karenmarie: a new normal with lots of books - XI

Welcome to my eleventh thread of Twenty Twenty-one.

The Good: Family, friends, kitties, books, in constantly-rotating order. Chocolate, too. Governor Newsom beating the recall effort in California.

The Bad and the Sad: The Delta Variant and the reversion to lockdown mentality. I’ve got a terrible feeling that Thanksgiving and Christmas are going to be spent without family again. The first death of a close friend, a woman who had not gotten vaccinated in time – she had the first dose of vaccine the week she started experiencing symptoms and died a month later. Shocking and senseless. The terrible weather tragedies of the summer, the feeling that our strong country’s tiny cracks in our strength have become huge fissures.

The Ugly: The Gang of Psychos. The polarization of the United States politically and emotionally, an absolute disconnect.

I am so glad I’m retired, and am beyond grateful that I don’t have to venture out to work to earn a living ever again. I’ve paid my dues. Every day I don’t have to get up to an alarm is a cause for celebration.

I read and am a charter member of the Redbud and Beyond Book Club, started in 1997. We haven’t met since March of last year, met July 11th and decided to ramp back up in September. However, that’s now off. I am President for our local Friends of the Library (henceforth abbreviated FoL). The Board met in person in June and July and I’m already anticipating that our next meeting, in September, will have to be via GoToMeeting again. Our September book sale has been cancelled. We’ve now cancelled 4 large sales and one small sale. We don’t envision another sale this year without a miraculous reduction in infections/deaths from the Delta Variant.

I have been married to Bill for 30 years and am mother to Jenna, 28, who lives in Asheville now. Bill and I live in our own little corner of paradise on 8 acres in central North Carolina USA.

We have three kitties. Current pictures of all three. L to R: Inara - 14, Zoe - 3, Wash – almost 2.



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No theme for pictures although I do like posting ones of family members. Circa 1954 – my mother, paternal grandmother, me, and my father.



My goal last year was 100 books and I exceeded it by 24. This year’s goal will be 100 again. It’s a good goal, not too stressful and not too comfortable. No page goal, just tracking. I seem to read around 30000 pages per year and surpassed that too, last year, by 3,869 pages.

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I’ve started my personal Miss Marple challenge – all books by Agatha Christie featuring Miss Marple. I’ve already read two.

New this year: With Julia’s blessing, I’ve taken over the Dick Francis Shared Read, now in its 3rd year. Here’s the link: Third Race at the LT Racetrack: a Dick Francis SHARED Read. I’m hoping 3 years is good and everybody’s content with it gracefully ending or someone else willing to take over.

Every year I buy a new Lett’s Week to View Desk Diary. The first thing I do when I get it is to put in my name, address, phone number, and email address in case it needs to be returned to me, although it hasn’t gone out of the house since a meeting at the Library in February. Next, I transfer my voter registration card from last year’s to this year’s diary. I then write “God does not make bargains, but She does dispense grace.” across the top of the left inside front cover. Finally, I print out and tape in the two following quotes. The first I think I found in an old Ann Landers column and I don’t remember where I found the second one. But I’ve had both for decades and read them often.

On This Day

Mend a quarrel.
Search out a forgotten friend.
Dismiss a suspicion and replace it with trust.
Write a letter to someone who misses you.
Encourage a youth who has lost faith.
Keep a promise.
Forget an old grudge.
Examine your demands on others and vow to reduce them.
Fight for a principle.
Express your gratitude.
Overcome an old fear.
Take two minutes to appreciate the beauty of nature.
Tell someone you love them.
Tell them again,
And again,
And again.

**********

Whatever you do, death occurs. But if you have lived with a sense of reality and gratitude towards life, then you can leave the dignity of your life behind you, so that your relatives, your friends, and your children can appreciate who you were.

**********
2021 – a new normal with lots of books.

books read

January
1. Washington's Farewell Address and Webster's Bunker Hill Orations, Introduction and Notes by William T. Peck 1/8/21 1/9/21 172 pages hardcover
2. Banker by Dick Francis 1/3/21 1/12/21 303 pages mass market paperback
3. Christmas Beau by Mary Balogh 1/16/21 1/18/21 224 pages mass market paperback
4. If Death Ever Slept by Rex Stout 1/22/21 1/25/21186 pages hardcover
5. The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths 1/25/21 1/28/21 342 pages hardcover
6. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn 1/29/21 1/30/21 438 pages trade paperback
7. The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths 1/28/21 2/2/21 352 pages hardcover, Kindle

February
8. The Distant Echo by Val McDermid 2/5/21 2/10/21 450 pages mass market paperback
9. Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo 2/11/21 2/12/21 353 pages trade paperback
10. Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn 1/15/21 2/15/21 373 pages hardcover
11. And Four to Go by Rex Stout 2/13/21 2/16/21 150 pages mass market paperback
12. A Promised Land by Barack Obama 11/20/20 2/17/2021 701 pages hardcover
13. Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo 2/17/21 2/19/21 322 pages trade paperback
14. We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper 2/19/21 2/23/21 433 pages trade paperback
15. The Night Hawks by Elly Griffiths 2/23/21 2/26/21 359 pages hardcover
16. A Wealth of Pigeons by Harry Bliss and Steve Martin 11/25/20 2/28/21 272 pages hardcover

March
17. A Darker Domain by Val McDermid 2/26/21 3/4/21 404 pages mass market paperback
18. Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz 3/4/21 3/7/21 417 pages hardcover
19. The Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly 3/7/2021 3/9/21 421 pages hardcover
20. Little Black Sambo by Helen Bannerman 3/9/21 3/9/21 59 pages hardcover
21. Little Black Sambo and the Baby Elephant by Frank Ver Beck 3/9/21 3/9/21 57 pages hardcover
22. Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo 3/9/21 3/12/21 302 pages trade paperback
23. The Skeleton Road 3/12/21 3/17/21 404 pages hardcover
24. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 3/18/21 3/21/21 351 pages hardcover
25. Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron 3/22/21 3/23/21 261 pages hardcover
26. Southern Discomfort 3/23/21 3/27/21 241 pages hardcover
27. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 10/18/20 3/29/21 audiobook 20 hours
28. Win by Harlan Coben 3/28/21 3/29/21 371 pages hardcover
**abandoned Murder At the 42nd Street Library by Con Lehane 65 pages
29. Odds Against by Dick Francis Francis 3/30/31 3/31/21309 pages mass market paperback

April
30. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E.Schwab 3/30/21 4/5/21 444 pages hardcover
31. Fup by Jim Dodge 4/5/21 4/6/21 51 pages trade paperback 1983
**abandoned Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas 56 pages
32. Champagne for One by Rex Stout 4/9/21 4/10/21 205 pages mass market paperback
33. Plot it Yourself by Rex Stout 4/11/21 4/12/21 132 pages hardcover
34. Life of Pi by Yann Martel 4/12/21 4/15/21 325 pages trade paperback
35. Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar 4/16/21 201 pages hardcover
36. Three at Wolfe's Door by Rex Stout 4/18/21 4/19/21 184 pages hardcover
37. Up the Down Staircase by Bel Kaufman 4/19/21 4/20/21 355 pages trade paperback
38. Too Many Clients by Rex Stout 4/20/21 4/22/21 188 pages mass market paperback
39. The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewell 4/22/21 4/24/21 340 pages hardcover
**abandoned What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris 186 pages read
**abandoned North Carolina as a Civil War Battleground 1861-1865 by John Gilchrist Barrett 71 pages read, rest missing

May
40. An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine 4/29/21 5/2/21 291 pages trade paperback
41. The Final Deduction by Rex Stout 5/3/21 5/5/21 188 pages mass market paperback
42. Out of Bounds by Val McDermid 5/5/21 5/7/21 421 pages trade paperback
43. The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks 5/8/21 5/13/21 418 pages hardcover
44. Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller 5/13/21 5/17/21 350 pages hardcover
45. Homicide Trinity by Rex Stout 5/18/21 5/19/21 205 pages mass market paperback
46. North Carolina as a Civil War Battleground 1861-1865 by John Gilchrist Barrett 4/30/21 5/20/21 99 pages trade paperback
47. Out of Bounds by Val McDermid 5/21/21 5/24/21 419 pages trade paperback
**abandoned yet again - sigh - Emma by Jane Austen 69 pages
48. Gambit by Rex Stout 5/25/21 5/26/21 206 pages Kindle
49. Killing Lincoln: The Shocking Assassination That Changed America Forever by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard 5/24/21 5/29/21 295 pages hardcover

June
50. Don't Let Go by Harlan Coben 6/1/21 6/2/21 347 pages hardcover
51. The Mother Hunt by Rex Stout 6/2/21 6/4/21 213 pages mass market paperback
**abandoned Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots 150 pages
52. Still Life by Val McDermid 6/4/21 6/7/21 434 pages hardcover
53. Last Seen Wearing by Hillary Waugh 6/7/21 6/9/21 214 pages trade paperback
54. Case Pending by Dell Shannon 6/9/21 6/12/21 215 pages trade paperback
**abandoned Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell 39 pages
**abandoned Archaeology From Space by Sarak Parcak 25 pages
**abandoned Moby Dick by Herman Melville 93 pages
55. Trio for Blunt Instruments by Rex Stout 6/12/21 6/13/21 200 pages mass market paperback
56. A Right to Die by Rex Stout 6/13/21 6/15/21 194 pages mass market paperback
57. The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout 6/16/21 6/17/21 207 pages hardcover
58. Death of a Doxy by Rex Stout 6/18/21 6/19/21 155 pages mass market paperback
59. The Father Hunt by Rex Stout 6/19/21 6/20/21 182 pages hardcover 1968
60. Bonecrack by Dick Francis 6/14/21 6/20/21 240 pages mass market paperback
61. Death of a Dude by Rex Stout 6/20/21 6/26/21 200 pages mass market paperback
62. Please Pass the Guilt by Rex Stout 6/26/21 6/27/21 168 pages mass market paperback
63. A Family Affair by Rex Stout 6/27/21 6/29/21 167 pages mass market paperback
64. Death Times Three by Rex Stout 6/29/21 6/30/21 243 pages trade paperback
**abandoned The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich 58 pages

July
65. The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers 7/2/21 7/7/21 307 pages hardcover
66. Archie Meets Nero Wolfe by Robert Goldsborough 7/7/21 7/9/21 223 pages trade paperback
67. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 7/9/21 7/11/21 304 pages hardcover
68. Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit 7/2/21 7/11/21 154 pages trade paperback
69. A Promise of Spring by Mary Balogh 7/13/21 7/15/21 183 pages mass market paperback
70. Night Film by Marisha Pessl 7/17/21 7/24/21 599 pages hardcover
**abandoned The River Between Us by Liz Fenwick 103 pages
71. Ties That Bound: Founding First Ladies and Slaves by Mary Jenkins Schwartz 7/11/21 7/30/21 356 pages hardcover

August
72. Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley 7/25/21 8/1/21 301 pages trade paperback
73. The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell 8/2/21 8/6/21
74. Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz 8/6/21 8/15/21 603 pages hardcover
75. Three Doors to Death by Rex Stout 8/16/21 8/17/21 136 pages hardcover
76. Hot Money by Dick Francis 8/17/21 8/18/21 423 pages mass market paperback
77. Topper by Thorne Smith 8/19/21 8/22/21 218 pages trade paperback Kindle
78. The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi 8/15/21 8/25/21 2020 289 pages hardcover
79. Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton 8/25/21 8/29/21 349 pages hardcover
80. The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie 8/29/21 8/31/21 231 pages hardcover

September
81. The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz 9/1/21 9/3/21 320 pages hardcover
82. The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie 9/4/21 9/7/21 197 pages hardcover
83. Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard 8/26/21 9/9/21 304 pages hardcover
84. Murder, Culture, and Injustice 9/11/21 9/16/21 262 pages hardcover
85. The Game of Thirty by William Kotzwinkle 271 pages trade paperback
86. The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child 9/17/21 9/22/21 Kindle 629 pages mass market paperback
87. Still Life with Crows by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child 9/22/21 9/26/21 Kindle 640 pages mass market paperback
88. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling 3/30/21 9/27/21 audiobook 27 hours
89. Gone Missing by Linda Castillo 9/26/21 9/28/21 319 pages mass market paperback

October
90. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman 9/29/21 10/3/21 355 pages hardcover
91. Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 10/3/21 10/6/21 Kindle 451 pages hardcover
92. The Book of the Dead by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child 10/6/21 10/10/21 597 pages mass market paperback

Currently Reading:

The Wheel of Darkness by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child 10/10/21 385 pages hardcover 2007
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling 9/29/21 audiobook 19 hours
The Barrakee Mystery:The Lure of the Bush by Arthur W. Upfield 224 pages trade paperback Kindle 1929
American Indians by William T. Hagan 8/6/21 212 pages trade paperback 1961
Religious Literacy by Stephen Prothero 5/5/21 244 pages hardcover 2007
Cumin, Camels, and Caravans by Gary Paul Nabhan 276 pages hardcover 2014 - Sandy McPherson
White Trash by Nancy Isenberg 11/9/20 321 pages trade paperback 2016
The Source by James Michener 10/1/20 909 pages hardcover 1965

books added - 2020 was the great conjunction of adds and culls, both at 128. Keeping the adds down will probably be as easy as it was last year because of the pandemic - no Friends of the Library book sales and no trips to used book stores and thrift shops.

**I spoke too soon - a FoL book donation with me getting first dibs has put me in the hole already.**

00. Friend Jessica - Double Star by Robert A. Heinlein. Given in December, but it offsets the first cull, below, so they're in the 00. black hole.
1. Amazon - Twice Shy by Dick Francis
2. ER - Sergeant Salinger by Jerone Charyn
3. Amazon - The Time Traveler's Guide to Elizabethan England by Ian Mortimer
4. Amazon - A Swim in a Pond in the Rain: In Which Four Russians Give a Master Class on Writing, Reading, and Life by George Saunders
5. FoL member Marian - In the Morning I'll Be Gone by Adrian McKinty
6. FoL member Marian - The Cold Cold Ground by Adrian McKinty
7. FoL member Marian - I Hear the Sirens in the Street by Adrian McKinty
8. FoL member Marian - Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly by Adrian McKinty
9. FoL member Marian - Rain Dogs by Adrian McKinty
10. FoL member Marian - Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty
11. FoL member Marian - The Death of a Joyce Scholar by Bartholomew Gill
12. FoL member Marian - Counterparts by Gonzalo Lira
13. FoL member Marian - The Hellfire Club by Jake Tapper
14. FoL member Marian - Lost Light by Michael Connelly
15. FoL member Marian - Echo Park by Michael Connelly
16. FoL member Marian - The Overlook by Michael Connelly
17. FoL member Marian - The Reversal by Michael Connelly
18. FoL member Marian - Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly
19. FoL member Marian - City of Bones by Michael Connelly
20. FoL member Marian - All Saints by Karen Palmer
21. FoL member Marian - Ripley Under Water by Patricia Highsmith
22. FoL member Marian - The Drop by Michael Connelly
23. FoL member Marian - The Dark Winter by David Mark
24. FoL member Marian - The Last Four Days of Paddy Buckley by Jeremy Massey
25. FoL member Marian - Fair Warning by Michael Connelly
26. FoL member Marian - Reversible Errors by Scott Turow
27. FoL member Marian - Law of Innocence by Michael Connelly
28. FoL member Marian - The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
29. FoL member Marian - Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
30. FoL member Marian - Death Descends on Saturn Villa by M.R.C. Kasasian
31. FoL member Marian - The naive & Sentimental Lover by John Le Carre
32. FoL member Marian - The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen
33. FoL member Marian - The Widow by Fiona Barton
34. FoL member Marian - The Looking Glass War by John Le Carre
35. FoL member Marian - The Spy Who Came In From The Cold by John Le Carre
36. FoL member Marian - Dead I Well May Be by Adrian McKinty
37. FoL member Marian - The Chain by Adrian McKinty
38. FoL member Marian - The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais
39. Amazon - The Duke and I by Julia Quinn
40. Kindle - The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
41. Kindle - Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos
42. Kindle - Legion by Brandon Sanderson
43. Mark - We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper
44. Kindle - Medieval People by Eileen Edna Power - saw it on Mamie's thread
45. Amazon - Prodigal Son by Gregg Hurwitz
46. Kindle - The Chronicles of Barsetshire by Anthony Trollope - recommended by lauralkeet
47. Amazon - The Queen's Gambit by Walter Tevis
48. Kindle - Theresa Marchmont or, the Maid of Honour by Mrs. Gore9
February
49. Amazon - Deacon King Kong by James McBride
50. friend Karen - the President's Shadow by Brad Meltzer
51. friend Louise - Sworn to Silence by Linda Castillo
52. FoL member Marian - Pray for Silence by Linda Castillo
53. FoL member Marian - Breaking Silence by Linda Castillo
54. FoL member Marian - Gone Missing by Linda Castillo
55. FoL member Marian - Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo
56. FoL member Marian - The Dead Will Tell by Linda Castillo
57. FoL member Marian - After the Storm by Linda Castillo
58. FoL member Marian - Among the Wicked by Linda Castillo
59. FoL member Marian - Down a Dark Road by Linda Castillo
60. FoL member Marian - Shamed by Linda Castillo
61. Amazon - Cumin, Camels, and Carabans by Gary Paul Nabhan
62. Amazon - Drive Your Plows Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
63. Amazon - A Darker Domain by Val McDermid
64. Kindle - My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due

March
65. friend Jan - Remains of Innocence by J.A. Jance
66. friend Jan - Dead Wrong by J.A. Jance
67. Kindle - The Decameron by Giovanni Boccacio
68. Circle City Books - Bootlegger's Daughter by Margaret Maron
69. Amazon - The Skeleton Road by Val McDermid
70. Amazon - The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
71. Amazon - The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
72. Amazon - Win by Harlan Coben
73. Kindle - Castle Rackrent by Maria Edgeworth
74. Sanford book store - Shooting at Loons by Margaret Maron
75. Sanford book store - Death's Half Acre by Margaret Maron
76. friend Pam Dennis - A Very English Scandal by John Preston
77. friend Pam Dennis - The Hand That First Held Mine by Maggie O'Farrell

