Al fresco therapy, a poop museum, and tunes for a fresh start

The book giveaway is 'The Fiction Writer' by Jillian Cantor.

I’m seeing light at the end of the tunnel now with editing my novel manuscript – the first round, that is. I’ll then be ready to fix the plot in the second half, add some chapters, probably rearrange a few, and hopefully make the whole mystery aspect of the story make some proper sense. Ooft, it’s a long, laborious process.

When I’m not chained to the computer or a gigantic stack of papers, I’ve been concentrating on walking 10,000 steps most days, and upping our intake of vegetables, which has meant trawling the internet and our cookbooks for the easiest, tastiest salad and roast veg recipes. I’ll be uploading my food explorations to a post on Threads here. I thought it’d be a handy way to chronicle for myself what works and might be useful for others as well.

In other news, the Evernote app pulled a swiftie recently. At least, that’s how it felt. Late last year, they quietly moved to a version where free users are only allowed to create 50 notes. I had 187 and I found out mid-January that I couldn’t create any more unless I moved to the paid version or condensed my note collection. Stingy bitch that I am, I decided it was an excellent opportunity for a digital clear-out and am now down to 19 notes. It took me a couple of hours, but I feel less mentally congested after organising it all. Hooray!

And Valentine’s Day next week! Or Galentine’s if that’s more your vibe. Either way, an excellent reminder to pamper yourself and/or others you love. It’s sure snuck up on us. More on this next week.

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News

1.     As someone whose Instagram is peppered with photos of street art, I would absolutely head out to a country town for a day trip of lunching and taking snaps of the pretty local graffiti. I honestly think so many more small towns should do this – onya, Kapunda! Thrilled that they’re only an hour or so from where I live, too.

2.     I’m iffy on skirts over pants and can take or leave brooches (I know so many people can’t get enough of them – I appreciate them on others!), but I’m extremely here for Copenhagen Fashion Week’s trend predictions for the cooler months overall. Wrap coats? Denim suits? Peplums making a comeback? Yes, yes, and yes.

3.     Melbourne now has a cute little poop museum and I don’t know how to feel about it. It sounds like it’s packed full of interactive exhibits and colourful displays, and I support the idea in theory of destigmatising a vital bodily function, but I’m not sure it’ll top my must-see list for my next visit.

4.     Loving the idea of therapy sessions spent outdoors – it sounds doubly helpful to speak with someone who’ll help improve your mental health while taking in the soothing sounds, smells, and sights of nature. I hope this becomes more of a thing in Australia and across the world.

Reviews

1.     I bought Everyone On This Train Is A Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson on a whim. I had a book voucher, spotted it on the ‘New Releases’ shelf, and, mindful of the hype I’d heard about it, decided to give it a crack. It certainly didn’t hurt that it was a mystery centred around a crime-writing festival on a train (the Ghan, in fact). Murder on the Orient Express modernised, set in Australia, and involving writers as characters? Yes, please. Even with my lofty expectations, this novel skipped over them without breaking a sweat. The main character has a fabulously unique, very ‘meta’ jokey style of narration; the mystery unfolds nicely and ties up neatly; the archetypes of the writing community are spot-on; and there’s a map in the opening pages (score!). Extremely satisfying all round. I only wish I’d read it while travelling on the Ghan. Never mind, I’ll do that on one of my bound-to-be-numerous rereads of it. Oh, one word of warning: I read it not realising it was a sequel – the first book being Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone. Usually, I can’t stand reading the sequel without having read the original. In this case, it was A-okay. I am now hastily reading the original and loving it too.

2.     Over the summer, I received a free sample of the Garnier SkinActive Hyaluronic Cryo Jelly Anti-fatigue Jelly Sheet Mask. On the packaging, it promises to cool your skin’s temperature by 7 degrees, which is music to my ears. I used it on a hot morning after one of those sleeps where you wake up feeling completely dehydrated and yuck and I’ve gotta say, I was impressed. It smells like a perfumy sort of cucumber – a tad too strong for my liking, but still pleasant. It delivered on the cooling effect and after leaving it on for the recommended 15 minutes, my skin felt like its normal level of moisture returned, and then some. It’s also a vegan formula and the mask is biodegradable. At around $9 from places like Coles and Priceline, it’s not the cheapest mask around, but it’s not the worst. I’d definitely consider using this one again, especially stocking up ahead of a heatwave.

What I’m Feelin’ Right Now

• High-protein smoothies

• Waves crashing over incredible rock formations in the ocean

• Going on a competition-entering spree

• Snake-print shoes

• Imogen Heap’s music

• Chilli-flavoured cheese

• Creating my own #bookface photo

• Wearing glittery make-up without shame

Giveaway

The first giveaway for 2024 is The Fiction Writer by Jillian Cantor. Enter your name and email address here for a chance to win.

Playlist of the Week

Fresh starts and all that: