I hope all of my American friends had a nice July 4th!  We kept the day very low-key, but it was nice to have a long, slow weekend, and I enjoyed watching some of the festivities in clips online.  I have spent years in the past going to see fireworks displays, but I find I don’t really want to sit in traffic and fight the crowds on a hot summer night.  I’d rather stay at home and listen to the pops and whizzes.  Both in Pennsylvania and Minnesota, we knew of overlooks where we could watch the local fireworks free from on-street parking and queues.  We haven’t found that place in Maryland, yet, and the boys aren’t at the age where they really care.

I worked at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom when I was a teenager, and the fireworks I got to see nightly sort of ruined all other fireworks for me.  I usually danced in the nighttime parade, which would run twice each night during the summer months.  The park would shoot off fireworks each night between the two parades.  My friends and I would race from the end of the parade route to the beginning, climb onto a wooden platform used for staging characters on the taller floats, and lie down to watch the fireworks.  It was the best way to take a break before we had to get ready for the second parade.  On July 4, Disney would set off fireworks from all around the perimeter of the park, and it was spectacular.  I’ve never seen their equal.

Here are my four things for this week: A Girl Called Samson, Alone, summer backyard, and painting.

what I’m reading

I sort of feel like reading novels has become my guilty pleasure, which is why I had a strict no novels except on vacation rule for years!  Oh man…I keep thinking this will be the last one for a while, because it’s infringing on my sleep, and I could spend an entire day with my nose in a book when I should be doing other things, but I keep finding just one more to “check out.”  Next thing I know, I’m sneaking one more chapter.  I’ve read a lot over the years, but I mostly stuck with non-fiction books related to decorating, art, design, creativity, gardening, etc., that didn’t have a plot that left questions tickling until I could read more.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I’m a quick reader, so I can get through books pretty fast, but then I’m craving another.  At some point, I’m just going to embrace it and not apologize for reading a book that has nothing to do with work.  I think my work has been tangled with my reading, art, home, gardening, cooking, etc., for so long that I feel guilty when I let something just be a hobby.

I am now a few chapters into A Girl Called Samson by Amy Harmon, and I just love it.  I love how it’s written, the main character, and how the story is unfolding so far.  It’s available on Kindle Unlimited for Kindle & Audible, so I’ve been able to listen to some of it on my walk and read the ebook when I have the time.

what I’m watching

Season 13 of Alone is out, and Jeff and I were so excited to start watching it!  As I’ve shared before, it’s one of our favorite shows.  Last season was a bit of a disappointment because the location (Africa) was even more brutal than usual, which made it less enjoyable to watch.  In this season, they are back up around the Arctic Circle and selected a location that offers prime hunting and better resources.  Struggle is inevitable since the contestants are living completely alone off the land with limited tools and materials, and we have found the show is more enjoyable to watch when there is some level of success with harvesting food.  Otherwise, you’re just watching a starvation contest.

I find a lot of inspiration from this show… seeing how individuals cope with loneliness, solve problems, and create a sense of home in the wilderness.

what I’m loving

I have loved our backyard this year.  I’ll share a full post of my June gardening notes, but when I was thinking about what I’ve been enjoying this week, our backyard is what came to mind.  We put a ton of work into it over the last few years, and it feels like this year is when that work is really paying off.  All the beds that have been established, cleared out, and weeded look so good.  The plants and bushes I’ve been adding over the last three springs are filling in their spaces nicely.  And, even though I don’t swim in it very often, I love the pool.  Whenever we move in the future, I don’t think I would want another pool to maintain, but I do love having this one in this season of life.  I find it to be peaceful, relaxing, and inviting.  I don’t really even mind the regular attention it needs.

what I’m working on

While I’m always jumping around between different aspects of my work, I’ve been focusing this week on painting and getting works available for my next online art sale while still working through my commission queue.  I had other things that required my attention in June, so I didn’t paint daily, but I’ve committed to painting daily in July to produce more works.

I have some pretty cool projects coming up, like participating in my first gallery show and partnering with an animal shelter on a fundraiser for August’s Pup Club Print.

Here are a few pieces I’ve completed this week…

What have you been reading, watching, loving, and working on?