Not going to lie, this has been another “what fresh hell is this?” kind of week so my #5JoysFriday list is a few bits that made it a bit better, starting with:

1. It‘s Friday! 🎉I set a hard stop for work at 4:30 PM so about 4 more hours to go.⏰

2. Another flight upgraded back from Hilo this week with my Kindle & a dragonfruit hard seltzer🤪

3. The last 2 nights have been 57-59 degrees C. & that means a blanket & not sweating at night. ⬇️

#25Alive!

I have tendencies to get anxiety & think of the doom & gloom side of things & so I‘ve have been trying to add more #Positivity to my thinking & life. ( #5JoysFriday is one example 💛)

I started this little Kindle Unlimited book in January & I like the daily quotes & questions so far & I sometimes use them for additional journal prompts. This is today‘s quote by John Lennon.

Is it Friday yet?! That means it's time for #5JoysFriday again! I know this has been a tough week for many of us, but let‘s find some joy! 💛

Post your list of those 5 things big or small that gave you joy. Add the #5JoysFriday hashtag to your post & tag me. You can tag others to join the joy & use the background graphic as you like or use your own.

Tagging some friends to get things started, but as always, everyone is welcome to join in! 🤗

#25Alive!

My #Dreams often include food. 😋 This is a dreamy cookbook by one of my favorites, Tessa Kiros.

The three recipes pictured are ones I have made & remade: Spaghetti Aglio, Olio, Peperoncino & Avocado, Tomato Soup with Rice & Basil & Torta di Spaghetti
All are Simple & delicious.

Thanks for the #Two4Tuesdqy tag @TheSpineView 🤗 Sorry I‘m a bit late!

1️⃣ Is it bad to say people if I‘m in HR?‘🤪 I think it‘s especially people who lack common sense and/or think it‘s all about them or that their actions don‘t have consequences or an impact on others. 🤷🏻‍♀️

2️⃣ I don‘t think Linus started out completely disliking his job but he was stuck in it & then began to dislike it.

Anyone not played yet & want to? You‘re tagged! 😉

#25Alive!

I did buy this #Celebrate cookbook, used, years ago to go with the Sheila Lukins:Julee Rosso (Silver Palate) books in my cookbook collection but I confess that I haven‘t ever cooked from it! 🤦🏻‍♀️ #TooManyCookbooks

#25Alive!

Soup is warmth, soup is comfort, soup is love… It‘s not just my #FaveWinterFood (joining the #soupbrigade here) it‘s a favorite food always.

I post about this book a lot, it‘s my favorite soup cookbook & a just favorite cookbook in general. Pictured are the Cauliflower Bisque with Buttered Breadcrumbs & the Pickle Soup. 🥣💙🍲

If it‘s Tuesday, it must be Hilo. Well, most weeks anyway. The usual airport breakfast & hanging in the lounge until boarding. I finally started this one for #FoodAndLit #Netherlands. It‘s been on my Kindle TBR for a while now, so this is a good excuse to get ‘er read. 🇳🇱

Reposting this idea/weekly event for @Kerrbearlib

Kerrbearlib's post on Litsy https://litsy.com/p/MXZFQ05BaDVC

She says: Welcome to #MentalHealthMonday! What are you doing today to take care of your mental health? Check out her post! 💙

For me, I‘m working (at home) today & trying to stay off non-Litsy social media & news & keeping fed & hydrated. Plan to relax, do some journaling or something crafty tonight & go to bed early. How about you?

#25Alive!

It‘s hard to pick one favorite winter drink. Even though it doesn‘t get truly cold here, I love tea, coffee & hot cocoa. But I think hot cider/hot mulled cider really says winter to me & so I‘ll choose it as my #FvWinterDrink for today‘s prompt.

Pictured are a couple of versions I‘ve made, the top on using hard cider so I tagged this book I read a few years ago about the hard cider industry. 🍎💚🍏

#Naturalitsy #HyggeHourReadathon

Spending my #HyggeHour reading the tagged book for #ChildrensclassicRead2025 & since that won‘t take long, I‘m going to read The Answer Is No from @JacqMac ‘s #AuldLangSpine list on my Kindle. Noshing on dried cinnamon Fuji apples & drinking apple chai tea.

