Sunday Post 74

Happy Weekend, friends!

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. 

We had quite a bit of rain last week, but thankfully no storms. We did have some graupel on Thursday, which was also the day of my dental appointment (it changed from Wednesday to Thursday). It was fun being out and about to experience the graupel. It's a pretty rare occurrence. (Wow, it took me a while to get the spelling of occurrence correct!) Anyway, this week looks mostly nice and sunny, with temps in the 60s and 70s. Thursday and Friday, I see storms in the forecast. This is not what I want for my birthday!

As for the dental appointment, it went smoothly. It was just a consultation since it was my first time seeing the new dentist. I really like her and her staff. They also seem really up-to-date on technology. I had 18 x-rays done. I've never had that many x-rays done all at once! I shouldn't have to go through that again for a while. She also had a little pen-like camera, which she used to take pictures of my teeth. I had never seen that before. I thought it was interesting how she also has a television on the ceiling. LOL. I don't think I'd be interested in watching television while having my teeth worked on, but I suppose it works for some people. 

Everything looks fine, except (and I expected this) one tooth that has a filling. I have only ever had one cavity, but it's been refilled a few times. She suggested I put a crown on this this time. Ugh. So, my cleaning is scheduled for the beginning of May, unless availability opens up sooner, and I'll go for my first crown appointment at the end of May. After that, I'll have one more appointment to have the crown attached. I am NOT looking forward to this, but hopefully it will be for the best in the long-term.

My birthday is this coming up on Friday and I decided I want a traditional Thanksgiving meal, minus the turkey. Give me all the high carb sides, please! Thanksgiving side dishes are my absolute favorite, so why not have them for my birthday too? Yesterday I made mac and cheese (using a gluten-free pasta I like) and mashed potatoes. Today I'll be making stuffing and possibly cranberry sauce. And I plan to eat leftovers for a few days, just like what typically happens for the Thanksgiving holiday. On the day of my birthday, I'll have grilled cheese for lunch, since that's also National Grilled Cheese Day.

Are you in the path of Monday's eclipse? Here in Central Maryland, I have read that it will be close to 90% coverage and the weather might actually cooperate. I don't have the special glasses, but I will go outside anyway. If you look at the shadows on the ground from trees, you should be able to see crescent shapes if you're in the partial eclipse path. I noticed this in 2017, the last time we had a partial solar eclipse. Here's a picture I took that year:

IN THE BOOKS

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

RECENTLY FINISHED

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I haven't posted my review yet, but I finished reading My Lucky Charm (Holidays with Hart 2), by Courtney Walsh. This is a clean hockey romcom, with some disability representation. I really enjoyed it! Be on the lookout for my review, but in the meantime, you can read some excerpts here.

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I finished reading an eARC of Brie Careful What You Wish For (Grilled Cheese Mystery 4), by Linda Reilly. I once again enjoyed this installment in the cozy mystery series. I will post my review on release day, which is this Tuesday, April 9th. In the meantime, you can read some excerpts here.

IN PROGRESS

I once again didn't make any progress with Magus of the Library, Vol. 1, by Mitzu Izumi. Other books keep calling my name, but I do want to finish it. Eventually I will because I do like it and it is a library book that I'll have to return at some point. I can keep it for a few more weeks.

My audiobook listen for the week has been an ARC of Death of a Fairy Tale (Mari Fable Mystery 1), by Emily Fluke and narrated by Suzanne T. Fortin. I still have over five hours to go, so this will continue into this week. Not sure I'd classify this as YA, but I am enjoying it.

UP NEXT

I am so happy I was selected to receive an ARC of A Twinkle of Trouble (Fairy Garden Mystery 5), by Daryl Wood Gerber. I received a signed physical ARC copy. I love this series so much and I can't wait to dive into this next installment this week. This series is the inspiration for the mushrooms I use in my rating system.

ON TELEVISON

• An Easter Bloom - This 2024 premiere on Hallmark was so poorly done. The story was so  somber through almost the entire movie. I think they could have made it more uplifting sooner. The plot wasn't too believable either, which I can forgive if the rest of the movie is okay. It was not. Some of the outdoor scenes had green screen written all over them. At one point, the background shot was black and white when it clearly should not have been. They also did a poor job with disability representation. This surprised me because Hallmark, although rare, usually does disability representation pretty well. This is easily my least favorite new Hallmark movie of the year so far.
• Just My Type - Thankfully, this Hallmark movie from 2020 cheered me up! I would definitely watch this one again. It's a great springtime movie.
• Timeless Love - This is another Hallmark movie that I enjoyed. It's from 2019.
• Once Upon a Prince - This one is from 2018. It's one of the better royal-themed Hallmark movies, which tend to not be my favorite in general. I would definitely watch this one again, though. It's another one that's great to watch especially in the spring.
• Murder, She Wrote - I'm now about 15 or 16 episodes into season 3. I think my favorite episode from this season so far was number 12 - The Corpse Flew First Class. I just looked up the title on IMDb and noticed this episode is labeled top-rated. So I guess many others liked it a lot as well.
• The Way Home - This was a jammed-packed season finale. I wasn't thrilled with the way some of the (many) storylines ended, but I'm still looking forward to season 3 next year. I am planning to post a review of season 2, but I may rewatch all ten episodes first. I think I need a break from it for a bit, though.
• Friends - I'm more than halfway through season 9. Phoebe has met Mike, played by Paul Rudd. It was hilarious how his character got started. Do you remember his first appearance on the show? He was my favorite guest actor. I think he would have fit right in with the regular cast for an even longer period of time. I love his character's sense of humor and I get the impression this is what Paul Rudd is like in real life. I also love him as Ant-Man.

WEEKLY BLOG RECAP 

• Sunday Post - 03/30 - Weekly Recap
• Five for Friday - 04/05 - Book It!, Brie, and Bell
• Puzzle - 04/06 - Finches in Cherry Blossoms

I've been trying to focus more on reading, which is why I don't have any reviews on my blog this past week. However, I have some ARCs to review, so that will definitely change. Stayed tuned!

And have a great week!