Thursday Thoughts ~ June 26, 2025

It’s Thursday at the newly painted Casa Carter!

Took a quick trip to Knott’s Berry Farm today. Did I mention that The Husband worked there as a performer for 39 years, recently retired, and we have lifetime passes with free parking? It’s about a half hour away, so it’s an easy drive. We sometimes go straight to the bakery and get turkey and cheese croissants. Yum! Then we walk the perimeter of the park to get in 6000 to 7000 steps. Along the way, we always run into friends and guests who want to say Hi to Cannonball (his stage name).

Here’s The Husband, being silly.

Me, with Snoopy and Charlie Brown.  Isn’t this the cutest image of Snoopy you’ve ever seen?!

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Thursday Thoughts ~ June 12, 2025

It’s Thursday again! Time flies, whether you’re having fun or not.

On Saturday, The Husband and I went to our monthly California Writers Club meeting at the picturesque Anaheim Packing House. It reminds me of my years with The Bead Society of Orange County – meeting in a beautiful place, with socializing, a few minutes of club business, then a speaker of interest. This month’s guest was Daniel Weizmann, author of the Pacific Coast Highway Mystery series, talking about his W.H.O.C.A.R.E.S writing method. I took a lot of good notes and also got his excellent PDF to work from.

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Thursday Thoughts ~ May 29, 2025

Hope everybody had a good Memorial Day. I kept thinking it was Sunday… We put out our trash on Monday nights, so we had to scramble on Tuesday morning to get the cans out… Then found out they’d be a day behind on pickup, which hasn’t happened all year with the other Monday holidays… Hauled them back in, only to bring them back out Wednesday morning… How was your Memorial Day??!!

Spent some time binging The Four Seasons on Netflix. I purposely didn’t rewatch the original Alan Alda/Carol Burnett movie from the 80’s, because I wanted to see the series with fresh eyes. I enjoyed it, especially since it updated the story with one of the couples being gay. I just read a not-so-hot review, saying the writers used too many clichés and didn’t build the characters very deeply. Honestly, I don’t expect a lot of deep introspection from a sit-com. There were some lovely moments, however, especially from Kerri Kenney, who plays a betrayed wife. I will admit, though, that the Tina Fey and Will Forte characters in the last two episodes were annoying as hell. After a bombshell ending, unsurprisingly, there will be another “season” at some point.

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Some Holiday Reading

Here are a few of the holiday books I read these last few months. Remember, if it’s a little late in the season for you, holiday stories can be read all year long! Same for movies-I watch The Holiday, While You Were Sleeping and Desk Set several times a year.

Originally written as a movie script, you can definitely imagine this as a Hallmark Holiday rom-com. It’s a story of second chances, featuring Rose, a Christmas hater, whose sister plunks her right in the middle of the Christmas Capital of the US. Where she promptly runs into Malcolm, the man who broke her heart nine years earlier. When the Holly Oaks Tree Farm – beloved by everyone in town and a special favorite for Malcolm – experiences a crisis, Rose steps in. And Holly Oaks begins to work its magic. A fun novella with characters you’ll love.

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Looking for Some Holiday/Winter Reading?

I usually don’t seek out holiday books like I do holiday movies, but this year, I find myself reading to a winter theme. Some are part of cozy mystery series, but you can read them as stand-alone stories. Maybe some will even pique your interest!

The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews ~ After a painful divorce, Ivy and her dog, Punkin, move to a rural farm to begin the adventure of their new life. The discovery of a child’s note in the pocket of a Santa suit in the attic sets Ivy on a mystery that brings her friendship, love, and the life she could only dream about. I’m planning to make this an annual read because it was so lovely and satisfying.

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