Summer dreaming

Hello, and a happy Sunday to you! My week was filled with family time, which has been wonderful.

Such time reminded me of the quiet reassurance that comes from physical presence—though we’ve muddled through these sixteen months of video calls admirably, there’s no denying the special magic of being close to people, especially if those relationships developed in a physical setting. Visiting doesn’t require much talking; indeed, silence itself can be affirming. Here’s to more of that in times ahead.

To that end, some quiet dreams for the summer and months to come:

• Keep my new houseplants alive—give them life as they do so for me.
• Listen to albums while reading the paper in weekend-y morning light.
• Make sugo on Sunday mornings.
• Host an Italian-style dinner.
• Paint or stain some unfinished pine shelves.

And, to close things out, here are some links I read over the last week(ish):

• “populism as optimism” by Vass Bednar
• “Making all forms on GOV.UK accessible, easy to use and quick to process” by David Biddle
• “The Real Estate State and Housing Insecurity in the Time of Covid-19” by Daniel Ross
• “B.C. heat wave ‘cooks’ fruit crops on the branch in sweltering Okanagan and Fraser valleys” by Michelle Gomez, “Manitoba municipality declares state of agricultural disaster due to drought, record-breaking heat” by Marianne Klowak, and “How hot is too hot for humans? Understanding wet-bulb temperatures” by Jade Prévost-Manuel
• “’We’re winning’: Ottawa is bucking previous COVID-19 trends” by Ted Raymond
• “Confidential national security docs left on human rights lawyer’s Halifax porch” by the Canadian Press and “Canada has an access-to-information system in name only” by Dean Beeby, Justin Ling, James L. Turk, and Wesley Wark
• “The Referendum” by Austin Kleon
• “love songs” by Helena Fitzgerald

Maybe one or two in there will pique your interest. All the best for the week ahead!

Lucas