Hooked on Books discussion

I read Starter Villain. It was my first (and only so far) book that I've read by Scalzi. It was quirky and cute. The cover was what grabbed my attention! It's a bummer that the giveaway is not offered in Canada! (Does that happen a lot?)

I read Murder Your Employer. I absolutely LOVED it. I thought it was clever and really well written. I hope you enjoy it!!

Sounds like some interesting family dynamics. Relationships are tricky but it sounds like you and your brother have a system in place that works well for you both! The travel distance between the two of you probably makes it difficult though.

What old movies do you enjoy? I have a cousin (the one I mentioned earlier) who loves old movies. She sent me a list of her favorites. I must confess I haven't seen most of them but I told her I'd try to make the effort. (I'm not much of a movie watching person in general - I seem to lack the attention span for anything longer than 120 minutes lol)

I took my spin. Flower on cover - shouldn't be too hard!

Did you enjoy Mr. Mercedes? I'm a big King fan but I have not read those books. I tried to watch the series on tv but couldn't really get into that either. I think I just enjoy some of his older stuff more than his newer stuff.

Enjoy the week with your son!

I haven't read Starter Vision. It looks interesting, I'll have to check it out. I don't know how many of the giveaways don't make Canada. I think this is the first time I've tried to enter a giveaway because a friend did. I usually go to the giveaways and look at the ones offered in Canada. In general, the US usually gets more offerings of most things than Canada does...except ketchup chips and kinder surprise eggs lol

Don't get me started on old movies. :D I love John Wayne (top 3 being The Quiet Man, El Dorado, and McClintock (Taming of the Shrew set in the Old West and includes every racist stereotype you can come up with....it's super cringe to watch but, despite the stereotypes, it's the whiteman that ends up being he butt of the jokes) Doris Day movies are also very top of the list especially With Six, You Get Eggroll...but Don't Eat The Daisies and the three movies she did with Rock Hudson are also great comforts. Cat Ballou with Jane Fonda, anything with James Garner, The Marx Brothers movies, can't forget George Burns stuff from the 70s and 80s. The original Mash movie with Donald Sutherland from 1970, Shirley Temple movies have always been a bright spot. I also have a huge swath of movies from the 70s, 80s, and 90s altough all that's coming to mind are The Muppet Movie, Ghostbusters, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Caddyshack, Harry and the Hendersons, Trading Places....oh can't forget John Candy movies...Uncle Buck, The Great Outdoors, Brewsters Millions, Spaceballs (much better than Star Wars and I'll fight you on that one)...Disney Live Action like Old Yellar, Flipper (1963), The Love Bug, Shaggy Dog, The Ugly Dachshund, and I'll stop with my two much watch on Christmas Eve movies....Miracle on 34th Street (1947) and It's a Wonderful Life. THere are SO many more though....like I didn't mention Jerry Lewis. 🤦‍♀️...I made a list in 2019 for my 27 year old coworker who asked for my must watch movie list. He is an accountant and one of the sweetest, kindest, fun loving, caring guys you could meet. If you've ever seen It's a Wonderful Life, he embodies George Bailey (Jimmy Stewart) character and I called my coworker George because I'm one of those people that gives everyone a nickname. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

I did enjoy Mr. Mercedes. It's not a typical scary King, more private eye who dunnit thriller. It's a slow burn with the real action happening in the last 70 pages. I read it several years ago and was kinda meh about it but I want to read the rest of the trillogy and now there is a companion piece too so I needed to refresh the details. I found it better the second time around. I love older King too. I call it when King still had a real editor. I find a lot of his newer books suffer from his long rambling and I often wonder why the editor didn't step in and make him cut. Then I remember that King is a money maker that doesn't "need" an editor in order to sell. My favourite King is The Dead Zone and I LOVE his Richard Bachman seudonym writings.

I did not even know ketchup chips existed!!! My husband gets our daughter the real deal Kinder Eggs every time he goes to Canada and smuggles them back lol. She's 27 but still loves them as much as she did when she was young!

My dad was a HUGE John Wayne fan. I've seen a fair share of his movies. And my grandmother (his mom) was a huge fan of Shirley Temple so I watched some of those as well.

I live about 10 miles from where Jimmy Stewart was born so he's kind of a big deal here. The town has a museum and even a little theater where they play old movies once every day. At Christmas, A Wonderful Life is played quite a bit.

Can't do Old Yeller....

I've not watched any Doris Day movies that I can recall. I've taken notes from your lists and shared it with my movie loving cousin to see what she has and has not watched. Thanks for sharing the spreadsheet!!!

The Shining is my favorite King book but I enjoyed The Dead Zone as well. I read Pet Sematary when I was young and it haunted me for years. I enjoyed the Bachman books (especially Thinner and The Running Man). I bought Fairy Tales but haven't had a chance to read it yet. Do you read his sons and wife as well?

I'm working on my book. I had a bump in the road this week and caught the noro virus and it left me a little down and out. Starting to feel better today thankfully!

I'm so sorry you were sick again. noro virus is nasty and I'm glad you are on the mend. No rush on your book, with my son being home last week, I got even less reading done than I had wanted so I still have a few books to catch up on. But it was awesome having him home and he's back for another stretch the week of Feb 9😁

I would love to see the Jimmy Stewart museum. I don't know a lot about his personal life but so many of his movies he protrayed such a kind hearted man. I saw a picture of my granddad fromthe 1940s a few years ago and he looked very much like Jimmy Stewart and I figure that's part of why I had such an affetion for the actor.

I'd be curious to hear what your cousin thinks of my lists. It's always fun to find other classic movie buffs. And I can't tell you how many times I've bonded with my previous and current partners' dads because of my love for John Wayne. I think it was part of the mandatory criteria to get a "man" card for men of the era. But so many of them were used to their kids rolling their eyes when John Wayne came on, that they were happy that I'd plop right down and enthusiastically watch with them and make plans for the next movie night. (Much to my partner's eye roll and dismay LOL but I figure, if they can't handle my eclectic movie/TV watching, they aren't gonna handle the rest of me and that's proven to be a tried and true litmus test that I've learned not to ignore)

I definitely recommend watching Doris Day if you have the chance. She was such a classy lady but down to earth in her movies with an amazing singing voice. I was also reading this morning that designers loved to dress her because she had a "perfect figure" Either way, her costumes were absolutely stunning, even when playing the "frumpy" housewife. I'll always make the plug for With Six, You Get Eggroll. Not only is the main cast funny, but also Klinger and Father Mulcahey from TVs MASH, as well as, the legendary George Carlin have hillarious bit parts that just add to the fun of the movie. I have just decided my Partner is going to have to suffer through a Doris Day movie marathon if he wants to spend time at my place this week.😈 Maybe he'll finally appreicate the two 55" TVs in my living room and he can play video games on the other screen. 🤷‍♀️

I really liked The Shining, too. I wish the ending of the movie had stuck more with the ending of the book. Have you read Dr. Sleep, the sequal to The Shining? I tried, but I just couldn't get into it. It might have been a mood thing, but I got about a 1/3 of the way through and I just had to give up.

I read Thinner again last year and I had forgotten how it ended. Cheese and crackers, of course, I had to finish at bedtime. THat dang ending gave me quite the nightmare and the eery uncomfortable feeling haunted me for weeks after. My absolute favourite Bachman book, though, was The Long Walk. That one has always stuck with me. My grandma gave me my granddad's copy of the Bachman book set (Rage, The Long Walk, Roadwork, The Running Man) to read when I was 12...that was a few years before Columbine happened so Rage wasn't as scary or unsettleing as it is post mass school shootings....but the impact of The Long Walk when the first kid got his third strike still sends shivers down my spine when I think of it. I was not expecting it at all.

Speaking of which, if I find the paperback edition of the Bachman books with Rage included, I buy it and share it with my friends. I still have my granddad's hardcover edition (he didn't enjoy King) but I always seem to have a paperback copy hanging around to pass off.

I have not read anything by his wife and son, although I've browsed his wife's writing at the libary, the books just don't grab my attention. I do have at least one of his son's work on my TBR, but I haven't made it a priority. I've seen Fairy Tales but I haven't actually read anything about it, not even the synopsis. I'll have to go do that.

Finished my book finally!

I'm so glad you has some time to spend with your son and that you get to do it again soon!

I shared your list with my cousin. She was thrilled to have some new suggestions. She told me to suggest that you watch Mildred Pierce if you haven't already.

Others on her list included Arsenic and Old Lace, Charade, To Catch a Thief, Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sunset Boulevard, Bringing Up Baby and Gentlemen Prefer Blonds. (There are more but I'll leave you with that lol)

I agree with you that I wish The Shining ending had stayed consistent. I believe I actually read somewhere the King was not happy with it either.

I forgot all about The Long Walk. I was very young when I read it. I may have to do a re-read. I love that you give copies of Bachman books to people. I enjoying sharing what I read with others as well!

I did read Dr. Sleep. I didn't love it. Did you watch the film?

Joe Hill has some pretty good books. I suggest The Fireman and Horns (which actually became a movie with Daniel Radcliff I believe!)

I'm glad your cousin found some new ones to add to her list. I've seen Bringing Up Baby and Gentleman Prefer Blondes but not the others. I can't wait to watch Arsenic and Old Lace. I LOVE excentric old lady aunts. I'm not going to murder my gentleman callers (unless they REALLY deserve it) but I definitley strive to be known as the excentric aunt to my nieces and nephews.

The main reason I share the Bachman books is I think it's a shame that Rage has been pulled by production. I realise it was the author's choice, but I feel it should be shared. You should definitely reread The Long Walk. I can send you a paperback copy if you need 😉

King hasn't been happy with a lot of the film adaptations of his works. And I don't blame him, a lot of his stories get butchered by Hollywood. I think The Green Mile was the most faithful adaptation of a King story. The Shawshank Redemption was pretty faithful too although I think they expanded the ending but it's been a while since I've read the original story so I could be misremembering. I have not seen the Dr. Sleep movie. I'm one of those if I know there is a book, I prefer to read it first so that I can envision the story my way before I'm influcenced by the casting choices (and voices).

I didn't realise Joe Hill was King's son. I was thinking about Owen King when I replied earlier. I'll have to check out his books.

I'm off to roll. Hopefully the book I'm about to start for one of my other challenges will fit the prompt. 🤞🤞

I didn't realize Rage was pulled tbh. Then I started looking online and the price for copies of the book are insane! Do you just luck out and find them at used bookstores or something?

I love The Green Mile. I can remember reading them as each tiny installment slowly came out and waiting (impatiently) for the next one to be released!

We are gearing up for an ice storm here so I may just be staying inside for the 36 hours or so. I should have a bit of extra time so I'm going to look for one of those old movies to watch I think.

My daughter and I have plans to do a speed puzzling competition tomorrow night but it's really going to depend on the timing of the ice. Do you enjoy board games and/or puzzles?

I find copies at Value Village (our version of Goodwill) for about $5. We also have an independent 2nd hand bookstore that sells them for about $7. One or the other almost always has a copy when I'm looking for one. I've also found them at garage sales and the like too.

The Green Mile movie came out when my brother was 11 and my mom took him. It was one of the few times they went to an in theatre movie together. They both loved it but the amount of flack that my mom got for taking him to that movie. He and my mom had long chats over the subject matter and the history and social implications, etc. etc. It was a great learning exprience for him. Not to mention, if those people giving my mom flack, as well as my mom, knew the crap I was letting my brother watch, they'd realise that The Green Mile was very tame.

I'm so glad we don't have to deal with ice storms in Saskatchewan. We get deep freezes and lots of snow, but not ice.

Definitely find an old movie. I tried finding the movies that you had listed and couldn't find one on my streaming channels. I did find a Jack Lemmon/Walter Matthau movie from 1966 called The Fortune Cookie. Very enjoyable. I love when those two are paired in a comedy.

I was also telling my mom about our movie conversation and she suggested Rock Hudson's "Man's Favourite Sport" from 1964. We talked for so long about movies on Thursday night that she decided to spend her birthday on Sunday with me watching Please Don't Eat the Daisies and The Sunshine Boys, two movies she hadn't seen.

I LOVE boardgames and puzzles. I absolutely SUCK at doing puzzles though. I get completely frustrated trying to do anything over 300 pieces and even that takes me a lot longer than it should. My son has always been a puzzle whiz so I have to remember to tell him DO NOT TOUCH my puzzle if I leave an unfinished one on the table. And then the next thing he knows, I'm begging him to help me because I"m stuck. LOL I wish I had room in my living room for one of those puzzle tables that I could just walk by and work at it in fits and spurts.

I do love boardgames though. When I was a little girl, I often played boardgames by myself. I'd set up Monopoly with three or four players and play everyone myself. or my cousin and brother and I would play. I never learned the rules of trading properties and auctioning and the actual rules of adding houses and stuff. We'd just play until all the properties were purchased and add houses and hotels as we pleased. Then, we'd either loose interest or we'd lose all our money. I never understood why so many people hate the game and the monopoly fights that you hear about so often. It wasn't until I started playing it on the computer that I realised the "real" rules.

I also love the Game of Life, Payday, my partner's family plays a mean game of Munchkin every Christmas. We also had a couple handmade wooden games that my granddad made. We called them the Marble game but it's actually called Frustration or very like Trouble/Double Trouble. and the other one we call Kings Corner but the commercial name is Sequence. Basically I like competitive games where you roll the dice and move the pieces. My exhusband and his friends really liked the coooperative games with complicated rules and instructions. His buddy would teach one to us as we played and then we'd never play it again. It was exhausting. They also enjoyed playing Risk or Axis and Allies. They hated playing with me (although I love RISK) because I'd go all in with no real strategy that they could pin point and I'd make it much further than anyone would expect me too as I whittled down my armies to next to nothing.

Oh, can't forget CARDS! I LOVE LOVE LOVE cards. Canasta, Cribbage, Kaiser, Hearts, Fish, UNO/Crazy Eights, Sticks (like rummy), my partner is teaching my son and I to play texas hold em poker. I'm always up for a card game. My ex inlaws were big Bridge players (to the point of being bridge club members) and I asked them to teach me but my ex did not like Bridge and wouldn't play so my exMIL could teach me. And I think she was releaved that we didn't have the 4th player, she never seemed enthusiastic about my interest in the game. She is a stiff lady but still caring in her way. I think I did pretty good in the Mother in Law lottery. And I completely cashed out in the Father In Law department. Definitely a kindred spirit and I love him so much. It was my biggest lost with the divorce.

Also, as an update, I'm half way through my book, and I'll be done this afternoon.

I finished my book and have updated the spreadsheet.

Okay - I rolled - UGH - I got read a book with the word "quintessential" in the text! I started looking but it was late last night and the only thing I found was White Oleander and I'm not sure that's what I want to read. So I'm going to look some more!

I don't usually find too many good books at Goodwill or our Thrift Store. I'm going to have to try harder. I also live in a small town so perhaps when I go into the city I can browse the stores there.

Isn't it funny how we tie books and movies and songs to certain times and memories in our life? I'll hear a song from 30 years ago and I will be instantly transported back in time.

I don't remember The Green Mile being at the theaters. I'm not even sure where I first watched it. Does your brother vividly recall the experience with your mom? I love that she turned it into a learning moment for him. There were a lot of heavy topics that surfaced throughout the story.

I've added your recommendations to my watch list. I'm looking forward to watching The Sunshine Brothers. I've always been a big Walter Matthau fan!

The ice storm rolled in last night and then it was followed by huge thunderstorms that rattled the windows and shook the house (definitely not the season for them). My daughter and I were supposed to go to a speed puzzling competition but skipped it because we didn't want to get caught out in the freezing rain.

I love puzzles! There's always one on the table in mid completion. My husband originally would get frustrated doing them but over time has come to enjoy them as well. We have totally different methods as to how to approach doing them though!

We love board games as well. My daughter is a huge fan of Monopoly and we have so many themed editions of it. (I don't love it though!) I'd rather play Clue, Life, Scrabble, and even Candy Land or Chutes and Ladders when she was younger. We have game night with my daughter, her husband and the in-laws whenever we can.

My neighbor hosts card night now and again. I can't remember the name of the game we play but we only play one game because there are so many rounds and it takes a long time to play. I've not played Bridge but was interested in it. Is it tough to learn?

I was looking through the games you mentioned and I've played Hearts, Fish, Crazy Eights, Rummy and poker. My dad and my grandfather were big poker players. My dad's favorite vacation was a trip to Vegas. I learned gambling at a young age lol but card night at my grandparents was one of my favorite things when I was younger. I miss those days!

Okay - well I'm off to scour some more books. There are a lot with the word in the title (but perhaps not in the text) but none sound interesting at all lol. Fingers crossed I find something good!

Carrie wrote: "Okay - I rolled - UGH - I got read a book with the word "quintessential" in the text! I started looking but it was late last night and the only thing I found was White Oleander and I'm not sure tha..."

I live in the largest city in Saskatchewan so while we are tiny in comparison to the rest of the world (250,000) our thrift stores get a lot of paperback book donations, as well as, our Symphony Orchestra has a huge multi week booksale that they collect books for all year long. I found an out of print for 30 years autographed book by my granddad's favourite author one year that they were selling for only $1.50. It is priceless to me as I was able to give my granddad a signed book and it turned out to be a title that he'd never been able to find. The author, Clarence A. Boon, was a self published retired farmer living in Manitoba who wrote about being a homesteader in Saskatchewan (in minute detail all the fields planted and crops yeielded, and the harrowing, and the threshing, and the gardens, and exact dimensions and materials of each house, outhouse, barn, shanty, bin you get the picture by my granddad and I devoured them) starting from emigrating in the early 1900s usually through at least the aftermath of WWII but often right up to the author's present day. His books came out in the 70's and 80's and were readily availble through the early '90s.

My brother does remember seeing The Green Mile. It's one of his favourite movies. My mom didn't shy away from discussing heavy topics with us growing up. She kept it as age appropriate as she could but if couldn't, she was straight up and she didn't talk down to us.

My partner's sister is also a huge monopoly collector. She always has one or two themed games she's looking for. It's become my thing to get her a new monopoly game every year. This year it was Garbage Pail Kids, last year was Animal Crossing, and our first Christmas was Sailor Moon. My favourite is the standard version, I have my dad's board and money from 1967...houses, too, but all the character tokens disappeared before I came along. It's the board I played as a kid. I also really like the Mario Kart Gamer Edition, kind of a step up from Monopooly Jr., much easier and quicker than the big games.

My son loves Clue. He's always wanting to play and even though he has a very nice standard Clue game that we bought in 2012, he was SO excited to get a used standard edition from 1981 for Christmas this year.

I never did learn Bridge. It is a difficult game to learn so I'm told, so I assume it's difficult to teach. I'm not really big on complicated games so maybe it's good I didn't learn. I'd be curious to know the card game you play with your neighbours. Different regions have different names for the same games.

Also, what's your puzzling strategy? I sort between edge and inside pieces, do my best to turn them all right side up, and build the outside frame first. I get stuck when it comes to doing the inside. I use the box picture to get the pieces into areas that I think they match up too and just do my best to force them together. I struggle to see patterns and such though.

Good luck with your book. I hope you find one that you actually want to read. Take your time, I won't be ready to spin until after the weekend anyway. White Oleander has been on my list for a long time but I always hesitate because I know it's going to be a heavy read...I might see if I can find an audio version. I don't get as imaginative and invested with the storyline when I listen to a book because I'm always doing something else at the same time. 🤔

That's a great story. It's nice to find rare editions and the signed one you found sounds incredibly rare! I'm guessing the books had special meaning due to their setting?

Those are some editions of Monopoly I've not seen. Our favorites are a Barbie edition in a pink satin case, Dogopoly, one for the Steelers (our football team0 and we have a cool Nascar one as well. I'd have to think what other ones she has...

We went to the Finger Lakes this year in NY for vacation and we stopped at the Corning Glass Museum. They had an all glass edition of Clue - $250. They also had one of Monopoly. They were fantastic!

I forgot to ask my neighbor about the game but I will find out. It'll drive me crazy until I do lol.

When I puzzle, I do complete the outside edges first. From there, I'm all about shapes and colors. Often I divide the pieces by what shape they are. My husband is picture driven. He looks at a piece and imagines where it fits in in the overall picture. I, on the other hand, don't even look at the box! It doesn't matter to me if the puzzle is even being assembled in the right direction. For him, we have to have the bottom of the puzzle closest to where we sit.

I did find a book. I had never heard of the author and it's part of a series and not the first one but I'm working through it. Hope to be finished soon!

The signed copy isn't as rare as I thought when I found it. Apparently, he did a whole big batch of them. But yes, the stories are very much most Saskatchewan settlers' stories and could very easily have been my granddad's father's story. And most any farmer that sowed a field by horse/oxen/plow appreciated the minute detail he went into regarding farming.

That glass Clue sounds amazing. Bodan would love it and my partner's sister would like the Monopoloy, I think. My partner's 12 year old is all about chess and he would absolutely love to get his hands on a Minecraft themed chess board. Having it be sandstone or glass pieces would be that much better. His older sister bought him a georgous magnetic wood set for christmas, the board folds in half to make a case and each piece has it's own velvet (or felt?) form to sit in. He was so proud of it. My dad bought him a plastic chess board that you store the plastic pieces in, and all the pieces are labeled with the name of the piece as well as the diagram for how they move. He loves that one too, not only does it help him teach his little sisters how to play, he can travel with the set and it's not a big deal if he loses it as my dad only paid $3 for it from the thrift store. I forsee the boy collecting Chess boards like his aunty does Monopoly....the whole family are collectors,, my partner has 467 transformer action figures that he's been collecting since he was 5, as well as a crap ton of merch, and his lovely girlfriend enables his collection as much as her pocket book allows. It boggles his mind that I don't give him any flack for it. Of course, i can't give him flack or he might take issue with my Care Bears lol

Your husband definitely puzzles like I do. The box is my crutch, I alsways start out sitting at the bottom of the picture. However, if I get stuck, I do move so I'm looking at a different angle. My dad bought me two new Garfield puzzles that are only 100 pieces (my dad knows me ❤) although they have the 3d picture which is hard on my eyes. I'm going to try your shape idea and see how I do with that. I do like puzzling, and I know I'll get better if I practice more regularly.

I'm glad you found a book and I hope it's enjoyable. I had the same thing happen to me last year during Turf Wars at AMMP (it's played similar to RISK but we just collect territories) I needed a book with Silver or Gold in the title and had high numbers in the page count (like 198) So I ended up finding a Western series byGary McCarthy. The book I listened to was Silver Shot #5 in the series. The story/series is about a former boxer turned dime store novelist researching his latest book who ends up having a dimestore novel adventure. The book was so well paced, gave enough backstory that you knew how the characters were related, but it really just focused on the current story. It was a great gem to find and I'm starting at the beginning of the series now. The Derby Man I haven't looked but I'm hoping there are print copies out there somewhere because my dad would very much enjoy the series.

Finished my book - It was the 6th in the series but it was okay as a stand alone. I know there was a bit of character background that I was missing but it didn't make much difference to the plot lines.

So, do you know how to play chess? I've always wanted to learn. I've seen sets with glass pieces and they are amazing.
Here's a link to the Corning Museum of Glass and a fabulous chess set:

https://glasscollection.cmog.org/obje...

I don't know if you ever come to the states but Corning, NY is a great place to visit!

I think it's great to collect something. That's a lot of Transformers!!! (I loved Care Bears!) Do you have the items displayed for everyone to see and enjoy?

Mu husband was military and we lived in Italy back in the 90s. I statrted collecting Myth and Magic figures from the Tudor Mint. I love wizards and dragons. The set makes me happy. They are much harder to find in the states (but I actually think back in the day they could be found in Canada as well!)

Speaking of my husband, he was in Canada all this week (but in Ontario). He said they got around a foot (28 centimeters I think) of snow. We got snow back here as well but not that much lol!

You'll have to let me know if the shape thing works for you when puzzling. My husband is a box person and he absolutely does not think the shape thing works lol.

I'm glad you enjoyed the book. I'll have to check it out. You missed putting your page count in the spreadsheet, the book you linked said 316 pages so that's what I entered. I have rolled and need to find a book with "family" in the text. Not fair that I got such an easy word. 🤦‍♀️

I do know how to play chess although not very well. I belonged to the chess club when I was in grades 2 through 4. I never got the knack of strategy though and I'm more of a reactionary player. I usually win by sheer dumb luck but I still have fun messing with my opponent. I was not expecting the chess set that you linked too. It is adorable. I was thinking traditional pieces but in glass. Also, I've never been to New York. Only Disney World once 12 years ago. I'd like to do a car tour driving down threw the Dakotas, Kansas, Houston over to South Carolina and up the East Coast through Pensylvania, Boston, Maine and then drive home via Quebec, Ontario, and Manitoba. Although misses Chicago, so I might come south from Toronto. It's all a pipe dream, I don't have the money, time off work, or vehicle to make that kind of trip anytime soon. Oh, I need to detour down to Florida too. Half the places I want to hit (Kanasa, Florida, Pennsylvania) are to visit friends, the other half are because I've read and watched so much about them, I want to experience the actual places. (Texas, Carolinas, Boston, Maine, and now I have to add the Jimmy Stewart museum 😁)

I've updated my profile picture with my Care Bear collection or you can go into my profile and other photos to make the picture bigger. This sits in my living room where I can look at it all day when I'm home. The oldest one is Cozy Heart that I've had since I was a little girl. I also had Bedtime Bear but he was given away when I went through the "I'm too old for toys" phase when I was 13. I only kept Cozy Heart because she was purple. The BedTime Bear on my shelf is a replacement my mom bought me last Christmas. Except for Grams Bear, Grumpy, and Good Luck Bear that I bought in 2004, Wishbear from 2004 but bought in 2021, and the little ShareBear and True North Bear (white with a Maple Leaf symbol) that my Partner's kids bought me two years ago, they are all 1980s era. Next on my list are Lotsa Heart (elephant), Bright Heart (Racoon), Baby Hugs (the pink one) and an Original Share Bear. Not shown in the picture is my Baby Hugs and Tugs bedside lamp, two 18 oz Coffee mugs (that I use all the time) , an 11 oz Hallmark coffee mug with carebear cousins on it from 1984, and a kids Friend Bear plastic cup shaped like a coffee cup from the 80s. Those two sit on my other book shelf with a couple other special mugs. I also want to get a Wishbear tattoo with my Son's name and birthdate in the rainbow tummy symbol. I just haven't figured out placement, nor do I have the money.

I looked up your Myth and Magic creatures and I've seen them and loved them over the years, but never knew what they were called. My best friend's dad owned a DnD, Magic The Gathering style shop when we were 11 and I remember those being part of his inventory, or similar ones anyway. I had a palmsized dragon curled around an orb in high school but I don't know what happened to it.

The weather in Ontario is absolutely brutal right now. We had snowfall like that before Christmas and now we are in frigid temperatures with a week of -35 to -45 (and that's the same no matter if you are in Celcius or Farenheit) but at least we haven't had planes landing upside down on our runways. (Searchup Toronto Pearson Airport weekend plane crash Fortuantely, no fatalities.)

This weekend, I was at a flea market and found a 500 pcs album cover of The Monkees Greatest Hits. It's outside my usual piece limit but I want to build it, glue it, and hang it on my wall (The Monkees have been one of my favourite bands since I was in 8th grade...everyone else was on the BackStreet Boys band wagon and I'm rockin' out to I'm a Believer 🤓) I measured my coffee table and it's just the right size to work on my puzzle while I watch TV. So i'll get that started tomorrow with the shape attack. I haven't had time to put together Garfield yet...maybe I should do those first to build momentum

Thanks so much for adding my page count. I appreciate it!

Travel is expensive for sure. We used to reveal much more than we do now. The states you have on your list are vastly different, so there would be a lot of different things to see!

I'm partial to Pennsylvania lol... It's a beautiful state with some pretty great places to visit! It's really nice for someone who likes the outdoors because there are a ton of state parks.

I've not been to Kansas or the Dakotas. I've been to Florida a ton of times. It's hot lol. Nice beaches and theme parks. Not been to Houston either but we lived in New Mexico which has a lot of great things to see and do. They have a spectacular hot air balloon festival and of course, Roswell is there (if you like that kind of thing).

South Carolina is a beautiful state as well. We've been there for beaches and dirt bike races.

I dream of living in one of the Northern states like Maine, Massachusetts or Rhode Island! Doubt that will happen but it's a nice thought!

Ive only been to Toronto and Niagara Falls in Canada. We did all the touristy things while we were there but we had a great time!

I'lll have to go look at your Care Bear Pics when I finish this. I remember I had one but I can't remember which one it was. I think it had a rainbow on it...so is that Wishbear??? And your user name?

Do you have other tattoos? My husband got his ring finger done in place of wearing a wedding ring. I have always considered it but have yet to act on it.

I saw the plane accident. It's great news there were no fatalities. I can't imagine being inside that aircraft when it happened though! The US had 2 fatal accidents in recent weeks. I fear more may be on the way with cuts to our FAA.

Did you start the Garfield puzzle yet?

The carebear with the rainbow symbol is Cheer Bear. Wishbear has a yellow shooting star that looks like a rainbow but only in yellow. But yes, that's where my username comes from. My actual name is Mollie.

I have one tattoo that I got on a whim three years ago. It's Disney's Stitch on my right calf. I love it. It was done by a 16 year old apprentice but she is phenomenal.

I did do one Garfield puzzle, I tried really hard not to look at the box, but I still put the puzzle together like it was a picture. and I eventually had to look because I thought 4 pieces (of the same colour) were supposed to go together as a banner, but it was actually little squares of paper. Spread across the whole picture. I'm planning to attempt my Monkees puzzle this weekend.

I've been to North Dakota and Disney World in Florida. I took my son to Orlando when he was 8 because I didn't want pay adult prices for him. And When I was little the first three "school" facts that I learend were: Bismark is the capital of North Dakota, 4 times 4 is 16, and R-A-B-B-I-T spells rabbit. so since we had our passports after the Disney trip, my son and I went to Bismark North Dakota for our last mommy and son summer vacation before I got married in 2015 (subsequently divorced in 2020, but we didn't know that at the time) It was a great little road trip and adventure.

I've never been East of Winnipeg. I've always wanted to go to Toronto to see a Blue Jays baseball game at their home stadium that used to be known as the Skydome but was rebranded to Rogers Stadium 🤢 several years ago. I also LOVE waterfalls. I'd never seen one in person until I went to B.C. in 2020. There were big ones (not like Niagara of course) but full up on the mountainside as opposed to the smaller ones that kinda trickle down the stream. I found that I preferred the smaller out of the way ones. Although, I do like putting Niagra Falls You tube drone videos on when I'm reading or need my day brightened.

