Wednesday Morning Coffee (Covid) Catch Up

On February 11, 2026 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized25 Comments

Hello everyone!!! It’s been a minute since I posted here. If you are on my socials at all, then you already know, but that illness that Wyatt had – and passed on to us – was Covid. Ughhh. I started feeling pretty crummy Friday night, and by the time we went to bed, I had an idea that is what it was. When I got up on Saturday morning I took a test and yep, that line showed up. Billy was starting to feel sick too by this point as well.

Billy and I both immediately set up virtual doctor appointments to get on Paxlovid. I know that this is not the choice everyone would take, but we thought since we have Wyatt to take care of and we were all sick at the time, that it would be a good idea to take it. The other time we had Covid, back in like 2021ish, Billy had it in May and then Wyatt and I had it in July. Billy set up in his office when he had it that time and I solo’d it with Wyatt.

Anyway, we were both super tired for like two days, and have Paxlovid mouth which is disgusting. Wyatt rebounded quickly, but as he has a certain level of dependence on us, ended up spending a lot of time watching tv in bed with his parents as we rested. Lol. However, yesterday I felt so much better! The sun was shining, it was warm (40 degrees!), and I threw open the windows a tiny bit to air out the house, and got busy cleaning. I scrubbed down the bedrooms with bleach, washed all the bedding, scrubbed floors, just pretty much went on a crazy deep clean spree. I also decided anything that made me think of winter needed to put away. Winter decor was banished to boxes, and snowy reads put back on the shelves for another time. I moved out books that feel like spring, changed our duvet cover, and by the end of it all, the whole house felt lighter. Fresher. And I felt happier and lighter as well. I saw Mireille posted about vignettes today and I need to pop over and read her post, but that is what I was doing yesterday too. Changing my vignettes. Changing my view, and my mindset.

It is still too early here in Michigan to start seeds, I think, but I think we will give it a try. I feel like if we get some wee plantlings that there is a way we could make a makeshift greenhouse situation on our deck for Wyatt and I to tend. We need to move our thinking forward to spring. As the seasons start to shift, so do we. It is premature to think of spring being here, I live in Michigan after all. Winter could be here until April for goodness sakes. But, I am going to start thinking at least of brighter, longer days. Of more color in the world, not just the blues and grays and whites of winter. We need pink and green, yellow. We need birdsong. I think that if the weather is a little better next week Wyatt and I might take a field trip to the zoo, walk around, go into the butterfly house, watch the otters play.

We have been watching the Olympics a lot around here, and playing with our three cats, little Miso who is like the Nana for our kittens. She follows them around, just sort of watching them. They nuzzle up against her and she sort of makes a face like eww but also allows it. But when I put them in the office for the night (I don’t trust them running around the house at night yet) she sits outside the door for a bit, and in the morning she waits for them to come out, and nose boops them. I had to laugh yesterday, Mouse, our little adventurer and scamp, ran by Miso and play swatted her poofy tail, and then ran off. She was brave, that could have earned her a little hiss but it didn’t.

I haven’t wanted to read much while I have been sick, but I did receive two letters from pen pals which made me smile. Yesterday while Wyatt was painting, I wrote them back. It was so nice to have a cup of tea, and just write out letters that I will send out to two very different places, while my son happily painted next to me. Poor Billy had to go back to work yesterday, but he was working from home so that was better at least.

Today we join the world again. Wyatt goes back to therapy, and I think he will be glad to get out. I know I will be happy! I think we might try to go to the library and pick up our holds as well. And maybe I will stop at Starbucks and grab Wyatt a cookie, and a Medicine Ball for myself. Then we will come home to our house full of animals and Billy and settle in for the evening.

And I think that is it from me today! I don’t know what is in my camera roll, we will find out here together I guess!

I hope that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile.

In Our Homeschool

On February 4, 2026 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized6 Comments

Hello everyone! It has been a while since I have posted about our homeschool studies. It’s not as visual for the blog as it was when he was younger! However, we are still working hard and doing some fun things.

