OVERFLOWING BOOKSHELVES…

Since books help us chase away the blues, filling my shelves with upcoming reads adds to that task.

In the photo above, check out the books that I have read, on the left, and those that are still waiting to be read:  on the right.

There are also books on my Kindle that keep me eager to move ahead.

On my blogs, I share and feature some of those books, especially those that are about to be read…and those that I have reviewed.

Today I am reading Everyone Is Watching, by Heather Gudenkauf, from my Kindle.

A fascinating tale that highlights a contest:

Five contestants have been chosen to compete for ten million dollars on the game show One Lucky Winner. The catch? None of them knows what (or who) to expect, and it will be live streamed all over the world. Completely secluded in an estate in Northern California, with strict instructions not to leave the property and zero contact with the outside world, the competitors start to feel a little too isolated.

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I can’t wait to watch these events unfold.

What will I read next? I have another book on my Kindle that is waiting:

Princess of Las Vegas, by Chris Bohjalian.

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What do your bookshelves reveal?

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BLUE MONDAYS NO MORE…

Today is not a rainy day, nor is it a Monday, but yesterday was a holiday.  Also, there are clouds and hints of precipitation ahead.  When those days come along, I can feel the blues slip down on me.  Why?  It’s not because of the rain, exactly.  But storms could follow.  And I hate storms!

I started reading a new book today:  Every Smile You Fake, by Dorothy Koomson.

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So far, I am intrigued.  The characters are promising, and delightful events are on the horizon.  Also, there are some things that are not so great lying ahead.

Please take care of my baby. But don’t try to find me. You’ll put him in danger. x

Profiler and therapist Kez Lanyon is shocked when she finds a baby on the backseat of her car, with an unsigned note asking her to take care of him.

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I am hoping that these events keep me fascinated enough so that I forget the possibilities of blue moments in my day.

I am still reeling from last week’s chaos and the computer/banking issues that almost upended me.  I hope I have sorted it out enough…and that the trip I planned for next week can still happen.

Why does life’s darkness keep grabbing me?  At my age, shouldn’t I have everything under control?  Just when I think I have a grasp of things, something unexpected comes along.  I guess that is just life.  But then again, perhaps I am not able to keep a grip on things like I should.

Here’s to “blue Mondays no more!”

What do your days look like?

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A RAINY MONDAY…

I peeked out the window this morning…and alas, more rain!  I hope it settles down enough so I can walk for a bit outside.  But so far, no sign of it letting up.

I have checked out emails, websites, and watched an episode of Days of Our Lives on Peacock.  I love that this show went there when it stopped showing on NBC.  Streaming services are available any time!  So I can watch shows early in the morning while drinking my coffee and eating my oatmeal.

Do any of you watch that show?  Or do your mornings have other rituals that help your day open up?

Next I plan to keep reading Last Night, by Luanne Rice.  I didn’t read much yesterday, as I was caught up in rewatching The Good Fight.  Loving it!

This week, I plan to go out to do some shopping with my granddaughter.  I need new pajamas for our trip that starts at the end of the month.  Yes, new PJs!

I am also wondering what to cook next in my new air fryer.  I also need to test how to reheat things, like food I bring home from restaurant meals.  I love Mimi’s French Pot Roast, but can never eat the whole thing.  Before now, I have reheated it in the microwave, but I bet the air fryer would be better.

 

So…let’s contemplate the new day and the new week, and plan ahead!

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RAINING AGAIN…

Welcome to another rainy day!  Just when I thought I might go out for a nice walk, I peeked outside and saw the falling rain.

However, a cup of coffee and another great streaming show, and I’m cozy again.  Today I decided to rewatch The Good Fight, and by the end of the first episode, I was hooked.

I have always loved Christine Baranski as Diane Lockhart, in this show and the previous ones in which she has made a great appearance.  So I’m ready to join in again.

Check out my photo above:  once upon a time, I regularly posted here…until Facebook decided to block this site.  Suddenly, I am able to go there again.  But I’m not sure I trust them!  So here I am, cautiously optimistic.

I am going out to my cozy chair to watch more, and also to read the next book waiting on my Kindle.

That book is Last Night, by Luanne Rice.

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As another Sunday leads us to another great week, I will close…and anticipate what lies ahead.

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RAINY DAY MOMENTS…

Welcome to a Rainy Day Friday.  This week has been a wet one, but when those days come along, I like curling up with books indoors.  And doing a little cooking.

Yesterday I cooked salmon on my new air fryer, for starters.

Then I curled up on my comfy chair to read Clover Hendry’s Day Off, by Beth Morrey.

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Let’s look around my space and check out how the coziness adds to the rainy day.

 

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Now let’s get ready for a new day, rain or shine.

