Life: It Goes On - April 13

Happy Sunday! It's starting to get really beautiful outside of my window, with the little bright green leaves on the lilac bushes and the brilliant pink buds on the crabapple tree. This is the one time of the year that I'm happy the Big Guy went against my wishes and came home with a crabapple tree 25 years ago. 

It follows very closely on the heels of the time I am most annoyed at him for the same reason. Early every spring, those little crabapples (which, to be fair, have provided a nice spot of color throughout the winter), just drop off that tree, fully ready to be squished and leave a streak of juice all over my driveway. Not at all the "they'll dry up before they fall off and blow away" scenario my husband was sold. 

Anyone else been mostly chained to their desk chairs getting their taxes done this week? Please tell me it's not just me who puts it off! It's really put a cloud over my head all week On the plus side, at least I got excused from jury duty so I didn't have to deal with that as well. I was terrified I was going to end up sequestered and not be able to get my taxes done! 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: A short book I won't even be reviewing until December and don't know why I listened to now. Other than it was available immediately. Also started Stephanie Wrobel's The Hitchcock Hotel, which the New York Times Book Review convinced me to listen to - so far, the jury is out. I should have expected some magical/fantasy elements (having read Haig's The Midnight Library) but, for some reason, I was taken by surprise and you know how I struggle with fantasy in a book.

Watched: NCAA basketball championships and a couple of episodes of Shrinking (if you have Apple TV and you haven't discovered this one yet, you really need to check it out). Then yesterday, when I was taking breaks from doing taxes, I watched a couple of musicals. One was Sara Bareilles' Waitress - absolutely loved it and hope it comes to Omaha soon so I can see it live. The other was a trip down memory land - Robert Stigwood's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, starring George Burns, The Bee Gees and Peter Frampton. It really is quite bad but I remember seeing it in the movie theater in 1978 and haven't seen it since. I had such a crush on Peter Frampton then! 

Read: Matt Haig's The Life Impossible, which is my book club's June selection. I'm a little over half way through it and still not sure how I feel about it. I'm also reading The Fairbanks Four: Murder, Injustice and the Birth of a Movement by Brian Patrick O'Donoghue. 

Made: BLTs (which I always regret when I don't have homegrown tomatoes to use), pizza, BLT salads (because we needed to use up the rest of the bacon we'd cooked), and chicken orzo soup. 

Enjoyed: Thursday four members of our book club drove across the Missouri River to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to see Shelby Van Pelt, author of Remarkably Bright Creatures, which is our July selection. She is really wonder to see in person, if you get the chance - humorous, open, and very comfortable in a very crowded room. My only regret is that we got no pictures. 

Also, we enjoyed our first evening on the patio on Friday night after we had dinner out. We didn't even have all of the furniture uncovered yet or the fire pit ready but it was too nice to be inside. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: Y'all, Easter snuck up on me so this week will be about getting food ready and figuring out how I get it to my dad's to celebrate with him. 

Thinking About: Taxes. Even with a tax software, they are so complicated! And why is there always one document that you need but don't recall getting in the mail? 

Feeling: In theory I have one week of 40 Bags in 40 Days left and I haven't even come close to getting through all of the areas I wanted to get through or to reaching 40 bags. I'm frustrated! 

Looking forward to: Book club on Tuesday.  

Question of the week: what are your go-to side dishes for Easter dinner? What do you have for dessert? 

Life: It Goes On - February 25

Happy Sunday! Even as it's hard to believe that February is almost over, it's also hard to believe that it's still February with weather that has been so unwinterlike (yep, just made up a word) almost all month. I have plants peeking their spears up out of ground that should still be far too cold for them to start growing; they are almost as big as they were in this photo I took a couple of years ago...well into March. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: Finished Mansfield Park and then back to Saving Time by Jenny Odell. 

Watched: The penultimate episode of Ted Lasso. We have been spreading the final episodes out for weeks; we'll be so sad to be done with the series. We've both agreed that it's a series we would watch again...although there are always so many things that we've never watched that we'd like to get watched. Sort of like keeping a book that I think I'll reread and never do because there are so many other books that I haven't read yet. 

Read: Pete and Alice In Maine by Caitlyn Shetterly. This was recommend to me but I can't remember who it was that recommended it. 

Made: I'm making rice pudding as I type this. My dad has been having stomach problems for several weeks and has now grown a little afraid to eat. I'm hoping that something that he loves (but that is also easy to digest) will appeal to him. I know I'm looking forward to eating some! 

Enjoyed: Book club on Tuesday. We played a Jane Austen matching game (akin to Memory) but didn't bother to read the rules and then discovered that even the biggest Austen fans in the group couldn't remember who matched up with who in all of the books. Which turned out to be a lot of laughs, so it all worked out. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: Another run to the Goodwill. The decluttering and 40 Bags in 40 Days continue full force. 

Thinking About: I'll also be dropping off a big bag of clothes to the high school for them to use for plays - clothes that my mom had saved for more than 60 years, things other people wore at my parents wedding, my mom's going away outfit, etc. These things meant so much to her but my siblings and I have agreed that the clothes were her memories, not ours. I've been thinking a lot about that idea and what "things" I need to say goodbye to now so that they don't become a burden for my children some day. 

Feeling: Worn down. I don't think I've been sleeping well, but I refuse to sleep with my Apple watch on because I'm a little afraid to find out just how bad it's been. 

Looking forward to: Another quiet week. We have both Miss H's and Ms. S's bdays on Friday but, sadly, won't get to be with either of them to celebrate. Trying to figure out a way to celebrate from afar. 

Question of the week: If someone had something delivered to you, what would you rather have: balloons, flowers, or a meal? 

Happy Sunday! I hope it's as sunny there as it is here this morning - my day is always better when I can see the sun. I've had a very productive weekend; I took the day off Friday and have powered through getting a lot of decluttering done, laundry washed, and cleaning done. I'm feeling much lighter as I get rid of more and more things that don't need to live in my house any more, even if not all of it will show to the outside world. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: I finished Shauna Niequist's Present Over Perfect and started Jenny Odell's Saving Time. I seem to be on a real nonfiction bend of late. 

Watched: We finished Daisy Jones and The Six and both agreed we might have liked it better if we hadn't read the book first or if they had stuck more closely to it. I've also watched some more of The Crown and last night we watched Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan in Maestro. I can see why they were both nominated for Academy Awards but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting in a movie about Leonard Bernstein. 

Read: I'm reading Mansfield Park for book club and Tommy Orange's Wandering Stars. I keep feeling like I'm still not reading as much as I once did, but when I logged in everything I'd read or listened to so far this year, I find that I've already finished twelve books. I'm just listening more than I'm sitting down with a book. 

Made: Homemade mac and cheese and chicken noodle soup. BG was out of town for a couple of nights and we've eaten out a couple of nights so not much cooking was going on here. 

Enjoyed: A visit from my uncle and BG and I went for a belated Valentine's Day dinner last night. We went to a place, Trini's, we've never been to before but that's been a staple in Omaha for more than forty years. It was so good - I'm really beating myself up that I've been missing it all of these years! 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: The decluttering will continue. I'll finish what Go Simplified calls the entertaining areas. In her world, all of your entertaining things are in a couple of rooms, whereas my tablecloth collection is hanging in a guest room closet so, of course, while I was in that closet, I started going through everything in it. Need to finish that part of the project today so I don't have too many things started at once. 

Thinking About: My dad. He's not progressing as well as we had hoped and we may need to make some difficult decisions in the coming weeks. At the very least, I need to get some things in place sooner than I had planned. 

Feeling: More rested, thanks to that spur-of-the-moment decision to take Friday off. 

Looking forward to: Book club this week. 

Question of the week: I am so looking forward to my leftovers from last night's dinner, but I know a lot of people don't take home the food they don't finish. What about you - do you enjoy leftovers from dinners out? 

Life: It Goes On - February 28

Happy Sunday! We made it through February, guys; the end of winter is in sight. The snow I thought we might still be looking at in our yard in April is melting fast and a heavy rainfall last night hastened that. It's got me thinking of gardens and evenings on the patio. I need that this year, more than ever. 

Last Week I: 

 Listened To: My Dear Hamilton, which had me wanting to listen to the Hamilton soundtrack. It was also one of those many things that makes me think of my mom - it's just the kind of book she would have loved. 

Watched: The television's been on but I haven't paid attention to most of what The Big Guy's been watching. Except for Jeopardy, which comes on at the time we're usually eating dinner. Does it make us old people if Jeopardy's the show that you never miss?

Read: I finished When The Stars Go Dark and started The Boy In The Field. I'm reading what's becoming available from the library and what I need to read for Netgalley and they are all things that appeal to me. But I'm not sure they're what I'd pick up in this moment if I didn't have deadlines. On the other hand, I'm not sure what I would pick up right now if I could choose anything. 

Made: This week has been about comfort food and things that are quick and easy to prepare. I just haven't had the energy to cook. But this weekend we went into Lincoln twice to spend time with my brother and his wife while they were there and my brother made a Mexican dish one night and a hamburger soup the second night which were both delicious. 

Enjoyed: An evening on a deck with two of my besties - four hours of the best therapy. 

This Week I’m:  

Planning: I'm so behind on 40 Bags In 40 Days but today I'm going to finish working on the kitchen and then try to get caught up this week. You all know how much lighter I feel when I declutter!

Thinking About: Gardening and landscaping plans. We started some projects last year that need to get finished and want to put in some new flower beds. 

Feeling: The band I felt around my chest for the first week after my mom died has loosened but I'm still carrying sadness that can overwhelm me at any time. 

Looking forward to: Celebrating Miss H's birthday with her next weekend. 

Question of the week: Any Friends fans out there? Do you know what a Monica closet is? Every time I start 40 Bags, I feel like my whole house is a Monica closet! Do you have one?

Life: It Goes On - February 23

Happy Sunday! I'm still using the winter picture but it sure doesn't look like this outside (ok, it never looks like that outside my window because I don't live in the mountains along a creek). It was almost 60 degrees here yesterday and we have had a lot of sunshine lately so most of our snow is melted which is just fine with me.

Work continues on getting Miss H ready to move. And by "ready to move," I actually mean ready to not leave behind a lot of stuff she's never going to use again. We got through all of her accessories and her bathroom this week; three more bags of stuff out of my house including an entire IKEA bag full of scarves! Are you starting to see what I'm battling here?!

Last Week I:

Listened To: Kate Atkinson's Transcription which I finished on Friday. I do love her writing and this one has some marvelous twists. I just got started on Tea Obreht's Inland. No idea what it's about yet; I didn't even look at the synopsis when I checked it out - got it entirely based on the author.

Brooklyn 99

Watched: Miss H loves Brooklyn 99 so she's been making me watch episodes of that this week. It's stupid humor which is usually not my thing but I think the company I'm watching with makes me like it more than I might otherwise.


Read: I'm working my way through Simon Jimenez' The Vanished Birds which I'm enjoying but I haven't been in much of a reading mood this week. That, of course, didn't stop me from picking up a book when I took a library book bag back last week.

Made: We have been eating so simply around here this past week - I'm not sure the oven has even been turned on. One night we used a container of chili out of the freezer then used the remaining chili for chili cheese dogs. Another night we had taco salads. Two nights The Big Guy was gone and I tend to just graze when that happens. I had really thought Ruth Reichl's book was going to light a fire under me to start cooking again; but so far there's not even been a spark.

Enjoyed: Book club on Tuesday (as always!) and then last night we celebrated my sister-in-law's 70th birthday combined with her retirement. Almost all of her family was able to be there so it was fun to spend time with family.


This Week I’m: 

Part of my unread classics -
just goes to show that I need
to get busy on my classics reading!

Planning: On continuing to work with Miss H and starting 40 Bags in 40 Days on Wednesday. You all know how happy that's going to make me! BG has even agreed to participate this year. 

Thinking About: Reorganizing my books. I started on a small scale this week by rearranging my mystery/thrillers so that I had room to move my unread classics onto the shelves in my bedroom. It's nothing anyone else will ever notice but it sure made me happy.

Feeling: So much more energetic. For February, I made my goal for my word of the year, enough, to get enough sleep. I'm shooting for seven hours a night so I've set two alarms, one let's me know it's time to shut things down for the night and get ready for bed and the second is to let me know it's time for lights out. Those reminders, along with tracking my sleep in my bullet journal, is really helping me keep on track. I'm not always there yet but I'm doing much better.

Looking forward to: Spending some time with Mini-him. We haven't really gotten a chance to talk to him since he got back from Japan late last Tuesday. Hoping to lure him over today for a pork loin dinner.

Question of the week: Does that idea of doing something like 40 Bags In 40 Days make your heart sing, like it does mine? Or are you more like BG and tend to hold on to everything  because it's a) perfectly good, no need to get rid of it; or because b) it might come in handy someday? 

Life: It Goes On - March 10

Huzzah! I think we are going to survive winter! The moisture falling out of the sky the past couple of days has been rain (after six more inches of snow on Thursday); and, let me tell you, it's melting like crazy with temps above freezing. Today we are even getting sunshine! My kitty is loving that the sunny spots on the wood floors are actually warm this morning.

Moving on, happy birthday this week to two of my biggest supporters, my dad and my uncle! Thanks to both of them for all of the support they've shown this blog over the years and all of the reviews they've contributed. Love you both!

It's been a busy week around here. Mini-him's car is in for repairs. Instead of paying for a car rental (accident was his fault so his insurance won't cover that), he's been relying, as Blanche Dubois would say, on the kindness of others. I don't mind playing chauffeur too much as it means I get to spend a lot of time with him, which I always enjoy; but, it has taken a bite out of my evenings.

Last Week I:

Listened To: I finished Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing Thursday. If this is a book you haven't read yet, but want to read, I highly recommend the audio version. The readers were exceptional. Friday I started Lisa Halliday's Asymmetry strictly based on the fact that it appeared on a lot of 2018 "Best of" lists. I didn't even read a synopsis before I downloaded it from my library. More than an hour into it, I still don't know where Halliday's going with it.

Watched: Some Westworld, some You, and some college basketball. Other than that, not much.

Read: I finished Jim Harrison's The River Swimmer Friday but have yet to pick up another book.

Made: With all of the running around, I ate out a ridiculous amount this week. I did make some French onion soup the other night. It's so simple to make, I don't know why we don't have it more often.

