I know; it’s Wednesday, but I’m overdue for a post. Most days I’m forced to choose between blogging and something else. Obviously, the something else has won, and on the days when it hasn’t, I’m two paragraphs in before some thing needs my attention right this second. This isn’t a complaint. I’m pleasantly busy and on days when I have more time, I’m reading or knitting or doodling or making lists or working on a project. Or watching basketball. This may be Abram’s last year playing (though I hope it isn’t) and I’m trying to soak up all the bleacher moments I can. I haven’t been as good about capturing little moments with my big (or little) camera and I hope to work on that while also staying off Instagram. (I decided I needed a little break to focus on my own creativity…and never ending to do lists.)

I used my Christmas money and bought those adorable wooden dolls for myself and these leggings. I’m Benjamin Button-ing my soul. Delight and joy in 2022. And omicron, but I can only do what I can do about that. (How are you all? Staying healthy? Mentally? It’s hard work – mental health in a pandemic.)

I had a new friend reach out to me to let me know that the community garden had plots opening up, and I put in and got one. It’s a short walk (an even shorter bike ride) and adds an additional 400 square feet to my garden space. I’m excited to garden with my neighbors and Jesse turned up his nose up at adding more raised beds to our landscaping (at least for the time being) so this was a wonderful compromise. I’ve ordered seeds and a few starts. I’m going to try cucumbers, potatoes, and sweet corn in addition to things that I’ve tried before. As a stretch this year, I’m also going to attempt canning, and I’ve picked up a couple books with that in mind. (This and this if you’re curious.)

Let’s talk things.

Reading: I set a goal of 52 books this year and cancelled my audible subscription. I try and I try but rarely do I get a book to connect on audible. Non-fiction and classics I’ve already read/liked seem to be the best choices, but I just don’t think read-alouds are for me. Here’s what I’ve read since we’ve last chatted: The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth, The Impossible Girl by Lydia Kang, Paper Airplanes by Tabitha Fornay, Writers & Lovers by Lily King, Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty, Everyone in this Room Will Someday be Dead by Emily Austin, and The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. Writers & Lovers was hands down my favorite of all the above books. I love Lily King and this book was especially delightful. I also really enjoyed Austin’s book. The Love Hypothesis was very trope-y and the whole “broody bad guy except to me” story is not my favorite. I wouldn’t recommend that one.

Knitting: Socks. And socks. And socks. I have plans for other projects. I have no idea if I’ll ever get to them.

Watching: I watched the second season of The Morning Show and the third season of Succession. I find myself drawn to watching them, but I don’t like the characters and I don’t really like the shows because of that, but I also know I’d watch any new seasons of either one so…whatever that means. I absolutely loved Don’t Look Up (Netflix). Being the Ricardos (Prime) was not what I expected, but good – even if I did have hard time with jumps in chronological order. Violet and I are watching Arcane (Netflix). It’s beautiful and heartbreaking and dark. (This may be an unfair generalization, but I think it’s easier to like that kind of thing when you’re 14 and not 43.) Abram and I watched Encanto (Disney+) and have plans to see the newest Spiderman in the theater because we keep hearing how great it is.

Making: I’ve been working on Chicago, but I’m taking a break because I spent one whole evening on it and the next evening realized a mistake and ended up removing every single stitch I had done the night before (and then some). I’m a sucker for a notebook/creativity project and am doing this in 2022. Final decisions for the remodel we’ll be starting in the spring. (I’m not nearly as prepared for this as I was for the kitchen remodel which seems like it could be problematic with shortages, but fingers crossed.) In this kitchen, I’m making this salad, this soup, these meatballs, chili, and this salmon. (I haven’t been very adventurous in the kitchen. Any recipes you can recommend?)

So that’s me. Looking forward to hearing how you are doing and what your -ings are in 2022. Are you starting to feel like you’ve found a post holiday groove?

It’s a lot of pictures, I know. It’s been a lot of days. I’ll sum up. I celebrated my birthday in Michigan. Violet celebrated being fully vaccinated with shopping and lunch at a restaurant. Abram celebrated turning twelve with his first dose of vaccine. Days are full of summer school and camps and swimming at the community pool. The garden is neglected. My flower baskets are dry and dying because we have baby birds (and because I forget about them but let’s blame the birds). I do not take one second of this normalcy for granted and have spent a good portion of the last month happy crying. In fact, just typing that sentence made me emotional. Let’s talk things.

Knitting: I should have the pair Jesse promised on blockers by the end of this week. I’ve already picked out the yarn and pattern for my next pair. I also purchased a pattern for a sock yarn sweater which may be wishful thinking. When not working on socks, I’ve been knitting dishcloths.

Reading: Davenport reads aplenty!! Majesty by Katharine McGee, What Comes After by JoAnne Tompkins, Shipped by Angie Hockman, The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah. I’m currently reading Pretty Things by Janelle Brown. I liked What Comes After and The Four Winds. I haven’t been doing a good job with my Audible reads. I’m going to try and listen while puttering or knitting.

Watching: The Handmaids Tale (Hulu) which is so dark and disturbing but fantastic. Violet and I watched Moxie (Netflix) which I thought was heavy handed but enjoyable (Violet loved). I’m looking forward to the new seasons of Ted Lasso (Apple) and Atypical (Netflix).

Making: I need to spend some time on the Chicago cross stitch if I’m ever going to get that finished. Violet and Abram both learned to water ski. They made it look easy so I tried. It wasn’t easy. I haven’t decided if I’m going to try again. I’m trying to get back into a morning person routine. I was doing so well (and noticed a big improvement in my mood) but rejoined social media and have been scrolling too late into the night. I need to break the bad habit snowball and just go to bed.

So that’s me. I hope you are enjoying your summer and staying safe and healthy. Tell me about your -ings?(especially book recommendations if you have them!)