Week 12 (2022)
front-lawn gardens & community idealism, home prices & mixed-use buildings, transitional tumult & miscarriage, summer care & stewarding for public joy
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reading: books
East Of Eden, John Steinbeck — audio — The audiobook is 25 hours and I started and completed it this past week. Honestly, I was surprised at how easy to digest and enveloping this story was. The classic stories are loved for good reason, and they may be lengthly… but not always difficult to read! This is a rich tale of the relationships and a dive into the psyche of human nature.
reading: essays, articles, newsletters
Subverting Two-Pocket Thinking With Public Joy — Tim Soerens, Comment — “To love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and strength and to love your neighbour as yourself means that all our many gifts should be oriented toward the mission of creating as much public joy as is conceivably possible…
There are crucial conversations we need to keep having about how we use what we have. But let’s not forget that our faith commands us to remember.”
The Past And Potential Future Of The Summer Care Scramble — Anne Helen Peterson, Culture Study — There are few things I love more than a good discussion of sociological data and observations! Regardless of what you ultimately think possible solutions should be, this is a fascinating conversation about the problems affecting summer care — and how differently it is handled by people across socioeconomic groups and across time.
Localism, Intentionality, And Utopia — Russell Arben Fox, Front Porch Republic — “Every localist concern involves looking at a neighborhood, an association, or a community, and tending to it. That tending, however, unless wholly and unthinkingly reactionary… cannot help but involve an ideal, a vision–something that is intended.
That intentionality, like comprehensiveness, can be dangerous is a simple sociological fact, but it is also that which grants community the transformative promise—whether personal or collective or both…”
Can We Please Stop Fighting About Gardens — Seairra Sheppard, Strong Towns — “It seems apparent my community is tired of striving for a sense of conformity, and would prefer adaptability and practicality in their living situations…
Flat, trimmed, bland, grassy lawns are a thing of the past. Literally, grassy lawns exist to prove you are not a peasant. Big, green lawns became a popular status symbol in the ages of Washington and Jefferson, over 200 years ago. When you had enough financial resources to waste land by priming it for aesthetic purposes only, that’s what you did. Lush green grass not only produces nothing for mankind, but it isn’t productive or helpful in protecting our wildlife, either.”
Why Are Used Homes So Expensive? — Seth, Build The Next Right Thing — It’s on the brain, as we Baumeisters are actively house hunting.… and not even in a large, hip city! [Related, with an emphasis on zoning: Does Not Compute by Addison Del Mastro]
Praise For Small Mixed-Use Buildings — Seth, Build The Next Right Thing — “Most American zoning ordinances, from the very beginning, were very focused on the separation of uses. The idea being that shops and offices were actively detrimental to the health of residential streets…
I would go so far that we should actively encourage the creation of these little storefronts (property tax incentives, grants, bonus density, etc.) because of their positive spill-over effects on the neighborhood.”
After Miscarriages, Workers Have Few Guarantees For Time Off Or Job-Based Help — Bryce Covert, KHN — “The physical needs of someone who experiences a miscarriage vary greatly… The aftereffects are often unpredictable and can last for weeks or months. ‘Miscarriage is not a one-and-done thing at all,’ Salem said. ‘It drags on physically, mentally, and emotionally.’”
Room Service — Ashlee Gadd, Coffee & Crumbs — On eating in bed, miscarriage, and attentive care.
Catching Myself: Accompanying Yourself Through Times Of Transition — Lindsey Weishar, Verily — “While my mind was in hyperactive flight mode—the audiobook provided me a way to give my full attention to a fantasy world that felt less complicated than my own—my emotions were in numbing freeze mode. I thought if I let myself feel the full impact of the stressors, I might feel too overwhelmed. The act of choosing to listen to an audiobook over dealing with my feelings allowed me to believe I was maintaining a modicum of control over a reality that was feeling increasingly fraught with uncertainty.”
watching/listening
East Of Eden Summaries/Analyses/Reviews — Such as these ones here, here, and here.
The Big Short — Since we’re looking for a house to buy, housing market issues are extra fascinating at the moment. My second time watching.
using: product, tip, resource
This week, it’s fun recipes:
remembering
A Year Ago:
My parents visiting us on Long Island. Lukas’ one month checkup, and getting referred to a specialist for a surgery consult. Taking an overwhelmed walk to our little beach with Steffany Gretzinger in my ears.
This Week:
A lot of cooking, a lot of audiobook listening, a lot of napping.
Flowers for my parents, sad to have their dog put down.
Listening to Maggie Rogers’ Notes From The Archive: Recordings (With Commentary) all the way through. (A unique introduction to her, since I’m not actually all that familiar with her music.)
Another weekend, another house visit (or three).
The arrival of spring. And with it, outside time around town.
Learning to send that encouragement or that gift to someone, right when the thought comes. To practice unreserved generosity — and it does require practice.