Hibernator's fifth 2024 thread

Hi! I'm Rachel, 44yo caregiver of elderly and disabled. I have one son - IL5 - and two bonus kids - M12 & D14. For fun, I read, pen pal, and play Dungeons and Dragons. I have 30 pen pals. I am in 3 D&D campaigns. One is play-by-post, one is by group voice-call, and I'm DMing a third for my family.

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
29. 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
36. The Birdy Snatchers, by Cyndi Marko
37. Heroes on the Side, by Cyndi Marko
38. Exile, by Shannon Messenger
39. Bok Bok Boom, by Cyndi Marko
40. Jurassic Peck, by Cyndi Marko
41. Poor Things, by Alasdair Gray
42. How to Merit in Monsters, by Matthew Cody
43. Dragonwatch, by Brandon Mull
44. Reaper Man, by Terry Pratchett
45. Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
46. Looniverse: Stranger Things, by David Lubar
47. The Selfish Gene, by Richard Dawkins

July Reads

48. Lords and Ladies, by Terry Pratchett
49. The Haunted Library, by Dori Hillestad Butler
50. Henry Heckelbeck Dinosaur Hunter, by Wanda Coven

August Reads

51. When Glitter Met Glue, by Karen Kilpatrick
52. The Three Little Guinea Pigs, by Erica S Perl
53. Zombies vs Unicorns, by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
54. Ghosts Don't Ride Bikes, Do They?, by Andres Miedoso
55. Mega Mole Girl Digs Deep, by Thomas Flintham
56. Surf's Up, Creepy Stuff, by Andres Miedoso
57. Bear Country: Bearly a Misadventure, by Doreen Cronin
58. Night of the Zombie Zookeeper, by Andres Miedoso
59. Nurk, by Ursula Vernon
60. Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami
61. Minecraft: Into the Game!, by Nick Eliopulos
62. The Scary Library Shusher, by Andres Miedoso

September Reads
63. Minecraft: Night of the Bats!, by Nick Eliopulos
64. Goreball Scrimmage, by Diane Walker
65. Major Monster Mess, by Andres Miedoso
66. The Sleepwalking Snowman, by Andres Miedoso
67. The Duckling Gets a Cookie?, by Mo Willems
68. Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan
69. The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty
70. The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, by Mo Willems
71. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, by Mo Willems
72. Don't Let the Pigeon Stay up Late, by Mo Willems
73. Minecraft: Deep Dive, by Nick Eliopulos
74. Desmond Cole Campfire Stories, by Andres Miedoso
75. Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges
76. The Pigeon Has to Go to School, by Mo Willems
77. Leonardo the Terrible Monster, by Mo Willems
78. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh, by Mo Willems
79. The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster, by Mo Willems
80. The Pigeon Needs a Bath, by Mo Willems
81. Everblaze, by Shannon Messenger

October Reads
82. The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith
83. Ghast in the Machine, by Nick Eliopulos
84. Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun, by Andres Miedoso
85. Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett
86. Fly Guy's Amazing Tricks, by Ted Arnold
87. Life, the Universe, and Everything, by Douglas Adams

Ooops. I went too far

Open hereafter!

Happy new thread!

>14 louisisaloafofbreb: Thanks Louis!

>15 The_Hibernator: Your very welcome :)

Happy new thread!

Happy new one!

Happy New Thread!

I stayed up late and finished Wind-Up Bird Chronicle last night. It was actually a few minutes after midnight when I finished, but I figured it was still August on the west coast, so I counted it. I know no one is keeping track but me, but I didn't want to drag it out any longer. I think Murakami just isn't the author for me.

Happy new thread!! Hope the kids like their new school year. : )

Books read in August

Ghosts Don't Ride Bikes, Do They?, by Andres Miedoso
Zombies vs Unicorns, by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier
Mega Mole Girl Digs Deep, by Thomas Flintham
Surf's Up, Creepy Stuff!, by Andres Miedoso
Bear Country, by Doreen Cronin
Night of the Zombie Zookeeper, by Andres Miedoso
Nurk, by Ursula Vernon
Minecraft Woodsword: Into the Game!, by Nick Eliopulos
Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, by Haruki Murakami
Desmond Cole and the Scary Library Shusher, by Andres Miedoso

>17 banjo123: >18 figsfromthistle: Thanks Rhonda and Anita!

>19 streamsong: Hi Janet! Too bad you didn't like Wind-up Bird Chronicle. I liked it, but it was still a bit long for some reason. It took me quite a while to finish. I've picked up a much lighter book now, and it's flowing faster.

>20 Berly: Thanks Kim! Hopefully! D14 has been worried about high school all summer!

Sunday I worked all day again. Then we ate Chinese food and relaxed.

Media read from:

The Week: The New Brand 29 minutes
New Scientist: Eradicating Dementia 35 minutes
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty 68 minutes
Minecraft: Night of the Bats, by Nick Eliopulos 41 minutes

Media finished:

Minecraft: Night of the Bats, by Nick Eliopulos

Time reading: 173 minutes

Happy new one, Rachel.

>24 PaulCranswick: Thanks Paul!

Monday I wanted to take IL5 to the park, but he refused to go and I didn't press it because I was super tired, anyway. The older kids got back from their grandpa's - D14 went downstairs and M12 promptly fell asleep on the couch.

Media read from:

The Week: The New Brand 30 minutes
New Scientist: Eradicating Dementia 24 minutes
Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 19 minutes
Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett 64 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 137 minutes

Morgan and his friends get VR goggles that transport them into Minecraft for realsies. Cute book which was mostly character and setting development for a series.

Mr Osaka is having a midlife crisis. He quits his job and explores his purpose in life. Life seems surreal and out-of-control. He meets strange women who twist his life in unexpected ways. Like all other Murakami books I’ve read, I was kept interested by the narrative even though I was often thinking “What? Really?” It’s a suspend-your-disbelief sort of story. Very well done.

Desmond and Andres have a school project at the Kersville Public Library. They are both excited about the books. But then they start flying off the shelves. As usual, this Desmond Cole book was appealing to IL5. Cute story and black-and-white drawings. About second grade reading level.

I'm intrigued by your magazines. I'm trying to get back into physical news media as well and maybe I'll record them here on LT.

>34 norabelle414: Yeah, I've tried on and off, but am succeeding in the three magazines a week for right now.

Tuesday was busy. Immediately after I got home from work, I took dad to an eye appointment. His eye prescription hasn't changed! Then I ate breakfast as I called my benefits hotline to sign up for insurance. (We lost it when Aaron was laid off.) With no break, I took M12 to an appointment. He has gained 2 pounds! Only 2 more pounds to get to 25th percentile BMI. Then I ran errands.

At home, I helped D14 with her homework, then loaded dad's, M12's, and my pillboxes. Then pretty much immediately, my friend Liz came over for two hours and we watched Doctor Who with the family. I got 1.5 hours free-time before leaving for work again.

Tuesday was IL5's first day of school. He said he enjoyed it, but he hasn't made friends yet, because he doesn't know how. D14 had a theater meeting, and she is excited to be in the fall play's crew as well as helping with lighting on other events.

Media read from:

Mr Ballen Podcast 75 minutes
Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 42 minutes
The Week: The New Brand 17 minutes
New Scientist: Eradicating Dementia 15 minutes

Media finished:

The Week: The New Brand

Time reading: 149 minutes

Happy New Thread, Rachel! I sure hope Aaron in able to find a job soon.

High school theatre was a big fun part of my life.

Both being on running crew and acting on stage.

The booth in the auditorium where the lighting and sounc equipment 3 was stored had a big lock on it. If you were a part of the AV (Audio-Visual) squad and had a key you were Mister Cool indeed in my high school

>73 The_Hibernator: Thanks Deb! I hope so too

>74 The_Hibernator: lol. Not sure if it will make her cool or not. We'll see!

