The thing about getting a puppy is that they take up all your time! When you add in that August is traditionally a busy time at work, we had a vacation starting at the beginning of September, and school started in early September, it’s no wonder I’m just now getting this posted. You’ll just have to appreciate the three adorable pictures of Barnaby the Bernedoodle to make up for it (and the almost total lack of reading this month).
I can’t really even have an entire section dedicated to Books and Bookish Things this month because I only finished one book and barely started the one after that! For the most part, I think we were just exhausted from having a puppy, who then got sick and so any time I had to read I was either checking on the puppy or sleeping (who finally seems to be lasting through the night without potty breaks.
The one book I read was a galley I requested so many months ago and finally got around to it.
I’m glad I read it because it had a happy (for now) ending and most of Grimsley’s works seem to be much more tragic and traumatic than hopeful so this was a wonderful departure for me. It was also a good reminder to go back and read the rest of his oeuvre because he really does Southern Gothic well and I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would after the re-read of Dream Boy earlier this year.
Similar to reading I did minimal crafting this month, I’m talking maybe 10 rows on a scarf that I’ve been trailing for ages because Barnaby (like all small young things) wanted to eat the yarn and that was NOT a good idea. Thankfully, I got him to lay at my feet and got those few rows done.
The other fun thing I relearned with the new puppy is that he will try and eat ANYTHING. Not only all the random gross stuff on the streets where we live (he’s gotten better about it already), but so many other things that we didn’t even think of until we were on a quick trip to Maine to look at a camp: rocks, wood chips, sticks, pinecones, leaves, mushrooms. You name it he tried to eat it, but the funniest by far is when he’s in a field of grass, he doesn’t eat it but rips it out and throws it. Seriously, hilarious.
What’s Next?
I’m not sure how much leisure reading I’ll be able to do outside of manga and romance novels because my brain is already fried and I’m barely two weeks into class. I can spoil next month and let you know I’ve already read FIVE TIMES as many books thanks to a puppy-free and mostly WiFi-free vacation 😀 Either way I’ll catch you in a couple weeks with a recap of the this month (and hopefully have actually posted book reviews by then).