How is it June already?

Oh dear, my blog has seen some serious neglect over the past months. A comment from a lovely blogger friend in Scotland brightened my day and reminded me that I actually enjoy blogging and connecting with others online. So here is to hopefully getting back to blogging...

 

I thought it would be a day for shorts today and we eagerly emptied the splash table and refilled it with water and enjoyed a few rays of sunshine before little J was soaked and had to come in for her nap. Now I look outside and see the clouds have rolled in again. I feel that June has been chilly but then perhaps I am only recalling the past few days. Now I have long pants, socks, and a sweater on. At least I have come out from under the covers.

I am on the hunt for some tasty summer crockpot recipes. Do recommend. 

The biggest most exciting development around here is that J learned how to walk. 

I only read two books in a May and both were read in the last few days of May. I don't know what happened there except perhaps sometimes when you read a book that just is really difficult or that is really one you have to try to read sometimes it puts you in a reading slump. June I decided to start out with some young adult literature that would renew my zest for reading. I read King's Cage and All The Bright Places.  All the Bright Places was excellent but heartbreaking as it dances around bipolar mood disorder and suicide. Alongside The Break by Katherine Vermette, a novel about a young girl in Winnipeg that is brutally assulted, I thought this is really dark and I'm feeling a little down here. Next I read The Two Family House. This is an excellent novel also. I saw the night and it all made sense and logical but oh the consequences. So I'm in the mood for some more cheery literature. My mother in law has lent me The Glass Castle to read and I plan to take it on my upcoming vacation to Ottawa.

So your all dying to know whether I am employed? Yes, I did get the job fingerprints and all, and was to start the last week of May. We looked for daycare and L was not happy with the daycare situation we found. And then little J became really sick...so I was given an extension to start in August. L is still not sure about the 10 hr day for J in daycare so I may have to let it go after all and look for something a little closer to home or part time. 

It's Fathers Day today. L is working and I'm miles away from mine. J and I will go out shopping in a bit here and perhaps make a craft for her daddy. Hopefully I think of something yummy to make for supper but what am I thinking! Ls favorite food is Chinese so I guess we'll have to go pick some up later from our favorite takeout.

I'll call my dad. My dad is really a great dad. He was a good father when I was growing up. I loved spending time with him doing chores or helping him with a project on the farm. My dad likes to tell stories, to laugh, and is laid back and easy to be around. If I was there we would have gone for a picnic likely and be sitting at the picnic table just enjoying being outdoors. 

Alas it was not to be!

So just in case you were wondering about my last IVF cycle, we were pregnant and now we're not. Oh well. Life goes on. I'm thankful for my little June-bear. 

 

 

In other news I applied for a job earlier this year and am hopeful for a call back in May. I think I'd really like this job. Hopefully the individuals doing the security screening on me didn't find my blog and read my last post and say oh she's knocked up and disqualify me because I'm not. Yes my body hates me. 

I am reading The Storied Life of A.J.Fikry and oh my! It is so good. I love it. At first I was thinking why did I pay $19.95 in the bookstore to buy it. It was one of those I'm in a bookstore I need to buy a book purchases. But I am so glad I did. 

Ugh the library is trying to be political and cut back on their services to garner more funding. Now I can no longer order books from other libraries in our library system. 

I read 12 books in March!! 12 books! Craziness. Granted 5 of those were young adult novels and read basically in one day each so technically I read 7 which is still amazing and ridiculous. I'll write a post in the next day or so about all I've been reading. 

I've decided these are my colours. There is no test I took, but I love them so they are. I've decided. I plan to have this laminated and keep it in my wallet so that the next time I go shopping I will not come home with an orange shirt and hate it and never wear it. Oh and cognac only for shoes or boots and accessories like purses or belts. I've bought a pair of pants this colour once and trust me, horrible.

 

Oh dear I just realized I forgot the last pan of cookies in the oven, even though I turned off the oven. They are officially dried out and will need to be dunked in a cup of tea to be salvageable.

I have succumbed to my vices and have returned to drinking coffee. 

Books I Read in January

Here we are in February. The snow is falling. Groundhog Day came and went. I can't recall hearing about the groundhog or if it saw its shadow so I'm not even sure if it's a thing anymore. I hope spring comes early this year. I am weary of staying in and wearing socks.

J has learned to climb entire flights of stairs. I need to learn how to teach her to climb backwards down the flight of stairs now. Today was an exciting development as J managed to stay in the nursery and had fun with the caregivers during the church service and I wasn't called back to extract her from the nursery and given the evil eye of her setting off all the babies in the nursery crying with her wails of separation anxiety.

I have been applying to jobs and yesterday I thought I should test myself to learn how fast I can actually type as one of the jobs I applied for with the government required a certain typing speed. Luckily even with my non-typing for the past two years I was still able to pass the target. My mom used to type at 100wpm on a typewriter so my measly 60 wpm could still use some improvement. I don't yet know what I will do for childcare for J. I guess I will see if I get an interview and job offer before I start to worry about it. And as you read above today's success in the nursery makes me hopeful for a positive transition to daycare. L is still on leave from work.  His mom flies in from Mexico this week. 

I have only read 2 pages in the book I am reading in February. 

But this post was to be about books I've been reading. January I really overachieved and read six books. Six!! I know, shocking. 

So here are a few words about what I've been reading.

   

A Man Called Ove, Rules of Civility and Shanghai Girls were all books I found at the Library book sale earlier in the summer. 

I wasn't really a fan of Ove in a Man Called Ove even though he has a lot of aclaim over on Goodreads. His anger was a little wearing for me. There were some interesting turns as Ove's attempts to commit suicide were thwarted by neighbors dropping by to request assistance. Perhaps it was a little wearing as L was also in a dark place in the month of January. That was hard on me. L has some Ove-ish outlook tendencies minus the anger and telling people off.

I really enjoyed Rules of Civility as it had the feel of the Great Gatsby. I read it in one night while L was working a night shift. I paid for it the next day while caring for J. I havent read a book that late into the night in a long time. If your looking for a book that will wisk you away this is a great read.

Shanghai Girls was an interesting read. It is the tale of two sisters whose father gambled away their future, a mother that risked her life for them, their fight for survival, their disappointments as they find themselves trapped in marriages in a new country at the mercy of a cruel father in law, their devotion to one another and sometimes petty jealousies. I enjoy novels of cultural family relationships. 

  

I listened to an audio version of The Ocean at the End of the Lane read by the author Neil Gaiman. It was so good! His telling was fantastical and fascinating. If I were to recommend one book from January's readings this would be it.

I had wanted to finish Welcome to the Circus by Rhonda Douglas for the January Collaboreads linkup but did not finish it in time and just finished it by the month's end. It is a collection of stories by a new Canadian author that I found at the library. The first story held promise for the book, I enjoyed this tale of three friends in grade school who become enamored with their French teacher. The rest of the book was downhill from there and really ugly stories. I guess they are well written in terms of literary style but they are miserable stories of individuals with addictions and relational problems. It was a depressing read. A depressing note is not a good way to end the month reading which is likely why I'm still on page 2 of my next novel.

Well I'd like to say more because really it's been too long since I blogged but J is playing in the toilet swishing her fingers around in the water of the bowl. Yuck! Fingers to be washed and toilet lids closed, I'm off. 

13th Avenue Coffeehouse

I was really looking forward to trying the 13th avenue coffee house in the Cathedral area. I had heard several mentions of it. It was funny when we finally located it that it was so close to where I used to grocery shop two summers ago and that I had not already discovered it. 

It is an old house converted into a coffee shop. It looks much bigger on the outside than inside. As you enter there is a staircase and a hallway, to your left what once was the parkour or sitting room this is where the tables and patrons sit. The doorway to the kitchen has been made into a counter to order from. Behind this counter the kitchen.

 

We arrived around lunchtime and went to the counter to order. We awaited some time as the women in the back busied themselves. I was interested in having a salad or sandwich. These I've seen are works of art. We had J with us and asked if there was any highchairs or booster seats. 

Now let me say this, there are far too few places that accommodate children. Very few places even have a change table in their washroom. A booster high chair seat is an easy item to store as it is compact and costs less than $25 on Amazon any restaurant or coffee shop with a heart for mothers should have this in their arsenal.

After asking and being told no we were as good as ignored. The customer service could use some finesse. Perhaps if they had been friendlier I may have decided to have J sit on my lap.

Instead we ordered lattes to go. 

It was a dissapointing visit. Granted it was one of the best London Fogs I have had. 

So if you like an excellent latte (and likely coffee), your into artfully displayed food, enjoy a cozy happening spot in the company of hipsters, if you do not particularly enjoy children and would just like to have a conversation away from littles, are vegetarian (as I noted from the menu several items are vegetarian), and enjoy an edge of snotty service this place is for you. 

 

Should I give the 13th avenue coffeehouse a second try and have lunch on their sunlit patio in the summer overlooking the Holy Rosary Cathedral? Or continue my search to find an excellent coffee shop but one more fitting to my current station in life? 

13th Avenue Food & Coffee House

3136 13th Ave Regina