It’s getting harder with each passing day to not be angry about what is going on in our country. Can’t we all be decent to one another? Every. Single. Day. There is something. I am exhausted. Are you? When it gets to be too much, I take a break from it but then I wake up and it begins all over again. I think I’ve hit my limit.
How are you coping? I’d like to say with confidence that we will all get through this and come out on the other side better for it. I have my doubts, though.
Right Now:
My Sundays have been pretty much the same since we shut down. It tends to be an errand day but I think I need to rethink that. Now that youth group meets in the evening if I take the day to do errands I feel as if the day has gotten away from me.
This Week:
On Monday my daughter is going to school to take her ID photo. They are shooting for an October return. The date has already changed once. It would be nice for her, as a senior, to have a little bit of a senior year to remember in a traditional sense but I can’t see them going back that soon.
She was supposed to have a choir concert this week. Not happening of course although they are doing something virtually that might be totally unrelated. I hear a lot of singing.
College applications are still in process. Filming equipment is all over my house. Looks like a set for Big Brother.
Reading:
I finished Kindred for a discussion. I also finished Heart-Shaped Box for R.I.P.
I am so close to finishing The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James. I am reading it for R.I.P. and it’s so, so good. I’m reading it along with Don’t Look For Me. I couldn’t decide which to read first so I decided to read them both.
Watching:
Ratched. Yep, that would be Nurse Ratched to you. It’s not getting good reviews at all. Visually, it’s stunning. I will reserve judgment until I am further in.
Grateful for:
- The Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Shallots meal above. It was easy and delicious and decadent. I served it over mashed potatoes. I added some white wine to the cooking broth. I needed a change of pace because I am so over cooking.
- My daughter received another college acceptance (academically) but still has to submit the pre-screen for her audition.
- New planners!! I ordered a new Passion Planner for 2021. Here’s to a better year!
All the political nastiness in the world has forced me to re-evaluate my friend groups on social media. It’s depressing. To remain sane, it has to be done though so I am taking some of the weekend to deal with that.
I hope you all have a good week. Cook something extra special, buy a new fall candle, go Marie Kondo on a closet to start the season anew. I will do the same.
Book Chatter 
Hang in there, Ti. It’s been another tough week and I doubt it will get any better for the rest of the year. Social media is tough. I’ve had to back way away from facebook (mostly high school friends) but the real people in my twitter feed aren’t as upsetting… it’s the news that really gets me down. Have had to adjust my reading over the last few weeks. Can’t deal with books too heavy on “issues” right now. That chicken dish looks amazing. I’ll give it a try when I get back to my kitchen in a couple of weeks. Take care!
Yeah, I have had to really curb my tongue a lot this week. I know facts don’t seem to change people’s minds these days and that common sense has gone right out the window but when it comes out of the mouth of a person who is close to me, I can’t help me. Ti goes off. I can’t help it.
DO make that chicken meal when you are able to. It was so fancy but easy to make. I did add 1/2 a cup of white wine to it but it doesn’t need it. It was just an excuse for me to open the bottle. LOL.
It is getting more and more challenging each and every week. As far as social media goes I know people who are just going off it for a while. But we who blog can’t really do that. We can choose not to see certain posts and that is what I am doing. Helps. This week will be very busy for me as SIBA is all five days. I am carefully signing up for virtual sessions so I do not get too overwhelmed. But it is going to be good to interact about books. I have had to give up refined carbs at night and severely limit them during the day in order to get rid this fat I’ve accumulated over the past several months. I am determined. Not easy. It will get better.
I had a solid 10 lbs gain but now it seems to be fluctuating between 10-12. I am not eating differently and I was never a big mover in the exercise dept but the little movement I got while on campus must have been enough because now, even when I cut way back I lose three and then gain them back again. I guess age is a factor too. It’s okay now, but won’t be when I return to work as nothing will fit. Not one thing. If PJs are allowed then I am okay.
I’m with you on the news: each day brings something more depressing. I don’t do Twitter and my FB is private and mostly family with a few old friends. Instagram is fine.
Congrats to your daughter, I’ll be curious whether she’ll become an East Coast girl, so many great performing arts choices.
I’m thrilled you are loving Sun Fown Motel; I thought it was great. Take care!
I am with you on this. It seems like we’ve lost a basic foundation of civic-mindedness, fairness, and honesty, and without that foundation, it feels like we just keep sinking. I know that’s a pretty depressing thought. I need to distract myself with more fall festivity. Fortunately, school is starting soon, so I’m setting up my classes and that’s diverting my focus away from more upsetting topics. Hopefully I’ll be able to start a “fun” book on Monday, too. =)
Oh yes! Prepping for school will certainly keep you busy. I am still busy with all the additional work at the college trying to move things seamlessly online and we’ve been doing it since March.
DO find a good book to sink into this week. It helps so much to escape the world if only for awhile.
You know, the last election was what made me cancel Facebook for me. I’m delighted that I never decided to try it again. I’ve been taking a step back from much of the ‘news’ and though I don’t want to be uninformed, I do need to consider how much I want to ‘know’. Anyway, hope your week is better. I love the fact that you list things you are grateful for. A good practice. Me, I’m consciously burying myself in books, books, books. Not a strange thing for me at all. And not the first time in my life I’ve done it.
I literally see people breaking down, little by little, over everything going on in the world. It’s a lot, especially for those who already battle depression. The yellow skies from the fires really affected so many. It was so weird and apocalyptic. The blue skies this weekend felt SO good which is weird to say. We all need some hope. These are very trying times and I do try to keep my mind off of things but don’t always succeed.
All I’ll say is: living thru this Admin is very exhausting and worrisome. Every day it IS something else. My hub & I are on a Getaway this week and it’s sort of nice. Staying away from much news, and instead exploring a new area. Tho I think what’s happening will be a firestorm now before the election. Sadly I see it getting worse before then. So pace yourself — & take breaks! I will cross my fingers for your daughter’s college acceptance … I know … manage the stress if possible. take care.
Thank you! I really do value your words of encouragement because some weeks are more difficult than others and this is one of them. Although I am very glad to have some blue skies to enjoy now. I can’t believe how much of a difference clear skies makes to my mood.
Have a wonderful getaway!! We hope to drive to the coast this weekend for the best gluten free pizza I’ve ever had. I know, the coast should be for seafood but so be it!
I don’t know if it is the same for you, but I have always been impressed with the deep civility and hospitality of book bloggers. I’m going to make a big generalization here and say that reading seems to make people nicer. Maybe we should find a way to send books to all those mean folks on social media.
Glad you are enjoying Sun Down Motel so much. I’m planning to crack open Vanishing Half this week. Just got it in.
I hope you have a good week, Ti.
I do think that readers of fiction probably possess more empathy than non readers. Maybe that is why they seem to be more civil in certain matters. That’s an interesting observation you make.
I’m most certainly tired of where we are in this country politically. Everyone has an opinion (which is fine) and wants to air that opinion without respecting that others may have that opinion too. Worse, the quality of discourse has come down severely. It’s cool now to mock at others and even more cool to deride anyone without privilege. I think back to those years when I first arrived here with so much hope and so much awe, and can barely recognize myself or that place anymore.
Anyways … saw your video on Facebook of your daughter singing and it’s beautiful!!
That chicken dish looks YUMMY!
It’s really hard to believe how different we are from nearly four years ago. I had no idea how bad it could get. It’s seriously depressing. I try to see the good out there because it does exist but it’s much harder to find now.
I am avoiding Facebook and it feels really good. I don’t miss it even though I know I am not getting updates on friends that I care about, but I just couldn’t handle the endless streams of ick. 🙂
So much packed into this post. I am glad that reading is going well for sure. That’s a highlight and it sounds like school is going well and the application process, so that’s something to hang onto.
That chicken recipe looks like something I want to try so I’m printing out that recipe.
I haven’t watched Ratched yet, but I hope to start on Friday. I think it will be a good distraction.
I grew shallots in my brand-new vegetable garden this year, mostly because I felt like I was always seeing recipes that use them, and finding them in here in rural Nova Scotia is an impossible task. Now that I have them, I haven’t run across any recipes – except yours. Finding shiitake mushrooms and oyster mushrooms here? About the same degree of success. :sigh: (I feel grateful that I can find bagged bean sprouts.)
ANYWAY – I feel so bad for you, Ti. You’re having ,i>such a hard time with the ‘times”. Mostly, I feel curious about what’s going to happen next. I wish I could help you move to something like that. ❤
I could not find the right mushrooms for that dish either and just used two different kinds, regular button and it was fine.
I am not always feeling down and out just more so lately and usually at certain times of the day, like when I first wake. I am curious about the future but my work has already told us that the next three years will be furloughs in some fashion so I have this doom cloud looming. I have a lot of seniority but we were furloughed once before and it was across the board. I just have to believe that good will prevail.