Independent voices, one home
Good stories.
Fresh perspectives.
A little inspiration. A new way of seeing.
Discover thoughtful stories from people
with something to say.
For the endlessly curious.
Read widely, at your own pace.
The reading room
Fresh off the page.
New ideas. Good company.
Baking3 min read
Stop burying your bread dough in flour
The worktop looked as though a small flour-based weather event had passed through Wellington. My hands were coated. The dough was coated. The sensible part of my brain had quietly left the room.
Coffee3 min read
Your coffee routine has too many variables and too little coffee
I had changed the coffee, the grind setting, the amount of water and the cup. The result tasted different. My notebook, displaying admirable restraint, declined to tell me why.
Watercolor3 min read
The wonky teacup stays. Perfection can piss off.
The cup in the drawing leans as though it has received disappointing news. Its handle is larger than the handle on the table. The rim is an ellipse with an independent political agenda. I considered
Photography3 min read
You walked past the best photograph at the bus stop
A bus-stop shadow lay across the pavement in five distinct bands. I noticed the bands because I had stopped to answer a message. The photograph began at precisely the moment I stopped looking for a
Cooking3 min read
Two-minute onions? Your dinner deserves better.
There is a particular sentence in a recipe that makes me put down the spoon and stare at the page: soften the onion for two minutes. Two minutes? I have barely persuaded the pan, onion
Knitting3 min read
Unravelling the jumper was the smartest thing I did
Dear version of me who refuses to unravel the sleeve,
Birdwatching3 min read
Rare-bird bragging made me miss the good stuff
The notebook looked impressive if you read only the names. A few unusual sightings, several entries copied neatly and a surprising amount of blank space around the birds I actually encountered every week.
Cycling3 min read
Stop treating every bike ride like the Tour de France
My bicycle had a bag of carrots attached to it. The man in the online video had a streamlined outfit, a carefully analyzed training interval and a face suggesting that carrots would introduce unacceptable aerodynamic
Herbs3 min read
Your balcony doesn’t need a garden influencer’s shopping list
The delivery driver arrived with a box large enough to contain a modest refrigerator. Inside were three containers, a bag of accessories and the growing conviction that I had been an idiot. I own a
PPC2 min read
The strange campaign setting nobody was allowed to touch
In an imagined account review, the suspicious setting is discovered at 9:17. By 9:21, somebody has called it a mess. By 9:24, a rebuild has acquired the air of an emergency response.
Textiles5 min read
The Colors and Supports Behind a Historical Tapestry
Brighter reverses, weakened yarns, and carefully designed mounts complicate the wish to restore every historical textile to its original color.
SEO2 min read
An answer engine cannot rescue a page that never gets to the bloody point
You are on a bus, trying to find out whether a service covers the repair you need. The first screen says the company is passionate. The second says it is innovative. The third asks whether