01. I had the great pleasure of seeing Elizabeth Gilbert speak this week (she deliberately pulled some silly poses at the beginning and said ‘Take your photo now, and then you can turn your phone off.’)

I filled a notebook. She had lots to say about –

• not living a life of ‘purpose’, riddled with panic-inducing ‘purpose-anxiety’ but instead living a life of ‘presence’ – of presence she spoke of ‘attending’ to what is in front of you.
• words associated with women that ‘change the world’ are brilliant, brave, strong, resilient etc – “…but that’s all women. The only word that would really change the world is ‘relaxed’. How many relaxed women are there? The most relaxed person in the room holds the power. Not bullshit capitalist power… it’s the person who is present.”
• noting that you can’t be in ‘fear’ and ‘curiosity’ at the same time – “The cure for anxiety is curiosity.” (Here she referred to the work of Byron Katie).
• feelings of depression, anxiety and overwhelm – “It’s part of Earth’s curriculum. Have you ever met anyone who says of life, ‘It’s easy!’, ‘I’m killing it!’, ‘It’s straightforward.’?!”
• boundaries (one of my favourite topics!). And a big yes to her statements that the “…angriest people are those with the worst boundaries” and “Upholding boundaries means you’ll have people not pleased with you.”

02. Needless to say, I can’t wait for Gilbert’s forthcoming grief memoir, All the Way to the River.

03. Cooking: I have a favourite granola recipe so when I announced to the family I was trying a new granola recipe there was unrest. But the new recipe is good.

04. Pastel nail polish – this lemon and this blue.

05. Stripey candles.

06. MICF had their big comedy sale – $25 tickets. Yay! Scored some cheap seats for Bronwyn Kuss, Nath Valvo and Ray O’Leary.

07. Lastly, there’s ordinary libraries and then there’s this… (thank you to the person who gave Mr. Books a box of Koko Black that he immediately handed to me).