Where Did June Go?

I live in a state where the numbers are rising and outbreaks are happening. It's not good. At all. June has been a huge ball of stress. I mean all the months have been since March but..I turned 40 a couple of weeks ago. I had plans to celebrate it right before the pandemic hit. So I'll admit it was tough to turn 40 this year. I'm hoping I can really celebrate my introduction into my 4th decade right next year... Maybe? Fingers are crossed.

Everyone has stayed healthy. G did two online space camps in June. It was one too many. But he survived and ended up having a great time overall. Despite the one or two breakdowns...

I celebrated my birthday going out to eat. I wanted to get sushi from my fave sushi place but they are still not allowing sit-in dining. So we headed over to a brewery nearby called Straptank. It was a pleasant evening and the staff there was super friendly. We tipped extra big since I know times are tough and they're risking their health and the health of their families to work at a restaurant which probably does not pay extremely well. It was disheartening to hear, though, while we were waiting outside for a table, a group of friends/family walked out complaining that they had never been treated so horribly...the restaurant asked them to leave after they had been there for an hour (the restaurants are trying to keep the virus from spreading and they have 50% decrease in capacity so family groups can social distance from other patrons...so they want to get people into their seats...I don't think an hour is bad to ask people to leave. We are in the middle of a pandemic!) It was very disheartening to hear people say stuff like that. I'm venting.

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We also have fires popping up all over Utah. There were evacuation alerts for the area about 5 miles from us. We're keeping an eye. Yikes. We had rain and cooler temps last night, so I'm hoping that curbs some of the current fires.

Wear your masks in public! Fight the spread and take care of your neighbors.

Monthly Pics:

Here's my bday and G enjoying his online camps and a hike! My friends even dropped off a fun margarita birthday basket. And a couple of friends from out of state sent a box of Crumbl cookies and birthday quarantine box. Friends are fabulous!

G made a model Mars science habitat, we attended a Black Lives Matter protest, and enjoyed a socially distanced picnic for Father's Day with my parents.

G and I got out for a hike with our neighbors, who also practice great social distancing and mask-wearing while in public. So we both felt very safe doing this hike together.

And we finished the hardest puzzle ever! DH did most of it while I did the easy parts! Ha! And Nala and Shadow being cute and doing their kitty things.

Reading:

I finished 4 books this month. Not my best, but 4 isn't terrible! All Boys Aren't Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson, New Kid by Jerry Craft, A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Perry, and Dawn by Octavia Butler.

I'm reading What Language Is: And What It Isn't and What It Could Be by John McWhorter, How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi, Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (reading this one out loud with G; we are having some great discussions), Stamped From the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi.

There is also a read-along happening online for Stamped and Stamped From the Beginning.

I'm listening to Our Time Is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams. I am loving this. I'm gaining new insights into voter suppression laws, the census, gerrymandering, etc. Sometimes I have to take breaks but I love Stacey Abrams. She has my vote.

I'm planning on starting Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson, the second book in Butler's Xenogenesis trilogy, The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale, and Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin over the next week or so.

Watching: 

For movies I saw the documentary Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am you can watch either on Hulu or PBS. Fantastic documentary on Morrison. So much I didn't know about her and her life and how the literary community accepted her work and books as they were published. I can't wait to read through all of her books and writings.

We also watched Artemis Fowl on Disney+... Wow, that was a terrible movie. Terrible! Even my DH who is less critical of movies in general found it rather nauseating and silly.

Disappearance at Clifton Hill on Hulu. This was an interesting mystery indie noir. Also, if you are a fan of body horror like Videocrome and Scanners David Cronenberg stars as well.

Swiss Family Robinson on Disney+... The animal abuse in that movie... wow. I had a hard time watching that one. Overall, one of the better old Disney movies but I will never watch that one again.

DH and I watched Rocketman finally last week. It was really well done! I could see Elton John's story becoming a Broadway musical one day. That's how this movie felt. I really enjoyed how they pulled his songs into his biography. And I had no idea he had long-time friend who is his lyricist. Fantastic story and movie.

And last night I watched Lost Child on Amazon Prime about a young woman who has come back from Afghanistan to her childhood home in the Ozarks. She's trying to deal with her PTSD and trying to reconcile with her brother. And all the while she finds a boy in the woods who seems almost supernatural. She must separate fact from local myth and folklore to find out who the boy is and ultimately find herself. I really liked this one. 

For TV I finally finished up to the third season of The Good Place on Netflix with DH. I was surprised at what a funny and smart show it is. I love a whole show on moral philosophy and ethics for the little gal. And done in such a way to make sense and be entertaining!

Never Have I Ever on Netflix was a great teen show about an Indian American dealing with the death of her father, getting along with her mother, and figuring out life as a teenager. Poignant and funny. Can't wait for the next season.

This week: Just looking forward to picking up our fruits and veggies, getting some library books, and some family time. DH has taken some time off this week and we plan on doing some game nights and a hike this week. And hopefully we will get some things done around the house like washing the windows, and cleaning up the basement, and donating some books and clothes to our local second-hand store. I'm also still working on our coronavirus quarantine time capsule and a blanket for my great-niece.

Oh, and this weekend I finally planted the rest of my flowers til Fall and laid down the rest of the mulch! Whew. Gardening is tough work.

Looking forward to relaxing a little more this week and enjoying some extra family time!

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful week and holiday this weekend!

Joining in with Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon

Dawn by Octavia Butler

Dawn by Octavia Butler

Published: May 1987 by Warner Books

Genre: Sci-fi, Dystopia

Format: Kindle, 248 Pages, Own

Rating: 4 stars

Publisher's Summary:

Lilith Iyapo has just lost her husband and son when atomic fire consumes Earth—the last stage of the planet’s final war. Hundreds of years later Lilith awakes, deep in the hold of a massive alien spacecraft piloted by the Oankali—who arrived just in time to save humanity from extinction. They have kept Lilith and other survivors asleep for centuries, as they learned whatever they could about Earth. Now it is time for Lilith to lead them back to her home world, but life among the Oankali on the newly resettled planet will be nothing like it was before.

The Oankali survive by genetically merging with primitive civilizations—whether their new hosts like it or not. For the first time since the nuclear holocaust, Earth will be inhabited. Grass will grow, animals will run, and people will learn to survive the planet’s untamed wilderness. But their children will not be human. Not exactly. 

My Thoughts:

I love Octavia Butler. Her sci-fi series and books and phenomenal. The way she can take the ills of humanity and throw them into a story astounds me. How do we overcome our fears of others? How do we pick up the pieces after we've f-d everything up? What does it mean to be human? This series is no different. This is the first book in a trilogy called Xenogenesis. I mean to read the last two this next month.

Lilith is chosen to lead a group of humans back on earth. In exchange for saving humanity the aliens have asked for, well- not asked, gene exchange and to be set up on planet earth alongside the humans. Is she a savior for humankind? Is she a traitor to our own species? She does a fantastic job letting us the readers get into the mindset of the aliens. Why they do what they do. And why they feel the way they do towards humans.

If you haven't read her before start with Kindred. That's just one book so easy to read. Her Earthseed series is the best I've read from her so far. But all are fantastic and I wish she were still alive to share more of her writing with all of us. I can't wait to finish this series.

155th Anniversary of Juneteenth

Happy Juneteenth. Black history is American history.



Today’s video Google Doodle, illustrated by Los Angeles-based guest artist Loveis Wise and narrated by actor and activist LeVar Burton, honors the 155th anniversary of Juneteenth. Short for “June Nineteenth,” Juneteenth marks the true end of chattel slavery across the United States— which didn’t actually occur until 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. Specifically, it marks the day when enslaved Black people in Galveston, Texas (one of the westernmost points in the Confederate South) finally received news of their liberation.

Search Results

Knowledge Result

Lift Every Voice and Sing

James Weldon Johnson, J. Rosamond Johnson

Lift ev'ry voice and sing
'Til earth and heaven ring
Ring with the harmonies of Liberty
Let our rejoicing rise
High as the list'ning skies
Let it resound loud as the rolling sea
Sing a song full of the faith that the dark past has taught us
Sing a song full of the hope that the present has brought us
Facing the rising sun of our new day begun
Let us march on 'til victory is won

Stony the road we trod
Bitter the chastening rod
Felt in the days when hope unborn had died
Yet with a steady beat
Have not our weary feet
Come to the place for which our fathers sighed?
We have come over a way that with tears has been watered
We have come, treading our path through the blood of the slaughtered
Out from the gloomy past
'Til now we stand at last
Where the white gleam of…

Source: LyricFind

Cat Thursday-- Cupboard 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 opened up my cupboard to put some dishes away and when I turned back around there was Nala chilling like a villain. She jumped out as soon as I took the pic. I had to share!

Educating Myself

21-Day Racial Equity Habit Building Challenge

75 Things White Things Can Do For Racial Justice

White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

Code Switch's list of books, movies, and podcasts to start with.

TEDx Talks on racism and how to eliminate it

Obviously Googling anything about racism and antiracism will pop up so much information. It's our duty to do our research and educate ourselves. Here are a few links that I've enjoyed looking over and using to add to my own lists and info. There are tons more. Each link will take you through to more links and more books and movies and TV and documentaries and resources to look. I also think we can look to much and get ideas and then not actually sit down and do the actual reading and watching and work it takes to educate ourselves. Me in particular. So I'll list some resources I've seen, listened, or read as well as resources that are on my radar or am currently reading/listening/watching.

