Sunday Bookends: Bookstore finds, cat number three gets the virus, and happy Mother’s Day

It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watchingand what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.

Even though our vet wasn’t initially sure, we now know that what has been making our cats sick is some sort of virus. We know this because a couple of days ago, our oldest cat started exhibiting the same symptoms as the other two — mainly being lethargic and refusing to eat or drink.

All of our cats have been vaccinated for distemper, so we aren’t sure what virus this is and neither does the vet.

The vet actually wanted us to bring our middle cat, Scout, to them Thursday to be observed all day but Wednesday night she perked up and not only started eating, but using the litter box.

I felt weird constantly observing her to see if she was going to use the litter box and was grateful when Little Miss saw her. I texted a friend and my husband when she finally went to the bathroom. This is where my life is — telling people when my cat has peed.

As was the case when the youngest started all of this, Scout started to feel better about the time our oldest cat, Pixel, started not to feel good.

Pixel is my buddy, similar to Scout, but more mouthy and sassy. If she chooses to lay on my chest or on my side (at night) then she pushes her way there whether I want her there or not. She often pushes her way into a cuddle when I am trying to work on my laptop or read a book or go to sleep. She sometimes doesn’t appreciate being moved in those moments, either. She will hiss and bite at me if I try to push her off, but luckily not every time.

She’s also the cat we call “fat cat” and she’s gotten fatter since I started feeding her wet food. One day she was sitting in our living room, a bit above me, and when I looked up at her I couldn’t see her chin.

I asked what had happened to her chin, she was so fat I couldn’t see it anymore, and she slowly turned my head and gave me this look :

A look that said, “Excuse me?”

Because, honestly, I’m having a similar issue with my chin and I knew she was thinking, “You don’t have anything to say, lady.”

Unlike Scout, Pixel has moved a little bit more in less time. Yesterday morning, about three days since her symptoms started, she jumped onto the bathroom sink counter, which she does when she is well, to get a drink of water. We have dishes of water down for the animals but I guess she wants it from the source. I was encouraged to see her looking for water that way.

She is still refusing to eat, however, which is what Scout did as well. And Pixel can be a lot more stubborn, so I really hope she pulls through.

I’m guessing by the way she was able to rip herself from the towel we had her wrapped  up in to give her her antibiotic yesterday morning, though, that she must be feeling a little bit better. We have an antibiotic, but since it is a virus, I don’t really think she needs it. This will have to run its course like a virus does for a human, I think.

Yesterday The Husband, the kids, and I visited a college town about an hour from us and stopped in to a small, used bookstore there.

Most of the books were political or historical from one standpoint, but there were a few treasures in the children’s section, including a stack of Hardy Boys books, which I only chose two from. One of them I grabbed by accident because I already have a copy of it, but the later, revised version. This one was published in 1939

I also found an Applewood Books version of a Hardy Boys book, which is a reproduction of the original manuscript.

I rounded out my purchases with The Giver by Lois Lowery and a collection of short stories and essays by Mark Twain.

The Husband also purchased a book of “booklover stickers” for me at the Barnes and Noble in town that I can’t wait to add to my reading journal.

I didn’t visit the Barnes and Noble because that one doesn’t usually have any books I am interested in. It’s a college town so there are a lot of romances and textbooks. I’m sure we will go another time and if we do I’ll check it out and see what’s there that I might like.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Just Finished

Aloha Betrayal by Donald Bain. This was a Murder, She Wrote mystery, and it was very good, but I wanted a more definitive ending in some ways. It was a little open-ended but that made it more interesting than some of these assembly-line style book series that are out there.

In Progress

I am slow reading Stillmeadow Daybrook by Gladys Taber. Since each chapter is a month, I plan to read a chapter a month. I am also reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

I am also currently reading The Labours of Hercules by Agatha Christie for the 2026 Christie Reading Challenge and Thrush Green by Miss Read.

Up Soon

On tap soon is  Stolen Past – An Amish Inn Mystery and The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis.

What The Family is Reading

The Husband just finished, The Big Gold Dream by Chester Himes. Little Miss and I are reading Heidi and she is reading The Dragon Rider by Ted and Rachel Dekker.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

I am watching Blandings and Ladies of Letters.

This past week I watched the movies Enchanted April and A Month In The Country.

I’ll be watching the Bette Davis movie Dangerous this week.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

Book and movie recommendation: The Enchanted April/Enchanted April

Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot May 8

Spring of Bette (Davis): Jezebel (1938). Otherwise known as the movie that made me say, “Well, that escalated fast.”

Top Ten – Er – Eight Authors I wish were Still Writing Today

A Good Book and A Cup of Tea May Link Up

When technology determines if your creativity is worthy or not, we have a problem

Photos From Last Week

Some Housekeeping

Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs) and I host a monthly bookish link party called A Good Book and A Cup of Tea.  This link-up is for book and reading posts or anything related to books and reading (even movies based on books!). Each link party will be open for a month. You can find that link up for this month here.

Each week, I host the Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot with some great hosts. It goes live Thursday night, but you can share any kind of blog posts (family-friendly) there until Tuesday of each week. You can check my recent posts on the sidebar to the right for the most recent link party.

Now It’s Your Turn

What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to, or writing?


This post is linked up with The Sunday Post at  Kimba at Caffeinated Reviewer,  Deb at with Deb at Readerbuzz, and Book Date: It’s Monday! What are you reading hosted by Kathyrn at The Book Date and Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Reading Reality.


Hello! Welcome to my blog. I am a blogger, homeschool mom, and I write cozy mysteries.

You can find my Gladwynn Grant Mystery series HERE.

You can also find me on Instagram and YouTube.



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8 thoughts on “Sunday Bookends: Bookstore finds, cat number three gets the virus, and happy Mother’s Day

  1. marsha57's avatar marsha57

    I think that photo of Pixel says it all! I just love cats (so why do I have a dog)! They are so personable while a dog is just, “love me, love me, feed me, feed me, take me outside, love me.” Well, you get the picture. I love the independence of cats. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Jack, but he’s so needy!

    I’m glad all the cats are on the mend. At least, they didn’t all come down with it at once which probably helped the vet make his diagnosis.

    I hope you have a fabulous week, Lisa!

    https://marshainthemiddle.com/

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  2. Not watching much at the moment, except re-runs for background noise sometimes. I just DNFed a book from the library and started on another of my movie/theater-related biographies instead.
    I’m sorry about Pixel. It reminds me of the time we had four cats and one after the other got what looked like a cold, but was obviously more. I think it took us six weeks at least until ALL of them were fine again. I really hope Pixel will be her judgy self again soon!

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  3. Sorry about the pusses, how horrible to have a virus moving between them. Hope Pixel feels better soon. That photograph of her LOOK is magnificent! I have been reading quite a lot, notably The Convenience Store by the Sea and Meet Me At the Convenience Store by the Sea, and now a book on running forever which apparently keeps you healthy although you have to do it faster than I can so who actually knows! Watched a birdwatching programme with Ade Edmonson (The Young Ones) and Samuel West (son of Timothy West and Prunella Scales) which was quite twee and actory (I mean, they are both actors) and we were independently annoyed by it but they had good shots of birds so we’ll continue. There’s also The Assembly, where a group of neurodivergent and learning developmentally delayed people question a famous person (Stephen Fry, etc.) with huge honesty, which is absolutely beautifully done, but it makes us cry so we have to watch it infrequently!

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