Finding Personal Bright Spots
Yesterday was a very, very bad day for me, along with many other people in the UK, and you can read yesterday's post on Facebook if you want to know more about how that felt.
But.
Today is all about outings with the boys, keeping the windows in the house open to soak in the sunshine and fresh air, and self-care at home - in other words, finding ways to feel positive and hopeful about small, concrete things so that big, national and international fears can't overwhelm me.
So.
Here's my list of 5 small personal bright spots right now:
1. Lois McMaster Bujold has a new novella out, Penric and the Shaman! Hooray! She is one of my favorite authors, I *adore* her fantasy stories in particular, and I loved the first novella in this series. Needless to say, I clicked "Buy" immediately, and I've already started reading it. SO much fun and an instant comfort-read.
2. Today I got my fourth blurb for my upcoming Gothic novelette, House of Secrets! You can read all the blurbs so far on the story's webpage. They've been really lovely for me to see.
3. After taking the boys out this afternoon, I made myself a hot chocolate with cinnamon and nutmeg, and it was delicious.
4. I am deeply, irrationally tempted by this adorable rat mug. (I know everyone cringes at the idea of rats, and I would cringe, too, if I came into contact with wild rats - but I had a domestic pet rat when I was first in university, and he was sweet and funny and affectionate and clever and a perfect pet for someone in a one-room living space. Now that I don't live in a dorm room anymore, I've gone back to keeping dogs or cats as my preferred pets, but this mug still made me smile - and I may well give into it even though we have about 1 billion other mugs cluttering up our shelves already! I have a weakness for mugs...)
5. Last night Patrick and I finally tried out a board game he'd given me for Christmas, The Castles of Burgundy. It's extremely complex, especially for tired people who only get a chance to play boardgames at night (one bit of the many, MANY pages of rules promised: "Don't worry, this remains challenging even after many plays" - and we both groaned "Noooo!" at that 'reassuring' news!)...and yet it is also somehow very, very deeply addictive. Playing it last night, I laughed and groaned and puzzled over what on earth we were supposed to be doing...and felt better than I had all day.
What about you guys? What are your own personal bright spots this weekend, in the midst of all the scary news? I would really like to hear them. Honestly, I really need bright spots to cling onto right now.
But.
Today is all about outings with the boys, keeping the windows in the house open to soak in the sunshine and fresh air, and self-care at home - in other words, finding ways to feel positive and hopeful about small, concrete things so that big, national and international fears can't overwhelm me.
So.
Here's my list of 5 small personal bright spots right now:
1. Lois McMaster Bujold has a new novella out, Penric and the Shaman! Hooray! She is one of my favorite authors, I *adore* her fantasy stories in particular, and I loved the first novella in this series. Needless to say, I clicked "Buy" immediately, and I've already started reading it. SO much fun and an instant comfort-read.
2. Today I got my fourth blurb for my upcoming Gothic novelette, House of Secrets! You can read all the blurbs so far on the story's webpage. They've been really lovely for me to see.
3. After taking the boys out this afternoon, I made myself a hot chocolate with cinnamon and nutmeg, and it was delicious.
4. I am deeply, irrationally tempted by this adorable rat mug. (I know everyone cringes at the idea of rats, and I would cringe, too, if I came into contact with wild rats - but I had a domestic pet rat when I was first in university, and he was sweet and funny and affectionate and clever and a perfect pet for someone in a one-room living space. Now that I don't live in a dorm room anymore, I've gone back to keeping dogs or cats as my preferred pets, but this mug still made me smile - and I may well give into it even though we have about 1 billion other mugs cluttering up our shelves already! I have a weakness for mugs...)
5. Last night Patrick and I finally tried out a board game he'd given me for Christmas, The Castles of Burgundy. It's extremely complex, especially for tired people who only get a chance to play boardgames at night (one bit of the many, MANY pages of rules promised: "Don't worry, this remains challenging even after many plays" - and we both groaned "Noooo!" at that 'reassuring' news!)...and yet it is also somehow very, very deeply addictive. Playing it last night, I laughed and groaned and puzzled over what on earth we were supposed to be doing...and felt better than I had all day.
What about you guys? What are your own personal bright spots this weekend, in the midst of all the scary news? I would really like to hear them. Honestly, I really need bright spots to cling onto right now.