The Accidental Domestic Goddess

I Finally Read It

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

It’s been sitting on my shelf for a while. I’m working on my own Beauty and the Beast retelling, so I was hesitant to risk the influence, but decided it would be better to know if my version is similar. It’s not.

I avoided spoilers, so I had no ideas about this book other than it involving fae. I’m not really into fae court stories. They’re a kind of disturbing I’m not really interested in exploring. I’m more vampires and witches.

Honestly, it’s not a bad book. I loved a lot of the twists on the original story. There were some genius ideas in there. The main character was compelling and a pleasure to get to know. Family relationships were more than plot fodder. The world was easy to believe.

It was difficult to motivate myself to finish. I had picked up on there being shocks at the end and my curiosity kept me going. I had to know if I would find it shocking. I didn’t. Some of it I knew was coming. The rest just wasn’t a surprise. That doesn’t mean it was bad, just that I’ve been reading crazy stories for a long time.

My dad read mostly science fiction and horror, usually blended. He kept short story collections in the bathroom (I grew up in a town where it was suspicious to not have reading material in the bathroom). I was allowed to read anything. Those stories still curl my guts from time to time. Those were shocking. I was also a kid.

I think if you’re younger, not an avid reader, or just looking for something to read, this is a good book. I mean none of that insultingly. There are all types of readers who deserve books written for them. I’m not mad I read it. Maybe I’ll read the next one. I hear they get better. But, eh.

To The Sleeves!

Folded sweater with the beginning of a sleeve.

I’m losing steam, but am almost done. The sleeves are deliberately snug to help hold the sweater in place and accommodate for some stretching. So rounds are quick and the sleeves short.

The body is going to need some good blocking to open up. I don’t like the look of buttons on this style, but a toggle and loop button might work. Or a pin clasp. I’m still thinking.

Cables, yarn overs, and purl/knit variations on the back of the folded sweater.

Sweaters really are my favorite thing to make. I’m even ok with sewing some seams these days. I just prefer knitting all in one piece for the body so I don’t lose interest halfway through. These folded sweaters are my newest favorite. Simple and quick.

April Roundup

They were all comics. Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and Wonder Woman.

The Buffy comics bother me. I’m not going to read any more than I have. I’m all set with the show and the movie. Spoiler warning! They have no idea how to handle female sexuality. The queer inclusion feels like a male fantasy. It’s like no one even knows bisexuality exists, or how we actually operate. I’m really disappointed in them.

The Angel comics were actually pretty good. I might read more at some point, but I’m not racing out for more. I liked where the story went and the characters are all there being exactly who they are. Honestly, it feels like Joss Whedon was very involved with the Buffy comics, but not so much with the Angel ones.

Then there was Wonder Woman. I’ve said it before, Greg Rucka creates an amazing story. So far, one of my favorites. All the characters are great and the storylines are exactly what Wonder Woman is.

And that was April. I was actually pretty busy, so this was great for keeping me reading.

I’m counting all of the volumes I read as 3 books. That brings me to 16 books so far! That’s wild! When I first got back into reading after having babies and toddlers to tend to, I did a reading challenge for 26 books in a year. I read 22 that year and was so excited! I hadn’t read a single book in years when I did that. Now look at me!

Worth the Wait

Therapy night is always hectic. I try to have a plan for dinner and time it so we can eat in the little window between appointments. Sometimes I’m successful and we eat at 5:30. Other times not so much, so we eat at 7:30.

Ground beef patties with onions, garlic, and seasoning. The carrots and potatoes were roasted with oil, honey, and herbs. A little BBQ sauce and it was delicious.

Gardening Is Changing Me

I really didn’t want to, but it had to be done, so I might as well while it’s nice. Met a couple creepy spiders, a few big, juicy worms, a couple roly-polies, and plenty of other crawlies.

Since feeling this real desire to garden, I knew I’d have to make peace with my dislike of such creatures. I’m amazed at how well I’m doing. It’s the calm of acceptance. And research.

I’m rather proud of myself. Even when I’m not enjoying the task, I’m happy to have chipped away at remaking our garden for us. We have finally settled into our new home, and town, and are entering a new phase of our lives. I’m finding joy in really new ways.

Now, I just have to cover it up before plants start reasserting themselves in the space.

Breakfast, Lunch, and a Couple Dinners

Making the food budget stretch is becoming more and more of a magical art form. Grocery shopping is a true horror at checkout. The years of endless dinners are wearing me out. But we need to eat well or we’re all an unstable mess.

I’m pretty excited about how many meals I got out of these six chicken breasts and a few fresh ingredients. First thing is cooking all of the chicken that night. I baked it, covered, with oil and seasoning. One was so large it wouldn’t fit with the others, so I let it cook with cream of chicken soup in the crockpot.

