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52 Hike Challenge: Final Update — Hikes 41-52

Here we go – the finish line!  For a while there, it looked like this challenge was going to come down to the wire – thanks to so many rainy, gross weekends earlier in the year.  But as it turned out, I had time to spare and even got to plan a really special final hike – read on.

Hike 41: Story of the Forest Trail, Shenandoah National Park (Luray, Virginia), October 13, 2018 – Having driven almost two hours to get to the park, we wanted to squeeze in as much trail time as we could, so after hiking Big Meadows, we hit another trail.  This was a wooded hike that passed over a lovely stream with a perfect Poohsticks bridge.

Hike 42: Fletcher’s Cove, C&O Canal National Historical Park (Washington, DC), October 14, 2018 – I was looking for a hike in the city, because I had an errand to run downtown, and so we decided to check out the network of trails around Fletcher’s Cove, where we usually go to kayak.  The trail we found was all the way down on the bank of the river, and we had water views the entire time – such a treat!

Hike 43: Rock Creek Park (Washington, DC), October 21, 2018 – Two weekends in a row, two hikes in the District – who even are we?  We used to hike the central portion of Rock Creek Park pretty regularly, but it had been a long time since we’d been there.  I’m still in total disbelief that such a wild and peaceful oasis exists in the middle of the nation’s capital.

Hike 44: Rust Nature Preserve (Leesburg, Virginia), October 28, 2018 – How was it that we didn’t know about the nature preserve and sanctuary for Virginia’s native birds of prey before this?  Peanut is obsessed with all predators (she’s a surprisingly bloodthirsty child, who knew?) and especially with raptors – falcons, eagles, kestrels… We loved this meadow hike and we saw a few birds of prey circling the skies above us – too high up to identify, but it was cool to know that they were there.

Hike 45: Huntley Meadows Park (Alexandria, Virginia), November 4, 2018 – The colors finally burst into glory!  Between the vibrant reds, oranges and yellows and the gorgeous birds swooping all around, hike 45 was one for the ages.

Hike 46: Claude Moore Colonial Farm (McLean, Virginia), November 7, 2018 – I’d hoped to get a little further afield on my three days of funemployment between jobs, but it mostly rained.  There was a break in the clouds on my final day, but I’d already committed to chaperoning the class field trip to a local colonial farm (which turned out a really weird day, story for another time).  So you can imagine my delight when a hike on wooded trails around the farm was part of the day’s activities!  It wasn’t exactly restful – herding fourteen kindergartners is stressful, it turns out – but it was a lot of fun.

Hike 47: Billy Goat Trail, Section C (Potomac, Maryland), November 7, 2018 – Same day, after dropping the kids back at school, I drove over the border into Maryland to try to tackle the Billy Goat Trail.  The more famous sections – A and B – were closed due to flooding, but I had a lovely walk with just a leetle bit of scrambling on Section C.  Considering it was a Wednesday afternoon, and most of the world was at work, I felt lucky indeed.

Hike 48: Winkler Botanical Preserve (Alexandria, Virginia), November 10, 2018 – This local gem has been one of my favorite discoveries of the year!  We wandered right down to the pond and meandered along the shoreline, and I picked up some trash.

Hike 49: Widewater State Park (Widewater, Virginia), November 18, 2018 – A hike for the birthday boy!  We love to celebrate on the trail and Steve decided to use his birthday hike credits to check out the newest Virginia state park – as in, Governor Northam had just cut the ribbon a week before.  It was a beautiful, serene spot and we can’t wait to go back.

Hike 50: Great Falls National Park (Great Falls, Virginia), November 23, 2018 – A Black Friday hike!  We burned off some of the mashed potatoes (so good, though) and showed my parents around Great Falls, a park we love but had randomly never taken them to see – on a very cold morning.

Hike 51: Lake Accotink (Fairfax, Virginia), November 25, 2018 – Did the penultimate hike at a pretty local park!  The kids entertained everyone on the trail with some rousing song and dance routines.

Hike 52: Saratoga National Historical Park (Saratoga Springs, New York), December 24, 2018 – I wanted to save the final hike of the challenge for something extra special, and this trail through a rolling meadow, with mountain views all around – and on Christmas Eve, no less – was just what I wanted.  What a way to finish out a year of hiking!

And there it is – the END of the road!  What an incredible journey it was.  I’ll have more thoughts coming soon about the 52 Hike Challenge, the lessons I learned on the trail, and my favorite memories from a year of hiking.  It was a beautiful way to spend 2018.

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It’s (YAWWWWWN) Superbowl Monday! What Are You Reading? (February 4, 2019)

Okay – first things first.  Who’s awake?  Anybody?  Bueller?  Actually, I got a decent night’s sleep last night, because I don’t care about football (fight me) and don’t feel any need to stay up until the game ends.  I do enjoy the commercials, but for the past few years – and this one was no exception – I don’t actually get to see many of them because I am parenting up until halftime and then I putter off to bed not long after that.  Anyway!  I was kind of half hoping for a productive weekend, but it didn’t happen.  I needed to put in a few hours of work, didn’t do that.  Needed to get some organizing done around the house, didn’t do that either.  It happens.

This was one of those weekends that was heavily dictated by the kids’ social plans.  On Saturday, Nugget had a birthday party to attend.  It was at a local gymnastics gym and he had a fun time running around, swinging on the rings and flinging his body at the piles of mats.  I enjoyed catching up with the other moms.  It’s a big decision-making time in our school community, because re-enrollment contracts for the next school year are due today, and summer camp registration floodgates open next week.  So while the kids ran around and burned off all the energy they’ve built up over a bitterly cold week, the parents talked fast and furious about who is coming back next year and who’s going across the street to St. Whatsit’s and where are you going for summer camp.  We have our plans sorted (both for this summer and for next year) but there were several families that were still deciding one, or the other, or both.

On Sunday, Peanut had a playdate with her BFF, who moved to the next town over (for the public schools – smart parents) and I went along with her and had a lovely day sipping tea and discussing the British royal family with BFF’s mom – we’re both Windsor fangirls and not even sorry about it.  After four-and-a-half hours, I finally tore Peanut away from her bestie so I could take Nugget to the library before it closed.  We had the children’s room almost to ourselves – I guess everyone else was getting ready for their Superbowl parties.  (This was actually the second library playtime we had this weekend; Nugget requested a visit to the city central library on the way back from his party on Saturday – they have an honest to goodness playroom, and he hardly ever gets to enjoy it because the central library is so out of the way.)  Ended the weekend on the couch, as usual – sort of but not really watching commercials, and not watching the Big Game at all.  It wasn’t a productive weekend, but the sun was out and the kids had a nice time, so there you have it.

  

Reading.  If the weekend wasn’t productive, the week in books sure was.  I finished Swimming with Giants in time to return it to the library on deadline, then spent five glorious days in Barsetshire with Doctor Thorne – my first five-star book of 2019 and probably destined to be one of my highlights of the year.  I loved it.  Anytime I read Trollope, I wonder what took me so long to find him in the first place, and why I always let so much time go by between his books.  Doctor Thorne was especially delightful – from the central romance, so refreshingly constant and sweet, to the wonderful side characters – so fully realized, even the so-called “minor” ones.  (I have two new favorite secondary characters in literature – Lady Scatcherd and Miss Dunstable.  I adored them both.)  Now I’m on to Wild Things: The Joy of Reading Children’s Literature as an Adult, which has been on my to-tackle list for awhile.  Other than being a bit sniffy about Madeleine L’Engle, I think it’s spot-on.

Watching.  Well, a bit of Superbowl commercials, but not much.  My main viewing this week was on YouTube, because I discovered Roman’s Cooking Corner, and it might be the most delightful thing on the internet.  Cheese, please!  Thank you!  (Steve: “Are you watching that little boy cooking AGAIN?!”)  Do yourself a favor and go take a look right away.  Start with lasagna and work your way through to gingerbread man.  Leg, please!  Thank you!  You won’t regret it.

Listening.  All the podcasts this week, as usual.  I have fallen totally in love with The Librarian is In, the podcast from the New York Public Library.  It’s utterly delightful, and the source of my new favorite quote: “You’re a scrappy little stickball player and you read cool books!”

Making.  Black and white bean chili with quinoa and veggies for our Superbowl dinner.  Chili is a given on important football days.  I don’t know much about sportsball but I do know that.

Laughing.  Peanut doesn’t think much of my employability, apparently.  This week, we had this conversation:

P: “I wish you were a classroom parent at school.”
Me: “I am.  I’m a room mom in your class with Mrs. K and Mrs. G.”
P: “But I wish you were one of the parents who work at the school all day.  You could have an office by the bathroom.”
Me: “Oh, yes, I wish that too.  I would love to be in the same place with you all day.  Maybe on Monday, you can ask Mrs. C [the principal] if she needs a General Counsel.  Tell her your mom has education law experience.”
P: “Well… I don’t think so.”

Blogging.  I don’t actually know.  We got a new computer, and the spreadsheet I use to plan my blog posts is on the old one.  So we’ll all be surprised on Wednesday and Friday.

Loving.  Please see “watching,” above.  The highlight of my week was Roman’s Cooking Corner.  It has completely restored my faith in humanity.  Heart sprinkles, please!  Thank youuuuuu!

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

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Saving My Life: Winter 2019 Edition

We are entering the winter season, when so many of us find the days long and grim and difficult.  I am actually not minding winter so much this year – I’m not sure why, because it’s been a colder and snowier one than the last few years (although still mild compared to what we weathered in Buffalo).  But for whatever reason, the dark days and cold nights aren’t bothering me too much.  Maybe I’ve finally learned how to find joy in the season.  Or maybe I’ve just been too busy to notice.  Either way.

Linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy to share the things, little and big, that are saving my life lately:

  • Looking back at the golden sunrise pictures I snapped during a glorious hour of running on Miami Beach, then sticking my feet in a surprisingly warm Atlantic Ocean, during a magical stolen hour on an otherwise jam-packed business trip last month.
  • My cordless electric kettle, which my mom gave me for Christmas, after I complained to her about the completely untenable hot water situation at my new job.  I brought it to work and a colleague and I have gleefully brewed loose leaf tea every day since.
  • The independent children’s bookstore near my house.  We have a gauntlet of five (!) kiddo birthday parties to attend between mid-January and mid-February (we’re two down, three to go as of press time) but presents are all taken care of.  I walked to the store and bought everything I needed – they even do free gift-wrapping in store – and the gifts are sitting on my console table, ready to grab as I walk out the door with Peanut, Nugget or both in tow.  I always seem to find myself behind the eight ball when it comes to gift-buying for kids’ parties, and it’s been lovely to have one thing DONE and off the list.
  • The beginning of summer vacation planning!  We have one trip already booked, but there is a lot still to discuss – and gear to acquire – for that one.  And we have to decide where to go with the kids later in the summer.  We are having a delicious time weighing the options.  (Smith Mountain Lake is the current frontrunner, but it’s not a done deal.)
  • Kitten Purrlooza at the library.  You can’t even imagine.
  • Evening snuggle time with my baby boy.  Every night after Nugget’s three to seven stories (he’s a negotiator) he curls up in my lap and I rock him to sleep and then hold him for another 30-45 minutes – that last part is just for me.  The days in which he will fall asleep in my arms are numbered, and I am determined to enjoy EVERY SINGLE ONE that I get.
  • Celestial Seasonings honey vanilla chamomile tea.  I used to drink it all the time and recently rediscovered it.  I forgot how lovely and warming it was.
  • BOOKS, of course.  Always!  January has been a library-heavy month, but my own shelves are calling to me.  Sometimes I get lost in just looking at the books – but more often, I’m lost between their pages.  That never changes.
  • My new Rothy’s!  I finally took the plunge.  I’ve been hemming and hawing because they’re so expensive, but it occurred to me that my freakishly small feet might fit into the girls’ loafers.  They do!  Half-price Rothy’s?  As my BFF Rebecca said, I won the genetic Rothy’s lottery.  (I have the forest green loafers with the gold sunburst embroidery, and I am wearing them around the office every day, and they’re SO comfortable.)
  • My favorite gigantic soup pot, which is bubbling away on the stove every weekend, cooking up a huge batch of homemade soup for the week.  (My favorite thing to eat in any season, but especially in winter.)  Related: my Hydroflask food container, which keeps my soup hot until lunch every weekday.

