March Update...and a bit of Spring Break

 Spring is officially here but is it really here? I'm not so sure...I think the groundhog meant 8 weeks more not 6. Snow flurries were seen by me outside my window this afternoon. At least it's not sticking for very long.

We've been busy with house stuff and DH's birthday. I made beef stew and Irish soda bread for St. Patrick's Day. I hosted an Oscar-viewing party and a friend's birthday party, all-in-one! Oh and more house stuff...

I have not been able to read as much as I would've liked this month. Only two so far but I'm hoping for one or two more by months' end.

A MONTH LATER....

We have been mad people getting our house ready to go on the market! Lots of cleaning and repairing and moving junk out. We finally got our house up last week and had an open house Saturday. Nothing came of it yet but it's early yet...But we have to have our cats out when we do showings and it is so hard to figure out what to do with them! We went to the park and had them on their leashes but they were scared by all the noises and people and dogs...so it's not a permanent solution. I'm hoping our place sells quickly so we won't have to do too many...

Spring break was spent cleaning and moving and patching but we did manage to see a couple of movies together as a family and I took G bowling with a friend early in the week. Not quite how we wanted to spend it but it is what it is. 

G also got visited by the Easter bunny with some cash and jelly beans...plus we did take the time to decorate a few eggs the night before and G even made the crepes all by himself! Also...Moving is hard!

Books Read:

Dawn (Night Trilogy #2) by Elie Wiesel

Thoughts: All of Wiesel's three books are about the hard truths of living after surviving the Holocaust and how it isn't really living. There are no lessons to be learned or easy answers and silver linings. Not easy reads but very powerful.

Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz

Thoughts: I loved the way she threaded grief over the death of her loving father and the finding of the love of her life all around the same time. It's truly a beautiful book and one I'll return to again.

Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver

Thoughts: Mary Oliver has a way with words. You can tell she worships Nature and she writes to us because she is a disciple and has much to tell and teach us. I'd like to read one of her books of poetry as well.

A History of Fear by Luke Dumas

Thoughts: This was a fun and quick read about a man who kills a fellow classmate because he says the Devil actually made him do it. It's clever because he's very much an unreliable narrator and so everything is very ambiguous. Is it really Satan? Or is he just a severely mentally ill person who had a psychotic break? And it takes place in Scotland so another bonus.

Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones

Thoughts: This is the second book in his horror series. I loved the first one but had a harder time with the sequel. I listened to it and that may be why. The narrators jumped around a lot and I think it would have been easier to follow had I read the hard copy. I'm even unsure about the actual ending...I'll probably have to reread it before the final books comes out next year.

Day (Night Trilogy #3) by Elie Wiesel. See Dawn above.

Currently Reading:

The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth by Jonathan Rauch

Gallant by V.E. Schwab

The Revolt of the Public by Martin Gurri

How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendrix

TV

The Last of Us: (HBO) Fascinating look at mushrooms taking us out in their zombie apocalypse! That finale, whew!

Poker Face (Peacock): Can't wait for season two. Best show for me in a long time!

Star Trek: Picard (Paramount+): I am loving this season. Best Star Trek in a very long time.

Star Trek: TNG (rewatching. Am on season 7 now.)

Star Trek: DS9 (I am watching in tandem with TNG cuz I'm nerding out.)

Perry Mason (HBO): Started season two which is really good.

Oscars: Nothing crazy this year. Pretty nice and mellow.

NCAA men's and women's basketball aka March Madness. I didn't see every game but I saw many and I was not disappointed. 

This month is the NBA Playoffs.

Movies

I spent one weekend watching as many of the Oscar movies as I could. The only two I didn't see for Best Picture were Avatar: Way of the Water and All Quiet on the Western Front.

Elvis: Very weird and Bazzy but that was to be expected. I actually really enjoyed it.

Triangle of Sadness: Not my cup of tea. Meh. Rolling of eyes a lot. And that sea sickness scene was just too long.

Women Talking: I enjoyed this a lot more that I expected. I had heard it was really boring or that it felt more like a play. But I didn't feel that way at all while watching. I was intrigued the whole time and it ended up being one of my favorites of the year so far.

The Fabelmans: Interesting take on a fictionalized version of Spielberg's childhood. Seth Rogan was not my favorite in it. I felt he detracted from the story, unfortunately. Overall, it was just OK for me.

Theater: I saw Scream VI with a friend, John Wick 4 with DH, and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves and The Super Mario Bros. Movie with G and DH last month and last week. I think that's the most I've been to a theater in the last 3 years? All were pretty entertaining and glad I saw them!

The rest of April will be pretty chaotic. Until our house sells we are on notice for a showing anytime during the day and evening...G's final weeks of school are counting down as well....Looking forward to a time when we're in our new home and we can settle down again!

Joining up with Deb from Readerbuzz and her Sunday Salon.