Musings :: Moments :: Memories
As we are almost halfway through the year, and I am doing pretty well with my reading challenge, I thought I'd share the five books I have enjoyed the most this year. The Outsider by Stephen King - I hadn't read any King for some time and this book made me want to fill my… Continue reading Five Best Books So Far
I am currently working at home and so I have had a bit of a spruce up of my desk and the surrounding area. Here it is in all its glory. Notes on my work area: The banner was bought in a lovely shop in Rockport, MA on our 2019 trip to Cape Cod and… Continue reading Where I Work
We are not expert parents by any stretch of the imagination (is there such a thing?) but there are a few things that we have implemented in our home which I think have made conflicts less painful and helped us to navigate so many tricky situations in a family which has strong emotions and loud… Continue reading Five Things That Work
I have been in a reading slump lately. Whilst I have been able to get through a few audiobooks (including the prequel to the His Dark Materials trilogy, La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman plus the entire trilogy), I have found it hard to start a new physical book. I have started Babel by R.… Continue reading Slump
Back when I was pregnant with Austin, I started planning and writing a novel. I wrote little and infrequently. I found it hard to write with a newborn baby. I found it hard to write with my teaching job. To boost my word count, I went on a couple of writer's retreats, and every November,… Continue reading Dealing a New Hand
I read 46 books last year. This means I did not meet my 50 book challenge target but I am really happy with this number nonetheless. I have updated my Reading Challenge page so you can see what I read last year. Here are my top ten books for 2023: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross… Continue reading Reading in 2023
I was a teacher for ten years and it never really felt totally right. For most of my career, I was waiting for it all to click, for the conditions to improve, for the support to be given, for the current I was swimming against to slow. For a time, I thought it did. Teaching… Continue reading For Good
I want to remember how Austin snuggles up with Rich to watch TV. His neck is right in the crook of Rich's arm and he places his hand on Rich's stomach. There is such a happy stillness to these moments. I want to remember the happy flush on Evelina's face when she came home from… Continue reading I Want to Remember
I have enjoyed making this list. I have moved over a couple of things that I didn't manage in 2023, and I have tried to spread think about the different themes that matter to me: travel, family, hobbies, writing, work, home and connection / community. I will be sharing my progress here and on Instagram… Continue reading My 24 in 2024 List
Last week, I was struggling to choose my word of the year. I felt this invisible (non-existent? self-induced?) pressure to decide on my word straight away as it was ALREADY the SECOND day of the year and I hadn't yet chosen the word that I would carry through the year. So, feeling this enormous pressure,… Continue reading Brave not Strong
Notes From My Day 