theharbourreader

For no apparent reason, I felt like diving into my Sappho universe today. I've researched for this project the past year and yet, nothing tangible has come of it. I think it must be one of those stories that really takes its time telling - which is fine by me. I'd rather get it right than rush it.

Anyway, because my girlfriend was out of the house to get a new tattoo, I couldn't work on the epistolary thing we're doing, so I pulled out my notebook for the Sappho stories and started leafing through them - and I got some ideas. First off, I can't fit all of this lore around Sappho into just one novel. So right now, I'm looking at a trilogy, a "young Sappho" novel, told from the perspective of Anaktoria, a "pre-exile adult Sappho", told from the perspective of Atthis and finally an older, "post-exile Sappho", returned to Mytilene, told from the perspective of her daughter, Kleïs. I think, like this, I can paint a portrait of Sappho that adds to the picture she already paints of herself in her fragments, rather than telling it from Sappho's PoV and writing on top of her own words. The trilogy will be in Danish, I've decided, although it pains me to think of all the Ancient Greek terms I have to look up and translate, shit. But I just think I can do these women the most justice in my native tongue. I'll call the series what translates to, "Besung by Sappho", with each novel having a subtitle that's just the main character's name, that is: Anaktoria, Atthis or Kleïs.

I'm really excited about it! Kinda bummed I can't start right away, with the other project going on, but I'll try to steal some writing time here and there, where possible. Like I said, this is a project where pacing isn't the issue, I'm patient with it and I know what I want from it in the end... Still, excited!

Above, you see my full collection of Sappho translations (Danish and English), as well as an art book on Sappho (Danish), some assorted Ancient Greek poetry (English) and a huge book on Archaic Greece, the time period that Sappho hails from. I originally got this as a free PDF, but got so tired of scrolling that I just bought it in the physical. It's a great book, though, I recommend it to anyone interested in these things. In the bottom right corner is my "Pink Carnation" Paperblanks notebook that has served me so well. One of the best notebooks I've ever bought. It's just taken everything in stride. Unlined, midi, elastic closure. Also recced! All my notes on Ancient Greece and Sappho are crammed in there. I don't even need the books anymore, my orderliness has been on point this one time.

My girlfriend will be away most of tomorrow, so I think I'll try getting started on an opening scene for the first of the three novels, Anaktoria. If I have the spoons tomorrow. I think they've been kinda low today.

ysabetwordsmith

Roadside America lists a lot of quirky attractions. Here's the list for Illinois.

Current Mood: amused

ysabetwordsmith

Scientists host 'science fair of canceled grants' on Capitol Hill to fight funding cuts

The researchers gathered, alongside the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, to present posters in a good, old-fashioned science fair, titled “The Things We’ll Never Know: A Science Fair of Canceled Grants.”

It's a great tactic, and one that other fields could use too. "Here are some useful things you could have had, but these specific people took them away from you." That's guaranteed to piss off a lot of people.

It's also among the standard protest techniques in Terramagne. Not only is it sound activism for pounding the perpetrators, it also has a pretty good chance of someone else deciding to sponsor your canceled project if they like your pitch. Feel free to prompt me for that.

Current Mood: angry

ysabetwordsmith

Everyone needs contact comfort sometimes. Not everyone has ample opportunities for this in facetime. So here is a chance for a cuddle party in cyberspace. Virtual cuddling can help people feel better.

We have a cuddle room that comes with fort cushions, fort frames, sheets for draping, and a weighted blanket. A nest full of colorful egg pillows sits in one corner. There is a basket of grooming brushes, hairbrushes, and styling combs. A bin holds textured pillows. There is a big basket of craft supplies along with art markers, coloring pages, and blank paper. The kitchen has a popcorn machine. Labels are available to mark dietary needs, recipe ingredients, and level of spiciness. Here is the bathroom, open to everyone. There is a lawn tent and an outdoor hot tub. Bathers should post a sign for nude or clothed activity. Come snuggle up!

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny, humid, and hot. Yesterday it rained for half the day and into the night.

I fed the birds. I've seen a mixed flock of sparrows and house finches. They've drained half the thistle feeder but I still need to refill that one.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/9/25 -- I filled the thistle feeder.

I've seen a male cardinal and a fox squirrel.

EDIT 7/9/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 7/9/25 -- I sprayed weedkiller on poison ivy around the yard.

EDIT 7/9/25 -- I potted up two apricot seeds.

.

Current Mood: busy

theharbourreader

“We are not separate from nature. We are nature.”

