Doing Just Fine

February 2025

Dear Reader,

I’ve deleted social media from my phone again. Social media, for me, is only BlueSky. In the past two months, I’ve deleted my other social accounts. It feels like it’s been longer. A day feels like a year, hence the app removal from my phone. It feels like I’d done all this work to restore myself for the past few months, and then it was completely gone again. I have no surge capacity to deal with everything around us. If you’re feeling the same way, I hope you can make small corrections every day to build a good rest stop for yourself. I’m thinking of you as I try to adjust so I’m not scratching the bottom of my empty cup. We will get through this together.

This month’s theme is offering. I decided to challenge myself and give you a list of things that might be useful or bring you joy that are not books (because I give you a list of books all other times 😚). I still have not finished my TBR pile, which I wanted to get through in December, but I’m very, very close. There are only a handful of the thickest books left.

Drop biscuits

I can’t remember where this is from, but after years of making it, I have it memorized. 1/2 cup of oil or butter (melted), 2 cups flour, 3 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2-3/4 cup of milk. Mix until all flour is incorporated. I use two Western soup spoonfuls for one biscuit so that they are easily broken in half once baked. The recipe makes me six biscuits.

​Space pen​

Wow, it’s been a long time since I purchased one, and there are so many options now! The next year, for me, is about making preparations so that I am more secure and able to help my community when needed. I have a special notebook for my planning purposes. Space pens are reliable, and it feels important for a writer to be able to write through any disaster.

Beeswax candles, Lomar Farms​

My favorite candles. Staring into a flame to self-soothe is great. They make traveler tin candles with a lid, which is a nice assurance against accidental fires. In my current state, I probably need candle therapy for hours that I don’t have.

Vietnamese pickled vegetables

Do you have foods that make every cell in your body beam with joy when you eat them? For me, it’s đồ chua. There's something that’s often lacking at restaurants — that last punchy smack. I rarely make the time to make it at home, but my new CSA has been heavy with radishes. So I finally got to chopping. I could eat this with every meal.

To recap & hold myself accountable to you: I will keep social media off my phone, I increased my monthly donation to my local food bank, I will schedule a monthly donation to my local mutual aid group, and I'm signed up for a trash pick up & weeding day at a nearby nature preserve. I will adjust my mindset slowly but surely. In the words of Ayesha Khan, Ph.D., we will save us.

With love,

Thao

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