This photo makes me very happy. It was taken on a night I couldn't sleep, similar to tonight except I left my husband in a tent instead of our bed. I was lying alone outside, at the end of the earth.

Patagonia, February 2015

May:

My shoe wears a blister on one of my winter feet and Sam notices the slight limp. I tuck a leaf into my heel, a trick that sometimes work. He laughs and thinks (I think): you. But the autumn leaf I found is too brittle. I look up and see its spring sisters emerging. I think (I know): it's too soon to go sock-less. Remember, next year, wait until the leaves are out. 

Sam takes a shoe off on the sidewalk, removes one sock and I slide it on. Happy one-year anniversary.

Kansas, 2011.

I wrote my letter of resignation today, using the same template I designed for a cover letter. Out one door, into another.

—

I was walking near the lake last weekend when a woman stopped me for directions. "Which way is the church?" she asked. I asked her if she was attending a wedding. A friend of ours was attending one nearby, I knew.

"No, a funeral. The other end of life, I'm afraid."

—

Sam has a line he uses, a line I like: "Life. It's just so . . . linear." But, really, it's all much more like the above. Up and down and around and back from where we came. 

Last April in Charleston, South Carolina.

There's light again when I return from work. My house, my objects, my camera, myself—rejoice!

Sunday newspaper,
Sunday baking,
Sunday beer,
Sunday bloody mary,
Sunday brunch,
Sunday rosé,
Sunday champagne,
Sunday rooftop,
Sunday sun,
Sunday water,
Sunday nap,
Sunday walk,
Sunday read.

Sunday conveys leisure as an adjective. Happy Easter Sunday.

A note I found from early last year:

Today: I thought about hiking a segment of the Appalachian Trail and getting a second bachelor's degree; I ditched my bike to read the Dalai Lama's autobiography on the train; I had two cookies for dinner instead of cooking.

Listen: you are not yourself, you are crowds of others, you are as leaky a vessel as was ever made, you have spent vast amounts of your life as someone else, as people who died long ago, as people who have never lived, as strangers you never met. 

The usual I we are given has all the tidy containment of the kind of character the realist novel specializes in and none of the porousness of our waking moment, the loose threads, the strange dreams, the forgettings and misrememberings, the portions of a life lived through others' stories, the incoherence and inconsistency, the pantheon of dei ex machina and companionability of ghosts. There are other ways of telling.

-Rebecca Solnit, The Faraway Nearby, p. 248

Greetings, February/blizzard. A few life tips:

• Keep pancake mix in your pantry for days like this. I've been making the recipe from Megan Gordon's Whole-Grain Mornings—enough for four batches. We rarely have milk, but yogurt or nut milk do just fine as a replacement.
• Limit your cleaning supplies to an all-purpose cleaner, a glass cleaner, and some baking soda. If you make your own supplies, tape the recipe to the outside of the bottle (because you're never going to remember where you put it, otherwise). Along with a few brushes and cloths, place everything in a bucket—and keep it there. Tote around for easy cleaning. Voilà.
• Don't just assume that your tile grout is black, because it just might be white.

Sweet, still memories from a weekend in Michigan last winter. Two lines:

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.
–John Steinbeck, Travels with Charley  

You're either going to be miserable and go jump off a bridge, or you gotta embrace it.
–Taxi driver from last night 

NEW YEAR LETTER FOR 2015:

Dear loved ones,

2014 began with a trying, cold winter—in an old apartment whose radiators sang like birds. Sam and I traveled to the California desert to escape. Then we married in the spring on my parents' farm in Missouri. Friends and family made trips from Chicago and Germany and Panama and elsewhere to celebrate around a meal, and then a dance floor, and then a bonfire. We moved a week later into a little rental house in Logan Square with a porch and a yard. Sam practiced banjo to such an extent that I was constantly humming tunes of gun fights, drowning women, hunting groundhogs, and the like. He developed an obsession with waves—a joke among our friends—and perfected his coffee. I learned about herbalism and aromatherapy; spent days in the yard and nights designing a new independent magazine; and didn't read as much as I'd wanted. We felt overwhelmed by life and work, and frustrated with the city. We questioned staying in Chicago long-term in hope of gaining a quieter existence.

Then we traveled to Iceland for two weeks in the fall, and I visited Oregon and New York to see a few of my favorite people in two of my favorite places. The weather cooled and we both became busy with work. I designed an exhibition catalogue and Sam brewed the late shift. We joked about become professional hobbyists. We felt happy and fulfilled and productive. We loved Chicago. We loved our friends. We loved our family. It was a good, hard, important year.

Wishing you love and light and growth,
Jessica

HYPOTHETICAL NEW YEAR LETTER FOR 2016:

Guys,

Gah, 2015 was THE BEST. (I'm writing this from ______—can you believe it?—a surprise trip from Sam!) I read 50 books and learned conversational Spanish. Sam and I trekked 100 miles in Patagonia and I felt strong with my yoga-toned arms and bicycle-toned legs. I was very thoughtful—remembered everyone's birthdays, wrote thank yous, and always brought a hostess gift. I often woke early to meditate and work on projects. I spent less time at work, and with my extra hours—wow!—was able to (re)learn how to knit, crochet, and weave. Sam became an excellent banjo player.

