Hibernator's third 2024 thread

That's the handle of the axe stuck in the target - not the blade.

Hi! I'm Rachel, 44yo caregiver of elderly and disabled. I have one son - IL5 - and two bonus kids - M11 & D14. For fun, I read, pen pal, and play Dungeons and Dragons. I have 25 pen pals. I am in 3 D&D campaigns. One is play-by-post and the others are by group voice-call.

I read a variety of books, though I have a leaning towards fantasy. The books I read to IL5 are mainly picture-chapter books that take a few days to read, but I will include any new non-chapter books I read to him as well.

I think this is my 11th year in this group, but I could be mistaken. I notice other people count, so I thought I'd throw that in there.

I finished 112 books last year.

January Reads
1. Do-You-Think-He-Saurus, by Aaron Blabey
2. Baxter is Missing, by Rebecca Elliot
3. Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett
4. Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol: The Haunted House Next Door, by Andres Miedoso
5. Mr Cooper is Super, by Dan Gutman
6. Bad Kitty vs Uncle Murray, by Nick Bruel
7. Horrorstor, by Grady Hendrix
8. The Shocking Shark Showdown, by David Bowles

February Reads
9. The School is Alive!, by Jack Chabert
10. The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
11. The Beast of Soggy Moor, by Martin Howard
12. Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams
13. Dopesick, by Beth Macy

March Reads
14. Shark School: Deep Sea Disaster, by Davy Ocean
15. Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson
16. Akata Woman, by Nnedi Okorafor
17. Notebook of Doom: Rise of the Balloon Goons, by Troy Cummings
18. Press Start: Super Game Book, by Thomas Flintham

April Reads
18. Wyrd Sisters, by Terry Pratchett
20. Sydney and Taylor Take a Flying Leap, by Jacqueline Davies
21. The Fran that Time Forgot, by Jim Benton
22. Murder Your Employer, by Rupert Holmes
23. Narwhal's Otter Friend, by Ben Clanton
24. Dragons and Marshmallows, by Asia Citro

May Reads
25. Stinky Cecil in Mudslide Mayhem, by Paige Braddock
26. Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut
27. Billy and the Mini Monsters: Monsters on the Loose, by Zanna Davidson
28. Maid, by Stephanie Land
28. Society of Substitutes: Frenemies, by Alan Katz
30. Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett
31. Time Jumpers: Stealing the Sword, by Wendy Mass
32. Kung Pow Chicken: Let's Get Cracking, by Cyndi Marko
33. This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Motar and Max Gladstone
34. Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain
35. The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro

June Reads

Open for business

Happy new thread Rachel!

Happy new thread, Rachel!

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread,Rachel!

Happy new thread, Rachel.

Happy new thread, Rachel!

Thanks Everyone!

Wednesday I took dad to his penultimate denture fitting - 3 weeks, and he'll have teeth! Then I went to meet my new therapist. I'm still feeling frustrated at my other one leaving after 3 appointments, but this one seemed on-task and goal oriented, and also supported my need to use sessions to vent. So maybe it was a good change. The other diagnosed me with "adjustment disorder" after 2 sessions of diagnostic questions, which seems odd since I have both bipolar disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

After the appointment, I had a lunch date with Aaron, then dug in the raised beds to prepare them for IL5's vegetable garden. I didn't quite finish - I have 15 more minutes of work, but my phone was about to die and I was waiting on a call, so I had to go inside. In the evening, I read to D14 for an hour. It's a fun way to spend quality time.

Books read from:

Exile, by Shannon Messenger 50 minutes
Mr Ballen podcasst 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 80 minutes

That sounds like a fun day!

Happy new one!

Happy New Thread!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/360495

Happy new thread, Rachel!

Happy Friday, Rachel. Happy New Thread. I like that bullseye topper.

Thanks for the new thread wishes!

>21 msf59: Hi Mark! Thanks! It was a rather funny moment.

Thursday I had a good game of D&D, and I worked a day shift. It was raining, so baseball was cancelled again. That also meant I wasn't able to finish digging in the raised beds. In the evening, I played Magic with D14 and M11.

