2018 has rolled in with a bang. My BIL’s funeral is this morning but I am out-of-town with The Girl at her first club volleyball tournament. Don’t ask. The funeral was difficult to schedule due to numerous setbacks. I’ll leave it at that. The Hub will be in attendance. The entire family is looking for closure.

Also, while lounging on the couch during my last week of vacation, I discovered a weird pile of “dust” that looked more like pellets and guess what? TERMITES. So we will have to tent at some point but with production week coming up, it has to wait until February. It made me really grouchy this week. A total downer since I have to return to work on Monday. But to put it in perspective, I have friends battling cancer, family members struggling with addiction and friends who have also lost loved ones over the break. Termites do not rate on that scale of life.

Right Now:

This is a scheduled post because right now, I am driving to the tournament. Nothing like leaving at 5am to be on the court by 6:30am.

This Week:

Work. Homeless outreach. Beginning to do some research on which books to pitch at the yearly book club selection meeting. We choose books for the year. We each pitch two. Any suggestions?

Reading:

I just finished Nutshell. The review posts tomorrow. I found it to be clever and hilarious.

I also finished Manhattan Beach. The review posts on Wednesday but I really enjoyed it.

I am currently reading Seven Days of Us. Interesting premise. So far, it’s fun and I am having a hard time putting it down.

Is anyone reading Fire and Fury? I am #1033 on the hold list. I am curious but I am not sure I can tolerate what’s in it.

Watching:

I watched that episode of Black Mirror that everyone was talking about, USS Callister. It was so much fun! Very clever. Almost like watching a movie.

I also watched a movie I have had recorded for forever, Ping Pong Summer. Very 80’s. All about a young teen vacationing with his parents. He gets dragged into a ping pong tournament by a local bully. It’s got Lea Thompson and Susan Sarandon. It’s pretty low-budget but has a good message.

Making:

I’ve made chicken curry this past week but the rest of our meals have been snack-y things like avocado toast, rice cakes with hummus. The Girl became a vegetarian so with me being gluten-free, meals are difficult to plan right now.

Grateful for:

As much as I hate shelling out thousands of dollars right after Christmas to tent the house, I am grateful that we have a house,  warm beds to sleep in, food on the table, etc.

How is 2018 starting off for you?