Tuesday, June 22, 2021

It's Hot!

June is not supposed to be this hot but it is this year. We're in the 90s and 100s almost every day right now. That usually doesn't happen til July. So hot! We are beating the heat with some early morning hikes...ok, not really but it's still pretty. Weekend cocktails and evening fire pits with friends definitely helps us all cool off!

Enjoyed a lovely birthday weekend last week. DH and I finally went out for some fantastic dinner and drinks. We have not done that in 14 months. It was so nice! The restaurant we went to had a vaccination card only policy. So we knew everyone in that restaurant was fully vaccinated. It was a very relaxing evening. We later learned that the restaurant has received death threats from anti-vaxers and threats of being Nazis...I mean, wow. We were very happy to support them!

This summer is full of house projects, work, and getting out into nature when it's cool enough.

We got good news on our kitty Nala. She is still seizure free and we've got about 4 months left before she'll be completely weaned off her meds as long as she continues to be seizure-free! We have a couple of trips we want to plan so this is very good news!

Here's a couple of pics from my latest hike. So hot so we didn't quite make it to the top but we still got some great exercise in the mountains.


2021-06-16 08.56.272021-06-16 08.56.17

Reading Life:


I just started up Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind by Sue Black. I loved her first book All That Remains. True-crime from a forensic anthropologist. G and I also started The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. Disturbing but also very intriguing. It also goes along nicely with my sci-fi challenge this month...but it's mostly dystopia.

Reading Challenges:

For my Sci-fi Readathon

Abaddon's Gate James S.A. Corey (Expanse #3) and The Ones We're Meant to Find by Joan He.

I finished Adulthood Rites and Imago, the last two books in the Xenogenesis series by Octavia Butler and an ARC from the publisher for Dare to Know by James Kennedy.

I Read Horror Year All Year Round

The Upstairs Wife by Rachel Hawkins (psychological thriller prompt). Listening to this one. It's interesting and I'm looking forward to the end but it hasn't been as good as I was hoping.

Back to the Classics challenge:

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (19th Century prompt and also for my 1000 Books Project: French classics edition). So close to finishing now! Just a few more chapters.

And Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston (classic by a woman prompt).

The Second Sex by Simone De Beauvoir...I am no over halfway done and should be done with it by December to earn my 20 century classic prompt!

Nonfiction Reading challenge:

World Travel: An Irreverent Guide by Anthony Bourdain and Laurie Woolever (food prompt). I'm listening to this one and it still makes me want to cry. I'm hoping to finish by the end of the month.

I'm pretty behind this month with some of these challenges. Hopefully I can catch up soon!

Watching Life:

Mostly the NBA Playoffs.

I added in the Crime Scene Kitchen which is weirdly entertaining though I wished they'd called it Mystery Kitchen...since no crimes were committed in the kitchen real or otherwise. I guess it's more catchy but not what I was expecting when I went to watch.

I also finished off Love, Victor on Hulu. Really good show, especially the second season where they try to deal with all the life stuff they kind of blew off in the first season.

Last weekend we watched Raya and the Last Dragon and In the Heights together. I wanted to like Raya better. It was cute and funny but didn't quite have that complex punch their movies usually have. It felt a little trite. In the Heights was really fun. Really enjoyed that one.


Come True
was my horror movie for the week. Really trippy but that ending was a bit off...overall quite a cerebral sci-fi horror.

Making and Doing:

I'm hoping to get to my painting of my door soon. If not this weekend then next.

I've been enjoying no-bake cookies and raspberry mojitos on the weekends.

I've been sticking to sandwiches and grilling foods recently.

Looking forward to:

Cooler temps for a few days this week. I think we will hit a hi of 75 on Wednesday. It goes back up over the weekend but it'll be nice to have such a cool day or two even for a bit.

I've got a little friend get-together on Saturday with DH and Sunday I'm hiking with a friend! Loving getting out a bit this summer.

Joining in with Deb from Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon


12 comments:

  1. Happy birthday, Heather!

    My mouth is open in astonishment. Death threats? Nazis? For requiring a vaccination card? Good grief. Where are these folks getting their information about the world? It makes me despair for our country.

    I wish I had joined in for The Count of Monte Cristo. Next up for the Chapter-a-Day group is Hunchback of Notre Dame, but I've already read that. I've been thinking about subbing in The Count. It's much longer, I think, so I'm not sure.

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    1. Thank you! It's crazy, right? The world we live in right now...

      I've been wanting to read the Hunchback of Notre Dame too. The next book on our list is Les Mis if you haven't read that one yet. I read the abridged version in high school so now it's the big leagues. I ordered it online and it's....huge! lol. I'm reading The Count as an ebook so I don't really notice how big it is! Sometimes that's good...

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    2. I have read Les Mis and Hunchback, but not The Count.

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    3. I hope you get to the Count soon! It's actually very entertaining. I'm really surprised at how much I've enjoyed it.

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  2. Oh my, that is ridiculously hot! Be safe! The photos from your hike are beautiful though.

    Wow! Death threats for requiring proof of vaccination? That's insane! It just blows my mind that these people are all "Freedom!" unless it's something they disagree with. Doesn't freedom mean that the restaurant owners can set their own rules? I just don't understand people.

    I own The Count of Monte Cristo but haven't ever gotten brave enough to start it. Good for you! I'm impressed!

    No bake cookies and raspberry mojitos sound like a great way to beat the heat. Enjoy your week!

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    1. I know, I just don't get it! But I'm really glad we could support them.

      The Count is really good, actually. I didn't think I'd enjoy it this much.

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  3. Did you send the heatwave this way? We are dying of heat stroke up here! Never had a June like this here. 7 days of 95 degrees in Canada in June?? We don't even have air - con .... sigh. Misery. Hoping for a thunderstorm. Enjoy your reading

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    1. I think we did! My friend lives in Washington by Seattle and record-breaking temps all last weekend! Ugggh. And no air con! Yikes. so sorry. We at least have that in dry and hot Utah. Sure hope it's letting up this week.

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  4. Wow - you are reading a lot of great books. I love the variety. We are in mild temperatures right now in northern Wisconsin, but it was pretty hot the beginning of the month. We are getting some much needed rain after a dry spring.

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    1. I'm trying...lol. It's been fun to read The Count over a course of 6 months. Short reading bursts over a long time and boom, all of a sudden I'm done with a very large book! Ha! Glad you are getting some moisture over there in Wisconsin!

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  5. After reading The Black Count about Dumas's father, I've been itching to read Count of Monte Cristo. So impressed you are almost done with it. I'm thinking it moves quickly, which is good, being so long!

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    1. I want to read The Black Count this fall. I'm really excited about it after reading The Count of Monte Cristo. I hope you get to it soon!

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