What Did You Do This Weekend?
How was your weekend? A few months ago, a lovely CoJ reader named Molly asked if everyone could share weekend recaps now and again. Here’s mine, and please share yours in the comments, if you’d like…
Our weekend was busier than usual! Our beloved old babysitter Carolyn came to visit from Kansas City. She stayed with friends but stopped by our place for a squeeze. How sweet is her baby Bernie??
Nailed it, haha.
That evening, Freddie and I watched A Separation, a 2011 Iranian film about a tough chapter during a marriage. Have you seen it? The acting was phenomenal, and although four people were in conflict, you understood everyone’s perspective, which is what made it so beautiful and devastating.
On Saturday, Anton and his friend gave themselves a hilarious personal challenge: run five miles, bike five miles, win a Fortnight game, make a steak, bake a cake. And they did it all!
Inspired by Jannelle, I also tried a scarf. Not sure I pulled it off, but it was fun to play around with it. (Cool travel ones here, too.)
The next morning, Anton and I went on a little adventure to Central Park. We ended up walking around and renting a row boat. Anton snapped a photo of himself and said, “This is how dads take pictures — just your frowning face in one corner of the shot.” Made me laugh so much.
Finally, on Sunday evening, my bff Gemma from London came to visit with her older two boys.
I got her room ready, and we ended up lying together and catching up.
Then we ordered pizzas, and I made a salad with lettuce, cucumbers, and feta. Freddie’s taught me how to shop the fridge for ingredients and not be nervous to just combine things. That probably sounds really intuitive to most people but wasn’t for me!
And how cute is Gemma’s ankle bracelet? “It was like three euro from a beachside kiosk this summer,” she told me, “But this one is similar.” xoxo
What were you up to this weekend? Any ups or downs? Here for it all. xoxoxo
P.S. More weekend recaps, and the best reader comments of all time.
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165 commentsI have my first ultrasound tomorrow (of my second pregnancy) and am in that weird doubtful phase of “is there really somebody in there if I can’t feel or see them?” Fingers crossed it all goes well. I’ve had a couple friends who had inviable pregnancies so they are in the back of my mind.
Oh my gosh, that baby! I just want to EAT. HIM. UP!
I spent the weekend with a late Summer case of the crud, so I slept mostly. My body must have really needed it. I also started prepping for Fall and Fall decorating. I am ready for ‘Ber season!
My daughter and I saw Cynthia Erivo sing with our local symphony playing with her and it was AMAZING! And she did I Will Always Love You as an encore🤩
I watched a video of her singing that and it made me cry.
On a girls’ trip to a small mountain town, my friend and I found these adorable bandanas in a little shop. I got the Adele print and have worn in ALL SUMMER. I just found the comapany’s website when looking for a gift for a friend. I love all the cute prints – and the great pricetag! https://handkerbandanas.com/collections/wanderling
Dropped my baby girl off to college in the big big city of NY and cried so many happy and sad tears I thought I’d run out. Took some pictures of people in row boats in central park- ate amazing pastries in the Hungarian pastry shop and tried to enjoy the short NYC trip while saying goodbye to a part of my life.
Sending hugs. It’s a weird transition but it gets easier. Hang in there!
Oooh, the first time is so hard! My babe is also in NYC at Uni. We are far away and when we got back to our empty hotel room after moving him in, I just lost it and asked my husband to take me out immediately, which he did and we had a fun evening. It’s a great place to visit!
I GOT MARRIED THIS WEEKEND!!!! accepting all marriage advice xoxox
Congratulations Mrs! 🎉🍾💕
Congratulations to you! The best marriage advice I ever received was from my great grandma’s BFF, Maeve… she very solemnly said, “dear, just remember, you are also annoying sometimes.” Bahahah, makes me laugh but also, damn it if it isn’t good advice, because…he’s flipping annoying sometimes, but so am I 🤷♀️.
keep a bank account your spouse doesn’t know about. if you never need it, you can leave its contents to your favorite spinster niece or a charity. <3
Both people should aim to do 60% of all the household chores = one of the best pieces of marriage advice that my spouse and I actively use Hold hands when you’re having an argument All disagreements framed as both of you vs the problem; not you vs your spouse Congratulations on your marriage!!
From our wedding vows: every day, wake up and ask yourself “what can I do to help my dearest friend?”
Midge your advice is beautiful. I just read it to my husband of 40 years. Crying now ! I think this is the crux of the whole thing.
Have him read this: Fair Play: Reese’s Book Club: A Game-Changing Solution for When You Have Too Much to Do https://www.amazon.com/Fair-Play-Game-Changing-Solution-When-ebook/dp/B07NTX84PY Also seconding: keep a private bank account for yourself alone. Lastly, a tip from a NYT’s article on how the longest lasting marriages made it: actively practice kindness to each other together as a rule. Obviously, both of you must agree to this and then actually practice it. BEST OF LUCK to you both!
Get a housekeeper/cleaner if he or either of you is unable/unwilling to do their part (Taskrabbit!). You can split the cost or he pays outright. Choose what works for you, 1x week, 2x month or 1x month – it all helps. Imo, if you can’t afford a housekeeper then definitely do not try to afford children! Figure out your money, insurance, make an investment portfolio, household, etc now and maybe ask a lawyer how to set it all up equitably.
Laugh. As often as possible.
This is not fun advice, but necessary and practical: 1. You should both know what’s going on with your finances at all times. Credit scores, bank account amounts, bills, tracking spending. 2. Start a living will for medical decisions and assets in case anything should happen. 3. Make sure your house has a fire extinguisher! You never know when you’ll need it. 4. Yelling is never an effective form of communication. It’s ok to take a break and come back to the subject later to discuss.
As a Maeve – I just want to echo the other Maeve’s advice because that’s the exact advice my mom gave me and damn is it ever true!!! And helpful to remember when your partner’s leaving towels on the floor or beard trimmings in the sink…
Chiming in late because my best friend got married on Sunday!! It was a quick trip to Chicago for us since we had to leave our son home to not miss school, but it was so special. She was the last in our high school friend group to get married, so it was a reunion of sorts and also felt like we were closing one chapter of our lives and starting another. It was the best wedding I have ever been to for many reasons, but the live band made the reception. That would be my advice to people planning weddings who want a lively dance/party. I go to a lot of weddings, almost all of which have had a DJ, and a good band makes all the difference.
This weekend I had my 10-year-old nephew over to spend the night. We went shopping for school clothes, had breakfast for dinner, I introduced him to Guitar Hero (he’s now obsessed), went to the park, and got ice cream. Fun was had by all!
My friend hosted her annual backyard movie screening, this year it was Parent Trap! There’s a costume contest, and I won dressed up as Elizabeth Banks asleep on the air mattress in the middle of the lake (strapped my sleeping pad and sleeping bag to my back, had a bird pinned onto my shirt). I won a Camp Walden sweatshirt. She even cooked Chessie’s breakfast for us! Then I pulled a double and went to see a punk rock show downtown. We contain multitudes, ladies.
Omg this sounds so fun
Katie! You sound like a whole lotta fun. What a great costume!
I like to think I am, Amy! If you’re in Seattle let’s hang :)
ahh! I want to do this! SO FUN
Rooftop drinks with friends overlooking our beautiful city on a perfect summer Friday night. (Capped off with bonus fireworks after the Tigers game across the street ended). Sunk into reading my library book (Famesick by Lena Dunham). Got delicious sandwiches with my two teens at our favorite Italian deli (shoutout to Rocco’s in Detroit). Satisfying house cleaning/podcast listening session (new poetry podcast with Maggie Smirh) after a draining and mentally challenging week! Yay weekends!!
Jo, the contrast between the curated vs real-life guest bedroom made me laugh. I like a bed with no more than 2 pillows (both usable and different sized; soft, plush, luxurious on some nights and hard, blocky, monastic on others), plain white sheets, and a medium-heavy down comforter paired with a fleece blanket. Nothing but a small lamp and a trinket bowl on the night stand for jewelry. The less fussy a guest room is, the more welcome I feel. :)
Hello to the “hard, blocky, monastic” option!!! Never heard anyone else put it into words, thank you : ). I use firmer lumbar pillow as my sleeping huggie pillow. It separates my knees, and my boobs for that matter, when I sleep on my side. It has just enough give to allow for comfort. Feather pillow for my head though.
On Saturday I took my 92 year old Oma to visit my mom in the hospital (Mom was in an accident a few days ago). On the way home we stopped at a small country cafe for lunch and then took the country roads home. Watching Oma sparkle with joy over all the little things (there is SO much meat in this sandwich! Look at that cloud, it looks like a bear! oh they have a lot of combines!) as she looked everywhere to soak it all in, was beautiful.
I took the train from Seattle to Portland, instead of driving, to visit my son. Instead of staying with him, I opted for a hotel. It was glorious! Just me, a king sized bed, and city to myself. I spent the day walking to cute shops and delightful restaurants, soaking in the summer. I slept 10 hours each night. No dogs, husband, laundry, work, or the typical obligatory tasks I usually take care of. It was bliss! Just me time, with some time with my son peppered in. Highly recommend!
Brilliant!
We had family in, but we kept it low key and floated in our pond, snuggled with/ogled over my baby, visited the library and walked around our local college campus (despite the intense heat). I also read a bunch of books from Dolly’s Imagination Library.
Sounds like such a good weekend with all the elements! I love Anton’s challenge. We should all try it. My daughter and my friend (who is my neighbour I’m so lucky) went to a little artist market at night and it was fun to find down back streets. My friend got her tarot read and said it was brutal! It was so nice being out with my teen who has spent months in hospital this year so to do things out together felt so special. Then I had coffee with friends the next day, back to the market to pick up a gift and then my daughters wanted to go trinket shopping on Sunday so we headed to the city. I was out for a family dinner, my brother’s birthday, on Saturday. So it was the perfect weekend. Taking all the joys x
We had our daughter’s wedding shower in the backyard! They live in NY, and we live in CA. The wedding will be there, and she wanted to have everything else in her hometown. Her bachelorette party was in Palm Springs. On Sunday, we hosted 50 people in our backyard. Her fiancé and his family, plus all her East Coast friends, flew to Los Angeles to celebrate West Coast-style with tacos in our backyard. It was so much fun, and I want to be best friends with my future son-in-law’s sisters.
I spent the entire weekend reading because I started school for a second master’s degree last week (at 39!). I’m also keeping my full-time job, and doing an internship one day a week, so we’ll see how that all shakes out – I’m hoping not as bad as I’m imagining?!
Oh, of course Gem Gem has pretty thin feet! Gah! The lucky duck
Holy sh*t to be 12 again! Major congrats to Anton & his friends. I looooove this energy & laughed thinking how just reading their challenge made me tired. In your 40s that’s like, one trip to the post office? Or something. Anyway, I AM INSPIRED & will report back.
Watched My Brilliant Career on Netflix this weekend through several flight delays and then a cross country flight. Landed with 1.5 episodes to go and having to drive home stuck in suspense! The show was a delightful diversion. More of that!
We went to our neighborhood carnival. We just moved into this neighborhood 3 years ago, but it’s been a tradition for 50 years! They block off a long street that ends in a cul-de-sac and everyone brings food for a potluck, there’s an old train giving rides to kids, a petting zoo, face painting, and stations up and down the street for ice cream cones, cotton candy, and popcorn. They also do a cake walk. This year it started raining halfway through but most everyone stuck around! The rain cleared toward the end and the mountains behind us turned gold in the light. My kids went home with sticky fingers and smeared spiderwebs and butterflies on their cheeks and the baby had a soggy diaper from the rain. And my son said “Why can’t we have the carnival every day?” We moved here from a neighborhood where the police knocked on our door asking if we witnessed a crime and people pulled guns out at the park. It has been a stretch financially to make this leap, but it is worth every penny.
We spent all day Sunday on a beach on an island across the water from where we live with the family of our preschooler’s BFF. Toward the end of our hang, when we were cleaning up at their house and they were in the other room, I looked at my wife and said, “I love them so much; do you think they like us as much as we like them?” and she said, “I don’t know, should we ask them?” and we did and they DO! In fact, they’d been talking about the same thing, wondering if we were just hanging out out of obligation (little do they know, well, they do now, that I especially do nothing at all out of obligation!) Anyway, it just felt amazing to be a bit vulnerable with other adults and have such good feelings be reciprocated. It’s whipped cream on top of our kids’ mutual love sundae!!!
This is the sweetest thing!
First of all, aww, what an adorable baby. Secondly, what polish is that on Gemma’s toenails? Super cute!
also would love to know this so beautiful!
In retrospect, this was such a wild thing to give to high school sophomores to read, but my teacher Mrs. Borisund had us read “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” by Jonathan Edwards. It wasn’t a religious school, and she wasn’t religious, but I kind of wonder if she wanted us suburban evangelical kids to get a different perspective on our religion, because every single one of us thought the book/sermon’s idea of “everyone in heaven will be looking down at the people in hell and rejoicing over God’s justice in sending them there” was the most horrendous thing we’d ever read. Reading that book has stuck with me more than many of the other ones I really loved. Thanks, Mrs. Borisund, for making us all take a critical look at fundamentalism. You’ll be happy to know I’m agnostic now!
