It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope you all had a great week last week! I spent my week prepping for the start of the school year and trying to grab some fun times as well. It was a pretty good week!
Read Last Week:
This book was amazing. It kept me on the edge of my seat, never knowing which way the story was going to shift next. It had some folk horror vibes, which is one my favorite genres, and is perfect for this time of year – the end of summer heading into fall. I have only read two of Foley’s books but I need to read more. After reading this, I actually couldn’t read another book right after. Total book hangover! I do have some lined up though, which I think are just right for this time of year as well, as the summer comes to a close.
Reading Next Week:
Billy has a procedure Tuesday and I will be spending some time in the hospital waiting room, probably reading one of these two books. Or embroidering, because I can do that when I am anxious and I can’t usually read. So I guess I am just bringing everything with me!
Well, Billy and I finally finished all of the British Sewing Bee! We managed to finish just in time for fall. This week we watched the American version of Ghosts (we finished all of the UK version), and then last night we watched Scream. I loved that movie when it came out in the 90s – and I still love it. I had such a crush on Skeet Ulrich back then! Billy and I decided that aside from a few things that were a bit cringe ( I mean it is a horror movie so some is to be expected, but other storylines didn’t need to be there) this movie held up pretty well! I also had fun remembering all the 90s fashion! That shiny glossy lipstick look, the hair, the outfits, they took me back.
We also finished just in time for Comfy Cozy Cinema! Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I started this last year and we welcome anyone to watch and post along with us. I will be watching the first movie on my list tonight, and we will be posting our thoughts on the movie on Thursday. Feel free to join us! In mid-September we are having a giveaway as well, for a Comfy Cozy Care Package, so check back around then to enter!
And that is it from my overly humid corner of Michigan – I wish you all a wonderful week!
I feel like I have catapulted into a maelstrom of activity! It’s just that time of year, right now. A transitional time, full of change and preparing for that change. Summer is ending, and we feel compelled to get those last minute summer activities in under the wire. I am also over here prepping for the school year, getting things organized for the scouts, and completing some home projects as well. These are mainly for the ease of homeschooling, like straightening our art cabinet, organizing supplies, buying new supplies (especially paint.. we go through so much!) and then whatever else I think needs to be done.
Like Sunday, one of the hottest days of the year so far, I decided on a whim that I needed to repaint one of our bookshelves. It is in our room we have no name for (we eat there, craft there, school there..) and is always just a mess. It has also taken a beating over the years since Billy built it for me, with Wyatt drawing on it as a toddler, my cat Maggie (who is no longer with us and I still miss that silly girl) using it as a scratching post, my husband just clunking everything in his pockets down on it… anyways, it needed an overhaul. So I cleared it off, took it outside, and painted it. It was hot and sweaty work, and halfway through I made Wyatt go in and watch through the door so he was inside in the air conditioning, but I am so happy with how it turned out! Wyatt and I then added Billy’s little terrariums, his school books for the year, and a jar for Billy to store his things in when he comes home – along with some odds and ends as well, of course.
I managed to get paint everywhere – I guess I am where Wyatt gets that from! I had it on the bottom of my feet, in my hair, just everywhere. I am not a neat and tidy painter I guess.
I am hoping to get that darn room painted this early fall. I am so done with that purple, although pretty. It makes that room just feels so dreary and we spend so much time in it in the fall and winter. It’s on the list, but after a few things, mainly the wheelchair ramp and putting my office back to rights after the ramp project is done. I told Billy that I would do it but for some reason he told me that was not a great idea.
It’s also been a week of sifting through things. We moved the rest of my mom’s things out of the condo she was living in for a while finally, including the cedar chest that my dad gave to her before their wedding. It didn’t fit into her new apartment and my cousin was storing his parent’s things at the condo and we had my mom’s there as well (it was my aunt and uncle’s before they passed away, then my mom lived there for two years).. and I am rambling so I am shifting back to the cedar chest. Anyway, my brother is going to take it but first we removed all of my mom’s keepsakes from it, and we all exclaimed and shed some tears over things we found.
It was a time capsule of items. My grandfather’s citizenship papers from 1940, Wyatt’s christening outfit, my christening outfit, artwork that my brother made in school, the collar to my mom’s first dog ever, Buster. When I pulled that out my mom just burst into tears. Pets just hold such a place in our hearts forever, don’t they? I also found a swim medal of my grandfather’s from 1932,newspaper article with a photo of me on the first day of kindergarten, and my grandma’s shortbread recipe.
Last week I shared about Wyatt’s great week at therapy – well he is continuing his trend and my little guy killed it this week. He walked three times as far yesterday as he did last week. His therapist and I just looked at each other in amazement. She popped him in the gait trainer and he took off. He was cruising along at one point so quickly! He wanted to keep going but his body just didn’t let him. It was unbelievable honestly, and his therapist said for her it was a tearworthy moment as well. Next week, she is trying him back with a walker again, without the extra support. Please send all your support and and prayers and good vibes to this little guy! He is making huge brain/body connections right now, and making some huge gains. I am so proud of him, and even better, he is proud of himself.
I also cut my mom’s hair. It was getting so long and she hated it, but she is not doing well with her depression and anxiety right now, so would not go anywhere to get it done. I am hoping that cutting her hair helps a bit with getting her our of her apartment more. I think I did pretty ok for not being a beautician! My grandma was a beautician my whole life, and had her own little salon, Marion’s. I think she would have been proud of my efforts! My mom was happy with it as well.
All these changes and transitions. Restoring old things, Wyatt’s progress, moving my mom’s things, a new hair cut. And in the next weeks, school begins here in our homeschool, our cub scouts have their first meeting, Wyatt has a million appointments… then hopefully, the flurry of activity as things end and new things start up winds down into a gentle pattern of life. A slow down as we embrace the our new routines. It is already getting darker at night. I noticed last night as I was stitching that it was harder to see by my bedside light, because it was darker outside. I am going to have to do something about that, because I love stitching in bed as we watch our shows and I drink my tea.
And I need to end here. So much to do today, and I need to get to it. Before I go though, here are a few extra photos!
Today’s Prompt: Posts I’ve Written That Give You the Best Glimpse of Me (Share the blog/Insta/Twitter posts or YouTube/TikTok videos you’ve made that showcase your personality the most and offer the clearest window into your personality. These are the posts you wish everyone would read!)
This week’s prompt had me scratching my head and furrowing my brow. I wasn’t sure exactly what it meant or what to do. Am I supposed to define myself by book posts? That might be tough, I am not consistent with book reviews really. Or is just posts in general? So.. I am just going for whatever here. So. I am including pictures I posted on Instagram, and pins I pinned on Pinterest as part of a collage (and a few books too), and then some links to a few posts.
Throughout the years I’ve blogged about so many things! If I go all the way back to my previous blogs (Cinnamon Owl and Quixotic Magpie) I talk more about my life pre-motherhood. My work as an animal rescue volunteer at a local shelter, about my jobs, about vacations and books and different events Billy and I went to.
Now, my life is slower paced in some ways, but also much busier, which sounds crazy but it is true. I am enjoying this new season of my life, staying at home with Wyatt, homeschooling, watching all the British things with Billy, our family adventures, our crafts and hobbies. We are snug here, and it is a cozy little life.
My first post was written one morning when Wyatt was little little, like a year old or so.
And this one – about our love for British cozy mysteries on television. This is when we first started watching. If I were to write this post now, it would be so much longer!
I love homeschooling Wyatt, and one of our favorite days is art day! It’s even more fun when we involve Billy. We have studied many different artists, from Van Gogh and Matisse to Gaudi and Hopper and just so many in between. But none were as happy as when we had a Bob Ross week. I just couldn’t leave him out!
So many of my summers in Michigan involve going “up north” at some point. Except this one! We have been busy building Wyatt’s ramp so no up north trip this year. Good thing I have so many memories and blog posts to sustain me!
