The older I get, the faster time passes. Perhaps that is normal, but I feel like I missed all of August! We did some fun things. I followed Scott to Park City, Utah for a weekend of riding bikes–he rode with his friend, Drew and I hiked, read, and caught up on “me” time. It was lovely. Then we both got sick and recovered. That was August.
I have lots to update. We finally ended our relationship with the City of Austin with our final remodel inspection. I do not miss them.
To accomplish the final inspection, we built a railing on our front steps and porch. We have some stone work left to do and then I will show off the final results.
We also have a huge punch list to complete the remodel. We need to finish painting, hang some interior doors, build a few barn doors, redo a screened door, build a deck, do landscaping, hang curtains, and a few other fun projects that we are having a hard time starting.
In the meantime, I am one book shy of my 10-book reading goal for the summer. Jane, my niece, decided she would make it a competition. I think she read 13 or 14 books, so she kicked my tail. She is eight and fierce. But I do have a few reviews to share.
In the Unlikely Event
is a Judy Blume book written for grownups. But it still felt a little elementary. It was an interesting read about a town in New Jersey close to the Newark airport where 3 plane crashes occurred within a few months. The characters and story line are a bit predictable, but it was a nice, easy read.
Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals That Brought Me Home
is a charming book about a 28-year-old woman who had a brain aneurysm while running on a treadmill. She was working towards her PhD in Yiddish Literature and is a lover of food. The book chronicles her recovery and the part food played in it. She is a lovely person with a precious husband. I appreciated her ability to share her own life stories in a way that made me reflect on my own. And her recipes are inspiring! She uses some ingredients that I rarely use. Her plum tart and almond cake are amazing! I am not a huge fan of most memoir/recipe books but this one was worth reading. The only thing missing for me in the book was God’s provision through her recovery, but I don’t think the author is overly spiritual–at least she did not talk about it in the book. She also blogs here.
And lastly, I listened to Go Set A Watchman, by Harper Lee. Reese Witherspoon reads it and did a beautiful job. I loved the story. I found myself grinning as I listened. I am still trying to figure out the take away from the book, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is nostalgic and more of the same from Mockingbird. I hiked the mountains of Park City while I listened, which was quite a treat.
Since then, I have started a few books–Jen Hatmaker’s For the Love. It is great so far. And I am reading some adoption exploration books. More on that in future posts.
