I will admit I am a slow reader. My Mom could sit down with a book and read it cover to cover. I am one of those people who only read one chapter and then take a break. So I decided to read short novellas that will not only be quick, but check off those Good Reads Reading Challenge goals. Hee hee

Amazon did not disappoint by bringing a set of scary novellas in October to read with my Kindle. There six books by different authors called the The Creature Feature.

This is Book One written by Joe Hill called The Pram. The synopsis of this book is as follows:

A husband’s obsessive desire for a child leads to an unexpected manifestation of his yearning in a nightmarish short story about fatherhood dreams by New York Timesbestselling author Joe Hill.

Willy and Marianne’s farmhouse in Maine has acres of meadow and fresh air, and a lonesome bridle path in the forest along which Willy daydreams and ambles. When he’s loaned a decrepit old baby stroller to cart his groceries home, the rickety squeak of the wheels comforts him. So do the sweet coos of a baby Willy knows can’t be real. Can it? In this twisted thicket, wishes come true—with a price.

I hope to enjoy this read as I check off “read a scary book” on my Halloween Bucket List.

Thanks for reading my blog.

I have been struggling to come up with an Autumn bucket list this year. I usually like to add a few new things to the list to mix it up, but I struggled. I have a few new items on the list and some of my favorites from year to year. I reserve the right to add new ones along the way, and maybe drop a few off the list. It is October 1st so I need to commit. I also decided to do a separate Halloween list for reasons I cannot fathom.

• Autumn themed homemade soup
• 4 autumn themed dinners
• Read an autumn book
• Hang Autumn garden flags
• Put in Autumn scent wallflowers
• Hang Autumn kitchen towels
• Read autumn poem
• Watch All the Hallmark autumn movies
• Bake pumpkin bread
• Make new Spotify Autumn song list
• Burn fall scented candle or do simmer pot
• Cross stitch autumn theme project
• Make autumn donuts
• Make Autumn Chex mix
• Get new autumn teas
• Change backgrounds on phone and iPad 
• Hot apple cider
• Buy autumn themed fancy floss
• Take pictures of trees turning colors
• Drink fall themed coffee (pods from Aldi)
• Hang autumn fairy lights to create the mood
• Autumn bedding and blankets

I am not sure why I added a second list just for Halloween, but we will just go for it this year.

• Decorate porch for Halloween
• Hang Halloween Garden Flags
• Get Halloween pajamas and slippers
• Read scary book
• Watch new (to me) scary movie
• Watch old (repeat) scary movie
• Get out Halloween mugs
• Watch the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown
• Cross stitch Halloween themed item
• Change backgrounds on phone and iPad
• Make Spotify Halloween playlist
• Finish piecing Halloween Mystery Quilt
• Buy Halloween themed fancy floss

Check back to see what I have accomplished!

Thanks for peeking at my blog.

Well it is getting close to Christmas and it is almost Black Friday, so I decided to check out Lenox to see if there is anything to add to my Lenox Holiday China Collection.

I guess I must have bought it all (except the reallllllyyyyy expensive pieces) as they was NOTHING on sale that I did not already had. I really must do an inventory of what I have so I can figure out if I am missing anything. I did find a couple of nice to have items that I went ahead and bought for Christmas

I got this little bowl that has a tree that your perch on the edge. It is too small for anything much, but may be good for a dip or some candies. I got the tree and the snowman bowls.

I also got the annual snowman figurine. I really liked this one. The snowman with cocoa and cookies is very cute. I read online that they have been doing these snowman for 12 years. It is the first time I have noticed. I do have some other lenox figurines.

Most of my figurines are stored away in boxes. I wish to display them but have way too much clutter in my house. Maybe after I sell off some crap I will have more room. I have the snowman below. I also have one where all the snowman are having thanksgiving or some sort of party. I also have the monthly snowmen, each in a monthly theme I could only find a picture of the snowman, but you get the idea. These snowmen are made from Lynn Bywaters and are just adorable. They stopped making them in 2019. I prefer these textured type of snowmen versus the smooth china ones they do now. But that is why this are called collectables.

Thanks for taking a peek at my blog.

I finished my Dad’s memory book in time for all of us to go to Colorado and have a nice little memorial service.

I enjoyed spending time with my family and seeing my cousin Scott. It was a shame to not see cousin Sandy and Scott’s wife Sunita. Sunita had a emergency with a friend and Sandy did not want to come out because the Delta variant was running high in Colorado. I have no idea when I will be in Colorado again so I may not have a chance to see her again. Afterall I am old! LOL.

I ended up mailing a book to Sandy and also sending a book to Toni (Paulines daughter) for taking care of our Dad’s estate.

I hope you enjoy the book.

So there is only one more item on the list and it was a Watch Party with the girls for a Halloween Movie. Well we ran into a snag, the watch party requires you use a computer and not a phone or laptop.

One of the girls, Kelli did not have a desktop computer. So we are going to wait until we get her rehired at work.

But hard to believe I finished everything on the list! Yahoo! Until next year.

Food seems to show up on my bucket list quite often. I usually try to add a new recipe every year. Some stick around in future years. Others seem to just fade away in memories.

I decided to try a caramel apple from Aldi. Yup, another Aldi find.

I am not a huge fan of caramel apples. Not sure why, it has apples that I love and caramel that I love, you would think the two would be a marriage made in heaven. It was ok, but at least I gave it a try. Funny because I like apples dipped in caramel. Maybe it was the kind of apple they used.

