Happy Monday… afternoon. Another crazy weekend and Monday scramble, but at least I’m getting this post up on Monday and not on Tuesday. Progress, folx.

It’s been a scramble in many ways and over many days, not just today – so I’ve got three books up here but only one finished: Three Lives to Live, a middle-grade time slip story that I loved as a child and just read aloud to Peanut last week. (It mostly held up, I’m glad to report – especially because Peanut immediately stole my copy so she could start re-reading it.) Other than that, reading time was sparse last week and over the weekend. I did get through some of The Small House at Allington, but not very far. More this week, I hope.

Over the weekend, reading time was even more scarce, but for the best reason – Peanut and I were out of town on a girls’ trip to my college reunion at Cornell University. In order to avoid lugging a 700+ page hardcover tome that I wasn’t expecting to read much at all, and because it’s always fun to read in situ, I brought along a different book for the weekend – The Widening Stain, a literary mystery classic set at a fictionalized version of Cornell. (The author was the official historian of Cornell for decades, and the “Wilmerding Library,” where the first murder of the book takes place, is clearly the A.D. White Library at Cornell.) I toted the book along on our traipsing about campus, because Peanut wanted to take reading breaks throughout the day (she had her own book that I was also carrying in my tote bag) and I even got to spend an hour reading the book in the White Library. Too fun!

This week – I’m hoping to finish up The Widening Stain over the next few days, and then turn back to The Small House at Allington. I doubt I’ll finish both in just a week, especially given how busy I’ve been and how long the Trollope is, but onward.

It was a beautiful weekend at Cornell! Reunion is a can’t miss event for me – I love diving back into campus life and revisiting all of my old favorite spaces, and it was such a joy to reconnect with old friends. I keep in touch with many of my college friends on Facebook, but it’s not the same as chatting in person. It was a heart-filling weekend of hugs and laughter – the best.

What are you reading this week?