Play On

I listen to classical music many mornings. I have a 30 minute drive to work most days and I turn the radio to my classical station and drive. I despise other radio station morning shows. I don’t think they are funny. Classical music starts my day right. Even on the days I work from home I sometimes put it on to work. I love it. This morning I pulled out of my driveway and heard the first strains of Claire de Lune so I turned up the volume. That piece is so beautiful. Then it was followed by something I had never heard before. They announced it as Paul McCartney’s Somedays played by the Loma Mar Quartet. I found it on YouTube after I got to work. It’s stunning and the melody is haunting. I much prefer it to the original song, no offense to Mr. McCartney. I’m going to be listening to it over and over again today. Yesterday I was listening to Casting Crowns’ Only Jesus and was singing the refrain to myself getting ready this morning. Good music soothes my soul. It doesn’t have to be only religious or instrumental, just good.  The Weeknd’s Blinding Lights is another example of good music that just makes me happy. I needed that lift this morning so what a wonderful way to start the day.

Feeling Crafty

Every once in a while I start feeling crafty. The feeling doesn't last very long but sometimes it turns out well. I saw this on Pinterest and then got some scrap material from my mom. Voila!

I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. I think I'd like to do it again with a round or square frame next time. 

Salt?

Sometime in the middle of quarantine in 2020 I watched the show Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat on Netflix and I’ve been thinking about salt ever since. 

Here are 2 things about me:

1. I don’t like to cook. I’m awful at throwing things together and almost always fail if I don’t have a recipe to follow. I feel fortunate that I don’t have a family to feed and can get away with popcorn or cold cereal for dinner some nights. Having to cook for a living would be the most awful job I can think of. 

2. I cook anyway. Mostly from scratch because I like to know what I’m putting into my body. I avoid boxed and premade foods almost entirely. I will admit that when I cook something that tastes good and is good for me it makes me happy and I enjoy that feeling. Luckily, I’ve learned to eat leftovers so I don’t have to cook every day.

But back to salt… When my dad’s kidney failed and he went on dialysis, he had to cut sodium completely from his diet. My parents were empty nesters by that time but the whole family kind of went along with it when we had family dinners. The food we brought or mom made just didn’t have salt, or very little. It was a big switch at first. That first year when mom didn’t add salt to Grandma’s roll recipe we all mutinied and said the rolls must have salt! But you get used to it and I cut a lot of salt from my diet as well, even when I was by myself. I figured I was still getting plenty anyway and it was probably better for me. Since dad’s been gone, I have added some salt back into things but I think I still eat a lot less than average Americans. I usually don’t add the full amount called for in recipes and I don’t do the extra things like salt my pasta water. I never add salt at the table unless it’s mashed potatoes or popcorn.

I’ve been thinking about it though. Yeah, sometimes I make some tasty stuff, but it could be because those recipes had the right amount of salt or fat or whatever to make them taste good the way they were written.

I borrowed Samin Nosrat’s book from the library. The Netflix show was based on the book. I’m reading about things that can improve my cooking. So the other day I put salt in some ground beef I was cooking for enchiladas. It wasn’t even a lot, but wouldn’t you know, I swear the meat tasted…meatier. Now I’m thinking about trying it again with something else. Maybe I’ll salt the pasta water!  LOL

I still feel that I don’t need to add tons of salt back into my cooking, but maybe I can learn to add some where it counts to get good tasting food that is still healthy. Plus, if healthy eating is what I’m after, I need to look at sugar intake instead of salt.

Anyway, yeah I think I might buy myself some different types of salt this year and maybe improve my cooking skills. I’m still not gonna like doing it, but tasty results will make me feel better that I did it anyway.

 

Hello, January

This morning, because it’s snowing, or because it’s January 3rd, or for no reason whatsoever, I decided to eat my breakfast on my china. French toast and chocolate milk. Tasty!

People all over seem to be so happy 2020 is over. I mean, I guess I am, but I don’t see anything changing in 2021. Not in the beginning. My attitude is what has to change. I’ve been doing ok and have pretty much come to the conclusion that 2020 was just another year. It was a hard year, but so many years are for so many reasons. I do not make new year’s resolutions but I do like the idea of starting fresh. LOL I don’t have to say I’m going to exercise more or eat better because I’ve already been trying to do that and I don’t need the start of a year for that. I just need a new day. 

