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A Low Key Fourth Of July

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Happy Fourth of July! 

We have no plans. It’s been nice and yet at the same time I’ve been a bit lost all day. Since I was spending some time reminiscing about our previous holidays by going through my Facebook photos, I thought I better post about our holiday on here. And I wanted to share the rest of my Flags4Freedom photos I took on Thursday.

Why? Well, it seems I decided to more or less quit engaging on Facebook in 2019 and had a hard time remembering what we did for that Fourth of July. Finally, realized that sadly, we didn’t do much as we left maybe the day after the holiday to go through the contents of my husband’s late grandfather’s house before it went on the market.

Anyway, better to have a record of a low key holiday than no record at all. I do like to look back and see how we spent the holidays.

First, speaking of reminiscing, I’ve also been thinking about the Fourth of July holidays I had as a kid. 

When I Was A Kid

My mom would fry chicken and then put it in the oven to make the best barbequed chicken (and no, I have no idea how to do it sadly). Plus homemade macaroni and cheese. And a lemon layer cake with vanilla pudding in the center and simple powdered sugar on top. We’d load up and drive to my Aunt Thelma’s house in the country. Relatives, kids, lots of fireworks, outside. A pond. That’s what I remember. 

As A Young Adult

One brother or the other would have a gathering. Lots of nieces and nephews (note there is a 7 year age gap between me and my siblings, I’m the youngest) running around with fireworks. Note the food, same as above or more…maybe my brothers grilling something, too much. Chicken, brats, hamburgers, hot dogs, pop, beer. Crazy fireworks. Let’s just say my husband’s introduction to my family’s Fourth of July was interesting. Did I mention 2 of my 3 brothers are retired from the fire department? Crazy fireworks.

As A Wife And A Mom To Young Kids

One Fourth of July gathering on my husband’s side (too tame for me) and I declared Fourth of July as belonging to MY family. No alternating though we sometimes did go see his family for a bit on the way to my family’s gatherings. The irony of having a child who HATED my favorite holiday. Trading off with my husband sitting inside while one of us was outside watching the fireworks. Second child takes after my side and loves all things fireworks. More than I do, I think. Still going to family gatherings with good food. Taking my now signature dish of crunchy coleslaw.

Recent Holidays

A rough one in 2017 after my nephew lost his father. Went to a friends with sister-in-law and nephew so as not to overwhelm (my family can overwhelm sometimes). The one from 2019 again lost in the black hole of grief. The weird pandemic one from last year. Sister-in-law and husband over for a cookout and then my nephew hanging out and doing fireworks with us. A pretty good time despite the pandemic.

AND TODAY

Did I mention we have no plans? Seems so odd. Family we spent the holiday with last year moved out of state. My family hasn’t had a gathering since 2018. G has his own plans tonight.

This morning, I made red, white, and blue strawberries. Then, we took J and bought a few fireworks (G was sleeping and see above, he still mostly hates fireworks). Went out for lunch at a local restaurant. It was very good and none of us are hungry yet even though we ate at noon and it’s now 6. I watched Independence Day (a tradition).

Currently, I’m waiting for J to wake up from his nap, trying to decide if I’ll even mess with dinner, and sometimes sitting outside and listening to the neighbor’s party (they live a few houses away and we don’t know them or I’d crash it, LOL). We’ll enjoy their show later.

And I’m thinking that it’s time to host a family gathering soon….

Are you off doing something fun? Maybe having a family gathering? Going out to see a display some where later?

My Staycation Week

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Know that saying about needing a vacation after your vacation? That’s me this week! Staycations are not my thing. It’s not been a bad week. However, I don’t feel as though I really had a vacation in the traditional sense at all.

Rainy Days

It rained every single day except today.

I’m good with a little rain so I don’t have to water the gardens every day but this was a lot of rain so I’m not going to need to water for at least a week.  Rainy days made it hard to make plans to do anything. Motivation lacks as the sheets of rain fall from the sky. Plus, I just couldn’t get it together with my planning.

A lot of the local things I thought we’d do were still closed or on timed tickets due to Covid. While things are better and mostly open,  I do miss being able to be spontaneous. SIGH.

So mostly, the teenager has slept (what he wants to do anyway though I did get 3 games of Connect Four out of him) and I’ve played Animal Crossing and watched too much TV. (oh dear, I found yet another spin off of The Walking Dead. I do love a good zombie show.)  Read a little bit as well.

