karenmarie: a new normal with lots of books - lucky thread VIII!

Welcome to my eighth thread of Twenty Twenty-one. Eight is my lucky number, so this one really makes me happy.

Summer birthdays being a thing in my family, this is my mother and brother’s birth months. Mom was born in 1932, Doug born in 1955.

The Good: Books, family, friends, kitties. Vaccinations and a few forays socially. Our three county libraries have re-opened and are now back on their pre-pandemic schedule. Jenna has landed a full-time-with-benefits job at the Biltmore Farms Hotels in Asheville NC and is in her apartment in Asheville.

The Bad: The coronavirus mutates, people get complacent. The vaccines are not available worldwide. And WTF is it with people not wanting to get vaccinated? Gun violence is beyond out of control.

The Ugly: The country is polarized. t**** is still spewing poison from Florida and the Gang of Psychos is still in his thrall. Incredibly, the certifiably insane t**** is talking about getting reinstated as President in August. And the senior Senator from WVA needs to stop sabotaging the party he’s nominally a member of.

I still love being 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, but are getting together on Sunday to wish one of our number farewell as she is moving to Wyoming in a few months. We’ll also discuss how to work getting back together. I am President for our local Friends of the Library (henceforth abbreviated FoL). The Board is meeting in person again and we’ve got a Children’s and AV sale scheduled for a Saturday in August and our normal 3-day sale scheduled in September.

I have been married to Bill for 30 years and am mother to Jenna, almost 28. 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, Zoe, Wash. Zoe is in an 8” x 6” x 5.5” box. I am amazed.



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No theme for pictures although I do like posting ones of family members. Ego time. This one is of me at age 2, on the sidewalk in front of the house my parents were buying in Hawthorne California in 1955.



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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In response to the pandemic and in need of comfort reading, I’m reading/re-reading the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout, all 47 of them. I started last April and will finish when it makes sense. I’ve currently read 38 of them.

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.

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

Currently Reading:

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

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

Statistics Through June 30

64 books read
20 of them on my shelves before 01/01/2021 and not rereads
9 books abandoned, 813 pages abandoned
18576 pages read
20 audiobook hours 20
Avg pages read per day, YTD = 103
Avg pages read per book, YTD = 290

Book of the month: Still Life by Val McDermid

Books Read By Month
January 6
February 10
March 13
April 10
May 10
June 15

Author
Male 61%
Female 39%

Living 52%
Dead 48%

US Born 67%
Foreign Born 33%

Platform
Hardcover 44%
Trade Pback 23%
Mass Market 28%
Audiobook 2%
e-Book 3%

Source
My Library 86%
Library 9%
Other 5%

Misc
ARC/ER 2%
Re-read 20%
Series 61%

Fiction 91%
NonFiction 9%

New to Me Authors 21

Author Birth Country
England 16%
Germany 2%
Jordan 2%
Scotland 11%
Spain 2%
US 67%
Wales 2%

Original Decade Published
1890s 2%
1910s 2%
1920s 2%
1950s 6%
1960s 25%
1970s 5%
1980s 5%
1990s 5%
2000s 12%
2010s 18%
2020s 18%

Category
Adventure 3%
Biography 0%
Chrestomathy 0%
Contemporary Fiction 5%
Fantasy 8%
Historical Fiction 5%
Humor 2%
Informational Nonfiction 8%
Memoir 2%
Mystery 44%
Poetry 0%
Science Fiction 0%
Suspense 0%
Thriller 23%


Book Acquisition Date
2007 - Joined LT, added 1853 books 10
2008 1
2009 1
2010 1
2012 1
2016 2
2018 8
2019 1
2020 6
2021 24
borrowed from friends 3
Library 6

Rating
2.5 - Average 1
3 - Good 6
3.5 - Very Good 14
4 - Excellent 32
4.5 - Stunning 11

3.86 - YTD Average

June’s Lightning Round

Don’t Let Go by Harlan Coben 6/1/21 6/2/21

Tightly plotted and interesting characters, but ultimately seemed dated even though it was published in 2017. It was a good two days of reading candy, though.

The Mother Hunt by Rex Stout 6/2/21 6/4/21

Interesting premise, very interesting client. The motive was questionable, and it’s amazing that so many people didn’t put a particular person on a list. Entertaining, though, and Wolfe hiding out at the client’s house was more than amusing. Who knew it takes 40 minutes to make scrambled eggs?

Still Life by Val McDermid 6/4/21 6/7/21

The interesting thing about McDermid’s style is that by the time you’re near the denouement, every single thing you know about the crime, the victim, and the suspect seems inevitable. You forget the false starts, dead ends, red herrings, and shock you would have felt if you’d been told at the beginning where it would all lead. The writing is seamless, intriguing, addictive. And now there’s a long wait for the next in the series.

Last Seen Wearing by Hillary Waugh 6/7/21 6/9/21 214 pages trade paperback

One of the first police procedurals. Well done, with an abrupt and satisfying ending. The police were not bound by procedure so it’s a bit jarring – a rather rough interview, an un-search-warranted search, etc. However, the clues pan out, the story moves forward logically, and that bad guy is discovered. I particularly liked the Chief of Police’s reconstruction of the crime.

Trio for Blunt Instruments by Rex Stout 6/12/21 6/13/21

Three novellas:

1. Kill Now – Pay Later. So forgettable that by the time I had finished Murder is Corny I couldn’t remember it at all.
2. Murder is Corny. Better write this one down quickly – Archie is accused of being at a murder scene by a woman who thinks he’ll have an alibi. He doesn’t and is dragged down to headquarters by Cramer and released on bail. Wolfe feels obligated to prove Archie’s innocence so he won’t be minus his sidekick, and solves the murder. The woman, Sue McLeod, is as ditsy as they come, a real stereotypical disappointment, and Archie’s comments about her are disappointingly stereotypical too.
3. Blood Will Tell. Interesting mystery wherein a blood-stained tie is sent to Archie. Everybody’s in love with somebody not their spouse, and this is one of the first instances I remember reading about a murderer keeping a trophy.

A Right to Die by Rex Stout 6/13/21 6/15/21

Unflinching look at race relations in 1964 in NYC.

The Doorbell Rang by Rex Stout 6/16/21 6/17/21

A woman buys 10000 copies of an expose of the FBI and mails them out. The FBI doesn’t like it, she’s harassed, and she hires Wolfe to stop the harassment and give the FBI a black eye. Wolfe and Archie come through beautifully, and the hiring of Wolfe and Archie lookalikes, who are brought in in orchid boxes, is a treat.

Death of a Doxy by Rex Stout 6/18/21 6/19/21

Who killed the kept woman? One of the suspects is Orrie Cather, and although Wolfe, Archie, Saul Panzer, and Fred Durkin don’t particularly like Orrie, none of them think he’s guilty.

The Father Hunt by Rex Stout 6/19/21 6/20/21

A young woman wants to find out who her father is after her mother is murdered and she finds almost a quarter of a million dollars in a box in her mother’s apartment. Excellent. Layered, intelligent, Wolfe and Archie at their best.

Bonecrack by Dick Francis 6/14/21 6/120/21

Interesting riff on fathers and sons and their problems. Neil Griffon takes over for his father when his father breaks his leg and can’t manage his stable. Another father forces Neil to take his son in to become a jockey. The beginning was a bit rough with a horse having to be put down. Adequate, not sensational.

Death of a Dude by Rex Stout 6/20/21 6/26/21

One of my least favorite in the series, Archie is visiting Lily in Montana when a man is murdered. Archie stays to help find the murderer when the wrong man is jailed, Wolfe can’t be without Archie as long as it seems to be taking, and the mountain comes to Mohamed, as Wolfe puts it. Wolfe in Montana is a treat, but the mystery relies on other places action.

