Saturday, March 20, 2021

Week-in-Review: March Madness...

2021-03-20 13.10.17

OK, not really madness but I couldn't think of anything else to title it! The weather has been madness, though. Just when we think spring is around the corner, we get snow! Or nice temps in the 60s and then the next few days back to the 40s. I did get a quick gardening session in yesterday before the wind and the storms set in. All the weeds are pulled and ready for flowers in a few weeks! My crocuses, hyacinths, and tulips are coming up! I need to take a pic this week for next time.

We celebrated DH's birthday last week! It was just us. Quaint and homey. It's usually a big affair with lots of friends but of course, it is the year of pandemic birthdays. We got a good one in last year. It was literally the weekend before everything closed down and the schools closed and we all locked down. It was a surreal year and this one was the anniversary of that. So weird again. I'm hoping next year will be a little more normal! 

I made cupcakes, we ordered in Mexican food, and I made frozen daquiris. DH then spent the evening with his Dungeons and Dragons group online and overall, he couldn't complain.

I also made beef stew and brown soda bread for St. Patrick's Day. I picked up some Guinness as well and we drank those with the stew and bread and it was lovely! I wish I'd taken a picture of the bread because it is delicious and so easy to make. I think this will be my go-to bread from now on. Me and yeast don't do so well together and soda bread does not require it! And just to be silly I bought butter from Ireland and some cheddar. 

And DH got his first vaccine jab! He'll be getting his second jab in three weeks. My state is opening it up for everyone next week. I tried to get an appointment but no luck. But soon, very soon! Our mask mandate will end April 10th so I'm hoping to get an appointment before then, if not I'll be picking up my groceries from my online orders...I do not trust the people in my state to do the right thing without a lot of compulsion, unfortunately.

We also learned some troubling news about my husband's company...big changes ahead but we don't know much yet. More stress. But we should be OK no matter where we end up. It's just stressful.

2021-03-20 12.57.32

Reading Life:

I started listening to Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough after all the hubbub behind that ENDING!!!! I thought I should listen/read first and then watch and compare and contrast but I have found listening to it is making me anxious...like I keep thinking of the most awful and horrible twists to this story after each new nugget of information and I started giving myself nightmares...So I think I'm just going to watch it and not worry about the book. Lol. 

I've been listening to Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer slowly and deliberately for the last few months now. Gorgeous essays that really make you think about all living things and planet Earth and our place as humans amongst it all. A love story to the Earth. I should finish in early April.  

I'm still reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas for my 1000 Books Project: French Edition. By the end of them month I will be halfway through. It's highly entertaining. Quite the little French soap opera of revenge! And I am still reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. But I have plans on finishing it by the first week of April. It's really good and I just need to sit down and finish.

I'm about 30% done with The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. I'm reading it with my friend for virtual philosophy book club and also for my Back to the Classics 2021 challenge for the 20th century classic prompt. I'm also almost done with Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin. One chapter left! This is also for my Back to the Classics challenge for the classic by a BIPOC author prompt. It's a short book but it's a tough one. Lots of layers and lots of unlikeable characters so it's been a lot harder for me to pick up and have "fun" reading it.


And I just started Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo. I'm enjoying it so far!


I finished off Samantha Irby's essay collection Wow, No Thank You. Astronauts: Women on the Final Frontier by Jim Ottaviani, The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales by Oliver Sacks, and The Desolations of Devil's Acre by Ransom Riggs (The sixth and final book the Miss Peregrine's Peculiar Children series).

I've also been listening to quite a few Great Courses lecture series: Myths, Lies, and Half-truths of Language Usage and Language A to Z both by John McWhorter, and The Life and Works of Jane Austen by Devoney Looser. I can't recommend her series enough! I have renewed interest in rereading her works and reading her other lesser known works as well. I'm on fire for Austen again!

Watching Life:

I'm a huge Utah Jazz fan so I've been watching a lot of their games. March NCAA basketball is also happening. I'll be catching a few games here and there as well.


I just watched A Promising Young Woman which has been nominated for a bunch of Academy Awards and it is worth it! It blew my mind and it was so well done. Plus if you are a Veronica Mars fan there are at least three actors from that series in this movie. I bet there's a connection there somewhere...

And I've been on a Star Trek kick lately so I watched a few of the original series movies with the DH. And then started watching the TNG first season. DH bought me the remastered Blu Ray whole series a couple of Christmases ago and I hadn't started them yet! What was a I thinking? It looks gorgeous in HD. They even have a little documentary on how hard it was to do this. Thank you, TNG team, for tackling this immensely difficult task!

Looking forward to:

Well, today is the official first day of Spring. We are getting the cold and rain. I usually try to do some little thing for the Spring Equinox. I'll probably make a little egg based treat, make a fun spring item and read a spring story. The story of Persephone/Kore is always a good one for this time of year.

Planning:

Spring cleaning is in the air! I've been trying to clean all the things in the kitchen. I reorganized the pantry, and am now cleaning out the kitchen drawers and cabinets. We have so much junk in there! Random cups from Denny's when Gabe was 3...So more of that this week.