What’s saving your life these days?

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Reading Round-Up: January 2019

Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby. I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book. Here are my reads for January, 2019…

  

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton – If there was one word to describe this murder mystery, it was this: BONKERS.  Every day, Aiden Bishop wakes up in a new body, but every day his mission is the same: Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m. tonight.  Find out who kills her.  Aiden has eight days to solve the mystery; if he figures out the answer, he’ll be released from this bizarre game.  If he fails, he’ll start all over again.  Evelyn Hardcastle was like nothing I’ve read before, and I’m still trying to decide if I liked it or not.  It gets major points for keeping me guessing and turning pages.  Bonus for the fun of discussing it with Katie, who read it a few days after I did.  (One question remains unanswered: the UK title is The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle.  I still don’t understand why Evelyn had to die an extra half a time in ‘Murica.)

The Time in Between, by Maria Duenas – I’ve had this popular recent novel of a Spanish dressmaker who turns spy in World War II, on my TBR for awhile, and I enjoyed it.  It’s a lot of fun, very engaging, with a cast of complex, living characters who seem to leap off the page.  I loved the evocative Morocco scenes, and the spy parts were good fun – as World War II spy novels often are.  My one complaint: at 609 pages, it was too long.  There was more backstory than I needed or wanted, and I found myself wondering when we’d be getting to the espionage parts.  Once we finally did get there, the author had to rush to get through the plot; it did seem that the book could have benefited from a touch more editing and a more even pace.

I‘ll Be There for You: The One About Friends, by Kelsey Miller – I think I saw this on Instagram first, and I knew I had to read it.  This new nonfiction release is a deep dive into the cultural phenomenon of Friends, a television show that I – like everyone else – love.  Miller explores the history behind the show, how it came to be made, the relationships between the cast members, and how the show came to represent a generation.  She doesn’t shy away from the more problematic aspects of Friends – the gay jokes, fat jokes, and lack of diversity that dismay the modern viewer for good reason – but even when she turns a critical eye on these elements, the reader can tell that it comes from a place of loving the show.  Seeing it for what it is, but loving it nonetheless.  Any fan of Friends will definitely want to pick this one up.

  

The Nine Tailors (Lord Peter Wimsey #11), by Dorothy L. Sayers – I loved the winter selection of the Tea & Tattle Book Club!  I’m always glad to visit with Lord Peter Wimsey, but I usually prefer the installments in which his lady friend, mystery novelist Harriet Vane, appears.  The Nine Tailors doesn’t feature Harriet, but I didn’t have time to miss her what with all the bell-ringing and corpse-finding.  The book opens on New Year’s Eve with Lord Peter, attended by his faithful valet Bunter, driving his car off the road near the parish of Fenchurch St. Paul.  The parish’s kindly rector, the Rev. Mr. Venables (OF COURSE) takes Lord Peter and Bunter in and conscripts Lord Peter into assisting with all-night bell-ringing, as one does.  Two months later, a disfigured corpse turns up in the churchyard (again: OF COURSE) and Lord Peter returns to solve the crime.  There are references to bell-ringing, secret identities, missing jewels (WHY NOT) and more fun.

The Go-Between, by L.P. Hartley – I’ve been meaning to read this classic bildungsroman for ages now, and finally made time for it this month.  The Go-Between is the story of young Leo Colson, who visits a school friend’s wealthy family for the summer and finds himself swept up in the adults’ machinations, with tragic results.  Ian McEwan was influenced by it while writing Atonement (which I love) and it’s easy to see why.  So – I liked, but didn’t love, The Go-Between.  The plot was engaging and the writing evocative, except that I found it hard to buy into the central relationship.  And Hartley did one of my pet peeves – he explained his use of symbolism.  I haaaaaate it when authors explain what they’re doing.  I’m a smart lady; have a little faith that I can put two and two together on my own without having it banged over my head repeatedly, thank you.  The best part of the book was Leo’s relationship with Marcus, which was so true to life and absolutely hilarious.

Fables, Vol. 10: The Good Prince, by Bill Willingham – The Fables series gets better and better, and The Good Prince was a delight.  The Fables are preparing for war against the Adversary, but before the hostilities begin, there’s a respite as the reader follows the adventures of Prince Ambrose, a/k/a The Frog Prince.  Ambrose’s memories have been buried for centuries, but he has begun to recall how the Adversary’s troops murdered his family, and he decides to get revenge.  But because Ambrose is possibly the sweetest character ever written, his method of getting revenge is… different.  Accompanied by the ghost of Lancelot of the Lake, and wielding Excalibur, Ambrose enters the Homelands at the head of a ghost army, builds a new kingdom called Haven, and promptly sends an envoy to needle the Emperor and proclaim that Haven’s doors are open to refugees from the Empire.  Throughout the adventure, Ambrose – now King Ambrose of Haven – remains as pure-hearted as ever, and the result is that it’s a really lovely read.

  

Fables, Vol. 11: War and Pieces, by Bill Willingham – Volume 11 picks up right where Volume 10 leaves off, and we see the war between Fabletown and the Empire.  Fabletown – in a surprise move – strikes first, catching the Empire off guard.  Prince Charming directs the war from the skies, the Big Bad Wolf commands the rear guard, and a secret weapon moves into the heart of the capital city.  It’s an exciting volume, full of lots of bravery and some sad moments as the Fables’ side experiences losses.  I am loving this incredibly imaginative comic.

Spying on Whales: the Past, Present and Future of Earth’s Most Awesome Creatures, by Nick Pyenson – This was a really interesting take on popular science around cetaceans.  Pyenson is a paleontologist and the head of marine mammal paleontology at the Smithsonian, and he approaches the subject of whales from that perspective.  Most of the literature I’ve consumed about cetaceans is written by conservationists and marine mammologists, and Pyenson’s focus on how whales evolved and where they came from sheds a fascinating new light on where they may be going.

