Thursday ~ struggle & progress

This is an old picture from at least 3 years ago.  But it's a good reminder of things I love to do.  This tea was not that hard to make.  I cut up bread and used Hawaiian little rolls.  And then my cranberry muffins and some strawberries.  But doesn't it look lovely?  I could use some loveliness!!! 

Below is a screenshot of an essay I read which I will link to below.

This sentence in particular I really loved: 

"Harriet Monroe strikes a

morose note when she complains in the first issue of Poetry (1912) that "poetry alone, of all the fine arts, has been left to shift for herself in immediate and desperate need of her." 

You can find the entire article HERE. 

This new literary magazine is worth supporting and my husband and I plan on doing so with a subscription.  

It's called Portico Quarterly.  And it's blurb about itself is as follows: 

"Politics rules the pages of many prestigious literary publications. Not at Portico. Each issue features essays and reviews on a variety of artistic and literary topics, a short story, and poems by some of today’s best writers. We take faith and tradition seriously and aim to return art and literature to their proper places in our lives and culture. Subscribe today!"

The article I linked to is from here and the author of this substack is the one who is spearheading Portico. 

In a lot of ways, I'm unfamiliar with the world of literary journals at this point.  But this one seems like a good starting point and I've gotten this author's emails for years before it was a paid subscription.  

The reason I want to subscribe to this particular journal is because of the article I linked to. Because of the focus on literature without politics. Why? I do not love politics. Of any stripe. Partly because of my brain. Because I can see many sides of every issue and whoever I'm talking to, I can usually see something good in it. This in some ways is very good, but in other ways it's very tricky.  Anyway.  

This article linked to this other literary magazine which is pretty new. What I found interesting about it is that they also don't want sides.  And I like that. It works with my brain and with how I wish the world would be more like. Not polarized. But able to dialogue. To be able to be respectful of others who come from very different viewpoints. Not that I'm perfect at doing that, but I do think it's a very good skill to have. This magazine says this about itself: 

"The Point adheres to no specific political or social agenda; instead, we ask our readers to participate in a dialogue between diverse intellectual traditions, personalities and points of view. The goal is a society where the examined life is not an abstract ideal but an everyday practice" from HERE.  

I'm not planning on getting a subscription to this one because there's a limit to such things in my world. I found out about this one through the author of the substack who spearheaded Portico. 

So that's something to look forward to!  Meanwhile, here is a very Monday in picture of my dinner.  I had a green smoothie and soup with carrots earlier so I did get some vegetables today! Other than french fries which may be count as potatoes 🤣

I had ginger tea, decaf tea, hot chocolate and immunity keto water keto vitals which is a powder. That does not have sugar! The mundane and the poetic together.  

Everyone has many sides to themselves, which is something fascinating about humans...... I listen to lots of calming music, but I actually listen to lots of types of music. And one of the most surprising is that I listen to Transformer soundtracks on YouTube 🤣🥳 I'm proud of it and have no regrets because this music has really helped me. 

Today I found this one: 

Transformers | EPIC MUSIC MIX.  

Believe it or not, I hope to watch some of these movies with my godsons one day. We talked about it when I had them over for Christmas party in January! I know the many sides of Elizabeth 🤣🥰👋🤔🧐🤨🙃

Wait till you see my writing project one day God willing! Then you'll be very surprised. 

Well, the good news is my ankle is doing much better today. I was able to do laundry and carry a laundry basket. Not that my arms have ever been impeded but the weight of carrying things was difficult for my ankle.  Tomorrow God's the last day I will fully wear the walking boot.  

If things go as planned, God willing, I will have my first PT at the new/ old place on Tuesday. Long story why I couldn't begin with that one at first but I don't regret anything in this because I think it's just a process and a journey. 

I'm just remembering that I linked to an earlier transformers song mix. Anyway, I don't have time to change this blog post. It is as it is. 

Well I managed to do the dishwasher and I made dinner. I'm sore now but that's to be expected. You can't go from being on the couch for most of the time to being in a walking boot, which makes your gate incredibly uneven because the boot is a good 2 in taller than the sandal on your other foot and not expect some discomfort and even pain.  Obviously the pain I had Sunday night keeping me up for hours was way too much.  It's a hard balance. I was doing fine and then I wasn't. 

I discovered this song in a transformers YouTube video today as well. Our final hope is what it's called.  I liked it and I found it very moving.  It all depends on what's going on with in and without for music to work and match. It's about 1 minute in that I really like because it's a theme that I've heard in other pieces.

I've read a little bit of the fairacre book the first one but today has been a mixed day of activity, rest and other things.  

Tomorrow I look forward to a day of quiet. My husband worked from home today but will go in tomorrow.  

I'm really looking forward to walking soon.  

There's so much beauty, so much sorrow, and yet so much hope in the world.  May God have mercy on us.