2020 Project 365 – Week Twenty-two

I am heartsick about all that happened in our country this past week. The death of George Floyd was unconscionable, and the response to that death seems only right and just (except for the part where, from what I’ve read, police and right wing groups are fanning the flames). I’m planning to do a post about it later this week. For now, I offer the fluffy distraction of a jillion crochet squares, weird food, and puppers.

Sunday, May 24^th                                                          

Dr. M dressed for success (ful grocery shopping)…

Monday, May 25^th                         

In honor of Memorial Day, another weird breakfast – oatmeal, mango, blueberries, and cilantro. It was the cilantro that made it weird. Maybe I don’t like blueberries & cilantro?

The first of four squares I finished this week (well one was finished last week, but I had to block it & it wasn’t dry until Tuesday).

We collaborated on dinner – I made the Mexican street corn, and Dr. M made the pulled chicken & veggies. It was GOOD ya’ll!

Tuesday, May 26^th                                                              

Afternoon snack at work. I posted on Instagram that I thought my charcuterie board was missing something. Ha!

Last week’s square, finally dry.

Wednesday, May 27^th                                                        

Lunchtime progress – I worked on it for about 20 minutes.

Thursday, May 28^th       

As Dr. M said, the age of the peony is past & the age of the day lily has begun!

Happy pupper!

Friday, May 29^th                                                                    

Dueling salads – Dr. M’s carrot-centric one, and the one I ate at work.

Saturday, May 30^th                 

Our “science experiments.” The petunias just keep coming back – along with some other stuff. I think it just makes them interesting looking.

Miss Rita & Ms. Pinky are doing quite well these days! Ms. Pinky has about a bazillion buds just waiting to pop.

The Roy!

Two more squares – finished the one on the right (the one I was working on on Wednesday), and then started another one right away. It went really fast!

Along with racial upheaval, the COVID cases in our area just keep going up. I went to the mall to walk on Thursday, and it was full of people – customers & sales clerks – who weren’t wearing masks. It just makes me sad and angry. I guess that’s the State of the Bug right now – sad and angry. How about you?

2020 Project 365 – Week Twenty-one

My cousin asked if I’d been writing any poetry during the Time of Corona. I told her that I have not – mainly because I just feel kind of blank inside. I mean, I have thoughts, but it’s sort of like when you’re trying to meditate – you’re told that if you have thoughts to just watch them come & then watch them go. Maybe I’m just in a really deep meditative state? Actually I’m just very deep into my Enneagram 9 number (and someday I’ll do a post about what that means – ha!). Anyway, I shall try to grab some of my thoughts & tell you about my week.

Sunday, May 17^th                                                          

I had the weirdest breakfast EVER today – salmon, oatmeal, & diced tomatoes. It was GOOD.

Dr. M photo-documented our yard.

Monday, May 18^th                         

Another week, another crochet project.

  

Tuesday, May 19^th                                                              

Score!

Wednesday, May 20^th                                                        

Dr. M made some instant pot chicken with Carolina BBQ sauce – yum!

  

Thursday, May 21^st      

I was trying to put my banana & my Cheetos in my lunch bag & couldn’t figure out why they were stuck together. Silly Dr. M!

The granddaughter of one of our church members finished her radiation today, so when I came home from work I wore her t-shirt to help celebrate.

Friday, May 22^nd                                                                   

In honor of Memorial Day, health care workers, and City employees who have continued to work throughout the crisis, the City put up a flag on the new construction across from City Hall. We all went outside to watch the firefighters climb up there & put the flag on the pole. You might could pay me to do that, but it would have to be a LOT of money!

Then I went to visit my dad during my lunch hour. He’d had outpatient surgery the day before & I wanted to see with my own eyes that he was ok. In this picture he is telling my brother & me that when he was little, he & his sister Marilyn had favorite dirt on the farm that THEY WOULD EAT. People, my weird food proclivities are GENETIC. Also, obviously, my dad is doing fine.

Saturday, May 23^rd                 

Dr. M & I are in a car together for the first time (I think) since mid-March. Where are we going? (Also - LOOK AT ALL THAT GRAY!)

Here are Dr. M’s words from Facebook: This is hard to post, because my wife and I are firm believers in wearing masks and social distancing, but we took a chance today and celebrated my father’s 88th birthday with my brother’s family. Dad had a great day! His good friend, the man I call my “other brother Mike” took him to get his hair cut at a very small establishment they favor, then we took him to my sister-in-law’s house for supper and cake. The kids in the picture are my brother & sister-in-law’s grandkids, along with little O, the great-grandkid. Dana and I attended and are pictured with my sister-in-law. Look, if this is Dad’s last birthday, then I will remember the smiles and tears as we honored my brother’s memory and celebrated our father’s life. Who knows what the next year holds for any of us. This year we celebrated #88 with my dad and he had a great day! [Note from the Bug: That was some really good cake!]