Wednesday after work, I took dad to a CT scan to check out his peripheral artery disease. The results didn't sound good, but we'll discuss with his vascular doctor next week to see what they mean. After that, I went to my day job. In the evening, I cooked dinner and read to D14.

D14 was excited about her activities on the theater crew after school, but not so excited about the Pacer. That's a test in gym where she runs back and forth and they grade her on how many times she makes it. D14 also said she made a friend.

IL5 was excited about school. He apparently had a really fun time. He loved playing LEGO, which may have actually been his activity before school started. He even tried an oatmeal cookie at breakfast, which he said wasn't good, but he enjoyed a chicken strip at lunch. He also said he made 20 friends.

Media read from:

Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 41 minutes
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jackyn Moriarty 73 minutes
New Scientist: Eradicating Dementia 14 minutes
Everblaze, by Shannon Messenger 57 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 185 minutes

Happy New Thread!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/363159

Thursday I went directly from my overnight job to my day job. I got home at 5:30. Aaron cooked burgers, then M12, Aaron, and I played Magic. M12 won. When M12 killed me, IL5 asked if I could respawn.

All three kids were rewarded fast food for not having any late assignments, though M12 said he was insulted that I bothered checking this early in the year. Everyone had another good day at school.

Media read from:

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty 64 minutes
New Scientist: Eradicatng Dementia 13 minutes
Newsweek: Feeling the Pinch 19 minutes
Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 18 min

Media finished:

New Scientist: Eradicating Dementia

Time reading: 95 minutes

Thanks Silver!

Happy new thread!

>40 The_Hibernator: I'm glad to see that IL5 had a good experience at Kindergarten. 20 friends! That is amazing. I hope he keeps on loving it. Life if so much better when the kiddos are happy!

>45 foggidawn: Thanks Foggi!

>46 Donna828: Hi Donna! I imagine IL5 was exaggerating the number of friends. His class isn't even 20 people big. But I'm happy he's making friends.

After work on Friday I ran some errands, then took my dad to a rather uneventful cardiologist appointment. Then, I had a glorious 3 hour nap before IL5 got home. I cooked steak for dinner, and then relaxed for the rest of the day. The kids all said they had an ok day at school.

Media read from:

Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 30 minutes
Behave, by Robert Sapolsky 24 minutes
Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan 68 minutes
Major Monster Mess, by Andres Miedoso 29 minutes
Goreball Scrimmage, by Dianne Walker 39 minutes

Media finished:

Major Monster Mess, by Andres Miedoso
Goreball Scrimmage, by Dianne Walker

Time reading: 190 minutes

Saturday, I took IL5 to a friend's birthday party at a bowling alley. His strategy was to aim the ramp at a bumper and let the ball bounce back and forth before getting most of the pins down. It was a more effective strategy than his friend was using - his dad carefully lined the ramp up perfectly straight.

After the party, I jumped into the D&D game with Aaron and friends a little late. I had already missed a close TPK. Luckily, one of us was left standing, albeit on his last few hit points, and he won the day. The rest of the party was revivified by a scale from my character's patron, which she'd been carrying around since pretty close to the beginning of the campaign.

Then I cooked some meatloaf for dinner and tried to cook some jambalaya for this week's lunches, but I didn't have enough Andoulli sausages, so I had to place the rest of the cut up ingredients in a bowl overnight till I could get more. Meanwhile, Aaron played Spore with IL5.

The day was apparently unremarkable to M12 and D14.

Media read from:

Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett 15 minutes
Minecraft: Deep Dive!, by Nick Eliopulos 35 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 50 minutes

Sunday was uneventful. I was tired because I woke at 3am and slept fitfully the rest of the night. And dad was in a mood because he was annoyed at poor D14. I went to work and spent my downtime at work filling out a bunch of forms on my phone and writing a letter, so it was a productive day. I was exhausted when I got home, though, because of the lack of sleep. So I forgot to cook the jambalaya and chose not to cook dinner. The day was uneventful for the kids. IL5 took a long nap in the evening, but bedtime went smoothly, regardless.

Media read from:

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty 70 minutes
New Scientist: Reclaiming Reality 31 minutes
Minecraft: Deep Dive 25 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 126 minutes

Cassandra Web is a paramedic who doesn’t like being tied down. But then she starts seeing the future. This movie took a lot of suspension of disbelief. I know it’s about a superhero, and that was fine. But she stole a taxi, committed crimes with it, and drove it around for several days without drawing attention. Plus, she didn’t get a prison sentence for all the crimes she committed .

Morgan and his friends are back in the game, and are also solving a bat problem in the real world. Cute late elementary school series. Nothing too special to me, but IL5 is loving it. The Minecraft aspect is so fun to him.

The Danger Club participates goreball game with visiting dragon students. This book read kind of like a quidditch match. Weird fantasy game rules were explained, then a blow-by-blow of the game commenced. I was never a fan of quidditch matches, and I wasn’t a fan of this book. IL5 seemed only partially interested, too. He kept saying he wanted me to continue, but he didn’t seem to be interested. I liked the other books in the series much better.

Andres and Desmond find out they smell like monsters, so they go monster-searching. This is IL5’s favorite series right now. He loved this installment.

Monday I worked. I had less downtime than usual this shift, but I did get a letter written and some reading done. When I got home, the family went out to eat (dad's treat). Afterwards, I read to D14. The kids seemed to have unremarkable days.

Media read from:

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty 62 minutes
New Scientist: Reclaiming Reality 32 minutes
Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett 31 minutes
Behave, by Robert Sapolsky 52 minutes
Everblaze, by Shannon Messenger 63 minutes
Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 20 minutes

Media finished:

Time reading: 260 minutes

>52 The_Hibernator: Madame Web was such a minor character in the Marvel universe a lot of people were surprised that she got her own movie. I liked it - a lot of people really hated it.

Stan Lee's wife Joannie voiced the character in the Marvel cartoons - such a distinctive sound for the heroine.

>59 magicians_nephew: I didn't exactly dislike it. It was entertaining. I just thought it lacked verisimilitude.

Tuesday after work, I had some open time to get stuff on my to-do list done. Then I took M12 to an appointment. I ran errands (getting a nick in the windshield while at it). I made jambalaya for our lunches and then shrimp for dinner. Aaron and I watched an episode of Supernatural, then everyone watched the debate. That made me sick to my stomach, so I was glad to leave for work. But then my coworker had recorded it and was watching it when I got to work, so I had to REWATCH some of it! As soon as she left, I pulled the covers over my head and slept.

Media read from:

Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 28 minutes
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty 57 minutes
Mr Ballen Podcast 63 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 148 minutes

I've not watched Madam Web, but I know it stars Dakota Johnson, I think and she Chris Martin's girlfriend. My current " crush' is Chris Martin from the band Coldplay, so I I hope she is appreciating Chris! :-)

>62 vancouverdeb: lol. I don't follow celebrity gossip, so I wouldn't know. Is he a great guy, or just cute?

Tuesday after work, I had some open time to get stuff on my to-do list done. Then I took M12 to an appointment. I ran errands (getting a nick in the windshield while at it). I made jambalaya for our lunches and then shrimp for dinner. Aaron and I watched an episode of Supernatural, then everyone watched the debate. That made me sick to my stomach, so I was glad to leave for work. But then my coworker had recorded it and was watching it when I got to work, so I had to REWATCH some of it! As soon as she left, I pulled the covers over my head and slept.

Media read from:

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty 27 minutes
Mr Ballen Podcast 57 minutes
Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 18 min

Media finished: none

Time reading: 102 minutes

>31 The_Hibernator: I quite enjoyed this read as well. I think my favourite so far that I have read by Murakami

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/363280

>65 figsfromthistle: Hi figs! I can't remember how I felt about Kafka on the Shore enough to compare. Both were dense, but enjoyable reads.

>66 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver! I'll try to remember to participate this year.

