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889 words

Hey Reader,

Sometimes, all you need is cheese. Not just any cheese: Welsh Dragon cheddar with spicy bits of chilli in. That, and some crusty bread.

You see, I have a tendency to overcomplicate things (I KNOW RIGHT, WHO WOULD EVER HAVE GUESSED???)

So I think “picnic” and immediately my mind jumps to the kind of fancy affair that requires a butler, a maid, a driver, and a lad to carry all the baskets and bottles. There are pies and dressed salads, a cheeseboard, charcuterie (not for me, I’m mostly veggie), dips and a variety of posh sandwiches, condiments, and cream cakes and fruits for dessert. Then there’s the (chilled) drinks: pop in many flavours, bubbles, beer, gin and tonic for those who partake.

And, of course, the faff. The endless, stressful, faff.

In trying to recreate this fancy-ass Downton-coded picnic, all I get is stress and ants.

Yesterday, though, I kinda forgot about the picnic.

Joe and I had a day off to go on a hike in the Brecon Beacons (it was the PERFECT day in so many ways) and we wanted to take a pic-a-nic (as I call them).

Zero planning, so I bunged a crusty loaf and a truckle of spicy cheese in a bag with a cucumber harvested from my veg garden that morning, a punnet of cherry tomatoes, and a couple of apples. The only thing missing was a little pat of butter and a can of pop.

Oh and I wrapped up a bread knife and a cheese knife in a tea towel for the dissecting.

And FOR REAL that was the best picnic we’ve ever had.

Good bread. Good cheese. Home grown veg. A patch of grass in the dappled sunlight by a waterfall. Nobody else around.

From now on my pic-a-nics will be simple. Just like this. Plus the butter and pop.

Simple is usually better because it means we’re doing it for ourselves, not performing something we think should happen.

Anyway are you overcomplicating your writing?

Are you worrying so much about whether it’s good enough, whether people will like it, whether they’ll judge you… that you’re forgetting what it’s all about in the first place?

(Connection)

Just a thought.

Aaaaaaaand now it’s time for the Friday Goodie Bag! Huzzah! Gather round and let’s see what we’ve got…

Jason Isaac’s drama teacher’s theory on Northern accents

This appeared in my LinkedIn feed and I have no idea if there’s any truth in this theory of the origins of accents but it’s certainly an interesting one, and now I’m deeply enmeshed in a wormhole of information about regional accents…

Small businesses doing good things

I lost my husband’s power bank (honestly I blame him for lending it to me in the first place he knows what I’m like) and so now I need to buy myself one. I don’t use Amazon if I can possibly avoid it (because of the evil) and I try to buy ethical when I can. So when I found Gomi, I was delighted — they make really cool funky power banks that are fully guaranteed and repairable, with replaceable components. MORE OF THIS. LESS OF DESIGNING FOR OBSOLESENCE.

It’s easy to think there’s only one way to do things when most stuff seems to be the same. But a little digging will show you a whole world of people trying to create for longevity rather than a quick buck, and it’s so wonderful to see.

Cats doing jury duty

I don’t know if this is true or not but it sure made me laugh.

This guy and his freaky monstera!

Thank you Wendy for sending me this which absolutely made my day. First because I’m a houseplant nerd and you can never have too many houseplants. Second because one of my favourite things is to see people be really excited and enthusiastic about their weird hobbies because how joyful is this?

My husband being a weird little pond goblin

Whenever possible, be a little bit weird. We had the BEST day yesterday and spent quite a lot of time hanging out in this pool pretending to be toads. Being in nature heals something in us. Honestly. Spend some time in the green every day, even if it’s you sitting under a houseplant muttering to yourself.

What I’m reading

I’ve just started reading book 2 of Philip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials and I’m really enjoying it so far. I love kids’ books that are not written in baby language. I loved The Hunger Games for a similar reason.

What are YOU reading?

What I’m writing

I’m on Day 12 of my 100 Days of Writing My Novel experiment. Some days have been easier than others. But I’ve written a little something every day so far, even if it’s just “Should there be a portal in my world?” And that’s the secret to making things, dear reader. Do a little bit every day, even if that little bit really is tiny.

Word of the week

bibelot, n.

A small decorative object, of the type that quietly steals attention from the rest of the surrounds.

Quote of the week

Have a beautiful weekend!

TTFN,

Vicky 🫡

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