We fermented and preserved throughout the growing season and I became more of an intuitive cook. With our help, the yard became more beautiful than ever, and our friends gathered there on the weekends—there was so much love and laughter. I finished my courses in herbalism and gardening, and felt great about my contributions to the community and to the world.

I kept things busy but took things slow. I paid attention. I created—not for an end, but for the exploration. Oh, and Sam was awesome. This year was awesome.

xx,
Jessica

Even this late it happens:
the coming of love, the coming of light.
You wake and the candles are lit as if by themselves,
stars gather, dreams pour into your pillows,
sending up warm bouquets of air.
Even this late the bones of the body shine
and tomorrow’s dust flares into breath. 

–Mark Strand

Day 8 of our road trip, as written in a tiny journal on Monday, September 8, 2014:

Woke with long morning search for cafe. Found it eventually at Visitor Center in Hellnar. Very rainy still. Cups and cups of coffee with updates in the journal . . .

This is where the entries end, as I've never kept a travel journal consistently. We went on a long hike to Glymur later that day, the tallest waterfall in Iceland. It involved climbing down through a cave, crossing a long log bridge, and then scrambling up to the top. And then we visited the sites on the Golden Circle the next day, back closer to Reykjavík, before returning home sick, tired, and happy.

(Grundarfjörður → Hellnar → Glymur → Reykjavík, Iceland)

Day 7 of our road trip, as written in a tiny journal on Sunday, September 7, 2014:

Long, rainy drive to Snæfellsnes Peninsula. Ramen in van and venture into Water Museum—pillars of water from each glacier in Iceland. Museum was closed but door was open. Kicked out. Oops! Dinner at Narfeyrarstofa—mussels and fish soup. Left and got a flat tire in lava field outside of Stykkishólmur as sun was setting. Helped Sam jack car and then picked wild blueberries while he put on the spare. Camped in Grundarfjörður.

(Látrabjarg → Grundarfjörður, Iceland)

Day 6 of our road trip, as written in a tiny journal on Saturday, September 6, 2014:

Woke surprisingly not hungover. Foggy drive to Dynjandi (wedding cake waterfall) with stop at Pollurinn later. Asked someone to take our picture and then laughed about it. Geothermal bath hillside with Icelandic family and then to ourselves. Misty. Quiet. Three black sheep came, curiously—very close. Drove to Látrabjarg but it was very rainy. Strange being so near the view . . . with no view. Searched for historic rocks from saga. Walked along beach and found large, curious seal with bobbing head. Walked up and down the shore as it followed. Day of curious creatures.

(Ísafjörður → Látrabjarg, Iceland)

Day 5 of our road trip, as written in a tiny journal on Friday, September 5, 2014:

Woke and drove to nearby farm for the bathroom, water, and seals. Then drove up the east side of the Westfjords—waterfalls and rainbows everywhere. Late start but we made it to Ísafjörður around 5 p.m. Into the cultural center/library for directions to campsite. Woman (who we now know as Helena) gave us directions. Saw exhibition of gridded sketches, botanical book, worn marble floors. Found campsite and searched town for our planned dinner spot. Ended up being back where we setup . . . in a building from the 1700s! Old wooden fish warehouse. Walked in museum portion by accident where Helena also works—small town. Drinks at another cafe and then back to Tjöruhúsið at 9 p.m. Helena snuck us beers as we waited outside. Lights reflecting on the sea. The best food—fish buffet in giant cast iron skillets—wood interior, bottle of wine, honeymoon toast. Another bottle of wine waiting at our camp when we got back. Thankful for our sneaky new Icelandic friend.

(Vatnes Peninsula → Ísafjörður, Iceland)

Day 4 of our road trip, as written in a tiny journal on Thursday, September 4, 2014:

Awoken by police knocking on our van at 2 a.m.—evacuated in case of flooding due to the volcano. Very nice, blonde, smiley officer gave us advice on where to sleep in Mývatn. Arrived in Mývatn around 3:30 a.m. and camped on side of the road. Morning filled with midges (tiny bugs) and tourists and "dog-bowl" hike. View of cute pseudo-craters. Drove on to Akureyri and happened on lunch buffet at cafe. Sat outside in sun, walked to the church, and then drove on to Goðafoss (actually, before Akureyri). Drove on to Skagaströnd for a "cowboy cafe" we read about in the guidebook. Guidebook old. No cowboy cafe. But! Beautiful walk in a nature preserve on the beach and found a box of simple treasures—shells, books, rocks—in a suitcase. Part of someone's art project. Then to the Vatnes Peninsula. Camped at beach overlook near Osar Hostel. Walked along shore near seal colony. Met Belgian Jeremy, ate soup, and drank port outside as the sun set.

(Dettifoss → Mývatn → Akureyri → Vatnes Peninsula, Iceland)