Sanibel Sunday: February 23, 2025

Hello, friends. It's been a busy few weeks around here, with little time for blogging or reading. We had a wonderful long visit with our daughter and son-in-law earlier in the month. He works remotely and she is between jobs as they begin to look for a house in CT (!) ... so we had plenty of time together. While they were here, all of the remaining Hurricane Ian repairs were completed and we began refurnishing our ground-level guest suite. This past week, I have been frantically trying to pull it all together in time for our first non-family guest since 2022... who arrives later today :)

My reading has been slow, bordering on nonexistent, all month but I was able to pick up the pace over the last few days.

Current reading//

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain

I'm buddy reading this nonfiction classic with Tina and it's been slow going, but I will  finish it this week!

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson

This is the current selection of the MMD book club and I'm determined to finish it before the author talk on Thursday. That shouldn't be a problem since I've passed the 50% mark and the pages are turning quickly.

In the kitchen//

I have several quick-and-easy shrimp recipes in our regular dinner rotation, but this week I found one more to add to the mix - Cilantro Lime Shrimp from Natasha's Kitchen. Just a quick marinade and either saute or grill the shrimp and you'll have dinner ready in minutes. I didn't have cilantro on hand, so used parsley instead. It was still delicious!

Another recent hit is this copycat Cheesecake Factory Miso Salmon recipe. This has probably been around for a while and I'm late to the party, but everybody loved it and my daughter even asked for the recipe. I've already made it twice!

The week ahead//

I'm relishing the thought of a relatively quiet week. After our weekend guest leaves, I'll have a few days to prepare for the arrival of our other NYC daughter and son-in-law. There will be some cleaning, meal-planning, shopping, and cooking, but beyond that I just plan to read. I'd love to finish both current reads and start March with a clean slate!

How was your week? What have you been reading?

The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.

 

January Reading Wrap-up and A List of February Possibilities

Hello, friends. Here we are well into February and so far this month seems to be flying! It feels like a big change from last month when January just dragged on forever. 

In January... we began our drive to FL on New Years Day, making stops along the way to visit my cousin and some old friends. Once we got here, there were repairs to attend to, friends to catch up with, a barrage of disturbing national news, and record-breaking cold. As a result my reading got off to a slow start, but picked up again toward the end of the month.

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BOOKS READ IN JANUARY

A Good Life by Virginie Grimaldi

fiction, in translation, 4 stars, my thoughts 

Oranges by John McPhee

nonfiction, classic, 3 stars, my thoughts

I've Tried Being Nice: Essays by Ann Leary

nonfiction, essays, 4 stars, my thoughts 

How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard

fiction, 4.5 stars, my thoughts

FEBRUARY READING POSSIBILITIES

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain (in progress)

Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkinson (MMD February selection)

Three Apples Fell from the Sky by Narine Abgaryan

You Are Here by David Nicholls

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

Our daughter and son-in-law have been here visiting since the beginning of the month and are planning to stay for another week or so. They're fortunate to be able to work from home and I love having them around! Obviously, I haven't had quite as much time to read, so I expect February will be a slow reading month. If I'm lucky I'll finish two or three of the titles listed above.

How was your January reading? What was your favorite book last month?

 

The Sunday Salon: February 2, 2025

Hello, friends. We've had a pretty good week in southwest Florida. The weather has been perfect, we took several sunset beach walks, went out to dinner with friends, and had contractors show up according to schedule! We're waiting on closet shelves and a shower door adjustment... and then our Hurricane Ian (9/22) repairs will be complete!! Fingers crossed both will be done by the end of the week.

Emotionally, it's been a tough week. I cannot even look at the news without getting knots in my stomach. Reading continues to be a balm.

Recent reading//

How the Light Gets In by Joyce Maynard

This book is a sequel to Count the Ways, which was both my favorite novel of 2021 and my introduction to Joyce Maynard. Some twenty years have passed since the ending of that tale... Eleanor and Cam are over 60, the kids have become adults with their own complicated lives, some characters have passed on, and new ones are introduced. I loved catching up with these people and seeing how their lives have evolved. While not quite as good as Count the Ways, this was exactly the reading experience I'd been craving.

My only complaint is that Maynard include too many 'hot' issues. Some reviewers found the book to be too heavy-handed politically, and I'll admit that it may have been. BUT in light of events of the past few weeks, I'm more than willing to forgive Maynard for coming down a little hard on the red-hatted crowd.

⭐⭐⭐⭐💫

Current reading//

Testament of Youth: An Autobiographical Study of the Years 1900 - 1925

 by Vera Brittain

I'm reading this nonfiction classic with Tina and it's a long one - nearly 700 pages. It's off to a strong start, but I didn't make as much progress as planned. This should be a better week as far as reading time goes.

I'll also be choosing a new fiction title to start this week.

On the blog//

Favorite Author Discoveries, 2024 Edition

The week ahead//

Our oldest daughter and son-in-law are flying in later today. They work remotely, so will probably stay for a couple of weeks. We'll celebrate her birthday midweek and have a few other activities planned. I'm looking forward to having them around!

How was your week? What have you been reading?

The Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz.