The other night at dinner, I used the word ‘anomaly’ and was
rather pleased with myself for it.
‘I know those two hot summers we had a few years ago were a bit of an anomaly,’ I said, cutting up a sprig* of broccoli while staring out at the rain slushing against the window. ‘But I’ve come to expect heat in the summer because of them, and now feel a bit cheated.’
Anomaly. I know it isn’t a particularly fancy word. But I forgot
that I knew it, and was surprised (in a happy sort of way) when it just tripped
off my tongue like I’d been planning to use it.
A few of my favourite things include: golden hour light, the
fact I now like coriander and lime and ginger and mushrooms and tomatoes when I
used to loathe the lot of them (my altered taste buds make me feel
saintly as fussiness is a real bugbear of mine), getting so lost inside a good story that I become rather feverish**, white
basmati rice cooked just right, days when writing feels like flowing water (as opposed to the days where it feels like trying to do a synchronised swimming routine in a pool full of tar), and cafes with twinkle lights in them.
I can also add ‘using an interesting word that I forgot I
knew until it’s out my mouth’ to that happy list. Hooray.
//
It’s been a while since my last post, and I’ve been doing that thing where I keep putting off writing anything new because it’s been such a while. I start to feel like the next thing I write needs to be goodness-me-that-was-beautiful worthy. And that kind of pressure is always a sure way to give words stage-fright.
So here's a very tiny little self-referential post to say "hello" and fill the gap and take the pressure off... and then I’ll get back to writing on here more regularly again. (The break in writing on here has actually been because writing of the novel has been going well. Hurrah.)
//
Notes:
*sprig is not the right word. It should be ‘floret’, right? (Right?) But
I like the bounce in the word sprig – so I’m just going to use it.
**I feel this way about the ITV drama Victoria right now. I don't really care whether it's historically accurate or not. It's just quite beautiful (so far at least).
Also, ps. Please tell me this is the correct use of 'anomaly'? Otherwise I'll look a bit silly. I have a habit of being pleased with myself about various things and later finding out that I have no reason to be.
Picture by: Saar Manche.