D is for Dahl (A-Z Challenge 2026) 4/4/26

The A-Z home page can be found here.

My theme this year is authors that I've read. More about the books I've read than the authors themselves.

I'm an avid reader. I'm a member of 2 in person reading groups through my local library. I'm gradually working my way through an old BBC reading list of 100 books (I'm about half way through) and I'm taking part in the online 52 Book Club Challenge for the third time this year where the challenge is to read 52 books over the year based on 52 different prompts. You can also find me on Goodreads here.

The D authors I've read are:

• Dahl Roald
• Darbon Leslie
• Davies Emma
• Daly Paula
• Deaver Jeffery
• Delaney J P
• Dewar Isla
• Dexter Colin
• Diamond Katerina
• Diamond Lucy
• Dickens Charles
• Diffenbaugh Vanessa
• Dillon Lucy
• Doerr Anthony
• Dolan Eva
• Donoghue Emma
• Donovan Kerry J
• Doughty Louise
• Douglas Claire
• Douglas Louise
• Drummond Elizabeth
• Duguid Sarah

There is a tie for my most read D author – I’ve read 6 books by Jeffery Deaver and Lucy Diamond. Very different authors.

The ones I’ve read by Deaver all feature Lincoln Rhyme and unusually I’d seen “The Bone Collector” film before I’d read the book. But I then carried on and I’ve read books 1-5 and 8 in the series. I must track down 6 & 7 at some point.

Lucy Diamond’s books would probably be cast as chick lit but they do have a bit more depth to them than most.

A couple of classics on there by Charles Dickens. I started with his “A Christmas Carol” which is of course quite short but then I moved on to “David Copperfield” mainly because I wanted to see if all the hype around “Demon Copperhead” was warranted and that meant reading the Dickens first. All 900+ pages of it! And soooo many characters. It ticked a box on the BBC list of books too.

And who cannot have read something by Roald Dahl if you have children?

As for 5 stars the one that stands out for me is “All the light we cannot see” by Anthony Doerr which I must get around to watching on the TV as some point.

One that I have read and seen the film of is “Room” by Emma Donoghue.

Do you tend to read first then watch or does the order not matter to you?

Friday's Fave Five - 3/4/26

It's Friday so time to reflect on the week and link up here on Susanne's site with other like minded bloggers.  

Trying to do the A-Z Challenge and keep up with regular blogging posts is not easy but these Friday posts are important as they make me stop and think about what I need to be grateful for - there is always something.  This week these are the highlights:

1)  Our clocks went forward last weekend and although that meant an hour less sleep, the days are now lighter and seem longer.  

2)  We had a big donation from our neighbouring parish last Saturday and from a local business during the week so we had enough Easter eggs to give out at the Foodbank for all the families we support.  

3)  Grateful that we were able to attend my SIL's funeral yesterday and catch up with both my brothers, my other SIL and my niece and nephew.  It was a long drive up to the funeral but we made it in time.  The roads in Lincolnshire require concentration!  It was a lovely cremation service and my brother seems to be coping well.

4)  Rather than coming straight home from the funeral we decided to stay overnight at our son's in Nottingham.  Although cutting across country to him took us nearly as long as it would have done to get home!  Not really but it was over 2 hours.  Worth it though to catch up with him and our 2 grandsons.  Our DIL was at a friend's overnight but came back this morning so we had time with all of them and played a lot of games.  

5)  A knit and natter meet up on Wednesday evening - this time at the local pub.  Nice to enjoy a glass of wine while getting some knitting done and catch up with friends.

Happy Easter everyone.

C is for Callaghan (A-Z Challenge 2026) 3/4/26

The A-Z home page can be found here.

My theme this year is authors that I've read.  More about the books I've read than the authors themselves. 

I'm an avid reader.  I'm a member of 2 in person reading groups through my local library.  I'm gradually working my way through an old BBC reading list of 100 books (I'm about half way through) and I'm taking part in the online 52 Book Club Challenge for the third time this year where the challenge is to read 52 books over the year based on 52 different prompts.  You can also find me on Goodreads here.

