#Naturalitsy #HyggeHourReadathon

Tonight‘s #HyggeHour is being spent with this one from #ChildrensClassicRead2025 I‘m trying to capture a fall vibe with apple cider (cold) & this cinnamony pear cheesecake I got at a craft market this weekend. Listening to an instrumental mix called Witchy & Woodsy on Spotify: https://spotify.link/HzoCirVDNXb 🍂🧡🍁

Mood is not ready for Monday & a busy work week but what‘s new?! 🤷🏻‍♀️

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

Finished during the week for #Roll100 October #72 Any Retelling. This is a fun (hopefully start to a new series) featuring Caroline Bingley who jumps in to help Georgiana Darcy when she leaves Pemberley after her maid disappears to London. There‘s a murder & Caroline is determined to solve it. A good cozy mystery & while Caroline is still Caroline, she grows as she investigates & becomes quite likable (while Georgiana ⬇️

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

I finished this one last Sunday for #EBBR & as usual, pretty much forgot all the cases already & which ones I solved. 🤷🏻‍♀️ I really do need to review them right after I read them or take notes. I do remember that (***Spoiler***) I didn‘t realize that ALL of the animal facts in the one story weren‘t true so I guess I solved it with the🦘but not completely as I thought I was done.🤔Anyway, they remain fun quick reads.

#HaikuADay

Very behind on my haikus so taking a cue from @dabbe & some of my other #HaikuHive friends & using my annual rewatch of Rosemary‘s Baby today for inspiration. (It‘s one of my all-time favorite horror books & movies.)

Husband From Hell 🔥👿

Of all the witches,
Satanists and evil ones,
Guy is still the worst

#Rosemarydeservedbetter

Honestly, it was kind of a crap week & I‘ve just been in avoidance of much this weekend so I‘m a couple days late on my #5JoysFriday post & most life stuff. There was some joy this week though so here goes:

1. Bag of rambutan I‘ve been enjoying this week.😋
2. Went out to dinner with an old work colleague & a new one she wanted to connect me with. The paella🥘& dip spread were delicious & joyful.
3. Lilikoi breakfast bowl was fresh & joyful.💛
⬇️

I looked up from my work desk & Friday was almost here again! Time to make your lists of the 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week. 💛

Make your post & tag it with #5JoysFriday then tag me & anyone else you want to share joy with. Everyone is welcome to join in! 🤗

#Naturalitsy #HyggeHourReadathon

Reading the Oct Encyclopedia Brown for #EBBR during #HyggeHour tonight & with my extra time, more of Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator (which is quite charming & fun so far).

Listening to this soundtrack: pov: you‘re Meg Ryan: (for the fall & pretending you are in a 90‘s romcom) that I‘ll link ⬇️

Snacks are this iced tisane (it‘s still hot & humid here) & fall popcorn. Mood: not ready for Monday!

#Read2025

I enjoyed Bunny 4 years ago even though I wasn‘t sure what I read & thought that “the book might be mocking me for not being as smart as it.” (I don‘t know, that‘s what I wrote.🤷🏻‍♀️) Anyway, I thought I‘d like this prequel/sequel, but I really didn‘t. I felt like what seemed effortlessly quirky in Bunny seemed like trying too hard to be quirky here. Also why did it need to be so long?! Anyway, I finished & it was a pan for me.🐰🪓⬇️

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

Finished last week for #BobWhiteBuddies it is good timing as the book is set in Fall so it made for a good #HyggeHour last week. I didn‘t remember this one all that well so I guess I didn‘t reread it much during childhood.🤷🏻‍♀️ It takes place in Sleepyside & involves the disappearance of “Hoppy” the grasshopper weathervane on top of City Hall & the side mystery of missing coins & a new teacher‘s aide at school who ⬇️

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Another haiku to catch up on my dailies. This one is inspired by my sushi breakfast. I picked it up for dinner last night but snacked on popcorn instead & wasn‘t hungry so I ate it this morning. I can happily eat sushi or poke any time of day. 🍣💙🍱😋

You like your pancakes
For dinner and I like my
Sushi for breakfast 🍣

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

I‘m pretty behind on my daily haikus so I will try to post some to catch up today. This one is inspired by the bag of rambutan I picked up from the grocery store yesterday. I love their soft hairy spikes & the sweet/floral tart flavors of this juicy tropical fruit.

Wild-haired rambutan
Sweet surprise beneath the spikes
Island candy joy

A day late on my #5JoysFriday post but the work week was crazy & I had 3 days of peopling ending in a large 1.5 days HR conference. Last night I just crashed & slept, so here we go.

1-2. Fall themed snacks not involving pumpkin spice bring me joy. Both the Brown Butter Sage & Stuffing Popcorn from Target are joyfully addicting & apple cider & Starbucks apple crisp oatmilk latte make me happy.

2. I used Barnes & Noble GC & rewards points to ⬇️

Hi Friends! I‘ve been out-of-pocket this week. Work has been crazy & I was at a half-day pre-conference session & I‘ll be at the conference all day tomorrow… which is FRIDAY! 💛🎊💛

Time to make your post with the 5 things big or small that brought you some joy this week. Tag your post with #5JoysFriday & tag me & anyone else you want to share the joy with. 💛

EVERYONE is welcome! 🤗

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Today‘s haiku is inspired by the dichotomy of how time moves on a busy work Monday—both creeping by & zooming forward.

How do the clock‘s hands
Travel so quickly, yet so
Slowly on Monday? ⏱️🕰️⏰⏳🕔

Thank you @Eggs for the #majicmonday tag! 🤗 I love the nature & the beauty, in my neighborhood, community, on my island (Oahu) & all of the islands in the state. You are seldom very far from a beautiful ocean or mountain view here. 🏝️🌊💙

If you want to join in & talk about your town/city/region, consider yourself tagged! 😊

#Naturalitsy #HyggeHoyrReadathon #JustOneMoreChapter

For HyggeHour I‘m camped on the couch with Trixie & the Bob-Whites for #BobWhiteBuddies (Book #18)

I am desperately trying to create a fall vibe with this stuffing popcorn that I may need to get more of 😋& (cold) apple cider 🍎 because it‘s 77 degrees F. here at 8 PM & I want it to be colder & feel like fall. 🍂

My mood is resigned (if still melancholy) to it being Monday tomorrow.😵‍💫

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

It was lovely having four days off but I am dreading Monday & another crazy workweek & that anxiety has inspired today‘s haiku.

Sunday Scaries

Four days not working
Gone in a blink, and with them
Ease and peace of mind

Thank you @Eggs for the #SundayFunday tag! 🤗

I have lots of favorite witches but I think I‘ll go with the characters that Sangu Mandanna writes, specifically Mika Moon in the tagged book & Sera Swan in A Witch‘s Guide to Magical Innkeeping, although all of the witchy secondary characters in these books are a delight too. I like my witches quirky, witty & funny & her characters are good examples of all of those attributes. 💚💚💚

Play along! 🤗

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

Finished this one on Thursday, it‘s my first #Roll100 read for October #47 Any Library Book. Being back with the Thursday Murder Club is always a treat. In this one, it‘s been almost a year since the events of the fourth book & the friends are regrouping around a wedding which brings forth a new murder to get involved in. While not the best of the series, I‘ve grown to love these characters so much & Osman keeps the ⬇️

#Read2025

Finished in one sitting Thursday night at Silent Book Club & have to give it a pick although it was more satire & gleeful gore than creepy horror. Governess Winifred Notty is quite a character & the title becomes more than apt when she starts working for the Pounds family. Not for the squeamish, the gyro I picked up for my dinner sat untouched once I got into the story. 😱 I liked the twist & turns & very dark humor of this quick read.

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

Finished this one last weekend for #NancyDrewBR & it was for lack of a better word, fine. I vaguely remember some of it from childhood but not a lot of the details. We had purse snatching, old dolls & a search for the missing father of a young girl who is a talented musician & a good “gypsy” unlike most of the others in the book who are busy stealing & marrying off child brides—yep, it‘s pretty racist. ***#NNK counter⬇️

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Today‘s haiku is inspired by the #JustOneMoreChapter readathon hosted by @TheAromaofBooks this weekend. I was up too late reading last night. 🤗

Just one more chapter
She said, nine chapters ago
Sleep can wait tonight

These are the books I am focusing on this weekend, 📚📚📚

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Yesterday‘s haiku was inspired by my lunch at a favorite Indian restaurant. Garlicky lamb bhunas, garlic nan, rice, raita & a creamy cooling mango lassi which hit perfectly on a hot humid day.🥭💛

Garlic and spices
Dance gracefully in the air
Cold mango lassi

While I was not excited about a certain birthday this week, I did find joy, especially in the past 2 days which I took off & outside a trip to the DMV to renew my license I just did only things I wanted to do which involved food, books & reading books while eating food.