This year I have really loved reading old-fashioned children’s books. It was really comforting over the winter for some reason, and this is a post with a few little reviews.
It seems weird to leave these next two out, so I am going to include them. They are just little summary posts of our hobbies and pets – we have a very full house here!
The County Fair is a fair I have gone to ever since I was a little kid, and I try to get Wyatt there every year as well. I am not always successful, and looking back I realized it’s been two years since we have gone. I guess we better put it on the list for next summer!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! We had a fairly busy week this week, but the best part of the week was Wyatt kicking butt at therapy! The weather this week was also cool which was amazing – fall was definitely in the air but then summer came back and said not quite yet, bringing back the heat.
Read Last Week:
I loved both of these books. Vera Wong was so cute and made me laugh (and even cry at one point) and I just adored it. Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop was also a very good book. It was more serious, and more thoughtful. I enjoyed it but at a much slower pace so that I could really think about what I was reading.
Reading This Week:
I needed something with a bit of a bite this week so I went with The Midnight Feast. I loved Lucy Foley’s The Hunting Party and I am looking forward to this one. Also, Wyatt has been really into graphic novels lately and I found myself picking some up for me as well. I loved the first Tea Dragon book so I figured I would finish the series and picked up books 2 and 3.
We are so boring with this lately. But, we are getting ready to watch the first of our Comfy Cozy Cinema movies! Yay!! Last year Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I watched movies and posted about them and we are doing that again this year. Most had cozy fall feels but nearer to Halloween we did throw some scarier ones in there, making a few weeks Comfy Cozy (Creepy) Cinema. We do that this year too. I am very excited to start our lineup; there are just so many good ones on the list! And like last year, feel free to watch along and post with us! We will post a linky this year. Oh and we are having a giveaway as well, in October for a fall type care package full of things you need to be cozy so watch for that too.
If you are interested, this is the lineup! The linky will be up on the posting date, which is the date listed here. It is coming up fast!
And this is it from around here this week! I hope you all are doing well!
Hello everyone!! We are close to afternoon at this point but I am still counting it as morning. Why not?
Wyatt and I are enjoying a fairly lazy morning. We had another crazy week, just trying to get everything in place for September and school and Cub Scouts.
However, I do have some very exciting news. Wyatt, for the very first time in two years, took steps without any assistance from anyone else. He was using a gait trainer, and it took every bit of his determination and strength, but he did it. I literally had tears running down my face as we drove home. It has been a long long road back to walking for us. Years ago, before Covid, before epilepsy, Wyatt was walking with a walker, and about to graduate to crutches. Then epilepsy reared its ugly head, and the medicine they gave him to control his seizures changed my boy. He was more lethargic, less Wyatt, in every area of life. In school, with mobility, with everything. He gained weight, adding to the mobility issues. I tried to tell doctors for months and months that I thought it was causing him other problems, and finally, one doctor listened to me. She looked over his file and 100% agreed, and said he needed off that medicine ASAP. Now he is on a new one, and my little boy is back. Slowly but surely we are getting there, but seeing years stolen.. I can’t even describe it. Anyway. We are mending, we are working, and nobody harder than Wyatt.
So yeah, I shed some big tears over this moment. He walked most of that hallway under his own power.
Last Saturday’s game night we had guests! My dad and stepmom joined us, and it was such a great time. Wyatt enjoyed sharing some of his favorite games with them, especially the game Outfoxed. He really loves that one. It was a fun night, and we all ate way too much junk – cookies and candy and chips and popcorn. But we had fun!
We of course went to the library this week, and checked out a pile of books. Then we met one of my friends at the coffeehouse to discuss Cub Scouts and just hang out. Nicole and I seem to have a lot to say to each other all at once and Wyatt was so good while we chatted. We stopped at the cake bakery for cake pops as a reward. I also finished up Vera Wong while we waited for her (we got there early) and oh my gosh, it was so entertaining. I loved Vera! I’m behind on book reviews so I need to do a post on that soon too.
