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What I’ve Been Up To
I can’t remember my last update, so
Job
I became full-time at my job which I needed but because of the commute wasn’t worth it except as a temporary opportunity in case the full bank buy transition would open things up, so I was still actively looking especially since I was took my Cold War with my bosses to more of a warm one. I didn’t get any change and couldn’t wait, so I accepted another position at another bank with improved conditions, and then literally on my 3rd to last day, I was offered literally exactly what I wanted, full-time and the nearest location (like 5 minutes) to my apartment.
It’s an improvement on the last year, especially the beginning of this one, but it’s not well-paying. It would have been a great entry-level job for a recent college grad interesting in climbing up in the banking world. For me it’s a decent temporary solution.
Learning
So, I’m also enrolled in a local web development course. I’d taken courses in college, but it wasn’t worth the cost, and I changed direction, and I’d studied on my own, but kept running to ground on Javascript. And this offers networking and job search help. Thus far, I’m really hopeful.
Lifestyle
I have more time and more knowledge, so I’ve managed to start a little grow pot garden on my balcony from purchased plants, and I’ve now successfully planted the basil seeds Mom gave me, they are tiny, but they did germinate.
I finally purchased some Jovial einkorn flour. And I just started day 1 of their sourdough started, and I’m trying this recipe while I wait for my started to grow.
I tried sauerkraut, but I need to try again. That’s all I’ll say for that experiment.
I finally got Bjorn groomed, so he’s been “reset”, so now I’m trying to get him brushed almost every day. He was a little ragamuffin.
Fun
Just normal family gatherings. And a family wedding which was the most fun I’ve had, because I care less than I’ve ever done (which is still too much) about what people think and was forcing myself to try and not think about it and just enjoy.
So my reading has been abysmal this year. Between less time, lack of focus, and lack of books that can really pull me in, I’ve read a whopping 16 books this year and one of those was a graphic novel. The graphic novel and a nonfiction book were definite winners. There were a lot of meh books. I need to find more wins, especially that introduce me to new authors where I can just read about any of their books and enjoy it. So, I’m focusing on that.
Miscellany
I felt like we hardly had a spring last year and it got hot too fast, but I think that was because it rained so much more than usual all April and May as if we were England (seriously, I looked up rain amounts). Well short spring this year, because 80’s in the beginning of May, I’m not sure if we’ve reached 90 or not, but we might before the end of the month. Awesome, I love being steam cooked.
I learned in Virginia that a pineapple is a sign of hospitality, at least for some of the South (clearly not this lady). Well, I learned (at work, here I was thinking banking was going to be so prim and proper) that an upside down one is the sign of TOO much hospitality. In short, it means you are open to swing. As in swingers. I’ll leave you to mull that one over.
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Summer Aesthetic, Themes, and All Things Summer ☀️
I’m having SO much fun planning and filling out my season Evernotes based on the categories I made. I think I’ll modify each and put them as a page during each season. The movies are a list of movies from other bloggers’ summer suggestions plus anything else summery that I think I might like, so these are movies I haven’t watched and can’t vouch for, just possibilities. I need to do this for new to me books next year. I welcome any Summery suggestions for any category as well!
Holidays
- 4th of July
- Family birthdays (mine and 5 others thus far)
- Midsummer
- Labor Day
Themes
- Sunshine
- Beach
- Island
- Adventure
- Safari
- Tropical
- Jungle
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Animals, Zoology, Oceanography
- Nautical/Navy
- Pirates
- Westerns
- Summer sports movies
- Vibrant, vivid
- Bold, brave
- Happy
- Picnics
- Island
- Farming
- Country
Rereads
- A Tangled Web 2021
- Blue Castle 2021
- Abby books 2021
- Eight Cousins duology 2021
- Ivanhoe 2021
- Katherine Paterson books 2021
- Key to Extraordinary 2021
- Mother 2021
- Much Ado About Nothing 2021
- Snicker of Magic 2021
- Tangled Web 2021
- The Borrowers 2021
- To Kill a Mockingbird 2021
- Ashtown Burials 2021
- Leepike Ridge 2021
- Annie Henry 2022
- Little House books 2022
- Boys of Blur 2022
- Dianna Wynne Jones Books 2023
- Mo and Dale Mysteries 2023
- Witch of Blackbird Pond 2023
- 100 Cupboards 2023
- Stratton-Porter Books 2023
- The Hunger Games 2024
- MM Kaye 2024
- Jane of Lantern HIll 2025
- Magic for Marigold 2025
- Corfu Trilogy 2025
Movies/TV
- Summer-y sports movies
- Baseball
- The Natural
- Moneyball
- Angels in the Outfield
- 42
- The Sandlot
- A League of Their Own
- Field of Dreams
- Football
- We are Marshall
- Remember the Titans
- Rudy
- The Blind Side
- Friday Night Lights
- Tennis
- Wimbledon
- Golf
- The Greatest Game Ever Played
- Caddyshack
- Soccer
- Bend it Like Beckham
- Baseball
- Westerns
- Destry Rides Again (1939)
- Along Came Jones (1945)
- Texas Across the River (1966)
- Support Your Local Sheriff (1969)
- North to Alaska (1960)
- Angel and the Badman (1947)
- Gunfight in Abilene (1967)
- The Virginian (2000)
- The Sheepman (1958)
- Saskatchewan (1954)
- Hildago
- Only the Valiant (Peck!!!)
