This is a blog link-up where we not only allow you to share your past posts but we encourage it. So share away!
This week our temps were beautiful where I live in the beginning of the week. Last night they dropped 20 degrees, reminding us yet again we are in autumn. So I am under a blanket as I putting the finishing touches on my blog post.
This is a hard post to read but it is a very important read to understand what really happened in N.C. and why that area was hit so fast and that it is even worse than what the news has shown (which honestly is very little in my opinion). Keep this family in your prayers.
I’m so glad you are here and participating in our weekly link-up of family-friendly, fun, educational, interesting, crafty, fashionable, and whatever else posts. I hope you’ll tell your followers about our post (feel free to copy and paste the graphic) and visit the blogs in the link-up.
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago. You can share up to three links each week.
We are always looking for additional hosts so let us know if you want to help out and we are also looking for more links from fashion bloggers so let your fashion bloggers know!
Holy hot weather this week for many of us in the U.S.! I hope you are all staying cool and calm wherever you are. Or warm if you are in the southern hemisphere.
My daughter and I have been locked in the house all week, partially because of the heat and partially because she has had a cold that is now getting better.
Our portable AC units (the only ones we can use because of our windows that open out) have barely been able to keep up with the heat but we’ve been managing okay. We’ve been drinking a lot of water and eat popsicles and even taking cold baths and showers to cool ourselves down and so far it is working.
The first time I have to leave the house this week is Friday when I have to take my son to his friend’s house for his friend’s birthday.
How have all of you who are dealing with the heat handling it?
I’m so glad you are here and taking part in our weekly link-up of family-friendly, fun, educational, interesting, crafty, fashionable, and whatever else posts. I hope you’ll tell your followers about our post (feel free to copy and paste the graphic) and visit the blogs in the link-up. I know I have met some very fun bloggers that way!
And here are my three highlights for the week (again, it was hard to only pick three – I enjoyed so many of them so please go back last week and click through the posts. You are still able to do that, even if the party is closed.)
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago. We are always looking for additional hosts so let us know if you want to help out and we are also looking for more links from fashion bloggers so let your fashion bloggers know!
Also, please take the time to visit the other blogs on the link-up and meet some new bloggers!
Yay for sun because that’s what we’ve been having lately in our little neck of the woods! I hope you have had some nice weather where you are as well.
I’m so glad you are here and taking part in our weekly link up of family friendly, fun, educational, interesting, crafty, fashionable, and whatever else posts. I hope you’ll tell your followers about our post (feel free to copy and paste the graphic) and visit the blogs in the link up. I know I have met some very fun bloggers that way!
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago.
Also, please take the time to visit the other blogs on the link-up and meet some new bloggers!
I am joining Jennifer at All 4 Boys for Currently for April after seeing this on Erin’s blog at Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs. This is a feature held the first Wednesday of the month where you share what you are currently …well, whatever the themes are for that month. This month the theme is what we are currently loving, looking forward to, buying, planting, and cleaning.
Currently Loving
I am currently loving reading The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes to Little Miss, who is 9. I read this book in March for Middle Grade March and really enjoyed it but it is even more fun sharing it with my daughter. It is old fashioned, sure, since it was written in the 1940s but that doesn’t bother me at all. It has some super cute stories in it.
I am currently reading Little Miss the chapter where the main character Janey (she’s about 10) is trying to keep the “oldest inhabitant” safe. The oldest inhabitant is a 99-year-old Civil War veteran whom the town is anxious to celebrate the 100th birthday of and Janey makes friends with him in the beginning of the book. Throughout the book she works hard to protect him from any harm and the friendship grows. It is super sweet and adorable.
I am looking forward to reading the other books in the series soon.
Looking Forward To
I guess I could have used the above sentence for this. However, in addition to looking forward to reading the other Moffat books, I am also looking forward to warmer weather.
The last couple of weeks have been very cold, rainy, snowy, and dreary in our neck of the woods and I really need some sun.
Life has been a little down lately and I’m hopeful the sun might cheer me up a bit. That and the blooming flowers which will be pretty to look at even if they trigger my spring allergies. The neighbor has a few daffodils in their yard so that’s been nice to look at.
Buying
A new planner. I don’t know how I got into buying planners that go from July of one year to July of the next but I have and now I can’t seem to get myself unstuck so I am buying another planner this week so I can plan further out than July of this year. I used to buy these huge planners, but now I buy smaller ones that I can slide into my purse and carry around. Not so I can look at it and remember what I have to do, mind you. Just carry around and look like I’m organized, when I am totally not.
Planting
I should be planting plants or vegetables this month, but I’m not. Gardens, flowers, plants – they’re all failures for me usually. I kill them and sometimes they even toss themselves off shelves instead of letting me take them home with me where they know they will die anyhow.
Instead of living things, I am trying to plant some more faith this month. Faith and gratitude. I have been horribly depressed, bitter, and sad about the state of the world this week and I don’t want to be that person so I am taking advice from a book I am reading and doing the things I want the future me to do and that includes being more positive than negative. I have failed this week so pray I get better for the rest of the month.
