It’s a late on a Friday afternoon and I’m hunched on the sofa, laptop on top of a pillow, the fan whirring at me at top speed — I’m only mildly concerned it will spin right off the ceiling and shred me to pieces, so long as it continues to blow cool air on me. It has been hot this week, everything-sticking-to-my-skin hot, but I have no complaints. I’m embracing it.
Outside, the neighbourhood kids are running around the courtyard. I think they’re playing tag, someone keeps screaming in high pitch yelps. In the distance, the bleek sound of sirens and car honking rings throughs the open balcony doors. It’s just part of the city soundscape, isn’t it?
This week felt good. I was originally going to skip the scheduled Sunday Substack in favour of some sort of rest from writing, but I think that even when I’m not writing, I’m thinking about it. I make little notes on my phone of ideas or small thoughts that might ping off into entire pieces. Random pieces of stories and conversations come to me when I’m walking or looking absentmindedly out the train window. Is this what it’s like to be a writer? Everything I think about comes in a weirdly formed narration. I feel a bit like Harold Crick from Stranger than Fiction.
There’s no big topic this week, just a list of thoughts that cropped up over the last few days that I feel like sharing. This is inspired by Alice Vincent’s writing on Savour.
fresh tomatoes
The burst of hot weather has pushed my tomatoes over the edge, causing some to split in a zig-zag formation down the middle. I snipped them off the vine and added them to a pasta dish; no reason for them to be wasted.
saxophone man
I shared a small note about this, but I’ve not stopped thinking about the saxophone man — a man who just showed up at Streatham Common and decided to woo the sparse crowd of sunbathers with his music. Does he only perform in parks? Is he a full-time musician? Why the saxophone? I went to see if he was there yesterday, but he was not. I hope he returns soon.
nectarines
One of the beauties of the summer is the seasonal fruit that accompany it. I bought a box of the sweetest nectarines I’ve ever had. Firm enough on the outside and deliciously juicy and sweet on the inside. Fun fact: Nectarines are a type of peach. They’re distinguished by a genetic mutation that gives them smooth skin rather than the characteristic fuzzy skin of peaches.
fiction
Something that I’ve not done in a very long time is write fiction. I finally sat down and wrote a brief outline, which then led me down a rabbit hole of what novel writing is like and searching for online courses about it. With this be my next creative project? Who knows.
I’m ridiculously excited about a set of bedside lights that B and I have purchased. We both enjoy reading in the evening and the one ceiling light in the bedroom isn’t enough. We got these little rechargeable lights that stick to the wall and can be magnetically rotated for different angles. Game-changer. Linking them here in case anyone is interested.
walking
I’m almost sure that walking can solve 85% of my problems. Something about the fresh air and having a destination in mind is fulfilling, even when everything on my to-do list hasn’t been done. It’s the one thing I know I can complete and for some reason, it gives me a sense of control to complete the rest of my list.
adulthood
One evening, B leaned over to me just as we were going to bed to tell me that a friend of his is expecting. They’re having a girl and she’ll be born in February. We attended their wedding in May. I mumbled a congratulations, but there was a very daunting feeling, a realisation of adulthood looming over me. Everybody is having babies. One day, it will be a On the Verge subject, but for now, it sits as notes and fragmented sentences in my drafts box.
Even though we’ve technically entered Autumn, a burst of summer weather has graced us this week, which had me in the mood for fish. I pan-fried some sea bass and blanched some samphire in boiling water before coating it in some garlicky butter. Simple, but delicious.
old age
I have two old cats, Toby and Asper. I’ve had both of them since I was in my early teens, which makes them about a gazillion years old. Toby has spot on the back of sofa that he always sleeps in, a toby-shaped dent is made by the weight of his heavy body. He’s been coughing lately and sometimes he sleeps for so long that I give him a poke to make sure he’s still alive. It has dawned on me that one day he won’t be around. I don’t remember life before him, but I try not to think about it too much.
rom com books
I picked up a copy of Emily Henry’s Book Lovers after seeing it in every bookshop I walked into. I’m a true sucker for romance, usually bursting into tears in the end because I’m deeply obsessed with the characters and a happy ending. This book was no different; I binged in on the train, during lunch breaks and late into the evening. I’m just about to her start her new release Happy Place. She’s got a new book releasing next year, one that I will undoubtedly have to purchase. If you have any rom-com recommendations, send them through.
Natalie, your writing is so beautiful - I've really enjoyed the style of this post. Not a word wasted - and I landed right inside every scene you were describing. Awesome. 😊
“Solvitur Ambulondo” is a sign above my desk. Latin for “it is solved by walking.”