Yowza! I can‘t believe it‘s time for #5JoysFriday again! Time to list those 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week. 💛💛💛

When the spirit moves you, make your post & tag it with #5JoysFriday & tag me (& others to join the joy party if you want). You can use the graphic/background however you want or not at all.

Tagging a few friends to get the joy party started & of course, everyone is welcome-so please join in the joy! 🤗

Thank you @dabbe for the #ThreeListThursday #TLT tag!🤗 I meant to do last week‘s dessert one too so I‘ll try to do it.

OK, interesting list. From Hawaii (I‘ve been here 24 years now) it‘s missing rice (gotta have rice), macaroni salad & some poke as a pupu among other things.😉😋

I‘m good with 85%
From this list my Top 3 are:
1. Stuffing (my fave Thanksgiving dish)
2. Mashed Potatoes $ Gravy (counting it as 1)
3. Apple Pie (my sister‘s) ⬇️

#ReadAway2024

Finished my first November #Roll100 pick (#39 Any Subscription Book) & I quite enjoyed this unusual story about a young couple Lewis & Wren.who find out shortly after their marriage that Lewis has an animal mutation & his body will turn into a great white shark. It‘s sounds odd but it becomes believable & is beautifully written too. The story moves back-&-forth in time & also tells Wren‘s story before the marriage & her mother‘s ⬇️

Headed to Kauai for the day for Open Enrollment. Starting out with the usual coffee (Oatmilk sugar cookie latte today) & and Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.

Midway through the tagged library e-book. Not sure if it will be my plane book for the 40 min flying time or not as I‘m in the middle of 4 books, but I‘m sneaking a chapter in before my coworker gets here.

#Naturalitsy #LitSolace #HyggeHourReadathon

I was going to spend my #HyggeHour with Trixie Belden but I really wanted to start this one. Accompanied by white chocolate with peppermint chips from Maui.

Tonight‘s mood is mellow & a little sleepy. Gearing up for another busy week & a trip to Kauai for the day tomorrow to finish up helping with benefits open enrollment. It makes for long days-but it‘s a good way to meet people & see our branches.

Starting this ARC which publishes Feb 2025 & is Book 20 in the Bakeshop Mystery series. (I‘m trying to get Litsy to fix the book title but it‘s taking a while).

Here with my linner/lupper of ginger tataki poke & rice.😋

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

I‘d just started this in October & wanted to finally finish it since it was a #Roll100 pick clear back in May that I never got to.

I give it a pretty soft pick—I wanted more humor, less angst & more background on the killers they kill & growth from the characters. It‘s dark & pretty gross in parts with likable characters, but it felt hollow to me. Still, I already bought Book 2 on BOTM, so I‘ll probably read it.⬇️

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

Finished earlier in the week for #NancyDrewBR & I will echo what seems to be most of the group & say this was my least favorite so far of the books. Very disjointed plot & downright weird in spots, I don‘t remember reading this one as a child (I think there are some gaps in my Nancy Drew reading). There were no noggin knockouts for Nancy & the #NNK counter but a side character got smacked over the head really hard ⬇️

#ReadAway2024

Ran errands this morning & stopped off for coffee, banana bread & some #LitsyLove replies. (Yes, I‘m behind again…)

Also finished the tagged book. Nostalgia for Michael Crichton & this being his last book that James Patterson finished made me want to give this a pick but the writing & undeveloped story & characters are just so-so. It does read like a thriller movie & reading it on the plane flying around the islands & to-&-from⬇️

A day late with my #5JoysFriday I went home & crashed last night after traveling yesterday for work & hit the ground running errands this morning. In a busy week, most of my joy came from food but it was delicious & joyful.

1-2. I don‘t get joy from tiny planes but I did get to see a lot of beautiful joyful scenery on my first trip to Lanai. I spotted a reader in the wild on our tiny plane which gives me joy!💛

3-5. Food eaten: 3. Breakfasts:⬇️

I blinked & tomorrow is Friday. Time to find some joys for #5JoysFriday. I‘m headed to the island of Lanai to visit our newest location & help with open enrollment so I‘ll be a bit late again but get started whenever you want.💛

List 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week, tag your post with #5JoysFriday & tag me (& others to join the joy party.) Tagging some friends to get started & everyone is welcome-so please join in the joy!

