Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - August 31, 2025: One Down, One to Go

Yes, in reviewing, she was already away at school when I posted last week, but we had just gotten home again, so she wasn't really gone yet? I don't know; it's too early for me to make much sense, apparently.

Welcome back to another Sunday! I will be posting again within 24 hours for a book review. Also, for what it's worth, I've started writing in an actual journal. Not to journal, per se, but to write. Mostly just letting memories out for now, and sort of following the periodic prompts in Dear Writer, by Maggie Smith. 

I'm joining up as usual with Caffeinated Reviewer and Readerbuzz for Sunday Post and Sunday Salon. I wish I could make more time to comment on more blogs I see through these great link-ups. 

What I'm reading this week:

As predicted last week, I've finished two books later in the day last Sunday, and started something new both in print and on my kindle. I've still got a pile of old books that were hand-me-downs for review, and Kingston and the Magician's Lost and Found by Rucker Moses & Theo Gangi is from there. I'm enjoying it so far. It's middle-grade fiction from 2021, and so far I'll be recommending it to my son when I'm done. As mentioned above, I'm also reading Dear Writer by Maggie Smith. I requested this one for myself on Netgalley, after I read You Could Make This Place Beautiful a couple years ago. So far, so good. I frequently feel bitter when reading stuff that is supposed to be inspirational, but her direction on writing is hitting all right so far.

Three Good Things:

1. Thank goodness for a three-day weekend (of sorts). I worked yesterday, wrapping up 17.5 hours of overtime, but I still have today and tomorrow off. So,  yay! Today I'll work on cleaning more of my office, take a bin for donation, work on my jigsaw puzzle, and get groceries for yummy steak dinner tomorrow. Tomorrow, we'll pick up hubs from the airport (haven't seen him since we were all in Marquette last week).
2. Our daughter had a great first week at college! I hope she isn't just saying that, but the posts and conversations I've seen show her having fun with other people and really enjoying her new digs.
3. Our daughter got the classes he wanted for eighth grade. The first look at his schedule was not that way, but he promptly emailed his counselor and got it worked out before we even went in to get his printed schedule and such. He still says he hates school, but it looks like he's got a solid friend group, and things seem to be working out as well as they can.

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. Well, getting through today is sort of the top of the list, so working in my office, getting groceries for tomorrow, and getting school supplies that don't turn up during my office cleaning for my son. Also, laundry for both of us so we don't have to do it tomorrow...
2. I'd like to work on my counted cross stitch. Not sure if I mentioned, but I did do a half hour or so of stitching while in Toronto. So, that's more than last year! LOL My mom got me these new embroidery hoops that are spring-loaded, I guess? I couldn't figure them out, but the old style ones I already have work fine...
3. I do need to post a few reviews. I need one to post that I did it on Netgalley, and I want to post and review the books I read for Battle of the Books for my own remembering. And since I did say reviews and not just books, I'd love to review some more places on Yelp! while I've got my computer up and running.

Sunday Salon/Sunday Post - August 24, 2025: And on with the Last Week

Last week of summer before school starts for our son, and our daughter is settling in at university and starts classes tomorrow. Where does the time go? 

In preparation for the new (fall) year, all four of us drove to daughter's new college town to move her in to her dorm. The university schedules move-in time slots, and provides big ole bins to move the stuff in less trips. We made it with two trips for the one-and-a-half cars of belongings. A mini fridge and shelving unit were in hubby's pick-up, and the rest of her packed belongings were in her car (which she'll keep there). She settled in for the rest of the afternoon/evening and made a few new friends. We went out for dinner without her. The next morning, we all met for breakfast at our favorite breakfast place in town, then our son and I headed home, dropped daughter back at her dorm, and hubs headed in another direction for work. Is that all there is, to a move-in? (credit to Peggy Lee)

Luckily, all that occurred over the course of a Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday off of work, so now I'm on bonus weekend time! I'm joining up with Deb at Readerbuzz and Kimberly at Caffeinated Reviewer and for Sunday Salon and Sunday Post.

What I'm reading this week:

I'm going to finish The Lost City of the Monkey God. Probably today. I got to less than a hundred pages last night before bed. So, yeah. I've got about two hours of A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage. So probably today or tomorrow I'll wrap that one up. I also listened to The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich during the drive, and then finished up while I puttered in my office yesterday. I really enjoyed it, and gave it four out of five stars, but honestly would have gotten more from it if I'd read it. I have such a hard time focusing on audio books. 