How Long ’til Black Future Month?, by N.K. Jemisin – This one was spotty for me, which I think was mostly a function of short stories not being my jam.  I often find them hard to get into, and I can never bring myself to care as much about short story characters as I would care about characters in novel-length fiction (probably not surprising).  Some of the stories, I really enjoyed – L’Alchemista, The Effluent Engine, and Cuisine des Memoires were my favorites.  Others made no sense at all, and one I couldn’t even get through – I have no ability to read about bad things happening to kids, and I could tell immediately that I was going to be upset by the story Walking Awake, so I skipped it.  Other stories, I think, suffered from not having enough pages for Jemisin to flex her world-building muscles.  The best stories in the collection were those that took place in a somewhat fantastical version of a real place – for instance, The City Born Great (New York), or The Effluent Engine and Sinners, Saints, Dragons, and Haints, in the City Beneath the Still Waters (both New Orleans).

   

The House of Special Purpose, by John Boyne – Georgy Jachmenev and his wife Zoya have lived in London since they fled Russia (by way of Paris) after the Bolshevik Revolution.  Now it is 1981, and Zoya lies dying in hospice, while Georgy reflects back on their life together.  Georgy was in service to the last Tsar of Russia – as a companion and bodyguard to the Tsarevich Alexei – and his memories of his life with the Imperial Family, and their demise, still haunt him.  So – this was a fun book to read, if you didn’t squint too hard at the details.  It was engagingly written, and both Georgy and Zoya are sympathetic characters.  But you really have to suspend disbelief at Georgy’s knack for being present at pivotal historical moments (he helped dispose of Rasputin’s body and was the witness to the Tsar’s abdication papers?!) and if you know much about the Romanovs, you’ll spot a lot of historical inaccuracies.  From what they ate (Georgy describes the family at one of their “typically sumptuous meals” but in reality, they were big on the traditional food of Russian peasants – lots of brown bread) to the way things transpired at the Ipatiev House, it was really farfetched.  (I’ve read a fair amount about the Romanovs, so maybe I’m a poor example.)  The inaccuracies notwithstanding, this book was a page-turner and a lot of fun to read.

Lagom (Not Too Little, Not Too Much), by Niki Brantmark – I think Lagom is supposed to be the next hygge?  I’ve seen this and a couple of other books on the topic on #bookstagram, so I grabbed it from the library.  It was a really, really pretty book – lots of lovely and restful pictures.  But it was kind of also a lot of common sense.  Did you know that you should take breaks from work, use your vacation time, eat reasonable portion sizes, and spend time in nature?  Not exactly earth-shattering stuff.  But a nice restful way to spend a day’s reading.

The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2018, by Lia Leendertz – I know you’re thinking that’s a typo, but it isn’t.  Jac, why would you read a 2018 almanac in 2019?  Excellent question.  The answer is: I am still waiting for my 2019 edition to arrive, but in the meantime, the 2018 edition was on Amazon Prime and packed with lovely nature writing, delicious-looking recipes, and sweet line drawings of garden treats, fauna, and more.  I read it in a day and I’m not even a little bit sorry I gave the time to a 2018 almanac in 2019.

Swimming With Giants: My Encounters With Whales, Dolphins and Seals, by Anne Collet – I’ve had my eye on this one for some time now.  Anne Collet is a famous marine mammologist and cetacean specialist, and Swimming With Giants is her memoir of a fascinating career.  The translation is a bit shaky in parts, but Collet’s voice comes through charmingly, and her career is so interesting and envy-inspiring.  Obviously swimming with whales and dolphins is frowned upon now, so I’m glad to have gotten to live vicariously through Collet’s 1970s experiences.

Well, that escalated quickly.  Thirteen books to start off 2019!  And a bit of a mixed bag.  The highlights were definitely The Nine Tailors, I’ll Be There For You, and The Almanac 2018, but there were other fun ones mixed in as well.  Not as many classics as I’d have liked to see at the beginning of a new year, but I’m not worried.  I have eleven more months to read all the classics my heart desires.

 

 

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? (January 28, 2019)

Last weekend of January, 2019 – egads!  Where did the time go?  We packed this weekend with fun, from the moment we finished work on Friday evening until Sunday night.  On Friday, I headed home from work a little early – my reward to myself for several late nights last week, writing a 35 page long brief.  (50 pages if you count the statement of facts.)  Steve and I had big plans: a tour and tasting at Port City Brewing Company, our local craft brewery.  It’s just a few minutes from our house, but we’d never been there (blame the kids).  The tour was really interesting, and the tasting was fun – I’m not a beer person, but I liked everything I tried, and loved one.  On Saturday, Peanut and I slipped away for a girls’ date – lunch out in Germantown, Maryland, followed by a performance of Angelina Ballerina: The Musical at Black Rock Center for the Arts.  I love planning these mother-daughter excursions and I think Peanut felt very special.  (Nugget is such a mama’s boy that he is basically glued to my side when I’m with him, and so taking Peanut off on her own is a nice way for us to connect.)  On Sunday, we had fun hiking plans – Great Falls (our favorite) with Zan and Paul (our favorites).  We checked out the falls, hiked upriver to look at an eagle’s aerie, and got generally covered in mud.  It was lovely.  When we got home, we spent the afternoon hanging out at home.  Steve did laundry (necessary after the Great Falls mud bath) while I batch cooked the week’s meals.  The house is trashed, but at least the fridge is stocked.  And now another week dawns.  Let’s go get it!

   

Reading.  It was a productive reading week!  I finished up The House of Special Purpose, which had to go back to the library – I was out of renewals.  Liked it.  It was fun and engaging, as long as you suspended disbelief about the history.  Next I blew through two short, restful reads – The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2018 (yes, 2018 – there were recipes and nature writing in it, okay?) and Lagom (the next hygge?).  Ended the weekend cuddled up in bed with Swimming With Giants – there’s nothing like some cetacean love to chase away the Sunday scaries.

