Friday Links: 29 July, 2022

Good morning! Friday again, and the summer is starting to feel like an hourglass, with the sands on top slipping away more and more every second. My teacher sister-in-law goes back to set up her classroom in two weeks; a teacher friend in Tennessee went back yesterday. It’s definitely going to be an interesting year… (*nervous laughter*)

My back is *not* great today. Something got messed up in it the other day when I sat down, and it hasn’t been good since. I can still move and walk and get around, but bending is difficult, and occasionally my back spasms in a way that makes the world feel like it’s ending. I’m crossing my fingers that it calms down. I don’t have time for this!

Here’s what I found interesting on the internet this week!

 

Exclusive: Hyundai subsidiary has used child labor at Alabama factory

How incredibly shameful is this? It’s 2022, and we’ve still got children, some as young as 12, working in factories. These kids weren’t going to school and getting the education they needed; instead, they were working adult-length shifts at a plant that has been cited for safety issues, including amputation of limbs. How many people had to turn a blind eye for this to continue as long as it did? We’re all responsible for this; we’ve created a society in which this is the better and maybe more sustainable option for struggling families, and we’ve created such demand for these products that companies are willing to hire children in order to meet that demand. This is everyone's fault; we're all responsible for this, and it breaks my heart.

Truly time to rethink what we buy and if we truly need it, and how little our country offers families, because kids should be in school, and working adults should earn a living wage.

 

Man charged with hate crime over vandalism of café; planned drag show cancelled

This is about 45 minutes away from me (basically, if there’s something cool nearby, it’s about 45 minutes away. I have no idea how that always works out!). A dude, backed by a local group with ties to hate groups (I’ve seen pictures of him with these people), didn’t like a bakery holding a drag show, so he vandalized the bakery like a petulant tantrumming toddler who couldn’t get its way. Drag is just a form of theater, and regardless of the misinformation these awful groups are trying to spread about it, this is a private business and they’re allowed to host the events they want. Imagine thinking you’re participating in freedom by stopping businesses from hosting theatrical events. What a barren wasteland this dude’s life must be if this is how he chooses to spend his life.

 

Epidemiologists warn the US reaches a critical moment to contain monkeypox

 I’m already seeing people on Twitter bloviating about how they’re not going to comply with any precautions in order to avoid monkeypox, which can be incredibly painful, disfiguring, result in blindness, and is deadliest to children under 8. This article is from the beginning of the week; monkeypox cases have increased since then (we have multiple cases in my county). There have already been children diagnosed with the disease.

School is starting. Our plan of doing nothing about containing this illness seems short-sighted and foolish, and I’m deeply worried.

 

Beloved monarch butterflies now listed as endangered

Years ago, when I was dating my ex-husband (who was in the military), I went to visit him in Florida during the winter. Where he was stationed was a winter stopover for monarch butterflies, and as I watched out the window from the restaurant we were eating in, a kaleidoscope of monarchs, hundreds and maybe even thousands of them, descended upon the bushes and plants outside. It was magical and one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. To think that this is in danger of ending is sobering.

Monarchs are important pollinators; without them, we’ll be in serious trouble. My town has milkweed planted in many of the local parks (we tried planting it in our yard, but it didn’t take, so we’ll need to try again). We need to save these beauties.

 

Ken Paxton Among AGs Suing USDA Over LGBTQ School Meal Directive

I saw this the other night and was immediately filled with such disgust and loathing, it could have choked an elephant. So, President Biden signed something that basically said, “Hey, you can’t deny kids food just because they’re queer.” And some awful, awful people heard that and said, “The hell we can’t! It makes us feel big and manly to ensure that kids go hungry because we don’t like their sexuality, so we’re going to sue so we have that right!”

If you’re stopping hungry people from eating, you’re a bad person. Full stop. BAD. PERSON. I’ve spoken here before about my volunteer work, some of which involves creating lists of food pantries around the country, and there are already enough places that OPENLY discriminate against their clients, which absolutely disgusts me (and the vast majority of these places are churches, which is appalling. If you’re out there supposedly feeding people in the name of God, I expect better from you than discrimination. At this point, I’m actually surprised when a place *doesn’t* have some form of discrimination listed on their site, it’s that pervasive). It’s bad enough that there are people out there denying food to adults. To CHILDREN??? Denying food to hungry children doesn’t make you righteous. It makes you AWFUL.

The US is one of the only countries in the United Nations that hasn’t designated food as a human right. Our application of morality to who deserves food is $&#*@&$(#* ridiculous. People need food to live; thus, food should be a human right. (Applying morality to who deserves food is extra rich coming from a country where up to half the food we create ends up in landfills, amirite???) I could rage about this for days. People need food to live. If they cannot afford food, for whatever reason, feeding them without judgment is the right thing to do, and anything less is monstrous. I absolutely 100% cannot with these people.

 

*deep breath*

And that’s it this week! I have so much writing to catch up with this weekend, so fingers crossed I’ll find the time to get that all done. We’ll likely end up at my sister-in-law’s at some point so the kids can play, and I have another page of resources to put together for homeschool, so it’s going to be a busy one.

Whatever you’re doing this weekend, be safe, and I wish you peace. Shalom, friends. : )

What's Been Going On: Monday, 25 July - Wednesday, 27 July, 2022

Good morning! Quiet week around here so far, which is nice. I appreciate a good quiet week now and then. And check this out: my garden has produced ONE ZUCCHINI!!! Master gardener certification, here I come, haha!

