AIMING to try one new crafty, creative thing each month this year. I missed January (oh well), I crocheted a small basket in February, I ordered and completed a custom puzzle in March, and I plan to tackle this paint-by-numbers this month. What comes after that, I don’t yet know.

CUTTING back on what and how often I buy from Amazon. I’m doing my best to buy local when possible, and to limit ordering from Amazon to once a week at most.
DEBATING whether to invest in a Skylight (or similar) Calendar. While my household consists of just two of us—my son and me—there is a lot of friction between us. We both struggle with executive function-heavy tasks, and my autism and his ADHD clash to near-death daily, especially over household chores and responsibilities. I think having a centralized, always-visible, clear display of our schedules and chores would help dissipate some—enough—of said friction and clashing.
DUSTING off the pile of memorykeeping projects that fell victim to my autistic inertia and spent the winter in a bin in the basement, and hoping that bringing them back into my daily field of vision will somehow be enough to coax my brain out of the prison of itself and make progress on at least one of them.
FINDING so much inspiration in Uzo Njuko—in her creativity and vision and dedication and determination, in her confidence in herself and her work, in her openness in sharing her creative and business processes and experiences on Twitter.
HYPERFIXATING on preparing for the triple-digit heat later summer will bring, as a heat-intolerant renter living in 85-year-old apartment with large, single-pane, south-facing windows and no AC.
LISTENING to (and loving!) the Obitchuary podcast. I started from the very beginning in January and just finished the 100th episode over the weekend, which means I’m still two years behind, which means I still have so many episodes to listen to, yay! Spencer and Mr. Eyes’s friendship brings me so much joy—theirs is the type of companionship I yearn for.
LOOKING very forward to the first batch of big-bouquet gym flowers of the year. The other week the flower farmer and florist who goes to the same gym as I do brought in the first batch of small bouquets of the year—the most airy, delicate, and softly colored daffodils I’ve ever seen. I cannot wait for the bigger bouquets.

MAKING this year’s summer bucket list, which so far includes a lot of the same (or similar) items as last year’s.
MOURNING the sudden and unexpected loss of the only planner I’ve ever loved and actually consistently used (I used it every single day for more than FOUR YEARS), after the brand recently completely changed the design and layout and content of said planner’s pages so significantly that they essentially created a new product—one that is not compatible with my brain—without any notice or explanation! I found out only when my most recent shipment arrived. I was, without exaggeration, devastated. I’ve been looking for an adequate replacement for weeks and have yet to find anything that will do. Sad! (I’m autistic! I’m not good with change! Especially unexpected change! And extra especially unexpected change to a tool I’ve used daily for nearly five years to help me manage my extremely fucked-up executive dysfunction.)
NEARING the end of my Portland Movie Theater Project, with just a few theaters left on the list. I’m not sure yet how I’ll document this project, or if a physical memorykeeping project will even come of it. We’ll see.
OBSESSING over my fresh-off-the-press Betty White stamps—and inventing reasons to send happy mail to the three friends I have, all of whom live thousands of miles away, so I have a reason to use—and brighten someone else’s day with!—them. I’m also in love with these forthcoming Goodnight Moon stamps.
READING the essay collection Y2K: How the 2000s Became Everything (also sometimes (?) titled Y2K: A Witty and Poignant Reflection on Recent HistoryThrough a Contemporary Lens, See How Y2K Shaped Our Past, Present, and Future) by Colette Shade and…
REMINISCING about Orbitz soda and Fruitopia “juice” and dELiA*s and Alloy and inflatable furniture and Afterthoughts and the Icing and Claire’s and Donkey Kong and A/S/L and TRL and Nokia phones and cucumber melon everything and boy bands and spaghetti strap tank tops and frosted wet n wild makeup and Special K cereal and Beanie Babies and boomboxes and Sam Goody and Border’s and Dickies and studded belts and puka shell necklaces and black Steve Madden platform wedge sandals and butterfly clips and translucent electronics and the cool S and dial-up and the magazine aisle at the grocery store and a million trillion other turn-of-the-century relics.
SPENDING as much time outside as possible before it becomes too hot to breathe. On the days it’s nice out, I live my quiet little life in the patch of grass in front of my apartment, and, in the evenings, on the steps out back—soaking in the sun, reading books, listening to podcasts, working out, eating lunch and dinner, scrolling Twitter, watching YouTube videos, watching the birds and sometimes the bugs, simply existing, etc.
STOCKING up on puzzles from the Portland Puzzle Exchange so that when, come July and August and several random days in September and October, it’s too damn hot to do anything except stay inside and lie on the floor and barely move, I have something low-commitment, low-pressure, and enjoyable to help me pass the time.
THINKING a lot about how grateful I am that my kids had the privilege of living the vast majority of their childhoods pre-COVID, and that I had the privilege of parenting them through that phase of life pre-COVID. As someone who is still-COVIDing, I have so much empathy and compassion for everyone else who is also still-COVIDing, especially the parents of younger kids.
WATCHING (finally! (for the first time ever!)) Grey’s Anatomy. I’m roughly halfway through season 12 (I finally made it to the infamous Elisabeth Finch storyline last night) and, frankly, surprised by how much I like the show. Lucky for me, I’ve got at least 10 more seasons to enjoy.
WORKING on establishing a consistent practice of genuine gratitude, which does not come to me naturally or easily or comfortably. I’ve started by making a list of the things I like about my apartment, the place I spend most of my time and the thing about which I spend much of my time complaining. This apartment is tiny and ancient and not my ideal home. This apartment is also a blessing, and there are plenty of things I like and love and appreciate about it. The list I’m drafting is meant to help me remember—and focus on—the latter perspective more often than the former.
WRITING this post on my phone in the middle of yet another sleepless night. Such is the burden of the autistic brain. Woof.