Tuesday, March 24, 2026

Been off for a While

Over the last few days I was having computer issues. I won't to go into the details, but will say that technology can be daunting. But I'm glad to be back. Now I can catch up on drafting my A to Z posts. I've started scheduling some of them, even though I still have some to draft. I'm just a little stuck on some letters.

And the hot weather in my area has continued. It's barely the start of spring, but it's already feeling like summer. 

Friday, March 20, 2026

Hot Weather!


It's only March, and barely the start of spring. Yet in my neck of the woods, it's been hot this past week! Quite unusual for this time of year. 

This is a historic heatwave. Feeling more like summer now. The hotter is gets, the more tired I get! It's been hard to do some things these past few days, like cooking. And except for drafting A to Z posts, I haven't done much writing this week. I get sleepy from reading sometimes, but now I can blame the weather more right now!

Our group at work took a field trip on Wednesday to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It was not quite as hot over there as it was in my town. We were inside most of the time, but sat by the beach nearby for lunch, in a shade area. We even stopped  at some of the stores nearby on Cannery Row. A lot of walking and I came home exhausted, but it was a great trip! It was good way to get away from the heat in our town.


Sunday, March 15, 2026

More on the A to Z Theme This Year

I have begun drafting my posts for the A to Z Blogging Challenge next month. The official sign-ups begin next week. As I said in my theme reveal post, it will be a book-cover scavenger hunt. 

#AtoZChallenge 2026 Rectangular Banner


In the past, I have had trouble with linking services (see here), so I have decided to allow links to books in the comments. Other general rules:

  1. You cannot post the same cover that is in my post, and cannot use the same cover for more then one letter.
  2. Since comments are moderated, you will not know (in most instances) what cover others are going to post, so do not worry about possibly posting the same book as another person.
  3. The number of the item on the cover does not matter. If the item of the day is in the plural, the cover may have one or more than one of that item.
  4. The link may be from Amazon, Goodreads or other sites. Just mentioning the tile in the comments will also be acceptable.
  5. Even if you do not want to the join the scavenger hunt, you are still welcome to comment on the posts in general.
  6. Commenting and/or participating is open to all, not just those joining the A to Z Blogging Challenge.
Also read this.

Good luck to all, whatever you decide to do.

Thursday, March 12, 2026

13 Phone Cartoons

Colleen at The Thursday 13 holds a weekly blogging prompt where bloggers make a list of 13 things on Thursdays. The topic is for you to choose. The blog host doesn't have any official graphics to display on the Thursday 13 posts, so I decided to whip one up myself. 🙂  


After seeing this post on Mikra's blog today, I got this idea for the topic for today. Also, I just got a new phone, my first iPone. It's not a current one, but it was good deal and will work for the time being. Some of these are old and some are new to me. This first one I took from the link above.



















Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Need Ideas on How to Link for the Scavenger Hunt

#AtoZChallenge 2026 badge

As I said, my theme will be a book-cover scavenger hunt, sort of an interactive theme. One thing I have to work out is how participants will share links. I've tried using Linkys in the past for my reading challenges, but after some time, something went wrong. I don't recall what that was. So since then I have had people sign up in the comments to join my reading challenges. I'm not sure how this will work with the scavenger hunt, however. I'm going to allow links to a cover, such as on Amazon, Goodreads or other sites. I myself still don't know how to use HTML links in comments. I don't know about signing up again for linkys--I don't remember which one I even used, but it says the Blenza ones are free to begin with (have to pay for an upgrade). and I don't know what else, if anything I will ever use the linking widgets for. I'll be trying to work this out.


#AtoZChallenge 2026 refer others badge

Monday, March 9, 2026

A to Z Blogging 2026 Theme Reveal

The theme reveals have begun this week. 


AtoZChallenge theme reveal 2026 March 9 to 14

🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁🥁.....

This year, I am going to try something a little different. The topic is going to be a book cover scavenger hunt. For each letter, I will choose a different item and will post a book cover with the said item. I'm giving readers an option to find another book cover with that same item. Otherwise, just comment on the post in general. 

Here's how it's going to work: If the word of the day is "fruit," I will post a book with fruit on the cover. Commenters have the option of posting another cover (not the same one that I post) with fruit. These are just examples, you will not know the cover scavenger hunt item until each day. It's kind of an interactive theme this year, but you are welcome just to comment if you don't want to post a cover. Also, you do not have to be an A to Z participant to comment and/or participate in the scavenger hunt portion. Note: the same cover can only be used once throughout the challenge. And don't worry about duplicating another person's post, since you're not going to know in most cases (comments are moderated). You just can't use the same one as mine. You'll know that one, since it will already be on the post.

