This Week – School is in session

September 12, 20219 Comments

This week we started full day of school and we hired our last instructor (reading and writing tutor in addition to piano and speech) so everything is in place for the next few months at least, yay! In the first week there was only one meltdown with tears and I think I finally have a way to deal with it that should lessen the occurrence (hopefully). Being better organized has helped immensely.

We also went to the drive in for the first time in forever. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Three Rings and Free Guy was the double feature and Gage was thrilled to be out past midnight, lol.

Here was my earlier update and here’s what I’ve read since…

This puzzle was HARD even at only 500 pieces. I loved the fun shapes of the pieces, but this wasn’t a favorite. Usually I like to look at the picture of the puzzle and then put it away, not using it after I’ve started, but not so with this one. I had the picture right in front of me the whole time 😁. The guys helped a bit, but it was too challenging to be fun for them, at least til the end. Can’t wait to see what @completingthepuzzleofficial sends next!

I listened to the Bill Clinton/James Patterson collaboration The President is Missing while I puzzled. It’s been a long while since I’ve read Patterson. I thought this was a fun, fast-paced read especially if you like political thrillers. A President only has a small amount of time to stop a terrorist attack, but the opposing party is slowing him down. And he has to trust the very people who put the attack in motion. Nothing groundbreaking, but still entertaining.

Do yourself a favor and get your hands on this book! Infinite Hope: A Black Artist’s Journey from WWII to Peace an autobiography by Ashley Bryan is a wonderful first hand account of his time in the war with a little of his life before and after. Scroll through the pics. Each the drawings were sketches he made during his days in the military. He would send the hundreds of sketches home when he could and just brought them out for public consumption a few years ago. In addition to the sketches, photos, and commentary, he’s included some of the letters he sent home.

He was there on Omaha Beach working as a stevedore to get cargo from ship to Allied forces. His home was a foxhole he dug himself on the beach.

This hero is 98 and about to receive the Maine in America Award for outstanding contribution to Maine’s role in American Art.

It’s a story of war, hope, prejudice, and perseverance. If your child needs a firsthand account of someone in WWII or of racial inequality in the war this is a must read. It’s laid out so beautifully it’s sure to hold their attention. And, as an adult, I fell in love with it myself 😍

Gage and I used both of these week for our morning journal, finishing up both yesterday. I checked out both when I reserved the Ashley Bryan autobiography that I raved about yesterday. I love his illustrations.

The Night Has Ears, African Proverbs was a selection of very short proverbs, each attributed to a tribe, and a beautiful illustration taking up most of the page. A few we choose for our daily quotes…
“There is no one-way friendship.” Maasai
“No One knows the story of tomorrow’s dawn.” Ashanti

Sail Away poems by Langston Hughes and illustrations by Ashley Bryan was a nice, small poetry collection for kids, bite-sized really. I’m not a poetry person 🤷🏻‍♀️ but I do keep sharing it with Gage hoping he’ll pick it up better than I ever have. The jury’s still out.

It’s always good to read a book from my TBR piles. I get a lot of books from the library and get a few more from publishers or book tours, but that means that my pile of books to read just grows and grows.

The Perfect Girl is a thriller about 17 year old music prodigy Zoe, who was hiding from her earlier big mistake. She and her mother tried to escape what Zoe had done, but the past finally caught up to their new life.

This was told from multiple viewpoints, also going back and forth between then and now. This was a solid thriller with an ending that satisfied. I didn’t find any of the characters likable enough to care too much, but it works as a domestic character study with a twist.

This Week – Dog Days of Reading

August 22, 2021September 12, 202113 Comments

Sorry this is so long. It’s been a long, trying week and getting anything done, especially reading, has been a struggle.

Do you ever feel seen? I received a 2022 calendar from the Ocean Conservancy, an organization I wasn’t familiar with but is definitely within our donation wheelhouse. Can you guess what else they offered if we gave a donation? Did I make it too
easy for you? Gage and I finished this in less than hour, which seems like it took way longer than it needed to!

Gage is feeling much better today. Mornings have been rough this week, but for the first time this he woke up feeling good. Now we just need to get him eating more.

I have News of the World by Paulette Jiles in one of my TBR stacks and thought that Jason and I could watch the movie before I read it. The movie was…underwhelming? Tom Hanks and Helena Zengel were terrific and I loved the last 10 minutes of the movie. Hanks plays a Civil War soldier who travels town to town reading the news to people who have a dime to hear it (he was a newscaster before tv). When he takes on the responsibility of getting a girl who had been kidnapped by Native Americans home to her aunt and uncle every kind of possible trouble shows it’s face.

It was okay, but not necessarily what I needed to see at the end of this particular week. Not sure if I’ll be reading the book anytime soon now.

When I ‘discovered’ Virginia Hamilton earlier this year I fell in love with folklore and legends and mythical storytelling. This book has all of that. It’s shorter at just over 200 pages and is perfect for a young adult introduction into the genre and the time period in America, mid 1800s. I really liked the book and learning more about the Yemaya and Obatala legend and love how Kopacz imagined a new story for them.

Yemaya is a deity of the sea in the African Yoruba people religion. When she decides to follow her heart and love across the ocean as his slave ship heads to America, she makes the decision to transform from mermaid to woman so she can find him on land. She is welcomed into a Native American tribe, taken as a slave, and saved by a Quaker before finding her special powers and her way north.

I love the beautiful cover and want to thank @atriabooks for sending me a copy. I’m excited to have this one my bookshelf!

I loved this fast paced thriller with its slow reveal and twists and turns! Just what I needed to end this crazy week. Delilah has been missing for 11 years when she is suddenly reunited with her brother and father. What happened all those years ago? Told from more than one point of view and time period this one is a winner for thriller/mystery lovers.

Gage made pumpkin bread with chocolate chips yesterday. Don’t mind if I do 😁. His appetite still isn’t great, but he feels a lot better.

So, I listened to the audio production of this one and loved the performances of the seven so much! I could have picked up the book and finished it quicker, but preferred to listen for 14 hours 😀

I’m mixed on how I feel about this one. It started strong. A small African village was suffering from health problems because an American oil company was depleting their resources and leaving environmental damage in their wake. I loved hearing in first person from different villagers. Their stories drew me in. The plight of those villagers was compelling.

I don’t want to give anything away, but I will say that multi!generational story seems like it could have really happened. If you are in the mood for a story about how the powerful overpower the powerless then this may be for you. The richness of the storytelling made me glad I read this one, but it left me in a melancholy place.

Yesterday’s book left me a little depressed so this whimsical book called to me. This was just what I needed to lift the spirits.

Jess is still physically and mentally recovering from a near death experience when her ailing grandmother asks her to find an old family heirloom, a necklace that find’s true love. What she finds is a journey to knowing her roots and the stories of the women before her. There’s also a choice to be made between the safe and the risky.

This quote made me stop and reflect a bit, “There is is a philosophy that the way of soul mates is to come into our lives to challenge us, move us forward. It’s not the job of a soul mate to accompany us through our entire life or share every detail of our being. Once it’s purpose has been fulfilled, the soul mate is free to disappear.”

This was fun, especially for those who love old things, jewelry, genealogy, or want a story that will transport them to a more magical place for a moment. Loved it.

First, let’s talk about Milo. Milo is taking the subway with his sister and he likes to imagine the lives of the people he sees and draw a picture. He takes the train every Sunday and you find out at the end that it’s to visit his mom in prison. So many things to love ❤️ here and I loved them all, the story, the illustrations, the creativity. Gage and I will be trying something like this tomorrow at the park 😁

We’re learning about a different musician every week and it was Elvis week! Both of these were good, but we did prefer the claymation-like illustrations of the one on the left. Both had additional information and a real photo or two at the end. We’ve had a fun time listening to and watching clips of his performances this week. I wonder if we can still see those old movies he was in? I haven’t seen any of the 30 some odd movies he was in since I was a kid.

