Currently | April 2019

Listening to the Becoming Wise podcast. This is a compilation of a bunch of clips from past On Being interviews. I love that they are short. From their own description, "Depth and discovery in the time it takes to make a cup of tea. Each episode is curated from hundreds of Krista Tippett’s big conversations with wise and graceful lives. Reset your day. Replenish your sense of yourself and the world."

Watching some past Game Of Thrones episodes as we get ready for the final season to begin this weekend. I was totally a late adopter to GOT. Katie told me for years, literally years, that we should watch it. I remember originally watching the first episode and feeling like this was totally not the show for me (generally not a zombie/back from the dead/intense violence fan). Fast forward a couple years and I decided to try again - this was before Season 7 came out. Aaron and I ended up binge watching all six seasons and then watching Season 7 as it was released. The storytelling is so darn good. The character development is so darn good. My level of excitement for this final season is high - including lots of recent nights of dreaming about characters from the show. Yep. 

Taking a break from the news for a bit. Actually that's not totally true. I'm taking a break from my obsessive checking of news. I want to keep listening to The Daily each morning and NPR in the car but I think I'll turn off my the NYT alerts on my phone (I have no alerts for anything else turned on for my phone so this will be the end of all alerts). I’ll also listen to a couple podcasts. I have mixed feeling about this. First I always want to acknowledge that I come from a place of privilege to be able to even say I want to take a break from it (meaning that many people are living in the crises I read about/listen to/watch and they don’t have the luxury to “turn it off”). I think for me it’s about paying more attention to what I’m consuming. Is it mindless? Is it habit? And what is the result of all my increased awareness of politics/news? Is it spurring me to action within my own community or am I just consuming it?

Enjoying all the pops of yellow out in my yard as my daffodils and tulips bloom. This year I planted a bunch of them in pots and I've loved seeing them all come up together.

Reading two books right now. The first one I'm reading during the day because it's too scary for me to read at night: I'll Be Gone In The Dark: One Women's Obsessive Search For The Golden State Killer. The second one I'm reading before bed is one of my BOTM picks for April: Miracle Creek by Angie Kim. Both are so far, so good

Shopping for a Stand Up Paddle Board. I want to incorporate this into my summer activities this year. Any one have any recommendations? I want to be able to load it on top of my car by myself and take it out to a local lake.  

Eating vegetables. Seriously trying to increase my intake and feeling good about that slice of life. Enjoying recipes from New York Times Cooking and Pinch Of Yum. I also recently added The Forest Feast cookbook to my collection. Love the design and love the simplicity of her approach to cooking/serving vegetables. 

Writing up your own "currently" list is an awesome way to document right now. It does't have to take a lot of time and is an excellent way to "start with story" - meaning you are getting the words down first and can then flow them into a layout or other paper project if you want to at another time.  

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22 thoughts

  1. prueger6 says…
    04/09/2019

    My husband has a great SUP we ordered from Cabelas. He can carry it and it fits in the back of our truck. There were several options on length. They are big though!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      04/09/2019

      Cool - thank you!

  2. Chreamps says…
    04/09/2019

    On Young House Love has a Podcast they mentioned one that the husband John has and loves. It blows up but looks very sturdy. This is it:

    https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07921FF6J?ascsubtag=.Njg5MTEtMTE1MQ.b48abb81-5ac2-11e9-a93a-813069d9c69d&tag=rewardstyle-20

    This is the podcast where they talk about it (down in their favorites).

    https://www.younghouselove.com/podcast-105/

    They got it because they are redoing (and have done one house) in Virginia Beach area and wanted something that was easy to get back and forth. HTH.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      04/09/2019

      Thank you!

  3. kalibetsy says…
    04/09/2019

    My husband and I have blow up ones, which sounds sketchy, but you can drive an SUV over them and they will be fine. They are super light like maybe 17 pounds. I can put them on top of the car myself, when they are blown up. One issue though is that I cannot blow them up myself and an electric pump will not complete the job, so I do rely on my husband to finish blowing mine up, however, once they are blown up no problem. We ordered ours from Amazon and spent about $900 for them, but our friends ordered the newer version last year and they were much less. My advice is don't skimp on the price for one for you. One of the things I like about the blow up ones is that I feel completely safe knowing for some reason.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      04/09/2019

      Thanks for the suggestion!

  4. HayleyMacon says…
    04/09/2019

    Love your take on the news. So important to acknowledge our privilege, but find the line where we're consuming mindfully and for the purposes of inspiring us to action.

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      04/09/2019

      Yes, exactly.

