waiting by an open door
hi folks
the last couple weeks have been weird for me, because I went nearly directly from vacation to a family gathering to honor my aunt, who passed away while I was in Orlando. It wasn’t sudden, but it was devastating, and since then I’ve been thinking a lot about loss and grief and how we handle them.
Several years ago, I asked for a Marc Johns print for my birthday, and I left it up to my mom to pick which one. She chose this one, because, as she put it, a “dessert fork incident” seemed like something that would happen in our family:
It hangs on my wall now, and whenever I see it I think about how we always stop to buy a fudge brownie from a gas station while driving to the beach, because my grandmother would always do so. And since my aunt’s death, my mom has started keeping a package of mint oreos in the freezer, just like her sister did. In my family, we apparently honor the sweet tooth of those we’ve lost. Not a bad way of remembering a loved one.
Dog Thing
Mixed Media
I haven’t been doing much other than reading and thinking these last weeks, so I hope you don’t mind if I take a break from yelling about something I love and just show you some art instead.
I’m a collector of many things, and one of those things are illustrated storybooks. I seek out works by specific artists, and N.C. Wyeth is, I think, one of the best. Here are some of my favourite works by him.
(from The Scottish Chiefs)
(from Legends of Charlemagne)
(from The Ladies Home Journal)
I’ve mostly been reading novel-length Harry Potter fanfic, but I did squeeze in a few graphic novels. I read Witchlight by Jessi Zabarsky, about a young witch and the girl she kidnapped, traveling together in order to find the witch’s teacher. I loved it.
I embarked on a bizarre quest when I discovered that the streaming service we use at work had every foreign language recording of the new Beauty and the Beast soundtrack but not the English one. So I decided to listen to all of them. It’s been fun, but Dan Stevens’ recording of “Evermore” (one of the new songs composed for the film) makes me feel the most things.
I saw Beauty and the Beast, which I largely enjoyed but wish someone with more screen presence and a stronger voice had played Belle. But I love beauty and the best adaptations almost across the board, and I have a lot of affection for the animated movie, so I was a pretty easy sell on this one. Plus, Disney is continuing to kill it on set and costumes in their live-action remakes. I saw Kong: Skull Island, which was dumb and fun and I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more if the two women in it had interacted or acknowledged each other in any way.
Anxiety Pyjamas
Fics I Shouted About
What We Pretend We Can’t See by gyzym // Harry Potter, Draco/Harry, AU. This fic is real, real long and real, real good. Harry sells Grimmauld Place after the war, and years later discovers that Draco bought it and turned it into a museum of sorts. There’s lots of great wizarding house lore in this one, plus the messy stuff that happens when you get to be 30 and realize maybe what you always assumed you wanted isn’t what’s right for you at all.
ascent by kevystel // Yuri!!! On Ice, Victor/Yuuri, fantasy au. Calling this fantasy is almost not right, because it feels really dreamy and cyber-punk, but it’s absolutely about magic. And dance. And taking chances.
All Life is Yours to Miss by Saras_Girl // Harry Potter, Draco/Harry, Hogwarts profs AU. After a harmless prank goes awry, Harry is petrified and Draco finds himself taking on all of Harry’s classes and activities, when all he wants to do is be left alone. I loved the slow movement of this, and I loved that Draco has a beetle the size of a cat as a pet.
The Consolations of a Summer’s Day by blamebrampton // Harry Potter, Draco/Harry, AU. Harry is an auror investigating Pansy Parkinson’s murder, and Draco is the prime suspect. He’s certain he’s innocent, however. This was a fun mystery, with a surprising number of Estonian wizards.
Coffee, Cakes and Doorknob Snakes by Omi_Ohmy // Harry Potter, Draco/Harry, AU. Harry’s house is trying to kill him. Draco’s a curse-breaker hired to find out why. Another one filled with wizarding house lore, which is my favourite thing, it seems.
Lastly
that’s all i got! see ya next time.
hit me with a reply or find me here: tumblr I twitter I instagram