I hope this week and new post find you well. I feel like I am stuck in some kind of bizarre Groundhog Day scenario, but the calendar assures me that it’s mid-April. The snow on the ground outside belies that fact but – ahh – springtime in Edmonton is always a confusing time. But let’s talk about something fun instead. One of the main reasons I still have (most of) my wits about me these days is my art. I will never not feel pretentious saying “my art” but I am trying to be better about not trivializing what I make (and its importance to my well-being) simply because it’s not Art-with-a-capital-A; yarn art, in particular, doesn’t get nearly enough respect, in large part I suspect because it’s not something that old white dudes are likely to make. Anywaaaaay. My art.

More so than ever before, I have poured all my spare time into making things. Keeping my hands busy is a huge stress release for me, and being “in the flow” – whether through painting or crafting – is an escape. I am also hoping that some of it will rub off on my kids, i.e. having them see me engaged in creative pursuits (as opposed to glued to my phone for news updates) will make them more likely to do the same. So far, it seems to be working moderately well. Colouring books, paint-by-sticker books, homemade comic books, and playdoh seem to be the front-running favourites. But I digress. Here’s what I’ve been working on.

Faces of the Zodiac series

I’ve talked about this before, but I have only added one more painting to this series: Sagittarius.

I know I say this about all of them, but this might just be my favourite. I am very pleased with how it turned out. I love the shadows on her face, and her eyes in particular. She looks especially nice in chiaroscuro:

That being said, I felt my creative intuition pulling me in a different direction. Enter …

Major Arcana series

I have been wanting to work more with colour again (one of the reasons I went back to embroidery as well, see below) which is probably a psychological response to stress. Colour lifts up my spirits. I started a couple of pieces thinking I would be doing some kind of landscape or abstract picture, and then somehow went off on a wild tangent. I mean, I went from this:

To this:

I haven’t done any decoupage in YEARS. Since the late 2000s, probably, because even then I was a luddite who didn’t understand Pinterest and still made “mood board” notebooks like it was still 1995. Anyway, I liked the “organized chaos” vibe of throwing random fashion magazine cut-outs at an acrylic painting so I went all in. Decided this was perfect for a project I had been wanting to do for a while – a series inspired by the Major Arcana of tarot. The above piece is The Fool.

And this is The High Priestess, one of my favourite cards:

And here is The World:

If anyone is interested in how I make these, let me know and I’ll throw up a quick post.

Embroidery Stuff

As I mentioned above, I have also gone back to embroidery in a major way. Here, too, I wanted to stick with colourful, somewhat abstract designs as well as some of my favourite motifs. Such as my abstract floral doodles:

Inspired by that, I did a series of hoops:

This is the kind of thing that makes me so happy just looking at it.

This had an unexpected “under the sea” vibe – very Ursula the sea witch.

This one ended up reminded me a bit of Klimt’s flowers.

I also went back to another favourite motif: the evil eye.

With rainbows, of course.

Stay safe, friends. Till next time!

Over the past year, I have done a fair bit of work from home (WFH) – often one or even two days a week. Although I enjoy having in-person contact with my colleagues and co-workers, the majority of my work can be done remotely even under normal circumstances. Obviously, we now live in not-normal circumstances and working from home is a necessity and a huge privilege. Doing it 100% of the time has taken a little adjustment, but I was probably more prepared than most.

One thing that has changed is my approach to getting dressed “for work”. In the past, working from home meant wearing my pyjamas or lounge wear all day long; apart from the significant commuting time savings, this was one of the biggest perks of WFH. Now that it’s the rule, not the exception, I had to adjust. Spending day after day in sweats no longer feels like a treat, but the opposite. I miss my regular clothes.

Obviously, getting dressed in the same way I would for the office wasn’t quite the answer either. For example, blazers are fun as a style statement, but they’re not a necessity at home – especially as I don’t have video conferences. Skirts also feel, for now, a bit “de trop” (too much); that may change as time goes on and I start really missing my favourites.

The key word, of course, is comfort. Even more so than at the regular office, I want to feel comfortable at my home office. I’m going to share some of the things that have been working for me, WFH style wise, but please don’t take them as tips. Now more than ever, I am a firm believer that you should wear W(ever)TF you want, especially when working from home. Ballgown, sweatpants, and everything in between.

