Springtime in Paris: Hugo

On April 24, 2025April 23, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized20 Comments

Hello everyone!! Welcome to week four of our Paris film journey! Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I wanted fun and whimsy and beauty this spring, and although an actual trip to Paris in the spring would be better, a film journey will have to do. We are having great fun, and hope you will journey along with us!

This week, we watched Hugo!

This one was my pick, and I picked it for Billy. This is one of his favorite movies, and I have to admit, I really like it too, but not as much as he does. He loves all the little tinkering, the clockworks, the workings of machinery, as well as how masterfully this movie is shot and acted.

The summary from Rotten Tomatoes: “Orphaned and alone except for an uncle, Hugo Cabret (Asa Butterfield) lives in the walls of a train station in 1930s Paris. Hugo’s job is to oil and maintain the station’s clocks, but to him, his more important task is to protect a broken automaton and notebook left to him by his late father (Jude Law). Accompanied by the goddaughter (Chloë Grace Moretz) of an embittered toy merchant (Ben Kingsley), Hugo embarks on a quest to solve the mystery of the automaton and find a place he can call home.”

From his home in the walls of the train station, Hugo can see life happening all around him. The woman with the little cute dachshund, who is fiercely protective of her mistress, and won’t let a certain interested gentleman speak with her, the toy seller with his wind up toys, the sweet natured florist, the people rushing rushing rushing for their trains, and the slightly villainous presence of the Station Inspector (Sacha Baron Cohen) and his Doberman, Maximillian. Hugo winds the clocks to keep the Station Inspector at bay, pretending he is his Uncle Claude, who took him in after his father died. Uncle Claude used to keep the clocks running but he disappeared one day to not return. Hugo does not want the Station Inspector to find him, because he will send him to the orphanage, and Hugo does not want to leave – he has his automaton to work on and protect.

The automaton was the last thing his dad had brought home from his job at the museum. The two were looking forward to bringing it back to life before his dad suddenly dies in a fire at the museum, and Hugo was whisked away to the walls of the train station. Hugo makes it his mission to continue the dream that he and his dad had.

Then one day, he meets Isabelle, played by Chloë Grace Moretz. They strike up a friendship, showing each other the wonders of their worlds. Isabelle introduces Hugo to the most delightful looking bookstore, and its kindhearted bookseller, played by Christopher Lee, and Hugo introduces her to movies, and eventually, to his home in the walls and his automaton.

Let’s stop and take a peek at this bookshop, because it is a place I would find magical as well.

Isabelle and Hugo’s stories begin to overlap and become intertwined, as they discover little things that just raise more questions, about the automaton and Hugo’s dad and Isabelle’s godfather, who is the train station toy merchant, Georges Méliès – who also has secrets.

Georges Méliès was a real person, and is at the heart of this movie. He was a filmmaker, and his story is rather interesting. Cat over at Cat’s Wire actually has a blog post about him and his history, if you want to pop over and read it! It will give a bit of background to this movie, and may fill in some blanks, because as I said, a large part of Hugo has to do with Méliès.

I thought this movie was beautifully shot, the cinematography was gorgeous, the story was heartfelt and sincere, and I loved how everything was interwoven and eventually, how it ended.

I thought the side characters and little mini-plots were well done as well. The Station Inspector has his own story, and where you want to dislike him, there is something about him that stops you. A vulnerability in his villain. Bit by bit we learn his story as well, and it brings his actions into perspective. I thought that Sacha Baron Cohen played this character so well, and while his actions seemed cruel, and some were, I don’t think that he necessarily is. I know that sounds super confusing. He and Hugo are very similar, in believing that everyone and everything has a place, an order. Hugo believes that like machines, there are no spare parts, therefore everyone must belong somewhere; and so does the Station Inspector. How this manifests in their actions though, differs and we watch the Station Inspector going from trapped and locked up, to becoming more.

Hugo says in this movie “Maybe that’s why a broken machine always makes me a little sad, because it isn’t able to do what it was meant to do… Maybe it’s the same with people. If you lose your purpose… it’s like you’re broken.”

Hugo is a fixer, a tinkerer. And in this movie, he demonstrates that he can fix more than just automatons and in doing so, finds his place and where he belongs.

This movie is magical. Ben Kingsley’s performance is amazing, as always, and in his end speech, in which he is addressing people involved in film, I feel like he means every single word.

If you haven’t seen this movie, give it a whirl. I think you might like it.

Did you watch? What do you think of this movie? Feel free to comment and link up with us!