Enjoyed: My first ever campaign launch. Mini-him and I drove across the river to Council Bluffs, Iowa, to watch Bernie Sanders kick off his 2020 campaign. Correct me if I'm wrong, Mom and Dad, but I believe the first time I heard a presidential candidate speak was in 1968 when Robert Kennedy's campaign train stopped in the town. I don't remember a thing he said (I was 7 at the time), but I do have a vivid memory of the crowd and the excitement. In 1976, again before I could vote, I got to hear two presidential candidates speak, including Jimmy Carter who is the only candidate I've ever heard speak who actually won the election.

This Week I’m: 

Planning: To continue 40 Bags In 40 Days. Yesterday I worked on my dining room. I didn't get rid of much in there but did get things reorganized. There's one thing I'd love to get rid of but it was my mother-in-law's (it was her sister's and something she wanted when her sister died) and the Big Guy loves it. But, guys, it's seriously not my style. I can't imagine it will ever come out of the buffet!

Thinking About: Heading down to the Omaha Women's Day March. For some reason, at the last minute, the Omaha organizers decided not to do the march in January with everyone else in the world. Just as well, temps that day were in the teens. But I'm feeling super productive today so we shall see if I want to put a halt to accomplishing things around here.

Feeling: Like taking my own spring break from work. I'd love to have a week to work on projects, hit up some thrift and antique stores, read guilt-free, and just putz around.

Looking forward to: Seeing my mommy and daddy on Thursday. I've hardly seen them since Christmas, what with all of the snow on the weekends!

Question of the week: I have six sets of dishes, four are china. I'm seriously thinking of getting rid of my everyday dishes and using one of the sets of china for everyday. It sort of seems silly to only use them on a dozen or so times a year. Have any of you done this? If so, how long did it take for you to break enough of the china to decide it was a bad idea?

Life: It Goes On - March 3

Life: it goes on. And so does winter. And so does the snow. I'm starting to feel like a broken record. While I appreciate that the snow has not fallen during morning rush hour (for the most part), we've had three Saturdays in a row with snow and a fourth forecast which makes getting out and doing things on the weekend tricky. Not to mention dangerous. On the plus side, the sun is shining today and my family will be together (albeit some of them by FaceTime, for a family birthday dinner); both Miss H and Ms. S celebrated birthdays on Friday. Hope you've all found things to celebrate this week as well!

Last Week I:

Listened To: I finished Lilly Singh's How To Be A Bawse (loved it!) then started Edith Nesbit's The Railway Children which I immediately gave up on when I found out it was abridged. Instead I started Jesmyn Ward's Sing, Unburied, Sing. Wow.

Watched: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, the new season of The Voice (at the end of every recent season I say I won't watch the next one but I'm like a moth to the flame), and today I've "watched" Disney's Tarzan and 10 Things I Hate About You while I get some things done around the house.

Read: Not much this week but I did start Jim Harrison's The River Swimmer and I'm enjoying Harrison's writing.

Made: Chicken chili (a definite repeat); cranberry, white chocolate scones (which is a try again recipe); and today I'm making fettuccine al Fredo and cheesecake for the birthday dinner (Miss H's choices but I think we'll all be in a rich food coma when we finish!).

Enjoyed: Book club Tuesday, lunch with friends yesterday (and I got to meet one of my friend's 6-week-old little girl!), and dinner with friends here last night.

This Week I’m: 

Planning: More painting projects and I'm pulling out some spring decor, despite the weather.

Thinking About: My sister and hoping every day finds her feeling better.

Feeling: Tired. I really have to start getting more sleep during the week. It's starting to have an effect on my weekend energy level and that's not acceptable.

Looking forward to: 40 Bags In 40 Days, which starts on Wednesday. I've actually already conquered a couple of areas and gotten rid of three bags.

Question of the week: I've been seeing a lot of deconstructed furniture on Instagram. Have any of you ever done that? I'm intrigued but a little terrified of buying something and then ruining it.

Life: It Goes On - March 11

Well, there goes another week without a single post. I would love to say it's because I've been so busy reading that I haven't had time to write reviews or because I've been so busy doing fun things that I just haven't had time to write. Unfortunately, it's neither one of those things. Just life and a book that I just can't make myself read or give up on.

This Week I'm:

Listening To: I did finish The 19th Wife and will, finally, have a book review to post this week. It's certainly a book that has me thinking. I just finished listening to the book yesterday afternoon then got in the car in the evening and heard a story on As It Happens with the ex-wife of a polygamist in Bountiful, British Columbia. Of course, I was all the more interested in that story having just finished a book about polygamy.

Watching: A lot of Grace and Frankie and the new version of Queer Eye For The Straight Guy. Yesterday I watched a couple of episodes of The Crown. What a marvelous show; I always learn so much! Miss H and I also got in a couple of episodes of The Mindy Project which always makes us laugh.

Reading: See above. I will finish The Revolution of Marina M this weekend if only because I have so much time invested in it already. Then I'm on to The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror by Mallory Ortberg, a collection of "darkly mischievous stories based on classic fairy tales."

