Sunday Post 112

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. 

We had more storms on Thursday, but unlike previous storms this summer, this round was followed by much more comfortable temps and lower humidity that is expected to last at least through the first 10 days of August. Woohoo!!! This is such a welcome reprieve. July is typically our hottest month, and while August can certainly be hot too, the excessive heat is less likely to last as long. 

The cats had their annual check-ups last week and they both received clean bills of health. Fiona was her usually calm self. Oh, don't get me wrong. She was terrified and she did "peep", but she sat still so the vet could complete her exam. The vet also cut her nails. She won't allow anyone else to do it. I guess she prefers to have a professional mani and pedi.

Bell was a whole different scenario. She allows me to cut her nails, but she does not like going to vet and she's extremely vocal about it! The vet struggled to look inside her mouth, but thankfully(?) she hissed a couple of times. When she did that, her mouth opened so wide for a couple of seconds that the vet was able to clearly see inside her mouth. Hey, whatever works! The last time we were there, there was talk about sedating her for her exam, but it turned out to not be necessary.

When we got home, Bell blamed everything on Fiona like she always does. Bell kept hissing at her.  When this happens, Fiona just has a "whatever" attitude. By the next day, Bell's temper simmered down and all was well. So unless Bell has any problems, she's in the clear for another year. Fiona will have to go back in about three months for another professional mani and pedi.

I finished a puzzle on Friday. Check it out:

I started it on June 21st and finished on July 31st. I worked on it for about two hours on most weekdays, but on Friday I spent about eight hours on it. Once I got to what I think was about 75% completion, I was very eager to finish it. The sky was the hardest part, but the frame was tough too. A lot of the middle pieces have straight edges, so it was difficult to figure out which were the frame pieces. 

I'm having a bit of a puzzle hangover, so I'll wait at least a few days to start another one on my own. However, on Sunday I'm getting together with a friend to practice for our speed puzzling competition in September. I'm not a speed puzzler at all, but I think the competition will be fun.

Also, in the spirit of summer, I had a Maryland snowball treat for the first time in years. Snowballs are a Maryland summer tradition. They are made with flavored shaved ice (not to be confused with crushed ice, which is different) and fillings. Mine was mango-flavored shaved ice with crushed M&Ms, caramel sauce, and vanilla ice cream as the fillings. I enjoyed it, but I think I've had my fill for at least another decade. I bought it from a snowball stand across the street from where I live.

IN THE BOOKS

RECENTLY FINISHED

🍄🍄🍄🍄🍄
I LOVED Christmas at the Borrow a Bookshop (Borrow a Bookshop 2), written by Kiley Dunbar and narrated by Helen Duff. It's the perfect blend of lovable characters, character development, a cozy setting, and a can't-put-down plot. It does have some mild swearing that I didn't like, but the rest of the book is flawless. I want to devour the entire series.

IN PROGRESS

I finished the chapter titled "Ciphers and Secret Codes" in The Puzzler: One Man's Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaw to the Meaning of Life, by A. J. Jacobs. The next chapter is called "Visual Puzzles". I think it was a good idea to put this chapter next because the previous one involved a lot of words, letters, and numbers with the puzzles.

I'm still enjoying Detective Aunty (Kausar Khan Investigates 1), by Uzma Jalaluddin. The mystery has taken longer than I prefer to really get going, but that happens a lot with first in series. I like the family dynamics and I'm curious to see how everything, not just the main mystery, unfolds.

I started listening to Vice and Virtue (Layla Virtue Mystery 1), written by Libby Klein and narrated by Stefanie Kay. Although this is categorized as a mystery, it's so much more than that. I'd say it's mostly women's fiction so far. 

UP NEXT

I don't know if it will happen this coming week, but my next read will be Edam and Weep (Grilled Cheese Mystery 6), by Linda Reilly. I love this series and I'm looking forward to visiting Carly's Grilled Cheese Eatery again.

ON THE SCREEN

• The Food that Built America - I started season 6 and I'm still loving this delicious docuseries!
• Holidazed - I watched episode 7. I have one more episode to watch that will wrap up everything that's happened in the first seven episodes. For those of you who don't know, this is a series featuring several families that live in the same neighborhood. They are all experiencing some sort of family conflict during the same time period around the holidays. Each family's episode so far has ended on the same night with a power outage during a thunderstorm.
• Unwrapping Christmas: Lily's Destiny - This is the third one in the Unwrapping Christmas collection that originally aired on Hallmark+ last year and aired on the Hallmark Channel this July. It was okay. Not my favorite in the collection, but also not my least favorite.
• Unwrapping Christmas: Olivia's Reunion - This was the fourth and final one in the Unwrapping Christmas collection and it was, by far, my favorite! A major snowstorm throughout the movie?! Yes, please! It was so cozy. I loved the banter and chemistry between Cindy Busby's and Jake Epstein's characters, and I also loved that the movie involved an entire family with adult siblings. I'd watch this one again. It can easily stand as its own movie apart from the rest of the collection.
• It Came from Outer Space  - What was I thinking when I decided to watch this movie from 1953? I don't know. It was okay.

ON THE BLOG

• Sunday Post - 07/26 - Weekly Recap

Have a great week! I don't think I'll have time to post next weekend, but I should be able to return the following weekend.