Thursday I headed directly from work to work. My day job was pretty calm - my client slept the whole time - so I read and wrote a couple letters. I did nothing interesting that evening, but Aaron went to a networking party at Surly Brewing Company. Delightfully, he drank BEER. (He doesn't drink beer.) He got the grapefruit one, and said it was good. D14 didn't have crew, so she was home after school for pretty much the first time. Both older kids had no late homework, so they earned fast food.

Media read from:

New Scientist: Reclaiming Reality 28 minutes
Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 49 minutes
Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan 21 minutes
Roam, by C H Armstrong 50 minutes
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty 39

Media finished:

Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan
New Scientist: Reclaiming Reality

Time reading: 187 minutes

Friday after work I took IL5 to speech therapy. Then, after a nap, I tried to go on a walk with dad, but he was having trouble breathing, so we came home. M12 went to his mom's house after school, and D14 hung out with her friends. In the evening, we watched Beetlejuice.

Media read from:

Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 21 minutes
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty 60 minutes
Roam, by C H Armstrong 32 minutes
The Sleepwalking Snowman, by Andres Miedoso 35 minutes

Media finished:

The Duckling Gets a Cookie?!, mo willems
The Sleepwalking Snowman, by Andres Miedoso

Time reading: 148 minutes

Saturday D14, dad, and I went to Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. It was pretty good - over-the-top, but that's to be expected. IL5 and I hung out for a few hours after that - though he didn't want to do any fun activity. That was while Aaron was at his board gaming group. Finally, I went out for drinks with a friend. IL5 really wanted me to read the same Desmond Cole book as Friday. I'm glad he's enjoying them!

Media read from:

The Week: Triggered 23 minutes
The Sleepwalking Snowman, by Andres Miedoso 32 minutes

Media finished:

The Sleepwalking Snowman, by Andres Miedoso

Time reading: 55 minutes

Sunday, I worked until 5pm. In the evening, Aaron, dad, and I watched "Big Fat Liar." I'm not sure what to think of that movie. It amused me all the way through, but it also is 2 hours of my life I'll never get back.

Media read from:

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty 77 minutes
The Week: Triggered 30 minutes
New Scientist: Breaking Free from OCD 30 minutes
Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett 12 minutes
Minecraft: Deep Dive, by Nick Eliopulos 20 minutes

Media finished:

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty

Time reading: 169 minutes

>71 The_Hibernator: LOL! Sorry about your 2 hours. Big Fat Liar was fun when it came out but I imagine it's pretty dated now.

>72 norabelle414: Yeah, it's a little dated. It wasn't awful, it was just aimed for a younger audience. I could relate more to the parents.

Monday I worked till 5. I got a letter written and some reading done in my downtime. At home, Aaron cooked burgers. Then I made a quinoa salad for a couple upcoming lunches and some pork chops for M12's upcoming dinners. IL5 enjoyed playing with LEGO at school. D14 had a "mostly ok" day. M12 seemed unexcited by his day.

Media read from:

The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith 72 minutes
The Week: Triggered 42 minutes
New Scientist: Breaking Free from OCD 26 minutes
Behave, by Robert Sapolsky 49 minutes
Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 19 minutes
Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett 34 minutes

Media finished:

The Week: Triggered

Time reading: 242 minutes

Tuesday was a pain. I got off work an hour early so I could drive to the regional office and take the CPR class. When that was over, I had a two hour break before a second class, this one for self defense against belligerent clients. I spent the time trying to find out what my new insurance ID was so I could stop cancelling appointments.

I started by calling up my benefits hotline, since that's what they told me to do when I signed up for my insurance. They didn't want to help, and told me to call insurance. After going through another "check 2 if..." menu, and being unable to plug in my ID number when prompted, I got through to a person. She told me I didn't have an account and hung up on me. Click. So I call benefits again, and they say I definitely have insurance, but refuse to call for me. So I call insurance again, and that person tells me I have no insurance. But they do a better job of looking for me and after 20 minutes with them, she finds my account - she'd misspelled my name. Then when I got home that day, my insurance card was in the mailbox. That's 45 minutes I'll never get back.

Then nobody came to teach my second class. Apparently, they didn't have anyone signed up to teach it. But someone higher up found a couple of people, and made them teach us. They had somewhere to be, so taught the 2 hour class in 20 minutes.

In the evening, Liz came over and we watched Doctor Who. The kids didn't have anything exciting to say about their days.

Media read from:

Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 50 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 50 minutes

>75 The_Hibernator: Dealing with health insurance is always so infuriating! Never-ending issues.

>76 norabelle414: Exactly

Rand and his friend go on an adventure to save the world from Evil himself. This is the first time I read this classic novel. It was delightful. A very well-designed adventure.

The duckling gets a cookie. The pigeon is jealous. IL5 picked this book out from the school library and wanted me to read it right away. He then wanted all the other pigeon books, so I requested them for next week.

Andres and Desmond help out a friend who lost his snowman. IL5 is still loving these books. I’ll be sad when I reach the end of the series.

>75 The_Hibernator: Sounds like such a frustrating day. Last time my library switched insurance companies, the card they sent me had the completely wrong last name, which involved some irritating corrections having to be made, so I sympathize.

>83 foggidawn: Ugh. That sounds like a pain. My nephew's name is different on his insurance than it is on his SS card and ID (his mom thought she was being cute using her last name instead of his). It's caused him a lot of issues

Wednesday was glorious. When I returned home from my overnight job, I took a 2 hour nap and then had a late lunch with Aaron. Then I read for a while. IL5 seemed excited about school when he got home and told me about his best friend (whose name he doesn't know). M12's day at school was "ok." D14 had fun at crew. In the evening, I read to D14.

Media read from:

New Scientist: Breaking Free from OCD 24 minutes
Alan Turning: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 41 minutes
Roam, by C H Armstrong 72 minutes
Everblaze, by Shannon Messenger 57 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 194 minutes

I am glad Wednesday was glorious , after such a frustrating time on the phone with your health Insurance. I'm glad that at least your card was in the mail.

Thursday was hard for me, but harder for my client's son. I went directly from my overnight job to my day job, and stayed there till 5, so I only had 4 hours before going back to my overnight job. But that was expected. My client had deteriorated quite a bit from the last time I saw her, and my client's son was very upset about it. He was like a black cloud, and he kept walking in and out of the house, instead of leaving, so his mood rubbed off on me. I was sitting there worrying what would happen if she passed and I lost my job while Aaron is unemployed. I am too picky for a job to be easy to find. I need a job between 9:30 and 3:00, that is only 2 days a week, not on Fridays, and doesn't involve working with violent people. That's an unreasonable amount of pickiness.

After my day job, Aaron, dad, IL5, and I went out to eat and D14 and M12 had fast food. Then we relaxed until I left for work.

Media read from:

New Scientist: Breaking Free from OCD 24 minutes
The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith 107 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 131 minutes

It has been a while so I am checking in on you. I am sorry to hear that your Thursday was so hard!

>88 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! Bad days happen, I guess. They're a part of life. My client was feeling better the next day, so it's all good.

Friday, I was super tired in the morning. My alarm went off at 7am at work like it usually does, but then I immediately fell back asleep (which is the first time that's happened at work). At 7:40, I got a notification, and it felt like I had just closed my eyes for a moment. Luckily, I managed to scramble through the morning by skipping a few non-essential tasks.

Next, I took IL5 to speech therapy. Next, I'd made a last-minute appointment for dad for what he thought was an ear infection. It turned out to be a lot of fluid in the ears, so the doctor suggested Flonase and saline. Then we went to Target and then Walmart for a tea kettle.

In the evening dad and I took IL5 to the playground.

Media read from:

Alan Turning: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 46 minutes
The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith 73 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 93 minutes
Minecraft: Deep Dive!, by Nick Eliopulos 29 minutes
Pigeon books 9 minutes

Media finished:

The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, by Mo Willems
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay up Late, by Mo Willems
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, by Mo Willems
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, by Mo Willems

Time reading: 250 minutes

Saturday I was feeling nauseated and headachy in the morning. I struggled through D&D and then sat pretty much useless until it was time to take D14 to Minneapolis. Before Aaron lost his job, I had bought tickets to Back to the Future: The Musical. I must say, the show was a bit...strange. But it had good effects and was enjoyable. I was tired when I got home and kept falling asleep trying to read to IL5. So I gave up and went to sleep. IL5 gracefully accepted that.

