Lately...
I did one of these posts mid-August when I was short on time to write a post, and multiple readers emailed me and said, "please do more of these!"
So, here you go.
Lately, I've been:
reading
(Cost: $0. All library books.)
When Breath Becomes Air
I read this a few years ago (see what I wrote about it here) but it got assigned for book club, so I reread it.
I'm not much of a re-reader, but Kalanithi's writing is so good, I didn't mind a second trip through.
Kalanithi was a brilliant neurosurgeon who died at the age of 36, and he wrote this book shortly before he died. I know that sounds depressing (and it IS sad, particularly the epilogue his wife wrote), but it is such a good read.
Listening to people who are dying is very instructive to those of us who are still living, I think.
Tell Me More
This is assigned for November's book club, but I read it at the beach. It's a sort-of memoir by Kelly Corrigan, and it's pretty light and fluffy while also managing to provide some good food for thought.
Corrigan's writing is really funny; it's not often that books make me literally laugh, but this one did.
Note: there's a bit of language in here, like when she recounts what she said when she completely lost her temper with her daughter.
Evicted
This is a pretty heavy read, not because the writing is heavy but because the content is a little depressing.
The book profiles a whole bunch of people from Milwaukee who are struggling with housing, and my goodness, the problems these people face are terrible. By the time they're profiled in the book, there are so many things that have already gone wrong in their lives, the problems seem almost impossible to fix.
I'm getting close to the end, so it's possible that there is a hopeful part in the last chapter that I just haven't gotten to? We'll see.
My Kitchen Year
Our September book club pick was Save Me the Plums by Ruth Reichl, about her time at Gourmet.
Reading that inspired me to put My Kitchen Year on hold. It's a memoir/cookbook, telling about all the things she cooked during that first hard year after Gourmet got shut down.
I am impressed by how effortless she seems in the kitchen; cooking sounds less complicated for her than it feels for me.
But then again, she is only feeding herself and her husband, she is not homeschooling anyone, and she is not dealing with any food allergies.
So it is probably true that cooking is more effortless for her!
watching
Little Women (the 2019 version, rented on Amazon)
Sonia and I watched this while we were at the beach last week.
I think this version is fun if you've read the books but awfully confusing to follow if you haven't.
If Sonia were writing this post, she would add that the costumes, while beautiful, are not exactly historically accurate.
And she would know.
I know less about fashion and hair than Sonia does, but I have to say, the hairstyles in this movie did definitely feel odd to me. Marmee's hair looked so modern, I found it hard to take seriously.
listening to
Bernstein's West Side Story Symphonic Dances
(Hard to figure the cost of this, since we have a family Spotify membership. Definitely cheaper than buying albums, though.)
I came across these on Spotify and remembered that I used to listen to them when I was a teenager.
The one that has the "Somewhere" melody and the one with the "I Have a Love" are my two favorites.
And all the music I mentioned in my last "Lately" post are still in my liked songs list rotation on Spotify. 🙂
shopping
for a bookshelf for Sonia
She's got more books than shelves, so I've been keeping an eye out on Facebook Marketplace for a tall shelf I can sand and paint to match the rest of her furniture.
(How many items can I paint with my one-gallon bucket of Benjamin Moore advance? I'm up to five now...two beds, a dresser, and two nightstands!)
So far, no dice, but I know the right thing will come along if I am patient enough.
Bookshelves are a little harder to find than dressers and nightstands, in my experience. People seem to get rid of them less.
for bruised apples
Bruised peach season is over, so now it's time for apples!
I got my first $12 box yesterday, and I plan to turn them into applesauce.
I'll keep checking at the produce stand each time I'm near, because I have never, ever made too much applesauce, no matter how much I've made.
I really do not like store-bought applesauce (it always seems watery to me), but homemade applesauce is a whole 'nother story.
Store-bought applesauce IS good for making these cinnamon ornaments, though. I want to cry at the thought of using homemade for that purpose!
We just read Garlic and Sapphires for our book club....it was amazing. If you like Ruth Reichl....it is a winner!
I have been listening to the Wild Country playlist on Spotify. I really like the singer/songwriter vibe. Country radio is playing so few female artists, and this is a good way for me to find some I like that lean a little more towards the pop line.
