Rambling On ~

Hello Peoples! July went galloping by so quickly! My word! The weather has been wonderful, but hot days are returning. ⛱☀ Oh well. Bring it on! I can do this.

Finished Reading ~

Betsy by Sarah Monzon

Sewing In SoCal #5

Betsy is the last book in a series of romantic comedies. All five romantic comedies are fun to read. I enjoyed all of them and highly recommend them. There is Molly, Jocelyn, Nicole, Amanda and Betsy. Try to read them in order. 😉

Your Favorites At The Cottage In July ~

July 5, 2022 ~ Top Five Tuesday ~ Top 5 Anticipated Reads for July ~ September

July 10, 2022 ~ The Classics Club Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens

July 13, 2022 ~ Evil In Emerald by A. M. Stuart

The new, the improved, the snazzy, the dazzling and amazingly bright new concrete job on our carport is finished! YAY! That was certainly *ahem* interesting. I’m not certain which part in the process was the most interesting??? It’s a toss-up. Was it supporting the carport??? Or! Was it the big concrete truck backing into our driveway and pouring the new, wet concrete into our carport space??? Such excitement! And now, we are going to finish cleaning the basement. We’re 75% finished. It’s been a busy July. I’m very thankful the temperatures were cooler when the concrete guys worked. That is such a hot job. I didn’t want it to be 100 degrees when they brought such excitement to our humble abode.

And! That’s it for now.

Enjoy!

Much love ~

Kathy

In The Summer Time ~

Hello Peoples! Rick and I woke this morning to a beautiful day and decided to visit the zoo. We go to the zoo once every summer. Our city has a small zoo, but it’s nice and we like it. Something different always happens at the zoo. The bears 🐻got into a tussle. They really roared! 🐻 I think it was sibling rivalry. I do. The bears are brother and sister. When we arrived at the rhino🦏 home, he had a devious expression in his eyes. Mmm. The one New Guinea singing dog sang for us. 🎵 We passed a grandmother and her granddaughter. I think the girl was twelve years old. They had a brief conversation when we were standing next to them. It follows ~

Grandmother walking slowly: Remember! Old person!

Granddaughter nods and keeps moving.

Personally, I didn’t think Grandma was all that old.

We had the concrete replaced in our carport. What a job! Oh my. First a concrete guy came with a jack hammer and demolished the old concrete. The same guy put our carport on supports. We don’t want the carport collapsing. Then came a truck and hauled away the broken-up concrete. Then concrete guy worked on the dirt that was under the concrete. I don’t know everything he did. I was experiencing a tad of anxiety during the entire process, so I tried to escape. Then came the cement truck and poured new cement. The two concrete guys smoothed and smoothed and smoothed and smoothed out the new concrete. This went on for a long time. Then it cures. That’s right, concrete cures. The new concrete sat for a few days and now the concrete guys have returned. I don’t think it will take much longer to finish. Whew. I hope not. It’s been real! 😲

Much Love ~

Kathy

Hail to the Chef by Julie Hyzy

A White House Chef Mystery #2

I’ve been wanting to read this series for a long time, and I did read the first book in the series, State of the Onion, so, I’m going forward. A friend of mine owns the entire series and loaned them to me. YAY!

It’s the holiday season at the White House and everyone is busy. Ollie, our favorite executive chef and her staff are busy with food preparations. The President and First Lady meet themselves coming and going. As the result of a bomb threat, activity is put on hold, when the White House is evacuated. Then, someone is discovered dead by electricity, and everyone is dismayed and overwhelmed. There is one shocking incident after another, during a time when everyone should be celebrating the season.

This was a good mystery! The First Lady is a strong character. She does well under pressure and manages to keep moving forward and persevere. Ollie is so busy trying to keep the kitchen running smoothly, attend classes required by the Secret Service and solve a murder. And! Nothing goes according to plan, but it all seems to uniquely happen, and Ollie is front and center.

Have you read The White House Chef Mysteries? Did you like them? I recommend them. I didn’t solve this one.

