I‘m exhausted from moving and working and schooling all at the same time, so I fell asleep reading to the kids last night. This morning I do not want to get out of the bed. Zzzzz.

#chatterday2025
#moving

So, the big news is we are moving. Not far, but it‘s still a chore. It‘s a little bigger place, but it‘s also a little further from the beach. 🏖️ 😞 Not far, but I‘ve been weird about distance since moving to such a “small town” after living in metro/suburban sprawl for the previous 35 years. I hope we are happy in the new place. It has a garage and a washer and dryer so that‘s nice. 😊

#weeklyfavorites

When I took the kids to the library the other day, this was the first book my eyes lit upon. I had just heard there was a GN but I didn‘t think id find it so quickly. I hope it will be a good way to share it with my youngest who has aphantasia. (Where you cannot imagine the words as pictures, so reading pretty much sucks.)

Such a nice summer of reading fun books. Now I‘m back to textbooks, and in the wee hours, too. 😊

#backtoschool

Got to the library for the first time in a while today.

#library
#kidlit

Very short read to introduce the reader to Glenn Burke, the first openly gay man in professional baseball. Would love to say things have improved but with people like Clayton Kershaw still wielding power in the Dodgers clubhouse, it‘s an uphill battle.

#hyggehourreadathon

I found the whole set for $3.50 at the Friends of the Library store yesterday so we started it tonight.

#sundayfunday

I don‘t really have a favorite place. I‘ll read wherever. However, I do prefer to read where I will not be disturbed. That‘s difficult, not only because I have too many kids, but because I have ADHD. 😂

Stopped by the library on the way back to the train yesterday. Found a few interesting books at the FotL store. One included an old gift tag for the book. I like finding this sort of thing in used books. :)

#bookhaul
#supportyourlocallibrary

#chatterday

Took the train to my mom‘s for some business she needed to include me in. Was worried about the heat, but it was only in the 70s. Weird weather for that area. Also, learned they have TWO Dutch Bros. We have ZERO. What conspiracy is this? 😂 😭

#weeklyfavorites

#firstlinefridays

#5joysfriday

1) Making a slide presentation in canva
2) Reading Dogman with my son
3) Tea
4) A walk with a friend at lunch where we saw a Western Gull, which looks like a cross between a seagull and a mallard. Neither of us had ever seen one before.
5) Sharing my fave book on audio with my daughter.

Took me all day but I finally came up with three things.

1) The library.
2) Marching band.
3) Swings.

#tlt #threelistthursday

I don‘t care that my kids are almost all grown, I‘ll always love Eric Carle. :) 🐛 📚 🥰

#wedonotcarewednesdays
#wdncw

#showandtelltuesday
#litsycrafters

Working on a blanket while camping. :) It‘s a simple “weather” blanket but as you can see, the temps where I live are almost always the same (61-70).

Our camping trip last week took us to an area where internet access only existed next to the camp store, thus I had to do something besides doom scrolling before sleep. I had an ebook downloaded from the library and read that instead. So, now I think I‘ll do that at home as well. :)

Read with my son first, then got my own reading done. A couple of my kids went to the fair so it was very quiet here for reading hour tonight.

#hyggehourreadathon

My book recs depend on the person I‘m speaking with. So, I have to know what the person might do with the book. If I think it will develop further compassion in them or that they are open to learning of the reality of this world we live in, I will recommend my favorites to them. I don‘t want these works I love being used against the very people the author is giving humanity to.

#sundayfunday

Finally finished Burial Rites. An excellent and heartbreaking story. Highly recommend. Glad I joined in with the reading, even if I was a little late due to losing the book for a couple weeks.

ETA: I didn‘t notice the print in the corner while creating this on Canva. 2023 has nothing to do with the book. 😆

#literarycrew

Need to use up my credits before ending my relationship with Audible for the time being. I chose this book because baseball has come full circle and is now becoming beholden to the gamblers again. It‘s a sad thing to see the commissioner “pardon” Pete Rose, et al, after being pressured by our mobster/wanna be dictator president.

#baseball

#weeklyfavorites

I love Mushishi. Best anime to watch if you want good story telling and imaginative lore. Wish there had been more seasons. It‘s a peaceful and gently intense anime filled with characters you wish you could get to know personally.