Also listening to Kane Brown's Be Like That and I just love it.
I have been reading Beach Read by Emily Henry. So far it is really good if you like romance.
I am on the hunt for a few good recipes that I can adapt to be low carb. I have one for shawarma bowls and for a cumin beef butternut squash stir fry that are truly fabulous, but the last few I've tried have been eh.
I had to giggle. My six year old's name is Emily Henry and was quite taken by surprise when you said there was a book written by her! My brain just isn't working as well lately!
Reading , nothing right now, I am a reader, but just haven't been "feeling" like reading, I will get back into it. Always do.
I’m a Louisa May Alcott fan, and I agree with your assessment of the movie. The costumes and hair, while beautiful, were inaccurate. I drove my daughter crazy because I kept saying things like “this didn’t happen here in the book!” I did appreciate though that scenes like the one of Jo and Beth on the the beach were included. I haven’t seen them in other film versions of the book. If you get a chance, you should visit Orchard House in Concord, MA. It’s wonderfully preserved. You can see Louisa May Alcott’s tiny writing desk and the drawings her youngest sister, May, drew on the walls.
Your bringing up the music of "West Side Story" brought back a flood of memories for me. I saw it when I was 13, very impressionable, and it was one of those movies that has stuck with me over a lifetime. I adored it.
It also started a lifelong crush on George Chakiris, the leader of the Sharks. Although, now that I'm 71, and very long and happily married, it doesn't look like George and I will marry. Sigh.
My dad was in the gang that the Jets was based on, and that's his school in the movie, along with his neighborhood before it was torn down to make Lincoln Center. You can even see his graffiti in one shot. Dad was never arrested, unlike most of the gang, because he could run faster than the other kids.
Today is Dad's birthday. He's been gone for four years and I miss him.
Your joke about George Chakiris is pretty funny, too.
What a great story about your dad!
Lately, I've been hitting it lucky with getting at-home trials through surveys. I did one for a snack food last night and got $7 in Amazon credit, plus I got three bags of the snacks, which were tasty and gluten-free. I have a household appliance (!) being delivered today for a trial. I understand that if I complete all of the trial, which has frequent reviews and uses required, I will either get to keep it or get paid, their choice. I'm okay with either, so I'm going to do my best to do everything they ask me to do.
I've been working on getting our front porch cleaned, set back up and ready for fall, since our re-screening was done. It's looking pretty good after 10 years of looking, honestly, pretty ragged.
I'm investigating solid stain or paint for the wood rails and uprights on our little back porch. It's raw wood but seasoned and ready to be coated. The flooring is composite, so I don't need to worry about coating the floor. I'm taking suggestions for what to use that will wear well and helps fight that ever present problem in Florida, mildew.
I'm reading a book for our adult Sunday School, Tim Keller's "The Reason for God." We are doing SS by YouTube and in person with distancing.
I heard the same remarks about the newest Little Women movie, that the costumer and stylist got it wrong too often, and that it could be confusing if you didn't know the story. It was one of my favorite books as a kid and teen. I also read "Little Men," "Jo's Boys," Eight Cousins," "Rose in Bloom" and "An Old-Fashioned Girl." I don't seem to hear about those books anymore, :(.
An Old-Fashioned Girl was always my favorite! I read all of those books you listed, and I thought I'd read all of her books. But then I saw A Long Fatal Love Chase on eBay and bought it. I had no idea it even existed.
It's still in my to-read pile.
I always loved An Old-Fashioned Girl too! Besides being a helpless romantic, I liked how Polly, the main character, embodies the can do, use whatcha got attitude I’ve always associated with New England. (I’m a Southern California native.). Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder had a very great influence on me.
Yay, other people who've read those books! I have all of those books I named at my house - my parents bought them for my siblings and I when we were kids. I still re-read them now and then.
Curious how you dosing up for surveys?
If you're a fan of Little Women there's an anime series from 1990 which is free (with commercials) on IMDBtv. It's a nice leisurely paced series and my kid is enjoying it a lot.
