What I'm reading Wednesday...

Thirty-eighth challenge finish of the year.

You may remember that I found this at our library's used book section awhile back.  I don't think the author would necessarily consider himself a celebrity, but he is very well known for an act of heroism one tragic day in Texas, and one of the facts that I learned about in the book is that he and his wife were portrayed in a movie about the event, so I think that counts as enough of a celebrity to use for this prompt (even though he thought the movie was so bad that he and his wife sued over the inaccuracy and the racially stereotyped portrayal of his wife in the movie).

I really enjoyed reading this one!  I knew parts of it from talking to the author.  We met a couple of times years ago and talked about spending time in a common location...him working in the location on a case, and me living nearby...so it was really interesting reading more about his work there.  And I was impressed by how well written it was (unlike my crazy run-on sentences in this post); as I understand it, he did the writing himself.  It was very well organized and presented, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Thirty-ninth challenge finish of the year.

This one has been on my Kindle since 2014.  The first half was good.  The second half I kept rolling my eyes, because these characters never seemed to learn from their experiences!  Then the ending was infuriating.  The main character--The Flyer--was in the middle of an air battle, and it ended.  I'm giving a HUGE spoiler here, but I do NOT recommend anyone read this book, so I just don't care.  He was almost in range of his enemy target--he gripped his trigger--and that is where the damn thing ended!!!  Was he beamed up by aliens?  Geesh!  Then it went to an epilogue where he was just missing, and a couple of othe characters were discussing him.  It did have a slight sense of closing at the end of the epilogue, but what a CHEAT!  

I gave it 2½ stars because I liked the first half, but boy was the second half lame, and I hated the ending.  I will NOT be reading the sequel.

I'm about halfway through my current book, which has also been on my Kindle for years.

Fiddledeedee...let's try this again...grrrr...

Prompts that have been completed are preceded by a black dot.

I did a complete post.  I proofread and made edits several times.  I was sure I saved and posted it.  Then my sister called, and we talked for an hour, and now I can't find the darn post.  Grrrrr!

So here's an abridged version.

Half of the year is over.  The goals this year are pretty ambitious.  This is a difficult year, so I'm giving myself some grace.

The 52 Book Club's 2025 Challenge: 39 books read out of the 52.  Eleven of the ones I've read were previously purchased ebooks on my Kindle, so I'm glad to have them read finally.

Other goals for the year:

Delete time wasters from my phone:  Some are gone, some are back.  I'm a backslider and I don't care...it keeps me from thinking about the news 24/7.

Bake bread at least once a month:  Not killing it.  Only baked twice so far.

Finish two quilts:  Zippo have been completed so far.

Complete the Storyworth project and have printed:  Missed my self-imposed May deadline.

Start volunteering:  Volunteering at library once a week.  Bam!

Find a new reflexologist:  Not yet.

Relearn Canasta:  Not yet.

Get Singer Featherweight up and running:  It and another machine of mine are at the repairman's as of this update.  Due home soon.

Make progress on family trees:  Not much if any.

Check out local Farmer's Market:  Haven't made it yet.

Send 52 cards in 52 weeks:  Behind, but plugging along.

Be more social:  Between volunteering, joining book club, and attending political meetings I've met a lot of people, and have 'clicked' with a few.  Bam!

2025 Frugal Friday File, June 27...

 

1.  Sunday I put four chicken breast halves in the slow cooker with part of a jar of picante sauce and a packet of Italian dressing mix.  After four hours, I shredded two of them and diced two of them.  The diced meat was added to a pasta salad to be eaten through the week.  The shredded meat will be added to quesadillas another night and maybe some soup (which I saved the liquid from the slow cooker for) another night.  I love having a headstart on meals for the week.

2.  Aside from groceries and bills, I only spent $2.15 for a Kindle book.

3.  No takeout or meals out this week.  

4.  I put two birthday cards in the mail this week.  One of them late, but oh well.  

Speaking of mail, the postage rates are going up again on July 13 -- a one ounce letter will go from 73¢ to 78¢.  I still have plenty of forever stamps to last a good while.

