November News!

The sixth monthly newsletter for those who value intuitive courage, wellness/writing, and creative practices

Nov 07, 2023

It’s November! A month of slowly gathering darkness. A time to prepare for the upcoming holiday season. I love the beginning of winter as it’s the season of dormancy and quiet. I try (and don’t always succeed!) to slow down and take inventory as the year comes to a close.

When my husband and I first got married over 25 years ago, I thought the Christmas season began on November 1st and he thought it began on December 15th. Over time, I’ve worn him down, and now we set up our tree in November when Ava’s home from university on fall break. But he’s still the GoT portion of this meme, and the kids and I are Buddy the Elf.

One-Word Feeling Check-In

I wrote a longer post about this on my author website this month, but I’ve been having some health concerns that have really slowed me down and forced me to notice that I need to pay closer attention to caring for myself. We all need this, at various points in our lives, but now that I’m on a low-dose medication for my high blood pressure and taking HRT for my middle-aged womanly concerns, I’m inching ever closer to feeling like myself again.

As a result, my word for right now is grateful. I’m learning to be more patient with myself. I’ve been making more time for visits with friends, and I love the reminders I keep getting from other women to “talk to myself with the kind of gentleness I usually reserve for others.” Being kinder to ourselves makes all of life easier to bear.

Book Corner

I’ve been waiting not-so-patiently for the library to finish processing copies of The Exchange, John Grisham’s sequel to The Firm, but in the meantime there’s been no shortage of great fiction to read.

A Death at the Party was the first thriller of Amy Stuart’s I’ve ever read, but it won’t be the last. I love the introspective way she writes, with short, punchy sentences filtered through a first-person narrator who may or may not be reliable.

Liz Nugent is a favourite author. I’d heard so much about Strange Sally Diamond before it was my turn for the book at the library, and it was every bit as good as advertised. Strange, unsettling, powerful, and moving.

The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh was a fun read. Told in many alternating POVs of party guests on New Year’s Eve, this murder mystery kept me turning pages late into the night to see who killed the party’s host.

I'm getting slightly better at sizing these covers properly!

Writing/Wellness Idea

One thing that helps me to be a better writer is allowing myself permission to explore a new idea or story without pre-judging whether it’s good or bad. In fact, this works for all of life.

Our inner critic can be so harmful, especially early on in a project. I learned a lot about this from author Rob Bell, who talks in his podcast about following our curiosity where it wants to lead us without pre-determining success or failure for the idea. We simply can’t know this at the beginning. We have to open up our hearts and be willing to explore without pressure.

This sounds easy but it’s actually quite hard. Believing in ourselves takes work at any stage, but especially at the beginning with a fresh story idea or project. Instead of saying, “This is going to work out for sure!” or “Well, that’s a stupid waste of time” why not put all of that energy into yourself and your own abilities? Try saying, “I don’t know what this is, but I’m going to give myself time and space to pursue it and see what develops.”

Library Writing Classes + Jamesy Harper’s Big Break!

The library writing classes I’ve been teaching this fall at libraries are in full swing. It’s been so fun to meet new writers and talk about the process of writing together. I have two classes left this month - one in Delta at the George Mackie Library from 2-3 pm on Saturday, November 18th and the last one in Pitt Meadows on Saturday, November 25th from 1-2 pm followed by a book celebration for Jamesy Harper’s Big Break.

Speaking of Jamesy Harper, I’m excited to announce that MY BOOK IS NOW IN LIBRARIES!!! It’s a dream come true to search for my name in a library catalogue and find something pop up. May this be the first of many books in public libraries for me!

So far, the book is in the Fraser Valley Regional Library, the Surrey Library, and the Port Moody Library. I’m working on getting her into more library systems, but if you use the library, please help by either requesting the book or asking for it to be added to your library system. Thank you in advance for your support and your help!

TV Recs

This month, we’ve been watching Unforgotten season 5, Poker Face, and Deadwind.

Unforgotten is a fabulous British crime show that had a big twist right at the end of season 4, which made me worry I wouldn’t like season 5. But the show picks up quickly, with a new season-long murder for the detectives to solve.

I’d been excited about Poker Face ever since it was released earlier this year, but I had to wait for the DVD to be available at the library as we don’t get the Peacock streaming channel. The show is created by Rian Johnson, who did Knives Out and The Last Jedi, so I was expecting quirky, offbeat, and cinematic, and the show delivers all three.

We’re almost finished season 1 of Deadwind on Netflix and it’s the first Finnish show I’ve ever seen. I love Nordic Noir, and this crime show fits right in. I’ve discovered that I adore the spare, white minimalist style of the Finns. Every apartment or office building or police station onscreen makes me marvel at the decor. As a result, I now have an unexpected desire to visit Helsinki.

Creative Practice Spotlight

This month, try saying, “I’m doing enough.” So often, we work and work until we are exhausted and still we worry it might not be enough. As a creative practice, giving yourself permission to do less can be very powerful and freeing.

It can also be really challenging. Our culture consistently braids together our productivity and our sense of worth. Over time, the message here is: you are what you accomplish. But this is nonsense. We are human beings, worthy of love and care whether we are busy or at rest. The key is to slow down enough to begin to wrestle with this concept. And to offer ourselves permission to do less and still be 100% worthy. This is lifelong journey territory, but so very important to our mental and physical health. First and foremost, we are human BEINGS, not human DOINGS.

Online Writing Classes

When I sent out the invoices to the writers signed up for my online writing classes, I heard from many people that this fall was stuffed full and they wanted to wait until January to really begin writing their novel or memoir.

When I slowed down and asked myself what I wanted in response, I realised I felt exactly the same. My stress level was too high this fall. I needed more time to thoughtfully build the online weekly modules for this new class.

So I listened to the writers and to myself. I realised I could send weekly emails in November to the writers signed up so they could plan for January. We’d miss out on the community building portion, but we’ll get to that when we START in the new year.

There’s still time to join us! I’ve long dreamed of a supportive workshop environment that takes emotional safety into consideration, and this is what I’m trying to build through these classes. A place to show up and be vulnerable with one another. To learn and grow and explore ourselves and our work in a flexible and caring online space. Please reach out if you’d like to join before we start on January 7th. For more info, please see my website.

Flower & Teddy

Flower’s blood sugar has been a little out of whack with his feline diabetes, so he’s been sleeping on the counter near his water as he’s over-hydrating right now. But we keep adjusting his insulin slightly until he seems back to normal and sleeping on the couch or in his cat bed instead of lounging right by his water glass.

And then there’s our three-year-old baby Ted. Here he’s chilling out on the kitchen floor under my chair, showing off his tufty brown belly. Photo credit for both of these go to my daughter Ava, who takes a lot of pics of the cats whenever she comes home for a weekend visit. Soon the Christmas trees will be up and Teddy will have lots of new toys to play with and fresh mischief to get into!