Listening to: I've been on a Anton Bruckner kick lately. Personally I find his 7th Symphony absolutely amazing and hauntingly beautiful. Yes, I'm aware of its connections to Nazi Germany but that's hardly Bruckner's fault in the same way it's not the fault of Listz that Les Preludes was used by the Nazis (and Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe for that matter.)
I've also been playing a lot of Townes Van Zandt. Much of his music is depressing and hopeless but it speaks to me in its simplicity. "Waiting Around to Die" may very be the perfect folk and country song.
Reading: Honestly, not all that much.
Watching: Going through a lot of classic horror films due to the month. I've watched a couple versions of Dracula. I saw the original Hammer version, the James Franco version and the one starring Jack Palance. I still need to rewatch the BBC version starring Louis Jourdan (the closest to the book) and of course the Bela Lugosi version.
Shopping for: Well, my kid is going to be 5 and still sleeping on a crib mattress. We have a twin mattress but no bed frame. Shopping for one has been far more difficult than I expected.
You may remember that Zoe was in a crib mattress until she was about that age too! We'd just taken the side off of her crib and she slept there for a long time. I found a bed frame with drawers underneath on craigslist for her eventually.
I hope a bed frame comes along for you soon!
That's what we've done (side off the crib.) The whole thing converts into a full sized bed but her room is way too small for that! Heck, she will barely have enough room for a twin bed! My wife is thinking a loft bed might be the best option.
I enjoy music during my workday in the studio (freelance artist), and I've been listening almost exclusively to Evanescence/Amy Lee since last November. Granted, I'd listen to Amy Lee sing the back of a cereal box, but the the "Synthesis" and "Synthesis Live" albums are SO GOOD. Her voice + an orchestra = magic. Believe it or not, the "Live" album is more than different enough from the studio version to justify owning both, especially because of this song during the encore. Shivers, every time.
"Speak To Me"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB8ZsjMhy5M
But what do people do with all the apple sauce?? I could make loads of stewed apple (assume this is the same as apple sauce) as we have three apple trees. I usually make some and freeze it, but we never eat it and it just gets thrown out later on. We don't really eat desserts in this house much and have no kids so I'm never sure why people make gallons of the stuff! What are you doing with it all? I need ideas! 🙂
We mainly eat it as a side dish with dinner. Homemade applesauce is so good, I'd eat it for breakfast, lunch, or with dinner, honestly!
We use it om pancakes instead of syrup.
We don have a 4 yr old and he loves it. I use it as a side dish to many meals like pork chops and tenderloin and as a great snack, pancake topping, oatmeal and yogurt stir in, substitute for oil in cakes, applesauce cake and applesauce bread, ice cream topping. Stewed apples are great for coffee cakes and cobblers. Gosh I love fall!
Fun post!
Listening to all manor of things on Spotify - everything from True Crime podcasts to the 3 Tenors to Dolly Parton to the Eagles to Hillsong United. I am always a smorgasbord when it comes to music so this is not a surprising list for me.
I am watching my fall plants come up in the garden and it is just as wonderful as it was this past Spring. I love to watch things grow and change. Even more exciting is collecting and researching recipes foa ll of the lovely veggies that will soon be in my kitchen once harvested.
Watching for my favorite Fuji apples to come into season so I can scoop up a bushel or two for more applesauce and applebutter to be made. Is there anything better than the way your kitchen smells when warm applebutter laden with cinnamon and cloves is simmering on the stove? I think not.
Shopping for Marvel Avengers party favors and games for my son's birthday party n a few weeks. I enjoy this season to celebrate all of our family birthdays as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas. It is busy yes but so.much.fun. COVid or not, I am looking forward to celebrating life and enjoying all the good that this year has brought us.
This is definitely the best season of the year!
I think I'm going to add a couple of your books to my holds list at the library - thanks! We've been watching some Japanese animation at our house - the Heidi series from the 70's (we were surprised at how much we enjoyed this!) and Violet Evergarden. I've been enjoying The Great British Baking Show and the final season of Schitt's Creek (guilty pleasure). The books I've read lately are The Vanishing Half and Kindred - both interesting reads. For music, I've been listening to the Tiny Desk Series on NPR while working and I'm a little embarrassed to admit I've been asking Google to play BTS more than I ever (EVER) would have imagined - it's catchy and bubbly and I could use a little levity these days. And I've been enjoying podcasts while doing things like cleaning the bathroom or dusting the house. Been shopping for a house painter...argh...it's so expensive but it's time. Also been shopping for something fun for my niece who turns 1 this week. It makes me a little sad because I barely know her due to the pandemic. I wish I could hold her in person - the time is just passing too quickly.