The end of summer and the beginning of school are creeping up on us quickly. The first of several shipments of books for my daughter’s Language Arts curriculum arrived here this morning, and I spent yesterday getting together a list of books about various groups of Indigenous Americans (and written BY members of those groups!). I’m excited and looking forward to learning right along with her this year. I’ll do more prep this afternoon. Even that is enjoyable for me, although I’ve added a bunch of books to my own want-to-read list based on stuff I’ve found!

Here's what I’ve been up to so far this week. : )

 

Monday, 25 July, 2022

After coffee, I wrote and posted Monday’s post, then edited and posted a review of several graphic novels over on my book blog. I emptied, filled, and ran the dishwasher, then got dressed and ready.

And then we started to had out the door to go to the library, but we realized very quickly that both my purse and my daughter’s carseat had gotten left in my husband’s car, which was in Chicago. Bummer! Instead, I did some dinner prep, then settled down for thirty minutes of volunteer work. I hung out on the computer for a little bit, then it was time for lunch.

After we ate, I did more dinner prep and took out the compost, then we read out on the porch, where I finished Outdoor Kids in an Inside World by Steven Rinella. When my husband got home, my daughter and I were finally able to make our library run, and we also stopped by the Dollar Tree, where I bought a new litterbox scoop to replace the one that broke.

We went home and I got the rice in the rice cooker. We had dinner – a lovely chickpea cauliflower curry – and then my son and I went on a three-mile walk. I put dinner away, did my Duolingo, and showered. I put my daughter to bed (we started reading A Picture for Marc by Eric A. Kimmel, about the artist Marc Chagall, a PJ Library selection), read and finished The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman, then began reading Pressure Cooker: Why Home Cooking Won’t Save Us by Sarah Bowen, Joslyn Brenton, and Sinikka Elliott. My husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

Tuesday, 26 July, 2022

After coffee, I scooped the litterbox with my new scoop, then did an hour of volunteer work. I posted my review for Abby, Tried and True by Donna Gephart on my book blog, filled and ran the dishwasher, then got dressed and ready.  And then we were out the door on an adventure to a food co-op a half hour away, in search of bulk nutritional yeast, which I haven’t been able to find in AGES. And they had it!!! To say I was excited was an understatement. It’s a little bit of a pain to get to that store; there’s only on-street parking, which I loathe, but it’s worth it. Nutritional yeast is awesome!

At home, we had lunch and I took out the compost, then my daughter and I ran out to pick up a new-in-package set of sheets from Freecycle. I prepared dinner, Velvety Vegan Alfredo and a batch of green beans, and my son and I went on a four-mile walk. Everything is in bloom at the local flower garden!

I hung out on the computer while the pasta boiled, and we had dinner (I added spinach to the pasta sauce. I prefer that to broccoli), then I did my Duolingo, put dinner away, and showered. I had a BUNCH of computer issues and struggled to fix those, then finally went upstairs to read my book. My husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

Wednesday, 27 July, 2022

After coffee, I finished up my volunteer work for the week, then I made out my grocery list. I filled and ran the dishwasher, got dressed and ready, and had a quick breakfast, and then my daughter and I were out the door to the library…where we turned in our summer reading sheets and promptly forgot to pick up my interlibrary loan. DRAT!

At home, I did a bunch of homeschool prep, had an early lunch, and attended a Zoom webinar with author Menachem Kaiser, about his book Plunder, which is on my list but which I haven’t gotten to yet. I emptied and refilled the dishwasher, then did a ton more homeschool prep. My son and I left for groceries (whew. $$$$$); we hit up three stores, returned books at one library, and picked up my interlibrary loan at our local branch.

At home, I put the groceries away, threw together the salad, and cooked the pizza. We had dinner, I did my Duolingo, then I showered and read outside for a bit. I put my daughter to bed, read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

And that’s it! I’ll be doing more homeschool prep this weekend, along with catching up on book reviews again (four behind this time, plus I need to write all my monthly updates, eek!). Always so much to do!

Wishing you all a wonderful rest of the week! : )

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 21 July - Sunday, 25 July, 2022

Good morning, friends! Did you ever have a weekend so stressful that you were glad it was over? That’s what happened around here. Nothing major; everyone is still healthy and in one piece (*knocks on wood*), just those little bits of life that you don’t expect, and that exhaust you. I’ll skip the pleasantries here and get right into it!

Here’s what I’ve been up to the past few days.

 

Thursday, 21 July, 2022

After coffee, I wrote out the day’s blog post and had a whole heap of computer issues while doing it, causing me to have to rewrite part of it. Oh, technology… I got dressed and emptied the dishwasher, then ran it on a cleaning cycle. I scooped the litterbox and started another load of laundry, then folded and put away three loads of laundry (two of my husband’s, one of mine and my daughter’s).

I swept and tidied the living room, then I sat for a bit to rest my back. I emptied and refilled the dishwasher, and then it was already time for lunch! Afterwards, I filled and ran the dishwasher, took out the compost, and switched the laundry. And then it was time to read on the porch, where I finished Breaking Hate by Christian Picciolini.

My daughter was in top form this day, behavior-wise (can you hear my sarcasm???), and I ended up having to take away her kindle, which she was not thrilled about. I kept my cool through the whole thing (because her behavior stretched on for a good long while), but phew, it was tough. It was almost a relief when my husband got home and I had to go for a mammogram!

