Project Pan, Girl Dinner Box, and Jack’s Reading Wheel
🏁 Reading Challenges Update | Week of July 5-July 11, 2026
Small Spaces by Katherine Arden is a middle-grade horror novel about a girl who discovers that the scarecrows in a Vermont farm town are not just decorations—they’re watching. It’s fast, creepy, and perfect for when you want a quick, atmospheric read with clear stakes and zero emotional baggage. 3 stars. Maybe 4? I don’t really know how to rate a kids’ book.
Favorite line: Mike Campbell got the shivers from squeaking blackboards and for some reason, from people licking paper napkins. The sixth grade licked napkins around him as much as possible. 
20 Books of Summer #8 ✅
Summer of Horror ✅
The Book of Pet Love and Loss: Words of Comfort and Wisdom from Remarkable People by Sara Bader
Sara’s cat died, and she wanted to read a book full of quotes from other people who had lost pets — but she couldn’t find one. So she put one together for herself and shared it with the rest of us. Highly recommend for anyone grieving a pet, or who knows they will be someday. 5 stars.
It was one of the worst shocks I ever had. For a moment the whole universe seemed bereft, and my whole outlook upon life changed.— Naturalist, John Burroughs
I knew I would miss him badly when he went, but I had no idea how badly. — Eugene O’Neill
The immediacy of the loss blows through you as if you were an abandoned farmhouse. — Cat Behaviorist Jackson Galaxy
I have always loved dogs. The saddest thing about it is that they don’t live as long as people do. They come into your life, you love them, and then they have to go. — Dolly Parton
20 Books of Summer #9 ✅
Nonfiction Reader ✅
A Well-Trained Wife: My Escape from Christian Patriarchy by Tia Levings
Great memoir! 5 stars!!!!
These were my questions as I was reading. Were they answered? Yes.
- How did Tia get from her idyllic childhood in Michigan to running for her life from an abusive, psycho husband in Jacksonville, FL?
- What the hell exactly is Christian patriarchy and how is it different from Christians that are not bat-shit crazy?
- How did two sisters attend the same megachurch with their parents yet one sister ended up being ruled over by her husband while the other went to college and started a career?
- Will Tia ever figure out that the scary, demonic, psycho husband is the real terror, not the religious fearmongering?
Key takeaways:
- Basically, men in Christian patriarchy enjoy role playing the biblical times. Cosplay for the ego. They get to be king, priest, prophet, judge—all while wearing cargo shorts and grilling burgers. No actual sacrifice. No actual humility. Just authority dressed up as righteousness. And the women pay the price.
- Abused women trapped in that system have the additional obstacle of their entire community being in on it! The pastor is probably doing the same things to his wife. The local Sheriff might be an Elder! The neighbors are watching and reporting back (!) The kids? Too many to flee with! The car is his, the money is his. Her phone and internet are monitored — if she’s even allowed to have them. And she’s cut off from any outside friends or family.
- Those women aren’t trapped by just one man, they’re trapped by an entire ecosystem that has decided their role is to obey.
- The women you see on social media role playing as #TradWife are not the women we’re talking about. They have choices. They have escape routes. They have money. They have cell phones. They have bank accounts. The women we’re talking about have nothing — except 5 babies and a husband who calls himself king.
- Like all trauma, religious trauma is not about the event itself, but rather, how our nervous system interprets what happened.
20 Books of Summer #10 ✅
Nonfiction Reader✅
Random
- Just when you think life can’t get any worse, you see this:
- Nooooo! TV Time is the only way I can remember what I’m watching and what episode I’m on!
- I downloaded the data file and will now choose a new service to keep track of my shows.
- Don’t you hate when you’re brushing your teeth and hit that gag reflex and then you’re desperately trying to remember if the pressure point is on the inside of your forearm or between your thumb and index finger? It’s P6 – pressure on the inside of your forearm, about 3–4 finger widths down from the wrist crease.
- Found this quote that I probably shared before but I don’t want to lose it so I’m putting it here and hoping if I ever do a search it will pop up. I don’t remember what book it was from but it’s about a tin can: Its tin head was stretched forward as if it were on the lookout for something.
