What I'm Into (April 2014 Edition)

I thought I'd start off with a picture of Spring in Colorado. As I write, it is April 30th and it's snowing.

I really enjoy reading about what Modern Mrs Darcy is into at the end of each month. I don't know why it's taken until April this year to compile my own list, but now I'm excited to do so. I think it's really interesting how each month carries it's own interests and fleeting fancies. Each new month may propel us into new growth and it's worth looking at what captures our attention monthly.

Books
Since I mostly talk about books these days, I'll start with what I'm reading:

World War II is just endlessly fascinating. There are so many facets, details, and vantage points that enlarge the whole World War II experience. This novel is written in first person plural and I can't decide how I feel about it. In some sense, it does give the reader some distance on what was happening in secrecy in New Mexico, but the first person plural makes for a strange and sometimes difficult narrative.

Year of No Sugar is one of those I-did-something-super-duper-hard-for-a-whole-year-and-I'm-going-to-write-about-it memoirs. Let's face it. Sugar is ubiquitous and it's definitely wreaking havoc on society. Type II Diabetes levels are epidemic, but I'm really uncomfortable with ultra-restrictive diets. I'm only half-way through this one and I know I will have way more, probably complicated, thoughts on this when I'm done.

I also just finished reading The Giver. For decades, I deliberately skipped this Newberry winner because I just didn't like the cover. I don't think I even read the back cover to get a sense of the story. I simply dismissed it. What a mistake! I'm really looking forward to the film adaptation, with Meryl Streep, this Summer.

I'm not sure how I feel about this movie logo. I think it gives the sense that it is more sci-fi than it really is.

Watching
Don't judge. I'm watching Dancing With the Stars. Good grief, It's totally cheesy and a certain ice dancer (Meryl Davis) might have some unfair advantage, but it's really a lot of fun and some levity is in order. I'm really enjoying watching Paralympic snowboarder, Amy Purdy and her dance partner, Derek Hough. She's amazing. I mean,  I can barely walk in heels, but she makes dancing with prosthetic legs look almost effortless.

American Idol is coming into the home stretch and yes, I'm still watching because Harry Connick, Jr is a judge. Is it crazy to say that I really only watch to hear what Harry has to say and I don't really care about the singing that much? Yes. It probably is.

Pondering

I discovered that you can Google why a little fat robin keeps smacking into your sliding glass window. This little guy has been driving me crazy for a few weeks with his suicidal behavior. It turns out that he's not suicidal, but very territorial. He sees his reflection in the window and he thinks it's another robin and well, that other robin in the window has to go. After all the years in my house, I've never noticed this behavior by robins. The window smacking is intense and my little robin has turned into an alarm clock.

Summer Project

Last summer, I had to tear down my garden (the Veggie Vault) to make room for the new deck. Gardening at this altitude (8600 feet) is difficult in the best of circumstances. Over several years, I had limited success with carrots, strawberries, kale, tomatoes, etc.(There are pictures of my former Veggie Vault here on my blog, if you're interested). The sad truth is that my little veggies just didn't get enough sun and I would have had to move the garden at some point even if we hadn't rebuilt the deck.

Honestly, I'm just not motivated to get the garden up and running again right now. So, instead of my wallowing in my gardening woes, I've found my new project. Of course, I'm going to need a lot of help from my husband, but I think I've inspired him too. I want to build my own Little Free Library.  It's just a little box, usually shaped like a house, but inside, oh inside, there are books. Neighbors can freely take a book or leave a book. I'm really excited about this an I've been pinning Little Free Libraries on Pinterest. I've printed out some plans, but honestly, I'm more excited about deciding which books I want to put in my little library.

Take a book. Leave a book.

Cooking

The day before Easter, I took a class on how to make French Macarons. They are pretty involved, but oh, they have such deliciously complicated textures and flavors. I made pistachio orange-ginger macarons and I assure you that all of those flavors are exquisite together. Now, these aren't really everyday cookies, but they are beautiful, lovely, delicate, feminine...The colors scream Spring.

Scrolling back through my posts for 2014
After scrolling back through my 2014 posts, I realized there were a few books that I mentioned in various book posts that got sidelined. I had to return Anything That Moves back to the library. Sam was not enchanted with Ella Enchanted. I never really got off the ground while reading The Goldfinch and I'm not sure why I just got side-tracked while reading The Night Circus. It's really good. I also temporarily put down Longbourn. 

I have accepted that I'm a binge-reader. I read a little of everything. I've accepted that I read crazily and greedily.

On the nightstand right now:

All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenting //Jennifer Senior
The Devil Wears Prada // Lauren Weisberger
Dear Mr. Knightley  //Katherine Reay
Reading in the Wild: The Book Whisperer's Keys to Cultivating Lifelong Reading Habits // Donalyn Miller
When Women Were Birds // Terry Tempest Williams

There's more to come on these books, I'm sure, well,  unless they get side-lined for something else or I have to return them to the library!

That's what I'm into in April.