Happy 1st Birthday to The Perpetual Visitor!

Marking time, plus a gift for YOU, dear readers

The most delicious take on the Hot Milk Sponge Cake with jam filling from The Little Women Cookbook by Wini Moranville

Today we are firmly nestled in mid-September, with the autumn equinox right around the corner, and it’s been so wonderful to see many of you registering for the free virtual Fall Equinox Poetry Celebration with fellow poet Amanda Lauricella this Sunday, September 22nd at 7:30 pm ET. There’s still time to count yourself in, so feel free to be in touch via message here on Substack via the button below or email me at theperpetualvisitor@gmail.com.

In the course of September chugging along, I have neglected (this far) to pause and celebrate the first birthday of The Perpetual Visitor here on Substack! Although I have been blogging since 2013 (previously over at my website at The Perpetual Visitor) I sent my first newsletter here on Substack at the end of August in 2023.

When I began this new writing adventure last year, I didn’t know how to use Substack, I wasn’t sure how committing to weekly (or nearly weekly) newsletters would feel, and I had absolutely no idea if anyone would be interested in reading the notes and poems I sent out. In the course of the last year, I’ve been so amazed to see people subscribing to my newsletter, month after month, and connecting in this space around a shared love of poetry, everyday bits of beauty, and what it means to write your way through life, whatever it may bring.

Thank you, thank you so much: for being here, for every time you open an email, send a message, post a comment, and support my poetry collections over at Amazon. The idea of anyone wanting to read the poetry I write is a perpetual novelty and the joy never wears off. This space wouldn’t be the same with YOU.

Whether you are new or old to this newsletter, are a free or paid subscriber, I want you to know how much it means to me to have you as part of this community. I love hearing what resonates with you, what poems are helping you to navigate whatever your life looks like in this moment, and for sharing your thoughts with me (and each other) in the comments.

I’m excited to be kicking off this second year of being here, and have a whole slew of projects and poems that are bubbling on my metaphorical creative stove that I can’t wait to share with you over the next twelve months! And. In the spirit of pausing and celebrating the now, I want to celebrate this blog birthday by offering you a gift.

I’ve long been known as the Queen of Post-its, and it’s not unusual to find my desk, fridge, walls, and even mirrors decorated with reminders that I first wrote for myself, and then shared with the internet over the years over at Instagram and my old blog site. I’m happy to share that I’ve been redesigning five of my favorite (Post-it) Notes to Self (and an excerpt from my poem Hope Still Burns, which is the first image below) into downloadable phone wallpaper backgrounds, available for you, below!

I hope these reminders help you as much as they help me. I hope they encourage and delight you. Here’s to a year ahead full of continued creativity, connection, and curiosity about all the bits of beauty that surround us each every day, and are just waiting to be noticed and named.