tiny happy

Hello friends!

I mentioned last week that I'd recently read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, and that I would talk about it some more. I know I'm late to the party with this book (it was published in 2015) but I think it was sent to me at the right time and place. I found a copy at the op shop on the last day of the summer holiday and bought it for $1. I had been thinking deeply about my creative life and how to better slot it into other parts of my life this year and wanting to do things a little differently in 2021 – namely, work on some projects I have been too afraid to begin. A strong theme in Big Magic is (paraphrased by me) 'feel the fear and do it anyway.' That might be a rather obvious take but it was actually the message I needed to hear. 

Elizabeth Gilbert's voice is friendly, encouraging, and generous: it's an unpretentious guide to creative living. It encourages me to be more generous, freer, and start now! I recommend it if you're after a pep talk of a similar nature.

Another goal I have for this year is to read more. I do read a fair bit at work, and of course, like the rest of us, on my phone, but what I'm after is that feeling of being deeply immersed in a story and not wanting to put it down, which was such a strong element in my childhood and teen years.

I thought it would be fun, and hopefully helpful, to document the books I finish over on my Instagram page. My goal is to share books in my 'stories' and then save those slides in a highlight section at the top of my account (which is here – not that I've actually started the stories properly yet! I will soon, though.)

Let me know if you fancy following along, or doing the same with your own reading this year! In particular, I want to read a wider variety of perspectives and voices than I might have in previous years. I want to read more widely in general. I'm excited to get started!

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I've been doing a bit more crochet and am working on a blanket to use up all my leftover yarn. In the photo above I've captured a beautiful skein of yarn handspun by my Mum a while back. I plan to cake it up tonight to add to the blanket. It's just simple single crochet but I will need to learn another type of stitch to make an edging, I think! (Mostly because my edges are a bit wonky, shh!)

In the second-to-last photo above you can see some black and white photos. Last week, my dear friend Kylie handed me a package of photos she took when visiting me in 2003! I had just had Arlo. There are photos of baby A wrapped in his first (handspun of course) blanket, the washing on the line, the old-fashioned kitchen we had with louvre windows, and some of Arlo's grandparents too. It was so special to receive these pictures unexpectedly, 17 years later. Beautiful windows to another, equally wonderful, life. 

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See you again next week! I hope you are very well and keeping safe. XX