Flowers and Parades

Fresh off our August vacation, I will attempt to test the limits of memory and recall what happened in July. Of course, there were flowers. In July things really get kicking, including the weather. If you are familiar with the mid-Atlantic, you know that it's the humidity that really gets you. We had several days of 90+ temperatures with 80-100% humidity. On those days I usually don't start working in the garden until it's starting to get dark, which is a race against time now that the days are getting shorter again. The flowers though, the flowers are amazing.

We live in an odd location. The county is a suburb of Washington, DC, contains about a million people, and is one of the most diverse in the entire country. But if you travel to the edges, you're suddenly in farmland and the vibe is completely different. There is a local 4th of July parade that we go to every year that features the odd tradition of every float throwing masses of candy to the kids. It's a combination of Halloween and Mardi Gras, with children going nuts and swarming the street. It also features Santa at the end, as all parades in July should. 

Literally anyone can sign up to be in this parade. It's mostly local businesses and fire engines. One year there was a grocery store delivery semi truck. This year there was a bunch of kids hanging out in a dumpster. The bar is low, my friends.

The dahlias have started producing and I'm reminded why this is such a popular flower. They are truly showstoppers. The bugs also love them which necessitates putting organza bags over each bud to protect the flowers. The bag strings are always getting caught when I try to pull them off which leads to much colorful language. 

The above is "Edinburgh" which is my favorite. Below is "Hollyhill Black Beauty" which is also my favorite. The cool thing about dahlias is that they just continue to get better and better as we get into fall. The same plant will produce flowers that look completely different from the first blooms.

It's all about the angle, right? If I crouch down in the corner of the yard, I get get a photo that disguises all the weeds and McMansions, making it look like the garden is a lush paradise. You can't even see all the bug damage!

For some reason my workplace decided to have Take Your Kid to Work Day in the middle of the summer instead of on the actual day in April. Mary was already signed up for camp that day, but I took Cora and she absolutely loved it. Between making slime, putting Mentos into Coke bottles to make a fountain, and watching fun science tricks, she did not get an accurate picture of what work is like. I have never gotten to make slime at work! The whole thing must be to trick kids into wanting to have a job one day, and then when they get there it's like, "HAHA actually you just have to sit at this computer all day and listen to people complain. No, you can't just make fire turn different colors."

I managed to escape giant zucchini for years, but this year the girls wanted their own garden. They planted some seeds and watered them a few times, and then proceeded to forget about the whole thing. Still, zucchini grew because this plant will survive the apocalypse. They resulted in some delicious chocolate zucchini "bread" (i.e., cake) and something called a zucchini pie, which was like a crustless quiche. Both were delicious.

At the beginning of the year I set out to finish up some lingering projects, and I've finished most of them! I completed an art journal, and this month I finished the last page in my watercolor sketchbook. Almost all of the paintings were from tutorials, so I'm hoping to branch out now and start painting my own compositions. 

I also finished my quilt! The quilting went way faster than I thought because I ended up with some free time over the long 4th weekend, when the kids were at their grandparents and I was blessedly alone in the house. I got the whole thing done in a few hours while listening to an audiobook. I had originally planned to hang it on the wall, but it's migrated down to the couch for now. Next up, I have ANOTHER unfinished quilt to work on. After I finish that, you can guess what I'll do. Start another and then take 10 years to finish it.

On to the last month of summer break; school starts in 21 days!

Read in June 2023

I'm happy to report I'm back on track after a disappointing reading month in May. I finished a book that took me four months to read, but I think is going to be one of my life-long favorites: East of Eden by John Steinbeck. I'm always hesitant to make such declarations, because someone might read a book I loved and not like it (and this one is an investment at 600 pages). However, it came around at the exact right time for me and I did not want it to end. East of Eden is loosely based on the store of Cain and Abel, and has some other biblical themes sprinkled throughout, but it's not heavy-handed. The story spans multiple generations of the Trask family, from late 1800s New England to WWI era California. It doesn't take long to become invested in the characters, and even root for the evil ones. Steinbeck is an excellent writer and I particularly enjoyed the touches of humor. It's a the perfect mix between readable but also slightly challenging. (I found this spoof of the book with Penn Badgely and it's pretty funny - but not accurate to the story.)

