Monday Musings

Likeke Falls.

My week: Jarrod had the entire week off work and I took off Monday through Wednesday, and it was an absolutely fantastic and refreshing break! We took Alohi on her first hike, we ate lunch at La Mariana Sailing Club, a famous tiki bar/restaurant that we'd been meaning to try forever, and we went snorkeling and saw a few sea turtles.

Unfortunately... we also had quite a few rough spots to the week. We continued (and eventually gave up) trying to leave Alohi out of her crate when we left the house and that resulted in a broken lamp (possibly an accident, but still), a chewed-through computer cord ($65 to replace) and a corner of our big area rug shredded. On Saturday we were playing and she just so happened to skid on the tile at the right angle to crash into and break a leg off the kitchen table. And on Sunday we had to do a (rather expensive) walk-in vet visit because of swollen and pussy sore she suddenly developed (and now we have to smear antibiotic ointment on her rear end every day for a week). On top of that, I discovered the cat had peed on the sofa in my reading room/office! These animals, I swear -- they're giving me gray hair!

Reading: I guess I had to balance out my previous very productive reading week with one where I didn't read much at all. I continued to read the second Temeraire book, "Throne of Jade," which I found much slower going than the first (a book I adored!), and I finally finished it Sunday night.

Mid-week I started reading 25 pages a day of "One Summer: America, 1927" by Bill Bryson. Bryson writes interesting, accessible non-fiction and I'm really enjoying my short chunks of "One Summer." It's crazy how many fascinating events happened in just a few months (so far I've read about the Great Flood of 1927, Charles Lindbergh's flight to Paris, and a murderess and her beau who captivated the country, among other things), and I'm loving that sense of '20s atmosphere and lifestyle that permeates the book!

Today I'll be starting "The Essex Serpent." I fully admit that the cover is what attracted me to the book! The plot sounds pretty interesting, though, and I love stuff set in the 1800s. I hope it lives up to my expectations!

Watching: "Game of Thrones," "Homeland," "Elementary." Movie-wise we watched "The Zookeeper's Wife," which was overall a good film, but I feel completely misled by the cover art of Jessica Chastain snuggling an adorable lion cub -- it was pretty grim and depressing (it is a WWII story set in Warsaw, after all).

Eating: Dunkin Donuts! They recently built the first DD in Hawaii -- right near our house -- and I've been craving donuts ever since, but it has been a complete and utter madhouse the past month. We drove by a few times but it was either ridiculously packed or closed early for no apparent reason (likely they ran out of donuts). Jarrod was sweet enough to brave the drive-thru one night on his way home from surfing and came bearing glazed, maple and guava-filled donuts. Pretty tasty -- though not necessarily worth all that effort!

Something most people don't realize about Hawaii is that it doesn't have all typical chain stores and restaurants we take for granted on the Mainland -- it has some (like Target, thank god!), but there are definitely some notable places missing. Whenever one comes to the island, it's a massive event! Personally, I really miss Kohl's and craft stores like Hobby Lobby or Michael's. Many people -- military people stationed here, I should say -- especially miss Chick-fil-A. I actually saw a couple weeks ago where a fellow military spouse brought back 200 nuggets in her airline luggage to freeze and re-heat!

Blogging:
Monday Musings
Suggested Reading for Kids and Teens (and Adults!)
Mini Reviews: This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel and All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood

Looking forward to: Our upcoming weekend getaway to Kauai! It's going to be a very quick little trip, but I'll take whatever type of vacation I can get.

*I'm linking up with Kathryn of Book Date for It's Monday! What Are You Reading?