Afternoon Tea ~ Book Tag

Hello Peoples! It’s a beautiful morning. The high today is 89! Nice day for ice cream. 🍦🍨 The hummingbirds are hanging out at our feeders. And! The cardinals disappeared for a while, but they are back today.

I found this book tag at Kristin’s blog. As I answer the questions on this tag, I’m going to try to stick to current reads. The link To Kristin’s blog is below ~

“Afternoon Tea” Book Tag

She found it at Fi’s Bibliofiles, however, it was created by The Incessant Bookworm.

Onward ~

FINGER SANDWICHES ~ A Book You Savored Every Minute Of

A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe is a Gothic Romance and I enjoyed it. I remember I ordered it at our local library through inter-library loan. It is so good. I devoured it and returned it to the library in record time.

SCONES ~ A Book Everyone Should Own

Everyone should own The Bible and we all need to read it. 🤗

BISCUITS ~ A Book That Can Be Finished In One Sitting

Amanda by Sarah Monzon is a book I finished in one sitting. All the books in this series are great reads and each one can be finished in one sitting.

PATISSERIE ~ A Book That Is Light And Easy To Read

Oh my word! The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer is light and easy to read. What a fun story!

SHOWSTOPPER ~ A Book That Blew Me Away

The Eternal Savage by Edgar Rice Burroughs is a prehistoric adventure that blew me away!

TEA ~ A Heartwarming Classic

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Happy Reading!

Much Love ~

Kathy

Red Vespa~

Hello Peoples! It’s 69 degrees this morning. Nice. Sadly, the high today is 91! I was hoping it would be a tad cooler than 91. I am up for it though. Bring it on! ⛱☀

Yesterday I just happen to be standing in our front room that faces the street, when a girl on a bright, red Vespa scooter drove by. Her hair was dyed red to match the color of her Vespa! How fun!

Currently Reading ~

Not My First Rodea by Governor Kristi Noem

Lessons From the Heartland

Governor Noem’s book is good. It’s really holding my attention. It’s not really a book about politics, although as Governor of South Dakota, politics is mentioned. She writes about growing up in South Dakota on her family’s ranch. I haven’t finished reading it yet!

Much Love ~

Kathy

Death By Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow

An L.A. Night Market Mystery

Death By Bubble Tea is the lively first book in a new series and I liked it! Family is important in this mystery.

So! Celine and Yale are cousins. Celine, from a wealthy family, lives in Hong Kong. She is flying to Los Angeles to visit Yale and her beloved dad. It’s been many years since the cousins have seen one another. Yale is not happy Celine is coming for a visit. Nope, not at all. Upon dad’s recommendation, Yale is to be Celine’s tour guide and the two women will be operating a food stall together at the Eastwood Village Night Market! Yale recently lost her job at a bookstore and needs the money and Celine is a social media influencer. Mmm. What a combination??? And! That’s right, one of their customers is murdered! How rude!

When I met Celine for the first time, I didn’t really like her, but as the story progressed, she grew on me and by the end of the book, I liked her a lot. She knows her stuff. And! Celine and Yale did a great job as a team trying to solve the mystery. Did I mention, Yale’s dad owns and operates a successful restaurant?

I liked this book from the beginning and there is so much great food mentioned. WOW! I narrowed my suspects down to three people and one was the killer. YAY! It’s a fun, interesting book to read with a lot to like and a lot happening. Recommend!

Happy Reading!

Saturday Morning At The Bakery ~ 7/16/2022

Hello Peoples! It is a nice cool day. The high is 80 degrees! So, I decided to go to the bakery and read for a couple of hours. The bakery was busy, but most customers were taking their treats to go. Well, when I arrived and put my book and other items on the table I would be using, I walked up to the treats and realized I forgot my money! Who does that??? Who forgets their money??? I knew Rick was nearby, so, I sent him a quick text asking him to bring me money. He did. My hero! 😁😉

When I finished reading, it’s such a nice morning, I decided to walk home, but it started to rain, so, I got a ride. 🚗

Yesterday afternoon these burly concrete men came by our house and took out our front steps. We are having new concrete poured in our carport and the crumbling steps had to go. And! They are gone. they were quick about it too! Rick and I went out for dinner and when we returned the steps to the front door were gone, vanished, disappeared! 😲 There was a small area of siding on our house that needed repairing, so Rick donned his tool belt and did the repair job whist I was at the bakery.