The other fiction I read / listened to were:

• Village School by Miss Read: This is the first in an extensive series, begun in 1955, following the events of small town in England. It's so calm and heartwarming - school races, choir concerts, and trips to the sea. Nothing dramatic or terrible happens. Just Google a picture of Dora Saint, the author. This woman should be everyone's grandmother.
• Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell: After reading I Am, I Am, I Am and The Marriage Portrait last year, I want to read everything that O'Farrell has written. Hamnet is written in the same style as The Marriage Portrait, which I really loved but opinions differ, I hear. Hamnet is Shakespeare's son, who died at a young age. The book mostly focuses on Shakepeare's wife, Agnes, who O'Farrell portrays as unconventional for the time, connected to nature. I liked The Marriage Portrait more, but this was still a solid 4 stars.
• The Overnight Guest by Heather Gudenkauf: In the summer I love to listen to thrillers, which match the relaxed (haha) feel of the season, and don't require a lot of attention as I garden or put together flower bouquets. This story of a woman writing a book alone in a cabin, trapped in a snowstorm, seemed promising. During the storm, she discovers a nearly-frozen child in the snow, who she takes back into the warmth of her home. The storyline is connected to tragic events of the past, and the two stories come together at the end. I figured out what was going on pretty early though so it wasn't as suspenseful as I hoped. So, I went on to:
• The Last Word by Taylor Adams: A woman housesitting at a remote beach house leaves a 1-star review of a book online, and after getting into an internet fight with the author, strange things start happening. Yep, another book about a woman alone in a house in a remote location! This one really fit the bill though and I enjoyed it. The suspense kept going throughout the entire book, and there was an unexpected vein of humor that made this stand out among many similar thrillers. I will definitely read more by this author.
• A Thousand Splendid Sons by Khaled Hosseini: Hosseini is also the author of The Kite Runner which was THE book back in 2003, which I never got around to reading. (I will soon!) I was looking for a short audiobook and this book came up, and I'm glad it did. It is the story of two women who are thrown together in Afghanistan through sad circumstances. I learned a lot about the politics of the country, and the strong friendship portrayed between the two women was top-notch. I love stories of women helping each other - but heads up, this book is sad.
• Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh: I'm normally not a fan of literary fiction, but I went against my instincts and picked this up because the premise seemed so promising. It's based on the true story of a mass poisoning of a French town in the 1950s. However, when I had 45 minutes left the audiobook left and no poisoning had yet occurred, I felt misled. It's really the very odd story of two women, the baker's wife and the ambassador's wife. I appreciated the writing but the story was just too creepy and weird to me.

I also sprinkled in some nonfiction, which were:

• All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley: Having worked in two museums, I was so excited to read this book by a former guard at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. The book is a mix between stories of interactions with visitors and other guards, and deep-dives into certain works of art. I absolutely loved the behind-the-scenes glimpses, and Bringley has a real reverence for art that can only come from a decade of looking at it intensely.
• Jerusalem: Chronicles From the Holy City by Guy Delisle: I've now read all of Delisle's graphic memoirs, and they all have the thread of being judgmental of the culture he's in. I did like the explanations of what is going on in Israel/Palestine, because I didn't know too much about it, but Delisle still has an attitude of "these people are ridiculous, I can't wait to leave." In this book he shares the story of teaching a comics class to a group of Muslims, and then being annoyed when after showing them a comic containing naked people, they walk out. It's surprising that someone who has traveled so extensively has so little cultural sensitivity, but here we are.
• On Writing by Stephen King: In general I have always liked King's writing, but this book, written over 20 years ago, really made him seem like a jerk. Which is weird because he wrote it. There are some good tibits of writing advice in here, but it's overshadowed by his critique of other authors' writing; he even names names. Insulting others serves no purpose here, other than to make King seem cocky. Skip this and read Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott instead.

I have so far checked off five books from my Summer TBR, and didn't finish one. I think Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao is likely an objectively good book, but after 50 pages it was not clicking with me, so I returned it to the library. It is about a friendship between two girls in the lower castes in India, so if that's a subject that interests you and you read it, please report back if you liked it! 