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

Finished this one earlier in the week. # 7 in The Secret, Scone & Book Society series, it‘s a medium pick for me. I liked the mystery of Nora trying to find clues to find a miniature library in a crumbling house owned by a hoarding customer—sad & intriguing, but especially in the first half of the book, I was unhappy with Nora‘s actions & lack of communication with her friends & especially her partner. Eventually, ⬇️

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

Listened to the audiobook for #SeasonalCozies & I‘ll give it a soft pick for the food & the fact it‘s centered around a contest for my favorite Thanksgiving dish of stuffing. I enjoyed the characters, but it got pretty crazy at the end & not at all believable even for a cozy. If there was a hard way to do something or a way that really made no sense, the MC & even the police did it. I also forgot it was written in ⬇️

Thank you @TheSpineView for the #Two4Tuesday tag! 🤗

1️⃣ Gonna have to go with spots but small-medium polka dot ones. 🔵

2️⃣ Yes! I have the 6 pictured currently checked out, 4 e-books & 2 print books, including the tagged. 📚

Anyone want to join in who has not yet! Consider yourself tagged! 🤗

#LitSolace #Naturalitsy #HyggeHourReadathon

My #HyggeHour is hanging out with Nancy for a bit along with some chocolate I picked up in Maui. This one is chocolate, mac nuts, marshmallows & Rice Krispies.😋🍫

I really wish I had tomorrow off but it‘s back to work & another busy week. Health wise, I am feeling better, stronger each day. Mental health wise, I feel like I am going through the motions just to get by. 😵‍💫

Late to post my #Roll100 picks for November but here we go:

#8 Any BOTM We Solve Murders
#38 Any ARC Kill g Me Soufflé
#39 Any Subscription Book Shark Heart (going with another BOTM to try & finish the challenge)

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

I finished this one yesterday with a late lunch of tonkatsu ramen, gyoza & lemon tea which is not at all Canadian for November‘s #FoodAndLit Canada, but I did consume some Canadian snacks from @mcctrish & I‘ll post about those later.

Book 3 in the Haven‘s Rock series & it‘s a good one! Lots of tension & good progression in the storyline. TBH, my reader is a bit off with this dumpster fire 🔥 of a week so I was ⬇️

Yes, it‘s 9 days into November & I‘m just posting my #TBR. In progress with some of these already & while I won‘t get to all the books here (& I am skipping a few read-alongs/challenges I normally do or wanted to do, I am going with this plus any holds & things coming in that I decide to read instead). We‘ll see where the month takes me. 📚📚📚🤷🏻‍♀️📚📚📚

Late on my #5JoysFriday as with many, the joy was hard to find in this week. I worry for so much & so many & I‘ve been on autopilot at work & sleeping & “hiding” when not working. The moments of joy were there though, as is the hope.

1. I was in public & on trips Wed-Fri & I made it & am feeling better. For the first time in a few weeks I can breathe & talk without non-stop coughing & there‘s joy in that. 💛

2. 1995 BBC P&P has been on ⬇️

It‘s been a couple of weeks since I‘ve hung out at the coffee shop on a Saturday morning & it feels good to feel well enough to be back.💛

This morning I‘m reading the tagged book a bit, hopefully writing some #LitsyLove responses & I just tabulated my #HauntedShelf numbers for Team #Flerken. I thought I missed it.🤦🏻‍♀️Not a great showing for my final 2 weeks & I still need to do book reviews, but given illness & work pressures, I‘ll take it.

#DaysDevotedTo

2nd trip of the week, to Maui for the day to help my HR Manager with open enrollment & visit some locations. The flight is earlier than Hilo which means I‘m a bit too early for the lounge & so I am having a lap picnic breakfast in the boarding area. Todays is the new turkey sage Danish (tastes like stuffing) & a sugar cookie oatmilk latte, so a little #Coffee/Tea to start the day. Still working on my ARC

Ahh, my friends… we made it through another day which seems like a pretty big achievement in a week I‘m still processing & numb about. Many of us need to find the joy more than ever. 💛

List 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week, tag your post with #5JoysFriday & tag me (& others to join the joy party. I‘m still behind on visits but will see you soon.

Tagging friends to get started & everyone is welcome-so please join in the joy!

My first of two day trips this week, Hilo today & Maui tomorrow. Still not a 100% but getting better. (Thanks for all the care & concern, everyone).

Changed up my airport breakfast a bit today to the potato cakes. Happy to spend some time with my ARC although it is going too fast. I love this series!

Thank you @TheSpineView for the #Two4Tuesday tag! 🤗

1️⃣ I am a fan of both but lately sunrises from the plane ride to Hilo have become my favorites. So pretty in the clouds! ⛅️🌅🧡

2️⃣ Tagged is #7 in the Secret Book & Scone Society:
Books, Friendship & Mystery

Play along if you want to! 💛

#Naturalitsy #HyggeHourReadathon

My #HyggeHour is starting this ARC that I‘ll be using as my #FoodAndLit Canada pick for November. It‘s the latest book in a favorite series from Armstrong, publishing at the first of the year & set in the Yukon. I may try to get to another of the author‘s ARCs this month as well.

