Talking To Myself On Long Walks
Talking To Myself On Long Walks
Hello there. For the last couple of weeks I’ve needed to get out some extra energy, and I’ve been taking long solo walks of an hour or more, usually in the evening after dinner. These are not fitness-focused walks — I’m not breaking a sweat or anything like that. I’m just walking, sort of wandering. I figured I would listen to a podcast or audiobook while I walk, and sometimes I do. But a lot of the time, I’m not listening to anything and instead, I’m just working out ideas and arguments in my head — or voicing aloud my thoughts as I talk to myself. I keep my headphones in, so maybe if someone sees me talking to myself, they’ll assume I’m on a phone call. : )
A really lovely benefit of these walks has been exploring our town. I felt like I knew the town pretty well, but I’ve made a point of taking paths and roads that I haven’t been on before and I’ve discovered all sorts of new-to-me spots — like a BMX track I had no idea existed, and a spa that offers a hammam (Ben Blair loves steam rooms, so this felt like an important discovery). Sometimes I see empty buildings and then I immediately start day dreaming of what I would do to fix them up. Hah!
If you’d like to see, sometimes I snap pictures as I walk and share them on Instagram. I don’t know if these urges to go walking will continue once the weather turns cold, but I’m enjoying the walking while it lasts.
New Publish Date for Ejaculate Responsibly
Some news: my book, Ejaculate Responsibly, has a new publish date: October 18th.
The change is not because of anything dramatic. You may have heard that the book industry, like many others, is facing supply chain issues. And not surprisingly, those supply chain issues are affecting publication dates. My book is no exception, and the new pub date will now be October 18th (which is two weeks later than the original date).
I was really bummed about this when I first heard about the two-week delay, and kind of in denial, but since then I’ve heard from two other friends who have books coming out in October, and they said their publish dates have also been delayed. So there’s some comfort in knowing it’s not personal, and I’m not the only one experiencing this.
How does this affect you? Hopefully not at all. If you’ve already pre-ordered the book (thank you!), your order still stands, it will just come a bit later than expected.
Related, my publisher let me know that because of the paper shortage, they won’t be able to get a reprint before December, so if you want a copy right away, you should definitely preorder now.
New Impact Goal: Book Clubs!
As promised, I wanted to announce the next Impact Goal for the book. The goal: We want Book Clubs to discuss the book — as many groups as possible! Reading the book is great. Discussing and debating and exploring the ideas in the book is even better. In order to have a big cultural impact, people need to be talking about these ideas.
So: If your book club is planning to discuss Ejaculate Responsibly, please head to this form and let me know.
When you fill out the form you’ll be offered two optional perks:
1) Would you like a book club discussion guide? Great! Answer yes to that question on the form, and a discussion guide will be emailed to you.
2) Would you like a chance for me to make a Zoom appearance at your book club when you discuss Ejaculate Responsibly? If yes, you can indicate that on the form. And then it will work a bit like a giveaway — I’ll randomly choose a few and put them on my calendar (if your book club gets picked, I’ll reach out ahead of time).
I know of 5 book clubs so far, so here’s the starting graphic:
I can’t wait till you fill out the form so I can start updating this! I’ll update the number, and maybe I’ll add a map or a list of places to show where the book discussions are happening.
Lately on Design Mom
Make Mismatched Dishes into a Matching Set. I love this project! Drop by the your favorite thrift shop and pick up an assortment of white dishes — they don’t need to be a matching set. Then add a pattern or design that brings them altogether. A really pretty way to reuse and recycle.
Dessert For Two: Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Peach Compote. Panna cotta is one of my favorites — if it’s on the menu, I’m pretty much guaranteed to order it. And did you know it only has 3 ingredients?
The home tour of Kate Holbrook. I am deeply saddened to report that Kate Holbrook died of a rare cancer of the eye, at age 50, on August 20th, 2022. Her home tour was originally published in November of 2019. I republished it to share again Kate’s beautiful home and beautiful life as a memorial to her.
That’s all for now. Feel free to comment on anything I mentioned above, or whatever’s on your mind. I hope you have a terrific weekend.
kisses,
Gabrielle
Hi, I’m Gabrielle Blair and this is my newsletter. It’s completely free to access and read, but if you feel so moved to support my work, please consider a paid newsletter subscription: just $5/month or save money with the $50/annual sub. You can also go way above and beyond by becoming a Founding Member at $75. Or, some of you have let me know you’d rather send money directly via Paypal and Venmo (@gabrielle-blair). Thank you! Seriously, thank you. Support from readers keeps this newsletter ad and sponsor-free.
I remember reading years ago that the original reason that cannabis was made illegal was because anyone could make their own paper and 'Mr Big Paper/logger' was not down with that 🤔 love your walking pictures!
I love how you write about your long walks! My long walks - in the company of my dog - are one of the most important everyday rituals that keep me happy ( more or less) in these times and help me get on with life. I sometimes specifically think about problems, often just let my mind wander, and I take breaks from all that thinking by looking around and really seeing what‘s next to me, over the fence or in the distance. And should I happen to talk to myself - I only spoke to my dog, of course…When I return home I always feel a bit better than before.