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

Hello everyone! I hope that you had a great week! We had a pretty good one around here. We did all of our normal life things but we also did some fun stuff, like have our last Blackbirds meeting until next fall, and also attended a book festival, which was a lot of fun.

Books:

I finally got and finished Three Bags Full.

This was an interesting read! It is told from the POV of the sheep in the flock, which I thought was really neat. I loved all of their different personalities, yet they also retained that sheep as part of a flock mentality. I am now ready to see the movie!

This week I am reading The Faraway Inn by Sarah Beth Durst. I am pretty excited about it. The setting of a house or an inn/hotel etc. is one of my favorites to read about, especially if it is ramshackle and mysterious, and I usually love Durst’s books. If I finish, which I might not, I am hoping to read How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days.

Screens:

Billy and I have been watching Beyond Paradise this week. It has been a nice return to the town of Shipton Abbott. I like how they have mixed it up, with how not every episode is a murder. I also would love to live in that town.

Other than that, we didn’t watch much else. I would like to hopefully watch a movie tonight, but we have to do a big clean (blah), and I promised Wyatt we would have a family paint session, and if we have time we are going to go visit Little Free Libraries for Little Free Library Day! Good thing I am throwing chicken in the crockpot for tonight! (Chicken verde!)

I only posted a few times last week.

Top Ten Tuesday: May Flowers

Thursday Morning Coffee Catch Up

In-Betweens:

It is Little Free Library Week! I say that so excitedly although I am not really sure what it means or what I am supposed to do. I only learned about it on Friday and haven’t had time to really plan anything. I don’t even really know what it is people do for this. Next year I will be more prepared! I also need to track down some new books for my LFL. It seems that we have a lot of thriller/horror readers that stop by ours, plus there is an older man who likes to stop by and pick up Jack Reacher style books. We also have kids that love to sort through the large amount of kids picture books and chapter books that we have. It’s the time of year that they start showing up again, on family walks and bike rides around the neighborhood. Oo! Maybe I should put some bags in ours? I had containers of bookmarks, stickers and tea and then one morning I got up and looked and the containers and everything in them were gone! Whoever it was just took the container too! Lol. Oh well.

We have six stray cats in our neighborhood now, and they all love our porches, the back and the front. And now they are beginning to pal around and hang out together. It is wild to walk outdoors now and just see two or three cats lounging on our deck. I don’t really know what to do about it either? Or if I should? This summer I am going to start trapping and getting them fixed at the clinic (and a rabies shot). I think with life being expensive right now, people are starting to let their animals outside more often or just getting rid of them in general. I know our local shelters are packed to capacity currently. And I know that some people, good friends of mine, have indoor/outdoor cats and I know some cats don’t want to be contained, but these are different. I know the cats that are from the different neighbors’ houses and these new cats are not them. They cause an issue in our house as Mouse, a spayed five month old kitten, is apparently a territory marker! She will pee in front of doors and window areas after they have been around. It is super frustrating! I consulted a behavioralist, as this was not a medical issue, she was very deliberately choosing areas, and they confirmed it. They told me to spray every day with Feliway around the doors, windows, and outside corners of the house, and for the most part it is working, but not 100%. If anyone else has encountered this I would love to hear your solutions!

This cute little nugget is our staunch defender of territory.

And with that I will leave you all. My plan this week is to catch up on comments and visiting blogs!

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

Hello everyone!! I hope you are doing well today!

The big news around where I live the past few days is that there was a legit bear spotting! This is a big deal because we live in a very built up area that has not had bears in decades, and is said to be probably the most southernmost bear spotting in SE Michigan ever. Guys, I live 10 miles outside Detroit. This bear is about 20 miles south of Detroit. It is a big deal and of course all anyone around here is talking about. Every business is posting photos of their businesses with the “bear” there, making jokes, etc. The DNR has told us that this bear is a transient, wandering looking for a home or whatever. They are taking it seriously of course, and telling people in that area to exercise caution, secure their garbage, and they even cancelled some of the outdoor recess for kids in the location it was spotted. It is just crazy that there is a bear here. We are used to things like rabbits and squirrels, a few deer, some coyotes occasionally. But not bears!