When I got home, I farted around on the computer a bit, then had an early dinner, and my son and I went on a 3-mile walk (would’ve been longer, but I got some, uh, aggressive affection from a neighborhood cat and I wanted to get home to put some antibiotic ointment on it. All is well!). I showered and poked around at the computer a little bit, then I pulled out my knitting and watched the January 6^th commission. This one was…a lot. They all are, but this one was tough to listen to. I hadn’t felt up to watching the first few, but I’m glad worked up to tuning in to the last three. They’ll reconvene in September.

My husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

Friday, 22 July, 2022

After coffee, I wrote and posted Friday’s post, then posted my review for Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata on my book blog. I emptied and refilled the dishwasher, got dressed and ready, then folded and put away the last of my husband’s laundry. His floordrobe is no more!!!

I tidied up the pile of stuff my daughter and husband had left on the couch, poked around at the computer a bit, and then it was time for an early brunch before we left for the counselor. On the way home, we stopped by Aldi for some hot dogs and ice cream (for a reason I’ll get to), and then we came home…to find that our air conditioner was not working. 83 degrees in the house, on a day in the 90’s. JOY.

But life goes on even when it’s toasty in the house, so I filled the dishwasher and sat down to complete the last bits of Language Arts homeschool prep! I made the list of books we’ll need and sent the list to my husband, so he can order them from Amazon. And then it was off to my daughter’s hearing test. No issues, just a check up because we realized she hadn’t had one in such a long time, and as expected, all was well. She was still REALLY anxious about it, though, and the hot dogs and ice cream were her choice for dinner, a way to give her something to look forward to after the test (my son and I had some black bean and corn empanadas instead). We also had tater tots, which…baking those was HOT.

I had dinner and sat down to an early Shabbat service with Central Synagogue in New York, knit for a bit, and then showered and did my Duolingo. I put my daughter to bed, 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, 23 July, 2022

After breakfast and coffee (and a very warm night!), I read my book. I filled and ran the dishwasher, wiped down the stovetop, and spent the rest of the morning reading. Too hot to do anything else.

After lunch, I took my daughter to the library. We ended up going to the library in the next town over, because ours had closed due to the power being out. She and I both grabbed a book from there, and when we went home, I made a batch of zucchini mushroom pasta in the Instant Pot (this stuff is weirdly good for how simple it is!) and cleaned up the kitchen.

And then the AC guys got there, so my daughter and I went upstairs to read with the bedroom door closed. Every time we left the room, we masked (apparently the guys didn’t seem thrilled about being asked to wear masks in the house, but tough luck, dudes. Our house, our rules. Seriously, why are grown adults such absolute TODDLERS about this???). We ate dinner up there as well, and afterwards, I took my daughter on a 2.5-mile walk, during which my dad called. Apparently, he had COVID last month; the Paxlovid his doctor’s office called in immediately helped, but he’s still got a dry cough. My grandmother, who has both Alzheimer’s and cancer, isn’t doing well, but that’s to be expected.

At home, I showered and put my daughter to bed (we finished reading Prairie Lotus by Linda Sue Park), and read my book.

And get this. The AC guys had been there most of the afternoon and evening…and hadn’t done anything. They needed a part they didn’t have…so they sat in the driveway for several hours??? We could NOT figure out what the heck they were doing, and my husband was getting extremely frustrated. Finally, when they said they would need to be there until like three in the morning, still might not get the job done, and wouldn’t be able to complete the job until maybe Tuesday, he sent them away and told them not to come back. Massively poor service on their account. My husband ended up calling the guy my sister-in-law and mother-in-law have used for their air conditioning, and he agreed to come over in the morning.

 

Sunday, 24 July, 2022

After another toasty night of sleep, I had breakfast and coffee, then wrote two book reviews. I got dressed and ready, and then I read a bunch of books to my daughter while the new AC guy was here. The first guys said our AC was dead and would need to be replaced, so we were prepared to suck it up and pay for that; this guy said it was just the capacitor that needed to be replaced, that eventually the whole unit will need to be replaced but that this one still has a few more years left in it. WHOA. What he did ended up being about one-sixth of the cost of what the first place was going to charge us. We saved multiple thousands of dollars by going with him!

I continued to read and had lunch, then we went to my sister-in-law’s so the kids could play and my husband could try to temporarily fix something in my sister-in-law’s house before her contractor came (turned out he couldn’t, but he tried!). My sister-in-law has a really great shady yard; it’s why we always go to her house so the kids can play outside. Our backyard is not only a lot smaller, but is also full sun and deeply uncomfortable for adults to sit out in and chat for hours!

At home, I threw together a quiche from the Complete Tightwad Gazette and some potatoes and onions in my microwave cooker thing (that basically just steams them, but it’s SO good!), with the help of my son. I filled and ran the dishwasher, took out the compost and recycling, and then sat down to eat dinner. I showered, showered my daughter, and did my Duolingo, then curled up to read The Length of a String by Elissa Brent Weissman. It follows a girl learning about her great-grandmother’s experiences during the Holocaust, and even though it’s middle grade, it’s an absolute gut-punch of a book. I keep having to set it down and take a few moments, it’s that emotional.

My husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

And that’s it! I’m SO grateful the air conditioning was able to be repaired and it’s no longer so steamy in the house (and I can do my various housework chores without sweating like I’m the point guard of an NBA team). Saturday was an extremely long day for all of us, being so warm and trying to figure out what was going on with the first repairmen. I’m extremely glad we figured everything out, and I definitely won’t be taking our AC for granted.

