March's Reading List

I felt like I haven't done much reading this month, but as I gathered up my books I read more than I thought I did. I noticed that this month I read a lot of book on the lives of women in the Middle East. I am very interested in the lives of Muslim women, but also of life in that part of of the world in general. You will most likely notice this as you browse the books I read.

I am glad I read this book. It isn't something I will most likely read again, but it was worth reading once. If you like animals and/or running I don't think you'd be too disappointed with this one. 

Ok, so I wasn't a fan of this book. I have read several other books by ultra-marathon runners that I have really enjoyed (see here or here). There was something about the tone of the author that I found rather condescending an arrogant. I would not recommend this book to anyone. 

I have been eyeballing this book literally for years. I don't know why I have never read it before now, but I didn't. I really enjoy books about overcoming extremely difficult hardships. This book definitely fits that genre. There are one or two sequels to this book that I plan on reading. I would recommend this book to others. 

I thought this book was going to be more about saving the lions of this zoo, but it was primarily a book about this man's life and the politics of Iraq. I was disappointed in this book. 

This book was good. It was really good. This book covered the treatment of women in nine different countries: Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt. I enjoyed this book because it helped to understand just how different each of these countries really is pertaining to their interpretation of Islam and their treatment of women. I would read this book again. 

Another great book - this follows the author as she journeys through several Arab countries. Because she is a female reporter she has access to the lives of women that male reporters do not. I found this book fascinating. 

Another topic I am keenly interested in is the disparity in American between the haves and the have-nots. I learning more about how other people live/their struggles/their successes, etc...Good book that I would recommend. 

January books read - 7
February books read - 8
March books read - 7
2020 total - 22

Lily Gregg 09/19/10 - 03/29/20

Yesterday, with words of love coming from the six of us and hands laid all over her body, Lily breathed her last breath. In the end, when she could hardly stand on her own, we knew that it was time to lay her body to rest. Spinal cancer was the diagnosis of the final vet who oversaw her care from this life into the great beyond. As with Sammy, it all came crashing down so quickly. It felt like there wasn't any time to really process it all. Making our decisions all that much harder was the fact that mentally she was still all there. It was her body that had failed her beyond help.

  When Sammy died we  had Lily left to love on. When we came home last night, there were no dogs at the house waiting patiently for us by the door. No one waiting to be pet. No tails wagging. Just silence and empty space where our sweet girl should have been. A decade of getting use to this kind of behavior made its absence all the more poignant.

The echo of Lily's presence can be felt all throughout the house; She is in each room and around each corner. Tufts of her hair have been left here and there. The dog bowl, her favorite stuffed animal, leash and collar all sit in the house reflecting a life gone by.

I do not know of a dog more loved. For almost a decade Lily was a part of our lives. She watched as children became teenagers; She was here to watch the transition of some of those same teenagers turn into young men. We were her people, of that I have no doubt. She loved us all, but if truth be told, it was Andy and Josh who stole her heart. She loved those boys so, so much.


Lily was stubborn, sassy, smart, funny, loyal, protective, a great listener, and a mooch. The six us of were convinced very early on in her life that she had no idea she was a dog. She thought she was a human being. She didn't do a lot of "dog stuff". She just wanted to be with us, where ever we were, all of the time. She was the best of pals to have at your side. She was so special.

She was my walking pal. Most mornings (before she began to get sick) we would head out together on our chosen routes. Today, I walked and even though I only had her collar with me (held tightly in my hand) as we walked our route I could feel her presence and I knew that even though she was physically gone from our lives, she will always be with me in one form or another.

When you welcome an animal into your life, you are unconsciously agreeing to two things: 1.) you will experience a love like no other 2.) you will experience searing heartbreak when that animal passes on. You cannot have one without the other. I know for a fact that every one of us would choose to hurt like we all do right now over again in order to share these past nine and a half years with Lily.

Oh, Lilith. We miss you so much. We love you. You will always and forever be our #1 girl. We'll see you someday, sweet one. In the meantime, find a good couch for us to snuggle on and get it ready for us for when we meet again.

Week 1: Coronavirus Quarantine

I am sure you would agree that life is pretty crazy and uncertain right now. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would live through something like we are all living through right now with the Covid-19 pandemic.

To be honest, when I first heard about this virus I shrugged it off as a case of the flu. I tend not to panic about stuff like this especially because the part of Indiana that I live in seems to be full of religious end-of-times survivalists. When the panic at the grocery stores began I just rolled my eyes and figured that the hysteria would die down and life would resume to semi-normal. Ha! How wrong I was.

I still feel that hoarding items is ridiculous and maddening because it doesn't allow for everyone to have access to basic necessities. My house has what it needs, but I imagine that there are many out there who don't because someone has a room full of toilet paper, soup, cleaning products, pasta, pasta sauce, etc...in his/her house. I still plan on  grocery shopping for two weeks of groceries at a time as I have been doing for the last couple of months. In terms of food, nothing is changing in terms of how I procure it. I wish other people felt the same way. I feel that times like these can bring out the worst of humanity (and the best too) and I am seeing it in full force in the bare grocery store aisles.

I am thankful for the suppliers (and those who work for them) that are ramping up production to bring more product to the stores so that everyone can (eventually) have access to them. I am hoping that very shortly the food hysteria will die down and we can all return to the days where we can buy the groceries we need without having to worry about whether the products will be on the shelves.

I am also immensely thankful for the grocery store employees that have to deal with the public right now. I cannot even imagine the bs they have to deal with during these uncertain times. They could probably write volumes on the good and the bad this whole situation has brought out of humanity.

As for our own family, Sarah is home from school until at least May 1st. Her spring break was extended from one week to two weeks, but other than that she will be participating in e-learning. This first week has gone off pretty well academically. Emotionally, she is not happy to be home. Getting out of the house is good for her. If I am being completely honest, it is a nice break for me too. As much as I love having her home with the other kids, the amount of emotional energy I spend on her when she is home is pretty high; the break I get when she is gone at school allows me to recharge.

We are still trying to find our new routine. I imagine that it will take a little bit longer as Bob comes home on Monday and will be working from home as well for the foreseeable future. It is going to get real interesting real quick around here. I have to believe that a lot of other families out there are in the same boat as we are.