We do family dinner once a week with 7-8 people. Here are some ideas that work for us: Chef's salad with garlic bread Pizza kits with toppings - I can make from scratch but usually try to find a kit that doesn't have allergens Nachos - top your own and microwave - does create a bit of a traffic jam, but you can also do on a cookie sheet in the oven, then top at the table Spinach casserole with rice pilaf Carnitas burritos (boneless pork ribs in the instantpot and shred) Spaghetti, sauce with sliced sausages in it, salad on the side And we usually have fruit for dessert

I should add that State of Terror got better once the crisis hit. That was a LOT of balls to keep in the air!

I was the surgery driver this week -- dd#3 had knee repair surgery and dh had a dental implant....and dd can't drive for a month and can't work for 6 weeks (lifeguard/swim teacher is her summer job). She's going to go stir crazy! Anyway, plenty of waiting around to read. I just started State of Terror by Louise Penny (of Gamache fame) and Hilary Clinton. So far it's a crisis stuck onto the obama years (or what she's dreamed the Biden years will be) with frequent shots at Trump's administration (names all changed, of course). Also how hard the lot of a female Secretary of State is, getting respect from all those men. At least, that's the way it reads to me. Despite loving Louise Penny, I am not sure how far I will get into this one as it seems rather self-serving of Hilary at this point. Maybe it will improve? Also read The Coldest Case by Martin Walker, the last of the Bruno novels my local library has on overdrive. I have enjoyed every one of the Bruno stories, the food and the friendships and the meticulous way Bruno draws on his local knowledge to put the pieces of an investigation together. I wish he would get over Isabel and find somebody to share his real life. Makes me want to visit Dordogne...well, maybe. I'm not that much of a brave traveller. And I read A Note Through the Wire, based on a real story of a Kiwi POW in WWII and a girl in the Slovenian resistance. You know their relationship works out from the beginning because the story is written from letters and journals and stories by their son-in-law. Sort of spoiled the suspense for me and it wasn't that engaging to me because it stuck mostly to events rather than feelings. Kate Mosse's Citadel was much more engaging...but it was written as historical fiction not an actual retelling. Ah, well, time to pack my go-bag for the summer....I'll probably not unpack it until November so I have to choose carefully. BTW, another vote for How the Penguins Saved Veronica! Read it with my book club and I too didn't care for it at first but the relationships really grew on me as we saw deeper into the characters. And a PS - State of Terror got better.

May was covid month at our house -- thankful we all were vaccinated and boosted before it hit us, but we were still out for a couple of weeks! Now that I'm feeling better I'm ready to unpack the books I had to box up when we were moving furniture to get the flooring replaced. It will be like greeting old friends again. 8-) I've finished A Taste for Vengeance, the last of the Bruno Chief of Police novels set in southern France. I greatly enjoyed these, but despite all the talk of foie gras, I am not persuaded to try it. I really liked the prehistory and medieval history that helped so much to establish place as well as food and culture. I will be waiting eagerly for the next ones. Right now I'm working on Murder in Retribution by Anne Cleeland. I do like quirky characters!

I loved those books! I only found a couple online, used, and affordable; they were all in my library growing up. Have you seen the movie "The Silver Stallion"?

Another, more recent historical mystery: Faith Martin's Ryder & Loveday series, set in early 1960s Oxford. Ryder is a coroner, retired for surgery due to his illness and concealing parkinson's disease. Loveday is one of the first female constables in the police force and gets assigned to help the nosy coroner because none of her superiors want to give her a "real" job. They make quite a detective pair. I read Anne Rice's The Wolf Gift, which was way more metaphysical than I thought it would be. Feeling no need to read the next book in the series. On to The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick, recommended here. I wish I could submit recommendations to my library more often than one every 8 days! Y'all give me so many good ideas!

