Whew! What a Week

Hello, from late on Sunday evening. I did not forget about writing to you, I’ve just been busy. In fact, this week was PACKED with things. So consider this a non-comprehensive report on some activities from the last seven days.

On Monday, I bought a ticket to see a concert the next night featuring The Band Camino as an opener and 5 Seconds of Summer. Both bands are frequent inclusions on my playlists, and when in Rome Cleveland, right? Which meant that Tuesday night, I hopped on the train, made my way into the arena, and sand my heart out with thousands of other fans making the most of a Tuesday summer night.

The production value was SO GOOD, and despite not knowing as many of the songs off of their newest albums as some members of the crowd did, I had an absolute blast! It's have had Not Ok and Boyband by 5SOS as Holly by The Band Camino on repeat all week.

And if you thought one concert was enough for the week, you would be WRONG! The very next night I joined a crew of friends at Beachland Ballroom to see Very Gently and Trousdale! If you are not listening to those magical ladies doing harmonies, then I need to you start because HOLY COW, THEY WERE SO GOOD!!! Totally different vibe from the night before, but no less fun!

Small shows like Trousdale’s feels like being in a secret club of cool people who know good music and reminds me that there are so many millions of us working on our dreams behind the scenes and sharing moments with the people who found us first. Making art, performing live music, oh man, it just does something to my heart.

Also, I think their song Movie Star is the PERFECT first dance song for a wedding and I’m adding it to my dream wedding playlist now!

Despite being tired and working a full week (even being in the office one day), I also found myself up bright and early on Saturday for a 5K race! Was my time great, haha, NO! But it was so fun to be back out for a Saturday run after a slow last few weeks of running.

Which brings me to the last bit of big news for the week: I’ve signed up for not one, but TWO half marathons! One of them will be this fall, with training starting now. The other is early in the year in 2027 at a very MAGICAL location. I’m sure I will talk about it a lot more on weeks when I have less to report, so I will not bore you with the details now, but expect that I’m gonna be talking about running for much of the foreseeable future.

I have had (what I think) is a very good idea this week about a potential, large, ongoing writing/art project that will hopefully blend together some other ideas I’ve had to create one big wonderful THING!

It is not a book (though I have ideas for those too). SO, if you see me in person, and you would like to pitch me some subjects for short poems, TELL ME THEM! Or Text me them if you are not local.

Forward this newsletter to someone you think might like to subscribe!

Do you like my new writing spot?

Audiobook: I have not yet finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle, but I hope to finish it this week while I tackle some projects around the house. I have some suspicions about what really happened to the rest of the family, and I detest cousin Charles, so we’ll see how I feel after the last third of the book.

Kindle: I’m trying to finish a BUNCH of short stories I had borrowed from Kindle Unlimited so that I can cancel my subscription and focus on tackling my physical TBR for the rest of the year. Currently, I’m working on the For a Limited Time Only by Peng Shepard, which is part of “The Time Traveler’s Passport” collection.

Physical Book: I just finished reading Rachel Harrison’s Play Nice this afternoon, and it is my first 5 Star read of the year. Creepy and suspenseful in a way that keeps you wondering if there really is something sinister in the house or if the main character is on her way to a mental breakdown. The second book of Harrison’s that I have read, confirming for me that I will now be finding a way to read EVERYTHING she writes.

Up next on my physical TBR is The Maid by Nita Prose. After reading The Nosy Neighbor as part of the Busybodies collection of crime short stories, I’m very excited to give her most famous full length book a try.

I have been following Doink’s Burger Joint since BEFORE they actually opened, and until this week I had not actually eaten there, which I can now confirm, is practically a crime. This burger was delicious and is now tied with Good Company for my favorite Cleveland Burger spot.

10/10. No Notes.

I have discovered a very niche type of collage art on Pinterest that has made me CACKLE in public multiple times this week. Let me introduce you these Muppet crossover retro-style fan art collages (if you search that online you will probably find MANY more than what I have included here).

They are so 2010s Tumblr, and I can not get enough.

Note: I did not create any of these myself, but I desperately want to!