- FRIDAY – I got a bonus day off from work cuz my stupid work laptop was stuck in a loop. I think they’re shipping me a new one? As of right now I can’t log on to do any work on Monday, either.
Doom Scroll Finds of the week:
- PROJECT PAN – Ultimate goal is “hitting pan” which means using a product down to the metal base or “pan”. This has evolved into other areas such as using the journals, stationery, etc. that you already own. Do not buy more until current stock is depleted!
- GIRL DINNER BOX — Buy a divided plastic or glass container that will fit on your fridge shelf from HomeGoods, Ross, Ikea, or Container Store. One side is a “Cohesive Bowl” and the other is for “Girl Dinner Charcuterie.”
- Why, in God’s name, would I want to do this? (whining) Becaaaaaause—so that everything is contained for the week and you don’t have to scrounge for food and snaaaaaacks!
- Cohesive Bowl Side ideas: salmon, TJ’s frozen basmati rice, Thai wheat noodles, baby broccolini, green onions, bell pepper, snow peas, sliced edamame and TJ’s coconut chickpea curry
- Girl Dinner / Charcuterie Side ideas: salami, can of dolmas, can of roasted chickpeas, Thai lime almonds, crackers, TJ’s chicken bites with dipping sauce, TJ’s Unexpected Cheddar Minis (look like Babybels), hummus, cucumber, cottage cheese, nectarines, blueberries
- JACK THROWS BOOKS – @jackscully I love this kid! He always has TEN (10!) books going at a time. Why 10? “It’s a strong number.” If he has three hours to read, he spins the wheel and lets it pick the three books he’ll read for one hour each that day. In addition to the book titles, he has slots on the wheel for “farthest along”, “least farthest along, “I get to pick” etc. He’s currently reading books like Lonesome Dove, Count of Monte Cristo, Piranesi, Slewfoot, Lies of Locke Lamora, Throne of Glass, American Gods, and Almost Life. Is it hard for him to keep track of what he’s reading? No. Character names and places get lost but the rest doesn’t. It all comes flying back to him. The books all become friends to him. He said “I’m going to get corny, but it’s beautiful how the themes go from century to century, generation to generation. They all connect.”
I have five library books to go, and then you can bet that I am going to grab 10 hardcovers out of my book closet and make myself a wheel!
Have a great week!
I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon and Sunday Post.
Mid-Year Reading Stats 2026
🏁 Reading Challenges Update | Week of June 28-July 4, 2026
The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom
What is it about? First of all, I know it’s labeled as a memoir, but it’s really not a memoir so don’t go in thinking it’s one. It’s about a YELLOW HOUSE—and the swampy piece of land it was built on and the swampy, dirty, crime-ridden city of New Orleans it stood in and the family with 12 children that lived inside of it, and The Water that destroyed it.
- Place as a character—one that breathes, floods, decays, remembers, and ultimately decides who gets to stay and who gets washed away.
- Memory, identity, inheritance, erasure
- New Orleans as myth vs lived reality (i.e. eye-candy architecture in the French Quarter vs swamps & snakes & drugs & prostitution everywhere else)
- Betsy, the first hurricane the yellow house had to deal with
- Katrina, before, during and after–an entire book in itself
I loved this book. 5 stars!
20 Books of Summer #6 ✅
Nonfiction Reader – History✅
The Society of the Spectacle
Author: Guy Debord (1967)
Original Language: French
Format: 221 short philosophical theses
Genre: Philosophy, cultural criticism
What is Debord trying to say, exactly? Debord is saying that in modern capitalist society, we no longer live real lives—we perform them for an audience of images, and we’ve forgotten we’re doing it.
And what is it he wants us to do with this information? Wake up, stop scrolling, and actively create your own life instead of consuming a pre-packaged version of it.
Example – Instead of Doordashing a pizza and watching your favorite livestreamer explore the city, get dressed and go outside!
Why don’t we do this? Because the spectacle makes you feel inadequate so you keep consuming it. The system is designed to make you feel like a spectator, not a participant.
What system? capitalism + mass media + consumer culture
Challenges this book counts towards:
- Paris in July✅
- Books in Translation French ✅
- 20 Books of Summer #7 ✅
Sunday Reset After Staycation
- Ran over to Vons and stocked up on salads, soup, frozen entrees and breakfast things for the week.
