hooks for

weekly review

w15: sunday review

forgot to post sunday. was I a) scrolling too hard or b) not aware it was sunday because time has no meaning to the retired? both.gif things i intended to do and did: * planted the hazel (in lawn, between pear and plum, always pleased at how much topsoil we

journalling

w14: sunday review

things i intended to do and did: * took Priscilla to the vet for her vaccines; * kept the pea and cucumber seed trays watered & warm; * deleted the two listings I had on Kindle Direct Publishing; * pasted the stories from those docs into draft posts, to hit publish later; * deleted my

list

2025 march reading roundup

generated by thestorygraph where my username is also hooksforeverything Last time i did one of these i ground out amazon referral links to the ones I recommended. imagine me thinking I was hustling. I didn't pay a penny for any of these and nor should you. I am

spring

w13: sunday review

well, it's been a quiet week here in lake hooksforeverything. things i intended to do and did: * cleared the conservatory tables and started peas and cucumber seeds; * removed spiteful comments from my assignment and uploaded; * kept my phone in greyscale all week (except for that ten minutes I

spring

w11: sunday review

things I intended to do and did: * delete Reddit account and block the domain; * check the contents of the go bags; * some admin for another person that was useful to them and took HOURS but uninteresting to you; * attend second course tutorial (see 'things I did not enjoy'

crafts

w11: friday craft roundup

It's not been a particularly crafty week. Not a bad week! just doing other things. There is a grey and teal double crochet Flat Thing in progress at the back of my desk - it might become a scarf, or a shawl, or a bedspread, depending on when

spring

w11: monday small mercies

I used to be mutuals with a woman who posted a list of things that made her happy, each Monday, and at the time I was like 'what must it be like to have a skull full of pink gladioli without even any medication' but I've

spring

ghost post 1 (prev were originally in wordpress or substack)

Perhaps this time. I wonder if DNS migration got any easier in the 20 years since I last did one? Well, I've put forwarding on. and nobody is typing in domain names any more anyway. the kids these days are all about the clicking. The poster’s guide

crone energy

I shan't be an asset

From under the dogs, I reinstalled Instagram and started unfollowing accounts, and then making other accounts unfollow me quietly. Updated my 'bio' to say I wasn't there anymore. Messaged a handful of people to ask if they post anywhere else and to say if they don&

autumn

blackberries, Virginia, & Anne

It's Michaelmas. Today the devil spits on the blackberries, and I could cut the hedge. I'm reading Virginia, I'm reading Anne, I'm listening to Beth, I'm listening to Polly. The bookmark I found for Anne is a postcard printed with

summer

Potatoes now, cape later

Last time I spoke with my aunt (long plaits, vegetable garden, spinning wheel) she asked oh so casually, just checking in, whether I still thought moving out of the city was the right thing for us. Oh my gosh, yes, absolutely, no question, I vagued. I must have sounded like

outlining

not a story not about time travel

I know I have an idea. I know I already have a thousand ideas and if I do something to them others will turn up. Writing prompts are already ideas. A story generator only gives you something to DO to an idea you already have. Today it says 'This

journalling

Philosophy for opting out

When we turn to ancient Chinese society, we find two "philosophical" traditions playing complementary parts-Confucianism and Taoism. Generally speaking, the former concerns itself with the linguistic, ethical, legal, and ritual conventions which provide the society with its system of communication. Confucianism, in other words, preoccupies itself with conventional

spring

across the bus

There's a girl across the bus and all I can see is yellow sleeves, white hands and a pound of silver rings Are they the rings you put on every day, I don't ask, or do you choose the mood from a dish of a dozen

my fiction

Tell me a story about magic

Ideas from that list I keep

spring

my indulgences are earth, now

it's spring again and the plum blossom is dropping messy metaphors all over my walk. I am at least a year older than I was this time last year and possibly more. my indulgences are earth, now time spent away from my desk time spent more answering time

blue sky white lawn

Lateral flow tests Tuesday and Thursday, negative. Work Monday Wednesday Saturday. I replaced a broken socket box, a little nervous to be working with mains power again but resetting the oven clock was the most complex part. We planted the broad beans out and put mesh over them. It'

winter

Well, we moved house again

I was so scared for months - it's been an elderly lady's house and Anything Could Have Happened to prevent the sale going through - I was genuinely sick with worry. But we're in. It's in the countryside, or a village of

my fiction

Lark's Guests 638w

638 words! It's not even half way to target, but it's 638 more than I wrote in October. Half past nine, and the Midsummer party had fillled the first lawn. From the terrace, Martha watched with careful detachment as the villagers clustered in chatty groups, glasses

my fiction

Tell me a story about cats

This one started from 'a warehouseman with a personal doom prophecy’ and drifted a lot. First I decided that the prophecy would make him afraid of cats, then I made the family think he SHOULD be afraid of cats but he really liked them, then I scrapped the prophecy

my fiction

Tell me a story about time travel

The generator for this one was ex-wife x time travel x slaying the monster. I considered making the ex-wife the monster but… maybe when I've had more practice. 1. It's her first day of close protection work with the time travelling affable businessman, and we'

my fiction

Tell me a story - about healing

Where do I get my ideas from? Sometimes I pair randomly selected careers with types of conflict. Here’s what came out of pairing forester with theology: In a village between forests, a middle aged priest goes about his week, pleasant to some and unpleasant to others. The mayor goads

my fiction

Outlining - Sarah Harper And The Money

I have a note here that must have been a story idea. A poet embedded herself with trust fund spiritualists at the home of a man of state whose letters are being assessed for publication. That's a setup not a plot, of course. I think I meant the

my fiction

Tell me a story - about charity

Tell me a story about how people use charity. Say there's this ongoing contest, present day or hereabouts, & some billionaire (not the one you're thinking of) has decided that they will give away five million a month to a charity. The charity each month is

journalling

late summer field, wet dog

I'm so glad I went out of the city and got some video at the weekend - I was at risk of having three YouTube uploads in a row being unboxing of purchases, and I've spent so long making that not my vibe! There's