Present Joys: Dawdle days, handmade gifts, "fun" pastas and gatherings.
Week of December 17, 2024
Releasing the Year
I celebrated my 34th birthday last week surrounded by friends, old and new. With a birthday past and a new year approaching, I began to reflect on my most recent journey around the sun. Historically, I tend to look at the year gone by and beat myself up about the places I didn’t go, the goals I didn’t meet, the art I didn’t make. This yearly berating serves no one, especially not me, so this year, I decided to release the past and all the expectations that came with it. Poof, gone! Instead of lamenting any lack, I’ve remembered that I have a choice in how I view life and the world and I’m choosing to acknowledge the path I’m on and to celebrate it.
Now I should go right to work and get it done. But I don’t know. It is a dawdle day for me and I think my handwriting shows it.
— John Steinbeck, June 1, 1951
Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters
Dawdle Days
There are no dawdle days in the last week of the year before a holiday break, but when I first read this it felt like John Steinbeck was peering into my brain. I assume we all must feel this way at times. Sometimes, it’s just a dawdle day and sometimes dawdle days are necessary.
Sketching with Joyce
Joyce and I planted ourselves in a cafe last week to work on some very serious Present business: note cards for the guests of our Present Joys party! We hosted friends and guests of Present Joys at Tilda this weekend, and gave them goodie bags with a custom illustration of the joys from the past year. It was so nice to do something so tactile sitting across from someone I admire so much. It surprised me how I sunk right into the activity and felt immediately at ease. It was truly Present being present.
Handmade Gifts
My Dad always says his favorite gifts are the cards we make him. He cherishes those handmade cards and says he’s collecting them so he can read through them when he “gets old”. When my friend Sarah gave me this handmade porcelain dish for my birthday, I felt that same love my Dad must feel when something is made by hand and gifted to you. It’s a gift that's irreplaceable, not for what it is, but for what it means and what you think about when you see it. Thank you Sarah!
Persimmon Party
Our neighbors have an amazing garden and their persimmon tree features prominently in our view of it. With the leaves fallen and the fruit ripening, I noticed a few dozen persimmons left on the tree. My immediate thought was “Oh, how nice that they’ve left the rest of the persimmons for the animals.” When I shared this thought with Lee, his take was that the persimmons were probably a bit too hard for our neighbors to reach. Whatever the reason, I’m enjoying the view… especially when a bird or a squirrel takes a big juicy bite.
Floor Pillows
Shoutout to Kim’s Home Center for stocking the simple, affordable floor pillows I’ve been hunting for. I picked up four (a cream, green, purple, and black) and the resulting palette reminded me of the Comme Si x USM show I caught earlier this year at the Neutra VDL house.
“Fun” Pastas
We’ve been scraaaping by with our meals these days, favoring convenience over just about everything else, so it was a pleasant surprise when Van declared that he would prepare us a three course meal one quiet Thursday evening. The menu included a salad lightly dressed with a dill lemon vinaigrette, spaghetti bolognese, and grilled pork chops. Everything was delicious, but what I loved most was learning that Van refers to any non-noodle pasta shapes as “fun” pastas.
Triangle Cookie Cutter
My friend Aya recently traveled to Japan and generously returned with souvenirs to share, one being a set of scalloped triangle cookie cutters. They’re extremely satisfying to use, if only because of the efficiency of the shape. More cookies, less rolling out dough!
Slowing Down to Speed Up
While chatting with our client Simon about our mutual hobby of running, he shared a breakthrough he experienced in the sport. Up until recently, he felt as though he had to meet a certain pace or exert a certain effort to deem a run worthwhile. Once he slowed down, he found that running could be something he hadn’t ever previously experienced: fun! I thought of Simon during last Saturday’s 14 miler with Koreatown Run Club as I decided to run with a slower pace group and I loved it. At around mile 6, I remember thinking that I felt as if I could run forever. As Simon says, sometimes you need to slow down to speed up!
Gatherings
This is the power of gathering: it inspires us, delightfully, to be more hopeful, more joyful, more thoughtful: in a word, more alive.
—Alice Waters
I love this quote I came across today. Some recent gatherings which make this feel especially resonant: Learning that I share similar hardships with certain friends makes me hopeful that we’ll all work past these (oft self-imposed) sufferings. Witnessing one beloved friend meet another for the first time makes me joyful that such wonderful people fill my life. Reuniting with college dorm mates to reflect on our decades-long friendship inspires me to remain thoughtful in relationships. I feel most alive in community. ❤️
Until Next Year!
Present Joys will be back in the new year. For now we’ll leave you with a selection of our favorite joys from 2024.
Aya’s X-mas Nosh Down
Theo’s Cereal Sounds playlist
Sofia & Victoria’s last bite
Katie’s Box of Smile
Jon’s friend Marshall’s banana photo
Max & Cece’s love of house music
Camilla’s frozen Amaretto sour
Keegan’s van
Leigh’s highly specific notebook system
Trisha’s Life at the Dumpling
Emilys’s saved voicemails
Mark’s thoughts on getting older
Joyce’s Sundays
Michelle’s search for softness