A Month in Summary - October 2024

Oxbow Bend

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

October 2024

How is everyone doing? Are you avoiding the news and headlines? More importantly, did you vote? This is such an anxious time for everyone in our country, and I'm trying to stay positive, trying (but failing) to stay away from the news. It helped to have the World Series as a distraction, but that's over now*, and although November 5th is election day, we may not feel relief for a very long time, no matter who we voted for.

My reading has fallen by the wayside this past week, but I'm hoping to get back to it soon. I have a book group discussion to lead and need to finish the book!

October's reading wasn't too bad, although my audiobook failed to hold my attention. It took me almost two full months to finish, and that was at a speed of 1.5. I did complete one novel that was fantastic (thank you, Stephen King!), one other that was very good (albeit disturbing for someone living on the Cascadia faultline), and another that was good, but easily forgotten. 

We got home from our big adventure to the Tetons in early October, got caught up on appointments and various things around the house for a couple of weeks, and then headed out for a trip down to Santa Rosa to visit my aunt. We will be home on Election Day, not that we expect any clear results by that night, but we don't really want to be traveling...

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

Watch Us Shine by Marisa de los Santos (3/5)

Tilt by Emma Pattee (4/5)

Holly by Stephen King (4.5/5)

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (2/5)

Movies & TV Series:

Slow Horses (Season 4) - Such a great show. I'm glad there is more in store for us with at least one or two more seasons.

Shrinking (Season 1) - I love this show. It's funny and touching, and the acting is very good. I'm glad I have another season to watch. It's always a good thing to laugh out loud.

L.A. Dodgers - We watched a lot of baseball in October. We saw them beat the Mets in Game Six to win the NL pennant, and then the New York Yankees in Game Five to win the World Series Championship. What a thrilling season!!

Travel:

As I mentioned above, we are currently on another trip, visiting my aunt in Santa Rosa. We love traveling down Hwy 101, and we especially love spending time with Sue (and her dog, Cooper).

Wildlife:

Last month I shared some landscape photos from our great adventure to Wyoming. This month, I'll leave you with some of the birds & waterfowl we spotted along the way.

Bluebird

Clark's Nutcracker

Bottoms Up!

Ruffed Grouse in hiding

California Quail

Take care of yourselves. Get outside and go for a walk. Read a book. Listen to music. Watch a comedy that will make you laugh. 

*Pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training on February 12th!

A Month in Summary - November 2023

Elk Falls Provincial Park

Campbell River, British Columbia

September 2023

Just as the bear in the photograph above is preparing for winter, I found myself slowing down in November, curling up with my books more often than I usually do during the summer. We celebrated our 35th anniversary, enjoyed a visit with more relatives mid-month (I think that brings the total number of visitors in 2023 to a whopping 43!), and hosted a few of our neighbors for Thanksgiving. The RV is tucked in at the storage facility for the next few months, and the rainy (and windy!) season has arrived, so I see more time for reading and trying out new recipes in the coming months.

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

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson (4/5)

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan (4.5/5)

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain (3/5)

Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard (5/5)

Bella: An Appalachian Love Story & Jagged Dawn: Logan's Beginning by Valerie Davisson (4/5)

The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill (3.5/5)

The Push by Ashley Audrain (4.5/5)

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls (4/5)

Closer by Sea by Perry Chafe (3.5/5)

Movies & TV Series:

My Texas Rangers' T-Shirt from 1998

Texas Rangers are the 2023 World Series Champions! When we lived in Fort Worth (1998-2000), we fell in love with the Rangers (and their ballpark). It was also the season of Sammy Sosa and Mark McGwire, so we watched A LOT of baseball. I loved going to games and have always been a fan of the team (which has been around since the year of my birth). Well done, boys!

Unforgotten (Season Five) - Lots of characters and threads to keep track of, but we enjoyed it, in spite of the convoluted finale.

Vera (Season Three) - We really enjoy this series, especially since each mystery is wrapped up in a single episode. I love seeing how the friendship between Vera and Joe continues to develop.

Anika (Season Two) - Lots more (dry) humor in this season than in the first, but overall, I didn't love it. 

Bosch Legacy (Season Two) - Another follow-up season that disappointed us. Actually, the Legacy spin-off of Bosch isn't nearly as good as the original. 

