Somethings that got me though the past couple of weeks

in search of grounding and stillness

I’ve had some big personal life changes over the past couple of weeks, so I’ve allowed myself to really only consume and put out exactly what feels good and right for me in the moment. I think what it’s helped me understand is that’s really how I want to be living my life - period. I want to be making decisions and taking action based on what I feel I need, and not necessarily committing to anything permanently. It has meant that I haven’t been on social media very much at all, I haven’t felt like writing anything that anyone else is going to see, I haven’t been drinking alcohol, and I haven’t been very responsive to messages. I think that by allowing myself.. by giving myself permission.. it has taken the pressure off and meant that I’m coming out the other side more refreshed, more grounded, more whole, and more able to respond to messages, to show up for others, and to write. I think? I hope?
Anyways what this has also meant is that this edition of recommendations is what I’ve been consuming in it’s purest form. It might not be ground breaking, or cool, or even that interesting.. but it’s true and honest and I hope that means something to someone.

• Knitting
  I’ve been knitting alot lately! In my pre-library life I studied textiles and now textile making has become a significant art practice for me, that has absolutely nothing to do with profit or making money. It has felt so liberating, and I feel like I’ve regained my love for textiles. So as it is winter, I have been knitting because it just feels so right! My favourite source of inspiration lately has been a beautiful maker called Ranti Studio. Using her patterns I’ve been exploring textural and sculptural knitting, and it has been so satisfying, and beautiful. I feel like I’m creating mountains and valleys with my bare hands. It’s truly magic.
  This winter I had a goal of making a sweater, and learning how to read a knitting chart, and I have done both of those things! There is something about textile making that connects me to my ancestry and makes me feel so grounded in my place in the world. I think this kind of art making is so rooted in culture, and I’ve been finding so much inspiration from Black creatives in particular.
  (images from Ranti Studio website)

  

  

  
  

• Cannonball by Wesley Morris
  Still Processing, hosted by Wesley Morris and J Wortham, was (and still is!) my all-time favourite podcast. It wasn’t just a pop culture show, it felt like a refuge. Somewhere I felt I belonged! I love pop culture, and I love pop culture podcasts, but I often don’t feel like I’m the person they’re meant for. Still Processing was meant for me! It challenged me, helped me grow, and somehow always felt like it was coming straight from my own brain. It was nerdy, and cool, and smart, and soulful, and very Black!

  So to have Wesley’s voice back in my ears on a regular basis with Cannonball is heaven. Each episode carries that same mix of curiosity, warmth, and sharp cultural insight. Whether he’s unpacking The Bear with Samin Nosrat, diving into the complexities of the Diddy trial, or getting joyfully nerdy about Sinners. It’s the kind of conversation that meets you where you are and then takes you somewhere richer.

  If you’ve been missing that rare combination of pop culture, Black joy and genuine depth, Cannonball is it!
  

• Edna Lewis
  I came across this beautiful image a few years ago of Edna Lewis, the so-called “Mother of Soul Food”. She did more than share recipes… she wove the Southern land and her Blackness into haute cuisine. She foraged for berries, greens, and sassafras, letting the rhythms of earth, sun, rain, and seasons inform her cooking. She later translated that into cookbooks that were part memoir, part culinary poetry. This image embodies everything I aspire to be. I see myself in it.. older and so content and fulfilled. A life well lived. I recently purchased her cookbook and my plan is to slowly work my way through it, so I’ll keep you posted on how I go and what I feel.

  

  
  I want to write more about my love for cooking, and textiles, and fashion. I feel like they connect with what I’m trying to do with Murmur, but I just haven’t found the right thread yet. Books and reading is one side of me, and it is so intertwined with those other parts, that it feels only natural. It all feels so grounded in my culture and family and lineage. So stay tuned for more of those explorations!