notes & things | 4/8/2026
This past Sunday would have been my mother's 79th birthday, a birthday she never quite made it to, and in a world that would have distressed her to no end. There are times when I wonder how both my parents would have navigated this world, and though my mother saw less of it, dying only a year into the madness, but my father witnessed much more. Both would be extremely vulnerable--to cuts to things like social security and medicare, despite my dad being pretty organized in terms of pensions and savings (this is not a trait he passed down to me.) And while I like to joke that I have unofficially retired to do freelance design/writing /editing work for others and run the press& shop, I know full well I will be working and hopefully still earning income up til my death bed. That is, if I survive--or even if we all survive this current dystopia. In a calmer, saner world of a couple years ago, it was a little freeing to accept that and just make that the plan. I have a tiny amount of savings that is really nothing, but serves as an emergency fund at the least. With J earning money and his business doing well, we are less strapped in general from month to month, but as prices rise on gas and groceries, plus healthcare premiums that are now much higher than they were the past several years, it becomes more challenging. I still try to fit in smaller pleasures, like theater tickets and occasional new dresses, as well as things like art supplies and books, but it gets harder and probably will even more so.
Much is afoot in the dgp world, with me still figuring out work flows and logistics on the new books. I've been sampling a few different POD operations, including Amazon and Ingram, and am finding there are benefits and drawbacks to both. The books are quite beautiful nevertheless, and I appreciate the easiness of filling orders with books I do not have to print and fold and bind and trim all on my own. I am still looking for the sweet spot in pricing that does not send us into the red. Right now, its based on the unit cost per book --which of course varies according to page number, color, trim size, etc. I am loving having more options to explore there, since I was stuck, in recent years, with a printer that only did standard size sheets, which meant anything older and wider I had to order from Staples with the covers. I've done a couple long-lined books in a generous square size, as well as a tiny 8 x 5 book of slender poems that worked out gorgeously. I am still purchasing printing supplies and paper to do older books, but usually the bulk of sales any week is newer titles. Of course, I also love the idea of doing some micro chaps as freebies in the future to include in orders, so my saddle stapling days are far from over.
I am working a little bit each day on editing the prose-ey pieces for BONE PALACE and cleaning up the play scripts in addition to knocking out a poem draft first thing in the day. I finally finished the first draft of the longer script I've been working on the last few weeks. Its running about an hour, so is actually the longest one I've written so far and its been a journey for this tiny little slip of a poem writer. I've always said I am much more a sprinter than a marathon runner, and even just with this, I was feeling it.
I would like once again to say spring has sprung, but Chicago, as always, has different ideas. It's been cold enough to keep the radiators humming. Cold enough that the wind howls all night outside the windows sometimes. We had one day where we went out to the movies and I was able to go sans tights or a coat, but the next day it was like 30 degrees. I realize with horror that April means my birthday at the end of the month and another year round the sun. For the day before my actual birthday, J has secured us tickets for a second viewing of Hamilton (the initial run that started in March was extended), not to mention I had already gotten tickets for The Great Gatsby earlier in the week. We're also hoping to try to get out to the drive-in the following weekend to see the new Michael Jackson biopic and Purple Rain. (kinda the last chance before they start only showing Marvel and family friendly movies all summer. )
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