The smell of these

in the late deep summer

as they brush against your skin

that July-pine sticky-scent in the heated air, I used to hate the way it lingered on my fingertips

But my neighborhood was full of them, I wonder now how universal is their smell to childhoods spent outdoors

I never learned their name

weather

• Surprisingly wet and rainy for the summer? 
• A few truly beautiful days

watching

• New Girl
• Deadpool 2 (movie)
• Hereditary (movie)
• Queer Eye Season 2

reading

• Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart
• Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
• A Death Along the River Fleet by Susanna Calkins

doing

• Starting to prep for our move in earnest

events

• Tyler's birthday! Hale Pele night!
• Rose garden visit
• Grace's birthday
• Belle & Sebastian concert at the zoo

accomplishments

• Reading more
• Making decisions

Weather

• Mostly good spring weather (60's F, 70 if you're lucky)
• Some very hot days, and some rainy Portland days
• New Orleans: around 90 all day, hot and muggy, mostly sunny with a few thunderstorms

Watching

• Sarah Beeny's Selling Houses
• New Girl
• Solo (movie)

Reading

• The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman (I read a prompt that was along the lines of "if someone wanted to read a book that would tell them more about you [not necessarily your favorite book, just one that said a lot about you], which book would it be?" It has a special place in my heart.)
• The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue
• Death Embraced by Mary Lacoste

Doing

• Traveling to New Orleans to visit my aunt and uncle
• Cemetery tours, beignets, lots of seafood, alligators :)
• May went so quickly, I'm not sure I remember the rest of it

Events

• Tour of St. Louis Cemetery #1
• Museum of Death visit and Historic Museum of Voodoo
• Swamp boat tour

Accomplishments

• Discovering the alarm clock app that literally changed my life and solved the lifelong problem of waking up on time (this is huge)
• Family visit

weather

• Lots of rain
• Some very warm spring days
• Mostly good mild spring

watching

• Sarah Beeny's Selling Houses
• Parks & Recreation (again, always)

reading

• Phenomena by Annie Jacobsen
• Archaeology Under Water by George F. Bass

doing

• Taking Pepper on longer walks
• Playing more Monster of the Week
• Taking Shipwrecks and Submerged Worlds class
• Continuing Welsh on Duo Lingo
• Going to the Bad Habit Room for brunch (a lot)

events

• Seeing A Quiet Place in theater (5 stars!)
• Going to the coast for our 5 year anniversary weekend
• Kodama tattoo
• Seeing Infinity War

accomplishments

• Developing a better morning routine
• Figuring out how to be less frustrated with work

March was a reminder of how quickly time passes. It was largely quiet and unproductive. Late winter is such a deceptive and difficult time, although I feel out of the slump now. This post is a bit late.

Weather

• Rainy, a few good days but mostly typical Portland spring

Watching

• Worst Cooks in America 
• The Office (again, perpetually)

Reading

• Ghosts Know by Ramsey Campbell
• Dark Tides by Chris Ewan
• Hex by Thomas Olde Heuvelt
• A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle (and the movie!) 

events

• my birthday! Party + new tattoo

 Doing

• Working on Monster of the Week game
• Finishing my Oregon Archaeological society class
• Studying Welsh on Duolingo
• Stilllll playing Breath of the Wild

accomplishments

• Developing productive habits