Some Happy Scribbles...
what's your earliest memory?
Hello this fine Friday!
I am feeling like a very free spirit at the moment, due to the end of homework, exams, and tight schedules. By the end of the summer, I’ll be craving structure and routine, but for now, it’s nice to know that everything can loosen up.
I’m promoting the idea of a summer “creative project” for each family member, partly because I am determined to write a first draft of the novel I’ve begun (7,500 words so far!); but also because it would be nice to have something to show for the 13 weeks of downtime the kids have! Sadie (15) wants to create a scrapbook of photographs, Teddy (11) will hopefully take singing lessons (um, my idea, not his) and Jim is still mulling over what his project will be.
The Queen also seems to be feeling feisty and free-spirited - I loved this piece in New York Magazine about her creative “work avoidance” technique during last weekend’s Golden Jubilee celebration. “When you have been doing your job for 70 years, you earn the right to delegate some of your duties to underlings and sit out certain meetings.” Bravo, QE2!
Funnily enough, when Jim and I saw a flyer touting David Byrne, the musical genius and former Talking Heads frontman as the headline performer for a fundraiser for Ukraine in one of the small towns near us, we were convinced he was going to appear via Zoom. But to our delight, he was there in real life, singing and playing guitar right in front of us, and as always, he was sincere, authentic, and a tiny bit kooky! I’ve been listening to This Must Be the Place and And She Was on repeat all week; and because that wasn’t enough David Byrne for me, I also watched this video where he covers everything from designing bike racks, wearing a tutu, his belief that everyone has a yearning to make a better life, and how he arrived at his distinctive dance moves.
Another highlight of the week: the inspiring story of Julie Heldman, a former world number 5 tennis champion, who spoke at a tennis-themed dinner in Brooklyn.
Julie, who I had never heard of, was one of the “Original Nine” along with Billie Jean King, who established the US women’s professional tennis tour. She’s also a Stanford grad, lawyer, former CEO, and author. Julie played and defeated Billie Jean just the week before King’s famous “Battle of the Sexes” match with Bobby Riggs, as chronicled in Billie Jean King’s biography, All In, which a friend tells me is excellent!
On the topic of books, I finished This Time Tomorrow and have been telling anyone who will listen (sorry if you’ve already run into me this week and heard this) how good the book is. I expected a light, fun, summer read, but instead, I found a heart-warming and sincere meditation on aging, and the love between a father and daughter. It’s excellent.
And on the topic of childhood memories, Sadie came along to my weekly sushi dinner with Teddy this week, and it was fun listening to the two of them chat.
One discussion centered on their earliest childhood memories, which is a good conversation starter (or redirector when siblings are revving up for an argument!). Sadie’s earliest memories revolved around Teddy’s birth when she was four, and Teddy’s memory kicked in at around the same age, when our beloved family friend, Annabelle, lived with us and helped take care of them both.
My bout with Covid - and all the end-of-school-year-beginning-of-summer celebrations - have decreased my cooking time, so I don’t have any recipes for you, but I found this week’s newsletter from Dinner A Love Story filled with good ideas - including a week of vegetarian meals and a genius host / hostess gift recommendation. Do you like Sriracha? Luckily, we have plenty in the house: this headline made me laugh!
Thank you so much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful weekend, whether you’re in the northern hemisphere summer or cozying up on the other side of the world - I keep hearing that the Aussie winter is unusually cold!
xoxo
Amelia
PS: Another highlight of last week was the very spirited rendition of one of my all-time childhood faves, Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better, at Teddy’s school spring concert. I learned it from the feminist icon, Miss Piggy (with Ethel Merman) on The Muppets. If you, like me, want more Miss Piggy in your life, skip directly to 1 min 37.
Sounds like life is good. Miss you all.