5.  I have thought about getting my hair cut every day this week, but I continue to put it off.  It's hot, and all I do is pull it up off my neck anyway.  For sure I'll get it cut sometime before grandson's December's wedding.  :)

This week we ate:

Saturday:  Family dinner at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  Summery Pasta Salad w/ Chicken

Monday:  Honey Garlic Chicken

Tuesday:  Quesadillas w/ Guacamole

Wednesday:  leftover pasta salad

Thursday:  Mexican Cornbread Casserole

Friday:  leftovers

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Thirty-seventh challenge finish of the year.

I think I've read all of this author's work.  It's been a decade or so I think, and as I started this one, it occurred to me that maybe I've outgrown this type of book.  It was good, but had a slightly insipid start.  I kept reading.  

The characters were likeable, and it definitely finished stronger than it started.  And the author's notes at the end were excellent, discussing how she found a resource book that brought inspiration, and explained some of the history of the Royal Messenger service, couriers of important documents for the monarch.

In case you are not sure what a "sprayed edge" is (I had no idea), it's when the edges of the book are decorated.  This photo doesn't give much of an image of the edge, but hopefully will give you some idea.  I believe only the first run (or some limited number) actually had the edges decorated.

2025 Frugal Friday File, June 20...

 

1.  Doctor appointment Wednesday.  Afterward I left them a pint of my blood; sadly, they just throw it away.  This is a pretty regular thing for my "condition".  Though in the past I have always felt fine afterward, this time I did not feel good, and felt pretty wrung out Thursday as well.  I don't remember having that reaction before, but I'm drinking extra fluids (as I have been for the past week).  I'm not upping intake of red meat or green vegetables, because I don't need any more iron, that's why I had to give up the blood in the first place.  Have to keep the amounts pretty consistently balanced since I'm also on blood thinner for yet another "condition". 

    Essential self care is frugal when it reduces the risk of organ damage (in my case).  My mother had lost eighty percent of her liver function before she ever went to the doctor.  They never diagnosed her with what I have, but since they can tell that I got the same mutated gene from each of my parents, I suspect that she did, since liver damage is a not-infrequent result, and mom was essentially a teetotaler.

2.  I have not given up Sonic ice, but I've given up getting it from my local drive-in where the customer service is sorely lacking.  I only stop by ones in other communities when I have a valid reason to be there.  That means the frequency and ice outlay has been drastically reduced.

    (Attention Gina:  this is one of those times my mother would say, "You would bite off your nose to spite your face!)  😉

3.  Today is book club, and this time it is in the city.  Carpooling with friends.

4.  Saw a new book is coming out in September that I know Carey would like.  I don't want to pay full price for pre-ordering, so I added it to my book wish list on Amazon so I won't forget about it.  I'll cross my fingers that it is on Amazon First Reads, but if it's not I'll see if the library will order it, or barring all else I will get it for him for Christmas.

5.  Menu planned and placed grocery order.  Easier to resist takeout when a plan is in place and groceries in the pantry/fridge.

This week we ate:

Saturday:  Chicken Burgers and leftover Tomato Pie

Sunday:  Sunday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Monday:  Spanish Rice    

Tuesday:  **frozen eggplant parmesan w/ salad

Wednesday:  takeout Schlotzky sandwiches

Thursday: grocery store sushi

Friday:  potluck for me, baseball park hot dogs for C

**designates meatless meal

What I'm Reading Wednesday...

Thirty-sixth challenge finish of the year.

I had a really hard time selecting a book to fit this prompt.  A friend has been recommending this series for about a year now.  It's not a genre I usually reach for, but for historical/magical fiction it's done well.  I like the characters.  I like the writing.  Good story.

