Summer is almost over, and now I’m in high gear. I apologize for being so behind on reading your posts, and here I am, typing the Sunday Lowdown on Monday morning. I’ll give you a photo collage this week of what’s got me so busy, I have a big announcement, and also some forthcoming plans
The Big Announcement
I have been accepted for a fifteen-week internship with an agency called The Willow Tree Project, which serving southern Illinois and the St. Louise, Missouri area. Thanks to a gracious host, I’ve also procured free accommodations with a family, which is a relief not only financially, but to be with a support system for fifteen weeks without Nick is amazing. I’ll be leaving in January.
What I’ve Been Doing
- I finished 20 books this summer, many of which were on CDs in my car. (see the list at the bottom comparing what I said I would read vs. what I did read)
- Trying to finish my New Testament class and meet all the deadlines
- Donated to MISS — you’ll learn more about this in Wednesday’s book review.
- Went to Lake Michigan and stood in the water for ages while I tried to get past some intense ruminating on a troublesome situation.
- Did my first paid interpreting gig!
- Traveled to Michigan to visit fellow blogger Ashleigh. Normally we meet between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but I’ll be home getting ready to leave this year.
- Went tubing and actually had fun! You can go back, just a little!
- Baking with blackberries to take things to Ashleigh’s house.
- Getting the last of my berry harvest this year.
- Reading with Biscuit.
- Getting ready for Biscuit’s 65th birthday party this next weekend (I’m assuming the Sunday Lowdown may be late again *gulp*).
- Getting ready to take part of my Michigan interpreter license, the English portion, in the capitol next week Tuesday (8 days from now).
- I sold my violin to a lovely young woman. First, I ugly cried. For those of you who don’t know, I started college as a music major and couldn’t do it. Then, I happy cried after the buyer sent me this message: “I just got out of my first violin lesson with my new violin, and my violin teacher was so thrilled for me and just loves my new violin. I sounded so good and I felt so confident the whole lesson. I’m just so grateful for you because I had such a good week and a great lesson and it just feels like the perfect instrument for me.”
Photo Collage
20 Books of Summer
What I said I’d read — crossed out books are ones I did read
The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich (Biscuit Book Club)The Women by Kristin Hannah (Biscuit Book Club and the Boozy Book Club)Razorblade Tears by S.A. Cosby (Boozy Book Club)- Growing Joy by Maria Failla
- Crip Spacetime by Margaret Price
- The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
The Watchers by A.M. Shine (Huntsville Horror Book Club)- The Silent Garden by Paul W. Ogden
- Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (Biscuit Book Club)
The Sorority Murders by Allison Brennan (Biscuit Book Club)Out There Screaming, ed. by Jordan Peele (Huntsville Horror Book Club)- Candy and Me by Hilary Liftin
- Twin Study by Stacey Richter
All About Love by bell hooks- At Wit’s End by Erma Bombeck
- A Beautiful Work in Progress by Mirna Valerio
- Universal Compassion by Geshe Kelsang Gyatso
- Faith Taking Flight by Julie Murphy
- Mister Magic by Kiersten White (Huntsville Horror Book Club)
- The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Boozy Book Club)
What I read in addition to get up to 20 books:
- She Come By It Natural by Sarah Smarsh
- Memorial Drive by Natasha Trethewey
- The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy
- Already Enough by Lisa Olivera
- Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
- If I Understood You, Would I Have This Look on My Face? by Alan Alda
- Canadian Boyfriend by Jenny Holiday
- Once Darkness Falls by SM Reine
- Smile: The Story of a Face by Sarah Ruhl
- You’re In the Wrong Bathroom by Laura Erickson-Schroth and Laura A. Jacobs
- The Natural Mother of the Child by Krys Malcolm Belc
- Book Love by Debbie Tung
- Frenchman’s Creek by Daphne du Maurier
Grab the Lapels 
It’s always good to see an instrument go to someone who will play it and make use of it daily; I think of the Madwoman of Chaillot and her pearls becoming real–your violin (like the Velveteen Rabbit, too) is becoming more real.
I grew up in southeast Missouri, Cape Girardeau. Sounds like you’ll be down that way, at least across the river (have you ever watched the movie Gone Girl? Everyone from Cape cracked up every time she drove across the bridge to go to St. Louis).
Good luck with all the changes.
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Oh, Jeanne, what a lovely way to think of my violin. Thank you for that!
Looks like my internship is about two hours from Cape. I find it funny that I’ll be in Illinois, but further south than St. Louse. I always think of Missouri as south of Illinois. Those long states take up a lot of retail, I suppose!
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Wow you have been so busy! Congratulations on the internship and host family!
your blackberry desserts look wonderful.
I want to do what you did with the 20 Books of Summer. I usually can’t make myself change the list too much for some reason. But why the heck not?? It’s really challenging to stick to 20 books for three months. Even if the books are ones I chose. I’ve read 11 on my list, DNF’d 2, am currently reading one. So I think I will just add the other books I’ve read to complete my 20. You’ve converted me!
