It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope everyone is doing well today! I am tired this morning but doing pretty good otherwise. It’s a morning I am grateful for coffee that is for sure.
This is a short post from me today!
Read Last Week:
I loved both of these books! The Haunting of Aveline Jones was a fun Middle Grade, that was actually pretty spooky. It was extremely atmospheric and young Aveline reminds me of a young me. Lol. A Dark and Secret Magic was such a good read as well. I think it is the perfect Halloween read, with lots of autumn goodness tucked in as well as witches and ghosts and a big bad villain, and a romantic hero. Yep, I loved it.
Reading This Week:
Version 1.0.0
This week I am settling in with an old comfort read of mine, Witch by Barbara Michaels, and a new to me author, Bee Littlefield. I won a giveaway on Instagram for this book from Bee, and it came with some cute stickers, tea, a journal, and coffee as well! I am looking forward to both of these reads this week.
Nothing too different or exciting here, other than our movies for Comfy Cozy Cinema that I am doing with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings. We watched Dial M for Murder last week which was amazing, and this week we are watching Practical Magic. The post goes up Thursday! If you are watching or following along and posting, this week is wild card week – so free choice of movie, or you can watch Practical Magic as well! I wanted to add too, that our last movie is Chocolat, and we will be doing a “watch party” – basically we will all hit play at the same time, and chat on discord. (so you don’t have to worry about being on video in your jammies!)
Billy and I have also been watching What We Do In the Shadows which cracks us up, as well as The Great Pottery Throw Down. Now I am trying to convince Billy to build a kiln in the backyard. Who will win? Lol.
Hello everyone! Today’s prompt is about how my reading habits have changed through the years. I am not sure I will get to ten but we will see how I do!
First, probably the biggest change of all – the number of books I read a week. Before I had Wyatt, I could read 2 or 3 books a week. Now I am lucky if I can read 1! I would spend whole weekends reading all day sometimes.
Second, the amount of books I would buy for myself has changed as well since before and after motherhood. Now I buy way more books for Wyatt, and maybe one a month for myself. I always used the library like crazy, but now the majority of the books that I read come from the library first. Then if I love it I buy it or add it to my wishlist. I used to buy a lot more books for myself a month. I don’t mind though honestly, I feel like now when I do buy a book I appreciate it more.
What I read has changed through the years too. I used to read more fantasy, romantasy , historical fiction, and horror, while now I read more thriller, mystery, and middle grade. I still read every the other genres that I used to, but just less of those and more of others. I feel like I cycle through phases of reading and what I like to read. Does everyone do this?
Hmm what else..
Oh! I used to read right before bed, sometimes for hours. I can’t do that now, I will just fall asleep immediately!
I still take a book with me wherever I go – now though I usually have my book and Wyatt’s book too. He loves books just as much as I do.
I also listen to audiobooks occasionally now, which I never really did. I like to listen while I stitch or clean.
I have also started annotating and highlighting and underlining in my books. I have my little setup next to my bed, and have a highlighter and one of my favorite fine point cat pens in my purse, along with some book tag things for when I am out as well. I like to match the stickers to the cover too.
I loan my books out more freely now too. Before they were all my precious and now I feel like passing them on so others can read them is more important to me.
And I think that is it! How have your reading habits changed?
This week’s prompt is: Books I Was Assigned to Read in School
This is a fun look back at high school and college!
The Jungle and Animal Farm were both assigned in high school and they both were pretty mind-blowing to my 16 year old self. The Jungle actually turned me into a vegetarian, from like 18 until recently. So it is safe to say it made a huge impact on me!
Frankenstein was a college read, and probably one of my favorites. I absolutely loved it, and found it so very sad as well, the loneliness of the monster.
The Great Gatsby took me to wild parties, the glitz and glam of the roaring twenties, dancing, and what looks like freedom and happiness. But the reader begins to see through this to the classism and lack of compassion and caring. It is still a favorite classic of mine. I am going to stop saying this because I feel like I will just keep repeating myself.
Their Eyes Were Watching God is an amazing book where we watch the main character learn to find herself and her voice. And the book that made me terrified of rabies. Plus there is a character named Tea Cake which I loved when I first read it in college. His character was not the greatest but his name was.
Beloved is a story that haunts you, and I am not trying to make a joke. I think this book and story is one that stays with you, the trauma and fear of the characters in a world of slavery that drives people to do things they would not do under normal circumstances.
Annie on My Mind is a book I read way back when in college, in my children’s lit class. It stands out as the very first LGTBQ book I have ever read, and also because it introduced the Cloisters to me.
The Metamorphosis by Kafka is one I feel like I read in high school and in college, and I liked it both times. It was so crazy but it is possibly the only existential book I really understood in school.
In high school I was introduced to The Canterbury Tales, and I just loved them. I loved discovering all the characters stories. Another one I should go back and reread.
I had to take sooo many Shakespeare classes in school, and of all the plays that I read, Hamlet was my favorite.
And that wraps it up for me today! What were you assigned in school that stood out to you?
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! Last week was so fun! We took a little mini-trip to Cleveland/Cuyahoga Valley National Park and we had a blast! I can’t wait to tell you about it all this week! As I suspected, I didn’t read – like at all. Except for maybe 10 pages before breakfast yesterday. I plan on making up for it this week though!
Read Last Week:
This book was lovely. It is so full of life, the good and the bad, the sad and the happy, and I really felt like I was living in this little community, sharing in their lives.
Reading This Week:
So, my post looks the same as last week. I did start Berries and Bones, and wow is it heavy on the cozy right away. This old bear has a pretty good setup! I am looking forward to reading more of it today.
Listening:
Last week, I wasn’t sure I liked this story. This week, I am here to tell you that I am really enjoying it! I am glad that I stuck with it. It is so cute and very fall vibes.
We are still watching The Pottery Throw Down. I admit, I am addicted. I am learning so much though from it! We went to the Cleveland Art Museum yesterday and as we wandered through, reading about some of the items that were ceramic or china or what have you, I understood the process that went into making them. It was amazing to see pots made in the 700s, and realize that the same processes (more or less) created them. The same shapes still exist. Billy and I were marveling at all the pieces with our newfound knowledge.
We of course are watching our Comfy Cozy Cinema movies that we are watching with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings, and Deb from Readerbuzz is also participating with us! Yay! Last week we watched and posted about Kiki’s Delivery Service; this week we are watching the 1945 version of Blithe Spirit and will post about it Thursday! We are also having a giveaway – you can enter here if you are interested!
And that is about it from here! I hope you are all doing well!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! It’s been slow around here, which was fine by me. I hope though that everyone who had to face down Helene has minimal damage. She was fierce looking.
Read Last Week:
Last week I read The Girl in White which was actually a little spooky for a kids book! This one was spookier than the other I have read by Currie, What Lives in the Woods. It was a good read for the season (without actually being too scary).
I also started Twilight Garden on Friday morning. I had forgotten I wanted to read this until I saw it on Rebecca’s TBR! Darn it. My TBR is just too crazy. Like everyone’s is, I am sure. Lol.
Reading This Week:
I will finish up The Twilight Garden, and then start another from my list. Right now I am not sure which direction I will pivot, but I feel I am leaning towards light and easy. Perhaps Berries and Bones, it look so deliciously fall. I also plan on starting The Whisperwicks, which is my book club book for the Patreon group I am part of for Alexandra Roselyn.
We are going away this weekend and so I hope to have some good reading time. It’s like that old saying though, “No one is more optimistic than a mother who takes books on the family vacation”.