The C authors I've read are:

• Callaghan Helen
• Campbell Karen
• Candlish Louise
• Cannon Joanna
• Carel Eric
• Carr Charlene
• Carroll Claudia
• Carroll Lewis
• Carruth Jane
• Casey Anne-Marie
• Chamberlain Diane
• Chambers Clare
• Chevalier Tracy
• Child Lee
• Christie Agatha
• Clark-Platts Alice
• Clarke Angele
• Cleeves Ann
• Clegg Bill
• Clinton Bill
• Coben Harlen
• Cohen Tammy
• Colman Rowan
• Colgan Jenny
• Connelly Michael
• Connolly John
• Coolidge Susan
• Cooper Emma
• Cornwell Patricia
• Corry Jane
• Cotterill Colin
• Cousens Sophie
• Cox Sara
• Crawford Susan H
• Cumming Charles
• Cummins Jeanine
• Cutts Lisa

Lee Child wins for the letter C, I’ve read 21 of his Jack Reacher books, mostly in order but I am a few missing which I’ll probably catch up on at some point. I still can’t get my head around the casting of Tom Cruise in the role though. (Apart of course from his money and his clout.) But yes I have watched the films.

I’ve probably read more Christie than I have logged on Goodreads but many of them were read when I was in my late teens/early twenties. I did read one recently – Who Killed Roger Ackroyd? Unfortunately it was disappointing as I mistakenly ordered an edition that was specifically aimed at readers where English isn’t their first language. Consequently it was abridged and simplified. I did not enjoy it at all.

I also think I’ve probably read more of Patricia Cornwall’s Kay Scarpetta series than I’ve got recorded, another series I was working my way through.

Harlan Coben is another favourite, he rarely disappoints and Michael Connelly also makes my list quite often.

Of course these are mainly crime stories in one way and another but I enjoy Diane Chamberlain’s books for a take on a moral dilemma.

An author that I didn’t pick for myself initially was Charles Cumming – I was gifted Box 88 and loved it so I searched out a few more of his spy thrillers.

I must also give a shout out to Lewis Carroll – his Alice in Wonderland book gave me inspiration for a previous A-Z challenge.

The daftest book from the C’s though has to be “Grandad there’s a Head on the Beach” by Colin Cotterill. Set in Thailand and told in a first person POV it’s bonkers. If this was ever made into a film it would be fast and furious and completely farcical. Which is a shame given that at the heart of the story is the awful way Burmese people are treated in Thailand and used as slaves in the fishing trade. But I just couldn’t get on board with it. It took me 10 days to read this book and it’s only just over 300 pages long! It probably wasn’t helped by it being the 2nd book in a series but I’m certainly not going to read the first or the last.

Which is the silliest adult book you’ve read?

B is for Backman (A-Z Challenge 2026) 2/4/26

The A-Z Home page can be found here.

My theme this year is authors that I've read.  More about the books I've read than the authors themselves. 

I'm an avid reader.  I'm a member of 2 in person reading groups through my local library.  I'm gradually working my way through an old BBC reading list of 100 books (I'm about half way through) and I'm taking part in the online 52 Book Club Challenge for the third time this year where the challenge is to read 52 books over the year based on 52 different prompts.  You can also find me on Goodreads here.

The B authors I've read are:

• Backman Fredrik
• Bailey Lily
• Baldacci David
• Ballantyne Lisa
• Barclay Linwood
• Barker JD
• Barton Fiona
• Baumeister Roy F
• Bayard Ines
• Beckerman Hannah
• Beirne Olivia
• Bell Cindy
• Billingham Mark
• Binchy Maeve
• Bjork Samuel
• Blackhurst Jenny
• Blake Fanny
• Blatty William Peter
• Blyton Enid
• Bowen Rhys
• Boyd William
• Bradford Barbara Taylor
• Bramley Cathy
• Bronte Charlotte
• Brookmyre Christopher
• Brown Carolyn and Dan
• Burley WJ
• Burnett Frances Hodgson
• Burton Jessie
• Butland Stephanie

David Baldacci takes the prize for the most books for letter B. 24 in total and counting. I do like his books.