Media read from:

Mr Ballen podcast 59 minutes
Desmond Cole: Campfire Stories, by Andres Miedoso 23 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 82 minutes

Lydia Deetz and her daughter Astrid go back to her haunted family home for a funeral. Beetlejuice is called on in an emergency. This movie was funny in an over-the-top way. Very enjoyable.

Bronte Mettlestone is sent on an adventure when her parents die – she must fulfill the fairy-cross-stitched will or else her home town will be destroyed. This was a delightful middle-school fantasy.

Jason and his friend Kaylee travel to Los Angeles to call out a movie producer for stealing his paper. Stupid, yet funny.

Sunday I worked a good chunk of the day. Then I cooked salmon, drank several of IL5's "potions" (concocted mainly of water and food coloring, though one of them had a suspiciously savory taste), read to IL5, and slept.

Media read from:

The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith 78 minutes
New Scientist: the Language of Reality 32 minutes
The Week: Hitting Russia 22 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 36 minutes
Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett 56 minutes
Mo Willems' pigeon books 7 minutes
Desmond Cole: Campfire Stories, by Andres Miedoso 18 minutes

Media finished:

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, by Mo Willems
The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, by Mo Willems
The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, by Mo Willems
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, by Mo Willems
The Duckling Gets a Cookie, by Mo Willems
Desmond Cole: Campfire Stories, by Andres Miedoso

Time reading: 249 minutes

Monday was a good day. After sending IL5 off in the bus and making white chili for my lunches this week, Aaron and I ran to Target, Kohl's, and two Schuler's to buy clothes for the kids. We had burgers for lunch, then ran one more errand. I relaxed for a couple of hours, then was disappointed by the movie "Uglies."

Media read from:

The Week: Hitting Russia 27 minutes
Alan Turning: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 22 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 49 minutes

>99 The_Hibernator: I didn't even realize they were making a movie of Uglies until last week. It does look disappointing. Have you read the books? D14 might like them, she's the right age.

Tuesday, I went directly from my overnight job to my day job. The day job was a bust. There was a complaint about my client's son that he might not be caring for my client well enough. I had been there last week when the police arrived to do a wellness check on my client, so I already knew that this was going on.

A social worker rang the bell while I was working Tuesday and insisted on being let in. I told her that my client's son wasn't home, and I didn't have permission to let her in. She stood there and tried to bully me into letting her in. Her: "You don't understand. I'm a social worker from the county." Me: "Well, I'm a respite worker. I can't let you in without permission."

Now, my client's son's phone was dead because he'd left it on the roof of his car a couple days ago. So finally I called my client's other son to ask permission to let the social worker in. He wanted to talk to her, but she refused and said she'd call him later. She met with my client, whose dementia is progressed enough that no information can be garnered from her, then the social worker interviewed me. She did so in an entitled and supercilious tone of voice, though by that time I was already annoyed at her entitled behavior at the door, so my opinion of her tone was probably colored. During this time, my client's other son called twice and M12 texted four times.

Then my client's son came home early for a nap, but, of course he didn't get one. She took on an even more supercilious, entitled tone when interviewing him. I asked if he wanted me to leave, and he said "no." He lost his temper and yelled at the social worker, and she stomped out of the house. So I don't know if I'm going to have this job by my next shift. And as I said before, I need this job while Aaron is unemployed.

At 5:30pm, I arrived home and ate dinner (Aaron cooked hamburgers and corn-on-the-cob). Then I cooked M12 some pork chops, filled pill boxes for 3 people, read to D14, and then helped her with her homework. It was stupid homework: she had to write a description of galaxies using 6 of 8 words. The description had to be precisely 20 words. What was the point in that? How did those 20 words help her learn?

Immediately after helping her, I went to work.

IL5 had been on a field trip Tuesday. He caught some grasshoppers and tried to catch a dragonfly, but it was too fast. I also sat with him in his room while helping D14, and that was all my time with him.

Media read from:

Mr Ballen podcast 67 minutes
The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith 30 minutes
Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 20 minutes
New Scientist: The Language of Reality 16 minutes
Behave, by Robert Sapolsky 20 minutes
Everblaze, by Shannon Messenger 69 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 222 minutes

Wednesday after my overnight job, I took IL5 to a doctor appointment. Then Aaron and I ran some errands and went to Perkins with dad. Aaron then dropped dad and me off about 2.5 miles away and we walked home. In the evening, dad, Aaron, and I took IL5 to the playground. Then I helped D14 with her homework. This time it was comparative religions.

Media read from:

Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges 28 minutes
Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wlkerson 12 minutes
The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smirh 49 minutes

Media finished:

Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges

Time reading: 89 minutes

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/364564

Thanks Silver!

Thursday I went from my overnight job to my day job. Then when IL5 got home, we took him to the open house at his school, then to his first-ever Cub Scout meeting. He got along with the kids - I don't know where he gets the confidence to make new friends. They worked on learning the scout oath, though I'm pretty sure he wasn't paying attention. He doesn't need to earn his bobcat anyway. 😂🤣 D14 went to the outside movie her school put on.

Media read from:

The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith 71 minutes
The Week: Hitting Russia 38 minutes
New Scientist: The Language of Reality 53 minutes
Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 20 minutes

Media finished:

The Week: Hitting Russia
New Scientist: The Language of Reality

Time reading: 182 minutes

What a day with the social worker at your clients home. I sure hope there is not problem with your day job. I'm sitting at my computer, yawning, and wondering how you get so much done, Rachel!

>106 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb! Unfortunately the social worker has threatened to take my client to a home, which would be very traumatic in this state of confusion. It could be tragic. It could be an empty threat, but based on the fact that my client isn't in danger it would be solely be a power trip and punishment for rising to her bait.

Friday after work, I took IL5 to an appointment, then did a virtual appointment with D14. The rest of the day was spent preparing for the Cub Scout camping trip. As soon as IL5 got home from school, Aaron and I hopped in the car with him and went to the campground. Aaron set up the tent in the near-dark and I struggled to keep track of IL5. In fact, at one point, he ran off and navigated the group campsite on his own because I couldn't see him.

M12 stayed home with my dad for the weekend and D14 went to her mom's.

Saturday Aaron, IL5, and I hung out with the Cub Scouts. Loki had a ball. First, he made a little boat that he raced later in the day. He raced against another Kindergartener, LH, who he'd been playing with a bit. Then he shot a bb gun. He didn't hit the target, but he did a good job listening to our instructions. Then we went on a short hike. IL5 only made it about half way before we had to carry him. In the evening, he helped the other kids build a fort with fallen logs.

Media read from:

Ghast in the Machine!, by Nick Eliopulos 14 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 14 minutes

It sounds like kindergarten is going great!

>110 banjo123: Yes, it is!

Sunday we packed up camp and headed home. I worked for a few hours, then after dinner, IL5 wanted to take a bath and go to bed. (He wanted to try out the toy boat he built in the bathtub.) M12 and D14 both had great weekends.

Media read from:

Lost Sci-Fi Books 90 minutes
The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith 70 minutes
The Week: A MAGA Fiasco 21 minutes
Mo Willems' picture books 21 minutes
Now Museum, Now You Don't, by Andres Miedoso 26 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 228 minutes

I'm glad IL has been having a good time! I hope that's one less (fewer?) thing for you to worry about. I'd love to see a picture of his boat, if it's still intact.

>113 norabelle414: Hi Nora! I will post a picture of the boat for you. I think technically it's "fewer" but "less" sounds more correct with colloquial American English. So it's a matter if you want to sound stilted for the sake of grammar. 😁

Monday was relaxing while the kids were at school. I threw some taco soup in the slow cooker and then read for a while. Then I went out to lunch with Aaron. When IL5 got home, things started to get busy. First, I forgot that three of us had flu/covid shot appointments. Instead, after letting IL5 relax a little, I worked on a homework assignment and speech therapy with him. Then I cooked pork chops for M12's meals for the week, and read to D14 for over an hour. Afterwards, I helped her with her homework. This time she had to compare the three Judeochristian religions to a book/series. She chose the one I'm reading to her now because she's read it multiple times. She had mostly finished the assignments - she had 3 more comparisons to make. I helped with 2, but neither of us could come up with an element of Islam which was like the book.

Media read from:

Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett 46 minutes
Everblaze, by Shannon Messenger 69 minutes
Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wlkerson 20 minutes

Media finished:

Everblaze, by Shannon Messenger

Time reading: 135 minutes

Desmond and Andres go camping and tell scary stories. They meet a campfire ghost. Not the cutest of the Desmond Cole books, but good all the same. IL5 liked it.

In a dystopic land where at the age of 16 people undergo a surgery to make them beautiful, a girl nicknamed Squint learns what it is to be beautiful on the inside. I liked the movie up till the ending, which left the story hanging for a future movie.

This was an excellent biography of Alan Turing. It painted him in a sympathetic, yes honest light. It seemed well-researched, though sometimes I wondered where he got such private information. Did Turing have a journal? The descriptions of Turing’s theories and discoveries were well-written and clear, though math and computer science are not something I am particularly interested in, so I found my attention lagging during the very long descriptions. Overall, a great book.

September Reads
63. Minecraft: Night of the Bats!, by Nick Eliopulos
64. Goreball Scrimmage, by Diane Walker
65. Major Monster Mess, by Andres Miedoso
66. The Sleepwalking Snowman, by Andres Miedoso
67. The Duckling Gets a Cookie?, by Mo Willems
68. Eye of the World, by Robert Jordan
69. The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone, by Jaclyn Moriarty
70. The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, by Mo Willems
71. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, by Mo Willems
72. Don't Let the Pigeon Stay up Late, by Mo Willems
73. Minecraft: Deep Dive, by Nick Eliopulos
74. Desmond Cole Campfire Stories, by Andres Miedoso
75. Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges
76. The Pigeon Has to Go to School, by Mo Willems
77. Leonardo the Terrible Monster, by Mo Willems
78. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh, by Mo Willems
79. The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster, by Mo Willems
80. The Pigeon Needs a Bath, by Mo Willems
81. Everblaze, by Shannon Messenger

I made 75! Many of the ones this month were Mo Willems picture books, but 4 of them were books middle school through adult books I read to myself.

>126 The_Hibernator: Congrats!!

Thanks!

Tuesday I went from my overnight job immediately to my day job. I used my downtime to read The Week magazine, cross-stitch while listening to Mr Ballen podcast, and write a couple letters. At home, I watched a Doctor Who episode with Aaron, Deirdre, and my friend Liz. Aaron followed that up by watching the VP debate. I walked in and out on it, because I was trying to get other stuff done.

Media read from:

The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith 70 minutes
The Week: A MAGA Fiasco 59 minutes
New Scientist: The Uncharted Microbe 16 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 62 minutes

Media finished: 207 minutes

The Week: A MAGA Fiasco

Time reading: 207

Wednesday started out ok. I rushed home from my overnight job to get dad to an appointment that really needed to be 15 minutes later. It was physical therapy for his peripheral artery disease. I expected him to be resistant, like he was with the balance PT, but he was willing to cooperate. After brunch at home, dad and I went on a walk. It was a nice day for that.

Then I got some bad news from another respite worker of my day job. The state got a court order to take my client away from her son, so I no longer have that job. It's bad timing because Aaron is unemployed. But what galls me is that the bully won. She's really just getting even with him for yelling at her, when she set him up to yell by being a bully. She used an imperious tone of voice and a "you're wrong" attitude from the moment I opened the door to her a couple weeks ago. And taking a woman in that state away from people that love her and the place she's familiar with is abuse. That kind of thing kills people in that state.

Media read from:

Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 40 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 62 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 102 minutes

IL5's Cub Scout boat.

>130 The_Hibernator: I'm so sorry to hear that, Rachel! Both for you and for your client. What a broken system.

>131 The_Hibernator: Wow, that is a great boat! I love the stickers.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/364720

>132 norabelle414: Thanks Nora! He's pretty proud of the boat. It's his new bath toy.

The sons of my other client are fighting the decision to take her away. There is a hearing today that they asked me to be at so I can tell the judge what I saw while the social worker was there. But her sons are trying to move it since their lawyer isn't available.

>133 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver!

Thursday I had an unexpected day off since I had planned on being at work. I wrote two letters and made some necessary phone calls. In the evening, IL5 had a readathon at his school. He dressed in his Minecraft pajamas and his crocheted Loki hat and we went to the school. There were snacks and someone reading in the gymnasium. The parents were letting their kids literally scream across the gymnasium while the reading was going on, and I was embarrassed to be part of that very rude group. So we left.

Media read from:

The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith 63 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 63 minutes

>122 The_Hibernator: The book series is a trilogy. I am not sure if they will do the same with the movies or not.

>123 The_Hibernator: I would really like to read that one. Glad to see that you enjoyed it, Rachel!

>126 The_Hibernator: Woo Hoo! Congratulations on reaching 75!!




Have a fantastic Friday!

Friday morning was a bit frustrating. There was a hearing in which my clients were objecting to having their mother taken away. It was 45 minutes of talking, with a decision that testimonies would be heard on Friday the 11th. So I have yet another pain in the ass hearing to attend. It doesn't sound like they're getting their mom back, but I'd feel bad not testifying.

Then I picked up dad at his physical therapy and kept myself busy for the rest of the day. Aaron and IL5 baked me a birthday cake, and then we went out to eat as a family to celebrate my birthday.

Media read from:

The Wrong Daughter, by Dandy Smith 40 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 39 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 79 minutes

>137 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia!

I imagine the intent for the movie was a trilogy, yes.

Saturday I woke up exhausted again, and then had a run-in with M12, who has been repeatedly acting impulsive. He was already grounded for 3 weeks before his most recent impulsive behavior, so I had to think of something more creative for a consequence. He is now my servent for the next two months. Saturday I made him walk to the grocery store and get some donut holes. Then he went on a walk with my dad.

I was in a bad mood when D&D started. Then my friend Liz wasn't at D&D, and she eventually texted to say her brother had had a massive heart attack while watching his son's soccer game. He's currently sedated in the hospital on a bypass machine. He'll probably be there for two weeks.

The rest of the day was spent resting, since I was super tired.

Media read from:

5 minute Super Hero Stories, by DC Comics 18 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 18 minutes

In this third installment, Sophie tries to discover more about the Black Swan and the rebel group. The books are getting better than previous ones, but are still a little “whatever” to me. Though I give it 4 stars because it’s fun to read to D14. There are lots of plot holes.

Sunday, Aaron, M12, IL5, and I went to Brick Fest (a LEGO festival). Both boys had a lot of fun. We separated so M12 and IL5 could do their own thing, so I only got pictures of IL5. He loved the huge bins of Duplo. D14 was playing D&D. In the evening, we all played D&D as a family. IL5 even joined us, but he didn't like the role playing and was impatient to attack. First, he attacked an NPC with his firebolt. Luckily he missed. Then he attacked a giant squid that I threw in the middle of the role-playing. That almost killed him. Then, after the rest of the family solved the mystery that they were role-playing, a herd of 4 goblins attacked. IL5's character took down two of them.

Media read from:

Mr Ballen podcast 56 minutes
5-minute Super Hero Stories 16 minutes
The Week: Targeting Terror 37 minutes
Ghast in the Machine, by Nick Eliopulos 31 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 140 minutes

Monday I dropped dad off at an appointment (my sister was going to pick him up), and popped by a friend's house for an hour. I hadn't seen her in about 6 months, so it was good to catch up. M12 carried ten bags of yard waste to the curb for his time serving me, and then went to Boy Scouts. IL5 made some cat toys with his crafts. D14 was excited to find out that she could work crew at the shows that she's been preparing the stage for despite not being able to make two of them.

