Sunday Post 136

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?

I watched paint dry this week. 

We are having a lot of work done on our building, including painting all of the common areas. It's a nice upgrade. Today my door was painted on the side facing the hallway and on the side of the door. This meant the door had to stay open for a few hours. That's not easy with two cats. They were confused and a bit unhappy about being locked in a room for a while. I did spend some time in the room with them, which helped. When I wanted to leave the room, I locked them in the walk-in closet in the bedroom. They actually seemed to enjoy that, a bit too much. When I went to release them from the walk-in closet, Fiona came out right away, but Bell lollygagged. And it wasn't because she was scared. She thought it was a game and she wanted to play. Bell also had her mani and pedi this morning, so she had an especially big day. (Fiona goes to the vet periodically to get hers done, whereas Bell allows me to do hers.)

We used to have a fountain in front of the building. The birds loved it and I loved watching them play in it. Unfortunately, after 20 years it became too expensive to maintain and we had to get rid of it. Instead, we installed a few benches and some plants in that area. I am not a fan of insects, which are sure to visit as the weather warms up, so I'll probably wait until fall to sit there.

Speaking of weather, I believe we are turning the corning, zipping past spring, and heading straight into summer. I've really enjoyed the coolish weather, but this coming week will see highs in the 90s. Yuck. Is it fall yet?

I had a few appointments and meetings this past week, most of which were virtual. I only worked on the puzzle for about two hours all week. I got some done, but not much. I did get quite a bit of reading and listening done, though!

IN THE BOOKS

RECENTLY FINISHED

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I listened to A Deadly Inside Scoop (Ice Cream Parlor Mystery 1), written by Abby Collette and narrated by Shandra Skye. It took some time for the mystery to get going, but once it did, I was all in. I enjoyed it overall. You can read some excerpts here.

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I also listened to another cozy mystery, Where the Light Shines Through (Olivia Penn Mystery 1), written by Kathleen Bailey and narrated by Natalie Naudus. I loved it from beginning to end! I'm planning to publish my full review this coming week. In the meantime, you can read some excerpts here. I definitely want to continue this series. 

IN PROGRESS

I read Spring Week 8 in The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year, written by Margaret Renkl and illustrated by Billy Renkl. This was about various rodents the author has come across in her life. It reminded me of the gerbils, hamsters, and guinea pig I had at various times in my life. 

I'm still really enjoying Between a Roquefort and Hard Place (Grilled Cheese Mystery 7), by Linda Reilly. So far, I think this is one of the stronger installments in the series. I love the characters, including some new ones, as well as the perplexing mystery. I have some thoughts on the whodunnit. We'll see if I'm right.

UP NEXT

My next audiobook listen will be A Game of Cones (Ice Cream Parlor Mystery 2), by Abby Collette. This second installment is set in the summer, so the week leading up to Memorial Day is the perfect time of year to listen to it.

ON THE SCREEN

• The Way Home - Six more episodes to go in this entire series and I still don't know how they're going to wrap everything up and answer every question. I am enjoying the ride, though.
• The Brady Bunch - I'm enjoying season 3. As the seasons progress, I think the emphasis is more on the comedy aspect of the sitcom than the earlier episodes are. I haven't listened to any podcast episodes on this season yet, but I'm looking forward to doing that eventually.
• Mom's Day Away - This is a 2014 Hallmark movie about a mother who loves her family, but needs a break, which was perfect for Mother's day. I love that that her bestie was the opposite in that her life centered mostly on her career. The two friends balanced each other out nicely. The main character in this movie is Bonnie Somerville. You may remember she played Ross's girlfriend Mona on Friends.
• All's Fair in Love and Mahjong - This was a 2026 Hallmark premiere and I loved it! I enjoyed the friend group, the budding romance, and the Mahjong theme. It made me want to learn how to play. My local library has a group that meets regularly, but I'm not able to make it at that time.
• Don't Go Breaking My Heart - This is a 2021 Hallmark movie that I watched last week for the first time. There were some eyebrow-raising moments, but overall I enjoyed it.

ON THE BLOG

• Sunday Post - 05/09 - Weekly Recap
• Book Review - 05/12 - A Deadly Inside Scoop, by Abby Collette
• Friday Features - 05/15 - Bookish Response, Featured Book, Feline Friday, Nature Pic
• Puzzle - 05/16 - Dogwood and Lilacs

Have a great week!