August 2nd's Sunday/Monday Post

Welcome to this week's Sunday/Monday Post, where I will be linking up to:

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

It's been a fairly quiet week.  Heck, my car hasn't been out of the garage most of the week.  The advantage of working from home, especially with gas prices what they are.  I ran some errands one day, and I went paddle boarding Friday night.  That's about it.

It's also been hot!  We've been in the upper 90's most of the week, reaching triple digits this weekend.  That's summer weather, I don't care what you have to say about it.  (Yes, I know lots of people who complain about summer weather, but I love it!)

Saturday morning, I was able to go to a book launch party for Ellen Byron.  Really, a double launch party since she has books coming out just a week apart.  (Two different series with two different publishers.)  Then, I went to the game group I've been to a few other times about half an hour from me.  It was a good day, but a day that involved lots of driving in the hot weather.  Fortunately, that's why we have AC, right?

Joke of the Week:

How did one tectonic plate apologize to the other?

“My fault.”

This Past Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Dead Days of Summer by Carolyn Hart

Tuesday - Movie Review: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Wednesday - Short Story Review: "Robber Crabs" by Joan Druett

Thursday - July Reading Summary

Friday - Friday Post featuring Hell Hath No Fury

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

This Coming Week on the Blog:

Sunday - Sunday/Monday Post

Monday - Book Review: Talking God by Tony Hillerman

Tuesday - Book Review: A Taste for Murder by Matt Baker

Wednesday - Movie Review: A Prince in Paradise - A Royal Wedding

Thursday - Book Review: Hell Hath No Fury by Annette Dashofy

Friday - Friday Post featuring A Murderer's Guide to Mardi Gras

Saturday - Weekly TV Thoughts

Book Haul:

I said last week I'd have one book to talk about for sure this week.  And, I have...one book to talk about this week.  I managed to avoid any impulse purchases, so the only book is the preorder that came out on Tuesday.

And that book?  City of Promises by Victoria Thompson with Ellen Thompson.  I am extremely excited about this book.  I've been a fan of both of Victoria's series for years, and this book is a crossover between the two.  She had just started it when she passed away a couple of years ago, and her daughter, Ellen, has picked up the reigns and is going to continue both series.  She's started out by completing this crossover.  I will be reading it soon.

What I'm Currently Reading:

But not quite yet.

Over the weekend, I finished A Murderer's Guide to Mardi Gras, the newest Vintage Cookbook Mystery from Ellen Byron.  Yes, this is one of the two books she's launching right now.  I enjoyed it as always.  My review will be up on the 11th.

Which means I'll be starting this week with Two Truths and a Murder, the fifth Phyllida Bright Mystery from Colleen Cambridge.  This will get me current with the series...until book six comes out at the end of October.

That's it for me.  Have a great week!

August 1st's Weekly TV Thoughts

Buckle in because I have lots of thoughts this week.  It's almost like I didn't watch any TV when I was out of town with my family.  And, a couple of new shows I was wanting to watch started during that time, too.  But I made it through everything on my DVR.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro (7/13) – With 12 contestants and one hour, I didn’t feel like I got to know the contestants that well.  I’m sure that will come with time.  Seeing Mark’s mom is fun.  I suspect she will be the Len of this show.  I do feel for those eliminated first.  I always hate to see that first elimination come.

American Ninja Warrior (7/13) – I miss the days where, if you finished, you got to move on.  I hope those sisters practice hard and come back next year.  I’m definitely surprised by some of the eliminations on the races.

The Quiz with Balls (7/13) – I thought the Globetrotters were going to win easily half way through, but that was an impressive comeback at the end.  I figured everyone would wind up in the pool whether they got hit by the balls or not, and all but one did.  More fun than I was expecting.

Press Your Luck (7/16) – What a ride that main game was.  I feel sorry for the guy who got the Whammy at the end, but I did love how the contestants were so supportive of each other.  I was worried that the guy would wind up with nothing from the bonus round since Whammy seemed especially active tonight, but he wound up with some nice cash at the end.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro (7/20) – I feel like I got to know the contestants a little better.  Letting them tell the story really focused on five of them.  I feel sorry for the guy eliminated.  Yes, he needed to speak up more, but it still feels like blaming the victim.  But he had a great attitude about it.

American Ninja Warrior (7/20) – So happy to see Daniel Gill do so well.  The wall at the end of some of those obstacles obviously makes them harder.  But I feel like it makes them more dangerous.  How are people not getting hurt coming off that second obstacle? 

The Quiz with Balls (7/20) – The teams dropped so quickly this week.  I struggled with those questions myself often.  For example, I didn’t know the question that ended the week.  I did like the hunters having a vegetable as a gift at the beginning.  I’m sure my reaction of not knowing where they were going was how I was supposed to feel, but the payoff was great.

Stewart Fails to Save the Universe (7/23) – Well, that was just weird.  And dark.  I’m glad I didn’t wind up watching this until the second episode dropped or I might have stopped here.

Press Your Luck (7/23) – Wow!  Two people Whammied out.  I saw it coming with the bonus round, which was hard.  But he still won quite a bit from the first round of the night, which is nice.

Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro (7/27) – Once again, someone went home who didn’t deserve it.  I saw that coming fairly early, too.  When she didn’t come back, I just knew.  I’m glad she was following dr. advice, but it’s still hard to see someone go who was injured by someone else.  As far as the dancing goes, that was intense pressure.  I’m definitely seeing a couple of week contestants who should go, but will they?  That’s the question.

American Ninja Warrior (7/27) – I was sorry to hear that Jamie (Captain NBC) was retiring.  And then he fell part way through.  Another legend I have loved watching for years.  But it was great to see Meghan back again!

The Quiz with Balls (7/27) – That was pretty close at the end.  And all the contestants wound up in the pool.  I’m wondering what triggered him to jump.  Kind of looked like the ball hit him around the barrier, but I could be wrong on that.

Stewart Fails to Save the Universe (7/30) – This was a much better episode.  Not sure how much I laughed, but I was definitely smiling.  And I enjoyed the cameos much more here.  Still curious where they are going with this.  Hopefully, they don’t ruin The Big Bang Theory for me completely with the show.

Press Your Luck (7/30) – After going so long without getting any Whammies, I was afraid she was going to lose.  But she managed to get some prizes at the end.  Plus that amazing first round.  She was certainly a big winner.