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Aj at Read All The Things made a book tag!

As we wind down to Halloween and head into the slowness of November (well comparatively for me), I find myself really welcoming that slow down. October is always really busy, sort of a last hurrah before winter starts to seep in, and our lives become more inside lives than outside lives. Aj mentioned this book tag she made the other day and I thought with Nonfiction November right around the corner, it would be a good time to do it and start reframing my thoughts toward nonfiction reads and that feeling of cozy cocooning that like when reading nonfiction as well.

An unread book you’re excited to read?

84 Charing Cross Road was recommended to me by one of my pen pals and I think she is right, I would love it.

An unread book that’s been on your to-be-read list for way too long?

A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear has been on my list for ages. I am moving it to the list for November!

An unread book you recently bought or added to your to-be-read list?

All the Beauty in the World. I just added this one to my list! It sounds really wonderful! It makes me think of Night at the Museum, without the museum actually coming to life, and Night at the Museum is one of my favorite kids movies. Unfortunately I don’t think I could handle this one right now but I am keeping it on my list until I can!

An unread book about a new-to-you subject?

Catlandia! So I have no idea where I saw this one but I was instantly interested! Anthropomorphic cats? That is just so me!

An unread book that will deepen your knowledge of a favorite subject?

I have always been interested in Native American history but even more so after I had Wyatt and we started homeschooling. It became super important to me that I was teaching Wyatt the correct history and I have done a lot of reading and research in my attempts to do this. I think Re-Storying Education is one I definitely need to read.

A book you read years ago and still think about?

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating is a book I will never forget. I read it when I was in a time of serious grief, and it really helped me cope. It was just so gentle. You can read my review here if you are interested.

A book you were assigned to read in school and didn’t hate?

I was assigned Daughter of Persia in college for my Middle Eastern History class and I loved it honestly.

A book that gave you strong emotions?

I think The Nature Fix made me realize how much nature can heal us and it blew my mind! It really changed how I viewed our life.

A book you want to reread?

Raising Hare. I just loved it so much. I saw that they have a children’s edition of this book and I am planning on getting it for Wyatt, just because I love it so he needs that one.

A book that could spark a great discussion?

Cultish is absolutely fascinating. It’s all about loaded language and the way that just about anything can be considered “cultish” (a contrast was made between a real cult like Jim Jones or Heavens Gate, and cultish groups like say Crossfit) and how language plays a huge part in making people act and feel a certain way. It was so interesting.

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

Hello everyone!! We are having the most foggy morning today, and I am loving it. I wouldn’t as much if I needed to drive in it, but thankfully I can just sit here and drink my coffee and look out the window at it. It is beautiful with the fire of the autumn leaves showing through it.

Books:

Last week I read The Unknown, which I completely inhaled in two days. I loved it until the very end, where I became slightly disappointed. But otherwise it was a completely solid book, filled with lots of twists! I followed it up with The Willows by Algernon Blackwood. This is cosmic dread, and it was very full of dread. It was short but it gave me the creeps, it was just so unsettling. Thankfully after reading these two books I had Mulberry Mischief waiting, and it is a nice return to cozy. I am about halfway through it, and I am enjoying the return to Oriole Point!

This week I plan on reading Crafting for Sinners, and if I have time, The Haunted Librarian. We will see though. I read all day last Sunday and this Sunday I have to work. Lol. Billy painted our family room yesterday (yay!!!) and today I have to put it all back together. I can’t wait. I was super excited to finally get rid of the purple! That room was that color for a million years and it made it sooo dark in the fall and winter. When Wyatt and I sit in there for school mid-winter it is just too dark, even with lights.

I picked up Crafting for Sinners at the author’s bookstore in Louisville which was all horror themed!

Screens:

Billy and I have been just jumping all over the place watching things. Below with Josh Hartnett, Over the Garden Wall, and Edwardian Farm are getting the most watched here. There is just something so soothing about those BBC Farm shows.

I did post a few times last week:

Top Ten Tuesday: Sleepy Hollow Inspired Stories

Thursday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Sweater Weather Cinema

In-Betweens:

It’s Halloween week! We love Halloween around here. I am really excited because this week I arranged for Wyatt’s besties A. and Z. to come over Friday for Halloween school! They are also homeschooled and I am planning a special Halloween themed art project and science project, with of course snacks. It will be his first “school party” since preschool!

