and indeed there will be time

30s / photo diary & reading snippets / reading & learning & baking & knitting.

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

AUGUST // planners & lists & pomodoros. bribing myself shamelessly with snacks and treats, if necessary. early mornings, starting & ending my day with yoga. getting back into meditating (even though i never felt i properly "got" it - it did made me calmer). chess, crosswords, sudoku. black tea, iced macha. mocha on grey days. kinder pingui and other chocolatey-creamy snacks (kept in the freezer for that ice-cold crunch). seeking social contacts & allowing people to see me insecure and vulnerable. not forgetting that it's still summer; enjoying the sun & the wind & the park benches.

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

Draft -> Plan.

Exactly four months until the deadline to hand in my PhD dissertation. I rapidly switch between confident and panicked & the number of days to cross out looks big and small at the same time.

They also look very empty, but I haven't put all my work shifts and other commitments and events into the wall planner yet, I'll fill it out as I go. Mainly, I wanted a visual reminder of the time that remains & a colour-coded system that tells me what I'm supposed to be working on.

{05/08/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

Cute baby lions at the Botanical Gardens. They are all over the city, colourful lions and lionesses, but that's the first time I've seen cubs!

Apparently these two are called Turning Towards the Light and Elimu.

According to the website there are sooo many more in my area that I somehow haven't seen. Now I really want to make a concerted effort to find more of them.

{29/07/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

Raspberry, pistachio & white chocolate pancake at an American/Canadian style pancake and waffle place. :)

Was a bit jealous of the others, who went with savory options - my brother had a waffle with maple syrup & mustard mushroom sauce, which seemed very intriguing. But my choice was excellent and I regret nothing!

{29/07/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

Cherry milkshake at the boardgame cafe & an extremely fun trivia game (CDSK) - the box said it would take about 47 minutes, but we played for three hours and still weren't done. :'D

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

Wonderful walk with an excellent combination of forest and peaks. 🍃

@ Grindleford, Derbyshire.

{28/07/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

My brother and his girlfriend came to visit, so I had to introduce them to what I think is the best cafe/bakery in the neighbourhood. Felt very proud when my brother, who is quite the coffee connoisseur, said it was indeed the best coffee he had on this trip. :)

{27/07/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

Had a great weekend at DinoCon! I'll definitely be attending next year, too.

Picture from the Beginner Palaeoart Workshop - I quickly realised that realism isn't an option for my drawing skills at this point, so I sent my two velociraptors on a date (calling it "Birds of a Feather" :D).

{26/07/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

Around the NEC in Birmingham.

{25/07/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

An ideal morning: taking the shuttle to the airport and reading about dinosaurs in an empty coffee shop while watching planes. 🦖🛫

(I didn't take a plane - I attended an event close to the airport, and because my train arrived ridiculously early I had several hours to hang out and live my best life.)

{25/07/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

My first knitted sweater!! I am extremely proud & motivated to add many more self-made pieces to my wardrobe.

The pattern is the Step-by-Step Sweater by Florence Miller, and the yarns are Yarnsmiths' Pebble Haze Aran in the colour "Jet" and Stylecraft's Love You in the colour "Cherish."

{April - July 2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

Book club at the pub! Due to some clouds it seemed vaguely cool enough to wear my first knitted sweater - I turned out to be way too hot, but I still keep wearing it whenever it's a little bit cloudy because I'm so proud!

{14/07/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

A friend showed me around his workplace and spoke to me about apprenticeships they offer. Afterwards, I did some knitting and reading in a cafe in a very cute little street. Texted my favorite person (it is difficult to switch a mode of engagement that used to be exclusively in-person to exclusively mediated. but not impossible!).

I have no idea what the future holds or what I even want, but some days everything seems wonderfully open and possible.

{13/07/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

Now that I'm nearing the end of my degree I thought it might be fun and useful to go back to the basics. Some of the lecturers in my undergrad were big fans of this book, and now that I am reading it cover to cover (instead of just excerpts assigned to me) I recognise phrases they would often use, which is quite nostalgic.

Sitting on a bench and reading is one of my absolute favorite summer activities - and I love looking up into the crown of a tree!

{08/08/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

A new development in my life this summer is that I suddenly like matcha! Which means that they are sooo many exciting flavours for me to try - pictured is a delicious cinnamon maple matcha latte.

I tried hot matcha about ... 8 years ago? and absolutely did not like it. I disliked it so much that I never wanted to give it another try, but this year I spontaneously decided to give iced matcha a chance and here I am with a new obsession. :)

{07/07/2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

Knitting in coffee shops is my ultimate vibe of the summer. Both of these are going to be dinosaur-themed summer wear - the orange one is the Tee Rex Vest by Made in the Moment, the green/yellow one is the Fossil Frenzy Tee by Mary P. Hunt. Fossil Frenzy has the most complicated stranded colour work chart I've done so far and the vest is going to be my first time doing intarsia, so there are exciting times ahead. For now, though, I'm doing easy bits and enjoying that I can read while knitting.

{June & July 2026}

[for-decisions-and-revisions]

"The girl stood awhile, puzzled and moved. She was glad as at the breaking of some barrier. She was touched by some appeal. She had wanted to say: I don't know what you require of me, but I'll try to do it, to be it. Only she had not at all understood the conversation."

The Unicorn, Iris Murdoch (1963)