A Month in Summary - March 2020

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

March 2020

We are living in strange times, my friends. As I sit here composing this post, our world is facing one of the scariest times in our history. Over 1 million people (worldwide) have been infected with COVID-19. The United States has over 200,000 infected citizens. Obviously, those numbers don't included the presumptive positive cases, which have not been reported to the CDC, as well as those who are sick but haven't been tested. The majority of individual states have implemented legal orders for citizens to stay at home/shelter in place, while a remaining few continue to hold onto their belief that social distancing is adequate. Reading all of your updates on your blogs, Facebook, Instagram and private emails, I know that I am not alone in my reading slump. I can focus on nonfiction, but novels require too much concentration. I am fortunate to live in a beautiful community and am able to get outside and walk along the ocean and in the forest, listening to podcasts and audiobooks, all of which provides me with much needed distraction from the news and updates. We cancelled our upcoming 2-month road trip (we were to leave yesterday) for obvious reasons, but I hope to continue to blog about our 2019 fall road trip, sharing some photos from the beautiful places we've visited. I've also added a "Monthly Summaries" link in my sidebar, after receiving a few questions about previously mentioned puzzles and movies. In addition to working on several puzzles this month, we have started playing some fun games. Rod's not a big fan of games, but he's a good sport, especially if we play during cocktail hour. 

Alright. Back to books and reading. There were a couple of winners and a couple that were entertaining, but not outstanding.

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

The Janes by Louisa Luna (4/5)

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore (4/5)

This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger (3/5)

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle (3/5)

First Lines:

Meet our girl: seventeen, arrived here a year ago from a rough and dusty town in Chiapas, considered pretty by most standards because she is young, her face unmarked by scars or wrinkles, her body boasting the tender snap of fresh muscle. Our girl's brain, on the other hand, is at war with itself and others: with memories of her mother's worry and her father's pain, subtle with her own simmering meditations on sex and violence, with fear of all the men that come through the door with their eyes so stark and full of want it's like they've eaten her up before they've even selected her from underneath the butcher's glass. (The Janes)

Oona stopped trusting the mirror years ago. After all, it only told a sliver of the story.

This isn't me. I am not this woman. (Oona Out of Order)

In the beginning, after he labored over the heavens and the earth, the light and the dark, the land and sea and all living things that dwell therein, after he created man and woman and before he rested, I believe God gave us one final gift. Lest we forget the divine source of all that beauty, he gave us stories. (This Tender Land)

Twenty-five. That's the number I count to every morning before I even open my eyes. It's a meditative calming technique that helps your brain with memory, focus, and attention, but the real reason I do it is because that's how long it takes my boyfriend, David, to get out of bed next to me and flip the coffee maker on, and for me to smell the beans. (In Five Years)

Movies & TV Series:

Shetland - It didn't take long to get hooked on this show. We binged on the entire series and finished in a little over a week. Thank goodness for subtitles!

This Is Us - Season 2 & 3 - Season 2 had so many heartbreaking scenes. It's sappy, but I still love it.

Prime Suspect - Love Helen Mirren! A bit dated (1991) and gritty, but pretty good.

Annhilation - Blech

Puzzlemania:

Games:

Quiddler

Trivial Pursuit

Qwirkle

Chronology

We are also spending a lot of time keeping in touch with our family and friends via FaceTime and Zoom. Thank goodness for technology!

I hope this finds all of you safe and healthy. Be well and stay home!