My June

Winter has hit cold and early this year. It's been cold enough to affect the spirits, but not enough for anything interesting like snow. I haven't been able to spend as much time outside as I would like. I also had some mishaps which kept me indoors, spraining my ankle and just as I was recovering from that, injuring my back. Work was also very busy, which led to feeling a bit down and not getting to do everything I wanted to do ... or is that really true?


What I've been working on ...
I've had a sudden and unexpected resurgence of interest in my Hobonichi art diary. I've been using it for a slightly different purpose than just a daily record of my life. I got stuck in a rut thinking that my life is too routine and boring to make a record of. One of the YouTubers I subscribe to, Rainbowholic, has spoken about that in some of her videos recently, and suggested other ways of using the diary. In the last few weeks, I've started a practice on Sunday nights of listing everything I did that weekend. I've found it a really helpful and fun wellbeing practice. On Monday mornings (or anytime really) when I find that I'm beating myself up over not having "done enough", I look at the page and it makes me feel better.

What I've been watching ...
At the start of the month I saw the Star Wars movie Solo. I've heard a lot of criticism about it, but I really liked it. I found the story really engaging, and even wanted to know more about the characters at the end. I wish there would be a sequel, but unfortunately I doubt there will be.

What I've been eating ...
A few months ago, Husband and I were talking with a friend and we discovered a shared love of food -- more specifically, going out and eating food together. So we decided that the 3 of us would go out and eat together on a regular basis, each of us choosing the venue in turn. Last month was Husband's turn, and he chose the Mac and Cheese themed day at the Preston Food Truck Park. These are frozen cheesecakes on a stick. There are more pics of what we ate here on my Instagram!

What I've been painting ...
I went to one of the Crap Craft series of workshops at NOIR Darkroom on Painting with Bob Ross. I'd never seen a Bob Ross tutorial before, and it was a revelation! If you haven't seen his shows, I recommend checking them out on YouTube or Netflix. The 'tutorial' was a bizarre mixture of unexplained painting techniques, small adorable animals, and encouraging mottos, all overlaid with Bob's calming voice. (Apparently some people listen to the audio of his shows to help them get to sleep.) It was a bit stressful sometimes -- we'd finish painting one tree, look up and Bob had already painted a whole forest -- but I would definitely do it again!

Here's my painting:

Selections from Instagram