Cat Thursday-- Memes That Made Me Laugh

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by Michelle at True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats!

Or how those of us who can quarantine look now...

This is a very old picture of my cat Frodo who passed a few years ago. But this was the paper towel murder scene we came home to after a vacation! Just had to share... throw-back Thursday.

Corona Weekly Whatever Update!

Another week done. We cleaned our bedroom carpets Saturday! Oven is cleaned! I have plans to tackle windows soon... G is doing well in school. We are enjoying the shorter school days and he's getting the hang of focusing online and getting his work done quickly and efficiently. He only missed a few tests for math at the beginning of the school closure.

G and I enjoyed some fun in the sun!

We also said goodbye to my friend and her family Saturday afternoon. They hosted a car parade so people could drive by and stay in their cars and give them cards and cookies and say goodbye. They are leaving for Virginia Friday. We met them while we were living in Japan a few years ago while working for the same company and being ex-pats together. They lived within walking distance and we forged a never-ending bond for life. I was so excited when they moved back to the U.S. and got a job here. But now it's back home for them. I'm so sad but excited they get to be back where all their family is. And it's even more tragic since we can't really properly say goodbye. You mad-dash for all the fun things and night-outs and hikes and parties and help clean and pack and load trucks. All those rituals that help you when loved ones move away... None of that here. We have social media and future plans to travel and see each other but it's so hard to think of the future right now.

My ex-pat buddies, Aly is the one the right and she's moving :(

One grateful thing this weekend was singing to my mother for her birthday on Sunday! I made cookies, bought some flowers, and G and I made cute but lackluster cards. We dropped them off on the porch and stood back 6 feet and sang away and then chit-chatted for a few minutes. No hugs or kisses but just chatting and seeing them in-real-life makes a big difference. It's the little things right now.

There's my mom and dad!

G and I are also doing a little science unit on the Black Plague during the Middle Ages and are making some plague masks. We still need to paint them tonight. So pics will be forthcoming next week!

One thing that has been disheartening is not a lot of people in my area are taking this seriously. Hardly anyone is wearing masks at the grocery stores. I feel safer at Smith's (Kroger) and Costco right now than anywhere else. It's depressing.

But on a lighter note, I'm seeing a lot of fun signs of encouragement in windows and even kids are chalking out their own obstacle courses on sidewalks and trails around town.

Some great links right now: Brain Pickings by Maria Popova is a great site that links up a lot science, art, and philosophy. She brings a lot of big ideas together for our reading pleasure. She also helps host The Universe in Verse. The latest season was shown virtually Saturday but the full show from 2019 is available here (towards the bottom of the page).

I can't remember if I've mentioned this before but Greater Good Science Center has been absolutely critical for me during this time. They have some amazing articles and classes on coping with all the emotions, ideas for mindfulness and kids, etc.

Also the Library of Congress Collections has an app for Apple phones and ipads with Android coming soon to search their collections! I read letters Abraham Lincoln wrote on my phone this weekend. How cool is that?

And Bookshop.org is a way to help out Indie stores right now. They're helping out Indie bookstores that don't have a great online presence or online support.

Books: I finished off Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity by Rebecca Goldstein. Insightful and dense. But she goes into Sephardic Jew history and what was going on during that time in Amsterdam and elsewhere. I enjoyed the historical context and what made him think. The discussion of his philosophy was were it was a little harder to follow. But overall, a great read on Spinoza.

I'm still reading through Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by Daniel Quammen, Emma by Jane Austen, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Spark and the League of Ursus by Robert Repino with G before bed. And I am still listening to Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland; I will finish either today or tomorrow. I also started The Sagas of the Icelanders that I'm reading for the 1000 Book Challenge with Michelle. I started My Best Friend's Exorcism: A Novel by Grady Hendrix, which is kind of the first book before The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, which I'll get to after!

Watching: Still working on my Language Families of the World in Great Course Plus; I only have three episodes left! I finished watching Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access. I loved it! Now onto Star Trek: Discovery before my free trial ends in a couple of weeks! I finished Altered Carbon with DH. Really great cliffhanger. Can't wait for another season but who knows when that will happen...

SNL at home is probably the best thing right now. Not all are fantastic and there were a few duds Saturday but there were more than three that were fantastic. Kate McKinnon and her cat for the win this week and Aidy Bryant and her turtel journal a very close second.

G and I finished off Lego Masters! Very fun stuff.

Movies? Gretel and Hansel was a surprising win for me. Creepy and haunting and disturbing. I loved it. The Apple Dumpling Gang happened as well this weekend on Disney+, Troop Zero on Amazon Prime was amazing (everyone cried properly), and I got my crime thriller movie fix in with The Invisible Guardian on Netflix, a very atmospheric Spanish thriller. Lots of rain and forests.

This week: Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and Rice Krispie treats as well were made with love and eaten quickly by all.

Looking forward to planting flowers. It's probably not going to happen till next week or the week after but I can still look forward to it! Also contemplating whether or not to plant tomatoes... Tuesday I'm Skyping with friends and drinking a cocktail while we chit chat and catch up.

I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy!

*Linking up with Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz.

Mini Book Reviews: Eleanor Oliphant and Children of the Longhouse

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

Published: May 9th, 2017 by (originally) Viking

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Format: Paperback, 336 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

No one’s ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: she struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she’s thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of avoiding unnecessary human contact, where weekends are punctuated by frozen pizza, vodka, and phone chats with Mummy.

But everything changes when Eleanor meets Raymond, the bumbling and deeply unhygienic IT guy from her office. When she and Raymond together save Sammy, an elderly gentleman who has fallen, the three rescue one another from the lives of isolation that they had been living. Ultimately, it is Raymond’s big heart that will help Eleanor find the way to repair her own profoundly damaged one. If she does, she'll learn that she, too, is capable of finding friendship—and even love—after all.

Smart, warm, uplifting, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is the story of an out-of-the-ordinary heroine whose deadpan weirdness and unconscious wit make for an irresistible journey as she realizes. . .

the only way to survive is to open your heart. 

My Thoughts:

I kept hearing how this was a great book to read for the quarantine. It had been sitting on my shelf for a while so I decided to finally pick it up and read it! But as with all my reading lately, I haven't been able to focus as much as I'd like to. So it took me a couple of weeks to get into this one. It started off a lot darker than I was expecting.

Eleanor is messed up. Her past is horrific and we only get bits and pieces at first. But she's also endearing and child-like. So we care and we hope, well, I hoped she could finally get rid of her mum. I loved seeing the friendship develop between her and Raymond. I was hoping they didn't try to bring a romance into it. Thanks the gods, no. So by the last third of the book I was hooked and finished it quickly because Eleanor needed a good ending and she got one! I'd love to see another book to see how she's getting on and finding her place in the world. 

Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac

Published: June 1st, 1996 by Dial Books

Genre: Juvenile, Historical Fiction

Format: Paperback, 160 Pages, Own

Rating: 5 stars

Publisher's Summary:

When Ohkwa'ri overhears a group of older boys planning a raid on a neighboring village, he immediately tells his Mohawk elders. He has done the right thing—but he has also made enemies. Grabber and his friends will do anything they can to hurt him, especially during the village-wide game of Tekwaarathon (lacrosse). Ohkwa'ri believes in the path of peace, but can peaceful ways work against Grabber's wrath?

My Thoughts:

I really really enjoyed reading this one a loud to G. We're doing a bit of history reading and learning and this is a great book. It's well-written. We learned a lot about the Mohawk people and other nations lived before white people invaded. I had no idea Lacrosse was invented that long ago and has been a great tradition. No clue. We got to watch a video on how a traditional stick is made. Even DH while working from home loved listening in on this book! 

Cat Thursday-- Barney the Cemetery Cat

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by Michelle at True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats!

This week is a story from Amazing Cat Stories about a cat named Barney who enjoyed helping grievers mourn after their loved ones were put to rest. He resided at St. Sampson's Cemetery in Guernsey, UK. He passed away of old age recently. And mourners are grieving his loss after 20 years of helping others grieve and mourn. It's a touching story and the pictures are adorable.