I have an online class today, I have volunteer work to do, I need to make dinner, my daughter and I are going to the library in a bit, the kitchen needs to be cleaned, it’s the start of another busy week! Wishing you all a wonderful week. : )

Friday Links: 22 July, 2022

Good morning! Friday again. Yesterday was a rough day with my daughter, so we’ll have a LOT to talk about with her counselor today. I also have a library book on hold that will hopefully help me be able to help her with some of her more challenging behaviors, so fingers cross that it comes in sooner rather than later!

It’s another week where things are tough out there. The January 6 hearings last night were…a lot. I watched while knitting, and listening to people describe the awfulness of that day, while I remembered how I sat here on my chair, just absolutely stunned at what was going on and how people could be like that, was just a lot to watch. I’m looking forward to this Shabbat and taking some time off the computer. It’s very much needed this week.

Here's what I found interesting online this week!

 

American gun violence has immense costs beyond the death toll, new studies find

This isn’t new information. The numbers and totals may be new, but all of this has been known for years. I’ve read stories of people who have been paralyzed by random shootings and they end up basically homebound because they can’t afford a car that can accommodate their wheelchair (and thus they can’t work), or it’s too difficult to get their wheelchair out of their second-story apartment (and they can’t afford to move), and so they just never leave (and thus they can’t work if their job isn't one that can be done at home). There’s lost work hours, lost potential, expanded healthcare costs, pain and suffering, broken relationships, PTSD, the list goes on and on. And what will we do about it? Likely nothing. I just don’t understand.

 

‘Deliberate attack on remembrance’: Trees dedicated to memory of Buchenwald concentration camp victims chopped down

Another hideous act of violence by people who just won’t leave us alone.

I feel so sorry for people who live their lives so full of hatred that even trees are too much for them to handle. What kind of pathetic wasteland must their minds be? Think of all they’re missing out on, all the beauty and wonder that life could be, all they could learn and experience, and they’re choosing to fill those moments with hatred instead. What sorry lives they must lead.

 

How widespread is long COVID? It’s put millions of US adults out of work, expert says

Here’s another rebuttal to that flimsy ‘nO oNe wAnTs tO wOrK’ narrative: there are a lot of people out there whose health has been ruined by COVID and who cannot work anymore (and I’m sure we all know how difficult it is to get disability. It took my cousin, who has a feeding tube and is at risk of constant infection and who usually spends several MONTHS per year in the hospital, over two years to be approved for disability, and of course she was initially rejected, even though her doctor said under no circumstances could she continue working. I remember reading one story about a family who received their family member’s rejection for disability two days after he died). People are really suffering from long COVID – I have multiple friends across the country who are dealing with this – and yet we continue to let the virus spread like there are no consequences. What on earth is this going to do to our workforce long term? What will it do to our national security? We’re playing with fire here, and we’re all going to end up getting burned.

What a lot of bleak news this week. I’ll leave you with an antidote:

 

Cultivating Jewish Courage (Ometz Lev)

Ometz lev, or ‘heart strength,’ is the Hebrew phrase for courage. And courage isn’t being fearless; it’s being scared and still doing the right thing.

With so many people hell-bent on othering marginalized groups, banning books, stripping away rights from people just trying to live their lives, forcing people to suffer and not lifting a finger to alleviate it, it can be difficult to speak up and speak out against their bad behavior. It’s scary being the first or the only person to speak up, but there are so many people throughout history who did do the right thing, who acted from a place of ometz lev, that provide us with inspiration to do what’s right.

 

And that’s all for this week! We also have my daughter’s hearing test this afternoon. She’s less than thrilled about it, but since she hasn’t had once since she was an infant, she’s past due. (No real concerns; we had some questions last year about how she was hearing certain vowels, but beyond that, I just realized her last hearing test was likely when she was a newborn. They usually do them in school, but with COVID, everything’s been screwed up.) Two appointments today, which makes for a busy day, but sometimes it’s just nice to get out of the house!

Wishing you a peaceful weekend. Stay cool out there! Shalom, friends. : ) 

What's Been Going On: Monday, 18 July - Wednesday, 21 July, 2022

Another toasty one coming up today! One of my weather apps is claiming that we have a chance for thunderstorms at some point in the day, so we’ll see. We could definitely use the rain!

It’s been a fairly quiet week here; not too much going on, and that’s been nice. I’m almost done with a house project; I’ll talk more about that below. One (almost) down; 48239473298432 to go! That’s how these things work.

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

 

Monday, 18 July, 2022

After coffee and breakfast, I edited and posted Monday’s post, then posted my review for Empty the Pews by Chrissy Stroop and Lauren O’Neal on my book blog. I did a half hour of volunteer work, emptied and refilled the dishwasher, scooped the litterbox, got dressed, and then loaded up the car with a bunch of bags and boxes. And then we were off!

We stopped first to pick up a can of air freshener from Freecycle (it was a few streets over; I wouldn’t have gone out of town for that!), then we stopped by Goodwill to drop off our pile of stuff. Feels so good to have all that out of the house! And then we were off to Ikea – again – and this time the paper I bought actually made it home with us. : D We also grabbed lunch from their café by the doors and ate in the car.

