Welcome to my Sunday Bookends post where I talk about my previous week, including what I’m reading, watching, listening to, writing and doing.

The temperatures dropped last week, and I loved it. I know. I’m crazy, but I liked the cooler temps that allowed me to curl up under a blanket, with a mug of tea, and read a book.

I was hoping for some warmer temps this week so I can take the kids swimming at my parents, however, and it looks like we are getting it. A little hotter than I would like, actually, with temps inching toward the high 80s. Of course, they are going to be in the high 80s the week of the local carnival, which is returning aft­er being canceled last year. I was hoping to take the youngest there while the oldest and their dad volunteer at the firemen’s tent on Thursday night, but I’m not sure I want to feel like I’m walking through a sauna, so we will see how it goes.

We have about three more weeks before school starts and I am hoping we can squeeze some fun in those weeks, but also some relaxation.

Last week Little Miss and I attended an event at a local conservation area about 20 minutes from us. The conservatory includes trails, a cabin from the time around the Revolutionary War (and relocated there from another location), a rope climbing area, a musical instrument area, and a place for crafts.

 A book was read, the students were let loose to explore some stations in the woods, and then they were offered a chance to build a salamander out of clay and place it in a habitat they made. Little Miss went all out, creating a salamander and her baby. She kept running back to the lady leading the event, asking for more clay, different colors, to create her salamander. All of the other children made a salamander in a few minutes and were done. Not my kid. She was creating a masterpiece. And I thought that was pretty cool. The people running the activity did too and enjoyed taking photos of her creation and her.

After the activities, Little Miss decided we should go look for frogs in the pond. We didn’t find frogs, but we did find lily pads and vowed to return to the area again to look for more frogs, as well as to take part in another one of the conservatory’s events before the summer is over.

What I’m Reading

I am reading books for book tours I signed up for right now.

The first book I need to finish is Rahab’s Courage by Naomi Craig. So far, it’s good but a little tedious in some places. It’s a romance, which I wasn’t expecting. It is also Biblical fiction.

It is well written, but not a happy book.

I need to look for happier books after this one.

I have another book to read for a book tour at the end of the month, Rose Among Thorns by Terrie Todd. Both of these authors are new to me.

To break up the Biblical Fiction, I am reading Another Man’s Moccasins by Craig Johnson. It’s the fourth in the Walt Longmire series.

Little Miss and I have finished Little House in the Big Woods and she asked for a horse book instead of the next in the Little House series, so we are reading Misty’s Twilight by Marguerite Henry.

This Thursday on the blog I will be part of a book tour for Set in Stone, the latest book in the Rembrandt Stone series. My post will be an interview with the authors, Susan May Warren, James Rupart, and David Warren. Together they are David James Warren.

What I’m Watching

Last weekend we watched The Maltese Falcon with my parents, which was different since we usually watch movies with only my husband and I or our son. Little Miss is there too but she doesn’t really watch the movies. She plays games on my phone or paints or chases the dog. Black and white movies don’t interest her much.

During the week I watched mainly To the Manor Born, which is a British sitcom from the 1970s. I am getting caught up in the story of the woman and the man who took over the estate she once lived in and am very curious to see if they get together or not. It’s a very light comedy, something I really need these days.

My husband and I also started Upstart Crow, despite the fact my son said the canned laughter on it is annoying. To put him in his place, I did a search online and the laughter is not actually canned. It’s filmed before a studio audience, but The Boy says they are just saying ordinary, unfunny things, and laughter is being layered over it. I said that some of the lines are funny without the laughter, but he didn’t agree.

If you haven’t guessed, my teenager is a bit of a downer these days. He finds fault with what we used to enjoy doing together and analyzes shows, movies, and activities to the point they aren’t fun anymore. Hopefully this is a stage he passes through quickly.

What I’m Writing

I’m not writing much, to be honest. After finishing and editing Harvesting Hope, I’m a little burnt out. I have slowly started writing another book, called The Next Chapter, but I haven’t written more than a few words a day on it. Seriously. I know. How sad. I hope to find some more writing time this week as ideas are sprouting into my mind for the book when I have down time. Unfortunately, the last couple of weeks have been very busy so I haven’t had a lot of down time.

Harvesting Hope will be available on Amazon Thursday. It is currently marked down to 99 cents for preorders so you, my blog readers, can snap one up for next to nothing. I will be raising the price a few days after it’s release.

Last week on the blog I shared a post with photographs, not a lot of writing involved there, and a post about the many cats that have been part of my life in a post entitled Finding Zorro.

I also shared a revamped post about writing that I had previously written for this blog, on Hope, Hearts, and Heroes, the group blog I am a part of.

Blog posts I enjoyed recently

I am very behind on reading blog posts. I have been trying so hard to read the books I promised to read for blog tours, that by the time I get to the blog posts, my mental energy is gone. Still, there are a few blogs I make sure I keep up on. This week I have a list of four posts that I enjoyed and think you will enjoy as well.

1. I always enjoy when Our Little Read House goes on an antique shopping trip in her home state of Arizona and takes us with her.

2. This one is a couple posts back, but I also enjoy when Mama’s Empty Nest takes us on her trips around the country. This one is about the area they moved to years ago with their family in the Willamette Valley, between the Oregon Coast Range Mountains and the Cascade Mountain Range.

3. I also enjoyed this post by C.S. Wachter on Hopes, Hearts, and Heroes about words we use incorrectly in the English language, many times because we simply aren’t aware of the rules.

4. Fuel for the Race had a great post about our need to continue to run the race of life, just as Olympic athletes ran races over the last two weeks.

That’s my week in review. How did your week go? Reading or watching anything interesting? Do anything exciting? Let me know in the comments, I’d love to hear (read) about it.