Free Yet Invaluable

 Am so very thankful for the no-cost programs that I've attended.

At my local library, at a nearby library, on Zoom, and at a cat rescue

This summer, I've attended:

-The Ever-present Camera: Understanding Photography on Your Smartphone
-On Writing Darkly Charming Villainous Love with Hannah Nicole Maehrer
-Downton Abbey Tea Party
-Author Talk - "The Enchanted Season" by Lance Parish and Tom Gage
-Taming Feral Kittens for Adoption
-Documentary on extraterrestrial life and UAP's (UFO's)

Spay and Neuter!

Have found these events on social media, library calendars, newsletters, and by word of mouth.

Let's Hop!

Serious Series

 National Mystery Series Week is celebrated on the first full week in October annually.

And oooooh...I LURV a mystery!

A partial list of my favorites:

None of these are cozy mysteries; fair warning.

And there are SO MANY MORE!

Now you see why using the library is so important to me; I'd be without funds if I had to buy all of these books, and then Manny, Chili Bruce, and Henry would be skinny.

We cannot have that, as they are our babies!

Manny, being held as a baby by The Hubby.

📚

To Buy, To Read, To Listen

September 6 was National Read a Book Day 📚

📚 September 7 is National Buy a Book Day

Don't you think that should be reversed?

Buy a book, and THEN read it..!?!

Unless you are like me (and in honor of September is National Library Card Sign-up Month), and borrow most of your reading material from the library, buying is a rather big deal.

I have stacks of books next to my bed...gathering dust...while I gleefully listen to audiobooks and ebooks downloaded to my phone, and at least once a month I check out a book at the library, then sit down and read it in one go without leaving the building. 

Which is why I hesitate to purchase another book; seems wasteful to buy them, then let them sit.

My sister tells me that I need to support authors and bookstores and BUY MORE BOOKS!

I've just purchased an audiobook; does that count, sis?

Audiobook I am currently listening to:

-Secrets of the Lost Ledgers by C. J. Archer: Book #5 in the Glass Library Series

Next audiobooks queued:

-What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust by Alan Bradley: Book #11 in the Flavia de Luce Series
-A Swarm of Butterflies by Sarah Yarwood-Lovett: Book #6 in the Dr. Nell Ward Mysteries
-Vows & Ruins by Helen Scheuerer: Book #2 in the Legends of Thezmarr Series
-Viciously Yours by Jamie Applegate Hunter: Book #1 in the Fae Kings of Eden Series

Actual books that I have that I REALLY REALLY want to read, when I get time:

-Inductions Dangerous by John Bellen (I Have Three Cats Blog)
-Hidden in Blood, Place of Temptation, and Lake of Tears by Bilinda P. Sheehan, Books #5, 6, 7 in Hariet Quinn Series
...and many more!

For a bookish Caturday, here is Celestial Sweetie, with my stack of to-be-read books in the background.

Click on the image to enjoy a jigsaw puzzle.

Let's Hop!

Click on the badge to visit Athena Cat Goddess.

Absorbed

What are you up to this weekend?

Hints on my activities below.

📚 ❤️ 📚

Audiobook series that I've completed recently:

Simon R. Green's Nightside 1-12

Sarah Yarwood-Lovett's Nell Ward 1-4

Cara Devlin's Bow Street Duchess Mysteries 1-4

Laurie Forest's Black Witch Chronicles 1-4

Peter May's The Enzo Files 1-7

All from the library!

📚 ❤️ 📚

Cats & Books

I love cats!

I love books!

I love pics of cats and books!

Using my library's app, I download audiobooks and ebooks to my phone to enjoy.

Reading or listening while laying on the futon, Da Boyz join me for a snuggle.

In bed, Sweetie crawls onto my chest.

Am thankful for these comforts in such troubled times.

Cats and books...yes please!

Let's Hop!

The Windy City

A visit to Chicago during a beautiful weekend.

I roamed about, and snapped a few images.

Designed by Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge, the Chicago Public Library’s building – today home to the Chicago Cultural Center – was completed in 1897.

