The small, ordinary, good things keeping me going from food to books to movies and beyond
Good Things of the Moment
Hi friends,
I saw a post from a fellow Canadian this week that basically said, “This season of America is wild. The writers are really throwing everything at the wall, eh?” Folks I’ve talked to right now tell me it feels like we’ve all lived a decade in a week. So maybe it’s not a bad thing that it’s time for our good things of the moment. For our newer subscribers, this is the occasionally-regular edition of Field Notes that follows our book chat when we share the small - and sometimes not-so-small - things that have brought us a measure of goodness lately.1
Today, I’m sharing a favourite pair of summer pants, a couple of the funny Reels I have sent to my friends lately, a movie that was just a nice escape, a vibe-y album, my current favourite non-alcoholic summer drink, a new grilling recipe that involves a lot of cilantro and mint (apologies to all those who think cilantro tastes of soap), a way to help during this wildfire season here, and more of the small things bringing me that necessary measure of goodness these days. And just as a reminder, this is a sponsored-content-free zone because I’m nobody’s influencer.2 These are just things I genuinely experienced myself so I feel good talking about them with you.
❤️ As always, first up: A Good Thing That Matters
Our hearts are with those fleeing and fighting the wildfires in northern Alberta and BC as well as across Canada and the USA. An evacuation alert was issued just last night for the town of Jasper which isn’t too far from us. Last I checked, more than 170 fires in Alberta alone are actively burning with more than 20 out of control. Thousands up north have been evacuated, while whole towns are under threat. The weather is so much hotter than usual at this time of year, conditions are dry, the wind is up, and there is no rain in the forecast. If you would like to assist families through the Canadian Red Cross’s Wildfire Fund which can help with anything from preparedness to relief to long term recovery, here’s the link. Take care of yourselves and each other these days, eh?
📖 A Good Line
“The only place to begin is where I am, and whether by desire or disaster, I am here. My being here is not dependent on my recognition of the fact. I am here anyway. But it might help if I could learn to look around.” - Pádraig Ó Tuama from his beautiful book, In the Shelter: Finding a Home in the World (emphasis mine)
📚 Reading
For my fellow bookworms, last week’s Book Corner is right here with all my favourite recent reads and some Kindle deals for you, too. We’re still having a great chat in the comments about books there, too.