For snacks, I was surprised & delighted to find a box from the lovely @mcctrish on my porch this morning full of Canadian snacks. ⬇️

This one is first in a series (A Domestic Diva Mystery), set in November/Thanksgiving time & the audiobook is free with Audible Originals so it will be my #SeasonalCozies pick for November. 🦃🍂

I failed to read as much as I wanted or complete all of my books & challenges for October & #HauntedShelf but I did manage to finish some & read/listened to 15 books + 1 children‘s book & 2 stories.

I still need to do reviews but I finished for #SundayBuddyRead #SheSaid #ChildrensClassicRead2024 #NancyDrewBR #BobWhiteBuddies 3 for #SeasonalCozies #SeriesLive my 3 #Roll100 books but no #CastTheDie
Starting fresh for November & working on my #TBR

Hi Friends, still down for the count & spent most of Friday afternoon to tonight sleeping. I think I‘m making it back up the other side but if I‘m not much better by Monday I have to go in for more chest X-rays. Anyway, sick or not, joys happen. Here‘s my late #5JoysFriday list:

1. I made sure to get my ballot in last week & got the clearance it was accepted & registered & got my digital sticker. Such joy in voting & voting 💙💙💙

2. Joy in ⬇️

Not gonna lie, it‘s been a rough week & continues to be one & I‘m still not back to normal health-wise, but it‘s nearly Friday & time to find some joys💛

List those 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week, tag your post with #5JoysFriday & tag me (& others if you want to share) I still need to visit your posts from last from last week & will.

Tagging some friends to get started, but everyone is welcome-so please join in the joy! 🤗

Pretty sure some of you are sick & tired of hearing that I‘m sick & tired but wanted to touch base since I haven‘t been around since Friday morning. The sinus thing i was fighting got ugly Friday afternoon & I got a fever & chills & was down for the count all weekend. To the point that I barely lifted my head except to cough & no reading or anything got done. Yesterday & today I worked & napped & worked as I have 2 big projects due. Feeling a ⬇️

Another crazy busy week where I had to dig a bit for joys but here‘s my #5JoysFriday list:

1. I really do get joy from seeing the sunrise on my Hilo trips each week.🌅💛

2. Had time between meetings in different locations in Hilo so that meant time to grab a poke bowl for lunch. Always joyful when it‘s super fresh!🐟

3. Went to a lunchtime virtual session on work bookclubs & because I shared my bookclub experiences I won this cute tote.🤗 ⬇️

Another crazy week & we‘re heading into Friday some joys! Whenever it's Friday where you are or when the spirit moves you, go ahead & post your #5JoysFriday lists!💛

List 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week, tag your post with #5JoysFriday & tag me & others if you want to share. You can use the background graphic however you like.

Tagging a few to get things started but everyone is welcome-so please join us in spreading joy!🤗

#WickedWhispers

Three #Potion titles from my stacks. I‘ve just read That Time I Got Drunk and Yeeted a Love Potion At a Werewolf. The other two are cheap Kindle cozies in my massive TBR. 🧪✨🪄

Thank you to @Eggs & @TheSpineView for the #WondrousWednesday tags! 🤗

1️⃣ Without a doubt my mom & dad. In slightly different ways, they taught be me so much about being a good person, influenced my love of reading & most importantly gave me my sense of self & self-worth. I miss them both so much! 💙💚

2️⃣ My family: siblings, nieces & nephews & their families & my small circle of good friends who have become family. 💛

Want to join in? 🤗

#WickedWhispers

I love a good #Mystery but I am having to hold myself back from these two that are at the top of my #TBR until November as they aren‘t on my #HauntedShelf TBR
I chose the tagged book as my #BOTM birthday pick this month as I love the author‘s previous series & Cold As Hell is an ARC & next up in a favorite mystery series.🔎🩶

Thanks for the #Two4Tuesday tag @TheSpineView 🤗

1️⃣ This is tough so my top 3 are mango 🥭 watermelon 🍉 & sweet/crisp juicy apples 🍎 (so Honeycrisp of course), but I love most all fruit & could keep going!

2️⃣ Tagged! One of my favorite novels of food & friendship, it‘s all about sharing a weekly meals. 🍽️ Highly recommended.