I am also listening to an audiobook while I embroider. Right now I am listening to The Pumpkin Spice Cafe to see what all the hype is about. It has been compared to Stars Hollow and the Gilmore Girls which I love and have watched a million times over – and unpopular opinion coming, but I am not too excited about this book so far. It is too much like Gilmore Girls. I haven’t listened to much but it seems more like it is really just Lorelai Gilmore all over but this time she runs a cafe. The character talks a lot and talks fast, she drinks a lot of coffee – I don’t know. I guess I wanted the feel and or even a reimagining, but this is too on the nose. Does that make sense?
We are busily watching our Comfy Cozy Cinema movies; last week was Ladies in Lavender, and tonight’s feature is Kiki’s Delivery Service. Comfy Cozy Cinema is something Lisa from Boondock Ramblings and I started together and every year is so much fun! You are all invited to watch and post along with us.
Billy and I are also watching What We Do in the Shadows, as well as The Great Pottery Throwdown.
Also – I wanted to add that Lisa and I will be posting about our Comfy Cozy Care Package giveaway on Wednesday! We have lots of goodies we will be sending to someone to get all cozy with this fall!
And that is about it from here! I hope you are all doing 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!
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! I hope you are all doing well! It’s crazy to think we are eleven days into August already. This summer is flying by! I can feel autumn in the air this weekend; we had the windows open all day yesterday and it was wonderful. It has just been so muggy all summer that we haven’t really been able to do that, so it was nice to air everything all out!
I didn’t read much last week. I spent a lot of the week working on school or Cub Scout stuff. We are getting so close to September and then it will be go time! When I finally took a break I usually worked on my embroidery. I finished my cat and plants piece, and started a new one for fall! Wyatt’s been playing from sun up until sundown these days too, which is good. I love to see him getting involved in things and playing. I can’t wait for Billy to finish the wheelchair ramp so that we can have easier access to outside!
Reading This Week:
I did start both of these last week and I am enjoying them both quite a bit! I am hoping to finish them this week.
We are watching The Great British Sewing Bee at night when we finally collapse into bed. It is one of those calming shows, just like the Bake-Off. I usually watch a bit of YouTube too, when I first get into bed and start sewing. The people in my rotation these days are Randi Lynn Reed, Kristina at With Love, Kristina , and Ahya’s Cottage. So many online accounts everywhere are already introducing fall content which seems premature to me, but I get it. I am ready for the coziness of fall too.
And that’s it from me today! Enjoy your week everyone!
It seems like every July/August I am in the mood for a book that is so beautiful and emotional that I cry. Last summer it was Tom Lake; this summer, it was The Berry Pickers.
The Berry Pickers Publisher Summary:
“July 1962. A Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia arrives in Maine to pick blueberries for the summer. Weeks later, four-year-old Ruthie, the family’s youngest child, vanishes. She is last seen by her six-year-old brother, Joe, sitting on a favorite rock at the edge of a berry field. Joe will remain distraught by his sister’s disappearance for years to come.
In Maine, a young girl named Norma grows up as the only child of an affluent family. Her father is emotionally distant, her mother frustratingly overprotective. Norma is often troubled by recurring dreams and visions that seem more like memories than imagination. As she grows older, Norma slowly comes to realize there is something her parents aren’t telling her. Unwilling to abandon her intuition, she will spend decades trying to uncover this family secret.
For readers of The Vanishing Half and Woman of Light, this showstopping debut by a vibrant new voice in fiction is a riveting novel about the search for truth, the shadow of trauma, and the persistence of love across time.”
My thoughts:
This book made me cry. A lot. I don’t know if it will make others have the same emotional response that I did however, as some of my emotions were triggered by my own past and trauma. I am just going to say though, it will probably make you cry some. I posted this on my Instagram and someone commented that they read it in the laundromat and just sobbed while reading. I felt that comment.
The story follows the story of a Mi’kmaq family from Nova Scotia, who spend their summers every year picking blueberries in the same area of Maine. This has been the way it is for years. They are known, they are expected. Yet when one of their own goes missing, not much is done. (surprise surprise) The Mi’kmaq community who is in Maine for the harvest searches secretly while giving the appearance of working, although of course their focus is on finding little Ruthie, not necessarily how many berries end up in their baskets. At the end of the season though, the family must return to Nova Scotia, leaving the mystery of what happened to Ruthie, their daughter, their sister, behind.
The rest of the book is told from the perspectives of two characters, Joe and Norma. Joe was the last one to see his little sister Ruthie before she disappeared, and the guilt of this weighs on him his entire life. We hear from his point of view what the next fifty years were like for him, living in this shadow his entire life – in addition to what also happens to him those next fifty years. Through it all he always has his family though, and the love of his mother, who never ever gave up on thinking her daughter Ruthie was alive.
Norma on the other hand, grows up in a home of privilege, the daughter of a judge. She has been suffocated by her mother’s love which is strangling and oppressive and not healthy, and her mother’s overprotectiveness. Her father is more distant, but she has her aunt June who is the breath of life for her. Supportive and loving, she is there to help and guide and just be there for Norma when she needs it, her whole life. She tries to help Norma understand her mother some but really helps fill in those cracks. Norma has these memories though that don’t make sense, and the sense of unease, or of something missing, never leaves her.
While there is the underlying mystery and the fallout, the idea of love and family in all of its forms is such a huge theme in this book. The love of siblings, of two very different mothers who desperately want to hold on to their daughters yet in two very different ways and under different circumstances – one the physical, the other the memory. It shows the goodness of love and how it can be just joyous and free and supportive and all the things that love is, and also the darkness that some love can bring.
It is a very wonderfully written amazing story, from start to finish. It left me exhausted but so glad that I read it. It was just one of those books that I will never forget.
Hello everyone!! Last week when I wrote this post I didn’t have any coffee – only instant packs that Billy had taken camping! Now thankfully we have a full pot brewing in the kitchen, and I have a steaming cup next to me.
It’s been hot and muggy out there this week. Disgustingly humid. Wyatt and I have been hanging out at home most of the time, but we have ventured out a few times.
Saturday we hung out with my brother and his family for a small fire, which was nice. It was before the really gross weather moved in and it was a nice preview of fall and fires. I can’t wait. The kiddos were all just doing their thing, and my littlest niece Wild Child was having fun playing with the portable fan I had bought Wyatt. (Thanks for the suggestion Captain, we take it everywhere!) It was just a nice relaxing evening, hanging out.
Sunday we spent in our shady spot at the park, under the trees. Wyatt absolutely loves this so we try to do it whenever we can. On the way there though we passed a local rotary club having a little to-do at the fire station. They had demonstrations shooting off the fire hose, and also had some free ice cream from the Good Humor woman. We spent a nice time at the park afterwards, full of ice cream, just drawing, enjoying the breeze under the trees, the singing of birds, and reading. (me lol)
Later that evening, we had game night, which is Wyatt’s favorite. This time we played a game we had checked out from the library called What’s Next. It was really fun! It is sort of a choose your own adventure/rpg type game. There are three stories you can choose from, and each card has either an event or a choice you need to make or do. There are little side challenges as well, and a tower of peril! It really was a lot of fun, and we are definitely adding it to the wish list!
The rest of the week we have been home, with one journey to the library to check out more books, and to collect Wyatt’s summer reading National Parks Card and cryptid card that he earned. Next week he gets to shop the library “shop” with the book bucks he earned with all the reading we have been doing.
I have been working on getting our school plans together for next year. I absolutely love doing it honestly, putting together the plans and then finding fun tie-ins. Fall looks like it is going to be a lot of fun, with reading adventures like Alice in Wonderland and The Phantom Tollbooth, Indigenous history of Michigan, dinosaurs, and artists like Charley Harper! I am just starting to construct my Charley Harper art study for Wyatt, and I am having to taper things down because there is just so much we can do – too many ideas and not enough time. I think Harper will be a really fun artist to start off the year!
