Category: Meanderings

Sunday.

God bless friends and family that is for sure.  This past week I was connected to a woman who lives a few miles from me who was done with the tomatoes in her garden and word came back to me that whatever was left was free for the taking.  I hustled out the door with two large totes and a couple of boxes and let me just say…

it was not enough.

On my “SAVE THE TOMATOES” mission I loaded up with not only red tomatoes, but also green.  Not sure what I could do with the green but always being a person who will figure it out later…. I grabbed a bunch of those too.

Ummmm…. yeah.

So basically, other than the recent trip to Wisconsin for the Mud Run I participate in every year (pics to come), I have been canning.  Last night my first ever spaghetti sauce, and then this morning – 7 quarts of green tomatoes for fried green tomatoes.

We are going to a friends house this afternoon for the football game and ribs.  A quiet gathering of about 6 of us which will be nice.  Then tonight I plan to go for another batch of spaghetti sauce.  Keep on keeping on.  I love the feel of being productive and the details of caning keeps my mind nice and busy.

Books that came in this week…

Both books look wonderful.

I am connecting this post to The Caffeinated Book Reviewer for her weekly Sunday Post.

Where did the week go?

It has been fairly quiet around here which I really appreciate.  It is nice to have a break from all the outer world “to do’s” and just be around the house doing my inner world “to do’s”.  I needed the break from the public and this last few weeks since Wine and Words has really been blissful.  Lots of time to just be with me and cry as I want to.

I have been keeping myself occupied with canning.  I canned a lot of apple butter and there will be more after the first freeze up, and now… I seen to have inherited…

Tomatoes.  LOTS of tomatoes.

And that is ok with me.

The work of prepping jars, and containers, cutting into the tomatoes, blanching, and cooking is very good for me.  My mind stays busy and at the end of the day I actually have something positive to show for it.  I find tiny satisfaction in this new domestic side of me.  Winters are long here and this year I am especially worried as I do not like that season anyway.  Perhaps thinking of tomatoes ready for hot dishes, chili, and pasta sauces will assist with having good things to do.

While “tomatoing” away today I am listening to Call The Midwife by Jennifer Worth on audio.  I am enjoying this memoir while working away.  Better go, time to blanch more tomatoes!

Sunday morning and not a lot happening here.  I have a little case of the “funk” … days keep coming one after another… I try to do life as I once did and it pains me all at the same time.  I think part of the battle is to have a desire to want to move on and I can honestly say at this time I really don’t.

This morning has been COFFEE and emails and cottage cheese with raspberry rhubarb yogurt.  I need to go grab the rest of the apples that are on the ground to finish up the first phase of apple butter today. A friend is sending me her Hungarian Mushroom soup recipe that is DELICIOUS and my hubby loves.  His birthday is tomorrow so I would like to make it for him.  We have no big plans for his birthday, we really don’t want any so what I can do from here will be nice.

Books were light this week. I have not made many requests lately.  Here is what came in the house:

The Last Midwife by Sandra Dallas (I have not read Dallas in years but I used to enjoy her books.  I have loved the midwife trending books.)

Whistling Women by Kelly Romo (love the title!)

Steve Jobs Insanely Great by Jamie Hartland (I have a fascination with Jobs… a brilliant and awkward man)

This afternoon I hope to read a bit of Gone With The Wind.  Finish the apples, maybe make soup.

Once again the days seem to get away from me… I find myself in between activities that exhaust me, trying to find a new norm, and well…. naps.  Naps seem to be magical these days.  Some times it is just best to take myself out of an afternoon.

I have been working with the Apples in our yard.  I picked up the ones that had fallen off the trees already and started working on making apple butter.  I have my great grandmother’s tools that she used for processing and while I know there are easier ways to do this – I love connecting with the same things my Grandma used.  Almost therapeutic I think.

And then if you have noticed (and I hope yo have!) I started planning for Banned Book Week coming September 27 – Oct 3.  Please check out the post and consider joining in  – it is as simple as talking about book banning or reading a banned book (and there are many to choose from and MANY titles that will surprise you).   I am excited to see that 25 people have already committed to posting that week.  That is sooooo cool and means so much to me.

And…  Cell phones.  I have found I am really bad at returning calls these days.  Sometimes I am around when the phone rings and I just dont have the energy or right frame of mind to carry on a conversation.  I always plan to call them back and then somehow I just keep forgetting.  A few days ago I had a moment of clarity where I thought I will return the 14 messages I have.  Yes….. 14.  😯  One of the conversations I had went something like this…

Me:  Hello Trish?  Yeah, it’s me Sheila.

Trish:  Oh hey!

Me:  Ummm…. yeah.  Ummmm….. I see you called and left me a message on August 14th.  I feel bad I haven’t returned your call sooner.  You had asked me to call you and well, uhhh…. now I am. 

Trish:  I think you did call me back.

Me:  Oh really? Oh good!  I am so glad.  I must have taken care of what you needed.

Trish:  Yeah, I think so… we are actually camping right now.

Me:  Oh, I didnt know!  Why did you pick up your phone silly?

Trish: Well, because it was you. 

Me:  Well thanks… camp away.  Talk soon!

Awkward.

