What's Been Going on: Thursday, 23 December - Sunday, 26 December, 2021

 Welcome to a new week! I hope however you spent this weekend, it was safe and you’ve entered this week healthy and relaxed. Any plans we might have thought of earlier were rearranged; one family member came down with a mild breakthrough case of Covid, and my mom, while testing negative on her rapid test, has all the symptoms of it. We’re all healthy and tested negative, however, so we were able to visit my father, which was wonderful.

 Here's what I’ve been up to lately!

 

Thursday, 23 December, 2021

After coffee and breakfast, I posted my Thursday post, scooped the litterbox, and loaded and ran the dishwasher. I published my review for American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadowy History of Adoption by Gabrielle Glaser on my book blog. And then I settled down for an hour of volunteer work.

We all had lunch and took a 3 mile walk together. My daughter and I did 30 minutes of Read Harder together (I’m getting so close to finishing this book!), and then, with all the best intentions of reading more of my regular book, I…took a nap. It happens!

I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and put the cauliflower potato soup on to reheat. We had dinner, I did my Duolingo, showered, and put dinner away. I read for about an hour until my husband came upstairs, and we watched an episode of Cold Case Files before bed.

 

Friday, 24 December, 2021

I had breakfast and coffee, got dressed, and loaded the dishwasher. I then prepared a double batch of Grits Casserole (with vegetarian “sausage”); I make this for my family every Christmas morning, but it’s so much easier to prepare it the day before and shove it in the oven in the morning. I put some red and black beans in the Instant Pot to cook, folded and put away a load of laundry, started a new load in the washer, and folded and put away a second load.

I played on the computer a bit, talked with my Dad on the phone, and then it was time for lunch! Afterwards, we all took another 3-mile walk. This pond is on our walking route, behind my daughter’s school, and it’s always neat to see how it changes throughout the year.

I switched the laundry and started a second load, loaded and ran the dishwasher, and then prepared an Instant Pot full of sweet potato chili (no recipe, I just kind of wing it). My daughter helped me with my 30 minutes of Read Harder, then I read a little of my regular book before napping (again!). I read a lot more when I woke up, and then it was time for dinner.

I did my Duolingo, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, put dinner away, switched the laundry, then sat down to work on my grandma’s cross-stitch. I virtually attended my synagogue’s Shabbat services (small crowd; we have a lot of interfaith families! To be honest, I’m kind of expecting them to go back to all-virtual services soon. I know of a few synagogues that already have). It was an early service, so I was able to put my daughter to bed. I read for a bit, then my husband and I wrapped gifts while listening to a few episodes of Cold Case Files. I loathe wrapping presents (and I’m terrible at it!).

 

Saturday, 25 December, 2021

In the tradition of children everywhere, my daughter woke us up for the first time at 4:30 am. *blink blink* She got sent back to bed.

When we were finally ready to get up (somewhere around 7 am), I drank my coffee and put the casserole in the oven, and my daughter opened her gifts. She was pretty thrilled with all the fun art supplies, play makeup, games, and Squishmallows she got!

I got dressed and semi-tidied the living room (OY VEY!), and I spent the majority of the morning hanging out with my family, which was lovely.

We had a frozen lasagna for lunch, so we put that in the oven, set the timer for the 23847329743 minutes it takes to cook, then walked over to where my son lives (which is on our usual walking route). We grabbed him and completed our walking route, and he opened his gifts (he’s an adult, so his big gift was the promise of car tires, which he needs). He got me what’s essentially a stocking hanger (and it’s perfect for me; see picture), but it’ll sit on my piano year-round:

 

He also bought me tickets for a local movie theater’s showing of Live at the Met in June, where the theater (and theaters around the country do this) teams up to broadcast a live performance from the Metropolitan Opera; we’re going to see Hamlet. I’ve always wanted to attend one of these, so I’m pretty excited! It’s not until June, so plenty of time to be giddy with anticipation.

We all had lunch and spent the afternoon together; I gave my son a ride back to his place because he had a blister on his foot that was irritating him. I went upstairs to snuggle under the heated blanket my husband had given me and finished reading Challenging Pregnancy: A Journey Through the Politics and Science of Healthcare in America by Genevieve Grabman…and then I took a nap. Did you expect anything different???

