Well hello there, happy Saturday!

Today I am doing something hard and scary and I’ll tell you about it on Tuesday ~ don’t want to jinx it!

I worked hard this week to wrap up some projects, take my youngest school shopping (HIGH SCHOOL THIS YEAR!) and I read FIVE middle grade books from our state Battle of the Books list as I prepare for the new school year in the library. I went into the summer having read 9 / 20 and I really want to be at 20 / 20 by the end of August - only 6 books left! We shall see how it goes.

I am part of the committee that makes the list and it is truly wild how much complexity goes into it. We can’t only pick books that all of us have read, so we have to really trust one another and the input we receive from librarians around the state.

Oh, and … also … I spent a little time this week securing another part-time library consulting gig?? I swear, it just fell in my lap and I couldn’t pass up the pay. It will mean some shifting of schedule / priorities, but it’s work that I can do with ease and confidence, which definitely feels good.

Embroidery Progress

I mentioned last winter that I started working on the year-long Stitch Book from Sarah’s Hand Embroidery, and WHOOPS, I got SO behind! As of mid-July, I had only completed two of the seven “pages”, so I dedicated time and attention the past few weeks to catching up. Maybe I can / will now actually do it month-by-month?!

I’m really enjoying learning new stitches and finding out what kind of designs I enjoy, which frustrate me, and dreaming up how to use these on future projects.

I also purchased Sarah’s embroidery ebook, and I look forward to having it available on all of my devices as a resource as I work on Sarah’s other patterns that her Patreon members receive. Embroidery is a LOT cheaper than sewing, that’s for sure! And I like to think that embroidery is like tattoos for clothing???

Words to Ponder [Premium Only]

I came across two passages this week that really stuck with me ~ definitely click through to the sources linked below to read with full context!

NOTE: This is one of the new premium subscriber features as I transition to a lighter fall publishing schedule ~ you can upgrade on a monthly ($5/month) or annual ($40/year) basis to see the full content!

Inspiring Women

I’m really into nonfiction this summer, and in the last few weeks I inhaled two fantastic inspiring memoirs by women.

The Wilder Way by Eva Zu Beck is for anyone who has ever wondered what it would be like to travel alone … REALLY alone. Apparently the author is a big social media / YouTube personality, but I had never heard of her and still haven’t consumed her online content. I really appreciated this account of her travels that don’t shy away from the nitty gritty of solo travel, especially as a young woman. The writing itself can feel a bit clunky, but I was hooked by the adventures and bravery described. Oh, and there’s a dog, which is always a win for me!

A Real Emergency: Stories from the Ambulance by Joanna Sokol was recommended to me by my older daughter and it was fantastic on audio. Many of you know that I read a lot about addiction and the housing crisis, and this memoir of a paramedic ties in perfectly with those interests. Sokol deeply examines how emergency medical transport is woven into the fabric of our nation’s broken safety net, and I was very impacted by her raw accounts of how mentally and physically demanding the job can be. If you work in a social services or medical field or have ever even for a moment took 911 service for granted, I implore you to read this.

And there you have it for the week!

I’ll be back on Tuesday telling you about my weekend endeavor, and then I’ll be easing into a once-weekly publishing schedule, with occasional Tuesday newsletters when content calls for it. I will have premium-only content embedded within Saturday newsletters ~ THANK YOU to everyone who makes this writing project possible for me!