Three Good Things:

1. Would you believe some of my organizational stuff is falling into place a wee bit? The shelf that daughter took to her dorm used to be in our dining room, so I replace that with the one from the middle of my bedroom (while looking for a space) that used to be in son's bedroom. Win! Except the bins that go in the squares are a lil bigger than they can be in the new space. So new bins are on the porch, and son promised to help get all that in the right places/purged/reorganized today. I love when a plan falls into place.
2. Shout out to right-sized packing! It definitely felt like daughter had mostly the right stuff. I promise to putter in her room and straighten/purge/organize before the holidays, but she got what she needed and the move-in was so smooth! We visit in October, so should probably bring her some of the cold weather stuff she'll need before she needs to schedule a trip home.
3. I'm excited to start my Lake Superior jigsaw puzzle today! There's a table which isn't the one we eat at, and it has a view of the family room/tv, so I think that will be my 'for me' task this afternoon. This probably could have been a good thing or a to-do. LOL

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. This week we get to go pick up son's eighth grade schedule. His counselor did email me that she got the classes he wanted, but now he can start comparing to friends' schedules. Several of his close friends are a grade ahead of him, since his birthday is close to the cut-off. He did well enough on a computer test last year to be able to skip the computer class the district has eighth graders take, so that opened up some space for choices. Yay!
2. I don't think I actually went through all of my review request emails last week. Whoops! Still gotta do that. 
3. I think at the end of this week (I get paid Friday), I need to update my calendar (I think a co-worker's baby shower and a pub crawl are not on my calendar yet), and I need to order my 2026 planner. I still love having a paper planner, even if I don't get it out every day. I hate trying to really 'participate' in things and review my life on something as small as my phone....

Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - August 10, 2025: Dog Days of Summer

This is it. The home stretch of summer before fall and the new school year arrive. I don't remember anyone warning me about the summer between high school and college for a parent. I can't even recall for sure what happened the last three Sunday mornings, but I wasn't home or near my computer to post. I still haven't called my own mother for her birthday on July 30 - I was busy that day at work, and then she left for vacation. Daughter of the year, eh? (I did make a Facebook post for her at 4:30am before I went to work...). I'm trying to squeeze in a quick post and some blog visits this morning, and later this evening, around starting school shopping for the middle schooler, and dorm shopping for the college freshman.

Happy Weekend! I'm joining up with Kimberly at Caffeinated Reviewer and Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Post and Sunday Salon. I've missed you all, and I'm so happy to spend part of my weekend with you again.

What I'm reading this week:

Our local Battle of the Books is this week, and I'm desperately trying to get through my print copy of The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story. Should not have saved the non-fiction book on the list for last, but here we are. Way to go, past Becki. On my kindle, I just started A Serial Killer's Guide to Marriage, and I'm finding it really amusing so far. 

Planning to finish up my reviews for Six Weeks by the Sea (3 stars) and Sycorax: A Novel (4 stars) later today, so watch for those later this month on Books I Think You Should Read.

Three Good Things:

1. Yesterday was the performance for the Young Americans Summer Camp! My kids have done it many times and loved it every time. It's a great performing arts one-week day camp for kids aged third grade - high school graduation year. So this was the last camp my kids will do together as campers. My daughter did audition to be part of the cast (college kids run the camp), so we'll evaluate that option if an offer comes through next winter/spring. Yesterday, both kids had singing solos, and they were exhausted every evening from so much fun and dancing at camp.
2. Best. Purchase. Ever? Right before the Toronto trip (which was fun!), I got the Beats noise-cancelling wireless headphones (okay, I really don't know what they're called). I wore them at the track in Toronto, and they're what I use for my music and peace every day at work since then. I only have to take breaks cuz they hurt my squished ears after a while. But the 'pro's far outweigh the 'con's. 
3. The last step of college registration is this week. It's time to pay the piper! Student loan advice? We're applying for private loans this afternoon (plenty still due after scholarships and qualified federal aid). 

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. This week is already busy! I'm going to work overtime on Tuesday and Friday, but Monday we're going to get the middle-schoolers first debit card, Wednesday I'm taking the graduate and her girlfriend to a fancy dinner, and Thursday is Battle of the Books!
2. My office! Ugh! I get some done, and then I get busy again and it falls down the list. I've taken a break from my jigsaw puzzles and LEGO til I have a table in here to do it, but I have one of each already waiting! 
3. Computering must happen later today! I need to finish those two book reviews, some Yelp! reviews, and go through emails with new review pitches from publishers to re-stock my TBR list (just kidding, it's still HUGE, but apparently about to grow again).

Sunday Salon/Sunday Post - July 13, 2025: 637 months old!

Lucky number 13! Last month, June 13, was my birthday. So apparently I'm 637 months old today! LOL I had a hard time getting my free movie ticket to work, so today I'll be finally going to the movies with our son. I think we'll see Elio. I'd like to see Materialists base on feedback from those who have seen it, but I'd rather have company :) 

Happy Weekend! I'm joining up with Deb at Readerbuzz and Kimberly at Caffeinated Reviewer for my sort of regular weekend post. 

What I'm reading this week:

I'm still working on reading Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini in print and Fog and Fury by Rachel Howzell Hall on my kindle.

Three Good Things:

1. My exterior home improvement stuff is almost done! There's still a dumpster at the end of my driveway, so I'm guessing they'll be back for some detail work, but the obvious rotten wood around some windows and porch posts has been replaced with beautiful (and durable) concrete fiber logs that look JUST like the wood style they've replaced. And my loan check arrived before the bill is due! Yay!!
2. I worked 56 hours last week! And payday is while I'm in  Toronto with hubs! All the pieces seem to have fallen into place. I got Thursday and Friday off this coming week so I can go to Toronto with hubs (he'll be working, I'll be doing whatever I want!), and my mom is coming to stay and take our son to and from band day camp and sleep in the house overnight (since our nearly adult daughter is camping with her girlfriend this week). Hubs says Toronto is one of the fun locations he works from time to time, and I'm looking forward to a fun long weekend.
3. High School graduation number one is nearly in our rearview mirror. Graduation was early June, and the party celebrating our daughter was at the end of June. She finished the thank you cards just before leaving for camping, so now it's my job to finish getting postage/mailing the thank yous. See goal below. LOL

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. Yeah. Ima finish getting those thank yous return addressed and stamped. I'll deliver them to the post office early this week. Once she gets back, we do the big ole bank run to cash the checks and deposit the cash so she has money for her life at college!
2. I really, really want to get my camera bird feeder installed! It's a birthday gift from my mom, and SO perfect for me! But I'm feeling technologically and construction challenged to get it mounted and installed. I've asked for help, but it hasn't come through, so wish me luck!
3. Another huge push to clean my office is on the agenda today. I made a good dent last weekend, but it needs to be done already. My biggest motivator (besides just being able to better enjoy the space) is to set up a table for my LEGO. I'm getting ready to start my biggest set yet (The Sanderson Sisters' House), but we have our daughter's birthday party in a couple weeks, and I don't want it out on a table in the middle of things. So the office must be a useable place for LEGOing before I can start that set!

I probably won't be posting next week, but I'm sure I'll be thinking about ya'll while I make my own adventures.

Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - July 6, 2025: Happy Independence Day?

Thank goodness for three days off work (plus an extra should-have-been-an-hour-but-at-least-was-40-minutes). My direct managers always try to give us an extra hour of company time on US holiday weekends, but workload. So, in summation, I've been away from work since about 1:50pm on Thursday, which is cool. So I've been HOME (including on my back deck or front porch) since a grocery run for the weekend on Thursday. Another WIN. I'm a bit of a homebody, but will probably leave later today to use my free birthday Emagine theater ticket and see Bride Hard. At least that's the plan. So happy holiday weekend, even if 'Independence' day seems to be a stretch lately (check out the shirt at left
here).

As I think I've stated before, high school graduation season is no joke. I've spent the last several Sunday mornings either preparing for graduation parties or college orientation visit, taking the younger one to camp, recovering from a graduation party at our house, and even sneaking in a breakfast with out of town friends. It's been a month, but now I'm back to post with Kimberly at the Caffeinated Reviewer for Sunday Post, and Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon. And I need to say that I really missed my slow, reflective Sunday mornings sitting right here, saying what really doesn't feel like a lot, but is a spilling of my words. Even if who I am is often a response to my kids, family, and work. None of them oversee this - it's me.

What I'm reading this week:

As part of this great, at-home, doing me stuff weekend, I finished two books yesterday, reviewed two, and started two more. My reviews for The Athena Protocol (which published years ago, and I finished reading weeks ago) and Into the Leopard's Den (published on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, and apparently the last in the much-loved Bangalore Detectives Club series) were written yesterday and will be publishing to Books I Think You Should Read soon. 

