Before the usual updates, I want to share the playlist my friend Cath made (and released on Valentine’s Day) featuring over seven hours of crowdsourced Silly love songs. !!! I keep listening to it and being grateful for the little reminders to and of love. (Guess the song I added and I’ll send you a cookie.) Cath also wrote one of my favorite poems of 2022 and continues to publish writing that reminds me of all the best and worst of life, and how it’s all mangled together. Thank God for meeting people on the internet.
FEBRUARY ESSAYS
February 2: The radical pleasure in eating local bread
“Buying bread from the person who made it, standing outside where the flour was milled, brings a level of pleasure and satisfaction that a generic loaf at the grocery store can't touch. I want every loaf of bread to be this special, every instance of purchasing bread to be this interwoven with relationships, and every person able to afford and access their own local bread. Why does this feel like such a tall ask? Well, it's easier to buy the generic loaf, more convenient. But who does that convenience serve?”
February 16: The labor of food isn’t invisible, it's ignored
“Much of the labor of food has been made as invisible as possible and called ‘progress.’ It’s hidden behind walls of factories and paid minimum wage – or less if you’re in prison and have deductions taken out. It’s been this way for generations and people are raised thinking, or being told, that it’s easy and accessible to have eggs and so become entitled to eggs all while not looking at how they get the eggs, who is processing the eggs, how the hens are treated, or what it’s all doing to the environment.”
Reading
I’m nearly finished reading Irish Fairy and Folktales edited by W.B. Yeats (notable attractive poet from history, who, I just learned, was also into Tarot). I picked up the book a few years ago when I was working on my novel and wanted to acquaint myself with the tales I half-remembered and learn more. The stories range in length, there are also some poems. I’ve laughed out loud, I’ve cried. Fairytales, their logic and motion, are such a different thing than most of what I read and I love them for it.
Also reading Brandon Taylor on the “aesthetics of moral worldbuilding,” Cameron Steele on “visitation, sex, searching for god,” and Will Cooper on Basque cheesecake and the demand for new recipes — an unreasonable demand I might add.
Writing
Drafting some fiction again, but this time it’s my first attempt at adaptation. More on that in March. Also, doing some necessary but less exciting things like updating my website and writing a template for the footer of this newsletter. I added the part about my availability as a freelance editor because while it isn’t my primary focus, it is something I’ve done since 2014 and continue to do. If you have a project that you need/want an editor for feel free to reach out. (Does telling you this make me want to spend an additional hour fine-tuning this newsletter? Why yes it does. Maybe that’s why I don’t talk about it much.)
Cooking
My local zine shop had a bake sale fundraiser on the 17th and I used it as an excuse to make some vegan sweets! I wanted something citrus, something chocolate, and something that would travel well if people weren’t eating immediately. To that end I made Alicia Kennedy’s Lemon-Rosemary Olive Oil Cake, brownies from Nora Cooks, and granola from The Homemade Vegan Pantry: The Art of Making Your Own Staples by Miyoko Schinner (with added peanuts, chia and sesame seeds, and chopped dried figs.) I highly recommend all three recipes and heard very good reviews from eaters.
I can’t remember the last time I baked more than one recipe in a day and while it was intimidating at first, I survived. My baking muscles feel reinvigorated and I’m planning on remaking all of the recipes soon. (Making everything cute in a package was more work than the baking lol. My heart goes out to everyone baking, packaging, and selling — that’s why I’m always fine spending whatever you tell me is fair for your delicious baked good.)
Thank you for reading! The Good Enough Weekly comes out every Friday, alternating an essay with Of the Week (like today.) This time last year I wrote: “Experiencing a period of thin time.” I also take on freelance editing and writing projects. Reach out if you’re looking for help in those departments — I’ve worked on everything from zines to textbooks. More info here.