✷greetings ✷

it's a vaccination celebration! i get to HUG my FRIENDS! my nesting partner kyle and i are both fully vaccinated now. it's such a relief. my thoughts have been mostly occupied by the benefits of being vaccinated lately. kyle and i visited sauvie island, oregon this month, a place i've wanted to see ever since i heard this song about it by (defunct) olympia locals, kickball. it was too early to pick fruit, but we had a picnic on the beach. we also went out for a drink for the first time since the pandemic began (i'm still generally not drinking, i had a few thimbles of berry wine for the special occasion). we grabbed a picnic table where a giant, metal big foot cutout watched over us.

✷ zine news ✷

copies of my new mini zine, protection from burnout: a workaholic's guide to taking a fucking break are now available in my etsy shop. you can probably guess that this one was inspired by my recent brush with burnout. the zine comes with a worksheet to help set boundaries around work. if you find it impossible to relax, or you chronically bite off more than you can chew, this zine is for you.

there's also an alternate color version of my lakes aren't always blue mini zine up on etsy, it's blue ink printed on tan paper. it's my fake riso zine, haha. i added some new prints too.

i have terrible art block, but once that lifts, wanderer 7 will basically be done. i think this will be the longest issue yet, i have 23 pages right now (mostly writing and a handful of drawings). i'm hoping to finish it in the next couple months. as y'all probably know, i make a playlist for each issue. i'm thinking for this issue, i might make a booklet to go with the playlist (remember mix cds/tapes? me too) that will only be available for patrons. it'll be a throwback to the days when i made very elaborate mix cd packaging.

✷ tabling / unplugged ✷

i've been really trying my best to stay off the internet lately. social media, especially instagram, has been really stressing me out. i have the itch to do in-person things after this digital year. i'm hoping i can snag a space at the mold to gold flea market in the old school pizza parking lot on saturday, june 5th. it runs from 10am-6pm but spots are first come first served. so see you there, or maybe not?? 

✷ fucking hooray ✷

short but sweet, i got a haircut and i feel hot again!
i have plane tickets to visit my family and friends in pennsylvania in august, and i'm hopefully entertaining a visit from a good friend in july. i can't even convey how joyful those things make me feel.

i ate my first garden strawberry of the year this week and it was glorious. i also invested in some bird netting so i hopefully get to eat more strawberries and blueberries from the garden this year. also, the garden is good. i love to investigate its growth every day. i've been digging up chamomile and lettuce volunteers to give away on the curb because gardens are always "too much" in the best way.

things are shifting in a good way these days, i think. i'm allowing myself to be optimistic for the first time in a long, long time. i hope you are as well.

love, alyssa

~ past perzine newsletters ~