The Kitchen Table Chronicles - Seemingly a lot of Taylor Swift.

Thunderbolts*, White Lotus, Ernest Hemingway, thieving sheep, prom and Taylor Swift.

TV, film, Taylor Swift and Ernest Hemingway. Not two names I would immediately think of as sitting together in the same sentence, but now I think of it, not such an oddity. Also thieving sheep.

The Kitchen Table Chronicles

Notes on good things shared from the place all the best conversations happen, straight from my kitchen table, to you.

Genuine conversation from the kitchen table

Prom. Exams. How prom is the second most important celebration in life (second only to your wedding day as stated by the one that isn’t going to prom for another two years). Why lunch funds have been overspent (apparently it’s impossible to manage a day without waffles). Who has their elbow on whose side of the table (when nobody should have elbows on tables really). Meal times are honestly a seriously special kind of fun right now.

Watching

Who had their heart breaking and tears streaming down their face at the cinema as they watch the Thunderbolts* movie on their bingo card for this month? Not me. And yet there I was, thinking one moment that the hype I had seen about the film had been just that, to the next moment feeling like someone was cutting my heart in two with a rusty bread knife.

I’m a huge fan of Marvel. I didn’t ever see that coming, I refused to watch it even when A tried to tell me “no really, it’s actually quite good” (about Thor) and yet during the pandemic it was a saviour to the whole family. One of those things that I think had been saving itself to appear at the right time.

The last few films have been a bit “meh”, I don’t usually describe things that way but it seems oddly apt. This one feels like the studio’s decision to slow down and focus on stories rather than trying to pump out a huge volume of content each year has brought them back. A good storyline being the backbone of the film, rather than its featuring stars and special effects being the prominent pull.

I don’t think I will ruin it (but if you’re worried about spoilers, skip to the next paragraph) by saying that there is a scene where multiple characters (I feel weird calling them characters actually, we know them so well we’re on first name terms with them and many have been part of our lives for the past half a decade, I digress) hold a central character and honestly, that scene felt like a meme of my life during my Taylor Swift Rehab Era. Each character representing an album / era, holding me, bringing light back to my life. It was a powerful scene and one that will probably stay with me for a long time given the meaning it holds for me.

T.V - I finished White Lotus. I don’t know what it is about that show. It’s such a simple and almost boring premise, yet oddly compelling. I’m note sure about there being a season four though. But then, I’m kind of intrigued by Belinda effectively becoming Tanya and what name Greg / Gary might pop up by next. I appreciate this might not mean much to you, nothing at all in fact, if you haven’t watched it. It’s hard to describe the intrigue brought essentially by tourists visiting a different branch of a hotel chain, with a few crossover characters but an otherwise entirely new crew each season. As I said, boring premise, but oddly compelling.

On the record player

I’ve been working a bit beyond my personal capacity because my aspirations run in a different time zone to my physical body, so it has been “reputation” (Taylor Swift) all the way. That is my go-to energising album. I put this Note out asking what energises you, there have been some great replies so far. I’m making a playlist and would love to add the song that motivates you, pumps you up, lifts your mood. Either add it to the Note or in the comments below.

A last minute addition - I literally just got back from the cinema having seen The Ballad of Wallis Island. It has a really lovely soundtrack and I’d recommend seeing it. A rom-com in a really unassuming, dry-witted way. Rom-com probably isn’t the right tag for it, but it’s the closest I can think of.

Towering on the nightstand (because it’s perfectly normal to have a book stack that looks like The Leaning Tower of Pisa)

Currently reading The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. I didn’t know much about him other than that he spent time in Cuba (wish I’d paid more attention when we were there now) and wrote the original Six Word Story "For sale: baby shoes, never worn". I’m only managing a couple of paragraphs a night, but after a big stint of not reading after the head injury happened I made a pact with myself to read everyday, even if just a few sentences. I like it so far.

What’s going on in the garden?

I spoke last time about leaning into your dream life, then I wrote this (and this slightly more instructional one for my paid subscribers).

Needless to say, lots going on in the garden (tomatoes are growing nicely, cucumbers seem to be having a bit of a moody wobble about being moved into a bigger pot, I’ve put some extra seeds in with them just in case, easier to thin out than be left with nothing) and a whole bunch of seeds sown yesterday that will, if all goes well, make more flowers than I have space for. The little greenhouse is a game changer in this respect - no more tripping over trays of seeds on the living room floor!

My flower beds on the other hand - have been attacked by the sheep that roam freely in our village.

It’s funny how idyllic something can seem, until it’s snacking on your perennials.

We were under the impression they didn’t eat anything flavourful (mint and lavender are safe) and this theory has been blown out of the water, sadly. Chamomile and fennel both decimated. Lilac and magnolia nibbled. Tops of the potato plants given a Vanilla Ice haircut, which is interesting as I have a feeling they might be poisonous to them.

Foods on the table lately…

Enchiladas. There is something deeply satisfying about melted cheese that just feels like a hug on a plate. These always go down well with everyone, no complaints, easy to eat in front of a movie or T.V show, super simple to make. Wondering if I should share our recipe? Let me know if that’s of interest to you.

Soul nourishing

The feeling of achieving something. For the past few years I’ve been travelling at a snails pace, feeling small whilst I watch everyone zoom past in fancy cars (it’s a flawed image but you get the idea). This past few weeks I’ve felt like I’ve actually achieved things with the introduction of a new “About” page and (re)launching my paid subscription offer. It’s small fry compared to what many of you are doing, I know, but a big win for me and feels nice to have some forward momentum again. I know that I’m going to have to slow down again now, pains in my head and terrible vision have popped up again like a meerkat out of a hole to remind me that the head injury is still problematic. All the same, I’m glad to be making magic with and for you.

Also soul nourishing - it’s silly perhaps, but Taylor Swift getting her masters back has brought me joy. There seemed to be a palpable air of celebration in the fandom and I’m just glad that after her music has given so much to people, it brings her soulful joy too.

If you know someone who would like to join us at the kitchen table, invite them!

I’ve made a chat space here to dive into anything above. Anything at all really and I’d love for you to join me at the virtual kitchen table (cup of chamomile being brewed right now, not fresh obviously, because the sheep ate it).

What have you been watching / reading / growing / eating / listening to / nourishing your soul with? If you’ve got something good that doesn’t feature in that list, I would love to hear about that too. Be sure to leave your kitchen table talk in the comments below, or over on the chat - conversation very much encouraged.

With love,

V.V