Me, to Jesse: I want to quit my job.
Jesse: WHAT? You love that job. What happened?
Me (laughing): Oh, not THAT job. My other one. My unpaid one.
I was only kidding, but I also told my mom that the only reason I could keep working is because I found something that I love enough to make it worth it. I have zero understanding of how full time working families do it. (My mom says they have fewer hobbies and less of an obsession with things being just so.)

May was just a month. Lovely and fast and too full and exhausting.

June feels a bit that way too. Abram is now a freshman. V has their last day of school today before becoming a junior. I am officially the mother of two high schoolers. I have two detail things to finish (a runner for the stairs and pocket door hardware) and a lot of painting and then I will be unpacking boxes and reorganizing paces and returning our basement to a teen hang out. We’ve been so hot, and dry, and hazy from Quebec wildfires. Temp are supposed to cool down this week, but there is still little to no rain in the forecast and every morning we get a new air quality alert.

Let’s talk things.

Watching: Succession. I’m glad it’s over. I didn’t like a single character but felt compelled to keep watching. I loved The Diplomat and the last episode of Ted Lasso. (The rest of the season felt meh, but I love all the characters so much.) I also watching Missing on Netflix one night while knitting away. It’s not my usual fare, but held my interest.

Knitting: I’m working on Jesse’s socks. Finished one. Almost at the heel on the second. I think I’m going to try and do at least one pair of socks a month this year. I owe so many people socks! I also really want to get the sheep pillow finished at some point this year.

Reading: Yellowface by R. F. Kuang (I stayed up too late to finish this. The main character is truly horrible and yet I liked and rooted for her. I loved it.), When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo (weird and beautiful) Horse by Geraldine Brooks (beautifully written, a little heavy handed at times early on, but I thought the ending was very well done), Chorus by Rebecca Kauffman (the person who recommended it called it “quiet” and that was such a good descriptor. It’s also very sweet.) Heartburn by Nora Ephron (very strong voice, but otherwise unimpressed). I’m also slowly reading Poverty, by America by Matthew Desmond and trying to get more time to read The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai (VERY sad. VERY good.) Since goodreads is Amazon, I’m trying to transition to using The Storygraph, if you want to follow along with what I’m reading.

Making: The garden is in and sprouting. The heat has definitely upped the weed pressure so I’m impatiently waiting for the plants to get a little bit bigger to help keep those at bay. My carrots did well until I thinned them but now I have no carrots. I think the heat fizzled them out but the beans and tomatoes are growing. I smile every time I see my zinnias getting a little larger and I’ve got my fingers crossed for my pumpkins. I have the worst luck with pumpkins.

So that’s me. Would love to hear how are doing and what you have been -ing the last few weeks!

Oh friends, I’ve missed you. Every week I think about how lovely it would be sit down and chat and then, it’s May. I know going in that I’m headed for a whirlwind marathon of a month, and every year I’m still surprised at how whirlwindy-marathoney it ends up being. And I, ever brilliant, decided to start a new job in addition. I’m behind on laundry, and gardening, and catching up with friends, and every single television show. Last night, I went to Abe’s last choir concert as a middle schooler. I cried. Tonight, I will go to his last track meet as a middle schooler, I will cry. Tomorrow, I will drop Violet off at orientation for their first job. I will cry. If you see me and I’m not crying, I’m at work, smiling ear to ear because I get to talk about books, and unpack books, and enter books into a software system, and shelve books, and talk to book minded people about things that aren’t books (and books).

Let’s talk things in brief: I started a pair of socks for Jesse because it’s been since before Christmas since I’ve knit a pair and it’s well past time. Our craft room is still not unpacked or organized (see the remodel that STILL isn’t finished) so that and garden plans are all I’ve been making. (Note: PLANS. I haven’t put one thing in the ground yet and I need to get my butt in gear).

