A couple of people this weekend asked me what we were up to on Saturday and Sunday.  I replied, “It would be quicker to tell you what we didn’t do this weekend.”  Y’all, we were busy.  On Saturday morning we were up and out the door early for 8:00 a.m. haircut appointments for both kiddos.  Once they each had a fresh new ‘do, we headed home via the garden center, to pick out our tree.  As I lamented (just a little) on Instagram, this year has been all about doing the best we can.  We never made it to the pumpkin patch – blame a crazy work October for me and icky colds for the whole family.  So Nugget and I picked out pumpkins alone at a roadside stand – and then never actually carved them.  (Our big family pumpkin is still sitting uncarved on my kitchen table.  I am determined to have roasted pumpkin seeds even if we didn’t have a jack-o-lantern.)  And the Christmas tree farm was a no-go.  While we were in Albany this year, Steve received an email from the farm we visited last year, noting that they would be open the weekend after Thanksgiving, and that weekend only – due to a blight, they had almost no trees.  We made some half-hearted efforts to find another tree farm, but with some unrelated family stress, we just didn’t have the energy.  Garden center it was.

Anyway – still trying to make it magical.  As soon as we got the tree home, Peanut and I got dressed up in our holiday finest and headed to Montgomery College to see The Nutcracker.  (Well – I was in my holiday finest.  Peanut was in an April Cornell dress that looks like a nightgown, because: Nutcracker.)  Peanut was captivated and loved every second, and left the theatre clutching her very own (pink and purple sparkly) Nutcracker.  Headed home for an evening of trimming the Christmas tree and watching Home Alone (adapting my family’s tradition of watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation on tree-trimming night).

Sunday brought more running around.  The kids and I whipped up a batch of raspberry-almond thumbprint cookies while Dad was out actually running, then we all walked out for brunch with my friend Vanessa and her husband David.  After brunch, I nipped down to Wegmans, then hurried home for FaceTime with Grandma and a good long scooter ride for Nugget on the neighborhood bike path.  We ended the weekend collapsed on the couch – literally.  Steve turned on a disneynature documentary about the ocean for the kids.  Nugget spent the first hour shouting LOOK, WHALES, MOMMY, YOUR FAVORITE and then passed out in my arms.

Reading.  It was a busy reading week, but it seems that reading was one of the few things I actually didn’t do over the weekend – or at least, not much.  On Monday I finished up A Fatal Grace, the second installment in Louise Penny’s Chief Inspector Gamache series.  I’d been saving it for December because the action takes place around Christmas; this was completely mysterious to my Aunt Maria, who recommended that I try the Three Pines books and couldn’t believe I was actually able to wait two months between reading the first and reading the second.  I liked it, and the solution was clever (although I guessed the identity of the killer) but I didn’t care for the casual cruelty with which Penny discussed her characters’ body types.  After wrapping up my visit to Three Pines, I took a break from Christmas reading to attend to a library deadline – Olive Kitteridge, which has been on my to-read list for ages.  Then back to the Christmas books – I read A Christmas Book, by Elizabeth Goudge, over the course of Thursday and Friday, then moved on to The Santa Klaus Murder, with a brief break to read The Twelve Days of Christmas by the light of the tree, as planned.  (It was hiliarious.)  Going forward, I have more bookish holiday fun planned for myself this week – when I have time.  Between work deadlines and Christmas crunch time, it’s going to be tight.

Watching.  A little of this, and a little of that.  A couple of episodes of The Great British Bake-Off over the course of the week.  And then most of disneynature: oceans on Sunday evening, including a good twenty minutes or so while Nugget snoozed in my arms.  #winning

Listening.  Podcasts, podcasts, podcasts.  Lots of holiday episodes – including Part II of The Book Riot Podcast‘s holiday recommendations show, more The Mom Hour holiday tips, and a Sorta Awesome episode about favorite holiday traditions.  (That one, I had to quickly turn off mid-episode, because Peanut was listening in as we drove to The Nutcracker, and the hosts began discussing Christmas magic, if you take my meaning.  To their credit, they gave a lengthy disclaimer before launching into Santa talk, which gave me plenty of time to toggle over to something else.)  Perhaps the best listening of the week was a new discovery – did you know that the Historic Royal Palaces social media account has a podcast?  It’s hosted by Lucy Worsley, because of course, and it is everything I didn’t know I was missing.  I listened to a lecture about Christmas traditions from the Victorians to the interwar period and it was GREAT.

Making.  Not enough progress on Christmas, or on work, but various and sundry other projects.  A few rows of my navy seed stitch scarf.  The aforementioned raspberry-almond thumbprint cookies.  Several bags of hand-me-down toys for a single mom in my neighborhood, for her littles on Christmas morning.  Brunch reservations.  A decorated Christmas tree.  Then a re-decorated Christmas tree after I moved around all the ornaments the kids hung up.  Then a re-re-re-decorated tree after I rearranged Nugget’s rearranging of my rearrangement.  Confused yet?  Lots of memories.

Blogging.  Bookish week coming atcha – my Christmas TBR on Wednesday (spoiler, some books have already been read ::dustsoffshoulders::) and Themed Reads for December on Friday – three books to make you laugh this holiday season.

Loving.  The holiday cards are starting to trickle in, and opening them up just makes my day.  I love seeing the smiling faces of people I love, and measuring my friends’ kiddos against their previous year’s cards.  (Yes, I save the picture cards every year.)  I sent mine off last week, so hopefully they will be dropping into mailboxes to bring their own smiles any day now.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Here we go, new week.  I’m starting it off really tired.  Last week was draining – between travel for Steve on the same day that I had a lengthy court appearance (necessitating a backup to the backup plan for picking up the kids from school) and a potential development at the end of the week that would be really exciting – but is currently uncertain – I have not been able to sleep much at all and I’m exhausted and jumpy.  Saturday was a wild pendulum of ups and downs – a kiddo birthday party with Nugget’s class, and a highly satisfactory library book sale haul (including three British Library Crime Classics) on the up side, and an upsetting email from the school and lots of self-doubt on the down.  In the evening, Steve and I went to my office holiday party and had a completely decent time, so that’s another up.

On Sunday we packed up snacks and drove out to Little Washington (also known as Washington, Virginia – a tiny postage stamp-sized town a little more than an hour outside of D.C.) for the annual Christmas in Little Washington parade and market.  It’s one of our favorite holiday traditions and we’ve been able to make it happen almost every year.  This was a good one; the kids collected a respectable pile of candy and saw Santa riding in a white convertible.  I mused to Steve that Peanut and Nugget are growing up with parade memories that are basically the polar opposite of my own childhood parade experiences.  My family used to attend the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in Manhattan every year, and we also went to the Santa Barbara Fiesta parade – both massive, crowded extravaganzas.  These two will remember small-town parades and scrambling to pick up mini candy canes tossed by the local Girl Scouts.  Just as good – but so different.  It was a nice day, and I needed it to calm my racing mind after last week.

Books.  Kind of a slow reading week.  I’ve found it hard to focus on a book, especially toward the end of the week.  Reading is usually my escape, but recently it’s been hard to get into that frame of mind – even when I know it will help – if I am overwhelmed and anxious, which I have been for various reasons all week.  I finished up Not That It Matters on Tuesday, but then wasn’t able to really settle in and read for more than a few minutes here and there all week, which explains why I am still only about halfway through A Fatal Grace.  I am enjoying it (although why does Louise Penny feel compelled to comment on each character’s body type? it’s distracting and unnecessary) and hoping for a more laid-back week ahead so I can concentrate on reading again.

Watching.  The Little Washington Christmas parade, of course!  And the original How the Grinch Stole Christmas – the kids’ first viewing.  I found it on YouTube; they were transfixed.  Steve and I snuck in a few episodes of The Great British Bake-Off over the course of the week, and we also enjoyed a highly amusing spectacle on Saturday night – my co-workers engaged in a spirited game of disco musical chairs.  That’s something you don’t see every day.

Listening.  Just podcasts, here and there.  I listened to The Mom Hour‘s series on holiday memories, which was lovely.  And a few different holiday book recommendation shows – Book Riot, What Should I Read Next?, and The Read-Aloud Revival.

Making.  Again, nothing much.  I took butter out of the fridge a few times, intending to bake vanillekipfurl (traditional Austrian vanilla-almond crescent cookies) but never made it happen.  Next weekend I have big plans to bake up a few batches of Christmas cookies to share at work.

Blogging.  I have a fun week ahead for you.  On Wednesday, Elizabeth von Arnim on Christmas preparations (and the fun of shirking your duty) and on Friday, the rest of the snaps from that epic lion yawn I caught on camera.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  A former co-worker’s email about another former co-worker’s Jane Austen-themed wedding got me remembering this article about an Anne of Green Gables wedding photoshoot I saw a few years ago, and I fell down the rabbit hole of scrolling through the pictures over and over again, smiling at the Anne and Gilbert lookalike models, the raspberry cordial table, the rowboat and White Way of Delight pictures, and all the little details plucked from the books and recreated into the perfect wedding.  If I was getting married today, I might try to convince Steve that we should do this.  I don’t think he’d go for it today (but I’ll bet he would have back when we were actually engaged…).

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Well, here we go – a new week.  For those who enjoyed a long weekend, I hope it was wonderful and restful, and that your Sunday Scaries weren’t too bad.  Mine hit hard – after four days of not working (but lots of worrying that I should be) and a busy week ahead.  But let’s not talk about that.  How were your Thanksgivings?  We had a great one – shoved off early on Wednesday to drive up to Albany, NY, to visit my folks.  (What do you think of that skyline?  The river, the mountains, the sunset…)  Thanksgiving was as peaceful and relaxing as I’d predicted – after getting through the remains of my particularly time-sensitive work on Wednesday afternoon, I gave myself over to resting.  My mom cooked a delicious dinner and I didn’t have to help at all, and over the course of the weekend I got in all of the things I was hoping for – lots of reading time, visits with two of my closest friends, holiday lights in Washington Park and a delicious dinner out at Dove + Deer, a hike in the crisp November air, and a long afternoon of chatting with my grandmother and aunt.  We even managed to decorate my parents’ Christmas tree on Saturday night.  So – a successful Thanksgiving weekend.  Now it’s a busy December ahead, between holiday preparations and wrapping up the year at work.  Full steam ahead!

Reading.  It was a very busy reading week – as I’d hoped and expected, knowing that I had a luxuriously long weekend and limited responsibilities.  Sometimes I spend more time chatting to my mom than reading on visits to NY, but not this time, thanks to a painful cough and laryngitis.  So there was nothing for it but to read, and read, and read some more.  I finished Wait for Me!, the memoirs of Debo Mitford, a.k.a. the Duchess of Devonshire, on Wednesday evening, polished off Poems of Gratitude between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, then spent most of the rest of the weekend feverishly flipping pages in Anne Boleyn: A King’s Obsession.  I finished it just as we rolled into our driveway, chilled to the bone by the last chapter (shudder) and promptly – or as soon as the kids were settled in, anyway – polished off the December chapter of The Almanac 2019, which I’ve been reading all year, as a palate cleanser.  Still seeking something comforting to begin the workweek with, I’m now well into Not That It Matters, a collection of essays by A.A. Milne.  Next up – I’m not sure, but I’m thinking something Christmassy.

Watching.  I’m strictly Team After Thanksgiving when it comes to Christmas music and movies, but since we have now passed the date, all bets are off.  Most importantly in terms of viewing, the kids celebrated a milestone – the first viewing of Home Alone.  Nugget’s jaw was on the floor.  And Nana used it as a teachable moment for advising the kids about the dangers of being disrespectful and generally annoying.  (Look what happened to Kevin McAllister!  He had to sleep in the attic and then his family went to France without him!)  Just as important as Home Alone was the traditional post-Christmas-tree-decorating first viewing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, which will be played on repeat all season.  You serious, Clark?

Listening.  This is the category that suffers for the wealth of reading and watching that was done this week.  I didn’t listen to much of anything, save a couple of podcast episodes in the early part of the week.  Can’t even remember what they were, so clearly nothing too exciting.

Making.  I’m rather pleased to report that I didn’t make anything.  In a week when most people were tied to their kitchens, I was relaxing on the couch with a book.  (Thanks, Mom!)  With all the holiday preparations ahead of me, that will surely change this week – but it was restful.

Blogging.  November reading round-up coming atcha on Wednesday, and a hike recap from our Thanksgiving travels on Friday.  Check back with me then!

Loving.  As gift-giving season gets underway, I am feeling rather smug, because I have teacher gifts all taken care of.  For those who are still looking for ideas, I love to give Rescue Gifts – there’s a variety of themes and price points, and Rescue.org has a good score on Charity Watch.  They’re good for last-minute shopping, because you can get an e-gift card delivered to the recipient’s email, but I like to order the printed cards for the kids to give their teachers on the last day of school before the holiday break.  I thought far enough ahead this year and ordered before Thanksgiving, which leaves me plenty of time.  I’m feeling good about having one of my holiday to-do list items checked off, and even better about the kids’ gifts – school supplies for refugee children, dedicated in their teachers’ names – this year.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Happy Thanksgiving week, friends!  If you’re traveling this week, I wish you a safe, speedy and seamless journey.  We’re looking forward to celebrations later in the week, but there are a few work and school days to get through first.  And there’s recovery after a busy weekend!  I was very glad to see Friday’s arrival after another busy week of late nights.  We planned to celebrate Steve’s birthday this weekend – poor guy was stuck with a lame Tuesday birthday this year – and he decided that for his birthday activity, he wanted to take the kids to the National Zoo.  What a guy, right?  I reminded him that they’re not actually in charge of what we do, but he decided that he’d rather not listen to the whining, so he gave up his right to a birthday hike.  He was rewarded, though, because we caught the lion in the act of this spectacular yawn.  (I took a whole progression of snaps, so stay tuned.)  On Sunday, Nugget asked to go to the Natural History Museum and despite having a disgusting and pretty painful cough, I put on my Mom pants and took him.  Peanut wasn’t in the mood and Steve wanted to stay home, so it ended up being a mother-son outing.  We took the Metro, saw the dinosaurs and the giant squid, and ate lunch under an enormous shark.  Basically, you could be excused for thinking that Nugget, not Steve, was the birthday boy this weekend.

Reading.  Pretty busy and pacey reading week.  On Monday I finished up The Testaments – ripped right through it.  Then I spent most of the rest of the week over Magic Flutes, which disappointed me (even though I knew going in that it was not Ibbotson’s best).  I spent the weekend with Debo Devonshire, also known as Deborah Mitford, youngest of the most famous set of six sisters (and Tom!) of the twentieth century.  Also dipped in and out of Poems of Gratitude – getting ready for Thanksgiving.

Watching.  We had a family movie night on Saturday evening and watched Ice Age – somehow I’d never seen it.  Very cute and funny.  I also watched the second episode of Miranda Mills’ new booktube channel, on bookish dilemmas.

Listening.  A little of this, a little of that.  The highlight was listening to the Book Riot podcast bonus episode on The Testaments and the Handmaid’s Tale phenomenon.  I expected Jeff and Rebecca to deliver with well-considered and insightful commentary on the cultural moment that these books are having, and they did.  The other highlight of the week was downloading the original recording of Rhapsody in Blue, my favorite piece of instrumental music ever, played by Gershwin himself.  That was $1.49 extremely well spent.

Making.  Not making much this weekend – almost no cooking, as we’re trying to eat through the contents of our fridge before Thanksgiving mania descends; the only thing I made in the kitchen was a quick batch of homemade applesauce, to use up some apples that looked beautiful but turned out to be a little too grainy to eat out of hand.  Homemade applesauce never lasts long in our house, so it will be well out of the way before the big day.  I did a few rows of a seed stitch scarf I’m making – at the rate I’m going, I should be done with it just in time for the first July heat wave of 2022.

Blogging.  It’s Thanksgiving central here this week!  I have a list of small gratitudes for you on Wednesday and would love to hear what little things you’re grateful for this season.  And on Friday, a seasonal poem that I recently read for the first time.  Check in with me then, and have a lovely holiday!

Loving.  I’ve been working on drinking through some of my tea stash – I know, what else is new? – and lately I’ve been working on a box of Kusmi peppermint tea in lovely muslin tea bags.  It’s delicious and tastes just right for these chilly pre-holiday nights.  (Next up: Harney & Sons “White Christmas” tea, which I’ve been saving for December.)

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

All right, Monday, let’s go.  This was sort of a blah weekend.  I’m still really tired from my marathon October and from work stress that continues apace and doesn’t seem likely to die down anytime soon.  I keep thinking things like, next week will be quieter and if I just get myself organized I can tackle it all no problem, and those things might be true but they also seem very out of reach right now.  It was a cold and grey weekend here – every year around this time we move out of the weird weather season (where it’s shorts weather one day and big coat weather the next) and the chill settles in for a few months.  (With some exceptions – we’ve had warm days throughout the fall and winter seasons, and March blizzards.)  I think that happened last week, and now I’m digging out hats and mittens.  Nugget has his first bad cold of the season – he missed school on Thursday with a fever, and compounded the misery by falling face-first off the couch on Friday evening and getting a split lip.  So we’ve been trying to give him a cozy recovery weekend of laying low, but if you know Nugget – you know that’s not a thing he does.  He spent all of Saturday on the couch and was climbing the walls by bedtime, and on Sunday I took him out to run off his energy on the soccer field.  He was still under the weather, though, and drooped on home after about twenty minutes.  As for me – I was just grumpy, with my patience at its lowest ebb for everyone except the little guy (who gets to claim sympathy for being sick and injured).  Months of nonstop high-stakes long-hours workdays have really taken their toll on me.  The sparkly season can’t come soon enough.

Reading.  Despite my dire predictions of last week, it was a productive reading week.  I finished Wives and Daughters on Monday and loved it – full review coming this week.  As expected, I spent most of the week over The Shadow King, which I appreciated for its vivid writing and cultural importance, but which I couldn’t love.  The problem was mostly with me – a gruesome tale of the horrors of World War II in Ethiopia was not the right book of the moment for me; I’m stressed out and overwhelmed and craving comfort reading.  But I was working under a library deadline (others were waiting) and had to either read it or return it unread, which I hate to do.  (I also didn’t like that the author didn’t use quotation marks, which made it hard to follow the dialogue.)  The rest of the week’s reading was also library deadline reading, also not particularly cozy, but went faster – over the course of the weekend, I read through The Stationery Shop and about half of The Testaments.  Both are engaging, but I will confess that my favorite part of The Stationery Shop was the luscious descriptions of Persian food (which made me think of my next-door neighbor, Zoya, who is Iranian and has introduced me to her favorite traditional dishes – yum).

Watching.  Another episode of The Great British Bake-Off – we’re still two seasons behind, but not in a big rush to catch up.  Also, newsworthy – for the kids, anyway – is that Steve was sweet-talked into signing up for Disney Plus, and they’ve become obsessed with Peter Pan.  If you’re wondering whether Peter Pan holds up to contemporary standards of cultural sensitivity: it does not.

Listening.  Working my way through podcast episodes, now that I’ve finished my marathon audiobook.  I’ve given up on the idea that someday I’ll have a clean podcatcher, but I’m still chipping away at it.  Most notable is what I haven’t listened to – the Book Riot Podcast bonus episode on the Handmaid’s Tale phenomenon, which I am saving for after I finish The Testaments – so, sometime this week.

Making.  Lots of cooking this weekend.  I made chickpeas of the sea (my old recipe, which I haven’t made in years, but I had a craving for it); veggie stew (also with chickpeas); roasted broccoli; sautéed green cabbage (my central European is showing!); and taco “meat” with sautéed sliced peppers.  No one is allowed to complain that there’s nothing to eat.  Also making: plans for the holiday theatre season.  For Peanut’s and my holiday tradition of seeing a show – just us girls – I am torn between Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! at the Kennedy Center, and the Washington Ballet’s performance of The Nutcracker.  Two very different options.  I’m also considering getting tickets to the kid-friendly performance of the highlights from Handel’s Messiah at the National Cathedral – going to see Messiah performed was one of Steve’s and my traditions before Peanut arrived, and I miss the music.  I’m hemming and hawing over all of these and being really indecisive – the only tickets I’ve actually purchased are for a date night, to see Amadeus at the Folger Theatre.  I loved the movie in high school, and am irrationally excited about seeing the musical, especially at the gorgeous Folger.

Blogging.  Bookish week for you!  A review of Wives and Daughters on Wednesday (not a spoiler, because you already know – I loved it) and a show-and-tell of some recent(ish) additions to the bookshelves on Friday.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  I can’t remember if I’ve waxed rhapsodic to you about cocojune yogurt yet, but if I haven’t, buckle up.  I’m obsessssssssed.  I’ve been trying to cut down on dairy (not cut it out completely, but just replace it with non-dairy options where it makes sense to do so) and one of the products I’ve been struggling to replace is my beloved plain Greek yogurt.  None of the vegan options I’ve found have the same thick texture and pleasant tang.  Daiya’s Greek yogurt alternative comes close, and I do like it, but I recently came across cocojune at my local organic market and – YUM.  It’s one of the thicker vegan yogurts I’ve found – still thinner than my beloved Fage – not too sweet, and most importantly, it has the tang.  I’ve tried all four of the flavors – original coconut; strawberry rhubarb; lemon elderflower; and vanilla chamomile – and predictably, the original coconut is my favorite.  But I surprised myself by liking the vanilla chamomile second-best – really, all the flavors are delicious.  I now have about twelve little containers in my fridge, and I am hoarding them.  No one else is allowed to touch them.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Well – here we go again.  Another round.  I always feel like it’s only been a second since I sat down to write the last Monday post, and another one is upon me.  Last week was busy, and the weekend was busy, and next week will be busy – and I’m burnt out.  I’m hoping that all this running around will mean I can actually take a real break between Christmas and New Year’s.  We’ll see.  Anyway – not much to report about the weekend.  Both Saturday and Sunday I got up early – before 5:00 a.m. – to work, and I still didn’t get through everything I needed to do.  I probably should have bit the bullet and gone into the office all weekend, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.  So instead, I watched the kids’ swim lessons on Saturday, then took Nugget out to run errands (our usual library and market circuit).  On Sunday, I snuck off for brunch with my friend Vanessa, then came home to plug away at more work in the afternoon.  Probably because I am really burnt out and exhausted after my marathon October – and because stress over one of the cases that had me working so many hours in October still has not let up – I was slower than usual.  Really should have kept working on Sunday evening, but I was just too tired, and wound up on the couch with my book.  I’ll be up against it this week, that’s for sure, but I’m only human.

