The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz

I had never even heard of The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz until J wrote a review of it on her blog. I was dithering about my non-existent TBR and what list to put it on when I realized it was available as an audiobook narrated by Julia Whelan right away at my library, so I nabbed it!

There are two things about me that you should know before we go further in this review. Here's the quick and dirty background. Regular readers probably know both of these things, but this is a bit of necessary background for new readers.

1) I grew up in a household with parents who were hoarders. There was a path from the front door to the couch, the kitchen, and the bedrooms, but that was about it. There was so much crap jammed in the bathroom that I could not bathe on a regular basis. The kitchen was filled with food, but much of it was years old. I did the best I could in my own bedroom, but I would not infrequently come home to bags of things not intended for my use crammed into my room. 

2) I do not get along with my sister, my only sibling. 

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In The Latecomer, Johanna and Salo Oppenheimer have triplets, two boys and one girl. But it turns out that each of those triplets is horrible in his or her own way and they don't really get along. I felt so seen in the scenes of everyone living in a house, but not talking and just living separate lives. When the triplets leave for college, Johanna has another baby (the latecomer, natch). We follow the family in an inter-generational novel. 

There are themes of isolation, grief, privilege, race, and the ubiquitous plight of young people trying to find their place in this world.  

There is also a fair amount of talk about hoarding in this book. It's done sensitively (hoarders have a mental illness), but I still struggled through those scenes, flashing back to my childhood when I couldn't find clean clothing, to moving my mother out of the house she lived in when I was in college and grad school, and to cleaning out her cabin after she died. I still have two totes of unsorted through things in our guest room that I need to sort through. I listened to this book and immediately began cleaning my house and vacuuming and dusting and opening the windows. 

And the scenes with the siblings in a car who have nothing to say to one another? I felt it deep in my soul, but also? I wanted to not be hearing that scene. 

I have some beefs with this book. Of course I do. The book is called The Latecomer, but she's really not even in the book until the last 25% and she's not all that important. There's a character who is done dirty (#JusticeForEli). But, while I actively disliked every person in this novel, right down to the poor illegitimate child and dirtbag white supremacist, I also wanted to keep listening - to know what was going to happen to everyone in this family. It was well-paced and beautiful. 

It has not been since I read My Name is Lucy Barton that I have had such a visceral reminder of elements of my childhood that I would rather forget. 

4/5 stars

Lines of note:

...Harrison joined the swim team, mainly because he liked the fact that when he had his head underwater, people didn't talk to him. (Part 1 - Chapter 8)

Ha! Haven't we all been there? 

...being drawn deeper and deeper into the world of old houses and the mainly old people who lived in them. Houses stuffed with sadness, filled up room by room with sadness. Each enclosure silenced in sadness behind a closed door until the house itself was jammed and filthy. Some of the houses smelled terrible, some of them had owners who barely opened the door or spoke through a crack or slipped out and closed the door behind them...reeking of shame and fear. (Part 2 - Chapter 23) 

I have no words for this. 

There was no limit to what her brother Harrison could convert to pure assholery...(Part 2 - Chapter 25)

I actually audibly laughed at this line.

... so many families doing this together and the feeling of community was really overwhelming. (Part 3 - Chapter 31)

This is about a church-sponsored event. I feel this. I feel like it's so hard to create a community as an adult without church. I don't believe. I don't have faith. I am not envious of others for those things. But I am envious of a built-in fellowship of like-minded people at your fingertips. 

Things I looked up:

Stendhal syndrome (Part 1 - Chapter 2) - Stendhal syndrome is a psychosomatic condition involving rapid heartbeat, confusion, hallucinations, and even fainting, allegedly occurring when individuals become exposed to objects, artworks, or phenomena of great beauty.

Stendhal syndrome was named after Marie-Henri Beyle (1783–1842), better known by his pen name, Stendhal, who described his experience with the phenomenon during his 1817 visit to Florence, Italy, in his book Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio. When he visited the Basilica of Santa Croce, where Niccolò Machiavelli, Michelangelo and Galileo Galilei are buried, he was overcome with profound emotion. Stendhal wrote:

I was in a sort of ecstasy, from the idea of being in Florence, close to the great men whose tombs I had seen. Absorbed in the contemplation of sublime beauty . . . I reached the point where one encounters celestial sensations . . . Everything spoke so vividly to my soul. Ah, if I could only forget. I had palpitations of the heart, what in Berlin they call 'nerves'. Life was drained from me. I walked with the fear of falling.