1. These moth earring I got last weekend at the monthly makers market are joyful.🩶

2. A birthday poke bowl lunch

3. After the DMV I treated myself to breakfast & finished ⬇️

We‘ve nearly made it to Friday, so it‘s time to share those 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week!💛 I had a “me” day today which involved lots of reading & my third foray with Silent Book Club tonight. It will all be on my #5JoysFriday post tomorrow.

To join, make your post & tag it with the #5JoysFriday hashtag. Tag me & anyone you want to share joy with.🤗 Use the background how you like.

EVERYONE is welcome to join in! 💛🤗💛

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

A much needed day off, I took myself to breakfast & was struck by the way the glass looked when I finished my butterfly pea iced tea. I took a pic to preserve the icy purple beauty & it inspired today‘s haiku.

Purple Ice 💜🦋

On a humid day
Butterfly tea cools the glass
Icy oasis

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

I had to run to the pharmacy after work & I decided I wanted Raising Cane‘s lemonade (& chicken strips but mainly the lemonade). There were 2 geckos🦎🦎frolicking on the menu sign in the evening darkness. Watching them made me smile & inspired today‘s kind of silly haiku.

Drive-Thru Companions

I guess geckos are
Tiny fans of chicken strips
Me too, little friends!

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Today‘s haiku is a bit late because I was trying to think of something peppier but honestly this birthday is bumming me out. I truly appreciate all of the well-wishes of friends & family & I know I am lucky & blessed to be here, but I‘m just not excited about adding another year to my age & this year in particular. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Birthday rolls around
Counting years with heavy sighs
Blues beneath the cake

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Today‘s haiku was inspired by this postcard I got at the local maker‘s market on Saturday. Something about the serenity in the waves pulls me in & gives me peace.

Watercolor shore
Soft clouds drift on golden sands
Waves of peace roll in 🌊

My #Roll100 picks for October:

#72 Any Retelling: Miss Caroline Bingley, Private Investigator
#47 Any Library Book: The Impossible Fortune
#38 Any Nonfiction: Hags (Also for #SheSaid)

I‘m excited about all of these & have already started two of them. 🤗

#Naturalitsy #HyggeHourReadathon

Spending my #HyggeHour with Nancy & her entourage for #NancyDrewBR This is book number 24 & I can‘t believe we have been reading a Nancy Drew book a month for 2 years now! 🤯

Drinking a cold mango drink because it‘s still humid & munching on these Peelerz in zombie & brain shapes.

Mood is as usual, sorry that the weekend is over but I am taking Thursday & Friday off this week so I have that to look forward to.

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Yesterday I took myself to lunch & for dessert I tried a cute ice cream place next door to the cafe that opened this summer. I had scoops of Dutch Apple Pie & Banana Pudding & sat & read my book.🍦😋 Their pink neon sign inspired this haiku.

Neon Promise

Sweet, cold, creamy bites
Fixer of all maladies
Cure for weary souls 🍨

I‘m going to read the tagged book for #ThematicCozies October theme #Paranormal & hopefully the other one pictured too. They are numbers 6 &7 in the Sonoma Witches series that I haven‘t visited in a while. Magic 🪄✨

I‘ve decided that this cozy mystery that‘s been in my Kindle TBR for ages for the #FictionalTraveler October #Trees theme.

Catching up with my September recap. I read less than August due to a really busy work month with less captured reading time on flights but still managed to complete 11 books + 2 Vonnegut stories & 2.5 chapters of Women Who Run With the Wolves.

I finished books for #SundayBuddyRead #NancyDrewBR #BobWhiteBuddies #EBBR #SheSaid #MonthlyNonFiction #ThematicCozies #FictionalTraveler #Roll100 (3) & AuthorAMonth & ongoing read #WildWomenReading

⬇️

Thank you for the #SundayFunday tag @Eggs 🤗 I‘m looking forward to reading these 2 spooky books this month! Hopefully the tagged book & my #BOTM box arrive early, I love Kelley Armstrong. 🖤🧡🖤

Anyone else want to join in & share a spooky book that you are looking forward to? 👻

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Today‘s haiku is inspired by tonight‘s evening on the couch in pajamas with gyoza (& fried rice) reading a current read with Pride and Prejudice on in the background (1995 BBC). Self care by relaxation.🥟💛 Excuse the bad lighting.