Coming back to Raynor Winn’s voice in The Wild Silence feels like returning to a quiet cove you once walked, barefoot and full of questions. It carries the same raw honesty and reverence for the natural world as The Salt Path, but this time the journey is inward — a slower, softer reckoning with home, healing, and the life that follows after survival.

This book begins not on the coast, but in the quiet aftermath. Raynor and Moth, having completed their epic walk, are still searching — not just for somewhere to live, but for a sense of peace, belonging, and purpose. Much of The Wild Silence is about what it means to try and settle when you’ve been reshaped by loss, by wildness, by walking.

There’s a deep tenderness in the way Raynor writes about Moth — his illness, his fragility, his strength — and how their relationship bends and grows under new pressures. There’s also a lovely thread about reconnecting with her mother, and a remarkable project that sees Raynor and Moth return to the land in a different way — by rewilding a neglected farm. These moments are where the book shines.

The prose remains lyrical and sincere, though at times the structure felt a little meandering. Some sections felt slightly unfocused or repeated certain beats from The Salt Path, and I occasionally wished for a tighter arc or more clarity. But then again, life after trauma is messy and non-linear, and perhaps the book’s form reflects that truth.

It’s not quite as immediately striking as The Salt Path, but it’s a worthy continuation — quieter, but just as brave. If The Salt Path is about losing everything, The Wild Silence is about relearning how to live in the aftermath. About finding meaning not just in wild places, but in stillness, in roots, in tending the land with your own hands.

Favourite quote:
"The wild silence isn't empty. It’s full of memory, of heartbeat, of breath. It listens to you, if you listen back."

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (4 stars)
A reflective and deeply felt continuation — The Wild Silence is a book about returning, restoring, and remembering what it means to live with the land.

theharbourreader

There’s something about summer that slows everything down just enough to feel alive again. Maybe it's the way the light lingers long past dinner, or the way even the sea seems to shimmer with a secret. Summer is a season of memory and mood—of sun-warmed skin and stories waiting to be told.

I’ve always been a little bit in love with this time of year. The kind of love that feels nostalgic and tender and full of soft, golden light. There's the obvious stuff: beaches and bare feet, books read in the garden, the tang of salt in the air. But there’s also the more intimate, almost invisible romance of it all—the scent of coconut sunscreen on someone you like, the lazy clink of ice in a glass, the sudden ache of a song that takes you back.

I get sentimental about:

🌻 Blanket mornings on the sand, when the world is quiet and the waves are still stretching awake. I like to take a notebook and a flask of tea, just to sit and feel small and grateful.

🍓 First strawberries of the season—sweet, messy, best eaten with fingers in the garden, barefoot, bees buzzing nearby.

🧺 Picnics that last all day, with friends or just a good book, watching shadows shift across the grass, no real plans except to stay exactly where you are.

🎞️ The colours of dusk in July—pale pinks and smoky blues, the way the sky feels like it’s holding its breath.

📻 Old songs on the radio in a too-hot car, windows down, hair whipping, everything feeling like a film scene.

Summer always makes me want to write more, not just because of the beauty—but because it makes me feel so much. That dreamy, golden ache of a perfect moment that you know won’t last. I journal more often this time of year, trying to catch little flickers of the light before they vanish. Trying to remember what it feels like to be soft, open, and here.

What’s the romance of summer for you?

I’d love to know what memories come to the surface when you think about this season. What makes your heart race? What do you find yourself treasuring more this time of year?

ysabetwordsmith

Sunshine Revival Challenge 3: Food

Journaling prompt: What are your favorite summer-associated foods?

Creative prompt: Draw art of or make graphics of summer foods, or post your favorite summer recipes. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

This is actually from 7/7/25 but it wasn't up when I checked, and then the net was down.

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

We went up to Champaign-Urbana today.

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Current Mood: busy

abyssal_sylph posting in

sunshine_revival

Introduction Post * Meet the Mods Post * Friending Meme * Challenge #1 * Challenge #2

Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.

( Sunshine Revival Challenge #1 )

Check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge and visit their journals/challenge responses to comment on their posts and cheer them on.

And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.

serafaery

Today was really nice. Tuesdays are my Saturday. I try to use them to relax and catch up on chores, but I failed in that category today, oops. Hoping I'll have time this weekend due to the forced vacation. I do still want to henna my hair in the morning, I'll get up early and do that, and sweeping would be wonderful too, and cleaning the kitchen. Tyler wants to hike Dog so we'll see if I can get that all done before 11am ha - maybe two of the three?

