Well, I want to keep reading The Nanny’s Handbook to Magic; it looks fun from the sample. But both the Kindle and the print version cost more than I want to spend on a book I’ll likely only read once. So on my list it goes. Next up: The People’s Library by Veronica G. Haney.
Okay, I’m reading this. Another book with a weird library? I’m in.
Listening to: Milk Street Radio, “Sweet Rosalyn” by Sheryl Crow, “Me and Armini” by Emiliana Torrini
Well, thanks to Micky and Boo, my first words of this month weren’t “rabbit rabbit” but “Hey! Cut it out!” So that’s this month done.
At least it’s warm enough for me to ride my bike today. But I didn’t get Pop-Tart breakfast.
Listening to: Milk Street Radio, “A View to a Kill” by Duran Duran, “Stoppin’ the Love” by KT Tunstall
Finished: A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke. 5 stars; book #7 for the year. Magical realism, I guess? I’m not sure exactly why I like it so much,...
Listening to: Milk Street Radio
My brain continued its quest to drive me mad last night (or was it simply a quest to wake me up because my right arm had fallen asleep? I’ll never know.). I, as a kid, had a pet lion cub. But so sad, it was sick. Dream-mother decided well, we might as well cook it up for supper.
By boiling it in a large kettle.
While it was still alive.
Until its head split down the middle, at which point I knew it was no longer alive.
And I, watching this, was thinking, “I don...
Watched: Sapphire & Steel
My appointment went all right the other day. In fact it was so quick I don’t know how they have the gall to charge me for it. But they will. In, out, everything’s fine, no changes necessary, goodbye.
I was supposed to make a necklace today, but I couldn’t find an idea – or a pendant I wanted to use. Instead I made a couple of elastic bracelets, just as a test, really. I’m thinking of giving one to Alyssa next time I see her, so she can wear-test it for me. See...
Listening to: Milk Street Radio
So the other day I decided it was time to update my profile picture online. I’d been using one Sophie took at the gallery back in 2016, pretty much everywhere (and I just realized there are a few places where I haven’t changed it yet). So I took a selfie, in the den, in sunlight. Big mistake. That light brought out all the lines on my face, ones that I didn’t even realize were there because mostly I look at myself in the bathroom mirrors. Apparently the...
Listening to: The Atlas Obscura Podcast
I think my foot is getting better. Friday night it let me sleep til after two AM; last night I got to sleep til about quarter to three. WSS.
Also, the last two nights when I woke up, I found Micky sleeping by my feet. Not fighting with Boo on my bed, but actually sleeping. And this morning, just before my alarm went off, he woke me up for snuggles. Maybe he’s growing up a little?
Watched: Route 66
Started reading: A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke
Listening to: It’s Storytime with Wil Wheaton
Watched: Abbott Elementary, Leverage, Northern Exposure
Well, my blood test results looked really good. The urine screens – not so much. Not looking forward to my appointment on Wednesday.
Listening to: “Every Morning” by Sugar Ray
I've been reading my 2024 journal lately and thinking I really need to write more often. I wrote nearly every day that year, though sometimes despite not really having anything to write about. Either I’ve been busier just lately, or I’m not as motivated. I don’t know.
Anyway. Writing in the album-cover notebooks now, after which I plan to cover the scribbles with scrapbooky stuff. We’ll see how that idea goes. I just like the idea of the two mashed...
(read in 2025, not necessarily published then):
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Witchmark, Stormsong, and Soulstar by C.L. Polk
The Silent Tower, The Silicon Mage, and Dog Wizard by Barbara Hambley
Enemy, Outlaw, and Ally by K. Eason
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Eric Idle
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed by Alan Alda
The Deepest Roots by Miranda Asebedo
Silent...
12/22 Monday 1:27 PM 31
Starting The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver. Hope this will break my bad Kindle streak.
Listening to: “Sarus Cranes” by Wild Ambience
It’s seriously tempting to just take this whole week off from doing anything at all productive. But as I already know I’m going to have to bake at least one loaf of bread before Thursday, and I already did some work on both books yesterday and dusted in my bedroom today, I might as well just carry on as usual. sigh. I also made...
12/16 Tuesday 2:48 PM 41
Listening to: “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John
Another busy week. I guess? I know, who am I making excuses to anyway?