I just taught this text to 11th graders today as part of the American literature curriculum I’m given. It’s such a weird way to start the year. Faith doesn’t always look like this, kids!
Lol, this comment was obviously meant for the post about school books, feel free to delete if need be!
Packed for Texas! And just landed in Houston! Currently waiting for our Uber. V excited for 4 weeks in Texas.
It was my last weekend before school started…my 41st (!) year teaching..Yes, you read that right! Friday I watched 9-5, ( Oh, Dolly.) Saturday I slept in , read in bed for a bit (one of my favorite things to do!), then paid bills, grocery shopped and other mundane necessities! Sunday I went to church, and laughed hysterically when the pastor brought a bit of Dolly Parton into the sermon! Then spent the afternoon devoted to me time…went to an art show at a dahlia farm! Left with a jar full of gorgeous dahlias and a beautiful new pair of earrings…picked up Jill Biden’s memoir, and started reading it over oysters and rose…Ready to face probably my last first day of school at middle school! ?stp=dst-jpegr_tt6&cstp=mx1440x1920&ctp=s1440x1920&_nc_cat=111&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=127cfc&_nc_ohc=6IIdESUiDDoQ7kNvwF43fcx&_nc_oc=AdpXRdpscPX2XxTVCQui7c_1vov8iS1Z2ksxcrs8GT7nilqy6Ywl_oKs4wfUGGLyza4&_nc_zt=23&se=-1&_nc_ht=scontent-sea5-1.xx&_nc_gid=UsM7moMsO-_tTobYwPmKzQ&_nc_ss=7b2a8&oh=00_AQIHRm1UvXQf39vp2OwNq7GYl4P3yRvdMln5wcHan7PRZQ&oe=6A9BED00
Sounds like you know how to live! Enjoy your last year!
Just started my 38th and last year in public school teaching! Love it, will miss it, excited to see what comes next! Let’s GOOOOOO!
I’m so glad you mentioned (and liked) A Separation, a film that will forever linger in my heart. So many films lazily rely on the creation of “good” characters and “bad” characters, but this is a much too simplistic way of portraying people. The characters in this film are achingly human, which is to say that each is striving to do their best from their own perspective under very difficult life circumstances. It’s this that creates misunderstanding and heartache and drives the plot in the movie and it’s this that drives so much dissension and tragedy in our world at large.
Speaking of Gemma, I’m dying to talk to people about how she’s going to be adapting Dolly All the Time (by the wonderful Annabel Monaghan) for a movie! I’m so excited!!!
Oh I love the author but haven’t yet read that book! How fun to know I can read it and then follow up with the movie made by my close personal friend Gemma! Score!
Yes!! Such a good book. Such exciting news!!
It was our last weekend before school goes back later this week, so there was a bit of summer camp comedown and back-to-school ramp-up. I did a whirlwind house clean so that I can feel like we’re going back on a good foot…of course, as soon as I turned around, Barbie had opened a veterinary clinic on my coffee table and 4,000 stuffed animals were surfing across my living room floor. Oh well. I hosted a playdate with one of my daughter’s friends on Saturday morning, had friends over for supper on Sunday night, and in between tried to enjoy the late summer weather – weeks of heat and humidity have finally turned into crisp, blue-sky mornings, glorious sunny days and cool evenings. I’ve been waiting for this for weeks!
I was so sad about Dolly last week, so I invited friends and their families over for a potluck on Friday. It was so perfect listening to Dolly under our porch party lights, being with friends. On Saturday, our high schooler had his first meet of the season. It is an absolute joy to watch him race. Each time he passed by, he smiled and gave me a thumbs up. XC is seriously the best!
My son had his first XC meet too! It was such a thrill not to mention really motivating to watch these kids run their hearts out!
Saturday I did a community bike ride that was supposed to be 40 miles (farther than I’ve ever biked!) but was cut to 25 after rain defied all forecasts and started 2 hrs early. Still fun. Sunday morning, I worked in a community apple orchard, where we’re battling the incessant coddling moths, who also love apples. I finished reading Daniel Mason’s Country People, and loved it. It’s rare for books to make me laugh, but this had me chuckling regularly.
I had my n’teenth egg retrieval and went straight from there to my niece’s birthday party, surrounded by a whole bunch of kids. It ended up feeling strangely full-circle: after a decade of infertility, I think I’m finally starting to make peace with the idea that my husband and I can still have a really beautiful, joy-filled life—even if we can’t end up having biological children ourselves.
❤️
So much this! Having been on that merry go round, I fee you. And I also have an AWESOME life with lots of kids in it even if none of them are “mine”. Shout out to the Auntie Bulletin, a great Substack specifically about aunties, alloparents and showing up with love in all its various forms, which keeps me grounded often
@Sar – LOVE that substack!
Big hugs. No kids for now for other not-my-choice reasons and birthday parties were really hard for me until pretty recently. For anyone else going through it, I also gave myself the gift of only going to parties for kids that are SUPER important to me where I also wanted to see people—I’m 39 so a ton of friends have kids and for people who aren’t as close or are more my husbands’ friends than mine, I’m just unfortunately busy that day and I go see a movie. I found that limiting it to times when I really love the kid and want to be there honored where I was and let me be present when I do attend!
What a beautiful way of looking at your life! I hope your journey is joyful, no matter what form it takes. Infertility stole a lot of my ability to be happy for others with their babies, so I admire how you have totally flipped the script on that here.
Love all of this! Adore Gemma’s anklet. Does anyone else follow Taylor Wolfe on Instagram? She posted the funniest video about the version of yourself you become when you start wearing an anklet. Now I wear two everyday lol. No worries.
I love hearing about everyone’s weekends! I went to book club on Friday night and had a great discussion and also got to catch up with my friends. On Saturday and Sunday, my husband went on a backpacking trip to the mountains with my dad and brothers so we watched my niece, there were 4 kids, 8 and younger vs me and it all actually went so well. And then when my husband got home we got to watch Traitors UK which we are so into right now haha.
I love reading about weekends as well. Years ago, every blogger always gave an update on a Monday and it was always my favourite post of the week. I think its the equivalent of being in Primary School and writing in your “news” book what you did at the weekend.