Lately I've been trying to get something done every AM or PM that saves "future me" time. It might be lunch prep, putting something out to defrost, or making a side for an upcoming dinner.
Lately I've been reading Dan Silva's Gabriel Allon novels. Really good.
Lately, I've been watching a little news and then no more.
I did something begrudgingly the other day and my daughter just laughed when she overheard me grumbling "future Kate is going to be really happy about this, but present Kate is decidedly not enjoying it." 🙂
I think the reason you don't find as many bookshelves is because that would mean facing sorting through all the books that have accumulated over the years. Not an easy task. I speak from experience, as I have a few boxes of books that need to be sorted but along with needing to remove some, I need to find room for the ones in the boxes. I had been tucking them in randomly and making a real cluttered mess so pulled them out and put in boxes until I make the time to get things organized again. I am one of the few people who actually will read my books more than one time. I also have 2 fairly large baskets of new reading material to look forward to this winter. Yes, I love books and I can declutter any other item in my house without a problem, but it's hard for me to declutter the bookshelves.
Reading: "Just Mercy" for our church Sunday School class(which now meets Wednesday nights on Zoom) It is hard and heavy and impactful and important; and during a weekend when I very much needed to step outside reality for a bit, I read "The Virgin Blue" and "The Girl With a Pearl Earring" by Tracy Chevalier. I would not have chosen them myself, but a friend dropped them off for me and they were a good escape.
Watching: An episode or two of Phineas and Ferb during dinner every night with my husband and college-age kids who are doing all their school stuff at home. We are together all. the. time. so we have absolutely zero guilt about not having "family meal time at the table". We're together, we're talking and laughing, and that's about all we can hope for before we head back to our corners to do more work each night. I just found "Paul Hollywood's City Bakes" on Netflix and am enjoying watching that by myself.
Listening: Arvo Part's "Spiegel im Spiegel." So beautiful and calming. Sometimes algorithms actually suggest the right thing!
Purchasing: New bowls just came in the mail today. Everyone home means a lot of spoons and bowls in rotation. Since both kids will eventually need to move out - they'll move out, right? - having a few extra bowls to pass along then isn't a big deal.
Just Mercy is a very good book, but yes, definitely heavy.
During lockdown I binge watched *all* of the Great British Bake Shows. I’ll have to check out the Paul Hollywood show on Netflix...
I'm working in my garden a lot, and volunteering at the community garden. Today when I picked veggies, they were all covered in ash. You know the fire is close when there's thick ash over everything!
Reading DE Stevenson books. They are just lovely.
Teaching a little sewing class to 4 children, outdoors and masked. It has been fun.
Taking photos out of albums, throwing away bad ones, putting the rest in archival boxes. Big job. Will be a space saver thought when it's done.
Figuring out how to make our small house work for us. Perhaps need to get some more bookshelves too.
Sewing for my Etsy shop!
I really enjoyed "When Breath Becomes Air" even though it was sad.
I've been:
listening to the Hamilton soundtrack (mostly when my kids aren't around because they parrot, and not all these lyrics are appropriate for parroting) until about the 2nd Cabinet meeting. Powerful songs, and as I get towards the end of the soundtrack, it's a bit too heavy to listen to on repeat.
reading: "These Happy Golden Years" to my children. I think it's in the top 3 of the series. Big Woods and Long Winter are my two other favorites from the series thus far. We started reading through the books in May when my daughter received one for her birthday. I had only read the first two as a girl. It's been fun to read the remainder of the books as an adult. And we've stopped numerous times to talk about the some of the things that happened in that part of US history.
watching: MASH. The plots are refreshingly simple in the chaos that currently describes my life. And I love the banter.