The excitement of the bear aside, we have been just working away over here! We are wrapping up school, as Wyatt has another surgery at the end of this month. He had hardware installed last July with his big surgery, and this time he has to get it removed. So I am slowing down on school for a bit, and we will take a long break for June and then pick up again in July. We are going to do some basics to prevent summer slide, and then also do a “South American Summer”. I like to use the summers as a time to teach Wyatt about other countries, and while I know we won’t get to do an in depth study on all of the countries in South America, we are going to talk about them all, and then do more deep dives on a few of them. I think it will be fun, but then again I am a geography nerd. We are definitely doing Peru and Brazil, and I would like to add in two more country studies. It is hard to narrow down!

Wyatt also started his Challengers Little League team, and wow does he love it!! The kids have two games a week, and they only play two innings each game, which is just enough time. I have to hand it to the city that organized this as part of their Little League program, they have made a lot of kids very happy. It is completely free for our kids, they get uniforms and trading cards and it is really neat. The parents all go out with their kids on the field, help them bat, and it is a blast. Wyatt had quite the cheering section at his opening game! He had three grandparents, and my brother Devin, Chrissy, and the girls also came. It was definitely an act of love because it was freezing that day and it even snowed.

I can’t even begin to describe the smiles that Wyatt has out there. He loves zooming to the bases with his dad, playing first base and outfield (with Billy next to him) and I love watching him just exude happiness. All of the kids, honestly. Two of his friends from Blackbirds also play and it is a just a great time.

Tonight is actually our last Blackbird meeting of the year too. We are having an end of the year party in June, but today is the last meeting. I am keeping it simple and the kids are making giant poster board size paper airplanes and then playing with them outside. I think it will be fun!

Our kittens are getting to be teenagers! They will be 6 months old at the end of the month and are so goofy. Billy was commenting last night that the one he picked, Max our orange boy, is like him, all crazy zooms until he runs out of energy then he is all cuddles. Then he said the one I picked, Mouse, is just like me, a goofball klutzy calamity! I wish I could say he was wrong…. that is actually Billy’s nickname for me, Calamity, because I am always getting myself into situations. Lol.

They love to play and they play fetch with Wyatt, which is so cute. They are now good buddies with Miso which I love. And then at night Max is my cuddle buddy and Mouse is Billy’s. They have chosen their humans. Miso has usually found her own quiet spot in the den by then away from any kitten shenanigans.

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

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Prompt: May Flowers (This is a companion to the April Showers topic from last month. Interpret however you’d like: books with flowers on the cover, colorful covers, books set in springtime, books where flowers/plants are a common theme, titles with flower names in them, characters named after flowers, covers that are as pretty as flowers, books featuring gardens, etc.)

Hello everyone! For this one I tried soooo hard to just stick with one flower, the violet, because I love them and wild violets are always just popping up all over here in May. Other flowers not as much, but violets, and wild violets are definitely May flowers for me. However, I could not come up with ten, so I branched out and added in some of my other favorite flowers as well.

Violets:

Violet Sorrengail from Fourth Wing || Violet Thistlewaite from Violet Thistlewaite is Not a Villain Anymore || Violet Beauregarde from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory || Violet Quigley from Crescent Moon Tearoom || Violet Beaudelaire from The Bad Beginning

Other Favorite Flowers:

Marigold from The Honey Witch || Snapdragon from Snapdragon || Daisy from The Great Gatsby

Yarrow from The Enchanted Greenhouse || Poppy from People We Meet on Vacation

And that is it from me! I hope that whatever you do today, I hope that 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! Happy Mother’s Day to all the nurturers out there! Boy moms, girl moms, crunchy moms, butter moms, 90s moms, 80s moms, pet moms, mom moms, special needs moms, grieving moms, stepmoms, Foster moms. Just all the moms. I wish you a day that has some joy and wonder in it.

Books:

I have to admit, I was sulkily ignoring books last week waiting for my library hold. I didn’t want to start something in case it came in. Lol. I did absolutely devour one book though, This Story Might Save Your Life. I read it in record time! Then I waited and waited. And my book finally came in yesterday, and I was able to read a few pages before bed.

Why I wanted to read Three Bags Full so baaaa-dly I have no idea. (Sorry guys, I am a dad jokes kind of mom). But I did. And I am enjoying it so far, at least the few pages I have read. Plus now I have all my super duper sheep knowledge from reading The Sheep’s Tale by John Lewis-Stempel so I can check for accuracy. (kidding, I already knew sheep couldn’t talk.)

Once I finish Three Bags Full, I have a whole new stack of library books to choose from! I honestly don’t know which to pick. I am thinking it will be one of these two.

I also won three books from Lisa Loves Literature!! I am so excited about them, especially The Faraway Inn which I have also been pining over.

