Now it's literally the last day of July...wow. I feel like I'm still trying to get my bearings this summer...
We went on a little weekend get away two weeks ago to see CODA for Sundance's Locals showings. I saw it during the festival and knew it would be a good one to take the family to. But the screen was a bit too small and since there is a lot of ASL in the movie there are a lot of subtitles. My far away sight isn't quite as good as it used to be. That's all to say it made enjoying the movie a tad more difficult but it was still a beautiful night up in the mountains and we were able to enjoy some great food and enjoy the scenery and cooler weather.
DH's youngest brother and his family dropped by for a quick lunch with their 6 kids on the way to Texas. G enjoyed chatting with some of his cousins for a bit. Then the week after that his third youngest brother dropped by for a quick dinner with his son and another niece. Everyone is heading down to Texas to see how their father is doing. Since he got Covid last summer he hasn't been doing well, unfortunately. Long haul Covid is real and it messes with other stuff you might have going on.
We've also been fixing up a few things around our porch. We painted our door! It's a nice dark red. Today we finished getting a doorbell in only to realize our chime box doesn't work...but light switches are fixed! Fans are cleaned out. We're hoping to sand and stain our little back porch next week or the week after.
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| G hanging with Dolly at her book store! |
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| Hiking with friends! |
Grateful For:
Being able to see family we haven't seen for awhile.
Being able to get away for a weekend.
Having awesome mountains close by to hike!
Post(s) since my last post:
Reading Life:
Finished:
The Bombay Prince by Sujata Massey (#3 in the Perveen Mistry series).
Currently Reading:
Reading with G: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer. We have just two or three chapters left. He's really enjoyed it and we'll probably start the sequel right after we finish.
Back to the Classics challenge: The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery and Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. I should be done with these....
The Premonition: A Pandemic Story by Michael Lewis. I'm over halfway and it's been really eye-opening on how government works? or doesn't? I can only read about one chapter at a time since I can get pretty down about it...
The Wild Silence by Raynor Winn (listening to this one) This is her follow up to the Salt Path. I got about halfway before I had to return it to the library...I'll pick it back up when I can get it again!
Nonfiction Reading Challenge (oceanography prompt): The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery
The Searcher by Tana French. This is the latest stand alone book by Ms. French. Over halfway and then I'm hoping to actually get to some other classics I've been neglecting this summer...
Watching Life:
Watched a ton of Olympics last weekend. Got a bit busy this week so I'm hoping to catch up on some tonight and tomorrow with my DVR.
We also watched Jungle Cruise as a family on Disney+. We just don't feel safe going to a movie theater right now. Cases are going up in our area. We live in a county where not as many are vaccinated...It was a lot of fun, just what we needed! It reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean, The Mummy, and Jumanji all rolled into one.
Ted Lasso's second season just started up!
And I've been loving the Fear Street trilogy on Netflix. I lived off of those books as a teenager. I think they did a great job.
Making:
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| Here's the blanket I crocheted for my friend's new baby! |
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| My book blogger friend Stacy has been going puzzle crazy this summer and she inspired me! Cat days of summer are here! I also made chicken adobo for the first time last week! I'm making things with squash, lots of grilled corn, pulled pork, and salads. We'll be getting lots of tomatoes soon from our CSA so I'm trying to figure out salsa canning! |
Looking forward to:
G has a camp next week! He'll be interacting with lots of peers for five days straight. They have a mask mandate for the camp and lots of it will be outside. And it's not an overnight camp. But I'm very excited for him.
He starts school, middle school! next month. There will not be a mask mandate since our lovely state legislature has made it illegal for the health departments to demand schools to do that...And given the area we live in, I know our school won't require them. But G will be wearing one. I found him some comfy reusable masks. It's just so frustrating...I guess that's not a looking forward to...yikes.
Joining in with Deb from Readerbuzz's Sunday Salon
Long haul Covid is tough, no doubt, and so scary also. Best wishes to your father in law.
