June Reading Roundup

Here are my thoughts about the books I finished in the month of June 2025.  I listened to three audiobooks, read two fiction books on my Kindle, and finished another paperback nonfiction book. Here is a short summary and review of each one. 

Chasing Darkness *****

by Robert Crais

Genre:  Fiction - Mystery/Suspense

Format:  Kindle Unlimited Audiobook

In this excellent suspense novel, mystery writer Robert Crais brings back detective Elvis Cole to unravel the death of a suspected serial killer who Cole helped to exonerate.  This book had a solid plot with non-stop action with lots of twists and a conclusion that is logical but not at all obvious.  Although it is 11th book in the Elvis Cole series, there is enough background given that it can easily be read as a stand-alone.   There were a few F-Bombs in the book, and some adult material, but no explicit sex.  My husband and I listened to the audiobook in the car on a road trip.  I had read one other Robert Crais book (The Monkey's Raincoat) that I didn't like as well as this one. I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.  Listening to it made a long road trip more enjoyable. 

Bet Your Bottom Dollar ****

by Karin Gillespie

Genre:  Fiction - Romance/Humor

Format:  Kindle Unlimited

This first book in the Bottom Dollar series introduces the reader to the women of Cayboo Creek and the Bottom Dollar Emporium, a dollar-type store that is being threatened by the opening of a Super Saver Dollar Store chain.  The employees of the quirky Bottom Dollar Store and the citizens of the town join forces to save their store.  Along the way, there is romance and a lot of humor in the down-home, feel-good book, that is reminiscent of Fannie Flagg's or Elizabeth Berg's book. I enjoyed this book and gave it 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. 

The Wife You Know **

by Chad Zunker

Genre:  Fiction - Mystery/Suspense

Format:  Kindle Unlimited Audiobook

I have read three books by this author in the past two months. The first two were pretty good but this one was horrible. The story was a combination of evangelical Christian missionaries meets Communist Chinese spies meet Gilligan's Island. The hero is a rags-to-riches, self-made, multimillionaire entrepreneur and college basketball star. The story was unbelievable and the characters seemed to be unrealistic and not very smart. It just wasn't a great book so I don't think I will be looking for more books by this author.  I only gave it 2 out of 5 possible stars on Goodreads. 

Enjoy Life! Healing with Happiness ****

by Lynn D. Johnson

Genre:  Non Fiction - Self-help

Format:  Paperback/own

This is another "positive psychology" book.  It's a quick and easy read with a lot of good stuff.  Nothing really new for those who are striving for a more positive attitude and outlook, but good reminders that can help the person truly trying to change.  I liked the book and gave it 4 out 5 stars on Goodreads.

Original Sin *****

by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson

Genre: Political/Biography

Format: Audiobook/library

I honestly believe that most Americans who paid even cursory attention to Joe Biden could see that he was clearly declining and not up to another four years as president.  His cabinet, family and advisors, however, continued to feed the lie that he was "just fine" and as smart and with it as ever.  He clearly was not.  This book details Biden's decline during the four years of his presidency as well as the hubris he displayed (fed by his family and advisors) in believing that he could run again, beat Trump, and serve capably for four more years.  The book is well-written and compelling, which is why I gave it 5 out of 5 stars.  I do take issue with the fact that many in the media saw clear evidence of Biden's decline, yet they did not reveal it to the American people.  The press largely went along with the line that Biden was as spry as ever.  Biden's disastrous debate against Trump last summer revealed that as a complete lie.   I think the book was interesting and well-written, but it further destroyed my own personal confidence in what I hear and read from the media.    

A Dollar Short ****

by Karin Gillespie

Genre:  Fiction - Romance/Humor

Format:  Kindle Unlimited

This is the second book in the Bottom Dollar series.  In this book, another character for the first book in the series, which I read earlier in the month, finds herself broke and alone with her three children when her husband leaves her for a Hollywood movie star.  Like the first book, this one has a lot of humor and down-home feel-good writing.  I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars on Goodreads.  

That's all for this month's Reading Roundup. Thanks for stopping by.  Are you reading anything good this summer? I'm always looking for book recommendations. 

Until next time,

😊📚Deb📚💖

The Weekend at the End of June

Our weekend was hot, busy, and good.  Here are some of the highlights. 

We started our Friday morning by going grocery shopping.  I continue to be appalled by the price of groceries.  Our bill was over $200, but I think we have enough food to last us for at least a week - hopefully two. 

We met up with friends for lunch.  We went to a place called Crown Burger. Charly had a patty melt and I got a Philly Cheesesteak sandwich, but it was not nearly as good as the Philly Cheesesteaks you can get in Philadelphia.  We enjoyed the food and a nice visit with our friends. 

We went to the rec. center and walked the track later in the afternoon.  We prefer to walk in the morning when I am out of school, but better late than never. 