On the way home, we stopped by Sam’s Club to renew our membership (for whatever reason, the website refused to let me do it online; what a pain), and while we were there, I grabbed a bag of pancake and waffle mix and a container of Buffalo seasoning. At home, I chopped sweet potato and zucchini and got them into the Instant Pot to steam, then cooked a batch of mushrooms and made some tahini sauce. I did another half hour of volunteer work, got the rice in the rice cooker, then read outside for a while, and my daughter and I observed her nature spot in the yard. We had dinner – grain & veggie bowls with tahini sauce – and then my son and I went on a 4.13 mile walk, where we came across this totally stripped-down bird skeleton. Check this out!

 

At home, I took the garbage and recycling to the curb, did my Duolingo, and showered. I put my daughter to bed, read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

Tuesday, 19 July, 2022

After breakfast and coffee, I did an hour of volunteer work, then I lay down for a bit, because my head was threatening a nasty headache. When I felt better, I got up, filled and ran the dishwasher, then read on the porch while my daughter played outside. She wanted to go for a scooter ride around the block, so I followed her; she ended up falling off – just a few scrapes, nothing major – but we returned home so I could bandage her up.

After lunch, I spent a little time on the computer, and when my husband got home, I had to go renew the tags on the car. At home, I sautéed some onion and garlic and put together a baked pasta dish, then read out on the porch for a while (and put the pasta in the oven when it was time). My son and I had an early dinner, and then we went on a 3.37-mile walk. I showered, showered my sweaty daughter, then put her to bed. I read my book, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

Wednesday, 20 July, 2022

After coffee, I made out my grocery list (I feel bad for the people who make up the sales flyers; even that must be getting to be a tough job, what with the lack of actual sales…). I started a load of laundry, filled the dishwasher, and took out the compost and recycling. I scrubbed off the stovetop, then ran both coffeemakers (the old one and the used one my mom gave me) on a vinegar cleaning cycle, followed by several just-water cycles.

I posted my review for Meet Me in Outer Space by Melinda Grace on my book blog, then I switched the laundry, and folded and put away one of my husband’s loads of laundry.

So, he usually does his own laundry, which is great, but he doesn’t fold it. And then he fills another laundry basket with his dirty laundry, and he’ll wash that…and then he doesn’t fold it. And then he’ll fill another laundry basket with his dirty laundry and eventually wash…but he doesn’t fold it, and then… You get the picture. Eventually, he runs out of baskets, and then he just throws his dirty laundry on the floor. It’s gotten to the point where, not only have I not had any laundry baskets at all for my laundry (whereas he’s been using FOUR AT A TIME), our bedroom floor has been entirely carpeted in dirty laundry and his “clean laundry” has sat in baskets stacked up to the top of his dresser, FOR OVER A YEAR. When our room is clean, it’s possible for me to do yoga or work out in there, but lemme tell you, doing downward-facing dog and having a pair of your husband’s dirty underwear six inches from your face is…unpleasant at best.

I got fed up with his ‘floordrobe’ and decided to tackle in on this day. The clean laundry had been sitting in baskets for so long that it all smelled stale again, so this meant probably hauling four VERY FULL, VERY HEAVY baskets of laundry down two flights of stairs (which my back just looooooved…). As of right now, I have at least one more load to wash. I don’t mind doing this; I’m a bit resentful that if I don’t, it won’t get done, as evidenced by the fact that those baskets have been there for over a year now.

I farted around on the computer a bit (days like this, I *have* to sit for a bit after I do a bunch of stuff, to let my back rest so it doesn’t go completely out), then tidied more stuff in the kitchen and took out more compost. I switched the laundry and started another load, then swept the upstairs and downstairs. (Lots of dust and whatnot on our bedroom floor, now that the floordrobe was off the floor!)

After lunch, I switched the laundry, started another load, then folded and put away another load. I rested on the computer for a bit, then tidied some more random things. When my husband got home, my son and I headed out.

We dropped off two books at our local library, stopped by a local grocery store, then visited the library in that town, where I returned my books and checked out a bunch more. We went to Aldi, then returned to our local library, since I’d received a message that I had a book in (actually a cookbook my son had requested). And then it was home to put the groceries away!

I cooked the pizza and made up the salad; after dinner, I showered, did my Duolingo, switched the laundry again, and read on the porch a good long while. I read inside, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

And that’s it! I’ll tackle the rest of Mount Laundry today, but my goodness, our bedroom looks SO much bigger without half of it being taken up by stacks of overflowing laundry baskets and sweaty t-shirts and underwear all over the floor. WHY ARE MEN LIKE THIS??? Does your husband do this? I can’t even imagine doing this and thinking it’s funny to inconvenience everyone else. Can someone start up a finishing school for guys, in order to teach them that this kind of behavior is not okay??? YEESH.

Wishing you a lovely day! Stay cool out there, and I hope you don’t have a floordrobe to tackle!

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 14 July - Sunday, 17 July, 2022

Good morning, all! This weekend actually went by pretty slowly, which is nice. I’ve been staying off social media and the internet it general – for the most part; I’m not super hardcore about it – on Shabbat, and it’s been really nice to have that little 25-ish hour break from…everything. Plus I spent a good portion of the weekend outside, either walking or sitting and chatting with my sister-in-law (which also happened on Thursday), so I feel pretty refreshed. Hopefully your weekend was just as lovely!

Here's what I got up to the second half of last week!

