Golden Gratitude - F is for Fiona

To see an explanation of how Golden Gratitude works, click here. To see a list of all Golden Gratitude posts, click on the label on the right sidebar or click here.

F is for Fiona. Fiona is a feisty one and I love her for it. Of the two of them, she was the second one to learn how to jump and climb. Let me tell you, she has more than mastered these feats. In some ways, she's even surpassed her sister in this respect. I sometimes think she has springs on her paws. I used to have a difficult time holding her on my lap because she was so active. She would play with buttons, zippers, and even my eyeglasses while I was wearing them to watch television! Nowadays she does test her limits sometimes, but she's much better about backing down when redirected. She seems to know right from wrong and any "wrong" that she does seems to be intentional, as she wants to see just how much I'll let her get away with.

Lately she has been having problems with her soft food, though not everyday. She never has a problem with the hard food, which they are fed twice a day between breakfast and dinner and as a nighttime snack. Sometimes, though, with the soft food, she will sniff it then walk away. If I leave the dish there, Bell will eat her own food and then also inhale Fiona's food. So, I pick up Fiona's dish and put it on the counter. Sometimes she'll eat it there, but often I have to put a few pieces of hard food in it before she eats it. Once she gets started eating it, she inhales it in record time even if I put her dish back down on the floor. It's just the getting started part that's challenging sometimes. It doesn't even matter which flavor of food she gets. She has done this will all of them at one time or another. But thankfully, she does eventually eat it all and she appears to be very healthy and happy.

Golden Gratitude - E is for Events

To see an explanation of how Golden Gratitude works, click here. To see a list of all Golden Gratitude posts, click on the label on the right sidebar or click here.

E is for events. I'm grateful for all of the events that authors do both online and in-person. I've had the pleasure of connecting with so many authors and readers because of these events. This past weekend, I went to the annual Author Extravaganza that Sisters in Crime does every year at my local library. Earlier this year I attended the annual Malice Domestic Conference. I had so much fun at both of these events!

Golden Gratitude - D is for Dawn

To see an explanation of how Golden Gratitude works, click here. To see a list of all Golden Gratitude posts, click on the label on the right sidebar or click here.

D is for dawn. That first light of day is pure magic to me. It fills me with excitement and hope for a shiny new day. It's also the time of day when I can see the setting full moon from my balcony.

Golden Gratitude - C is for Cottage Cheese

To see an explanation of how Golden Gratitude works, click here. To see a list of all Golden Gratitude posts, click on the label on the right sidebar or click here.

C is for cottage cheese. Cottage cheese has been a complete game-changer for me. 

I had been getting hungry in the middle of the night, needing a snack, and feeling famished again in the mornings upon waking up. More than one person suggested I more than likely just needed more protein in the evenings. Specifically, cottage cheese was suggested. It's high in protein and fairly low in calories. So I decided to give it a try. 

I was thrilled to find a brand where it's made from grass-fed cows, as this is the kind of dairy (and meat) I prefer to eat. Since then, I've been eating a half cup of cottage cheese as my bedtime snack. Suddenly, I no longer wake up feeling hungry, which means I'm sleeping better too. I'm once again able to get my walks in (or other cardio if weather does not permit) before breakfast. Starting my day this way makes a huge difference in the way I feel overall. And it's all because of cottage cheese! 

Golden Gratitude - B is for Bell

To see an explanation of how Golden Gratitude works, click here. To see a list of all Golden Gratitude posts, click on the label on the right sidebar or click here.

B is for Bell. Bell has quite the large personality. She is the most vocal cat I have ever had. She uses her voice to express herself, but she has the most calm demeanor. She loves to snuggle up with me and watch Hallmark movies. She also enjoys sitting on her tower, looking outside, and chatting with bugs and birds that she sees go by. Another one of Bell's favorite hobbies is playing fetch with a toy mouse. She has a quirky thing she does with her head, which I call twisty head. She twists her head when she's studying something. This has earned her the nickname, Sherlock Bell. She's mommy's little detective and I'm so grateful for her.

Golden Gratitude - A is for ARCs

Welcome to ABCs of Golden Gratitude 2024! This is the second year I'm doing this on my blog. 

Here's how it works:

Each day for the next 26 days, I will take a letter of the alphabet and write about one thing I'm grateful for that begins with that letter. This is something I used to do every November in an online forum that ended in January of 2020. I continued the tradition on a blog that became a springboard for Caboodle of Cozies, so I thought it would be fun to continue the tradition here.

I invite you to play along. In the comments below, tell me what you're grateful for that begins with the letter of the day.  If you are a day late (or more) you can still go back to each day you missed and comment. My posts aren't going anywhere. :-) There is a label called "Golden Gratitude" on the right sidebar so they will be easy to find. With that label, you can also go back and read last year's Golden Gratitude posts.

I will still continue my usual posts as often as possible, so some days this month I will publish more than one post.

Let's begin.

A is for ARCs (Advance Reader Copies). These are free copies of books (usually e-books, but sometimes physical copies) that are given to some readers before the books are published, with the expectation that readers will review them. It wasn't long ago when I said that I would love to read and review at least one ARC. Little did I know it would get to the point where ARCs make up a large portion of what I read these days. ARCs are a great way to support authors while doing something I love - reading and writing about books!

Your turn! What are you grateful for that begins with A? Tell me in the comments below!

Sunday Post 95

Hi everyone!

Through Monday, I am linking with the following: 

Reading Reality, who hosts Stacking the Shelves

Readerbuzz, who hosts Sunday Salon

Caffeinated Reviewer, who hosts Sunday Post

The Book Date, who hosts It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

On the above blogs you will be able to see links to the posts from others who are participating in those blog hops, and if you're a blogger, you can join too. 

I had a good week, which included a routine doctor's appointment that brought good results and five early morning walks in the crisp, cool, autumn weather. We are at peak foliage right now, or slightly past, so the landscape has been bursting with fall colors. I especially love the way the sunlight hits it just right in the morning.

There's a hill upon which I like to see the sunrise. It's the halfway point on my regular walks. Last week, I made it to the top of the hill just one minute past sunrise. My goal is to get there shortly before sunrise, so I'll try again this week. It will be more difficult to do after we change the clocks back next week since sunrise will be an hour earlier, so this coming week is my best opportunity before that happens.

My most beloved water bottle broke about a week ago. I loved it so much. It was made of glass, but it had a pretty lime green silicone cover over it. I've dropped it several times and it didn't break...until last Friday. I was so upset, until I realized this was my chance to buy a Stanley cup. You see, I'm a hockey fan. Go Caps!!! What am I doing without a Stanley cup??? I was so happy to see they sell some with handles on top (another reason I loved my previous bottle) because it makes it so much easier for me to carry. I ordered the 30 oz. one because it's the largest one that fits in a cup colder. I've had it for almost a week now and I love it! It keeps my water cold all day (something my previous bottle didn't do). I don't mind room temperature water, but I prefer cold. I've been keeping it with me at all times so that I can sip on it throughout the day. I'm definitely drinking more water because of it, which is a good thing. I ordered the cream colored one because I wanted a "clean" color, but not stark white. I'm planning to adorn it with stickers, of course at least one being one of the Washington Capitals 2018 Stanley Cup victory.

Here's what else I've been up to.

IN THE BOOKS

Click on 2024 Bookish Challenges on the right sidebar to see how I'm doing with this year's goals. I have completed two goals!

RECENTLY FINISHED

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I listened to Out of My Mind, written by Sharon M. Draper and narrated by Sisi Aisha Johnson. It's about a girl with Cerebral Palsy who cannot walk or talk, but she can think for herself. The end may be a bit far-fetched and parts of it went on for too long, but overall I enjoyed it. This has been made into a movie that will stream on Disney+ in  November.

IN PROGRESS

I continued reading an eARC of The Tell-tale Homicide (Rare Books Mystery 2), by Daphne Silver. This is turning out to be another entertaining installment in the series. It's about a rare books librarian, turned amateur sleuth, who stumbles upon a dead body on her first day of her new job. Talk about a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad first day! Of course, Juniper sets out to untangle this mystery.

My current audiobook listen is A Halloween Homicide, written by Tonya Kappes and narrated by Elizabeth Demetetrios. This is another fun installment in her Holiday Cozy Mystery series. She really immerses the reader in the holidays throughout this series. 

UP NEXT

I haven't decided what I'll read and listen to next, although I have lots of ideas. So I'll just leave this space blank for now. Stay tuned!

ON THE SCREEN

• The Groomsmen: First Look - This is streaming only on Hallmark+, which I continue to enjoy through the Hoopla Bingepass from the library. I have been highly anticipating this trilogy, especially this first movie. So many Hallmark movies are filmed in Bulgaria, but not set there. This one was filmed in Bulgaria and it takes place there. So we're not in Bulgaria, but pretending to be in Paris. We're in Bulgaria and we're really there this time! Apart from the setting, the plot was well-paced and highly entertaining. It was heartfelt, sweet, and funny all at the same time. It is easily one of my favorite movies of the year. The other two in the trilogy will have a tough act to follow! I'll watch them in November. Let me get Halloween out of my system first. :)
• The Jane Mysteries: Too Much  to Lose - This is also only streaming on Hallmark+. Although this isn't my favorite one in the series, I still enjoyed it. I thought it was entertaining and had a good mystery.
• Curious Caterer: Forbidden Fruit - This was on the regular Hallmark Mystery channel. Although the culprit was way too easy for me to identify, I very much enjoyed the movie. I loved the concert setting. It was a very entertaining installment in the series.
• You Cast a Spell on Me - This is a Hallmark movie from 2015, which like Forbidden Fruit, stars Nikki DeLoach. I found it streaming for free on Tubi. It is a Halloween-themed movie, which I enjoyed once. I'm not sure I'd watch it again, though.
• Agatha All Along - I have become completely obsessed with this series. It's the best series Marvel has ever done, in my opinion. I'm not usually a fan of dark magic (although I love light magic), but I am a fan of outstanding storytelling and that is what we have here. The latest episode, E7, was brilliant. I did not see it coming at all and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It really tied everything together in the best and most creative way. There are two more episodes left, both of which I'll watch on Halloween. I can't wait to see how this all turns out. Many questions have been answered, but others have been raised. I've been rewatching the previous episodes to prepare for the finale.
• High Potential - I've been watching this show on Hulu. It's basically a cozy mystery series and I'm enjoying it.
• The Good Witch series - I finished watching all of the full length movies, so now I just need to watch the one hour episodes. There are 70 of them, so it will take me more than a month to finish it. I like this series, but I think the original movies were the best.

ON THE BLOG

• Sunday Post - 10/20 - Weekly Recap
• Book Review - 10/22 - Murder on the Page (Literary Dining Mystery 1), by Daryl Wood Gerber

Have a great week!