Ornament Review: Two Turtle Doves - Twelve Days of Christmas #2 - 2025 Hallmark Release

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Great looking ornament 

Cons: A bit bigger than I like

The Bottom Line:

Turtle doves couple

Basis for series second

Still large but looks good

Loving This Second Twelve Days Ornament

I’m laughing at myself. First, I said I wasn’t starting the new Twelve Days of Christmas series that Hallmark started in 2024. Then, I got the first ornament after Christmas and I told myself I would see how I felt the next year whether I continued it or not. At least I waited until after Christmas to buy Two Turtle Doves. 

This new take on the series is using papercraft elements. The shape of the ornament is a giant window shape. Right in the middle, we have the two birds. One is in front of the other, but they are positioned in their nest so that they are looking at each other. Surrounding them we have music and evergreen tree branches. And up at the top is a hole that lets some light into the ornament, depending on how you position it. 

I really do like the style of this series. I’m not sold on papercraft for everything, but as another stylized take on the familiar song, it works well. The birds are a pretty lavender color. 

My issue with the series continues to be the size. This is the larger size ornaments that Hallmark sometimes does. I can see why they went with it here, but still, it takes up a lot of area on my trees. 

In addition to the series marker, but back of the ornament contains the full verse of the song.

The ornament comes with a ribbon already in it. No surprise that it hangs straight. The base is wide enough that you could set this out to be displayed if you wanted.  A good bump could cause it to tip over, but it should be stable in most situations.

Yeah, I think I’m in for the next ten years to get the rest of this series. With the increases in price we got last year, that’s going to be expensive.

But that’s future me’s problem. For now, I’m glad I snagged Two Turtle Doves. 

Check out the rest of this Twelve Days of Christmas series. 

Father's Day's Sunday/Monday Post

That time of a week again!  I'll be linking my Sunday/Monday Post to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

Another quiet week around here.  I went paddle boarding with a friend on Friday night after work again.  I've made it out all three weeks since I got my pass at the beginning of the month.

I do have a bit of a rant.  I bought something on eBay Tuesday night.  It was a localish vendor (not my city, but I could be there in 30 minutes or so).  Claimed to be a fast shipper.  I figured I'd have it by now.  Nope.  They haven't even shipped it yet.  Technically, the predicted arrival window starts on Saturday the 20th.  But seriously?  You claim to be a fast shipper and you haven't even shipped it yet?  Yeah, not happy.  Yes, it's definitely a first world problem, but I'm am still going to complain about it.

Let's see, other than that, it cooled down here this week.  We actually had some June gloom with gray skies in the morning before we did get sun in the afternoon.  After being in the 90's, we were only in the 70's most of this week.  Should be a little warmer this coming week, fortunately.

And Saturday night, I met up with a friend for dinner.  It was great catching up with her.

Think that's about all the news here.

Joke of the Week:

I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. It's impossible to put down.

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Upgrade

Tuesday - Book Review: Lost and Clowned by Dana Mentink

Wednesday - TV Show Review: Step by Step - Season 2

Thursday - Book Review: Murder Takes the Stage by Colleen Cambridge

Friday - Friday Post featuring The Quirky Quiz Show Caper

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Ornament Review: Two Turtle Doves

Tuesday - Book Review: Murder by Design by Lee Goldberg

Wednesday - Book Review: The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly

Thursday - Book Review: The Quirky Quiz Show Caper by Sally Carpenter

Friday - Friday Post featuring Murder at Ochre Court

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

Let's kick things off this week with All Aboard for Murder by Ellen Byron.  This is book three in her Golden Motel Mysteries.  I really enjoyed the first two books, so I can't wait to read this one and find out what is going on with these characters.

Then I went on a bit of an ebook shopping spree.  And I have a feeling another one is coming soon.

It's been a while since I read any of Jacqueline Vicks books.  While I have the first in a series from her that I haven't read yet, we'll blame it on the fact that I don't have the next books in the Frankie Chandler Pet Psychic Mysteries.  But now I have no excuse since I just bought books seven and eight in the series, Some Like Murder Hot and A Spinning Wheel of Murder.  

I also got the next Anty Boisjoly Mystery from PJ Fitzsimmons, The Case of the Case of Kilcladdich.  I enjoy this series, so this should be another good one.

Finally, I got the first from a new author.  Cool Change by Kevin Zelenka features a retired military police officer who finds himself involved in a murder in a small Minnesota town.  Hopefully, it's good.