The 2nd items was fried apple poppers. I bought a can of fried apples from Aldi and decided I would use these instead. Although the recipe was easy to do from scratch.

Check out the recipe on the link below.

Yummy apple bomb recipe from Dixie Crystal Sugar

You use biscuits from a can for the dough and it makes it so simple to wrap them up and bake them.

Sprinkle a lot of butter and cinnamon sugar on top and it is warm yummy goodness.

They were very tasty. However the recipe does say that it does not set well over time so this recipe is food when you have a small group.

I always add a little spa treatment on my autumn lists so that I make sure to pamper myself.

The first one was a nice face mask. I got this one from Bath and Body Works.

Just being a little goofy while the magical mask did it autumn goodness to my face.

The 2nd treatment I did was my nails in a autumn color.

I have never had long wonderful nails so it always looks a bit funny when I wear darker polish.

This nail polish was a little old and is already chipping off but I did like the autumn color with a bit of glitter.

There were two breakfast related items on the bucket list.

The first one was the Pumpkin Spice Breakfast rolls which I bought at Aldi. Got to love Aldi. Easy peasy, pop in the over and then you have breakfast.

A little yummy roll on an Autumn morning with a cup of hot coffee is the perfect way to start the day.

The 2nd Breakfast item was a bit more of a challenge. I bought one of those cute Dash waffle makers from Target. One side was a waffle imprint and the other side was a pumpkin.

I bought some pumpkin spice mix from Wal-mart and spent a good hour or two cranking out pumpkin spice waffles.

With the extra left over pancakes, I decided to freeze them so I will have toaster waffles next week.

As the weather cools, and the leaves blow – Autumn demands hot drinks.

I have a new obsession with Aldi. One of their strengths is the new releases of fun coffee.

For Autumn I got four different kinds. I love they have themed coffee and it is actually very good.

I even bought thier ghost mug. It is kinda small so I think it will work better as a holder for drink stirrers versus actual coffee.

Also on my bucket list was getting a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.

I am glad they have a drive thru down the street from me. I miss the Kentucky Fried Chicken, but they did not do very well. I have never known a chicken place to run out of chicken before. Very poorly runned Franchise.

But lets just admire the beautiful latte below.

The other Aldi autumn coffee I purchased is more of a general autumn theme. Caramel (which is always good) and Apple Crisp which sounds very Setpember/October fall leaves type.

Since I work from home now, I tend to drink a fair amount of coffee. These coffees from Aldi are less than $4 and are very good.

And finally my favorite drink from Starbucks…. The Caramel Apple Cider drink. It is so warm and comforting.

OK, I am starting to get thirsty.

Nothing gets me in the mood for autumn more than a great autumn themed book.

Since I joined the Goodreads yearly reading challenge I found I had fallen behind on my reading. Fortunately with the desire to read autumn books I have caught up.

I picked this book up at Wal-Mart as the yellow/orange trees and the word Autumn jumped out. I have never read any books by Kelly Irvin and have not read any books with Amish characters.

I actually enjoyed the book and would not mind reading some of the other books in the series.

From the back cover: The mother of ten and a widow of seven years, Mary Katherine is a bundle of energy, always willing to step in and help her friends around her Amish community. Now that her last child is married, she pours her abundant creative spirit into writing stories, even as she speaks aloud to her late husband every day. Her dream is to open a bookstore with an English friend, but the church elders want this wayward widow to work in an Amish-owned store instead. When her old school friend, Ezekiel, offers her a position as a cook in the restaurant he opened after his wife died, she knows she should accept. But does she really want to spend her time working over a hot stove? 

When a mysterious English stranger breaks into her house to make himself a sandwich one autumn night, Mary Katherine doesn’t call the sheriff. She turns to Ezekiel. They both see that Burke is need of more than a meal, and Ezekiel offers him the job at the restaurant. 

As they set out to care for their new friend, Mary Katherine and Ezekiel find themselves often working together. Mary Katherine is drawn to Ezekiel, but she remembers the terrible risk of giving her heart to someone. Can two people in the autumns of their lives and so well-versed in the pain of loss put the past behind them and trust in the hope that comes with each new season?

The 2nd book I read was an audio book. Being part of the Autumnboro series I feel that it had enough “autumn” to meet my criteria.

Synopsis of book:

Powerball winner Josie Morgan has learned the hard way that dating, in her financial situation, will only lead to heartbreak. She’s been perfectly happy living the single life and running the Pumpkin Everything country store. Too bad her mother can’t seem to take the hint. Unwilling to face another lineup of suitors and gold-diggers at this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, Josie opts to stay behind in Autumnboro to host a free meal for anybody without a place to go.

When Josie’s family turns up in Autumnboro, faking a relationship with funeral planner Riley Parker seems like the only way to make it through the holiday. Like every other man on Earth, Riley’s only interested in her money. So what if she has a teeny, tiny crush? If he agrees to help her out, she’ll gladly write him a check.

But as Thanksgiving draws closer, turkey and stuffing aren’t the only things heating up, and maybe money isn’t the only thing on Riley’s mind. Josie’s already hit the lottery once, dare she hope for anything more?

This was a cute book and I enjoyed listening to the story. Some books are hard for me to listen to so fortunately the narrator was a good.