5 Quick Things #191 🚲

Picky eaters, bunny islands, schlepping bikes, & going farther

May 14, 2021

Hey there,

How’s your week been? As I write this I’m sipping the start of my second cup of coffee, my view is the sun pouring over the backyard poppies and tomatoes, I’m taking my oldest to her second vaccine shot in a few hours, 🙌 and I’ve got a lovely stack of TBR books on my nightstand next to me because glory hallelujah, I led my last book discussion of the school year this week so now I have more brain space to read the other things I love!

Don’t get me wrong, I love the classics, but I’ve got my summer books to get to, you know? Crime & Punishment isn’t exactly a poolside read…

Working on an art installation for the exhibition “Back to Nature” in Rome, Italy (my brain can’t figure this one out!). #

5 Quick Things ☕️

1. New episode today! Last week Seth & I talked about going slower; in this part two we’re talking about going farther — and that one naturally leads to the other. Besides not burning out, looking at life with a long-view lens means more opportunities to notice the true, good, and beautiful. Slow and far is worth it.
2. What a lovely written essay about growing up a picky eater and eventually becoming a foodie (and doesn’t that new show look delightful?). Fascinating comments section, too.
3. A teenager transformed a 22-acre island into a summer home for bunnies. (Yep, you read that sentence correctly.)
4. This is a good, nuanced piece about the dilemma of us longing to support ethical slow fashion brands while there’s still a dearth of affordable options. I also appreciated her reminders of greenwashing, the need for more sizes, and how the trend of thrift shopping has raised prices for low-income families.
5. And finally… Aaaaah, now I want a cargo bike even more! My oldest is almost 11 (!) so it’s not so much for kid-schlepping as it is for thing-schlepping as I continue my commitment to walk anywhere less than a mile away. …This way, I could bike a bit farther and loosen the chains to the ol’ car even more.

Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 🎧

This playlist, with special emphasis on John Van Deusen, my new music crush

Quotable 💬

“Be patient with everyone, but above all with yourself...do not be disheartened by your imperfections, but always rise up with fresh courage.”

― St. Francis de Sales #

Good Things Take Time 🌱

You may have heard me say in 2021 that after several years of being in a non-fiction drought, for whatever reason I’m back into it. Heading into the summer months, though, if I’m going to read non-fiction I want it to be slower, thoughtful, and personally enriching — nothing that tells me I have to hustle harder to make my life better (no raised cortisol levels as I read in a hammock under the trees, thank you kindly).

This is why I think Jennifer Dukes Lee’s latest book, Growing Slow, is *chef’s kiss* for me right now, and if you nod your head along with what I write and talk about, I think you’ll feel the same. She connects the dots between her life on her family’s fifth-generation farm with the unhurried model of Christ, and how the rude awakening of constantly chasing results took a toll on her body and soul finally gave herself permission to embrace the truth that it takes time to grow good things. In Growing Slow, Jennifer charts a path out of the cultural pressures of bigger and faster, and into a rooted way of life where the growth of good things lasts.

Head here to order your own copy!

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(Jennifer’s team is sponsoring this week’s 5 Quick Things, and I’m so grateful! If you have an idea and think 5QT is a good place to tell the community here because it’s a natural fit, contact Caroline at caroline@tshoxenreider.com.)