A Quiet Week

Happy Friday, friends. This week has been so quiet around my home, which is strange. Our walls are typically vibrating with energy and noise, but I think we’re all doing a bit of wintering right now. It’s a welcome change for me! This week I’ve sank into a routine of reading and writing, so I don’t have anything crafty to share with you today. Everything comes and goes with me – craftiness will be back, maybe even as soon as next week, so have no fear. But this week I’m thinking about notebooks, reading, and helpful ways to manage quotes and ideas.

First of all, I learned a new term this week from a silent vlog by wild simplicity: techo kaigi. Techo kaigi is a meeting with one’s planners and journals. I should have known the Japanese would have already recognized this experience and given it a name. The picture above is an old stack of notebooks, but I hope to share my current notebook system with you soon. I can change my notebook strategy at the drop of a hat and my current one is different than what I’ve been doing over the last few years. I’m not sure if it will stick, but I’m enjoying it while it lasts.

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I wrote a post in October 2020 about Zettelkasten – a system for filing and saving all of those bits and bobs of inspiration you come across in your everyday life. It’s probably the post I’ve enjoyed writing the most and I’m thinking about how to implement it into my life again. I still think my idea of combining a commonplace book and Evernote is a good one; I struggle with the execution.

This renewed obsession with zettelkasten was spawned by relistening to Maria Popova’s On Being interview. Something new bubbles up for me every time I hear it. This time it was her brief conversation on using literature as a way of perfecting the human soul. I think that’s beautiful. I have no idea how to perfect the human soul, or even what that would look like, but the idea of studying words written by long gone writers is right up my alley. And of course, finding ways to file and reference those words and ideas can be a struggle. I’m always amazed when bloggers use the perfect quote to make their point – where do they find them??! I’d love to be able to go into Evernote, use the search function, and find exactly what I’m looking for. That would require a life-long effort of care, curation, and organization. It’s something to aspire to.

{Also: I was pleased when Maria Popova changed her website’s name to The Marginalian. An earlier version of my blog was called Messy Marginalia. I love the imagery!}

THIS WEEK’S BOOKSHELF:

After finishing The Lincoln Highway last week, I thought I should reread Of Mice and Men. My goodness, what a gut punch. I was hoping to uncover more allusions from The Lincoln Highway, but I don’t recommend that strategy. It just reminded me how brutal and sad the story was.

I picked up The White Witch at the library after Amy’s BookTube video on Elizabeth Gouge. This author is totally new to me and I’m so glad to be introduced to her. Her descriptions are beautiful and she’s written such interesting characters. It’s set in England in the 1600s, is full of herbs, and has a slight twinge of witchiness. I’m having a hard time putting it down! My library has four or five books by Gouge and I’m looking forward to exhausting their supply in 2022.

I started Five Tuesdays in Winter on audio (heads up: it’s included for free in your Audible account if you have one!), which is a short story collection by Lily King. I was pleasantly surprised by her recent novel, Writers & Lovers, and was interested in reading more by her. I’m near the halfway point and am really enjoying it. So far there are two coming-of-age stories and a story about finding love late in life. They’re written from a variety of viewpoints, which I find quite impressive: a teenage girl, a middle-aged single father, and a teenage boy. I’m looking forward to digging into King’s backlist.

And finally, I’m still reading Love Medicine and Devotions, both very slowly and carefully. I’m going to give Love Medicine my full attention after I finish The White Witch.

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And that is the sum total of my free time this week. We’re expecting another very cold weekend, so I’m off to find recipes for warm and cozy meals to make. I hope to be back next week with an introduction to my One Little Word for 2022. Until then — stay cozy and safe!