Happy (early) birthday to me!!!

Couple of notebook divider page sides I decorated with the washi tape set, and sticker collection, I got myself for my birthday (not that those are the ONLY things I have treated myself to lately, but hey). A few other odds and ends added above, too. Some magazine cutouts, etc.

The journal is coming along nicely. Been making efforts here and there to write in it more regularly. Also trying to get back into writing original poetry. Reading some poetry, too, to help stay inspired, and regain my feel for the power of economy of language.

I’ll be a little sad to see this journal go, since I had SUCH a great time decorating it. Tons of Lost Boys stuff in it, too.

BTW, If you’re interested in meme-y content related to that fandom, you can find me on tumblr under Glittering Pandemonium. If you’re up for spicy fanfics, I’m Mizzishizznell on Archive of Our Own.

I cashed in a birthday freebie last night after work. A nice breakfast-for-dinner, with added hash browns and a couple more sausage links. And I took my mom with me. Then we dropped off her leftovers. And I had suggested we visit the library after. She doesn’t really read books these days, but she loves to just soak up the quiet, and leaf through magazines. And I think it does her good to get out. She says so, too.

I checked out a sapphic romantasy book and a poetry book that I found in an unexpected spot in nonfiction, away from all the other contemporary poetry. Not sure if it was misplaced by mistake? But it’s always a happy surprise when I find some modern poetry at our smaller local branch that I have not yet read!

Also reading E.T.A. Hoffmann’s The Devil’s Elixirs. I wanted some background in doppelganger lore for a fanfic series of mine, and maybe also for some original fiction. My ideas on where the original fiction may be headed are still pretty ephemeral. Slowly teasing them out. Taking notes in a Google Docs file. Adding snippets of various phrases or concepts I encounter, that either feel like a good fit for that, or that simply interest me, as creative jumping-off points.

I picked up an e-book copy of a Dostoevsky novel, too, that’s also cited as an early work related to doppelgangers, but haven’t gotten to that one yet. Parts of The Devil’s Elixirs are a little slow-going for me. But we’ll get there.

What else is new to share? Also trying to work on my visual art a bit more. I had been occasionally attending weekly sketch events with a still-life prompt at my local art gallery. Some weeks, weather was bad. In March, we had a day of over 20 inches of snowfall, and that week, they didn’t even have it.

Looks like that was shortly after my most recent post here. I remember, because the blizzard happened around St. Patty’s Day, so I did NOT go out, to celebrate. I did, however, dress up for selfies.

Roads were so bad, the city asked EVERYONE to stay home for I think two full days. So we all got pretty creative about meals, I suppose. Those of us who hadn’t or couldn’t stock up. Me, included. But we all persevered. The way we do.

Gallery sketching was really good practice. And fun! They’ve moved those to the botanical garden, but also changed which day of the week. I’m not always free. I’ll try to get to the ones I can. Who doesn’t love free admission to the botanical garden?

And the last sketch event at the gallery, itself, they had us sketch plants and let us all take one home. Mine is still thriving. And it’s pretty gorgeous.

There it is the night I got it, at my drawing station.

Happy birthday to any other Geminis/June b-days out there!!!