Close behind though is Mark Billingham with 19. All of which are the Tom Thorne series – an English police detective which has also been a TV series here in the UK.

Although the list doesn’t include all my books – only those that made it onto Shelfari and then subsequently Goodreads. I’ve probably read more Enid Blyton books than I’ve logged. Of course they’re very dated now but our grandkids have still enjoyed “Noddy” stories.

I did enjoy reading Maeve Binchy when I was younger and you’ll notice Barbara Bradford Taylor on the list too. Who didn’t want to read about women of substance? And of course I’ll be watching the new TV version of it that airs in March starring Brenda Blethyn who I loved in “Vera”.

I loved all the Dan Brown books and of course I’ve watched the various films.

I recently finished The Muse by Jessie Burton which I enjoyed more than The Miniaturist.

A bit light on classics though, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is probably the most noted one.  I had hoped to have Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte on there by now but I've started it twice and don't seem to be able to get through it. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett is on there but I must confess to only reading that for the first time in 2024 but I loved it. One of my few 5* ratings.

I’m a bit stingy with 5* ratings. One deciding factor with me as to whether a book is 5* rather than 4 is would I recommend it to others to read with no reservation?

What makes a book 5* for you?

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 1/4/26

Joyce provides the questions, we compile our answers and we link up here.  Come join the fun.

1. March is rolling on out of here. Sum up your March in ten words or less. 

Windy, wet, cold, sunny, warm, sometimes all the same day!

2. Are you afraid of heights? When was the last time you found yourself dealing with a height, and did it make you nervous?

I don't think so.  I've never really tested the theory to any extreme although I did have to lean out of a second storey window once when there wasn't actually a window in place.  I was being shown why the telephone lines weren't working properly - the roof on a school extension building had been put on the telephone line.  I did think I should have been wearing a hard hat but the height didn't bother me.

3. What's a word you struggle to spell on a regular basis, and sometimes need to double check before writing it down? Use the word in a sentence that tells us something about your April calendar. 

Well not wanting to brag here but I don't usually struggle with spelling (although typing is another thing altogether lol)  We're actually taking part in a quiz in April organised by the local wine bar so I might struggle with the names of wines!

4. Love 'em or hate 'em, with Easter comes the sweet treat known as Peeps. So... do you love 'em or hate 'em? Speaking of peeps, what's your favourite way to have chicken? 

I don't hate marshmallow but it's not a treat I would automatically choose - not so common here in the UK either.  When I think of PEEPS I think of Personal Emergency Evacuation Plans - I might be retired but Health & Safety is hard to forget when you've been responsible for it at work.

I pretty much enjoy chicken however it's cooked - especially if I haven't done the cooking.

5. This week's Hodgepodge lands on the first day of April, which happens to be National Poetry Month. Do you like poetry?  Share a favourite line or two from one of your favourite poems. What makes this one a favourite? 

I don't dislike poetry but it's not something I usually read so I don't have a favourite to share.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

There were some good April Fool jokes floating around this morning but April signifies the A-Z challenge for me.  I'm hoping to keep up with my regular posts too such as the Hodgepodge but as usual I'm not as prepared as I wanted to be.  I always used to work well under pressure though.  Trouble is when you're retired there is usually very little pressure! But I do love a challenge.

A is for Aaronovich (A-Z Challenge 2026) 1/4/26

The A-Z Home page can be found here.

My theme this year is authors that I've read.  More about the books I've read than the authors themselves. 

I'm an avid reader.  I'm a member of 2 in person reading groups through my local library.  I'm gradually working my way through an old BBC reading list of 100 books (I'm about half way through) and I'm taking part in the online 52 Book Club Challenge for the third time this year where the challenge is to read 52 books over the year based on 52 different prompts.  You can also find me on Goodreads here.