We celebrated 35 years of marriage on the 6th. I am so fortunate to have such a great husband and travel companion! Twu wuv. 💖

Thanksgiving Feast:

Most of our family came for visits this past summer and early fall, so with no relatives coming for Thanksgiving, we invited a few of our neighbors to Thanksgiving dinner. Only because I couldn't find a smaller turkey (from the company I prefer), I wound up with a 24 lb beast! I've never roasted a turkey that large and was afraid it would take all day to cook. Surprisingly, it was finished in under four hours. (It was actually slightly overdone, but that's better than an undercooked turkey, and, with enough gravy and cranberry sauce, nobody cared.) I do a lot of prep the day before and serve the majority of hot dishes in crockpots. I was even able to carve the turkey well before our guests arrived, holding it at a safe temperature in a large crock pot. And yes, we have a lot of leftovers which are in the freezer for future meals. Turkey soup, turkey tetrazzini, turkey enchiladas, turkey sandwiches, and turkey tacos, to name a few. What's your favorite turkey leftover meal?

Christmas Gift Idea:

I received my first item from MAYSON the label and I'm in love! The color is stunning and the cashmere fabric is so luxurious. If you need a gift idea, you can't go wrong with this scarf. It comes in six colors (cappuccino, navy, heather grey, skylar, black, and white sand) and after much deliberation, I ordered the skylar. It was tempting to get one in every color. ;) 

On second thought, treat yourself to an early Christmas present. You deserve it!

A Month in Summary - October 2020

Little Whale Cove

Depoe Bay, Oregon

October 2020

I had hoped to get this posted before the election, but it's been a busy few days and I am only just now able to sit down and reflect on the past month. As I write, I am feeling anxious about the outcome of the election, which has yet to be called. I never expected it to be such a close race and I will never again trust the polls. I'm heartbroken that we remain so divided and that the underbelly of this country is filled with so much hatred and racism. Moving on...

I didn't have a very good month of reading with regard to quantity, mainly because my current audiobook (which is over 22 hours in length) is slowing me down. The two books I did finish were very good and I'm eager to read more by those authors. I also finished the RIP XV reading challenge and did much better than I anticipated. You can find my posts about that event here. 

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

Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton (4/5)

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz (4/5)

Abandoned:

The Good Daughter by Alexandra Burt

First Lines:

'She's been watching us for a while now.' (Blood Harvest)

A bottle of wine. A family-sized packet of Nacho Cheese Flavoured Tortilla Chips and a jar of hot salsa dip. A packet of cigarettes on the side (I know, I know). The rain hammering against the windows. And a book.

What could have been lovelier? (Magpie Murders)

Movies and TV Series:

DCI Banks - We love this series. I think it's as good, if not better than, Bosch.

Game of Thrones (Season 7) - So good! I loved the last episode of this season and am ready to finally watch Season 8.

The World Series - Yay, Dodgers!! I grew up in Southern California and even though we lived in San Diego (home of the Padres), I was always a Dodger fan. This was such a great series and I was thrilled when we were able to watch the final game on our TV in our RV. If all goes well, there are only 148 days until Opening Day.

Puzzlemania:

We completed just one puzzle this month, but it was very difficult and 1000 pieces (although that's the average size we typically work on). Nonetheless, it was enjoyable and quite satisfying. Pomegranate puzzles have become a favorite brand, with gorgeous images by world-famous artists.

Peloton - We received an early Christmas gift from my daughter and I can't tell you how much I love it! I had no idea that I could not only take cycling classes, but I can also use the app for yoga, meditation, strength training, walking, running, cardio, bootcamp and stretching. This will help motivate me to keep up with my exercise during the long, cold & rainy winter. 

Outings:

Rod met with the orthopedic surgeon and she recommended shoulder replacement surgery. Once we had that surgery on the calendar, we decided to take the RV out for a little trip up to Nehalem State Park, which is only a couple of hours north of us. We spent 11 days there (which is the longest we've stayed in a single campground) and we had it pretty much to ourselves, with the exception of the first weekend. Even then, it was maybe only 10% full. The weather was great, with temps in the low 60s and only one day of rain and one overnight shower. It was perfect for sitting outside, reading in the sun, or taking walks to the bay or along the beach. In addition to the wonderful weather, we were treated to multiple visits by a herd of elk, many times right in our campsite! We've experienced this before at a campground in Washington, but never at Nehalem. We probably won't get back out for another camping trip until next spring, so we're very happy we were able to manage this one.

That pandemic continues to rage on. To date, we have seen daily numbers reaching almost 100,000 new cases, which is astonishing. Please, wear your masks, wash your hands and stay 6 feet apart from those outside of your household.