Saturdays in the Garden - In Memory of Rosie the Ginger Cat

OUTSIDE

I spent the morning mowing, cleaning up the garden a bit (i.e. weeding) and harvesting the rest of the garlic.  I think it's my best "crop" of garlic yet - 30 heads with maybe only 2 or 3 that aren't well developed.  And the best thing about garlic is that it stores so well for months.  Okay, the really best thing about garlic is that it's tasty as all get out:0).

Other things happening in the garden are lots of blooms on the zucchini and cucumber plants which I hope get pollinated - I've had trouble with that the last couple times I've tried to grow them.  The good news on that score is that I have some very robust catmint and oregano that is blooming right now and there are bees and wasps and all sorts of lovely pollinators swarming all over them.  Yay!

Also one of my roses has one lonely bloom and it was a little damaged from an insect.  Still.  I hope these rose bushes survive the winter and really thrive next year.

LIFE

It was a pretty emotionally intense and hard week.  I had to put my cat Rosie to sleep.  She was 11 and had diabetes so her sudden serious illness should not have been a shock but it was.  Death always seems like a shock even if it isn't.  I was on vacation all last week and when I arrived home she was mopey and off her food but this was a normal response for her to a change in routine.  Unfortunately that fact kept me from realizing that there was something more serious going on.  By the time I got her to the emergency vet Sunday night she was very sick indeed and she just never bounced back despite a lot of intensive treatment.  Losing pets is a part of having them in your life but it just really sucks.  I am thankful that despite being gone for a week, work was relatively calm which gave me the time and space to devote to Rosie and deal with this.  She was a very sweet girl who talked back when you spoke to her and who secretly enjoyed her big shaggy canine housemates.  Rest in peace sweet Rosie girl. 

WATCHING, READING and BLOGGING

My reading life feels all ahoo right now.  Firstly, for several weeks now, I have been completely at the mercy of my reading moods and have blithely ignored my challenges.  Mood readers likely have no business adopting book challenges really but I'm afraid if I just let my moods rule I'd only read comfortable fluffity fluff.  There's nothing wrong with some good fluffity fluff but stretching one's reading horizons from time to time is also important and enjoyable.

Secondly, a couple of sequel reads in series that were too separated in time from their predecessors have convinced me that a) I have lost more cognitive function than I care to think about and b) I need to keep on series and not allow these big gaps between sequel reading happen. Consequently, I've been catching up on a lot of series.

I am also so insanely far behind on writing up my thoughts on the books I have read it's not even funny.  I have 20 books in the backlog that I have yet to write a thoughtful word on, stretching all the way back to May 3rd.  Yikes.  This weekend is being devoted to catching up on reviews!  I've been posting very few book reviews on the blog lately, unsurprisingly and only seem to barely be able to keep up with my Saturday post and a meme or two.  I'm honestly not sure why my productivity has slowed down so much the last couple of months but I guess these things ebb and flow.

So....where was I? Ahh...Watching!  I just finished my 4th straight re-watch of Longmire, this time taking notes for a whole passel of posts. And I wonder why book reviews aren't getting written....  Last night, I started in on the second half of Doctor Who Season 7.  I have had some trouble keeping engaged with what was once one of my favorite shows, after the transition from Russell T. to Steven Moffatt.  I kind of got bored halfway through season 7 but really want to get to the 50th Anniversary episode so am diving back in.

Books

Finished since the last time I posted:

• Death Without Company (Longmire #2) by Craig Johnson:  I am loving this series of mysteries and it complements the TV show so well. 
• Changes (Dresden Files #12) by Jim Butcher: I have lots of complicated feels about this one...
• Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels 5.5) by Ilona Andrews:  This "in between" book focuses on Kate's best friend Andrea.  This book was fine in the end but nowhere near as good as the "regular" books in this series.  
• The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan:  This was my first by Milan and is a prequel novella to her Brothers Sinister series.  It was okay but rather grim and serious which isn't generally my cup of tea when it comes to romance reading.
• Ten Ways to be Adored While Landing a Lord (Love by Numbers #2) by Sarah MacLean: This book kept me completely entranced, and in fact I almost finished it, during my long travel day last Saturday. Yup. Firmly bumping along on the Sara MacLean band wagon. 
• Doctor Who: Pest Control by Peter Anghelides: Features the Tenth Doctor and Donna who get caught in the middle of a war between humans and centaurs.  And their are bug monsters too and a giant exterminating robot.  So... typical Doctor Who:0).
• Doctor Who: The Stealers of Dreams by Steve Lyons: Features the Ninth Doctor, Rose and Captain Jack towards then end of their time together.  Takes place on a world where fiction of any kind is outlawed.
• The Hostage Taker by Stephanie Pintoff: This is an ARC set to release in August.  I am a big fan of Pintoffs historical mystery series (which I do hope she is not abandoning) so I thought I'd try this new book which is quite different.  It's contemporary and more thriller than straight mystery with the protagonist being a female F.B.I. agent/profiler.

Currently Reading:

• Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe: So maybe some day I'll pick this up again?  Until then it will sit here on the currently read and produce feelings of profound shame.
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Harry Potter Book 3) by J.K. Rowling: Part of my Harry Potter re-read by audio.
• The Unseen Guest (The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place #3) by Maryrose Wood: This is a totally adorable middle-grade series that I am listening to as the narration by Katherine Kellgren is fantastic!

On the BLOG LAST WEEK:

SUNDAY: Saturdays in the Garden - OBX 2015 and Heroes.
TUESDAY: Top Ten Tuesday: Last Ten Books To move into my House - Hosted by The Broke and The Bookish.  I don't do a book haul type post so this was pretty fun!
THURSDAY: Tough Traveling: Extreme Climates. A fun meme hosted by Fantasy Review Barn to explore all the beloved tropes of the SFF genre.

On the BLOG NEXT WEEK

SUNDAY: First Longmire post featuring first 5 episodes of season 1.
TUESDAY: The Top Ten Tuesday topic is the ten books that celebrate diversity.  I think I am pretty abysmal at reading books that do this so I think it would be good to go through my books and quantify it.  Hopefully it will spur me to improve and conveniently there will be lots of lists from which to expand my TBR! Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.
WEDNESDAY:  Book Review TBD.  
THURSDAY: The Tough Traveling meme is highlighting Middle Age Heroes in Fantasy land (meaning more mature heroes not heroes that occur in a Middle Ages type environment). A couple come to mind so this should be fun!  Learn more over on Fantasy Review Barn.

That's it for this week.  Happy reading, watching and playing outside!