My summer has been good! We have been trying to host a low-key Sunday dinner almost every week of summer to try to feel more connected to our buddies, which has been cool. I have a goal of spending more time in water than I need to work on. Though I did go to the lake yesterday. I read Sandwich by Catherine Newman and Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo recently, which were both absolutely awesome books. And they are both about like moms with teen/young adult kids so it was cool to read them close together.
I haven’t finished a book in years (little kids), but absolutely burned through the audiobook of Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. It was a universal rave in my book club.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked about divorce privilege with my divorced mom friends. We’ve been house shopping, and no joke I sometimes look at duplexes and wonder if my husband and I could figure out some kind of alternating weekends arrangement.
Your shopping cart looks great, all those patterns are so fun. My bag collection is old and worn, but I find the most useful style is the traditional square ones you get at the grocery store, with a piece of plastic (I have cut a cardboard box to fit as well) in the bottom for stability. Some are that reusable thinner 'cloth' and some are thicker plastic, but they all fold flat.
The only way I can remember is to keep a few on the floor of the passenger seat so I can see them, and more in the trunk. Once you really get into the habit, it's second nature. I even bring them clothes shopping at the mall (I have larger ones I reserve for that purpose).
I definitely don’t want to dissuade you from that lovely colorful cart but I am obsessed with CleverMade collapsible/foldable totes. I always keep a couple in my car or laundry room (easy to grab on the way out). They fit so much more than standard reusable bags and they are more structured so your groceries won’t roll and flop all over the place in the trunk. They’re also wonderful snack bags for road trips. They’re very sturdy and well made and last a long time.
Canadian here, New York's school year is closer to ours, I always think the folks who go August-May are the weird ones! School starts the day after Labour Day! *bangs gavel*
I'm a teacher so yay summer! I have gone to a surprise mini baby shower (I refuse to call it a sprinkle, ugh) for my sister-in-law, and am enjoying breakfasts and reading on the balcony until it gets too hot outside. I'm taking a professional course this month and going camping.
Reading right now: The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden; holy shit good.
Just finished Farenheit-182, Mark Hoppus's memoir, because I am nothing if not an elder pop-punk Millennial.
I either have way too many bags or not nearly enough. There is no between.
Getting my week with the family at our favorite lake with a favorite uncle…and while I have to work a few days, grateful I can remote in and it should be a quiet week so we are able to do it. I’m putting the youngest to bed while everyone else is playing Barbie monopoly and I’m just relishing the simple pleasures.
We went to the beach a couple weeks ago with my parents, grandpa, and sister’s fam for our first week out of school. When away from the house, my kids got along great but they were incredibly resistant to separating to different activities even when they cannot stop bickering.
This week they had their first full week of day camp, and my 6 yo was very tired and cranky by the end of the week but my oldest has gotten more used to the routine after a few summers. It’s the first year of both of them going to camp.
We go back to school the first week of August because of an extended year schedule and we have another beach vacation with the in-laws and I’m interested to see how it goes when we have more cousins around.
I read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell in the last couple weeks. Atmosphere was slower than I expected but I still enjoyed it and it made me want to read more about NASA in the 1980s. I also randomly started reading Animorphs a few weeks ago when my mom got them out of my old books for my 8 yo. They hold up well!
My granddaughter gets out of school before Memorial Day but goes back on August 4. She had camp put on by the school district in June. We have her during the day for all of July. I have her signed up for lessons and classes in the mornings so I won’t feel bad about screen time when it’s too hot to be outside.
If you have to carry the bags on the bus, you will always bring the correct number because you can’t carry more than that. Not sure this method is transferable to drivers but my grandmother taught me this early and it stuck with me.
Haha so true! And yet, if you're a city shopper, it doesn't get better than CITY CARTS aka grandma trolleys or caddies: wheels and sometimes lined with freezer bag material (idk what it's called)!