Retail Therapy

I needed new tennis shoes for work. And while I don’t enjoy shoe shopping (I know! Really though I don’t like to shop for shoes.), I made myself go this morning. So I have some new tennis shoes to wear to work next month. And, I found this fun pair of Keds on clearance! I have a leopard print shirt so I’m excited to have matching shoes.

After shoe shopping, I ran in Five Below and picked up some random Christmas gifts to stash away. Then, I went to Target for cat food and cleaning supplies. Apparently, I’m not very good at retail therapy.

A Journey to Sweden

Sort of. We went to Ikea in Kansas to buy a desk for G. A bit of a belated birthday present. He knew he was getting one but we had to find one he wanted and that fit and all that. Finally, 2 months later, he gets his desk. Photo below is from a park near Ikea.

At least I finally got to see the Flags 4 Freedom that I’ve always wanted to go see.

More pictures of the flags coming soon.

A Weekend Project

And now, somehow, the desk set up has morphed into tearing up the carpet in G’s room (replacing it is long overdue). I’ve been mostly down here staying out of the way. However, I suppose I should go check on the progress of things (and the occasional raised voices I’ve heard).

Hoping things are back to a true normal where we can be spontaneous again and travel without worry next year. Did you take a vacation this year? I’d love to hear how it went!

 

Happy Homemaker Wednesday (Oops)

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Better to join in late than never, right? Hope so! On vacation (staycation) this week, so I’ve been a bit lazy about coming down here and working on the blog. However, I still wanted to go ahead and join in the fun for this week!

If I can, I’ll still link up with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom. And of course, I plan to visit all the fabulous bloggers who link up over there as well.

The Weather

I’ll just let B.J. Thomas do our weather forecast.

We’ve had lots of rain! Every single day since Saturday maybe? Seriously though, I wish I could send our surplus to some of those places with the super high temps and drought conditions. At least only one day so far, felt jungle steamy. Waiting for the sun…

How I’m Feeling This Morning

Not too bad. I slept in a bit (that means I woke up at 6:30 as opposed to 5, sigh.). Kind of upset with myself for not running errands yesterday when it was a bit of a light rain as now it’s a pouring down kind of rain and a Wednesday (busier day to run errands).

On The Breakfast Plate

My husband went and got us doughnuts! I had a frosted apple fritter. It was okay, needed a lot less frosting and a lot more filling, it wasn’t the one he meant to get me but it was still a nice change. And of course, coffee.

On My Reading Pile

Just finished the book I was reading, Daylight by David Baldacci. It’s the 3rd in a series. It’s intriguing enough. Not sure what I’ll pick up next, maybe something from my summer reading list. Today, I’ll probably focus on magazines and getting the rest of the June magazines glanced at and recycled.

On My TV

Finished up The Walking Dead over the weekend (reminds me I need to cancel AMC+ now). Haven’t really started anything else. Been watching a few random movies, mostly ones we’ve seen before like Bourne Identity and Red. Oh and I’ve been watching Loki on Disney Plus. Husband’s been watching America’s Got Talent (I could never get into that one for some reason).

On The Menu

I need to go to the grocery store so I’ve been kind of day by day on the menu. I’ll really need a better plan for when I work the next 3 weeks.

MONDAY: We had BBQ roast sandwiches and chips plus I made jello *J had a baritone lesson at 6:30*

TUESDAY: Frozen pizza

WEDNESDAY: Maybe tacos?

THURSDAY: OUT, hoping to go on a daytrip at least

FRIDAY: No idea depends on what’s on sale at the store

From The Camera

A friend and I finally visited a local daylily garden last Friday! It was so peaceful and relaxing out there.

And yes, you could buy daylilies to bring home and plant so of course, I did that. The variety pictured below is called Mokan Butterfly and one now has a home in my garden by the front porch.

Looking Around The House

Well, it’s not awful but it’s looked better. I have big cleaning plans for the last week of July when J is at band camp and I *hopefully* have the house to myself.

To Relax This Week I Will

Not worry about the weather, spend time with my family. Read my magazines. Visit my silly Animal Crossing Island where maybe the sun is shining.

Something I Want To Share

Since the Fourth of July is this weekend, here’s something that’s just silly and fun I stumbled across this morning. (I think I can name relatives like most the characters portrayed in this video! Ha!)

