
I only sketchnoted four book group meetings in 2024; my goal for this year is to do at least six. Here’s number 1!

Look what arrived today! Thank you for your kindness Bethan.
It was so nice to meet with People of the Books again (we finally gave our book group a name after reading Geraldine Brooks’ fine novel last year). It was good to forget about loss and vulnerability for a few hours and just talk about literature with smart, kind, generous friends. I am lucky to know so many wonderful people.

The Big Rock neighbourhood of Malibu is named for a—you guessed it—big rock just offshore. The local brewing company named their amber lager for the same landmark, and it happened to win a national beer award last year. We met the brewery’s owners today, and once they heard about our recent loss, and our preference for darker beers, they loaded us up with Big Rock to take home. If we can’t live in our old neighbourhood for the foreseeable future, at least we can enjoy the namesake beverage.