June Bugs

It has been an excellent fruit summer. I've spent the past 5 years working on a raspberry hedge and this year it has paid off with dozens and dozens of raspberries that can't be eaten before they overripen and drop off. The season seems to be extra long with a crop lasting several weeks. Having a ready snack when I'm out working in the yard may be one of the best things in life.

The girls and I went blueberry and cherry picking, which we haven't done in many years because of my annoyance with our local farm. It's only 5 minutes from the house, but they have changed their model so drastically that it's clear that they exist only for entertainment. In addition to having to make reservations in advance (which usually sell out), you have to pay an admission fee, a service fee, and can only use their containers when picking. Ten years ago I used to go there, without fees, and fill up buckets with strawberries, blueberries, and cherries to freeze and can. This year, I spent $42 on two pints of blueberries and two pints of sour cherries. It seems like most people go here so they can take pictures of their babies in the orchard, which is fine, but in catering only to this audience they've left out the people who want to pick 15 pounds of fruit. Obviously the solution is for me to start my own orchard, in my free time.

Like many others on the East coast, we had lingering smoke from the Canadian wildfires for many days in June. It's difficult to capture in a picture, but you can see the haze in the background. Recess and sports were cancelled when the air quality reached hazardous levels. I hope for everyone's sake the fires are out soon!

By the end of June, all of my plants go from neat and tidy seedlings to giant bushes overflowing with flowers. Oh, and so do the weeds. Last year I had 5 subscribers to my flower CSA, and this year I have 18. Every few days I am cutting buckets of blooms and making bouquets. I've come to recognize that the warmer half of the year is a series of microseasons, where every two weeks or so different flowers and bugs peak. 

Freshly weeded: three weeks later the weeds had taken over and it was time to weed again. My favorite tool for this job is a stirrup hoe: no bending over! Using it gives me active minutes on my Fitbit, so it's basically working out. I've contemplated putting down mulch in the paths, but I worry that it might just make weeding more difficult. I also like to strip stems as I go, dropping the leaves in the paths. They either compost there or I rake them up later. Having mulch in the paths would probably make this process messier.

I filled the biggest order I've ever had, 15 bouquets for teachers at an elementary school. I was white-knuckling it hoping I would have enough flowers. Harvesting and putting all these bouquets together resulted in several late nights that I am glad to have in my past.

See how the flowers in the photo above and in the one below are completely different? Again, a 2-week microseason. This is the coolest and most rewarding part of growing flowers: getting to grow and introduce to people the incredible variety when you buy local. Grocery store flowers are the same year round because they are grown in greenhouses under controlled conditions and shipped very long distances. The varieties are always the same, because those are the ones that ship well. 

It's not all overflowing buckets of perfect flowers - thrips have been my #1 enemy both last year and this one. I have not been able to stop them no matter what I've tried (which hasn't been much because I draw the line at non-organic pesticides). They are primarily on my snapdragons, which is heartbreaking because they are such a great long-lasting flower. They seem to be attracted to the lighter colored flowers, so next year I'm only going to grow red, purple, and other dark colors. If anyone has a successful thrip remedy, please let me know!

So one day I was in my office working, when this florist shop van stopped on the street right in front of the house, and proceeded to sit there for a really long time. Doesn't the driver look shady? Were they checking out the competition? This is a long, straight street, and there really isn't a reason why someone would park here. Sketchy! (Do people say sketchy anymore? I was born in the 80s after all.)

As all parents of school-age children know, May and June are packed with year-end events. Cora had her preschool graduation (some kids knew the song they performed and some just looked confused, as expected for five year olds.) She also had her dance recital, which to be honest, was brutal. Her class performed second out of 39 performances. They hold the children hostage until the end so we were forced to watch 37 more amateur dance performances by children we had no connection to. Also, I'm no prude but some of the costumes worn by preteens and teenagers were shocking. And the dance moves they were doing - yikes.

The previously mentioned orchard also has these big slides. Once, as an adult, I went down one. Worst decision of my life. See all the ridges? I felt like I had just slid down a cheese grater.

