mstrust's #6 - Driving the bus off the cliff

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mstrust's #6 - Driving the bus off the cliff

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1mstrust
Editado: Nov 3, 2014, 11:24 am

Welcome!

2mstrust
Editado: Dic 8, 2014, 12:50 pm

1. Codpiece Face (Another Year of Shakespeare)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07YGG2Mr2wo


1. Richard III 5 stars
2. King Lear 4 stars
3. A Midsummer Night's Dream 3.5 stars
4. The Book of William 4.5 stars
5. Julius Caesar 4 stars
6. Titus Andronicus 4 stars
7. The Winter's Tale 4 stars

3mstrust
Editado: Nov 3, 2014, 10:12 am

2. I'm A Bit Nutty! (Georgia Authors, Plots or About the State)

1. A Swell-Looking Girl 3 stars
2. 100 Years of Painting in Georgia 4 stars
3. Celebration 2.5 stars

4mstrust
Editado: Dic 8, 2014, 5:31 pm

3. Neil, Why Are You Wearing That Dress? (British Female Authors)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBMTK3iLSlY

1. No Fond Return of Love- 4 stars
2. The Black Tower 3.5 stars

3. The Woman in Black 4.5 stars
4. Island of Aunts 3 stars

5mstrust
Editado: Nov 3, 2014, 10:11 am

4. Give Me Some More Money, You Bastard (Books About Money or Gambling)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANquX0YHFhw

1. I'll Take It 3 stars
2. Dead Cert 3 stars

6mstrust
Editado: Dic 7, 2014, 11:26 am

5. I Didn't Get Them At Tesco's, Okay? (Published In The Last 14 Years)

1. 2009- Catching Fire 4 stars
2. 2010- The Night Bookmobile 4 stars
3. 2006- Winter's Bone 4 stars
4. 2013- The Last Animal 3 stars
5. 2000-Kill Your Darlings 5 stars
6. 2014- The Fever 3 stars

7. 2009- Locke & Key: Head Games 4 stars

7mstrust
Editado: Nov 3, 2014, 10:09 am

8mstrust
Editado: Nov 29, 2014, 1:04 pm

7. It's Our Song, Baby, Let's Dance (Authors I Like)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qz2S2JYUoxY

1. Fortunately, The Milk 4.5 stars
2. Jamie Oliver's Food Escapes 4.5 stars
3. The Song Is You 4.5 stars
4. The Ocean at the End of the Lane 4.5 stars
5. Die A Little 4 stars
6. The Getaway 4 stars
7. Meet Mr. Mulliner 4 stars

8. Cold Fusion 4 stars
9. How To Have an Almost Perfect Marriage 3 stars
10. Anger Management for Beginners 4 stars

FINISHED

9mstrust
Editado: Dic 11, 2014, 10:38 am

8. Cock-A-Doodle Do, Neil. What Are You Talking About? (Not Famous Authors)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOAz4nPNvLI

1. Polar- 4 stars
2. Dear American Airlines 4 stars
3. My Brother Sam is Dead 3.5 stars
4. Gus Openshaw's Whale Killing Journal 4 stars
5. The Obituary Writer 3 stars

6. Stars and Swipes, Hugs and Misses 3.5 stars
7. Infidelities 3 stars
8. You Have to F*****g Eat 4 stars
9. The Maxx 3 stars

10mstrust
Editado: Nov 10, 2014, 10:15 am

9. I've Told You A Million Times, Do Not Exaggerate (Humor)

1. Downtrodden Abbey 3 stars
2. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? 3 stars
3. Paddle Your Own Canoe 2.5 stars
4. Barry Trotter and the Unauthorized Parody 2.5 stars
5. Naked Pictures of Famous People 3 stars
6. The Greedy Bastard Diary 3.5 stars
7. I Suck At Girls 3.5 stars
8. More Sand in My Bra 4 stars
9. Go The F**k to Sleep 4 stars
10. A Walk in the Woods 4.5 stars


FINISHED

12mstrust
Editado: Nov 10, 2014, 10:14 am

13mstrust
Editado: Nov 10, 2014, 10:14 am

14mstrust
Editado: Nov 10, 2014, 10:14 am

13. A Special Blend of Psychology and Extreme Violence (Mystery & Crime)

1. N or M? 4 stars
2. Knots and Crosses 4 stars
3. The Blackheath Poisonings 3 stars
4. Murder in Retrospect 3.5 stars
5. The Professionals 13: The Untouchables 4 stars
6. Death Comes As the End 4 stars
7. The Professionals 14: Operation Susie 3.5 stars
8. The Professionals 15: You'll Be All Right 4 stars
9. Gently Through the Mill 3 stars
10. Tooth and Nail 4 stars


FINISHED

15mstrust
Editado: Nov 10, 2014, 10:15 am



14. Sausages and Plants and Goldfish (Everything Else)

1. Titus Groan- 3.5 stars
2. The Girl on the Fridge- 4 stars
3. The Walking Dead: Volume 4- 3 stars
4. The Walking Dead: Volume 8 2.5 stars
5. Lying 4 stars
6. The Metamorphosis 4 stars
7. Passion Play 4 stars
8. The Four & Twenty Blackbirds Pie Book 4 stars
9. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam 2 stars
10. The National Trust: Historic Interiors 4.5 stars
11. Hidden Britain 4 stars
12. Vintage Handbags 4 stars
13. The Essential African Cookbook 4.5 stars


FINISHED

16mstrust
Nov 3, 2014, 10:43 am

I've been in Vegas for a few days and had a great time. I'll post a few pics in a day or two. In the meantime, I'll give some highlights.
Halloween- I made Mom up as a witch with lips like Winnie from "Hocus Pocus". She wore a big silk witch hat with a black veil and a Victorian style capelet. I was a zombie cook with a chef's hat, a bloody butcher's apron, a meat cleaver and a bloody face and neck. Mike went as Mike, the most boring costume ever.
We set up the driveway with pumpkins, candles and a black light. We had a huge bowl of candy. We had three trick or treaters. Three. There were only four houses on our street lit up, so long walks between dark houses. So we stayed out for only about an hour, then went downtown to Fremont. Packed toe-to-toe. We had dinner at Hash House A-Go-Go in The Plaza, then went inch by inch down Fremont. There were bands on stages and street performers. A man with professional equipment stopped us and had Mom and I pose for a picture, so maybe we'll end up in a book of weirdos that gets published. Fingers crossed! I've never had so many compliments on a Halloween costume.
Then we went to our hangout, Frankie's Tiki Lounge. We had a few rum cocktails, I got to play The Ramonateurs on the jukebox and they had a young woman dressed as a mermaid in an under- the- sea diorama behind the bar. The Invisible Man sat down next to Mom and hit on her (he asked if she wanted to go to his room and unbandage him) and I got a new tiki mug for my collection, which was a limited edition Frankenstein that is signed by the artist. There were only 200 made. Then we hit Blueberry Hill, a 24 hour coffee shop, for Belgian waffles and went home tired.

The next day was our 11th anniversary, and Mike gave me a $100 amazon card, so I have plans for later. Mom and I got up early and hit all the after Halloween sales, which is why I have about a dozen bags of candy now. Mike drove us around shopping the rest of the day, with stops at a favorite Mexican place for lunch,The International Store and we went to the Amber Unicorn Used Bookstore, where Mike found a stack of old textbooks he was excited about and he made friends with the owner. Between here and the library books for sale, I came home with:
An Author Bites the Dust- Upfield is so hard to find
Ma Cuisine- Escoffier
Van Gogh in Provence and Auvers huge coffee table book
Three Blind Mice

also, several bottles of champagne, wine and peach vodka.

