A random assortment of fun diversions for the weekend here: Visiting Rajasthan has always been high on my list; now this rose garden near Lahore is making it even more of a priority. I never get tired of watching this wildlife-cam footage: coyote and badger playing together. “Viewfinder” is a sweet, short animated film aboutContinue reading “Friday Favorites: Feedly Clean-up”
Author Archives: mourningdove
Pizza!
I can’t remember whose vlog I was watching, maybe Ashley Choi’s, but she got pizza and wine with a friend on a cold winter night, and I thought: That is a great idea. I’ve been cooking well for myself since I arrived in Berlin, but I haven’t gotten much in the way of local takeout,Continue reading “Pizza!”
Field-Trip Fridays: Wollparadies Fadeninsel
My knitting needles finally arrived today (let’s not talk about how much I paid to have that box shipped to me), and so I went to a yarn store today to get ready for my next knitting project. Wollparadies Fadeninsel is on Oranienstraße in the cute, hip neighborhood of Kreuzberg. The staff were *super* friendlyContinue reading “Field-Trip Fridays: Wollparadies Fadeninsel”
Recovery from Narcissistic Abuse
I am a survivor of narcissistic abuse (NA), and so I wanted to put a brief handlist together of the resources I have found most helpful in my ongoing recovery. First, a few caveats based on my experience: There’s a lot of content on the Internet about narcissism, NA, and C-PTSD (complex post-traumatic stress disorder,Continue reading “Recovery from Narcissistic Abuse”
Living In…Seoul Villa
“Living In” was an old series on (the awesome but now sadly defunct) Design*Sponge where different contributors would put together collages (I guess the kids are calling them “mood boards” these days) that brought to life the ambience of a particular movie or book. Here I’m taking it a little more literally and designing housesContinue reading “Living In…Seoul Villa”
German Word of the Week: Baumschule
Before I get into discussing baumschule, I have to point readers to Ben Schott’s adorable little book Schottenfreude, in which he makes up German words to describe special situations he thinks there should be a word for, like “Zwillingsmoral – Reading horoscopes you don’t believe in.” Since German lets you build nouns of incredible length, it’sContinue reading “German Word of the Week: Baumschule”
Iron Teakettle and Winter Tonic
The rental I’m staying in in Berlin has this beautiful iron teakettle that sits on a brazier stand that takes a tealight. It’s so nice to brew a pot of green tea up and then sip it hot all afternoon while sitting and working on the couch. Today I put some winter tonic in theContinue reading “Iron Teakettle and Winter Tonic”
Aikido and Rhetoric: Finding Balance Outside
Now and again, it is necessary to seclude yourself among deep mountains and hidden valleys to restore your link to the source of life. Breathe in and let yourself soar to the ends of the universe; breathe out and bring the cosmos back inside. Next, breathe up all the vibrancy and fecundity of the earth.Continue reading “Aikido and Rhetoric: Finding Balance Outside”
Ceramics Saturdays: Vershenkte Teekanne!
One of the neat things about Berlin is that you’ll just find random boxes of stuff on people’s stoops with a little sign that says “Verschenken!” (“give away”). On my way to drop off some knives for sharpening, I picked up this teapot (coffee pot, really) with a dashing little peacock on it. No ideaContinue reading “Ceramics Saturdays: Vershenkte Teekanne!”
Tomé Hill
I’m posting this story today in honor of the 50th birthday of my lifelong friend Michele, whom I met in first grade at Montgomery Elementary School in a friendly competition for the affections of a boy named Tag, who turned out to be more interested in snapping his fingers rapidly over his math worksheets thanContinue reading “Tomé Hill”
The Rookery 