#WickedWhispers

For today‘s #Monster prompt. This was a fun children‘s picture book I read last year where a group of monsters don‘t want to let a cute bunny & her friends to join their group on Halloween because they aren‘t scary enough.👻

And off again to Hilo for the day & meetings. Waiting to board with breakfast & a little of the tagged book. It‘s Book 5 in the witchy Thistle Grove series & part of my #HauntedShelfTBR. Team #Flerken 👻🎃

#ReadAway2024 #SeriesLove2024

Read for #BobWhiteBuddies Book 7 in the series doesn‘t quite live up to my childhood hype of it. I remember it being a favorite because of the code found in the magazine (Saint Nicholas-a real children‘s magazine) & the little spark of Trixie/Jim romance (a corsage & a dance but be still my preteen heart) Unfortunately the racist caricature of the Japanese brothers doesn‘t age very well. It still gets a nostalgic ⬇️

#WickedWhispers

Cozy mysteries have lots of punny #Death titles. Here are 6 from my Read & TBR stacks.

I‘m using the tagged book for the #HauntedShelf #BookScavengerHunt #KnittingKnitwear prompt.

Go Team #Flerken ! 👻

#Naturalitsy #LitSolace #HyggeHourMarathon

I wouldn‘t usually relax into #HyggeHour with a horror book but I find this author more about the black humor than scares & I want to start it for #HauntedShelf

This coconut cream mini bundt cake looked prettier before I dropped it🤷🏻‍♀️but I‘m looking forward to trying it with coconut chai. I slept a lot today & am feeling better though still snorty 🤧& I wish I had tomorrow off.

Team #Flerken 👻

#ReadAway2024 #Series

This is a cute children‘s book (part of the Bats series) with an autumn & slightly spooky (it‘s bats) 🦇🦇🦇 vibe so I‘m counting it for #HauntedShelf. I‘m also using it for the #BookScavengerHunt #Luck prompt as these book-loving bats get lucky when a library window is left open & they get to spend the evening at the library. .

Read during the readathons listed in comments below. Go Team #Flerken 👻

⬇️

#WickedWhispers

I thought a cozy mystery recently finished had a #Scarecrow on the cover but looked closer & it wasn‘t.
I got to thinking that there must be plenty of cozies with scarecrow covers. And there are… here are six. Full disclosure, I haven‘t read any of these.

#Readaway2024 #SeriesLove2024

A soft pick for this first in a new cozy mystery series from my #HauntedShelf TBR & read as part of #SeasonalCozies & #Roll100 I liked the Oregon Halloween town/bookstore during Halloween setting & the characters overall, but I felt it moved a bit slowly. Still, I‘d read the next one. I found 2 words for the #WordSearch & I‘m using it for the #BookScavengerHunt #Moon prompt. Read during the below⬇️

Team #Flerken 👻

ReadAway2024 SeriesLove2024

Finished this witchy addition to my #HauntedShelf TBR🧙 It was an addition because I kept checking on Audible & it still wasn‘t showing up when I made my list.🤷🏻‍♀️The 3rd & final book in the Starfall Point series, it was cute & a nice way to end & free on Audible. These are fluffy rom-cons & they aren‘t as good as some of the author‘s other series but I like the humor & the always excellent narrators. Read during ⬇️

#WickedWhispers

This #Magic title is from my #HauntedShelf TBR as well as #CastTheDie & I hope to start it soon.

I‘m also going to use it for the #BookScavengerHunt #HotDrink prompt for Team #Flerken points 👻

#SaturdayChatterday

Saturdays are my mostly solitude & regroup time. As I work from home I like to go out to a semi-quiet coffee shop.

Today I stopped by the craft market & found my favorite card vendor back-so I restocked. I‘m going to eat my breakfast, drink my coffee, read for various readathons & HauntedShelf, get some #LitsyLove responses & Halloween greetings out & get around to some #5JoyFridays posts.
Hope your weekend vibe is good! 💛

#WickedWhispers

Funny, I posted this Dark Screams series a couple of years ago for a #Scream prompt saying that while I‘d read all the others, I still hadn‘t read the first book (tagged) & guess what? I still haven‘t read it! 📚📚📚🤷🏻‍♀️📚📚📚

I might just get to it or at least Kelley Armstrong‘s story for #HauntedShelf to get some story points for Team #Flerken 👻🎃😱

It‘s not been the best of weeks between health & work but there were some joyful moments. Here‘s my #5JoysFriday list.

1. When you‘re stuffy & sinuses hurt, nothing is more joyful & clearing than a big bowl of hot pho. I‘m already craving another.🥣💛

2. I watched one of my fave go-to seasonal comfort movies last weekend. Practical Magic always brings me joy.🧙💛

3. My #BOTM order came early in the week. I got joy from my free birthday book ⬇️

Again, how did Friday get here so fast? It‘s been a crazy week & I‘m still getting through sinus crud but it‘s time to find some joy! Whenever it's Friday where you are or when the spirit moves you, post your #5JoysFriday lists!

List 5 things big or small that brought you joy this week, tag with #5JoysFriday & tag me & others if you want to share.

Tagging a few to get things started but everyone is welcome, so please join us in spreading joy!💛