How I've spent my free time this summer...

There's No Place Like Home...

I made a little bit of a tactical error today. The sun was out for the first time in over a week. I wanted to be outside enjoying the sunshine – preferably at a park, but the kids and The Husband wanted to spend their outside time playing at the community pool. I decided to send them on their way. My plan was to sneak out to a favorite metropark with my camera, a book, and my tablet. I was all set to leave when I realized that my husband’s car was getting serviced – which means he took my car to the pool. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.

It was time to come up with some alternatives. The nearest park was next to my kid’s school, so I packed up my stuff and started walking. I made it about half way when a friend in the neighborhood asked me if I was going to the school to watch the cricket match. I turned around and went back home. Next I decided to try my husband’s favorite spot, the bit of shade under the tree in the front yard. This lasted about 10 minutes. Just long enough to be interrupted by three different neighbors. I was about to give up when I decided to try one more place. The kid’s domain – also known as the backyard. I weaved around the child-sized tables and chairs, kicked some toys to the side, and tossed a few soccer balls into the grass before setting up on the deck next to the lilac bush. At first I just sat there, it was quiet, it was peaceful, and it was mine.

Two beers and one hundred pages later and the spell was broken. The kids and husband were back and it was time to start dinner. I was sad to leave my quiet spot, but I was also happy because I had finally found my place outside and I didn’t have to go farther than my own deck.

Update

I'm slowly catching up on my reading and reviews. I hope to be completely caught up sometime next weekend. I'm also asking that you bear with me, the next few reviews will be posted before they can be ripped to shreds by my editor -- also known as my mom. My youngest brother is leaving the nest to attend college next week so my mom is swamped by her paying editing gig and the emotional turmoil of becoming an Empty Nester and has little time to deal with my moaning and groaning. But come September everything should fall into a comfortable routine -- at least until the next crisis.

Checking In...

Dropping in for a second. I've been away from my computer for the past 4 days due to the Dublin Irish Festival - something my family is deeply involved in. Now that it is over and I have started to recover I was planning on writing up 2-3 reviews in the next 2 days but something came up last minute so I'm pushing the timeline back another 2 days. 

After I finish the reviews on my to-do list I will be slowing down on the reviews for a few weeks  - 1 or 2 a week - because my kids are going back to school soon and I'm participating in a Tortall Series read-along. But by September I hope to be writing 3-4 reviews a week.

Thanks for your patience!