Not taking hope lightly

And no thanks Co-Pilot

I write these in Word and today an icon came up in Word that they called Co-Pilot and I could not shake it and Dr. Google sent me to Apple forums where endless folks could not get it off their document. It was an unusual way to start writing, telling my document that no I did not want AI writing my newsletter and the strange insistence from Word. I could not deal and switched to Pages.

I have changed my Hail the Snail Mail Instagram to darcyhopefarmer and I am feeling the pressure this week to live up to the hope part. In her book Hope in the Dark, Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities Rebecca Solnit says “In his book The Principle of Hope, Ernest Bloch declares, “Fraudulent hope is one of the greatest malefactors, even enervators, of the human race, concretely genuine hope its most dedicated benefactor” and speaks of “informed discontent which belongs to hope, because they both arise out of the No to deprivation.” This is heady stuff and makes me run from Pollyanna-ness. Here we go.

Do you have a moment that gives you a feeling that something is going well, that you were in the right spot at the right time?

I listened to the Modern Love podcast last night when I could not sleep, it was Hank Azaria reading an essay about an emu that prompted a memory of my hopeful moment. Remembering this led me to a chain of them but here is the anchor.

I was newly in my yard in Santa Fe, I was feeling undone, unsure of the landscape and my responsibilities in this new place. I was alone and nervous. Everything was browner and scrubbier than I was used to and the sky was endless and constantly pointed out what was different. I was standing outside looking at weeds and all the responsibility ahead of me and I saw something move, it was big and relatively close by and also brown. I was face to face with a roadrunner. I felt a surge of delight, no phone, no photo just he and I for moments. And then he ambled off and I have him and the random gift out of nowhere feeling.

I highly recommend gathering a list of these in our current times.

• I have a big tree outside here in San Francisco and the hummingbirds like it and if I listen carefully I hear them chug-chug chirping.

• The moment Kris was born I looked at her in the hospital in the middle of the night in a plastic basinet and I said to myself “this is the happiest I have ever been” and she seemed to understand.

• The parrots fly over and they make me think of Carla who died quickly from cancer and was a pillar of society here, she loved the parrots and I sense her when I hear how raucous they are.

• And the pens, my friend is in his 90’s was clearing out “things”, he was tossing some old pens from his boarding school days in England and his wife rescued them and made the effort to send them to me from England. I was skeptical, sure they were rusty objects that no longer wrote, but I had to try and they write beautifully and I love them.

Make your lists, our seas are getting rougher. And here is my week.

Movie: I saw the movie “The Room Next Door” it was something. I loved it and I never know where Pedro Almodóvar is going to take me and this was a new journey. It was friendship and discomfort and embarrassing moments, I fell in love with everyone except perhaps the cop. And of course the color. I have to mention the lipstick, if you take the time to put lipstick on carefully, wow. I do not but I might now. And I saw “Vermiglio” which is named after the small town in the Italian Alps where it takes place. A town after the war full of women, children and men that were too old to go and fight. It is small and arty, I liked it.

Reading: “The Magician” by Colm Tóibín, I just started it but I love his writing. Stay tuned.

Question of the Week: I have been doing the 7 Minute Exercise each day in 2025 and many of you have asked me where to find it. Here are the two apps I use. The orange one I got from the NYT and the blue one I got from Kris. Ask me anything. Here we go on Instagram.

What I am listening to: My friend Joan Jeanrenaud made an album called “Visual Music” and I have been listening to it while I tidy and put away and give away my beautiful “things” that made Hail the Snail Mail a small business. It is incredible and today is her birthday, Happy Birthday Joan, the music you made changed my life. And I also turn to “Horowitz Rediscovered” by Vladimir Horowitz and there is always Glen Gould.

Where you can email me now: Because HSM is no more,: the direct email to me no longer works. Here is a new one for your questions: darcyhopefarmer@gmail.com

Recipes I am looking at: I feel better when I eat pickled veggies and I am seeking good easy pickling recipes. Next week I will share my daikon carrot recipe. It is easy and a crowd pleaser.

Who got to me big time: The sermon from the Bishop of Washington- I mentioned her address on social media re: where to send her a support note or a thank you. I also mentioned I would match anyone that sent one because I have a lot of thank you notes in my possession. I am up to 20! Let me know if you are going to send her one and I will match you.

Here is her address:

Rev Mariann Edgar Budde

Episcopal Church House

Mount St. Alban

Washington, DC 20016-5094

And what else got to be big time: A friend offered me something so generous that it took weight off my shoulders, thank you RW.

See you soonish,

Darc