My Sunday Post is hosted by Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer
Sunday Salon is hosted by Deb at Readerbuzz
It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at Book Date
Hello everyone! It was a pretty good week last week, despite the crazy snow we had. Yesterday we were back at my mom’s, going through the things that my stepfather had accumulated in his life. I find it sad, I miss him, but at the same time I feel like I am getting glimpses of who he was before I met him when I was ten. I mean, I really I didn’t know him very well then either, it was just as I got older that I did. I found a letter yesterday that he wrote in 1950 to a friend, but never mailed. In it he talked about how many Valentines he had gotten that year – it was just cute to think of a ten year old Jerry talking about his Valentines to his friend. I also found a really cool vintage dairy crate from Erie Crate, it was a neat find. I thought I could keep wine in it. Or maybe plants! We also upgraded Luna’s tank last week to give her a better hide – check out how awesome this looks! I feel so Game of Thrones or Hogwarts now.
Read Last Week:
The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin: Ooo I loved this one so much! I am a person who lives pretty closely to the seasons so I loved that this book was tied to that. Review this week. (NetGalley)
Reading This Week:
So, I won’t finish all these this week. Those days are gone. But I will be hopscotching about. I read Wendell Berry in college and loved everything he said; I am excited to revisit him. That book will be a slow read for me. The other two I will be bouncing back and forth on more frequently.
Posted Last Week:
Chit Chat Coffee Time where I talk about whatever is on my mind
Spring to Snow.. about our trip to the dairy farm (and baby goats!)
Watching:
We have been watching a lot more Netflix than usual this past week. We watched The Irregulars, which we were totally sucked into. When we finished that, we moved on to Shadow and Bone, which is fantastic! Neither of us have read the books but now we are definitely going to. And even though I said I wasn’t going to do it, I did. I started watching the new season of Death in Paradise. I always have to grieve the changing of the detectives, and DI Jack Mooney was my favorite; when he left I swore off the show. But this new guy, DI Neville Parker has won me over, although it did take a few episodes. He’s no Jack, but I like him. We’ve also been watching the YouTube people Weed Em’ and Reap and they are the coolest little family.
And that is it from my corner of the world! Stay safe and well everyone!
Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs.. 
I love the little hideaway for Luna…and the mention of dairy crates takes me back. My second husband worked at a Carnation distributor (remember those?) when we were in college, and he brought some crates home to use for books and toys.
Enjoy your books and your week, and here are my WEEKLY UPDATES
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It’s a really neat find!! I do remember Carnation milk! Do they still make that?
Luna on her castle cracks me up! I love it so much. Lol.
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Still need to start with Shadow and Bone, but really looking forward to it. The nature of witches does seem good! I can see your excitement.
Hope you will have a good week and some great reads on the nightstand.
Elza Reads
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I did like The Nature of Witches. It was the right book for the right time!
We are also really enjoying Shadow and Bone! I feel like we need to read the books to fill in some gaps but otherwise it is really neat.
Thanks!
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After my grandma died, my mom and I went through her cedar chest. She kept everything there, and the most interesting thing was reading through her old letters. We even found a bundle of love letters she had received from my grandpap! My mom wouldn’t let me read those, though.
I’ve never read Wendell Berry, but I’ve always intended to. I have a couple of his books on my list of books I might read someday. I will be very interested to see what you think about this one.
We’ve been looking for a new series, so we’ll take a look at Shadow & Bone. Thank you, Erin!
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I think you would love Wendell Berry!
I love that you found love letters. It’s like a story in a book! I have kept a few things of my stepfather’s for Wyatt. Jerry had his Boy Scout uniform and I am going to frame the shirt and hang it in Wyatt’s room – a project I really need to get to! A few of his vintage tops have made it to our house. An old tool box that I am going to use for art supplies. Just little bits of his life.
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It’s interesting to go thru old family things but so time-consuming. I took over the family’s photos and letters etc and have been working on preserving them in scrapbooks and such for 25 years
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
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Yes, it definitely is very time-consuming. We want to sell pretty quickly, but we also want to make sure we go through everything. And with the pandemic, it is a little more difficult! But we are all vaccinated now so it should go faster. 🙂
That sounds like a great project!! What a great gift for your family, to have everything preserved.
