lately

I've been reading:

• Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance. This is an interesting book, and I found myself nodding along with some of what he said, but not all. I grew up in Kentucky, so I knew my fair share of hillbilly types - substance abuse, dysfunctional families, fierce loyalty, love of guns... His assertions of how hard it is to get away from your background ring true, even if his politics clash with mine.
• (not) getting paid to do what you love: gender, social media, and aspirational work by Brooke Erin Duffy. This book mostly follows the paths of young women who turn their fashion blogs into full-time careers. She discusses the feminizing of social media, expectations of women and paid/unpaid work, among other topics. I haven't finished reading it yet, but it's interesting. 
• Babe: the Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias by Dr. Susan Cayleff. Boy, I have a political/gender/social science theme going here, don't I? Well anyway, in July I had a gig playing for a musical based on the life of Babe Didrikson and I wanted to learn more about her, so I checked out the book. It's a bit dense - good reading for a women's studies course, I think, but still interesting. 

I've been doing:

• Garden work both at home and at school. One of those things I get paid for (a very little bit). One of those things provides us with more cucumbers than we can possibly eat as a family. I've become the cucumber fairy, leaving extras on the porches of friends and feeding overgrown ones to neighborhood chickens.
• Hanging out with the kids. They have both been under the weather this week (fever, malaise, nothing serious) so we've been cooped up together and trying not to go nuts. It's a weird bug that isn't severe but hangs on for several days.
• Waiting to hear about a job I applied for a few weeks ago. I'm beginning to think I should give up. It's discouraging.
• Making stuff. Sick kids at home means I have to find ways to keep my hands busy. I knit a blanket for a friend who is having a hellish summer health-wise, and I'm making a baby quilt for another friend due this winter. I've also been knitting socks for Anya but I'm having trouble getting the size right. Sigh.

I've been thinking about:

• The state of American democracy (bleak)
• My career prospects (bleak)
• My career prospects given my age (bleak)
• The possibility of war with North Korea (bleak)
• The future my children face (bleaker)
• The future of the human species (bleakest yet)

Maybe I need another vacation??