I was 43 years old when I learned that there is a market for breastmilk JEWELRY. As someone who prides themselves on my knowledge of all products geared towards moms, this discovery really stopped me in my tracks.
I started attending an Episcopal church. I have no religious background and no conversion story, just curiosity and a need to be among people who make caring for other people and each other the core of their lives and community. I learn new things each time I go. Religion being an empty cup, a container for medicine or poison, whatever people put in it. The joy of my naturally churchy singing voice fitting in just fine. 2000 years of western history being as close as a service bulletin. An LGBTQ-inclusive church space feeling holy. Rum cake during Coffee & Conversation being rreeaallyy boozy. Stuff like that.
I’m a cradle Lutheran (have been going since birth - realizing now what a weird expression that is if church is a new thing) and have always *loved* the Episcopal church. So similar to what’s familiar to me/what I love, plus incense and the Book of Common Prayer. Glad you’ve found a welcoming church home!
The ceremony of the service (no incense yet in the handful of times I've been, something to look forward to!!) is so delightfully theatrical. It is so much like going to a play and then being in the play; the original immersive theater?
Welcome! I became a full fledged Episcopalian in 2016 and I get so much joy and fulfillment from my church. I always like to say that we're the cool aunts of Christianity.
My parents died years and year ago. I have such nostalgic happy memories of Christmas: Christmas morning, my dad would put on the radio station that played nonstop Christmas music all day (skewed old, no pop music!), he’d put on his Santa hat and lovingly hand out gifts. I only this week FINALLY finally realized (long after my own children have grown and I did my own family Christmas, too) that while my memories of Christmas center my dad, my mom did EVERYTHING to set up that day. She decorated the tree, the house. She made a billion Christmas cookies. She made the Christmas meal (and of course planned and shopped for it). It’s so weird, even now, how invisible women’s labor is! And my mom, unlike me, did it all without complaining, ever, lol. I so wish she were here so I could thank her for everything she did, she was amazing.
Oh gosh Diane this is so utterly poignant! I always think of the mom in A Christmas Story - constantly working towards everyone else's comfort while the dad is sort of the big presence.
I went to my SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) training last week (we have to take it every 3 years) and learned again about the importance of room temperature for babies (I had forgotten that the ideal range was 68-75 degrees- my classroom is usually between 68-70 degrees). I was proud that my coteacher and I knew nearly every answer to the questions we were being asked!
I may have literally screeched upon seeing a wild swan while visiting England. My British in-laws didn't understand my excitement until I sheepishly admitted that I thought they were storybook creatures akin to unicorns. I mean, have YOU ever seen a swan just swimming away next to some ducks?
My best friend had swans and ducks when we were little as part of their hobby farm along with horses, a pony, and a pot-bellied pig, but I admit that was definitely a pretty singular experience!
I recently learned that Maria of the VonTrapp family was a real person and that the musical we all know and love was based off of her memoir. So many years I watched and did not know that.
YES - I also recently learned that the "love story" between Maria and Captain VonTrapp was less a love story and more of a marriage of convenience lol.
Yes! And they moved the family to the U.S. later on. The Von Trapp Family Lodge in VT is still a lovely place to stay, they have a restaurant that serves Austrian food and some solid x-country ski trails!
I'm newly pregnant so I've been learning all kinds of stuff about what early pregnancy can feel like (why do my food aversions swap every two days) and what you're not allowed to do (no retinol?!) and how teeny brand-new pregnancies progress (how is my baby making a rudimentary heart and kidneys! they are the size of a pea!)
I am 15 weeks pregnant and I love learning about the shit my baby is up to. He finally has skin! And a skeleton! Meanwhile I have constant sniffles and dangerously low iron levels.
I, a teacher in a K-12 public school in which I have contact with tweens and teens on a daily basis, JUST learned that "RIZZ" is short for "ChaRISma" and that made me like it a whole lot more.
I’ve been learning about the transcendentalist painting group based out of New Mexico in the 1930s, particularly Agnes Pelton. Her work is absolutely sublime! I just read a couple of books about their art and unconventional lives and am hungry for more.
Mary Mahoney's newsletter taught me what a toile print is just last week. I've seen the style before, mainly in aspirational interior design photographs of wallpaper, but never knew it was a specific type of decorating pattern with its own name.
Also, I bought myself a breastmilk ring a few years ago. I'm a one and done parent (and very sentimental person!) so I wanted to commemorate those early, fleeting newborn days and the work I did to keep that tiny chicken alive. Do I wear it as often as I thought I would? No. But as someone who has a small, intentional, and meaningful collection of jewelry I'm really glad I have it!
