Saturday in the Garden | Play Time!

OUTSIDE

It's been one of those glorious weeks that just makes you thankful you live in this world and especially in a temperate climate.  Sunny, highs in the mid-60s to lower 70s, crystal blue skies.  It's hard to argue with springtime.

Last Sunday I got the rest of my planting done and mulch spread which is basically the bulk of the springtime work.  It is my second favorite moment in gardening - everything in and growing and I can just sit back and watch it.  (My favorite moment is of course harvesting but this comes pretty close).  I still have a lot to do in the garden but the important stuff is accomplished.  I ended up planting: Radishes, Sugar Snap Peas, Carrots, Kale, Green Beans, Lima Beans, Tomatoes, Peppers, Swiss Chard, Lettuce and garlic.  Everything is up except for the beans.

GAK

I have the next 9.5 days off from work!!!!  I am staycationing which I do at least a couple times a year.  I find stepping away from work and having the energy to get the house and my personal life a little more organized helps me re-focus and be better at my job when I return. I still always feel a little guilty though.  Regardless I needed this break and  am super happy about it.  I have a big long list of productive things I need to do - oil change and a cleaning for the car, eye exam and new glasses, freezer cooking, clutter purge and some of that additional garden work - but am struggling a little bit with fun, relaxing things to do.  I think I am going into both a reading and TV slump at the moment, which is just cruel timing.  I will undoubtedly do both of these things as well as some blog post writing but I'm not super excited about it at the moment.  I have a jigsaw to work on, some plans with friends and maybe a hike somewhere new. I have a couple of adult coloring books I haven't yet dived into.  Hmmm... None of it is really thrilling me.  So what would you do for fun if you had 10 days off work and all to yourself?  I'd be interested in some ideas.

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

Watching 
Xerox from last week - I'm in the throes of an Arrow hangover so not watching much of anything.

Reading

Finished Last Week:

• The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater:  This was really lovely.  I'm glad my instant repulsion to Shiver was a fluke. 
• The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians #5) by Rick Riordan:  A really nice conclusion to this middle-grade series.  

Currently Reading:

• One Magic Square by Lolo Houbein: A gardening book about maximizing food production in a small space.  An ARC from Netgalley (though I think it's an older title).   
• Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson:  A non-fiction account about the sinking of the Lusitania.  I'm all about boats.  And disasters. I'm DNFing this for now because it was really boring me.  I was also super annoyed by the reader who infused all these needless and artificial dramatic flourishes into his reading.
• Murder in Chinatown by Victoria Thompson (Gaslight Mystery #9):   A favorite standby historical mystery series set in turn-of-the-last-century New York.
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood:  I'm surprised I had not read it before.  This audio version is read by Claire Danes who has a really pleasing voice.  Is the cover above badass or what!?
• A Quiet Life in the Country (Lady Hardcastle Mysteries #1) by T.E. Kinsey: Set in the early 1900s in rural England - mysteries investigated by a Lady and her maid.

Added to the TBR:

This is a list of books that I have added to my Goodreads TBR list this week.  It helps to burn the books I want to read a little more firmly into my mind, maybe get them on some other folks TBRs and gives me a chance to recognize a lot of the awesome bloggers that add stuff to my TBR!

• Rendezvous on Noxus (Ride the Gizi Book1) by S.A. McNeill:  This looks like a potentially fun space opera recommended by Tiara from The Bibliosanctum.  
• The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi:  This got a great review from Mogsy at The Bibliosanctum and I've read lots of other great things too.  A tale inspired by the Hades-Persephone myth which automatically makes it sound good to me!
• Deadly Love (Francesca Chaill #1) by Brenda Joyce:  This book came up on the Help A Bitch Out feature on Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and looked pretty intriguing.  Romance/Mystery series.  

Blogging 

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

TUESDAY: Top Ten Tuesday | Whimsy and Anarchy - about books picked up on a whim.
THURSDAY: Review of Longbourn by Jo Baker.  It was fantastic!

Have great week!