The Second Story by Neil Patrick Harris

Title: The Second Story (Magic Misfits #2)

Author: Neil Patrick Harris

Publisher: Little, Brown Books

Genre: MG Fantasy

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Growing up in an orphanage, Leila was bullied for being different. She turned her hardship into skill by becoming an escape artist--a valuable trait when you belong to a group of magical best friends. But when a famous psychic comes to town, Leila and her pals can't escape the big mystery heading their way. Whether chasing mad monkeys or banishing ghosts from haunted hotels, these six friends will do their best to keep their home of Mineral Wells safe--but can they protect themselves?

Join the Magic Misfits as they discover adventure, friendship, and more than a few hidden secrets in this delightful new series. Whether you're a long-time expert at illusion or simply a new fan of stage magic, hold onto your top hat!

Another super fun middle grade adventure. Arthur read this one and immediately put it into my hands. I had to read it right then and there. I loved that this volume shifted the main focus from Carter to Leila. We get to learn about her backstory and her own internal thoughts. Plus we get another great mystery involving magic (real or not?). We even get a few appearances from previous antagonists. And finally we learn more about the Emerald Ring. Arthur and I will both be continuing this series.

The Magic Misfits

• #1 The Magic Misfits

• #2 The Second Story

• #3 The Minor Third

• #4 The Fourth Suit

Next up on the TBR pile:

The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart

Title: The Paradox Hotel

Author: Rob Hart

Publisher: Ballantine Books 2022

Genre: Science Fiction

Pages: 336

Rating: 5/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

January Cole’s job just got a whole lot harder.

Not that running security at the Paradox was ever really easy. Nothing’s simple at a hotel where the ultra-wealthy tourists arrive costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly waiting to catch their “flights” to the past.

Or where proximity to the timeport makes the clocks run backward on occasion—and, rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls.

None of that compares to the corpse in room 526. The one that seems to be both there and not there. The one that somehow only January can see.

On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in. Because the U.S. government is about to privatize time-travel technology—and the world’s most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims.

January is sure the timing isn’t a coincidence. Neither are those “accidents” that start stalking their bidders.

There’s a reason January can glimpse what others can’t. A reason why she’s the only one who can catch a killer who’s operating invisibly and in plain sight, all at once.

But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality—and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel’s dark secrets but her own.

Such a twisty, head-turner of a novel. Right away I had hoped that this book would be great based on the hotel as a character aspect. I do so love it when the setting becomes it’s own character within the novel. This one does not disappoint. From the beginning I knew bad things were going to happen but understanding the how’s, why’s, and who's. was the big draw for me. We’re thrown into an unknown situation with a narrator who may or may not be unreliable. From there, we follow January as she tries to unravel the mysteries within the Paradox Hotel and what exactly is going to be the sequence of future events. This science fiction book involves some science but never gets bogged down in the technical talk. We get enough to attempt to understand what is happening within the hotel. But the more immediate mystery is a murder that only January can see. All of the characters kept me guessing as to their motivations and endgames. January was a treat to follow even if I didn’t quite love her ending. I ended up really enjoying this time travel adventure.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Can I Get Some Videos?

Definitely looks like something I would watch

On our shortlist! And I do so appreciate their music choice. Worlds Apart is my favorite Journey song!

We even get some Guns N’ Roses for this one! Music directors are on point lately.

Spring Bucket List Update #1

After taking a bit of a break from bucket lists in 2021 (seriously, that year was a trash fire), I’m back this year. We have a variety of projects that we want to accomplish this coming year and I want to make some intentions for each season. For spring:

1. Check off 150 hours of our 1000 hours outside project - 20/150 so far

2. Two Lincoln Excursion Days

3. Three State park Visits

4. Read 50 books - 17/50

5. Day trip to Des Moines

6. At least 6 zoo visits

7. Design board for future kitchen renovation

8. Monthly bingo/trivia nights

9. Do a donation drop

10. Take the kids bowling or mini golfing

11. Log 50 miles on the treadmill

12. Make homemade cinnamon rolls

13. Plan out curriculum for next year - in progress

14. Plan out the Bookish Retreat! - in progress

15. Plan an Indiana trip for summer complete with Indianapolis mini trip - in progress

16. Weekend trip to Kansas

17. Plan a redo for our homeschool space / playroom

18. Do a Closet Cleanout for Me

19. Do a Closet Cleanup for the Kids

20. Work on a Craft Project

Up Next on the TBR:

