Life: It Goes On - March 1

Well, hey there! Happy Sunday! I definitely did not intend to go radio silent for two weeks, but I'm so frustrated with my inability to figure out how to get photos uploaded the way I want them that I'm disinclined to sit down to the blog at all. And then suddenly this morning, I tried something different and it seems to have worked! 

I knocked out a ton of cleaning yesterday so I'm hoping to have time today to get some reviews written - I'm so far behind! Lately, though, I'm trying to allow myself to work on whatever suits my fancy in any given day - so it may just be reorganizing the kitchen or working on genealogy. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: Kevin Wilson's Run For The Hills, which I'm really enjoying. 

Watched: A friend and I went to watch a one-woman play called All Things Equal: The Life and Trials of Ruth Bader Ginsberg. It was funny and touching and we would both highly commend it.

Read: I'm currently reading Karen Schatz's Where The Girls Were. Next up is probably Melanie Benjamin's latest, The Windsor Affair. 

Made: Pork roast and smashed potatoes and pasta with bolognese sauce. Otherwise, we somehow ended up eating out a lot this week. 

Enjoyed: It was 70 degrees and sunny here on Friday afternoon so the Big Guy and I joined friends for happy hour on a local brew pub's patio. It was lovely and just the thing I need to make it through the rest of winter. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: It's going to be a paperwork kind of week this week, as I'm still working on closing up my dad's estate. It's also time to get back to Go Simplified's decluttering plan for the year - February got away from me so I'm going to be trying to get through both February's and March's assignments this month. 

Thinking About: I keep thinking I need to take a break from the news for my own sanity, but then something new comes up and I don't want to be uninformed. Working on trying to find a balance so my brain doesn't burn out. 

Feeling: Wistful. Today is Miss H's and Ms. S's birthday and I'm missing the days when that meant celebrating with them, making a cake and watching them open their gifts. 

Looking forward to: A friend and I are going to hear Anna Quindlen speak on Tuesday. 

Question of the week: Are any of you planning on being The Bride? The cast is terrific, but it's not the kind of movie I usually see in the theater. I'm on the fence about it. Any other movies you'd recommend? 

Life: It Goes On - February 8

Happy Sunday! It's warm, it's sunny, and my back is finally starting to feel like I can function again. A week of being crippled by pain meant there was a lot of work to catch up on this weekend. I managed to vacuum, sweep, make beds; I did draw the line at moving a giant cabinet which I know I'll regret because I don't know when I'll get the Big Guy talked into doing it again. 

As you can see, I finally figured out a work around for inserting pictures. It's not as quick or easy as what I'm used to doing. But it works and, hopefully, ends several weeks of frustration. I think the frustration has greatly contributed to my lack of posting because I knew that I was just going to get upset about the system not working any time I sat down. We'll see. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: Chad Harbach's The Art of Fielding has been on my TBR for more than a decade and on my bookshelf for almost that long. I finally decided to see if I could find it on audio so I've been listening to it this week. I'm about five hours in and the jury is still out on this one, but I'll probably stick with it. 

Watched: F-1, starring Brad Pitt and Javier Bardem, college basketball, lots of Olympic coverage already, and tonight we'll be watching the Super Bowl, although we don't have a dog in the fight. 

Read: I finally started Diane Setterfield's Bellman and Black in print and I'm also reading A.D. Bell's The Bookbinder's Secret digitally. 

Made: Because I'm forever being tempted by recipes I find on social media, today I made a recipe called Frito Fruckies to munch while watching the game tonight. They still need to set up so I can't say yet if they'll be a repeat. 

Enjoyed: Dinner out last night with BG. It's the first time I've felt remotely like getting out of the house (other than for work) in over a week and it felt good. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: It's a week of paperwork and decluttering for me. 

Thinking About: How my watch tracks me. I never sleep with it on and yet it's telling me that I had a bad night's sleep last night. Did I? I felt like I slept great. Does my watch, that's not even on my body, know more than my brain does?!

Feeling: See above. I'm in much less pain and more productive so I'm feeling much better mentally. 

Looking forward to: Do I know what's on my calendar for this week? No, no I do not. I have been terrible of late in tracking what's on the calendar and what needs to be done. 

Question of the week: Will you be watching the Super Bowl? If so, who are you cheering for? 

Life: It Goes On - February 1

Happy sunny and warm (by winter standards in Nebraska) Sunday and happy first day of February, the calendar page of which gives this girl happiness! 

As you can see, I have yet to figure out why Google won't allow me to upload photos to Blogger. I've spent far too much "spare" time trying to figure out why that is and not nearly enough time (as in none) writing reviews. I'm pretty excited to report that I finished eight books in January, even though I'm certain that my doomscrolling and tv watching didn't suffer because of it. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: Ann Patchett's Truth and Beauty. I don't have another book available so I'll either have to dig for one that's available or listen to some podcasts this week. Leaning toward the latter. 

Watched: All of The Last Thing He Told Me, based on the book by Laura Dave and starring Jennifer Garner. It's been a while since I read the book and I can't remember all of the details, but it felt like it stuck pretty closely to the book. 

Read: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, as recommended to me by my dad. 

Made: I made pork chops, new potatoes, and roasted asparagus for the Big Guy's birthday then macaroni and cheese with bbq beef; he made a chuck roast, which I'm sorry to say he cooked to 190 degrees internal, which, if you don't already know, is far to high a temperature. Generally, he's a pretty good cook, but this was a miss. 

Enjoyed: Tuesday we went to see the movie adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's Hamnet with friends. Beautifully shot with terrific acting but much too slow. Friday we did happy hour with friends, and by happy hour, I mean we were there for three hours - that should tell you something about how much we had to talk about! 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: I got new photo boxes last week and I've started moving photos into them. Of course, it can't just be as simple as moving the photos from the existing boxes into the new ones. I'm once again beating myself up for not having done a better job of at least dating the back of pictures. The goal is to FINALLY get everything into the correct year in the new books. 

Thinking About: What to read for Black History Month. I think it will probably be Caste by Isabel Wilkerson or The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace by Jeff Hobbs. 

Feeling: The sun is shining and the temperature is warmer so I'm feeling better. Seasonal affective disorder doesn't get me as badly as it did my dad, but it can really drag me down. 

Looking forward to: I think my calendar is empty for the week, although I can't find my physical calendar at the moment so I'm not sure. 

Question of the week: Were you impacted by the storms that swept across the eastern half of the country this past week? If so, how are you doing now? 

Life: It Goes On - January 25

 I'm hoping that this Sunday evening finds you less frustrated and in a better headspace that I'm finding myself. The cold isn't helping, the events of this weekend have me devastated, and my continuing battles with blogger have me so frustrated, I just want to ditch blogging altogether. I'd put together an entire post, but it hadn't saved beyond the first sentence. I still can't get Blogger to upload pictures (thanks Google), despite me spending a ridiculous amount of time trying to resolve the problem. I always brag that the skill that I would bring to the table in a crisis is an ability to problem solve. I'm beginning to think I've lost that skill - guess I'll be the first person tossed off the island if we're ever stranded on one! 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: I'm about half way through Nita Prose's latest, The Maid's Secret. Next up is Ann Patchett's Truth and Beauty, which I've been wanting to read for a long time. 

Watched: One Battle After Another, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn. Some really terrific performances, but very dark. 

Read: Not much. I think I'm going to have to give up on the book I've been trying to read this week. It's clearly not the book for me right now. 

Made: Hmmm, what did I make? We definitely ate and I know I was the one doing the cooking, but I can't remember what I made at all. 

Enjoyed: Time with the Big Guy's sister and her family yesterday, including their 3 year old great-grandson who is, of course, adorable, as most 3 year olds are. I'd show you a pic of him and BG playing; but, of course, I can't. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: BG's bday is this week and his present is going to require some work in the basement, which gives me a good push to get down there and clear some things out and reorganize things. More of that will get done when we get to 40 Bags in 40 Days, but for now, this will be a good start. 

Thinking About: Minneapolis. 

Feeling: It's hard to put into words. 

Looking forward to: Going to see Hamnet with friends on Tuesday. 

Question of the week: Last Tuesday I missed book club thanks to a migraine. Hit me with your best tips for working your one through one. 

Life: It Goes On - January 18

Happy Sunday! It's grey and windy outside today, but it is above freezing and looking at the weather inWisconsin  reminds me that this is pretty darn good weather for January. 