According to the article:

The cat that wandered into a cemetery 20 years ago and spent his time comforting mourners has been laid to rest having died of old age. Barney the ginger tabby spent his days walking the grounds of a church burial site, consoling those visiting their loved one’s graves.
His death has led to an outpouring of grief from the local community as people paid tribute to this much-loved cat. Grounds keeper Alan Curzon said he has now been laid to rest at the place where he spent his entire life brightening up the lives of hundreds of people during their darkest moments.

Rest in peace, Barney!

One More Week...

I am so incredibly lucky that my family can stay home during this time to quarantine. There are so many right now who are just struggling to find food for their families. For an already divided America, this pandemic only deepens that divide.

I live in a state where we have never gotten a stay-at-home order other than a voluntary stay home and stay safe directive which is not the same thing. But even with that rural communities have been complaining loud to our governor that he should reopen everything and quick. Which is completely against the data and science and health experts! I guess once it hits their communities they'll start to understand how terrible this pandemic is. It's so frustrating to see opinions in the paper about how our freedoms are being taken away for nothing and yet if I went to these people about my freedoms over bodily autonomy are being routinely taken away, they wouldn't even bat an eye. It's so frustrating.

So I look to see where we can help out. I can stay at home, I can wear masks out in public, I can give money and time locally where I'm needed. And I can support the experts who are telling us what we need to do in order to reopen the economy instead of relying on the opinions of people who have no clue about reality. I read this article in The Atlantic this morning on what it's going to take to reopen and what our summer is going to look like. The author lays it out with clarity. We're in this for the long-haul and we need to be prepared.

On a more positive note, it's been a bit warmer the last couple of days so got out for some more walks and let the cats out for some spring air and sun. We even did an obstacle course outside to keep fit! I need to get the kiddo moving with no friends and playgrounds and recesses, etc.

And my daffodils are blooming and more tulips keep popping up as well. I did not originally plant daffodils in this area a few years ago but they keep seeding in different spots each year. It's kind of fun to see where the flowers pop up each spring!



Books: I finished off two books this week! Yay! Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and Children of the Longhouse by Joseph Bruchac. I didn't know how to feel about Eleanor in the beginning but I loved it by the end. It went where I was hoping it'd go and it ended up being quite a little gem there by the end.

Children of the Longhouse is one I read with G. I'm doing a little history reading with him which includes both fiction and non-fiction and this book is a historical fiction written about the Iroquois people and specifically the Longhouse people. It is very well-written with detail, characters, world-building all packed into one story. Beautiful. Even DH listened to it while working from home in the next room!
I'm still reading through Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by Daniel Quammen, Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity by Rebecca Goldstein, Emma by Jane Austen, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Spark and the League of Ursus by Robert Repino with G before bed. And I am still listening to Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland. I also started The Sagas of the Icelanders that I'm reading for the 1000 Book Challenge with Michelle. I'd also really like to start The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix this week.

Watching: Lots of random stuff this week. Still working on my Language Families of the World in Great Course Plus. Still watching Star Trek: Picard on CBS All Access. I even started the Good Wife. I have two episodes left of Altered Carbon with DH this weekend.

The best thing I've seen so far this week has been Phantom of the Opera on the YouTube channel The Show Must Go On. Absolutely amazing performance and fun encore performances for after. If you have not seen it go and do it now! It's only available today, Saturday the 18th!

G and I have been watching Ellen DeGeneres's Game of Games. We've enjoyed how utterly light and fun it is!

Movies? None this week. But I'm hoping to watch Gretel and Hansel this weekend and maybe Hulu's Into the Dark horror movie for April.

This week: I did not bake this week. I was pretty worn out. But I'm planning on making some cookies this afternoon. Fingers crossed!

Looking forward to the One World Together at Home Concert this afternoon and evening! Warmer temps and getting to some spring cleaning this week!

*Linking up with Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz.

