Greetings on this rainy Sunday. I’m having quite the lazy, unfocused day as a couch potato. All I seem to be doing is flitting from reading blogs to watching Booktube, then reading some of Matrix by Lauren Groff, then texting separately with both kids, then writing/prepping blog posts. Rinse, lather, repeat. My attention span is nonexistent. Total indecisive sloth mode.
I can’t seem to decide what to make for dinner. At first I thought soup and gluten-free biscuits, but The Husband said that it’s not soup weather yet because it’s 70 degrees outside. Not a battle I wish to fight (even though he’s wrong) so we’ll pretend it’s still summer and have burgers and pasta salad. Marriage, y’all. (Update: that’s what we had while watching the Yankees clinch a spot in the post-season, imagining we were in the stands.)
College Update
This was an interesting week. On Monday, College Boy’s roommate returned from a weekend visit home and announced he was taking a leave of absence for the semester. Packed up his things and was gone within a half hour. College Boy happened to be in the room studying at the time, otherwise he may have missed him altogether. I’m not quite sure of the reason and it really doesn’t matter. I do know from talking with his mom occasionally that it has been a rough adjustment socially — which, ironically, my own boy is also experiencing. Both of them are very quiet, shy, sensitive kids, and not being around one’s peers in so long has not helped in that regard. We’d hoped they would have connected more, but…not so much. So, right now College Boy has a single and we’re all hoping it stays that way because the last thing anyone needs is a hellion moving in who’s been kicked out of a frat or something.
College Boy will be home for a brief visit this coming weekend. They have Reading Days from Saturday through Tuesday to prep for midterms. I’m taking a half day from work on Friday, driving out to Gettysburg to pick him up (about 4 hours), grabbing some pizza, then turning around and heading home (another 4 hours). We’ll repeat the same thing on Tuesday afternoon. Lots of good audiobook time for the solo portions.
Potential House
We saw a potential house on Tuesday evening and it checks almost all of our boxes. There’s was much to like. It’s a good price, only two years old, layout works well, lawn maintenance and snow removal are included, it’s a nice neighborhood, adds only about 10 minutes to my commute and is still close enough to The Husband’s doctors. We were dismayed that the neighbor across the street had a sign with the name of the former White House inhabitant and 2020 — but given our very red county, this wasn’t entirely unexpected.
The bigger issue — and deal breaker, for us — is that a chemical plant is within view of the backyard. We weren’t certain what type of facility it was when we saw the house — some sort of industrial activity, it seemed — so I did my own research and a drive-by yesterday afternoon and sure enough, it’s a chemical plant that has changed hands a few times in recent years. As if that’s not concerning enough with the potential impact to the immediate environment, this particular township doesn’t have zoning laws! There’s an empty plot of land between the backyard, a road, and the chemical plant, so with no zoning laws, the plant could expand or they could put a Sheetz (gas station and convenience store) there. Anything’s possible. It’s a bit disappointing. The right house will come along.
Currently Reading
On the reading front, yesterday I posted What I Read in September, which may be the fastest I’ve ever done a monthly wrap-up. I still need to do August (which will be What I Read This Summer, Part 3) but since September’s was finished, I thought, why not? It was a good reading month.
I didn’t finish anything last week. Still reading Matrix by Lauren Groff (really liking this one) and I started Piranesi by Susanna Clarke, which is rather strange. I don’t like books that make me feel like I’m not “getting” some essential point, yet something about Piranesi is oddly intriguing.
Watching
I am not a baker but I got into The Great British Baking Show last fall and was all excited for Collection 9 to drop last week. So, I watched and was confused why Sandi was back. I googled why Matt had been replaced. Turns out, I was watching the premiere of Collection 7. I’m now caught up on the current season. This competition is between Jürgen and Giuseppe, hands down.
Hope you have a good week!