Reading.  The fact that I only read one book all week – and didn’t even finish it – should tell you all you need to know about where my expected November reprieve has gone.  Granted, Wives and Daughters is a Victorian chunkster; they’re not exactly quick reads.  And I got through almost the entire 650-odd pages over the course of the week, reading fifty pages here, eighty pages there of an evening.  (My copy is a big Folio Society hardcover – gorgeous, but not exactly Metro material, both because it’s too heavy and because I don’t want it to get dirty or nicked, as tends to happen to the books I commute with.)  I am absolutely loving it – so far, I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve read by Elizabeth Gaskell, but Wives and Daughters is my favorite.  And I expect I’ll finish it tonight, and be on to my next read, which will be The Shadow King, since I’m contending with a library deadline.  Even with my diligence, that’s probably going to be overdue when I return it – I have book club this week and am, fingers crossed, wrapping up a major project at work.  But at least I’ll be toting The Shadow King on the Metro, which does wonders for reading progress during the week.

Watching.  It feels weird to not be watching baseball playoffs, but I got quite a bit of time back this week.  Steve and I watched one episode of The Great British Bake-Off (I refuse to say “Baking Show”) but we’re still well behind.  It’s kind of nice to watch them slowly and savor them, though.  And on Sunday, we had a family movie night and watched Rogue One – Nugget’s choice.  I thought it was a little dark for him (although I confess to loving it and to finding Jyn Erso alarmingly relatable) but he had a grand time.

Listening.  I’m pleased to report that I made good use of my commuting time, even if it wasn’t for reading, and finished up The Great Courses: History of Medieval England from the Romans to the Wars of the Roses (or something, I can’t remember the exact title, but that’s the time period it covers).  All nineteen hours, done!  And it’s a mark of how good the series was, that I was sad when it ended.  Since wrapping up my audiobook, I’ve just listened to a podcast here and a podcast there.  My co-worker Anne insisted that I listen to an episode of The Daily on the Kentucky governor’s race and how the possible impeachment of the Orange Pretender factored into the result, so that we could discuss it.  I listened obligingly, reported to her office, and we proceeded to get really depressed together.  Good times.

Making.  While I’m still busy and burnt out and pretty unhappy about it all, things must be looking up, because I did actually make a couple of things this week – beyond work product, that is.  On Sunday, I had a sudden urge to bake what I call a “family cake” – just a quick, tossed together, informal and rustic-looking tea cake.  I started with a Dorie Greenspan recipe and added ground almonds, coconut, and dried sour cherries, and it came out pretty well.  I thought it was a little too sweet (despite cutting the sugar in the recipe by nearly half) but Steve disagreed and polished off half the cake by himself.  I’m leaving him one more slice and taking the rest to the office today.  And for Sunday dinner I made one of my favorite meals – bolognese.  Impossible burger ground and six dollar Sangiovese for the win!  (I know, I know, you should never cook with wine you wouldn’t drink.  Don’t worry, friends.  I also had two glasses of the six dollar Sangiovese and it was completely decent.)  Photographic evidence above.

Blogging.  I have a treat in store for you this week – a new blog series that I’ve decided to make a regular thing.  I’m introducing it on Wednesday, and the first official post will be Friday.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  Important announcement, you guys!  It is CRANBERRY GINGER SHANDY season again!  I really like Leinenkugel shandies – the summer shandy is absolutely respectably, the grapefruit shandy is superior, but the seasonal cranberry ginger shandy is the BEST.  (Do not talk to me about pumpkin spice shandy.  Rebecca.  Do NOT.)  I only have it between November and the end of January – sometimes it’s in stores into February, but at that point I think it’s only right to move on to grapefruit shandy.  I’ve been on a big sour beer kick for a year now, but I will never abandon the beloved cranberry ginger shandy.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Well, here we go – another new week.  These weekends are just flying by, and before I’ve even gotten to relax, another Monday is dawning.  Last week wrapped up my horrible busy October at work – I’m still busy, but it’s a tiny bit more manageable.  I celebrated the end of the worst work month ever with a fun Halloween last Thursday; my parents were in town from upstate New York to witness the fun in Old Town.  Our witch and bat had a grand time trick-or-treating and showing off the festive fun to their grandparents, and we even managed to get everyone shuffled off to bed after a minimum of chocolate.  My parents stayed through the kids’ swim lesson on Saturday, then were back off home, because my dad had a meeting that he couldn’t miss on Sunday.  Their visit was too short, but we’ll see them again for Thanksgiving in a few weeks.  After they left, we put on our red and headed to downtown D.C. to celebrate the Nationals and their championship!  I’d never seen a sports championship parade before – it was certainly a sight to behold.  Nugget and I snuck through the crowd and were lucky enough to find a tiny unoccupied spot right at the front, and we had a fantastic view of the players and the World Series trophy.  What a fun experience!  (And, as I said to Steve, now that I’ve seen one – I can watch the next championship parade on TV.)  Sunday was a pretty laid-back day.  The kids were up at the crack of dawn (thank you, Daylight Savings Time) but they played relatively well and didn’t wake Mom and Dad up before new 6:30, so that was a win.  Nugget was my Sunday buddy, as usual – I took him to the playground to run off his energy, and then out for a birthday party in the afternoon.  He ran around and bodyslammed his buddies, and I ate pizza with the moms and discussed all the new curse words the kids have recently learned.  Never a dull moment.