The Pool of Fire by John Christopher

Title: The Pool of Fire (Tripods #2)

Author: John Christopher

Publisher: 1968

Genre: Middle Grade Scifi

Pages: 204

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

After being held captive in the City of Gold and Lead—the capital, where the creatures that control the mechanical, monstrous Tripods live—Will believes that he’s learned everything he needs to know to destroy them. He has discovered the source of their power, and with this new knowledge, Will and his friends plan to return to the City of Gold and Lead to take down the Masters once and for all.

Although Will and his friends have planned everything down to the minute, the Masters still have surprises in store. And with the Masters’ plan to destroy Earth completely, Will may have just started the war that will end it all.

We finally get to see the conclusion of Will’s adventure in the revolt against the Masters. The third book starts right up with the plot and keeps going until the end. We get to revisit the city of the Masters and find out more about how they operate. We reconnect with Beanpole and Henry while learning more about the the other cities of the Masters. I loved how the big confrontation happened and was right there with all of them. My only issue was the very pessimistic ending of the story. It felt really realistic, but very sad. Not quite sure what I feel about all of that. Now, I need to read the prequel.

The Tripods

• #0.5 When the Tripods Came

• #1 The White Mountains

• #2 The City of Gold and Lead

• #3 The Pool of Fire

Next up on the TBR pile:

Currently #7

Reading: Beautiful by Christina Lauren. I finally made it to the last book in this series. They are definitely my current comfort reads.

Watching: While J was gone last week, I started watching Starstruck and Minx and I am addicted to both.

Listening: Sad that the new Coheed and Cambria album isn’t out yet, but I have been listening to the three singles a lot lately.

Making: Made chocolate cake for D&D on Saturday and we’ve almost eaten the entire thing. I may need to make a new variation this weekend.

Feeling: I had my permanent crown put on Monday and am still feeling slightly sore today.

Planning: I need to finish planning out our May Kansas trip. We have lodgings and tickets for one event. I need to get our list of restaurants and other events set.

Loving: We rented two chicks for this week and are having so much fun with Sunshine and Shadow! The boys are learning so much about chickens and caring for them.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W29: Blergh! We All Caught a Cold.

What We Studied

After such a long time not getting sick (and avoiding COVID), the boys and I all caught a cold and had some not-so-great days. We managed to finish some school work, but had to skip coop and the coop fiend trip the gardens. Not fun being stuck inside for days on end.

Literature and Poetry

We did manage to finis our current read aloud and work through more poems.

• The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

• I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus

Math

Arthur is finished with the textbook, so we are exploring more math problems and puzzles until August. We pulled out the spring tangrams packet for Tuesday’s lesson.

• Logic Countdown

• The School of Numbers

Social Studies

We covered the Scientific Revolution (focusing on Gutenburg, Copernicus, and Galileo) and the Reformation this week. Arthur got really interested in Copernicus’s journal and wanted to create his own scientific journal.

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• When on Earth

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

• Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson

• Nicolaus Copernicus: The Earth is a Planet by Dennis Brindell Fradin

• Martin Luther: Here I Stand by Geraldine Elschner

• The Life and Times of Martin Luther by Meike Roth-Beck

• I, Galileo by Bonnie Christensen

• Starry Messenger by Peter Sis

• Recentering the Universe: The Radical Theories of Copernicus, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton by Rob Miller

Arthur Independent Time

To allow for one-on-one time with Quentin, I have added an hour of independent work time for Arthur. Each week, he will have a mix of packet work (mostly grammar and math review), independent reading time, and special projects. Many of his projects will be aligned with our literature selections (some taken from B&R Language Arts curriculum) and history.

