Saturday we relaxed. I cooked some jambalaya for Aaron and did several things on my to-do list. Dad took us all out to Red Lobster.
Sunday
Sunday we relaxed for the morning. I played Minecraft with IL6 and took him to swim lessons. Then he, my mother-in-law, Aaron, and I went to the library. He picked out some music. I got some books.
Monday
Monday I drove my mother-in-law to the airport, then went to Perkins with Dad. I took Dad to the gym, and stayed on the treadmill for 45 minutes. Aaron and I had a telehealth appointment, but the provider no-showed. I thus had more time to do other stuff. I was supposed to go to M13’s soccer game, but it was raining, and I didn’t want to sit out in the rain with IL6. I played Minecraft with IL6. I read to D15 in the evening while Aaron went to M13’s Court of Honor for Boy Scouts. He got a merit badge.
Tuesday
Tuesday I was feeling more worn out than usual. I decided to stop “forgetting” to use my happy lamp. I had not been trying to remember.
I took D15 to an appointment almost immediately upon getting home from work, then took dad to an urgent appointment immediately after that. Then I sat there and felt overwhelmed.
Aaron and I watched a couple episodes of Andor in the evening. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. Which is a change from nights.
Wednesday
Wednesday I got some letter-writing, chores, and reading done. I took dad to the gym and then worked out on the treadmill. In the evening, I took IL6 to an appointment, then to faith formation. He really likes faith formation and was excited about the creation story. He talked about how God created the dinosaurs before us and asked how long that took. I told him millions of years in Earth years but 6 days in God days.
Thursday
Thursday I had two telehealth appointments, then took the car into the shop. In the evening, IL6 went with Aaron to the elementary school’s trunk or treat event. He had a lot of fun. I took M13 to a meeting at the school about his upcoming DC trip.
Friday
Friday I worked on a pen pal letter, took IL6 to an appointment, and took dad to the gym. I worked out on the treadmill. After IL6 got home, he insisted I play 2-player Piku Niku with him. I tried to prove it was impossible, but he just plugged the Switch remote into the computer and proved me wrong. We finished a level, much to my surprise. It was very difficult to me.
Week’s Photos
Reading to myself
Hunger of the Gods, by John Gwynne
Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him, by Tracy Borman
Sojourn, by R A Salvatore
The Plantagenets, by Dan Jones
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett
Journey Through the Radiant Citadel
Reading to IL5
When Fairies Go Bad, by Ursula Vernon
Dogman, by Dav Pilkey
Media Completed
In this third book of The Dark Elf Trilogy, Drizzt learns to navigate the world above the underdark. It had a good mixture of character development and action. I enjoyed it.
Danny, Wendell, and Christiana have to travel to Faerie to save Danny’s mom. Like all other Dragonbreath books, it was a delight.
Saturday I woke up late. I took dad on a bunch of errands. Helped IL6 play Pikuniku while I wrote a letter. Aaron mowed the lawn and made chili for dinner. IL6 and I finished the Captain Underpants series, which was bittersweet.
Sunday
Sunday I slept in again accidentally and missed Mass. I made some chickpea curry for Aaron’s lunches this week and played Minecraft with IL6. Then he had swim lessons, and I made shrimp for dinner. After dinner, the family (minus dad), played Pandemic Legacy and lost pretty quickly. This is a form of Pandemic where you play it 12-13 times, and the each game affects the following games. Then I read to IL6.
Monday
Monday, I took IL6 to occupational therapy and we discussed eating. We are going to start feeding therapy again to see if we can get him to gain weight. Then I took dad to the gym, where I got 45 minutes of treadmill time. I ran some errands after the gym. After school, I took IL6 to watch M13’s soccer game. In the evening, IL6 and I played Minecraft.
Tuesday
Tuesday I took D15 to an appointment and then went to a car mechanic appointment. They are going to replace the part for free (which is wonderful!), but the part won’t get here till Monday. It must be coming from Japan.
In the afternoon, IL6 made a game in Scratch – we even had to ask ChatGPT about a bit of code, so he was doing new ideas that were complicated enough that I couldn’t figure it out myself (though it was clear when it was pointed out.
In the evening, my friend Liz came over and she, Aaron, D15, and I watched Doctor Who. D15 is more pleased at the episodes now that they aren’t campy anymore. Then I played Minecraft with IL6.
Wednesday
Wednesday, I took Dad to the gym. I worked out an hour on the treadmill. I read. I took IL6 to his appointment, but the provider cancelled last minute. I read some more, including the new Desmond Cole book to IL6.
