currently

Currently March: What am I loving, craving, pinning, planning, and appreciating

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 16 Comments

Today I am joining up with Jen from My Joyful Life for the Currently post. For March, Jen is asking what we are loving, craving, pinning, planning, and appreciating.

This month I am loving that the temperatures are getting warmer, slowly, but surely. I am not a fan of hot weather but I am also not a fan of super cold weather and this winter the weather was terribly, dangerously cold. I can not wait for the weather to warm up at least a little bit but not too much because I am still loving being curled up under my blanket with my warm rice packs while reading.

I am also loving my latest read, Grandma Ruth Doesn’t Go to Funerals by Sharon Mondragon.

It is very cozy and fun, with lovable characters. It was a nice surprise because I am never sure what I am going to get when I pick up a book I see a lot of people recommending on social media.

Craving

I am craving more peace in the news these days. I am craving being able to go on Facebook and not seeing everyone arguing over politics and politicians who do not care about us. I am craving an awakening where people realize that all politicians, no matter their party, are all about power.

They are all about keeping us at each other’s throats so they can continue to maintain that power. Most of them do not care about how much your groceries are costing you or how much you are struggling to make ends meet. They pretend they do so they can do their best to make the other party look bad (go back to the power thing), but in the end, all they are going to do is tell you what they will do without actually doing it.

That’s as political as I am going to get on this blog, so do not worry that I am going to go political all of a sudden. Nop.e Not at all. I prefer to just ramble about books and old movies and protect my peace in this space. Thank you very much.  

Pinning

If we are talking about Pinterest pinning, I just got back into Pinterest again and have been pinning some of my posts but also saving vintage books I want to read. Those books include cozy mysteries, general fiction, and romances.

I can say I judge a book by it’s cover in these instances because if I looks like it might be cozy and clean, I pin it.

I am also pinning ideas for journaling because I have got back into some journaling again. I am not journaling as often or as extensively as I used to but I am having fun with designing a reading/watching journal and a junk journal.

Do you journal at all?

Planning

Right now I am planning the last three months of homeschool for my kids.

My son is in his senior year so I am a bit overwhelmed and nervous with that, but he is attending a technical school and getting a foundation for future employment so that helps calm me some.

A fun course I am planning for these last three (what??! Three??!) months is a film study course. We are going to watch some classic films, and he will write a bit about each one, sharing what he thought about it. So far, on our list to watch is:

The Stranger (1946)

Citizen Kane (of course)

The Third Man (1949)

Cool Hand Luke (1967)

and

L.A. Confidential (1997)

What movies would you add to the list?

I am also planning a course on Shakespeare and we will probably read King Lear later this month and into April.

Appreciating

I am currently appreciating people who support my writing by telling me they read my books or buying my books or even selling my books in their stores.

I am also appreciating books in general. They are a wonderful escape from life these days. I love to be able to curl up with one and just lose myself inside it, which is why I often choose more lighthearted books or light mysteries.

How about you? What are loving, craving, pinning, planning, and appreciating currently?

What I’m currently loving, looking forward to, buying, planting, and . . . cleaning?

/ Lisa R. Howeler / 13 Comments

I am joining Jennifer at All 4 Boys for Currently for April after seeing this on Erin’s blog at Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs. This is a feature held the first Wednesday of the month where you share what you are currently …well, whatever the themes are for that month. This month the theme is what we are currently loving, looking forward to, buying, planting, and cleaning.

Currently Loving

I am currently loving reading The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes to Little Miss, who is 9. I read this book in March for Middle Grade March and really enjoyed it but it is even more fun sharing it with my daughter. It is old fashioned, sure, since it was written in the 1940s but that doesn’t bother me at all. It has some super cute stories in it.

I am currently reading Little Miss the chapter where the main character Janey (she’s about 10) is trying to keep the “oldest inhabitant” safe. The oldest inhabitant is a 99-year-old Civil War veteran whom the town is anxious to celebrate the 100th birthday of and Janey makes friends with him in the beginning of the book. Throughout the book she works hard to protect him from any harm and the friendship grows. It is super sweet and adorable.

I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series soon.

Looking Forward To

I guess I could have used the above sentence for this. However, in addition to looking forward to reading the other Moffat books, I am also looking forward to warmer weather.

The last couple of weeks have been very cold, rainy, snowy, and dreary in our neck of the woods and I really need some sun.

Life has been a little down lately and I’m hopeful the sun might cheer me up a bit. That and the blooming flowers which will be pretty to look at even if they trigger my spring allergies. The neighbor has a few daffodils in their yard so that’s been nice to look at.

Buying

A new planner. I don’t know how I got into buying planners that go from July of one year to July of the next but I have and now I can’t seem to get myself unstuck so I am buying another planner this week so I can plan further out than July of this year. I used to buy these huge planners, but now I buy smaller ones that I can slide into my purse and carry around. Not so I can look at it and remember what I have to do, mind you. Just carry around and look like I’m organized, when I am totally not.

Planting

I should be planting plants or vegetables this month, but I’m not. Gardens, flowers, plants – they’re all failures for me usually. I kill them and sometimes they even toss themselves off shelves instead of letting me take them home with me where they know they will die anyhow.

Instead of living things, I am trying to plant some more faith this month. Faith and gratitude. I have been horribly depressed, bitter, and sad about the state of the world this week and I don’t want to be that person so I am taking advice from a book I am reading and doing the things I want the future me to do and that includes being more positive than negative. I have failed this week so pray I get better for the rest of the month.

Cleaning

I’m not cleaning the way I should be cleaning. I always seem to get wrapped up in other things – like writing blog posts or dealing with my daughter’s friend dramas.

It seems like I clean my living room and an hour later I clutter it again. Since our dishwasher died several months ago, I have been cleaning a lot of dishes and I will be doing that again today. I will also do my best to finish cleaning my daughter’s room and sliding a new sheet on her bed.

How about you? What are you loving, looking forward to, buying, planting, or cleaning currently?