51. You've Won a Carton of Eggs!
The Case of the Marvellous Mothers
Hello, friend - hope you’ve had a great week!
It’s Mother’s Day in the land of Oz today, and we’ve spent the weekend catching up with our matriarchs and hugging them tightly.
I’m in constant awe of the kind, strong, funny and capable mothers in my life. Well .. not constant awe … sometimes I do just go grocery shopping and think of other things, but I quickly bounce back to awe once I’ve got an iced-latte.
Days that celebrate a parent can stir up mixed feelings, as everyone you know has a unique experience. There’s no ‘right’ way to feel. We remember the mums that are no longer with us, the families that might have been, or relationships that were never quite as ‘storybook’ as society would have us believe is the norm.
If you are happy, sad, glad, mad, confused, cross, gassy, hungry, indifferent, ecstatic or just middle-of-the-road today - we send you love in whatever space you happen to be in.
Oh! And a little sketchy Mother Goose …
Fishbird Catch of the Week
We publish articles twice a week on the Fishbird Central website - every Wednesday and Saturday! This week’s included:
2025 ITW Thriller Award Finalists!
In this post we unpack the 2025 International Thriller Awards finalists and get ready to blow out our TBR! So many great books to read on this list - how many have you read? What are you most excited for? The ITW Thriller Awards celebrate the best thriller writers from around the world. Winners are due to be announced in June 2025! Still not enough thriller books for you? Check out the previous 2024 ITW Thriller Award list!
Check out the latest post here - 2025 ITW Thriller Award Finalists!
In this post we sync our daily artistic creations with their own haiku! Some sweet little poems from me, to you. While traditional haiku tends to be seasonal or nature-based - the ones you are about to read will feature goats, ducks and pencils that have merged with a fish. You’re welcome, Japanese literature. Drop some of your own haiku in the comments - I’d love to read it!
Check out the latest post here - May Markings - Week 1, 2025!
Loaf of Bread, Carton of Milk, Stick of Butter
My name is Jen Payne, and I’m a daily sketcher.
Sometimes thinking of things to sketch each day can be a bit of a challenge. This is where you come in, dear reader.
If there’s a gap in my sketchy matrix, and you’ve been waiting and waiting for the day when I’ll draw a spider monkey, egg whisk or Lord Voldemort - then please let me know.
Recently I filled an egg carton with a menagerie. Is there a series of objects or like-minded creatures you’d care to see huddled in a basket or manning a lonely lighthouse? Drop me a comment, friend - and I’ll see what I can do.
In the mean time, pick up your carton of eggs here:
Quick Fire Wrap Up
Currently Reading: ‘Crimson Lake’ by Candice Fox. Amanda Pharrell knows what it's like to be public enemy number one. Maybe it's her murderous past that makes her so good as a private investigator, tracking lost souls in the wilderness. She enlists help from the one person in town more hated than she is - Ted Conkaffey - to help find her latest target. But the residents of Crimson Lake are watching the pair's every move. And for Ted, a man already at breaking point, this town is offering no place to hide.
Currently Watching: ‘The Gentlemen’ Season One on Netflix. When aristocratic Eddie inherits the UK family estate, he discovers that it's home to a huge weed empire, and its proprietors aren't going anywhere.
Currently Singing Along To: ‘The Book of Love’ by The Magnetic Fields - ‘… The book of love is long and boring, no one can lift the damn thing. It's full of charts and facts and figures, and instructions for dancing. But I, I love it when you read to me - and you, you can read me anything.’
Have any book, song or show recommendations? Let me know in the comments! :)
Wishes for the Week
Let me send you out into the week with another haiku, oh glorious you. Mostly because my brain insists on the 5-7-5 format now, and mostly because you’re a lyrical unicorn who has earned whatever this is.
There’s nothing that you Can't achieve today, cutie. Go get a coffee.
Stay cool, punks.
‘Mothers require plenty of sunlight, caffeine and chocolate to flourish.’ - Florence Nightingale (probably)
Jen x
Thank you for being a loving, witty & totally entertaining daughter - your unique humour always brightens my day 🥰