“After all, the best part of a holiday is perhaps not so much to be resting yourself, as to see all the other fellows busy working.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

September has been one of the toughest months of my life and I am powering through it for the simple reason that I have my first vacation in over a year coming up next week. I have been working almost daily for over a year now, including weekends and holidays. Occasionally I’ve been able to get a weekend away from my laptop or day off, but they have been rare. And kittens, I’m tired.

I’m also proud. I’ve gone from less than $100 a month to what WOULD be almost a living wage (if, you know, debt weren’t a thing and I didn’t live in one of the most expensive cities on earth) in less than two years. Not all freelancers can do that. But it’s absolutely taken a toll–on my health, my relationships, and my self-care. A lot of working for yourself is finding and keeping a healthy balance and it’s a constant learning curve for me. Long story, short? I’m really excited for my time off.

My in-laws are coming to visit and after a few days in London we are taking the party to the road touring the southwest of England. Updates forthcoming but for the next couple of weeks I’ve been saving up past adventures to keep you entertained. Here are you links and let me know what you’re up to this weekend!

Online friend and really incredible designer Bethany Grow has launched her blogizine, The Collaboreat! As the name suggests, it’s a collaborative travel and food site and it’s already lengthening my list of places to visit and nosh within.

Scotland will not leave the U.K.

New life goal: attend these.

Excellent Youtube video from The Brain Scoop on the history of the extinction of the Passenger Pigeon. I’ve been pondering on proactive vs. reactive conservation efforts ever since my trip to an urban beekeeping facility in London and learning more about the rapid decline of insect populations in Britain. We humans are responsible for the greatest mass extinction since the last Ice Age. Though a lot of that is fairly recent and related to our quests for more energy and raw materials, the truth is we’ve been negatively affecting other species populations for about 10,000 year total, which is sobering.

Ah, the great expat egg debate. Walk with me, kittens, and learn.

Holy hell. I believe in counseling. THIS is NOT counseling. (Side note, there is not a day that goes by that I am not grateful to have been born when and where I was. I recognize exactly how lucky I am. In another century I’d have been burnt at the stake.)

Writing is good for you!

The call for 10 books that changed your life that went around Facebook recently (and that I responded to) was pretty popular and the data miners who work there collated the most popular results. I haven’t read five on this list but need to!

Tumblr find of the week.

I am not well versed in American literature. Past the point of shame and well into the area of laughable. This new list might help.

Fore!

The 18th century might have been wacky, but I’ve always secretly been in awe of early 19th century headgear, of the Wives and Daughters variety. I would definitely have been burnt at the stake, both for refusing to sport those styles and for shredding my corsets in public.

A nice little update to the old riddle. The fifth graders, they get it!

“There aren’t enough days in the weekend.”
~Rod Schmidt

Another day, another Friday, another batch of internet linkage. I’ve intentionally kept most of it light and interesting since the news this week has been particularly bad and disheartening, from Ferguson to ISIS. This weekend I’m doing some volunteering, some writing, and hopefully a good bit of wandering since work (and the weather) have conspired to keep us mostly inside and I’m likely to go crazy without more exercise. Share anything worth knowing in the comments and let me know what you’re getting up to yourselves.

Last week I shared the story of a guy who liked everything that appeared on his Facebook feed. This week, the tale of someone who did the opposite.

Journalism, behind the scenes.

This editor at The Atlantic defends the email, which I did not entire realize was apparently under attack.

Iran has a problem with sex, namely that people aren’t having the “right” kind or amount. The most chilling aspect of this article to me is the recently passed bill to ban and limit certain aspects of contraception.

And speaking of, a journalist sent out a tweet about tampons for a story she was covering and the backlash was… pretty much everything that is wrong with the internet rolled into one.

A Downton Abbey blooper to whet your appetite for the next series.

A pair of roommates decided to spend a year not buying anything. This intrigues me because both Jeff and I work extremely hard but, like many of our generation, have student debt that really impacts our finances. Plus we live in an amazing but expensive city. We constantly look for ways to budget to save even a tiny bit because even with strict family rules, most of the money we make is spoken for with little left over to go into savings. (Also, one of our laptops just died and the other is on the brink. Ugh.)

J. Crew launched fragrances this week. I’m grateful that poverty keeps me from impulse purchases because I’d be all over this otherwise.

Interesting piece on a major flaw in the farm-to-table movement, as perceived by a chef dedicated to the cause. Increasingly obvious to me is that in America especially, we’ve restricted our diet to foods that are unsustainable in and of themselves. We need to branch out and eat more widely.

A 19th century guide to avoiding London pickpockets. Still relevant.

Rise up, citizens!

I loved this New Yorker piece on reading to impress yourself. Part of the reason I came up with the reading goals in my 101 in 1001 list was because even though I got an excellent education in many ways, it was very uneven in others. The two high schools I attended were wildly different and the second had some major failings (though I met, and am still in contact with, one of the best and most important teachers of my life from that school). As a result there are a bunch of important, classic novels I’ve never read. Things like my list and my Goodreads help me check them off for no other reason than I want to.

Like I said, it’s been a rough week the world over, so here’s what bestie Xarissa called, “a bright spot” in the dimness, a 4 year old reviews one of the most reviewed restaurants in the world.