Anyway, what have I been doing? Mostly the usual. But on Friday I suddenly decided that I needed to re-sort my pictures on the computer. Not even sure I remember why. But it took way longer than I thought it would. Pretty much killed that day.
Saturday evening was spent out, celebrating Will Stewart’s birthday. Fun, but I didn’t get to bed til nearly...
12/9 Tuesday 3:45 PM 29
I’m having a hard time keeping track of what day it is again. I don’t know why. The confusion is about both the day and the date. Aggravating. I’ve been convinced at various times today that it’s Monday and/or the 10th.
On Sunday it was so cold that I had to do my old PT exercises inside. I ended up having to do the clock reach with a spray bottle in my hand because Micky thought it was an invitation to attack my feet.
Yes we have gotten some snow today, but not a...
12/1 Monday 3:26 PM 14
Listening to: “Angelique” by Mike Oldfield
Was it a busy week? Actually it was kind of a lazy week. I celebrated Thanksgiving by having a Sims day. Did the grocery shopping on Friday (not at Walmart, obviously). The usual Sims day on Saturday, and then of course yesterday I had the end-of-week and end-of-month chores. I finished everything up just before supper time. It was a lot. But no, didn’t get much done that was actually productive. Oh, I shoveled the decks...
You know, the nice thing about house fires is that they progress in such a leisurely fashion that when the homeowner comes to your house to beg you to save her son, who’s gotten caught in some Halloween decorations and can’t get out, there’s plenty of time to try to clean out an absurdly tiny tunnel that’s somehow crammed full of assorted junk, give up on that, climb over the fence, make your way into the burning house through what appears to be some kind of zoo facility, make a mental note...
11/3 Monday 4:13 PM 53
Reading: Zamba: The True Story of the Greatest Lion Who Ever Lived by Ralph Helfer, The Art of Prophecy by Wesley Chu, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
LFL find, giveaway, and Kindle purchase I really should have read ages ago, in that order.
How has it been a whole week? Oh yes, I remember: I got a bug in my head about sorting Sims files, and couldn’t rest til it was done. One of my typical time-wasting projects. That took up a lot of free...
Something different I wanted to share. This is a bread machine recipe, but if someone with more baking skills than I have wants to try converting it, go right ahead. It's a nice fall bread, although obviously you can make it any time. The recipe is about 50% a recipe I found somewhere and 50% trial and error on my part. (Please respect the recipe! When I say "trial and error" I do mean it, especially the "error" part.)
Ingredients:
3/4 cup warm (not hot) water
1/2 cup butternut squash...
10/13 Monday 53
Listening to: “Daddy Sang Bass” by Johnny Cash
Phew. This is my third writing session this afternoon. My hand is tired, especially since the work on Freed is still mostly copying that old story. I’ll be done with that soon, though, and have to go back to thinking again. sigh.
Looking at my last entry. I ended up making four pendants on Friday. Would have done more, but I ran out of time. Anyway, I’m happy with what I did get done. One of the pendants is for Cheryl; I got the...
10/9 Thursday 71
This is the warmest day we’ve had all week. And it still doesn’t feel that warm. oh well.
I discovered today that I’ve read 69 books this year, of the 70 I set for this year’s Goodreads challenge. And I’ll hit 70 after a few more minutes of Kindle reading. That’s an average of 1.6 books per week. Not that I’m competing with anybody but myself, but it’s nice to know I’ve read this many books even with all the ones I discarded from the Kindle this year. I read 78 last year, and...
10/5 Sunday 54
September 2025 library stats:
Books added: 112 (-8 over September 2024)
Books taken: 18 (-43 over September 2024)
Books donated in: 19 (-255 over September 2024)
Books donated out: 8 (-61 over September 2024)
Books returned: 1 (-6 over September 2024)
Listening to: Drama of the Week
The big event of the past week was Alyssa’s birthday party, which was kind of fun. Odd for me to realize that I was the oldest person there, though.
I finished Circle of Friends on Friday, but I’m unable...
Had a bit of a library fail today. We stopped at two libraries and I left two books in each of them. But then I also took a book from the first one and three from the second. Well, I can’t help it! I nearly took three from the first one, but finally chose the one that looked most interesting. Little did I know, when I was mentally applauding my self-restraint, that the other one would have a copy of Walden (which I’ve never read somehow) and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (which I haven’t...