—

Next up is The Intouchables!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On April 18, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized28 Comments

Hello everyone! I am sitting here typing away, with my coffee on one side, and Wyatt on the other. He is flipping through a book, and watching Frog and Toad, which incidentally is the cutest little cartoon. He is also chattering away so please ignore any typos. Billy is in the kitchen preparing the sourdough so that he can make a few loaves for Easter. It’s a pretty good morning.

It was a very busy week this week – our appointment season is almost over though! There are times of the year when we have all of Wyatt’s specialist appointments in a row, like a month or so of them, and it is crazy. We had his epileptologist appointment this week, and it went really well. We had nothing but good things to report and his doctor was very pleased! His EEG in June looks like it will only be one night now instead of two, so that was welcome news.

Last Saturday we had a little guest at our house. We watched my littlest niece, who we call The Hurricane because she is a whirling dervish causing mayhem. We had such a great time with her! She kept us soooo busy but it was really cool to hang out with her. We have time with her older sister all the time so it was nice to hang with just E. She went from one thing to the next to the next and so on. She loved our fish so much, they were a big hit. I had to stop her a few times from trying to reach inside the aquariums to grab them though.

Sunday we had a birthday party for another of our nieces. It was so cute to see T. full of excitement at her party. She had all of her friends and family there, and she was happy that she had all of her aunts there at one time. It doesn’t usually happen for some reason and I loved that that made her happy. She had an axolotl themed party with very delicious cupcakes!

This week we also had some sunny warm days, finally!! We are trying to get outside as much as we can on these nice days between now and Wyatt’s surgery. Wyatt and I spent almost all afternoon Wednesday playing basketball outside. It meant lots of rounding up basketballs for me though, so I got quite a workout. I need one of these nieces to come over and fetch for us! We also had dinner out there as well. Wyatt loves picnics, so we had a picnic, then he and his dad played outside until bedtime. It was awesome. This might not sound like much, but before the ramp was built, Wyatt was not able to go outside and play. Wheelchairs are not great on grass, and just getting to the yard was very difficult for the two of us. I would have to carry him out the front door and around the house to the back, which doesn’t sound too hard, but imagine the person you are carrying is 70 pounds. I am not a big human either, so it was getting sort of rough and we just didn’t do it very often. Now though, we have our freedom back and it has been wonderful. Using the ramp all winter to leave the house whenever we wanted, now using the ramp and being able to utilize the deck space, has transformed both of our lives. We were able to get out some yesterday as well. Today is going to be really warm apparently, so we are going to go out on his bike too.

Speaking of his surgery, we are working on preparing for it the best we can. We have pivoted from walking as much in therapy to more strength training, both there and at home. We have added a few extra home exercises to build up his muscle strength, which will help him recover easier, and are just trying to get him to move any body part as much as possible between now and then. We scaled back on school for the moment, focusing just on the essentials (I mean, I think it is all essential but we are sticking a pin in a few things for now – like the Revolutionary War and artist studies).

I also started thinking about what we will need during recovery. What will we do to entertain this kid while he is in bed, or stuck in traction for weeks? What special clothes might we need? Bathing, how does that happen? So we are looking for these solutions right now. I have a whole list of books I made the other day for us to try during that time. I think we will reread some old favorites like Frog and Toad and Mr. Putter and Tabby, introduce some gentle reads for that first week home, like Paddington, and then as he feels a bit better, add in books like The Hardy Boys. Then we will see what else he would like to read.

We had had reservations for Providence in August, which are obviously now cancelled. So, I put together a list of some books for myself as well, that focus on the seaside and the coast. They are not all New England based, but some are. That is the great thing about books, we can travel anywhere with them. And Providence will still be there in the future. The whales will have to wait!

Wyatt and I also convinced Billy to use some of the leftover lumber from the ramp to build little free libraries for us! We want one that two houses – one that is the typical height, and one that is lower for children and wheelchair users. We are also going to have Billy install a camera so we can see into the backyard while we are in his room if we want – we have three cats that like to hang around and I know Wyatt will want to keep updated on them. We have the neighbor’s cat, Knox, who is super sweet and we can actually pet. Then there are two cats that we don’t if they are stray or not. One is a big tabby, and I have named him Angus-Fergus, and there is one that just showed up, a big rough looking guy who has been around. He is white with black splotches, and we named him Brando. I don’t know why they like our porches so much but they do. And that is ok.

And jeez, I feel like I am just rambling away today!! I should wrap this up! Lol.

I hope that whatever you all do today, whatever you do this weekend, that you feel safe and loved and do something that makes you smile.

Springtime in Paris: Paris Blues

On April 17, 2025April 17, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized9 Comments

Hello everyone!! Welcome to week three of our Paris film journey! Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I wanted fun and whimsy and beauty this spring, and although an actual trip to Paris in the spring would be better, a film journey will have to do. We are having great fun, and hope you will journey along with us!

However, this week’s movie is not exactly the most lighthearted of our picks, but it was a wonderful movie all the same. I really enjoyed the vibe, ya dig?

This movie stars some big names! Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Sidney Poitier, Diahann Carroll, Louis Armstrong! That last one was shocking to me! Louis Armstrong! How cool is that?

The Rotten Tomatoes synopsis of this movie states “Despite being far from home, American jazz musicians Ram Bowen (Paul Newman) and Eddie Cook (Sidney Poitier) are content living and working in Paris. Ram knows it’s the best place for him to develop his musical reputation, and Eddie is far away from the racism that once greeted him on a regular basis. But after meeting and falling in love with American tourists Lillian (Joanne Woodward) and Connie (Diahann Carroll), the pair must decide whether their artistic integrity is worth abandoning.”

The bohemian vibe in this movie was awesome. I think it perfectly encapsulates the jazz scene, the clubs full of people smoking and drinking, the casual relationships, the cocaine use (what!), the commitment to art, and of course, the discussion of racism. It felt very different from so many old movies I have watched, but I loved it.

Paul Newman (Ram) is a trombone player in a jazz band, and he is one of those married to the music this is my life kinda guys. We all knew those guys right? In my day they all played bass guitar, but hey, this was another time. He is living his bliss, playing music nightly with his band, picking up chicks, and definitely not getting wrapped up in long term serious relationships. Sidney Poitier (Eddie) is also living his dream, performing as a musician, and not one that is qualified as a Black Musician. In Paris, he is just a musician. Paris did not have the racism that was/is found in the United States, and this stretches as far back at least as far as the Civil War era, when Black people from the States could even move to Paris and receive an education, become doctors, provided they had the financial means or support to do so. And I am going off on a tangent here so I am going to rein this back in.

So these two hepcats were out here living their dream, and then in waltzes two American women who turn their heads and make them question what it is they really want. Diahann Carroll (Connie) and Joanne Woodward (Lillian) are in Paris for some good times on their two week trip.

At first, Ram hits on Connie, although later, Eddie and Connie fall in love while Lillian and Ram pair up and fall in love as well. I did read that this movie was intended to have Newman and Carroll in a relationship but that the director chickened out.

Ram and Lillian waste no time of her two week trip getting to know each other, with Ram and Lillian sharing a bed the next morning after meeting. Eddie and Connie seem to be always outside, soaking up the walks of Paris, and Eddie even mentions how they like to walk and Paris is a city to be walked. Or something like that.

I did have a giggle at one point, when Eddie and Connie are out. He buys her a huge bouquet of flowers that after what seems like fifty feet she says she can’t carry. Eddie takes them from her and gently lays them on a hill next to the sidewalk, and says they will leave them there with a note saying that lovers can take a flower. But then he and Connie just immediately leave, without writing that note! I chatted Lisa, what the heck! They didn’t leave that note! Eddie and Connie’s relationship seems deeper yet more innocent, with them outside all the time, in gardens and on the streets. I loved when Eddie told Connie that he loved her, it seemed so happy and joyful and yet also held I think a bit of surprise, but I mean Poitier was an amazing actor. I was much more interested in him and his story actually, than Ram and Lillian’s. Despite their love for another though, Eddie did not want to return to America with Connie. Why should he, when in Paris he can be himself, and America is segregated and violent at the time? I didn’t necessarily blame him, although Connie makes some compelling arguments.

While Eddie and Connie are having their affair on the streets of Paris, Ram and Lillian are doing their thing as well. And same, Lillian wants Ram to return to America as well. But he is too freewheeling to consider it, and he his has music to think of. Paris offers so much in building his musical education – can he give that up? And he would be a stepdad too, or at least Lillian has two children so there would be children involved if he went back, even for a trial year. So much to consider and weigh. Where does his heart really lie?

The jazz scenes in this movie were amazing. When I was a teen, this was totally the vibe I wanted to serve, all bohemian and ultra cool. My friends and I would go to this coffeehouse called the Mad Hatter and think we were cool and smoke cigarettes and drink coffee and listen to jazz, which at the time I actually really didn’t like. I didn’t start to like actual jazz until much later in my life. I would totally have been all up in that jazz club (cave? was it a cavern?) had I been in Paris at that time. So I really enjoyed those scenes, especially the scene where Ram and Louis Armstrong have this amazing jam session. Can you imagine jamming with Armstrong?

Ok, so I am going to talk about the end of the movie here so skip this if you don’t want spoilers.

After receiving some bad news about his compostions, Ram decides to leave Paris with Lillian. Eddie is going to go back to America with Connie, although he is not leaving immediately. He and Connie and Lillian are all at the station, waiting for Ram. When Ram arrives though, he has bad news. He is not going. He can’t go. He needs to stay, his music is too important. And Lillian leaves him with a few words, a going away present she says, even though it sounded more like a curse, delivered in the most beautiful broken hearted way. She says that he will never forget her, that no matter where he walks he will see her, and he will always know that no one will be as right for him as she was. Then she turns around and disappears into the train station, that looks so much like a Monet painting that I had to look it up, and Ram is standing there alone, and the soundtrack starts playing jazz music and that is that as he walks away. It was an intense emotional scene, in my opinion, and I thought it was so well done.

If you haven’t seen this, I highly recommend it. You don’t need to be a jazz fan or enthusiast to enjoy it – just a person who loves a good romance, set in one of the most romantic places on earth.

You can find Lisa’s review here!

Did you watch? What do you think of this movie? Feel free to comment and link up with us!

Next up is Hugo!

Book Reviews: The Spellshop, Wormwood Abbey, and Gladwynn Grant Shakes the Family Tree

On April 15, 2025April 9, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

Hello everyone! It’s time for another mini book review post!

The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst: Oh my goodness and all that is wholesome, I loved every single bit of this book. The author states in her author note that she wanted to write a book that felt like drinking hot chocolate – all cozy. And I would say she definitely succeeded. This book just made me smile. It made me happy. It filled me with all the feels. If I could crawl into a book and live there, I would drag Billy, Wyatt, and I into this one. It had jam and magic and jam and cinnamon rolls and talking plants and merhorses and sigh.. just everything.

This book is perfect for you if you like:

🍓 Cozy fantasy
🍓 Cottagecore
🍓 Slow burn romance
🍓 Found family

Wormwood Abbey by Christina Baehr: “I looked up and saw the rose window with stars in it. They were not glow worms, but real stars, with familiar constellations. I breathed again. I was not in an underground cave. I was in the ruin of the Abbey Church, the monster had fled, and my cousin needed my help. “

Oh my goodness this book spoke to my Gothic book, science, reptile loving self. When Edith and her family receive a letter from her father’s family that he hadn’t spoken to in years, they return to his childhood home, a crumbling Gothic Abbey. What should be a very practical and straightforward type of visit becomes something much different – at least for Edith. This book is full of secrets and mystery, friendship, and surprises. I absolutely adored it.

One way you know I loved it – the author sent me a free ebook with no obligation to read or review, and when I started it, I knew this was a book I had to read a physical copy of. (I much prefer a physical book) So I checked it out from the library. And now that I am finished with that copy, I know I need to purchase my own copy – and the rest of the series as they are available. Yep. I loved it.

“Tea doesn’t wake me up like coffee does. It doesn’t hug me and tell me everything is going to be okay if I just drink it..” I thoroughly enjoyed this third installment of the Gladwynn Grant cozy mystery series by @lisarhoweler . A journalist with a nose for news and a penchant for vintage fashion, Gladwynn is never far from the drama, whether she likes it or not. This book had mystery, style, two possible love interests, and all the family drama you could ask for. It was a fun book that pulled me in, compelling me to read until I found out whodunit. I am looking forward to seeing what is next in store for Ms. Grant!

This book is for you if you like:

☕ Charming settings
☕ Amateur sleuths
☕ Cuddly pets
☕ Good guys win

And that is it from me today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

My Sunday-Monday Post

On April 14, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized20 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello everyone! I hope that you are all doing well! We are doing ok over here, just keeping on keeping on. We had a pretty busy weekend that was full of family!

Read Last Week:

I’ve been reading monstery books this spring. Not sure how that happened, but it did. I absolutely loved Wormwood Abbey, and I can’t wait to read book two in the series. Greenteeth… I had higher hopes for it. I love this cover, I loved parts of the book, but it was a bit slow maybe? There was something about that I didn’t love. Maybe I was just too excited to read it; I grew up reading about fairies and loving faery lore and Jenny Greenteeth was one of my favorites so maybe I had too high of expectations. It still was a pretty good read.