My family and I had a lovely weekend ☺️ Friday night I took my daughter out to Scout Camp (her last one as a Scout) and then my husband went to his own Scout Group (hes a leader) so I decided to invite some friends round for wine and crisps. It was so lovely to have them round. Saturday I had a very lazy morning whilst my husband was in town taking part in the Volunteers parade (he is a volunteer First Responder) and then I went into town to get my haircut. After my haircut I met my husband (who had went home to get showered and changed) for some pre dinner drinks. We got into a wine bar that doesn’t take bookings and is always soooo busy so we were delighted. Then we went for dinner, just the 2 of us which happens on such rare occasions. It was made extra special by the fact that we had made our own way to meet so it felt like a proper date which is sometimes needed when you are celebrating 22 years of marriage! We had a lovely meal with a bottle of meal, came out of the restaurant and our bus was just arriving at the bus stop which was perfect timing 😊 Sunday we went out for a breakfast date and then picked up our daughter from camp where she had received her Chief Scout Gold Award. So proud of her. We had a lazy afternoon, a really tasty dinner and then early beds for all of us. Perfect weekend!
I wondered if you would have time to squeeze in a visit to Gemma while you were in Europe so I was glad to see today’s update! I spent most of the weekend driving my kid and his stuff to college. It’s always sad dropping him off but we had a good few weeks with him at home. I listened to Land by Maggie O’Farrell on the drive to and from and wow, that was a stunning audiobook. I loved the duality of the title.
Please encourage me to continue it. I have tried three separate times to get into and just can’t.
Mandy, it’s okay to quit! I loved Land, but some times a book isn’t for you or it’s just not the right time! Give yourself grace to read what you want, not to slog through something.
Laughing out loud because I’m maybe quitting Land pretty early on and feeling quite guilty about it! Maybe I’ll give the audiobook a try? Or take Jelly’s encouragement and move on!
Mandy, I admit I don’t think I would have gotten through the print edition very easily. The pacing was inconsistent and I didn’t feel like we ever got a complete enough picture of any of the characters. There was something about the pace of the audiobook that allowed me to zoom in and out, and follow the ebbs and flows of the plot and character development, like the contours of a map. Cheesy analogy, I know! The narrator’s beautiful accent didn’t hurt either. All that being said, it’s ok to put it down, maybe this isn’t the right time or the right book. Life is too short to not savor a good book!
Mandy and Fay, I read the entire thing so let me say: don’t feel guilty about quitting it. Whatever the beginning has you feeling, there’s just more of that until it ends. I found the whole thing melancholic and frustrating. So many people enjoyed it so I gave it a good shot, but it was not for me!
This past Saturday I had my annual birthday dinner at a favorite SF restaurant (Puerto Alegre for anyone in the area!) with a great group of long-time friends. In honor of Dolly Parton I asked folks to wear something sparkly or dramatic, and I brought extra sequined stuff that friends could borrow. Wow, I love a sequin. And so do a lot of other people, because we got tons of compliments and attention all night. Waiting in line for the restroom, we encountered a couple of very young guys…maybe 21? 22?…who told me they were in a boy band and, once they found the other three members outside, would sing “Happy Birthday” to me. Well, we all found each other on the sidewalk, and I got a very off-key, very silly rendition of “Happy Birthday” from five guys who are most definitely NOT in a boy band. We laughed and laughed, walked to get ice cream (another tradition) and ended the night at the point when e v e r y t h i n g was hilarious, like getting caught on each other’s sequins and trying and failing to make phones and technology work. Big hugs and home by 10pm. A lovely way to start my 57th circle around the sun!
Love this!
I love Puerto and a sequin! What a wonderful start to your 57th!
Jo, Sara Bareilles has a new album out called “Good Grief” and it is so beautiful, it is so much more than romantic love songs. It’s about friend love and loss and living and grief and goodness. It made me think of your sister — one of the songs (Forever) seems to be sung from the perspective of someone who has passed on. It made me cry thinking about my own children. There’s a song about infertility, a song about losing a friend, a song about how the weight we’re all carrying is not going to capsize us. It’s so beautiful and so real. Highly recommend!!
I’m loving this new album, too. She’s crafted songs that touch on every kind of grief you might shoulder, with many many moments of uplift.
My husband was on his annual guys’ trip, and with my son away at college, i had the whole weekend to myself (and my dog). it was glorious! I had two of my besties over for snacks and spritzes on Friday night, went for a long run on Saturday, finished reading “All that is Unseen” and dug into “Whistler,” (can recommend both! so, so good!), and binged all the Netflix I know my husband doesn’t care about. I was so glad to see him last night, but also enjoyed my alone time!
Is it “All That’s Unseen”? I can’f find the other title.
Went to an Art Swap where people bring art supplies and you can trade or just take for free. Had a hamburger for the first time in a year and it was amazing!
Saturday, my SIL invited us over for their street’s block party. All 6 of our kids, the little cousin crew, had a great time playing together. They had bouncy castles, slip n slides, scooters, a pinata for the kids to play with. We had a water balloon fight, burgers on the grill and smores over the fire pit. We had a lot of laughs. Sunday was a day to rest. I cooked chicken stew and baked a butter cake. Tidied up a little (I still have suitcases to unpack from our trip ugh), then watched a few episodes of Masterchef with my husband, read while the US Open was on the TV. Once my husband fell asleep, I watched Devil Wears Prada 2. I liked the first one better. I only have a few more days like this before school starts 😔
Need to know Gemma’s toe color! It was a good weekend – dropped freshman daughter at college and she’s thriving. I’m not that sad. It seems like we were all ready even though we’re close.
Heard live music at a winery Saturday, did some prep for my son’s Bar Mitzvah, and volunteered with a local theater. A good weekend!
Advice needed! We had a pretty good weekend but there were also a lot of fights with my kid about iPad use! We are in uncharted waters as it’s our first time really having to navigate tech with her. We let her use the family iPad and in January I created an icloud account for her so she could text with friends. But it’s such a slippery slope! She’s an only child, so the social connection she gets from texting with friends after school and on the weekends is valuable. But I don’t want her to have unfettered access, and I especially don’t want her to be holed up in her room with it (and the entire internet at her fingertips). I’ve done a lot of blocking and screentime rules, etc., with Apple’s native controls but they aren’t great. There’s also the comparison factor, with her friends having much more access/less boundaries. Would love advice and resources from parents with similar philosophies (we are a fairly low tech household, but by no means Luddites). Obv I could google “screentime and tweens” or something but a COJ-curated list would be amazing! PS how many times do I have to tell her that having unlimited access to a device is actually *not* her god-given right?!
I’m not there yet with my kids but maybe consider getting her a dumb phone that has group texting but no other apps. Something like the Light phone.