What I'm Currently Reading:

I'm working my way through Death on the Back Nine, book six in Caleb Wygal's Myrtle Beach Mysteries.  I haven't been focused on reading as much the last few days as normal, so I haven't made it as far as I had hoped.  I am intrigued by what is going on in this book, however.  Hopefully, I'll get some focused reading time on Sunday so I can finish it up on Monday.

Have a great week!

June 20th's Weekly TV Thoughts

American Ninja Warrior – I always worry when people start trying to go too fast that it will make them fall.  At least this time, he’d made it far enough.  I’m happy for Kai and his engagement.  Nice to see the Godfather moving on as well.  

Juneteenth's Friday Post

It's Friday! Time for this week's Friday Post, where I will be linking up to:

Book Beginnings
First Line Friday
Friday 56
Book Blogger Hop

The teasers for the first three will be coming from The Quirky Quiz Show Caper by Sally Carpenter.

This is book four in her Sandy Fairfax Teen Idol Mysteries.  And here's how the book begins:

Strange that the music I'd made popular in the 1970s sounded unbearably cheesy when played on a four-manual Wurlitzer theater organ.

Definitely a bit of fun to start the book.  But on page 56, the mystery has definitely kicked in:

"Where is the knife, Dr. Farmington?" The detective said this more like a command than a question.

It had been a while since I picked up a book in this series, and I enjoyed getting to revisit the characters.  Look for my review to come on Thursday.

Meanwhile, shall we get to this week's Book Blogger Hop?  The question is:

If you could pick any fictional character to live with, who would it be, and how would they change your daily life? 

Considering I used to day dream of living with Trixie Belden and the rest of the Bob Whites, that's my  answer.  For those who don't know her, Trixie is a teen detective kind of like the Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew.  The Bob Whites are her brothers and their group of friends.  And yes, they solved lots of mysteries.  Obviously, getting involved in real life mysteries would significantly change my life.

Have a great weekend!

Book Review: Murder Takes the Stage by Colleen Cambridge (Phyllida Bright Mysteries #4)

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: Growth for Phyllida, entertaining mystery

Cons: Lots of events disguise little investigative progress

The Bottom Line:

A death on the stage

And look at Phyllida’s past

Book that entertains

A Brutal Crime

Colleen Cambridge’s Phyllida Bright Mysteries are another series I’m trying to catch up on this year.  As a result, I sat down with Murder Takes the Stage, the fourth in the series.  It was a lot of fun.

This book finds us in a new setting as Phyllida, housekeeper for famed mystery author Agatha Christie, is in London.  Agatha along with her second husband, Max, is there to oversee a potential adaptation of one of her Poirot stories for the stage.  Phyllida is less than enthused about being back in London.  She’s hoping to stay in the house that the couple has rented and oversee the household that has come along to avoid any potential unpleasantness.

But fate has other ideas.  The potential producers for Agatha’s play are hit with a death on one of their current productions when Archibald Allston is found dead in an armchair the week before the play is supposed to open.  Phyllida doesn’t see any signs of foul play, but she begins to second guess her observations when the man playing Benvolio in a production of Romeo and Juliette is bludgeoned to death on the balcony of a different theater the next day.  Can Phyllida discover what is happening before another death occurs?

This is the part of the review that I once again confess my lack of knowledge about Agatha Christie books.  I know, I know.  I really need to fix that.  Each book in the series takes some cues from a famous Agatha Christie novel.  Obviously, I can’t tell how similar the two books are, but I did want to acknowledge the comparison.

In earlier books, we’ve gotten hints about Phyllida’s backstory, but nothing remotely concrete.  I was happy to see we finally got some answers here.  While there might be more, I’m happy with what we got, at least for now.  And I’m curious if Phyllida’s friendship with Agatha (that lead to her working for the author) might play into something from Agatha’s past.  I guess I’ll have to keep reading to find out.

Even though we were in London, enough of the familiar staff came along that it still felt like an entry in the series.  I enjoyed how some of those relationships grew here, and I’m very curious to see where things go soon.

As to the mystery itself, I felt like it substituted events for actual deduction at times, meaning the story wasn’t really moving forward even thought there were events that had me entertained.  It’s a fine line, and I may be the only one who cares about it.  But overall, I thought the story was solid with a good slew of new characters to keep us entertained.  And the ending, while a bit overly dramatic, fit in with the series and answered our questions.

I’m glad I have the next book in the series already since I do want to see where the characters go from here.  Fans will get caught up in Murder Takes the Stage.

