Sunday Salon: Hot and Steamy

Good morning, friends, and welcome back to a hot and sweaty Sandy, courtesy of the lovely 97 degree Florida weather! The kids and I mosied on back to our home, kitties, piggy and daddy from Indiana on Wednesday, and brought the nasty weather with us. I don't even want to go outside at this point - you can't even breathe. But after being gone for three weeks, and with the beginning of school leering at me like an evil troll, I had to get a few things done.

The first item on the agenda was simply groceries. I don't know what my husband had been living on for three weeks (apparently friends' hospitality). Then I decided to tackle the worst things first - back to school shopping, which includes uniforms, shoes, and supplies, and always is accompanied with fighting and heated discussion. My son doesn't want to reuse anything from the previous year, and my daughter wants her uniforms skin tight. Still on the to do list: scheduling about a half dozen appointments of various kinds, getting the kids together with their friends because they seem starved for companionship, and yard work. Bleh.

I'm also trying to get my blogging act together. It just kind of fell apart over the summer. I usually have a good month's worth of posts stacked up which gives me wiggle room. But this has dwindled away because I am uninspired to write. I'm going to have to get over this I realize, and quickly. I'm definitely not lacking in things to read for sure. When I walked through my door Wednesday afternoon, I saw an almost toppling tower of books that had arrived while I'd been gone. An ARC of Sara Paretsky's latest, another Beth Kephart gem, two more graphic novel volumes of The Stand, a WWII novel and DVD from my friends at Aquila Polonica, several books that I'd won in giveaways (including the most BEAUTIFUL journal from Iliana!), and a buttload of library books. Plus more that I'm probably not remembering. It was overwhelming and tickling all at once!

I'm finally seeing the light at the end of of the tunnel called The Passage - only a few more discs to go! Jenners and I are planning on reading Middlesex together sometime soon, and mine will be in audio format, so I hope to start that when she is ready in the next few weeks. I'm also itching to listen to the latest Jack Reacher installment called "61 Hours". The kids and I started an audio that I impulsively ordered because of Raych called How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff (precious precious). So audios are back in working order.

I am closing in on "So Cold the River" and I'm having a great time with it. There is nothing more exciting than reading a book where the location is like another character in the story, in this case the West Baden Springs Resort which I fell in love with last fall. Now I think I need to go back! I also sorta kinda squeezed in the two volumes of the graphic novel The Stand because I couldn't help myself. I am eyeballing another graphic novel next, one that I ordered from the library called "Pyongyang" that was recommended to me from Alyce.

As I am writing (on Saturday evening), I am preparing a yummy feast for my family and friend that is coming over. Shrimp Cakes with Chili-Lime Cream Sauce, Gorgonzola Risotto, a salad, and maybe if we are so inclined, Twix brownies for desert. When this particular friend comes over, we usually get involved in a wine tasting extravaganza, hence why I feel it is best to get my post written now and not in the morning when my only goal will be to drag myself out of bed for church. Hope everyone has a wonderful Sunday!