Books read from:

Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan 63 minutes
Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut 100 minutes
Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 60 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 43 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 266 minutes

>23 The_Hibernator: D&D is a nice game, and i miss playing it with my family. Sadly my day hasn't been very good due to having a mental breakdown a little earlier and yeah

>24 Owltherian: I'm sorry you had a bad day. If I ever start a new free game of D&D with D14 and M11, you're welcome to join on Discord. If you can do that from your computer. I have a penpal who is preparing a campaign, but it may take a while.

Friday was great. After speech therapy for IL5, we took advantage of a beautiful day and went to the park with some of his friends. I got to chat with their mom, so it was fun for everyone. Then we went home and he played outside while I finished clearing the raised bed, and planted tomatoes and the watermelon, which got its own raised bed. I still have the carrots and radishes to go. Then the family went to Perkins for dinner.

Books read from:

Bible 97 minutes
Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut 51 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 148 minutes

>25 The_Hibernator: Sadly Discord is blocked on my school computer, and i would have to ask my dad for discord and I'm sure he will say no.

I kind of figured, but thought I'd ask. I wouldn't want D14 playing a live game with some random adult she met on the internet, so I understand your dad's point of view.

Saturday Aaron and I played D&D. Aaron's character died. We still have a chance to revivify him, but we may not be able to, because we're in the middle of a battle which may take a while, and revivify has to be used in a certain amount of time.

After D&D, Aaron grilled, and then IL5, Aaron, and I hung out in the car, which is something IL5 had been begging me to do all day. He likes being able to sit in the passenger seat. I got to read to IL5 in the evening, which is something I missed doing on Friday night because my brain was broken.

Books read from:

Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan 31 minutes
Mr Ballen 30 minutes
Maid, by Stephanie Land 38 minutes
Stinky Cecil in Mudslide Mayhem, by Paige Braddock 24 minutes

Books finished: Stinky Cecil in Mudslide Mayhem, by Paige Braddock

Time reading: 123 minutes

Zoey has to help a baby dragon when her mom goes on a trip. My 5-year-old loved the story of this little dragon and loved speculating what he would eat. Very good book.

Jelly is jealous of Narwhal’s otter friend. This is cute and funny. We enjoyed this installment of the series.

Games played

Beginning of April



Beginning of May

Sunday I worked. I was in a mood, so we didn't have family day, nor did I manage to read to IL5.

Books read from:

Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut 55 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 55 minutes

>28 The_Hibernator: Yep, it gets annoying at times because my brother is allowed to have it, although he lied about his phone having parental control

>35 Owltherian: is your brother older?

>36 The_Hibernator: By 9 months yes.

>37 Owltherian: what's your dad's logic, then?

You are making progress with you needlework, Rachel! With you busy schedule, that is no small accomplishment.

>30 The_Hibernator: That looks a like a very cute book! I'm glad IL likes reading with you.

>38 The_Hibernator: He didnt set up my brothers parental control, my mother was supposed to do that but i may tell my dad that she didn't set it up correctly.

>40 Owltherian: Oh. So he hasn't chosen to have your brother be able to talk to random people on the internet and you not...That makes sense. I set up patental control of my kids' devices, but I mostly let them do what they want, now. Neither has asked for social media accounts. And with Discord, they only do it on my computer while playing D&D.

Monday was productive. I went to breakfast with dad and IL5, then we all went to a small playground afterwards. It was a beautiful day, and dad and I took turns playing with him on the structure.

Then I took D14 to an appointment, and IL5 to school. I ran to the bakery and picked up a cake for teachers and staff of all 3 schools the kids are in, then drove to the schools to drop the cakes off. I made phone calls, and planted the carrots.

In the evening, Aaron took IL5 to swim lessons and I took M11 to Boy Scouts. M11 ran the mile in 10 minutes 55 seconds, which is a huge improvement, but since he hasn't actually tried to improve by working out, it didn't count towards earning his Tenderfoot rank. He also improved on the stretch, sit-ups, and push-ups. He asked me to remind him to exercise this month so he can rank up.

Before work, I got some reading done.

Books read from:

Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut 60 minutes
Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan 24 minutes
Maid, by Stephanie Land 15 minutes
Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 20 minutes
Mr Ballen 42 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 161 minutes

Tuesday I took Polyphemus to the vet. She said that Polyphemus may have a loose tooth, and she wanted to clean the teeth under anesthesia to check it out. At first I refused, but later in the day, I thought about how bad Polyphemus' breath is, and that may be an indication of rot or decay. I discussed it with Aaron, and we decided that it may be better to take care of the tooth than to let Polyphemus get sick.