Before Christmas, we finished up the Revolutionary War. I lingered way too long on that topic. I always joke that I spend way too much time on history but I can’t help it – I love history, and it is what my degree is in. That and literature. Wyatt loves history now too, and it cracks me up what he holds on to sometimes. He loved the story of Paul Revere, and loved shouting “The British are coming!”, which Revere actually never did but we talked about actual history and then also, this fictionalized version. He made a lantern with a tealight, and we just had a great time with it.

After Christmas, we moved on to the Lewis and Clark expedition, and westward expansion. This is a whole new adventure and he has been enjoying it. We are about to head down the Oregon Trail, and we are also reading Little House on the Prairie for Language Arts. When we finish that one up, we are going to start The Cabin Faced West, which I have actually not read yet myself!

I mentioned that we are reading Little House on the Prairie. I learned this morning that Friday is Laura’s birthday, so I am planning a few fun celebrations for that, like a mini Pioneer day.

Wyatt and I were both done with modern, abstract artists so I am starting a whole new unit with him in art – architecture! He is already excited over it and we have only been working on it for a week. We needed something new and fresh to liven things up! Wyatt loves houses and building things so it seemed like a good fit.

We started last Saturday with Billy, and talked about foundations, how important they are, the difference between shaky and solid. He got to do a little experiment with both as well, trying to float a foundation and building on it to see the difference. Then he and Billy built a “floating” building, the Sydney Opera House. It was a lot of fun, and he had a blast. We did have to crack up because the non-technical parent (me) bought the supplies and did not pick a large enough “harbor” for our opera house to float in. It more or less rested on the sides of the container. But, he got the idea!

We are using a slew of books for this, but there are a few that I really like.

Architecture According to Pigeons || Mini Architects || The Future Architect’s Handbook || Architecture for Kids

And that is it for now! I have lots of fun things coming up and I am so excited to do with them Wyatt!

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On February 1, 2026 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized31 Comments

Hello everyone! I am writing this morning surrounded by jumping, bouncing zooming kittens, a sleeping cat, and a chatty little boy. I have already consumed two cups of coffee, which is my limit, but I could use another one to keep up with most of this crowd today.

It was a pretty slow, lazy week again. The cold is just keeping us inside right now. We are doing our best though!

Books:

Last week I read Secret Nights and Northern Lights which was a light easy read. I’d been reading a lot of moody winter books and I needed a bit of a shake up. This book was the antidote I needed!

I am still debating what I want to read this week. Do I want something light again? Something wintry? I am picking this one up from the library tomorrow, and I am pretty sure that is the one I am going to start. I learned about it over at Jeanie’s blog, Marmalade Gypsy and she loves it so much I had to look for it. Way to go my library! It has had all sorts of books that are older and out of print that I have been looking for this year. Never change, library.

I am also in the mood for something scary, or a ghost story. I need to look for one while I am at the library.

Screens:

This week Billy and I reunited with our old friends Ruth, Peter, and Alex, and watched Wartime Farm for the millionth time. We also watched Victorian Bakers, which wasn’t as good as the farm shows, but it was still very good. It also had the added bonus of making us want to bake bread. And eat bread.

Last week I posted a few times.

Top Ten Tuesday: Bookish Discoveries

Coffee Catch Up

Mini Book Reviews

I’m playing with my little designs. Do I want one design for all, different? I will keep playing. I enjoy fiddling around with Canva anyway. Lol.

In-Betweens:

I got my first snail mail letter last week! Thank you Tina! I mailed one back to you – I was going to email and tell you then felt like that was silly. And now here I am posting it on my blog! LOL. I will get the hang of this eventually.

I also sent out a few other snail mail letters while I was at it, to the pen pals I have picked up from the Analog Life Project, and Wyatt sent one to his friend Little Miss, Lisa’s daughter.

I am really enjoying letter writing! And of course, picking out stationery.

Around the Internets:

Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea. This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!). Each link party will be open for a month. You can find that link up for this month here. I was a very poor co-host this month as I was doing some life re-organizing and I am still catching up on some things.