On the other hand, it is long at 694 pages.  It has a lot of wizard, dwarf, elfen, and magical creatures that have names that are hard to decide how to pronounce, and I believe I've said here before that if I don't have a fixed pronunciation in my mind, I stumble over it every time I come across it in the story.  It makes a long book even longer for me.

I'm not ruling out reading the next in the series sometime, but I don't think it will be this year.

Tuesday treasure...

 

Fresh linens on the bed.  There's not much I love more than climbing into a bed with clean sheets.  💓

I found this antique bed at an auction about 20 years ago.  My mother had always talked wistfully about her grandparents tall bed that had to be cut down to fit when they moved from the farm to a small house in town.  She would have loved this.

This is the 'guest' room.  It only is a full size mattress, but we rarely have overnight guests anymore, and when we do it's just one at a time.  Back when my mother-in-law was able to visit, I invested in a sleep number mattress so that she and other guests could adjust the firmness to their own taste.  It is  also adjustable, so the head and foot of the bed can be raised or lowered.  When I broke my shoulder, I moved to this bed until I healed...and I'm still in it.  :)

2025 Frugal Friday File on Saturday, June 14...

 

1.  Last Saturday was Caitlyn's birthday and all but the oldest sibling was home for family supper.  Beau grilled/smoked a carnivore's feast with absolutely delicious ribs, beans, and jalapeno poppers, while Kasey made everybody's favorite potato salad.  

    Since we had kind of OD'ed on meat on Saturday, we then had two meatless meals in a row with breakfast for dinner on Sunday, and Tomato Pie on Monday.  Both were using things that were on hand, and didn't require a grocery run.  I used our harvested cherry tomatoes plus the remainder of store-bought cherry tomatoes purchased before our homegrown ones started producing every day...they were just on the verge of old age, so needed to use them up.  Also used jalapenos from our container garden, along with onions, and corn from fridge/freezer.  I sauteed the onions & jalapeno, when they were soft I added the halved cherry tomatoes, then when they cooked down a bit, I added about a third of a bag of frozen corn that I came across.  This was different from the Tomato Pie I usually make, but again, wanted to make do with what I had here at home.

2.  Made a menu plan for the next week or so, and I placed my grocery order.  Picked it up on Wednesday, so we are set for awhile now.  I even have a plan for dessert for Saturday's family supper...I usually don't decide till Saturday morning.  :)

3.  Tax refund finally arrived...only three weeks since proving my identity...not the nine they said it might be.  Saving it to go toward our annual LTC insurance premium.

4.  Placed one single online order this week; it is for a Christmas gift for family member.  Starting early.

5.  I signed up to take a salad for the coming week's pot luck lunch.  The person bringing the main dish said it would be a southwest-type casserole.  So I thought I'd try something new, and looked for something that seemed to be a good match, Mexican Rice Salad.  I don't like to take things that I haven't tested ahead of time, so I made it this week.  It was okay, but not great.  We ate it accompanying two meals on separate nights.  I think I'll take a green salad to book club.  :)

This week we ate:

Saturday:  Family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  **Pancakes & Eggs (no bacon thawed, so did without)

Monday:  **Tomato Pie

Tuesday:  out for Tex-Mex

Wednesday:  Salmon, Rice Pilaf, Salad

Thursday:  Homemade hamburgers, Mexican Rice Salad

Friday:  Frozen Enchiladas and leftover Mexican Rice Salad

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Thirty-fifth challenge finish of the year.

Alice Hoffman's "Once Upon a Time Bookshop Stories" series, books 1 through 4.  Included titles:  The Bookstore Sisters, The Bookstore Wedding, The Bookstore Keepers, and The Bookstore Family.

All four were available through Kindle Unlimited.  I like Alice Hoffman's work, so I tried the first one and liked it, then I read the rest of the series.  I believe they contained from 36 to 54 pages each.  I remember when I added them together they totaled 153 pages.

Now I'm reading Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan.  Not my usual genre, but I was struggling to fill the prompt "a character is a magician," and a friend recommended this one.  It is almost 700 pages long, so that will make up for the short Alice Hoffman series.  :)

2025 Frugal Friday File on Saturday, June 7...

 

1.  I took two sewing machines in for repairs, or tune ups, or whatever they need.  Hopefully he will be able to have them ready to pick up in a couple of weeks.

The repair service is in the next town over.  Which also has the nearest locksmith, so to make the most I could out of errand batching miles, I took my great-great-grandfather's document box to see if they could open it for me.  They said they could not without breaking the lock.  So I will have to hope I come across the key (which I actually thought I had stored inside the box, so I don't know how the box was locked), or do some research to find a specialist in antique locks.  It does not have anything of monetary value locked inside, just sentimental family photos and WWII war souveniers of my dad's.  :(  

2.  A whole lotta leftovers were eaten here this week.

3.  Cherry tomatoes are continuing to produce, and now we have some peppers ripening as well.

4.  Reading, reading, reading.  Again.  Still.

5.  Except for food and monthly bills, it's been a no spend week.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Saturday family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  leftover pasta salad

Monday:  leftover pasta salad (yes, I made him eat it again!  But I kept adding fresh fruit/veg.  It was the never-ending pasta salad!)

Tuesday:   Sheet pan dinner: Smoked sausage, sweet potatoes, 1" thick cabbage slices; and from the stove top, creamed corn (not canned...frozen corn in a homemade bechamel sauce)

Wednesday: takeout burgers

Thursday:  leftovers

Friday:  pot pies

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Thirty-second challenge finish of the year.

Though "Prompt #31 - Audio Book Has Multiple Narrators" seems to be a direction to listen to it as an audio book, I checked the list of rules, and as long as there is an audio version that has multiple narrators, it is allowed to read the the physical book.  I wasn't in the mood to listen, so I checked out the hard-cover book from the library.

I found it difficult getting used to the format the author used, of laying out the chapters in only quotes of the characters...as if the author/interviewer asked each of the characters about a particular event, and then transcribed all of their answers and grouped them on the page...prefaced only by the speaking character's name.  I may not be describing that well, but it took me over a hundred pages to get somewhat comfortable with it.  It was interesting seeing how the different characters each interpretted a memory from their own (and sometimes conflicting) viewpoint.

I did like it, but it was a little challenging.

Thirty-third challenge finish of the year.

When my friend, the other Kathleen, finds out I liked, no loved this one, she will not believe it.  Why?  Because I have told her so many times that I never want to read another book hyped as a literary award winner or finalist.  I might not have read it if it wasn't our book club's selection for July.  Generally I find award winners either really depressing, or too high brow to enjoy.  

This starts out with the characters of Huckleberry Finn and Jim hiding out on the Mississippi River, and it is a true adventure story.  Two or three events were far fetched, but probably no more so than Mark Twain's version. 

I could not put this down.  I read about a quarter of it in one evening, and then the next morning I picked it back up, and could not put it down until I got to the end.  At almost the end, another character said, "Who are you?"  By now,  James was seeming like such a super hero to me, that in my head I almost expected him to growl out, "I'm Batman!"  LOL   Now, this is in no way a super-hero story, but the character of James started out strong, and grows throughout the story, hence to me he almost seemed like a super-hero by the end.

Thirty-fourth challenge finish of the year.

I read the first book in this series in 2016, and this one has been on my Kindle almost that long.  So, I'm extremely happy to have finally gotten to it.  Very likeable characters (except for the villain), and easy reading escapism.

2025 Frugal Friday File, May 30...

 

1.  Made (and divided into 12 oz containers) a big batch of Rudy food and put it in the freezer to take out as needed.

2.  In lieu of going on a statin (which I do not want to do), doctor and I compromised on me having a CT scan to determine my Cardiac Calcium Score before making a firm decision.  He warned me that I would probably have to pay out of pocket for it, but it wasn't terribly expensive.  I had the scan done a couple of weeks ago, and I had a follow-up appointment with doc this week.  Anything below a score of 100 was acceptable; my score was really low...like really low.  So YAY no statin prescription, AND my insurance covered the cost of the scan with no OOP expense.

