Currently | August 2021

Currently...

Reading...a book called Lit! A Christian Guide To Reading Books by Tony Reinke.  Reinke wrote another book I loved called 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You.  I've had Lit on my shelf for a couple years, and I'm finally getting around to finishing it.  It is really good!  If you are a reader, or want to be a reader, or want a Christian argument for a healthy reading life, this book might be for you.  

I'm also re-reading Jane Eyre with my bookish friends, and I treated myself to this pretty copy.

Surprised at...how much it already feels like fall at my house.  When I sit on the porch in the mornings now, I can just feel it in the air.  There is a slight whiff of fall spiciness now and then, and my wax current bushes have sections of leaves that are starting to turn golden.  Usually I am ready for fall before the fall is, but this year the fallishness is catching me by surprise.  I don't know why, but it feels too early.

Smiling about...the memories of last weekend, when we took them to a local amusement park as a reward for finishing their library reading challenge.  This amusement park is fun for all ages, but also accommodating for younger kids.  Georgie (3) and Clarice (5) were able to go on most of the rides.  Seeing the smiles on the faces of all my kids as they shrieked and shouted on the rides was so satisfying, and I was surprised by how much the little girls loved the rides!  Georgie especially had a look of pure joy on her face whenever the rides started going fast, and I hope I never forget it.

Ignoring...the fact that we are supposed to start school next week.  Another odd development is that I don't feel ready to re-start homeschooling with the kids this year.  Usually by August all the back-to-school buzz has rubbed off on me, but this year I find myself wishing that I could push it off a little longer.  I think my compromise is going to be that we are going to start slowly.  More on that next week!  (Edited to add that as I was typing this, I realized the kids are playing school with their stuffed animals in the other room.  Maybe they are more ready to start than me!)

Anticipating...a fun trip that we are going to be taking in less than two weeks!  I must admit, I'm also a little anxious about it, because it seems that there are any number of ways that our trip could be canceled or messed up (What if the government puts on some new mandate?, What if we get sick and have to cancel?).  I'm going to not say anymore at the moment, and just pray that nothing interferes.  You'll read more after it happens! (Sorry, this whole section is a little unfair, isn't it?)

Spending...money on photo albums.  I decided that during this last week before school, I needed to try to accomplish some of the projects I have been putting off all summer. One of those projects was to organize the photos I had printed last year into albums.  Let's just say that project ended up being a general disaster.  I spent hours yesterday reorganizing some of the albums I already owned to make room for more photos, and then when it came time to actually put in the printed photos (from the year 2013 - that's how far behind I am), I figured out that I had missed a bunch of photos that I wanted from that year.  So I then spent hours trying to find them on my computer, re-load them onto the Walmart website, and order the missing photos.  Do you see why I've been putting this project off?  I was still struggling with the Walmart website at 10:00 PM last night!  The uploading is going smoother today, and I ordered pretty albums for the 2019 and 2020 photos that have been sitting in a box in my closet for over a year.  Maybe someday I'll catch up.  I just need a month of days with nothing else to worry about but this photo project.  Is that too much to ask?

Also, found this scary photo when I was sorting yesterday - I can't believe I let Derek go to bull-riding school! What was younger me thinking? 

Saving...I have been attempting for a couple years to save money for a surprise for Derek's 40th birthday (actually, this is the thinking that led to the aforementioned bull riding school - it was Derek's 30th birthday present).  Saving is not going well.  In the last couple months my fund has been devastated by a variety of things that came up (some necessary, some that should have been avoidable).  So now I'm trying to save double-time to repair the damage.  The ridiculous gas prices have not helped my saving efforts.  I told Derek the other day that I couldn't figure out why I was struggling so much with my budget lately, and then he reminded me that it costs twice as much to go anywhere these days, and since we live in a rural area we have always had to spend more than average on gas.  The silver lining is that with the school year starting up, we will be staying home more often, which should reflect in my bank account.

Enjoying...the hummingbirds.  I think we have had more hummingbirds this year than in years past, and if we just step outside the door, in less than a minute we will hear one whizzing past.  A couple of them have even got trapped in our house!  We find that the best way to get them back out is just to ignore them until they figure it out - when we try to wave them toward the open door they just beat themselves harder on the nearest window.  They are even more active lately, and I know they are zipping around, finding the last bits of nectar before they had back south.  I'll miss them when they are gone.

Admiring...the beautiful blue skies today! Our state has been covered in a blanket of smoke most of the summer, from fires in Oregon and California.  It's been a little gloomy, honestly, with grey smoggy skies and hot weather - it hasn't felt much like summer.  Every day that we have a clear blue sky, I am thankful. It makes everything seem more cheerful.

Watching...I've weirdly been in the mood to watch Jaws lately.  I haven't seen Jaws in probably 15 years.  We haven't watched it yet though - mostly I've been watching Youtube videos of my favorite political podcasts, but I'm feeling the need to ease up a bit on that.  With everything going on with various mandates and Afghanistan, I'm starting to feel that bit of anxiety creep in, so I think it would be better to switch to sermons for a while.  I can't imagine how much more stressful everything would seem if I wasn't off social media (see what I did there?).

Drinking...chai tea - like real chai tea with honey and cream.  This is my favorite chai tea, FYI.

What are you up to lately?