July 4, 2016 by Jaclyn

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (July 4, 2016)

Happy birthday, ‘Merica! Another year older, and let’s hope we’re getting wiser (all evidence to the contrary). We have had a packed weekend, as usual – we try to squeeze as much family fun into our weekends as we can, especially in the summer. More to come on Wednesday, complete with lots of pictures, but we managed to squeeze in trips to the playground and farmers’ market, berry picking with friends, and a family retirement party – along with all-night partying with the little guy, who is teething. I’m wiped out. Not sure what we’re doing today… it depends on how much energy we have.

So, as for reading, the big news this week is – I got a Kindle! I’ve been wanting one for awhile, and specifically the Paperwhite, because it’s backlit and I can read it in the dark while officiating bedtime shenanigans. Now I can download all of the books I’ve been wanting to read which are ebook-only, including a bunch of Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire series. I’m starting with High Rising, because it’s the first in the series, although I actually have it in paperback. And so begins my Summer of Thirkell! In print book news, I finally finished The Romanovs 1613-1918, after weeks and weeks of plugging away at it. It’s been a little here and a little there, and tough to get through because it’s quite dense and I don’t have much reading time these days. Now I’m midway through Bill Bryson’s The Mother Tongue, which is fascinating and smart but not the funny, quippy Bryson I’m used to. Still liking it, though.

On the blog this week, a full recap of the fourth of July weekend on Wednesday, and some musings on making summer memories on Friday. Check back!

What are you reading on America’s birthday?

July 1, 2016 by Jaclyn

Reading Round-Up: June 2016

Reading Round-Up Header

Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby. I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book. Here are my reads for June, 2016…

Every Man For Himself, by Beryl Bainbridge – Funny story on how I decided to read this one. I am constantly ~~drooling over~~ browsing the selections on The Folio Society website, and they recently published a gooooooorgeous edition of Every Man For Himself, featuring incredible paintings by the author herself as the illustrations. And I wanted it. Oh, I wanted it. But having never heard of the book before, I figured I’d better check it out from the library first and make sure I liked it. Beryl Bainbridge’s story of a group of passengers on the Titanic – narrator Morgan (a young relative of that Morgan, you know, the superrich one) and his cohorts – is widely regarded as a modern classic. I really did enjoy it, although it took a little while to get into it; once the disaster took place, the narrative picked up quite a lot and became absolutely riveting. I’m holding off on buying the Folio edition, because there are other books that I want more. But I sure did enjoy this.

Between the Acts, by Virginia Woolf – Sigh. I keep trying and trying and trying to fall in love with Virginia Woolf’s writing, and so far, I’m failing at it. Between the Acts, her final novel, seemed like a good bet – I liked the premise (all the action – such as it is – unfolds on a single day around the presentation of a village pageant) and had heard that it was slightly less experimental than some of her other fiction (To The Lighthouse, I’m looking at you). It was… okay… but I wouldn’t say I loved it. So far, my favorite Woolf book has been The Voyage Out, one of her earliest works and before she adopted her signature wackadoo writing style. So maybe I’m just not cut out for Woolf? I’ll probably keep trying until I’ve read them all.

A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers and Other Badass Girls, ed. Jessica Spotswood – Sooooooooo good, you guys! So so so so so so good! This was all the girl power-y fun I was hoping to get out of The Regional Office Is Under Attack! last month. An anthology of original historical fiction stories, written by some of the top names in YA (including Elizabeth Wein and Marissa Meyer – yeah, that caliber) and compiled by the talented Jessica Spotswood, A Tyranny of Petticoats explores territory as vast and diverse as lady pirates, mediums, socialites, and African-American female stunt pilots. My favorite story of the bunch was The Red Raven Ball, a spy story set in Civil War-era Washington, D.C. But aside from that, I can’t even pick a favorite, because they were all so different and so fabulous. I’m not always one for short fiction and I was really worried that A Tyranny of Petticoats would disappoint me, especially since I’d heard nothing but raves. Happily, it was a joy from the first page to the last and I’m just so delighted to add my voice to those raves.

The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon In Two (Fairyland #3), by Catherynne M. Valente – September is back! Diving out of Nebraska and into Fairyland, much to the chagrin of her unwilling Blue Wind escort, September is immediately branded a Professional Revolutionary and Criminal of the Realm, awarded custody of Aroostook the Model A, and pushed off on an adventure to the Moon, which is peopled with crustaceans and bedeviled by Ciderskin the giant Moon Yeti. All September wants is to be reunited with her friends, Saturday the Marid and A-Through L the Wyverary, and to skip all the unpleasant adventuring stuff and just loll about Fairyland eating pie. After her efforts in the first two books, it does seem she’s earned a vacation. Sadly, this is not to be, as she is immediately dispatched to deal with the Yeti (who, like everything else in Fairyland, turns out to be a surprise – have I said too much?). Anyway, I obviously loved The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland, because hello, Fairyland, but I must agree with the Goodreads reviewers who said that this wasn’t the strongest of the series. There’s not nearly as much adventuring as one hopes for in Fairyland, as September spends most of the book standing around and listening while various characters deliver lectures in her general direction. (Some of the lectures are more enjoyable to read than others – I did love Almanack, whose musings on providing for her inhabitants were so like motherhood.) The ending was a jolt, and I can’t wait to return to Fairyland and see what other adventures September, Saturday and Ell get up to. (And please, September, KISS SATURDAY ALREADY.)

Only four books this month – it’s been a busy one. I got some big news at the beginning of the month – more on that coming soon, I hope – and have spent most of the month processing it and working on that big secret project I keep annoyingly mentioning. (I do hope to tell you all about it very soon.) But the books I read were good ones – how can you argue with a bunch of hardcore lady-types, a visit to Fairyland, and the Titanic? Next month I’m going to plug away at that doorstopper Romanov bio until I finish it, and then work my way down to Inbox Zero at the library. Watch me go!

What’s the best book you read in June?

June 29, 2016 by Jaclyn

Halfway There, But Still At The Starting Gate

I sat down to write this post, intending to share all of my successes (and a few failures, because keepin’ it real, yo) in chasing after my hopes and dreams for 2016. When the new year dawned, as always, I was full of big plans. Get in shape, and get my confidence back! Make progress on some of the big memory-keeping projects I have on the go! Read challenging stuff! Embrace a slower pace! Write a project off-blog! But when I looked over my – admittedly not that taxing – list of goals, I haven’t accomplished any of them. I haven’t even really got any progress to show for six months of the year.

I definitely don’t have my old confidence back. Before I got pregnant with Nugget, I was in the best shape I’d been in for quite some time. I had just blown my half marathon PR out of the water – twice – by thirteen minutes each time, cutting my time by twenty-six minutes (that’s two minutes per mile!) between my first and third 13.1s. I’d ridden in several long-distance bike races, climbed two Adirondack high peaks, and completed three Whole 30s. This year… I haven’t done anything like any of that. Instead, I’ve learned that my limitations are very different with a preschooler, a baby, and a high-pressure job, than they were when I was a stay-at-home-mom with one easygoing toddler. Who knew? I still want to get back to the same level of athletic performance that I was enjoying pre-Nugget, but I’m learning that the road there is going to be a little different. I do have some plans, but haven’t been able to set them in motion just yet – although I’m hoping that Nugget’s recent stretch of sleeping through the night will be our new normal, and that I can start getting up earlier to get some workouts in. More to come, I hope.

I also haven’t done the best job of memory-keeping. I think I’m doing a darn good job at memory-making, but the keeping part has been eluding me recently. I have always taken a step back in the summer, but when I made the goal I had a long winter stretching ahead of me, and I envisioned evenings spent working on Nugget’s baby book, catching up on some old family yearbooks, and getting a head start on our 2016 book. That hasn’t happened. Again, I have some plans on this front, and I hope to set them in motion soon. Starting with Nugget’s baby book, because it’s really quite shameful, the state it’s in. He’s a much-loved little guy, but the fact is, I was a lot more organized about memory-keeping for his sister.

