Little Whale Cove
Depoe Bay, Oregon
February 2025
In an effort to keep my sanity, yet remain informed, I'm cutting back on my social media feeds, only glancing at headlines and trying not to dive too deeply into Substack articles. I do still follow a couple of medical writers since I don't trust the media to keep us informed about any potential health issues, but other than that, Instagram and Facebook are not going to drain my mental health. More reading. More walking. More jigsaw puzzles. Maybe even more baking, which will make my husband and mother very happy. :)
I had a very good month of reading, although I didn't get much read in the way of audiobooks. My concentration was lacking, I listened to NPR too much, and the rainy weather kept me from walking outside. We'll see how it goes in March. But I read an outstanding novel for book club and can't wait to discuss it. It's one that I'd love to listen to on audio for a second reading.
Books Read (click on the title for my review):
Iron Lake by William Kent Krueger (4/5)
The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz (4/5)
The Stolen Child by Ann Hood (3/5)
All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (5/5)
Abide with Me by Elizabeth Strout (3.5/5)
The Distance Between Us by Maggie O'Farrell (4/5)
Movies & TV Series:
Moonflower Murders - "... an adaptation of the 2020 mystery novel of the same name by British author Anthony Horowitz and the second novel in the Susan Ryeland series." We enjoyed watching The Magpie Murders series, but this one fell short of our expectations.
Puzzlemania:
Getting back to the occasional puzzle to ease my anxious mind!
Family:
My beautiful Auntie Sue passed away after a tough fight with cancer on February 17th. She was my dad's younger sister, and after moving to Oregon, Rod and I were fortunate enough to travel down to Santa Rosa on numerous occasions to spend time with both Sue and her husband Rob. Sue was such a smart, funny, kind-hearted woman and we will miss her beyond measure.
I am so sorry about your Aunt Sue, Lesley. I am glad you got to spend so much time with her. It sounds like she was a wonderful person.
ReplyDeleteI do like the longer days, but I hate the time change. I'll still have to get up for work in the dark, but that's nothing new. LOL I'm pretty much doing the same with media. Sometimes I'll read a political article I subscribe to for news or two, but mostly it's just the headlines right now. It's all my mental health can take. And I'm staying mostly away from Facebook and Instagram. Thank goodness for reading. It does look like you read some great books! I really want to read All the Colors of the Dark someday.
I hope you have a good March! Hang in there and take care of yourself.
Thank you, Wendy. I'm so thankful that we got to spend so much time with my aunt. We traveled down to see her nine times in six years! She was very special to me, and so many others.
DeleteI hate the time change, too. It takes about a week for me to recover, but I look forward to longer days.
I hope you can get to All the Colors of the Dark sometime soon. It may be my #1 read of the year, so far!
So sorry Lesley about your Aunt Sue -- I'm glad you were able to visit with her in Santa Rosa quite a few times. She seemed a special lady. And that's a wonderful puzzle, very fetching. I think I'm going to start another puzzle this week -- as the news is terrible and my mind is mush. Your month reading & watching shows was really good in February. The Whitaker book was a long one! I'm thinking audios on long walks will help in March. And what a pretty pink flower! We need something bright like that in our days.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Susan. I'm really glad we have the RV and were able to get down to Sue's so many times in the past few years. I figured out that we were there nine times in six years! Pretty amazing. We'll start a new puzzle later this week. We just finished another that was pretty easy, but it helped take my mind off the current situation in our country. Isn't that flower pretty?! It's a rhoddie that blooms in the winter instead of the summer. Go figure!
DeleteYes, I've stepped away from social media and the news to retreat into my cocoon where I read and write and draw and paint. I will not let the spectacle overshadow what is good and true and right.
ReplyDeleteI loved that Maigret series, though I don't think we got to see all of it. I wonder if one of my libraries has it on DVD.
Deb, I feel as if I'm living in a cocoon here in our little neighborhood. At times, it feels like we're pretty isolated here in coastal rural Oregon, but it feels safer, too.
DeleteI hope you get to watch more of Maigret. There's an earlier version, but I'm not interested in that one.
Les, first of all, gorgeous picture of the flower! You know I am so not a 'plant' person, but I love and have loved all the beauty of nature in the Pacific Northwest. So sorry about your Aunt Sue. I remember you guys going to visit her. Sigh. Sometimes I feel we are losing so many loved ones and friends. I do know that we are kind of at that time of life, but still. You read some good books and I hope your March will have even more of them. McDonald & Dodds - we watched that series and enjoyed it. I did see that it has not been renewed and I'm sorry about that. We had horrible winds yesterday and I think half of West Texas blew into our area. The sky had that brown-ish color that I remember from when I was a kid and living in West Texas. I think a lot of people were confused about what that color thing was, but we knew - ha! Happily, today is supposed to be less wind and they have reduced the 'fire danger' warnings. I've also heard that our bluebonnet forecast will not be as prolific as last year. Ah well!