I’ve been watching (no spoilers in the comments, please, I’m behind at last two episodes in all my shows) Ted Lasso – this season is disappointing me. Still love all the characters. Still sweet. Just wish it was…better. Ghosts (American version) – it’s sweet and funny and I hear this season ends on a cliffhanger. Vanderpump Rules – I can’t wait to get all caught up before the reunion. I mean, THE DRAMA.

What I have been doing is reading and reading and reading. Last month’s 30 day challenge of reading for at least 30 minutes, in addition to my job, has gotten me back into a reader groove. Since last time: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith (I loved this one so much.), Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur (a preprint for work – feeling very ambivalent), Sea Change by Gina Chung (recommend), The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison (Beautiful and HARD.) The Society of Shame by Jane Roper (good, funny satire), The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich (middle grade, alternative to Little House series. VERY GOOD), and Tastes Like War (ambivalent again – really didn’t love this one). Heartburn is on my bedside table to read next. In other reader news: Abram told me just last night that I did a really good job picking out a book for him to read (The Maze Runner) and he regularly stays up a little later to sneak in one last chapter. I just ordered the second in the series.

That’s me. I apologize if this sounds a bit…manic. I just really wanted to say hi and how are you, but now I need to get a dishwasher emptied/loaded, laundry folded and put away, pack a snack bag for Abe, pack my bag for work tomorrow before picking up V to drop off V, before I head to Abe’s track meet. It’s May. What a whirlwind marathon.

Tell me what’s new in your world? What are you -ing? I hope this finds you well!

It’s spring. The snow is mostly all melted. Windows have been opened and will continue to be throughout all of this week. Abram beats me at chess at least once a day. He’s been watching YouTube videos and playing against friends and bots. He uses words like “file” and “fork” – words I know only from watching/reading The Queen’s Gambit. On Friday, I played him to a draw (I had him in perpetual check but didn’t know how to actually beat him) and it felt like such a victory.

I took a part time job at a local bookstore. I met my coworkers last week. We talked War and Peace and Jane Austen – about teachers and writers and writers who are teachers. I came home with a stack of books that I had ordered the week before and another stack of pre-published works. Jesse and I laughed when I curled up on the couch and said, “I have to get to work”. In the end of March, I decided my 30 day project would be to read at least 30 minutes every day so the timing of everything is quite fortuitous. Abram’s more likely to read if he can do it alongside someone and my goal is to make a reader out of him yet.

I breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday last week, but not too big of one. We still plenty of things to be worried about, but I’m trying to focus on my corner of the garden.

Let’s talk some things.

Watching: I finished The Last of Us (so many feels) and watched the first couple episodes of Ted Lasso. I’m behind on that and Succession because I’ve been watching Vanderpump Rules reunions (I’m on season 8) My arm has been twisted into watching all of season 10. (It didn’t take much of a twist to honest.)

Reading: Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller (so good), The Winners by Fredrik Backman (I’ve loved this series, but this was probably my least favorite of them), The Book of Lost Names by Kristin Harmel, Bride of the Tornado by James Kennedy, Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr (this took me a long time to get into and I almost quit, but am so glad I didn’t. Definitely one of my favorites), and I just finished The Fall of the House of Tatterly a middle grade book that I think I’ll buy for Abe when it comes out in August.

Knitting: I’m working on square 105 on my blanket. I have a half finished scarf that I really need to get done before I switch from knitting to gardening mode.

Making: A recreation of a favorite blanket. My grandmother had this blanket I loved as a kid – I used it whenever I stayed over at her house (which was a lot) – and when I was telling my mom about it, she told me it was a home ec project she made from a set sheets. A search of vintage sheets (these are the same style), an Ikea duvet, and I’m ready to make my own version. I just need to get the boxes from my office unpacked and dig out my sewing machine. Garden plans. We renewed our plot in the community garden and it’ll be 80 this week before it drops back to more seasonable temps. I know where we live and know better than to get too far ahead of myself, but I am thinking about what will go where once we are planting out.

So that’s me. I hope you are well. I’d love to hear what you are -ing when you have the chance!