Bookish (and not so Bookish) Thoughts

My two sisters and Mom (I'm in the middle)... we missed my brother!

1. Last weekend I went to Modesto for my sister's wedding and it turned out really nice. It was in her now husband's family's backyard and they did everything themselves, for about sixty of so guests. I left Sawyer and my husband at home, so I spent the evening with my other sister, her fiancé, and my aunt and uncle. It was my first big social event since Covid and it felt kind of weird, but also very safe. I was sad my brother couldn't come, but Kansas is far and he's trying not take much time off work before his wife has her baby in a few months. Nonetheless it was a great night and I'm so happy for the newlyweds! So many great things have happened for my siblings and I love watching their lives unfold. 

2. I'm still working my way through Sally Rooney's newest, and I can't make up my mind whether or not I like it. Ain't that always the way with her books? I haven't been able to read in big chunks lately, though, so that might be part of it. 

3. Between Covid shots for Sawyer in a few weeks (hopefully), a booster for me (hopefully, I have Moderna and it depends on the FDA/CDC meetings later this week), and flu shots I feel like there are a lot of vaccines on the docket for our fall. Super grateful, but also, I have no time for appointments, since I'm trying to not take any time off work. The sub shortage is super real, especially at the high school level. Since secondary teachers can cover other classes on their prep periods, they often redirect our subs to the elementary schools. It makes sense, but since I don't want to screw over my fellow teachers with the hated prep-period coverage, I'm trying to not take days unless I have to. 

4. I have never read Louise Penny before, but I have to say I'm intrigued by the book she just wrote with Hillary Clinton. Obviously, I am a fan of Clinton, but the reviews are coming in pretty solid. 

5. At some point in my life I'm going to accept that I don't have time for subscriptions to the New Yorker, right? I think I've had them on two separate occasions and I found myself considering signing up again today. If they were once or twice a month I'd be able to handle it, but the once a week delivery KILLS me. 

6. I read somewhere on a post today there there are only ten Saturdays before Christmas and I cringed. How!?!? Now that we're feeling better about doing more I'm starting to get that "how will we fit in all the stuff?" feeling that I haven't felt since 2019. It's good, but my planning brain is in overdrive. 

7. I listed to an episode of The Armchair Expert the other day with David Sedaris and he was delightful as usual. One of my book clubs is reading his newest, A Carnival of Snackery, which is over 500 pages of his diaries. I have high hopes.

8. So, once upon a time I fell in love with this pink herringbone blazer from Boden and hemmed and hawed too long before committing. Of course my size was gone by the time I went for it, and I've lived with this overwhelming regret and sadness for like two years. Well, guess what? After searching long and hard I found a comparable one and it comes next week. Let this be a cautionary tale: ALWAYS BUY THE PINK BLAZER. (Please come back weekly for extremely critical life advice).

9. Recently I found myself on the horns of a dilemma and when I mentioned the issue to someone they said, basically, "go for it, but I wouldn't tell other people because they might thing XY and Z." I had thought my mind was made up, and it gave my pause, so I ran it by one of my best friends and she said, "Eff the people! If they know and love you they know you have the best intentions and are responsible." I hope everyone has at least one of these friends.

10. Are we all excited for the new Adele song this week?