Then, I started looking at 2-month-old kittens from the rescue. I was torn between getting two and getting one, because I don't want 5 cats, but I feel like a kitten that young needs another kitten that young. I don't know...I am still strongly ambivalent. I asked Aaron, and he was strongly ambivalent, too. I had to make the decision quickly because I had already contacted the rescue, and they were waiting for my answer. I drafted an email saying that I wanted two kittens. Then I drafted an email saying I wanted only one kitten, and ended up sending the one saying two. Aaron subsequently told me that one kitten gave him fewer heart palpitations, and that Hero was going to be very upset by the new cats. He had a point, but it was too late. I'd already gotten two cats on hold.

IL5 had an appointment Tuesday, followed by baseball for M11 and T-ball for IL5. IL5 was with me, and I had a hard time not bursting on to the field to tell him to stop running around in circles and actually listen. The good thing is that he was excited by the T-ball the whole time. Then he played at the playground for a while. M11 was thrilled because he hit a ball during his practice.

Books read from:

Bible 23 minutes
Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut 60 minutes

Books finished: Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut

Time reading: 83 minutes

>43 The_Hibernator: running around in circles
Maybe he needs to join a track team :-)

>44 norabelle414: Lol. Maybe that's what he needs. Though he's mentioned baseball several times since his practice. He was really excited to be playing.

Wednesday we decided that perhaps the best solution to Hero being bullied by four cats (if we end up getting two more) is just keeping her in our bedroom all the time. If she doesn't cooperate, that's her problem. But we'll give it a try. I have to rearrange and declutter the room before we can do that, though.

Then I went to therapy. I am not certain about my therapist, but I'll give her a bit longer of a try. I feel like she validates me so profusely that it feels fake. I know she's not trying to be fake, so I've been tolerating it.

After therapy, I went to lunch with dad and then we went to a sporting-goods store to buy him some weights. He wants to get back to using his arm at full mobility, which takes a long time after a shoulder break.

The stumps were removed from our back yard while we were gone - there are now two big grass-free areas. My neighbor told me that grass won't grow there unless I fertilize the area with nitrogen. Good to know!

In the evening, D14 had her audition for a community play (Frozen Jr) and M11 had a swim test for the Boy Scouts.

Books read from:

Mr Ballen podcast 35 minutes
Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan 28 minutes
The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 18 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 71 minutes

Happy New One, Rachel! The axe picture cracked me up!

>29 The_Hibernator: Hanging out in the car with your sweet 5-yr-old. What a good Mom you are! It's fun making memories...

I'm eager to see what evolves with the kitten situation. I think Aaron should have been more upfront with his true feelings. There is always something fun happening at your house. :-)

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/360644

>47 Donna828: Hi Donna! We'll probably end up with both kittens. The way the agency works is once you put two on hold, you have to take both or neither. So now it's more of an issue if they are a good fit for the family.

>48 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver!

Thursday I worked my day job and played D&D. Aaron took IL5 to T-ball, and I took M11 to baseball. In the evening, I read to D14.

Books read from:

Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett 123 minutes
Exile, by Shannon Messenger 51 minutes
The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 20 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 192 minutes

Friday after IL5's speech therapy we were supposed to go to the park. He loves "the big playground," but for some reason wanted to go to the McDonald's Playplace. So I read while he ate and played for over an hour. Then we went to the library, where he played with the toys/computer/chessboard and picked out books for over an hour.

In the evening, Aaron and I watched Supernatural until it was time for him to game with his friends. D14, M11, and I drove out of the suburbs at 10pm to see the Northern Lights, but all we saw are streaks in the sky without color.

Books read from:

Bible 21 minutes
Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett 67 minutes
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 42 minutes
Maid, by Stephanie Land 45 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 42 minutes
Billy and the Mini Monsters: Monsters on the Loose, by Zanna Davidson 12 minutes

Books finished:

Maid, by Stephanie Land
Billy and the Mini Monsters: Monsters on the Loose, by Zanna Davidson

Time reading: 229 minutes

Cecil’s house floods, and he and his friends need to find out why the pond water is rising. Like the first two books in the series, this is a cute graphic novel and my 5-year-old had lots of questions about the animals in it.

Rabo Karabekian is a washed up artist when he meets a widow who convinces him to write his autobiography. In a very non-romantic way, she breathes life into him. This book wasn’t as funny as I’d expected. I’d remembered finding another of Vonnegut’s books funny (I forget which one), and expected the same from this one. It did have a little dry situational humor, but wasn’t a satire. Regardless, the story kept me coming back for more, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was curious what he had locked in that potato barn.

Billy’s mini-monster friends want to come to school with him, but Billy is reluctant. They come anyway. Cute, colorful, funny. Definitely a good addition to the series.

This is Land’s story of raising her young daughter in poverty while slaving away at a thankless job that didn’t pay the rent. It’s about being a woman in recovery from domestic violence. And about the way the middle class judge the poverty-stricken.

This was interesting, heartbreaking, and real. The prose flowed easily and the story progressed naturally. Land is a very articulate woman, which is fortunate since not all people in difficult situations are able to tell their story in an engaging way.

I did have a couple of qualms about the book, but they were all quibbles. Like, why is she pointing out that her child’s father can’t swim, as if that somehow provides further proof he was a bad dad? Didn’t we have enough evidence of that? It seemed a little vindictive to bring it up.

Overall, though, I thought Maid was an excellent view of what many women must be experiencing.

Saturday I worked my day job because I didn't want to work Mother's Day. I'd already signed up for Wednesday to make up for the missed day, but they asked if I'd be willing to work Saturday as well.

Aaron went board gaming with his friends in the late afternoon. Dad, IL5, and I walked to a nearby playground. It was hard getting the kiddo to walk back, and I got tired of carrying him, but we made it eventually.

Books read from:

Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett 55 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 29 minutes
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 33 minutes
Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull 24 minutes
Society of Substitutes: Frenemies, by Alan Katz 30 minutes

Books finished:

Society of Substitutes: Frenemies, by Alan Katz

Time reading: 171 minutes

Sunday (Mother's Day), I went grocery shopping - mostly by accident. I just wanted to go to buy some milk and make Aaron do the grocery shopping (as I really dislike shopping for groceries for some reason), but dad and D14 both wanted to come along, and it seemed silly to have 3 people just to buy milk. (Most weeks I make a pickup order at Target, and Aaron runs to get it and a few items at another store.)

After Aaron and I cooked bacon and pancakes, Aaron went to buy some pants and some few groceries I forgot on my shopping trip, and D14, IL5 and I went to the pet store for essentials as well as a few toys and scratching posts for the new kittens. Then we went to the craft store to buy M11 some popsicle sticks for his school project.

Shortly after the shopping, everyone but dad piled into the car and we went to meet the kittens we plan on getting. They were both very cute. IL5 did a good job of petting gently.

In the evening, Aaron grilled and M11 continued to work on his school project. We got an episode of Locke & Key watched while eating. I cooked some Jambalaya for Aaron and my lunches for the week. Then IL5 fell asleep while I was reading to him.

Books read from:

Zombies vs Unicorns, by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier 59 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 41 minutes
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 25 minutes
Time Jumpers: Stealing the Sword, by Wendy Mass 15 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 140 minutes

Monday, M11 had a virtual appointment. Then I spent some time cleaning while IL5 was playing with LEGO. After dropping IL5 at school in the afternoon, I ran some errands and then relaxed a bit. I finished Groot's head (except his eyes) on my cross-stitch! In the evening, I took IL5 to swim lessons and M11 went to a meeting to plan for Whitewater rafting camp this coming weekend.

Books read from:

Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett 53 minutes
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 20 minutes
Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 18 minutes
Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull 33 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 50 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading:171 minutes

Tuesday was a bit frustrating to me. D14 and I both had appointments, then I was going to spray the dandelions on our yard - something I worked myself up to through all the morning. I was really going to do it. Then the opthalmologist dilated my eyes. And it was soooo bright outside. It was very frustrating.