And a kitten pic to end this post.

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

Friday Morning Coffee Catch Up

On January 30, 2026 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized21 Comments

Hello everyone!! I am a winter lover, but now is about the time I am ready for it to be over. Even I can have too much winter, and with how intense winter has been this month – it’s time to call it. Let’s get some warmer weather, some sunshine up in here. I am done wintering, however February in Michigan means more winter. So, we will just keep on keeping on a little bit longer.

I know this weather is affecting such a large part of the U.S. right now too, and I feel for those of you who are not used to it. It’s tough for me and I am a Michigander. I mean, it was 12 degrees yesterday, and I took the kittens to their vaccine appointment without a coat. Just my sweatshirt and hat. I did cover the carrier with my coat though, despite the car being heated with heated seats. The clinic I went to is one that is run by my SIL. It is a high quality, high volume, low cost spay/neuter clinic that does vaccine clinics on Thursdays, also low cost. I just want to talk about how awesome this place is for a minute. The shots for both of the kittens was a total of $60, and I didn’t even have to get out of my car. I called when I got there, the tech came out to grab them in their carrier, took them in, did the things, and brought them back. It was very convenient! We are also getting them spayed and neutered there as well. They have a grant package (a few of them, one for feral cats too) that is called A Family Affair, where if you take in a mom cat and her kittens, the mom is basically $100 for the surgery and shots, and each kitten is $5 for shots and surgery. So, Max and Mouse will be done with everything for about $20 really, once I pay for their tiny cones of shame on top of it. Our friend where we got the kittens is taking in their mom and their sister at the same time, so we can utilize the grant. The clinic does not do full vet care, but for things like this, it is a fantastic value.

On Sunday, we got a lot of snow! Not as much as some places, but a lot for our area. For some reason snow usually misses us! We got about 7-8 inches. We waited until evening to go outside and shovel and snowblow, and Wyatt went out with us. It has always been sort of difficult to get him outside in the snow, but now that we have the deck and ramp, it was so much easier! And, the ramp served another purpose this time- sledding! Wyatt had fun going down a few times than just hanging out throwing snow at his father and I while we worked. It was mega-cold out but he was not ready to go back in. He had a blast!! Although I realized belatedly that this kid does not have boots! It is just not something we need to buy him normally so we used an old pair of his shoes and really thick wool socks. I need to write a note for next winter to buy boots!

This weekend we absolutely have to leave this house. I don’t care if it is the arctic outside. We are getting out and doing something. If it is not too terrible, a city near us is having an Ice Festival, which might be fun. Actually, a few communities near us are having ice sculpting fests with hot chocolate, so we will pick one perhaps and go. I remember going to the one in Plymouth when I was a kid. My family went with my aunt and uncle, and my cousin Brian and I got to ride in the back of their station wagon, in a fold up seat that faced backwards. The 80s were a wild time, weren’t they? My mom and my aunt were like the moms in A Christmas Story, and would bundle us up so much we could hardly move, but we were warm. We were always together, our whole lives. Lots of good time and memories, even when I had to stomp about in moon boots. God I hated those things! I always felt bad for the kids who forgot to bring shoes in the winter, and had to wear those big boots all day during school. I can still hear the sounds of them walking in the classroom or down the hall, the hiss of the radiators, feeling a bit drowsy in the afternoon from the heat and playing on the playground. Scarves and hats and mittens and boots, and now I try not to wear anything out but boots, a hat, and gloves. Wyatt, however, I bundle up like my mom did me, although I always make sure not to zip his chin like my mom did me.

Tonight is pizza Friday and I can’t wait. I am so over planning dinners this week! We made a whole chicken on Sunday since we were all snowed in and not leaving, and then we ate the leftovers as chicken quesadillas the next two days though, so it wasn’t too hard planning them. And honestly, those were the best freaking quesadillas I have ever eaten. It was the first time I ever made them, and they turned out so good. Definitely something we are keeping on the menu for future leftovers.