- Came home and threw a couple of pork chops, brussel sprouts and an onion into the air fryer. I used the Kinder’s Black Cherry Chipotle seasoning. Ate one chop and half the veggies and shoved the rest into the fridge.
- Amazon delivered my new chair a day late so I quickly put it together and cleaned the floor where I wanted it to go.
- Broke down all my Prime Days boxes, but someone else already crammed all their broken down boxes in the bins so there won’t be room for mine until Tuesday.
- Last night I forgot and cranked my bedroom window open too far so today when I wanted to close it I had to take the curtain rod down, remove the screen, pull the window towards me while cranking and then, when the window was closed, put the screen and curtain rod back.
- Washed a ton of dishes and the air fryer baskets.
Monday, June 29, 2026
- Made it through the first day back in the office!
- I don’t normally buy books, but none of my libraries had one of the ones that I wanted to read for Summer of Horror, so I bit the bullet and it arrived today.
- I was scared to try a caramel apple sucker, but it was actually really good! Just a tiny bit of sour apple surrounded by yummy caramel. They’re Tootsie brand!
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
- Carried the forementioned boxes down to the bins.
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
I guess—since it’s the first day of July, halfway through the year, everyone else is doing it, and I have FOMO—I’ll do a quick Mid-year Reading Stats Thingy.
88 books started – 46 books DNF’s = 42 books completed.
66.7% of the 42 finished books were 5-star reads.
Reading Challenge Stats:
- Speculative Fiction (9/13)
- Wyrd & Wonder (4)
- Books in Translation (8)
- Books of Summer (5/20)
- Summer of Horror (2)
- Historical Fiction (5/2) — Too funny… at the beginning of the year I said I was signing up for 20th Century Reader level (2 books) because “I suck at historical fiction,” and here I am with 5 completed already. Woo hoo!
- Nonfiction (15 books—but only 8/12 categories)
Thursday, July 2, 2026
- Coverage for my co-worker who was OOO today.
- Treated myself to Jack in the Box.
Friday, July 3, 2026
Out of Office! Spent the day reading.
Saturday, July 4, 2026
- I made Ina’s hummus. The first time I made it, many, many years ago, I didn’t see that she said to drain the chickpeas. Oops. Turned out much better this time.
- These Stonefire Naan Mini Dippers are perfect!
- Two of them have Mt. Olive Candied Jalapenos.
- Two of them have dried mint, red chili flakes, and black olives
- Learned how to use Google Slides to print out book covers for my Reading Journal so that’s my analog project for today.
Have a great week!
I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon and Sunday Post.
Staycation June 2026
Staycation + Amazon Prime Days is a dangerous combination.
However, I am now the owner of the cutest peppermill!
As for reading, my mind refused to engage with a book until the next to last day of my Staycation—so I’ll have to give you my thoughts on it next week.
Have a great week!
I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon and Sunday Post.
Juneteenth 2026
🏁 Reading Challenges Update | Week of June 14-June 20, 2026
20 Books of Summer #4 & #5
Diaries of Note: 366 Lives, One Day at a Time by Shaun Usher — 5 stars and now I have a long list of diaries and other books I want to read.
The Summer I Died by Ryan C. Thomas – 5 stars and this “Splatterpunk” book also counts for Summer of Horror.
FRIDAY – JUNE 19, 2026
We got the day off for Juneteenth! Woo hoo!
Bugsy was in desperate need of a bath, so I took him to the car wash. $38.99 including tax and tip.
Then we went to Iliad Bookstore. They have two cats, Zeus and Apollo, who celebrated their 12th birthdays this week. Zeus was following people around, hoping someone would sit down and hold him. I let him take a cat nap on me, but my stomach was growling so loudly he ended up getting down. Sorry, kitty—I hadn’t eaten in almost 12 hours. I walked out with three books for $16.
My ears perked up when an older man asked where the books translated from Japanese were. The worker said if they’re fiction they’ll be mixed in with all the other fiction, alphabetical by author. He insisted they used to be on their own shelf labeled “Japanese”. Worker said “Oh, in our foreign language section? We probably don’t have any right now if the shelf is empty.” She went with him to double check and also complimented his anime hat. He said everyone keeps complimenting him on his hat but he doesn’t know what anime is! The worker took him to the anime section to show him the books with his hat character in them. I wish I’d caught which one it was.
