Author: Trish

Into reading, decluttering, budgeting, and doing jigsaw puzzles!
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Week in Review: February 22, 2026

Doesn’t Peanut Butter look cozy? I recently bought this self-warming pet bed and he absolutely loves it. He is definitely spending the majority of his time on it!

This has been another busy week at work, but I did take Tuesday afternoon off to take Michael for a meeting with a potential new dentist. He has to switch dentists due to a change in insurance, and we needed one who had some sedation options for when he needs work done (he is fine for a cleaning). This dentist does not offer IV sedation or nitrous oxide, but he does offer medication that the patient would take the night before and the morning of the appointment. Michael has been successful with a combination of medication and nitrous, and he decided that he is willing to try just the medication the next time the situation arises, so we went ahead and scheduled his next cleaning with this dentist.

I watched a very interesting movie this week called Rental Family, starring Brendan Fraser. It takes place in Japan and is directed by Japanese director Hikari. Fraser is an American actor living in Tokyo who lands a gig with a “rental family” agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. It was a bit odd at times but heartwarming.

I also watched quite a lot of Olympic figure skating this week. I thought the women did especially well, and I enjoyed a lot of their free skates. I used to watch a ton of figure skating when I was younger, but I have been out of touch except for the Olympics for a while now. I enjoy some of the other winter sports as well, but just didn’t have the time to watch them this time around.

I hope everyone had a good week!

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Midnight in Prague

Midnight in Prague is a 1000-piece puzzle from KI Puzzles, and the artist is Mandalina Tantareanu. She is a Romanian illustrated based in Germany, and she especially loves drawing cities.

This is the third one I have done from her Cities at Midnight series. My son Michael gave it to me for Christmas in 2024, and it was the last puzzle from 2024 still on my to do shelf. There are three more puzzles in this series, which I bought myself for Christmas in 2025 so I would have the whole set.

I love puzzling buildings and words, so I was glad this puzzle had some of both. The cobblestone bridge was also fun to do. The top section with all of the blue and white was a lot more challenging but doable.

Such a lovely image!

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The Devil You Know

The Devil You Know is a chick lit/romance by Freida McFadden. It is a sequel to The Devil Wears Scrubs, which I read back in 2023. I must not have realized there was a second book, but when I saw this one on Kindle Unlimited, I grabbed it to read right away.

The story centers on Dr. Jane McGill, who has a husband, a daughter, and a job at a VA hospital. At work, she runs into Dr. Ryan Reilly, who she had previously dated, and starts to wonder if she made the wrong choice back then.

I liked the first book better and would recommend starting with that one if you decide to read these, but this was a fun read and I’m glad I read it. I think it’s kind of funny that McFadden is known for her thrillers but I haven’t read any of them yet!

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All Day Long Food Truck

All Day Long Food Truck is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ceaco, and the artist is Stephanie Peterson Jones. Most of the food truck puzzles I have done of hers have been 500 pieces, so it was exciting to see one in a larger piece count.

I loved the bright colors in this one. My favorite part to put together was the words on the signs and menus; I find them really fun to do. I also really liked the piece shapes in this one; they are different from what I usually see from Ceaco. It did have the largest reference poster I have ever seen, which was really annoying to use but necessary to see the entire image.

Recently, one of my cousins asked me to post pictures of the process I usually follow when doing a puzzle, so I took pictures of each step as I was putting this one together and posted them on Facebook for her.

Step 1: Pour out pieces into sorting trays.
Step 2: Flip pieces over and pull out edges.
Step 3: Build border of puzzle.
Step 4: Start pulling out pieces with distinctive colors or patterns.
Step 5: Repeat as needed – this was my progress after my first session.

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The House in the Cerulean Sea

The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune – Cerulean Chronicles Book 1

Linus Baker is a solitary man who lives with his cat and enjoys old records. He works at the Department in Charge of Magical Youth and is sent to observe and report on one of the orphanages run by the department. This classified assignment is unique because this orphanage is home to six dangerous children and an enigmatic caretaker named Arthur Parnassus.What follows is a delightful tale of discovery and understanding.

This book is just the sort of thing I would have loved as a child, and I thoroughly enjoyed it as a 50-something adult. I especially identified with Linus and his longing for beauty and connection, but all of the characters were wonderfully drawn and the story is enchanting. The social commentary is on point but not overdone as well.

I highly recommend this book and am already reading the sequel.

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Corner Bakery

Corner Bakery is a 750-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Elissa Della-Piana. It is one of their large piece puzzles, so it completely filled up my puzzle board, which is designed to hold up to 1500-piece puzzles!

I love this image. The bakery seems so quaint and cozy. I especially love the red shelf and the chalkboard menu. It looks like a place that would be fun to visit, and not only for the delicious treats.

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Author Spotlight: Fannie Flagg

Fannie Flagg is an author who never disappoints. I always enjoy her books – they are full of colorful characters and heartwarming stories with both humor and a bit of social commentary mixed in. Her Southern charm shines through all of her work.

She is most famous for her book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe and for writing the award-winning screenplay for the film adaptation, “Fried Green Tomatoes.” I can’t actually remember whether I read the book or saw the movie first; either way, I am glad I came across her and have been able to enjoy her books over the years. I have read all of them except the short stories published last year.

Flagg has written eleven books to date:

Whistle Stop Series

  • Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe (1987)
  • The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop (2020)

Elmwood Springs Series

  • Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! (1998)
  • Standing in the Rainbow (2002)
  • Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven (2006)
  • The Whole Town’s Talking (2016)

Standalone Novels

  • Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man (1981)
  • A Redbird Christmas (2004)
  • I Still Dream About You (2010)
  • The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion (2013)

Short Stories

  • Something to Look Forward To: Fictions (2025)
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Week in Review: February 15, 2026

This was a busy week. I went into the office for the first three days to train a new employee. It went very well, but it was exhausting. I am still going to be helping in that department, but the new person will be covering several of the tasks I was doing and I will be learning some new ones.

Michael has not been feeling well this week and after he complained of waking up with heart palpitations for three days along with being lethargic and having some difficulty breathing, I decided to take him to the ER on Thursday evening. We were there from 5:30 pm to after 1:00 am, but thankfully he didn’t have anything emergent. He is still not feeling great, so we will probably be following up with his primary care doctor next week.

I have not been doing as much reading or puzzling this week, so I was glad to finally be able to sit down on Friday evening and do the Valentine’s Day puzzle I posted yesterday. I am hoping to get back to more of my normal schedule this week.

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You’ve Got Mail

Happy Valentine’s Day! 💗

You’ve Got Mail is a 500-piece puzzle from Spaghetti Tree, and the artist is Loni Harris. This was my first puzzle from this brand, and I loved it! It is a random cut but the pieces are nice and big, so it was really easy to put together. I love the flowers bursting out of the envelope as well as the whimsical patterns on all of the butterflies.

It was the perfect puzzle to celebrate Valentine’s Day and love in all its forms! 💗

Here are some closeups:

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Costa Rica Camper & Beach Camper

I recently did two more of the Happy Camper series from Ceaco, illustrated by Stephanie Peterson Jones. Both were 300 pieces.

Costa Rica Camper is my favorite Happy Camper puzzle so far! It is so bright and colorful, and there were lots of large sections with unique patterns that I could pull out and do. I barely even needed to look at the box!

Beach Camper is another fun one. I love the turquoise on the camper and the pink of the flamingo and the flowers. This one was secondhand so the pieces were a bit worn, but it was still okay quality.