Goooooooood morning. Is anyone awake? Who made it to the end of the Superbowl? I never do.

We had a mostly restful weekend here, getting recharged for another week of working from home, virtual school – all that jazz. Two hikes, of course. On Saturday we were out the door and headed for Leesburg, to hike at Rust Nature Preserve – one of our favorite shorter hikes. It’s supposed to be a great birding spot, but I never seem to see much – wonder why? (Just kidding, I totally know why: it’s my two loud children.) The rest of Saturday, we intended to clean the house – but it didn’t happen. Instead, we all did our preferred lolling about activities. Steve killed Vikings on his xBox. Peanut watched cartoons. Nugget staged elaborate battles with his animal figurines. I read.

On Sunday, we woke up to a heavy wet snowfall. It seemed to be really coming down from the sky, but not sticking, so we decided to get out for an early hike and snowy playtime at Riverbend Park before the snow was gone, which – spoiler alert! – it was by mid-afternoon. The kids ran up and down the trail, glorying in the sloppy snow and mud mixture, and we all took big, cleansing breaths of fresh air. With their good behavior, the ankle-biters earned some more sloppy snow play back at the visitors’ center, before heading home for cocoa. And the rest of Sunday passed mostly like Saturday – with the exception of Superbowl prep. I did some reading, some cooking, and a lot of watching Nugget’s “ultimate aminal rumble” battles. Finished the day curled up with the rugrats tucked away in bed, the Superbowl on, homemade sweet potato chips and Paleo ranch dip, and some good nature writing. Not too shabby.

Reading. A very good reading week! I began the week soaking up the sun in Corfu with the Durrell family – enjoying Gerald Durrell’s beautiful nature writing and cackling at his family’s comedic antics. Moved on to Song of Solomon – in honor of Black History Month, reading one of the greatest writers who ever lived – and was entranced. After blazing through Song of Solomon, I did need a readerly exhale in the form of some peaceful nature writing. Melissa Harrison’s beautiful anthology celebrating the winter season was just the ticket.

Watching. So the majority of my watching this week was watching Nugget’s toy animal figurines battle each other. It’s a remarkably interactive experience. I am required to pay close attention; to have a rooting interest; and to make a prediction about which animal will win each round and then support my prediction with logic. And more often than not, Nugget’s response is something along the lines of: “Well, Mom, I’m sorry to tell you, but… jaguar defeats tiger.” When not watching toy animal battles, we’ve fallen down a Food Network rabbit hole. Peanut recently discovered Giada de Laurentiis and is glorying in the hours and hours of Giada at Home content on Hulu. (The latest season, Giada at Home 2.0, shot on iPhones by Giada’s boyfriend Shane during COVID summer 2020, is great.) We’ve also introduced the kids to Iron Chef, because why not? Oh, and there was that football game. Whatever. But – Amanda Gorman! WOW, again.

Listening. Back to podcasts this week! Finished up the Mom Hour series on home organization (yes I’m a nerd, no I don’t care who knows it), then listened to a few episodes of Song Exploder featuring my two favorite bands – R.E.M. and The Decemberists. And then an episode of Overheard at National Geographic on humpback whale songs (it’s a back episode; go find it deep in the archives – wonderful) and finally some Tea or Books?, just to round things out.

Making. Not too much this week – not too much of anything. Plenty of dinners; that’s about the extent of my creativity. And homemade sweet potato chips and Paleo ranch dip for the Superbowl – yum.

Moving. Decent week! A couple of outdoor runs; a couple of Peloton workouts; a couple of hikes. Sunday’s snowy hike was the highlight. As I laughingly told Steve – I haven’t attempted to put on my Sorel winter boots since I was pregnant with Nugget; they were a leetle bit easier to get on this time.

Blogging. Outdoorsy week coming atcha! Trying out a new thing and compiling a monthly outdoors report; January’s will go live on Wednesday. And then on Friday, easing into the weekend with birds in the snow – all pictures snapped through my kitchen window during a recent winter storm. I can’t wait to share these with you, so do check in with me then.

Loving. I mentioned this up above, so I won’t say too many words, but it’s been so much fun to share cooking shows with the kids – especially Peanut. Steve and I used to love watching Food Network together and then recreating the chefs’ dishes in our condo kitchen and at our first house, but the arrival of kids threw a wrench into that hobby for awhile. Now the kids are getting interested in cooking and chefs, which I think is really cool. Peanut is especially into it – she’s always enjoyed baking, but I am more of a cook (blog handle notwithstanding) and I am so stoked that she is finally asking to help with dinner. Spending time with her in the kitchen is such a treat and the more skills she builds, the more fun she has with it.

Asking. What are you reading this week?