The Beach at Sainte-Adresse, by Claude Monet
1867
The Art Institute of Chicago

The Marina City complex was designed by architect Bertrand Goldberg and completed in 1968.
Known as The Corncob Buildings, this is my artsy angle.

Nighthawks, by Edward Hopper
1942
The Art Institute of Chicago

Lion, one of a pair of outdoor 1893 bronze sculptures by Edward Kemeys
The Art Institute of Chicago

Yes, this was the only feline I managed to find!

Beyond thankful to my family who included me in their travels, both last weekend and a couple of weeks ago when on the westside of Michigan.

Witnessing the gorgeous weddings of my two nephews were gifts of unimaginable value.

Let's Hop!

❤️BOOKS❤️

 9 August is Book Lovers Day!

📚📖📚

Observed to encourage bibliophiles (a person who collects or has a great love of books).

Some can debate on whether listening to audiobooks 'counts' as reading, yet I listen to narrated books for hours EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

I listen while:

 Driving in the car (bluetooth to car speakers)

Taking a bath

Watching something on television that The Hubby chose (dullsville!)

Tending cat litter boxes

Trying to solve sudoku puzzles

Playing online jigsaw puzzles

Being a human cat bed

~AND~

*whispers*

Slogging away on office spreadsheets

Remember!

You do NOT HAVE TO SPEND ANY MONEY to read a book!

Simply visit your local library, either in person or online.

There are books of all stripes available, in traditional form, as ebooks, as audiobooks, or as graphic novels.

There are apps to load to phones, or other reading devices.

📚📖📚

Garden Walk Cats

Our city had a garden walk yesterday, with rain included in the ticket price, and the starting point was the local history museum and garden.

Image my surprise when I found cats!

A sleeping cat stuffy, in the front parlor at The Crocker House Museum

This shy kitty was watching the garden lovers.
Cool mat!

Sly's humans opened their lovely yard to sightseers; I was greeted with, "Hiya, Sly's Girlfriend!"
Himself did not deign to appear; this image is from last week.

Saxifrage, according to my iPhone; the homeowner didn't know the name.

Some sort of succulent, on the edge of a delightful swimming pool.

Magnolia

What a delight chatting with the docents and homeowners, despite the wet.

Met:

-A retired cat veterinarian (!)

-A professional gardener

-A Michigan-loving UK transplant

Convos about:

Hummingbirds

Koi 

The library and a few book titles (!)

Architecture

Plants: bamboo, strawberries, milkweed, lavender, sedum

Garden decorations: Japanese dog sculpture, ponds and waterfalls, mosaic, wrought-iron chairs/railing/fencing, and the desire to use found/recycled objects.

☔🌼🌂🌿🐝

Purrfect Place to Nap: On A Book

Aww, so cute!

23-29 April, 2023

"Celebrate National Library Week with the theme "There's More to the Story." Libraries are full of stories in a variety of formats from picture books to large print, audiobooks to ebooks, and more. But there's so much more to the story."

Celebrating National Read Across America

Let's create and celebrate a nation of diverse readers!

Images gathered from social media only for the enjoyment of our readers.

Click on the badge above to visit the N.E.A.

I am thankful for educators, libraries, and books!

Let's Hop!

Click on the badge above to visit Brian's Home!

National Read Across America Day

To create and celebrate a nation of diverse readers.

Stuff to read:

Newspapers

Comic Books

Ebooks

Graphic Novels

Newsletters

Audiobooks

Dictionaries

Romance Novels

Biographies

DIY Manuals

The book you found at the barbershop

Cookbooks

Horror

Cozy Mysteries

💛📚💙📚💚📚💜

National Library Week

 National Library Week, April 3-9, 2022!

My regular readers know that I am a library advocate.

The modern library offers more than things to read, such as movies, music, lectures, sewing clubs, local history and genealogy reference materials, games, how-to seminars, and more!

Someday, I hope folks will be able to adopt a cat at the library...wouldn't that be great?

I've collected a few memes and cartoons, for your enjoyment.

All images copied from the interwebs, and used for mere entertainment.

Go visit your library!

📚😻📚😽📚