Hi again
Since starting Five Things almost six years ago, I’ve tried to convince at least ten friends to start their own newsletter. And my advice has consistently been, “pick a day, and that’s your day to send out a newsletter. Stick to it for six months.” Which I think I first got from an early Popcast patreon episode where they were advising other people who wanted to start their own podcast.
I really do think it’s good advice. It helps build an audience. It helps keep the creator accountable. It doesn’t let writers block get in the way of consistently producing content.
But I am going to ignore it for the next season or so. Sundays just aren’t the good writing day that they used to be for me. And sure, I could write earlier in the week and still send on Sunday. Right now, the margin and motivation to write in my life is on Mondays. Mondays are a gym and three morning pages day for me. It’s an Admin work day, and I usually take a lunch break by myself. Sundays, which used to be for getting things done, now feel slower and more restful, and I really like that.
Many of you (ok, seven) have told me over the years how you love Five Things in your Monday morning inbox, and I do hope to get back to that sometime. But for now, I’ll show up when I do. And it will be what it is. And maybe this newsletter will one day be put to bed, but I really do love this space and I want to keep showing up.
Thank you as always for being along for the ride. Here’s a picture of a recent miracle: I lost my key fob in Loose Park, and my friend Harper found it just as I was about to give up.
Number One: planting native plants
I’m trying to become more of a gardening person, I really am. My mom gave me a copy of Garden Primer when I moved into my house, and I finally skimmed through it a few weeks back. My biggest takeaway is that I made a detailed map of my yard. So helpful. I put the shady spots on there. I put the ugly light on there. I put the backyard mud pits on there. Then I made a plan.
I really like the idea of “native plants,” basically plants that naturally grow in a climate and are therefore less fussy. I love the idea of Hydrangeas and Peonies and Ranunculus, but there are snakes in my yard and the hose spigots on my house are not low maintenance; and I’m just not that kind of girl right now.
I have found the K-State extension office to be a WEALTH of native plants knowledge for me. I watched this whole series of videos. I’m checking this list of plants. And I’m loving this website too.
Number Two: The Witch of New York: The Trials of Polly Bodine and the Creation of Tabloid Journalism
Spotify has been trying to get me to listen to this audiobook for MONTHS, and I finally did. I liked it. It’s about a murder in the 1840’s and the effects of early tabloid journalism. If you like true crime, or found the OJ Simpson discourse interesting, you might like this one too. It’s less about witches than I thought it would be, and more about how the media treats women.
Number Three: Episode #358 of the Lazy Genius Podcast
I told my friend Morgan that I would let her know when I found an LG podcast episode I liked, so I’ll tell you too. The line I will be thinking about for WEEKS is “it’s more important to manage your expectations than it is to manage your time.”
Number Four: Preheating the oven
A fun fact about me is that I am impatient. However, lately I have been trying to do a better job about letting the oven preheat all the way, and it really is making a difference in my life. It has been helpful for me to realize when I will be hungry in 40 minutes, so that I can preheat the oven now, and then have warm food when I am hungry. Obvious tip, but I helpful one.