And that is it for me today! I hope that you are all doing well, and do something that makes you smile today, even if it is just something small.

Our latest Sweater Weather movie this month was The Banishing, starring Jessica Brown-Findlay from Downtown Abbey. I found this movie on a list of British spooky movies for fall and thought we would try it since I do like a haunted house movie.

This movie was…weird? I didn’t dislike it although it felt like it needed more something. More dread, or more information, or more just something. It is based on the real life allegedly most haunted location in England, the Borley Rectory. And much like the real manor, the hauntings intensify when the vicar Linus and his wife Marianne move in, with Marianne’s daughter Addie. This parallels the history of Borley Rectory, when the Rev. Lionel and his wife Marianne move in, and claim that the place is haunted.

This movie had a lot going for it. It had a spectacular setting, Jessica Brown-Findlay, and a well-known haunted legend and location. It also threw a bunch of other things in the mix, which I think muddled the scary vibes too much. Lots of secrets, scary dolls, Nazis, the hint of a “past” for Marianne, making Marianne’s husband sort of weird and bland at the same time, and a psychic. The psychic, Harry Ellis, was also I believe based on the real life paranormal investigator of Borely Rectory, Harry Reed. There was a lot and it never came together in a good way.

Jessica Brown-Findlay was the best part of this movie. I don’t think she had a lot to work with but I think she gave it her all. Plus, her outfits in this movie were fantastic. I felt like she was believable as a woman at odds with her husband but attempting to be a good wife, and as a woman with a complicated history even though I never really understood the whole story of it.

This story felt more like it was focused on the personal issues that were haunting the characters themselves, as they all carried their own secrets and baggage which was fine, but I didn’t feel like either the haunting of the characters or the haunting of the house were explored enough for the audience. Or maybe just me.

Whatever you are watching this fall, drop your link here and let’s share our sweater weather cinema experiences! The movies I still am hoping to watch this fall are Clue, Sleepy Hollow, and Wicker Man (the OG).

Hello everyone!! I am sooo ready for the weekend already. We have been busy over here, good busy, but busy. Let’s see, since we last chatted what have we been up to?

Well, last Wednesday night I had two of my friends over for a coloring night! They are also mothers of special needs children who don’t get a ton of “me time”, Wyatt’s two friends, and we are also friends so it is perfect. Anyway, I had just my friends over and Wyatt’s face when they came in without A. and Z. cracked me up. And then when I told him we were coloring! He was so offended. Don’t worry, I made things up to him. Nicole and Shawnna brought treats with them, and we had such a great night honestly, just relaxing and chatting and sitting and eating, and I think the coloring aspect helped us to just chill out. We are hoping to do a similar night around Christmas! And just fyi, the caramel apple dip from Aldi is so freaking good!

Then Thursday we had our first Blackbirds meeting of the year! My dad and stepmom made the drive here, about an hour drive or so, and my stepmom showed the kids how to needle felt. They made (with the help of their parents) little pumpkins and ghosts! They were adorable. My stepmom also bought them all the tools and materials so they could take some home with them. We are going to do wet felting in the winter, maybe in February or March.

Friday, we took it easy because our weekend was full of fall plans!

Then on the way home we made an impulsive stop at our favorite Metropark to take a walk, since the day was so beautiful and we didn’t want to go home yet. And then we lucked out because our friend Roni who works there was there too! It was nice to catch up with her, and then take a little walk. It was gorgeous out. And we saw the cutest little chipmunk too!

By the time we got home, we were ready to be there. Although I did want a pumpkin pie, so I made one but not from scratch. However it was still delicious!!! And my son, who I have never seen eat pumpkin pie ever before, had a piece too!

Sunday, Wyatt and I had a slow day while Billy met up with some friends for a bit. We had plans to go to the Zoo Boo later on in the evening, and I wanted Wyatt rested. (and me too) We just hung out drawing and reading all day, then when it was time to go, popped in the car and made the drive.

We had so much fun at the Zoo Boo. I just let myself relax and let go of so much tension that I have been carrying around, and just was in the moment. We had more donuts, and laughed and just had a good time together. Wyatt wanted to stay almost the entire time, which was fine by us. We were about just being open and free this weekend, no schedules, no rules, just family and fun.

