Week 01-26 - Curiosities

Greetings from the Mesa

Stepping into the new year, one slow step at a time. So very slow. I'll be working through 8 projects this year - I've made no resolutions, only getting projects completed. We made it to midnight on NYE and then started out the new year celebrating the 6th birthday of Miga (she got a treat) with a giant stack of pancakes. It was a quiet chill day in front of the wood stove with books and knitting projects and full bellies. Towards the end of the day I finally saw my first bird of the year - a common raven. 2025 was something unexpected that's for sure. 2026 will be what it will be, and hope you join along for the ride. I'll be back to the regular posting schedule of Wednesday mornings starting next week.

Curiosities of the Week

1. We made this sweet potato queso for NYE and it was so good. Been making some really delicious recipes from Southern Living lately.
2. I've joined 30 Days of Drawing at the Drawtogether Grown-Ups Table. Ten minutes of drawing each day in January. It's super fun seeing everyone post their responses, so many interpretations to such simple prompts... As an aside i'm noticing a big migration from IG to Substack. I'll probably have more thoughts on this later (or not).
3. The best books entering the public domain in 2026 - ebooks available for free at Standard.
4. Last year I did a subscription to The Atlantic, and I didn't end up reading it as much as I anticipated. So I switched it up for a sub to Rolling Stone.
5. Is everyone going analog in 2026? This whole "movement" makes me chuckle.

Consuming

Currently Reading: In the last week of December I finished: Lagoon, My Favorite Thing is Monsters Vol. 1, and Old School Indian. Loved them all. I'm starting the new year with the latest issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Gringos, and My Favorite Thing is Monsters Vol. 2. Reminder that you can always follow along my reading list here.

TV/Movies: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, The Wonderful Life of Henry Sugar and of course the finale of Stranger Things. All excellent! For an 80s queer kid the coming out scene in Stranger Things was bittersweet.

Music: I have a 2026 project to listen to the top 100 albums of 2025 by listeners of KEXP.

Thinking about: Monetization of creativity. Specifically making all my future creative output pay what you want or free. I wish more artists/writers/creatives had tip jars on their websites. Reminder that if you enjoy what I do consider a $1 or $5 a month subscription, but never fear this site and all the content will always be free for everyone, always.

Thanks for reading, see you next time!