March 4, 2023
first weekend in march planning
posted by soe 12:22 am
This weekend, I’m hoping to get a few things done:
- Get to the library, where a book I’m really looking forward to has come off hold
- Go to the farmers market
- Play volleyball
- Vacuum
- Bake gingersnaps
- Phone a friend
- Find two more quarters and do laundry
- Start knitting a new sock
- Finish cleaning the bathroom
- Spend time outside
- Visit the bookstore that’s having its quarterly member sale
How about you? What are you hoping to do this weekend?
March 3, 2023
wander in the woods, unleashed, and two hours
posted by soe 1:29 am
Three beautiful things from my past week:
1. My friend’s dog, whom I was watching, leads me to a marked forest trail, which I’m pretty sure ends in a clearing not far away. The sky is blue, the woods are filled with the green and yellow of early spring, and the other passersby strolling the path during their lunch hour are filled with bonhomie.
2. I’m not going to lie. I watched the first half hour Unleashed, a movie starring Kate Micucci, about a woman whose pet dog and cat are turned into human men who vie for her attention, then concluded this decision meant I’d watched way too much tv and turned it off. But it was on again when I turned on the tv the next day, and it’s actually a pretty cute, if cheesy, film, with the two human actors doing a great job of portraying animal behaviors. Justin Chatwin, in particular, made a very believable cat-cum-model/actor-cum-life coach.
3. It takes my friend Chris and me about half an hour each way to leisurely walk between home and volleyball twice a week. Our conversations range broadly, from his upcoming wedding to favorite concerts to the sport we love best.
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?
February 28, 2023
top ten works of speculative fiction on my tbr list
posted by soe 1:10 am
Today’s Top Ten Tuesday from That Artsy Reader Girl offers a topic of our choosing relating to genre of our choosing. Here are ten works of speculative fiction (the catch-all for fantasy, science fiction, dystopian, and other novels of “not the real world”) that are on my to-be-read list:
- A Restless Truth by Freya Marske
- In the Lives of Puppets by T.J. Klune
- Kelly Barnhill’s When Women Were Dragons
- The Spare Man by Mary Robinette Kowal
- Dhonielle Clayton’s The Marvellers
- Angie Thomas’ Nic Blake and the Remarkables
- Aurora’s End by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
- The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
- A.J. Sherwood’s How I Stole the Princess’s White Knight and Turned Him to Villainy
- Red Side Story by Jasper Fforde
How about you? Are there other works of speculative fiction you think I should add?
February 24, 2023
abloom, time outside, and leaving something
posted by soe 1:55 am
Three beautiful things from my past week:
1. I know much of the country is under snow and ice and a cold snap, but we hit nearly 80 today. The daffs and croci are in full bloom, the early cherries and magnolia have popped, and I saw hyacinth today in at least one south-facing yard.
2. I shut down three patios today in my quest to spend as much time outside as possible. The last one, my local yuppie grocery store & bar, has the decided advantage that when you’re on their patio as they’re closing up, they’ll offer you complimentary loaves of bread if they have any left they need to get rid of. Plus, they have picnic tables, so if you aren’t quite ready to head home when they depart, you can stay and read a little longer.
3. I’ve decided not to take part in Sock Madness this year after all. The qualification round pattern is gorgeous, and I’ll definitely knit it at some point, although maybe as mittens instead of socks. Much of it seemed fiddly and my brain said that it didn’t want to make fiddly right now. So I’ve pulled out my in-progress brioche shawl and will also start some green stripey socks to knit on when I’m watching anime and reading subtitles. I’m feeling a lot lighter since making that decision.
How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?
February 21, 2023
top ten favorite book heroines
posted by soe 2:03 am
In this week’s Top Ten Tuesday from
That Artsy Reader Girl, we’re invited to share ten of our favorite literary heroines. Here are some of mine, all of whom could be described as prickly, quirky, loyal, and independent:
- Meg Murray from Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time and subsequent related novels
- Thursday Next from Jasper Fforde’s The Eyre Affair and subsequent books
- Elizabeth Darcy from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
- Petrova Fossil from Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild
- Jo March from Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
- Xan from The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
- Charlotte Holmes from A Scarlet Woman and the other Lady Sherlock novels by Sherry Thomas
- Phryne Fisher from Cocaine Blues and the rest of the series by Kerry Greenwood
- Anne Shirley from L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables and the other books in the series
- Felicity Pickle from A Snicker of Magic by Natalie Lloyd
How about you? Who are some of your favorite literary heroines, those characters you’d love to have as IRL friends?
February 18, 2023
presidents’ day weekend to-do list
posted by soe 1:33 am
Things I’m hoping to get to this long mid-February weekend:
- Get to the library
- Buy a King Cake
- Play volleyball with friends
- Start my Sock Madness sock
- Take pictures of the socks I finally finished today
- Do laundry
- Put away the Christmas decorations (I know, I know!)
- Buy molasses
- Mop the kitchen and bathroom floors
- Write a best-of 2022 post (again, I know!)
- Finish reading a book
- Maybe plant some peas?
How about you? What are you hoping to fill your weekend with?