Gimme Shelter

Hello, Reader.

I had begun to wonder how much the world had changed since I've been in the bunker, and I was curious about venturing out further than the mailbox or the sidewalk to make the no-touch hand-off with the DoorDash or Uber Eats delivery person when I felt like splurging for a tempura bento box or Chili's chicken enchiladas. Gotta keep those restaurants going! We're in this together!

The neighborhood sounds just as busy as it did before and even more so. Even from the first announcement concerning social distancing, people were still out and about walking dogs with a friend or relative. It had stopped raining, and the weather was pleasant. Flowers were blooming in all of the yards. One cheermeister drove around the neighborhood singing, and the next day, she was joined by a small parade of singing, cheering women, all in their own cars, keeping their social distancing.

March Madness: 7 Favorite Middle Grade Books

(Video mashup by Ridiculous Chicken)

In a previous blog post, The Binge Review, Ep. 2: Netflix and Books, I mentioned that I was reading 100 Cupboards for the second time. Interestingly, author Shannon Kaper talked about the same book on her YouTube channel in a vlog about Middle Grade March. I can promise you I was nearly finished with the book when I saw her video because I can't read that fast! 😹

Inspiration, Part II

On a recent YouTube video, self-published author Kristen Martin talked about falling back in love with life (+ writing). Since I had just written my blog post "Time and Inspiration" a couple of days earlier (I'm writing this on February 24, and that blog post is scheduled for February 28, so we're time-traveling here), her video struck a chord in me. In that blog post, I talked about trying to organize my office/studio and placing paintings on my brand new drafting table to inspire me to get back to painting. This blog will be a reflection and response to Kristen's video, as well as a follow-up to my previous blog post.

The Binge Review, Ep. 2: Netflix and Books

I thought I would talk about a few things I've watched on TV and read lately. In case you wonder, I'm writing this about two weeks in advance of posting.

The Witcher

It has probably been more than a month since I watched "The Witcher" on Netflix. I had been saving it to give myself something to look forward to and fill that post-Christmas void. I loved it. It's more magical and funnier than "Game of Thrones" but seems to satisfy the same need, if that makes any sense to you. Don't quote me on this, but I am thinking that the series might be inspired by a video game that was inspired by the books. I think.