Life Off Headset will recognize the two above photos immediately :) We went to The Kennedy Center to see The Lion King musical, and it was fabulous. I'm not a big musical person, but I do love live performances and the costumes, dance, and acting were as amazing as you've heard. Since I'm pretty grumbly in this post, I am also going to grumble about the people who were using their cell phones during the show. We all paid a lot of money to see this show, and for a lot of us it will be the only time we see it our lives, and yet some people just HAD to Google things at that exact moment. The ushers came around and told people not to do it, but that wasn't always effective.

The puzzle of the month was another thrift store find, isn't it cute?

I'd love a relaxed, quiet summer, but that isn't how it goes these days. Coming up are more camps, vacations, events, all requiring planning and disruption of routine. At least there are no snow outfits to deal with.

Read in May 2023

Friends, this reading month was a bust. In addition to giving up on at least four books, most of the ones I did finish weren't all that great. They can't all be winners, I guess? But, let's start with the two I did like:

How the Word is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith is a 5-star read, hands down. This is how nonfiction is done. In addition to being a beautiful writer (the author is also a poet), Smith stays on task, backs up all his assertions with evidence, and doesn't hide facts that don't jive with his personal opinion. He also challenges assumptions: he includes a chapter about slavery in New York (most of which I didn't know), showing that the North wasn't blameless. He also visits a plantation in Louisiana that holds up the stories of the people who were enslaved there. Everyone should read this book - even if you think you know everything there is to know about American slavery, I guarantee you'll learn something.

Julia and the Shark by Kiran Millwood Hargrave, illustrated by Tom de Freston is an illustrated middle grade book about a young girl and her family who move to Shetland for the summer so her father can repair a lighthouse and her mother can conduct research on the Greenland shark. I have been wanting to read this because I love Shetland as a setting, so I requested that my library buy it, and they did! The illustrations are gorgeous and add to the atmosphere, so this is a must-read in print. In the end it's a story of mental illness, which is handled really beautifully. 

And the ugh, fine, whatever, meh:

Sadie by Courtney Summers is a YA book (which I did not know going into it) about a teenager who is tracking her sister's killer. There is also a podcaster who is tracking Sadie, so the chapters alternate between Sadie's perspective and the podcast. The audio was pretty fun because the podcast sections really do sound like podcasts. There is some dark child abuse stuff in here, and the ending is unsatisfactory. I'd say it was just fine.

Ya'll, I can't with the subtitles these days. What's Eating Us: Women, Food, and the Epidemic of Body Anxiety by Cole Kazdin is already long, but then there's another block of text on the cover: Fixing Our Messed-Up Relationship with What We Eat and How We Look. The book was none of these things! Frankly, it was all over the place. It deals with: eating disorders, different types of treatments, body positivity, diet culture, healthcare inequalities, infertility, exercise, and a million other topics, mixed into a memoir of the author's own eating disorder. There's also a whole chapter on her infertility and adoption of her son, which seems very out of place. Most annoying of all, there are several anecdotes that go something like this: "My friend was complaining about being fat - but she totally isn't!" If you're interested in this topic, there are a lot of other, better books you could read.

My Body by Emily Ratajkowski: I have so many opinions about this book. In fact, I debated writing about it at all. If you don't know (I didn't), Emily Ratajkowski is a model. The stories she tells about how men in the industry (and in life) treat her are abhorrent. No one should be assaulted, ever. People should be treated as a whole person, regardless of their appearance. BUT. Then I looked up her Instagram. She is obviously using the beauty industry to her advantage, making tons of money and cementing a future for herself and her family. However, she is doing in a way that plays into every unachievable standard, and she does not call anyone out for this. She doesn't talk much in her book about how she achieves her body, only on two occasions mentioning "keeping weight off" after being sick and "skipping meals." She has a huge opportunity, with 30 million (!!) followers, to highlight what it takes for her to maintain her body shape (particularly for a woman who has given birth). I don't expect everyone to take up the torch to fight diet culture, but when you have an audience that big, the expectations and responsibilities are bigger to match. 

Winter Sisters by Robin Oliveira: So, this book is about child rape. I didn't realize this at first, and it doesn't become apparent until 100 pages in. I finished it because I wanted to see what happened, but I really wish I had known the content, because I would have skipped it.

Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China by Guy Delisle: I have been slowly working my way through all of Delisle's graphic novels. This one seems to be in a completely different style than his others. The drawings seem rougher, like they were done with pencil. I did enjoy the facts I learned about China, but Delisle doesn't hide the fact that he doesn't like the part of the country he's in. He's always trying to go somewhere else, and in general doesn't seem respectful of the culture. In fact this is something I'm sensing in all of his books - I'm almost finished with his last one, so more on that next month.

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal: This book is objectively pretty good. However, lots of sad things happen in it and I just was not in the mood after this month of heavy topics. 

Summer Reading!

I am a mood reader at heart, and my attempts to make TBRs are usually failures. However, lately I have been wanted to get to those books I know I will probably like but have been pushing aside in favor of shiny new releases. Several of these have been on my Goodreads TBR for FIFTEEN YEARS. (Stolen Lives, Yes Man, The Light Years, and Nine Coaches Waiting.) Some of this was because my library didn't have copies, so I recently just ordered used copies so I could finally read them.

I average about 5 physical books a month (the rest being audio, or sometimes graphic novels which are quick reads), and there are 16 in my stack. It should be doable from June through August, and I'm fine with spilling over into September. I have been reading East of Eden for several months now, and spoiler, it might be one of my favorite books of all time. I'll definitely finish it up soon.

In case you can't read the titles in the picture, the books are:

Owned: East of Eden, The Light Years, Yes Man, Village School, Americanah, Nine Coaches Waiting, Like Water for Chocolate, The House at Riverton, Lands of Lost Borders, Stolen Lives, and 11/22/63

Library: Close to Home, A Month in the Country, Unsettled Ground, All the Beauty in the World, Girls Burn Brighter, and Hamnet

Happy summer reading, all!

May Happenings

May was a lovely month. The weather has warmed up and the trees have leafed out, perfect to start our outdoor season. There is a trailhead about five minutes away that leads to a stream perfect for throwing rocks into. Has the pollen been terrible for you too? I'd love to spend even more time outside, but the yellow stuff is everywhere! It doesn't help that we've had a very dry spring, with no rain to wash things clean again.

I am lucky enough to live only 30 minutes away from where the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival is held, which is one of the largest such festivals in the country. I've been going on and off since 2005, but it's been a while since I was able to attend, with all that pandemic nonsense. I went by myself, as the crowds are so insane, trying to keep track of small children eliminates any ability to shop. The people watching is also great, with knitters showing off their creations and others bringing their most interesting outfits.

Ok I realize the below highlights the row of toilets, but also, look at the crowd!

I didn't buy too much because I don't knit as much as I used to. The gradient packs from Fiber Optic Yarns sucked me in, as did the colors from Into The Whirled. I've bought from both companies before and been very happy with my purchases. The small basket was handwoven by the sweetest lady (who really needs to charge more - the basket was only $8!) The zippered pouch I got for free for signing up for a mailing list; I was shocked when she handed it to me. I was expecting the "free gift" to be a sticker or something small. It's from Cottontail Farm. I wish I had bought more than one skein of the fingering weight yarn, because I really don't need more socks and have been wanting to make a summery top. (Let me know if you have recommendations!)

I am firmly into flower season, harvesting several times a week. The busyness of spring is waning, since I have almost my entire space planted. I'll still need to start more plants for my fall crop, but for now it's mostly just watering and tending to what is already there. I've been having a war with a family of rabbits - despite multiple types of deterrent and a fence, they still outsmart me. Next year I will likely have to invest in a more solid chicken wire fence, because they have really been enjoying eating the tops off the young delicious seedlings.

It's crazy that I actually managed to go to TWO festivals by myself in one month, but I did! The second was the Gaithersburg Book Festival, which is a local event featuring a surprising amount of well-known authors. I find it so interesting to hear authors talk about their work, even if I haven't read (or even heard of) their books before. The first talk I attended was by Ari Shapiro (you may have heard him on NPR's All Things Considered). Seeing a person after only hearing them speak before is jarring. I did not expect him to look like this at all! He even acknowledged it, saying "Isn't it weird to hear my voice coming out of a stranger?" He was a hilarious and engaging presenter, and now I definitely want to read his book. [Note to publishers: book tours work!]

The author I most wanted to see was Anthony Marra, author of one of my favorite books, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. His newest book is Mercury Pictures Presents, about Hollywood in the 1940s. Isn't it odd that authors are actual, real people? He co-presented with Barbara Mujica, who also recently published a book, Miss Del Rio, with a Hollywood theme. Because they had to share the time, he didn't get to speak all that much. The moderator seemed very flustered and at kept losing her notes. One thing he did talk about was the German Village that was built in Utah during WWII to conduct bombing experiments. I had never heard of this before!

The last talk I attended was with Brendan Slocumb, author of The Violin Conspiracy and Symphony of Secrets. With him was E.A. Aymar and Art Taylor, two other authors I admit I had not heard of before. The panel was fantastic - the three had great chemistry together and were joking and laughing even while tackling heavy subjects, like representation in publishing. Brendan talked about how his editor wanted him to change the name of his main character, Rayquan, because "that name won't sell books." It's insane that this type of thing is still happening in publishing. In the end, Brendan did not change the name, and he added that his editor later apologized. 

The Friends of the Library holds a massive used book sale at this event. I'm trying not to buy any fiction that I can easily get from the library, so I mostly looked for any art/nonfiction books I could use as references. I totally lucked out, finding two similar books about nature observation and sketching, a book on flowers in American Art, and another on Georgia O'Keeffe, one of my favorite artists. I also picked up a copy of The Overstory, because I'm low-key trying to read the Pulitzer winners, and it's long enough that I might not be able to finish a library copy during the checkout period.

A small local thrift store is a great resource for puzzles, and whenever I see a Charles Wysocki one, I buy it. His folk art style makes these a joy to put together - and this one had all the pieces! That pumpkin patch though... oof, that was a test of nerves! It's not seasonal, but I look forward to doing this one again in the fall.

My quilt is now basted and ready to be quilted. This is my least favorite part of making a quilt though, and I suspect I'll put it off for awhile. Luckily it is a fairly small quilt, so I hope to have it finished by the end of the summer.

I hope you are all having beautiful weather where you are too!

Read in April 2023

Favorite Fiction: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton - This was a highlight of the month! My first book loves were historical fiction, particularly multi-generational epics. I haven't read many of these types of book lately, and this was like revisiting an old friend. The story is split into several timelines (which did get slightly confusing), focusing on a woman who finds out she is adopted and searches for her origins in England. The story spans over 100 years, and I enjoyed the historical bits the best. Now, there were some cheesy bits in this book. A character will wonder "whatever happened to so and so", and convieniently a 40-year old letter will surface explaining exactly what happened. The descriptions of gardens, old cottages, and the sea made it all worth it. I'll definitely be reading more by Kate Morton.

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan - It seems like there are a million books about bookstores in Scotland. After reading and being totally disappointed by The Bookshop of Second Chances last year, I wanted a do over. Laid off from her job as a librarian, Nina buys a van that she turns into a mobile bookshop and moves to Scotland. Oh, how convenient, her landlord is a cute, recently divorced farmer! You can guess how it goes. I thought this was a cute, easy to read book, perfect mindless listening during walks.

As Long as the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh - Salama is a nineteen year old pharmacy student when war breaks out in Syria. As a volunteer at the hospital, she witnesses horror after horror. I didn't realize this was YA when I started, and there is a little bit of a "young" tone. There are also quite a lot of dead children in this book. This would be a good one to read if you want to learn more about the experience of the war in Syria - however there's not a ton of political background for context. A love story is also a big part of this book. I did like it, but I had just watched the movie The Swimmers, which I thought was a better portrait of Syria. 

The House of Mirth by Edith Wharton - Edith Wharton is one of my favorite classic authors; The Age of Innocence was stellar. In the end, I'm glad I read this book because its main character, Lily Bart, gave me a lot of understanding of the situation of [some] women at the turn of the century. This book is also frequently referenced and now I feel like I'm more well-read. However, there were a lot of really dense, explanatory paragraphs that did me in. The audio narrator is what got me through: unfortunately she passed away in tragic circumstances in 2006.

The House of Fortune by Jessie Burton - I did not intentionally read these last two together, but apparently I was on a role with "the house of something" titles. The House of Fortune is the sequel to The Miniaturist, which I read back in 2015. It's possible to read this as a standalone, but I had to look up a summary of the previous book because I was feeling pretty lost at the beginning. The story focuses on 18-year old Thea, who was just born at the end of The Miniaturist. The plot is pretty basic, family wants daughter to marry to provide them a future, she falls in love with a poor random dude. Meanwhile, the miniaturist is leaving small items on her doorstep. Why? Who knows! Does it make a difference to the story? No! Nothing particularly unique happens and by the end I was skimming paragraph after paragraph of internal monologue. It wasn't terrible but there are so many other better books you could read instead.

Favorite Nonfiction: All the Living and the Dead by Hayley Campbell - Oddly enough, this is the third book I have read about death. (The others are Stiff by Mary Roach and Smoke Gets In Your Eyes by Caitlin Doughty; I recommend both.) Campbell visits a wide variety of professionals who deal with death, including a cleanup company, an executioner, a medical examiner, and a midwife who only works with infant loss. These are heavy topics to be sure, but they are handled so well, and make you think about how our society is disconnected, for the most part, with death. This is not a book for the squeamish; I am not, and I found it completely fascinating. 

The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel - I've read many personal finance books, so I was excited to see that this one had a different angle. It's not a primer on index funds or retirement planning, but an investigation into why people make the money decisions that they do. I really enjoyed the theme of understanding over judgement, and the acknowledgement that money decisions are emotional, and sometimes you have to make the decision that is best for your mental state.

Life on Delay by John Hendrickson - I love reading memoirs because they give us a glimpse into so many different types of lives. I don't know anyone with a stutter, and I didn't know much about it going into this book. I learned so much, and hearing about Hendrickson's life experience was fascinating. It was also a little heartbreaking, as he was bullied by his own brother and others. I listened to this on audio, which is not read by the author, but the narrator must have consulted with him to be able to accurately depict a stutter. 

Enchantment: Awakening Wonder in an Anxious Age by Katherine May - Like many people, I loved May's previous book Wintering. By the title, I expected some sort of light self-help guidance about how to "awaken wonder." That was not the case at all, but: her descriptions of the seasons, and her writing in general, is gorgeous. Enchantment is split into four sections: Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water. For some of these, the category was a reach, and I assume yet another publisher attempt to market this book as something it isn't. I particularly love reading about May's cold-water swimming. It seems terrifying but also exhilarating. I will continue to read whatever she publishes, but next time I hope it can just have the subtitle "Essays". If Ann Patchett can do it, so can Katherine May!

Other Thoughts on Reading

One of my ongoing reading goals has been to read the books I own. I have had some books for over a decade, and still they sit unread on my shelf. I'm coming to terms that I am mainly a library book reader. One of my joys is being able to pick out whatever I want FOR FREE and then return books unread if I changed my mind or didn't like them. I'm much more likely to push through a book I own, even if I don't enjoy it, to "get my money's worth." (Which is most cases is like... a dollar.) I recently watched a video by Mercy's Bookish Musings about her goal to have a zero TBR (as in, not own any unread books) and it immediately hit home. I don't think I want to get to zero, but I do want to reduce my unread books to maybe 15-20. What about you - do you have a whole shelf of unread books? Do you prefer to visit the library?

I'm also trying to get away from the new, hyped books and read more backlist titles. Plus, there's not usually holds on these, and I can renew them for the full amount of time. Many of you are readers and know the feeling of wanting to read all of the books. Sometimes this can turn a fun hobby stressful, and I really want to avoid that!

This weekend I'll be attending a big book festival and I'm super excited... and yes I probably will buy books from the giant used book sale. I'll be looking for art books, gardening books, and copies of favorites.

