Dear Family,

While American unemployment skyrockets and millions of people face Food Insecurity, I wish so much that every human had access to good, safe living conditions and real food to eat, and the luxury to nourish our bodies toward better health and better immunity.

Holding these wishes in my heart, I am now going to tell you more than you ever wanted to know about the crazy dietary adventure we had the luxury to begin last July, which continues to yield amazing if slightly unpredictable results. And I won’t be talking about COVID 19 for the rest of this letter.

“The great enemy of truth is very often not the lie--deliberate, contrived and dishonest--but the myth--persistent, persuasive and unrealistic. Too often we hold fast to the cliches of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought.”
― John F. Kennedy (Commencement Address at Yale University, June 11 1962)

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Ivyisms:

“The more fragmented, the more specialised we become in terms of problem solving, the more problems we create and the less we solve. I have a need to address my life-threatening illness with alternative techniques, but the caveat there is that the treatment of symptoms can pre-empt the search for the ultimate cause of this illness. If we see ourselves as manifestations of this organism that’s called Earth, and we, as a manifestation, are developing absolutely outrageous levels of this illness called cancer, the only thing this can mean is that the organism called Earth has cancer.

“We have peered into a new world, and have seen that it is more mysterious and more complex than we had imagined. Still more mysteries of the universe remain hidden. Their discovery awaits the adventurous scientists of the future. I like it this way.”
—Vera Rubin

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Dear Family,

Dear Family and Friends,

I read today that in these crazy times, Facebook has become the main news source for millions of people. And I thought, we can do better than that! I have friends, both on the far right and far left, who’ve shared ideas that are so insightful that I hope you will appreciate some of their musings on the Topic At Hand as much as I appreciated receiving them.

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Astute commentary from S., resident of Germany:

Dear Family,

Now we have lockdowns. Which have caused an economic downturn that has already trashed millions of jobs, and millions of Americans have no confidence that public Health is much of a priority for our fearless “leader” who gets up on podiums and just Makes Stuff Up. Lots of other experts are Making Stuff Up too, and we can do very little about it except Talk Amongst Ourselves, virtually of course, and come up with more opinions.

Here are a few of mine, subject to change.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
— Leon C. Megginson, summarizing concepts from the writings of Charles Darwin

Makes six hand pies

These came out light, flaky, and delicious, with just the right filling consistency (not too oozy, but not too dry). The crust recipe makes enough for a single pie crust (just omit 1 T. of maple syrup).

Filling:
6 apples, peeled and cut into chunks
6 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tbsp. cinnamon
pinch of cloves
1-2 tbsp. ghee
juice of one small lemon

Saute gently until nearly cooked (wide frying pan, uncovered, is perfect); sprinkle with 2 tbsp. quick cooking tapioca granules and stir well. Let cool.

Dear Family,

“This is a good sign, having a broken heart. It means we have tried for something.”
― Elizabeth Gilbert

Ivyisms:

“Everybody else went out. But it’s not lonely, cuz I’m with you and you’re with me!”

Overheard - a voice from the bathroom: “Ewiza? I have the funnest idea in the WORLD! I could take off my pants and pee into the toilet like a HE!”

Concerning her outfit for the day: “I got very useful fings on me: cuz I got shorts on under HERE, and a tee shirt on under HERE!”

Dear Family,

“Time went by so fast these days. There was some sort of malfunction going on with how fast the earth was spinning. Decades went by as quick as years once did.”
—Liane Moriarty, “Nine Perfect Strangers”

“And the moral of the story is that you don’t remember what happened. What you remember becomes what happened.”
—John Greene, “An Abundance of Katherines”

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Ivyisms: