I know I haven’t been posting here for some time, but some updates are in progress to my web presence that I want you to know about. For the future, I will be publishing posts on Substack instead of here on the blog. This will give me more flexibility in format, whether I choose to just continue posting in written form or possibly add audio or even video posts in the future. It is also more budget-friendly since I won’t have the costs of hosting and paying for my website domain any longer. Substack also has a more conversational community…
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It’s been a while since I sent out an up to date Reading Report! I finished 2025 strong, achieving my goal of finishing 50 books during the year. I set a slightly lower numerical goal for myself this coming year, and I am changing how I approach my reading life. Let’s talk about it! To Challenge or Not to Challenge? Most years I join at least one, sometimes two, reading challenges that push me to finish a book a month and/or read from certain genres. This year, I decided that this approach to reading is taking some of the joy…
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Since 2025 was my first time trying to plan my sewing and knitting according the “Make Nine” method, I didn’t accomplish quite as many projects from it as I might have liked. I don’t think I thought everything through very well. However, l did get a few of my goal projects completed, in addition to many items that were not on my Make Nine last year. This year, I aimed to plan only projects for which I already have either the pattern, the materials, or both. There are a couple of exceptions, of course, but I tried! My other goal…
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In celebration of America250, my friend, fellow book lover, and homeschooling mom, Summer Smith, recently created a book list of American literature to read in 2026. She was on The New Mason Jar podcast today to talk about this list, and as I listened, I was inspired to create my own book list specifically for children’s and YA books from each of the 50 states. Summer’s list was very broad with many adult titles, and I wanted to narrow my focus to books appropriate for my own kids (ages 10 and 15.) It was harder than I expected! Some states…
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Well, here it is the beginning of December already, and I am just now finally getting ’round to writing a new reading report update! Goodness. But life just keeps being complicated, and I simply don’t have the energy to sit down and string words together in coherent thoughts. Anyway, since my last update a while back (ahem!) I have finished quite a lot of titles. I think the best plan is just to give a very brief review of each one and note if a particular book was read for a club or challenge. Let’s go! Finished Books: Move Your…