I am listening to a book too! I revived my NetGalley account and I am listening to A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham.

Screens:

Yay for a new season of Brokenwood! It is one of my top favorite shows and Billy and I have been watching it this week. That first episode took me out, it was so good. We are also watching Beyond Paradise. I love how Martha dresses. It must be the overalls. Although I will say I miss her restaurant’s old location. The new one just feels too blah.

Billy and I also watched Anaconda starring Jack Black and Paul Rudd last night. I love Jack Black, he loves Paul Rudd. It was perfectly ridiculous and silly and cheesy, as it was meant to be, and we both absolutely loved it. And Thandiwe Newton did a great job too. We had not seen her in such a silly comedic role before and she did awesome.

In-Betweens:

It’s just been a normal old week around here, living life. School and appointments, the kittens got their final shots that they needed and they were perfect, we went to the library, Wyatt had Little League. Just regular everyday things. But it was a pretty good week.

The library made some changes, including a whole renovation in the “new” addition that was built in the 70s. However, they made some changes to the maker room as well, including a low table with chairs when before they were super high tables with stools, which Wyatt was unable to access. He can now play in the makers room with no problems! We hung out in there the other day, and he looked so tiny sitting at the table. I love that room though. It is so bright, there are plants and crafts. It is just so cozy!

Posted Last Week and Other Internet Business:

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things – Spring Edition

A Cozy Little Life

Top Ten Tuesday: Authors I wish Were Still Writing Today

And just a reminder:

Lisa of Boondock Ramblings and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea.  This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!). Each link party will be open for a month. You can find that link up for this month here.

And with that, I will end here today! I hope that you all do something today that makes you smile!

Hello everyone! I hope that you are all doing well! I am sooo ready to get outside more and do some gardening but Michigan just won’t get it together with her weather. Hopefully soon!

In January, I joined up with Little Truth Studios for her Analog Life Project and I have found that I am spending a lot less time on my phone. At first, it was a conscious effort. Now, I find myself in the middle of all sorts of other projects and I am not reaching for my phone like I used to. If I get a notification, which I have mostly turned off except for a few special things, I don’t even pick it up. I am not cutting out scrolling or the digital world entirely, but I wanted to cut it way back and I have.

In fact, I managed to get myself to yoga after telling myself I am going to get back to it for ten years! I went for a whole month after discovering there is a class in my city. I love its cozy little attic like vibe. I have gone to all kinds of yoga places and I have found I prefer this one, in an old room in an old building. Nothing flashy, nothing to prove.

I have also been enjoying writing to my pen pals, reading their letters to me which is always a bright spot, and doing some thrifting. Most of the time I just poke around and look and not buy anything, but it is fun nonetheless. Sometimes I do pick stuff up though!

I did not buy that bell but I considered it. I was super excited because I found a store that does a 50% day and they have some nice books there. On half off day, the books are like .60 cents each!

I have also been working on my embroidery as well, and Billy is painting these cute little mini pictures. We have decided that we are going to make a fun gallery wall of them, all hung together, in our bedroom.

Billy has also been working on analog “bags”. He made himself a go bag for his painting supplies that he wants to take on the go, like if we were to go hiking or picnicking or camping. He is in the process of making a specialized one for my journals and book stuff, but hasn’t stitched anything together just yet. It is all in pieces on his worktable. I am excited to get it though! We are lazy day picnic people in the summer, where we set up in the shade of three trees on a hill in a local park, and spend a few hours there just drawing and reading and snacking, and enjoying the cool breeze that blows over the river. Even on the hottest days it is cool there.

I took some pictures of his bag but they don’t do it justice. It gives you an idea of what it is though.

Right now I keep all of my hobby stuff in my bedside table – but that would be a post for another day!

And I think that is enough show and tell here for one day. I am running behind this morning and I have to get lunch for the kiddo and then start school!

What are you all up to these days?

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl

Today’s Prompt: Authors You Wish Were Still Writing Today (These could be authors who have passed away or retired/are taking a long hiatus from writing. You could also spin this and share authors who have switched to a genre you’re not interested in.) (submitted by Rebecca @ Top100Books)

This was a tough one.

Authors I Picked Because I Think We Need Their Light In The World:

Authors I Picked Because I Would Love to Hear Their Commentary or Insights on Today’s World:

Authors I Picked Because They Are Gone and I Loved Their Books:

And phew I made it to ten! I can’t wait to see who everyone else picked!

