Currently

Reading ... in the Bible Galatians again, and I'm sure this comes as no surprise that Psalms have been enjoyed as well.

In other books. I read quite a few since my last blogpost, but I won't mention all of them.

The Anne of Green Gables series still holds the spot for my all time favorite series. I wanted to do a reread of all of them, but this time started with Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson I think he did an excellent job depicting Anne's life before she arrived at Green Gables and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but the main series by L.M. Montgomery is still the best.

I also did a reread of The Seasons of the Heart series by Janette Oke. I was a little hesitant after my disappointing rereading experience of  her Canadian West series, but it was absolutely lovely being back in Josh's world and I am happily keeping this series with the hopes of more rereads in the future.

A friend who shares a very similar eclectic reading taste to me recommended A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole. I found a copy at the library and settled in to read. And what an experience it proved to be. Rune and Poppy's story was absolutely beautiful while at the same time being one of the most heartbreaking things I have ever read. I sobbed while reading it, and felt absolutely drained afterwards. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry again, and I already want to do a reread.

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi kept popping up. I became intrigued enough to request it from the library and after waiting for months it finally became available. With hundreds of other people waiting on it, and not wanting to keep it longer than necessary I decided to take it along on a long weekend trip that included seeing my youngest brothers and their families.

I read while we were driving and it didn't take long before just like the people of Golden, I too became intrigued and quite fond of the elderly stranger who kept buying portraits from a local artist that were done of residents of the town and giving them to their "rightful" owners. With each portrait returned to its owner a life story was shared, and a friendship made. It was a gentle, heartwarming book with an unexpected ending. It's not a book I'll read again, but I did recommend it to Rosie. Knowing her taste in books I can see her easily giving it a five star rating.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt was another book I waited on for months and I finally read it this weekend. The unlikely friendship between an octopus and an elderly cleaning lady at an aquarium was not what I expected, but I ended up really enjoying.

For my weirdest read I think I'll go with A Stage Set for Villains by Shannon J Spann. I was slightly confused for the majority of the book, but the ending I found to be somewhat thought provoking. If you like fantasy books, you might enjoy this one.

And for the worst book I read since my last post. No second thought needed. Normal People by Sally Rooney. I didn't just dislike this book. I actually hated it. I should have DNFd it as I wanted to at multiple points throughout the book. Remember my friend who shares very similar book taste? She read and detested it as well, but I ignored her warnings because there were a handful of others who kept bringing it up and saying how it was one of the best books they have read in a long time and I didn't want to miss out if it really is that good. I should have listened to my friend and not wasted time on this one.

Watching ... or actually trying not to watch. The state moved in several weeks ago with big machines, water pumps, and who knows what all as they s.l.o.w.l.y work on a project on the creek. The flooding we had last year really eroded it a lot, so we're assuming they're trying to reinforce the banks to keep it from damaging the road if the erosion isn't halted.  But the damage they are doing to the road, to our yard, the pastures, and the pine tree is all a bit irritating and I find I'm happier if I keep the curtains drawn in the living room and ignore what is happening outside.

Listening ... it's been twenty years since I've really listened to any Country music, but recently I searched for a song on Youtube and I guess I had it on auto-play because another song started playing immediately after. I left it playing as song after nostalgic song played. I was surprised how I still remembered most of the words, and how a lot of the songs are actually quite a bit better than I remembered Country music to be. I went ahead and created a playlist of some of my favorites. 

While still not my favorite genre I will be sprinkling some country songs into my music occasionally.

Baking ... I made cherry chocolate bars earlier this week, and Sharon baked a loaf of sour dough bread today.

It has been quite a while since I tried any new recipes for desserts. Hopefully I will get back to that before long.

Cooking ... tonight I'm simply making tacos. It's not my favorite but LV and Steven absolutely love them. It's really warm today, so something well loved and simple like this seems like the perfect option.

