HOME

This week we closed on the house we’ve been renting, and now we begin the list of backyard and interior renovation projects that will continue through the fall of this year.

Signing up for more projects feels like a mountain to climb, but I’m taking it a day at a time and leaving room in our schedule for plenty of time outside and with friends and family to balance out the disruption home projects can add to an already full schedule. I’m reminding myself daily that this is just one season of our life and that by fall we’ll feel much more settled and ready for the next season of life.

One of the ways I ground myself is with a “Mister Rogers” daily reset. Remember how he used to hang up his coat and change into his sweater when he came home for the day? I have my own version of that practice by bookending my day with meditative daily tasks. I begin my day by opening the curtains, checking our YNAB budget, watering the garden, walking our dog on a trail with my husband, and exercising with a dance or free weight workout even if I only have 20 minutes.

At the end of the day I slow things down with a leisurely neighborhood walk or watch a show I enjoy (lately I’ve been watching Thirty-Nine) or one that we enjoy as a family before reading a few pages in my book and drifting off to sleep.

I enjoyed this video on the Malama Life You Tube channel (*link has sound) and this podcast on The Lazy Genius Collective to help me stay focused on what matters in my life and areas that need a little extra tending to this season.

GARDEN

The spring green that usually greets us after our spring break vacation was running a little late this year, but it is finally here to enjoy. With 80-degree temperatures and spring rain, the flowers are popping up and the garden is exploding with growth.

This year I’m focusing on a small collection of raised garden beds to keep things simple. I’ve added one extra long raised bed so that I can have the cucumbers grow up and across this trellis while tomatoes planted underneath have partial shade for the Texas heat.

An abundance of heat-loving flowers and native plants for pollinators are going to keep our garden thriving through the hottest parts of the summer. For now, I’m enjoying the luxury of cooler mornings and spring temperatures that allow me to grow snap peas, chamomile, snapdragons, fava beans, strawberries, and greens.

Gardening resources for April in Central Texas

WELLNESS

I love this video that combines a love story and dance. Every Summertime: A Love Story

CREATIVE

Have you watched Making Fun on Netflix? Kids give builders their ideas for anything from unicorn cycles to pizza cannons and the team must bring their ideas to life.

BOOKSHELF
April is National Poetry Month. To kick off the month, I finished a memoir by poet Elizabeth Alexander called The Light of the World.

In her memoir, Elizabeth Alexander shares her love story with Ficre Ghebreyesus and the loss that followed his sudden death. Elizabeth Alexander has a dream about him one morning after his death that makes her consider taking a morning nap every morning to keep her memory of Ficre alive.

“I think I will keep mornings free for the rest of my life.” - Elizabeth Alexander

But, of course, life moves on with her two teenage boys, and she must move forward under the weight of her grief. She’s reminded of Ficre in the backyard garden, in his art studio, and in the people he loved.

Ficre was a refugee from Asmara, Eritrea who was born into the harsh realities of war. After living in many different countries and states in the United States, he finally settled in New Haven, Connecticut. Throughout his life’s work, he touched many lives along the way in his abstract art and his restaurants.

One of my favorite descriptions of Ficre was one that was one chosen by someone at an Italian school where he was a student. They described Ficre as a mangia-libro or “book-eater” because he consumed so many books!

It was by chance that I picked up this book to read on March 21st, the same day that Ficre Ghebreyesus was born. The book mentions that March 21st is believed to be a day when ancient souls are born with a sense of wonder.

“Perhaps tragedies are only tragedies in the presence of love, which confers meaning to loss. Loss is not felt in the absence of love.” - Elizabeth Alexander

“Painting was the miracle, the final act of defiance through which I exorcised the pain and reclaimed my sense of place, my moral compass and my love for life.” - Ficre Ghebreyesus, Elizabeth Alexander’s late husband

In my ears this month is the book The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See. I ’ve loved listening to the book, but I think I’d like to get the hard copy to re-read to soak in all the historical details. Between the K-dramas I’ve been watching, following the Hamimommy You Tube Channel, (*link may have sound), and listening The Island of the Sea Women, I’m intrigued to learn more about South Korea. I find myself looking up current events that pop up as themes in the K-dramas and historical events that I read about.

I discovered Libro.fm’s audiobook tour playlist called “South Korea” and added a few titles to my wish list.

Get a free audiobook when you sign up for a new membership with Libro.fm*

Poetry is a vessel for distilling the powerful and mundane moments in our lives. Begin or end your day by filling your ears with poetry and prose from these inspiring poets.

Share your favorite poets, poems, or poetry books in the comments below.

COMMUNITY

In Thailand the pandemic helped a famous beach recover from an onslaught of tourists

TAKE ACTION - Texans for the Right to Read

You Don’t Need a Crystal Ball - the psychology of warnings (*link may have sound)

Enjoy your weekend!

Get involved in your community. VOTE. Speak out. Volunteer. Take action.

“Do your little bit of good where you are. It’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” -Desmond Tutu