#serenesaturdays

This was a fantastic book. It wove the story of Brooklyn, the Dodgers, Brooklynites, and the two men—O‘Malley and, especially, Moses, who turned it all on its head. Funny aside: I was listening to it as we drove to our camp and my older son, who does not know baseball, heard Moses‘ name and gagged. He knows how Moses ruined the Brooklyn, among others.

#baseball
#dodgers

Laundry day. We were supposed to be preparing to camp but now we‘re on fire again. :( Trying to find a replacement campground now.

#hyggehourreadathon

Reading with my daughter tonight.

Didn‘t finish many this month but my fave was definitely the tagged book.

1) One of the schools I worked at this week had this display.

2) Got a Dodgers history book to listen to on off days.

3) My kids went to their hometown and brought back this candy from a shop there that makes candy canes.

4) One of my kids volunteers at a food bank. They sent them home with a box of veggies. I made soup.

5) Finally found my copy of Burial Rights yesterday. Long story. Just disappointed I‘ll miss the discussion.

#5joysfriday

Gonna be honest. No class has ever terrified me like this one. I have to find a real library/non-profit to work with. It‘s not just theoretical. I did something similar for my undergrad but that was editing.

Me gusta este libro. I did try to write more in Spanish but there were too many words I still don‘t know. At least for writing/speaking. I can usually get what I read. In this case, a book about a child who collects words and then spreads them around because knowing words increases understanding of the world and the people around us. :)

English review for a Spanish book. I still have a lot to work on for my Spanish but this seems like a fun way to learn new words. Cute book about how “normal” is just a social construct and that everyone has worth, even if they are very different.

Not in the way it‘s been weaponized in our culture. And I am relieved yet saddened to see that I am not in the minority here in my response. Gratitude is a beautiful thing, but it is too often used as a cudgel and a gag on the suffering.

#mentalhealthmonday

#hyggehourreadathon

Sharing some of my favorite books with my kids.

I decided that my speech for Monday would be a compare/contrast between my two fave characters: William Blair from Tales of the Iron Rose and Kaz Brekker from Six of Crows. So I am reviewing the former because it‘s been a little while.

Went to the playground with the kids to play games.

This sounds really good.

I bought this after my brother was killed two years ago. Pulled it out because it was prodding me.

#grief
#poetry

#sundayfunday

After laundry, we went to the beach and built a sand compound. It was mostly a nice day. The beaches in our city are not popular with the rest of SoCal. They like LA & OC. There aren‘t a big crowds here. Of course, that‘s probably because of parking. It doesn‘t exist here. In fact, I got a notice on my car that I was parked illegally. 😬

#chatterday
#chatterday2025

Considering the current situation in DC, this book might be therapeutic right now. Especially for those of us who have children who are in this administration‘s cross-hairs. It sounds like it will have a lot of constructive and actionable information.

#autismmom
#disabilityjustice

Cross-stitch and crochet. They both require counting. Not sure what it is about counting, but somehow it calms me. I count a lot when I‘m stressed.

Yes, there are books. About 20 years ago, when Millennials rediscovered and revived the yarn arts (yes, I give them full credit), the tagged book was popular.

#serenesaturdays

This first line was too long to finger type. :D. The book is a doctoral thesis from the mid-70s.

#firstlinefridays
#late
#insomniapost

There was a sale at Target and birthday money to spend. It looks like I‘ll be reading a Lego instruction book tonight. :)

Needed this break before work this morning. So many ICE Gestapo raids here yesterday. ICE were even reported outside our school; many children did not show up yesterday. Most of the raids were at the farms. This is about destroying the country. Disrupting the food supply is exactly what an invading power would do.

Is this my 18th or 19th time through? Maybe more? 😂

#reread

#wdncw

We do not care that the Dodgers lost—six in a row for the first time since 2019. It‘s sad, but it‘s just baseball: a temporary diversion from reality, not meant to be a focus for all our emotions when there are real problems in the world. In short, Dodgers “fans” need to calm the freak down. It‘s a long season and we haven‘t ever played the all-star game yet. Sheesh.🙄 Get a grip people.

#mentalhealthmonday

I do the stuff my anxiety normally prevents me from doing. Eg. On Sunday I installed and used the vacuum system that came with my car that I got last year. Every time I looked at it I‘d freak out, afraid I‘d mess it up, etc. But after the incident with my son on Thursday (see previous post about 2 down from this) I must have needed to show myself I could still control something. :)

Tagging @CBee