Newsletter #5 Mar 2024

Hi! Me again!

If you are a subscriber you’ve heard a lot from me this week! My week off has been the perfect balance of productive and relaxing, honestly amazed I pulled it off.

I posted every day for 9 days (and I guess today is going to make 10 days!) which is definitely a record for this blog, and one I am very unlikely to break any time soon because now it’s back to work.

But hey, at least it is only a 4 day week before the extra long Easter Bank Holidays!

🏖️ Week Off Success!

I feel like I did successfully catch up with myself over the last week. I got through lots of my blog back log, I finished three books, I finished my embroidery project and Hogwarts Legacy, and made some headway with the garden.

I feel a lot more relaxed and on top of things, and excited about spring!

📺 I’ve been watching

• More Doctor Who! We are still in series 7 and a few episodes into Clara, and honestly I’ve definitely lost some interest. While Clara herself hasn’t been as irritating to me as Oswin or Victorian Era Clara were, I still find her personality rather grating. I think I am very tired of the Moffatt era dialogue, why does every one talk in annoying quips and never use full sentences?! I’ve started to do more sudoku while watching, but hey it’ll be good for me to get back into embroidery!
• I am still loving Elementary. Into series 3 there with the rather abrupt introduction of Kitty, but I actually really like her. I think the actress does a great job with such a forcefully inserted spikey character, and she adds a new dimension to Sherlock himself and the dynamic with Watson.
• We watched the two new episodes of X-Men ’97 and OMG it was great! We’re now really powering through the original series to catch up, and really enjoying it – despite its incredibly rushed and clumsy storytelling, they really try to get a lot into 20 minutes.. which often gets a little Soap Opera-ry. I do have to say that Gambits accent is even worse and more inconsistent that I remembered it being as a child!

🎮 I’ve been playing

• Hogwarts Legacy is finally done and dusted, and I think I’ll take a bit of a break for videogames for now.
• Our final game of Ticket to Ride Legacy will be this Friday! I am glad it’s coming to an end, there are just too many things going on for me. I find it a little stressful! I prefer my board games to be really simple!

📰 New on the blog

9 whole new things in a week, guys!

• Tombstone (1993) – just a quickie! We rarely watch movies, never mind westerns, but the mood struck and you know what, I enjoyed it?! Especially memorable was Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday!
• The Right Trousers – I want to find comfortable and flattering new trousers. It might not be possible. I actually did keep a new pair from from Lucy & Yak order. I might post an update… but you know its really hard to take outfit photos!
• Hogwarts Legacy – a rather long post that was half about my relationship to Harry Potter as a franchise, and half about my experience playing the game.
• Love Has Won – The Cult That Takes Orders From Robin William’s Ghost?! – this has been in my drafts since January! Really glad I finally out it out my system and onto the blog!
• Beach Read By Emily Henry – blasted through this book!
• My “Man Calendars”, 2018-2020 – just a silly little thing I used to do!
• Garden #1 – journalling the beginning of the Great 2024 Garden Project.
• Vacation Picard Complete – he is finished!

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📥 In the processor

There is still stuff in the processor.. always! I do still need to go over notes for Daring Greatly and write something about that, perhaps over the long weekend. I want to share the list of board games I have played in the last couple of years. I have them all in a note I just need to do something with it to make it blog ready. And I plan to share a bit about my new(ish) interest in scrapbooking!

📖 Reading

I finished and reviewed Beach Read by Emily Henry, and got up a review for Children in Time. Two very different books!

I have now read Penance by Eliza Clark – absolutely devoured that! I’ve got to find some time to put together a review for that one. Lots of thoughts!

Current read is Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll because I thought keeping on with true crime might be the way to go. Only read chapter one so too early to tell if its any good for me!

I also still have White Teeth on audiobook. I got a good chunk through it on one gardening day, but then I just enjoyed being with my own thoughts the rest of the week. I’ve not been going out for walks either, so I just need to get back into my audiobook listening routine!

I have not bought any more books in the last week, which is good news for my TBR pile!

💡 Inspiration

Just a few things I’ve saved this week:

• My Problem with “The Problem with Classics” – interesting discussion.
• Winnie Lim on blogging with depression: the dam.
• Teaching Doctor Who’s 60th Anniversary and Reflecting on the Specials Four Months Later – I got to say the “Disneyfication” bothered us too, the new trailer looks fun but also… Not like Doctor Who.

Instagram Inspo

Another favourite of mine is @jaygel_threads and their fantastic pop culture portraits!

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❤️ Highlight of week?

A lot of wonderful moments over the last week. I think the best bit though was feeling my whole soul lift while I was out in the sun getting stuck into the garden.

If you made it all the way down here, let me know how your week was! What was the highlight for you?