Sunday Salon/Sunday Post - August 30, 2026: Where Has the Year Gone??

While I know it's been a great, productive year so far (I could post about just that!), working with dated documents has me picking the wrong month on a regular basis. Last week, it was June. Almost September, and I'm trying to put a '6' for the month. Maybe because I see it as the start month on a few cases and just lock in? Boy, do I wish summer was just starting. Hahahaha

But it is part of my life philosophy to not wish time away, so August it is! And while living in the present moment also sounds intriguing, my life is a to-do list at most times. Today will be finishing some shopping with my son - his challenge for the last week or so has been cleaning his room. As I told him, not just cleaning it to make me happy, but cleaning it so it's a useful, pleasant, and safe space for him as he goes into high school. We did the professional closet organizer things a couple summers back, because his room is on the small side. I want him to have a space he likes, where he can find what he wants to, and have room to do what he wants in there without clutter or distractions. His reward for finishing at my request before he starts high school next week is new shoes - his choice. So today we get some under bed organizers to complete the project, and new shoes. And I drag him along for groceries, because I can and he doesn't argue too loudly. ;)

First, I'm up early again, and made this blog post my first priority! Because I like to write, and I'm trying to get into the habit more. I do tend to write a lot in my head, but I'm trying to get it to paper in a journal, or to the computer usually here. Now I'm joining in with some long time peeps on Sunday Salon with Readerbuzz, and Sunday Post with Caffeinated Reviewer. Last week I admittedly read a lot of other posts for enjoyment, while not feeling up to posting for myself. We had driven up to my daughter's college (about six and a half hours north) to drop stuff off, and then back again on the same day, on Saturday. Sunday was all recovery for us. 

What I'm Reading This Week:

On my kindle, I'm about halfway through The Witches Orchard by Archer Sullivan. I've gotta say, I'm sure I picked it from Netgalley because of the 'witch' in the title, but it's actually the first in a series about an Appalachian, Air Force special investigator turned private investigator, Annie Gore. I'm really liking it, even though she does not seem to be a witch.

In print, I'm still plugging away with Little Thieves by Margaret Owen, and Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant by Roz Chast. These were both part of the Battle of the Books. My other team member ended up with a sick cat that week, so we dropped out. I had already finished one of the books, and I'm still working on these other two because I'm enjoying them. I returned the hardcover non-fiction to the book store after having read the first 50 pages or so. 

In audiobook, I started The Housemaid by Freida McFadden a few days ago. I'm enjoying the book, and admittedly have no idea where it's going. The prologue (?) was a pretty serious future moment, without identifying who was who. I'm never big on figuring it all out in advance - I tend to just go along for the ride. With that said, I do want to spare an acronym for the last audiobook I finished - Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. The acronym is WTAF. While most of that book progressed along the given summary (although I actually hated her husband more than her), the ending was a lot. I'm excited to see what the do for the movie.

Three Good Things:

1. My son has always mostly looked forward to entering our huge high school, which I'm so glad about. I've continually told both of my kids that your elementary school friends are friends of convenience - neighbors, and the people randomly in your class. As you get older, in bigger populations and making more of your own choices, you will find more of 'your' tribe. He has already met more high schoolers through his work on the summer theatre production, and after freshman first day (our district busses in the people new to the building a week before the rest of the 2000+ students on the first day), he came home even more convinced he will like it more than previous school years. Well, except the waking up every day early and having homework shenanigans. ;)
2. My office overtime is, well, over! I can do overtime tomorrow (since it's still August), but then it's eight-hour-days. Hubs predicts this will last til we get behind at the holidays, but for now, I'll take it and be home shortly after 3pm each day. I can read, write, working my jigsaw puzzle, get some new LEGO. Even make dinner! I'll certainly miss the extra income, but it is traded for time, and I'm focusing on that.
3. Gosh, I'm having a hard time picking just one good thing to talk about! I am so, so grateful to my best friend (who lives out of state) for telling me on our girls' weekend in the spring that I was so different. I told her I'd tried Xanax for my anxiety, but it didn't help much, and here I was. She said then that I needed a pill, every day, to adjust my brain so I could enjoy my life again. While I did wait for a much bigger breakdown a month or so later, I remembered what she said. Now I take my lil pill every day, and my life is indeed so. much. better. That is the start of all my good things now.

Three Goals for This Week/Month/Whatever:

1. Although it's probably a longer term plan, I'm ready to redecorate our family room. The sleeper sofa has two actually ripped cushion. I'm picturing some definite dopamine decorating. Either a bright couch and some print side chairs, or the opposite. I already told hubs I want the tv hung on the wall, since the table underneath it just holds it, and otherwise wastes floor space. And I want a cool curvy corner shelf to replace the nine-cube shelf that is on that wall now. So instead of a two-seat loveseat, we can have two splashy side chairs and a lil table between them. Yes, I do know this makes little sense since you are not actually sitting with me looking at this view. But it is still my plan.
2. The living room at the other corner of the house will also be getting a redo. Hubs arranged to get the neighbor's old piano delivered in a couple weeks, so things will have to move around in there. We're putting it in a space that currently has a roll top desk. I don't want to get rid of the desk (they're too uncommon now), but it will be emptied and moved into storage until we decide to turn one of the kids' rooms into a guest room? We'll see.
3. Super short term, I need to make a grocery list and plan some dinners for this week. I'm home, right? Today is a rainy, blah day, so I think I'll start in the Ina Garten cookbook I got for my birthday a couple months ago and see if there's a nice cozy casserole....

Whether it feels like late summer, the beginning of fall, or a whole new year with school starting, make it a great week for you and your peeps!