I want to start this comment by saying that I used to live in San Francisco and work for Facebook. I’m not proud of it, but it was enlightening and has shaped the way I think about tech and my kids. Technology companies and social media companies do not care if technology use is bad for kids. I think we all know that now, but in case anyone wants to come here and be a tech apologist… please take it from me: these devices and programs are built to be sticky and addictive. Kids have little developing brains and trying to reason with them about tech rules isn’t fair. It’s kids with underdeveloped brains + the huge tech companies vs. you. So if what I have to say sounds quite stern, it’s with that backdrop in mind. Tech companies are amoral, and yes, that goes for Apple too. I didn’t say immoral, but a-moral – they don’t have your child’s best interests in mind, they have profit in mind. Only you have your child’s best interests in mind, which means swimming upstream of culture when it comes to technology and screens. We’re also not there yet – my kids are 5 and 9. I know a lot of fellow 4th graders have some device access, but we don’t and I’m okay with that. From what I’ve seen, it’s pretty hard to put the tech genie back into the bottle, which is why we ARE borderline Luddities! I took a note from Steve Jobs himself, not from his company. He famously did not give his kids screen access. I’m sure that’s not helpful to you now, but it’s probably worth thinking about why you gave your child ipad access and what you and she were hoping to get out of that as a guide for how you want to proceed with her. At our house, we talk a lot about how boring it is to be on our phones and how constant screen use makes people dumber. We narrate out loud what we adults are doing when we *are* on our phones in front of them (“I’m just adding something to the grocery list real quick, that’s why I’m on my phone while we’re trying to cook dinner together.”) and we give them unfettered access to books, craft supplies, play dates, kitchen ingredients etc instead. We also just bought a Tin Can along with several other neighborhood families, so they can keep in touch with friends by giving them a call – and practicing those phone manners, to boot. From what I can tell so far, kids want what they see modeled as much as they want what other kids have. We have a docking station for technology in a public space in our house – our phones stay still and we go to them, like landlines. We also don’t allow technology use in private bedrooms. That goes for adult computers, too! My computer is in my home office, door open, and everyone can see what I’m doing. We try to model responsible, public and limited tech use in our home because we know they are learning from what we DO, not just what we say. I have a 2-kid, 2-parent household, but a dynamic I’ve seen play out with our extended family and some friends is that the kids and parents operate more like a 3-person democracy in only child households than the parent/child factions that emerge when numbers look different. I’ve also noticed a reticence to hold a strong parental line sometimes in only child households. I’m not sure why and this might not apply to you, but at the end of the day, it’s your job as a parent to explain yourself, model the behavior you’d prefer to see and hold the line. It’s ok if she doesn’t like it. As my mom always said to me, “I’m not your friend, I’m your mom. Feel free to not like me. It comes with the territory.” I used to think that was mean, but now I deeply appreciate that she didn’t try to placate me when I thought I knew what was best when I clearly didn’t. I’m wondering if this kind of script is helpful: “I realize when we gave you ipad access a few months ago, we didn’t talk about how much, when, where and why. Now that we’re a few months into it, I’m realizing I need to set some different parameters around this to keep you and your brain safe. So starting next week, we don’t allow ipad use in our bedrooms or anywhere except the kitchen or the living room. You may text and facetime with friends for 60 minutes after school, but after that it goes back on the charger and we go outside/read books/cook dinner together/ whatever. You can have any feelings about that you need to. I’m here to talk about how you feel, but those are the rules and they are not changing just because you are mad or because of what other kids do at their house.” Giving your child a technology-free/limited childhood is a gift – and one with a ticking clock. They only have so many years! I genuinely wish you strength as you find some boundaries around technology use in your home. For more bolstering, I recommend “The Anxious Generation” and “Careless People” for more insight into how technology shapes young brains and to learn more about FB operated (and how they still operate in many ways, frankly.)
You got some amazing advice already! My 12yo just read the Amazing Generation, a graphic novel by the same author as Anxious Generation (Haidt), and “drank the kool-aid” as it were about the dangers of phone addiction and predatory nature of tech companies. He says he only wants a flip phone. Recommend!
I don’t know how old your daughter is, but my oldest kid just started middle school. They have Samsung tablets (no texting ability) and we use Google Family Link for those. No internet searches or chats are allowed. They get an hour a day on Friday, Saturday and Sundays. If it’s summer or school break, the rules sometimes get a little looser. Tablets are not allowed in bedrooms or the bathroom. Otherwise, we have a Tin Can phone. My oldest kid’s friends have phones and I don’t even know if they have parental controls, which is a new source of anxiety for me. We talk a lot about how constant screentime is not good for our brains and we are raising them the way we believe is best. That may not be the same as how other kids’ families work and that’s ok. Sometimes things feel unfair. When I really get on my soapbox, I tell them about how my family didn’t have a TV until I was 17 and we could try that out if they’re going to be complaining 😅
Not sure if this works for iPads but you could buy a brick. Then it just turns off access automatically when you want it to every day and it stops the argument. The brick did it 😂 I know she’s smarter than that but it is helpful to be like hey listen, we are all bricked. Yes it kind of sucks and also it’s important.
H.D., did you ever know that you’re my heeeeerrrrrooooo….but seriously, this is priceless guidance on every front. Thank you.
My oldest child is 9 so we do not have to deal with texting yet – none of his friends have phones that I know about. We also do not allow our kids to have iPads – I have never owned one myself. That said, I do let him and his 7 year old sister use my phone in limited quantities (20-30 minutes per day) for blockblast or to play Roblox together or with their cousins (chat disabled). We have a family TV with Netflix and Prime. On school nights they can do 60 minutes of screen time counting all games and TV shows. On weekends I give them a few hours on Friday and Sunday depending on our plans. Yes, they fight me, and yes, sometimes I am inconsistent (ever been too tired and just want to let the kids play happily on their screens!?) but we try to have these ground rules for the very reasons listen in H.D.’s responses – it is so bad for their brains and their social development. My husband and I are admittedly on our phones too much – we use them for work, scheduling appointments, ordering groceries . . . I am trying to be more conscious of leaving mine aside in the few hours after school and before bedtime. It is worth it to enforce boundaries, although I know this will get more challenging as they get older and kids start leaning on tech to communicate. I hope to give them a Tin Can in the next year or two and then simple flip phones (NO SMART PHONES) until they are 16-18 but wish me luck. I live in Los Angeles where everyone gives their kids whatever they want, so we are also outliers.
My two social teens both have Pinwheel phones, essentially dumb phones that look like iPhones. They have worked great for us! No access to internet but they can text and call pals easily. You can also control their call list.
By call list I mean their contacts! So random people and telemarketers can’t call them.
