One of the funniest (to me) books I’ve listened to in a long time: The Starter Villain by John Scalzi and read by Will Wheaton. I totally bought this on impulse when I was on Audible to look at the ones recommended by Silver. I, um, got distracted! I don’t want to give anything away, but if you like weird twisted humor and aren’t easily offended (by dark humor or salty language) give it a try!

Since then, I haven’t tried to listen to another book because I’m not ready   Also, keep in mind, I was listening to this during a high stress week, so the humor was exactly what I needed.

And in reading on Kindle, first I dumped the last book I was reading. It started strong and then got lost in endless descriptions, pointless encounters and too many characters. Maybe I’ll go back to it later. Right now, I’m reading “Working Stiff” by Judy Melinek and TJ Mitchel which is the biography of a Forensic Pathologist. I can’t remember how I stumbled onto this one. This book is, for me, delightfully well written, although sometimes starkly graphic. Also, this is normal reading, right? Not weird?

And I have a book on nutrition/diet on order. Now I happen to know exactly why I bought this book — I love the author on podcasts. I could listen to him all day. And so, I ordered his book to see it more critically through reading a physical book, rather than being hypnotized into blind belief by his voice and manner on podcasts. Also totally normal…I think

Okay, maybe my reading selections aren’t precisely normal, LOL.

So what are you reading, intending to read, or recently read?

Wow last week was a wild ride! So I know I did a quick Friday Five, but this round up covers the weekend and some of last week.

Most important is Baby Girl — our new granddaughter!! (I’ll come up with a nickname soon).

She was about 6 lbs 9 oz when born, and I think 20 inches. She small but mighty! She’s super engaged when she’s awake and either looks into our eyes or follows voices. This pic she’s obviously sleeping And no they don’t leave the necklace on her in case anyone is worried. She makes the most hilarious faces, including one dubbed “Grandpa Face” by her dad (he’s evil — he gets it from his dad, LOL) I love her so much! I’m waiting for a chance to get a pic her of her and Turbo together. Her parents are doing great. My son took the week off from work and is not looking forward to leaving her to go back. My daughter in law’s mom will be staying with them for the week and that will help my daughter in law. I’ll be available too.

Then the fire: As of yesterday afternoon, it’s 19% contained and we are safe enough for now. Cooler weather with overcast mornings and evenings has helped too. But also — fire crews are amazing! They are inserting Hot Shot crews deep into the terrain to help with the fire lines too. Here’s a couple pics:

This is a picture a few days ago from my back yard.

And this pic below is one I took when we were coming back into town after storing The Mustang at my sister’s house. Our house is a mile up the road, and then we turn right to weave into our track of homes. Also notice the sun behind the smoke in the upper right side of the screen.

And a fun break — this is Phoebe when I watched her. Keep in mind, she’s 14 years old!! And very happy that I came over to hang out with her

Over the weekend, we took food out to Middle and his wife so they didn’t have to cook while taking care of their baby girl. Then we spent the rest of the weekend cleaning up and catching up from the wild week. I did manage to get out to Trader Joe’s but going anywhere requires getting around road closures and dealing with traffic from a major highway closure. But that should ease up this week or early next week and it’s all for a good cause.

Oh and in the middle of all the chaos, UCI scheduled my endocrinologist appointment for this Friday. I was amazed they got it approved and scheduled so quickly! I know my surgeon wanted me to get in somewhat urgently just to make sure I’m adjusting well, and due to some genetic markers, but I didn’t think it would happen this fast. I was happily wrong!

How was your weekend?

Sorry I’m late! We are fine, just a lot going on. But lets dive into Friday Five, just in case any of you would like to share yours.

1. We’ve been safe from the fires so far, and things are improving. We’ve been “downgraded” to warning level. Wizard and I unpacking today and cleaning up where we can.
2. The fire is still only 8% contained, and has burned more than 24k acres. And there’s more fires burning. One we know was started by an arsonist and that’s infuriating.
3. Yesterday, I went out to help with my new grandbaby! OMG she’s totally adorable and I love her so much!! She’s tiny, about 6 lbs 9 oz, and amazing! Her parents are doing great — I’m so proud of them! they had some rough but they handled them and all is well. I had planned to stay the night last night but ended up coming home late at night because I’m tired and plan to make food to take back this weekend.
4. Also #3 is my reason for not posting my blog when I should have. I don’t have access to the site on my phone, and everything else was packed.
5. I’m so tired, but even more happy. But have so much to be thankful for. Baby girl’s birth wasn’t easy, but she’s here, happy. Now I have to run to the store and unpack stuff!!

That’s my quick five, and I’d love to hear yours if you have time to share!! Have a great weekend!

For the record, this isn’t fun. We have been under an evacuation warning from the Airport Fire in the hills (it’s the huge Cleveland National Forest) behind us since Monday night. I desperately wanted to go see our new grandchild, and help the brand new parents. Because of the warning, I was afraid to go so far and not be able to get back in if they issue and evac order. But others are in (at this moment) worse danger than us, so I need to not whine too much. My son, his wife and their two day old daughter are fine. They have people around then who can offer support, and a brother near by. So my  griping is really more about me just missing out

I’m writing this Tuesday early afternoon. We are basically in wait and see, and we’ve made some premilitary preparations so we can move somewhat quickly if needed.

The firefighters are awesome! If you have extra prayers, send them for their safety as they fight multiple fires, please.

How’s your day going?

First up, as I type this late Sunday afternoon, the baby is not quite here yet. But Mom and baby are under excellent care so when the time is right, we’ll celebrate.

The weekend was good, if a little scattered. It’s nothing wrong, just constantly pivoting plans as a reminder that I don’t always get to control life when I plan my days. That’s always a surprise to me Which basically means I didn’t get to do some experimental baking stuff for my imaginary bakery…yeah…don’t ask. It’s a mental thing I do when I’m resting — think about and sometimes research cookies and brownies. I don’t actually ever plan or even want to open a bakery. My mental one never gets dirty, had equipment failures, rude customers, missing ingredients, or any problems at all. Real life…not so much!

Friday, I saw my surgeon. She’s very happy with my progress. The news was 95% good, and we are relieved and happy! The nodule was bigger than expected, and super close to the margins — which was validating in a way. She does not believe I’ll need more treatment, but due to a genetic mutation that was found in the biopsy, she wants me to see another specialist to confirm that. And I’ll do a six month follow up with her.  Overall good news.

Oh and the healing scar looks great! I am collecting them in that spot there with two surgeries there, LOL (My neck surgery years ago is right there).

Saturday and Sunday were days of pivoting plans, and it all worked out. On Saturday, I did get to go spend an hour and a half with my grand dog, Phoebe. That was actually good, because I just sat with her, played some toys, and we both watched some Youtube on my phone. But Sunday, I’m super tired. I have more good days than not, so it’s just my body reminding me it hasn’t been even three weeks since my surgery (and so totally normal), and I’m listening.

Today we are, well, still in pivot mode (first babies!) and also, I get to go hang out with Phoebe again. When I get home after that, I usually get a 3rd degree sniff examination by Maggie

How was your weekend?

TGIF! Time to jump right into sharing five random things about our week. Here’s mine:

1. It’s brutal hot. It was 111 degrees and humid here yesterday. Today is supposed to be the same and last through the weekend. Thankfully we have A/C and I’m grateful for that.
2. No baby yet as I write this about 8pm on Friday. My daughter-in-law saw her doctor and they tried to nudge things along. First babies are stubborn! But all that really matters is that everyone is healthy and when baby girl arrives — mom and baby are in good shape. Well, dad too, but you know what I mean
3. Today (Thursday) totally got away from me and became exhausting. I had my day planned to manage all the tasks I hoped to do while still recovering — but the heat, Maggie having another episode of bladder accidents for a few hours (these episode come and go in serious weirdness but her vet is trying to help her), and a dead car battery ended up crowding the day and making us both tired. Probably I shouldn’t have tried making sourdough just yet…but…well…I did So I shall take a bit of blame. I wasn’t lifting anything heavy though!
4. In an upside to yesterday, I ran over to Youngest’s house to pick up an extra watermelon they had, and to go over instructions to pop in a couple times over the weekend to play with my grand dog and give the dog sitter a break. (She’s way more than a dog sitter, she’s a family friend, but dog sitter describes the situation. And yet I feel bad calling her a dog sitter and I had to add a parenthetical to point that out….maybe I’m really tired!) This quick visit on my part should have taken five minutes but Youngest and I got to talking and we lost an hour and a half! As I was driving home, Wizard called and said, “Did you lose track of time?” Um…yeah? But it was a great break to a long day! Also Wizard finds me losing track of time hilarious because it’s so rare.
5. Today is my follow up with my surgeon. I hope she has the biopsy results to give us the best information. But we have had no reason to expect anything other than good news. As for the rest of the day and the weekend — it’s baby watch and checking in on my grand dog when needed. And resting a bit more than I have this last day or two

That’s my five, now I’d love to hear yours! I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend filled with all the things that bring you joy!

So I’ve been reading a book for weeks. I know…what happened to the voracious reader Jen who used to consume several books a week? Yeah, I’m wondering that too. However, I do like the book I’m reading — “The Lying Game” by Ruth Ware. It’s a mystery about a group of girls in a boarding school who played a game of lying…until something happened that changed the game of lying into real life survival. The book starts when the women are all adults living their lives and must come together because something has washed up on shore that can expose the lie and threaten their lives. I’m not very far along but it definitely has me intrigued.

I’ve listened to two old books, “The Bride” by Julie Garwood (love her!), and The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah (one of my all time favorites), because they were easy and familiar, making them perfect to listen to in the first days after surgery.

Now that I’m improving so quickly, I’m looking for new books to catch my interest.

What are you reading or listening to?