it's been a while!

i can’t believe summer is almost over! it felt really really short. this could be because i split the summer 50/50 between having fun with my friends and having an existential crisis about the passage of time. august specifically has been a blur, because i haven’t been at home for any of it. i was first at my friend ari’s family cabin with my friend group, then the day after that, i left for my grandma’s house. now i’m home! and i have one week before i leave for university.

it’s been a wonderful summer. i didn’t do a lot of the stuff i wanted to do (i did ZERO yoga and read literally one book) but i still had a super great time. i made so many memories with my friends who i’ll miss so much, and i spent a lot of nice time alone as well. i will admit that too much time was wasted cleaning my room and watching youtube… :/

anyway. i just wanted to talk about some stuff i loved this summer. so here we are!

biking

i got a new bike at the beginning of the summer and guys, it’s so pretty. it’s a cruiser, so it has wider handlebars and a comfortable seat, as opposed to my old bike which was very uncomfortable. plus it’s sage green and it has a dark brown basket!!! it can hold all my things!!! i’ve been going everywhere on my bike when i’m at home. evening rides are my favourite. it’s so pleasant to bike around in the golden light, with the wind against your skin, when it isn’t stiflingly hot outside.

going out for breakfast with friends

i’ve always wanted to be the sort of person who goes to diners with their friends, and IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!! dreams do come true :-) my friends and i started meeting up to get breakfast at a little diner near my house, and it’s been so lovely. the food is greasy spoon perfection and it’s not expensive. it’s a really nice start to the day, and it forces me to wake up early, which is good because i have a bad habit of sleeping in late. eating my eggs and hashbrowns in a diner makes me feel like i’m in a coming of age movie LMAO. which is appropriate because we are all “coming of age”!

making pie

ok i already talked about this on my blog… but the pie train did NOT stop. it just keeps on going. nothing will quench my urge to make pie. i recently learned how to make pie crust! my grandma taught me. now i am a self-sustaining pie maker, and i can make pies all year long. i’ve made five pies total this summer - not technically that many, but i’ve only been home half the summer, so cut me some slack. we’re at two butterscotch cinnamon pies, two blueberry peach pies, and a cherry pie! all turned out absolutely scrumptious. i can even do a half decent lattice :-)

embracing childlike whimsy

i think 2025/2026 is going to be the year i go full childlike whimsy. i went to a big dollar store with my friends a few weeks ago, and we kind of went crazy. it was like 8-year-old cadence was browsing those halls. i ended up buying nail polish, some kid jewelry, ribbons for crafts, a teenage mutant ninja turtle puzzle, a roll of bubblegum tape, and……. FAIRY WINGS!!! i love them so much. i felt like a kid again, walking around wearing my fairy wings and drinking a slurpee. i’ve been wearing them as much as possible since. it makes me so happy to just listen to my “inner child” and i don’t want to stop now that i’ve started!

side note: shoutout to my friends for enthusiastically supporting my childish shenanigans. they don’t just tolerate my silliness, they want me to be myself, and i’ll always be grateful for that. 

the library

the library is ALWAYS a favourite. but i’ve been constantly popping in because i have so much free time. have i read any of the books i borrow? …no comment. but i like to flip through the classics and all the nonfiction books about birds and trees. plus, the public library is just a great space to hang out and write/read/draw/work. and i’ve been using their printer services a ton. definitely check out your local library if you don’t already!

crafting and journalling

i’ve done it. i’ve found the best way to spend downtime. step one is to put on either a dumb show (ginny and georgia) or a comfort show (lockwood & co), and step two is to craft until your fingers hurt. i’ve been doing a lot of collages in my journal, and the journal my friend group passes around. i also made a bunch of zines - i love making zines, and i’m also very passionate about the history and culture of zines. and for something different, i painted a moth mask with watercolour!

AURORA

for some reason, my AURORA obsession returns with a vengeance every summer. it’s the best season for her music! aurora’s clear, angelic voice just matches the sunny days spent outside. i’ve also been reading and watching a bunch of her interviews. her personality and viewpoint are so refreshing and genuine. i truly admire her creativity, authenticity, and activism, and her music makes me feel good to be myself and be openly autistic.

fountain pen

much like my bicycle, i got my first fountain pen at the beginning of the summer! it’s been an absolute blessing. it’s a simple pen, a lamy safari in dark blue, but it writes so smoothly. i love writing with it so much. i always knew i would go down the fountain pen rabbit hole someday… my beloved mother had an intense fountain pen obsession. for her 50th birthday, her siblings gave her an engraved pen that cost multiple hundred dollars. insane. i have my sights set on a kaweco sport next…

deltarune

 i LOVE deltarune. it’s taken me ages to play because i’m slow as hell and play in sporadic increments, but i just love it! i am filled with intense emotion when i think about any of the characters. ralsei is my favourite… but i love all of the fun gang… susie’s character arc makes me want to weep with joy and i relate to kris so much, i feel so bad for possessing them.

but i must confess… i haven’t played undertale yet! i somehow missed when undertale took over the internet back in the day. i was on deviantart and wattpad and everything! i guess i was too busy warriorcatsmaxxing. i really want to play undertale next, but i’ll have to wait until i come back home for christmas, because i’m so ass at combat that i make my brother fight all the bosses. deltarune is such a brilliant and beautiful game, i’m so excited to finally play undertale and even more excited for chapter 5. crazy that it’s coming out next year!

what else have i done this summer? i spent time in nature, spent time with my loved ones, and engaged in all manners of creative shenanigans. rapid-fire list of projects i dabbled in: middle grade fantasy i’ve been working on for five years, diary in fairy tale form, poems, short stories, magical realism in modern-day edinburgh, and nonlinear medieval dark fantasy. all of them incomplete, but i had fun!

i have a lot to do before i leave in a week… i have to pack, throw my birthday party, and say goodbye to all my friends. i know lots and lots of people do it all the time, but it still feels insurmountably difficult and sad to leave my home and loved ones. even if it isn’t forever. i’ll probably write more about it in a different post, because i’m so nervous i can’t even get into it here.

but i’m also excited for university! there’s lots to look forward to. i want to do a post about that as well, because my excitement almost rivals my anxiety and pre-emptive homesickness. i get to read cool books in a cool place… what’s not to love?