Serendipity makes a life worth living.
Is it still Friday? Okay, sort of. At least it is where I am.
I don’t know about you, but it’s been a crazy week here. Well, I’ve been feeling mostly crazy because my SAD has gotten a bit out of control, so everything feels more difficult than usual. Christmas! End of year lists! Plans, plans, plans! But everything besides work has gone by the wayside, covered in gloomy winter clouds. And when the clouds come, I retreat into my shell. Life becomes surreal.
Depression is a tricky thing, and can send one into a vicious cycle of inactivity and sadness that feels overwhelming. Today I called a friend, and she helped pull my head out of the cloud bank. If you’re depressed, I urge you to reach out for help. If you know someone who seems withdrawn, I hope you’ll reach out to them. You can make a real difference–trust me.
But I have–as always–kept my eyes open online. So here’s a little serendipity!
Bits and Bobs
Speaking as a tick magnet, I have complete sympathy for the plight of tick-plagued dinosaurs. Meet the 99 MILLION-YEAR-OLD tick.
vEARing is a thing. Sometimes we can perceive sound in silent, moving images. Startling.
Mapping Irish DNA reveals some Nordic surprises. No surprise here–I’m a have mix of Irish, Scandinavian, and British.
Facebook has some good news and bad news for us…and them. Yes, it can make you feel really bad in minutes. (Hint: They want you to have a higher quality experience. Personally I’d just like to see more news from more friends.)
Gift-wrapping tricks–I learned so much!
Books and Films and Such
Lots of familiar, talented writer folks on the Boston Globe 2017 end-of-year book lists.
If you like you films stylish, freaky, smart, and with a darkly comic Technicolor retro vibe, check out The Love Witch.
The Only Girl in the World is on my Christmas list. What a story.
A wonderful Holiday Gift Guide for book lovers and other friends from bestselling writer J.T. Ellison.
I’m digging the cover on Small Town Trouble. (I asked for a couple of your books for Xmas. We’ll see what Santa brings!)
Nice wrapping video. This year I challenged myself to wrap gifts without using boxes, tape, or ribbon. (Because each year I try to do something off the wall and different than before.) I’m using white tissue paper, green crepe paper, cotton string, and green, vintage paillettes.
It’s supposed to be sunny here today. I hope lots of sunshine reaches you this weekend.:-)
Wow! Your creativity is amazing, Priscilla. I’d love to see a photo of your latest gift-wrapping if you want to share it. 💜
PS–I think it’s the cutest cover ever. 🙂
I tried to put a photo in the comment section and couldn’t figure out how to do it. The best I can do is link to my blog post which has 4 of my wrapping ideas including the boxless, tapeless, ribbonless idea. (It feels like shameless promotion, so I understand if you choose not to post this comment!)
https://minimalistgranny.com/4-more-christmas-wrapping-ideas/
Not shameless at all. Beautiful!