Today I did some very timid silxing, and lots of PT at the gym, I think I want to buy a hula hoop? Doing it gave me heart palpitations today which was frankly a bit scary, it's only the second time I've ever felt them - the first was after swimming way too hard, about a year ago? It's another super fun perimenopause symptom, wheeeee. The hula hoop is not very strenuous so I'm not sure why it triggered that.

I considered paddle boarding but decided I didn't want to drive all the way to the mountain, so I elected to do a bike ride instead. It took a lot of prep and procrastination to get out the door, only to realize I had a flat.

So, I decided to go soaking instead.

I was the only one there! It was utter blissssssssssssssss. Really nice consolation prize.

The sun was hot but I was in the shade. The warm water was soothing. The sky was so blue. I soaked in the sun on the bench for a bit, took a couple cool misty showers, saved a ladybug and a large wasp from the water - unsure if the wasp was paper or dirt dauber but it was beautiful. I love wasps. (It helps that I've never been stung by any, save yellowjackets, whom I respect but do not have affection for lol.) A honey bee buzzed me - they are always hanging around the pool, as they attracted to the salts in the water. I felt its wings blow on the hairs on my skin but it chose not to land on me. I said hello gently. I love bees. I've been stung by honey bees but it was never their fault.

Once I was home and fed and rested, I realized I could easily put my bike in Josh's car and go get my tire fixed. And that I should do so asap, since biking is my easiest form of cardio since I can't run anymore and hiking mountains takes so much time, I can only do it once a week. So I did that. Super easy, the bike shop Josh took me to recently, Metropolis, is really nice. They helped me quickly and easily for barely anything and fixed my brakes, too. Bikes are wonderful. Bike shops are magic.

Picked up some groceries on the way home and filled Josh's tank, and then decided to do an evening bike ride up to rocky butte.

It was blisssssssssssssssssss. Cooler as I didn't start riding until 7:30pm. On the way home I got to watch the overheated clouds turn from whipped cream texture to colorful cotton candy.

Tyler alerted me to the moon rise, via text, after I got home.

I finished my veggies from yesterday with an avocado and rosemary gifted from our neighbors who just left for Europe - I am charged with watering their plants. And eating their herbs and avocados.

Watched the 2nd pirates movie with Avalanche, after my bike ride, while indulging in forbidden peanut butter with blackberries again. I forgot how silly that one was. I mean, they're all very silly. But the level of silliness steadily increases with each movie. Until On Stranger Tides honestly, I think that movie holds up the best of the sequels. Maybe I am just partial to feisty mermaids.

I like this one because Jack and Lizzie kiss in it. Only whilst trying to deceive one another. But still. Fun to watch. I like Johnny Depp, still; idc if he doesn't know how to adult in relationships with supermodels. It's not his fault society conditions us these ways. I wish he'd gotten the emotional support he needed when he was young. But I'm still grateful for his art, eternally.

A scary looking person at the gas station asked me for a dollar while digging through trash and cursing to himself, and then when I declined, called me a series of expletives and said he hoped I got in a car accident. In the past, something like that might have bothered me for a long time. I am so conditioned to our city being like this that I only felt a pang of pity and confirmation that I made the right choice saying no, that it is okay to not help people who seem threatening. I was alone and no one else was within eyesight, I did not want to get any closer to this person than I already was.

I try not to let them bleed me, but I do give handouts on occasion, when it feels right. That one didn't.

Collision. Most collisions are preventable. The term "accident" is a misnomer. They are not natural disasters. They are human-caused.

It's 1am whoops! I'm not used to watching movies ha. It's still very warm, but tomorrow will be cooler. I am so glad Tyler wants to hike with me. I'm happy on the mountain alone, but much happier with him.

I still have a week left to go without Josh! He's been messaging a lot. He's having fun, I am so glad. I am hanging in there.

Those of us with cPTSD have chronic nightmares, but the last two nights I've had really happy dreams. Filled with friends and love and laughter and exuberant joy. I wonder what that's about. More, please.

jayregee posting in

addme

Name: Regis

Age: 46

I mostly post about: I am Bipolar. So, it varies. My mood, life and fandoms seem to be the main topics of conversation. Plus, my homosexuality is on topic so my post can get to be adults only. Since it's FRIENDS ONLY there are no warnings.

My hobbies are: making icons, video games, my movie collection. (PHYSICAL MEDIA RULES!)

My fandoms are: Doctor Who, various yaoi anime, Friday the 13th and other horror movies, mystery TV shows like Perry Mason and Columbo. I am also big on the MCU AND DCU.

I'm looking to meet people who: Other gay men and allies. I do not have much a support system at home. So being bipolar I tend to need someone to listen. Even if they do not comment. Also, if I get to be too much, just skip the post. LOL!

My posting schedule tends to be: daily/weekly/monthly/sporadic/etc I try to get at least 3 posts a week in unless we didn't pay the internet bill.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Homophobes, racists, MAGA and other Trump supporters.

Before adding me, you should know: I can be a whiner from time to time. It's my way of getting my feeling out. If that isn't for you, I understand.

melanindollxo posting in

addme

Name: Jasmine ♥

Age: 30s

I mostly post about: my life, thoughts, my wins & lessons. I like to think deeply and analyze situations or people, and take time to reflect. I'm very much into self-growth, and focusing on a healthier lifestyle may include recipes, as well as currently watching and reading. Overall, it's a special place to connect with others.

My hobbies are: reading, dancing/listening to music, binge watching random shows, meditating, yoga, knitting, buying notebooks and not using them fully, researching vitamins, online shopping, baking, cooking and juicing.

My fandoms are:not really into fandoms too much anymore, however, if you enjoy it, I don't judge since I have moments.

I'm looking to meet people who: I'd love to make some new friends on here, as a LJ vet. I'm looking for anyone who wants to connect, enjoys commenting, and is active. I'm open-minded and pretty down-to-earth.

My posting schedule tends to be: Most likely weekly, and I'll be a pretty active commentor =)

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: not into the haters, homophobic, racists, politics-focused types - I spread love and that's what I appreciate in return.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm Canadian & pretty new to DW but definitely not new to journaling since I used to be on LJ for years. I comment and I am not shy. I'm looking to interact with anyone 21+. I spread love, I enjoy uplifting others, helping ppl through healing, and just being a genuine person. Feel free to add me ♥

Some of my posts may be nsfw, I'm raw & explicit sometimes, we're adults going through adult things lol.

chromaskies posting in

addme

Name: B or Bee (either is fine)

Age: 36

I mostly post about: Anything and everything, really. Questionnaires, creations (see hobbies :)), mind contents, articles,

My hobbies are: Sewing, jewelry making, self-care, fitness (beginner), cozy video games, photography (also very beginner), macrame, collecting stickers (I'm starting a sticker album!), restaurant/brewery adventures, Hello Kitty/Sanrio collecting (very minor hobby as I don't have money to go hard on it lol....or the space to) and finally researching/learning different topics is fun too.

My fandoms are: While I'm not super into fandom, I do like to make icons from games. A couple that I'm playing are Animal Crossing: New Horizons/Pocket Camp and Stardew, but I wouldn't say I'm into shipping or anything like that. I guess light fandom? I dunno lol.

I'm looking to meet people who:Hobby/creative friends who want a friendship and won't just quit on me when I go through a rough time. While I'm getting better, I do still deal with low mood, but having friends I can turn to when it get's heavy is wonderful. I will do the same for you.

My posting schedule tends to be: Coming back from a bit of a hiatus, I'll probably start posting weekly, until I get back in the swing of things, but I want to post every other day or every third day.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Mean people, those who are vicious with friend cuts, Trump supporters/the whole make America great movement,

Before adding me, you should know: See my "Looking to Meet People" please. Other than that, I can't really think of anything else.

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny and warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 7/8/25 -- It rained for about half the day and into the night.

Current Mood: busy

sinew posting in

icons

[63] heaven official's blessing (tgcf)
[16] pixel
[13] art
[06] boyfriends
[03] sanrio
[02] barbie

more here

verylongfarewell

Finally, in the quiet of night, I found time to sit down and pull up the images I've snapped (with my new phone) of my Paperblanks for the Marie-Claude and JL project.

First and foremost, I needed a notebook. Usually, from Paperblanks, I buy mini or midi sizes with no real preference for when I get what, it depends on what's available in the designs I want, really. This time, however, I decided to be bold and try an ultra! It's the biggest one and I did have to get used to the volume of it, how much table space it requires to be worked properly, but honestly - for such a big project as this will be and the kind of notes I'm already doing for it (a lot of stick-it notes, a lot of attached loose pieces of paper), ultra is pretty perfect. It's also unlined, because I've realized with time that it's my preferece over lined notebooks. More room to write whichever way I want. The design is their Emily Dickinson handwriting one, which is in an absolutely gorgeous scarlet/purple-ish colour which was fitting for various reasons and most importantly, the cover is so smooth to the touch, it's like touching old worn leather. Gorgeous. I'm very, very satisfied with it and am already using it extensively.