Science and STEAM Coop

We had a light week for science. I had planned on focusing on spring and growing to align with coop and our trip to the botanical gardens. But as we had to skip those, part of our science went with it. We did do a mini spring unit with a ton of books. And we wrapped up what we learned from coop last week about bees with some more books and videos.

• The Thing About Bees by Shabazz Larkin

• Give Bees a Chance by Bethany Barton

• Bee and Me by Alison Jay

• The Bee Tree by Stephen Buchmann

• The Secret Life of Bees by Moira Butterfield

• What on Earth? Bees by Andrea Quigley

• Finding Spring by Carin Berger

• Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner

• Mouse Loves Spring by Lauren Thompson

• Hail to Spring by Charles Ghigna

• Weather in Spring by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst

• Trees in Spring by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst

• Birds in Spring by Jenny Fretland VanVoorst

• Spring by Amy Culliford

• Crinkle, Crackle, Crack It's Spring! by Marion Dane Bauer

Art/Music

None this week

Quentin

I have scheduled at least four 1-hour time blocks for one-on-one time with Quentin. I bought Blossom and Root’s Early Years Volume 2 curriculum to use as our base. I love the variety of activities and some of the bigger projects included.

ELA

• Biscuit Takes a Walk by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Q Reads)

• Biscuit Loves the Library by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Q Reads)

• Biscuit and the Little Llamas by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Q Reads)

• Biscuit Feeds the Pets by Alyssa Satin Capucilli (Q reads)

• The Tale of Two Bad Mice by Beatrix Potter

• The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter

• The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter

• High Five April 2020

Math

• Lollipop Logic Book 1

• Tinkeractive Math PreK

Other

• Smart Start Beginning Coding Grade 1

• I Spy on the Farm

• Tinkeractive Science PreK

Field Trip

On Monday we met friends at the park for some playtime. It was chilly, but the sun came out and the kids had fun. I enjoyed chatting with some friends.

Documentary Selection

I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies.

Misc. Picture Books Read

• Nerdy Birdy by Aaron Reynolds

• Big Choo by Stephen Shaskan

High

• Getting our chicks on Saturday was so much fun! We are renting two chicks from a family farm program. We are interacting with them and caring for them. We named ours Shadow and Sunshine. The boys are loving this program!

Low

• Getting sick obviously. I had a headache all week and it really affected everyone’s mood and motivation.

Next Week

• Starting a new read aloud (even I haven’t read this one)

• Covering Elizabethan Times for history

• Continuing our math review

• Taking care of our chicks for hands-on science

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Catch Your Breath "Shame on Me"

One of those songs that I caught on Octane and completely fell in love with.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #13

As I look outside my window: Um… it’s currently snowing on Easter in the middle of April. This weather is terrible. It was 90 degrees when we dropped J at the airport on Tuesday, but then dropped and has been hovering between 30 and 50 degrees since then. I do not like.

Right now I am: Ready to start dying some eggs and decorating cookies!

On my bedside table: The Pool of Fire by John Christopher; The Second Story by Neil Patrick Harris; Beautiful by Christina Lauren

On my tv this week: While J was gone, I finished Shadow and Bone S1 and Starstruck S1. I also started Minx S1 (my new favorite show) and started a rewatch of the original Are You Afraid of the Dark episodes.

Listening to: Mostly the usual podcasts. Nothing exciting this week at all.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - BBQ Pork Sandwiches

• Tuesday - Fancy BLT Grilled Cheese

• Wednesday - Cajun Stuffed Chicken

• Thursday - Bangkok Curry Noodles

• Friday - Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas

• Saturday - Leftovers

• Sunday - Orecchiette with Sausage, Sun-dried Tomatoes, and Lemon

On my to do list: I finished my primary ballot but need to go drop it at the Election Commission this week. I also need to go inside Costco and cancel my membership (it’s a waste of money for us really). I also need to finish planning our Kansas trip and officially secure the retreat lodgings.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Dentist appointment (permanent crown!)