April
78. Amazon - Too Many Clients by Rex Stout
79. Amazon - Refusal by Felix Felix Francis
80. Amazon - The Survivors - Jane Harper
81. Amazon - Blue Nights by Joan Didion
82. Amazon - e.e. cumming: the Growth of a Writer by Norman Friedman
83. found on my shelves - don't know how I acquired it - Defending Jacob by William Landay
84. Kindle - Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham
85. Amazon - What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris
86. Amazon - The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
87. Amazon - Out of Bounds by Val McDermid
88. Thrift Shop - The Golem of Hollywood by Jonathan Kellerman and Jesse Kellerman
89. Thrift Shop - Lady Cop Makes Trouble by Amy Stewart
90. Thrift Shop - Beneath the Skin by Nicci French
91. Thrift Shop - Land of the Living by Nicci French
92. Thrift Shop - The Crocodile Bird by Ruth Rendell
93. Thrift Shop - A Visit from the Good Squad by Jennifer Egan
94. Thrift Shop - Wait Wait... I'm Not Done Yet! by Carl Kasell
95. Amazon - The Final Deduction by Rex Stout

May
96. Amazon - Homicide Trinity by Rex Stout
97. Amazon - Blind Justice by Bruce Alexander
98. Amazon - Nomadland by Jessica Bruder
99. Amazon - The Code Breaker by Walter Isaacson
100. Amazon - Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots
101. Thrift Shop - The Mirror & the Light by Hilary Mantel
102. Thrift Shop - Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
103. Thrift Shop - The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
104. Thrift Shop - Frederica by Georgette Heyer
105. Library of Congress Shop - Last Seen Wearing by Hillary Waugh
106. Library of Congress Shop - The Silent Bullet by Arthur B. Reeve

rather than renumbering from January and February,

107. Amazon - Archaeology From Space by Sarah Parcak
108. friend Roni - Dangerous Visions by Harlan Ellison

109. Kindle - A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby: A Multi-Cultural Historical Regency Romance by Vanessa Riley
110. Amazon - Train by Pete Dexter
111. Amazon - Broken Ground by Val McDermid
112. Amazon - North Carolina as a Civil War Battleground 1861-1865 by John Gilchrist Barrett - replacement for copy that mysteriously stopped at page 71 and culled
113. Kindle - The Jungle by Sinclair Lewis - Mark
114. Thrift Shop - Crisis by Felix Francis
115. Thrift Shop - Later by Stephen King
116. Friends donations reject - The Beat Book: Writings from the Beat Generation edited by Anne Waldman
117. Friends donations reject - Adventures in American Literature 1952
118. Kindle - Gambit by Rex Stout
119. Amazon - The Children of Pride by Robert Manson Myers
120. Thrift Shop - Parade's End by Ford Madox Ford
121. Thrift Shop - More Letters from Pemberly by Jane Dawkins
122. Thrift Shop - Rituals of the Season by Margaret Maron
123. Thrift Shop - Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
124. Thrift Shop - Theodore Roosevelt by Nathan Miller
125. Amazon - Still Life by Val McDermid
126. Kindle - Virginia Woolf: The Complete Works

June
127. Friend Jessica - The Love Girl and the Innocent: Victory Celebrations. Prisoners by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
128. Thrift Shop - Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard
129. Thrift Shop - The Parrots by Filippo Bologna
130. Amazon - A Right to Die by Rex Stout
131. Amazon - Death Times Three by Rex Stout
132. ER - The Hawaiian Romance of Laieikawai by S.N. Hale'ole
133. Amazon - The Dead Letter by Seeley Regester
134. Amazon - I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O'Farrell
135 - 137. Kindle - first three Miss Silver mysteries by Patricia Wentworth - Grey Mask, The Case is Closed, Lonesome Road
138. Univ of Chicago Press - The Daily Jane Austen: A Year of Quotes by Jane Austen
139. Univ of Chicago Press - Socrates and the Fat Rabbis by Daniel Boyarin
140. Amazon - 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed: Revised and Updated by Eric H. Cline
141. Univ of Chicago Press - Knossos and the Prophets of Modernism by Cathy Gere
142. Univ of Chicago Press - American Indians: Fourth Edition (The Chicago History of American Civilization) by William T. Hagan
143. Univ of Chicago Press - Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things by Lafcadio Hearn
144. Amazon - The Royal Wulff Murders by Keith McCafferty
145. Univ of Chicago Press - Rattling Spears: A History of Indigenous Australian Art by Ian McLean
146. Univ of Chicago Press - Who Freed the Slaves?: The Fight over the Thirteenth Amendment by Leonard L. Richards
147. Univ of Chicago Press - Ties That Bound: Founding First Ladies and Slaves by Marie Jenkins Schwartz
148. Univ of Chicago Press - A Village with My Name: A Family History of China's Opening to the World by Scott Tong
149. Univ of Chicago Press - The Thousand-Year Flood: The Ohio-Mississippi Disaster of 1937 by David Welky
150. Amazon - The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal
151. Amazon - Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz
152. Friend Tamsie - The Elements of a Home by Amy Azzarito
153. Friend Tamsie - Midland Club by Mark Spano
154. Friend Tamsie - Cats Cats Cats edited by S. Gross
155. Friend Tamsie - Dead Feminists: Historic Heroines in Living Color by Chandler O'Leary and Jessica Spring
156. friend Tamsie - White Fragility by Robin Diangelo
157. book sale room reject - Unger's Bible Dictionary by Merrill F. Unger

July
158. friend Louise - American Sherlock by Kate Winkler Dawson
159. Ann Sanders - The American Heritage Cookbook and illustrated History of American Eating & Drinking by editors, American Heritage
160. Ann Sanders - Trinity Treats: A Collection of Recipes by The Woman's Society of Christian Service
161. Ann Sanders - Aunt Bee's Delightful Desserts by Ken Beck and Jim clark
162. Ann Sanders - Eating with Etta Cookbook Holiday Recipes by Etta L. Broaddus, R.D.
163. Ann Sanders - The Williamsburg Art of Cookery or, Accomplish'd Gentlewoman's Companion by Mrs. Helen Bullock
164. Ann Sanders - Birds of North Carolina by Thomas Gilbert Pearson
165. Ann Sanders - Marcus Aurelius by Marcus Aurelius
166. Ann Sanders - Endangered and Threatened Wildlife of Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee by Warren Parker and Laura Dixon
167. Ann Sanders - Japanese Proverbs and traditional phrases by Jeff Hill
168. Ann Sanders - Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer
169. Ann Sanders - Guide To Ecclesiastical Birdwatching by LeRoy Koopman
170. Ann Sanders - The Illustrated Encyclopedia of American Cooking by editors, Favorite Recipes Press
171. sister Laura - The Harbinger by Jonathan Kahn
172. Amazon - Archie meets Nero Wolfe by Robert Goldsborough
173. Amazon - The Midnight Diary by Matt Haig
174. Amazon - The Hidden Palace by Helene Wecker
175. Amazon - Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
176. Kindle - The Plague by Albert Camus
177. Kindle - The River Between US by Liz Fenwick
178. Kindle - Summary and Key Points of What Really Happened In Wuhan: The cover-ups, the conspiracies and the classified research by Sharri Markson - by Laurie Bunger
179. Kindle - Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

August
180. Kindle - The Stranger Times by C.K. McDonnell - jackie_k
181. Friend Karen - The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho
182. Friend Karen - Chocolate Every Day: 85 Plant-based Recipes for Cacao Treats that Support Your Health and Well-being by Bennett Coffey
183. Friend Karen - The Chatham School Affair by Thomas H. Cook
184. Friend Karen - Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt
185. Friend Karen - The Old Contemptibles by Martha Grimes
186. Friend Karen - Stories in the Stars: An Atlas of Constellations by Susanna Hislop
187. Friend Karen - The Male Brain: A Breakthrough Understanding of How Men and Boys Think by Louann Brizendine, M.D.
188. Friend Karen - The Dangerous Ladies Affair by Marcia Muller
189. Friend Karen - Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund
190. Friend Karen - Seeking the South: Finding Inspired Regional Cuisines by Bob Newton
191. Friend Karen - I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf by Grant Snider
192. Friend Karen - MAD About the Trump Era by Various
193. Friend Karen - The Agenda: Inside the Clinton White House by Bob Woodward
194. Amazon - How the South Won the War by Heather Cox Richardson
195. Amazon - The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi
196. Kindle - Topper by Thorne Smith
197. Friend Mark - The Orphan Mother by Robert Hicks
198. Kindle - The Barrakkee Mystery by Arthur Upfield
199. Kindle - This Girl for Hire by G.G. Fickling - mentioned by magicians_nephew
200. Amazon - Thus Was Adonis Murdered by Sarah Caulwell - friend Karen
201. Amazon - Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton
202. Kindle - Divine Lola: A True Story of Scandal and Celebrity by Cristina Morató

September
203. Amazon - If You Exist by Lillian Moats
204. Kachergis donation - FDR's Unfinished Portrait by Elizabeth Shoumatoff
205. Kachergis donation - Five Black Lives editor Arna Bontemps
206. Kachergis donation - Gertrude Bell: The Arabian Diaries, 1913-1914 editor Rosemary O'Brien
207. Kachergis donation - Murder, Culture, and Injustice by Walter L. Hixson
208. Kachergis donation - Plain Folk and Gentry in a Slave Society by J. William Harris
209. Kachergis donation - Rose O'Neale Greenhow and the Blockade Runners by George Johnson, Jr.
210. Kachergis donation - Sally Hemings & Thomas Jefferson editors Jan Ellen Lewis & Peter S. Onuf
211. Kachergis donation - The Clerihews of Paul Horgan by Paul Horgan
212. Kachergis donation - The Man Who Wanted Seven Wives by Katie Letcher Lyle
213. Kachergis donation - Virginia Landmarks of Black History editor Calder Loth
214. FoL member Marian - Consequences by E.M. Delafield
215. FoL member Marian - The Children Who Lived in a Barn by Eleanor Graham
216. FoL member Marian - The Young Pretenders by Edith Henrietta Fowler
217. FoL member Marian - The Fortnight in September by RC Sherriff
218. Friend Karen - The Round House by Louise Erdrich
219. Friend Karen - Merry Meet by Isobel Bird
220. Friend Karen - Second Sight by Isobel Bird
221. Friend Karen - So Mote It Be by Isobel Bird
222. Friend Karen - Poems, 1923-1954 by E.E. Cummings
223. Friend Karen - The Drunken Forest by Gerald Durrell
224. Friend Karen - Great Beginnings and Endings: Opening and Closing Lines of Great Novels by Georgianne Ensign
225. Friend Karen - A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud
226. Friend Karen - Love in a Green Shade: Idyllic Romances Ancient to Modern by Richard F. Hardin
227. Friend Karen - An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks
228. Friend Karen - The Basque Kitchen: Tempting Food from the Pyrenees by Gerald Hirigoyen
229. Friend Karen - Hateship, friendship, courtship, loveship, marriage : stories by Alice Munroe
230. Friend Karen - Einstein for Beginners by Joseph Schwartz
231. Friend Karen - Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko
232. Friend Karen - Hillbilly Elegy : A Memoir of a Family and a Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance
233. Kindle - Welcome to Cooper by Tariq Ashkanani
234. Kindle - Swann's Way by Marcel Proust
235. Amazon - The Misadventures of Nero Wolfe:Parodies and Pastiches Featuring the Great Detective of West 35th Street by Josh Pachter
236. Amazon - The Best of Me by David Sedaris
237. Thrift Shop - The Chameleon's Shadow by Minette Walters
238. Thrift Shop - Oxymoronica by Dr. Mardy Grothe
239. Thrift Shop - Think Like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner
240. Amazon - The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
241. Amazon - Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie
242. Thrift Shop - Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
243. Thrift Shop - A Regency Christmas 6
244. Thrift Shop - Stay Close by Harlan Coben

books culled - there are still quite a few books on my shelves, lurking in corners and 3 deep on the shelves, that need new homes.

00. Mi's Day by Mira Vest. Cousin Mira, published in 1947. I had two copies and gave one to my sister. I actually culled this one in December but won't go back and update 2020 statistics.

1. Lost Light by Michael Connelly - upgraded to hardcover
2. The Overlook by Michael Connelly - upgraded to hardcover
3. Echo Park by Michael Connelly - upgraded to hardcover
4. Chasing the Dime by Michael Connelly - upgraded to hardcover
5. City of Bones by Michael Connelly - upgraded to hardcover
6. The Drop by Michael Connelly - upgraded to hardcover
7. The Reversal by Michael Connelly - upgraded to hardcover
8. The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly - upgraded to hardcover
9. The Duke and I by Julia Quinn - won't read any more of the series
10. Field Gray by Philip Kerr - won't read the series - for Peggy
11. For the Time Being by Annie Dillard - for Richard
12. I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming
13. The Brass Go-Between by Ross Thomas
14. Voss by Patrick White
15. The Monkey's Raincoat by Robert Crais
16. Straight On Till Morning by Mary S. Lovell
17. Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas
18. Field Gray by Philip Kerr
10. Champagne for One by Rex Stout
20. The Unlikely Escape of Uriah Heep by H. G. Parry
21. What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris blech
22. North Carolina as Civil War Battleground 1861-1865 by John Gilchrist Barrett - missing pages

bye-bye J.A. Vance!

23. Betrayal of Trust by J. A. Jance
24. Cold Betrayal by J. A. Jance
25. Cruel Intent by J. A. Jance
26. Day of the Dead by J. A. Jance
27. Dead Wrong by J. A. Jance
28. Deadly Stakes by J. A. Jance
29. Deadly Stakes by J. A. Jance I do not know why I had two copies. bad inventory control. *smile*
30. Failure to Appear by J. A. Jance
31. Injustice for All by J. A. Jance
32. Left for Dead by J. A. Jance
33. Partner in Crime by J. A. Jance
34. Remains of Innocence by J. A. Jance
35. Second Watch by J. A. Jance
36. Taking the Fifth by J. A. Jance
37. Trial by Fury by J. A. Jance
38. Until Proven Guilty by J. A. Jance
39. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel - will never, ever read this trilogy
40. Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel - ditto
41. The Mirror & The Light by Hilary Mantel - ditto
42. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots - nope. Not my cuppa.
43. Forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal - duplicate
44. The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich - urp. Boring.
45. We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
46. Sheer Abandon by Penny Vincenzi
47. The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 1: Fort Sumter to Perryville by Shelby Foote, audiobook missing disc 7
48. The Civil War: A Narrative, Vol. 2: Fredericksburg to Meridian by Shelby Foote - don't like narrator, and because disc 8 is missing can't continue with vol 1 anyway

bye-bye Judith McNaught and Anne Rice!

49. A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
50. Almost Heaven by Judith McNaught
51. Every Breath You Take by Judith McNaught
52. Once and Always by Judith McNaught
53. Someone to Watch Over Me by Judith McNaught
54. Something Wonderful by Judith McNaught
55. Until You by Judith McNaught
56. Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught
57. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice
58. Servant of the Bones by Anne Rice
59. The Queen of the Damned by Anne Rice
60. The Tale of the Body Thief by Anne Rice
61. The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
62. Violin by Anne Rice
63. The Capture o the Earl of Glencrae by Stephanie Laurens
64. Chocolate Every Day: 85 Plant-based Recipes for Cacao Treats that Support Your Health and Well-being by Bennett Coffey - will never use and my sister is vegan
65. The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi - I don't have an overwhelming need to keep it
66. Almost a Crime by Penny Vincenzi
67. The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child - too ratty to read, borrowed e-copy from Library
68. For the second time: Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance
69. Swann's Way by Marcel Proust - lovely old copy, just too hard to read
70. The Enchanted April by Elizabeth Von Arnim
71. Forget Me Not and Beautiful Dreamer by Elizabeth Lowell

Statistics Through October 31

97 books read
26 of them on my shelves before 01/01/2021 and not rereads
18 books abandoned, 1301 pages abandoned
29950 pages read
47 audiobook hours
Avg pages read per day, YTD = 99
Avg pages read per book, YTD = 309

Book of the month: The Mandibles: A Family 2029-2047 by Lionel Shriver

Books By Month
January 6 books, 1665 pages
February 10 books, 3790 pages
March 13 books, 3609 pages
April 10 books, 2426 pages
May 10 books, 2894 pages
June 15 books, 3379 pages
July 7 books, 2165 pages
August 9 books, 2982 pages
September 9 books, 2942 pages
October 8 books, 2797 pages - 7 books recorded as abandoned, 327 pages

Author
Male 60%
Female 40%

Living 61%
Dead 39%

US Born 65%
Foreign Born 35%

Platform
Hardcover 45%
Trade Pback 20%
Mass Market 23%
Audiobook 2%
e-Book 10%

Source
My Library 85%
Library 11%
Other 4%

Misc
ARC/ER 1%
Re-read 19%
Series 59%

Fiction 90%
NonFiction 10%

New to Me Authors 36

Author Birth Country
England 21%
Germany 1%
Ireland 2%
Jordan 1%
Scotland 7%
Spain 1%
US 65%
Wales 2%

Original Decade Published
1890s 1%
1910s 1%
1920s 2%
1930s 2%
1950s 6%
1960s 18%
1970s 3%
1980s 4%
1990s 7%
2000s 14%
2010s 22%
2020s 20%

Category
Adventure 2%
Biography 0%
Chrestomathy 0%
Contemporary Fiction 7%
Fantasy 10%
Historical Fiction 4%
Humor 1%
Informational Nonfiction 9%
Memoir 1%
Mystery 37%
Poetry 1%
Science Fiction 0%
Suspense 0%
Thriller 27%


Book Acquisition Date
2007 - Joined LT, added 1853 books 15
2008 1
2009 1
2010 1
2012 2
2016 4
2017 2
2018 8
2019 2
2020 6
2021 41
borrowed from friends 3
Library 11

Rating
2.5 - Average 1
3 - Good 6
3.5 - Very Good 25
4 - Excellent 48
4.5 - Stunning 17

3.88 - YTD Average

September’s Lightning Round

The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz 9/1/21 9/3/21

I took a BB from RichardDerus on this one. It grabbed me from the beginning. The voice of Jacob rang true. I’m not a writer but felt that the writer-ish things about the book were reasonable and the plot! was convoluted enough and TalentedTom evil enough to keep me completely enthralled and entertained.

The Tuesday Club Murders by Agatha Christie 9/4/21 9/7/21

As delightful as I remembered it, Miss Marple confounds everybody by relating village examples to murder cases and other mysteries. I’m amazed that I specifically remembered several of the chapters and even some of the dialog, even though I don’t remember the last time I read it – pre-2007 when I joined LT, for sure.

