Hi friend.

Each Friday afternoon I publish a short simple post called The Friday Recliner that links you with a few good ideas and a good read or two.

The articles and posts come from a variety of authors and publications and make for good weekend or “anytime you have a spare moment” reading.

They find their way into the Friday Recliner because they provide a little something fresh and friendly and un rushed for your soul.

All of them of them are linked up right here for easy access.

They are sorted newest to oldest and the list is updated each week. Just click on the title to read.

You can find out more about the Friday Recliner right here

March 4th, 2022

Tell Your Children Their Birth Story

My father was all of five feet tall. This never seemed to bother him, ever. He was a body builder, a skier, a gymnast and an acrobat. I have heard blood chilling tales from my mother of him doing handstands on bridge rails just for the fun of it, and, no doubt, to hear her quite satisfying screams. He was a man who relished the element of surprise.

He played the violin with cultured grace, but let us just say his wit was of the ‘earthy French peasant’ variety. To this day, I count him the best raconteur I have ever met. He would regale us at many a week night dinner with stories of his childhood recounted in his native French tongue. He had everyone rolling and pounding the table in laughter, even those of our friends who did not understand a word of it. His face alone was enough.

He had a weakness for cars – the more “souped up” the better. When he could afford it, he bought a red and black Camaro with a horn that played La Cucaracha. We always knew he was home as he would start honking way down the block to the delight of all the neighbor kids and the horror of my understated, cultured, Victorian mother. That horn was the pride of his life and the bane of hers; she called it the “saint maker.” – – – keep reading

from Michelle DeRusha

WHEN YOUR WHAT’S NEXT IS WHAT’S RIGHT NOW

“So what’s next then?” he asked me, arms crossed, standing at the threshold of the conference room where I set up my laptop, notebook and file folders twice a week. I’d just told my boss about my recent decision to leave book publishing, and his question did not come as a surprise.

– – – – keep reading

And a long read from Comment.org

Grow Deep, Not Wide

This summer, while on my porch, I experienced a drive-by shooting for the first time.

Germantown, my beloved neighborhood here in Philadelphia, has probably been like most inner-city neighbourhoods this past year: destitute, depressed, run down, pressure-cooked. I live on a high-traffic street and a block or two from the dividing line of what would be considered “safe Germantown” and “unsafe Germantown.” On one side of my house is my neighbour, who has become a dear friend and a teammate of sorts: we hope together. On the other side is an abandoned house by the corner, and beside that, a street that has become known as the local epicentre of crime and drug dealing. We’ll call it “T Street.” As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the world, I’ve watched as the drug culture has slowly turned the bend and crept around my street corner, like a shadow trying to cover more territory.

And this is where my pandemic story begins – – – keep reading

February 24th, 2022

Man throws free pancake party for neighborhood to make friends: ‘My wife says I’m getting weird’

‘Even if you don’t like to eat pancakes, you just like the idea of them. Being around pancakes feels good, even if you’re not eating them yourself.’

Curtis Kimball faced a conundrum that many adults these days are painfully familiar with. “I just don’t know how grown-ups make friends,” the 43-year-old explained to The Washington Post. With the pandemic exhausting all—if any—opportunities of meeting new people and forming lasting bonds, Kimball decided to get creative in his quest to forge adult friendships. “I don’t mind looking foolish,” he shared. “So, I was like, ‘I bet I could just put myself out there and maybe something would happen.’” For Kimball, putting himself out there meant throwing a pancake party for his neighborhood, where he has lived for about a year with his wife and two daughters – – – keep reading

The Friday Recliner ~ February 24th

IMAGE ~ FEBRUARY 25, 2022 ~ TRACEYATWATERINTOWINE ~ EDIT

Hello friends. How are you?

We’ve made it to Friday so I say that’s an achievement and a blessing in itself.

I hope the weeks been kind to you.

As always friends here a few simple things, fresh and friendly, to get your weekend started on a relaxed note – – – – – – –

A Good Word

A Good Look

“Arlin felt moved to dance every time he passed beneath the glowdrops.”

See more of David McBirds amazing “Becorn” creations here. David is an Ex-LEGO designer who traded in plastic bricks for acorns and sticks.

A Good Idea

from Kyra Joy Craig

Lord, thank you for time off.

May this weekend be set apart for your glory and our good.

May we

Drive home and start to relax;

Eat a fun meal;

Feel deep enjoyment;

Connect with others;

Get outside;

Do a home project that was on the back burner;

Read an extra chapter in that book;

Sleep in late;

Reflect on some aspect of our country’s history, and pray for our leaders;

Do something that makes us feel free, alive, understood, and whole;

Cook a deeply nourishing meal and linger at the table;

Reset our space;

Rest;

Loose track of time;

Clean up that which needs attention;

Make joyful memories;

And come back to our work grounded, centered, and present next week.

Let it be so!

A Few Good Reads

Man throws free pancake party for neighborhood to make friends: ‘My wife says I’m getting weird’

‘Even if you don’t like to eat pancakes, you just like the idea of them. Being around pancakes feels good, even if you’re not eating them yourself.’

Everybody in my life thought I was insane,” he revealed. “It’s a pretty vulnerable feeling to do something that outlandish in public.” Why pancakes? Kimball’s reasoning was simple: “Even if you don’t like to eat pancakes, you just like the idea of them. Being around pancakes feels good, even if you’re not eating them yourself.” Also, he added, “if you see someone making pancakes for strangers, you’d probably think that person is nice“ – – – keep reading

Wrestling the Angel

One day, during the 12 years I spent living in India as a missionary, I read about 200 girls attending a renaming ceremony. They all had been given a single name, Nakusa (also spelled Nakoshi or Nakusha). Unwanted.

In many places, men are the wage earners, the ones with strong names that endure. Women are the unwanted, with dowries upon their heads and scars upon their hearts. But in that single renaming ceremony, 200 girls took on new names. Aishwarya. Puja. Shruti. Wealth. Worship. Revelation.

I wonder if they had the strength to leave behind the labels they had carried for so long. I hope so. There is such power in language, such power in naming—to clarify and create and give credence… or to cast away and objectify and demean – – – keep reading

An interior designer imbues his tiny, efficiently designed Stockholm apartment with joyful colour and pattern

I always have my inspiration glasses on in my everyday life,” says the Swedish creative consultant Sebastian Bergström, who can reel off a long list of people, places and media that have influenced the charming, cheerful interiors of his apartment in Stockholm – – – keep reading