17mstrust
Editado: Nov 3, 2014, 10:54 am



110. Richard III by William Shakespeare. Richard is brother to King Edward and George, Duke of Clarence. Both think he loves them, but Richard has two faces, one of loyalty and sweetness, the other is evil. Having gathered a few ambitious and unethical men around him, Richard is able to order the murder of both brothers, their sons and their loyal followers. He forces the widow of one of his victims to marry him, then chooses his own niece to be his next wife. For a long time, it is only the women in court, including Richard's mother, who recognize that he is evil.
Gripping and exciting, Richard III is one of the great villains. I'd love to see this performed. 5 stars

18RidgewayGirl
Nov 3, 2014, 11:13 am

Sounds like you had a great weekend!

19mstrust
Nov 3, 2014, 11:26 am

I did. And I'd like to do it all again.

20mamzel
Nov 3, 2014, 12:40 pm

Sounds like you really enjoyed Halloween! It's nice that your town put together such a great event.

21mstrust
Nov 3, 2014, 1:11 pm

We had a great time. But I don't know what goes where I live, here in Phoenix. We've been in Vegas every Halloween for nearly ten years. I was disappointed that we missed the downtown parade again as it's something of a circus.

22lkernagh
Nov 3, 2014, 3:37 pm

What a great weekend, even if there trick or treaters were pretty much non-existent.

he asked if she wanted to go to his room and unbandage him

What a tacky pickup line, even for Halloween! LOL!

23rabbitprincess
Nov 3, 2014, 6:05 pm

Happy new thread! Glad to hear you had a great weekend.

24mstrust
Nov 4, 2014, 9:48 am

>22 lkernagh: I know, very tacky, but I'm almost positive he was part of the "haunted tiki", along with the mermaid and a card reader, so Mike and I sat there laughing while Mom parried with the guy. And she did look cute with her Winnie lips.

>23 rabbitprincess: Thanks, and I hope you had fun too!

Walking Dead- an all Beth episode? If you'd told me I would have said that would be the worst ever, but it was very good. Seeing a new group that has a very different way if staying together was interesting.

And since I've been buying so many used books recently, I've found a couple of things inside them. One is a full sheet xeroxed but handwritten list of the members of Lambda Sigma Chi Sorority of their Fall semester 1975. It has their names, addresses, phones and birthdates. Then there's a handwritten receipt for a Baltimore club called "The Back Door" dated July 7th, 1967. The visitor was named Craig (it's written in, for some reason) and he paid a 25 cent cover charge.

25mstrust
Nov 6, 2014, 10:05 am

I've bought a few things with that Amazon card so far-
Moab is My Washpot
How to Have an Almost Perfect Marriage by Mrs. Stephen Fry
Infidelities, a play by Sean Mathias that doesn't show up in the touchstones
Cold Fusion, part of the series by Doris Haggis-on-Whey that is so funny
and a couple of CDs, "Blunderbuss" by Jack White and one of "The Singing Brakeman" Jimmie Rodgers for Mom.

26-Eva-
Editado: Nov 6, 2014, 7:37 pm

HAHA! I love your thread-topper!!

Oh, and, happy-happys on the anniversary and the new thread. :)

27AuntieClio
Nov 7, 2014, 12:57 am

>21 mstrust: My family in Mesa said they had no trick or treaters this year.

28RidgewayGirl
Nov 7, 2014, 11:05 am

I wonder if everyone goes to specific neighborhoods for trick or treating? My parents' neighborhood is jam packed on Hallowe'en, which is where we go when we're home. It's at least eight large bags of candy, but my parents love seeing all the kids and it feels very safe with so many people walking everywhere. Our neighborhood is a bust with maybe six groups showing up at the door. We leave a bowl by the front door and it's usually still pretty full when we get home that night. And that's with the bonus candy that every self-respecting child will get from an unattended bowl.

29mstrust
Nov 7, 2014, 11:36 am

>26 -Eva-: Thanks, and so do I, because it's so easy to see Vyvyan saying that line. And did you see the angry Rick one at the bottom of the categories? I'm pretty sure that's from after Vyvyan threw the record player on the fire.

>27 AuntieClio: It makes you wonder if you should even go to the trouble of buying candy and carving a jack o lantern. Mom said she wasn't going to do it next year, mainly because we spent time making up the yard for almost nobody. I felt sorry for the people all the way at the end of the street-skeletons and ghosts in their trees, cobwebs everywhere, flashing lights and no kids.

>28 RidgewayGirl: I think the rising popularity of the churches holding events has a lot to do with it. They hire carnival rides and bouncy houses and the parents don't want to walk their kids through the neighborhood. Not because it's dangerous, just because they figure the kids can get candy in one place rather than fifty. The church around the corner from Mom's was having a huge party with what must have been a thousand people in their parking lot. Way too many to be all congregants, so we figured that's what people were doing instead of trick or treating.

I still haven't put up my few pics from that night, but I found a pic of the tiki mug I got that night. Frankie's still has the green available, but mine is the rare orange.

http://www.frankiestikiroom.com/1220%20FrankiesteinRZ.jpg

30RidgewayGirl
Nov 7, 2014, 2:12 pm

Now that is a mug worth having. I still have my giant glass skull mug I got from Treasure Island back when it was new (and still existed). The drink inside was really not good (a lot of blue curaçao, mainly), but the mug is amazingly tacky.

31mstrust
Editado: Nov 7, 2014, 2:28 pm

That's a great souvenir, especially since they went to the bland TI no-theme. Stuff from Vegas casinos that don't exist anymore become highly collectible. Especially if they have that tacky Vegas look or the rat pack look.

I also have these mugs from Frankie's:
http://www.frankiestikiroom.com/NakaleleRsz.jpg
http://www.frankiestikiroom.com/wild%20watusie%20photo%20022112.jpg
http://www.frankiestikiroom.com/images/TBGRNRsized.jpg
http://www.frankiestikiroom.com/images/FINAL_THURSTON_HOWLresized.jpg

32RidgewayGirl
Nov 8, 2014, 7:09 am

I was sorry to hear about the end of Treasure Island. I am especially sad that I didn't get one of their chandeliers made of bones. Those things were fabulous.

33mstrust
Editado: Nov 8, 2014, 10:47 am

I know, I get all nostalgic whenever one of the greats closes or gets turned into something else. Like the Alladin being turned into Planet Hollywood, or the Sahara sitting there empty for years. When a business model isn't working, they seem to blame the building and want to obliterate it.

I saw a trailer (ad) on PBS for the new season of Downton Abbey.



This is listed as La Fortune, QC

34lkernagh
Nov 8, 2014, 3:24 pm

Just to show how observant I have been lately, I just noticed the title you have given to this thread... LOL!

35mstrust
Editado: Nov 8, 2014, 4:28 pm

>34 lkernagh: Yes, you are paying attention! It seemed fitting, as this thread will be my last for the year. What better way to end it?



111. King Lear by William Shakespeare. Vain and silly King Lear demands that each of his three daughters describe their love for him. When the youngest and favored Cordelia gives a reply that is less gushing, but more reasonable, than her sisters, the King banishes her. This sets up a chain of miserable events in which the sisters and their husbands scramble to replace Cordelia in their father's heart, but fail because ambition brings out their cruelty.

This play has some unusual twists, in that wise youth shows the folly in the much older parent, and in a side plot, the known but unrecognized illegitimate son doesn't want his father's love at all. Also, features an eye gouging, so that's different.4 stars

36mstrust
Editado: Nov 10, 2014, 10:44 am



112. The Mac + Cheese Cookbook by Allison Arevalo & Erin Wade. Non-Fiction. By the owners of Homeroom, a mac & cheese restaurant in Oakland, Ca, this contains recipes for all different ways to make the comfort food. There is the classic cheddar mac & cheese, and then the spicy chili mac, a breakfast mac topped with a fried egg, truffle mac, blue cheese and walnut mac, mac cakes (like crab cakes), and vegan mac. There are also recipes for veggie side dishes and some desserts, including a mac made with brown sugar and strawberries. Guess what's for dinner tonight. 4 stars

Gaiman is so pleased that it's his birthday.