We had leftovers for dinner, then I biked for 25 minutes, showered, and loaded and ran the dishwasher. I started a new book, Knocked Down: A High-Risk Memoir by Aileen Weintraub, and read that until my husband came upstairs. We watched most of an episode of The New Detectives, but we didn’t care for the style of the program that much (or the janky audio!), so we went to bed.

 

Sunday, 26 December, 2021

My daughter came into our bedroom at around 7 to wake us up, so I got her breakfast, scooped the litterbox, got dressed and ready, and headed off to Walmart. We needed squirrel food (it’s only fair that they get some right along with the birds!), along with a few gifts for my father and his wife. We hadn’t been sure when we were meeting with them; I was kind of waiting to see when we would meet up with everyone else and then play it by ear so we could make sure we were healthy. My dad is a Type 1 diabetic and I didn’t want to risk bringing anything to him. But since everyone else was sick, we didn’t visit anyone else, and we decided we’d get together this day, so off I went to grab a few gifts!

At home, I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and cleaned up the living room (my daughter’s gifts are still down here; we’ll get the living room fully back together this week!), including sweeping and taking out all the recycling we’d amassed, and the compost. My husband and daughter and I took rapid Covid tests, all negative!

My husband picked my son up and brought him back; his Covid test was also negative, so we were off for the hour-long drive to my dad’s house (I read my book on the way). We ate lunch together, my daughter played, we talked, it was just a really nice afternoon. We’re planning on repeating it again at some point when we’re sure it’s safe.

We drove home (I read the whole way home as well), and I got my daughter her dinner; I wasn’t quite hungry yet. I farted around a bit on the computer, then showered and showered my daughter, and then I had some dinner before putting her to bed. I crawled under my toasty electric throw and read until my husband came upstairs, and we watched two episodes of Unsolved (which I liked, but he didn’t, so I’m not sure if we’ll continue watching this one).

 

That it! I’d really love to get the living room back together this week; that means taking the Christmas tree down, so I need to get motivated enough to do that. The tree is currently in the spot for what we call my daughter’s ‘pandemic school desk,’ the desk she used all last year for remote learning. So, obviously case numbers are exploding all over right now, and I’m feeling increasingly uncomfortable about sending my kiddo back to school next week. I’m REALLY hoping the schools make the switch to go remote for a week or two to let everything settle down, or just cancel altogether and tack the extra week or two onto the end of the year. Otherwise, I’m heavily considering keeping her home for a bit. Even if Omicron isn’t quite as destructive as earlier variants, I still don’t want any of us getting this, especially not my still-developing, still-growing seven-year-old daughter. I don’t know. This is a really scary decision and I’m not sure what to do. Stay tuned!

Stay warm and toasty and safe, my friends. I hope whatever you’re doing this week, it’s productive and fun and you’re able to find some joy.

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 16 December - Sunday, 19 December, 2021

Happy Monday! I hope this is the beginning of a relaxing, stress-free week for everyone (I know, I know, it’s tough around this time of the year, but we can always hope, right?). We’re keeping things fairly low-key; we haven’t even really finalized any plans with our families at all. We’ll definitely test first (we have a bunch of at-home rapid tests from my husband’s job) before visiting my father; he’s a type I diabetic, so I’m especially concerned about keeping him safe whenever we visit him. Whatever you do, whatever your plans this week, be safe about it and exercise caution. Things are getting scary out there again.

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

 

Thursday, 16 December, 2021

After breakfast and coffee, I got dressed and ready and tossed some white beans into the Instant Pot (which I scrubbed out a little with baking soda before). I edited and posted my Thursday post, and then headed out for a very windy school drop-off. We had winds that gusted between 60-70 miles per hour all night long, so that was a little scary! Wind is my least favorite kind of weather.

I drove to a grocery store in the next town over to pick up pickles, onions, and peppers, and on their marked-down produce shelf was a large bag of green beans for a dollar, so those also went home with me. Back at home, I did an hour of volunteer work, then threw together a seitan loaf (which used the white beans, and which we would slice up for sandwiches for dinner). I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and then it was time for lunch with my daughter.

At home, I had lunch myself, then read 30 minutes’ worth of my Read Harder book (The Joy of Sects by Peter Occhiogrosso). I skipped Pilates again (the weather changes were making me sore, and I didn’t want to push it), and put the seitan loaf on to steam, snapped the green beans and chopped mushrooms, and put them together to make Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms. The seitan loaf went into the oven, later followed by the beans and mushrooms, and I checked in on my favorite homemaking blogs.

