4 ways to appreciate your summer
Plus everything I read, wrote, and dabbled in this week.
Welcome back to Soft Hobbies, a weekly creative check-in for imperfect perfectionists with limited time and unlimited distractions. You can respond to this post by liking it, leaving a comment, or replying to the email. I’m Auzin, a Seattle-based writer in the fiction, poetry, and tech writing spheres. For more of my work, go here.
Hi softies,
Is it just my social circle, or is Summer 2024 the most booked & busy summer in years? Scheduling time with friends has been almost impossible lately because folks are either out of town or have a full calendar until October. That’s not a dig at my friends — I’m the same way. I genuinely love having a full calendar and look forward to planning out what I’ll be doing each day of the month. If you’re the same way, I challenge you (and myself) to put these on your calendar:
1 hour of screenless playtime, possibly outdoors: What did you love doing as a kid? Drawing, writing, Legos, play-pretend? Turn your phone off and go do it.
1 date with yourself
A few hours at the beach with lots of water and sunscreen
Smell a flower in your neighborhood. Touch its petals. Maybe sketch it?
Let’s make the most of summer — it’ll be gone faster than we think.
3 things I’m reading:
Finished Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson and liked it a lot! I’m in the process of reading all her work since Ethan owns almost her entire bibliography. This is a strange, unsettling book that revolves around the interiority of its main character. The form and style is super intriguing, but I think my favorite Jackson is still The Haunting of Hill House because I love really scary books.
Finished the first volume of the Hellboy Omnibus, which I’ve been meaning to read for ages. I’ve loved the movies since I was a kid, and once I got into reading comics, these were always on my TBR. So I’m glad I finally have access to them (thanks again to Ethan)! Mike Mignola’s art style is obviously so unique and these comics are a joy to read, even if the story runs a bit thin sometimes. I’ll definitely be reading the other omnibus volumes.
My dear friend Karin sent me this article about life and Mr. Rogers recently. It was a good reminder for me that habit-building is both essential and very difficult. I knew about Mr. Rogers’ daily swimming routine from this excellent documentary, which I also recommend. I loved this quote from the article:
Habits are selfish. When you get up every morning, as Fred Rogers did, and go swimming, you are telling the other people in your life to step away.
Agree with this so hard! A healthy amount of selfishness is essential when it come to keeping your routine because only you know what routine is best for you.
3 things I’m writing:
Updated my goals lists, which I like to do a few times a year. I have a life goals list, a travel bucket list, and a writing goals list. I typically handwrite these before taking a picture of the page to save on my phone and computer. This also gave me a chance to revisit a goals list from 2021, where I had written multiple things that I have since accomplished, like writing a poetry chapbook and going on an international vacation by myself. So that made me feel good :)
Finished my round of revisions on the collab piece that I mentioned last week. Super happy about this! Now it’s my collaborator’s problem! ;)
Wrote the next empties post for this newsletter, which covers products I used in June and July and will be posted in the first week of August. Hopefully folks enjoy these, I know they are a departure in subject matter and voice from the rest of Soft Hobbies.
3 soft hobbies:
Started playing Everskies. I’ve been on the hunt for a free doll dress-up game that runs on PC, and it’s harder to find than you’d think. I remember spending hours on sites like Dollwizard when I was a tween, making different outfit combinations and taking screenshots to save my favorites, so I wanted to find something to give me that same feeling. Everskies is kind of like a dress-up game combined with Neopets — there’s something very Web 2.0 feeling about it. There is a steep learning curve, but I’m really enjoying it now. DM me if you decide to join and I’ll send you a friend request!
It’s been hard to squeeze in yoga in the mornings, but Yoga With Bird always has short, simple flows that are a soft way to start the day.
I’ve been working on taking product photos and videos of some new stickers for my Etsy store. I’m excited to build out the product offerings for my shop. It takes me a long time to come up with ideas and create new products, so I’m trying to be ok with growing slowly. My goal is eventually for my Etsy store and in-person vending of my work at markets to be an additional source of income for me.
I’d love to know what you’ve been reading, writing, and making recently. How are your summer adventures? Thanks for your time, and see you next week.
Softly yours,
Auzin