- Beachy/sea
- Nautical
- Gregory Peck Horatio Hornblower
- The Horation Hornblower TV series
- Master and Commander
- 1940 P and P
- Dirty Dancing 1 and 2
- Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Grease - Footloose
- Indiana Jones (actually summer)
- Fisherman’s Friends
- The Dig
- Aquamarine
- 500 Days of Summer
- Little Miss Sunshine
- Pompeii
- The Hannah Montana Movie
- Roman Holiday
- Say Anything
- Monte Carlo
- The Parent Trap
- Walking on Sunshine
- Crazy Rich Asians
- Stand by Me
- Adventureland?
- The Notebook
- A Room with a View
Summer playlist
- Here is my current one. Almost 100% Country or Country bands covering pop songs. That is just Summer to me! Well, when I’m in the mood for music. Which is like at most one day out of a given month.
4th of July Playlist
- I’ll work on this next year, gather up some of the ones I’ve linked on past Independence Day posts.
Activities/Events
- Farmers Market
- Picnics
- Lakes, beaches (except I prefer them cooler?!)
- Swim with Bjorn
- Peach and berry picking
- Shop local
- Travel my state
- Drive in movie
- Gardening, picking, canning, and such
- Make ice cream and sorbet
- Tennis lessons
- Horseback riding lessons
- Work on my balcony, summer furniture painting or DIY projects
Taste/Scent
- Citrus
- Berries
- Fresh air
- Summer florals
- Garden produce
Drinks
- All types of lemonades
- Iced tea
- Cordials, punch, and such
Food
- Sandwiches
- Barbecues, grilled foods, cookouts, that type of food
- Tacos, taco soup
- Colors
- Bright berry and citrus and floral type colors
- Bright ocean and beach colors
- Ice cream!
Flowers/Plants
This will vary by hardiness zone; use drop down to find Europe, Australia, Canada or US zones. I’m making a list of flowers I’d want to plant for each season for my area with details about the height of flowers and sun and shade. I found a helpful list on a state college’s horticulture site for garden flowers. Also, aren’t some of the common names of flowers absolutely glorious, like Bachelor’s Button. Snapdragon. Michaelmas Daisy.
Fashion
Styles
- Nautical
- Beachy
- Maxi
- Vintage play suits
- Palazzo pants
- Summer-y boho
- Not so much my style, but animal print, explorer/safari style fits well with summer. Actually, since I’m rereading The Ashtown Burials series by N.D. Wilson, I’m loving all the adventure style clothes, maybe I’ll have to incorporate some into next summer’s wardrobe.
Fabrics/Textures/Prints
- Florals, brighter than Spring
- Polka dots
- Nautical
- Stripes
- Cotton voile
- Linen
Nail Polish/Beauty
- Bright colors
- Sheer, jelly shimmers in bright colors
- Self tanner?
Jewelry
- Nose rings
- Toe Rings
- Anklets
- Beach glass
- Minimal jewelry
- Metallic temporary tattooes
Decor
- Fresh flowers!!!!
- Bowls of fruit
- Seashells, sea glass
- Baskets
- Gauzy curtains
- Polka dot or checked or striped table cloths
- Outdoor living mainly
- Hammocks
- Gardens
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Summer Bucket List and My Art Journal
Watch tons of Classic Hollywood movies
This should be easy!
Read at least half of Classic Club list
Hmm. Not a priority.
Make lots of art and crafts
Well, I’ve put a lot of pressed flower art in my art journal, worked on redoing my first quilt, and worked on dresses for my sisters’ birthdays.
Spend time outside: stargaze, watch the sunset, swim, swing, catch lightening bugs, sleep outside
I’ve spent some time, but I need to make it more of a priority.
Dance
You would think this would be easy.
Go on several day-trips
I’ve been to the zoo and a baseball game at our local university, and I want to plan one for my birthday.
Jane Austen Festival and local art festival
I’m doing the latter for certain..
Go on or at least schedule one major vacation
I meant myself, but our family is going on one in January
Take a trip with my grandparents
Work extensively on genealogy
Make frozen custard
I should’ve focused a bit more on, um, less costly options.I had tons of pressed flowers, so I’ve worked on tons of pages for my art journal. I’ve rather more pressed flower pages than I would like, but I’m still learning this art journal thing. These are my best pages to date (05/26/2017), I think.
Didn’t that iris press gorgeously?!
My paper back copy of the Jane Austen novels split, so I decided to use the pages for crafts.
