What's Been Going On: Thursday, 25 August - Sunday, 29 August, 2022

What a whirlwind of a weekend! I needed that, though, and I think I’m going to keep needing all of these weekends. School weeks are intense; we get a lot done, but there’s just not a lot of time leftover for anything else after schoolwork is done. I’m just really going to have to lean in to those weekends, both for relaxation and for getting other things done.

It really was a nice weekend, though. We’re supposed to have a warm, dry fall here, so my days of reading out on the porch should continue at least a little while longer, for which I’m grateful. When it gets colder, I’ll switch out our comforter for the super soft fuzzy one and read upstairs under a pile of blankets. : )

Here’s what I was up to the past few days!

 

Thursday, 25 August, 2022

I got dressed and had coffee, then posted my review for As If On Cue by Marisa Kanter on my book blog. I edited and posted Thursday’s post, then made a batch of black-eyed peas curry in the Instant Pot and took out the compost. I scooped the litterbox, brought in the containers of mini naan we’d bought on markdown at the grocery store a few weeks ago, and then it was time to start school.

We started off with On This Day in History, geography (Palestine), and a little bit about Roanoke. Our morning was full of a unit of math and a unit of Language Arts, and then I had my daughter do some cursive practice. She’s pretty artsy, and I think she’ll like cursive. I won’t make her do seven years of penmanship practice like my school did, because it’s just not as necessary in today’s society, but I do think it’ll make writing a little easier for her than it is now.

After lunch, we read pages 22-35 of Fantastic Fossils by Rob Shone; pages 41-61 of Before Columbus; all of The Best Book of Fossils, Rocks, and Minerals by Chris Pellant; the first chapter of Around the World in 100 Years by Jean Fritz; and chapter 3 of History Smashers: The Mayflower. (Some of these we take turns reading; others, I read all of.) My daughter did spelling and then wrote out her words; she also copied down a few words into her vocabulary notebook.

After school, I had some paperwork to fill out, so I did that, then filled and ran the dishwasher. I made a batch of rice in the rice cooker, went on a three-mile walk with my son, did my Duolingo, showered, put dinner away, then put my daughter to bed. I read my book, and we went to bed without watching anything this night.

 

Friday, 26 August, 2022

After getting dressed, I had coffee, made a quick Friday post, emptied and refilled the dishwasher, made a batch of taco-spiced lentils and a batch of guacamole, and took out the compost and recycling. And then, school!

We started with On This Day in History, geography (Papua New Guinea), and a little bit about Jamestown. We did a unit of math and a unit of Language Arts, and I got a message in-between that my daughter’s counselor’s son was sick. COVID test was negative (so far; we know how that can go), but we rescheduled just to be safe. Wishing his son refuah shleimah, a speedy return to full health! We did spelling and then had a quick lunch break.

After lunch, we finished Fantastic Fossils; read pages 62-76 of Before Columbus; read all of A Moment in Time by Thomas Hegbrook; chapter 4 of History Smashers: The Mayflower; chapters 2 and 3 of Around the World in 100 Years. My daughter wrote out her spelling words and a single vocabulary word (she writes out the word and definition), and then it was off to the library! My husband joined us, so they went off to play, while I sat and read my twenty pages of Come and Hear, followed by more of my regular book.

At home, we had dinner and I virtually attended an early Shabbat service at New York City’s Central Synagogue (the cantor was on FIRE!!! He has an amazing voice, but he just absolutely knocked everything out of the park on this night!!! There was also a beautiful baby who was receiving her Hebrew name; she shares a regular name with my daughter, and it’s not a common name, so that made me smile!).

I put dinner away, got the dishes into the dishwasher and ran it, then showered (and gave the shower a good scrubbing while I was in it). I read, put my daughter to bed, read some more, and my husband and I watched one episode of What We Do in the Shadows before bed.

 

Saturday, 27 August, 2022

After coffee and breakfast, I got dressed, emptied and refilled the dishwasher, and took out the recycling. I mowed the front half of the lawn, then lay down for a bit; mowing always makes me feel so awful!

I wrote out a book review and two blog posts, then it was time for lunch. Afterwards, I took my books out to the porch and read out there allllllllllllllllllllllllll afternoon, which was wonderful. My husband and daughter left to go camping in a nearby forest preserve, so I got the dishes into the dishwasher, tidied the living room, and organized my reading list, which needed it. My son and I drove across town to pick up dinner, then we came home and ate it, watching a documentary on Syria he had recommended.

We paused halfway through to go on a 2.1-mile walk, then finished our documentary. I did my Duolingo, showered, and spent the rest of the night reading, beginning The Outside World by Tova Mirvis (which is excellent so far!).