Cleaning
I’m not cleaning the way I should be cleaning. I always seem to get wrapped up in other things – like writing blog posts or dealing with my daughter’s friend dramas.
It seems like I clean my living room and an hour later I clutter it again. Since our dishwasher died several months ago, I have been cleaning a lot of dishes and I will be doing that again today. I will also do my best to finish cleaning my daughter’s room and sliding a new sheet on her bed.
How about you? What are you loving, looking forward to, buying, planting, or cleaning currently?
What a lovely week we had weather-wise. Today I spent part of the day at a park with my daughter and our friends and it was such a nice time.
Tomorrow our temperatures will go down about 20 degrees so I am glad we were able to get out today. I hope the weather was nice or will be nice soon where you are.
Let’s get right to our most clicked post for the week:
Now it is your turn to link up your favorite posts. They can be fashion, lifestyle, DIY, food, etc. All we ask is that they be family-friendly. You can link up posts from last week or even from years ago.
Also, please take the time to visit the other blogs on the link-up and meet some new bloggers!
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. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
I needed to get my youngest out of the house this week, so on Monday she and I went to my parents and had some lunch with my mom while my dad took Zooma the Wonder Dog for an impromptu walk.
Dad was planning the walk and decided Zooma could come along with him since she loves following him wherever he goes when she visits. I wish I had grabbed a photo of them walking together because Zooma really looks like she has a huge smile on her face when someone takes her on a walk.
Little Miss and The Boy took her on another walk Friday since the weather was almost as warm as Monday and we knew today would be cold and rainy.
I walked a little bit down the road and the cats followed me, apparently very confused about why we had walked off the property for the first time in probably four months.
Both of their tails were puffed out so I guess they really were alarmed. Or they were having a fight with each other. Usually, those tails only puff up when they encounter an animal outside the family, though.
Yesterday there was a book sale in a town close to where we get our groceries but I was a good girl and didn’t go. I have enough books to read – both physical and digital.
Still, I did find myself wondering what treasures I was missing out on by not going. What if someone gave away a whole set of Nancy Drew books and I missed them? Eek! The stress of it all.
I kept telling myself that I must be strong and simply grab the Nancy Drew books I haven’t read yet one at a time on Thriftbooks instead. Besides, there is an even larger book sale going on in a town 45 minutes from us in April so I will try to hold out until then.
Our area is also getting a bookstore soon. I don’t know what kind of books they will sell but it will be nice to have a bookstore near us – even if it will be a 45-minute drive. Actually, it might be best it is that far away from me.
What I/we’ve been Reading
Just Finished:
I finished Mums and Mayhem by Amanda Flower on my phone and computer because I borrowed it through Hoopla and Hoopla books can’t be sent to my Kindle. Grrr. This was very annoying but I wanted to finish this series and not pay an arm and a leg to do it. To explain – I have no problems paying a higher price for books I feel like I will read over and over, but I wasn’t sure I would read this book over and over so I wanted to read it for cheaper than what it was being sold for online. I read the first two books for free on Libby, but they didn’t have the third.
This book has never gone below $13 for Kindle and $20 for hardcover and there is no paperback. Someone said it’s probably because it was released in 2020 and they didn’t release a paperback because of all the craziness – I don’t know.
All I know is that I usually only spend that much money on books I know for a fact I’ll read again or are by authors I absolutely love. All that being said, I have enjoyed this series and I might purchase them in paperback/hardcover in the future – but I had to know for sure I liked how the series ended.
Yes, I am that reader. *wink* For what it is worth, I did like how the series ended, even though a little of it was predictable. I don’t feel that predictability is bad if done correctly and this was done correctly for me.
I also read a moving novelette by Donna Stone called A Wedding to Remember.
The story was very moving, with a beautiful message. The characters were well fleshed out for such a short read and Donna’s writing is so entertaining and well done.
Her story had me laughing and then wiping my eyes. It was only 57 pages so it was a quick read but I was completely caught up in it.
Here is a description and link:
Kaitlyn is competent, smart, and capable—except when a series of disasters threaten to derail the perfect intimate summer wedding she’s arranged for herself and her fiancé, Emerson, at a picturesque Victorian Bed and Breakfast.
As events unfold, one thing becomes clear. Emerson has neglected to arrange some pretty important details, leaving Kaitlyn second-guessing her laid-back, forgetful groom. From appearances, he may not be ready to make a lifelong pledge.
In the midst of the chaos and doubts, Kaitlyn encounters her groom’s elderly Aunt Sophie, and her husband, Weaver. Sophie assures her Emerson’s love is real, and she should know true love when she sees it. Sophie and her husband are a walking testament to commitment, even though Alzheimer’s daily chips away at Weaver’s memories. Kaitlyn wants to let go of fear, but it’s hard to trust her heart.
Is Emerson simply forgetful, or is the wedding a failure before it gets underway?
I am currently reading The Middle Moffet by Eleanor Estes for Middle Grade March and Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan (which is actually the pen name for Amanda Flower).
I am also reading All The Light We Cannot See but I am not reading it fast because it is a heavy topic.
