Tap, tap. Is this thing on? Happy Monday… night, folks. Sorry about the sporadic radio silence around here! The truth is – I’ve been out of town for the past two-and-a-half weeks, and computer time has been limited (no complaints here – it’s been wonderful). As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we attended a family wedding; I neglected to let y’all know that it was in upstate New York, and we’ve been up there ever since – we just got back to Virginia today. Because I am still accruing vacation time and saving it all for a big trip this winter, we didn’t have plans to take a real vacation, but it was too good of an opportunity to see family and spend some time in the cooler, less humid air. After the wedding, we all hung around my parents’ house for a week; Steve and I worked and the kids basked in grandparent attention. And then last week, my parents wanted the kids to themselves (to spoil with ice cream, no doubt) so Steve and I were told to make ourselves scarce. We went up to Lake Placid and spent the week in a hotel on Mirror Lake – one of our favorite spots – mainly working, but squeezing in some fun adventures in our hiking boots and our new touring kayaks around work hours, and eating lots of delicious restaurant meals. (Steve reflected one evening that the perk of an active trip is that you can eat pretty much anything you want, guilt-free – we took advantage.) We bagged another Adirondack high peak, explored several new-to-us lakes, rode the mountain coaster at Mt. Van Hoevenberg – and so much more! Stories to come. Saturday was our travel day back to my parents’ house, and Sunday was for easing back into reality. I caught up with my high school BFF, Jenn, over a long walk, and then watched the kids show off their new tennis and biking skills. And then it was early to bed for a zero-dark-thirty wakeup call and the long drive back down south, where work and the start of the school year beckon. Here we go.

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Reading. Very slow couple of reading weeks here. When I wasn’t working over the past two weeks, I was adventuring. But I did manage to make a considerable dent in Chesapeake – another day or so ought to do it. And I really wanted to read The Swiss Summer in Lake Placid; I only made it through two chapters up there, but at least I started it!

Watching. We watched the cutest movie last night! “VIVO,” on Netflix – starring Lin-Manuel Miranda as a rapping kinkajou who learns to push his fears aside and follow his dreams (to Miami, obviously). Peanut discovered it and assured us we would love it; I was skeptical because her choices aren’t always universally popular with the family – but this one was; we all loved it. Also over the past two weeks – the last of the Olympics; Jeopardy (at my parents’ house – every night); and part of San Andreas (I love a good cheesy disaster movie; need to watch the whole thing from beginning to end).

Listening. Not much in the earbuds. But lots of listening to the kids’ stories of their adventures chez Nana, which is better.

Making. Plans, plans, plans – for the school year. On Sunday night, I laid awake for hours worrying about it. I won’t bore you with all of my anxieties for back-to-school in the days of Delta variant. But I am planning to make some changes around here. Both kids are having their bedtimes moved, and we’re going to have to put an after-school routine in place for the fall. Plus they still need so much stuff – backpacks, lunch boxes, and all the supplies from their teacher-provided lists (whenever we find out who the teachers are, that is – it’s only a t-minus one week until the first day of school, nothing like waiting until the last minute, right?). Lots of shopping, organizing and cleaning to do this week – all around the regular job.

Moving. The past few weeks have been near-constant on the movement front. Especially last week – Steve and I were on the go basically every minute we weren’t working. We climbed another high peak, did a few more hikes, kayaked five different Adirondack lakes, and I even got some mountain biking in at the Olympic sports complex at Mt. Van Hoevenberg! Totally epic. Lots of stories to come.

Blogging. Well, I’ll have the last of my three part bookshelf tour on Friday; not sure what Wednesday will be just yet. Stay tuned; we’ll all be surprised!

Loving. Can I talk about my hiking boots for a second? I meant to pack my heavy-duty Oboz for the Adirondack trails, and in a moment of indecision tossed in my much lighter Merrell Ontario boots instead. I had my doubts as to how they’d perform on the trail (tbh, I bought them because they’re cute; I never intended them for anything more strenuous than a ramble with the kiddos on a Virginia trail). After a week in the ‘dacks, I was shocked at how well they did. Especially on our high peak day; I’m usually a ball of nerves on the Adirondack granite, but the Merrell boots were much grippier than my Oboz. (Steve did not have the same experience with his newish boots, sadly.) Between the Merrells and my Leki hiking poles (a major upgrade from my old Black Diamonds, courtesy of Steve last Christmas) I felt confident on an Adirondack summit – a new experience for me. YAY!

Asking. What are you reading this week?