sprite writes
broodings from the burrow

February 16, 2021


top ten mardi gras-colored covers
posted by soe 1:52 am

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic from That Artsy Reader Girl asks us to share ten books in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, yellow, and green. Honestly, I don’t love cover challenges and thought about sitting this one out. But it seemed like more work at the outset to finish my top ten reads of 2020 post, so I started pulling together library books, figuring that of the 20+ books I have out, surely half must fall into this category. Nope. And by then I was committed, so the rest of the books are from my personal TBR collection that didn’t require dismantling shelves in order to extricate. (Yes, I do realize that makes it less likely I’ll read those books. Your point?)

Anyway, in the end I found 10:

Ten Mardi Gras-Hued Books

They are:

Top row: Fast Cakes by Mary Berry, Undercover Bromance by Lyssa Kay Adams, Jake and Lily by Jerry Spinelli, Jo & Laurie by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz, and Everyday Cookies by Dorie Greenspan
Bottom row: The Runaway Princess by Johan Troïnowski, Wayward Son by Rainbow Rowell, Selected Fables/Fables Choisis by Jean de La Fontaine, The Intrigue at Highbury by Carrie Bebris, and The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi

Have you read any of these?

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February 15, 2021


valentine
posted by soe 1:44 am

Every year Rudi’s and my alma mater sends us a Valentine’s Day postcard to celebrate our being a Camel (our mascot) couple. Every year it’s adorable, but I think they particularly outdid themselves this year:

Camel Valentine

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February 14, 2021


d.c. ice storm
posted by soe 1:31 am

Scenes from my walk to the store earlier today:

D.C. Ice Storm

D.C. Ice Storm

D.C. Ice Storm

D.C. Ice Storm

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February 13, 2021


birthday weekend to-do list
posted by soe 1:55 am

What’s a girl to do on a four-day prime number birthday weekend? Hopefully some of fun things:

  • Spend some time outside. There won’t be sun, but there will be fresh air.
  • Take part in a virtual Galentine’s Day romance author event hosted by one of my local bookshops.
  • Read! I am enjoying my current book a lot, and I have a bunch more promising titles queued up in the physical TBR pile. We’re expecting an ice storm tomorrow night, which means Rudi might not be able to make it home until Sunday evening.
  • Finish a sock.
  • Chat with friends and family.
  • Watch tv shows and movies I like. If Rudi doesn’t make it home tomorrow night, I’m thinking the Colin Firth version of Pride and Prejudice or Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants may be in order. If he does, I’ve put in a request for the final Lara Jean movie on Netflix. And Sunday night has good PBS shows and Queen Latifah (all of which can be watched a later night if I get to spend the night talking to friends instead).
  • Eat pizza for my birthday supper!
  • Go to the beach. I’d love to make this happen Monday or Tuesday, but it’s not a trivial adventure and so depends on a number of variables. If it can’t happen, I’m voting for a dvd-and-baked goods marathon.
  • Paint my nails.
  • Sleep in on a weekday!
  • Collect birthday freebies. (There are a surprising number of loyalty programs at local restaurants, ice cream shops, and bakeries I enjoy that offer you free goodies on or around your birthday. I’m absolutely cashing in!)
  • Manage expectations. I love birthdays, which sometimes means it can be a bit of a letdown when real life interferes. It’s a pandemic year. Life is hard and different, and comparing Sunday to any other year (or my hopes for an ideal one) will only lead to tears. I will assume that none of the above things will happen and will strive to be grateful if some of them do. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

What’s on tap for your weekend?

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February 12, 2021


ensemble, thwarted, and ‘i am not a cat’
posted by soe 1:12 am

Corey and Me

Three beautiful things from my past week:

1. A greyhound emerges from a building for a late-night walk wearing a matching jacket and pants. It is way more put together than I am.

2. I am walking down the block behind a man and his dog. Suddenly the dog stops, turns toward a house, and displays significant interest in something in the front yard. I had expected it to be a squirrel, a rat, or a cat in a window. Instead it is a stone statue of a nesting swan on the ledge next to the sidewalk, which the dog jumps at hoping to startle it into flying away.

3. A lawyer’s misadventures with video call filters and his need to clarify his true identity spread across the world like wildfire, providing everyone (except maybe him and his assistant) with some much needed levity.

How about you? What’s been beautiful in your world lately?

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February 11, 2021


lazy
posted by soe 1:46 am

I’ve been lazy this past week. (To be fair, I suppose there was also a lot of work, cake baking, and a visit with an old friend. But still… ) Please see last week’s post for the most recent knitting and reading works-in-progress. I’m a little further along in both, but really not enough to bother boring you with a photo.

I have a four-day weekend coming up, though, so I do anticipate having new progress to show you next week.

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