The A authors I've read are:

• Aaronovitch Ben
• Adams Douglas & Milly
• Ahern Cecelia
• Alcott Louis M.
• Alderman Naomi
• Alger Christina
• Ali Monica
• Anderson Celia
• Andrews V C
• Archer Jeffrey
• Arlidge M J
• Arnold Johann Christoph
• Ashe Lucy
• Ashley Tricia
• Ashton Juliet
• Atkins Dani & Lucy
• Atkinson Kate
• Atwood Margaret &
• Austen Jane

The standout author on this list for me is M J Arlidge – I’ve read 10 of his books which all feature Detective Helen Grace and are set in the south of England.  I love a good crime thriller and these haven’t disappointed.

I loved Louisa May Alcott’s books as a child – Little Women etc. and I can also remember reading the Flowers in the Attic series by V C Andrews.  I was a little surprised to find my 13 year old reading Flowers in the Attic from her Catholic school library though.

At the time I started preparing this post (June 25!) I’d only managed to read Pride and Prejudice by Austen despite having the complete works.  I’ve earmarked 2 more to read by the end of the year for the 52 Book Club challenge.

I do like to stretch myself.  Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy is an example of that.  Not my usual choice but it's on the BBC list.  Not my usual genre of crime fiction or chick lit but it was a fairly easy read.

Funny how with some authors you can love one of their books but hate something else.  (Although I very rarely DNF (did not finish) a book.  Both Cecelia Ahern and Monica Ali fall into that category.  I enjoyed Ahern’s PS I love you but almost DNF A Place called here.  Monica Ali’s debut Brick Lane was quite good but her novel Untold Story was another one that was a slog.

I read Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and found it quite chilling.  I haven’t managed to watch much of the TV series though but I would like to read The Testaments at some point. (Although I’d probably need to reread Handmaid’s Tale first to refresh my memory!

So these are my A authors.  Have you read any of their books?  What’s your favourite genre?

PS I’ve now read Sense and Sensibility by Austen and I have Mansfield Park on my “to read” list for this year’s 52 Book Club challenge.

In the News this Week - 31/3/26

is taking a break!

I hadn't taken the time to prepare a post and honestly, the news is just to awful to write about at the moment.  And.... tomorrow the A-Z Challenge starts.

Thankfully I have a few posts done and set to post so that's given me a bit of breathing space. But I do need to get a few more posts prepared so that I'm ahead of myself especially with Easter coming and a visit from our Nottingham family on Sunday for a few days.

We're also away overnight on Thursday for a funeral so time is slipping away.  

Hopefully normal service will be resumed in May when the A-Z challenge is over and maybe there might be better news to relay.  

I'm also trying very hard to beat my Wordle unbroken sequence.  It's getting a bit tense lol.

A bit of Waffle - 30/3/26

Well its nearly time for bed so this will be a short waffle.  I'm feeling quite tired tonight - our clocks went forward this weekend so I lost an hour but I've also had a couple of nights where Hubby's snoring has nearly had me decamping to the spare room.  His CPAP machine came up with an error message on Saturday so he wasn't able to use it on Saturday night or last night.  This morning I suggested he turned it off for a bit - as in completely unplug it and also check the water chamber was installed correctly.  Turns out it works the same as the computer - when in doubt turn it off and on to reboot it and it magically solves the problem.  Hopefully it will still be ok tonight and I might sleep better.

It's been 2 months now since I started taking a collagen supplement and I do think I'm usually sleeping better.  It might be more due to taking the collagen in a milky drink before bed than the actual collagen but it's still a win for me.  I also think my hair has improved and more recently the aches in my lower back and hips have been less.  I think my knees might be beyond redemption but we'll see.

I'm also trying to get more into the habit of reading when I go to bed than reaching for my phone.  I have soooooo many books to read.  I've just finished the one the afternoon book club chose so now I'm moving on to the book the evening group picked. 