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Really, the excitement is in making a list, so I had fun making my list and digging through my books to figure out what I felt was interesting, but then I joined a local book club that plays bingo. So, no reason not to change some here and there.
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Congratulations on that internship. I bet there was a high level of competition for that post so you obviously impressed the recruitment team!!
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Thanks so much for your confidence in me, Karen! I think it was more about my potential and values, but I accept skill as a factor, too. 😅
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First, during yesterday, I suddenly thought, “I haven’t seen Melanie’s Sunday post come through. Did I miss it? I must check!” but I didn’t get to do so until this morning as we looking after Master 6 Year Old all yesterday. (And he showed great taste. We took him to see Despicable Me 4, and after a bit over an hour he asked to leave because it was “boring”. Mr Gums and I agreed. Some kids’ movies can be great, but this one not. Too many characters, too many digressive storylines.) Anyhow, I now realise that you were late posting, so it probably didn’t come to my inbox till late Monday night or early Tuesday am for me.
But, the big thing is to congatulations on the paid internship. I’m thrilled to bits for you, and for you to have some good, free accommodation as well is just excellent. How often will you get to see Nick during that time? Will you be working in a specific – hmm, how to I say this – subject area or will your interpreting tasks be diverse? And, congrats too on having your first paid gig. I assume it went well.
Love all the pics, including the cooking pics, and particularly the blackberry.
Finally, that gorgeous Rose of Sharon looks like what we call Hibiscus. Or, do you call it that too? Anyhow, it’s a lovely flower that I thought your region would have been too cold for it to grow in. Maybe though it’s not hibiscus.
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I think studios are working hard to make kids’ movies that also entertain parents, and sometimes they don’t get it right. The Inside Out movies are great, but I’m not sure if children would understand? I never asked any.
The internship is not paid; sorry if that was unclear. However, I did do an interpreting job that was paid, my first ever. I’m not sure what kinds of situations I will end up in. Any place my mentor goes, I will go, too.
As for my plants, you’re spot on! The Rose of Sharon is a type of Hibiscus. I’m not sure why they grow here, but I swear you can’t kill them. They’re everywhere.
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I think they are too but many Disney movies entertained parents with good characterisation and witty songs. I did see the first Inside Out movie with a friend. I decided it’s really for older children and up.
Oops re internship. I just misread what you said. If I’m commenting on my phone I can’t swipe up to check things in the blog that I’m commenting on.
I do love hibiscus. They are so cheery.
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My first instinct was to call up Google Maps. It looks like you and Nick will be separated by a 6 hour drive. Pretty close all things considered. About the same distance you drive presently to see Biscuit. (Shame they are completely opposite directions).
Congratulations on your first paid job as an interpreter.
You can visit me anytime if you bring blackberry pie.
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It’s actually only 3 hours to Biscuit’s house, so twice as far. However, Michigan has some of the strictest state laws for interpreting, meaning no internships. Considering how the first place I looked into for an internship was in Dallas, it is much closer, for sure. I’ll need to come back every 2 weeks to continue my allergy shots. I could have someone in Illinois/Missouri do it, but the co-pay is absurd. If I do it at my wellness center, it’s free.
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Wow! So many great things! Congrats on the internship! Woo hoo! One less thing to worry about. And I clapped and squealed over you doing your first paid interpreter gig!!! My mouth is watering over all those blackberries. And all the fun things you’ve been doing and all your smiling photos made me smile too. And the note from the person you sold your violin to melted my heart. I’m sorry you sold your violin but I am happy it found a good home and is bringing such joy.
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I have the same feeling about my violin as I do books: something sitting around not being used but just loved in my heart isn’t bringing me real joy, but like a shadow of joy. Sort of like Plato’s cave where we’re asked what’s read and what isn’t. Thus, I let such things go when I can so someone else can experience real joy.
The odd thing about my internship is that no one else in my class has one, and part of the work we’re doing this semester is to secure internships! I will obviously still go through the process (it’s required), and I will send those materials to my internship supervisor so they can see them.
Thank you for squealing and clapping, as weird as that sounds when I type it 🥰
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Wow, that internship sounds so exciting! And such great news about staying with the family, that will be awesome. When i was younger I did a high school exchange to Australia and lived with a family for 6 months, and some of the advice they gave me before I went was to say this mantra to myself: “it’s not good, it’s not bad, it’s just different” whenever I encountered something I thought was weird. I still find this saying helpful, to this day haha
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Holy crap, when you were in high school you moved away for 6 months?! That’s amazing, especially because it was before Zoom and smartphones. Just those super long distance phone calls to mom and dad, or an email. Did you encounter anything “weird”?
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It was at the very end of my high school, I had technically already graduated in Canada but they let me go anyway. But yah, it was pretty wild, I encountered lots of weird things. Drinking to excess was quite normalized there, which I think is part of the reason I don’t think alcohol anymore – I just don’t see the point, as I’ve witnessed more harm than good with it.
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