Monday, July 1, 2024

Randomness...

Recent book that I read and enjoyed but didn't review:  The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons.



Latest library haul (these are the books I hope to read this month):

Winter Lost by Patricia Briggs
Whalefall by Daniel Kraus
Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven
What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall
Always Remember by Mary Balogh
Mrs. Nash's Ashes by Sarah Adler
The Unquiet Bones by Loreth Anne White
Antimatter Blues by Edward Ashton
Love in Disguise by Dana LeCheminant
The Siamese Twin Mystery by Ellery Queen
And After by Sarah Lyons Fleming


Some of my glad moments from June ... little things in life that brought me joy:
  • Made six jars of strawberry jam using strawberries from my own garden! (Which taste SO much better than those big flavorless strawberries you find at the grocery store.)
  • Saw a Kestrel on my walk one day AND a Double-crested Cormorant sitting near the river sunning itself. (It was a good birding moment.)
  • Got my driver's license renewed and it didn't take all day to do it. 
  • Learned how to play a fun new game:  Kingdom Builder.  
  • Some members of the Tabernacle Choir on Temple Square came and sang at my church a few Sundays ago and their voices were so beautiful it brought tears to my eyes.




33 comments:

  1. I was just thinking about real strawberries, and how much my mother loved making jam and other treats with them. The organic strawberries in the stores here aren't as bad, but they're also expensive. I tried some hydroponic berries, out of curiosity, and they had NO flavor. People keep buying them though.

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    1. The berries in my garden are small, but very flavorful! I don't know what they did to all the berries in the stores that made them so bland. But it's sad.

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  2. Your strawberries and jam sound amazing! What a treat to grow something delicious!

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    1. I look forward to it every year. Strawberry jam is my favorite.

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  3. That's a great library haul. I hope you enjoy all of those books. The strawberry jam sounds delicious!

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    1. I checked out way too many books...again...but I do have this month off of work, so I should have more time to read.

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  4. I do love that Woody Allen quote. The truth of the words is indisputable.

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    1. I love that quote! When I saw it I knew I had to post it. :D

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  5. I hope you enjoy Love in Disguise!

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    1. I'm very excited to read Kit's story! :D

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  6. Enough home-grown strawberries to make six jars! Yum. The only one on your list I've read is the Ellery Queen. I'll be curious what you think or whatever other fun ones you find in that haul.

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    1. I've never read an Ellery Queen mystery before, but my parents used to watch the TV show when I was really little.

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  7. Love every new installment of Mercy Thompson! Hope you enjoy Winter Lost, too. I also loved Always Remember and What Lies in the Woods was a fun mystery. I just added The Unquiet Bones by Loreth Anne White after seeing it here. I enjoy her mysteries as well. Yay for strawberry jam from your own strawberries! Yes, nothing like your own strawberry instead of the big, tasteless ones from the store! :)

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    1. I'm looking forward to all those books! And picking my own strawberries is always so good...some years I even have enough to make strawberry pie and strawberry syrup, too.

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  8. I often spend Fourth of July in Provo and one of our family traditions is to go to Music and the Spoken Word on the Sunday before the 4th. The choir and orchestra performing patriotic music is absolutely exceptional. I'll miss that this year as we decided to stay home. Watching it on tv just isn't the same!

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    1. Hearing their amazing voices in person is something else! It's like hearing angels sing.

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  9. Oooh yum, strawberry jam. If I lived next door I would so make you some scones to go with it. 😁

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    1. Mmm...scones and strawberry jam! What a delicious combination. I definitely wish we were neighbors...then we could share yummy food...and books! :D

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  10. I read Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven in 2021 and gave it 4 stars. It's really good. I hope you enjoy it too. Off to check out The Air Raid Book Club by Annie Lyons.

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    1. Fantasticland looks like just the kind of summer read I love; glad to know you enjoyed it so much. :D

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  11. Your homemade strawberry jam sounds delicious!

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  12. Homemade strawberry jam sounds so yummy! That's awesome that you had enough strawberries for six jars! Kingdom Builder looks like a fun game. :)

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    1. Kingdom Builder was super fun and pretty easy to learn, too. My nephew one the first game, and I managed to win the second. :D

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  13. A Kestrel and a Cormorant! I love Kestrels--they were one of the first birds I learned when I set out to be a birder! I planted strawberries for the first time in years--not enough for jam yet, especially since I snack on them while weeding the veg garden! Happy Summer!

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    1. Kestrels are such amazing birds. I love it when I catch sight of one!

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  14. If I run into The Air Raid Book Club, I will give it a try. I am getting hooked on those kinds of books. Loreth Anne White is a Canadian author and I want to try one of her mysteries. And I am eager to hear what you think of the Ellery Queen mystery. It has been so long since I have read a book in that series.

    How wonderful to see a Kestrel and a Cormorant on your walk. I am reading a Birdwatching mystery right now: A Cast of Falcons by Steve Burrows (another Canadian author, although the book is set in the UK).

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    1. A Cast of Falcons sounds good. I'll have to look that one up. And I've read three books by Loreth Anne White and loved them all. She writes very good suspense. And hopefully I'll post a review of the Ellery Queen mystery once I've read it...though you never know with me. There are days I don't feel like reviewing anything. ;D

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  15. That sounds great about making your own strawberry jam. I'm impressed. I agree that growing your own fruit / veggies certainly tastes a whole lot better than at the store. Keep it going!

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    1. We've been picking chard, beets and zucchini from the garden for the last two weeks...and I'm loving every yummy bite. :D

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  16. Lark, sounds like you had a lovely June :) I loved this post so much. Thank you!

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    1. Hi, Nadia! Thanks for that. I sometimes have to work at finding happy things in my life...but I'm trying to get better at focusing on the positives, not the negatives. :D

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