While I am stuck here in snowy Michigan, one of my besties is over in London, living it up! She is sending me pics of her trip, and it looks awesome. A Wes Anderson exhibit, tea at Harrods, and shopping at Hatchards. I had no idea what that was, but some of you might. It is the oldest bookseller in London, and has been around since 1797. The owner was a publisher and anti-slavery campaigner, and the store holds a Royal Warrant, which means they service the royal family. Pretty cool! And because she loves me, Kelly texted me a photo of a huge Agatha Christie book display and had me pick a book! She said there was no way she could be at the oldest bookstore in London and not get me a book by a British author. I had a minute of blurting out via text different titles before I settled on The Sittaford Mystery.

Which one would you have picked?

And wow I have really rambled, sorry about that!!! I will close with a few random photos, and a wish for you guys to do somethings today that makes you smile! Stay safe and warm my friends!

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On January 25, 2026January 25, 2026 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized43 Comments

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz, Kathryn at Book Date, and Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone! I am writing today from inside the Arctic circle, which is now known as Michigan. It has been soo cold here. It is awful. Extreme temperatures are really tough on Wyatt, so we have been inside for most of the past week, and it looks like this week ahead will be more of the same. We are maybe going a little stir crazy!

Books:

Did I tell you I finished Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge? I did, and I miss the ladies chatter already. I need to go find another of their books ASAP. I also finished While the Earth Holds Its Breath. I wasn’t overwowed by it, but it was still a pretty relaxing, calm read.

I have read so far this year four nonfiction books already. Who am I? I do need a break though from it though, and I have two books on deck. I don’t know which one I will end up reading, but I am going to start them both and see which one sticks. I may end up reading them both, who knows? We are stuck inside after all.

Screens:

Billy and I haven’t been watching too much lately! You would think we would be. We have been watching the news a lot more than anything. And the kittens and Miso. They are bringing us happiness in a dark time honestly. Maybe that book “We’ll Prescribe You a Cat” has the right idea. I haven’t read it yet but maybe I will next month. And I know some of you aren’t cat people, so there are other things, dogs, fish, plants. Really just find something that brings you joy right now. Painting, a pen pal. Walks in nature. A good book. A funny movie. Today I think we are going to watch A Night at the Museum with Wyatt. I love that movie and he has not seen it yet. We may end up watching all three this week, who knows? Anyone else have any ideas for kids movies like Paddington, A Night at the Museum, etc, that you really loved?

I did manage to write some posts last week!

Books I Read I in 2025 with Cats on the Cover

Our Cozy Little Life – Wintering

In-Betweens:

We had some really great things happen here last week. When you have a kid with special needs, milestones are often inchstones, and Wyatt was kicking butt last week. He is really coming along in reading, and not just reading but SAYING THE WORD out loud to me. I know this guy is understanding so much more than I realize but the fact that he doesn’t verbalize everything usually makes it really difficult for me to measure how much. Last week though he was just blowing me away with actually reading words out loud to me.

He also took his first steps post surgery last week!!!! It was a lot of work and a few months coming and I am so very proud of him. And he was very proud of himself too, which he should have been. I will post my Instagram reel of it, but I am not sure if it ever works when I do this.

View this post on Instagram

And that is about it from around here. Making cookies, eating cookies, playing with kittens, cuddling Miso, writing our pen pals, homeschool.

I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile. I know that I am hoping that the snow (an expected 9 inches here) will have enough a break so that I can run up to Starbucks for my Self-Care Sunday routine of matcha latte with oatmilk and 1 pump of vanilla. We will see though.

And here are some random photos!

Our Cozy Little Life – Wintering

On January 22, 2026January 22, 2026 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized26 Comments

Hello everyone! It is crazy weather here in the States isn’t it? I am worried about you all in the south! Stay safe and warm, wear layers, lots of natural fabrics that breathe, build your blanket forts and hunker down. We have been in this house for far too long here, and we just have a few more days of it, although I am taking Wyatt to therapy today at least. We will have a feels like above a negative number so I am going for it, because later tonight our temps really get bad, and we could reach temps of -35. Not fun!

