Hi, Hey, Hello!
Thank you for joining me on this unseasonably warm (almost) Winter day! I’m so happy you’re here! How the heck are you?!
What can I get started for you? I’m brewing up some black tea with milk and honey (obviously) but also have coffee or any herbal tea your heart could desire.
Let’s have a seat down by the sleeping apple trees to chat, shall we? If we’re lucky. we might even catch a glimpse of our neighborhood hawks! They’ve been thoroughly enjoying the warm weather while I’m (not so patiently) waiting for some more snow to arrive 🙂
Cold (& Flu) Season
This week brought some crud into the house. Our daughter caught it from the Birthday Party last weekend and fought it all week with a few downright miserable days and few days of funk. I almost skipped out on this round by fighting it hard day after day (which is exhausting in itself). Knock wood, it hasn’t laid me flat and I don’t intend to let it 😉 My wife has luckily skipped it completely!
Down time did allow for some intentionally calm walks in the sunshine and more quality time with some of our critters. A balance to all things.
We have another Birthday Party to attend Sunday, and another one next weekend, so we will be doing all the things to keep all future bugs at bay, including hydration and the crossing of all fingers and toes!
How are you feeling? Any crud in your neck of the woods?
Analog Nostalgia
The down time this week did allow for a slower pace for me and is helping me get out of the creative winter I wrote a bit about in my Work(s) in Progress post a couple of days ago.
After quite the ebb period, I wrote a quick blog post about my finding my great grandpa’s Christmas Wishlist to Santa in 1902, finally pulled out my art journal for a bit of doodling and I started the embroidery project I’ve been procrastinating on 🙂
I’ve also enjoyed spending a couple of quieter than usual mornings with my cuppa tea and Uppercase Magazine, a new-to-me magazine gifted to me by my lovely sister for my Birthday a couple of weeks ago. It’s such a gorgeous magazine and I almost forgot how lovely it is to hold physical media in my hands like this!
I’ve noticed more and more recently that nostalgia and analog have become the IT words across the few social media channels I follow. It seems that Instagramers, Blueskyers, and Substackers are all either living with, fantasizing about, or planning for a deep dive into the more tangible experiences.
I’m here for it, honestly.
Maybe it’s the algorithm feeding me my own leanings, but I’d like to think it’s deeper than that.
Not as a fad, but hopefully as a shift into a new/old way of approaching life and experiencing the world around us all.
I think we could all do with some non-AI, non-online/digital time, you know?
Magazines, vinyl records, slow mornings with a book, fiber crafts, physical journals/day-timers…
Have you noticed more talk of “the good ol’ days” before technology took over every aspect of our lives? How do you feel about this shift in awareness and approach to life?
This video is specifically about AI, but I think Ethan Hawks is on to something here 🙂 What do you think?
Reading
Lest you forget that I’m not a total Luddite and, in fact, have a deep appreciation for technology and some of the amazingness digital options have to offer us, I finished all eight of The Witches of Scotland audio books this week and am looking for my next listen!
I’m currently debating between The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow and Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab.
I’ve heard good things about both and just can’t decide…
Have you read either of these books? Think I should read one over the other first? Let me know!
What stories are you diving into these days?
That’s All Folks!
I so appreciate you sharing space and time with me today, let’s do it again soon, OK?
As always, sending a big thank you to Natalie for offering up the virtual space to share space and time together each weekend! Pop on over to see what other bloggers have been up to.
Onward,
Melissa
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Oh, cold and flu season. I saw on the news that it is hitting some people really hard. My youngest wasn’t feeling well for a few days, but nothing extreme, and so far, nobody else has been affected. There is only a week left of school before the break, so I’m hopefully . . .
I just placed a copy of The Witches of Scotland (book 1) in my cart for later. I think you’ve mentioned this series before, and it looks and sounds interesting. I’ve never read The Everlasting or Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. I am currently reading The Christmas Tree Farm by Laurie Gilmore. It’s a cozy romance. Not my typical read, but I read the first one, and I enjoyed the characters, world, and writing style, so I’m on book 3.
Happy Sunday, Melissa.
Yes, I am hopeful the break will help us all clear some of this buggers out!
Elements of The Witches of Scotland reminded me of The Celestine Prophecy, have you ever read that series? It also held elements from my mediumship course that I’ve not heard spoken of elsewhere, which was pretty cool. I also really enjoyed The Discovery of Witches books.
I have seen so much talk of Laurie Gilmore’s books! I’ll give them another look 🙂
Happy Sunday!
Love Uppercase! I’m more intrigued by The Everlasting, myself, but not sure I understand the problem of having two good books to read… 🙂
I completely agree, there are so many worse things than having good book options 🙂 Happy Sunday!
Aw, sorry to hear you’ve been feeling sick; so far all crud has passed us by but once we see lots and lots of family and friends starting next Friday I am sure one of us is bound to come down with something before the new year. We’ve huddled inside with some snow coming down today. I love a good audio book (but have not listened to or read either of those). Today I am reading a physical library book called Christmas with the Queen and am really enjoying it.
Oh, I *loved Christmas With The Queen! I hope you enjoyed your snowy huddle time and are enjoying your reading time!
I hope you and your daughter are both feeling much better. I haven’t read the two books that you’re debating. They both sound intriguing. Thank you for your weekend coffee share.
We are much better, thank you! Hope your week is off to an awesome start, Natalie!
I hope everyone is feeling well now. It is unusually warm here as well. I wonder if the weather co tributes to the spread of the flu?
I didn’t write a coffee share this weekend, but I appreciated yours 🙂 Have a wonderful new week!
Hi Maria! Thanks for stopping by!
I do think the weather impacts the spread of the season when it’s cold out and we’re all inside together. We don’t typically catch all the bugs floating around in the public schools (yay for Homeschooling) but we always catch one or two when the weather shifts :-/
Hope your week is off to a great start!
Thank you! I started my Christmas vacation eeeeextra long this year 🙂 All is good in my world.
Ah, analog is appealing to me more and more with all the crazy stuff in the online world. But alas, I’m too addicted to my technologies to give them up altogether. ha. I definitely have to work on having the right balance though. I’ve not read either of the books. I’m currently reading an oldie for my banned books bookclub, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” We’ve been reading some heavier novels lately so she chose a shorter book for us to read over the holidays for our January meeeting.
Happy New Year, Lisa! I could never entirely leave technology behind either, but a solid balance could do us all some good 🙂 I hope your 2026 is starting off wonderfully! I’m behind on blogs so I’m off to catch up on yours <3