“Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.”
— John Muir
With all of Washington’s state and national parks currently closed, there are quite a few dirt paths I’m missing, including this one to Hidden Lake in the North Cascades. It’s a hard trail — hard to get to by car, and a hard hike with steep elevation gain at high altitude — but you’re rewarded for all your trouble with this stunning view. Panoramas like this one always make me feel incredibly lucky to live here, and even in the midst of global crisis, I know this beauty remains, patiently standing by, and ready for our return whenever it’s safe to visit again.
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Q: Do you have a favorite trail? If you do, tag me in a post or a story share about it! I want to see!!
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#throwbackthursday #hiddenlake #northcascades #pnwonderland #trail #explore #kthrogtravels
I’m joining in on the #quarantinememoir, using book titles to share to tell you how quarantine has been... When THINGS FALL APART, A GATHERING OF SHADOWS falls upon OUR TRAGIC UNIVERSE. It feels HEAVY and WILD.
As I continue to keep SOMEONE AT A DISTANCE at least FOR THE TIME BEING, it feels like we’re caught BETWEEN BEFORE AND AFTER.
But I’ll just be LOST IN A GOOD BOOK, headed out into NATURE, and keeping my focus on making everything ALL ABOUT LOVE. One day, I trust there will be A CONJURING OF LIGHT, when we’ll make room for HOPE AND OTHER PUNCH LINES again.
Oh, and P.S. we need an INTERPRETER OF MALADIES, specifically for COVID-19, to discover an effective vaccine.
Inspired by @erindotsmith and @sunnystateofbooks’s posts. There have been some really amusing editions of this, though mine came out a bit more serious. Would love to see anyone try this who wants to!
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#bookstack #goldenhour #quarantine #bookstagram #readersofinstagram #bookstagrammer
Hey there. How’s Monday treating you? Are things blooming where you are? Have you tried whipped coffee (dalgona coffee) yet?
This photo represents how everything is different, and everything is also the same. I’m shooting more photos in my own yard these days, but then again, it’s not like I wasn’t doing that before. I hopped on the whipped coffee trend, which has sprung up during quarantine — but let’s be real, I would’ve tried this regardless. And I’ve just started Vanity Fair, a classic that’s been on my shelf for some time, that I’m sure I would’ve eventually gotten to, but I’m reading thanks to another virtual buddy read with @spunkyreads since we can’t meet up in person like usual. I was reading before, and I’ll be reading long after this, but I’m finding I’m clinging to this hobby fervently during this time of staying at home.
I‘m finding the key to sanity is holding these two disparate truths close: this situation is *not* normal and it’s okay to not be okay about it — but I won’t stop trying to create moments of normalcy and joy in the midst of the crazy anyway.
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#bookstagram #vanityfair #whippedcoffee #dalgonacoffee #bluebells #bookandcoffee #bookandflowers #thackeray #spring #mondaymood
Even though I can’t currently visit them, I’m very happy that some of my favorite bookstores came to me! Sending so much love and goodwill to @elliottbaybookco and @powellsbooks, as well as to all the independent bookstores I’ve wandered through and shopped in over the years. 💕💕💕
Also, if you want to support bookstores without adding to your TBR, I recommend checking out @thinkingbinc, an organization that supports independent bookstores in times of crisis. ❤️📚❤️
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#shoplocal #supportsmallbusiness #bookstack #bookstore #bookhaul #bookstagram
Every Thursday until we’re out of quarantine, I’m planning to post a picture from my previous travels — just to acknowledge that while I’m thankful to be safe and well and home, I’m also missing that wide world out there, and eagerly awaiting the day when I can get back to exploring it in person, rather than just from my armchair.
This week’s shot is of the beautiful Casa Batlló in Barcelona, a Gaudí creation, taken last summer in June 2019. To me, one of the best things about Barça is the architecture. I’ve just never visited anywhere else with quite this much flair for the dramatic on nearly every corner. Barcelona’s also one of the few international cities I’ve had the pleasure of revisiting, and it says something about a place when you feel magic in it at both the age of 19 and 30, if in different ways. I hope to be here again in the decades to come. ———
Q: Where’s a place you hope to revisit again and again?
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#throwbackthursday #barcelona #spain #gaudi #casabattlo #travel #kthrogtravels
As a mood reader, I actually find it quite difficult to match books to my mood. Every now and then, though, I manage it, and that’s what happened with this book, which I had the pleasure of buddy reading with @spunkyreads.
One of the quoted reviews on the back of this book describes Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go as ‘elegiac,’ which means ‘wistfully mournful.’
Wistfully mournful just perfectly encapsulates how I’m feeling lately. I feel a broad sense of loss — for lives lost, jobs lost, shops lost, just for normalcy in general. I also feel a personal sense of loss — for the graduation ceremony I won’t have, the weddings I planned to attend that are now cancelled, and not to mention, the looming dread that sooner or later the disease could claim someone I know. Beyond the grief, though, I also feel wistful, even if it’s tinged with melancholy. I long for days past and days ahead, when we can return to our lives as usual. A time in the future, when I hope we won’t take everyday pleasures for granted so often, when I hope our shared sense of solidarity will linger long after coronavirus has receded.
But back to the book. For me, this was a page-turning, genre-bending story. It’s modern gothic coming-of-age, with glimpses of sci-fi, horror, and suspense. It was a bit like what I’d imagine one of the Brontës would have written if they'd been born a century or so later. Much like with the Brontës’ works, I was both impressed with Ishiguro’s talent, and horrified by some of the scenes. Ishiguro’s intimacy with human folly made the novel feel very real to me, both destructive and hopeful. And that’s why it matched my mood so perfectly, which shifts from thinking this pandemic will be our doom, to alternately thinking it could bring us together in ways we haven’t even dared to dream. More likely, it’s somewhere in the middle, and that’s why I love novels like this that illustrate both the best and worst parts of human nature: showing us that we have the capacity for both, but it’s up to us to choose well.
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Q: Are you a mood reader? And have you ever read a book that matched up with your mood?
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#neverletmego #kazuoishiguro #gothic #bookstagram #booksoutofdoors
Happy Monday, here’s a #shelfie! This next week is going to be insanely busy, and I won’t be on the ‘gram much (and I’m already so behind on my feed — will catch up next week!), but I finished rearranging my shelves over the weekend, and it’s so sunny this morning, I had to share. I haven’t posted my shelves in over a year because they have been a complete mess, but they are FINALLY clean and organized!
I hope you all are safe and well and healthy, and headed into a good week. ❤️
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#bookshelf #bookstagram #books #booknerd #sunshine #monday
jaunt | [jawnt, jahnt] | noun
Jaunt is such a lovely word. Anywhere near water is a great place for me!
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Being near the water is my favorite as well! My family had a boat growing up, and I’m always drawn to water.
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Love jaunts, participate in them all the time, and normally drag my family with me
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I live near a lake, so a jaunt around it always helps me clear away the mind junk and focus on being creative. A couple of years ago, we walked through the Calaveras Sequoia park in CA. It was so quiet and peaceful, I felt like my creative juices were flowing out my ears. I hated having to leave and I envy those who live nearby and can spend their days in the park.
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Ah, I envy you for living near a lake! 😉 But I do agree that getting out in nature is such a good way to clear you head and get a fresh start on something. And sometimes even just being outside in a crowd helps, too. I’m definitely a believer in changing up your environment from time to time.
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Great word. Chambers says early uses correspond to Shakespeare’s usage of ‘jaunce’ – to ‘prance’.
I find dog walking is a very good way to get my brain thinking in other ways.
Otherwise I’m in my chair at the computer, or on the sofa, writing all day.
~Liz http://www.lizbrownleepoet.com
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I am not surprised it comes from Shakespeare; it seems like something he’d think up.
Always good to shake up sitting all day! Both for your health and creativity. 🙂
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Absolutely agree with the water factor. The coast/ocean, a lake, a creek, it is a must-have for me when traveling. There is nothing like getting outdoors, soaking up the beauty that surrounds you, and just getting rejuvenated. 🙂
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I feel like growing up near a lake-river-canal trifecta made sure I would never be fully at home in a landlocked location. I think it’s why as much as I want to love where I live in the Raleigh-Durham area of North Carolina (it’s really a very cool place), I just can’t do it. There’s not enough water here. But we’re only 2 hours from the beach or the mountains so I try to see the positive! 🙂
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I’m very fortunate that we are in a prime location for water access. We are an hour inland from the Pacific, live a few minutes from a river, and are an hour to the mountains that boast tons of lakes. I would never be able to live in a landlocked state!!
I’m iffy on how I feel about the truth behind zodiacs, but I’m a Cancer and that sign’s love of water is definitely something I relate to!!
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