Media read from:

Life, the Universe, and Everything, by Douglas Adams 62 minutes
Mr Balen podcast 36 minutes
The Week: Targeting Terror 46 minutes
Neverseen, by Shannon Messenger 46 minutes
Roam, by C H Armstrong 49 minutes

Media finished:

The Week: Targeting Terror

Time reading: 193 minutes

Tuesday had nothing planned, since it was a day I was meant to work. So after my overnight job, I wrote two really long letters and then went to lunch with Aaron. In the evening, Aaron, D14, M12, and I played Goonies: Never Say Die. Then I played a night-night game with IL5 for 15 minutes before work. Today for his servant work, M12 attempted to sew on his Boy Scout patches. He'd disdained me gluing them on, and indeed the glue doesn't work, apparently. But now he understands that sewing them on is really hard because they're thick and tough. He seemed chagrinned for all his mocking. He only got two patches sewn on.

Media read from:

Warmth of Other Sons, by Isabel Wilkerson 40 minutes
Behave, by Robert Sapolsky 22 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 62 minutes

>130 The_Hibernator: Sorry to hear about losing the client but even more sorry that the client no longer has a person who cares about their wellbeing.

>141 The_Hibernator: Very cute hat!

>152 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita! Thanks! IL5 loves his Loki hat.

I'm hoping the hearing on Friday will get my client back. But it's unlikely.

Tuesday after work, I took a 3 hour walk with dad. I pushed him pretty hard, but he made it. Then I took D13 to an appointment. In the evening, my friend Liz came over and we watched a couple episodes of Doctor Who. Finally, I read to D13 and then to IL4. I was interrupted half-way through the book by a call from dad, who'd missed the last bus home. Luckily, he was only 10 minutes away, so I was able to hop in the car and fetch him before work started again.

Media read from:

Life, the Universe and Everything, by Douglas Adams 51 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 59 minutes
Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett 47 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 157 minutes

>93 The_Hibernator: I love that movie honestlyyyy

>96 The_Hibernator: hahahh, thats funny!

>131 The_Hibernator: My little brother was in the Cub Scouts, he's in boy scouts now though

I remember the pain of trying to attach those patches! They should make them iron-on.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/364866

>157 louisisaloafofbreb: Hi Louis! Yeah, M12 is in Boy Scouts.

>158 foggidawn: Exactly what I think.

Thursday, Aaron and I headed to the airport to pick up my mother-in-law. Afterwards, the three of us headed for lunch. Then, I picked up IL5 from school and headed to an appointment. We meant to pick up roadside trash with the Cub Scouts afterwards, but we got to the park early. IL5 played in the playground, while I talked to my daytime client's son about his custody hearing for his mom the next day. That put me in a bad mood, so when IL5 had an accident, I didn't handle it gracefully. He wouldn't let me carry him back to the car - instead he insisted on waddling. Which made slow progress, and several Cub Scouts had arrived before we got to the car. But I THINK the only people who saw the problem were the adults.

I drove IL5 home, and Aaron helped me clean up the mess, which was overflowing, since IL5 had gone 3 days without pooping, and we'd been giving him lots of laxatives to avoid the more-than-a-week-long-poopless episodes he's prone to. By the time that was over, it was too late for the Cub Scout meeting, and he didn't want to go to a playground with my dad and mother-in-law.

Aaron and I headed to D14's parent-teacher-conferences after that. She's doing pretty well! I was in a very stressed out mood due to the upcoming hearing, the poop, and another issue I'll mention in a bit. So I got unnecessarily assertive when someone tried to take our place in line at a teacher's table. I should have let it go. The system was very confusing, and she hadn't noticed us sitting there when she walked up. I could have let it go and waited another 5 minutes, but I was in a bad mood.

The Pigeon Needs a Bath, by Mo Willems
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh, by Mo Willems

>161 The_Hibernator: Happy to hear that D14 is doing pretty well!

Have a wonderful weekend, Rachel!

>162 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia! I hope you have a good weekend too.

Friday I logged on to the custody hearing at 8:30am. They put me in a virtual waiting room, and there I stayed till 12:45pm, when they told me my testimony wouldn't be needed. During those 4 hours, I cross-stitched, read, wrote my journal entry, played the Wordle, and texted with people. I had just started writing a letter when they told me I wouldn't be needed.

In the end, they made some rather nasty threats to my client's sons, forcing them to agree to losing custody. My client's sons couldn't argue their case because I was the only one of their respite workers who showed up.

After the hearing, I went to lunch with Aaron and my mother-in-law. My brain was pretty fried the rest of the day, so I got very little else done.

In the evening, Aaron, my mother-in-law, and I went to the play "The Curious Savage" to see the set D14 has been building. It was good.

Media read from:

Behave, by Robert Sapolsky 36 minutes
Pigeon Books 10 minutes

Media finished:

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Sleigh, by Mo Willems
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, by Mo Willems

Time reading: 46 minutes

Sorry for all the stress. But great that the kids are doing well with school.

>165 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda! Things were calmer yesterday, so maybe I can get into the groove of things again. Regardless of my stress last week, it was a very productive week.

Saturday, M12, dad, and my mother-in-law went on a walk. I had lunch with my friend Liz. She updated me on her brother's hospital stay (he's not psychotic anymore). We discussed our bookclub book, "The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone."

When I returned, my dad, my mother-in-law, Aaron, D14, IL5, and I went to the zoo. We went to see the bats for IL5, but saw the tropical animals and the sharks, too. D14 was excited to touch the sea anemones and starfish, as apparently that exhibit is usually closed.

In the evening, we had swordfish for dinner. D14 went to be cast in the school play. I finished reading "The Ghast in the Machine" to IL5.

Media read from:

Ghast in the Machine!, by Nick Eliopulos 36 minutes

Media finished:

Ghast in the Machine!, by Nick Eliopulos

Time reading: 36 minutes

16 years ago Caitlin’s sister Olivia was kidnapped. Now, suddenly, she reappears as an adult, throwing Caitlin’s life out of whack. This was a very engaging book, and I had trouble stopping. But half of the big reveal was pretty predictable to me. I generally find thrillers pretty predictable, so I was pleased with not knowing half of the reveal. So I’d recommend it highly to those who like thrillers.

Games played

Sunday, we relaxed. M12 went on a walk with dad and my mother-in-law. I wrote a letter. D14 played D&D. Everyone except D14 went out to dinner. Then D14, mother-in-law, Aaron, and I played "Ticket to Ride."

Media read from:

Behave, by Robert Sapolsky 15 minutes
Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun, by Andres Miedoso 25 minutes

Media finished:

Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun, by Andres Miedoso

Time reading: 40 minutes

>169 The_Hibernator: I will have to see if I can track down a copy of that one. Thanks for adding to the BlackHole, Rachel!

>171 The_Hibernator: I have heard good things about that one although I have not played it. I have never even seen The Goonies movie.

>172 The_Hibernator: Ticket to Ride is an old favorite around my house and one of my husband's all-time favorite games.

I hope you have a wonderful week!

Hi Stasia! I hope you like The Wrong Daughter if you get to it.

You don't need to have seen Goonies for the game to be fun. I'm pretty sure D14 hasn't seen it.

Yeah, Ticket to Ride is one of my favorites, too. Though I didn't even count up my score this time. It was clear I had come in last. Usually my strategy works just fine, but I was two green cards short of finishing my last road. 🤷‍♀️

Monday, I took dad to see the vascular surgeon. He said the same thing the vascular doctor said - that dad doesn't need surgery. So I'm at a loss as to why we were referred to him. Dad and I then killed some time at Barnes and Noble - buying two books for each D14 and IL5 (M12 doesn't read). Afterwards, we went to dad's PT.