Please Pass the Guilt by Rex Stout 6/26/21 6/27/21

All the right elements – rich client, many suspects, Archie, Saul, Fred, and Orrie on the case, and Wolfe grumbling about having to work. It didn’t spark with me, although Archie fishing for flounder with a suspect was amusing.

A Family Affair by Rex Stout 6/27/21 6/29/21 167

This is the last Nero Wolfe book published by Stout in his lifetime, a month before he passed away. It is as saucy and witty and full of life as the first one only now we know Wolfe, Archie, Saul, Fred, Orrie, Theodore, and Fritz much better. Cramer, too. A fine end to a stunning, marvelous series. I thought my mind was playing tricks on my in an earlier book when Orrie Cather was arrested for murder but didn’t do it. I distinctly remembered a book where Orrie was guilty of murder but by the time I got to this last Nero Wolfe book published in Rex Stout’s lifetime thought that I was wrong. However, it turns out that my memory had not played me false and Wolfe, Archie, Saul, and Fred, are devastated when they figure out that Orrie has killed three people.

Death Times Three by Rex Stout 6/29/21 6/30/21

Three novellas published 10 years after Stout died:

1. Bitter End. Excellent plot yet I honestly feel as if it wasn’t written by Stout. Several things seemed off – Archie’s reactions, Wolfe’s words, and there only being 3000 orchids.
2. Frame-up For Murder. Clever use of technology to try to get away with murder. Still a bit off on Archie and Wolfe’s words and behavior.
3. Assault on a Brownstone. This is actually a second version of a novella in Homicide Trinity, book 36, Counterfeit for Murder: Archie is Buster and Wolfe is Falstaff to Hattie Annis, an eccentric and feisty old lady who hires Wolfe to make the cops eat dirt. She’s also warm-hearted and doesn’t suffer fools gladly. She almost gets run over and won’t eat the food the cops offer when she’s held as a material witness overnight. Easily the best part of this one, although the cast of characters is vivid and entertaining.

In Assault on a Brownstone, it is Hattie Annis’s actually being run over that gets Buster involved. I prefer the one with Hattie alive and feisty, although Wolfe putting his considerable bulk against the front door to keep Inspector Cramer out is a great visual.

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

Welcome!!

Happy new thread, Karen! I love your topper.

Happy New Thread, Karen!

I'm in!

Horrible? Is this your new thread? Didn't you just make a new thread a week or two ago? Heavens, I simply can't keep up.

>10 BLBera: Thanks, Beth.

>11 ronincats: Thanks Roni! Nice to see you here - I know how busy you've been moving.

>12 SomeGuyInVirginia: Of course, you are, Larry.

>13 richardderus: Yes it is, RD. I just looked back and started my 7th thread exactly one month ago today. It surprised me, too, to be starting #8 so soon, but in looking back over last year, I started the 8th thread of 2020 on May 30th. So, just a tad behind last year.

Happy new one. You're speeding right along!

Happy new thread!

Happy New Thread, Karen! I love your introductory thoughts. July is also my birthday month. Yah!

Happy new lucky 8 thread!

>6 karenmarie: Almost makes me want to Wolfe again, but not immediately.

Eighth tip o' the hat, Karen,

We are on your favourite number - happy eighth thread, Karen!

Here you are! I'm looking forward to your #8. Long may you flourish, dear Karen!

I had to laugh at the end of your last thread when you described your appalled reaction to Orlando. I was also appalled. But I liked Mrs. Dalloway. I still approach anything Woolf with trepidation though.

>15 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks, Reba. I love visitors.

>16 drneutron: Thanks, Jim! And as always, thank you for the super job you do for our group.

>17 msf59: Thanks, Mark. Ah, a July baby, too. I’d forgotten, but looked on my desk calendar. July 25, right? If so, that’s my brother’s birthday and my high school best friend’s birthday.

>18 quondame: Thanks, Susan. I’d never read them all, had a blast with the read/re-read, and recently finished Robert Goldsborough’s prequel, Archie Meets Nero Wolfe, which wasn’t half bad.

>19 weird_O: Thanks, Bill!

>20 PaulCranswick: Oh yes, eights make me very happy, Paul! Thank you.

>21 LizzieD: Hiding in plain sight… thanks Peggy.

>22 ursula: Hi Ursula! Fortunately, our group is appreciative of everybody, regardless of what we like and don’t like. I must admit that I bought Virginia Woolf: The Complete Works on Kindle for $1.99 in May and once again tried Mrs. Dalloway but didn’t get far enough along to even admit to abandoning it.

I just realized that although it is included in my 2021 acquisitions list I hadn’t added it to my catalog. Now that’s done, and I chose a cover uploaded by crazymamie in 2014.

…
I had a great time at the Book Club Afternoon Tea. We didn’t get around to figuring out how to re-start book club beyond setting a date of September 12 at 7:00 p.m. to meet somewhere and pick books for the new year. People will be able to re-select the book from the Pandemic Year list or choose a new one.

One woman’s moved into the little house behind her big house – a slave plantation built in 1812. The little house was the kitchen and slave quarters in the day. Another woman’s moving to Wyoming at the end of July. Another woman’s got a slow-growing brain tumor and will have surgery on August 26. Eight of twelve were able to come. Some lost 20 lbs, some gained 20 lbs. I think I’ve lost a teensy bit during the pandemic, but should have lost 20 lbs. Sigh.

And Jenna roared through yesterday, arriving about 3 p.m. and just leaving about 15 minutes ago. The UHaul is on its way to Asheville with Carlos and Matt and Jenna will probably get there right around the same time. My kitchen’s a disaster from last night’s dinner and today’s breakfast, but I’ll deal with it later.

We have gotten back 30 or more borrowed DVDs and gained all Jenna’s textbooks/notebooks from college that she wants to keep but not clutter up her apartment.

For now it’s coffee and etc.

Happy new thread, Karen!

Glad to read Jenna visited, and that you are allowed to store her textbooks from college ;-)

Thank you, Anita!

Jenna's still got lots of stuff stored here, but so far we don't mind. We may never mind...

Morning, Karen. It looks like July is a special birthday month for you. We are still working on getting this truck, so that will keep me off the trails for the next couple of days, as we sort things out. Everything is damp anyway.

'Morning, Mark! It is a special birthday month. August is, too, with Jenna's and my MiL's on the same day, August 3. Kay's not with us anymore, but we celebrate her birthday anyway. We also have a friend whose birthday is August 3rd. Small world.

Good luck with the truck!

Hello dear Karen.
Skimmed the previous thread (sorrynotsorry or I'd never get through before *this* one was done!).
Lovely stuff at >1 karenmarie: (especially, Every day I don’t have to get up to an alarm is a cause for celebration.) This is me all over that page, as well.

>8 karenmarie: Do I need more books?
That's kind of like asking, "Do you breathe", isn't it?

Thanks for stopping by my thread today. To answer your hopes, yes, my cousin came off life support but I understand it was a near-run thing. She will be in convalescent care probably for the rest of the month and possibly into the next.

I've learned more about heatstroke than I really wanted to know, but I understand that my mantra has to be, drink lots of water! I guess coffee doesn't count (not that I'm giving up coffee).

Hi Sandy! You never have to apologize for skimming or not visiting - we all have times where we're on LT less than other times.

Oh yes - books = breathing

I'm so glad to hear that your cousin came off life support, even if she will be in convalescent care for a while. And again, condolences on the loss of your other cousin. The world is changing too quickly in too many unpleasant ways.

According to the US CDC,

Water and Nutrition

Getting enough water every day is important for your health. Drinking water can prevent dehydration, a condition that can cause unclear thinking, result in mood change, cause your body to overheat, and lead to constipation and kidney stones.

