september: in the bag
September is over and for about fifteen years I've had this very catchy song in my head during the fade into October.
journaling
I guess it makes sense to share my spreads here, now that I'm six months into using this two-page system.
It's my calendar, to-do list, success list*, and five habits I track: exercise, meditation, eating healthy, journaling, and minimal (good) internet use.
(*things that are positive fun, productive, little wins, etc. I may not have "bake a new cookie recipe" on my to-do list, but writing "brown butter cookies" on my little success list captures it. And knowing I can write something on my success list even if it's not "productive" is sometimes the nudge I need to do something new)
My October spread is pretty simple, same format:
what I've been listening to
- Sour Diesel by They Are Gutting a Body of Water - Philly shoegaze, I love the stapling on the beat in the video too (dw the cat is okay!)
- Washing Machine Heart by Mitski - Someone I didn't like was super into Mitski when she was first blowing up so I dug my heels in. Bug Like an Angel is another track I've been liking.
social life
We hosted two puzzle nights this month! And one of the friends I made at jury duty (!!! peak extrovert adult friend move) came, as well as some new folks. People came over with home-grown hot peppers, chocolate, and manchego. I love being in my late thirties.
fish world
I have no photos of ANY of the following so bear with me!
I have a new-to-me 55 gallon fish tank!!! With a stand, heater, filter, lights, and slate gravel. I had a great interaction with the older guy downsizing his massive tank collection. He lived in a tiny house with his backyard melting into the Chesapeake, and plants filled every single nook in it. He kept apologizing for things not being perfectly clean, and everything was packed up so nicely.
I also picked up more medaka from another Maryland aquarist, and we chatted ahead of time so we traded plants too. Fish people are cool.
We set up a ten gallon in my classroom! It is rimless, filter and heaterless, but heavily planted and home to some of my new medaka... who are already laying eggs. My kids were annoyed that I didn't put fish in right away but they also got to learn about the tank cycling process against their will. Kids love it. The whole school has found out about it and I have a few good kids being allowed to field trip to see it as a reward at the end of the day.
misc
I just found this Compost zine about the future of the digital commons, with a focus on trustful connections. Lots to dig through and very pretty.
I have a sudden unexplained urge to build a garden folly in the far corner of my yard, but these kits are upsetting to me