This was a fun summer read, that dealt with serous issues in an optimistic way. Letty arrived at her sister’s place in NYC to find her dead with her daughter standing there witness. She grabs her niece and high tails it south away from the bead news ex she suspects of the murder. They arrive at a small beach hotel and find acceptance there, but she’s still a fugitive.

I mostly listened, but did read the last 75 pages. I loved seeing Letty find a home, even if it took awhile with everyone, especially the ex, trying to track her down. Some twists and turns keep the action moving and make this a satisfying story.

This week has been the first real week of struggle in my 2021 book a day challenge. I sat down to start my book yesterday and just couldn’t do it. So, I picked up these two instead and my day was saved. So far this year I’ve read 275 books and watched 10 bookish movies.

Fatima’s Great Outdoors was released earlier this year and I loved it. Fatima is excited when her Indian family plans to do something as All-American as camping. She leaves her struggles at school behind and gets to have new experiences and learn things like how to put up a tent and start a fire. I love the memories that she cherished of that time with her family. Traditional Indian words and food are included into the story, which I love, but I might have loved it even more if a short page with definitions were included at the end. Big thumbs up from this non camping enthusiast.

The Great Bridge-Building Contest is a books for the older elementary child who is interested in American history, engineering, or West Virginia (our state this week). It’s taken from stories passed down in Lemberg Chenoweth’s family about how he, a furniture maker with a third grade education, beat out countless others to build what would become the bridge that would become the site of the first land battle of the Civil War. This full of interesting information.

Last month I read the novel Perfume and really didn’t like it. But when I was looking for a movie of a book I’d read this year this tempted me, so I suffered through the story once again. BUT, it turned out to be a better movie than book. Having Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman in the two big secondary roles helped. And not being inside the murderer’s head as much made it better too. I wasn’t sure if they’d go for the town square orgy at the end, BUT THEY DID. All I kept thinking about was how many hours and days those hundreds of naked people hade to lay on the ground and each other.

I’ll do a comparison of the movie and book soon.

This Week – ERs and sickness

August 14, 202121 Comments

This has been a week. I’m posting my reading week from my daily IG, but this morning’s Gage update is that he is feeling quite a bit better. Mornings have been rough and this has been the best one so far this week, so here’s hoping the rest of the day continues the healing trend!

The Devil in Disguise by Lisa Kleypas (Ravenels #7)
Sunday morning mimosa anyone? Don’t mind if I do! Some days opening a bottle of Korbel for one (okay, maybe two) mimosas on your deck seems like the only thing to do.

I really should be drinking whisky since the hero of the latest Ravenel book is a Scottish distiller. This book brings together the Ravenel family with her other popular series, The Wallflowers. I’m not sure you really need to have read any of the other books to enjoy this steamy historical romance.

Right from the get go hardworking Merritt and Keir feel lust and within days the widower and the Scot share a passionate night together. The trouble begins immediately as someone tries to kill him and almost succeeds.

This was a fun read. Kleypas is fast becoming my favorite historical romance writer. This one is hot off the presses and hot in the romance.

We finally finished our 500 piece Norway puzzle from Completing the Puzzle . It was harder than it looked at first but we all liked finding the Vikings around the puzzle.

I read the 400+ page Ocean Prey with Lucas Davenport (#31) and Virgil Flowers. I’ve read all the Davenport books (except last year’s, somehow I missed that one) and a few of the Virgil ones. Lucas has been a US Marshal for awhile and the case of murdered Coast Guard puts him in Florida.

I don’t want to say too much, but if you read this series you might get a little teary at something that happened to a favorite character.

Loved this one! I didn’t realize how much I’d missed these two.

Yesterday, we took Gage to the ER for some tummy/chest area issues. He’s better but still not great, but they ruled out heart and lungs and sent us home. He’s only been able to eat applesauce, rice, and pretzels. Even Honeynut Cheerios made him sick. We’ll get it sorted out but it’s no fun watching your kids feel yucky.

I remembered to grab the Nintendo Switch for Gage, but forgot a book for myself, so last night before bed I read him The Hill We Climb by the youngest poet to deliver a poetry reading at a presidential election. This poem is perfection and gave us so many things to talk about with all the things going on in this country.