Water helps your body:

Keep a normal temperature
Lubricate and cushion joints
Protect your spinal cord and other sensitive tissues
Get rid of wastes through urination, perspiration, and bowel movements

Your body needs more water when you are:

In hot climates
More physically active
Running a fever
Having diarrhea or vomiting

Healthier Drink Options

Of course there are many other beverage options besides water, and many of these can be part of a healthy diet. Beverages vary in their nutrient and calorie content.

Low or no calorie beverages
Plain coffee or teas, sparkling water, seltzers, and flavored waters, are low calorie choices that can be part of a healthy diet.

Drinks with calories and important nutrients
Low fat or fat-free milk, fortified milk alternatives such as unflavored soy or almond milks, or 100% fruit or vegetable juice contain important nutrients such as calcium, potassium, or vitamin D. These drinks should be enjoyed within recommended calorie limits.

I drink plain black coffee, unsweetened iced tea, calorie-free naturally flavored sparkling water, plain water, and the occasional glass of fat-free milk. I occasionally have a glass of wine and about once every month or two have a 'real' Dr. Pepper (not artificially sweetened).

>23 karenmarie: It will be years before we're fully aware of the changes the lockdown brought. Sorry to hear about the brain tumor, she's got my best wishes.

>29 karenmarie: "unsweetened iced tea". So they take the sugar out before you drink it? Desugared ice tea?

Happy lucky number 8!

I liked Bonecrack more than you did. It's amazing it was written *fifty* years ago!

Your book group get together sounds like so much fun! It's amazing how much people's lives change in a year ... and we don't notice how much change has happened unless there's a gap year when we've been out of touch.

I thought my book-club-that-meets-at-a-restaurant, meets this week, but it's actually next. :( Either way, we're reading a very interesting historical fiction called The Last Green Valley by Mark Sullivan, another Montana author. Another one to run by your friend Karen.

And yay for a lightning trip by Jenna!

I never understood the "get your stuff" thing that some parents have...my mother just heaved things I wanted but hadn't made it back to get yet, f/ex...if they've got the space. I have literally never felt that way, ever.

But we all know I'm weird.

Have a lovely caffeinated day! *smooch*

I'm curating loads of stuff for my children. A pristine crib, 20 years old, valueless because no one (GW, Habitat, thrift stores) will take it. Those kids grew up with me, and I mentored them in not tossing stuff out. I learned that from my mommy.

>30 SomeGuyInVirginia: Thanks, Larry. I was shocked, frankly, about the brain tumor, although I know she’s been experiencing vertigo for years.

>31 SomeGuyInVirginia: Living in NC for 30 years has brainwashed me into saying ‘unsweetened iced tea’ rather than the ‘iced tea’ that I always ordered in SoCal. I like your assumption of the sugar being an integral part of the iced tea with ‘desugared ice tea’, but it ain’t so. *smile*

>32 streamsong: Hi Janet. The more I’ve thought about Bonecrack the more I like Neil. He takes care of the father who doesn’t value him, starts improving things at the stables, and helps Alexandro become an adult.

It was a lot of fun, actually. And I’ll run The Last Green Valley by Karen.

A different Karen, the woman who’s moving to Wyoming, just sold her house for $65K above list price. As is, no inspection, extra quick closing. Another friend and his wife sold their house a couple of weeks ago before it even officially listed for $70K above list price. It’s crazy out here.

Bill and I introduced Jenna to Columbo, although the two episodes we watched were atypical – one was at a thinly-disguised Citadel and the other on a cruise ship. The kitties all remembered her and were sweet, and Zoe put on a crazy-kitty-playing show that had us all laughing out loud.

>33 richardderus: Even though I have serious problems with my BiL and hope I never see him again, I do feel sorry that his mother got rid of his Baseball Trading Cards as soon as my sister married him without asking if he wanted them. Apparently there were some valuable ones in there…

You’re not weird in this regard – you’re respectful of other people’s stuff. As are we. Do I want her textbooks here? No. Are they already upstairs and out of the way without me having to do a single bit of lifting? Yes. Done deal. We have space. Jenna knows this is a safe haven for stuff and I’ll never get rid of anything without checking with her first. There are a few exceptions, of course, but few and far between.

My parents got rid of things as quickly as they could. I have very few things from them. I think I am a sentimental saver because my mom and dad got rid of so many things I'd love to still have. Don't want to do that to Jenna.

The caffeine was in the morning. I’ve had water and a Blackberry Bubly since then and no other caffeine. *smooch*

>34 weird_O: We have a feature at our dumps out here where you can drop off stuff and take stuff that you want. It's a nicely covered open air space with racks and tables and hanging space. I’ve dropped off quite a bit of stuff over the years and got a brand new coffeemaker for Bill 4 or so years ago that finally just died 3 months ago. He bought the same brand because he liked that one so much.

Is there a women’s shelter that might take the crib? They could either sell it or use it for the women who take shelter there.

I just remembered that Bill’s Mama gave us the white wicker bassinette that she used with Bill in 1956 for us to use with Jenna in 1993.

>35 karenmarie: The design of baby cribs has changed for safety reasons. Spacing of the bars, I think.

Oooh, I wish more municipalities did that! It makes all kinds of sense and can’t cost much to do.

My daughters and I exchange stuff back and forth. Furniture, clothing, toys, dishes, decorations are the most recent I can think of. Oh, and books, of course. Whoever has a use for it or has the storage space. It’s kind of a multi-generational curated collection.

>33 richardderus: >35 karenmarie: Ah, while I was at college my mother gave away things I valued when she was pissed at me. It's not that the space in the room I'd used was needed for anything else as there was a permanently spare bedroom in the house from a year before I left, when my older brother went to grad school and no longer visited.

>36 2wonderY: In the mid 70s I made a friend whose mother was the hub of the Jewish aunties furniture net. If a connection needed a piece or was getting rid of a piece the network would provide or absorb.

>36 2wonderY: HI Ruth. Ah yes, I'd forgotten about the spacing of the bars. Those swap places at the dumps were closed during the worst of the Pandemic but have re-opened.

Neat that you exchange stuff back and forth with your daughters.

>37 quondame: I'm sorry your mom did that, Susan. My parents simply didn't care about things - they were well suited to one another. I couldn't imagine one wanting to keep stuff and one wanting to get rid of it. And the Jewish aunties furniture net! Sounds wonderful.

My friend/neighbor Louise has been getting rid of stuff for 5 years or so and things her daughter doesn't want she offers to me. My favorites are two great pieces of furniture - a tall narrow glass cabinet and a Lane Cedar Chest.

Hi Karen ... totally agree with the keeping of stuff for adult children. On our last move (not this most recent one), they were involved in decisions about their childhood things, and after some basic triage they let me run with it. Now we have a couple of large plastic tubs for each daughter filled with yearbooks and art projects and photos and such. We also still have blocks, dolls, and other special/favorite toys. And children's books, of course. Someday I hope they'll want all of this for themselves, but there's no rush. And from time to time we've also held on to other things for them, like furniture. Happy to do it.

Happy New(ish) Thread, Karen!

Morning, Karen. Sue doesn't start until 1pm today, so we are going to the dealership to finalize the pickup sale. This is the most, by far, we have ever spent on a vehicle but it is a beautiful truck. The next step is clearing the garage out enough to fit this bad boy in it. I hope to get some birding in, starting tomorrow. I am itching...

>29 karenmarie: That was a handy overview from CDC.
Thanks!

>35 karenmarie:
My parents got rid of things as quickly as they could. I have very few things from them. I think I am a sentimental saver because my mom and dad got rid of so many things I'd love to still have. Don't want to do that to Jenna.

Happened to me, too. I'm an unapologetic sentimental saver for the same reasons.

We stored kid's stuff until they were home again to curate and take what they really wanted. Then they theirownselves helped pack the unwanted items to go to the donation places. No angst, no hard feelings, no regrets.

It would have been differently managed if the hubs and I had decided to move to a smaller home, but we're still here in a ridiculously large place for two people. I think mainly because parting with books has proved so difficult for Mr. 10,000 volumes man.

>39 lauralkeet: Hi Laura! Your daughters picked good parents. Jenna’s stuff is not boxed up because it doesn’t need to be yet.

>40 connie53: Thank you, Connie!

>41 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Tuesday. Congrats on the new truck, and good luck re-organizing the garage so it has a home. This is the kind of fun thing that makes NOT birding okay, right?

>42 SandyAMcPherson: You’re welcome, Sandy.

…
Coffee now, book sale planning meeting at the Library later this morning. I need to get one more volunteer cashier lined up and then my only pre-sale job will be re-training our Square cashier and training our new Treasurer on Square.

I’m dithering – can’t seem to land on a fiction book. Non-fiction-wise I’ve started Ties That Bound: Founding First Ladies and Slaves by Marie Jenkins Schwartz about Martha Washington, Jefferson’s daughter and Sally Hemings, and Dolley Madison.

More >42 SandyAMcPherson: It sounds like you did right by your kids, too, Sandy. I’m going to need for Jenna to help me get rid of stuff one of these days, not right now though as she’s just starting her new life in Asheville. Maybe a bit here and there each time she comes home.

I hear you on the ‘ridiculously large place for two people.’ Your husband has twice as many books as I do.

Bill and I keep deciding to stay here even though we aren’t currently managing the exterior very well – the house itself is fine and we're getting a new roof in August. It’s just the landscaping. We just had a tree service get the big stuff under control, but I’d like to have more than mulch and weeds. We also need to get the concrete power washed and the porches/columns/railings painted.

>43 karenmarie: Ties That Bound looks like a good one for me. I’ve been reading about relationships within slaveholding households. And those households in particular too.

Ugh, the conversation about throwing things out. Morgan's mom offered (offered!) to store some things for us at her house. A couple of days ago we got a message with a photo of two end tables and a message saying "can I sell these?"

And in this particular case I don't care, they aren't ours (they belong to Morgan's stepmother, and in a hilarious footnote, they were being stored in his mother's garage before we took them to use!), but I'm sure it's just the beginning of messages about "what to do" with the stuff we left there. This drives me insane.

Is Square difficult to use? I thought its primary selling-point was its intuitive UI. Any road, I hope your trainings go well.

*smooch*

Happy new thread, Karen!

>45 2wonderY: I hope you like it, Ruth. You might also like Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar about Oney Judge, a slave owned by Martha Washington who escaped. The Washingtons spent time, money, and decades trying to track her down and get her back into slavery. They were not successful…

>46 ursula: Sometimes favors aren’t worth the effort, are they, Ursula? That’s a riot about them being stored there before you used them, too.

>47 richardderus: Square is not difficult to use at point-of-sale, RD. It takes a bit of proper set up at the website-administrative level to get the business/individual name and banking information in and confirmed. The administrator creates team members. Invitations are sent to the email address = username = entered. Team members must install the Android or iPhone app on their device and log in/create password. Our team members are only allowed to take in money. As administrator I can perform refunds and look at reports and manage the account. Every book sale I work with each Square user to make sure she/he has the app installed, can log in (i.e., remember their password or reset it), and can use the microphone-jack magstripe reader to process credit/debit card transactions. I typically let them charge $1 with our Friends debit card so that they know exactly how each transaction works – enter amount, swipe card, take signature, generate receipt to email or cell phone if desired, get set up for next transaction. I then go back and refund the transactions. I don't like dummy/test transactions, I want to see the real thing on the device as its occuring and in the checking account as it went in and as it goes back out.

We pay 2.9% + $.30/per transaction, which is deducted from the transaction prior to the net amount being sent to the bank. In other words, for a $100 sale, we pay $2.90 + $.30 = $3.20. We are sent $96.80 net by the end of the next business day.

If Bill and I ever have a garage sale, I’ll set up a personal Square account linked to our personal checking account and either up-price stuff to avoid paying the fees or just eat the fees as a convenience to people wanting to put stuff on a credit card instead of having cash, since I’d never accept checks. People tend to buy more if they’re not forking over cash, too.

>48 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie!

Happy new thread, Karen. Love the toppers. I have a photo of my late great Buddy (half of my screen name), squeezed into a shoe box. He was quite a big boy and didn't really fit but I never had the heart to tell him. He loved that box. :-)

Happy new thread, Karen. All this talk about stuff and getting rid of it is making me feel guilty. I haven't done much sorting out and should. Maybe it's a good thing the sale of our complex didn't go through - although that would have given me a deadline.

Hi Karen. Great pics of the three furkidz up there. I will need to get some new photos of Carson for my next thread.

>50 jessibud2: Hi Shelley, and thank you. Kitties and boxes are a wonderful combination.

>51 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. Selling the complex would have given you a nudge, for sure.

>52 EBT1002: Hi Ellen, and thank you. Oh yes, we need new pics of Carson.

I was trying to figure out my next fiction read, and have been having problems getting started. I decided to read a tbr romance, so picked The Capture of The Earl of Glencrae by Stephanie Laurens, on my shelves for NINE years.

I was looking forward to reading something light and fluffy and a bit risque, but was very unhappy at the first three words, which are

"Oh. My. God."

I read another page or so and realized that I simply cannot read Stephanie Laurens any more, which means that including Capture, I can cull 18 books. Maybe tomorrow.

>54 karenmarie: Result! That'll give the Friends sale some guaranteed sellers given how very popular she is.

>49 karenmarie: Oooohhhh I get it...easy it may be but there is an admin cost to all simple things.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. All went smoothly with the truck purchase. We changed our weekend plans, so we can spend time making room in the garage for this Bad Boy. Hey, I am getting out for a solo birding jaunt. I will follow that up with some volunteer work. This will involve roadside trash pick up. I have a trash-grabber tool, a vest, bags and gloves. This is also strictly a solo outing, along a nearby forest preserve.

>55 richardderus: 'Morning, RD! Well, here's an interesting thing - we stopped accepting and selling mass market paperbacks. By this I mean the smallest, approximately 4.25" x 7", paperbacks. We do accept the 4.25" x 7.5" size and of course all books you would normally consider trade paperback.

The book sale team decided about 4-5 years ago that the storage space taken by them didn't result in the revenue to justify that space. We only charged 50¢ each. All other trade paperbacks we sell for $2 each.

We do three things with mm paperback donations (when we're accepting donations, which we're not doing yet). We set aside some for the local secondhand book store dealer to look through. He pays us 25¢ each. We also put some out in the Library's magazine/book rack, where they sell them for 25¢ and keep the revenue. And finally, if the quality is poor, we send them to the local thrift shop, where the thrift shop can decide whether to put them out for sale or sell them by the pound.

Setting up Square isn't that difficult, and you get one free magstripe reader when you sign up - at least we did. We've purchased several more over the years and have one contactless reader w/dock that we use. I see from the website that they now have a magstripe reader with a 'lightning' jack in addition to one with the microphone jack.

>56 msf59: 'Morning, and happy Wednesday to you, too, Mark! Congrats on the truck, yay for volunteer work, and good luck on the garage clear out for the Bad Boy.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. I had plans to venture out with my birding buddy, but the scattered rain is keeping us in. I am bummed. We will meet for lunch instead. Some activity at the feeders a few minutes ago- housefinch, house sparrows, a dove, a downy and a red-bellied. The latter scooped up a full peanut from the platform feeder and scooted off.

>57 karenmarie: Happily, the admin side is your specialty, so they really lucked out. The app is the key to Square's success, I'm told, as it's really, really well-designed for the, um, tech-resistant.

Happy Thursday! *smooch*

>58 msf59: Hi Mark, and happy Thursday to you. Sorry about the rain, but lunch out is not a bad thing, either. I'm meeting a retired former-co-worker and his wife for lunch today myownself. Nice feeder report!

>59 richardderus: Oh yes, RD. I spent quite a bit of time learning how to use Square for our book sales and membership tables at programs at the Library, and now it's simply updating things here and there.

*smooch* back

>8 karenmarie: Always funny. (always)

My daughter sent that one to me, Megan.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. Various things going on this A.M. so no birding for me. The garage project will happen tomorrow. At least the temps will be comfortable. I did some driving around in the truck yesterday. I love it!

'Morning, Mark, and happy Friday back at'cha. I'm glad you're loving the new truck.

edited to add: I cancelled going into town to meet with the new Treasurer, since I can meet with her after our board meeting on Monday. Staying home is appealing to me.

I spent a few hours on the boardwalk, part of that time talking to my therapist. It's H O T out there! We're going back to meeting in the doctor's office next week. She said, "you're too busy ogling the joggers to pay proper attention! Back inside next week!"

Guilty as charged.

This is just to say that I am a pack rat from a long tradition of pack rats, married to a pack rat, who has come from a long line of pack rats. We keep everything. *sigh*

You should also know that we have just bought a new (to us) car, a 2018 silver CRV. It does make me miss my beloved '98 CRV, which has refused to start for the past two weeks. My DH has been working on it, but we have to have something to get me safely to my MD treatments and back. I hope that this one will be as reliable as the old one and that it is the last car thdat we'll buy. I took it out this afternoon for my first solo and, aside from inadvertently turning on the windshield wipers and being unable to turn them off, all was well. Anyway, that has commanded my attention for the past two days.

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. Garage Day! Does not sound fun but needs to be done. At least it will be mid-70s, so comfortable temps. Feeders have gotten busier but nothing unusual.

>66 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Pack rats of the world unite! Every time I try to get rid of things, I keep most of what I know I should get rid of. And this is stuff Jenna will never, ever want/need - my old clothes and shoes, old spices/herbs (because you just never know!), etc.

Congrats on the new CRV. I'll miss riding around in the old one, but shiny new cars are lots of fun (hint hint).

>67 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Saturday to you. I hope it goes well and quickly. Yay for milder temps. I've got finches on the sunflower, wild bird seed, and, interestingly, the suet feeder, and was charmed to see a hummingbird take a last sip about 8:30 last night. And then I watched the lightning bugs from 3 different rooms as I made my way upstairs - Sunroom, foyer/front door, and Retreat.

...
Peggy's mentioning of pack ratting makes me feel like I might tackle my master bedroom closet. And then again, I might not...

I'm really fascinated with Ties That Bound by Marie Jenkins Schwartz. After the Washingtons returned to Mount Vernon after his second term, they had day- and overnight visitors almost every day of the year. One year recorded 656 guests at table and 677 overnight guests. And, of course, this required a huge slave holding to do all the work.

And there's quite a bit of space dedicated to Oney Judge, whose story I read this year in Never Caught by Erica Armstrong Dunbar.

Welp. Saturday's here. Such a fuss over the darn thing...I keep expecting to be visited by thrones and dominations soliciting my fondest desires for them to manifest from the aether.

In the meantime I'm going to eat blueberries and drink coffee. An Australian documentary on Shangri-La, maybe some QI....

Hiya, RD! I just visited your thread.

Yup. Saturday. The major difference for us is that Bill takes trash and recyclables to the dump and brings home takeout.

Blueberries and coffee sound marvelous.

What's QI?

What's QI...oh my...QI is, um, well...go watch one.

I like it... except for the canned laughter. And I know how to spell fahrenheit - ha! The bit about a mouse in space and an elephant in space is brilliant. I'll come back to it later...

>72 karenmarie: I'm glad you enjoyed the sampling!

>71 richardderus: Oh my dear Lord. I have a new thing.

>71 richardderus: >74 SomeGuyInVirginia: Me too. I can't even deal with my old things.

(Karen, I neglected to mention that the dealsership wiped the new car down with a disinfectant that smells like a recently cleaned port-0-let. DH has scrubbed every surface inside with soap and water, and it's stood open to the wind and sun for the past two days - still smells but marginally less. You may want to wait another while before you get your ride.)

>74 SomeGuyInVirginia: Heh. #sorrynotsorry

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. The truck fits! The truck fits! But with mere inches to spare. The garage/shed clean out went very well. We ended up with a lot of trash and donatable items. Of course, I was hoping for a few more boxes to leave for good but I can't really complain. Not nearly as much on the agenda today- laundry and mowing the front grass. Books and baseball this afternoon. Enjoy your day!

>73 richardderus: Hiya, RD! I also watched bits on YouTube last night, too, some with Stephen Fry and some with Sandi Toksvig.

>74 SomeGuyInVirginia: I may have a new thing, too, Larry.

>75 LizzieD: I must admit that I do love this new thing. Well, yuck about the Awful Smell. Summertime's not the time to keep the windows open to air out eau de port-o-let.

>76 richardderus: I'm glad to know about QI - last night was a bit rough sleep-wise, and I'd gone through all my subscribed channels on YouTube so subscribed to QI and watched more.

>77 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Sunday. Yay! Yay! Only mowing and laundry, eh? Books and the Cubbies are not bad things at all. We're not baseball fans, so Bill's watching golf. If you like golf, don't read the following: a ridiculously boring game of rich elitist folks played, at least in the US, on sculpted environmentally disastrous courses that use millions of gallons of water each day. Watching it on TV is better than actually going there and either watching various golfers do the same thing at the part you're at or running all over the place to follow your favorite golfer... I was a golf orphan as a child and as you can tell, still resent it on top of now having PC reasons for disliking it.

Bill mowed the back grass yesterday and we each keep our own laundry under control. We didn't get a new vehicle, but our garage does need cleaning out, too. I'm thinking that we need a dumpster and 2 able bodied people to help. One of the more exciting things is the box that Bill's 65" tv came in almost 4 years go. We always keep product boxes for a bit, but this one just never made it out.

...
I got up late and have only had a few sips of coffee so far. My new fiction book Night Film is going well, thank goodness, because I couldn't seem to settle on anything. Since I read about 90% fiction and 10% nonfiction this was worrisome, and with 2212 books of fiction tagged tbr I really shouldn't have a difficult time picking one.

And Ties That Bound: Founding First Ladies and Slaves is still fascinating in a sad and awful kind of way.

>78 karenmarie: Oh yay for QI making a hit! Sorry to learn of the sleep icks, though. I'm not sure what the heck happened to the weather goddess, she plopped a thick fog on us this morning and it's still not burned off.

I'm into some old 1950s SF short stories today. They're suiting my reading mood exactly, which is a bit unexpected. Welcome, of course, but unexpected.

Sunday *smooch*

'Morning, RDear! Yes, thank you. With 18 seasons or so, even though they call them series, 😊, I've got lots to play with.

Growing up in SoCal, fog was a very typical thing in the late spring/early summer. It would usually burn off by 11ish or so and was rather fun to walk to school in, all eerie and dampish.

Ain't it wonderful to find the right thing for the mood? Congrats.

And a Sunday *smooch* back at'cha.

Morning, Karen. I had a nice afternoon with the books. Nearly done with Damnation Spring (it was a hefty one too), which is a pretty solid read. I have a dentist appointment at 10, so I am not venturing out today, although I am getting that itch. This once or twice a week ain't cutting it.

>78 karenmarie: I got a kick out of your thoughts about golf and can't really disagree with any of them. I golfed for quite a few years but hung up the clubs about 15 years ago.

'Morning, Mark! I'm glad your Sunday afternoon was a good'un. I hope you can get out soon, too.

So why did you hang up the clubs 15 years ago? Enquiring minds and all that...

It's Monday.

whee

I haven't been able to bring myself to open the blinds and see, but it appears to be cloudy. Man I do hate a rainy Monday.

>83 richardderus: Yes, RD! No alarm. whee indeed

>84 SomeGuyInVirginia: Hi Larry! Sorry you don't like rainy Mondays - I like rainy days as long as I don't have to be out in them. It wasn't raining when I went into the Library for the Board meeting, but was raining when I came out. It was raining when I went to the PO and raining when I went to the grocery store. I'm now safely inside for the rest of the day and I can enjoy the rain from a position of dryness smugness that I'm no longer out in it.

Happy Monday, and Good New Week to you, Karen! I'm happy that we got our first walk in before the real rain comes. We had a pretty significant storm last night and look for more later. In the meantime, (to quote the workman who was dealing with friends' storm windows),"It's the humility between the panes."

I generally like rain too, but I've always thought I'd rainy Mondays as 'Blue Mondays'.

I got all the loose books in the den cataloged and put away. I found my grandmother's old Latin grammar, complete with flowers that she dried between the pages. It's not a common book or in the Amazon search parameters, so I set it aside with other books that need to be entered manually. My grandmother's reading habits have always surprised me because she read heavily in the Western classics back when that was just not encouraged for Southern women. She loved them, and I credit the books that she gave me in my childhood, along with my mother's reading habits, for my love reading. When I was a kid we didn't have TV and we lived waaay out in the country, so after nightfall there was really nothing to do but drink or fool around and, me being 3 years old, I didn't drink or fool around. The whole family would be sitting in the den, and dad would be studying something and Mom would be reading something and my brother and I would be coloring something, when suddenly Mom would laugh. I always asked her what was so funny in the book and she always said that I wouldn't understand, and that drove me absolutely freaking nuts. So I swore that one day I would read those books and understand what was so damn funny. And that's basically what happened, other than my realizing that my mother and I had very different senses of humor.

'Twas a domestic day for me today. Laundry and dishes, a little mowing, some errands. I even hangered or folded the wash; I did empty the dishwasher. I did stock the shelves of my new-but-not-quite-done bookcase, but only using the books I found in the back of the Forester. There's room for more. Some. A few. You can see it at my place.

Reading a little novelty I got recently, The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived. I don't think I'll read it straight through, but that possibility exists. Also reading Kesey and Richardson.

Morning, Karen. You asked about me retiring from golf- I just got frustrated. It is a difficult game to master and I found myself more disappointed than entertained. Honestly, I wish I would have stuck with it. My cousins and uncles play and so does my SIL. That said, I have different interests now and they are much cheaper.

Heading out with my birding buddy. Leaving early to beat the heat.

>86 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, and a now happy Tuesday to you. We had that significant rain two nights ago, too. Heh. Humility…

>87 SomeGuyInVirginia: Excellent accomplishment – loose books cataloged and put up. That’s wonderful about your grandmother’s old Latin grammer with dried flowers. I’ve got Bill’s great-great-however-many times uncle’s Principles of Latin Grammar – I think it’s from the 1860s. I love the vision of your family NOT TV-ing it in the evenings, your mom laughing out loud and your swearing to read those books.

We had a TV as early as 1956 because I either remember or have internalized stories of me sitting in front of the TV with my Micky Mouse ears on watching The Micky Mouse Club. Dad said that when he’d come home from work the only thing he’d see was my back and mouse ears.

>88 weird_O: Hi Bill. Yay for your domestic day. And so many books recently acquired. The novelty sounds like lots of fun.

>89 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Tuesday to you. Ah, frustration. Got it. However, less expensive interests that are not environmentally problematic have worked out for you. Speaking of which, enjoy your birding buddy adventure.

…
Coffee, books, possibly some vacuuming, although my knee is problematic right now. I’ve made an executive decision to have a mobile car detailing service come out as soon as possible and get both our vehicles shiny and clean again.

>89 msf59: I haven't ever golfed and thought of it rather negatively until it occurred to me that one was taking a walk on grass and whacking a ball about, both great for working off frustrations. Too bad that it's scored.

>91 quondame: ...but not audited....

>90 karenmarie: Y'know, Horrible, detailing à la carte is an excellent idea and its effectuators should be encouraged in their endeavours with one's custom.

Hurngphplbbbt on books too good to ignore but not good enough to care about. (I speak of The Plot.)

>90 karenmarie: I recall our blondwood Zenith black and white TV very well, but they didn't buy it for me (at least that's what I heard), they bought it so my mother could watch the Army-McCarthy hearings. Were they actually televised? She must have thrilled to hear Joe's grandfather.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. We had a nice bird outing yesterday and we are meeting up again today. With our quick trip to St. Louis tomorrow and the heat arriving, I won't be able to get out until next week.

>91 quondame: Honestly, Susan, there was a lot I liked about playing golf but the frustration won out.

>91 quondame: One can walk on grass many other places, Susan, although whacking a ball safely is questionable. And that’s another thing about golf – I can understand being in a twosome and scoring your own game, but why in the world in major events do the players still score their own games? Ridiculous tradition.

>92 richardderus:’Morning, RD! The Plot does sound good, too bad it’s not good enough to care about. There are many books out there that I could write that sentence about. However, I haven’t had enough coffee yet and am not willing to spend the time thinking about it yet.

Haven’t heard back from the detailing guy yet. Sigh.

>93 ffortsa: Hi Judy. It never occurred to me that my parents bought the TV for me, but now I wonder why they did buy it. I spent my childhood listening to my mother call it the idiot box and randomly walking over while dad, I, and my brother and sister were watching, saying “Enough of the idiot box. Do something else.”

>94 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you, too. Glad to hear you had a nice outing yesterday and hope today’s is nice, too. Who knows, you might even get a FOY. Ah, St. Louis. It was part of our 2010 family trip – 13 days, 3200+ miles, I-forget-how-many-states.

…
Coffee, quick brekkie, and then taking friend Louise to get some bloodwork done for her hip replacement surgery tomorrow. It’s 55 minutes each way and 20 minutes for the appointment and we’re leaving at 9:20 for the 10:30 appt.

>95 karenmarie: Well, when you get back from your appointment, you can slide on over to read the bit of review I decided was safe to post here.

I got back about 1:30 or so. Louise took me out to lunch and I stopped at the grocery store for her for half a gallon of milk. Tiring but fun day - she and I haven't gone out together since February 2020's last play of the Chapel Hill Playmakers Repertory Company 2019-2020 season before they shut down because of Covid.

...
I just posted this on Peggy's thread because Richard posted a book he thought she'd like. She demurred, and wondered if there was a book she could recommend to him. This isn't exactly the same, but here 'tis:

Long ago, in a galaxy far away, LT member Charles Boyd said he could never envision reading Slaughterhouse Five and I said I could never envision reading The Rapture of Canaan, so we had a personal challenge, which was wildly successful and which we both enjoyed immensely. After that I created a group called I'll Read Yours if You'll Read Mine. It includes a link to our original challenge thread and several folks set up their own challenges, although the group went dormant 10 years ago.

However, Peggy, your comment Would I dare pick something that I think you'd like? to Richard made me think of this group and what a fun activity it was.

Here's the group link: I'll-Read-Yours-if-Youll-Read-Mine

>97 karenmarie: Very interestink, as Arte Johnson used to say. That could be a stinker.

Your mention of Slaughterhouse Five reminded me that an acquaintance just yesterday posted on FB a tale about the novel, the author, and a character in the book.

