Okay, I’ll confess. I’m not sure if The Offcuts in its current format is working. Or am I just overthinking? I’m worried it’s all a bit stale and that I’m boring you and hearing about things I’m reading or recommendations isn’t actually what you want at all and I’m completely missing the mark. I guess that’s somewhat the beauty of this. Of what ‘Drafting’ stands for and Substack as a whole. It’s okay to try things, change things and experiment. Would love to get your thoughts. Do you love The Offcuts as it is? Do you dread it? Do you have suggestions for the different snippets and topics? Let me know.
I started reading The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh. I’ve read a few things now by Clare, my favourite by far of which is the poignant After The End. I actually ended up reading it because a friend of mine, who runs her own book club, picked it for one of the monthly reads and managed to get Clare onto the Zoom call! I was craving a good crime thriller novel. I just finished watching yet another police-detective-crime-drama TV show and needed a new fix.
Yesterday on Instagram I saw a post by The New York Times about two men who were switched at birth at the Canadian hospital where they were born 67 years ago. Both men grew up believing they were of a different ethnicity than their biological one. The article looks at the impact of how racial heritage impacted both men growing up and how they feel about their identities now. I have the full article open in a tab and I can’t wait to devour it.
I’m in my Vinted era. My summer wardrobe has been propped up nearly entirely by great finds and new buys from Vinted. It feels good to be shopping more sustainably, giving unwanted clothes a new lease of life. One man’s trash and all that. Plus I hate paying full price for things. So as a certified bargain-hunter-voucher-code-predator, Vinted has been serving me well.
There is a snail endemic in my garden and I can’t deal with it anymore. They’re everywhere. On the window of the backdoor, on the patio furniture, and even in the bloody ashtray. It’s not so much the snails I have a problem with. I just wish we could come to some agreement about what constitutes acceptable boundaries if we are to co-exist.
When I journal and write down affirmations. It’s quite sporadic. Typically now just during a full moon or a new moon. Witchy. Something I usually include is “all we have is now”. I can be a worrier (see introduction above) so I find it useful to remind myself that thinking too much about future ifs, buts and maybes will get me nowhere. Try to stay present this week where you can and don’t sweat the stuff that hasn’t even happened yet.
