Hello my dear fellow Villagers,

I love to tell you all about the goings on in the Village of Nothing Much, about the summer programming at the library (kids reading to dogs? Yes, please.), about the bakery and the bookshop, the Inn and the lake (the white duck is back!) but I thought I might use these notes in our newsletter to tell you a little about my own village and home because while the stories I write are not autobiographical, my own life is wonderfully silly and charmed.

Most days I write in my office at home, a room full of windows that looks down a soft slope to the Rouge River, though by now the leaves have grown in so thickly that I can't actually see the water. I don't mind. I feel like a bird up in the branches of my little room. It's full of art and photos, candles and books and favorite things. I have the hand-painted open sign that hung for 15 years in the front window of my yoga studio, and when I step into the office to start work, I flip it from closed to open to signal to that little creative spark in my heart that it's time to step into the village.

When I'm not writing from home, I walk into town to sit at a cafe or even one of the shady tables in the park. The flower baskets are full of pink and purple petunias, and my favorite coffee spot has vegan chocolate chip cookies to keep me energized while I daydream. After a few hours of writing and staring into the distance, wondering what Chef is serving for an afternoon snack on the back porch, I make my way back home to spend some time with our dogs, Ladybug, Cricket, and Portia.

I've also joined a couple writing groups this summer so once or twice a week I meetup with others, in libraries or tea houses. Writing can be a little lonely at times, so having peers to chat with and quietly create with has been lovely. I also started a conversational Italian meetup group a few months ago, and every other week or so, we spend an hour dusting off our language skills together. This week I am leading a walk and talk through a beautiful campus that I based the Map Room house on.

Every week, as I write and record, as I daydream and savor, I am grateful to have you here in the Village with me. I wish you a June full of calm bits of ordinary magic and gentle adventures.

Sweet dreams,

Kathryn