Photos from Lakeside Chautauqua Ohio

Last week, Steve and I attended a conference at Lakeside Chautauqua in Ohio.  It's a beautiful place; here are some images from our walk on Monday - all taken with my iPhone:

Bullet Journaling: What has Changed and Not Changed

I have been bullet journaling since the beginning of 2017.  I pulled out my first journal today and flipped through it.  Many things have changed since that first journal; some haven’t:

1. I use a navy blue A5 Leuchtturm dot grid notebook.  All of them have been Leuchtturm - all of them have been navy - but the first one was not a dot grid notebook.  It was lined. I didn’t think I would like the dots, but after the first one, I switched.  And I like it much better.  I also love the look of all of those navy hard back books lined up on my shelf - I’m in #20.
2. I set the first one up, thinking it would last a year.  It did not.  It lasted six months.  There are lots of blank spreads at the beginning because of that, but now I plan for each book to hold six months.  After June and after December, I switch to a new book even though that leaves extra space in the back of the books.  I love knowing which book to grab for which month - I love the organization of six months per book - I love not worrying if I am going to run out of space (which I did when I thought the book would last a year). 
3. I have refined the spreads I need in order for the journal to work for me.  For example, my future log is now a six month plus “future” spread over four pages.  It has two months per page and then a grid for the next six month on one page.  It’s the first thing in the book, which makes more sense to me.  In my first journal, it was spread throughout the book.
4. I leave more space for the visual, creative part of the journal.  The theme and the decoration are part of the fun for me.  I am not nearly as decorative as some I see on the internet, but that is part of it for me. 
5. A few years ago, Steve purchased a Sprocket printer. It prints small (2x3) images.  Because of that, I've added images to my bullet journal.  I drop the pictures I want in a shared folder on my iPhone; when he has a chance, he prints them for me. It adds a very fun touch to the "blue books."
6. I love the historical record of life it creates for us.  Need to know what happened? Look in the books.  I record the gifts we have given, the hotels we have stayed in, etc.  Each trip we take has a Travel Journal in my bullet journal.  Those are incredibly fun to look back on.  It was something I had tried for years to do - either in an analog way or a digital way - and was only partially successful.  Since 2017, every trip has a travel log. 

July Reading Review

1. What was my favorite book?  As it stands now, I read two 5-star books in July: The Seven Rings by Nora Roberts and Divided in Death by J.D. Robb.  I say "as it stands now" because I am seriously considering changing the ratings for A Court of Frost and Starlight (to a 5) and A Court of Silver Flames (to either a 4.5 or a 5). When I look at how they compare to other books and how I've rated them, I think my ratings are too low. It would mean also changing the other Sarah J. Maas books I've read, too.
2. What was my least favorite book?  My lowest rated books were Spinning Silver by Naomi Novak and Throne of Jade by Naomi Novak.  I rated them both 3.5 stars. I liked both of them, and would recommend them, but they were just a little slower for me than others.  Still good, though.
3. Any surprises? I was surprised by T. Kingfisher's Snake Eater.  I had it on my TBR last year, but I put it off. Then I read Wolf Worm in April, and really decided to not read any more horror books at all from Kingfisher. Wolf Worm was disturbing!  Then this month I read a review of Snake-Eater, and decided it wouldn't be as disturbing as as Wolf Worm, plus I was looking for a book to fit "darker themes" in the Goober Reading Challenge, so I picked up Snake Eater. I was surprised how much I liked it. It was a great story about a woman who has been abused (emotionally) and how she works through that, moving across the country and making a new found family. Oh, there are spirits and evil things, too.
4. Trends? I've noticed that this month, I had 7 hybrid reads. For me, a hybrid read is a book I read in two different formats at the same time, switching between them.  These are always audiobooks with a print or kindle companion. I took Amazon up on a 3 month trial of Kindle Unlimited, so I've been able to find lots of kindle books to go along with my audiobooks. It means I can read in the car as I drive, and other places, too, where audio doesn't work.
5. How am I coming with my reading goals?  I read 12 books, 75% of which were new to me. I'm up to 74 for the year so far.