I‘m so not ready for another crazy work week & the general crazy that will happen starting Monday. 😵‍💫

#Read2025 #JumpStart2025

My Libby library hold came in on this one so it snuck into January & I‘m so glad it did! I loved the author‘s The Change that I read in Oct 23 & I may have even liked this one more as it‘s so full of heart & shows the power of books & reading. Is it too optimistic? Probably. Do I care right now? Not at all. Life is too rough in this country & world to not see the positive change a group of people can make fighting for ⬇️

#25Alive!

I can‘t choose just one #AuthorYouLove so I am going for 5 authors that over the past year or so I have “discovered” & now love. I‘m on a quest to read all of their work or if I have, I‘ll continue to read any new work they put out. 📚📚📚

-T.J. Klune
-T. Kingfisher
-Sherry Thomas (Lady Sherlock Series)
-Richard Osman
-Abby Jimenez

#Read2025 #JumpStart2025 #SeriesLove2025

I finished my second #ThematicCozies #Animal pick today running errands. I found it cute & enjoyable overall, especially the setting of Wagtail, Virginia, a town set up to cater to pets & the pet experience inn that the MC‘s grandmother runs there. There‘s the usual cozy quirky small town characters—here they are humans & their pets & the mystery was pretty easy to solve. I would try another book in the⬇️

#Read25 #JumpStart25 #SeriesLove25

My #SaturdayChatterday is the usual, running errands & coffeeshop time.

I finished this short story from the Shady Hollow series as part of my #ThematicCozies for January #Animal It‘s a bit out of season with it‘s October/Halloween setting but I missed it in October & wanted to check it off to be completely caught up with this series. A quick read with Vera & the down looking for a young squirrel possibly ⬇️

#Read2025 #JumpStart2025

I finished this one last week but hadn‘t reviewed it yet. I got it from the library based on the cover & description & made it a January #Roll100 pick (# 62 Any Library Book). (I also saw @BarbaraBB really liked it-always a plus!) So yeah, this book is both very dark & very good. Creepy, set at night & in Iceland where a young woman is exhausted & finds out she‘s sleepwalking to the tune of 40,000 steps on her smart ⬇️

#25Alive!

A recent read from a favorite series with a #SnowyCover

TGIF! What a long week. I‘m finally done with work for the day & ready to post my #5JoysFriday list:

1. I got an upgrade on Wednesday‘s Hilo trip & got to read in comfort & have a dragonfruit hard seltzer. 😋

2. I get joy from seeing readers in the wild & people reading books I enjoyed. She was reading Barbarian Days (I‘ll link it below)📚💛

3. Mid-week poke bowl joy!🐟😋💛

4. Team lunch with joyfully good chicken katsu with fried rice.😋

⬇️

#25Alive!

For today‘s prompt #1stBk25 this was my first finished book for this year.

It‘s the end of another week & that means it's time for #5JoysFriday again! 💛💛💛

When it‘s Friday where you are or whenever you feel like it, post your list of 5 things big or small that gave you joy. Add the #5JoysFriday hashtag to your post & tag me. You can tag others to join the joy. Use the background graphic as you like or use your own.

Tagging some regulars to get things started, but as always, everyone is welcome to take part! 🤗

#25Alive!

TBH, I changed my mind multiple times today about my pick for my favorite book of 2025. I read SO MANY great books this year (James, What Moves the Dead & Zorrie were just a few of the contenders) but as I said when I picked it as my December #12BooksOf2024 this book just came off my #BOTM TBR at the last minute & stole my heart. Touching, about loss, grief & regrets—it still made me smile & feel uplifted. It‘s my #FaveBk24 💙💐💙

Playing catch-up from my trip yesterday for #25Alive!

The family & wolfpack in this series embodies #LastingLove through the good times & the bad. Maybe because wolves mate for life? 💚

Headed to Hilo for the day. Traveling with colleagues & ran into someone I know in the lounge so the reading will have to happen inflight. Just started this one yesterday as my Libby loan came in last week. So far, so good.