I broke the frames on my glasses a few days ago. I bought new frames. I am thankful they had frames exactly like the frames I broke. My lenses fit right into the new frames perfectly.

And the great news! I have one pill left of my medication and I am feeling so much better. It’s been a long time coming, but I am so incredibly thankful! And! Thank-you for all your prayers, continued prayers and get well wishes. I really appreciate every one of them! ❤❤❤

Much love ~

Kathy

Ramblings ~

Hello Peoples! Even though it was hot, 87 degrees today, it didn’t feel hot to me. I’m cool and comfortable.

As many of you know, we have been cleaning our basement. we’re half finished. We work on it for a couple of hours every day. There is an area in our basement that is completely empty! Basements seem to be a catch all. 🤨 Today when I decided to take a break, I put in a movie, got comfortable on the sofa and it was all I could do to stay awake and watch the movie. I was so comfortable splayed out on the sofa with our many pillows. Once I was able to fully wake myself up, we went out for ice cream. Of course, we have ice cream in the freezer, but it seems more fun to go out for the frosty treat. 🍦🍨

Currently Reading ~

Death By Bubble Tea by Jennifer J. Chow

Have a great evening.

Much love ~

Kathy

Evil In Emerald by A. M. Stuart

A Harriet Gordon Mystery #3

This was a good mystery. Harriet Gordon joins a local theatrical group who are preforming Pirates of Penzance. There is tension in this group and secrets. Unexpectedly one of the cast members is murdered! Inspector Robert Curran is investigating the death of the cast member. There are plenty of suspects. Curran’s life is becoming complicated when a mysterious man arrives on his doorstep, claiming he has important information Curran needs. Someone Curran depends on gives him a troubling announcement, so his life is intricately involved, at this time. When a second person is murdered, Curran and Harriet work together to try to discover the identity of the killer.

I really like this series. It’s set in Singapore (1910) and I think it’s an intriguing series. Harriet is a strong, female protagonist. She helps her brother at the school and types up notes for the Inspector at the police station. She is one of the very few who have accepted and consider Li An a friend. She has been a friend to Li An for a while. Curran is a good investigator and a great friend to Harriet and her brother. I like Curran.

As I read the story, and considered suspects, I took my time. This book has more than one mystery, so there is a lot to sift through. As I read, the clues were there, and I did solve the murderous crime. YAY! The ending of the book, without a doubt, left me wanting to read the next mystery in the series. Highly Recommend! A difficult book to put down.

Happy Reading!

Top Five Tuesday ~ Top Five Books Set At School

Hello Peoples! Here we are again! It’s time for TOP FIVE TUESDAY! This week we’re sharing books set at a school. Top Five Tuesday was created by Shanah at Bionic Book Worm and is now hosted by Meeghan. Her link is below ~

https://meeghanreads.com/

So! Here we go ~

A Little Class On Murder by Carolyn G. Hart

Well! Annie Darling has been invited to teach “The Three Great Ladies of Mystery” class at Chastain Community College. Of course, this is a Death On Demand mystery, so, there is scandal and death. How rude! I enjoy Max and Annie mysteries and I recommend them!

An Act of Murder by Mary Angela

This is a Professor Prather Mystery. Our favorite instructor is an English Professor at a college in South Dakota. She also solves mysteries! This series is good. I recommend all of the books in the series!

Stone And Spark by Sibella Giorello

Really good story. Raleigh Harmon is fifteen years old and has a new interest in geology. She has a teacher who directs her but doesn’t give her the answers. Her best friend Drew is into physics and is missing! Raleigh is determined to find her. I really enjoy the Raleigh Harmon mysteries. I recommend all of them.

I’ve included Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery because Anne’s education and her school days are clearly seen in this wonderful story!

Murder, She Wrote A Time for Murder by Jessica Fletcher & Jon Land

Jessica is a teacher at the local high school. The principal is murdered. Not good. Jessica decides to investigate.

Happy Reading!