Posts

Posted on

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Baby, It’s Cold Outside is a 1000-piece puzzle from New York Puzzle Company, and the artist is Ana Juan. I got this one several months ago and was holding onto it until wintertime. It is a random-cut puzzle, which have traditionally been my least favorite to do, but I found this one to be more enjoyable than I expected. I think I must be getting used to the random-cut style because I am considering getting more of them.

I just love this image with all of the adorable dogs dressed up for the cold. I love their outfits and their expressions/personalities. Which one is your favorite?

Posted on

“Library” Books

I love to read books about books, especially ones set in libraries. So when I was challenged by Hopewell’s Public Library of Life to post a list of books about libraries, I got right on it!

Here is my list of 11 books that are either set in a library or feature a librarian as the main character. Let me know if you have read any of these or have any others to recommend.

  1. The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams – a story about the power of a mysterious reading list and the friendship that develops between Aleisha, a teenager working at the library, and Mukesh, a widower who visits the library after his wife has passed.

2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – a magic library gives Nora Seed the chance to examine her regrets and discover whether life is worth living.

3. What You Are Looking for is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama – a special librarian senses exactly what people are looking for and gives the perfect book recommendations to give them the inspiration they need.

4. The Library by Bella Osborne – an unlikely friendship forms between a sixteen-year-old boy and a seventy-two-year-old woman as they rally the community to save their local library.

5. The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick – a book of fairy tales with a personal dedication leads a librarian to uncover family secrets that will change her life.

6. The Overdue Life of Amy Byler by Kelly Harms – a school librarian gets an opportunity to escape her life for a summer and has to decide what future she wants for herself.

7. The Last Chance Library by Freya Sampson – a library is threatened with closure and librarian June Jones joins forces with others in the community to fight to keep it open.

8. The Library of Borrowed Hearts by Lucy Gilmore – a librarian who is taking care of her three younger siblings gets involved in a mystery involving a rare book and a cranky neighbor.

9. The Lending Library by Aliza Fogelson – a small-town art teacher opens a lending library in her sunroom when the local library closes.

10. The Storytellers by Sue Heath – a library draws four people together through a writing competition (on my TBR)

11. Is This a Cry for Help? By Emily Austin – a librarian returns to work after a mental health crisis only to be faced with protests surrounding book banning (on my TBR)

Posted on

Vivid Vinyl

Vivid Vinyl is a 500-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games, and the artist is Josie Lewis. I just love her artwork! I have been collecting a lot of the puzzles with her artwork because they are so fun. I actually have an ebay alert set up for Josie Lewis Puzzle so I can watch for the ones I still want to get.

This puzzle turned out to be pretty easy to do. I started with the border and then pulled out all of the pieces with the middles of the vinyls. Once I had those in place, I just worked my way from the pieces with the most color on them down to the last few that were just white.

I think this is such a happy puzzle (at least that’s what it evokes for me, lol), and I am looking forward to doing more of hers.

Posted on

What I’m Reading – March 2026

What I’m Reading Now

Storm Peak by John A. Flanagan (Jesse Parker Mystery #1) – I have read all of the young adult fantasy books by this author and decided I wanted to read his mysteries, of which there are 2. I am really enjoying it so far.

What I Recently Finished

  • The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (Cerulean Chronicles #1)
  • Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune (Cerulean Chronicles #2)
  • The Devil You Know by Freida McFadden (Dr. Jane McGill #2)
  • All the Broken Places by M. Jean Pike
  • Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne (Tomes & Tea #1)

What I Added to my TBR

  • The Final Target by Nora Roberts
  • Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts
  • Dear Debbie by Frieda McFadden
  • Destination Funeral by Paige Harbison
  • The Last Marriage of Dot Brightmore by Laura Pearson (Mabel Beaumont #2)
  • The Bookstore Diaries by Susan Mallery
  • A Pirate’s Life for Tea by Rebecca Thorne (Tomes & Tea #2)
  • Tea You at the Altar by Rebecca Thorne (Tomes & Tea #3)
  • Alchemy and a Cup of Tea by Rebecca Thorne (Tomes & Tea #4)