A taste…
“Scripture tells us to envision that:
‘Everyone shall sit under their own vine and fig tree,
And no one shall make them afraid.’
If we’re to live up to our own time, then victory
Won’t lie in the blade, but in all the bridges we’ve made.
That is the promised glade,
The hill we climb, if only we dare it:
Because being American is more than a pride we inherit-
It’s the past we step into, and how we repair it.

We’ve seen a force that would shatter our nation rather than share it,
Would destroy our country if it meant delaying democracy.
And this effort very nearly succeeded.
But while democracy can be periodically delayed,
It can never be permanently defeated.”

The force that would shatter our country rather than share it is alive and well still. May Gorman’s words give us all the resolve we need to make sure our democracy remains strong for our children.

Monday- ER. Tuesday- power out morning until early afternoon. Wednesday- a second ER trip and now our power is out again after a storm. Please tell me this week will get better!

Gage was pretty sickly this morning. Back in the ER they gave him fluids and ran bloodwork. And sent us home with nothing but give him Miralax, Pepcid, and Zofran and hope that in a few days he’ll feel better 😟. So, anyone out there who would like to say a prayer or send some positive energy that would be appreciated. I sent jason and gage to grandma’s to enjoy her electricity while I’m here trying to enjoy some de-stress time in the growing darkness.

Last night before bed we read this beautiful picture book about a mother preparing for the birth of her child. Loved learning more about the Inniniwak and their traditions. The illustrations and story were just what this mama needed last night. A sweet book for a mom-to-be. I Sang you Down from the Stars by Tasha Spillett.

Thanks for your positive vibes and prayers for Gage yesterday. Keep ‘me coming, he’s still feeling bad and can barely tolerate food 🥺. I’m hoping we can get him over the worst of it soon.

After we got back from the ER yesterday Gage and I finished this gorgeous double sided puzzle. So fun and happy, something we both needed yesterday. Now we’ll take it all apart and do the other side. Stay tuned!

After the electricity went out and the guys went to grandma’s house for TV I sat outside and finished this wonderful book. Seriously, it’s way more than I thought it would be. It’s Texas history told in relation to her own personal experience and the the history of the country. I learned so much! By sharing the history we never hear about of blacks and Native Americans as Europeans first made it to this land the picture of our country becomes clearer. The emphasis is on Texas, but even as an Ohioan I was drawn in by her storytelling.

Juneteenth by Annette Gordon Reed. It’s only 148 pages and I highly recommend it. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Gage is pretty much the same as yesterday. Rough morning, little to eat, but was able to tolerate some potatoes with chicken for dinner. Baby steps.

We’re studying Kansas this week and I read these three yesterday and let Gage choose one to read today. This week I have allowed way more screen time than necessary, but there has to be some upside of being sick, right?

All three of these are longer picture books for the older elementary crowd and about real people.

Sharice’s Big Voice: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman is the story of Sharice Davids, one of the first Native American women to hold the office and the first LGBTQ congressperson to represent Kansas. It’s a good story for kids, that no matter what people say you can or can’t do, it’s you who decides your fate. Inspiring story of her childhood and heritage. It just came out in June.

Fieldhouse is another autobiographical kids book, this one a graphic memoir that I found a little busy, but Gage loved (I knew this would be the one he picked!). Dreaming of playing for the Kansas Jayhawks, Scott Novosel made his dream come through with perseverance.

No Small Potatoes: Junius G. Groves and His Kingdom in Kansas was my favorite. Junius was born a slave in Kentucky but was still a child when freed. He headed west, stopped in Kansas and got a job working on a farm. He was such a hard worker he was soon overseeing it. He held firm to his dream of having his own farm and through sweat and sacrifice became Potato King of the World, in 1919 he had over 2,000 acres of his own land. Loved this story and the illustrations.

Still reading books published this year, so if you have one I should read let me know!

This Week (a month later)

June 6, 2021June 6, 202114 Comments

It’s been a month since my last update, but it’s been a busy month.

Highlights of the week

We finished homeschooling on May 28th and I don’t know who was more excited, Gage or his teacher 😉 We are going to do it one more year, and that means that we started 5th grade this week. No rest for the weary! We’re only doing 2.5 hours a day, so it’s really the best of both worlds. In July we’ll do 1 hour a day, and back to 2.5 in August, before the full day (5 hours). This schedule will allow more full weeks off during the year (summer included) while still giving us way more school hours than required (900).

We had friends over for Memorial Day. We made it an outdoor get together and it was much needed after the last year. They have a pool so Gage is especially looking forward to more time together. They look so serious here playing chess but they spent most of the day playing badminton, and I took no pictures of that. I was too busy chatting with friends and it was glorious 🙂

Yesterday we put carts outside the library for the first time in an attempt to have a small book sale for the kids coming to sign up for the library’s summer reading program. This picture was set up, there were more carts later. I’m hoping to do this more often since some parents still prefer outside to inside, especially since the mask mandate was dropped this week.

**Currently reading**

**May Reads** My top 5 post is here.

On the tv

We are between series right now, so our hour of tv at night is spent watching season 1 of the Great British Bake-off, which we’ve never seen.

Movies

I’m going to do a book/movie comparison post this week.

Plans for the weekend

Nothing fun is left, lol. I’ve got a long to do list today and need to get through it so I can have an organized week.

I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon.

This Week – An actual event

May 2, 202115 Comments

**Highlight of the week**… We went to an actual live event as a family. We’ve been so careful, especially with Gage, but spring and sunshine are here and outdoor fun is a must. A local charity that gets books in the hands of local kids celebrated their 5th birthday with a parking lot party with a magician, a DJ, a balloon twister (notice the sword and scabbardish belt), food, a book and swag to each kid, and, of course, a chance for the adults to spend some money on things. I brought home a mystery book date…

“Beautifully Ambiguous. Tragedy & Comedy” If you want to guess what it is, I’ll let you know if you’re right 🙂 It was nice to be doing something normal and while we don’t wear masks outside normally, the fact that they required masks made me feel safer in going there.

The rest of the week was your normal end-of-school year stuff. As a homeschooler, Gage needs to take a standardized test OR have a certified teacher sign off on his progress for the year and write a letter. We chose the teacher route. I’ve got 90% of what she wants to see in, but need to decide on the last things. All I really want to do is send her a box in the mail of what he’s done this year and tell her to look through it until she finds what she needs 🙂 Unfortunately, that’s not the way it works. We have decided to do one more year of homeschooling though. It has pros and cons, but in these crazy times, it’s so nice to have more control (and to be honest, I’m loving this time together). And he can still join in the district’s extracurriculars, like chess club, so that’s a big plus.

Currently reading…

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls: 100 …

If you want to see what I finished or my favorites for April, click on the links.

On the TV…

We finished the Netflix series Ginny and Georgia and started and old season of the British Bake-off series and Amazon’s Counterpart. I’m a fan of all three 🙂

My thoughts on April’s movies are here. Please add your two cents. It’s been a quiet month for my movie watchers.

Plans for the rest of the weekend… Remember when we gutted half of our house three years ago? We’re finally putting in the last of the flooring, lol, so we’ve got prep work to finish.

This Week

April 17, 202115 Comments

Highlights of the week… We had a Friends of the Library board meeting in record time and, weather permitting, are going to try an outdoor meeting next month. We did a few last summer and they seemed to work well so I’m hoping this happens. Also related to the Friends I made my first bookselling video to put on FB to see if I could sell some books that way. It was a horrible five minute video, but I learned something new and will try again next week (and I did manage to sell a few books :)).

We bought some yard games and had a few warm days to try them out before the freeze kicked in again (there was snow for a bit yesterday!). My favorite, badminton, came last so we haven’t had a chance to play yet.