Botox can cause Botulism. I'm writing a memoir about my experience with iatrogenic botulism after trying just 12 units of Botox once. Will keep you all updated!
Fascinating! Highly recommend the episode series on that podcast about each of his 6 wives. They do a great job of bringing humanity back into the story - like each of them had a life BEFORE they were married to him, imagine that!
I learned all about the Canada Line on the Skytrain in Vancouver this weekend. And now that I’m back in NC, I thought- will I need any of this info again?!? But I was up on it for 2 days.
Also my husband is always asking where people are originally from and was appalled I had gone to the Eras Tour without knowing Taylor Swift’s hometown- so maybe this time I will remember it’s West Reading, PA. He can’t believe it’s not the first question I ask when I meet people.
I don’t notice my undereye circles nearly as much since I started wearing my glasses full time but I did learn brushes are the best way to apply makeup- I just don’t wear it all that much now.
I just learned the phrase "Antisemitism is the socialism of fools" in a podcast about tradwives (probably one you linked to earlier this year while re-reading older essays) that I listened to for the first time yesterday and the host extended that to anti-feminism also being the socialism of fools, and I cannot stop thinking about how perfect that phrasing is for everything going on Right Now.
It's not clear who coined it, but it's been around since at least the 1890s, and it's something that desperately needs to come back into the lexicon yesterday.
Question as someone who very rarely wears make-up and grew up as a make-up wearing 90s teenager - what is the best texture for undereye concealer? Powder, cream, liquid, etc. Explain it to me like I am a heterosexual man - I am that clueless, especially now when make-up has changed so much from when I was young.
I like the one Glossier makes. It's kind of a cream/balm situation. I, like Sara, have aggressive and genetic undereye circles and I never attempted concealer until I tried the Glossier.
I started attending an Episcopal church. I have no religious background and no conversion story, just curiosity and a need to be among people who make caring for other people and each other the core of their lives and community. I learn new things each time I go. Religion being an empty cup, a container for medicine or poison, whatever people put in it. The joy of my naturally churchy singing voice fitting in just fine. 2000 years of western history being as close as a service bulletin. An LGBTQ-inclusive church space feeling holy. Rum cake during Coffee & Conversation being rreeaallyy boozy. Stuff like that.
I’m a cradle Lutheran (have been going since birth - realizing now what a weird expression that is if church is a new thing) and have always *loved* the Episcopal church. So similar to what’s familiar to me/what I love, plus incense and the Book of Common Prayer. Glad you’ve found a welcoming church home!
The ceremony of the service (no incense yet in the handful of times I've been, something to look forward to!!) is so delightfully theatrical. It is so much like going to a play and then being in the play; the original immersive theater?
Welcome! I became a full fledged Episcopalian in 2016 and I get so much joy and fulfillment from my church. I always like to say that we're the cool aunts of Christianity.
The pastor of this church is TOTALLY a Cool Aunt!!!!
My parents died years and year ago. I have such nostalgic happy memories of Christmas: Christmas morning, my dad would put on the radio station that played nonstop Christmas music all day (skewed old, no pop music!), he’d put on his Santa hat and lovingly hand out gifts. I only this week FINALLY finally realized (long after my own children have grown and I did my own family Christmas, too) that while my memories of Christmas center my dad, my mom did EVERYTHING to set up that day. She decorated the tree, the house. She made a billion Christmas cookies. She made the Christmas meal (and of course planned and shopped for it). It’s so weird, even now, how invisible women’s labor is! And my mom, unlike me, did it all without complaining, ever, lol. I so wish she were here so I could thank her for everything she did, she was amazing.
Oh gosh Diane this is so utterly poignant! I always think of the mom in A Christmas Story - constantly working towards everyone else's comfort while the dad is sort of the big presence.
I went to my SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) training last week (we have to take it every 3 years) and learned again about the importance of room temperature for babies (I had forgotten that the ideal range was 68-75 degrees- my classroom is usually between 68-70 degrees). I was proud that my coteacher and I knew nearly every answer to the questions we were being asked!
Not super recently but still in my 40s… I learned that narwhals were real and not mystical creatures like fairies and unicorns.
I may have literally screeched upon seeing a wild swan while visiting England. My British in-laws didn't understand my excitement until I sheepishly admitted that I thought they were storybook creatures akin to unicorns. I mean, have YOU ever seen a swan just swimming away next to some ducks?
lol i also get excited when i see swans in the wild!
My best friend had swans and ducks when we were little as part of their hobby farm along with horses, a pony, and a pot-bellied pig, but I admit that was definitely a pretty singular experience!
This was me with fireflies!!! I had no idea!!!
I recently learned that Maria of the VonTrapp family was a real person and that the musical we all know and love was based off of her memoir. So many years I watched and did not know that.
