Hello, Monday My Old Friend

I'm still trying to rally, but there are some things going well and I'll focus on the good this Monday morning. 

Brunch with the kids was a lot of fun. We sat outside on the patio under a huge tree canopy that shaded the entire area. My grandson kept looking up and pointing to the canopy -- it was beautiful. I walked to the restaurant which makes me happy. Kids drove me home and stopped over to play for a bit. 

I spent some time looking at options for a fall vacation. The plan is for me to tag along on hubby's Europe board trip, but dates and location were switched and I don't think it's going to work out. I looked at heading to Maine instead -- hiking, day trip to Canada to visit my aunt and uncle, pretty little towns, cool weather. I'll run this by him today. He got home after midnight from his HS reunion in PGH this weekend.

Finally did a catch up call with my long time friend (used to be my best friend) -- she's the one that the relationship is strained. It was better than expected. Things are still prickly, but I think we're moving in the right direction now. I'm tentative, but hopeful. I miss our relationship.

Library shift to close out the day. Always fun. I get "paid" in books and I bought a few classics for $3 each. I've seen this binding in a lot of boutique stores. Very pretty for display and great books. I also got a couple of books for hubby (not pictured -- Grisham and Follett). It was quite a haul. These library stores are such a good place to purchase books.

I sold the blackout shades we used before the shudders were installed. I wanted to donate them, but no place I tried needed such specific window treatments. If I donated to Goodwill, who knows the measurement for their windows to buy them? FB Marketplace for the win. I didn't want brand new shades ending up in the landfill. $10 for $300 worth of shades -- someone got a good deal. Glad to have it off my to-do list. 

Today is a work day of sorts. Volunteer stuff is going full strength right now and I need to submit a report earlier than expected -- I'll do some of that today. I also have chores to finish. 

I'll throw in some ME stuff too. Rock painting is in progress -- need to dry before next steps. I have 2 books almost finished and I want to do a little day reading so I can move it along. Library book pickup too -- I'll walk over. 

I have a couple of projects around books I need to figure out. Organization of my finished book list -- rating, little description, easy to look-up. My brain can't keep track. I also want to organize my embarrassingly large TBR pile. I haven't had luck with my ideas so far. Started and scrapped because they weren't working. I have next ideas to give a go. Not a fix for today, but I want to dig a little deeper into the ideas. Both problems are bothering me because they feels like clutter -- my current book list is a mess, my TBR is all over the house.

I didn't register for the big hike on Saturday. The route changed because of closed trails and it became too technical and long for me right now. If it wasn't summer temps, I might have given it a go. I don't think I can do 13+ miles with 4 miles of technical trails at the end. I haven't been doing a lot of longer hikes with my schedule and the heat. I'm disappointed, but I need to be respectful of my limits to avoid getting injured. This is why I try to hike a lot to be ready for bigger hikes. I still plan a hard hike on Saturday, just not that hard.

That's all from here. I got up early to be ready for a morning run. I haven't run in a few weeks. If I don't get out at first light, it gets too hot to be worth it. It's the last thing I want to do this morning and I know it's the best thing I can do to start the week on the right foot. 

I love Mondays and I hope this is a start to a better week. Everything is good, but I'm not able to appreciate it. Hormones are such a bitch right now hah! Later gators.