Cat Thursday-- Art Cat!

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by Michelle at True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats!

I got bored and pulled together a weird layered photo of my cat Shadow! Look at me being artsy... ha!

I used the app Afterlight to create this masterpiece! ha ha

One layer is Shadow curled up and napping and the other is her looking at me from the window.

Corona Quarantine: Weekly Update

Another week older and a deeper in debt... We had a fun Easter despite the cold and smattering of snow we received. G's Spring Break was last week and we enjoyed some much-needed downtime. DH took a couple of days off and he and G worked on a model rocket together and did some science and math and we lit it off. A few of the neighbor kids came out to watch... 6 feet from us at all times.

We were supposed to go to the Redwoods for Spring Break with our friends in Washington but of course, that didn't happen. So here is a collage of our last trip to the Redwoods we took in the fall of 2017.

We boiled eggs and decorated them. I am very proud of my unicorn egg. She's pretty and I'll be very sad to eat her this week. I made crepes in the morning and the hubby and I drank some mimosas. G enjoyed playing with his little spring basket gifts like slime and cosmic dust kits and some small Lego Pokemons. We finished it off with a very small Easter egg hunt and some ham and potatoes, roasted veggies and rolls for dinner. And of course, too much candy. Ay. So. Much. Candy.

I made the BIG shopping trip to the store on Friday. It's just scary. I wore a mask and not a lot of people in my area are doing that yet. It's getting better but not quite enough. I think a lot of people in my area since we don't live in a big city think everything is just hunky-dory. I got enough for two weeks and DH got us restocked at the liquor store too. So we should be good for another two weeks. (fingers crossed).

I made bread, we did sidewalk chalk art and lit off the rocket!

We finished another puzzle, colored eggs, and made crepes, mimosas, and Easter egg hunt!

My elderly parents are still doing well. They still have three adult children, an adult grandchild, and a teenaged grandchild at home so they have plenty of help... kind of. But it also makes for a lot of people in a small house. I get worried but so far everyone is staying quarantined and healthy. DH has been able to Zoom with his family members. Everyone lives out-of-state anyway but due to the coronavirus pandemic, they actually want to stay in contact!

Books: I did not manage to finish any books this week. Very sad. But I'm getting close to a few so hopefully I have better news next week!

I'm still reading through Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by Daniel Quammen, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman, Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chobsky, Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity by Rebecca Goldstein, Emma by Jane Austen, The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. And I am still listening to Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland.

I started Spark and the League of Ursus by Robert Repino with G before bed. We got it free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. G will do a review and so will I and then I'll post all about it.

Watching: I started Babylon Berlin on Netflix, a German history mystery... First episode was very promising. I signed up for a free month on CBS All Access and have started Picard, which I am loving. I don't like the Romulan story arc but that's because I feel it has been done to death in the recent movies. I guess I can be glad it was Klingons? Ha. But I still love it! Also, Killing Eve started its season on AMC. Killer (pun intended) first episode.

DH and I are almost done with Altered Carbon on Netflix and it's been a very exciting second season. 

G and I have been watching more Brain Games and Lego Masters. Lego Masters finishes its season this week. I'm rooting for the lumberjack friends from Portland, Oregon!!!

I'm over halfway through my Great Courses Plus Linguistics course. It's still very entertaining. And I'm learning a ton.

Movies? Not too many this last week. But I did watch one online with my friends called Extra Ordinary. Our local Indie movie theater is letting everyone pay and watch via online. So we picked a very funny Irish comedy horror. Check out the trailer if you're into that sort of thing. I love all movies Irish and horror and comedy so it was the perfect thing for me. When it becomes available to buy it's mine!

This week: I'm hoping to bake a bit more this week. I have a ton of cream cheese and want to make some whipped-style cheesecakes, well one. And maybe some crispy marshmallow treats.

I'll be making some soups and tacos this week. It's still cold this week and won't warm up until this weekend.