Reading.  Pretty average reading week.  I spent most of the week over Plague Land, which I liked, but didn’t love.  I may continue with the series, but I need a break.  Over the course of Sunday morning (during cartoon time and at the playground) I read a back issue of Slightly Foxed, and it was clearly a good one, because several of the featured titles found their way into my Abebooks cart.  Ended the weekend re-committing to Wives and Daughters, which I am enjoying, but which is hard to tote around town and to work with me – Folio Society hardcovers are beautiful, but not especially portable.

Watching.  One last week of baseball!  I stayed up until midnight on Tuesday and Wednesday, watching the final two games of the World Series – long after Steve had gone to bed.  And of course the best thing I watched was the Commissioner’s Trophy making its way down Constitution Avenue atop a Big Bus.  Go Nats!

Listening.  A little of this, a little of that.  Some music – show tunes, probably – and some more of my Audible Great Courses “History of Medieval England” audiobook course.  I’ve got a little over six hours left.  Home stretch!

Making.  Nothing, much.  Lots of work product, as usual.  Chatter with the other moms at the playground and this weekend’s birthday party.  Plans for baking bread and cooking up veggie stew – but no actual bread and no actual stew.  A lot of complaints about the disaster zone that the house has become (So! Many! Toys! Everywhere!) but very little progress in actually cleaning it up.  I’m just so exhausted.

Blogging.  I need a turn and more balance in November, so Wednesday’s post contains some musings about how I’m hoping to focus on self-care this month.  On Friday, I’ve got October’s reading recap for you – lots of highlights from a good month of reading.  (At least October was good for something.)  Check in with me then!

Loving.  One more time – I have loved the journey the Nationals took us all on this baseball season and postseason.  As I’ve mentioned a couple of times recently, I’ve been following the Nats – mostly casually, but always enthusiastically – since they returned to D.C. in 2005, when I was in law school.  I have fond memories of watching them lose spectacularly at the old RFK Stadium, beers in hand, with college friends.  I’m definitely not going to multiple games every season – who has the time, let alone the spare babysitter cash? – but I do love the team, and this team has had something special about them all season.  It was a joy to watch them catch fire this summer, and the ride through the postseason was so much fun.  As they say – bumpy roads lead to beautiful places, and the Nats definitely wound up in a beautiful place.  It’s been fun to cheer along this summer and fall.  Now re-sign Rendon, please!  Let’s go Nats!

Asking.  What are you reading this month?

I’m exhaling – just a little, and cautiously, because you never know.  But I think the worst of October is behind me.  I spent last week on a business trip to Dallas – a stressful one with long hours and a lot of pressure.  I can’t talk about it for obvious reasons, but I’m glad it’s behind me, and glad to have had supportive colleagues that stood ready to help, a boss who took my calls at any hour of the day and into the night, and the chance to go out for Tex-Mex a couple of times.  (Alone each time, just me and my book – which was exactly what I needed after days on end of meetings.)  I got home at 1:00 a.m. on Saturday, collapsed into bed, and was up bright and early to greet two little pairs of feet running down the hall to welcome me home.  After such a long, charged workweek, I really needed a restful weekend to recharge.  Two days were not enough, but they were better than nothing.  On Saturday, Peanut was complaining of an earache, so she stayed home with Daddy while I shuttled Nugget to swimming lessons and then to a new-to-us roadside produce stand to pick out our family pumpkins.  Our next-door neighbor was delighted when we told her where we were going, and begged to be remembered to the chickens – she said they would come running if they heard her name.  We did see chickens, but none of them responded to Nugget’s and my shouts of “HEY CHICKENS!  CHICKENS!  ZOYA SAYS HELLO, CHICKENS!” and we got more than a few strange/alarmed looks from fellow pumpkin shoppers.  We left with a wagonload of pumpkins and inspiration to create a pumpkin in honor of the Washington Nationals (who need all the encouragement they can get right now).  Sunday was another laid-back neighborhood day.  I took Nugget out for a haircut in the morning – he needed it; his hair had grown into a shaggy mop that I loved but that was making Steve crazy – and we got caught in a torrential rainstorm.  Eventually the rain stopped and we wandered over to the playground for an hour – and that’s about it.  Just a simple, at-home weekend, which was what I needed.  I could use another day or seven, but it’s back to the grind for a few days, and then a true exhale at Halloween.

