OOH LA LA! #42
last-minute pumpkin pie and lessons in trusting life
Yesterday, on Thanksgiving Day, at exactly 3:30 PM, I got a craving for pumpkin pie.
I had been to the store the day before but only got vegetable soup and mashed potato ingredients. Dessert hadn’t crossed my mind. But at 3:30 PM, with only 30 minutes left before my neighborhood grocery store closed, and a dream for pumpkin pie in my heart, I threw on my shoes, grabbed my bag, and sprint-walked through the streets, then sprint-walked through the aisles, like I was on Supermarket Sweep.
For a moment, I thought, That’s it. No pie. But I couldn’t let it go. Thanks to the internet—a miracle I never stop being amazed by—I found a recipe for gluten-free vegan pumpkin pie that didn’t require a pan at all. A cookie sheet was all it needed.
It worked! Somehow, I made a really good pie, and I ate it with really good whipped cream. It might even be the best pie I’ve ever made.
A rectangle pie might be the exact metaphor for my Thanksgiving this year - different than I imagined, but better. Nothing stays the same—not the earth, not the seasons, not holidays, not me. Thank goodness.
I’m thinking of a line from Meister Eckhart who wrote, “If the only prayer you say in your life is ‘thank you,’ it will be enough,” and from Anne Lamott who said, “anything you do with your whole heart is prayer.”
So here’s my prayer this year: for pies that don’t need pans, for paths that don’t go as planned, and for the courage to trust them anyway.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
This week’s OOH LA LA! list includes: Skyview Lite, going to bed knowing you’ll have a good breakfast in the morning, a good parade.
If you’re an astronomy nerd like me, you likely already know about the amazing free app called Skyview Lite which shows a map of stars and planets wherever you are in real time. I’m pretty good at spotting Jupiter with my naked eye, but I love to use the app to confirm. Imagine my delight while waiting at a crosswalk this week when I noticed a woman with a young girl, holding their phone to the sky. I knew immediately what they were doing and even got a glimpse of the screen to see that they too were looking to know the names of the shiny sky spots! Ooh la la!
Do you remember the childhood feeling, on the night before your birthday, or before a holiday, or before a fun visit from your favorite uncle? Remember how you’d go to bed excited for the morning? This is the feeling I get when I know gluten-free blueberry muffins are waiting for me in the pantry. Going to bed knowing you’ll have a good breakfast in the morning is a comfort that I hope to never take for granted when I have it. To drift to sleep with the thought of soft, slightly sweet pastries is to fall asleep with peace.
I love a good parade at any time, for any reason! For me, a parade is great immersive theater mixed with the feeling of a friendly block party or a family wedding, like a communal dance line down the street. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade is of course the top of the line when it comes to parades and I love experiencing the spectacle of it all, the production, the puppets, the dancing! Even though I live just a few miles from the center of the show, I prefer to stay inside, cozied up with a coffee under blankets or peeling potatoes in the kitchen, the voices of Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie in the background, announcing the next float.
From OLL readers…
Renee: I am currently training for a 10k in February, and while on a run today downtown I passed by a guy who was running toward me going the opposite direction. As we got closer and made eye contact, he proceeded to point and give me a double fist pump. A sign of camaraderie and encouragement. Even though it was brief and I didn't see him again, that small act of support encouraged me to keep going!
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Reply to this email with a few sentences about your OOH LA LA! moments or experiences and I’ll share in the next email!
XOXO,
LJ
P.S. Speaking of trusting the changes, I’ve just left a terrible day job (hooray!) and I’ve now reopened my books for custom design work and creative advising sessions. The sessions are one-on-one support through a live 60-minute session via video or audio call to help you navigate creative blocks, make decisions, and take your projects to the next level with actionable advice and resources. I’m offering these right now at only $99 and would love to connect with you. Read more and book here!
“Try not to resist the changes that come your way. Instead, let life live through you. And do not worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?”― Rumi
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