Friday, February 10, 2023

Books, movies and foodie chat

It's weekly round up time and while I have been discouraged blogging lately, still wanted to connect with folks so...here I am.

📚 Books / Why do my library books come in all at once?!  I was just visiting Sue's site (My Quiet Life in Suffolk post here) and see she received a bounty of books as well.  It's not just me :-) 📚

I've received Exiles by Jane Harper, The Favor by Nicci French, Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan, 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff and 1989 by Val McDermid.  This doesn't include the Kindle loans which came through as well. 

I will evaluate the page length of the books as well as the wait time if I have to return any prior to reading.  I'm tackling Jane Harper first as I loved Aaron Falk in her series.


Watching / Season three of Unforgotten and The Indian Doctor both came in from the library. We liked Sanjeev Bhasker in Unforgotten and now will try his series set in Wales.



One evening we were dead tired and just wanted something fun to watch. The night before we'd watched Hurt Locker - so intense - so the next night we chilled and watched Shrek 2 :-)



In the kitchen/ I tried something new called Torte Rustica.  We also had grilled covina, roasted sweet potatoes and veggies.  We both lost weight this week and hope to continue the progress with extra walking and healthy fare.  My issues are high numbers for cholesterol and liver. Doug is hoping to ditch the high blood pressure meds.  We both hate taking meds. So far, so good!



That's it from my neck of the woods.  Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Linking with

 Deb at Readerbuzz for Sunday Salon

Joy's Book Blog for British Isles Friday





34 comments:

  1. It drives me crazy when everything comes in at once. Right now, I just got a notice that I have seven books awaiting me at the library!

    We saw Sanjeev Bhasker in The Indian Doctor. Now we will look for him in Unforgotten,

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    1. Deb, we are looking forward to the Indian Doctor. Our library offers a supension feature through the online libray service. Frequently, when I pay attention, I will suspend my place in line for a month. Not this time though!

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  2. I've read the Helen Hanff - very long time ago - have you seen the film? and the Claire Keegan. Not keen on Val McD - which is a pity as she has written so many.

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    1. Sue, I have seen the film and love Anne bancroft and Anthony Hopkins. I've only read 1979 by McDermid and will try 1989,,,,see after that as I have SO many books I want to read.

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  3. Vicki, the PBS series are usually on regular broadcast tv. We can't get that so I get the DVDs from the library.

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  4. 84, Charing Cross Road is one of my favorite books, and movies. There are two books that follow - The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street, and Q's Legacy.
    I love both your movies, and Sanjeev Bhasker. There's a great episode of Inspector Lewis that he is in. I just read there is a new series of Unforgotten coming.

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    1. Nan, I didn't know there were two follow up books. Will certainly look for those.
      We finished Unforgotten season four last night and wow, what an emotional ending. I am so glad no one tipped me off to that ending. We are looking forward to the library getting season five of this series as well.

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  5. I'm sorry you're feeling discouraged about blogging. I, personally, love reading your posts!

    I suspect you can zip through 84, Charing Cross Road (which I have read several times - LOVE it!) in a day, and probably the same with Claire Keegan's novella. I'm excited about Exiles, but still haven't read The Lost Man, so I better get to that one first.

    Love Unforgotten, but have never watched The Indian Doctor. Adding it to my list since we also love Sanjeev Bhasker.

    You two are doing great with your healthy eating. Congrats on the weight loss! After being stuck at the same weight for a LONG time, I have finally dropped 4 lbs. Not a lot, but it makes me happy to see the numbers going in the correct direction. Wondering if it's due to not really drinking anymore (just one glass of wine a week at Mah Jong instead of two glasses a day!) or the addition of pickleball twice a week (plus 3-4 days of cycling on my Peloton). My cholesterol numbers were higher than normal, but my good numbers were excellent, so my doctor isn't concerned.

    Oooh, I just read Nan's comment about a new series of Unforgotten. Yay!!!

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    1. Les, thanks for the kind words. I blogged to keep my recipes handy and about life here. Never ever, when I started back in 2007 did I imagine connecting with anyone via comments and such. Never thought anyone read it as it was just an onlien journal :-) I was amazed there were so many blogs out there way back when.

      Did you see season four of Unforgotten? I was surprised by the end, glad I didn't know about it. We also love Sanjeev and he was a hoot in Yesterday.
      Thanks for the encouragement abut weight loss/healthy eating as well! I am still drinking wine at night ut have cut back. All I know is, I Do Not want to be on a statin!! Congrats to you for your weight loss. I bet the Peloton is fun.

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    2. I did see Season Four... :( Yes, I don't want to be on a statin, either! Rod's been on one for years, and after his heart attack in October, they increased the dosage. :( Poor guy takes a lot of meds. High cholesterol, high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, and now stuff to keep his heart/stents in good shape. He's cut way back on alcohol (1 beer a week, maybe), but it's tough getting him to accept a Mediterranean or plant-based diet. Baby steps... The Peloton is fun, as long as I take a day off every other day. Otherwise, it feels like a chore. Today I rode for 45 minutes in the Fundidora Park in Monterrey, Mexico. Very pretty!

