May Overview
1.
Signs of Spring:
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| Robin |
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| Sunbathing squirrel |
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| Sean Spicer? Is that you? |
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| Melting snow |
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| Flowers ready for planting. |
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| Dogs chillin' |
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| Orchids blooming |
2. Hoarding:
Buried in Bank Statements. May started out with Spring cleaning. I
decided to tackle the drawer that I’ve been cramming “important” stuff into for
. . . a decade. I found so many bank statements! I switched to online banking
years ago. Where did all these things come from? Why are there so many of them?
Do I really need to remember that time in 2008 when I had $16 in my account? I
don’t think so.
3. Depressingly
Relevant Discoveries. While cleaning, I also found this flyer that my
best friend made for the 2004 US presidential election. Please note that my
friend and I were not old enough to vote in the 2004 election, so if anyone
ever tells you that teens don’t care about politics, that person is a dirty
liar. We campaigned hard for Mustard. Unfortunately, he (she?) was narrowly
defeated by every single other candidate in the race.
4. Couch
to Running Girl. At the beginning of May, I finally succeeded in
running 5k without stopping or walking. Then I switched from running on a
treadmill to running outside. Who knew that running outside was so difficult?
Who put all those hills, and wind gusts, and children out there? My first 5k outside
run kicked my ass, especially because for part of it, a dozen kids ran ahead of
me, screaming. I felt like the slowest cow at The Running of the Bulls.
Motivation, I guess. Run faster! Gore those happy children!
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| I'm the brown one with the horns. |
5. Fun
with Rabies. I came into possession of a wrinkly apple, so I
cut it up, stuck it on the fence, and photographed what came to claim it.
Books I Read
I was so distracted by squirrels in May that I forgot
to read. I only finished six books.
The
Library at Mount Char – Scott Hawkins
Harry Potter
and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling (reread)
There
Once Lived a Mother Who Loved Her Children, Until They Moved Back In: Three
Novellas about Family – Ludmilla Petrushevskaya
The
Lottery and Other Stories – Shirley Jackson
The
Ghosts of Heaven – Marcus Sedgwick
Black
Dove, White Raven – Elizabeth Wein
I also made progress on my reading challenges.
Click here to see how I’m doing.
Best Books Of May
1. Harry
Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – J.K. Rowling (reread)
2. The
Ghosts of Heaven – Marcus Sedgwick
3. The
Lottery and Other Stories – Shirley Jackson
Most-Viewed May Reviews
Most-Viewed May Non-Reviews
All The Things!
All The Things (AKA number of unread books on my
TBR shelf) = 30 books.
I’m currently reading Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel.
What did you do in May?
I love all the pictures!!! Can't wait to hear what you think about The Lottery. Have a great June :)
ReplyDeleteThanks! I really liked The Lottery.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I love squirrels-they are so cute! We get them in our garden too. Love that bit about the slowest cow! Funny! I love watching the idiots at the Running of the Bulls every year...it's crazy stuff!
ReplyDeleteYeah, The Running of the Bulls is one of humanity’s more . . . unusual . . . activities. Crazy people.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Love the squirrel pics and congrats on your 5k!
ReplyDeleteAnd I hope you like Station Eleven. I enjoyed most of it :-)
I enjoyed most of Station Eleven, too.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I always look forward to your wrap-ups. Between the pictures and the humorous stories, it's always such a fun read!
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Aww, thanks. They’re my favorite posts to write.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I love your little squirrel visitor. How cute. My mum and I were chatting about squirrels the other day, she said they were just rats with good press, hehe.
ReplyDeleteI have one of those drawers too. It still has all my stuff in it from when I was unemployed six years ago. Somehow I don't think that'll be relevant for me now. I did clear my bookcase a few months ago and found two year old receipts and flyers which I'd held onto for some unknown reason.
