Hibernator's first 2024 thread

Puck


Hero


Polyphemus

Hi! I'm Rachel, 44yo caregiver of elderly and disabled. I have one son - IL5 - and two bonus kids - M11 & D14. For fun, I read, pen pal, and play Dungeons and Dragons. I have 25 pen pals, and also write to Letters Against Isolation (for the elderly) & Letters Against Depression. I am in 2 D&D campaigns. One is play-by-post and the other is by group voice-call.

I read a variety of books, though I have a leaning towards fantasy. My goal is to read 2 me-books a month and 4-5 books to the kids (mostly IL5, but I am reading to D14, too). That should get me to 75 quite handily. 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

Open for business!

Dropping my star, Rachel. I hope you all have a Happy New Year!

Welcome back, Rachel!

Happy New Year, and here is to many good reads ahead, Rachel!

Rachel I am sorry to inform you that you'll be stuck with my company again in 2024. xx

Star dropped.

Happy 2024's reads, Rachel!

Happy New Year Rachel

Happy new year, Rachel! I’ve got your thread starred!

Karen O

Hi Rachel! Happy New Year. Happy first thread of 2024.

>1 The_Hibernator: Heh. ‘bonus kids’. I love your attitude!

Sunday was good. I got some errands run, picked up dad from the hospital, and celebrated New Year's Eve with my friend Liz and dad by watching the first season of Cobra Kai.

Books read from:

Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett 15 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 15 minutes

Total books finished in Christmas Staycation:

Great Mythologies of the World
Llama Destroys the World
Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse
Super King Viking Land
Uncle Tom's Cabin

Total read from:

Mahabharata
Dopesick
Bible
How to Read the Bible
Great Courses: Jesus and the Gospels
Great Courses: St. Augustine's Confessions
Maleficent Seven
Equal Rites

Total time reading: 900 minutes

Thanks Meg, Kim, Jim, Deb, Paul, Richard, Rhian, Karen, and Karen! You too!

Reading to your children is one of the best times of your life! I really miss it! I do read to the grands when I can.

Good luck with your 2024 reading. I hope to do a re-read of Uncle Tom's Cabin sometime this year.

Happy New Year!

Wishing you a peaceful 2024

Happy New Year, Rachel. Love the family topper. Have a safe & healthy 2024.

Happy new year! Great pictures and congrats on all the reading.

Happy reading in 2024, Rachel!

Happy New Year, Rachel. Your kids are growing up so fast!

>16 Tess_W: Yes, Tess! Reading to my kids is great. Even the 14 year old enjoys it, though I'm not excited about the book she wants me to read. It's her favorite series, but it's not well-written so far. Still, the bonding is wonderful.

Thanks, you too Silver, Anita, Mark, Rhonda, Anita, and Beth!

Monday was tough for the first part. I had 5 important goals for the day (Grocery shopping, cleaning bedroom, putting away laundry, cleaning litter boxes, and cooking some chickpea curry for Aaron's lunches). My motivation was rivaling that on those days I slept all day. My limbs felt heavy and I could hardly move. Today, as I'm typing this, I probably was just intimidated by that list, leading to low motivation.

Anyway, I went grocery shopping, but only because dad wanted to come. I cleaned one litter box (there are two). Then, dad wanted to go to the mall and walk around. He bought some books for the kids and a puzzle for Aaron. I bought some shoes. Then we headed to the airport.

We went in and met them by the baggage claim. It was SO nice seeing them. IL5 squealed with glee and ran to me with his hands outstretched. I got the longest hug ever.

IL5 and D14 didn't want to go to Perkins, so I stayed with them while dad, Aaron, and Malcolm went to Perkins. Then we looked at our stockings and opened presents. They were mostly books.

I enjoyed the staycation readathon, so I'm going to do a January one.

1st January

Books read from:

Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished:

Llama Destroys the World, by Jonathan Stutzman 10 minutes
Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse, by Jonathan Stutzman 10 minutes
Llama Rocks the Cradle of Chaos, by Jonathan Stutzman 10 minutes

Time reading: 60 minutes

Happy New Year, Rachel! Did you enjoy Cobra Kai? The scene where Johnny is trying to catch up to the modern era, learning how to use a computer, etc. makes me crack up just thinking about it

Happy New Year and new thread! Hoping for good health and good reading for you and your family this year.

Tuesday wasn't too exciting. I came home from work and went as quickly as possible to dad's appointment. Went from there to my second job. Cooked dinner and started a rule that IL5 can't have screens during family meals. There was a massive temper tantrum, and then he curled up and went to sleep. Then I went back to work.

The good news is that I found a fiber supplement he will drink! I'm hoping it (and a probiotic if I can get him to take one) will help with his poop problems.

2nd January

Books read from:

Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett 75 minutes
How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel 30 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 135 minutes

Wednesday I took D14 to an appointment, Red Lobster for lunch, to an appointment, and to another appointment. In the Evening, dad, Aaron, and I watched the last several episodes of School Spirits on Netflix. You have got to be kidding me with that end. That series is 6 hours of my life I won't get back.

3rd January
Books read from:

Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett 15 minutes
Bible 15 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 30 minutes

>25 norabelle414: Hi Nora! I don't remember that scene, could it have been in the second season? He stayed pretty unaware of modern technology throughout season 1. I'll probably watch the second season after finishing seasons 3 and 4 of Stranger Things with my dad.

>26 foggidawn: Thanks foggi! You too!

Hi Rachel and Happy New Year to you and yours! Great photo of you all!

I'm also listening to one of the Teaching Company/Great Courses on Christianity - Lost Christianities: Christian scriptures and the battles over authentication by Bart Ehrman. This one was recommended by karenmarie.

I'll be interested to hear what you think about the two you are listening to.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/356840

Happy New Year, Rachel! No way IL is 5 already!

>30 streamsong: I think I've listened to and enjoyed some lectures by Bart Ehrman before, Janet. I'll put that one on my wish list. It's a long list, though!

>31 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver!

>32 ronincats: Hi Roni!. I know. I remember when I was being induced coming on to LT to chat with people and them asking what I was doing on LT at a time like that. (I was bored. Induction took a ling time.) You reminded me of that because I guess it probably seemed notable to some 75ers at the time, and it doesn't feel that long ago.

Thursday was easy. When driving home from work, I missed my turn. I pretended I meant to do that, so I stopped and bought some tuna and salmon up the street. Then, I took IL5 to his poop physical therapy, where he was a champ at making the dolphin jump with his butt. He's getting good at it! Then I took IL5 to school, ran some errands, got IL5 off the bus and cooked some tuna unsuccessfully (too long in the oven). D14 had an audition for Mary Poppins and dad and I watched the end of season 3 of Stranger Things.

Books read from:

Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett 30 minutes
Mahabharata 15 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 75 minutes

I tried to make Friday a day for IL5. After feeding therapy, we went to McDonald's playplace, then speech therapy. After that, we went to an indoor park. In the evening, D14, Aaron and I watched an episode of X-files. Then Aaron went downstairs to game with his friends, and D14 and I watched an episode of His Dark Materials. Then I read to D14 and IL5 before bed.

Books read from:

St Augustine's Confessions, by William R Cook and Ronald B Herzman 30 minutes
Exile, by Shannon Messenger 40 minutes
Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett 75
The Bad Guys:
Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?!, by Aaron Blabey 20 minutes

Books finished:

Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?!, by Aaron Blabey

Time reading: 180 minutes

>35 The_Hibernator: I love the title of the book you finished yesterday, Rachel! Something tells me that led to lots of laughing.

Hoping the weekend is low-stress.

When I was younger, in my 30's , I thought the X files was a terrifying tv show! Now I think it might make me chuckle. Dave worked evenings half of the time back then, 3 - 11 pm, and I just be so scared after watching the X files back then, home with just the kids. So silly in retrospect.

>36 richardderus: What RD said! That is a great title, Rachel.

Have a lovely Sunday.

Hi Richard and Paul! Yes, the Bad Guys books are hilarious. Childish, of couse, as they're for younger kids.

Hi Deb! Interesting. I never found X-Files to be scary. But, then, I'm not scared by horror...it makes me laugh. Was it the fact you were alone with the kids that made it scary?

Saturday was a pretty laid back day. I ran to Barnes and Noble with Aaron and dad and took D14 to a improv show for a late birthday present. It was a fun show, and D14 loved it.

Books read from:

Robo-Rabbit Boy, Go! By Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished:

Time reading: 15 minutes

This was an amusing paradigm shift looking at present day Johnny and Danny from Karate kid from mostly Johnny’s point of view. It was fun and entertaining.

This is about Maddie, who suddenly finds herself a ghost in her high school. She spends the entire show trying to find her murderer. It was a great show until the end, which I hated. I feel like I wasted 6 hours of my and dad’s lives.

The third season of Stranger Things introduces some awesome new characters and has some truly awesome moments. It also has its sad moments.

The Good Guy’s Club are chased by dinosaurs after accidentally zooming back in time. Hilarious, as usual.

Cross-Stitch Project start of 2024

Hi Rachel!

>27 The_Hibernator: and >30 streamsong: Interesting Great Courses title, Jesus and the Gospels. It aligns with the one I just listened to and that Janet is listening to – Lost Christianities.

>45 The_Hibernator: I do not have the skill or patience for cross stitch, but admire those who do. Looks good so far!

>46 karenmarie: Hi Karen, I don't have the patience either, but I have perseverance. That has taken me a year at 5 stitches a month. 🤣😂

Sunday was a mixture of stress and fun. I worked, and at work I stressed about all the stuff I had to do after work even though I wouldn't have time because I immediately had to leave for a play with the kids. But after some anxiety meds and a bite of reality (and as much help as Aaron could provide), I enjoyed Grinch with the D14 and M11. It was a great play. Though I'm curious about all those people with young kids. There isn't a snowball's chance in Hell IL5 would have sat through that. After the play, we went ro Perkins.

Books read from:

Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett 45 minutes
Baxter is Missing, by Rebecca Elliot 15 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished:

Baxter is Missing, by Rebecca Elliot
Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 75 minutes

Monday was incredibly busy. I had been awakened in the night by IL5, who wasn't dealing with this week's gut cleanout well because he has a sphincter of steel and a will to withhold. Usually he complains of pain when he needs to go, but that night he was squirming, saying it tickled. (Probably gas?) I finally got him back to sleep, but my own sleep was disrupted.

I had an alarm set for 7am, but struggled intensely to get out of bed, and finally managed at 7:38. I had to skip cooking lunches for Aaron and me this week, and suffice with just a few things that needed to be done IMMEDIATELY on the computer. Then, I almost fell asleep during IL5's virtual psychiatrist appointment - drifting off and drooping every time the psychiatrist started talking and I stopped. And I DID fall asleep during D14's psychiatrist appointment.

Shortly after those appointments, I took D14 and IL5 to D14's therapy appointment. I partially lay down on a bench in the waiting area and IL5 curled up on top of me. I don't know how long I slept, but I awoke when IL5 began to roll off. Then I sat up and literally started snoring when I leaned my head back.

After dropping D14 off at school, I went home and took a Ritalin. This is exactly what the Ritalin is for, but I'm supposed to take it preemptively - before I get dangerously tired. (The danger being driving.) The we immediately hopped back in the car and I drove dad to an ATM. I took his card out of the ATM, and grabbed the money. Then I was so tired, I forgot that I'd dropped the card in the door if the car when I pulled it out, and thought the ATM had not returned the card at all. So later in the day, I called the bank to say his card had been eaten, but they said he had to call. Good thing, too, because I later found the card and remembered putting it there.

Anyway, after the ATM, I took dad to his Cardiac rehab appointment. It was supposed to take 1 hour 45 minutes, so I stayed until the therapist came out, then left to take IL5 to school. I ran some errands, and went back to pick dad up. The appointment went over by 30 minutes. After making a whopping 25 followup appointments (at two a week), I rushed over to get my TB test read (for my new third job). But I got there 3 minutes late, and the computer said it was cancelled. Apparently they cancelled a bunch of appointments because of understaffing, but the PA went ahead and read my test, since it was time sensitive.

