Bout of Books Roundup Part 1

Hey Lovelies!

 

I had intended to blog daily but Mother Nature had other plans. While I was without internet for the majority of the week, I still wrote down daily updates. I don’t want to make this post long and rambling, so I’m breaking my Bout of Books Roundup into two parts.

 

Here’s a breakdown of what went on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

 

Monday—I woke up early this morning, ran my standard Monday Morning errands (store, post office, bank). The market had some lovely looking yellow bell peppers so I picked them up for stuffed peppers tomorrow. Sadly, there’s still not a lot on the shelves at my local grocery, so I’m going to have to make a mid-week trip, which I’m already dreading.

 

Book mail arrived in the post this morning (it was waiting for me when I came back from running errands). Grand Central Publishing kindly sent me Lost Souls at the Neptune Inn by Betsy Carter, The Woman in Red by Diana Giovinazzo and The Heatwave by Kate Riordan. Both are gorgeous and look like they’re going to be amazing reads.

 

It’s noon and I’m making a cup of chai tea and I’m going to head out to the back garden with Mr. Malcolm’s List by Susanne Allain.

 

Hey Lovelies, quick update. My reading was interrupted by a random rain shower that turned into a thunderstorm that knocked out the power. Fingers crossed, it comes back on sooner rather than later. I was really enjoying Mr. Malcolm’s List.

 

It’s now 7 pm, still no power, and it’s been too dark in my house to read an actual book so I’ve switched to reading The Methods of Lady Walderhurt by Frances Hodgson Burnett on my Kindle. This will be my last update for today, unless my power comes back on.

 

Power finally came back on a little after midnight but the internet is still out.

 

Tuesday—It’s nearly 1 in the morning when I’m writing this and it’s been an insanely long, insanely insane day. To top things off, the internet is still down and Spectrum’s not sure when they can get a tech here.

 

The morning started great. I woke up at 6 and finished Mr. Malcom’s List by Susanne Allain (such a fun book) while I enjoyed my morning tea.

 

I decided to get an early start on my stuffed peppers only to discover that two out of three were molded inside. I already had my filling prepped, so I diced the remaining pepper and attempted to make stuffed pepper casserole. I struggled to get the cornbread topping cooked thoroughly, so I ended up poking holes in the top of it with the end of a wooden spoon to get the bottom baked. It turned out fine but the top was a little browner than I would have liked.  I’m guessing my oven probably needs to be calibrated.

 

When I was doing the dishes, I heard a massive bang that came from upstairs so I went to look and found the rack/wall-shelf in my walk-in closet had fallen down. Changing the rack and reinforcing the shelf had been on my ‘to-do’ list since the start of Summer but it’s been so hot I’ve been putting it off (at least I had most of the supplies I needed on hand). I moved everything to my bedroom (it’s air-conditioned) to sort through. I ended up purging clothes, bedding, and curtains, which I’ve been needing to do for a while. I sorted out my seasonal clothing and put away what I’m not currently wearing. The bedding and curtains I kept I put in space savers (they are amazing) then into closet storage cubes. While the majority of the closet is back to normal, I’m still waiting for a few more organizers to arrive.

 

Getting the closet back to right was pretty much an all day job but I did manage to get some reading, well listening in. I started and finished the audiobook: Henrietta & Eleanor: A Retelling of Jekyll and Hyde: An Audible Original Drama (not one of my favorites).

 

I’m still reading The Methods of Lady Walderhurst. I’ve been struggling to get into it, which surprises me seeing how much I loved the first book. Hopefully, I’ll be able to read some of it before I fall asleep tonight.

 

While most of the day was a disaster, I did receive a lovely pillow from a dear friend. It’s beautiful and truly improved my day.

 

Book mail arrived as well. Thick as Thieves by Sandra Brown (thanks Grand Central) and I’m itching to read it.

 

Wednesday—I’m feeling a little under the weather today so I decided I’m not going to do much and just have a ‘self-care’ day. There probably won’t be a lot going on today, so I’ll sum everything up at the end of the day.

 

Still no internet—or appointment time—but I’m not really surprised.

 

Hey Lovelies! It’s a little after 8:30 at night and today’s just been a calm, relaxing, recharging day. I wanted to give you a quick rundown of my day before I turned in early.

 

In the morning, I started the audiobook of His & Hers by Alice Feeney. I was excited to start this one because Richard Armitage is one of the narrators but I’m not so sure about this one. I stopped at Chapter 13 and, so far, I’ve found it a bit slow, predictable, and—if I’m honest—boring. I’m also struggling to get behind any of the characters. I do have a few minor questions that I want answered, but I’m really struggling to care about what happens in this book.

 

In the afternoon, I put on a mud facemask, eye mask, opened a new Spongelle (Coconut Verbena—not the fruity scent I was expecting but I don’t hate it), and decided to have a long soak in some Dr. Teal’s Foaming Bath (Eucalyptus Spearmint—great for sore muscles) while reading The Ghosts of Scotland. The bath was nice and relaxing, the book was a bit disappointing. I think I was expecting more historical ghost tales and it just seemed like a lot of rambling. It was a quick read; I started it and finished it in the tub.

 

After my bath, I sat down with a hot cup of Tetley tea (with lemon) and read a bit more of The Methods of Lady Walderhurst while I iced my shoulder. It’s still not catching my attention but I’m determined to finish it—even if it takes me all week (I hope that it doesn’t).

 

The ice pack I used is the Gel Bead Comfort Pack from Vintage Cosmetic’s Cozy Comfort Kit. It’s basically an upgraded hot water bottle that is sealed and has gel beads instead of water. You can freeze it to use it as an ice pack or heat it to use as a hot water bottle. It also has a lovely, washable knitted slip. I use it for everything from body aches to migraines.