How in all the name of the Morrigan are we only 67 days from Halloween? Where did the summer go? And how have I not updated my blog in [indecipherable mumble] months?

And yet, here we are, about a week from Labor day, 2 months from Halloween, and T-minus 2 months from being accosted by hearing Mariah Carey sing “All I Want for Christmas” every time you walk into literally any store.

So what I have been doing? In short, a lot. But here are 5 things I’ve done in the last few months.

1. Travel

I went to Scotland.

Saw sheep and castles, drank some whisky, got to try weaving, did not see the Loch Ness Monster, drank some more whisky, saw more sheep, finally say a highland cow, did not find the fairies, found some excellent soap.

Overall, I’m glad I went but I wouldn’t go back. I had 4 separate people tell me how much they loved Edinburgh. Edinburgh was my least favorite part of the entire trip. I say skip Edinburgh and spend more time on Isle of Skye and the other islands off the coast.

My next trip will be to the Canadian Rockies in October.

2. LOC National Book Festival

I attended the 2023 Library of Congress National Book Festival.

For some reason, this year the festival was early. It normally takes place the second weekend in September (after Labor Day). But this year it was on August 12. Weird, I know.

The festival was also smaller. Last year, it spanned both buildings of the convention center and there was something like 125 authors. This year it was only in the South building and there were 72 authors. I don’t know why other than maybe attendance is down since COVID. I was told that attendance in 2019 was around 300,000. Last year, the first year back in-person after covid, attendance was only 30,000. Regardless, if you get a chance, I highly recommend going next year.

My day involved mostly standing in lines to get my books signed. I met John Scalzi, TJ Klune, Shelby Van Pelt, Joy Harjo, Angeline Boulley, and David Lipsky. (I actually had a great chat with David Lipsky, who is a super nice guy.)

Because of the way the schedule is done, I didn’t actually attend any panels this year. But that’s okay, because most of the panels are videoed and you can catch them online.

I did see THE Librarian, Carla Hayden. She is amazing!

I also found Waldo and saw Clifford the Big Red Dog.

3. Workouts

I’ve been consistently working out.

This is a huge win for me because typically when I start working out, it lasts maybe about 3 months . . . and then I quit. I just start finding excuses not to go. I am the queen of rationalizing lame excuses and also procrastination. But I have stuck with Future for 14 months now working out 3 times a week.

I joined Future Fit App after learning about it from The Daily Skimm. I started last June and I’m still going and getting stronger every workout!

Future works for me because (1) I have a real life coach; (2) I’m not tied to any particular gym and can even workout at home; (4) my coach tailors the workouts to my needs; (5) I have accountability because if I don’t do the workout, the coach is gonna ask me why; and (5) the schedule is flexible (can’t workout today? Tell your coach and they’ll rearrange your workout day).

My coach, Brandon, has gotten me from not being able to do side planks (seriously, I was like a drunk on stilettos when I first started) to not only being able to hold side plank for 45 seconds, but doing side plank rotations. I’ve completed 161 workouts and have done what feels like 1 million squats.

4. Puzzles

I still have a jigsaw puzzle addiction.

If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll see that I’ve been doing a lot of puzzles lately . . . and buying a lot of puzzles too.

I go through phases. I switch between reading, puzzles, and crafts. I’m currently on a puzzle kick and already have my October puzzle stack lined up because OCTOBER! Who doesn’t love the month of October? It has the bestest holiday—Samhain (or Halloween).

And happily, because of audiobooks, I can combine my 2 favorite activities.

5. Bees

Last but not least, I learned about bees.

A friend told me about the Smithsonian Associates, which is the Smithsonian’s education program that “produces vibrant educational and cultural programming that offers unparalleled access to the Smithsonian’s world of knowledge.” So of course I immediately joined and signed up for 4 programs. Three of the 4 were online. The fourth was an in-person mini tour ALL ABOUT BEES. That’s right. I learned all about bees.

First stop was the University of Maryland’s Bee Lab. I got to get up close and personal with honeybees and learned about bee husbandry. (I even wore a beekeeing suit!) They also told us about the lab’s research on honeybee health and reducing the number of colony losses. I also bought some delicious honey.

Next up was the U.S. Geological Survey’s Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab with the foremost native bee expert wildlife biologist Sam Droege, who develops identification methods and conducts surveys of native bee species. Here, I learned, among other things, that honeybees are actually an invasive species.

Yes, you read that correctly! Honeybees are not native to North America—these bees were brought over by the colonists. But there are over 4,000 native bee species, and Sam and his team work to not only identify all these species, but learn which plants and flowers each species prefers. Learn more at Ask a Bumblebee.

After lunch, we visited the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Bee Research Laboratory and spoke with entomologist Jay Evans. Jay and his team research how to improve the health of honeybee colonies and help the beekeeping industry maintain an adequate healthy supply of bees for the pollination of crops.

Beekeepers can even send in samples of adult dead bees and beeswax comb (with and without bee brood) to be examined for diseases as well as for two species of parasitic mites and other pests associated with honeybee. The USDA does this at no charge.

Overall, a great day learning all about bees.

So that’s been my last few months. How have you been? Share something you did this summer in the comments below.

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