no thoughts, just vocab
I have been traveling a lot lately. It’s been great for mindfulness, and connection, and fun; but bad for balance, as I spent my time away pretending I have no personal-work or work-work, exploring or chatting with loved ones, dabbling in new experiences, and reading copious amounts of books.
No regrets; my cup overfloweth with gratitude. But I am incapable of anything requiring deep thought or a “writing brain” and, as such, have little to offer you this week.
So here are words I had to look up the definition of from the beautifully lyrical domestic tale that my dad recommended months ago and I finally read and thoroughly enjoyed, also known as: Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson.
Salubrious (adj): favorable to or promoting health; healthful.
Obstreperous (adj): resisting control or restraint in a difficult manner; unruly.
Febrile (adj): pertaining to or marked by fever; feverish.
Insouciant (adj): free from concern, worry, or anxiety; carefree; nonchalant.
Suppurated (v): to form or discharge pus, past tense.
Moil (n/v): hard work; drudgery; to be in continuous agitation; to make wet or dirty.
Invidious (adj): of an unpleasant or objectionable nature; obnoxious; of a kind to cause harm or resentment; envious
Lucifactions (n): "In college I took a literature course which examined Marilynne Robinson’s innovative use of spaces–especially the domestic space–in her novel Housekeeping. My teacher also mentioned that the book actually includes a neologism- the word “lucifactions,” used to describe light on water, in the scene where the girls are out on the lake."
Chary (adj): discreetly cautious: such as hesitant and vigilant about dangers and risks; slow to grant, accept, or expend.
Jonquil (n): a Mediterranean daffodil (Narcissus jonquilla) that is widely cultivated for its yellow or white fragrant short-tubed clustered flowers
Elegiac (adj): of, relating to, or comprising elegy or an elegy especially expressing sorrow often for something now past; of, relating to, or consisting of two dactylic hexameter lines the second of which lacks the arsis in the third and sixth feet.
Orlon (n): an acrylic fiber made in filament or staple form that is often blended with other fibers in fabrics.
Parturition (n): the action or process of giving birth to offspring; childbirth.
Spume (n): frothy matter on liquids; foam; scum.
Miscible (adj): capable of being mixed, specifically capable of mixing in any ratio without separation of two phases.
good things on the internet
currently reading
Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann: A riveting true story of murder & mineral rights in the 1920s Osage Nation. Weirdly, I am glad I saw the movie last year before reading this one, as it allowed me to better picture the wide cast of characters.
Yellowface by R.F. Kuang: Yikes, white privilege is a slippery slope! Similar vibes to Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid, as I ripped through this story of a stolen manuscript & navigating the publishing industry and nearly screamed at the end. A must-read for published-obsessed writers, and…white women, in general.
Shirley Jackson, A Rather Haunted Life by Ruth Franklin: A biography of one of my all-time favorite writers.
this week’s jam
photo of my cats
Words like notes in a song.