Bloodline

Phew! I didn't know if I would be able to do it this year, but I did it! I grabbed Bloodline at the bookstore at 9am yesterday, spent three hours reading while my MIL was working her gardening job in the morning, and got over halfway through it in that time. Then later, after we wrapped up for the day, I was able to finish the book. When I first realized that the release date coincided with our massive cleaning/organizing project, I wasn't sure if I was going to be over there all day every day. So I was quite excited that I actually had the time to read this book all in one day, like I have in the past.

Now onto the book itself . . .

Music Monday: Clara Schumann

Each Monday, I share a piece of music I really enjoy. This week, I'll be reminiscing a bit with a song by Clara Schumann.

Clara Schumann née Wieck (1819-1896)
Gedichte aus Liebesfrühling (1841)
"Er ist gekommen in Sturm und Regen"

Week Away

So, busy week coming up.

We're heading out of town tomorrow to attend a wedding on Saturday. (I mentioned this last week, albeit in a somewhat self-centered context.) On Sunday, Pat will be coming back home, while I will be staying in our hometown for a week, helping my mother-in-law sort through some stuff. She's the sort of person who could use a personal assistant anyway, but what with recent events . . . she could definitely use a hand. We were out there for a week dealing with all of the memorial preparations, and by like the second day I'd decided that I needed to come back in the near future and help with some of the not-quite-so-urgent things that were piling up. See, there are perks to being unemployed.

On top of all that, Bloodline -- the newest release from James Rollins, my favorite author -- comes out on Tuesday! This is going to be the first time in a few years that I won't be able to just blitz through his new book the day it comes out. But still. Super excited about it. Basically if I'm not helping my MIL, I'll be reading. You can expect a blog post on it when I'm done.

And then next weekend, after what I'm anticipating will be a very exhausting week, Pat will come back and get me. Typed out like this it doesn't really seem like much. I've just been trying to get my head around it, the past couple days. No, you are not just packing for a weekend away. No, it's not just different because of the wedding. YOU WILL BE GONE FOR A WEEK! So, not only do I have to pack accordingly, but I also need to make sure there are no loose ends around here. No library books that will be due back while I'm gone. No bills left unpaid. That sort of thing.

Gah! Stressy! I hope this wedding has an open bar . . .

Music Monday: Verdi's Requiem

So, I was trying to figure out a weekly feature I could do on this blog. I know of a couple people who do Wordless Wednesday, but the idea of me being "wordless" was just a little too ridiculous.

But it got me thinking. When it comes to expressing oneself without words, visual media is not the first place my mind goes. My first thought is, obviously, music. (It's okay if you don't know why that's obvious. Just trust me. It is.)

No, not all music is wordless. My background being choral music, it was pretty rare to perform something without words (though it did happen a couple times). Either way, it sparked my idea: Music Mondays.

I'll Share Mine Too

Well, I had been waiting for Pat to talk about his dad, partly because it seemed more appropriate for him to do, but also partly because I didn't really know what to say. But, his idea was a good one, so I'll go ahead and share the same story that I told at my father-in-law's memorial service.

I had been stressed out over the logistics of the memorial, and still coming to terms with what had happened (for those who've been through this, you know how all of the mundane stuff to be settled can prevent you from actually dealing with your grief). And on top of all that, I was trying to figure out if I should speak at the memorial, and if so, what could I possibly say? And then, this happened . . .

Rough Father's Day

I've been procrastinating writing this post, but it seems appropriate that I do it today. My dad passed away 3 weeks ago tomorrow. I didn't think today would be so rough, but as we got closer there were more and more mentions of Father's Day coming up and every one of them became a reminder that he's gone. However, today is a day to celebrate fathers. Likewise, the memorial for my dad was meant to be a celebration of his life. Below is the eulogy I gave at his memorial, but before that I just want to say Happy Father's Day to those who are still doing a great job and to those who we can only remember.

Where Are My People?

I've been scouring the blogosphere for ideas. Like I mentioned last time, I'd like to start some sort of weekly feature. That way I know I'll have something to write about, and I know it won't be two months between blog posts. As I was searching, though, I realized something.

I came across one called Five Question Friday. Cool, answer five questions, I can do that! Except . . . this is a mommy blog. And I'm not a mommy. That's a bit of an issue when one of the questions is, "What's your favorite summer tradition with your children?"

Random Tidbits

*sigh*

So, it's been a while. Shocking, right?

It's been kind of a crazy couple of weeks, but things are finally settled down again for the most part. Here are some things that have been on my mind in the interim: