sitting on the porch, I would say he looked really, really nice there.


Today I am grateful for the porch and conversations with friends.

gift

It's that waking up from an afternoon nap to see the first person who greets you and giving them a smile which will radiate within them at least until the next morning when they write their gratitude.


Today I am grateful for her.

Ira Byock writes,

Anthropologist Margaret Mead was asked by a student what she considered to be the first sign of civilization in a culture. The student expected Mead to talk about fishhooks or clay pots or grinding stones.

But Mead said that the first sign of civilization in an ancient culture was a femur that had been broken and then healed. Mead explained that in the animal kingdom, if you break your leg, you die. You cannot run from danger, get to the river for a drink or hunt for food.

"A broken femur is evidence that someone has taken time to stay with the one who fell, has bound up the wound, has carried the person to safety and has tended the person through recovery. Helping someone through difficulty is where civilization starts," Mead said.





Today I am grateful for all of those civilized people who have made civilization their life's work.

fashion must go on

You, like me, should probably get caught up on our Yeti series. We're likely to find a gem like this.


Today I am grateful for a walk in the rain, a ride to the grocery, and to see my granny wearing a t-shirt which read, "Fashion must go on."

dinner party in the time of corona

I'm calling it an act of courage, preparing wild turkey breasts in a sous vide for the turkey ninjas and their families. And either they were incredibly kind (it's possible), or they'd been threatened with their lives (more likely), or they actually liked it.


Today I am grateful for a morning rain, leftovers in the refrigerator, and people who do not complain that room temperature water is the only thing served from the pitcher.

I'm not complaining, but

They say you never a forget a face, but I want to threaten that I'll forget his. He would only laugh, and  it would be funny. I'd just rather watch him be humored by me.


Today I am grateful to hear his voice if only for a moment and even if every word he said felt like no to me.

mia

Once they leave me with her she trots far enough ahead that I can barely make out her shadow and at times I even say her name. Even a whisper she can hear.

"Mia."

There are fireflies and distant lights and on the last mile the stars have patterned the sky.

"Mia."


Today I am grateful for a walk and a night sky.

art class

Lisa's place in Como

Today I am grateful for a couple of hours of paint and paper.

big plans

Fresh meat mid-March till the end of April. Turkey breast in the sous vide bath today.


Today I am grateful for food and fresh air.

turkey and watermelon

The first of a falling feeling came yesterday when he called and asked, "Mom, what is going on here?"

"We are trying to flatten a curve, baby. Maintain minimal risk. It's our older population, our immunocompromised people. You are healthy, kid. Stay healthy and minimize your exposure to other people. Be thankful you have Shelbs who is healthy too."


I'm reading Jon Gordon's The Seed about finding purpose and happiness in life and work because purpose is happiness for me. I don't know what's happening, but I am listening to what people tell me.


Today I am grateful for daddy and his dang watermelon seeds.


And in response, I am grateful for your presence.

serve

We have a gym to create, a hill to climb, good food to eat, and a granny who needs to stay at home and have her grandchildren bring her the things she needs.


Today I am grateful for the opportunity to help.

creating a home office

poster paper
tape
thick markers
computer
desk
chair
table
clean break room
private bathroom
gym membership outside the door
friends down the road
and breakfast with family

Today I am grateful for sunshine and smiles, how she pushed through it, him doing the hill with me, their questions, and her sweet face. I am grateful for good health and guidance.

don't want to be him but happy to work for him

You've probably already seen this.


Today I am grateful for a friend in the medical field who shares things on twitter.
I am grateful for a home, internet access, pens, pencils, paper, and a computer.
I am grateful for the guy who calls and tells me what to do.

Sipsey Wilderness

Today I am grateful for a break in the rain and two of my favorite people.

Sardis & Como

Today I am grateful for sunshine, conversation, and the best steak in Mississippi.

fire barrel here

Today I am grateful for a 3 mile morning hike, some scrambled eggs, and cheating the right way at Memphis Barbecue Company last night. I am grateful for a friend who says yes when I ask, "Will you share your home with me?" I am grateful to sit in her throne, drink her coffee, and use her electricity, water, and internet.

Como in deep contrast

Today I am grateful for the power of place.

Listening to this.

spring forward

Today I am grateful to lose an hour so that I can get there faster.

us in response

There was this one game when I got to sit next to him. He needed me for something so he asked and I did and I think there's a part of me who just works for that until, of course, Itakeaweekoff. The break starts tomorrow, but I will be taking you some pictures because I think that's what you and me do.


Today I am grateful for the pictures you paint with your words and your music, but I have to force you to listen to something I think you'll remember here. Spring is coming. The birds have been singing.

day

It's Friday, and I think that means he'll send music.
I hope that's what that means, but I should not need.


Today I am grateful for a day of the week.

the hill waits for no one

Wednesday night worship is a house with kids, and he says he's going to charge me for coming.


Today I am grateful for one who loves to jump, another who snuggles up, a daddy's boy and two who do more filming than reading. I am grateful the rain has let up.

connected

Today I am grateful for connections.

lighting a candle

Today I am grateful for calm and quiet, a clean office, good food, and time.

schooled

He types a question. Doesn't punctuate it but otherwise it's perfect. The question.
I answer but not the way I want to.
It's not about what I want.


Today I am grateful for the opportunity to learn.

sucker for vitamins and new names to things I've never heard of

I've been targeted. I took out a mortgage at Walmart last night.


Today I am grateful for sugar snap peas, a French press, celery, grapes, blueberries, strawberries, a pineapple, and chicken thigh filets. I am grateful for the money which buys my groceries. I am grateful for thick paper towels, soft toilet paper, toothpaste, mouthwash, and an oil. I am grateful for time to walk and stretch and clean my house so I can celebrate tomorrow.