Thursday, April 8, 2021

April?

What a crazy week or two or three? Life just keeps getting in the way sometimes. We had a fantastic Easter weekend. It was gorgeous weather. Beautiful sunshine all day long. Gabe was happy with what the Easter bunny brought him. Lots of Reese’s chocolate and Starburst jelly beans, and some money. And of course, crepes and a little mimosa on the side.

Easter 2021

Grateful For:

1. I got my first vaccine jab last week and DH got his second this week. So there is light at the end of the tunnel and I keep hearing that Pfizer's vaccine trials for kids 12-15 shows promising results so I hope that means G will be able to get his in the fall or at least by the end of the year!

2. My soda bread and crepes were super yummy and it was a gorgeous day for Easter!

3. For good friends. It's been a rough week with family stuff and they have been here and are helping me deal. 

Reading Life:

I have finished off 3 books over the last few weeks...Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda, The Likeness (The Dublin Murder Squad #2) by Tana French, and The Salt Path by Raynor Winn. Oh, I also forgot Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin.

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Reading Challenges:

I'm still reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas for my 1000 Books Project: French Edition. I just made it over halfway at the end of March. That Count of Monte Cristo is quite the revenge maker! It's so fun to see how he's setting it all up.

For my Back to the Classics 2021 challenge I am slowly making my way through The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir. And I am reading this one for my philosophy reading with my friend who lives far away. The first half is where she establishes her theory and history and it can be a bit of philosophical mumbo jumbo and disheartening details of men's ideas about women throughout history. We're almost done with the first part and hopefully the second part where she applies it to her life will pick up!


I finished off Go Tell it on the Mountain by James Baldwin for the Classic by a BIPOC author prompt in this challenge.

I also plan to start Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston for my Classics By a Woman prompt.

For my I Read Horror Year-round Challenge I have started The Deep by Alma Katsu for my Body of Water prompt and this month is also the Spring Into Horror Challenge. The Deep will go with this one and Faithful Place (The Dublin Murder Squad #3) by Tana French (which I also started).



For my Nonfiction Reading Challenge 2021 I just finished off The Salt Path by Raynor Winn for the Travel prompt. My next plan is to either pick up Cork Dork: A Wine-fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste by Bianca Bosker or The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrik Svensson for the Food and Oceanography prompts respectively.

Listening Life:

I have a couple of chapters left in Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Very excited to be almost done. Beautiful book that has lasted me many months. It's one to be savored and pondered.

I also finished of The Salt Path on audiobook. I really think all memoirs should be listened to.

I'm also listening to The Great Courses: The Story of Human Language by John McWhorter.

Watching Life:

DH and I watched the newly edited version of The Justice League on HBO Max a couple of weeks ago. We never actually saw the original version when it came out...it was really long but when you're watching from home you can take breaks and eat and bathroom breaks, so it wasn't so bad. It had a very creative storyline and the Flash saved the movie for me. We also watched Tenet this last weekend together. I liked it. I liked Inception a bit better since I liked the actors better but this was still different and fun.

As a family we watched the new Shaun the Sheep movie Farmageddon which was awfully adorable and just what we all needed. Check it out on Netflix.

Over the last few weeks I've managed to watch the horror movie Possessor on Huly by Brandon Cronenberg. Really bloody and violent but cerebral and kind of thinky. I liked it.


Another Round
which has been nominated for the best international film for the Academy Awards. Also on Hulu. It was really good. It has a lot to say about friendships and loyalty, and the role of alcohol in a society. Lots of fantastic stuff to chew on in this one.


Documentaries...I watched Crip Camp: A Disability Revolution on Netflix. It's also nominated for Best Documentary Feature for the Academy Awards. Really well done. Fantastic look at how hard and long the American Disabilities Act was fought for. And a look at who the main players were and how their voices haven't been heard.

For something different...A friend recommended Derek DelGaudio's In & of Itself on Hulu. He's a performer and an illusionist/magician...he performed this "play/performance" in New York over 500 times with big celebrities coming to see him live...I can see how it would be an interesting performance to see in-person. But I didn't get it. Not my favorite. But each to their own.

For TV...I binged Behind Her Eyes on Netflix the day I got my first Covid jab once I started feeling really poopy. It was good! I didn't guess it till right before the end. Highly entertaining.

Looking forward to the Tulip Festival at our local gardens tomorrow. We're right in the middle of spring break for G. One day was spent helping my dad take down his waterbed...which took hours! DH got his 2nd jab and he's been out for two days so tomorrow is really our only day to get out of our house!!!!! It's sooooooo needed! Looking forward to beautiful gardens and a nice outdoor walk. Maybe a little takeout on our way home too.

