Hi friends, it’s been a minute, hasn’t it?

Like so many, it feels like time just *record scratch* stopped in March, and now it’s July, and the world still feels so topsy turvy. The last few months of working from home, figuring out how to re-enter society (and reopen my library), and maintaining constant vigilance with masks and social distancing feels easier on some days, and insurmountable on others. I’m sure you all feel the same…

Everything just seems to have been more difficult the last few months, no? Trying to concentrate on books… deciding what to make for dinner every.single.day… figuring out what activity might be safe while maintaining a sense of normalcy… all of it.

But in amongst all that fraught fear and worry, we’ve had so many bright spots, and I’ve tried to photograph and memorize them all, knowing that someday we’ll look back on these “quaran-times” and wonder what the day to day looked like.

It’s riding a bicycle for the first time in oodles of years… taking hikes and walks and ambles… it’s snorfling the puppy and watching the snail amble around the fish tank… it’s Easter Egg hunts and fireworks and llama visits to your house (!!)… it’s learning to make a lemon tart through Zoom from a pastry chef in Versailles… it’s birthday flowers… it’s a rotating wardrobe of masks… and it’s having someone hold your hand as you walk into the new normal of the world, masks and all.

Stay safe and well, friends. More missives soon…

(but in the meantime, I’ve been trying – oh, trying – to post recent photos and oodles of book reviews on my Instagram @theloudlibrarian)

–Marissa

September, September… but where did the summer go?! Though it feels like it flew by, we did make some memories along the way. How was your summer, friends?

I’ve been… celebrating another year around the sun with a cake made by Johnna and her daughter… tooling around in a golf cart with the “Italy Girls” to admire an amazing flight of the fireflies… (mostly) installed a new fence in the yard… tried to grow things (and ended up failing, big time!)… getting more bangs… going to a conference in Washington, DC… admiring the African violets inherited from Mum, who nurtured them for so many years… catching “throwed rolls” at Lambert’s Cafe… celebrating Johnna’s birthday… dragging Wes to his first local high school football game… and admiring the amazing Japanese Garden during the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden… and so many more things, big and little.

Roll on autumn!

–Marissa

I’m not gonna lie, I knew it had been a while since I updated this blog, but I was horrified to see it was back in MAY of last year! I feel like so, so much has happened since then, and also… just time gently passing. I’m endeavoring, however, to catch up on all my waiting book reviews, and to share what I’ve been reading lately too! As for the balance of 2018, it was a whirlwind….

Lots of weekend trips to places like St. Louis, Cincinnati, and Chicago…

Our garden growing in the summer sunshine…

A work conference in NOLA and a Pumpkin Spectacular in Louisville…

A trip to New Jersey’s shore and my first new car in 15 years…

And perhaps most special… getting engaged, and then a couple of months later running off to Las Vegas to get hitched. 2018 had some definite lows, but I’m glad we ended on a happy note.

Here’s to 2019!

–Marissa

 I’m not going to lie, it’s been a rough couple of months, and I haven’t been reading, walking, snapping photos, or crafting as much as I’d like, but we’ve still tried to eke out some good times where and when we can, such as…

Emceeing a statewide Relay For Life conference… helping spruce up our local High School library… WINNING a bingo at a recent “Pink Out” fundraiser… insisting on snuggles with those two faces… and a weekend trip to Chicago to visit my bestie and take in the city sights.

I’m ready for some spring flowers, warmer temperatures, and peace…

–Marissa

Where does the time GO, y’all?! It feels like autumn and the end of 2017 came and went in a flash! Johnna and I have both been busy with commitments (work, school, volunteering, etc.) but hope to have our lives – or semblance of them! – back soon. We DID manage to go on a epic girls-only vacation (more about that in a future post!), and took our guys to a fun light show for Christmas (more on that in the future too!). What else have I been up to? Well… I’ve…

…finished a new stained glass quilt for my office… we celebrated New Year’s in style… gotten some beautiful Christmas flowers from my boo…  went to the Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular in Louisville… spent a concert weekend in Chicago… ate LOTS of bento boxes at our favorite hole-in-the-wall Japanese place… tried my hand at (guided) painting… and hung out with my boy and my dog… the days just fly by! Happy New Year!

–Marissa