After dinner, I did my Duolingo, biked on my stationary bike for 25 minutes, showered, and put dinner away. I settled down with my book, American Baby: A Mother, a Child, and the Shadowy History of Adoption by Gabrielle Glaser. My husband and I watched two episodes of Forensic Files before bed.

 

Friday, 17 December, 2021

After breakfast and coffee, I scooped the litterbox, loaded the dishwasher, and dropped my daughter off at school. I learned that one of her best friends will be traveling with her family to Bangladesh, to visit extended family. She won’t be back until mid-February, so while my daughter is happy that her friend gets to have such an exciting adventure, she’s really going to miss her until then!

And then it was time for Christmas errands at Walmart, Five Below, and the Dollar Tree. Nothing major, just a few extra odds and ends for not-my-holiday. Still fun! At home, I poked around on the computer in the brief time I had, then took lunch to my daughter. Back home, I scarfed down lunch myself, and then my husband and I picked our daughter up because it was an early release day. Hurray for winter break!

We drove over to the local animal park and met another school friend and her mom there. It was super fun getting to see all the animals (and pet some of them!), and even more fun getting to hang out with friends. I had bought a pair of thermal socks at Five Below earlier in the day and stayed warm the whole time, while everyone else was freezing!

When we got back home, I ran my son on some errands, and then it was time for dinner at home. I did my Duolingo, biked, showered, put dinner away, loaded and ran the dishwasher, and then watched YouTube videos while I cross-stitched until it was time for virtual services at my synagogue. Afterwards, I worked on my grandmother’s cross-stitch a little more until I went to bed early.

Saturday, 18 December, 2021

After coffee, I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, wiped down the counter and stovetop, scrubbed out the sink, and then got dressed and ready. I took out the recycling and compost, tidied the living room, and wrote two book reviews. And then it was off to my mother-in-law’s for lunch! She made a delicious breakfast casserole, which we all enjoyed. After that, we all went to Target so my daughter could pick out a gift (which she won’t get until Christmas). She picked out an Our Generation doll accessory set that she’s been eyeing for ages, and everyone was happy! (This took FOREVER, though. My daughter hadn’t been in Target in ages, so this was a big deal for her and she couldn’t make up her mind.)

At home, I had a headache, so I just played on the computer until dinnertime, when I threw together bean and cheese quesadillas for my daughter and me. Afterwards, we finally put up the Christmas tree! I enjoy the lights, but not the mess, and it’s always a relief to me when I’m able to put it away and have my living room back. It IS pretty, though!

 

I showered and read my book until my husband came upstairs, and we watched two episodes of Forensic Files, thus completing all the episodes Netflix had to offer. Not sure what we’ll watch next!

 

Sunday, 19 December, 2021

After breakfast and coffee, I was browsing the local Freecycle group and found someone across town was giving away a recorder and a tin whistle, so I got dressed and picked that up from them. I played the recorder for years as a kid (it gets a bad reputation because it’s often a first instrument for kids, but when it’s played properly, it’s actually gorgeous), and the tin whistle fingering is close to it. I can play by ear, so it’s fun to be able to mess around on any kind of musical instrument.

I sat down to work on this post, then started a load of laundry and loaded and ran the dishwasher. I spent the morning catching up on some things on the computer, and after lunch, I biked for 25 minutes (sweaty!). I was going to read when I was done, but I ended up falling asleep! I must’ve needed it. I came downstairs and hung out with the family (and found something for my daughter to do later on this week!), and we had pizza for dinner. I did my Duolingo and showered, then worked on my grandmother’s cross-stitch while watching YouTube videos.

 

I put my daughter to bed (we finished reading The Kite Fighters by Linda Sue Park), and then settled down to read my book. My husband and I watched an episode of Cold Case Files before bed.

 

And that’s it for this week! After I get this posted, I’m going to tidy up the kitchen and living room, and then spend the day with my daughter. We have a whole stack of library books to get to, so I’m excited for that! I know this is a time of hustle and bustle for many people, along with tension, but I truly hope you’re able to find some enjoyment in this time as well. Whatever your plans are for this week, be safe!

