This summer, Billy and I are introducing Wyatt to the movies we grew up on. Movies that are nostalgic to us, that feel like summer or just fun. And of course, being me, while watching The Goonies the other night (Wyatt’s favorite so far) I started thinking about books that might feel like The Goonies. That feeling of found family and adventure. So I thought I might try to come up with books for all of the movies we have watched so far! I will admit that some of them were tough!

The first movie we watched was Little Shop of Horrors.

So for kids, I went with a less scary book, and more fantasy, and chose Growing Home by Beth Ferry. It does have sentient plants, but these plants are less scary and less bloodthirsty.

For the adult readers, I chose Mexican Gothic. I love this book and feel like it embraces the idea of flora that wants to consume you.

Next up, The Sandlot. Oh I love this movie. But finding books was difficult since I don’t read sports books! However, I think I did find two that sound like they would embody the feel of this movie, just old time baseball and the love of the game.

Three Strike Summer is actually one on my TBR. I want to preview it, as I am considering it for a book accompaniment to our history curriculum. It is about a young girl growing up in the 1930s during the Depression and amidst the Dustbowl, who wants to play on the secret peach farm team – but will they let a girl play? I have read great reviews for this one!

Beyond the Fence is a book I don’t know a thing about besides the Goodreads description, but if it doesn’t conjure of the feel of a small town baseball game, I don’t know what does.

Now we are at Now & Then, which is one I personally love. A movie of friendships and coming of age, of found family. I just love it. And if you have had friendships that stand the test of time, then you know you have been there for each other through all the good times and the hard times too. Sisterhood. Friends that are family, the family we choose.

For YA readers this time, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. These girls are all so different but are there for each other through good and bad. And so are those magical pants.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhoood is another book about friendships, and helping friends to pick up the pieces when things go sideways. It is definitely more intense read but very very good.

Now we road trip and have a comedic summer vacation with The Great Outdoors. This one was surprisingly difficult! I wanted to focus on a vacation full of hijinks on a family trip, and apparently I am not familiar with too many books like this!

For kids, I chose to focus on the crazy humorous shenanigans that can befall a family trip, and went with Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Getaway.

And for adults, I focused on family dynamics and chose Sandwich. I actually have not read this, it feels way too close to home for me right now. Lol. It’s been on my list though, and sounds fantastic. One day.

The other movies we watched already have kid’s books, since they are based on the book itself!

I would love to hear any other recommendations, whether they are for other movies to watch or books to accompany these!

I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile!

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s Prompt: Books That Live in My Head Rent Free

Hello everyone!! So I am interpreting this prompt as books that live rent free in my head because they caused some stress or worry. Isn’t that what living rent free is, something you are anxious about? Or stressing over? I am Gen-X, sometimes these phrases need to be explained to me. Anyway, these are books that I enjoyed but also found parts of them to be upsetting and disturbing, or really made think about them.

I didn’t however get to ten.

Mexican Gothic is such a fantastic book. I had never read anything really like it before, and it was my first introduction to Moreno-Garcia. I had a hard time deciding between this book and The Bewitching, because I love them both.

The God of the Woods is another one I think about still, or will pop into my head. The atmosphere of this book, the multiple viewpoints, the ending that made me so mad that I made a video about it. Lol.

Chlorine. Dang. This tiny little book blew my mind and I think about it a lot.

Gillian Flynn’s mind is a scary place and this, to me, was the scariest of her stories. However, it also taught me about the plight of dairy farmers in America, and how so many of them commit suicide and how hard their life is. This was not the point of this book really at all, but it was something I learned from it and have never forgotten.

The Mourning Hours. I went through a phase of reading all of Paula Treick DeBoard’s books. I loved them. This however is the one I remember the most. I think because it shocked me so much.

My Sister, the Serial Killer is another book that I think about. It just was so different from other books I have read!

Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk. I think this author is one where most of his books stick with you for a long time, if not forever.

And finally Stephen King. I could probably list all of his books here, honestly, that I have read. Desperation is a big one that I think about though, especially on road trips. It is so good but gross and scary. My brother and I read it at the same time and we like to occasionally lapse into high speech with thankee sai’s and can-taks just to be funny with each other. And because we are super nerds. So that is another reason it has stuck with me, King’s invented language that spans a number of books. And now I feel like I need to re-read the Dark Tower series.

Anyway, that is it from me today! I am excited to see all of these books that you have in your heads!

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz,  Kathryn at Book Date, and  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone! It was another weirdo week of summer around here! This week we had the smoke from the wildfires jacking our air quality into astronomic numbers, and so I kept Wyatt and I inside until they came down to more normal levels. To occupy ourselves we read a lot and painted, and I also hit the emergency stash of activity kits in the closet, which produced some DIY build it remote control trucks, and air dry pottery projects. I still have the volcano kit and mosaic kit waiting here in case it continues until next week.

