Hello blog chums! And how was your weekend? I sure hope it was whatever you wanted it to be and that you had a super time. I confess that I was tremendously lazy and spent most of my time with my nose in my laptop though I did pop out yesterday to attend my crafternoon which was pleasant indeed.
Something super duper exciting did happen to me recently, however. The background is this: I am a secret genealogy fan, and over the last few years I’ve been building my family tree using Ancestry and a few other resources. I’m estranged from my Father and his family so digging around these branches has been particularly interesting, since I know close to nothing about that side. Recently I discovered a second cousin, once removed, born and raised in Pennsylvania and now living in Massachusetts. Check out her high school yearbook snap…… Ain’t she super?
I found a P.O. Box address and sent her a long letter a couple of weeks ago, giving her lots of information about her Father and Grandfather who were both born here in Manchester. To my DEELIGHT I got an email response from her, and now we are happily batting emails back and forth and sharing lots of family history information; her from memory, and me from all the documents I’ve dug up over the last few years. So much fun!
BUT ANYWAY! I do also have a little link round-up for you here and some weekend snaps. Not a lot of eats, but there’s always room for doggy pictures, right?
Mental Health
Last week was Depression Awareness Week, so I’ve decided to list some of my favourite mental health links here. The first is a piece that I wrote for Depression Alliance.
- A letter to those who love someone who retreats into their depression.
- Depression, by Hyperbole and a Half.
- Breaking the low mood cycle.
- Basic Mammal Maintenance, or, How to be nice to yourself.
- What role is technology playing in our experiences with depression?
- 9 Affirmations You Deserve to Receive If You Have a Mental Illness.
Body Positive/Fat Positive
- 6 Ways I Was Taught to Be a Good Fatty (And Why I Stopped).
- I Got Naked For The Camera Because Fat Bodies Need To Be Seen.
- Vegans and health shaming.
Feminism
- Vegetarians Don’t Care About Feminism Anymore.
- Books by Female Authors Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime.
- Jane Got a Gun is not a feminist western – unless by ‘feminist’ you mean ‘contains a woman’.
Humans & Animals
- Do Honeybees Feel? Scientists Are Entertaining the Idea.
- These dolphins talk to each other. Why do we insist it isn’t language?
Veganism
- Can we feed the world and stop deforestation? Depends what’s for dinner.
- On Factory Farms, Chickens and Workers Alike Suffer.
- If consumers knew how farmed chickens were raised, they might never eat their meat again.
- Animal Cruelty or the Price of Dinner?
Misc
- Ethical Consumer, together with Fashion Revolution, have released the inaugural Fashion Transparency Index.
- 18 Embroidery Instagram Feeds to Follow.
As I mentioned in my previous post, our sweet little poochums is doing much better now, schnozzle-wise. She is feeling much more relaxed! We had some avian visitors again this weekend too. Also, I roasted some new potatoes with rosemary and garlic and it was good!
Happy Monday everyone! I hope you have a super week!
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Twin Peaks cross-stitch!! Did you do those? So cool <3 She's looking great, what a lucky couch pooch!
Yes! I followed an Etsy pattern for the cross stitch (it took Many Months) and also there’s a small Twin Peaks inspired embroidery underneath too 🙂
This pooch runs the couch! And pretty much half the kind size bed too…..
Thank you for sharing those links on depression. I find it sadly/ironically hilarious that I was having a depression+anxiety breakdown during depression awareness week and I wasn’t even aware at the time. So, as I’m clawing my way out of that awful pit, I find links that are exactly what I need to hear. Biggest hugs from afar. You made a difference in my life. And now I know about captain awkward!!
Thanks Rachey; I’m really glad those links helped. I think Captain Awkward is such an amazing resource, no matter what the problem! And I do find that paritcular article really helpful. I hope you are feeling a bit better!