Share Four Somethings - August 2023

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 The summer is almost over and I'm not sure how I feel about that! I guess it's time to start wrapping up August, and part of that is sharing Something I Loved, Something I Read, Something I Learned and Something I Ate. 

Something Loved

Another visit to family back in Maryland! We went to celebrate our granddaughter's first birthday, and had the whole family together again. The time with the kids and our granddaughter was wonderful, although too short, of course! I was also able to get together with a couple of friends, and my husband got to play hockey with his buddies. 

Other highlights I loved this month: celebrating another anniversary with my husband; and attending a working retreat with the chorus. The retreat was a two-day event, but not an overnight stay. It was a lot of fun, and hard work, but I enjoyed every minute! We also enjoyed having my husband's sister and her husband visit us for a long weekend.

Something Read

I've been in such a reading slump this summer! Part of it is that I'm busy with my job but I've also had a tough time staying focused on anything I'm reading. I'm doing my best to wrap up my review books now (at last!) and get back to spending more time with good books!

Here are the books I'm currently reading:

Composition As Conversation by Heather M. Hoover

Reykjavík: A Crime Story by Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir

   

I had started The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright, but decided I needed to set it aside until I finished up these two reviews, and in the meantime I've also received The Starlet Spy by Rachel Scott McDaniel to review! I'll pick that up next, then get back to Castle Moreau, and I've got some other books I've been wanting to start too, including Voice of the Ancient by Connilyn Cossette. Maybe my problem is I'm going in too many different directions for now. I used to be able to keep three or four books going all at the same time, but for whatever reason that's not working for me this year!

   

Despite my own slump, I've been trying out hosting a monthly link-up for review posts and the August edition is still open (Book Review Bulletin for August), with a new link-up for September scheduled to open on the 1st. I'd love for you to drop by and share a review or two, and comment on someone else's review. The hope is that we can comment on actual reviews and share them. And of course, all the rest of my reading news is at Just A Second if you're interested.

Something Learned

I suppose I should be learning something about patience and persistence, because after at least six months, I'm STILL trying to get my dental insurance sorted out. The insurance company is staffed almost entirely by people who seem wholly incapable of doing their job or communicating from one department to the other. I have spent countless hours on the phone with dozens of representatives. I am beyond frustrated trying to get answers, and part of me just wants to give up. But I'm already committed to getting some important (and costly!) dental work done, and now my daughter needs to go to the dentist too, so I'll keep fighting until we get a resolution. 

Something On My Plate

I bet I didn't take food pictures again this month. Let me check . . . Just one time. I took pictures of the delicious savory crepes we had at a farmers market last weekend, and of the baklava and coffee I brought home from the market.

Coffee goes in a cup, not on a plate, but it's food-related news. I got a Keurig this month!

And I didn't take pictures but at the beginning of the month my husband and I celebrated our anniversary by visiting Texas de Brazil, a Brazilian steakhouse, and it was tremendous! Sim, Por Favor!

Then at the beginning of this week, I had a broken tooth extracted, so since then I've been eating soft easy-to-chew foods. For now I'm a bit limited, but the good news is, I like soup and yogurt and applesauce, so even though I have to be careful, I don't mind the temporary restrictions. Ask me again in a month or so, and if I still have those restrictions, I might feel differently!

What's Been On My Calendar? #WBOYC

Happy Anniversary to us! 

Family time on the birthday weekend!

I told the kids I needed to send some updated photos to Gramma, and they obliged me by posing awkwardly. 

Okay, a little more relaxed and natural!

We explored the downtown area and creek again, when my husband's sister and her husband were here visiting.

And a new park with walking trails is very close to opening up adjacent to our community. We got a little preview of it this week.

What's Coming Up Soon?

We've almost reached the 30-day countdown to our trip to Calgary! Not that I need to start packing yet, but I'm starting to think a bit more about the logistics and what I want to make sure we do while we're there.

Before that though, we will be welcoming the kids from Maryland for the Labour Day weekend, and I need to prepare for a writing class I'll be teaching remotely.

Share something in the comments, or share four somethings with the rest of us in the link party!

This post will be linked at Overflowing With Thankfulness in the Share Four Somethings link party.

This post will also be linked at What's Been On Your Calendar #WBOYC hosted by Deb's World.

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