We are finally, finally basically an official unit for Scouts. That was my biggest focus this week and we are pretty much there. I started this unit for Wyatt and let me tell you, it was so much more red tape than I was expecting, but I made it through and we are pretty much on the other side now. Our first official meeting is in September, and then our first activity is already planned as well. The kids have the opportunity to go to a Detroit Tigers game and run out on the field, meet a ballplayer, get a game ball, a whole bunch of cool stuff. I am super excited and I think it is a great way to kick off our scouting adventures!
I also met up with my friend crew for a ladies night in Kelly’s backyard. It was a very very much needed night out! I think we have all been just going and going this summer and it was nice to finally meet up again and just relax and laugh, because we laughed. A lot. Especially over a story about an airport and an electric guitar!
I also finished my second embroidery piece. I am still learning but having fun! I haven’t rinsed the outline yet, but I think it is ok. I need to not leave so much space in between but I will get there. It is for fun and I am having fun.
Guys, I have a confession. I miss picture books. I love picture books – I think they are just so beautiful, with their large pages of illustrations and little stories that can be so special. I think it takes a lot of talent to be able to tell a whole tale that teaches or encourages or makes someone cry from the beauty of the story, in so few words. However, Wyatt is not really interested in them. I mean, he is nine. Lol. But I still check them out and read them sometimes with him. Lately just one, Prunella, which I highly recommend.
At first glance, you see a little girl in a garden. Then you look closer, and see that the garden is maybe a bit darker. The plants a little..creepier. She is holding a fly, there is no pretty butterfly here. Prunella was born with a purple thumb, unlike the green thumbs that her gardener parents have. What does this mean? Well, it means that Prunella’s gardening talents are more inclined to a garden full of plants that are not the usual. Things like Venus flytraps. Fungi. Corpse Flowers. Poison ivy. And because of this, she doesn’t really have many friends. Her friends are her plants. But then one day, a little budding botanist stumbles into her garden, and then something wonderful grows.
I really loved this picture book, and Prunella’s garden of strange and unusual plants.
Wyatt lately has been picking out graphic novels. One of his friends read them all the time, and so we picked one up to see if Wyatt would like them too. Turns out, he did.
Like his mother, he is obsessed with snails. He even wants to be one for Halloween which has Billy and I scratching our heads trying to figure out how to manage it – but we will. It might take a little creativity but I think we can do it.
The whole Tales of Tiny Folk series is cute. They are very thin and not very long, and they are adorable, in my opinion. The Mika Song books are also super cute, with the little squirrels, Norma and Belly, having little food based adventures.
As for chapter books, he has been checking out some of the new Hardy Boys books, as well as a series called The Haunted Library. Currently at our house we have:
He also recently checked out this really neat nonfiction book, that everyone in our house liked. It was really cool and we all loved flipping through it.
These are just a few of the books we have circulating right now!
Today’s Prompt: Relationship Freebie (Pick a relationship type and choose characters who fit that relationship as it relates to you. So, characters you’d like to date, be friends with, be enemies with, etc. Bookish families you’d like to be a part of, characters you’d want as your siblings, pets you’d like to take for yourself, etc.)
Ok. So I know that my title is super long. I really couldn’t figure out how to say it in a more efficient way. Some of them have cozy sounding lives and jobs that would be a perfect spot to hang out with them, have a coffee, a chat about books or life or whatever. Other characters just would be neat to chat with about whatever! And..maybe this post turned out to be more setting than character. I am going to call it equal though – both character and setting are appealing!
Legends and Lattes || Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop
I absolutely loved Legends and Lattes and the quirky community that Viv built up in her coffeeshop. It would be a cool spot to hang out and talk to Viv about her adventures and coffee.
Yeongju’s bookshop is the same. She created such a wonderful spot for people to come together and feel comfortable, to read and drink coffee and even crochet.
