March 2024 Newsletter

NEW Workshops, Aging, Coincidence

Nearing 60: A Ripening

I’m in the last few months of my 50^th decade. I’d like to tell you I fully embrace aging and greet you as a wise sage at peace with a face aged by six decades of sun and wind, battered by joy and sorrow, but I’m not.

This last year, my health failed over and over, another unwelcome sign of aging. This year, the tide slowly turned back toward a welcome fullness. The rebound of energy and the fear of it departing again led me to redouble my wellness efforts, especially in the weight room. The truth of aging is that you never regain what you've lost. Slight improvement is the best you can hope for.

Standing in front of a full-length mirror, I notice modest firming from my efforts in the gym. This vanishingly small improvement took me back to when I first picked up weights in my mid-40s. I similarly stood in front of mirrors. Back then, I looked myself in the eye and said, "This is the best you're ever going to look. So enjoy it."

Now my 59-year-old self is looking into those same eyes--as long as I only look at the irises, instead of the crowfeet crinkling around the corners, they are amazingly the same, not a wrinkle in them. I tell the 40-ish me, "How true, how wise!"

But my attention wanders across the vast landscape of the 59-year-old, the foothills of the belly, the voluptuous sags, the flap of wings under arms, the crevices and crags in the face. Another voice enters the conversation, the wise Universal elder. She says, "Your beauty is more than skin deep. Like all fruit of the earth, you are ripening. Your beauty and sweetness are no longer skin deep. They are migrating from outside to inside you.

"You are kinder, gentler, and more patient. Your ego takes up less room and oxygen, making you a better friend. You listen more and better. You hear between the silences instead of filling them. You think before you speak more often.

"You are not the woman you were. Now, you distinguish between the song of the Wren and the Cardinal. You know when to prune roses for their second blooming. You see the difference between cobalt and indigo blue. You are comfortable in your skin."

As I crumble and creak into my sixtieth decade, I realize the truth, wisdom, and beauty of Polish poet Stanislaw Jerzy Lec's writing that "youth is a gift of nature, but age is a work of art." As Lec did, we live in a world of uncertainty. These small things of a rich life, bird song, flowers, color, this ripening of youth into age is like the difference between an unripe and ripe peach: delicious, necessary, essential.

Workshops

---

New at The Hearst

Click this link to register, or call 319.273.8641

---

---

I Need Your Help!

Calling All Writers and Authors, Join Author’s Seedbed

Hey Lovies, I have a dream I want to share with you. I want writing friends who live close enough to invite over for a cup of coffee, a glass of wine.

Will you help build a real-life community of writers and authors here in the Cedar Valley? Do you want a juicy, in real life community, that consistently shows up for each other and believes that when one of us wins, we all win, who honestly and generously share from the rich store of experiences they’ve had?

A small army behind the scenes has lined up fascinating speakers, marketing, and figured out the numerous details to begin what we’re calling Author’s Seedbed. The Waterloo Public Library is throwing its expertise and marketing prowess behind our efforts. We believe in this dream, but we’re missing a crucial part. That’s YOU!

Do you write and dream of being published? Are you a published author who wants to connect with others who share your passion? Is your novel a gleam in your eye?

Then this group is for you!! Email me at fbabbcass@gmail.com or reply to this email, and we’ll build this community together.

---

---

March Recipe: Marijo’s Irish Soda Bread with Currants

Photo Courtesy: Helena Yankovska

Until I moved next door to Marijo, I didn’t think much of interest food-wise happens in March. It’s gray and cold. We either have muddy snow or snowy mud. And aside from snowdrops, there’s not much cheer to March. Marijo has other ideas about March. She introduced me to corned beef, cabbage, roasted potatoes, and my favorite, Irish soda bread.

Marijo’s Irish Soda Bread: One loaf

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Baking time: 1 hour

4 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1 teaspoon each: baking powder, and salt

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 cups raisins or currants

2 eggs, well-beaten

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a medium mixing bowl

3. Using a pastry blender or food processor, cut butter into the flour mixture until the pieces are no larger than a pea

4. Add raisins and currants to the flour and butter mixture

5. Mix together buttermilk, eggs, baking soda. Cut into flour mixture. Do not overmix

6. Turn into a greased 2-quart round casserole dish

7. Bake at 375 for about 50 minutes

---

---

Enquirer: Notes of Interest

Little gems I collected this month about art, literature, and nature. Many of these come from your ideas and suggestions. Drop me a note if you find or notice something that amazes and delights. This month, I’m exploring coincidence.

“Coincidence is the word we use when we can’t see the levers and pulleys.” EMMA BULL

A Good Read

Photo Courtesy: Austin Kleon

I love coincidences. I’m reluctant to admit that I see coincidences as bright neon signs pointing me to the next thing I should explore or a step I should take. So I was delighted and relieved to learn Austin Kleon sees coincidence similarly. And if you’re a regular reader, you’ll remember that I wrote about my snail-like pace last month. Austin ties snails and coincidence together in a brilliant read.

Finding Your Why

Printmaking 15 x 20, Unraveled by Dennis Gordon

My artist's friends were discussing why we make what we make. Why do we take the time to create at all? Why do we share what we share on social media? Since then, I stumbled on this fabulous site called Bold Brush Collector, a daily! deep dive into a single artist’s why.

Let Nature Come to You

mybackyardbirding

A post shared by @mybackyardbirding

I don’t know who the force is behind this brilliant Instagram/Facebook/Youtuber who captures birds in action and song. But if you need a little nature break from your daily grind, I recommend it.

---

---

This newsletter is crafted by hand and completely reader-supported. If you enjoyed this post, please let me know.

If you regularly read the Enquirer and want to support me in creating and posting each week, click the subscribe link below.