This weekend I drove 6 hours to see my friend in Cumbria and her 12 week old baby. It was awesome to see her and I am only sad that she lives so far away. I left Saturday morning at 7:30 and then came back Monday - 12 hours of driving for 36 hours with friend. It was well worth it.
I had loaded up the podcast with back episodes of Organize 365 and Best of Both Worlds, as well as Oh William by Elizabeth Strout on Audiobook which showed up on Libby. Two hours into Oh William I decided it was a hard pass as I really can't listen to stories which include traumatic childhoods. I know it was shortlisted for the Booker prize and The Modern Mrs. Darcy loved it but I couldn't take it.
I enjoyed a good few hours listening to Organize 365, I'm not sure whether I had heard some of the episodes before. I started thinking about house projects and organization and realized some small but significant changes I could make to my space now. I have a plan to fit a dishwasher in the kitchen! First I need to find a handy-person to do some cabinet removal, reorganize our pantry goods, and then there will be Dishwasher! I am very excited.
I also realized that it is time to say goodbye to our much loved loveseat.
It was one of the first pieces we bought for our house and was recently in the kids room for stories. We've since set up Lilah's "big girl bed" and now there is no room. So I called the furniture charity shop and it's being collected on Friday. It's so comfortable and has served us well and I hope it will go to another home that can enjoy it just as much as we have.
While visiting my friend I read all of Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan. This was such a fun read and felt like a "holiday read". I also brought A World Without Email by Cal Newport but it is somewhat slow going. Definitely giving me lots of think about.
For the drive back Maybe in Another Life became available on audiobook and I've started that now, it's definitely got the same great pacing as most TJR books.
I loved my 36 hour holiday and it felt like a total recharge. Also, my friend has the cutest 12 week old. I didn't know 12 week olds could be so good. He just sleeps and plays and chats and I cannot wait to see him again soon. I am not a huge fan of babies but I was a huge fan of this one.
Have you ever been on a 36 hour holiday? How is your reading in May going? Do you like 12 week olds?
You know that I love a good 36 hour holiday. And that I have it kind of naturally built into my schedule because my family goes on Boy Scout camps once a month so when they go out of town - I go out of town!
ReplyDeleteThe thing about the 36 hour vacation is that it's easy. You're not buying a plane ticket and going to a hotel for a week, you're getting in a car and staying 1-2 nights so it's cheap. There's no pressure to have The Ultimate Vacation Experience, you're just out for fun. And of course when there's a drive you can really pack in the audio books, so that's another win.
I was actually thinking of your adventures when writing this post! I definitely feel more inspired to get out - although after 2 weekends away in the last 3 I probably owe the husband some time off too lol.
DeleteThat sounds like a lot of fun to me! I love a "long weekend" away, and always take an extra day off on three day weekends so I can go somewhere for a four day weekend! I usually drive as well (and listen to a ton of audiobooks) and I enjoy that freedom and the romanticism of the open road. I drove to Idaho for a hiking trip, which is 15 hours, but I enjoyed every moment of it (okay maybe not the slog through the desert of Nevada)! I also get a lot of "reading" done when I am backpacking, sometimes over one book per day! I love it and even though I make myself wait for a few hours so I can enjoy the dawn chorus and not use up all of my phone battery, I still get through a lot of books.
ReplyDeleteI read that TJR book awhile ago and found it not as good as some of her others. I think it is older, and I feel that her more recent books are better than her older ones...I think she has started to find a groove in recent times. I will be interested to hear how you like it once you are done. The other one I felt the same way about was One True Loves. It was not a bad book, and neither is Maybe in Another Life, but compared to Daisy Jones or Carrie Soto, they were just okay.
I wish I had explored Idaho more when I lived in the Pacific Northwest! I've driven through it loads but never really stopped to enjoy it and I think I would love it. Also, the dawn chorus is fantastic now - on my weekend away I woke every morning to dawn chorus and then read untill a more reasonable hour. It was perfection.
DeleteI'm interested to see if I continue to like this book... It may be my enjoyment is reactionary to my previous DNF listen. However, I am really curious what's going to happen (I'm about halfway through) and I am not sure whether I will find it as enjoyable in retrospect.
I need to get Daisy Jones on my list!
That sounds like an interesting podcast. I usually don't make time to listen to podcasts but I am all about organizing my house! So I might have to listen in!
ReplyDeleteI know both of those podcasts! I find home organizing podcasts motivating, like roll up my sleeve and go to town! I cherry-pick my way through Organize 365 and BOBW but don't listen regularly. Would love to see pictures of your organizational journey!
ReplyDelete36 hour vacation... I can definitely go for that but I don't think I've ever gone away for such a period of time.