As for my bookshelves, for awhile I was doing pretty well at reading diverse books and ticking categories off the Read Harder Challenge list, but I’ve sort of fallen off the wagon on both of those goals. And the Classics Club wagon rolled out of the station without me. I blame podcasts, and one in particular – Tea or Books? – which has exploded my TBR list with mid-century middlebrow British fiction. And you know what? I’m not even sorry. Although I do want to make a little more progress on the reading goals I set myself at the beginning of the year.

Embracing the slow might be the only one of my goals for the year that I can say I’ve actually done. And that’s mainly because there was nothing to do on that front, but get my arms around slowing down. Right now, I’m in a stage of life where my weekdays are very full and hectic, and I’ve pretty much had to simply buckle in for the ride. So I have been making an effort to slow down my weekends. It probably doesn’t seem that way, because we’re always on the go – I struggle to balance the need for rest with my desire to have ALL THE FAMILY FUN. But one thing that’s great about kids is they force you to slow down and appreciate the little moments. Ain’t nobody rushing them out of the sandbox.

I could probably use some of that sandbox time to work on my off-blog writing project, on which I have done exactly nothing, so the less said about that, the better.

As for my word for the year, for 2016 I chose HOME. At the time I picked it – or really, it picked me – we were preparing for another move. We downsized our house and moved into a townhome while we worked on answering some big questions about what living situation is right for our family. The first six months of the year, HOME has probably seemed a little absent from this space – and I know, I know, I said it was going to infuse my writing and my living this year. Well, my word might not be coming across in my writing, but it’s always on my mind. Answering those questions – what is a home, what does the concept of home mean for me – is still the over-arching theme of my year, even if I’ve held it a little closer than I meant to. When the time is right, when I feel ready, I’ll be here to talk about it.

How is your 2016 going?

June 27, 2016 by Jaclyn

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (June 27, 2016)

Oh, my, goodness, you guys. Is it really Monday already? This was a really weird weekend. Lots of fun family activities interspersed with crazy stress. Work last week was about as stressful as it’s possible to get and I spent the weekend still reeling from it, all while dealing with an outbreak of “threenager” drama the likes of which I’ve never seen before. I think Peanut may have set a world record for most time-outs served in a single weekend (and we’re getting to the point where Steve and I have both acknowledged to each other that the time-outs don’t seem to be at all effective, and we need a new plan for dealing with preschool shenanigans). But between all of that craziness, we actually had a lot of fun. On Saturday morning we were out the door and off to the farmers’ market. I’ve been looking forward to checking out the farmers’ market in our new ‘hood (well, not so new anymore – we’ve been here since January) and it happened to be set up right in our favorite park – the one where the community pool, sandbox, and our favorite playground are located. We strolled up and down the line of vendors, then let the kids play for awhile, hit the library (oh yeah, the library is right there too – it’s basically heaven) and then doubled back to grab some kale, chard and strawberries. On Sunday, we took a family hike to Tifft Nature Preserve in the morning and then in the afternoon, while Peanut napped, Nugget and I had a date in East Aurora for the summer art festival, followed by the children’s museum. Not a bad weekend agenda, especially when you consider we squeezed all that in around eleventy-seven time-outs.

girl who soared over fairyland the romanovs

With all the stress-fun-stress-fun, it was another not-great week for reading time. I squeezed in pages here and there, wherever I could, but it’s hard to string thirty minutes together with a book these days, and even harder to focus when I do. I am hoping that life will settle down soon, and that we’ll get back in a good groove soon, but at the moment we’re in survival mode in a big way, and that’s not really conducive to lots of reading (as you’ll see on Friday, when I share my June book reviews). Still, I finally managed to finish The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, the third in Catherynne M. Valente’s transcendant Fairyland series. I loved it, of course, but agreed with the majority of Goodreads reviewers that it wasn’t the strongest of the series. (My favorite is still the second, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There, because how can you not adore a book with characters like the Duke of Tea and the Viceroy of Coffee?) Then I finally got back to the newest doorstopper Romanov bio, which I’d had to return unfinished to the library and which I have again after dutifully waiting my turn – again – on the holds list. It’s wonderful and thorough and all the things that doorstopper non-fiction should be, but it’s a bit dense and I’m not getting through it quickly. I’ve just finished up the chapter on Alexander I and Napoleon, though, and am about to start the third and final section – “The Decline” – so I expect the pace will pick up.

