Life: It Goes On - June 23

Holy smokes - summer is here with a vengeance. We had April weather in May and July weather in June - we've lost two of the best months of the year!


It's been a busy week at Casa Shepp. Tuesday and Wednesday the roofers were here to replace the roof damaged in this spring's hail storm. Thursday the Omaha Bookworms met to discuss The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and were lucky enough to have the hostess' husband join in our discussion. Saturday we interred The Big Guy's mother's remains in the small town she grew up in then joined family that lives nearby for lunch. Last night dessert and drinks on the deck with friends - the perfect way to relax after a long day.

Here's What I'm:

Listening To: I've got two CDs left of Tracy Chevalier's The Lady and The Unicorn. Next up is Henning Mankell's The Man From Beijing...I think. I like to really switch things up when I change audiobooks and that seems about as diverse as I can get.

Watching: Baseball - as much of the College World Series as I can catch.

Reading: I started Marjan Kamali's Together Tea this weekend for a TLC Book Tour. So far it's feeling a little like Persian chick lit but I'm not too far in yet.

Making: Apple dumplings - we had them yesterday at a family gathering and they are so good and easy! For those of you who follow me on Pinterest, I pinned the recipe I'm using.

Planning: On one of the home decor blogs I follow, the blogger is in the midst of a month without clutter. She has cleared off everything that's non-essential on all of her flat services, floors and furniture. I had to take everything off the walls while the roofers were here this week and it's got me thinking about doing the same thing now that's I've had that much of a clean palate. So I think what I'm planning this week is to try that. We'll see.

Grateful for: I feel like I'm a broken record here but once again, I've got to say family.  I thought the interment would just be the siblings and a few of the grand kids but his paternal aunt, three of her kids, their wives and kids all came out to be with us at the service and then hosted us for a lunch. They are wonderful people we really should try to see more of.

Loving: My brother's new website. He's a photographer as a hobby and so good at it. We've been telling him for a long time that he could sell his photographs and he finally listened! I don't know that he's got all of the kinks worked out on the website yet but as soon as I'm sure he does, I'll give you the address. I'd love for you to see what he does.

Thinking: My anxiety is starting to get the best of me. I'm really looking forward to my upcoming four-day weekend but I can't decide if I should plan to be really productive for four days or try to make myself chill for four days. There I go, anxious about how to handle my anxiety. You see how this is a vicious cycle?!

Looking forward to: A little quiet this week; The Big Guy will be out of town for a few days. Love my Big Guy but there's constant noise with that man!