The Red Notebook
Stories, rituals, and small treasures gathered along the way.
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Hello friends,
Seventeen days into September, with our theme Leaves Falling, Autumn Calling, I’ve been gathering words, images, rituals, and small moments into a notebook I call my Gathering Notebook. It’s becoming a place to hold onto the things I don’t want to lose. I promised I’d share pieces of it as I go—so you can see how this practice unfolds in simple, meaningful ways. It also happens to be the creative project we made together at The Kitchen Table this month.
My notebook was recovered from the archives of my grandma’s long-lost boxes—a perfect red book, holding pieces of her inside. Her signature, a few clippings she had no doubt intended to gather—for one purpose or another.
One clipping in particular made me smile—small chairs, small hands, and the gentle presence of a teacher at their side. I could imagine she had set it aside for her own notebook, a glimpse of the life she so beautifully nurtured. It brings me joy because she was the kindergarten teacher in the small prairie community where I grew up. In her basement, children gathered to play, to learn, to be creative. I still remember not being allowed to call her Grandma there—I had to address her as Mrs. Street, just like all the other children.
This is just the beginning of my journey into gathering. I’ll be sharing pages and pieces as they unfold, and I’d love for you to follow along. Maybe you’ll be inspired to begin your own Gathering Notebook, or maybe you’ll simply walk alongside me as I discover what it means to notice, collect, and carry forward what matters most.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about giving your notebook a name, because naming her feels both playful and true. Giving her a name is like giving her a soul—a way for her to become more than pages, a companion for the journey ahead.
Hope you'll join us at The Kitchen Table on Friday, October 3rd. This month, we’ll lean into the Nest Retreat Center’s theme The Life List. Inspired by the Netflix film with the same name, we’ll return to our teenage selves, the ones who scribbled dreams in notebooks and believed in wide-open futures? What if we gave those voices space again?
October in The Nest, will find us creating our own “Life Lists.” Not quite bucket lists (which often lean toward grand, once-in-a-lifetime experiences), but gentler, more personal reminders of what brings us alive. It might be learning something new, rekindling an old passion, or simply giving ourselves permission to dream.
At The Kitchen Table we’ll gather to spark each other’s ideas and see what rises when we pause long enough to listen. Together, we’ll rediscover those dreams—past and present—and begin weaving them into the lives we’re living now.
Light a candle, bring a warm drink, and an open heart—the Kitchen Table is where connection, creativity, and stillness weave together, no matter the distance.
Hope you can join us!
I didn't know about Grandma's notebook. So interesting!