Reading.  Slow reading week, but a good weekend.  I spent the workweek over The Secrets We Kept – started it on the plane to Dallas on Sunday night (if you heard about the tornado, yes – it was an exciting flight) and read it in bits and pieces all week; a few chapters over breakfast here, dinner there, until I finally finished it in the airport on Friday afternoon, while waiting for my plane to arrive.  Rather pessimistically, but on the off chance I did actually get through an entire book over the course of the week, I’d packed Sula in my suitcase, so I swapped them out and started my first Toni Morrison novel (I’ve read a book of her essays, but never read her fiction).  Read for a little while on the plane, before spending most of the flight frustrating myself trying unsuccessfully to stream the World Series, then finished it up on Saturday evening.  At first I thought I’d go back to Wives and Daughters, but remembering that my book club is reading The Blue Castle (my selection) this month, I pulled Valancy off my shelf, sunk in and immediately remembered how much I loved this book the first time I read it (at Sarah and Naomi‘s behest).

Watching.  Lots of baseball highs and lows.  I ecstatically jumped on my bed in my Dallas hotel room as my Nats got off to a roaring start in the World Series, but missed all but the first two innings of Friday’s game, and those I watched at a bar in the Dallas airport, shoulder-to-shoulder with a bunch of new friends.  Anytime someone tried to sit with us, we made them swear allegiance to the Nationals.  It occurred to me that we could have made for a very funny, banter-y start to a sitcom or romantic comedy movie.  The game didn’t turn out well despite our pilot’s helpfully announcing the score periodically over the comm (obviously, a plane full of people going to D.C. were going to be interested).  And Saturday night was – yeesh.  Come on, guys!  We need this!  I’ve been a Nats fan since they rebooted the franchise while I was in law school – I remember going to games with my friend Amy back at the old RFK Stadium, when the Nats were so bad that it felt like watching a Little League game.  (And y’all: I have a younger brother.  I have watched several people’s shares of Little League games.)  I’ve cheersed with beers with college friends at Nationals Park, paddled the Anacostia just below the stadium, and pointed out the racing Presidents to the kids.  This team feels like they have something really special and we’re in sort of a dark place as a city right now.  We could all use something to believe in.

Listening.  I’ve been in a music mood all week, and the fact that my earbuds were blasting a rotating playlist of Eye of the Tiger – Hasa Diga Eebowai – Down in the Trenches – Could We Start Again, Please – Landslide should tell you everything you need to know about my week.

Making.  Bolognese!  Saturday night!  Because Impossible Ground is now at Wegmans!  And that calls for a celebration!  Steve, Nugget and I loved it.  Peanut was unimpressed.  Story of my life.

Blogging.  You all know what’s killing me – work, these days, especially the contentious case that brought me to Dallas all of last week.  So on Wednesday I have done my best to come up with a “saving my life” list, a la Katie.  And on Friday, a few snaps from Halloween.  Stay tuned!

Loving.  Honestly, my first inclination was to say “nothing.”  It was a long, miserable week.  But I try to end on something positive every week, so – think, think, think, as Pooh would say.  One thing that I have really enjoyed this weekend is Miyoko’s vegan roadhouse cheddar – I’m slowly working my way through their product lineup and I am super impressed.  It’s a cashew base with nutritional yeast and a pleasantly tangy flavor, and I have been dipping pretzels in it and starting to think that I need to plan a trip to Bavaria.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

It’s Monday.  Monday is here.  The weekend was, and it is no more, and now it’s Monday.  So.  Here we go.  I’m feeling excessively blah these days – probably as a result of the busiest month I’ve had at work in I-can’t-remember-how-long.  I knew it was going to be miserable, but I didn’t know just how miserable it would be.  Last week, I billed – billed – sixty hours, and that’s with taking Monday off.  I missed bedtime on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and I was getting up at 4:00 a.m. to work and working until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. with almost no breaks.  And that includes the weekend.  On Saturday, I got up at zero-dark-hundred (4:00 again) and started working, and I’d billed more than three hours before anyone woke up.  Kept the work going more or less steadily all day, minus the kiddos’ swim lessons, a much-needed nap, and a trip to Carter’s to pick up school pants for a certain young man who tears through knees on almost a weekly basis.  On Sunday, I probably should have worked again, but I was exhausted and staring down the barrel of a weeklong business trip to Dallas (and it’s going to be a stressful, high-stakes, high-tension one) so I just bummed around the house with the kids.  It rained all day, so we knocked around doing rainy day activities, including playing catch in the bedroom (don’t tell Steve).  Ended the weekend not in the usual way – on a plane, Dallas-bound.  Wish me luck, guys.

Reading.  As you can probably guess from the 60-hour billing week, it was a sloooooooow reading week.  I only had a few minutes each night to read before crashing, and I was usually too tired to do more than just mindlessly scroll through Instagram, so very little reading happened.  I made incremental progress in Wives and Daughters and feel like I’ve barely started.  The only thing I was actually able to finish this week was the latest issue of Slightly Foxed – an escape into a saner, more literary world and very much needed.  On Sunday night, setting Wives and Daughters aside in favor of a library book with a deadline, I started The Secrets We Kept on the plane to Dallas.  Too soon to tell, but Reese’s book club tends to be pretty reliable.

Listening.  Pretty much the only thing that gave me joy this week was listening to The Great Courses “History of Medieval England” lecture series on Audible.  I looked forward to zoning out with my coffee and the wreck of the White Ship on the Metro, and I don’t care who knows it.  The only downside?  My co-workers now think I’m a total dork, just because I said “This witness is going to collapse like an Anglo-Saxon shield wall at the Battle of Hastings.”  What?

Watching.  Not much.  Jurassic Park (a classic) on the couch with Nugget.  That’s about it.  Mostly, I watched my favorite month slip away into a haze of billable hours and heated exchanges with opposing counsel.

Making.  Nothing at all, unless you count lots and lots and lots of work product.  And the to-do list never gets shorter, either.

