A Sense of Summer
Questions to savour summer, plus some fun links, recommendations + more.
It’s another month where I don’t have an essay for you at the top here; mainly because I feel like I’m only just staying afloat of life amidst work, trying to summon more work, and planning Tombolo— all with the idea of “make the most of summer!” looming in the background 🙃. I promise I’ll have something insightful in a few months— perhaps in October?
In the meantime, I’m trying to shake off some sticky negative thoughts right now and have decided to indulge in a question (actually 4 questions) I ask my Yearbook Club each month as a way to snap out of a bad headspace. It’s a nice one to do if you’re ever feeling unmoored so I thought I’d share it here again:
What sounds did you hear this past month?
Seagull squawks at 5AM, the short chirps of hummingbirds while I water the garden in the morning, this song, and this one, and people in the neighbourhood commenting on how good the garden is looking 🥲.
What smell or smells did you notice this month?
Honeysuckle and lavender in the AM, weird East van smell at night 😂
What are some things you tasted this month?
Blueberry matcha, veggie sandwich at The Federal Store, Furikake in lieu of salt on my tomato toast, lots of onigiris.
What are some textures/ tangible sensations you felt this month?
Dry and sandy dirt in all possible places, first brisk ocean dip, the very unsettling feeling of getting your ears flushed.
I’ve decided to do the three-material challenge again this August to force myself to draw in a low-stakes way, while also using it as a way to remember summer memories. So far it’s been a lot of at-home things which reflects my workaholism. Woops.
It’s been really nice to just sit and notice and play with colour combinations I wouldn’t normally use. The gist of this challenge is to use only three materials. For example- a pencil crayon, a stabilo crayon, and a brush pen.
I think the above two images are probably my favourite thus far. Surprise surprise, I love drawing flowers and I’m really happy with how this illustration turned out. I feel like it captures the different textures pretty well, despite just being 3 materials. On the right, I’m proud of myself for experimenting with washi tape as a “material” and it kind of really works for the red streaks in my mom’s hair. (She’s tidying up some beads that my nieces were playing with.)
I’ve slowed my bookworm roll a bit but I really enjoyed the two books I read:
Hijab Butch Blues by Lamya H: Devastatingly honest and darkly humorous, this was such a good audiobook listen!
Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH by Robert C. O’Brien: Still making my way through the kidlit classics (as recommended by my friend Carmen). For only 250 pages, this book packed in SO MUCH. Adventure! Realistic characters! (Or at least, as realistic as a talking mouse can be.) An emotionally powerful plot! Strong moral message without being preachy! This is going straight to the top of the list for kidlit inspiration.
Running a listening club with my partner has made me realize I have the musical taste of someone who only eats mac and cheese. While I am working to broaden my palette (the Ray Charles album for August was so perfect during a summer rainstorm), I’m also simultaneously not ashamed to admit that I loved the new Justin Bieber album and I’m loving the new Ed Sheeran single starring Rupert Grint. It’s the hilarious Lego House sequel we never knew we needed!
Also, the new Jameela Jamil podcast about the embarrassing moments in our lives has made me laugh out loud multiple times this week. Worth a listen and I would start with the Atsuko episode!
Sorry folks, I haven’t really watched anything since my last monthly updates newsletter. 🙈
It has been such a dream to spend so much time each morning in the garden. I love that you can’t really see the road in the image on the left/ first image which makes it feel very “cottage garden-esque”/ like I’m in my own little world. 🥹
The flower subscription is going strong and I feel so overjoyed to get to share the flower love with other people! We have so many gorgeous colours and new varieties this year, I’m just happy that it gets to brighten up someone else’s day because it sure as heck makes my day, everyday.
I’ll be at the Cambie Summer Sizzler this coming Saturday with one of my stockists- Cadine , signing Tender Seasons books and selling some arrangements. If you’re in town and want some one-off flowers, come on through! 🌸
Lasty, Rob and I (with the help of our friend Marina) planted this boulevard garden a few weekends ago. It’s been on the list of to-dos for literal years (since we moved in!) so it felt really nice to finally tick that box. The plants were lovingly curated with help from my friend Megan who offers Landscape Design and consulting, with a focus on nice smelling flowers and being drought resistant as well as pollinator friendly. I can’t wait to see how this grows over the next few years!
PS- If you love flowers, Megan is hosting a charity long table dinner in a month on a flower farm. You can learn more and grab your ticket here.
Some delightful links from around the internet:
I learn so much from this birding substack every month. For example, if you see a bird looking like the photo below, know that it’s not dead, it’s just sunbathing!
Incredible photos of the night sky and space. Like the one below which looks AI generated but is 100% real :
“A Rainbow Mosaic of the Rosette and the Christmas Tree Nebulae.” © Shaoyu Zhang Fun word facts, brought to you by my late night Youtube scroll:
Always nice to stumble upon a website that is truly just for fun: Draw a fish and see it swim with other fish! 🐟
I wish I could see this Wild Plants of Palestine exhibit in person but this substack post will have to do for now. One of my favourite quotes below:
I mean, on the one hand, we can't blame Japanese knotweed and other invasive species for the problems whilst we provide them with the perfect conditions to thrive. And these conditions, these perfect conditions are also killing other plants, right? So on the one hand, we heat the temperature and we pollute and this kills many other plants. And then heating the temperature also makes the rain fall in big amounts in a very short time leading to soil erosion. And consequently killing other plants and making the Japanese knotweed thrive. And then we say the Japanese knotweed is the problem, is the cause of this. It's not true. It's really not true. Japanese knotweed doesn't cause soil erosion. It doesn't cause blocking of the water ditches or small rivers. It's us. We do something somewhere, this changes the balance, leads to some plants being stronger than other plants. Because of us.
In case you missed it!
Here are some other substack posts from this month:
I’m so behind on my Substack reading! 🤦🏻♀️ I can’t get over your gorgeous garden. I used to love gardening, but it’s gotten a little harder for me to be in the heat in recent years (and my yard is full of bunnies that eat everything!). I’ve been making crepe paper flowers, which is so soothing. Need to send you some pictures! 💜🌸💐🌻