Thank you!! I've been sorting and packing little by little, so it hasn't been too stressful yet. I also haven't even cleared out one room yet, so there's that...LOL.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Wendy!

Right? We didn't plan for all these big things to happen at the same time, that's just how it's all coming to pass. Yikes!

Oh, good, I'm glad you loved A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN. I read it in college and adored it, but nowadays I can't even remember what the story is about. I'm definitely overdue for a re-read. Maybe I should find it on audio...

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lydia!

Oh, wow! That must have been a crazy time for moving and remodeling. I'm just glad we can do all our remodeling BEFORE we move in and not while we're living there. That would be a true nightmare.

Yeah, I think all readers have books they were SO eager to get and then promptly ignored. You're not alone!

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Ethan!

Everyone raves about what a good book it is. I really need to read it already!

Thanks for stopping in!

Moving IS a lot of work. Every time I do it, I swear I'm never going to do it again! LOL. I've already gone through most of the books in my house and I'm almost done with sorting through my daughter's room (it's basically been a storage room since she left for college), so I'm making slow progress on my packing.

Glad to hear you enjoyed CRAWDADS. I always worry that much-hyped books will not live up to their rave reviews. Glad to hear this one does.

I'm excited about the genealogy accreditation. COVID has made it a much longer process than it would have been otherwise, so I'm thrilled to FINALLY be able to do the testing. I don't know that I'll necessarily do it as a job, but I like the idea of having the accreditation just in case. It's also been a good way to learn and improve my skills.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Marianne!

That's what happens to our childrens' rooms once they move away. Even though we moved in the meantime, there is a room we declare the "boys' room" and it has all their books and stuff they haven't taken, yet.

I know what you mean, sometimes the hype is too big and you wonder how they ever got there. This one is great, though, you'll enjoy it.

And yes, Covid has made everything a lot longer. We've been in our house more than two years now and still haven't done some things we would have done in the first year. Not finding handimen doesn't help.

And it's always a great pleasure talking to you, Susan.

I'm very excited for the "after" as well :) Right now, the house just looks like a construction zone. The contractor took out all the toilets last week, so the place really has been stripped! LOL.

Yeah, you can never recapture the magic of reading a book or series for the first time. I think that's really what led to my disappointment. I wanted it to sweep me away like it did when I was a kid and that didn't happen. I'll probably continue with my re-read anyway, just with more realistic expectations.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Carla!

I am not surrpised about your comment. I read another book by JoJo Moyes and had a strange feeling about it. Probably the same reason.

The plagiarism accusation is one of the reasons I've been hesitating on THE GIVER OF STARS. I adore THE BOOK WOMAN OF TROUBLESOME CREEK. It's a great one. I haven't read the sequel yet, although I have it on my Kindle. I just need to actually read it. Ha ha.

Like I commented to Carla, I think I just expected too much of Little House. I need to continue re-reading it with more realistic expectations. Of course, I'm not going to read it now in the same way I did as a kid. It's okay if it's lost a *little* of its magic :) A WILDER ROSE sounds great as well. I'll look for it.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Lisa!

Good to know! CRAWDADS really does seem to be almost universally loved.

I'm just really glad that we're not living in the house we're remodeling! I have a family member who's in the middle of a total kitchen remodel and they've been using a spare bathroom as their kitchen for over a MONTH. Crazy.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Leslie!

Ha ha. The sequel came out a couple years ago. I bought it as soon as it was published and...yeah.

Do you mean you hated how the remodeling turned out or just the whole process of getting it done? Hopefully, the former! It's definitely getting to the tedious point, especially dealing with inefficient salespeople. Ugh. I keep reminding myself that it's all going to be worth it in the end when I have a beautiful "new" house.

Thanks for popping by, Jennifer!

Yeah, we've never done anything like this remodeling project before. We've never built or bought a brand new home and have always moved into homes that didn't need any major work, so this is new for us. It's fun in some ways, awful in others. Ha ha.

I'm glad you loved CERULEAN SEA. I'm excited to read it...eventually :)

Thanks for stopping in, Emily!

Thanks so much! A lot of stressful things are happening at once, so I appreciate the encouragement and vote of confidence :)

Thanks for popping by, Fangirl Flax!

Ha ha. Thanks again!

I'm sure we will get to them...eventually! So little books, so little time...

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Cath!

Wow! Congrats! We purposely undersold our house so we could sell it in "as is" condition. After it sold so quickly, my husband was like, "Oops! We should have asked for at least $20,000 more." Ha ha. We're satisfied, though, as we just wanted to get it sold without having to play any silly real estate games.

I can't remember where in Utah you live, but I know how crazy the housing market is there. My son and his wife tried to find an apartment to rent in Provo/Orem in December and could find NOTHING that was available right away and in their price range. They are living in a nice, reasonably-priced place in Provo now, but that's only because it's my in-laws' basement. Ha ha. Good luck finding a new place!

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Jenni!

It does sound good, doesn't it? I bought a copy because so many of my reader friends were raving about it and then...totally forgot about actually reading it. One of these days, I'll get to it.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Nicole!

Good point. I think I was expecting to experience LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE the same way I had as a child, despite reading through my adult lens. I need to re-read without that expectation. Listening to the books on audio is a good idea. I'll have to see if my library has them.

The house stuff is exciting. I'm just impatient for it to be done. Ha ha.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Sam!

It turned out to be very serendipitous timing because one of the couples who bought the house (it's a multi-generational family) just happened to be in town from another state the same weekend we listed the house. It was meant to be!

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Cindy!

Same! Once I own a book, I feel no rush to read it anymore, so it's easy to get my head turned by the shiny and new. Especially if they're library books that I have to get back by a certain time.

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Helen!

Really? Ha ha. I was SO into the Little House world as a kid. They made me want to be a pioneer (which sounds like absolute hell to me now). I've only re-read the first book in the series, but it's definitely a different experience reading it as an adult.

Thanks for stopping in!

I'll be interested to hear what your experience is if you do re-read the Little House series. It's definitely different reading books as an adult.

CINDER is a fun read. I hesitated to read it to because I'm not much for sci-fi. I'm glad I did, though, because it's a good one. I enjoyed the whole series. I hope it's a winner for you, too!

Thanks for popping by, Heather!

There's no shame in holding a minority opinion! Just makes me more interested in reading the book and seeing what I think.

I'm glad A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN has held up well. I loved it when I first read it years ago. I'm definitely looking forward to a re-read soon(ish).

Thanks, as always, for coming by and commenting, Deb!