 

Thursday, 14 July, 2022

After coffee and breakfast, I posted my Thursday post, then posted my review for Go Back to Where You Came From by Wajahat Ali on my book blog. I got dressed and ready, then filled and ran the dishwasher and sat back down to write multiple book reviews. I made lunch and packed all our picnic things up, then my daughter and I drove about half an hour away to the most wonderful park. We didn’t get to the playground proper this time; we’ll definitely go back and do that at some point, because it looks super fun, but we met up with my sister-in-law and nephew (and my mother-in-law joined us for a shorter period of time) to spend some time in nature. There’s this fairly shallow creek (the highest it got in the section we were in was mid-calf on me, and I’m tall), and the kids played in here for over four hours. Check out these pictures!!!

 

This was a SUPER fun day for the kids. My daughter was absolutely filthy when we got home, and they had a great time throwing stones, building a worm house out of large rocks, picking up dead crayfish, and rolling around in the water. Super gorgeous place and what a delight to just let the kids be kids. We’ll definitely be going back there!

When we got home, I immediately showered my daughter (creeks are creeks, and as clean as this one was, it still smelled like a creek!), then showered myself – I didn’t get in like the kids did, but I did take my shoes off and walk a good portion of it, plus I’d just been sitting outside all day, chatting with my sister-in-law, so the shower felt really good. My husband made macaroni and cheese for dinner, so we ate and I did my Duolingo. I put my daughter to bed, read for a little bit, then went to bed early with a headache (I hadn’t slept well the night before, so it had been a long day. Fun, but long!).

 

Friday, 15 July, 2022

After coffee, I wrote out my Friday post and emptied, refilled and ran the dishwasher. I put some black beans in the Instant Pot, took out the recycling, scooped the litterbox, then got dressed and ready. I did some random tidying around the house, did some computer things, and then it was time for an early lunch before we headed to the counselor.

My daughter was in top form this day, completely unable to sit down the entire time, so along with some other things (including her speech patterns), her counselor hinted that ADD/ADHD might be in play here. He didn’t even have to finish his sentence before I told him, “Dad has ADD, so this wouldn’t surprise me one bit.” This is something he and I have both suspected since before our daughter was in kindergarten. The counselor said he doesn’t necessarily like to make formal diagnoses this young; they’re just labels and provide a framework towards what we’d be working at anyway, and wouldn’t do anything different in terms of the care he’s providing her. All of which makes complete sense. I’ll likely do some reading on this in the near future; it’s not something I deal with, so learning about it and understanding how her brain works will help me understand and parent her better, and do everything I can so she can be successful in whatever way she chooses in her life. : )

At home, I emptied and refilled the dishwasher, then made a bean and rice casserole. I relaxed on the computer for a bit, then got the casserole in the oven and read for a while. I had an early dinner, then joined Central Synagogue in New York for Shabbat services (their d’var Torah this week was absolutely fabulous and inspiring!). I knit for a bit, ran the dishwasher, showered, did my Duolingo, then read. My husband and I watched the two new episodes of What We Do in the Shadows before going to bed.

 

Saturday, 16 July, 2022

After breakfast and coffee, I emptied and refilled and ran the dishwasher, then got dressed and ready. I read for a bit, and I got up to throw out a bunch of old makeup I haven’t worn or used at all since the pandemic started (thanks, book about minimalism!). I also organized the top two shelves in the bathroom while I was in there. Then my son and I set off on a 4.7 mile walk around the area. We walked the other way down the trail we had gone down last time, which took us by some new and interesting plants, which I can now identify, thanks to the iNaturalist app! Cutleaf teasel and common ragweed here:

 

It was REALLY humid out, so this was a bit of a tough walk for me, but we made it. At home, I ate lunch, dozed for a little bit, then read my book. And then we were off to my sister-in-law’s, so the kids could play together outside. I knit and finished another stripe on my log cabin blanket. We had Chinese food for dinner, which was super tasty; I had the curry tofu with rice, which is always so good.

At home, I showered, did my Duolingo, then put my daughter to bed. I read and finished The Joy of Less by Francine Jay, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

Sunday, 17 July, 2022

After coffee, I buckled down and cranked out FIVE book reviews! (I skipped one; Sisters in Hate by Seywood Darby was excellent, about female white nationalists, but I don’t need to call any attention to my Jewish self by putting up a review for that one.) I emptied and refilled the dishwasher, took out the compost and recycling, then got dressed and folded a load of laundry. I started a load in the washer, then came to the living room to work on this post.

I had lunch, then knit while attending a virtual talk on Yiddish. I switched the laundry, and then it was off to the Science Surplus store, where I bought the two maps I needed: a US map, and a world map. I know far too many people who don’t know where the states and countries are (or who reach adulthood not knowing that there’s a state in the US called New Mexico), and I want my daughter to have a stronger grasp on geography than that!

At home, I read Trashed by Derf Backderf, a graphic novel, in its entirety, and then, since my husband spilled my container of yeast all over the floor, it was off to GFS for more yeast, another bag of bread flour, and peanut butter. I was getting a little low on peanut butter, so we were going to take a trip there this week, and like any well-prepared homemaker, I already had one extra vacuum-sealed four-pound bag of yeast on the shelves, but I like to keep extra around, since I do use it frequently! (When the pandemic hit and everyone was scrambling for toilet paper and yeast, I was fully stocked on both. Smooth sailing here!) We also picked up a cheap pizza for dinner for him and me (my husband and daughter had made a cheeseburger pizza from her pizza cookbook; obviously not something Jewish vegetarian me eats!), along with a marked-down cinnamon Danish. : )

At home, I threw the pizza in and we ate, then I filled and ran the dishwasher and did my Duolingo. I showered, then browsed through some virtual Jewish programming scheduled for the upcoming weeks, and I signed up for two programs. Gotta keep my brain active! I started reading Refugee High: Coming of Age in America by Elly Fishman, and my husband and I watched one episode of Unusual Suspects before bed.