Chicken and stuffing casserole

Making: Super nachos, homemade chicken alfredo pizza, pasta, and chocolate/butterscotch chip cookies. Miss H's boyfriend had surgery on Friday so I baked some casseroles for him to pull out of the freezer this week when he gets home from the hospital - a pasta/meatball bake and chicken and stuffing casserole. Because that's what I do, I feed people.

Planning: On finishing our taxes today then it's on to working on 40 Bags In 40 Days. I think I finally have The Big Guy on board to at least go through some things that he's been digging his heels in on. Let's be honest, we don't use at least half of our luggage now that we rarely check baggage so don't really use our bigger bags. Time to let those things go.

Thinking About: New furniture. Or a new rug. We need to make some changes but we can't quite decide what route we want to go (or, at least, we can't agree on what route to go).  Anyone else hate furniture shopping as much as I do?

Enjoying: The Omaha Film Festival and dinner afterward with friends. We saw a documentary called "One Vote."  If you ever feel like your vote is not important or if you don't have time to go vote, this movie will make you change your mind. It might also make you want to do something more to help people, whose voices are not being heard, exercise their right to vote. The movie follows five people on election day in 2016 and, following the movie, all of those people were available for questions. That might not seem like such a big deal until you consider that only two of those people on the stage were from Omaha. Two were from Alaska, three were from Southern states, one was from Chicago. The man standing is Omaha's own Warren Buffet. You'd think he'd be the star of the panel but, honestly, it was that little lady in the red, Dr. Brenda Williams who is tireless and fierce when it comes to making sure that everyone is able to vote.

Feeling: So happy for Miss H who has a boyfriend now who makes her so happy.

Looking forward to: A quiet week?

Question of the week: Spring is coming! What are you most looking forward to in the spring?

Life: It Goes On - April 9

So we were finally going to get some sunshine this weekend, then Kansas decided it was time for some controlled burns which means, with winds out of the south, it's been overcast with smoke all weekend. Argh! This girl needs some sunshine!

On the plus side, grey, wet days make it a whole lot easier to keep plugging away inside on the decluttering.

This Week I'm:

Listening To: Bookwise, I have about a half disc of That Old Cape Magic left which I will finish tomorrow. I'm not really sure what I'll pop in next. Musically, I'm on a soundtrack kick, mostly Hamilton and Beauty and The Beast. As for podcasts, this week I finished up The History Chicks episodes about Catherine The Great (and now want to read Robert Massey's book!) and I've listened to a couple of episodes of Futility Closet (I especially love their lateral thinking puzzles).

Watching: A couple of episodes each of Big Little Lies, Longmire, and Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee (Jerry Seinfeld); The Voice; and the birds making nests in my trees.

Reading: The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova. Honestly, I'm about 100 pages in but seriously considering giving up on it. The writing is not impressing me and the thing that pulled me in about her The Historian, a plot that wouldn't let go of you from the beginning, is not developing at all.

Making: Not making, but remaking, a bar that my uncle made in the mid-1960's so that it can be passed on to Mini-him and a cedar chest finished to match that he can use as a coffee table.

Planning: On continuing on with my decluttering even after 40 Bags In 40 Days is finished in a week. In the beginning, I made a plan that mapped out each individual area that I wanted to get to during the project and I'm not through that list yet despite having gotten more than 40 bags/boxes out of my house these past five weeks.

Thinking About: My sister as she and her husband get their house ready to put on the market and shop for a new home. They are headed to Wisconsin as he has a new territory. We're going to miss having them close to us but excited for them.

Enjoying: Watching our great niece play soccer the other night. Even if it was freezing cold out (okay, not literally, but it felt like it in the wind!).

Feeling: Determined. The wedding is less than three months away now and I'm determined to check off everything on my to-do list of home fix-ups I want done before then.


Looking forward to: Flowers. The begonia that I brought in last fall has survived the winter and is already blooming inside. I can't wait my pots to be filled again and the garden beds to be growing.

Question of the week: This week I found the instruction manual for Windows. Not Windows XP, not Windows 95. Windows. Plus discs for so many iterations of Windows since then. Why in the world have we not gotten rid of these long ago? Are you as afraid of letting go of things you might need later as I seem to be?

Life: It Goes On - April 2

Ok, we're not quite to blooming trees yet but it's officially spring so I'm busting out the spring photo. We're certainly getting the spring showers, though. We're well into our second week of grey skies; how do people in the Pacific Northwest survive all of the dreariness?! My kingdom for some sunshine!

On the plus side, I don't so much mind doing 40 Bags in 40 Days in the basement when I'm not missing sunshine by being down there, so there's that, I suppose.

