Hi friends,

As so often happens, I'd like to touch on a seasonal topic, to wit, coping with the gloomy season.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Still lifes will continue until morale improves on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

This week's blog post is on a timely topic, so it's motivated me to actually send a newsletter about it. All my previous posts are on the blog, including ones I didn't get around to email out yet.

I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read All empires end on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

It's another watercolor episode! When you get into a hobby, you end up getting into weird little adjacent things about that hobby. For example, I learned that my scanner does a poor job picking up the true vibrancy of cerulean blue and deep coral pinks, and moreover this is pretty common, and so had to have a little side-quest learning how to color correct scanned paintings. Now that I've figured it out, I hope you will enjoy some very brightly-colored paintings I made recently.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Imaginary horizons on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

I had to unexpectedly travel to the East Coast this week, so I wrote about something that I noticed here: water.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Water wealth on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

This week's post is a series of mini-reviews of all the long finction I've read recently, including of Wheel of Time, Wolf Hall, Automatic Noodle, and more.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Recent reading on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

In my latest blog post, I follow an ancient trail that, when I started, I thought would be obvious and well-trod.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Expansible Egg and Leomund's Tiny Hut on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

It's a watercolor episode this week. The last watercolor episode was about getting up close with botanical subjects, while this time I'm looking at subjects somewhat far away, islands and hills.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Angel Island and Corona Heights on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

It's catch-up week! I've written three blog posts since I last sent a newsletter, so instead of including the full text of all of them in one email, I'll include a short excerpt from each with a link to the full post. If you don't need an excerpt and just want to read them, these are the three recent posts:

• Herding cats: Clicker training with my cat
• Watercolor botanicals
• Idli obsession: On a mission to make the deceptively simple South Indian breakfast

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share a link to my blog. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

Oops, I totally forgot to send the email about last week's post, published on June 20th. So that's this email. I'll send this week's post later this weekend or early next week, just to give you some breathing room.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Red Cat Ramen on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

Because of current events, I've been thinking about curfews. I think they're a bad idea.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Curfews are stupid on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

It's another watercolor episode. Last time I wrote about upgrading my materials, and this time, I wrote about learning technique. As befits a watercolor episode, there are a few paintings.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Imaginary lands and seas on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

I wrote about watercoloring this week, and specifically about upgrading my watercolor supplies.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Watercolor upgrade on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

Some recent news about a plantation burning down made me think about the weird ways people take pretty things out of context and include them in their weddings. Things like quotes from Shakespeare tragedies and historical sites of horrible human suffering.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Cursed wedding ideas on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

This week's post is kind of multimedia. I've embedded a video of my lightning talk and the slide deck from that lightning talk.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. I'm not sure how well these embedded items will work in email, so if they don't work for you, you can read Haunted manuals lightning talk on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

No, your email wasn't broken. I just haven't sent an email since April 14. I fell off my posting schedule, and then I never got around to publicizing my post from April 22, A perennial garden post. You can read it at that link.

I'm including the full text of this week's post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Reset button on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

This week, I'm sharing some more photos from my December visit to Angel Island. Last time it was plants and animals, and this time it's the gracefully decaying remnants of Fort McDowell.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Fort McDowell on Angel Island on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

This week's post is about birds. It has a lot of soothing nature photos.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Acorn woodpeckers of Angel Island on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

Last Saturday, I went to the mall for some udon. It was so good that I've been telling everyone about it all week. People at work, my dentist, people on the internet, and now, the specific subset of people on the internet who read my blog, so that's you.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read The best damn udon in San Francisco on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

This week's post is a bit meta. I wrote about how hard it is to write a good introduction in our time. Also, perhaps fittingly, I forgot to send a newsletter about it this weekend. But then I remembered that I forgot so I'm sending it now. I hope you enjoy the post.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Neither waffle nor a cold open: In Our Time with Melvyn Bragg is my model for topic introductions on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.

Hi friends,

I accidentally reread the four books in the original Twilight series, so I wrote about them this week. I assume I don't need to give spoiler warnings for books that came out 20 years ago and were a huge cultural phenomenon. It would be hard for me to know what counts as a spoiler and what counts as explaining the premise here, anyway.

Once again, I'm including the full post in the email. If you prefer, you can read Breaking down Breaking Dawn: I accidentally reread the Twilight Saga and I have thoughts on my blog instead.

By the way, if you think there's someone who would enjoy my blog, please feel free to forward them the newsletter or share the blog post link. While I might not always remember to publicize it enough, my blog is not a secret. Knowing people read it is my reward and motivates me to keep writing.