Books:

I read Sad Cypress, then started in on Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop. Sad Cypress was a quick little mystery and I enjoyed it. Beacon Bakeshop is not too bad either, and I like that it takes place in Michigan. So many cozy mysteries seem to take place in my little state!

When I finish that one up, I am going to start a nonfiction book, I think.

If I don’t read this one, the next up would be Paper Ghosts by Sarah Addison Allen, whom I love!

Screens:

Billy and I have been really locked in on The Artful Dodger. We both really are enjoying it, and I had to laugh at a scene the other day, of Jack running and dodging guards on his way to the woman he loved – so very reminiscent of his role in Love Actually when he was a little boy. I swear he even made the same face at the end of his run! It is a very well-acted show, and now I want to read Oliver Twist. I have never ever really wanted to read this book, so I guess thank you to this tv show for inspiring that. Maybe this winter I will tackle it.

We are watching Holes this week with Wyatt as part of our nostalgic movies of the 80s and 90s summer.

I also posted a few times last week.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books by New to Me Authors

Halfway Through Our Frog and Toad Summer

What Wyatt’s Reading: Summer Reading Edition

I am cohosts with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and Cat at Cat’s Wire, of the linkup A Good Book and a Cup of Tea for all things books -not just books read or reviews, but bookstore visits or author visits or whatever else bookish you can think of!

Here is the link for July’s link up!

In-Betweens:

On Tuesday, Wyatt had a big day! He graduated from physical therapy! We have been going for ten years, and the only time he has had a break has been for medical reasons. But the work doesn’t stop here. The visits to his therapists might be over, but our work at home continues. Stretches and exercises, time in the stander, using the gait trainer to keep his momentum. His knee immobilizers at night, his braces during the day. But we can do it. He can do it.

He has had so many amazing therapists over the years and we learned something from them all. The training wheels are off now and while it feels kind of scary, I have faith.

I am so proud of this kid.

He gets so bashful from attention!

And that is it from me today. I hope that whatever you do, you do something that makes you smile!

Hello everyone! Wyatt and I declared a Frog and Toad summer for our summer this year, and we have been really enjoying our slow days. We wanted a summer full of whimsy, of cookies and berries and picnics, swimming and fireflies. And while not all of our plans have worked out, we still have a few more weeks to try again.

First of course, I needed bunting. I love bunting, I would hang it everywhere. So I made a Frog and Toad bunting for our den. It turned out super cute, but it needed something so then we made a strawberry bunting to hang above it. And I love how it all looks.

One of the first things we did was make blackberry bread and watch for fireflies in our yard. I love love love fireflies, they are one of my favorite things about summer! So one night we threw down a blanket on our deck, and had blackberry bread and tea while we just all chilled out, watching for fireflies and listening to the sounds of evening. My bread, sadly, did not really turn out! LOL. It was so wet and I had the rack in the oven set too high, so I had to carve around the very underdone parts to salvage the bits that were done. And the bits that were done were overdone since I was trying to compensate for the underdone! But you live and learn. Lol. Next time I will get it right! The bits that survived tasted good though so that was alright.

We’ve had picnics, one of our favorite things – and also something very Frog and Toad!

We set up under our favorite trees, and it was the breeziest, sunniest day, warm but not too hot, and it was a fantastic way to spend a couple of hours. We draw and talk and paint and read and then when the boy gets restless we pack up and go home. Sometimes we stop for ice cream on the way home as well, which makes it even better.

And of course we went to the kite festival and attempted to fly our own!

We have spent many afternoons and mornings picking out stacks of books to bring home and flip through and read, spooky stories for us both. (Oo I haven’t done a Wyatt book post for a while! I need to rectify that!) We have shopped book sales and thrift stores, looking for small treasures and trinkets. I hope to get a little shelf or two just for our trinkets and treasures, and I am thinking about even adding a box on our little free library for trinket sharing. We have planted seeds and plants, although our gardening skills couldn’t handle this version of summer we are getting. However, our snapdragons and lilies are going like crazy, and they make me happy whenever I see them!

We have met friends for coffee, for Greenfield Village. We went to the art fair. We have gone to the art museum, and to the nature center. Graduation parties and summer reading kick off at the library. And I still have a bunch more for us to do – moth sugar to look for moths, concerts at the zoo, and we still need to make pancakes! Canoeing or a ride in a rowboat, camping, baking a big summer cake whatever that means. More nights spent outside, a fire with friends, board game nights. And maybe a few surprises too. We just have to wait and see!

I hope that however you are spending your summer, you are finding small magical moments that make you smile.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s Prompt: Books I Want to Read by New to Me Authors

Hello everyone! This was a fun one to put together!