While Billy has been out and about for work this week (poor guy), Wyatt and I have been inside. I did go to the pet store last night to just get out but that has been it. We have been really working hard at school, and Wyatt is doing fantastic. He is really coming along with reading and I am so proud of him. We are also covering the Lewis and Clark expedition in history, learning about boreal forests in science, and we are about to start a whole architecture unit for art, which I am super excited about. I just need to get to the library to pick up some books for it- maybe Saturday I can venture out.

I am having a lot of fun finding pen pals! Lol. When I was younger, I had a pen pal who lived in England and it was a lot of fun. I remember she mailed me the Adrian Mole books which were hilarious. It is sort of neat to revisit this as an adult. I shall call it my correspondence and pretend I am a Lady having my morning tea and writing my letters, when I will really be listening to Wyatt chattering on, the kittens running all over around me, Miso sleeping on my lap, etc. I have been browsing blank cards and stationery sets online, and can’t decide. There are so many different types and designs!

I also finished up my book, Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge, which was so quaint and lovely. It was a nice read for this time of year, slow and easy, and I miss their stories now. I will have to read the other books as well, if my library has them. When I was reading about the women themselves online, it seemed they had very fascinating lives!

In kitten news, we had a little surprise. Mabel is really a Max! Our two sisters are really sister and brother. It happens, kittens are so hard to tell when they are really little. And Max looks like he is going to be a big cat – his paws are enormous! They have been cracking us up. We have a new little routine: when I get up, I feed Miso, who is generally waiting next to me on the bed, or rather, pawing my face for her breakfast, then I get Wyatt’s breakfast, and fetch the kittens. Wyatt and I sit in my bedroom with the kittens while they play, and after an hour or so, I put them back into the office, feed them, and then they take a nap. Only a few more days or so and I should be able to just let them have free run of the house. Miso seems to be handling their presence ok – when Max escaped yesterday she found him and they gently sniffed each other’s faces. We are going slow because she is such a gentle animal and I don’t want to overwhelm her and the kittens are a lot.

I have also had a lot of time to plan things! I lined up a skating event for our Blackbirds at a place called the Ribbon in Toledo. We have a cabana, a fire pit, and skating aids at our disposal, including a sled with two runners that Wyatt can use on the ice. We rented the place for two hours, and even if our kids spend most of their time drinking hot chocolate by the fire, it is right by the ice and can be part of the scene in whatever way they choose and are comfortable. I am really excited.

I also formed a teeny book club for Wyatt and two of his friends! Our goals are pretty simple, just to have them say maybe what they liked and didn’t like at first, and then we will have a themed snack and craft, because that is how I roll and these three will love it. We are planning our first club meeting all the way out in March, which is crazy to think about. It’s hard to believe Christmas was already a month ago!

I have been doing a lot of journaling, list making, letter writing lately, and will probably start a sewing project or two this weekend. We have our first Crafternoon of the year Saturday and that will be a nice way to break up this inside time!

And that is it for me today – if you are in the States and in the path of this storm, stay safe and warm! I know that our Southern Hemisphere friends have been experiencing the opposite weather, very hot days, so I hope you are all staying cool! Wish me luck, I need to go snowblow so Wyatt can get to therapy!

Updated to add: I remembered while I was out snowblowing that we have also been watching the adventures of Josh and Jase, two Brits that are touring through Michigan right now. I was sorry to hear they had encountered mishaps on their visit here, but are on the mend and in the U.P. now! They are hilarious, and I love how they are representing my state! You can check them out here!

My Year in Books – Meme

On January 14, 2026 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized12 Comments

I saw this over on Anne at Head Full of Books blog and it sounded so fun I needed to do it too!

My Year in Books

Rules?

Answer the questions with titles from books you read in 2025. (Some may end up being silly, others may seem overly serious.)
The goal is to have fun.
Participate by copying the questions below. Erasing my answers and inserting you own.
Once you’ve created your post, link it below so others can see it, then visit others’ posts to see how they answered the questions.
Spread the word. Let’s see if we can make this a thing again this year!