Reading This Week:

This week I am stepping away from my monster books and starting my yearly reread of Watership Down. I can’t wait to get back to this little world again!

Posted Last Week:

Top Ten Tuesday: Books with Springy Covers

Springtime in Paris: How to Steal a Million

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Watching:

We have been hopscotching about, and doing less binge watching lately! This is unlike us. Lol. However, we are enjoying all of our shows that we are watching. Lately, that list has included Poldark (why did it take us so long to watch this!), Our Flag Means Death, Wheel of Time, Murdoch Mysteries, and Beyond Paradise.

We are also three movies into our Springtime in Paris movie watch! This week is Paris Blues with Paul Newman and Sidney Poitier.

And that is it from around here today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On April 11, 2025April 11, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized22 Comments

Hello everyone!! The weather here has been absolutely dismal most days! What is happening? Isn’t it spring? Luckily we have had a few sunny days! I’m just really waiting on those spring flowers now!

We have been keeping busy though, and having adventures despite the gray skies.

Last Saturday we went to the Detroit Institute of Arts. They have a special exhibit that I wanted to see, called Painted with Silk, and I also wanted to wander the Dutch Masters area with Wyatt, as we are reading a book set in Holland for Language Arts. (The Wheel on the School)

We set out into the rainy icky day early in the morning, arriving at the museum just after opening. I like to get there early, especially on the weekend, and we got a great parking spot – something of an accomplishment in Detroit on the weekend! We found our way to the exhibit but not before stumbling into a room filled with the most vibrant, story filled modern works. This one is just stunning.

I can’t believe how impossible it has been to find the name of the artist, and of this painting – I should have written it down but I didn’t anticipate it would be difficult. I have found that the name of the artist is Titus Kaphar, and this painting is from his Exhibiting Forgiveness exhibit, but that is all I could find. If anyone knows the name of this particular work, I would love to add it here.

Wyatt was drawn to this one. This is Radical Openness by Stanley Whitney. I can see why he likes it.

After spending some time in this room, we wandered out into the hall to find our way to the Painted in Silk exhibit.

These pieces were exceptionally done, and amazingly, were made by children. 11, 12, 13 years old girls, a lot of them, and were completed between 1600 and 1800. They served as a diploma for the girls from wealthier families who could afford to send their children to school. The piece was a displayable symbol of the girl’s ” mastery of an important practical skill and the diligence and self-discipline that society expected of its more privileged members.” It was mind blowing and at the same time, incredible. I am sorry, the angle on some of these photos are wonky. This room, despite getting there early, was already full of people. I love that this was a popular room, and also to see so many people at the museum.

I thought these memorial pieces were beautiful. They were done in black and white purposely, and are called print works.

My favorite pieces were modern pieces done to represent an older style. They were all done by the same artist, Elaine Reichek. She uses this form to “question assumptions about gender, class, race, and ethnicity that the older works expressed and reinforced.” It was fascinating to see representations from two very different perspectives. We also learned that it is very rare to see a historical piece that depicts a Black person, or that was done by a Black person , although they did have a wall of a few.

I loved this piece representing Moby Dick. If you want to see much better photos, and more information on these makers and artists, you can view the exhibit online here.

I was in awe of this whole exhibit. My son, however, was a bit bored…

From here we moved on to the Dutch artists, which he enjoyed a bit more. He liked all the boats and windmills, and the hidden meanings in the paintings with what was painted. They also had I Spy games for different rooms which he enjoyed as well, which was like a visual scavenger hunt for objects in paintings.

That last photo was one I had to take because my brother’s youngest is giving her parents the business these days when they go out, with typical two year old trying to run away in places behavior. They were joking that they might need a leash for her. I saw this painting and was like, I guess this a very old issue, as this woman has her child on a leash.

We were starting to get hungry, so we left the museum in search of food. We ended up picking up sushi from The Goblin and chicken nuggets for Wyatt. Billy and I each chose a roll and then swapped half with each other.

Later that night we all sat and painted and colored. It was the perfect end to a rainy day.

The next few days we just went about our normal lives, appointments, work, school, etc. Then last night we had scouts! I wanted the kids to do something Earth Day related that tied into their advancements, so we worked on the Build It loop! The kids worked with Billy making bug houses out of wood, then stuffing them full of materials they brought with them or I collected, and they also decorated bird feeders made out of old jugs. It was really fun, and really busy! It was an all hands on deck meeting, with all the parents and grandparents pitching in to help the kids. Wyatt had such a good time, and I heard from other mothers that their kids absolutely loved it as well!

And that about sums it up for today!! I will leave you with some random photos from the old camera reel!

ETA: I had just published this post when I saw this on Facebook. I wanted to share it here with you all today.

I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile! And pay attention to those glimmers.

Top Ten Tuesday – Books With Springy Covers

On April 8, 2025April 5, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized44 Comments

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

This week’s prompt is springtime covers.

For this prompt, I decided to go with rainy but still springish covers. April showers and all! And we certainly have gotten the rain lately here in Michigan. All I am saying it, we better have a good showing of those May flowers!

I haven’t read any of these! However, these books are either on my TBR or were books I spotted on Pinterest and saved there. And today I wanted to see them all in one big group for the effect.

So, starting at the top!

Weather Girl by Rachel Lynn Solomon: This looks like an adorable little romcom for spring!

Shouting at the Rain by Lynda Mullaly Hunt: It wouldn’t be a list of mine without some middle grade. A reviewer on Goodreads says that this book has a kitten, whale watching, and clam rakes amidst the growing pains of the MC. Sign me up!

The Colors of the Rain by R.L. Toalson: This is a historical fiction middle grade, about the desegregation of Houston’s schools – in 1972! This sounds like a very powerful book.

Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell: I love Rainbow Rowell. I haven’t read much of her work recently but I need to get back to reading her.

Rain by Melissa Harrison: I have read a few of Harrison’s seasonal books, as well as a middle grade by her, and I adore her. I am sure this one is just as good!

The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang, translated by Slin Jung: This has been on my TBR for a while, but then I read it is maybe not as good as I am hoping it is. Lol. If you have read it, I would love your opinion!

Off the Map by Trish Doller: This is another cute looking romance. I am intrigued by the MMC being a digital cartographer! I love maps of all kinds so that sounds interesting to me.

Take Good Care of the Garden and Dogs by Heather Lende: This is a nonfiction book, a memoir of recovery and gratitude and community. It has been on my TBR forever, and I hope to read it this summer while my son recovers from his own big surgery. I think I will need something uplifting and hopeful then!

Otter Country by Miriam Darlington: Another nonfiction memoir, this one deals with one woman’s quest to see an otter in the wild. I love otters and I would also love to see one in the wild! However, I will have to travel through the adventures of Miriam and hope that I see one of the Michigan otters in Northern Michigan one day.

Light Rains Sometimes Fall: A British Year Through Japan’s 72 Seasons by Lev Parikian: Of all of these, I think this is the one that I want to read the most. It sounds absolutely fantastic.

My Sunday-Monday Post

On April 6, 2025April 6, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized40 Comments

My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer

Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date

Hello all! Last week was a pretty big week around here. Wyatt had multiple doctor’s appointments, and some of them were not the best. But, we are doing our best to be positive, as hard as it is at times. And for those times that are hard, I do have a good community around to help out.

Anyway. I didn’t get any time to read last week, until yesterday. So I didn’t make it too far into my books! I will be reading the same books that I posted last week.

I am halfway through Wormwood Abbey though now and I am really enjoying it.

Posted Last Week:

Hello April!

Springtime in Paris: Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Watched Last Week:

Last week we watched a lot of Murdoch Mysteries, then when we caught up, we switched to Our Flag Means Death.

I also watched Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris as part of our Springtime in Paris movie event. I absolutely loved it. It was such a joy filled movie, which was something I really needed.

In My Blogging World:

Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and I are hosting another film watching event for springtime. It is six weeks, six movies, and very easy going! If you want to watch one or all or a few, we would love to have you join in. Just watch along and comment on our posts or post your own thoughts and link up!

If you are interested, this is the schedule of movies! Our second post will be up this week!

Also, in January and February, Lisa and I were hosting Crafternoons and they turned out to be so much fun that we are continuing them on through the year. People craft, color, sometimes just chat, and we just have a lot of fun. They are drop in style, so no time commitment, just if you have some time to just craft or hang out one scheduled afternoon, drop on in! We will have our schedule up for spring this week!

And that is it from me today! I hope that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile!

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On April 4, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

Hello everyone!! It has been a very very long week. I am so glad that today is Friday. Wyatt and I have no real plans except a little school. I try to keep Fridays open for field trips, library trips, reading, and art. Fridays are the best. Plus we have pizza every Friday as well so I don’t need to plan and make dinner!

