little joys and little sorrows #12

reflecting on april: the joys of annual leave, ai music, elena ferrante, first time at a spa, permanent flower fixtures and more

hello quiet readers,

it’s the last day of april, and what a perfect time it is to look back on the month fondly, or not so fondly. both are fine here. how has april treated you? do you have lots to be grateful for or perhaps you’re really looking forward to everything may has to offer. we saw a few cloudy days towards the end of the month here in the uk, but things are already beginning to brighten up. what is it they say? april showers bring may flowers. i love that saying. personally, i can’t wait to see the world stretch it’s limbs and open its petals and branches even wider to prepare for even longer days in the seemingly never-ending sunshine. what a time to be alive!

as always, i love reading your own little joys and little sorrows in the comments, so don’t forget to pop some of your own down there as your little gratitude practice for the month.

let’s get into the lists:

little joys

• i obviously have to start this list with thanking the 4,500 of you who have joined the finding quiet substack! i am overjoyed, overwhelmed by your positivity and support and i’m so incredibly happy you’re all here. no matter how many people complain about slow/quiet living “content” and how all the delete social media rhetoric is annoying, you will have to pry those talking points out of my cold, dead hands. i will never stop. and all of you here prove that this is a topic people care about

• getting back into monthly wrap up bullet journal spreads again — you can watch how my april went here

• i took just over a week off from work which felt like actual heaven

• seeing the movie flow in the cinema with a friend, it was so lovely! a little heart-wrenching at times but would definitely recommend, the cat is so cute

• my determination to have flowers in my living room at all times and loving how much it brightens up the room, especially when the sun rests on them

• also enjoying the slower process of cutting their stems and arranging them to my liking, like its very own form of art and expression

• finishing 4 books this month! i’m finally in my devouring books stage of the year. i will be doing reviews of them all on my youtube channel but the first one is already up here

• having my first spa experience! it was… interesting but fun nonetheless and doing something new gave me the perfect amount of excited nervousness

• taking a trip to the countryside with my partner for a few days and soaking up the complete silence around the little annex we stayed in. so nourishing and perfect. my ears definitely needed a break from the constant noise of road traffic i get at home, god. i wrote about the perfect view we had here

• hunting for discount easter eggs with my partner on easter monday and tuesday which was hilarious, mostly because i came back with three and he couldn’t find any (dw he got his fix on the tuesday)

• also capitalism has gone mad. we refused to buy easter eggs until easter monday and did not give in to all the shops who had them out since JANUARY. JANUARY! we know what you’re up to big easter!! i got three easter eggs for £7 and that’s all you’re getting from me every year!!

• i mentioned a while ago that i bought elena ferrante’s entire quartet in the charity shop for £8 without ever reading her and i’m pleased to report that i absolutely love her prose. no regrets here

• for the first time ever, one of my plants has rebloomed! i’ve seen this plant, gifted to me by my mum last year, with flowers, watched them crisp and fall off in the winter and now that spring is here it’s blooming flowers once again! i am in complete awe watching it come back to life like this, it’s incredible.

• i swear i was born before 2000 but finding the joys of radio again?

• there’s just something about spring that makes me so full of joy and i’m soaking up every last bit. glad to be in a good headspace at the moment

little sorrows

• ai music. get away from me.

• putting so much oat milk in my tea it gets cold too quickly

• going back to work after my holiday and having to use ai at work again

• realising just how full and fun my life is without the constraints of my day job

• i’ve been neglecting my stream of consciousness journal for a while but it’s not so bad because now i have lots to write about!

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thank you for reading. don’t forget to drop some of your little joys and little sorrows in the comments.

here is the last instalment if you missed it, here is my last post on my short trip to the countryside and here is my latest youtube video of me creating an april wrap up bullet journal spread.

thank you so much for being here. if you can, please consider upgrading your subscription to hear more from me. i’ll see you next wednesday <3