 

Sunday, 28 August, 2022

Despite having the entire bed to myself, I still woke up before 7 am. Not a problem, though. More time to get stuff done!

I got dressed, had coffee, and then cleaned up my daughter’s room, listening to a podcast to pass the time. Fortunately, it only took an hour this time. I stripped her bed and changed her sheets, then started a load of laundry. I folded and put away another load, then sat for a bit to give my back a rest. I shredded and bagged a giant zucchini (six cups!), saving the seeds to dry and use next year.

I filled and ran the dishwasher, then my son and I were off to Walmart to purchase socks and underwear for him. At home, we cooked the frozen pizza we’d bought for lunch, and after we ate, I hung and dried the laundry. I was in the middle of chopping and freezing the sale peppers I’d bought this week when my husband and daughter returned home. Their trips never last too long!

After taking the peppers out to the garage freezer and taking the compost out, I cooked a batch of onions, garlic, and peppers, then I had to run out: I’d forgotten to pick up cheese from Walmart, and I had some books that needed to go back to the library anyway. No biggie. I also got gas along the way. At home, I made up a batch of eggs for a breakfast casserole and brought the tater tots in from the garage freezer, and then it was time to relax with my books out on the porch.

I threw the casserole in when it needed to go in, then returned to the porch for a while, but came in when it started to look like rain, but I kept reading. After dinner, I worked on this post, did my Duolingo, put dinner away, then showered and showered my daughter. After putting my daughter to bed, I read my book, and we went to bed without watching anything.

 

And that’s it! Busy week coming up as always. I *think* we should have enough library books to get us through the school week. There’ll be a bit of a learning curve to see what we can realistically cover in our schedule, but I’m sure we’ll figure it out (the books from our home library, I’m not worried about; they automatically renew after three weeks, for up to nine weeks. The books from other libraries, however, are still due after three weeks, and I don’t want to abuse my borrowing privileges from those libraries, since they don’t have to lend to borrowers outside their town; they’re generous and they choose to, so I don’t want to ruin this for everyone!).

Wishing everyone a lovely, productive week! Remember to take time to breathe. : )

No Friday links: 26 August, 2022

 Good morning! No Friday links this morning, or for a while, I think. Mornings are just too jam-packed right now; after my coffee is done this morning, I have to make dinner, including a batch of guacamole and taco-spiced lentils, along with dealing with the dishes, before we start school - and we're going to try to start a little early, since we have an appointment with my daughter's counselor. There's just not enough time in the day for me to get another post written up! 

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend! :)

What's Been Going On: Monday, 22 August - Wednesday, 25 August, 2022

Hello, hello! School is going well here so far!

We’ve had a few blips in the road; math and Language Arts were a little tough the few days, not gonna lie. My daughter was a little resistant, and of course, the work is a little harder this year. Third grade writing is a lot more intense than second grade, and I have big expectations for her. But we’re hanging in there, and Wednesday went SO well, even the tough parts. I think we’ll eventually get into a smoother pattern altogether, but there were bound to be a few bumps in the road in the beginning no matter what.

It’s been hard finding time to squeeze everything in. I’ve basically been in constant motion from the moment my feet hit the ground, and I don’t get a break until usually 7:30 or 8pm. It’s exhausting, but it’s worth it. It’s good work. : )

Here’s what I’ve been up to so far this week!

 

Monday, 22 August, 2022

 

After getting dressed, I had coffee and breakfast, then finished and posted Monday’s post. I posted my review for Idiot’s Guide: Foraging by Mark Vorderbruggen over on my book blog, then scooped the dishwasher, and emptied and refilled the dishwasher. I did a half hour of volunteer work, and then it was time to get all the pictures done for the grandparents and various social media outlets.And then, school!

We started our day with On This Day in History, geography (Pakistan), and a new brief reading from a daily history book (Leif Ericson). For math, we covered G3M1L8, then moved into Language Arts, covering G3M1U1L1. This took for-ev-er, and my daughter didn’t have the greatest attitude about it (third grade work is a lot more intense and writing/thinking-heavy than second grade, so she really has to step up her game here, and it’s HARD for the kids to make this transition!). We took a break for lunch, worked through it a little, and had it conquered by the time her plate of leftovers was empty.

We read twenty pages of Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann, and we measured out, on the driveway and in string, what a 16-foot tapeworm (that apparently enjoyed making their homes in the intestines of certain indigenous children’s intestines) looked like. We read Fossils by Peter Mavrikis, then read 25 pages of Fossils by Ann Squire. We read (and loved!) North Pole, South Pole by Nancy Levinson, then dove into the first chapter of History Smashers: The Mayflower by Kate Messner, where we took turns reading. I walked my daughter through her spelling; she wrote out her words afterwards. Then she copied some definitions of vocabulary into her vocab notebook, and we cleaned up the living room.