D14 was pleased when she got home because she'd auditioned for the new school play. It will be "The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee." She will find out tomorrow.

In the evening, Aaron, my mother-in-law, the kids, and I went to the Jack 'o Lantern Spectacular at the zoo. 2000 carved pumpkins were on display - some of them very intricate. I thought it was going to be a bust because M12 was complaining about having to go. Then once we got there, IL5 wanted to go to the playground instead of on the jack 'o lantern walk. But we herded them both in, and both boys really enjoyed the pumpkins. D14 was a little overstimulated by the end, and she'd been the one who was excited.

This was my mother-in-law's last night with us, as she returns home on Tuesday.

Media read from:

Mr Ballen Podcast 67 minutes
The Week: Abortion Activist? 23 minutes
Life, the Universe and Everything, by Douglas Adams 18 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 108 minutes

Tuesday I went on a walk with dad. It was about 1 mile at 45 minutes per mile. He was pretty exhausted at the end. I had lunch with Aaron. In the evening, Aaron and I took IL5 to a park after dark, because we'd promised we would. He tripped in the dark and scratched his face. He now thinks parks are more fun in the daytime.

Media read from:

The Week: Abortion Activist? 31 minutes
Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 66 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 97 minutes

Happy mid week!

>177 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita!

Wednesday I rode the exercise bike for the first time in a long time. I even rode 5 minutes longer than I intended. Later, I took dad to an appointment. Afterwards, we went to lunch. When IL5 got home, I took him to a playdate, which he really enjoyed. M12 weeded and prepared a bed for fresh wood chips. Then He played D&D. I read to D14. She didn't get a callback for the play, but they could cast her in a smaller part, still.

Media read from:

The Week: Abortion Activist? 40 minutes
Roam, by CH Armstrong 15 minutes
Mr Ballen Podcast 66 minutes
Life, the Universe, and Everything, by Douglas Adams 87 minutes
Neverseen, by Shannon Messenger 45 minutes

Media finished:

The Week: Abortion Activist?

Time reading: 253 minutes

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/365046

Thanks Silver!

Thursday, I jumped on the exercise bike when I got home from work. Two days in a row! I took M12 to an appointment, and found out that he'd lost one pound. He's probably not eating his snacks at school. I should write his teachers and have them spy on him in a week or so (after he's gotten over losing a pound). Of course, there's really no way of getting him to eat snacks at school. I guess I should just make him eat once an hour when he gets home?

Aaron had a meeting with a potential employer was offered a job. I think he's eager to try out the new type of work, but it's only part time for the first couple of months. Then, if he's a good fit, he can switch to full time. He'd probably make more money than unemployment that way, but I worry that if it doesn't work out, the amount of unemployment we get afterwards will be drastically reduced, because it'll only be half of his part time earnings. Oh well.

We are also starting to suffer the consequences of switching insurance and having to start with the deductible again. IL5's and D14's weekly appointments are adding up. And the deductible will start all over again in January.

After Aaron's meeting, Aaron, D14, M12, and I played Goonies Never Say Die. Then I got my bedroom and IL5's room clean - I am 15 minutes short of my weekly cleaning goal. I'll have to figure out what to do on Friday.

Media read from:

Roam, by C H Armstrong 56 minutes
Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 41 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 31 minutes
Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett 53 minutes

Media finished:

Maskerade, by Terry Pratchett

Time reading: 181 minutes

Friday was pretty calm. After my overnight job, I ran some errands, then took dad to an appointment. Then dad and I met Aaron at a favorite restaurant that we can't take the kids to (they're too picky). In the evening, Aaron gamed and dad and I watched The Visit. IL5 was tired, and screamed through the whole movie, so I didn't read to him for very long at bedtime. Which is a shame, because I had some good reading planned.

Media read from:

Life, the Universe, and Everything, by Douglas Adams 30 minutes
Mr Ballen Podcast 85 minutes
Behave, by Robert Sapolsky 29 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 144 minutes

In the 11th book of IL5’s favorite series, Desmond and Andre have a dance off with the Boogieman.

In this witches book, Agnes/Perdita runs off to Ankh-Morpork to sing opera. But Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg have different ideas. Funny, as usual.

WTF

Games played

HI Rachel! Happy new thread.

From your last thread, wow. Covid, worries about IL5 and kindergarten, cancelled Oregon trip.

>123 The_Hibernator: I watched the movie with Benedict Cumberbatch, have the book, and would like to eventually read it.

>126 The_Hibernator: Congrats on reaching 75!

>130 The_Hibernator: What a sad story. I’m sorry the bully won.

>131 The_Hibernator: Cute boat.

>140 The_Hibernator: I’m sorry to read that your friend Liz’s brother had a massive heart attack.

I love all the photos of family and kitty family that you post.

Take care of yourself as you take care of your family and clients.

Hi Rachel - It was fun catching up with your busy life.

I'm sorry work is stressful and that your client was moved to a care home. What a mess that you had to sit isolated for hours and then were never called to testify.

It looks like you and your family are thriving. I love the photos on the playground. Great sculptures for the kids to play on.

>200 karenmarie: Wow Karen! You really read through my thread! That was thorough.

The Benedict Cumberbatch movie took a lot of artistic license.

>201 streamsong: Hi Janet! The playground was at the zoo, so that's why they have scuptures of animals. Though the gigantic mosquito is a bit of a mystery.

Saturday, Aaron and I played D&D. We had a new player join, so that was great. Then a miracle happened: IL5 let us get him a hair cut! He hasn't let us do that in a year. I was almost disappointed to cut off all that pretty hair. But it's not in his eyes anymore. Afterwards, I wrote a letter and took a nap.

Media read from:

Behave, by Robert Sapolsky 30 minutes
Stitch Head: The Forgotten Creation, by
Guy Bass 32 minutes
Fly Guy's Amazing Tricks, by Tedd Arnold 2 minutes

Media finished:

Fly Guy's Amazing Tricks, by Tedd Arnold

Time reading: 64 minutes

Thanks for sharing all the photos, Rachel.

>205 PaulCranswick: You're welcolm Paul

Sunday I went with dad to Walmart. I hate Walmart, and have an anxiety attack almost every time I go, but Sunday I got through a large shopping trip with only a few frustrated mumbles. We got a size up in clothes for IL5 and M12 and winter gear for the kids. D14 and M12 were both thrilled with their gloves, as I decided to get them both comfortable gloves instead of water-proof gloves. They've apparently never experienced this phenomenon before.

In the evening, dad had chest pains which didn't go away after 3 Nitroglycerin, so we called 911, and off he went to the hospital. He was checked in overnight.

Media read from:

Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 54 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 54 minutes

>184 The_Hibernator: I was planning to comment on how long D and IL's hair has gotten before I read >204 The_Hibernator: so now I'll just say, wow D's hair has gotten long!

>208 norabelle414: Yeah! It was a shock when IL5 wanted to cut it off. I wanted to say "But you're almost there! It's down to your shoulders!" But I kept my mouth shut.

Monday all three kids had an appointment with the same doctor at 7:15am, which meant I had to get up at 6:30 to make sure D14 didn't walk out the door to school. That was difficult when I was at the ER till 12:30.

Afterwards, I headed to the hospital and stayed there till 4pm, when they took dad to get his angiogram. The procedure was successful and they put in a stent. Dad stayed another night in the hospital.

I relaxed for the rest of the day. M12 worked on a geography project (not a school assignment), D14 watched Grey's Anatomy, and IL5 played with LEGO. I also read to D14.

Media read from:

Life, the Universe, and Everything, by Douglas Adams 42 minutes
Roam, by C H Armstrong 59 minutes
A Study in Scarlet, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 41 minutes
Neverseen, by Shannon Messenger 54 minutes

Media finished:

Life, the Universe, and Everything, by Douglas Adams

Time reading: 196 minutes

Tuesday had a relaxing couple of hours after work in the morning. Then I took M12 to the dentist. He passed with flying colors. (D14 had an appointment that Aaron took her to, but she had a "on watch" spot for which she got a special toothpaste.)Afterwards, I headed to the hospital to pick dad up.

