Favorite Small Things (Oct. and Nov. 2022)

04/12/202204/12/2022 by Some Small Things In See 9 Comments

There’s that quip about meditating for 30 minutes a day except for when you’re really busy — then you should meditate for one hour.

It sounds good, but I seem never to be able to follow the advice.

Hence, I’m combining two months of favorite small things into my first post in, well, two months.

1. Finishing the NYS Geocache Challenge

I’ll spare you the details, but the end really was quite triumphant. 😉

I was the 41st person in the State to finish. That’s mostly because the other 20,365,839 New Yorkers had better things to do rather than drive from park to park to dig in the dirt for bug-infested camouflage tupperware. But, all told, there was a bit of grit involved.

What did I learn? To look at the ground from a different angle. To get inside the mind of the hider. Patience. To drive further than I’ve ever driven. The beauty of Olana and the cultural center at Jay Heritage. The peace of Lake Taghkanic (see below). That I love being part of a club where I don’t have to interact with any of the members.

Here’s my coin.

2. The Planned Senior Community on the SUNY Purchase Campus

“What’s that?” one of the dads asked at a SUNY Purchase admissions information session while pointing to the construction site below.

(I’m a college counselor in real life, so I visit colleges.)

Turns out it’s going to be a senior assisted living facility — right on the college campus.

The idea of the century.

Seniors stay young by taking courses on campus, and college students learn from the seniors’ valuable perspectives in class discussions. Having a senior community on campus will also provide opportunities for health professions students, and, as the admissions rep joked, campus plays and musicals will always have a full house.

If you ask me, every campus in the US should get on board. This is a wonderful idea.

3. Long Gourds

While it’s true that I’m easily impressed by members of the Cucurbitaceae family, these ones below likely dazzled most shoppers at the farmstand that day.

Here’s one hanging.

4. Living the Truth on your Bumper Sticker

Kudos to this guy who takes his bumper stickers seriously (those middle school honors student ones are suspect).

Although . . . is that a pit bull? Seems a little schnauzery?

5. Reading Haruki Murakami at Lake Taghkanic Until the Murder Scene (spoiler)

It was all I wanted to do. Take one day off from work and go sit at this beautiful, quiet place where I finished my Geocache Challenge and start one of the only Haruki Murakami books I’ve never read: 1Q84.

And that’s what I did.

I borrowed the book from Libby and drove up to the lake with my lawn chair, gluten free pizza, fair isle socks, and an old duvet cover.

This person below was one of six I saw that day.

I was so into the book. The scene in the taxi. The walk down the stairs in her stocking feet. This author, he puts me in a trance, and I haven’t felt it since A Wild Sheep Chase.

But then I had to stop when I got to the scene. Meanwhile, the sixth and final person I encountered at the lake had just driven his SUV to the edge of the parking lot and begun blasting his car radio.

A natural end to a perfect day.

6. Getting a Haircut with a Mini-Dachshund in my Lap

This precious girl sat with me for the entirety of my haircut and fell asleep in my arms.

7. Zero Sugar Mango Pepsi

I think I did some spazzy movement like Kramer on Seinfeld when I caught my first whiff of mango as the glass headed for my lips. A burst of flavor! This stuff is good!

As for the change in name from diet to zero sugar, I think George Carlin sums it up best in his routine about euphemisms.

Least Favorite Small Thing: “Basil Seeds”

No.

I loved everything about Vassar College.

Except for this.

I had a fairly decent gluten free noodle bowl at a restaurant in town, but when my lemonade came out, these amoeba-like substances were floating around in it.

And they were just repulsive.

These seeds come engulfed in a gooey, clear substance that swim around your mouth as they enter from the gigantic straw. How is this a thing?

Thank you so much for reading about my favorite small things (and least favorite small thing) from October and November! What were some of your favorite things from the past two months? Do tell!

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If you enjoyed this post on favorite small things, you might like September's or August's too!