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

Hello everyone! I am feeling so happy this morning. Wyatt had his first baseball game with his Challengers team yesterday and he had so much fun. His happiness just made my weekend!

Books:

Last week I read one book and had one DNF.

I DNFd Hens Dancing. I just couldn’t get into it! Maybe I will try again later but it was a no go for me last week.

I did read The Sheep’s Tale, which was a labor of love near the end. I love John Lewis-Stempel, and he loves his sheep. I really like sheep too but this was just a bit more about sheep than I ever need to know. Lol. I am very well versed on them now though and learned some neat facts, and I could tell that Lewis-Stempel takes great care of his flock.

This week I feel like I am just hanging around waiting for the book I really want to read to come in from the library. I am waiting on Three Bags Full, as I have been for months, and it looks like it is finally my turn. I just need it to hoof its way on over to my library. I did manage to get hooked into a different one, even though I didn’t think it would be possible while I waited.

I have just started This Story Might Save Your Life and I am already sucked in. Also, the main character has a hidden disability, narcolepsy, so I will have to add it to my disability rep database project.

Crossing my fingers that Three Bags Full comes in this week!

Screens:

Not much right now. We are gearing up to watch the new season of Dark Winds though. I love that show! I can’t wait to watch it but Billy is making us wait until we can binge it. Lol.

We did finally finish up Young Sherlock and we loved it!

I also posted last week:

My Monthly Wrap Up and Faves

Top Ten Tuesday: Book Covers I Saved on Pinterest Because I Like the Cover But Know Nothing About

Mini Book Reviews: Stillmeadow Daybook, Marigolds for Malice, An Escape Goat

Thursday Morning Coffee Catch Up: Indie Bookstore Day and a Trip to the Farm

In-Betweens:

This week I take the “kittens’ as we still call them even though they are almost 6 months old and so big now, in for their rabies shots. They were not old enough when they were spayed and neutered so we are taking them to a shot clinic at the clinic where they were fixed. We also cut their nails so they are not such menaces! Lol. They are so sweet to their Nana Miso. She has a bit of kitty dementia and will occasionally randomly meow from somewhere in the house. When she does Max and Mouse immediately go to her and boop noses or comfort her. I love that they take care of her.

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

Hello everyone! I had a pretty good reading month!

I read six books this month, of various genres.

I read two nonfiction, two cozy mysteries, one literary fiction, and one middle grade. I am able to add three books to two of my challenges! Heidi can be counted for the Books in Translation Challenge hosted by Jen at Introverted Reader, and the two nonfiction can be added to my tally for the Nonfiction Challenge hosted by Shelleyrae at Bookdout. I am just doing nonfiction nibbler, and find myself reading a lot of memoirs and nature books. I am trying to branch out but I am proud of myself for just reading more nonfiction already this year!

Faves:

This is hard. I am not going to consider Watership Down in the running. It is my favorite book of all time and reread it every year so, out of the new books to me that I read this year my favorites were .. this is too hard honestly. I really loved all of them so much and they were so different! But I am going to say Raising Hare and Heidi.

I am a cohost with Lisa at Boondock Ramblings, who thought of the monthly bookish linkup A Good Book and a Cup of Tea for all things book, not just books read or reviews, but bookstore visits or author visits or whatever else bookish you can think of!

We have decided we will be featuring our favorite posts from the month here. I do read all the posts even if I don’t comment. I only like to comment from my actual laptop and not from my phone, which is a problem sometimes when I read the post on my phone. ( I am working on more time to read and comment though. )

Here are my four favorites from this past month!

This Week by The Intrepid Reader

Watching, Reading, and Sneezing from Tina at Turn the Page

It’s Monday! What Are You Reading from Spirit Blog

My March Books by Cat at Cat’s Wire

And for some non-book related faves this month….

Jergens Sweet Citrus Lotion – It just smells so freaking good!

Sourdough bread from the bakery, covered in goat cheese and farm fresh eggs with a little bit of spinach. Billy and I could eat this everyday

Yoga – four weeks straight now, go me! This has been a huge goal of mine for years, to return to regular practice. I am so happy!

Spring flowers and slow mornings

My vintage quilt that I put on my bed for spring

Chickens

We had some really good times this month. We celebrated my mom’s 79th birthday. We went to the zoo, visited the farm, we went out for a fancy dinner at an Alpine inspired restaurant, and celebrated Indie Bookstore Day. Billy took a day off so that we could each have a few hours of “me” time and I spent my me time well. It was a pretty good month all around!