If you ever have the opportunity to have shark meat, I would say take it. Last evening dinner included shark and turns out we really like it. It's super tender, not flaky like most fish, slightly sweet - similar to a lobster perhaps. Definitely something we want to have again.

Playing ... lots of simple games such as Fruit Punch, Uno, Skipbo, Ecosystem, Skyjo, and Pass the Pandas. There were of course also multiple games of MtG  

For the more strategic games - Root was attempted. I left the game midway through to start some dinner rolls and then make supper. It was a much needed break because my brain was feeling curly and what could have been a fun time learning a new game on a different day was pretty much torture.  We'll try again some other day.

Wishing ... I could be sitting on a beach right about now. 

Crafting ... my involvement in crafts has been limited to simply going through a lot of my supplies and giving them to Rosie for some of the projects she wants to do.

Though if journaling with washi, stickers, and other planner-y things counts as crafting, I did do quite a bit of that.

Cleaning ... other than the daily dozen all I've done recently is wash the windows.

Disliking ... backorders. I was hoping to start our school year in July, but we are still waiting for several subjects of this years curriculum to arrive. The latest update says it should be delivered on the 17th. If so we'll be starting school that day. 

Loving ... summer. It has been a lovely one thus far. 

Currently

Reading ... after hearing a lot of good things about it, and waiting several months for a copy to be available at the library I finally got my hands on 11/22/63 by Stephen King.

It was a beautifully written book, a bit different from my usual choices, but worth my time.

The length threw me off a bit, but having plowed my way through War and Peace earlier this year I knew this one shouldn't be a problem.

Watching ... I don't watch much of anything, my hobby of choice being consuming books, but I saw a clip of someone singing their own heartfelt, where were/are you God version of Amazing Grace. It made me tear up, so I did some investigating and found it was from a show on Angel Studios called A Week Away. 

So far I have watched the first two episodes, and while watching a musical about a church camp had not been anywhere on my list of things to do this year, I am invested. Sharon has an Angel Studios subscription, so when she has time off work we plan to enjoy watching it together.

Listening ... the windchimes chiming beautifully on the front porch, and the happy sound of traffic driving on a wet road. It's a happy sound because we really do need the rain.

Writing ... back in early September of 2018 my brother Mahlon and I were talking on the phone, in the course of conversation he asked if I would be willing to write his life story. I told him I would. A life story can't be shared in a single phone call though so we agreed he would tell me one story, I would take notes, write a chapter, and then we'd repeat until I had everything he wanted and then rewrite, put things in proper order, and shape it into a book.

I found a notebook and he shared his first story. The next week he called and we did another one. But that is all the further we got before I received that awful phone call that he had died.

For the past eight years those few pages have appeared now and again, and I was always hit with that sinking feeling that I can never do what he had wanted me to do.

But earlier this year some ideas started forming in my head. Yes, there will be huge chunks missing of things he never got to share, things I have no idea about, but I do have a lot of memories of the boy he used to be.  And I have loads of messages we sent each other up until only two days before he passed.

Taking what I have I am hoping to be able to create something that he would have been proud of. Something that can honor him.

Baking ... I had butter softened for a quadruple batch of chocolate chip cookies I was supposed to bring to our end of the school year, homeschool co-op picnic/field day.

Due to the weather it has been postponed until next week, so i won't be baking anything today after all.

Cooking ... tonight's menu is not a new one. We seem to have it a few times a month. Glazed meatballs, either mashed potatoes or seasoned potato wedges, and a simple salad.

Playing ... plenty of ball games, Fruit Punch, but not much else so far this week.

Disliking ... that squirrels and chipmunks seemingly can not live harmoniously in the same territory.

Mama chipmunk built a home next to the cement slab/step behind the house. She had three babies, and they were so much fun to watch!

The same day this picture was taken a squirrel came by to declare dominance. It kept trying to dig into their home. I kept opening the back door to chase it away.

It finally got really mad at me. Never had I ever seen such a display of squirrel irritation. It scream chattered at me while rapidly stamping its feet. I don't understand squirrel, but from what I gathered it was trying to tell me I'm interfering with it's rightful obligation of driving chipmunks out of its territory.

I couldn't stand guard 24/7 and it appeared within the next day or two that the mafia squirrel boss was successful in its determined mission.

Loving ... spring time flowers.

Currently

Reading ... I have started Exodus on my journey through the Bible.

In other books I have three different books to talk about. Up first we have Four Red Sweaters by Lucy Adlington. It's true stories of women/girls and the Holocaust. Given the subject matter I'm sure you can imagine that it is not what one would call a fun read. I had never realized before how the ability to knit was actually life-saving for some girls and women. The evil and horror of the Holocaust is something I don't think I'll ever get used to, no matter how many books I read on the subject. 

Next up I read 100 Days of Sunlight by Abbie Emmons. Quite a few years ago the girls were cheering on a fellow homeschooled young lady and her effort to write and publish a book. When the day came that her debut novel was available for pre-order we ordered it. The girls both read and loved it and for the past seven years have been saying, "You should read this book, Mom." I always assured them I will someday. I didn't mean for it to take this long to read it, but I finally did and really liked it. 

And then I read The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun. It's an autobiography of how God used a young boy from a poor village in China and had him lead the underground church there. The persecution and deep suffering he endured and the miracles he experienced, and how through it all his focus remained on Jesus was nothing short of inspiring. It reminded me anew of what a great God we serve and how nothing matters more than our relationship with Jesus. 

Watching ... Sharon asked me to help her watch Gilmore Girls on her day off work. I have never seen it before so the little bit we watched has been... interesting.

Listening ...  to the roar of the waterfall. We had a lot of rain overnight and the creek is flooding which has the waterfall noisier than usual. There is also a chorus of spring bird melodies happening in the trees around the house.

Baking ... I baked some dinner rolls yesterday, but it has been several weeks now since I last baked a dessert of any kind. We seem to be doing fine with dried fruit for now.

Cooking ... last evening I made a ham, mashed potatoes, and stuffed eggs. Tonight we'll be having leftover ham since we barely made a dent in it so far and then potato wedges and green beans.

Playing ... as usual MtG, (I didn't win even once) And then multiple rounds of Pass the Panda. It was a slower week when it comes to the amount of games played.

Disliking ... mice. Visiting the library was on the list of things to do yesterday. We loaded up the books to return and were on our merry way.

I was merging onto the interstate when I noticed a little bit of something on the dash. "Steven," I said, "is that mouse poop?"

He leaned forward to inspect what I was gesturing at. "Yes, it is!"

"How do the napkins in the glove compartment look?" was my next question.

He opened it to reveal the remnants of gnawed on napkins.

The most uncomfortable drive to the library occurred, with me sure that at any minute a mouse was going to appear. Steven on the other hand was thoroughly amused by it all and not helping my irrational anxiety by making all sorts of mouse commentary.

We made it to the library, and back home unscathed. Steven cleaned out the glove compartment and then set multiple mouse traps. We have places to go today and the knowledge there's a mouse in the vehicle is most disconcerting. I'm sending him out to check the traps soon, hopefully the little intruder will have been caught and I can breathe somewhat easy. We keep our vehicle clean, so what there could be that attracts a mouse is beyond me.

Loving ... that the daffodils are blooming. There's something about that pretty splash of color in an otherwise still drab yard that makes me happy.

Currently

Reading ... in the Bible, I decided to start Genesis again and read my way through the Bible. I will be tucking in some Psalms and chapters from the New Testament along the way. Knowing myself, I need to do that or otherwise I get bogged down.

In other books I finished Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. It was a delightful read.

In the middle of the ocean, there was a girl who lived upon a rock. This was not an ocean like the one you have imagined. Nor the rock like one you have imagined. The girl, however, might be as you imagined - assuming you imagined her as thoughtful, softspoken, and overly fond of collecting cups. 

