Sunday 25 October 2015

Sunday post - 11

 The Sunday Post is a chance to catch up with our lives - our own and those of other bloggers. Books, life, cats .... the important things. :)

Hosted here: http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/

I didn't intend to miss another one - I'm trying not to be a sporadic blogger, but that seems to be what is happening. Must Try Harder.

What I've mostly been doing lately - as is evidenced by the picture to your left - is buying books. That's not even all the books I've bought lately. I imposed a buying ban - and bought four more books. To be FAIR, one of them was the Night Vale novel, which I would have bought anyway because, you know ... Night Vale. But look, look at the pretties :D

So. Many. Pretties. Not pictured, are Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell, which I purchased as an ebook, and Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine, which I finished reading last week, and really enjoyed.

Also not pictured, my bookcases, groaning under the weight of centuries.

I decided, randomly, that I couldn't buy any more books until I'd caught up with my goodreads challenge. As of now, I'm 10 books behind. I also ignored it to buy Night Vale and three other books but ... eh, technicalities.

NOW, however, I can't buy any more books until I'm caught up, or until December 31 - whichever comes first.

I'm still jobless and drifting a little bit. We're still okay for money, and I'm kind of enjoying being at home, as temporary as it has to be. It's nice.

I drop spawn off at school, and then either hitch a ride home with hubby - he's a grocery assistant/shelf-stacker and finishes about 9am - or I wander into town for a bit for a browse. On Mondays I have coffee/brunch/lunch with a friend that I actually reconnected with at my work farewell. She works for the same company I worked for, but we'd lost touch as she started working from home. She has Mondays off and suggested we start meeting for coffee. It's nice to be able to do something like that.

I've been watching a fair bit of TV, catching up with my shows (heh, I sound like Peg Bundy), doing a bit of stitching (see above picture) and just ... well, okay. Drifting. But I'm not unhappy about it.

I got the first two rows on my Grey Wardens pattern done, now I'm on to the second phrase, which is "In peace, vigilance." So that's this week's project. I also need to study the road code so I can finally go and get my licence. (I know. You don't have to tell me. I know.) And last week - for the first time in probably about 20 years - I did some baking. It didn't come out perfect - the chocolate chippie biscuits are really hard, and need a bit less cooking, and there's too much butter in the afghans. But OTHER THAN THAT - I made a huge mess and spilt cocoa on the floor. The afghans tasted nice, though.

What else. I've been playing a fair bit of Dragon Age: Inquistion as well. I treated myself to the GOTY edition with the DLCs and I'm working through those.

I'm determined to blog this week. De.Ter.Mined.

I'll likely do a short reviews post for the last three books I read: Dragon Age: Asunder by David Gaider, Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine and Carry On, by Rainbow Rowell.

I also saw Crimson Peak the Friday before last, and I'm planning to write a review of that as well.

Most recently, here, I reviewed Dawn, by Octavia E. Butler for A More Diverse Universe: http://lifetheuniverseandcats.blogspot.co.nz/2015/10/dawn-by-octavia-e-butler-review.html

At the moment, I'm halfway through The Rules by  Stacey Kade, book one in the Project Paper Dolls series, about a girl who was created with both human and alien DNA. I read about two-thirds of it in a couple of sittings - it's easy to engage with and the story is interesting, so I have that on the go.

Welcome to Night Vale, the novel, is up next. I've also been flirting with Salem's Lot by Stephen King for the #SalemAlong but as much as I love Stephen King, I'm not feeling this one at the moment, so it's on the perilous shelf.

So more reading, more stitching, maybe some writing - I've signed up for  nano this year and I'm determined to do it - some gaming, spawn, TV, cats ... I mean, there are worse things.

How's your week looking?

14 comments:

  1. Sounds good to me! Good luck with NaNo...

    Nice haul of books. I see some Robin Hobb in there...:) and Nightvale I was curious about, since I've started the podcast, but I'm not very far along yet.

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    1. Greg, thanks! I read Assassins Apprentice earlier this year, and loved it so I bought the first trilogy

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  2. I hope Crimson Peak was good, I'd love to see it and it has nothing to do with Tom Hiddleston being in it, nothing at all!!

    I was out of work two years ago for about 18 months, so I know what you mean by drifting but hey if you can afford it, do it - I loved having me time!!

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    1. Heather, heh. The story was shaky fir me but Tom Hiddleston... The me time is great for sure

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  3. Sounds like you have a plan. I love your haul...sometimes shopping sprees are good for the soul. Looking forward to your mini reviews.

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    1. Kimba, I try to plan as much as possible. Sprees are fun

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  4. Aaaah, book bans. An evil necessity. :( Good luck with your ban going forward.

    It is nice to be at home and not working, isn't it? Enjoy it while you can and good luck with the job hunt.

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  5. I haven't worked at a job where others paid me for a long time. But when my hubs got laid off, I felt we were drifting and that we were totally insecure. But, he was open to working in different ways and began consulting. There's no pride when it comes to staying afloat and house cleaning was a viable alternative.

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  6. The not-working thing can be a challenge. I finished full-time work about 3 yrs ago. I'd love to find something part-time which could keep me financially and give me time to myself but am struggling a little with that. I've earned some money off and on during that time but the balance is hard. I find I feel too guilty to watch TV during the day and spend most of the day at my desk at home - which makes no sense.

    I suspect though, if I thought this was more temporary I'd make the most of my free time... but I'm a little worried (and equally excited) that this could be it forever (I'm still in my mid 40s!)

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    1. Deborah I understand guilt for sure, but I'm trying to enjoy. I'm mid-40s too and job hunting now is certainly daunting

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  7. I hope you enjoy Carry On. I bought that one last week, too.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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  8. AJ: It was super-cute. I hope you enjoy!

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