Plans for reading this week: if I finish The Romanovs, which I hope to do over the next few days, I think I’ll be turning to The Badass Librarians of Timbuktu, racing another library deadline. I’m trying to get to Inbox Zero on my library stack and it’s quite the task. As for blogging, I’ve got a 2016 resolutions update on Wednesday (spoiler alert: I’ve done nothing) and my June reading round-up on Friday.

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Date. Thanks for the inspiration!

Have a great one, everybody! What are you reading this week?

June 24, 2016 by Jaclyn

Diverse KidLit: This Day in June (June 2016)

diverse kidlit

Every year, it seems, the selection of children’s books featuring diverse characters gets better and better. As a mom who considers it important to introduce my kids to a wide range of experiences and perspectives, I can’t get enough options for diverse kid lit. And while I’m constantly on the lookout for books featuring characters of different races, religions, and living situations, I’m particularly keen to find good books about the LGBTQ community, since the lesson that “love is love” is one that I consider absolutely indispensable for my kids. We’ve found some great books (like And Tango Makes Three!) and today, I have one to share with you that I fully expect to become a classic:

This Day in June, by Gayle E. Pitman

On This Day in June, a city is getting ready for its annual Pride Parade – and what a fun, colorful, joyful celebration of love it’s going to be!

The streets are festooned with arches of balloons forming – what else? – rainbows! Neighbors wave rainbow flags out their windows as motorcycles begin roaring down the avenue.

Parents and friends walk alongside members of the LGBT community. A mom carries a sign declaring “I love my gay sons!” while supporters on the sidelines chant and wave banners demanding equality under the law for all citizens.

Families are celebrated too, as children scamper through the crowds and more signs proclaim “Love Not Hate.”

Civil rights marchers get in on the act, too. The LGBT community has had many legal fights in recent years, and someday I’m looking forward to telling my kids about all of the times that love has won in the courts.

Relationships between members of the LGBT community are normalized in exuberant, joyous color and sweet rhymes like “Loving kisses / So delicious.”

The book ends with a roaring message of unity and support for the LGBT community. (I always add an extra cheer when I get to this part.) And (unpictured) endpapers explain the significance of each of the rhymes on the preceding pages, so that parents can educate themselves and answer their kids’ questions. My kids are very young and not asking questions yet, but I expect I’ll be relying on the excellent information in this book when they get a little older.

orlando
(Image sourced from Google.)

So… like many of my friends (online and off) I’ve been struggling to find the right words to say about the hideous violence and unspeakable tragedy that unfolded in Orlando earlier this month. I’ve been shocked – saddened – and angered. Shocked that someone could live with the kind of hate in their heart that prompted such a horrific act. Saddened beyond belief for the families that were ripped apart as good people gathered in a place where they should have been safe. Angered, once again, that our do-nothing Congress has bowed to special interests and allowed guns that have no place in a civilized society to fall into the hands of the very people who should never ever be able to get them.

And I couldn’t stop thinking – when will be the final straw? I’d have thought we’d have done something after Virginia Tech. But we didn’t. And then there was Newtown, and I thought, now they’ll have to fix this, because how can you not respond when a monster brings a gun into an elementary school? But again, nothing. And now here we are, again, after going around this not-so-merry-go-round too many times. I’m sickened and dismayed and ashamed of my representatives, and rest assured, I will tell them how ashamed I am of them in November.

I normally try to keep politics off this site (but if we’re friends on Twitter, you’ve no doubt heard my opinions about gun control and the Constitution, and I’ll just say – I’m as far to the left on this issue as you can be, and if you want me to explain why the Second Amendment doesn’t say what you think it says, I’ll be happy to, over a friendly cup of coffee). I hate to politicize a tragedy, and I find it disgusting when politicians do so, but I’m not sure it can be avoided anymore. Because Orlando could have been prevented. Newtown could have been prevented. Virginia Tech could have been prevented. And Congress – you’re complicit.