Soon to be read:
Fields of Fire by Ryan Steck. I need to read the first two books in his series because I applied for and received the ARC for the third book that comes out in June, but I have been wanting to read it anyhow.
Mystery at the Lilacy Inn, A Nancy Drew Mystery.
What everyone else is reading:
The Boy is reading Horus Rising and listening to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Little Miss and I are reading Pocahontas by Jean Fritz for school during the day and Rosco Riley Rules at night before bed.
The Husband is reading The Running Grave (a CB Strike novel) by Robert Gailbraith.
What We watched/are Watching
The Huband and I watched a documentary about June Carter Cash called June last week on Paramount Plus. It was interesting to learn about her life separate from and with Johnny Cash. She certainly was not a perfect woman, but she knew that, and I think she did her best to live the best she could, especially toward the end of her life. She also put out some amazing music, including two albums within two years of her passing away.
I remember well when Johnny passed away because it was the day before my grandmother passed away. We were watching on the news in Grandma’s room about Johnny dying. He passed away only four months after June.
The Husband and I also finished up the first part of season one of CB Strike and are on to episode five.
I watched an episode of Rosemary and Thyme on my own, but I read more this week than watched things.
I hope to watch some more Lark Rise to Candleford and Rosemary and Thyme this week.
What I’m Writing
I am two chapters away from finishing Cassie, which releases in August.
Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
I haven’t done anything very exciting this week – other than the fact we hit a deer Saturday night while my husband was driving us back from a Christmas event in a little town about half an hour from us.
The car was driveable but our left headlight suffered some. Not sure what happened to the deer for sure. Also hoping our insurance will cover some repairs. We are getting an estimate done soon to find out.
Today we woke up to snow on the ground – more than I expected. I thought we were only getting a slushy mix but, nope, there was actual snow out there!
This is our first snowfall this year that actually stuck around more than an hour or so.
Our daughter loved playing in it with Zooma the Wonder Dog who absolutely loves snow.
On to our most clicked post for this week. But wait! We have two most clicked posts this week. We have a tie!
This was a beautiful post about what we can do with our time, our energy, and a limited budget to help bless others. It was also a reminder of the greatest gift anyone received on any Christmas – Jesus.
I hope you will leave a link to your favorite post from last week or an older post that needs some love on the linky below today.
I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving last week. We are back in session this week for our Weekend Traffic Jam. We are still looking for an extra host so let Marsha know if you are interested.
This is a post where you can link up any post about any topic as long as it is family-friendly. You can even dig into your archives to share.
The most clicked post for the week before last was:
I enjoyed this post because I am a homeschooling mom myself and I know how hard it can be to get started. Parents need all the advice they can get.
This post from Is This Mutton was perfectly true. There really aren’t any good “belly laugh” shows out there anymore and while she didn’t think it had all to do with political correctness (maybe some), I think that is the biggest reason no one can laugh anymore. They’re always afraid of who they will offend. Of course, everyone is also offended anymore. Like everyone.
I remembered a lot of the shows she remembers (Father Ted, Monty Python, Fawlty Towers, Keeping Up Appearances – all shows I have watched over the years and enjoyed).
That is my intro post for today. I hope you’ll share a link with everyone at the link up below.
I cannot believe next week is Thanksgiving! Can you?!
It seems like school just started and now here we are rushing toward the end of the year.
I’ve been super busy lately with writing blog posts, editing books (past and future ones), and managing social media.
Last week a reel I posted on Instagram to promote the blog posts Erin (Still Life, With Cracker Crumb) and I were doing for autumn (Comfy, Cozy Cinema) went viral.
The reel was simply a clip of the documentary Tea With The Dames that Erin and I wrote about on our blogs but for some reason, it started to be shared and watched and commented on to the point it has 6 million views, 331,704 likes, 148,939 shares and 2027 comments.
There seems to be no rhyme or reason to what goes viral on social media, but I am guessing the reason this clip went wild is that people, one, love the dames (Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, and Eileen Atkins) and, two, people simply need something happy and joyful to see these days with all the horrors and negativity going on in the world.
If you want to see the Instagram post you can find it here:
I enjoyed the documentary but I don’t know if I thought the clip was worth 6 million views. Ha! Ha! I am really glad it made people happy, though. A couple of people even messaged or left me comments to tell me how much it uplifted their spirits during dark times. I suggested they watch the full documentary to further improve their mood.
If you would like to see the documentary, you can find it streaming for free on Tubi or you can buy or rent it here: https://amzn.to/3SKEL7d
We will be taking a break for Thanksgiving next week so please return with us on November 30th to link up your posts.
Also, don’t forget that we are looking for a couple more hosts for this feature. Contact one of us and we will put you in touch with Marsha. And please take the time to hop around to other blog posts that link up here.
(Disclosure: This page contains affiliate links. I only recommend items that I love, actually use, have used in the past, know someone else has used, or want to use in the future. Clicking the link does not mean that you will pay more for the item, only that I make a tiny commission if you make a purchase. Thank you for helping my family bring in a little extra, much-needed money.)