While I finished Reading Into the Leopard's Den yesterday on my kindle, I also finished Funny Story by Emily Henry. That was my first read of the four adult Battle of the Books contest reads for mid-August. Our local library does a super-fun trivia contest on four pre-announced books at a local bar/restaurant. The first one was postponed from April 2020 until summer of 2023, and our team/book club (formed in January 2020 for the purpose of this contest) WON! Last year I think we came in third by just a couple points. This year, 3 out of 5 of our members from our championship year are not available, so the two remaining have added one of my co-workers, and the other team member's sister. The other three books are Huda F Are You? by Huda Fahmy, Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini by Sid Fleischman, and The Lost City of the Monkey God by Doulas Preston. So I finished the pop fiction, started the kids' book, and still have the graphic novel and non-fiction to go. Wish us luck!

I'm currently reading the print copy of Escape!: The Story of the Great Houdini and Fog and Fury by Rachel Howzell Hall on my kindle. 

Three Good Things:

I think Deb started '3 Good Things' during COVID lockdowns, but I'm still all in too. More good news is always good :)

1. We spent a few days at Northern Michigan University, where our daughter will attend in the fall, for new student (and support person) orientation. It was a fabulous event. She stayed in a dorm room with another incoming freshman, learned her way around campus a bit, met her suite-mates and a bunch of other new students, and even got to do an off-campus hike to see the beauty of the area. We're more sure than ever that she's made the right choice and is gonna love the next step in her life. 
2. Actually, this weekend so far has been a good thing :) I love staying home, reading, building LEGO, puttering/cleaning/improving my surroundings, a bit of coloring, watching movies with the kids.... Our son and I even had steak dinner Friday night. It's really been my optimal weekend off.
3. I'm reading more books lately. What that actually means to me is that I'm focusing and checking things off, not just vegging out and sleeping as much as possible. It's a good thing.

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. While our son's closet re-org/design is done and he's working on putting it, and his whole room, in a better place, I've also found the motivation to work on my home office. And I've made noticeable progress! My goal is to have room for a table in here, so I can do my LEGO without stray pieces being at risk of being in someone's way. 
2. Cleaning out part of my office has already unearthed three brand-new water bottles (I think they have company logos, which reminds me I'd rather have an actual RAISE than another 'free' water bottle, but I digress). Anyway, I'd like to clean out a couple kitchen cupboards which will give me a box of similar items to donate. And get them out of my house!
3. The kids and I have been wanting to re-do the curio cabinets. I have two of my grandmother's old curio cabinets in our 'formal' dining room (with an old table where I've been doing LEGO). While there is memorable stuff in them, we'd like to update it with stuff that is currently meaningful to us. It's on the list.

Hope you're having a summer you're enjoying :)

Sunday Salon/Sunday Post - June 1, 2025: Summer, Please?

We may not have the weather yet, but I've got the vibes. While hubs invited us to hang out at his fancy hotel downtown while he's working at the Grand Prix, I really, really wanted to stay home and do things I enjoy. So I did. Yesterday I woke up before the kids (not a challenge LOL) and went to a flower sale that was donating a portion of proceeds to our high school's marching band. I always wait til after Memorial Day to start buying flowers, so this was it! I got five hanging baskets and some of the lil ones (flats?). Then I even got the lil ones planted in two planters I keep on the back deck. I still have room for four more hanging baskets (three in the front garden, and one outside my kitchen window at the back), and I think I'll get at least one big ole planter for the front porch.

I'm joining in with Deb and Kimber for the Sunday Salon and Sunday Post this morning. I see at a quick glance that a few of the summer read linkys are starting today, but I want to do a post listing the local (to me) summer shows today or tomorrow too. We'll see how my motivation holds out! I am trying Starbucks new canned energy drink this morning (the Watermelon Twist flavor, for reference). I was bummed to find out Friday that our local Starbucks no longer carry my favorite Melonburst energy drink. I think the cans (from the grocery) are supposed to be the substitute.

What I'm reading this week:

I just started The Ashtrays are Full and the Glasses are Empty by Kristen Mickelwait on my kindle last night. So far, so good. It's based starting in the 1920s or so in the U.S. - a favorite setting for me. In print, I started a book I picked at a previous Battle of the Books as a prize - The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller. It's almost like a zomedy (zombie/comedy) in writing (okay, maybe a little more gore than a typical zomedy). It's going pretty quick for me.