Very frustrated today with trying to work on this post. For some reason Google wasn't allowing me to access or upload photos from my computer. I think what I've found is merely a work around, but I'll take it for now because I'm so frustrated. I absolutely hate when computer issues burn up hours of a day - anything I could have found to do instead would have felt more productive. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: I finished Diane Keaton's Brother and Sister and Maggie O'Farrell's I Am, I Am, I Am - both so good. Next up, Nita Prose's The Maid's Secret. 

Watched: NFL football, college basketball (our Huskers are now 18-0, which is unprecedented in school history and very exciting!) and several more episodes of The Morning Show. 

Read: I finished Anna Quindlen's More Than Enough and I'm more than half way through Tayari Jones' Kin. 

Made: A ground turkey and rice Mexican dish, pasta with homemade beef/sausage marina sauce and I used the rest of that sauce with ricotta stuffed jumbo shells. 

Enjoyed: A brief visit with my brother, who stopped by on Tuesday to spend the night, and dinner and dessert with friends last night. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: I've finally gotten my bullet journal for 2026 ready and my last pages were to set up for Go-Simplified's decluttering plan for the year and 40 Bags in 40 Days, which starts February 18th. So I'm geared up to start this year's decluttering work. I fell behind last year, when my depression got bad, so there's more to do this year. Winter is a great time to get going since I have no interest in being outside of the house. 

Thinking About: Finalizing my dad's estate in the next couple of weeks. I'll be glad to have it done, but it will also be a hard reminder that my dad is gone. 

Feeling: Lazy, to be honest. I was feeling productive until I got stymied by this computer issue. And now I don't feel like doing much of anything. 

Looking forward to: Book club this week. 

Question of the week: How are we all doing making it through winter this year? 

Life: It Goes On - January 11

Happy Sunday! Boy did the last week get away from me, blogging wise. I had everyintention of sitting down to create posts and even have a couple of books to review already. I'd like to tell you it was because we were extremely busy. But we weren't. Just struggled trying to find the motivation to do anything and still was taking down Christmas. There was a part of me that just wanted to toss half of it into boxes to haul off to charity. It's finally back where it belongs for 11 months of the year and the house is finally back in order and I'm feeling better now that things are back to normal. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: I finished Lara Prescott's The Secrets We Kept and Catherine Newman's Wreck and am almost done with Diane Keaton's Brother and Sister. 

Watched: Loads of sports - college and professional football, college basketball - men's and women's, and pro volleyball. We also finished season five of Only Murders In The Building (can't wait for season six to be released), started watching Chad Powers (which the Big Guy is enjoying but I could live without), and I watched the first three episodes of The Morning Show with Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon (I'm late to the party with this one but am really enjoying it so far). 

Read: Anna Quindlen's latest, More Than Enough. I have several books on Netgalley I want to get to and also have picked up three books from the library - let's hope this reading mojo I seem to have picked up again lasts. 

Made: Steak and baked potatoes, Philly steak sandwiches, steak salads, chicken nachos, lima beans and chicken. In other words, we thawed meat and then used it throughout the week. Today I'm making Rice Krispie treats because in cleaning out the pantry last week, I discovered that I have a bag of marshmallows that has become one sticky mess. Those will go into work - we are trying to de-junk food this place! 

Enjoyed: We had met a couple many years ago, through my sister, and always thought we should get together. Friday we finally did that and spent a couple of hours talking and forgetting to eat, discovering we have even more in common that we thought we did, including both knowing a couple that we were friends with years ago but drifted apart from (they spent a lot of that time living overseas). We are so hoping that we can make contact with that third couple and the six of us can get together. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: It's time to tackle a lot of paperwork that has been piling up. 

Thinking About: How I'd be happy if winter just went on being snow free. We had quite a lot of rain the other day and I'm just fine if that's the way all of the moisture we need comes to us over the rest of the winter. 

Feeling: I'm cleaning off my dad's phone so I can pass it on and it's really stirring up the feelings. Who would have thought looking at someone's Amazon account would bring tears. 

Looking forward to: My brother is coming to Nebraska this week for a quick trip and we'll get to see him when he spends the night here one night. 

Question of the week: I've been working on setting up my 2026 journal/calendar. I still live almost entirely on paper when it comes to those kinds of things and I love it. Are you a digital calendar/to-do list person or do you still use paper? 

Life: It Goes On - December 28

Happy Sunday! It's winter here today - the white so many wished for at Christmas that I was glad to have done without. A cold front blew in last night bringing with it wind, sleet and snow. Glad that it waited until all of my people were home from their travels safely. Hoping yours are as well! 

