It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and Mailbox Monday - Mar 16

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

Happy Monday! Hope you had a nice weekend. We are expecting a wet and windy day, but at least we aren't in Wisconsin. Some areas had 20 inches of snow by midday on Sunday. I hope everyone there remains safe. 

My real estate schedule is filling up, and this weekend I worked most of Sunday. I had a speaking engagement on Thursday, which went well, and had a few appointments and showings. This coming week shows more red dots on my calendar, indicating things to do.

Here are a few photos from last week:

Dwight and Travis enjoyed the two sunny and warm days we had 

Bought myself some overalls

Vegetarian stir-fry during our Lenten fast

I finished listening to 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke. Look for my review soon. 

I listened to Hazel Gaynor's Before Dorothy last week, and it is getting interesting. 

I finished Dream Facades: The Cruel Architecture of Reality TV by Jack Balderrama Morley. Look for my review coming soon. 

I started Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel, for an April review. 

I also started Murder, Local Style by Leslie Karst, which is for an April review. 

Photo credit: Freepik

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

I received a digital copy of The Ledger by Steven Manchester for review, which is a follow-up to The Menu, which I mentioned here. 

Upcoming Events

Women's Freedom: The Dawn of Possibilities by Dr. Barbara Becker Holstein - Mar (Review)

Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel - Apr 15 (Review)

Murder, Local Style by Leslie Karst - Apr 20 (Review)

Scrap: Salvaging a Family by Luanne Castle - May 21 (Review)

The Ledger by Steven Manchester - May (Review)

Staged by Cailtin Rother - June (Review)

Christmas Year Round

Christmas Year Round's blog has two new posts since last week:

"Journey Through Christmases Past - Christmas 1918" here, and "Journey Through Christmases Past - Christmas 2001" here. Next week's post will be lighter. 

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

Nothing new. 

Laura's Little Houses

Nothing new.

I have appointments this morning, so I look forward to visiting you in the afternoon. Enjoy your day!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? & Mailbox Monday - Feb 23

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

Happy snowy Monday! Well, at least it is here anyway. Our latest weather event of winter 2025-2026 arrived last night. We are anticipating anywhere between 8 and 14 inches before it ends on Tuesday morning. Blizzard conditions with high winds and low visibility are expected. Thankfully, I rescheduled my appointment for today, and I expect our Tuesday office meeting will be canceled. Not quite sure where we will put all this new white stuff. We were just beginning to see over the mounds of snow to safely pull out of side streets. Please pray for all those who might lose power and those who still have to work in such a storm. 

Last week was a good one, with a decent balance of work and real life. However, I didn't get any writing done. Though I am looking over the thirteen pages of story ideas I've amassed over the last decade. My oldest sister and I spent Sunday together and took in some local theater. And exciting news: my nephew and his wife welcomed twins! 

Here are a few photos from the week:

In preparation for the Great Lenten fast, which starts today, I made Lagana, a Greek flatbread

My sister and I had breakfast at Reid's Corner on Sunday morning

I bought this colorful tunic top from The Scented Garden Gift Shoppe, 

which is my favorite local place to shop

My niece Bella delivered my Girl Scout cookie order 

I finished Creepy Kid by Caleb Roehrig. I loved everything about this book! Look for my review soon at my kid's book blog. 

I still need to write my review of Chapters and Second Chances by Evelyn Grace Berry. 

Also need to write my review of I Heard the Bells. 

I kept Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor on my virtual bookshelf. Instead, I continued listening to 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke. It's such a great book!

I started Dream Facades: The Cruel Architecture of Reality TV by Jack Balderrama Morley. 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

This first book is by a local lender I know. I grabbed Get Moving! by Angela Tourville and Michael K. Tourville with my Amazon digital credits. 

The rest of these were free as a newsletter subscriber. 

A Surprise Harvest Bride by Wendy Klopfenstein

The Marshal's Surrender by Wendy Galinetti

Honor's Mountain Promise by Misty M. Beller

Leaving Waverly by Sra R. Turnquist

Upcoming Events

I Heard the Bells by Darlene L. Turner et al - February (Review)

Chapters and Second Chances by Evelyn Grace Berry - February (Review)

Hook, Line, and Murder by GG Calpo - Mar 2 (Interview)

Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel - Apr 15 (Review)

Christmas Year Round

Christmas Year Round's latest "Journey through Christmases Past" travels back to Christmas 1955. You can read my post here.

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

Nothing new at my kid's book blog. My review of Creepy Kid and another book should be posted soon. 

Laura's Little Houses

Nothing new at Laura's Little Houses, but I plan to work on my Albert Quinn Ingalls profile today. 

I'm hoping to schedule reviews today, since I doubt I will have as much work as usual. The end of the week will be busier. Looking forward to visiting your blogs!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? & Mailbox Monday - Feb 16

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are, and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date. 

Here we are on Monday again. Hope you had a nice week. I had meetings, appointments, and events last week, but I should be catching up with all of you today. The highlight of my week is that our Modern Prairie group sent Valentine's Day cards to each other, so I've had lovely thoughts throughout the week from online friends. And, for the first time in 37 years, the husband and I went out to dinner on Valentine's Day. 

Here are photos from last week:

Theo got a new headband

Real estate awards night

Homemade no churn vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce

My dinner on Valentine's Day

Switching to reading, I still need to write my review of Chapters and Second Chances by Evelyn Grace Berry. 

Also need to write my review of I Heard the Bells. 

I left Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor on my virtual bookshelf this week. Instead, I continued listening to 100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist's Guide to a Happy Life by Dick Van Dyke. I like him more the longer I listen. 

I am reading Creepy Kid by Caleb Roehrig. Love it! 

I need to start Dream Facades: The Cruel Architecture of Reality TV by Jack Balderrama Morley soon. I only have it on NetGalley for 34  more days. It sounds fascinating! 

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach. 

These two came from the author for review.

Agatha Christie, She Watched and International Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel

Upcoming Events

I Heard the Bells by Darlene L. Turner et al - February (Review)

Chapters and Second Chances by Evelyn Grace Berry - February (Review)

Hook, Line, and Murder by GG Calpo - Mar 2 (Interview)

Agatha Christie, She Watched by Teresa Peschel - Apr 15 (Review)

Christmas Year Round

Christmas Year Round's latest "Journey through Christmases Past" shares the toys of my childhood, one of which is now banned in the United States and Canada. You can find that post here. 

The Children's and Teens' Book Connection

Nothing new at my kid's book blog. 

Laura's Little Houses

Nothing new at Laura's Little Houses. 

Signing out for a couple of hours to visit with a friend. Check in with you this afternoon.