Saturday, May 16, 2026

Sunday Post 136

Hi everyone!

Through Monday, I am linking with the following: 

I watched paint dry this past 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
Have a great week!

30 comments:

  1. I love to watch the birds that come to our bird bath. The jays are especially dramatic. We are hoping to have temps in the low 80s in Georgia this week on our trip.

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    1. Ooohhh...the blue jays must have been fun to watch! We mostly had robins in ours. One time I saw some vultures walking around it, but thankfully not splashing in it. LOL. Enjoy your trip to Georgia! :)

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  2. Thank you for sharing about these books.

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  3. It's always difficult having to keep the kitties somewhere when work is being done. I'm not a fan of insects either. We get a lot of them here in Florida. Hope you have a great week!

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    1. Yvonne, those insects (and from what I heard, reptiles) are one reason I could never live in Florida. Lol. :)

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  4. It’s a shame about the bird bath, maybe you could add a bird feeder instead. I grew up playing MahJong with my grandparents but it’s been years since I’ve had a game.
    Thanks for sharing your week

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    1. A bird feeder is a great idea, but unfortunately I don't think we'd get any volunteers to maintain it. That's so cool you grew up playing MahJong with your grandparents! :)

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  5. I hope you have a good week. We are also going from really cool to really hot this week. I want more spring.

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    1. Thankfully for us, the 90s is only supposed to last three days, then we'll be back into the 60s! I hope you get more springlike temps! :)

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  6. Our weather is the same. I wanted it a little warmer so I could start the garden, but then it just decided to be 90 degrees. Bleh.

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    1. Yeah, 90 degrees is beyond just warm! I hope you have a great week and keep cool! :)

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  7. Meezan, I’m so glad you enjoyed the book! Thank you so much for your very kind words. It made my day. ❤️

    My kitty only allows me to trim one paw’s claws per day max, and usually we need a “rest” day in between attempts, so the whole process turns into a week-long event. 😹

    I have feeders and birdbaths in my backyard that I love to watch. As soon as I fill them each day, it’s like Grand Central Station. 🐦

    Stay cool!

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    1. Kathleen, you're welcome! The only time Fiona has ever let me trim her claws was once when she was kitten. It went well (at least from my point of view...lol), so I'm not sure why she hasn't allowed me to do it since then. I can't even cut one claw. The vet can do it in five minutes with no issues, though! Bell is the complete opposite. I'm able to cut hers, but the vet isn't! I'm sure those feeders and birdbaths provide quite the entertainment! :-)

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  8. We had the same situation with painting last year. Our elderly Bengal wandered out of our flat and into the neighbours (the one that we didn't know) and she was not impressed. It was very nice getting everything painted.

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    1. Oh no! I'm glad everything turned out well! :)

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  9. Living in a place while it’s being redecorated isn’t easy.

    I’m sorry your weather is hot already, maybe there will be a few more cooler days between now and June.

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    1. So true. Redecorating is not an easy process. It is expected to cool down on Thursday. We'll thankfully only have three 90+ days. :)

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  10. My cats like to climb things in the walk-in closet. Or they hide in the corner, risking being shut inside for the day. It is going to be just as hot here. I'm not ready for it. Great books this week. Hope you enjoy what you're reading.

    https://thebookconnectionccm.blogspot.com/2026/05/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-mailbox_094065298.html

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    1. Thank you, Cheryl! My cats have been known to get locked in a closet or room for a while, thanks to their own curiosity. By the time I discovered they were in there, they were ready to be released, but I wondered why they didn't call for help. I guess they were having too much fun. :)

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  11. I'm looking forward to summer and warmer temperatures. It is 42 and cloudy right now. The long-term forecast is predicting 60s next week. This week 50s. Your books all sound cute. Come see my week here. Happy reading!

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    1. You've got a variety of decades covered there, Kathy. :) I'd love to have it stay in the 40s, 50s, or 60s for spring. :)

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  12. Birdwatching is fun. I thought summer weather was here, but rainstorms the last few days brought colder temps. The high is only 59 today. Ugh.

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    1. Kimberly, I think we're complete opposites. I'd love highs in the upper 50s. Don't worry, warmer weather is sure to come. :)

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  13. Pity about the birdbath as it can be wonderful to watch. Sorry about the weather warming up as I sit here in morning all wrapped up for late Autumn. You did well with the two cats while the door was open. Great you had a good reading week.

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    1. Thank you, Kathryn. I'll just enjoy the fall season through your posts. :)

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  14. That's too bad about the fountain but I am glad some painting was done. Your cats loving the walk-in closet is just too funny!

    Summer weather makes me very sick so I am dreading the hot summer weather. Hopefully AC and fans will help this year. Last year was rough, even with all that.

    The books look very good. I need to look a couple of those up!

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    1. I can't stand the summer heat either, and I agree. Even with the A/C, my body just knows it's hot out there. I hope you find some good books! :)

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