Hello, friends, happy new week to you all. What’s new with you? What’s new here is that we have SNOW on the ground – snow! As anxious as I am for paddling season to begin, I have to admit I’m giddy about our current brush with winter. While unpacking after our move this summer, I found my snowshoes – never used, tags still on – and have been waiting impatiently to use them. Sunday was the day! But I’m getting ahead of myself. Last week was another doozy at work, but thankfully, this coming week presents a bit of a lull, which I plan to enjoy. Two briefs filed and several other projects advanced, and I needed a brain break. I got one. On Saturday, I ran to the grocery store first thing and when I got home, we headed out for a hike, as we do pretty much every rain-free weekend day. I wanted to check out a potential stand-up paddleboarding spot for once the weather warms up, so we drove out to Beaverdam Reservoir in Loudoun County. I cased the launch spot, and then we wandered the lakeside trail for a bit before turning around and heading home. Everything aligned for a good ramble – the kids behaved, we had the right snacks, everyone was properly attired; good all around. We’ll definitely be back, and I plan to bring my board out there as soon as it’s warm enough to SUP. The rest of Saturday was laid-back; I ran out to the garden center to stock up on birdseed before the “big storm” and set up a new feeder station when I got home, then spent the rest of the day reading.

On Sunday, we woke up to a blanket of white on the ground! Not too much snow – I think all in all we got about two inches; the prediction was four to eight, so it was a bit of a bust. But still snow! We spent the early morning watching the squabbles and dramas at the bird feeder, then went off to hike in the snow at Riverbend Park. Steve laughed at me for bringing my snowshoes, but I didn’t care! I finally got to use them, and it was hilarious and awesome. Rest of the day – so chill I don’t even recall what we did. The kids knocked around the house. I cuddled up under a blanket and read, and made multiple cups of rooibos tea to keep my hands warm. (The heat in our house is weirdly uneven – very comfortable upstairs, in the bedrooms; downright chilly on the main level of the house; frigid on the sub-level where Steve likes to watch TV.) And that’s about it! Some cooking, lots of staring at the birds.

Reading. Don’t get too excited – this was a good reading week, but not as epic as it appears from the gallery. I’ll explain. I started the week off with the January chapters of a couple of books I am reading month-by-month all year long: Orchard and The Almanac 2021. Had intended to begin the year with them, but work and life craziness intervened, but I couldn’t let the first month of the year end and me already behind. Then went back to Bewildering Cares and finished it up – I enjoyed it. Next, on to the highlight of the week – A Fine Romance: Falling in Love with the English Countryside, by Susan Branch. My Grandmama loved Susan Branch; I didn’t think she was necessarily for me, but after A Fine Romance I’m a convert. Saturday evening and most of Sunday was dedicated to The School at the Chalet, which I’ve been meaning to read for some time now. I know it’s not exactly highbrow literature, but whatever – I thought it was good fun, or as the Chalet Girls would say, simply “ripping.” Finally! Ended the weekend curled up with My Family and Other Animals. It’s COLD here; I am expecting a few days in Corfu with the Durrells to warm me right up.

Watching. On the hunt for something to watch for our family “movie nights” (which are really TV show nights) after finishing Big Crazy Family Adventure, Steve suggested The Magic of Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We are halfway through the final episode of the show now – going at a rate of about an episode a night – and surprisingly, really enjoying it. I am on record as having no desire to go to Disney, but understanding that I will have to bite the bullet and take the anklebiters at some point in the near (but post-COVID) future – but when that day comes, we’re staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. Mom has spoken. Oh, and we’re bringing Grandma.

Listening. More music than podcasts this week, actually. The one time that I really have for extended listening is my weekly trip to the grocery pickup. This week, instead of a podcast The New Pornographers came on, and I decided I wanted to listen to them for awhile, then switch to R.E.M. Steve and I were comparing notes on pandemic listening recently and discovered that we have both fallen down eighties (and nineties) music rabbit holes – namely, wallowing in what we liked in high school. Steve’s Spotify playlist has turned into Depeche Mode central. Meanwhile, I confessed to having Chronic Town on repeat. Steve nodded knowingly and said, “R.E.M. would be the sweet spot for you.” You can say that again.

Making. A new bird feeder setup. Recently we started having trouble with European starlings – rat birds. They’ve been ganging up on the little songbirds and hogging all my nice (read: expensive) Cole’s nutberry suet blend for themselves. BOO, starlings, get off my lawn. I ordered an Audubon “starling-proof” bird feeder and several bags of foods starlings hate (white-striped sunflower seed, peanuts in shell) and shuffled around the setup this weekend. I’ve now got an upside-down suet feeder for the woodpeckers (starlings can feed upside down, but they’d really rather not); safflower in everyone’s favorite tube feeder and the window feeder (blackbirds – like starlings – and squirrels don’t eat it); sunflower and peanuts in shells in the tray feeder (starlings’ flimsy beaks can’t cope); and the good stuff in the starling-proof feeder. They’re still around trying to get into trouble, but my hope is that they’ll get frustrated when the only food they like is out of their reach, and go bother someone else. Meanwhile the songbirds have no trouble hopping in and out of the caged feeder, and even the bluebirds have been able to get in and out, although they’re a little awkward about it. Success! It’s been a hoot watching the birds argue and squabble and re-establish their pecking order (pun intended) around the new feeders. Also, I am that crazy bird lady. Apologies to my neighbors.

Moving. A better week! Even though I had another busy one at work, I made time for myself – one outdoor run, two Peloton workouts, one regular (snow-free) hike, and a grand snowshoeing adventure. I had way too much fun with the snowshoes; hope we get another storm so I can use them again before spring.