Jason is a tennis guy and our favorite player is Rafa Nadal, so I ordered some stuff from his Academy for Jason’s birthday. It FINALLY came a week after his birthday, but it came all the way from Spain and I like to think that Rafa personally tried on the clothes before carefully packing them with love. That’s why it was late, of course, because he’s such a busy man. Don’t even try to convince me otherwise.

Finished reading…

What Unites Us by Dan Rather — Adult books (reviews here)

A Burning by Megha Majumdar — Adult books (reviews here)

Jean Laffite by Susan Goldman Rubin — Kids books (reviews here)

It Came from Ohio by R.L. Stine — Kids books (reviews here)

Currently reading…

Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twe…

In the Mailbox…

Movies watched…

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle.png — My first dip into the Jumanji pool.

Plans for the weekend…

The weather is yucky so Spring Cleaning has begun!

This Week – So much sun!

April 10, 2021April 10, 202119 Comments

Highlights of the week… The rockets with friends got off to a slow start after getting the first rocket ready and realizing that the batteries in the starter no longer worked. Jason went to the closest drug store. When the rocket went off it went so high that we lost it, most likely across the main road. We had more engines and spent the next hour setting off the smaller ones and managed to keep track of the last rocket. I’m having trouble loading the one video I have so I’ll try again later.

It was Jason’s birthday this week and we made him waffles for breakfast and went to a new metropark in the afternoon with my mom that had a street full of blooming cherry blossom trees. So beautiful.

For the first time in about 35 years I wrote poetry. It was an enjoyable and relaxing way to finish a day and I may have to keep at it.

Our library and 7 others closed for a day this week when someone that goes to all 8 branches (delivery or maintenance most likely) tested positive for Covid. They spent a day doing a deep clean and then opened back up. I’m glad that they are choosing to take precautions in addition to mask mandates. I always feel safe when I visit.

And last but not least, with Gonzaga’s meltdown last Monday, GAGE WINS A YES DAY! He’s been coming up with ideas this week, including a family water gun fight before breakfast to start and spending the night in a tent in our yard to end the day. I’ll keep you posted when this day is officially on the calendar, lol.

Currently reading…

The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing In…

Finished this week… (in the order I liked them best linked with my review)

A Girl Returned by Donatello Di Pietrantonio

When Birds Could Talk and Bats Could Sing by Virginia Hamilton

The Affair by Lee Child

The Four Doors by Richard Paul Evans

Who Was Annie Oakley? by Stephanie Spinner

Perfectly Matched by Heather Webber

The Power of Being Positive by Joyce Meyer

Time For Kids: Jesse Owens: Running Into History by Elaine Israel

Tecumseh: Get To Know the Shawnee Chief Who Fought to Protect Native Lands by John Mickos

On TV…

We’re watching the third season of Schitt’s Creek. Such a fun show that guarantees laughs. Because so many people keep talking about Supernatural (all 15 seasons of it) we gave the first few episodes a try last night.

Movies…

Hm. I spent the second half only half watching while working on a puzzle 🙂

Plans for the weekend…

Walks, family games, and soaking up the sunshine.

I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon

This Week – April Fool’s Day Snow

April 3, 2021April 3, 202130 Comments

Fave pic
Gage spent the night with my parents last weekend and Jason and I went to a park to take a walk and then play a game or two on the picnic table. You, know, dating Covid style, lol. And we followed the moon because it was gorgeous that night. This is the photo I took when we got back home.

Highlights of the Week – Hm. We had nice weather for a minute and then it snowed. All day long. But the day before we had another picnic in the park with some swinging and that was great.

It’s neck and neck in our March Madness contest. Gage is still winning by two points and Jason and I are tied in second place. My fate comes down to Gonzaga. If they win it all I beat both of my guys 🙂 If not I must prepare myself for a Gage Yes Day.

When my dad came back from where I grew up he brought my favorite pizza. The downside is that I already ate my half and now what Jason has left in the fridge taunts me.

This has obviously been a pretty boring week.

Currently reading…

Finished this week…

Win by Harlan Coben – review coming. Loved it.