Joining in with Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon


20 comments:

  1. LOL! 'Random cups from Denny's from when Gabe was 3' Thanks for helping me feel seen :) Our mask mandate is still in place and working. I'm worried about when it's lifted too. I hope you get the news you want about DHs job. Those are stressful times for sure. The weather was perfect here for the first day of spring, an unlikely event in Cleveland so we're appreciating the time outdoors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha! I'm glad I'm not the only one with cups everywhere in my cupboards!

      I'm so glad you got nice weather for the first day of Spring!

      Delete
  2. We got a whiff of cold weather last week, too, and it's always nice in Texas to get a little more cool before the hot begins.

    So glad your husband has received his vaccine and that you will be able to sign up for the vaccine soon. I think I would have been okay if our governor had waited to open up the state until after everyone was able to get the vaccine. Hope your state shows restraint.

    My naturalist book club will be reading Braiding Sweetgrass next year. It's a book I've been eager to read ever since our club read the author's Gathering Moss. I recommend it highly.

    I wish I had jumped in with Count of Monte Cristo. I wonder if it's too late. I was afraid it would be too much to read along with a daily read of Divine Comedy.

    Our library offers Great Courses and I've done quite a few. I'd love to do one on birding, but I need a nice big block of time.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You will love Braiding Sweetgrass. Just beautiful. I look forward to reading her earlier book. She's fantastic.

      The Count is a big one! But I bet you could join in. It's highly readable which is quite surprising.

      The Great Courses are really fun. I hope you can get to your birding course soon.

      Delete
  3. Given I’m in the midst of a flood right now when last year we were surrounded by fires, March madness sounds about right.
    Birthday wishes to your DH, for my DS a night of D&D is his preferred birthday gift.
    I’m curious about Ho’s book, I’ll have to learn more.

    Wishing you a great reading week

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aww! That's so great your DS loves some D&D. It's so fun hearing them nerd out online. Lol.
      Ho's book is an LGBTQ+ historical fiction/romance. Absolutely fun. I'm loving it so far.

      Delete
  4. I hear ya about the weather. It's a bit TOO COLD right now on the back porch since the sun is going down but I am determined! Just wish I'd put on some socks...and maybe a hoodie. LOL

    Man that birthday sounds good to me. Mexican food, cupcakes, frozen daqs...

    My BFF made delicious soda bread once and mentioned how easy it was. BROWN soda bread sounds intriguing.

    I hope the troubling job news turns out ok. I hate troubling job news.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Soda bread was so easy! I hope you make some soon. I'm not sure why it was called brown soda bread...it did call for some wheat germ and whole wheat flour, so maybe that's why.

      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  5. Happy Birthday to your DH. That's great that he got the first vaccine. I hope you'll be able to get one soon too. I love Mexican food. Sounds like a lovely celebration.

    Have a great week!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Happy birthday to DH ! The temperatures should get higher next week and you know what, I'm waiting ! I want to make soda bread too, I found a recipe that looks very easy indeed - and it's an opportunity to drink Guinness. I watched Picard yesterday, it's not bad but I think the Romulans look too much like elves, I think the original Romulans wouldn't like it at all :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, the way they developed the Romulans was weird in Picard. Too true!

      I hope you get to make some yummy soda bread and drink some Guinness!

      Delete
  7. I've already got Braiding Sweetgrass on my wish list, but I hadn't considered listening. I bet it would be lovely that way. We're all getting good at improvising pandemic birthday celebrations. Sounds like a good one at your house, but I sure hope this is the end of them. Glad your husband got his first dose! Take care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The author has a beautiful voice and it's just a pleasure to listen to her. I hope you get a chance to listen!

      Delete
  8. We also got snow here last night, argh! Are you reading the French edition of Count of Monte Cristo? Wow you must be fluent; that's impressive. The daiquiri and cupcakes look good! Yum. Glad you are getting your vaccines ... but they should keep up the masks for awhile in your state. crazy eh? Enjoy your week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, no French edition of The Count of Monte Cristo for me! I speak a bit of Spanish but that's about it. The French edition comment was about the 1000 Books to Read Before You Die. I'm reading it with another book blogger. We're tackling two French classics this year together, The Count and Les Mis from July to December! I can see the confusion, though! Sorry about that.

      My state has a lot of those "crazies." I'm probably going to order online after the mask mandate ends until I'm fully vaccinated. Grrr.

      Delete
  9. ps. I forgot to say : I haven't seen Promising Young Woman yet ... and I hesitate probably b/c not sure if my husband will go for it .... but did your husband see it? It's a revenge kind of film right?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My husband did not want to watch it! So I squirreled away some time while he was playing a computer game. He only likes the comedies and sci-fi/action type movies. But it's fantastic! I hope you get to watch it soon!

      Delete
  10. What a great week you've had! My husband and I were just talking about how we need to watch Star Trek again. I love the Count of Monte Cristo - it's one of my favorite books. I really want to read and watch Behind Her Eyes. I swear I had a copy of it - but I can't find it anywhere!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. COunt of Monte Cristo is surprisingly fun to read! Highly enjoying it. Star Trek is always a great one to get back to as well. Comfort TV! I may not finish reading Behind Her Eyes. I need to see what's happening! ha! We shall see...

      Delete

Thanks for reading my posts and for letting me know what you think!

Due to heavy spamming, I am now moderating all comments. Thanks for your understanding.