ReplyDeleteI share your frustrations with the school thing. It's the same here. The CDC is issuing new mask guidance but I'm sure our local school district won't require masks, even though the universities are thankfully being more responsible and reimplementing masks.
Jungle Cruise looks fun. I just watched Black Widow.
Thank you! It is so frustrating with the local governments. We just want to keep our kids safe!
DeleteWe look forward to watching Black Widow soon. I hope you enjoy Jungle Cruise!
We keep meaning to go see an outdoor movie. It sounds like you saw CODA in a beautiful setting.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that your husband's dad is suffering from long term Covid. We have many unvaccinated people here in Texas, too, and it's frustrating to have people running the state who seem to want to prolong things.
We want to go hiking with friends this fall. I just don't know whether things will be better and safer then.
I'm eager to read Wild Silence, but I keep pushing back its arrival until July is over. Maybe I will read it soon.
I wish people would just get vaccinated so we wouldn't have to worry as much about the little kids who aren't eligible yet.
DeleteI hope you get to go hiking with friends soon. It's such a joy.
Wild Silence is really good. I'm looking forward to the second half soon. Thanks again for your recommendation of her first book!
Glad you got to get away for a weekend! Sounds like you had a good time even with the few problems.
ReplyDeleteGetting together with family/friends is always good.
I watched Jungle Cruise yesterday at home too, and I LOVED it!
The blanket is beautiful, as is the baby. Congratulations to your friend!
LOL, I love that puzzle.
I hope G has a great time at camp.
Illegal for health departments to mandate wearing masks? I would give my kids a mask too!
I hope you have a great week!
Glad you enjoyed Jungle Cruise as well! Fun and silly. Just what we needed.
DeleteThanks for stopping by!
Heather, Thanks for your comment on the foodie blog! I had not heard of Merlin app, I didn't realize there were so many.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I think you could read the book News of the World after the movie because there are so many other scenes not included in the movie. And the end...wow.
That cat puzzle is so cool! I always think I want to start a puzzle and then get lost reading or feeling like I need to clean.
Your meal plans sound so good, especially the corn and tomatoes. Love that photo of you and friends. :-)
I may do that, watch it first and then read it!
DeleteI hope you find some good bird apps that work for you!
I love getting the CSA farm fresh veggies this time of year. Makes me cook up yummy things over the summer.
Thanks for stopping by!
You've got a lot going on now! Sorry to hear your husband's father is still struggling with Covid. The long haul effects can be so tough. I'm glad we're in CT right now... things are pretty bad in FL. At least here more people are vaccinated and I have seen an increase in mask wearing in the grocery store just in the past week. Your meals sound delicious. I love tomatoes! The Soul of an Octopus was the latest book of the "Green Readers" in FL... I've been wondering if I'd like it. Will look forward to your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteIt's also frustrating because my in-laws are against vaccines in general so definitely for Covid and I hear a lot of long-term effects are somewhat alleviated after getting the vaccine. I think it'd help him. Just so sad all the misinformation going around.
DeleteGlad you can be cooler and safer in CT! I haven't gotten too far into Soul of an Octopus but plan to soon!
Stay safe and cool this week!
That blanket looks like a Buckeye blanket :) I'm sorry about your father-in-law and the lack of a mask mandate for Gs school. I just don't know what to say anymore about Covid. It feels like people have just thrown in the towel. Not us we're not doing anything inside, like movies, with Gage, but so many other people. I hope that school goes well year and proves all of our fears false. I could not read Premonition right now, so I look forward to your final thoughts on it.
ReplyDeletePremonition is taking awhile. I'm almost done but every chapter I'm crying about something...
DeleteHe started school yesterday and wow, it's been chaos. Lots of people just sharing misinformation and thinking Covid isn't that big of a deal and masks hurt the children...it's so hard. The only reason he's allowed back to school is because we're all vaccinated.
I hope you all have a fabulous school year!
The hiking there looks marvelous. How far are you from Park City? Nice blanket and looks good on the baby. So sweet. The no mask mandates seem really frustrating! Argh.
ReplyDelete