Fun Adventures Close to Home
Plus, my first clay project & how to handle food for book clubs
Notes from a Kindred Spirit is a bi-weekly newsletter about embracing curiosity, exploring hobbies, living with chronic illness, and finding contentment in the everyday.
Hi friends,
It was my husband’s birthday at the end of April, and to celebrate, we went for a day trip to a nearby community we hadn’t visited since we moved to the area in 2022.
It was a beautiful day and we had so much fun!
We started with a short hike to see a gorgeous waterfall on a river. The water was moving very fast with all the spring snowmelt coming off the mountains! Next, we went into town and treated ourselves to delicious donuts and drinks at a shop that so many people told us was a must-visit—they weren’t wrong!
After window shopping along the main street, we headed out for another hike. This time, we visited a large bay where many locals say you can spot marine life. Sadly, our streak of bad luck continued, and we didn’t see any seals or sea lions! But the views were stunning, and we sat on one of the many logs washed up on shore to take it in.
This one-day road trip was a great reminder that your plans don’t have to be elaborate and you don’t have to go very far from home to have a great time.
I went to my first-ever clay workshop this week!
It was a patterned tumbler class, and we spent the time building our tumblers from a slab of clay. Soon, I’ll get to go back and paint and glaze it. I enjoyed the process of moulding and shaping the clay with my hands and some small tools with a bit of water.
I’m excited to see how it turns out!
Have you ever done a project with clay? If you have, what’s your favourite thing to make?
Don’t let the anxiety-inducing idea of hosting and providing food scare you away from joining or starting an in-person book club!
Here are some ideas to make it less stressful:
Set up a rotating schedule of who will bring the food
Do it potluck-style with everyone pitching in
Meet after supper, so only drinks need to be served, like tea or wine
And, if it’s too much effort or pressure for members to bring food (or everyone’s just sick of cooking—we’ve all been there!), consider meeting at a local restaurant or coffee shop.
📵 I think we could all benefit from this: “How To Create A Digital Minimalism Practice And Protect Your Mental Peace”
🌸 16 generations of sakuramori (cherry blossom guardians) in one family: “Japan's 97-year-old cherry blossom guardian”
❓ “So what do you do all day?” And other questions that aren’t actually questions from Jill Holly
Over to you! Do you have any day trips planned for this summer? Is there somewhere nearby you’ve been meaning to visit but haven’t yet? Maybe this is your sign!
P.S. I have 3 digital products available in the Notion Marketplace!
📚 BOOK CLUB HUB for the book club host who wants to organize their club with ease so they can focus on the fun part—reading good books and chatting about them with friends! It’s perfect for small to medium virtual or in-person clubs.
📖 CURATED BOOK LISTS for the book club host or bookworm who doesn’t know what to read next.
🎁 GIFT PLANNER & TRACKER to help you organize birthday and holiday shopping and stay on budget.
I have been doing fusion glass. I love it. Started in Mesa at our park and have done one piece here at home.
Oh, I can't wait to see how you decorate your tumbler! I really enjoyed the pottery class my friend invited me to last year. It was such a break from the usual and a great dose of creative new-ness!
I love a good day trip. We are only camping and day tripping this summer break for vacation, but I'm looking forward to spending a day at a museum we haven't managed to make it to yet!