Killing Kennedy by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard 8/26/21 9/9/21

Fascinating approach to the Kennedy assassination, starting with JFK’s inauguration on January 20, 1961 and ending on January 14, 1964 at the White House with Jackie Kennedy taping a thank you to the American public for their outpouring of warmth in the aftermath of her husband’s loss. I was sucked back into the horror of the events and of course remembered where I was on November 22, 1963 – in Mrs. Greenblatt’s 5th grade class in Hawthorne, California. We’d just returned from recess, and Mrs. Greenblatt told us that she had terrible news. At that exact second I knew that President Kennedy had been assassinated (although I’m not sure I knew that word – killed, probably was the word I thought) and then she said that President Kennedy had been shot.

Although I despise Bill O’Reilly, I was intrigued to read this:

In March of 1977 a young television reporter at WFAA in Dallas began looking into the Kennedy assassination. As part of his reporting, he sought an interview with the shadowy Russian college professor who had befriended the Oswalds upon their arrival in Dallas in 1962. The reporter traced George de Mohrenschildt to Palm Beach, Florida, and traveled there to confront him. At the time, de Mohrenschildt had been called to testify before a congressional committee looking into the events of November 1963. As the reporter knocked on the door of de Mohrenschildt’s daughter’s home, he heard the shotgun blast that marked the suicide of the Russian, assuring that his relationship with Lee Harvey Oswald would never be fully understood.

By the way, that reporter’s name is Bill O’Reilly.

Awfully coincidental, eh? Unfortunately, this is another nail in the coffin of O’Reilly’s perfidy as it’s been disproven by a former Washington Post editor.

However, most of the book stands as a valuable piece of documentation into the Killing of Kennedy.

The Game of Thirty by William Kotzwinkle 9/16/21 9/17/21

From Amazon: When a wealthy antiques dealer is poisoned and ritually disemboweled in ancient Egyptian fashion, streetwise detective Jimmy McShane is drawn into a pharoah's Game of Thirty by the killer. Clever, witty, violent, with several twists and turns that you just don’t see coming. How I wish this was a series instead of a standalone!

The Cabinet of Curiosities by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child 9/17/21 9/22/21

Third in the Agent Pendergast series. I read #5 in November of 2018, then immediately read #s 1 and 2 in January of 2019. All the books in this series deal with evil and magic and the almost supernatural powers of FBI Agent Pendergast. In this case 36 sets of human bones are uncovered during a building project. Pendergast and archaeologist Nora Kelly and her reporter boyfriend are caught up in the madness. I couldn’t read this one at night.

Still Life with Crows by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child 9/22/21 9/26/21

For sheer terror, atmosphere, and unrelenting suspense, this book, fourth in the Agent Pendergast series, has few equals. There’s a terrible secret in a small town in Kansas, and ritualistic killings and strange occurences abound. Corrie Swanson, local girl stuck in a rut, becomes Pendergast’s assistant, and both figure out the secret right about the same time. I could hardly put it down, and certainly couldn’t read this one at night either.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling 3/30/21 9/27/21

Usually my least favorite of the seven-book series, this time I came to appreciate the plot development and sheer writing chops of J.K. Nothing much else to say except that it took 6 months of Covid-related reduction in car time to get it listened to, but every minute was worth it.

Gone Missing by Linda Castillo 9/26/21 9/28/21

4th in the Kate Burkholder series. Kate’s asked to participate in a state-level investigation of missing Amish girls. Well done but more of the same – Kate’s relationship with Tomasetti, Kate’s understanding of the Amish, portrayal of Amish families. Huge glaring clue about two thirds of the way through that gave me the solution to the whole thing. Fun to have my guess confirmed, though.

124 books read

1 Masterpiece
19 Stunning
67 Excellent
20 Very Good
12 Good
4 Average
1 Bad
0 Very Bad
0 Don't Bother
0 Anathema

Best Fiction
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Beastly Tales From Here and There by Vikram Seth
The Standing Chandelier by Lionel Shriver
Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls

Best Nonfiction
Abraham Lincoln: Mystic Chords of Memory edited by Larry Shapiro
Dr. Seuss Goes to War by Richard H. Minear
In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi

Top five overall for the LT Top Five Books of 2020 list:

Mrs. Caliban
How to Be an Antiracist
In the Heart of the Sea
The Standing Chandelier
Dr. Seuss Goes to War

I still can't decide between these two, so here they both are again.

…

Welcome to my eleventh thread!

Happy new one, Karen. Don't we all have a photo like yours in >1 karenmarie: ? I know I do (somewhere!)

I am heading out to vote now and get it over with! Not sure if there will be lineups. If so, I will wait in my car. I am just so eager to get this over and done with. Not optimistic about the outcome but it was so stupid and unnecessary to have an election in the middle of a pandemic when there was still 2 years to go in his mandate. Whatever....

Thanks, Shelley!

I was listening to NPR the other day, and there was a discussion of this election and the politics/strategies/stupidities. I must admit that most of it went over my head. Stay safe!

Happy new one!

Happy new one, Karen! I left a lovely post for you over on Richard's thread. What can I say - it's Monday.

I love that photo of Inara!

Happy new thread! I am getting closer to my own retirement and starting to flip the days: starting with reading and LT in the morning rather than email! Have a wonderful week!

Happy new thread, Karen!

>1 karenmarie: Cats and cardbord boxes, all cats love them. Walsh looks very pleased.

Happy New thread! I confess I missed most of thread #10, so I hope all is well and no horrible things happened while I was doing something else. But I'm back now.

Happy new one, Karen.

>12 drneutron: Thanks, O Mighty Group Administrator! You are greatly appreciated.

>13 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! Ooh, off to RD’s thread when I finish here. Yes, it’s mumbledy-mumble day. See, I try to be respectful. Thanks re my baby girl kitty.

>14 witchyrichy: Thank you, Karen. I’m glad you are already getting into retirement mode. It is a great way to start the day.

>15 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. Wash, particularly, loves hanging out in boxes, but I did catch Inara in the same box the other day. It surprised me.

>16 ffortsa: Hi Judy, and thank you. Let’s see – last thread was my back going out on August 29th. It’s mostly back ‘in’. That’s the worst back pain I’ve had in a very long time. Inara went to the vet and I still have to get a urine sample for the vet, but otherwise than the ongoing kidney stuff with her the vet is pleased with my 14-year old’s general health and well being. Glad you’re back.

>17 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie!

…
Back from the chiropractor, PO, Library (to drop a book off in their drive-thru book drop), and grocery store. I’ve just had two of yesterday’s leftover biscuits cut in half, toasted, with Kerrygold butter (I don’t get paid for this endorsement, but highly recommend it!) and Simply Fruit Raspberry.

It’s temporarily quiet. I think the roofers are eating lunch. The gutters are down, too. That’s another $4500 – getting the gutters replaced, but will be well worth it. It’s only money, right?

Happy new thread, Karen. xx

Agreed, Karen. Money is money, but gutters are NECESSARY! Do you remember my collection of stories about my parents' friend John the Banker, the funniest and least handy man in the world? When he and his wife Ann moved into their new house, John bored holes in his gutters so that they wouldn't rust out. (They had built the new house in part because of my favorite John deed. He tried to replace a washer in the bathroom lavatory using a monkey wrench. When he couldn't get it to work, he threw the wrench down and cracked the toilet so that water started pouring out. Not knowing how to cut off the water, he simply walked left. When Ann got home, the entire house was under 2" of water.) (You couldn't make this stuff up.)

Happy New Thread!

Hi Karen,
I was on a roll with a rant for today (https://www.librarything.com/topic/334910#7608028). It is going to be grim the next 4 years here, I believe.

>1 karenmarie: On another note, I am in total agreement, "I am so glad I’m retired, and am beyond grateful that I don’t have to venture out to work to earn a living ever again. I’ve paid my dues."

Hi Sandy! I literally just finished reading your rant although I didn't leave a message. Before getting to know you and your fellow Canadian LTers I was in total ignorance of politics in Canada, and frankly looked at the country through rose-colored glasses. It was rather shocking to see that there were political divisions, Covid and other things being mishandled, and various and sundry issues - much like here in the US. I'll be following the election results.

Oh yes, being retired is the best thing about getting old. *smile*

What's money for if not to spend? Just don't leave it on the cash register like I did last Friday.

*grrr*

Anyway, not fit for human society, I won't curse your shiny new thread.

Happy New Thread, Karen and hooray for being old & retired. Although, I feel closer to 50 than 60. B.A.G.

Well, I got all excited about Sandy's message and forgot to reply to the ones above it.

>19 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul!

>20 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. Yes, gutters are NECESSARY. It turns out that some of the gutters we had put on after the original ones when we built the house 23 years ago were not built to code, so it’s just as good that we’re getting them all replaced.

I do not remember those stories, but John the Banker sounds like a winner. Holes in the gutters.

>23 richardderus: Hi RD. Oh my. Leaving it on the cash register. I’m sorry.

Visiting is good, you’re not cursing the shiny new thread. I’m sorry you’re not fit for human society. *smooch*

...
Much noise again, the roofers are back from lunch.

I'm debating whether to make brownies or not. I haven't had sweets since Friday. I think I feel better without the inflammatory properties of sugar, but darn! I do love sweets.

Happy new thread!

>20 LizzieD: O-M-G! 😳

Peggy, you're right, who needs to make up stuff like this when you know John the Banker!

Happy new one!

>26 quondame: Thank you, Susan!

>27 SandyAMcPherson: 😀

>28 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita!

Happy new thread, Karen! Love the photos! I think I missed most of your previous one.

Sorry to read that you lost a friend to covid. So terribly sad.

New roof? How exciting. We had a new one put on in the spring and were happy that they got the bulk (read: noisy part) of it done in one day. A few years ago we were away for the day when our neighbor had their roof replaced. The nail guns freaked out our cat so much that she jumped on top of a high corner cabinet and then fell down behind it and trapped herself there. When she fell, she scraped her paw and broke a toenail and almost had to have the nail amputated. Anyway, thankfully, she was calm this time!

This week's fun will be a new hot water heater. We happened to notice (thank goodness) when replacing a thermostat that our current water heater is nearly 14 years old (!). Where does the time go. Now I'm sure that it's going to spring a leak before Wednesday!

Morning, Karen. ^I think we cross-posted yesterday. I have trail watch duties this AM and then I am pretty much open, which probably means book time. We are getting a little rain, which we desperately need but I am not sure it will be enough.

Morning, Karen! Sipping on my first cup of coffee. I did not make it to the Markey yesterday, so now I really need to go today.

>24 msf59: Hi Mark! Sorry about that – you’re right – you posted in the same minute I did and I didn’t see it. Old and retired works for me, although I feel closer to 70 than 68 right now, what with my knees, hips, and back right now. Glad you’re at -10 instead of +2.

>30 Copperskye: Hi Joanne, and thank you. I’m a combination of sad and mad about Michelle – so very unnecessary.

The roofers will probably not be here today and tomorrow as we’re expecting 1-4” of rain between today and tomorrow. But at least it’s started.

Poor kitty to be so afraid without human mom and dad at home. We kept the kitties in yesterday and as soon as Bill is convinced the roofers won’t show up today he’ll open up the kitty door.

Ah, new hot water heater. Better to be proactive than be flooded out.

>31 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark. See above, - sorry. Enjoy the trail watch duties and reading.

>32 Crazymamie: Mamie! ‘Morning to you. Sipping on my first cup, too. Hope the Markey trip goes well.

…
I’m off to visit friend and Friends Board Member Rhoda this morning – she doesn’t drive and we’ll go to the Library and then possibly out to lunch. I’m a tad nervous about the lunch bit, but we’ll see. We're both fully vaccinated and neither is out and about much.

>33 karenmarie: As long as lunch is outdoors, it should be okay. It's indoors with all the trapped air that a respiratory virus will get you. *smooch* for an anxiety-free visit!

Thanks, RD! We did it right, had a great time, and I'm home now, trying to figure out whether to take a nap. It's raining and I didn't sleep well last night, so the couch in the Library is calling.

Oh, I found you a li'l somethin' to lull you to sleep: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8iYJApi594&list=PLXasWXbWx9Z1uKAR8Wle_LqbMY...

Hi Karen my dear, happy new thread dear friend.

>36 richardderus: Thank you, Rdear! I loved it.

>37 johnsimpson: Hi John, and thank you. Sending love and hugs to you and Karen and kitty skritches to dear Felix.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. We could use some more of that rain you are getting. Long walk yesterday, over 5 miles. These volunteers do some truckin'. Much cooler here today. Low 60s. I might do a short solo jaunt and then slip off and see Jackson for a bit. We have a volunteer pizza party tonight.

Hi Mark, and happy Wednesday to you, too. We're supposed to have rain off and on all day. Enjoy your solo jaunt and possible Jackson visit. Ooh. Pizza party. What's a party? *smile*

...
No errands or obligations today. I plan on making serious inroads in my book.

Morning, Karen! Us, too, with the raining. Hooray for no errands or obligations - I did mine yesterday, so today is going to be full of the lazy.

Happy New Thread, Karen!

Great to see the photos of Inara, Zoe and Wash.

I loved the Topper book, too.

>38 karenmarie: ...as the kid goes for broke...
https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=qi+books&ref=nb_sb_noss_1

>41 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Yay for rain, coffee, and books. Enjoy your day of lazy.

>42 jnwelch: Hi Joe, and thank you. Yes, we dearly love our kitties. I have fun choosing the photos of the fur kids. Topper was quite wonderful, happily different from the movie. I'm glad I've experienced both.

>43 richardderus: Hiya, RD! Oh no.... they're all tempting. You just AK47d me with BBs.

...
I just finished The Cabinet of Curiosities, a deeply satisfying Agent Pendergast thriller.

>44 karenmarie:

>45 richardderus: Sigh. Ah, my misspent youth! Sometimes I want it back.

...
And in other news, here are some pics of the books we haven't been able to sell for 4 book sales. I took these pics yesterday when visiting the Library with friend Rhoda.

Happy new thread, Karen. I'm away for a couple of days and you're almost ready for a new one!

>46 karenmarie: GIMME

>46 karenmarie: That is a lot, Karen!
Now these are for the book sale next year?

>46 karenmarie: Wow! That is a lot of books! Looks like Bill's house.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. In preparation, for his doctor's visit, I got to help with Jackson's bath yesterday. He was a good boy but he does not like being lotioned up afterwards, and Bree tried to warm it up, as best as she could. I love this kid. The Pizza Party went well too, despite the cooler weather. Chatted with some interesting people too.

Morning, Karen! Whoa to the books. I couldn't help noticing that a lot of those boxes were originally full of alcohol, which made me laugh. I miss when wine came in those wooden crates - Abby kept ours and made them into her bedroom bookshelves.

>47 BLBera: Hi Beth! Thanks.

>48 richardderus: I know… GIMME. I'm always a customer for the first 2 hours of a sale. It was a condition of my accepting the Treasurer job in 2017. I don’t know how it would fly now that I’m President, but I’m sure they’ll accommodate my overwhelming need for books. Given that we were literally getting ready to cut off donations in mid-March of last year in anticipation of the March 26-28 sale, we probably had ~17,500 books and audiovisual stuff. Have.

>49 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. We always have between 17,000-18,000 items for sale every 6 months and were only a week away from cutting off donations.

We just recently went through an exercise of having Bookteriors come out and give us a a proposal – they’d pay us $1/each for every ‘like new’ book. They estimated 2,500. The rest would be put on consignment and we’d receive 40%. They would do this for 8 months, and anticipated that we’d earn approximately $10K. The Book Sale Team voted down this proposal. We’ll have a sale eventually and the books will stay in the community (mostly, except for the dratted dealers), and we won’t have to deal with donations in the middle of the Delta crisis. I'm also glad that we didn't give our books to an organization whose primary goal is to use books as a decorating item.

>50 msf59: Some of us just love having books around us and have the wherewithal to make it so. I’m one, too. Gotta have books to look at in addition to having them to read.

>51 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Sweet Thursday to you. Ah, baby bath time’s always fun. Yay for the Pizza Party, and glad you got to chat with some interesting people.

>52 Crazymamie: ‘Morning, Mamie! Yes. I wondered if anybody would comment on the alcohol boxes – they are very sturdy and we get them from the county ABC store.

I really enjoyed just being around the books on Tuesday with Rhoda.

...
The roofers are back. They are noisy. It's all good.

Coffee, reading, then a visit to the chiropractor and a Friends deposit at the bank.

Chiropractor-visit-success *whammy*

The noise means business is transpiring, so I'm glad you're seeing it as all good instead of "holyGODDESSESwhataracket" the way I would.

18,000 books *quiver*

HI Karen! Happy New Thread!

Good luck with your chiropractor today. I hope to work in one tomorrow.

Holy cow, lots of books! Our FOL has worked out selling some by a local independent bookstore and a generous amount of freebies in a pergola in the library garden. All books at the bookstore are $5 which is a major price jump from the $1 or $2 on the former shelf by the library's front door. Not to mention that I hardly ever go to town to check out that bookstore ... ah well it's not like I am SHORT of books.

>50 msf59: Hey, hey. Watch that, Mark. I don't collect liquor cartons. What I do collect is not that neatly shelved, sorry to say.

It's raining now. We've been warned the rain could precipitate flash flooding in areas prone to such. I do believe today's scheduled field hockey match will be postponed. I'm okay with that.

Reading Wimsey and Vane in Have His Carcase. This case is a marked improvement over that Red Herrings slog.

>54 richardderus: Thanks, RDear, it went very well. My lower back is almost back to where it was before August 29th. Ah yes, roofing business is good. It’s gorgeous, weather-wise, and they’ll have the roof done by tomorrow. Then, apparently, they’ll still have the gutters and replacing the shingles on the shed and the well house.

I know…. 18,000 books.

>55 streamsong: Hi Janet. Thank you. I hope your chiropractor visit goes well, too. Mine was lovely. I have to remember to not drool or moan too loudly when she’s working on my back, and the roller table – I call it the orgasmatron – is the best thing since sliced bread.

I like what your FOL is doing, but can’t see that working out for us, frankly. We do give the Library all the donated mass market paperbacks, and are still going to revisit the idea of a full sale or perhaps even one-two category sales this year.

I haven’t been in the used book store in town for over a year, and haven’t been in the thrift shops since I’ve locked back down with Delta. Today I had to wait in town a bit to pick up a prescription and thought about it, but then decided to play it smart and not expose myself. Lots of folks in town today NOT wearing masks, drat them.

>56 weird_O: Hi Bill. I hope there’s no flooding where you are.

Oooh, Have His Carcase. A very good one. And every other Wimsey book by Sayers is better than the Red Herrings slog, which I’m happy to report I’ll never, ever, read again.

…
Home again, time for a bit of lunch. It’s lunchtime for the roofing crew, and with the temporary quiet the birds are visiting – Cardinals and hummingbirds right now.