Looking forward to getting back into my online classes. I'm also making a Spring cleaning list to hopefully get started on next week with the weather getting nicer. It's still a bit early to plant but I am starting to make plans about how I can grow my tomatoes in my tiny little garden space that everyone has access to like dogs and such... And planting more flowers. I'll be very excited about that.

What are you looking forward to as Spring hits? Any big projects around the house? I hope everyone stays safe and healthy.

*Linking up with Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz.

Dewey's 24-Hour Read-a-thon

I, unfortunately, did not get to do this last weekend. I'm so sad but there is always the fall and will try to plan better. It's just been a crazy month with the pandemic...

It's been a while since I did one of these marathons... like three or four years ago, I think. But with the coronavirus quarantine happening, I've decided this is a perfect time to relax and enjoy some much-needed reading. I have no idea what I'll read or anything. Or even how long I'll be able to go for... but I'm signing up and I'm excited! Woot! Woot!

Here are is the official sign-up site with all the deets...

Dewey's 24-hour Read-a-thon

Mini Book Reviews: The Histories and The Subtle Knife

The Histories by Herodotus

Published: approximately 450 BCE, this edition January 30th, 2003 by Penguin Books

Genre: Non-fiction, Myth, History

Format: Paperback, 716 Pages, Own

Rating: 3 stars

Publisher's Summary:

One of the masterpieces of classical literature, the "Histories" describes how a small and quarrelsome band of Greek city states united to repel the might of the Persian empire. But while this epic struggle forms the core of his work, Herodotus' natural curiosity frequently gives rise to colorful digressions - a description of the natural wonders of Egypt; an account of European lake-dwellers; and far-fetched accounts of dog-headed men and gold-digging ants. With its kaleidoscopic blend of fact and legend, the "Histories" offers a compelling Greek view of the world of the fifth century BC.

My Thoughts:

I read parts of this originally when I was in college back in the day for my Greek History course. But I finally decided to read through the whole thing. It's hard to follow all the names and dates but it's a fascinating look at what Herodotus thought was important historically and thematically. He was a big proponent of looking at the divine hand of the gods in the Greeks' history so he seemed to play up that theme a lot.

I also noticed how crappy they treated their women. Lots of insults that were the worst insults ever were calling men "women" or that they fought like "women." If a woman did fight than she fought weirdly like a man and wasn't really a woman anymore. The more things change the more they stay the same, honestly.

I never have to read it again! Yay!

The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

Published: originally July 22nd, 1997 this edition November 13, 2001 by Alfred A. Knopf

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Format: Paperback, 326 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Lost in a new world, Lyra finds Will--a boy on the run, a murderer--a worthy and welcome ally. For this is a world where soul-eating Specters stalk the streets and witches share the skies with troops of angels.
Each is searching--Lyra for the meaning of Dark Matter, Will for his missing father--but what they find instead is a deadly secret, a knife of untold power. And neither Lyra nor Will suspects how tightly their lives, their loves, their destinies are bound together . . . until they are split apart.

My Thoughts:

It's a very enjoyable second book, though it did drag a bit in the middle. I think it's harder to keep up with the middle in a trilogy. But not always. 

Who does one root for? Is Lord Asriel goodish, or just crazy, or deluded? We don't know and neither does Lyra or Will. So we are on their side wherever that may lead. And can Mrs. Coulter and her golden monkey die already? She's so deliciously evil.

*Read "The Histories" as part of the:

Cat Thursday-- Easter!

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by Michelle at True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats!

Happy Easter, everyone!

Weekly Update of the Quarantine of the Covid Nature

It's been really windy this week with a touch of extra cold for two days. And last Wednesday we had a power outage and internet loss. That day was a crapshoot for getting anything done. It's fixed. We're fine. But it made me realize I am not cut out (I mean I knew it already...) for an apocalypse where we lose power and the interwebs. Life ain't worth it. Feed me to the wolves and call it good.

But the temps are slowly rising. My hyacinths are blooming!

We got out for some scootering and walking. I gotta get outside and get some vitamin D.

I even tried my hand at an online DIY painting tutorial. It's not great but it was fun.

We've been getting a lot of family game nights in!