Hello everyone!! We are out of coffee and I am drinking an instant coffee from a Via pack Billy found that was leftover from his camping trip this morning. This does not bode well…. or I can look it like I am lucky that he had that. I think I will view it that way, Billy pulling some magic out of his bag.
Anyway… we have been super busy it feels like. We are just in the middle of so many house projects and taking care of business around here, and also making sure that we have some fun too. It is summer after all.
I mentioned on my Sunday-Monday post that last week was like the perfect quintessential summer week. We had a bike ride, trips to the library, a softball game, ice cream, dinner out (at Wyatt’s request, he is such a homebody but asked to go out and we were so shocked that we did!), reading, and for me, some embroidery as well. Then over the weekend we had our Saturday night game night, and Sunday a party! Let me tell you about all that.
On weekends we have a bit of a routine – Friday night is pizza night, and Saturday night is game night. Wyatt loves game night, which makes me so happy! Usually I put together our little snack tray and it is half cookies/candy or some sort of junk, and then the other half is healthy. This week I let Wyatt pick everything for our snacks and who would have guessed it, but he picked all cookies and candy. That plate by the way is our plate for us all to share, and we didn’t eat everything thank goodness. It was fun though!
Sunday night we had our Full Moon party! We joined the Kids Moon Club from Wilder Child when Wyatt was like 3 or 4, as something to do and make the long winters more fun. I didn’t take him out too much during the winter due to ~germs~ and he was so tiny at the time, my little tiny preemie boy who remained small for a long time. So we did stuff here to have fun. For a year or two we followed the club, doing all the things, and then as years passed, sometimes we would join in, other times not. (it’s a lifetime membership) This year and last year Mermaid Girl started joining us and it has been super fun. This year she has joined us as well, and we have been mixing it up and taking inspiration from the “official” club activities but have been doing our own things too. This month for sure. This month is the Buck Moon but we decided to make it the Blueberry Moon instead, and had a blueberry party! We also invited Mermaid Girl’s whole family this time around, and it was fun to have Mermaid Girl and Wild Child here together for the fun.
We had blueberry drinks – blueberry lemonade for the older kids, blueberry hard cider for the adults, and I kept the menu simple. Grilled cheese all around, with fancy cheese and bread for the adults and kids grilled cheese, with Kraft singles and white bread. We also had spinach salad with walnuts, goat cheese, and blueberries, and a lemon blueberry trifle that was absolutely devoured.
The craft activity this time was painting tshirts, and it was so neat to see what the kids all chose to do- and for Wild Child to get in on it too. They all really enjoyed it. They also made a blueberry moon collage, which turned out really well! After crafting, we went outside, threw down a blanket, and the kids played with a frisbee and with Wyatt’s metal detector. We all had such a good time!
We also added a new fish to our family last week! His name is Star and he lives in Wyatt’s bedroom, near the end of his bed so Wyatt can watch him swimming around. He is super tiny for a betta and I kind of wonder if he is young. He seems to be happy with his new home, as he made a bubble nest! This really has nothing to do with happiness and is actually a sign that he is ready for a lady friend but all betta owners like to think it is because their fish is happy.
Here is little Star! His tank is sort of a weird eerie yellow because the wood (Manzanita) leaks tannins into the water that is actually good for the fish but it makes the water yellowish. It dissipates after a while though, like a week or two or three. Right now it is funny though because it looks so 70s to me. He put so much work into this bubble nest. I didn’t have the heart to tell him though that he is not getting a lady friend.
I think tomorrow I am going to do a little post on our menagerie. It has been a while!
And now just some randoms for the roll! That goofy one of Wyatt and I… we were waiting at CVS for my tetanus shot that I needed. My arm still hurts!
And that is it for today! Try to do something that makes you smile today!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 