That worker is really amazing. I lost count of how many times people asked her for assistance…the same people…but she was always very cheerful about it. At one point she asked me if I needed help finding anything but I had my Goodreads list. When she sees someone with an armload of books she asks if she can take them and set them up front. This is helpful for the customer and smart for the bookstore—it eliminates the “Am I getting too many? Maybe I should put this one back…”
Stopped for a #5 from Larry’s Chili Dog: chili cheese dog with mustard & onions, add ketchup & relish. Comes with fries and a small Coke.So good. Their hot dogs are super snappy. $16 + tax and tip.
SATURDAY – JUNE 20, 2026
Yesterday, Bugsy got his bath—today, he needed gas. 8.80 gallons $5.899/gallon = $51.96
His tank holds 14.5 gallons, but I try to fill him up around the half-way point. You never know when you’ll end up in a police chase—or sitting in an In-N-Out line.
Next, we went to Taco Bell to fill up my tank.
My favorite, the Enchirito, is back—but only for a limited time, so let’s get it. We can pretend the 3 black olive slices are under the sour cream. Also got a Chalupa Supreme and a Wild Strawberry Freeze. So goooood. $14.30
Have a great week!
I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon and Sunday Post.
Disoriented
🏁 Reading Challenges Update | Week of June 7-June 13, 2026
The Year of Magical Thinking was not on my 20 Books of Summer list, but I re-read this book every time someone I love dies. This was my 4th read in the past four years. I hope it’s the last time I have to read it for a long, long time.
Note to Self: The Year of Magical Thinking was #2 and A Grief Observed by C. S. Lewis was #3.
THE WEEK
Sunday, June 7, 2026
- Worst day of my life. My heart is shattered into a billion pieces.
- Grateful for home euthanasia so that my poor kitty didn’t have to be traumatized by being dragged to the Vet’s office on her last day.
- Everything was done with quiet, gentle compassion.
- When Dr. Gonzalez gave her the sedative, Marilyn climbed immediately onto my lap. Dr. G said she has never seen a cat do that before and that “You two must have quite the bond.” We do…we do…
- I held her on my lap as she passed.
- When I was ready to let go, Dr. Gonzalez swaddled her in a blanket and carried her gently away.
Monday, June 8, 2026
- Covering for my co-worker who is on vacation this week.
- Horrible, heart-wrenching tasks…dumping out Marilyn’s water bowl and then taking her bowls, dry food bag, half eaten can of Fancy Feast from the fridge, brush, comb, and litterbox down to the trash.
- The things that stay, for now: the unopened cans of Fancy Feast on her shelf, her brand-new, unopened box of litter, her bed, her harness and leash, her cat carrier, and her scratching post—just in case she comes back.
Tuesday, June 9, 2026
- Work, dishes, staring out the window until it gets dark, scrolling Tiktok until I fall asleep.
- I’m so disoriented. I don’t know how to do anything without my lil sidekick. She was always laying next to me or on me while I did any sitting down activities. Reading buddy, TV buddy, eating buddy, blogging buddy, scrolling TikTok buddy.
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
- Had to move the car for street sweeping tomorrow so ran through Jack in the Box drive-thru.
- Stared out the window after work until it got dark.
Thursday, June 11 2026
- Mashed potatoes with the last of the bleu cheese crumbles mixed in and some sour cream.
- Pork bites on the side.
- Stared out the window after work until it got dark.
Friday, June 12, 2026
- Finally finished the last of those dang pork bites.
- Stared out the window after work until it got dark.
Saturday, June 13, 2026
- Sat by the window until I started getting hungry around 1:30pm.
- Made chili.
- Sat on the couch.
- Took a nap around 5pm.
- Washed dishes.
- After I wash the last dish, I still reach for Marilyn’s bowls to wash them next and then–oh…
Have a great week.
I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon and Sunday Post.
Miss You Forever
Mission: Laundry
🏁 Reading Challenges Update | Week of May 31-June 6, 2026
20 Books of Summer started off great. I found it easy to start and finish the first book after work! Thought I would be doing that every night. But then, as you’ll see below, the week ended up being A LOT and I wasn’t able to read any other books this week. But that’s ok. We’ve still got 12 weeks to go.