We've had quite the busy week. Sunday through Tuesday was spent in preparations - far busier than it normally would have been but I was so far behind on getting things done. Wednesday we had both of our local(ish) kids and their significant others here to celebrate Christmas; Miss H and Mr. L stayed until midday Christmas Day. Friday my aunt and uncle came for a visit in the afternoon and later my brother and sister-in-law came to spend the night on their way to her family home to celebrate Christmas with them. Saturday the Big Guy's siblings and their spouses came to town for our annual holiday dinner out. Thoroughly enjoyed seeing everyone; but I'm ready for some quiet time and to get back to a normal routine. 

Last Week I: 

Listened To: Mostly Christmas music, but I did also start Lara Prescott's The Secrets We Keep. 

Watched: All of our favorite Christmas movies, as well as our usual episodes of Only Murders In The Building. We're a few episodes into Season 5 and I'm not enjoying it as much as I have the other episodes. 

Read: I'm sorry to report that I didn't pick up a single book all week. 

Made: Twice-baked potatoes to go with our ham dinner, homemade sugar cookies because the kids insisted on doing our annual cookie frosting, homemade ice cream (although I was scolded for not also making the homemade chocolate sauce that I usually make with it), an egg and green chilies casserole, coffeecake, and sausage bites (Red Lobster biscuit mix, ground sausage and cheese). 

Enjoyed: In addition to the Christmas festivities and time with so much family, we took my brother and sister-in-law to hear a band Friday night and met up with friends there. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: Christmas will gradually start coming down this week. Whilst I'm eager to get MY chair back into the family room, I will miss the glow of the Christmas tree lights so taking the trees down will probably be the last thing I do. 

Thinking About: Our family is not big but we are very close, with a lot of family holiday traditions and I do love to give gifts so opening them is always an event. But it's hard to get used to having to share my kids with other families over the holidays and trying to get all of the things done in half the time we used to have. It was a little overwhelming for Mr. L, who was spent Christmas with us for the first time. 

Feeling: Like today is a good day to not do much other than to finally pick up a book and try to knock one last book out before the new year. 

Looking forward to: I think the only thing on our calendar for this week is a hair appointment. We don't even have New Year's Eve plans at this point! 

Question of the week: How were your holidays? I hope you got to spend them in exactly the way you wanted to spend them, with people you love. 

Life: It Goes On - December 22

Happy Monday! It is decidedly un-Christmasy outside here. A very few little piles remain of our snows a week or so ago, but they will likely be gone by Christmas Day since our temps are forecast to be in the 40's. That's all good with me - means my kids can travel safely and get here so we can be together (at least as together as we can be when two of us live in Alaska). I still have so much to get done before they arrive - food to finish up, cleaning to do and absolutely nothing is wrapped yet! I have this week off so it will all get done but it will be a busy couple of days - more book listening to than book reading.  

Last Week I: 

Listened To: I finished The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife by Anna Johnston and The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff. I had started the Damoff book some weeks ago but then the loan got returned. When I finally got it again, I was so confused as to why it was starting 2/3 of the way through it - I had completely forgotten than I had started it! Today I will start Lara Prescott's The Secrets We Keep.

Watched: Lots of sports (volleyball, college basketball, college and pro football), The Voice, and we finished season four of Only Murders In The Building. Plus so many Christmas movies and shows! 

Read: I'm currently reading Maria Semple's Go Gentle. 

Made: Chex mix, puppy chow, Bavarian mints, taco soup - all things to prep for the kids being here. 

Enjoyed: It's been a busy week with lots to enjoy - book club holiday party Tuesday, work party for our team Wednesday where we rode a trolley around to look at Christmas lights, Saturday we went downtown to look at lights and have dinner, and last night we had dinner with friends at their house. 

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This Week I’m:  

Planning: The goal is to finish up all of the cooking and last minute gift buying today then wrapping tomorrow. After that, it's about enjoying all of this work with lots of fun to look forward to throughout the week. 

Thinking About: How I never want to find myself this far behind again! 

Feeling: Even though I'm way behind, I'm feeling content. It will all be fine. 

Looking forward to: Having the kids here for a couple of days, a concert with friends Friday, and dinner with the Big Guy's siblings and spouses Saturday night. 

Question of the week: How are you all doing on getting things ready?