August 25, 2023
Happy Friday!
Here are 5 things that I am finding interesting, inspiring and just plain cool this week.
đ° Burning out and sinking into a depressive episode in July created a black hole of mold-y hell in my fridge. For the past SEVEN WEEKS, this was weighing on my brain. Every time I opened the fridge, I felt shame and guilt, but I couldnât bring myself to clean because I knew the smells, sight, and texture would make me want to hurl đ€ź. But one of my favorite books of 2023, How to Keep House While Drowning changed the way I think about my home. My home needs to be functional for me. Rotting food in my tupperware was not functional. So⊠I threw it all away. Plastic tupperware and all. Sorry Mom! And sorry environment! Truthfully, I am still cringing with shame at what Iâve done (and the fact that Iâm even sharing it with you). But waste happens. We all go through times when our best laid plans just donât happen. Yet food waste carries a particular sense of shame. More than throwing out a smelly old pair of shoes. BecauseâŠÂ âYou should have eaten that.â âIf you knew you werenât going to eat it, why didnât you throw it away sooner?â âYou shouldnât have made/purchased more food until you finished the leftovers.â These judgments arenât helpful. It just keeps us in a place where food rots in our fridge for literal months.
đ€Ż But I realized how I could start fresh by simply reorganizing. So I see (and then eat) foods that go bad quickly and hide things that I donât need as much. Duh, right? Yet most of us donât take that strategy to our kitchens. I tucked away my condiments, placed ALL fruits and veg on the door, and decided I will never use my crisper drawers again. I also bought new glass tupperware so that if things do go bad, I can see it and they are easier to clean and wonât let smells linger. This wonât fix everything, but Iâm hopeful itâll make it a lot better. Check out the book (above) and this podcast episode where KC Davis talks about how taking care of yourself is in service of taking care of the world.
đĄ Little moments of connection â I spent some time lounging with my dog in my apartment courtyard the other night. Over the course of an hour we had 6 people come and join us. I felt like I was in college again and we even talked about ways to make the courtyard feel more like a welcoming Third Place (more on this topic later). Anyway, it was a nice post-pandemic reminder that putting yourself out there to find friends and community can be as simple as just leaving home.Â
â A cafe where you can get your coffee with a side of culture.â What happens when you merge seemingly separate concepts like coffee shops and cultural ephemera? And all from a personal collection of Black magazines, movies, decor and artwork! Now, Iâm thinking about my local coffeeshops as collections from the ownerâs and workersâ interestsâŠ
đ On Thursday, I took a moment to consider and celebrate all the folks responsible for my morning coffee and loved the feeling of connection it gave me to people all around the world and how I can be more grateful in my daily life.
đ Reading Entangled Life this week, which is all about the world of fungi and how much we donât know about them. I particularly like the discussion about how fungi are everywhere and in everything, shaping and influencing our everyday life.
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