5 Quick Things #242 🧀

clear words, leisurely hobbies, if/then lists, & cheese wheels

Jun 10, 2022

Why hello,

I hope those of you fellow dwellers of the northern hemisphere are finding ways to keep cool these days… This next week we’re supposed to hit 109 here in Central Texas 🥵 — it’s indeed supposed to be a scorcher of a summer this year. My tomatoes have been ripening like crazy, I can’t stop the cucumbers, and I officially wrapped up my way-too-brief pea season by pulling up the plants and saving the seeds for next year. Kyle harvested a pile of blackberries and a bushel of mint for a batch of berry mojito kombucha, and my potato and carrot plants are officially crowding each other out. The garden is going nuts and I’m here for it! At least there are some things that love this heat wave.

After work today we’re hopefully headed to a lake with friends, and I am here for it. A few days ago I submitted a manuscript for a forthcoming writing project (I’ll tell you more eventually!) and I’ve been immersed in planning my class reading lists for next year. My body is craving some offline time.

What are you up to this weekend?

Contestants chase an 8-pound wheel of Double Gloucester cheese down the hill in Gloucester, England, on June 5 — a long-held tradition revived after a pause from the pandemic. #

5 Quick Things ☕️

1. 🎧 New episode of A Drink With a Friend! 🎧 Hobbies aren't just the things we do whenever we have spare time — they're actually important to our health. The things we do just because we enjoy them, staying at amateur status for the love of the craft, starting at the beginning and learning from zero, make us more of who we're made to be. Seth and I each share some of our favorite hobbies and why they're so important to us.
2. Speaking of scholé, I liked this framework of thinking through five -ations for a summer. Despite the title, this idea is definitely not just for teachers; I think it could work well for anyone who simply wants to use their time well.
3. “The best that those of us concerned about civil discourse and constructive disagreement can do is to use clear and specific language—and to insist that our interlocutors do the same.” An interesting piece on ‘concept creep,’ a trend privy to all sorts of persuasions and ideaologies, not just one ‘side’ or another.
4. Making an if/then list for mental health — I love this simple but beneficial idea. Seems like a good exercise to do when you’re in a good headspace for later, when you’re not…
5. And finally, a few weeks ago when I was researching + writing my graduation speech, I came across this gem of a commencement address. (Let’s just say my students and children were glad I didn’t end with singing.)

Currently Reading, Watching, Listening 📚

The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World, by Andy Crouch

Quotable 💬

“Leisure, it must be remembered, is not a Sunday afternoon idyll, but the preserve of freedom, of education and culture, and of that undiminished humanity which views the world as a whole.”

— Josef Pieper #

We’re Grateful! 🥃

We consider A Drink With a Friend a communal effort. You’re invited to grab yourself a drink at the counter, pull up a chair around the table, and join us in our weekly discussions — on the house!

And whenever you pick up a round of drinks, you help continue the conversations, and we’re so honored when you do. Your kind words remind us that this scrappy little thing we do in this corner of the smoky internet pub is not for naught. We truly appreciate it!

Be like Kelli 🥃