FREE: Amazon First Reads Books for March 2021

One of the best benefits of having Amazon Prime is that each month I get a free ebook from the Amazon First Reads lineup.  These books are offered to Prime members exclusively before they are released the next month.  That’s twelve free books a year.

You will find the March pre-release books below.  To choose one of the books for free, just click on the book cover.


Thriller
A Deadly Influence (Abby Mullen Thrillers Book 1) Kindle Edition by Mike Omer (Author) Format: Kindle Edition Book 1 of 2: Abby Mullen Thrillers
A Deadly Influence by Mike Omer

Memoir
I'm in Seattle, Where Are You?: A Memoir Kindle Edition by Mortada Gzar (Author), William Hutchins (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition
I’m in Seattle, Where are You? by Mortada Gzar

Contemporary Fiction

Adulting: A Novel Kindle Edition by Liz Talley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

Adulting by Liz Talley


Book Club Fiction

The Light Through the Leaves: A Novel Kindle Edition by Glendy Vanderah (Author) Format: Kindle Edition 4.5 out of 5 stars 2 ratings

The Light Through the Leaves by Glendy Vanderah


Historical Fiction
The Secret Stealers: A Novel Kindle Edition by Jane Healey (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
The Secret Stealers by Jane Healey

Suspense
Lies We Bury Kindle Edition by Elle Marr (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
Lies We Bury by Elle Marr

Domestic Suspense
The Perfect Marriage: A Novel Kindle Edition by Adam Mitzner (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
The Perfect Marriage by Adam Mitzner

Children’s Picture Book

Julius and Macy: A Very Brave Night Kindle Edition by Annelouise Mahoney (Author, Illustrator) Format: Kindle Edition

Julius and Macy – A Very Brave Night by Annelouise Mahoney


Which book are you going to choose this month?  I always have a tough time choosing; I want all the books as usual.

Amazon Original Stories | Currency Collection | Read for FREE with Prime.

The Moment of Lift by Melinda Gates
January holiday gift guide

Please note:Kindle Unlimited subscribers can borrow these Kindle First books

when they are officially released next month.

You can see all of the previous months offerings here.  I hope that you find an interesting book today!

The Compendium / February 28

 

com·pen·di·um
/kəmˈpendēəm/
1  a brief treatment or account of a subject, especially an extensive subject;
concise treatise: a compendium of medicine.
a summary, epitome, or abridgment.

3  a full list or inventory: a compendium of their complaints.


Here is a peek into our week, in no particular order:

“Things That Zack Tried to Eat This Week”

Warning! If you are eating you may not want to see this photo!

Zyppah Anti snoring mouth piece

This is Denton’s snoring mouthpiece.  They cost $100.00.  Zack chewed it up and ate part of it this week.  Neither Denton or I were happy about this.  There are many others on amazon, but if you or your partner snore, I HIGHLY recommend this one.  We have been married for over 25 years now and Denton has snored every single night of all those years.  I’ve tried to get him to have a sleep study done, but he will not even consider it.  This thing was his compromise.  It works.  Does it completely eliminate all of his snoring?  No, but I can tell you that 99 percent of it is gone.  He also doesn’t stop breathing in the middle of the night anymore.  Okay, my sales pitch is over.  I didn’t mean for this to turn into one, but when something works, I need to tell you.

My laundry helpers.   

Hazel is the sweetest little thing.  But I think that she’s also the most vicious of our fur babies.  She won’t hesitate to slice you open if you get in her way.  If they are playing with a toy, DO NOT try to interfere, lol.  Otherwise, she is the softest, most loving kitty we’ve ever had.

Little Leo in his patch of sun.  Koshka and Hazel were right there with him, but they decided that they didn’t want their photo on the internet today.

Liv and I did the grocery shopping Saturday morning and we stopped by our local thrift shop afterwards.  Sometimes I’m amazed at the things that they have on display.  It also makes me want to know why?!?  Why do they have six walkers at the same time for sale?  I could make up all kinds of scenarios to explain this…..

We have normal drinking glasses at our house, and then we have the big bubba version in glass that Hayden and Denton jockey over all the time.  I spotted this one on the shelf and immediately texted Denton and asked did he want this one to add to their collection.  Why you need 30 ounces of water at a time bumfuzzles me.  I like my water ice cold and by the time I got to the bottom of one of these glasses it would be room temperature.  But that’s how they both like their water, sooooooo.  You do you, is what I always say.  He said yes, BTW, so now they have a silver rimmed, worn version to add to the ones they drink out of.  Yes, I could just buy them a set of six or eight of these giant glasses, but where would they  I get my fun from then?  I like the hunt of the thrift store.  Also between me and Little Leo, all of those would be broken soon and I would have to order more.  Leonard Nimoy t-shirt Star Trek

If you missed my quote of the week last week it was by Leonard Nimoy – whom I love.  I always like to try to include a t-shirt or something when I post them.  I loved this one.  I think Denton should buy it for me.  I wish it came in v-neck though, these circle neck t-shirts choke me.  Now I sound like my mama, hahaha.