Quote For The Week

May the flowers remind us why the rain was so necessary. (Xan Oku)

 

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Happy Homemaker Monday, I’m Back

HappyHomemakerMonday 10 Comments

Back from nowhere. I didn’t actually go anywhere but the last two weeks were a bit of a whirlwind. Fun, hardworking, and happy. However, also too exhausted to come downstairs and sit at a computer each night and do any blogland visiting. “Thyme” to come back and do a Monday posting.

The whole month of July looks like the same kind of busy but I do have a bit of a break between now and then so here I am back to my routine. Sort of. Took the day to be a bit lazy so just now getting to my posting. And I should also get a chance to do some blogland visiting this week as well, might not be until later in the week though.

Joining in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom as always.

The Weather

It’s been HOT. My kind of weather but even a bit hot for me a few days. Today is a bit of a reprieve as we had a cold front move through and it was in the mid 60’s this morning. A nice change after waking up to the mid 80’s most of last week. It’s supposed to be the mid 80’s/low 90’s for most of the week as our high temps not the starting points.

How I Am Feeling This Morning (Afternoon)

Not too bad. Looking forward to having a few days off and happy that it’s officially summer.

On The Breakfast Plate

A Chobani Flip Yogurt, chewy churro flavor, not a fan.

On My Reading Pile

Just finished two Alison Sherlock books in the past two weeks. The Village of Lost and Found (Riverside Lane #2) and A House to Mend a Broken Heart, one of her older books and not my favorite. The Riverside Lane series is great though.

On My TV

Zombies! Been catching up with Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead.

On The Menu

Didn’t really make a menu last week or maybe I did and we didn’t follow it. Seems to be the theme for my summer menus, make menu, change it all last minute.

MONDAY: Cooked Pork Chops (from freezer), baked potatoes, salad My husband ended up making us pancakes *J has a baritone lesson at 6:30*

TUESDAY: pepper steak, rice *I work 8:15-4:45*

WEDNESDAY: chicken spinach skillet *I work 8:15-4:45*

THURSDAY: Roast in crockpot

FRIDAY: turkey sausages, chips, strawberries *J has an appt at 3* *I have am plans with a friend*

From The Camera

Planned to go take some quick updated pictures of the garden areas but when you don’t pick the camera up for two weeks, you don’t know the battery needs a charge. So, all the photos in this post are from 2 weeks ago…

Looking Around The House

It’s looked better, a lot better but it’s still livable.

To Relax This Week, I Will

Water my flowers, work in the gardens, take a walk, pick up the camera again

Something I Want To Share

Dumb joke I heard on the radio last week:

Why did Tigger stick his head in the toilet?

He was looking for Pooh!

(Not preschool appropriate but I thought it was funny!)

Quote For The Week

A single sunbeam is enough to drive away many shadows (St. Francis of Assisi)

 

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Are you excited for it to finally be officially summer?

 

Happy Homemaker Monday, A Full Week

HappyHomemakerMonday 14 Comments

Our calendar is once again full. So is my heart. I am so happy to see activities and places for us to be listed on there once again. Though it seems we might be making up for lost time this week.

That’s why I’m getting a jump on things and putting my Happy Homemaker Monday post together on Sunday evening. Later, I’ll link up with Sandra, the host of the link up, over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom.

Let’s just get straight to it.

The Weather

Sun, sun, Mr. Golden sun decided to shine down on us almost all of last week! It’s apparently now something called the start of the “meteorological” summer but I’ll take it. Very slight rain chances and highs in the 80’s and low 90’s this week. Hooray! My weather is here.

On My Reading Pile

Magazines. Tried to start Jane Eyre but it feels like a fall read so I’m not sure I’ll continue. I’ll find something, maybe from my list, to start tomorrow night during J’s lesson.

On My TV

Been catching up with the rest of the Lucifer episodes on Netflix. Other than that, just whatever happens to be on…enjoying Crime Scene Kitchen when I catch it though. Probably start the Loki series on Disney plus on Friday.

On The Menu

Now, you’ll see what I mean by a full calendar. Keeping things simple for my sanity this week.

MONDAY: French Toast and sausage, fruit *I work 7:45-4:15* *J has a baritone lesson at 6:30 (HOORAY)*

TUESDAY: Pepper steak, noodles or rice, salad? *I work 7:45-4:15*

WEDNESDAY: On Your Own *I work 7:45-4:15* *I have a hair appt at 5*

THURSDAY: Greek sheet pan chicken and potatoes *I work 7:45-4:15*

FRIDAY: Frozen pizza or homemade pizza, salad *I work 7:45-4:15* *J has an appt at 3 or 4 (G will take him)*

SATURDAY: Moo shu pork in crock pot *J takes ACT at 8am*

On My To Do List

  1. Mow the lawn
  2. plant the flowers I bought today
  3. Try to visit the other local nursery before they shut down for the season (she told me they stopped after Father’s Day, it’s a local pop up kind of place)
  4. Remember to water the garden
  5. Get with husband regarding whether we’re actually going to go somewhere for a vacation
  6. Breathe

What I Am Creating

Maybe some day some pretty flower garden areas.

Looking Around The House

Please, don’t. Not this week. All the pretty outside flower pictures are supposed to distract us from that.

From The Camera

Need to be better about picking it up after work. Took all the photos for this post today except this one. A phone photo from Saturday. Think this is a newly hatched Katydid on my petunia. Stayed there all day yesterday.

Something Fun To Share

I got a last minute invitation to the ball (aka the preschool graduation, ha) last week. Had to earn my chair with parking lot duty (directing students and parents to their respective places) but didn’t mind. One of the songs the kids sang was this one. Very cute (obviously, for privacy reasons I’m not showing you MY school instead just a random video of a different school singing the song).

On My Prayer List

Friends, Family, Strangers. For things to continue to return to normal in the world. My dear blogging friend, Rebecca over at Rebecca’s Hearth and Home and her friends and family who are having some serious health struggles.

Quote For The Week

To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow. (Audrey Hepburn)

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Seems silly but I had no idea eggplant flowers were purple! Excited for the new garden addition. Did you plant a garden this year? What are you growing?

 

 

The Cat Came Back

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The catbird returned early last week!  Since I had a very busy workweek, all these pictures are from Sunday. However, my week was filled with sunshine so no complaints!

I so rarely see catbirds in our yard. Cats, yes. Catbirds, no. Usually we spot one or maybe two during spring migration time. However, I’ve never seen them at my feeders. I’m not even sure if they visit feeders. Hardly see them hanging around the yard.

And I usually only see one as it passes through the yard. However, my first catbird returned with a friend!

I think they were social distancing. They didn’t get much closer than in the photo above so snapping photos of the two of them together was a bit of a challenge.

Are they on a date? Or a married couple squabbling? Anyone’s guess.

Wait? What’s the weird lady over there doing? We’ll settle this later, let’s get away from that weirdo!

Maybe I’ll get lucky and see these catbirds again sometime soon.

Other Birds Spotted This Week

It’s a tough job to be more annoying than a squirrel at the bird feeders. The grackles seem to be applying for the job. SIGH.

It even seems they can empty the feeders on pace or faster than the squirrels. I’m not happy about it. Time to switch back to all safflower seed to see if that slows them down. At least they ignore the njyer seed. The house finches are currently making due with that.

The squirrels are still annoying the red bellied and downy woodpeckers at the suet feeders. As are my sparrows. The starlings seem to have moved on though. Cardinals, chickadees, and the occasional tufted-titmouse wait out the grackles. The doves seem happy with whatever falls to the ground.

What birds did you spot this week?

Linking up with The Bird Depot hosted by Anni over at I’d Rather B Birdin’.

 

Happy Homemaker Monday, Memorial Day

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Maybe that should say night. I’m a bit late with my posting today. No real reason, just a bit of holiday laziness before a full week of work. 

Debated postponing until tomorrow but really do need to get a plan for this upcoming week underway. Joining in with Sandra over at Diary Of A Stay At Home Mom helps me do just that.

The Weather

Sometimes we do get to see the sky!

Rainy and cool all day today. However, the rest of the week looks nice with highs in the 70’s and I do think we might hit the 80’s on Friday. A slight chance of rain on Wednesday. Would be nice to properly dry out again.

On My Reading Pile

Read two books from my summer reading list. Spent a lot of today finishing The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins. A good twisty suspense novel that’s supposed to be a bit like Jane Eyre (one of those classics I’ve never read, hmm…perhaps I need to make another list?). My lighter summer read was A Summer Wedding at the Cornish Confetti Agency by Daisy James. A bit disappointed to see that series come to an end as I really enjoyed the characters.

