Throwing you a Curveball
Since the last round up, we’ve been Wassailing (twice - the second time in the orchard that we’ve planted with Phil).
I was in charge of the proceedings at Phil’s and researched words and songs. I came up with this, from the Longest Johns. While we didn’t sing along, we played the video in the orchard and read the words on my printed sheet (laminated in case it rained) by the light of our head torches!
Listening
My taste in music has always been eclectic. I think another term for it is catholic. My favourite source of new music has always been soundtracks. I hardly ever bought music (unlike Chris) - my CD collection was miniscule. I liked a song as opposed to the artist. Growing up we didn’t have a lot of music playing. No sound system, just a small cassette player. Early on we had a reel to reel - I still have my Dad’s notebook listing all the tracks on each tape.
I have phases when I need silence, and then phases when I want to play music. Chris doesn’t understand this as he listens to music every day, and always has, even before he lost his sight.
I’ve been listening to a lot of podcasts recently, especially David Perell’s How I Write series. My favourites have been Riva Tez, Howard Marks, Amor Towles, and Steven Pressfield. All episodes I want to listen to again.
A bit of Country
Yesterday I discovered Jelly Roll. Never heard of him before.
And then there’s Luke Combs. Only spotted because of his duet with Tracy Chapman.
I’m always behind the curve when it comes to trends - I heard and loved Mr Brightside way later than everyone else. Luke and Jelly are now on my playlists!
What’s on my Kindle
I’ve never really subscribed to conventional narratives or ways of being. It’s just the way I am. I don’t always resonate with how others experience life. But, every now and then, I’ll come across words or ideas that do resonate.
My word of the year for 2024 is alchemy. It felt a little pompous when I decided on it. But then I started reading Hagitude and these quotes hit me between the eyes.
Our creativity as elder women isn’t about birthing others any more – it’s about birthing our own unique wisdom, our own unique gift to the world.
At the beginning of menopause, then, we are the substance on which its rough alchemy is performed. But as we pass through it and out of it, we become the Alchemist.
The archetypal qualities of the Alchemist reveal her to be a mistress of transformation: she’s not afraid to burn things back to the bare bones to expose what lies beneath. She’s both a visionary and a catalyst for the irreversible changes she conjures into being; in effect, she reimagines, and so recreates, the world.
I’m a long time Julia Cameron fan. This one popped up - currently only £0.99 on Amazon - so I added it to my collection.
What I’m Writing
I feel as if I’m still scratching the surface with my writing but I’m making daily inroads. My Digital Garden is definitely helping. I moved my Dickie Bush-inspired, what I wrote today, to Obsidian. It gives me greater scope to include links and resources, or pull in quotes from elsewhere. It’s keeping my accountable, and it’s part of my daily routine that I enjoy.
I created a writing hub for myself (above) using the Kanban plugin.
Following on Substack led me to David Almond and his writing process. One day last week I printed out a Death Certificate story called Sarah, and took it to a café in Ashbourne where I did some editing.
I was inspired by David’s use of notebooks. I’ve always adopted a very linear way of writing. I suspect this is why I’ve struggled with my book.
Other writers seem more relaxed about it!
So, I bought a David Almond style of notebook and I’m being more random!