Other Birds || Christa Comes Out of her Shell
Other Birds is one of my favorite books. I love it so much. Can I please please go to the Dellawisp on Mallow Island, and have a drink with all the people who live there?
So, Christa is a bit antisocial so I would probably have to track her down on her island to chat. But that is ok, because then I could walk the beach with her and learn all about her beloved snails! I love snails too and I would love to hear all the little facts that Christa could share about sea life.
What You Are Looking For in the Library || The Komogawa Food Detectives
Sayuri Komachi. Need I say more? I would love to get tea with her and craft. She can make her felted pieces and I could embroider, and then we could talk about books. I wonder what she would recommend to me?
Koishi Kamogawa and her father Nagare from the Kamogawa Food Detectives. This book was really fascinating. I loved this idea of recreating a particular meal, and how Koishi and her father are able to piece together exactly how to make it is masterful. I could imagine stumbling in there, having a cup of tea and a bowl of noodles and chatting away.
And I am going to stop here. I had some runners up, but.. I was going for a certain feel of a character and place with this topic and they didn’t quite fit. If you are interested, the runners up were Greenglass House, Little Beach Street Bakery, The Little French Bistro, and The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend. All wonderful books but just not quite there. Except maybe Little Beach Street and that is purely because Neil the puffin is awesome and I would want to meet him. (I almost chose to write about pets from books and Neil was on that list too)
Ok. Now I am really stopping. I am looking forward to what everyone else picked for this topic!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I missed posting yesterday – we were helping my cousin to move as much as we could from his late parents condo to get it ready for selling. It was pretty emotional, as well as physically difficult – and hot! The A/C wasn’t working and I was melting. We got a lot done though.
Also – I am so behind on visiting blogs and commenting and responding here. It is a goal this week to catch up!
Moving on to books!
Read Last Week:
I am actually still reading Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop. It is a quiet, thoughtful read and I am taking my time. There is a lot to mull over while reading and is not necessarily a book you race through. Or at least I can’t. Primer and Punishment on the other hand was a fun fast read. I really enjoyed it and I just adore Sawdust the cat!
Reading This Week:
In addition to reading the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop, I am also reading Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. I just started it last night before bed, but I was so wiped out I only got through a few pages before I needed to turn off the light and sleep. I have a feeling I am going to love it though. This is also a book from my fall TBR – I have dipped in before September, my own boundary line for fall content and fall things. I guess all these Augtober posts are getting to me and influencing me! And we are not that far away now so… I went for it.
Not a whole lot right now. When we have time at the end of the night, we are watching The Great British Sewing Bee. We actually have caught up to the latest season! I found a Frog and Toad cartoon that looks so cute – Wyatt is not going to want to watch it with me now that he is at the advanced cool kid age of 9, but … too bad he is going to have to. It just looks so cute and I want to watch it, so he can watch it with me.
And that is it from me today! I hope you all are well!
Hello everyone!! I am so grateful for coffee this week. I am running on coffee and peanut butter toast this week – I have just been so busy! I am trying to prep for school and for Cub Scouts while also making sure Wyatt enjoys the last few weeks of summer.
One thing that happened – Wyatt got a hair cut!!
Our neighbor works at a barber shop and she did such a great job! I absolutely love it, and Wyatt does too. The barbershop is very swanky and Wyatt felt like a big shot in there among the adults.
He got it just in time for his cousin Mermaid Girl’s birthday party too. She had a cosmic bowling party and it was a blast. I had to laugh – it’s like no matter what, you can count on bowling shoes to always look exactly the same as they did decades ago.
I also got to bowl – and it was pretty sad. Lol. I came in last, tying with Chrissy’s mom. (Chrissy is my SIL) We were both not wonderful at bowling. I even took bowling in college as one of one PE credits! I remember Billy and I would have to practice bowling every week so that I could show improvement in class. We didn’t have to be good, just show that we got better. It was a stretch but I did it. Our practice sessions became just an excuse to get together with all of our friends every week, who also joined us at the bowling alley.