 

And off to the library, which was the carrot I was dangling in front of my daughter all day. It worked out, because I ended up having two interlibrary loan books in. After we checked those out, I picked up a prescription at Walgreens, and then it was home to write about my day and do another 30 minutes of volunteer work. I reheated dinner, and we had leftover black bean soup and grilled cheese for dinner, and I did my Duolingo, took out the recycling and the trash. My husband and daughter and I went on a 2.5 mile walk with my husband and daughter (crowded streets this night! Lots of people out for a walk with their doggos). I hauled the cans to the curb, showered, and read my book; my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed. Slightly better sleep this night!

 

Tuesday, 23 August, 2022

After getting dressed, I had breakfast and coffee, then posted my review for In Pain by Travis Rieder on my book blog. I did thirty minutes of volunteer, filled and ran the dishwasher, and got our school books ready, then it was time to begin!

The morning was full of math and Language Arts, followed by spelling practice. We broke for a quick lunch, I got some beans in the Instant Pot, and then it was back to work! We read more of Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann, finished Fossils by Ann Squire, then read half of Fantastic Fossils by Rob Stone. We read another chapter of History Mashers: The Mayflower, my daughter wrote out her spelling words and read to my husband, and I headed to the kitchen, to empty and refill the dishwasher.

 I made an Instant Pot full of enchilada rice with black beans, read twenty pages of Come and Hear out on the porch, then went upstairs to read but ended up dozing a bit instead. My son and I walked four miles, I had dinner, put the rest of dinner away, and I wrote out the pages for the next day’s math and Language Arts. I did my Duolingo then showered and put my daughter to bed. I read my book, my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects, and I had another awful night of sleep. Eurgh!

 

Wednesday, 24 August, 2022

 

I woke up when my husband left at 5 am, but after reading a few pages of my book, I managed to fall back asleep. I woke back up at 6:30, got dressed, and then it was time for breakfast, coffee, and 30 more minutes of volunteer work. I made out my grocery list, then posted my review for I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day on my book blog. I filled and ran the dishwasher, then it was time for school.

 We did a unit of math, and a unit of Language Arts. The first two days of the week, there was some foot-dragging, whining and complaining, the usual spiel. On this day, I figured out a trick for getting through to my daughter with math that I don’t know how long is going to work, but I’m going to run with it as long as I can, because there was ZERO whining or complaining this day, and Language Arts went off without a hitch as well! SO enjoyable when that happens.

 And then it was music time. I played the recorder for YEARS as a kid; I played at religious services, I played in recitals, I played with a madrigal group. It wasn’t the usual Hot Cross Buns nonsense; the recorder is actually a beautiful instrument when played properly, and I figured my daughter is old enough to start learning, so we began her musical adventure with the recorder. She’s just starting to get comfortable holding it and figuring out how her fingers need to cover the holes (and where on her fingers need to be covering the holes!). She did so well and she really enjoyed it. I was so proud!

 We had a quick lunch, and then it was art time! My daughter made a few different drawings; I finished one I’d started earlier in the year. The text on the right comes from Amos 5:24: But let justice well up like water, righteousness like an unfailing stream.

My son and I left for groceries when my husband got home, and we stopped by three stores. We got some marked-down cheese, marked-down milk, and marked-down bagels. We also dropped off some books at a neighboring library. At home, I put the groceries away, baked the pizza, and finished the last few details of my drawing. We ate dinner, I worked on this post, did my Duolingo, then put together the next day’s math and LA. I showered, read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

And that’s it! I’m absolutely loving the way our Wednesday school is structured. I missed having time to do art and music last year, so I knew I had to pick at day where we got that in there. We’re still doing math and Language Arts on that day, so we can get all the work done throughout the school year (and maybe even finish a little ahead of time!), but our afternoons are free for the arts, and my daughter loves that as well. It’s nice to have a little bit of a mid-week breather!

 

I hope you’re all having a lovely week as well. : )

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 18 August - Sunday, 21 August, 2022

Welcome to the new school year!!!

We start in fewer than two hours and we have everything we need; I just need to sharpen our pencils and take that super cute ‘NOT back to school’ photo for the grandparents. I’m more enthusiastic about starting school than my daughter is; I’ve been itching to dive into that pile of children’s nonfiction we started collecting last week and I’m super excited about all the fun things she’s going to be learning this year. We have a strategy in place for dealing with math stress; I can foresee Language Arts causing some drama (LOTSof writing this year, which is a huge change from the last few years), so we’ll figure that out as we go along. We may need to make some change, and that’s FINE. We’re learning how to do that.