Here are the rest of the Phyllida Bright Mysteries.

TV Show Review: Step by Step - Season 2

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: More laughs as the characters get stronger

Cons: The writing still needs to find ways to use all the characters better

The Bottom Line:

A step family

Learning to blend in sitcom

Glad I found these laughs

“We Tried to Help and Both Kids are Miserable.  I Think Our Work Here is Done.”

My journey through 90’s sitcom Step by Step continues with season two.  With when this show ended, I never watched it when it was originally on.  I didn’t really begin to hear much about it until I started listening to some rewatch podcasts that mentioned it.  So, I’m watching this show now blind.  But I’m glad I am giving it a chance since I am really enjoying it.

If you’ve missed it, this was a 90’s take on a blended family sitcom.  The parents are Frank and Carol (Patrick Duffy and Suzanne Somers) who each brought three kids into their second marriage.  Frank’s three kids are J.T., Al, and Brendan (Brandon Call, Christine Lakin, and Josh Byrne) while Carol’s three kids are Dana, Karen, and Mark (Staci Keanan, Angela Watson, and Christopher Castile).  Rounding out the main cast is the required goofy character, in this case, Frank’s nephew Cody (Sasha Mitchell). 

Fans know that there is a cast change between seasons one and two.  Carol’s mother and sister, regular characters in season one, aren’t back.  And, in true 90’s sitcom fashion, they are never mentioned this season.  Considering they worked with Carol in her beauty salon, that’s quite an omission.  Honestly, with nine characters for the writers to juggle, they had plenty of characters to try to write for each week.  And, with how underutilized these two characters were in the first season, it’s no surprise they didn’t return.

So, what does happen this season?  Dana takes the SAT and is surprised to find Cody taking them as well.  All the kids struggle to adjust to the new school year, with Al’s cooking being bad, Mark struggling in wood shop, and J.T. having an unfair English teacher.  J.T. starts a Wayne’s World knock off on the local cable access station.  (Truly, those two episodes are horrible.)  Dana finds out being a boss is harder than she expected when she is hired as the manager of a 50’s themed café with Karen and J.T. as her employees.  An overdue video under Brendan’s bed prompts the family to cut down their spending.  Cody inherits money from the resident of a retirement home he regularly visits.  And the family wins a trip to Hawaii.  Plus watch for a very fun storyline poking fun at Christopher Castile’s role in the recent (at the time) hit movie Beethoven.

While I did enjoy season one, I found the writing stronger here for the most part.  Many of the episodes included some wonderful laugh out loud moments and some tender moments as well.  Still, the writers are struggling to find things for all the characters to do.  Even with two storylines per episode, the younger kids often get under served, especially poor Brendan, who somethings only has a line or two.  While all the characters get at least one episode focused on them this season, you can tell who the writers favored by who has more.  It’s definitely not even.

Not that I’m blaming the writers.  There are twenty-four episodes this season, and that’s a lot of work.  If there are characters it’s easier to come up with storylines for, it’s going to be natural to focus on them more.  Still, I hope things even out a little going forward.

One thing that makes this sitcom stand out is that not all the characters like each other.  Frank and Carol got married before the kids had even met each other, so they are trying to navigate that while all living under one roof.  That makes for some great one liners and insults.  And, we do see more evidence that those relationships and bonds are growing this season, which I appreciate.  It’s more realistic than some shows while not being as spiteful as others. 

The actors are all killing it this season.  They are getting more familiar with their characters, and they are hitting the jokes well.  I find everyone a joy to watch.

As I said earlier, the jokes are funny.  Yes, it’s a typical family sitcom in that department, but I love sitcoms, so I’m really enjoying getting to laugh at these characters as I get to know them better.  In addition to the dialogue, the cast does some great physical comedy, especially the adults.

The show is already diving into some very special episodes this season.  I’m thinking especially of a couple this season involving teenage sex lives, and I appreciated how both were handled.  Of course, I would have preferred they not be included at all since I cringed more than laughed, but if they had to be here, this was a nice way to handle the topics.

This season featured 24 episodes.  The show doesn’t appear to be available for streaming, but I got it on DVD.  We don’t have any extras, but the show looks and sounds great for a 90’s sitcom.

I’m so glad I found Step by Step.  I’m truly enjoying getting to know these characters and watching what happens despite some minor flaws.  Now that I’ve finished season two, I’m looking forward to diving into season three.

