Is it fall yet?
I just want pretty leaves
Roads Go Ever On 21: Is it fall yet?
💻 what I'm up to 💻
I try not to wish for time to hurry up. The concept of time has had little meaning in the past 18 months anyway and I don’t want to make it even more nebulous. However… please hurry the eff up, fall. Please. I need crisp chills in the air and crunchy leaves. I have so many sweatshirts to wear. Plus I live in a place surrounded by trees now and I know splashes of oranges, reds, and yellows will paint the mountains in bright swaths. I cannot wait.
I’ve already fully embraced apple scented candles, pumpkin flavored everything (bless you, Trader Joe’s), and fall decor. I ate hot apple cider donuts in 80 something degree weather last month and downed some seasonal fall harvest ginger beer last weekend. It’s a start. But I study my weather app every morning and it’s looking promising. Highs in the low 70s are starting to fill the days. It’s cool enough today to open all the windows and turn up the fans. Fresh air, y’all, pretty neat.
Heat and I don’t get along well so in these last summer days I’ve been indoors as much as possible. So part of this longing for fall is about getting back outdoors for walks and hikes. Though I also just partially dislocated my right kneecap (it’s highly annoying) and I don’t know if fall hiking is going to be quite the dream I imagined this year. Fingers crossed.
I hope it’s cooling down wherever you are and I hope you’re doing okay.
📘 my book things 📘
Star Wars: Battles That Changed the Galaxy is out on October 5 and you have plenty of time to preorder!
Other than that, I’ve been… uh, not amazing at writing outside of my day job. But I’m hoping to get myself to work on some stuff next week.
📺 what I'm watching 📺
So much new TV is happening right now and I feel a smidge overwhelmed. I’m also trying to watch all of New Girl for the first time and I don’t appreciate new shows intruding.
Nine Perfect Strangers
Okay. So Nine Perfect Strangers is not a good show. The writing’s a mess, the characters are walking tropes, and the editing is as bonkers as the plot. That said, I cannot get enough of this highly entertaining trainwreck about nine strangers at a wellness retreat led by Nicole Kidman’s Masha. Plus Masha has a sternum scar like mine. I absolutely have the book on hold at the library.
Reservation Dogs
If you're not watching Reservation Dogs (FX on Hulu), please remedy it stat. From co-creators Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi, the comedy follows four Indigenous teens in Oklahoma. All the writers and directors on the series are Indigenous too. It’s hilarious with cutting and smart dialogue, and poignant/brutal at times. It just got renewed for season two as well.
📚 what I'm reading 📚
Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle Cosimano
If you like your murder books with a side of fun banter, Finlay Donovan Is Killing It is for you. A woman overhears Finlay discussing her new suspense novel and assumes Finlay’s a contract killer. She offers Finlay a pile of money to kill a problematic husband. Murder and hilarity ensues.
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
More murder! This book enthralled me. In the present day a woman mudlarking in the Thames (mudlarking is a whole thing), finds an 18th century apothecary bottle. It belonged to an apothecary who blended poisons for women to use against terrible men. A secret lady apothecary killer! The story plays out between the two timelines and it’s intense and cathartic. Bonus: if you want to follow an IRL mudlarker, I love this Instagram account:
I've also hugely enjoyed Life's too Short by Abby Jimenez, Donut Fall in Love by Jackie Lau, and Well Matched by Jen DeLuca.
🐳 something whalesome 🐳
I like wholesome things and the whale emoji is cute so: whalesome!
I know the whole internet has probably seen the video from Blue’s Clues’ Steve. Whether you were a child of the ‘90s or not, watch it. Watch it again. It’s 😭😭😭.
🍃 creativity corner 🍃
Here I’ll share tips and tricks that are helping me write, imagine, and/or stay productive.
Set a timer. It’s not new advice, I know, but I’ve had to tinker with the amount of time that works best for me for writing or research sprints. The Pomodoro Technique is too short for me. A couple of hours is too long. An hour of focused, uninterrupted work followed by a 15 minute break is my sweet spot. I feel almost joyous setting a timer, putting my phone in do not disturb mode, face down, and usually out of reach (unless I’m listening to music) and closing out of everything that pops up a notification. Then I hide my computer taskbar so I can’t see the clock (I also don’t wear my watch) and work in a timeless void for an hour.
And you don’t have to use your phone! I’ve been thinking about getting a cute kitchen timer that looks like a vegetable or something.
📃 quote of the week 📃
“If you spend your life dwelling on the worst possible thing, when it finally happens, you’ve lived it twice.” - Abby Jimenez, Life’s Too Short
Despite trying to spend as much time thinking about potential positive outcomes as I do thinking about potential terrible ones, I don’t. So yeah, this quote basically slapped me in the face and I bet I’m not the only one.
Feel free to reply and let me know how you’re doing! And if you feel so inclined, you can buy me a Ko-fi (which I will absolutely use for decaf pumpkin spice lattes).