Our House in the Middle of Our Street

  June was a better reading month for me, as we downshifted from school around the 15th and fully entered into 'school lite' along with more downtime for me (yay!) and less driving (double yay!). I've taken my summer quite seriously so far this year and fully intend to really reap a lot of rest into my lax calendar.  The pandemic didn't really slow down our kids' activities, and my responsibilities as a homeschool parent, and this was our busiest year yet, surprisingly. I'm tired. I just want to read and sleep! I'm currently doing just that, and I love it. I read a surprising amount of poetry this past month and only have 1-2 books of poetry left on my To Be Read list for the next little while. One is on order from the library still, and another is one I have at home. Here are the books:  Nebraska by Kwame Dawes - I just have to be honest, I had our library buy this so I could read a book of poetry about my home state's weather. Dawes is a Caribbean tra

Although this past year was exceptionally strange, it was a huge time of growth for Lukka--physically, certainly, but also maturing as a person. He still loves movement: skiing, tennis, and now roller hockey and sword fighting. He is working his second summer lawn mowing for pay, has been learning how to break up goals and manage his time wisely, and still has a tender spot for animals. He has been working so hard at his schoolwork and has really challenged himself this year with higher level Physics. He had a goal to learn the violin and has already surpassed 3 levels in one year (!), along with maintaining his practice and ability on the piano. He is a deep thinker and loves to toss around unique ideas (ahem, and debate...regularly). He is curious about so much and also knows when something isn't working for him and is open to new ideas and advice. We are so proud of this young man he is becoming. We love you, Lukka, and Happy Birthday!! Lukka watching the baby robin perched on t

 I can categorically say I only finished one of the top four books as of typing this-dismally late in early July!- but thankfully it was completed.  Although this subpar photo is all I have that captures my reading in May, thank goodness for my Bookshelf and Books Read visual boards via Pinterest, or I'd never remember anything.  Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings by Joy Harjo - Although I don't remember specifics about this book, I do remember enjoying most of it. This is why I can't write reviews months after the fact (!)-I just forget specific topics, images, or themes of a book of poetry aside from the way I felt reading it. I'm sorry I can't comment on it more than that except I did like her other book, An American Sunrise , a bit better than this one.  The After Diet by Purva Brown - This is a very short little book that is a personal story of a woman who is someone I follow online. Her story involves weightlifting and figuring out macro and micro nutrie

  April flew by, and there were weeks that I didn't even pick up a book--or if I did, I was minutes away from my neck suddenly jerking downward indicating I could barely read a page before turning off my light and heading to bed. The pressure of the end of the school year is here, and it won't really let up for another 6 weeks. It's not that I've been lacking in diligence the rest of the year, but we're so close, yet do have lots of finish up before we can officially have more lingering days with our hobbies, more free time to catch up with friends, and ultimately, freer reading time! The titles I finished this month were: We Were the Lucky Ones  by Georgia Hunter - I first heard of this book from the What Should I Read Next? podcast with the author as the interviewee. (#157 found here ) I wanted to pick this up immediately but instead bought it for numerous friends who I thought would enjoy it (weird projection, I know). I know one of them did, and really liked it,

  Never the greatest light in the basement suite, but a good stack of books! March was an good reading month for me. I finished a lot of books, and I started a lot of books I'm still currently enjoying. Just this week I started a 400 page book that I have to lead a book club with on Friday evening, and I couldn't believe that just doing nothing in my free time except reading , I'll easily finish it. I've missed that-the full attention, relaxed-into-a-story feeling that I haven't felt during the last year. I was so optimistic! ( groan ) From the stack above, I'm still currently reading quite a few of them, so only two will be on March's completed list, but that's okay. I'm almost finished with one, and halfway through 3 others! Dusk, Night, Dawn by Anne Lamott - This is the newest Lamott book and every single word she publishes I read. I read her books for her candor, her wit, her judgy-ness (it's a thing), and her self-depreciating humor, but mo

  Mt. Seymour looking fresh I don't have a book photo for you, as most of the books I finished were actually shown in January's post, but suffice it to say, it was a beautiful late Winter morning on the mountain a few weeks ago with this view. We'll be into ornamental cherry blossoms and daffodils soon enough, but I do love Winter and have enjoyed such an unusually sunny and enjoyable one on the ski hill! This month's reads are similar to last month's, in that there weren't very many as far as quantity, but the quality was excellent.  Carver: A Life in Poems by Marilyn Nelson - This was a book of YA poetry that I came across on a website (yikes, though I can't remember which one) and I instantly put it on hold at the library. History/memoir pairing with YA and poetry? Yes, please. It was right up my alley. I learned so much about George Washington Carver's life from this book, though I was aware in a general sense of what his most well-known achievement