Thursday
Thursday, immediately after work, I had a telehealth appointment, then another teleheath appointment. My mother-in-law arrived, and she, Dad, D15, and I went to lunch with her. In the late afternoon, Dad had an at-home appointment. Then IL6 went to Cub Scouts, and apparently did a great job participating.
Friday
Friday IL6, D15, my mother-in-law, and I went to a farm to pick apples. We rode the hay ride and walked along the orchard. IL6 and I ran in the “hamster wheel,” buried him in the corn pit, and ran around the hay bales. The hamster wheel was exhausting. I cooked shrimp for dinner, then we relaxed for the evening.
Week’s Photos
Reading to myself
Pandemic, by Sonia Shah
Sojourn, by R A Salvatore
Henry VIII and the Men Who Made Him, by Tracy Borman
The Week: Under Siege
Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
Hero With a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell
Hunger of the Gods, by John Gwynne
The Plantagenets, by Dan Jones
Reading to IL5
Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir-Stinks-A-Lot, by Dav Pilkey
Chill of the Ice Dragon, by Tracey West
Beast Mode Unleashed, by Andres Miedoso
Double-O Dodo, by Tom Angleberger
Media Completed
In this final book in the Captain Underpants series, George and Harold battle a stinky, mind controlling gym teacher with the adults they could trust the most. Again, excellent. I’m sad the series is over.
The Dragon Masters help a new friend battle a giant. Cute.
In this brand new Desmond Cole book, he and Andres deal with a three-headed dog named Bubbles. Always IL6’s favorite series.
This book started out really good. It mostly covered cholera as an example of pandemics, but mentioned several others. The benefit of mostly focusing on cholera meant that the history could be covered in more detail. The book was a bit alarmist, but on the other hand, she was right that a pandemic was on its way (COVID-19 happened after original publication). I didn’t like the penultimate chapter, as it covered a bunch of iffy science and was poorly edited. Some of what Shah said made no sense no matter how many times I read it. But overall it was an informative book.
In this classic about the (Jungian) psychology of myth, Campbell covers a large variety of myth, including the rarely-studied African myth. He did focus on Christian “myths” a lot. It wasn’t very exciting to me because I kind of pooh-pooh Jungian psychology. Campbell also spoke rudely about the myths, calling the absurd, or the like.
Didi and Koko Dodo must find the kidnapped Queen. This is now IL6’s favorite Didi Dodo book.
Saturday was my birthday. I got some reading done and played Minecraft with IL6.
Sunday
Sunday I rested again, preparing for another busy week. I got in some napping and some reading. D15 played D&D. The family went out to Red Lobster for my birthday.
Monday
Monday I took IL6 to an appointment, then I went to the gym with Dad. I managed an hour on the treadmill. Aaron and I had a telehealth appointment. Then I wrote a letter. In the afternoon, IL6 and I went to M13’s soccer game. I read to D15. M13 went to Boy Scouts.
Tuesday
Tuesday I took D15 to an appointment then had lunch with Aaron. I made some baked beans for Aaron’s lunches for the rest of the week. In the evening, IL6 had “curriculum night” at the school, where he showed us around to look at what he’s been doing in school. Aaron played Minecraft with IL6. M13 had soccer practice.
Wednesday
Wednesday I went to the gym with dad then ran errands. In the afternoon, M13 had a soccer game that his mom attended. I took IL6 to an appointment, then faith formation. He learned about Noah.
Thursday
Thursday, I had a parenting seminar for kids with autism, then went on a lunch date with Aaron. Dad’s nurse practitioner came for an appointment. In the evening Aaron and I went to parent-teacher conferences at the high school. D15 is doing really well. All the teachers love her.
Friday
Friday I went to Perkins with Dad then took IL6 to his appointment. I took dad to the gym then read till early evening. Aaron and I took IL6 to Gabby’s Dollhouse movie, and he was almost as excited as he was about the Minecraft movie. Then he and IL6 watched K-Pop Demon Hunters, I read, and Aaron played his computer game with his friends.
Week’s Photos
Reading to myself
Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
My Brain is Different, by Monzusu
Exile, by R A Salvatore
The Week: Enemies List
Hero with a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell
New Scientist: Do Black Holes Really Exist?
Sojourn, by R A Salvatore
Pandemic, by Sonia Shah
Reading to IL5
Robo-Dodo Rumble, by Tom Angleberger
My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish: The Sea-quel, by Mo O’Hara
The Bad Guys in The Others?!, by Aaron Blabey
The Art Show Attacks, by Jack Chabert
Captain Underpants and the Sensational Saga of Sir-Stinks-A-Lot, by Dav Pilkey
Media Completed
Didi Dodo and Koko Dodo deal with a robot dodo who is trying to put Koko out of business. IL6 loved it.
The team tries to reunite with The Others in tow. Very funny.
Review in separate post due to it being an ARC review.
In this fifth book of Keepers of the Lost Cities, Sophie and her friends continue to battle the Neverseen. I’m not really enjoying these books much. There’s lots of moments where the characters just don’t do things that would be in character. There are plot holes. Too much effort to use big words. But I’m enjoying reading it to Deirdre.
After living alone in the underdark for 10 years, Drizzt looks for company. His mother still hunts him. This was exciting, with good battle scenes and kept to the world-building that a Dungeons and Dragons book should have. The characters were reasonably well-developed. Overall a good second book.
D15 wanted me to read this manga. It is very important that she strongly relate to characters in books, so this was a powerful book to her. It is a series of short manga essays about ADHD, autism, and learning disabilities. I found it boring at first. Then I was interested in the Japanese point of view on these things. Then I started to feel a little heartsick due to all the toxic teachers and parents. Is this what it’s like? Or was the artist choosing a certain type of essay?
The hall monitors save the students, staff, and faculty from an angry art show.
In this second book of the Nampesheisit series, Anequs continues pursuing her romantic interests and studying how to be a dragoneer. At the same time she has to deal with politics of two angry parties, neither of which is perfect.
This was a great follow-up of “To Shape a Dragon’s breath.” All characters developed quite a bit from their beginnings in the first book. The world-building continued to be great. The cultural clashes were interesting. I did feel that the book started out slowly, as it focused quite a long time on angsty teen romance, and that’s not what I read books for. Overall, though, it was a fantastic followup.
Saturday Aaron, M13, and I got COVID shots. My arm started hurting so bad later that day that I was having difficulty lifting it. I spent the day recovering from a headache and a bad mood (for the second day in a row).
Sunday
Sunday I woke with a headache and dad woke with chest pains, so we skipped Mass. I mostly read and worked on a few odd jobs around the house till it was time for IL6’s swim lessons. When Aaron got home from picking up D15 at her mom’s house, the family went to Outback Steakhouse. Then IL6 worked on his homework and we read longer as a reward.
Monday
Monday was busy for me. IL6 had an appointment where he showed me he knew how to put on his socks and shoes, despite acting like he can’t do it at home. The little rascal.
Luckily the elementary school is right next to the middle school, because I had to immediately run there and pick up M13. I took him to the orthodontist.
Pretty quickly after that I took dad to the gym and got a workout in myself. Then I got IL6 off the bus and took him to M13’s soccer game. He even watched a while before going back to his phone. M13 did great (as far as I’m concerned, he didn’t think so).
In the evening I read to D15.
Tuesday
Tuesday I took D15 to an appointment downtown, which is always a pain parking. Then I ran errands with dad. After school I watched IL6 play Pikuniku whole writing letters. After dinner, Aaron and I watched two episodes of Andor.
Wednesday
Wednesday, I took D15 to an appointment, then took dad to the gym for his personal trainer appointment. I got a good amount of exercising done, and stopped as soon as I became tired because I wanted to conserve energy.In between my stuff, I got some reading done.
After school, IL6 had an appointment, then faith formation. He remained quiet in the church, but he was very squirmy. He found the class more interesting.
M13 had a soccer game that his mom went to. D15 had Best Buddies (where she hung out with special ed students). Aaron worked till 8pm.
Thursday
Thursday I woke feeling overwhelmed. I took a half hour nap at home then had a seminar for learning how to parent a child with autism. I still have not learned anything, but it was nice talking. After that, I took an hour nap and woke feeling better. Dad’s nurse practitioner came to visit. Then in the evening, I played D&D. M13 had soccer practice. Aaron worked till 9:20pm.
Friday
Friday, I wrote a letter, took IL6 to an appointment, and then took Dad to the gym for his personal trainer appointment. I worked out on the treadmill for 45 minutes. I got lots of reading done. M13 went to soccer practice. Aaron worked till 8:30pm.
Week’s Photos
M13 = 30
Reading to myself
Pandemic, by Sonia Shah
Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey
The Hero With a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell
To Ride a Rising Storm, by Moniquil Blackgoose
Exile, by R A Salvatore
Mr Ballen podcast
Reading to IL5
Diary of a Minecraft Zombie: Book 2, by Zack Zombie
Roar of the Thunder Dragon, by Tracey West
Revenge of the Horned Bunnies, by Ursula Vernon
Media Completed
In this Western-style dystopia Esther runs away from her dad for fear of marrying a man. She thinks being lesbian is despicable, as the laws say. But the group she joins just happens to be LGBTQ as well. This book has good world-building and character development and is fun as a concept. It is light on plot, but was pretty good anyway.
Zack Zombie deals with bullies. It is full of typos and isn’t particularly interesting. The pictures are few and unoriginal.
The dragon masters defend their dragons against a mean dragon master who wants to steal their dragons. Reasonably good with nice pictures. IL6 seems more interested in humor books, but he seems cool with this series.
Danny and Wendell go to summer camp, only to find out that someone was kidnapping jackalopes. Very awesome book.
Saturday Aaron and I played D&D in the early afternoon. D15 and IL6 took turns playing Diablo on the switch. In the evening Aaron played a computer game with his friends.
Sunday
Sunday I accidentally slept in till 10:30 and missed Mass. I spent a good chunk of time writing a letter while IL6 programmed on Scratch. Then he had swim lessons.
Monday
Monday I went to the gym with dad and walked on the treadmill while he worked with his personal trainer. I think he overdid it, because he really struggled later when he walked to the post office. Aaron and I had a telehealth appointment. M13 played on the computer with IL6, then went to Boy Scouts. I read to D15.
Tuesday
Tuesday was busy. I had 3 back-to-back appointments. The first allowed only a 20 minute break after arriving home from work. I took D15 to her weekly appointment, then M13 to an appointment (he’s gained half a pound – he was worried soccer would make him lose weight). Finally, I took him to the dentist. He, D15, and I played Ticket to Ride, and laughed at the placement of some of the cities, as usual. M13 won. Later, my friend Liz came over to watch Doctor Who with Aaron and D15. After that, I struggled to stay awake till it was time to leave for work.
Wednesday
Wednesday M13 had his tooth extraction. He was bleeding for several hours, and we had to replace the gauze every half hour. I dropped dad off and picked him up from the gym. I took IL6 to an appointment.
Thursday
Thursday was a nice day. I woke up thinking I wouldn’t have enough time to get through everything, but then the day cleared up.
First, I called the surgeon’s office about M13’s popped stitch, and they said it was fine – which meant I didn’t have to take him back in for a new one. Then, the clinic called and cancelled my telehealth appointment in the middle of the day.
That left enough time for dad and myself to go to Perkins for breakfast. Then I went to urgent care for something that turned out to not be urgent. Good thing I didn’t drop everything the day before and rush in. Aaron wouldn’t have been able to deal with M13’s bleeding mouth and work at the same time.
I did a few relaxing tasks and took a half hour nap. Dad had a visit from his in-home nurse practitioner. Then I played D&D. The game was fun. I finished IL6’s cross-stitched Creeper and began sorting the floss for D15’s gigantic unicorn. The unicorn will probably take me years, so I may work on smaller projects at the same time. I’ll also have to find more time to cross-stitch.
M13 played Minecraft with IL6, and then IL6 spent some time hanging out in the room with me while I played D&D.
Friday
Friday I took IL6 to speech therapy. Then M13, D15, and IL6 went to Perkins with me and dad. I dropped the older two off at home, then ran to the gym with Dad and IL6. IL6 played on my phone for about 45 minutes, then explored the gym. He could walk on the treadmill and almost use the arm curl machine.
In the evening, I cooked pork chops for IL6, M13, and Dad. Aaron cooked hamburgers for me and himself. Aaron played a computer game with his friend and IL6 and I read.
Reading to myself
Pandemic, by Sonia Shah
To Ride a Rising Storm, by Moniquil Blackgoose
The Week: A Nation Torn
Lodestar, by Shannon Messenger
A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
God’s Jury: The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World, by Cullen Murphy
Upright Women Wanted, by Sarah Gailey
Hero With a Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell
Reading to IL5
Didi Dodo Future Spy: Recipe for Disaster, by Tom Angleberger
Captain Underpants and the Tyrannical Retaliation of the Turbo Toilet 2000, by Dav Pilkey
Media Completed
In this excellent set of lectures Professor Hoak not only describes the reign of Henry VIII, but also some of the important people of the time. I found the lectures engaging and informative. It added to other information I’ve read on the subject.