Jennifer convertible sofa (Part 1 - Chapter 2) - Jennifer Furniture (formerly Jennifer Convertibles) is an American retail company, based in Great Neck, New York. I think it's related to Ashley Furniture HomeStores? The sofas just look like regular old couches? 

Diebenkorn ocean park paintings (Part 1 - Chapter 2) - Richard Diebenkorn is best known for the Ocean Park series of 145 landscape abstractions he began in 1967 after moving to Santa Monica, California, where he was inspired by his Ocean Park neighborhood. Numbered sequentially, the Ocean Park paintings are all tall, rectangular canvases, most of them divided by horizontal and vertical lines. Some seem to depict physical elements of landscape—the conjunction of ocean and sky or bands of colored clouds at sunset—while others imply more intangible elements such as space, atmosphere, or light. 

Ocean Park #24 (1969)

slab painting by Hans Hofmann (Part 1 - Chapter 2) - Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 – February 17, 1966) was a German-born American painter, renowned as both an artist and teacher. In his later works, Hofmann created works such as The Gate (1959–60), Pompeii (1959) or To Miz - Pax Vobiscum (a 1964 memorial after her death), that were loosely devoted to architectonic volumes and sometimes referred to as his "slab paintings." In these works, he used rectangles of sensual color that reinforced the shape of his consistent easel-painting format and sometimes suggested a modular logic, yet escaped definitive readings through areas of modulated paint and irregular shapes.

By Tate Gallery website. Copyright held by the estate of Hans Hofmann., Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=57772187 - Hans Hofmann, Pompeii, oil on canvas, 84.25” x 52.25", 1959.

Franz Kline (Part 1 - Chapter 2) -  an American painter  associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement of the 1940s and 1950s.

Kline, Painting #2 (1954)

Agnes Martin (Part 1 - Chapter 2) - a Canadian-American abstract painter known for her minimalist style and abstract expressionism.

Starlight by Agnes Martin (1963)

Andrew Crispo (Part 1 - Chapter 2) - an American art dealer and gallery owner based in New York. He later became involved in a number of widely reported legal cases. His legal history included a federal tax conviction, a sensational state criminal prosecution, association with one of New York’s most notorious homicide cases of the 1980s, later federal convictions involving threats against court personnel during bankruptcy proceedings, and dramatic civil litigation following the destruction of his Southampton home.

Ed Ruscha (Part 1 - Chapter 2) - is an American artist associated with the pop art movement. He has worked in the media of painting, printmaking, drawing, photography, and film.

Twentysix Gasoline Stations, 1963, by Ruscha

Whitman, Grinnell, Roarke, Reed, Hendrix (Part 1 - Chapter 8) - Whitman is a private liberal arts institution in Walla Walla, Washington with an enrollment of about 1500. Grinnell is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa with an enrollment of about 1700. Reed College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon with an enrollment of about 1300. Hendrix a private liberal arts college in Conway, Arkansas with an enrollment of about 1000. Roarke is made up for this novel. 

Johnson Museum of Art (Part 2 - Chapter 14) - Museum at Cornell in Ithaca, New York. 

Hat mentions:

None

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Have you ever read a book that brings up things from your childhood you'd rather forget? Did you know all these artists? Have you ever been to the Johnson Museum of Art? 

CBWC April 2026: Week 2

It's Cool Bloggers Walking Club (CBWC) time! Hosted by Elisabeth, we're trying for ten minutes of intentional movement every day.

This week I had more than just my usual canine companion with me on walks. Woot for new walking partners!

This is what a dog who is sniffing on a windy day looks like. She could smell all the way to Canada, I'm pretty sure. 

Wednesday, April 8

38 minute morning walk with Hannah along the river

48 minute afternoon walk with the dog. The word "walk" is pretty subjective. It was very breezy and she mostly stood around sniffing.

13 minute walk before bed in the rain

Thursday, April 9

46 minute walk with Hannah on an absolutely beautiful morning. There may have been duck chasing by the river. 

30 minute afternoon walk with Dr. BB and Hannah - It was a lovely day and afternoon. It started to cloud up and I'm pretty sure it's going to rain all night, but it was nice while it lasted

April 10 and I'm still wearing my winter boots. Hannah's not wearing boots, though. 