Heading to Roanoke today and discovered the new in early 2020 used bookstore survived. I may have to wander down to check it out although, like you, I'm not overly enthusiastic about going out. I don't want anything to interfere with my planned trip to my parents in two weeks.

My hummingbirds are still around but the numbers are dwindling from the summertime high. Always sorry to see them go.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. No firm plans yet for the AM. Maybe, Bree would be up going on a walk with the baby. Back up to the mid-70s today. It should be a good weekend.

>58 witchyrichy: Hi Karen! Enjoy your time in Roanoake today. I'm glad to hear the bookstore survived, completely understand your being cautious about going out. I had 2 chiropractic appointments this week, and each time - 4 in total - drove by thrift stores that have books in them... but I stayed strong and stayed out. I've got a hummingbird at the feeder right now. They will be leaving soon. It's usually the first week of October or so.

>59 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and a happy Friday to you. Glad the weekend's looking good.

...
The Panthers beat the Titans yikes! Thanks, weird_o, TEXANS last night, 24-9, even though McCaffrey left in the 2nd quarter with a hamstring injury. They were shell-shocked the rest of the quarter, but roared back in the 2nd half. I even stayed up for the whole thing. *smile*

It's a glorious 50F here right now, going up to 74F later on. Blue skies, roofers making noise, first sip of coffee taken. It's all good.

>60 karenmarie: Is this the last day you have the roofers working, Karen? Or will they be there next week again.

The roofers should be done roofing today, Anita. That includes the shed and well house, too. Next week the gutters subcontractor will be out to put up all new gutters.

And after that, we'll be having the house power washed and all the windows cleaned, inside and out. And then a few other things...

Yay for weather goodness, roofers-vacating joy, and FRIDAY!

*smooch*

>60 karenmarie: It might happen, Karen. But your Panthers didn't top the Titans. It was the Texans that got beat. I didn't watch it, as I have yet to master channel availability. But I did begin to dismantle the satellite dish that Direct TV abandoned when I dropped their service.

>63 richardderus: Thanks, RD! *smooch*

>64 weird_O: I stand corrected, although I knew it was the Texans and my hands didn't obey. Thanks, Bill.

edited to add: We have two abandoned satellite dishes on our property - the big one we moved here in 1998 and then abandoned when we got Direct TV. We've also got the abandoned Direct TV satellite dish when we were able to get Spectrum high speed wifi and their Platinum cable package. We use the wiring from the Direct dish for the Spectrum cable feed into the house.

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. I ended up going on a bike ride yesterday, followed up by my first hike with Jackson. Bree and the dogs came along too. It was a beautiful day. My reading suffered a bit but I will make that up.

'Morning, Mark, and happy Saturday to you, too. Busy day for you yesterday, doing things you love. Excellent news.

...
Roofers are done. The kitties are ecstatic because we let them out yesterday afternoon for a couple of hours and Bill opened the kitty door first thing like we usually do. They've already brought in 2 mice in appreciation - one alive and one dead. I wasn't up yet so missed the festivities. *smile*

Ah, first sip of coffee. We've got gorgeous Carolina blue skies and no strangers running around our property. Tuesday or Wednesday will be a new batch of strangers running around - putting up new fascia boards and gutters. Simple pleasures for a simple mind.

I'm finishing up the last slurps of my coffee, have taken two full glue traps to the garbage dumpster, rooted through the undelivered laundry to find mine & Old Stuff's, and watched a really fascinating YouTuber's documentary about the people who've owned the Voynich Manuscript. Which actually led me to a *fascinating* book, The Gadfly by Mrs. Voynich. Free on Gutenberg...apparently her side-hustle was writing the story of her back-door man's life with some light fictionalizations! Ian Fleming acknowledged this book was one of the sources for Bond, James Bond.

Pretty good stuff for before noon on a Saturday.

Happy Saturday, Karen! Hooray fir the roofers being done. I loved your kitty story, especially that last line.

I'll take the simple pleasures every time.

>68 richardderus: You hit me with a BB, and this isn't even your thread. Wicked man!

>68 richardderus: Hi, RDear! I've heard of the Voynich Manuscript but don't know much about it. The Gadfly is free on Kindle today, so although I have no idea if I'll ever want to read it, I acquired it. Free is free.

>69 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie, and thanks. Yes, it was nice to have quiet reign here today. Thanks re the kitty story - I'm always happy when Bill sees kitty stuff first - urp, poo, or critters - because the rule is whoever sees it first has to deal with it.

...
It's been a glorious day so far. And now shrimp, new potato, and corn chowder is getting reheated and I'll be making some sourdough garlic toast to go with.

Brownies got made today, too.

>70 karenmarie:, >69 Crazymamie: Heh. My aim's gettin' better...two with one book-bullet.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. We are going to the Cubs game today, with Bree & Sean. Jackson will be hanging at home with a family member. Sean bought these tickets a few months ago, before the Cubs fell to pieces. It will be a beautiful day in the city and we will make the best of it.

Morning, Karen! First cup of coffee, sitting on the screened-in porch with Craig and Abby. Life is good.

>71 richardderus: Hiya, RD! And it's not even on your own thread, as Mamie noted above!

>72 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Sunday to you. Yay for a Cubs game with Sean and Bree and Sue. Sorry they fell apart this season. My sister was pretty excited when I spoke with her yesterday - there were Dodgers AND Angels games on. Looks like the Dodgers and Giants are battling to win their division and the Angels are out of it.

>73 Crazymamie: 'Morning, Mamie! Coffee, family, and screened porch. Good for you. I just took my first sip of coffee and am looking out at a beautiful Carolina blue sky. Life is good.

I'll be out most of today with my old, old pal Valerie...from high school!...who is visiting. She still lives in Texas and I think her main motive for being here is to get cool. Not that I blame her.

Have a lovely Sunday!

Hiya, RD!

Enjoy the time with your old pal Valerie.

So far so good on my Sunday - coffee, brekkie. I'm toying with the idea of going grocery shopping later this afternoon so I don't have to go tomorrow.

>45 richardderus: >46 karenmarie:
LOL- you guys are hilarious :)

We are 'Springing' it here, hot, then cold. then windy, and today I have lit the fire only just after noon, as my fingers were loosing the will to stay attached to my hands!

Morning, Karen. We had a great day yesterday, despite a Cubs & a Bears loss. It was a gorgeous day in Chicagoland. The only thing missing was Jackson. I hope I can get some time in with him this week.

Go Panthers! It looks like they are playing great.

Morning, Karen! First cup of coffee and LT...so far so good with the Mondaying.

>77 LovingLit: Hi Megan! I'm not going to spend the time to find the thread where we first started chatting, but we've been LT and beyond for a very long time.

Ah, Spring. We're just beginning to 'fall' it enough so that I don't need the air conditioner at night. It's a nice crisp 53F (11.7C).

>78 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Sorry both your teams lost. We watched the Patriots - thanks, Katie! - Rams beat the Bucs, always a good thing for our division. I hope you get some good Jackson time this week.

I'm very happy about my Panthers. They're top of the division. The only other team that's 3-0 is the Arizona Cardinals.

>79 Crazymamie: 'Morning, Mamie! I, too, am on my first cup of coffee, another different medium roast. I think if I grind a teensy bit more for tomorrow's pot it will be as good as the expensive stuff and save us $4.50/lb. I'm perfectly willing to spend what it takes for one of our necessities, but if I can be smart about it, so much the better.

Continued success for your Mondaying!

...
Chiropractor, grocery shopping, pharmacy. Reading. The gutter guys are coming this afternoon. The yard guy might be coming this morning. Too. Much. Is. Going. On. And if my much-loved husband doesn't go to the office at least one day this week I will officially go insane. I need time alone in the house.

Crossing my fingers that your beloved goes to the office at least once this week.

Wishing you good luck with the coffee, and hoping tomorrow's pot is the perfect fit.

Morning, Karen! The credit for the Bucs losing goes to the Rams and Matt Stafford. I think the Rams have a tough team this season.

The Giants lost again, so I'm just giving up on the season now ;-)

>81 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! 🤞 too.

>82 katiekrug: The Rams did look good. Do you have another team you follow if your Giants suck? I followed KC the last two years but they're 1-2 this year so far. Fortunately, the Panthers are looking good right now so I'm excited about football.

>83 karenmarie: - I sort of root for The Wayne's Dolphins, and I have soft spots for Green Bay, Chicago, and Seattle, though I'm not sure why exactly.

Busy little thread here, Karen.
Just stopping by to let you know I haven't abandoned LT! I'm reading escapist cozies lately.

>80 karenmarie: Oh I know that feeling. I'd seriously consider putting up an outbuilding in the back 40. You have a back 40, yes? Ours happens to be 40' at a 40° slope, but hey, hanging buildings are a thing in LA.

Oh yes, things perched on hillsides in LA. I'm thinking of Harry's house in Bosch hanging off the side of the hill. I personally like flat ground.

Yes, I do have a back 40. 8 acres, to be exact. I'm not sure much of it would perk for another house/septic field, though. Sigh. I guess I'll just have to put up with him in the house... Notice that I don't say that I'd move into the outbuilding.

>87 karenmarie: Why would you need more septic field? Same # of people, just a bit more dispersed. My efforts to get Becky to build in our back yard have been loudly ignored. I do so like having her (and Nutmeg) about. Even though she said she'd bring Nutmeg to us for doggie daycare, I doubt that would be a lasting practice.

Morning, Karen. I had a very nice bird walk with my buddies yesterday. We saw over 40 sp. Heading out with them again today. Our fall weather has been gorgeous. For some reason my feeders were completely quiet yesterday afternoon. More squirrels than birds. Weird.

>88 quondame: Good question, Susan! I just asked Bill about it, although I should have remembered Septic 101 when we built this house 23 years ago. Land is perked for the number of bedrooms, not the number of people, which can change. Of course adding a bedroom or mother-in-law house on land changes the septic drain field requirements. Adding a bedroom in the house or standalone house on the land would require that our drain field be expanded.

All you'd have to do is plumb Becky's house for water and link it to the waste water pipes already leaving your house, right?

>89 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Tuesday to you. Yay for a nice bird walk, and enjoy round II today.

I really need to fill the feeders. I think my birds are angry with me, not to be confused with Angry Birds.

...
The gutter guys didn't finish yesterday. The need to put the screens on and reconnect the downspouts. We're keeping the kitties in until they finish, and there is a chorus of piteous meows and lots of running around by frustrated kitties.

Separate news - I called my PCP about Covid booster shots for Bill and me and we'll each get a call back from the Covid shot scheduling nurse.

Morning, Karen! Poor kitties, and poor you. I am thankful that ours stay in because I would worry all the time. And they have absolutely zero interest in going out.

Hi Mamie! The kitties are all hiding out upstairs now, so all's quiet here in rural NC. Bill's working in his home office, the TV's off, and I'm reading and puttering.

I have always had indoor-outdoor kitties, so there's always a low-level worry there, but these three are only allowed out during the daytime. We have a stressful and time-consuming kitty-round up routine every evening, but once they're in and the kitty door is locked, everything's jake.

I'm glad your kitties don't want to go out, because that would be a constant battle if a door was opened and they were nearby.

...
edited to add: Jenna has a washer and dryer closet in her apartment and no washer and dryer. What better use to put it to than to books?

>90 karenmarie: I have a feeling that any significant re-plumbing on our property will be a right nightmare. A group of 13 houses were built about 1970 on the single large property in an already established neighborhood and the electrical and plumbing were as minimal as they could get away with at the time - it took major harassment and threats to get cable installed dispirit the seemingly central location and legal mandate. The back access to our property is close to non-existant and the side passages are very narrow, one having a waiver for our outsized ac units. There is a private school behind us which put up a 7' cinder brick wall along out slope and they aren't friendly due to the really nasty piece of work we bought the house from and mistakes that lead them to dealing with him instead of us after we purchased the property - they wanted to buy the back 15' of our property but never actually asked us, then thought we refused. Then it turns out that the fees for reassessing and resurveying property lines were like 10x what they wanted to pay us, so they gave up but are still mad at us. That they offered us about 10% of what that much land for parking space was worth in these parts didn't make us real eager to help either.
Oh well, I do need a new main sewer line from the house one of these days.

>92 karenmarie: Brilliant!

>92 karenmarie: Clever...I think making use of every nook & cranny is so worth it.

>92 karenmarie: Very cozy reading nook!

>93 quondame: It definitely doesn’t sound like Becky’s going to get her own little house on your property. Too bad there’s bad blood between you and the private school behind you. Thanks re Jenna’s nook.

>94 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy! Thanks.

>95 EllaTim: Hi Ella. Yes, she got an idea in her mind and did a good job with it. It also gets a chair out of the main living area that she wants to keep but not clutter up the living room.

...
Gutters were done by 1 p.m. or so and look good. Bill and I now want a gullywasher to see how well they work.

Checking in at last, dear Karen!!!!

LOVE Jenna's reading nook! She has inherited your use/comfort of space.

We got our Pfizer3 today, the DH and I. We got flu shots earlier. Mama is Team Moderna, so she didn't have to go out. Our health department manages the whole experience very deftly and quickly. I was in and out as a walk-in in 20 or so minutes.

Congrats on the handsome gutters! We could use a gullywasher even without them.

Morning, Karen!

Oh gosh, I *love* Jenna's repurposed laundry space! Perfection.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. We enjoyed our bird walks on the Chicago lakefront yesterday. It was gorgeous down there. Not an exceptional amount of birds seen but enough to keep our attention. Finally seeing white-throated & white-crowned sparrows migrating through. I love seeing both of these. I have volunteer trail watch duties today.

>97 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Glad to see you, my dear. Thanks re Jenna’s reading nook.

I’m so glad you’ve Pfizered up with the booster. My doctor’s office is giving the boosters on Wednesdays by appointment only, and I’m waiting to hear back. Frankly, I thought we’d get called yesterday for an appointment today. We may try to go to Walgreens to get the booster.

>98 scaifea: Hi Amber. Thanks.

>99 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you. Glad your bird walks went well yesterday. Enjoy your trail watch duties today.

…
Coffee, trying to wake up. I cleaned the bird feeders yesterday and also put out fresh hummingbird food, possibly the last of the season.

Morning, Karen!

>92 karenmarie: Oh, I love that!!

Hi Mamie, and good morning to you!

Thanks re Jenna's reading nook.

...
Bill and I are going to go get our Pfizer boosters this morning at our doctor's office.

Whoot!!

Whoot indeed. Now I just have to get over Bill being so upset about it all - we hadn't heard back from the doctor's office yesterday and realized it would be another week before we could get the booster there, so Bill scheduled booster appointments at Walgreen's this morning, which I appreciated. Then, the doctor's office called with availability because of two cancellations, and we decided going there was safer and less stressful than hanging out at Walgreen's with lots of potentially sick people.

So Bill's now cancelled with Walgreen's after much grumbling and complaining about Doctors and the Health Care System and Insurance. He'd also signed us up for flu shots, too, but I remembered from previous Blue Cross Advantage tussles with Walgreen's for flu vaccines that BC Advantage won't pay for flu shots at Walgreen's. This morning I again confirmed that Blue Cross Advantage doesn't cover flu shots at Walgreen's, but Bill says Walgreen's ran the flu shot through their system and says BC Advantage covers the shot. I don't trust either of them, but do know for sure that our doctor's office will give us flu shots, get paid by Medicare or BC Advantage, and we won't pay a dime.

He's making me crazy. And not in a good Mamie-ish way.

Oh, dear! I love your last two sentences - thank you! Made me laugh.

Sorry you're having such a difficult and confusing time with your booster and flu shots. Both are free at Walgreen's here. We got our booster there but decided not to have them done on the same day (although there's no problem if you do, I understand) and will go to our Kaiser clinic next week for the flu. Either case, it has been so easy and efficient I can't believe it after the frustrating, difficult time we had getting our original Covid shots. I'm so glad to be topped up I can hardly describe it, however.

>105 Crazymamie: You're very welcome, dear Mamie!

>106 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba. We've now gotten our booster shots, so easy to go to the doctor's office. I'll get a flu shot at my annual physical in 2 weeks and Bill can schedule an appointment through his doctor's office. Our doctors share a practice, so we go the same place, but Bill's new to the practice and I've been going there since 1998. I remember how stressful and hard it was to get our original shots, too. Heh - topped up. Excellent way of putting it and I'm thrilled, too.

>92 karenmarie: So cozy! What a great design.

When we lived in student housing waaaay back in the 70's (formerly called married student housing) I used the living room closet as a sewing room .. uh nook. I was very proud of a curtain I sewed to cover it so I could close off the mess.

Feels lovely to be 'topped off' with the booster, doesn't it. I had a few symptoms the next day - mostly chills and shivering - but they didn't last long. They were just enough to know that my immune system was behaving correctly to the nasty spike protein.

Just taking The Stranger Times back to the library now, Karen. It’s a good one and the next in the series should be out next year.

>108 streamsong: Hi Janet! My kidlet's got a good eye for things, for sure. Thanks.

Married student housing. Wow. Takes me back. Not that I lived in married student housing, just the concept and phrase.

It does feel lovely to be 'topped off'. We'll see if either of us has any symptoms, but as you say, any at all are an indication that our immune systems are behaving correctly. Dratted nasty spike protein.

>109 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! Yay for The Stranger Times. Good to know that there will be a second out next year.

>107 karenmarie: Yes, this was the total opposite from our first shot where I spent weeks trying to get an appointment and finally drove 300 miles each way to get the shot. Took about 5 minutes to get appointments for both of us and the Walgreens we went to is about 4 miles from home. No line there, just sign the form and go into the "privacy" room where the pharmacist came and gave us the shot. No reaction either except the following day the site itself was vaguely sore when pushed on (sort of like a minor bruise).

>92 karenmarie: What a nice little reading nook.

>104 karenmarie: SMDH the "healthcare" "system" here in the USA is awful, but that idiocy about who'll pay for a bloody necessary vaccine that's identical no matter whose retail establishment it's administered within...!!

>92 karenmarie: Excellent! Her mother's child indeed.

Exhausted from eating lobster rolls, pounds of bacon, goboodles of sausage with potatoes and peppers, and this afternoon the cinnabon pancakes...pancake batter surrounding the cinnamon swirl bits of a Cinnabon bun.

Three of them.

Drenched in real butter.

Oh, Karen. I cannot marry them, as I have eaten each and every speck of them, but were I able to, I would.

Mine were darker in the pancake batter, therefore better.

>113 richardderus: OMG those look and sound delicious!