Clear by Carys Davies was 5 stars.
Personally, when I see or hear the word “Clear” all I can think about is “Clear,” Season 3, Episode 12 of The Walking Dead, but don’t worry. It’s not that.
So, what’s it about? Well, I didn’t know this, but in the 1800s people got kicked off the Scottish Islands (and Highlands) because the greedy landowners discovered they could make more money raising sheep than renting land to tenant farmers. So this Minister, John, is sent to an island to evict a farmer, Ivan. (John needs money). Ivan finds John unconscious on the beach and takes him home to nurse him back to health. Ivan has no clue that John is there to pack him up and move him off island. Meanwhile, John’s wife, Mary, is back on the mainland wondering what the heck is going on. It’s only 196 gripping pages so it was easy to read it after work.
I gave it 5 stars, but did I love it as much as I loved West? No. West is my favorite of the two.
This first book of 20 Books of Summer counts towards:
THE WEEK
Sunday, May 31, 2026
- Cleaned the bathroom.
- Vacuumed livingroom and kitchen.
- Got my work desk clean and tidy and ready for the week.
- Put a pad of sticky notes and a pen next to every place where I find myself trapped under a cat. No, I can’t just jot down a note on my phone. I need bright, vivid squares of paper in my face — on the fridge, a cabinet, the back of a door…
- Restocked my ice cube bin.
- Got ingredients out for this week’s meals.
- Treated myself to Taco Bell.
Monday, June 1, 2026
- Washed five loads of laundry.
Tuesday, June 2, 2026
- Busy day today and I am TIRED!
- Woke up, drank coffee, put away clean dishes.
- Cleaned the bathroom, again. (Poor kitty)
- Tidied living room.
- Sorted three paper piles & deposited an $11 state tax refund.
- Cleared the catch‑all chair in the livingroom.
- Cleared the top shelf of the hall bookcase.
- Removed the old smoke detector from the bedroom ceiling.
- Rearranged bedroom furniture which involved the vacuum, a broom, a Swiffer Sweeper, and a Swiffer Wet.
- Brushed the cat.
- Washed all dishes.
Wednesday, June 3, 2026
- Kitty’s medicine arrives so I can take that off my Things to Worry About list.
Thursday, June 4 2026
- Work was super busy.
Friday, June 5, 2026
- Moved my bedroom furniture back to the original config because that was not working for me, but at least the floor got a good cleaning.
Saturday, June 6, 2026
- I wish I had noticed the new Panda Express Sweet & Sour Chicken is DYNAMITE Sweet & Sour Chicken. I love spicy, but Lord, that stuff has a lingering burn. Also, I did not like that new Cantonese BBQ Brisket or whatever it’s called, but it’s just me not liking that particular flavor. Lots of other people said it’s delicious. So, try the brisket, but be warned about the Dynamite Chicken and eat at your own risk.
Have a great week! My co-worker is on PTO so I have a treacherous week ahead of me. Tomorrow, I need to make sure I’ve got my meals, snacks, treats, and chocolate all planned out and make sure I’m set with all my beverages: coffee, iced tea, juice, and Cokes. And make sure Marilyn is set with dry food, wet food, treats, and litter.
I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon and Sunday Post.
Between Two Fires
🏁 Reading Challenges Update | Week of May 24-30, 2026
Wyrd & Wonder Month was a success! I found not one, but two 5-star fantasy books! Miracles do happen! (The other one was The Watchers.)
Patting myself on the back for discovering this book just when the 2026 Deluxe Hardcover Edition is released, featuring…
A brand-new foreword by New York Times bestselling horror author Joe Hill,
Black sprayed edges, designed endpapers, new wrap-around cover art and design by Jarrod Taylor.
For some reason Between Two Fires reminds me of Bellefleur by JCO, a 5-star read back in 2022.