I've been tied up this week with a public safety biometrics conference I am attending with the guys I work with. I started with them in 2020 just as the lockdown started and this is the first time we've gotten to meet in person. So that was fun, and my ds's company redid their web site so he came to take proper pix of all of us for the web site. An excuse to get new clothes for me!! And for the guys, they were all finding out how their suits fit post-pandemic. Not well, is the answer. I just started The Good Wife of Bath by Karen Brooks and am enjoying it so far. A bit earthy and bawdy but it improved after the first chapter or two. Purported to be the "real story" behind Chaucer's Canterbury Tale of the same name, and he does appear as a character in the story. Just finished a couple of alternate history/fantasy novels by Chloe Neill. The heroine, Kit Brightling, is a foundling who has become a ship's captain in the alternate world Anglish navy, who has an Alignment that allows her to direct currents in the English Channel. The Anglish are fighting someone named Gerard who is an alternate Napoleon sort of character. The two titles are The Bright and Breaking Sea and A Swift and Savage Tide. I would happily read the next one to find out if Kit actually marries the Viscount she professes to despise at first but learns to appreciate. The author's also written some vampire fiction set in Chicago, I understand, but in general I avoid vampire stuff so somebody else can tell me if they've tried those and what they think. I think my next book will flip back to mystery as I have several of those in my library checkout list.

We used Latin for Children 1-3 starting in 4th grade with my last kid, did some Aesop Hodie simple translating / read aloud, and then moved on to Latin Alive 1. Latin Alive's translations are very history oriented. It was really tough for my kid and we stalled out a few units into Latin Alive 2. Not having any background in latin (my college language was French), I just didn't feel there was adequate support for me as a teacher or review for my student. We fell back on an old college textbook, Latin via Ovid, with its textbook and just kept reading and translating, called it Year 1 latin and done. The plan was always that dd would do a modern language at community college while in high school. DD chose Spanish and said that she felt that her latin grammar and vocabulary served her well. Out of 4 kids, that was the best review I had of my latin efforts, LOL.

Robin M - I have The Bone Shard Daughter on my kindle this week from the library and am excited to read it! Mystery series -- I loved the boxcar children and loved re-reading the early ones with my kids. Our library had a special red boxcar that held copies of their collection. Happy Hollisters was a favorite of my childhood but, sadly, not at my local library. My sister is 12 years younger than I am and when I had my first job I would take her to the bookstore at the mall on payday and buy her Trixie Belden books. I think she still has some of them. I started The Shadow of the Wind by Zifon based on someone's recommendation here. I am finding it pretty convoluted and rather slow. The dialog is interesting but I have never enjoyed magical realism -- and that seems to be where this is going as real-life and literary characters converge. Should I push on?

I went back to work p/t @ age 63 -- mostly due to dh's layoff and the pandemic. But now that he's employed again, my $$ are going to fix all the stuff on our house that we couldn't afford to do for years. In a way, that's a contribution to retirement, since the house is part of the eventual nestegg. The plan is to relocate and buy something with the equity so we're also working on paying down the mortgage. It's really been a blessing as the windows had to be done and the carpet is worn out and this month we found out rats had gotten at the ductwork, which required an exterminator AND new ducts. None of that was in the budget before. Besides which we are so NOT empty nesters as 3 out of the 4 young adults are living with us. Not what we expected, but a joy.

I just finished Shadows Reel myself and it was just...too short. I liked that the historical stuff was based on real people, but it just didn't seem to have the suspense of some of his other books. Bit disappointed. I felt the same way about Shadow Mage by Kate Elliott, which I read this week -- too short. In her case, I think it may be an intro to another series of books that will further develop the fantasy world, but I found it unsatisfying. I read a couple of Connie Berry's Kate Hamilton mysteries, set in England, with a heroine who is an antiques dealer from the US meeting up with a detective from Sussex and figuring out whether they can build a life together....along with solving several mysteries. I enjoyed these. Taking a non-fiction break, I'm reading Japanese Farm Food by Nancy Singleton Hachisu. She's from the SF Bay area, married a Japanese farmer and has stayed active in the foodie scene. The recipes are simple and straightforward. I would make more of them if I wasn't cooking for a family that includes soy and peanut and sesame allergies!! But I spent a summer in Japan years ago and it's a bit nostalgic for me.

