A Month in Summary - August 2023

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

August 2023

Glancing back at my calendar, August was a crazy busy month, with only a couple of days when we had nothing going on. We had three families visiting from California, Colorado, and Texas (not all at the same time!), and we enjoyed meeting a couple of the youngest of those visitors for the first time. The weather couldn't have been nicer; lots of sunshine and comfortable temps so we were able to sit outside on our back deck. It doesn't always rain in Oregon, ya know. :) Actually, we had a much needed rain shower last night, which was lovely. It's been a very dry summer! However, I'm hoping the weather will continue to be nice for our upcoming trip to Canada. 

I'm wrapping up my Summer Reading Challenge this weekend and will get a separate post up for that later next week. As far as August goes, I had a really good month of reading. My favorite book was Tom Lake, but there are four others that were also very good. I gave up on a few books that I started shortly after I finished Tom Lake, and maybe I didn't give those a fair chance, but they were too light and predictable, and didn't hold my interest.

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

The Downstairs Neighbor by Helen Cooper (4/5)

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green (4.5/5)

The Windsor Knot by SJ Bennett (4/5)

Our Town by Thornton Wilder (3/5)

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (5/5)

The Vows of Silence by Susan Hill (4.5/5)

Ocean State by Stewart O'Nan (2/5)

Gave Up On:

The Invisible Husband of Frick Island by Colleen Oakley

The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams

How to Walk Away by Katherine Center

Movies & TV Series:

The Valhalla Murders - Terrible dubbing, but not bad. "An Oslo detective with a painful past returns to his native Iceland to help a police officer hunt for a serial killer with a link to a mysterious photograph."

The Bear - Very good! I'm currently watching Season Two and will be sorry when I'm caught up. I loved the episode with a guest appearance from Olivia Coleman. (Every Second Counts. IYKYK.)

Barbie - First movie I've seen in a theater in several years. I went with a group of friends (with low expectations), and while I didn't love it, there was plenty to discuss about women's roles in history, which led to a discussion about the upcoming presidential election and women's rights.

The Fall (Season One) - Disturbing! After watching the first episode, we realized we'd already watched the first season of this series, but didn't remember enough so we decided to continue watching. The psychological thriller examines the lives of two hunters -- one is a serial killer who preys on victims in and around Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the other is a female detective drafted from the London Metropolitan Police to catch him. 

National Theater Live: Fleabag - I went with some friends to see this production at our local performing arts center, in spite of the fact that I've never watched Fleabag. In preparation for the show, I did watch the first episode, just to familiarize myself with the character. Unfortunately, all four of us were disappointed with Phoebe Waller-Bridge's solo theater performance. "Fleabag is a rip-roaring look at some sort of woman living her sort of life. She may seem oversexed, emotionally unfiltered, and self-obsessed, but that's just the tip of the iceberg. With family and friendships under strain and a guinea pig café struggling to keep afloat, Fleabag suddenly finds herself with nothing to lose."

We had a lovely time before the show at Local Oceans, a great seafood restaurant in Newport. Their grilled halibut and peaches are a seasonal favorite.

In the Dark - This BBC program has only four episodes, which is nice since sometimes we don't feel like getting sucked into a long, drawn-out show.

Visitors:

Quinn, Heather and Cora

Heather, Cora, Quinn, Mom, Alison and Brian

Dulcie, Sylvie, Mom, Alison and Brian

Vivie and Emie

Corynn, Vivie, Linda, Mom, Emie and Ryan

Mom and Mark

As I mentioned earlier, we are heading out on another road trip in mid-October. We plan to explore the eastern side of Vancouver Island, beginning and ending with a few days near Victoria. I'm hoping to start blogging about our recent trip to Canada this past summer, but until then, you can checkout my posts about last year's trip to Glacier National Park. I would love to go back there someday, but there are so many other places to visit first.

Happy reading!