The other hobbies | Weekly Snapshot

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...

The other hobbies | Weekly Snapshot

Not much has changed since my last post - I'm still book hopping but hopefully have found out what my problem is, and oh hey - some good stuff here on the vaccine front.

Life

The best news here this past week was that Ohio is opening up vaccinations to those 40+ years old this week and to 16+ next week. I know many states aren't this far ahead yet so I wonder how it's almost widely available yet but hopefully, this means many are vaccinated. The husband and I did already get our first shots last week, thanks to a drive by Rite Aid pharmacy to use up their extra stock. So another two weeks, and we'll both be vaccinated. Of course, we're still going to continue to mask up and socially distance but I am also ready to plan our first post-vaccine vacation.

That said, there's still a lot of uncertainty. I am trying to plan summer camp for the kids and I'm not sure how brave I feel yet so either I'll continue with their present school / preschool or branch out to the community center. Waits to be seen.

Over the past few weeks, I've planted seeds of onions, asparagus, peppers, and tomatoes and I've been obsessively watching them every day. They won't move outdoors until 6-8 weeks later but I cannot wait. I've also ordered a few trees - we don't currently have any in our backyard so they will be a welcome sight. We'll be doing some yard cleanup and mulching soon so we'll plant the trees then.

Reading

Over the last two weeks, I've only been able to complete the second Murderbot book, Artificial Condition. Although I didn't love the first book (I enjoyed it enough but didn't see what the pull was), I was completely blown away by the second one. Things got extremely interesting and I enjoyed both the plot and the chatter between all the non-humans in this book.

After that though, I've been mostly reading the same book for the past 10 days. As much as I'm enjoying Gold Diggers, I can't seem to turn the (virtual) pages fast enough. It's killing me - I really prefer to see progress. I don't know why I can't just ignore the page count and read, especially if the book is enjoyable. At the 50% point, I put the book down, read a few pages of Notes on a Nervous Planet, started Detransition, Baby couple of times, and also started a read/listen combo, The Alice Network, which I'm enjoying tremendously.

Exploring

Because of all the book hopping I've been doing, I think what I really need is another hobby. Either work on a new puzzle or knit something. I picked up my needles yesterday after a three month break and am thinking of making a sweater dress for my daughter. I have the pattern picked out and swatch drying out right now so hopefully, I'll have made some progress by next week. While I knit, I've been listening to the audiobook of The Alice Network, which is turning out to be the right book.

Watching

Last week, we watched and loved Raya and the Last Dragon. I love listening to Awkwafina so Sisu was loads of fun. My kids rewatched it yesterday with a friend so we joined in as well. For Friday family movie night, we also watched Finding Nemo and Finding Dory, both were first time watch for my daughter, and both were well-enjoyed. Other than that, we are still continuing through DS9.