#Read2025 #JumpStart2025 #SeriesLove2025

Finished the other day for #BobWhiteBuddies this is Book 9 & a fun one with some serious danger for some of the group as they spend spring break (except poor Dan) in Iowa at the Belden‘s uncle‘s sheep ranch. Trixie is on the case of some missing sheep & making a few mistakes along the way. There‘s ice skating & rabbit chasing & new friends who show up in a later book. This is one of my favorites mainly ⬇️

Thanks @TheSpineView for the #Two4Tuesday tag! 🤗

1️⃣ That it gets cooler here, although it‘s been slower to get there this year. (I thought it might be me getting older & “running hotter”😅 but everyone I know feels it‘s a warmer year. Darn global warning. 😡

2️⃣ A favorite childhood classic never fails to make it feel like winter! ❄️🩵❄️

Anyone else want to join in? Consider yourself tagged! 😘

#25Alive!

Believing in impossible things opens up a lot of #Possibility

#Read2025 #JumpStart2025 #SeriesLove2025

I finished Book 15 for #NancyDrewBR last night & while this is a milder one in terms of the action, it was not bad. Nancy, her father, Bess & George are at a lodge while Mr. Drew investigates a jewel theft ring with Nancy‘s help—when she isn‘t playing in a semi-pro golf tournament (is there anything Nanners isn‘t a pro at?!?) or investigating a haunted bridge. No head injuries (instead it‘s a hand) & so ⬇️

#25Alive!

Two dystopian books involving #Memory I‘ve read. 🧠

#Naturalitsy #HyggeHourReadathon

Nanners & I are spending the #HyggeHour together for #NancyDrewBR. I was having a conversation with my friend last week about cream soda DumDums (my favorite flavor) & she sent me a bag of just that flavor from Amazon. 😋🍭

TBH I am not ready for the week ahead which will be a long & busy one again.

#Read2025 #JumpStart2025

My first book finished from @JacqMac ‘s #AuldLangSpine list & it was excellent! The blurb says it‘s “tinged with supernatural horror” & I can see why they said that but it‘s creepy & atmospheric rather than scary. It‘s really about the bonds of family, loss & grief. I loved the characters & the look at Cree culture of which I know little. It‘s only 240 pages but not a quick read as it starts out slow, but the tension ⬇️

#25Alive!

My library #BookHaul from yesterday. Picked up holds for #ChildrensClassicRead2025 @JacqMac ‘s #AuldLangSpine list & #NancyDrewBR The tagged book was on the new book shelves & intrigued me as a film lover & rom-com fan & my favorite librarian gave me the ARC of The Bookshop Sisterhood The book chickens 🐔🐔 approve!

#25Alive!

A #TakeCharge title in my Kindle “stack” of books to consider for my work leadership program. I haven‘t read it yet. 📈📥📌🎯📊

Playing a little catch up on my #Pemberlittens #JaneAustenThenAndNow reread over coffee & a breakfast sandwich. Then I have some catch-up for #LitsyLove & maybe some journaling. It was a long week & Saturday is for errands & self-care.

I keep getting sidetracked by news & images of the fires in Los Angeles. So far my friends & my nephew & his girlfriend who live there are all okay. Hope any Littens & your families are too. Such a tragedy. 💔

It‘s still Friday for a few more hours here so I‘m on time for my #5JoysFriday post. I‘ve mostly been working long hours at home this week so not a lot of joyful experiences but here goes:

1. I saw this art journal online & wanted it. My Target happened to have it for $8.49. It‘s got lots of fun & creative prompts. 🎨🖌️

2. A bowl of ramen, gyoza 😋& my first book from 3. @JacqMac ‘s #AuldLangSpine list. It‘s joyful finding great new books!📚⬇️

#25Alive!

This foodie #Friendship book has been in my TBR for ages. I remember my mom getting Amish friendship bread, the recipe & starter from a neighbor once & she went through a phase of sharing it with friends & family.💙🍞💙

Thanks @dabbe for the #ThreeListThursday #TLT tag sorry I‘m a little late! 🤗

I did okay I think for being old & child-less! 😉😂

My top 5 (can‘t do 3) favorites on the are:
-Daddy-Long-Legs & Pippi Longstocking (favorites from my dad!)
-Little House (all the books) & Little Women (favorites from my mom)
-The Snowy Day—I LOVED this book! ❤️

Missing sadly are The Borrowers (how do you not include it?!?!), Are You My Mother?, Green Eggs & Ham ⬇️

I blink & it‘s Friday once more (or it will be in an hour here). That means it‘s time for #5JoysFriday again!

