Hi friends,
Happy 2023!
I took more time off from this project than I expected. During my break, I wrote a lot (more on that below). Plus, I took a trip to see a dear friend, snuggled with Ursula the Cat, biked in the rain, and tried to drink all the coffee. It was a blast!
I'm not a fan of making firm new year's resolutions. However, I want 2023 to be a big creative year. I'm going to follow my curiosity and see how that shapes my creative life. I’ll write more about this process in future newsletters.
With that, here is a round-up of links that sparked my creativity and curiosity recently:
1.) I’m doing freelance writing for my friend Courtney Carver. She runs a lovely website called Be more with less. This writing project has given me a confidence boost and it's been fun! Check out my latest articles:
2.) During my holiday break, I baked ten cakes! I also made cookies and muffins. It was a delight to eat all the treats, and share them with loved ones. Most of recipes were sourced from a beautiful cookbook called — Gâteau: The Surprising Simplicity of French Cakes by Aleksandra Crapanzano.
3.) A few weeks ago, I went to the eye doctor because I had a feeling I needed reading glasses. I was right! I needed glasses. Now, I have a few sets of "readers" throughout the house and I love them!
My favorite purchase of January: Reading glasses from EyeBuyDirect.
4.) During December, I read Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon, Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro, and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Gramus. Each book got me out of my head and into another world. Reading these stories made me want to write another book.
5.) Looking for inspiration to spend less time on your phone? Read: "’Luddite’ Teens Don’t Want Your Likes: When the only thing better than a flip phone is no phone at all."
6.) I'm a fan of Jillian Hess' newsletter, Noted. Her first newsletter of 2023 was filled with fun ideas to “kick-start a new year of journaling.”
7.) Want to learn about the California floods?
Listen to The Daily's episode on the topic. In the segment, the journalists talk about why California's “water management in the past has made today’s flooding worse and why it represents a missed opportunity for the future of the state’s water crisis.”
I learned a lot from this segment!
Thanks for reading and subscribing!
If you enjoyed this letter, hit the heart button below.
You can also support my work through Buy Me a Coffee or by sharing my letter with a friend.
Have a good one!
With gratitude,
Tammy Strobel
I absolutely loved Lessons in Chemistry! I recommend The Maid by Nita Prose if you haven’t read it yet. I also love the photo of Ursula! I’m with you in hoping to have a more creative year in 2023. I just started a guided tarot card workbook “to unlock and explore your magical intuition”. I have a set of Cat Tarot cards I bought years ago that I got tired of let gather dust on a shelf!
PS. I really enjoyed the journaling class you taught for Courtney!