For me, as with many of you, this was a tough week. I generally try to keep this blog free of politics but it's been tough in the past few weeks to stay quiet. I cannot remain quiet about a man who, in his inauguration speech, painted this country as the blackest hole in the world. Yesterday I watched a lot of the Women's March on Washington on the Facebook Live feed; they kept me inspired and kept this homebody convinced to leave the house and join the march here. I'm proud to say that Miss H and The Big Guy joined me (and Mini-him would have joined us but had to work late). Our crowd, in this red state, wasn't anything like the big cities but we did have 18,000 people (15,000 more than was expected) marching through downtown Omaha on a Saturday night, carrying signs, chanting and coming together to inspire each other to continue to make their voices heard to their elected officials. It made my heart happy.
This Week I'm:
Listening To: I'm about a third of the way through The Emperor's Children and enjoying it but it is starting, sort of, to remind me of The Interestings in that it is about a group of people living in NYC where not much, so far at least, is happening.
Watching: Several episodes of "Orange Is The New Black," a couple of episodes of "Longmire," football and college basketball (of course), and the season (series???) finale of "Sherlock." Damn, that was twisty greatness! Oh, and Kate McKinnon as Kellyann Conway as Roxie Hart. Hilarious!
Making: Chicken noodle casserole, stir fry, Cuban sandwiches, pork roast, chicken salad - yeah, I cooked a lot of chicken and a pork roast last weekend and we used it in all kinds of ways this week.
Planning: On getting my hair colored today. Holy crap, does it need it!
Thinking About: Too many things. I can't (see Reading) concentrate on any one thing for any length of time.
Feeling: Empowered.
Looking forward to: The Big Guy's birthday this coming weekend. Family dinner will be involved - I wonder if we can FaceTime eat with Mini-me and Miss S while we do that?!
Question of the week: Please give me your best tip to get me out of my reading slump!
My best tip - just go with it. Seriously. If TV is working for you now, then that's OK. Sometimes, our reading minds need a rest. Otherwise, magazines, old favorites (books, I mean), or graphic novels. Beautiful ice pictures. Probably not so much fun in actuality. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly been hard to concentrate on reading this week. No marching down here for me, but my daughters attended in NYC.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you were able to participate in your local March. What an amazing experience! Sometimes during winter you just need to unwind in front of the tv. So many amazing shows to choose from. May we all do what we can to speak out and make our voices heard. Hugs to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteMy tip for getting out of reading slumps is rereads. I typically get in one when my brain is tired and feeling pulled in different directions and I can connect with a reread but I don't have to focus on it quite as much because I know the story already. It typically knocks me out of a slump. I haven't watched Sherlock yet but I'm looking forward to them though I've heard they're total madness. Happy birthday to the Big Guy and have a great week!
ReplyDeleteMy reading and focus is off as well ever since the election. I'm sad about the state of this country and the new billionaire swamp Trump has selected.ðŸ˜
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on marching yesterday! I was watching the feeds while Holly was at dance, wishing I was there with everyone but totally there in spirit. I feel SO much better about the future knowing after seeing how many people feel so strongly about the current executive branch. He doesn't stand a chance!
ReplyDeleteGood luck getting out of your reading slump! I dislike when I get in those "can't concentrate on anything" modes. That's when I whip out the phone and spend way too many hours playing Candy Crush and Candy Crush Soda.
Happy early birthday to The Big Guy! I hope he has a wonderful day!
Awesome.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading like a fiend! I am obsessed. It's probably a reaction to not wanting to pay attention to anything else?
Happy Pie Day!
Best reading slump elixir, Murakami. You knew I was going to say that.
ReplyDeleteOMG, there are not many people I can talk to regarding the election but I feel broken inside. I am not a flag waving Democrat but what I want is a good person in office no matter who that might be. And I'm sorry, I just don't see presidential material in Trump. I actually liked Trump quite a bit BEFORE the election and I know that elections do bring out all kinds of sludge but he hasn't responded well to any of it. Now he simply says that he doesn't have to share his taxes. I think he will be creating his own rules no matter what he promised or what's already in existence. All he does is say nope, and that's it. I hope he does bring companies back to the US. We almost lost the family business because of how the industry moved to China for manufacturing. I hope he does put a cap on spending in general but his cabinet picks are the most unqualified picks I've seen and he seems to pick them just for that reason. So what? So he can then control and do whatever he wants?
And to be honest, I didn't fully support the women's march. I didn't care for those hats! I felt that there were degrading although I fully support the women who chose to march. I can see why they did it. I just wish they'd get the recognition for their efforts instead of a slight on Twitter.
It's good to feel empowered. I'm not sure I really do, but we'll see. It's been a tough couple of months. I have a copy of The Emporer's Children and hope to read it before too long, although I might regret not opting for an audio for this one.
ReplyDeleteHang in there--we'll get through this.
So glad to hear that the marchers convinced you to march and that you had an awesome experience with it: yay! I'm behind with OitNB and Longmire, but I enjoy them both. My tip for casting off a slump is to choose an old favourite and begin rereading until you want to pick up something else instead. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteYou should feel even more proud than those of us who marched in blue states! We had no fear of pushback but to make a statement where you are? Amazing!
ReplyDeleteI wish I had a good tip but this slump seems endemic to everyone I know who cares about this country. For me, I'm only enjoying backlist books that come highly recommended. Reading books to write reviews about feels almost impossible.