first week in Liverpool

I miss some things about Tours (trash chutes in the street!) but overall, I’ve made a good start here in Liverpool. I’m in the suburbs but the train isn’t too far away and I may try the bus, too. There are some lovely parks within walking distance and I’ll be checking out the botanic garden tomorrow. I got a library card and devoured my first bowl of scouse; I bought a wool coat for £4 at the neighborhood thrift store because some days it feels like spring but last week it felt like winter. I can walk downtown in just over an hour and visited the Museum of Liverpool yesterday; the International Slavery Museum is closed for renovations but I’m still finding facts that I can use in a book for kids…like this marker placed in the churchyard of a thirteenth-century church in Liverpool. Discovered it through a walking tour last weekend and will just keep digging, setting aside the guilty thoughts that say I’m neglecting the four other books I’ve already got on the go…

My mother went back into the hospital, which wasn’t what she wanted when she decided to start palliative care last month. But I’m not there so I give my two cents via text and wait to see what’s going to happen. The crocuses are blooming here and I’m keeping up with my routine-building habits: walking, reading, writing a poem a day. There are *way* too many programs to watch now that I have access to BBC, STV, and ITV. I haven’t kept up with my French journal but I’m not abandoning that option just because it’s easier to communicate here. I reached out to the local public library and they’d like to discuss collaborating on some events. I couldn’t easily do that in France because my language skills held me back…I might reach out to a friend at Oxford but won’t make a decision about the UK artist visa until I’ve been here at least a month. There’s no rush—that’s what I keep telling myself. There’s no rush…