On My TV

Trying to finish my Walking Dead shows before my AMC+ trial ends, need to finish Lucifer now that they’ve added the rest of the season to Netflix. And my husband and I started watching The Kominsky Method, also on Netflix (funny but for adults!) Just reruns on network tv now probably so whatever I happen to catch.

On The Menu

A full work week after the holiday today so keeping things pretty simple.

MONDAY: husband grilled ribs, corn, fruit salad

TUESDAY: Spaghetti, salad *I work 8:30-5*

WEDNESDAY: Honey lemon chicken legs, rice (or I may make the crunchy coleslaw I forgot to make today) *I work 8:30-5*

THURSDAY: BLT salads *I work 8:30-5*

FRIDAY: OUT (or something from freezer) *I work 8:30-5*

On My To Do List

Not too much since my work schedule is pretty full this week (for the next 3 weeks!)

  1. Pay bills
  2. Need to find the time to go buy new tennis shoes
  3. Take some donations to the thrift store
  4. Remind husband that Saturday is the big item drop off in the city (we have some large junk to dispose)
  5. Maybe a little vacation planning

Creating

Honestly not much, just working on the garden areas. Pulled a bunch of weeds (thought they were flowers coming back but determined no, they were indeed just weeds) yesterday. Front porch still needs more flowers. At least I have my pink petunia pot going…

Looking Around The House

Well, G cleaned his room which somehow translates to lots of stuff in the living room. Can’t complain too much as he finally went through his clothes and now there are 2 bags of donations to take to the thrift store just from his stuff.

From The Camera

An older one from our 2019 Washington, D.C. Trip but meaningful to share today.

 

Something Fun To Share

I think I’ve shared her videos before but I made this recipe for our dessert tonight. (It wasn’t a huge hit but I liked it. My husband and oldest didn’t care for the apple in it. J hasn’t tried it yet as he just wasn’t super hungry today.)

On My Prayer List

Friends, Family, Strangers. Especially the strangers having a medical emergency in the grocery store on Sunday morning (it’s weird to here a call for a doctor over the intercom that usually plays music, I saw the ambulance as I left the store).

Quote For The Week

Another photo, taken during our 2019 Washington, D.C. trip. Good reminder for today especially.

 

 

Feeding Time!

Birdwatching 8 Comments

Not a lot of variety of birds to share today. However, I did catch mama starling feeding her brood one day. Starlings aren’t my favorite birds by far but this little show was still fun to watch.

Some of the images turned out better than the others. Weather was still pretty yucky most of the week. On the sunny days, I either worked or did work in the yard (mowed) so that we weren’t surrounded by jungle. Sun is out today despite the chilly temps so that’s a good sign.

Anyway, one early afternoon a mama Starling and her brood showed up to dine from the suet feeder.

The Starlings

 

Can’t you just hear her saying get over here! In the photo below?

I’m here!

Stay together!

We try…

But there’s always that one sibling…

We’re hungry again!

Other Birds Spotted This Week

As I mentioned earlier, not a great variety of bird photos to share this week.

However, one day, J called me to look out the door at a “different” looking bird. Turned out it was just a rather rough looking mourning dove perched above a feeder.

The blurry birds in the background are our resident house finches. We’ve seen those along with cardinals, the tufted titmice (still not very often), house sparrows, and our hummingbird (also, still not too often). And I’m having a bit of an issue with the grackles taking over the feeders.

I joked on Monday about not being surprised to see ducks at our backyard feeders. I didn’t see any there. However, I did see two mallards simply standing on the sidewalk near the road as I cut through the park on my way to work Thursday morning. And yesterday, I thought I might be late as one was simply standing smack in the middle of the park road.

What birds did you spot this week?

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Joining in with The Bird Depot hosted by Anni over at I’d Rather B Birdin’.

 

 

 

Around Here Lately

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Let’s just chat about things around here lately. And of course, a bit about the garden spots as well. Brace yourself, this post is going to be a bit of a ramble.

That orange lily was completely closed up when I bought the bouquet last Friday. It’s really opened up and now stands out.