Saturday morning, we were up early and went to the mall to walk before the stores opened.  Later, we went to look at an apartment with Josh.   He found a basement apartment he really likes, but thinks he may want to stay home for a while longer and save money. 

Later in the afternoon, I had the unsettling experience of being pulled over by a police officer.  Turns out, both Charly and I had completely forgotten to renew the registration on our 2024 Honda CRV.  It was embarrassing. In the past, our state has sent out reminders to renew registration every year, but apparently, that has changed.  Fortunately, the police officer who stopped me was very nice and polite, but I did get a $50 ticket.  (Ugh).  I drove immediately to our mechanic who fortunately had enough time to take care of my registration renewal on the spot.  My car's registration is now good for another year.  I just have to make sure to remember to renew it next year, because the state probably won't send me a reminder. 

Saturday evening, Charly and I went to a worship service at the temple shown in the picture.  A reader of my blog recently asked if temple worship is different from regular Sunday services in our church.  The answer is yes.  Temple worship is voluntary - something we do on our own, whenever we want to, and only if we want to. All temple worship includes sacred ordinances and making covenants with God.  Temple worship can be done any time during the day, from about 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.. Temple worship is more individual and contemplative, but the purpose is to deepen our relationship with and love for Jesus Christ. Weddings take place in the temple and they are joyous and sacred, covenant-making events. Our Sunday services are also meant to help us learn and deepen our relationship with Jesus Christ. Sunday worship is to help participants increase their faith and come to Jesus Christ.  We have the sacrament or "communion" during our Sunday services but not during temple worship.  Our Sunday services are more community-oriented, with music and messages playing a big role.  We also have scripture study classes on Sunday after our main worship service.  Prayer is a big part of both temple and Sunday worship services. I love to go to the temple because of the peace and inspiration I feel there. Charly and I try to make it to the temple at least once a month, but we attend Sunday services every week, except when we are sick or out of town.  

Sunday morning was a clear, sunny, and hot day.  At church, we had a homecoming service for a young woman who had been serving as a missionary.  It was a very good service and I enjoyed hearing about the young woman's mission experiences. 

After church, both Charly and I were tired, so we took naps on the reclining sofa in our family room.  You can see that I covered myself with a light blanket.  I always tend to get cold when I nap, so I always cover myself with a blanket. Also, our air conditioning works really, really well, so our house stays very cool in the summer, even when we don't have the thermostat turned down very low. 

Our Sunday dinner was such a good summertime meal - oven-baked tacos, Mexican corn, and summer fruit.  We all enjoyed eating and talking.  After dinner,  Josh went to a Sunday night fireside at church. Charly and I had a quiet and relaxing Sunday evening at home.  

Weekend Gratitude:

• Meeting up with friends for lunch.
• Looking at another apartment with Josh.
• Walking and getting some exercise. 
• Worshipping at the temple.
• Worshipping in our regular Sunday service. 
• Finding a good apartment for Josh, if he decided to move right away.
• Being able to get our car registered quickly and not getting too big a ticket. 

Praying for:

• Josh to find a good apartment to move into when the time is right.
• Our grandson, who is also looking for an apartment to move into.
• Safe travels for upcoming road trips. 
• Rain because our state is very dry and our governor has ask us all to pray for rain. 
• Inspiration about retirement, and moving out of and selling the house we currently live in.
• Resolution to a work issue that will be key to helping me decide when to retire. 

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

Currently on the Last Friday of June

 

The weather is hot, but that is to be expected in the summer.  We had highs in the 70s and 80s at the first part of the week, but we were up in the 90s by the end.  We haven't been over 100 at all this week, and I would be just fine if that continued.  

I'm reading two books - a fun fiction novel, A Dollar Short by Karin Gillespie, and a nonfiction self-help, Pathological Positivity by Paul Jenkins.  Both books are pretty good. 

I'm listening to various podcasts and watching Youtubes - mostly religious/Christian and cultural/current events/politics. 

I'm loving all of the flowers in my yard - especially the beautiful pink hydrangeas now out in bloom. Hydrangeas are some of my favorite flowers!

I'm thinking about the retirement planning meeting Charly and I went to this week. This was my final retirement one-on-one planning meeting since I will be retired in less than a year.  I still haven't decided on the exact date of my retirement, because I am waiting to see what happens when I go back to school in August, but retirement is definitely coming up in just a few months.  Thankfully, I am confident that we will be able to accomplish our goals and keep our standard of living as we move into retirement. 

I've been enjoying getting together with friends for lunch this week.  On Tuesday, I went to lunch with an elderly lady from our church congregation and then on Friday, Charly and I met up with long-time friends for lunch. Both times, our friends chose to eat at Crown Burgers which is a well-known iconic Salt Lake City lunch spot.  Although not diet/calorie friendly, the burgers and sandwiches, fries, and onion rings are excellent, and getting together with friends is always nice. 

