Farm News - December 9, 2024

 

So, I wanted to do a quick update so I wouldn't forget anything.  Thanksgiving came and went, and wouldn't you know, I ended up getting sick the day before.  In fact, I'm still not completely over it.  This is hands down the worst cold/sinus infection I've had since I had covid over two years ago.  It was probably a good thing I was off already because there was no way I could have worked through it.

I did manage to read 8 books/novellas for the HoHoHo Readathon.  I was pleased with the total but wished I could have participated more.  Anyway, look for some Christmas reviews this month as I have plenty to spare.

This past weekend was football central.  Marshall became the Sunbelt Conference champs and Georgia won the SEC Championship so all in all it was a great outcome for our household.  Now to wait for the bowl games.  I can't believe college season is already over.  

I am currently trying to cram as many Christmas reads as possible in amongst my buddy reads.  Here is what I'm currently reading, although I did finish I'll Be Home for Mischief late yesterday.

Dog-Tired Christmas: Lori Hayes

You Better Watch Out: James S. Murray and Darren Wearmouth

I'll Be Home for Mischief: Jacqueline Frost

I hope everyone is enjoying the season and as always, thanks for stopping by Booker T's Farm!

Farm News - November 18, 2024 (a long time coming)

 

 So, I kind of fell of the face of the earth the past three months.  I did enough to keep the blog going but fell drastically behind on updates.  Now I want to play catch up.  I'm going to do a life update, hopefully a post with reading updates for August, September and October and then a few book hauls.  That's the plan so let's hope I stick to it.  Anyways, here is step one!

SEPTEMBER: This month kicked off with major repairs at the farm.  I mentioned we had to have a big job done which was having all of our plumbing replaced and redone.  Our home is 124 years old and we still had a huge cast iron septic pipe which ran from the attic to the basement.  It was cracking and finally reached the "We need to do this soon" stage.  We threw in all the other plumbing as well because we got a good deal but still, no one likes to spend a high 4 figure amount right?  Also, three days of working in my bedroom with two 100 pound dogs?  Not fun at all. Not much of note for that month although I did have fun reading lots of vampire books for #Vamptember.

OCTOBER: We were full steam ahead of festive mode.  My work bestie came in from out of town to visit for a few days and we enjoyed good food, good games and good movies.  Mr. Barb and I watched tons of horror movies as well as lots of football.  The pups had fun handing out candy and I didn't see as much of my mom as usual because she had a person quit at work and she was working insane hours. I had to go out of town for work for 2 days which always upsets the boys' schedule even though Daddy takes vacation time with them.   

NOVEMBER: The main news so far this month, at least here at Booker T's Farm is that on November 8th, Apollo turned five.  Since it fell on a Friday and we had off on Veteran's Day, we made the whole three-day weekend about him.  He had a birthday party, a giant puppy cookie, gifts, extra walks and lots of cuddling.  And of course, Zekey was right there with him. We are gearing up to celebrate our wedding anniversary soon as well as Thanksgiving.  I have managed to get half of my Christmas shopping done and even made a hand-crocheted blanket for my friend's cat, Baby.

So hopefully I will now feel like doing bi-weekly updates.  I also plan on blog hopping so more so be prepared to see me around!

Farm News - July 1, 2024

 

It's been a while since the last news update but as usual, summer has been pretty hot and busy.  Mr. Barb and I had a five-day weekend which started June 19th, but I spent four of those five days repainting and redecorating the bathroom. Our home is 124 years old and doesn't have central air so there is no AC in the bathroom and as the heat index was over 98 on most of those days, I could only work a few hours before being totally exhausted.  Most of it is done now just waiting for a few things we ordered to come in and put on the finishing touches.

We are also on our annual 4th of July staycation right now.  We aren't doing anything spectacular except hanging out with the pups, doing a few more things around the home, and chilling.  I've managed to finish two books on my first two days off so I'm hoping that trend can continue.  I also need to get my haircut if my stylist can work me in.  It's been a while and I need about six inches taken off.

We watched two really good movies over the weekend.  First up was Furiosa, the latest in the Mad Max saga.  I really enjoyed it and if you like action movies or any of the previous Mad Max ones, then you don't want to miss this one.  We also watched The Watchers.  I wanted to read the book first but that wasn't happening.  However, I'm glad we jumped in because it was a great Saturday night scary feature.  I highly recommend it.

The pups are doing fine.  Apollo went to the vet and the vet wants to monitor his lump on his leg a while. It's sitting right on a major vein and his vet says if it doesn't grow and it stays soft, then he's not too worried. He and Zekey are enjoying their summer, but it's been so hot they haven't been able to walk too much

A fresh month means fresh new reads and I have a lot planned this month.  Here's what I think is up first this month.  I'd love to get all three of these read before heading back to work on July 8th but that's probably wishful thinking.  

Fool Moon (The Dresden Files #2) - Jim Butcher
A Novel Love Story - Ashley Posten
Still, Dark Places - Christina Graves

I also received a few ARCs which I'm thrilled about and appreciate more than I can express.

The Book of Witching - C.J. Cooke
The Visitor - Kevin Bachar
An Academy for Liars - Alexis Henderson
Influencer - Adam Cesare
Pretty Dead Things - Lilian West
Memorials - Richard Chizmar

Hope everyone is having a safe and happy summer.  Have you read any of these books already?  If so, where should I start?

Farm News - December 3, 2023

  So, I didn't get an update last week, but I hope everyone who celebrated had a great Thanksgiving.  I was busy squeezing in one more book for the Ho! Ho! Ho! Readathon before my vacation ended.  I ended up reading five books which I was more than thrilled with and I even won one of the giveaways!  My prize should be here sometime this week so I will be sure to share it on next week's update. 