I *left* the workforce at 40 to do f/t homeschooling and spent the next 20+ years doing it. Picture returning to the work force during lockdown at age 64! Lots of women do have resume gaps. I covered mine by calling myself a tutor -- I did teach small group english classes and develop materials for them some years, so it's not too out of range and fits with my particular job goals. I was able to reconnect with work colleagues after years away, and am working p/t with them now...at my old rate of pay too, but hourly. As far as being the oldest in a class, in grad school I would consider that a big advantage. You have a much different perspective and it will enrich the class time. Getting to know your teachers in office hours may be a lot more accessible to you than younger students, and they can make great job networking and references too. I really think they are lucky to have you in that program! You might be able to ask some friends to do practice interviews for you. My husband belonged to a professionals networking group when he was unemployed and they would tape each others' mock interviews and critique. It sounds like your biggest challenge is figuring out how to be positive about the skills and creativity needed to homeschool, no apologies. Your life pattern is unique and that means you bring something unusual and beneficial to the table. You can also talk about being energized by learning and how much fun you're having, how much you look forward to really committing to your career. Employers love to hear that, love a mindset of diligence and learning and growth.

Another dd is an in-school aid for a high schooler with cerebral palsy. Interviewed and hired on the spot for that position. Note, she's working for a private organization that supplies the aids, not directly for the school district. But because she's done elder care and has a CNA she knows how to cope with transfers to/from wheelchair in bathroom, use a lift if needed, etc. These are the things that bothered previous hires, so they are very happy to have her.

My youngest got the first job she interviewed for last year, as a server/barista at a local bakery/cafe for breakfast/lunch crowd. She ended up quitting that job last month because they were constantly understaffed and over-managed. Today she had an interview for server at a local inn...interviewer assumed she was starting asap and didn't even *ask* her about whether she wanted to work there, just whether she could start training next week. In our area, at least, tourism is starting back up and the job market is jumping!! How are things in your region?

I read "Courage Under Fire" by Lindsay McKenna, because the cover reminded me of a CJ Box type story. It was really a romantic suspense and at first I thought it would be interesting because ranches and beekeeping were involved. HOWEVER -- do characters really talk like that???? Apparently women who want to be respected and treated like equals are "matriarchal" and men who want to dominate are "patriarchal" -- and sniper marines must also be eco-conscious and make their own glass water bottles and hire lots of women wranglers. I couldn't figure out which PC angle I was supposed to be following. This author is a hard no in the future!! I also read "The Latinist" by Mark Prinz because, well, it turns out it was about a classical scholar in Oxford (not anyone from south america) and a very obscure Roman poet, who turns out to be a poetess, and an academic rivalry that turns out to be a bit of a reversal of the Apollo and Daphne myth in the present day. The middle is a bit slow, but the twist at the end, oh my! The ending was [deliberately] quite abrupt. DH is off on a trip this week, his first with the new job. He's really looking forward to it. And youngest dd is job hunting. That book by the death investigator in Marin County piques my interest, as does Red Notice. I keep running out of recommendation allowances for online books at my library!

I read House of Shadows and The Last Daughter of York by Nicola Cornick this week. I must say, I really enjoyed both of these historical semi-fictions. House of Shadows carries 3 or 4 different narrative times and character threads forward, alternating between them. That took a bit of getting used to, but she did tie it all together at the end. This week I've needed a reason to escape the news, so I got some new yarn too and I've started a baby blanket while I read.

I think Putin is a horrible man in love with the idea of the old USSR (former KGB) and both he and his constituency in Russia are aging. From what I've read, many in the older generation of Russians are nostalgic (WHY?) about the pre-1989 USSR, but the younger generation are appalled at what is happening. To keep his "dream" alive, Putin had to move while he still had power to make it happen. On the other hand, their memories of the Soviet past are exactly why Ukrainians are fighting so hard. They would rather die than return to that, for themselves or their children.

We had a young man from Ukraine lead prayer this Sunday for his country. His brother is still there, escorted the women and children to the Polish border and had to leave the car and walk due to amount of traffic. They walked 20 miles!!! to get to the border. And then the brother headed home because no men of military age are being allowed to leave the country. He will fight for Ukraine.