This Week I'm:

Listening To: I'm very much enjoying That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo while I'm driving; Arthur Morey does a bang up job reading it. When I'm home alone, my Spotify playlist is including a lot of Avett Brothers, Sarah Jarosz, Brandi Carlile, and Josh Ritter and when I'm working out I've been listening to the The History Chicks talk about Catherine the Great.




Watching: College basketball (I cannot believe the UConn women lost!), Bill Maher, The Voice, Game of Thrones.

Reading: Well, I am finally reading again, although I haven't had a ton of time to do it lately. I did finish Epic Measures (and reviewed that) and A Gate At The Stairs (review this week). I'm hoping to finally finish Assassination Vacation in the next couple of days so I can add a new book to my nightstand and then its' on to The Shadow Land by Elizabeth Kostova.

Making: It's been a lazy week in the kitchen - baked potatoes, salad, omelets. And we ate out an astonishing, for us, three times, last week. I did whip up a couple of banana breads yesterday.

Planning: On several trips to drop off donations this week - a third trip in five weeks to Goodwill, two to different homeless shelters. I'm serious about getting things out of my house that we're not using when they are things other people could use.

Thinking About: What I've got left to do during 40 Bags in 40 Days. I've got a long way to go in my basement but this time I'm hell bent to get the job finished before I give up on it. I swear, when I'm not actually sorting, purging, and reorganizing, I'm thinking about doing those things. Thus, the lack of reading time.

Enjoying: Wedding planning. As in, we've been sampling food for the reception dinner. It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it!

Feeling: Like someone who's trying to reduce the "stuff" in her house probably shouldn't been bringing more books into it, even virtual books so I've been working really hard to keep myself from doing that. Until Thursday when I bought five new books. In my defense, in total they only cost $10 and four of them will never come into the house. Which of the audiobooks would you listen to next if you were me?

Looking forward to: Dinner today with my parents and siblings at my parents. Yep, I get out of cooking again!

Question of the week: How sentimental are you when it comes to holding onto things? My hardest things to sort are the things that were my kids', family photos, and things that came from family.

Life: It Goes On - March 14

Oh heck, books, blog, me - not really adding up these days. I'm utterly unable to focus on books lately which means I've got nothing to post here. Too many other things to focus on these days when I can focus - wedding planning, life stuff, and 40 Bags. Ugh, life. I haven't even remembered to dance yet this month!

This Week I'm:

Listening To: I'm about half done with A Gate At The Stairs; I must say, it's not what I was expecting at all. While I've been working out, I've been listening to Slate's Audio Book Club. I finally found book they like - Zadie Smith's NW, which, upon listening to them, I discover is a whole different kind of book when you read it instead of listening to it.

Watching: Some Longmire, The Voice, high school basketball. Again, not much focus going on.

Reading: Finally reading the Maisie Hobbs book I was meant to review last week but didn't get until Thursday.

Making: Beef stroganoff, tostadas, and pies for my dad's birthday (chocolate French silk and a new-to-me strawberry/rhubarb pie which was a big hit).

Planning: On doing taxes this weekend. Ick.

Thinking About: Hiding my cell phone in the evenings. Seriously. I'm certain it's contributing to my inability to focus.

Enjoying: 40 Bags In 40 Days. Fourteen days in and I've thrown out or recycled thirteen bags, have three boxes and two bags ready to take to the Goodwill, and two boxes and two bags to take to a homeless shelter and the humane society. Forty bags is going to be no problem at all!

Feeling: Like my reading rut is not going to end any time soon. When you're reading books you're enjoying and still don't have any interest in picking them up, that's bad.

Looking forward to: A trip to see my great-niece (next week. And, of course, the rest of my brother's family. But mostly my great niece, who will be five months old by then.

Question of the week: How do you break out of a reading rut???

Life: It Goes On - February 26

Hmmm. I didn't even realize until yesterday that I had neglected to post anything all week. When you have reading ADD, you don't have books to review. Which will give you a good idea of how I'm doing on my February resolution to do a better job with focus.

A week of springlike temperatures had me ready to put away my snowman collection this week. Day after day of record high temperatures in the 70's, though, was ended when we had a thunderstorm Thursday evening that included sleet that turned to snow. No more dinners on the patio for a while again.

This Week I'm:

Listening To: I finished Mr. Rosenblum Dreams In English on Friday. I had to stay in the car in the garage for about ten minutes when I got home just to wrap it up, which, for some strange reason, The Big Guy thought was odd. Monday I'll start Lorrie Moore's A Gate At The Stairs, something I'll be able to read as a read/listen combination if I want to do that.

Watching: The high school state swim meet, Bill Maher (while Maher is unabashedly liberal, he is also quick to slap the liberals and the media upside the head; you just have to be able to handle all of the cursing), a couple more episodes of The Crown and a couple of episodes of Big Little Lies (so far, I think they are doing a very good job of staying true to the book). Also, I'm a little embarrassed to say how many times a day I've been checking in on April the giraffe to see if she's had her baby.