37mstrust
Editado: Nov 10, 2014, 4:56 pm



113. A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare. Hermia's father brings her before Theseus to be judged, as Hermia refuses to marry her father's choice, Demetrius. Instead she loves Lysander, who loves her back. With the threat of death if Hermia doesn't follow her father's wishes, the couple run into the woods, but are pursued by Demetrius and the girl who loves him, Helena. Also in the woods are the King and Queen of the Fairies and their followers. When the King attempts to smooth love's way for the mortals, he makes things much worse.

Not one of my favorites from Shakespeare, but I can see where it would be a great choice for the stage. Romance in the forest and fairies would be difficult to resist. 3.5 stars

I watched the Ian McKellan version of Richard III, and it was excellent. Set in WWII, Richard turns England to a Nazi-style regime.

38RidgewayGirl
Nov 11, 2014, 2:06 am

I've always meant to watch that version of Richard III. Thanks for the reminder.

39mstrust
Nov 11, 2014, 11:30 am

Welcome! I hope to get to Titus Andronicus this month, and then watch the Anthony Hopkins movie version.

40mstrust
Nov 13, 2014, 8:50 pm

I haven't stopped trying out all the pumpkin stuff. I've tried a pumpkin spice carbonated juice from Knudsen that was surprisingly good, and those pumpkin spice baking chips from Tollhouse, which I made into cookies. I thought they tasted like vanilla chips that had pumpkin and nutmeg added. Not bad, but I doubt if I'd buy them again.

41mstrust
Editado: Nov 15, 2014, 4:52 pm



114. The Book of William: How Shakespeare's First Folio Conquered the World by Paul Collins. Collins travels from a London Sotheby's rare book auction, to the Folger Library to San Francisco to Tokyo to the Kent countryside, tracking and often holding Shakespeare's folios. Not all are first; he's actually tracking second, third and the first photographed facsimiles, and giving the reader a thorough history of how many people it took to save Shakespeare from becoming obscure and forgotten.
I have to stop myself from gushing, but I really looked forward to getting back to this book every time I had to lay it down. The descriptions of book auctions and the people who attend them, the book sellers and collectors who protected or made a living from folios, and especially the editors of competing editions of Shakespeare who fought over who had a better understanding of the Bard, make this a lively story. I only wish there had been a photo or two of some folios. 4.5 stars

I had to see one, so here's a director of Christie's auction house holding a First Folio.

42mstrust
Editado: Nov 16, 2014, 11:13 am



115. Cold Fusion by Doris Haggis-On-Whey. Authors I Like.

Here's the fourth in what will soon enough be a series of 176 books about everything worth knowing on this planet or any other. These books, all classics of their kind, have been and will continue to be written by me, Dr. Doris Haggis-On-Whey, the foremost person of knowledge among all people. The person pictured with me is Benny, my husband and formerly ward of the village of Crumpets-Under-Kilt, where we now reside. Benny now lives in the shed so as not to interfere with my work and meals.



From the How book series, here's Dr. Haggis-On-Whey continues to dazzle the reader with her knowledge while scolding us for being stupid and taking her time. Benny gets his own section of the book, which includes a discussion of why birds shouldn't be fed crackers (they aren't able to appreciate how good crackers are and therefore giving them crackers is wasting crackers) and tips for what to do when you've been left behind, and the merits of mittens over socks.
I wish this series would never end. 4 stars

43mstrust
Editado: Nov 19, 2014, 7:22 pm



116. Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare. Cassius is quickly able to plant the idea of overthrowing Julius Caesar in the mind of Brutus, a man who claims to love Caesar. Cassius and Brutus gather a group of the Caesar's friends, who they join together to murder the leader, then tell each other that they did the man a favor and will be remembered for their courage in removing a tyrant. But then Marcus Antony gives a clever eulogy at the funeral, which causes the public to question the motives of the assassins, the conspirators no longer trust one another and Brutus finds his position threatened.

A good example of how power corrupts, as even the good guy, Antony, tries to manipulate his friends to gain more for himself. 4 stars

44VioletBramble
Nov 19, 2014, 11:59 pm

>36 mstrust: - nice photo of Neil Gaiman looking depressed for his birthday. Today Neil Gaiman and Daniel Handler (Lemony Snicket) were in Washington Square Park. They had a contest to see which of them could give away more books. They gave away National Book Awards finalist books plus their own books. I didn't find out about it until it was over or I would have gone there just to see them in person.

>41 mstrust: so that's what a folio looks like. I've always wondered.

45mstrust
Nov 20, 2014, 10:45 am

I wish I could have been there too. They must have drawn a huge crowd.
Yes, I had to see what one looked like after reading so much about them. Seemed odd that there wasn't a single pic in the book. The photos I found show much larger than average books, as they were meant to be held on a reading stand while the reader stood, as if giving a lecture.

46AuntieClio
Nov 22, 2014, 10:30 pm

hi :=)

47mstrust
Editado: Nov 23, 2014, 11:04 am

>46 AuntieClio: Good to see you again!

And has anyone seen the final Poirot, Curtain? I've just finished it and it's a stunner. I've avoided reading the book because I knew something about it (trying not to give anything away here, but it's hard).



117. How To Have An Almost Perfect Marriage by Mrs. Stephen Fry. Authors I Like. This second book by "Mrs." Fry is full of all the advice a woman needs concerning love, from finding a mate, dating, wedding tips, marriage and parenting advice. And lots of anecdotes about what it's like being married to her own husband, the drunkard Stephen Fry.
Hate to say it, but this one isn't nearly as funny as Mrs. Fry's Diary. 3 stars

48rabbitprincess
Nov 23, 2014, 1:10 pm

>47 mstrust: Apparently our PBS is showing Curtain next week, cunningly timed to coincide with their Thanksgiving pledge drive. But I have a DVD of the last few episodes coming from the library, so I'll watch it that way. Rather anxious about Curtain because the book affected me so much (at the tender age of nine!).

49mstrust
Nov 23, 2014, 1:27 pm

>48 rabbitprincess: I just spoke to my mom in Vegas and they're playing Curtain tonight there. And I noticed that the episode was dated 2013 at the end. So maybe it aired in the U.K. last year and everyone is getting the finale at a different date.
And if the movie is true to the book, I can see why it would affect a kid. I've put it off for the same reason.

50mstrust
Nov 23, 2014, 2:02 pm



Here's what I've been doing lately. This is the second tiki I've carved. It actually took months, as my husband's workshop doesn't have A/C so I could only work on it for about an hour at a time until the weather cooled. It's 8 inches tall, the wood is poplar and i used a forbom, which is like an industrial dremel.

51lkernagh
Nov 23, 2014, 11:35 pm

I haven't seen Curtain. We have started re-watching all of the Poirot's tonight, in the series order David Suchet played the lead role. I figure it will be mid-March before we are caught up and ready to watch Curtain. ;-)

>50 mstrust: - Very impressive!

52mstrust
Nov 24, 2014, 10:47 am

>51 lkernagh: Wow, Lori, that's commitment! Are you scheduling a few a week?
And thanks! I'm excessively proud of this one. I don't know why it looks tilted in the photo, but I'm a pretty bad photographer.

53DeltaQueen50
Nov 24, 2014, 6:39 pm

I am continually being impressed by the crafts produced by people here on LT. Does the Tiki represent any particular quality, of course with those big shiny teeth, he could be a representative of dental health!

54lkernagh
Nov 24, 2014, 9:11 pm

>52 mstrust: - No plan as yet but I am thinking 2-3 a week. We tend to go on movie watching binges during the holidays so I think we will squeeze in a few more at that time.

