The Commonplace Newsletter by Tsh Oxenreider

Earlier today (technically yesterday as this lands in your inbox) two of my kids and I went to a friend’s house to work out in her garage (the one who recently wrote about the benefits of living geographically near your friends), and right now it’s evening, and our family just got home from dinner with another nearby family… Both these friends are a 5-to-7 minute drive from us, us never having to leave our side of town or get on a highway.

Still Life with Books and Candle, by Henri Matisse (1890) It’s hard to believe it’s already July—summer is whooshing by TOO fast, in my book.

Huzzah, I am just about done with book edits; the end is on the horizon. I actually already went through all my editorā€™s notes, but now Iā€™m going through it yet again (this is my 8,275th time reading my own damn words) because after editing it still sat at over 100k words ā€¦and it needs to be shorter. As of this morning, itā€™s now at 91,117 words, so Iā€™m getting there. Darlings getting slashed, left and right.

We’ve lived in our 1935 fixer-upper for ten years this September, and perhaps it will bless you (or demoralize you? depending on your situation) to know that we are still working on it. My husband, Kyle, is a former contractor and knows what he’s doing with every stage of home building (not that he particularly enjoys every stage, mind you), which has saved us a ton of money—but it’s also meant we’ve traded money saved for time spent. Basically: it’s taking us forever.

Good news: I received my next round of book edits this weekā€”huzzah! This means two good things: my book (releasing next spring) is making good progress, and Iā€™m also able to hunker down and focus on it while Iā€™m not actively teaching (or planning a wedding). But it also means this manuscript is back to the front-burner of my writing focus so that I can get it back to my editor before I head off to Scotland.

Obststillleben mit Krügen und einer Weinflasche, by Heinrich Nauen (1924) # I first wrote this in 2009—that’s seventeen (!) years ago now. …And I’m happy to report that I still agree with myself here. Perhaps you need this encouragement at the moment, whether you first read this ages ago or are reading it for the first time.

Hi there, Today (well, the day before you’re actually reading this) my youngest has turned sixteen years old, and we have a family gathering in a few hours: we’re walking to the neighborhood pizza place for dinner, then returning home for games and ice cream.

Laundry, by Kim English (b.1957) # Itā€™s quite easy to write about whatā€™s wrong in the world. The topic du jour (annĆ©e?) is A.I. and its cousins, such as rage against The Machine, the dangers of the modern world, and how everything is going to hell. Even calmer versions of this, such as why itā€™s so hard to not be on a screen, or how to not focus so much on global news to the detriment of your mental health, still sit on a perspective that notices first and foremost whatā€™s wrong.

Hi there, As you’re reading this I’m out camping with my husband, and only my husband (well, and our dog). The boys are at church camp, the daughter is off and married—so, I guess we’re able to just ...do things now? What a time to be alive. It may very well be pouring down rain, so TBD on whether we call it and head home to our shower and bed.

Blessing of the Young Couple Before Marriage, Pascal Dagnan-Bouveret (1880) # I was curious how I’d feel during the first week after my firstborn’s wedding, and the honest answer is: elated, overwhelmed, and very, very tired. I had no idea how tired I’d been, and by 2:00 pm most days I crawled into bed for a mandatory afternoon nap. Who am I? I almost never take naps.