Perhaps it’s because of the time change (and ensuing insomnia), or because of the awful amount of heat we had from early March onwards, or because I spent a lot of time binge-watching TV, but March drifted by in a dreamlike state. It wasn’t a bad month, and in fact, I had some really wonderful moments throughout. They all just feel like they were ten years ago, even those that were only a few days back. I suppose that’s one reason I like writing up these monthly posts – they help me to remember, remind me of the good moments and touchstones as the year passes. (Photo: “Awkward Pet Portraits: Atticus)

Reading and Watching
I read five books this month, many of which were good experiences, as well as some not-so-great books. My favorite was definitely Nettle & Bone, and I look forward to reading more books by T. Kingfisher! (On another note, I finally chose my favorite book of January. I read many great books that month, but the one that has stuck with me the most and that I continue to think about regularly is The Spare Man, so I named it as top.)

Toward the end of the month, I was surprised by a new season of Love is Blind, even though the last season literally just ended. I have a couple friends that I watch this with, so we’ve kinda been binging this together, which is always fun even when you’re talking trash reality TV. I also watched the docu-series Waco: American Apocolypse on Netflix. I turned 14 during the siege of Waco and remember these very vague pieces of it from that time in my childhood. It was interesting to watch, particularly as one of the women interviewed – the mother of a survivor – is a family friend of a photographer I follow on Tiktok. The perspective of someone who wasn’t part of the cult, nor part of the law enforcement teams, added breadth to a situation that is too often painted in black-or-white.

The Ferals
Not much news in March. A new black kitty that looked like he could be twin to our Lord Grey showed up a few times at the beginning of the month, but we never saw him after that, and he didn’t seem interested in the food we put out. Hopefully he’s someone’s pet and he’s fixed!!

Health/Fitness
I have both good and bad news for health this month. My Mounjaro rx was supposed to increase to the next level in mid-March, but the pharmacy filled the lower dose and because it’s a refrigerated medicine, can’t take it back. I can’t get the new dose filled until closer to when this box is used up. So that’ll be some time in April, and in the meantime, I’m still maintaining my weight, just no further weight loss. On the other hand, I had more bloodwork taken this month, to compare with early December, and my numbers look more perfect than they’ve looked in years! So that’s the great news: Despite my size, my body is really healthy. For the bad news: I developed what they think is a shoulder impingement around mid-month. I have a referral out to ortho to verify, because there’s a possibility it may be a genetic disorder called calcium pyrophosphate deposition disease (CPPD), which my dad was diagnosed with about ten years ago. All this means is that for now, I have extremely limited range of motion in my right arm. Simple movements like turning a steering wheel, reaching across a table, or brushing my hair are excruciatingly painful. So fingers crossed I can see the specialist quickly!

Goals
Things continue to march along (no pun intended) steadily: crossing books off the priorities list, using up items, organizing photo-books for monthly purchase, trying out things I’ve meant to try out for a long time, etc. The big one completed this month was finally getting out of the massage membership that I’ve wanted to get out of for awhile. I love my monthly massages but not the way the business operates or the turnover rate of their therapists, so now I hope to find a better place to migrate to. I’ve also continued working on my photography goals, focusing a little more on the business side of things when I can.

House
We put aside some money from Jason’s work bonus to work on our backyard, and that project began this month. It’s still in early stages, but here is the progress so far! Borders and plants along the back fence, new plants to fill out around the nectarine tree. (Note: I do wish I could find a way to help the tree grow straight. The wind always blows this direction, so everything we’ve tried has failed.)

Favorite Photos
I had a lot of small photoshoots this month, nothing like the big group ones I usually practice with, so this month, I’ve included some of those shots as favorites. Just not ones from my personal photoshoot.

Top row: Alia & Sisa at brunch; Portrait of a Stranger: Shayla and Tup-Tup
Middle: author photo for SFF author Brandi Schonberg; my Veggie Tails kittens coming home; Portrait of a Stranger: Jodi
Bottom: exploring Bastrop State Park; Alia in the fields

Highlights of March
Out of the fog, these bright spots emerged:

• our first FunDelivered package, which included my awesome new Relaxalotl hoodie!
• girls’ day out brunch + bookshop with Alia and Sisa
• tax refund and work bonus arriving the same week, allowing for aggressive payments on debts as well as some fun planning for the future!
• meeting up with Jeanne!
• meme-cat washi-tape and tarot stickers
• a day out with friends in Bastrop
• “Peckin’ Street” (the Irish Siri pronunciation of Pecan Street)
• taking author photos for a longtime author friend
• bottle baby kittens and their extreme cuteness and sweetness
• trying bubble tea for the first time, mmm!
• the skaters who thought Alia & I were doing a gender reveal the night we went out to take portraits with colored smoke
• an unexpected new season of Love is Blind
• Atticus’ return to extreme affection after his dental surgery – he must’ve been in a lot of pain and we hadn’t realized, thinking he’d grown less affectionate as he got older, poor guy!
• meeting a bunch of bookish peeps at the No Pressure Book Club hosted by Nowhere

Coming up in April
It’s the beginning of depression-and-PTSD season for me, sigh. The heat has been so bad already the past month that I’m worried how bad April is going to be. At least my youngest should be home near the end of the month.