Plato’s Fire Diary: February 2024
February has been all about juggling life and work commitments.
I started a new part-time job at my local library back in December, but since I was on winter break from Plato’s Fire for much of December/January, I feel like I’m only now properly learning how to juggle being both employed and self-employed again. My library work is mentally and physically tiring, but now that it’s (just about) light when I walk home from work, I can feel myself beginning to be capable of more than just napping on the sofa in the evenings!
This month has also felt busy on a personal front: Valentine’s Day was fun (we went along to the film club at the arts venue in town and got a bag of chips on the way home); I think my mum liked the birthday present I agonised over buying for her; my dad-in-law had a successful album launch (Scots-language folk/blues/rock music - so much fun!); one of my oldest friends came up to Edinburgh from London for work so I managed to meet her for wine and dinner. This Saturday will mark the 13th anniversary of the night I met my now-husband which feels far too many years and makes me feel far too old but I suppose we’ll have to mark the occasion somehow!
And this month I launched Plato’s Fire’s first sort-of-Valentines-themed collection. I had lots of fun using bright pink acrylics and giving some of my existing Greek vase designs a playful Care Bears-esque twist, and enjoyed getting to grips with some beading techniques to incorporate freshwater pearls into the collection. I also tried to make this collection as zero-waste as possible, and have designed the heart-shaped pieces to be made from the off-cuts of the larger vases. It’s a bonus that the pearl heart earrings have ended up being my favourite piece from the collection - they’re now my go-to everyday earrings.
Reading-wise, we’ve been reading Natalie Haynes’ brilliant Stone Blind for the Ancient World Book Club. It’s so fun to read with other people, and I’m in constant admiration of the insightful and thought-provoking comments our book club members leave in the reading group.
I’ve slowly been getting through my Libby TBR and finished Julia this month. It’s a retelling of 1984 from Julia’s POV and it made me want to reread 1984 as I struggled to remember which parts of Julia were retellings of the original novel or inventions for that book. There was one truly horrific scene in Julia that I really wish I hadn’t read on the bus as I thought I was actually going to be sick - it’s going to be interesting to compare the equivalent scene in 1984 as I don’t remember it being quite that graphic when I read it as a teenager.
I always fall behind in my Greek and Latin language work over the winter, and this month I’ve been easing myself back into it with the good old Cambridge Latin Anthology. If you studied Latin at school you’re probably familiar with it, but I think it’s a good choice for independent learners, too. It’s usually cheap to find second-hand and has a decent in-book vocabulary guide/commentary. I wish there were longer introductions to the selections, but I suppose that’s what teachers are for!
