Adventures in Writing

What I Just Finished Reading: Since last Wednesday I have read/finished reading: Garden of Lamentations (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) by Deborah Crombie and Key Lime Sky by Al Hess.


What I am Currently Reading: Children of the Storm (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) by Elizabeth Peters


What I Plan to Read Next: I have another library book out and one on request, so probably one of those.

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Can you believe that I've actually reached (and surpassed) my goal of 100 books?!!!


Book 100 of 2025: Garden of Lamentations (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) (Deborah Crombie)

I enjoyed this book a lot! ( spoilers )

This book was really good and I'm giving it five hearts. My only concern is that I'm reaching the end of the series. o_O I found an interview that in which the author says she's working on #20, but there seems to be more time between each release, so I don't know when it might be coming out.

♥♥♥♥♥

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Book 101 of 2025: Key Lime Sky (Al Hess)

This book was nothing at all what I expected, and yet I liked it quite a lot. When I finally got around to starting it, I finished it in two days. ( spoilers )

I enjoyed this book and am giving it five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

I had a massage this morning. (I scheduled it on Saturday, after confirming that Sister S was taking mom to her dr. appt today. It’s been a while, and I wanted to do some shopping in Albany, so I took advantage of circumstances.) It was just okay. It was a new-to-me massage therapist and I did not love her technique. Instead of the long, slow strokes I’m used to, she used very fast ones. It felt like she was racing and I couldn’t relax.

I told her when she was doing my back that I often got knots around my shoulder blades. She said she was feeling for things like that as she did the massage. My unspoken thought was, how could you possibly feel anything moving that fast?!! (I did get a free ‘enhancement’ (aromatherapy lotion) for my birthday, even though it was last month, so that was nice.)

I hit five stores while I was in the area and only managed to get something from two of them. I wanted to get Christmas-present calendars from the calendar store, but the calendar store no longer stocks All The Calendars, just games and toys. *deep disappointment* I will have to wait until the first week of October when the kiosk goes up, or just order them online. I was looking forward to having that task finished. (I ended up ordering them online, so the task ~is finished.)

ETA: I forgot to mention that I got lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. I had a gift certificate and hadn't been there in a while. I got their Orange Chicken, which was really good. And some cheesecake to go, naturally. *g*

I folded last night’s load of laundry and got another load washed, dried and folded, hand-washed dishes, went for a couple of walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered.

I read some fanfic and more in Amelia Peabody.

Temps started out at 65.7(F) (we expected it to be 60, but the even warmer temp was a surprise) and reached 70.0. It did rain, but very intermittently.


Mom Update:

I didn’t see mom, but talked to her on the phone. She sounded okay. She’s going to try the radiation. It will be 5 days/week for 5 weeks, which is going to be a frelling pain in the ass, tbh. They told her it might make her nauseated, which didn’t make her happy. I hope she understands that she can opt out at any time.

I loved seeing Rex and the team, but I'm really upset and a bit depressed. ( spoilers )

I hit Walmart and Agway while I was downtown and got in a walk around the park. I also picked up Chinese for lunch.

I did three loads of laundry (the third got left in the dryer), hand-washed dishes, went for a couple of walks with Pip and the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and shaved.

I had a video call with a dermatologist about a bump that keeps forming on my cheek. It used to stay for about 6 weeks, then leave for a couple of months, then come back . . . (My PCP said it had to do with poor drainage, but it's just weird that it suddenly started happening and the timing is so strange, so I finally decided I wanted a second opinion.)

Now that I've scheduled an appointment, of course it only stays for a week or so. Naturally it wasn't showing when I had the video call, but I had thought to take some photos of it, so sent them to the doctor. He's going to get back to me. May have already, but I haven't seen a notification for the my chart thingie.

I read some fanfic and started the next Amelia Peabody.

Temps started out at 47.8(F) (still cold, but 10 degrees warmer than yesterday!) and reached 80.1!! I wore capris and a t-shirt this morning because I knew it was going to get hot later on. After having the forecast show zero rain, we suddenly have five days of rain coming up, starting tomorrow. We need it, but I still hate having to do my errands and running around in the rain.


Mom Update:

Mom was doing pretty good today. ( more back here )

I hit Stewart’s on the way home from mom’s, did two loads of laundry (both washed, dried AND folded (or hung up, as the case may be)), hand-washed dishes and ran a load in the dishwasher, went on a couple of walks with Pip and the dogs, baked chicken for the dogs' meals and also cut up chicken for the dog’s meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered.

I finished Key Lime Sky, read some fanfic, and watched an HGTV program.

Temps started out at 37.8(F) (though it must’ve been colder than that because Pip saw some frost on his first walk of the morning) and reached 75.0. I wore leggings and a long-sleeved t-shirt given how cold it was in the morning, and I roasted on our walks in the afternoon.


Mom Update:

Mom was a little more tired today. ( more back here )