Liner Notes: January - Marianne/Happy Phantom

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2026 marks the 30th anniversary of Boys for Pele. It's my favorite Tori Amos album and I had no idea it was the 30th anniversary this year until I saw a post on Tori's Instagram about it. Time is a construct.

As I shared previously, it took me a long time to decide what format I was going to use for this year's stitch journal so the fact that it's the 30th anniversary of Boys for Pele and that Strange Little Girls is being re-issued next month and that Tori has a new album coming out this year is all really coincidental in the big picture of this project. I originally had Tori's entry planned for later in the year, but moved it because it felt more winter-y for some reason. 

I like all of Tori's music, but I'm a Little Earthquakes-Under the Pink-Boys for Pele-Strange Little Girls fan. I own a few of her later albums and will be buying the new one, but those are the four albums for me. The first three albums have a lot of ghosts in them, both real and metaphorical. This week's entries were inspired by the ghosts...the happy phantoms of "Happy Phantom," the real ghost of Marianne from "Marianne," and the ghost of the town from "Little Amsterdam." 

I used circles of various sizes and shapes as some of the ghosts. If you've ever been on a ghost tour, you know that people describe seeing orbs of light at haunted places. That was the idea here. The orbs that might be a ghost but could also just be the way light works under certain conditions. I also added some random paths of stitches for the happy phantoms chasing nuns out in the yard. 

Ghosts are weird. They don't have to be people who aren't physically in this world anymore. They can be people or places that aren't part of your life anymore. I think about this a lot, especially as I'm getting older. Why do some people fade out of our lives leaving a little ghostly spot in our memory where they used to be? Was it just time or did I do or say something that made them disappear? I don't know. This is what I thin of every time I listen to "Marianne." The Marianne of the song was a real person (this is one of the few Tori girls facts I know) and she died young, reportedly a suicide. In interviews, Tori always said she didn't believe Marianne committed suicide, which is the premise of the song. It's one of my favorite songs from this album and probably the one I listened to the most when it first came out. I love the music and the lyrics. They pop into my head every now and then for no reason. A ghost of a song if you will. 

Next week we talk about earthquakes.

Here's what I added to the liner notes this week:

January 18

January 19

January 20

January 21

January 22

January 23

January 24

January to date

Songs that inspired this week's entries:
WIPs and Other Small Joys

This week's creative focus was on Groudhog Day cards. With the impending storm of doom coming this weekend, I wanted to get all the cards made and addressed so I could send them out. I spent most of last Sunday working on the cards, and then ended up working on a handful of cards on Monday and Tuesday because they needed sequins. Obviously. 

I always make a special card for one of my uncles who absolutely loves getting a Groundhog Day card. Last year, I embroidered a card for him. This year I decided to use sequins on his card. And then I loved the sequins so much I had to put them on a bunch of other cards. I don't know why, but sequins belong on Groundhog Day cards. They just do.




This is my uncle's card.


Anyway, 38 cards were made and have been mailed. If you really wanted one but didn't sign up, let me know. I can make a few more although they may get to you after Groundhog Day depending on the weather. 

Bea was super helpful with making cards. And by helpful, I mean she tried to eat a marker and she put her paw in some paint. She's an artist obviously...we just haven't figured out her medium yet.


Joining my monthly craft meetup.



I made a bunch of great food last weekend. The links to all the recipes can be found in last week's recap post if you want to try them. The pickle soup was so freaking good! It shouldn't be as good as it is. It's a little briny, a little creamy. You should make it to see what I mean. Both of the Practical Kitchen recipes turned out well too. I will definitely make the single crusty loaf again and had to freeze the cake since it was way too much for one person. 




I also took the greatest picture of Bea I've taken since she came home (and maybe the greatest picture I've ever taken). She is so majestic. 


I hope that every single one of us goes out into the world with the same energy and confidence that my cat has when she greets the sun. 

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