I have to force myself to take walks in this brutal heat, but I do it to stay healthy, plodding through neighborhood routes that quickly become rote. I found this week, though, that the most predictable pathways can still surprise me. I took a wind-blown walk on an old bridge, now a small park, that runs out into the marsh, and as I was wondering to a friend who was with me if the Roseate Spoonbills would return this summer, one floated up out of the pluff mud where it had been feeding. I’d never seen one in flight before, and its big pink wings looked like an earth angel floating past. Like a bird designed by Dior. Immediately after, a gauzy curtain of wild rain swept in, soaked us, and moved swiftly on. It was just a brief interlude in a familiar walk, but it's an indelible memory. The wind combing the deep green marsh grass, the sudden baptism of rain, the rosy-winged bird like an emissary from a dream. As ancient trees and cities burn, as politicians sell our birthright, as billionaires buy climate retreats for themselves, it's easy to lose hope. These fragile, fleeting moments of beauty may not survive human greed and carelessness. But still, I return again and again to the words of poet Adam Zagajewski in “Try to Praise the Mutilated World”. And I’m trying, I’m trying.  
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When my iPhone 8 finally gave up, I decided to go for a bigger model. I thought it would take forever to get used to the larger size with no Home button; in reality, it took less than 15 minutes. Well, maybe a little longer considering the many hysterical calls to my daughters and Apple when I couldn’t figure out how to transfer and sync my data. Anyway, I love it now, but what I really miss is my old case that had slots for credit cards. It was the only one of its kind that worked for me, but I’m moving on to a sleek square case from Flaunt. The only problem was deciding between hot pink and tortoise.
 
I’ve been so gripped by such despair and inarticulate fury since SCOTUS put women in the Way Back Machine that I avoided watching The Janes until this week. The documentary tells the story of a network of women in the late 1960s who built a secret network to provide safe, underground abortions at a time when they were illegal. These amazing, ordinary heroes! It reminded me that some things never change and misogyny is still an infectious disease. I live in SC, a state that is getting ready to enact a complete ban on abortion, but women don’t give up and we won't forget who did this to us. If you don’t have HBO or Hulu, find a friend who does and watch it together. Then get angry and vote furiously.
 
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I’ve been a fan of Dan Fesperman’s books ever since I read Safe Houses, and I just started his new one, Winter Work. It takes place in Berlin right after the Wall came down and features Emil Grimm, a former East German Stasi officer, and Claire Saylor, a CIA agent, who cross paths during a dangerous operation. Set in a turbulent time and place, the edgy spy thriller is given added depth by the personal relationships that develop between the principal characters. (I highly recommend Safe Houses and another of his books, Cover Wife, also set in the clandestine intelligence world and featuring some of the same characters.)
 
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I’ve been trying to ditch my empty-calorie, toast-and-jam breakfast, so I’ve started eating Nature’s Path Heritage Flakes made from a bunch of weird ancient grains I can’t even spell. I think that means they’re healthy. I hate soggy cereal, so my favorite thing about Heritage Flakes is that they stay super crunchy to the last bite. I buy mine at Trader Joe’s, but I think it’s available at other stores and also Amazon.
 

I’d love to hear about your favorite things. Email me at nikki@thedailynikki.com.

 

XOXO NIKKI

 
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