The odd days of March are coming to a close, but I have been flat out for so long that I am dragging dragging dragging.
So: I thought of some things to remind myself about: Key Pointers when You're Super Busy:
1. Be as efficient as you can be, but don't rush all the time. Deep breaths.
2. Don't cheat yourself. If you have to get up early, be honest about it and give yourself enough time to get where you have to be without a frantic hurry.
3. Also, don't cheat yourself of what you love. Take time to download that audiobook for the commute; eat food you like and that tastes good.
4. Shorten, don't skip altogether, things that you don't have much time for. A quick workout vs. no workout; a few rows of knitting vs. a neglected project. You'll feel like you have a life.
5. Don't waste the time you DO have: be careful about aimless browsing on Facebook or whatever; be mindful of what you do.
So I am down loading my audiobooks, and then I will go to bed, looking at Friday and a weekend with not much planned. YAY!
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Saturday, March 12: Catching up on Time-Change Weekend!
The great thing about a busy stretch is that it does make a tough month fly by. . . and our British-like winter has contributed to that effect as well! The time changes ahead tonight; Andy and I are going to see Nate in his play at Bates, and we're facing the last "extra" week of March with parent conferences on Tuesday and Wednesday. At the same time, I'm coming down from a crazy busy stretch of grading/planning/dealing with ninth graders and A. has been away for two weekends, so a few items are way behind, like recording my books lately! So here should be a batch of them.
After You by Jojo Moyes
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Listened to this with a bit of trepidation, having so disliked "Last Letter from? To? My Lover" that I returned it to Audible for a refund (one of two books I've ever done that for!), but it was classic, wonderful Moyes: funny, sad, reflective, with realistic characters who were annoying at times but about whom I came to care (<=pretty good sentence for 8 am on a Saturday, I must say! ). The narrator took some getting used to, but overall the picture of grief, of family, of life and one's choices in it, is moving and worthwhile. Recommended!
Glitter and Glue: A Memoir by Kelly Corrigan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had read and enjoyed The Middle Place about five years ago (tears. . . phone calls to Julie. . . wow), and then a visitor recommended Glitter and Glue, which I didn't even know about, so I checked it out of the libe and it sat on the Library Books Pile for a month, and then I finally got it on audible and hey presto! I "read" it with great enthusiasm. Says something about my life that I am getting through more books via commuting that actual on-the-couch reading! I did comment elsewhere: "just finished listening to the a.may.zing memoir Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan. It is powerful and well-written. Boom. Right to the heart."
My one audio-based recommendation is that Corrigan might not have been the best selection for a narrator, given that the book is mostly set in Australia and she is so wonderfully, clearly Midwestern in her speech that she (wisely) doesn't even attempt an Australian accent. It would've added to the book, in my opinion, to have had the contrast in accents. Very minor quibble.
Highly recommended memoir about travel, mortality, family, loss, change, growing up, mothers. . . . Just go read (or listen) to it!
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Pleasant escape read: the first Hercule Poirot! Great fun to see Christie doing her thing. A nice addition is that the narrator is subtly characterized as an idiot by his own unwitting description, which adds a whole extra layer of skill for the reader/listener to appreciate.
The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Hard on the heels of the first Poirot, I listened to the first Tommy and Tuppence. Again, it's a fun escape read, but this one is a bit less refined than The Mysterious Affair: I figured out the bad guy pretty fast, and there are a lot of credulity-stretching escapes, twists, coincidences, and moments where the trussed-up prisoner is suddenly running full-tilt down the road with a gun, full use of his/her muscles, and cash to pay a cab and buy dinner! Still--it's a bit like reading a Tin-tin story, and a nice way to pass some dreary February commutes.
LOOK! SOME REAL BOOKS!
Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage by Molly Wizenberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finally bought a copy of Delancey and made the penne alla vodka (it was great). Glad to have my own copy! Still a big fan.
ORIGNAL REVIEW, JULY 14, 2014! I like Molly Wizenberg's Orangette blog, and I was delighted to see this book in the Ridgefield Library. I might buy it, because I like a lot of the recipes--both for weird experiments (gin with ground pepper and garlic?) and for plain ol' "that sounds great!" meals (penne alla vodka). The story of the ins and outs of starting the restaurant was engrossing, too, and the progress of her relationship with and understanding of her husband caught my attention as well, though Julie did not find the book interesting at all. One aspect I noted with respect was that she discussed various people who entered their lives through the restaurant process, and it was really hard to tell if they would be friends, foes, betrayers, or loyal supporters: her tone was always level and respectful, an approach that I find difficult in my own life and in much public discourse today.
