Sunday Post 127

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?

Happy February, friends!

We had a very windy day here today, along with daytime wind chills no higher than 5 degrees! The grocery shopping was done yesterday, so I had no place to go today. My main concern is always the risk of losing electricity due to high winds, but I think we're almost in the clear. It's still a bit windy as I write this on Saturday evening, but it's not nearly as bad as it was earlier. Sunday is expected to be cold again, but without the winds it might feel downright balmy!

Are you watching the Olympics? I decided to temporarily subscribe to Peacock so I can watch it. I enjoy the Winter Games more than the Summer Games. I watched part of the Opening Ceremony, but turned it off sometime during the Parade of Athletes. I thought the  performances before that were good. I'll watch some of the events. When the Olympics are over I will keep Peacock for a few more weeks so I can also watch the Paralympics.

Will you be watching the Super Bowl? Since both of my home teams are out, I am not interested in the game. The halftime show doesn't really interest me either and I can catch the commercials later. The highlights anyway. I will be getting together with my family for dinner, then heading home at halftime.

Because of the snow and ice we had last Sunday, I canceled a couple of appointments last week and switched to virtual for another one. This week I have a few in-person appointments, so I'll be getting out and about more. We're expecting a warm-up, possibly into the 50s this upcoming week, so I may need to break out the summer wardrobe!!

Last week I shared my January wrap-up. Today I share my February Check-In so far:

I'm happy to say my NetGalley ratio has already increased since I filled out the top section on February 1st. We'll see how long that trend continues. Also, this year I have apparently been reading and listening to a lot of books with blue covers and books beginning with M. No big deal. Just an observation.

IN THE BOOKS

RECENTLY FINISHED

🍄🍄🍄🍄
I finished the ARC of Moonlight Murder (Detective Aunty Investigates 2), by Uzma Jalaluddin. Apart from the swearing and one other thing, I really enjoyed this book. You can read some excerpts here and my full review here.

IN PROGRESS

Week 7 in The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year, written by Margaret Renkl and illustrated by Billy Renkl, was about discovering the beauty of winter and recognizing that everything eventually will renew in the spring. I've always been a fan of winter. I love observing the bare branches and the barks of trees. I also love snow and how peaceful it can be.

I'm enjoying The Tell-Fang Heart (Vampire Boutique Mystery 2), by Elle Wren Burke. This one is even better than the first one in the series, A Fang to Remember. The Tell-Fang Heart is set around Valentine's Day and the book really leans into this. Auther Elle Wren Burke is a wheelchair user and her main character has the same disability she does. It's good to see authentic disability representation in a cozy.

I have about one hour left to listen in Sleep in Heavenly Pizza (Deep Dish Mystery 4), written by Mindy Quigley and narrated by Holly Adams. Although it is set around Christmas and Hanukkah, there aren't a lot of holiday feels. It definitely feels like a winter book, though, so it fits well into the current season. The third one, Public Anchovy #1, is a tough act to follow, but I'm enjoying this one too.

UP NEXT

My next audiobook listen was originally titled The Valentine Two-Step when it was first published in 2002, but it is now called Star Valley Winter. I have listened to RaeAnne Thayne's romances before and I really enjoyed them, so I'm looking forward to this one that is set around Valentine's Day.

My next read will be At Death's Dough (Deep Dish Mystery 5), by Mindy Quigley. I won this book in a giveaway last year and I'm excited to finally dive into to it. It's a cozy mystery set around Valentine's Day. I may cry when I finish it because it is currently the last one in the series and I believe it is complete (but I hope I'm wrong).

ON THE SCREEN

• The Traitors - I have been wanting to watch this show ever since it premiered, but I couldn't justify paying for a subscription to a streaming service just to watch one show. Now that the show is four seasons in and I'm watching the Olympics, I can justify binging it on Peacock. I'm starting with season 1 and working my way through all the episodes. I love that I don't have to wait a week to watch each episode because they all end on cliffhangers. I've been watching the beginning of the next one as soon as I finish each episode. (Streaming and the ability to binge watch shows has really spoiled me.) I'm not usually a fan of reality television anymore, but I'm drawn to the murder mystery aspect of this one. (NO SPOILERS, PLEASE!)
• Psych - I already binged this series when it aired in reruns on Hallmark Mystery, but since I have Peacock for a while, I've decided to re-watch my favorite episodes. I started with the one where Gus pretends to be a DJ. I think that one is hilarious!! I really need to watch The West Wing because I love Dulé Hill as an actor. My library has it on DVD, so maybe I'll borrow it after the Paralympics are over in March.
• The Brady Bunch - I grew up watching this show in reruns and I've seen every episode multiple times. It's the ultimate comfort show for me. I had planned on binging the series again, but I might have to put it on hold until after the Paralympics are over. So far I've re-watched the first few episodes. I'm also listening to a rewatch podcast hosted by the actors who played Greg and Peter, Barry Williams and Christopher Knight. It's called "The Real Brady Bros".
• The Golden Girls - As odd as it may sound, I've been watching this show while I exercise on my hand cycle. I have about five more episodes left in season 1. After that, I plan to listen to the audiobook cozy mystery based on the characters - Murder by Cheesecake, by Rachel Ekstrom Courage.
• 12 Gifts of Christmas - This is a 2015 Hallmark movie that I watched for the first time. I really enjoyed it.
• Missing the Boat - This is the last movie in Hallmark's 2026 Winter Escape lineup and it's my favorite of the five new ones. (I still miss the non-holiday winter movies, though!)
• An Alpine Holiday - This was part of the Countdown to Christmas lineup last year on Hallmark. It isn't really a Christmas movie, which was why I saved it for after the holiday season. My expectations were probably too high. I thought it was good, but not as good as I expected. The scenery was great, but the execution of the plot was just okay to me. I think it had potential to be better, perhaps with stronger writing. It was filmed in France, which was fun to see.

ON THE BLOG

• Sunday Post - 01/25 - Weekly Recap
• Book Review - 02/05 - Moonlight Murder (Detective Aunty Investigates 2), Uzma Jalaluddin
• Friday Features - 02/06 - Bookish response, Excerpts, Feline Friday, and Nature Pic
• Puzzle - 02/07 - Valentine Hearts

Have a great week!