September 2018: Cloud Coverage

It was just cool enough to sit on the porch awhile the morning I took September’s photo, and Quijote seemed to want a little extra sun.

The sky was mottled with little white clouds, like the edges of the approaching cloud bank had crumbled off ahead of it.

They reminded me of the bits of cream cheese you get when it’s too cold to spread properly. Or the pattern of paint after a timid first pass on a textured wall.

Later, the wind and air pressure and afternoon heat would work together to spread the storm clouds across the sky and cover it completely.

September 24, 2018September 24, 2018

Wonder

“Travel and magic both have the ability to deliver this cataclysmic death blow to any sense of certainty that you have.”

-Nate Staniforth

One of the best kept secrets about adulthood is that adults don’t have all the answers.

We’re just better at faking it, as if imagination and curiosity were beneath us. As if childlike wonder was only for children.

But it’s good for all of us to remember our actual place on this vast and baffling planet, to sit back to appreciate the beauty of everyday magic, to marvel at what we can’t explain.

I loved how the thread of wonder ran through a recent episode of the podcast You Made It Weird.

In their 2-hour-plus conversation, comedian/host Pete Holmes and his guest, magician Nate Staniforth, talked about the things that challenge your assumptions about reality – like traveling or having children or seeing a really good magic trick.

You can close yourself off, or you can open your arms to the mystery and be amazed at what unfolds.

A final thought from Nate Staniforth:

“Wonder is such a slippery, ephemeral experience. You can’t bottle it up and keep it. And if you could, it wouldn’t be wonder. So the idea is not to find it once and then say ‘I’ve got it,’ but it’s to keep looking for it.”

PodRec!

A podcast episode recommendation for you – hopefully, the first of many!

You Made It Weird
August 15, 2018
guest: Nate Staniforth

August 6, 2018August 7, 2018

Everyday Magic

There are Instagram accounts where every photo looks a bit like a fairy tale.

I typically don’t follow them. It’s like they’re trying to create this illusion of perfection.

Instead, I want to see the real-world magic – the rain on the window, the dried vine that looks almost lacy, the pattern of the light through the blinds, the flowers my nephews picked for me. The beauty that’s all around us.

That’s what I want to share with you.

June 25, 2018June 25, 2018

May 2018: Sleeping Dog

May was the month Quijote became a part of our family, so, of course, he’s my photo of the month!

May 11, 2018May 11, 2018

Pup Tales, Part 2: Dog Quijote

Before we had a chance to go to Sedona and get Jordan the chihuahua, another couple adopted him.

We were surprised and sad but felt it was important to keep looking and keep our hearts open.

With our Sedona day trip cancelled, we decided to spend Saturday seeing some dogs at a nearby shelter instead.

Then we found out that happened to be the day of the Empty the Shelters event, where adoption fees would be sponsored by Bissell. (Vacuums…pet hair…makes sense.)

It meant that, if we found a dog, we wouldn’t have to pay for the adoption or microchipping, which would help offset the ridiculous pet fee where we live.

And it was an incentive to actually go look and not put it off.

It would also mean the shelter would be a zoo that day. We braced ourselves for lines and crowds, packed some supplies for our potential dog and a water bottle for us and headed over.

By the time it was our turn, our options had been narrowed down a little but there were still several dogs we were interested in.

We decided the first dog we wanted meet was the one we’d nicknamed “The Fox,” a 2-year-old reddish-tan chihuahua mix with big, black-tipped ears.

A volunteer named Jenny brought him out to a yard area, and he came right up to Phillip and I for pets.

Besides the fox-like ears, he kind of looked like a tiny bandanna-wearing coyote standing there and watching everything outside the fence.

I don’t really know how to explain it, but, within about a minute, I was thinking “Okay. Done. Why wouldn’t we adopt this dog?!!”

So we did.

We named him Quijote after Don Quijote/Quixote, because he’s an adventurer and a dreamer (or at least a napper) and because it rhymes with coyote.

Our Quijote is basically 11 pounds of adorableness and cuddles.

Outside, he’s eager to check things out and loves to run fast. In the house, he’s really chill – until he suspects we’re getting ready to feed or walk him, at which point, he goes a little crazy. (We’re working on that.) (My YouTube history has been taken over by dog training videos.)

The people who said we’d find the perfect dog for us were right.

We really we lucked out with this little goof.