We have some daylilies in our yard but they aren’t anywhere near blooming yet. And I didn’t plant them so we’ll see what we get. I slogged through the yard and mowed it yesterday (more rain due overnight tonight). Each time I mow lately, I start to dream about replacing the front yard hill with flowers. Daylilies crossed my mind. Have you ever seen a lawn replaced with flowers? What do you think?

In a complete turn around, want to talk trash? Not like competition trash talk but actual trash?

Trash And Recycling Woes

Wildflower garden fence recycled from husband’s late grandfather’s garden

 

Not counting this week (I didn’t need to call), I’ve called our trash company 3 weeks in a row! And not just to chat. Not complain either, well not at first. The company used to be local but now they’re based out of Arizona but of course, the day to day stuff is still handled locally. Unless you want to talk to customer service, then you call Arizona. Makes sense, sure?

Here’s why I called them. The day after Earth Day, we received a letter stating our recycle pickup would only occur every other week moving forward. Apparently, it’s not longer profitable and they didn’t want to increase our rates. Oh, they’re so kind (sarcasm). However, they’d be glad to provide us a larger or an additional container at no charge. All right there in the letter.

The letter the customer services folks in Arizona didn’t believe existed. Well, the first person could see it as she transferred me to sales to request my bigger container.

The black hole of customer service. Also, a picture of our newest and unwelcome backyard resident’s home. Mr. Mole’s House.

 

Customer Service Fail Again (and Again)

Guess what? Bigger recycle containers don’t exist. So, I requested an additional one. They’d be happy to provide it for a charge. Um, NO, not what the letter says. Delivering one for free the next week. Okay. Did it arrive? Nope. Another call, another promise. Did they deliver the second time? Yes. Did they deliver the right container? No.

They sent a second trash container and charged me! Suffice it to say I was simmering a bit when I called customer service yet again where they mysteriously couldn’t transfer me to a sales supervisor or their own supervisor. Kudos to the poor gal in sales who took my call. She did get the charges fixed and hopefully, next week (everything recycle is every other week now) the bin gets corrected.  Oh, and last week they forgot to pick up the recycle container on the right day! Thankfully, I fixed that with an Internet issue form.

Moving on…let’s talk about the Internet or rather our data usage.

Data Usage Increases (Or ISP Wants More Money)

Snapdragons. Would like to snap my fingers and change our ISP but our choices are so limited

 

Apparently, our ISP can change our contract terms at any time without notification. And so, now, they have given us a data limit.

via GIPHY

Made even more annoying by the fact that we’ve miraculously used more data this month (double from last month) than during the last pandemic year. We get one free month, then they start charging unless, of course, we want to switch to their $30 more a month unlimited plan.

Why don’t we just switch companies? Sadly, we have two choices in this city. (Don’t get me started on why there isn’t free competition with all this, my brother who lives in KC proper but only 15 minutes away has different options but can’t use this company). And we’ve had the other Internet choice previously. It was worse. SIGH.

How’s your Internet service? Issues? Or are we just the lucky ones here?

Ending my post on a positive note, let’s talk Christmas!

Rudolph Day in May

Yesterday was Rudolph Day! Did you do anything for it? I didn’t do much other than glance at the tasks.

Great suggestion: order Christmas gifts out of summer catalogs for great clearance finds. Guess that dates the site a bit, haven’t seen a good catalog in some time but might be fun to look for catalogs to order or bargains on-line.

For my quick treat for the day, I made an iced hazelnut hot chocolate. Discovered, I think the iced version of hot chocolate might taste better than the hot!

Three Days of Posting in a Row!

Not that anyone is keeping count, however, I’ve now posted 3 days in a row.

Later, this afternoon, I have to work, then we’ll probably watch the finale of The Masked Singer. Exciting Wednesday night plans! What’s happening in your life lately?

My Summer Reading List

Books and TV Shows Chitchat 2 Comments

I thought it might be fun to share my summer reading list.

While browsing online over the weekend, I found the best beach reads of 2021 according to Bustle. Can I just say the titles all looked kind of blah to me?  Maybe I’m judging the books by their covers (ha!) but none of them appealed. I did link it, in case you might find a title intriguing.

However, my choices are different.

My Summer Reading List

By the way, more than a few of these are likely free through kindle unlimited if you have that. And of course, there’s always the library.

