Our House in the Middle of Our Street

A very early morning walk in Fort Langley  I am currently typing this post in August - late August - because for some reason I just could not get blogging done (even though I want to record the books and vacations!). I had an empty summer (of no kids in the house) and a full summer (friend visiting, caretaking, extra work hours) and a few days away in each month and now it's over! The kids go back to school in approximately 7 days! Wild.  Anyway, for these posts, I'm going to hope that these were the books I read 'around this time'. I can't be sure, because I don't keep notes on when exactly I finish a book, just a paper list and a pinterest board that I try to remember to update. Here we go! North End Love Songs by Katherena Vermette - This collection of poetry was completed in a day, as they are quite short, but they are very heavy. Vermette connects the natural world (often birds) with the abuse and trauma Indigenous youth experience(d) over the course of ma...

  Atlanta down by the Aquarium. I wish I had 3 days here! In February the girls and I had a quick 4 day (2 travel days!) time spent together. We needed a place that was 1 flight each, in a warmer climate (because...February and potential weather risks...) that our friend Ali to drive to from Virginia. Atlanta!  The closer the date got, I realized we would NOT be staying in Atlanta, but fulfilling my friend's dreams to go to Universal Studios and experience Harry Potter together. Ali had never been and she had been dying to go. I had just been there about 10 months before and loved it...it just meant a lot more driving.  Mardi Gras parade at Universal Studios. Incredible! Before Emily got into town, Ali and I had time to check out the Atlanta Aquarium. We practically ran through it in two hours, but the shark area was incredible. A whale shark! Huge mantas! Hammerheads everywhere! Even dolphins blowing bubble rings! It's an expensive event, so I'd strongly recommend going ...

  a December sunrise in Fort Langley  A final nod to the books I read in 2023! Just squeezing by on Jan 1, 2024.  For how busy the last six weeks before Christmas break were, I sure was able to read a lot! A few of these were poetry or comics, which do go faster than a memoir or novel, but the four read-alouds done for homeschool with the kids were NOT easy reads (well, aside from Little Women ), and one was incredibly long and bleak...! What Kind of Woman? by Kate Baer - This poetry collection was probably my favorite of the year. It had poems that made me go "YESSSS" by the end of it; mostly they were about motherhood and how society views women, hilarious and honest and just the right amount of description/editing.  All My Knotted - Up Life by Beth Moore - One of the best memoirs I read this year, I've been an avid fan-girl of Moore's for over a decade. I love her bible studies, her humor, and her integrity, and in this story of her life she reveals some things t...

  a gorgeous early sunrise in Fort Langley As noted earlier, this list is compact and July - Dec titles' posts are being completed (finally. Hallelujah!) over my Christmas break. Onto the Fall! The kids and I have read some excellent classics this year so far, with more on the Winter/Spring horizon.  Revenge of the Librarians: Cartoons by Tom Gauld - This was a silly little comic book that was almost like the Far Side but with Librarian/book people humor. Read it in one sitting, laughed a lot. LOTS of book references; for the literati that's enticing.  Hidden Systems by Dan Nott - Ok. Another comic book (non-fiction) that was SO fascinating I actually made Ani read it for part of her Science work. This book describes in words AND helpful drawn pictures how the internet, electricity, and water systems are all around us and yet I knew next to NONE of this information. When any of these systems don't work, our lives basically come to a standstill, so I'd guess that most pe...

Dan explaining his film vision to us at the Goonies/Oregon film museum Last Fall, the GSW went on a 'spouse trip' down to Oceanside, Oregon for a week of relaxation, meals together, some fun outings, and nonstop laughter. It was a blast!  the view of the stacks at sunset We would take daily morning walks, have breakfast together, and plan our day. We visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory, went to the Goonies and Oregon Film Museum, played at the beach tons, and even got a professional photographer to take friend pictures for us! our 7 hour road trip on the bike - a first Being on the bike for 7 hours straight was a bit much for me - we had to stop every couple hours so I could stretch and get some feeling back into my legs. If we were to do this again, I'd probably rather cap it at 5 hours a day or less. I almost fell asleep back there - it was so relaxing and smooth! My carsick friend also enjoyed a few rides on the bike around the curvy coast.  foggy mornings in Oceanside,...

                                                summer's evening scene on the Glen Valley dyke trail  I've prepped this months ago, but I'm writing this post (and sharing it on it's proper share date, ahem ) on December 29, 2023. I just can't seem to get these posts up on time, at any time, during my very active life. I have a good life, but those who warned me the teen years are just a different kind of busy (mostly driving) were telling the truth. These two weeks of school break I decidedly am doing only about 3 things, and outside of that, have 16 days of REST. Reading, catching up on my computer tabs (I think the highest point was over 60 (!!), cue embarrassmen t), and getting these forsaken book posts out.  I like to record my reading, and I like sharing it with others, I just have to have time, and BRAIN...

                                                              view from the Pitt River dyke trail  Well. It is now October and I am just getting these up because ...who knows why?! My summer wasn't extremely busy, but I never had time that I wanted to commit to doing some of these 'old' blog posts. I really write them for myself, to remember the books I read and what I thought/felt about them.  This is turning into my 'poetry and comic book' year, as I've read more poetry books and a brand new genre to my reading - comic books, than I ever have before. My kids have always loved comic books but when I found out about Drawn and Quarterly , I immediately put a whole bunch of holds in at the library. One of them even won a nomination on Canada Reads 2023 ! (T...