Dear ones,

This week I initiated a month-long Twitter hiatus, and I’ve been feeling the benefit of it. It’s the first full week of teaching this term; I teach three days a week and prep on the rest, and along with all the work of moving and keeping up with columns and other responsibilities, I need every spare ounce of attention.

But this afternoon felt like some genuine time off, and I had a beautiful evening I’d been looking forward to all week. I visited friends and built a fire for them in their new fire pit. Stu and I brought over delicious food to share, and we talked and laughed into the night, until it was time to sigh and part company and return home, to all the work we have ahead of us.

Here is the fire I built, twig by twig, stick by stick, until the flames leapt to logs and gave us light and heat.

Tell me about something you want to build or have built this week. Stitches, or baking, or tightening a screw, or writing a letter, or cleaning — something of any size that felt, to you, like building, or solving.

So much love to you all,

Amal