Anne says to just have fun and not take these too seriously so that is my plan!

Questions:

In high school I was: Greenwild (Pari Thomson)

People might be surprised: What Moves the Dead (T. Kingfisher)

I will never be: The God of the Woods (Liz Moore)

My fantasy job is: The Baby Dragon Cafe (A. T. Qureshi)

At the end of a long day I need: Goblin Mode (McKayla Coyle)

I hate it: [when people don’t] Play Nice (Rachel Harrison)

Wish I had: The Jewel of the Isle (Kerry Rea)

My family reunions are: A Fellowship of Games and Fables (J. Penner)

At a party you’d find me: In the Company of Witches (Auralee Wallace)

I’ve never been to: Watership Down (Richard Adams)

A happy day includes: Beaches, Bungalows, and Burglaries (Tonya Kappes) (lol – not the burglaries part really, obviously)

Motto I live by: Home Before Dark (Riley Sager)

On my bucket list is: [learning] How to Talk to Your Succulent (Zoe Persico)

In my next life, I want to have: A Fellowship of Librarians and Dragons (J. Penner]

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On January 11, 2026 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized31 Comments

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz, Kathryn at Book Date, and Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone!! We made it all the back around to Sunday. Besides the news this week, I had sort of a personally crazy week full of bodily mishaps. Lol. I busted my knee against the car transferring Wyatt from his chair to the car, and it got all huge and bruised for a night, then I got the pneumonia shot which made me all achy for 24 hours, and my arm still hurts! I put that shot off for two years because the first pneumonia shot I got was rough, so I figured this one would be too. However after having the flu followed by pneumonia in my late twenties and remembering how crap that felt, I decided to suck it up for the 24 hours and get it done.

Books:

I am currently reading the newest Royal Street Novel, The Lady on Esplanade. I love New Orleans and I love this series set there for its historic preservation and ghostly vibes. So fun!

I am also slowboating my way through Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge because it is s such a wonderful calm read. I like to read it in small bits when I need uplifting.

Screens:

We finally started the newest season of Stranger Things, and it really is so good, despite all the actors being so much older now! It is cute though when they do flashbacks and they are all just tiny – it is crazy they were so young when the show started! We are close to the end now, maybe just one more episode I think? Then I think we might move on to Yellowjackets again, which we were saving for winter.

As for the blog, I posted only a few times last week.

Mini Book Review: The Bewitching, Dinner for Vampires, and Moon of the Crusted Snow

A Cozy Little Life: Small Things that Make Me Smile

In-Betweens:

It was a crazy week, as I mentioned above. We also started back to homeschool last week, back to physical therapy at the clinic, and had our Blackbirds Kids Club meeting. It is always so hectic getting back to the routine after break!

And I will leave you with just a few photos from the camera roll!

I hope that whatever you do this week, you do something that makes you smile!

Small Things That Make Me Smile

On January 9, 2026 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized29 Comments

So life lately feels heavy, this week in particular. Watching the news breaks my heart and gives me panic attacks and in our world of 24 hour news coverage we can never quite get away from it, unless we make the effort. Put the phone down. Turn off the tv. I find it easy to lose myself in projects, but I don’t always have the time to do those. There are days, like every weekday, when we have homeschool and home therapy and all the other things, and it is so easy to pick up my phone and scroll in those quick in between moments. On those days, I need to rely on small things to lift my spirits. A great cup of coffee or tea. Five minutes with a good book. A long stretch.

There are some small things I am loving lately, that make me smile.

Orange is one thing. Actual oranges to eat – I love peeling one and getting hit with that fresh sharp citrus scent. So much so that I have included orange scents into my shower routine. My body wash is orange scented, and oh my shampoo and conditioner smells so much like driving through an orange grove I just stand in there enveloped in the scent for a few extra minutes. I am using The Earthling Co. shampoo and conditioning bars in Citrus Sun and it does my sun deprived self so much good. I also bought a citrus tinged perfume as well, but it doesn’t quite smack me in the face with an orange scent as much as I want so I am going to keep looking.

