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a handful of helpers

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A handful of helpful things that are keeping me going recently! One : Scoopable salads. Game changers. (I’m so behind the trends haha!) I’ve been trying to eat more veggies and beans lately and discovered all of these wonderful make ahead salads that we’ve been playing since my birthday. Last week, I made one with black beans and roasted corn and feta and lots of chopped veggies. This week, we have pesto and navy beans and chickpeas and mozzarella. Quick and easy lunches for me and a bonus has been Lil Momma asking for “scoops” in her own meals.  Two : the mood brighteners that are holiday lights. Thanksgiving weekend, we put strands of lights up across our windows in the living room (which we’ve never done) and it’s just brought a new level of cozy joy to our late afternoons and evenings - especially with it getting dark so early. A cup of tea, a book, and fun lights? Yea, please! Three : Big dog cuddles. Maysie is the biggest dog I’ve ever had: She’s at about 35 lbs so far and so...
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recent reads: 75-85 of 2024

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As I mentioned at the beginning of November, I found myself dangerously close to having read 100 books this year with 2 months to go. Now, I love an arbitrary, no stakes goal and have been steadily working my way through my library holds to see if I can make it. I was slowed down by a couple behemoth entries in a series I feel I must complete, so I find myself this December 1 with 15 books to go. With 2 recital weekends being balanced off by a handful of vacation days (and school vacation), it really is going to be a race to the finish! Note, I accidentally posted these in the reverse order that I read them and will rectify that in future Recent Reads !   The Vanishing Box  by Elly Griffiths:  4 /5  ⭐  I really enjoyed this entry to  The Magic Men  series. Set around the holidays, the mystery itself was the right amount of twisty and it was great to see the main characters grow and evolve. I may have rated this a little high based on how I feel like t...
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life lately in 5

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  One : Poor Maysie got spayed and had her dew claws removed last week. The weekend was sad and hard when she wasn’t feeling well, but we are glad the hardest part is over and she’s on the mend. She’s doing ok physically but her energy came back after 36 hours and it’s all we can do to keep her quiet. She has the cone through next Tuesday, so here’s hoping we can keep her healing and avoid too intense of cone bruises on our bodies, haha! Two : Thanksgiving is a whole thing because Maysie is tall enough to get her head on the table and counters (cone and all), but I think we have a plan to manage. I’m trying to make it easy on myself and baking off homemade Italian rolls on Wednesday instead of trying to time their rise and bake with a turkey on Thursday. We are also baking Lil Momma’s request of Salted Caramel Chocolate Cookies and the Mr’s “pumpkin pie from the can” on Wednesday, too, to simplify what has to happen on the day itself.  Three : I have a MRI on my back and hip...
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unexpected delivery

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  Maysie came to us with very little information; all they handed her over with just a folder of vaccine records. From our prior conversations, we had asked what food she was eating and I spent some serious time on the Google seeing if it available locally (no) or if I could get it added into our senior population dog’s auto-shipment from Chewy (also no). Finally, I found it a bag at a Walmart a ways away, but we knew we needed a more sustainable plan.  After the first weeks of chaos, I ordered a bag of food from Chewy to see if we could slowly make the switch for Maysie and then set up the auto-ship. After a messy week where we discovered she just didn’t like her original food but loved, loved, loved this new one, I went back into the app and set up the recurring order.  A week later, I received an email that the package had been delivered. It wasn’t on our side deck, nor on our front steps. It was downpouring and dark, but the Mr went outside to see if they left it in o...
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a minute on reading goals

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This is a new thing I’m trying to take things less seriously. One minute to jot down an idea, an intention, a smile in this space - nothing more and nothing less.  If I had more than a minute to write this, I’d talk about how personal goals have fallen by the wayside of caretaking and estate management and personal time functional freeze in these last few years or so. Or, about my relationship to reading and how it makes me feel like me even when I haven’t read as much in my life. Or about how much I am grateful to have books and the library and reading back in my life in this moment.   But I don’t. So, I won’t, haha!   What I will say is that I found myself at the end of October dangerously close to having read 100 books this year with 76 done. (Don’t ask me how many DNFs. Oof. So many recently, too. SIGH!)   Now, I don’t usually read to a number. Honestly, I just feel lucky to be finding pockets of time for myself to read at all vs. just freezing or doomscrolling o...
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a minute on a Sunday (1)

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  This is a new thing I’m trying to take things less seriously. An idea, an intention, a smile jotted down in this space - nothing more and nothing less.  Maysie and I were doing an early morning walk around our chilly yard when I saw her pause and notice… something. We stood together in the emerging sun and wet, cold grass (my toes!), and then I heard it, too: a slight quiet fluttering in the woods.  All of a sudden, I saw it! It was the leaves falling from the tallest trees and getting caught in branches and vines as they fell. Gold and maroon in the green and brown. We could hear fall, it was happening right there in front of us. Maysie started from the pause, ready to keep circling and sniffing while I followed so grateful I had left my phone inside and was out there with my eyes and attention. 
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when DNFs fight back

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I am a library person. Right now, 100% of the books I read come from my local library. My holds list is a source of joy and I’m so grateful that the library part of a system that will get me books from other libraries and allow me to request books that aren’t currently in any of the catalogs.   Over the last 2 months, I’ve had a library experience that I’ve never had before, and it threw my routine into such a tizzy. And I say that as someone who just got a puppy and lives in chaos.  Months ago, I had gotten on the hold list for the sequel to very popular book club read from a couple of years ago. I had mildly enjoyed the first book and just like to put in holds for sequels because the list gets so long. The book finally landed with me in late July and I saved it for our family vacation in New Hampshire in early August.  Unfortunately, I read the first chapter the day before we left and absolutely knew it was not for me. It very well may be for lots and lots of people, bu...
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