The Sunday Post is a weekly meme hosted by Kimberly @ Caffeinated Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news~ A post to recap the past week, and showcase books and things we have received.
Don’t forget to look at my giveaways on the right sidebar.
Sunday, I enjoyed the usual visiting. Then I went back to the read later of Feedly and caught up on reviews where my friends reviewed book I hadn’t read yet but now have read. I forgot to mention that yesterday I watched the Ilona Andrews / Jeaniene Frost Zoom hosted by Ashland library. While watching I knitted on the fingerless gloves I’m making for my daughter. The first one is nearly complete. This is library week so I worked on some posts and an email for it.
Monday, it’s finally the day. I did my usual computer stuff. Finally we went to the vet. Lulu is fully healed but we have to be careful for the future. I picked up a few items at Aldi. My daughter worked with Lulu to learn the ramp while I put everything away, showing her just 2 times. Then Lulu and I took our first walk, down to the corner. We all went up to the office to do some things before dinner. Lulu is a star! When we came down, Lulu used the ramp with no prompting.
Tuesday, the repair guy came before I would usually be up but I got up early so I’d be ready. At least I didn’t have to wait all day and he didn’t even bring in any tools. And he wore a mask. He’s just ordering a whole new icemaker assembly. It will take about a week to arrive. I selected lots of ARCs because I wasn’t sure I would get them and I got them all. Ooops! I looked at the 2-1 Audible sale but everything I was interested in was available at the library. I looked in to more options for replacing our squirrel ruined patio furniture. It’s going to be cheaper to buy new chairs than try to get new padded slings. This time I will buy something with cushions that can be replaced instead of the whole chair. My daughter and I walked with Lulu to the park. Lulu was so happy!
Wednesday, while I feel energized by projects I also feel weighed down by the ongoing issues which are not resolved with my repaired computer. I still can’t connect my iphone to backup or sync with iTunes. I found a new problem. My Word documents don’t see Word they see some other app. I can’t even get Word to look at docs other than on Onedrive and I don’t have anything on Onedrive. I am pulling them up in Google docs and then having to fix the formatting. I went down a rabbit hole researching a getaway weekend.
Thursday, my daughter was going to go with me to select new chairs at Lowes but she was in too much pain. Lulu went along. She is a little nervous about being in the cart but perfectly well behaved. I tried to look at the chairs I wanted to order but of course, they don’t have any samples. I did get my tomatoes, basil, marigolds and impatiens. I was trying to order everything with a 20% off coupon but the guys at the store were clueless, 3 of them and they couldn’t figure it out. I came home and ordered it with no trouble on my computer and a bottle of squirrel repellent spray. I did a pickup at Walmart and they did a substitution I didn’t want so I didn’t take it but they still charged me for it. Sigh. I went on to Food Lion to buy the 2 items Walmart was out of stock. Tomorrow is a rainy day and if I had more energy I’d try to plant everything now but it’s very wet out so I think I will be waiting until Saturday. I saw on the neighborhood facebook that the swan babies have arrived. I didn’t get to see the nesting much since Lulu and I weren’t walking with her injury.
Friday, my daughter was still up until afternoon today. She is busy studying for finals and anxious. I feel like I started a bunch of things this week but the old problems are hanging on and bugging me. The garden is doing well. We are enjoying the lettuce and herbs. We ate our first few snow peas this week. The broccoli is coming along well. The chard is ready to eat. I have to figure out how to tell if carrots are ready other than digging them up. The daylilies are getting big buds. I really need to get out and do more yardwork but it is very wet. Lulu and I took a medium walk to go by the swan nest but couldn’t really see the babies just the parents. Then I did the weed whacking on the edges of the yard.
Saturday, I woke up early which seems good since I have lots I want to do. The second part arrived for the fridge repair which is awesome because I thought it wouldn’t get here for Tuesday since they hadn’t even notified me it had shipped. Well I called a Walmart 800 number and they refunded for the item I didn’t get. Based on something I read on the North Carolina Gardening facebook page, my knockout roses have a fatal disease and I will have to cut and dig them out to prevent further spread of the disease. Only roses can get it and I don’t have any others. I mixed compost and composted garden soil into the beds and planted 2 tomato plants, 2 marigolds, an extra basil plant. Then I put impatiens into the front flower pots and sprayed the pots with squirrel repellent. I also sprayed the cushions on the swing. I put together the two new swivel chairs but one screw hole is stripped. I did a bunch of weeding and mowed the back yard. This week will be nice 65-70F about 20C., after rain on Sunday.