>92 karenmarie: Too small. Sorry, but it's just too small. Me? I take up vast spaces when I read.

>113 richardderus: Oh lordy, Richard. Those things would launch my blood sugar higher than a Space-X missile. And nuke my kidneys in the bargain. Glad you could enjoy them so I don't even to think about it.

Karen, When perusing through the books you read thus far, I see Lilly and the Octopus. I loved that book!!!!

Woot for booster shots! My parents got theirs a couple of days ago and that makes me happy.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. I hope Bill gets these "shots" sorted out. I will have to find out when I can get my booster, although I am not 65 yet. No birding or hiking today. Just a couple of errands and lunch with a friend.

Mark your calendar- for Swann's Way in November. I will have to get a copy.

*ETA- I just snagged a Kindle copy.

>111 RebaRelishesReading: I remember you and your husband driving those 300 miles, Rebqa. Over mountains, too, wasn’t it? So glad the booster was easy.

So far I’m about the same as you – vaguely sore when pushed on but otherwise no side effects.

>112 BLBera: Hi Beth! She’s very pleased with it, as she should be, and I’m reminded that she has aesthetic sense.

>113 richardderus: Hiya, RD! The woman I spoke with at BC Advantage started the grievance process on my complaint. I was nice yesterday – didn’t call it a pissing contest between Walgreen’s and BC Advantage, only called it a hissy fit.

Yup. My kid.

Yum to the food, yum to Valerie’s visit. Oh my to the cinnabon pancakes. Just, oh my. I remember the first time I had a Cinnabon. A co-worker was staggered that I'd never had one and brought one for me. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.

>114 quondame: They should would go great with your morning beverage of choice, wouldn’t they, Susan?

>115 weird_O: Hi Bill. My child mostly set it up to get the chair out of the way and get more of her books out, but she’s a small person, unlike both her parents, and I envision her reading there. She wears size 4 pants and XS shirts. My left arm wears XS shirts and my left thigh wears size 4 pants. Joking, but you get the idea. I curl up on the couch upstairs to read at night but hang out in the Sunroom to read and take up vast amounts of space down here.

As a regular diet they would play havoc with most folks blood sugar, but as a special treat I’d love to get my fork on them.

>116 Whisper1: Hi Linda! Yes, Lily and the Octopus is an absolute, unqualified stunner. We totally agree.

>117 scaifea: Woot for booster shots for sure, Amber. I’m glad your parents are in the Pfizer cubed club, too. (I just made that up, Pfizer cubed. Not enough coffee yet, but I’ll let it stand.)

>118 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and a very sweet Thursday to you, too. The only one we both need to get is the flu shot. Mine’s scheduled for October 14th and Bill will have to get his scheduled. Since he can’t go to Walgreen’s although he doesn’t believe that, he’ll have to schedule at our doctor’s office. He’s had his first pneumonia vaccine and will get the second one next year. I’ve already had both of mine.

I hope they open up the booster shot regimen to more age groups sooner, although they’re working on getting vaccine available for 6-11 year olds. I don’t know what the status of vaccine production is in the US right now.

Enjoy your lunch and hope the errands go successfully.

Swann’s Way for November, aye. I have a lovely Modern Library copy, published in 1928.

…
Chiropractor this morning. My goal today is to get the donated Friends books back into the Library. They escaped when Jenna visited May – July and I’d really like to be able to use the dining room again, even if it will only be Bill and me at Thanksgiving. I don’t know if Jenna can get the time off or not.

>119 karenmarie: Hi Horrible! I'm here to tell you that, if there is a restaurant within an hour's drive of you that makes the cinnabon pancakes, it is worth it to do the two-hour round trip (Bill will need to drive back, you won't be able to lift your arms or work the pedals) for a Valentine's Day treat or some such.

How'd the chiropractic go?

Ha! I just posted on your thread, RD. I wonder what kind of restaurant would have cinnabon pancakes? Our eating-out options are thin in the best of times, and now with Covid we've lost two local eateries. Neither made cinnabon pancakes, but still.

I had chiropractic on Monday and it went well, and I go back today for a 10 a.m. appointment.

Even though I railed at BC Advantage above vis-a-vis flu shots, they came through like champs and gave me 12 chiropractic visits by the end of November related to this recent horrible lower back problem. That saves me $20/visit, so saving $480 is quite nice. Today's visit makes 10, and I'm going to try to see if I can save the last two.

>113 richardderus: Whoa! Those look most YUM.

Morning, Karen! Hooray for getting the insurance to approve your back treatment.

Hiya, Mamie! I'm probably going to have some wheat thins and sharp cheddar cheese in the car on the way to the chiropractor when I'd much rather be having cinnabon pancakes. Harrumph.

Thanks re the insurance - it's the chiropractor's office that kept pushing. Bless Candace, the office manager.

Bill mentioned that our BC Advantage plan for 2022 includes up to 20 acupuncture visits for chronic lower back pain. I've never had acupuncture.

Any acupuncture devotees out there?

>121 karenmarie: Hm. Well, here the cinnabon stuff is in all the better diners...the non-Denny's ones...but I suspect you'd have to go to a chain there. I'll ask the Laurel folks who supplies their mix.

In other foodie fun, my Morning Brew newsletter made me snerk hard with this:

Quote: “In tonight’s performance, the role of the duck will be played by a beet, doing things no root vegetable should be asked to do.”

The NYT’s food critic Pete Wells reviewed legendary restaurant Eleven Madison Park’s new all-vegan menu. Seems like he did not enjoy it all that much.

Ha!

>125 richardderus: - That whole review in the Times is worth reading. Many good lines and the end is a kicker.

Hi Karen!

>125 richardderus: and >126 katiekrug: That review is priceless. I love the description of the beet's role:

In tonight’s performance, the role of the duck will be played by a beet, doing things no root vegetable should be asked to do. Over the course of three days it is roasted and dehydrated before being wrapped in fermented greens and stuffed into a clay pot, as if it were being sent to the underworld with the pharaoh.

The pot is wheeled out to your table, where a server smashes the clay with a ball-peen hammer. The beet is cleaned of pottery shards and transferred to a plate with a red-wine and beet-juice reduction that is oddly pungent in a way that may remind you of Worcestershire sauce.

They used to do a similar beet act at Agern, a New Nordic restaurant in Grand Central Terminal, roasting it inside a crust of salt and vegetable ash. That beet tasted like a beet, but more so. The one at Eleven Madison Park tastes like Lemon Pledge and smells like a burning joint.

And the last paragraph, as Katie mentioned:

Eleven Madison Park still buys meat, though. Until the year ends, the menu offered to customers who book a private dining room includes an optional beef dish, roasted tenderloin with fermented peppers and black lime. It’s some kind of metaphor for Manhattan, where there’s always a higher level of luxury, a secret room where the rich eat roasted tenderloin while everybody else gets an eggplant canoe.

...
Chiropractor visit successful. I stopped by the Post Office and there was a Friends of the Library membership renewal. I then got bold and decided that since I got a booster I would go into the thrift shop. I'm happy that the thrift shop requires being masked. It actually surprised me. I found 3 books for me:

The Chameleon's Shadow by Minette Walters
Oxymoronica by Dr. Mardy Grothe
Think Like a Freak by Steven d. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner

And I got a hardcover copy of The Game by Laurie R. King for friend Karen.

I also spent $3 and got a 9 3/4" Amber Depression Glass Bowl. I have four of the green bowls of a similar pattern and this one is the next size up, so they fit into it beautifully. What the heck. Why not. And of course I had to go back and take a picture of all 5.

.

>127 karenmarie: - I love the last line of the review.

Quel bargain for the bowl!

>127 karenmarie: >128 katiekrug: Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.

>127 karenmarie: what >128 katiekrug: said

The bowl will look glorious with that contrast between amber and green!

Such good hunting...clearly the Tsundoku God approves of you, their devotee...nay, votary.

I love the Depression glass; my brother has a nice collection.

>128 katiekrug: Yes, ‘eggplant canoe’. *smirk*

I absolutely did not NEED that bowl, but I absolutely NEEDED that bowl.

I also stopped at the Habitat for Humanity but didn't find anything. I almost succumbed to 12 Wedgwood Potpourri cups and 11 Wedgwood Potpourri saucers for $115. This is Bill's Mama's everyday china, which we don't use but keep in the corner hutch in the dining room. No! No! I need to forget I ever saw them.

>129 weird_O: Yup. The very rich always need to differentiate themselves from the hoi polloi.

>130 richardderus: I just added a pic with the amber bowl to >127 karenmarie:. It does look lovely in contrast. There’s also salmon pink… I don’t have any salmon pink Depression glass. At least I don’t think I do…

Subtle but important distinction between devotee and votary, and I agree that I’m a votary.

>131 BLBera: If I was younger, I’d probably start collecting it, but alas. Not the time in life to start doing so. Does your brother have any Vaseline/uranium glass?

New statistics and lightning round!

>5 karenmarie: and >6 karenmarie:

Am I correct in remembering that you exchanged emails with Amor Towles? He was the subject of a q&a in the Times Book Review last weekend. He told of getting into a fiction writing seminar conducted by a modernist writer named Walter Abish. "As part of the class, he gave us a list of about a hundred novels he admired." Towles mentioned some author names—Donald Barthelme, Italo Calvino, Evan S. Connell, Julio Cortázar, Jean Genet, Elizabeth Hardwick, Knut Hamsun, Milan Kundera, Grace Paley and Alain Robbe-Grillet—but no list. No link to a list. WTH? We need that list. (Well, I do, anyway.)

He did have the list, and he said he looked for the books whenever he was in a used bookstore. And then he says, "I would retreat alone to my family’s summer house, where I would sit on the porch and read one book a day." One. Book. A. Day. Boy, I'd love having that ability to comprehendingly read a book in one day. Wouldn't have to be War & Peace or Infinite Jest or Tristram Shandy. Just a 300- or 400-page book.

Too much to ask, isn't it.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. A Northern Flicker was feeding below the feeders yesterday. I had not seen it in awhile and my red-bellied woodpeckers sure love peanuts in the shell. I am doing a solo bird walk and then I am doing my first solo babysitting stint. Bree is going to the barn to tend to her horse and I will watch Jackson until Sean gets home. I have not changed a diaper in a long, long time. Grins...

Morning, Karen!

I approve of the amber bowl, because of course I do.

Morning, Karen!

>127 karenmarie: Thanks so much for sharing this - I laughed out loud!

Love your Depression glass find, and your green bowls are full of gorgeous! I have a thing about green glass. It's right up there with deckled edge pages. I would have totally bought the Wedgewood. All this talk about finding bargains of collectible dishwater is making me want to reread Savannah Blues for the millionth time - the main character collects and also sells antiques, and the book is loaded with talk about Depression glass and Wedgewood and all that delightful stuff. There is also romance and a mystery and tons of quirky characters. One of my very favorite books.

>134 weird_O: I have exchanged emails with Amor Towles, but I can’t find the email announcing the release of The Lincoln Highway which I know showed up recently, and the other emails are on my old computer. I just cut and pasted your comments about the list into a ‘contact Amor’ message on his website (without the WTH, *smile*) and submitted it. We’ll see if the list wends its way to us eventually.

>135 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Happy Friday to you, too. Very nice. I haven’t seen a flicker in a long time. Enjoy your solo bird walk AND first solo babysitting stint. Have fun changing diapers. Don't forget the diaper or towel over Jackson - cool air and baby boys frequently means a pee event.

>136 scaifea: ‘Morning, Amber, and thanks. Amber approving of amber is a good thing in this wonky world.

…
Bill’s at work today for the first time in forever, and the quiet house is enjoyable. No TV on. I do have a 2 p.m. appointment to get the oil changed in my car, and I may also stop at the pharmacy and use the $25 that just got loaded onto my OTC card. I need loratadine – Claratin-wanna-be. And this is in a different town, so I may stop at the thrift shop and see if they have any books…

Hooray for Bill going to work and you getting the house to yourself! I was here in >137 Crazymamie: but we cross-posted.

>137 Crazymamie: ‘Morning, Mamie! You’re welcome re the NYT article.

I got those green bowls on our honeymoon at a little antique store in Danville VA. They were terribly expensive - $50 – but I loved them then and love them still.

When I woke up this morning I thought that perhaps I should have bought the Wedgwood. But then I looked at my china cabinet. Two things stand out: I don’t have room and I already have 6 cups and saucers to match the 6 of everything else. Sigh.

Have I mentioned that I have 7 sets of dishes? We only use the good china at Thanksgiving and the Christmas dishes at … well… Christmas. The rest of the time we use our Mikasa Garden Harvest. Franciscan Apple pattern is in the attic, and Bill's grandmother's china and Bill's Mama's china are in the china cabinet, as is Mama's everyday, the Wedgwood Potpourri.

I love Mary Kay Andrews. I have 7 by her on my shelves. Deep Dish is the only one I haven’t read yet. Hmmm.

And we cross posted again! I had to go look at the china cabinet...

I'm thrilled at having the house to myself.

Sadness about the lack of space in the china cabinet. And no, you have not mentioned the 7 sets of dishes!!! I have Christmas dishes - Spode Christmas Tree, which I absolutely love because it can go in the dishwasher. We have Craig's grandmother's china in a cabinet in the garage - every time I see it, I remember my Dad saying don't use that, it probably has lead in the paint. For some reason this cracks me up Every Time. We have never used it; on top of my Dad's concerns, it is very ugly. Then I have Longaberger dishes - Craig bought them for me forever ago, and I can never stop using them because I cannot possibly break my way out of them - he got me sixteen of everything!

I also have big love for Mary Kay Andrews - did you know she also has a cookbook? It's fun just to read through but also has some great recipes. We love her Butterscotch Brownies. It's called The Beach House Cookbook.

I could move some stuff out of the bottom of the china cabinet into boxes that will go upstairs into the attic and make room for more Potpourri, but really, I just don't think I want to spend the money. I'd rather spend it on an air fryer lid for my Instant Pot, as an example.

At least all the dishes we have are not ugly, although the Christmas dishes are white with just a swirl of green sorta like a Christmas tree with a gold ball on top. But they were Bill's step-mother's and she loved them so we love them and think of her when we use them in addition to all the other times we think of her.

I did not not know Longaberger did dishes. I have one teensy Longaberger basket, inherited from the same step-mother. They are pricey. I use it for bookmarks. Sixteen of everything. Well. You are set for a while.

I did not know Andrews has a cookbook. Do I need another cookbook? No. I have 144 and realistically only use about 15. Most cookbooks have only one or two good recipes, IMO.

Although that butterscotch brownies recipe might be handy to have...

>143 karenmarie: I have tons of Longaberger - Craig was on a real roll with gifting it to me back in the day, and I do like it, but yes, it was pricey. I do like the dishes, they look like this:



Craig bought them for me just after Birdy was born, and they are in four colors - yellow, green, red, and blue. These same dishes are actually in the background on the open shelving in Monica and Rachel's apartment on Friends:


Third row from the top on the right hand side!

Anyway, they are very durable - we have only broken one plate in all these years. Daniel loves them, so when they get a house they are going to take at least four of everything off my hands.

I can get you that recipe if you want, we also loved her Sweetie Pie Ice Cream Sandwiches which feature an oatmeal based cookie.

Those are quite wonderful, Mamie. And yes, sure, I'd like the recipe! I've tried making butterscotch brownies two times, both epic failures, so a reliable recipe would be great.

When you all come to visit me, I can take you to see the former Longaberger office building, which is a quick drive from my house:

Amber, that's absolutely amazing. I'd love to come for a visit, just in general, but now with the added boost of getting to see that phantasmagorical building.

>124 karenmarie: I'm a moderate fan of acupuncture. I've had some done by someone more enthusiastic than helpful, but before that I had acupuncture as part of my physical therapy for extreme shoulder spasms and it helped a lot. Recently, I was recommended to another acupunturist who seems to be really good, and I plan to go back to her for help with my eternally tight shoulders. I find the whole thing very meditative when done by someone who knows the right stuff.

The friend who recommended the new acupuncturist went to her for lower back pain and it helped. Iris is very skeptical, so that fact that it helped is valuable information.

Thank you, Judy! That makes me feel good.

All this talk of Longaberger is giving me hives. My aunt was one of their cultists sales reps, and for a while, her house was an explosion of baskets and china. I believe she still has the dishes. The baskets are long gone. I think I have one small one somewhere, but they were never my thing.

I love Mary Kay Andrews earlier books, including the Savannah series. I thought Deep Dish was very mediocre, and haven't tried anything since.

>147 karenmarie: Right?! It's incredibly creepy. I think it would make a *fantastic* evil lair for a villain, though. The Basket Case would be his name and his catch phrase would somehow incorporate the idea of sending his opponents "to hell in a handbasket."

Glad to read happy stuff going on with you, Karen! Hooray! for boosters for you both!!! (DH got his at Walgreen's and had to show his latest Medicare card; Humana wouldn't pay for it, but Medicare did. He got his flu shot at the same time. I don't know who paid for that, but not us.) I walked in at the Health Department and was out in a little more than 20 minutes.
Happy for good chiropractic session and those books AND that lovely depression glass. Thanks for the more extensive quotes in >127 karenmarie:. What a great big world removed vast distances from my small, comfortable existence! Another proof of provinciality, I've never heard of Longaberger, but I'm glad that building is there and not here.

>143 karenmarie: I have been losing my *mind* trying to figure out what Potpourri pattern you're referring to...it's Williamsburg Potpourri, isn't it? This pattern:

It's the only one I can recall that they made. I'll wager they still make it, that blank is used for squads of patterns they're still making.

>134 weird_O: I concur, Bill, that's cruel and unusual.

>133 karenmarie: I gandered...you're in a terrific place, many more good'uns than ~meh~!

*smooch*

>150 katiekrug: I admit that I lusted after the baskets for a while, Katie, but they were just too hideously expensive. Inheriting the little one from Bill’s step-mother suits me and I don’t need any more.

My heyday of reading Andrews was 2016 and 2017, but I’m game for another one of these days. Deep Dish is already on my shelves, so who knows? Perhaps I’ll pull it one of these days and give it a go.

>151 scaifea: The strangeness and ego involved in making a building look like a basket boggles the mind. I like the way your mind works, Amber.

>152 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Yes, we’re glad to get our boosters. I wonder if Walgreen’s ran the booster through Medicare instead of BC Advantage for Bill? – we didn’t get the booster there but they insisted that the insurance would have paid for it. Regardless, like you, we didn’t pay for it. I’m glad it was so easy for you to get yours.

I heard of Longaberger through some of the women at work – in Sanford. I actually seem to remember it was Michelle, my friend who just died of Covid.

