| July 26, 2026 
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Welcome back to The Weekender, where you’ll find a batch of the week’s top stories about culture and the way we live today. My colleagues on the Well desk have been reporting nonstop on a spate of health concerns: measles, peptides and a cyclosporiasis outbreak I would like to never have to think about again. Instead, at least for a moment, I suggest reading a Well story about a more delightful kind of surge. “Grandma hobbies,” the writer Kate Brennan tells us, have taken off among young people. My teen daughter will be spending the rest of this summer working at a sewing camp, so this tracks. Kate tried out a quilting class, where most of her fellow students were under 35, and dug into why these hands-on and notably screen-free activities are making a comeback. “I could feel my usual mental noise dissolving into the rhythm of the work,” she writes, and shares a psychologist’s name for this phenomenon, which I loved: “meaningful self-forgetfulness.” Her story is below along with a few other excellent distractions. Let’s start with this week’s main character: Jimothy the raccoon. I’ll see you next weekend(er). — Farah Thanks for reading. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Sign up here, and be sure to check out more lifestyle stories from The Times. This edition of The Weekender was edited by Farah Miller and Kellina Moore. Reach our team at weekender@nytimes.com. | |  | You might also like the Good Advice newsletter. Our advice columnists help you navigate life's challenges and dilemmas, no matter how messy. Get it in your inbox. |
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