Saturday, April 11, 2026

Sunday Post 133

Hi everyone!

Through Monday, I am linking with the following: 

It's my birthday! Well, tomorrow, Sunday, is my birthday. It's also National Grilled Cheese Day, so I'll be having grilled cheese for lunch, but not before going to the local farm to play with the goats! I do this every year. Usually I go after my birthday so I can hold at least one baby goat that was born on my birthday (lots of them are born at this farm during April), but this year I decided to go on my birthday. It's supposed to be a picture perfect day with highs in the low 70s (even lower than that at the time I'll be going), with sunshine. I couldn't pass up this opportunity because I think next week is supposed to be hotter with a chance of rain. And the following week I won't be available. So it made sense to go on my birthday this year. Who knows. Maybe I'll be at the farm when a baby goat is born! The farm also has a fairy forest that I love to visit. I'm looking forward to a fun time in the great outdoors with the goats and fairy friends.

I'm intentionally not doing a lot of posting this month because of various birthday activities, several appointments, and a convention. It's a busy month! But I am finding time everyday to read. In fact, my birthday also happens to be D.E.A.R. (Drop Everything and Read) Day!

IN THE BOOKS

RECENTLY FINISHED
🍄🍄🍄🍄
I listened to The Jig Is Up (Irish Bed & Breakfast Mystery 1), written by Lisa Q. Matthews and narrated by Rebecca Gallagher. I had a difficult time connecting with the characters, but I loved the setting and the mystery was strong. I might give the the second book in the series a try.
IN PROGRESS
I'm on track with The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year, written by Margaret Renkl and illustrated by Billy Renkl, reading one chapter each week. I enjoy reading the authors thoughts throughout the year and seeing the illustrations.
Whiskey Business (Mixology Lounge Mystery 1), by Adrian Andover, is still my current read. I'm almost 70% done and I expect to finish this upcoming week. I am enjoying it. You can read some excerpts here.
UP NEXT
Spell to Pay (Spellbooked Mystery 2), by Elle Wren Burke, is still up next. I'm excited to read this eARC, especially since it has a cat plus a fairy theme. These are two of my favorite things!
My next audiobook listen will be Paris is Always a Good Idea, by Jenn McKinlay. It became available from Libby, but I wasn't quite ready. I should have borrowed it when it was available because even though I'm first in line again, I still have to wait until it's available. It says it will be less than two weeks, so it's not a long wait. Meanwhile, the online book club I'm reading it with is well into the book. Oh, well.

ON THE SCREEN
  • The Way Home - Season 3 is on demand on frndly, so I'm rewatching it in preparation for season 4, which premieres on The Hallmark Channel next Sunday. I love this series so much and I'm sad this will be the final season. If you have Netflix, they have been rolling out each season there. It's also on Hallmark+.
  • Gilligan's Island - Why do I even bother? This show is so silly, but I watched S1E2. It was okay, but I have so many questions!
  • The Breakfast Club - After the Escape Room experience and the actual date that this movie is set being in March, I decided to re-watch it. I had it recorded from frndly. It was okay, but some movies just don't age well.
  • A Royal Setting - This was Jen Lilly's return to Hallmark, which I was really looking forward to. Unfortunately, the movie was underwhelming. It's a pretty standard royal Hallmark movie. There was nothing unique about it. It had all the royal tropes, almost as if they had a checklist they needed to complete. It's not a bad movie, but it's nothing special either.
  • A Season to Blossom - This is another pretty standard Hallmark plot, but I enjoyed it. I thought the second half was stronger and there was some uniqueness throughout the movie in how the story was told. I also adored the cat, of course.
ON THE BLOG
Have a great week!
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Puzzle 135 - Birthday Party Table

Tomorrow (Sunday) is my birthday and I'm having a virtual party with all of you! I invite you all to celebrate with me!

My time on this puzzle was 2:01 using 24 non-rotating pieces. I lollygagged a bit when the timer started going, so it should have taken me less than two minutes. Oh, well.

Remember, you can change the settings to make it meet your preferences.

Enjoy!

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Saturday, March 28, 2026

Sunday Post 132

Hi everyone!

Through Monday, I am linking with the following: 

I didn't publish a Sunday Post last week because I had a busier than usual weekend. One of the things I did was an Escape Room with five other people. This was only the second time I did an Escape Room. It was beginner level and we still didn't escape in time. The operator told us we were about 80-85% done.
 
The theme was high school detention. The scenario was we, the students, were in detention. (Hmmm...any fans of The Breakfast Club out there?) We had a substitute teacher who got bored, so he left us alone and told us he'd be back in an hour. Our mission was to try and escape before then.

The first time I did an Escape Room, I think it was eight years ago, we escaped. However, I had no clue about anything in that experience. I just let everyone else do their thing, and with lots of hints, we escaped with two minutes to spare. That was a level 6/10 room.

There was mixed feedback regarding the Escape Room we did last weekend. Some thought it was harder than the last one, some thought it was about the same, and I thought it was easier even though we didn't escape. I felt like I knew what I was doing with this one, though. I knew what we were looking for. It was just difficult to crack the codes.

But most importantly, everyone had a good time and we all want to eventually do another Escape Room. Unfortunately, the challenge is finding ones that are wheelchair accessible. Several people in my group use wheelchairs and many Escape Rooms are not accessible. So frustrating that we have fewer choices than everyone else, but I think the situation is improving. Eight years ago, I only knew of one accessible Escape Room in the area. Now I know of at least three.

Oh, and as a bonus, we got candy at the end of the experience. I chose a mini Snickers bar, which was my favorite candy bar in high school. I can't remember the last time I had one before last weekend, so that was a nice treat.