I have set daily caps for how long my 10 year old can be on Messenger kids (no more than 30 min). She also uses an old Samsung tablet to read on Libby and her brother uses an Amazon fire one. Both are clunkier than an iPad so there is less attractiveness. YT is also strictly forbidden. I’d rather she watch a show or movie on TV I have approved than have unmonitored access to YT.
Thank you all! And HD you are preaching to the choir. I’m already instituting those limits as I reel things back and that’s what all the fights have been about! But what I needed to hear from you was the part about standing strong in the face of my kid’s protests and being OK with her not liking me (also saw Michelle Obama saying the exact same thing on IG today…I’m going to take that as synchronicity!). And your theory about only child households slipping into a three-person democracy is so true; I’ve often said it’s so much harder when you can’t just say “this is the rule for all the kids” or “the kids need to go outside now while the adults talk.” Instead it’s just her. I’m going to look into Google Family Link but I really need to figure out how to get rid of Safari. I’ve even tried on my own phone but if you delete it it’s still there/searchable. Internet searches scare me and I don’t think she should be doing that alone. If she wants to look up Halloween costume ideas we can do that together, etc. So yeah if anyone can recommend/talk about things like Google Family Link…I’ve also heard of Circle?
Hi joy. To get rid of safari you go to screen time / content and privacy / allowed apps. And toggle it off. My 10yo is allowed 2,5 hours of shows and 30 min of what we call,dumb games, a cross the weekend. Dumb games are things like cross castle. Otherwise she can do Libby, simply draw, and simply piano fairly unlimited but iPad needs to be off around 7. I don’t find these latter apps negatively addictive.
Apples Assistive Access is the only way to remove safari as far as I can tell. The book The Amazing Generation is a great one too. We actually read most of it to our 7 year old. Some was over their head but it made an impression.
This is a topic I’m so passionate about. I have a partner who is addicted to technology and has no issue with giving our children unfettered access to iPads, phones, Apple Watches etc. I would be content to cancel all subscriptions and read by the fire in the evenings. I find it absolutely maddening that short form video reels are absolutely everywhere. My kids find them on Pinterest, on Netflix, on our Alexa in the kitchen. Even though I ban them from watching YouTube, they can’t resist and always find the content. Using an Amazon Firestick and YouTube TV subscription makes it even harder to block. Someone needs to put together a class action lawsuit. It feels impossible to protect our children. We use the Apple controls to the absolute maximum so that anyone using a device has to ask us to input a passcode for screen time. We also block Internet access from the source, using an app called Firewalla which requires our permission to unblock TV and School Chromebook Access. I talk incessantly about how bad this content is for your brain. We are raising generations riddled with anxiety, short attention spans, with top ambitions of becoming influencers. Life is so much richer, more subtle and rewarding than what is found online. It makes me so mad that we are at this point in humanity. And don’t get me started on how social media is used to polarize our societies, pit us against each other, and drive extremist views on both sides of the political spectrum. I have a conspiracy theory that 90% of online vitriol is from bots and that it’s being posted by other countries trying to take us down. At the same time, technology brings us so many benefits. Look at how wonderful this Cup of Jo community is. Look at our ability to connect over video calls. Look at my ability to work remotely, hold down a full time job, support my family while still be able to have a snack with my kids while they get off the school bus. More of using the internet as a force for good, please!
I am currently listening to the audiobook of The Anxious Generation. The huge rise in teen mental health btwn 2010 and 2015, when everyone had to have a smartphone, is so scary. It’s worth reading.
Every 5 years or so, we have a family gathering from all over Europe. Before, I was not in the best of moods because of pms, superlong traffic jams, a heat of a thousand suns etc. The moment I saw them all, I was in awe that I am part of family approx. 50 humans who are able to not judge, to not interrogate about your job or relationship status, who are simply not interested if you have a car or a bike or a boat or none of the above. It felt like the most open welcoming group-hug where you were invited to be as you are and fully embraced. Makes me tear up. What humans! What beautiful humans I know.
Aw this is beautiful. What a wonderful family you have!
I had the house to myself overnight for the FIRST TIME SINCE HAVING CHILDREN. My husband took our kids camping, and I relished an empty, quiet home. I knew I wouldn’t be able to enjoy a messy house (nor did I want to spend the whole weekend doing housework), so I hired a cleaner Friday afternoon so that relaxation could ensue as soon as the minivan left the driveway. I felt a little indulgent at first, but then I realized this was my first solo home weekend in over nine years, and that feeling quickly evaporated. I ordered in, wore pjs the whole time, stayed up way too late, slept in and just generally enjoyed my own company.
This sounds like a dream, Erin! My friends with fewer kids would always laugh at me that my dream was to go stay in a hotel one night ALONE. :)
I solo parented my four and one year olds for three days while 16 weeks pregnant…it was like an episode of Survivor.
LOL. Who let go of the pole first?
On Saturday my husband took my kids kayaking. Their guide showed them lots of tide pooling on the docks. The children were thrilled to pet a nudibranch! A favorite animal. The best part was that I sat in the sun with a cool breeze watching the water and the world float by. Heaven! On Sunday we met old friends at the farmers market. The two older kids have been friends since they were babies but haven’t seen each other much because of a move. They played for hours like old times. Nothing beats an old friend, even for kids.
Joanna, your post-European-travel-with-sweetie confidence vibes are shining! The scarf, the food prep, the sharing of the weekend, the joy.
I am newly pregnant for the first time and as a normally extremely social /active / busy person, and a terrible liar, having a hard time hiding my constant exhaustion and nausea from friends! I slipped and told a friend this weekend (who I had to bail on our planned weekend of camping) and then was worried about sharing my secret too soon. I am also so dang excited (we were trying for a while) but of course nervous about miscarriage and jinxing myself. Any tips on navigating this wild early secret stage? Also perhaps it will feel good sharing my news anonymously with a group of strangers :)
Congratulations! I would probably just share the news. I have been pregnant many times, and honestly, it’s dumb that pregnant women are supposed to hide their sickness. You need help and sympathy! Why are we hiding this fact when men tell everyone when they have a cold? That said, I’ve definitely had people I’ve waited to tell (in laws, even though I told my parents and sister), and if you are nervous about having to say if you miscarried, that is valid. It is so hard to do. However, again, that is a situation when the care and sympathy of loved one can help hold the burden. Mostly, just think about why you actually want to wait. If it’s entirely societal conditioning, think about what YOU want. And maybe it’s not to tell, in which case, you can remind yourself of that every time you have to hold back the news.
You can tell people! If you have a miscarriage, you will want the support too. That’s how I thought of it!
Congratulations!!!!! Pregnancy is miraculous and my advice would be- you. do. you. It’s SO exciting and if you want to share DO IT. And if you miscarry (I did!) then guess what you can tell your friend that news as well and she’ll help you through it- as we do. Sending you so much love and a virtual hug.
We told people right away! We had a close friend who miscarried before we started trying, which was how we found out she had been pregnant. It was a choice I very much respect, so absolutely do what’s best for you! But when I got pregnant we knew we really wanted the joy of telling everyone and wanted our village to be able to experience that joy too, even if it ended up not going the way we had hoped (we were lucky to have two easy pregnancies and two easy births!). I also loved that right away I was able to talk to friends who had already been pregnant, or were currently pregnant but further along, about those early weeks/months, symptoms, excitement, etc.
My strategy during the early days of my hard-won pregnancy was to share with people who I’d want to be in-the-know to give me support if I lost it. Which I guess is dark, but helped me draw the lines.
Thank you thank you for all these incredibly reassuring notes :) Long time reader, first time poster and wow. Is this ever a beautiful corner of the internet.
My husband, daughter and I decided to pick up my mother on Friday night and take her to get hibachi. My stepfather passed away in April…quickly and unexpectedly, and honestly, we are all still reeling from it. Sitting huddled together with wine and having rice balls tossed at us by a very enthusiastic chef was one of those “well, this was the right choice tonight” kind of moments. Saturday, we lounged on a sand bar in a lake with friends, and Sunday night we ate taco bowls on the couch…my daughter’s request for her annual back to school dinner. She started her senior this morning. There is so much bitter and so much sweet in our lives right now. I know you all know. xoxo
How fun to read about everyone’s weekends. In addition to fun social time with friends, the highlight of my weekend was starting a monthly household finance review with my husband. I am proud to say I manage our finances and also our investments, but decided that it was important that he knew everything as well. So we are now going to look at my spreadsheet together monthly. We review what we spent, how our investments are doing, and different scenarios for a big goal we have set for ourselves! Might be dull to some but super fun to me haha.
this is so inspiring!
I manage my household of 1 and so wish sometimes that I had a buddy to talk to, share spreadsheets with, and get advice from. Super fun to many, is what I’m saying! :)
Very cool! This was on my to do list for like 2 years- to become more informed and move my retirement into a non managed account. I also like numbers and spreadsheets but for some reason find investing stressful. It is a big task so my husband and I sat down over several different sessions. I recommend just working on it for 2 hours at a time, until you have things set, then you can take a look at things on a less regular basis. I am NO expert but it feels great to have a better grasp of what’s going on with my life savings!
We do this quarterly! It has a silly name and a standing agenda, and I take notes. We MUST leave the house with our laptops, and ideally get brunch but at least get coffee. It’s only about finances, no getting bogged down in other life issues, and never more than 2 hours. We’ve missed many a quarter over the years, but it’s one of my top recommendations from 15 years of marriage. It’s wild to look back at the oldest ones and see how little we had. (Or, from a different perspective, how much we’ve built together.) Plus, we always put the start/finish time and location on the minutes, so now they take me back to memories of cities and times in our life that I would have otherwise lost.
If you listen to Ramit Sethi’s podcast, Money for Couples, you’ll be SO thankful that you’ve started sharing this spreadsheet with him and meeting for money talks. And so thankful that you know the information too, with some of the horror stories there. Hope you can encourage your friends to do the same. The decisions around money affect your entire life.
I think a theme of my weekend was community. Ever since my baby was born eight months ago, I have been so, so grateful for all the folks in our network who have come out of the woodwork and developed new bonds with us. For any soon-to-be parents nervous about how a baby might disrupt your social lives, I want to offer a counternarrative — babies can be great connectors! On Friday, our town had an Art Walk — basically an open air market type event along the main street downtown with tables and booths set up. My husband and I took the baby and met up with so many folks we know from various activities, then got delicious falafel from a new-to-us food truck. On Saturday we had neighbors over for breakfast, then mostly caught up on chores and chased the baby. Sunday we met up with my husband’s cousin, who has a baby slightly older than ours, for some swimming in our local lake, which may have been the last swim of the season because it was quite chilly already. All in all it doesn’t sound super exciting, but I am so grateful for this season of life I’m in, for however long it lasts.
My sweet dog passed away last week. This was the first weekend without him and we miss him so. We went to his favourite place in the mountains. Ok the last leg of the drive the most magnificent double rainbow lit up the sky. For the longest time it just remained there, glowing. It was the saddest, happiest and most beautiful rainbow I had ever seen.
I’m so sorry, Noelle. xoxo
I’m so sorry, Noelle. It’s so hard to lose a beloved pet. I love that he sent you a double rainbow!
<3 I'm so sorry for your loss … but what a beautiful sign with that rainbow. Sending extra love.
Holding you close in my heart, Noelle. So sorry for your loss. Xoxoxo
I’ll bring up instead what didn’t happen :) Y’all kept oohing and aahing about the cardamom buns in the Scandinavian post, made me hanker after some while staying in a tiny town for the weekend. Of course I arrived when the bakery and coffee place were closed early (tiny town, weekend). I decided to settle and hit the local supermarket’s own baked goods cabinet. And yep, every tray was still filled (cinnamon knots, sugar dusted donuts, cream buns, muffins, etc) except the elusive cardamom buns. I’ll have to hold off scratching this itch later this week ✌️🤞
I also craved cardamom buns after that post, and made these! https://eatlittlebird.com/cardamom-buns/ Actually, I divided the dough – half for cardamom buns, half for cinnamon buns from the same website. They were so good, and the dough was a dream to work with! (I did the “first rise in the fridge overnight”)
I spent all of Saturday trying to figure out how to finish the waist/bottom of a sweater I’m crocheting, as I made it too short, and am reluctant to complete frog back. I realized at 5 pm that I had been crocheting, frogging, and re-crocheting in the same spot in my peanut butter stained nightie since 6:30 am! So I cleaned myself up and took myself out for the most amazing vegan burger and shake at a place in Dearborn, MI called Unburger. Sooooo good! Sunday I woke up feeling like I was finally emerging from a long period of “stuckness” that had me eating popcorn for dinner and reading bad romance novels for weeks. I cleaned my home, ordered in groceries, cooked, listen to good music and had a long, intense, but really engaging conversation via video chat with my 22 year old son (we have very different world views/political views). And spent a good part of the day feeling ridiculously excited to see my beloved this week, as he’s been out of the country for several weeks.
