Hello everyone! I have been seeing this around the interwebs and wanted to play too!
Favorite Book of the Year So Far:
The God of the Woodsby Liz Moore
I became totally enveloped in this world and this mystery. I was sucked in, and once I was finished, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And this was even after I knocked a star off. Review coming next week!
Biggest Disappointment:
Dead of Winter by Darcy Coates
I really don’t like to criticize books, because it is all so subjective to the reader. It just wasn’t the book for me.
Biggest Surprise:
Of Salt and Shore by Annet Schaap
There was so much emotion hidden in the pages of this middle grade. So many stories. So much love and found family and loyalty. I absolutely loved it – and cried too. So… you will see this book again on this list.
Made Me Laugh:
The Jewel of the Isle by Kerry Rea
This book cracked me up! It was just so silly and cute and the perfect happy fun romantic read. It was full of adventure and goofiness.
Made Me Cry:
Of Salt and Shore by Annet Schaap
And…repeat from above. If I hadn’t read The God of the Woods, this would be my favorite book of the year so far.
Favorite New to Me Author:
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
I loved The Spellshop so much that I need to go find every Durst book out there.
Favorite New To Me Character:
Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery
I love Emily! I loved her sass and her moodiness and that she had a bit of a temper too. She sort of reminded me of Laura Ingalls, and as a kid I loved Laura because she wasn’t perfect and got into mischief – kind of like I did occasionally….
Most Beautiful Book I Have Acquired (Writing):
Nightwalking by John Lewis-Stempel
…all around us the earth had erupted with silver rabbits washing their faces with moon dew.”
New Release I Haven’t Read Yet:
What about you all? I would love to hear how you would answer these questions!
This week’s prompt: Most Anticipated Books Releasing in the Second Half of 2025
Hello everyone! Wow, here we are already, looking at the second half of the year. I had to go look books up to get up to ten; the first few are books I have been anxiously awaiting, the others are books I read about on NetGalley that I am definitely putting on my TBR.
The Lady on Esplanade: I love this series by Karen White and I have been waiting and waiting for the next book to come out. It felt like a super long wait! It is the third in the Royal Street series, which is all about fixing up historical old houses – and some that have ghosts…. (Nov. 4)
The Enchanted Greenhouse: I LOVED The Spellshop so I am super excited about The Enchanted Greenhouse! (July 15)
We Love You, Bunny: This is a sequel to the 2019 book Bunny by Awad. That book was a crazy fever dream of a book, and I am super excited to read this one. (Sept. 23)
Legendary Frybread Drive-In: This is another one I had on my list. I really enjoyed Ancestor Approved, which is another compilation of stories by Indigenous authors. (Aug. 26)
A Ghost Hunter’s Guide to Solving a Murder: This is one I found on NetGalley that is immediately going on my TBR! A cozy mystery with ghosts! That has my name written all over it. (Oct. 2)
This week was music camp week! This was Wyatt’s third year attending the Eric “RicStar” Winter Music Therapy Camp at MSU, and his best year yet.
First, a little look back. Wyatt’s first year was definitely our roughest, but there was so much else going on as well. Billy was supposed to go but ended up having to stay home due to kidney stones (poor Billy!), so Wyatt was processing a lot of different emotions. He and I were off on a three day adventure without his dad for the first time, navigating hotels and scary AirBNBs, a whole new experience with music camp, and also, being taken off of an epilepsy medication bit by bit. There was a lot going on for this kid. But we made it through the week – lots of tears, but also such a good experience for us both. The staff were all so wonderful though, that I knew we would be going back.
I am so glad that we did because year two was so much better! A few tears the first day, but then, smooth sailing for there on out. Billy was with us, and while this time Wyatt was getting used to new meds (ugh do you all remember Wyatt being so sick with that new med last year?) we were prepared for it. And he ended up having a great year!!
This year though, was by far the best. Let me tell you why.
We hit the road early Monday morning, coffees and Egg McMuffins for Billy and I, water and French Toast sticks for the boy, and had an easy 90 minute drive north to Lansing. We arrived right on time, and headed on in to the school, where the staff were all lined up on both sides of the door to greet campers. Wyatt was met with a cheer and a “Wyatt’s here!” which was such a happy way to start the day for him, so welcoming, and then we went off to meet our group, green group in the cafeteria. Wyatt was starting the day with music and dancing, which to me seemed like a great way to begin. He was feeling a little shy for most of this hour, but slowly began to settle in and relax. I get it, I am the same way. We just gave him time and let him acclimate and danced as well to encourage him to join in, and eventually he did.
This whole first day was so much easier than previous first days for us. Wyatt knows these people now, the therapists and some of the volunteers, who have been there all three years that we have been there, and then even some of the kids in our group were the same from previous years. These days are very full – they are on the go and making music and learning about music from 9:30-2:30, and let me tell you, even Billy and I were tired at the end of the first day. But it had been awesome. There were some favorite moments of Wyatt’s that day, playing the piano and the bongos and then a horn. When we left for the hotel at the end, we were all ready to just chill out for a bit.
Look at that little tired face.
Which is exactly what we did. We checked in to the hotel, where music followed us. The entire cast of The Book of Mormon were checking in that day as well! We stayed in our room, reading and watching tv for a while, having snacks and water (I swear, I could not drink enough water while we there), before deciding to find some dinner. We took a little drive around the area and decided on Peppino’s Pizza, which was delicious. If you find yourself in East Lansing, give it a try. And if you are there on a Monday, they currently have a $5 special for a medium. Just saying.
The next morning, we headed back to camp. This time we were smart and parked in the shade, since our little family took our lunch breaks outside to give Wyatt some time out of his wheelchair and to give me a quiet moment in the day. All of that activity and noise is actually really hard on my own nervous system, so those little breaks were awesome. We just had car picnics in the back of the Subaru, and they were little respites.
We started off with more dancing in the cafeteria. Today Wyatt took a minute or two to warm up to being back before joining in, and it helped that they were playing with the parachute. He loves that. I think all kids do honestly. I sort of want a small one for scouts to do the same activities. The therapist plays music, the kids all raise it up and lower it, go under it, catch and toss balls as a team. The whole thing is pretty fun and Wyatt loves it. It must be evident, because Wyatt’s group leader told us that his face was pure joy during it.
Let me throw something in here – Billy and I are pretty much the only parents that attend. We definitely needed to the first two years, and after this year, we are going to attend but also start stepping back a bit. We think Wyatt can handle it, if we do it slowly. We have seen so much growth in him already, over the past year. I think with Scouts, the independence from the ramp and being able to go outside on his own for the first time ever, all of this is contributing to a stronger, braver Wyatt. He is coming out of his shell, bit by bit.
The sessions are an assortment that include composition corner, which Wyatt liked, tech tunes, rhythm, musical stories, guitar jam, the dance and music expression class, and beats blues and booms. Wyatt really enjoyed them all this year, but his favorite this year was definitely guitar jam. This sort of blew our minds, as the first two years, this class for some unknown reason, made Wyatt cry. I have no idea why. However, this year, he was totally in. He loved playing the guitar, he loved the therapist Vic who ran it, he was participating and laughing and having fun. I was beyond happy about this, and I know Billy was too. But the thing that really got us was that Wyatt wanted to, on his own volition, to say goodbye to Vic. He wheeled over to fist bump him goodbye, and if you know Wyatt, you are probably just as shocked as we were. Wyatt does not do goodbyes. They usually upset him and he is very avoidant. So to see him seek this interaction out was amazing. Of course, a few minutes later when he was saying goodbye for the year to everyone else he had a meltdown, but it didn’t matter. We had that win. That one huge moment. Special needs families always say that we don’t have milestones, we have inchstones, and this was definitely one for us. It was huge.
I skipped ahead a bit but that is ok. I will rewind just a bit, since that was the last day of camp that he did that. Anyway, after our second day was over, another really really good day, the three of us went to the MSU Children’s Garden. It didn’t take us very long to stroll through but it was still very fun. There were people working it (students maybe) and they took time to show Wyatt a cool plant, called a sensitive plant that closes up when you touch it. The garden itself was really cool, and Wyatt loved exploring it, especially the musical tiles. After this we grabbed some dinner to relax again in the hotel.
The next day we were bummed that we had to make a tough decision. Wyatt was having so much fun but the weather forecast was terrible. Predicted tornadoes, large storms, flash flooding, torrential rains. He had a concert scheduled for 1:30 and we would be out at 3, but his grandparents were also driving up to see it, and might be caught in bad weather, both ways. And so would we. We really went back and forth, but ultimately decided that it was better to leave early, even if the weather didn’t materialize, then to stay and regret it. Plus, we didn’t want our family elders driving in it either, and there is no way we would have been able to get them to stay home. So we left early, although the storms didn’t come until later than stated in that area. It really sucked, honestly, not being able to finish up. As it was we did get caught in some of the weather making its way across the state, with zero visibility for about 45 minutes of our drive. Our drive took twice as long going home as it did going up, and we actually heard the weather alert system go off on the radio, for real, and not as a test. It was announcing a tornado warning nearby, so that was alarming. We made it home though safely and were glad that we made the decision that we did.
This was such a great year for Wyatt, and we can’t wait for next year! It is an incredible experience for all of the kids involved and you can tell that everyone who puts this camp on puts their entire heart and soul into. The love for the camp and campers shows in everything they do, making this experience one that will stick with Wyatt forever.
Hello everyone!! It’s been a whirlwind my friends. Billy and I have spent most of this month so far trying to cram an entire summer into one month to the best of our abilities, and we have done ok. We have hit most of Wyatt’s bucket list at least so that is good.
Hmm. Where did I leave off last time? Ok, so Dream Night, the EEG, and our deck ramp oasis. Lol. Since then we have done a few more things on our quest to fill Wyatt’s June. If you are new here, Wyatt is having surgery in July and will be recovering most of the rest of the summer. So we are trying to make June full of adventure.
Billy and I did take a look at our schedule board though a few weeks and took a deep breath before plunging in.
Wyatt was invited to a birthday party for one of his fellow scouts the other week and it was so much fun. I think the parents at the party had just as much fun as the kids! It was a bowling party, and it was super chill and relaxed. As a little bonus, we all got our own little Nothing Bundt Cake. It was delicious!
We followed that up the next weekend with the Summer Reading Kick Off at the library. We love going to the these kick off parties. The library does such a nice job of having lots of activities and fun things for the kids to do. This year the theme is art related, and they had different craft activities set up around the library, a quiet coloring room, a sticker room, and a caricature artist! Wyatt really enjoyed the coloring room, which is where we spent most of our time. Afterwards we went our for pizza at our favorite pizza place downtown, where we ran into my bestie and her family. They were on their way out but we got to chat for a bit before our pizza came. It was nice way to spend a summery Friday night.
Then Saturday was the day Wyatt had been waiting for! We got up early and went to the movies to see How to Train Your Dragon. Wyatt never would really sit for a movie before this spring, so we had never really taken him to the theater. However, now that is something we can do – and we started with a movie he was really excited about. We bought tickets for a few of the VIP seats, ate hot pretzel bites, and settled in for the movie. And we all absolutely loved it! We all loved the original animated movie, and while Billy and I were a little apprehensive about the live action, it was perfect. It was almost shot for shot just like the original, and the additions they made were thoughtful and made sense. Wyatt absolutely loved it, and later that night we went to Burger King just so that he could get the How to Train Your Dragon kids meal. Wyatt also told us he is no longer our little wolf boy, he is a dragon boy now. I am not sure how I feel about that, after years of him loving wolves more than anything!
The next day was Father’s Day, and we always go to Greenfield Village for their vintage Motor Muster. We try to get there when it starts because it gets so jam packed, and it is always like a million degrees for some reason. We walked around a bit, and then looked for our friend’s dad, who always take his car to show. It is a 1949 Packard. And this year he won for his division so congrats Mr. Gallagher! I am not as excited about the cars as Billy is, but I always appreciate how shiny and colorful they are. I do have some favorites though usually every year. This year I thought the Gremlins were so cute, especially the little Gremlin logo, and I also love old station wagons with the wood paneling. I wouldn’t mind having one of those honestly. They are just so retro cool to me. Billy really likes the Mustangs from the 1960s. I always tell him every year how my mom bought herself a little Mustang in the 60s. I think that is tradition too.
This year they also had reenactors for different decades and eras. They had an area set up for the CCC and the She She Shes, another for hippies, women working a Victory Garden, and it was just so fun. It just added to the vibe! Our favorite reenactors though were the Women’s Baseball league from the 40s, just like in A League of their Own. These ladies were the South Bend Blue Sox, and we loved talking to their manager. She told us about an event in Ohio, that reenacts the Normandy invasion, and they also have old timey baseball games for the women’s league and a USO show. We are totally putting it on the calendar for next summer! I think it will be a great living history event for Wyatt to experience.
Of course, we had to get dinner for Billy on Father’s Day! Nowhere fancy for us though – I thought it would be fun to keep with the theme of the day, and have dinner at A&W! It’s a drive up type restaurant, you eat in your car with a little tray hanging off your window, and the menu is like hamburgers and coney dogs and root beer. It is pretty iconic in this area (in fact one of the cars in the pictures above has a tray displayed), and all of the branches around here look exactly like they did in the 80s, which is also probably how they looked in the 70s. I sort of think they haven’t been upgraded too much since then, but that is beside the point. We went and ordered our root beer and hot dogs and coney dogs and then drove around the Metropark before heading home. And we had to head home, because we still had a lot to do there! We had to pack for music camp and get everything in the house ready for us to leave, including instructions for my poor brother who agreed to watch our menagerie of critters.
And I think I will leave off here, as I want to spend some time talking about music camp, and this is already a lot.
And of course, a few random shots from my camera roll.
I hope that whatever you do today my friends, you do something that makes you smile!
Hello everyone!! I decided that this year I am going to be doing book reviews in groups of three, and just little short mini reviews. And it is finally time for me to do three more, plus a sad little DNF.
First up is Of Salt and Shore!
Of Salt and Shore however, was amazing. It is a middle grade but wow, it was fantastic. It is translated from Dutch (the OG title is Lampje) At first, I didn’t know if I was going to like it. It has some darkness swirling around in it, but the story that evolved was a beautiful tale of friendship and found family and loyalty. I just loved this one, and so far it is one of the best books I have read all year.
It was much more emotional for me than I had anticipated from a middle grade. It touches on child abuse, neglect, alcoholism, otherism, prejudice, and there were moments that made me feel the pain of these characters so profoundly. But little Lampie marches through in her practical way, setting things right, shaking things up, helping to heal the people around her just by being her own steadfast self, a little girl who won’t be swayed from her purpose and goals. She stares headlong into challenges and despite any fear, keeps going. The daughter of a lighthouse keeper, she herself is like a beacon and a lighthouse for those around her.
It has vibes of The Secret Garden, Beauty and the Beast, and The Little Mermaid. There is found family and friendship, and I highly recommend this book to everyone.
I just want to say that this book made me smile and laugh and just get all feet kicky over some parts. I love a good adventure theme, I guess, and this one is even set in my very own home state of Michigan! This book was just campy goodness, with inept but earnest characters, a total cinnamon roll of a MMC, crazy situations, danger, shipwrecks, a missing diamond… It was just absolutely perfect. It did also have some more serious moments, that explored grief, that were so very true and touching. We have all lost people we love, and know what it is like to be hit out of the blue with a memory that just reminds you of how much you miss that person to your core.
The romance is a slow burn which I also enjoyed, and the spice level was probably like, 2 jalapenos if that? Open door, but not like super detailed or graphic. LOL. I never know how to describe this for people!
This book is just charming and adorable and touching and hilarious, and I absolutely loved it.
Little Pieces of Hope began when WHO declared COVID a pandemic, and the author Todd Doughty realized that in order to keep going through such an unprecedented, scary time, he needed to do something. And what he did was create lists, something I can totally understand, of things that made him happy. Anything and everything. Feelings and moments and sounds and smells and memories. It is not really a book to read straight through, but one to pick up here and there, when you might need a reminder of good things in life. It inspired me to start my own list of happy making things as well, those glimmers that just tickle our souls and make us smile.
And now my DNF. I am so bummed about this one! I was pretty excited about it – this cover is gorgeous, and the premise sounded interesting, a LGBTQ+ version of The Holiday. And there were parts of it I did enjoy! However, I felt like Goldilocks reading this book that had dual relationships happening, and one moved way way too fast for me, while the other was way too slow. However, the writing itself was wonderful.
And that is it my friends! I hope today you do or read or see something that makes you smile!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! We had a pretty busy but good week last week. Wyatt had a good EEG, he had a blast at Dream Night at the Detroit Zoo, we have seen a lot of family… it’s been fun.
Ok, so what did I read? I read the best romance book. Like, seriously, it is probably my favorite one I have ever read. I don’t read a lot of romance. There is no real reason I don’t, it is just not a genre I gravitate to much. But Wyatt and I were at the library last week and I was looking for something that would be easy to pick up and put down as needed in the hospital, and I spotted this book on the shelf, and it just sounded so me.
I guess I should have heeded the blurb that says it is impossible to put down, because I really loved it. I am planning on posting some reviews this week, and this one is on the list to review.
And now what is on the list for this week? It’s hard to say! I really enjoyed The Jewel of the Isle, and now I don’t know which way to bounce. Do I want scary? Or something classic and cool like L.M. Montgomery and Jane of Lantern Hill? Do I want nature nonfiction? I really don’t know. I will have to see which way the wind blows (hopefully blowing this smoke and dust out of the Detroit area!) this week. So, I will list all the possibles here.
I just bought Otter Country off of Pango! Does anyone else use that? I love it! Books are very reasonably priced, you can list books to sell super easily, and you can earn money to either send to your actual bank account, or you can use the money as Pangobucks and spend it on … more books!! Anyway, it is a super easy site to use and I find a lot of books on there that I have a hard time finding elsewhere.
Not much. When we get a chance we watch Yellowjackets, which we are obsessed with. It is so freaking good!
Online Things Happening:
Not much on my own end here, at least through the summer. I do plan to host an autumn fun thing with Lisa, but that won’t be until October.
We are still having our crafternoons once a month or so! My last one for a month or two is coming up June 21st but Lisa will be holding the doors open for us throughout the summer. Please email me if you are interested in joining our zoom and I will add you to the group email. I am thinking I might pop in to July and August though, even if it is just for a short time, since the crafternoons are light and easy, drop in style. Come and go as you please!
And that is that from my end today! I hope that whatever you do today you do something that makes you smile.
“I tell you this/ to break your heart, /by which I mean only/ that it break open and never close again/ to the rest of the world.” – Mary Oliver
Hello everyone!! I am drinking Cafe Bustelo this morning, which isn’t too bad. It’s new to me and I am still finding the right balance in making it. I need the caffeine today; it has been a busy week!
Last weekend, Billy spent all day Saturday putting up shade for Wyatt and me around the deck. Wyatt loves to be out there – it is a great spot for him that was an unintended byproduct of the ramp building, but I am so thankful for it. It really is the perfect place for him to play outside. And he can go in and out all by himself, which makes him feel so much more independent. However, it was like being on the surface of the sun at times, with the complete lack of shade in our yard. So, Billy did what he does best and fixed the problem! Billy wanted to also make sure that we could wheel Wyatt out there after surgery and have it be a safe place for him to get out of the house and get some fresh air, and that required massive shade. Billy’s plan – he turned canvas dropcloth into curtains by adding grommets and hooks, and hung them on rods he had in the garage leftover from an old pop up gazebo thing. He also ordered an actual sun shade sail for the top, and now it is perfect! I can take Wyatt out there and move the curtains around as needed to keep him safe and not overheated (he doesn’t react to heat well, like a lot of people who have suffered brain injuries) and unburned. I do use an Australian sunscreen on him, Blue Lizard, because I believe Australians probably are the experts on it, but still, you know?
Sunday Billy got to use his new grill, which he got on sale over Memorial Day Weekend. We figured the deck area is going to be where we spend most of our time this year. Billy will be out of vacation time after taking time off for Wyatt’s surgery, so no little trips for us this year. And this is fine, we just want kiddo’s surgery and recovery to do well, and then we will be perfectly content spending our days and evenings in our little DIY oasis.
Then Wednesday, Wyatt and I headed to Motts Children’s Hospital, where he was all hooked up to some electrodes for a 24-48 hour EEG. It’s not necessarily a difficult procedure, just long. He needs to stay in the room the whole time, but he is allowed to play and move around and do whatever, as long as he is in the room. He does well for being stuck in a hospital room with all sorts of wires attached to him. He really is such a good kid guys, seriously. We watched The Wild Robot, read from his library book, drew, colored, and then he just played on his tablet. When Billy got there they played a game while I took a short walk around. And we had a surprise treat! My brother door dashed us delicious goodies from Tous Les Jours bakery! I talked about this place in a previous post, it is an Asian-French bakery and is so good! He sent us so many things, and I was grateful because I was starving!! Wyatt had eaten lunch and had snacks but I hadn’t, so when I grabbed the door dash and brought it up, I demolished the ham and cheese croissant. Lol. It was sooo good!
The next morning when the doctors came by, we had a good report!!! Wyatt had had no seizure activity captured, and the spike waves that he has near constantly at night (called DEE-SWASS) all originate in the same little spot in his brain. DEE-SWASS is continuous spike waves while you sleep, which can disrupt REM and can create issues with memory and also cognitive loss. If they are too frequent, doctors try to treat although DEE-SWASS still doesn’t have a lot known about it yet. However, the doctors felt that since Wyatt’s was located in just one area, that doesn’t cause the same issues and felt comfortable not being aggressive with it. So we were able to go home, and honestly, I was so relieved I could have cried about this report.
Last night, Wyatt got a reprieve from medical appointments! The foundation, A Kid Again, gifted us with tickets to the Detroit Zoo Dream Night! This is an evening for special needs families, where everything is open and free, even the carousel, movie theater, and the special Dragon Forest. They provided dinner and snacks, had zookeepers on hand for animal chats, a silent disco, and sensory friendly activities. The tickets are limited as well, so it is a quiet evening, without too many people. It is just a very special night for the kids and families. I know that my son had a blast. The smile never left his face!
We wandered the whole zoo, saw the wolves, and had to go through the Dragon Forest twice. Wyatt picked out a dragon toy, which he didn’t let go of the rest of the night, and ate chocolate chip cookies. Basically, we just had the best time and laughed so much and had fun. It was the perfect antidote to follow up his overnight stay at the hospital, and I am so grateful that we had that opportunity.
This weekend will be a little more low key, with tacos at my brother’s tonight, and a bowling birthday party tomorrow. Still fun but much more relaxed!
I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile my friends!
Today I am linking up with Lisa, at Boondock Rambings, for her Saturday Afternoon Chats!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! We have been working on projects around here like maniacs, but we are getting things done. Billy has been working outside on the yard, while I have been neglecting the house while I work on school and scout stuff for next fall (I don’t want to be planning after Wyatt’s surgery), handling Wyatt’s prehab exercises, and finishing up the bit of school we have left. I need to clean today…..
What I have read lately:
Let me start with Anywhere You Go. I wanted to like this one so much, but I didn’t. It is a LGBTQ retelling of The Holiday, which is such a fun premise. However, I felt like Goldilocks. One of the relationships moved way too fast for me – I don’t like the trope of insta-love – and the other was way too slow! Lol. I ended up DNFing it.
Beaches, Bungalows, and Burglaries was another one that I didn’t love, but I did enjoy it. Like, not love. I am going to read the next one though, because I am curious about where this series goes. So I guess that says something.
Of Salt and Shore however, was amazing. It is a middle grade but wow, it was fantastic. It is translated from Dutch (the OG title is Lampje) At first, I didn’t know if I was going to like it. It has some darkness swirling around in it, but the story that evolved was a beautiful tale of friendship and found family and loyalty. I just loved this one, and so far it is one of the best books I have read all year.
We are still watching Wheel of Time, although it was cancelled. Billy is bummed, but knew it was probably coming.
We also finished up The Brokenwood Mysteries, and I will have to be sad now until more come out. It is my favorite show and it is so short!
We also started Yellowjackets, which I have been wanting to watch for ages, and we are obsessed. However, if you don’t know much about it, it is pretty gory, just wanted to put that out there. Juliette Lewis and Christina Ricci are amazing in it. I love Ricci in anything and I don’t think I appreciated Lewis enough back in the day, but her performance in this is fantastic.
We haven’t had a night where we can watch a movie together (other than movies with Wyatt earlier in the evening, we just watched the OG Lilo and Stitch which he loved!), so we are still waiting to watch the first two on our list, Holland with Nicole Kidman and Wait Until Dark with Hepburn.
And that is it from me today! I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!
Hello everyone! It has been beautiful here lately – finally! We had been hit by constant rain for a week or so straight, and the past few days have been sunny and not too hot. Perfection!
It’s been a few weeks since I posted one of these! We just have had a lot of life stuff that hasn’t been all that interesting, like a flurry of doctor appointments, appointments for equipment for Wyatt, school stuff, just the minutia of daily life. I also started going through areas that I rarely weed through to get rid of things and reorganize. Fun stuff here guys.
I have recently gotten into genealogy again, and have been tromping around cemeteries. There is one that Wyatt and I visited together, but I didn’t want to leave him in the car too much while I searched so that was more of a scouting expedition, that I followed up with a real exploration later that weekend with Billy and Wyatt. I found my mom’s grandparents, but for the life of me I could not find my dad’s great grandparents. My dad, Wyatt, and I went last Friday and finally found them. I told Wyatt we were standing in front of his great-great-great grandparents graves. I don’t think he was particularly enthused, but one day he might be!
If you read my post about my genealogy saga, I had a mystery about an ancestor, Marie Domaine and her mother Josephine Bernard. Well, I still haven’t solved that puzzle yet, and I ran into a new head scratcher. My great grandfather was born in Ireland, moved to Pennsylvania and was a brick layer in the Pittsburgh area. However, I found a passport application that states he was planning to go to Colombia for a month for work, which sounds sketch. Then later, he died after being struck by a car, which isn’t really that suspicious unless you are plotting some sort of criminal story in your mind, like I did. Was he in the mob? Who knows? Lol. Well that might be a stretch but I do enjoy making up these narratives about ancestors right now.
Speaking of my dad, he recently had a birthday! Number 78. We went to his house for a very casual get together and had a great time. The kids had fun playing and visiting their grandparents. There were also three different birthday cakes for us to choose from, so lots of cake!
We kicked last weekend off by making lunches to be distributed to the public. I wanted Wyatt to start becoming involved in community service projects occasionally, and of course our church is a good place to start with him. He was a great helper and I was very proud of him, although I did not have him help make sandwiches. His grandmother did that. Wyatt, Billy, and I were an assembly line of filling the lunch bags instead, which was a much more suitable job for a ten year old.
When we got home, it was time for our Drop In Crafternoon that Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and I are hosting. We had a great time hanging out, chatting, and crafting with the fellow bloggers who have joined us. Since it is drop in, it is all very casual, just come for however long you can or pop in when you can. Send me an email at crackercrumblife@gmail.com if you are intestested!
On Sunday, we went to a nursery garden center that was new to us. Wyatt had gotten a small garden bed for Easter, one that is raised so that he can access it from his wheelchair, and he needed some plants to fill it! He made some good choices – dahlias, a delphinium, and a strawberry plant. It looks really nice! Billy and I had too much fun in the bonsai area and the terrarium areas, poking around. We ended up buying a tiny little silver needle tree (?). It says it gets like 6 feet tall, but we can’t find anything about it online, so I am thinking it has a different name than what it said on the tag. It was in the bonsai area so I am also guessing we can do that with it? Right now it just looks uniquely pretty. I also picked out a teeny tiny little tiger head planter and stuck a succulent in it. I love it.
Afterwards we stopped at Lowes for dirt, and ran into my brother and his family. They were also getting supplies, for Mermaid Girl’s fairy garden.
These guys came over on Monday to hang out, have some dinner, and enjoy the evening. It was a nice time. My mom came too, and was not happy I made her wear a big hat. But it was really sunny and I was worried she would burn. She did it, and I told her she looked like a Dame. She will also be unhappy if she knows I posted this photo of her on here, so don’t tell ok.
I hope you all have been having some good moments filled with smiles and laughter.
The #20BooksofSummer2025 challenge runs from Sunday June 1st to Sunday August 31st
The first rule of 20 Books is that there are no real rules, other than signing up for 10, 15 or 20 books and trying to read from your TBR.
Pick your list in advance, or nominate a bookcase to read from, or pick at whim from your TBR.
If you do pick a list, you can change it at any time – swap books in/out.
Don’t get panicked at not reaching your target.
Just enjoy a summer of great reading and make a bit of space on your shelves!
I have been seeing this around in the blogging world and thought I would add a small list myself! I like the flexibility of this challenge, since I often make a list then change my mind halfway through.
Also, since my son is having a major surgery in July, I am not sure what to expect at all in terms of anything but taking care of him. I figured though I would aim small and see what happens! I will be reading him a few books while he is recovering, so I am including those as well on here.
First, my own reading choices. I am throwing a bunch out here to choose from.
And then for books I am thinking about reading to Wyatt – some are ones he has had on his shelf, a few are some books I am just throwing in there. I wanted to find some quiet gentle type books for when he is home and not feeling that great but not wanting to sleep either. He loves being read to so that is always a win to make him feel comforted and better.
I guess we will see where summer reading takes us this year!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 