Recommended (though Julie disagrees!) as an interesting resource and a good story, though I am surprised that it's a NYT bestseller. Doesn't seem jazzy enough. Maybe a lot of people want to open restaurants and find this book, as I do, a good replacement!
A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
ANOTHER "real" book read!
I read this *after* Delancey, though it was written beforehand; when I first saw it mentioned by others I was afraid it was one of those "make everything from scratch or else you're a bad person" type memoirs written by the willowy wife of some CEO somewhere who never does anything she doesn't want to do. . . . but, having read Delancey, I realized it wasn't. And it was a treat: warm, full of good recipes, inspiring, and nicely written, stem to stern.
Nate made her dark chocolate cupcakes and iced them with peanut butter butter cream frosting (not her recipe), and I think I made a believer of him as well!
A nice book to keep by the bed or to read during a busy time. Highly recommended.
View all my reviews
Sooooo: I do believe I am caught up. I need to reread The Bluest Eye, and I am nearly done with Tropper's profane but funny This is Where I Leave you, but those are tasks for another week. It's sunny and 40 outside, and I have to get up and out for a run, then get packed and ready to roll before we head to Lewiston for our night at the Theater.
As is so often the case: life is good.
After You by Jojo MoyesMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Listened to this with a bit of trepidation, having so disliked "Last Letter from? To? My Lover" that I returned it to Audible for a refund (one of two books I've ever done that for!), but it was classic, wonderful Moyes: funny, sad, reflective, with realistic characters who were annoying at times but about whom I came to care (<=pretty good sentence for 8 am on a Saturday, I must say! ). The narrator took some getting used to, but overall the picture of grief, of family, of life and one's choices in it, is moving and worthwhile. Recommended!
Glitter and Glue: A Memoir by Kelly CorriganMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I had read and enjoyed The Middle Place about five years ago (tears. . . phone calls to Julie. . . wow), and then a visitor recommended Glitter and Glue, which I didn't even know about, so I checked it out of the libe and it sat on the Library Books Pile for a month, and then I finally got it on audible and hey presto! I "read" it with great enthusiasm. Says something about my life that I am getting through more books via commuting that actual on-the-couch reading! I did comment elsewhere: "just finished listening to the a.may.zing memoir Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan. It is powerful and well-written. Boom. Right to the heart."
My one audio-based recommendation is that Corrigan might not have been the best selection for a narrator, given that the book is mostly set in Australia and she is so wonderfully, clearly Midwestern in her speech that she (wisely) doesn't even attempt an Australian accent. It would've added to the book, in my opinion, to have had the contrast in accents. Very minor quibble.
Highly recommended memoir about travel, mortality, family, loss, change, growing up, mothers. . . . Just go read (or listen) to it!
The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha ChristieMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Pleasant escape read: the first Hercule Poirot! Great fun to see Christie doing her thing. A nice addition is that the narrator is subtly characterized as an idiot by his own unwitting description, which adds a whole extra layer of skill for the reader/listener to appreciate.
The Secret Adversary by Agatha ChristieMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Hard on the heels of the first Poirot, I listened to the first Tommy and Tuppence. Again, it's a fun escape read, but this one is a bit less refined than The Mysterious Affair: I figured out the bad guy pretty fast, and there are a lot of credulity-stretching escapes, twists, coincidences, and moments where the trussed-up prisoner is suddenly running full-tilt down the road with a gun, full use of his/her muscles, and cash to pay a cab and buy dinner! Still--it's a bit like reading a Tin-tin story, and a nice way to pass some dreary February commutes.
LOOK! SOME REAL BOOKS!
Delancey: A Man, a Woman, a Restaurant, a Marriage by Molly WizenbergMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finally bought a copy of Delancey and made the penne alla vodka (it was great). Glad to have my own copy! Still a big fan.
ORIGNAL REVIEW, JULY 14, 2014! I like Molly Wizenberg's Orangette blog, and I was delighted to see this book in the Ridgefield Library. I might buy it, because I like a lot of the recipes--both for weird experiments (gin with ground pepper and garlic?) and for plain ol' "that sounds great!" meals (penne alla vodka). The story of the ins and outs of starting the restaurant was engrossing, too, and the progress of her relationship with and understanding of her husband caught my attention as well, though Julie did not find the book interesting at all. One aspect I noted with respect was that she discussed various people who entered their lives through the restaurant process, and it was really hard to tell if they would be friends, foes, betrayers, or loyal supporters: her tone was always level and respectful, an approach that I find difficult in my own life and in much public discourse today.
Recommended (though Julie disagrees!) as an interesting resource and a good story, though I am surprised that it's a NYT bestseller. Doesn't seem jazzy enough. Maybe a lot of people want to open restaurants and find this book, as I do, a good replacement!
A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly WizenbergMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
ANOTHER "real" book read!
I read this *after* Delancey, though it was written beforehand; when I first saw it mentioned by others I was afraid it was one of those "make everything from scratch or else you're a bad person" type memoirs written by the willowy wife of some CEO somewhere who never does anything she doesn't want to do. . . . but, having read Delancey, I realized it wasn't. And it was a treat: warm, full of good recipes, inspiring, and nicely written, stem to stern.
Nate made her dark chocolate cupcakes and iced them with peanut butter butter cream frosting (not her recipe), and I think I made a believer of him as well!
A nice book to keep by the bed or to read during a busy time. Highly recommended.
View all my reviews
Sooooo: I do believe I am caught up. I need to reread The Bluest Eye, and I am nearly done with Tropper's profane but funny This is Where I Leave you, but those are tasks for another week. It's sunny and 40 outside, and I have to get up and out for a run, then get packed and ready to roll before we head to Lewiston for our night at the Theater.
As is so often the case: life is good.
Friday, February 26, 2016
2/26: Friday of a Weird Week Back
Involved returning to school, snow, rain, temps from -3 to 48, a huge thunder and lightning storm, and a bomb threat that sent us home early. 'Nuff said.
I don't want to forget this list when I have a little more time (after mid-March or so!).
I don't want to forget this list when I have a little more time (after mid-March or so!).
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Feb. 21: Last Day of Vacation (=sigh=)
What a nice break I had! Except for the weather over the weekend in Portsmouth (fuhREEzing cold), it was pretty temperate and nice, with a good quantity of sunshine for me to enjoy in the mornings (usually we're gone to work by the time the sun comes up). I had a nice weekend with my bff, lots of family visits, one peaceful overnight in the house by myself, plenty of mellow hanging-out time, and I finished the second and third pairs of socks for my cold-footed congregation member, so I am up for A Project, which I hope will be the imitation J Crew aran.
 |
| Pair #1 |
 |
| One of the reasons the socks took so long. . . . |
In addition, I mailed off a fun, full box to Camilla's family, and I also completed an application for a job that *I think* will not lead to anything, but that is exciting to consider. I am proud of myself for stepping outside my comfort zone and taking a shot.
Okay. Now I am facing: an ass't I didn't know about for my PBE class on Saturday; prep for the road race on Sunday; more correcting for Fr. English tomorrow; a church meeting tomorrow night; a department meeting tomorrow afternoon; Nate home for a week, just when we are finishing our break!
But: "All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well."
Julian of Norwich
Friday, February 5, 2016
February 5: Unexpected but 100% Welcome: Snow Day!
So suddenly yesterday afternoon someone mentioned that we might get snow on Friday. . . and we did! AND we have a three day weekend! It was 47 degrees on my drive to school on Thursday, but the winds have changed, and it's snowing hard, and I went back to bed at 5:30 and slept till 8 am. What a piece of wonderful!
A good deal of my morning has looked like the above, but, ultimately, it has ended up looking like this:
a great deal of the morning, so soon I will go eat some lunch and then settle in to knit in earnest––I think. I may sew instead, or write some personalized letters to go with some packages. . . . What a wonderful, lazy, restorative day. Tonight we are planning to go see "Patience" at the Grand if it happens: the snow is supposed to continue till 10 pm, so they may postpone, but we're game if it's on. If it's not, my day may not even feature a shower. What luxury.
Sunday, January 31, 2016
Jan. 30: Goodbye, First Month!
Summer Half by Angela ThirkellMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
ACTUALLY LISTENED TO THE HACHETTE AUDIO VERSION READ BY PENELOPE FREEMAN!
What a terrific story: Thirkell has captured the idiosyncrasies of a variety of people, classes, ages, and professions, and created a story that enchants and entertains. Penelope Freeman, the reader, does a fantastic job bringing it all to life. What a great way to entertain myself through January in Maine and the end of my semester! Anglophile escapism at its finest.
Trouble is a Friend of Mine by Stephanie TromlyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sharp, funny, original ya mystery. Dialogue is great; plot is over-the-top but anchored by likable, interesting characters. I can't wait to read what else Tromly comes out with!
View all my reviews
Friday, January 22, 2016
January 22, Friday: Whew!
I think I'll make a list of downs and ups for this week, Tuesday - Sunday. Because.
Downs, for starters (Ending on the ups, you see!)
1. Old Dog Zeus had a stomach issue, to put it delicately, on Tuesday night. I got up early on Wed. to head off to my swim workout, glanced at the floor in the living room and thought, "Did Andy walk mud in there last night?" . . . and the rest of my workout involved scraping, scrubbing, washing, etc., and then, after school, pushing the terribly unwieldy carpet cleaner around the living-room and rolling up the ruined (but also ancient and due for replacement anyway) rug in the den and throwing it away. Nice to have a husband about whom one can say, "There's no one I'd rather be doing this disgusting chore with than you!"
2. End of term. Frantic kids, loads of grading, much stress. Not many thank yous, despite the deep support/encouragement/hard work/etc., put in.
3. Starting a class. . . . tomorrow, Saturday, 9 - 4. Close (that's an up) but still: wow. And the co-workers who've signed up have already shown signs of negativity. Hope that changes.
4. In light of #3, the fact that I have a big pile of grading is tough.
5. At knitting today, I requested that we not talk about school. As a result, we talked about . . . mortality. Our parents' mortality.
6. I really hate that new blog design option where all the entries are in squares like a Memory game and the pictures turn grey when you mouse over them. I *hate* that.
7. No one has yet made me a luscious dessert. There's no reason anyone *should* have made me a luscious dessert, but, still. =sigh.=
Ups, for finishers.
1. The aforementioned husband has made good dinners from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food site . . . every day this week! Yum!
2. I just finished listening to the a.may.zing memoir Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan. It is powerful and well-written. Boom. Right to the heart. Now I am listening to Angela Thirkell's Summer Half, which is one of her best (she is an acquired taste, for sure! But I love her as an escape author.): funny, quick, entertaining, and an endearing look at teaching. Just what I need, given #2 in "Downs."
3. Left-overs for dinner!
4. My cold is relinquishing its grip!
5. The moon is full, the days are lengthening, and it's not too terribly cold.
6. Hey: it's Friday evening. Bravo!
Downs, for starters (Ending on the ups, you see!)
1. Old Dog Zeus had a stomach issue, to put it delicately, on Tuesday night. I got up early on Wed. to head off to my swim workout, glanced at the floor in the living room and thought, "Did Andy walk mud in there last night?" . . . and the rest of my workout involved scraping, scrubbing, washing, etc., and then, after school, pushing the terribly unwieldy carpet cleaner around the living-room and rolling up the ruined (but also ancient and due for replacement anyway) rug in the den and throwing it away. Nice to have a husband about whom one can say, "There's no one I'd rather be doing this disgusting chore with than you!"
2. End of term. Frantic kids, loads of grading, much stress. Not many thank yous, despite the deep support/encouragement/hard work/etc., put in.
3. Starting a class. . . . tomorrow, Saturday, 9 - 4. Close (that's an up) but still: wow. And the co-workers who've signed up have already shown signs of negativity. Hope that changes.
4. In light of #3, the fact that I have a big pile of grading is tough.
5. At knitting today, I requested that we not talk about school. As a result, we talked about . . . mortality. Our parents' mortality.
6. I really hate that new blog design option where all the entries are in squares like a Memory game and the pictures turn grey when you mouse over them. I *hate* that.
7. No one has yet made me a luscious dessert. There's no reason anyone *should* have made me a luscious dessert, but, still. =sigh.=
Ups, for finishers.
1. The aforementioned husband has made good dinners from the Martha Stewart Everyday Food site . . . every day this week! Yum!
2. I just finished listening to the a.may.zing memoir Glitter and Glue by Kelly Corrigan. It is powerful and well-written. Boom. Right to the heart. Now I am listening to Angela Thirkell's Summer Half, which is one of her best (she is an acquired taste, for sure! But I love her as an escape author.): funny, quick, entertaining, and an endearing look at teaching. Just what I need, given #2 in "Downs."
3. Left-overs for dinner!
4. My cold is relinquishing its grip!
5. The moon is full, the days are lengthening, and it's not too terribly cold.
6. Hey: it's Friday evening. Bravo!
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