Spring is here. As my nose reminds me, due to spring allergies developed in adulthood, the air is full of pollen and the leaves are swelling out of their buds. Every rainy or sunny day brings a new set of joyful small plants or flowers, aching for the chance to grow taller and stronger.
I have a very vivid memory of spring three years ago, when the pandemic had just hit, and I was living in the same place I am now, finishing seminary virtually, and desperately trying to create a routine. It is astounding to me, to be in such a wildly different place personally (with jobs, in school again, etc), even though I find myself in the same house. For the natural world, however, life continues on as usual.
Unlike three years ago, spring is a busy one—I’m now in the midst of my heaviest anticipated travel period this year, where I’m away almost every weekend, for a variety of delightful reasons. This past weekend I visited a friend in Charlottesville, where we attended the Book Arts Open House, part of the Virginia Festival of the Book. We got to fold a book, try our hand at a printing press, and learn a lot about screw-top printing presses (a la Gutenberg). Let’s be honest though—the best reason to visit Charlottesville (other than the delightful company) is for the food. Our weekend ranged from small-plate Mexican mole to the Dairy Market (and my introduction to Moo-thru, which lives up to its stellar reputation for great ice cream!).
The week before I was off to Pittsburgh for ACRL—which stands for the Association of College and Research Libraries—for the bi-annual conference. Conference swag included an astounding number of tote bags, and I made some fun connections with folks over roundtables. Plus, I got to meet a WAT (Weird Anglican Twitter) friend in real life, which was a delight.
Short & Sweet
Traveling: up next—Boston MA.
Cooking: nothing, thanks to my housemate and her amazing cooking
Reading: I just finished Thistles and Thieves by Molly MacRae. If you love niche cozy mysteries, this series is really well-written. Up next, another mystery and some nonfiction to review that I am SO late on.
Preaching: I preached Lent 2 & 3, and won’t preach again until Easter 3, which is an uncharacteristically long time to go between sermons for me! At some point, I will catch up with uploading said sermons—I’m working on transitioning/consolidating websites, so more to come on that later.
Watching: The Repair Shop (BBC) is my comfort show, so that’s pretty much on repeat. My housemate and I are also rewatching the Wimsey/Vane TV series with Harriet Walter and Edward Petherbridge (1987). Such a delightful show to watch and rewatch again, although it’s reminded me that I need to rewatch Ian Carmichael’s Wimsey soon as well.
Listening: I’ve just finished re-listening to The Dark is Rising, the audio play put out by the BBC radio this past December. If you haven’t listened to it and you loved the books, you must have a listen!
Planting: Nothing, truthfully. But I have good intentions, plus am inspired by the miraculous bulbs that I put in the ground this past fall which are springing forth! In ten years, perhaps, they will cover the garden beds in clumps of spring bounty.