What I loved the most about this book was the characters and the crazy situations they found themselves in on their medieval horror road trip. 5-stars
Also, I was surprised at all the warnings about how scary this book is and I was really surprised by the two main things that most readers found the scariest about it. For me, there was not one single thing “scary” about this book. Nothing. Maybe because I’m not religious so I don’t believe in hell or demons or the supernatural? Scary for me is movies like Halloween where there is a real, live human with a knife hiding in the closet or under the bed. If I was walking through a cemetery alone at night I would not be worried about zombies or ghosts, I’d be worried about a man stepping out from behind a headstone.
Challenges this book counts towards:
- Wyrd & Wonder
- Speccy Fiction (Dark Fantasy)
- Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
THE WEEK
Sunday, May 24, 2026
- Walmart delivery for a few heavy / bulky items: 12-pack of Coconut Dr. Pepper for $5, toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, jar of Nescafe, bodywash, etc.
- Cleaned the smooshed daddy longlegs off the wall from where I killed him a month or so ago.
- Got out the ladder and screwdriver and removed the random parts from previous smoke detectors that were all over the apartment. I have one more to go but it requires moving furniture and stuff, so — not today!!!
- Since I am grossed out by those Chile Verde pork tenderloin chunks in the form of a burrito or taco, I threw some potatoes and onions in the air fryer and then some of the previously cooked pork chunks during the last 5 minutes. Everything was tossed with a little oil and Red Jalapeno Garlic seasoning. Delicious!!!!
Monday, May 25, 2026
- Office closed for Memorial Day!
- “Make Chex Mix” was on my Staycation Bucket List. Got that done!
Tuesday, May 26, 2026
- I requested the week of June 22nd off because after one day back at work I am ready for my next Staycation.
Wednesday, May 27, 2026
- Mailed in my ballot for Governor of California (Can’t we keep Gavin Newsom forever???) and Mayor of Los Angeles (Good riddance to Karen Bass and I wish nothing but bad things to anyone who voted for Spencer Pratt…have you people learned nothing about voting for reality TV stars????)
- Had to move my car for street sweeping so went to McDonald’s for a filet-o-fish with extra sauce. Over $6 for just the sandwich. That’s crazy.
Thursday, May 28 2026
- Renewed kitty’s prescription. She’s doing about the same.
- Finished watching The Testaments and I think it might be even better than Handmaid’s Tale! I’m happy to see we will be getting a Season 2. Let’s hope it doesn’t take 5 years to get it since these are supposed to be adolescent girls.
Friday, May 29, 2026
- There’s a Tiktok creator, who gets the perfect birthday gift every year from her boyfriend. He gives her a specific amount of time to scope out the bookstore and then resets the timer for another 2 minutes or whatever it is for her to run back around and grab as many books as she can carry in her arms. I think this year, for her 30th birthday, she was able to grab 14 hardcovers. How fun would that be??
- Another cool gift idea I saw was for kids going off to college. You make them a College Survival Kit book. Each page has a different gift card attached to it. So one page might say “For your late night studying session” and have a Starbucks gift card. That would also be a cool gift for someone moving into their first apartment, or coming home from a hospital stay or whatever. A new mom… “When no one gets the hint that you just want your house cleaned” — $100 Merry Maids gift card.
Saturday, May 30, 2026
- Spent the majority of the day finishing Between Two Fires and then getting this post ready to publish.
Have a great week!
I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon and Sunday Post.
Staycation May 2026 Edition
🏁 Reading Challenges Update | Week of May 17-23, 2026
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Spent the day reading West by Carys Davies and the evening getting caught up on The Testaments on Hulu. My face was literally like this 😲 from sun up to sun down.
You know those books that are so good you feel like you might as well just stop reading forever? That was this book. All the stars.
Only giving me 160 pages is cruel.
I originally intended to read it for Reading Wales Month, but it didn’t work out. That’s fine—even though the author is Welsh, the book takes place in the USA, so it didn’t feel quite right for that challenge anyway. It’s a much better fit for Historical Fiction.
What’s it about? Ok, picture this…it’s the mid-1800s. Lewis & Clark just did their whole expedition thing like, 10 years ago. One day, Cy Bellman, a man in rural Pennsylvania, comes across a newspaper article that says bones from some kind of a monstrous animal have been found in Kentucky.
Does he say “Huh. That’s wild” and get back to farming? No. He’s got a burning desire to hop on a horse and go see if he can find some of these gigantic beasts that are alive and wandering the earth, somewhere west of the United States.
