After the dry months
Hello friends!
After a long drought we're finally getting needed rain here in the Twin Cities, and I am so relieved. Every time I go to sleep to the sound of rain on the roof, I feel a little better, a little more hopeful--and that's been about half the nights this week.
This month's link is to the recent Story Hour where I read a new story, "The Crow's Second Tale." The other author featured in that performance, Chloe Smith, also read a story about the power of narrative. We didn't plan it, it was just serendipity! Our biographies also ended similarly--I said that I was never bored (true, there's a lot going on in my head at all times), and she said that her job is never boring. We had never met before and did not request the same reading time on Story Hour, we just had that kind of commonality. I hope you enjoy our work separately or together.
In my experience, this is actually pretty common to see. People who don't work in the arts assume that we're all cut-throat, if my story makes it into the table of contents yours won't so I will sharpen my killer instinct. Instead...well, tables of contents have more than one story. People read more than one book. Musicians play with other musicians, actors get to know each other from being in multiple productions together. Sure, there are people in your field that you just don't like--but that's true for every profession. I think it's a lot more frequently the case that we're relieved to have points of commonality and touchstones. Kinship. I think it's more frequently the case that we can see that we're all trying to do it together. And that's pretty great.
This month's recipe wasn't one of mine, it was one I'd intended to try for literal years and finally got around to. It's Nigella Lawson's Clementine Cake (gluten free), and I made it for our family's Easter dinner. I'd love to tell you that it was a hit with everybody, but it wasn't: the same features that made some people love it (beautifully moist! Not cloyingly sweet!) made some turn to the chocolate mousse instead. And that's okay! It's great, actually, that we can please different tastes in different ways. But gosh was this a weird thing to bake, boiling and blending entire little oranges. If you've never done it, it will feel strange, but those of us who liked it really did like it--if you like the taste of real orange, I'd say, rather than orange flavoring.
There's so much coming in May. Be ready to enjoy, friends.
Best,
Marissa