I've been:
Reading Book of the Little Axe by Lauren Francis-Sharma, which I enjoyed. I also read the first Maisie Dobbs book by Jacqueline Winspear and liked it enough to try another one. Over the summer I indulged in the John Flanagan books--they are really written for older kids/teens but had just enough content to keep me absorbed but were still light enough to be fun, relaxing reads.
I love the Louisa May Alcott books. Kristen, I saw the Little Women movie last year in the theater--I enjoyed it but didn't love it. However, PBS has a version that I like much better. I don't think any movie will ever live up to my expectations but this was well done. https://www.pbs.org/show/little-women/
I borrowed a DVD of Fiddler on the Roof and my daughter and I watched it Saturday. It's one of my favorite musicals and it made me happy to hear the songs again.
I've been getting outside when I can. The autumn colors are gorgeous this year.
Reading:
At Home In Mitford - I needed something warm and positive overall. It definitely meets the mark.
Marilla of Green Gables - I love Anne of Green Gables so this is a prequel about Marilla as a young girl.
Before Green Gables - I have this one in my TBR list for next. Did I mention I Love Anne of Green Gables? This is also a prequel but about Anne as a young child.
Watching:
Enola Holmes - I enjoy Sherlock Holmes so I am very much looking forward to this sorry. Sounds great!
If you like Enola Holmes, which I did, you may want to check out this series on Apple TV. (You can get a free week). It is the true story about a nine year old who helps reopen a murder case and find the real culprit. She is only 14 now and the youngest member of the professional journalist guild. Great acting and great example of good parenting, too. It is called Home Before Dark
And if you are looking for gentle, feel good humor, Ted Lasso is another one to try.
Finally, if you like crime podcasts, this movie with Octavia Spencer is great. It is called Truth Be Told.
Enola Holmes is a show?? I read the books when I was in high school or college because my youngest sister was really into them, and I was sad there weren't more. I think I might go check out the show!
I've done a lot of checking books out, not reading them, and then having to return them. I've been mostly watching YouTube videos and checking the comments on a snarky gossip site. So, I haven't been expanding myself or pushing myself in any way!! Lol.
Apparently, I'm in the "needing easy trash entertainment" step on "how to survive a pandemic"....
Been there! 🙂
Lately I've been listening to whatever my children are listening to, and that happens to be an audiobook kids version of Oliver Twist and the Oliver! soundtrack. And lots of classical music from my eldest. And the 15-year-old just bought some music from a video game?!? Why?!?
Lately I've been reading The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, The Articles of Confederation, and The Jane Austen Society (fun read for Jane Austen fans-- but don't read it if you've not read most or all of her books because it will just not make sense).
Lately I haven't watched anything. I am homeschooling 6 of my 7 children, and between regular life, garden, and school, there's just not much time leftover for other things (except commenting on The Frugal Girl).
In the past few months I have gone colonial/local Native American, getting the books from the library. Indigo Girl (historical fiction about Eliza Lucas Pinckney) by Natasha Boyd, recommended by the library The Winthrop Woman (historical fiction about Elizabeth Winthrop, niece of Gov. Winthrop of Mass Bay Colony) by Anya Seton, then a book of a collection of writings about women of the colonial era. I'm still looking for a non-fiction of Eliza Lucas Pinckney because my fraternal family may be descendants of her. Because of Winthrop, I found out my maternal family was associated with the Winthrops. I am presently reading Braiding Sweetgrass, which is a collection of writings about Native Americans. It is our One Book One Community read for the fall. We have had some local programming about the Native Americans in our area--one with Plymouth 400 (the 400th remembrance of the settling of Plymouth Bay Colony) about the Wampanoags starting before 1620 and tomorrow is another zoom presentation by a local library on Native Americans. I'm working on the history to teach it to my grandchildren--who are just starting to be homeschooled because the hybrid method was not working out.
Just read A Woman is No Man about a muslim palestinian woman married off to a palestinian muslim man living in Brooklyn, NY. Kind of a hard read.
I am currently reading American Dirt about a Mexican woman and her 8 year old son who are running for their lives and trying to get to the United States.
Reading "A Prayer for Owen Meany" and one of my own (I'm a re-reader for sure) "These Is My Words."
Watching cleaning motivation videos. I know, I know. Someone (in real life) mentioned that she had watched one and I was like, "What on earth does a cleaning motivation video look like?" So I searched on YouTube and was actually kind of fascinated. Not by the cleaning (I can't watch five minutes of speeded-up laundry folding, sorry), but rather, at the complete foreignness of these women's lives. I mean, we all live in the same country and speak the same language, but otherwise, their lives are so different from mine, it's sort of exotic, you know? Though I suspect I'm the weird one in that comparison. 🙂
Shopping for socks and shoes. Always. I thought everyone was set, but no. Sigh.
These Is My Words is truly one of the best books I have read. Watching her language evolve over the book as she wrote was one of my best reading experiences in a long while.
I enjoy these posts, too!
I've been listening to Christmas music (judge all you want - we're having a holly jolly time!!) and the podcast Don't Make Me Come Back There.
I've been reading "I Think You're Wrong (But I'm Listening): a guide to grace-filled political conversations" by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers. I have a number of other books checked out right now, but am struggling to find time to put into reading them.
I got a 50 cent DVD of Mickey classics (most of them were from the late 1930's) from a yard sale and we watched that for a movie night over the weekend. I have never seen my 4yo laugh that hard for that long! He couldn't even sit down he was laughing so much. It was great fun. 🙂
I'm also shopping for apples. The place I've been getting them from has doubled in price in the 3 or 4 years I've been getting them there, so I'm looking for a new place. Struck out over the weekend, but I have a place in mind to check on early next week. Even if I do have to stick with the apples that are more than I want to pay, I'm with you. Storebought applesauce is not for me. Homemade is where it's at!
Oh, and this may be kind of nerdy... But a bunch of the people who work at my library started a podcast and I've been listening to that! They've created 4 episodes so far. It's good for me from a diversity standpoint as none of them have lifestyles/families that are remotely close to me or my stage of life. But I love them all dearly and am enjoying their podcast.
I ordered the set of Little House on the Prairie books. I have enjoyed rereading these. Yes they were expensive to ship to Australia but I will share these later.
Have planted some more herbs and summer salad stuff. I hope I get something from these.
I now have my granddaughter one day a week so I am making an extra effort to make our day special. Lately we have made several trips to the beach. Not the big white sanded popular tourist beaches but quieter places where little people can be safe and in the shade.
Your assessment of the new Little Women sounds accurate to me. I haven’t discovered any period movies made within the last decade or so that I can take really seriously. They are technically set in a past time period, but they feel modern somehow. Instead of feeling transported back in time (the way I feel when I watch Sense & Sensibility from 1995, or the Little Women from 1994), it just feels like I’m watching modern people playing dress up. Unrelated to your post, but just thought I’d comment on that!
Lately I’ve been:
Holding my two week old and trying to keep paying enough attention to my older three kids.
Looking at instagram and Pinterest way too much (cause I’m always nursing!)
Feeling thankful that my husband is so helpful with everything he is doing right now while I rest and bond with the baby; thankful he gets six weeks of paternity leave
Trying not to feel overwhelmed about getting back into the homeschooling rhythm with a newborn added to the mix
Loving the fall weather; so gorgeous and sunny and crisp!
Dreading turning 40 in a week :-/
Reading- "Wicked Plants"- it's about poisonous plants. I like to forage for food, so this is an interesting topic for me.
Watching- Life Below Zero- about people that live a subsistence lifestyle in Alaska
Listening- any country music on the radio
Shopping for- nothing at the moment
Paul Kalanithi’s book is heartbreakingly poignant.
Here’s an interesting follow- up. His widow is the twin sister of Joanna at the blog “Cup of Joe”.
She has posted about her sister following Paul’s death. In a bittersweet twist if fate, several years after Paul’s passing she met a
man who was a young widower. His wife also wrote about her cancer diagnosis before she passed away.
Now they are both married.
❤️
I made my first batch of apple cider vinegar, cut up and froze my wrinkly red peppers from the garden, tried a new crock pot soup recipe "Chicken Pot Pie Soup", it was well received and will go into rotation, finished canning up the last of the garden tomatoes into thick tomato sauce (14 quarts) and started some fall beets in one of the raised beds. I love this time of year!
I am going to look for Paul Klanithi's book in my local library - audio version, I hope.