Have you ever listened to an Audio Book?  I have been, over the last few months, when I have been at Eldest’s work and about two have been successful the others not so much!  Quite a few have ended and I thought well the author didn’t know how to end that and one I actually did not finish!!!!  I have started a new one this week and I am hoping that this one will be better.  However I have been finding with actual books the same problem with them, the story goes along quite well and we get to the end of it is rushed as if they did not know what to do!

Anyway  I have done well with reading this month not only a book from my TBR shelf but Jayne’s and my Book Club Book as well! 

I have read quite a few of Karen Rose’s books and loved them.  This is the second book about Kit McKittrick Homicide Detective in San Diego where she is called to a dead body at The Shady Oaks Retirement Home.  The body turns out to be retired Detective Frank Flynn and Kit wonders if he was investigating something, then the head of security is also found dead, will Kit be able to find out who the Murderer is before anyone else dies?

It is a good old mystery book and well written.

This was Jayne’s pick for our Book Club for April.  I have read a few of Harlan Coben’s books before and enjoyed them and quite a few have been made into mini dramas on Netflix. I read this along with the book above and did manage to keep both stories separate!  “Six Years” begins with a wedding of Natalie to Todd attended by Jake Fisher.  Natalie is the love of Jake’s life and he is heartbroken watching her marry Todd.  After the wedding Nataliie approaches him and tells him not to look for her or try and contact her ever again, Jake promises but six year’s later he sees an Obituary for Todd and feels that he should now contact Natalie and offer his condolences.  He turns up at the funeral only to find a different woman and two children at the grave side and it is not Natalie!  Where is she and why is she not here?  Thus begins a search for Natalie which leads Jake down a very dark road, will he survive and find her?

I did enjoy it and it had a good ending which was a relief after quite a few stories which did not!!!

This is my choice for Jayne and my May Book Club book.  It is another murder mystery but a historical one this time.  The book is set in 1901 and Gabriel Ward, Barrister, steps out of his Chambers on a sunny May morning to find the Lord Chief Justice of England dead on the doorstep.  He is dressed in evening wear but has no shoes on and there is a large sterling silver carving knife in his chest.  The Police have no powers in The Temple so it is up to Gabriel to investigate but how difficult can it be, he knows what to do from his cases in Court but it turns out to be a lot harder and a lot of secrets start to spill out?

I think I will enjoy this and hopefully it will have a good ending and not too waffling!!  I also hope that Jayne will enjoy it.  I am loving our new Book Club and it is definitely making me read.

In other crafts I am still quilting although I did not get any done last weekend.  We were all at Eldest’s on Saturday for family day.  The weather was amazing and we sat outside and had a really lovely day.  Sunday not so good as DH was poorly.  Little Man has not been well so we don’t know whether DH has caught what he has had, but then the MD at the company we work with in Nottingham has not been well all weekend too and DH was with him all day Thursday, so he could have caught it from him!  So we had a quiet Sunday.

Speaking of quilting I have to get on with the Baby quilt as the Baby has arrived, a month early!  So in my defence he is a little early but I will get on with it this weekend.  He is very well even though he is early but they are staying in hospital just to make sure.  I will not be seeing him for a while yet but have been able to see a photograph of him on WhatsApp and he looks very settled.  DH is out both days this weekend at a swimming event, so I will have time then to get things done.

Spring Cleaning has been happening.  I got two jobs done in one when we did the painting of Eldest & Youngest’s rooms.  They look great and as we put the furniture back I cleaned and tided it.  We also painted the main Bathroom but I just need to clean the tiles in there.  At the end of the month is another long weekend and our room and dressing room will be painted and again I will clean everything as it goes back.  Then that will be the upstairs done.  It won’t take long to do the sitting, dining rooms and our Den.  The kitchen is always the worst as there are so many nooks to get into to clean, but it will only take a day to do.  Hopefully by the end of May it will all be done.

DH has been mowing the lawn every week but we need to get in and do some tidying there and also re-do the pots with the spring/summer flowers.  I want to wash them before re-doing them.  We sorted the shed out at the end of last year and that is still tidy and I want to paint all the outside furniture, my grow house and the shed which will be done on another sunny warm day.  I also need to put new compost in my vegetable bed and I am going to plant some salad leaves in there with tomatoes and I am going to try a cucumber as well.  I also want to put some seeds in for next year too.  I am still decluttering and now the weather is getting better, I will be in the garage sorting out the boxes that are in there now.  I could really do with an extra few days in the week!!!!

This week I need to get our business ready for its new year on June 1st but that usually doesn’t take me long!!!  There is a box of shredding I need to do but I can watch something on TV whilst I am doing that!

I hope you all lhad a great weekend and a good week to come. 

Hugs & Love, Susie & Coco xx