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CLOCK CHANGING…

Another useless clock changing exercise!  We have tried to make daylight saving time permanent, without success.  Is it about politics, or some fear of the changes that would occur if we failed to set the clocks backward and forward regularly?

Most of us feel groggy, cranky, and off our game due to the regular changes in time keeping.  We try various things to make it all easier to live with, like changing up the routine of setting the clocks back or forward.  I did that this time, setting some clocks the night before, and others in the morning.  I felt more in control of the process.

Meanwhile, I still felt out of sorts.

I did more reading today, and even took a nap.  I didn’t really sleep, but I did lie on the bed, eyes open, watching the changing photos on my laptop nearby.

Now I am charging my Kindle and trying to decide what to do next.  Watch a movie on my laptop?  Scroll through blog posts?  I feel too tired to do much, but not tired enough to sleep.

How do you feel about the whole thing?

Meanwhile, my patio umbrella is down during the rainy season, and I don’t spend much time out there.

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COZY SUNDAY…

Welcome to a Sunday filled with coziness and cheer.  I am looking forward to time with my granddaughter later in the day. 

Above, I snapped a new picture of my dining room, with Mickey and Minnie on the Coca Cola table and a rearrangement of my trinkets on the Baker’s Rack.

The little diner nook above is one I love!  But, sadly, there is no space in my dining room for it.  I don’t think there is, anyway.  Now my mind will go into high gear to figure out how it might work!

That’s how I do things.  I rearrange and change.

Here’s a close-up of the Baker’s Rack, with the rearranged trinkets.

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What do you enjoy doing on a lazy Sunday?

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COFFEE CHAT: BOOKISH & NOT SO BOOKISH THOUGHTS…

Welcome to another Coffee Chat.  Today’s feature is brought to you from my Rainy Days and Mondays blog because it is so under-utilized. The week has been a good one, even though I have only read and reviewed one book…so far.  The Homewreckers, by Mary Kay Andrews.  Instead I have been bingeing Sex and the City, all six seasons!  And then I watched the first of the movies that came out afterwards.  It was fun!

Then I watched a Hulu show called Candy, about a housewife who murdered her so-called friend.  With an axe! Next I plan to continue watching Gaslit, on Starz.

• On Monday, I went out for Mexican food with a friend.  It was delicious, of course.
• Last Saturday, I had Fish & Chips with my daughter in honor of Mother’s Day.
• Next week, my #2 son is passing through our little city with his three adult children, and we will also be eating at a favorite restaurant.
• I am enjoying morning coffee on my patio whenever the day is nice…not windy or rainy.

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For fun, I ordered this vintage typewriter music box from Amazon, headed my way tomorrow. I will display it in the office portion of my bedroom.

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What are your weekend plans?

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BLUE MONDAYS…NO MORE!

Good morning, and welcome to another “Blue Monday.”  As you may know, Mondays are no longer “blue” for me, since my retirement.  Now they are the beginning of another wonderful week!

Above, note the office in my previous apartment, where I lived from 2007 to 2019, which I still love thinking about.

For the past nine months, I have been focusing on my interiors in this new apartment.  Now I think I can say it is mostly done.  Except for the addition of more books!

This weekend, I started on the outdoors.  My patio is tiny, but tiny spaces also need “spiffing up.”  I added a patio table and chairs with an umbrella.  Small, to fit the space.

On Saturday, we had wind and rain, so I couldn’t enjoy it.  But yesterday and this morning, I had my first cup of coffee out there.  I plan to enjoy evening wine there, too.

To add to the enjoyment, I have ordered a birdhouse from Amazon…I had quite a large collection of them back at my condo, the one I left three years ago.  Those are gone, but I am starting over.  In a small way.

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I have considered adding other things, but I will wait and see how things shape up.

Here is today’s coffee with my book:

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What do you enjoy on a Monday morning?

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COZY THINGS…

Welcome to my cozy blog, Rainy Days and Mondays.  I have neglected it in recent months because Facebook blocked me from posting there!  Why?  No answers from them.  But I manage to tweet and also post from my website blogs page.  So there, Facebook!

Now that I have many boxes of Disney trinkets again (they were in my daughter’s guest room!), I can enjoy them.  She moved me to a studio apartment in 2019, where I didn’t have much room for treasures like these.  But…I thought she gave them away!  Imagine my joy to see them again when she brought them over to me in my new apartment.

Years ago, I created the blog header above that spotlights some of them.  On the right, you’ll notice my Red Riding Hood trinket next to Mother Goose.  I now have those again.

I have arranged them on a bookshelf and on my Baker’s Rack, below.  In addition, you’ll notice Billy Goats Gruff (second shelf from the bottom of the rack) and The Seven Dwarfs, at the very bottom.

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I don’t have them all, but I won’t be sad…I will enjoy what I have with me now.

Do you have treasures that you lost…and then found?

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