So Wyatt is giving us the gray hairs this month! After being home two weeks recovering from his first emergency surgery, we were back in the ER then headed to the OR again for a repeat of the same surgery Saturday morning. The doctors explained that this is how it happens with shunt revisions sometimes, nothing for years then boom boom. It was another long anxious weekend but I am glad that my kiddo is home and healing again.
Read Last Week:
I started both of these books and am enjoying them both!! Carol Goodman never fails me, I love her work so much. And The Brave Learner is inspiring!
Reading This Week:
Just finishing up the above.
Posted Last Week:
My fall clothes shopping wish list – I kind of talked here about the sad state of my closet and how I hope to revitalize it a bit, but also thinking about what is needed right now due to staying closer to home
Watching:
Wild Bill, Father Brown, Cobra Kai – Johnny finally won me over!
And that is it from my corner of the world – hope all is well in yours. Stay safe everyone.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Last week I mentioned that Wyatt had to have emergency surgery – he is recovering well, and is acting more like himself, just with a few more naps than normal. We spent most of the week laying low, but then braved an outing out to the apple orchard for my SIL’s birthday. We had a nice although slightly damp time. Thursday night I also had a lovely socially distanced evening with my BFF Kelly, where I masked up and went in her house for the first time in 6 months to see her axolotls. Or rather, her daughter’s. I also saw all the new cool pieces that she has added to her home – she has excellent style. Then Saturday my family got together for a quick fire at my brother’s house – drinks and conversation were much needed for our mental health after our past week!
Read Last Week:
Nothing. I didn’t think I would get any reading done, but I tried. I picked up and started reading to DNF three different books. I blame me, not the books though. I did listen to quite a few podcasts though.
Reading This Week:
I am going to start The Sea of Lost Girls by one of my favorite authors, Carol Goodman. I am also hoping to read The Brave Learner by Julie Bogart which has been on my TBR for a while.
Wild Bill, Parks and Rec reruns (so much Rob Lowe in my life right now), Father Brown, and.. Cobra Kai. Which took me a minute to love but now I am all in with it’s 80s cheesy goodness.
And that is about it for now! We are leaving to go for a hike in a few minutes so I need to get ready. I hope to visit all of you soon!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
It was quite a week. Wyatt had emergency surgery on Wednesday and since then it has been all about healing and recovery here.
Read Last Week:
I absolutely inhaled this book on Sunday and Monday. It was so good!! It actually freaked me out in parts and I loved the ending and the characters, and well everything really. Review soon. After that, I didn’t read at all, due to circumstances listed above. I did listen to lots and lots of podcasts!
Reading This Week:
I am not sure how much reading I will do. When I am anxious I tend to not be able to read very much. I did curbside pick up my grab bag of books for Wyatt at the library and my own library holds, so I have a few cozy mysteries to choose from. I may end up reading this. We will see!
Father Brown, Wild Bill (Rob Lowe…), Teenage Bounty Hunters for our watch list right now. And the podcasts I am listening to like crazy are Casefiles, Redhanded the Podcast, Homemaker Chic, and Lore.
Didn’t I just write my August post? Sure feels like it. And yet, here we are in September already. Time is moving so weird this year.
Appreciating: my family – despite still distancing from them, we are still strong and united. We continue to support each other, and work as a community as much as we can. How we do it is a little different than normal, but we are working out ways. My brother and my mom have bubbled, as my brother and his wife work full time and my niece is going to be homeschooled, so my mom is on the job. My brother is helping my mother out in her home when something goes wrong, and if he needs to know how to do it, he calls my husband, who is usually the fix-it person. In return, I am coordinating all of my niece’s homeschooling, pulling together the lessons and resources and curriculum, and we are even having chat meetings to discuss materials needed for the weeks ahead and what the lessons will be covering. We are a team! And because I am me, I have given a name to our school – James Herriot Primary. I didn’t know how Wyatt’s transcripts would look in the future with our homeschool year, and I wanted to have a name in case it was needed. I am new to this whole thing! And I want to give a shout out to my dad as well – he lives farther away but has helped in his own ways. He and my stepmom drove an hour and half to drop off McDonalds to Billy and I at the hospital then turn around and head back home.
Anticipating: The changing of the seasons, from summer to autumn. These past weeks have been muggy and damp and hot, and I have not enjoyed them. I can feel fall in the air, and have even spotted evidence of it in the leaves on the trees and the ripening of the pumpkins growing in our garden. I am looking forward to jeans and boots and warm drinks on chilly nights, cozy mysteries, backyard fires, and more hikes in the woods.
