Turning the Page on March 2017

 

-It's been seven weeks since we brought Alohi home with us, and what a seven weeks it's been! We are absolutely besotted with our sweet, adorable little boxer baby and it's been so fun to watch her grow, both physically and mentally. She's so smart, and she loves walks, playing fetch, carrying stuff around in her mouth, car rides, people, other dogs, her feline sister (not reciprocated, sadly), watching TV and most especially snuggling and giving kisses. In fact, the first command she learned was "give kiss"!

There've been some rocky times for sure, though; I'm positive I've broken whatever previous record I had for saying "fuck" in one month. Puppies are pretty (fucking) hard work, it turns out. Things are going well now, though -- until teething starts in a couple months! (I do have to say, it's been three years now since we lost our first boxer, Conan, to lymphoma, and Alohi has reminded me just how much I miss him. Lots of adult dogs get irritated with puppies, but Conan was the most patient, gentle boy and he'd have absolutely adored his little sister.)

-Work-wise I kept busy with the big display wall I'm currently in charge of in the kids' section of the library. In March I did a March Madness-style Battle of the Books where patrons voted on favorite kids' book characters. The last round is this week and it's between Percy Jackson and Mo Willems' The Pigeon. For April the theme is April Showers Bring May Flowers, and I've made several giant paper flowers and I'm about to make a huge 3-D cloud out of papier-mache and polyester fiberfill.

-We watched most of season 1 of "House of Cards" this month. Man, it's a depressing show! I purposely don't talk about politics on the blog, but for a while now I've had just about zero faith in our elected officials and I wouldn't be surprised if all the craziness that happens on the show represents real life. Sheesh. Otherwise... it took a while but I'm finally caught up on this season's "Grey's Anatomy" and I've moved on to the gazillion episodes of "This is Us" on the DVR (such a good show!). Movie-wise we watched "Hacksaw Ridge," "Arrival," "Allied" and "Manchester by the Sea," all decent.

Books read: 8

"Dead Letters" by Caite Dolan-Leach (2 stars)

"The Hating Game" by Sally Thorne (4 stars)

"A Monster Calls" by Patrick Ness (for book club // 4 stars)

"Carve the Mark" by Veronica Roth (4 stars)

"A Bridge Across the Ocean" by Susan Meissner (3 stars)

"A Perilous Undertaking" (Veronica Speedwell #2) by Deanna Raybourn (4 stars)

"Lincoln in the Bardo" by George Saunders (4 stars)

"Murder of Crows" (The Others #2) by Anne Bishop (3.5 stars)

Currently reading: "Sputnik's Children" by Terri Favro (out April 11). It had me at "time travel"!

Favorite read: "A Perilous Undertaking." My friend Katie described these kinds of books as "comfort food" and I totally agree!

Biggest let-down: "Dead Letters." It just did not work for me, and I feel like it was a little bit misadvertised as a thriller when it was more of a dysfunctional family drama.

April release I'm most excited about: "Waking Gods" by Sylvain Neuvel, the second book in the Themis Files series (sequel to "Sleeping Giants"). And the next volume of "Saga"!

Book I'm most looking forward to reading in April: "The Dry" by Jane Harper. I'm in the mood for a good contemporary mystery and this one is set in Australia and is well-reviewed!

Books added to my to-read list: 8

Most intriguing TBR addition: "American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World" by David Baron. From Goodreads: "In the scorching summer of 1878, with the Gilded Age in its infancy, three tenacious and brilliant scientists raced to Wyoming and Colorado to observe a rare total solar eclipse. One sought to discover a new planet. Another -- an adventuresome female astronomer -- fought to prove that science was not anathema to femininity. And a young, megalomaniacal inventor, with the tabloid press fast on his heels, sought to test his scientific bona fides and light the world through his revelations."

Favorite bookstagram: This was a delightful book, and the jacaranda tree in our backyard was shedding zillions of pink flowers, and this lovely photo came together just how I hoped it would!

I had almost zero time for knitting this month! I did make a colorwork hat that came out pretty well -- it's teal with white hearts -- but then I never had a chance to block it and make a pompom for the top. Hopefully I'll have a picture to share by this time next month!

Favorite posts: My Spring 2017 To-Read List. I don't always manage to follow them, but I love putting these lists together! Also, Etsy Wishlist: Puppy Edition! I want ALL THE THINGS!

Book reviews:

Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner

Carve the Mark by Veronica Roth
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness