May Rewind.

While May was not overly packed with activities, it was a month where Real Life > Blogging About Life. The special moments showed up in quiet ways, like an evening on the couch with a cold raspberry beer, drops of condensation freckling the pages of the book in my lap, the living room glowing with radiant sunset light the color of tangerine flesh. In their broadest brushstrokes, these kinds of nights look like a carbon copy of a hundred other nights if you aren't paying attention. But when you do shift your eyes upward and carry your attention away from the the endless thoughts monkeying around in your head, you recognize a kind of sweetness in the weathered edges, the subtle details, the familiarity of routines. And I am living inside these moments, awake and open, even if that leaves little opportunity-- or more accurately, desire-- to turn them into blogable stories at this present time.

May in Photos

5 Things that Happened in May

1. Mark left for Israel last week (he toured Jerusalem today-- I'm a wee bit jealous).
2. I booked a going-away dinner for him at Table Fifty-Two, the southern food restaurant of Oprah's long-time personal chef, Art Smith. At one point I got teary telling Mark how I was going to miss him, and I realized I had spent so long mentally preparing for us to be apart for four months that it never sunk in that he'd only be gone for ten days. I knew his revised schedule, of course, but my emotions had never caught up, and my tears were sort of silly and unnecessary. It was a strange feeling of my mind and emotional response being totally out of sync.
3. The Oak Park Farmers Market returned, so now I can stop bitching about how pale and lame all the eggs are from the grocery store, at least for a few months.
4. I signed us up for a CSA share for the summer again. We tend to debate every year whether it's worth it (it is a lot of work to figure out how to use everything, and we do always waste some produce), but we always end up going for it. Truth be told, it's one of the very few things I actually enjoy about summer, so that's reason enough for me to continue. I hope to get some of the recipes we use up on the blog over the next few months.
5. Fun things: A mother's day/birthday gathering at my grandma's house, reading books in the park, more than one evening walk to go get ice cream, seeing the musical Motown at the Oriental Theatre (SO fun), and taking a gorgeous sunset walk along the lakefront.

Read in May

The Goldfinch by Donna Tarte: I'M FINALLY DONE. It took a lot of time and effort, but the writing was really beautiful. I do not think everyone will enjoy the pace and plot of this book, but if you are a "literary" type of book lover, I recommend it wholeheartedly. It took me a good long while after I finished to find another book where the words were as thoughtful as Tarte's; everything else paled in comparison. (I ended up going with The History of Love by Nicole Krauss, which I am half way through now.) 

Most Good, Least Harm by Zoe Weil: The book outlines the ways we can living in a manner that causes the most good with the least harm to create positive change in the world. I felt my values reflected in the ideas, but the book mainly serves to promote her "MOGO" philosophy over and over again, which felt gimmicky, repetitive, and lacked a personal touch. I ended up skimming most of it, and I would rather read personal memoirs or in-depth interviews than a "coach-y" type of book like this.

Favorite Song from May

(I couldn't pick one song this month, so I'm including Kelsey's playlist because I've listened to it a dozen times this month.)

What I'm Looking Forward to in June

In a nutshell, June = Summer, and Summer = Humid Awful Sweaty Horribleness, so the only redeeming things might be: 1) Copious amounts of iced tea, 2) the aforementioned CSA, and 3) So You Think You Can Dance being back on TV. 

(That said, this past winter in Chicago was so bad I'm pretty sure I'm not allowed to complain about this summer one iota. At least from here on out.)

ETA: Our good friends are also getting married in June, I forgot! Celebrating love is certainly something to look forward to, even if I'm guaranteed to be sporting a sweaty sheen healthy glow in my formal attire.