>153 richardderus: It’s Wedgwood Williamsburg Potpourri, so we’re both right. You’re wrong about its still being made, though – at least, according to Replacements.com the pattern was discontinued in 1998.

And, getting over my laziness, here’s the photo I snapped of the Potpourri shelves this morning:



It’s been a good reading year so far, RD. I have abandoned 11 books for a total of 974 pages, though:

Murder at the 42nd Street Library by Con Lehane - 65 pages
Our Tragic Universe by Scarlett Thomas - 56 pages
What Angels Fear by C.S. Harris - 186 pages
A Duke, the Lady, and a Baby by Vanessa Riley - 130 pages
Emma by Jane Austen - 69 pages
Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots - 150 pages
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell - 39 pages
Archaeology from Space by Sarah Parcak - 25 pages
Moby Dick by Herman Melville - 93 pages
The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich - 58 pages
The River Between Us by Liz Fenwick - 103 pages

*smooch*

>154 karenmarie: My parents had Wedgwood "Midwinter Wild Oats". I remember my mother buying a few every month, until it was complete. Then we got on our wedding the tableware they got at their wedding.

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. The babysitting went well, (it was a short stint until Sean got home). Jackson is so precious. I still did not get to read to him but I fed him and eventually got him to sleep. It looks like I will watch him again on Monday. Yah!

>155 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! What a wonderful story. And, I love that pattern, and especially the shapes of the bowls and coffee cups.

>156 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Happy Saturday. Yay for babysitting and I'm glad you've already got another gig lined up. *smile*

...
Up late this morning, first sip of coffee just taken. I could have easily gone back to sleep but the allure of coffee was too strong. Plus, I made a lemon loaf yesterday. It's good, but I'm still in the market for a good recipe. This one's a tad dry even though I baked it only 'til the cake tester came out clean.

Bill and I will be having a slice as soon as I 'wake up'.

Good morning, Karen!

Coffee and lemon loaf would be enough to get many of us out of bed... :)

>151 scaifea: I love how you think, Amber!!

Morning, Karen! Thanks for sharing the photo of your dishes. I love the cups in the bottom right of the photo that have an Art Deco vibe.

Here's the recipe:

Butterscotch Brownies

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup salted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten
1 1/2 tsp. bourbon (or vanilla extract)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 cup butterscotch baking chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, allowing 2-3 inches to extend over the sides of the pan.

2. Combine the brown sugar, melted butter, egg, and bourbon in a large bowl. Stir in the flour, salt, and baking powder. Stir in the pecans and butterscotch chips.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes, or until the center is set. Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Using the foil sides as handles, remove the brownies from the pan, and let cool completely on a wore rack. Cut into squares and serve.

*These are decadent. Very rich but oh, so good with coffee.

Good morning to you, too, Katie!

I usually make sure I have protein for breakfast, but lemon loaf has eggs in it, right?

'Morning, Mamie! Happy Saturday to you.

Those little cups have an interesting story. I was in Greece in 1979 with my boyfriend-at-the-time, a Greek man who I met in Connecticut when I was waitressing. I wanted to get my mother something authentic, from Athens, and bought those cups for her. I got them safely back to Connecticut and as I was wrapping them for Christmas looked on the bottom. "Made in Germany". Ha. Anyway, they're with me and very well traveled, don't you think? Too bad I don't drink espresso. I've never used them.

Thank you for the recipe. Except for the bourbon, I have everything in the house, so will use vanilla unless I go to town and remember to stop at the ABC store. So inconvenient, so bloody Southern and puritanical. It was much easier to get liquor in California, where all the grocery stores carried alcohol.

Here are the blue laws for NC: Alcohol sales are prohibited between 2 am, and 7 am Monday through Saturday and between 2 am and either 10 am or 12 pm on Sundays, depending on the county. Gun hunting is prohibited between 9:30 am and 12:30 pm on Sundays. In my county I can't buy wine or beer at the grocery store on Sunday until noon.

>161 karenmarie: Oh, I love that story. Those cups are full of gorgeous. I am slightly sad that you have never used them, but they are a very pretty memory.

Sing it sister about the purchasing of alcohol in the Deep South. Such a pain. Georgia has very similar laws - for Sunday purchase, you can't buy until after 12:30pm.

>161 karenmarie: the demitasse in >154 karenmarie: look like a Hutschenreuther pattern...and you don't drink espresso? Why ever not, I wouldn't think the strength of it would be troublesome to you...is it the faff or the taste or...?

>159 Crazymamie: *lalalalalalacaaan'theeeaaaryouuu*

>157 karenmarie: A hit of lemon icing couldn't hurt. But how bad can lemon loaf really be?

Valerie bought me an indulgent cranberry-orange loaf...Entenmann's...while I wasn't looking. I do like it so and it's a fall-only treat. I really appreciate the way the capitalist tools (in the rude sense) still keep some things back for seasonal enjoyment. It genuinely does make it feel special for me.

>155 FAMeulstee: I love that pattern, Anita! Wild Oats was the first contest-winner for me...I registered a bride's gift preferences at Foley's, an old Texas department store, with that pattern and her friends bought it all.

I won an extra commission! Very happy that pay period.

>154 karenmarie: I hadn't remembered that you abandoned Archaeology from Space. I really enjoyed that read, and the author's Twitter feed usually amuses me.

1998! Wow. That's sad to me, the pattern is one that beautifully suits its blank and has colors I think of as timeless.

Happy Weekend!

>146 scaifea: What an amazing office!

>163 richardderus: 'Morning, RDear! what a lovely, long response. Thank you!

I just uploaded a photo of the saucer to Replacements.com and nothing matched. I think this is an inexpensive knockoff for the tourist market. I drank lots of Greek coffee while on the island of Andros in 1979, but I was happy to get back to 'American' coffee. Philistine, I know. And perhaps I haven't had a good shot of espresso.

The lemon loaf is actually better today - had a chance to get moister in the tupperware overnight.

I make an Orange-Cranberry Torte for Christmas that Jenna and I like and Bill doesn't. The two flavors are quite wonderful together, aren't they?

Perhaps it wasn't the right time for Archaeology in Space, but I remember being a tad irritated at her writing style. I bought it, though, and will try it again some time and see if I can make it work.

Ever since seeing it at Bill's Mama's in 1991 I've loved Potpourri. Funny, we don't ever use it. Probably because it's in a corner hutch in the dining room and I never think to pull it out. I'd feel like I have to handwash it, too.

>164 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita!

...
The Carolina-Duke football game is on and, being the good wife I am, I told Bill it was okay to invite his boostered friends over to watch as long as he didn't expect me to hang out in the living room with them to watch something that didn't interest me. I did a quick dusting and vacuuming of the living room so am feeling virtuous. They're running late, but should be here in time for the second half. Wife points!

edited to add: They just got here. They're all in the living room chatting and having a good old time. More power to them. Me, I'm off to read more The Man Who Died Twice.

>161 karenmarie: Interesting that there are all the blue laws and the difficulties with mask mandates etc. I guess it's easier to accept being told what not to do than what to do.

>166 quondame: Bravo!

>166 quondame: and >167 Crazymamie: Good point, Susan. I wonder where we'd be now if we'd have had Hillary as President instead of the evil orange one? Probably leading the world in vaccination rates, many hundred thousands fewer dead Americans, and possibly a much less politicized environment. Still highly politicized, but not as mean-spirited, puerile, and fascist as the GOP has become and thus poisoned our country.

I'm having so much fun with The Man Who Died Twice. Here's a lovely quote:

"More women are murdering people these days," says Joyce. "If you ignore the context, it is a real sign of progress."

...
edited to add: I'll preface this by saying that I put my BookMooch account on hold at the start of the pandemic when I wasn't even going to the post office without good reason. I just got a BookMooch notification on a book on my wishlist - The Book of William by Paul Collins. I don't have enough points to mooch it. I'd have to add 19 books to my inventory to get to the 1 point needed, being -.9 points at this time. Then people would want those books and I'd have to send them and spend money on postage, so I just spent $6.94 on Amazon instead and will get a 'like new' hardcover with free shipping. I'm happy.

>168 karenmarie: Oh, I believe that a Hillary win would have made the GOP base voters even wilder with rage and the leadership no less politicized and poisonous, and though the Dems might not have held the presidency in the 2020 elections we wouldn't have those two POS Supreme Court justices. And yes, fewer dead from Covid, but those would all be laid at Hillary's door.

>165 karenmarie: I myownself am deeply fond of cranberry/orange/jalapeño sauce to disguise the nastiness that is turkey. And that same sauce is terrific as a quickbread flavorer.

Keep trying the Parcak...once its time hits, your interest will be super-engaged.

Use your Williamsburg Potpourri! There's no reason to hand-wash it. Just don't let it heat-dry. (I don't ever recommend using the heat dryer for anything except pots and pans, or poaching your fish.)

>171 richardderus: Cranberry chutney's the thing. Garlic and ginger and a wee bit of cayenne.

Hello, Karen Marie! Peggy told me you said "Hi" the other day, so here I am saying "Hi" right back at you.

>170 quondame: Yes, I agree that the GOP base would have gone wild with rage. But at least we would have had a politician who knew how to govern. The crazies came out of the woodwork with t**** in office, emboldened and empowered by his fascist, irrational, immoral, and unethical actions. The crazies would have been a bit more circumspect with a Democratic President, because they wouldn’t have had permission at the highest level to behave so poorly. And the two POS Supreme Court Justices. Talk about playing politics. Less deaths, more vaccinations, and even with Hillary bearing the brunt of it, of course we’d be better off, COVID-wise.

>171 richardderus: I don’t dislike turkey as you do, RD, and love cranberry sauce, just the old canned variety with turkey dinner and on turkey sandwiches.

I’ve gone back to many books over the years when the timing was better, so I anticipate that this one will click eventually.

Ah, the Potpourri. It might need to come out for a visit soon.

>172 quondame: Yum.

>173 alcottacre: Well hello, Stasia! I’m glad Peggy passed my greetings on to you. I hope you’re doing well.

...
I woke up at 1:30 knowing I'd forgotten to do something important yesterday. Turns out it was paying the credit card, and even though I only paid it 1.5 hours late, will have to pay a $35 late charge. Crap. I blame the football change to our routine yesterday. And no way I could go back to sleep until I knew it was done, and no way I could come downstairs to the computer without stopping off here on LT.

But now it's back upstairs and hopefully back to sleep.

Morning Karen. Happy Sunday. I have to do a quick food shopping and then it will be books and football. I will finally finish up Great Circle. I copied this from my thread- "It is crucial that the Bears beat the lowly Lions today. The Bears have a brutal schedule for the next few weeks. Go Panthers! 4-0, would sure be sweet."

'Morning, Mark!

🤞 For both our teams, and yay for books and football.

I should go grocery shopping today, but I might put it off until tomorrow morning after I have blood drawn for my mid-October annual exam.

Morning, Karen! Sorry about the awake int the wee small hours and the late fee, but at least you were able to remember what it was you forgot. Heh.

Delurking to say Hi.
I got lost in your china pattern discussion and missed the point that started it all. So easy to over-accumulate tableware, isn't it?

>175 msf59: My husband will have a cow and will not bear living with if the Cowboys lose to the Panthers today. Personally, I prefer the Panthers, never having been a Cowboys fan, but do not tell him!

Happy Sunday, Karen!

>177 Crazymamie: The waking up during the night is normal. Fortunately I immediately knew what I'd forgotten, although looking at the time on my cell phone made me realize I was too late to avoid a late fee.

>178 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy! I was at the thrift shop looking for books, feeling a bit cocky after having gotten my Pfizer booster. I saw 12 Potpourri cups and 11 Potpourri saucers for $115 and was, briefly, tempted. That's what started the discussion. Yes, it's very easy to accumulate tableware. I would have had 8 sets, but I gave one to Jenna several years ago.

>179 alcottacre: I don't think I can sacrifice the Panthers win to your husband's mood, Stasia - sorry. I may even pull my Panthers Beanie out for good luck even though it's 76F going to a high of 84F today.

A very happy Sunday to you, too!

...
I'm in the process of making Chex Mix - known to us as Trash, for some reason - for game day. It's smelling up the kitchen in a nice, savory, buttery way.

>174 karenmarie: Oh crap. To both being awake again at 1.30 and the reason therefore.

If turkey only *tasted* of something to me...it's just dusty somehow. Luckily I love dressing/stuffing and cranberry sauce. And brussels sprouts. Y'all can eat your dinosaur and your *gag* yams.

>172 quondame: re: >171 richardderus: what >174 karenmarie: said! Y.U.M.

Oh, Horrible, I feel so torn about telling you this...well...go read Stephen Fry about the Folio Society's new edition of Venetia and may the various goddesses have mercy on my soul.

>181 richardderus: Hiya, RD! When I make turkey it's flavorful and moist. But you don't have to like it... and I like sweet potatoes, not yams, and NEVER with marshmallows.

>182 richardderus: Be of good cheer - I have already read the article courtesy of Paul, lusted after that slipcased edition of Venetia, and rejected the idea of getting it. First, it would get me started collecting expensive editions of Georgette Heyer, which I'm not necessarily interested in doing.

Second, and unusual among LTers, it's not a favorite. In fact, I just looked at my lifetime ratings and it sits at a dismal 25 of 34.

Now, had it been any of these top 8, I'd have been in trouble:
Devil's Cub
Faro's Daughter
The Nonesuch
The Quiet Gentleman
The Talisman Ring
The Toll-Gate
The Unknown Ajax
These Old Shades

>183 karenmarie: *whew* I'm very glad I'm not dog-housed.

hello Folio Society Tsundoku Action Group? I'm claiming the bounty on reporting irresistible titles to addicts

Fortunately Venetia is not irresistible.

Boo hiss. Panthers lost 36-28. So we're 3-1.

Morning, Karen. Sorry about your Panthers. The Cowboys looked tough. My Bears won handily but against a pretty bad team. I didn't make it to the store either yesterday, so I will do that after I babysit Jackson. Wish me luck.

'Morning, Mark. Thanks. They made it respectable, because at one point it was 36-14. Oh well. Have fun and good luck with Jackson.

...
I am getting blood drawn this morning for my annual exam next week, so will leave in about 20 minutes or so.

And I'll have coffee when I get back. I could have coffee now - black, no sugar - but it would be rushed and I wouldn't get to enjoy it at all. Better to wait.

Morning, Karen! I think you are smart to wait so you can properly enjoy your coffee. Falcons also lost and in the last few minutes of the game.

Good morning Karen my dear.

'Morning, Mamie!

Back safe and sound, first sip of reward coffee taken.

Losing in the last few minutes of a game is the worst. Sorry about the Falcons losing.

Hi Horrible, hoping you're fully caffeinated now. *smooch*

I've had my first cuppa and it ain't even noon. I AM ON TOP O' THINGS.

In other news, I watched most of the Penn State foo'ball game on Saturday, the signal drawn from the air (!!). No cable or dish services involved. And I observed not a single play of any foo'ball game on Sunday. Good for me.

Reading about this Weird hoarding thing.

>191 richardderus: Hi RD. I got fully caffeinated, proteined up, and did some good reading. *smooch*

>192 weird_O: Hi Bill. I am impressed - over the air TV. Unheard of. Glad you enjoyed college football and didn't watch pro football on Sunday.

Yes, the weird hoarding is just that. Are you experiencing any shortages? We've got canned cat food shortage, and I'm starting to see shortages on the cracker shelves, of all things - saltines and Bill's Lance Peanut Butter Crackers.

Well, I rooted for the Panthers, but it did not work. At least my husband is happy.

Hi Karen! I wanted to say thanks for mentioning your flu shot insurance coverage saga up in >104 karenmarie:. I have HighMark Blue Cross Blue Shield and have never had a problem with flu shots before, but we always went to CVS. With our move the closest pharmacy is a Walgreens and they seem to have a larger presence here in general. Yesterday I spent more time than I wanted to on the phone trying to understand coverage and it would appear Blue Cross has not contracted with any pharmacies in northern Virginia. When the agent searched a 25-mile radius, the only pharmacies that popped up were in WV or MD. Seriously?!! The agent was also unable to provide a clear answer as to whether a pharmacy flu shot claim would be completely rejected or just partially covered, like an out of network expense. I'm going to call our primary care doc about getting our flu shots at their office, otherwise we might just take our chances at Walgreens. It would be an outrage, but wouldn't break the bank, if we had to pay out of pocket.

So anyway, I'm glad you mentioned it.

Morning, Karen. Rise & shine! The Jackson-sit went very well. Glad I got to spend some more solo time with him. Sue took the day off today. We are taking our last camping trip of the year, starting Thursday. This time in Iowa. So she will be doing some food prepping and I will assist and take care of a few other camping related tasks. Hopefully, this will be the last time we camp in a tent.

>194 alcottacre: I appreciate the effort, Stasia. And both of our husbands were happy. Bill would have also been happy had the Panthers won, but still. He’s happy Dallas won but couldn’t be too exuberant because I wasn’t. *smile*

>195 lauralkeet: You’re welcome, Laura, and I’m sorry that BCBS is as irritating about flu shots in VA as it is in NC. More so, even. It wouldn’t break the bank for us to get flu shots at Walgreen’s either, but it’s the principle of the thing, and totally ridiculous. And I just remembered that I haven’t heard from the Grievance Process Group from BC Advantage. I might just give them a call back.

>196 msf59: ‘Morning to you, Mark! I’ve risen! I’m not quite shining yet, but I’m already several sips into the coffee and getting there. Glad your Jackson sitting went well. Camping in Iowa. Where? My mother’s family is from the Linn and Johnson county area, having settled there in the 1850s or 1860s.

…
As mentioned above, coffee is getting consumed. I’m supposed to visit friend Tamsie today if the rain holds off. We’ll check in with each other in a while and see if it’s go or no go.

Other than that I am going to conduct a hard-boiled experiment in my Instant Pot today. I bought an 2-tier 18-egg rack for the IP and will experiment with 9 eggs.

>197 karenmarie: Grievance Process eh? I missed mention of that but searched this page and found it. That's interesting, I admit after my conversation yesterday I was left feeling frustrated at having no recourse or avenue to make a complaint.

But this morning I am at war with our vet as it appears they lost track of a medication refill request for Woody, so I'll be dealing with that first.

You've just got too much medical crap going on, Laura. Our vet is not quite as bad as losing a medication refill request, but I was less than pleased with the most recent visit because they couldn't get a urine sample out of her in 7 hours - she peed in the box just before I was going to pick her up, but they didn't notice until she'd gotten it all over herself. Now I'm supposed to lock her up overnight with a box and water and take the sample to them. What with my back and all I haven't gotten up the emotional energy to do it yet.

