Hello dear readers,
I write to you from the kitchen table, while outside rain thunders down, the heaviest it’s been in a long time. Both cats are perched at the top of the table, soaking in the heat from the vent that sits below, and I have a teacup of decaf¹ earl grey in an old china cup.
I find it funny that I started this blog with the intention of writing mainly diary-like entries circa 2005, but I seem to contribute to other categories much more than this one. But that’s fine! Things don’t always go according to plan, and sometimes that’s for the best. Today, though, I wanted to go back to my roots and give you a little look at what life has been like lately.
First, I’ve recently begun working through Julie Cameron’s Finding Water, one of the follow ups to her wildly successful The Artist’s Way. I first read The Artist’s Way in 2023-2024, treating it as a year-long endeavor, rather than the suggested chapter per week. I know readers are divided on this workbook, but I loved it for a number of reasons, and I was glad to finally dive into another of her workbooks. It’s been on my shelf so long—likely as long as The Artist’s Way had been before I started—so I’m glad it’s no longer collecting dust.
January was truly the month of writing. As of January 31st, I’d amassed just over 60,000 words on my first draft, though it’s jumped to 63,482 at the time of posting this. I’m refraining from posting a writing-related note until I finish the first draft, so you’ll have to wait until then to learn more.
As I wrap up my first draft in February, I’ve also started a new endeavor on my youtube channel, called The Logbook. Since I have loads of free time through February, I wanted to spend some of it documenting my days in a more in-depth way than I have in the past. Partly, too, I’m hoping to work on consistency, something I still struggle with².
After re-reading Erica Bauermeister’s The School of Essential Ingredients³, I found myself wanting to spend more time in the kitchen, and have been treating cooking like an event, rather than something I’m forced to get done. I loved cooking as a teenager, though that went by the wayside when my health grew poor. Through my twenties, I did cook quite a bit, but there wasn’t the same joy in it that I had when I was young. That joy has been returning bit by bit, but with this re-read, it’s come back full force. All I want to do is cook!
A not so wonderful event turned out to have a silver lining: during the last week of January, my desktop computer finally bit the dust. It had been struggling along for a couple years now, but it wheezed its way to the finish line on January 30th. While I was minorly freaked due to the impending editing-three-videos-a-week schedule, I found my new computer has in-built editing software that works just as well as my old option and is simpler, faster, and more user-friendly. Plus, my computer no longer freezes or refuses to turn on—positives all around!
Finally, I’ve done my annual office closet clean out, and have gotten rid of more than I expected. The result is a closet that I can now find things in, that doesn’t have objects I’ve been hoarding for years with no intention of use, and even has a bit more room for fabric than it did before.
That’s all for now. I hope your week has been gentle and kind, and that you’re finding space to feel okay despite the state of the world. I’ll talk to you soon.
—Catherine
FOOTNOTES
¹ Recently I’ve become very much not okay with the amount of caffeine I was consuming. Caffeine isn’t a problem for most people, but it leaves me jittery and staring at my phone for my lack of ability to concentrate. Plus, it exacerbates health problems I have, even if it does feel good to have in the moment. So, time for it to go!
² Part of being neurodivergent means needing structure and consistency to function, but not being all that great at implementing it—I get bored easily, and need to shake things up. Strangely, I don’t seem to have any trouble with consistency when it comes to this blog. I need to figure out why that is and harness it in other areas of my life.
³ A phenomenal, heartwarming book. This is my second read through, having only found it for the first time last year, though I expect I’ll be reading it most years for the rest of my life.
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