I hope that you all have a wonderful day today, and that you do something that makes you smile!

Hello everyone! I hope that you are all doing well! I feel like I have so much to share with you guys today that I don’t know where to start! Big things? Little things? Let’s start with the big things we have done, our days out. Let’s save the little things for a cozy post tomorrow instead.

Last weekend we celebrated Independent Bookstore Day. We are such book people over here (as I know most of you all who read here as well!) and I want to impart to Wyatt the importance of supporting small and local. We have been buying books more than usual lately, or at least the last two weeks, which is different for us since we are huge library users, but this was an important day.

We started at Brooks Books. For their celebration, the also invited lots of other vendors to the shindig, and involved their neighboring businesses which was really cool in my opinion. That is one of my favorite things about Brooks Books, is that she is always lifting up other local businesses and forming a community. In this case, there was a nail salon, a hardware, a few bakeries, a small plant seller, and a tattoo shop. In fact, the tattoo shop is one that is owned by an old friend of ours! She moved her business and is now next to the bookshop. Her name is Susannah and she actually has done a few of Billy and my tattoos. I think she is such an amazing artist and I love her work. It was so good to see her in person again, and her new shop is so warm and cozy, and smelled amazing. If you want to see it, check out her Facebook page at Three Fates Tattoo Gallery.

We started with Suzy because we got there early and the bookstore wasn’t ready yet, but after chatting and touring the shop with Suzy, the bookstore was ready for business!

I wasn’t planning to buy a book this time around, only Wyatt, but then I saw that local author Allison Derosia was there. I mentioned that I was interested in her book, and Billy surprised me by going right over and getting it for me. She has another book coming out at the end of May, so I am hoping to grab that one too! Allison autographed it to me as well, which was super nice!

Wyatt chose a book too, then we wandered around looking at the other items for sale. We picked up a loaf of sourdough and sourdough sugar cookies from Sugar Mama, a local bakery that makes everything from, you guessed it, sourdough! It is all soooo delicious!

Next we popped over to Another Look Books, a used bookstore. I love supporting them, they are one of the OG small bookstores here and they are so nice. They offer teacher discounts and extend them to homeschool moms which is so cool, so I get 75% off of books that I am planning to use with Wyatt for school. Everything else is 50% off the price they list on the back. They also give you a free book for your birthday, and you can turn books in for store credit. Which reminds me, I need to take a stack in this weekend! We are almost out of credits! I picked up a few books, as did Wyatt, and then I took a picture of an old Nancy Drew for Lisa to see if she wanted it. They were letting customers choose a free book from their ARC collection, so I chose Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, about which I have heard really good things.

Our modest haul. Two full price books, three books that were either credit or 50% off, and a free book. Not bad!

Afterwards we went to my mom’s for her birthday, then my two little nieces came over for a bit while Devin and Chrissy went out.

The next morning, we were out the door early again! This time for a trip to the farm with our Blackbirds troop. We had so much fun! There was an activity for them, but the kids were really just enjoying being outside in the sunshine and fresh air and exploring. So we did a little bit of structured activity but also a little bit of unstructured freedom.

And, if you remember, last time we went my friend Kelly realized her dream of holding a chicken. Well, this time she got to hold TWO baby chickens at one time. Her oldest daughter also held two. All the kids, minus Wyatt and one other little boy, held one. Wyatt noped out which is fine. I carried it instead. Lol. The older girl you see is Kelly’s oldest daughter who volunteered for some NHS hours. She is a good egg.

Wyatt slept so good that night! Also, take a look at the picture with Wyatt holding the magnifying glass. What happens with sun and magnifying glasses? Well, later that day Billy and I found a small burn hole in Wyatt’s seat cushion!! We could not figure out where it came from. It never occurred to us that it was the magnifying glass. I mentioned it to Kelly the next day and she instantly figured it out, like she is Sherlock Holmes or something. I guess we will know better next time! I am just glad it didn’t burn him!

I just want to add something here at the end about local authors. I am helping a local bookstore, a bijou one in Monroe, MI named The Wandering Librarian, promote her book fest, Wander and Tale. It is being held on May 16 from 11-4, and will be on Front St. in Monroe. If anyone lives nearby, it sounds like it will be a fun time! There will be I think 40 local authors, as well as other vendors including a houseplant vendor! My kind of festival!

And with that, I will leave you to your day. I hope that you all have a good one today, and that you do something that makes you smile, even if it just to take five minute to go outside, take a deep breath, and just be.