Weekend Evening In

Couch, Saturday night
Gyoza, book, movie‘s glow
Perfect evening spent

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Catching up from yesterday, this haiku is inspired by the exuberantly golden sunset I saw driving home one evening this week. 🌅

Golden Respite

In a burst of gold
The sun takes its daily rest
Ready for nightfall

A bit late with my #5JoysFriday post 💛 but yesterday went really long for me & I crashed early last night, so here we go:

1. The cutest little ghost earrings with 🌺 It gives me joy to buy from local crafters.💛

2. Went to a conference & dessert was warm cinnamon-banana bread pudding. Mouth joy! 😋💛

3. Treated myself to joyful new fall magazines.🍂🧡

4. Mango-Kumquat tea with mango bursting boba.😋🧋💛

5. I tagged myself to be notified ⬇️

Our first Friday in October & it‘s time to share those 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week! 💛💛💛

Make your post & tag it with the #5JoysFriday hashtag. Tag me & anyone you want to share joy with. 🤗 Use the background if/how you like. 💛

EVERYONE is welcome to join in! 💛🤗💛

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Today‘s haiku is inspired by one of my sheroes, Dame Jane Goodall who passed away yesterday at the age of 91. What a woman & champion of the world, animals, food sustainability & conservation. My heart is sad. 😢

Champion for earth,
A voice for all living things
Rest in peace, dear Jane

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

I wasn‘t familiar with the term Pluviophile when I ran across it on TikTok, but I am one. I love a good rainy day & find peace & joy in them. While it was just a couple of small showers this morning, it inspired today‘s haiku. It also works for #WeirdWordWednesday

Morning drizzle falls
Not enough rain to fill my
Pluviophile soul

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

I finished this book tonight, my second #ThematicCozies September pick for #Books
This one is the 3rd in the Book Retreat Mystery Series & has Jane hosting a wedding & a group of Medieval herbalists at Storyton, her family‘s book-themed resort. I think this one is a good addition to the series. It still has some improbable elements to it regarding family legacy & secrets that make me shake my head a bit but I like the⬇️

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

I hear the mynah‘s almost every morning but it‘s even more fun when they end up as my Merlin Bird of the day. 🐦‍⬛🖤

It‘s My(nah) Bird!

Most mornings I hear
Their loud trills at my window
Today, they‘re my bird

#Read2025

Listened to for #AuthorAMonth September #KurtVonnegut Overall, I enjoyed this college commencement speeches, although they do get repetitive, especially toward the end. With the two stories read & listened to previously, I feel like I have read enough for now. Would I try one of his better known novels at some point? Maybe.🤷🏻‍♀️

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

I won‘t tell you how much my Monday sucked because I‘m sure you‘re tired of hearing it. What didn‘t suck? My Chicken Katsu plate lunch ordered from Zippy‘s. It hit the spot & inspired today‘s haiku.

A Chicken Katsu Kind of Day

Golden panko crunch
Crispy chicken, tangy sauce
Katsu saves the day

#Naturalitsy #HyggeHourReadathon

Settling in on the couch for #HyggeHour with this third book in the Book Retreat Mystery Series, my second pick for #ThematicCozies September #Books. I‘m eating an oatmeal raisin cookie & drinking lemonade because it‘s humid & I‘m sweaty.

Tomorrow is Monday which is a bit annoying because where did the weekend go?

#Read2025 #SeriesLove2025

Finished a few weeks ago for #EBBR & as usual I returned my library book before doing a review.🤷🏻‍♀️I have to go with the others who think this one was a bit “meh.” I didn‘t find any of the mysteries that great or memorable except for Smelly Nellie which I did get correct, not because I know much about whales but because I caught a detail in the reading. I missed the ones about space & the axe handle but got the rest.

#Read2025 #MonthlyNonFiction

Finished yesterday for #SheSaid & my third #Roll100 puck for September #23 Any Audiobook, this book was long but fascinating. Evolutionary biology centered around the female body over the past 200 million years. I learned so much listening to the audiobook, read by the author. It took me most of the month (it‘s 16 hours), listening to it mostly in my car but the blend of science & history kept me interested. There ⬇️

#HaikuADay #HaikuHive

Today‘s haiku is inspired by the really humid weather we are having & my desire for some cooler days. I want to feel like Fall. 🍂🍁🍂

Chasing Tradewinds

Humid island day
Waiting for tradewinds to come
Fall feels far away