Tonight we had a quick visit to wish our Grandson Nathan Happy Birthday for tomorrow - they have plans so we won't see him on the day.  I can still remember every detail of the day he was born and the difficult first few months.  (He was very premature.)  But tomorrow he will be 9!  I'm sure he will have cake tomorrow but there was cake today too!

💖

Weekly Photos 22nd to 28th March 2026

Hmm not the best week for photos!

This was Sunday morning.  The parakeets were waiting for food.

Monday - these were over a week old then but still looking ok.

Tuesday was the day I did some jobs in the garden.  A tidy shed area and fairy lights!

Wednesday - nothing to see here! I forgot to take a picture :(

Thursday - I took this on my way home form the Foodbank.  I just liked the cloud formation in the blue sky.

Friday - progress on the jumper and Mr (or Mrs) Squirrel having a feast just after I had filled the bird feeders up.  He/she just seems to know somehow when there's new food.

Saturday morning v Saturday late evening.

I thought it might have actually gone past midnight but according to my camera I was still on Saturday - just - when I put the last piece in.

I find doing a jigsaw quite relaxing but it's also a bit addictive.

I'm still not quite in the habit of taking a photo every day but I have already taken one today so that's next week started.

#SoCS - 28/3/26 - Portrait

Linda provides the prompts for #SoCS and the link up is here.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “portrait.” Use it way you’d like. Have fun!

Why is it that when you take a selfie which is just another word for portrait, the result never looks the same as what I see in the mirror?!

Short and sweet.  I was at the Foodbank all morning dealing with deliveries so I'm off for a sit down and possibly a nap.  Hope no one takes a portrait of that.

Friday's Fave Five - 27/3/26

Thanks to Susanne for reminding us each Friday to count our blessings and then share them here.

I'm still using the Tulip picture even though Spring seems to be a bit undecided this week.  My tulips are beginning to droop a bit too but there's still plenty to be thankful for:

1)  We did have enough sunshine on Tuesday to do some tidying in the garden.  I put up some fairy lights too and I've ordered a couple of tree shrubs and a couple of lavender plants to fill a gap.

2)  Rubbish to the tip.  Hubby did this on Wednesday - there wasn't much but it was making the garden look untidy!

3)  Wardrobe clear out - I did this on Monday and hopefully a charity will pick up the bags of things I cleared out today.  Various charities do roadside collections so I put my 3 bags out this morning.  One bag has already disappeared!

4)  Efficient library service.  The evening book group picked out 3 books at our last meeting to hopefully give us reads for the next couple of months and the library already has copies of all of them.  Plus a book I reserved was also there for me to collect this week.  I love my library.

5)  One of our nephews has just announced that he and his wife are expecting a baby in October.   The tribe doesn't stop growing!

Today is feeling quite wintry again - low temperature and quite cloudy.  I wish Spring would make up its mind!

Have a good weekend all.

Read then Write - 26/3/26

Well the big news here is that I got through an audio book at the weekend!

I wrote about it on my #SoCS post here.  As I mentioned there I've not been a big fan of audio books and this was borrowed accidentally from the library.  I don't think I'll be making a habit of it as I did find it hard to concentrate on it.  Even though I wasn't in bed and about to fall asleep.

Thankfully though it has kept my reading tally on track.  I'm actually 2 books ahead of schedule but this has been quite a slow week for reading.

I've been busy knitting in the evenings, although one evening I did start a new jigsaw puzzle and I've been going to bed quite late so I haven't read much of my current book "The trouble with Goats and Sheep" but I'm aiming to finish it by the end of the weekend.

I also got another book out from the library yesterday:

This is the first in the Karen Pirie series.  I recently read #6 that had been passed on to me so I thought I'd check out the first and go from there.  My library is quite efficient at getting book reservations in.  I really need to have some earlier nights and fit in more reading time!

Wednesday Hodgepodge - 25/3/26

Joyce provides the questions, we prepare our answers then we link up here. Thanks Joyce.

1. It's officially spring in the northern hemisphere. Does it feel like spring in your part of the world? If you're in the southern hemisphere it's officially autumn where you live. Does the weather say autumn? Which do you prefer-spring or autumn? Why?

Well as I'm typing this looking out into my garden the sun is shining so yes it looks springlike but.....earlier there was a big downpour and the temperatures are lower than they were last week. I'm not sure the weather got the spring memo just yet.

I prefer spring to autumn - I don't like losing an hour of sleep when the clocks change but the lighter longer evenings are worth it and watching things coming into bloom is lovely.

Autumn signals the shorter darker days of winter when you feel like you just want to hibernate, although the changing colours of autumn are lovely to see.

2. What's your favourite thing about spring? 

Longer days.

3. Spring into action, spring in your step, spring to life, spring to one's feet...which spring idiom currently applies to your life in some way? Explain.

I think spring into action probably - my to do list is growing!

4. Which spring food from this list is your favourite? What's a dish you like that includes your favourite spring ingredient?

asparagus, strawberries, salad greens like mesclun, artichokes, spinach, eggs, peas, spring onions

Eggs would be my favourite on that list - so versatile. We usually have eggs in our breakfast, and my favourite would be a toss up between scrambled or, as we had today, poached with smoked salmon and hollandaise sauce. Yummy.

5. What's one task on your spring cleaning list? Do you actually have a list?

Well I should have started a list because yesterday I emptied out and tidied our garden shed. That would definitely have been on there. Maybe I'll start the list with that because then I can cross it off and feel smug lol.

I also managed to string some outdoor lights up along the fence.  Not sure how squirrel proof they will be but they looked pretty last night.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Added to that (hypothetical) list would be disposing of all the old half-used etc containers of plant food, pesticides, weed killers etc. The ones that have been sitting there forever and are probably not effective any more. Today I have boxed them all up and applied for a hazardous waste collection. Thankfully we live in an area where you can get that done for free!

I might be on a roll here.

In the News this Week - 24/3/26

Of course the International news continues to be about the war with Iran and the knock on effects in the Middle East.  These are worrying times especially with the effect it is having on oil and energy prices.

There has also been speculation that Trump's decision to delay attacks on Iran's energy infrastructure, may have been leaked given the amount of trading that went on just before that announcement was made.  See here for more details.

At home I managed to find this feel good story about a terrier dog being rescued after disappearing down a rabbit hole.

Entertainment and the articles about who will or will not be the new hosts of Strictly Come Dancing keep coming.  So. Much. Click. Bait. out there.  I wish they'd just make the decision and put us all out of our misery.

In Sports I've just realised that the Football World Cup will be taking place when we're thinking of visiting our son this summer.  That will probably push flight prices up plus the cost of aviation fuel.  I'm sure we'll still be going but it will make it a more expensive trip.  Thankfully we won't be worrying about watching a game.  The cost of tickets has already caused a complaint to be submitted to FIFA about its pricing system.  Read more here. 

And in Miscellaneous news - my shed is tidy!  I spent time earlier pulling everything out, throwing out some stuff and collecting together all the old bottles of things like weed killer, plant food etc that I've also discovered I can get a free waste collection for.  Good job I'm not worried about spiders or cobwebs.  It was a job that was long overdue.  

A bit of Waffle - 23/3/26

We had a nice quiet weekend.  I didn't even end up doing the Foodbank session I was on the rota for as the delivery came really early and the Hub Manager was already there opening up the church for the Saturday morning karate sessions so she dealt with it.  

I did get quite a bit of knitting done, plus I listened to an audio book!  In error.  Well I mean I didn't listen to it in error but I hadn't intended to order in the audio version of the book from the library.  Anyway it was a pleasant enough way to spend time.

Several people have asked if the penny in the vase trick works:

This is after a week, bearing in mind they were given to us after they has been on display for quite a few days too.  So yes I think the penny works!