George and Harold deal with life as doubles and eventually with the return of the Turbo Toilet 2000.
Saturday I played Minecraft with IL6, then M13 played with him. I made some jambalaya for a potluck on Sunday. I took M13 to Michael’s to buy fabric for his home economics project (pj pants), but they didn’t have anything interesting. We did manage to get the rest of the cross-stitch floss I needed for my next project. I bought my Aida cloth and the fabric for pickup order instead.
Sunday
Sunday, I went to church with dad, then to a friend’s house for a girls’ day. We played Unstable Unicorns. D15 played D&D. In the evening, I had to call AAA to tow the car because it wouldn’t start.
Monday
Monday, IL6 had an appointment, then I ran several errands. M13 had soccer then Boy Scouts. IL6 played a computer game. I read to D15.
Tuesday
Tuesday I took D15 to a morning appointment. Then I spent the day doing more time-sensitive tasks, so I still haven’t accomplished some of the tasks I wanted to complete. Maybe Wednesday. In the evening, we picked up the car again, this time with new tires.
M13 played Minecraft with IL6 after school. Then he did “something on the phone” with his friends. It was rather magnanimous of me to let him do that during dinner since he’s actually grounded right now. In the evening, Aaron and I watched an episode of Andor. Then, because we didn’t have time for another episode, we watched a (shorter) episode of the new Quantum Leap. It was amusing enough for one episode.
Wednesday
Wednesday I took IL6 to an appointment and was told he grew taller and gained zero weight over the past year (which explains the falling down pants). So I’ve got to figure that out.
That’s on top of the stress that D15 and M13 will only eat out of specific 15-year-old bowls that seem to disappear. As we want M13 to eat the largest variety possible, this is stressful. ChatGPT told me which bowl it was based on pictures, but couldn’t find an exact replacement on the internet. It suggested a different set of bowls which it claimed had similar size, shape, and translucency. It said that translucency often matters in cases like this. Interesting.
I was very, very stressed over IL6’s blood draw, which included about 20 minutes of coaxing his tears away, then pinning him down kicking and screaming. I took a second dose of anxiety meds afterwards (the first was due to stress anticipating the blood draw), and became extremely chill. It was nice, but it wore off about the time IL6 got home. I got some reading done while I was chill.
Immediately after IL6 arrived home, we went to another appointment, which he did a good job at.
Thursday
Thursday I had a parenting children with autism seminar by telehealth, which went well.
I woke lightheaded and tingly with cold symptoms. Then that progressed to cold symptoms and dissociation. The dissociation was gone by the time I drove to work.
M13 had soccer practice, then played Minecraft with IL6. IL6 then went to Cub Scouts.
Friday
Friday I went directly to urgent care after work in the morning. I watched a movie, spent an hour at the pharmacy waiting for my prescription, and took a nap. I was starting to feel less fatigued by the time I should read to IL6.
Reading to myself
Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
To Ride the Rising Storm, by Moniquil Blackgoose
Gulag Archipelago Part 2, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne
Shepherds’s Crown, by Terry Pratchett
Pandemic, by Sonia Shah
Reading to IL5
My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, by Mo O’Hara
Diary of a Minecraft Zombie, by Zack Zombie
D14 reading
Thirteen Doorways Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby
Media Completed
When Tom’s big brother does a science experiment on a unsuspecting goldfish, the goldfish needs resuscitation. When it comes back to life, it is a zombie that can hypnotize people. This book was very fun and funny. It had great pictures. IL6 loved it.
This fantastic epic fantasy covers the stories of three characters as they navigate their viking-like world. It was very well-developed world-building and great character development. It felt like it was well-researched as well.
Tiffany is drawn thin when ahe has to take care of two steadings. Funny, as usual.
Saturday, I played Minecraft with IL6, Aaron and I played D&D, and then Aaron made chili.
Sunday
Most of Sunday morning was spent (me) sitting next to IL6 as he programmed a game on Scratch and (Aaron) buying jeans at Goodwill and taking M13 to get supplies for soccer. In the afternoon, I took IL6 to swim lessons and Aaron picked up D15 from her mom’s. In the evening, the family went to Red Lobster with dad.