3.  I was able to reserve two books at the library, and I picked them up when I went to volunteer there this week.  Both are for the 2025 Challenge, and one of the two is also for July's book club selection.  YAY for lending libraries, and also for combining two trips into one!

4.  Yesterday I made another big pasta salad.  This one with bowtie pasta, orange sections, red grapes, apples, blanched broccoli, celery, carrots, cucumber, red onion, chicken breast, and mayo whisked with Italian dressing to dress it...to the individual servings I added feta cheese and pecans also.  There is plenty for the two of us to have tonight, and probably another day.  Thank you, yesterday's me, for putting in the work, so today I don't have to.

5.  Carey just got home from another week with his sister and b-i-l.  They are both improving since their car accident.  I'm so glad he could help them out.  He was invaluable when I was injured in my rollover car accident back in 2008 (?), so he has had practice.  Another brother was able to help them in between Carey's visits.  And I'm also glad that he took our old car which gets much better gas mileage than his huge truck.  Now whether it's wise to be paying insurance for all three vehicles we now own...we will have to get that figured out.

On the menu this week was:

Saturday:  we shared a takeout sandwich

Sunday:  grocery-store sushi

Monday:  grazed

Tuesday:  Spanish Rice

Wednesday:  leftovers

Thursday:  Pasta Salad

Friday:  Leftover Pasta Salad

**designates meatless meal

What I am reading Wednesday...

Thirtieth challenge finish of the year.

I started this one in 2024, but with the news cycle of the campaigns and all, I had to put it down; I was just not in a place where I could deal with the topic.  (There were a couple of other books that I had to push to the bottom of the pile also for similar reason.)

Once I got back to it (for the 'Climate Fiction' prompt of the challenge), it took FOR. EVER.  I read it in ebook form, but the hard cover and paperback both indicated 576 pages; and reviews indicated the font size on those pages was very tiny, so no wonder it took forever to get through. Long.  Long.  Looooooong  Like Moby Dick, it seemed as if the author got paid by the word.  Also like Moby Dick, I had to resort to reading a few chapters of it in the morning, and then read other books the rest of the day.

It started out strong with a traumatic fictional heat event that killed millions.  But after that, it kind of wandered off course.  It jumped around, and the characters weren't really well developed.  It gave a TON of scientific information which was over my head.  Sometimes I read reviews of books after I finish them just to see what other people thought of them.  One review mentioned, "as a story it gets 2 stars, but I added another star for the subject matter."  I can completelty agree with that statement.

 

Thirty-first challenge finish of the year.

As the title indicates, this book IS actually about a feather thief.  A young American man who has an obsession with tying fly-fishing lures, burgles a natural history museum in England to obtain a lifetime supply of feathers that are illegal to obtain on the open market due to wildlife conservations laws, and also to sell some of them to raise cash.

Very interesting, and I read it within two days.  I kept stumbling over the word 'tiers' which I heard in my head as TEE-ers (like the levels of a structure), but which in this case is pronounced TIE-ers.  Turns out that is the preferred spelling for those who tie fly-fishing lures.  

Does anyone else stumble over word pronunciations while reading silently?  Don't even get me started on unusual name pronunciations!  (Dr. Zhivago took me forever to get through.)

Looking forward to reading more of this author's work in the future.  He did a good job with the literary non-fiction (blends historical accuracy with compelling narrative).  I love authors who do a great job with this genre...Tracy Kidder...Erik Larson...Brian Hicks...to name a few.

Tuesday treasure...

Singing with the boy!

2025 Frugal Friday File, May 23...

 

1.  While Carey was helping out his sister and b-i-l, among other things he helped out with, he harvested what was ripe from their garden for them.  They made him bring home chard and kale.  The kale was so young and tender.  I made a big salad with kale, chard, and a lot of stuff I found in the fridge: apple, red onion, carrot, celery, cherry tomatoes, chicken, and homemade honey-mustard dressing.

2.  Spent a lovely couple of hours (sarcasm) trying to track down our tax refund.  Jumped through their hoops.  Proved who we were.  And as per the finish notice, we should see it within the next NINE WEEKS!  Grrrrr.  Can't help it; feels like DOGE trouble to me.

3.  Social Security checks (his & mine) were deposited.  Every month now I hold my breath fearing that something will go wrong with it.

4.  Waited till my volunteer day at the library, to pick up a book that I reserved.  No special trip.

5.  Adjusted my subscription for laundry detergent sheets.  It was set at one box every two months, but we ran out.  Setting it for every six weeks was not an option, so I bought an individual box to get us by, then set subscription for 2 boxes every 3 months.  

On the menu this week--     

Saturday:  out for breakfast for dinner at IHOP (Carey's choice)

Sunday:  Big Salad

Monday:  me: leftovers,  C: frozen pot pie

Tuesday:  shared a takeout sandwich

Wednesday:  Quiche w/ Garlic Green Beans

Thursday:  Chicken Burgers (frozen chicken patties)

Friday:  leftovers

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Twenty-seventh challenge finish of the year.

I do love Louise Erdrich's work.  This one is set in a small farming community in South Dakota where sugar beets are the money crop, and the pesticides and growing practices are damaging the land and wildlife.  The characters are so well crafted, so multi-faceted.  

Twenty-eighth challenge finish of the year.

This is the sequel to Moloka'i, which was about a child (Rachel) who spent her life in the leper colony on the Hawaiian island.  The sequel follows the life of Rachel's daughter (Ruth) who was manditorily separated from Rachel shortly after her birth to keep from passing on the leprosy to the baby.

She lived in an orphanage until she was five, and then adopted by a very loving Japanese family.  Eventually they moved to the mainland, and suffered the internment of the Japanese during WWII.  The racism and removing of families to camps brought current events to life for me.

 Twenty-ninth challenge finish of the year.

Another one that has been languishing inside my Kindle waiting to be read for at least a couple of years.  This book is the next to the last in this cozy mystery series.  Generally I'm not a fan of the cozies, as they are usually pretty formulaic, hence the authors can pump them out regularly.  This is the only book I had in my Kindle stash that fit the prompt, that the author has released more than one book per year.  Originally this series caught my attention because they are about a group of quilting friends.  Easy read.

2025 Frugal Friday File, May 16...

 

1.  I made a tortellini salad that I love, but Carey doesn't.  Since he was out of town, and I was home cleaning and not wanting to have to think about what I ate, I prepared the salad with tons of fresh vegetables, so I could eat it multiple times and still get in lots of veg.

2.  Purged my closet!  Work clothes be gone!

3.  Mostly stayed home this week.  Only ventured out to make drop offs at Goodwill and to volunteer at library.

4.  Reading, reading, reading.

5.  Looked up directions for a medical test tomorrow in the city, and while I was at it researched to make sure there wasn't any special prep to do.  

Paid credit card bill on time so no interest incurred.

Hung out with the dog.

Watered the garden.

Didn't place any online orders.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Mother's Day Dinner at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  Grocery Store Sushi

Monday:  takeout tacos

Tuesday:  Tortellini Salad: red, yellow, orange, and green peppers, pickled banana peppers, cucumbers, kalamata olives, cherry tomatoes, carrots, red onion, feta, tortellini, Italian dressing  **

Wednesday:  leftovers **

Thursday:  leftovers **

Friday:  frozen pizza

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Twenty-sixth challenge finish of the year.

This one is an audiobook that I started last November at the quilt retreat, and then never picked back up.  Till Monday.  

I'm doing a closet purge, and emptied everything out, then listened to the audiobook as I sorted through every item, and boxed up donations.  

