The list is endless, and I am not.
On Spring Denial, delightful links, recommendations, and more.
The other morning I noticed something I had forgotten I missed: The gentle twittering of birds just outside my window.
As I whisked my daily matcha, I looked at the slumped over Pampas Grass and untrimmed rose bushes. Later, I would step outside to remove the wire mesh I kept on top of my tulip bulbs to deter nibbling squirrels. The metal groaned under the effort, after months of being undisturbed, and as it was released from the grips of the soil, it took with it a few new green shoots.
Damnit.
I mentally scolded myself for waiting so long.
Despite my inner denial, Spring is on its way.
And as predicted, I can feel myself defrosting; the gears of the year rumbling to life. I think I’m the anomaly in wishing that the groundhog saw its shadow. While I’m not a fan of the cold and the wet, I could really use six more weeks to get my life together.
Now, there are grants to apply for, artwork to create, notes to take on books, submission deadlines, client emails, promotional campaigns and cold-calling to juggle— all on top of my usual work. The list is endless, and I am not. (Insert the resigned sigh of an overly ambitious person here.)
Faced with the unrelenting march of time, I remind myself to stay measured. Ready or not, here I come.
Do you hear that? It’s the sound of my sketchbook-scrapbook practice falling off a cliff. 🙈 February was a busy month with work and I kept telling myself I would “catch up” next week. Yet here we are in March so….. maybe next weekend is the week??
With that said, I did get to do a something creative, “just for fun” last weekend! Enter: Rug Tufting.
As someone who is very sewing-shy (my bookmark and felting are the closest thing to fabrics arts thus far), this was a surprisingly straight forward process that was SO satisfying to make. The fluffy texture being built up, layer upon layer, was a delight and my partner and I had a lot of fun weaving in different shades of green to make the background look more “grassy”.
I finished reading Piglet by Lottie Hazell at the end of last month and haven’t felt inspired to pick up my Kobo again. (Overwhelmed with all the choices!) If anyone has a recommendation, please share!
The next read: Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer
I recently started listening to this podcast and I am OBSESSED. It’s basically three guys who answer a different question each week with the help of an expert. I know this isn’t a novel concept, but they have a good mix of humour and facts.
If you’re a fan of my “What I googled this month” newsletters, you will love them as well.
(I’ve shared my gateway episode which is a constant point of contention in our mixed-ethnicity household 🙃)
I wish I could be original but really, I’ve been watching Severance S2 and White Lotus S3 just like everyone else. (And by watching, I mean watching new episodes weekly, then following it up with an hour of reddit thread creeping like a totally normal person.) 😅
I’m about a month late but seed starting has begun! Pictured below are trays that contain: Sweetpeas, Iceland Poppies, Snapdragons, China Asters, Ornamental Grasses, Cosmos, Feverfew, and more.
It isn’t glam but it does the trick (aka allows for about 8 trays, or 560+ seedlings). If anyone is curious, I rigged this up last year by stacking two mini greenhouse kits and attaching lights to it via wire. Fingers crossed we get some beauties this year 🤞🏽
Some delightful links from around the internet:
Three different people sent me this IG video and I love the messaging behind it. 🌸 (Side note: You know your personal brand is strong when three people send the same Instagram video to you over the course of a week.)
A friend introduced me to these “interactive” videos on IG and they are SO delightful. They’re just silly and meaningless and always put a smile on my face.
I really resonated with my friend Cat’s words in this piece:
And suddenly all my worst fears about myself start feeling like they’re becoming true. Not fun. Not cool. Not sexy. Not free. Just a wound up little bomb waiting to go off.
I am absolutely entranced by this duo and their idea of turning found objects into lamps. WILL IT LAMP?!
I loved this so much and just want to shout it from the rooftops: Why Do Kids Stop Drawing?
But as children move through primary school, writing muscles out drawing. Drawing just becomes the thing you do to decorate your writing—if you have time.
We teach children to write by giving them the basic skills and reading them books so they can hear what good writing sounds like. We can do the same with drawing. Not everyone will become Leonardo da Vinci or Picasso, but not everyone will become Shakespeare yet we still teach writing—because we know it is a crucial communication and expression tool that everyone should have.