Cait @ Click's Clan
I agree with your mum. Squirrels are rats with nice tails. They get into people’s attics, chew wiring, spread disease, eat _everything_. Good thing I like them.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
The squirrels are fantastic. The city I just moved to is also filled with them. They are definitely fun to watch. I think I may have also forgotten to read a bit this month lol
ReplyDeleteYeah, reading was hard in May. I was too distracted by life. I’m hoping June will be better.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Sean Spicer lol. Yay for melting snow (SNOW???) Yikes hope that's over with. :)
ReplyDelete"Gore those happy children". Oh my gosh this is cracking me up. The look on that kid's face... like oh $%^&! And what's that yellow thing she has in her hand? That pic is killing me...
Yep, snow. It snows here until late May. It might be bubbles in the girl’s hand? She’s from a meme called “Chubby Bubbles Girl.” Someone photoshopped her into The Running of the Bulls.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I love all the pictures you've shared - spring is a beauty. Six books is pretty good for the month. The Lottery and Other Stories is the next Shirley Jackson book I have my eye on, so glad to hear you enjoyed it. Happy reading in June!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I hope you like The Lottery.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Hi AJ - I recovered from the April A-Z ... and other things like sorting life out! Well done on the run - that's good news ... and that photo is from a horror story! Cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteI also spent a lot of time in May recovering from A-Z. I didn’t write posts for about 2 weeks. I was exhausted.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
You have a beautiful dog, congratulations on your run, and only 6 books (I read only 2, both non-fiction--The Blood of Emmett Till and a biography of John Knox).
ReplyDeleteAww, thanks. I love my dog, even though she’s very devious and gets in all kinds of trouble.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
We completely skipped spring and went straight to dog days of summer here (FL)
ReplyDeleteI've done couch to 5K and I can't say I did much better lol I cna do it but it isn't pretty.
And I've been wanting to read The Ghost of Heaven for a while now.
For What It's Worth
Couch to 5k is hard, isn’t it? I’m the worst runner ever. It works, though. I can run 5k now.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I love your wrap-up, showing us bits and pieces of your world, as well as your books.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me! Even though I tackled old bank statements a while ago, something tells me I need to do it again. I do online banking, too, so why haven't I gone "paperless"?
I like the look of There Once Was a Mother Who Loved Her Children....
Sounds tempting.
I have no idea why I had so many bank statements. There were probably a hundred of them in that drawer.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Being distracted by squirrels that you forgot to read is probably the best thing I've heard in a while LOL.
ReplyDeleteI’m very easily distracted . . .
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Wow! That's a lot of squirrels in your garden!
ReplyDeleteHere’s my Monthly Wrap Up!
Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog
There are squirrels everywhere here. So many squirrels.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I love your pictures! Your dog is absolutely adorable :) I sometimes find weird things in my house and wonder why I kept it as long as I did. I am pretty sure that I don't have any old bank statments though. Have a great June!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I’m usually good at throwing things away, but I guess I like hoarding bank statements for some reason.
DeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
Aww, your dog is so cute, and so's the squirrel :)
ReplyDeleteAnd I can definitely relate to drowning in bank statements...I have drawers full of random paperwork, pay slips, and mostly old bank statements. I really should get rid of them all, but it just seems like such a facing going through them all (and that's if I can even get the drawer open!)!
OOOH! I love these signs of spring. It's been summer here in India for SO LONG now that we're all pretty much burning.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love how you do your wrap-ups and I'm go glad you loved three on the six books you read!
Aditi @ http://athousandwordsamillionbooks.blogspot.in/
My family call squirrels 'squiggles' - because my mother is a lot of fun ;) (Unfortunately, my cat also thinks they're awesome... and they're nearly as big as her!)
ReplyDeleteMay seems so long ago. I wish I had befriended squirrels, though I did spend two days chasing a bunny around my cul-de-sac along with all my neighbours before it's owners finally came to claim him. I may have managed 5k in that time. Hope you enjoyed Station Eleven, I really did when I read it.
ReplyDeleteI think your monthly wrap-ups are so much fun every time. I do enjoy your photos and I call the squirrels around here tree rats. I laughed so hard yesterday that I cried when I spied two black birds chasing a squirrel around our yard. Apparently this rodent needed to be taught not to approach the nest. I too must organize now that school is over. So much paperwork to shred. I recently read and enjoyed a picture book series by Adam Rubin--the first books explains it all--Those Darn Squirrels! is the title.
ReplyDelete