The hospital stay was 3 hours. On the way there I got a call from the the hospitalist, who told me that dad did have a heart attack when he came in (as I suspected from his troponin levels), but that he would be released that day. While I was waiting, a friend of my former friend Todd contacted me to ask if I knew about Todd's death. He said he's been hearing Todd died for a couple weeks, but he didn't know if his friends were messing with him. I texted Todd's mom to give condolences, but she didn't answer. I know I haven't talked to him for almost a year, and that he was OD'ing several times a week by the time I stopped talking to him, but it was still really sad to hear.

On top of that, my former client's son called to say his mom (my client), who was unfairly taken away from him, was declining fast in the home which the state threw her into. I was expecting that, since she was frail and confused, and people die pretty quickly when they are taken away from their familiar environments. But it was still sad to hear.

Then, the nurse came in and told us why dad has a black eye. Apparently his heart stopped during the angiogram and they resuscitated him. When his heart started again, he jerked and banged his head. I was pretty upset to find out the doctor had lied to me when she said the angiogram was uneventful.

Anyway, they finally let us leave the hospital with a whole bunch of discharge instructions. I quickly filled med boxes using his new instructions (it was med box day, so M12 and I also had ones to fill). Then my friend Liz came over and we watched Doctor Who. I played trains with Loki until it was time to go back to work.

Media read from:

The Week: Conjuring Demons 17 minutes
Roam, by C H Armstrong 41 minutes
Warmth of other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 58 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 31 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 147 minutes

Wednesday was a calm day. I did some chores, wrote some letters, and took dad to an appointment. He's been discharged from peripheral artery disease PT and put on cardiac rehab. So I had to cancel a whole bunch of appointments and will have to set up a whole bunch more.

D14 went to a club and learned how to count cards in blackjack. M12 did some yardwork (removing rocks from a bed so we can put in wood chips). IL5 played Spore.

Media read from:

Mr Ballen podcast 61 minutes
A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle 40 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 101 minutes

Whew, caught up! I'm sorry I got behind and missed your birthday, Rachel. I kind of laughed when you said you have a servant for 2 months. Can I rent him out when his time is up with you? Haha. As usual, I love the family pictures you posted and am glad you included the cats.

I hope your father is doing well. The black eye thing is rather upsetting but at least the heart is better. I remember when he used to post here on LT.

Your life is so busy. I appreciate the time you spend on the daily events here. I suppose I was busy when I was raising three kids and teaching school, but that seems like a lifetime ago. I kind of like the laid-back life I'm leading with plenty of time for friends and reading. Enjoy the upcoming weekend!

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/365276

>213 Donna828: Hi Donna! I would love to have a relaxing life with lots of reading. Now that I don't have a relaxing day job with commute and downtime, my reading will go way down. ☹️

M12 HATES the chore punishment. I should keep it on tap for when I'm particularly annoyed at him. I don't really give him big jobs. Yesterday he folded 2 weeks' worth of 6 peoples' towels. So maybe 12 towels and wash cloths. The day before was yardwork.

Dad is doing well now. Of course, he seemed to be doing well before that. 🤷‍♀️ Hopefully the stent will solve the problem.

>214 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver! I've got a road trip this weekend, so audiobooks, but maybe not reading with the eyes.

Thursday was uneventful. After my overnight job, I ran errands with Aaron. Then I took IL5 to the dentist, wrote a few letters, and cooked dinner. D14 had D&D club, which she enjoyed. IL5 had Cub Scouts.

Media read from:

Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 54 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 54 minutes

Checking in on you, Rachel!

>216 The_Hibernator: I recently read The Warmth of Other Suns and thought it was terrific. I hope you enjoy the read.

Have a fantastic Friday!

On Friday after my overnight job I drove 8 hours with my dad. We ate dinner at a hipster restaurant, then crashed at a hotel.

Media read from:

A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle 20 minutes
Africa Risen 543 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 563 minutes

On Saturday, dad and I went to my uncle David and aunt Virginia's house. My cousin Jeff stopped by, as well. We had a lovely talk, and a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant. I got lots of cross-stitch done.

Sunday dad and I spent all day with my aunt and uncle. We went to Olive Garden for a late lunch. I met my cousin's girlfriend. She seemed nice. I got lots of cross-stitch finished. I chatted with my friend Todd's mom about his death, as well as with Todd's ex-boyfriend.

Monday, dad and I packed up and hauled ourselves to Minnesota. When we got there, we had a quick dinner out with the family. Then we dropped dad at home and picked pumpkins for carving.

Media read from:

Africa Risen 340minutes
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer 174 minutes
A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle 19 minutes
The Week: Conjuring Demons 18 minutes

Media finished:

Africa Risen

Time reading: 551 minutes

In this classic of science fiction, our brave travelers save the universe. Just as funny as the first 2.

Tuesday after my overnight job, I pushed to finish a bunch of tasks that I would have done over the 4 days I was gone (I didn't finish it all). Then I picked up IL5 for a gastroenterologist appointment that happened in the car. We made some minor changes to our laxative regimen, and decided to follow up in December.

Then I took a break and wrote a letter, followed by picking IL5 up for an audiologist appointment. He hadn't cooperated six months ago with one of the exercises, so we brought him in to finish up his checkup. This time, he cooperated. He's on a cooperation roll recently!

After the appointment, I worked again on task catch-up, while Aaron cooked chili. After dinner, we carved pumpkins, and I saved the seeds for roasting. Everyone loved their pumpkin. I started another letter and helped IL5 play Wordscapes, which is his new favorite game. D14 watched Grey's Anatomy, and M12 enjoyed his first day of not being grounded in 2 weeks by watching YouTube on his tablet.

Media read from:

The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 92 minutes
The Week: Conjuring Demons 46 minutes

Media finished:

The Week: Conjuring Demons

Time reading: 138 minutes

Happy Mid week!

I am exhausted reading all you do! When do you get time to sit down and relax ? ;)

>225 figsfromthistle: I'm sort of sitting down and relaxing now, Anita, though only if you count watching IL5 play in his room relaxing. 😉

I hope you and the kids enjoy Halloween tomorrow, Rachel. Where we live, we dont get many, if any trick or treaters, but we have some treats just in case. Dave had hidden them from me! :-) Maybe tomorrow night I can snag a mini chocolate bar or two. I am trying to lose 35 lbs, so I'll try to just have a few, if Dave lets me.

>227 vancouverdeb: I'm trying to lose weight, too, Deb. So having candy around will be hard. I love chocolate. Good luck with not eating any.

As for trick-or-treating, it is raining now, but will hopefully stop by evening.

Wednesday, Aaron and I ran to JoAnn Fabrics and bought some floss to finish up my cross-stitch project and to prepare for my next project (a baby Creeper for IL5). Then we went to Target to buy Halloween candy.

In the afternoon, I took dad to his Cardiac Rehab appointment, and made 24 more. So my schedule is filling up!

I cooked meatloaf for dinner then played trains with IL5, as M12 watched YouTube and D14 watched Grey's Anatomy. D14 had gone to her Science of the Mind club after school.

Media read from:

The Week: Battle of the Sexes 15 minutes
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer 64 minutes
A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle 42 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 121 minutes

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/365438

>230 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver!

Thursday started out with an appointment at my dad's primary care physician. Afterwards, I ran errands with Aaron and then had lunch with him while we were getting an oil change. I cooked chicken for dinner, and then the kids got ready for trick or treating. IL5's blow-up costume was adorable and hilarious but it malfunctioned about 45 minutes in to trick-or-treating so we took it off. They all got a good stash.

Media read from:

The Warmth of Other Suns, by Isabel Wilkerson 23 minutes
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, by William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer 53 minutes

Media finished: none

Time reading: 76 minutes