Five Things Friday: where I assemble assorted favorites, oddities, announcements, discoveries, random thoughts, life tidbits and whatever else wasn’t quite long enough for a real post. This week: the sky split apart! Plus, organizing the larder to eat it down, reading with kids and more.
Have a great weekend, friends!
Do One Little Thing This Week
I have two main goals this week. In the garden, I’m going to get my peas, onion plants and potatoes in the ground.
Inside, I’m working hard to rationalize my pantry, freezer, and larder organization so it’s easier to eat from my food storage. Around this time of year, it’s a good idea to consciously make room for the upcoming season’s harvest. So, if you have a stockpile of jarred, dehydrated or frozen preserves from 2017 (or 2016!), start working them into your meals more aggressively now.
The Sky Just Split Apart: Video That Blew My Mind
I keep up pretty well with climate change news, so I knew about the recent massive heat spikes in the Arctic. What I didn’t know was why these heat spikes happened, and how they related to crazy hail in Seattle and snow in Ireland. It’s all because the sky just ripped apart over our heads!
This video explained Sudden Stratospheric Warming, and taught me something new. Highly recommended.
What I’m Reading
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Some of my favorites when I was a child, I’m now reading the Time Quintet books by L’Engle to my son. Some books are classics for a reason, and A Wrinkle in Time is one of these – it’s held up just beautifully. Apparently there is a movie adaptation of A Wrinkle In Time coming up – so this is a great time to re-read the book!
Here’s the full list of what I’m reading this year.
Quote I’m Pondering
“The pleasures and rewards of the intellect are inseparable from angst, uncertainty, conflict and even despair.”
- Christopher Hitchens, Letters to a Young Contrarian
I miss the spectacular, unapologetic linguistic acrobatics and stubborn rationality of Hitch. His voice was simply irreplaceable.
Wow, I didn’t know there was a giant storm in the stratosphere — thanks for the interesting video! Do you know what day he posted that video? (He said that cold snaps could occur for the next 2-4 weeks.)
He posted in on Feb 25. So, expect continued weirdness for a bit more! 😀
Thanks, Erica. Looking forward to more reports on your new greenhouse strategy 😉 (I’m so amazed at how often the stuff & systems I built to last ‘forever’, are now being deconstructed .. by me. A lesson in ‘don’t make it permanent’… nothing stays the same 🙂
Aren’t you also reading ‘Illuminated Mind’ ? I remember reading John Gatto’s ‘An Underground History of American Education’ many, many years ago.. a real eye opener.
Hitchens makes one wonder if the pains outweigh the rewards of the ‘intellect’! Personally, I’ve found that ‘thinking’ needs to be balanced with ‘experiencing’… but that’s just me 😉