I thought I already did this in a post but apparently not. I’ve had my plan for a month or more. We read Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson for COYER. Berls and I decided to finish up the series as a buddy read, the rest of the Good Girl’s Guide to Murder series:
Things I Learned This Week:
OK if I’m asking for help, I’m also going to share the cool things I learn. You may already know them but hopefully it will help someone.
I was looking for an alternative to iTunes for my audiobooks while my computer was being repaired. I use a Windows 10 laptop and an iphone. I get .zip files from some publishers for audio reviews. I found an app called Book Mower and used the free trial. It has the features I need : showing the chapters in a book, the percentage complete, jumping 5 seconds or 30 seconds forward or back. The speed goes from .5 to 2x speed. The airplay can also be controlled so I can switch between iphone, earbuds or Apple Carplay. I purchased the application for my iphone for $4.
There are many options for uploading audiobooks. It will read direct from an iTunes library, but my favorite is the program will take a .zip file from your web browser. This means that instead of having both the .zip files and the unzipped directories (even more hard drive space), as I do for iTunes, I can have my whole library of audiobooks on the computer as .zip files only.
The screens are not “pretty” but they are functional so I don’t care that much. I asked support about the airplay feature but I must not have described it well because they said they don’t have it. I found it when writing this review in the Settings where speed and volume are set. I can’t find a sleep timer feature where it plays for the next x minutes but I don’t seem to use that very much anyway. OK I read the help and found the sleep timer. The controls aren’t all intuitive to find but seem easy to use knowing they are there. I like the app and would recommend it as highly functional for my needs.
Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Reading Reality. These are the exciting ARCs I received this week (If you click on the cover, it will take you to the Goodreads entry):
My sincere thanks to Canelo, Penguin Audio, Harper Audio, Macmillan Audio.
(If you click on the cover, it will take you to the Goodreads entry)
I chose my Amazon First Reads. I bought the K9 cozy mystery for No Rush Rewards, since the only library that has it is Cleveland Ohio. The 4 audios are deals for Chirp with a total for $16.
Now the really scary one. This is all the Kindle and Audible freebies I grabbed this past week. You can see why I need to do Thrifty Thursday to be sure I read a few at least one each month.
I really meant to cut back on freebies BUT they are free so I guess that won’t be happening.
I’m not including things like reviews posted or upcoming as they are always in the right sidebar. And, my challenge status is also there.
Anne
I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
Friend or follow me at Goodreads.
- 🎧 Death at the Sanatorium by Ragnar Jónasson @ragnarjo#SamWoolf @MinotaurBooks @MacmillanAudio #LoveAudiobooks - September 12, 2024
- 🎧The Swimmer by Loreth Anne White @Loreth @rebabuhr #BrillianceAudio #LoveAudiobooks #KindleUnlimited - September 10, 2024
- 🎧The Brothers Kenney by Adam Mitzner @adam_mitzner #StacyCarolan @librofm @BlackstoneAudio #LoveAudiobooks - September 8, 2024
I’m so glad to hear Lulu is doing better! And I hope your daughter is also feeling better. Did she already take the exam or is that coming up? We’ve had a lot of rain here and my husband hasn’t planted his garden at our house yet. He did plant the one at the beach house already though.
Thank you. My daughter is having her ups and downs. Her first exam is tomorrow and then another later in the week. She gets very worried, makes herself sick and then gets straight As. It would be easier to understand if she actually ever failed at anything. But I just try to support her. yes you did follow on Mastodon. On both Twitter and Mastodon, the book people are the best. BooksofMyHeart on both is a books only stream, except for maybe cute puppies or coffee jokes. My Northwoman accounts are more personal and varied with political, Harley stuff, and book stuff, quilting/knitting. I’m going to add a garden bed this month. Also cattle panels to support tomatoes and other growing vines.
I’m so glad Lulu is healed. We had a ramp made for Otis when we moved to our new house and he immediately used it with just a few prompts from me. Dogs are so smart sometimes! Have a good week😁
Thank you Tammy. Lulu is doing great. I love smart although it can be mischief at times.
Wow too bad about your gardener. I have been more interested in gardening after learning a bit about it in korean movies(i know go figure) but I love that with the right conditions, it can all work out.
I think that garden will be herbs only after I take out the rose bush. The rosemary and sage certainly want to take over the whole bed.
I’m so happy to see Lulu is better!! Sorry about the continuing computer troubles. I hate PCs because it seems every one I ever had was problematic. I’m glad you found an app that serves the same purpose as iTunes. Thankfully I don’t have to use iTunes for my audiobooks. I can put them in Apple Books and listen from there.
Thank you. um Apple Books is the place where ebooks and audiobooks from iTunes end up. It’s iTunes on the desktop but Apple books on the iphone.
I have a Mac, so I can put them straight into apple books! Its so much nicer!
WOW busy week That’s great Lulu is better. It’s always frustrating when there is an issue with the computer. I don’t use iTunes for audiobooks, so i don’t know what issues it has. I like Hoopla, Libby and Audible apps for my listening pleasure. Your garden looks good. Hope you have a wonderful week and happy reading.
Thanks Angela. I use 16 audiobook apps including all the ones you mentioned. iTunes is just for ones direct from publishers. I don’t think there is any way to move those files into Audible, Hoopla or Libby.
16 apps for audiobooks… WOW
That’s great news about Lulu! I hope it’s smooth sailing going forward for her. And I hear you on grocery pick up. In some ways it’s so convenient and nice but like anything else there are hiccups too. My mom who’s older has had some issues and sometimes I wonder if it’s worth it haha!
That’s a shame about the roses 🙁
Thanks Greg. We are totally thrilled about Lulu. I’ve gotten very knowledgeable about online shopping and pickup over the last few (COVID) years but there is always something new to learn. I feel badly about the roses. If I didn’t read the gardening facebook page I wouldn’t know. I’d never heard of it. I’d probably plant another one there and it would get sick right away.
So happy that Lulu is recovered and doing better! And yea for your garden. Sorry about the computer problems, tho. That sounds so frustrating.
My week was good – been watching a lot of sports playoff games, as Boston has both the Celtics and Bruins in playoffs right now. My daughter was on break and we did some college visits as well. I got in lots of steps those days.
Thank you. I am so glad Lulu is not in pain and able to do more. I have to get back in the swing of walking. The computer stuff makes me crazy. There is no good time to work on it when I have so much else to do. And there’s the chance it will ruin other stuff. At least my backup computer is awesome.
Oh I’m so glad that Lulu is feeling better and got an all clear at the vet. That’s great that she’s able to use her ramp so quickly. I’m sorry to hear about the issue with the roses but an herb garden will be lovely and hopefully less susceptible to fatal diseases. Have a great week!
Thank you Katherine. We are thrilled to have Lulu back on to more activity. I’d never heard of the rose disease. If I hadn’t read the facebook page I wouldn’t have known just thought my plant was weird until it died.
I’m so happy to hear that Lulu is feeling better and good for her to use the ramp. Good luck to your daughter with her finals! Have a great week!
Thank you Jodie. This week will be very busy with finals and graduation. I’m just so happy to have Lulu not in pain.
Yay for a good check up for Lulu! And that is fab that she’s already using her ramp without reminding. Sounds like you got a ton of good things done, but sorry the ongoing computer struggles make you feel frustrated. I grabbed several of those freebies, too. Ha, yes, the review books are a ‘doesn’t rain, but it pours’ thing for me, too.
Have a good week, Anne!
Thanks Sophia. The whole computer thing wouldn’t be as big a deal if I didn’t worry about that working on it would mean it might be down or in worse shape after getting things to try. Audiobooks especially tend to be available very close to release dates.
Happy to hear Lulu is doing better! Exciting that you get baby swans! Hope you get a peak soon. I enjoyed Seven Girls Gone. Just finished it today. I broke down and bought the audio. Hope you enjoy it too!
You garden looks amazin!
Thank you Rachel. I really love those Allison Brennan books. Some day I will work on her backlist too. I can’t wait to build more garden space.
So glad to see that Lulu has healed. Sorry to hear about the continued computer issues. That is so frustrating. It bugs me when I have issues pending and things aren’t getting resolved. I tend to dwell on them. Glad the Walmart item got refunded. I’ve only had that happen once with them. I see you picked up Reason to Believe by Rebecca Yarros. That was one of my top 5 reads last year. Really loved that one!