Here’s what I’ve been up to the past few days! (Not sure what's up with the format here; Blogger is being a little weird this morning!)

Thursday, 18 August, 2022

After breakfast and coffee, I edited and posted Thursday’s posted, then posted my review for The Choice by Dr. Edith Eva Egar over on my book blog. I got dressed and ready, then it was off to another local library to pick up books for school. We stayed and played a little bit, then we stopped by the grocery store, where they still had no potatoes that were advertised as being on sale. Oh well! 

At home, we had lunch, and then it was up to my daughter’s room for a loooooooooong discussion about her frustration, which had erupted during lunch. We came up with some solutions together, and came up with a plan for handling her frustration during math this year. Fingers crossed! I threw together this rustic Italianvegetable bake, took out the recycling and compost, and emptied and refilledthe dishwasher. I hung out on the computer for a few while dinner baked, then after dinner, it

was time for a 2.25 mile walk with my son. I put dinner away, did my Duolingo and showered, read my book, andmy husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

Friday, 19 August, 2022

After coffee and breakfast, I wrote and posted Friday’s post, scooped the litterbox, and got dressed. I emptied and refilled the dishwasher, took out the recycling and compost, then took the popsicles we’d bought on Wednesday out to the garage freezer. I spent a little bit of time on the computer, then read on the porch while my daughter played outside. I finished reading Give a Sh*t by Ashlee Piper.

We had an early lunch, then it was off to the counselor. Afterwards, we stopped by Aldi to see if they had gotten in any mandarin oranges yet, but nope. We came home, I chopped veggies for the salad, made the dressing, and took out the compost. I read out on the porch, starting The Ravine by Wendy Lower, then warmed dinner and mixed the salad. We ate, I did my Duolingo, showered, and did some knitting while watching YouTube. I joined virtual Shabbat services when it was time, read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of What We Do in the Shadows and one Unusual Suspects before bed.

Saturday, 20 August, 2022

After coffee and breakfast, I got to work and banged out five book reviews (I’m going to keep up writing these on the weekends; it’s too hard to try to get anything written during the week!). I got dressed and ready, filled the dishwasher, and read my twenty pages of Come and Hear by Adam Kirsch out on the porch while my husband and daughter worked on one of their projects outside. It started to rain, so I came in nand read two chapters of Le Petit Prince.

I tidied and swept the living room, went through a pile of magazines my mom had given me, then took out the recycling. And after lunch…*drumroll, please* I FINISHED LE PETIT PRINCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! One more goal to check off my yearly goal list!

I made the sauce for dinner, relaxed on the computer for a bit and chatted with my sister-in-law. I cooked the macaroni and put the macaroni-and-tomato dish together, baked it, and cleaned up the kitchen. After dinner, I did my Duolingo, biked 30 minutes (big enough chance of rain that outside exercise didn’t look promising!), showered, and put my daughter to bed. I read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

Sunday, 21 August, 2022

I had breakfast and coffee, then worked on this post a little. I got dressed, folded and put away three loads of laundry, and started a load, then filled and ran the dishwasher. I read out on the porch, finishing my daily twenty pages of Come and Hear. I got up to plant some walking onions in the back garden, then had lunch outside, reading and finishing The Ravine. 

I threw a batch of black bean soup in the Instant Pot, emptied and refilled the dishwasher, took out the compost and recycling, and hung and dried the laundry. Then it was off to an absolutely awful trip to Walmart. Crowded, shelves looking as though they hadn’t stocked in WEEKS, it was terrible. But we got litter and contact lens solution and cat food, and a few extras. At home, I blended the soup and showered my daughter, then baked the garlic bread, and we had dinner. I did my Duolingo and showered, then read outside, starting The Sum of Us: How Racism Affects Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee. I put my daughter to bed, continued reading, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed…where I had a terrible night of sleep.

And that’s it! I’m up early today to get stuff done before we start our schoolwork. Wish us luck for this year!!!

Friday links: 19 August, 2022

Good morning, and happy Friday! Today is going to be hot, but the temps drop tomorrow and it's supposed to rain, so I'm looking forward to the cooler weather and having the house opened up again. It's also the last weekend of the summer for us, so I'll be trying to get everything taken care of so we can start SCHOOL ON MONDAY!!! \o/ 

I'm going to miss the long, lazy days of reading; I get so much reading done in the summer, and then, with the craziness and hecticness of school days (homeschool or not!), I tend to read somewhat less during the school year. Much less now that we're homeschooling - or, I should say, much less of my own books. We've got a huge lovely stack of history, science, geography, and language arts books out from the library right now, all of which I'm looking forward to reading with my daughter, with plenty more interesting books to come. I'm really looking forward to our units on various Native tribes and the Vikings.