Books:

Nonfiction:

We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby. Her essays hold no punches but the humor she has throughout is contagious.

Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis-- The way she's able to say we need to draw on all movements. When anyone is discriminated against that affects us and we need to be moved by their plight as well. That's how we affect change locally and globally.

March Forward Girl: From Young Warrior to Little Rock Nine by Melba Pattillo Beals. This was a hard book to read out loud with G. She endured so much pain and trauma growing up in the 40s in the Deep South. A brutal regime. Domestic terrorism.

Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations by Mira Jacob-- She presents how hard the conversations are with her son about all the things that are necessary to hear for children of color. And thus the conversations I need to be having as a white person.

Between the World and Me and We Were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nahesi Coates-- He lays it all out. The first is a letter to his son and the other one is a collection of essays and commentary about the eight years with Obama as president.

Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America by Melissa V. Perry-Harris-- I learned a lot about Black women tropes that are everywhere and how damaging they are to the psyche of Black women and they inhibit full participation and citizenship in America.

March by John Robert Lewis-- All three volumes are phenomenal. A great memoir on Mr. Lewis' participation in the civil rights movement.

Fiction:

Dread Nation and Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland-- I loved this alternate history on what would have happened if zombies rose up during the Civil War.

Pet by Akwaeki Emezi-- Their writing is amazing and I enjoyed Jam and her journey with Monster.

Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson-- The journey through time between each character and how they are where they are was truly beautiful. She never disappoints.

I Am Alfonso Jones by Tony Medina-- Alfonso has high hopes and dreams but his life is ended too soon when a security guard shoots him in a mall. This story takes us through all the grief and anger of all who knew him and a community that's had enough.

The Forgotten Girl by India Hill Brown-- This was a great book about a forgotten girl, a forgotten Black girl, who begins to haunt Iris who has recently discovered her grave. It's a powerful story of forgotten history and left out stories of Black Americans in many cities.

Attica Locke has written and continues to write fascinating mysteries/thrillers. Black Water Rising, Pleasantville-- Her crime thrillers are top-notch.

If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin-- No happy endings and but a powerful story with unforgettable characters.

Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham-- This is what introduced me to the Greenwood Massacre in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1921.

The Changeling by Victor LaValle-- It's horror at it's finest. I'd love this as a movie one day.

Tristan Strong Punches a Whole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia. Tristan introduces to John Henry, Brer Fox and Brer Rabbit. It's a heart-warming story and there's action, loyalty, friendship, and healing from grief.

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi-- It's a tough journey through time. But a necessary and beautiful one. She connects America and Ghana through people and time.

Books on my list that I'm reading now or will in the future:

Parting the Waters: Martin Luther King and the Civil Rights Movement: 1954-1963 by Taylor Branch-- This is a big book. I started it back in January. I read a chapter or two here and there and there's so much information.

Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America, How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi-- I love his focus on racist ideas. He breaks the ideas into two camps, segregationists and assimilationists. We can see through history how racist ideas came about in order to justify slavery. Racist ideas came about and were perpetuated in order to justify inhumane laws. His book is written with what antiracist views and ideas are and then uses experiences in his own life to show how he gained these insights and some of the racist ideas and views he held and ingrained and later stripped.

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi (I'm reading this one out loud with my son and we are having great conversations)

The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale-- I saw a video chat hosted by Trevor Noah with Alex Vitale and other activists. I'm trying to understand more about what defunding and abolishing the police really means.

Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla F. Saad (this one is a workbook/journaling type book to work through slowly and confront our deeply seeded and held biases and racist ideas).

Documentaries, Movies and TV Shows:

Film School Rejects has provided a list of free movies that have been made available this month to support Black Lives Matter. The Criterion collection has a ton of independent movies about Black people and filmed by Black people from the 1920s up to 2020.

Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am: I watched this wonderful documentary on Toni Morrison last night. It's available on Hulu. I've read Beloved and I've read a lot of things about Toni Morrison but I've never seen her being interviewed. She's funny. So intelligent, compassionate, passionate, and funny.

I Am Not Your Negro: I cannot explain how moving this documentary is on James Baldwin. It's available on Amazon Prime.

Netflix has a lot of their Black Lives Matter collections available for free on their YouTube channel. The Innocence Files is a docuseries on the injustices of the criminal justice system in three parts: Junk science, eyewitness testimony, and prosecutorial misconduct.

Podcasts:

Code Switch, 1619, Still Processing, Pod Save the People with DeRay, Justice in America, Throughline, Floodlines, Intersectionality Matters

This is not an exhaustive list, obviously, but these are some of the ones I've read, seen, listened to and the ones I'm working on. I'm excited to continue my own education and start conversations in my own circle of family and friends.

