A few weeks ago, I posted on Instagram about being in a “Middle Season.” Now, after the rush of launching The Chasing Creative Podcast and making a dozen decisions on our house, we’re back in a middle season with not a lot to report. Instead of trying to force out a witty blog post about a semi-relevant topic, I decided I would share what I’ve been up to in this Middle Season, because even when we feel like not a lot is happening, it often is.
So, lately I’ve been…
Listening
To my friends Jenna and Josiah Hazel. They recently released an album and I have it on repeat all the time. Their band is called Settling Houses and you can listen to their first album, Drive and Never Stop here.
Also, this Tiny Desk concert by Asgeir, again and again. Perfect for writing.
And podcasts, of course! I’m in love with The New Yorker Radio Hour. And recently, my friend Gracie got me back into listening to Freakonomics and I am hooked.
Reading
I’ve been reading a little more for fun lately, to wind down at the end of a day. I read Brooklyn and it was OK. Pretty, but not grand.
I just started The Paris Wife after hearing Paula McLain give a talk at the Madison Public Library last week. I fell in love with her words in person, and I hope to love them on the page as well.
I’m still slowly, slowly working my way through Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert. Trying to take this one a chapter at a time and really think through some of the questions that it raises for myself and my creative life.
Watching
Scott and I recently watched Aziz Ansari’s Master of None on Netflix. While I enjoyed the social issues that the show addresses, issues like feminism and race in Hollywood, sometimes it was a bit too crude for me. The show did end on a bit of a cliffhanger, so I am excited to see where Season 2 goes. Even if the jokes don’t always hit home with me, I feel like it’s important enough to keep watching, and to support a show created by individuals of color in a world where a lot of comedy T.V. isn’t.
I’m still in Season 5 of Downton Abbey, so don’t spoil the ending for me! I’ve managed to avoid it so far and am 100% happy about this. At the rate we are able to watch the show, I will finish Season 6 sometime in 2018, I do believe.
Doing
We’ve been working on plans for the house. A few weeks ago we picked out flooring, and just a couple of weeks ago we chose kitchen cabinets and decided on what kind of trim we would like throughout the house. We’re still waiting to get a driveway in, but then the real fun begins, or so I hear. I’ve not built a house before, so I really, really have no idea what I am doing. Glad my contractor does.
I’m excited that I signed up for Brooks Editorial’s Content Challenge. I may be biased, as Ashley is my podcast co-host, but I really do think its going to be awesome. Anyone who can run a business and a blog while working from home and raising a toddler AND podcast on the side is someone I want to learn from, STAT.
Podcasting
Speaking of podcasting… Chasing Creative now has nine (!) episodes out in the world. Ashley and I have had such a great time chatting with our guests and learning from them as much as our audience is. We cannot believe how much love you have all shown us in just these nine short weeks, and we can’t wait to see where it goes next. We are trucking along behind the scenes, recording and editing more episodes every week to keep them rolling out to you. We hope you’ll join in the discussion over on Instagram and Twitter using #ChasingCreative.
So that’s what I’ve been up to lately. What about you? Reading, watching or listening to anything astonishing? I’d love to hear about it?
Middle seasons can be so tough, but you’re totally right — sometimes you feel like nothing’s happening until you look back and think, “Wow, there actually was a lot going on!” I feel like I’m in a middle season right now too, so I’m hoping to have that realization eventually!
I’m still living in an apartment, so I find the whole house-designing/ building process fascinating. Although I’m sure it’s not as fascinating when you’re in the middle of it and you’re tired of making decisions. (Or maybe that’s just me who’s being overwhelmed by the 5,000 finishes for faucets.) ;)
I saw the latest Bond film Spectre over the weekend and was really underwhelmed, tbh. But I started reading Savage Beauty, a biography about Edna St. Vincent Millay and remembered how much I LOVED reading biographies as a kid. So that’s been fun!
I forget about biographies, too! I should probably pick one up more often than I do.
I love making the house decisions – we’ve been wanting to do this for years now – but there is a LOT of red tape that I was not expecting. That, paired with people who don’t do what they say they are going to do when they say they are going to do it, and we are already feeling a little behind and we haven’t really even started! Ahh! I am just trying to remember that “this is the dream” and enjoy the parts of the process that I can. :)
I loved The Paris Wife! I liked the name Hadley long before that, but the fact that I was reading that book while I was pregnant with her and didn’t know it yet made it seem like fate. :)
Congrats on getting all the house stuff moving along! We’d really love to build a house in the next few years, so I’m going to be following along with that religiously.
I thought I remembered that you named Hadley after Hemingway’s wife! That does seem a bit fate-like. :) Listening to Paula speak was SO encouraging as a writer – I wish you could have been there!
The house stuff is awesome and terrible and amazing all at the same time. So many decisions! Fun ones, not fun ones, etc. And so, so much paperwork and emails and calling people to remind them to do what they said they were going to do… frustrating, but a bit like every other project in life, right?!?
I’ve been reading The Complete Works of Henrik Ibsen and am currently in the middle of this fascinating play about an emperor persecuting Christians. I am a little embarrassed can’t remember the play’s name off the top of my head. I’m also reading an awesome book called “I Never Knew There Was a Word For That” which is just a collection of words in other languages that don’t really have English equivalents.
I’ve been tossing around some ideas for a play of my own as well. I’ve written an opening scene but not much else. I definitely need to mull it over and set some more details in my mind before I plunk out the dialogue.
Last night I watched The Invisible Man (1933) which was delightfully campy and reminded me that I totally need to watch more classic movies. So I think I’m going to try to do that. They tend to fuel a different part of my creative brain than watching movies made in my lifetime.
That word book sounds phenomenal, Hannah! I’m adding that to my library check-out list.
Starting on a new project like writing a play is so exciting! Can’t wait to see where you take it. The other night, I had a TV show idea in the shower, and I’ve NEVER had the desire to write for TV, but it was so vivid that I had to jot it down for later just in case. I’ve decided that I only ever have good ideas while in the shower – so maybe I need to take longer showers.
I also need to watch more classic movies, mostly because I never got around to watching most of them in the first place. Top three that you would recommend? I’ll add them to that growing library list!