October

I went on a work trip, the weather is cool enough for Cody to bike to work again, and Evelyn has been in full Halloween mode for about 6 weeks. We've been to birthday parties, Halloween parties, and regular ol' parties.

I'm knitting a lot and easing up on the Sue Grafton novels.  I think these are the last of this year's zinnias, but I may have a few more blooms on the balcony before plant season is truly over.

Book list for August 2018

"J" is for Justice.  Sue Grafton. *

"K" is for Killer. Sue Grafton.

Lumberjanes: Band Together. *

The Breakdown.  B. A. Paris.

Lumberjanes: Sink or Swim.*

August 21

Book list for July 2018

July was the month I got a sinus infection, both Cody and Evelyn had ear infections, I did a bunch of work, said goodbye to a dear friend who moved far away, was stressed, was sad, and started at least 6 new knitting projects and started a lot of new books. All hail pseudoephedrine and its power to keep me going when I don't feel good and to convince me that starting just one more project or checking out all those books will somehow fix everything.

 It was not a month for finishing much of anything outside of work projects. It all feels so long ago that I initially looked at my page of books read and typed out the books I read in August.

It was just that kind of month.

"I" is for Innocent. Sue Grafton.*

Dark Fields of the Republic: Poems 1991-1995. Adrienne Rich.*

Lumberjanes: Out of Time. Stevenson, Watters, Allen, Laiko. *

My zinnias started blooming, though.

A post for 40 years

This weekend we celebrated my parents' 40th wedding anniversary! We met up at Laine's house, ate so much food, held the baby, chased the toddler, lost track of the big kids, drank coffee, snacked, took pictures, forgot stuff (I switched hotel rooms and left my camera behind in the old room and didn't realize it until the next morning. But then I got it back, so there's a happy ending), ate more food, dressed up, chilled out, and laughed a lot.

It was a fairly perfect way to celebrate a forty-year union that we've been blessed to be a part of.

Happy anniversary, Mom and Dad!

Book list for June 2018

Craeft. Alexander Langlands.*

"G" is for Gumshoe. Sue Grafton.*

"H" is for Homicide. Sue Grafton.*

Snowblind. Ragnar Jonasson.*

Cody picked up "Craeft" from the library because he thought it looked like something I would like and now I want to talk about it all the time with anyone I can find. I loved it.

Here's a picture from June:

Sunday morning, July 22

Book List for May 2018

"E" is for Evidence. Sue Grafton.*

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less. Guy McKeown.*

"F" is for Fugitive. Sue Grafton.*

Teach Like Finland. Timothy D. Walker*

Favorite:  I kind of want to teach like Finland now.

Here's a picture from May:

Book List for April 2018

Death of a Witch. M. C. Beaton.*

"B" is for Burglar. Sue Grafton.*

"C" is for Corpse. Sue Grafton.*

"D" is for Deadbeat. Sue Grafton.*

Favorite: So far, I love everything Sue Grafton writes.

Not favorite: I would prefer not reading any Beaton ever again.

Here is a picture from April:

Book list for March 2018

What Happened. Hillary Clinton.*

The Four Things That Matter Most. Ira Byock.*

Project Happily Ever After. Alisa Bowman.*

The Lost Hero. Rick Riordan.*

The Rooster Bar. John Grisham.*

Surprise Me. Sophie Kinsella.*

"A" is for Alibi. Sue Grafton.*

Death of a Cad. M. C. Beaton.*

Favorite book: Surprise Me was pretty fun.

Not favorite: I don't even remember any of those things that were supposed to matter.

Here's a picture from March:

Book List for February 2018

The Same Sweet Girls' Guide to Life. Cassandra King.*

Stitches. Anne Lamott*

Her Fearful Symmetry. Audrey Niffenegger*

The Western Star. Craig Johnson*

The Child in the Family. Maria Montessori *

Favorite: Same Sweet, I guess.

Least favorite: a tie between the horror book that I didn't realize was horror even though it had supernatural twins with unhealthy twinness (Niffenegger) and the one about the murderous cross dresser that had a lot of lazy tropes and ended on a cliffhanger (Johnson, who has really tested my patience with the last 3 Longmire mysteries even though I'll probably read the next book in one sitting).

Here's a picture from February:

100 pompoms for 100 days of school! 

Book list for January 2018

Books are in the order I read them:

The Checklist Manifesto. Atul Gawande*
The One Full Year Challenge. Brad Hardin
The Store. James Patterson and Richard Di Lello*
A Homemade Year. Jerusalem Jackson Greer*
A Bed of Scorpions. Judith Flanders*

Best book of the month: The Checklist Manifesto.

As always, * = library book.

Here's a picture from January:

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