I really like the tilting.... kind of makes me think of Easter Island, things like that. ;-)

55mstrust
Nov 25, 2014, 10:48 am

>53 DeltaQueen50: I'm afraid the bright teeth are another instance of my lousy skill with the camera plus the bright overhead lighting. The teeth actually have an aged look, as it's a watered down paint wash on them, so it seems to be reflecting the light in the pic.
It doesn't represent a certain tiki but an amalgam, as I looked through my tiki books/magazines and drew up something that was in the style, but the teeth were all mine.
And I wish it did have the power to impart dental health, as I've been in pain all week and I have an appointment with an oral surgeon this afternoon!

>54 lkernagh: Fun! And you'll get to watch the Many Mustaches of Poirot as they change through the years.
Yea, it probably would look authentic sticking out of the sand.

56mstrust
Editado: Nov 25, 2014, 11:02 am



118. Stars and Swipes and Hugs and Misses by Wilhelm Staehle. These are two postcard collections from LT's ER, so I'm counting them as one. Staehle's art work uses white silhouettes of the character speaking, which creates a blank space to fill in with the words, so you have the famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware, with Washington's empty space proclaiming, "I'm King of the New World!"
One collection is of patriotic themed, while the other is romantic. The humor ranges from clever stuff that you'd like to tear out and mail, to dull puns. 3.5 stars

57DeltaQueen50
Nov 25, 2014, 1:22 pm

Oh, good luck at the dentist, my fingers are crossed for a pain-free result.

58mstrust
Nov 26, 2014, 9:53 am

Thanks, Judy, and I did have a pain-free consultation, so that's something. Now I have to decide on a day for the surgery. Ugh.
In other news, we went to upgrade our phones last night. So now I have something bigger with lots of apps that can do so many things my last phone couldn't! And I don't know how to work any of it!

59RidgewayGirl
Nov 26, 2014, 2:22 pm

Good luck with the dental surgery. When I had to have a horrible procedure I told them I was nervous and they gave me a valium, which was kind of the highlight of that experience. Sadly, valium is much less exciting than I had thought it would be in that it just made me very, very calm, which I guess was the point? Anyway, dental surgery is a fun source of the kinds of drugs usually only encountered in cheap 1970s paperbacks, so make sure you ask.

60mstrust
Nov 26, 2014, 2:38 pm

Thanks, Alison. They have prescribed one Xanax for me to take an hour before surgery. Along with painkillers, antibiotic mouthwash and antibiotic pills that I'll be taking everyday.
After spending more then a week popping various painkillers now, I'm starting to feel something in common with Hunter S. Thompson, though he wouldn't find me interesting.

61RidgewayGirl
Nov 26, 2014, 2:40 pm

Oh, I think Hunter might like the tiki. And you'll have to report back on the Xanax. We can contrast and compare.

62VioletBramble
Nov 26, 2014, 10:21 pm

Good luck with the oral surgery.. and the new phone. Happy Thanksgiving.

63lkernagh
Nov 27, 2014, 9:39 am

Good luck with the dental surgery. I still need to make the jump from flip phone to smart phone - I know! - but I cringe at the larger sizes the new smart phones are. They are almost phablets. I wonder if people in the future will laugh at pictures of people holding these large smart phones up to their heads to talk, like I tend to laugh whenever I see pictures of those first mobile phones that look like oversized walkie-talkies with the big antenna on the end! ;-)

64mstrust
Editado: Nov 27, 2014, 11:06 am



>61 RidgewayGirl: Will do. I was never afraid of the dentist before about 7 years ago, when I happened to wind up in the chair of a man who I still believe was an actual sadist. But I'll let you know how the Xanax works.

>62 VioletBramble: Thank you, and Happy Thanksgiving to you!

>63 lkernagh: Thanks! I went from a small LG Smartphone that was maybe three years old to a Droid Turbo. Yes, the screen is much larger than I'm used to, but my husband didn't want to give up the sliding keypad on his phone, which pretty much makes it a fossil. He has huge fingers so he'll go crazy with his new screen keypad. But we did get to pick out some free merchandise for doing the upgrade, so I got a couple pairs of ipod earbuds for women that are guaranteed to not fall out.

And I hate to be the one to say it, but P.D. James has died. I'm glad she had such a long and successful life.

65RidgewayGirl
Nov 27, 2014, 2:33 pm

She was 94! That's a pretty long life.

66LittleTaiko
Nov 27, 2014, 9:21 pm

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope your surgery goes well.

67mstrust
Nov 28, 2014, 12:42 pm

>65 RidgewayGirl: A very long life, and even better, sharp as a tack and active to the end. I believe she was working on another book.

>66 LittleTaiko: I hope you had a great Thanksgiving, and thanks. For the first time in my life, we went to a restaurant for Thanksgiving. MIL suggested it because she wanted to save me the stress. It was better than expected, although the pumpkin pie was inedible. I was surprised by how crowded it was, with the whole waiting around, front doors and outside filled with families.

68mstrust
Editado: Nov 28, 2014, 2:33 pm



119. Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare. As the top Roman General, Titus wars with the Goths and captures their queen, Tamora, along with her three warrior sons and her secret lover, Aaron, who is a Moor. Bringing them to Rome, the eldest of the sons is ritually and brutally killed, while Tamora is forced to marry the soon-to-be Emperor. The Romans assume the Goths are now resigned to become Roman subjects, but Tamora, her sons and Aaron set about repaying Titus and Rome.

Not only the most violent and bloody of Shakespeare's plays, this is the most violent play I've ever come across, period. Beheadings, limbs chopped off, rape, tongues cut out... it's a bloodbath.4 stars

69-Eva-
Editado: Nov 28, 2014, 2:58 pm

Not envying you the upcoming dental work, but happy it's scheduled and soon over! I just had a root canal which wasn't pleasant, although I have to say my dentist is generous with the lidocaine so it wasn't actually painful.

Our Thanksgiving was a potluck, so I was responsible only for pies and still got a belly full of turkey and trimmings! :)

70mstrust
Nov 29, 2014, 10:21 am

Glad your root canal went well! I just want it all to be over with so that I can finally sleep through the night.
Your Thanksgiving sounds like you got a great deal. It was strange for me to not cook anything at all, as I'm always responsible for the entire meal.

71mstrust
Editado: Nov 29, 2014, 1:15 pm



120. Anger Management for Beginners by Giles Coren. Authors I Like. A collection of columns written mostly for The London Times, Coren writes about so many things that make him angry: dirty hotels, teenage thugs, unethical estate agents, people who don't clean up after their dogs, women who lie about what they find attractive in a man, wealthy people who brag about skiing holidays. There are several things I don't agree with him about, such as bullfighting being entertainment, yet I liked this book. I know there must be something weird about me thinking of a book about hated things and people as a comfort read, but I did. I'm sure it has to do with how much I loved the program Supersizers Go... that Coren co-hosted. 4 stars

And that's my Authors I Like category finished.

72-Eva-
Nov 29, 2014, 6:53 pm

I've only ever seen Coren on Gordon Ramsay's The F-Word, but I really liked him so I'll have to add this one to the wishlist.

73rabbitprincess
Nov 29, 2014, 11:28 pm

Ended up watching Curtain. I cried so hard I got a headache. Knowing exactly what would happen (thanks to reading the book) did nothing to prepare me for the emotional impact. David Suchet was brilliant.

74mstrust
Editado: Nov 30, 2014, 1:10 pm

>72 -Eva-: Since you've never seen "Supersizers Go..." you're in for a treat. They examine the foods of all different periods through history and it's hysterically funny. I know the episodes have been on YouTube, so you might take a look.

>73 rabbitprincess: It was so sad. ***MASSIVE SPOILERS*** Seeing Poirot curled up in bed like that, having become the very thing he had spent his life fighting. And poor Hastings! He lost his wife, then his friend, and when all he had left was that bitchy daughter, who leaves him too. I hated her.

Today is both the birthday of Mark Twain and the deathday of Oscar Wilde.

75rabbitprincess
Nov 30, 2014, 1:17 pm

>74 mstrust: I still get teary-eyed thinking about the chapter immediately after Poirot dies. It begins:

I don't want to write about it at all.

I want, you see, to think about it as little as possible. Hercule Poirot was dead -- and with him died a good part of Arthur Hastings.


*wibble* Poor Hastings, without Poirot to look after him! I shall imagine that he and Japp and Miss Lemon resume hanging out and having adventures, like old times.

What did you think of the bit where he reveals that he's been wearing a false moustache, and then is clean-shaven when he kills Norton? I found that so strange, to see "David Suchet in the Poirot suit" as opposed to "Hercule Poirot".

And then David Suchet himself showed up after the broadcast in what I assume was a pre-recorded promo for the PBS pledge drive. That made me cry even more! Haha my poor boyfriend, having to deal with all that :P

76mstrust
Nov 30, 2014, 2:40 pm

***SPOILER***
Yes, I was surprised that by removing that little mustache, he removed Poirot quite a bit. But most of all, when it seemed that Poirot was recounting how he had murdered Norton, each step, I couldn't believe that Poirot would become a murderer. It so went against his nature of demanding truth and justice.

I wonder if Christie killed Poirot because she didn't want to leave him sitting there for another author to pick up and play with. She died in 1976 and I believe Curtain was published just the year before. Maybe she didn't want him to be used in a pastiche.

77-Eva-
Nov 30, 2014, 5:12 pm

>74 mstrust:
I definitely will. There are a few youtubers who've uploaded full seasons - looking forward to that!

78rabbitprincess
Nov 30, 2014, 7:31 pm

>76 mstrust: She wasn't that fond of him, I think, and she regretted having made him so old at the beginning of the series, because it limited what she could do with him. Curtain was actually written sometime during the Second World War and kept in a safety deposit box (along with Sleeping Murder) -- the common line is that she wrote it in case she didn't survive the war, but I think Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks refuted that theory. She had Curtain published when she realized she couldn't write any more new material, but unfortunately she didn't have time to edit it to fit in with the established chronology of the series.

If she didn't want Poirot used in pastiches, I can't imagine what she would have said about her grandson authorizing Sophie Hannah to write a new Poirot story! Harrumph.

79mstrust
Dic 1, 2014, 11:54 am

>77 -Eva-: Have fun! Coren and Sue Perkins are so great together.

>78 rabbitprincess: I didn't know it had been written that long before publication. That's interesting info.
I know, when I saw that someone had written a new Poirot, my first reaction was, "Who the hell do you think you are?" Ha!
That grandson seems to be very active of late, with popping up in the Poirot docs and signing over his grandmother's character. I have to admit to some jealousy when I hear of someone making money hand over fist simply for being related to someone brilliant.

80mstrust
Dic 1, 2014, 3:08 pm

I've just finished watching the mid-season finale (why is that a thing? It shouldn't be a thing) of "The Walking Dead".
My. God. I can't believe that happened.

81mstrust
Editado: Dic 3, 2014, 4:06 pm




121. Infidelities by Sean Mathias. Not Famous Authors. When Janine brings home young stranger Michael for the afternoon, it seems she has a secret to keep from her husband Jeffrey. But Jeffrey has an even bigger secret, or thinks he does. He's started seeing Mark, who isn't a random stranger at all, as he's secretly been following Janine and Jeffrey for months, just waiting for the moment to drop a bomb on them and ruin their lives.

This is a play that was first presented at the Edinburgh Festival in 1985 before moving to its run in London the following year. It starred Jill Bennett and John Castle as Janine and Jeffrey, the middle-aged unhappy couple who tell such opposing stories about their lives together. It's a black comedy, with J and J barely able to think beyond themselves even as the most crushing news is delivered to them. And it's a short play that's really hard to nail down. It begins with the typical " I'm doing this because I'm so unhappy" stuff, then goes into a situation that is not funny at all, then goes into a rather Monty Python type conversation between Janine and Jeffrey. I'm giving it three stars because the not funny stuff is disturbing. 3 stars

I think after 30 pages, I'm deciding to abandon The Brontes Went to Woolworth's. It's been a struggle with the smug, childish narrator and the constant wondering if what she's describing really happened or if it's another one of her fantasies. More annoyance than it's worth when I have shelves and shelves of others to choose from.

82mstrust
Editado: Dic 4, 2014, 4:46 pm

This ER I won arrived today, so of course I had to stop everything to read it.



122. You Have to F*****g Eat by Adam Mansbach. Not Famous Authors. The follow-up to Go The F**k to Sleep, this poem uses the animal world as an example of the young happily eating their food while the narrator's child refuses to do the same. The exasperation is palpable. 4 stars

I hope you know it's super-special
To go to a restau- Hey, back in your seat.
You shitting me? This whole menu's crap to you
But a roll on the floor- that you'll eat?


Ooohhh, here's Stephen Fry reading the whole book:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0Vou9-Z0Is

83mstrust
Dic 5, 2014, 12:35 pm


Blackbeard. Because it's David Cordingly's birthday, and he's the author of several great books on what the pirate life was really like.

84RidgewayGirl
Dic 6, 2014, 3:36 am

>82 mstrust: Not read by Samuel L. Jackson?

85mstrust
Editado: Dic 6, 2014, 11:24 am

No Jackson, though there is a version read by Bryan Cranston of which I could only find info about but not the recording, dang it. He must be doing the American recording while Fry does the U.K. version. I know, I would think Jackson would do the sequel too.

I've started my Christmas baking. I've made so many cookies this week- pumpkin spice sandwich, chocolate chip pecan, sugar, peanut butter with M&Ms, chocolate crinkles and pretzels dipped in marshmallow frosting and topped with maple sugar. I think I'll make just one or two more, probably a chocolate biscotti with caramel frosting. Anyone else doing some baking?

86thornton37814
Dic 6, 2014, 7:46 pm

>85 mstrust: I haven't gotten around to making cookies or candy yet. I only have to work through Wednesday so I'm hoping I may get some done on Thursday.

87mstrust
Editado: Dic 7, 2014, 11:36 am

I got mine started a little early just because one of Mike's friends was leaving for a while and I wanted to get him his yearly tin, so I spent a day cranking out a variety of cookies. I try to make one or two new ones along with the favorites like chocolate crinkles.



123. Locke & Key Vol. 2: Head Games by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. The second volume in the story of the Locke family follows Ty and Kinsey as they begin making friends at their new high school. Soon after, the school's elderly drama teacher commits suicide and Ty begins hanging out with Zack, who is the worst choice of friends. Younger brother Bode figures out that one of the elaborate housekeys opens something freaky, and Uncle Duncan has his own secret. 4 stars

88RidgewayGirl
Dic 7, 2014, 2:11 pm

Tia the season of classroom parties and bake sales. But it's just been peanut butter cookies and chocolate chip cookies (Tollhouse recipe) as they are big treats out here.

89mstrust
Editado: Dic 7, 2014, 2:50 pm

Is it that the Tollhouse recipe is unique or chocolate chip cookies in general?
I remember loving those German snowballs made of fried dough and powdered sugar that were in the shop windows. They screamed Christmas, but maybe they're sold year round.
I bought a box of a new flavor of Queen Anne cherries-black cherry cola. It really tastes like a drop or two of Cherry Coke in the syrup.

90RidgewayGirl
Dic 7, 2014, 2:55 pm

The Tollhouse recipe is excellent and very buttery. The snowballs are available year round but are regional. We were in Rothenburg ob der Tauber a few weekends ago and had some. The ones covered in powdered sugar or cinnamon sugar were much better than the chocolate covered ones, counter-intuitive though that may be.

91-Eva-
Dic 7, 2014, 8:43 pm

>85 mstrust:
I'll be baking from grandma's recipes - Christmas should taste like my grandma's food so I'm baking cardamom cake and flatbread. And making candies, of course. No cookies, I don't think, but who knows.... :)

>87 mstrust:
Isn't that such a great series!