 

  1. Summer Island by Natalie Normann. Earlier this year, I read Christmas Island by the same author and loved it! Just your basic romance set in Norway.  Summer Island is available in paperback and I just might treat myself.  Main character leaves London, moves to Norway, and finds love?  summer reading list                                                                                       
  2.  Summer Wedding at the Cornish Confetti Agency by Daisy James is another light and fun read. Please note, it’s the 6th book in a series. However, I highly recommend the entire series if you need some light hearted, funny reading material. Lexi is a wedding planner and we all know things never go as planned. However, they always work out in the end and romance wins.  summer reading list                  
  3. How about a nonfiction choice? Meik Wiking wrote The Little Book of Hygge as well as The Little Book of Lykke.  I’m excited to read his newest, The Art of Making Memories, been waiting for the perfect time to read it. And I think it’s going to be this summer. Title seems self-explanatory. His books always contain beautiful images and graphics. Great front porch reading material!summer reading
  4. The Village of Lost and Found by Alison Sherlock. This one is the second in a series. Just lighthearted, uplifting reading. The story of a different character in the same village as the first book. Basic premise as most books in this genre, protagonist leaves big city with problem. Small, homey village atmosphere solves it in the end. Even knowing the plot lines are probably the same, I’ll enjoy this one.                                                              The Village of Lost and Found: The perfect uplifting, feel-good read for 2021 (The Riverside Lane Series Book 2) by [Alison Sherlock]
  5. Summer in the Scottish Highlands by Donna Ashcroft. I’ve loved every book of this author. Nothing too heavy but still enjoyable with characters a little more complex. Her Christmas books are some of my favorites. (This one doesn’t come out until June 4) I’m usually ready to pack my bags and move to whatever coastal town/small village she uses as a setting for her books.    Summer in the Scottish Highlands: An utterly perfect feel-good romantic comedy by [Donna Ashcroft]
  6. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Not exactly a light, uplifting choice. However, Andy Weir is one of my favorite authors (he wrote The Martian, a favorite movie of mine as well) so I do plan to read this. Probably going to be on my library hold list for awhile unless I get lucky. (Have you heard? The library is open to go inside once again! I’m so happy about that)  Project Hail Mary: A Novel by [Andy Weir]
  7. Afternoon Coffee: Thoughts on Motherhood, Family, Home, and All Things Cozy by Billy Jo Stoltz. This one is by a fellow blogger. And I’ve had it on my radar to read for some time. This summer I plan to treat myself to this as well. I already love her blog, so I’m sure I’ll enjoy this one. Sounds like a perfect one for a rainy (or sunny) summer afternoon.                                       
  8. Magazines! Summer is the perfect time to flip through a few magazine pages. Who says this list has to just contain books? My magazine collection is mostly home decorating, gardening, and those general household types.                                                                                           GOOD HOUSEKEEPING MAGAZINE - MAY 2021 - THE BIG TESTED ISSUE! - 2021 BEAUTY AWARDS Hgtv Magazine May 2021 Curb Appeal Inspo From Charming Shutters To Dazzling Zinnias BETTER HOMES & GARDENS MAGAZINE - JUNE 2021 - THE GREAT OUTDOORS REAL SIMPLE MAGAZINE - MAY 2021 - GET IT DONE
  9. Ten Arguments for Deleting All Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by Jaron Lanier. Another nonfiction choice. A bit deeper but I need a little balance to my light hearted stuff.  Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now by [Jaron Lanier]
  10. Walking: One Step at a Time by Erling Kagge. My review of another book of his, Silence in the Age of Noise can be found here.  Excited to see the local library finally has another English translation of one of his books. Subject of this one seems self-explanatory.  Walking: One Step At a Time by [Erling Kagge, Becky L. Crook]

Currently On Hold At Library

While the books above are on my summer reading list, I’ll read more than just those 9 titles.

If I see an interesting title referenced in a magazine or a blog post or even on a tv show, I’ll usually jot it down and look it up at my local library and/or on Amazon. If I can’t find it or it costs too much on Amazon, I’ll add it to my Goodreads “want to read” list.

Here’s the short list of my current library holds:

  1. The Wife Upstairs by Rachel Hawkins (this says it’s 2 weeks out for me)
  2. Daylight (Atlee Pine #3) by David Baldacci
  3. Good Company by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeny
  4. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

Before I end my post, let me know what’s on your summer reading list? Any suggestions for me?

 

 

 

 

 

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