I'm looking forward to a couple of road trips we have coming up in July.   In our family, summer has always been about road trips

                                       

I've been working on painting the wood we had replaced on our shed last summer.  Charly and I worked together and finished the project in one morning - even accounting for the time it took for us to go to Home Depot for more paint.  I'm glad I can check this project off my summer "to do" list. 

I'm celebrating some very good decisions coming out of the Supreme Court this week, that have to do with protecting unborn life, protecting children from the mutilation of transgender procedures,  and protecting kids from being taught LBGTQ philosophies in school.  In a few days, I will be celebrating 249 years of the United States of America - a land I dearly love. God bless America!

I'm thankful for my faith in God, prayer, my husband, my children and grandchildren, home, friends, health, and citizenship in the United States of America. 

That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good weekend!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

Summer Hodgepodge

I haven't participated in a Wednesday Hodgepodge post for a while. I had a few minutes this Tuesday night and liked the questions, so I decided to play along.   I am linking up over at From This Side of the Pond.

1. What does "adventure" mean to you? 

For me, an adventure is doing something fun and out of the ordinary.  

I like road trip adventures that have an outdoor element.  The last adventure of this kind I went on was an anniversary trip to Arizona with my husband earlier this summer.  We have a few more road trips and fun adventures coming up this summer and fall.  Stay tuned!

2.  What are your thoughts on tipping? What businesses or service providers do you regularly tip? Do you resent being asked if you'd like to add a tip? What about when a suggested amount is presented? 

I believe that a tip should be given to show appreciation for exceptional, personalized service or for going the extra mile.  I don't believe that restaurants and other service-providing businesses should count tips as part of an employee's pay.   I don't like being asked to tip as a matter of course, when no extra service has been provided.  If I do tip, I like to figure the amount I am comfortable with tipping - not be presented with an "acceptable" or "suggested" amount to tip.  I would rather have food (or other things) priced higher so that the staff and could be paid a living wage, than be guilted into giving "acceptable" tips. 

3. I scream you scream we all scream for ice cream...do we? Is ice cream a favorite treat at your house? What's your favorite flavor? Regular, soft serve, gelato, sherbet, or some sort of non-dairy version of ice cream...what's your pleasure? 

Honestly, I am not much of an ice cream fan.  I like it, but it doesn't like me.  I think I have become more and more lactose intolerant as I get older and I have not tried non-dairy ice cream.  If I was going to eat some ice cream, I would go with chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, which would taste yummy but probably make my tummy not feel great later. 

4. What's your 'back in my day, we____________________ ' story or saying? 

This may sound controversial, but back in my day, we knew that marriage was between one man and one woman and there were only two genders - male and female. We knew which one we were from the time we were very young, AND we knew we would always be that gender because gender is God-given and cannot be changed through hormones and surgery.  Common sense. 

5. Somehow this is our last Hodgepodge in the month of June. Next week's Hodgepodge lands in July. Wow. Sum up your June using three adjectives. 

Three adjectives that would describe our June are busy, blessed, and beautiful. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I am completely in love with these bright and beautiful lilies in my front yard garden. Every day, they look even better than the day before.  Last year when I planted them, I didn't think they were going to make it, and now they are the highlight of my entire yard. 

That's all for this Hodgepodge post.  See you again soon!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"June is the pearl of the summer

shining with warmth and joy."

L.M. Montgomery

First Summer Weekend

Friday, June 20, was the first official day of summer, and where I live, it was hot.  The day before it was over 100, and it wasn't quite that hot on Friday, but it was still toasty, summertime warm!  Here are some highlights of our weekend. 

Friday morning was busy and productive. I got up early, and after eating breakfast, reading scriptures, and doing a workout in my family room, I spent some time in my garden doing some weeding.  Keeping weeds in the garden at bay is an almost daily task.  I am pleased that the garden is doing quite well at this point.   These are some of the grapes on the grapevine.  There are an abundance of grapes on the vine and I am really looking forward to having them ripen and be ready to enjoy!

There are also some little green tomatoes I am looking forward to eating in a few weeks!

I am continuing to go through books to get rid of some I don't want to keep and move when we sell our current home.  Going through and donating clothing items I no longer want is also an ongoing task that I made some progress on Friday morning.  As I see books I don't think I really want to read, into the box they go.  We take them to a used bookstore to turn in for credit and the idea is to come home with far fewer books than we take in to trade.  

This is the rocking chair Charly gave me for Christmas back in 1980 when I was pregnant with our first child, Amber, who turned 44 in May.  The rocking chair has been well used and loved, but it now needs some repair, so we loaded it in the car and took it to a vintage furniture repair shop.  The owner of the repair shop is a real craftsman in furniture repair. He has done some work for us in the past and I know he will make this rocking chair almost like new. 

After delivering the rocking chair to the repair shop, we took some cans and other metal things we had been accumulating (like our old kitchen sink) to a nearby recycling company. We didn't get much, but it always feels like we are just doing the right thing to recycle. 

When I went to my mailbox on Friday, I was pleased to find this lovely postcard from my blogging friend Faith over at Gold in the Clouds.  Faith has been on vacation in Maine.  It was so thoughtful of her to send me a postcard while on vacation.  I really appreciate it!

Saturday morning, we were up early.  We had a good walk at the rec center before heading down to Utah County. 

One of the reasons we went to Utah County was that Josh wanted to look at apartments there.  This is one of the places we looked at.  It seemed like a pretty nice place and it is within his price range.  We looked at three different places that would work for him.  He thinks he may stay put at our house for a few more months to save up some money. 

We had several places we needed to go in Utah County, but we ended up here at Pioneer Book, our favorite used bookstore.  I turned in the box of books I no longer wanted to get some store credit. The store was also having a special day when every customer could an automatic credit of $10, so that meant $10 worth of books free!  

I turned in a whole large box of books for credit (probably 15-20 books) and only brought two home (these two by a mystery/suspense author I have been enjoying - J.A. Jance), so our trip to the bookstore was a net positive in terms of downsizing my library.

After we got home and ate dinner, I went for a walk.  Saturday was not a hot day and it was a beautiful evening for a walk. These are some of the flowers I saw on my walk. Some are in my own yard. 

While I walked on Saturday night, I finished listening to the audiobook of Original Sin, the new book about Joe Biden's decline.  It was an interesting and troubling book.  I'll review it in my June Reading Roundup. 

Sunday morning was cool and cloudy.  Our church today was a conference with several congregations. By the time church was over, temperatures were still only in the low 50s.  That's quite a change because we were over 100 on Thursday.  

Sunday was a beautiful day.  I took a little nap after church, then went for a walk. 

Sunday dinner was ham and potato casserole (affectionately called "Funeral Potatoes" here in Utah), spring mix green salad with bleu cheese dressing, and Mexican-style corn on the cob.

Josh took charge of fixing the Mexican corn.  He loved Mexican corn from his time as a missionary and Mexico, and it was fun to have him prepare this dish for us.  It was delicious!

After dinner, Josh and I went for our usual Sunday night walk.  It was a beautiful evening - cool and clear.  This is the view of the valley and the mountains to the east from our walking path. 

Weekend Gratitude:

• Enjoying beautiful weather. 
• Spending time in Utah County with Charly and Josh.
• Finding some apartments that would work for Josh.
• Enjoying working in my garden. 
• Walking outside. 

Praying For:

• Josh to have inspiration about where to move.
• Our nation.
• Our military.
• The state of Israel.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

 

End of the Week Favorites and Gratitude

It's always good to take some time to look back over the past week and give thanks for the good things and blessings we have received.  To do this, I am joining again with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five. 

😊 I had my annual routine eye exam this past week, and I am so grateful that the ophthalmologist said that my eyes continue to be healthy with no new problems. I don't really enjoy eye exams, especially the eye dilation part, so I am grateful to have this exam over for another year. 

😊 We had a little plumbing problem this past week.  A clogged drain pipe rendered our upstairs bathroom unusable.  I'm grateful that the downstairs bathroom was not affected, and that we found a plumber who came out the next morning and fixed the problem in the upstairs bathroom in just a couple of hours.  I'm also grateful that the cost was less money than we expected it to be.  

😊 We finally got the street we live on resurfaced this week. This has been needing to be done for a while, and the city kept scheduling it, then canceling and postponing the resurfacing. This was a problem because the street was closed and no one could park or drive on it for an entire day and night. For us, this meant we had to park our car about a block away and walk back and forth to our house.  It was quite inconvenient so I am grateful that this necessary maintenance is finally finished. 

😊 This past week was Josh's birthday.  I am grateful for Josh, and the awesome young man he has become. 

😊 We took Josh out for a special birthday dinner the day after his birthday (he was off from work that day).  He chose to go to an Asian noodle bar for his birthday meal and the food was delicious.  I am grateful that we had a nice family dinner out together to celebrate our youngest son. 

😊 My backyard garden is doing quite well this year.  I am grateful for that, and I am especially grateful for the multitude of grapes that are growing on the vine in the foreground of the pictures.  I have had grapes from this vine before and they are delicious!  

😊 These beautiful Day Lilies, that I planted last year in my front garden, are out in bloom now and they are stunning.  When I planted the lily plant last year, it didn't do great at first and I didn't have a lot of hope for it, so I am grateful that it survived and is doing so well this summer. 

Thanks for stopping by to share the good.  I hope that you have had many blessings, great and small, this past week as well.  Have a great weekend.

Until next time, 

😊Deb💖