Friday, April 10

37 minute walk with Hannah on a rainy morning

16 minute walk around the block with Hannah before bed

Saturday, April 11

50 minute walk with H on a lovely morning - don't be fooled, though, I was still wearing my winter boots and coat

13 minute walk with H before bed

Sunday, April 12

37 minute walk with Hannah on a warm muggy morning

24  minute walk with Hannah in the afternoon - it was really windy and all Hannah wanted to do was sniff!

Monday, April 13

Bestest Friend and I drove to Chicago where we did some fun activities! More to come on that later. Meanwhile, I was walking through neighborhoods with beautiful brownstones and gorgeous schools like this. I gave myself credit for 60 minutes of walking, but that was an estimate.

Tuesday, April 14

Look at Chicago showing off!! It has been such perfect weather! This was on the way from the bus stop to the Museum Campus. I was wearing a dress and sandals and living my absolute best life. We did a bit more walking today in short bursts, but it had to be at least 75 minutes. 

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Have you had an unusual walking partners recently? Have you ever been to a city with absolute perfect weather just on the right days you were there? 

The Book That Matters the Most by Ann Hood

The Book That Matters the Most by Ann Hood came across my radar because it fulfills the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge prompt to read a book about a book club. I  listened to the audiobook narrated by Nina Alvamar.

I'm going to go into a plot summary and then go into my emotional journey while reading this book and then try to figure out what star rating to give it because I am a confused person right now.

Ava's husband left her for a woman who yarn bombs public monuments. Her children are both in foreign countries - her daughter in Italy and her son in Uganda. She's feeling lost and adrift, so she joins a book group at the local library whose theme for this year's reading is "books that matter the most to you." Ava chooses a book that helped her deal with the unexpected deaths of her sister and mother in short succession when she was a child, but the book is hard to find and somewhat mysterious. 

Suddenly, we are whipped out of this story to follow Maggie, Ava's daughter, who, as it turns out, is not in Florence, but in Paris living as a married man's kept woman. She slides into drug abuse and becomes one of those insufferable addicts. I almost stopped listening at this point because I cannot stand books with a POV of junkies because they are incredibly uninteresting. Sure, I should have some empathy for them, but when you're a conventionally attractive, healthy young person from a good home, I REALLY STRUGGLE WITH THE EMPATHY. People are going through hard things without becoming addicted to heroin, you know? (I try to tell myself about the brain chemistry thing, but...). I also really get annoyed when everyone she meets offers her drugs. How is that possible? Maybe I'm odd or put off "don't offer me drugs" vibes, but random folks I run into on the beach aren't offering me hard drugs. 

THEN! The book derails to talk about the death of Ava's sister and there's an elderly detective. And then, coincidentally, an old lady at the book group dies and leaves Ava a copy of the book she couldn't find and a note saying she knew Ava's mother. The coincidences start piling up as Maggie somehow gets herself clean (*sigh* as if it would be that easy) and there's something very familiar about the woman at the bookstore in Paris. 

Look. 

I'm struggling with this novel. On one hand, I like Ava. I really like Ava's friends. Kate is so excited for Ava when Ava has sex with a younger man! Yay for supportive friends. I loved the scenes of the book at the book club because they honestly had interesting discussions. On the other hand, ugh with Maggie. And, ugh so hard at the coincidences.

And, here's the hardest part. I, generally, as you know, think this world has been run for and to the advantage of men for too long. But I honestly think Ann Hood hates men? Consider her treatment of Jim, Ava's ex-husband. Many adulterers in this book get POVs and even redemption arcs. Nada for Jim. Maybe that's okay because this is a book for women and about women and fuck Jim (maybe). But then there's Theodore, Ava's father, who raised her after her mother left and is now suffering from dementia in a nursing home and Ava literally believes nothing he says. Theodore is the HERO of this book as far as I'm concerned - a man who did everything to the best of his ability - and no POV for him? Not even when the book went to flashback? And his current state? Ugh. I just can't. When I'm defending male characters, something has gone really really wrong. 

So how do I rate this? I don't know? It's complicated. I'd love to chat about this book with someone else who has read it, but I find it hard to actually recommend it, you know? 

3/5 stars (maybe 2? maybe 2.5? I don't know)

Books they read in the book club:
Pride and Prejudice
The Great Gatsby
Anna Karenina
Catcher in the Rye
Slaughter House Five
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
One Hundred Years of Solitude
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
To Kill A Mockingbird

I've read four of these books. How many have you read? The author wrote a blog post about how she chose these books and I thought that was interesting. 

Why aren't people saying Moby-Dick is what mattered the most to them? Don't they care?!

Lines of note:

Ava took another breath. She talked to her students all the time standing in front of the classroom, confident and in charge. Why was she so nervous here? (chapter 1)

I have a colleague who is an excellent teacher. He also is paralyzed if asked to speak in front of a group of more than two people that is not his personal classroom. LOL. 

...every time she decided to go she got lost...Everyone knew the store and they directed her, pointing and showing with their hands the confusing parts of the route. Still, she'd get lost. (chapter 1)

Have Sarah tell you the story about how I thought they towed my car because I couldn't find it after we met for lunch. My inability to navigate is legendary.

Hank Bingham decided immediately that he did not like Paris. For one thing, everything looked different than it did at home - the people and the signs and the buildings. It even smelled different. He supposed that people who liked to travel did it for this ever reason, but Hank liked being home. He found comfort in knowing shortcuts and knowing where to get the best beer on tap. He found comfort in sameness. (chapter 36)

YES! I am Hank Bingham. I know people love to travel, but it's really and truly not my jam. 

Things I looked up:

Roger Williams (chapter 34) - an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations and later the State of Rhode Island. He was a staunch advocate for religious liberty, separation of church and state, and fair dealings with the Native Americans.

Hat mentions (why hats?):

matching hat and scarf and gloves the color of Christmas trees (chapter 1)

forgotten gloves and a hat (chapter 1)

porkpie hat(s) (chapter 1 x5, chapter 3 x2 chapter 5, chapter 8, chapter 24)

the guy in the hat (chapter 1)

matching hat and gloves (chapter 3)

Santa hats (chapter 3)

silly hat(s) (chapter 3, chapter 20)

winter hats and oversized sunglasses (chapter 3)

fake fur hat (chapter 3)

adjusted his hat (chapter 5)

dumb hat (chapter 5, chapter 16)

"Did he take off his hat?" (chapter 8)

pushing his hat back (chapter 20)

enormous straw hat (chapter 30)

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How many of those book club books have you read? Are you also shocked😮that Moby-Dick didn't make the cut for books that mattered the most? What book matters the most to you? 

2026 Goals Update, Quarter 1

I'm sure you're all dying to hear about my 2026 quarterly goals update. Here it is. I've always tried to be like Stephany and be scrupulously honest in these updates, but I have to admit that it always feels vulnerable. I said I was going to do these things and it feels terrible to admit that sometimes they can't get done. Oh, well. Here's my honest report.

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At least one trip with Dr. BB and Hannah x
No progress. 

At least two trips with friends x

No progress, but I have one coming up next week. 

At least two trips to Michigan to visit my high school friends ✅

 YES!!! I went on a weekend for a birthday party in February. 

Go to a fitness class I've never gone to before ✅

Yes. I went to a trampoline class in February. Woot! I'd like to go again, but it's sort of far away, so I have to really figure it out in my schedule. 

Make homemade ice cream x

No progress. I haven't even thought about it. Once the weather warms up, this will be more on my radar.

Do one creative thing a week 〰️

January: No progress

February: I went to an art gallery on campus, did some art at the museum when I went with my SIL, made a Valentine's Day card for my husband, and filled out a fun gratitude page for my journal. Let's call this a win. 

March: I went to the same art gallery on campus when they had a new exhibit, colored a page (a cat wearing a hat that I sent to Jenny for her birthday), and went to a very stressful art class at the community center. Is this a win? 

Become a regular reader of at least five new blogs in 2026 x

January: I added one new blog to my feed reader.

February: I deleted a blog from my feed reader. 

March: I barely have time to read the blogs I'm currently following. 

Leave an average of five blog comments on other blogs every day 〰️

January: 26/31 days

February: 18/28 days - egads, I'm a bad blog friend

March: 20/31 - I am not great at this. 

Send at least five postcards every month 〰️

January: I didn't send five postcards, dang it. I did send five cards to graduating seniors on my caseload, so that seems in the same spirit to me. I also sent two items of business, and seven birthday cards for a total of fourteen pieces of snail mail.

February: I sent a lot of Valentine's Day cards (fourteen), so I feel like that's in the spirit of the thing. I also sent six birthday cards, a condolence card, one postcard, and a congratulations card to a graduating senior. 