Also, waiting on our little orange kitten. Not much longer now!

And while I am waiting for her, I am of course getting all the cuddles from Miso. Billy and my bestie Kelly are trying to talk me into two kittens, but I think that might be hard for Miso. Or easier, if they play with each other and give Miso a break? Ugh. I don’t know. Anyway, Wyatt got a little pop up indoor tent from my dad that turned out to be big enough for Wyatt and I to sort of lay in and read. We like to climb in there and read some of his books for school, and then after that, just hang out for a bit. I love when we are in there and Miso pokes her little head in, like “Hey what are you all doing?” and then saunters in and lays on me, like she does. It is super cozy for all of us, I guess.

Tea is another thing that has been making me smile. Peppermint tea, ginger orange turmeric, lemon ginger, are all flavors that perk me up these days. And if I get a chance to go to Starbucks, I love their Honey Citrus Mint Tea. I feel like I am going to be picking one of those up today, now that I mentioned it. They are just so good!

I am also enjoying winter fruit salad. It has apples, pears, kiwi, clementines or oranges, and pomegrante seeds and I could eat it all day. It just wakes me up!

Finally, one of the books I am reading is a collection of letters between two friends, sent to each other in 1953. It is perfect to just pick up and read a few letters, spend five to ten minutes in their calm little worlds of dogs and rural life.

These are just a few small things that make me smile and pick me up when I need a little pick me up.

I hope that whatever you do today, you find something, no matter how small, to make you smile.

Books, Screens, and In-Betweens

On January 4, 2026 By Erin @ Cracker Crumb LifeIn Uncategorized40 Comments

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz, Kathryn at Book Date, and Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone!! We have had the most chill week ever, and it has been so nice! We are deeply wintering over here, I guess. It has just been so cold, and Michigan is one big virus out there, and we are content and happy and aren’t feeling the need to go anywhere, so… we didn’t. Billy has been off work for almost two weeks and it has been so good to just be together, having all of this family time.

Books:

I have been working on three different reads over break! I am slow reading Stillmeadow and Sugarbridge, which is a book from 1953, and is a collection of letters between the two authors about their rural lives. I love it and pretty soon it will be my main read.

I am also halfway through Moon of the Crusted Snow, a book I have wanted to read forever, and that I received from Dini from Dinipandareads. It was so sweet of her to send it to me, and I am finding it a fast, compelling, scary read! I am enjoying it very much.

I also listened to Dinner for Vampires, which ended up being my first book finished in the new year, and since it is a memoir, I get to check that off my challenge list. Lenz, known for her One Tree Hill fame, lived for almost a decade under the control of a cult called the Big House Family. The audiobook is read by Lenz, and it made the book feel so much more real, to hear her story in her own voice. I am glad that she has since been able to find happiness and independence.

Screens:

I told you we have been watching a lot of movies! The Paddington series of movies was adorable; I am pretty sure they are a family favorite for all three of us. I think we might actually make orange marmalade today even.

Wonka was the perfect Christmas break movie! Over the top, beautiful, musical, heartwarming – I absolutely adored it.

Hot Fuzz and The Big Year are old favorites. The Big Year is a movie that we watch every year, since maybe 2012? It just kicks off our year. And Hot Fuzz is our favorite of the Simon Pegg/Nick Frost movies.

We couldn’t believe how many actors we kept seeing pop up in the different movies. It became a game, like let’s see, is Olivia Colman in this one too? Hugh Grant? Just so many. We were definitely in a groove.

In-Betweens:

In between all of this, we have been organizing and cleaning, and working on our own little projects. I have been fun creating embroidery pieces that are personalized to my friends and myself. I have only made 2.5 so far, I am still working on mine, but I love this new phase of my embroidery.

The first two have very long stories behind them. Also, rest assured that none of us think ferals are trashy. I can’t do them freehand yet, and I am still working on my lettering skills, but I am really enjoying this. The rabbit with the Watership Down quote is for me. And ignore the shoddy print job, my printer doesn’t like the transfer paper.