First dinner was rotini pasta with an oil and herb dressing, roasted Brussels sprouts, and chicken. The pasta was a little sweet. The veggies garlicky. And the chicken spicy.

Next night was chicken with roasted potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots. The kids love their broccoli.

I made chicken salad for lunch and a couple after school snacks. Apple slices, hard boiled egg, and crackers were the perfect beast tamer.

Leftover chicken pasta with broccoli and cauliflower.

Lastly, I reheated the leftover pasta with some chicken from the crockpot (which had been stored properly after cooling) and added broccoli and cauliflower with cream soup and some spices. A sleepy meal.

I made a few other meals with some of these ingredients, like egg and broccoli potato hash, and egg and tomato potato hash. I’m feeling pretty accomplished at the moment.

List: 6 chicken breasts, small bag Brussels sprouts, small bag red potatoes, bag small carrots, head cauliflower, small broccoli bunch, box rotini pasta, two cans cream of chicken. Eggs and apples, too. That’s basically it. I still have a lot of cauliflower. I think I might rice it and make a beans and rice with corn and tomatoes.

Another Sweater

Body of the sweater in beachy pinks and blues with a dark purple in the middle.

It’s been a while since I picked up my needles. I finished a sweater that left me in a slump. It’s fine, just that post-project-yuck. Then, inspiration hit, I bought some yarn and haven’t really stopped since.

I love the self-striping yarn, but I really wanted certain shades in certain places, so decided to sit and ball up the colors ahead of getting to the collar hem and the sleeves.

I managed to find enough hair clips to secure the yarn ends and save myself from all the accidental unraveling. I’m keeping the darker shades at the edges and lighter shades in the middle.

Pale grey and white with pale shades of purple.

The sleeves will be pale purple at the body, blending into the grey and white for a long cuff. I’m aiming for a lightweight summer sweater for our cooler days and evenings. It’s been nice to knit again.

I’m Gardening!

I heard my wonderful neighbor out mowing our lawn and so I went out to clear the grass of hazards. Since I was already out getting dirty moving rocks, I decided to try to tackle at least a small patch of the garden.

It’s not much, but with the sun beating down and a bee that wouldn’t leave me alone, I’d say it’s a job well done. Maybe I’ll do a little more later. When the bees are settling down.

The basil is really growing. Happily pushing out to say hi. The parsley and oregano are slowly joining in, but we’re still waiting to see any sage. It’s all quite exciting!

Moody Reader

Comic Volumes: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Wonder Woman

I found myself in a bit of a reading slump. I have been doing so much research, I needed a break. The book I had picked up wasn’t cutting it, so I picked up some comics.

I’ve never read the Buffy ones before and felt like giving them a try. They’re not bad, but they have Joss Whedon all over them. While I can still enjoy the show, I’m really not into reading something that is obviously out of the writer’s depth. It just gets weird. I gave up on the fourth volume.

At least Greg Rucka doesn’t disappoint. I have several of another Wonder Woman series he did and it’s one of my favorites. He gets it. The art is amazing too. Between the story and the drawings, I lost myself in these two volumes for a couple days. I love the Minotaur.

I thought it might be fun to try Angel next. It appears to be written by a fan with Whedon’s approval. I’m enjoying this way more than Buffy. I think it’s easier to tell Angel’s story this way. I’m actually enjoying characters I really didn’t like in the show.

Since finishing all of that, I decided to give up on the book I wasn’t really in the mood for. Thinking about it, I decided to finally give A Court of Thorns and Roses a try. So far I’m enjoying it. I can see why some don’t like the writing, but it seems to be working for me.

Books in March

I started the month finishing my second read of Blue Moon in the Anita Blake series. This one is a good one. Definitely a favorite comfort read. I will say, the shocks are more shocking this time around. I think it’s a sign I’m getting older. And Anita is just fantastic. I love seeing the beginning again.

This was a fascinating read. The many rounds of Irish immigrants coming for different reasons with each wave, how the two countries influenced each other more than we’re made aware of, the ingrained and leftover English hate for the Irish apparent in the generations that followed the colonists.

I also finally understand that the fighting between the Catholics and the Protestants was not about faith, but heritage and culture. That the English Protestants were the invaders and the Irish Catholics were the invaded. There’s so much more to it, but I never understood the why. Now I get it.

I’ve also done so much research reading again. So many books I’ve scanned, reread, and took apart. Reread my notes and written pages again, and again. It counts as two books for my book count.

I finished the month with another reread. I’ve gotten back into Ever World by K. A. Applegate. The same author of Animorphs, one of my all-time favorite series from my youth. I can’t recall why I stopped reading, but I’m fairly certain there is an end to this series. I just never got there. Hopefully book two gets returned to the library soon. I’m eager to remember what happens next.

A total of five for March. I’m really proud of that and we’ll see what April brings. Happy reading!