In 1976, my senior year in high school, we were reading Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut in English class. Bernard V. O’Hare, [a well-known attorney in the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton area at that time] who is mentioned several times in the book (and who is alluded to as an inside joke in several other Vonnegut books) came to our class to talk about the book and his experiences as a prisoner in the slaughterhouse during the firebombing of Dresden. He did this as a favor to another teacher in our school. I found out years later that this was very rare as O’Hare never gave interviews about his being a POW in Dresden or his friendship with Kurt Vonnegut (who used to come to Hellertown, Pennsylvania, often to visit O’Hare).
  It was amazing to find out how much of that book was real, what was fabricated, and what was a mixture of both.
  O’Hare said he asked Vonnegut to come along and Vonnegut tried to get out of a speaking engagement in Vienna to come to our class, but he couldn’t make it.
  While leaving the classroom a friend of mine said, “that would’ve been really great if Vonnegut would’ve made it.“ I said, “yes, but there are a lot of people who can say they have met the writer of a science-fiction novel, but how many can say they have met a character from a science-fiction novel.“

>98 weird_O: I've met a couple of the people on whom characters in SF novels were based, but names were changed for some reason or other.

>98 weird_O: Nice story, Bill.

>97 karenmarie: Sounds slightly naughty but very nice!

>98 weird_O: Wow, Bill! Wow!!!

Karen, I think your Challenge thread would be one worth reviving. If only I were reading consistently!

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. We had a good time strolling around the Arboretum yesterday, enjoying the cooler temps. Now, it will begin to heat back up and stay that way through most of next week. Sighs...Off to St. Louis in a couple of hours, so not much LT time until I get back.

>98 weird_O: Bill, that’s a marvelous story. Thanks for sharing.

>99 quondame: SF/Fantasy being your favorite genres, I think, Susan, that actually doesn’t surprise me.

>100 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul! Yes, it could be construed as slightly naughty.

>101 LizzieD: Hello Peggy. It would be gratifying if it got revived. I rarely go out of my comfort zone, but that challenge proved I should do it more – I still have The Rapture of Canaan on my shelves, and I gave it 4*.

>102 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and a very sweet Thursday to you, too. I’m glad you had a good stroll around the Arboretum. Enjoy your time in St. Louis.

…
I’ve had a few sips of coffee and after visiting a few threads will alternate my time between reading and working on some prep for the Friends children’s and AV sale, scheduled for August 7th.

*sips coffee in unison with Karen*

I'm on my second cup this morning and very nearly ready to get started with the day, I suppose.

Hi Amber!

Synchronized coffee sipping. A new Olympic sport?

Yes, the joys of coffee. I've just poured the last from the thermos into my cup. Rather than keep the coffee burning on the heating element of the coffee maker, I pour the freshly brewed coffee into my warmed thermos and bring it into the Sunroom. That way the coffee tastes perfectly fresh AND I don't have to wander back into the kitchen AND I can pour out half cups to only be drinking hot, hot black, no sugar coffee. Decadent.

I hope your day goes well.

>105 karenmarie: *guzzles last of first pot*

What was that about synchronized sipping?

I'm working my way through some stories for Monday's review and tarting up Friday's. It's depressing how many typos I miss. But, since I wrote it, I know what it's supposed to say, so I guess it's normal.

...only time I've been normal in years...don't like it much...

>105 karenmarie: The thermos system is brilliant! I'm the only one in the house who drinks coffee, so I just have a one-cup-at-a-time Keurig (with reusable filters because just no to those k-cup landfill disasters).

And this is where I cheer one more time for my smartphone-controlled warming coffee cup. It's got a little heater circuit and battery to keep coffee or tea (or whatever) at just the right temperature...

>106 richardderus: Hiya, RD! Sounds like a good day planned, hope you get all the typos. *smooch*

>107 scaifea: I never wanted a Keurig, Amber. Some cousins gave me K-cups for Christmas one year, assuming that's how I made coffee, and I must have looked puzzled. I gave them to another cousin at the same party. Yes, they are an environmental disaster.

(*) I'm old and set in my ways and like my method. Of course my husband has his own coffee pot on one of the other counters - we use the same coffee, but he likes his milder than I like mine and I don't like giving up control of how I do my coffee. *smile*

>108 drneutron: I remember seeing that on one of your threads, Jim. At the time it seemed expensive to me, and now see (*) above.

I never heard of k-cups, Karen, a quick search revealed they look like the Nespresso cups we use. Only once a week, on Sunday evening, as it is way to expensive to use regular. I always felt a bit guilty about them, but love the taste. A few months back we switched to other cups that are biodegradable. These cups go into the green container, instead of the grey container.

>105 karenmarie: >107 scaifea: >108 drneutron: My French Press is double walled stainless steel which keeps the coffee hot until I've finished my morning pot, usually just under an hour. Since that's my limit for caffeine I brew up a similar sized pot of Rooibos and mix it with milk before drinking. It reheats without bitterness so I while the container is insulated it doesn't matter if it cools because I'll just microwave it to my preferred temp for drinking.

>110 FAMeulstee: Live and learn, Anita. I'd never heard of Nespresso cups.

>111 quondame: I think Richard has a stainless steel French Press, too, Susan. And live and learn again! Clearly I've lead a sheltered life, having never heard of Rooibos either.

I only drink hot tea when I'm sick, as coffee usually tastes awful to me then. And hot tea has to have sugar in it for me.

I just use regular old Folgers coffee in reusable wire mesh cups, so it's essentially the same as a regular coffee maker, but just one cup at a time. And it doesn't even use filters, so even less waste.

The lock to my sunroom stopped working about, well, I suppose over 3 months ago? Anyway, every morning while I'm feeding the cat I get to look through the sunroom door to the coffee pot, grinder, and Peet's Major Dickinson's blend on the sunroom table, But I can't get to them because I can't open the door. Caffeine caffeine everywhere and not a drop to drink. Ever since I moved in I've been taking caffeine tablets rather than making coffee. I really got to get that lock fixed.

>112 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Never heard of Nespresso! And they’ve got George Clooney doing their adds, I thought they were universal: https://youtu.be/DfyeXrdZZ1o

Totally with you on the golf. Environmentally disastrous, also using pesticides, exclusive, taking up lots of valuable good space that could have been used for a park, where everybody can enter, etc etc.
I don’t like them either, besides, I’m probably disastrously bad at it.

I’m sorry for visiting so rarely, but glad you seem to be doing well!

>113 scaifea: Bill used Folger's until he ran out one time and I 'let' him use my bean grinder. We still have the two coffee pots because I like my medium roast stronger than he does and I do not want to end up making his coffee for him (because that's what it would devolve to and we'd need two pots a day when he's home).

If Folgers works for you, then stay the course. Especially as you're not using paper or k-cups.

>114 SomeGuyInVirginia: Larry! You haven't broken the lock yet? Or taken the hinges out of the door? Or gotten a locksmith out? The mind boggles.

My philosophy of life is "It isn't a day if I haven't read a book." has a corollary: "It isn't a day if I don't have freshly ground coffee with my wonderful well water."

>115 EllaTim: Hi Ella! It’s nice to see you, so to speak. 😊

I’ve been sheltered, what can I say? And frankly, I do not find George Clooney attractive.

Although I was a golf orphan, I do remember once or twice when the whole family went to a 3-par course. I remember being exhausted, irritated, and wanting to play on the playground instead of golf. So much for that.

Yes, we’re doing pretty well, all things considered. Jenna's moved to Asheville and has a permanent-full-time-with-benefits job. Loves Asheville, loves her new apartment and sounds truly happy.

I'm worried about the Delta variant and probable new wave of Covid. We’re vaccinated but I’m wearing a mask when I go out mostly – if I’m at the Library with the Board or book sort team, where we’re all vaccinated, I’m comfy being maskless, and the few times I’ve eaten out I’m comfy with that, too, but I suspect I might start NOT eating out again at all. Blech.

