A month of beginnings in the middle of summer.
There's still plenty of summer ahead, I have big things in store for August.
Start my Paris packing list
Today, reservations opened for Maison Sota, a new restaurant from the chef behind Clown Bar, a Parisian institution, that happens to be opening in September while we'll be there. In a breathless flurry of excitement, I made the exact wrong reservation for one too many guests, and had to then have Kev make a correct one before I wrote an email explaining my error with a request to cancel the one I'd made. A bit of a to-do today, but I'm so excited to be there for its grand opening.
It's been difficult to start my packing list, the city has just been so hot that I cannot really get into thinking about dressing for fall. At some point though, I'm going to need to put together my list of garments to mix and match into outfits.
Switch to production mode
There's a lot of pottery to be made in the next six weeks before we head to Paris. I was able to get a nice head start in July, and now I'm preparing to switch into the next gear. Because I'll be away for a week, I'll need to stop throwing a week and half beforehand. Items that aren't completely finished by the time I go need to at the very least have been trimmed. I also can't leave any hand-built pieces partially done because the clay will dry too much while I'm away.
A few items on my production list: Odette vases, cactus stamped mugs, and serving sets.
Read books from the library
I dusted off the old library card last month, and used the request feature for the first time for a title that I wanted that was available at another location. Picking up the book that had arrived just for me via library inter-office mail was such a cute experience. I like being in libraries and supporting them. They seem like such an underrated resource in today's world. The book I was interested in was only about $8 on Amazon and would have arrived way more quickly than the request process took (under a week, which is perfectly reasonable but half an eternity relative to the speeds we've become used to), but I like that I can return the book into the system for others to read after I’m done with it. It’s free and it frees me from clutter. Libraries = good.
Swap wine for seltzer
I'm planning for Paris to be plenty full of indulgence in all kinds of natural wines. Until then, the plan is to cut down on wine/alcohol consumption by sipping seltzer, perhaps with a squeeze of lemon, instead. Mostly, I'd like to see if this change has any impact on my recent uptick in idiopathic allergic reactions. I'm still searching for the right combination of lifestyle changes, medication, and supplements, as well as management techniques when they do crop up. Since alcohol contributes to inflammation, I'm curious to find out if I'll see any improvements.
Meditate
Not too long ago, Kev suggested that we start meditating together. I thought this was an adorable suggestion by him and a great thing that we could practice together as a couple, but after about a week or so, life got in the way. In August, we're going to try pegging practice to something we already do everyday, such as walking the dogs before bed, so that it can more easily become part of the rhythm of each night.