Anita Lewis

Life Update 2025-06-20

Published on: by Anita

5 min read

Current status: (~updated 2025-06-20)

I've been thinking about a digital garden. It seems like putting incomplete ideas out more in the open on my website might help me work with them. This idea came to me when I was thinking about "gnawing rats" which is in I've Got Time, a current read. Writing is one of these things that keeps bugging me and when this idea came, it felt like a relief. So I tried making the structure for it and I succeeded. But...

One problem is that the structure would take too much time and effort to work with. I immediately thought this whole thing was a bad idea, just a distraction from writing. But...

Later I thought actually it's a good idea, but poorly implemented. I was trying to make it separate from the site. I think it can easily be just another page or more on the site outside the blog. I already have a couple other pages and this could be like those.

I also realized that my intention is not to have a lot of permanent material in the garden. I see it as being there temporarily for me to work with. There will be a link in navigation to "Garden" and I'll just put what I want there. It doesn't have to make much sense to anyone but me, but may gradually get formed into something. We'll see what shows up there. Currently I don't know what I've got laying around in notes. That's part of the problem that I want to solve.

Reading:

My profile on The StoryGraph

Read:

  • A Refiner's Fire by Donna Leon. #33 in a series I've been reading for years
  • The Color Of Abolition by Linda Hirshman. Read along with a small online group. First in a group of books on Abolition.
  • Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts by Oliver Burkeman
  • Hospicing Modernity: Facing Humanity's Wrongs and the Implications for Social Activism by Vanessa Machado De Oliveira
  • The Mystery of Mrs. Christie by Marie Benedict. Historical novel about the mysterious period of time Agatha Christie went missing.

Currently Reading:

  • Wide Awake: The Forgotten Force that Elected Lincoln and Spurred the Civil War by Jon Grinspan. Reading along with a small online group.
  • Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan. A historical novel. Mrs. Lewis is the wife of C.S. Lewis, an author I found early in my life.
  • Beyond Belief: The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels. The beginning of the book goes into some detail about the different groups of Christians in the early days. There were those who followed the teachings that are in this gospel version. I like how Pagels explains the various differences in beliefs.
  • Feeding Your Demons: Ancient Wisdom for Resolving Inner Conflict by Tsultrim Allione. Feeding instead of fighting demons. So far I've found this quite useful. Catchy title, isn't it?
  • I've Got Time: A Zen monk's guide to a calm, focused and meaningful life by Paul Loomans. I am almost finished reading, but am going to spend more time going through it again. Very sensible and so much that I want to absorb and practice. It doesn't sound difficult, but it is a different way of approaching tasks than my never ending to do list.
  • Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen by Matthew Fox. Contains several of the paintings from Hildegard's books with commentary on them.
  • The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage by Richard Rohr. Reading a chapter a month along with a podcast with Richard Rohr and guests discussing the book.

Podcasts:

  • Internet Archive: Future Knowledge: a new podcast about how knowledge is created, shared, and preserved in the digital age.

    • Conversations with authors and experts on topics like digital preservation, the future of copyright, open access, AI, and the policies shaping our information ecosystem.

      Whether you’re an author curious about how to reach readers, a librarian facing new challenges in the digital landscape, or someone who cares about the future of information, Future Knowledge invites you into a timely and essential dialogue.

  • The Woman Behind The New Deal : Throughline : NPR : "From Social Security and the minimum wage to exit signs and fire escapes, Frances Perkins transformed how people in the U.S. lived and worked. ...how a middle class do-gooder became one of the savviest and most powerful people in American politics — and built the social safety net we have today."

    • Throughline is probably my favorite podcast. As they say. "Throughline is a time machine. Each episode, we travel beyond the headlines to answer the question, "How did we get here?"

  • Welcome to NON-ZERO-SUM GAMES and podcast Non-Zero-Sum James (Podcast RSS: https://pod.link/1810797958.rss): "...exploration of win-win games and how they are essential for a better future. Each week we'll explore a new aspect of game theory, moral philosophy, ethical economics and artificial intelligence—looking to solve the complex problems we face in our world together."

    • I've been going through the podcast listening and then visiting the link in the show notes to the site. Going through this way in the order the podcasts are presented has made it easier for me to understand the material.

Music:

  • Ellle and Toni doing "Mrs. Robinson." Near the end Toni does a great guitar picking addition that I love. These two put something out at full moon each month. Mrs. Robinson - Elle and Toni - YouTube
  • I was remembering a Paul Simon song about drops of rain one morning as I heard the rain falling. Searched and found the name, "Kathy's Song." Looked to see if I had it and found an album of music by Eva Cassidy in my collection. I had forgotten how I love her style and voice. I especially like "You Take My Breath Away." Here are a couple links if you want to hear her: