Hello dear readers,

I write to you from our kitchen with rain pouring down outside. It feels very much like spring has gone back into hiding, leaving us in the middle of February once again, despite the equinox having happened over a week ago now.

Things are all mixed up here as well, and this past week did not go according to plan. Last week, I optimistically wrote about the horror novel I was going to start editing again, which unfortunately did not happen. Monday and Tuesday were migraine days, and then Wednesday I woke up with the flu, so as you can expect, the critical mind needed to revise a novel was nowhere to be found.

I did a lot of other things, though. Through my fluish haze, C helped me photograph some new items for my shop, and the whole thing has had a much-needed update. I also have a few more things I’m going to add in the coming weeks (namely bookmarks, but some other items, too).

After my spurts of energy well and truly died out, I spent a good amount of time reading, and finished Recovering: A Journal by May Sarton (begun a long time ago), A Perfect Day to Be Alone by Nanae Aoyama (begun and finished in one day), and The Grip of It by Jac Jemc (a favourite re-read). I also started reading Maurice by E.M. Forster and At Seventy by May Sarton.

In fiber arts news, I finished knitting the arm of a shrug and began the second arm; I also cut and sewed most of a quilt square for an upcoming project, which you’ll hopefully see in my shop in the near future. I also mended a jacket sleeve for a friend, and worked through a few more items in my monstrous alterations pile.

I didn’t do too much gardening this week, but I did manage to set down river rocks along my new garden path while C filled the beds with a new layer of dirt. I also made two kinds of muffins (more on this on substack soon), dried ginger and turmeric for tea, and made a pot of garlic chicken soup. 

So while things didn’t go according to plan, I clearly got a lot of things done I’d been meaning to do. I had a lot of time to relax, too—something I’ve been sorely needing. (I’m not too great at slowing down, as you can probably tell.)

This coming week is a bit up in the air now. I had a couple appointments that I’ve had to reschedule, and had planned on picking up some teaching shifts, but it seems my body has other plans. And so, as soon as my brain is no longer mired in fog, I’ll be writing another substack post and submitting my novel to more agents. Otherwise, the menu calls for rest and recovery.

I hope this week has been kind to you so far.

—Catherine

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