Monday, November 7, 2016

Monday Musings

IMG_2773_1

My week: We had tons and tons of trick-or-treaters last Monday (note to self: buy more candy next year!) and I had a small kerfuffle with a front-desk clerk at the library over them giving me a 7-day book to fill my hold request, but otherwise it was a quiet week filled with reading, knitting and kitty snuggles.

Reading: I finished Kate Morton's "The Forgotten Garden" and really, really enjoyed it. I've definitely got a book hangover -- even though I finished it on Friday and read a whole other book in between, I'm still thinking (and dreaming!) about it. I'm not even sure how to describe the book... part historical fiction, part mystery, part fairly tale, small part romance. It takes place in England and Australia in several different time periods ranging from the early 1900s to 2005.

Next I whipped through Maria Semple's new book, "Today Will Be Different." I definitely didn't hate it, but it wasn't anywhere near as good as "Where'd You Go, Bernadette," while also being eerily similar.

And last night I started "The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead. My mom read and enjoyed it while she was visiting last month so I'm extra excited to get to it now -- and have someone to discuss it with!



Knitting: Since I'm not working at the moment (and trying to decide what on earth I would like to do as there are no library jobs to be had here right now) I've been tossing around the idea of starting an Etsy shop to sell my knitted goods. Last week, in the first step of many towards opening a shop, I designed two cable-knit hat patterns. Here's one:

IMG_2856

Watching: I'm still watching season 5 of "Gilmore Girls" in preparation for the revival, which is excellent timing since it's the perfect show to watch while knitting. We also finished the first season of the British crime drama "Broadchurch" and I'm looking forward to starting season 2. It stars David Tennant, and it kind of makes me want to give "Doctor Who" another try.

Eating: I finally got around to making some chocolate chip pumpkin bread yesterday afternoon -- yum! (I say finally, because normally the first loaf of the season gets made in September, not November!) Also, I got an avocado-taro boba drink this week and, while the first sip was a little strange, I know it's going to be one of those things I crave specifically. While I miss a lot of things about Ohio, I am so glad to be surrounded by bubble tea places again!

Blogging:
Monday Musings: Happy Halloween
11 Picks for Book Clubs (or Bookworms) Who Like Thought-Provoking Historical Fiction
Yarn Along: "The Forgotten Garden" and a Cabled Hat
Turning the Page on October 2016
Book Review: The Last days of Night by Graham Moore

Looking forward to: The election finally being over! Also, I got an e-mail about Starbucks' Christmas drinks coming out. I'm still in an autumn/Thanksgiving mentality, definitely not Christmas, but I do love me a peppermint mocha!

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

18 comments:

  1. You SHOULD start your own etsy shop!!! Aurora is still in love with her mermaid tail blanket and now that the weather is getting cold she actually has a real use for it instead of just playing in it! She loves cuddling up on the couch in it and watching her shows or having me read to her!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Jaymee! I'm so glad Aurora loves her blanket! :)

      Delete
  2. Good luck on the shop. Sounds like a great idea. I'm with you on the election...just do it already. I finished my Gilmore Girls rewatch in October and am counting down the days to the new ones. I'm on vacation that Friday but I know my husband won't want to sit through them so I may have to spread them out some. Plus, I'm looking for something to go wrong with Netflix since so many people want to watch this that day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I hadn't even thought about Netflix being overwhelmed with viewers, but that could very well happen! I'm planning to spread the episodes out anyway, maybe one a day or one every other day. I'm definitely a savor-er!

      Delete
  3. I love the hat and would definitely buy one from an Etsy shop! I keep picking up Underground Railroad and then putting it down again. Guess I should give it a serious try.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for the compliment, Susie! That's so wonderful to hear! :)

      I only read about 15 pages of "The Underground Railroad" last night, and honestly, it wasn't grabbing me. But I'm planning to sit down and read (with a slice of pumpkin bread) in a little bit and I'm hoping the story will hook me then!

      Delete
  4. I had 8 trick or treaters and bought candy for 100. I'll be eating Halloween candy until Easter! Come see my week here. Happy reading!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! That's exactly what I don't want to happen, so I'm usually a bit conservative in my candy purchasing. It didn't even occur to me until right before Halloween (when I had no desire to do more candy shopping) that we'd likely get kids from the surrounding area. We live in military housing, but it's off-base so anyone can come into the neighborhood. And sure enough, they did! (Which was fun, for sure, I just felt bad running out of candy!)

      Delete
  5. I didn't buy enough candy either! I love everything Kate Morton has written. I hope to read The Underground Railroad soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kate Morton is definitely one of my favorite authors! I only have two more books of hers to go, then I'll have to wait for her sixth release. (But it'll be so nice to actually be caught up on an author for a change!)

      Delete
  6. We had 3 trick or treaters. We wondered where everyone went. Thankfully the candy went to work with my husband. Hope this is a great week of reading.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, a bunch of excess candy sitting around the house is dangerous!

      Delete
  7. I've seen the Forgotten Garden around a few times and it does look like it would be a good read. And we had more trick or treaters this year but still not a ton- we're just a little off the beaten path and they don'y always see the lights on. And yeah the seasonal coffee drinks are always nice. :)

    Have a great week.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "The Forgotten Garden" was so good -- and it was also a nice atmospheric read for fall. My favorite part was the two entire fairy tales tucked into the narrative!

      I'm a total sucker for seasonal drinks -- summer, fall and winter! I'm all for things that enhance the mood of the season.

      Delete
  8. We don't get any trick or treaters around here - I was starting to wonder whether kids are even really trick or treating anymore! Here everyone goes to the local shopping malls to trick or treat - it's warm and dry, so I can see the appeal, but it's not the same as walking around from house to house, like I use to!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trick-or-treaters definitely do still exist -- we had hundreds of them! We've also lived in neighborhoods that hardly had any trick-or-treaters, so I was thrilled to see such an amazing turnout here! We live in military housing so it's very family-friendly anyway, and most people have kids. And since it's off-base, anyone can come into the neighborhood, so we had tons of kids from the surrounding area as well. Too, the kids here don't have to worry about the weather being too cold. I felt bad for running out of candy but I had fun -- I love seeing the kids all dressed up! (I was also impressed that nearly every kid only took one piece of candy and almost all said thank you!)

      Delete
  9. I'm so slow to the round up post party this week - but I AM getting there! Sorry I'm slow!

    I love the pic of your kitty <3

    And I feel your pain re: book hangovers. I just finished a Throne of Glass marathon and have a serious hangover after finishing Empire of Storms. Thousands of pages of goodness and now I have to wait until September next year to conclude the series... Not that I want it to end.

    I've seen so much about the Underground Railroad and most of it good. I hope you really enjoy that one.

    I've yet to start my Gilmore Girls rewatch. I'm running so late!

    Hope your week is going well!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I've been strongly considering trying the Throne of Glass series. Glad you enjoyed it! Isn't it the worst, waiting for the next book in a beloved series to come out?!

      Delete

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

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...