Monday
Monday, IL6 woke me at 5am, and I gave him a bath, then he watched TV. As soon as Aaron got up, I went grocery shopping – let me tell you, 7am is the time to get donuts. Then I had a video visit with a friend, followed by a telehealth appointment Aaron and I attended.
Dad and I went to work out – I managed 45 minutes on the treadmill. He was still feeling a little tired from the pneumonia the earlier week. Afterwards, I took dad to get his hearing aide fixed. Then, he had an at-home nurse visit.
M13 went to soccer after school and seemed to enjoy himself. D15 had an audition for a play in the community theater.
Tuesday
Tuesday was ok. D15 had an appointment in the morning, then I had a telehealth appointment in the afternoon. I was going to run errands in the afternoon, but I was too tired to drive, and I fell asleep.
In the evening, Aaron went to pick up my prescription, but apparently I called my prescription in wrong last Tuesday, and they didn’t have the prescription done. They were way behind on prescriptions so I couldn’t get it and am in withdrawal the next morning, which involves weird electrical shocks to my brain. That means I won’t be able to run my errands until I pick up the prescription.
In the evening, my friend Liz came over, and we watched the third and fourth episode of the new Doctor Who, which were as messed up as the first two. I hope they get better. I also couldn’t watch some of the dramatic events because IL6 kept demanding I look at his LEGO creations at the worst possible moment. And he will scream and grab my face if he doesn’t get listened to.
Wednesday
Wednesday dad took me to Perkins in the morning, then I stopped by the pharmacy. I took dad to an appointment, and then took IL6 to another. Aaron and D15 worked on a puzzle, and I read.
Thursday
Thursday dad had an in-home nurse appointment, then I played D&D. M13 had soccer practice, then played Minecraft with IL6.
Friday
Friday dad took me to Perkins, then I took him to get flu and COVID shots. Aaron had taken a half day off because we had been planning on going camping because it was so cold last time, but now it’s hot. He and I dropped dad off at the gym and went on a date to a brewery. Then we headed to three Goodwills to buy hoodies for IL6. He wants to be warm, and he only wears sweatshirts with hoods. In the evening, Aaron played his computer game with his friends and M13 watched a documentary about OJ Simpson.
Week’s Photos
Reading to myself
Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne
To Ride the Rising Storm, by Moniquil Blackgoose
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoevsky
Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
The Week: Occupy Chicago
Reading to IL5
My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, by Mo O’Hara
Hall Monitors are Fired, by Jack Chabert
Double Creature Feature, by Andres Miedoso
Bad Guys in Open Wide and Say Arrgh, by Aaron Blabey
Battle of the Boss-Monster, by Troy Cummings
D14 reading
Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo
Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All, by Laura Ruby
Aaron reading
Media Completed
In this fantastic classic, a young man chose to murder an old lady for reasons that become clearer later in the book. I read this as a 13 year old, and I doubt I understood the adult content in some of it, and my memory was a bit foggy on some bits. This book is highly philosophical, I hear, but I am not an expert in Russian philosophy and history, so some of it went over my head. I did find it interesting how I reevaluated the “punishment” part of the book as an adult. I found what philosophy I understood quite well-shown. As it is shown and not told, I can’t explain it without spoilers.
The school manages to get the hall monitors fired, leaving the students vulnerable.
Our group of heroes searches for “The Others,” to help overthrow Overlord Splaarghon.
The SSMP battle the boss-monster in this final installment of Notebook of Doom. IL6 loved this series and was disappointed it ended. He wants to write the author to ask for a sequel series.
Saturday, we had sausage for breakfast and sat in the cold waiting for it to be warm enough to go to the playground. Then when we got there, it was too hot, so we spent a couple hours at the beach. We dug in the sand and waded (except IL6, who was chest-deep.
In the evening, we had pork chops. M13 & IL6 played on their phones, and I read. Aaron sat and watched the fire. Then we played flashlight tag again that night.
Sunday
Monday was a sleepy day as I was really struggling with my sleeping disorder. I had to sleep on and off despite my meds, and was miserably tired the rest of it.
I made Aaron some white chili for his lunches and some pork chops for M13 over the week. M13 played Minecraft with IL6 a couple of hours. Aaron was feeling sick, but did get the shopping done. I only got a little reading done.
Monday
Tuesday I had a hectic morning. Immediately after work, before driving home, I called a clinic to see if I could get in with a certain type of hard-to-get appointment. There’s no waitlist, and I’d been calling twice a week for about 6 weeks. They actually had an opening! Not a perfect time, since I’d have to work around another regular meeting at the same time, but I still counted that as a success.
