Another Whirlwind of a Week

After a really fun and busy 10 days away, I returned home Sunday night. I did my best to jump back into my routine, but as I write this, I'm feeling grateful for a rainy Saturday to put my feet up and recover. Our weather has certainly been strange this year! This summer has been abnormally warm, wet, stormy, and at times tornadic. On Monday, we had severe storms with more tornadoes in the area. I was home with Cocoa, and we watched the storms roll in around lunchtime. They blew up quickly, and there was no indication of how severe they would become. My area was spared the brunt of the storms--not everyone was so lucky. 

I'm ready for fall...

Time on the Water is Time Well Spent

What a whirlwind of a week, with lots of traveling--to Wisconsin and then to Alabama. I had family time, followed by friend time. There was a lot of time on the water between kayaking, waterskiing, floating, and boating. I couldn't have asked for more. Summer is so short, and we have to squeeze it all in!!!

Vacation Time!

I worked Tuesday and Wednesday this week, and then I started my stretch of 10 days off. WOO HOO! I got a lot of busy work done on Thursday, and on Friday, we hit the road for a long weekend with the boys and girls in Door County, Wisconsin. You may remember my parents had a lake house up there for many years. Sadly, my parents decided a few years ago to sell it. It was really hard to say goodbye to a place that was part of my life for so long. My youngest son was sad as well; he has returned there several times since. 

Earlier this year, he proposed a family vacation to my hubs and his brother, citing the big changes that will be affecting them this fall. He will be starting medical school, and his brother and wife will be welcoming their first child! Life will certainly be different for all of us, and he thought it would be great for all of us to go away together. The hubs and I told him to look for a place, and he found one, on Lake Michigan. It's time to make new memories!

An Uneventful Week

What? Uneventful? It was nice to get a break from the daily onslaught of family drama. I don't think it's over yet, but it was nice to focus on other things. 

It was back to running for me on Wednesday! The blister has mostly healed, and shhhh... my knees have been quiet. Now if the humidity would drop...

My 20 Mile Hike...and the rest of the week

What a week! It started off well, with my successful completion of the 20 mile Mammoth March in Wisconsin on Sunday.  But when I returned home, I discovered a very large blister on the back of my heel. My tendinitis in my right knee also flared up. I took a rest day on Monday and went to the pool on Tuesday, which helped me feel better. There was no running this week, while I allowed myself to recover. A brutal heat wave arrived on Monday, with 'feels like' temperatures into the 100s, making it a lot easier to lie low!

Mini Book Reviews: June 2026

Disclaimer: I received copies of The Children, Heather, and Villa Coco from NetGalley and the publishers. This post contains affiliate links.

I started this month with high expectations for my reading. I had some really good NetGalley reads lined up and hoped to catch up on some backlist reads. But The Calamity Club found its way into my library holds, and excited, I dug in. I probably should have DNF'd it, but I was determined to see it to the end. It took me a long time to read, and heading into July, it leaves me falling behind on my prereleases again. So many books, so little time!

Hands down, my favorite book this month was Whistler. Ann Patchett is one of my favorite authors--her prose is beautiful and tells a compelling story like so few authors. Reading it reminded me of how much I love to read!

In My Head

I dialed my miles back this week in anticipation of tomorrow's 20 mile Mammoth March Wisconsin. I'm also nursing a few niggles and did not want to make things worse. Off the road, the family situation continues to weigh on me, and I believe that the stress is taking a physical toll. I didn't realize it until someone pointed it out to me, but my confidence has also dropped (see my strength fails below). 

I'm looking forward to a full day in the woods, off the grid. Hopefully, this will help me reset. I'll share all the details on my IG and in next week's blog post.