Blackout Progress: August Love Letter
It's all coming together, y'all.
This month, I spent a few days in the mountains with my friend Jess. She’s a fantastic woman/friend/parent/artist/general person, and we both needed a quick break to reset our minds, so we headed to the Von Stein cabin in Bryson City, NC.
We ate so much delicious food, shopped at some killer thrift stores (and one hoarder motel that was not the treasure trove I had hoped), and crafted our brains out!
Don’t worry, fam. I cleaned up my 9,876 paper scraps!
This was the result! These blackout poems are part of the bigger story I am trying to tell, but they’re not in order. I mostly layered and made backgrounds as I wanted and then figured out a few poems that went with the background. For the most part anyway. On the bottom left, I “wove” the quilt on purpose from a tourist map of Bryson City and an old textbook that belonged to my Papa Floyd.
Unrelated to crafting but totally related to art, here is a photo of the most delicious art I have ever experienced: Pineapple Dream Whip from Darnell Farms.
It is summer in a cup. Run to Darnell Farms, people. RUN. It is so good, and they have so much to offer in regards to family fun, and they also sell farm fresh goods. I have never been disappointed by my experiences there!
And now, for your added enjoyment, here is a photo of me attempting to explain my blackout story to Jess from the cabin’s living room floor.
I feel like if I had some yarn and a cigarette, I could be this guy:
LISTENING/READING/WATCHING/WRITING
LISTENING:
I started listening to a podcast called Nobody Should Believe Me. The host’s sister was accused of Munchausen by Proxy, and as part of her attempts to understand more about it, she follows a few cases and the children who survived it. It’s so mind-bending how a mother could purposely hurt her children while at the same time, obviously needing some mental health help. It’s a wild ride.
I also have been OBSESSING over this song. My sister introduced me to this song a while ago, but I learned it to sing at church. It WRECKS me. So good. Every version I’ve heard, I’ve loved. And THAT is the mark of a well-written song.
READING:
I finished the ACOTAR series. I am stricken and afflicted. How is a person supposed to just walk around in the world after the devastation that happened in the last three books?! My favorites of the series are A Court of Mist and Fury and A Court of Silver Flame. Silver Flame. Silver Flame departs from the POV of Feyre and Rhys, and we get to learn more about Nesta and Cassian. What I really love about it is Nesta’s character development. I enjoyed the series, but again, they are not young adult books. New Adult is a relatively new genre, and it definitely has adult themes.
Also, the memes. So many hilarious memes about this series out there!
WATCHING:
Jared and I started rewatching Community. We watched it once upon a time before we moved, and it’s basically like a new show to me because I remembered none of it. My favorite character is Abed Nadir. We’re in the 4th or 5th season now, and it’s been fun watching his character grow and change despite almost being a caricature in the first seasons.
Jess and I watched Now and Then while we were at the cabin, and we both agree that Roberta is the real star of the movie. I love everything about her, and honestly, it was my childhood dream to kiss Devon Sawa on a swing.
WRITING:
I am kicking butt and taking names on The River Woman Project. I’m at 30,571 words! It’s funny because most days I feel like I am barely plugging along. For example, I wrote 7 words yesterday. S-E-V-E-N. But other days I’ll knock out 2,000! Its all writing and any progress is good progress, right? Jess helped me brainstorm a plot point I was stuck on, so I am excited to get down to business and fix it!
If you’re in Georgia, I hope you’re staying cool in this heatwave. Our little pool finally gave up the ghost and I am so sad about it. Am I too old for popsicles and running through the sprinkler?
I hope your days are full of AC and Dream Whip.
Love, Tristan
P. S. This is what I think the inside of my brain looks like.