Here's what I found interesting online this week!

How Ramona Quimby Taught a Generation of Girls to Embrace Brashness

Who doesn't love the Ramona books? I read them all to my daughter the year before she started school, and I'm hoping I can get her to reread them soon, because I'm sure she'd love them all over again (hmm, maybe I'll 'assign' one this year and go from there...). My daughter was a tiny Ramona when she was little, chaos following her everywhere. Her chaos is more self-inflicted these days (like covering herself on mud on purpose the other day!), but I still see the Ramona in her. Ramona made us all feel okay to be spirited, made us understand that getting frustrated and feeling left out and speaking out were all important parts of growing up. Beverly Cleary knew what kinds of books kids needed, ones with real kids who got in trouble, who didn't always make the right choices, who acted just like they did, and Ramona Quimby provided multiple generations with exactly that.

In a rare move, school librarian fights back in court against conservative activists

GOOD FOR HER. I am 1000% against book bans. There are books I've discouraged my daughter from reading yet, as she's not ready for the text, the message, the heavy emotions, or certain things in the book, and that's exactly what parents are supposed to do - FOR THEIR OWN CHILDREN (my son was very much able to handle some of the stuff my daughter cannot. Those cool I Survived books? The Choose Your Own Adventure books based on history? Too scary for my daughter at this age, but my son was absolutely obsessed when he was eight). Going around and trying to make it so that no one else can read those books? Not cool. Going around and harassing and threatening librarians? That makes you a terrible person. I'm glad to see one of these librarians standing up for herself and her staff, because they deserve to be safe and live free from harassment. 

Speaking of book bans...

Book Ban Backfire: Texas School District Forced to Pull the Bible

Oh, Texas.

I went to a public high school, and we discussed the Bible as literature in my AP English class when we covered The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. It absolutely has its place in public education (not as a religious text promoting certain beliefs or acts - that's a task for the various religious institutions that use it - but as a document with literary, historic, and cultural significance), but it looks like Texas didn't consider the full consequences of its actions (much like my daughter the other day when I asked her, "How are you going to get your clothes off without getting mud all over them?" She responded, "...I actually hadn't thought that far ahead." Oops!). And there are definitely things in the Bible that make it, uh, questionable purely in terms of content when it comes to appropriateness for kids. Song of Songs, anyone? That section of Ezekiel? The story of Noah and his daughters? Eep.

I'm not saying Texas was correct; I'm saying book banning is stupid and leads to things like the Bible getting pulled off school library shelves, when kids may need it to dig into, say, the many references to Rose of Sharon when they're reading The Grapes of Wrath.

'Never seen it this bad': America faces catastrophic teacher shortage

This is definitely going to be an interesting school year. (I have said this every year since 2020, and I would like to stop, kthnx.) 

So many schools are relying on long-term subs, cutting classes (I've read articles talking about schools lacking things like physics teachers, which some colleges require. How are those kids supposed to be competitive when the education they need isn't even available to them?), herding large groups of kids into auditoriums for 'study hall' that lasts half the day, simply because teachers have gotten fed up with the constant negative rhetoric and harassment aimed at them. I don't blame them at all for abandoning ship, but unfortunately, that's exactly what these groups want, and it makes me so sad. BTW, there are already schools around the world having to shut down because of rampant COVID amongst the staff and students, so really, this school year is starting out great for everyone...

Experts warn of high levels of chemicals in clothes by some fast-fashion retailers

(First off, I object to the use of 'chemicals' here. Everything is made of chemicals. The editor should've required the writer to be specific. Lead, PFAS - those forever chemicals that are making rainwater unsafe to drink - and pthalates are what we're concerned about here.)

I'm no fan of fast fashion. It's bad for the environment, terrible for the workers, and the quality of the clothing is absolute garbage, and this is just one more reason to stay away from the stuff.

Lawmaker Tearily Explains Teen Almost Lost Uterus Because of Abortion Law He Voted For

Truly not sure what this guy expected. Every pregnancy can turn deadly in a heartbeat; that's just the nature of the beast. I wish it weren't the case; it would've made my pregnancy with my son so much less stressful and the fallout less painful, but that's not the case. Everyone was screaming that cases like these were absolutely going to happen, but lawmakers like this dude refused to listen, and now people are suffering. Like the woman in Louisiana currently being forced to carry a baby with a fatal skull condition. The baby, if it survives the birth, will die soon afterwards; the condition it has ensures that. My heart breaks for the woman who wanted this baby and who is now forced into a horrible situation of being forced to endure this doomed pregnancy and being subjected to risking her own life for this. 