March: I sent three birthday cards and nineteen St. Patrick's Day cards, but no postcards. I didn't think this goal would be so hard. 

Present at a conference for work ✅

Done. I did this in February. 

Track how many people come to yoga this semester  ✅

January: I only met twice in January, but three people came on the Monday and five people came on the Thursday. 

February: We met eight times in February. Two people came three times, three people came once, five people came three times, and six people came once.

March: We met seven times in March. Three times it was just me, twice it was two people, once it was three people, and once it was five. 

Update my resume ✅

Done. We'll see if I need it. 

Have an ePortfolio example ✅

January: Done. If I have linked it correctly, here it is!

Use a new journal to track goals, plan out the year, and take time to notice things I'm grateful for ✅

January: So far, so good. I used a blank page at the end of the month to track things I'm grateful for and used the weekly page layout for larger goals. I also used the monthly calendar view as a blog editorial calendar. 

February: I really do like my journal. So far, so good. 

March: This is a good system for me. I wish I used it more at the beginning of the month to plan more, but it's a new habit, so maybe that will come. 

    

Take a good photo every week and print them out once a quarter ✅

Yes!  It's fun to choose them to put them in my journal every month. I can fit two to four photos in there every month and it is a bit of a surprise to me which ones I include. I'm realizing right now that my husband holding a giant carrot didn't make the cut. What was I thinking? 

Take photo of five places at least once a month ✅

I've done this, but I have to admit that it's only been one quarter and I'm already sick of this goal. 

   

Pay myself and charity first x

January: Mostly. I'm giving myself 75% on this. Not as much in savings as I would have liked, but still something!

February: I did not do well with charity this month. *sigh*

March: Sigh. I am a terrible human being. 

Reread x

January: I listened to the first Nancy Drew book (The Secret of the Old Clock) and reread In Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris. 

February: No reread this month! Oh, no!

March: Another month without a reread!!

Do a buddy read x

Not in the first quarter, but Sarah and I are already working on this for Q2. No spoilers, but we both really liked the first half of the book. 

Gratitude practice ✅

January: I did it! Every day I wrote down something in my journal. AND, whenever I was in the car with Dr. BB, I'd make him list things he was grateful for. 

February: This was easy with Elisabeth's FIG Collective. 

March: I am doing it every night in my journal. It does make me stop to think a lot. 

Be consistent in working out (at least 80% of days of 30 minutes of intentional movement) ✅

January: 28/31 (90.3%) days 

February: 24/28  (85.7%) days 

March: 22/31 (71%) days

Overall this is 82.2%, so even though I got off the track a bit in March, I'm still doing okay.

Spend 750 hours outside .〰️

January: 32 hours, 42 minutes - There was a period of very cold weather when I was only getting 20-25 minutes a day. 

February: 37 hours, 42 minutes

March: 48 hours, 58 minutes

119 hours, 22 minutes total. If every quarter I spent the same amount of time outside, this should be 187.5 hours. This does include February (a short month) and pretty cold months, so I guess I should have guessed I'd come under. Egads. 

Get on the same page as my husband about home repairs, investments, and a will 〰️

Dr. BB is going to chat with some folks in his book club about investments. 

Do two more iterations of CBBC on my blog ✅

 The Age of Innocence is in the books. 

Date night with Dr. BB every month 〰️

January: It wasn't at night, but we went to Winterfest in a local town.

February: We did a hike at a nearby park. 

March: We went to visit a friend together? Does that count? Probably not. 

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Just January goals:

No baked goods or candy - 31/31 days - Whew! That was hard. ✅

Do this video to improve posture at least twelve times this month - Twelve times on the nose. The exercises are still hard/impossible. I'll have to keep working on it. ✅

Train Hannah at least twelve times this month - ELEVEN! That's not too shabby.✅

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Just February goals:

FIG Collective - Post something I'm grateful for every day this month. - Yes! ✅

Track where Hannah is when I'm eating at the table  - This was basically to settle a bet with Dr. BB and the data doesn't lie. Hannah is attached to me. ✅

	Breakfast	Dinner
By me	17	15
By Dr. BB	1	0
Her bed	1	0
Living room rug	3	8

Do that posture video again at least twelve times this month - Nope. I forgot about it, to be honest. x

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Just March goals:

Work on my journal project for the rest of 2024 - I did complete 2024. This project will be something I use in NaBloPoMo this year if I can finish it by then. ✅

Message my accountability buddy every day. 24/31 days. Better than I had been doing before, to be honest! 〰️

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How are your quarterly goals going? When's the last time you colored? 