Thank you Tanya. The Lulu recovery and the garden doing well soothes a lot of irritation. The computer thing is just that I don’t know if the recommended things to try will fix it or make it worse and I don’t know how long it will take and I use my computer all the time. I’ll have to remember that and try to get to the Yarros book.
It’s funny that you are looking at squirrel repellent while we’d do everything to attract them here! And I am glad that Lulu is fully healed! Have a great week Anne!
Thank you Sophie. It is so much easier now with Lulu better and I can’t stand to see her in pain. My relationship with squirrels has always been poor. They are rodents and they like to destroy things in the gardens.
Aww…that a cute dog. That lettuce looks good. I usually plant mine in the fall. That way the heat doesn’t stress the plant out and make the leaves bitter.
Have a great week.
Thank you. Lulu is our best girl. We have 3 seasons of planting here. So lettuce, broccoli, and snow peas get planted spring and fall. In the summer heat, we have green beans and tomatoes and basil.
So happy that Lulu is better and sorry to hear about your ongoing computer woes. I hope your new app keeps working great for you. And I love the garden pictures. I’ve been enjoying that series by Adriana Locke and I’m looking forward to Seven Girls Gone. Hope you have a great week.
Thank you. We are thrilled to have Lulu better and not hurting. I just finished Seven Girls Gone yesterday and loved it. I hope you enjoy it, too. I love the spring garden.
Yay for Lulu!!
You are doing so much better than me regarding gardening. We were going to build raised beds and haven’t done shit. lol I just have zero motivation and every weekend it’s been shitty so when hubby’s home we are stuck inside. After this Ohio trip though we’re going to knuckle down. Stop laughing. I mean it. lol
Thanks Carol. We are so glad to have Lulu feeling better. Having her in pain kills us. Well I had those beds built in other years but we are going to build another one in May that is more raised. There are 3 seasons here so you won’t miss much. You’ll be in plenty of time for beans and tomatoes and herbs. Then in the fall you can do lettuce and broccoli, spinach and chard type stuff, even carrots over winter. You are right it rains every week on Friday or Saturday or Sunday and is nice during the week for more than a month now. You are busy with your Mom and that is most important.
I know that Lulu was thrilled to get some walking time in. My Stella is over having us limit her movement but she has at least another 3 months of total restriction. I am sorry that your roses have a disease. I have a few plants that didn’t survive the winter and I am sad about it. I hope that you enjoy all of your new books!
Thank you Carole. Lulu got to walk with the neighbor dogs today and it was like she was possessed. She zoomed around and was so excited. yes I always have a few plants which don’t make it. This year we had 10F over Christmas weekend which is at least 10 degrees lower than we get most winters and 20 degrees lower than normal so we lost a few things too. I wish you luck with Stella.
Delighted to see the progress that Lulu has made – and that ramp is a brilliant idea. And yay for a smart dog that can take to it in no time flat. Your garden is looking fab – ours has gone to rack and ruin as with everything else going on and my energy levels still not where they should be, we simply don’t get time to get out there. So I’m afraid our neighbours are going to have to grit their teeth for a bit longer! Sorry to hear about the issues with the computer – it sounds annoying and worrying… I hope in the coming week you can get to the bottom of it all:)).
Thank you Sarah. Lulu is very excited to be out and about with us and the neighbor dogs again. I have more to do with my yard but it will have to be a bit at a time. I haven’t gotten to the computer issues again because I don’t want to try something recommended and be down for another time period.
I’m so glad Lulu is doing better and walking and using the ramp. Good luck to your daughter on her finals. Your garden looks nice already. I love marigolds, I need to plant some in the garden soon. Nice new books this week, The Book That Wouldn’t Burn caught my eye. Happy reading.
Thank you Naida. Lulu is very happy. She did jump off the couch today instead of the ramp which is not good. So we still need to watch her. I’m hoping to put in another garden bed this month.
Your garden looks great. I’m so glad Lulu is healed. Hopefully she doesn’t get hurt again.
Thank you Mary. I’m enjoying the garden. Lulu is enjoying her ability to do more. Unfortunately, she jumped off the couch instead of using the ramp today so I need to watch her more closely so she doesn’t get injured again.
It’s been too cold here for the garden. :/
yes, one of the reasons I moved South was to have 3 season gardening.