Crashed But Not Burned...

No one got the Covid but G did get the flu and had a mid-grade fever for 4 days. That all came about at the same as the Kawasaki-type reactions started to come to light about kids and its link to Covid-19. It was a very hard week that week. But he's ok and we're all ok. I ended up getting a sinus infection and some depression so I just had to take a break for a bit. I needed to get my mind back to a good place.

But we still had some fun times. G learned how to ride a bike last weekend so we are now biking it up around town! We went all last week and weekend and then yesterday my tire popped. So I need a new tube but I should be back in business by Thursday.

We didn't go anywhere for Memorial Day but I made some mojitos with my garden mint. I barbecued up some chicken and corn on the cob. We chopped up watermelon and I even baked a lemon bundt cake. And we ended up socially distancing with our neighbors with our drinks in hand and watched the sunset. It ended up being exactly what we all needed.

I was hoping to get this up last week...but it's just been a dumpster of a week... or fill in day, month, years...

With the horrific death of Mr. Floyd by the hands of a police officer and the protests around the country and even the world, I've been trying to talk to my son about what's been happening and what we can do. I've tried to talk with and read with him about race and racism but I know I can do better and have a long way to go. We started reading Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi. We've already had some great discussions.

That's been my week...trying to stay informed without getting burned out, sharing on social media, writing representatives, discussing with my family, and giving money where we can to causes that support Black Lives Matter and criminal justice reform.

Buzzfeed has a great post on things I can do right now as a white ally. They have a list of petitions to sign, articles to read, videos and movies to watch... I can't stress enough the need to watch "I Am Not Your Negro." It's on Amazon Prime if you're a member for free or it's about 3$ to rent or a few more to buy. I watch it every year and it's so powerful. James Baldwin was gone too soon. "The Fire Next Time" is also a fantastic essay he wrote. We have to know our history and in order to change our future. Medium also has a fantastic list of things to do and watch and read.

Fave Pics over the last few weeks...

I did a social distance coffee with some friends, Mother's Day treasures from G, walking in the spring blossoms, finished a puzzle or two (thank you, Stacy!), G said goodbye to his teachers at their school parade, Teh kitties socializing and relaxing, and G finally learned to ride a bike! We have been going on bike rides together almost every day. It's been so fun! And I finally got my hair cut this week with some color!

We went for a morning hike/walk in our neighborhood this morning. Some pretty spring wildflowers are still in bloom in my dry town.

Books: I haven't checked in for a bit so I have a big list over the last few weeks!

Betraying Spinoza: The Renegade Jew Who Gave Us Modernity by Rebecca Goldstein; The Conference of Birds by Ransom Riggs; Deathless Divide by Justina Ireland; Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris; Spark and the League of Ursus by Robert Repino; Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement by Angela Y. Davis; Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-ending Search for a Cure by Jim Murphy; Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by Daniel Quammen; My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix; Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World by Laura Spinney; Our Magnificent Bastard Tongue: The Untold History of English by John McWhorter; We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby

Currently reading Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi with G. I knew this would help keep the dialogue going and talk about what's happening right now and what we can do. What Language Is: And What It Isn't and What It Could Be by John McWhorter. He's my favorite neighborhood linguist so I'm working through his pop-language books and nerding out. Dawn by Octavia Butler. For Sci-fi in June! The Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling.

Listening to podcasts: Justice in America. The first episode dives into the problems with money bail and how it penalizes poor people and lands them in jail for months or even years before they're even legally charged with a crime or convicted.

Watching: Finally, I am getting around to The Good Place! It's hilarious. DH and I started Space Force on Netflix. I also started rewatching the original Star Trek series. So cheesy but there are some great plot lines and quotes. It's keeping me entertained. Movies: The Lodge. Disturbing but good. The Invisible Man. So good and creepy. Loved it.

Just Mercy is one we're going to see this weekend together as a family. There is a documentary on HBO about Bryan Stevenson. I watched it back in February and thought it was well-made. True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight for Equality

This week: We're getting a cold-front Sunday and Monday. I'm planning on making a curry Thai and wild rice soup. It'll be cold so I'm excited to get one more soup in before the hot weather stays. 

A few of my flowers died due to some crazy winds and hot temps we've gotten over the last few weeks. I'm planning on grabbing a few more to finish up the summer flower beds.

Looking forward to my birthday next weekend. We're not going to do much due to, you know, a pandemic but I'll branch out that evening for some sushi and sake with the family. Saturday night a few of my friends and I will sit outside and enjoy some drinks and a game or two all while social distancing. Should be a perfect "quarantine" birthday.