Today has been a day of two halves really.  This morning I went through my wardrobe and pulled out quite a few things that I haven't worn in a long time and am therefore unlikely to wear, plus a few pairs of shoes that I will definitely never wear again.  These have been bagged up ready for a charity collection on Friday.

I then decided I'd do a few bits in the garden but got a late request to do the school pick up by my DIL as she was stuck in waiting for a new tumble dryer to be delivered.  

I made myself some lunch and was having a cup of tea when she messaged to say the dryer had arrived in time for her to do the school run.  Back to plan A - the garden.

Then there was a general message from the Foodbank about some chicken packs that needed to be collected from nearby Enfield before 5 o'clock and put straight into the freezers.  Well no one else volunteered so I said I would go.  We have been really short of things like this in our usual deliveries so it was too good an offer to pass up.  Thankfully there were a couple of people at the Foodbank by the time I got back who were able to help me unload the car and get it all put away in the freezers.  

The garden will have to wait until tomorrow but the weather is looking okay.  The weather for the rest of the week is looking a bit unsettled with the only completely dry day being Thursday when I'm at the Foodbank.  There's nothing major to be done - hubby cut the grass last week - but I have some solar lights I want to put up plus I have a lot of pots that need emptying and probably got rid of and the shed needs a good tidy.

I am starting to think about getting some plants for pots to go on the patio.  It's a work in progress.  There are also a few bits of rubbish that need to go to the tip which will be delegated to Hubby.  He's been to the new one now and knows the way so no chance of getting a ticket like he did when he went to the old tip, got lost and went through a prohibited section of road!  At least I hope not.

Weekly Photos 15th - 21st March 2026

Afternoon tea on Sunday for Mother's Day

The completed plastic logging sheet which I submitted online on Monday.

The flowers that I brought home from the Foodbank looking pretty on Tuesday.  Look closely and you'll spot the penny in the bottom of the vase which is supposed to keep them looking good for longer.  They're still looking okay today.

Wednesday: The jumper is growing.

Thursday: My next knitting project?  Maybe.  I brought one of these home from the Foodbank last week but it didn't have the label on it.  This one had the label on it and I discovered on the reverse is the pattern for making the hat!

Friday it was nice enough to hang washing out!

Saturday - this is the audio book I listened to.

Funny how colours can look so different in photos.  That jumper looks purple in that photo but I can assure you it's pink!

Hope you're having a relaxing Sunday.

#SoCS - 21/3/26 - Easy/Hard

Linda provides the prompts for #SoCS and the link up is here.

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “easy/hard.” Use one, use both, use ’em any way you’d like. Bonus points if you get both words into your post. Enjoy!

Well I'm going to use both by asking is it easy/hard to listen to an audio book?

I have never really settled to listening to audio books.  Some years ago my daughter gifted me a six month subscription to audible but I was still working at the time so the only time I really had for reading was when I went to bed.

Well I'm sure you can guess what happened.  I would often fall asleep listening to the book so I consequently found myself having to backtrack, trying to work out at what point I was up to when I fell asleep and often reading the same chapter over and over.

Needless to say I did not renew the subscription when the gift period expired.

Fast forward to now and I read a lot.  I'm retired so I can really read as much as I want and when I want.  I do love a physical book but I also like the convenience of reading on my Kindle App, especially when on holiday.  But I've kept away from audio books.

Until today.  I mistakenly ordered an audio version of a book from the library rather than the physical copy.  I decided to give it a go.

Straight off I had to speed it up.  The narrator's voice was boring and slow.  I worked out how to speed it up and I actually managed to listen to the whole book during the course of this afternoon and evening.

It was Wednesday's Child by Peter Robinson which is a DCI Banks story. (Actually #6 in the series.)  This is a very English crime series that has been televised.  I enjoyed the TV series and the books have been ok so far. (I'm trying to read them in order.)  They're not 5 star material but they're quite gritty at times.  This one was a bit more graphic than some and the crime centred around a child abduction.

