A midsummer dispatch
What I've been enjoying, doing, thinking about, etc 🍅
I didn’t mean to take a 3-month hiatus from this newsletter, but between the unpredictability of summer schedules,1 work, navigating my usual health stuff along with some unusuals, and managing pain from a torn and herniated disc (thankfully, no surgery needed right now), I’m going easy on myself.
In June, I had a moment where I almost permanently deleted Nōto because that day, I believed everything I write is shit and I should never do it again! Ah, the All-or-Nothingness. I’m trying to stop high diving into silly conclusions when life overwhelms me. I might even be making progress!
Today’s post will be a roundup of what I’ve been enjoying, doing, thinking about, etc this summer. If we’re anything alike, then I bet you have recommendations to swap, too. So if you’re comfy with it, please comment with what you’re loving these days. I’ll meet you there!
From the garden 🌱
We tried a new wildflower seed mix and are seeing much better results than last summer. Although, the blooms aren’t as plentiful as I thought they’d be? I was expecting more petals and colors, not super robust stalks and lots of leafiness. It’s only my second year of gardening and I wasn’t born with a green thumb or toe, so I’m working with what I have. On a happy note, hummingbirds are finally zipping around those flowers, and one hovered by my ear as I watered the garden!
Back in the spring, I put my hopes and dreams into the shiso seeds I’d planted until our backyard chipmunks convinced me germination wasn’t possible.2 Then weeks later, while weeding, I accidentally pulled a shiso-looking leaf and tasted it to confirm. Hope resurrected! I recently ate shiso wrapped around gohan (ごはん, cooked rice) and umeboshi (梅干し, pickled plum) and plan to have it with cold sōmen (素麺, thin wheat noodles) soon. If you’re not familiar, shiso tastes like a blend of mint and Thai basil.
Summer discoveries 🍅
Some favorites:
tomato leaf scented candles
crushed pretzels over vanilla ice cream
Noodles on a Bicycle by Kyo Maclear & Gracey Zhang
“A Host for All Kinds of Life” by Green-House
Lauren Child, children’s author/illustrator
board games: Hues & Cues and Patchwork
Chris Fleming, comedian
vintage picture books
On the mind 🧠
When I create a mind map, I start with whatever topic I’m thinking about (today’s started with the film, Take Shelter) and make that topic the central “node.” Then I keep branching out till I’ve made all sorts of random connections:
After I finish mapping, I link other related ideas with red arrows to find new, unexpected connections. This method reminds me of the app, Obsidian, which allows you to interlink your thoughts/notes and essentially make your own Wikipedia.3
Random takeaways:
Since springtime, I’ve apparently watched eight films with apocalyptic themes. Here are the titles I liked the most: Take Shelter, Dune, and War for the Planet of the Apes. As a side note, I’ve really enjoyed tracking the films I watch on Letterboxd.
I read Silence by Shūsaku Endō in 2016 and watched Martin Scorsese’s film adaptation a year or two later. For some reason, I keep thinking about the silence of God—as bleak as that might sound—and want to rewatch the film. Has anyone else read or watched Silence? Would love to know your thoughts.
After thinking about topics like corruption, manipulative or performative behaviors, and trauma in religious environments, I just want to watch Arthur on PBS Kids and sing “Believe in Yourself.” 😂
New projects 🌺
I made a floral wreath inspired by when I lived in Hawaii, and I’m really happy with it. The flowers aren’t real, but they remind me of how my street in Kailua-Kona smelled—fresh, honeylike, and a tad salty. Wreath-making continues to be a healthy hobby for me. It’s an activity where I’m okay not having a plan and don’t care about perfection. I find the materials I like and arrange them however I want. It’s nice.
I don’t use social media, but if I’m going to keep trying this writer thing, it’s probably a good idea for me to have my own internet home. Initially, I wanted to go the fancy-coding-web-wizardry route, but decided simpler would be better. Squarespace it is.
On the site, you’ll find some past “just for fun” projects, a now page inspired by nownownow.com, and my favorite—a virtual bookshelf of picture books I’ve loved reading. Feel free to check it out if you’d like!
Okay, it’s your turn! ✏️
What’s life looked like for you these days? Are you faring alright? Staying hydrated? Making time for yourself? Tell me what you’ve been creating, trying, reading, or whatever lately—I’d love to know.
That’s all for today!
—E.T.
Kids here return to school in 2 ½ weeks. Already?! How?!
Shiso is the Japanese name for “beefsteak plant” or “perilla mint.”
If you use Obsidian, would you let me know in the comments how you like it and what you use it for? 🗣️ I’ve been strictly a Notion user for several years but find Obsidian’s visual graph fascinating and think the app would be helpful for a digital garden!
Crushed pretzels on vanilla ice cream has been my absolute obsession over the last year! I’m so glad we have this in common 😍 Miss you!
Your shiso and the food you mentioned made me hungry for a Japanese dish! I boughtしゃけ online (The shop is called Weee! ) and the price was pretty good. It was yummy. You can make temaki sushi with shiso: Take a half sheet of nori, put shiso, then rice, and natto and loosely hand roll and—tada! It’s done! I just LOVE your Hawaiian wreath so much🌺And your mind map is always fascinating to see.