Monday 17 August 2020

Mailbox Monday & Life This Week - August 17th

 


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.

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 few weeks!

It's been a while now since I did a life this week post because we have been pretty much staying at home and reading books or watching TV. 

We had a some beautiful days last week and ventured out into the garden to do some prep for spring planting. But then it was back to winds and rain. The weather can be unpredictable in the change over from winter to spring although the days and nights are getting noticeably warmer.

Our sandwich maker was looking worse for wear and needed replacing. I found one online with interchangeable plates that made both toasted sandwiches and waffles. We love the waffles so much we haven't even made the toasted sandwiches yet. 😃


Son #3 surprised us with the announcement of his engagement. It's so nice to have some positives to look back on for 2020 with two of our children getting engaged this year.


We celebrated my husband's birthday recently and I decided to make a cake rather than buy one. One less trip to the shops.

I spent a day recently organising my kindle books. It's amazing how books can hide on there and multiply. I was amazed that I had 260 books downloaded. And I found some little gems and other books I didn't even know I had. A few of them are short stories under 200 pages and I'm trying to get through those first.

Books received over the last few weeks:

I've only received one new book which is giving me a chance to catch up on some outstanding review reads.


Who is ready for The Grand Tour by Olivia Wearne?
When Ruby and Angela embark on a Grey Nomads road trip, the last thing they expect is a tiny stowaway; one who will turn them from unsuspecting tourists into wanted kidnappers and land them in a world of trouble. As their leisurely retirement plans unravel, Angela's relationship with her brother Bernard goes from bad to worse.

Bernard has his own problems to contend with. Adrift in life, his career as a news presenter has been reduced to opening fetes and reading Voss as an audio book (a seemingly impossible task). His troubles are compounded when his wife starts dating a younger man and a drink-driving incident turns him into a celebrity offender.

As Angela and Ruby set about repairing burnt bridges and helping their unexpected guest, and Bernard attempts to patch together his broken life, they discover that even after a lifetime of experience, you're never too old to know better.

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



19 comments:

  1. Those waffles and that cake look yummy. Congratulations on the news of your son's engagement. How exciting! Happy birthday to your husband. That cake is impressive.

    The Grand Tour sounds like a wonderful read. Hope you enjoy it.

    https://imperfectchristianmom.blogspot.com/2020/08/mailbox-monday-aug-17.html

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  2. Sounds like a happy week for your...filled with good eating treats too. (Yum.)
    Have a good week with Happy Reading!

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  3. Love the cake you made and those waffles look delicious!

    Di from Max The Unicorn

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  4. Hi Veronica, your waffles and cake look delicious! It's my son's 28th birthday today too. I didn't make him a cake though - a Coles sponge cake with real cream is always our go-to. I haven't been reading as much as I usually do because I'm writing instead. Regards, Christina

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  5. Oh my goodness, about Spring planting, I put in a bunch of seeds/small plants for spring (it's already pretty warm here) a few weeks ago and they're out of control! I have asian greens coming out my ears and a bunch of produce not far behind it. It's been so much fun. Good luck with your spring gardening!

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  6. Veronica
    What exciting news regarding the engagement of your son, congrats!

    I like the sound of your new snack maker. Very versatile.

    SSG xxx

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  7. Yummy cake! Congrats on the engagements - such happy news!

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  8. Hi Veronica,

    'The Grand Tour' sounds like it could be a fun read, however I'm not sure that it is one for me!

    It is good to have a reason to celebrate during these insane times, so two weddings to look forward to is a double treat!

    We both celebrated our birthdays under strict lockdown back in May (not difficult as they are only 1 day apart!). My family arranged to have afternoon tea sent in to three households and we did a zoom tea party so that we could all celebrate, which was lovely.

    We have been out and about a little bit recently, although we have avoided all shops and people where possible. If you visit some of the towns you could be forgiven for thinking that Covid was all over, or had in fact never happened at all. People just don't know how to stay socially distant.

    It looks as though we are officially coming into autumn now, as there has been quite a downturn in the weather conditions and temperature. The mornings are also noticeably darker, as I know to my cost, as I have overslept a couple of times.

    It sounds as though you are keeping safe which is the main thing :)

    Yvonne xx

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  9. Yum! I love the look of those waffles. Enjoy your books, and thanks for sharing. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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  10. Congrats to the newly engaged couple!!

    The waffles look yummy!!

    Good-looking cake.

    Take care, and have a wonderful week.

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  11. Two engagements in one year?!? That's so exciting! My sister and I got engaged in the same year and married our husband just 6 short months apart. It was a real whirlwind time but so much fun!

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  12. Those waffles look amazing. Very exciting that your son became engaged. We all need good news at the moment. Only one new book for me this month The Black Swan of Paris by Karen Robards.I’m trying to read the unread books on my bookshelf so trying not to bring new books in.

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  13. Congrats to your son for getting engaged! I need to go through my Kindle books too. I have loads and you're right that we can forget what we have on there.

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  14. What happy news, with 2 engagements in your family this year! Isn't it good to get organised in some way and finding new books to read in the process! #lifethisweek

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  15. Congrats to your son and his fiancee. The waffles and cake look good. Have a wonderful week! #lifethisweek

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  16. Lovely cake! The Grand Tour has got me interested. Enjoy.

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  17. So much to love in here - an engagement, a birthday (with a fab looking cake) & a waffley sambo combo. I really like the sound of The Grand Tour too. I'm finally reading The Flat Share.

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  18. Love the celebratory notes & pics in this post. The cake...yummo!


    Thanks for linking up this week for #LifeThisWeek. Next week the optional prompt is 34/51 Self-Care Stories. #5. 24.8.2020 and I hope to see you there. Take care, Denyse.

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  19. Such great news! And those waffles look delicious. Enjoy your new book, have a great week!

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