March, one line a day
some journal pages
1 - Surprise dinner guests from Devon! I was so so happy to have the house filled with people laughing and telling stories. My home is happier today than it was two days ago, that’s for sure. Maybe the answer to this house’s negative energy isn’t sage-ing the shit out of it, but simply adding more friends and laughter. Dinner was great. I made a savory french tart with zucchini, a chickpea/orzo salad and a roasted potato salad with fresh herbs. It was a delicious and colourful spread and so easy to throw together. Very pleased.
2 - The sun is shining again! All things are possible. It was a fun, creative day of projects. And then…. L. called to say that she’s pregnant! There was much screaming and laughter and jumping up and down.
3 - Thankful today for friends who call when they are happy, but also when they are sad. Shared some tears, then pulled myself together, put on a fabulous dress and went to J’s Oscar Party.
4 - Great workout with Yasmine this morning, but I was drained the rest of the day. I didn’t even drink last night! I think I need to work on my protein intake.
5 - Made good progress on the recipe collection today, plus took Míša on two walks in the sunshine!
6 - Amazing news! I did a 4 second handstand, three times in a row! I’m so close to achieving my goal of 5 seconds. The sun was shining, so Míša got a super long walk while I returned calls to family and friends.
7 - Met L for lunch at Brothers Marcus at Borough Market. We sat in the sunshine and enjoyed a very good mezze platter and some (okay) rosé wine. After, I wasn’t quite ready to abandon the sun for the tube, so walked along southbank popping in out of various shops looking for nothing in particular but finding: 3 serving spoons for France and 2 new pencils from Muji.
8 - Spent the entire day at The Alternative Book Fair! I went to various talks that were mostly interesting and inspiring. I might’ve fallen asleep in one session, but it was nice to be in the company of so many book lovers. Later - I went to A’s Annual International Women’s Day dinner, which was even better than last year! The laughter, the stories, the food, everything. incredible night.
9 - Woke up with a mind filled with ideas and clutter but couldn’t figure out which was which. Spent an hour brain-dumping into my journal until I made sense of everything. Took a walk and talked to sister, who gave me great advice on menopausal nutrition. For dinner - made the NYT Ricotta Polpette, which was good but would be better with spinach added to the mix.
10 - Fact: if you have zero other responsibilities in your life, you can eat delicious, nutritious, high-protein vegetarian meals that will leave you feeling so satisfied that you won’t crave unhealthy mid-afternoon snacks. Also a fact: It’s very hard to sustain this when you lead a busy life and need to feed other people with their own requirements and preferences.
11 - The London Library was so busy today, I had to hunt for a desk. But I’m so glad I was forced to go searching, because I ended up finding a super cozy spot in the back stacks overlooking St. James’s Square. I fell into the zone and didn’t leave until they came around at closing and nudged me out of my chair.
12 - Both girls have been having hard days, so today I stayed home and focused on helping, comforting and cooking.
13 - Same.
14 - Back to the library. I continue to make solid progress on the recipe collection, but it’s taking FOREVER to finish. It feels like 80% of publishing a book is editing, formatting, proofing and production.
15 - In the evenings, in front of the TV, I’ve been working on a latch hook pillow for S and GOOD GOD it’s taking forever. I work on it every single night and it still feels only half-way done.
16 - It’s Sunday, and I’m feeling righteous because for the first time in my life I prepped some food for the week: marinated tofu, seared tempeh, cooked veggies, raw veggies, even some soup.
17 - Today was one of those days were I did everything I was supposed to do and was bored out of my mind.
18 - E and I took a field trip to Salisbury! Which as it turns out is not the birthplace of the Salisbury Steak, but a bucolic little city with rivers and bunnies and a cloister and a cathedral.
19 - Today I made a list of all the things that I want to do and/or feel like I should do and then did none of them.
20 - Today the sun was downright hot and I had no choice but to drop everything and take a field trip to Kew Gardens. It’s only two tube stops away - I can’t believe I’d never been before today! It’s huge! And gorgeous! I tried not to notice that I was the only person there under 65.
21 - Another great day at The London Library. On my lunch break, I picked up Pret and ate it in St James’s Square. Then Sophia called and I walked around in circles talking with her for an hour, before going back inside the library. By the time I got home I was so tired and so hungry that I broke my health kick and ordered in Pizza and an ice-cold bottle of Chablis. No regrets.
22 - There was a dramatic thunderstorm today, which I loved. I mean, if you’re going to rain, do it like you mean it. Drizzling all day for the same result is just depressing.
23 - THANK GOD I finally finished the damn pillow.
24 - I accomplished so much today! Planned and booked travel, took care of a million admin tasks, worked on the house and laundry, talked to family and friends on the phone, etc. I don’t understand how I did all that in one day. Some days - given the same amount of hours - I do basically nothing.
25 - Went all the way to east London for a Women’s Prize event at Shoreditch House which was so hip and cool I couldn’t hear a thing or read the menu. There were four of us in attendance: 1) an Author with a PhD in Theoretical Physics, 2) an Author and Clinical Psychologist and 3) an Award-winning Author and Filmmaker and 4) me. I was way out of my league.
26 - Today I went on a Walking History Tour of Bloomsbury. This little field trip way exceeded my expectations! It was informative, entertaining and inspiring! It was like time travelling through literary London. Highly Recommend!
27 - The day before travel is always busy and exciting! Tomorrow morning, we’re taking the train to Paris to meet up with S and H. I’ve made dinner reservations for each night and had ChatGPT prepare an Art Walk through the 4th and 11th. Other than that - free time to wander. Not bringing my computer!
28 - Slept on the train thanks to Stugeron, and arrived into Paris where it was properly raining. I chose to ignore this fact and focused on how utterly lovely Paris is. We all met up for dinner at Tekes in the 2nd and WOW WOW WOW. Best meal I’ve had in a very long time. Plus gorgeous atmosphere and terrific service. This is 100% going to the top of my Paris list. After dinner, we all went to the cabaret at Paradise Latin which was… entertaining? I guess?
29 - Sunny! We walked all over the Marais, popping into every art gallery and exhibition we saw. Had lunch at Mao Dumpling which was OUTSTANDING. Dinner was at Tigermylk and supremely disappointing, but at least we had room for dessert. We walked to the Latin Quarter and had crepes at H’s favourite place: Crepes Suzette. D and I went home - the kids went out and got back around 5am.
30 - The kids studied in a cafe. D and I went to Memorial de la Shoah, then Lunch at Les Philosophes - always a winner! I had the vegetarian lasagna and the tart tartin - both were TOP NOTCH. We sat next to an older couple who are regulars. They live in the Marais, eat once a day at Les Philosophes and spend the rest of their day swimming, reading, napping or going to cultural events around the city. I mean really, they have retirement figured out.
31 - It’s to be sunny all week and thank God for it! Today I had the energy and focus to make good progress on all my projects: I scheduled a call with E to plan our France trip. I caught up on my journaling. I updated my Paris list on the blog. I ordered a few things for my new threading project. And I made excellent progress on my recipe collection. I should be able to print a draft for edits by Wednesday!