What's Been Going On: Thursday, 9 December - Sunday, 12 December, 2021

Monday, Monday! Our last school week before winter break, and then two delicious weeks of the alarm not needing to be set. Two weeks of snuggling with my daughter, reading, being cozy at home…can you tell I’m looking forward to it???

It was a nice, relaxing weekend around these parts, and I hope the same is true for you! Here’s what I’ve been up to lately.

 

Thursday, 9 December, 2021

I loaded and started the dishwasher, then sat down for my coffee. Always a good way to start off the morning, being productive!

I ended up having to rewrite my Thursday post; it seemed that my computer had eaten it, so I banged that out as I drank my coffee, then got dressed. After school drop off, it was time for another hour of volunteer work. I started compiling lists of housing aid resources in my state, which is interesting to learn about. And, uh, afterwards, I spent until lunchtime with my daughter reveling in the guilty verdict in the Josh Duggar case. I’ve been creeped out by that family since they first hit the scene and was utterly appalled by the numerous foul deeds perpetrated by their eldest son over the years. I was deeply gratified to see justice served in this case. Child sexual abuse material is no small matter, and the material he downloaded was referred to as some of the worst investigators had ever seen. I deeply hope that everyone who has been victimized by both Josh and the people responsible for the material he downloaded are able to find peace in their lives. If you or someone you know in the US are struggling with having been sexually victimized, please contact RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization at https://www.rainn.org/ or their 24-hour hotline at 1-800-656-4673.

After lunch with my daughter, I had lunch myself and did 30 minutes of my Read Harder book (The Joy of Sects by Peter Occhiogrosso). I did 20 minutes of Pilates with my husband, then stripped the bed, put clean sheets on it, and threw the bedding in the wash. I wrote out my Friday post, switched the laundry, and put the leftover tomato soup on to warm before dinner. Then I called my dad; it was his birthday, so we had a lovely chat.

After dinner, I cleaned up, did my Duolingo, restarted the dryer, and killed a few minutes of time before logging on to the class I had signed up for with the Union for Reform Judaism. The funny thing about the Jewish world is that it’s relatively small; even in random spaces like this class (made up of about 50 people from all over the US), odds are that some people will know each other or be related to each other, and sure enough, I knew TWO of the people there! It was a wonderful class.

When class ended, I put the bed back together, showered, read my book, and watched two episodes of Forensic Files with my husband before bed.

 

Friday, 10 December, 2021

That comforter I bought last week? SOFTEST. THING. EVER. What an incredible night of sleep! This thing might be trouble, y’all! :D

After coffee and breakfast, I put up my Friday post and put some beans in the Instant Pot. I got dressed and ready, scooped the litterbox, loaded and ran the dishwasher, and gathered my library books to return. I dropped my daughter off at school and returned the library books into their drop box, then drove over to Kohl's. My mom had given me the Koh'ls cash she wasn’t going to use, so I wandered around the store trying to find something. Their clothing didn’t appeal to me much (I have a pretty plain and simple style; most showy patterns don’t look good on me), so I ended up finding a new shiny unicorn watch for my daughter, and a pair of earrings for me. Perfect!

 

At home, I tidied my daughter’s room and the living room. I took lunch to my daughter, had lunch myself, and took out the compost and recycling. I did my 30 minutes of Read Harder and then started coming down with a headache, so I skipped Pilates and closed my eyes, hoping that dozing for a bit would take the edge off. Instead, I slept HARD for an entire hour! It did indeed help and felt wonderful. I picked up my daughter up from school, lounged around on the computer, prepared a pot of One Pot Southwest Pasta for dinner, and unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher.

I ate dinner, did my Duolingo, showered, put dinner away, and worked on my grandmother’s cross stitch. Virtual services at my synagogue were lovely this week; one of our members was celebrating her adult bat mitzvah, and it was truly joyful to watch! My husband and I watched three episodes of Forensic Files before bed, and we were awoken several times in the night because of the fierce winds. All the tornados were well south of us, but our daughter still got scared and climbed in with us at some point in the night. My heart goes out to everyone affected by these storms.

 

Saturday, 11 December, 2021

Lazy, relaxing Shabbat! I had breakfast and put the dishes in the dishwasher, then spent the morning working on my grandmother’s cross stitch and watching YouTube videos. After lunch, I did 20 minutes on my exercise bike (starting slow; this tends to flare up my SI joints, so we’ll see how it goes), then spent the afternoon on my soft, soft bed comforter, reading, napping, and reading again. Ahhhhhh. That comforter is dangerous, I’m telling you! I may live the rest of my life from bed…

We had Chinese food for dinner; I did my Duolingo and showered, and loaded and ran the dishwasher after putting dinner away. I put my daughter to bed, then read until my husband came upstairs, and we watched three episodes of Forensic Files.