I really needed this weekend. There has been a lot of sadness happening around me, to my friends and to my other family, on top of what I am still processing as well. This weekend was awesome, and refilled my joy. And yes, I love overalls. A lot.

This week I have been playing catch up all week, but that is ok. It was worth it. Sometimes we need to just throw everything to the winds and go play. And we did.

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

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s Prompt: I went rogue (again)

Hello everyone! I am struggling with today’s topic, so I went with an idea for a list I have been wanting to do. Sleepy Hollow books! Or rather, Sleepy Hollow inspired/adjacent/mention Sleepy Hollow. Lol. Sleepy Hollow is one of my favorite tales, and I am drawn to the story wherever the form. Some of these on the list I have read, others I have not, yet at least.

Edit: Oh my gosh. Why did I think I needed to make a post today about a perfect day using book titles? That is why I thought it was so hard!! I will do that prompt later this week. Lol.

The Betrayed || The Wishing Thread || The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel

I went through a phase of reading all of these Krewe of Hunters books by Heather Graham and was super excited about The Betrayed, where even the ghost of Washington Irving makes an appearance. I haven’t thought about this series in a million years and now I sort of want to read them again!

The Wishing Thread is one I read way back in 2013, and reviewed on my previous blog Quixotic Magpie. I loved this book and have never forgotten it!

The Spellbook of Katrina Van Tassel is one that I haven’t read but I remember it being everywhere for a while!!

The Spook in the Stacks || Sleepy Hollow Sleepover || The Mystery of the Headless Horseman

The Spook in the Stacks was on display around Halloween in my library a few years ago, and despite not having read any of the others, I picked it up because of the cat reading Sleepy Hollow.

Sleepy Hollow Sleepover in the A to Z Mysteries series is one I have not read, but this was a popular series when I worked in an elementary library. I forgot about this one too, and I think Wyatt might enjoy it so I will have to look for it.

Trixie Belden and the Mystery of the Headless Horseman. It’s been many moons since I read this one so I can’t really give you an opinion on it, other than I am sure it is very Trixie-like.

Crane || Splinter || Hollow

I have not read any of these but they all sound spectacular!

The Haunting of Paynes Hollow

I read this one over the summer, and it was fantastic! I was drawn into this story, and I love how Armstrong made this legend hers.

And now I can’t wait to see how you all would want to spend your perfect day!

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

Hello everyone!! We had such a great day yesterday. We went to the orchard and hiking and I made pumpkin pie. It was just… a day that I really needed.

Books:

I didn’t read very much last week. I was so tired at the end of the night that I ended up turning in early all week. I did manage to finish my Murder She Wrote book though!

This was such a fun read, and I loved “being in” Cabot Cove for Halloween. Maine in the fall seems like it would be gorgeous!

This week I have a problem! I have too many books that I want to read and I don’t know where to start. I have a few I am thinking about this week.

Sigh. Such problems. Lol. I will probably read The Unknown first since that is due back soon.

Screens:

Last week Billy and I watched a movie with Jessica Brown-Findlay from Downtown Abbey for our Sweater Weather Movie, called The Banishing. It was a little meh, honestly. I expected a bit more. I will do my post on it this week.

We also started watching Below with Josh Hartnett. This one is a real ride of a show. Scary, well acted, and I would love to hear from someone with knowledge about Newfoundland accents their opinion on how well the actors are handling it.

I posted a few times last week:

October 10 on the Tenth

Top Ten Tuesday: Books by Indigenous Authors

Coffee Catch Up

Remember, 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! You can find the link up for October here! (and I am catching up on this today!!)

In-Betweens:

It was a full week over here, full of fall activities, friends, and family. And, owl pellets. Wyatt and I have been reading Poppy by Avi for his school read aloud, and I am pairing it with an owl study, specifically Great Horned Owls. However, we didn’t have a great horned owl pellet so I used what we had – a barn owl and a screech owl. I remember doing it in grade school and I thought this was the perfect time to do it with Wyatt. I couldn’t get over how many little bones we pulled out of those things! We still have to glue them all down, something I am dreading but Wyatt is excited for. Lol.

And I think that is it from me this morning. I hope that whatever you do today, you do something that makes you smile, even if it is just a small thing!

Hello everyone!! Today is all rainy and gloomy, and I am reluctant to move very much yet. I will instead enjoy my coffee and chat with you all.

Wyatt has been so good lately, while my attention has been diverted to different things that I needed to take care of, and I felt like he deserved a visit to the used book store. This kid does love a good book haul!

I have to be honest, I want to read a few of those myself. Lol. I love that used book store. They offer a teacher discount to homeschool families, you can get store credit by turning books in, and everything is 50% off list. Next month I will get free a book since it is my birthday month too! Lots of opportunities to save.

And sometimes you find a treasure in the midst!

I was beyond excited to find this copy of The Stillmeadow Road by Gladys Taber. It’s not the greatest condition but I love it anyway. And I love that little swirl of leaves on the cover. So cute and autumnal. I can’t wait to start this in January!

We have also been making Halloween over here! We converted Wyatt’s old playhouse into a spooky reading room. It looks really cool at night, especially when the wind is blowing.

It would be cooler if I could turn off that street light but I am sure the city wouldn’t say yes to that request. Darn it. We still are enjoying seeing it out there.

Last weekend I had a funeral to go to. My college bestie’s mom died, and there was no way I was not going to be there for her. She lives a little over an hour away, and we haven’t seen each other as much in the past few years with life things and all, but we still will always be there for each other. She made the trip down here the week before for my mom’s funeral, even though her own mother was doing poorly. As I made the drive out there solo last Saturday, I had time to really reminisce on our lives together. The many trips I made back and forth in my 20s, at 3 a.m., alone with no cell phone on the highway. In my 30s making the drive with my husband to see her family. And then this time, retracing her steps from the week before, making the same journey to honor her mother and family and of course, Lori. That stretch of road is a bit of a timeline, and while landmarks have changed, buildings have come down and new ones gone up, and Lori and I are now different than those young things we were, I will still always make that drive for her no matter the time, if she needs me.

I wore my new red shoes, not knowing that red was her mom’s favorite color. I bought the shoes for my mom’s funeral, which seems a weird move, I know. But I wanted to add something to the sadness, a touch of joy or crazy, so I went with red shoes. They are not unusual in everyday life, but I felt like they were appropriate to add to the celebrations of our mom’s lives. Just a little smile there with them.

I am happy to report they also look super cute with jeans too.

Last week I went out for a bit with my brother. It was the most impulsive, irreverent night out I have had for a while and I had a lot of fun with him. The two of us have not hung out the two of us like that in forever, and we are going to go do it again. We started by getting a drink, and then while we were walking back to the car, my brother said he wanted to go into the ice arena that was across the parking lot to look at the ice. Just super random. So we walked around the ice arena, and the ice seemed so big and cold and invigorating, honestly. There was a man and his son skating around, and they had the place to themselves. Not many people going to open skate I guess this time of year. It was pretty cool. We didn’t stay long, just a few minutes, and then headed back to his car and this time actually got in it. We were halfway home when my brother spotted a house that had it’s entire front yard set up like a haunted maze. He pulled over and told me that we were going to walk through. So we wandered through the haunted maze on this guy’s front lawn, and the man chatted with us after, telling us that he had created it for his autistic son. It was a cool night out, windy, and it definitely felt like fall. After that I finally made it home, but it reminded me a bit of being a kid, out with your friends, just running all over town doing whatever. It was a good night. Sometimes we all need to shake the snowglobe that we live in.

And I think with that I will leave off here! I need more coffee, and I probably should get moving. Lol.

Here are a few extra photos from the roll.

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

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Today’s Prompt: I went rogue

Since yesterday was Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I thought it would be good to share books by Indigenous authors. Some of these I have read, others are on my TBR. And a lot of them even look like autumnal covers which was the original prompt.

The Birchbark House || The Berry Pickers || To Shape a Dragon’s Breath

Wyatt and I read Birchbark House last year for school and we both really enjoyed it. It’s a great young middle grade book and is part of a whole series.

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters. I loved this book even though it made me cry and cry.

To Shape a Dragon’s Breath is one that is still on my list!

Moon of the Crusted Snow was sent to me by a book fairy for one of the Top Ten Tuesday book wish list days! I absolutely loved it and hope to pick up the sequel this month – although I am running out of time! Maybe next month if not this month.

Sunflower Season is a really adorable romance set on a sunflower farm. I just love this cover!