This! My issue is that when I get home the bags have to get schlepped up several flights of stairs, so I bring exactly as many as I can carry in one go when they have groceries in them.
My 17 year old daughter and I had an interesting conversation about the word privilege yesterday. We currently expect it to do a lot of work these days in a way that renders the world less helpful. It covers immutable characteristics (whiteness) and personal achievements (education) and things in between (weight? Health?). Similarly, we ask "trauma" to do a lot of work covering very different things.
I came late to "The God of the Woods" party, but it really lived up to the hype.
I'm sure I'm not the only who misses the old days when all schools were roughly on the same calendar. I get the practical reasons many areas have shifted the school year, and for those who take family trips during summer vacation, it probably makes things less crowded and less expensive. But I still miss having that shared experience across the country (yet another challenge for maintaining non-local friendships).
Reading Jurassic Park right now because I'd never read a Michael Crichton novel and that seemed like a good bet.
The trick about the bags is to leave a set in your car, altogether in the largest bag, and grab them all right before going into the store. We had to do this nearly 20 years ago (carless in SF) or else had to buy a 10 cent paper bag which I was loathe to do because they were flimsy and I had to walk two blocks with my groceries. Now we are old hats. We buy the biggest sturdy canvas bags for groceries. I always have a small foldable bag in my purse, just in case. When we did this in a state that doesn't care about the bag thing, we got stares 😂.
My summer has been good! We have been trying to host a low-key Sunday dinner almost every week of summer to try to feel more connected to our buddies, which has been cool. I have a goal of spending more time in water than I need to work on. Though I did go to the lake yesterday. I read Sandwich by Catherine Newman and Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo recently, which were both absolutely awesome books. And they are both about like moms with teen/young adult kids so it was cool to read them close together.
Low-key Sunday dinner sounds so great!
Just reread Sandwich for a book group and liked it even more the second time.
Park Avenue by Renee Ahdieh was fun and twisty.
Neko Case's memoir The Harder I Fight the More I Love You was beautiful and bittersweet, just like her lyrics.
Harriet Tubman Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen was an unexpected and thought provoking delight.
Now working on Dawn Staley's memoir Uncommon Favor.
Love Bob the Drag Queen!!
I loved Harriet Tubman Live in Concert! It's definitely worth doing the audiobook.
Hi Virginia. Is the jumpsuit you are wearing the Bohdi Jumper or the Hanna Jumpsuit? Thank you
Hanna!
I haven’t finished a book in years (little kids), but absolutely burned through the audiobook of Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy. It was a universal rave in my book club.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve talked about divorce privilege with my divorced mom friends. We’ve been house shopping, and no joke I sometimes look at duplexes and wonder if my husband and I could figure out some kind of alternating weekends arrangement.
Your shopping cart looks great, all those patterns are so fun. My bag collection is old and worn, but I find the most useful style is the traditional square ones you get at the grocery store, with a piece of plastic (I have cut a cardboard box to fit as well) in the bottom for stability. Some are that reusable thinner 'cloth' and some are thicker plastic, but they all fold flat.
The only way I can remember is to keep a few on the floor of the passenger seat so I can see them, and more in the trunk. Once you really get into the habit, it's second nature. I even bring them clothes shopping at the mall (I have larger ones I reserve for that purpose).
Aspire to this!!
I definitely don’t want to dissuade you from that lovely colorful cart but I am obsessed with CleverMade collapsible/foldable totes. I always keep a couple in my car or laundry room (easy to grab on the way out). They fit so much more than standard reusable bags and they are more structured so your groceries won’t roll and flop all over the place in the trunk. They’re also wonderful snack bags for road trips. They’re very sturdy and well made and last a long time.
Canadian here, New York's school year is closer to ours, I always think the folks who go August-May are the weird ones! School starts the day after Labour Day! *bangs gavel*
I'm a teacher so yay summer! I have gone to a surprise mini baby shower (I refuse to call it a sprinkle, ugh) for my sister-in-law, and am enjoying breakfasts and reading on the balcony until it gets too hot outside. I'm taking a professional course this month and going camping.
