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Fortnightly Dispatch No. 05

This is Scott Anderson, and this is the Fortnightly Dispatch, where I share what’s catching my attention and highlight a few personal + family notes and photos from the past two weeks.

This newsletter, and the Notes & Photos blog, is meant to replace social media, as I steer away from those channels and instead share with people in a more thoughtful way (ideally, with people I actually know and like).

Oops Disclaimer — This issue clearly missed the “fortnightly” timing by many weeks…hoping to be back on track now ;-)

Spring Has Arrived at St. Michael’s Abbey

“Photographer James Crombie and his friend Colin Hogg captured an amazing moment over Lough Ennell in County Westmeath, Ireland: a murmuration of starlings that, for a split second, looked like a huge bird.” The video is especially cool, check it out HERE

The Notebook Stories blog has become one of my favorite places to visit and escape into the ‘wonderfullness’ of notebooks and the analog life. This piece on a vintage World War 1 notebook is one such example why.

Gia and I are experimenting with what it looks like to step away from social media, and this round-up of others on a similar journey is interesting (by Soo Youn in The Guardian). Somewhat related, we’re really proud of our daughter Ella as she’s been rocking her new flip phone for months (and surviving just fine).

Craig Mod, based in Japan, is a writer, photographer and walker. He publishes a monthly newsletter on photography and literature, in addition to a weekly newsletter on Japan and walking. I eagerly consume his words and pictures when they come across…and this one is especially nourishing: “How the pandemic taught me to look closely at the world, and how I hope to carry that forward out the other side.”

Spring: The earth remembers its own name. Everywhere the plates of snow are cracking. The rivers begin to sing. In the sky the winter stars are sliding away; new stars appear as, later, small blades of grain will shine in the dark fields. And the name of every place is joyful.

~ Mary Oliver

Journal

A rainy late afternoon delivered this magical rainbow right outside our front door. Kai captured it on my iPhone, straight out of camera, no filter. God’s beauty never ceases to amaze.

Speaking of “magical” — We had a magical time as a family enjoying a week at DisneyWorld. The trip was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect as a family, enjoy lots of laughs, create memories, and explore …. We were also grateful to meet up with our life long friend Jeff and meet his beautiful bride Poppy for the first time. We’re also grateful to my Mom for watching over our home while we were gone and taking such good care of our dog, Boba.

Kai and I enjoyed some father-son time scootering around the local high school (where he’ll attend in a few years). Am I a good father, or bad father, for encouraging him to jump the fence and log a 100-yard dash? I said to him, “show me your future!” ~ and he clocked a personal best (with scooter/skater shoes on, none-the-less). We’re so looking forward to future HS track meets.

Yet another advantage of working from the home office under the stairs — Ella serving me amazing breakfast (pictured here are her chocolate chip pancakes, with all the accoutrements). Noteworthy: Ella is becoming a wonderful home chef, keep an eye here for more of her featured dishes.

Ethan turned 19 (in March)! We had a wonderful day celebrating his birthday ~ family picnic in Laguna Beach, Korean dinner, homemade cake and birthday gifts (along with lots of laughs, and a few “parental” tears that didn’t go unnoticed). The years seems to be flying by. With that said, we’re so grateful and proud of the man he’s become (or as he often “humbly” says, “I am The Awesome One”)

Thanks to new friends from Rome, John and Ashley, we were made aware of SoulCore - which is a perfect fit for Gia’s health and wellness work.

“SoulCore is an invitation to integrate body & soul in prayer, fully orienting the heart & mind toward Christ, while discovering the beauty of the rosary”

Gia has applied to be an instructor, and will soon be attending a retreat in Malibu to be officially certified. She can’t wait to bring the Soul Core Rosary workout to Orange County!

From the Print Shop

“Palms at Dusk”

(Click here for prints)

Thanks for reading — feel free to forward to anyone who you think might enjoy following along.