CBWC April 2026: Week 1

It's Cool Bloggers Walking Club (CBWC) time! Hosted by Elisabeth, we're trying for ten minutes of intentional movement every day.

Wednesday, April 1
43 minute walk with Hannah the Dog in the morning

24 minute walk with Hannah the Dog before bed 

Thursday, April 3

26 minute walk with Hannah on a cold, rainy morning. (Imma just leave this here for your listening pleasure.)

Friday, April 3

10 minutes of yoga right before bed. It was a crazy day, so this was what I was able to fit in!

Saturday, April 4

33 minute walk with Hannah on a misty foggy morning

47 minute walk with Hannah on a cold windy afternoon

Sunday, April 5

34 minute walk with Hannah in the morning

32 minute walk with Hannah when we got back from Iowa around dinner time

14 minute walk with Hannah before bed

Sunrise on a grey, grey day.

Monday, April 6

43 minute walk with Hannah in the morning

12 minute with Hannah before bed

Who? Me? I wasn't chasing ducks. You must have me confused for another dog. 

Tuesday, April 7

42 minute walk with Hannah in the morning

26 minute walk with Hannah after work - I felt kind of bad because she clearly wanted to be out longer, but I had to get to my fitness class, so I rushed her a little bit. I hate doing that. 

11 minute walk around the block with Hannah before bed

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Have you seen any gorgeous sunrises or sunsets recently? Who is your favorite walking partner? 

What I Spent: March 2026

As a reminder, my husband pays the "big bills" like mortgage, phone, car, and electricity. I pay for groceries and the pets and that somehow evens things out. However, at some point last month, my credit card was used by somebody that wasn't me and they cancelled my card and I had to get a new on and that meant I couldn't pay for the big Costco trip. What that means is that the groceries this month look miniscule, but that's because my husband paid for a big chunk. Muhahahaha. 

Entertainment ($13.70, <1%) - Spotify membership.

Fitness ($15, <1%) - One fitness class.

Eating out ($30.79, 2%) - I got coffee once and had dinner out with friends when I was in Michigan.

Cars ($31.63, 2%) - I filled up one car with gas once. 

Personal care ($80, 5%) - Face lotion and a hair cut. 

Gifts ($85, 5%) - Some birthday gifts and greeting cards. 

Savings ($200, 12%) - I tried a system earlier in the year to increase this and it worked for exactly one month. 

Bills ($300, 18%) - Water/sewer, home and car insurance

Pets ($420, 25%) - Food for both, litter for the cat, probiotics for the dog. and I had to buy a card for Hannah's baths. Hannah's probiotics are literally like $2/day, so they add up!

Groceries ($490, 30%) - We spent almost this at Costco last month, though, and Dr. BB paid for that. 

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April's going to be a bit different, though, because I'm going on a trip with Bestest Friend, so the entertainment number will be much higher! And groceries will definitely increase. I'm not mad about that, though! What's the last thing you bought? 

Five (Plus One) for Friday, Edition #41: The Gallimaufry Edition

1) The ghost: I think our house is haunted. Let me explain. There was THIS DAY. Here are the events that unfolded on THAT DAY.

• When I walked Hannah in the morning, the back door was locked when I got home. I swear I didn't lock it, but I'll grant you there was a slim possibility I did. But it was probably the ghost.
• The doorbell didn't work when I tried to ring it to get Dr. BB to let us in. I had to wander around the house banging on windows looking like a burglar. This, it turns out, is because the doorbell battery was dead, but I think the ghost did it.
• When we got home after work, our front door was WIDE OPEN. And I think it had been open ALL DAY when we were not home. I mean, Hannah would have murdered anyone who tried to get in, but we very rarely use the front door. How was it open? (Hypothesis: Dr. BB left it open when he was fiddling with the doorbells. I mean, maybe. Or it was the ghost.)
• When Dr. BB went to take a shower that night, there was stuff all over the bathroom floor. The squeegee we use to clean the shower door, a washcloth, and my towel. On the floor! I had just been in that room to clean the litter box and nothing was on the floor, but obviously the ghost had a beef. 