My main problems with the audio version were that:

1)  I found the narrator annoying - and it was the same one for all the characters, men and women; and

2)  I noticed how much detail there was in all the descriptions.  Of everything.

Perhaps when I've been reading the books I've skimmed over that or maybe this book was just more descriptive than previous ones.

Anyway I finished it. 

But it hasn't persuaded me that audio books are my thing.  I was knitting while listening so it was productive in that way but I'm not sure I would necessarily keep all the plot details in my head if I was doing something that required a bit more concentration.  Chick lit might work I suppose but I'm not convinced.

I'll definitely be more careful when ordering books from the library in future though!

Are you an audio book fan? 

Friday's Fave Five - 20/3/26

Susanne reminds us each week to look back on our blessings and then we link up here.  Thank you Susanne.

1) Last Sunday was Mother's Day here in the UK.  We had a lovely afternoon with my daughter and her family.  We were supposed to go to them but we ended up here.  They brought the ingredients for an English style cream tea which we all enjoyed.

2)  We found out this week that one of our nieces is expecting her first baby later this year.  A baby is always something to be thankful for.

3)  Hubby and I sat through a TV series together this week. We don't often want to watch the same thing so it was nice to sit down together and we did binge watch it a bit over a couple of days.  (Series was "Gone" aired by ITV one of the main UK channels.)

4)  Flowers from the Foodbank - we had so many donated to us on Monday evening we didn't have enough buckets to put them in so we all brought some home.

 5) Our eldest son celebrated his birthday yesterday - he was working during the day but he and his family had dinner out at their local Nandos.

And for a bonus - I was able to hang some washing to dry outside today!  Spring is definitely here.

Have a good weekend all.

Read then Write - 19/3/26

Well I only managed to finish one book since my last book post - The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves.

The blurb reads:

"It's been several years since Detective Jimmy Perez left Shetland. He has settled into his new home in Orkney, the group of islands, off the northern coast of Scotland, with his partner Willow Reeve and their growing family. One stormy winter night, his oldest and closest friend, Archie Stout, goes missing. Ever the detective, Perez catches a boat to the island of Westray, where Archie worked as a farmer and lived with his wife and children.

But when he arrives he finds a shocking Archie's body, on an archaeological dig site and an ancient Westray story stone with precise spirals carved into it beside him, the clear murder weapon. The artifact, taken from a nearby museum, seems to suggest a premediated murder.

But Perez is so close to the case that he struggles to maintain an objective distance from the potential suspects. He finds it difficult to question Archie's wife, whom he's known for years. Rumours swirl about the dead man's relationship with a young woman new to the island, an artist. With each new lead, the case becomes more twisted and Perez wonders if he will ever find out what happened in his friend's final days."

I've enjoyed quite a few books by Ann Cleeves and I've watched the "Shetland" series which featured DI Perez on the TV.  This book finds Perez now settled in Orkney with partner Willow, a young son and another baby on the way.  Yet there didn't seem to be any explanation of how we got from Shetland to Orkney.  According to Google we've jumped 7 years but that wasn't accounted for in this book.

Having said that this book could easily be a stand alone and I do love Cleeves' way of describing things in detail and giving depth to her characters.  It was a little bit too neatly wrapped up for me at the end so no 5 stars but it definitely makes you want to visit Orkey for its scenery.

According to Goodreads I'm 2 books ahead of schedule to complete this year's reading challenge but my reading pile is not going down.

I have 3 books out from the library at the moment:

 


The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is the afternoon book club choice.

People Person is for the evening book group and

The Betrayal is for one of the 52 book club prompts:

"Inspired by the top grossing movie, in the year you were born"

The film?  Ben Hur.  My first thoughts were I'd have to find something on ancient Rome.  Definitely not my sort of thing.  Having looked at what the film is about Betrayal seemed a good fit.  My challenge my rules!

I've actually read The Trouble with Goats and Sheep before so that should be an easy one to get through and I'm starting with that one next.  Then I'll do the other book club one so that I'm ready for the next meet ups before moving on to Betrayal.