Weekly Thrill: 6/9-6/15

THRILLWeekly Thrill is a feature in which I share my current truths:

  • T is for taste testing
  • H is for hearing
  • R is for reading
  • I is for interested in 
  • L is for learning
  • L is for loving.
  • Read other weekly thrills here.

JUNE 9 – JUNE 15 (2014)

Taste testing: I saw an interesting little fruit at the store earlier this week and had to take it home. It’s called kiwano or horned melon. Native to Africa, but also grown in New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Mississippi and California, this melon has been said to taste like a combo of zucchini and cucumber, or lemon, cucumber and banana.

I thought that spitting out the seeds was too much work, but I didn’t like eating them either. The fruit itself has a jello-like texture that I don’t mind at all and tasted like a mix of kiwi, cucumber and banana. I ended up scooping the inside out, blending/juicing it in my Nutribullet and then straining out the few seeds that survived. The flavor is delicious; it would be great in a fruit smoothie. Not sure I would purchase this again (I think they were priced at $4.99 each), but I’m happy to say I’ve tried it.

kiwano

Hearing: Wye Oak released a new record on Merge Records in April and I’m just getting around to listening to it. I find myself drawn to “Schools of Eyes.” The tempo is so pleasing and I love the line, “I am free and no one keeps me in my place,” which is the state of mind I’ve had lately.

Reading: A while back I was gifted a book of poems by Charles Wright called “A Short Story of the Shadow.” If you hadn’t heard, Wright will soon take over as poet laureate (NPR recently did a feature on him, which I recommend).

Any way, it felt appropriate to pull out this book and give it another read through. I’m not familiar enough with Wright’s work to talk at length about it, but it seems that he’s deeply influenced by spirituality and nature. Me too. Here’s a stanza I love from the poem “Night Rider“:

NightRiderStanza

Great, right? I should mention that the person who gave me this book found it left behind on an airplane. Written inside the book, in pink ink, is a note that reads:

To Eva,

You are a fellow traveler in shadowlands, and I appreciate your understanding during my dark night of the soul experiences.

I celebrate the power of words with you. They create a container for the trips to shadowlands.

Warmly,

Robert

Interested in: Mara Hoffman‘s house & home collection for Anthropologie. It is beautiful. Pillows, rugs, curtains, notepads and other items with bold prints and bright colors typical of Hoffman’s aesthetic. You may recall that I expressed my love for her work a while back on What She Said. I’m happy to see that her art is just as lust-worthy and eye-catching on non-clothing items.

MaraHoffmanAnthro

Learning: I’ve taken classes over the years that involved lessons on HTML and even self-taught myself a few things. Recently, I’ve become more interested in CSS and thanks to Codeacademy, I am slowly learning the ins and outs of HTML and CSS. After I master these things, I’d love to learn Javascript. The Internet helps the world go round and knowing a bit of the coding language is beneficial. Oh and did I mention, these online courses are free?

Bl7v6MCCMAE8eEA

Loving: Giveaways. Is that a weird thing to say? This past week I’ve won a $1,000 credit to Rent the Runway, $1,500 credit to Stuart Weitzman and $25 gift card to Best Buy. More later on what will be purchased with these prizes.

What people, places or things made your week? 

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