After all the snow that we’ve had, it’s raining which takes me to my happy place.  Spring is coming!  Look at the size of that earthworm.  Also – does your dog curl his nails like a human?  Zack can and its very bizarre.  None of our other dogs have been able to do this.  Or if they could they didn’t.  If I’m sitting down when he wants to go outside he’ll come and put his paw on my knee and tilt his head.  Not the best way to indicate you need to go pee, but it’s something.  If I tell him to wait a moment, he’ll curl his nail into my leg like something trying to dig their nail into you.  He has giant paws, so we are working on this rudeness……Schitt's Creek

Last but not least, I posted on Friday what we’ve been watching.  Have you seen Schitt’s Creek?  If you haven’t, you should go read my post and then let me know when you surface again.


So.  What happened in your neck of the woods last week?

If you are interested in what’s been happening in previous weeks, you can see them all here.

TV Time: Schitt’s Creek

Schitt’s Creek.  Have you seen it?

Schitt’s Creek (stylized as Schitt$ Creek) is a Canadian television sitcom created by father and son Eugene and Dan Levy that aired on CBC Television from January 13, 2015, to April 7, 2020.  It consists of 80 episodes spread over six seasons.  Produced by Not a Real Company Productions and Anonymous Content, the series follows the formerly wealthy Rose family’s trials and tribulations. After Rose’s business manager embezzles the family business, Rose Video, the family loses its fortune and relocates to Schitt’s Creek, a small town they once purchased as a joke.  Now living in a motel, Johnny Rose (Eugene Levy) and Moira Rose (Catherine O’Hara)—along with their adult children, David (Dan Levy) and Alexis (Annie Murphy)—must adjust to life without money and with each other.  via

Okay.  I feel like I have a secret and I’m bursting to tell someone.  And I can keep a secret forever and not feel that.  So here it is, with all the squeals and wiggles that would accompany an announcement of this magnitude and all that it deserves.  WE LOVE THIS SHOW!  I’m not using that as a collective we either.  Denton and I finished the last episode last night and before the credits even started to roll he said:  “Let’s watch it again.  Right now.”

From the very first episode you are going to laugh out loud.  But you are also going to fall in love with the entire cast which is what is going to keep you watching until the very end.  They are stellar.  Absolutely stellar.

I could rhapsodize on and on about each one of them; why I love each character on the show, how they play off of one another and the rhythm that they have from the get go, but you should just go watch it for yourself.  They are magnificent and I cried when it ended because I wanted to keep watching to see what happens with them all next.  I can’t think of more telling praise.

Schitt's Creek

You can watch it for free if you have Netflix, but you can also watch it on Amazon.  So, have you watched Schitt’s Creek?  Did you love it as much as I did?  Let me know what you think!


You can find all of the other shows we’ve watched lately, here if you are interested!


 

Quote of the Week: Leonard Nimoy

Quote of the Week:  Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy

“The miracle is this – the more we share, the more we have.”

– Leonard Nimoy


If you like this quote, you may like these other things about and by Leonard Nimoy.Vulcan Hand Sign Salute Graphic Prosper T-Shirt

Note:  This post may contain affiliate links.  Check out what that means to you here.

Mississippi Pot Roast

Mississippi Pot Roast Recipe


I have made this several times now and it is always delicious.  I make it specifically to eat on buns, rolls, or as Denton likes it, on tortillas.  Any way you eat it, it’s yummy!

Here’s how I make it:

I love chuck roast for this and my normal Sunday dinner type roast that I make.  But if you don’t have a chuck roast, just use what you have.  

I put the roast in the bottom of my slow cooker, sprinkle on the ranch dressing package, slice the butter and scatter it around and throw in around seven or eight peperoncini’s.

Cook it on low for seven to eight hours, or as I normally do – about four hours on high. Shred everything in the pot and serve however you deem best.  Anyway you serve it, it’s going to taste divine.

NOTE:  Yes, I know that most recipes call for au jus to go into the pot too.  I can never find it at my store, so I just leave it out!  Mississippi Pot Roast Let me know what you think!

Here’s the handy dandy printable.

 

Cherry Pineapple Dump Cake

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Course Dessert

Ingredients
  

  • 1 (21 ounce can) cherry pie filling
  • 1 (20 ounce can) crushed pineapple
  • 1 box cake mix
  • 1 stick butter

Instructions
 

  • Mix together cherry pie filling and crushed pineapple in a baking dish.
  • Sprinkle the cake mix over the top of the filling.
  • Cut the butter into pats and place over the cake mix.
  • Bake at 350* for about 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
  • Enjoy!