Good luck with Woody's medication refill request.

Morning, Karen!

I love making hard-boiled eggs in my IP. Super easy!

Good to hear, Katie! I'm just about ready to start - I had to make ice so they could be put in an ice bath. I hate our side by side refrigerator, and the ice maker has always made yucky ice. I stopped using it, so had to put in two trays this a.m. for the eggs.

Oh, Tamsie! I thought it might be Louise.

Happy day, smoochling.

>199 karenmarie: Thanks Karen, you're right about "too much medical crap." But now Woody's meds are all sorted. It's possible the person I spoke to this morning was misinformed. That or she put a rush on the request, because they called around 10 to say it was ready for pickup. Either way, he is set for a little while. Flu jab appointments have also been made with our primary care, and even though it's ridiculous that we can't walk into any one of the pharmacies in town, at least I didn't have to wait forever for an appointment.

>202 richardderus: Tamsie cancelled - she is very weird about even the potential of one drop of rain, so no Tamsie today.

On the other hand, I've pulled some books to loan to Louise so will probably visit with her this afternoon on her front porch.

Thanks, RD! *smooch*

>203 lauralkeet: Glad you've gotten Woody's meds sorted out and your flu shot appointments made. Now you're back to square one, right?

...
The Instant Pot hard boiled eggs were magnificently successful. I only had extra large eggs, so the handy-dandy internet said to pressure cook them for 7 minutes instead of 5. I let them naturally decompress 6 minutes instead of 5, and then put them in the ice bath. I'm happy.

And now Bill's going to have to get a new vehicle. His 2013 Focus is on its last legs and we aren't willing to spend $700 on tires and $300 on fixing the passenger side window with another $800 or so in January for new brakes, so we're lucky that they have a 2021 Ecosport on the lot that they're holding for us. Bill wanted to wait until the new year, but I guess now's the time.

>195 lauralkeet: The Walgreens (and other pharmacies I think) are all advertising free flu shots here. Your difficulty makes me wonder if the state is paying for it here. We're going to go to Kaiser for ours on the 21st mostly so they'll know we've done it. I keep getting emails from Kaiser reminding me that I haven't had my Covid vaccine when in fact I'm fully vaccinated and have had a booster but did it elsewhere so it isn't on my Kaiser record. Nice of them to worry so about me though :)

Interesting idea that the state might be paying for it. I don't remember the exact wording, but there's something along the lines of "Most flu shots covered by insurance." here. Bill and I got our Covid vaccines, all 3 now, through UNC HealthCare, which is who our PCPs are with, so the records are all there. I do remember that, when I had different insurance and could go to Walgreen's for a flu shot, the form had a place to put your PCP so that could notify them you'd received it.

Can you show your Covid vaccine card to Kaiser on the 21st so they can keep it in your permanent record?

...
Interesting few minutes when we couldn't find the title to Bill's current vehicle... he panics so easily, but it was found, where it was supposed to be, in the safe.

>197 karenmarie: How much are flu shots if you have to pay for them? I qualify for free a flu jab under the NHS because of my age and underlying conditions - I had mine last week. But if you don’t qualify and get it done at a local pharmacy I think they cost no more than £10.

I'm glad you're going to get to spend some time with Louise after all...silly Tamsie.

YAY for the Ecosport. It's just not worth being the ones to expensively fix the 8 year old vehicle just to eke out a few more months.

I'm thudding away at a polish on my review of Cloud Cuckoo Land. What a disappointment that read was. Should've been five, if not my annual six!, star review...instead it's a three.

>208 richardderus: Not happy to hear that about Cloud Cuckoo Land since I just lugged it home from the library yesterday, RD. I will be curious to see your thoughts on it.

Happy Tuesday, Karen!

>127 karenmarie: What incredibly beautiful bowls!

>195 lauralkeet: >197 karenmarie: I'm not always thrilled with Kaiser, but I love that as soon as flu shots are available they are offered whenever you show up, with booths outside in the shade to get stuck and free parking.

>207 SandDune: Hi Rhian. I don’t know offhand, but I’ll try to find out.

>208 richardderus: Just got back from visiting Louise. We had a nice visit on her front porch. Bill has headed off to get the new vehicle.

I gotta admit that Doerr didn’t really impress me with All The Light We Cannot See, even though I gave it 4*. It might have been because it’s about WWII and I don’t particularly like reading about WWII for some reason. I won’t go out of my way for this new one, even if it isn’t about WWII. Sorry you didn’t get a 6* review out of it.

>209 alcottacre: Hi Stasia, thanks!

>210 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda. I rarely use them, not because I’m afraid of breaking them but because we so rarely entertain any more.

>211 quondame: Anything to make it easy on the customer is good in my book, Susan. And free parking in LA is not to be sneezed at.

>212 karenmarie: I liked All the Light We Cannot See more than you did, but the main reason was I was just enthralled by pretty sentences. That magic done wore off.

>197 karenmarie: We are camping at Maquoketa Caves State Park. It looks like northeast Iowa. It also looks like a beautiful area.

I can't catch up, but I'm sort of here, Karen. Like you, I'm not a great fan of either Venetia or *All Light*. What I am liking more as I read more is *Bleak Midwinter*. I wouldn't have picked it up had you not been so enthusiastic. I'm pretty sure that it's long gone, but if you can lay your hands on the one in the series that you jettisoned, could you save it for me? Just thought I'd ask.

Morning, Karen!

>205 RebaRelishesReading: >206 karenmarie: Our CVS and Walgreens are also advertising "free flu shots," but the fine print is "with most insurance coverage." CVS now doesn't accept UnitedHealthcare for vaccines anymore, so we walked out without them this weekend. Blerg. I did call around and found that Kroger *does* still accept our insurance, so we'll go there in the next week or so.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. I have Trail Watch duties this AM and then book time, along with packing and other chores. BTW- I managed to snag a Lifer yesterday, although I had to do some driving to locate it. I will try to post some details about it later.

>216 scaifea: I've seen the same fine print about "most insurance coverage" here. This is such a stupid gap in our healthcare system. The Affordable Care Act requires vaccines to be covered by health insurance providers, but each provider seems to handle it differently. It's confusing and stressful, and in some cases options are fairly limited (e.g., as far as I can tell, I can only get the flu vaccine through a primary care provider).

I'm getting the booster today, and I'll see about getting a flu shot too.

>218 lauralkeet: This is such a stupid gap in our healthcare system.
The entire system is riddled with stupid gaps. It's all gaps and no actual coverage, it seems. 'Murica. Gah.

>213 richardderus: ‘Morning, RDear! Agreed – pretty sentences are wonderful, but there needs to be some underlying theme, plot, and/or characterization.

>2124 Ah, Jackson county. I just looked it up. Caves are wonderful – I’ve been to Mammoth Cave in Kentucky and Luray Caverns in Virginia. I’m normally claustrophobic, and I wouldn’t want to squeeze down into a cave, but those two cave systems were marvelous to tour.

>215 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. I’ll keep an eye out for more Clare/Russ – I think I still have it/them around here, but a quick scan of the dining room didn’t turn them up.

>216 scaifea: I’m sad but not surprised that insurance companies make it hard for their customers to get flu shots easily. You, Laura, and I have all experienced it.

Kroger. Up until a year ago I would have been surprised about Kroger – which I think of as a grocery store – but Jenna started getting prescriptions refilled there. So flu shots makes sense, too. Who’da thunk it?

>217 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you. Enjoy your trail watch duties and books. Congrats on a Lifer!

>218 lauralkeet: I personally like going to my PCP for the flu shot once I had to start doing so when I went on Medicare/BCBS Advantage, but I have a very good PCP/clinic and they make it super easy and quick.

>219 weird_O: Yay for your booster and flu shot, Bill!

>220 scaifea: Agreed, Amber.

…
Ah, coffee and sleeping in. Two of my favorite things. Bill reported that his commute was a lot of fun today with his new Ecosport.

>221 karenmarie: Yay for the new vehicle! I'm sure it was more fun after the Focus which dated from the Automotive Cretaceous.

Also from the Cretaceous came my roaring-raptor review of Cloud Cuckoo Land. Ugh. I soft-pedaled my disgust for one particular trope so I wouldn't full-on T. rex the damned thing.

Humpday orisons, dear Horrible.

Hi RDear, and thank you.

I've been busy finishing a book, #6 in the Agent Pendergast series and doing some Friends Treasurer stuff.

Now I'm having fun doing a bit of book cataloging - not new books, just getting books back onto their home shelves that came out to visit for a bit. I've also culled 3 books.

Stopping by to say hello and browse the thread. Circe, our cat, is indoor/outdoor although more the former now that she has settled in. She is, however, on the front porch right now with the door open as the rest of the family is away so we don't have to worry about dogs. How do I know she is on the porch? I can hear the birds cursing her from upstairs.

My hummingbirds are gone and I am bringing in the feeders before I head to Pennsylvania tomorrow. Bittersweet. I am listening hard for the call fo the white-throated sparrows!

>221 karenmarie: >216 scaifea: I haven't seen any fine print and will be getting my flu shot at Kaiser so won't test it -- but my Covid booster was free at Walgreens...no questions re insurance, just no cost.

In So. Cal. Kaiser we just showed up and got in line for a flu shot. NW Kaiser we have an appointment at the flu shot clinic. Either seems to work fine for me and no cost.

Kroger here is Fred Meyer and they sell everything from bread and milk to toys, hardware and sofa sets!!

Cute car.

Hi Karen! Thanks for stopping by. I'm glad Circe has settled in. I've still got hummingbirds - migrating through most likely - and saw one this morning taking a nice long drink. I'll take the feeders down after 3 days of not seeing any, I think. Yes, should be time for the White-Throated Sparrows to show up again for both of us.

Safe trip to PA!

>218 lauralkeet:, >219 weird_O: - If you want a really good analysis - and criticism - of the American health system, grab a copy of Timothy Snyder's Our Malady. He not only sticks a pin in it but really breaks it down and gives lots of examples of how it could (and should) be better, and IS, in many other countries. I am reading it now and should be finished it in a day or so.

GRRRR for our "leaders" in almost every walk of life. DH & I were talking yesterday about the incompetence of Civil War generals, given the office by right of birth (in the South anyway, but the GAR wasn't any better led). At this point I'm ready to extrapolate to any high leadership. We could use a break - even one would be nice.

Thank you for looking, Karen. I have the first 3, but I'll contribute to the FoL for any others that you might find. My first LT friend just pointed me to The Hands of the Emperor, a leisurely fantasy that looks good to the Nathan Lovell lover in me. It doesn't seem to be on any 75er's list.

When we think we've seen our last hummer, another shows up. I'm a bit afraid that the females that I see may be the same bird. She is flying slower than hbs normally do. I dread for her to be stuck here.

>221 karenmarie: Looks good, a man and his new car :-)

>221 karenmarie: What a great looking car! Bill looks quite happy!

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. We still plan on heading out for our camping trip in a couple of hours. Light rain falling, which kind of stinks but it is supposed to clear up later. Of course, my LT time will be very limited, until we get back Monday.

Bill looks quite pleased with his sporty little vehicle.

>227 jessibud2: I find myself unwilling to open too many Pandora’s boxes of upset right now. Righteous indignation and anger can’t sustain me.

>228 LizzieD: I don’t think I’ve read as much about Civil War generals as you may have, Peggy, but I have read enough to agree. And regarding any current high leadership, I mostly agree, but do tend towards believing that the Democrats are trying to do the right things and the Gang of Psychos is simply being obstructive whiners. I’m all for getting rid of the filibuster, and super majorities and everything else that is a repudiation of, or end run around, majority rules.

I’ll keep looking, although it occurs to me that I may have given them to friend Jan. I just looked at The Hands of the Emperor on Amazon. Doesn’t appeal to me at all but I can understand why it would appeal to you.

I haven’t seen a hummingbird this morning so far.

>229 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita!

>230 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Figs. Yes, Bill is pleased with his new SUV.

>231 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark. Sorry about the rain, and I do hope it clears up like it’s supposed to. Enjoy your mostly off-grid time. And yes, Bill’s happy. He growled a bit during the day as he had to find the title and we had to figure out finances, but now he’s happy.

…
Coffee and writing a check for the Friends then going to the chiropractor and run a few errands. And then reading and continuing to put bags of books back into the Library from the dining room. If/when Jenna comes home, she'll just have to move them back to the dining room.

I’m in a happy rut reading-wise right now, having started The Book of the Dead, the seventh in the Agent Pendergast series by Preston & Child.

edited to add: Today's word, and I love it.

A.Word.A.Day with Anu Garg

dithyramb
PRONUNCIATION: (DITH-i-ram/ramb)

MEANING:
noun:
1. A piece of writing or speech in an inflated or wildly enthusiastic manner.
2. An impassioned Greek choral song, originally in honor of the god Dionysus or Bacchus.

ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin dithyrambus, from Greek dithyrambos. Earliest documented use: 1603.

USAGE:
“Although John Moore extols the art of tending bar, and goes into dithyrambs over the delicate hues and shades of liquors and liqueurs, the storyline invites more cause than effect, like a watered drink at happy hour.”
Len Gasparini; Where Everybody Knows Your Name; The Toronto Star (Canada); May 21, 2000.

“Telephonically, I cornered US poet laureate Billy Collins in his office overlooking the Capitol. Interrupted in mid-dithyramb (my poetic license has not expired), Collins bobbed and weaved, poetically.”
Alex Beam; When Poets Take License Too Far; Boston Globe; Oct 29, 2002.

>231 msf59: It was the examples that made it *flawless*.

*smooch* for your pleasantly busy day.

Hi, Karen!

>232 karenmarie: Yay for Greek and Latin words! I approve this WotD.

>127 karenmarie: love the depression era glassware. I bought a set for my friends' wedding in the early 2000s and they are still a favourite in their house :)

>227 jessibud2: Timothy Snyder's Our Malady sounds like it would be very informative. It is so easy to criticise other's systems, but harder to know exactly why one should! (or could...)

>232 karenmarie: You know that I agree politically, Karen. I need to take yet another break from MSNBC and CNN, I think.

Good night. I'm gone!

>219 weird_O: >221 karenmarie: I did get the booster, Karen, but the facility was for COVID vax only. I'll get the flu shot elsewhere, prob. Friday. The hospital network I'm enmeshed in set up 10 COVID vax centers throughout the region. At a community college, at an amusement park (that's been closed all season by the pandemic), at Pocono Raceway, and in several empty spaces in shopping centers. I got an email with a link to signup. Logged on about midnight and made an appointment for 13 hours later. Worked for me. Third shot, no side effects for me with any of them. I consider myself fortunate.

I've been reading a book by two psychologists on hoarding. They've been researching the disorder for more than a decade. I got the book cheep at a library sale, thinking, "Hey, I'm really a book hoarder, aren't I." Thankfully, I don't hold a candle to people described in the book. But a fair number of characteristics sound like me. OooooOOoooOooo. I'm blaming my mother.

Hi Karen! Dithyramb. Oops. I see people do use the word, but I confess having trouble understanding both of the examples. What does “invites more cause than effect” mean? Other than making me feel stupid?

>221 karenmarie: Very nice looking car, sturdy, and small. Happy Bill.

You are a lot faster getting those flu shots, than we here in Holland are. Here you have to wait for your GP office organizing them, and then wait in line.

I think I might like to read Our Malady just to see how things could be done better. It’s always nice to see there are better alternatives available.

Have a nice day!

>238 EllaTim: Pretend I'm wearing my Karen-suit: The phrase "invites more cause than effect" means that the referred-to read by John Moore was ineffective at calling forth the response he was looking for. Like a watered-down drink, the cause (his words) didn't result in the expected and desired effect of mood elevation/other alteration of the reader's experience.

I think the simile of reading to drinking wasn't that well-done, myownself, and is part of the problem! What y'all soccer-football watchers in Europe call an "own goal," really.

Hey there Horrible. My review posted properly so I got another 30min sleep.

Also, Monica Byrne loved my review of The Actual Star enough that she posted it on Twitter with a little carry-on about it. That feels so good. https://twitter.com/monicabyrne13/status/1446315176639225859

Well, yesterday got away from me, LT-wise. But I’m back!

>233 richardderus: Agree, RD. My day was surprisingly busy, at that.

>234 scaifea: Hi Amber! It’s a good’un, isn’t it?

>235 LovingLit: Hi Megan. Lucky friends.

>236 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. Taking a break is not a bad idea. I’m not quite there, but mostly just scan the headlines on WaPo, NYT, CNN, LATimes, and HuffPost.

>237 weird_O: Sounds like your hospital network has done a fantastic job of making COVID vaccines easily available. Yay for no side effects – I didn’t have any either. My Bill had a sore arm for 2 days, but that’s all. We are fortunate, aren’t we?

I’m not 100% sure, but I may have reached the total number of books I’m willing to keep in the house. I like not double-stacking books and not having books on the floor. It’s been interesting to watch myself be willing to let go of certain authors or genres in recent years, all in order to acquire different authors and genres. I’ve got some shelf space available in the Library and Parlour, so am guessing that ~5500 books will be the upper end of my catalog. That, of course, may change…

What characteristics? Enquiring minds and all that. I think of hoarding as the mentally-ill end of the collecting spectrum, and we’re not mentally ill about books at all.

>238 EllaTim: Hi Ella! I think that example means that although colors and hues are fun, they don’t mean anything about the quality, potency, or effectiveness of alcohol. I think ‘the storyline invites more cause than effect’ is awkward and could have been left out, with some more effective linkage between the value of colors and hues and a watered down drink – i.e., none. Don’t feel stupid! The phrasing is anything but intelligent.

The nice thing about Bill’s new SUV is that there’s tons of head and leg room. Small and sturdy are good ways to describe it.

Insurance companies and doctors and pharmacies started touting flu shots in early September, but Bill and I always get ours in mid-October so carry us completely through the flu season. I do wish our doctor’s office would send out notices to patients about flu shot availability and COVID shot and booster availability – I had to write a message to my doctor on the medical practice’s website asking about the COVID booster to find out that I could get it there.

Thanks re my Friday – Bill’s at work, so another day of restoring my energy, being an introvert and all.



>239 richardderus: I like what you wrote for Ella better than what I wrote, but I’ll leave what I wrote in. I was just getting ready to paste my responses in when I saw that you had added two messages.

>240 richardderus: Hey, RDear! Happy Friday to you. Yay for another 30 minutes of sleep. Congrats on another author loving your review. Not surprising to me.

…
Today will be a day for puttering and reading and getting the rest of the bags of books back into the Library and making the Dining Room a Dining Room again.

>241 karenmarie: I think that cartoon is actually not a funny but an invaluable teaching tool.

I didn't think that review was unusually good, so I'm pretty chuffed that Author Byrne is so pleased with it.

I'm glad my explanation meets with your approval! And yours is no slouch. Happy recharge day! *smooch*

I agree, RD. It's exactly how I feel if I'm around people too much. I need to escape to my hamster ball of personal space. I've desperately needed the two days this week Bill's been at work. It's nothing personal, it's just a person in the house unintentionally using my precious energy. He understands this, bless him.

Don't second guess your review - just take what Author Byrne gives you and run with it.

Even cleaning the kitchen and getting the washed and dried laundry folded and put up is a win on recharge days.

>243 karenmarie: I need to escape to my hamster ball of personal space. That is so exactly how I feel if everyone is at home for too long!

>243 karenmarie: It's been so long since I've been over-peopled that I forgot what I get like. Yep, that's it, but doesn't require the guy on the left, just me hissing in my iso-ball.

Well, I am allergic to the flu shot, so I get to dodge that particular health care bullet. I am not sure when I need to get a booster for the COVID vaccine though. I just got vaccinated for the first and second times in April and May.

Happy Friday, Karen!

>244 SandDune: Hi Rhian. Even with people we love, we sometimes need our alone time.

>245 quondame: Hi Susan.Over-peopled is another way of putting it. I guess Mike and Becky don't count for over-peopling, right? I like it - iso-ball.

>246 alcottacre: Hi Stasia. Iknow that if you're allergic to eggs you can't take the flu shot and wonder if there are other contra-indications to taking it?

I've heard confusing data on whether it should be 6 months or 8 months for the booster. I checked with my doctor, and he said I should get it now, so I did, at 7 months. Bill was about 6 1/2 months. Maybe you should check with your doctor.

>247 karenmarie: Now she is an adult I find Becky's company nourishing, and Mike and I are pretty adept at situating ourselves at the extreme reaches of the house so as to maintain minimum territory violation interactions.

>235 LovingLit:, >238 EllaTim: - Our Malady is really an important book. Not only does he make the case for better health care, but he also connects the dots between journalism and freedom and democracy and how all that has a direct connection to health. I will write up my proper review on my thread over the weekend. I just got home from Montreal late this afternoon and I am too tired to do it tonight. But it's one of those small but powerful books that I can't stop thinking about.

>239 richardderus: >241 karenmarie: Hi Richard and Karen! Thanks for both your explanations, as both of them help. I guess this kind of expressions are among the hardest to really get to understand.

>249 jessibud2: No pressure, but I am interested in your review.

>248 quondame: I'm glad Becky's company is nourishing, glad you and Mike have carved out your own territories.

I first heard the terms toxic and nourishing in the early 1970s in college and have applied them to situations and relationships ever since. I'm adept at walking away from toxic people.

>249 jessibud2: I'll be interested in your review, Shelley.

>250 EllaTim: You're very welcome, Ella. There are a lot of expressions that I don't understand, and English is my native and only language.

>251 karenmarie: Mike and I both come from high toxicity backgrounds, though opinion and evidence suggests that his was significantly worse and lacking the humor and important positives of mine, so it's not surprising that we each have toxic moments, but we share a lot of values and styles and have compatible energy levels, so we do tolerably well - so long as we have sufficient insulation.

It's good to know what you each need to make your marriage work. Bill and I have our moments too, but all in all we do fine and actually like each other in addition to loving each other.

Funny, although I am ACA (mother) and suffered serious neglect within the context of a middle class environment, I have never thought of my parents as providing a toxic environment. It wasn't nourishing, however.

...
We have gotten 1.7 inches of rain since about 9 last night. It's supposed to rain quite a bit today, too. Normal Saturday fall activities - college football and errands/bringing in lunch for Bill, consuming said lunch and reading for me.

I'm glad I left the hummingbird feeder up because although I didn't see any Thursday or Friday, I saw one this morning. I don't know if it's locals or ones migrating south.

>253 karenmarie: Hi Horrible! Lunch well...and aren't you glad you got to see one last hummingbird before wintertime?

I don't know if you saw that Kinsey Millhone is heading for the TV: https://bookriot.com/sue-graftons-alphabet-series/

"Many of you also know that she was adamant that her books would never be turned into movies or TV shows..." they said in 2017...and now? Why back up the Brinks truck and unload the gelt into our bank, please. I wouldn't care except they made such a meal out of respect and adamant and on and on.

Anyway. Just a little sideshow for our climate-change distraction.

>250 EllaTim: I'm so glad they helped, Ella.

Hi, RD!

Looks like lunch will be a hot chicken/provolone/mushroom sub, crispy onion rings, and unsweetened iced tea.

I'm very disappointed that the family is now disregarding her wishes.

From that link: So what changed? It’s hard to say for sure, but Steve Humphrey, Grafton’s husband, is set to serve as executive producer, stating that “with the support of her family and children, we are committed to maintaining the tone and tenor of Sue’s books that fans love.” Hard to say for sure? Really? I call bullshit and $$$$$.

And, here's the deleted post that I grabbed right away after Grafton's passing:

I'm sorry too about the lure that overcomes a beloved person's last wishes. Otoh, think of the wonderful literature we wouldn't have if the author's wishes had been honored - Vergil, I think, and I'm sure that there are others. Somehow, that doesn't quite line up with a TV series though.

As to timing for the Pfizer booster, I think I recall that the early designation of 8 months was from administrative rather than health considerations. Does anybody else remember this?

We have gotten very little rain from all these overcast skies, and we need some. Enjoy your weekend, Karen. It's heating up again next week. *sigh*

>253 karenmarie: It is sometimes hard to get our head around the realities of the household we grew up in. I was my older brother's punching bag, a situation that didn't leave me much room for thinking I was protected since it was kind of a family joke that as long as he didn't kill me - he tried that the day I came home from the hospital - he wasn't going to be punished for minor injuries. But it took a long time to sort out the dynamics and mix of neglect and nurturing that went on in the household and I've no assurance that I'm correct in the conclusions I've arrived at. The first completely outside observer, a TA who read an essay about my family, was able to outrage me with a series of observations that went entirely against my internalized script, but from which I later formed a scaffold that has supported a model of what the family might have actually been that accommodates all the observations and stories about it that I have.

>256 LizzieD: I had to look up Vergil, Peggy, not being as well versed in the classics as I should be. Yes, he wanted The Aeneid burned. In the brief look I just took, I didn't see who benefited from the publication of The Aeneid, so was it for literary reasons or financial reasons?

It only took 4 years for Grafton's family to answer the siren call.

I don't specifically remember why the original recommendation was 8 months for the Pfizer booster. I got my booster at 7 months and Bill got his at 6 1/2 months.

I'm sorry you just got a bit of rain, especially since you need it. Thanks re my weekend - laziness and football tomorrow. It's supposed to get to the mid-80s by next Wednesday, but the nights will only get into the low 60s.

>257 quondame: Oh my, Susan. That's awful. I'm glad you got to see the reality of your family from the TA's observations.

What I came to realize was that my brother and sister had completely different childhoods than I did. They were younger during our mother's active alcoholism, and it affected them more deeply. I escaped to college just before everything apparently went to hell. And then there were other family issues that I only heard about years and years later, which knocked my socks off and which I don't honestly know the truth about to this day. Sigh.

>255 karenmarie: The woman literally created a TV show, Nurse, based on someone else's lightly-fictionalized life story-cum-novel...she knew what she was talking about! But there's probably eight figures before the decimal on that check, which speaks LOUDLY when the other voice is silent.

>258 karenmarie: If there were more than one copy of the Aeneid at the time of Virgil's death then I'd bet no one who owned one would willingly have burned it. And if not, well lack of respect for dying wishes is a classic.

>259 richardderus: Yes, I wonder if Grafton stomped over an author's intent for the screenplays she produced, which might explain her desire to not have any screen adaptations of her novels.

I frequently complain when I see Jennifer Garner ads. I admit I don't have the extrovert's need for exterior validation and approval that she seems to have, although Bill says that getting paid $1 million for ads is strong motivation. Nobody's ever offered me enough money to sink to low levels or compromise my ethics, so I don't know if I'd do so for complete financial freedom for the rest of my life.

>260 quondame: I'd probably have kept The Aeneid, but probably just to know I had it on my shelves and I could read it, not benefit from it financially.

I recall that Terry Pratchett (who I have yet to read) directed that his unpublished work be destroyed, and that his literary executors followed his directive by crushing several hard drives packed with unpublished writings beneath the huge roller of a steam-powered antique.

>up there somewhere. Hmm, I can't find the post, but you were keenly desirous of a rainfall to test the mettle of your new gutters and downspouts. Now that the rain has fallen, how'd those g&d hold up?

>261 karenmarie: Given the way Nurse turned out...Michael Learned was no fresh-faced ingenue, and where'd that love affair come from?...I suspect it was the committee-in-command culture of the medium (neither rare nor well-done) that she mistrusted.

So much for the alphabet ending at "Y."

The Aeneid was more or less a commission from Augustus, I have read, and Aeneas was not considered a pious hero in earlier stories. Vergil worked on the epic for ten years, which sounds a lot like Penelope's shroud-weaving delays. Maybe he wanted the epic destroyed after his death to avoid use by the emperor.

>247 karenmarie: I am allergic to eggs, so I have not ever paid attention to any other contraindications for the flu shot.

Have a wonderful weekend, Karen!

>262 weird_O: "...Hmm, I can't find the post" You might be thinking of her post about that on my thread, Bill.

Morning, Karen! The Sue Grafton stuff makes me sad - that's the one thing her family could do that would truly honor her memory.

That photo of Bill made me smile. He looks very tickled with the new SUV.

Football is about to start for us - Falcons play in London today.

>262 weird_O: Hi Bill! I recall that bit about the crushed hard drives. I see from your Library that you have 8 books by Pratchett. There are lots of folks here who love him – I tried The Color of Magic and put it down but seem to recall several discussions with discussions of where best to begin.

The rain came down heavily in the night so we didn’t see the action, but there is no evidence that they didn’t work.

>263 richardderus: Definitely a good theory, RD.

>264 EBT1002: Hi Ellen! Yup.

>265 ffortsa: Hi Judy. Interesting theory. Wish we could ask him - this brings up one of my two fantasy wishes - being able to ask dead people one question each. This does not count family, of course. The other fantasy wish is to have 5 minutes with each kitty where she/he speaks human or I speak cat so we can discuss things.

>266 alcottacre: Hi Stasia. Thanks, and I hope you have a wonderful weekend, too. So far so good with mine.

I haven’t heard about anything else either, was just musing. I don't know anybody else who is allergic to eggs, but apparently it's widespread.

>267 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie. ‘Morning to you. Yes, Bill’s quite pleased. Oh yes, early football! Good luck to all the Pecan Paradisio teams.

Sunday-caffeination *smooches*

Hi RD! Oh yes. I'm happily caffeinating. *smooches* back at'cha.

Enjoy watching the Panthers swatting down the Eagles.

Well, Bill, I do admit that I'm enjoying the 15-6 halftime score. I also had fun watching that bad hike that resulted in a safety, although it should have resulted in a touchdown.

Yuck. Boo, hiss. Premature congrats to the Iggles, 21-18, having just intercepted with less than 2 minutes to go.

>255 karenmarie: that bites. Not that I read her A-Y series, or that I can tolerate an incomplete alphabet, but it seems like a $$ move.

Hi Megan! I agree - nothing but a $$ move.

...
Well, I just got up. Half the day's gone, but at least I didn't get up to an alarm. First sips of coffee taken.

Solve the puzzle...get the brew.

A true sadist's coffee set, no?

'Morning, RDear! Yikes. Makes one appreciate a non-metalled rim. Although I don't have the sweet that went with this picture, this is the coffee mug I'm using today:



*smooch*

>276 richardderus: Easy. Break the plate. *blinks*

Morning, Karen! Half the day's gone already? I don't believe it.

>278 Crazymamie: Ha! *note to self only serve Mamie off the plastic plates*

>277 karenmarie: Pretty! I'm sure the sweet would've gone down a treat, too, but strictly speaking not necessary where the coffee surely is. *smooch*

>278 Crazymamie: I was thinking - bring a straw...

>278 Crazymamie: ‘Morning, Mamie! Well, not half the day exactly, but I’m usually up between 6:30 and 7:30. Sleep was elusive last night, and I remember thinking at 6:10 a.m. that I should get up. *blink* 8:46. Sheesh. I’m still working on my first cup of coffee.

>279 richardderus: Yes, I like this coffee cup. It is pleasing to the eye and holds enough to save extra pourings from the thermos.

>280 drneutron: I was thinking about the turkey baster, Jim. I have a particularly good one from Pampered Chef that would do the job in one fell swoop.

>277 karenmarie:, >280 drneutron: - Jim beat me to it but my first thought was also a straw. I have environmentally safe metal ones, too, that the heat of a drink won't melt, as they might paper or plastic straws!

>276 richardderus: I wonder if the cup can be moved off-center to give more range to some of the chain. but it's probably something trickier than that.

>283 ffortsa: TBH if I was confronted with the damn thing I'd just use Mamie's solution. Or go get a mug out of the cabinet.

I got up at 8:15, which is late for me, but I was wide awake from 3-6am, so...

>279 richardderus: Ha!

>280 drneutron:, >281 karenmarie: But my solution fixes the problem permanently and makes for easier washing.

>284 richardderus: Exactly.

>282 jessibud2: Hi Shelley! I have metal straws, too, but the pandemic has pretty much prevented us from using them since last March. We never remember to ask take-out restaurants and fast-food places to not give us straws, so end up using them instead of our nice metal ones with the silicon tips UNLESS, of course the above-mentioned places actually forget to put the straws in.

>283 ffortsa: Even removing the chains, which was my first thought with the idea of including an image of wire cutters, doesn’t avoid the hooks on the rim that would gouge one’s lip and chin. And the taste of metal… nope.

>284 richardderus: If it was the only option available and I didn’t have wire cutters or a turkey baster, I’d fill the cup completely and lean over the rim and slurp. I'd have to keep keeping the cup topped off. Way too much work.

>285 Crazymamie: Ah, insomnia. Sorry, Mamie. Your solution is emotionally satisfying. Breaking crockery sounds like fun.

...
I just finished brekkie - bacon and a toasted sesame bagel with cream cheese and Simply Fruit Seedless Raspberry.

I started the 8th in the Agent Pendergast series last night, but am feeling burned out after 46 pages so am temporarily abandoning it (realizing that I will probably have to restart it sometime down the road). I've started a book by one of my absolute favorite authors, Lionel Shriver, The Mandibles: 2029-2047.

It's already a treat, and I love the term boomerpoops.

Hi Karen. I'll just leave this here for you. A friend just sent it to me. Ain't it the truth...;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXezLv_5RaY

Oh, my, Shelley! I love it. It hits on two of my favs, of course. Thank you.

RichardDear - do not click. You've been warned.

>287 jessibud2: - Oops, I meant to leave a warning for Richard. Something like *Enter at your own risk*... ;-)

Thanks for doing that, Karen. :-)

You're welcome. *smile*

Hi Karen. Skimming through threads. You know about RL troubles so I neglected some of the 75-ers that just move to fast for me.

Hi Connie!

Skimming works fine - I'm glad you came over to say hi. I've been visiting your ROOT thread regularly, just don't always leave a message.

Morning, Karen. We are back. I am skipping through quite a few posts, so I can catch up around here. The threads really pile up. I hope I didn't miss anything. We had a good time, despite the rain. Very little reading got done. Got some hiking in but the birding was very slow. Did see a family of red-headed woodpeckers a few times. Funny, woodpeckers were the most active birds around, along with about a dozen soaring turkey vultures.

My niece is in town, but leaves tonight. She is staying with Bree, so they came over last night, so we could get our Jackson fix in. I will spend a chunk of the day with them again today.

Hi Mark! Glad to see you returned safe and sound.

I haven't seen a hummingbird in 3 days now, so will take down the feeder today. I also need to refill the sunflower seed feeder, and will move the suet feeder to the hummingbird feeder pole.

>143 karenmarie: My dear heart. I think this is one of the most beautiful paragraphs I've ever read anywhere in my entire life.

At least all the dishes we have are not ugly, although the Christmas dishes are white with just a swirl of green sorta like a Christmas tree with a gold ball on top. But they were Bill's step-mother's and she loved them so we love them and think of her when we use them in addition to all the other times we think of her.

O'Connor could not have written a beautiful and full paragraph, nor Faulkner, nor Capote. This is why we have been friends for so long. You'll cast something out like this and I don't think you were even trying. But my love, it is as bread cast out on the waters. So beautiful that it makes me glad to be human.

If you weren't Southern, you would have to be invented.

Morning, Karen! Happy Wednesday. I got in some quality Jackson time yesterday, both on a short hike and some solo time with him, while Bree went out. Heading out with my birding buddies shortly. Book Time this PM.

>295 SomeGuyInVirginia: Good morning, Larry! Thank you, your message makes me feel good. I specifically remember having a vision of the dishes in mind, and having a picture of Kay in my mind, and that's what I was feeling. We have been friends for quite a while here, haven't we? *smile*

>296 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Happy Wednesday to you, too. Yay for quality Jackson time. Enjoy your birding buddies time AM and book time PM. I've got a female Cardinal visiting the feeders and just saw a Carolina Chickadee zoom from one Crepe Myrtle to the other.

...
I just got off the phone with the New Yorker - I bit on a $12/3 month week digital subscription last week but even though I gave it my new email address it thought it would be smart and use my old email address connected to a print subscription from 2018. Nice lady Mary fixed me up although it took 20 minutes.

I'm going to go visit Aunt Ann today - Bill's step-mother's sister. She hurt her back trying to raise a window sash and had to have surgery. I spoke with her on Monday, said I'd love to come visit, and she called last night to see if I could come today. I was rather looking forward to a home-alone day, but at least I'll have a home-alone morning and get some good audiobook listening in, in addition to visiting with Aunt Ann.

Coffee! Reading! Onward and upward!

>297 karenmarie: Aunt Ann's a pistol. Seeing her while you can is deffo the best choice. Sad for your lost silence, but Aunt Ann's not gonna be here forever, so...

*smooch* Humpday orisons, Horrible dear.

That's sorta what I figured, RD... she's only 82 but still.

Off to start a new thread...

>276 richardderus: I do not care since I hate coffee anyway, lol.