It feels like the weeks are short but the months are even shorter because I am NOT prepared for August. It’s been a very hectic July for me and I’m not sure if I’ve fully collected all my thoughts but I’m here to try and do a round-up of the month!

What I’m Reading

As you can tell, I did a mini-series on travelling/books based on two countries because that’s where I’ve travelled to this year and what I’ve been reading up on! That kind of made me realise that if I wanted to, I could spent the whole year reading thematically and never finish so my goal for August is to post what I’ve read about folklore… but perhaps I’ll finish another book or two first?

In terms of actual reading, I’ve been spending more time reading the fourth book of The Apocathery Diaries in Japanese than any other book. This light novel is a lot longer than My Happy Marriage (which I talked about here) so it’s taking a bit more time for me to finish. After that… I think I’ve still got books five and six! I also found my old copy of I Am A Cat by Natsume Soseki so I’m quite excited to reread that.

When I’m done with all that, I suppose I should start on my TBR list before I buy/borrow any more books!

Crochet Updates

I have managed to finish two crochet pieces! The first is this Ghibli bag, which was a lot smaller than expected but a good size if I just need my keys and phone when I go out. The only downside is that I forgot to add a clasp to it (I could, but the lining is already sewn on) so it’s not great if I go anywhere where pickpocketing might be an issue.

The other thing I finished was this cute little octopus pouch – I was testing to see how much yarn it takes and it’s not a lot! It’s quite a quick project to do as well.

At the moment, I’ve got two projects that I’ve started. I don’t think I’ll finish both in August as they are pretty big projects but I hope to finish at least one!

Other updates

I have been considering moving my mailing list over to substack (because it’s free) and posting a version of this monthly post there (because of the POSSE model I mentioned last month) so people can keep in touch without getting flooded with emails but… substack just announced mobile posting and I’m trying it out. You can check out my substack here – there’s not much so far, just some crochet updates and a bit on reading. If I realise I don’t really need a mobile platform for posting, then I might just go back to my original plan.

On a more personal note, my family and I managed to get tickets to one of the National Day Parade rehearsals at the end of July! Singapore hosts a celebratory parade to mark our independence every year and these full-dress rehearsals include the goody bags, fireworks, etc. It’s basically the real thing but in advance. It was pretty hot at the start, but the performers and volunteers were fantastic and we really appreciated how elderly-friendly they tried to make it since we went with my grandparents. There should be a live stream on youtube, so if anyone is interesting, do watch out for that on August 9!

That’s about it for July, I think! We’re not really into the second half of 2024 so let’s see how the rest of the year goes!