Hello again folks. I hope everyone is having a safe summer. I hope no one is going mad, stuck in their houses with their children for months on end. I hope everyone is finding something to do that’s calming, or soothing, or at least distracting. Because holy cow, I am going pretty stir crazy.
I have been doing some fun projects though. I bought a few bird feeders and placed them in various spots in the front and back yard. I made sure to get different kinds too, so we have food for the bigger birds like the blue-jays, robins, and woodpeckers, not just the peep peep birds. (I know they’re called finches but “peep peep” sounds better when you have a three year old.) We even leave out a pile of peanuts in the shells for the crows. It’s a goddamn menagerie up in here now.
I’ve also been trying some new cooking things. I’m experimenting with different kinds of flour, or no flour, or using oats instead–that turned out pretty good actually. My daughter and I went by the Asian market and bought some ingredients for Korean foods like Tteobokki which is a spicy stir-fried rice cake. Super good if you eat it in ramen with sausages and lots of veggies. Oh, and I’ve decided that I’m eating sandwiches for breakfast until I’m old and all my teeth fall out. Sandwiches are the best and are especially good if they are the first thing you get to eat in the morning. (Also you can stay pretty low-cal if you get a good wheat bread and go easy on the mayo.)
There have also been some drawing and painting projects I’ve gotten myself into, but by far the coolest thing I’ve started is knitting. I taught myself how to do it last week by watching 8,000 hours of YouTube how-to’s. I bought a huge thing of cheap yarn and just went for it. Super hard at first, but after a while your fingers sort of get the idea. Funny story though: you have to look at your hands when you’re knitting, so when I tried to find something to watch while I did it, I got frustrated because everything–and I mean everything–in all my queues is foreign. As in subtitled. And since I refuse to listen to the atrocity that is English dubs, I didn’t actually have anything to watch. I know, I know, first world problem, but it was still annoying. I thought about just listening to a few audio books (started the Cartographer series by AC Cobble. Not bad, fantasy murder mystery with horror elements + steampunk) but I was set on having a show going while I worked. So I ended up marathoning Hannibal for the fourth time because it’s available on Netflix and I’m a sucker for Hugh Dancy’s ability to look like a kicked puppy and a lumberjack porn star at the same time. Also the crime scenes in that show are so over the top it’s great.
So there it is. Some knitting. I took that picture a few days in so that piece is longer now and sports a few holes where I fucked it up, but hey, progress.
As for writing, it’s going kind of slow. Not a lot of motivation. I’ve written a few short things, and re-worked some of the novel re-write (God that is starting to piss me off) but not much to report. However, I am headed to Port Townsend this weekend for a few days of relaxation alone in an inn by the water. I’m hoping the peace and quiet will get some things in my brain moving. And if not, at least I will be able to recharge my batteries.
I hope everyone is doing well, staying safe and healthy, loving their pets, and finding some creative outlets for whatever you might be going through. Have a great weekend, and I will update again soon!
Sam Stark 