Moss’d In Space || Front Desk || The Beach House

Murder at the Lakeside Library || Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop || The Chowder House Murder

The Reimagining of Thornwood House || Thistlemarsh || Heather

Stay for a Spell

They all look so shiny and pretty. Except maybe The Beach House which is funny when you think about it.

And now I am off to see what you all picked, and probably add even more to my TBR.

I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile.

I am linking up with Deb at Readerbuzz,  Kathryn at Book Date, and  Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

Hello everyone! I hope that you are all doing well!

Books:

Last week I read The Haunting of Ashburn House. I tried to read a Gladys Taber but sometimes when I am all dysregulated and my brain is not calm, I can’t concentrate on calm things. So I switched to horror and it did the trick. This one gave me the creeps too! It was more of a jump scare book, like you are just waiting for something to pop out of the shadows and get the character, and I was pretty freaked out. But I was able to relax anyway while reading it, go figure.

This week I am reading an Agatha Christie.

Screens:

Billy and I watched Only Murders in the Building. I love that show! And it was so cool to see Renee Zellweger and Diane Wiest in it! Billy and I also liked the Steve Martin bird parts – maybe as a subtle nod to his role in The Big Year?

We also started watching The Artful Dodger. It’s not bad! We are only a few episodes in but we are both enjoying it.

Tonight our movie flashback with Wyatt is The Goonies! I know a few of you have mentioned this one, and it is high time to watch it!

As for posts last week, I think I had three!

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Titles That Contain the Word Summer

Ten on the Tenth: Tell Us About Your Favorite Cats

Friday Late Afternoon (Decaf) Coffee Catch Up

I am cohosts with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings and Cat at Cat’s Wire, of the linkup A Good Book and a Cup of Tea for all things books -not just books read or reviews, but bookstore visits or author visits or whatever else bookish you can think of!

Here is the link for July’s link up!

In-Betweens:

Today we went to the kite festival on Belle Isle. We generally get there early, and set up on our blanket under the shade of a giant tree. Which we did today. It is so relaxing. We kicked back, had some watermelon (of which the outside was thoroughly scrubbed lol), watched the kites flying overhead, and listened to the band that was playing. When Wyatt began to get restless, we headed to the big field to try to fly our kite, but try as he might, Billy could not really get that kite to fly. He tried though for at least 30 minutes while we cheered him on, and we all decided after a while that we were done with the kite flying. We had a really nice morning!

And that is about it from me today! I hope that whatever you do today, that you do something that makes you smile!

Hello everyone! I hope that you all have had a good week.

I wanted to do a catch up post this week but I know I won’t have time tomorrow morning. So two posts in one day from me!

Let me start with an update about my mom. Her vitals are pretty good, she is eating and drinking, but most of this week she has been very confused about time and place when she is awake. It is heartbreaking to me but I try to keep her calm and help her as best as I can. I gave her my stepdad’s robe (he passed a few years ago) to hold onto when she gets scared as a comfort item. It does seem to give her comfort. I hate when she gets scared. That is so hard to watch and I feel like such a jerk just saying “Don’t be scared” because if she could just stop being scared I am sure she would. But I feel at a loss.

I have had good visits with her as well, and even when she seems like she is asleep, if I tell her that I love her she will say it back. It’s these moments I try to focus on.

This is a picture of me and her at the 1976 fourth of July parade. I am digging my mom’s yellow sunglasses! My mom is beautiful now and she was then as well.

This fourth of July we ended up not going to my cousin’s as we had planned. Billy slept funny and his back was bothering him, and his back was really an important part of the day with Wyatt in the pool. He wanted to go anyway but I told him I wanted him to rest and heal, because we need him to be able-bodied, and not hurt himself more. And it was ok. It was a very quiet day but we were fine.

On Sunday, Billy was feeling all better and we went to the Detroit Institute of Arts. We had such a great time! We wandered around the American and the Native American art areas, armed with little foam stars. The DIA gave out stars to the visitors to award to their favorite art pieces, which was a really cool way to have people interact more with the art, and connect. Billy, Wyatt, and I ended up choosing paintings all in the same room!

Wyatt chose the painting titled Apple Orchard, by George Inness.

My star went to Morning in the Andes by Louis Remy Mignot. I just loved the softness and just how misty and hazy it looks. I love it.

Then Billy fell in love with this painting, Cotopaxi by Frederick Edwin Church. I can see why.

Wyatt and I both almost gave our stars to works in the Native American section. I loved this amazing bowl, and love how the shadow is the design. Then Wyatt really liked a pumpkin effigy that went into a tomb, which was unusual but we all like what we like. I think he appreciated that it looked like a pumpkin.

I also snapped this picture of a chocolate jar and sent it to Lisa at Boondock Ramblings. We agreed that chocolate is definitely that important that we need it in the afterlife.

