🪻May!⚡️Electro Green Curry! 🍛 London Comic Con! 🦹‍♀️

Dear Adventurers,

We have come a long way on this quest together-- we're still a few months out from delivery, but gaining every day.

No big set backs this month! (woo!) I am still slow with the chronic health stuff, but feeling good. A lot of logistics; NHS specialist waitlists, I finally got in to see my new rheumatologist here, I now have a source of my prescription meds, and have also found most of my supplements here (a big deal!). Still working on getting physical therapies set up. Also got a vintage work recliner/lounge chair, that is making it WAY easier to work on my laptop. Screen time can still be difficult with my eyes and headaches, but ergonomically this is a huge win.

As I'm wrapping up work on the book, I'm returning to its (light) roots now with a Tears of the Kingdom replay (I know I just said screen time has it's drawbacks, but I miss video games too much)-- it's inspiring and nostalgic to be back in Hyrule, I've been away too long, and I'm drawing some parallels.

A huge upheaval, losing most of my heart containers and stamina, and slowly clawing some of my capacity back; is Tears of the Kingdom a disability journey? I may never regain the abilities I had before; but am I not finding new ones? New, creative ways to do things? Improvising with what I have? Finding help along the way?

[TotK ending spoiler in next paragraph only]

Link heals from the gloom, from his losses, even regains his arm. Even Zelda returns as a Hylian after what could only be an extremely traumatic millennium as a dragon. It's hard when media portrays disability as something you can completely recover from, not something you deal with for the rest of your life; but it's clear the physical and mental scars of TotK will remain on its people and lands for a long time.

Health trauma is a sort of mental gloom, hovering in the corner whenever I meet a new doctor, in the middle of the night when I want to roll over and worry this is the moment I dislocate my neck again and cause a new csf leak, or when I meet a new friend for tea (♥️) and hope I don't catch an illness while I try to connect. Healing from gloom; it's so slow. Teaching my nervous system that it is safe to do things again, slowly expanding my tolerance. Every sunset on the beach, every afternoon nap, every breath, and every step. I'll never be the same, but the gloom won't hold forever.

More April wins; finally, the rest of my stuff is on its way to England from America. NHS is taking great care to keep me vaccinated, updating me on my referrals, checking in on me. I filed for tax extensions while I work to set up my self-employment here, US/UK taxes will now be part of my yearly existence, so I'm making sure to get my tax ducks all in a row. quack. 🦆

Cookbook wise, added a couple unexpected new recipes; a few more pages is not going to break my bank any more than it already is. Formatting, cover redesign (it'll still 'match' the 1st cookbook, I'm just realizing I don't want the only difference to be a green color! I want to take the opportunity to make something new!), and while we didn't unlock custom end sheets... I've got a practical idea for them that I hope will make the cookbook easier to navigate.

Still struggling to cook for myself-- when I'm too tired to stand, I chop carrots while sitting on the floor of my kitchen. 🥕 doing my best ✨

...and Artist Alley at London Comic Con!

Last but not least... I just got in off the waitlist for London MCM Comic Con Artist Alley, May 22-24!

My little zelda cookbook booth will be international for the first time! UK folks have never had an easy time getting this book (it costs me $38 to ship a single master edition from the US to the UK), so I am very excited to have shipped some in bulk here just in time!

This is also a bit of a test run; it would be great to ship pallets of the 2nd cookbook here directly, to save on time/money for shipping to all of you European folks!! :) We'll see; navigating imports and VAT is... intricate, but I am hopeful.

If you happen to be one of the few UK backers and are attending... my booth is AA F11!! I would be so happy to meet you! I won't have all of my normal booth decor (alas! it will not arrive until June!) but I will have a little lucky fairy for you if you let me know you are a backer <3

Electro Green Curry!

A few of you darling patrons had early access to this recipe via my website. It's one of the new bonus recipes I've added; another thank you for waiting.

This is my go-to traditional thai green curry recipe; and while it is not in any Zelda game (yet), Electro Curry should definitely be a Hylian staple. While living alone last summer, from June through November while awaiting my UK visa, I basically subsisted on this and the Hero of Thyme Soup. It freezes well!

Finally, it's my birthday! 🧿🎂🥳 I am 34 years old now! It was lovely having some friends in town to visit, and we ate good food! My annual birthday sale is on in my Etsy shop, if you want to pick up a book of poems, prints, or another volume of the 1st cookbook this weekend.

And traditional reminders: the digital edition of the 1st cookbook is always free for you on itch.io. I'm still working on putting up a limited number of preorders again on my Etsy shop, and with that, the Backer Survey is next on my list, as we're getting close. I'll have a big download for you, consolidating all the early recipes for you, hopefully by next update.

With love, light, and endless gratitude,
Aimee ♥︎

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ps-- while I worry about comic con as well; it is so, so nice to have a convention to look forward to. I love cosplay, meeting people, being in a crowd of nerds-- I have adored it since I was a teenager, and am so happy to be going. Denver Fan Expo is my 'home' convention; I cried when saying goodbye last year to all my favorite people-- I loved seeing your faces, your costumes, your Zelda tattoos, I looked forward to seeing you every year, and will miss you so terribly! Every time I go to a con, I make new friends, find old ones, and leave inspired. My energy to make things is replenished by the "nerd energy". I'm of course taking health precautions as I must nowadays, and plan to take many breaks, eat many snacks, and drink lots of water. I don't have any costumes to wear, still only have the clothes in my suitcase with my stuff on the way, but all well! I'll be comfy at least.

what are you looking forward to? what are you yearning for, striving for-- what's the next checkpoint on your horizon right now? 🌄

pps–...and happy birthday to all the other Spring babes! 🥳