Life · the daily, the deliberate, the domestic

on living, slowly, and on purpose

“
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.
”
— Oscar Wilde

A note before we begin

The small days add up to the
whole of one's life.

On the road I improvise. At home I am the opposite kind of person — deliberate, slow, easily delighted by routine. The cup that has earned its place on the shelf. The walk that has worn a path. The recipe I have made enough times to forgive myself for changing.

This section is about that life: the kitchen, the corgis, the conversations with our daughters, the quiet calculation of where one wants to belong — and why. It is also about the small arguments I have with myself about how to live well, written down so I can read them again later.

None of it is advice.

All of it is, by now,

quietly on purpose.

On marking time, gently

the latest letter home.

Rudy B Goody Pumpkin Brown, a Pembroke Welsh corgi, on his twelfth birthday RUDY · 12 YEARS

twelve, and counting.

April 16 · 2026
RUDY · 12 YRS
Latest · April 16, 2026 · A small ceremony at home

A quiet celebration for Rudy B Goody Pumpkin Brown.

There is something about marking time with a dog that feels different — softer, more honest. Maybe it’s because they don’t measure life in years, but in moments.

Rudy turned twelve. He has been with us through every chapter — the dating years, the moves, the new homes, the new little sister. At twelve he moves a little slower; the days feel a bit more precious. A quiet presence that asks you to slow down with him. Time leaves its marks, and those marks are not something to fix, but something to honor.

Read the full letter →

Days · Dogs · Decisions

Other pages from the journal.

A cocoa-dusted tiramisu in a home kitchen HOME KITCHEN · MAY 2026

twelve years, still cocoa.

May 27 · 2026

HOME KITCHEN · May 27, 2026

A Tiramisu for Randy, Twelve Years Running

the recipe I asked a chef for on a second date

Twelve years ago, on a second date, I asked the chef for his tiramisu recipe. I scaled it down to a small kitchen, drifted it into my own, and have made it for Randy every year since.

Read more →
Inga and Randy on a Mazatlán beach at sunset SEATTLE ↔ MAZATLÁN

half here. half home.

Oct 9 · 2025

SEATTLE ↔ MAZATLÁN · Oct 9, 2025

Why We Are Leaving America (And Why We Haven’t Fully Left Yet)

fifteen years, half-moved

Fifteen years ago I came to Seattle on a Microsoft contract. Most of our belongings are in Mexico now, though I’m still here most weeks for work. Half-moved is the honest word.

Read more →
— and still being written —

· on the desk ·

On the M-Type Mind

a name for the way some of us think, and what it’s like to live inside one

— soon

№ 01

· on the desk ·

Mollie, and the Tyranny of Six A.M.

what a dog teaches a person about being on time

— soon

№ 02

· on the desk ·

Two Addresses, One Life

“where do you live” is no longer a one-word answer

— soon

№ 03

· on the desk ·

The Friend I’ve Kept the Longest

on the long maintenance of one friendship

— soon

№ 04

· on the desk ·

The Wooden Spoon

the kitchen object I’ve owned the longest, and what it has seen

— soon

№ 05

· on the desk ·

Things I’ve Stopped Apologizing For Liking

aging into your own taste, one of the underrated pleasures

— soon

№ 06

THE DISPATCH · ONCE A MONTH · NEVER TWICE

A letter, a postcard, a recipe, a small argument with myself.