>89 mstrust: & >90 RidgewayGirl:
Those snowballs are all kinds of wonderful. And, yes, with powdered sugar, not chocolate - that would be what we Swedes would call "cookie-on-cookie," i.e. too much of good thing.

92rabbitprincess
Dic 7, 2014, 9:28 pm

My BF has been making cookies this week and I have been diligently carrying out my duties as Head, Quality Control. He made his usual "Grandma W cookies" (made from a recipe belonging to his great-grandmother) that are basically a fluffy brown sugar cookie and very delicious with tea. He also made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from a recipe that *my* grandma uses and that he prefers to the standard chocolate chip cookie. And he made brownies from a recipe he found online; I think it was called Best Brownies and they were good too. But if I want standard sugar cookies with sprinkles, I'm going to have to make them myself.

93mstrust
Dic 8, 2014, 10:52 am

>90 RidgewayGirl: It was in Rothenburg that I remember eating the snowballs. I stayed there four or five days many years ago. Cinnamon with the sugar would be yummy. I see a chocolate covered snowball as a melty mess. Across Switzerland and Germany I ate little chocolate balls filled with champagne.

>91 -Eva-: In Sweden I had "S" shaped saffron cookies, which the kids in the house were anxious to get at. Cardamon cake sounds really good. My grandmothers were Southern, with one's specialty being a dinner of catfish, hushpuppies and chocolate cream pie, while the other made apricot fried pies that were so in demand that she had to start counting them to let everyone know that she'd know if they were being swiped.

>92 rabbitprincess: Brown sugar cookies are great, and I really like oatmeal and chocolate chips. I make a Hershey's recipe for cocoa oatmeal cookies. Why the refusal of sugar cookies?

Did anyone else see the "Today" show this morning with members of the "Downton Abbey" cast? I didn't recognize Edith or Mrs. Hughes until they were introduced. They were there discussing the upcoming season, which starts in a few weeks. Ya!

94mamzel
Dic 8, 2014, 12:58 pm

This week the office staff (which tangentially includes me) is holding a Teacher Appreciation Day and putting it lots of goodies for them to enjoy while the kids are taking their finals. I made some biscotti with dried cherries and hazelnuts (had to go to three stores to find them) and tonight I'll dip them in melted chocolate. Yum!

My mother used to make the Toll House recipe with half butter/half Crisco. The cookies were a little more cake-like.

95mstrust
Editado: Dic 8, 2014, 1:11 pm



124. The Winter's Tale by William Shakespeare.Deeply paranoid, Leontes, the King of Sicilia, decides that his wife has been having an affair with the visiting King of Bohemia, and that the baby she carries has been fathered by the visitor. Leontes demands that his friend Camillo murder King Polixenes, but instead, Camillo flees Sicilia with the King. Since he can't take revenge on the man, Leontes punishes the Queen and the newborn child, who is taken to Bohemia and left to the elements. She is rescued by a poor shepherd, who raises and loves her as a daughter, and the local prince falls in love with her, which causes problems with his father.

This play is a twofer- you get both a intense tragedy, along the lines of "Othello", then a romance. It's weird, because it's hard to transition from a king demanding that a newborn be burned alive to young love. For me, the first half, with the King's madness, was way more compelling. 4 stars

96mstrust
Dic 8, 2014, 1:17 pm

>94 mamzel: Your biscotti sounds delicious and would be so good dunked in coffee. Lucky teachers!
I haven't made the Tollhouse recipe in years, but I remember my mom used that one. Mike likes his chocolate chip cookies lumpier, so I've been using an old Hershey's recipe for years now that calls for a stick and a half of butter and more brown than white sugar. And lots of walnuts.

97mamzel
Dic 8, 2014, 3:11 pm

Another trick I learned about making TH cookies. My mother used to use black walnuts which have a very distinctive flavor. I got an idea from the wife of a coworker to use black walnut extract. Now I can enjoy the flavor of black walnuts without the cost. I think they cost so much more because they are much harder to remove from their shells.

98mstrust
Dic 8, 2014, 5:42 pm

That's a good idea. I have tiny bottles of extracts in flavors like coffee or champagne so I don't have to brew a pot and let it cool to get a little flavor in frosting. You're right, the Black Walnut is harder to crack than the more common Persian. When I see a show that explains how hard or time-consuming something is to harvest, like cranberries or vanilla, it makes me feel stingy for wanting a cheap price.

99rabbitprincess
Dic 8, 2014, 6:13 pm

>93 mstrust: He just doesn't like them as much as the brown sugar cookies, so if he is going to make any type of sugar cookie, it's the brown sugar kind. He did put sprinkles on some of the cookies he made, though :)

100-Eva-
Dic 8, 2014, 11:51 pm

>93 mstrust:
I've not heard of a cookie version, so I'm wondering if what you had was a lussekatt - they are a staple during the Christmas season and most often come in that S-shape.

"apricot fried pies"
Sounds yummy!

And hush puppies are still shoes in my mind. :)

101mstrust
Dic 9, 2014, 11:06 am

Going into the oral surgery in few minutes.

102rabbitprincess
Dic 9, 2014, 5:50 pm

>101 mstrust: Good luck!! Hope it goes/went well!

103-Eva-
Dic 9, 2014, 11:56 pm

>101 mstrust:
Fingers Xed there were no complications and that you're now on the road to recovery (and properly drugged up!).

104RidgewayGirl
Dic 10, 2014, 2:57 am

I hope it all went well and you're on the road to no pain at all.

105craso
Dic 10, 2014, 9:59 am

All this talk about goodies and then you have oral surgery! You better get well soon so you can eat all the yummy things your baking!

106mstrust
Dic 10, 2014, 10:54 am

>99 rabbitprincess: Sprinkles make everything better!

>100 -Eva-: They might have been a variation of lussekatt, but I remember them as being rather firm rather than doughy and a orange-red color from the amount of saffron. I was staying in Dalafloda, if that makes a difference. Now I can't even remember if that's how it's spelled.

>102 rabbitprincess: >103 -Eva-: >104 RidgewayGirl: It went as well as could be. When the nurse woke me it felt that I'd just gotten there and couldn't believe it was done, though it had taken over an hour. Now part of my cheek is sewn to my gums and I can barely move my jaw. But the surgeon placed the bone post in during the operation so getting an implant will be faster.
Drugs-wise, I had one Xanax before the operation and I didn't feel very different until the nurse was sticking the IV in. Normally I'm terrified of needles and would jump when getting a shot, but I just laid there even though I could feel it. I know I was given a combination of drugs to put me asleep and at some point I thought my dog was sitting next to my chair waiting for me to be done. I also thought the surgeon had smeared my eye make-up and was trying to fix it while I was standing behind the unconscious me in the chair and watching. I ended up sleeping for most of the day.

>105 craso: A cruel joke, isn't it? To make matters worse, a big box containing packages of honeycomb and turtles from a candy store in Grand Rapids arrived yesterday from Mike's aunt and uncle, and his friend brought him a whole pound of fudge from a candy store (along with a bottle of wine and a sixer of his own home-brewed beer). I managed to break off small pieces of fudge and suck on them.

107mstrust
Editado: Dic 10, 2014, 11:00 am



125. Locke & Key Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. Mrs. Locke's drinking has gotten much worse, to where she mistakes oldest son Ty for her dead husband. A few of the weird kids at school tempt Kinsey into going into the Drowning Cave to see proof that her father had once been there, and Bode finds the Mending Key, while Zack uses the Shadow Key in an effort to kill the Locke children. 4 stars

108-Eva-
Dic 10, 2014, 5:16 pm

>106 mstrust:
Absolutely possible that someone made saffron cookies in the same shape as lussekatter are - I'm going to have to do some Googling and baking, I see!

