The Weekly Ramble – January 23, 2026
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Happy Friday! Let’s chat important things, jury duty, and hard and crunchy blueberries.
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Hello! Hi! How are you? It was so fun to see an uptick in the comments section last week. Thank you for that gift!
Over the last week I’ve spent a fair amount of time digging into the archives. In and among the comments pop up names that I recognize from long ago, fellow moms who I know still read here. Thanks for doing so!
This week was my last homebody week before FishChick17 and I spend a couple days a week on the local college campus. She’s been my constant sidekick for a very long time.
(I’m not being a helicopter mom to go with her, by the way. She doesn’t have her license yet, and it’s a minimum 1-hr round trip, so this makes the most sense for gas and time.)
Anyway, I know my days are numbered. While I’ve really enjoyed my homebody weeks during her winter break, I realize how quickly my daylong mothering is coming to an end.
Remember this post? Did I learn that lesson well? I hope so. It’s wild to find out where we are now.
So, even though I’ve loved my homebody days this week, here’s to leaning into important time with my girl in her last season (and mine!) of high school.
Another interesting call on my time is an upcoming jury summons. Unlike most people, I don’t groan when I get one. And I haven’t gotten one in a very long time. They must know my baby is old enough to take care of herself!
Anyway, I don’t groan because I believe that we must uphold the justice system, especially in Practically Lawless California. If I or any of you were on trial, I’d want someone like me or you on the jury!
It’s interesting to note that this summons, unlike the ones that Bryan and the boys have received over the last few years, requires I appear in person. They get numbers to call the night before and then never have to go.
This tells me my chances are good that I will serve. I’ve appeared twice in the last 32 years and been chosen as a juror once. The other time they sent everyone home. So, my service rate is 50%. Or 100% depending on how you want to do the math.
I hope you’ll pray for me and for whatever is on the docket in the coming weeks. (I confess to one complaint: there’s no free parking for jurors.)
Here’s what else I’ve been doing, eating, listening/watching, reading, and/or writing this past week:
What I’ve been Doing
I’ve mostly been focused on business stuff this week which has been really fun. My income hasn’t picked up, but I still feel optimistic.
The house has mostly held itself together, but I know as next week’s schedule changes, I’ll need to be more on the ball. I did get my kitchen dejunking project done last weekend and that feels really good.
We had a lovely Sunday dinner. I’ve been playing with roasting pork loin in the Dutch oven in the oven and everyone has really liked it. This Sunday I have a book club Zoom right before we normally eat so I’m going to try to get it all made ahead of time.
What I’ve been Eating
I’ve planned really easy meals this week but one thing I’ve been enjoying tremendously all month is the fresh blueberries that have been on sale at Ralphs. They have to be hard and crunchy for me to like them, and this batch has been so good!
Most mornings I have a big bowl of berries with a cup of Greek yogurt and a scattering of Vanilla Almond Granola. Yum-O!
What I’ve been Listening/Watching
I finished The Hobbit on audio over the weekend and then have been waiting for another interesting audio book. Props to Andy Serkis for doing an incredible job impersonating the voices of Gandalf, the elf, Balin, and Thorin. I seriously thought I was hearing the movie.
I enjoyed the latest episodes of The Art of Home and Home Fires and started the newest Huberman Lab podcast.
With the kids I’ve been watching episodes of Shetland and we all enjoyed the first of All Creatures‘ latest season.
I’ve been doing more writing and reading than listening or watching this week.
What I’ve been Reading
Look at that, would you? I’m honestly not sure how I read so much except that I was on the treadmill a fair amount.
I finished On Writing Well. It had a strong beginning but the wheels fell off the bus about halfway-through. The author’s political opinions are snide and a little overdone, so that was a distraction. That said, I appreciated the nudge to use specific language and focus on connections. The book was written when I was a child, so much of the content does not translate to how we read or publish these days.
I finished The Hobbit as I mentioned.
I also whipped through three clean romance books that were free on Kindle Unlimited. This kind of book I can read really fast because I don’t have to think much. lol.
- Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend – This is series adjacent to another series I read and enjoyed last year. Kate Watson does a great job with inner struggles.
- and its sequel, Planes, Reins, and Automobiles – no idea what the reins is about since there were no horses in the book!
- One More Made Up Love Song by Jenny Proctor – this is a sequel to another book I read last year – not amazing. There was little conflict or suspense, just more of a narration of someone’s happily ever after.
I started The 5 Years Before You Retire because we are at that point when Bryan will be looking at the 5-year plan. I haven’t gotten far enough in to say yay or nay on the book.
Bryan may be retired before I finish Kitchen Organization – I’m finding it really boring and I really don’t like the author’s tone. She’s one of those complain-about-your-kids type people and that’s not my vibe. My only regret is that I actually purchased the book because I didn’t know it was on Kindle Unlimited.
What I’ve been Writing
I’ve been working on updating old posts as well as creating new content for both blogs. More time intensive than the old days, this process requires keyword research, new photos shot, photos edited, and graphics made for Pinterest.
If you’ve got a Pinterest account, I’d love for you to share these posts. Thank you!
Here’s what’s new on the blogs:
Thanks for reading, friend!
How was your week?
What’s up in your world? Leave a comment or a prayer request. We’re all in this together!
I got a notice for jury duty last summer for the Superior court, which is in Phoenix. I wanted to be called just so I could have a paid getaway. LOL I think I’d like being on a jury, but have never gotten close to being called/asked to serve.
They must pay more in Arizona? Do they compensate for the hotel?
They do! There was a limit, but since it was August in Phx that wasn’t an issue. I think there’s even a gas stipend whether I stay overnight or not.
I got a jury summons also!! But I can request to opt out and I get a phone number to call. I don’t mind serving, but this time of year is very busy for my choir program at school and being absent would create many, many issues. I’ll ask to postpone till this summer.
Thanks for sharing about your week!
I opted out for many years because we didn’t have child care. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve even gotten anything in the mail. Wild!
Hi, Jessica! I also eat berries, a little yogurt, and a little granola almost every morning. I am with you about not having mushy blueberries too. Yuck!
I love to hear how positive you feel about jury duty. And I totally agree that jurors should not have to pay for parking! I just finished editing a trial for a court reporter this week.
If you aren’t enjoying that book. I hope you give yourself permission to abandon it for now. Time is too valuable!
Here in my world, it’s still freezing (-10 air temp)! I’ll be making soup and bread tomorrow and keeping busy inside all weekend.
I hear your encouragement to abandon the book. I haven’t picked it up in two weeks. May give it one more go — maybe hop around the chapters.
I’ve noticed your uptick in Instagram activity and love it. I take time for the short snippets more than I do on the blog posts. I have time just don’t always take it! Thank you for being there for us.
Yes! My dive into IG was back in December, I think. It’s been awhile since I hopped over there. It’s been looking ugly lately. So sad.
I am home from 9 days of business travel plus a weekend in between with a friend from college. Productive work gains by being in person instead of virtual from home AND some fun times with my friend and my coworkers. (Tried skate-style cross country skiing and snowshoeing for the first time, and went to a fun indoor putt putt place that kept score for you with sensors in the balls and putters. Who knew?) Now home and anticipating cold and snow the next few days. I went to the stores earlier and bought the fixings for chili and 2 different soups and I am looking forward to cozy time at home.
I am interested in your pork roast technique as our 20 yr old son who lives at home recently requested pork roast.
And jury duty. I have been called but haven’t had to serve. My husband served on a jury which really caused emotional distress for him. It can be hard to hear the ugly details that result in the need for a trial. So prayers for all involved in your jury situation.
I too love firm blueberries, with yogurt or especially cottage cheese. However, when you described the berries as hard and crunchy I thought you were going to say you didn’t like them that way, as that description somehow doesn’t sound appealing!
I am reading The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife, from Australia. I am enjoying the story, but not the writing style as there are too many awkward or contrived similes.
Have a good week!
I looked up that book. It sounds really interesting. Did you finish?
And good point about the ugly details of a court case. The one I served on was a traffic accident with no fatalities. I hadn’t gone there in my mind, but now I can be better prepared. Thank you!
That putt-putt sounds so fun!
I did finish the book. Sweet story, everything wrapped up nicely and the background of how the author came to write it is very nice – I stand by my assessment that the story was better than the writing style.
Funny you would mention cooking pork. I found a pork rib roast on clearance this week for $4.00 and grabbed it. I didn’t even know what one was really. Only cooks for 45 minutes???? I have a recipe I’m going to try in a bit. Hope it turns out.
I finished a book called “West with Giraffes” that I really liked and I see it is still zero dollars on Kindle at Amazon Prime. If you like animals, you will like it. Plus there is some history on the San Diego Zoo since that’s where the journey is taking them, so you would like that.
I got the book you recommended. Here’s hoping I have time to read this week! Thanks, Kathy!
One of the best books I read in 2025 was The English Masterpiece by Katherine Reay.
Granola and berries are a favorite here too!
Ooh. I started that on audio and didn’t love the narrator. Thanks for the reminder to get the written on hold.
Ooh. ooh. It’s free on KU! Might be worth renewing my subscription this month… Hmm…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the writing book and the kitchen organization one. They both seemed like ones I would also enjoy. Now I know I can cross them off the list!
Well, don’t take my word for it. You might love them both!
Life’s too short to read boring books, IMO. I’d say ditch Kitchen Organization if it’s not speaking to you. My guess is that your kitchen is pretty organized (even with multiple cooks), and I’m sure there are other books on the topic if you really feel you need to gain some new tips. 😉
I used to feel like I had to read each and every word of whatever book I picked up. (Probably because as an English major back in the day I had to read a lot of books I didn’t care for but read anyway.) I finally got to the point where I decided I could just move on if a book wasn’t right for me. It’s been amazingly freeing. 🙂
I couldn’t possibly agree with you more. It certainly was freeing the day I also decided to become assertive about protecting my very little free time. If a book you are reading voluntarily becomes a slog, give it up and pass it along to someone who may end up enjoying it.
I also embraced the many free ebooks available from my library system (ebooks collected from several cities/counties) through the free app Libby. If you have a library card, they are probably linked. Also, the thousands of books (and silent movies and audio old time radio shows) available through the Internet Archive https://archive.org/ for free. The older cookbooks and fiction are often a joy to browse.
I love Libby. CA residents are allowed library cards in other cities so it’s lovely to collect them and have wider access on the app.
I hear you. I think I will hop around in the chapters and see if there’s value hidden somewhere. Did you ever read How to Read a Book? The one by Adler and Van Doren. A later version by Naselli is also good. Both address scanning and skimming which is what I’ll probably end up doing with this one.
Just to get my money’s worth. 😉
Scanning and skimming sounds like a good plan, especially with nonfiction. How to Read a Book sounds vaguely familiar (maybe my son had to read it), but I’ve not read it. However, I do scan and skim nonfiction at times to determine what sections grab my attention/need a closer read.
Son and his GF will graduate from college in April, and I’m planning to borrow some of the books they’ve had to read over the past four years once they no longer need them. (Son is currently taking a Brit Lit class that requires several books I’ve heard of but never read, and his GF has several books that she’s had to read for her Christian Studies minor that sound interesting.)
I’m hoping to have time in the summer for reading (I’m currently dealing with probate which is taking much too much of my time–uggh!)
That sounds like a great summer project!