It's so hurtful to see what's happening in the states. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone. And I hope that...i don't even know what to hope for anymore. 😥

On a brighter note? I'm done my book, so feel free to roll away.
Also, are you good with continuing past next Friday (the offical end of the game?) I'm happy to continue until we have a winner. but i understand if you other commitments.

I was looking at your picture. I don’t remember ever seeing any that weren’t bears before. I love the bunny one. My favorite bear is probably the green one. I saw that you also have a Cabbage Patch kid. My mom spent forever searching for one for me and my daughter that had our birthdays. She managed to find us both one. I’ve kept them in their original boxes!

So we actually went to the stadium that you mentioned to watch a SuperCross race. I remember looking at all the Blue Jays banners that were hanging. That was also the first time I ever had poutine!

It sounds like a great trip you and your son had. Disney is so great to visit but can be exhausting. Was the Stitch ride there yet when you visited?

The Falls is a pretty short trip for us so we’ve been there multiple times. It’s only about a 4 hour car ride. My favorite visit was when we went and the falls were frozen and lit up. We ate dinner in a tower restaurant that rotated and just watched the Falls the entire time. It was a beautiful sight.

We also saw some pretty beautiful falls when we went to Hawaii years ago. What was also cool was watching lava pour into the ocean. Definitely one of the neatest things I’ve seen.

It’s very difficult (at least for half of us) in the States right now. We are seeing our government being torn apart and some seriously concerning decisions being made that will impact not only us but the entire world I fear. I keep hoping for some checks and balances to kick in.

I would definitely like to play to the end. This has been one of my favorite challenges tbh.

With that said, I’m laughing at my newest task - Ready? Read a book with a purple cover that has gold lettering! Pretty specific. I’ll need to search.

Did you start the Monkees puzzle? (As I typed that I started singing Hey Hey we’re the Monkees in my head lol). We just finished one called Zen. It was a really pretty image with a Japanese Pagoda and gardens on it. My husband gets next pick!

The bunny is SwiftHeart Rabbit. If you search YouTube for Care Bears The Great Race (part 1 and 2) or Home Sweet Homeless (parts 1 and 2) these episode feature the Care Bear cousins, which are the non-bear Care bears. Care Bears live in Care-A-Lot, the cousins live in The Forest of Feelings which is all part of the kingdom of caring. As the Nelvana series progressed, the more popular cousins just started appearing as regular inhabitants of Care-A-Lot.

CareBears are split into 2 distinct cartoons. The first being the Dic series. This was the original introduction to carebears after Hallmark released the greeting cards. The have 13 episodes of cartoon and two movies. their theme song was "I wanna be a carebear" the Nelvana series was arguably the more popular one. It ran for three sesasons and went into syndication. their theme song was "Care Bear Count Down, 5-4-3-2-1" the Nelvana series is the one that has the two episodes I referenced above. If you have Tubi (a free streaming channel) they have both Dic and Nelvana CareBears available for streaming...but that might just be a Canadian thing.

Okay, enough CareBears LOL... the cabbage patch on my shelf, was my big Christmas present the year i turned 3. I don't know if she had the same birthday as me or not, that info is long lost. I do know that the dress she is wearing now, was a dress my Aunt made for me when I was 3 months old. My cabbage patch doesn't have a name but she was my constant companion for years.

Also, the little white and pink bear with the H on the feet is Henry. My very first teddy bear given to me for my first Christmas when I was 3 weeks old by my granddad who's name was Hank (a nicname for Henry). Hank is not the same grandpa that I share the Boon books with. Hank loved reading too but his books of choice were Western themed bodice rippers. (Cheesey, but racey romances.) for some reason, I never developed the same love for that genre.

My grandma (married to my Boon granddad) was a huge Jays fan (and baseball fan in general) if you've watched a League of Their Own, my grandma would have been Gena Davis' character (both young and old) in looks and talent alike although she was born 10 years too late for the league. Anyway, I remember my unkel taking her and my granddad to toronto and her first ever Major League game during the 92 season. I loved ball before then, but the Skydome became my bucket list after that. She loved it so much and talked about it so much and always had a story every time we watched a Jays game after that. One day, i'll make it there.

I'd love to eat at the Skylon restaurant, however, that might be a dining experience by myself as my partner absolutely hates heights. it would be SO breathtaking. As much as I don't like overrun commercial tourist traps like Niagra, I'm jealous that you live so close. It's a 31 hour drive if I stay in canada or 28 hours if I do most of the driving in the states through Chicago. I'd most likely do the states in one direction and Canada the other.

I really hope something comes into play to keep the US from ultimate disaster. I honestly have nightmares of a Russia Ukraine situation with Canada and/or Mexico. Not to mention all of the Human rights violations that are happening. And the way it is impacting politics and public opinion in canada. We will be having a national election sometime this year and the political hopefulls coming out of the woodwork are SO concerning. Even mainstream candidates are getting bolder in sharing their shittier views.

I've really enjoyed this challenge too. A few years ago, I played an Alice in Wonderland shoots and ladders but we moved forwards, backwards, and diagonal, plus whatever shoot or ladder you landed on. It was an individual game too. I ended up in a loop where I couldn't get out of the 35 to 47 section for longer than a turn and I had to keep reading for the same 3 tasks. I finally just bowed out of the game. it was also hard because the mod was doing all the rolling. so I had to wait for them to see my completion, roll and post. this format has been WAY better. Plus, i've really enjoyed getting to know you :)

I did see your prompt for this round. What another terribly specific task. Best of luck finding a book. 🤞

And no, I didn't start the Monkees. I had a very lazy weekend of napping multiple times both days and when i was awake, it was only because my partner wanted me to come out shopping with him or to make something to eat. Hopefully, I'll get to it later this week. Your Zen puzzle sounds nice. Have you seen the Calm series of puzzles? they are linked to the Calm app, a meditation app with all kinds of calming and relaxing mediations categorizaed into moods or time of day or goals. Anyway, the idea is you have a very pretty puzzle to put together (I have a waterfall one and another with a sunset beach scene) and you play the Calm app while you do the puzzle. if you buy the puzzle brand new, you get a 30 day trial of the app. Mine were both 2nd hand, but I got them when i worked at a previous employer who gave us the Calm app as a perk to show that they cared about our mental health. I'm curious to know what your husband is going to pick for yall.

Hey there! I actually went to the library to find a book. It seems most books that fit are either romance or fantasy. I don’t love either but I did find a romance (I think) that works that I started.

I had no idea there was so much stuff surrounding Care Bears. I kind of went down a rabbit hole looking at the stuff! I don’t have Tubi but the videos are on YouTube. (I didn’t realize some bears are exclusive to certain countries - although that makes sense). The triple note bears caught my eye lol.

I love the family stories you have. It’s great that you have made so many memories with your grandparents. I was very close to my grandparents as well. They made my childhood very memorable. When I was in my early 20s, I lived in Italy. Both sets sent me handwritten letters. I kept those letters and will forever cherish them. Sadly they all passed by the time my daughter was 3 so she never really got to know them.

I love A League of Their Own - such a GREAT movie. My dad was a huge baseball fan - he had a huge baseball card collection and was a walking book of baseball statistics. He tried to visit as many baseball stadiums as he could. Fenway Park was his favorite.

The Skydome is really cool. You’ll love it when you visit!

The Skylon - yes that’s it. I couldn’t remember the name. It was spectacular. I can understand the hesitation because of heights but it’s worth a try. (On the other hand, we walked out on the glass floor of the CN Tower and I was terrified!)

I’d like to go to Iceland and Alaska!

Well I’m sure you saw the disaster between Trump and Zelenskyy this week. I hope the world realizes that a large part of the population in the states are not supporting this. I worry for the future so much. I hope your elections are better. We have some special elections coming up so I hope we can balance the House and Senate for some checks on power. I’m worried about US democracy.

I’ll have to look up Calm puzzles. My husband picked a Gloomy Carnival Ravensburger puzzle. My favorite brand. We did the whole thing over the weekend - 1000 pieces.

How was your weekend?

My weeekend was good. Still haven't started the Monkees puzzle. My partner's kids were visiting for the weekend. They live two hours away and are supposed to visit every other weekend but they are also 11 and 12 with extra curriculars that can steal weekends, as well as winter weather prevents travel too. Anway, on the friday nights that we pick them up, they come to my house for supper and we play Mario Party Jamboree on the Nintendo Switch. (Essentially a virtual boardgame) Saturday, we spent the day with the kids, as well as had supper with his older daughter (22) and Sunday we took them back to their mother. Not much time to do other things. I'm picking my son up today as he has 2 weeks off of work and he will be staying with me until March 14.

I looked up the Gloomy Carnival, I agree Ravensburger puzzles are so beautiful. I love their Disney series. However, the really pretty ones are well over my piece limit and I can't justify spending over $20 on a puzzle whether it's 1000 pcs or 300. I generally buy my puzzles from the thrift store but again, fun pictures are hard to come by in the smaller quanties.

I did hear about the Trump/Zelinsky thing although I haven't looked very deeply into it. All I know is that Trump is a bully. And I went on a terrible rant to my partner when I heard Trump's flip response to someone asking him about saying that Ukraine started the conflicted. My heart just hurts for everyone. For those of us who have to watch this dumpster fire, those of you in the middle of it all, and those people who think/thought Lord Farquade....King Ooompa loompa.....this POTUS is/was the best choice. 😢

For travelling outside of North America, I want to go to Ireland (where my boon granddad is from) and travel the British Isles, as well as Sweden. I read so much Scandanavian Fiction that I'd love to eperience it. It's also why I want to travel the British Isles, as I read so much British fiction that I want to experience Cornwall and London and and Portobella Road and yorkshire and Aberdeen and...and...and

I'm glad you've seen A League of Their Own. I agree, it is a great movie.

Speaking of Family Stories and Baseball, here's another, My baseball Gran had 23 grandchildren, and lived on a farm. She loved the fact that there were enough of us that she could have two full ball teams. Unfortuantely, there are 21 years between the oldest and the youngest kid so it was very seldom we all got together. But Grandma had her ball games with whichever of us were on the farm. If there were enough of us for a real game, we played in the pasture and if not, we played pick up in the yard 50 yards from the north side of the house. Grandpa put plexiglass windows on that side in '86 when my cousin put a stray ball through the porch window.

I'm glad you were close to your grandparents. It's such a special bond. What took you to Italy? My other gran was the family corresponder. She and her 5 sisters were always writing letters back and forth and my gran would write letters to any visitors that came through her farm. Women and men alike. (an anomoly in her area and for her generation) We only have one sister left and she's well into her 90s with a touch of dementia so we dont' get letters anymore, just updates from her son. I've tried over the years to keep in touch with my grandma's sisters' families, but it seems that the ones that I click with, as well as myself, didn't inherit the correspondence gene. I do remember getting one letter from my grandma's sister when I was 14. I was much better about writing letters then. My aunt was in her early 70s and had been widowed for about 5 years. She wrote to me about her gentleman caller who used to take her to shows and out for dinner. But she was very insistent that it was a platonic relationship but she couldn't wait for me to find my gentleman caller because she knew the sparks would fly and the fireworks. Sadly, I didn't get my first real boyfriend until after she passed. I cherish that letter though because my great aunt was such a prim and proper lady, and it was so unlike her to talk to anyone like that. When I told her son, who is in his 50s, about it a few years ago, he didn't believe me that his mother would write something like that; when I got home I dug the letter out of my keepsake box and sent him a picture. It was her handwriting all right.

I'm glad I haven't gotten a bookcover task, but I'd definitely be heading to the library to find a book. I hope the book you found isn't compeltely terrible. My coworker loves buying beautiful covers for her bookshelf. But, unfrotunately, most of the books are the YA Fantasy romanace and I just can't stomache most of those.

Sounds like you had a great weekend! Definitely a busy one but those are sometimes the best ones!!

I love puzzles - I have way too many tbh. I pick them up when they are on sale, at the thrift store, on Postmark and our library has an exchange program where you can swap them out. I do occasionally splurge on favorites now and again though!

My husband was military so we spent 3 years in Italy. I worked as a travel agent on base so I had a lot of opportunity to travel. I was allowed to create trips to wherever I wanted if I could get enough people to sign up and go. I ended up seeing many places including Paris, Monaco, London, Austria, Turkey, and Lake Bled in Slovenia to name a few. It was a great 3 years. I would have stayed for another tour but my husband wanted to return stateside (I was pregnant at the time and he wanted to be closer to family).

I love the story about your grandma and playing baseball. Such great childhood memories. My dad's side had 13 grandchildren and I thought that was a lot!

I think it's amusing that your aunt wrote to young you about the new gentleman in her life. What made you keep the letter out of curiosity?

I've not watched the news in recent days. I just can't take it all in. Too much change and none of it seems to be in a good direction. I pray for sanity to sink in but I haven't been feeling optimistic as of late.

The bookcover task is a tough one and I don't love the book I picked. It sounded good (but it's a Harlequin romance) and it's not something I would just pick up and read. I thought I'd be finished tonight but it's looking more like tomorrow morning or afternoon at the latest.

Have you joined more challenges? Do you have weekend plans?
We are going to a bingo fundraiser for a local pet rescue tomorrow. (Bingo reminds me of both of my grandmothers - I took them both every Sunday night for many years!)

Your tour in Italy sounds like a dream. I understand wanting to be home closer to family but what an amazing opportunity.

It was very seldom all of us were at the farm at the same time, however, we managed it a few times over the years. We played a tournament the afternoon of grandma's funeral. We had 6 teams between the six kids and their spouses, the grandkids, the great grandkids, and the friends/neighbours/siblings/others who wanted to join in. The teams were lopsided though, grandma always made sure that there were equal strong and not so strong players on the grandkid teams, but that time, all the "good" players were on one grandkid team. So they took it until it was them against grandma's kids and then they threw the game. It was fun though.

I have kept all of my handwritten letters. I have a 16" x 20" hardsided box that has handwritten letters, newspaper clippings, funeral cards, and other speical things i've received over the years. But I think my aunt's letter stuck with me because it wasthe first time I learned what Platonic meant and it was just one of those words that fascinated me. I also liked the old timey way that she wrote. Like who says gentleman caller to a 14 year old?

I'm sorry your book isn't doing it's thing. Harlequinns are hard. 🙁
Hopefully your next roll will be a winner. 🤞

I am part of the individual Bingo game at Hooked on Books. It's kind of fallen off my radar, but it's also quarterly so I have a few weeks to get my head together. I'm also doing Book Quest Adventure. I'm kinda falling on that one too, however, my team isn't chatty at all, so as long as I get my books posted by the end of the month. It's going well.

The Challenge Factory did a Ghostbusters team challenge that my team didn't finish by the end date but the mod is letting us keep going. I think a chunk of my team has moved on though because it's been weeks since anyone posted a finished book. They do check in though that they are working on their book. 🤷‍♀️ If they post a new prompt, I'll read for it.

Finally, I was placed as a backup player on a team for the Astrological Clue at AMMPs Game Night last last week. I totally forgot to post my book for the week though. Thursday, my partner applied for, was interviewed, and offered a maintaince plumbing job at a mine site that has a two week up, 1 week home rotation. He goes for his first two week rota tomrrow (tuesday) at 6 a.m. So this weekend turned into a panic of getting him ready as well as having his kids home for the weekend. So not only did he get to spend time with them, we also had to do 6 hours of driving to pick them up and return them.

I will miss him while he's gone, but looking on the briteside, I'll get lots of reading done. I still haven't started my puzzle. Maybe Wednesday, but I"m not holding my breath anymore. lol

Oh and I LOVE Bingo. I don't haven anyone to bingo with though. My step-mom and I used to go when I was visiting my dad but she passed away in 2013. I'm looking forward to living in a seniors community so I can play bingo and cards and do puzzles and discuss books and yarn circles and other activities that I love doing but seem to be a few generations above me. LOL

It brought tears to my eyes to read about the game after your grandma's funeral. What a sweet and amazing way to honor her memory 🥰

Isn't it funny how some words grab your attention? Platonic did it for 14 year old you. (My daughter was obsessed with the word onomatopoeia when she learned it in school. She said it every chance she got!)

I think it's great you kept those items. We are similar in some ways. I have a keepsake box that has letters from both sets of my grandparents, old papers from school, my parents diplomas, keepsakes from my high school proms, etc. Priceless...

When my husband and I were just months away from marrying, his parents house burned down. They lost everything so they no longer have family photos and keepsakes from when the boys were young. It was heartbreaking but also really drives home how important those little keepsakes are.

I forgot to post my book this weekend. Sorry about that. I did not enjoy it but luckily it was under 300 pages!

I am in the Ghost Busters challenge as well. Our group decided to keep playing as well. Our current monster has 8 books to read. It's taking me awhile - some are really difficult though.

I'm in Book Quest and Clue as well. I actually wrote all my challenges out with tasks and due dates. I've been lucky because I have typically found books that cover most of the challenges at one time (except that purple cover lol)

Have you heard from your partner? How's the new job? (I realize there's not been much time yet but I hope it's working out!)

My husband has traveled all of our marriage. When we were first married, he joined the military. In the first year, he was gone 9 months of it. We joke now that we wouldn't know what to do if we had to spend everyday together. Covid gave us a trial run though and we did pretty good lol.

We started a new puzzle. It's one of the TOUGHEST puzzles I've ever done. I'll attach a link if I can find one.

We went to the bingo fundraiser this weekend. I won $500 so I pretty excited!!!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCDP5R6C?...

No worries about not posting your book. I ended up getting sick again on Tuesday and was down all week. I'm sorry your book wasn't doing it for you, but at least it's over. I got a white cover task. It took me longer than I thought it would to find a book but I'm reading a Karin Slaughter...is that a pen name? given the topic of this novel Blindsighted, I just made the connection...I'm intrigued and should have it finished in the next day.

We seem to gravitate to the same kind of challenges. I reached out to my Ghostbusters team and they all assure me that they are still interested in continuing and one of the gals promises her book will be finished today or tomorrow. I'm not worried, like I said, I'll read when the next prompt comes up.

I have a spreadsheet with links and tasks and start and end dates to help me keep track. When I was reading more pre pandemic, I was in a lot more team challenges and got in the habit of the spreadsheet to make sure that I didn't miss deadlines or updating. I'm trying to be a lot more choosey about what i join....I do really need to figure out my bingo card though....I have to be close to a blackout.

My partner is doing well at camp. He has a terrible habit of expecting too much from himself when he first starts a job. Figures he should just know things and gets frustrated with himself when he doesn't. that lasted a few days until I reminded him that it always takes a few weeks to get caught up in a new job. This one is even worse because he's the first maintenance plumber on site; he's hired by a contracting company but under the department and supervision of the mine company and neither company would take responsibiilty for him; No materials, no tools. It's been a mess. But things were straightened out after a few days and his tools and materials will be there Tuesday night as well as a 2nd plumber and my partner has a whole list of things that need fixing plus a kitchen expansion to get done.

The food isn't so good but it's 3 squares, a warm private spot to sleep, and all the nature he can take in. So he's happy and looking forward to my cooking.

I think we'll do well with the two weeks apart. We both value our independence and solo activitites. My unkel did roadwork for 40 years of his currently 50 year marriage while my aunt stayed home, raised the kids, and did odd jobs around school. Once he retired, they lasted living together for 3ish years and now my Onkel has his own apartment a few blocks away and they spend quality time together but definitely not a huge quantity. But shhh, I didn't tell you that my unkel doesn't live there anymore...it's the worst kept family secret that I've ever seen but if that's what they want we can pretend with them.

Congratulations on the Bingo win. That's awesome. And your puzzle looks very hard. I couldn't imagine. Did you get it finished?

Hey there! So sorry you were sick. It's that time of year and I think it's hard to avoid!! Are you feeling better now?

I do agree that we gravitate towards the same kinds of challenges. I do like team challenges more than individual challenges (although I do sign up for some of them as well). I feel like individual ones are more like homework lol.

So did your partner make it home for the weekend? Is the job a permanent one or just until the project is completed?

My husband was out all week and I thought I would get a lot of reading done. Instead, I got the urge to super clean my house lol. It's easier when I'm home alone. I guess it was kind of a spring cleaning.

We did manage to get the puzzle done. It was one of the hardest ones I've done though. Did you get your Beatles one finished?

Do you have exciting plans for the weekend? We are working around the house today and going to a fundraiser tomorrow for a local animal rescue.

I am feeling better but it took a while to get my energy back. I hope this is it, but my partner comes home tomorrow and he's been battleing the cold I sent him off with so he might just end up passing it back to me 😥

Currently, he has a 2 month contract meaning he might be done up there around the middle of May, however, there is lots of talk of more needing to be done and the contracts needing to be extended. He thinks probably about a year. But you know never what politics are going to pop up.

This was my last weekend home alone and I ended up sleeping for the majority of it. I did do some cleaning Saturday night, lots of video games, and Sunday afternoon I was cleaning my mom's apartment. She's been away for almost two weeks so it was nice to get a visit in with her. Although, as I'm going to be her "cleaning lady" for the next several months, I told her that going forward, she would need to leave for the 2.5 hours it takes me to do her place. What should have been a 2.5 hour job yesterday, took me over 5 hours because she kept distracting me.

I still haven't started my Monkees. It just sits there, staring at me. I'll try again next week Wednesday after my partner goes back up north. I know I'm not going to have time this week. He has a bunch of personal finance stuff we need to work though, shopping, taxes, his kids AND his dad are coming next weekend, my son is coming next weekend, we have a 75th birthday party to go to Saturday afternoon, and my nephew is coming to stay with me for a week starting tomorrow. I'll barely have time to breath and thank goodness I can read at work.

Speaking of which, I should have my book finished today or tomorrow. I'm almost done but then my Clue book got in the way this weekend.

Hey Carrie, I finally finished my book. It was all right, unfortunately, I was reading three books of similar storylines so I didn't enjoy it as much as i think I would have if it was the only procedural murder mystery thriller that I had on the go.

Just checking in - have just a minute.

I spun before I realized you hadn't finished your book. I kept the number I spun though but I will be reading a different book because I finished the other one.

It sounds like you have been super busy!!! (Good thing you had a chance to catch some sleep!)

Do you often read 3 books at once? I can do that but it's definitely difficult if they are similar storylines!

Carrie, I don't mind bending the rules if you want to keep your book as is? It was my fault that I didn't get that stupid book finished.

I do generally have a few books going at the same time. I always have an audio book and an ebook going so if I have some spare time, I can just pick up and start reading. I also have a paperback on the go because I LOVE physical books and sometimes I just want to curl up and turn pages. Usually there is a 19th Century Novel physical book lurking around with a bookmark, (currently it's Jane Eyre) for when I need a break from "real" life.

With all the different challenges, as much as I try to make one book fit multiple, sometimes I have to switch up and read something quick, which is what happened this time around. One of my challenges has a monthly genre component for bonus points so part of the criteria I made was encorporating thriller into all my other book choices. Meaning I ended up with 3 procedurals (because I do have a type lol) at once with my print book, ebook, and audio book. Plus, someone took my claimed spell out letter in a challenge and since it was a tricky letter, I put the ONE book that wasn't thriller aside until the letter comes back around. Forgetting that it was also the book I was meainng to use for this challenge. Suffice to say, it's all a nightmare mess. I will not be making the same mistake again (I hope)

I'm glad I'm not the only one that tries to make a book work for like 4 different challenges 😂

I'm currently in 2 (you may be in the same ones for Game Night?) but they both require a book a week that has to be posted by a specific date. I try to keep those my priority ones to focus on and try to select books for those that will work for that challenge plus at least one other thing.

Some challenges I've joined have an end date but the team decides to keep going which I'm fine with (I just end up in more things than I intend on).

How was your weekend? Mine was quiet. My husband was gone so I had Saturday to clean and I read an entire book! (It was Slow Horses by Mick Herron. Are you familiar? I guess it is also a series on Apple)
It was a spy thriller which is not something I would usually read but I ended up really liking it.

I'm okay with picking another book to read if you're okay with it taking me a few days to finish.

I'm jealous of your ability to listen to audiobooks. I can't stay focused. (And I'm definitely a physical book in hands kind of reader - I can read an ebook but don't enjoy it nearly as much!)

I have not read Slow Horses. I'll have to check it out. I have added so many books to my TBR since we started this challenge 😊 I love it.

I'm fine if you want to keep reading your other book. It will give me time to get caught up on my other challenges. We are in the same Game Night challenges. I need to clean up all my monthly and quarterly challenges today/tomorrow. And I have the new quarterly ones starting too. I thought I had signed up to be a back up player for a challenge, but I haven't been assigned a team and I don't remember which challenge it was. So I'm kind of crossing my fingers that they don't need me/I only dreamed I signed up. Because you're right, it's super easy to end up in more challenges than we are expecting.

I can't just sit and listen to an audio book. I have to be doing something else. I do a lot of data entry at work that includes a ton of brain power so I can listen then. I also often listen to an audio book while I'm playing my more casual video games like Animal Crossing and Oregon Trail. I also find audiobooks work better for me to stay awake when doing solo roadtrips. It engages my brain more than music. but I can't listen to an audiobook and crochet at the same time. It's not enough mental stimulation on either front. I don't know, my brain is wired wierd. 🤪

My weekend was exhausting and busy. Not only was partner home from up north, his kids, and his dad were here this weekend. Plus, my 24 year old nephew stayed the week at my place, and my son and my dad were here all weekend. Oh, AND, my aunt's 75th birthday party was Saturday afternoon so my boys and I had to go that. It was just busy and my partner, who is a loaner and gets peopled out very easily, kept complaining that he should have stayed up north. Everyone is gone now so he's getting ready to head North tomorrow and I'm at work. When I get home tonight we will have a quiet evening at my house before we have to leave at 4:30 a..m to get him to his pickup spot.

Next time he comes home is two weeks from tomorrow, my son will be home that Tuesday leaving on Wednesday, and his kids will be at his place Thursday night to Saturday, but otherwise, no one extra is invited anywhere near my partner. He's such a grump. 🥰

I have my coffee table all cleared off so Wednesday night, I will be starting that dang Monkees puzzle. It's been taunting me for what? a month? Six weeks? I don't remember how long I've had it, but I'm coming for it. 💪🦸‍♀️

I keep adding books as well. I went to the library and picked up 6 yesterday - no idea when I think I'm squeezing them all in. I love learning about new authors and books that other people enjoy! I've discovered some favorites in that way!

Did you find out if you are a backup player?

Thanks so much for giving me some time to complete the task. Hopefully you are getting caught up on tasks for your other challenges.

I'm fascinated by you and audiobooks. I have tried to simply listen at night - I fall asleep. I have also tried while multitasking like taking a walk or cleaning and I find that my mind wanders in a totally different direction. Maybe I'm picking books with bad readers lol.

I wonder why you can't crochet and listen to an audiobook at the same time...

Are you having a calm week? We had a busy weekend but the week has had a quiet start. My husband is traveling the next 3 days. I'm getting my hair cut tomorrow (very much needed) and I have to watch my 4 year old niece on Thursday for a bit but that's all that's on my calendar.

Is your partner liking/adjusting to the job? How are you doing with the time apart?

Did you start the Monkees puzzle? We are doing an Easter one that's a bit tricky because it's all Easter candy in a candy shop.

Just wanted to let you know I'm still here 😊

My daughter and I decided to take an impromptu girls trip for a few days!

Hey Carrie, that's fantastic. My mom and I should do that, but I guess we kinda are in July if I can figure out childcare for my partner's kids...my mom and son are going to an out of province wedding, depending on where my partner's kids will be, I'll go with them. However, as it stands now, he will be at camp that weekend and the custody schedule is strict in the summer time so historically he has had the kids regardless. (he gets all of July, she gets all of August...no trading) They are far more flexible during the school year, thankfully. If it works out the kids might go to his dad's though.

Anyway, how was your trip? Where did yall go?

Sorry for not replying to your last message. I had half a message typed out and forgot I hadn't finished it or hit send. I did get caught up on my challenges although I think I'm falling behind again. The week my partner came home from camp, I was told that I would be going to part time hours starting May 1 so I've been switching between complete dejection and no motivation to maddly applying for full time work....It wasn't completely unexpected...I had floated the idea of going part time before Christmas to help the company out but we had an employee with an immigration snafu that took her off work for almost 4 months and we lost our IT/Sys Admin, not to mention my partner losing his job, that it just wasn't the right time for me to reduce hours. I thought the company was an upswing...and we are...but the direction we need to go and the focus that needs to be made to keep us viable are out of my skill set. My core duties can be done on a flexible part time basis and that frees up resources to get experience in the sectors we need. I very much believe in my company's product and mission so I'm...happy isn't quite the right word but will do...to take the hit to further our mission. Of all of our staff, I have the most transferable skills (and work experience) to easily find something else in this economy.

So no, I haven't started my puzzle, although I did get my coffee table cleared off again last night and i was really eyeing it. Of course, tonight is mad cleaning as my partner comes home again tomorrow evening, his kids come thursday through Saturday, and my son will be here Thursday/Friday through Monday. Although he's spending the weekend at my mom's because they very much miss each other. His 21st birthday is tomorrow and it's the first time I've missed it. But, I have a great present for him. There is a male group that does a hillarious Golden Girls stage show and they will be in Saskatoon this summer. My boy absolutely LOVES Golden Girls...almost as much as he loves Murder, She Wrote (what can I say? at least I raised him right in some areas) ... so I'm giving him two tickets to the show to take his Grandma and if she doesn't want to go (my mom has a lot of physical health issues), I'm sure he'll invite one of my mom's sisters. I wish I could convince him to try for a job in a retirement home. He'd be absolutely amazing with the residents.

As for my audio book quirks...the crocheting and the audio books dont work together because they serve the same purpose when I do them rather than complimentary activities. It's to keep my brain from wondering. Hoenstly, I really only crochet when I'm visiting because it's rude to look at my phone when my mind starts to drift away. You would think the audio books would help keep my mind on task with the crocheting but it doesnt. You're right, I am an enigma. LOL

Audiobooks at night don't work for me much. They are nice to fall asleep too but I usually listen to one I've heard before. I either find the story or the narrator comforting and I don't really care if I fall asleep and miss something. Although, I have had new books that I"m obssessed with and want to keep reading even at bedtime. For those, I make sure to set the bookmark and then use the sleeptimer. So if I fall asleep, the book only plays for 30 minutes. It's easy to go back and find my spot. If I'm still awake when the book shuts off, I make another bookmark and reset the timer.

I realised typing this out, that I've been listening to Audiobooks since I was a little girl. One of my favourite checkouts from the library when I was preschool age was the book in a bag with a cassette tape. I'd listen to them on my dad's old 70s grey A.M radio/ cassette player for hours, usually without the book after the first 3 or 4 times through. It was always a very sad, grey day when my mom would take me to the library and the children's section was closed because it was in the basement and had a lot of flooding and air quality issues. the cassette books were on a carousel right at the bottom of the stairs that I could almost reach across the barricade to get one.

I keep getting distracted with work things so I'm going to hit post before I lose this again. Can't wait to hear about your trip.

What kind of work do you do and what have you been applying for? I don't know a lot about the Canadian economy or how much influence the US has on it but I'm guessing if this one down here does influence it, things are not great. I've been watching our retirement savings dwindle day by day with the market and prices are continuing to climb.

It sounds like you have a full house and a busy weekend coming up. That sounds like a great gift. I used to watch Golden Girls all the time! Who doesn't love it?? I only watched Murder She Wrote a few times (but I did the challenge on Goodreads for it for the past 2 years plus I have read some of the books!).

You know I never really thought about the audiobooks thing in any other capacity then now. When I was little I remember having the little 45rpm records that came with a book. You would play the record and read along (or not). I used to love those so much. My dad started reading to me when I was very young and my love for reading started before I was in school. It was a great gift he gave me.

I can imagine the disappointment of not being able to grab those cassettes when you visited. Funny the memories that stay with us over time.

My daughter and I went to Hershey, PA (same state where I live and about a 3 hour drive). The first day we went to the Hershey Museum, had a nice dinner and then played games outside in the sports complex where we stayed (think horseshoes, bocce ball, shuffleboard and basketball). We had a ton of fun. I'm not athletic at all (she is though) and we just laughed for hours.

The next day we went to the Hershey Gardens which was a great time. They had a butterfly exhibit which was one of the most amazing things ever. They have them shipped in in chrysalis form and they hatch there. (They check you for butterflies as you leave because it's illegal for any butterfly or moth to leave the exhibit due to disease - interesting).

The room was 80 degrees (F) and humid so it was hot and sweat inducing to say the least. Some of the butterflies were as big as dinner plates. We learned a lot and saw some beautiful butterflies from all over the world.

We went for some spa time after that which was nice. Got some relaxation time and pedicures. Then we went to Chocolate world where we made our own candy bars which was a lot of fun. We had dinner at the Chocolatier (which has mainly chocolate themed food). For example, we order macaroni and cheese to split which was made in a cast iron skillet shaped like a Hershey kiss. It had pieces of barbecue chocolate sauce short rib in it and a cocoa nib gremolata sauce on top. It was very good but we only ate about 1/3 of it between the two of us! My husband enjoyed the leftovers when we got home.

On the final day, we went shopping at the outlets and we discovered a bookstore that is completely mystery themed which was really neat. On the drive home we stopped at Shippensburg at the Trail Head to enjoy some panoramic views. It was a good trip and a nice break from the day to day routine.

My husband is in NY until Monday so it's a quiet weekend here. This is good though - maybe I can catch up on some reading challenges!!

Enjoy your weekend!

(I finished my book and I hope it works. Time travel is considered non linear, right?)

100% time travel counts. I hope you enjoyed your book. :)

Sounds like an amazing time with your daughter. It really makes me want to do something like that with my mom. I live 2.5 hours away from a town called Moose Jaw. They have a Mineral Spa Hotel in the centre of down town...It's too pricey to stay there but an afternoon at the spa would be fun. Moose Jaw is also famous for their underground tunnels. During the building of the railroads, our "cheap" labour were Chinese Migrants that, of course, were treated horribly and they ended up living in tunnels under the city in the 1800s. In the 1920s, Al Capone is said to have lived in the tunnels when he was on the run. Moose Jaw does fabulous interactive history tours with lots of audience participation. One tour is the history of the Chinese and the other tour is Gangster themed. I lived in Moose Jaw for almost 2 years (it's where I went to college) and I never made it to the tunnels. one day i will though.

When I do my USA roadtrip, Hershey is one of the places I want to stop. I've heard of it before and have always wanted to visit. Unfortunately, the butterfly exhibit is one of my worst nightmares. I really dont like winged creatures. Butterflies, moths, bees, wasps, birds, dragonflys...even ladybugs. I know they are good for the environment but they can stay the hell away from me LOL That being said, the exhibit sounds cool as long as I had a glass particion to look through.

I'm an Office Manager at my current job and I've been an administrative professional my entire 21 year career. But my favourite spot has been in the office since I was a tiny girl...my dad was service manager at a garage and would take me to work with him Saturday mornings when I was a toddler. He'd get me a glass bottled root beer from the soda machine and sit me at his desk and I'd entertain my self for hours playing with the adding machine. When I was 7, I asked for piano lessons. Instead, my mamma brought home an old electric typewriter from her office, set me up a desk, and taught me to type with her old college typing texts. I was typing 86 words per minute by the time I was in high school. I immediately when into secretarial school after high school and my class was 65% women in their 30s and above who were retraining after a factory closed down. They had very little computer experience and most started the class only typing 20ish words per minute. They used to get so anxious taking typing tests with me because I was so fast and I hit the keys so hard (because of learning on the old typewriter) that eventually, we went through all the keyboards in the computer lab to find the quietest one and then I sat in the far corner of the room from everyone else so they could concentrate better. It didn't bother me. I had taken all the computer classes and accounting classes in high school that I could fit in my schedule so that my first year of college, I was working way ahead of everyone else because it was just a rehash of what I did the previous four years. I didn't start needing to actually work until my 2nd semester of my 2nd year.

I've had a few interviews this past week. It is a little tough up here but not like is happening in the USA. But we are very tied together and there is a lot of unease and uncertainy on what is going to happen. I did have a promising interview last week and should hear something this week hopefully. I don't like having to job hunt, but i'm not worried about finding another job. I have lots of experience across different industries. Currently, I'm working in Medical Software, but I've worked for a big accounting firm, manufacturing plant, a mine and a law office. I also LOVE bookkeeping and wish I had gotten an accountancy diploma when I was in college along with the secretarial training. I might one day but I'm not in a mindframe or financial position to take on school right now.

Reading was huge in my house too. As well as both of my grandparents houses, I come from a huge family of readers (and teachers on my mom's side) there are always books around. My little brother and my son struggle to read but they still always have a book on the go and my son is a huge book collector. He always apologises for buying a book because he knows he probably won't read it, but I tell him all the time that hardly anyone ever reads every book they buy. And that he never knows what will pull his interest. I'm off to spin for my book.

Ugh. I got red and white cover. Oh well, I'll find something.

I’ve not heard of Moose Jaw but it sounds as if it has a fascinating history. I love to take tours like the ones you mentioned and learn everything I can.

It’s funny you mentioned never making it to the tunnels even though you lived there. I’ve done that twice that I can quickly recall (with some regret). When we lived in Italy we were a short drive from Florence and did not go see the statue of David! We also lived in Alamogordo New Mexico and we did not attend the Hot Air Balloon Festival in Albuquerque. Now we live a short drive from Punxsutawney and have never been there for Groundhog’s Day (are you familiar?).

I laughed out loud (no offense) at your butterfly fear (not because you are afraid of them) but because my daughter is also terrified of moths and butterflies! How crazy you both would have the same fear. I thought she was probably one of only a few people who would have that fear. When we went to the exhibit she spent a lot of time ducking and asking me to check and make sure nothing landed on her. She tolerated going in for my benefit which was really sweet.

I love birds and to go birdwatching but I am afraid of stinging insects like wasps and hornets. Not a fan of snakes or spiders either. Oh and I hate heights (although that came with age!)

I wish I had your talent with a keyboard. I actually took typing in school. I’m a 3 or 4 finger typer lol but I can get the job done fairly quickly lol. It is definitely a big transition going from an old fashioned typewriter to a keyboard. I can remember pushing hard in those keys so the ink would fully form the letter on the paper!

Have you thought about going back to school for bookkeeping? I wish I would have got a degree as a librarian or a reading specialist.

Do you think you will take the job you interviewed for if offered? Is it full time?

Red and white cover sounds like a tough one…

Hey Carrie, just checking in. the past few weeks have been a struggle. It's been hard going to work everyday knowing that the end is coming. The staff that are staying full time are all getting raises effective May 1, which is our next payday. I've known this all along and I know that's part of why my hours are being reduced. I'm not as needed as some of our other team and everyone has been underpaid and we've gone without an increase for 2 years. So I don't begrudge anyone. But it still hurts to know that they are getting increases between 10 & 18 % at my expense. I dont' begrudge them and I know it's business. It's pay them more or risk losing them (which we did lose a very key software developer earlier this year because he wanted more than we were in a posistion to give)

I haven't heard back from the job I was telling you about. But yes it was full time and I don't know if I would take it or not. I'm leaning towards no, but I'm also starting to feel a bit desperate. I've had a couple other phone and in person interviews. All for full time permanent work. One place got back to me the same afternoon as the phone interview to say they were going with someone else. That one was understandable as they had been hiring for almost a month before I applied. I think they were basically through interviews when I applied and my resume looked good that they wanted to give me a chance but I was good enough to stall the process. I'm just glad they got back to me. but disappointed too, as I was excited about the job. It was dispatch/admin for a well respected HVAC company.

However, this morning I got goodish news. I had applied and interviewed for a reception position on Friday. I was supposed to hear back yesterday with next steps. The manager called me this morning to say that I wasn't the right fit for the receptionist job, I'm too experienced to be stuck in that role, however, the two people I interviewed with were really impressed with me and would like to have me on their team so they put my materials forward for a payroll admin posistion that they also have open. I had mentioned during the interview that the payroll position is what first drew me to the company but that I was missing the crutial payroll credential that the posting was asking for and then I saw the reception role as I was scrolling their website and found that fascinating as well. Anyway, long story even longer, I had a phone interview with the payroll recruiter to learn about my payroll experience and I let her know that whether I get this job or not, I will be starting the credentialling program in August (its 3 classes taken consecutively and 1 class that I can take at any time prior to starting the 3rd class. at least 9 months from start to finish all online and part time, and then I need 1 year of work experience which can be gained from most jobs with a payroll component.) I didn't tell her that I could start now but I felt that with job hunting, starting a new job, and then my partner's kids being here for all of July, I didn't want to overwhelm myself with school on top of that.

The recruiter is forwarding my materials including everyone's notes about me, to the payroll manager in Saskatoon, as well as the national payroll manager out of Toronto, and hopefully, they will want to schedule an inperson interview within the week. But I will hear back either way end of next week.

So that's picked my mood up a bit, but I'm very low energy right now and having trouble reading. Which is what I was logging in to say. I haven't found a book yet, but now that I'm typing and "socializing" I feel energised to find one.

I also realised when I logged in, that I read your post but forgot to reply.
There are so many people that I know that don't like winged creatures. I'm glad your daughter tried and I feel her pain. I don't think I would do that for my momma, but she would probably tell me to get overmyself and make me go anyway. (although if I really didn't want too, she'd be sweet and understanding and not really make me)

The best kind of bird to me is a cooked one. As long as the chicken is dead, I'll strip those feathers and clean it up real good for the supper table. But don't ask me to go near a chicken when it can still move on it's own. LOL

I don't mind snakes or spiders. Like, I can move them out of my path. My older cousins used to try to get me with the garder snakes but they never succeeded in making me squirm. My son once through what he thought was a toy rubber snake at me when we were camping one time. I wasn't bothered by it until we realised it was actually dead. Then I was concerned about germs.

Going from an old electric typewriter to a regular "new age" keyboard is super hard. Add to that, we did have an electric piano that I taught myself to play when I was 10, it was an early 70s Rhodes monstrosity with fully weighted but worn out keys that you really had to push on to get clear sound. So for me, even 30 years later, there is no such thing as a "soft touch" when I'm typing.

There are lots of people out there that are the two finger, hunt and peck typists. But like you, they have learned to compensate and have decent speed. Even with my speed, I have some bad muscel memory that keeps me from improving. I only have accuracy when I left use the left shift key. They right shift key does not exist in my typing world. I also use the wrong fingers on the bottom row, ex. using my left index finger to hit c instead of my left middle finger. It all combines to slow us down. my touch typing did really improve once I started keyboarding classes in high school because the teacher put pieces of paper over our hands so we couldn't see the keys when we typed.

Oh also, when I was researching the payroll credentials, I priced out getting an accounting certificate (1 year program) or diploma (2 year program) but it's 7k or 13k and putting out that much money at this stage in my career isn't going to give me enough return on investment to make it worth while for the roles that I would want to be in. I haven't looked at just the bookkeeping aspects but that might be a good avenue. The payroll designation is going to cost $2500 initially plus annual membership fees and continuing education.

I thought about being a librarian but in Canada, the field is almost as oversaturated as the teaching profession and you almost need a phD to get any real traction and that's only if someone retires. One of my childhood friends started the process but I don't know if she ever made it through as we lost touch. What does a reading specialist do? My first thought is working with kids learning to read.

Anyway, I'm off to pick up groceries and then I'll find my book. I have Thursday and Friday off from my main job as my new hours kick in so hopefully I'll have my book finished by the end of the weekend.

Hey there. I was just checking in on you. I know things have been tough going lately and was thinking of you.

How are you doing? How are things with the job search?

Hey Carrie thanks for checking in. I started a new job as an Office Administrator for a Heavy Duty Mechanic shop last week. It's full time M-F with 100% in office work. They are okay with me also working part time at my previous job so it's the best of both worlds. I'm doing better mental health wise although I'm exhausted as one is getting into a new routine and all the learning. My partner was also home over Mother's Day weekend and we spent the whole weekend travelling. It's Wednesday already and Im still not caught up on sleep. Fortuantely, it's a long weekend in Canada so i'll have an extra day of rest even with working hours for my previous job. I'm not reading yet but I'm hoping to get back to it. I now have a 30 minute commute each way to work so I really need to get in teh habit of turning on an audio book rather than getting frustrated with the radio commercials.
Anyway, I'm headed to bed. I hope things are going well with you.

I finally finished my book yesterday. sorry it took me so long, only listening 30 to 40 minutes, even at 2.5x the speed, doesn't get through it very quickly. Guess I need to find a longer commute HA!

How are you doing? I'm tired with the two jobs but I'm making it work. Hope you are well!

I'm so glad to hear that you found a job and that it seems to be working out so far. I can only imagine how exhausted you must be. Do you plan own working both jobs for some time?

All is good here. Seems like the days this month have. been flying by. We have a long weekend this weekend. My husband is going dirt bike racing for 3 days so my daughter and I will be hanging out over the weekend.

I'm going to spin - hoping I get something not too hard lol

No worries how long it takes to get through a book!! I'm in no rush at all 😊

Update - I spun another 1 - clearly my favorite lol. Euphoria in text. eh...

Ugh, who says euphoria anymore? good luck with your book, I hope it's enjoyable.

yes I'm planning to work both jobs as long as I can. my partner and I want to move in together... he's like to buy a house... but neither one of us has the credit let alone a down payment. not to mention, housing is freakishly scarce around here. so even to find a rental, prices are sky high and landlords are taking advantage of the desperation and breaking all kinds of rules and asking for ridiculous proof of income. it's discouraging and then the added fact that he has two cats and I have my little dog... no one wants to rent to that many animals. I'm going to have to start looking at the bedroom communities... we have several little towns less than 30 minutes away that might have rental options.

do you and your daughter have anything special lined up for your weekend?

I was planning to work but my partner came home yesterday because the wildfires got too close to his mine site and everyone evacuated. so he's picking up his kids tomorrow morning and we will have them all weekend. going to see the new Lilo and stitch movie on Sunday afternoon. 😁

I can't believe it - the book I was reading for Tower Teams actually had the word in it! I didn't even have to search! (My book is finished.)

How are you all doing with the wildfires? I saw that they said the smoke is coming into the US. Are they getting them under control? It's awful to see so much destruction. Are you close to them?

My daughter and I went to a purse bash over the weekend. We didn't win anything but we had some fun.

How was Lilo and Stitch? (I love Stitch - I have about 20 different stuffed animals of him lol)

How fortunate that it was in your book. I enjoy playing tower teams but I'm just not taking the time to read.

I have several Stitch items around my house and shirts. Not because Stitch is my favourite Disney character, but he does represent my personality well and he's on EVERYTHING. I do have a 2" x 3" Stitch tatto on my right calf. Again, not because he is my favourite but because of my Stitch Bunnyhug that I would wear to my accounting office on casual Fridays, one of my old coworkers started calling it Stitch Day Fridays and named me Experiment 126 (my birthday- Dec 6) and he was Experiment 423 (April 23) and there were a couple others that were also part of Stitch Day Fridays. Once Covid hit and everyone but 4 of us were working from home, we started having Friday afternoon Stitch Day Dance parties as a way of staying connected. We'd all get on video chat and dance to a song. then I was made redundant from that job in SUmmer 2020 (non covid related, just planned downsizing) In winter of 2021, the tattoo shop that I follow had a 16 year old apprentice who was having a sale on her predrawns. I had some extra money but the Stitch tattoo she was offering was snapped up quickly but then the person backed out. I figured it was meant to be, so I had her put a full body stitch on my leg and underneath his right foot in tiny lettering it says EXP. 126. Most people think it was a typo but that's half the fun.

Now, the Lilo and Stitch movie was....well, I could have gone without seeing it. They missed the mark in a few spots, didn't quite catch the spirit of Stitch, and completely wasted the potential in Mr. Bubbles. There were still laugh out loud moments but not enough stitch being stitch. Lots of people still liked it, but not me. I'll take the first animated movie over anything.

Our wildfires have been hell. We did get a bit of rain over the weekend that has given some hope. There are even some evacuees heading back home. Still lots of devastation - my step kids' step dad lost his multigeneration cabin...completely flatened. Also, poor Saskatchwan government response when it comes to aiding the evacuees....things like one group of evacuees were given Safeway (the most expensive grocery store in our province) gift cards when there is no Safeway located in the town that they are sheltering in and that's the only food assistance being offered to that group. :(

I'm in the lower third of the province so I only have to deal with the smoke. My partner was evacuated for three weeks from his mine site because the fire was less than 3km away. It has since backed off, the main camp and the mine itself are undamaged, just the north east? corner of the site has some fire damage to some C-containers. Patrick heads back tomorrow thankfully as he does not do well being off that long.

What is a purse bash? That sounds interesting. I'm assuming you are trying to win purses? I'm glad you had fun.

My roll is for "adventure" in text. With Patrick beingt gone, I'll hopefully have it finished this weekend.

How are you doing otherwise? Do you have big plans this summer?

I love the story about your Stitch tattoo. I would have to agree that it was meant to be. Do you have other tattoos?

How are the wildfires? I am so sorry to hear about the cabin. Fire is so destructive and moves so quickly. Many years ago, about a month before. my husband and I were getting married, my in-laws house burned down. It was a complete loss. While many things can easily be replaced, the lifelong photos couldn't be and back then things weren't digital. So unfortunately photos of my husband and his brother when they are young are very limited.

I always feel bad for the people and the wildlife when the first burn. I don't think there is a way to prepare for them at all.

A purse bash is exactly that - trying to win purses. It's quite a bit of fun (although I didn't win lol)

No big plans this summer. My husband had sinus surgery yesterday which went well. I had a bridal shower this past weekend. Temperatures here are off the charts so we have been trying to stay in as much as possible.

How have you been doing? Big summer plans?

How's your book?

Hi Carrie,

Sorry for the delay. I finished my book just now and have it posted.

I'm okay, just busy with work and my partner came home tuesday and now his kids are here for two weeks. We are taking a holiday starting Saturday. Not the big trip we wanted to do...Patrick was off from the mine for too long due to the fires, so it depleted the savings....but still a little vacation in regina...hotel with pool and slide, some museums and visits with friends.

My diabetes has also been flaring for a long time, I just didn't realise that was the cause of my issues. So I've been doing a super focus for the last two weeks to get my blood sugars back to normal. I think I have my eating mostly under control, but I gotta get the movement in. Unforatunetely, it's either blisteringly hot or raining here and if it's actually a cool day, I'm stuck working/exhausted when I get home. (i know, any excuse to not move around. It's all excuses. If I actually wanted to, I'd find a way. I've done it before)

as for the fires, we've been getting a lot of rain that has helped. we still have 60 burning right now, but they are further north/not as close to people. I think there are only 4 places that are on evacuation alert. that's a relief but fingers crossed they don't flare up again. We till have a few months of fire season to go.

How is/was your husband's recovry? I hope hes not driving you too nuts.

I was wrong, we have two northern communities evacuated. It's been such a busy week, I've been missing the news 🤦‍♀️