• Tuesday - Errands Day (grocery, pet store for crickets, library run)

• Wednesday - Home Day

• Thursday - Coop

• Friday - Earth Day Party with Coop Friends

• Saturday - Home Day

• Sunday - Home Day

What I am creating: Nothing at the moment. I finished my March Memory Planner pages and have yet to start on April’s pages.

My simple pleasures: Laughing until I cry (seriously, who says “squabbing the deck”? All I can picture is someone scrubbing the deck with a defrosted plucked chicken. Too funny.

Looking around the house: Easter has exploded in the living room. Need to clean this up later… And the boys really need to finish cleaning their play room.

From the camera: We rented chicks for the week from a local farm. Shadow and Sunshine have been delightful so far! We are keeping track of their weight, giving them toys, and tempting them with different treats. Strawberries were not a hit, but popcorn and hard boiled eggs were.

Girly Drinks by Mallory O'Meara

Title: Girly Drinks: A World History of Women and Alcohol

Author: Mallory O’Meara

Publisher: Hanover Square Press 2021

Genre: Nonfiction - Food

Pages: 384

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

Strawberry daiquiris. Skinny martinis. Vodka sodas with lime. These are the cocktails that come in sleek-stemmed glasses, bright colors and fruity flavors—these are the Girly Drinks.

From the earliest days of civilization, alcohol has been at the center of social rituals and cultures worldwide. But when exactly did drinking become a gendered act? And why have bars long been considered “places for men” when, without women, they might not even exist?

With whip-smart insight and boundless curiosity, Girly Drinks unveils an entire untold history of the female distillers, drinkers and brewers who have played a vital role in the creation and consumption of alcohol, from ancient Sumerian beer goddess Ninkasi to iconic 1920s bartender Ada Coleman. Filling a crucial gap in culinary history, O’Meara dismantles the long-standing patriarchal traditions at the heart of these very drinking cultures, in the hope that readers everywhere can look to each celebrated woman in this book—and proudly have what she’s having.

Overall a very entertaing romp through history and alcohol. I do so enjoy O’Meara’s writing style. She approaches a May Roach style with her dy wit and small asides. There were many historical stories and facts that I already knew going into the book. And yet, I learned more through the pages. And I enjoyed my time reading through the chatpters. My favorite ones were the early chapters about prehistory and the ancient world.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Beautiful Boss by Christina Lauren

Title: Beautiful Boss (Beautiful #4.5)

Author: Christina Lauren

Publisher: Pocket Star 2016

Genre: Romance

Pages: 115

Rating: 3/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

One Player tamed. One nerd girl satisfied. And one more major life decision to make. When Will fell for Hanna, her quirky sense of humor and fierce dedication to her career were part of the attraction. (Not to mention her coy newbie attitude toward sex and her willingness to let him teach her everything.) But when the job offers start rolling in for her—and oh, they do—Hanna has trouble deciding what she wants, where they should live, and how much she should burden Will with the decision. Magic between the sheets is only one part of a relationship...getting on the same page is quite another altogether.

Meh. Will and Hannas are not my favorite couple, but at least they aren’t Chloe and Bennett. This is yet another story where Hanna just acts so incredibly young and I am annoyed by it I am not a fan of that dynamic. This story wrapped up some of their particular plot line. But I’m definitely ready to move on to the last book in the series.

Beautiful Bastard

• #1 Beautiful Bastard

• #1.5 Beautiful Bitch

• #2 Beautiful Stranger

• #2.5 Beautiful Bombshell

• #3 Beautiful Player

• #3.5 Beautiful Beginning

• #3.6 Beautiful Beloved

• #4 Beautiful Secret

• #4.5 Beautiful Boss

• #5 Beautiful

Next up on the TBR pile:

Odds and Ends

Here's my randomness for the week:

• J is gone on a work trip this week (first time since before the pandemic) and it’s kinda nice having some time to myself.

• I’ve watched more television than usual, but I guess I’m just making up for lost time.

• I really don’t want to read the book club book, but feel like I have to…

• Thinking I need more contemporary romance next.

• Maybe plan a Lincoln excursion for next week?