Reading right now: The Safekeep by Yael van der Wouden; holy shit good.
Just finished Farenheit-182, Mark Hoppus's memoir, because I am nothing if not an elder pop-punk Millennial.
My summer reading has been Erin Hart’s books in the ‘Nora Gavin’ series of mysteries… first one called “Haunted Ground”
Ancient Bog people, archaeology, recent murder victim bog person, Ireland…. So good!
The black cherries are super good right now and the ice tea is super icy. Yay!
I either have way too many bags or not nearly enough. There is no between.
Getting my week with the family at our favorite lake with a favorite uncle…and while I have to work a few days, grateful I can remote in and it should be a quiet week so we are able to do it. I’m putting the youngest to bed while everyone else is playing Barbie monopoly and I’m just relishing the simple pleasures.
We went to the beach a couple weeks ago with my parents, grandpa, and sister’s fam for our first week out of school. When away from the house, my kids got along great but they were incredibly resistant to separating to different activities even when they cannot stop bickering.
This week they had their first full week of day camp, and my 6 yo was very tired and cranky by the end of the week but my oldest has gotten more used to the routine after a few summers. It’s the first year of both of them going to camp.
We go back to school the first week of August because of an extended year schedule and we have another beach vacation with the in-laws and I’m interested to see how it goes when we have more cousins around.
I read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid and Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell in the last couple weeks. Atmosphere was slower than I expected but I still enjoyed it and it made me want to read more about NASA in the 1980s. I also randomly started reading Animorphs a few weeks ago when my mom got them out of my old books for my 8 yo. They hold up well!
My Big Fat Fake Marriage is so cute! My review on Reading While Fat is here: https://readingwhilefat.com/2025/03/16/my-big-fat-fake-marriage/
My granddaughter gets out of school before Memorial Day but goes back on August 4. She had camp put on by the school district in June. We have her during the day for all of July. I have her signed up for lessons and classes in the mornings so I won’t feel bad about screen time when it’s too hot to be outside.
If you have to carry the bags on the bus, you will always bring the correct number because you can’t carry more than that. Not sure this method is transferable to drivers but my grandmother taught me this early and it stuck with me.
Haha so true! And yet, if you're a city shopper, it doesn't get better than CITY CARTS aka grandma trolleys or caddies: wheels and sometimes lined with freezer bag material (idk what it's called)!
This! My issue is that when I get home the bags have to get schlepped up several flights of stairs, so I bring exactly as many as I can carry in one go when they have groceries in them.
My 17 year old daughter and I had an interesting conversation about the word privilege yesterday. We currently expect it to do a lot of work these days in a way that renders the world less helpful. It covers immutable characteristics (whiteness) and personal achievements (education) and things in between (weight? Health?). Similarly, we ask "trauma" to do a lot of work covering very different things.
I came late to "The God of the Woods" party, but it really lived up to the hype.
I'm sure I'm not the only who misses the old days when all schools were roughly on the same calendar. I get the practical reasons many areas have shifted the school year, and for those who take family trips during summer vacation, it probably makes things less crowded and less expensive. But I still miss having that shared experience across the country (yet another challenge for maintaining non-local friendships).
Reading Jurassic Park right now because I'd never read a Michael Crichton novel and that seemed like a good bet.
The trick about the bags is to leave a set in your car, altogether in the largest bag, and grab them all right before going into the store. We had to do this nearly 20 years ago (carless in SF) or else had to buy a 10 cent paper bag which I was loathe to do because they were flimsy and I had to walk two blocks with my groceries. Now we are old hats. We buy the biggest sturdy canvas bags for groceries. I always have a small foldable bag in my purse, just in case. When we did this in a state that doesn't care about the bag thing, we got stares 😂.
Great tips! Our city eliminated plastic bags, and it has motivated me to get into these habits.