A few months ago, someone told me, about midwestern farmers connecting a rope between their home and their barn, so they could follow it during winter months and not get lost in the snow. This is what a rule of life (or set of guiding principles and corresponding actions) does, the person explained, and urged me to write down mine. I did, but I also wrote this:

It is summer.
I can see
from my front door for miles.
Flowers bloom along the well-marked path.
No need for a guide or careful map.
But I recall
the winter, when
the drifts of snow would pile,
the flurries mute the land to muddied white,
a vacuous cloud, unknowing,blank, descend,
and I got lost
a few steps from my home.
I remember freezing,
left to thaw for spring —
a warmth I could not rush,
no fire I lit, no lantern, lift the fog.
But seasons changed.
I made it home again,
and now it’s summer.
I can see.
But as with frost, this summer will not last.
The winter in its season will return.
And so I take, for rope,
tied from my porch
along the way I walk
the things I know:
The seasons cycle.
Winter is not death.
Sure as the time for famine is the feast.
And though my vision clouds in winter’s fog,
though light too frail to show me path or hearth,
home stands there still,
and blindly trailing this fast rope,
even in winter, I shall reach its warmth.

Karaoke night at the place where I volunteer. I don’t sing in front of other people, but I do dance.

jenbokoff replied to your post: solo

i have a good friend who loves portuguese. i bet he’d hang out with you before you go and teach you the ropes. let me know if you’d like the connection!

UM YES. This is just one of the many reasons why you rock!

I just bought tickets to Brazil & Buenos Aires for 18 days in November.

They cost less than $60, plus (less than half of the) airline miles I’ve accumulated over the past 3 years.

I have friends in BA and family in Brazil.

I plan to rent out my apartment (above cost) while I’m gone.

This should be a cheap trip.

The catch is I’m going alone. I’ve never been alone for so long in a place where I don’t speak the language (I speak Spanish - surely I’ll catch on to Portuguese?). I’m excited to test my ability, to challenge myself, but I’ve also got deep internal butterflies, persistent little guys that continually prod my gut with questions of what if and how.

But rather than keep me from going, if anything, this feeling is a signal to me that the thing in question is a thing I must do, to forbid my anxiety from holding me back.

And no matter what, come winter, I will be one tan, well-rested New Yorker.

{If anyone has relevant travel tips, I’ll gladly take them!}

Even cats like lazy mornings with the New York Times.

This morning when I tried to do my usual Netflix Yoga routine, the video was gone. I tried to search “Pilates” and only got suggestions for pirate movies. I searched “sports and fitness” and was presented with a selection of movies on boxing and monster trucks. What?

I noticed in the comments that numerous people who, like me, use Netflix as a virtual gym have complained of the same problem, so I gave Netflix a call.

In case you were wondering, here’s what’s up: The contract with sports and fitness ended 7/31; they’re renegotiating, and the videos should be back up in 1-2 weeks.

The customer service representative I spoke to informed me she just started yoga, and loved zumba. I mentioned that Netflix streaming has never had zumba, as far as I can tell, and she made a note of my request in my file. Then she credited my account a free month for the inconvenience I’d experienced. Way to be, Netflix.

It’s hard to read the Psalms and envision God as stingy, stiff, or dull:

How priceless is your unfailing love!
Both high and low among men
find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the abundance of your house;
you give them drink from your river of delights.
For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.

{Psalsm 36:7-9}

Yo Tumblr friends-

Remember how I mentioned a second gathering (after that delightful dinner party last winter)?

Well sorry for the late notice but it’s happening today in Prospect Park, 3 pm ish, main lawn. Come out and play!

I’ll have a grill and some food/drinks; bring more to add to the mix. Look for a teal blanket to the right of the main grand army plaza entrance, or message/call/email if you need directions. (if you message and say you’re coming I’ll give you my #)

Feel free to bring friends so you don’t feel like that awkward tumblr person who doesn’t know anyone. You won’t feel like that once you get there, but feel free to bring friends just in case. :)

See you there!

-etceterawhatever

Chicken smoked over cherry wood, freshly made apricot rosemary jam, grünerveltliner. Oh dear God, thank you for making food a thing.

Oh, just some stuff my mom canned over the last week.