Make your list of 5 things big or small that gave you joy this week. Add the #5JoysFriday hashtag to your post & tag me. You can also tag others to join in finding some January joys! Use the background graphic as you like or use your own.

Tagging a few regulars to get things started, but as always, everyone is welcome to take part!💛🤗

#25Alive!

Today‘s #FreshStart prompt made me think of some cookbooks I have with fresh &/or start in the titles. 🍽️📚

#25Alive!

The last 2 years my Goodreads #ReadingGoal has been 150 books & I read 172 in 2023 & 178 in 2024. I decided to up my 2025 goal to 155 just because of not knowing how crazy work will be.

Honestly Goodreads works well for me because I read so much on Kindle, it updates my read books easily but I am trying to track my goals better on StoryGraph this year since I‘m in some challenges on there. 📚🤷🏻‍♀️📚

Thanks for the #Two4Tuesday tag @TheSpineView 🤗

1️⃣ Overall yes. It does depend on the situation though.

2️⃣ Persuasion is one of my favorite books & in it, Anne Elliot gets a second chance at love.❤️

If you haven‘t played & want to, consider yourself tagged!

#25Alive!

I have a view of Julia Cameron‘s books on my shelves starting with The Artist‘s Way & including this #Prosperous one.

#25Alive!

Good foodie book of essays & recipes for comfort food when #Joy is needed. 💛😋

#Naturalitsy #MidWinterSolace #HyggeHourReadathon

Spending #HyggeHour with Trixie & the Bob-Whites, herbal tea & some peely gummy mangoes to snack on. Also, how cute is this Bob-Whites of the Glen sticker from @TheAromaofBooks ? (Thank you, Sarah!) 🤗

Mood is sad that Monday is tomorrow & it‘s a whole long week of work. I may have the January blues. 😨

#Read2025 #JumpStart2025 #SeriesLove2025

I finished this Friday for #FictionalTraveler January #SomeplaceCold 🧊❄️While it wasn‘t winter in Alaska, there were storms, caves, mine shafts & icehouses that were pretty chilly. This is Book 6 in the Alaska Wild series & while a big plot point was settled & the end was left a bit ambiguous, I‘m hoping the author will continue with this series as I love the characters & the small-town Alaska setting.

#25Alive!

For today‘s #NewYrQuote I‘m going with Eleanor Roosevelt for New Year inspiration.

I don‘t know if it was in the tagged book but it seems like a good one.

#25Alive!

Placing catch up with prompts. For yesterday, I definitely count cheese (& cheesemakers) among my #Blessings. 😋🧀💛 This is a quirky & fun foodie book.

#25Alive!

I got a little behind since Friday so catching up on prompts. After reading Enchantment by Katherine May last year with #Naturalitsy I am meandering my way through Wintering now & it fits Friday‘s #Winter prompt well. ❄️💙❄️

I realized I hadn‘t posted my January TBR so here we go: lots of readalongs & challenges: #SundayBuddyRead #ChloeGongReadAlong #ChildrensClassicRead2025 #NancyDrewBR #BobWhiteBuddies #Naturalitsy #Pemberlittens #JaneAustenThenAndNow #ThematicCozies #FictionalTraveler #AuthorAMonth #AuldLangSpine #Roll100 #FoodAndLit #SeriesLove2025

It may not all happen & other holds might jump in but I‘ve finished 2 & have another 5 in process so we‘ll see.🤞🏼

Some great books read in December but The Collected Regrets of Clover really stole my heart & is my final pick for #12BooksOf2024 Had I not read it after, it would have made my #AuldLangSpine list.

Honorable Mentions: A Wizard‘s Guide to Defensive Baking, The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, The Rivals, The Bones Beneath My Skin, A Botanist‘s Guide to Society and Secrets & Keanu Reeves Is Not In Love With You

Thanks @Andrew65 for hosting! 🤗

#SaturdayChatterday

The usual Saturday running errands & hanging out at the coffeeshop having lunch & some “replenishment” time with my new-ish magazine & paper book & starting the tagged book for #SundayBuddyRead discussion tomorrow.