The beautiful bell
Alistair has rung the bell :)
I wrote about it on my blog, Instagram and LinkedIn – you can forgive my excitement and enthusiasm I’m sure – so I won’t repeat it here. Suffice to say that we’re over the moon and incredibly thankful.
I will admit though that I’m finding the end of treatment a bit challenging, which the oncologist did warn me that I might. It’s hard to explain, and it’s really all down to trauma, stress and paranoia. I’m taking it one day at a time, reminding myself to breathe, and trying to take my thoughts captive so I focus on all that is good.
How is your new year going? Do you have new goals, aspirations and/or habits for 2024? I’d wanted to jump on the ‘ins and outs’ trend, but quickly gave up when my list kept on growing…
(By the way, if you’ve clicked the link above to read my blog post, I’m sorry that the page background doesn’t make it easy to read the text. I guess one of my 2024 to-do will be to change my blog design 😅)
The scribbles…
Since coming back from the holidays, I’ve been incredibly lucky to get the chance to interview and write about two amazing founders. You can read the articles below:
As you can probably tell, I resonated with the mission of MyMuse a lot. But both these female founders were so inspiring – I really recommend that you read their stories.
The sketches…
After playing with all the different paint mediums – acrylic, oil, gouache – I always find myself returning to watercolours. They just suit my needs better:
Quick and easy to set up, use and clean up ✔️
Dries quickly ✔️
Versatile for whatever style I want to try ✔️
Can be easily packed for travel ✔️
Allows me to finish quick paintings in one sitting ✔️
One of my goals this year is to sketch and paint as often as I can – once every day, if possible. I’m excited to keep experimenting and playing, and see where these splashes of colours take me.
A roundup of recs
What I’ve been reading
My favourite of the lot is Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands. I just love the characters, the story, the cosiness of the world (some fantasy books can be intense), and the author’s writing style. It’s one of those books that make me want to hug it close and not let go.
What I’ve been watching
By chance, I came across the documentary of the making of Miss Saigon. LOVED IT. I’ve always been a fan of Lea Salonga, and I’ve always loved the story of and songs from Miss Saigon. So it was absolutely fascinating to watch the behind-the-scenes, and to see the talent and hard work that went into creating it. I only wished the documentary was longer!
What I’ve been listening
Well, the Miss Saigon soundtrack 😄
The kids have also been listening to The Lego Movie 2 songs on repeat, so I find myself humming to those tunes now.
What else?
The Titanic exhibition is now on at the Melbourne Museum – and it’s beautiful. The entire experience, from entering with your boarding pass to walking through the decks (and yes, you’ll see the iconic staircase) to reading the stories of the passengers to reaching the wall of names at the end… So poignant, so enthralling. If you’re in Melbourne, I highly recommend it.
Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any books, films, music, podcast, art, etc. to recommend. Until next time, have a good one!