The Compendium / February 21

 

com·pen·di·um
/kəmˈpendēəm/
1  a brief treatment or account of a subject, especially an extensive subject;
concise treatise: a compendium of medicine.
a summary, epitome, or abridgment.

3  a full list or inventory: a compendium of their complaints.


Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Check out what that means to you here.


Here is a peek into our week, in no particular order:

“Things That Zack Tried to Eat This Week”

A glue stick.  He also chewed up and ate part of a plastic coat hanger…I think that the cats are trying to kill him, since they are the ones who keep providing him with these things.  Leo will deliberately throw them at Zack and then watch with interest while I wrestle them away from him.

Our prediction for last weeks weather:

And what we actually received:

Thankfully our power stayed on and it melted within two days.

I found this little beauty on one of our walks a couple of days before the ice.  Spring.  I can’t wait.

This is the bag that I take to the grocery stores with me to keep all the cold stuff in.  As soon as it is emptied I find Leo like this.  

Zack isn’t allowed to be without me during the day – yes he is worse than an infant – so I find Koshka on his bed in our bedroom during the day while we are in other parts of the house.  He will NOT lay on any of the cat beds we have, but this giant dog bed is right up his alley, apparently.

If there is clean laundry to be found on a surface, you can bet there is a cat sleeping on it for me.

A perfect, tiny snowflake.

The ice or wind or both brought this little wasps nest into our yard and Zack has pounced, growled and barked at it every single time we go outside.  Denton said, Isn’t that funny how he knows it something to fear and be wary of?

I made a big batch of my perfect boiled eggs last week.  They didn’t last long.

Leo strikes again.  Sigh.

More stuff off to live at someone else’s house. I checked in with the new manager of our local Salvation Army about the candle containers.  I wanted to be sure that she didn’t just want me to recycle them.  She said, NO.  Bring them on.  She can sell them.  Win win.  Also, how do you store your Christmas ornaments?  I pick up vintage tins like the one above when I can find them.  But this one was weirdly shaped inside.  It had a depression on the top and on the inside bottom, which made the space only about an inch and a half in height.  That wasn’t enough room to hold any of my ornaments, so off it goes.I made another favorite this past week and I just realized that it wasn’t on the blog.  I’ll post the recipe on Tuesday.  It’s so, so good.dexter

On Friday I posted about the show Dexter.  Have you seen it?  Do you agree with me?  Let me know!


groceries

Groceries:  I spent our money at Walmart this week, coming in at a total of $88.93.  I was super excited to find a bag of White Lily flour marked down to $2.09!!!!  I usually can’t even find White Lily flour at our Walmart, much less find it marked down.  It was bleached and I prefer the unbleached, but I’m not going to argue at that price.

Also, do you pay cash for everything, use a debit card or a credit card?  I use our Discover card for almost everything and then pay it at soon as I get home, that way it’s just like using my debit card.  I get cash back from them and I use it for things that I was planning to buy anyway.  My last big “FREE” to me purchase with my cash back was my air fryer.  Now I’m eyeing curtains.  I am hesitating, because, cats who destroy curtains are a thing at my house….

February 20:  $88.93

February 13:  $127.09

February 6:  $102.87


January:  $485.88

Fetch: if you use my referral code QF4TJ, you’ll get 2,000 points when you sign up.


So.  What happened in your neck of the woods last week?

If you are interested in what’s been happening in previous weeks, you can see them all here.

Quote of the Week: Abraham Lincoln

Quote of the Week: Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln

“In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

– Abraham Lincoln


If you like this quote, you may like these other things about and by Abraham Lincoln.LA POP ART Men's Word Art T-Shirt- Abraham Lincoln - Gettysburg Address

Note:  This post may contain affiliate links.  Check out what that means to you here.

TV Time: Dexter

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. Check out what that means to you here.


Dexter.  Have you seen it?

Do you have a lot of time to kill?  Then I have the answer for you.  There are eight seasons of this show and you are going to go into hibernation mode once you start it.  This show is exceptional.

Dexter is an American crime drama mystery television series that aired on Showtime from October 1, 2006, to September 22, 2013.  Set in Miami, the series centers on Dexter Morgan (Michael C. Hall), a forensic technician specializing in bloodstain pattern analysis for the fictional Miami Metro Police Department, who leads a secret parallel life as a vigilante serial killer, hunting down murderers who have slipped through the cracks of the justice system.  via. Warning:  this link will take you to SPOILERS!

