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 watching, and what I’ve been writing.

I’m not someone who follows a ton of celebrities closely but this week was quite a week for deaths so it was hard not to pay attention.

Dolly Parton, Tim Curry, and Peter Cullen are the three deaths I am referring to.

I’m sure almost all of you knew who Dolly Parton was and even Tim Curry (you might not have realized you knew Tim until you saw a list of the various movies he was in and roles he played), but you may be asking yourself … who was Peter Cullen?

You may not think you know who he is, but I bet you have heard his voice. He was the voice of Optimus Prime from the animated Transformer series for 40 years as well as the voice of Eeyore on The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and many other animated or robot characters.

He was the voice of Kit, the car on Knight Rider, and Predator, the Red Skull…the list goes on.

 So when it came to which death hit this family harder this week, it was probably Peter Cullen, even though we were also fans of Tim Curry and somewhat of Dolly. No shade on Dolly because — wow — she was an amazing person who never slowed down, but Peter was tied tightly to my and my husband’s childhood and our son’s.

I cried over Dolly videos all week (her nephew’s announcement .. ooof… so classy and respectful and heartbreaking), but I didn’t have as much time to process Peter’s death because I was a little  busy the second half of the week. Friday night, though, I watched a video that used his voice talking about how his brother who was a Marine in Vietnam, inspired the voice of Optimus Prime, and then I was a bawling mess again.

I watched Transformers with some friends when we were kids back in the 1980s and then again with my son when he was a kid. Friday night we sat and watched a few old Transformer episodes in his honor. During them my son did have to point out how a new character was introduced every episode just so the toy company could release a new toy, but I put that out of my mind and focused on my and his childhood memories instead.

All of these celebrity deaths coupled with the death of my cat a couple of weeks ago and a friend cleaning out her mom’s apartment after her mom’s passing had me crying a lot BUT some of it felt good and necessary under the circumstances.

Please keep praying for my friend. If you are a regular on this blog I am sure you know who I am talking about. The grief doesn’t ever really go away and I pray for comfort for her in the days ahead.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Recently Finished

I finished my Nancy Drew book last week and, well, it was not my favorite. I know they are kids books but The Mystery of The Brass Bound Trunk just was not very good.

It had so many plot holes and craziness in it. I wonder if the original (since this was a revised version) was better. I will have to look for it for my Nancy Drew November.

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 for the rest of 2026 and into 2027. I’m also slow reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

I jumped into a Murder, She Wrote book — A Slaying in Savannah — by Donald Bain even before  I finished the Nancy Drew book and it’s okay but a little slow. The Murder, She Wrote books are usually a bit slow but this one seems even more drawn out, maybe because it is taking place in the south? I have no idea. It’s not bad, though, and I do like books that take a leisurely stroll at times so I would still recommend it.

I’m also reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain, which is a lot of fun. I haven’t read it since I was about 12.

I started The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham as well, to see how I liked it, and I think it will be interesting. It’s the first book in the Albert Campion series.

Up Soon

I’ve already made my list of hopefuls for Autumn 2026 and after these books I think I will start with The Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink for September. It is a children’s mystery book and I will probably read it with Little Miss.

I also hope to read The Two Mrs. Abbotts by D.E. Stevenson in September and I will be reading three Agatha Christie books for the Christie reading challenge — Endless Night, Sleeping Murder, and The Secret Adversary.

What The Family is Reading

Little Miss and I finally finished Heidi and are starting Rascal by Sterling North this week.

The boy is listening to a Warhammer book.

The Husband is reading The Bridges of Toko-Ri by James Michener.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

This past week we watched some Transformers episodes in honor of Peter Cullen.

I also watched The Maltese Falcon and I must have watched something else but I can’t remember right now! Ha! Gott a love thyroid brain fog.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I share:

• Classic Movie Impression: Without Love (1945)
• Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot August 28
• Book recommendation: By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie
• Five bookish places I’ve visited and five I want to

What I/We’ve Been Listening To

I am listening to The Maine Mutiny (A Murder, She Wrote book) by Donald Baine.

My son came home with a record of Englebert Humperdink from the local thrift store and, for some reason, was very excited about it, so we listened to one of his songs and then I made my son listen to Tom Jones. We watched Tom performing “It’s Not Unsual” on Ed Sullivan too and I still wonder why they let that man have a seizure on live TV and didn’t help him.

But luckily he survived it because have you seen this man sing lately? He’s a judge on The Voice UK and even at 85, he’s still got it. This aired this week but is probably from a few months ago.

Some Housekeeping

Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs), Cat (Cat’s Wire) 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?

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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.

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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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