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That photo of Luna is cool- she looks like a giant on a castle. 🙂
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I know right!! I love how dramatic she is on it. Lol.
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There is something healing about going through personal items. I have a couple of treasured things after we went through my dad’s things. Going to check out your Netflix recommendations. Hope it gets warms this week on your side of the state, supposed to be beautiful over here.
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It is sad, but yes, healing too. I have a few things that I have brought home that were his. A boy scout uniform that I am going to frame and hang in Wyatt’s room, an old tool box that I am going to keep paint brushes and watercolors in. A few vintage tops. It is comforting.
Yesterday was beautiful here!!
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Ooh the tank looks so awesome now! Haha I bet he’s loving it. 🙂 And that’s neat that you’re getting to learn about your stepfather’s life when he was younger. Bittersweet I’m sure, but neat that you can do that.
Death in Paradise has had me curious- just the premise! I may need to try that show. 🙂
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Lol thanks! We are having such a good time decorating these tanks. Harry is all jungle, Luna is all castles. Dash is also jungle I guess. Lol.
Bittersweet is a good word for it. I miss him but it makes me feel close to him to learn more about him this way.
I love Death in Paradise!!! Billy reminded me that the lizard in Death in Paradise is what made me want a lizard originally, a million years ago. I highly recommend it.
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Good
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We have snow on the ground AGAIN this morning! I’m tired of it but getting a lot of reading done. My brother and I found a letter from my dad to my mother breaking up with her (luckily only temporarily) when we were cleaning out the family home after my parents died. I’ll never get to ask what the story was there and am quite curious. Come see my week here. Happy reading!
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Oh my gosh!!!! Ugh, I am so over snow and cold! Hopefully your snow melted quickly.
It is interesting what you find!
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I’m so excited to see Wendell Berry in your post! I discovered him in college too. He spoke at a campus event. I have a book of his poetry in storage but I don’t think I’ve read any of his nonfiction. I love his novels, with Hannah Coulter being my favorite.
I have a phobia of snakes and other reptiles but even I have to admit that Luna looks cool roaming around her castle turrets.
How bittersweet it must be to sort through your stepfather’s things.
Enjoy your week!
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How cool that you got to hear him speak!!! I have read his poetry and some non-fiction essays but not his fiction. I should really do that!
Aw thanks!! She is very dramatic looking on it.
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My family in central NY all sent me snow pictures last week and suddenly my cloudy FL day didn’t seem so bad! Sure hope spring decides to stick around for a while up there now. Bittersweet to go through personal items, letters, etc… both healing and sad.Take care.
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Lol!!! I am so ready for it to just be spring! I want to get my veggies in the ground, put away the winter coats for good, and just enjoy the nice weather. Lol.
Thank you. It is bittersweet for sure.
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That’s a fancy house for a lizard! I’m watching Shadow & Bone too. I didn’t like the first book, so I never finished the series, but I like the show. It’s entertaining.
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Lol!! I love watching her peek out the doors on the bottom too. It cracks me up. I have a tiny dragon.
I am curious about the books for sure now!
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I want to watch Death in Paradise. It was on my show list awhile ago but I haven’t been watching shows with actual plots lately (mostly true crime shows instead) so this might be a good place to start. The letters sound sweet and I know what you mean about getting to know someone through that. We have some letters my grandmother wrote when she was first married and it made me feel like I knew her much better after reading them. I hope you have a great week!
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Which true crime shows are you watching? I listen to true crime podcasts a lot but I would be interested in tv shows too. I do love Death in Paradise!
It is a bittersweet thing, but I do feel like I know my stepdad a little better. 🙂
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I want to read The Nature of Witches! I’m glad you enjoyed it! I love that cover too. I still need to watch Shadow & Bone. I watched the first 2 episodes and wasn’t super enjoying it but now I need to watit to finish because my mom needs to catch up lol I didn’t know she wanted to watch it with me!
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Lol! That happens with my husband and I as well, with shows.
I really enjoyed The Nature of Witches!!
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I had never heard of The Nature of Witches but now I HAVE TO READ IT! It looks wonderful!
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