Blogging. I have two good posts for you this week! January’s reading recap on Wednesday (it was a slow month, but there’s good stuff in there), and pictures from last weekend’s hike at Great Falls on Friday. That’s one that deserves its own post! Stay tuned.

Loving. You guys, I recently got this mug and I am obsessed. Rainbow Brite, Strawberry Shortcake, Jem, and She-Ra – all my girls – together on one mug. Shut the front door. The only sad thing is, somehow the bottom of the mug got chipped in the sink the first time I used it. But it’s still totally drinkable and totally adorable. If you’re an eighties kid, you need one.

Asking. What are you reading this week?

Brrrrrr. Is it as cold where you are as it is here? It got down to thirty degrees this weekend – chilly. (My mom tells me it is MUCH colder in upstate New York, which I’m sure it is, but we are wimpy Virginians around here.) Notwithstanding the cold, we got outside both days this weekend, so I’m calling that a success. On Saturday, we hiked at Great Falls Park and I got some pretty fantastic pictures of a great blue heron hunting – stay tuned because those deserve their own blog post, coming next week. In the afternoon – this is very exciting – I got out for a run! Not very far and not very fast, but I just needed to break the ice. On Sunday, we hiked at Riverbend Park, one of our local favorites. Saw a bunch of Eastern bluebirds (they’re everywhere!) and I fell in the mud, good times.

Rest of the weekend was – simple, simple. Snuggling on the couch with a book, sipping chamomile tea, breaking up fights, the usual. I could use another day, as usual, but two good days of rest and reading, that’s better than nothing.

Reading. Speaking of reading – it was a good, albeit slow, reading week. I’d expected to finish Word from Wormingford: A Parish Year last weekend; it ended up taking me until Tuesday, oh well. Still a good read! Next, as planned, I pivoted to Vice President (!!!) Kamala Harris’s memoir, The Truths We Hold, to celebrate Inauguration Day. What with all the festivities to watch and a few nights of lengthy texts and phone calls with friends and family members (no regrets) it took me until Saturday to finish, but I enjoyed every page. Finished the weekend off with Bewildering Cares, which has been on my TBR for far too long.

Watching. Lots of watching last week! Starting with the Inauguration and the related festivities. I loved every moment and can’t possibly pick a highlight. Amanda Gorman reading her gorgeous work aloud, three past Presidents sharing their good wishes for the new administration, President Biden’s healing speech, Lady Gaga in her Mockingjay cosplay, Bernie’s mittens, the spectacular fireworks – all great, of course. But I think if I had to pick a favorite moment, it was watching Vice President Harris take the oath of office. I dragged Peanut away from Dinosaur King to watch, and I think some of the weight of that historic moment made an impression on her. In other watching news, we finished Big Crazy Family Adventure and are now bereft. Any suggestions for our next family-friendly educational travel show?

Listening. I’ll bet you can guess what I’m going to say – podcasts, podcasts. I made my way through an entire two-part episode of The Mom Hour on “where to put all the STUFF” while running errands this week, and also got through a recent episode of The Marine Conservation Happy Hour while running on Saturday afternoon. Podcatcher’s still out of control, though.

Making. Lots of yummy stews. I started another Whole30 last week (can’t even remember what round this is) and have been wandering through the recipes on the Whole30 blog, stocking up on inspiration, and also just dreaming up lots of whole food-friendly recipes in my kitchen. On Saturday night I made a vegetable curry with Indian-spiced turkey meatballs nestled in it, and it was a huge hit.

Moving. Two hikes this weekend, plus that ice-breaking run – improvement, but not where I would like to be. (Sucking in all that cold air is just not really fun.) The funniest thing happened on my run, though! As I was huffing up the big hill on my street, a car slowed to a stop next to me and I heard the driver shout “Jaclyn!” Shocked, because I barely know anyone out here, I pulled out my earbuds and saw that the car’s driver was a client. We had just the week before last, chatting over Microsoft Teams, discovered that we live in the same neighborhood and started planning to meet up for walks. I haven’t bumped into anyone I know while out running since we moved here – that used to happen periodically when we lived in Alexandria; I just knew so many people there. Running into someone I actually know (fairly well!) made me feel like I am really part of the community out here now, it was a nice feeling.

Blogging. I have a Themed Reads post for you on Wednesday, and then on Friday I will finally wrap my New Year’s content – only on the last blogging day of January, dusts off shoulders – with my goals and word for 2021. Check in with me then!

Loving. You’re all going to totally eyeroll and say, welcome to April 2020, Jac, but – last week I had a Zoom chat with my friend Allegra. Believe it or not, I have not actually zoomed with anyone since the beginning of the pandemic, except for work calls which obviously don’t count. I’ve had several happy hours with girlfriends over FaceTime, but not Zoom – can you believe? Anyway, Allegra is a friend from childhood who I really cherish but don’t always stay in touch with as much as I’d like. Our moms are close friends, so we basically grew up together and whenever I visit my parents, I try to see her. We’ll have marathon catch-up chats in person but don’t really do a great job of staying in contact virtually. Recently she reached out with a professional question (we’re both attorneys) and the conversation took off in a bunch of different directions and turned into a lengthy ongoing text chain. She suggested getting together over Zoom, so I arranged a call and we chatted last week. Guys. It was so good to see her face. We spent an hour chatting and laughing about motherhood, books, jobs – all that life stuff – and decided to make this a regular monthly thing. It’s funny that it took a pandemic to get us to stay in touch regularly – COVID silver-lining, I guess.

