Wednesday, February 4, 2026

"Book Club" Monthly Challenge

Michele found this challenge where you read a different "type" of book each month. 

And by "type" I mean....well you can see the list. 

Luckily for January I was reading "Nightshade" by Michael Connelly. While Nightshade is stretching it on the color, I'm assured that Nightshade is a color in a 152 box of crayola crayons. Nightshade is the first in a new series featuring a Los Angeles Detective who is exiled to Catalina Island. The plot follows Detective Stilwell as he investigates a murder in the Catalina harbor. While much the same as Harry Bosch, the half brother of Mickey Haller (The Lincoln Lawyer) Connelly's most famous character, I thought the book was good considering I've been to Catalina Island. Other than being there, I just like Michael Connelly.

February is read a book with the first letter of your name in the title. Well I thought I was screwed on that one..."J"???? How many books have a "J" in the title. Ta-Da!!! My favorite author, John Grisham, has a book I haven't read called The Judge's List. What a lucky find. And I thought I'd read everything John Grisham had ever written. I should get an extra point for having a "J" in the title of the book and the author! The Judge's List is about a serial killer who happens to be a sitting judge in Pensacola, Florida. He's murdered people who have done him wrong in the past 20 years. The daughter of one of his victims has been stalking him for at least that long. I'm sure he will be caught but I haven't finished the book yet. Stay tuned for March. I've found a good one....I hope!


Monday, January 26, 2026

Snowstorm Aftermath Birthday

She was born during a snowstorm and tonight we celebrated her 43rd birthday in the aftermath of Snowstorm Fern which didn't leave as much snow as anticipated but the temperatures are ridiculously low....-5* this morning and 18* this evening with wind.
Dinner was at Jose Peppers. Jamie refused to spend another "kid" birthday at Fun House Pizza. Teresa brought the cake and the food was great.
Happy Birthday Melissa. Times sure have changed from 7 years ago when we let Harrah's provide our buffet dinners!

Thursday, January 22, 2026

Another Bingo Bucket List Item - Walk 100 Miles in 30 Days

I completed another Bingo bucket list item. I not only walked 100 miles in 30 days - I walked it in 22 days.

I knew I was close when I left the house this morning so I kept checking my watch to see when I hit 100 miles. I was at the grocery store so I took a quick picture of my feet. I wasn't about to ask someone in the store to take my picture walking down the grocery aisle! 

Sunday, January 18, 2026

Plant Indoor Seeds

I keep seeing pictures on my Instagram feed for Midnight Blue Hostas.

In fact, the people posting the pics indicated they're starting them from seeds. Since "Plant Indoor Seeds" is on my Bingo card bucket list, I decided to get some hosta seeds and plant them.

I'm quite the overachiever so I not only planted seeds but I got the planter with the dome lid, humidity controller and watched a YouTube video on how to start seeds. There's 12 spaces in this planter and if you figure each grown hosta plant costs at least $25, I could be saving a fortune this Spring. Otherwise, there's about $15 down the drain.

Monday, January 12, 2026

Monkey Bread

I tried to start my diet today for another bucket list item but monkey bread kept calling my name.

I'll have to start the diet another day. This bread turned out so well. After eating this, I'll need that diet.

Sunday, January 11, 2026

A Puzzle for my Bingo Bucketlist Card

I completed putting together a puzzle for my Bingo bucket list card. This gives me 9 out of 25 things to do before April 1.

I tend to pick puzzles where every piece looks the same. This time a jumble of candy. I'm going a step further with this and going to Michael's to get some puzzle glue. This is going on my garage wall. I worked too hard to just take it apart and put it back in the box. 

Saturday, January 10, 2026

Volleyball - Lawrence

Violet's volleyball team had another tournament in Lawrence. I don't mind traveling to out of town locations but Lawrence is about an hour away and Teresa picks me up around 6:30 in order to make the 8:00 game. Plus we try to get a parking spot close to the building. Makes for a long day.
It's hard to say whether Violet's team won or lost. These tournaments are for seeding for Power League. I can't go any further with an explanation because I'm not sure what this means. I usually just nod my head. I tried to get a picture of her in action (she's really pretty good) but my camera skills are terrible.
I was so embarrassed because I wore my pink volleyball shirt. Just a generic shirt with volleyball on it but 2 of the teams Violet played wore pink and Violet's team colors are white and navy blue. I think I'll check Amazon for another shirt.