Watching.  Well, this weekend I watched – from the front row, no less! – as Angelina Mouseling and her friends at the Camembert Academy sang and danced their way to a performance for the legendary prima ballerina Serena Silvertail.  Angelina Ballerina: The Musical was adorable, and Peanut loved every second.  (Literally.  After the show, I asked her what her favorite part was, and she breathlessly replied: “ALL OF IT.”)

Listening.  Lots and lots and lots of podcasts.  Peanut is interested in the southern resident orcas (I adopted one for her class) so she and I got caught up on all the news via A-Pod…cast for Killer Whales on our way to Germantown and back.  As for the other highlights of the week, that had to be Frank rapping “A puppy is a puppy is a puppy” on The Librarian Is In podcast’s tribute to Mary Oliver (sob).

Making.  Another batch cooking extravaganza!  Sliced cucumbers; a double batch of quinoa; goddess broccoli; cabbage soup with chickpeas; stewed cinnamon apples; cucumber-cilantro juice (don’t knock it ’til you try it); and a stir-fry of tofu, mushrooms and mixed greens.  Plus unpictured pomodori al forno (yes, again).  We will be eating well this week.

Anticipating.  I have another busy week coming up at work, with four deadlines hanging over me.  I’m really looking forward to having them all in the rearview, so I can relax a bit and get organized again – both at home and at work.

Blogging.  I’ll have my January in books for you on Wednesday, and on Friday I’ll be linking up with Modern Mrs. Darcy to share what’s saving my life this winter.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  Hiking with friends is always a treat!  Zan and I were trying to remember when was the last time our families got out for a hike together – we know it was when we all lived in Buffalo, so it’s been years.  How can that be?  Clearly we can’t let that much time go by without hitting the trails together again.  But the long hiatus notwithstanding, I’m smiling over sweet memories of rambling through the woods on this surprisingly seasonable Sunday with friends that I cherish.  It’s the simple things in life, right?  Nothing better.

Asking.  What are you reading this week?

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A Sunrise Beach Run In Miami

I’m writing this post while looking out the window at several inches of snow piled up on my back patio – brrrrr.  It seems like months ago that I flew down to Miami for three days, but it’s only been about two weeks.  It was a business trip, and most of my time was spent working in a warehouse conference room (but I could see palm trees out the window!) but I did manage to squeeze in one bit of fun while I was there, sneaking out for a sunrise beach run on my last morning.  Getting in a run through the tourist hot spots is one of my favorite things to do while traveling on business, and I promised myself that if I could make the sunrise run happen on this busy trip, I would.  It meant a scramble to get to work on time, but it was worth it.

There are so many great running destinations in Miami, and lots of fabulous views, but I really wanted to run right along the beach.  So I jumped in an Uber and asked my driver to take me to South Pointe Park.  I timed it perfectly, because the sun was just starting to come up over the water when I arrived.

City views!

That’s what I’m talking about…

I made it down to the water and ran in the sand, right where the early morning waves were rolling up to meet the shore, for a little while.

I made this yellow and blue lifeguard station my goal, and I got there right as the sunrise was beginning to get really spectacular.  I stood down at the water line and watched the day roll in.

Just a little at first.

 

Utterly breathtaking!  I watched the seabirds swooping back and forth over the water and envied their freedom.

Eventually, it was time to turn back – I couldn’t be late to the “office.”  But I knew I’d regret not putting my toes in the water, so I took off my running shoes and socks and waded in.  The waves rolled in and out and soaked the hems of my capris with warm salt water, and it was January 4th, and life was pretty darn good.

The spell had to break eventually – it was a golden hour, but it couldn’t last forever.  I ran back along the beach (barefoot!) then wiped the sand off my feet and ran a little bit more along the South Pointe pier, before jumping in an Uber back to the hotel.

One happy sunrise runner!

Do you like to squeeze in sightseeing runs to sweeten up your business trips?

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2018: A Year in Books, Part III – Book Superlatives

I love writing all three parts of my annual reading retrospective, but the Book Superlatives post might be one of my favorite things to write all year.  It’s just so darn silly and fun.  What’s not to love about giving high school yearbook awards to the books I read each year?  There’s no reason for it – it’s just goofy and fun.  So here we go.

Brainiest.  You don’t go from complete ignorance to Cambridge Ph.D. without some serious intellectual firepower, and it’s clear Tara Westover has that in spades.  The obstacles Tara overcame on her path to becoming educated were really shocking to read about.

Best Looking.  It isn’t often I pull my book out of my bag ten times in a day and say “Look how gorgeous this cover is!” but I did that when I was reading Penelope Lively’s Life in the Garden.  I mean – look how gorgeous that cover is!

Best Friends.  April, Jo, Mal, Molly and Ripley (honorable mentions to Barney and counselor Jen) are shoo-ins for the “best friends” title.  I mean, the Lumberjanes’ motto is Friendship to the Max!  And they live it, they really do.

Class Clown.  Sellar and Yeatman are worthy predecessors to Philomena Cunk, and that should tell you everything you need to know.  Oh, and in case that doesn’t: they’re freaking hysterical, and 1066 and All That is the best completely inaccurate history I’ve ever read.  I wish the actual class clowns in my high school were this witty.

Biggest Jock.  Look, I love Walden as much as the next girl.  But real talk: Henry David Thoreau is That Guy who has no sympathy for you weaklings (just don’t mention that his mom still washes his underpants, because he will have to beat on you a little bit).

Teacher’s Pet.  This award usually feels like a pejorative, but I mean it in the best sense.  Because if you think of the teacher’s pet as being someone who really, really, really, REALLY cares about school – no one cares about school more than Malala does.  And she is an icon, and for very good reason.

Biggest Nerd.  You know what?  I like nerds.  I think we should all be so lucky to have something we love enough to geek out about it shamelessly.  For me, that would be Jane Austen and L.M. Montgomery.  For Helene Hanff, that’s her course of philosophy and the Western canon via her favorite used booksellers across the pond.  When it comes to unbridled enthusiasm, no one geeks out better than Hanff.

Most Creative.  It was a little ridiculous, but so many of the most creative experiments are, right?  When you get a baker’s dozen (or so) mystery writers drunk, weird stuff happens.  And sometimes the end result is The Floating Admiral, which didn’t make a whole lot of sense, but no one would accuse it of being boring.

Most Opinionated.  2018 was the new year of the woman (between #MeToo taking off, an already historic number of female U.S. Senators running for President even before Kamala and Amy have decided, and the awesome woman-powered 116th Congress) and who better to speak for the sisterhood than Adichie?

Most Likely to End Up in Hollywood.  Total cop-out, and I know we’ve already had a floppity jillion movies about the golden age of space exploration, but let’s be honest here.  How many movies about the golden age of space exploration is the right number of movies about the golden age of space exploration?  One more.

Biggest Rebel.  Winter Santiaga is the consummate rebel.  Do not double cross her, because she will double cross you more, and in higher heels.

Biggest Loner.  Poor Vera!  Summer camp isn’t for the timid.  My heart ached for her as she searched for friends and learned – painfully – that true friends like you for who you are and not for what you can do for them.  (Also, Vera, if you’d have come to Camp Little Notch, we would have made you feel very welcome.)

Cutest Couple.  Alif and Dina are the sweetest ever.  They’re unassuming and a little nerdy and that just makes you root for them harder.  Also, the scene in which Dina wraps her veil around Alif and he sees the star-spangled world she’s created within I’M NOT CRYING YOU’RE CRYING.

Prom King.  How on earth did Decibel Jones get elected Prom King?  This was clearly a case of a write-in campaign going amazingly, hilariously wrong.  But look, you guys, you’re stuck with him now.  At least – hey, he can really rock a crown, although it’s not quite sparkly enough for him.

Prom Queen.  I’ll be honest, I picked Emmeline “Lucia” Lucas for Prom Queen mostly because the idea of Lucia dancing to The Way You Look Tonight with Decibel Jones tickled me so much that I couldn’t stop myself.  But also, if I had picked anyone else, Lucia would never have let me hear the end of it.

Most Likely to Succeed.  I almost named the most popular woman in America my Prom Queen for 2018, but see above – Lucia Lucas was too powerful.  And anyway, I thought Michelle fit better in this category, and that it would mean more to her.  This is one driven, talented, smart and hardworking woman, after all.

And there we have it!  I’m still laughing at the idea of Lucia and Dess as Prom King and Queen, while Mira Wonderful Star sulks in the corner with Elizabeth Mapp and valedictorian Tara Westover looks on disapprovingly.

Who would be your literary Prom Couple this year?

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It’s MLK Day! What Are You Reading? (January 21, 2019)

You know how there are some weekends where everyone just seems to be firing on all cylinders?  The weather’s perfect, the kids are happy, and you check everything off your to-do list?  This weekend… was not like that.  Okay, actually, it was a total dud.  It started out with a bad-behavior report about one of the kids at the school pick-up.  And by bad-behavior report, I mean two teachers giving me the play-by-play, in excruciating detail, to the point that I felt compelled to confirm that yes, I understand that hitting is wrong.  (They were both staring at me and obviously wanted me to say something.)  After my public shaming (the perpetrator was gleefully playing in the corner of the classroom and couldn’t have cared less) I finally got everyone halfway out the door and then the other kid melted into a puddle of emotionally overwrought temper tantrum right there in the middle of the school hallway.  Awesome.  And it got worse from there!  I ate something that disagreed with me for dinner and spent most of the night in intense discomfort (#notpregnant #justfoodpoisoning), so I was exhausted all day Saturday.  The kids were at each other’s throats all weekend – Mars must be in retrograde, or something.  And we started a gauntlet of five birthday parties in less than a month.  There were some bright spots; there always are.  We had a nice walk on Saturday – a loop through the farmers’ market and past our two neighborhood fire stations.  My brother and sister-in-law called on Saturday night and we had a lovely long chat while they drove home from skiing at Vail (don’t you just hate them?).  And Nugget and I spent a cozy afternoon at the library on Sunday and managed to only check out one book apiece – look at us and our personal growth.  And today I’m working from home; my office is technically closed today, but I have a huge brief due on Wednesday.  I hope you have the day off, though, and I hope it’s blissful!


Reading.  I was very busy over my books this week, as you can see.  Busier than usual – the reason being library deadlines, as always.  The Nine Tailors wasn’t due back urgently, so it might have been a little irresponsible of me, but I really wanted to read that one right away – so I did.  But after that, I had to buckle down in a big way.  The Go-Between, Fables Volume 10 and Fables Volume 11 were due back on Sunday the 20th, and I was out of renewals, so it was either read now or return unread (which I hate to do).  I tore through all three this week (liked The Go-Between but didn’t love it, but really enjoyed the two installments of Fables – possibly my favorites of the series thus far).  I thought I had some breathing room coming to me, because I had two more books out that I knew couldn’t be renewed before they’d be due on January 26th – one because it had holds, and one because I was out of renewals – but then I discovered that Spying on Whales had a fresh hold, too.  BLAST.  Tore through that in time to return it (early!) to the library yesterday, and now I’m a few stories into How Long ’til Black Future Month?, which I am liking, or at least recognizing its merits.  Short fiction isn’t usually my jam, nor is speculative fiction, and put them together – well, that’s something I’ve really got to be in the mood for.  I’m not in the mood for it, but I’m reading it anyway (I know, I know) because I like N.K. Jemisin and I don’t like returning books without having read them (again, I know, I know).

Watching.  Well, Nugget and I watched Jurassic World for the eleventy-seventh time earlier this week.  Or, to be more precise, Nugget watched and I kind of drifted in and out of the movie but mostly looked at him (he’s so beautiful, guys).  And that’s it.  After the antics at pickup on Friday, the kids got a screen detox enforced all weekend – and it’s been nice to not have a constant backdrop of Puffin Rock as I go about my day.

Listening.  More podcasts, as usual.  As of press time, I’m halfway through the episode of The Book Riot Podcast in which Jeff and Rebecca discuss their favorite non-bookish things of 2018, and Jeff waxing rhapsodic about his new electric scooter might be one of the best things on the Internet right now.

