September, my favourite month. When the colours all turn yellow and gold. Out come the beloved winter jogging bottoms, the thick woolly socks. The exhausted razor is put in the back of the medical cupboard to hibernate, like a little, prickly hedgehog. Words like 'kindling' and 'pumpkin' and 'cinnamon' get sprinkled about. Tea and fluffy blankets, dog walks by the stormy sea. Fires and Dickensian fiction about Victorian London, full of ne’er-do-wells and mudlarking on the Thames. Welsh cakes and apple crumbles, bubbling with brown sugar. Enzo in his pullover. Wiener eating the bobble on her hat. Buddy collecting fallen logs, mouth full of bark and twigs.
Oh yes, it was also my birthday this month. I was surprised with books, jigsaws, vintage crockery and cakes. And I got a new tattoo. Scroll down to the bottom of the newsletter and you'll get to see what it is.
I was delighted when Helen from Best Book Forward asked me to select two novels for her first book club. Do follow Helen @bestbookforward to see which one got the most votes and read along with us.
[EDITOR'S NOTE: What the bloody hell do you think you're doing in that photo?!]
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A Brand New Short Story - LIVE TODAY |
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I've just added a new short story to the Writing section of my website and, as ever, I wanted my lovely Enzograph subscribers to be the first to know. You'll get to meet Dolly. She's a bit weird but would make a lovely companion for a quick coffee-break read, I think. | | |
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In what has to be one of THE highlights of the month - heck, quite possibly the whole year - I went to a meet-up of Griffons (and their owners) in Brighton last weekend. What a fun day. So much so that I had to collect all the photos I took into a little video. If you fancy sharing in 90 seconds of Griffon cuteness, please take a look. The doggies were all marvellous, especially Johnny Wiggle and Larry Long Legs - but Enzo is still my favourite, of course. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Hmmm. Redeemed. Sort of.] | | |
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Providing a couple of selections for Helen's book club over at Best Book Forward reminded me - a while back I guested on her podcast and we chatted about my 'Desert Island' books. It's still available if you'd like to take a listen... | | |
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Laura Selects Her Life-Changing Books |
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Giants, bears and modern classics... Another collection of life-changing reads has just been added to my site and I'm thrilled to say that this time they've been selected by the fantastic author Laura Pearson. Laura's latest release is The Last of Mabel Beaumont and her new book, a reissue of I Wanted You to Know is out next month. Both are highly recommended. | | |
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What I Love About Getting Older |
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It's inevitable, especially when you're into your forties. Another birthday rolls by and you start to dwell on your advancing age. But there are so many things to love about getting older - really, there are... |
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1. Appearance I can walk around, holding my dog, in a jumper that has a large photo of my dog on it, and not give a fig. I used to think doing up my laces was embarrassing. I'd spend hours lacing my trainers ‘the cool way’ and now I wear a bum bag for practicality and I feel excellent about it. 2. Early Nights It’s no longer weird to want to be in bed by 9.30pm. In my twenties and thirties, people mocked me. Now I am in my forties no one blinks an eye |
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when I start yawning at 9 o'clock, mainly because they're all yawning too. Going to bed with my dogs is the best bit of my day. By 8pm I’m twitching to get in the bath. I can hear my pillowcases calling me, my bedside book of crosswords rustling its pages. Heaven! 3. I Know Myself There is always room for self-improvement of course and I can tinker with small parts, but I’m more or less as evolved as I’m going to get. I can stop trying to like fancy foods (truffle oil, Sriracha, avocado - bleurgh) or windy walks or techno music. My name is Ericka Mary Waller and I don’t know my times tables. I think North is always up, I can’t pronounce the name Penelope (surely it is penny-lope?) and I wet myself a bit at loud noises. I don’t understand inflation. I always forget that when I ‘win’ something on eBay it doesn’t include shipping. I love jigsaws and fruit cake and very big comfortable pants and I think Graceland by Paul Simon is one of the best albums of all time. 4. I don’t mind people not liking me... ...or the things I like. I am not everyone’s cup of tea, and that’s okay. I have a small group of hardcore fans (mostly made up of canines) who make me feel loved and accepted. I’d rather read a good book than spend time with people who don’t get me. 5. Being Thankful I’ve realised that getting older is a privilege. I am morphing into the invisible woman now I am in my forties. I am sliding off the radar, middle-aged and thickening round the middle. My skin is losing its grip on my thighs and my chin is starting to melt into my neck. And that’s okay. I’m not going to fight it anymore. I could calorie count, buy expensive creams and do Pilates, but I choose to eat the cheese on toast and slices of cake instead. |
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There's been a particularly upsetting story dominating the news cycle over the past couple weeks. I'm sure you know the one I mean. I shared my own thoughts on the issues it raises in a blog entry entitled On Consent - you can take a look HERE. Obviously, it tackles some sensitive issues so please, only have a read if you're feeling up to it. |
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The Latest Mini Book Reviews |
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The Reading section of my website is growing into quite a sizable collection of mini book reviews, if I say so myself. My latest reads have just been added so if you fancy a new book recommendation, head over there for a browse. | | |
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Ta-dah! Here it is, my new birthday tattoo. I chose this design because I wanted to go on the Jaws ride in Florida but it has shut down. Truth be told I would probably have been too scared to go on it, but I did like the idea of Jaws himself coming out my sock. Big love to rachelgros_tattoos. |
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Collars up, best feet forward, onwards into autumn we go. As I think about Halloween and Bonfire Night, I'm also looking ahead to catching up with you all next time. Peace and paws out, people
Ericka (and Enzo) |
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