2) Passwords: I recently had to change my password at work and I realized that I've never talked about my password strategy. I go to the last note I've made in an ebook and I use that as a guide. The last thing I marked is from the book The Martian Contingency and it's the following line: Purim is easily the most fun of the Jewish holidays. I'm pretty sure I marked it because I've never heard of Purim (because I suck).

Anyway, if I were going to make a password from this (I am not because I already changed my password recently), I'd make it something like Pizez!!!mostest1001 because 1001 is the location number on the Kindle. And then I'd think about that book every time I type my password, which is dozens of times a day. I had a password from the mediocre book Zazen for a time and I always sort of wished it was from a better book. But the password I currently have is from a book I actively disliked, so that's even worse!

What's your password creation strategy?

3) It takes a village/I am THAT NEIGHBOR/are the boys okay?: Two incidents in my neighborhood have me concerned that I am the neighbor other neighbors talk about.

• There's a "rustic road" that I take to get to the next town over. It floods at least once a year, has potholes the size of a VW Beetle, and is sort of hilly, so the sightlines can be tricky. It's also a popular place for people to cycle, walk, and run, so you have to stay alert. Constant vigilance, as Mad-Eye Moody would say.  I was driving Hannah to get a bath and I noticed a person in a black hoodie sitting on the side of the road with their back to it - their back to a road with bad sightlines and no shoulder. I pulled over, threw on my flashers, and went to see if the person needed help. It was a teen boy and I asked if he was okay, thinking maybe he'd fallen on a run or something and he started laughing and said they had problems on a boat (who's they? what boat? I don't know) and he was waiting for someone to come pick him up to take him to the truck so he could pick up his brother. I was very confused by this description of events, but just as I was about to ask if I could drive him to the truck, an ATV pulled up and he got in.

• This next one, though, this is the one that's keeping me up at night. I was walking back from the community center on Monday night and I noticed two little boys PLAYING ON A ROOF. TINY BOYS. ONE WAS ONLY WEARING A DIAPER.  (A lot of houses in our neighborhood have porches/additions with flat roofs that you can access from windows/doors on the second floor. Our house has this exciting feature. This is what they were playing on. Not a pitched roof. It was only one story up and flat, but if a baby falls from one story, they can STILL DIE.) Another man was headed in my direction and he asked me "did you notice those kids on the roof?" and I said "did you do anything about it?" and he just shook his head. Meanwhile, there were THREE OTHER ADULTS across the street yelling at the kids, but not doing anything.
  
  You know what I did? I marched to the house, knocked on the door, and when a lady answered, I asked her if she knew her boys were on the roof and she said A LOT OF SWEAR WORDS and ran upstairs. I heard the older boy say "she's telling mom on us" as I waited below the porch with my arms out (liked I'd be able to catch one?) while the mom corralled them back inside. That lady was mad and I heard her say a bunch more swears as I walked home. Why did any of the other FOUR ADULTS who noticed this before I arrived on scene not do something? I had a nightmare that night and the adrenaline from seeing those kids on that roof is not something I ever want to relive. 

4) Wherefore art thou green beans? - I had all the stuff for my green bean salad except for green beans. EZ. Go get green beans and have a salad ready for lunch all week? Don't mind if I do. Except I went to five stores and four of them had ZERO green beans and one of them had DISGUSTING green beans. Is there a green bean shortage I am unaware of? 

5) CBWC - April is Cool Blogger Walking Club time! Elisabeth sponsors it and it basically just asks that you do at least ten minutes of intentional movement every day. Who's in? 

6) It's gawk at dangerous weather time! - I'm currently helping a friend so I am not at home. Last night there was a tornado watch/warning/watch at my home and Dr. BB was home alone with the girls. He laughed about how all the neighbors were out stormwatching, but then was no longer laughing when the sirens were going off and he had to somehow get two four-legged creatures into our asbestos-filled basement. They both had to be carried down and I have to admit that I am a bit concerned that my chronic rhabdo having husband carried a presumably squirmy 50-pound dog down the stairs.

Let tornado season begin!

In the meantime, my friend is mostly sleeping and I have been able to get a lot of work done (when you're not at the office, you get shit done because no one is stopping by to irritate you) and read a lot. I even did a short yoga thing. I'm "helping," but it actually sort of feels like a vacation? 

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Have you had an adrenaline raising situation recently? Ever "saved" children on a roof? Who's in for CBWC? Are there too many capslock in this post?