Leggings

I mean, yah – no surprise here. Leggings are comfortable and warm. You can also pair them with almost anything and make it look (a) intentional (they’re pant-like after all), and (b) like you made an effort. Even if the effort was, in reality, minuscule. Graphic sweatshirts, sweaters, button-down shirts, tops of every description, and yes, even dresses.

Graphic Prints

You guys know how much I love black, but I find myself drawn towards the colourful end of my closet lately. Maybe it has to do with the psychology of isolation. My rainbow sweaters always cheer me up; ditto for some of my colourful floral prints. Even monochrome prints, provided they’re bold enough, can be a pick me up.

But Above All, Comfort

I find myself looking at my clothes with new eyes and one over-riding question: how comfortable is that? Stretchy dress? Super comfortable. Tencel-blend culotte-like pants? Practically pyjamas. Jumpsuit? Even better. (And the upside of working from home is that I don’t have to worry about the usual impracticalities of jumpsuits.)

In the beginning, I didn’t bother much with accessories (and I never wear shoes indoors – the ones above are just for the photos); but as time went on, I began to ask myself: why not? Just like bright colours, accessories cheer me up. I’ve been mostly sticking with earrings, and the occasional necklace; because I wash my hands approximately eleventy thousand times a day, I’ve stopped wearing rings and bracelets altogether for the time being. I don’t wear my accessories to show them off; I wear them because they’re beautiful to me, and wearing them feels like a nice little luxury. Sometimes they match my outfit, sometimes they don’t. But they always put a smile on my face.

Hello, friends.

I hope this post finds you well and safe.

I don’t know where to begin in describing the last month. Chances are that I don’t need to; unlike few other events in my lifetime, the experience of this pandemic is something we all have in common – for better or worse. I have given this some thought in recent weeks, and decided that it’s not something I want or feel able to write about, publicly, at this time. But life goes on, under redefined terms of normalcy, and I try to find ways to give meaning to each day. After all, now more than ever, each day is a gift. Sharing some of those meaning-giving things with my community on IG has been a source of solace at this time, so I am going to try to do the same here. Perhaps this can be a positive distraction for some of you as well.

I am fortunate to be able to work from home for the time being, so my days retain a somewhat familiar structure. That being said, between the commuting time I am “saving” and the fact I haven’t left the house in nearly a month (apart from short walks around my neighborhood), I’ve had a little bit of extra time on my hands. Some of it, of course, has gone into keeping my kids productively occupied as they have been out of school since March 13. The rest has gone into my usual hobbies: reading and crafting.
I’ll save my crafting adventures for another time; today, I’m posting a round-up of mini reviews for the books I have read so far in 2020. As my current tally sits at 33, well, you understand the need to keep things brief.

Witcher Series (Season of Storms, Last Wish, Sword of Destiny, and Blood of Elves) – Andrej Sapkowski

As you may remember, I was a big fan of the Witcher show on Netflix. The books are, as you may expect if you’re familiar with the show, pretty standard “high fantasy” fare. Last Wish and Sword of Destiny are technically collections of (inter-related) short stories, and provide most of the source material for the first season of the show. Season of Storms is a prequel of sorts and is a standalone novel. Blood of Elves continues the story of Geralt and Cirri. All of the books are good, but I didn’t love them as much as the show. The writing is decent but workmanlike, for lack of a better word. By comparison, I think George RR Martin is a more compelling writer.

My grade: B+

Guido Brunetti Series (Falling in Love, Wilful Behavior, By Its Cover, Beastly Things, A Question of Belief) – Donna Leon

This is a police procedural mystery series set in Venice, featuring Commissario Brunetti as the main character. I find this series different from others in this genre because it focuses more on the main characters’ lives than, say, the forensic aspects of detective work. Let’s put it this way: the books are not a bad way to learn about what it’s like to live in Venice. It many ways, the series reminds me of Michael Dibdin’s Aurelio Zen books, albeit with less “nefarious behind-the-scenes cabal” business.

My grade: A-

Greeks Bearing Gifts – Philip Kerr

This is part of the Bernie Gunther mystery series, featuring the (mis)adventures of a one-time Berlin police detective. The series spans from the late 30s to the 60s, with a focus on Bernie’s professional and other entanglements during WWII, and their ramifications in the post-war era. I found the first few novels in the series really interesting but it’s been a case of diminishing returns, to be honest. I still pick up these novels when I find them on clearance sale or thrifting, but they’re not favourites. The plots are dependably super complicated – with double, triple and quadruple crosses – and Bernie is a prototypical hardboiled detective straight out of a Raymond Chandler novel so if that’s your bag, this may be a series you’d like.

My grade: C

All Souls Trilogy (Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, Book of Life) – Deborah Harkness

I adored this series – definitely among the most enjoyable books I’ve read so far this year. The best way I can describe it is as “Twilight for the over-40 crowd” – the main characters are a veritable soup of fantastical characters, and the main plotline is the (forbidden, natch) love story between a witch and a vampire. While the “vampire is super controlling/obsessive with love interest” trope definitely shows up, I did not find it as off-putting here as in other books. Ditto for the “Mary Sue heroine”. What can I say? I am a sucker for Diana + Matthew. I think a lot of that is down to Harkness’ writing – I find her prose goes down so easily, I could devour each book (not short!) in no time at all.

I should add that I also quite enjoyed the TV adaptation, in large part because Teresa Palmer and Matthew Goode are both highly delightful people. However, although the show is a pretty faithful adaptation (season one covers book one), I found it less fun overall than the books. I am, nonetheless, very excited to see season 2.

My grade: A (all three)

Mother Tongue – Bill Bryson

This is a book about the evolution of the English language. As a non-native speaker, I love these kinds of books because English is quirky AF and it’s interesting to read about how and why it’s developed the way it has. Also, Bill Bryson is a literary god who can make any topic whatsoever intensely fascinating.

My grade: A

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine – Gail Honeyman

I picked this up for my vacation on a recommendation, and it was a quick, easy read. It bears some superficial similarities to Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh, but whereas that novel is quite dark in tone and overall story, Eleanor is much lighter and heart-warming. If you enjoy quirky heroines who are somewhat unreliable narrators, then you’ll probably like this one.

My grade: B+

Life on Mars – Mary Roach

I love many of Roach’s other novels, especially Stiff and Gulp. Life on Mars is all about humankind’s obsession with going into space. Not a topic that is of particular interest to me, but as with Bill Bryson, I knew I would enjoy the writing in any event. And I did … although I found the book as a whole somewhat “thin”. The really interesting material could have been compressed into a much shorter book, or even an extended essay.

My grade: B

A Fatal Inversion and House of Stairs – Barbara Vine

Barbara Vine is a pen name for Ruth Rendell, one of my favourite contemporary mystery writers. Her novels under the Vine name tend to be dark, psychological tales rather than straight-forward murder mysteries. House of Stairs was excellent, loosely inspired by the central plot of Henry James’ Wings of the Dove. A Fatal Inversion had a fantastic premise and twist, but its treatment of one of the main characters (a POC) was a bit iffy.

My grade: B and A- respectively

Collected Short Stories – Ngaio Marsh

Ngaio Marsh is another one of my favourite mystery writers, but this book was a rip-off. It contains a half dozen stories only, all of them available in other collections, and none as good as her novels.

My grade: C-

Lasting Damage and Next To Die – Sophie Hannah

I feel like Sophie Hannah is my new Tana French. Her plots are bonker balls, in the best way – Lasting Damage in particular. I did find that the books tended to run out of steam towards the end, and the twists/reveals didn’t quite live up to the promise of the original premises, but they were quite engrossing regardless.

My grade: B+ (both)

First Man in Rome – Colleen McCullogh

Picked this up on a whim, and it ended up sparking a renewed interest in ancient Rome. I will be honest and confess I skipped some of the political discussions – the book is EXTRA long – because I couldn’t wait to read more about the characters and their personal lives and machinations. This is part of a series on the Roman republic, and its focus is Gaius Marius and Cornelius Sulla – initially friends and allies, later rivals, and two of the most important figures in the decades before the rise of Julius Caesar. I am currently reading Caesar’s Women, a latter novel in the same series.

My grade: B

Vera Stanhope Series (The Crow Trap, Telling Tales, Hidden Depths, Glass Room, The Moth Catcher) – Ann Cleeves

Ann Cleeves is favourite new (to me) mystery writer and I absolutely adore this series featuring Inspector Vera Stanhope. She’s ornery and not especially likable but she’s also brilliant and riveting. The mysteries are well-plotted and excellently written. There is a strong emphasis on the psychology of the characters, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but which I love. Cleeves’ writing reminds me a lot of PD James, who is one of the all-time best mystery writers, in my opinion.