"part of my cheek is sewn to my gums"
OK, that sounds just horrible. :) Thank goodness for drugs, eh?! And, wasn't that nice of your dog to drop by! :)

109mstrust
Dic 10, 2014, 6:38 pm

It's pretty uncomfortable and I'm on completely soft foods, like yogurt and scrambled eggs. But yes, it was nice to see my dog sitting there keeping me company. Sweet girl!

110VivienneR
Dic 10, 2014, 8:37 pm

>106 mstrust: What an ordeal! And only the important things were on your mind: your dog and your make up! Good for you. I hope you'll be feeling better soon and able to tackle the Christmas treats.

111DeltaQueen50
Dic 10, 2014, 9:44 pm

Glad to hear that the oral surgery is over. So do you have to go back and have the stitches taken out or will they dissolve over time? I sure hope all is back to normal in time for Christmas.

112lkernagh
Dic 11, 2014, 9:37 am

Glad to read that the oral surgery went smoothly. Yikes to the idea of part of your cheek sewn to your gums. I cannot even imagine something like that! Soft food diets are always a challenge. I like mashed potatoes cooked in chicken stock, but I would have to make that myself so I would be living on yogurt and protein drinks.

113mstrust
Editado: Dic 11, 2014, 2:13 pm

>110 VivienneR: What your mind comes up with under powerful drugs is pretty strange. Thanks!
>111 DeltaQueen50: Thank you! I have to go back Tuesday for him to have a look, but the stitches will dissolve. I hope nothing holds me back from my Christmas eating.
>112 lkernagh: Thanks. I had scrambled eggs for breakfast and dinner yesterday, but Mike brought me a chocolate shake last night. Yum, and the cold was nice. One of the worst parts of all this is that I haven't slept through a night in over a month. Being woken up from the pain three or four times a night sucks.


126. The Maxx by Sam Kieth and Messner-Loebs. The Maxx is a purple costumed superhero of the Australian Outback who saves damsels in distress. Or he's a crazy homeless guy who thinks he's a superhero because he has no power over his life. Or he's a protector who only exists in the mind of a young woman who was assaulted.
First published in 1993, I watched the animated show on MTV in the mid-90's and always remebered it in the back of my mind. 3 stars

I'm calling it-challenge done. I may not have completed all my categories but 125 books is way more than I've ever read in a year and I'm pretty happy with it.

114RidgewayGirl
Dic 11, 2014, 10:53 am

Congrats on finishing! 125 books is a lot!

115VivienneR
Dic 11, 2014, 10:53 am

Congratulations! And having a stand-in to do a happy dance is good for your recovery!

116DeltaQueen50
Dic 11, 2014, 12:44 pm

Congratulations! That fellow looks to be in danger of putting his back out!

117Helenliz
Dic 11, 2014, 2:16 pm

Congratulations on challenge completed.
Hope the recovery goes well, the trouble with tooth pain is the way you can't seem to escape it.
When we were at Uni my housemate had her wisdom teeth extracted - all 4 of them - and was on a soft food diet for a while. She complained that liquidised food all turns the same sort of icky grey/brown, so I prepared a liquidised fruit salad, doing each fruit separately, so that it was separate colours, not just a mush. :-)

118mstrust
Dic 11, 2014, 2:16 pm

>114 RidgewayGirl: >115 VivienneR: >116 DeltaQueen50: Thanks a lot! And also, a big Oops! because I actually hit #126. And isn't it kind of Abed to do my celebrating for me?

119mstrust
Dic 11, 2014, 2:21 pm

>117 Helenliz: Thank you! The fruit salad is a good idea. When you're choices are narrowed to stuff with no texture the fridge becomes a sad wasteland. I'm going to suck on some fudge.

120lkernagh
Dic 11, 2014, 9:03 pm

Congratulations on 125 books read! Awesome! Love the happy dance stand in. ;-)

I'm going to suck on some fudge.

Make that a fudgsicle, and I will join you!

121LittleTaiko
Dic 11, 2014, 10:59 pm

Congratulations! Love the very enthusiastic Abed dance! Hope you are feeling better and back to tasty, solid foods soon.

122-Eva-
Dic 11, 2014, 11:03 pm

Huge congrats on finishing!! 126 is an awesome total. And, loving the happy-dancer!

123MissWatson
Dic 12, 2014, 4:06 am

Congratulations on finishing the challenge and best wishes for a speedy revovery!

124AHS-Wolfy
Dic 12, 2014, 8:20 am

Congrats on finishing your challenge!

125craso
Dic 12, 2014, 9:53 am

Congratulations on finishing your challenge! Reading 126 books in a year is awesome. Hope you are eating all your goodies soon.

126mstrust
Editado: Dic 12, 2014, 10:11 am

>120 lkernagh: Thank you! I'm feeling a little better today and managed my first solid food this morning, which was most of a piece of toast cut into tiny pieces. Very exciting!

>121 LittleTaiko: Thank you, and I am feeling better. Just a tip- when the package says to take a drug with food, go ahead and do that. I learned the hard way.

>122 -Eva-: Thanks! I really miss the weirdness of "Community".

>123 MissWatson: Thank you very much!

>124 AHS-Wolfy: Thanks! I was happy with where I landed.

>125 craso: Thank you! I hope to be eating cookies within two or three days. Though not being stuck with soup and yogurt is a pretty effective diet.

I've looked through my 5 star reads for the year and was surprised that the majority were Non-Fiction.
Fiction- Richard III and Kill Your Darlings. That's it, though I had many 4.5 stars.
Non-Fiction- Geisha: The Life, The Voices, The Art, The Perfect Pumpkin, Maple Sugar: From Sap to Syrup, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking.

127mstrust
Dic 14, 2014, 11:27 am

I've been watching movie versions of the Shakespeares I've been reading. I saw the Ian Holm version of King Lear, which was well-acted though the costumes and sets were minimal, so underwhelming. Then I watched Titus Andronicus starring Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming and Matthew Rhys. Stunning. The word "visionary" is fitting, and the costumes won an Oscar. Highly recommended.

128mstrust
Dic 15, 2014, 11:23 am

A little Christmas music from the Squirrel Nut Zippers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nivsq8Heh1c

129AuntieClio
Dic 16, 2014, 2:26 am

love the Squirrel Nut Zippers! Sorry about your mouth.

130mstrust
Editado: Dic 16, 2014, 12:32 pm

Ha! Thanks, Clio!

Well, just one more cookie tin to go out, most have been given by now. I finished my baking/making with a batch of chocolate covered marshmallows. Simple but delicious, and I always buy them at the chocolate festival.

131mstrust
Dic 18, 2014, 1:22 pm

I have to put this clip up because it's always been amazing to me. It's The Monkees singing a 14th Century Spanish chant. And note the very simple Christmas tree.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_hlYgCNFZc

132mamzel
Dic 18, 2014, 1:48 pm

That was pretty cool! I remember my family's trees looking like that and spending so much time carefully placing each strand of tinsel so that the tree was evenly shimmery! I was too young to remember but my parents even saved the tinsel from one year to the next their first couple of years together.

133mstrust
Dic 18, 2014, 3:47 pm

My father insisted on that silver tinsel. It meant so much to him that even though he never placed an ornament on the tree, he'd come supervise the placing of the tinsel to ensure it was even. I don't know if it's still being made because I haven't seen a packet of it in a few years.
I think the simple tree in the clip is sweet and draws my eye because of what it lacks- no flashing lights, no corporate merchandising, no ostentatious display.

134MissWatson
Dic 19, 2014, 4:05 am

We've had the same ornaments as longs as I can remember, some were bought by my father's grandfather, so they're practically irrepleaceable. And we always saved the tinsel, too. In Germany, tinsel was not available for some years because it contained too much lead. There's an aluminium version now, but it's not quite the same, not heavy enough.

135RidgewayGirl
Dic 19, 2014, 8:41 am

>132 mamzel: My best friend and her brother used to have to carefully remove each tinsel strand and pack it for the following year. At some point in high school they decided that it wasn't worth it and refused. I'm all for the reduce/reuse/recycle, but there do have to be limits!