Next, for the calendar project, I'd bought a daily planner in the Gaudi's Sun design which looked bold in the promotional photos but is honestly twenty times as bold in real life. The colours are so stark, the pattern is just... huge! Again, to have a page for each day of the year, I had to go ultra again and the thing is enormous, it does feel like that fashion Bible thing from The Devil Wears Prada. But as I broke it in yesterday, I found there's a lot of room to work and space to fill out, which is just perfect. When buying a calendar from Paperblanks, you can get the insides in various languages - German, French and English - and I went with French, since that is Marie-Claude's main language, in-characterly, even if she speaks all three languages fluently. I realize just how little French I remember myself, though, reading it over, hahaha, but luckily it's simple enough terms, I can look everything up, if I need to be sure of something.

Just look at that pattern! Isn't it gorgeous??

I bought a pencilcase, as well. To be fair, I have a couple of pencilcases already, one pink one with Babooshka dolls that I bought in Berlin ten years ago and a fold-out one like this, but in faux leather, both in decent quality, but I saw this design and just - with my Ancient Greek/Roman obsession - had to own it. It's the "Spring" design, featuring a painting by Lawrence Alma-Tadema and seeing it live, I have decided I'm very glad I didn't get a notebook with it but opted for this instead. It's so intricate, detailed a design, a notebook - if you ask me - would have gotten too much. On this smaller scale, it's very, very rich but doesn't overwhelm the eye.

There's also a photo of how much you can fit inside! Right now I have the four "Kara-ori" Japanese kimono pattern pencils I also bought, as well as two pens, an eraser, a pencil sharpener and a highlighter (I like pink, okay) and there still is room for a pencil or two more, I think. The pencils are very pretty too, though kinda lacking in glitter and gilding, which is a feature of the notebook and calendar designs (yes, even the pencil case has a little glitter) that I really like!

Finally, I bought bookmarks!

I bought three, but one was for a gift, so that had already been sent off, when I could take these photos - hwoever, it was the "Morris Pink Honeysuckle" design which I already have a notebook in and it's lush. The remaining two are "The Canin Rise" (the golden one) that is my favourite. It's the same design as one of my notebooks for the Lest They Leave project and brings back that 1920's vibe! The other one is "Poetry in Bloom" which is one I have a notebook in that I've used for the Lilith project. This one was my girlfriend's favourite, so I later gave it to her, saying she'd need a bookmark for all the reading she would need to do, writing these letters between Marie-Claude and Jean Louis and she was so happy, it made this big purchase worth it all on its own.

And you honestly have no idea how long I've waited to be able to take pictures with my phone again!! It was the first thing I did, once I had my new Samsung Galaxy home and ready. I took a picture of my girlfriend, and I took a picture of these things. Haha, they are my favourites.

Thanks for coming to my Paperblanks TED talk.

Current Music: holler high — sort sol

serafaery

I miss all the cats who've been kind enough to associate with me. Many I have had deep, unforgettable bonds with. I think of them often. New Cat was my best friend for a long time. Willow came after her. Willow watched me become an adult and I was heartbroken for years over losing her. Then P-Funk, Darwin, and Lunar, my three little black old men cats.

Today, and lately, I've been missing Darwin the most. Darwin was rescued five weeks after P-Funk's death. He was a 20 year old cat who had been surrendered mysteriously, and I had just lost a 20 year old cat, and felt I had the room and capacity to give this one a good home.

Darwin is really the one who rescued me. Within a couple weeks he was out of his shell and so energetic that I double checked his age with the shelter, who sent me to the hospital he had been surrendered to, who confirmed that he was in fact 21. !!!

I had him until three weeks before his 23rd birthday. He was healthy, happy, and content for almost the entire time.

Darwin was mostly deaf, and would sometimes howl at the top of his lungs to hear himself, which I found hilarious.

He was the sort of cat who would daintily tap his paw on a leg - anyone's leg - to be asked to be lifted into a lap, as his legs were too arthritic to jump. He loved to snuggle into laps or sunbeams. He had a particular position he wanted to snuggle in under my arm every night, and if he came to bed and I was not in the right place, he would tap my shoulder with his paw until I rolled over and offered the crook of my arm for him to snuggle into.