A woman told her story.
YES - I also recently learned that the "love story" between Maria and Captain VonTrapp was less a love story and more of a marriage of convenience lol.
This does not surprise me. She was also 25 years younger than him.
Yes! And they moved the family to the U.S. later on. The Von Trapp Family Lodge in VT is still a lovely place to stay, they have a restaurant that serves Austrian food and some solid x-country ski trails!
In Stowe, right?
I'm newly pregnant so I've been learning all kinds of stuff about what early pregnancy can feel like (why do my food aversions swap every two days) and what you're not allowed to do (no retinol?!) and how teeny brand-new pregnancies progress (how is my baby making a rudimentary heart and kidneys! they are the size of a pea!)
oh man YES it's like weekly revelations!
I am 15 weeks pregnant and I love learning about the shit my baby is up to. He finally has skin! And a skeleton! Meanwhile I have constant sniffles and dangerously low iron levels.
I, a teacher in a K-12 public school in which I have contact with tweens and teens on a daily basis, JUST learned that "RIZZ" is short for "ChaRISma" and that made me like it a whole lot more.
bahahahahaha amazing
THANK YOU
I’ve been learning about the transcendentalist painting group based out of New Mexico in the 1930s, particularly Agnes Pelton. Her work is absolutely sublime! I just read a couple of books about their art and unconventional lives and am hungry for more.
Mary Mahoney's newsletter taught me what a toile print is just last week. I've seen the style before, mainly in aspirational interior design photographs of wallpaper, but never knew it was a specific type of decorating pattern with its own name.
Also, I bought myself a breastmilk ring a few years ago. I'm a one and done parent (and very sentimental person!) so I wanted to commemorate those early, fleeting newborn days and the work I did to keep that tiny chicken alive. Do I wear it as often as I thought I would? No. But as someone who has a small, intentional, and meaningful collection of jewelry I'm really glad I have it!
I hear you! Some of the ones I peeped online were super pretty - looked a lot like moonstones!
Botox can cause Botulism. I'm writing a memoir about my experience with iatrogenic botulism after trying just 12 units of Botox once. Will keep you all updated!
Link to my book: https://a.co/d/giXANRu
I didn't realize that Henry VIII started The Church of England to get out of his first marriage. Credit to https://wondery.com/shows/even-the-royals/
omg YESSSSS ol henry #8 was responsible for a TON of wild cultural shifts!
Fascinating! Highly recommend the episode series on that podcast about each of his 6 wives. They do a great job of bringing humanity back into the story - like each of them had a life BEFORE they were married to him, imagine that!
The Oversimplified episode on Henry VIII on YouTube is definitely worth watching, as are the other episodes--definitely recommend!
I learned all about the Canada Line on the Skytrain in Vancouver this weekend. And now that I’m back in NC, I thought- will I need any of this info again?!? But I was up on it for 2 days.
Also my husband is always asking where people are originally from and was appalled I had gone to the Eras Tour without knowing Taylor Swift’s hometown- so maybe this time I will remember it’s West Reading, PA. He can’t believe it’s not the first question I ask when I meet people.
I don’t notice my undereye circles nearly as much since I started wearing my glasses full time but I did learn brushes are the best way to apply makeup- I just don’t wear it all that much now.
I just learned that Pokémon is a portmanteau of the Japanese words for "pocket" and "monster." Thanks NYTimes Connections!
um holy shit had no clue (as the parent of a pokemon fanatic this is huge)
I just learned the phrase "Antisemitism is the socialism of fools" in a podcast about tradwives (probably one you linked to earlier this year while re-reading older essays) that I listened to for the first time yesterday and the host extended that to anti-feminism also being the socialism of fools, and I cannot stop thinking about how perfect that phrasing is for everything going on Right Now.
It's not clear who coined it, but it's been around since at least the 1890s, and it's something that desperately needs to come back into the lexicon yesterday.
oh that is BRILLIANT
Question as someone who very rarely wears make-up and grew up as a make-up wearing 90s teenager - what is the best texture for undereye concealer? Powder, cream, liquid, etc. Explain it to me like I am a heterosexual man - I am that clueless, especially now when make-up has changed so much from when I was young.
lol lol I do a creamy liquid. i think powder would do nothing, and a thin liquid would be too - thin.
Hello, I am you. V much appreciate this question.
I like the one Glossier makes. It's kind of a cream/balm situation. I, like Sara, have aggressive and genetic undereye circles and I never attempted concealer until I tried the Glossier.
I have alternate between Benefit and Milk tubes but a friend was recently raving about this which I'm VERY intrigued by
https://www.drmtlgy.com/products/spf-undereye-corrector-fair?variant=40173082574903