So, this week was a bit crazy. Some of it fun, some of it was not as fun. Let’s start with a fun day, Tuesday.

Tuesday I woke up and the sun was shining and I wanted Wyatt and I to get outside somehow. My friend Sarah has the most magical yard, and I had the idea a few weeks ago of Wyatt using it as a small ecosystem study for the spring and fall. We will miss summer in person due to his surgery, but Sarah is going to send videos for him. Anyway, we had been trying to get the day together but it kept raining on us! Tuesday morning I texted and was like, it is sunny, are you busy? And she texted me back to come on over! (and also that us winter people are crazy because it was pretty darn cold!) So big thanks to her for having us cuckoo winter folk over on a chilly sunny morning when she is a high summer type person.

Can I just say, she was so accommodating to my boy. So concerned and thoughtful about his wheelchair and maneuvering her yard, and wanting to show him things. She even had a fire lit for us to sit around. It was a very lovely start to our day.

The fish were awake and swimming, and very greedy to be fed. She told us to come back and feed them some worms so we are looking forward to that. (well, not really me. Wyatt) We had coffee and we caught up with each other and we talked with Wyatt about all the signs of early spring. About the life we could see emerging, and about what was coming. There were signs of life everywhere. Flowers pushing through the cold ground, birds feeding at her numerous bird feeders, seeds germinating in the earth in her greenhouse, the fish in the pond, and knowing that soon there will frogs and toads lining the rocks that ring the pond. She told us stories of raccoons on roofs, swimming in the pond, the possums that come and hang out in her garage. It was a great time and I am so thankful she is sharing some of that magic with Wyatt.

Later that night, I met up with my friend’s at Kelly’s house. It was the first time the four of us had all been together at once since the holidays and it was so nice to hang out!! I also took Lisa’s book with me and we all fun trying to find different spots to take its picture around the house for my Instagram post.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know that I went with the last photo for my post. Which one would you have chosen? I am curious!

Then we started our gauntlet of appointments. Wyatt had three appointments this week in two days. It was rough, especially on him. The first appointment was at 7:30 am on Wednesday, where we learned that Wyatt is not having just one hip done in July, but both. To say that I have been struggling with this since getting the news has been an understatement. I am terrified everyone. This is my baby. But his PMR doctor, who we have known since he was a baby, told us that if he is going to end up having the other one done eventually, it is better to do it at the same time rather than separately for a few different reasons. It doesn’t necessarily make it easier emotionally or physically for Wyatt though while he is going through it. We sat there listening while wind and rain were whipping against the windows, wishing she was telling us different news. It was like the weather was reacting to it as well. Angry and upset and full of grief that it has to happen.

We headed home where we had more coffee (me) and toast (Wyatt) then waited for his therapy appointment a few hours later. The weather was a bit nicer when we went there, and he had a good visit.

Our last appointment was yesterday morning, when Wyatt had to go to the orthotist to get fitted for his braces. His regular orthotist is semi-retired and is training a new person. However, this appointment was going to be tricky with Wyatt’s hip pain. George, his regular orthotist, and the trainee were concerned because Wyatt’s muscles were pretty tight and they had to maniuplate him into leg positions that were painful. George told me that if they couldn’t get a good cast in the office yesterday, they would have to do it as a home visit with sedatives. It was pretty tense, and I even had a job, to hold Wyatt’s thigh in a straight position up off the wheelchair, while pushing down on his knee at the same time with my other hand. I could tell he was uncomfortable and in some pain, but I distracted him with stories and trying to make him laugh, and he toughed it out. (If you have read Watership Down, I felt a little like Bluebell to Wyatt’s Capt. Holly) But my kid was a trooper. He got the job done and even was giggling at times. George came in after and told Wyatt how proud he was of him, that he couldn’t believe he had even heard Wyatt laughing when he had been afraid he was going to hear crying. I hate that Wyatt has to be tough, but he really is. When he was in the NICU, we had a sign made that said Team Tough Cookie and that is really Wyatt.

After that appointment, I could literally feel my whole body relax and I was exhausted from the crazy week of emotions and running. Wyatt was tired too, and after a quick stop at Barnes and Noble, where he got a book about otters and I got a set of two new blank books, we headed home where it looked like Wyatt was about to just pass out in the car. When we got home I popped him into my bed, where he conked out hard and I vegged out.

Then we had to get ready for Mermaid Girl! She came over last night for Mexican food and crafts, and we had such a good time with her. She is so full of energy and light, and bounces all over house, telling us story after story. We love having her here. I had also made chocolate chip cookies for dessert and they were delicious! My brother, SIL, and little Hurricane came over to pick her up and hung out for a while which was nice too. And they ate a bunch of cookies which is awesome because that recipe made like 500.

And that leads us to this morning. I am going to have another cup of coffee, hopefully have a pretty easy day.

Just me hanging in there!

I hope that whatever you guys do today, that you do something that makes you smile!

Hello April!

On April 1, 2025April 1, 2025 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized16 Comments

Hello April!! The sun is shining this morning for the first time in days and I am so happy!

April is so many things. This month, it is Easter. It is also my mom’s birthday month, and she will be 74 this year. It’s also the Springtime in Paris movie event that Lisa and I are hosting, and I am hoping to find some fun French things to do this month to really lean into the theme. (I have a few ideas but we will see!) I am currently working on a new embroidery project that is French themed so there is that!

It is also the month I am going to reread Watership Down again, for the whoknowsthenumber time.

Let’s start there, with Watership Down. Reading this book is liking walking down a path that I have traveled so many times, it is well worn, it is well known – yet I always find something to surprise me. Depending on my frame of mine, my life at the time, different parts resonate with me more than others. It’s even hard to say now why exactly this book appeals to me so much. I know that it is upsetting to some people, some people don’t like anthropomorphic characters, etc, but to me this book is about bravery, and friendship. About community and resilience. About breaking free to live the life you want. Perseverance. Adventure. And it is all wrapped up in a little story about rabbits, a story that Richard Adams never intended to write and publish, one that he just started making up and telling his children and they eventually encouraged him to put it on paper. I am so thankful that he did, because I have loved this story of brave, clever rabbits for thirty years.

Sometimes this time of year, I am yearning to get outside and in the garden. We had some plans for gardening this year, but Wyatt’s surgery has been scheduled – July 9th. So instead, Wyatt and I are going to start some pumpkin seeds today. They will grow through the spring and summer, and then, when Wyatt is hopefully through his recovery, the pumpkins will be ready as well. And that is the extent of what we are planning. Billy may throw down some wildflower seed, and let them flourish, I am hoping to maybe maybe make a small water feature on the deck so that Wyatt can see it and access it until his surgery. Maybe it will attract a frog or two.

I am thinking long term these days. Something we can start, that will take us through to fall, as we are going to have some rough months ahead. Something to hope through, look forward to.

Switching gears here – back to now, back to April. I have some really cool stuff planned for homeschool this month. I am very excited about it and I hope that Wyatt likes it and finds it fun. I have a whole concept for a sort of immersive type learning, for language arts and science. We are reading The Wheel on the School, which is new to me as well, and Wyatt will be learning about the Netherlands and habitat loss and restoration, windmills and renewable energy, dikes and climate change, among other things. We will talk about white storks, and eat Dutch babies, and stroopwaffel and try limburger cheese. We will learn about tulips and wooden shoes, about canalboats. I am very excited about this everyone! Can you tell?

I plan to post this week about our March homeschool too, which was also pretty fun but not as immersive or wide in scope.

I have some field trip days planned this month as well. The Detroit Institute of Arts, the zoo with a homeschool friend, member preview day at Greenfield Village. Maybe for that one we will take a blanket and throw it down somewhere, and enjoy a little picnic. Wyatt loves picnics -maybe because I read Wind in the Willows to him for the first time when he was 6 weeks old and just home from the hospital. He came home April 13th, after being in the NICU since March 2nd. The day he came home was rainy and cold and gloomy, but I always say he brought the sun because then it seemed like the days were sunny again, and I had open windows with warm breezes filling the house, and I would look out and see our apple tree in full glorious bloom. We haven’t seen it like that since that year, which sounds fanciful but it is the truth. Right now our tree has tiny buds on it, but no blooms yet.

And I will leave you with one of my favorite poems, a poem by Mary Oliver.

Why I Wake Early
by Mary Oliver

Hello, sun in my face.
Hello, you who make the morning
and spread it over the fields
and into the faces of the tulips
and the nodding morning glories,
and into the windows of, even, the
miserable and crotchety–

best preacher that ever was,
dear star, that just happens
to be where you are in the universe
to keep us from ever-darkness,
to ease us with warm touching,
to hold us in the great hands of light–
good morning, good morning, good morning.

Watch, now, how I start the day
in happiness, in kindness.

Whatever you do today, try to do something that makes you smile!