The pups are fine, and Zeke experienced his first Thanksgiving.  I do believe he is a fan.  He also had his third round of shots and came in weighing 22.5 pounds.  He is growing so fast and I'm sure he's even bigger now because it's been almost 2 weeks since then.

This week I'll be catching up on some reviews on the Christmas books I read.  I really enjoyed most of them and am even reading another one now.  I'm currently reading Wrapped with a Beau and Kingdom of Sweets and then hopefully will start Wreck the Halls shortly thereafter.

I can't believe it's December already and there's so much to do.  Thanks for taking time out of your busy day and visiting Booker T's Farm!

Farm News - November 5, 2023

 

I can't believe that it is already November.  It seems like the day after Halloween, Christmas began.  I won't lie, even I'm kind of in the holiday spirit already but I still want to enjoy Thanksgiving and Fall while it is still here. 

As I type this, both pups are roughhousing and playing.  They are growing closer each day and Apollo has taken on the role of big brother, babysitter and protector and it's a role he takes seriously.  Zeke was introduced to my work unit via a Zoom meeting this week and made an honorable employee.  We've only had him two weeks and he's grown so much already.  He has his second set of booster shots Thursday and he already weights 15.8 pounds.  The picture quality isn't that great because they won't stop moving but you get the idea.

I won't say I'm in a reading slump, but I really don't know what I want to read right now.  I still have some horror titles to get to, but I think I overdid that genre in October so I'm throwing in a witchy rom com this weekend in the hopes that it sparks some interest.  Stormi and I did not finish It in October and are focusing on a November finish now.  I did finish In My Dreams I Hold a Knife Friday which was the first buddy read for the two of us this month.  Look for our reviews Tuesday because they should be interesting to say the least.

I have actually picked up a few books lately.  I had two preorders arrive from Amazon the last week of October and then I grabbed one from Wal-Mart as a "just because" gift to myself - well, that and the hold list at all my libraries, including Libby, was WAY too long.  I have loved John Stamos since his days of playing Blackie Parrish on GH and I would watch it with my mother so I had to grab If You Would Have Told Me. Tessa Bailey has quicky become a favorite author, so Wreck the Halls is the one I grabbed on impulse at Wal-Mart.  And finally, of course I had to grab some Christmas horror with Christmas and Other Horrors.

So that's about it for this week.  Hope everyone is having a great weekend and as always, thanks for stopping by Booker T's Farm!

A Late Farm News - August 28, 2023

 

I took a small break from blogging over the weekend but still wanted to touch base so I'm doing a late Farm News.  Last week was kind of hectic at work and on Thursday night, I noticed a knot/welt on Apollo's forearm area.  It came on super quick and of course I panicked but I gave him Benadryl and iced it and it started to go down.  Just to be safe, his vet saw him Friday morning and he believes it was some kind of bite/sting, but I never saw him react like he got bitten so who knows.  He recommended a few more days of Benadryl and he seems to be good now.

I am trying to wrap up a few books before April is over.  I am not far into Looking Glass Sound and am about 25% into Murder on a School Night.  Unfamiliar is a cute little graphic novel I grabbed on Hoopla so I know it will be done in time.

I also had three hold come in from the library this week and I'm excited for all of them.  Chase Me is a reissue for book one in a series Tessa Bailey started in 2015.  I really like her books as they provide a nice, light break most of the time, so I grabbed it.  The Handyman Method is a book I featured on my Feed Your TBR feature a few weeks back.  Let's hope it falls more on the side of The Troop and less on the side of Little Heaven. And finally, I was curious about The St. Ambrose School for Girls so I snatched it up as well.  I haven't heard much about it though.

That's it for me this week.  Are you reading or watching anything good?

Farm News - June 25, 2023

 

So it's been a pretty uneventful week here at the farm and I'm grateful.  Both Mr. Barb and I were off Monday and Tuesday due to state holidays so lots of relaxing and reading were done on my part.  Apollo enjoyed having his dad home because even though he has really softened up and become much more affectionate with Mom, deep down he is still Daddy's boy.

I was able to pick up a new flowerpot for the puppy garden and a pair of pigeons have moved into the eaves next door so Apollo now has to check on them each night.  They must be expecting baby birds soon and even though I am not a pigeon fan, it's cute to see Apollo so attentive to them.  Also, Cassius used to love bandanas and often wore them until Apollo came along as a puppy and loved to pull them off. Over the years, Cassius accumulated a BUNCH and toward the end got to actually start wearing them again!  So, in honor of Cass, Apollo is doing "Bandana Summer" to honor his brother.  He is wearing a different one each day of summer and we will see how long he can go without repeating.  Here's is Friday's choice. My little boy is so grown up now.

I finished three books this week and the latest comic issue of Saga, which is pretty good and I hope to have a couple of new reviews up next week.  I had a short work meeting Saturday morning which just means I get to leave 2 hours early on Friday which is all pretty irrelevant considering I work from home anyway.  But I do have 9 days off starting July 1st.  We also started watching The Walking Dead: Dead City and two episodes in and it's already better than the last few years of The Walking Dead.  Negan is a jerk and a villain but he can be rather likable at times and the writer's give him so great lines.  

And finally I received some arcs from Netgalley and the publishers which I am really excited about.

Where You End is a thriller which comes out in January 2024 and is another book hopping on the rabbits on the cover trend.  Good Girls Don't Die is Christina Henry's newest book publishing mid November.  This is supposed to be a horror/thriller novel and as Henry is a hit and miss author for me, I'll admit I'm a tad nervous.  And finally, is the horror novel Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig. Releasing at the end of September and clocking in at well over 500 pages, this book features a town where trees start producing deep red apples which have serious side effects once eaten. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful week.  Have you read any good books or watched any good TV or movies which I need to add to my lists?