What I'm Digging

A round up of this and that catching my eye lately

Happy Friday, friends. You’re here. You made it.

We’re on the home stretch before school resumes for both boys on the 24th. Alistair, through the generosity of my stepmom, has been at a wonderful horse/craft/nature/discovery camp about 5 minutes from our house all week (my stepmom takes lessons there). He plays, romps, rides, snacks, then swims in a creek. If that isn’t the bucolic life then I don’t know what is.

Meanwhile, Huxley is rounding the bend on what I’ve taken to calling “shut-in summer.” This basically entails a leisurely lie-in before ambling downstairs post-noon, taking a rambling walk around the knob our house sits up on while I make him a cup of tea, and then heading up to his room with said mug of tea to rest in his cozy bird’s nest of a room (he’s on the second floor, with large horizontally-sliding windows, and has a full view of the woods) to chat with friends, game, and watch anime. A life of bliss, about to wrap up (he’s grown a bit tired of it himself, even). And likely his last, as he’ll be 16 next summer and will probably want a summer job. Time will tell.

I’ll be heading north with a new friend on Sunday. We both independently put our intentions out to the universe to find someone to get hype about Kpop with locally, and the universe provided. We spontaneously decided to look for tickets to see BTS in Baltimore, and they appeared! Our friend chemistry is fantastic, our interests outside of Kpop align profoundly (even the niche ones!), and we’re taking a chance together on a road trip towards joy. Dear longtime friends outside of the city are lending us their guest cottage while they’re out of town, so our accommodations are set, too. Divine intervention, yes please!

On to the roundup!

*My beloved Katherine May, she of Wintering and Enchantment fame (and an all around glorious human), just announced a new book, Tending: How Care Binds the World. This is speaking directly to my soul:

When her husband falls seriously ill, Katherine May finds herself thrown into the world of multigenerational care, trying to hold together home and family as they spin determinedly apart. Drawn into an endless cycle of domestic and emotional work, she is plagued by spiders, the subject of a lifelong phobia. And yet, in this new era of her life, the spiders now seem to mirror her own labors as she sees them endlessly reweaving their fraying homes, constantly alert to danger through the vibrations of their webs.

Drawing on art, mythology, philosophy and the natural world, Tending is a meditation on what it means to give – and receive – care. Sharply-observed, funny, and tender, it captures the granularity of care, its hardships and its moments of transcendence. “We tend to think, now, that life is what happens in-between, and that care is somehow an anomaly, a mistake,” writes May. “Instead, it is perhaps the most intrinsic part of our humanity. We resent and fear it, but it flows from us, unbidden.”

Achingly human, and with one foot always in the wild, Tending is a timely exploration of connection, mortality, and how our duties of care shift radically in midlife. It gives caregivers a visceral visibility, and asks how we can learn to see that unsung work as the beating heart of our survival.

*These okra fries have been on the menu at Asheville establishment Chai Pani for some time, perhaps even since their opening. While it’s lovely to pop in and grab a fresh batch made by someone else, making them at home is also an option, especially if you’re not near their Asheville or Decatur locations. Here’s how!

*Last Thursday, my longtime dear friend Sabrina, scooped me up for a choose-your-own belated 50th birthday adventure. This was quite literal, as she had two beverages when I got into her car, and she told me to pick one, and then tell her the letter on the bottom of the cup. That letter, an “R”, I learned, guided which adventure we went on for the day; had I selected the other cup, our entire day would’ve been different. Here’s what happened: cinnamon buns to go at GoGo’s Cinnamon Rolls in Old Fort; a stop into Little Switzerland for book browsing at The Little Switzerland Books & Beans (instantly elevated in the best-ever bookstore pantheon owing to: 1) it has a real, working fireplace inside and 2) a creek flows beneath it, viewable through a grate in the lower level wood floor); a hike down to Linville Falls where we enjoyed our cinnamon rolls, chatted, and people-watched; a stop into Blowing Rock for sandwiches to go from Moondance Market and Catering; all topped off with a leisurely picnic at Price Park. She took care of all of the day’s decisions, a gift I didn’t know I needed. Friends like Sabrina are never to be taken for granted.

*What do you get when you combine Studio Ghibli and Ursula Le Guin? You got to watch Tales From Earthsea! Originally released in 2006, the film is showing a limited run in select theaters this Saturday and Monday. Check here for more info.

*My friend Jessica, who manages Olive This in downtown Asheville, gifted me a wonderfully fragrant rose geranium scented olive oil candle for my birthday. I’ve got it burning beside me now as I write this, down in the witch hut/writer’s cabin, and it’s redolent of languid, undulating summer days and friendship.

*After my cancer diagnosis winter 2025, I stepped away from teaching. Aside from several classes at this year’s spring Organic Grower’s School conference, I haven’t done any teaching. I’m pleased to share that dry run will conclude at the end of this month! I’ll be teaching my class on Creating a Fall & Winter Home Apothecary at Fifth Season in Asheville August 29th at 2 pm. Details can be found here.

*Do you ever want just olives and cheese for dinner? I can’t be alone in this occasional urge. If you’re like me, look here: Dirty-Martini Marinated Mozzarella Balls (omit the gin if you’re avoiding alcohol, they’ll still be just as delicious).

I’m off to collect my little guy from his final day of camp in a bit. The first place you ever rode a horse should prove to be a memory he’s not soon to forget.

Wherever you go this weekend, whatever you do, and whomever you do it with, may it be grand!