So begins a new week, and I’m going into four straight weeks of extreme overload at work – wish me luck, friends, because I’m going to need it.  I tried to rest up for the week as best I could this weekend, because I’ve got a hectic one ahead and they’re going to get worse before they get better.  So it was the usual bumping around town.  On Saturday morning we lazed around in jammies until it was time to hit the pool for week two of the kiddos’ swim lessons.  Nugget wasn’t especially enthusiastic, but we struck a deal – I would tell the instructor to keep him in two feet or less, and he would participate – and he ended up having a super time.  Peanut, of course, loved every minute.  The rest of Saturday was kind of a blur.  I know I went to the library, and to Target to pick out sheets and a quilt for Nugget’s new big boy bed (the poor guy had been sleeping on a pair of scratchy purple Queen Elsa sheets) but I don’t remember much else – other than that Steve and I watched our Sabres kick some @$$ after the kids went to bed, and it was like old times.  Sunday brought another lazy morning, then Nugget and I headed out to Herndon for his best buddy’s birthday party – on a farm!  There were tractor rides, goats to pet, and a huge cake from Costco.  What more could you want?  And that’s it – I ended the weekend curled up with a book, per usual, and I’m hoping that a simple weekend, filled with family time and hugs from friends, will carry me through the next phase of this absurdly busy month.

Reading.  It was a good reading week – slow to start, but all so enjoyable.  I spent most of the week over Toil and Trouble: 15 Tales of Women and Witchcraft.  As with any short story collection, some were winners for me and others less so, but Jessica Spotswood and Tess Sharpe continue to knock these girl-focused short story collections out of the park.  I set Toil and Trouble aside briefly when I realized that I was about to bump up against a library deadline for Pumpkinheads – which I read over the course of one day’s commuting.  It’s already back at the library, and I wish I’d spent more time over it instead of blazing through to see if Deja would get her snacks and Josiah would talk to the Fudge Shoppe girl.  I was back at Toil and Trouble the same evening, and finished it up.  Also wrapped up The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe during our family read-aloud time last week (and we’ve moved on to Prince Caspian after the boys outvoted Peanut; I abstained).  Since library deadlines aren’t too pressing at the moment, I was able to turn to my own shelves and grab a relatively new acquisition that I’ve been excited about – The Eagle of the Ninth, the first book in Rosemary Sutcliff’s classic Roman Britain series.  About halfway through after the weekend, and loving it.

Watching.  The best thing I watched this week was the Sabres dominating the New Jersey Devils on home ice on Saturday night.  I knit, Steve and I high-fived every goal, and it felt like 2006.  (I even lamented the fact that my nickname for Brian Campbell’s spin-o-rama move – “The Can Opener” – never caught on.  I used to complain about this on a nightly basis.)  Other than hockey – a little of this and a little of that.  Mostly, I watched what the kids were watching, which – this week – was The Empire Strikes Back and several episodes of Carmen Sandiego.

Listening.  Nerd alert: I started listening to The Great Courses lectures on the history of Medieval England from the Romans through the War of the Roses.  Other than that – a little of this and a little of that.  Some Indigo Girls, some Decemberists, some podcasts.

Making.  It’s been awhile since I took my knitting needles out, but I finally finished up a hat that had been lingering for about two years and started a new seed stitch scarf.  Both kids requested hand knits for Christmas this year, so I might be busy.

Blogging.  I flaked on you last Friday, didn’t I?  Sorry about that.  Blame October – this month is already crazy and getting busier all the time.  It’s going to get worse before it gets better, as I said above, but I can promise I won’t flake on you this week.  On Wednesday I’ll have my fall list – always a fun post to write, because this is my favorite season, just edging out summer – and on Friday some musings on birthdays.  Seattle next week (hopefully, provided I don’t get so overwhelmed I stop functioning as a human, which is possible).

Loving.  It’s the mooooooooost wonderful tiiiiiiiiiiiiime of the yeeeeeeeeeeeear!  ASIAN PEAR SEASON!  Nobody understands me, but Asian pears are my very favorite fruit, and I wait all year long for them to hit the markets for just a few short weeks.  I know you all think I’m wrong, but actually you are the ones who are wrong, because Asian pears are the pinnacle of produce deliciousness.  Fight me.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?