ReplyDeleteKay, isn't that rhoddie gorgeous?! It's always so nice to see it blooming in the winter months. Thank you for your kind words about Auntie Sue. Yep, we took many road trips down to see her (and my uncle before he died). Nine trips over the course of seven years. It would have been more if Covid didn't force us to stay home. Yes, it does feel like this is the season of loss in our lives... Four relatives in the past year for me. :(
DeleteI'm happy we still have one more season to watch of McDonald & Dodds. It's a shame it wasn't renewed. Time to find another "lighter" series. I'm watching Black Doves (by myself) and Zero Day (with my mom and Rod). Also Reacher, which I'm finding to be pretty silly this time around.
I read about the winds you had yesterday. Blech. Fire season could be pretty worrisome this year under the new administration. I hope you can enjoy some pretty bluebonnets this spring!
I'm so sorry for your loss but I'm glad you have so many memories of her. I had a (great) aunt Sue and she was a precious soul. She was born with cerebral palsy and she couldn't speak clearly and walking was difficult. But she was smart as a whip and had the best sense of humor that she communicated loud and clear!
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to see the rhododendron! I can't believe they're blooming already! They don't really bloom back home in NC until May or June.
I've been trying to avoid social media too. But I'm the admin of a FB group so I have to be on there a couple of times a day. I try to just do admin stuff and get out but sometimes I get sucked in. Otherwise, it's just the headlines and that's more than enough.
I like the longer evenings in DST but man, losing that hour knocks me for a loop for a week or two. I mostly wish we would choose a time and stick with it. Though I would probably complain if we did that too!
Thanks, Jen. We do have so many memories of our visits with my aunt and are fortunate to have been able to take the RV down to see her many times over the past few years. I knew and loved her prior to our move to Oregon, but once we move here, we started spending more and more time with her. Your great aunt Sue sounds like a lovely woman, too.
DeleteWe have a few rhoddies around our neighborhood that bloom in the winter, which surprised me when we first moved here. Most of the ones on our property don't start blooming until late May.
I have found it very liberating to move away from social media these days. My deep dive reading of news articles is greatly reduced, too. With the longer days, I'll spend more time outside, which will help my state of mind, too. Take care!
Well I wrote you comment using my phone but I guess I forgot to hit publish, Ugh.
ReplyDeleteYou have my sympathies on the death of your dear aunt. The photos you've shared are wonderful and I'm glad you were able to visit and spend so much time with her.
We tried Moonflower Murders and it was confusing, using the same actors to play different parts in different timelines so we took the DVD out. Moved on to something else.
Great puzzles you have! I haven;t done one in a while so it's time to get the card table out and start sorting pieces.
Thank you, Tina. I'm so grateful for all the wonderful visits with my aunt these past few yeas. I have three other aunts whom I love dearly, but there was such a connection with Sue. She felt more like an older sister than an aunt.
DeleteYes, Moonflower Murders was very confusing. You made a good choice to call it quits.
We finished another puzzle a few weeks ago and will start one maybe today. Working on them helps ease my mind!
I am so sorry to hear about your Auntie Sue! How great that you got to spend some good times with her more recently.
ReplyDeleteI have been swamped with work and outside-of-work. No reading, virtually no blogging. I don't like it. Hoping it all calms down a bit after this week.
Thanks, Helen. She was a special person in my life, and I'm so glad Rod & I were able to spend so much time with her these past few years.
DeleteI noticed your absence in the blogosphere and hope things calm down with your work. Reading and blogging provide me solace in these turbulent times. Take care!
Oh no, I am so sorry to hear about Auntie Sue. Thinking of you all. Loss can be so hard.
ReplyDeleteHere we are in mid March. Your evening walk comment has encouraged me to get outside. Since the pup can't walk with me anymore my entire walking routine went out the window. It's a lame excuse. I really need to get out and move.
Reading has been very good for me but slow going. The three at a time thing works for me these days. My brain is in overdrive and if I pick the three books right, it works but getting the reviews written comes in spurts.
That flower pic! I think I've told you before how I envy your eye for nature.
Thank you, Ti. This has been a rough loss for us. I keep thinking of sending her a quick text when something comes up in the news. She was involved with League of Women Voters and was so angry (as most of us are) with where this country is headed.
DeleteWe haven't done much of those evening walks as I had planned since we've had so much rain and wind. We'll get there eventually!
My reading is slower this month simply because I'm tired by the time my head hits the pillow. I'm going to try to start reading in the afternoon for a little bit since I really want to get further in my books.
Thank you for your sweet words about my photo. I enjoy my amateur photography!