I love to wear a little headscarf, and people always say to me, I love that but I could never pull it off!! Here’s my secret: no one thinks they can pull anything off the first time they do it. I felt very stupid and self conscious the first time I wore a little headscarf, too! Every time you do or wear something outside your norm, you have to be a little brave but then it’s great! It’s just a scarf on your head, it’s cute!! Gracie Abrams and Jackie Kennedy and the Queen and I all say you can pull it off.
I love this so much Sarah and 100% agree! I’ve felt this way about hats and belts and realized the key to pulling it off is believing that I can pull it off! :)
I am also a headscarf frequent flyer ever since I saw Megan Draper wearing one on Mad Men when I was a teenager! I also always get compliments on it and I promise I am just doing it to hide my greasy hair hahaha
Is it fair to report in advance? Next weekend—Gregory Alan Isakov at Red Rocks with my adult daughter. It might have rained on us a little. I might have overspent on merch. I might have held my breath all the way through ‘Liars’ and ‘The Fall’. I will certainly have cried a little.
LOVE GAI! I have seen him 2x, once with full band, the other solo-ish. Both amazing. Wow, his music moves me so much. One of the best live shows I have ever seen.
Anna–so glad you’ve had this experience! This year he’s at RR with the CO Symphony, which adds so much transportive amazement.
I would kill to be there, Laura! Regarding merch, I love wearing my concert tshirts, including the one I bought at Gregory’s show in OR last year. After learning that most acts only profit from touring and merch, I try to buy something at every show I see to help the artists. Streaming is not profitable, unfortunately.
Another Laura who will also be going to this show (the Monday one) and I am SO excited! Love all of his songs, but my all time favorite is ‘San Luis’ – I always cry because it reminds me of my dad. I’ve seen him twice before, but getting to see him (with the symphony) at Red Rocks will be extra special!
I love how your boys, to me at least (a casual observer), seem to have the exact same face but then one’s blond and one’s brunet. They’re copies of each other! I think it’s so fun to notice how siblings do/don’t look alike. My children look relatively different in a number of ways, but has the same eye shape (mine) and nearly the exact same haircolor. My brothers don’t look very alike at all, but when you put me in the middle I bridge the gap and we all look like each other! Genetics are cool.
My 13 year old son and I watched WEDNESDAY, I went for a walk and I read (on audible) YESTERYEAR. Best kind of weekend! No plans! So happy to see Gemma is here for a visit!
We went on vacation and visited three different sets of friends. Our kids are 5 and 3. All of the friends we visited also had kids (and toys and pets). The kids would play and we got to chat with our friends (almost) uninterrupted for hours. It was phenomenal! Obviously I’m still somewhat new to parenting, but I’m starting to think vacations in the early years are to see friends and in the later years to see places. Can any more experienced parents share their wisdom? I’m already thinking about what cluster of friends we can visit next year.
I strongly agree that visiting friends in other places is amazing when you have young kids!!
I think it just depends on your family and what works for you! We are a small and quiet family – my husband, me, and our 6 year old daughter. She loves new places and new experiences but she doesn’t love the noise and familiar of someone else’s home. So we do day trips to visit cousins and friends but do vacations to places for fun experiences with a quiet place to stay. :)
Salad looks so good! What dressing did you put on it?
hi!! the feta was in brine, so it didn’t need any dressing — was already so flavorful xoxo
My family went camping with three other families – 8 adults and 6 kids and it was so lovely to hang out in the woods with our closest friends and let our kids generally entertain each other. This is the third year we’ve done it and I think it’s all of our favorite part of the summer!
I had a wild weekend… Thursday afternoon, I went to pick up my kid from school and the principal called me into his office (second of the year, and already, oh boy) and he tells me that someone noticed a bruise on my kid, my kid said he dad hit him and our family had been reported to CPS. I was floored. My husband is a calm guy, been with him for 23 years, he’s not a hitter, I couldn’t understand what was happening. I talk to my kid on the way home, he says he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. After a VERY tense night, we find out the next morning – it was a mistake, it was a different kid, the person who reported mistakenly told the principal my kid’s name. The emotional rollercoaster of that 16 hours was intense (and my heart breaks for that other kid and their family knowing what they are about to go through). I couldn’t get it out of my head, CPS showing up and turning your life inside out and the potential ramifications, so I did what any sane person would do and wrote an entire TV pilot about it this weekend. I’m a TV writer so really not that crazy, but I’ve never written so fast before. The entire thing was downloaded to me. I already have it out to writer friends for notes.
oh my gosh, that’s all so scary and upsetting, Sarah! amazing that you turned it into a pilot.
My second little was due on Saturday, but has decided he’s cozy where he is and has not made any moves to join us yet. So mixed feeling of anxiously waiting for his arrival (waiting is apparently not my strong suit) and enjoying ice cream and lots of playground time with our sweet, sassy and very busy three year old.
Oh best wishes to you as you wait to welcome the newest member of your family! Hope delivery and recovery are as smooth as possible.
It was my birthday and my friend planned the perfect day for me – she bought two copies of the same book and we sat in my sunroom reading, sipping wine, with some breaks to chat.
omg DREAM.
Such a dream! And which book?!
Anton is 100% right about dad selfies. On Saturday, my husband and I split up our 3 kids to run all sorts of errands. On Sunday, he very kindly took the younger two to the Air & Space Museum in DC so I had almost an entire day to catch up on some work backlogs.
I have caught some kind of upper respiratory crud, so my weekend was spent drinking loads of water, catching up on my podcasts, and completely throwing off my sleep schedule, yikes.
Update: It’s covid! :(
Yikes Amanda! So sorry it nabbed you. Apparently we’re going through another Covid wave. The new updated vaccines are rolling out now and my husband and I will be trying to get ours this week. It’s time to play it as safe as we all can (sigh.)
I repaired a rug! I bought this beautiful hand-woven rug over a decade ago; it’s made with Pendleton wool scraps and hemp rope. Over the years, the hemp rope has broken/unraveled in a few spots creating loose wool strips and holes. I almost bought a new rug for $150, but had the thought that maybe, just maybe I could repair the one I love. So I pulled out my hemp rope from the garden shed, sat down and started tying it and reweaving it. It took a couple of hours, and I had to ask my husband to make dinner so I could finish, but it worked! And I’m just so so pleased.
Go you- I love that! Now it’s even more special! I wish we could see a photo. Maybe one day there can be a post with a photo quilt of all the unusual things CoJ readers have repaired. That would be really fun!
I would love a post on things we’ve repaired, or reused in a new thing! I made a rag rug out of scraps, almost all of which are sentimental, and I make mosaics that incorporate broken dishware, pottery, etc. It’s important to me to reuse broken things rather than buy new.