Family Time and Changes Galore

Published : 2021 || Format : print || Location : Colombia ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ What was it about the country that kept everyone hostage to its fantasy? The previous month, on its own soil, an American man went to his job at a plant and gunned down fourteen coworkers, and last spring alone there were four different school shootings. A nation at war with itself, yet people still spoke of it as some kind of paradise.. Thoughts : Infinite Country follows two characters - young Talia, who at the beginning of this book, escapes a girl’s reform school in North Colombia so that she can make her previously booked flight to the US. Before she can do that, she needs to travel many miles to reach her father and get her ticket to the rest of her family. As we follow Talia’s treacherous journey south, we learn about how she ended up in the reform school in the first place and why half her family resides in the US. Infinite Country tells the story of her family through the other protagonist, El

Family Time and Changes Galore | Weekly Snapshot

There has been so much going on over here and so much changing soon. I wish I could say I was reading a lot, but it's feeling like a luxury at the moment.

Family visit

Last week, we had my husband's brother and his wife drive down from Boston and stay with us for the week. It had been months since we enjoyed anyone's close companionship for that long so we all enjoyed the time together. We were very sad to say our goodbyes. I hope we can all return to the pre-March era soon.

While they were here, we celebrated the girl's birthday. (I feel like I have been talking about birthdays on this blog for the past many weeks but we are done for the year! Next birthday is in March.) My daughter had wanted a unicorn cake, and that's exactly what we got, so that made her day. For her birthday present, we wanted to take her to a store and get her a bike but stock is incredibly low. Last week, she had just mastered riding a bike (no training wheels, she went straight from balance bike to a regular bike). Now if we only could find a good bike in pink with streamers and a basket, that will be it, lol.

Changes

After extending his stay in the US for two months, due to flights being cancelled amid the pandemic and it not really being safe to travel, my husband's father was finally able to book a flight out. He leaves this coming Thursday and although we feel extremely sad and anxious about the idea of him traveling, we do feel glad that he was able to make arrangements. We've stocked him up on masks, shields, and gloves, and pray that it all goes well.

Of course, he had also been watching our kids while the husband and I worked, so our true work-from-challenges are only about to begin. I am not looking forward to it. In addition to that, the girl's school starts in about two weeks and that's something to start preparing for. I'm pleased with the safety preparations that her school will be adopting but I'm still more inclined to choose the online option for Fall. We need to decide by the end of this week and prepare either way. Since the little one will not be going anywhere, that's another reason I'd like to keep his sister home as well.

So with all that happening, I expect to be somewhat absent from the blog this month. I may still pop in once in a while and post a review or share some happenings, but for the most part, I'll likely be getting ready for the next few weeks.

Office room remodel

Over the past few work-from-home months, the husband and I have been working in separate rooms in makeshift office nooks. With our childcare situation changing soon, we have decided to move the kids' playroom to the basement and convert the current playroom into an office and study room. This way, we can work and play and study all in one room. We've been planning layout, furniture, and paint colors for the better part of this week and finally started placing some orders. Much of the furniture is not going to be here until mid-to-later this month so we'll have a makeshift arrangement setup until then. Hopefully, we'll have the painting completed by mid-next week and can use the room.

Reading

The only book I'm reading right now and have been for the past two weeks is The Pearl That Broke Its Shell. This is actually a very fast-paced book and I could easily have completed it in a week if only I had the brain or time to do anything but plan and worry. I'm reading this for my first IRL book club ever - we were supposed to meet yesterday but have moved to next week to better fit everyone's schedule.

I'm looking for books to read next. I'm likely going to stay within nonfiction or historical fiction for now as both tend to hook me in better at the moment but we'll see. There are a few library books and holds that I'll be looking to read as well.