Enough anger. As you can see, I’m having a really hard time stringing coherent sentences together. And I feel very helpless, like I haven’t done enough and can never do enough to be an ally to the LGBT community. I can vote, and I will, with them in mind. And I can read books like This Day in June to my children, and hope that seeing LOVE between the pages of their storybooks in their earliest years will help them grow up to be loving people themselves. Tolerant people. People who believe in the beauty of all kinds of relationships and all kinds of families. People who stand up for the voiceless and the bullied. People who refuse to accept heinous inaction from their elected representatives. People who march in pride parades (whether as LGBT people themselves or as members of PFLAG or any of the other support organizations that do such good, important work) and who stand with everyone who stands for love and against hate.

(To end on a whimper, I’ll be boring and obvious and remind you all that nothing in this post should be construed as legal advice. Opinions are my own and do not represent my employer. Respectful comments are welcome but comments using offensive, demeaning or hateful language, in my sole judgment, will be deleted.)

Love must win again and again and again, or there is no hope for us.

June 22, 2016 by Jaclyn

50 Yard Finish 5K and a Father’s Day Hike

Another weekend, another race! I’ve been having fun with the local 5Ks this spring and summer – that’s about all I’m up for these days, what with two small kiddos to wrangle (and no time to train for a longer distance) but lucky for me, Buffalo has some great options at the 5K distance. I was particularly excited to see that the 50 Yard Finish was a 5K this year. Longtime readers may remember that I ran it in 2014, its inaugural year, when it was a half marathon. Last year, the race organizers shortened it to a 10K, which I skipped. This year the race was under new management and was run only as a 5K. Perfect for me right now!

The one negative? It was run over Father’s Day weekend. Steve is a really good sport about carting the kids around to races and entertaining them while I run, but it did seem a bit cruel to make him kid-wrangle while I ran a race on his weekend. But he was totally into the idea – perhaps because this is the race that allows spectators to wander around the field at Ralph Wilson Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills, while they wait for their runners to cross the finish line? Well, for whatever reason, my race support team was willing, so I signed up.

The start line was outside the parking area, and I lined up toward the back of the pack, since I am still figuring out the logistics of training with two small kids – I knew I wasn’t going to be setting a PR, since I was (as usual) woefully undertrained. We crossed the finish line right on time, and not fifteen feet over the line, I stumbled and rolled my ankle badly. Well, I’m off to a great start. I briefly considered staggering over to the side of the road and quitting, because it HURT. But I decided to keep running and see what happened, and by the time I’d made it a half mile I felt better, so I kept going.

No pictures from the course itself – with only a 5K to cover, we stayed on the roads near the stadium, which aren’t the prettiest. When the race was a half marathon, we ran through the very picturesque Village of Orchard Park, but this time, we didn’t have enough road to take us that far. Which was okay with me… before I knew it, we were rounding a corner back into the stadium complex.

This is when the race gets hard! You think you’re almost to the finish line, because dangit, you can see the stadium, but nope… first you have to take the long way around the field house complex. Oof. But I jogged along putting one foot in front of the other and before too long, I was entering the long tunnel into the Ralph.

And there it is – the coolest finish line in Buffalo! I’ve said before – I’m not a football fan; don’t have the patience, but even for someone who couldn’t care less about the sport, it’s pretty cool to finish a race on the 50 yard line of a major league football stadium,

My buddy was pretty interested in my medal. Steve said that it was handed to me by the Buffalo Bills’ kickoff kicker. Who knew?! Clearly I did not deserve the honor of getting my medal from a pro football player, because I had no idea. In my defense, it was hot and I was looking for water. And I’m a hockey girl. Forever.

After the race, we headed over to Chestnut Ridge Park, which is nearby. (Old friends may remember that we’ve hiked here once or twice before.) We decided to try a new hiking configuration: Nugget in the backpack (which Peanut has named “the U.S.S. Dignified”), Peanut walking on her own, and me pushing the empty stroller as backup in case of an obstreperous preschooler. Well, we made it about 100 feet before Peanut had an epic meltdown over I-don’t-know-what and insisted on riding in the stroller – okay by me. But even in the stroller, it wasn’t her day, and we ended up turning back. Guess she’s not quite ready to give up the backpack yet.

But not to worry – on Sunday we redeemed our hiking weekend with a long walk down a new-to-us trail at Sprague Brook Park. Peanut was back in the backpack, and much happier.

And Nugget was in the Ergo, which he still apparently finds quite comfortable, since he fell asleep – again. He has not yet made it through a Sprague Brook hike without nodding off. I’m thinking something about the park is very soothing for him, because he doesn’t usually do that anymore. Well, it is a very relaxing park.

Happy Father’s Day to Steve! I hope you had a great weekend – I sure did. You made it special for us, just like you make every day. We love you lots and lots. We got a good one.

How did you spend your Father’s Day weekend?

June 20, 2016 by Jaclyn

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (June 20, 2016)

Happy Monday after Father’s Day! I hope that all of my friends had a great time yesterday (and all weekend) celebrating the dads in their lives. We had a good weekend, packed with fun. On Saturday, I ran another 5K, and Steve was an extremely good sport to be willing to kid-wrangle while I ran 3.1 miles on his weekend. I made up for it on Sunday, with a good gift (that he actually got a few days early when he found it in my car – oops) and a hike at Sprague Brook Park. Nugget fell asleep in the Ergo, which he actually did the last time we hiked Sprague Brook as well. I guess he finds this particular park boring? Ha. Then we headed over to Steve’s dad’s house for a cookout with the family, which was a lovely way to celebrate both Steve and his dad.

I’m still finding it a bit challenging to get reading done these days. Not because I’m uninterested or slumping (like last fall) but just because life is so busy right now. Work is more insane than ever – I have a coworker on maternity leave, and I’ve taken over a substantial portion of her workload in addition to my regular work – and I’m still working on my big project, which I hope to be able to share with all of you in the next few weeks (fingers crossed). The big project is nearing one stage of completion, at which point I will let you all in on the secret, but even once I get to that milestone I’ll still have things to work on for it. In the meantime, I’m trying to fit in a few pages here and a few pages there, which is better than nothing but not exactly a speedy way to finish a book.

I did get through Between the Acts and returned it without incurring any overdue fines – yippee! Then I picked up A Tyranny of Petticoats, which was also out of renewals at the library. I thought it would be one I’d either love or hate and fortunately – I loved it. I flew through story after story and polished off the book in just a couple of days. I particularly loved the story “The Red Raven Ball,” set in Washington, D.C. in 1862, but aside from that, I’d be hard-pressed to pick a favorite, because they were all terrific. Next I turned back to The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, which I’d had to return unfinished to the library and only just was able to check out again. (It was on the shelf the whole time, not on hold, but I’ve been feverishly trying to get through the non-renewables without racking up huge overdue fines). I’ve been drawn right back into Fairyland, as expected, and am still loving the series so much. Once I finish with this Fairyland installment, I’ve received word that The Romanovs 1613-1918, which I’d had to return unfinished before, is ready for me again – so it’ll be back to Imperial Russia with me!

On the blog this week, I have my recap of my latest 5K and our Father’s Day hike coming on Wednesday, and a very special Diverse KidLit pick on Friday. Check back!

What are you reading this week?

June 17, 2016 by Jaclyn

Weekend on Lake George

Another weekend, another lakeside adventure! Two weeks ago I escaped – well, sort of – for a weekend all by myself on Lake George. It wasn’t a complete escape; I was there to attend a legal conference with a group of my colleagues. My firm sends folks to the conference, which is held at The Sagamore Resort, every year, but I’d never attended before. Last year, I was on maternity leave, and the year before, I had a prior commitment and was unable to go – so this year I was determined to attend, do some networking, learn a lot and squeeze in a bit of fun. The conference is on a very interesting topic and isn’t a heavy lift time-wise – in fact, workshops are only scheduled for half days, and conference attendees are free to enjoy themselves in their ample downtime. And enjoy myself I did.

I arrived on Friday afternoon, after dropping Peanut off for a weekend with her grandparents, who happened to be on my way (sort of) – Nugget was enjoying a boys’ weekend with Daddy at home in Buffalo. I missed Steve and the kids but was determined to make the most of a weekend in a beautiful place, so I grabbed lunch and lemonade and did a little exploring before making my way to conference registration and the first sessions.