Starting: School! My son started kindergarten this week here at home. A different situation and beginning than we had ever imagined, but that is ok. We can do this! We are also working on some room redos – repainting the family room and freshening it up, and completely overhauling the office. And our house is not the only one getting a new look and a refresher – Harry our gecko is getting new digs this week too! We have been doing a lot of research and she will hopefully soon be enjoying her new bioactive enclosure! We are just waiting on everything to arrive! It will be bigger and have a much nicer atmosphere and substrate.
Finishing: Old projects! My hubby finally hung the shelves in my son’s room that I’ve been wanting him to hang for quite some time. Otherwise not too much – we are starting more right now than finishing anything.
How about you guys? Anything you are appreciating, anticipating, collecting, starting or finishing?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
I took an unplanned break last week – from everything it seems like. Wyatt and I were super lazy. The weather was horrid and humid, and we didn’t want to go outside. We seemed to have lost motivation for everything. Friday night though I had a socially distance social gathering my friends, despite the stormy weather. We just gathered in the garage, all spread out, with the garage door open. It was a good time. Finally, today, the weather is much cooler, and we might have our mojo back. Just a little. We went for a family hike in the woods, the first in months, then had a little picnic.
Read Last Week:
I really enjoyed this third book in the Vine Witch series! This book focused on Sidra the fiery jinn, her past, and the new danger facing her – as well as Elena and Yvette, who have found themselves entangled in each other’s fates it seems at every turn. Review soon.
Reading this Week:
I can’t decide between these two. As for Maniac, I am sure this book will freak me out but having been to Bath, MI on a brief visit while my husband interviewed for a job there, I have been curious to know what happened there. While my husband was at his interview, I explored the town which is pretty small, and saw the memorial that stands at the site of this tragedy. And Southern Book Club – well, that might be the winner in this race. I have wanted to read it for a while now! We will see which grabs me more while reading. UPDATE: I started Southern Book Club and was sucked in…it’s riveting and I think scares me more than Maniac would have!! Terrifying but so good!
Watching:
Father Brown, Teenage Bounty Hunters, and we are also rewatching Parks and Rec. I find myself saying “literally” a lot more right now..
And that is about it from where I am sitting! Wyatt’s first day of Kindergarten homeschool is Monday – I am looking forward to it!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Last week was our last week of our summer homeschooling sessions. It was a good week! We started one of Wyatt’s ancestry weeks where we learn about the places his family comes from, and our first stop was Hawaii! Billy is Hawaiian and I felt like it was a good week to end the summer learning on. Otherwise, our week was just a week – nothing super exciting happening around here. We have been spending our weekends working around the house, just puttering around. We have been working on little projects, like this soap we made!
Read Last Week:
Finished up the last bit of 100 Things to do in a Forest and posted my review. I also read Enduring Spirits, which is the newest in the Witches of Palmetto Point series I began and devoured at the beginning of the pandemic.
Reading this Week:
I am super excited to begin this one! I have loved the first two in the series and have high expectations for this third installment in The Vine Witch series.
We are still watching Father Brown and finishing up The Umbrella Academy. We added Wild Bill and Teenage Bounty Hunters to our watchlists though to start as soon as we finish up. Wild Bill is on Britbox and stars Rob Lowe in a British series – should be fun!
That’s all from here this week – stay safe everyone!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
The weather here last week was super gross, and Wyatt and I had to stay in more than we usually do. We did have a picnic lunch on my mom’s lawn one day, visiting my mom (socially distanced) and then I had a socially distanced night at my friend Kelly’s. But really, it was a pretty slow week around here! I did get one of my big book orders in that I had placed for Wyatt’s school year, which was super exciting for me. It took me back to when I worked in the school library and all of our orders would start showing up – just on a much smaller scale.
Read Last Week:
Mary Stewart is a go to author for me, and this one was no different. Love revisiting her every so often.
Reading this Week:
I had started this a few weeks ago, but I was reading an egalley version and for some reason I could only read it on my phone, which was annoying. I had read enough of it though to know I wanted it, so I ordered it. I will finish reading it this week – I am so excited! This book is gorgeous by the way. Review soon.
We are watching a few things – The Umbrella Academy, Evil Genius, and Father Brown. Evil Genius is insane. My brother had told me to watch it a while ago, and we are just getting to it. It takes place in Erie, PA, a place that some of my extended family has lived, so I was intrigued just by that alone.
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
So I tried a new thing last week – listening to an audiobook instead of reading. I thought it would be ok, since I listen to podcasts but for some reason, I just can’t do it. I am not sure what my problem is but I wish I could pay attention to an audiobook. My week last week was all about administrative things for our house – making lists and checking stuff off. We also celebrated Billy’s birthday, Billy bought a new to us car (a 2017 Subaru Outback that he is in love with), and Billy took a vacation day Friday and we all went to an orchard and picked peaches. It was a lot of fun. Wyatt and I also got our first haircuts since February! His auntie Kellie gave us outside and masked up cuts – we both really needed them!
Read Last Week:
Can you believe, nothing? My reading is so weird this year. I did try to listen to my cherry season book, but no dice.
Reading This Week:
I have been successful with nonfiction this summer, and The Read-Aloud Family looks pretty perfect for us. And Mary Stewart is a go-to comfort read author for me – and might be what I need after reading Mexican Gothic, which was so good!
Today I am linking up with Anne In Residence for her monthly Currently.. linkup. It’s always a fun way to think about what is happening in my world right now. And for now, our world is very small feeling. We have been close to home, venturing out a wee bit more but not really. This time at home or outside has strengthened our connection with the little creatures that share our small square of land. I feel like we are spotting insects and toads and birds so much more often. And for some reason we have millions of grasshoppers in our yard! I am reminded of that summer in the Little House books, the one where the grasshoppers destroyed Plum Creek. When we walk through the yard, we are proceeded by the hops of grasshoppers moving out of our way with every step. Ours aren’t destructive, just everywhere.
Anyway.. here we go!
Choosing:Our curriculum for the year. We have decided that I am going to homeschool Wyatt this year and he is not a kid who will benefit from online distance learning, so I am plunging in on my own. I have done weeks of research and am very excited to start with our choices. We are also choosing paint colors – the big paint begins around here very soon. With all this time and heading into fall we are going to get started on freshening up some of our rooms, and I am so excited! We have made some unconventional choices for our room layouts (turning our dining room into a den and our living room into a dining room/family room) but now we want to change the colors.
Consuming: Cider! It is the summer of cider around here. I am not sure what that is about but I am enjoying all the different summery ciders. Michigan has two wonderful orchards that produce them and while I like Blake’s Rose a lot, the Virtue Ciders are the ones I usually order. I am also enjoying homemade London Fog Lattes! My neighbor surprised me with the mix from Aldi’s and while I wanted to drink it all in one day, I have been good and spaced it out.
Enjoying: So much time with my little family. And I have even been able to enjoy some socially distanced social time with my girl friends, and my family, which has been wonderful. We have been soaking up nature, going on lazy picnics in the park where we set up under a shade tree, take snacks, and read and draw until little man gets tired of it. I am also enjoying watching the few things I managed to plant grow – my pumpkins especially!
Ordering: Umm.. what am I not ordering now? Lol. Recently aside from everyday essentials, I am ordering art supplies, books for Wyatt and I, birthday gifts, and even a few Christmas gifts from one of my favorite artists. I’ve linked a few standout favorites here!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
It’s a rainy weekend this weekend, and I have to say I sort of welcome it. It means no picnics this weekend, but I am enjoying the change. The other evening I was walking across my yard and I felt the weirdest feeling, the hint of fall in the air, nudging me, letting me know that summer’s end is right around the corner – already. Everything has felt so off this year, the seasons all out of tune with our family’s normal rhythms – no festivals or art fairs, no summer vacation up north, no summer nights spent with friends and family while the kids play in the yard and we jabber on. Now when we get together it is distanced, and we try so hard to steer the conversation from current events. And I went off on a tangent here, sorry! I blame the rain.
Read Last Week:
Mexican Gothic, by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I am still working on The Masterpiece, but I am irritated with Claude right now, and I need to take a break from him. I did download Mexican Gothic, and holy moly was it awesome! I completely devoured it, which I haven’t done with a fiction book in ages. I think you would have to enjoy magical realism to really like it, but it was amazing. I loved everything about it, but then magical realism is a favorite genre of mine. It reminded me of my beloved Mary Stewart gothics but with lots of extras. It was excellent! I also started reading 100 Things to do in a Forest, but for some reason I can only read it on my phone which I hate! I read enough of it however to know that I want to add it to our family library so I am ordering a physical copy and will finish it when it arrives.
Reading This Week:
It is definitely cherry season here in Michigan! I think today I might make a cherry clafloutis, or maybe tomorrow.. anyway, I am also starting this book. I love this cover! And it is set in Michigan, so bonus!
We are on the final episode of Picard, which I think we will finish up tonight. I liked it but not as much as Billy did, but then I don’t have decades of watching Star Trek behind me either. Lol. We are also watching Father Brown, Cursed, and Season 2 of the Umbrella Academy! I missed crazy Klaus.
And that is it from our little burrow this week! Stay safe everyone.