Then, I got an email telling me the rescue was rejecting our application for the kittens. This made me livid because the rejection came from a conversation I had 6 weeks ago with a woman who told me "I don't think this will be a good fit." I literally asked her "Should I look somewhere else? I don't want to waste time." And she said "no, that's not what I'm saying." Then they wasted my time for the next 6 weeks. So disrespectful!

In the evening, Aaron took M11 to baseball and I took IL5 to T-ball. I hear M11 got home after being walked to first, but to be fair, they were terrible pitches. IL5 has focus issues. He seems to love the idea of playing, and he hit the ball all three times he was up, but (like several of the kids) didn't know to run the bases. That was fine, but he wandered randomly around the outfield...or sat down to play in the dirt. It's tempting to give him Ritalin to see if it helps, but that seems a misuse of it.

Books read from:

Bible 20 minutes
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 6 minutes
Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett 68 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 94 minutes

Wednesday was full of excitement. Polyphemus went to the vet to get his teeth cleaned (an expensive procedure). The tooth that appeared loose fell out, and they pulled 4 more teeth in hopes that the periodontal disease wouldn't spread to the rest of the mouth.

After an appointment for myself, I worked my day job, went to pick up Polyphemus from the vet, then drove 2 hours each way to pick up a couple of kittens. Yes, that's a long drive, but I was being picky about the cats because I wanted good house cats. Immediately after dropping the kittens off at home, I went back to my night job.

The kids all squealed in excitement about the kittens. Even M11, who thought he didn't want a kitten.

The kittens' names are Sake and Freyja.

Books read from:

Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 19 minutes
Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett 110 minutes
Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro 204 minutes
Mr Ballen Podcast 43 minutes

Books finished: Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett

Time reading: 376 minutes

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/360905

Finally, a good day!! Hope the kittens add to your household chaos in a fun way. : )

>63 Berly: Thanks Kim! They're still too tiny to have wandering the house alone. That'll have to be in stages once they're a few months old. They're maybe 6-7 weeks right now.

Thursday, I worked my day job and played D&D. There wasn't a total party kill, but we got close. Aaron took IL5 to T-ball (he seemed taken aback by the fact that players can't get out in T-ball), and I took M11 to baseball.

Books read from:

Bible 22 minutes
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 42 minutes
Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull 15 minutes
The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro 197 minutes
Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 19 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 273 minutes

Friday, after speech therapy, IL5 and I went to a park for a playdate. There was a big vehicle show. IL5 was intrigued by the construction vehicles. He also played for a bit in the playground.

In the afternoon, I helped M11 finish packing for Boy Scout camp (whitewater rafting). D14 went to their mom's, so in the evening, Aaron, IL5, dad, and I went out to eat.

Books read from:

Mr Ballen Podcast 30 minutes
Time Jumpers: Stealing the Sword, by Wendy Mass 15 minutes

Books finished: Time Jumpers: Stealing the Sword, by Wendy Mass

Time reading: 45 minutes

Checking in on you again, Rachel! I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

>65 The_Hibernator: There wasn't a total party kill, but we got close. I hope your GM allows your party to recuperate!

>67 alcottacre: Hi Stasia!

The GM is pretty generous. Only one character is dead. But he kind of asked for it.

Saturday Aaron and I played D&D while IL5 watched YouTube and played with LEGOs. It was a good game. In the evening, we watched Turtles All the Way Down, though I missed a big chunk of it because IL5 wanted a bath and he looked like he could use a relaxing activity. I was, sadly, too tired to read to him that night. Not sure why I was so tired.

Books read from:

Mr Ballen podcast 111 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 111 minutes

Sake



Freyja

Snowball, a classroom hamster grows to ginormous proportion, and decides to take over the world. Noah, the evil ferret, must team up with Mrs Worthy and Milton to stop her. Cute. Funny. A good installment to this series.

Magrat inherits a fairy godmother wand, and goes with Nanny Ogg and Nanny Weatherwax to save a young woman from marrying a prince. Very humorous, as are all of Pratchett’s books.

Chase and Ava find a mysterious suitcase at a flea market and it takes them back to King Arthur’s time. Cute. Nothing special, but entertaining enough.

Your kittens are so cute, Rachel! It looks like IL is having a lot of fun with the construction vehicles.

>75 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb! Yeah, the kittens are tiny and therefore adorable. They're very cuddly, too.

IL5 loves construction vehicles.

Sunday I worked my day job, then went on an anniversary date with Aaron. We walked to a bar and sat and chatted.

Books read from:

The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro 61 minutes
Kung Pow Chicken: Let's Get Cracking, by Cyndi Marko 30 minutes

Books finished:

Kung Pow Chicken: Let's Get Cracking, by Cyndi Marko

Time reading: 91 minutes

>77 The_Hibernator: Happy anniversary!

>78 norabelle414: Thanks Nora!

Monday started with a video visit with one of my inmate penpals.

I was going to take M11 in to urgent care because his eye swelled up quite a bit at Boy Scout camp last weekend. When he got up in the morning, it was still swollen, so I kept him home from school. But by the time I was ready to take him in (after the visit), his eye was down to almost normal. 🤷‍♀️

I made some gumbo, took the boys to school, and made some phone calls (so not a largely productive day). In the evening D14 had an award ceremony for graduating from middle school with greater than 3.5 GPA. And M11 had a band concert. Luckily, the award ceremony ended in plenty of time to get to the concert, so we were able to support both kids. IL5 ended up coming along because the babysitter bailed. But he was very well-behaved.

Books read from:

Mr Ballen Podcast 83 minutes
The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 19 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 102 minutes

Those kittens are adorable!

>81 Owltherian: Thanks! They really are!

Tuesday, M11 had an appointment in the morning, then I went to Perkins with dad, and cleaned. IL5 had an appointment, then I cleaned some more as D14 made meatloaf. Baseball was cancelled due to a storm. D14 brought the kittens upstairs. Sake is quite the runner.

Books read from:

Bible 27 minutes
Mr Ballen 31 minutes
The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro 50 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 108 minutes

>82 The_Hibernator: My grandparents usually foster kittens but haven't gotten any new ones, i posted a few pics on my gallery.

p.s. i wont be on LT over the summer my computer is being taken

>84 Owltherian: Awwww, we'll miss you!

Wednesday dad got his teeth! I've never seen him with healthy teeth before, so he looked....interesting. He wanted Cub chicken for dinner because he couldn't eat it for four months while he had no teeth.

After getting an oil change, I intended on spraying the dandelions. But I realized I'd bought a spray that needed to be hooked to a yard hose. So I got a hose out, but couldn't get it screwed on because there's too much calcification in the threads. So I read a book instead of spraying the dandelions.

More bad news of the day was that the basement is leaking again. Starting literally RIGHT where they stopped drilling for the drain tiles last year. (They stopped where they did because we would have to move the water softener, and figure out what to do about the shower and bathroom.) So now we need to decide if we put drain tiles in the whole rest of the basement, or if we need to break it into more financially manageable chunks.

However, something good did happen Wednesday. IL5 went on a field trip and caught a fish. He was really excited about it.

Books read from:

Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull 50 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 50 minutes

Here's the Memorial Day readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/361025

>87 girthmaster: through >110 girthmaster: What on earth just happened up there? 😱

>111 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver! I'll be camping, so not a lot of reading time.

Thursday I worked and played D&D. M11 had a baseball game, and IL5 had a t-ball practice. M11's team got creamed, but that happens sometimes. IL5 had Ritalin before his practice, and it seemed to help with concentrating. The kids were especially loud today, and M11 was especially argumentative.

Books read from:

Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 23 minutes
The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro 63 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 147 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 233 minutes

Friday, Aaron had taken the day off work so we could go camping. First, we went to Perkins with dad and IL5, then to IL5's speech therapy. Then we packed up and headed out. The traffic was horrendous. It was supposed to take us 1 hour 45 minutes to drive. But the traffic resulted in an extra hour being added to that. IL5 was luckily quite patient, all things considered. At the campground, we ate burgers and corn, had a fire, and slept early because it got cold. D14 and M11 were visiting their grandpa with their mom.

Books read from:

This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Motar and Max Gladstone 167 minutes
The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro 29 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 196 minutes

Saturday, Aaron, IL5, and I slept in till about 10:30am. We ate a quick breakfast, and then went on a short hike. Unfortunately, we had to turn around after about 1.5 miles (so 3 miles round trip) because my foot felt like it was getting a blister. Next time, I'll bring my hiking shoes camping.