The Sagamore was incredible. I’ve always wanted to stay there but it was never something I could justify. My parents’ lakeside cabin isn’t far away, and I usually go there for lake fun. And even when we did take a day trip to Lake George when I was growing up, it was close enough to home that we simply slept in our own beds. There was never a reason to stay in a hotel – until now! A conference in my field gave me the perfect opportunity to check off a bucket list item and stay at this incredible historic property.

During a break in conference activities on Friday afternoon, I wandered down to the main dock, stretched out on a lounge chair, and spent about an hour staring at this view. As business travel goes, this is really not too shabby. Not too shabby at all.

On Saturday morning I found a lounge chair on the other side of the dock and enjoyed a different view with my to-go cup of coffee from the conference breakfast buffet. A good way to start the day, indeed, and I went into morning meetings fortified with beautiful views.

I also snapped a picture of these ducklings – so sweet! – and sent it to my mom to share with Peanut. I’m going to go on record and say that all business travel should involve ducks.

After the morning sessions concluded, the conference attendees were set free to enjoy our beautiful surroundings. (Literally – the afternoon conference agenda said “Golf or tennis.”) The week prior to the conference, I texted my college friend Seth, who has a house on the lake, to see if he was planning to be in town and was free to hang that afternoon. Lucky for me, he was in town and up for a friend date! First stop: the deli, for sandwiches, which we ate on a dock with our feet dangling over the water.

Next stop – hiking! I wanted to hike Prospect Mountain, which is billed as the quintessential hike to do in Lake George. But Seth had insider info – there was a new trail, just recently opened, with an even better view than the summit of Prospect could boast. I placed my afternoon in Seth’s capable hands and told him to lead the way.

Seth signed us into the trail register – important Adirondack pre-hike ritual, guys!

The trail was lovely – not too rocky or boulder-y, and a much easier climb than our last Adirondack adventure up Cascade and Porter. Such are the benefits of a little-known (new!) trail.

We hiked up slowly, chatting away about life and families and politics and books and everything else under the sun, and before I knew it, we were nearing the summit and spotting our first water views through the trees.

Not. Too. Shabby.

Good call, Seth! The view was incredible – we could see a massive expanse of the lake. Seth grew up on Lake George, in the same way that I grew up on the Sacandaga, and he knows his Lake George geography. He pointed out Lake George Village, the Sagamore’s private island, the narrows, the other islands, and all of the other sights of importance.

We stayed on the mountaintop drinking in the views for about half an hour, then reluctantly turned our backs to the gorgeous vista once we had finally had our fill. We had planned to head from the Pinnacle to Prospect, but as we looked over the sparkling lake, Seth remarked, “You know… that water looks awfully inviting.” I was thinking the same thing, and a new afternoon plan was formed…

Kayaking! We ran back to the Sagamore so I could quickly grab a change of clothes, then headed for Seth’s place and his small fleet of kayaks. Those who know me “in real life” know that I am an avid kayaker – it’s my favorite way to get out on the water. So how could I say no when Seth suggested a spin around the lake? He assigned me the red kayak, in honor of our alma mater.

We spent about four hours paddling the kayaks over a large loop that included Lake George Village and Tea Island. (I approved of the name.)

I’ve spent a fair amount of time in Lake George Village, but I’ve never seen it from this perspective! What fun.

As we were paddling back to Seth’s camp, the Minne-Ha-Ha, the most famous of Lake George’s tourist boats, approached us. I’ve been on the Minne-Ha-Ha, but never had such a great view from another craft! What a cool experience to see her up close. We waved to the tourists, who gave us friendly salutes back – a perfect way to end the kayaking excursion.

