Well. Another week. I’ll be honest, after last week I’m mostly just happy to still live in a democracy. (I know, it’s actually a republic. Don’t @ me.) If you’re a DC friend, I hope that you and yours are all safe and well. Last week was… not a good week. Remember how I mentioned I was staring down a gauntlet of two very challenging, long and stressful workweeks? Although I’ve mostly been working remotely since the beginning of the pandemic, I have certain tasks that are so difficult to do at home that it is really not practicable to attempt them outside of the office – and that was all of last week. So I was in my office in downtown DC, about six blocks from the White House, when everything went to hell and a mob of insurrectionists stormed into the Capitol. I ended up suspending the deposition I was taking, rushing to my car, and getting the H*E*L*L out of the city as quickly as I could. My regular route home goes past the Lincoln Memorial, but I had a feeling I didn’t want to drive in that direction, so I rerouted myself through Georgetown and breathed a big sigh of relief when I crossed the Key Bridge and got back to Virginia. When I moved here in 2003, I sort of assumed that at some point I’d find myself uncomfortably close to some frightening situation – that’s the price you pay to live in the DC area, and I love it here – that day was Wednesday. Needless to say, I’m working from home until well after the Inauguration, which isn’t great – I have more work that is hard to do from home this week, and I’m not very happy about losing access to my office. I know that in the grand scheme of things there are others with much bigger problems, but it makes me angry that I have to keep rearranging my life to accommodate a bunch of sociopaths who have completely disassociated themselves from reality. Some of us are just trying to live our lives here.

Any way, all that’s to say: I’m exhausted. Despite being completely freaked out by Wednesday’s events, I had to push them out of mind and focus on work for the rest of the week, and I will have to do the same thing this week (and without access to my office). I was so drained by Friday night that I spent all of Saturday just bumming around the house and vegging, which is very unlike me – especially on a beautiful day. Sunday was a little better. The weather was still gorgeous, and we went on a family hike in the morning, then in the afternoon I spent almost three hours in the garden: weeding, collecting branches that have blown down in some of our recent storms, and burning yard waste in my fire pit. It was a pretty simple weekend and I could use another couple of days – but two was better than none. Five days to go until a three-day weekend.

Reading. Didn’t I say that an 850-page nonfiction book was an odd choice for two weeks of work craziness? I suppose it is. Obviously, I’m still working my way through The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters. I’m up to the 1970s now and utterly fascinated – and enjoying myself immensely, despite Unity and Diana’s reprehensible politics. Debo is still my favorite; I just wish she would write more about Chatsworth. I expect I’ll finish up early this week and then I’ll have to decide what’s next; at the moment I have nothing in particular on deck, but plenty of good material to choose from on my shelves.

Watching. I’d been suggesting we buy the first season of Big Crazy Family Adventure on Prime Video – it was less than $5.00 – and we finally did, and it’s great! A Travel Channel docuseries following a family (two parents, a seven-year-old and a three-year-old) that spends six months traveling from their hometown in British Columbia to a remote monastery in India, without getting on a plane once, it’s such a good show. So far we have watched the Kirkby family all the way to Beijing – three-year-old Taj is the family favorite. I love how the family throws themselves into new experiences, and it’s good for Peanut and Nugget to see two kids even younger than they are (respectively) taking on new experiences.

Listening. Podcasts, podcasts, podcasts. The usuals. Some Mom Hour, some Shedunnit. Nothing out of the ordinary, but all enjoyable.

Making. Other than a roast dinner last night and a pile of work product, nothing. I’m still in survival mode for another week.

Moving. Again, other than the hike and gardening yesterday, nothing – see above re: survival mode. I just need to get through this week and then I can get a bit of balance back. It will not come as a surprise to anyone to know that I do not thrive when all of my margins are taken away from me. I need more of a balance, or things go really awry.

Blogging. Another bookish week – that’s good, at least. Belatedly, I’m sharing my Christmas book haul with you on Wednesday (it’s good!) and then Part II of my 2020 reading retrospective on Friday. Check in with me then!

Loving. I thought about dispensing with this category this week, since there’s precious little to love right now. My house is trashed, my country is falling apart, and I’m staring down another hellish workweek. But I always write something here, so: ice water. I drink several glasses every day, and it’s one of the best things ever. What can I say, I’m a simple girl with simple tastes. But in the middle of everything else falling apart, it does feel nice to do something good for me.

Asking. What are you reading this week?