So there is an update on me.  The A,B, C’s anyway.  Today I hope to have a little time to dig in to Gone With The Wind.  It is growing on me…. of course…. I am not that far in.  It still could wear on me.  We will see.

Tuesday.

Coffee.

The holiday weekend is over.  Did anyone do anything?  I actually forgot it was a holiday until I was at the grocery store yesterday afternoon and the check out lady asked me if I was enjoying the holiday.  hash tag #outoftheloop.  And yes I know, I don’t have to say hashtag. 😉

In my current first time reading of Gone With The Wind I last left you with Scarlett and I on the way to the party.  Yes you know the one – THE PARTY.  The one with Ashley and his bride to be cousin and Scarlett’s plan to woo him to her side.  Pretty sure she would use a word like woo.

And….  spoiler alert for those who have not read the book, the party is a hot mess.  First up, Scarlett makes a big ol’ fool of herself when she can attracts every man in the rooms attention except for the one she really wants to make jealous, Ashley the cousin lover. AND… thinking about it that is really not a spoiler as anyone who knows anything about Gone With The Wind knows it has something to do with Rhett and Scarlett.  Even I know that much. 😛

For today…. I have a lunch get together, apples to start working on for apple butter, AND book club tonight.  I am really looking forward to book club tonight.  Last month I was so busy with Wine and Words I did not read our selection and I was really tired at the meeting so did not contribute at all.  Tonight I am looking forward to a good discussion of Crooked Letter Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin.

What book are you discussing in your book clubs?

Good morning!  Sunday and I have a wee bit of anxiety here.  I am meeting in less than an hour, one of the girls from Honduras (Eva) who has been here all summer staying with friends.  We are meeting up for lunch today and normally that would not be a big deal – however she was in Honduras with Justin in March, just two weeks before the accident so it will be bitter sweet seeing her.  She leaves in just a few days and I know I would regret not seeing her but at the same time I feel like I am setting myself up for hard moments.

So basically…

nothing new here.

Books that came in the mail this week… always a fun thing to talk about:

Ahh books… where would I be without you?

Circling the Sun by Paul Mclain – Audio  (I love female aviator stories!)

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella – audio (looks fun!)

Wind/Pinball by Haruki Murakami – audio (I have always wanted to read this author)

Field Trip by Gary Paulsen – audio (looks like a fun middle grade!)

Avelynn by Marissa Cambell (interesting!)

Twist my Charm – The Popularity Spell by Toni Gallagher (Oh this one sounds cute!)

The Girl In The Spiders Web by David Lagerkrantz (hmmm… the series continues)

The Debt of Tamar by Nicole Dweck (looks good!)

Thats the haul… later today I am prepping notes for tomorrow’s Wine and Words recap meeting.  We are doing a breakfast thank you so I will be making egg bake and prepping fruit, yogurt, etc… should be a good meeting.

It is a COFFEE Morning.

Recently I had mentioned I had several reviews to write and I was so excited to have the time to actually write them now that the big events I was working on are now behind me.  And write them… I did.

The one thing I forget about (constantly) is release dates.  So I wrote this gushing review on The Seventh Most Important Thing and gush gush gush -even a spoiler page and…..

it doesn’t release until September 8th.

So… ok.  I draft it to go live on that day and no biggy, but I did not have time to write another review for that day so I decide I will definitely post a review the next day when I write another.

And I do.  I write my review of Hand To Mouth by Linda Tirado and this one is not a gusher… in fact it is rather a heated review but they can be fun as well… and…..

it releases on September 1st.

Bugger.

AND…..

I listened to it on audio and that releases on October 2nd.

Double bugger.

With fries.

I know that I could post these reviews, but if they are not released yet I like to post either on release day or close to it so if someone does want to read the book… they can!

Ahhhh… well.

Today is a day of mowing the front lawn, prepping notes for a meeting on Monday, uploading pictures from Wine and Words to website, and hopefully a little reading of Gone With The Wind.  It is Friday and I have been home without major commitments for over a week now and it is sooooo nice.

Maybe I will write a review.  (After I check release dates)  😀

I don’t own a toaster.

It’s true.  Counter space to me in valuable and I used a toaster so infrequently that when the last one puttered out I did not replace it.  Instead, now when I crave toast I set the oven on low and put bread inside to toast a bit before I doctor it up with whatever…. butter, or peanut butter, or jelly…..

today was such a morning.

I prepped the oven and popped in the bread and went back to answering emails, working on laundry… and then as you can probably guess  (the set up of my plot here is given away by the title of my post….) I burned it.  Yup.

Currently I am toastless.

Ever the optimist, I will have to try again…

In other thoughts this morning, thank you to those of you who send me the occasional card of kindness.  Seriously.  You know who you are and I have to tell you when I open my mailbox and find a kind note or card from one of these awesome book connections I have here, I really do smile through my tears.  I appreciate you all so much.  Thank you for lifting me up.  Each day is a little battle that I expect I am going to struggle with for a long long time… your kindness by taking the time to tell me you are here… you are caring.  Seriously.  No words.  Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank you.

♥

My car had a flat tire yesterday.  SO today I will probably ride my bike to the library while waiting for the tire to be fixed.  That is life..  I go on day to day, as I suspect many of you do as well… finding the middle road, trying to stay positive…

somewhere between burnt toast and a smile.