7QT: Summer's End
I started this post...last Thursday. Whoops. I'm just going to go with it for this week, and link up with Kelly!
1. Oh my good gracious, where did the summer go? I know, I know -- kitchen renovation. It seems to have consumed every bit of our summer which was sort of the plan, but sheesh it went too quickly. (We chose to redo the kitchen this year instead of going on a 5 year anniversary vacation. Every day that this stretches longer I wonder what we were thinking when we chose that. I mean, I'm glad. But still. Vacation sounds nice.)
2. Speaking of kitchen, I would add some progress photos here but I'm too lazy to take some, plus it looks pretty much the same. We've been busy with other stuff.
Biggest things left to do are:install the rest of the hardware, grout the backsplash, reinstall trim, cut & install new crown molding and baseboard, and unpack all our stuff back. (All those lines are things we got done this week! And by we I mean David because I've been down and out with a cold. Still, pretty good progress.) I'm tired of doing kitchen stuff and also tired of talking about kitchen stuff. So that's all Imma say about that.
3. Things they don't tell you you'll miss during a kitchen renovation: ALL THE THINGS. Not just the physical presence of a kitchen. I've missed writing. I've missed reading for fun more than 10 minutes before bed. I've missed catching up on shows together. I've missed that feeling of having a whole weekend free without the looming presence of 8 million things hanging over your head all the time. I know, #firstworldproblems, but I'm ready to be done and just veg for awhile.
David and I have both decided we aren't taking on a big project for a very long time. We need to do normal house and yard maintenance stuff for like...6 solid months before we start a big project again. The basement is the next big thing on the agenda, or maybe the backyard -- another reason we won't be starting anything anytime new. I mean, I guess never say never? But I can't imagine changing my mind. #famouslastwords
4. Kate had two weeks of swimming lessons for the first time this year! And she PASSED. I am inordinately proud of her. As I expressed on Twitter:
5. Cora spent a lot of time in the stroller or corralled by the beach chairs while Kitty did lessons, and amused herself by eating snacks off the ground (some ours, some...not) and shouting KITTY! POOL! over and over again to try and get her attention. (Sounds like: TEE! POO! when you actually hear it.)
I think she was just a tad jealous she didn't get to join in.
I surprisingly enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Working from home means we don't leave the house consistently whatsoever, and I assumed beforehand that I would hate having somewhere to be at the same time every morning (even if it was just for two weeks). But I didn't! I have high hopes for school drop-off, eventually, although Kitty's not starting preschool this year so we've got some time before that milestone.
6. Like I said, I haven't been reading much. But I've finished a couple books lately! (Okay, and I just checked -- I've read 11 books since my last reading post, here. That might not sound like a lot but most of them were a few months ago now...so I may write about them later.)
Amazon affiliate links ahead.
Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson: this was a gift from my brother-in-law for Christmas and I finally got around to reading it! Wow. Highly recommend. It took me about 50 pages to really get into it, mostly because of the style, but after that I really liked it...even if I was so exhausted that it took me a few weeks to get through. (A few weeks is a long time for me for one book.) I can now understand why it's Pope Francis's favorite novel!
The Likeness by Tana French: Gosh, there is just something about a good mystery/crime novel that is unlike anything else in the literary world, and this one definitely qualifies as a great one of them. This is book 2 in the Dublin Murder Squad -- the first one being In The Woods -- and I was doubtful it could live up to the first one but it did. A seriously great plot, a cast of characters that are unbelievably intriguing, and a great solve. I already have the next one and I can't wait to read it.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro: I'm not sure how but I got the summary of this book completely wrong before I started reading it -- but even being confused for the first ~100 pages (mom brain) this was still such a surprise and suspenseful and moving all at once. This was under my "Recent Pulitzer Winner" category of books I wanted to read, and gosh...I can see why it won.
I'm currently about halfway through I'll Be Gone In The Dark and sheesh it is not for the faint of heart but it's real good.
7. Some more random photos!
Head over to Kelly's for more quick takers. Happy last few weeks of summer!
HG
1. Oh my good gracious, where did the summer go? I know, I know -- kitchen renovation. It seems to have consumed every bit of our summer which was sort of the plan, but sheesh it went too quickly. (We chose to redo the kitchen this year instead of going on a 5 year anniversary vacation. Every day that this stretches longer I wonder what we were thinking when we chose that. I mean, I'm glad. But still. Vacation sounds nice.)
