I mentioned recently that this apocalyptic humidity is wreaking havoc on the finish on the table and chairs I’m working on. The lovely and talented Rachel came up with a great solution: finish them in her parents’ garage, which is climate controlled. They agreed and the finish is looking better.

Like Ray Charles’ “Night time is the right time,” Waylon Jennings’ “Amanda” is a song made by its backup singers.

Paper ephemera in my copy of this Forster essay collection. Any ideas what 76/mvt means?

I’m feeling the itch to go on another southern Indiana day-long road trip. Some previous trips:

I note with some disappointment that a few new businesses in my town are called Star City [etc]. When I was growing up, it seemed like every other business was Stone City [etc]. That was, of course, because of the local limestone industry. (We are, for good reason, the self-proclaimed Limestone Capital of the World.) The industry still exists but it is a shadow of its former self, for various reasons. Now businesses seem to be turning to the mascot of our high school for their naming. Is it a big deal? No, but it does represent a fading and forgetting.

This humidity we’re having. My in-laws want a polyurethane finish on their table and chairs. When I spray a coat on a chair it goes cloudy. (I’m doing this in my detached garage with no AC.) So I’ve brought a chair in to my nasty but climate controlled basement and will try it there. Fingers crossed

The Adam and Eve story has always been a fruitful (heh) one for me. Two times I reflected on it: here and here.

I’m nearing the end of the table and chairs restoration project for my in-laws. It’s taking me a long time—thankfully they’re not in a hurry. I’ve had to learn a lot as I go. But now that I can see the end, I’m planning more restorations. Like this rocker. Looks like I’ll be learning rush weaving!

Robin Wall Kimmerer:

People often ask me what one thing I would recommend to restore relationship between land and people. My answer is almost always, “Plant a garden.” It’s good for the health of the earth and it’s good for the health of people. A garden is a nursery for nurturing connection, the soil for cultivation of practical reverence. And its power goes far beyond the garden gate—once you develop a relationship with a little patch of earth, it becomes a seed itself.

Something essential happens in a vegetable garden. It’s a place where if you can’t say “I love you” out loud, you can say it in seeds. And the land will reciprocate, in beans.

Jon Stewart on why “get on board or shut the f* up” is not exactly a pro-democracy rallying cry.