Fantasy, pirates, teacups, adventure, rescue, and a multitude of quotes I want to remember all combined in one fun book that was worth every minute I spent reading it.

I finished it and recommended it to Steven, and he is now also enjoying it.

I put books I really love on a list to hopefully someday add to our home library. The longer I think about it, the more I am inclined to want to put this one on the list.

Watching ... Steven and I have been watching Storage Wars. So far it has not inspired us to try buying storage units.

Listening ... to some retro music while cooking tonight.

Baking ... Sharon baked a lovely carrot layer cake and some stuffed cookies that were enjoyed when we had out of state family at our house. 

I have been eyeing the bananas on our kitchen counter getting progressively more ripe, so this afternoon I made a banana cream pie. Not baking, but dessert making all the same.

Cooking ... tonight I made a lentil stew and grilled cheese.

Playing ... MtG, Top Trumps, Uno, and Probe. 

Probe has been a favorite since I was a pre-teen. It's always a good time when it hits the table.

Wishing ... there would be more nurses and healthcare workers could do when assaulted by patients. 

Crafting ... I'm only at the very beginning part of a project, but I'm wanting to re-cover our ancient rocking recliner. I have taken before pictures, and will be taking after pictures, but whether or not I'll be sharing them depends on how it turns out.

Currently

Reading ... in the Bible I'm hanging out in the Psalms again this week. 

In other books, I am in the middle of three books. The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham. I started it one evening, and was really enjoying it. Bedtime rolled around, I set it aside looking forward to finishing it "tomorrow". I haven't picked it up since. I still have two weeks until it's due back at the library, so I still have some time.

The second book is Grandma Ruth Doesn't Go to Funerals by Sharon Mondragón  I was really enjoying it, but after I set it down I haven't picked it back up. I shall return to it though at some point.

And finally the third book, Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. I made it a little over a third of the way through and was thoroughly enjoying it. I was telling the girls about it and giving it a full recommendation which I usually don't do until after I have finished a book. I picked it up again last night, read a single chapter before putting it down, and started searching for reels about a series I read last year. A series whose characters have been living rent free in my head ever since and I was really "missing" them. 

The reels I found had me in tears and missing them even more, so I went ahead and requested the books from the library again. I'm hoping they will be ready for pickup tomorrow, but we shall see. 

If not, I shall try finishing the three books I have started though I fear a book slump is upon me.

Watching ... most recently ... the aforementioned reels.

Listening ... to a pair of robins singing merrily in the tree in front of our house. After what felt like a long cold winter this is the sweetest sound I've heard in some time! It's the first I've heard them this spring and the amount of joy it made me feel on this 24º morning ... ahhh. Just lovely!

Baking ... I made a batch of our favorite chocolate chip cookies on Wednesday. I sent some home with friends, and we have been enjoying the rest. There is still a handful left, but I'm sure those will disappear today.

I want to make more later today since plans are to have cousins pop in later, and I like having something available as a snack-y treat when ever that happens.

Cooking ... tonight. Tacos and a salad. It has been a week, today is packed to the brim again, which I knew it would be when I created the menu for the week. So going simple tonight feels grand!

Playing ... this week there were significantly less rounds of  MtG played than usual, but still some. We  played multiple games of Top Trumps (Wonders of the World edition) and Steven also pulled out Stratego once again to play with one of his friends.

Wishing ... I wouldn't feel so helpless. I opened my phone yesterday to the message of another young man losing his battle of addiction. He was only 23. I curled up on the corner of the couch and had myself an ugly cry and then picked myself up to go on with my day, a feeling of utter helplessness trailing along with me. 

I wish I knew what I could do to make a difference in the life of those struggling with addictions. I wish there was a way I could give a glimmer of comfort to those who are bearing the pain of seeing someone they love struggle with addiction. 

I wish there was something beyond this feeling of be utterly helpless.

Cleaning ... this week there was no time for extras. So the daily dozen it was. At least that was taken care of.