This is a great meme to take part in every week and I thank Kimba for hosting it!
I like this meme because it gives me an opportunity to take a look back at last week and forward to next week in both my personal life and my blog and book life! I also like to see what other people are doing and what books everyone is reading.
Last Week–home and blog

Des Moines and house hunting
We spent a long weekend looking at houses, looking a listings on the internet and talking about what our choices were. It looked like we were going to have to make another visit in February though we had a house we were kind of interested in. It was new and the builder was willing to do some extra things for us. The house was nice, but was on a very small lot with no trees, of course! (Most new houses in the Des Moines area are built on corn fields!)
We had one more house we tried to visit, but the homeowners had unexpected company from out-of-town. We finally toured the house two hours before we had to be at the airport. As soon as I stepped inside I knew this was the house I wanted if everything worked out. We made an offer and after a day of back and forth we got the house! I’m so excited, because I think we’re going to love this house. The inspection is next week and I hope nothing major shows up. It was built in the early 1990’s, but is immaculate. Lots of windows and light and a huge yard with lots of trees which I love. We will gradually update a few things as we have money and time. I will move to Des Moines in March ahead of my husband with our cats and some of the furniture.
The blizzard
We got a lot of snow and wind. We have mostly stayed inside by the fireplace watching the snow and reading. I love snow when I can stay inside and not have to drive in it. My husband did spend 2-1/2 hours outside shoveling on Saturday. I kept telling him to come in, that the driveway could wait, but he’s always determined! I took lots of photos which was fun.
The blog
I’m gradually catching up with reviews and other posts on my blog. Also I’m working on answering comments and commenting on other people’s blogs. It’s always fun to read what people have done, read and blogged.
Blog posts
- Sunday Post: Jan 17
- Top Ten Tuesday–New to my TBR
- Waiting on Wednesday–Jan 20
- 2015 reading challenges–How’d I do?
- Mystery Reviews
What I’m reading
Dreaming Death by J. Kathleen Cheney
What I read last week
The Big Brush-Off by Michael Murphy
New–Books, E-books, NetGalley, Audiobooks–purchased or free or from library
[foogallery id=”9701″]
NetGalley
- The Fine Art of Murder by Emily Barnes
- Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor
Library books
- None
E-books
- None
Audiobooks
- Time Salvager by Wesley Chu
- The Fold by Peter Clines
- The Strangler Vine by M.J. Carter
Next Week–home & blog
Our son planned to take the train on Saturday from NYC to Washington, DC. That didn’t happen, but he’s hoping to get down here on Monday morning. We’ll see how that works. He’s bring his dog with him and I’m taking care of him all week while my son has meetings with his company. That will keep me very busy!
Blog posts
- Top Ten Tuesday
- Waiting on Wednesday
- Review
- Sunday Post
What did you do last week? What books did you collect? What are you planning?
Congratulations on the house!
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Thanks, Heather! We’re excited.
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Congrats on finding your house- I hope you will be very happy!! And look at them photos! We had 16 inches here in Washington County,PA, I have one photo I took Friday night-from inside-LOL. Hope you have a great week and stay warm and safe!!
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Thanks, Joann. I think we may have gotten around 2 feet, but hard to tell with all the drifting.
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Stay safe in all that snow! Have a great week!
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So far we have stayed around the house. My husband may have to drive into DC tomorrow morning.It will be interesting to see how the roads are.
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Wow you got a lot of snow! I’ve been watching the reports and it looks pretty intense! And congratulations on the house! That’s exciting, good for you guys. Des Moines is nice.
Enjoy your reads! I liked Time Salvager (had to get through the beginning) and The Fold was different but good.
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It was amazing to see it snow steadily for so many hours. We are excited about the new house and Des Moines.
Glad to hear about two of the books I got! Thanks, Greg!
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So much snow!
Congrats on the house – so pleased you found the right place for you.
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Thanks, Li! We’re looking forward to moving and being closer to our family.
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I’m so happy you got the house! That’s so exciting 😀 Have a great week!
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Thanks, Molly. It’s been a busy and exciting time.
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Ooh Congrats on your house! My husband and I are moving in March/April as well and the whole process is just so exciting!
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Oh, good luck with your move, Rowen. It’s exciting, but also lots of work.
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Congratulations on the house! The corn field comment made me laugh. Here in Alabama most of the new houses are built on old cotton fields which sound pretty similar to corn fields in terms of flatness and lack of trees. It’s not my favorite landscape either. The house you found sounds lovely and it’s so nice when everything clicks. Good luck with the moving and getting settled in. Hopefully there will be lots and lots of room for bookshelves! Have a great week!
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Thanks, Katherine! Hearing about the old cotton fields made me laugh–it does sound very similar. Yes, even though I have weeded my books and don’t have as many as I used to I still need a number of bookcases…lol
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Congrats on the house! Bleh on the snow though. It does make for good reading weather though. 😀
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Yes, I did quite a bit of reading though I kept jumping up to take photos which interrupted things, but was fun, too.
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I am so happy you found a house and that they accepted your offer! That is great news. It sounds like you have made good use of your time what with all the snow. I love the idea of settling in with a book while warm inside while it’s snowing or raining outside. We don’t get snow where I live–only rain when we are lucky. I hope you have a great week!
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Thanks! The snow is really pretty and I’m amazed at how much there is. It will take some time to melt.
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We got hit hard by Jonas, the blizzard kicked us in the butt. 28 inches fell on us and some of the drifts were more than three feet, we had a hell of a time snow blowing and shoveling ourselves out today!
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Wow! You had lots of snow, too. The drifts were amazing here, too. Even though it’s warming up some this week I think it will take awhile to melt.
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Your house looks beautiful! So warm and inviting, even with all of that snow. And such a large yard too. I hope everything goes smoothly for you!
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Thanks, Laura! We’re hoping things go well.
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