Reading: Dust Bowl Girls (although for some reason Bluefire Reader has suddenly decided that it needs to shut down every time I try to read it) and The Girl In The Garden. Hoping to finish both of them in the next few days.

Making: We baked a ham on Sunday. There are only three of us living in this house. Can I just say that I am really tired of finding different ways to use ham? My favorite was actually a hash I made using tator tots and Swiss cheese.

Planning: For the 2017 40 Bags In 40 Days event. I've got my 40 areas planned and forewarned the other two in the house that they will be helping out this year. I'm giving up clutter for Lent!

Thinking About: Everything I need to get done before the wedding. I can't believe it's just 4 months away!

Enjoying: Creighton basketball with BG (free tickets get me out of the house on a weeknight), book club Tuesday night, lunch with a three hour lunch with an old friend, and today dinner at our house for one of the young women that used to spend most of her free time at my house. She brought her kids and fiancé - so interesting to see her in such a different point in her life than Mini-him is at!


Feeling: Calmer. I'm still angry a lot of the time but I'm learning how to channel that anger productively and to put it away when it's time to think about other things.

Looking forward to: My friend's annual Oscar party tonight. Always a fun show to watch with other people who make me laugh, like to get catty about the dresses, and enjoy cocktails and yummy eats.

Question of the week: There are bound to be political statements made tonight by some of the winners. How do you feel about them using this forum to voice their opinions to the world?

Life: It Goes On - February 21

I was half tempted to break out a springish Life picture for today given the weather we've had the past week. Three days in a row in the upper sixties, sunny - easy to think that we won't see any more snow this year. But we live in Nebraska so we know this is just a reward for surviving this far and that winter will be back.

In the meantime, we are loving sitting out on patios and decks, leaving doors open, and only needing light jackets outside!

This Week I'm:

Listening To: I finished Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day on Friday. I sat in a carwash line in no small part just to have an excuse to be in the car long enough to finish it. Adored it! I think I'll be starting Adriana Trigiani's The Shoemaker's Wife on Monday but I may change my mind and go with something that's completely different from what I've been reading.

Watching: A friend and I went to see "Brooklyn" the other day. We both really liked it a lot and agreed that Saoirse Ronan deserved her Oscar nom. In many ways I enjoyed it more than the book, although there is a lot that might have been done to show how overwhelmed Eilis was when she got to Brooklyn and the part where she returned to Ireland might have been longer to better explain why she did what she did.

Reading: Finished My Name Is Lucy Barton (so spare and yet so emotional) and will finish Thirty-Eight Witnesses today (it's crazy short). Next up? I'm not sure exactly but I'm leaning toward The Year of Reading Dangerously or Mennonite In A Little Black Dress, both my own damn books and both nonfiction which I'm yearning to read more of this year.

Making: Tacos, tuna salad sandwiches, ravioli casserole, bean enchiladas and chicken nachos - nothing that required much effort. Yesterday I did make lemon bars to take to a friends and today I'm getting ready to throw a turkey in the oven. Because, apparently, it should be used during February according to BG.

Planning: Nothing on the calendar again this week which means that I'll have time to work more on the 40 Bags In 40 Days project which I'm woefully behind on. Between my freezers and fridge I threw three grocery bags of stuff away this weekend - I was happy to be getting rid of stuff we couldn't use but a little horrified to have let that much food go to waste.

Grateful for: Some time with Mini-me today, just BG and I. Love having all of the kids around together but we don't get to see Mini-me that often and it's fun to have his whole focus to ourselves! 

Enjoying: Nice wine, great friends and gorgeous weather! Did you all take advantage of National Drink Wine Day as an excuse to pop open a bottle?

Feeling: Energized to lighten the load - look out family, I'm coming to your room next with bags and a desire to purge and cull!

Looking forward to: Having Mini-him back tomorrow from Colorado and hearing about his adventures. He's been gone several days and one of the things he's done is to go to the Stanley Hotel (made famous by Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Stephen King's The Shining).

Question of the Week: What is your favorite book-to-movie adaptation?

Life: It Goes On - February 14

Happy Valentine's Day - a day to celebrate love of all kinds, I think, not just a day to celebrate having a significant other. After 36 years of being together, we don't do much to celebrate any more; we'll grab a bite to eat at one of our favorite Chinese places but it's not at all a fancy place and exchange more practical gifts than we did long ago. Will you be doing something special today?

As I was working on my calendar into March yesterday, I realized that we are just one month away from Daylight Savings Time. I know a lot of you don't like it but this girl lives for it. It's been so cloudy and grey here all winter in the mornings that we haven't even benefited from early light. I can't wait!

This Week I'm:

Listening To: Music-wise, a lot of Post Modern Jukebox; as for podcasts, I'm almost caught up with this season's Serial; and Thursday I started listening to Winifred Watson's Miss Pettigrew Lives For A Day which I am thoroughly enjoying.