The Legendary Frybread Drive-In is still on my TBR. I need to move it up the list.

Words Like Thunder || Buffalo Hunter Hunter || Sisters of the Lost Nation

Words Like Thunder is a book of prayers/poetry by a Michigan poet. I picked up a copy at my favorite book store in Michigan, that is in a little cabin in northern Michigan in Glen Arbor. It is really wonderful.

Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones. I intended to read this over the summer but then my summer became intense, so I didn’t. I still want to read it.

Sisters of the Lost Nation by Nick Medina. I read this one last year and I loved it. It was so creepy but I loved the use of Native lore and the attention to the issue of Native American women who go missing and nothing is done.

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley. This is my favorite on this list, I love Boulley’s books. They are well- written and I learn from them every time I read one. Boulley’s books also deal with issues like the violence against Indigenous women and also stolen Indigenous artifacts.

If you are interested in learning more about the violence that the Indigenous Community, particularly the women, experience today you can visit Not Our Native Daughters for more information.

And that is it for me today!

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

I am late. And I haven’t done one of these in a while but I am today. It just sounded so full of fall fun!

1. Apple cider all the way!! I am not a pumpkin flavors fan. I will eat a pumpkin roll and I will eat pumpkin pie with a ton of whipped cream, but that is it. Apple cider on the other hand is a favorite! I love it cold and warm and in a latte, and also hard cider around a fire! I am so happy it is apple cider season!
2. Lots of layers. I am at that age guys. That perimenopause age. I definitely need layers. I usually wear a t-shirt with a cardigan or sweatshirt so I can peel a layer off. Plus Michigan this time of year is wonky – cold in the morning but then can get warm during the day.
3. This one is too hard. Can’t I go to them both please Marsha? Lol. I guess I would say Harvest Fest before Craft Fair.
4. Movie nights! I am not a sports person. I called Wyatt’s baseball uniform either his costume or outfit all season.
5. I love slippers so much. The cuter the better!!
6. Ooo good one! I want all the pumpkins. I usually get orange ones for carving, and then decorate with all those fun different varieties, including white and those bluish ones.
7. Jeans unless I am at home, then it is leggings. Or rather, overalls, then leggings. I am an overalls gal. But I do wear overalls out of the house.
8. Horror movies. When I was in college, my roommates and I would go to the ahem, video store, and check out movies for Friday night. We called it Horrible Horror Movie Night, and we would look for the weirdest, dumbest ones we could find. There are some that have lived on in our personal archives, and that we still quote to each other. I think the best one we watched was House of Psychotic Women, it was hysterical.
9. Crisp and chilly day!! That is my favorite type of weather of all!! Like Winnie the Pooh’s blustery day, I also like it to be sort of windy too.
10. I do not like either of these.

And I was right, this was a lot of fun!

And that is it for me today! 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!! We are settling into fall proper now, and it is all I wanted. The cool nights and chill mornings are giving me life after a humid summer.

I hope that all of you who are being affected by the hurricane and Tropical Storm are safe.

Books:

I just finished this one last night and I really loved it. A cozy bookstore, a cat, autumn. It was perfect for this time of year!

This week I have a few I am considering!

I am making my way through some short more classic spooky books this season, and The Willows is on my list. So I am for sure reading that. Then I am either starting Trick or Treachery, which was a gift from Lisa, yay thank you, or Mulberry Mischief. I have a feeling I am going with Miss Jessica Fletcher though. I want to wear a thick cardigan or some tweed and hop on a bike and read somewhere and feel like I am in Cabot Cove. Hmm maybe I can do this? Lol.

Remember, 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! You can find the link up for October here.

Screens:

Not much television watching has been happening this past week. We did watch The Village last week though, as part of Sweater Weather Cinema, and then this weekend we watched Casper last night, and then we are watching a spookier movie tonight. Maybe The Others or The Woman in Black.

I did post a few times last week.

Some Cute Little Ghostie Books

Sweater Weather Cinema: The Village

Wednesday Morning Coffee Catch Up

Top Ten Tuesday: Books that Conjure Up Happy Memories

September Wrap Up

In-Betweens:

I got a flu shot yesterday and my arm hurts today! I don’t have a ton to say here today. Lol. I will leave you with a picture of Mouse hanging out with us during a painting session.

Our cats are helpers.

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