Tag Archives: Family

Bookish Talk, Life

Sunday Matters: Greetings

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Sunday Matters, a latte on a wooden tray against greenery.

It’s been a crazy time. Work has been very busy but reading has been good. I catch you here and there, mostly on social media but I am here and doing well, just inundated with work. The work/life balance thing got completely overturned awhile back and I can’t say it’s improving. I make the best of it.

Both kids are good. Emma is thriving in NYC. It really suits her. She continues to audition and has some work here and there. Evan’s non-profit has been going well as well as his job with the City of Bellevue. He loves Seattle.

The Otter Pup is still here!! 16 years old. I have said a least a handful of times in the past six months that the time is near and every single time she proves me wrong. The other day she tried to run out the door! Running is not something she does anymore so that was a surprise! She’s also taken to hiding kibble in her cheek like a hamster to dump into her bed so she can have a late night snack without getting up.

Right Now:

Still volunteering at church. Three services back to back covering 5th-8th grade. Love those students but at the end of the day, I am exhausted. I usually enter my attendance, grab a quick bite and pass out until dinner time. I am about to head there now.

This Week:

On Monday, I have a followup brain MRI. Everything has been good but I always get a little nervous since two small tumors remain. I feel great and have been able to up my fitness quite a bit. By outward appearances and energy levels, I am good. Much better than I was before my brain surgery. Strength is back, which feels great and also foreign. Gotta chuckle. It’s been two years!

I really don’t have much else going on this week. I am trying to line up my books accordingly so that I am never at a point where I don’t know what to read. One book that is on my radar for October:

Other Worlds Than These

Of course, this prompts me to reread the other books in the series because it’s been so long since I visited The Talisman. Kind of exciting though.

Reading:

Watching:

In typically Ti fashion, not a thing. These days curling up with a book is so much more inviting than gazing at a TV screen.

Grateful for:

  • My health
  • Still loving my ability to work remotely two days a week
  • The rain we’ve had. California is out of the drought. First time ever.

I just want to say that although I have not been bouncing around blogs too much, I still see and read your posts. I hope you have a fabulous week.

Book Review

Review: More Than Enough

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More Than Enough

More Than Enough
By Anna Quindlen
Random House, February 24, 2026, 256pp.

The Short of It:

Wholesome and sweet but with depth.

The Rest of It:

High school English teacher Polly Goodman tells her book club everything. The women are her closest friends, the ones who know about her students, her strained relationship with her mother, and her painful struggle with IVF.

When they give her an ancestry test kit as a joke, Polly expects nothing from it. Instead, the results link her to a stranger. Certain it must be a mistake, she tries to move on, but curiosity pulls her into her family’s past and toward a truth she never expected.

A well meaning gift, but what it uncovers for Polly is a yearning to know her true origins. Surprising and slightly alarming since she never questioned this before. Honestly, had no reason to. With her struggles to start a family though, her thoughts are centered on family and what it means so naturally when the results come back with a big question mark, she’s forced to look into it.

Polly is surrounded by a very supportive group of ladies. But they are also cautiously guarded over these test results. Are they accurate? Do they need to be repeated? Polly doesn’t know but in her heart she feels there is some truth so what the results say and isn’t it important to know when trying to start a family of her own?

There are some tender moments as Polly navigates this new landscape. In addition to infertility she is dealing with her father’s descent into dementia; a very dark place where loving memories surface one day, only to be forgotten that she exists the next. Painful.

I found this novel to be sweet in the telling but it lacks plot. If you are a plot driven reader, you might find it a little too safe but still enjoyable nonetheless.

Recommend.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Bookshop.org affiliate links.