recent observations, week 16.

rosemary flowers, butter in brown rice, slush puddles.

Warm wood moved to a fresh spot can glow a room right up.

Barely purple rosemary blooms pop open in February like miniature orchids.

The low hum of midwinter museum wanders.

Winter coats slung over arms in overheated rooms.

The sweet relief of lip balm on a cold snap day.

Slush puddles at curb cuts; depths unknown.

Teenagers in pajama pants sweeping gritty subway floors.

A long subway ride taken to visit a friend is never worth debating.

The chewy edge pieces from a pan of brownies are always worth being choosy over.

Melted butter in brown rice plus a squeeze of lemon.

The soft sputtering light of a 5:00 am candle.

The quiet, giddy relief of a phone call taken.

The fluttery flighty seed of a brand new idea.

Alongside observation, an incomplete list of action items:

+ The Community Project is raising emergency medical care for families in Gaza this week, with a modest goal of raising $2000. Donate here.

+ Join a local environmental group. Follow the advice of Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and turn despair over what’s happening nationally into action that’s happening locally.

+ Pay a visit to your senators. Indivisible has a great list of ongoing local actions depending on wherever it is you call home plus a toolkit for how to show up prepared.

+ Show up for trans kids. If you don’t know where to start, the Trevor Project lays it out. If you’re in New York City, head to Union Square this weekend. If you haven’t signed it yet, demand NYU Langone stop denying life-saving healthcare for trans youth.

+ Make your daily phone calls. It was true eight years ago, and it’s true now, that calling the honest-to-goodness telephone lines of our elected officials is often the most effective way of shifting the needle on crucial policy issues (Yes: More than letter writing, email sending, and definitely more than hand wringing.) If calling feels hard, 5 Calls makes it less so, prompting you with phone numbers but also talking points. (Here’s more on why on how these phone calls work.)

+ Know your rights. Organize, attend, or spread the word about local Know Your Rights workshops and information sessions to protect immigrant families being targeted by ICE. This one tonight; 7:00 pm!

+ Get to know people. Katherine Goldstein just launched a very timely year-long project on her newsletter called The How to Find Your People Club. If making connections and investing in community is on your to-do list, consider Katherine a possible guide!

+ Go to a barnraising. In addition to writing one of my favorite newsletters, The White Pages, Garrett Brooks hosts trainings for folks like me (white people!) and he has a whole bunch of upcoming 2-hour classes on how to actually build community.