The There There Letter: Xanthous, Xeniality, and Xebec
Three things from DAH.
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I write, organize, plan, produce, manage, direct, act, sing, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Xanthous …
It had to be the letter X eventually, didn't it? I've never heard the word xanthous used to refer to the color of the sky. Indeed, I've seldom heard or read xanthous at all. Merriam-Webster defines xanthous as: 1) having yellowish, red, auburn, or brown hair; 2) marked by yellow coloration (e.g. a xanthous tumor). From mid-August to mid-September the skies over Northern California were xanthous. Smoke from hundreds of wildfires filled the air, casting our world as yellowish, red, auburn, and brown, as nasty as an imagined tumor. It was too bad to breathe and too bad for my humor. Two days of clean air and relatively blue skies remind me now how low my spirits were for the past month. I'm alarmed to think how much my state of mind is a reaction to the state of my world.
Here comes the sun: how the weather affects our mood
Second up this week, Xeniality …
I've never heard or read the word xeniality. But I think it's a good word. Xenial is a word. According to Merriam-Webster: "of, relating to, or constituting hospitality or relations between host and guest and especially among the ancient Greeks between persons of different cities." Our pandemic isolation bubbles are fear-inducing. I'm working to remember how much I prize geniality, in myself and others. Being genial is easy with those I know and love. But I'm thinking the world would be a nicer place if I (we) extended generous affability beyond our social bubbles. So, perhaps I'm coining xeniality to extend geniality to those I don't know so well, those far outside my bubble. It's a kind of optimism that there are things we can do to make life more pleasant. Plus, maybe make new friends!
Loneliness isn't inevitable – a guide to making new friends as an adult
Third up this week, Xebec …
One way we can be genial and xenial: share a bottle of wine. Maybe a bottle of Xebec! We can look this up in Merriam-Webster, too. Xebec: "a usually 3-masted Mediterranean sailing ship with long overhanging bow and stern." This was a type of ship favored by Mediterranean pirates. Pirates! There's an illustration of a xebec on our wine label. Not A Gardener's Path, this is a different wine. CHance and DAH worked with our winemaker friend Peter to produce Xebec Petit Verdot 2018, Paso Robles. Even less wine made than for A Gardener's Path Cabernet Sauvignon. And, yes, I need to let everyone know more about how to get a bottle or twelve. It's a very dark red wine, lively on the palate, and light on the tannins. We bought grapes from the Margarita Vineyard at the southern edge of the Paso Robles AVA. The wine was made and bottled (by hand by us and the winemaker and his friends) at Filipponi Ranch in San Luis Obispo. Such fun!
Why You Should Be Drinking Petit Verdot
And a bit more, created by Rajlakshmi:
DAH is me, David Anthony Hance. I write, organize, plan, produce, manage, direct, act, sing, promote, and make change (not the coin kind).
First up this week, Xanthous …
It had to be the letter X eventually, didn't it? I've never heard the word xanthous used to refer to the color of the sky. Indeed, I've seldom heard or read xanthous at all. Merriam-Webster defines xanthous as: 1) having yellowish, red, auburn, or brown hair; 2) marked by yellow coloration (e.g. a xanthous tumor). From mid-August to mid-September the skies over Northern California were xanthous. Smoke from hundreds of wildfires filled the air, casting our world as yellowish, red, auburn, and brown, as nasty as an imagined tumor. It was too bad to breathe and too bad for my humor. Two days of clean air and relatively blue skies remind me now how low my spirits were for the past month. I'm alarmed to think how much my state of mind is a reaction to the state of my world.
Here comes the sun: how the weather affects our mood
Second up this week, Xeniality …
I've never heard or read the word xeniality. But I think it's a good word. Xenial is a word. According to Merriam-Webster: "of, relating to, or constituting hospitality or relations between host and guest and especially among the ancient Greeks between persons of different cities." Our pandemic isolation bubbles are fear-inducing. I'm working to remember how much I prize geniality, in myself and others. Being genial is easy with those I know and love. But I'm thinking the world would be a nicer place if I (we) extended generous affability beyond our social bubbles. So, perhaps I'm coining xeniality to extend geniality to those I don't know so well, those far outside my bubble. It's a kind of optimism that there are things we can do to make life more pleasant. Plus, maybe make new friends!
Loneliness isn't inevitable – a guide to making new friends as an adult
Third up this week, Xebec …
One way we can be genial and xenial: share a bottle of wine. Maybe a bottle of Xebec! We can look this up in Merriam-Webster, too. Xebec: "a usually 3-masted Mediterranean sailing ship with long overhanging bow and stern." This was a type of ship favored by Mediterranean pirates. Pirates! There's an illustration of a xebec on our wine label. Not A Gardener's Path, this is a different wine. CHance and DAH worked with our winemaker friend Peter to produce Xebec Petit Verdot 2018, Paso Robles. Even less wine made than for A Gardener's Path Cabernet Sauvignon. And, yes, I need to let everyone know more about how to get a bottle or twelve. It's a very dark red wine, lively on the palate, and light on the tannins. We bought grapes from the Margarita Vineyard at the southern edge of the Paso Robles AVA. The wine was made and bottled (by hand by us and the winemaker and his friends) at Filipponi Ranch in San Luis Obispo. Such fun!
Why You Should Be Drinking Petit Verdot
And a bit more, created by Rajlakshmi:
That's all for this week.
From Mary Oliver's poem "Sometimes" …
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
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