Remember how last week I said I was thinking about getting groceries for the first time since March? And that I would tell you all about it? Well, here you go: all of the staff were wearing masks, but there was only one other customer wearing one. I got everything on my list & a bonus pint of Ben & Jerry’s as a reward. It wasn’t that bad – I think I’m getting used to wearing a mask in public now. Nevertheless, I wasn’t sad when Dr. M said that he would go to the store today.

I have the day off from work tomorrow and I am very excited about it! If you’ve continued to work, do you have the day off too?

2020 Project 365 – Week Twenty

Another week in crazy town/ with lots of crazy people all around/ feeling like I should just go to ground/ but I guess I’ll write this post instead.

Sunday, May 10^th                                                          

Starting the week with the ugly adorableness of baby birds, and the lush gorgeousness of a peony.

Missing my mom on Mother’s Day.

Monday, May 11^th                         

“Light blocking required.” I’ll say!

 Tuesday, May 12^th                                                              

That meme about crocheting a cracker was apparently shared with me one too many times.

Wednesday, May 13^th                                                        

Seen around the yard.

Thursday, May 14^th      

The Dr. Van Fleet rose at Dr. M's dad's house is still looking lovely!

The silicone band on my Fitbit started irritating my arm, so I decided to replace it with something fun! I also ordered some fabric bands for when I get tired of the beads.

Friday, May 15^th                                                                  

Dr. M has been enjoying sitting out on the deck these days. It was a gorgeous day!

Saturday, May 16^th                 

My morning – breakfast on the deck, and roaming around taking pictures in the yard. Dr. M has done such a good job with all of our flowers!

Blocked & dried – looks much better!

Dr. M felt like something was mocking him…

I’m thinking about going to a grocery store for the first time in a few months. Dr. M usually gets our groceries, but his allergies decided to go crazy today. We shall see. You know I’ll talk all about it next week if I do! How are you getting your groceries?

2020 Project 365 – Week Nineteen

Happy Mother’s Day! It’s been a beautiful here (although it started out pretty chilly). I hope you had a great day if you’re a mother, or had a mother, or feel like a mother (wait, that sounded weird).

Sunday, May 3^rd                                                           

Dr. M had “church” out on the deck.

Meanwhile, my Sunday started out a little rough, but ended up ok.

Monday, May 4^th                         

FINALLY we have peonies!

  

Tuesday, May 5^th                                                              

Our yard is pretty darned glorious right now.

Wednesday, May 6^th                                                        

Another stellar meal made by Dr. M.

The moon!

Thursday, May 7^th      

Your weekly Roy.

Friday, May 8^th                                                                  

Hair update. I haven’t cut it (yet), but ugh. Someone on Facebook recommended that I do the feather bang thing, but I tried that on Saturday & that’s a nope. Also, I didn’t realize when I made this sweater that I was trying to recreate my favorite one from middle school. Ha!

Saturday, May 9^th                 

Baby birbs! These are phoebes & you can’t really tell, but there are five of them in there.

Our state is going to start phase one of reopening this week, but I’m not exactly sure why. On the plus side, we have comparatively not had as many outbreaks in our county. On the minus side, I’m still not sure we know what we’re doing yet. I guess we’ll find out, won’t we? How are things where you are?

Book Reviews – the April Edition

Well I slowed down quite a bit in April – I only read three books (four if you count the one I reread – I needed something familiar). Part of my problem is that, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m not reading as much, but also I’m losing an hour and a half of book listening time on Sundays since I’m not going anywhere. Ah well, I’m halfway through two books that will go on May’s list, so maybe I’ll have a bigger list next month.

1. The Starless Sea, by Erin Morgenstern.  ★★★★★ A bee, a key, and a sword emblazoned on the book lead Zachary Ezra Rawlins to two people who will change the course of his life: Mirabel, a fierce, pink-haired painter, and Dorian, a handsome, barefoot man with shifting alliances. These strangers guide Zachary through masquerade party dances and whispered back room stories to the headquarters of a secret society where doorknobs hang from ribbons, and finally through a door conjured from paint to the place he has always yearned for. Amid twisting tunnels filled with books, gilded ballrooms, and wine-dark shores Zachary falls into an intoxicating world soaked in romance and mystery. But a battle is raging over the fate of this place and though there are those who would willingly sacrifice everything to protect it, there are just as many intent on its destruction. As Zachary, Mirabel, and Dorian venture deeper into the space and its histories and myths, searching for answers and each other, a timeless love story unspools, casting a spell of pirates, painters, lovers, liars, and ships that sail upon a Starless Sea. 

