Fifty Things I'm Savoring: Late July
Oil paintings, ice cream, rust, wood smoke and alpaca fur.
“The moment I realized I would be a mother longer than I was a non-mother was the moment that I realized I wanted motherhood to be a significant aspect of my work and creative pursuits. You change when you become a mother, so your work should, too.” – Julie O’Rourke, Rudy Jude
I’ve finally settled like a yogurt. At first, after arriving in upstate New York, I seethed with an inexplicable anxiety. Nothing was right. Everything was difficult. Being uprooted from our normal soil and replanted in a foreign climate is quite enough for a tomato plant, let alone for a human being. I love to travel, but I always forget just how challenging it is to spend weeks at a time seemingly marooned in a small, somewhat boring town. I must have told Isaac fifty four times in the last four weeks that I very much don’t like it here, and can we please never come back?
I’m not sure what changed the last few days. Maybe the adaptogenic not-coffee1 is working. Maybe it’s the neural reprogramming work I’m doing. Maybe it was booking myself and my daughter on an earlier flight to France with the sole intention of seeing the ocean. Whatever it is, I finally feel good again. Like maybe tomorrow is Christmas, after all. There’s a sense of possibility (which favorite holidays seem to carry in spades); a promise of good things just around the corner, of warm surprises and warm drinks, of crinkling paper and ribbons; a feeling like magic just might actually exist.
Whatever it is, I’m grateful for it. All the memories of frustration only heightens the relief I have now in being fully present. I can savor this time. I can breathe. I can create. It’s late July, and these are the things I am savoring.
oil paintings of the sea
a box of vintage baby clothes for 50c each
the sound of the rain at night
staying up late reading everything
sunlight in the forest
blue stone gravel
the color of rust
voice notes from friends
waterfall swims
grandmothers
jackpot antique stores
courage
morning cuddles
rewatching favorite shows2
choc chip cookie dough ice cream 3
long slow walks with a toddler
moss
finding new books for bookclub4
anticipation
booking surprise dates for my husband
afternoon French toast
a $45 green and red quilt
new ideas that stick
thunder and lightning
the baby sleeping til 7:30am
recommitting
reassessing
walks to the pond
a perfectly aged basket
three minute toddler hugs
having nothing to prove
the wood fired hot tub at night
long hours studying the history of French furniture
an energizing hike
watching a movie alone at night
finding a dream coat for winter
the wildflowers
alpaca fur anything
nursing the baby to sleep
late night French lessons
packing a suitcase
my sons love of fishing
gingham anything
meeting a red golden retriever named Greta
evening bonfires
How are you traveling? Where are you traveling? What are you savoring this late July in your part of the world?
x Sophie
POST SCRIPTS
Coveting/ fantasizing unrealistically about dragging across country – this cast iron clawfoot bathtub, this vintage cast iron and enamel stove, this 1966 Chevrolet step-side, and far too many oil paintings.
Manifesting – Christmas in the Cotswolds.
Wearing: Salter House lamb nightdress
Ordering – Plasticana jellies, made of hemp!
Reading – The Whalebone Theater, by Joanna Quinn
I mix a big batch of this chickpea coffee with reishi, ashwagandha and chaga powders. Then I make it in a French press or teapot and drink all throughout the day. I swear the iced version tastes almost exactly like coffee (I’ve been coffee-free for 7 years!)
Jules and I have started Clarkson’s Farm, again. All three seasons. We can’t get enough.
The favorite gelato flavor of my inner child.
My next choices for our book club are The Maiden by Kate Foster, set in 16th century Scotland, followed by The Cook of Castomar, by Fernando J. Muñez, set in 18th century Spain. Looking forward to being transported yet again!
How are you traveling? Where are you traveling? What are you savoring this late July in your part of the world?
Fifty Things I'm Savoring: Late July
* Evangeline: Stephen Sanchez (https://youtu.be/mkqEmQsPzfA?feature=shared)… just can’t get enough
* Konstanz (https://www.airbnb.com/slink/VqmYGwrx ) on my mind…you’ve got me dreaming (anytime works for me 😊) There are actually a couple places I stay. Great hosts all around! IF I could travel abroad right now, this is where I’d go…always. So to answer the “how/where am I traveling”…North Carolina, by automobile
* Peacocks 🦚, yes peacocks. One crossed the road in front of me while I was driving this morning 😂
* A protective fur baby
* Caving and eating the mashed potatoes (potatoes are my kryptonite…wait that would be cheese 🫣!)
* Organic bone broth
* Vanilla chai and turmeric tea
* Early morning epson salt baths before work
* Making a difference
* Marrow bones (fur babies insisted I add this)
* The sound of flowing water
* An active imagination
* Releasing myself from guilt
* MUSE
* We Will Make It
* Supportive friends
* People who ‘get me’
* Anyone that makes me ‘snort’ when I laugh 🤭 (how embarrassing yet carefree)
* Allowing the dream
* Moving forward
* Spontaneous song
* Closing chapters
* Clean sheets
* ICE!!!
* Big ideas
* Celebrating friends accomplishments
* God’s whispers to me
* Thunderstorms
* Sunrise
* Starry nights
* Night sounds
* Daybreak sounds
* Eagles overhead
* Catch Me If You Can
* Clearing clutter
* Sacral Authority
* Full nights sleep
* The call of my acoustic guitars
* Remembering
* Tears…wine
* Healing
* Troubleshooting (some) issues
* Allowing others to be themselves, without changing who I am
* Pepperidge Farms Baby Goldfish
* Reflection
* Alignment
* Introduction to Svaroopa Yoga poses
* Family safety (following a car accident and a fire two weeks later)
* Hope
* Transformation