You may ask yourself, why in the world would I want to watch a show about a serial killer?  I was very hesitant to start this show myself.  I couldn’t get past the beginning of season 2 of the TV show Hannibal.  I have a great love for Mads Mikkelsen, and Hugh Dancy was AMAZING, but oh my word, I just couldn’t do it.  Dexter is very, very different.  Yes, there is blood and gore but it’s also funny and the relationships that play off of one another is done brilliantly.

I have to say, that in the last few seasons the show is not as stupendous as is in the first five seasons, however, that did not stop us from watching it.  You will be invested in the characters by that point, just like on A Game of Thrones.  Please don’t not watch this show because you know that the creators and writers are going to screw it up along the way.  Very few shows escape this tragedy, and you will be missing an absolutely incredible cast and story if you do.

Also, the first season of Dexter was adapted from the book Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay.  I have read that the books and the TV show diverge after the first season, but I actually have no idea.  I haven’t read the books, which is shocking, I know.

dexter

So, have you watched Dexter?  Did you love it?  Have you read the books?  Should I read them?  Have you heard that they are going to bring the show back at the end of 2021!?!  I’m very excited to see what they do with it.  Let me know what you think!


You can find all of the other shows we’ve watched lately, here if you are interested!


 

Be the Good ~ Alex Trebek

Be the Good ~ Alex Trebek

All you have to do is turn on the news for literally 30 seconds to find out all of the terrible, harrowing and disturbing things that are happening in our world.  Everyday I try to find something good that someone is doing in our universe to tell my family about.  Because we need to hear about the good things to offset all of the bad.Paris Loft Be The Good Rustic Wood Sign Decor, White Washed Wooden Framed Farmhouse Wall Decor |Wall Signs

And then I decided to tell you all about it too.  Maybe you need a lift in your day, a chuckle that isn’t at anyones expense, or you just need to take a break from the reality that is our everyday lives.  I hope that this might make your day a little brighter.


Alex Trebek’s wardrobe is donated to charity.

Trainees from The Doe Fund's "Ready, Willing & Able" program receive the donated wardrobe items. From right are Michael Smith, Joseph Calhoun and George Thomas.

If I didn’t already have tremendous respect for the late Alex Trebek, this one act would have done it.  As with most kindnesses, this didn’t cost his family a thing, but I know that the gift will mean the world to the men who receive it.

“During his last day on set, Alex extolled the virtues of everyone opening up their hands and their hearts to those who are suffering,” said Mike Richards, the game show’s executive producer. “Donating his wardrobe to those who are working to rebuild their lives is the perfect way to begin to honor that last request.”  via

I thought it was a lovely tribute.


And when all else fails……go and watch a couple of cute animal videos.  They never fail to bring a smile to my face.  I hope you are having an excellent week.

Chulianyouhuo Believe The Good in The World Shirt Women Earth Environment Protect Short Sleeve TeeNote:  This post may contain affiliate links.  Check out what that means to you here.

 

What I’m Reading: Where the Crawdads Sing

What I’m reading this week: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Dr. Seuss Book Title T-shirt

The story follows two timelines that slowly intertwine. The first timeline describes the life and adventures of a young girl named Kya as she grows up isolated in the marsh of North Carolina from 1952–1969. The second timeline follows a murder investigation of Chase Andrews, a local celebrity of Barkley Cove, a fictional coastal town of North Carolina. via.

WARNING:  This link will lead you to MANY spoilers!


This book has been on my wait list for quite a while.  I finally picked it up this past weekend and read it in two days.  I liked this book.  I LOVED the sections that encompass Kya as a child.  The writing and the descriptions reminded me of The Clan of the Cave Bear which is one of my favorite – of all time – books.

The consensus on goodreads seems to be split down the middle with people who loved, loved, loved this book and people who absolutely hated it.  And I understand why.  I’m trying to tread very carefully here, because I don’t want to give any spoilers away.  Agatha Christie is just about the only author who has ever led my mind on a merry chase and kept me guessing up until the last page ~ literally!  So it didn’t surprise me that I guessed the ending of the book before I got there.  This didn’t upset me, because I was enjoying the writing so much.  Apparently I’m in the minority on this one.

What I’m trying to say is, you should read this book.  You may or may not guess the ending, but guessing the ending isn’t why I read.  I read to be immersed in another world, to be transported into someone else, and to learn things that I will more than likely never experience any other way.  This book did all of those things for me.  And I repeat, her descriptive writing is astounding and beautiful.

Have you read it?  I’d loved to know what you thought!


Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

 

You can find all of the other books I’ve read this year here!

Map Of Middle Earth The Lord Of The Rings Fabric Canvas Cloth Poster Print For Bar Office Room Wall Print Home Decoration 14x17.99inch

What are you reading right now?  I am always looking for another great book to read.