The Bug Says: This is by the same author as The Night Circus, which I also loved. And it’s just as weird. Maybe weirder? I’m not even sure what exactly I was reading – it was like some sort of gamer world centered on books and stories and set deep in the earth. I think it might have contained some sort of hallucinogens as well because I was mesmerized. I have no idea why. You would probably hate it. But I think I might have to read it again.

2. Varina, by Charles Frazier. ★★★★ With her marriage prospects limited, teenage Varina Howell agrees to wed the much-older widower Jefferson Davis, with whom she expects a life of security as a Mississippi landowner. He instead pursues a career in politics and is eventually appointed president of the Confederacy, placing Varina at the white-hot center of one of the darkest moments in American history—culpable regardless of her intentions.

The Confederacy falling, her marriage in tatters, and the country divided, Varina and her children escape Richmond and travel south on their own, now fugitives with “bounties on their heads, an entire nation in pursuit.”

Intimate in its detailed observations of one woman’s tragic life and epic in its scope and power, Varina is a novel of an American war and its aftermath. Ultimately, the book is a portrait of a woman who comes to realize that complicity carries consequences. 

The Bug Says: I love Charles Frazier’s writing (Cold Mountain was so beautifully written), and this book did not disappoint. I wouldn’t have picked it up on my own, but someone recommended it to me and I’m so glad! The premise of the book is that, many years after the war is over, a black man discovers that he was one of the fugitives who was with Varina when she left Richmond. He tracks her down and asks her questions about that time. I have no idea how historically accurate the book is, but the storytelling was really good.

3. Alace Sweets, by MariaLisa deMora. ★★★ At seventeen, Alace Sweets turned a corner in her life, taking the wrong shortcut home from school. Resisting the harsh knowledge her attackers will never be made to pay for their actions, Alace takes a stand. Justice must be served, and if fate’s scales are out of balance, she’s determined to set things right as best she can. When the laws of men fail, the rules of Alace prevail.

The Bug Says: This was an Amazon freebie that I read for book club (you may recall that we sometimes choose a number & then have the read the book in that place on the list of 100 free Amazon titles). It was surprisingly good for a freebie. Alace is basically a vigilante serial killer after having been raped at 17. She takes care of her attackers first, and then, using an alias that starts with a new letter of the alphabet she seeks out other people who need to be brought to justice (she was on P when the book started). It was a bit graphic, and also had some pretty explicit sex, but if you like books where people who “had it coming” get it, then this one is for you.

So that’s it for this month. Next month I’ll be reviewing Untamed by Glennon Doyle, and The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. At 79% and 58% read thus far I’m at 5 stars and 4 stars. We’ll see if the remainder of the books changes those ratings. Did you read anything interesting?

2020 Project 365 – Week Eighteen

Lots of pictures this week! Just like every week! And we’re in the Merry Month of May, so that’s exciting too! Other than flipping the calendar page, however, our lives remain essentially the same.

Sunday, April 26^th                                                          

There’s nothing like a peony to teach the lesson of patience. It seems like it takes so long after you first see the bud before you get an actual flower.

Dr. M made another fabulous dinner – this time it was cod and asparagus.

Finished another square.

Monday, April 27^th                         

From Facebook: This obsession with my hair is getting out of control. Last night I dreamed that our PET HIPPOPOTAMUS started munching on my hair. Gave me quite a trim!

Also from Facebook: I was worried about how to deliver Sue’s birthday gift in a socially distant way, but she & my dad aren’t home, so that was easy. So now I’m sitting under a tree in their yard, and this was a nice way to spend my lunch hour! Edited to add: Joke's on me - they were inside the whole time. Ha!

Tuesday, April 28^th                                                              

Sometimes there’s nothing for it but to go to bed with your ancient stuffed dog.

Wednesday, April 29^th                                                        

Seen around the yard.

Thursday, April 30^th      

Your weekly Roy.

Made a couple of facial scrubbies during my lunch hour.

Friday, May 1^st                                                                     

This was a big day for my brother’s family. First of all my younger nephew was promoted to Staff Sergeant. Next, it was my older nephew’s birthday. And then I found out that my niece is graduating high school (frankly, this is not acceptable – she is, at most, 14 years old). Congratulations to everyone!

In the meantime, here are two old fogeys enjoying our Friday night.

Saturday, May 2^nd                  

A little light reading, a little snack, a little blue sky, a little visitor, and a little Roy. Note: none of these things is little).

Dr. M hanging with Pop.

Another exciting Saturday night at the Bug house – watching game 6 of the 1995 World Series. Spoiler alert: Braves win! Braves win! Braves win! Braves win!

I’m getting ready to head into another work week – thank goodness! It might be the only thing keeping me sane (don’t ask my coworkers though). What is helping you these crazy days?