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.
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!
I have been meaning to start the Faraway Inn for over a week… I really need to just sit down with it. Hope you have a great week.
My weekly recap -https://cover2coverblog.blogspot.com/2026/05/building-book-pile-517.html
It is cute so far! I am looking forward to a slower week and more time to read.
I hope you enjoy the Faraway Inn! My sister has lots of cats that come up around her house. She takes them and gets them fixed. And takes some in, she is now up to 4 cats in her house. And then a few regulars she sees around the outside that she doesn’t bring in. She’s gotten a couple of them fixed. I love the Little Free Library week! I wish I lived somewhere I could put one. I had one of the the teachers at my current school who has a son that is in Boy Scouts, offer to make me one to keep in my library to put my discarded books in, instead of just using library carts. He got it all approved, but unfortunately won’t get it made till this summer, so I won’t get to see it. I hope my replacement will like it, and the teacher said she’d be sure to send me pictures of it! Have a great week!
https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2026/05/17/weekly-wrap-up-may-17th-2026/
My SIL runs a low cost spay/neuter clinic that runs deals for ferals so we were talking about getting these new ones in to the clinic soon. I feel bad for them but Mouse is driving me crazy. Lol. If she wasn’t reacting to them like she is I wouldn’t worry so much about it.
Oh I am glad that you will get photos! I am sure that your replacement will love it too!
Faraway Inn is a cute read, I’m sure you will enjoy it.
Mouse looks very fierce 🙂 The only fix I know for unwanted cats on your property is motion detecting sprinklers since cats generally dislike getting wet.
Thanks for sharing your week
I am excited about it! I am also looking forward to a slower week with hopefully more reading time!
And isn’t she just the fiercest? Lol. She thinks she is at least.
I feel so bad about wanting to discourage these cats but they are just causing some issues for my cats. 🙁
If you reach out to publishers and tell them you are a new steward of a free little library, they might send you free books. I did that when I started and got quite a few. I also always entered the steward giveaways to win/receive free books. Every little bit helps. Have a great week!
Oh I am going to try that! I have never written a publisher requesting books before and I know that is something that people do, for review too. I will give it a whirl! I do always enter the giveaways and won Remarkably Bright Creatures which was cool. I am also entering the Goodreads giveaways but those seem hard to win!
Erin, the Goodreads giveaways are hard to win! I tried for years and finally won one. My husband won two at the same time, and he rarely enters, LOL! Good luck with it all. I forget who all I emailed, but I got several boxes of books, adults and children.
Lol! I will definitely look into it! That would be great if they would send some.
Oh, Mouse! Willa has a friend who hangs out on the patio, sometimes they both go up to the back doors to say hello to each other. Thankfully Tightie-Whitie (we don’t know her name, she’s a white cat and we’ve called her that, it’s a name for men’s underpants here!!) doesn’t inspire Willa to pee.
I know!! She is so cute and sweet…and a brat! Lol. And that name is hilarious! We use that term here too.
I feel your cat-spray pain. That’s how I ended up moving Lizzie’s box to where it is and setting up a bunch of puppy pads. Looks horrible. Keeps it clean. Fortunately, it was right by the door to the garage and she’s contained it there. No solutions, unfortunately. I just cope because I love her. (I will say he’s beautiful and growing!)
I really want to see that movie too. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I almost hope it rains in the afternoon so I don’t feel guilty going to the movie!
Ugh! It is so crazy! I had no idea a female would do that. She does it in front of the front door, and under a window in the same room most of the time. It’s like seriously, the front door, Mouse? The feliway is helping but it is not 100%. I am hoping once I get the other cats fixed she will stop, because then hopefully they stop spraying. What a kerfuffle.
It looks so cute! Did you go see it?
We have a little Free library at our neighborhood pool. I haven’t been involved because I just don’t have many print books anymore since we moved to NC. But I should also read up on the Little Free Library Day and try to do something next year, especially with our Library Love Challenge.
Anne – Books of My Heart This is my Sunday Post
I had no idea until the other day it was a thing. I have been getting books for my LFL at the thrift and at used stores for now, but it is time I think to do a rehaul.
We are interested in seeing the Sheep Detectives movie with Hugh Jackman. It looks cute! Talking sheep … is what we need, lol. Glad you enjoyed the book.
Also I get sad when I see cats that are strays in the neighborhood … they must struggle to survive … especially with the foxes & coyotes. Have a good week.
It does look super cute!! And yes, we 100% need talking sheep in our lives.
It is awful. Poor babies.
That’s lovely that you have a LFL and that you’re taking care of all the cats. Have a great week Erin.
Thank you Jodie!
I love Little Free Libraries and will google LFL week. There are a couple near me, so I could donate a few books. Hope you have a good week!
Oh if you can you should! If the stewards are anything like me then they get really excited when there are new books in there or books taken. Lol.
I wasn’t aware of Little Free Libraries week. There are two in my neighborhood, but they never have books I’m interested in. Well, I guess that’s not true. Once I did find a good one – A Mrs. Pollifax book. Your cat is a beauty. Good luck with the strays. I love that you’re trying to figure out what’s best for them and help them. 🙂
I try to see what it is people like but it is hard! Lol. I feel like I have had some really good books in there at times and they just sit. I guess people who come to mine just aren’t interested in cozy mysteries which seems crazy to me. LOL.
And thank you!
I don’t know how you have time to read! My problem isn’t that I don’t have time, though. It’s my attention span. I think I need to go to the library and get real books. It’s so easy to put my iPad down and do something else. I’m reading The Boleyn Traitor by Philippa Gregory. Ordinarily, I’d be done with it in a couple of days. Oh, well. That’s strange about your female cat doing that. I’ve heard of males marking their territories, but not females doing it. I hope the other kitties leave soon so she stops. Have a wonderful Little Free Library Week!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
I love a physical book. I am just that sensory sort of a person, I don’t like to read from a screen or hold a kindle. It just doesn’t feel the same. Lol.
I used to love her books! I went through a huge historical fiction phase.
Oh my gosh right? I was shocked it was Mouse. Max always looks at her quizzically, like what the heck are you doing girl?
We had a run of feral cats a couple of years ago. We took in two (Starla and Smokey, littermates) because they were young and friendly enough to turn into indoor/outdoor cats and we love them to pieces! We trapped several of the feral cats and took them in to be spayed/neutered and have their shots. We took back any of the cats that couldn’t be adopted out and ended up taking 3 back. We feed them and they have shelter if they want it in our detached garage. I’m not sure what to do about the territory marking, though.
How nice that you have a Little Free Library! I need to look up some in my area so I can donate!
That is sort of my plan too. Just get them all fixed and vaccinated, then let them loose again. There is shelter under our deck, which is I think one reason they like it here. And my cat, what a turkey. The feliway is helping some, I just need to keep up on it.
It is really fun to go and donate/exchange books. It’s like a treasure hunt!
I wish I lived close to you, I’d give you some of my books for your LFL! Lol. Our town does a town wide yard sale on Memorial Day weekend, and I will probably just put books out for people to grab. And thank you for helping the stray cats, they seem to be everywhere, unfortunately. Have a good week!
That is a nice idea! I actually picked up a bunch of chapter books for Wyatt the other day like that! We had our city wide garage sale this weekend, and someone had a table of free books. I did grab one or two for the LFL as well. And that would be nice if you lived near me! Lol.
And thank you. I have just watched their number grow the past few months and it makes me sad.
I tend to win more books from LibraryThing than Goodreads. As a matter of fact, I don’t know when I last had a win from Goodreads but if I ask for a LibraryThing book I usually get it. they have all kinds of books and lots of children’s books. If you review them you tend to get a win more often. I imported all my books from Goodreads to LibraryThing but post reviews to both sites.
The Free Library event sounds fun. I usually put books in around our neighborhood.
Oh I forgot about LibraryThing!! I will have to check them out again. Thank you for the suggestion!!
I’m going to see The Sheep Detectives at the movie theater soon and I’d like to read the book it’s based on too!
I am looking forward to seeing it. It just looks like it will be fun.
Glad you had a fun time with Three Bags Full! I hope the movie’s fun.
It was pretty good! It kind of lagged in the middle but it bounced back.
That sounds like an awful situation with all those stray cats wandering around. I hope you can get it figured out soon!
I didn’t know there was such as thing as the Little Free Libraries Week but I think your ideas sound wonderful. I don’t think it is nice that people are stealing stuff from your library but at least you seem okay with it! ha!
Whatever you do, be sure to put lots of cocoa and tea in there to piss off that rude lady that commented on Facebook one time.
It makes me sad! There are so many. The clinic is having a $10 day for ferals caught in a trap, to get fixed and vaccinated at the end of the month. I am going to try to get at least one in.
I just was like, what do I do? Lol. I was sad they took my metal recipe card box that had an insect design. 🙁 It was just weird they took it all. And you know, for one second I thought maybe that lady came and found me and took it all out. LOL.
Oh dear! Hope kitty learns a better version of enforcing their territory… I had a cat do this in a ground floor apartment. We could not continue on like that 🙁 Maybe the aluminum foil on the ground? They don’t like to step on it….. Hope it works out! And have fun sprucing up the libraryy!
She is getting better. I hope that in a few weeks this is all behind us with her!
So, is Three Bags Full the book they made The Sheep Detectives movie from? I did not know it was Little Libraries Day. Maybe I will celebrate late this year!
It is!
Good luck with the strays!
Having them fixed might help with Mouse calming down a bit. Maybe it’s just too much for her.
I’m sorry someone took your containers. People sometimes just don’t seem to get it … or they get greedy. I remember every time we put out free candy at the library (the one I worked at), there were those who take one or two and then you had those who went in like some kids on Halloween grabbing whole handfuls.
That is what I am hoping too. That if they aren’t doing anything outside near the doors, then she won’t inside near the door. I think we are getting closer.
I found that so weird when I saw it! I mean, who would want my little insect design recipe box filled with bookmarks? The other one was not that crazy, it was filled with tea bags so I guess they wanted all the tea, but the one with bookmarks seemed weird!
I’m sorry to hear baout the spraying! Hopefully it’ll just take a bit of time for the Feliway solution to improve. And if not, perhaps the behaviouralist will have some great ideas!
Have a good week ahead. Mouse is so cute!
Thank you Sara! I tell her all the time it is a good thing she is so cute and so good with my son! Lol.
Psyche! I made PORK Verde today! I vote with Wyatt on family paint session and LFL visiting instead of cleaning. Good idea to put some bags out so kids can carry home all the books they want.
We did go LFL hopping the other day and it was a blast!