Last Friday I had a clearness committee, borrowing from the practice of Friends/Quakers. In the community of my closest friends here in Philadelphia (plus A), I came to internally-official decisions that I had already felt drawn towards... I will leave my job (not take a leave of absence), and I will pursue plans to spend time at the Rochester Zen ( Read more... )

OK, I have to write about this. Please pardon my overflowing passion for a few moments, but I am super-proud of where I've done my Christmas shopping this year! :) Weeks and weeks before I'd given any thought to specific gifts, I knew that everything I bought this year had to be either locally-made or fair-trade. By this evening, the majority ( Read more... )

I am so proud of Sam! I was sitting on my couch watching a Sherlock Holmes episode, and my little girl came over to investigate what I was eating (as usual). I wanted to finish my bread-and-goat-cheese*, but I idly showed her the piece of beet* I hadn't eaten yet. And she started licking it! :) She also seemed eager to snarf the tiny bits I ( Read more... )

I am in excellent spirits. :)

I didn't leave my flat as early as I'd hoped, but (despite my bike chain getting messed up) I arrived at Rittenhouse Sq. in time to oversee the parking & setup situation. It turns out all the farmers' trucks, tables, and tents did fit comfortably within the block. Throughout the rest of the morning, I was able to ( Read more... )

When I see sunshine reflecting off red brick across from my window, I feel lame and pathetic for spending today sitting around inside, with the a/c on.

Then I remember that -- in fact -- my job involves being at farmers' markets, outside in the sun, for hours a time 5 days a week. Yesterday I was in the middle of South St., bustling with the ( Read more... )

When I was younger -- and especially in high school -- I abhorred any sort of physical activity that could possibly make me break a sweat. (The only exceptions were water sports, because I've always loved the water; anyway, one is less likely to get sweaty when one is already wet.) I much preferred to sit on the couch and read, or sit in front of ( Read more... )

As I'm sure is true for everyone, I've been thinking a lot about Harry Potter during these couple weeks. :) In less than a week, on this coming Saturday, the seventh and final book of the series is being released.

ETA: I'm not sure whether this is still relevant for anyone -- or even whether I'm willing to consider any information about the ( Read more... )

[Oh man. I have missed teh hottness of blues dancing... Just got back from my new Tues. eve lindy/blues dance ( Read more... )

When I left work, I was fantasizing about Grocery's less-than-$4 cheese blocks (for the committment-phobic). But I needed to go the other direction, towards Rittenhouse Square, to buy some vegetables at the happy produce market. As I walked in the lovely weather, planning to be productive after shopping, there were so many temptations crowding ( Read more... )

I went to Quaker meeting for the second time last Sunday. My experience attending meeting is worth more than a passing reference, but for now I just want to say that as I pondered in silence for two Sundays in a row, I realized that I am unhappy with some trends in my life ( Read more... )