 

Sunday, 12 December, 2021

Another slow start to the morning! Coffee, breakfast, and working on this post made up the bulk of my morning. I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and took out the recycling as well. I spent my time after lunch cross-stitching and listening to a podcast. 

 We met my sister-in-law and nephew at a local park and let the kids play for a bit, then went into the military museum. It’s always a moving experience in there- there’s a video of soldiers liberating concentration camps and forcing the citizens of the surrounding towns to provide burial for the dead there, as a way of ensuring that these people not only understood what had been going on in their backyard, but acknowledging that they too were responsible for it; I wasn’t feeling up to spending time in front of it this visit, but I said a brief prayer as we passed by. The whole museum to me emphasized on this visit what an utter, utter waste war is: the destruction, the loss of lives, the loss of human potential. So much heartbreak. How have we not learned to stop killing each other after so many years on this planet???

By the time we got home, it was time for dinner. I did my Duolingo and continued cross-stitching while watching YouTube. I showered, showered my daughter, loaded the dishwasher, and threw some chickpeas in the Instant Pot to cook overnight. I finished reading God Is In the Crowd by Tal Keinan, and my husband and I watched three episodes of Forensic Files before bed.

 

And that’s it! This is the start of the last school week before my daughter is off for winter break, so I’m looking forward to the end of the week. I’ve got two library books to finish, two ARCs from NetGalley to dive into, and hopefully visiting the local animal park with our friends at the end of the week (didn’t happen this week because my daughter’s friend wasn’t feeling well). I may have a few things in the works with my son as well, but we’ll see. I hope you’re all gearing up for a wonderful, productive week!

What's Been Going On: Monday, 6 December - Wednesday, 9 December, 2021

 Brrrr! We had the coldest day in the last nine months here this week, and it was brisk! One of those walk-outside-and-your-nose-sticks-together kind of days. I’d be lying if I didn’t say summer is my favorite, with its warm temperatures and ability to sweat half to death while reading for hours on my backyard swing, but there’s something so lovely about the cold weather as well. I find I’m more productive during this season, if only to stay warm! What about you? Are you busier in warmer weather or cold?

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

Monday, 6 December, 2021

After coffee and sharing the leftover sufganiyot with my daughter, I got dressed and posted my review for Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe, and then it was time for school drop off.

After that, I headed over to Walmart to rustle up some Christmas gifts for my daughter (because it’s still Mom’s job even when it’s not Mom’s holiday, right? Ha!). I was lucky to find a whole bunch of stuff, and I found even more at the Five Below store at the other end of town. We’re pretty much done with her; I’d like to get her some more fuzzy socks, because she really loves those, but I can pick those up at any time. Shopping wasn’t all that fun, since I had a lot of nerve pain in my left leg, but I was glad to cross this off my list!

At home, I posted my Monday post, and then it was time for lunch with my daughter! After I ate my lunch, I read my Read Harder book (The Joy of Sects by Peter Occhiogrosso) for 30 minutes, then closed my eyes, but a nap was elusive, so I grumblingly joined my husband for 20 minutes of Pilates when he got home. I spent the rest of the afternoon reading Ant Egg Soup and helping my daughter with her math homework; I finished the book and put it back in my library bin.

I took out all the trash in the house as well as the recycling, replaced the trash bags, and took the cans to the curb. I threw the leftover kugel into the oven to reheat and made a batch of cinnamon vanilla waffles, and filled and ran the dishwasher. After dinner, I did my Duolingo, showered, showered my daughter, began reading God Is In The Crowd: A Model for Post-Diaspora Judaism by Tal Keinan (despite the dryish-sounding title, it’s actually really fascinating, I promise!), and watched two episodes of Forensic Files with my husband before bed.

 

Tuesday, 7 December, 2021

After having coffee and getting dressed, I prepared a batch of Tomato Butternut Squash soup in the crockpot, since the high this day would be about 21 degrees, and cold weather means soup! This is my go-to tomato soup recipe; I buy the squash in the fall when it’s cheap, roast it, and freeze it in freezer bags, making this a fairly quick meal. I also blend the soup so it’s completely smooth. It’s delicious!