After the half-successful hike, we went to a playground and to the lake to wade. Upon returning to the campsite, we relaxed in the tent during some rain, and called it a night after another fire and some brats in the evening.

Books read from:

Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull 25 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 25 minutes

Sunday I enjoyed listening to the whip-poor-wills overnight. It was raining in the morning, so we skipped breakfast and headed home. After putting away the camping gear, we ran some errands and did some housework.

Books read from:

This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Motar and Max Gladstone 37 minutes
Mr Ballen Podcast 71 minutes
Strange Scout Tales: How to Merit in Monsters, by Matthew Cody 20 minutes

Books finished:

This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Motar and Max Gladstone

Time reading: 128 minutes

Happy memorial day! It sounds like a nice camping trip.

>117 banjo123: It was winderful! We have another in two weeks.

Monday Aaron and I had planned on cleaning the garage, but it was raining. So we were productive indoors instead. The older kids arrived home happy from their trip to see their grandpa. I read to D14 in the evening. We are almost done with our book.

Books read from:

Mr Ballen podcast 67 minutes
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 28 minutes
Exile, by Shannon Messenger 83 minutes
Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 20 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 198 minutes

Freyja

Gordon and Benny became superheros after falling into a vat of glowing goo. When chickens around town start losing their feathers, the two must save the town. Cute and interesting to my 5 year old. Second grade reading level.

Elodie is guilted into marrying a prince to get a huge payout for her father – the lord of a backwaters land. But she must save herself from a dragon when things don’t go as she suspects. This was a fantastic movie.

Tuesday I went from my night job to my day job. Dad got his dentures fixed (they didn't fit quite right).

I spent a chunk of the day doing last-minute preparations for M11's birthday on Thursday. I had known his birthday was upcoming, but totally forgot that it required ordering of a cake and buying of presents. But I ordered a beholder cake (it took a bit of back-and-forth with the bakery, since they were confused about what I wanted), bought a boardgame for Bobby's present (Pandemic Legacy Season 1), & planned a D&D oneshot with a professional DM for my present (it'll be on Sunday). Aaron also brainstormed his present.

At home, M11 and I created our characters (he's a tortle rogue named Zion and I'm a giff fighter named Reek). Then the family went out to dinner for M11's birthday.

Books read from:

The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro 64 minutes
The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 20 minutes
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 41 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 125 minutes

Wednesday I ran errands in the morning. Then I took dad to get a basal cell carcinoma removed from his arm. In the afternoon, I meant to do some yardwork because it was a beautiful day, but I accidentally fell asleep for an hour. In the evening, I took M11 to baseball practice. He hit the ball four times! Then I read to D14. She was hoping we'd finish the book, but we didn't have enough time before I left for my overnight job.

Books read from:

Bible 55 minutes
Mr Ballen 114 minutes
Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull 21 minutes
Exile, by Shannon Messenger 48 minutes
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 36 minutes

Books finished:

Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain

Time reading: 274 minutes

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/361148

Thanks Silver!

Thursday I went from work to work, as usual. I left my dayjob early because IL5 had a pre-K graduation. The class sang a couple songs, then each told the parents what they wanted to be when they grew up. IL5 said he wanted to be a superhero.

M12's birthday celebration went well. The cake was meant to be a beholder, but the cake bakers didn't get my instructions quite right. It was still pretty awesome-looking. M12 seemed pleased with the boardgame he got from my dad and with the toy that IL5 pulled out of his own toy chest and wrapped for M12.

Books read from:

Mr Ballen podcast 33 minutes
The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro 41 minutes
Poor Things, by Alasdair Gray 63 minutes
The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth, by Thomas Morris 55 minutes
The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins 19 minutes
Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull 33 minutes

Books finished:

The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro

Time reading: 244 minutes

Friday was a relaxing day, for the most part. I had intended on taking IL5 to the library, but he didn't want to go. After a trip to the grocery store, I really didn't want to go, either, so we relaxed at home. I got some reading done.

Books read from:

Mr Ballen podcast 70 minutes
The Mystery of Exploding Teeth, by Thomas Morris 28 minutes
Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull 37 minutes

Books finished:

Caught up on Mr Ballen podcast after a year of listening

Time reading: 135 minutes

Total books finished in May:

Stinky Cecil and Mudslide Mayhem, by Paige Braddock
Bluebeard, by Kurt Vonnegut
Maid, by Stephanie Land
Billy and the Mini Monsters: Monsters on the Loose, by Zanna Davidson
Witches Abroad, by Terry Pratchett
Society of Substitutes: Frenemies, by Alan Katz
Time Jumpers: Stealing the Sword, by Wendy Mass
Kung Pow Chicken: Let's Get Cracking, by Cyndi Marko
This is How You Lose the Time War, by Amal El-Motar and Max Gladstone
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain
The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro
Mr Ballen Podcast - all caught up!

Books continuing in June:

Bible
The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins
Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan
Exile, by Shannon Messenger
Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull
The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth, by Thomas Morris

Total time reading: 4698 minutes

I'm glad you got away for a camping trip. It sounds like you had a good time. Your dad looks really good.

>132 vancouverdeb: Thanks Deb! Yes, it was fun going on that camping trip, and we have another coming up next weekend.

Saturday M12 went to an 8 hour party. That mom must be a saint - putting up with 6 middle schoolers for 8 hours. He really enjoyed himself, though. Aaron and I played D&D in the afternoon. In the evening, M12 and Aaron went to his birthday surprise (a virtual reality cafe).

Books read from:

Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull 27 minutes
Strange Scout Tales: How to Merit in Monsters, by Matthew Cody 15 minutes
Kung Pow Chicken: Let's Get Cracking, by Cyndi Marko 20 minutes

Books finished:

Kung Pow Chicken: Let's Get Cracking, by Cyndi Marko

Time reading: 62 minutes

Red and Blue are on opposite sides of the time war. Yet somehow they fall in love. This is the story of their romance. It is poetic, engaging, and creative.

This is a book about PTSD, written by an expert on the subject. It’s supposed to be a medical review of PTSD with symptoms, causes, and treatments, with snippets about patients to create a personal component. But the snippets about patients tended to feel a bit forced to me. Sometimes, she included examples of people presenting the symptoms, while admitting she never got the chance to question them about their trauma history. Having a trauma history is a major diagnostic criterion of PTSD last I heard. The bits that were medical were short and didn’t have enough detail, except the portions about psychiatric treatment, which was, unfortunately, the part that interested me the least. I am more interested in psychological treatment. Not that I think medicine is useless – I just don’t find them interesting. So, overall, I could have spent my time better than reading this book. On the other hand, that’s my fault, as I could have given up at any time.

An elderly couple go on a journey of self discovery. They stumble upon adventurers out to slay a dragon. This was a good book. Very thoughtful and wistful.

Beginning of May


Beginning of June

Hi Rachel! Belated new thread wishes. I'm skimming through to catch up.

Congratulations on the kittens; how do you choose names for your pets?

>140 The_Hibernator: Don't know what happened there ;0)

>144 The_Hibernator: Ah! I am Groot. When you started, I thought it was going to be a coffee cup scene.

>145 humouress: Hi Nina! I almost always have to skim rather than read threads. It's the only way I can keep up on threads.

I used to pick Shakespeare names. I had an Othello, Puck, and Hero. (Puck and Hero are still alive). Polyphemus has one eye, so we named him after Odysseus' cyclops. Sake was named by IL5, since it's his kitten. I assume he was thinking mire along the lines of "Socky" but what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Freyja was something Aaron and I came up with...I guess because IL5 is also named after a Norse god.

Lol. I don't like coffee, so that would be a weird choice for me. Yes, it's baby Groot. I'm rather proud of it, though I'm moving through very slowly. Especially now that it's this brown trimming that takes a lot of double-checking for me.

Sunday I worked my day job - it was a calm workday. D14 had her D&D session in the afternoon. In the evening, M12 and I had his birthday D&D session. M12's character insisted I was the bad guy, and refused to fight with me. But I guess if that's the way he wants to play, it was HIS birthday activity.

Books read from:

Poor Things, by Alasdair Gray 99 minutes
The Mystery of the Exploding Teeth by Thomas Morris 42 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off, by Thomas Flintham 10 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 151 minutes