Welcome! This week, a little photo-essay of the things that keep us smiling and keep us busy as we transition into summer holidays, plus a few quotes from articles from around the web.

Winnipeg has been getting a lot of rain. The skies above it are often filled with painting-worthy clouds and dramatic light. On the way to the pool one evening, I just managed to catch a tiny rainbow.

My mother-in-law moved from a main-floor room with a basement window to a second-floor room with a regular window. I can now wave to her from the parking lot! At the MCC Thrift Store on Chalmers the other week, we found a comptometer like the one she used when she worked at Eaton’s in the 50’s. (Previous mention in 2023.)

The peonies are blooming and I couldn’t resist taking a picture of a home-made bouquet of them on a desk at Artists Emporium.

Long daylight hours mean that Christian and I can go on exploratory bike rides in the evening, getting a feel for neighbourhoods that is different from taking a car. When we last explored Warde Avenue’s funny breaks and continuation, the Bonavista neighbourhood was still being built. The difference in atmosphere from our comparatively middle-age neighbourhood is perhaps in part because Bonavista is a master-planned community. (And it feels similar to ones visited in Airdrie, AB!)

Here I present my second sourdough ever… It was better than the first and the family has been spoiling me with encouragement. Keeping natural leaven alive produces discard and I’m now on the third batch of Discard Crackers. Turmeric and black pepper happens to be a very healthy combo and a fairly addictive snack.

For our daughter’s birthday we went to Blufish downtown, where the soy sauce was served in such cute ceramic vases, we mistook the presentation for missing a flower rather than hiding a condiment.

My Mom sent us a packet of Magic Fire and we experienced our first backyard campfire with colourful flames. One packet lasts a surprisingly long time.

Quotes

On the subject of beauty: In a Youtube video about typography and book design, designer Klaus Krogh says: “I think beauty and faith is interlocked. The beauty of the language for prayers, the beauty within, we’re trying to make it show on the outside, and that’s our deepest inspiration.” (Around the 5 minute mark.)

On the subject of courage: “Courage is an ancient predisposition that has played a protective role on the stress.” Hearing about “the courage response” to stress on a podcast, I was immediately intrigued, and found a scientific paper on the subject. Incidentally, it is common in French to wish a person “bon courage”, whereas in English, we commonly wish people “good luck”. What’s nice about the French expression is that you are recognizing a behavioural approach that implies agency.

On the subject of negativity: A study linked and excerpted on Marginal Revolution shows how negativity gradually increases over time because negative responses stand out, more than positive responses. “[…] analyses suggest that negativity rises over time because social media users seek to make unique comments on the same topic, and it is easier to differentiate oneself through negative comments than through positive comments. As threads and communities evolve, and it becomes more difficult to make unique observations, users turn to negativity.” This feels true in real life, where the greater effort must be devoted to focusing on what is constructively positive rather than destructively negative.

On the pitfalls of rationalization: In an article titled “You don’t have to swallow frogs” Andrea Pitzer writes, “But the truth for nearly everyone is simpler. You don’t have to turn your back on the big issues, but you also don’t have to import the entire national crisis into your personal one. You just have to think for yourself. Know what tradition you’re aligned with, whether it’s a philosophical one, a religious one, or one that rises out of a particular past oppression—or all of the above. There might even be a group or a school of thought you’re reacting against. If you haven’t thought about these things before, read less daily news and try to find an approach that reflects what matters to you. Having answers to that will do a lot to give you direction.”

On the subject of human dignity in design: I really liked this article by Sara Hendren titled “Pattern Recognition”. She discusses dignity in relation to design (and includes this definition of what dignity is by Helmut Thielicke: “Dignity is not a possession to be more fairly meted out but a universally contingent relational force […]”) and includes examples of design that incorporates human dignity, from babies to the elderly. Sequestered dementia patients are a fact of the society I live in, but reading about places where that isn’t the case is heartening.

Eating

My friend invited me for an al-fresco lunch in her backyard and made the Jennifer Aniston Salad. It was delicious!

