not necessarily in this order

 Things have been quiet over here and may be quieter for a bit. As often happens with dementia mixed with other chronic conditions, my poor mom has gone downhill quite suddenly and I’m trying to navigate what’s next and Lil Momma (and work and life and the fall), with still some small hopes that she’ll bounce back a bit as she’s done countless times.  So, for this next chunk of time, I’m dedicating my writing brain space to small joys and hot takes on whatever I’m watching or listening to; a diary of distractions. 1  We’ve started the British show Taskmaster over from the beginning. British comedians, inane challenges, sarcastic hosts - the perfect way to get me out of my head for a bit. We’ve even met Lil Momma watch here and there and it’s amazing to watch her dissolve into giggles (and adds tension as we hope some of the naughtier references go over her head)! 2. This life moment coincides with my busiest two week period at work; all presentations to large groups, en...

  Lil Momma turned 10 at the end of August and it was a wild whirlwind of weather and a party! One  I was honestly dreading the party even before the weather turned against me. LM had asked for  a party in 3 parts: crafts, cake, and firepit/dance party with s’mores . She also very much wanted to fill up the invite list with 10 friends ( because she was turning 10)  and many of them had not been to our house before which means their moms had not been to our house before and it all was just SO MUCH for my brain to handle.    Two  LM and I had a prep day where we went adventuring to find supplies for the crafts, decorations, and cake embellishments. We landed on making  beaded bracelets  ( which were easy to prep as there where kits and extra beads to pick from ) and these  canvas stars  which we bought letter stickers for so the girls could color around the sticker of their first initial and then peel it off ( it sounded like a thing!...

  All the Light We Cannot See   Anthony Doerr, 2017 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I waited 33 weeks for this book on the library hold list after loving the complexity of  Cloud Cuckoo Land , the first book I read this calendar year. It floored me and I could do nothing but read it until I read it so fast I had regrets about not savoring it more.  But when I finally got its predecessor in early August, it just sat. I couldn’t bear to start it. With so many sad moments that last handful of years, I haven’t had it in me to read or watch sad things; when I realized this was a World War II novel, I froze. I had rushed the hold without reading anything about the book (although I’m sure I read    raves from blog friends when they read it) and all  those months of waiting became weeks of a standoff  - and an overdue book!! <gasp> - while life lifed and I tried to find the mental curiosity to just start reading it.  Ridiculous?  Possibly.  Overdramatic?...