There were a few small things that went wrong toward the end of his life, but for the most part, the entire time with him was absolute delight. He seemed so content and relaxed. Nothing ruffled his feathers. He seemed grateful for every moment. The week before his death he was still gently chasing cabbage moths in the grass. He was best friends with a neighbor cat who would come for walks with us nightly. Chester, a huge orange tabby, absolutely adored Darwin and would wait on our porch for him. (I always went with him, he did not go outside unsupervised.)

Darwin had the most peaceful death imaginable, at a vet he loved, surrounded in love and gentleness.

Sigh.

I don't believe in the afterlife or other woo-woo things, but I got what felt like messages from him afterward, signs of different sorts from different places, in the form of art and music, that said we had known each other before and we would meet again. I resonate with identification as a star-seed, even though I don't believe in reincarnation or "oversouls" or anything like that, something about the starseed identification feels true in a way I don't understand. Similarly, I got messages that Darwin was also a starseed. It never occurred to me consciously that animals could also be starseeds, but of course they can - anything can be a star-seed. Technically we all come from star-stuff anyway.

So whenever a starseed message comes to me, I think of Darwin, and I miss him. It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to think of him. There is a mystery there I don't understand. And I'm grateful for that connection.

theharbourreader

July’s first week has drifted by softly - days filled with familiar pages and fresh discoveries. I’ve been reading in nooks near open windows, with tea (and quiet thoughts) always in reach.

📚 What I’ve Finished

The Salt Path by Raynor Winn - A re‑read of this beloved memoir, and it still cracks me open. Its simple, raw beauty never fails to linger.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer - Another comfort read that reconnects me with gratitude and wonder.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El‑Mohtar & Max Gladstone - Kit’s recommendation took me by surprise - eerie, lyrical, full of longing. I didn’t fully understand it, but I deeply felt it.

📖 What I’m Reading Now

The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn - Also a re‑read. Her reflections on nature, grief, healing—they feel like familiar trails in my soul.
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner - Just embarked on this historical mystery. I’m excited for its dual timelines and atmospheric secrets.

🌊 What Surprised Me

That I’ve circled back to both Salt Path and Wild Silence so early - turns out the comfort of known landscapes is a balm when July feels heavy with the unknown.

Also surprising: how Time War moved me - its haunting, poetic pulses linger long after the last page.

🕵️‍♀️ On the Raynor Winn Investigation

This week, The Observer published an investigation claiming that key elements of Winn’s memoir may have been embellished or misrepresented - allegations of embezzlement, owning a second home during their “homeless” period, and questions about her husband’s CBD diagnosis. The charity PSPA has distanced itself, and Winn’s team has called the report “highly misleading” while pursuing legal advice

As a reader who has found solace and strength in these stories, it's unsettling to see the foundations questioned. I still cherish the emotional truths the books carry, even if some factual details may now feel ambiguous. It’s a reminder of how deeply memoirs affect us—and how tangled the space between memory, storytelling, and truth can be.

✨ Standout Quotes & Moments

From The Salt Path:
“Just because you’re homeless doesn’t mean you haven’t got a life, a story, a place in the world.”

From Time War:
“Words can wound, or salve. They can kindle love, or spark war. They start revolutions and stop hearts.”

My own notebook:
“Re‑reading feels like returning to a true north - stories that are home, even when the world shifts.”

How is your July unfolding in terms of reading? Have any books surprised or rooted you this week? I’d love to hear your reflections.

Here’s to the stories that carry us through the days. ☀️

ysabetwordsmith

This poem is spillover from the June 3, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from

wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "growth" square in my 6-2-25 card for the Pride Fest bingo. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony Barrette. It belongs to the series Daughters of the Apocalypse.

( Read more... )

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Tales by the Tide

Sunlight, sea air, and softly dog-eared books

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Birdfeeding

🍃 4-Star Review: The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn

The Romance of Summer

Sunshine Revival Challenge 3: Food

Today's Adventures

Sunshine Revival Challenge #3

the bicycle community calls them "collisions."

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Nice to Meet You ♥

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Birdfeeding

various

36 | collector's edition

cats who have graciously crossed my path

July Reading Journal - First Week Reflections

📚 What I’ve Finished

📖 What I’m Reading Now

🌊 What Surprised Me

🕵️‍♀️ On the Raynor Winn Investigation

✨ Standout Quotes & Moments

Poem: "Tomato Seedlings in Tin Cans"

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July 2025

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