Friday's Fave Five - 5/6/26

It's Friday so time to look back on the blessings of the week then link up here with Susanne and the gang.  

1)  Grateful for Hubby's family.  We're all getting together this weekend - 7 siblings and partners.  His youngest sister recently bought a house in Brighton which is on the south coast of England and is a vibrant seaside destination.  The weather isn't looking too good but I'm sure that won't stop us having fun.

2)  New glasses!  I tried to take a selfie but it wasn't very flattering so I gave up.  Glad that we can afford things like decent glasses - they're so expensive when you need varifocals and like them to react to the light etc.

3)  A quieter week.  It was lovely having family here last week but it's also nice not to have such early starts etc.

4)  Rain and cooler weather.  We needed the rain and the beginning of last week was a heatwave.

5)  Lots of volunteers on Thursday at the Foodbank.  Many hands make light work.

Have a good weekend all.  

Read then Write - 4/6/26

Since my last book post I have managed to finish Three Things about Elsie by Joanna Cannon.  A re-read for me but it was the afternoon book club pick and I couldn't really remember all that happened in the book so it was a good reminder.

I really enjoyed it.

I've also managed to finish Welcome to the Neighbourhood by Jane Fallon.

This was a slow burner for me at first but then I found myself wanting to find out what the various characters were going to do.

Kitty moves to London after the break up of her long term relationship. She thinks the move will improve her life but is initially disappointed. Then she gets new neighbours, Sian and Rich and suddenly she has a new friend in Sian and her life seems better.

But then she spots a mysterious woman leaving their house and the plot thickens. The saying "oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive" springs to mind as there is a lot of deception going on and at some points it's tricky to keep track of. Some of it is a little far fetched but I did find myself sucked in during the second half of the book. The subtitle on the book was "Good neighbours or bad people?" and there's a good mix of both.

It also ticks a prompt on the 52 Book Club prompt.

I've now moved on to this one:

This is the choice of the evening book club and although I won't be attending the meeting when it will be discussed I thought I'd read it anyway as it's not too long (just short of 200 pages).  

Ephron is the screenwriter of When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle so it sounded promising.  However it is written in the first person and very much in a Stream of Consciousness style. The blurb says it will make you laugh.  I think I'm missing my sense of humour so far.  

Blogger issues? 3/6/26

Is anyone else having problems with their reading list?

Despite refreshing it, some of the blogs I follow, who I know have posted new posts, are not showing up in my reading list.  Annoying!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 3/6/26

Joyce provides the questions, we prepare our answers then the link up is here.  Have fun.

1.What's something you find extremely difficult that most people would say is simple?

Making small talk.  I hate going into situations where I don't know anyone and starting up conversations.  Although I think there might be quite a lot of people who agree with me so how about keeping houseplants alive.  I'm not too good at that either.

2.  "And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow fast in movies I  had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer." 

~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Does the season of summer make you feel this way? Elaborate. 

I think Spring makes me feel more like that than summer.

3. Pickles. Love 'em or no thank you? What's your favourite type of pickle? What's something you eat that definitely needs a pickle added?

Some I like others no thank you.  I like pickled onions and cheese just has to have pickle with it.

4. Tis the season...do you know any June brides? Are there any weddings on your summer calendar? What's your favourite movie wedding? 

I'm a June bride!  Will be celebrating 42 years next week.  We're invited to a wedding in September so almost the summer.

Four weddings and a funeral.  

5. June 1st is/was National Say Something Nice Day...say something nice here. 

Joyce deserves a medal for turning up every week and keeping this Hodgepodge community together.  Thank you Joyce.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

We have rain and much cooler temps!  Last week's heatwave was unbearable so it's lovely being cooler and we needed some rain.  Just wish the weekend forecast was looking a little better.