Little Whale Cove
Depoe Bay, OR
May 2021
May felt like a month of renewal and at times, I almost forgot about COVID. After our camping trip to Nehalem, we enjoyed a visit with my brother and sister-in-law who came up from San Diego to celebrate my mom's 88th birthday. They were our first visitors since December 2019! It was so lovely to see them and we even went out to dinner (indoors!) one night. We enjoyed eating out so well, we went out a couple more times during the month. The restaurant is still operating at 50% capacity and we were seated pretty far from the other patrons, so we felt very comfortable. Plus, it was quiet and we could hear each other speak. ;)
The rest of the month went by in a blur, as we were busy getting ready for our two-month road trip to San Diego. Sadly, my reading suffered quite a bit, but it typically drops off during the summer, so I wasn't surprised. What was disappointing is that both of the books were duds. Oh, well. At least we watched an amazing HBO series (Mare of Easttown)!
The Dry - Pretty good, but I liked the book better.
The Father - Outstanding performance by Hopkins and Coleman, but it's such a sad, depressing movie.
Little Fires Everywhere - Just started this one, so it's too soon to know if it's any good.
Visitors!
Books Read (click on the title for my review):
Dreaming of the Bones by Deborah Crombie (2/5)
The Oregon Trail by Rinker Buck (2/5)
Abandoned:
A Door in the Earth by Amy Waldman
Movies & TV Series:
Mare of Easttown - One of the best shows I've watched all year. Kate Winslet is outstanding. Actually, the entire cast is great. I could watch it again!
Atlantic Crossing - Meh. Too much of a soap opera. Not nearly as good as The Crown.
The Father - Outstanding performance by Hopkins and Coleman, but it's such a sad, depressing movie.
This Is Us - Caught up and now watching as each new episode is released. I'm growing tired of the show, but will watch to the end, just to see how it's all wrapped up.
Puzzlemania:
Birthday cake for Rod and Mom.
Beautiful bouquet from my daughter for Mother's Day.
We are on the road (currently in Myers Flat, CA - pretty much in the heart of the Redwoods), so I may not respond very quickly to comments (or do much in the way of blog-hopping) if our cell signal or WiFi is weak. I hope you are all doing well and that you are able to start venturing out as COVID restrictions ease up. Happy Summer! Cheers!
I'm sorry that both your reads this month were duds; I'm always sad when a book is a dud for anyone. Here's to some great reads in June for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Mare of Easttown. We're looking for a new show.
I feel so much energy when I am around people now. For so long, I think I was suffering without it. Glad you had a great visit with your friends and that you were able to eat out again happily, Les.
Deb, I read 150 pages of The Overstory and just couldn't get interested enough to read on. I'm disappointed since it's had such good reviews. I'll stick to mysteries while we're on the road since they seem to hold my attention much better than contemporary fiction.
DeleteI hope you enjoy Mare of Easttown. The cast makes the show!
Wonderful that you had a good visit with family! We can really appreciate all of the things that felt normal over a year ago and now recognize as precious. That bouquet is stunning, Les. Safe and happy travels (with better books) now that you are able to be back on the road!
ReplyDeleteJenclair, I think it will be a very long time before anyone takes time with family and friends for granted.
DeleteI loved the uniqueness of the floral arrangement, especially the little succulents that were tucked away with the lilacs. So lovely.
I've started a new mystery and it seems to be holding my attention, so that's what I'll focus on while we're traveling. We don't have any long stays on the trip south, but once we start heading north (after my niece's wedding), we'll have a few spots where we can relax for several days. I plan to do a lot of reading then!
Wow great recap! And I hope you two are having a blast being on the Road. The bouquet is wonderful and so is the margarita. Great photo too of the five of you -- so nice to visit in a restaurant again! And the puzzles look like great fun. I agree with you on Mare of Easttown, wow!! Finished it too. We just saw The Dry (worth the Bana watch) and The Father was (too) depressing. I guess we liked Atlantic Crossing, WWII drama! Take lots of pictures and hug a redwood tree for me .... we still have a ways to go here ... to get out Covid ... we are taking a trip to Banff several days starting next weekend ... that is our trip!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan! We are having a wonderful time traveling down to San Diego, although it's been pretty windy, which makes driving the RV a bit of a chore. We get pushed around quite a bit when it's gusty, so we're always happy when we get to our campsite and can enjoy a cocktail! ;) Kind of wish I had brought all the fixings for those margaritas. They are so good! I just heard that there might be a second season to Mare of Easttown, which is great news if it really happens. Your trip to Banff sounds awesome! I hope we get there someday.
DeleteI'm terribly far behind with my blog-hopping, but I plan to visit yours later tonight! Take care.
A two-month road trip sounds pretty fun right now. I am having problems just figuring out a weekend away. I cannot figure out where I want to go and feel like I am totally unmotivated. Maybe I'll feel better once work is done after next week.
ReplyDeleteI hope you are able to get away somewhere nice and relaxing, Helen. We've had some good weather on our trip, although the wind has been a bit of a challenge for our drives, but it hasn't been too hot (yet!). We'll be in San Diego in a few days and we're looking forward to some time with family. Take care!
DeleteI'm so glad to hear you guys are out on the road again and enjoying some normalcy! How wonderful to be eating out with family and friends. We haven't tired an indoor restaurant yet but we'll see. It's strange yet so exciting to be doing some normal things right? Thank you for the movie and show recommendations. Will definitely check out Mare of Easttown. Safe travels and can't wait to see pictures!
ReplyDeleteIliana, it's been great to get back out on the road, although the wind gusts have been annoying. We left our site early this morning in order to avoid the wind, which seems to be the worst around mid-afternoon. Yes, it is a little strange to return to some normal activities. I've even forgotten to grab my mask a couple of times, but my husband has reminded me before I've gotten too far. ;) Enjoy Mare of Easttown. It's a winner!
DeleteYou are a puzzle master! I am impressed. I have not seen any of the shows you mentioned but I am inyerested in The Dry. I LOVE Jane Harper and was frankly puzzled by the dark haired Eric Bana as the white blonde Aaron Falk. Ha! The books are always better but I will watch this.
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing about Mare of Easttown and what intrigues me is is supposedly filmed in Delaware County Pennsylvania. that's where I grew up and I loved it there.
Tina, I do enjoy working on puzzles, but I get A LOT of help from my mom. As the weather gets nicer, I find I'm not as motivated to work on them, but once the rainy season returns, I'll get back to them. I'd forgotten that Aaron Falk was described as a blonde, so I didn't mind the casting of Eric Bana. I still have a couple of Harper's books to read... maybe later this year. Oooh, I think you'd enjoy Mare of Easttown, especially if you're familiar with the location. It's such a great series. Take care!
DeleteWow, what a great month... birthdays, visitors, travel! A couple of dud reads won't dampen that at all. I hope you're enjoying every moment of your road trip. It's fun to keep up with your adventures on instagram. Happy June!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great month, JoAnn! And now we're on the road, which has been very nice. So good to spend time with family, as well as return to some favorite spots along the way. Tomorrow we drive through Los Angeles, which is always fun (not!) and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the wind gusts have disappeared by morning. On the plus side, we might get a tailwind. ;) I'm hoping to catch up on reading some favorite blogs, so I'll be dropping by yours later tonight. I'm so far behind!
DeleteLes, looks like you made up for your lackluster reading in so many other ways last month. Love the family picture, the flowers, puzzles and oh boy chocolate cake. Hope your travels go well in June and yes, Mare of Easttown has been awesome. Happy travels.
ReplyDeleteDiane, it was a good month for everything but reading, which isn't the end of the world. June won't be much better since we're traveling. I'm not even halfway through a mystery and it's already the 9th. I'm not sure why I thought I could read 20 books this summer. ;) We're having a good time on the road and the days are flying past. I'm already thinking about starting to plan out our fall trips.
DeleteHoping to pop over and catch up on your posts!
How wonderful that you're enjoying a return to normal life, including celebrating your mom's birthday with a special dinner out with family. I'm looking forward to following along on your two-month trip to San Diego. I wish I could offer you a couple of book suggestions, but I think you've read everything I've read, plus a lot more! By the way, I read Circe a couple of weeks ago and loved it! Happy travels!
ReplyDeleteLaurel, it really has been wonderful to get back to our old lives and see friends and family. Our trip south has been so nice and in some ways, it feels like it's going by far too quickly. I haven't read much of anything on the trip and probably won't until we settle down on our return trip up 395. We'll have more down time to just sit and relax. Hooray for reading Circe! Isn't it great? I have The Song of Achilles and plan to read it later this year.
DeleteTake care!
So good that people are returning to normal. I assume the driving force for your family is that all are vaccinated so it's safe. We got out drmatically by going to Arizona and eating out every meal for 10 days -- after no restaurants for 18 months. We didn't even do take-out, then BOOM.
ReplyDeletebest... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
Mae, it's wonderful that we've been able to return to a more-or-less normal life. Yes, my family members have been fully vaccinated, which makes us feel pretty safe. Now that we're on the road, we're eating most of our meals in our RV, but we still go out every now and then, which has been so nice!
DeleteI am glad you had some good meals out and were able to visit with loved ones. Sorry about the duds. I saw your comment on The Overstory. It's really quite good but it does take a little time to get the flow of it.
ReplyDeleteI need to step up my reading pace. With the long weekend that passed and the surprise visit from my son, I laid my book down and just now picked it up again. Everyone is talking about Mare of Eastown. I need to check it out. I don't even know what it's about.
Ti, I wish I had the patience for The Overstory. Maybe I'll pick it up later this fall. I think June is going to be very similar to last month, with regard to my reading numbers. It's already the 9th and I'm not even halfway through a simple mystery. Oh, well. I don't usually read much when we're traveling, so it's not a big surprise.
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