It really wasn't my cup of tea.  Storyline:  an author who writes wildly popular YA novels of a fantasy genre (think maybe JK Rowling-esque) is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, and resorts to using a young super-fan to help her finish the series remembering backstory events, etc.  Not believable.  No characters that I could really like or empathize with.  Two stars.

Still reading The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich.

Tuesday Treasure...

 

The cherry tomatoes are ripening!  I harvested these two this morning, and in the late afternoon noticed that three more were ready.

2025 Frugal Friday File, May 9...

 

1.  When the cat's not on scene, the mice will clean!  Last summer it was the garage.  (Which I never did take 'after' photos of, sorry.)  This time I have a closet purge planned...everything will be out and gone through.  I've already donated winter coats...apparently I love to buy winter coats, but I don't like to wear winter coats...and we hardly even have a winter here!  I will also be donating work clothes, since I'm no longer working.  I will keep a couple pairs of nice slacks and tops, but the rest is going.

2.  I'm returning one of the pair of shoes I bought last week.  The Birkenstocks are fine, but the White Mountain ones have zero support; disappointing as others of that brand worked great for me.

3.  Girls are home for the summer.  They will be looking for jobs.  Until they find work for other people, I hope they will come help me accomplish a room reboot.

4.  I am feeling really good about getting old books on my Kindle finally read!

5.   I'm about to leave to head to a friend's house.  I will leave my car at her house, and ride with her to the city to attend book club.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  out for Tex-Mex

Sunday:  leftovers

Monday:  Stir Fry w/ tofu

Tuesday:  takeout baked potatoes w/ bbq brisket

Wednesday:  Chicken burgers w/ Sweet Potato Fries

Thursday:  Pot pies

Friday:  Sandwiches

**designates meatless meal

What I'm reading Wednesday...

 

Twenty-fifth challenge finish of the year.

Dual timeline.  I could have done without the current day one.  It was a just a romance story, and not a great one.  But the past timeline was about Johanna Van Gogh Bonger, the wife of Vincent Van Gogh's brother Theo.  It was beautifully written and seemed to be well researched.  I gave it three stars only because I've about reached the end of my patience with dual timeline stories.

And I'm about a third of the way through this one currently.  Love Louise Erdrich.

Tuesday Treasure...

The jury is out, but this is a major purchase that's been on the back burner for awhile, and I hope will prove to be a treasure.

My old, small SUV has been a great vehicle, but Carey did not want to take it on long trips anymore (without putting $ toward maintenance in it that we didn't want to put into a 10-year-old car).  We've been shopping half heartedly for a couple of months or so.  An extended family situation came up that needs our assistance and will require a long trip to get to them.  It made us decide that now was the time to bite the bullet.  We went to look for a specific car this morning, and found a way better deal on this one, and it's still under warranty.  It was a loaner at the dealership...one year old, and only about 1,000 miles on it.  They had put their whole 'fleet' of loaner cars on the sale lot this past weekend, and sold five of them already.  Today we still had ten to choose from, so got a color I like.  

What I'm most excited about (in addition to getting a newer model with way less milage, for basically the same price that we were willing to spend on the one we ended up not getting...oh, and the fact that the tires are basically brand new) is the built-in technology that can be linked to my phone, and having the maps be on larger screen and hands free.  

Funny story.  Today I had Carey drive the new car home, because I had a big box to donate at Goodwill in the back of our old car (we're keeping old car).  I wanted to drop it off on my way home.  I was following him on the road home, and decided to call a friend.  Because they had already linked my phone to the new car, and because we were still traveling very close together, when I dialed it connected in the new car, and my friend was talking to Carey without realizing that I wasn't even in the car with him...and the call wouldn't hang up till we got some distance apart from each other, at which point the call dropped.  Pretty weird.

I'm just hoping that it is safe and as good a car for us as its predecessor.

Delayed gratification for the win!

