Last week I was very optimistic about setting up a summer reading schedule. I’ve always enjoyed summer reading. Then, the protests happened. The news took over. Things got very heated all the way around. I’ve seen so much nastiness and violence on social media. On its own, this is bad but with COVID still lurking about, it’s almost too much. Anxiety is high.
Right Now:
Meeting with my youth group in a bit. I think everyone is getting tired of Zoom, I know I am . After we meet, I am going to try to visit the bookstore. It is open but with restrictions. Not sure I will even get in as their is a limit to how many they will allow inside at once and you know me, I want to browse.
This Week:
Tonight, my daughter has a master class with the University of Michigan which I also have to attend and then on Tuesday, she has a consultation and a vocal assessment with the Musical Theatre College Audition group so she can figure out what she needs to do for college auditions. I will be attending those too. She finished classes so she is officially a SENIOR and no summer school this year because she is ahead of the game.
My son finished with his lectures and just has some work to turn in and then, drum roll please, he will be a SENIOR too. They both graduate in 2021. Can you even believe it?
Reading:
Hmmm. I wanted to start it last week but I will begin Hello Summer this weekend.
Watching:
We finished Broadchurch and now I am searching for something equally good. I really loved those characters. It is a hard show to beat.
I ended up watching It: Chapter Two on my own. It was not good. I don’t know why King movies suck. The books are always so good and I know he is often involved in some way. The only King movies I really enjoyed were The Shining and Carrie.
With summer around the corner it’s time for my annual viewing of JAWS.
Grateful for:
- This little pup, who is modeling the blue light glasses that I got for my daughter. My daughter had eye strain from all the online school work but they got lost in the mail and came AFTER school ended.
Did you survive the week? Have you ventured outside to do normal things? Tell me what you’ve done. I am still staying at home for the most part.
Book Chatter 
We live in scary times. We are pretty much staying at home, although today we are going to visit my mother – keeping our distance – who we have not seen in 3 months. At 90 – every day is a gift and I don’t want to live with regrets if I don’t get a visit in.
Just finished The Red Lotus by Bohjilian. It was good, but didn’t have the wow that some of his other books have had- such as Double Bind.
Just started Therese Ann Fowler’s A Good Neighborhood and am listening to Carry On by Lisa Fenn which is excellent.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
I loved A Good Neighborhood.
How was the visit with your mom? That must have been really nice. My son and husband went to visit with my in laws yesterday because my daughter had a master class with the University of Michigan for three hours yesterday and online, you kind of have to really control your environment for noise so we sent them there and we stayed here. First visit they had since March.
I walk the stairs at the civic center in my town. I use to walk single stairs now I walk two stairs at a time. i ride with my husband to take him to work with my son. He is a truck driver. I don’t go anywhere too much.
You climb stairs two at a time? What a beast! LOL. I am so out of shape. I am happy this week though because after a week of planning I lost three lbs. We have taken road trips and ordered food to eat in the car and I do a grocery run once a week. That’s it. My daughter has her first outing with a friend this week and I am not entirely comfortable but I feel like we have to widen our quarantine circle at some point.
I haven’t been out much but I did go to the dr. a few weeks ago. I MUST make an appt. to get my hair cut soon. I always wore it long and then decided to get it cut in a bob about a month before the virus hit and I loved it. Then the virus hit and it’s long again, and I’m not liking it.
Bobs are cute but do require regular trims or they hit that point where they don’t look like bobs are really anything else. I used to have a lob. But just three weeks in the angle would be needing some attention.
My hair is so long now and I am liking it so when I go back in June I am just going to get it cleaned up.
I’m mostly staying home but sorely feeling the effects of the crisis. Lots of places are opening up and people are flocking to these places – some practicing social distancing, others not. Numbers are not going down so it’s frustrating me even more knowing that this is not going to reduce (forget ending) over the next few months. For now, I’ll keep calm and keep my nose in a book (as much as possible).
I am more irritated with selfish people these days than the pandemic itself. They won’t wear a mask, complain about curfews, threaten to sue because their civil liberties are in question. Blah blah. Get over it. I have no patience for these people.
You know my feelings about social media and the world today, so I won’t go into that. LOL
We finally went to the regional park for a hike and it was good but areas of the park where the boat rentals are are way too crowded. So we tried to avoid those areas.
It’s funny you think The Shining is one of the best — it’s a movie King hated. I liked this version of IT much more because it was not as goofy as the first and really went well with the book. I loved that book — it’s one of my favorites.
Oh! I know how King hates The Shining. He and Stanley did not have the same vision but that worked for me. I don’t know what it is but most King movies are not good.
I have to go to the market tonight. I was going to try to go before work but the hours are weird between COVID and the curfews. We are not under a curfew anymore but the stores still seem to think we are.
I have ventured outside very little still, I admit! It’s hard for me to believe I’ll be back at the office pretty soon — everything still feels very uncertain and scary. I’ve finally been able to read a little bit this weekend, by starting the book on audio and reading through it until I got hooked, then switching to a physical book. So yay for that!
I’m still mostly at home, except for an occasional bike ride or tennis hit with the Hub. Anxiety seems high with the ongoing news. It must be crazy in and around L.A., right? Your son is going to be a senior in college, and your daughter in high school? Wow the time seems to fly. It seems he was just arriving at college not long ago. I hope he can go to classes in the fall. I agree about the two best King movies you mention. I also liked Misery and Dolores Claiborne but perhaps not as highly as those first two. I probably also saw Cujo as a high school kid … which scared the hell out of me. I don’t like my dog movies to turn out like that. I hope you have a good week … and hi to Otter pup with the cute glasses.
I forgot about Misery. That one was pretty good. Two great actors.
Los Angeles was crazy but that’s a good 35 miles from us. Our own city got a little crazy. Five protests back to back. The National Guard was here which may have prevented it from getting seriously crazy. Getting curfew alerts was very surreal.
You kiddos are keeping busy during these times. I can’t believe both will be seniors. Pets are so comforting during these stressful times – we are so happy we have our 2.
I need a haircut desperately but, will wait too end of month and arrive wet-headed, just a cut – no blow dry, first appointment. I haven’t colored my hair since Feb and the pandemic was the incentive I needed to stop in go natural – I can live with the grow out, I’m not that vain.
My grow out only happens in one spot which would make me look like a skunk so I just color it myself now. I’ve been doing it for awhile and have mastered it pretty well so I have that going for me.
My son heads back to his campus town for a job interview tomorrow. If he gets a job he will move back there for the summer until school starts and then move back into housing. I’d rather he work here this summer. Why go there, get a job and then have to pay rent? I know he misses it but it’s too expensive to rent something there for just two months.
I am part way through season 3 of Broadchurch; it’s an intense season and so different from the first two. I like that some of the earlier characters are still around though.
All three seasons are great in different ways. I was impressed with how they kept the intrigue going given it’s a small town and all.
I feel the stress constantly. I got an invitation to a retirement party in July. Do I go? Do I explain? Today it was a nephew’s birthday party. Drive-thru, they say, but will it really be? And book club is meeting next week, outdoors, six feet away. Oh dear, oh dear.
I can’t imagine how difficult it must be for you with kids, though. At least I just have to worry about my husband and me. He and I are as careful as we can be. Still….