And finally...

'I'm still processing the trauma": Paris Hilton advocates for federal law to end institutional child abuse

I had NO idea about any of this. To my generation, Paris Hilton is known for the being the ditzy chick from The Simple Life, the reality show of the early 2000's that she starred in with Nicole Richie, and her use of the phrase, "That's hot." She was kind of a joke back then, and I had no idea she had been forced into one of these 'troubled teen' institutions and physically and sexually abused for years before her appearance on that show. I've read into those places before, which were all the rage when I was young and constantly splashed all over various talk shows, touted as the solution to all your teen's poor behaviors. Help at Any Cost by Maia Szalavitz is an excellent and very important exposé of this terrible industry, and Jesus Land by Julia Scheeres talks of the author's own experiences at one of these places. I highly recommend both of them.

I'm so proud of Paris Hilton for using her trauma to help others. These camps are horrible places, most are unregulated, and the kids come out of them with more problems and trauma than they went in with. They shouldn't be allowed to exist, and I'm glad she's speaking out against them. I'm so sorry she had to go through everything that she did, and I wish her healing and success in her campaign.

And that's it for this week! I'm going to head into the kitchen and take care of the dishes, then get some things cleaned up before we need to head out to my daughter's counselor. We may stop by Aldi on the way home to check if their shipment of mandarin oranges came in yet (they hadn't made it when we went on Wednesday), but that's really all we've got going on today. Leftovers and a salad for dinner, which makes me happy. : )

Wishing you all a restful, peaceful weekend. Shalom, friends. : )

What's Been Going On: Monday, 15 August - Wednesday, 18 August, 2022

Happy Thursday! We’ve got a two-day heat wave passing through, and then things settle back into the comfortable 70’s, so that’s nice. We’ve been busy cleaning, organizing, and getting ready for the start of school Monday. Quite a few places around us have started already; my nephew went back on Wednesday. My daughter’s former school doesn’t start until the upcoming Wednesday, but we’ll get a head start on them and get the full week in when we start on Monday. Her grandma is already looking to the ‘not’ back to school photo! 

Here’s what I’ve been up to so far this week!

Monday, 15 August, 2022

After another terrible night of sleep (but thankfully the last of that string!), I had coffee, then finished writing and posted Monday’s post. I did 30 minutes of volunteer work, edited and posted my review of The Book of Elsie by Joanne Levy over on my book blog, got dressed and ready, and then my daughter and I were off to Walmart, where we bought cat food, cheese, and a marked-down pie. 

At home, I emptied and refilled the dishwasher, made an Instant Pot full of cauliflower potato soup (hadn’t made this in a while, had all the ingredients, and it sounded good!), made a batch of oatmeal rolls, then made a batch of fried rice with some leftover rice I had in the fridge. Good call there, because it was SO good!

After lunch, I took on the compost and got the rolls on trays to rise, then I read on the porch: two chapters of The Explosive Child, and I started reading A Place at the Table by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan. I did another 30 minutes of volunteer work, had dinner, did my Duolingo,  took out the garbage, went on a 4-mile walk alone (sniff!), took the garbage and recycling to the curb, and put dinner away. After a shower, I put my daughter to bed, finished reading A Place at the Table and started reading Give a Sh*t by Ashlee Piper. My husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

Tuesday, 16 August, 2022

I scooped the litterbox (you’re welcome, kitty!), then had coffee and edited and posted my review for Outdoor Kids in an Inside World by Steven Rinella. I did 30 minutes of volunteer work, got dressed and ready, filled the dishwasher, then hung out on the computer until my son was ready, and it was off to his school, where he finally fully signed up for classes! Success! He won’t start until next month, but it’s a relief knowing he’s in.

After he finished there, we stopped by Five Below for a charging cable, and then it was home for lunch. I did my last 30 minutes of volunteer work, then read out on the porch, finishing The Explosive Child and reading all of When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed. My daughter and I stopped at the library for more books for her; I also came home with two books, both of which are from my TBR list and one which was also on my ebook list! I prefer to read nonfiction on paper if I can, so I was happy to grab a paper copy of this.

At home, I filled and ran the dishwasher, then reheated last night’s soup, since it was a soup and grilled cheese night. After we ate, I did my Duolingo, and my son and I went on 3.2 mile walk. I showered, read my book, and my husband and I watched one Unusual Suspects before bed.

Wednesday, 17 August, 2022

After coffee, I made out my grocery list, posted my review for Pressure Cooker on my book blog, emptied and refilled the dishwasher, took out the compost and recycling, then deep-cleaned the kitchen, including scrubbing out the sink and scrubbing off the stove top. I started a load of laundry, tidied and swept the living room (with my daughter’s help on both!), then it was out to read on the porch. I was delighted to get a phone call from the library; I won the summer reading program’s gardening kit! My daughter covered herself in mud (don’t ask…), so I hosed her down in the shower before lunch. 

After we ate, we went to the library so I could pick up my prize:

And then we got our first stack of books for school!

At home, my daughter and I started our first foray into the We Interrupt This Broadcast book, reading about and listening to the broadcast of the Hindenburg Disaster. (Surprisingly rough to listen to!). My son and I went for groceries after my husband got home; we stopped by three stores, did a library return, and I picked up my husband’s prescription from Walgreens. Two stores were out of items they had advertised, so I may try to hit them up on another day. C’est la vie.

I put the groceries away, filled and ran the dishwasher, cooked the garlic knots and pizza, and worked on this post while they cooked. We ate dinner, I did my Duolingo, showered, put my daughter to bed, then read my book. My husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

And that’s it! We’re collecting more books for school today at a library a few towns away. Monday will be here before we know it, and we’ll be ready! I’m excited. Have I mentioned that? I’m really looking forward to this school year. If it were up to me, we’d start today! My daughter would never let me get away with THAT, though. : )

I hope you’re all having a great week so far!

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 11 August - Sunday, 14 August, 2022

Greetings, friends, and welcome to, what is for us, the last week of summer break! How did this happen? I'm not ready for our long lazy days to end already. I need at least five or six more months of not having to wake up to the alarm, of reading out on the porch, of trips to the library and the forest preserves whenever we feel like it. I'm not ready for schedules, schoolwork, assignments!

But it's happening, and I'm actually looking forward to everything my daughter will be learning about this year. Fingers crossed that this school year goes smoother than the last. I have some strategies up my sleeve to get us through the tougher parts now, so I'm really hopeful.

Here's what I was up to the past few days!

Thursday, 11 August, 2022

After coffee and breakfast, I did a bunch of stuff on the computer. I emptied and refilled the dishwasher, made some enchilada sauce, then finished writing and posted Thursday’s post. I got dressed and ready, spent a little more time on the computer, and then it was off to Trader Joe’s to grab some stuff for our picnic lunch. We also stopped by the Dollar Tree for some tape and notecards

At the forest preserve, we had a picnic with my mom, then walked around for a bit. It’s always nice to spend time with her! At home, I put together the enchiladas, made out of leftovers from our homemade Chipotle bowls earlier in the week, then cleaned up. I relaxed and did some computer stuff while the enchiladas baked. After dinner, I did some other various things on the computer, showered, and read to my daughter, then played my guitar for a bit. My husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

Friday, 12 August, 2022

After coffee, I wrote and posted Friday’s post, got dressed and ready, then spent the morning playing guitar with my daughter (which helped distract her from the rotten mood she was in). We had an early lunch, I emptied and ran the dishwasher on a cleaning cycle, and then it was off to her counselor.

Afterwards, she and I read outside on the porch. I ran to the library to pick up a book from interlibrary loan, then did a few things on the computer. I showered and wrote a little bit (I ended up just having a peach and a slice of cheese for dinner; no one in the house was very hungry this night), and then it was time for synagogue services, back with my local synagogue (I’m still virtual; I’m trying to figure out if I feel comfortable enough to maybe try attending in person. I don’t know yet). I read my book for a bit, and my husband and I watched one episode of What We Do in the Shadows and one Unusual Suspects before bed.

Saturday, 13 August, 2022

After coffee and breakfast, I filled the dishwasher, got dressed and ready, then messed around with my guitar for a few. My husband and daughter and I went to the Dollar Tree and Half Price Books (I didn’t get anything), then came home  for lunch. I spent a bit of time on the computer, then put chickpeas in the Instant Pot and chopped and roasted a bunch of veggies for dinner. I dozed a little while the veggies were roasting (I had a headache and hadn’t slept well), then ran the dishwasher, took out the compost, and got the rice in the rice cooker. I emptied and filled, then ran the dishwasher again. I made hummus and some tahini dressing, then played my guitar for about twenty minutes. 

We had dinner - bowls of brown rice, a kale/arugula mix, roasted vegetables, hummus, and tahini dressing - I did my Duolingo, and my son and I went on a 2.5 mile walk. I put dinner away, showered, put my daughter to bed, read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

Sunday, 14 August, 2022

After getting dressed (another crummy night of sleep!), I had breakfast and coffee, emptied and refilled the dishwasher, and took out the compost. We had a slow morning where no one did much of anything, so I took care of some things on the computer. After lunch, my son and I went on a 3 mile walk, and then I sat down to work on this post a bit. 

