The Sunday Salon

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Blog Update: Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas!

This week I’m linking up with Sunday Post, Sunday Salon, and It’s Monday! What are you reading? Thank you for hosting, Kimberly, Deb, and Kathryn!

Happiest of holidays to all who are celebrating this time of year! It’s a tradition that the elves magically move to the kids’ stockings on Christmas Eve, because Santa takes them back to the North Pole after he visits. I know my kids are nearly adults, but they don’t seem to mind.

Like a lot of the US, we’ve been through a major cold snap here in Kansas with highs below zero. Even with a new coat, Ginger said “nope” to going outside. Smart girl.

I’ve read several books over the past few weeks, but haven’t had a chance to write many reviews. December is so busy! I’m hoping to get some reviews posted the week after Christmas and catch up on blog hopping.

Books I’ve Recently Read:

  • THE GHOST OF DROWNED MEADOW by Kelley Skovron
  • THE GUEST HOUSE by Robin Morgan-Bentley
  • HORRID by Katrina Leno
  • FRUIT BASKETS AND HOLIDAY CASKETS by Gayle Leeson
  • TWELVE SLAYS OF CHRISTMAS by Jacqueline Frost
  • THE HOUSE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STREET by Jennifer Sklias-Gahan
  • AN EGGNOG TO DIE FOR by Amy Pershing

I’ll leave you with a clip from my favorite new-to-me artist, Lindsey Stirling, an amazing violinist and songwriter. She has two Christmas/Winter albums that I’ve been listening to on repeat. I really love the video for Snow Waltz because it speaks to my gothic heart…

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful holiday! β€” 𝓓𝓲π“ͺ𝓷π“ͺ

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The Weekend Wrap-Up

A weekly recap post linking up with:

SUNDAY POST | THE SUNDAY SALON
IT’S MONDAY, WHAT ARE YOU READING? | MAILBOX MONDAY

Thank you to all the hosts! Click the links above to visit them and join the fun.

Here we are, already wrapping up the month of July. Did you know that August 1st is the start of my Halloween season? I’m excited. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten much reading done over the past couple of weeks. In the evenings I’m so tired, I just crash. Maybe it’s the heat.

Myrtle the Nightmare Catcher with a recent read. β™₯

First off, I want to share a photo of sweet Myrtle, who I won in a giveaway last week. She’s a nightmare catcher crafted by Jenclair from Bayou Poste & Craft / A Garden Carried in the Pocket. Myrtle is so cute, and I love her details, like the heart patch pined to her clothes and the sachet of lavender sewn on her back. Thank you, Jen!

Some other news β€” I’m starting a new job soon! Prior to the pandemic, I was a teacher’s aide in a special ed classroom, but I left when my own kids started remote learning. I’ve decided to return to the same work but at a different school. Even though my family and I are fully vaccinated, I still have concerns, especially since younger students aren’t eligible for the vax yet. But, I’m still looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.

I might not have as much time to blog and blog hop until things get settled with the new school year. I won’t be on an official hiatus in August, but I may be missing from time to time!

β˜… I wanted to add that I’ve greatly enjoyed blogging this year and redirecting my focus back to the blog community. I’ve made some great new friends and reconnected with old ones. Thank you all for being so awesome! β˜…

Last Two Weeks on the Blog:

Currently Reading:

  • WHERE THE TRUTH LIES by Anna Bailey
  • THE PEOPLE WE KEEP by Allison Larkin
  • DEATH IN CASTLE DARK by Veronica Bond

Recent Bookshelf Additions:

  • MRS ENGLAND by Stacey Halls (The Book Depository)
  • BEFORE YOU KNEW MY NAME by Jacqueline Bublitz (The Book Depository)
  • AN AMBUSH OF WIDOWS by Jeff Abbott (NetGalley)
  • THE GOLDEN COUPLE by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen (NetGalley)
  • CACKLE by Rachel Harrison (NetGalley)
  • HOW TO BOOK A MURDER by Cynthia Kuhn (NetGalley)

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful August! β€” 𝓓𝓲π“ͺ𝓷π“ͺ

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The Weekend Wrap-Up

A weekly recap post linking up with:

SUNDAY POST | THE SUNDAY SALON
IT’S MONDAY, WHAT ARE YOU READING? | MAILBOX MONDAY

Thank you to all the hosts! Click the links above to visit them and join the fun.

Hello! This week I’m also joining up with Mailbox Monday. I have four Waterhouse babes pictured, so they each need a meme. :-) This week has been fairly quiet at home, which is good.

I have several book-related projects in mind, but I haven’t been inspired to get started on any of them yet. One is to put all of my vintage gothic paperbacks in plastic book envelopes, then organize them in boxes. Another is updating my LibraryThing account. I haven’t added anything there regularly since January 2018. There’s no excuse!

