Spring is finally arriving in the Midwest, and thank goodness. It’s disheartening to have sunlight at 7 pm shining on snow.

As we launch into spring, here’s what’s going on around here…

Lingering on | My eyes have been seeking out vintage books lately. Exhibit A:

Reading (books) | After the post-vacation recovery period, I’m back at Tell the Wolves I’m Home. (Literally: I’m home. But please don’t tell the wolves.) And it’s so good, I’m sorry I set it down for those weeks. I’m also seriously loving The Woman’s Hour by Elaine F. Weiss, which describes the work done by brave and smart women to get the 19th amendment ratified.

Reading (online) | I’m super excited about Citizen Reader’s Essay Project, and I’m so playing along.

Listening | I’m really liking Michael Strahan’s reading of his book Wake Up Happy. Beyond finding his story fascinating and his approach to life inspiring, I really like the sound of his voice (which reminds me of my favorite great-uncle).

Watching | Samuel and Audrey travel videos on YouTube. We’re hooked.

Eating | The donuts at the new donut place. Oh my land. There’s fig & goat cheese, and then there’s Oreo. I’m not even kidding.

Learning | Meditation, you’re not gonna be an easy one. I’ve been reading Meditation for Fidgety Skeptics, a book whose title and tone I adore, but man have I been struggling to sit still and breathe. Even when I schedule it, I dismiss the reminder cuz I’m not only fidgety and skeptical, I’m also stubborn. If meditation actually takes, this is gonna be a serious achievement.

Loving | My aromatherapy diffuser. I’m completely surprised by how fond I am of this little guy. And it even turns all kinds of pastel colors when I turn it on its lava lamp setting. I know: ridiculous. But it makes me happy. (It does not make me meditate. See above.)

Anticipating | The Dear Man and I are doing preliminary planning for a trip with his dear sister and dear brother-in-law, and I can’t wait. I’m writing a packing list and agonizing over which books to take and getting all shivery with excitement.

Celebrating | Day trip season has begun! We made our first springtime day trip to some Black Hawk War sites and geeked it up right. More happy geek couple travel ahead…

This installment could be subtitled “Presently: presents!” because it features at least five perfect gifts that came into my life. I’m a lucky one.

Reading (the books) | On my nightstand, I’ve got Y Is for Yesterday, the unexpectedly final book by Sue Grafton. (This makes me very sad.)  Also: Grant by Ron Chernow, a delightful Christmas gift from the Dear Man, who perfectly anticipated I’d need a Chernow fix as I was nearing the end of Alexander Hamilton.  

Reading (the audiobooks) | I’m listening to The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, which has me completely engrossed. Also: occasionally overcome with emotion.

Reading (online) | The Dear Man News Service sent me this article about George Washington and a library, which made me happy…

Listening  | Lin-Manuel Miranda announced his Hamildrops project, and I’ve been inappropriately laughing as I listen to “Ben Franklin’s Song.” (I’d link to it, except all those swears!)

Watching  | Oh my gosh. We’ve been watching the Winter Olympics, and I adore it.

Learning  | During the holidays, nearly all of us did the Enneagram Inventory by Ian Morgan Cron, and I’ve been diving deep into that world. (Type 1 here!)

Loving  | My new egg cooker. I mean, look at how cute.

Anticipating  | We’re homing in on Pizzeria #100 pretty soon… We’re at #99 and counting! My excellent sister and brother-in-law gave us a pizza carrier for Christmas, and it’s proving the thing we never knew we needed.

Celebrating | Five years ago, I met the Dear Man. Serious happiness has ensued.

I’ve decided: I kinda like winter.

So tell me, readers… what perfect gifts have come into your life?

Reading | I’m in the final 200 pages of Ron Chernow’s magnificent Alexander Hamilton, and I’ve begun re-reading Hamilton: The Revolution (that beautiful book filled with all the lyrics), because we’re going to see Hamilton later this month!! When I’m not immersed in Hamiltoniana, I’m completely loving Anne Bogel’s new book, Reading People. The reading life is very rich these days.

Listening: the audiobooks | The audiobook that’s edged out all others at the moment: My Life, My Love, My Legacy by Coretta Scott King. Usually I listen to an eAudiobook around the house, and a CD audiobook in the car. But I’ve been taking this one with me and listening to it everywhere, because I’m completely absorbed in her story.

Listening: the podcasts | What’s been making me happy in the podcast universe lately: Happier in Hollywood, By the Book, TED Talks, and What Should I Read Next?

Loving | Pizza #83, you made us very happy! The Dear Man and I went to Impellizzerri’s in Louisville, and this pizza knocked our socks off. I’m thinking it might make the top 5. Definitely top 10.

Learning | I’m still working on developing some Deep Work habits, and I gotta say: it’s not always coming naturally. But I’m taking some serious steps to implement it, and I had one perfect day when I was so productive it was nearly frightening. It was pretty freakin’ amazing.

Celebrating | We just completed another canoe trip, and, as usual, we were all fresh and jolly and raring for more when we arrived at the outfitter at the end of a day of paddling. And also as usual, this shocked the outfitter staff, who apparently are accustomed to people being either super cranky or wretchedly exhausted after a pleasant day of river canoeing. We are chipper.