For a snack table in our garage for our daughter’s outdoor birthday party, I had fun cutting “handles” for the watermelon, an idea I saw here!

Walking the dog

Here’s a picture to bookend the spring season of walking the dog, now that summer holidays have begun and Christian has taken over the doggy duties!

Happy Sunday!

An almost poem

I was struck earlier this week by how when I go about making a new habit, I'm uncomfortably clumsy at first. The scene: I'm tying the dog to the playground structure so I can hang from the monkey bars. It's all awkward and I don't feel good hanging from the bars yet. But in this as in anything, it takes a little while before you develop a deftness that looks like grace.

Another moment, that afternoon: As I cross Marion Street, a delivery man has hefted a box over his shoulder and steps down from the back of his truck as his other hand catches the strap that pulls down the door as he steps down from the platform and traces an arc from the street to the curb to the reception desk.

An exchange: My mother-in-law is sitting as a passenger as I drive down the tree-lined street to our house. She says: “ceux qui sont nés pour un petit pain, ça vaut rien… elle avait raison ma mère quand elle disait ça!”
“Aimes-tu des gros pains?” I ask.
“Oui!” She says.
“Moi aussi!” I say.

Later that evening: I'm driving home from having dropped her off. The sun is setting. Its rays reflect on the power lines that swoop over the road, making them shiny pink against the dark mauve clouds.

Quote

John Green is talking about the good feeling of cheering on a team, and yet his concluding line strikes an oddly spiritual note: "But hope is still correct because things might get better, especially when we all orient our love in the same direction.”

Courage

I'm inspired by high ideals - like seeing the medical staff on “The Pitt” or reading about nurses in the oncology ward at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in the book Toms River. The author writes:

Many parents practically lived in the ward and went home only to shower and change clothes before rushing back. The nurses worked under the unforgiving gaze of mothers and fathers driven half-mad by lack of sleep and the sight of their children enduring a pitiless cycle of excruciating needle sticks, nausea attacks, and dressing changes. Parents would frequently take out their anger on the nurses, and the nurses who lasted on the ward learned to respond without rancor or condescension. (p 252 - emphasis mine)

What an amazing skill!

Granola

I have been making granola for myself as a snack for years, one batch lasting about a month. I first used a recipe from Orangette's blog and then switched to Joshua McFadden's in Six Seasons because it is very similar and omits the pecans. Consider this an ode to something simple I am grateful for.

National Geographic

This week I finished watching a National Geographic series titled "Photographer" It reminded me of Chef's Table... you get to feel like you're living in someone else's life for a little bit and you get to admire people who have great talent.

Episode 1, featuring Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier had these concluding remarks: "I have no desire to go live in a fricken' glass bubble. We are living in heaven, to think that there's been four billion years of evolution to arrive at this moment of perfection where, you know, this place is just beautiful. Where we can swim in crystal-clean water and you're surrounded by grizzly bears and black bears and there's whales that come up to you. And it's here and now." I like being reminded of the beauty of the earth!

Creative work

And I really appreciated a moment in Episode 2, from the above series, featuring Anand Varma, when he's recalling the first story he pitched to the magazine: "I had just pitched an idea that I did not know how to execute." He generously shares how challenging it was to translate an interesting subject (parasites) into an intriguing picture, that was not copying another photographer's style, that was intentional and new and that ended up making the front cover of the magazine. But it had been a struggle. At one point Varma says "None of it was working and I took over 5,000 pictures. I felt stuck. It was completely paralyzing."

It's similar to a frustration Hattie Crisell identifies with writing. She quotes, in her Substack, from a book titled Art and Fear by David Bayles… “The artist’s life is frustrating not because the passage is slow, but because he imagines it to be fast.” Crisell comments: “Ugh - so true. I write every day, but it takes me so long for an idea to crystallize and become substantial.” I so agree!

Enjoyed

An interview with Samin Nosrat on Song Exploder.

Postcard

This week's snapshot captures this year's first pelican! What a beautiful big bird!

Happy Sunday!