Category: monthly updates

The final week of the month was consumed by That Cold That’s Going Around (doesn’t appear to be COVID, just what used to be considered normal seasonal unpleasantness, Before). Up until then it was a pretty good one, though.

Writing – My heart was not in revising that short story, so I have shelved it (again). Fairy Hills will be available later this month, just have to do a few more things with it. After that, it will be time to prepare for NaNoWriMo.

Knitting – I finished the shawl!!!! Also made myself a pair of fingerless mitts, just in time for the cooler weather. Have started a hat, and another mammoth shawl project that will take forever. I haven’t bought any yarn all year, as I’ve been trying to make room in my limited stash storage space, but next week I hope to pick up some alpaca at the fair.

Garden – We are just about done for the year. I have one butternut squash ripening, a handful of late grape tomatoes, and a few herbs hanging in at the plot. Today I have go over there and tidy up before whatever’s left of Ian visits the area. In the driveway, peas are coming in a few pods a day. Squirrels dug up my chard AGAIN, although it wasn’t doing very well; I think it’s not getting enough sunlight.

Reading – I read Timothy Zahn’s Thrawn Trilogy (Star Wars EU) to keep our 14yo company, and continued exploring Thoreau with A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers, which was very earnest. Richard Osman’s The Man Who Died Twice is great fun if you like a murder mystery, and occasionally very moving. I started Max Adams’ The Viking Wars, but haven’t gotten very far into it yet. Early medieval history and sinus congestion do not mesh well.

And that’s about it. Workouts have been on hold until I feel better. Duolingo has been minimal some days, but I have kept at it. The weather has been gorgeously cool, with some rain finally. October is going to be really busy here, so a few things may fall by the wayside. Hope you’re all enjoying the season!

And so another summer draws to an end – school starts tomorrow, and an autumn of new projects awaits.

Writing – Fairy Hills is with my layout person, the final stage before I can put it into the world at last. I’m working on a short story right now, one of the flash pieces I did earlier this year.

Knitting – I think this project is going to take me the rest of my life.

Garden – The zucchini has produced some terrifyingly large specimens. I think the butternut squash has two more fruits forming. The chard is coming up nicely. A second random basil seedling has sprouted in one of the driveway pots.

Reading – Only three books this month, all new. An Immense World was fantastically enjoyable, but a bit slow to get through. Highly recommend it. Walden was an absolute joy. My book club read Stegner’s Crossing to Safety, and I hated it.

Other than that, there was vacation of course. I have been working at the running program, now trotting my way toward a 10k, and filling the gaps with some minimalist yoga. I fell off Duolingo and got back on again, have finished the first unit of their Spanish course. I finally got to go on a proper hike last weekend. I look forward to cooler weather very much.

Look what I found when visiting friends this weekend! Gotta say it looks pretty nice in print. We had a great visit to wind up a month that was, to be honest, kind of weird. It’s been really hot and busy at all the wrong times, so I haven’t gotten out much, and it’s been dragging my mood down. 

Writing – Still chipping away ever so slowly at the Fairy Hills edit, but I only have 75 pages left to go.

Knitting – Also slow.

Garden – Is beyond awesome, but I’ve blogged a lot about that recently, so I won’t repeat it all here. My second crop of peas are already sprouting.

Reading – I had a goal this month of finishing all five of the books I had already started before I picked up any new ones. Those were: All We Can Save (mixed feelings), The City of Dreaming Books (a fun conceit that couldn’t support a weak plot), Understanding Comics (lots to think about), and the last-for-now of my Asprin revisit, Hit or Myth. That just leaves Wonderbook, which I’m clearly not in the mood for right now and have shelved. I also read Come Fly the World for my Ravelry book group (didn’t like it), and I reread Hicksville and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. My August slate is clear, my TBR shelves crying for relief.

I am six weeks into the Couch to 5k program and haven’t hurt myself yet, so here’s hoping.

Despite the steady impacts of political disaster, I’ve been feeling better in myself this month. Which is good, because there’s a lot to do. It was a whirlwind of a month in terms of events, mostly with school.

Writing: I’ve been in a bit of a post-project slump here, but I have gotten a bit of editing done on the next one. Sales are not exactly busting records so far. If I don’t find some way to improve the numbers (Kindle edition and paperback), then Fairy Hills will be my final self-publishing project, because I can’t afford it. I will be trying some experiments in the next couple of months.

Knitting: Has been on the back burner this month, with very little progress.

Books: I read seven books in June, four of them new, plus three old Robert Asprin books I’ve had a weird nostalgic hankering to revisit. That puts me at 27 for the year so far, and a good mix of new stuff and old.

Garden: Is doing really well. I am astonished and delighted to watch everything grow, given that I haven’t done much with it other than occasional weeding. Put plants in ground, water regularly, get food? The pea plants I put in the driveway are already fading, and I harvested a small bowl of potatoes. The strawberry is putting out runners to other containers; I’m curious to see what it does from there.

Hiking: Three! I want to prioritize getting outside in July. It seems to be critical for me these days.

I also started running again mid-month; we’ll see how long that lasts this time…. Work is going well, and I found a climate group that wanted help with their newsletter — finally, a task I am qualified to contribute to. Onward into summer!

It’s tough to feel enthusiastic about much this month. Repeated national news shocks on top of long-term stress do not make for good times. On top of which, it has been a very busy month here, with lots of appointments to get through plus graduation preparations for our oldest child, and the weather has not been cooperative, so I haven’t been able to get outside for my usual decompression hikes.

Writing: After a literal decade, The Prometheus Skein is available! Amazon doesn’t have the cross-format links right yet, so here are the Kindle edition and paperback. I am in love with the cover art for it. (In case you are wondering what self-publishing is like, in the first week I have sold seven copies.) I’m still editing Fairy Hills, on track to be out later this summer.

Knitting: Reached the 2/3 point on the shawl. Really, I must do some small projects after this one! I quite like how it’s turning out, though.

Books: In May I read Mending Life, which is a nice little how-to book of basic sewing repairs. My book club’s pick was Fannie Flagg’s The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion, which did not click with me at all. Still trying to get through a couple of others, but not making fast progress.

Garden: There are things in it! That we planted! Very exciting. We might have pickable lettuce in another week. Also, our CSA will be starting soon. I am armed with plentiful veggie recipes. Will post some pictures once I get the rest of the plants in this weekend.

Hiking: Two to bookend the month, although one of them wasn’t really a hike since it was paved trails. I’ll take what I can get, but really hoping that June is a better month for getting outisde.

Actually, hoping that June is in all ways a better month.