Friday, I'm in love - the sick note
If your week has felt off-kilter, then know that the productivity peak of mine was scraping snail shit off a bird feeder
By the time last week’s pre-scheduled missive was landing in your inbox, I was floundering. The timing for this ill-fated combination of flu and plummeting hormones couldn’t have been worse, colliding as it did with a(nother) spell of solo parent-caring. Needless to say, it was not my best self that landed in my husband’s DMs on the final morning of his outdoor jolly* in the Lake District. Fortunately, he spiked a fever within 48 hours of coming home, which made staying pissed off at him quite challenging. Nothing says welcome home quite like a hit of gastroenteritis.
Three things that have brought a little warmth to a low energy week…
* For those not familiar with British vernacular, think pleasurable excursion, possibly a piss up.
I took a break from incubating germs to try painting with fountain pen ink for the first time
1 - Books. Always. And forever. Serendipitously, the novel accompanying me on my own personal descent into the abyss was Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield. Billed as a ‘cosmic horror’, it’s perhaps a reflection of my current inner state - or, more likely, Armfield’s mastery - that this story of two wives separated when a mysterious mission to the depths of the ocean goes wrong, didn’t feel as dark as it sounds. As full of love as it is creepy, it’s a wonderfully strange debut novel.
2 - Short stories. I was surprised to learn (in this insightful post by Rebecca Makkai) that some folks never read short stories. They were one of my first loves.
An all time favourite is Blood by Scottish writer, Janice Galloway. And the most recent collection I read (for the second time in less than a year, because it’s that good) is Salt Slow by Julia Armfield (she of the deep sea supernatural wonder above).
I’m always on the hunt for short story collections to try, so would love to hear your recommendations.
3 - Snappy Shopper. This may not be a thing where you live, but I sincerely hope you have your own version. I live in a village with very few amenities - the village shop, which doubled as the post office, closed a few years ago and is still sitting empty. Thankfully, during Covid lockdown times some lovely shopkeeper in the next town signed up to this app-based grocery delivery service which allows folks to order essentials like bread, milk, Ribena and Wotsits (because sick me is apparently also 15 year-old hungover me) for delivery within the hour. How amazing is that?!
Taking us into the weekend is Japanese composer, Joe Hisaishi. I watched Studio Ghibli’s Princess Mononoke for the first time on Sunday, and was particularly captivated by the Kodama tree spirits.
Sorry to hear you’ve been poorly. Speedy recovery ❤️🩹 no snappy shopper here yet, just checked. Thanks for the recommendation of the short story post, very interesting and I’ve saved it to come back to. I must admit to not being a short story fan but I should take another look at that position. Take care xx