Three Good Things:

1. I ordered the organizational layout of my son's closet! My budget isn't thrilled, but we are! LOL We're working with Closets by Design. The woman who came out was so nice and really helped us zone in on what we wanted to do. Delivery/installation is in a couple weeks. 
2. Graduation is this week! We are so proud of our daughter, and since she and I enjoy spending time together, I'm familiar with a lot of other seniors as well. I am a little amused that our favorite school board member said she's going to try to be the one who gives Maggie her diploma. We'll see, but regardless of that, high school is about done for this one, and college is coming up fast on the horizon. I have one year of not having a kid in the high school, then we start our son's four years there in the fall of 2026.
3. My volunteer term with our local theatre boosters is done (for now). I'd looked at joining one of the women's groups who awarded our daughter with a scholarship, but all the pictures - even on their international site - are of old white women. Which I am, but I don't want to end up in a room full of... well, people I don't want to be in a room full of. While some say it's 'just politics,' I feel we have a fundamental disconnect about human rights. I'll keep checking around to find out more about this group and others. Anyone have a women's group (non-religious) that they would recommend?

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. Does it help that I've been having vivid daydreams about how I want my home office to look? Display some of my LEGO, a comfy chair with good light to do counted cross-stitch or read in peace, a little secretary or desk where I can write, in addition to my computer spot, of course.... I have a few days off coming up where I don't have stuff booked all day. We'll see what can happen.
2. I want to start doing my Five Minutes Before Bed journaling again. It's an old goal thing I used to do when I was successful in direct sales. I can't find a good description online anymore, but it was from a group with Dana Wilde. 
3. Prep our son's closet for the reorganization/install! We need to get everything out of there, uninstall the rods/shelves that are already there, and re-paint. We didn't order backs on our organizational units, so we can pick a great color to show through.

Sunday Post/Sunday Salon - May 25, 2025: Three-Day Weekend for Memorial Day!

A three-day weekend is always what I need. While we were originally hoping to join hubs at the Indianapolis 500 today, the plan for that didn't work out. I'm not entirely bummed about that, because crowds. Ugh. The next plan was to say home in my PJs all weekend. Hahahaha... Also didn't happen. Yesterday the kids and I went to my parents' house to visit a small bookstore in their town (so cool!) and have lunch with them, before heading to iFly for some indoor skydiving. It was the second time for our son, and the first time for our daughter. They both loved it, and I may get them some private lessons to learn more tricks. Today our daughter picked up a shift at work, so our son wanted to check out a sale at Hot Topic, and then I need to do grocery shopping. Hubs expects to be home late tonight, and tomorrow is the local Memorial Day parade.

I've pulled my usual trick and just gotten out of bed and ready for the day when I first wake up, well before the two teenagers. LOL I'm joining Kimber for this week's Sunday Post, and Deb with the Sunday Salon.

What I'm reading this week:

I'm currently reading When Canaries Die by Luis Figueredo in print. It's got everything - a post-COVID pandemic, immoral politicians, and top-notch brilliant litigators. On my kindle is Dear Future Me by Deborah O'Connor. It's about a woman trying to untangle a crime from school after her best friend commits suicide possibly because of what a letter written in school and mailed to her more than a decade later contains. Especially odd since yesterday our daughter received a letter in the mail that she wrote to herself in school four years ago. But in real life, no one died. Yay!

Three Good Things:

1. While the kiddos did have fun in the pool a couple weeks ago, we're back to hoping for 60 degrees F here. At least the rain seems to have let up. Glad the track season is over for our son. The last meet was 50 degrees and a constant drizzle of rain. Not ideal.
2. I finally did some hardcore adulting last week and went in to get my Real ID so I can make the trip to Toronto with hubs in July. My license was expiring anyway, but you have to go to the Secretary of State with either your passport or a bunch of other proof of existence and pay extra for the driver's license upgrade. I did the things, and now I'm just waiting for it to arrive (sort of bummed they couldn't get a decent picture with my awesome glasses on though - they're kind of my trademark this year).
3. I've gotten really stubborn about working my scheduled eight hour shifts, and taking time off for the kids' things. And while being at work still isn't very pleasant, having more time away is a marked improvement.

Three Goals for this week/month/whatever:

1. 
   I finally finished my Lucky Bamboo LEGO yesterday, and went to hubs home office to find his 3-in-1 that I got him for Christmas. I'll be putting that one together probably later today. It's a bird, or a frog, or a fish. I had a similar set and did the bird, so I think I'll do the fish with his set.
2. I was looking at an awesome angel I did in counted cross-stitch for my mom (in 2006) at her house yesterday, and I really want to pack up the super cross-stitch organizer she made for me and get to stitching.
3. I also really want to get pictures of our daughter in her graduation gown (we've got the gown, and graduation is June 4). The goal is to get the pictures ASAP, so we can design and order thank you cards ASAP. She's already gotten one check from someone who said they can't make it to her party!