Reading Liaden Constellation V, which is an anthology of previously published short stories and novellas. This is really a re-read for me, since I have read most of the short stories at least once already. I think I may pick up Peter Enns' The Sin of Certainty, which my brother in law recommended. But, for now, I have superbowl snacks to make. Happy football to those who indulge even if (like us) it is only once a year.

Actually this year they passed a modification to prop 13 for commercial properties, which also affects family businesses and the housing on them. It's having a negative effect on family farms and ranches in the more rural part of our area. And even with prop 13, taxes do go up; they just don't go up very much...2% of house value a year or some such. But we have another $1K of bonds (at least) on our property tax bill on top of the actual tax. Our monthly property tax set aside each month is akin to a house payment in less expensive areas of the country. A lot of people in our area have moved to Idaho, where it is now a LOT more expensive than it used to be. Supply and demand, baby. I watch our neighborhood prices and compare them to prices in areas where we'd like to retire....as we go up, they go up too, and especially in the last couple of years. So much for our hope of buying a retirement home with our equity...well, unless we compromise somehow. The discussion is ongoing.

We moved here in 2010, around the bottom of the housing dip, paid $400K and complained how this area north of SF was so much more expensive than SoCal. The home we sold for $300K is now listed at $850K and our current home (more square footage, smaller lot) is listed at $800K. In 12 years, we've seen *a lot* of appreciation. Fixer-uppers in our area, even those needing a lot of work, are now in the $500K range. But our equity still won't be enough to allow us to move near family, so we are looking outside of the west coast for retirement. Sigh. OTOH, I am so very thankful to still be IN the house after the 10 months of unemployment in 2020!! Much to be grateful for.

Many thanks. Those are some great recommendations! My library wish list grows ever longer! I am regularly bidden to wait before making any more recommendations, so I add those to my Amazon wish list, LOL.

I like having a reading nook - a chair with a small end table or a desk where I can put my coffee mug. I also appreciate NOT having flat pillows, and having a variety of sizes available. I usually sleep with a body pillow, a shaped foam pillow for my head and another smaller pillow as well. If I'm flying, can't take the pillows with me so I need *options*. I do appreciate all the suggestions. Our current "guest room" is a blow-up air mattress in the family room, LOL, and the downstairs is only 1/2 bath so overnight guests have to share the master shower. Someday we may have empty rooms for guests, LOL. ETA: If the bed is high, please consider a step stool for us short people. This is another reason for having a chair to sit in rather than just the bed.

I've been enjoying a fantasy series by Helen Lowe. The first two were at my library; I was *forced* to buy the third and immensely frustrated to find that another book is still in process (or at least Amazon doesn't list #4 and the author's page has no info). The books are The Heir of Night, Gathering of the Lost and Daughter of Blood (no, there are no vampires). The premise of a group of warriors moving from one world to the next and not thinking much about the consequences to existing residents reminds me of P.C. Hodgell's books, but the world is quite different. I really enjoyed these. However, the last one came out in 2016, so who knows if or when #4 will arrive??? Oldest dd's boyfriend brought his car to school with him after New Year's....and promptly had the catalytic converter stolen. Please avoid ever parking your car on the street in San Francisco!!! Repairs are apparently over $2K with a 3-4 month waiting list for the part and the presumption of another theft once the repair is done. He's trying so hard to finish his degree but it's an uphill battle, especially as he's a first-generation ESL student who moved here when he was 15. Anyway, I just feel for him. Really, I think all my life I've taken for granted the gift my parents gave us of a college education. My dad went to college on the GI bill and he was so determined to make education a priority. Homeschooling was just sort of the logical progression of that in the next generation, at least for us. Sorry, that was a big digression from "books I've read." I'm moving on to My Dear Hamilton for this week, a book club read. Wishing for more fantasy with good, strong worldbuilding.

Speaking of window seats, Jack London's home in Sonoma, CA is equipped with a reading nook style window seat in EVERY SINGLE window!! On both stories, by the way. The House of Happy Walls is a great place to visit. From there you can hike to the skeleton of Wolf House one way and to the cottage at Beauty Ranch (owned by London) another way. https://jacklondonpark.com/jack-london-museum/