Happy Monday – I think? – you guys.  I’m going into this week pretty stressed out.  We had a snow day and some other (not bloggable) school drama last week, and it kind of threw off my work schedule.  I really needed to work this weekend to get back on track, but that didn’t work out either; Steve had to work full days on Saturday and Sunday, so I was on kid duty all weekend.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the little boogers, but two days of constant, unadulterated “Mommy and me” time is exhausting.  On Saturday, we occupied ourselves with lots of errands – Target for laundry supplies, a big grocery run, and an afternoon at the library.  (Our favorite children’s librarian was working, so the kiddos got some Vanessa time and Mom got a breather while Vanessa built lego towers with them for a little while.)  Vanessa also helped Peanut find some books about space exploration for a class project and loaded her up with a bag full to bursting of supplies from the library’s craft closet, which we used to build a model space station at home.  (Librarians really are good people to know.)  We got right to work on the space station as soon as we were back from the library and while we built, we kept Uncle Dan company by phone as he drove to California (no big deal, right?!) to help our Uncle Peter do some work on his boat.

On Saturday night, I decided that the next day I would reward the kids for being only moderately insane while we ran errands and take them to the Udvar-Hazy Air and Space Museum out by Dulles Airport.  Minutes after I told Steve about my plan, my phone chirped: another mom in Peanut’s class had texted our “K team moms” group text to see if anyone wanted to go to Udvar-Hazy.  I replied immediately, and a planned solo outing turned into a friend date.  Yay!  We made a day of it on Sunday: drove out in the morning, the kids spent several hours running around with Peanut’s friend, and then we all had lunch at McDonald’s together (livin’ the dream, livin’ the dream).  I gave myself a well-deserved couch night on Sunday night.  I was wiped.

Reading.  Despite the upheavals of last week (including a snow day when I didn’t have a commute in which to read) I was fairly productive on the reading front.  Finished Time’s Convert and The Western Wind.  Time’s Convert was fine, and The Western Wind was okay, I guess.  Neither one really spoke to me.  I’m now midway through The Shepherd’s Life: Modern Dispatches from an Ancient Landscape, which I’m enjoying much more.  It’s part memoir, part nature book, part history of farming in the Lake District, and it’s really lovely.

Watching.  Steve and I finished the Doctor Thorne adaptation this weekend!  I loved it.  There were a few plot points that were changed from the book, but that’s to be expected.  Altogether, it was wonderful.  TV Frank was a rather stronger character than book Frank, which was a welcome modification.  The acting was fantastic and the settings and costumes were lovely – it was just so much fun.

Listening.  More of the same – podcasts upon podcasts upon podcasts!  I listened to a few back episodes of From the Front Porch, including the one on “PG lit,” and it was so refreshing to hear Annie proudly own her prudishness.  I, too, am a prude and prefer my books PG, or PG-13 at most.  Prude and proud!

Making.  Lots of making this week.  My first ever loaf of focaccia (it came out great!) on Wednesday, while we were stuck home with a snow day.  A huge pot of Asian vegetable soup for Sunday dinner and lunches all week – delicious.  And a shoebox-sized space station, constructed of foam spheres, popsicle sticks, and tinfoil.  (And this coming week I will be making a position statement and a reply brief.  Please send chocolate.)

Blogging.  This week is such a hectic work week that I am hesitant to make any promises, but my goal is to have some bookish content for you – thoughts on book collecting in the Age of Kondo on Wednesday, and a February reading round-up on Friday.  But either or both might be late, because I am slammed at work, so please bear with me.

Wondering.  I write this blog for myself, but I do want to write things that are interesting to others.  When I first started writing about books, I mixed book reviews in with other content – longer reviews than just my monthly round-ups, that is – and I’ve been thinking about bringing those back.  Not too much – no overkill – but a little more in the way of organized thoughts on specific titles.  Is this something folks would be interested in reading?

Loving.  This focaccia recipe was easy and delicious.  Slowly but surely, I’m getting over my fear of baking yeast breads, but something about focaccia still seemed a little intimidating.  But it couldn’t have been simpler.  I think this is going to be one of the recipes I’m going to need to copy down onto a card for my recipe box – that’s how you can tell it’s a good one.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?