As I was driving home, the nurse from the elementary school called me to say she had no milk for IL6. Shoot! I had forgotten. So I rushed to the store and bought some. But I didn’t have time to bring it, as I needed to pick up D15 for an appointment. I ran the milk home, and brought it immediately after the appointment – 20 minutes before it was supposed to be there.
Dad’s new chair was delivered, and the broken one was taken away. Everyone likes dad’s new chair.
I scheduled 4 new appointments and rescheduled 2 appointments, which was a long time on the phone. I got my brake light fixed and went to the library.
After dinner, Aaron and I watched an episode of Andor. Then we had to stop because dad had a 102.9F fever. He was also so weak; he slipped to the floor while trying to stand, and I had to drag him back on the bed by his armpits.
The on-call nurse came and suggested that it was a COPD flare-up, possibly causing a bit of pneumonia (for the fever). She prescribed an anti-biotic, and I told her to send it to a pharmacy that was open till midnight. But apparently they changed their hours, which I determined when I drove out there. They now run from 9am-6pm. The closest late-night pharmacy is now 45 minutes away.
Of course, I had to call in to work, as all this lasted too late into the evening.
Tuesday
I spent all of Wednesday day rushing around, due to dad being sick. I got to Walgreens after giving them two hours to fill the antibiotic, and they hadn’t filled it yet! (Antibiotics and pain meds are supposed to be rushed.) I had to wait another half hour. Then I needed to get his laundry done, including remaking both his and M13’s beds, because he stresses when it’s not done quickly. He is sick and can’t deal with the stress. Then the dishes, and he usually does them, because buildup really stresses him. I didn’t want to stress him. Then a few other things simply needed to be done.
After IL6 got home from school, we immediately left for McDonald’s and his appointment, which went well. By the time I got home, I was too exhausted to read.
Wednesday
I spent all of Wednesday day rushing around, due to dad being sick. I got to Walgreens after giving them two hours to fill the antibiotic, and they hadn’t filled it yet! (Antibiotics and pain meds are supposed to be rushed.) I had to wait another half hour. Then I needed to get his laundry done, including remaking both his and M13’s beds, because he stresses when it’s not done quickly. He is sick and can’t deal with the stress. Then the dishes, and he usually does them, because buildup really stresses him. I didn’t want to stress him. Then a few other things simply needed to be done.
After IL6 got home from school, we immediately left for McDonald’s and his appointment, which went well. By the time I got home, I was too exhausted to read.
Thursday
Thursday I rushed directly from work to take dad to 2 back-to-back appointments. When I got home, I was feeling a bit burned out, so I took a nap. Then dad’s at-home nurse practitioner came to visit. M13 played Minecraft with IL6, then helped IL6 clean his room. I read. D15 was at crew for the high school play. In the evening, Aaron took IL6 to Cub Scouts, and I played D&D.
Friday
Friday was spent getting the physical form signed for M13 to join soccer. He decided in the evening, 3 business days from the first day of soccer that he wanted to join. I spent 2 hours on Thursday filling out the form, and an hour on Friday morning getting the form to the doctor. A couple hours later, they called to say the form didn’t print right, so I had to figure out what went wrong, and spend another hour dropping that off. Then, the doctor kindly signed it right away, so I spent another hour fetching the form. But M13 should be set to play soccer on Monday.
M13 and IL6 played Mario Kart and Aaron played Minecraft with IL6. D15 went to stay at her mom’s for the weekend. I got a little reading done – finishing my one book this week at the last minute.
Week’s Photos
Reading to myself
Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne
A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
The Week: Occupy Chicago
The Economist: What Brazil Can Teach America
Mr Ballen Podcast
Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew, by Ellen Notbohm
Reading to IL5
Inspector Flytrap, by Tom Angleberger
Inspector Flytrap in the President’s Mane is Missing, by Tom Angleberger
My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, by Mo O’Hara
Inspector Flytrap in the Goat Who Chewed Too Much, by Tom Angleberger
The Skull, by Jon Klassen
D14 reading
Six of Crows, by Leigh Bardugo
Media Completed
Otilla runs away and finds a big house with a skull. They become friends. The pictures of this book are wonderful and although the narrative is simple, it’s very cute.