Blogging.  Another Classics Club review for you on Wednesday, and the final PNW travel recap on Friday.  I’m always sad to wrap up recaps of a great trip, but it’s time.  And time to start thinking about the inevitable question: where to next?  There’s something in the works, but I don’t know yet.

Loving.  My tomato plant, after struggling along and doing basically nothing all summer, has suddenly exploded with little ruby-red tomatoes.  How?  It is challenging everything I thought I knew about tomatoes.  For instance, it’s been chilly and rainy this week, and yet – there they are, those little heat-loving gems.  Nugget and I grab one every time we walk out the back door, and it’s been such a treat to see them winking at me from among the inexplicably green and vibrant leaves.  (I had two tomato plants.  The other one is a dried-up husk.  Mystery.)

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

Good morning, happy new week, and happy three-day weekend if you’re having one!  My firm doesn’t give Columbus/Indigenous Peoples Day off, but I am taking it off anyway, because the kids’ school is closed and because I billed almost 60 hours last week and need the extra day.  (Not that I’m expecting a day of being outnumbered by kiddos to be any kind of relaxing.)  The weekend was wonderful.  Steve and the kids gave me a fabulous birthday celebration and I smiled the whole time.  On Saturday morning I took the kids to their swim lessons while Steve stayed home and got a little work done, then we ate a quick lunch at home and walked down to the waterfront to check out the Portside Festival.  (Went via the library, where Peanut got her very first library card!)  We had a lot of fun – hugged some friends, watched a canoe paddle being made by hand, Nugget made a little boat to sail in the bathtub, and Peanut made up a dance routine that she forced Steve to perform over and over in any non-crowded space they were able to find – but I could also see it being a fun adults-only event.  There was live music, beer and chili, and some beautiful handmade wooden boats I’d have loved to look at more closely if I wasn’t trying to soothe a tantrum because Nugget missed out on watching the “anything that floats” race.  We meandered home slowly, stopping by Old Town Books for books (naturally) and Hank’s Oyster Bar for dinner.

Sunday was my actual birthday and we were out the door early and headed for the mountains – Shenandoah River State Park, this time.  I was waffling between the state park and the bigger Shenandoah National Park (which y’all know I love) but the state park won out because we’d not been there yet.  We checked out Culler’s Overlook, explored the network of trails, then headed home – via a stop in Front Royal for lunch – to hit up Nugget’s fall class get-together.  Spent a little more than an hour standing around in the home of one of Nugget’s classmates, chatting with various moms and dads and trying not to stare too obviously at the host family’s gorgeous new kitchen.  Had to leave a little early to get home and intercept my cousin Jaime, who drove all the way from New York to pick up my crib for her expected (in April) new addition.  Now that Nugget is in a big boy bed, we’ve been needing to clear the crib out, but I really wanted to give it to a family member – I was ready to get it out of my basement, but not out of my family.  Jaime’s announcement was timed perfectly, and she happily drove off with the crib, mattress, a video monitor, and a bunch of baby bed linens.  Ended the weekend with delicious eggplant parm at Mia’s Italian Kitchen, FaceTime with my parents, and then a good hour with my book before I crashed.  It was a good day.  The kind of good you can feel in your bones.

Reading.  In addition to a good birthday weekend, it was a good reading week – four classics, all of which I enjoyed immensely.  I finished The Eagle of the Ninth on Tuesday, and loved every moment; I think it might be in my top ten for the year.  Wanting to get a library book off the stack – and tick off another Classics Club entry, I read Washington Square over the next few days.  My first Henry James, and I really enjoyed it.  Over the weekend, I decided to read something bulky that I wouldn’t want to tote to the Metro and back, so I spent two days happily engrossed in The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady.  (I also didn’t want my beautiful copy getting damaged in my work bag – the joke was on me there, because when I put it into my tote bag to take in the car on the way to the mountains on Sunday, Nugget’s lunch box nicked the cover anyway.  Oh, well.  Books were made to be read, so now the Edwardian Lady can claim a battle scar.)  I finished up Country Diary on Sunday night and because I can’t go to bed “between” books – I always have to be actively reading something – I started Wives and Daughters.  Another bulky one (I have a Folio Society hardcover edition) that I can’t really tote on the Metro, but we’ll cross that bridge tomorrow.

Watching.  The Nats, going up 2-0 in their series against the Arizona Cardinals before heading home to Washington for the next game.  Some exciting runs and catches in the game – and now!  Just two wins away from the World Series!  Not counting out the Cards, certainly, but as my former boss commented on Facebook, rather to be up 2-0 than down 0-2.  Steve, Nugget and I were alternating between fist-pumping and covering our eyes during the ninth inning.  Even Peanut was mildly interested.

Listening. Still working my way through The History of Medieval Britain and alternating with Decemberists.  Feels fitting somehow.

Making.  My blue seed stitch scarf, which Nugget has claimed for himself (we’ll see) – I’m going to have to start on the kids’ Christmas gifts that they want, sooner than later.  Also making: progress in the basement, thanks to my cousin taking my crib off my hands.

Blogging.  A book review coming for you on Wednesday, and those Seattle pictures I promised – for real this time – on Friday.  It’s going to be another busy week at work, but I’ve just got to get that post done.  I’ve just got to.

Loving.  Steve, for making my birthday weekend so wonderful.  Everything from the mountain hike to the yummy Italian food to the kids leaping out from under a blanket with my new rollaboard (I’ve been wanting one for years) was just what I wanted.  He said he had a great weekend too, which made me so happy.  I’m glad that the things I wanted to do were fun for more than just me!

Asking.  What are you reading this week?