Anticipating | Hamilton!!!!!! Did I mention we’re in the countdown? We are. Flapping commences every time I realize this is the month. (There’s a lot of flapping going on.)

Learning | I attended the American Library Association conference, so: inspired! Also: delighted because Brene Brown and Ron Chernow! (I seriously flapped [metaphorically]. Then nearly cried for joy. Then pulled myself together.)

Reading | I’ve been doing some comfort reading lately. I’ve got My Mrs. Brown by William Norwich and The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin on my nightstand at the moment. They’re both lovely novels that are great before-sleep reading.

Listening | Podcasts: I’m completely hooked on Just the Right Book Podcast with Roxanne Coady. She’s smart and bookish and amiable, and I love hearing her interviews. And Elizabeth Craft, co-host of Happier, has a new podcast — Happier in Hollywood — that she co-hosts with her writing partner. They’re smart and funny, and I like hearing their take on life in Hollywood.

Listening | Audiobooks: I fell right into the wonderful storytelling of No One Is Coming to Save Us by Stephanie Powell Watts, which is terrific on audio. And I’m working my way through The Russian Debutante’s Handbook by Gary Shteyngart (though: at the moment, we’re on a break). I just picked up Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz, and I am loving it. Only partly because Lin-Manuel Miranda is the narrator (oh my land!) though I gotta say: his inflections are pitch perfect.

Loving | This amazing pizza, which is so good we revisited it even though there are dozens of other pizza places calling our name. (We just knocked off pizza place #73. But who’s counting?)

Receiving | The marvelous Bybee of Blue-Hearted Bookworm sent me Book Mail! 32 Yolks (on audio!) and Encounter with an Angry God landed happily on the top of my TBR pile. I’ve started reading Encounter and if I didn’t have a bedtime alarm, it would seriously keep me reading way too late.

Watching | I’m still working my way through the final season of Parks and Rec. I had a seriously Leslie identification moment while watching an episode the other day. (This is both delightful and terrifying.) And also, on Netflix, Elizabeth at 90: A Family Tribute, which is a fine companion documentary to The Crown.

Hamilton-ing | We’re at H Minus 3 Months (translation: seeing Hamilton in 3 months!) and I’ve just busted through the halfway point of Chernow’s magnificent biography. Goal is to finish it, and to re-read Hamilton: The Revolution. I think I got this.

Devouring |  Last weekend we visited some farmstands, and it always gets a little bit out of control when I’m near fresh sweet corn.

Anticipating | More canoeing!

So, my fellow readers… what’s on the books for the rest of your summer?

So much good stuff this early spring! Here’s the rundown…

Reading | Reliving my childhood by getting my nose stuck in a book…  I can’t, I won’t, I refuse to put down The Cubs Way: The Zen of Building the Best Team in Baseball and Breaking the Curse by Tom Verducci. If anyone in my path even seems like they might be interested in baseball (or simply great narrative nonfiction), they’re hearing me rave about this book these days. And then I read that Rizzo & Bryant & Russell & Heyward & Ross are on Instagram, so: Following.

Watching | Speaking of the best team in baseball… we watched the Cubs’ opening game, and sure, it didn’t end perfectly, but still: It’s baseball season, people!  (The New York Times is even in the spirit — they published this list of baseball books recently.)

Bryant at bat, 2015 (my 4th time at Wrigley!)

Listening (audiobooks)| I hit the trifecta, guys: three audiobooks in progress at once. It happened by accident, cuz: eAudiobook holds… they have their own timeline. So… In the car: Americanah. On the iPhone: A Man Called Ove and Talking as Fast as I Can.

Listening (podcasts) | I’ve got the happiest mix of podcasts on my iPhone. There’s What Should I Read Next? and Happier and C-SPAN’s Q&A and Getting Things Done. And a new addition to the rotation: Beyond the To Do List. When I’m warming up for a run, it’s a wonderful dilemma to decide what to listen to.

Learning | I’ve been digging into Gallup Strengths, cuz I can’t resist personality type systems. I’m currently reading Strengthsfinder 2.0, which I’ll talk about in a future post. (This is a promise, cuz I’m seriously sucked into this stuff.)

Loving | Our St. Patrick’s Day celebration with great friends

all that green!

Braving | Rotten shark. I ate it. (Totally not even kidding here.) The Dear Man’s dear sister and dear brother-in-law visited Iceland recently, and we basically dared them to try hakarl (shark that’s buried in the ground to rot, then dug up and eaten — we steered clear of it during our Iceland trip, cuz we’re sensible like that). So instead, they brought some back for all of us to try. It wasn’t so very terrible, though it’s true what they say: smells like ammonia.

(mid-chew)

(still mid-chew; the Dear Man made me laugh)

Celebrating | 20 years in my little house! It’s hard to believe, but it was 20 years ago last month that I plunked down my life’s savings for a down payment on my own tiny haven.

“The Little House was very happy as she sat on the hill and watched the countryside around her. She watched the sun rise in the morning and she watched the sun set in the evening. Day followed day, each one a little different from the one before . . . but the Little House stayed just the same.”
— Virginia Lee Burton, The Little House

Anticipating | Our 67th pizza. Cuz: yeah... We’ve eaten at 66 pizzerias so far. Here we’re picking off Wayne’s Pizza (well worth the drive).

So, good people… what’s going on in your neck of the woods?