 

And that’s it! My son is going to mow the back part of the lawn this morning, we’re going to do a drop off at Goodwill, we’re making a run to Ikea, and we’ll stop by Sam’s Club on the way back! And there’s all the other stuff in there as well: cooking, cleaning, volunteer work, a walk in there somewhere, the usual. It’ll be a full day, and I’m looking forward to it!

Wishing you all a wonderful week!

Friday Links: 15 July, 2022

Good morning! It’s a rainy Friday here, and the temperatures are a little on the cool side (and the cat is currently mashing his head into my typing fingers!). Today might be an inside day, but that’s okay, I have a ton of things to do inside. The book I’m reading on minimalism is really making me want to go through all my things (my goodness, this is hard to type, he’s just completely smooshing his whole chin into my right hand!).

Has anyone noticed that the news is just 100% bad these days? Even more so than usual. My sister-in-law and I were discussing this yesterday. I can’t have any kind of news on in the car when I’m driving my daughter around, and scrolling through Twitter is just one awful link and horrible story after another. It’s been hard trying to even find a single story that isn’t a tough read. It’s one of those times when hakarat hatov (noticing the good) is a little tricky, and it applies solely to life around us and not out in the world, I guess.

Here's what I found interesting online this week!

 

‘The Golden Age of Thrifting is Over’

Have you noticed this? I definitely have. At thrift stores of all varieties, the quality of the products have gone down, while the prices, even before the pandemic, have gone up, up, up. The lack of quality can be attributed to the rise of fast fashion, where clothing (stupidly) isn’t meant to last, and often falls apart after a few washes. Thrift shoppers, including myself, have noticed this and are struggling.

I’m actively trying to downsize my wardrobe; reading up on minimalism has made me recognize that I truly do have enough – too much, actually! -  and I don’t need something new to boost my mood or give me a different look (it won’t make me a different person!). I have a fancy dress for special occasions, I have everyday clothes, I have what I need to dress comfortably for each season. But for other shoppers who need to update their wardrobe due to weight loss/gain or a new job or whatever? It’s tough out there. Clothing isn’t made to last anymore, and the more quality pieces are often sold online.

 

An Unexpected Effect of the Pandemic: Children Behaving “Younger” Than Their Chronological Age

This is not the first article I’ve seen that talks about this, and I’ve definitely noticed this in my daughter. It’s not surprising, but it’s definitely hard to see. She and I are having a LOT of talks about proper behavior in public (don’t crawl under the table at the counselor’s; if no one else is speaking in that loud of a voice, you shouldn’t either, etc), because her time in public around other people is still so limited, so she’s not getting much social practice in there.

As a parent, it’s really, REALLY hard to know what to do here. You see all these other kids out and about, unmasked and living as though our country isn’t losing 400 people per day to COVID and hordes of people haven’t been disabled by long COVID, and then you read articles about the uptick in diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes in kids after having COVID (my father is a Type 1, so we worry about a possible genetic link here), and you think, “What do I do? What if this trip to the park results in her needing insulin the rest of her life?” There are zero easy answers here, and I know a lot of parents are struggling the way I am. Which brings me to…

 

Many try to return to normal from COVID, but disabled people face a different reality

This pandemic has shined a glaring spotlight on how little our society values the disabled. Indoor mask mandates meant that the disabled and high-risk could go about their lives with a measure of safety. Once those mandates were dropped…high-risk folks are basically stuck in their homes, unable to participate in anything, feeling forgotten and left behind.

Public health shouldn’t be a personal choice. It’s illegal to, say, put fecal matter in a source of public water, like a water tower. You’re not allowed to scatter the content of your cat’s litterbox in a public place. But it’s okay to exhale COVID in the grocery store, upping the risk for not only everyone in that store, but everyone those people will come in contact with. Because Jim Bob refused to wear a mask (because his freedoms!!11!11!!), cashier Maggie’s aunt Linda caught COVID at Maggie’s daughter’s first birthday and now has long COVID. How is this where we’re at? How does this qualify as sustainable in any way? What on earth are we doing???

Anyway, look out for the disabled people in your life. They’re not okay right now.

 

And that’s it for this week! I have, I believe, five book reviews to catch up on this weekend. We may go to my sister-in-law’s house at some point so the kids can play, but that’s not 100% set in stone, so we’ll see. My flowers out front died in one of the many heat waves we’ve had, so I’d like to pull out their remains and plant some kale seeds in the pots; it shouldn’t take too long, but I keep putting it off. But at least it’s on the list to get done, right???

Wishing you all a peaceful weekend. Stay safe out there. Shalom, friends. : )

What's Been Going On: Monday, 11 July - Wednesday, 13 July, 2022

Thursday already, and the weekend is in sight!

It’s been a pretty good week here so far. Nothing major going on, but other than some crummy sleep for various reasons, things have been mostly good. Calm. That’s the way I like it! (Phew.  Just had a moment where I thought the cat had erased my entire post. He’s sitting on my lap and keeps putting his head on the little track pad. Thankfully, his technological mischief didn’t extend that far! And now he’s off to sleep in the sun on the couch, by his own choice.)