Is there anything better than spending hours out on the water with an old friend? I think not… well, the one improvement I could imagine would have been to have my family along for the ride as well. Next time, for sure! After wrapping up an active afternoon of climbing mountains and paddling for hours, Seth and I were famished. We decided to eat out instead of grilling; I requested something casual but with a view of the lake, and Seth suggested the Algonquin. That sounded good to me, and the crab legs I got were perfect. We finished our evening sipping wine on the gracious veranda back at The Sagamore, laughing about old times and quoting Friends episodes to each other. Aside from missing Steve (who would have had a blast) and the kids, it was as darn near perfect as a day gets, and pretty much the best “business travel” ever. Is it too early to sign up for next year’s conference?

Have you ever been to Lake George?

June 15, 2016 by Jaclyn

The Summer List 2016

Somehow, I got out of the habit of making seasonal to-do lists. I blame life and its constant infernal busy-ness. I know that I missed spring and winter, and can’t even remember if I did a list (or perhaps made a list and then forgot about it?) for fall. But it’s such a fun exercise, and even though I never manage to check everything off, it’s a great way to plan out a season full of fun family activities. And with a new season just upon us – one of my favorites, at that! – there’s no time like the present to get back into the habit. So here’s my summer list for 2016:

Run the 50 Yard Finish 5K.
Eat lots of summer fruit – watermelon, cantaloupe, stone fruits and berries, get in my belly!
Dive into Angela Thirkell’s Barsetshire novels.
Get back into the habit of buying my produce from our local farmers market.
Spend a weekend (or longer?) at the beach.
Look into getting a bike trailer for the kiddos.
Resuscitate my balcony herb garden.
Read Cider with Rosie, by Laurie Lee.
Stock up on bubbles, sidewalk chalk and other fun outdoor toys and let Peanut go to town.
Take the family on a weekend visit to Ithaca and Watkins Glen.

I’m sure that I won’t get to all of those, and that some of my plans will be replaced by other (more realistic?) options. But it sure is fun to dream about a blissful summer of long hot evenings, fireflies, iced tea with mint grown on my deck, and trips to our favorite summer places.

What’s on your to-do list this summer?

June 13, 2016 by Jaclyn

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (June 13, 2016)

Yawwwwwwwn. I’m exhausted, guys. I’m starting the week off exhausted. We had a good weekend – one of those where we had nothing on the calendar and we actually got a fair amount of chores and errands done, but we managed to make time for some fun, too. On Saturday, Nugget and I went to Target and the market while Daddy and Peanut paid bills and cleaned up at home, then we all headed out to Island Park, our favorite haunt near our new house – how can you go wrong with a playground and community pool, on an island, directly behind the library? On Sunday we headed out for a family hike at Knox Farm, our favorite park in the area. We used to live not ten minutes from Knox Farm, but we’ve moved away and don’t get there nearly as often as I’d like anymore. It was nice to be back in our old stomping grounds. So, yeah, we had a good one, but one of those busy weekends after a long and swamped week, and I’m really tired now.

every man for himself between the acts

Guess what else I did this weekend? Finished a book! I know, that shouldn’t be news, but Every Man for Himself, by Beryl Bainbridge, was actually the first book I finished in June. (Funnily enough, I’d had it checked out from the library for two months and renewed it twice, and I finally got around to reading it after all that time, when Instagram happened to be celebrating Beryl Bainbridge Reading Week, and yes that is in fact a thing.) Up until Sunday, I’d been doing plenty of reading but library deadlines forced a couple of returns of unfinished books, and I hadn’t actually gotten to the last page of anything all month. Good to change that. On Sunday night I picked up Between the Acts, Virginia Woolf’s final novel, another one that I’ve had out from the library for awhile. Here’s hoping I manage to finish it before the deadline.

If I make it through Between the Acts, I’m planning to keep whittling down my library stack. I have two books on deck and, in what is either an amazing coincidence or the book gods having a little fun with me, both have the word “badass” in the title. (One is A Tyranny of Petticoats: 15 Stories of Belles, Bank Robbers, and Other Badass Girls, and the other is The Badass Librarians of Timbuktu. I’m psyched about both, but will probably turn to Petticoats first, since that’s another one that’s out of renewals at the library.)

Coming up on the blog this week, I’ve got my summer list on Wednesday and a recap of my trip to Lake George from two weeks ago on Friday. Check back!

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Book Date. Thanks for the inspiration!