I sat on that very same flat hometown rock when I was her age, on the side of a rushing cold water creek filled with crayfish and bubbles.

A coffeecake for new homeowners. I’ll never be able to wrap presents in plastic bows and bright paper again.

My girl and I walked between buildings in our townhouse development and found a patch of fragrant honeysuckle at the edge of the woods. I washed the blossoms, then steeped them overnight in simple syrup. The syrup is lovely mixed with soda water, poured over ice with a squeeze of lemon or sprig of mint.

Not a fancy hack at all, just functional and needed. I love the look of IKEA’s faux sheepskin rug TEJN draped over my FRANKLIN stool, but it never wanted to stay in place. I had to reposition the thing fifteen zillion times a day. The fifteen zillion and oneth time I pulled the fake fur up and over the seat back, I noticed that the edges matched up pretty well on both sides of the pointy end. I threaded a large needle with thick polyester-covered cotton thread, sewed the edges together on both sides, and made a pocket out of the entire end of the skin. The rug still drapes well but no longer slides off of the back rest.

Three things that remind me of you: the Hillstreet Blues theme song plum eyeshadow seashells You were the first, the first one to push through the membrane between our worlds. I touched the soft stretch marks on your belly after you’d gone, while you were still warm. Hours later in the shower, I stood helpless under the water as your final minutes repeated over and over again in front of my unseeing eyes. ...

I had a lot of time to say goodbye to the places where I’d spent most of my time, but wasn’t able to say goodbye to the people who I’d miss the most. People > places. I was disappointed.

I bought a fluorescent light fixture with two full-spectrum grow bulbs and installed it in our basement pantry. I made pots out of newspaper and we planted seeds. I water them twice a day and imagine them tall and strong in the sunshine.

We found a new trail and followed it to its end.

A beautiful fog. The pull of memory. I close my eyes and live a thousand lives.