Limitless: 24 Remarkable American Women of Vision, Grit, and Guts by Leah Tinari

Deeply, Desperately by Heather Webber (Lucy Valentine series)

Absolutely, Positively by Heather Webber (Lucy Valentine series)

Always the Last To Know by Kristan Higgins

Virginia Hamilton: America’s Storyteller by Julie Rubini

The People Could Fly (The Picture Book) by Virginia Hamilton

The Girl Who Spun Gold by Virginia Hamilton

Bruh Rabbit and the Tar Baby Girl by Virginia Hamilton

Crumb-Sized: Poems by Marlena Cherrock

On TV

We continued Schitt’s Creek, Ginny and Georgia, and the March Madness basketball Games.

Posts this week

March’s Favorites and Stats

Finishing Up March Reading

January, February, and March Movies and Money For Charity – always time to add your two cents!

Plans for the weekend

Celebrating a friend’s 11th birthday by setting off rockets at a local park, lol. I’ll post pics if I can get a good one. The last one we did went 600 feet straight and this one is supposed to go 1000.

This Week – Out of Hibernation

March 28, 2021March 28, 202122 Comments

**Fave Pic** – Gage and his friend using the prehistoric paint they made to paint the rock in our front yard.

Highlights of the week – We had a friend over to play this week (and his mama too). I’m so thankful for the warm weather so that we can do more of this.

I mentioned last week that Gage filled out a March Madness bracket this year for the first time and if he wins he gets a Yes Day. Well after the first two rounds he’s winning, lol. So, we took a look and it all comes down to Gonzaga. If Gonzaga wins the whole thing, I win. If Gonzaga loses any of these last 3 games, Gage wins. Jason is completely out of it. I’m getting nervous about what a Gage Yes Day would entail.

Spent some time at the library doing displays for the Friends ongoing book sale. Always my happy place 🙂

Currently reading –

Books finished – You can read my thoughts on all of these books here. So much good reading this week.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict

Movies

I Care a Lot Poster — Frightening and good.

Yesterday Poster — Can’t beat the Beatles.

Plans for the weekend – Enjoying time outside. Reading. Cleaning.

I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon

This Week – Spring Has Arrived

March 20, 2021March 20, 202126 Comments

**Fave pic** – It was the 25th anniversary of our first date this week. Jason always remembers and I always forget. He gave me some beautiful Swarovski earrings. This photo was taken that first year (my turtleneck looks like Christmas morning, ha!).

Highlights of the Week – Beautiful weather has arrived just in time for the weekend and the official beginning of spring. We had a picnic in the park today which was so nice.

We had our book group via Zoom and while I didn’t love the book (Hamnet) it’s always good to see the ladies. Two of the ten are recovering from Covid since last month. It’s still here and we are being as careful as we have been this last year. I don’t see our lives changing too much until fall at the earliest when we have a better idea what the virus and vaccinations are going to do. I look forward time outside with friends now that the weather is changing.

Gage filled out a March Madness bracket for the first time. If he beats both of his parents he wins a Yes Day 🙂

Could’ve been better – It’s March Madness and after an impressive showing in the Big 10 Championship my #2 Buckeyes totally choked against 15 seed Oral Roberts. And Jason’s Michigan State lost too. We’re still watching, but it’s not as fun.

Currently reading –

Finished this week – You can see my thoughts on most of them here.

Dictionary for a Better World by Irene Latham

Movies –

TV – Still watching Schitt’s Creek and we’re a few episodes into Ginny and Georgia and liking it so far.

Plans for the weekend – I’m not sure what tomorrow brings, some time outside in nature I’d expect. Gage has his first outside time with a friend planned this week now that the weather is changing and he is so ready for it.

Is your team still going in the tournament?

I’m linking up with Sunday Salon hosted by Readerbuzz

Stacy's Books

books, movies, and boy

Category: This Week

This Week – School is in session

This Week – Dog Days of Reading

This Week – ERs and sickness

This Week (a month later)

This Week – An actual event

This Week

This Week – So much sun!

This Week – April Fool’s Day Snow

This Week – Out of Hibernation

This Week – Spring Has Arrived