I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and dropped my daughter off at school. This was the first day of the year that they let the kids walk right in, instead of waiting outside, since it was only 16 degrees out. Brrr! At home, I got some bread dough started in the bread machine, started a load of laundry, and posted my review for Nurture the Wow by Danya Ruttenberg. I tidied the kitchen and living room, vacuumed the rug under the table, and swept the living room and kitchen.

I did 20 minutes of piano practice, switched and hung the laundry, did my 30 minutes of Read Harder, and then it was time to take my daughter her lunch! After I ate lunch at home, I switched the bread dough into pans to rise, then worked on my grandmother’s cross stitch while watching YouTube videos. 20 minutes of Pilates with my husband when he got home, and then, since I was on such a roll with the cross stitching, I continued to work on it until dinner time while watching more YouTube videos.

 

Piglet likes to join me when I stitch, but it often doesn’t last too long. He got booted right after I took this picture for being a little too swipey with his clawed paws!

After dinner, I did my Duolingo and showered, put my daughter to bed (we finished Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli), read, and watched two episodes of Forensic Files with my husband before bed.

 

Wednesday, 8 December, 2021

A different sort of day!

I had coffee and scooped the litterbox, put together my grocery list, and ran the dishwasher before dropping my daughter off at school. Getting groceries took me to two stores; the local store had some jackfruit mixes in the markdown section for 99 cents each, and a huge package of zucchini for a dollar, so those all came home with me. Aldi finally had in the bedspreads they’d advertised a few weeks back. I thought about it for a bit and ended up buying one. I’ll still need a lighter one for the summer, I think, but the bedspread we have right now is old, limp, discolored, and starting to really show its age, so we really did need this.

 

At home, I put the groceries away, brought in the trash cans, took out the recycling and compost, then sat down to do an hour of volunteer work. One of the people speaking on JBSTV (which I usually have playing in the background as I work) was author A.J. Jacobs, whom I love, so that was really enjoyable to listen to as I compiled lists of legal resources.

I took lunch to my daughter and started reading Have You Seen Hyacinth Macaw? by Patricia Reilly Giff to her as she ate. At home, I unloaded the dishwasher, cleaned the kitchen and the living room, and then my mom arrived!!!

This was the first time we’d had an inside visit since February of 2020. She and I have gotten our boosters and my daughter is double vaccinated, so we all felt safe enough to let our guard down a little bit with each other. It was so nice to finally hang out with my mom and hug her! I made a batch of frozen pierogis that I’d bought that morning for lunch, and we had lunch together and chatted. My daughter didn’t know she was coming, and it was so wonderful to hear her excited shriek of, “GRANDMA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” as she ran out of school. She dropped her backpack on the ground and ran right into Grandma’s arms. So sweet!!!!

We all spent the afternoon together at our house, and we watched Frozen 2 while enjoying an Aldi pizza for dinner (I did my Duolingo during this!). When my mom headed home, I showered, put my daughter to bed, then returned downstairs to work on some of the upcoming year’s reading lists (I like to be prepared!). My husband and I watched two episodes of Forensic Files before bed.

So nice to spend time with my mom after so long! Yesterday was truly wonderful. Right now, the only thing I’m struggling with a bit is balance, trying to find time to fit in crafting with all the reading I want to get done, along with trying to keep the house in a livable state! I’m sure I’ll figure it out as time goes on. I’d really like to get to a place where I’ve got at least a little bit of time to work on my grandmother’s cross stitch each day. Hopefully my brain is working on this problem in the background and will present me a solution or a better schedule soon! : )

 

I was going to strip the bed, wash the sheets, and put the new bedspread on the bed today, but the cat decided to go back to bed immediately after breakfast and I feel bad moving him, so that’ll have to wait until he gets up! (I’m such a sucker, but he’s an old man cat, so he gets what he wants from me!)

I hope you’ve had a great start to your week and you’re looking forward to lots of fun things as we head into the weekend! We’re supposed to meet up with some friends at an outdoor mini-zoo near us, so hopefully that’ll happen, because yay, animals! What kind of plans do you have for this weekend?

Monday, November 8 - Wednesday, November 10, 2021 recap.

Happy Thursday! We’re almost to the weekend.

