Monday, August 3, 2015

Monday Musings

IMG_2749

Highlight(s) of the week: Jarrod was gone for work this week and I definitely made the best of having the house to myself. Of course I miss him, but I did enjoy finally watching all of last season's "Downton Abbey" (can you believe there will only be one more season? Sniff, sniff...) and spending a shameful number of hours outside reading in my hammock.

I also did some online shopping this week and ordered this awesome Hermione Granger shirt that says, "When in doubt, go to the library." Is there a more perfect shirt to wear to work at the library? And I also ordered some Pilot Varsity fountain pens. I've been wanting to start writing my letters with a fountain pen for a while and I'm told these disposables are perfect starter pens.

Thinking: Can you believe it's August and that the summer is 2/3 over already? Ohio had such a cool, rainy start to the season and it's only now feeling like actual summer. I'm definitely enjoying the blue skies and copious sunshine -- and I wish we could just press pause! We have a busy month and a half ahead of us and before we know it, it'll be fall. This is our last summer in Ohio before we move to parts unknown next winter. I love Ohio summers and I'm trying to enjoy the mild nights, bountiful fireflies, beautiful wildflowers and all the sweet corn and delicious ice cream cones I can handle!

Reading: As I mentioned, this was a banner week for reading. I finished up the audiobook of "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" (I can't say enough about the awesome HP audiobooks!), finished "The Kill Artist" by Daniel Silva (ok), read "The Bookseller" by Cynthia Swanson (meh) and blew through "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson (surprisingly phenomenal). Now I'm reading "See Also Murder" by Larry Sweazy, set in the 1960s and about an indexer (literally, a woman who makes indexes for the back of books) and a murder mystery.

Knitting: Still working on my BlueSand Cardgian. It was coming out way to small so I ended up ripping the entire thing out and starting over last Monday. I was devastated, and I almost shed a tear over the whole fiasco! But now I'm back on track and almost caught up to the place I had been before disaster ensued.

Watching: I watched all of last season's "Downton Abbey," which was totally awesome, as well as "The Longest Ride," which was surprisingly good for a Nicholas Sparks movie. Not only was it the best Sparks movie I've seen (and, yes, I think I've seen them all), it was the best movie I've watched in a while. After I finished "Downton" I watched the first episode of another PBS series, "Mr. Selfridge." I wasn't totally hooked, though, so I'm not sure if I'll continue. I also watched "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" since I just finished the audiobook and was reminded of how different the movies are from the books. Ugh!

Eating:
Last week I mentioned that I made these blackberry cheesecake bars from the Pioneer Woman to take into work. Well, I saved a few for myself and I ate them alllll week. And they only got better with time. I highly recommend this recipe!

IMG_2744

Quote of the week: "Books were my transport to the larger world, even though I'd castrated more hogs than I would like to admit, pulled weeds until my hands ached well into winter, and withstood the fickleness of North Dakota weather like every other farmer's wife I knew. Farm work was in my blood, but books had always been my first true love. They were my magic carpet ride to a normal life; my sanity." -- Marjorie Trumaine in "See Also Murder" by Larry Sweazy

2 comments:

  1. I love your picture of you in the hammock. It's the perfect way to spend a summer afternoon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh my gosh, so many good things in this post. Give me that shirt and those blackberry bars! If the fountain pens you got are anything like the ones I got to write my own letters (http://www.amazon.com/Pilot-Disposable-Fountain-Assorted-90029/dp/B00092PRCA), you'll love them.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for stopping by! Comments make my day, and I read and appreciate every single one!

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...