Last Week on the Blog:

From Instagram:

Rattles loves reading too.

This pic is a still from my very first (and maybe only) “reel” on Instagram. Some Bookstagrammers including myself are concerned that video clips will be taking over feeds in the near future. I wanted to post one to test and see if it got more reach than a regular photo. The answer is yes, quite a bit more. I’ve decided that it’s not worth worrying about. I prefer photos, and there’s no point in constantly fighting an algorithm that can’t be beaten! Here is the LINK to my silly skeleton reel.

Currently Reading:

  • THE OTHER PASSENGER by Louise Candlish (Thriller)
  • THE GUILT TRIP by Sandie Jones (Thriller) 🎧

Recent Bookshelf Additions:

  • IN THE COMPANY OF WITCHES by Auralee Wallace (NetGalley)
  • DEATH IN CASTLE DARK by Veronica Bond (NetGalley)
  • 56 DAYS by Catherine Ryan Howard (Book of the Month Club Pick)
  • BIRDIE by Tracey Lindberg (Purchased)

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful week! β€” 𝓓𝓲π“ͺ𝓷π“ͺ

Instagram |Β Twitter |Β Goodreads

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The Weekend Wrap-Up

A weekly recap post linking up with:

SUNDAY POST | THE SUNDAY SALON | IT’S MONDAY, WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Thank you to Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer | Deb @ Readerbuzz | Kathryn @ The Book Date for hosting! Please visit them to join the fun. What have you been up to this week?

This has been the year of home improvements at our place. We’ve had a new roof installed, bedrooms repainted, and just this week we had a new driveway & front steps poured. We decided it was time to spruce things up. As I was writing this post, we discovered that the lights in our hall bathroom don’t work! I suspect it’s a bad switch, so I guess we get to add some electrical stuff to the improvements list.

What I’ve Read Recently:

KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS by David Bell (⭐⭐⭐⭐)

SHARICE’S BIG VOICE: A Native Kid Becomes a Congresswoman by Sharice Davids with Nancy K. Mays, Joshua Mangeshig Pawis-Steckley (Illustrator) (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐)

Sharice Davids is my representative in Congress, so I was very excited about her picture book autobiography. It tells her inspirational life story from talkative child of an Army sergeant to one of the first Native American women in Congress, and the first LGBTQ congressperson representing Kansas. She worked hard, used her voice, and listened to people along the way. Even though she had doubters β€”Β “They thought I couldn’t win based on what I look like, who I love, and where I started”Β β€” she overcame obstacles through perseverance & triumphed in the end. The illustrations are vibrant and capture Rep. Davids’ message beautifully.

What I’m Currently Reading:

THE THERAPIST by B.A. Paris (Thriller)

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful weekend! β€” 𝓓𝓲π“ͺ𝓷π“ͺ

Instagram |Β Twitter |Β Goodreads

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The Weekend Wrap-Up

A weekly recap post linking up with:

SUNDAY POST | THE SUNDAY SALON | IT’S MONDAY, WHAT ARE YOU READING?

Thank you to Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer | Deb @ Readerbuzz | Kathryn @ The Book Date for hosting! Please visit them to join the fun. What have you been up to this week?

Happy Mid-Year! We’ve had a lot of rain here, which I love, and a bit cooler weather (70s/80s). Not bad for this time of year. 🌧️

This past week my project was to consolidate all of the blogs I follow into Feedly. Before, I was following all over the place β€” Blogger Reader, WordPress Reader, and Bloglovin. Feedly seems easy to use, plus I like their app. Emojis look a little wonky in their post previews, but I can live with that. I’ll keep the other readers as backup though. How do you keep track of blogs you follow?

A bit of news from Instagram on Wednesday: They said the platform is “no longer a photo-sharing app,” and part of their future plan is to focus on videos due to competition from TikTok, YouTube, etc. You can view the announcement here: Changes are coming to video on Instagram.

As a Bookstagrammer too, I’m leery of this news. I don’t know what it means for us. Will the algorithm hide regular photo posts to push videos, even from accounts you don’t follow? I mean, I love TikTok, it’s fun, but I love Instagram because it’s not TikTok. I guess we wait and see. πŸ€”

What I’ve Read Recently:

WHAT’S DONE IN DARKNESS by Laura McHugh (⭐⭐⭐⭐½)

What I’m Currently Reading:

KILL ALL YOUR DARLINGS by David Bell (Thriller)
🎧 SECOND SLEEP by Diane Stanley (Middle Grade Mystery)

Thanks for stopping by & have a wonderful weekend! β€” 𝓓𝓲π“ͺ𝓷π“ͺ

Instagram |Β Twitter |Β Goodreads