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  6. Hi Tina, always enjoy checking in with you! Looks like you have a great stack of books to enjoy, healthy eating and plenty of sunshine to enjoy a good walk ( not today-its miserable outside).

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    1. Anonymous, thank you. I don't know who you are but bet you commented using your iPhone. I always come up as anonymous if I comment using the phone.

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  7. a combination of things discouraged me but I'm hoping to get my mojo back. Cheers from carole's Chatter

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    1. Carole, I get ya. It may be different issues for each of us but I do understand. Very good to hear from you.

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  8. It drives me crazy when all my holds come in at the same time from the library! I loved 84, Charring Cross Road. I am looking forward to starting the Aaron Falk series. Have a good week!

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    1. Gretchen, I just read from Nan that there are two books which follow 84 Charing Cross so I am going to look for those as well. I just finihsed Exiles. Still love Aaron Falk but Lost man will remain a favorite.

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  9. Your reading and watching lists look delightfully variable. Decades ago I was all alone in London and randomly went to see the play of 84 Charring Cross Road, which I think was written before the book. It made a great play, and it’s interesting how it’s lasted as something people like to read.

    best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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  10. I hate it when all my library books come in at once! Sometimes I can renew, but usually they're newer popular books and can't be renewed. I have to say ALL your books sound good and most of them I've heard of the author and/or book. I'm eager to read Exiles too - I really enjoy Harper. I had 84 Charing Cross as a challenge book once before a couple years ago and it didn't come in time so I canceled the hold. I've been meaning to get it again......this might be the year.
    Thanks for the visit.
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

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    1. Terrie, I need to keep track of my place in line through the app so I can supend some. Happily some of the books are short so I know I can get three in before the due dates.

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  11. I understand the frustration of everything coming in at once - sometimes later than you really need them, too.

    It's nice to have something light to watch like Shrek 2 to relieve the stress of other movies. Not that the other movies weren't good or were watching, but you need to lift the burden.

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    1. Mark, I guess everyone does that now and then. I look to see how long the wait list if for a book and if it's long I read that one first.

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  12. It's been many years since I read 84, Charing Cross Road. As I recall, it's short but dense. I think I'd enjoy re-reading it now, when I could look up all the literature that is mentioned on Wikipedia.

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    1. Joy, I loved the movie as well. It's a classic in my opinion.

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  13. 84 Charring Cross looks good And congrats on losing weight. We are working on that over here as well!

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    1. Erin, thanks so much. We have limited some bread intake but walk quite a bit so that's a help, Good luck for you guys as well!

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  14. Loved Sanjeev in Doctor, didn't realize he was in Unforgotten, I am still having trouble tracking it down.
    What a great stash of books to read!
    Don't give up on blogging! We have a great little community!

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    1. Jackie, he was amazing in Unforgotten. maybe you can get an interlibrary loan for the DVDs. We have watched all 4 seasons out now.
      I won't give up, I get discouraged sometimes but....hangng in!

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  15. That's awesome that you guys are eating so healthy. I've been trying to do that too, and it's nice to see your recipe postings. :)

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    1. Thanks, Greg, Sometimes you just want a pizza but overall, that's not bad if we don't do it too much. Walking a lot too!

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  16. Your blog is always one of my favorite stops and I'm sorry you're feeling discouraged about it. My enthusiasm for blogging seems to vary wildly depending on what else is going on... and it sounds like you've got a lot lately. Congrats on the healthy eating and exercise... just looked up corvina. That's a fish I haven't seen before! I've been a little nervous about some of our local fish since the hurricane, but am sticking with trusted sources.

    Why is it that all library books arrive at the same time?! 84, Charing Cross Road is a favorite of mine and a very quick read. Small Things Like These is very short and shouldn't take long either. I hope you have a good week, Tina!

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    1. Thank you, JoAnn, for such a positive comment. It was a variety of things really and when I type it out I realize I just sound peevish. So I back it out. Anyway! I am still planning posts and I enjoy the interaction.

      Oh, corvina was so good. We hadn't eaten fish in a few years after having eaten it about 5 days a week back when I was working. I worked with a guy whose family fished every single weekend. He brought me fresh caught red fish, grouper, snapper, etc. and in turn I baked him bead. Excellent arrangement.
      Thanks again :-)

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  17. 84, Charing Cross Road is one of my absolute favorite books and is such a quick read. I didn't love the 2nd book but really liked Q's Legacy. I don't tend to have many physical books on hold at the library at one time but do always have audio books and they always seem to come in at the same time. I can only listen so fast!

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    1. Katherine, it was a quick read and I love the movie as well. Wish I could get into audioi but I still love getting books free from our library!

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