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| Five batches of freezer jam |
Jam days of summer: The last day with student for this school year was Monday. Followed by two days of work in the library to finish up all my 'must-do' items on the list before I was ready to say goodbye to the year. Thursday and Friday were in-service days. At 3 PM on Friday, summer officially began for me. First stop---the berry stand. We purchased a flat of strawberries in the nick of time. The gals at the stand said it was one of the last days for strawberries for the year. We made three batches of strawberry freezer jam that night then went back in the morning and bought a flat of raspberries and made two batches of jam with them. In total we made in five batches of freezer jam. We are set. (Now that Carly is leaving for graduate school this will likely be too much jam for Don and I to eat in a year. Ha!)
End of the year haiku: Usually, as the end of the school year approaches, I write a few haiku to commemorate the event. See last sample from last year here. I didn't do that this year but if I had the poems would all have had a similar theme: iPads. Boring stuff, really. Here's an example---
iPads everywhere
Covering all counter tops
of most book shelves
Books suggestions: My 20 summer books reading suggestions. Follow the link.
Books completed this week:
- And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. Need I say more?
- West With the Night by Beryl Markham. A memoir published in 1942. I don't think I am quite done with this woman year...I must continue the research on her incredible life.
- The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge---Finally. I had been working on this book for almost a month. That is too slow of reading for a YA book. Watch for my review soon.
Currently reading:
- Character, Driven by David Lubar. A 2016 YA novel about a teen boy. Ha! That is not a very good description but that is all I know right now. Progress 25%.
Books going on vacation with me:
- Character, Driven by David Lubar. See note above.
- Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nyugen---the 2016 Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction and an upcoming book club selection.
- A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Conner---my Classics Club spin book, a collection of her short stories.
- Just Mercy by Bryan Stephenson---the audiobook selection for the driving portion of our trip.
Prayers for: Brian who severely burned his hand at work. And for daughter #1 and her hubby as they travel to Europe this week.
We are off to Whistler, BC for a short week. May there be plenty of sunshine and relaxing days ahead!
So, should I give away my copy of Lie Tree? Not compelling?
ReplyDeleteNo. Read it. I am guessing it was a timing issue. My reading always falls of as the end of the school year comes into focus. I think I just read it too slowly so I kept losing my momentum. I am anxious to hear what you think of it.
DeleteSympathizer just hit my radar. I'll be anxious to hear what you think of it. I have berry bushes out back but have no idea if I'll have time to put anything up. I may just offer them to my friends. :)
ReplyDeleteLast year I didn't have enough time to make jam but I bought berries anyway. I squashed them, measured them, and put them in freezer bags so I could make jam when I had the time and when it wasn't so hot. I ended up making a batch in April. Maybe you could do the same thing.
DeleteIt sounds like a very productive start to summer! I am loving this weather!!
ReplyDeleteI'm struggle-bussing through The Lie Tree right now as well. Glad to see I'm not the only one who progresses slowly with this book.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's a LOT of jam!
ReplyDeleteI loved reading Agatha Christie in high school - really need to revisit her books because I enjoyed them back then.
And I definitely want to read The Sympathizer. I have tried to read the Pulitzer Prize winner for fiction in recent years - they are usually amazing. I just heard a wonderful interview with the author on NPR's Fresh Air - you might want to check it out.
Enjoy your trip!
Sue
2016 Big Book Summer Challenge