  5. tcmoniz says…
    04/09/2019

    Consider an inflatable SUP - I researched a ton last summer and invested in an iRocker. There are new versions of mine for 2019 - I have the 10.5 foot one, I think, nearly 3 feet wide. When inflated, they are hard as a rock - very stable. I am not super coordinated, so didn’t expect to stand up immediately, but I did! I also ordered the kayak kit (seat and par for converting SUP paddle), and find I love being able to switch it up. (I “kayak” more than I SUP!). :)

    After inflating with the hand pump the first time, I ordered the electric pump, which comes with attachments for cigarette light or battery, so you can inflate and deflate wherever you are parked.

    The SUP comes with a storage bag, ankle strap, hand pump, and paddle.

    And yes, it really is super easy to roll them back up - I inflated mine for the first time this season a couple of days ago, went on the lake for an hour, then deflated and rolled it back up for storing overnight. Took about 10 minutes on either end to set up/take down. :)

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. tcmoniz says…
      04/09/2019

      Note - my electric pump also came from iRocker, and it does fully inflate the SUP. :). (We have two SUPs, and would rather wear ourselves out paddling, versus pumping.)

  6. alleycatmom says…
    04/09/2019

    I love love love that you acknowledge this: "... I come from a place of privilege to be able to even say I want to take a break from it (meaning that many people are living in the crises I read about/listen to/watch and they don’t have the luxury to “turn it off”)."

    I'm kind of addicted to the horror show and I still have alerts for NYT and WaPo but I'm trying to just "check" cable news at the top of the house a few times a day. And I'm signed up for a couple of newsletters. A good one that summarizes political news of the day is called WTF Just Happened Today. I also like Brian Stelter's Reliable Sources nightly newsletter. The Daily is a can't miss, however ;) Michael Barbaro... and his... pauses...

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. sneakerwaves says…
    04/09/2019

    Just finished a book you must read, if you haven't already. Harry's Trees by Jon Cohen. Although somewhat of a light, entertaining read on the surface (escape from the news???!!), it has heavy underlying messages. Throughout the book the message is "we all have a story to tell." I thought of you many times while reading.

    It is nothing like The Overstory, even though "trees" is in the title. Read Harry's Trees.

    As a retired journalist, I find it difficult to breakaway from all my news sources and alerts. I'm trying to cut back. Loved what you wrote about "coming from a place of privilege to be able to even say I want to take a break from it..." It saddens me when the lead stories read, sound more like something that should be on E Entertainment. There are so many families that still have no help from FEMA and insurance companies from devastating fires and hurricanes, and floods. And the news obsesses about the admission scandals and building a wall. Anyway..... read Harry's Trees.

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. kellybeis says…
    04/09/2019
    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      04/09/2019

      Thank you!

  9. snhackett328 says…
    04/09/2019

    Another vote here for an inflatable SUP. My boyfriend and I ordered ours from eBay (after he did some research on the different types--we wanted to be able to store them on our sailboat easily). The seller name was tantrumtowropes. Mine is 10 ft and all of our kids (including my 6'2" son) are able to use it. Mine came with the paddle, storage bag, and patch kit (which I haven't had to use). The storage bag has two straps so you can carry it in it's deflated state on your back. I can easily carry it when it is inflated, and I am 5'3". I spent about $400. Hope this helps!

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. stephnace says…
    04/09/2019

    i’ll be gone in the dark, is so good!

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. tealmyre says…
    04/09/2019

    Your insight on the news - wow.

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. kelly_watson says…
    04/11/2019

    Ali, thanks for mentioning the Becoming Wise Podcast. Love these little highlight conversations. So good!

    Reply 1 Reply
    1. AliEdwards says…
      04/11/2019

      You are welcome - it's so good. Love those little bits from the longer interviews.

  13. SueTR says…
    04/11/2019

    I have turned off all alerts except for NYT at this point and I am still a fairly big NPR junkie (we have a great station here in Boston). I read the Boston Globe every morning at breakfast. I have found I am much calmer without the constant barrage of news blips, and yes thank you for reminding us of the privilege to turn off the noise and the horror. Listening to crafty/inspirational podcasts and music more and it is way less stressful !! Now if I could stop checking Facebook... xo

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. tigerltd says…
    04/12/2019

    I read I’ll be gone in the dark last year. Half way through reading it was when they caught him. It totally blew me away. I found it so sad that the author passed away before she could be part of that capture. I’ve been following along with the case and watching the series on Foxtel here in Australia all about him. So glad the victims and families can finally get some sort of closure. Enjoy the read 😀

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. msfergie says…
    04/15/2019

    I would recommend looking at a blow up SUP. I use one for yoga on the lake and it is lovely, and especially nice because you can deflate it and carry it around anywhere!

    Reply 0 Replies

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