I got this idea from having joined so many reading challenges that ask for something on the cover. One of them is even all about finding things on the covers. See this post from yesterday.

I'm looking forward to seeing other theme reveals this week. The annual round of alphabet fun is around the corner.


#AtoZChallenge 2026 refer others badge



#AtoZChallenge 2026 badge

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Book Discussion: When You CAN Judge a Book by Its Cover


No doubt you've all heard the expression, "Never judge a book by its cover." From The Britannica Dictionary:

Never Judge A Book by Its Cover 

Question
What is the meaning of "never judge a book by its cover"? — Kris, Mexico
Answer

The saying "never judge a book by its cover" or "don't judge a book by its cover" means that you shouldn't judge someone or something based only on what you see on the outside or only on what you perceive without knowing the full situation. It means that the outward appearance of something is not an indication of its value or worth.

 

It comes from the idea that you may see the cover of a book and decide it's not a good book or it's not worth reading without knowing anything else about it. It is used metaphorically when it is applied to other things such as a TV show, a person, a job, or a restaurant.

 

Here are some examples of how it is used:

 

Jim: Wow, you really want to go to a restaurant called 'Plain Burger'?

Joe: Hey, never judge a book by its cover! They may have delicious burgers!

 

Shawn: Look at those scrawny kids on the other team. This game should be easy for us to win.

John: Don't judge a book by its cover. They might be faster than us. We won't know until we play.

 

Yes, the phrase can refer to more than just books, but this is a book discussion, so I am referring to actual book covers.

When doing challenges, I often encounter reading categories that say, "Book with (something) on the cover" or "A cover (in a color)." So in a way, this allows me and other participants to judge a book by its cover.

What do you think when you see a book's cover? Does it turn you on or off? Do you even look at the cover before picking out a book? According to some, people should do this.


P.S. Read my blog tomorrow for an announcement.



Friday, March 6, 2026

National Oreo Day

Another I did not know about, even though the following popped up my Facebook memories today:





Tuesday, March 3, 2026

March Bookish Bingo

The new card for March is here.

  1. The Quilt--T. Davis Bunn (3 squares): Audiobook, Good Deed, Sweet/Cute
  2. The Brides of High Hill--Nghi Vo (4 squares): E-Book, LGBTQ+, Predator/Prey, In a Series
  3. Carter Beats the Devil--Glen David Gold (8 squares): Physical Book, Library Book, Man on the Cover, Not in a Series, Dark Magic, Gold or Money, Luck (Good or Bad), Theft
  4. The Orange Blossom Special--Betsy Carter (2 squares): Green on Cover, Free Space
  5. Great Big Beautiful Life--Emily Henry (4 squares): Book Club Read, Enemies to Lovers, Trust or Betrayal, Spring
  6. Cousins--Virginia Hamilton (1 square): Shelf Love

Thursday, February 26, 2026

Sunday, February 22, 2026

Book Discussion: One Challenge Finished Already

 

February's not over for another week, yet I already have one challenge completed: The RAD 2026 Challenge.




I've always liked how this one is so short, only nine categories. Even so, I don't think I've ever finished it this early. Last year's challenge took me until the end of June. A lot of the categories for this year seemed a little strange and hard to find books for, but I did it all in the first two months of the year. I usually don't do a reading progress post until mid-year, but this fast finish was worthy of a post now.

The Color Coded is another I participate in regularly that also has nine categories. Right now, I'm a little stuck on titles with brown, black, or "implies color" in the tile. I'm working on green right now and have something out for "other color."  What's in a Name has only six categories, but that one arrived late this year and I've only gotten one book for it so far. "Terrain" and "peace" are the ones I have to really look for. Words like "valley," "mountain" and "hill" all count for 'terrain." And "pathways" can include words like "road" or "street." I kind of have some things in mind for those, but nothing definite just yet.

Those who join challenges, how long does it take you to finish them? I try to make mine last through the year, those that are longer, but some I unexpectedly finds for the year is half over, by around May or June.  Now I'm eager to see what I finish next.

Monday, February 16, 2026

Presidents Day Trivia

This was my trivia topic at work for the month. It was held last Friday, since we are off today. I played this video, then we did a Kahoot quiz. I was too tired last week to try to come up with questions based on those from the video as I had done for my last two or three trivia classes. 



Did you know any of these?

Friday, February 13, 2026

National Internet Friends Day

Yet another National day I did not know about. I only found out this morning, thanks to Debra. I was going to write another Friday the 13th post until I saw about this day. Here is some info on the day.