I’ve decided that instead of doing one massive weekly update with an unholy wall o’text, I’m going to do a twice weekly post about what’s going on in my life. The first will cover Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday; the second will cover Thursday through Sunday. I think that’ll work out better. Let’s get this started!

Monday, November 8, 2021

After getting dressed and having breakfast with my daughter, I changed out the bathroom garbage (it’s garbage night!) and scooped out the litterbox. I put a cup of black beans in the Instant Pot, then sauteed onions, mushrooms, and garlic in preparation for that night’s dinner of black bean burgers. (I add the mushrooms into the burger mixture when they’re on sale; it gives it a heartier flavor.) I unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher, and then it was time for school drop-off.

Back at home, I tidied the living room and read a piece of writing a friend had sent me to look over (it was fabulous! I hope it gets published somewhere), then swept the floors. I did a 20 minute cleaning blitz in my daughter’s room.

So, my daughter is seven and…basically, she’s a hoarder, and the tiniest little tornado you’ve ever met. She can enter a room and turn it into complete chaos within minutes; her age and her tendency to be extremely easily distracted makes it overwhelming and frustrating for her to even know where to begin cleaning up when things get that bad. I expect this will change with time and maturity, but for now, she still needs my help. Unfortunately, spending hours at a time overhauling her room is an act of frustration and pain for me, so I decided to start working on her room twenty minutes at a time. This proved fruitful; I uncovered her floor and got a surprising amount done in such a short period of time. She was extremely grateful when she got home!

I then went downstairs and made the burgers for dinner (and put them in the fridge!), took out the recycling, and cooked up two batches of kale for dinner before running the dishwasher and taking out the compost.

I edited and posted a review of Love, Chai, and Other Four-Letter Words by Annika Sharma on my book blog; then wrote another review. I browsed through some of my favorite homemaking blogs, then mended a torn dress, and prepared lunch for my daughter. I’m still picking her up for lunch every day (it helps to control our anxiety about her being unmasked in the lunchroom; she’ll be fully vaccinated after December 10^th, so when she goes back to school after winter break, we’ll feel okay with her staying at school for lunch), so I packed everything up and met her for lunch at school. She eats lunch with me in the car while I read to her; we’re currently reading Princess in Disguise by E.D. Baker (her choice; I’m not loving this one!).

At home, I ate lunch, then did an 18-minute beginner Pilates workout video. My physiatrist, whom I see for my terrible back, suggested Pilates as a way to strengthen my core at my last appointment; I had to wait a few days after my second set of caudal injections last week before beginning, but this was my first attempt, and phew! I definitely felt it the next day. I think it’ll be good for me and I’m looking forward to continuing.

Afterwards, I settled down on my chair for 30 minutes of my personal Read Harder challenge. This is where I pick a book that I wouldn’t just read casually; it’s something like a classic novel or a more substantial work of non-fiction that I really need to focus on to get through, and that’s easier for me to read when no one is home to make noise and distract me! Currently, I’m reading The Joy of Sects: A Spirited Guide to the World’s Religious Traditions by Peter Occhiogrosso. When my timer sounded, I began going through email I’d been putting off for ages. I took a break to walk with my husband to pick my daughter up from school, but this continued after we got home. Yikes!

I pan-fried the black bean burgers right before we ate, then I did my Duolingo (still going strong with Norwegian!), cleaned up the kitchen, took the garbage and recycling cans to the road, showered, swished out the toilet, and wiped down the bathroom sink. Phew! I had a sore hip after all this, so I relaxed until it was time to put my daughter to bed. I read my current casual reading book, The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live by Danielle Dreilinger, until my husband came upstairs. We watched two episodes of Forensic Files and then went to bed.

What a busy day!

 

Tuesday, November 9, 2021

You would think with as busy as I had been the day before, I would’ve slept better, but nope! Regardless, it was up for breakfast and getting ready with my daughter at 6:30 am. I threw in a load of laundry before doing school drop-off and heading to Target. They didn’t have what I needed, so I came home to discover rumblings of a local issue online (I’ll talk more about that later this week). Because of this, I made plans to virtually attend my library’s board meeting on Wednesday. I also posted a book review for Dirty Work: Essential Jobs and the Hidden Toll of Inequality in America by Eyal Press.