Tulip Season

The month started off with a spring break trip to my parents' house in Williamsburg, Virginia. The kids had a fabulous time going to the pool, mini golf, an IMAX movie, and a Granny-funded toy shopping trip to Target. I saved my vacation days and worked from their house, which at minimum was a change of scenery. Spring hits a few weeks earlier in southern Virginia, and the flowers and blooming trees were in full force. I went to the local library (where my mom used to work as a children's librarian for many years) to check out the used book sale, and encountered the most beautiful wisteria I have ever seen. The scent was heavenly; I can see this being the perfect location for a small wedding. Williamsburg is full of these picturesque locations, and I highly recommend a spring visit if you're on the east coast. It's really only as a gardening adult that I appreciate the 8 years I lived there. High schoolers typically care little for azaleas.

I took several walks around the neighborhood, which is built around a lake. We totally lucked out on the weather. Blue skies, and temps rising each day from about 55 to over 80 by the time we left. Does anyone feel their mood lift when we finally hit spring? My overambitious mind plans to do inside home-related projects in the winter, and outside work when it gets warm. But then it's the holidays, and it gets cold and dark, and have no motivation to get out of my comfy chair, let alone do something creative. I need to remember this for next winter, and plan on "wintering" instead of taking on any projects at all. And I need to get to my home projects while it's still warm (a feat considering the amount of gardening I do!)

On the other side of the lake is a creek which leads to the York River, which leads out to the Chesapeake Bay. It's a beautiful, peaceful area. This is the best time to visit, before the mosquitos and the humidity arrives.

Back at home, reality hit. The hot days were causing the tulips to open about 2 week earlier than last year. With 800 planted, it was a lot to keep up with. Plus, April is also the month when seedlings are ready to be planted out; and compost spread; and netting put up; and, and, and. I may have said, "I never want to see another tulip again." Now that it's done, I can look back and enjoy the beauty, and start dreaming about the varieties I'll plant this fall. 

On one rainy day I was finally able to deal with the buckets full of dried flowers from last summer and make a few bouquets. I had planned to make wreaths, but turns out, I don't have the time for that. I've sold a few of these already!

Nearly all of the main garden is planted now - I'm just waiting a few more days until the dahlias can go in. It will be a huge relief to have this done and my Sundays should be a little more free. The actual harvesting and selling takes much less time than planting and weeding. (Although I will never be done weeding.)

Do you have a hobby or skill that people are constantly telling you, "You should totally sell those! You could make money doing that!"? This is common in our contemporary hustle culture, which does not prioritize rest and leisure. I'm willing to bet you could ask nearly anyone who works for themselves if they work more or less than when they worked for another company, and they would say MORE! A common dream is to quit workin' for the man and be in charge of your days. But: I will never quit my day job. I have no desire to flower farm full time. I greatly appreciate the reliability of a paycheck, benefits, and the right to log off when my work day is over. I grow flowers because I believe local flowers are better than imported flowers with a huge carbon footprint. I love how excited people are to receive them. I also love learning new things, and believe me, I learn new things about flowers every week! I write all this because I don't want to give the wrong impression. I'm not getting rich from this, it's a ton of work, and being a flower farmer is not glamourous. No one is Floret but Floret :) If you have a passion, enjoy it as much as you can and don't feel pressured to make it your job.

As a side note, you know all those "content creators" who are quitting full-time work to make YouTube videos? I am dying to know what they will be doing in 20 years. 

April was also back to in-person work. I know a lot people couldn't work from home and had to endanger themselves during the pandemic to help others. But uggghhh that won't keep me from whining. Mostly I spend at least an hour and a half per day commuting so I can sit in online meetings with people who are at home. Luckily my company is only making us come in 2 days per week, and we get to choose those days. But that usually means that the person you want to talk to is not there at the same time as you are. Adding to the strife, a sub-group in my department was permitted to stay remote, which has led to a lot of grumbling about fairness. Fun times! (I'm a manager so I'm often the target of such grumbling.)

How was your April? Is snow still on the ground or are the flowers blooming?