Living in a good neighborhood has many advantages. One of them is that it makes me want to spend a lot of time there. Saturday morning is very likely my favorite day in the neighborhood.

I get up, without an alarm, around 6:30, engage in some morning writing, and fanny around the house for a bit. I take a shower at 7:45, and walk to my favorite coffee place at 08:20. Sometimes I wait outside for a few minutes until their doors open at 08:30. …

If you still needed convincing that I’m Grandma Tech at home, struggling to use even the most straightforward of functionalities, please be aware that I was today years old when I learned that, five years ago, TextExpander released a custom iOS keyboard that would’ve solved so many of my mundane problems, and all I was doing was asking myself “why am I even paying for that app anymore?”

I’m quite excited at the prospect of an impromptu, Kimberly Hirsch-is-in-the-Netherlands-inspired IndieWeb meet-up.

Listening to act two of This American Life’s episode The Runaround, in which we meet a boy who can only really calm his mind by running loops around the block, I can’t help but wonder: it’s beautiful to see a young problem-solver with ADHD make life easier for himself, but were there other people who thought of the compensatory behaviors often displayed by people with an eating disorder?

Walking with Annelie is coffee indoors today. We’ve told each other we need to go on more walks. She asks if we should dress warmly for the cold, wet park, or if we should just grab a table inside. Normally at this hour, Coffee Company is packed to the brim with digital nomads, so “dress for cold, hope for warmth” I say. Miraculously, there are two tables from which we can choose.

I’m so proud of the work Annelie has been …

January flew, flew by, I tell you. We started with “wow, 2023 already, let’s have a chill time this year, hey what’s on Netflix?” and at the time of writing everything is different:

• Things are not chill, because we’re preparing ourselves, our lives, and our house for our first-ever puppy
• Both our work lives are unexpectedly bustling and busy
• We cancelled Netflix

I’ve been saying for years that I’d be …

There’s a woman who runs a bookshop in De Bijlmer. She has kind eyes that make you want to curl up with a book and a cup of tea. Often when I’m there, she offers just that: tea, and a place to quiet down and dive into an interesting title. She’s running a fine business over there, Cole Verhoeven is.

Aside from bookshop owner she’s also a writer. I love the work she does at One World, where …