In this book, Notbohm expands on what she claims was a highly successful essay about autistic kids. It had some good info for someone who knows almost nothing about autism, but informed me of nothing new. I hated the self-congratulatory tone of the book, where she avoided pointing out her mistakes and praised herself on how her son “Bryce” turned out, considering his original limitations. Not once does she acknowledge the work “Bryce” went through to succeed. Also, way at the end of the book, she mentions having two boys with autism, despite only talking about “Bryce” the whole book. Either she is more proud of her accomplishments with “Bryce,” or she merged her two kids into one fake child with all their limitations combined at the beginning and all of their successes combined at the end. Note I say their successes. Because they worked a lot harder than Notbohm did, regardless of what she may think.
Saturday was another relaxing day. Aaron and I played D&D, I played Minecraft with IL6, dad took us out to eat, and Aaron played Minecraft with IL6.
Sunday
Sunday, IL6 and I went to Olive Garden with my friend Liz. Then I played Minecraft with him and read. Aaron mowed the lawn and played Minecraft with IL6, as well.
Monday
Monday was a bit slow. I was feeling achy, nauseated, and headachy, so I avoided getting up and around. Aaron and I had an appointment by Zoom then I played Minecraft with IL6. I also read. Dad complained of the same symptoms I had. Then D15 and Aaron went to her orientation at the high school to walk her schedule and meet her teachers. She came back feeling the same symptoms as dad and me.
Tuesday
Tuesday felt busy. D15 had an appointment in the morning. Then dad had an at-home appointment. M13 weeded. Afterwards, I took dad to Target to buy a few things for school that I somehow lost. But Target had already taken down their school area! Before school started! So we went to Walmart. Which had a better display than Target does, when it has a display! I got almost everything I needed (composition notebooks didn’t come in red). Then dad and I went to the bank and the pharmacy.
Upon reaching home, I prepared several things for mailing out, ran to the post office and picked up IL6. We are working on listening to the music we got from the library. Then I filled three pillboxes. My friend Liz came over, and we started the new Doctor Who on Disney (with Aaron, dad, M13, and D15), since HBO took down Doctor Who! Before we finished! I’m not sure about the new reboot, it seems aimed at a younger audience.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a busy and sad day. After work in the morning, I rushed to pick up IL6 for his meet-and-greet with his new teacher. They got along pretty well. While there, I heard about the shooting at the school in Minneapolis. That was incredibly scary and sad. It ruined my mood for the rest of the day.
Afterwards, I took dad to get a new recliner, popped by Toyota to get a new battery in my key, and dropped off a form at my pediatrician. I made 3 phone calls and made dad’s bed.
I had an hour off in which I doom scrolled. Dad’s at-home NP came because he’d coughed up blood. She decided it wasn’t a pulmonary embolism.
Then I took IL6 to an appointment, followed by an open house at the school. He really enjoyed the open house.
It was M12 and D15’s first day of school. Neither of them enjoyed it very much.
Thursday
Thursday was more relaxing than Wednesday. Aaron and I had a telehealth appointment which advised us on how to deal with IL6’s difficulties. She suggested completely ignoring a temper tantrum and let him beat me up. She said it would get worse before it got better. It got pretty bad.
Then I spent the rest of the day getting stuff done around the house. I got a little bit of reading done. In the evening, I had D&D. I’m getting pretty far in my cross-stitch!
Friday
Friday was good. I took IL6 to speech and M13 to the orthodontist. (Nobody had work or school.) Then Aaron, M13, IL6 and I went camping. We had a fire and played “monster hunt” with Loki. I got a couple hours of reading done.
Week’s Photos
Reading to myself
Shadow of the Gods, by John Gwynne
Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew, by Ellen Notbohm
A Survey of Hinduism, by Klaus K Klostermaier
The Economist: All-American Silicon
Gulag Archipelago, by Aleksandr Solzhenitzyn
The Week: Mission Impossible
The Age of Henry VIII, by Dale Hoak
Reading to IL5
Dragonbreath: No Such Thing as Ghosts, by Ursula Vernon
My Big Fat Zombie Goldfish, by Mo O’Hara
Inspector Flytrap, by Tom Angleberger
Media Completed
Danny, Wendell, and a skeptic end up in a haunted house.
In this slightly fictional narrative history, Solzhenitzyn describes the history and first steps of getting to a Soviet gulag. He covers laws, arrests, interrogations, pre-gulag jails, and transfer of prisoners. He includes a “me” which is only loosely his own story. I find the history and descriptions interesting, but was lost in some of the history, so there were long boring parts to me. The writing was also dense.
Hibernator's Library 