They Don’t Make Things the Way They Used To

There's still a lot of cheaply made stuff in the world

My green plastic cutting board, which I’ve loved for a decade, has recently started looking a bit rough. I was already intending to replace it when I attended the last Nerd Nite, where one of the speakers was talking about microplastics. She suggested not using plastic cutting boards in favor of wood or stainless. I went to Home Goods with an open mind about what type of cutting board I would buy. What I liked about my plastic one was that it had a very grippy surface on the bottom. Many of the others look like they would slide all over the place while I’m trying to use them.

There were no good plastic boards at Home Goods, but they had gobs of wooden ones. I found a big, heavy, awesome one, but all I could think about was that soon I would have to move it.

So, I found a nice-looking lighter one for only $16.

Unfortunately, after rinsing it with a tiny bit of water, I could see that the surface was very rough and even giving off tiny splinters. I guess I got what I paid for.

After consulting with a woodworking friend (who assured me this board was not made of the teak that it was alleged to be made of), I bought some sanding discs and some mineral oil. Thus, my $16 board became more expensive.

However, I will say that after a little elbow grease, this is a really attractive cutting board. I sanded it with three progressively finer sanding discs and slathered it with the teak oil. I then placed it directly on top of my old plastic board so the wood wouldn’t be sitting on my counter to get wet (and to give it more traction).

And it’s even more special to me now that I had to sand and oil it. (I love when my belongings have a story attached to them.)

What kind of cutting board do you use?

📑 Project Updates

How to Find Joy in a Capitalist Hellscape

It's coming up on a year since my book was published. Weirdly, I thought it had been more than a year before I checked the calendar.

I guess it's been a long year. I published it right as I was going to Istanbul. Then there were two destructive hurricanes while I was gone. And then the destruction of this presidency since January. Publishing this book feels like a lifetime ago.

But the book remains as relevant as ever, and our duty to find and spread joy continues to be crucial.

You can find this book in a bunch of places, depending on where you like to shop:

• Ask your local bookstore if they can order it. (They should be able to.)

• Bookshop.org

• Kobo (ebook)

• Barnes & Noble

• Lastly, if you prefer, Amazon

I'd love to hear what things you're doing to find joy in these troubled times.

A Personal Exploration of Capitalism

Here's a sneak peek at the cover of my upcoming workbook. I was motivated to design the cover because I needed to register an ISBN number for the book, and it requires that you upload the cover. Everything has to be done in a certain order when publishing a book.

Unfortunately, I might need some help formatting the book in InDesign. I want it to look “designed” and professional, and print is not my area of expertise. Laying out this workbook is a lot different than laying out a regular book where almost everything is text. This book will have lines on almost half the pages.

A friend in Vermont did the illustrations for the book, and I’ve reached out to another friend for help with InDesign.

I was hoping to be able to publish it by October 2nd, which is exactly one year from when I published How to Find Joy in a Capitalist Hellscape, but the timeline is a little tight now. Hopefully sometime in October, though.

In the beginning, I will only be selling this book in person because I want it to be ring-bound. No distributor like Amazon or Bookshop.org will produce a ring-bound books. Once I gauge the interest, I may do a regular paperback version and an ebook version.

⏰ Currently

📚 Looking for more fiction books to read. Any suggestions?

💰 Hoping the closing on the sale of my property in Troy happens this week.

🌀 Feeling grateful the latest storm won't hit us.