My grade: A, A, B+, A-, B+

The Unruly Queen – Flora Fraser

This is a biography of Queen Caroline, consort of King George IV. George and Caroline were notorious for their stormy marital relations – they basically lived apart almost immediately after their marriage, and battled for the rest of their lives. Caroline was, famously, physically barred from George’s coronation even though they remained legally married at the time. In principle, this is the kind of biography I would love – Caroline was a non-conformist and contrarian, although many of her complaints against her spouse were well-founded – but I didn’t especially enjoy this book. For all her merits and her somewhat scandalous life, Caroline was not a particularly interesting person and the book dragged quite a bit in parts.

My grade: B-

Venus of the Empire – Flora Fraser

This is a biography of Pauline Bonaparte, younger sister of Napoleon. This book suffered from the fact that its subject was a rather unlikable person and not all that interesting in her own right, despite a very eventful life much of which was spent in proximity to famous historical figures. I think in the right hands, Pauline’s story would make for a juicy saga, but Fraser is too staid of a writer/historian for that.

My grade: B-

Still Life and The Murder Stone – Louise Penny

These are part of the Armand Gamache police procedural series set in Quebec, Canada. I didn’t especially love Still Life (the first book in the series) but picked up The Murder Stone on a whim at the thrift store and found it much more enjoyable although, overall, I don’t like this series as much as the Brunetti or Vera Stanhope ones.

My grade: C and B (respectively)

The Paying Guests – Sarah Waters

This book was not what I expected based on the dust jacket blurb, and I’ll save you the surprise should you decide to read this. The story is set in the early 20s following WWI. Frances and her mother, who are middle class but down on their heels after the death of the head of the family, decide to take in a couple of renters (or “paying guests”) – the Barbers – into their house to help make ends meet. This sets off a whole chain of events that leads to (but doesn’t end) with a death. It’s a well written psychological drama, reminiscent in tone/atmosphere to Barbara Vine/Ruth Rendell. I found the first part of the book more engrossing than the second, and wasn’t a huge fan of the ending.

My grade: B

SPQR – Mary Beard

This is a history of the Roman Republic. I barely made it about 1/3 of the way, and couldn’t finish it. I didn’t like the writing style or Beard’s approach to story-telling.

My grade: D

Natasha: The Biography of Natalie Wood – Suzanne Finstead

This was a good, straightforward Hollywood biography. I found Finstead a sympathetic and sensitive biographer, which is especially important with a story as fundamentally sad as Natasha’s. I think it was that aspect which made me not enjoy the book as much, on the whole, as other Old Hollywood bios; it’s not for me to characterize Natasha as a victim (as I don’t think she would have, herself, based on the way Finstead describes her) but her story made me really sad.

My grade: B

Gods Behaving Badly – Marie Phillips

I loved the premise of this book – the Greek gods living in modern day London, getting up to all sorts of shenanigans – but found the actual story only so-so. The Orpheus-and-Eurydice twist was right up my alley (I used to be obsessed with that myth when I was a teenager) and while I enjoyed the human protagonists, the mythical ones were disappointing. I much prefer Phillips’ other novel, The Table of Less Valued Knights.

My grade: B

Augustus: The Life of Rome’s First Emperor – Anthony Everitt

As the title indicates, this is a book about Gaius Octavius Caesar, aka the emperor Augustus, adopted son (and nephew) of Julius Caesar. It’s a fairly straightforward, no frills biography.

My grade: B+

The Secret Lives of Colour – Kassia St. Clair

Ostensibly a book about the history of colours, it’s more of a short encyclopedia of a selected number of colours (75 in total). Each one gets a 2-3 page short entry, focusing on one or two historical anecdotes. I enjoyed each “chapter” and found lots of new information, but I wish they were longer and more tied together into something resembling a narrative. I also found some of the omissions strange – like, why is there no entry for turquoise or aqua? Admittedly, I am biased as that is one of my favourite colours, but still.

My grade: B

That’s it for my reading list to date. Please feel free to share any good book reccs you might have.