On instagram, I did see a couple things for the new year that I decided I wanted to try. The first was BAYMTGO, or Begin As You Mean To Go On. Her idea was to just do something for 15 minutes and then make time for it during the year. No matter what it is. So I sat down and played the piano for 15 minutes on January 1. I love playing it, and while I might not be great, I could be a little better if I played more. I play for myself and it relaxes me and makes me happy so why not spend a little more time doing it this year?

The other thing was an author that shared her new year motto: Now’s the time. The idea behind it is to do that thing now instead of waiting for the perfect time, which may never come. So I ate on my good china this morning. I picked out a new book to read that I’ve been meaning to read for awhile. Over the holiday I was talking to my sweet neighbor and we found out we both like Charles Wysocki 300 piece puzzles. So yesterday we both put on our masks and she brought me over 2 of their puzzles I don’t have and I sent her off with a few of mine. They are probably in their 80s and I think it is so cool that we have a puzzle exchange going now. 

So yeah, I do feel hope for the year and the fresh start but it’s my attitude more than anything that’s going to keep me going. I need to remind myself to come back to this post in a month or so when my attitude needs an adjustment. :)

Best Books of 2020, Part 2

And my top books read in the order I read them.

Small stack this year: half were ebooks/library copy.

Love Lettering – Kate Clayborn

The year was off to a great start with my January reads. This was just really cute. I’m actually afraid to go back and re-read in case I feel differently now.

The Will and the Wilds – Charlie Holmberg

Soul stealing kisses in this one. That’s all you need to know.

Homebound – Lydia Hope

I like science fiction romance where the 2 leads are different enough that they have to look past things and overcome obstacles to be together and that’s what we have here.

Strange Planet – Nathan Pyle     

A perfect feel good book that I really needed. I bought it because I follow the author’s Instagram, but I’m happy to have read the book as well.

Faro’s Daughter – Georgette Heyer

This one cracked me up so good. I loved Deb. She gives Max the run around in so many ways. I keep going back to my favorite parts.

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder – Holly Jackson

I had a blast with this one. I read it at a time when reading wasn’t really working out for me so that’s an added bonus.

Emerald Blaze – Ilona Andrews

I felt like Catalina and Alessandro’s first book had a few missteps but this one picks it up and gives the non stop action with a little romance that the Andrews’ do so well.

Swordheart – T. Kingfisher

This one surprised me big time. I read about it somewhere online, decided I had to have it and read it in one go. I wasn’t even half way done before I downloaded Paladin’s Grace. I can’t wait for more. This is the kind of fantasy romance I like to read.

Revenge in Rubies – A.M. Stuart

The author’s first book in this series was on my best of list last year so I’m happy to see this one here too. It’s another really solid story. I love that it takes place in Singapore.

Return of the King – Megan Whalen Turner

The conclusion to an epic series. It was perfect.

The Bright and Breaking Sea – Chloe O’Neill

This one was unexpected. It hit all the right spots with me. A female captain in Her Majesty’s navy has to deal with spies, pirates, and a Viscount.

And that’s it for this year. Who knows what next year will bring. I’m not even going to speculate. My list of books to buy in 2021 is pretty small right now. I’m sure it will get bigger. Maybe I’ll try and read some of the books I bought in 2020 or any other year. They are sitting on my bookshelves just waiting for me to pick them up. 

Best Books of 2020, Part 1

Another year, another stack of books. I feel like my reading was strange this year. There were times when I had a really hard time concentrating on books and times when it was hard to figure out what I wanted to read. Even so, 98 books is nothing to be ashamed about. And it doesn’t count the comfort re-reading I did or the Webtoons, both of those things I would say actually took up almost half of my reading time this year. 

The top genre was once again mystery, followed by what I labeled romantic (meaning they aren’t in the romance genre, but they have a romance subplot in them and I wanted to track them). Then it’s urban fantasy/PNR, sci-fi romance, and fantasy/sci-fi to round out the top 5. Ha ha, I can tell by my genres that I didn’t want to be in the real world so much. 

Ebooks pulled ahead this year. It’s not surprising considering the pandemic and the library was closed for a few months. I read far more purchased books than borrowed this year. Again, not too surprising.

I’m breaking my list up into 2 sections: webcomics and books. I’m going to start with my favorite webcomics, which I read on WebToons. These saved me this year. Something about the pictures and episodic format really helped me escape and I found a new medium that I love. 

Midnight Poppy Land, creator: Lilydusk – I’ve already written about this one, but I love it. Love. It. Hands down my #1. Mafia bad boy with a heart of gold, a heroine to really cheer for, and just a fun story with great artwork. My obsession is down to a manageable amount but I’m in it for the long haul. 

My Dear Cold-Blooded King, creator: Lifelight – I love the artwork and story here. I wasn’t sure at first as it’s a little love triangle-y in the beginning.  It finished recently and I went back and re-read the whole thing and I loved it even more. There may be some plot holes and things that don’t all make sense but I don’t even care.

Covenant, creator: explodikid – Priests that focus on exorcism. Magic tattoos. I love the art and I love the story. I can’t wait to see where it goes.

Punderworld/Blood Stain, creator: sigeel – Punderworld is a Hades/Persephone retelling that’s just cute, and Blood Stain is about a down on her luck girl going to work for a mad scientist. I binged it and it’s so fun. Both have fantastic art.

Suitor Armor, creator: Purpah – This one’s just getting started but I love it so much already. A magical suit of armor starts protecting a lady-in-waiting who is more than she appears.

Purple Hyacinth, creators Ephemerys and Sophism – A fantasy/mystery where a cop and an assassin work together to stop a criminal gang. I binged this one in December and now have to wait for updates like the rest.

Others that I’m really enjoying: Jeff’s Disorder (lexet), The Alley Cat (Marie Jane Works), The Empress Remarried (Alphatart and Sumpul), The Wolfman of Wulvershire (K. Oliver), The Witch and the Bull (moonsia), In the Bleak Midwinter (Kat and Ali) and Enjoy the Show! (Jenna A).

And that’s only a handful of the ones I’m subscribed to. I have a ton of them I’m still waiting to check out or haven’t gotten far enough to know if I really like them.

So yeah, lots and lots of time spent here this year and I don’t regret it at all. I’m hooked on webcomics and they will be part of my reading for the foreseeable future.  So far I'm doing all the reading on WebToons but I hear Tapas has some good ones as well. I absolutely don't need more to read, but maybe next year I'll check it out. 

Good Weekend

I didn’t feel very well for a few days last week and the week was dragging. I woke up on Saturday feeling better and decided I wanted to get out. My mom and I ended up driving to Logan to Bluebird Candy. Earlier this year we had both purchased a Christmas countdown with their candy in it and it is excellent. We decided we needed more. :) But I also bought a few small boxes of chocolates for neighbors and friends. Since I’m not baking treats this year, I thought those would do the trick. We stopped at the cheese factory also and I stocked up on cheese. Ha ha cheese and chocolate. Yum! And now my Christmas shopping is completely finished, wrapped, and under the tree. It feels really good to do things that used to be “normal”. 

I got my bonus on Friday. I put aside my tithing and decided how much to save. I reloaded my Amazon gift card for myself and then I donated to 5 different charities. I gave a lot more than I usually do. I’ve been blessed with so much and that includes a very good job that allows me to be free of financial pressures. It’s the least I can do, especially for the organizations that reach places I never could on my own. 

On the way home yesterday, we stopped at my sister’s house because my mom had bought her a countdown. My nephew wanted me to take him shopping. I told him I’d take him later in the evening when it got less crowded if he could get to my house. He called me later in the day with a plan and his parents dropped him off. He’s such a fun kid. I thought by 16 he’d be done with hanging out with his aunt. He told me that since I took him to Best Buy last year, it was now our tradition. So I guess we’ll be doing it next year too. :) Driving my nephew around to stores was not how I had planned my evening and there’s nothing better I could have been doing. 

Today we had stake conference broadcast. I used the time to cook since I don’t do well sitting for 2 hours like that. Elder Robbins said something that stood out to me. I’m paraphrasing but basically we have Google maps that will track traffic all over the world as it happens and Google will answers millions of questions simultaneously. If man can do that, why can’t we believe that God also does that? God knows all of us. It’s kind of amazing when I think about it. 

Anyway, I get to relax for the rest of my day. It’s been a good weekend and I’m feeling positive and refreshed to deal with life.