Watching: Well, the Super Bowl, of course. I was in a room full of Denver Broncos fans so there was a lot of cheering. I was happy for a good game and a room full of "my" kids. This weekend, The Big Guy and I have watched "The Martian" and "Bridge of Spies." We really enjoyed both of them a lot. Both Matt Damon (The Martian) and Mark Rylance (Bridge of Spies) gave terrific performances.

Reading: I finished Janice Y. K. Lee's The Expatriates on Friday and am working to finish up the two Sherlock Holmes novellas we're reading for book club this week: A Study In Scarlet and The Hound of the Baskervilles. After that, I'll start My Name is Lucy Barton. I've got several Netgalley downloads that will publish in March so I'll probably be working on them for the next couple of weeks.

Making: BG made a couple of pizzas this week, including one using leftover Buffalo Chicken Dip; crab linguine, and some hot ham and cheese sandwiches. We've had sandwiches like these from a local restaurant and decided to try making them at home. If I had remembered to half the butter topping they wouldn't be overwhelmed by poppy seeds but otherwise they were a big hit with the whole family.


Planning: With the start of Lent also came the start of the annual 40 Bags In 40 Days event. I, of course, completely spaced starting on Wednesday. Sundays are supposed to be days off but I'll be using today to get caught up and put together a plan of attack for the rest of the time. With four of us in the house again this year, I don't think I'll have any problem getting rid of 40 bags of stuff. Which is a little horrifying considering I work year round to try to keep clutter down.

Grateful for: Being an old dog who is able to learn new tricks. We've been making some changes at work lately and there are a lot of my co-workers who are digging in their heels. I'm not a big fan of change but it is inevitable and the way you've been doing something for 20 years isn't necessarily the best way any more.

Enjoying: The antics of our cats. Had to really keep our eyes on our big guy last Sunday; he kept trying to grab food off the table. At one point I caught him trying to hide under the table cloth, ready to launch a sneak attack! Next party: 1) remember to move the chairs away from the table and 2) keep the meat and salty foods away from the edges. This crazy cat loves crackers and chips!

Horses out on the town - dashboard cam

Feeling: A little bit shook by quite a few violent events relatively close to what we've always considered a "safe" part of town. I know violence can strike any where but when rapid gunfire wakes you up at 1:30 in the morning, it's too close to home. Oddly, that same night, four horses got loose from a nearby acreage and went wandering through neighborhoods and down major streets...followed by cruisers. Talk about a slow speed chase!

Looking forward to: Book club this week. I'm putting together some things for this month's meeting to try to keep us on topic for a better part of the get-together. If you're part of our group reading this, get ready for a quiz about Sherlock Holmes!

Question of the week: Are you a saver or someone who would join the 40 Bags In 40 Days challenge?  I don't say "hoarder" because I don't necessarily think that people who like to save things are necessarily hoarders. I'd say you've crossed the line into hoarding when you've started having to create paths through your stuff or you've lost a cat in your house. I hope none of your fall into that category!

Life: It Goes On - March 23

Is it spring? Is it winter? Apparently Mother Nature's just not sure yet. Which, I suppose, is par for the course in March. But after the coldest winter EVER (okay, maybe not EVER, but in decades), I'm ready to be able to throw open windows, haul out the flower pots, and enjoy evenings on the patio.

In the meantime, 40 Bags In 40 Days continues and having to be inside is helping me make great progress with that. From things as small as reducing what I'm carrying in my purse to the pickup load that The Big Guy took to the landfill today, I'm making great progress. All this from someone who makes a regular habit of purging "stuff!"

Here's What I'm:

Listening To: I'm essentially caught up with podcasts so this week I'll start listening to Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin. It's one of the books on my Classics Club challenge list. I've got some doubts about it but have given myself permission to give up on it early if I'm not enjoying it.

Watching: Miss H and I watched a couple of episodes of "Orange Is The New Black" on Netflix but mostly it's been a lot of basketball for this girl. My Husker men got knocked out early but the women are moving on and our Creighton Bluejays play their second game tonight. But I'll watch any game...and I have!

Reading: I finally finished Outlander and will have a review this week. Right now I'm reading The Frangipani Hotel by Violet Kupersmith, also for a review this week.

Making: We're back to comfort food this week: asparagus/mushroom soup, brownies, homemade mac and cheese, and steel cut oatmeal.

Planning: We've been doing some major furniture rearranging this past week and we'll be getting that wrapped up this week and 40 Bags In 40 Days will continue. Even BG is getting on board!

Grateful for: A job where I could decide at 11:30 on Friday that I wanted to leave to go home and watch basketball and it was okay.

Loving: Seeing green in my lawn!

Feeling:  A lightness every time I finished sorting through a new area.

Thinking: I need to kick it up a notch on the working out and kick in with my new eating plan.

Looking forward to: Starting some building projects - shelves in a couple of rooms and a platform bed. I cannot find the shelves I need so I'm just going to have to make them. I have never used a power saw before - this could get interesting!

What have you been watching this week?