Book Review: Lost and Clowned by Dana Mentink

Stars: 5 out of 5

Pros: Good story and interesting characters

Cons: Pi a couple of times; pacing a couple of times

The Bottom Line:

A circus attack

Troop member responsible?

A great standalone

Finding a Killer is a Circus

I enjoyed the four Shake Shop Mysteries that Dana Mentink wrote, so I was very curious to read Lost and Clowned, a rare standalone cozy set in the world of a traveling circus.  It may have taken me a while to get it and read it, but I’m glad I did since I enjoyed it.

Pi Steely (yes, that’s her real name) is the business manager and a clown in the traveling circus her uncle owns.  It’s the first place in her life she’s felt at home, and she loves her life and feels like her fellow performers are family.  The time around Christmas is always a dead time, and this year, the circus is spending it in a small California coastal town.  They are spending the down time working on a new act, even putting on a short show for the locals to try out the material.

However, the next morning, Pi stumbles on a body on the beach.  She recognizes the woman as someone who attended the show the day before.  The detective is certain that a member of the circus is responsible for the crime.  Pi is quick to dismiss that, but as secrets start coming out, she begins to wonder if the detective is right.  Is someone in the circus a killer?

If you are expecting the book to be filled with wildly outrageous characters, you’ll be disappointed.  While the characters might have a few more quirks than in a typical cozy, they still feel very grounded and realistic.  These are not circus freaks, these are people who happen to work in a circus.  I did have a hard time keeping them all straight early on, but as the story unfolded, I was able to remember who they were.  I did find Pi a little immature for her mid-twenties a couple of times, but maybe that was just me.

I did find the pacing off a time or two, but it never lasted for long.  We get enough time to meet the characters and the circus setting before the story kicks off.  And there is plenty going on.  I was hooked as Pi tried to figure out what was going on.  This included a shock in her personal life.  The ultimate solution made sense, and the climax kept me hooked.

The tone was a bit more serious than I was expecting for a circus setting, but it fit the story being told perfectly.  And there were moments of fun along the way.

And, yes, I enjoyed the setting.  There are some references to places I recognized in Northern California, which always made me smile.

Given the author has written plenty of other books since she released this one, I do think this is a standalone, which is very rare in the cozy subgenre.  And, given the nature of this story, I’m not sure I see how a series would flow out of this book.  But if she were to release a sequel, I’d pick it up.

I’m glad I finally got to enjoy Lost and Clowned.  This is a book to pick up if you are looking for a different cozy.

Movie Review: Upgrade

Stars: 2 out of 5

Pros: Interesting premise

Cons: Several overly violent scenes; ending doesn’t quite work

The Bottom Line:

Creative premise

Marred by violence, ending

So does not quite work

When Technology Seems Too Good to be True

I hadn’t heard of the movie Upgrade until a friend suggested it for a movie night.  It sounded intriguing from his description, so we gave it a try.  There was certainly an interest premise in the movie, but the execution didn’t quite work.

The movie is set is the near future and tells the story of Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green).  He’s happy with his life rebuilding classic cars while his wife, Asha (Melanie Vallejo) brings in the big bucks working for a tech company.  They are happy until one night when their self-driving car suddenly crashes in the bad part of town.  They are attacked after the accident.  Grey is left a quadriplegic, but Asha is killed.

Grey is offered a chance at a normal life from billionaire Eron Keen (Harrison Gilbertson).  Eron has a new technology that could help Grey walk again just like nothing had ever happened.  Grey is supposed to keep this a secret from everyone, however.  But when he returns home, Grey discovers that he has a few unexpected upgrades in his life.  Will they help him find the men who killed his wife?

This movie can’t quite decide what it wants to be.  It is part mystery/thriller.  As an avid mystery reader, I enjoyed that aspect of things.  It is part science fiction movie, with the near future setting and the upgraded technology.  And there are another couple of genres mixed in as well that I don’t want to get into so as not to spoil things.  It’s not that these parts can’t mix.  They just don’t quite seem to completely mix here.

I did like Grey.  The more he is pulled into his strange new life, the more I was pulled into the movie.  I couldn’t figure out where exactly it was going, which was a good thing.  The credit for this goes to Logan Marshall-Green.  He has to carry much of the movie on his shoulders, and he does a great job of it.  This isn’t to diminish the performances of the rest of the cast.  They just don’t have the same amount of screen time he does.

Despite the futuristic setting, there aren’t a ton of special effects.  What there are work well, however.  Likewise, the stunts are good.

There are two places where the movie falls apart.  One of the violence.  There are several pretty graphic scenes that weren’t needed.  They could have gotten the story points across with much less graphic images.

The second is the ending.  It many ways, it felt like the movie just stopped instead of ending.  Part of that comes from some late breaking twists that don’t wrap everything up and make us question why some of the earlier things that happened happened.

The premise for Upgrade was good, but there were some flaws in the execution that made me feel the writing needed an upgrade.

Flag Day's Sunday/Monday Post

Happy Flag Day!  (At least here in the USA.)  Let's celebrate with a Sunday/Monday Post where I will link up to:

Sunday Post
Sunday Salon
Stacking the Shelves
It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

I got the extra reporting finished up at work.  I didn't make it quite as far with the account recs as I had hoped, but I am in good shape with them.

This coming Monday marks that day I thought I would be working in the office four days a week.  Instead, it will mark the beginning of week four of working from home again full time.  Still rather hard to believe.  I hope they don't change their mind at some point.

I went out paddle boarding again on Thursday.  This time I met up with a friend and his daughter.  They were in their kayaks while I was on my board.  It was nice to chill with them.

And, since today is game day and I have much to do before I go, let's get on with it, shall we?

Joke of the Week:

I wondered why that Frisbee kept getting bigger.  Then it hit me.

(As a retired ultimate Frisbee player, I prefer this version of the joke.)

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Hot Stuff by Don Bruns

Tuesday - Ornament Review: Gardener Mickey

Wednesday - Book Review: Crown of Chaos by Sarah E. Burr

Thursday - Movie Review: Supergirl (1984)

Friday - Book Review: Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Movie Review: Upgrade

Tuesday - Book Review: Lost and Clowned by Dana Mentink

Wednesday - TV Show Review: Step by Step - Season 2

Thursday - Book Review: Murder Takes the Stage by Colleen Cambridge

Friday - Friday Post

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I've just got three books to tell you about this week.  I can hardly believe it myself.

The first is The Quirky Quiz Show Caper by Sally Carpenter.  This is book four in the series.  I'd gotten book five a couple of weeks back and told you that I should be getting book four soon.  Here it is.  Actually, I've already read it and enjoyed it, so look for that review coming soon.

I also got Mystery Most Senior, the anthology from this year's Malice Domestic convention in April.  Author Ellen Byron did a giveaway for a copy signed by her and Jacqueline Winspear, the Lifetime Achievement Honoree from this year's convention.  I'm really glad I won it since I haven't seen it pop up for sale anywhere yet, and I did want to get it.

Finally, I decided it was time for another audio book.  Since this was a last minute decision, I was lucky to get my first choice, The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly.  It's the next in my effort to read all of Connelly's books in order, and it's one I've been anxious to read since it came out in 2020.  I just had to get here.

What I'm Currently Reading:

Yep, I've already started The Law of Innocence.  I'm not quite an hour into it, and it's is a twelve and a half hour audio book, so I have my listening cut out for me.  But yes, I am completely hooked already.

I'm also working on Pour Choices, the second Mixology Lounge Mystery from Adrian Andover.  I'm about 45% into my eARC of this book and really enjoying it so far.  This time, the comedian at an event the main character is hosting at his cocktail lounge is killed the next morning.  The book will be out June 30th, and I'll have my full review up then.

If everything goes according to plan, I will be on to Murder at Ochre Court by Alyssa Maxwell on Monday.  I'm anxious to get back to her Gilded Newport Mysteries.  Hard to believe I'll be starting July books that early, isn't it?  But I do want to stay this far ahead of my posting dates.

That's it for me.  Have a great week!

June 13th's Weekly TV Thoughts

I've got two shows this week...for one week.  The Quiz with Balls is taking a few weeks off, I suspect for the soccer tournament.

American Ninja Warrior – From something I read, I thought this filmed last October.  But, you couldn’t update the narration?  I mean, talking about someone hoping to make the winter Olympics team for the Olympics that just happened?  Weird.  There were another couple of moments like that.  Overall, it was nice to see old favorites back and most of them doing well.  I knew poor Lance wouldn’t do well when he went first.

The Quiz with Balls – As always, there are many questions and categories I would have struggled with, but I was almost screaming at my TV during the fictional detective question.  They missed one of the most classic detectives every!  Granted, I didn’t know the one from Miami Vice since I’ve never watched the show or movies.  And yes, the theme was perfect with the World's Cup starting this week.  Almost as if they planned it that way.