I read out on the porch and finished As If On Cue by Marisa Kanter, then I threw together a bean and rice casserole for dinner, filled & ran the dishwasher, and took out the recycling. I played my guitar for a good long while, baked the casserole, and read more of The Explosive Child. We ate dinner, I did my Duolingo, showered, and showered my daughter. I read all of I Can Make This Promise by Christine Day, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects (and I slept terribly!).

And that’s it! Volunteer work, errands, and cleaning on the schedule today. I cannot believe August is already halfway over. I’ve still got to get my late kale seeds in the ground; we’ll see if I can make it happen this week! Otherwise, my goals for this week are to get the house more organized before next week, and to soak up the last few days of freedom. How about you?

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Friday links: 12 August, 2022

Good morning, friends, and happy Friday! It’s so deliciously cool here this morning; the air conditioning is off and all the windows are open, and everything just feels so fresh. This is supposed to go on for at least a week or so, I believe, so I’m very appreciative of it all. I so enjoy being able to open the house up.

Not a great week for stories in the news, eh? I miss the days when we could watch and/or listen to the news and not be so depressed about the state of everything. I mean, the news has long been crummy, but now it’s like every story is a reason to panic. COVID. Monkeypox. Polio making a comeback. Climate change. Massive inflation. Everything is at the highest levels of awfulness possible, so it’s hard to maintain any kind of positivity when all these stories are out there and pouring down on us like a waterfall. I spent some time yesterday playing my guitar to escape it all. Good therapy right there.

Here's what I found interesting (ish) online this week!

 

Grocery prices in July had largest price increase since 1979 – with one food staple rising by 38% on the year

Oof. We all know how bad it is out there. Going to the grocery store is just depressing these days. Some of the prices are so high as to be comical. Who would pay that, even if they could??? I’m keeping our diets as basic as possible; it means more time in the kitchen, which, with school starting in ten days, that’s going to be tricky. My daughter needs a *lot* of direction and constant supervision when it comes to schoolwork; she’s not one of those kids you can tell to complete an assignment and she just gets it done. Spending more time in the kitchen during the school year will definitely mean a little more stress on me. One more thing that high grocery prices affect.

With all my volunteer work looking at food pantry websites, I have to wonder if there’s eventually going to be a sea change in terms of attitudes. So many of the pantries seem to look down on their clients and demand a ridiculous number of documents and ‘proof’ (can you hear my eyeroll?) that these people actually need help with food. With grocery prices so freaking high, pantries are seeing record numbers of people needingn help. Are these pantries going to stop poverty-shaming their clients? I’m not going to hold my breath.

 

“God, No, Not Another Case.” Covid Related Stillbirths Didn’t Have to Happen

There are correlations between COVID cases and stillbirths, and this is devastating to both the parents and the hospital staff who care for them. Pregnant people are at higher risk for complications from COVID and have also gotten vaccinated at lower rates, making them even more vulnerable. This article is just devastating and especially depressing with the news this week that we’re basically just going to do nothing at all in terms of keeping each other safe from COVID from now on. How many more unnecessary stillbirths will happen because of this???

 

Backyard hens’ eggs contain 40 times more lead on average than shop eggs, research finds

This article is out of Australia, but I can’t imagine that the studies would be all that different elsewhere. I recently read that if you live in an older home, you shouldn’t eat anything grown within twenty feet of your house, planted or foraged, because the risk of that plant being contaminated by lead is so much higher. Not a bad idea to get your soil tested (many county agricultural extension offices will over this service, at a fee). Definitely something to be aware of.

 

Rainwater Everywhere Now Considered Too Toxic for Safe Consumption, Study Finds

WELL. That’s depressing. We’ve really screwed everything up, haven’t we?

At least there’s this…

 

A vaccine for Lyme disease is in its final clinical trial

Lyme disease is nasty, and in some areas of the country, you’re practically guaranteed to get it (I used to live a very short drive away from Lyme, Connecticut, and we’d occasionally find ticks just crawling all around the house). This would be HUGE for people in those communities, as well as those who spend a significant amount of their lives outdoors. We used to have deer stroll through our backyard in Tennessee all the time, so whenever my son played in the little forest-y patch behind our house, I had to check him for ticks – and sometimes he had them. Lyme disease is devastating; I really hope this vaccine trial pans out.

 

And that’s it for this week! Planning on cleaning, reading, and spending more time with my guitar this weekend. My beleaguered soul needs it. What are you doing to keep your spirits up lately?

Wishing you all a wonderful, peaceful weekend. Shalom, friends. :  )