Things calmed down after that, and after a quick grocery run, I relaxed for the rest of the evening till 9:30pm when I left for work.

Books read from:

Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 30 minutes

>45 The_Hibernator: I used to cross stitch 30+ years ago, but my eyesight just got too bad for me to be able to do so. I miss it though. Good luck with your project!

>50 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia! That will happen to me eventually. I can't do it with my bifocals on - I make mistakes. So I have to hold it close to my face and do it without glasses.

Tuesday I took dad to three appointments. In the evening, my friend Liz came over and we cross-stitched and watched Doctor Who.

Books read from:

How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel 15 minutes
Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett 15 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 15 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 75 minutes

Happy Wednesday, Rachel. Did you also get hammered with the snow? We certainly got our share, with another big storm coming on Friday. I really enjoyed Dopesick. Quite eye-opening.

>53 msf59: Hi Mark! No we didn't get more that a few sprinklings of snow. I generally don't mind the snow, but this year I have so many appointments that it's nice to not have the stress of driving after a dumping.

Dopesick is good so far, though I'm not very far in. I'm curious how it compares to anither book I've read - American Overdose.

Wednesday, I really struggled to remain productive. it started with a disappointment. My client had apparently thought I'd agreed to come in to work on Thursday, and I had been looking forward to hanging out with dad. I had to choose between the two, and ended up choosing work. But it felt like the wrong decision after I'd made it.

D14 needed to come home from school because she threw up, which meant her morning appointment was cancelled. That would normally have felt great (extra time, yay!), but my mood wasn't up for being cheerful.

At work, I only went through the motions. At home, I forced myself to get stuff done. IL5 went to sleep the moment he got home, throwing off his bedtime routine. I'd really been looking forward to reading to him, but I only managed to complete the onerous parts of the bedtime routine like brushing his teeth and trying to convince him to sit on the toilet.

I was happy to go to sleep.

Books read from:

Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett 90 minutes
Bible 15 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnson 40 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett

Time reading: 175 minutes

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/357120

Thursday held the promise of expense. After work, I went to get my oil changed, and was informed that I needed a new tire (covered under warranty), new shocks, new filters, and new coil springs. I would be suspicious, but we've been with these guys for a while, and they've always done right by us. The coil springs ($700) needed to be ordered from Japan, but the shocks ($400) and the rest of it only needed to be ordered from Wisconsin.

Then I went to my day job, followed by going with Aaron to a seminar on how to register for high school. All I got out of that hour of my life is that Spanish is the most sensible elective to register for. (Because she can register for level 2 Spanish, having taken two years of it in middle school, and it's best to do before she forgets all her Spanish.)

Books read from:

Horrorstor, by Grady Hendrix 75
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 30 minutes
Mahabharata 15 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 135 minutes

Looks like you are back to your busy routine, Rachel. Best of luck with that. >57 The_Hibernator: That's a lot of work to come out of an oil change.

>58 Familyhistorian: Yeah, it was frustrating to get all of that maintenance.

I will try to keep myself busy during post-surgery week, but we'll see. I hate cleaning.

Friday I had my surgery. It went well, and I didn't have any pain for the rest of the day. Not sitting for a week will be hard, though. M11, Aaron, dad and I watched the last episode of Good Omens Season 2, and then Aaron went downstairs to game with his friends, and the rest of us watched the first half of Fellowship of the Ring.

Books read from:
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnson 15 minutes
St Augustine's Confessions, by William R Cook and Ronald B Herzman 30 minutes
Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Mr Cooper is Super, by Dan Gutman 11 minutes
Books finished: none
Time reading: 71 minutes

>60 The_Hibernator: glad your surgery went well. Hope you have a relaxing Sunday!

>61 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita! I was hoping to get some cooking and cleaning done, which is a luxury for me, lol. (At least having time to clean is. I have to cook lunches for Aaron and myself weekly.) However, I couldn't find the garam masala for the curry I was going to make, so now I'm waiting on Aaron to run my errands for me. He has a hard week coming up. He needs to do all the stuff I would do (requiring driving) plus all the errands I would normally send him on in a normal week.

Saturday we played a good D&D session. Then Aaron, dad, M11 and I watched the second half of Fellowship of the Ring. Really, they watched it and I slept, but at least I was in the room.

Books read from:

Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 15 minutes

Glad that the surgery went well.

>64 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda!

Sunday was a cold day. Aaron ran a bunch of errands and dad and I walked in the below zero weather to the library. D14 had her D&D session. Then we watched Star Wars Revenge of the Sith as a family.

Books read from:

Exile, by Shannon Messenger 30 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnson 30 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Mr Cooper is Super, by Dan Gutman 15 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 90 minutes

Glad your surgery went well, Rachel!

>67 norabelle414: Thanks Nora!

Baxter disappears and Eva spends the whole book looking for him. Cute.

When an accident renders baby Esk a wizard, Granny Weatherwax, the local witch, has to figure out how to tame the magic – girls are not meant to be wizards. It’s the wrong kind of magic. As always with Pratchett, this book is silly and fun. I loved watching young Esk come into her own.

When the archangel Gabriel shows up at Aziraphale’s shop with no memory, he and Crowley decide to hide him. That turns out to be a big deal. This season was complex and funny, but the ending was a little stressful.

>72 The_Hibernator: Thank goodness we *are* getting a third season! I would be inconsolable if this was the way it ended.

>69 The_Hibernator: Looking good, Rachel!

>69 The_Hibernator:. Looking good!

Glad your surgery went well, Rachel.

>72 The_Hibernator: I enjoyed that one too.

Thans Richard, Rhonda, and Mary. Yeah, I'm glad there will be another season.

Monday was supremely unproductive. The night before, I was wide awake staring at the ceiling all night. (This is unusual for me.) I took some anxiety meds at 1am, and another dose at 5am. The second dose knocked me out for 3 hours, but when I woke up I was stumbling around from having taken a second dose so late in the night. Because of that, I just never really bothered to get the day going.

Aaron, however, did a great job of being me for the day. He got my car into the shop, got dad to his appointment, and got D14 to her event and picked her up afterwards. IL5 didn't get swim lessons, though, because they overlapped with picking up D14...but even I can't be in two places at once, so I let Aaron off the hook for that one.

In the evening everyone went out to dinner without me and IL5. (IL5 was asleep and I can't sit.)

Books read from:
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes
The Super Side-Quest, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Mr Cooper is Super, by Dan Gutman 20 minutes
Books finished: Mr Cooper is Super, by Dan Gutman
Time reading: 65 minutes

>72 The_Hibernator: >73 richardderus: I love Good Omens - but wasn't too happy about that ending either. I'm so pleased there's going to be a series 3 as well. We are going to see Michael Sheen live on stage soon, which I'm really locally forward to. He's a local boy, coming from the next town along the the coast from my home town

Love to see the photo!!!!!! Thanks for posting

>78 SandDune: Hi Rhian! That's cool that Sheen is a local boy. It's always fun to feel proud of them.

>79 magicians_nephew: Thanks Jim!

Tuesday I made some chickpea curry for Aaron and my own lunches next week, then I watched Supernatural with Aaron and dad while cleaning the livingroom. Aaron had the day off from being me because dad threw up and we cancelled his appointment.

Books read from:

How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel 30 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes
Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 75 minutes

Wednesday was pretty uneventful. Dad, Aaron, and I went to Perkins for breakfast, where I sat for the first time since the car ride home from the surgery. It went pretty well. I made some phone calls and relaxed for the rest of the day. Aaron took D14 to her last weekly knee physical therapy...we're switching to every other week now. Then he went to another evening appointment with her, while I watched the first couple episodes of Merlin with M11.

No reading

I got a little stir crazy this week, and due to the nature of IL5's appointments Thursday, I decided that it was a good idea to go with Aaron to the appointments. I still wouldn't be driving, but I'd be sitting.

The first appointment was his poop psychologist. We're going to start working on why IL5 doesn't want to poop in the toilet. Then, we met with his gastroenterologist and made a plan for how to keep IL5's gut clear of impaction. Then we met with his poop physical therapist to teach him how to poop. It was a poopy morning. The gastroenterologist appointment was virtual, and instead of going home, we had the appointment in a Perkins.

By the time I got home, my butt was aching from all the sitting, so I lay in bed for a while and took notes from all the appointments. By this time, my accountability buddy was like, "What happened yesterday? Why didn't you accomplish much? What can you do differently today?" So I felt compelled to meet my task goal for the day. (It was 20. I made it to 21, thanks to her.) No, appointments don't count as tasks - it only counts as a task if it's on my to-do list. But I do have some easy stuff like "take meds" on there (because I need reminding to do things like that).

In the evening, M11 had his band concert. He did a great job.

Books read from:

Dopesick, by Beth Macy 30 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off, by Thomas Flintham 15 minuted
Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol: The Haunted House Next Door, by Andres Miedoso 10 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 55 minutes

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/357476

Friday was really disappointing. Last week, M11 gave a remote control dragon to IL5, but he couldn't find the charging cable. IL5 was so disappointed, that I bought another one. A few days later, it came as a set of imitation LEGO blocks to assemble, so I took the charging cable to charge the assembled one. But the battery wouldn't charge. Friday, D14 spent 4 hours and much frustration assembling the dragon, and we charged it, but it fell apart when turned on. So I tried removing the charged battery from the one that didn't stay together, and put it in the one that was assembled. But I couldn't do that without taking the well-put-together one apart, so I just broke down and purchased a new dragon that didn't require assembly. Luckily, I had some Prime points to use, because we don't have money for this.

On top of that, the day went poorly in other ways, too. I think the surgery impacted my mood - the night after surgery I stayed awake all night long, and thought I was going manic. The next night I slept fine, but the following night I started having deep downward mood swings. The following night, my brain felt like it had entirely shut off (it was like I it was moving through molasses). That was Thursday night. Friday, I felt deep non-motivation; to the point where I slept for an extra few hours, then had to force myself to do even fun things like writing a letter or reading a book.

Somehow, at the end of the day, I managed to clean the kitchen and make dinner. Then Aaron and I watched a couple episodes of Supernatural.

Aaron's day was much more productive. He took IL5 to feeding therapy and took dad to cardiac rehab. Though I don't think he places value on a day based on how productive it was, as I do.

Books read from:

Dopesick, by Beth Macy 45 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy's Time-Jump, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol The Haunted House Next Door, by Andres Miedoso 20 minutes

Books finished: Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol The Haunted House Next Door, by Andres Miedoso

Time reading: 80 minutes

Saturday was a good day. I started the day making sausage stew for the week's lunches for myself and Aaron. IL5, dad, and I headed to the library for a while. We picked out books, played with toys, and set up dominos. Aaron went to his board game group and D14, IL5, dad, and I went to Olive Garden.

Aaron and D14 started a jigsaw puzzle hour at night during the time I sometimes read to her, so we had to compromise and say Aaron gets her 3 days a week and I get her 3 days a week and Aaron and I watch Supernatural one day a week. (The Supernatural was already a thing, but we often don't get to it.) Anyway, Saturday was puzzle day.

Books read from:

Horrorstor, by Grady Hendrix 60 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 20 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnson 40 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray, by Nick Bruel 25 minutes

Books finished: Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray, by Nick Bruel

Time reading: 160 minutes

Hi Rachel.

Somehow or another I missed what your surgery was for, but am glad you got through it. I know that mood swings are particularly bad for you and hope you're on an even keel today.

Easy to lose sight of how much surgery affects the mind and the spirit as well as the body.

Glad you're moving forward.

>86 The_Hibernator: Excellent readings done, from some really good books. Glad for you, Rachel, that this has been a better time for you.

>87 karenmarie: Hi Karen! The surgery was to remove a tumor on my tailbone. It was most likely (and turned out to be) a scar from an injury after a car accident over a year ago. But they wanted to make sure it wasn't cancer.

>88 magicians_nephew: Hi Jim! I slept well last night, and feel ok mood-wise so far today. I was a little irritable yesterday, but everyone was asking me to do something all at the same time and they all thought theirs was important enough to request immediacy of action on my part. (Spoiler, none of it was important to ME.)

>89 richardderus: Hi Richard! Yes, I've been doing a great job of reading this year, and I've chosen some really good books to start with. Life is good!

Sunday I worked for a bit and Aaron watched IL5 and ran errands. After dinner, we played a game of Cranium - D14 and Aaron against M11 and me. We had lost the board, strangely, so I made one on a piece of paper. In the evening, D14 and Aaron worked on a super hard Mickey Mouse puzzle.

Books read from:

Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 60 minutes
Horrorstor, by Grady Hendrix 45 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 35 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnson 30 minutes
Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Shocking Shark Showdown, by David Bowles 15 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 200 minutes

Pauline Dakin grew up a hectic and bizarre life suddenly moving from town to town and watching her mom live in constant fear of she-didn’t-know-what. As an adult, she was told that her estranged father was a mobster who had a hit out on her family’s heads. This is the story of how Ms Dakin dealt with this knowledge. This book was fascinating and bizarre. I really enjoyed it.




These questions are adapted from Susan Bauer’s Well-Educated Mind, Chapter 6.

✏️Who was the author? (Woman or man or other? Race and ethnicity? Important occupation?)

The author was a white, woman journalist.

✏️What are the central events?

There are three timelines in the book: one when Pauline is a child dealing with her mother’s bizarre antics and having no idea what’s going on; one when Pauline is a young adult, dealing with her mom’s antics when she knows what’s going on; and one as the writer reflecting.

✏️What historical events coincide or merge with personal events?

Pauline was born in 1965, so dealt with a good deal of Cold War era, but I don’t think that much impacted the story she had to tell. I don’t know if organized crime was a particularly huge problem in Canada at that time.

✏️Who is the most important person, or people, in the writer’s life?

Her mother is the most influential person in her life, and she’s very close to her.

✏️What is the theme that ties the narrative together. Is the story spiritual or skeptical?

I’m not sure I agree with Bauer’s claim that memoirs are either spiritual or skeptical. However, there is no religious theme to this memoir.

🖍️Skeptical – What is the theme?

The theme is how mental illness can impact more than just the person with the mental illness.

🖍️Is the story relational (involving relationships with people)?

Yes, it’s mainly about Pauline’s relationship with her mom and Stan.

🖍️Is it oppositional (conflict between two different possible choices)?

There is internal opposition for Pauline between believing her mom and believing her logic.

🖍️Is it heroic, casting the writer in the mold of a mythical hero or heroine, conquering difficulties and overcoming obstacles?

No, she actually seemed rather helpless through a good part of it.

🖍️Is it representational (transforming the writer into a symbol for others who share the same condition)?

No, not many share that condition.

🖍️Is it historical?

It does not cover any mainstream history.

✏️Where is the life’s turning point? Is there a conversion?

There are two turning points in this book. The first is when she’s told about her dad having a hit out on her head, and the second is when she determines that it’s not real. Both had conversions when she had a major paradigm shift.

✏️For what does the writer apologize? In apologizing, how does the writer justify?

She apologized for believing in the story for so long, and for having her childhood and young adulthood so strongly impact her ability to get close to anyone but her mom, brother, and kids.

✏️What is the model – the ideal – for the author’s life?

The ideal she has is to understand reality and understand why her mom deviated from it.

✏️What is the end of life (the place where the writer has arrived, found closure, discovered rest)?

Ms Dakin found closure when she decided Stan wasn’t consciously trying to pull one over on her mother and herself; that, in fact, he was delusional.

✏️Is the author writing for herself or a group?

She obviously thinks the story is interesting to others (it was), but I think it was mainly for herself to help process and get closure

🖍️What parts of the writer’s experience does she assume to be universal?

The positive relationship with her mom may not be assumed to be universal exactly, but she doesn’t think she needs to explain why she’s so close to her mom, even though many adult children would have been bitter.

🖍️Which does she view as unique to herself?

Understandably, she doesn’t seem to think many people have dealt with this level of delusion from their parents. Or at least this complexity of delusion.

🖍️Am I part of the group that would be expected to closely identify with the author’s story?

I don’t know what sort of person would closely identify? People with delusional parents? People who moved around a lot as kids? People who were particularly close to their parents despite mental illness? I am none of those.

🖍️Does it ring true for me? What parts of the story resonate and which do not?

I am not certain Stan was delusional rather than lying. I don’t know how delusions of this nature work, but it seems like he’d have to know that he was, say, paying for flights and hotel rooms with his own money. Right? I mean, basically the assumption is that when he was with his wife he believed one story and when he was with Pauline’s mom he believed a completely different story? That he had a mysterious stash of money and nobody knew where it came from, but that he firmly believed it came from a secret government institution? That he wrote all these letters to Pauline and her mom from fictional people, but then later believed those letters really were from real people? What did he think WHILE he was writing them? Because he had to be holding some sort of at least loosely-formed belief at the time. I am skeptical. Pauline just wanted to think the best of him. It gave her closure, so I guess that’s good, at least. I mean, it hardly matters now that Stan and Pauline’s mom have both passed.

✏️What are the three moments or timeframes of the story? (When it happened, when it was written, when it was read.)

It happened between the mid 1970’s and late 1990’s. It was written in 2017, after her mom and Stan had passed. I read it in 2023.

🖍️What was the author’s reason for writing?

I think she needed closure.

🖍️Was the writer at a high or low point at the time of writing?

I think a high point, since she was getting closure

🖍️How has the biography changed in the years since its publication?

It has only been 6 years. Not much has changed.

✏️Where does the author’s judgement lie? What, or whom, does the author judge? Is this criticism valid?

She judged Stan at first, until she decided he was delusional. I think that judgment is very valid, as I don’t believe delusion makes sense in his case.

🖍️Who do I deem responsible for successes and failures of the author?

Successes – herself and to a lesser extent her mom. Failures – her mom and Stan

✏️What have I brought away from this story? What did I hope to get?

It was a good story that entertained me. That’s all I wanted.

Monday I took D14 and then dad to an appointment. I got a bit of a disappointment when I found out that my new third job didn't even have a client, so I can't work it. I was a little put out, because I was told there were two clients when I was hired. I asked my boss about it, wondering if she had been dishonest with me, but she said that one passed and one "graduated." I'm not used to this graduation thing, and am disappointed I won't be able to bring in money steadily with this job. But it'll be money on and off, at least, and I was wary of taking a third job, anyway.

The Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnson 23 minutes
Super Rabbit All-Stars, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Shocking Shark Showdown, by David Bowles 14 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 82 minutes

Tuesday was hard. Dad had an appointment in the morning, and slipped on the ice and hurt his tailbone and hit his head. I worked for a while after that, and that was calm. Then dad had a phone appointment and they never called. I finally called them, and they had it wrong in their computer - it was logged as in-persin with a note saying "by phone." This was upsetting to me because I had left work early for that appointment. Anyway, the specialist called me back and we had a super-quick appointment so we didn't have to reschedule. On top of that D14 and I had our first teenager fight. It was huge (for her), but I'm proud of her for finding a coping skill to calm down without her screens. Unfortunately, the fallout of the argument was that I was distracted and didn't get IL5 or dad their meds for the night.

Books read from:
Horrorstor, by Cameron Johnson 60 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 60 minutes

Wednesday, I took dad to an appointment, went to Perkins, went shopping, and took him to another appointment. Then I trained in for my third job despite not having a client to work with.

Books read from:

Horrorstor, by Grady Hendrix 60 minutes
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 30 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: Horrorstor, by Grady Hendrix

Time reading: 120 minutes

D14's new character Zorantha ©️Allygator Artwork (my friend Alex from my productivity accountability group)

M11's new character Terian ©️ Allygator Artwork

Anakin struggles with fear of loss while the dark side tempts him with what he views as a solution. It was OK. I’m much more a fan of episodes 4-6. But it was good to see the prequels.

When Andres moved into his new normal-boring house (that’s the way he likes it), he meets a cooky neighbor boy. But he ends up needing his new friend’s help when a ghost appears. Pictures on almost any page, easy words. Fun and cute. Good for reading to my 5 year old and for a first or second grader to read alone.

Hi Rachel. I haven't posted here in a while but I'm still keeping up with you. It seems like your dad has one thing after another. You are a wonderful daughter and I know he appreciates everything you do for him. I'm getting to the age where I worry about falling. I haven't been walking every day because of the condition of the streets and sidewalks here in Missouri. Today I am waiting for it to quit raining.

I hope you get paid for training for a third job without a client. I don't know how you keep everything straight at your house. It's good that you and D14 survived your first fight. Those teenage years with all the drama can be so stressful. It's good for you both to have good coping skills!

Take care and keep posting. Your support system is out here. ;-)

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/357793

Hi Rachel--Glad the surgery went well and that is was non-cancerous. Wishing you a quick recovery. The tailbone -- ouch!! Also wishing you luck with the "poopy" situation and happy you and D14 survived your first teenage fight. And then there's you Dad -- so much going on!! Hang in there and we are all pulling for you!

Thursday I was displeased with my performance, but in retrospect, U kept pretty busy. I guess I have a weid disappointment in myself when I take a nap. Not sure why.

Anyway, I took the car in for maintenance, went to lunch with Aaron, did an appointment with M11, went grocery shopping, and took D14 to a meeting that turned out to be in my calendar wrong (it was on February 29, not January 25). In the evening, I watched an episode of Supernatural with Aaron.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 15 minutes
Super Rabbit Racers, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
The Shocking Shark Showdown, by David Bowles 20 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: The Shocking Shark Showdown, by David Bowles

Time reading: 80 minutes

>103 Donna828: Hi Donna! Thank you for your kind words. I hope you get more walks soon. Stay safe, though! Yes, I'll get paid. There's a new client, but it may be an awake rather than an asleep position. Yes, D14 thinks taking away her tablet "didn't work," but it taught her she can use another skill, so that's good.

>105 Berly: Hi Kim! Yeah, I was worried about cancer when the referred orthopedic oncology, but after talking to him I wasn't worried any more. Thanks for the luck!

Friday, I took IL5 to his last feeding therapy with this therapist. That appointment solidified my suspicion that the therapist simply didn't like IL5. She was always making comments to me that he never did what he was asked, and other kids do. And her facial expressions were sometimes very telling of her distaste.

I feel that if she's going to work with kids with problems, she should have the decency to LIKE kids with problems. If not, just do adult OT. Right? Plus, IL5 doesn't necessarily do what he's told, but he's not defiant, and tone goes a long way with him. His speech therapist seems to love him. So do his teachers. The problem lies with the feeding therapist.

Later in the day, I had to haul IL5 along on a cardiologist appointment for dad. He behaved pretty well, though. And we found out that dad's heart monitor from November showed no atrial fibrillation.

Dad, Aaron, and I went to Mall of America, had dinner, and walked around. Dad had wanted to take the kids and get them presents, but all of them decided to stay home.

While Aaron was gaming with friends in the evening, M11, D14, and I watched Umbrella Academy.

Books read from:

Exile, by Shannon Messenger 30 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 37 minutes
Inspector Flytrap, by Tom Angleberger 37 minutes
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 15 minutes

Books finished: Inspector Flytrap, by Tom Angleberger

Time reading: 119 minutes

I did enjoy Umbrella Academy saw the TV first before I read the GN which is backwards from my usual. Both pretty good

>109 magicians_nephew: Hi Jim! I haven't read The Umbrella Academy, but then I don't read GNs often. I don't get as much enjoyment out of them as I would expect. Not sure why.

Saturday M11 went ice fishing with the Boy Scouts. He seemed to have enjoyed himself, other than falling in one of the ice fishing holes up to his hip.

I went to Olive Garden with IL5 and my friend Liz. We discussed our book club book, and chose a new one. Then dad, IL5, and I went to the Mall of America to walk around. IL5 was awfully disappointed not to ride the rides, but I didn't think I would fit on those rides and M11 hadn't wanted to come to the mall with us. We lost dad twice at the mall - once at the elevators for about 15 minutes and once in the parking lot for about 5 minutes. D14 and Aaron went snow tubing for a late birthday present. They had fun, but there was a lot of time waiting in lines.

Finally, Aaron and I walked to a nearby tavern for our date. We were disappointed to find out that our date spot is closing this coming Friday. It was a nice place to go. Now we will have to choose between driving (and not drinking) on Thursdays, walking about 10 minutes to a louder bar on Sundays (they have Vingo on Saturday, and we find that distracting), or walking 15 minutes to a quieter place on our usual Saturday night date. None of these sound as appealing as what we were doing until Saturday.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 45 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 45 minutes

That's too bad about the feeding therapist; she really shouldn't work with kids if she can't handle them. But great you don't have to go back, are the feeding issues resolved, then?

>111 The_Hibernator: Sorry your favorite spot is closing! It's always rough when you have a routine that really works for you and it has to end due to things outside of your control.

>112 banjo123: Hi Rhonda! No, his feeding problems are likely long-term like his brother's. M11 was down to 5th percentile in weight when we got him diagnosed with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). One of the diagnostic criteria is that they don't respond to normal feeding therapies. So I'm really just going through the motions and trying not to make the same mistakes we made with M11.

>113 norabelle414: Hi Nora! Yes, it is very disappointing. This happened to our last favorite date spot, too. We're running out of options. But I think I'm leaning towards Thursday nights with no alcohol for me (I work, so I can't drink, but I can drive).

Sunday, after I worked for several hours, we watched Solo as a family. Aaron and D14 worked on the cruel and unusual Micky Mouse puzzle. The thing is insane, I'll have to get a picture when they're done. It's like 100 little Mickey faces all squished together. Dad and I got it for them as a joke, and D14 has accepted the challenge. She dragged Aaron in, against his better judgement.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 45 minutes
The Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 22 minutes
Inspector Flytrap: The Goat Who Chewed too Much, by Tom Angleberger 45 minutes
Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished:

Inspector Flytrap: The Goat Who Chewed too Much, by Tom Angleberger
Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 207 minutes

Monday started with me cooking some beef stew for Aaron and my lunches this week. Then IL5 and I went on a play date with some triplets from special education. I had a good talk with their mom, and it was a reminder that three kids with "problems" is easier than three five year olds with "problems." I just can't imagine.

Then I had my supermom moment. It's rare that I think I've done really well, but I dropped dad off for his cardiac rehab appointment, took IL5 to school, picked up D14 from school, picked up dad from Rehab, and went to D14's knee PT - all in 1.5 hours. Dad had to come to D14's PT, and D14 was late to her next appointment (we knew she would be - she was double-booked).

In the evening I tried a new meatloaf recipe, and everyone seemed satisfied with the results.

No reading

>116 The_Hibernator: Supermom indeed! I am knackered just reading about it.

Hoping you can fit in some reading soon, Rachel.

>117 richardderus: Hi Richard! It actually went better than expected timing-wise. It was a tight fit, but I got it all done at the appropriate times. Good to see you!
😊

When Uncle Murray comes to look after Puppy and Kitty for a week, Bad Kitty is upset. Funny, as usual. Love the pictures.

When Amy went into work that day, she thought it would be a normal day in retail nightmare. But this time the nightmare was real. This is a hilarious horror satire about a haunted IKEA knockoff superstore. I loved every minute.

Malia, Ivan, and Dante go back to 13th Street to save the Quiet Prince. Cute and funny as usual. I love the frequency of pictures.

When Uncle Tom and a little boy George are sold by kind owners to a terrible slave trader, George’s mom takes him and runs, but Uncle Tom goes willingly with the slave trader. The story in turns follows Uncle Tom and the young mother. This was a momentous book at the time it was written, but it certainly did not age well. With the n-word flung liberally around, I was unable to listen to the book on speaker in front of my kids (I don’t like cooking with headphones on). The stereotypes of black people were horrific. However, I tried to listen to it from the perspective that I was not its intended audience, and that helped. Overall, a good effort for the original purpose of the book – to bring light to the horrors of slavery and the blindness of white people. But it should be read knowing it won’t sit well with a modern audience, and with expectation that the denouement is excessively long.


These questions are adapted from Susan Bauer’s Well-Educated Mind, Chapter 5.

✏️Is this Novel a fable or a chronicle?

Chronicle, as it is set in our universe.

🖍️How does the writer show us reality (if chronicle)?

I’m supposed to say whether it was mainly showing psychologically or physical. This book did not go into vivid detail physically. It mainly alluded to the violence and rape without showing. So it’s hard for me to say it was physical. Psychologically, it showed how the slaves and owners felt, but also not in vivid detail. It was a bit detached in both psychological and physical, but somehow got the point across. Maybe with appealing to the imagination’s ability to read between the lines.

✏️What does the central character want? What is standing in their way? What strategy do they pursue to overcome this block?

Uncle Tom would like his freedom. The law and various slave owners are standing in his way. He puts his faith in God to get his freedom in soul, if not in body.

✏️Who is telling this story?

The book has a semi-omniscient narrator which follows several people’s thoughts, but only one person at a time.

✏️Where is the story set? How does this setting convey the character’s relationship to the world?

It takes place in the Southern states, where slaves are not free. This means Tom’s freedom can be kept from him indefinitely.

✏️Do you sympathize with the characters? Which ones and why?

I don’t sympathize with the white characters at all. Even the nice ones. I just don’t get excusing slavery. As for the black characters, they are too much of caricatures to garner much sympathy, but I do have disgust for their plight.

✏️Does the writer’s technique give you a clue as to her take on the human condition?

Her take is pretty obvious – people are created equal, slavery is cruel, and white people spend a lot of time rationalizing…if they feel guilt at all.

✏️Is the novel self-reflective?

I don’t know. Not unless Stowe was a slave owner.

✏️Did the author’s time affect him?

No kidding, yes. The rampant racism and stereotyping would have seemed kind and well-intentioned at the time.

✏️Is there an argument in this book? Do I agree?

The argument is that slavery is cruel and maybe even evil (in the sense of stemming from temptation and vice). Of course I agree.

Tuesday after work, I took dad to his arm PT appointment, then went to my day job. Aaron worked from home due to the plumber coming to clear out the tub pipes. Dad went to the mall on the bus. M11 had jazz band. D14 had a late appointment. We got IL5 to sit on the toilet when he actually needed to go poop, but he couldn't manage to poop. So, half-win.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upron Sinclair 90 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 25 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 15 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off!, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished: Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off!, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 145 minutes

>121 The_Hibernator: We drove by the Paramus Mall in New Jersey the other day which seems to be more or less abandoned.

Old Malls seem perfect settings for haunted house stories. I'm going to look for this one.

Cool that you and D are planning to do a 5000 piece puzzle, Rachel. Have you chose one yet? I think 2000 pieces is my limit, but you never know. There is a BizzareTown puzzle that tempts me that is 5000 pieces, but I don't think I have the room or patience. Here is a link to the one that tempts me.

https://thepuzzlenerds.com/products/bizarre-town-5000-piece-puzzle?variant=44564...

I am sorry that the therapist was not supportive of IL5. Good catch though.

A 5,000 piece puzzle!!! I can't even imagine. How much room does that take up? Or are the pieces even smaller. Arrrghh! I am getting all bothered just thinking about it. LOL. Have fun.

Wednesday, after work and an appointment for D14, I worked my day job. Then I went to D14's second appointment of the day, cooked dinner, and put IL5 to bed.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 75 minutes
World Religions: Christianity, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes
Mr Ballen Podcast 36 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 13 minutes
The School is Alive!, by Max Ballier 15 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 10 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 209

JANUARY REVIEW

Total books finished in January:

Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?!, by Aaron Blabey
Baxter is Missing, by Rebecca Elliot
Equal Rites, by Terry Pratchett
Mr Cooper is Super, by Dan Gutman
Desmond Cole Ghost Patrol The Haunted House Next Door, by Andres Miedoso
Bad Kitty vs. Uncle Murray, by Nick Bruel
Horrorstor, by Grady Hendrix
The Shocking Shark Showdown, by David Bowles

Rereads of kiddie books
Llama Destroys the World, by Jonathan Stutzman
Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse, by Jonathan Stutzman
Llama Rocks the Cradle of Chaos, by Jonathan Stutzman
Super Cheat Coads and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham
Robo-Rabbit Boy, Go! By Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham
Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham
Super Side Quest, by Thomas Flintham
Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Boy Blasts Off, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Boy's Time-Jump, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit All-Stars, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Racers, by Thomas Flintham
Inspector Flytrap, by Tom Angleberger
Inspector Flytrap: The Goat Who Chewed too Much, by Tom Angleberger

Total read from in January:

Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson
How to Read the Bible, by James Kugel
Bible
Mahabharata
St Augustine's Confessions, by William R Cook and Ronald B Herzman
Dopesick, by Beth Macy
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnson
Exile, by Shannon Messenger
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
Mr Ballen Podcast

Total time reading: 2813 minutes

>125 magicians_nephew: Hi Jim! Yeah, old abandoned malls are spooky. This was a good book.

>126 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb! Trying a 5000 piece puzzle sure is an adventure. We have a puzzle that we own but haven't started due to room. Good luck on your puzzling!

>127 Berly: Hi Kim! Yeah, I'd been annoyed at the therapist's attitude for a while, but I like to give someone a chance.

The pieces of the puzzle are pretty small. However, the puzzle is about 4×5 feet. It needs a lit of soace, and a hard surface. However, we have a board now. So we just need to clear the space.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/358016

Thanks Silver!

On Thursday, I took dad to his CT scan of his elbow. This is one step further in finding out if he has bone cancer. The follow-up appointment for the scan is in a little over a week, though, so we'll still have to wait for answers.

Then I took dad to his cardiac rehab appointment. While he was in there, I created a character for a D&D game I'm joining on Thursdays. It's a squeeze to fit it into my schedule, but I really want the time to entertain myself. The character's name is Asmirus, and she's a shifter cleric (level 2) / bard (level 1).

Books read from:

Mahabharata, 15 minutes
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 15 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 44 minutes
The Super Side-Quest Test, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
The School is Alive, by Jack Chabert 15 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: The Super Side-Quest Test, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 134 minutes

Hello! How are you doing on this fine Friday

Congrats on getting so much reading done in the midst of all of this!

Friday, IL5 had poop physical therapy, followed by speech therapy. Then I hauled him off to see my surgeon for a follow-up. Apparently, despite the after-care instructions saying that I could take a bath starting 10 days post-surgery, I'm not supposed to take a bath for another 2-3 weeks. Yeah, right.

D15 texted me while I was downtown. Apparently, she wanted a ride home from school because her hip hurt. She proceeded to call up Aaron to ask if some random "office lady" that she didn't know could give her a ride home. He left work and picked her up.

In the evening, I crashed. I'd had big plans to watch The Two Towers with M11 and then get some reading done, but I fell deeply asleep. Then, when Aaron wanted to go to his videogame with his friends, I woke up for about 30 minutes, but was really struggling to stay awake and watch IL5. So the two of us got in bed, and he watched his phone while I slept.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 135 minutes
St Augustine's Confessions, by William R Cook and Ronald B Herzman 15 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 150 minutes

>134 Owltherian: Thanks Owl! I'm doing well! You?

>135 banjo123: Thanks Rhonda. The last two weeks have been good for reading. I just barely missed my reading goal for this week because I crashed on Friday, but I'm still happy with my progress.

How is The Jungle, Rachel? I've heard of that one but never picked it up, maybe that should read never cracked it's covers because it appears that I own a copy. Good to see that Horrorstör was a fun satire. That one is in my stacks somewhere too.

>138 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! The Jungle took some time to get into. The first half of the book spent a lot of time on the horrible conditions "the working man" had to endure, with little development of story. I can't say the book has plot even now, and I'm mostly finished, but there is more focus on the story rather than the conditions.

Saturday was another sleeping disorder day. I slept at 7pm the night before, slept through till 5am Saturday, and got up to make split pea soup for this week's lunches for Aaron and myself. Then I slept till 9:30. Back to sleep at 10:30, and so on with breaks in sleep until about 4:30, when IL5 woke from his super-long nap. I then felt refreshed, and salvaged a bit of productivity at the end of the day.

Books read from:

Super Rabbit Boy World, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
The School is Alive!, by Jack Chabert 15 minutes

Books finished: The School is Alive!, by Jack Chabert

Time reading: 30 minutes

When Sam finds out Eerie Elementary is alive, and wanting to eat people, his friends won’t believe him. But he tries to save everyone anyway. Very cute and funny. My 5 year old and I both loved it.

And here is a month's worth of cross-stitch. 😂🤣



Beginning of January



Beginning of February

You really are super mom, Rachel, as well as a super daughter, caring for your dad as you do. My niece has two young ones, aged 5 and 3 . She has her hands full enough, as her eldest has been diagnosed with mild autism, and someone from his special preschool was over visiting this week, and he or she observed her daughter have a lengthy , intense temper tantrum, and advised my niece to have her daughter assessed for autism as well. She has made an appointment with a pediatrician , so we'll see. But you are so busy. Sorry your favourite date place closed down. Slow and steady wins the race, Rachel , as far as the stitching goes. Good for you!

Hooray for super Mom! I hope everything is going well, Rachel. I see you are getting some reading in.

Hallo how art thou today Rachel? P.S. You have the same name as my aunt.

I managed to stay alert all day Sunday, which was a great change from Saturday. I worked, then we cancelled "family day" because D14 was sick.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 60 minutes
Robo Rabbit Boy, Go!, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished: Robo Rabbit Boy, Go!, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 75 minutes

>144 vancouverdeb: Hi Deb! Sounds like your daughter has her hands full. I am lucky that IL5's tantrums aren't frequent or long. M11 had long temper tantrums, but for him it was ADHD, not autism. When he went on guanfacine, the tantrums disappeared. (For us, at least. At 11, he still throws them at his mom's house, which he should be ashamed of.) Point is, sometimes there are other reasons for temper tantrums, so hopefully your daughter finds a good solution.

>145 msf59: Hi Mark! Yeah, I am doing a good job of reading so far this year. I generally have trouble making progress on print books, since they require attention during my downtime, and I'd often rather just sit and clear my brain. But I'm getting about 50 pages a week read (to/for myself), which is huge for me. I know some people get that much read in a day, lol. I used to before having kids.

>146 Owltherian: Hi again Owl!

>148 The_Hibernator: Hello! I got another book yesterday too.

Hi Owl! You mean the book I finished? I didn't get a new one. The book I finished was just an early reader chapter book I read to my son.

Monday, dad had another cardiologist appointment. This one specialized in heart rhythm, and the appointment was made in October when dad was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation. He said that what the hospitalists saw in dad's EKG in October was NOT atrial fibrillation. He was misdiagnosed. He could go off the Eliquis (which is super expensive). So...yay! Good news on dad's health finally!

Dad had cardiac rehabilitation later in the day. Then I took D14 to get a strep and COVID test, because she was sick (both were negative). I did some housework and then took IL5 to swim lessons.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 75 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 51 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 17 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Soggy Moor, by Martin Howard 15 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished:

Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 203 minutes

>143 The_Hibernator: I am not sure I would have made even that amount of progress in a month, Rachel!

>147 The_Hibernator: How is The Jungle? I admit that I have never read it.

I finished the book i got yesterday, and honestly i like reading to my siblings, although they never let me read to them anymore sadly

>152 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! Lol! You're a slow cross-stitcher like me? I have ADHD and can only get about 20 stitches before my attention starts lagging. And I don't sit down and do it much.

The Jungle is goodish now, though the start was really slow. I'm surprised I made it through - it was mostly about yuckiness of slaughterhouses and meat packing in early 1900's as well as poor conditions for the "working man." But the story picked up about the middle of the book, and now it's a thin-plotted character exploration. But it's keeping me interested.

Hi Rachel!

>155 Owltherian: Hi Owl! I wasn't ignoring you, I just got interrupted. 😊

Yes, it's fun reading to youg ones. My 14 year old enjoys being read to as well - though I think it's more because I'm reading her favorite series and she enjoys sharing it with me.

Tuesday started with a run to Perkins with my dad. Then I took D14 to an appointment, and I got to pace around the building to get my steps in while she was in the appointment.

Following on the heels of that, I took her to a pediatrician appointment for her well-child visit. There, we discussed whether to take her to OT for eating...she says she's willing to try introducing new food into her diet, but seems to feel anxiety about doing it on her own. I am not sure if I want a third kid in eating therapy, but Aaron and D14's mom are on board, so I guess that's three against my waffle. Also, the pediatrician pointed out that D14 has scoliosis. It isn't very much, but enough that I need to take her for an X-ray so they can measure the bend in the spine and decide if she needs a spine specialist. 😱

Later in the day, I went through some old stuff of my grandpa's. I found the hospital bill for my dad's birth and the first letter my grandma sent to my grandpa, as well as the first letter from her sister Alice.

You see, Alice found my grandpa in a Boy Scout (or some such) magazine for pen pals. She started writing him. At some point a couple of years later, she culled her pen pals, and grandpa didn't make the cut. However, my grandma (Elizabeth) started writing my grandpa (Robert) instead. My grandpa almost didn't write back, but figured "oh well, might as well." They fell in love and got married.

I set aside the letters and bill so I could take them to Oregon in case my mother-in-law wanted to scan them and put them in her genealogy stuff for IL5.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 30 minutes
Great World Religions: Christianity, Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes
Mr Ballen 45 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 30 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy's Team-up Trouble, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Soggy Moor, by Martin Howard 7 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: Super Rabbit Boy's Team-up Trouble, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 187 minutes

>156 The_Hibernator: Its fine, i know what its like to be interrupted, it's quite annoying.

I think its also really cool that you have the same name as my aunt.

>158 Owltherian: Hi Owl, I'm assuming you don't have kids (yet?) since you go so far as to say getting interrupted is annoying. If that were the case, the very state of being a parent would be constantly annoying. (Which it is to some people.) I'm fine with interruptions to a certain extent. Life is full of them. 😊 Problem is, I often forget to go back to what I was doing when interrupted.

Cool that I have the same name as your aunt!

>159 The_Hibernator: Yeah, I'm not planning on having kids when I'm actively an adult. I always forget too, which is not helpful with ADHD as well as Autism because it just is not fun forgetting things you need to do.

>160 Owltherian: I also have ADHD. I compensate pretty heavily for it. I have an extensive, color-coded-by-priority to-do list on my phone. I put everything that I could possibly forget to do on there. Even if it's something for only an hour away. Do you have compensation techniques?

Wednesday morning I went straight from my overnight job to ushering dad quickly out the door (actually he ate breakfast and we were late) to cardiac rehab. Then I went to my day job. I had a short break, followed by an evening appointment for D14. Then I took her to Mary Poppins rehearsal and participated in M11's parent teacher conference via phone while driving home.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 1 hour
Bible 30 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 22 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 82 minutes

>161 The_Hibernator: My mom only thinks i have ADHD and or Autism or both because of the way i act, but honestly, i have no techniques to help me with it.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/358237

>163 Owltherian: Well, some people like having a diagnosis because it might qualify them for help, but as long as you are getting the supports you need, you are the same person with and without a diagnosis. Regardless of what your diagnosis would be, if you have a difficulies with success, coming up with techniques to help you succeed are good. I encourage you to think about what your difficulties are and think what you could do to help yourself. It's so nice to be able to succeed at whatever level you want to succeed at. Of course if you're already succeeding as much as you want to, then you don't need compensation techniques. 😊

ETA: if you want to discuss compensation techniques with me, I'm happy to...though I am not dealing with any difficulies that present themselves with Autism. And some people feel that the world should change to be more accepting of the way Autistic people think, but I think a combination should happen. Everybody has something that makes life difficult, and society can't accomodate everything.

>165 The_Hibernator: Thank you. I honestly feel like i may have Autism more than ADHD too

Thursday, I started a new D&D campaign. I jumped in on the second session, so I wasn't sure exactly what was going on, but it was still interesting. I'll pick it up eventually. In the evening we had parent-teacher conferences for D14 and IL5. Both are doing great. D14 has A's and A-'s. (M11 was too, though he was missing more assignments. I forgot to mention that yesterday.) IL5 is ready to end up in a regular classroom, and the teachers agree with me that he can understand what people are saying...he just has difficulty speaking.

No reading

>166 Owltherian: lol. You're quick to answer! Personally, I feel the two blend together on a spectrum and it may not matter if you put a name to it. But some people like having a name to their difficulties. My stepdaughter sure does. Nothing wrong with that! My stepdaughter was assessed, though, and does not have ADHD ir Autism. She has social anxiety that just presents similarly as Autism. You do not seem to be experiencing social anxiety online, though maybe you do in person. I have met autistic people who don't have social anxiety. They are simply oblivious to their social faux pas. But their faux pas don't really bother me, because I know it's coming from a place of neurodivergence.

>168 The_Hibernator: Yeah, i also have social anxiety and it gets really bad sometimes to the point i wont even talk to people or do anything at all.

>169 Owltherian: yeah, my stepdaughter will sometimes freeze and shut down. Like completely shut down to the point where she can only stand there and make groaning noises.

>170 The_Hibernator: Yeah, its really hard for me to reach out to people, although i was able to get help yesterday.

Friday, IL5 had an appointment in the morning. It was his psychologist who is working with him to encourage him to poop in the toilet. It was good timing, because IL5 was claiming he had pooped in the toilet at school and the teacher denied it. The psychologist was able to talk him through the frustration of not being believed.

Then I took D14 to get an x-ray of her back to see if she does, indeed, have scoliosis. As of the end of that day, there was no news. D14 and I also went to Red Lobster. I had intended it as quality time, but she watched a video on her tablet, so I read.

In the evening, IL5 had a playdate in an indoor park. He enjoyed the date for about an hour, then suddenly said "Let's go!" And he proceeded to push open the exit door. I had to chase after him before he got himself locked out.

Books read from:

The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair 90 minutes
Mahabharata 30 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 30 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 38 minutes
Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams 45 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished: The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
Super Rabbit Boy vs. Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 248 minutes

Saturday morning dad and I went to Perkins for breakfast because there was no milk - despite my having bought some just the day before. I also made some chicken chili for our lunches next week. In the afternoon, Aaron and I played our alternating-Saturdays D&D game. In the evening, M11 and Aaron went to Perkins and I made some Jambalaya for more lunches for next week.

Books read from:

Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 25 minutes
Inspector Flytrap: The President's Mane is Missing, by Tom Angleberger 11 minutes
Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished: Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 51 minutes

>157 The_Hibernator:

My grandma’s letter

Dear Bob,

Before reading this letter you had better turn to the last page and see who it is from. Now that that is over you will want to know why I am writing to you. Well here is my reason. My sister Alice is writing to several boys and decided she would have to stop writing to one of them and as you were the least important (to her, not to me) of them she decided she could no longer waste her time, ink, paper and last but not least her stamps on you. Of course I know that you will be sorely disappointed to get this letter from me instead of her, but I sincerely hope to get an answer from you.