Making.  Tea.  And not much else.  I had big plans for an afternoon of batch cooking and bread-baking on Sunday, but it didn’t happen.  (Oh!  I made a mountain of kale sautéed in vegetarian oyster sauce, and it was pretty delicious, and I have a little bit left over.  Does that count?)

Anticipating.  On Friday, Steve and I have a date night – a brewery tour and beer-tasting (probably just for him, but I might sample some wheat beers or sours if they’re on offer) at Port City, our local brewery.  The tickets were one of his Christmas gifts.  There’s no way I’m as excited about this as he is, but I’m pretty excited.

Blogging.  Part III of my 2018 reading retrospective – book superlatives, always a fun post – on Wednesday, and a big photobomb post full of pretty sunrise pictures from recent whirlwind business trip to Miami on Friday.  Check in with me then!

Loving.  Y’all have heard about the new southern resident orca calf, right?  Baby L-124 Lucky, born to L-77 Matia, was spotted swimming with his/her family – including big sis L-119 Joy, who happens to be the whale I adopted on behalf of Peanut’s kindergarten class, less than two weeks ago.  Lucky is still very young and SRKW calves have a 50/50 survival rate in their first year (and to be honest, it’s not much better after that) but I’m cautiously excited, and more so after Ken Balcomb of the Center for Whale Research confirmed that Lucky appears healthy and energetic.  Lucky’s fortunate enough to have been born into a particularly strong family group within L-pod, so that should help.  I barely got any work done after the first encounter with little Lucky went live on the Center for Whale Research site.  I mean, can you even STAND the cuteness?!

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2018: A Year In Books, Part II — Top Ten

This is always one of the most challenging posts to write – how do I narrow an entire year’s worth of reading down to just ten highlights?  Every year, there are a select few that I know – even at the time of reading – are going to be on the list, but beyond those standouts, I read so many good books, that it’s almost impossible to choose just ten favorites.  But because I love you guys, I buckle down and get it done.  So, here, in no particular order, is the list of my top ten books of 2018:

Becoming, by Michelle Obama – Somehow, I knew this one would make my top ten list, even before I read it.  Michelle Obama’s writing is so evocative that I could feel the hot Chicago sun as she wandered down the sidewalks eating ice cream on one of her first dates with Barack and the oppressive silence inside the walls of the White House.  I was completely swept away and loved every moment.

Period Piece, by Gwen Raverat – I’ve long had a soft spot for Victorian childhood literature, and Raverat’s memoir is one of the best.  Raverat grew up as Gwen Darwin, granddaughter of the legendary Charles, and spent her childhood knocking about Cambridge and the Darwin family estates.  Her beautifully-written memoir would be a treat in and of itself, but it’s delightfully illustrated with Raverat’s own work – she grew up to become a renowned woodcut artist and one of the first women to make a living as a professional book illustrator.

North and South, by Elizabeth Gaskell – I’ve been meaning to read this classic for a long time, and I ended up reading it in the early days of grieving for a close family member who had loved it.  Sad as I was while reading, I loved it too.  Gaskell’s classic story of love and labor unrest will be an enduring favorite – I can already tell.

Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente – Valente’s books are unlike anything else I’ve read, and Space Opera was no exception.  The story of a washed-up glam rocker who finds himself drafted into an intergalactic battle of the bands with the fate of humanity hanging in the balance was so much fun.  (Also: Chapter 29!  If you’ve read it, you’ll understand.)

Belonging: A German Reckons with History and Home, by Nora Krug – This was another one that I knew would be in my top ten as I was reading it.  Krug compiles a family history that is part scrapbook, part graphic memoir, and completely fascinating, as she unpacks her grandparents’ role – or not – in World War II.

Consider the Years, by Virginia Graham – I really loved this equal parts poignant and funny collection of poetry from the World War II era and immediately after.  It was a slim little volume, but utterly lovely.

The Blue Field, by John Moore – I enjoyed every volume of the Brensham Trilogy (published in sweet little clothbound hardback limited editions by Slightly Foxed) but the third and final installment was my favorite.  Moore’s whimsical and evocative portrayal of the quirky little village of Brensham really hits its stride in this last volume – I felt like I knew these people.  Most of the book was uproariously funny – but oh, the fox-hunting scene.  SOB.

84, Charing Cross Road, by Helene Hanff – People have been urging me to read this for years, and I finally got around to it in 2018, and about time!  The correspondence between Hanff and the London booksellers who keep her in used books is such a treasure.  It starts out strictly business, but Hanff’s enthusiasm for her purchases soon wears down the British reserve of her correspondents across the ocean, and watching their friendship blossom is a total joy.

Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen – My conscience is pricking me a little bit, because Northanger Abbey was a re-read, not for the first time, and has probably even been on one of my top ten lists before.  But I decided that I don’t care, because it’s one of my favorite books and it was one of the ten best reads of the year – as usual.  Any time spent with Catherine Morland and Henry and Eleanor Tilney is time well spent.

A Country Doctor’s Commonplace Book, by Philip Rhys Evans – My last read of the year was also one of the best.  I found A Country Doctor’s Commonplace Book – a collection of funny, interesting or amusing tidbits that the author has collected over the years – under the Christmas tree and read it in one day, laughing my face off the whole time.  The snippets of hilariously misspelled or badly written parish announcements was my favorite part, but really, it was all great.

I did it!  Somehow I’ve managed to narrow a year’s worth of excellent reading down into ten favorites.  2018 was an immensely satisfying year in books, as you can see.  Next week: my book superlatives, and then onward to more great reads in 2019!

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2018: A Year In Books, Part I — By The Numbers

I always seem to be running behind in January – this is where my Monday, Wednesday, Friday posting schedule really makes things challenging.  But I’m not willing to give up any of my New Year’s content, so here I am in the middle of January just getting ready to start my three-part 2018 reading retrospective.  These are some of my favorite posts to write.  I love looking back on the year in books, thinking about the things I read, and wondering what’s ahead of me.

Enough prelude – here’s my 2018 in books, by the numbers.