136mstrust
Dic 19, 2014, 12:20 pm

>134 MissWatson: Yes, those would be irreplaceable; how amazing to have ornaments that have survived through the generations. The oldest I have are a few from when my parents were newlyweds in the mid-sixties. They're painted glass and show lots of wear but they're still beautiful.
In one of my Christmas boxes I have an electric plastic decoration that belonged to Dad from that same period. I'm afraid to plug it in. It's an elf, painted bright pink, squatting next to a fireplace and I remember that the whole thing glowed, but now it looks like a house fire waiting to happen.

>135 RidgewayGirl: My dad made us gather up as much good-looking tinsel as possible before pitching the tree. For him it wasn't so much a cost issue as a "if it ain't broke" thing, like the tinsel the following year may not be as good.

137mstrust
Dic 20, 2014, 11:09 am

We went to Glendale Glitters last night, which is a Christmas festival put on by the city in the park/town square. Of course we ate like pigs, but it helps a little that we share everything. Mac & cheese, pan-fried noodles with veg and grilled chicken, a chocolate and a coconut cupcakes, mini donuts and a bag of kettle korn to take home. They played "A Christmas Story on a big screen and there are vendors and antique shops open. And, the most horribly wonderful dance troupe performing to Christmas music in the amphitheater.

138craso
Dic 20, 2014, 10:12 pm

> 137 Sounds like you had a great time! My girlfriend went with her hubby and kids tonight. I've gone through the antique stores many times, but I haven't been in downtown Glendale during the Holidays. From all the eating it sounds like your mouth is getting better. 😀

139mstrust
Editado: Dic 21, 2014, 10:57 am

Unfortunately, yes, I'm able to eat anything now and I'm taking full advantage. Which I'll be doing again today at a barbeque at the lake.

Oh, and I just found out that Marky Ramone will be here promoting his book next month! Yea!!!

140VioletBramble
Dic 21, 2014, 11:03 am

Yay!, glad the recovery from oral surgery is complete. The festival food sounds yummy.
>131 mstrust: - thanks for sharing the video. I don't remember ever hearing that song and I grew up watching the Monkees. That was beautiful. I watched it a few times as I was obsessed with figuring out what Davy was holding in his hands.
Happy Holidays!

141mstrust
Dic 21, 2014, 11:49 am

Did you figure out that he and Peter were holding incense sticks? Because it was the hippie thing to do at Christmas, apparently. It is a very beautiful song and they do it so perfectly that it's amazing.
Happy Holidays to you!

142VioletBramble
Dic 21, 2014, 11:54 am

I could see Peter had an incense stick. It looked like Davy was twisting a piece of straw. His incense stick looked too skinny and he was holding it strangely. Eventually I was able to see the smoke when he moved it away from his white shirt.

143mstrust
Dic 22, 2014, 2:30 pm

Can you handle another "off the beaten path" Christmas song? Bet you didn't realize that "We're Not Gonna Take It" has so many chords in common with "Oh, Come All Ye Faithful".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmEfFlbqbbY

144mstrust
Editado: Dic 23, 2014, 8:15 pm



145LittleTaiko
Dic 23, 2014, 8:43 pm

Merry Christmas! Hope there are lots of books under your tree.

146mstrust
Dic 24, 2014, 10:41 am

Merry Christmas! There are bound to books, as I accidentally saw the purchase confirmation from Amazon UK. But I was good and didn't open it, so whatever he bought me, it will be a surprise.

147craso
Dic 24, 2014, 12:23 pm

Merry Christmas! I totally understand. My husband told me to stay off my Amazon wish list until after Christmas.

148rabbitprincess
Dic 24, 2014, 1:17 pm

Merry Christmas!! :D

I can't wait to buy books again... my parents banned me from buying books in mid-November.

149mstrust
Editado: Dic 24, 2014, 1:33 pm

>147 craso: Merry Christmas!
One year Mike left a bookstore shopping bag right in the middle of the room. I came home, and of course I went right into the bag to see what he'd brought home for himself, only to find a book on Impressionists meant for me. He couldn't believe I'd looked, and I couldn't believe he'd left it standing there where I couldn't help but see it.

>148 rabbitprincess: Merry Christmas to you! Ugh, not a book ban. If anyone can recall the beginning of this year where I stated that I wasn't going to be buying books because I had so many on the TBR tower, you'll know how well book bans work. I hope you get all the books you desire for Christmas!

And how could I have almost forgotten Lemmy's birthday?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dsqC6HRS8Lc

150AuntieClio
Dic 24, 2014, 7:41 pm



Jennifer, I'm so happy to have made your acquaintance this year. I love the links to "offbeat" videos and stuff. And I especially enjoy your tiki fascination.

151DeltaQueen50
Dic 24, 2014, 7:44 pm

Hope you have a wonderful Christmas, Jennifer. I've absolutely loved following your interesting thread this year!

152VivienneR
Dic 24, 2014, 9:50 pm

Just wishing you a very Merry Christmas, Jennifer, and a wonderful year ahead.

153mstrust
Editado: Dic 24, 2014, 11:23 pm

>150 AuntieClio: Stephanie, thanks for the cute pic, and it's been great meeting you this year! I'm glad somebody appreciates my odd behavior, ha! Have a Merry Christmas!

>151 DeltaQueen50: Judy- I've enjoyed everyone's input in making my thread fun. Merry Christmas to you!

>152 VivienneR: Vivienne, that's a pretty pic-thanks! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!


Time to eat!

154lkernagh
Dic 24, 2014, 11:51 pm

I remember tinsel! I am so glad that has gone the way of the dodo. My mom actually went to great pains to not only take the tinsel off the tree but to even carefully wrap it back around the cardboard and place it in its box until next year.

>153 mstrust: - cookies!

I have enjoyed following your reading and pretty much everything else posted here in 2014. Wishing you and your loved ones a happy holiday season and all the best in 2015!

155RidgewayGirl
Dic 25, 2014, 12:18 pm

Have a great holiday season, Jennifer. Did you decorate your Tiki?

156mstrust
Dic 25, 2014, 9:52 pm

>154 lkernagh: Lori thanks so much, and Merry Christmas to you and your family!

>155 RidgewayGirl: i hope you've had a great holiday too! I didn't decorate my tiki, but i didn't want to put it away either, so it's sitting on the big chest among my nutcracker collection. One of these things is not like the other...

157christina_reads
Dic 26, 2014, 11:39 pm

>143 mstrust: Just watched that Twisted Sister video...I'm speechless. And delighted. :)

158mstrust
Dic 28, 2014, 11:17 am

>157 christina_reads: Isn't it surprising? They made a whole Christmas CD and that's one of the songs. Of course I have it.

I got back from Christmas in Vegas last night. We had a great time and ate lots of Mexican food and margaritas, chocolates, cookies, champagne and Mom's homemade macaroni and cheese. And now I have $80 in Amazon to spend!
I hope everyone had a great holiday.

159mstrust
Dic 30, 2014, 12:03 pm

160LittleTaiko
Dic 30, 2014, 9:59 pm

Happy New Year to you too!

161mstrust
Dic 31, 2014, 10:36 am

Thanks, Stacy! I have two bottles of champagne chilled and ready.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and took part in my threads this year. I hope to see you in 2015. Happy New Year!

162RidgewayGirl
Dic 31, 2014, 10:53 am

See you next year!

163mstrust
Dic 31, 2014, 1:35 pm

I hope so! Happy New Year!

164paruline
Ene 2, 2015, 7:22 am

Happy New Year! See your next year!

165mstrust
Ene 2, 2015, 10:41 am

Happy New Year to you!

166AuntieClio
Ene 5, 2015, 7:28 pm

Woman where are you? I have a star to drop!

167mstrust
Ene 5, 2015, 7:42 pm