Our temps are going back up; today is supposed to be in the low 80’s, but it’ll be in the 90’s in a few days. Drink your water and stay cool!

Here’s what I’ve been up to the past few days. : )

 

Monday, 11 July, 2022

After coffee and breakfast, I wrote and posted Monday’s post, then posted my review for The Way I Say It by Nancy Tandon on my book blog. I got dressed and ready, emptied and refilled the dishwasher, then did 30 minutes of volunteer work. And then it was off to Ikea!

We browsed and picked up a few little things (one of which didn’t make it home with us! I must have dropped it on the way out, since I was carrying a bunch of stuff. Hmph. Fortunately, it wasn’t expensive at all, but it was something we need, so we’ll be going back next week. Good thing it’s close by!), then grabbed lunch to go from their little café by the checkouts and ate in the car. So fun!

At home, I treated the skirt I’d dropped mustard on (whoops! Thank goodness for Fels Naptha), peeled potatoes and got them cooking in the Instant Pot, took out the compost, and did another 30 minutes of volunteer work.

I read for a bit, finishing Half a World Away by Cynthia Kadohata and starting Abby, Tried and True by Donna Gephart, then I made mashed potatoes, cooked the Ikea veggie balls, and filled and ran the dishwasher. We had dinner, then I did a four-mile walk on my own. I did my Duolingo, showered, and read, finishing Abby, Tried and True. My husband and I watched one episode of Mormon No More before bed, and I slept terribly due to nerve pain on this night. 

(Disclaimer: I enjoy watching programs like these to get a better understanding of why and how people leave various groups, and it actually helps with my volunteer work, which is with an organization that provides support to people who leave various religious groups, some of them high-control. I have nothing against any churches of any sort! Find God wherever you can. :) )

 

Tuesday, 12 July, 2022

After coffee, I posted my review of Unmasked by Paul Holes on my book blog. I scooped the litterbox, then did 30 minutes of volunteer work. My daughter and I did a unit of math, then we had a bunch of snuggle time, since she was stressed and anxious about various things. She hadn’t slept much the night before, so that definitely played a part in her big feelings.

We had lunch, I emptied and refilled the dishwasher, then I chopped and sauteed some onion, garlic, mushrooms, and peppers. I brought up the waffle iron from the laundry room, then listened to a bit of the January 6^th hearings while I knit, then I made a batch of waffles. My daughter wanted to go outside, so we went out and read for a while. I made some scrambled eggs, and my son and I had an early dinner so we could go walk. The section of the trail we walked on is absolutely covered in riverbank grapes (which is the most common kind of wild grape in the state). They’re edible, but they’re apparently much better after the first frost – when the birds have usually stripped them all clean! So while we may not get to eat any, they’re still awesome to look at!

 

We walked five miles this day! At home, I showered, then put my daughter to bed, and read. My husband and I watched one episode of Mormon No More before bed.

 

Wednesday, 13 July, 2022

After coffee, I made out my grocery list (ugh), then did a little over 30 minutes of volunteer work (I was kind of on a streak and didn’t want to stop!). My daughter and I did a math lesson, then I got dressed and ready, emptied the dishwasher, took out the compost, and then we were off to the library! I came home with some books to read to my daughter, then I found a really cool book called Outdoor Kids in an Inside World: Getting Your Family Out of the House and Radically Engaged with Nature by Steven Rinella. Getting outdoors more has been a goal of mine, so I figured reading a chapter per day of this would be a good idea!

At home, we had lunch, then I read the new PJ Library book to my daughter (all about hakarat hatov, recognizing the good), then we read outside a little (I read the introduction to Outdoor Kids, then continued reading What I Like About You). When my husband got home, my son and I went for groceries.

Two stores, and the sales were pretty terrible today, but I did come home with four pounds of kiwi for four dollars, which is exciting! We also stopped by the library in the next town over, where I returned a stack of books and grabbed a bunch more. At home, I put the groceries away, then my daughter and I went outside to start a new project.

We have a little square of flowers and greenery outside – some of it is stuff we planted, some of it is stuff that planted itself. We’ve decided to start observing this little bit of our property every day and note the changes. We’re going to try to do it at the same time every day, probably more in the morning, and see how it changes throughout the year. Today, we noted that we’ve got some kind of coneflower growing, along with goutweed and perennial sow thistle, and we also identified a grass funnel-web spider. We were so in the zone that my daughter noticed some ants by the garage and we followed them back to her old basketball hoop, where they had a zillion eggs underneath! Super cool. She made a bunch of observations in her nature notebook before we went back inside.

I baked the pizza and mixed the bagged salad (first time I’ve seen this under three dollars in ages!!!), and we had dinner. I worked on this post, showered, then read and finished What I Like About You. I started The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Living Guide by Francine Jay (and after reading the first few pages, moved a few things out of my bedroom!), and my husband and I watched the final episode of Mormon No More (I totally teared up at the wedding!). I had a tough time falling asleep and was awake for hours after this.

 

And that’s it so far! Today, my daughter and I are meeting my sister-in-law and nephew at a park/forest preserve for some socializing-in-nature time. I’m not sure what else will get done today, but that’s an important one, so I’m okay if that’s all that happens! This weekend, I need to get caught up on book reviews. I’ve been reading SO much that I’m incredibly behind AGAIN. (Seven, if I combine the two graphic novels I read into one review! EEK.)

Have a great rest of the week, friends! : )