Next up on the TBR pile:

Beautiful Secret by Christina Lauren

Title: Beautiful Secret (Beautiful #4)

Author: Christina Lauren

Publisher: Gallery Books 2015

Genre: Romance

Pages: 385

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

When Ruby Miller’s boss announces he’s sending her on an extended business trip to New York City, she’s shocked. As one of the best and brightest young engineers in London, she knows she’s professionally up to the task. The part that’s throwing her is where she’ll be spending a month up close and personal working alongside—and staying in a hotel with—Niall Stella, her firm’s top urban planning executive and The Hottest Man Alive. Despite her ongoing crush, Ruby is certain Niall barely knows she’s alive…until their flirty overnight flight makes him sit up and take notice.

Not one for letting loose and breaking rules, recently divorced Niall would describe himself as hopeless when it comes to women. But even he knows outgoing California-girl Ruby is a breath of fresh air. Once she makes it her mission to help the sexy Brit loosen his tie, there’s no turning back. Thousands of miles from London, it’s easy for the lovers to play pretend. But when the trip is over, will the relationship they’ve built up fall down?

And we get to know Max’s younger brother Niall in this romance romp. Overall I did really enjoy this book, but there were a few aspects that I wasn’t the biggest fan of. I enjoyed the general romance between Niall and Ruby. I liked their personal relationship as they navigate their feelings for each other. The steamy scenes were definitely steamy. I was very much into this story. But then, we get the big conflict and I was very annoyed. It seems like this entire series has a dynamic of a male character stepping back while a female character handles a terrible situation. Okay I’m very on board with this idea of men stepping back and allowing women to step up for themselves. Again, I am okay with this set-up. What I don’t like is that there is always some other male character acting terrible that suffers no consequences from their behavior. In this book we get a very sexual predator boss who forces Ruby to quit her internship or stop dating Niall (who is not her boss in any matter). And nothing absolutely happens. I am very enraged in these situations through the series. I’m still going to finish the series, but very annoyed by this small part.

Beautiful Bastard

• #1 Beautiful Bastard

• #1.5 Beautiful Bitch

• #2 Beautiful Stranger

• #2.5 Beautiful Bombshell

• #3 Beautiful Player

• #3.5 Beautiful Beginning

• #3.6 Beautiful Beloved

• #4 Beautiful Secret

• #4.5 Beautiful Boss

• #5 Beautiful

Next up on the TBR pile:

The City of Gold and Lead by John Christopher

Title: The City of Lead and Gold (Tripods #2)

Author: John Christopher

Publisher: 1967

Genre: Middle Grade Scifi

Pages: 209

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

When Will and his friends arrived at the White Mountains, they thought everything would be okay. They’d found a safe haven where the mechanical monsters called Tripods could not find them. But once there, they wonder about the world around them and how they are faring against the machines.

In order to save everyone else, Will and his friends want to take down the Tripods once and for all. That means journeying to the Tripod capital: the City of Gold and Lead.

Although the journey will be difficult, the real danger comes once Will is inside the city, where Tripods roam freely and humans are even more enslaved than they are on the outside. Without anyone to help him, Will must learn the secrets of the Tripods—and how to take them down—before they figure out that he’s a spy…and he can only pretend to be brainwashed for so long.

Finally, we get to see the aliens in the tripods! Overall this book was a very enjoyable ride. We get to follow Will as he travels into the city of the Masters. The writing becomes very descriptions as we learn more about the aliens and their plans for Earth. Thankfully the books moves quickly keeping the action continuing at a decent pace. I am definitely interested in how this story is going to end.

The Tripods

• #0.5 When the Tripods Came

• #1 The White Mountains

• #2 The City of Gold and Lead

• #3 The Pool of Fire

Next up on the TBR pile:

Homeschool W28: The Forest and Some Bees

What We Studied

And it was a very normal week for our school days. We had a few outings, but covered a ton of material.

Literature and Poetry

Finished one read aloud and started another.

• City of the Plague God by Sarwat Chadda

• The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

• I’ve Lost My Hippopotamus by Jack Prelutsky

• The Giant Carrot by Jan Peck (Lit Study)

Math

And with that, Arthur has finished Singapore 3B! For the rest of the year, we’ll be reviewing math concepts and playing some math games.