It was my week for art I guess! The other week The Tin Nose Shop in Norfolk, England dropped a batch of their wishing toads and shucks (like wolf dog things) and it coincided with a time I was feeling kind of low about my mom. So…. I hurried up and ordered a few things before they ran out, which was of course lightning fast. My friend Kelly was in Canada at a soccer match and she wanted a wishing toad as well, and I managed to snag two wishing toads, and a shuck for Wyatt. Well, they came this week!

Each are individually sculpted and “No two are the same but all contain a heart; a little chip of Norfolk flint or stone, so you can take a little piece of Norfolk with you where ever you go.” A shuck is based on the legend of the demon dog from East Anglia, and this little guy is considered a protector or guardian, and his talisman is strength. The wishing toad I bought for myself, and his design is called Cloud. I love his little face. There is a little hollow on the bottom where you write your wish on a bit of a scroll and set it in the windowsill for the moonlight to shine on. They are just fun. (Wyatt’s shuck is the Iceni design)

Finally, this week it was also the art fair in my hometown. It is one of the largest in Michigan, and I have gone pretty much my whole life. I always go with Wyatt once, usually the first day first thing in the morning to beat the heat and crowds, and then in the evening once with Billy for a date night. Well, I went Wednesday morning with Wyatt, and it was so hot and humid that we didn’t really enjoy walking around. Both of us are affected by heat, so we only did one loop of the fair. I did get Wyatt a sticker at a booth called Spooky Things by Jenny Hearns.

On the way out though, we passed a church that was having a rummage and used book sale. So of course Wyatt and I had to go. And of course we left with a stack of books!

I was very excited about this copy of Heidi Grows Up!

Billy and I went back last night, and while it was cooler, it was still sticky hot. Swampy. We had a good time though together, and this time I picked up an art print at the same booth where I got Wyatt’s sticker.

I was bummed that the artist I usually buy from, Anthony Brass, was not there this year but it worked out because I love this fox drinking tea. Now to find him a home here somewhere!

And that is it from me this evening! I am about to order pizza for our pizza Friday. Yay for not having to figure out dinner!!

Peace and love to you all.

10 on the 10th is hosted by Marsha at Marsha in the Middle

Hmm, where should I begin?

Let’s start with my own 5 that I have been owned by.

We used to volunteer at an animal shelter, and Maggie, Miso, and Marlow all were adopted from the shelter. We also had an English setter Penny, who is no longer with us sadly.

Maggie was our very first!

Maggie was found as a stray with her brother, living on the streets. I still miss her so much! She was always so smart and a little judgy. If she were a book genre she would probably be mystery.

Miso was next. We adopted her about five months after we adopted Maggie.

She and over 30 other cats very similar to her were taken from an apartment of someone hoarding. Almost every volunteer ended up adopting their own version of Miso. I think Miso’s book genre is romance. She is just so fluffy and sweet. She is sort of my shadow cat. She used to follow me everywhere, but now she is a senior and sleeps a lot more. She still seeks me out to cuddle though.

Then came Marlow.

Marlow was our only cat to want to be around toddler Wyatt. LOL. Marlow came to us after being abandoned in an apartment after his family moved out and left him behind.

Hmm. What genre would Marlow have been? He was pretty shy, but also super cuddly with people he loved. He was a velcro cat, we called him because once he liked you, he stuck to you like velcro. I am going to say he would have been a fan of anything dramatic. So maybe plays, theatrical writings.

And recently, we adopted the kittens, who are now like 8 months old. Max and Mouse. I worried about my 17 year old Miso girl with new kittens but after a short adjustment period where she showed them who is boss, they all pal around and I think she is happier. She always was the cat who loved other cats and I think she missed Maggie and Marlow too.

Orange boy is Max, and Mouse is our little mouse.

Max and Mouse were surprise kittens born in my friend Justin’s house right before Thanksgiving. He found their mom as a stray and brought her in; a few days later she had babies. Lol. Max is more of an outgoing cat, and loves attention and to be cuddled. Mouse is a little more choosy. When people come over, she likes to stay a distance and watch before deciding if she wants to get closer. She likes to cuddle but on her own terms. If I “Elmira” her as my husband says, she lets out a little meow to let me know she is done being held, thank you very much. Mouse is also the most likely to get herself into a situation. She’s our wild child.

If they were book genres, Mouse would be like heist fiction, and Max is just something cozy. He is an orange boy after all.

Those are my five babies. Now other cats. I can’t possibly list all of my family and friend’s cats. There are just way too many. So I will go with famous cats I have loved over the years.

Garfield. Of course.

Figaro

Duchess

The Hemingway cats in Key West. They were my favorite part of the trip!

Finally, Cat from Breakfast at Tiffany’s. I am pretty sure he won an animal Oscar for his role.

And those are my ten!