Welcome to Sunday Bookends where I ramble about what I’ve been reading, doing, watching, writing and listening to.

What I/we’ve Been Reading

I have been reading the same books I was reading last week. I know. How sad. I don’t know why I didn’t read more this week. I can’t even tell you what I did instead other than some editing on Beauty From Ashes, working on character profiles for a future story, homeschooling, and being depressed a couple of days for various, silly reasons.

I finished Moriarty by Anthony Horowitz during a very rare marathon reading session I held during Saturday’s snowstorm (see below). I curled up under the covers with two cats on either end of the bed – one by my head on a pillow and the other one at my feet — while the grinding roar of the neighbor’s snowblower drifted to my ears from the tightly closed window. Downstairs my son chatted and played video games with his friends while my daughter watched cartoons on an old phone. My husband, meanwhile, had curled up for a nap to help him prepare to shovel and snow blow the driveway later in the day.

I knew something was amiss throughout Moriarty but couldn’t figure out exactly what. I had it guessed though long before the end and yelled out, “I knew it!” when it revealed what I had suspected all along. What a mind twist, though. I definitely recommend it, especially if you are a fan of the classic Sherlock Holmes stories. This is written in a similar manner on purpose to make the book fit in well with the originals.

I should have Every Star in the Sky by Sara Davison finished by the end of today. Then I will continue to read a memoir about a woman who left the Mennonite community for a book tour and start either the next book in the All Creatures Great and Small series or a book my husband recommended —Call Me A Cab by Donald Westlake. This will be my first book by Westlake.

Little Miss and I are finishing Emily’s Runaway Imagination for the second time and then we will start Ribsy, also by Beverly Cleary.  

The Boy is reading Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson and I am terribly behind on it because I am supposed to be reading it with him. The Boy is also reading Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman.

I forgot to ask Hubby what he is reading, but I’ll add it later when I find out.

What’s Been Occurring

Snow, snow, snow. That’s what’s been happening here as Winter 2021-2022 gives its last gasp before moseying on out of here.

We received a few inches on Wednesday of last week and by Thursday it had melted and made way for more snow on Saturday.

On Friday I ran an errand to the local supermarket and I ran in and out without a coat.

The sun was bright, I wanted to open the windows and would have it hadn’t been for a cool breeze. I thought of chasing my children outside, warning them this was their last chance for warmth for a few days, but I gave up. We might as well muddle through this weekend and they can enjoy the warmer weather next week.

The Boy had a couple of friends over and, of course, they got snowed in with us, so I had a house full of teenage boys for a couple of days. My husband and I hid upstairs while they were downstairs playing video games and watching memes or what I see as inane YouTube videos. Little Miss chatted with her friends on the phone while playing stupid online games.

We were going to take the boys home Saturday night but I didn’t know if I liked the idea of them being on the road. I didn’t want to say anything, though, because my husband has a busy day today with some work things and I didn’t want to complicate things even more. We went back and forth about it for a bit, trying to decide, and I texted their parents while my husband went to get gas. While he was at the gas station, down the hill from our house, a wind gust came up and white-out conditions developed. I received a text that announced the boys were staying another night because my husband didn’t feel it was safe to drive.  Whew. Not long after he came back the white-out conditions subsided so I don’t know if that was God answering my prayers about what to do or not. I do know that the wind and blowing snow continued off and on the rest of the night.

We are all expecting this to be our last snowstorm of the season, thankfully.

The next few weeks will be busy for us with various homeschool activities, doctors’ appointments for me and my family, dentist appointments, and an appointment with the dog groomer. Little Miss has also joined gymnastics so that adds another activity to our plate. She attends Awana on Wednesday evenings until the end of April.

What We watched/are Watching

Last week the hubby and I started to watch Chinatown with Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway, but got interrupted. Hopefully, we will finish it later this week. We also watched a lot of Night Court and then I had to binge watch all of season 2 of All Creatures Great and Small before today because I didn’t want to pay for another subscription through Amazon. I had purchased a seven-day trial and planned to add PBS Masterpiece to our list of channels until I noticed we already have a couple of kids channels, another PBS channel, Britbox, and Acorn. Streaming is starting to be as expensive as cable at this rate.

I enjoy the new All Creatures Great and Small, even though I originally refused to watch it because I have a soft spot for the original. What I like about the new version is they actually have James with a Scottish accent, instead of a British one, like he had in the original. Since James Herriot (well, James Alfred Wight, which was his real name) was from Glasgow, he would have had a Scottish accent. I guess back in the 70s they didn’t like to be authentic in that way. Watching the show has made me want to go back and finish reading the series. I think I’ll tackle that in the next couple of weeks.

Later this week I may watch Redeeming Love, the controversial movie based on the controversial Christian Fiction Romance by Francine Rivers since it has been put up on Peacock.

I haven’t made my mind up yet about that one. I never read the book and never really had an interest, so I don’t have that much interest in the movie but would like to see what all the fuss is about.

What I’m Writing

I have been writing a few blog posts but haven’t shared all of them yet. Last week I shared:

• Fiction Friday: I love how the men in my books interact
• Winter isn’t done with us yet

I am working on a Randomly Thinking post for later this week and will also be working on some rewrites for Beauty From Ashes and maybe a couple other story ideas I have.

What I’m Listening to

I am still listening to the new Elevation Worship album, which I love.

I also really enjoyed Pastor Steven Furtick’s sermon last week:

Now it’s your turn

What have you been reading, watching, listening to or doing? Let me know in the comments.