And this is how Shadow feels about all of us being here all the time!

I've been Marco Poloing with friends and family and it's really helped a lot. I got to have a cocktail night with my brunch group on Saturday. We all skyped in and had a fun drink and we just sat around at chatted for an hour or two!

Tuesday we're going to watch a movie together. One great thing has been the Arts starting to stream movies and plays and exhibits and performances online, sometimes free and sometimes for a fee. So Tuesday a movie is airing online that would normally be playing up in an Indie movie theater 45 miles from me. I've always wanted to take advantage of these things but life and proximity and other things have deterred me from doing it more often. So this has been wonderful to see things I normally wouldn't have experienced!

Andrew Lloyd Weber has announced he's streaming some of his broadway plays through the YouTube channel "The Shows Must Go On." I watched "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" Saturday afternoon and this next weekend will be "Jesus Christ Superstar." Another great resource I have come across is Open Culture. It's updating regularly and trying conglomerate what free resources are out there right now. 

And CBS All Access is giving a 30-day free trial with the code GIFT before April 23. I think I'll jump on that soon. I've been dying to watch "Picard" since it premiered.

The CDC has now recommended everyone where cloth masks when they're out in semi-crowded areas. For me, that would include the grocery stores. So I had to get a few things on Sunday and wore mine out and about. It freaked people out. They didn't quite know what to do with me. Some people acted surprised and others just tried to ignore me like I wasn't quite there and human. It was an odd and disconcerting experience Sunday. I know that it'll change as more people in my area decide to wear cloth masks, etc. But it was not a pleasant experience.

Books: I managed to finish The Histories by Herodotus! And G and I finished up The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman last night. I'm still listening to news podcasts to stay up-to-date. Through Scribd I'm listening to Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland. 

I'm still reading through Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by Daniel Quammen and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman.

I started reading Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chobsky, Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity by Rebecca Goldstein, and Emma by Jane Austen. I also started rereading The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I read it a few years ago and loved it but never got around to finishing the series and Stacy at Stacy's Books just finished it reminded me to get back to it!

G and I have started reading An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States For Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. I thought it would be a good idea to help supplement some of his history and social studies. It's been a great read so far with us having some great discussions.

Watching: I started Tiger King on Netflix but I have not made it passed the second episode... I just can't deal with the fact that the tiger and big cat trade is alive and well and insidious and I don't really want to know about the people involved. Yikes. I just can't right now.

G and I are still watching Brain Games on Disney Plus and Lego Masters on Hulu. We watched Onward last night on Disney Plus and it was way better than I was expecting! It's a very sweet and moving story about grief and family and loyalty. Super cute.

Basically, I'm just kind of nerding out on the Great Courses Plus right now. They have a two-week free trial and I'm watching their language family course with Dr. John McWhorter. I think I'll start binge-watching Star Trek: TNG this week and Picard. It's what I need.

This week: It's G's spring break this week and we were supposed to be camping in the Redwoods... but that is obviously not happening. So I'm trying to do a few educational things with him but also let him just chill with Minecraft and YouTube. We'll be doing a little rocket science later this week and if weather permits we have a rocket or two to light off! I'm hoping for sidewalk chalk shenanigans and more walks around the neighborhood and a start to some spring cleaning projects.

Baking bread is also happening this week; I'm not sure on the day yet, though. Crispy treats are also on the horizon!

Looking forward to a little downtime this week with G out of online school and Easter egg decorating and crepes for Easter weekend!

Any plans for Easter on your end? I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy.

*Linking up with Sunday Salon over at Readerbuzz.

Cat Thursday-- Quarantine-like

Welcome to the weekly meme (hosted by Michelle at True Book Addict) that celebrates the wonders and sometime hilarity of cats! Join us by posting a favorite lolcat pic you may have come across, famous cat art or even share with us pics of your own beloved cat(s). It's all for the love of cats!

My cats are not liking us home all the time. Shadow just peed in the corner and is now hiding under the bed cuz she knows she's a bad kitty. Welcome to quarantining with cats...

source