Jenn D’s April Recs
Hello friends! It’s finally autumn and for the first time in months we’ve had several sunny days in a row (thanks, La Niña) and after slowly drying everything out, I’m starting to regain some of my normal equilibrium. My feet are warm and toasty in my fancy Ugg boots and I’m ready to recommend some things for y’all.
First up: I’ve been blessed with an amazing chaplaincy small group, and as we wrapped up last week, I just wanted to shout out to each and every one of them how wonderful it’s been to connect over the past several weeks. I was sick to my stomach nervous about joining the class, because… well… anxious mess? Too Much All the Time? But everyone was so welcoming and generous and we wrapped up feeling genuine grief that our time together was at an end. So my recommendation is: if there’s something you’re not sure about, some sort of community group or class… try it out.
I’ve been trying out a lot of things with my “other” areas of art lately—watercolor, yes, but adding in layers of colored pencil as well. I also picked up a set of Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Aquarelle (they come in a smart red tin which makes me incredibly happy) and have had some fun playing with that. I haven’t had the chance to try out the Caran d’Ache gouache set I also picked up, but soon. (Still hanging on for the big color pencil set, but let’s be real, I’ve got to wait for the cardboard one to go on a big sale, because I will never, ever, ever keep them in the nice display box.)
The new spring Field Notes are pretty adorable, and I’m loving the bright sunshine colors! I’m a bit fan of Field Notes; my house, car, and workspace are littered with half-filled notebooks. These are genuinely pocket-sized and they can take the wear and tear of living with me! So that’s a bonus.
There’s a new “Welcome to” book out, which is so exciting! I love the inclusive language of the Welcome To series and how it makes lots of things really clear for kids right on the edge of big body changes. It’s nice to know that having a period, getting boobs, and navigating consent is all covered in a genuine, caring, inclusive way. Highly recommend them if you have or know a kid coming up on those kinds of changes.
Reading for myself — still stalled on book 4 of the Wheel of Time. Also started Little Thieves by Margaret Owen. Like it… can’t keep going for some reason. I was recommended Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade and I’m loving it — it’s basically a Braime fix-it fic with ROMANCE — and though it’s on pause (reading, why have u abandoned meeee) it’s on my list to finish this weekend. Ugh. So good. Cannot.
TV - we finally restarted watching Foundation. Hoo boy, it’s good. We also started Our Flag Means Death, and please, give me all the pirate love stories. Also, I am definitely Stede, and all of my friends are either Izzy or Ed, so make of that what you will. And, I’m still on my Star Trek: Discovery rewatch, but I’m only two episodes away from the end of season three, and I do not want to subscribe to yet another streaming service to watch the fourth season, but also, I HAVE A MIGHTY NEED. I may need to strategically binge S4 during a trial week or something.
On a slightly weirder note, it’s council clean-up time in my neighborhood, so I am a little bit excited about cruising around looking for any discarded Breotex that might be lurking in people’s discard piles. Highly recommend “roadside shopping”, as my dad used to call it.
That’s it for me— I’m about to go help my kids tie-dye some tea towels for Nanna and Aunty B for Mother’s Day. See you next month!