I switched the laundry, then folded and put away another load (I do a combination of hang drying and drying in my dryer, so there’s usually always something to put away!). I did a bit more preparation on that local issue, then did another twenty-minute cleaning blitz in my daughter’s room (once again, she was very grateful when she saw my hard work!). I had to make an extra trip out to the recycling bin by the road after this; my daughter hoards paper like crazy, and the only way to clear it out of her room is to do it when she’s not there! I did a little more computer work, prepared my daughter’s lunch, then put together a bag for local food pantries to drop off at the school office for their Service Week.

After my daughter had her lunch, I returned home to eat mine, then repeated the same Pilates video from the day before. I did my 30 minutes of my Read Harder challenge, and then dozed for twenty minutes, thanks to my poor sleep the night before. My husband and I walked the mile to pick our daughter up, then walked home. It was a beautiful fall day!

At home, I threw together a baked spaghetti and ran the dishwasher, then relaxed and played around online while my husband helped my daughter with her math homework. I finished my Duolingo, showered, and read The Secret History of Home Economics before putting my daughter to bed and watching three episodes of Forensic Files with my husband.

 

Wednesday, November 10, 2021

Wednesday is grocery day here! In addition to getting ready and making sure my daughter gets ready (and doing her hair, which I do every morning), I make out my grocery list while eating breakfast every Wednesday morning. I check Aldi and two other local grocery store’s ads and make out my lists based on what’s on sale. Fortunately, one of the local stores had some fresh vegetables on sale, so that made me happy! I scooped the litterbox and unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher before dropping my daughter off at school.

In addition to the items on my list, the local grocery store I went to had their about-to-go-bad produce rack out today, and I grabbed two big bags of broccoli for two dollars! There are about three and a half or four pounds of broccoli in those bags, in totally fresh condition. I was THRILLED! We hadn’t had broccoli here in a while, so I immediately started thinking about all the things I could make with this. Some broccoli cheddar soup might be in our future. ; )

I picked up our usual at Aldi, including a pizza (Wednesday night is always Aldi pizza night!), but not the bedspread they had in their weekly ad. Poor Aldi has been hit hard by the supply chain problems this year. I’m hoping they’ll get this bedspread in at some point, because we’re in desperate need of a new one! It only took me a few minutes to put groceries away when I got home.

After that, I did an hour of volunteer work on my computer. I’m signed up to do two hours a week with a nonprofit dedicated to helping provide resources to people who leave high-control religious groups. It’s important, necessary work, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it! I usually listen to whatever’s playing on the Jewish Broadcasting Service while I do my work compiling resources (I’m finishing up lists of mental health resources); today I listened to a program of speakers commemorating the anniversary of Kristallnacht. Most often, I split my two hours per week up between two days, but occasionally I’ll get it all done in one day. Some weeks I do a little extra.

I threw my daughter’s lunch together and read to her while she ate, then came home and had lunch myself! Afterwards, I did the same 18-minute Pilates video (I’m going to pick one video and repeat it all week long, I think), then read for 30 minutes for my personal Read Harder Challenge (I started learning about Buddhism today! Super fascinating). When the timer went off, I set it again for twenty minutes and cleaned some more of my daughter’s room, then took out the compost, rinsed some dishes, and visited some of the homemaking blogs I enjoy. And then it was time for school pick-up! Just me, because my husband works later on Wednesdays. At home, I prepared the salad and dressing for dinner while supervising my daughter’s math homework. There's spinach under all those chopped vegetables!

When my husband got home, we ate dinner; I cleaned up and ran the dishwasher, did my Duolingo, and showered. The library board meeting began at 7 pm, so I pulled out my grandmother's cross-stitch to work on while I listened (the stitching is all complete; I'm working on the backstitching now). 

The sound quality was terrible, but watching the board meeting was actually really interesting, and I plan on making it a regular thing. I love our local library so much and was heartened to know they're in such good financial shape. They also showed drone videos of the progress at the library's new building (it's slated to open in late fall/early winter of 2022), which was SUPER EXCITING. This is a project years in the making and one desperately needed- the current building is old, out of date (and getting it up to date would cost more than a new building!), not handicap accessibly, and a whole host of other issues. This new library building is going to add so much to our community and I'm really looking forward to it.

When the meeting ended, I read my book for a little bit, and watched two episodes of Forensic Files with my husband before going to bed.

And that's it for the first half of my week! How has your week gone?