life is more fun w/summer games... will you join me?
hidden pictures + writing all morning + B.I.N.G.O.
I love it when you:
hey-ho,
Guess where I am? At a writing retreat in Boyd’s Mill, Pennsylvania. Specifically I’m at the Highlights Foundation (yes, Highlights, the tattered, germy, magazine you read at the dentist as a kid). I’m here teaching with my wonderful friend and retreat leader Jen Louden. It’s been glorious to be in the company of Jen and so many writers taking time-out from their lives, showing up, committing to their creative selves. I feel honored to be here, re-learning that wonder happens when we let ourselves participate. I’ve been working on a new essay and I’m racing along.
And of course there’s play! We start every morning with a dance party in the barn. There’s a rock garden full of words to mess around with. Bunnies are everywhere, and oh my, the birdsong… I’m really going to miss it. Here at Camp Jen/Highlights we write together and we write alone, tucked away on screened-in porches and in perfect little cabins. We teach, we learn, we share in small groups, we eat in large groups. It’s been a joy. It feels like the best summer camp I never got to go to as a kid. (If you’re interested in a great novel with lots of camp action, you can’t go wrong with THE INTERESTINGS, by Meg Wolitzer. A fav of mine.)
…
There’s loads of Hidden Pictures puzzles lying around. Here’s one for you!
It turns out Highlights puzzles were basically preparing me for life. Don’t judge me, but every morning I do just a few NYTs puzzles. STRANDS, and LETTER BOXED, and TILES with my coffee. Okay, and CONNECTIONS and WORDLE.
…
In honor of summer and play and camp, in this newsletter I offer you a summer playlist:
And, three bingo games! Have fun! There are PDFs if you’d like to download. Let me know how it turns out.
read:
Hey-ho, if my newsletter is your jam, let me know! It’s my pleasure to share with you the things I love, and, it takes a lot of time to put together. An upgrade to a paid subscription shows me you enjoy this gift, and it only costs you $5 a month… less than a coffee!
Check my read.write.eat. Bookshop Store, where you’ll find many of the books I've recommended in the newsletter. Buying books from my shop is a way you can be a friend to the newsletter.
write:
I have a terrific handout that I made for students in my READING AS A WRITER workshop. I’m happy to send it out to paid subscribers for a deeper dive into how we can hone our reading skills to help us become better writers. LMK if you’d like me to send it your way.
eat:
Do you want to make that cake from last fall but you cannot find the recipe? Guess what? I’ve got a beautiful index of all the recipes I’ve included in the newsletter. I’ll happily email the list to all paid subscribers. Want the celery salad from past months? Or the forbidden rice bowl? I got you!
I know I promised you Stanley, but he’s not here. (Thank goodness, because, umm…TICKS!) How about a bunny?
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Tell your people you love them, and take good care of your skin.
xN
Correction YOUR always fun Substack. 🤗
Listening to your summer playlist now, love it! Thanks for the fun bingo cards and you’re always fun to read Substack! You’re coming home to lovely Portland days! ❤️