Offbeat Offline: September 2022 (+ A Proper Hiatus Announced)

Welcome to Offbeat Offline, where I bring you up-to-date with what went on in my life during the month just gone, give you a sneak peek of my next shenanigans, and share my favourite posts of late!

What happened last month to yours truly? I've been tending to my husband and working myself to the bone and basically going mad. I only managed to finish 3 books and barely made a dent in my last ARC to date. My September posts were already scheduled, so I didn't disappear completely (also, I took the time to reply to comments at least), and I've been making the Twitter rounds daily, if briefly, but other than that...Here's a breakdown of this disastrous month.

📚 MCGUIRE THERAPY. As I mentioned above, I read 3 books in September, and barely started a fourth. Not a surprise, since I hardly had time for sleeping...

I read Pocket Apocalypse, Chaos Choreography and Magic for Nothing by Seanan McGuire (adult - Book 4, 5 & 6 in the InCryptid series). This series has officially become comfort reading at this point...just what I need right now. To be precise, I read the first two at the start of the month, before my life spiraled out of control, and I've struggled to find the time to finish the third for that reason...not for lack of interest. Mini reviews coming on the blog at some point (they're on Goodreads for now).

I started Seeds for the Swarm by Sim Kern (YA - it comes out on Nov. 1st). Now, this is the worst time ever for me to read a review book (I got an eARC via NetGalley), but I hope to make the time to finish and review it around pub date, or not much later. It's my last ARC for now, since most of my requests have fallen on deaf ears lately, which turned out to be a good thing...

Normally, at this point, I would list the reviews I plan on posting and the Tell Me Something Tuesdays I mean to participate in during this month, but due to my ongoing home problems (see below) I'll have to sit October out. I MIGHT be able to post a review for Seeds for the Swarm (or to include it in a mini-review round) at the end of the month if the situation gets less hectic, but don't hold your breath. Oh, and...October 14th will mark my tenth blogoversary! I would have liked to celebrate it in some way, but now it's out of the question. Anyhow, it's a huge milestone, and I want at least to virtually hug each and every one of my friends and readers, and all the authors I've met during this journey - the ones who trusted me as their sounding board, the ones who sent me review copies with no strings attached, and the ones who simply gave me life with their books. There are so many things my life is missing - at least you (friends/readers and writers) shone a light on it and gave it a purpose 🧡.

😩 MESS & STRESS. As you may already know (since I wrote a short post about it), I've spent the whole month tending to my husband Michele, who's bedridden while fighting a nasty foot ulcer (not the only one he has...I don't want to go into detail too much, but as an amputee in his right leg who spends most of his time seated, you probably get the idea). The problem started at the beginning of the summer, but despite my pleadings, he stubbornly went on with his life until he had to admit he needed real help, not home-administered medications. So, I'm not only exhausted and sleep-deprived at this point - I'm also super angry with him. Again, I don't want to go into detail, but since those aren't the only problems he has, I'm up and running (literally) at any given hour to take care of him, plus doing tons of laundry and going on errands (though I ask my dad for rides if I have to cover too much ground). A nurse comes every day except Sunday to medicate and bandage him, but once or twice a day I have to fix the dressings because they don't stick, due to the amount of drainage. Also, a surgeon comes to check on him thrice a week at SEVEN AM 🥱😭. In the meantime, Michele's taking a therapeutic nutrition product that supports wound healing and helps prevent or recover from complicating infections. The surgeon ordered a venous and arterial doppler, and we're waiting to be called in (our sanitary system is going awry). Did I tell you I'm exhausted? and sleep-deprived? and super angry?

😖 ICINGS ON THE CAKE. That's NOT all, folks. A month ago my mother in law was rushed into surgery due to a gastric ulcer (thank goodness she has a younger brother who can take care of her, because she lives in a different municipality, and I couldn't have tended to two people at the same time even if she hadn't). Well, at least she recovered nicely, but still. Oh, and our last elections' results were disastrous, though the writing had been on the wall for a while...hello fascism, old friend 😭😭😭. Is this a parallel dimension or what? Is there intelligent normal life in the universe?

Of course, I haven't blog-hopped at all this month, so I've got nothing 🙁. And I guess October will be a repeat of this scenario 😞. BUT I hope to be able to go back to my normal routine in November (I definitely plan on being around in December, come hell or high water, but November should be feasible).

That's it for now! My next post will be up...some time in the future (I hope within a month), and it should be/include my review for Seed for the Swarm that I mentioned above.

So, what were your highs/lows in the past month?