Each Friday I try to gather up little bits of joy from the week and share them here. It’s been another trying week, hasn’t it? I almost want to go out on a limb and say that this has been the longest week ever, but then I’d worry about jinxing things! And still – there have been a few bright spots this week.
We’re wrapping up our 18th week of homeschooling! We haven’t been perfect, but we’re learning more discipline every day – all of us! On my agenda today: lots of reading and baking oatmeal raisin cookies. Sounds like a delicious end to our school week.
I recently learned that you can subscribe to The New York Times Crossword Puzzle. Friends, this has been a welcome addition to my morning. I do a quick pass through it while the kids are eating breakfast. I sit down with coffee for a second look after we get home from taking Colton to his treatment center and the kids are having a morning snack (we live like hobbits and it’s awesome). Then when Matthew wakes up (he works nights and sleeps in a bit during the week), he takes a pass at it. And then we work on it together… sometimes all throughout the day! It’s been fun to have something we can work on together that’s not related to feeding everyone or cleaning.
Gretchen recently reminded me to watch the recent American Masters episode on Laura Ingalls Wilder. It was fascinating. Wilder’s life was so much more traumatic and difficult than what’s portrayed in her books. They had historians and writers who talked about the reality of her difficulties and parsed the racism portrayed throughout the series. It feels like I have a much more well-rounded view of LIW thanks to the time spent with the documentary.
Earlier this week I mentioned that I started watching All Creatures Great and Small on Masterpiece last Sunday. It was exactly what I needed last week and I’m anxiously awaiting the second installment this Sunday!
Okay, friends. That’s it from me this week. I hope your weekend is quiet, refreshing, and full of the things you love!
The Cozy Burrow 
Part of my morning routine is doing the NYT mini puzzle through the app (I’m cheat and don’t pay for the full puzzle). Some days I’m really good — like yesterday, when I finished it in 14 seconds — and some days I’m abysmal, but it’s always a fun activity.
Thank you for the recommendation on that American Masters episode. I’ll look for it on the PBS app — I’ve been needing some new things to watch!
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I am going to watch the American Masters episode this morning while I sort though some things that need to be organized (keep, give, toss!) And I too LOVED All things great and small!! It was so good! (and thanks Sarah for sharing the mini puzzle is available for FREE!)
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I hope you enjoyed it! American Masters sounds like the perfect background for organizing. I’ll be thinking of you on Sunday night when the next episode of Masterpiece airs!
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I am hopeless at cross words, but I love the idea of you working on it together, what fun. The day has to be broken up with little somethings, to quote Winnie the Pooh. Have a great weekend.
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I love Pooh – thank you for that quote 🙂
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I love the idea of living like hobbits! And…if you subscribe to the NYT games, have you ever played the Spelling Bee game? It’s how I’ve started my morning every day since the pandemic began, and I love it. There are seven letters, and you make words of 4 letters or more, always using the center letter. The goal is to reach Genius level, which differs every day, or you can aim higher, for Queen Bee, which means finding all the word combos.
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I love the Spelling Bee game! Some days are really hard, but I always try to at least get the pangram, ha! Thank you for bringing it up!
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I love the NYT crossword! Sara and I actually finished a few of the Sunday ones and it felt kind of like a lifetime achievement thing. I love the idea of it being a team project and maybe I need to look into the subscription for me and Marc. on another note – I read someplace this week (and ugh I can’t remember where) that paying attention to the little things is a key to finding joy. and you’ve clearly found that key. thank you for sharing!
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Finishing a Sunday crossword puzzle is a total lifetime achievement thing! Congrats!! I think the subscription would be fun for you and Marc. I print out the puzzle every morning and leave it on the kitchen counter throughout the day. It’s a good thing to sit down with when I’m tempted to sit down with my phone!
And I think I heard that line somewhere too! And that’s exactly what I’ve been trying to do 🙂
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I’ll have to try and watch that American Masters – sounds fascinating!
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Off to check out that documentary on LIW right now—what a perfect activity for my Sunday evening, especially as my kids are down for bed and my husband had to leave for work for the week. Thanks for sharing! (And I love this series idea, btw–we all need a little more joy in our days now, so thanks for reminding us!)
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I hope you found it and enjoyed it!!
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