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.

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?

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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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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.

A repairman came to our house this week to fix our dishwasher – or so I thought. Instead, he came and argued with me about the dishwasher being broken, acted like I was lying, and told me to wash my dishes again in it, as if that would somehow solve the problem. I told him the dishwasher pod was in the bottom of the dishwasher at the end of the cycle andit was clear it was not washing our dishes so he said, “Maybe you were opening it at the end of the cycle or something….”

I said, “Right. That’s how it works. I was opening it at the end to see if the dishes had washed and they were still dirty.”

When I showed him a video of what sound it was making when it was washing the dishes (or rather not washing them) he said, “Yeah, I guess that sounds like the motor” like he had to admit I was right, and started to pack up his limited equipment. I asked if that meant the motor could be replaced and he said, “Yeah. I guess I’ll get you a new one.” I had to follow  him to the door to ask if he had a timetable for when he’d have the motor and without looking at me, he said, “Probably a week.”

He made it clear he did not want to be here, I guess because the dishwasher was under warranty and he wouldn’t get a large fee. It was one of the most bizarre experiences I’ve ever had with a repairman. I’ve never had one argue with me about what is happening to my own appliance and want so desperately to prove me wrong.

Making the story a bit shorter, we told the place that sold us the dishwasher we appreciated how they handled business but that the person who repairs things for their warranties (he is not from their company but works with Whirlpool) was really not very nice. We then called our regular repairman and will have to pay him, since he doesn’t know anything about the warranty, but I think it’s worth it to have someone more polite do the work.

What I/We’ve Been Reading

Just Finished

I finished Heidi by Johanna Spyri and Damsel in Distress by P.G. Wodehouse last week.

I enjoyed them both.

I wrote about Heidi, which I read with Erin from Still Life, With Cracker Crumb, here.

I also finished A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie for the 2026 Reading Christie Challenge. It is a Miss Marple mystery, and it was so good.

In Progress

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

I just started The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim a couple of days ago.

Up Soon

I hope to read a Murder She Wrote book, Aloha Betrayal by Donald Bain, next and then Thrush Green by Miss Read. I would love to slip a Nancy Drew (Nancy’s Mysterious Letter) in soon as well. Probably in May.

What The Family is Reading

Little Miss and I are still reading Heidi.

The Husband is reading Crook Manifesto by Colson Whitehead.

The Boy is listening to a Warhammer book of some sort. He and I also started an audiobook of Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain the other day on the way back from Little Miss’s art class and he said he plans to listen to more of it.

What I/We’ve Been Watching

This past week I watched a 1929 movie called Bulldog Drummond with Ronald Colman and it wasn’t very good, but I like Ronald Colman, so he was fun to watch.

I also watched Shall We Dance and Swing Time with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, which I had seen before, but wanted to watch again. I liked Swing Time a lot better, except for the blackface scene. I just don’t know what the obsession was with doing that in movies back then! It’s so irritating and ruins the whole movie for me.

My husband and I started to watch Detour last night, a 1945 crime-noir movie that is only about an hour long, was filmed in about 14 days for about $100,000, and raked in $1 million. He got tired and wanted to head to bed so he’s making  me wait to finish it tonight. I use the words “making me” lightly. I could go ahead and watch it but I like watching movies he likes with him because he loves to share trivia about the movie and actors, etc.

What I’ve Been Writing

Last week on the blog I shared:

• Weekend Traffic Jam Reboot April 17
• Book recommendation: Heidi By Johanna Spyri
• Classic Movie Impressions: It’s Love I’m After (Spring of Bette)
• A little about Bette Davis and her connection to the small, rural area I live in (as I start my Spring of Bette)
• Sunday Bookends: Gladys Taber, Heidi, and other relaxing books and Bette Davis movies

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?

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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 Kathryn at The Book Date. Sunday Bookends with Boondock Ramblings 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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