1. Strathmore Watercolor Postcards
It could be a little intimidating to break out the paints after a decade of dormancy and start in on a full-size canvas or even a regular sheet of paper. But these 4×6 postcards provide the perfect scaled down frame for the novice painter who wants to squirt some vermillion and canary yellow onto a makeshift palette and just play for a few minutes. Theoretically, you can pop these cards into the mailbox sans envelope, but I live in Seattle and it hasn’t stopped raining since 1973 so I haven’t tested that out yet.
2. Documentaries about creative types
My post-election self-care involves upping my exposure to love and creativity, the two things that give me hope in a world that’s testing the limits of our optimism daily. When I watch artists engaged in any creative activity, the feeling that Life Is Worth Living rushes back into my limbs. Some of the documentaries I’ve devoured these last few weeks: Blondie’s New York, In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye, Hip Hop Evolution, Serena (she renders tennis an art form), and the PBS SoundBreaking series about the history of recorded music (fascinating!).
3. Where to Draw the Line: How to Set Healthy Boundaries Every Day
I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that my renewed interest in personal boundaries arrived in the dawn of an administration led by a man who views the most obvious of human boundaries as a speed bump rather than a road block. But whatever the reason, I found myself wanting a spruce up my personal boundaries and have found Ann Katherine’s Where to Draw the Line to be an incisive and insightful primer. Check it out and learn the difference between a “boundary error” and a “boundary violation.” Bracing!
4. The Serialized Story “Here Be Monsters” by “Karen.”
I want to give you the full name of this writer, but she seems to want to publish this serialized story, “Here Be Monsters,” under just the first name Karen. If I get permission to share her full name, I’ll be sure to come back and edit this post. I am LOVING this story, and it is so fun to receive it in short installments via email. If you follow this link, you’ll see a Subscribe button so you can sign up yourself or just click back through the archive and get up-to-date in one delicious binge. Here’s an excerpt from one installment to give you a taste:
Tieu Ly’s in the city for a few weeks and she meets you one day after work.
The pair of you walk to the nearest Marks & Spencer so you can return your latest example of buyer’s remorse: a cream trench coat that had whispered ‘Olivia Pope’ whilst on its hanger, but had shouted ‘Lieutenant Columbo’ whenever you tried to wear it outside of your house.
“Am I doing it wrong?” you ask her. “Is clothes shopping meant to feel like I’m committing a hate crime against myself?”
Tieu Ly just nods and looks out at the sweaty crowd milling around the bus stop across the road. It’s another tube strike so tempers are fraying, one banker type guy banging a fist in despair against the side of a packed bus as it rolls away.
“Boy,” she says with a shake of a head. “This stiff upper lip we’re famed for sure does disappear in the face of mild inconvenience. One little travel strike and people are out here acting like it’s a scramble for the last chopper out of Saigon. Ari,” she continues, stopping to look at you, and touching your arm lightly so that you stop too. “I’m going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to freak out.”
5. The Placards of Dissent
Writing Is My Drink 
Leave a Reply