30,000 Foot View

According to my reading trackers, I read 113 books in 2018, for a total of 29,844 pages.  Considering I was hoping to read fewer books last year – I’d set a goal of 52 books, in hopes of getting to some of the dense or long classics I’ve been wanting to read – 2018 didn’t exactly go according to plan.

 

The longest book I read in 2018 was Angle of Repose, by Wallace Stegner, which clocked in at 569 pages.  (That’s a light one for me.  I usually have at least one 800+ page chunkster.)  The shortest book was Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, at a slim 63 pages – but what a punch those 63 pages packed.

Who Gets The Big Piece?

Pie chart time!  Please bear with me.  I love geeking out about my past year in reading, and making pie charts is the geekiest geeking out I can think of to do.

Fiction/Nonfiction

Starting with the simplest chart: in 2018, out of 113 books read – 59 were fiction, 49 were nonfiction, and five were poetry.  I don’t have too much to say about this chart, except that I apparently read a lot of nonfiction this year.  I enjoy well-written nonfiction, but I’m usually much more of a fiction reader, so I was a little surprised to see how close they were to even this year.  (I suspect that 2019 will be a reversion to my usual splits, and next year’s pie chart in this category will be a lot more lopsided towards fiction.  It’s just what I’m craving at the moment and I don’t anticipate that changing much.)  Also – five books of poetry, who dis?

 

Format

This one was less of a surprise: my reading was heavily weighted toward physical books this year.  I like my kindle, but I just don’t reach for it all that much, and I almost never read on my phone – it gives me terrible headaches.  This chart would be even more heavily weighted toward physical books if I hadn’t broken out journals and graphic novels, all of which were physical bound volumes as well.  Finally, only two audiobooks – I guess I was really more into podcasts this year.  That will probably change in 2019, because I’m going to have to drive to work when the metro closes down for several months this summer, and I predict several audiobooks during that time.

 

Source of Book

Here’s another one that surprised me with how even it was.  In 2018, apparently, I read 58 books from the library and 47 from my own shelves (and a handful of others that I sourced from Audible, kindle, and one lonely iPhone app book – which I believe was poetry, so I could dip in and out of it and not have to stare at the phone for long periods of time).  I’m normally a very heavy library user, so it is quite surprising – and gratifying – to discover just how much I read from my own shelves in 2018.

 

Fiction Genres

Always a busy chart!  I read a lot of different fiction genres this year, as usual.  And as usual, my heaviest categories are classics (my favorite) and literary fiction.  For good measure, I tossed in some gentle fiction, some general fiction, a few mysteries, some short stories and YA, some science fiction and fantasy, and one lonely historical fiction book.  (I’m always shocked at how small the historical fiction category is.  I think the explanation is that I read a lot of books set in the past, but most fit into another genre or category, and I always seem to lump them in the other genre.  There are very few pure historical fiction genre books in my reading in a given year.)

Nonfiction Genres

Another wide-ranging category.  I read some great nonfiction this year!  As usual, memoir was my biggest category, but I’m gratified to see books about books in second place!  I also read a lot of essays this year, it appears, and quite a few books about history and current events – not surprising, given how crazy the world is right now.  Next year I’d love to see the nature category grow – I really enjoy nature writing, and I would like to read more of it.

Settings

This chart looks pretty typical for me.  Every year, the USA and England are fighting it out for top billing on my settings chart – this year, the USA won, but England was a fairly close second.  Everything else is way behind, but I did range over a fairly wide swath of territory in my reading this year – all over Africa (I read books set in South Africa, Egypt, Rwanda, Nigeria and a collection of short stories with writers hailing from all over the continent), some in South America, some in the Middle East, some fictional words and – again – one lone book set in outer space.  (That would be Space Opera, by Catherynne M. Valente, which will be on my top ten list on Friday – spoiler!  I considered putting Rocket Men in the outer space category too, since part of the book does take place on Gemini and Apollo spacecraft, but since most of the action takes place in the United States, it’s in the USA slice of the pie.)

Sex of Author

As usual, I read mostly women – 70 women, compared with 33 men.  And you know what?  I’m A-Okay with that and 100% plan to keep it up.  (The third category is “various authors,” and comprised mostly of Slightly Foxed quarterlies, plus a couple of short story collections to which both men and women contributed.)

Diversity

For the third year in a row, I tracked diversity in my books.  Ever year, I am looking for 33% or more of my books to come from diverse or underrepresented groups or “own voices.”  This year I read 41 diverse books out of a total of 113 – so I squeaked past my goal with 36% diverse books.  Not quite as good as last year, but a decent effort.  It’s become second nature to me, after three years of tracking diversity in my reading, to seek out books by people of color, disabled people, religious minorities, and LGBTQ+ authors, and I am so glad I have taken this effort on.  I’m actually not going to track diversity in 2019, because I want to just drift through my shelves and read whatever looks good in the moment without worrying about totals of any kind.  But I suspect that my reading will still be fairly diverse, because I’ve grown so used to seeking those voices out.

Diverse Groups

As usual, out of the diverse books I read, the majority were by African-American authors, with a large chunk that I’ve called “African Disapora” – meaning, people of African descent living elsewhere in the world, whether in African countries, in Europe, etc.  Those seem to be the voices I gravitate to the most.  A few other observations: I didn’t read any books by Native Americans or First Nations authors this year, which is disappointing.  And the LGBTQ+ category is bigger than it appears, since quite a few of the books in the “multiple” category are books in which either the author is both LGBTQ+ and a person of color, or they are collections of essays or short stories with authors from all different groups, including LGBTQ+ people.  I always pay attention to that community, because it’s really important to me to be a good ally – I want to be a good ally to everyone, of course, but I have a lot of friends in the LGBTQ+ community and I try extremely hard to support them.

There we have it!  A darn decent year of reading, if I do say so myself – even if I failed miserably in my attempt to read fewer books in 2018.  We all knew that was a pipe dream, didn’t we?  Coming up on Friday, my top ten books of 2018.  It’s going to be hard to choose, because I read so many good ones last year!

How did you do on your reading goals in 2018?