Sunday Post – 1/08/2017

January 8, 2017 Sunday Post 14

The Sunday Post is hosted by the wonderful Kimba, the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It’s a chance to share news, recap the past week, take a look ahead, and showcase our new treasures — I mean books!

My Week

We arrived home midweek and I’ve been playing catch-up ever since… especially vacuuming the floors and furniture. The amount of fur generated by two shorthair cats in a month would astound you! Tasha was never a huge shedder, but because of the tumor under her tongue, she’s no longer grooming herself as much or as well. We’ve gotten about a guinea-pig size clump of hair off her so far, over several days of occasional brushing — and that’s in addition to what she has left on the floors, chairs, and bed.. (She doesn’t tolerate brushing well, due to her arthritis, so it will be a week or two before we’ve gotten her coat back to normal.) Thomas has always been a fur factory; I can get several brushfuls of fur a day from his coat at the best of times. Heaven knows how he generates it so fast!

Robin has been going through her belongings, pruning what she no longer needs and choosing what to leave here and what she’ll want when she moves in with my parents after graduation in May. It’s going to be hard to let her go (even though she’s been away at college for three-and-a-half years now), but we’re glad she’ll have the support of family as she eases into adulting. She’ll be tutoring and doing some freelance writing.  Meanwhile, we’re trying to squeeze in time for her to see all her friends before she leaves for the spring semester.

 

Last Week on the Blog

 

 Upcoming on the Blog

  • Mon. 1/09/17: Spin to Knit – review
  • Tues. 1/10/17: Top 10 2016 Releases I Wanted to Read But Haven’t Gotten To Yet
  • Wed. 1/11/17: TBD
  • Thur. 1/12/17: A Perilous Undertaking – tentative
  • Fri. 1/13/17: The Elusive Elixir – tentative
  • Sat. 1/14/17: News & Notes – 1/14/2017 – tentative

 

Challenges

the-backlist-reader-challenge-2017-b

The Backlist Reader Challenge 2017: 0/24

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The Backlist Reader Challenge runs all year (and is hosted here on The Bookwyrm’s Hoard.) It’s a chance to focus on those older titles you’ve been wanting to read. You can check out all the rules by clicking on the image above. And we have our first review linked! Congratulations to Dana of Much Madness is Divinest Sense.

 

COYER Blackout (2016-17): 0/12

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COYER Blackout began December 17 and runs through Mar. 3. It’s hosted by Berls of Fantasy is More Fun, Michelle of Because Reading, and Stormi of Books, Movies, Reviews, Oh My!  The rules are strict: only ebooks you owned or had requested prior to Dec. 17, that cost $0.99 or less.  My goal is 12 books.  So far, I’ve read 3 books that count toward COYER:

  1. A Circle of Quiet by Madeleine L’Engle (ARC)
  2. Sacred Evil by Heather Graham ($0.99)
  3. A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn (ARC)

 

What I’m Reading/Watching

Reading:  Between packing to come home, traveling, and unpacking and cleaning once we got here, I haven’t read much this week. I did reread The Skies of Pern and started rereading The Dolphins of Pern, both by Anne McCaffrey. I also read a book on spinning, Spin to Knit, and started a second — I’m determined to learn to use my new drop spindle (a Christmas gift, since a spinning wheel is not in the budget at this point.) I’m still reading The Elusive Elixir (Gigi Pandian; ARC), and I’ve made a little more headway with Tempest (Valdemar anthology; ARC.) But I haven’t gotten back to Lady Claire Is All That yet (Maya Rodale; ARC.)

Listening to: not much

Watching: Nothing, really.

 

New Additions to the Hoard

Cover links take you to Goodreads.

For Review or Review Consideration

Thank you to Harlequin!

Purchased for Kindle

 

Have a great week, and happy reading!

 

14 Responses to “Sunday Post – 1/08/2017”

  1. Berls

    I feel your pain with the shedding! We have two short hairs- a black short hair cat and a brindle short hair dog – and somehow we always have tons of fur! So those with long haired fur-babies… IDK how they do it!

    Wow, time has gone by fast! I can’t believe Robin is already rounding into her last semester at school! How’d that happen? LOL! Somehow I missed that she’s a writer. What does she write? I think it’s awesome that she has the option of living with your folks so that she can afford to do her writing (because we all know that’s not a money maker for most!).

    I hope things slow down a bit for you now that your home! Have a great week 🙂
    Berls recently posted…Sunday Post | Getting Back in the GrooveMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Robin has written a lot of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction for her creative writing major, but her real love is fantasy. She’s got two novels in various stages of development (both are past the first draft; one is on at least the 3rd draft.) She’s pretty committed!

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      It wasn’t torture, but it was hard on the vacuum cleaner, especially the upholstery attachment. (I had to take it apart and clean the fur out of it at least three times — the attachment, not the whole vacuum cleaner.) But I’m glad our furbabies are doing well. We’ve been happily surprised that Tasha has held on this long; when she was first diagnosed in Nov. 2015, we looked up the type of cancer and learned it was fairly aggressive and fast-progressing. Her relative lack of progression is unusual — but very welcome!

  2. Michelle @Because Reading

    My Buttons sheds a lot and she sleeps under our bed. I can’t even get back there to clean so it’s caked with cat hair. I would have to close it off it we cleaned it so we leave it. No one can see it anyway. (as awful as that sounds lol)

    Good Luck to your daughter! That is great your parents are able to help her out. My parents did the same for me. I moved into my parents house at a low rent when I first moved out. I never planned to still be here but it helped raise my family and with the only wish I had one more room, I do love this house.

    Have a great week, Lark! Happy Reading! ox
    Michelle @Because Reading recently posted…First week of 2017 is complete ~ WIR & TSPMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I know what you mean! I haven’t tackled under the bed yet, but the floor under one chair where they like to sleep was so thick with fur, you couldn’t see the carpet. I definitely need to move furniture and vacuum under everything, but for now I’m settling for just the places I know they spend a lot of time.

      That’s wonderful that your folks were able to help you out that much, and that you’re still able to live there. My parents did much the same for me after I graduated, until I moved out to take a job in another state and again when I moved back, until I married. And my husband spent some time living with his folks after he decided to return to college (before we were married.) I think the whole “graduate and leave the nest forever” thing is fairly recent and already on the wane. Increasingly, people are continuing to live with relatives after they reach adulthood, whether for financial reasons or familial reasons (like someone in the family needs help or companionship.) Which is really much more the way people used to live, in the past — extended families living together and all contributing to the family’s needs.

      Have a great week, and happy reading!

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I’m such a fan of Robyn Carr. When I found out last night that I’d gotten the book, I squealed — and started it right away, even though I’ve got several other ARC reviews due ahead of it. But I couldn’t resist!

  3. Rita @ View From My Books

    After your exciting but exhausting past month I do hope the coming week brings you some relaxing moments spent singing, sipping tea or reading 🙂 I do hear you on the pet fur– I am resigned to avoiding black clothes because out in the sunlight I’ll see the sprinkling of fur, lol.

    When I lived in Maine, there was a woman in town who had a spinning wheel and she made her living by making yarn out of the fur sold to her by local folks. She used angora from someone’s bunch of angora rabbits, and wool from sheep and alpaca farms. It sounded so romantic and fun to me! I hope you enjoy your gift and learn a new hobby.
    Rita @ View From My Books recently posted…My Weekly Update & Thoughts 1/6/17My Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Thank you for those kind wishes, Rita. I wish they could come true, but I’m swamped with work at the moment… but hoping to get some time to knit or spin soon. The woman in Maine sounds amazing; I would love to know someone like that!

  4. Charlie

    I really like that Robyn Carr cover! I only had an inside cat when I was young. I think she died when I was 5ish. I don’t remember her shedding that much, but Fat Cat would walk by you without touching you and somehow you had hair on your hand or leg. He was so funny – would get fat in the winter and skinny in the summer. I swear he gained and dropped 10 pounds or more with the season changes.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Maybe he had Seasonal Affective Disorder and ate when he was depressed? And I know what you mean about the shedding without even touching you. Fur is endemic in this house.