Fifty Things I'm Savoring: Late June
Wild daisies, oysters at 4, petrichor, and Katherine Hepburn.
“You can’t change the music of your soul.” – Katharine Hepburn
It’s been raining in the Catskills. The kind of rain that smells like stone and ash and pine needles. In fact, there’s a word for this scent: petrichor, from petro- , meaning ‘relating to rocks’1 and ichor from Greek mythology, meaning ‘the fluid that flows like blood in the veins of the gods,’ (which is exactly the kind of linguistic perfection that gets my heart racing.) Our house is at the end of a long gravel road, flanked by pine forests where deer startle and graze. There isn’t much to do here, and there is so much to do. Make bouquets of wild daisies and grass. Swing the baby. Cook eggs in the skillet. Heal childhood trauma. And of course, contact the spirit of Katherine Hepburn.
Katherine Hepburn died twenty one years ago this Saturday, and for the last few summers I’ve been celebrating her life. I don’t know when I first discovered her; whether it was the scene with the leopard or her love of white tennis shoes, but I instantly recognized a part of myself in her essence. We share a reluctance for dresses “how can you explore in a dress?!”2 and a disdain for being told what we can and can’t do: she famously waltzed through a film studio in her underwear after someone (a man) on set asked her not to wear pants.3 Katherine lived on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in Turtle Bay, rode her bike everywhere and kept a house in Connecticut she’d visit on weekends, with a sign in the driveway saying “Please Go Away.” There is something electric about her. Something equally stoic and romantic, deeply enthusiastic and childlike, playful and old-fashioned. I think she’s absolutely fantastic.
Last night we watched On Golden Pond like we do every year at this time. I love the way she warbles at the loons, the way her face lights up about the wild strawberries “oodles and oodles of them!” and the way she loves her crotchety old husband Norman Thayer Jnr. “What are you doing with an old son-of-a-bitch like me?” “I haven’t the faintest idea.” Another thing I love about Katherine Hepburn is that she ate steak, beetroot soup and her famous chocolate brownies4 for lunch almost every day until she passed of natural causes at age 96 in her childhood home. “[A friend] took away three pieces of advice from her acquaintance with Katharine Hepburn: 1) Never quit. 2) Be yourself. 3) Don't put too much flour in your brownies.”
It’s late June, and these are the things I am savoring:
when the sky glows pink at sunrise
the toddler’s blonde curls
a long morning walk
hot salty scrambled eggs
a quiet place to work
a supportive friend
a supportive bed
wild daisies
wood smoke
kids overalls
the wind raking the trees
dreams that excite me
the glimmer of possibility
doormen
air conditioning
driving in the rain
the wood fired hot tub
favorite pants
mushroom coffee
oysters at 4
a birthday lunch date
skillet toast with butter and jam
a room lined with books
tree swings
a long kiss
a tiny red lizard with spots
the dishes being done
not being tired
old friends
new friends
living vicariously
petrichor
strawberry rhubarb jam
sweet porridge with cream
long car catch-ups with my husband
organizing my Pinterest boards
being bored of social media
a bag of cherries
receiving a lost hat in the mail
roasted marshmallows
contacting my inner child
walking to the pond
the wind in the bullrushes
stretching on the deck at noon
listening to childhood songs
the washer/ dryer
good socks
inner peace
What are you savoring this season? I’d love to hear. And who’s making Katherine’s brownies this weekend?
Sophie
Petrichor is believed to be caused by a liquid mixture of organic compounds which collect in the ground, but maybe also it’s the blood in the veins of the gods.
At the age of nine, Hepburn had her head shaved, then ran and put on her older brother’s clothes. “I had a phase as a child when I wished I was a boy because I thought boys had all the fun,” she told biographer Charlotte Chandler, in I Know Where I’m Going: Katharine Hepburn: A Personal Biography.
According to legend, during Hepburn's time at RKO studio, someone stole her dungarees to discourage her from wearing pants and make her conform to the studio's preferred image of a star. However, instead of giving in to the pressure, Hepburn walked around the studio lot in her underwear, insisting she wouldn't dress until her pants were returned to her.
“Katharine is currently the record holder for the most Leading Actress Oscar awards (4 to be exact). She was beautiful. She was smart. She was unafraid to express her opinion. All this, and the woman knew how to make killer chocolate brownies. They broke the mold with Katharine Hepburn.” Katherine Hepburn’s Favorite Brownie Recipe
Yes to it all!! 💗