Silly Little Things vol. 5
Can you believe it’s already May? Summer will be here before we know it. April was a pretty good month over here. It started off cold and rainy, but the end of the month pulled it’s act together.
Days of sitting in my Adirondack chair on the front lawn while the kids ride their bikes up and down the street have returned.
I optimistically planted some flowers and tomatoes and herbs and so far they’re still kicking.
The job hunt continues, and I'll post a separate update about that next week.
Let’s cover some fun things from April, shall we?
Squibler, the Most Dangerous Writing App - this has been really fun to play with but also terrifying.
This made me feel seen. (Minus the tennis bits. But maybe I should take up tennis??)
I did NOT know this was happening but now I do and I am SO EXCITED.
When we had renovations done to the second floor of our house we had the windows replaced. The contractor we hired told us the windows that were up there originally were too small and not up to code, so he swapped them with these enormous Andersen windows and I could NOT hate them more.
For one, they don’t match the rest of the windows in the house. The first floor windows are white vinyl 6 over 6 with white trim around them and the upstairs ones are wood on the inside, white on the outside, but don’t have any trim. Plus, they’re way bigger than the ones downstairs. I could order 6 over 6 grids to put on them myself, but like, why? Why is that separate?
They also don’t have child guards on them. You know, those little bits that flip out so windows can’t open too wide and send children tumbling to their doom? Of course, you can buy those separately, too. For $43 per window. Plus shipping. 😒
It hasn’t been a major concern thus far, since these windows are pretty tricky to open. (Oh did you think they had a little handle on the sash to help you open and close it? Nope. But I’m sure you can buy them online.) But since we’ve had some warm weather lately, I’ve been cracking the kid’s window to let in a breeze. Then I went in there one day to find the window wiiiiide open, and discovered they are now strong enough to do that. So child guards must be purchased and the window is to remain closed and locked until they arrive.
Should I have pushed back on the window thing at the time? Yes. But this was all happening in March of 2020 and at the time I was more concerned with wrapping up the project ASAP and getting any potentially contaminated people out of my home. You live, you learn, you don’t ever get these shitty windows again.
The April book roundup will be out next week, but right now I’m reading Heartwood and enjoying it.
And if you’re curious, these are my Book of the Month picks for May (one is a May book, the others are add-ons because I couldn’t help myself):
We’re kind of in a bit of a show lull over here. Nothing has been grabbing my attention since Severance and White Lotus ended, but here’s what we’ve been putting on at night:
🐴 Ransom Canyon (Netflix): This is really not great you guys. I’ve been watching it at night when N isn’t home or in the afternoons if I’m folding laundry. I wanted it to be more Virgin River vibes but it isn’t hitting that mark for me.
💎 The Righteous Gemstones (Max): N and I are watching this one together because Walton Goggins is in it. The episodes are all about 30 minutes long so it’s perfect at the end of the day. And there’s four seasons for us to get through!
Not watching but want to:
💕 Pride & Prejudice: Gotta do a rewatch since everyone else is.
🌳 The Four Seasons (Netflix): This just came out and sounds good.
🧜♀️ Sirens (Netflix): I adore Meghan Fahy so this is a no-brainer. Plus it seems like it might have some weird cult vibes? And Julianne Moore? Say less.
🐻 Paddington in Peru (Netflix): Something the whole family will probably like.
🍝 Nonnas (Netflix): Vince Vaugh opens a restaurant with nonnas as the chefs. This looks heartwarming and hysterical. Susan Sarandon!
This will also be getting it’s own update soon, because it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster writing-wise over here. I scrapped the book I started working on at the beginning of the year. I may revisit it at some point, since I do still like the idea, but it wasn’t coming together the way I wanted and it wasn’t fun to write.
I picked up something I started working on last year and jumped back in and have been really enjoying myself writing it. It’s still hard work, but it’s flowing much better than the other book was. I’ve given myself a 6 week deadline to finish a very rough first draft, so we’ll see.
That’s it for this edition of Silly Little Things! Hope your weekend is full of sunshine. I live in New England so it’s going to rain, of course. 🙃