What about his 10-yo daughter? Oh, Bess? He’ll just ask his sister to take care of her, and the farm, for a couple of years while he ventures West and explores all the areas where Lewis & Clark did not go. No big deal.
Since it’s a short book, that’s all I can say. Except that I loved every reading minute of it, and my face went 😲 at least twice.
Challenges it counts towards:
- Historical Fiction Reading Challenge
- If It’s Not On Your TBR What Are You Even Doing?
Monday, May 18, 2026
- Staycation!!! So nice not to have to clock in and deal with the nightmare known as Axis.
- Wrote up my West review.
- Thanks to my AI Librarian, I’m all set for 20 Books of Summer and Paris in July.
- Placed a grocery delivery order and didn’t get my package of chicken thighs! Luckily it’s super easy to request a credit with InstaCart. You can also ask for a refund, but I figure I’ll be placing another order in a few days anyway so might as well do the credit.
Tuesday, May 19, 2026
- 6 years ago today my mom’s neighbor said it was ok for me to keep Marilyn since she obviously wants to be with me. Happy Gotcha Day!
- Cynthia, the lady that bought my mom’s house in Arkansas, told me how she makes her Chile Verde in the crockpot: Pork tenderloin, Herdez Salsa Verde (Mild), Green Enchilada Sauce (Mild — she uses Old El Paso but Ralph’s doesn’t have it so I used my favorite, Las Palmas), Mexican Oregano (Ralph’s doesn’t have it so AI said use regular oregano, but not as much). AI also told me a tenderloin doesn’t need 8 hours on low! Usually 3 hours is plenty but since I had two crammed in there it took 4 1/2 hours on low. The perfect temp of tenderloins for burritos is between 160-170F.
- I now know why I always use pork shoulder and not tenderloin. Tenderloin doesn’t shred and little chunks of pork in a burrito is disgusting.
So Janette of Wicked Witches Blog told us about a book, Diaries of Note by Shaun Usher, and I immediately wanted to get my hands on it because it’s basically the same idea as my favorites—L.A. Diaries and New York Diaries!
For some weird reason, the L.A. Public Library system doesn’t have Diaries, but they did have a whole bunch of his other books, so I checked all of them out and have been dipping in and out between challenge books.
Today I finished one called Lists of Note. If you love making lists and looking at other people’s lists, you absolutely need this book. I also noticed that Deb Nance reviewed it back in 2017, and we’re in full agreement—you must read it.
Challenges it counts towards:
Wednesday, May 20, 2026
I’m not sure how many years I’d been meaning to read The Road by Cormac McCarthy, but I finally did.
Was it worth the wait? Oh my God, yes! The writing is absolute brilliance, and that one thing the boy said shattered me. Then of course I cried again near the end. 5,000 stars.
- Speccy Fiction (Dystopian)
- Pulitzer Prize (Fiction)
Thursday, May 21, 2026
- It’s a blue drink summer and Sprite Berry Blast was amazing!!! Drink it via the sippy cup lid so you get all the flavors together.
- Spent most of the day napping.
Friday, May 22, 2026
- Gave my AI Librarian the titles on my “Peril” shelf so that I could add some Summer of Horror to my 20 Books of Summer list.
Finished another one of the “…of Note” books. I’m so happy that there are tons of them out there, waiting to be read. I’m trying really hard not to devour them.
Challenges it counts towards:
Saturday, May 23, 2026
- I’m glad we still have a week of Wyrd & Wonder left. I completely forgot I bought a fancy edition of a book I started awhile back but never got the chance to finish. The library has 38 copies available, but they’re always all checked out. The new fancy edition went on sale, so—with encouragement from my AI Librarian—I snagged it… and then promptly forgot about it until just now. 😄
- I was out of half n half and Haagen Daz Coconut Ice Cream Bars and Kitty decided she didn’t like her current selection of Fancy Feast, so it was time to use my InstaCart credit from earlier in the week.
Have a great week!
I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon and Sunday Post.
Surviving
🏁 Reading Challenges Update | Week of May 10-16, 2026
Beloved Son Felix: Coming of Age in the Renaissance by Felix Platter
This book was only 176 pages so a very easy, quick read. Really fascinating and rare to be able to read about day to day life of a teenager in the 1500s! 4-stars.
From Goodreads:
The exceptionally vivid, rare, and revealing journals of a 16th-century medical student.
In 1552, at the age of sixteen, Felix Platter left his home in Basel, Switzerland, and journeyed 370 miles to Montpelier, in the south of France. There he spent the next five years studying to become a physician. It was an extraordinary education—and not only in medicine. A Protestant in a Catholic kingdom, Felix witnessed blood-chilling executions and engaged in secret religious discussions with his landlord, a Marrano Jew. He also learned to play the lute, tasted olive oil for the first time, and had his first swim in the sea. He flirted and danced; he got his spur tangled in a lady’s skirt; he fled from highwaymen; he saw John Calvin preach; he survived an outbreak of the bubonic plague; he joined in a massive, orange-throwing food fight; he got a dog; and he spent one Christmas Eve alone and afraid of the dark.
Most astonishing of all, he wrote it all down.
The notes that Felix Platter kept on his day-to-day life are unique in European history. A century before the modern, Western novel was invented, Beloved Son Felix captures the texture of Renaissance life, and a Renaissance youth, from the inside. As Stephen Greenblatt observes in his introduction, “Keeping diaries and writing autobiographies did not become a widespread practice until the mid-seventeenth century. But it is not merely the relative paucity of such documents from earlier periods that makes Platter’s journal so unusual. It is its vividness, intimacy, candor, and charm that confer upon it an altogether rare and revealing character.”
Challenges it counts towards:
- Books in Translation (German)
- Nonfiction Reader (Lost or Found, because the book is essentially a recovered historical voice.)
THE WEEK
Sunday, May 10, 2026
- Feeling puny today, as my mom would say.
Monday, May 11, 2026
- Work so busy today, I don’t know if I’m coming or going.
- Cooked pork chops, potatoes & onions in the air fryer. Boiled the rest of the bag of Yukon golds and made some mashed potatoes and then put the rest of the cooked potatoes into the freezer. Note to Self: Those air fryer taters were amazing. Make more of those!
- Went to Burger King and got the Whopper with Cheese and the Grogu’s Blue Cookie Shake.
It got a lot bluer as it went along cuz the blue syrup is at the bottom so it starts to get mixed in. Really yummy. Highly recommend if you like sweet, vanilla-y, birthday-cake flavored things.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
- JSS (IYKYK)
Wednesday, May 13, 2026
- Placed an InstaCart order from Ralph’s but the shopper said there was a power outage so he would put in for a transfer order to the other Ralph’s.
- Power outage at the other Ralph’s so had to put in an order at Von’s.
- Von’s order delivered!
- Paid my bills.
- German friend Stefie’s cat is a boy! He will keep his name, Vivi.
Thursday, May 14, 2026
- Tried to read The Fifth Season and Let The Right One In, but both were boring so I tossed them on the DNF pile.
Friday, May 15, 2026
- Made it through the work week and now I’m on Staycation!!
- Watching True Crime / Police Bodycam Tiktoks. It amazes me how many people think it’s ok to leave children home alone or leave them in the car alone. Also amazes me how many people ARGUE with the police when they get pulled over for a traffic violation. Just show them your license and registration and stop wasting their time!
Saturday, May 16, 2026
- Updated to iOS 26.5
- Played the photo deleting game. The screenshots that got saved were a couple of recipes and living room design inspo.
Guys…how cute is this coffee table?????
I’m running out of time, but I’ll show you guys how she and her husband made the coffee table. Her husband made that puzzle tray, too. Look at the “whimsical beading” around the edge and the cute drawer for the pieces. He also did the trim on the Ikea Billy Bookcases and built the cat shelves.
MARILYN UPDATE
Excuse the messy shelves. I can’t fold fitted sheets for the life of me, even though my mom was an expert and tried to teach me.
Marilyn liked sleeping on the “Sundries” shelf, but I was worried about her getting up and down so I cleared out the bottom cubby to see if she would like sleeping there. She does! Yay!
How’s she doing? No change from last week, so that’s good. We like status quo. Knock on wood.
Have a great week!
I’m linking up with the Sunday Salon and Sunday Post.
The Intrepid Angeleno 