Asking. What are you reading this week?

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?

Morning, all. How were your New Year’s celebrations? Anyone else stay up until midnight? I did – couldn’t believe it. We actually snuck out of town for a New Year’s visit to my parents in upstate New York; we had been turning the idea of making the trip over and over in our minds for weeks, balancing the general recommendation to stay put against the considerations that we wouldn’t have to fly, the kids missed their grandparents, and my parents have been cautious throughout the pandemic. It was a low-key visit; both Steve and I had a lot of work to do to wrap up the year so we mostly sat at the dining room table, plugging away, while the kids raced cars and did art projects with my parents. We did escape for a socially distanced driveway hang with one family member, and a couple of short hikes – including the above ramble through the Pine Bush. Neither of the kids felt like coming along, so my parents ended up babysitting and Steve and I made it a day date – fun! We discussed needing to do more of those in 2021.

We drove back to Virginia on Saturday after breakfast and gained ourselves a day to regroup and get organized before the new week. I have a gauntlet of two extremely busy workweeks ahead – I’m dreading them – and it was good to have some time to grocery shop, meal prep, and get ahead on some work. I honestly don’t know how I am going to find enough hours in the day to get it all done, but the advance prep will help.

Reading. With all of the work and family time last week, I didn’t get all that much reading done – at least, not all that much novel-reading. I spent most of the week working my way through a stack of back issues of Adirondack Life, which I wanted to leave for my parents. But I did make a little time for reading one of my Christmas books – Death on the Nile, thanks Mom! – and finished it in the car on the way home on Saturday. After that I turned to The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters, which I had downloaded to my kindle before the trip. An 850-ish page non-fiction book seems like a strange choice for what will probably be a 65-hour workweek, but I swear there’s a method to my madness. I figure I’ll dip in and out, reading a letter here and a letter there whenever I have time to escape into the Mitfords’ madcap world. The collection starts in the 1920s; so far, I’m around the late 1930s and reaffirming what I already knew: Debo is definitely my favorite.

Watching. Whenever we’re at my parents’ house, we always watch Jeopardy – my dad and I competing for most answers shouted out before the contestants on the screen ring their buzzer. It was bittersweet this time, as the show approaches Alex Trebek’s final episodes. (Seriously, 2020. You were the worst.) On Saturday and Sunday nights, once we were home, we squeezed in a few episodes of Rick Steves’ Europe and grumbled about not being able to travel.

Listening. Not much – a couple of podcasts here and there while packing my clothes and the kids’ clothes and trundling to the garden center and the grocery store curbside pickup line on Sunday. The highlight: Lia Leendertz (author of The Almanac series) has a new podcast about the seasons; the first episode (“January”) is live and to say that I’m excited would be an understatement.

Moving. Erp. Busy week last week, busy two weeks ahead – movement fell by the wayside and I can feel it in my sore back and neck. A couple of hikes, that’s it. I’d say that I will make a point of doing better this week ahead, but to be honest, I’m going to be in survival mode until January 15. Any movement I manage to get in will be gravy.

Making. A lot of work product, a partially-unpacked suitcase, and a big pot of stew and bags of sliced veggies and romaine lettuce for the week ahead (because failing to plan is planning to fail, right?).

Blogging. I might be dreading the work week ahead, but I do have a good week of blogging – and by good, I mean bookish. December reading recap coming atcha on Wednesday, and Part I of my traditional three-part reading retrospective on the year just ended, on deck for Friday. Check in with me then!

Loving. Would it be a cop-out to say my leggings again? Yes? Then let me think. Well – I really loved the new Lia Leendertz podcast I mentioned up above. I already said it was a highlight, so won’t say too much. I listened to it while driving to the grocery store to pick up my curbside order, and it was like sixteen minutes of The Almanac, read by Leendertz in her gentle voice. Although I was driving on a heavily traveled road outside of D.C., I felt like I was wandering the fields and hedgerows of rural England. It was bliss.

Asking. What are you reading this week?

Morning, friends, happy last-Tuesday(whoops!)-in-2020 morning to you all! Sorry about no post yesterday. I had a particularly crazy workday yesterday – booked solid with conference calls all day, plus two filings, yipes – and this little corner of the internet completely slipped my mind. Apologies! Here’s a Tuesday-Monday-reading-post for you instead.

If you celebrated Christmas, how was it? I hope you had a wonderful day, whether that looked like time with your bubble, or a restful and rejuvenating day. Our Christmas was oddly quiet, but nice. The kids were up at the crack of dawn, as expected. Steve did the family a solid and woke up by shortly after 6:00 so the munchkins could start their Christmas celebrations (I am an early riser, but he’s not). After the gift-a-palooza, we attempted to hike but were stymied by all the nearby parks being closed for the holiday – whoops. Came home and spent the day on phone calls and FaceTime with far-flung family members, day drinking, cooking, and eating a delicious, if non-traditional, Christmas dinner.

I think we all had a good Christmas. Steve had gotten a new TV for his birthday, and he’d ordered a new XBox, so those were his gifts sorted – but I did make sure he had some things to open; his favorite Smartwool socks, some beer treats, a few books. The munchkins got a mix of toys, books and clothes. Peanut’s gifts were overwhelmingly horse-themed; she is obsessed currently. She was delighted. Nugget got the two things on his wish list – a few new “Who Would Win?” books and “a stuffed mouse named Joe.” As for me, I was wildly spoiled – the usual books and new hiking clothes, but Steve also surprised me with an inflatable NRS stand-up paddleboard! And a Werner paddle to go with it. I’m a lucky paddlesports geek! Can’t wait to get my new treasures out on the water. Is it summer yet?

Reading. Still going strong on the book front, heading into the last week of the year. I spent most of last week over Winter Solstice. Typical of Rosamunde Pilcher, it got off to a bit of a slow start and took me a minute to work my way into it, and I kept breaking off to get to my final books of the Christmas season. On Christmas Eve, I read An Englishman’s Commonplace Book, followed by my Christmas Eve tradition – The Twelve Days of Christmas: Correspondence. On Christmas Day, I made time for another tradition: A Country Doctor’s Commonplace Book (which is hilarious). Finally turned back to Winter Solstice and finished it up on Sunday, then turned my attention to reading one of my Christmas presents – Death on the Nile, thanks Mom!

Watching. Actually did quite a bit of watching this week. A few episodes of The Great Festive Bake-Off, and after the final episode we’re now jonesing to watch Derry Girls, which is luckily on Netflix – so look for that to appear in this space in 2021. Another attempt at getting all the way through Rick Steves’ European Christmas (kids fell asleep again) and a few of the “regular” episodes of Rick Steves’ Europe. Finished up nearly all of the holiday content on Miranda Mills’ YouTube channel. And on Christmas night, Steve and I watched a recorded concert of his dad’s chamber choir, Vocalis, singing Christmas carols a few years ago – a recent discovery by Steve. Steve’s dad passed away in 2018, and I could tell he really treasured the chance to see his dad sing again.

Listening. A few podcasts, but I’ve been on more of a music kick lately – The New Pornographers specifically. Not being especially in the holiday spirit this year, I eschewed Christmas carols in favor of belting out songs from The Electric Version and Twin Cinema (oldies but goodies) as I ran my last-minute holiday errands last week.

Making. I spent a decent amount of time in the kitchen last week, celebrating having a dishwasher again. (Yes, I have a dishwasher again! We got the call on Monday and it was delivered on Tuesday. A Solstice miracle!) Made my holiday tradition – artichoke dip – for Christmas Eve (served it alongside smoked salmon). Nugget liked it, but Peanut turned up her nose. Break my heart! (Also, how?) On Christmas Day, we were a little non-traditional and sat down to a slow-simmered bolognese sauce (made with Impossible burger ground) served over organic spaghetti – yum. And for dessert, I whipped up an apple custard cake from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking Chez Moi. Easy and festive!

Moving. Meh. Not much of a movement week, unless you count running around doing last minute stuff to make the holiday festive for the family. We hiked on “Christmas Eve Eve” after wrapping up work for the day, and on Saturday after Christmas. (We attempted to take an actual Christmas Day hike – it was raining cats and dogs on Christmas Eve, so no go – but all of the parks nearby were closed. Understandable, but a bit of a bummer. The kids were pretty unenthusiastic too; even Nugget, who is usually down for trail time, wanted to go home and commune with his new toys.) And we made to a new-to-us trail at Riverbend Park – our local fave – on Boxing Day. I’m hoping to squeeze in a few hikes this week ahead, and more running. I’ll have to fit it around work, though.

Blogging. I’m starting New Year’s content this week! No time like the present, right? And while I might be a little concerned about what fresh horrors lay in store in 2021, I’m not going to be sorry to see 2020 out, either. Posting my traditional look back at the preceding year on Wednesday. Since Friday is New Year’s Day, I’ll just pop in quickly for a brief hello; I’m planning to spend most of the day enjoying family time with my bubble.

Loving. I almost never have a product in here, but what is making my life the most awesome right now is – my new leggings, a Christmas present from Steve. I have been wanting soft wear-around-town leggings for ages, but couldn’t seem to find the right pair. I finally hit on the Spark 2.0 leggings from Title Nine as a likely bet, and Steve delivered for Christmas. You guys. I’m calling them my Goldilocks leggings, because they are perfect. Soft, comfy, flattering, with that sticky stuff around the waist so they don’t slip down. I’ve worn them on neighborhood walks, hiking, and around the house, and they’re everything I ever dreamed leggings could be. I never want to wear anything else.

Asking. What are you reading this week?

Good morning, friends. Solstice blessings to my fellow nature goddessy-types! May the rebirth of the sun bring warmth and joy to your homes. How are you welcoming the light this Midwinter?

First things first: for those of you keeping score at home, I still do not have a dishwasher. Remember how we were supposed to get our dishwasher delivered, finally, last Saturday? And the delivery company no-call-no-showed us? So we rescheduled for this Thursday? Yeah, about that. They did show up, but they showed up with a dishwasher that was so badly dented the door wouldn’t close. Then in the process of removing our old burnt one, they broke our water and the only way to fix it was to “install” the non-functional new unit. So now I have a dishwasher that is just a cube of useless metal and plastic in my kitchen. I guess that’s a marginal improvement over the smoked-out ruin, but I’m still hand-washing everything and eating off of paper plates. And the dishwasher our landlord selected is backordered – of course – so we won’t get a new one until January. How very 2020, right?

Anyway. The rest of the weekend was a slight improvement over the burning, howling rage that was Thursday, but that’s not saying much. I had big plans for a productive weekend and I did reasonably well, although I didn’t get to everything I wanted to do. My top-priority “A” goals were to finish organizing the guest bedroom and wrap and package up the gifts that have to be mailed (just Rebecca, my brother and sister-in-law, and my friend Susan this year). I did get to both of those, and I cleaned the dining room, finished my Christmas shopping, and got started on wrapping Steve’s and the kids’ gifts. So – not bad! I didn’t make my “reach” goal of a completely clean house and soaking in a reward bubble bath by Sunday evening, but I sort of knew that was a long shot. It’s hard to have a really productive weekend when someone interrupts you every five minutes to ask for a snack or a water bottle, but I got done what I really needed to do. And we even made it out for a hike on Sunday, although that was kind of a bust – the kids dragged their feet, lagged behind us bickering, fell in the mud and were generally unruly and unmanageable, so we ended up having to cut our hike short. Womp, womp. Seeing as our weekly trail time is pretty much the only thing that keeps me sane, that doesn’t bode well going into Christmas week.

Reading. Slowed down on the reading speed this week – busy, tired, and fell into the doomscrolling trap a bit. Oh, and there was one night of hours-long phone conversations, first with my mom and then with my mom’s BFF (who is basically my second mom) – no regrets on that front! When I did read, I read good stuff. Spent most of the week over Silent Nights, which was a lot of fun. As with all short-story collections – I say this every time – there were hits and misses. But on balance, it was great! The weekend was mostly devoted to The Twelve Birds of Christmas, which FINALLY arrived, yay! What a fun and fascinating book. I finally finished it up on Sunday evening, and spent the rest of the night with Winter Solstice. I timed it so I’d be reading it on the actual solstice, so I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself.

Watching. We’d gotten behind on The Mandalorian, so we’re catching up now – just the season finale to go. My high school BFF’s husband recently wrote on Facebook that The Mandalorian is the Star Wars content he’s always wanted – and I have to agree. It’s exciting, pacey, diverse, and the content feels really fresh (I liked the new Star Wars movies as much as everyone, but they did seem to repeat the plot points from the original trilogy). We have enjoyed every episode and they just seem to get better and better.

Listening. The usual mix. The highlight was the “A Christie for Christmas” episode of Shedunnit (that show is SO good, you guys), but I also loved a warm and validating episode of The Mom Hour about guilt-free opting out of holiday-related mom pressure. And I mixed in some music; I just needed some heart-pounding bass. Some R.E.M., some New Pornographers. (Side note: I do wish they had a different name. They’re one of my favorite bands – not quite up to Decemberists level, but close. But I can’t bring myself to say “New Pornographers” in front of the family, even though there’s nothing at all inappropriate about their music, so I call them “A.C. Newman and Neko Case” – after the lead singing duo.)

Making. The best making of the week was a few good shots of a new winter visitor to our backyard nyjer feeder – a white-throated sparrow! As I said when I emailed the pictures to my mom, mother-in-law, aunt and family friend, I’ve seen enough house sparrows to last me a lifetime but these country sparrows are welcome at my feeders anytime. This one was a new bird for my life list, which is always exciting. In other making news, I made the usual piles and piles of work product (despite feeling a combination of overwhelmed and unappreciated, which is a bad combination). Also made a cleaned-out guest room, a dent in my Christmas wrapping, and a really delicious slow-simmered beefless (made with Gardein) stew on Sunday evening. Yum.

Moving. Ha! So I do have something to report! In addition to our abortive hike on Sunday, I did manage to squeeze several workouts into my busy week of brief-writing. No outdoor runs: we had what passes for a snowstorm in D.C. earlier in the week, and my already-hilly neighborhood is currently a skating rink. Between the icy conditions and the cars that go screaming down my street, I was scared to run. (Steve did make it out for a few runs; he’s braver than me.) I hit the treadmill, though! Back before the pandemic, I had joined Peloton. I had no intention of buying a $3,500 exercise bike (and still don’t) but my office gym had one, so I figured I could ride it. But before I figured out how to lower the seat, COVID happened and we all got sent home for the duration. So I let my Peloton “membership” languish – until I recently realized that they have other workouts available and re-upped my membership last week. So far I’ve done a HIIT treadmill workout and a holiday-themed cardio bootcamp. I’m a little embarrassed to admit how much fun it is.

Blogging. I promised you a more positive week this week, and I will deliver! Good-news stories from 2020 on Wednesday, and the final tally of my Christmas-themed reading for the month on Friday (before I move on to reading all those books I’m hoping Santa will deliver – I’ve been a very good girl this year!). Check in with me then…

Loving. You know what has been giving me life lately? The proliferation of warm, positive, and validating posts on social media (I know, right?) as this ridiculous year winds down. Everyone from Sisters Village (one of my favorite astrology follows) to Adirondack hiking accounts I follow is coming up with a variation of this message: it’s okay if you didn’t reach every goal this year; it’s okay if you don’t feel much in the holiday spirit; it’s okay if you want to hang your twinkle lights eight weeks early; it’s okay if you don’t want to hang twinkle lights at all; it’s okay if you’re not really okay – you’re alive, you’re here. I think we’re all in this space right now of feeling like we’re killing it, pandemic-style, some days and wanting to hide in the closet with the boxed wine other days. (No? Just me?) I don’t need the internet to tell me it’s okay that I am all over the place right now. But I sure am glad the message has shifted from the screechy LET’S MAKE MEMORIES AND ENJOY THIS BONUS FAMILY TIME from back in March to December’s hey, things are not good and you can have those feelings and it’s valid. Bit of a downer? Not intentional. Sorry.

Asking. What are you reading this week?

You guys. We made it to December. I’m not celebrating the fact that 2020 is almost over, though. Have you noticed that every year starting with 2016 has been worse than the one that came before? Part of me wants to shout from the rooftops, SMELL YA LATER 2020, DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT, but tbh I’m concerned about what 2021 may bring if I do that. So I’ll just quietly whisper (tiny voice) we made it to December, y’all.

I had a busy workweek and was kind of looking forward to a relaxing, chill weekend, but – well, you know me. I just don’t do that sort of thing. On Saturday we were out the door for Nugget’s swim lesson: Peanut is done for the year. Both kids were supposed to go through December 19, but with our COVID numbers going through the roof Steve and I had a long talk about whether the kids should continue with swimming. I felt strongly that being able to swim is so huge for safety – and I think it’s fun and want them to enjoy it – and Nugget in particular has made major strides in getting over some fear he was dealing with last year; I didn’t want to finish early. But the numbers are undeniably terrifying. In the end we compromised: we pulled Peanut out because there are eight kids in her class, but we are letting Nugget finish out the season because he is the only one in his class. He had a great lesson, then we headed home for lunch and rolled right back out to hit a local vintage market and farmstand a few minutes from our house, for this year’s Christmas tree. We thought about driving out to Middleburg to cut our own like in 2018, but in the end we decided, it’s 2020, let’s just do the easy thing. Peanut picked the tree, it was trimmed up and loaded on the car, and we were home in less than half an hour. Nothing to it. Spent Saturday evening blasting Christmas carols, eating party snacks and decorating the tree – a tradition.

We had no plans on Sunday. I had some vague ideas about cleaning out the guest bedroom or organizing the family bookshelves, but in the end I just loafed around the house – other than a brief family hike at one of the local parks. No exciting bird sightings on the hike, but we notched two new-to-us species in the front yard: brown creeper and yellow-bellied sapsucker. And I think I may have seen a northern flicker, but I didn’t get a good enough look to say for sure.

Reading. Season’s Readings! (Sorry. Had to do it.) It’s been a mostly-Christmassy week here. I started the week off with the rest of The Folio Book of Christmas Crime Stories. As with any short story collection, there were hits and there were misses – but overall it was a lot of fun. Moved on to Village Christmas: And Other Notes on the English Year, by Laurie Lee. Contrary to what the title and the wintry cover scene would have you believe, it’s not really about Christmas. There’s a little Christmas in the beginning (mostly the caroling and winter scenes from Cider with Rosie) but it’s just a small part of the book. I suspected this, based on the subtitle. Still good! It’s Laurie Lee, after all. Then I set aside the traditional Christmas books (or deceptively non-Christmas, as the case may be) to whip through the latest issue of Slightly Foxed, which arrived midweek and sat temptingly on my coffee table from Thursday on. Really enjoyed this one – especially the last essay, about writers’ superstitions and talismans. Finally! Ended the weekend with some Trollope: Christmas at Thompson Hall and Other Stories. Trollope is never the wrong choice, right?

Watching. The usual this-and-that. A few episodes of Rick Steves’ Europe, The Great Festive Bake-Off, and The Mandalorian. I told Steve that I am having a love-hate relationship with the Rick Steves shows right now. On the one hand, it’s Rick Steves, so how could it be anything but great? But on the other hand, I am decidedly pouty as I sit on my couch, in the butt divot I’ve been working on since March, watching Rick travel to all the places that I can’t go. STOOPID COVID.

Listening. Still working on podcast back episodes. A few episodes from the Tea or Books archive. I was delighted to find that Simon and Rachel found Marilynne Robinson’s When I Was a Child I Read Books as opaque and incomprehensible as I did. That made me feel less stupid for not understanding any of it!

Making. Not much – once again. The usual piles and piles of work product. It was kind of a crappy week on the work front, but I guess that didn’t stop me from churning it out. Curse my Type A work ethic. In nicer news, I made a decorated Christmas tree, and lots of yummy snacks to enjoy while we hung ornaments – including a “cheesmas tree” inspired by Lavender and Lovage, old family classic artichoke dip, and bourbon-soaked fruitcake cookies.

Moving. I thought about “forgetting” this category this week, because I really was not on it. Just one hike and a lot of pacing around while on work phone calls. No running, no barre, no strength training, no yoga. No fun. Must do better next week – I deserve better.

Blogging. In time for holiday shopping season, I am sharing my outdoor gear pet peeve on Wednesday. And then December’s edition of Themed Reads on Friday. I’m excited about this one, so do check in then.

Loving. Is it trite to say I am loving my Christmas tree? Guys, it’s just been such a long pandemic. Twinkle lights lift the spirit, and I really need that right now. I am loving having the tree right next to my bookshelves, having my space bedazzled by tiny white lights, and looking at all my favorite ornaments – pottery ornaments picked up on my travels; National Parks ornaments; sloppy homemade kiddo contributions; nods to Cornell and Jane Austen and paddlesports – all of my favorite things, basically. It is bringing me such joy. And yes, come December 27 I will be googling “where to compost Christmas tree near me” but these two things are not mutually exclusive. Twinkle on, friends!

Asking. What are you reading this week?

Blah. Good morning. How were your weekends? American readers, how was Thanksgiving? It was good to have a few extra days off work, wasn’t it? I was mostly able to turn the work brain off (mostly) but Sunday Scaries struck hard; I am really up against it this week. Work anxiety notwithstanding, we did have fun. Thanksgiving was low-key; between COVID and the lack of a dishwasher we were very quiet; just a prepared foods feast from Wegmans this year. I was sad, because my one consolation for not seeing my family this year was going to be cooking Thanksgiving dinner – one of my favorite meals to prepare. But without a dishwasher, we didn’t want to dirty all of those dishes. So I ended up just re-heating things, mostly. Well, it still tasted good.

Other than Thanksgiving, we got out for a few hikes – on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Two visits to Riverbend Park and one to Lake Burke. The Lake Burke hike was super stressful; the kids were right on the edge with their behavior, the trails were crowded, and hardly anyone was wearing masks. We were edgy the whole time. The rest of the weekend was chill. I folded laundry and cleaned the dining room, read a lot, and got in a couple of good runs in the neighborhood.

Reading. It was a hell of a week in books! I guess this is what I do when I have a long weekend off work and no travel plans. I finished A Promised Land midweek (at 701 pages of dense recent Presidential history, it was a time commitment), then blew through Persuasion, Piranesi, and Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day in one day each. I asked Nugget if he thought I should move on to Christmas books or squeeze in one more book before I hit the holiday shelf, and he voted Christmas, so I pulled out The Folio Book of Christmas Crime Stories to open the season’s readings. Here’s to a little murder for Christmas!

Watching. Lots of good stuff – the Macy’s Day Parade on Thanksgiving Day, of course! Then the first half of my favorite holiday movie – Miracle on 34th Street (the original version, not the remake!) – before the kids fell asleep. As for the rest of the week, it was the usual hodgepodge: some Rick Steves’ Europe, the season finale of The Great British Bake-Off, and the latest Mandalorian. I think we’re going to watch the holiday special Bake-Off episodes next!

Listening. More of the same – lots of podcasts. Highlights were a couple of back episodes of Shedunnit and a Mayflower-themed episode of You’re Dead to Me, a hilarious history podcast. Seemed appropriate for Thanksgiving week!

Making. Well… work product, mostly. It was one of those weeks, and it’s going to be another of those weeks ahead. There was some re-heating, so I guess that counts? I did baste the Field Roast a few times, so that’s something. And I made some maple-roasted squash and root veggies, the one Thanksgiving dish I actually prepared rather than just re-heating.

Moving. The usual! Hike, run, hike, run. A virtual turkey trot in the neighborhood on Thanksgiving Day, a four-miler on Sunday, and several miles on the local trails. Can’t beat it! This week, if I have time, I want to fold some strength training back into the routine; I’ve let that slip recently as the season has gotten busy.

Blogging. Bookish week coming atcha! I have my November reading round-up on Wednesday, of course, and on Friday I’m sharing what’s on deck for holiday reading this year. Check in with me then!

Loving. I’m not sure what it is, but lately I’ve been seeing bluebirds everywhere. From a mass of them in the neighborhood park last weekend, to one in the tree as I ran my turkey trot, to this beauty at Riverbend Park on Friday – it’s almost like they’re a message. Bluebirds are traditionally an omen of happiness, and seeing one is supposed to bode good luck ahead, so I’m hoping that all these bluebirds mean something. I’d never seen one in my life before this summer – I’d always wanted to – and lately it seems I see them everywhere I go.

Asking. What are you reading this week?