TBR Stats/Updates

  • I currently have 190 books on my TBR. Of these, 8 are nonfiction and 182 are fiction.
  • I have read 13 books so far in 2026. My goal is 100, so I am a little bit behind.
  • I have not finished any nonfiction books so far in 2026. My goal is 6.
  • I ended my Kindle Unlimited subscription. I read 15 books and had 1 DNF during the time I had KU.
  • Here are some more stats from StoryGraph:
Posted on

Week in Review: March 1, 2026

We got some great news this week – Michael got a job! He will be working part-time cleaning an office building. He starts on March 9th, the day before his birthday. I am so thankful he got this opportunity and am really hopeful that it will be a good fit for him.

Outside of that excitement, my week was exhausting. I had to go into the office all week to train a new employee. He did quite well learning the information, but it takes a lot out of me to be talking and interacting so much with other people. I am glad I had the chance to relax and recharge this weekend while Michael visited his dad.

Today is my dad’s 84th birthday. He lives far away from me, so we will just talk on the phone. I am grateful that he is doing well.

Posted on

The Cambridge

The Cambridge is a 1000-piece puzzle from Buffalo Games, and the artist is the much-loved Charles Wysocki. I love his images, and this was an especially good one because it had so many different buildings as well as some fun words and interesting boats.

I really enjoyed putting it together. I still have four more of his in the 1000-piece size to do when the mood strikes!

Posted on

Somewhere Beyond the Sea

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by TJ Klune – Cerulean Chronicles Book 2

This sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea was good, but not as good for me as the first book. I loved being introduced to the world Klune created, meeting the magical children, and seeing things unfold between Linus and Arthur. In this book, the story focuses on the fight the inhabitants of the island wage against the Department in Charge of Magical Youth to be able to live in peace. It was clever and had some really touching moments, and I appreciated the social commentary. I just didn’t feel that it drew me in the way book one did.

Posted on

All Good Things Are Wild & Free

All Good Things Are Wild & Free is a 1000-piece puzzle from Flow/Workman Puzzles. Flow is a magazine and an international brand that celebrates mindfulness, creativity, and the simple pleasures in life. This illustration was done by Dutch artist Valesca van Waveren and was inspired by Henry David Thoreau’s words in Walking.

I really enjoyed this puzzle, and I did find it very relaxing to do. I love how there are little details scattered around the image so there aren’t large sections of just one color, and I like the little touches like the rounded corners. The finish of the pieces feels smooth and clean, just how I like them.

I got this one at a puzzle swap. There is another one called Everything Is Made Out of Magic that looks really pretty too that I might consider getting.

Posted on

All the Broken Places

I haven’t read a Christian fiction book in quite a while, not since my favorite Christian writer Jamie Langston Turner had a new book out. But I have been following M. Jean Pike’s blog for a while now and decided to read one of her books and really enjoyed it!

In All the Broken Places, we meet Monica Humphrey, who is a schoolteacher living with her cat Ginger. She is lonely and overweight. A fall in the grocery store leads her into a relationship with the store’s manager, Barry, as well as into a weight-loss journey. As both of these storylines unfold, we learn about Monica’s history, especially with her father and the female relatives who raised her after her mother died.

I was quickly drawn into this book and connected with Monica right away. As someone who is overweight myself, I really appreciated that Monica was portrayed as a complex human being with a range of emotions and abilities.I loved seeing her emotional growth alongside her physical transformation as she reflects on the past and how it has affected her.

Unlike many Christian fiction books, the story was not predictable, and I enjoyed the twists and turns that it took, especially at the end. I definitely recommend checking out this or one of her other books!

Posted on

Rig Views

Rig Views is a 1000-piece puzzle from Ravensburger, and the artist is Jason Taylor. This is another of his indoor/outdoor images that I have fallen in love with. It was actually a much quicker build than I expected. I did it on a Sunday afternoon/evening while I was doing my colonoscopy prep. ☹️

There are a lot of fun little details and textures in this puzzle, so I was never stuck or bored. I love the contrast between the beautiful nature scene with the colorful items inside the vehicle.