currently {1.24}

above: our drive to the ski hill on Saturday…because we finally had a real snowfall!

---

I’ve been writing Currently posts for more than a couple of years now. Five new verbs every month, a way of asking …What’reyouupto? It’s mostly just-for-fun-wordplay. A unique snapshot of ‘now.’ I used to join a link party (no longer active); after that, I tossed my own 5 verbs into the ring. This year, I’m trying a Verb Generator. (What can’t you find on Google?)

Here’s what it gave me. I never would’ve thought to include the last two, Currently, I’m : :

{examining}

ELSA’S AVOCADO PROJECT, JULY

JANUARY

…my avocado seeds on the window sill (right). One has roots and the top has split, but no sprout yet. The second has only been at it 2 weeks — so I’m still waiting for signs of a root. After watching Elsa’s avocado tree grow…and grow…and grow (and since I’m the one who’s watering it), I’m inspired to give it a try.

---

{attempting}

…to get back on the trail alone.

Long ago, when I taught on a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, I relished hiking in the quiet Middlesex Fells on a weekday. Or cross country skiing around the lake in Haverhill, Mass.

Then I got married. Had children. And suddenly? Being out there alone felt…risky. Which makes me…mad! That it has to cross my mind. That most men don’t think of the dangers of other men on the trail. Or if they do, does it stop them from going? (For the record, it’s not nature that concerns me.)

For a while now, I’ve had the itch. I want to…should be able to…get back out there alone. Not for hours, and not deep in the woods. But on trails not far from home, with my pepper spray I’ve never had to use, and where there’s still cell service — but rarely a soul passing by.

I stopped when I got to this wooded lane and took the wide open trail back

Tired of I can’t…, I went out Sunday morning in the snow, aware of my surroundings, just me and the juncos, tree sparrows, jays. I stepped off the path for a few snowmobilers (thankful for the tracks they left me!), waved, and walked on.

I want to get comfortable again.

---

{increasing}

…choir time. My childhood friend I’ve been singing with (left, brown hair; I’m on the right, hands folded) talked me in to joining a fourth choir. It’s not as much as it sounds like; there’s just a bit of overlap. And the commitment to this one’s just 8 rehearsals for a mass by a Norwegian composer whose music we love to sing. So we’re pretty excited.

I found out my elementary school librarian also sings in this choir. I have funny memories of her — one being we always got in trouble for braiding hair during story time on the rug. Girls, this isn’t a beauty parlor, she told us every week. (Maybe I should braid Leah’s hair during rehearsal…just to see what happens?!)

---

{untidying}

Isn’t this a hilarious verb! I love it.

I’m usually at my best when I’m not in a mess. When my space is tidy. With one exception.

Troy moved his desk to a brighter, more spacious spot in the house. (Smart. He spends tons of time at it.) So, our office is no longer a shared space. It means I have…

A Room of One’s Own!

(Mostly.) (We all use the printer; I have two armchairs and a lamp, a cozy spot when someone wants to join me.)

A few times I thought I might tidy my stuff — but then I thought better of that. When it’s ship-shape, I don’t want to mess it all up; when my stuff’s where I can see it, I use it. Books, notebooks, handwork, paper cutter, sewing machine, favorite pencils/markers. It’s not chaotic; nor is it neat. But I know where everything is. It’s a space that asks What are you making?

The same way one of my kids refers to their ‘comfortable mess’ of a bedroom, I’d call my untidied room ‘an ‘inviting mess.’ And I’m leaving it that way.

---

{filming}

…this happy guy. Duke’s getting up there, for a Newfie. At 12 1/2, he’s low-key, at best. More often, lethargic. But winter is his season! So we let him in…and out…in…and out…whenever he asks. (Which is all day long.) Here he is, wiggling around on a good day:

(The video wouldn’t open right, so…Plan B.)

---

And that’s 5 verbs!

What’reyouupto…currently? I’d love to hear. ♥