• Logic Countdown

• For Good Measure by Ken Robbins

Social Studies

We covered the Ottoman Empire for history. Arthur enjoyed the art and the science especially.

• DK Timelines of Everyone

• When on Earth

• DK History

• DK Timelines of Everything

Arthur Independent Time

To allow for one-on-one time with Quentin, I have added an hour of independent work time for Arthur. Each week, he will have a mix of packet work (mostly grammar and math review), independent reading time, and special projects. Many of his projects will be aligned with our literature selections (some taken from B&R Language Arts curriculum) and history.

Science and STEAM Coop

For coop, covered bees. The kids learned about bee life cycles and then played some games and did some crafts. The kids got to make bee houses for our local mason bees.

We finished our science unit on geology with a mini lesson on volcanoes. Arthur was super excited to learn all about how volcanoes work.

• An Island Grows by Lola M. Schaefer

• Nat Geo Kids Volcanoes

• Volcanoes by Gail Gibbons

• Volcanoes by Elaine Landau

• Geo Detectives: Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Anita Ganeri

• The Magic School Bus Blows Its Top by Joanna Cole

• Fault Lines and Tectonic Plates by Kathleen M. Reilly

• Everything Volcanoes and Earthquakes by Kathy Furgang

• DK Volcano and Earthquake

• Volcanic Eruptions by Ann O. Squire

• How Hot is Lava? And Other Questions About Volcanoes by Kelly Smith

Art/Music

None this week

Quentin

I have scheduled at least four 1-hour time blocks for one-on-one time with Quentin. I bought Blossom and Root’s Early Years Volume 2 curriculum to use as our base. I love the variety of activities and some of the bigger projects included. Q started a Beatrix Potter unit for the month of April. We also did some math and worked on other skills.

ELA

• The Secret Staircase by Jill Barklem

• Sea Story by Jill Barklem

• The High Hills by Jill Barklem

• The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter

• The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter

• High Five January 2020

• High Five March 2020

• A Celebration of Beatrix Potter: Art and Letters

Math

• Lollipop Logic Book 1

Other

• I Spy On the Farm

• Smart Start Beginning Coding Grade 1

Field Trip

We had a lovely few hours at Fontenelle Forest with their STEM backpacks. The coop field trips have been great this semester. We did a scavenger hunt, walked the trails, and played at the nature classroom.

Documentary Selection

I have carved out a one hour time block each week to watch a documentary related to our studies.

Misc. Picture Books Read

• No Buddy Like a Book by Allan Wolf

• Serious Farm by Tim Egan

High

• Our two coop events this week were great. We love having regular events with our friends and learning a little something.

Low

• A big dentist appointment on Monday took me out for hours. Oh well. We’ll make it up.

Next Week

• Continuing to read the Chronicles of Narnia

• Reviewing our math concepts

• Focusing on nature for science

• Learning about the scientific revolution and the Reformation

Next up on the TBR pile:

Music Monday - Mat Kearney feat. Young Summer "The Conversation"

A old song (from 2015) and yet I just discovered it. Really digging this song right now.

Next up on the TBR pile:

Life Right Now #12

As I look outside my window: Finally! We have gotten to proper spring temperatures. It’s currently about 55 degrees.

Right now I am: Prepping to run some errands. I completely spaced Easter, so guess I need to go to Target or something and grab some supplies.

On my bedside table: Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel; Beautiful Boss and Beautiful by Christina Lauren; Girly Drinks by Mallory O’Meara

On my tv this week: We completely finished Hustle, all 8 seasons, Once Upon a Time… Happily Never After, and S1 of Severance (that ending!). Guess it’s time to circle back to Star Trek and some other random shows.

Listening to: Nothing too exciting although I went on a weird side track and downloaded all the Jimmy Eat albums that I didn’t have on my phone.

On the menu for this week:

• Monday - Fish Chowder

• Tuesday - Take out

• Wednesday - Leftovers

• Thursday - Breakfast for Dinner

• Friday - Pizza

• Saturday - Sweet Potato and Black Bean Quinoa Bowls

• Sunday - Cajun Stuffed Chicken

On my to do list: I desperately need to put away all the clothes today. Beyond that, I probably should update all my ongoing projects (Kansas trip, retreat, Indiana trip) and do some coop planning.

Happening this week:

• Monday - Park Playdate

• Tuesday - Regular school day; Take J to airport

• Wednesday - Home day

• Thursday - Coop

• Friday - Lauritzen Garden Field Trip; Lit Society

• Saturday - Pick up our Rental Chicks!

• Sunday - Easter

What I am creating: Mostly just working on trip plans. I do want to spend an hour today working on my March Memory Planner, but that’s it.

My simple pleasures: Mild temperatures; movie out with friends

Looking around the house: Having coop here last week made sure that I picked things up. Now to maintain…

From the camera: Pony rides at the farm!

Dead Silence by S.A. Barnes

Title: Dead Silence

Author: S.A. Barnes

Publisher: Tor Nightfire 2022

Genre: Horror

Pages: 343

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Spring TBR

Claire Kovalik is days away from being unemployed—made obsolete—when her beacon repair crew picks up a strange distress signal. With nothing to lose and no desire to return to Earth, Claire and her team decide to investigate.

What they find is shocking: the Aurora, a famous luxury spaceliner that vanished on its maiden tour of the solar system more than twenty years ago. A salvage claim like this could set Claire and her crew up for life. But a quick search of the ship reveals something isn’t right.

Whispers in the dark. Flickers of movement. Messages scrawled in blood. Claire must fight to hold on to her sanity and find out what really happened on the Aurora before she and her crew meet the same ghastly fate.

I cannot remember where I heard about this one (maybe Book Pages?), but I was totally in for a space horror story. This does not disappoint. Right away we know that something went horribly wrong onboard the ghost space ship Aurora. We then spend the rest of the book switching back and forth between the story of what the crew found and Claire’s present. Make not mistake, this story is creepy and very gory. If you cannot handle blood and gore, do not read this one. The writing dives right into very atmospheric settings and graphic descriptions. I was on the edge of my seat the entire ride. I would have liked a bit more time encountering the spooky while onboard the Aurora before Claire passes out and her memory mostly goes blank. But otherwise I really enjoyed this one!

Next up on the TBR pile:

The White Mountains by John Christopher

Title: The White Mountains (Tripods #1)

Author: John Christopher

Publisher: 1967

Genre: Middle Grade Scifi

Pages: 223

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: 

Will Parker never dreamed he would be the one to rebel against the Tripods. With the approach of his thirteenth birthday, he expected to attend his Capping ceremony as planned and to become connected to the Tripods—huge three-legged machines—that now control all of Earth. But after an encounter with a strange homeless man called Beanpole, Will sets out for the White Mountains, where people are said to be free from the control of the Tripods.

But even with the help of Beanpole and his friends, the journey is long and hard. And with the Tripods hunting for anyone who tries to break free, Will must reach the White Mountains fast. But the longer he’s away from his home, the more the Tripods look for him…and no one can hide from the monstrous machines forever.

J has been trying to get me to read this series for years now. He read it during childhood and remembered it fondly. I finally started the series and blew through the first book in two days. This is short and middle grade, so not hard to read. There were some great sequences of the boys escaping through the countryside and coming across the ruins of civilization past. I especially loved the sections set in what was Paris. The overall escape adventure was fun to follow. There were passages that were slow and very old-fashioned in terms of style. And the ending was very abrupt and terrible. I really wish for two more chapters to detail their arrival at the White Mountains, but oh well. Maybe the next book will expand that setting.

The Tripods

• #0.5 When the Tripods Came

• #1 The White Mountains

• #2 The City of Gold and Lead

• #3 The Pool of Fire

Next up on the TBR pile:

Lambs, Chicks, and Videos

Oh so delightful

Cannot wait for this one!

Absolutely amazing! You have to watch the entire thing!

Seriously, all of these commercials are gold.

All of these are hilarious!