Also my Nala kitty's seizure meds will be reduced next week! We lessened it a bit back in February and so far there have been no seizures on this new dose. So crossing our fingers that the new lessened dose will not result in any seizures. I'm hoping that we'll be able to not have her on any meds soon and if that's the case we will be able to actually plan a vacation this summer or early fall! Hallelujah!

Joining in with Deb from Readerbuzz Sunday Salon



19 comments:

  1. Our naturalist book group will be reading Sweetgrass in 2022, so I'm trying to be patient and wait to read it until then. Gathering Moss, by the same author, was terrific.

    So glad you got your vaccine. It changes everything.

    I would like to read Cork Dork. It sounds like a book I'd enjoy.

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    1. I really want to read Gathering Moss! She’s such a great writer.

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    2. I still can't quite believe that Gathering Moss is one of my favorite reads of the year. I did not expect that.

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    3. Oh good. Now I'm really looking forward to it!

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  2. You are reading at an amazing pace! Some of your authors are also on my list of good books: like Tana French, Dumas, and James Baldwin. Several of the others appeal to me and I should put them on my list too.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  3. I'm always so impressed by how much you are able to read and watch in a week! I started the Baldwin book but had to return it to the library before I got to far into it. Should I check it back out? Having read the first 3 or 4 chapters I could go either way. Text me if you want to chat. I hope your family difficulties are fleeting.

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    1. I definitely think it's worth the read and you may get more out of it than I do with Go Tell It...

      After dinner, I feel pretty useless so I end up either reading or watching TV if no one else in the fam wants to do something together. I try to mix it up with crocheting and with warmer temps, I should be able to get out a bit more in the evenings!

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  4. Yum, I love crepes, thanks for sharing your Easter with us
    Your upcoming picks for the Nonfiction Reader Challenge look interesting, I look forward to learning what you think of them

    Wishing you a great reading week

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    1. Crepes are yummy!

      I've heard good things so I'm hoping!

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  5. Crepes are a favorite here too, and Dutch Babies, which I usually add fruit to at the bottom. Easier than pancakes or waffles. Lots of good books on your list!

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    1. Dutch Babies sound yummy. I'll have to check them out!

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  6. It looks like you had a really fun day of Easter. Thank goodness for Reeses. I was looking at the movie Another Round ... and wondered if it's so alcohol based can it be really good? Hmm. Maybe we'll watch it to find out. There must be humor to it .... Congrats on getting the vaccine!! way to go!

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    1. Another Round was a really thinky movie! I had no idea that Denmark's liquor laws for minors were so loose! But it has a lot to say about that. It's a good movie club movie. So many things to discuss. I hope you watch it!

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  7. So much to comment on here, but first hooray for you and your hubby's vaccine progress! Your Easter sounds wonderful... good weather, good food, and family. I read Go Tell it on the Mountain a few months ago for the T Book Club and, while I recognize all the reasons it's such a classics, it was not a favorite. I LOVED the audio version of Cork Dork... such an interesting story. Hope you decide to give it a try.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the Cork Dork! I think I will read it this month. It's been on my list for so long. Makes happy!

      I'm glad I'm not the only one with the same types of feelings for Go Tell it on the Mountain. I'm really glad I read some other of his books before this. I don't know if I would've read more if this had been my first of his work.

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  8. Yay for vaccines! I'm scheduled for my second one next week.

    My turn for Braiding Sweetgrass came up recently on my digital library but I was knee-deep in Spirals in Time so I had to skip it. Hopefully my turn will come up again soon. I've heard so many good things about it.

    Enjoy your week!

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  9. My husband's fallen in love with the Starburst jellybeans the Easter Bunny (me) put our baskets this year. I am glad you had a nice Easter!

    Yay for vaccines! My husband got his first shot this past Friday and was very pleased. He had a headache and some soreness in his arm, but otherwise was okay. I was vaccinated earlier in the year. My daughter is disappointed there is no vaccine for her. As much as she hates shots, this is one she's willing to take if it means getting us out of the pandemic faster. I can't blame her!

    I have the Likeness on my TBR shelf along with French's other books. I've still only read In the Woods (which I loved). I don't know why I haven't gone on with the series. I really want to read Last Night at the Telegraph Club. It sounds good. I hope you enjoy The Deep. I read that one and liked it. I hope you are enjoying your reading!

    I'd like to see The Justice League but will have to wait until it's more widely available. We don't subscribe to HBO/Max.

    Have a great week, Heather!

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    1. I love Starburst Jelly beans and Jolly Rancher has good ones too!

      I hope you get to the rest of the Dublin Murder Squad series. I enjoy them all so far even with a couple not as good as the others.

      The Justice League movie is looooong! When you can rent it make sure you have plenty of snacks!

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