2025 NOT VERY Frugal Friday File, May 2...

 

1.  I ordered two pair of shoes.  One pair was lightly-worn Birkenstocks on ebay.  Including shipping they were $30 (retail new would have been $100+).  The other pair is similar in style but is White Mountain brand, which I have had good luck with in the past.  They were on sale for half price so my total cost was $32.  

Ninety-nine percent of the time I am in Birkenstocks, from the time my feet first hit the floor when I wake up in the morning until the time I take them off when I'm getting into bed at night.  I have high arches, and was told decades ago (by my reflexologist, after a nasty bout of plantar fasciitis) to wear Birkenstocks.  I have never had any further pain from plantar fasciitis.  I am a firm believer that the human body is not meant to walk & stand on cement slabs as much as we do.  I was raised in a house built in 1902 with a pier-and-beam foundation and wooden floors.  Ah...that was the life!  I despise modern home construction in Texas...no basements, just concrete slab.  I blame my bad knees on it.

Anyway, I've worn all of my current shoes for several years now, and even good-quality cork footbeds flatten out somewhat over time and constant wear.  I thought I should find some replacements before any problems set in, and in case tariffs do go into effect.  

2.  I accompanied a friend to a quilt fabric/supplies market in a nearby town today.  The vendors being those who have cleaned out their stash and selling.  I spent $39, and got some things with specific projects in mind.  I also got another $38 of backing fabric which was new and cut to size for me.

3.  I doubled my annual gift to my local NPR station.

4.  I tried to double my annual gift to my local PBS station, but it will have to wait, as I couldn't get logged on.

5.  I did not buy any Trump crypto make-believe funds.

On the menu this week:

Saturday:  Family supper at Kasey & Beau's

Sunday:  Pasta Salad w/ Chicken

Monday:  leftovers

Tuesday:  grocery-store sushi

Wednesday:  King Ranch Casserole

Thursday:  Pork chops, Stove Top, Cranberry Sauce

Friday:  leftoverws

**designates meatless meal

I've fallen down a rabbit hole, and I can't get up...

 

image source:  behindthetower.org

I started wondering if the UT Clock Tower shooting was the original school and/or mass shooting.  Turns out no, it was not.

You may not be able to probably can't read the small print in the image above, but the article it accompanied can be found here if you are interested:  http://behindthetower.org/a-brief-history-of-mass-shootings  

From the timeline in the image, I of course remember the UT Clock Tower shooting, and the ones listed after 1980, but I did not realize there were so many others.

It's not going to magically stop.  What is it going to take?  Will we ever figure this out?

What I'm reading Wednesday...

Twenty-second challenge finish of the year.

('Found family trope' is defined as characters who choose to make unrelated people [characters] their family.  You may know this already, but I had to look it up.)

This was very good.  I enjoyed this sequel every bit as much as its predecessor.  And I was really excited to see that the author has decided to make this a trilogy.

Twenty-third challenge finish of the year.

('Breaks the fourth wall' is defined as one or more characters breaking from the story to address the reader directly, ie Jane Eyre saying, "Reader, I married him."  You may know this already too, but my friend, the PhD, didn't, so I thought I'd mention it also.)

This was my new book club's May book.  I'm counting it for the challenge as well, since I was able to borrow it from the library.  

I was a bit perplexed by what prompt to put it under.  Google says it does not break the fourth wall.  I disagree, as I felt that the character of Marcellus was always talking to me directly.  :)  When I saw that another challenge participant also listed it as 'breaking the 4th wall prompt,' I decided I could too.

I really liked this book so much.  The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because I don't believe I will go back to it to read it again.  But if the author ever comes out with a sequel, I will definitely read it.

Twenty-fourth challenge finish of the year.

Again, I really enjoyed this book.  The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because I doubt I will go back to it to re-read.  

It doesn't exactly have a diary entry, but it reads like one.  Having only 66 pages, it is a fast read.  The forward, illustrations, and editorial comments add to it.

It has been on my Kindle since 2014, so I am elated to have given it its due by reading and appreciating it finally.