Happy Father’s Day! (Sunday Post – 6/18/2017)

June 18, 2017 Sunday Post 18

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!

Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Father’s Day to all the fathers out there! We are celebrating quietly but happily, because Robin flew in from out West last night. It’s so good to see her! It’s a lucky coincidence that she was able to come home for Father’s Day. The three of us will be getting together with extended family for a vacation reunion later this week, so I will probably not be around on the blog much for about two weeks.

In addition to Father’s Day, our community chorus has its concert tonight. We’re singing the Brahms Requiem, with organ, chamber orchestra, and two outstanding soloists brought in from DC. (This is the adult chorus that I sing with, not the kids I direct.)

On the good news/bad news front:  Our vet thinks our Tasha-kitty does not have cancer after all, but an autoimmune disorder that can sometimes look like a certain form of cancer. Her mouth is actually looking better, which is surprising but very welcome news. Unfortunately, now our other cat, Thomas, has a growth in his mouth, and it probably is cancer. On the chance that it might be the same autoimmune disorder, the vet recommended trying the steroid shots that seem to have helped Tasha. If that doesn’t work to shrink it, he will probably biopsy it.

 

Last Week on the Blog

Upcoming on the Blog

  • Other posts TBD
  • Sunday Post – 6/25/2017 – tentative

 

What I’m Reading/Watching

book cover: Dark Rites by Heather Graham

Reading: I finished Dark Rites (Heather Graham; ARC). I also reread Hidden Talents (Jayne Ann Krentz) as well as two of Stephanie Laurens’ Cynster romances.

Longer term, I’m slowly making my way through From Holmes to Sherlock (ARC), a history of everything remotely to do with Sherlock Holmes. And eventually I’ll return to The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre (Gail Carson Levine; ARC.)

Listening to: I started Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier. I’m also listening to podcasts, mainly The Allusionist and Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, plus an interesting RadioLab piece called “Nukes.”  And I’ve listened to a recording of the Brahms Requiem over and over, to help me get it solidly into my head before tonight’s concert. It’s a very challenging piece to sing, with a lot of key changes, accidentals, and unexpected intervals.

Watching: We’re watching the Father Brown mysteries, being more than halfway through season 2 now. And we watched Dr. Strange again; the first time we saw it was in the theater.

 

New Additions to the Hoard

Cover links take you to Goodreads.

For Review or Review Consideration

Many thanks to Harlequin MIRA!

Purchased for Kindle

I picked up a few favorites and two I’ve wanted to read (Alex and Me and The Prisoner of Zenda.) Oh, and V.V. Wedding’s second novel (I bought the newly-released third a week or two ago) — I have it in paperback but had somehow missed getting the Kindle copy (which is easier to read in bed, since the paperback is pretty hefty.)

Have a wonderful week, and happy reading!

18 Responses to “Happy Father’s Day! (Sunday Post – 6/18/2017)”

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      The Heather Graham books are the newest in her Krewe of Hunters series; they’ll be coming out later this summer. 🙂

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I hope Thomas doesn’t have cancer, but he’s obviously not feeling well and keeps pawing at his mouth. Of course, Tasha was like that a year and a half ago and the vet thought it was cancer then; now he doesn’t, because it responded to steroid injections. We’ll just take it a week at a time and see how it goes. Both of them are starting to show signs of other ailments of old age, but with luck we have a few more years with them yet.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      I liked Dark Rites and I’m looking forward to Wicked Deeds. I think it takes place in an area of Baltimore I’ve been to a few times, so I’ll be able to picture it more clearly than I can Boston or New Orleans.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Good to know! I’ve enjoyed the first and second books in the Vickie-and-Griffon trilogy so far. And the concert went quite well, thank you!

  1. Rita @ Paging Through Books

    I hope your cats continue to improve with the correct diagnosis. Are Tasha and Thomas brother & sister? Just wondering what are the odds of them having similar symptoms. I assume the vet has checked their teeth for abscesses already? Good wishes sent your way.

    Your books sound like good ones, lucky you! I haven’t read a ton of Heather Graham– but the ones I’ve read I enjoyed. Happy to see the Krewe is still continuing along.

    The Wildwood cover is just amazing! I’ve yet to read that author and I know I keep telling you that I want to.

    My son used to want an African Grey but they are very pricey, live an extremely long life (owners put them in their wills sometimes) and tend to latch onto just one person and be fresh with all others. (I used to work in animal care and had to feed an African Grey who tried to attack me every time, so the owner said I could just throw the food in to avoid a severe injury)!

    Good luck with your concert, have fun with Robin’s visit home, and seeing your relatives later in the week. You have some great “family & friends” activities lined up this week.
    Rita @ Paging Through Books recently posted…Weekly Book NewsMy Profile

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      The cats aren’t biological siblings, so it could be an environmental thing or even something in their food (or not in their food, I suppose.) I assume the vet has checked their teeth, since each of them have been in several times for mouth checks under light sedation. But I will ask.

      I like reading about parrots, but I don’t think I’d want to own one. I’m definitely a cat person. I might try a small to smallish-medium dog at some point, but we travel a lot at this point (to see family, mostly), and it wouldn’t always be possible to take a dog. The cats are fine on their own with someone coming in to feed them twice a day and scoop the litterbox. A dog needs more attention, and I hate the idea of kenneling them.

      Thank you for the good wishes, and I hope you have a great week too!

  2. Jo-Ann

    Awww…poor kitties are having a time! I hope they are both better soon (and that the vet is right about Thomas having an autoimmune thing)

    From Holmes to Sherlock looks good. Actually, you have lots of great books on the go! Hope you have a great week 🙂

    Here’s my Sunday Post 🙂

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Thank you, Jo-Ann. Yes, the cats have been having a rough time. But then, they’re 13 years old, so it’s not surprising they have some health issues.

    • Lark_Bookwyrm

      Thank you, Cyn. I’m sorry I didn’t reply sooner, but vacation-without-internet intervened. As you’ll see if you stop by tomorrow (7/09/17), we lost our Thomas-kitty this past week. 🙁