Monday 18 May 2020

Mailbox Monday - May 18th & Life This Week
















Mailbox Monday is a meme started by Marcia of To Be Continued. Mailbox Monday is the gathering place for readers to share the books that came in their mailbox during the last week. It now has a permanent home at the Mailbox Monday blog. Head over and check out other books received during the last week. 

Life This Week is a meme created by Denyse Whelan Blogs where bloggers share snaps of what is currently happening in their lives.


Happy Monday!


What has been happening over the last two weeks!
Isolation restrictions are lessening in Australia so we have made the most of the fine weather while we still have it.



         
We went on a bush walk down to the creek. We haven't had rain for a long time so there wasn't much water but it was tranquil and quiet down in the gully.





Mother's Day was a big event as we were only allowed two visitors, and their children, at one time. My children all visited spread over Saturday night, Sunday breakfast and Sunday lunch. We had a picnic in the backyard with the grandchildren. We were still not allowed to sit in parks at this stage.




A good side to having so much free time, locked in my house, was that I finished knitting Dot's cardigan and one for her favourite toy. I've now started a jacket for Ditto. Hopefully I can finish it before everyone goes back to work.

Books received over the last two weeks:




From the author:
Prey by L A Larkin
Olivia Wolfe is a journalist who travels the world exposing heinous crimes. She has more enemies that most.

When her anonymous source is murdered, Wolfe must unravel the terrible secret that connects a series of gruesome murders. But powerful people want her stopped.
Betrayed and isolated, Wolfe is hunted by a faceless killer. Can she stay alive long enough to expose the shocking truth?

Four murders. Four countries. One terrible secret.


Won in competitions:
The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart by Margarita Montimore
Brooklyn, 1982. Oona Lockhart is about to celebrate her 19th birthday and ring in the New Year. But at the stroke of midnight, she is torn from her friends and boyfriend, finding herself in her fifty-one-year-old body, thirty-two years into the future.

Greeted by a friendly stranger, Oona learns that on every birthday she will enter a different year of her adult life at random. Still a young woman on the inside, but ever changing on the outside, who will she be next year? Wealthy philanthropist? Nineties Club Kid? World traveller? Wife to a man she's never met?

While Oona gets glimpses of the future and thinks she knows what's to come, living a normal life is challenging. As she struggles between fighting her fate and accepting it, Oona must learn to navigate a life that's out of order - but is it broken?


The Long Shadow by Anne Buist
Psychologist Isabel Harris has come to the outback town of Riley because her husband Dean is assessing the hospital—the hub of the community—with a view to closing it down. Isabel, mostly occupied with her toddler, will run a mother–baby therapy group. But on the first day she gets an anonymous note from one of the mothers:

The baby killer is going to strike again. Soon. 

Then a series of small harassments begins.
Is it an attempt to warn Dean off? Or could the threat be serious? A child was murdered in Riley once before.

I would love to hear what you received in the mail lately! 

 

34 comments:

  1. The cardigan is gorgeous. Love tje blend of colours.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Nadene. It also had a glitter strand through it which you can’t in the photo.

      Delete
  2. I am drawn to The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart. Thanks for sharing, and enjoy your eased restrictions...but stay safe. Thanks for visiting my blog.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That book does sound interesting. I can’t wait to get to it.

      Delete
  3. What pretty photos. I've been going on walks in the woods behind our house and discovered some neat little spots.

    Love the sweaters. Such great colors.

    Prey and The Long Shadow sound good. Hope you enjoy your new books.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Cheryl. Getting back to long walks is definitely a plus side to the pandemic.

      Delete
  4. Great pictures! I'm still pretty isolated, so I'm going to live vicariously through your adventure. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Bentley. We are slowly getting out and about. More adventures to come!

      Delete
  5. Replies
    1. Thank you Shelleen. Dot loves it and has been wearing it every day.

      Delete
  6. It looks like you had a lovely Mother's Day! So glad the restrictions are lifting a bit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mother’s Day was lovely and tiring. I ate way too much. We are allowed to have a real picnic now but Dot loved the backyard picnic so much she wants to have another.

      Delete
  7. I started biking and it feels great. Those cardigans are so lovely and colorful. I love the premise of The Rearranged Life of Oona Lockhart and I hope it's as good as it sounds.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My husband rides a bike but I’m not game. I’ll stick to walking. I’m looking forward to the Oona Lockhart read.

      Delete
  8. You made good use of your time, I covet and aspire to your skill level of knitting

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks DJ. I’m in a knitting group and I feel like such an amateur.

      Delete
  9. My brother lives in Australia, in Perth. I want to visit so bad one day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Perth is so beautiful and peaceful. I have only visited once. I’m way over the other side in Sydney.

      Delete
  10. Lovely photos and what a fab skill you have. Glad to see you had a lovely Mother's day, even in isolation.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Stacey. It is good to get back into knitting. Mother’s Day was wonderful and tiring.

      Delete
  11. I haven't read any of those yet. We've been doing a lot of indoor activities but it's finally starting to warm up so we can be outside, even if it's in our backyard :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cooling down here in the mornings and evenings but still in the mid 20’s Celsius during the day. A lovely temp to be out walking.

      Delete
  12. Yay for linking up. Thank you. Each week there is an optional prompt which means you can add a post of your choice (just one) and more people will, thanks to the link up see what you are up to. I am glad you had a good Mother's Day. We took the chance to drive to Sydney to see half of the family. Thank you for linking up for Life This Week. Next week the optional prompt is 21/51 Self-Care Stories. #3. 25.5.2020 But I will take the chance to add another chapter in Telling My Story. Hope to see you there too. Denyse.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Denyse. I love your blog and all your happy smiley snaps. I will definitely be back for more.

      Delete
  13. Beautiful pictures. I absolutely love your knitting!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Thanks for the good book reviews. I am looking for some good reading material.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I love that cardigan - the colours are fabulous. I'm listening to Claire Bowditch and reading Wild by Chery Strayed - something I've had on my TBR for a couple of years now. Also this week I re-read The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jo. The cardigan has a gorgeous silver thread through which you can't see in the photo. I love re-reading my favourites.

      Delete
  16. Lovely photos and Yay for picnics with the grandchildren!
    The matching sweater set is so cute - what a nice idea.
    Have a good week, stay safe and Happy Reading!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Martha. Picnics are great even if they are in the backyard.

      Delete
  17. How lovely that you got to spend Mothers Day with the kids and grandkids - not together, but still together. Our State was still on travel restrictions so no kids or grandies for me - but they were lifted on Monday.....so we have family visiting right now and time with the grandgirls after nearly 3 months of separation - Bliss!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm so glad you got to see your grandkids after all that time. I didn't see mine for 6 weeks and that was way too long.

      Delete