2. Speaking of kitchen, I would add some progress photos here but I'm too lazy to take some, plus it looks pretty much the same. We've been busy with other stuff.
 |
| #extrovert? #pleasenotanotherone |
Biggest things left to do are:
3. Things they don't tell you you'll miss during a kitchen renovation: ALL THE THINGS. Not just the physical presence of a kitchen. I've missed writing. I've missed reading for fun more than 10 minutes before bed. I've missed catching up on shows together. I've missed that feeling of having a whole weekend free without the looming presence of 8 million things hanging over your head all the time. I know, #firstworldproblems, but I'm ready to be done and just veg for awhile.
David and I have both decided we aren't taking on a big project for a very long time. We need to do normal house and yard maintenance stuff for like...6 solid months before we start a big project again. The basement is the next big thing on the agenda, or maybe the backyard -- another reason we won't be starting anything anytime new. I mean, I guess never say never? But I can't imagine changing my mind. #famouslastwords
4. Kate had two weeks of swimming lessons for the first time this year! And she PASSED. I am inordinately proud of her. As I expressed on Twitter:
She was very nervous -- as was I -- before it started, and although her instructor described her as "timid at the beginning" she ended up doing really well and is very sad that it's over for the year. I realized it's her first experience of a class-type-event! (Poor, sheltered child staying at home with me.) And she could use some work on "hearing her name called by people" (my assessment), but otherwise she got along with the other kids and listened and it was great.My kid passed swim lessons consisting of things like “gets in water chest deep” and it’s a low bar but I am very proud— Hannah Gokie (@hgokie) August 2, 2018
5. Cora spent a lot of time in the stroller or corralled by the beach chairs while Kitty did lessons, and amused herself by eating snacks off the ground (some ours, some...not) and shouting KITTY! POOL! over and over again to try and get her attention. (Sounds like: TEE! POO! when you actually hear it.)
I think she was just a tad jealous she didn't get to join in.
I surprisingly enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Working from home means we don't leave the house consistently whatsoever, and I assumed beforehand that I would hate having somewhere to be at the same time every morning (even if it was just for two weeks). But I didn't! I have high hopes for school drop-off, eventually, although Kitty's not starting preschool this year so we've got some time before that milestone.
6. Like I said, I haven't been reading much. But I've finished a couple books lately! (Okay, and I just checked -- I've read 11 books since my last reading post, here. That might not sound like a lot but most of them were a few months ago now...so I may write about them later.)
Amazon affiliate links ahead.
Lord of the World by Robert Hugh Benson: this was a gift from my brother-in-law for Christmas and I finally got around to reading it! Wow. Highly recommend. It took me about 50 pages to really get into it, mostly because of the style, but after that I really liked it...even if I was so exhausted that it took me a few weeks to get through. (A few weeks is a long time for me for one book.) I can now understand why it's Pope Francis's favorite novel!
The Likeness by Tana French: Gosh, there is just something about a good mystery/crime novel that is unlike anything else in the literary world, and this one definitely qualifies as a great one of them. This is book 2 in the Dublin Murder Squad -- the first one being In The Woods -- and I was doubtful it could live up to the first one but it did. A seriously great plot, a cast of characters that are unbelievably intriguing, and a great solve. I already have the next one and I can't wait to read it.
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro: I'm not sure how but I got the summary of this book completely wrong before I started reading it -- but even being confused for the first ~100 pages (mom brain) this was still such a surprise and suspenseful and moving all at once. This was under my "Recent Pulitzer Winner" category of books I wanted to read, and gosh...I can see why it won.
I'm currently about halfway through I'll Be Gone In The Dark and sheesh it is not for the faint of heart but it's real good.
7. Some more random photos!
 |
| "Reading" together so sweetly. |
 |
| #raisingfeminists |
 |
| All dressed up for a kid-free wedding! |
 |
| She sure loved David's alumni soccer tournament this year. She had fun warming up with his teammates, aka all his high school friends, and kicked the ball around like a big kid. Gonna have to look into soccer league sometime soon. |
 |
| Dad got a little tired, but all the girls cared about was drinking his water. |
Head over to Kelly's for more quick takers. Happy last few weeks of summer!
HG
You guys are amazing with the kitchen reno! I'm itching to change some things in ours, but there is NO way we could do it ourselves. (We are lacking in the DIY department.) So I'll just be over here saving my pennies for the next 10 years, hah!
ReplyDelete