First I suppose you will want to know a little about me. I don’t know how old my sister told you she was and I doubt if she remembers but I am almost two years older, so figure it up. I am five feet three inches tall and weigh 95 pounds. I am neither fair nor dark complected and have dark brown or almost black curly hair. I don’t suppose you can get much out of this description but if you will write real soon I will send you a picture of myself in my next letter. I have the picture now but I will wait and see if you are going to write to me. Also send me a picture of yourself.

I hope my picture will add another to your rogues gallery of which I am sure your own picture heads the collection. If it doesn’t it certainly should.

Last night my sister, my brother, and I gave a watch party and I didn’t go to bed until well after 3 o’clock. I am rather sleepy now so I will close, but will write you a long letter next time. Hoping to hear from you real soon.

Your friend,

Elizabeth M-

PS if I never hear from you I will know that it is because you are in the deep, dark, depths of despair because you didn’t hear from my sister.

>174 The_Hibernator: Wonderful!!!!!!!!!

>175 magicians_nephew: I know! 😁😁😁

Sunday I left early from a tough day at work. I thought we had a D&D oneshot planned, but apparently that was for next week. Doh! So instead we played go fish, went to Olive Garden, and then watched the Super Bowl. Well - Aaron watched the Super Bowl. I cross-stitched and took IL5 to bed. D14 made cornbread and watched a couple of plays. And M11 played on his tablet till 9, then acted insulted when I sent him down to bed during the overtime since he really was not interested in football, he just wanted to stay up. If he'd honestly cared about the game, I wouldn't have sent him downstairs.

Books read from:

Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams 60 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 45 minutes
Super Rabbit Racers, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
The Beast of Soggy Moor, by Martin Howard 10 minutes

Books finished: Super Rabbit Racers, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 130 minutes

>174 The_Hibernator: Thanks so much for sharing that letter -- delightful! Glad he wasn't too far into the "deep, dark, depths of despair" over her sister to reply!

>178 foggidawn: I laughed so much reading that letter. Her personality really shines.

Dad had two appointments on Monday. Cardiac Rehab went well, but he was tired. The second was to discuss the spot on his arm that could be cancer. It's not. So, yay! Some good news! Dad's second bit of good news in a couple of weeks.

To offset that news, we found out D14 does, indeed, have scoliosis. It is a 30 degree curvature in the spine, and we're going to see a spine specialist next week.

In the evening, IL5 had swim lessons and M11 trained for knots and lashing life skill with the Boy Scouts.

Books read from:

Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 17 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 47 minutes

People keep signing up to my roleplays and I'm rlly busy in class and about to have a panic attack due to the work and stressssss

>182 Owltherian: Sorry you're feeling stressed out. Sometimes it's best to say no to people. No is an ok answer. Are you able to do that?

What kind of roleplay do you do?

>183 The_Hibernator: I did kind of a kingdom roleplay and i made it so that its kind of like animals and the people that are royalty are named after gemstones

I am still in class and still extremely stressed out due to doing my multiples because i don't know them at all

>184 Owltherian: You're allowed to be on LibraryThing while in class? Is it completely self-organized? I often think my middle-schoolers spend more time doing stuff on the tablets than being taught, which provides an opportunity for M11 to hand in half his assignments late - and then only if I harp on him.

ETA: tjough I can see how it might decrease your stress. D14 often reads during class if she's anxious.

>185 The_Hibernator: Well i sneak on during class and i am honestly always reading and it helps my anxiety because it gives me something to focus on

>148 The_Hibernator: It's actually my niece that has the two children , one with diagnosed autism and other to be tested on the advice of her sons therapist. But yes, she and her husband have their hands full. The eldest, Grey, seems to really settling down now that is getting assistance. His focus and concentration seem so much better and he is much less prone to aggressive outbursts, which was a problem. He still just 4 years old , so it's great progress.

I've always got a puzzle on the go, no worries! I just don't always post them. I'm working on one right now that is of Charles Dickens world and characters, which I will post after I finish it. I always have a book and a puzzle on the go.

>187 vancouverdeb: Oh, sorry Deb, I must have read too quickly. It happens to me sometimes, lol.

M11's temper tantrums were so bad when he was 5, there were professional whispers of oppositional defiance disorder. I'm so glad he wasn't diagnosed with that, because it was just ADHD, and he's really quite sweet when he's not purposely annoying me.

Tuesday D14 had an appointment, followed by a well-child visit for M11. Then my friend Liz came over and we watched Doctor Who.

Books read from:

Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams 15 minutes
Great World Religions: Christianity, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 75 minutes

I think i may have made one of my friends sad and idk how to fix it...

>190 Owltherian: Well, sometimes things can't be fixed, to be honest. But often apologizing goes a long way (if you did something that needs apologizing for). If you feel they need comforting you can ask them what you can do to help - maybe offering a hug, or to listen, or to just to be there with them. But only make offers if they don't come up with something that would help, themselves. Sometimes people assume that something that would make them feel better is the same thing that would make another person feel better - but everyone is different.

That's all I have.

>191 The_Hibernator: They roleplayed without me but i guess i got too mad and yelled which i didn't mean to do and i made them sad...

>192 Owltherian: Why can't they roleplay without you?

>193 The_Hibernator: I dont know but now the person who was bullying me is back and I'm honestly about to have my second panic attack of the day

>194 Owltherian: Bullies can be cruel. But remember that what most of them want is a reaction to mean things they say or do. It's hard, I know, but ignoring them and letting them be them (which is probably pretty miserable, since no one honestly likes a bully) takes away their fodder.

ETA: unless they are physically hurting you, of course. You do need to be safe.

>195 The_Hibernator: I'm trying my best to ignore them but then they got into my private group that i had to give the link too and they betrayed my trust by faking being one of my friends...

>196 Owltherian: That really sucks. I know ignoring people can be hard. Especially when they're being mean.

Wednesday was a tough day. It had three appointments plus an appointment drop-off squished into literally the shortest amount of time possible: An hour-long cardiac rehab appointment with dad at 11am, then a 45 minute physical therapy appointment with dad at 12:20. Then I dropped dad off at home and picked up D14 for her 45 minute appointment which started at 1:45. Then I dropped her off at her final appointment at 3. Following that, I had some errands to run.

When I got home, I realized that 5 cans of chicken noodle soup and 3 cans of chili that had been bought yesterday were missing. They had been purchased on Tuesday. Dad is convinced J19 (my couch-surfing nephew) ate them - and somehow disappeared the empty cans. But I have reason to believe he took them to his girlfriend's mom's house. Not that I mind helping out people in need, but I want to agree to do it first - not have my food stolen. I don't have money to feed an army.

Then I found out his window had been open - in winter, after being told twice to keep it closed. Plus, he ate ALL of the jambalaya I cooked for Aaron and my own lunches this week, despite being told last week that the stuff in Tupperware was reserved for Aaron and myself. Neither of us got any. So I texted J19, who communicates mainly by text, even when in the same house as someone, that he was out at the end of next week. This was difficult, as it will make his exit contentious. I had been hoping for a peaceful exit in April. Keep in mind, we've been mightily pissed at J19 the whole time since October, but this (plus losing multiple vapes - containing who knows what - in the house, which I found out the other day) pushed me over the edge. It was VERY stressful.

After that, I suddenly realized M11 wasn't home. I had told him I needed him to come straight home after school to look after IL5, since I (at that time) planned on going somewhere. He was an hour late. So, I let dad watch IL5 (scary!) While I dashed quickly to the library - which is the ONLY place he goes after school. He wasn't there. I checked his room again, and pondered. (Keep in mind, I was already exhausted and pissed off and stressed out.) It was now 5, and he is always home from the library by 4:30, so I thought it was starting to be irresponsible to not call 911. So, feeling a bit sheepish, I went ahead and called. Twenty minutes later, M11 came strolling up the driveway, carrying his trombone wearing a black coat, red, blue, and black backpack, and black pants, carrying a trombone - just as I described him to the police.

I was livid. He had forgotten that I'd told him to come directly home, and had found out that day that it was the first day of rehearsal for the middle school play, so he went to rehearsal. I felt he should have called, regardless of whether he remembered.

Then, I decided that I should try to cry, because I really wanted to cry, and crying is a good release. But I can't really cry on demand, apparently, so I forced myself to sob, and managed two tears and slightly damp eyes after a good five minutes of trying. It was pathetic, and made me even more angry.

Then I read a book to IL5 and went to work.

Books read from:

Dopesick, by Beth Macy 35 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 35 minutes

>197 The_Hibernator: Yeah....then they harrassed me so i reported them along with telling them all their already banned alts.

>198 The_Hibernator: Definitely a day that no one wants! Hope you can finally relax.

Hey Rachel - good to catch up with you!

I lost my son at the circus one time - he was 7 or 8. At intermission, he went to the men's room while I took his little sister to the women's room. The men's room line is always faster, so he finished, waited outside a while for us and then decided he should check at our seats. I was frantic. I went back to our seats several times before the people sitting next to our seats said the little boy had been there a few times looking for us. I asked them to please tell him to stay put if he showed up again. He did, and they did, and he waited. But thirty years later I still remember that panic.

I did that to my own mom one time when I was in second grade and a boy in my class said I should walk with home with him so I could meet his horse. Oh my - heaven! But I still remember my mom's reaction almost 60 years later when I walked home from school an hour late.

Glad that M11 was fine - times get scarier and scarier.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/358508

>199 Owltherian: It's good that you reported them. I'm glad it can be a safe platform where you can report people. Is it Discord? Or is there a new-fangled platform for this kind of stuff?

We play D&D on Discord.M11 and D14 each have a campaign of their own, and I have a play-by-post, a and two live campaigns, and Aaron is in one of my campaigns and also plays a rp computer game.

>203 The_Hibernator: It was on this site but i really hope that they don't come back at all.

>200 m.belljackson: Thanks! Yes, it was quite the day. I doubt I'll have much opportunity to relax until a week from Saturday, but I'll try.

>201 streamsong: Wow Janet. I would panic too! That would be awful. I lost M11 in the small amusement park in the Mall of America when he was 9. But that's nothing compared to a circus.

>202 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver! I don't know how much reading I'll get done this weekend, but I'm guessing not much.

Thursday was mainly spent recovering from Wednesday. I went directly from work to work. But I wasn't very productive at work, as I had a headache. The headache lasted throughout the day, despite the news that while I was gone, J19 had moved out with no arguments. He did leave some ammunition in the room, and IL5 came running out with it, feeling he'd found a new toy. I was livid. I don't like guns, and I told J19 multiple times that guns were NOT allowed in my house.

The headache lasted through my date with Aaron at a Mexican restaurant. But it was nice having a date. I took a nap when I got home, and that made my headache subside before I went back to work.

No reading

Friday, I decided to relax as much as possible. I figured Thursday's headache was burnout, and I hoped to be back to my productive self on Saturday.

After work, I took IL5 to an appointment, had an hour break, and then took him to his speech therapy. Then I "relaxed" for a few hours; "relax" being a loose term because IL5 was in an energetic mood and it was mostly me chasing him around doing damage control. Towards the end, we had a game of hide and seek, which ended with me hiding in the bathtub and him not being able to find me for quite a while. He checked under the bathroom sink (which I couldn't fit under), but didn't turn around and look at the tub.

That bit of positive attention calmed him down a bit, and we settled down to watch some TV. I set him up on the computer, and the rest of us watched the new Netflix show Resident Alien which was pretty funny, if lacking in continuity/verisimilitude. Aaron eventually left to do his gaming with his friends.

IL5 fell asleep and when he half woke up, we convinced him to switch to his newly Minecraft-decorated bed instead of the parents' bedroom, but eventually I realized I forgot to put a diaper on him, and I didn't want him to ruin his sheets on day 1. But then he wanted to move to our bed when he realized I wasn't going to stay in there all night.

No Reading

>207 The_Hibernator: You amaze me, with your steadiness and stamina with all that you have going on! You are my hero!

When you say “new Netflix show Resident Alien,” you know this is the third season, right? I just adore the show. The TV show is based on a graphic novel series, which was also really good.

Hang in there, Rachel! Hope you get lots of relaxing and reading time!

Karen O

>208 klobrien2: Hi Karen! No, I had no clue it was already in the third season. I don't really explore Netflix that much. 😂

Saturday Aaron, IL5, and I went to Home Depot to buy paint and supplies to paint IL5's room yellow and orange. IL5 picked the brightest yellow and orange he could find. Then we went to Perkins with Dad and D14. In the afternoon, I cooked a turkey feast for Aaron's birthday.

Books read from:

Super Rabbit All-stars, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
The Beast of Soggy Moor, by Martin Howard 22 minutes

Books finished:

Super Rabbit All-stars, by Thomas Flintham
The Beast of Soggy Moor, by Martin Howard

Time reading: 37 minutes

>209 The_Hibernator: The reason I mentioned that Resident Alien is in its 3rd season, is that it makes a lot more sense when you have watched the first two seasons. The characters are great, though, no matter when you start.

Karen O

>211 klobrien2: We were watching the first season, Karen. I just didn't realize there were more.

Hi Rachel! I didn't realise I hadn't dropped by this year yet. Wow, the kids are growing! And the cats, too :0)

Sounds like the kids are full on. I'm lucky that my kids didn't throw many tantrums when they were small - although now they're quite happy to pull the 'moody teen' out far too often for my peace and happiness. I've tried to enforce the 'no screens at table' which also entails that we all sit at table to eat and we all eat dinner together. It's getting harder as they get more independent and they get around it sometimes by eating earlier so they can have, sometimes, two devices going. If I catch them, they have to 'turn it off, turn it over and put it over there' ('there' being at least out of reach).

It is scary when you lose kids, especially in a crowded or unfamiliar place. I've got the 'find my' app turned on for their phones so I can see where they are (if the network is working properly), these days.

Stay healthy and happy!

>213 humouress: Hi Nina! I only enforce no screens during meals if we are all eating together. But there are often activities like Boy Scouts and play rehearsals which interfere with family meals. Big however, IL5 can play on his phone during dinner. This is because we are trying to gracefully transition him to sitting at the table with us. He is like M11 in that he doesn't eat a lot, and I'm bad about giving him food whenever he'll eat, because he needs to eat. So he rarely wants to eat at dinner-time. And he and Malcolm never eat what I cooked. I hope to transition IL5 into no screens at all, but the fight right now is as simple as "you will sit at the table with us." Problem is, you can't really MAKE a kid do anything if they choose not to do it. I can't exactly tie him to the chair. I don't even know how to punish him for misbehaving because I can't send him to his room without guarding the door. What I've ended up doing is telling him "You get a time-out. I'm going to ignore you for five minutes." That, at least, annoys him. 🤷‍♀️

End rant, lol

Hi Rachel! How are you on this apparently very sunny morning?

Hi Owl! I haven't looked out the window yet, as I'm still camped out in bed, where I have decided I'll stay till 9am. I have A DAY OFF. No appointments at all. I go to work at 10pm, but that's IT. I still have IL5 to watch, but I'm taking him out to lunch with a friend and then to the library (if things go as planned). How are you?

>216 The_Hibernator: Good, being blinded by the sun though. I also have the day off, thankfully for it being Washington's Bday, although that is on Thursday.

Sunday, I worked a shortened shift and then came home to play D&D with Aaron, M11, and D14. We played a one-shot, and I got a bunch of cross-stitiching done. Then IL5 and I started bedtime routine.

Books read from:

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams 60 minutes
The Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 25 minutes
Super Rabbit Boy's Time-Jump, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Shark School: Deep Sea Disaster, by Davy Ocean 10 minutes

Books finished: Super Rabbit Boy's Time-Jump, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 110 minutes

>217 Owltherian: Yeah, my kids are off, too. D14 is baking a strawberry shortcake for her dad's birthday, so I'm going to go grocery shopping at 9 to get strawberries and some other stuff.

>218 The_Hibernator: I haven't played D&D in so long, we are always busy but I'm going to keep asking to play more and more.

>219 The_Hibernator: That sounds delicious, I think the last thing I baked was a Caramel Brownie box mix that I would have loved to make from scratch.

>220 Owltherian: Deirdre often prefers the ease of a boxed cake, but I sometimes ask her to make a delicious chocolate cake recipe I have.

>221 The_Hibernator: I wish I could bake more, my friends and teachers love my baking and always ask when I'm going to bring more.

>222 Owltherian: What's stopping you?

Monday was more frustrating than expected. I had originally had three appointments scheduled, but they were all moved for unrelated reasons. So I thought it would be a good day.

I started with a shopping trip to buy some ingredients of a strawberry shortcake. D14 then cooked it for Aaron's birthday, but IL5 wanted to help, and was very frustrated by what he was allowed and not allowed to do. So he spent the next two hours screaming on and off, while I ran back and forth between calming him and making baked beans for this week's lunches.

I was supposed to go out with IL5 and my friend Liz, but she cancelled because of an asthma attack so I ended up sorting laundry and doing dishes instead...which isn't nearly as fun. Then, I had planned to go to the library with IL5. He wanted to go in the stroller, so we had a nice walk, but the library was closed for President's Day. IL5 was very disappointed.

IL5 was running like a motor all day, so the next couple hours were spent watching him zoom around while hoping he stayed out of the important stuff. Then swim lessons for him.

The day had at least three frustrating elements besides the ones mentioned, but they all seem pretty minor as individual events, and I don't want to sound whiny, so I'll stop here.

Books read from:

Dopesick, by Beth Macy 21 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 21 minutes

>223 The_Hibernator: People are always in the kitchen so i cant use it much.

>225 Owltherian: That's too bad.

>226 The_Hibernator: Yeah

Tuesday went ok. I was feeling a bit frazzled all day, as I seem to be reaching the end of my safety rope and am not sure how much longer I can stay swamped in appointments. That feeling of exhaustion is bleeding into my interactions with people, which I don't like.

After work in the morning, I did some tasks around the house, then took D14 to an appointment. Not long after that, I took dad to an appointment. At this point, I decided the most productive thing I could do in that state of mind is nothing (although doing nothing is a struggle sometimes). I took a nap, woke after 30 minutes to take D14 somewhere, then slept for another hour before IL5 arrived home.

Monday, I had promissed IL5 I would go out and play in his sandbox with him after school, and boy did he remember. Before he even got off the bus he said "Sandbox!!!" He ran straight for the toys he had carefully picked out the day before. All this was great, except, in all the excitement, I forgot that I was supposed to give him his morning meds, which he didn't drink in the morning. This led to problems later.

When everyone was home, we all went out to dinner for Aaron's birthday. It would have been a nice meal, but IL5 was hyper from not taking his meds. He was jumping up and down, sticking silverware in drinks, rolling around, and sticking his hands in his ketchup. On the way out, he was giggling and rolling towards the exit, and when I was able to catch him, I tried pulling him up by the arm, but he resisted and we bumped his head on a table. At least that distracted him so I could get him out of the restaurant without him rolling the whole way.

Books read from:

Dopesick, by Beth Macy 5 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 35 minutes

Wednesday after work, I talked to a mold remediation guy who pointed out the the mold in the basement was worse than we thought. He suggested sanitizing two stone walls, cutting out the bottom two feet of the drywall back of our closet, and pulling out the carpet in our closet. The cost of this was more reasonable than I expected, though they're leaving the area as an eyesore, so if it bothers us, we'll have to fix it. I feel we should just leave it as an eyesore and save money for more important things.

Then I went to my day job, where I got a bunch of reading done because my client was asleep. When I got home, I went through some pages of my grandmother as a child and labeled them with Post-its so my mother-in-law can scan them in for her genealogy project.

In the evening, I went to dinner with IL5 and my friend Liz. D14 and M11 both had rehearsal.

Books read from:

Great World Religions: Christianity, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes
Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams 60 minutes
Bible 15 minutes
Dopesick, by Beth Macy 44 minutes
Mr Balen podcast 90 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 269 minutes

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/358715

>229 The_Hibernator: Sounds like a productive day! I'm still staring at the mould in my bookcases, trying to get up the courage to deal with it.

>231 humouress: I'd be afraid of the books getting moldy!

Thursday morning after work I started out the day playing D&D. While I was doing that, I was able to fold some laundry and go through some pictures from my grandma's album. I've finished post-it noting the whole album now...it covered my grandma as a baby to my mom as a baby. It was a treasure.

Then I took dad to cardiac rehab and got my steps in while he was in there. I ran some errands, dropped D14 at her appointment, and then fell asleep for 2 hours, with a quick break for getting IL5 off the bus. I hadn't meant to fall asleep - sometimes it is just overwhelming due to my sleeping disorder. I had been going to cook some meatloaf. Oops.

Books read from:

Dopesick, by Beth Macy 16 minutes
St Augustine's Confessions, by Ronald B Herzman and William R Cook 15 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 17 minutes
Super Side-Quest Test, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes
Shark School: Deep Sea Disaster, by Davy Ocean 17 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: Super Side-Quest Test, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 110 minutes

>232 The_Hibernator: Oh, I am. But I've just cleaned and reshelved my entire library (books and shelves), pretty much, which my eczema isn't too happy about - so I'm just keeping the doors to the affected cupboards closed until I'm up to doing them all over again.

The photo album does sound like a treasure.

I found my son's Bad Guys books and am contemplating doing a shared read of Do-you-think-he-saurus with you; are you doing the TIOLI challenge this month?

>234 humouress: I don't often do TIOLI Nina. Does Do-You-Think-He-Saurus fit this month?

Friday after work I took D14 to her spine specialist. He said that she was done growing and the scoliosis doesn't need to be monitored. Then I took IL5 to speech therapy. After that, I fell asleep for a little while. I cooked salmon and baked potatoes for dinner. Then read for the rest of the evening. D14 went to her mom's for the weekend, and M11 went to BSA camp.

Books read from:

Mahabharata, 15 minutes
Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams 30 minutes
Akata Woman, by Nnedi Okorafor 30 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 60 minutes

Books finished:

Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams

Time reading: 135 minutes

>235 The_Hibernator: Actually, I haven't done TIOLI in a while either. Your call; I still have 4 days to read it in, if you want.

>236 The_Hibernator: As someone who is 'height-challenged' I feel that 14 seems a touch early to stop growing :0( On the plus side, at least you don't have the hassle of having to monitor her spine.

Hi Rachel! How are ya?

>237 humouress: If you want to we can, Nina. To be honest, I don't know how it works. I tried doing it once and got confused.

Apparently 14 is normal for growth the stop for girls. At least that's what all the literature on scoliosis, as well as the spine specialist says. Either way, the X-rays say she's done. She'll be a little shorter than me, but taller than her mom at 5'4".

>238 Owltherian: Hi Owl! I'm doing ok. I'm at qork right now helping out a client. There's a lot of downtime, though she is high-need today.

Saturday, I made some taco soup for this week's lunches, then played D&D with Aaron and my friend Liz. It was a fun session in which we accomplished a goal we'd had for about a year. I cooked meatloaf for dinner, then Aaron and I watched Mortal Engines, which was a rather pointless movie. IL5 spent most of the day playing with his Duplos and LEGO.

Books read from:

Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished: Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 15 minutes

>239 The_Hibernator: Ooh thats intresting, i just got home and my whole family is going to a hockey game besides me because i don't like it

>241 Owltherian: Why are they going without you?

Bitzer and Shaun go hunting to capture a scary beast. Good story, though maybe too advanced to read to my 5 year old for lack of pictures.

>242 The_Hibernator: I decided i didnt want to go so they go without me

Our group of travelers accidentally ends up at the Restaurant at the End of the Universe while searching for a mysterious man. I’m not sure what the point of this book was, but it was pretty funny.

>244 Owltherian: If you didn't want to go, why shouldn't they go? Clearly they want to. Should they not have fun just because you don't think it would be fun?

>246 The_Hibernator: They went, im not saying they cant go because i didn't

>213 humouress: Turns out I read Do-You-Think-He-Saurus in January. Would that even count for TIOLI?

>247 Owltherian: Sorry, I'm adulting at you. I should do a better job of listening to you emotions rather than trying to correct them. ☹️

>249 The_Hibernator: No its fine, they had left a while ago anyway so even if i changed my mind i wouldn't be able to go.

I was talking with my sister today, the one with the grandson who is on the autism spectrum. It turns out they think /know he also has ADHD . He just started on medication for both ADHD and something to help with him with sleep. I think the medication they are using for sleep is medication is clonidine. My sister said the ADHD medication is newish, maybe Concerta, my sister was not certain. His sister, who is 3 is going this Thursday to be assessed for autism as well. She has about 10 tantrums a day, so one of the people who is working with Grey and his autism witnessed one of her long tantrums , and suggested they get her assessed. My niece sure has her full . It's good to start treatment early though.

>251 vancouverdeb: Yeah, I imagine I would be able to deal with "behaviors" if it came down to it, but it doesn't feel like something I could deal with from the outside looking in. I don't think I'd be able to deal with all the medical appointments if I had to drag around a 3 year old with tantrums. So I feel for your neice. I do feel like I'm too lenient with IL5, though. Like just now, I'm at an appointment for my dad, and plan to go to Perkins afterwards. IL5 was about to throw a temper tantrum because he wanted to go to McDonald's instead. I finally had to make a deal with him that if he behaved for the appointment and Perkins, I would get him McDonald's for dinner. But I feel like I lost an argument because he wasn't asking very nicely. Where to draw the line? That's why I can't see myself handling "behaviors" well. 🤷‍♀️

I spent a chunk of Sunday at work. M11 got back from Boy Scout camp in the morning (he said he had fun). In the evening, M11, Aaron, and I watched The Two Towers.

Books read from:

Akata Woman, by Nnedi Okorafor 60 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 60 minutes

>243 The_Hibernator: I do love Shaun the Sheep! I can imagine IL5 got as much out of your enjoyment as the missing pictures, Rachel.

>245 The_Hibernator: Another delight! I am glad you are on a roll.

>254 richardderus: Hi Richard! Thanks! My reading was rather slow this month, but I definitely managed some good ones!

The Jungle follows Jurgis Rudkis over several years of miserable existence as a working man. This book went into great detail about the horrors that take place in a slaughterhouse and meat packing company. It ends as a lecture on socialism. The middle contained more of a story though.



These questions are adapted from Susan Bauer’s Well-Educated Mind, Chapter 5.

✏️Is this Novel a fable or a chronicle?

Chronicle – it takes place in the real world.

🖍️How does the writer show us reality (if chronicle)?

We see reality through physical descriptions of the plight of the “working man.”

🖍️What is the intent of the world (if fantastic)?

The intent was to educate the reader on the plight of the “working man” and on socialism.

🖍️Is the novel primarily realistic with a few fantastic elements?

It has no fantastic elements

✏️What does the central character want? What is standing in their way? What strategy do they pursue to overcome this block?

Jurgis only wants to survive with some vestiges of health and prosperity. He tries several different ways of life, eventually failing to achieve his goal in all of them, presumably until he discovers socialism.

✏️Who is telling this story?

The POV is third person limited omniscient (the narrator knows the thoughts of Jurgis and his family, but focuses more on physical descriptions than on thoughts).

✏️Where is the story set?

The story is mostly set in Chicago

🖍️How does this setting convey the character’s relationship to the world?

The title of the book “The Jungle” is talking about the concrete jungle. The story revolves around how the city affects Jurgis.

✏️Do you sympathize with the characters? Which ones and why?

I sympathize with Jurgis to a certain degree. He was in a bad situation, so his poor choices were understandable, but he made quite a few.

✏️Does the writer’s technique give you a clue as to his take on the human condition?

Yes, Upton Sinclair seems to sympathize with the socialist movement and to care for the plight of the underdog.

✏️Is the novel self-reflective?

As far as being reflective about his views on socialism, yes. As far as his own condition in life, no. This is coming from someone with the wherewithal to write a book. Not someone suffering in the stockyards.

✏️Did the author’s time affect him?

Of course. This was a time when socialism was spreading and the plight of the working man was even worse than it us now.

✏️Is there an argument in this book? Do I agree?

I somewhat agree with socialism – within limits.

Monday started with a virtual doctor appointment for myself, then a cardiac rehab appointment for dad. I had to drag IL5 along to that appointment, but he behaved there, and at McDonald's afterwards. Then D14 had an orthodontist appointment. She is done with her alligners! She's moving on to a retainer for 4 months, and that's it!

Books read from:

Dopesick, by Beth Macy 23 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 45 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 15 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes
Robo-Rabbit Boy Go, by Thomas Flintham 15 minutes

Books finished:

Dopesick, by Beth Macy
Robo-Rabbit Boy Go, by Thomas Flintham

Time reading: 128 minutes

>257 The_Hibernator: That is an extraordinarily accurate recording of your reading activity, Rachel.

I wonder if I did the same whether I would get more reading done?

>258 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! I make reading goals each week because I like to make sure I do fun stuff as well as all the work I do. 7 hours audiobook and 3.5 hours reading each week.

Hiya Rachel! How are you?

Tuesday I ran errands, then picked up D14 for an appointment. It was virtual, so we were able to have it in the car in the school parking lot. Then I had a virtual appointment with my doctor. I have been having dry-eye problems. She suggested that, in addition to the drops I tried out, I should put a warm compress on my eyes. If that doesn't work, see an opthalmologist. Then D14 had another two appointments. In the evening, my friend Liz came over and we watched Doctor Who as a family.

Books read from:

Great Courses: Great World Religions: Christianity, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes
Akata Woman, by Nnedi Okorafor 15 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 75 minutes

>260 Owltherian: Hi Lily! I didn't see that message. I'm doing well today. I had a very full day planned, but one of the appointments got cancelled so it'll be slightly easier than expected. How are you?

>262 The_Hibernator: Pretty good, almost had an anxiety attack in algebra due to being overstimulated though. I also started like 10 podcasts- maybe even more

>263 Owltherian: I have only one podcast I listen to. But I read 4-5 books at once. 😊

>264 The_Hibernator: I am reading 14 at once

>265 Owltherian: I used to be that way.

By the way, I was going to say this on your thread and got distracted. Colleges don't look at your middle school grades, and even if they did, one bad test is not going to affect you that much. Furthermore, if you're looking for a math-heavy major in college, your math grades matter more than if you want a liberal arts degree. Unless you want to get into Harvard or another Ivy League school. Point is, a failed test is not the end of the world.

I'm a freshman in highschool

>267 Owltherian: Ah. Still not the end of the world, depending on your college and major choice.

Wednesday after work, I took dad to two appointments (his LAST physical therapy appointment for his arm, and his cardiac rehab). Then I took D14 to her penultimate knee physical therapy appointment.

IL5 was supposed to have an endocrinology appointment, but there was a funeral procession planned for the first responders that were killed on duty in a recent shoot-out. Of all the roads in that sprawling suburb, they planned for it to block traffic going to the hospital and clinics. So the clinic called me up to reschedule. Which was nice, because it was the fourth of five appointments scheduled for that day. Instead, I sorted through my grandma's picture album for a genealogy project.

After that, I went to the last appointment with D14. Immediately following that, I took D14 to Mary Poppins rehearsal.

When I finally arrived home and relieved Aaron of IL5 duty, M11 and Aaron went to Starbucks to work on his 10 missing school assignments. M10 finished 8 of them in an hour. Which makes me wonder why they weren't turned in on time. I think it's his ADHD.

Aaron has promised IL5 a cat if he makes a big poop in the toilet. So after naming the cat Sake (I picked the spelling), he tried really hard to poop. Unfortunately, no luck. But he has a month to try.

Books read from:

Bible 15 minutes
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston 48 minutes
Mr Ballen podcast 90 minutes
Akata Woman, by Nnedi Okorafor 15 minutes
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain 26 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 224 minutes

>268 The_Hibernator: Im also trying to be a veterinarian and those types of jobs need a good college

>270 Owltherian: Fortunately there are lots of good colleges that still have reasonable acceptance rates! You don't have to be perfect. Becoming a veterinarian is something where skills and knowledge matter more than networking and connections, so a solid state school is fine; it doesn't have to be Ivy League.

>271 _Zoe_: Yeah, i guess so but my parents want me to be perfect and have good grades anyway

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/358903

>272 Owltherian: It's too bad you feel pressure to be perfect. That can be incredibly stressful. Because no one is perfect. And I agree with Zoe, going to a solid state university is a good way to get into veterinary school.

>273 SilverWolf28: Thanks Silver!

Well, I just checked my journal entry from last year and I had huge plans for that summer. And most of that stuff actually happened. Despite having much less planned this year, I'll go over it now:

I think I'll do a 5k by the end of the summer. Training will be difficult, as I won't have time during the weekdays to run 5k, but I thought if I jogged 5k every Saturday and sprinted around the block a few times a day during the week that would be enough?

D14 will audition for Frozen Junior. M11 is on the waitlist for swim lessons (apparently the spots fill up within 8 hours of opening enrollment) and will play baseball. Plus he'll be in Boy Scouts - with camp once a month. IL5 will continue his lessons at the swim school, but will also take lessons at the district for swim safety. He will be in T-ball and soccer.

Thursday I went directly from night job to day job. I played D&D on my downtime at work (I just pop out of the game when I'm needed). In the evening, I went to a meeting about D14's school trip to DC in March. She's not going to be getting much sleep on that trip!

At IL5's school, the lockdown alarm went off accidentally and scared the poo out of the teachers. We got an email from IL5's teacher saying it was "really scary." IL5 thought it was fun. Apparently they're supposed to lock the door, turn out the lights, and hide in a huddle out of view of the door.

Books read from:

Mahabharata 30 minutes
Akata Woman, by Nnedi Okorafor 30 minutes
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson 30 minutes

Books finished: none

Time reading: 90 minutes

>274 The_Hibernator: Especially in reading- all i got in that is D's so far and he keeps saying a D is bad and he knows i can get better but he's never ever had honors classes

Total books finished in February:

The School is Alive!, by Jack Chabert
The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair
Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Soggy Moor, by Martin Howard
Restaurant at the End of the Universe, by Douglas Adams
Dopesick, by Beth Macy

Rereads of kiddie books:

The Super Side-Quest Test, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Boy World, by Thomas Flintham
Robo-Rabbit Boy, Go!, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Boy Powers Up, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Boy's Team-up Trouble, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Boy vs Super Rabbit Boss, by Thomas Flintham
Super Cheat Codes and Secret Modes, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Racers, by Thomas Flintham
Super King Viking Land, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit All-Stars, by Thomas Flintham
Super Rabbit Boy's Time-Jump, by Thomas Flintham
Game Over, Super Rabbit Boy, by Thomas Flintham

Total read from in February:

Mahabharata
St Augustine's Confessions, by William R Cook and Ronald B Herzman
Maleficent Seven, by Cameron Johnston
Jesus and the Gospels, by Luke Timothy Johnson
Great World Religions: Christianity, by Luke Timothy Johnson
Akata Woman, by Nnedi Okorafor
Unspeakable Mind, by Shaili Jain

Total time reading: 2653 minutes