This weekend, I've been glued to The USA Jigsaw Association YouTube channel because they're streaming the 2026 Jigsaw Nationals. Karen Puzzles is my favorite puzzle YouTuber, so I've mostly been watching to see how she does. She doesn't claim to be a top speed puzzler, even though she does do well. Her main goal is always to just have fun doing as many puzzles over the weekend as possible. If you advance in the first rounds, then you move on to the finals, so that's her goal. They have individual, pairs, and team rounds. I like listening to the commentators. I've been picking up some tips here and there. They've also been debuting new puzzles made by Ravensburger that will be available to the public starting on Monday. One of my favorite parts of the commentating is when they interview puzzle artists. It's so interesting to hear about their creative process.

IN THE BOOKS

RECENTLY FINISHED
🍄🍄🍄🍄
I finished reading an ARC of Murder in a Lavender Daze (Aroma Wellness Mystery 2), by Daryl Wood Gerber. There are a couple of things that bothered me throughout this book, but overall I enjoyed it. It releases at the end of April and my review will be posted a few weeks before then. You can read some excerpts here on Friday's post.

IN PROGRESS
Each week, I continue to read The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year, written by Margaret Renkl and illustrated by Billy Renkl. I'm looking forward to seeing what the author notices throughout spring. I'm also enjoying the illustrations.
I'm still listening to The Jig Is Up (Irish Bed & Breakfast Mystery 1), written by Lisa Q. Matthews and narrated by Rebecca Gallagher. I had planned on finishing this one a while ago, but I've gotten distracted by an assortment of podcasts. I'm more than halfway done.
Whiskey Business (Mixology Lounge Mystery 1), by Adrian Andover, is my current read. I'm enjoying the mystery as well as the subplots. Fun fact: The name of the cocktail lounge in this book is called Subplot. I don't drink alcohol at all and I never have, so this is truly an escape for me! You can read some excerpts here.
I had stopped working on the puzzles in Murdle: Volume 1, but I started working on them again. I'm on puzzle number 81 of of 100. I'd like to finish this book by my birthday, which is around the middle of April. I already have Volume 2 waiting in the wings.
UP NEXT
I received an eARC of Spell to Pay (Spellbooked Mystery 2), by Elle Wren Burke, so that will be up next. I'm not sure if I'll be able to start this week or next week. This one is heavy on the fairy theme, which I love, so I'm looking forward to it.
My next audiobook listen will be Paris is Always a Good Idea, by Jenn McKinlay. This is a novel that will become a Hallmark movie later this year. I typically read the book after watching the movie, but this time I'm part of a virtual book club that will be reading it together.

ON THE SCREEN
  • The Brady Bunch - I'm halfway through season 2. After each episode, I'm listening to the corresponding podcast episode for The Real Brady Bros hosted by Barry Williams ("Greg"), and Christopher Knight ("Peter"). It's so fun to hear about the series from their perspectives. Sometimes they have guests who were also on the show.
  • High Potential - I watched season 1 last year and loved it. Season 2 is almost finished airing on ABC, but all previously aired episodes are streaming on Hulu. So far, I've watched the first three episodes in season 2 and I'm loving it. They really know how to elevate the show, while still maintaining the same vibe. 
  • Chasing Leprechauns - I was looking for a movie with a Hallmark vibe to watch on St. Patrick's Day (one that I hadn't seen yet) and I came across this one. Ummm...it was okay.
  • Nelly Knows Mysteries: All Manners of Murder - This second movie in the Nelly Knows series was so much better than the first one. It's my second favorite movie of the year so far, out of the 12 new Hallmark movies. You can read my full review here.
  • Butlers in Love - This is a 2022 movie that I hadn't seen yet. I don't know why, but I didn't think it would be a favorite. However, I really enjoyed it! It's set in Maryland, which I thought was cool since that's my home state. But more than that, the plot was fun.
  • Two for Tee - This is Hallmark's first Spring Into Love movie this year. I thought it had a strong cast, but the plot fell flat for me. I think I'm in the minority with my thoughts on this because I saw that a lot of people loved it. I thought they could have embraced the cultural diversity more than they did.
ON THE BLOG
Have a great week!
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Puzzle 134 - Blooms

Enjoy this springtime puzzle! It took me 1:38 using 24 non-rotating pieces.

You can change the number of pieces if you prefer to make it easier or more challenging.

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Friday, March 27, 2026

Friday Features 33

Happy Friday!

Today I'm once again participating in six blog hops.  You can click on the host links below to find the blogs of others who are participating in each blog hop. If you're a blogger, feel free to join through the host links.

Question: What is your favorite bookish scent, and why does it appeal to you?
My response:  That "new book" scent is always fun when I start reading one that's a physical copy. It makes me excited about the new adventure that's ahead of me.

In honor of National Whiskey Day, today's excerpts are from the paperback format of Whiskey Business (Mixology Lounge Mystery 1), by Adrian Andover.

Here's the beginning:
I rested my blowtorch on the bar.

And here's an excerpt from page 56:
    If Kristin wasn't willing to share more about him and why he was so good at making enemies, I wondered why she went out of her way to chat with me.

I won a signed copy of this book last year and I'm so excited to finally read it. I met the author at Malice Domestic last year, before the book was published. This year, the book is nominated for an Agatha Award. I'll report back when I'm done, but so far, I'm loving it!

I don't have a lot of pictures of the girls together, but when I do get one, this is the vibe.
The first picture was taken on March 19th. The second picture was taken about one week later. These are some of my favorite spring flowers to see on my walks.


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