We also had our second Cub Scout committee meeting. The committee is made up of family and friends but it is still nerve wracking to me because I am the person who needs to run it and do like 90% of the talking. Right now we are still getting everything made all official, collecting applications and dues and signatures and learning the ropes of the big fundraiser that is starting, the popcorn sale, as well as planning the first meeting which is at the beginning of September, and the first outing, which is a few days after. It will be so fun once we get through all of this red tape, and can really get started.
We have our council meetings at the rowing club in our town, and it is such a great spot, right on the river and bonus, adult beverages that are very inexpensive.
I’m really cramming because of course all of this starts at the same time – school, Scouts, and then to throw a big wrench in there, Wyatt has a three day EEG at the hospital right in that same week. At least I guess we will get it all out of the way at once!
Of course we went to the library and got ice cream this week! Our favorite ice cream place closed for the season on Thursday so we had to make sure to get in before they shut down. So one day we went to the library, checked out a mass of books, and hung out on the giant porch reading for a bit before going to get ice cream. Then we went the very next day and got ice cream with my dad as well!
Wyatt and I both loved sitting on the big porch. It is so high up and set so far back from the road that it felt like we were just in our own bubble or our own little world. Wyatt really enjoyed people watching and wheeling around out there too. Can I just move into the library? Wyatt and I decided that would be a super cool place to live.
Looking forward to fall, which is right around the corner, I am busy making plans for field trips and little mini-vacations, for Halloween and scouts. I am also planning out my fall TBR (we will see how I do – I am not great at sticking to the plan), and all the comfy cozy bloggy stuff that Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I do together. This year we are even having a little giveaway in October and I am really excited about it!! And speaking of comfy cozy fall things, this is our fall movie line up and dates, if you want to watch or post along with us! The dates listed are the dates that our posts will go up! I think we have a fantastic list and I am really looking forward to just slowing down this fall.
And now just some randoms from the camera roll!
Have a great weekend everyone, and I hope you do something that makes you smile!
The Top Ten Tuesday for today is all about transportation! Prompt: Planes, Trains & Automobiles/Books Featuring Travel (books whose plots involve travel or feature modes of transportation on the cover/title) (submitted by Cathy @ What Cathy Read Next)
Well, it is summer. I live in the Great Lakes State (Michigan). And I love the setting of a houseboat! There is just something that feels so nostalgic/retro and wholesome about a houseboat, and I love the idea of just floating on the water, living there, waking up to sunrises and going to bed with sunsets out over the water. It just sounds so peaceful! All this paired with the fact that I am currently reading a book set on a houseboat, inspired this list of books with houseboat/canal boat settings!
I have only read two of these (well one and a half) but I am intrigued by them all! So I guess this list is my top ten list of boat books that I want to read!
I have never read Katie Fforde but I know a lot of people have. I might have to start with these two, The Rose Revived and Life Skills.
I love the vintage covers on both of these middle grade books, especially the Houseboat Mystery. (which is the one that I have read lol) Houseboat Girl looks really cute too! I am very into older middle grade books, and I will have to pick this one up!
I had not heard of either of these but look how adorable they both look!! And look, Katie Fforde endorsed the Cosy Canal Boat Dream. I might have found a new theme for myself here.
The Houseboat by the Quay sounds like a great summery read! It is part of a whole series and the entire series looks adorable, honestly.
The Tail of Emily Windsnap is not the original book I picked for this spot (that was A Kiss, A Dare, and a Boat Called Promise) but I decided this one just sounded more fun, despite not having a boat on the cover. The main character has lived on a houseboat her entire twelve years of life, and it has mermaids in it. So cute!
Primer and Punishment is the book that inspired this list. I am currently reading it and it is so fun. I want to live on a houseboat, even for a week! And the cat is named Sawdust, I love it!!!
The Narrowboat Summer has been on my list forever and ever. I just love that cover and the idea of a summer spent on a narrowboat.
And that is my summery homage to living on the water!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 