And now I see the news about the NIH funding the Wuhan lab that may have let the virus escape, even though Fauci says that the US was not funding the Gain of Function research. And of course the Chinese were to be trusted. It makes me sick. Thanks to Paul Cranswick for posting this link on his thread:

Fauci defended by Biden administration even as his coverup unravels

>116 karenmarie: It was very foolish of me to think he'd changed.

His misdeeds go back to AIDS deaths he helped cause.

>116 karenmarie: >117 richardderus: I've had problems with Fauci ever since he admitted that he at first told people to not wear masks, and that they didn't do any good, because he didn't want there to be a run on masks. He does seem comfortable with what generals call 'collateral damage.'

>117 richardderus: You had him pegged decades ago,

>118 SomeGuyInVirginia: you had him pegged a year ago.

I'm late to the game, but his reputation is now tarnished for me.

...
But on a happier note, we're having Instant Pot Shrimp Risotto for dinner. Everything's prepped, all I need to do is actually make it, starting about 4:50 or so.

And the kitties were making a kerfuffle and it turns out that a pretty large lizard was hiding under a brown paper bag. I escorted it safely outside.

>114 SomeGuyInVirginia: The tragedy of the Peet's coffee aging unused while you are reduced to tablets to support your caffeine habit touches me deeply. Yes, get the lock fixed or break down the door, this is not a good situation!

>116 karenmarie: A day requires caffeine to start, and a good delivery vehicle to start well.

>119 karenmarie: Careerists are not malleable personalities, it's been shown a million times, and still I hoped. My fault entirely.

>118 SomeGuyInVirginia: Lying during the pandemic. I can understand his motivation. Same has been done here, and the results are very unfortunate, as lots of people are now convinced masks are useless, and refusing to wear them. Don’t lie, it’s too important that people understand and know the facts.

>120 quondame: I thought about that too, Susan - stale coffee.

>121 richardderus: Optimism is not a bad thing, RD, it just makes one feel stupid or sad or let down or, in this case betrayed, when that optimism is not borne out.

>122 EllaTim: As a rule I assume the government lies, it's just that this was so clearly mishandled by the t**** regime and Fauci was so clearly battling the misinformation/lack of response, that it simply never occurred to me that Fauci/NIH was in any way involved in the possible escape of this virus from the lab. Hell, until very recently I still believed that it had transferred from animals to humans. I don't think that now, however. Pangolins. Really. *snort*

...
Well, we're going out to dinner with some friends of Bill's tomorrow - I have absolutely nothing in common with them and am really not looking forward to this AT ALL. In addition to eating out, they're coming here first and I need to do some housework so I don't die of embarrassment.

>123 karenmarie: I hope your dinner guest were more entertaining than you thought they would be. As I get older (and that is happening at lightening speed,) I hate wasting time with people I cannot relate to. Since Will's passing I've become quite a hermit. I didn't realize that until I visited my local library a few weeks ago, and there was such joy in re-connecting with those whom I like very much. I came away feeling happy, and I think I need to get out more...but only with those I have something in common with --reading is at the top of the list.

Hi Karen, just skimming your thread here and waving at you.

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. We got home last night. We had a good time it is a nice looking city and the Gateway Arch National Park is beautiful and the museum is nicely put together. It was HOT walking around though. Not much reading got done though. There was more chatting during our drive, than I expected. I will catch up. Nothing much planned for the rest of the weekend, which is okay with me.

>124 Whisper1: Hi Linda! As I get older (and that is happening at lightening speed,) I hate wasting time with people I cannot relate to. I'm with you 100% of the way.

Don't get me wrong - these are nice people. David is a childhood friend of Bill's who reconnected with him at a memorial service for Bill's Dad in 2011. Oh well, at least I'll get a good meal out of it. We're going to the seafood place again, and I'll have this again.



>125 connie53: Hi Connie! Nice to see you here.

>126 msf59: Hi Mark, and happy Saturday to you. Enjoy your R&R&B&B&B. *smile*

>127 karenmarie: The Dutiful part of the marriage contract. Show up, do your bit, don't visibly roll your eyes and when it's over you get to wear a virtuous glow.

*smooch*

Yup. I'm looking forward to it's being later this evening when I'll be wearing the virtuous glow, albeit subtly.

In the meantime, I just had a grilled cheese w/tomato sandwich for brunch. Totally yummy, totally perfect.

*dourly munches instant oatmeal "enlivened" by butter*

Oh. Lovely.

Poor, RD. Instant oatmeal is evil. Probably not Kerrigold butter either, eh?

I'm a complete convert to Kerrigold for anything except baking. Cooking, toast, pancakes, waffles...

The living room is under control although I'm not going to vacuum again, as are the Sunroom and kitchen/breakfast room. The only other thing I need to check is the guest bath, called the Book Bath because there's bookshelf/books wallpaper.

The outside's a dead loss - we need to power wash the concrete and the drain's blocked with mud and there are weeds everywhere. Oh well, what the hell. Maybe David can give me the name of a reliable and relatively inexpensive person to keep the landscaping under control.

>61 LovingLit: I loved that cartoon. Totally-absolutely-💝-ed it.
I sent it to Mr. 10,000-books-man. He didn't laugh. I just don't understand why not.

>131 karenmarie: You seem to have most of it under control, Karen. And you are doing exactly what I would do when preparing for guests.
I guess your outdoors is exactly like mine too.

I hope your evening will not be as bad as you dreaded.

>131 karenmarie: Kerrigold! As though I can afford suchlike...no, grocery-store brand, $3-a-pound stuff. You're not kidding about instant oatmeal, just grisly stuff but easy to store.

>134 richardderus: I've tried the overnight no cook oatmeal a couple of times now - I still put in too much fluid, but it's getting better.

>132 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy! That cartoon makes me smile. Every. Single. Time.

>133 connie53: I didn't die of embarrassment, Connie, and David and Terri were gracious enough to NOT say how awful the outside looked, bless 'em.

We had a good time. Conversation did not lag. We ate seafood and I had >127 karenmarie: again. And I have most of it in to-go-containers again, so yay for Sunday leftovers. I did the dutiful part of the marriage contract and am ahead on brownie points. *smile*

>134 richardderus: Kerrigold here is $3.99/half pound. Amazingly, that is less expensive than on Amazon. 'Course, this is absolutely NOT the right time of year to order things that might melt, so I'm glad I don't have to worry about paying more than Amazon.

But, aren't old-fashioned oats easy to store, too? Or is it that the cooking time for insta-crap is less than for old-fashioned yumminess? And oatmeal requires butter and brown sugar. Some folks don't like raisins, but I like cooking the oatmeal with golden raisins, too. But not tomorrow - tomorrow is Neese's Hot Sausage. The best in the world.

>135 quondame: I have a specific taste for oatmeal. It *must* be buttered, not margarined or otherwise tainted. It must be extremely thick. It must be hot, not reheated. So the overnight stuff is a distant third to instant. Made right then is best, of course, but not practical here because it's got storage issues. (Gets stale quickly by the sea.)

Thinking of your delicious seafood dinner and not feeling sorry for you having to be in the company of perfectly blah people.

>136 karenmarie: Cream and brown sugar on my table. I used to do raisins but they detract from the brown sugar for me. Mike has been bringing home only Kerrigold for a few years now. It doesn't surprise me that it's higher on Amazon as all that convenience costs, and most foods seem high to me on Amazon.

But then there are a limited number of things I can't find within a few miles - though Neese's is on that list! I could find some of the things I get from Amazon, but haven't felt any motivation to spend my time looking.

>137 richardderus: I admit to moderate oatmeal standards, as what I most appreciate are it's rib sticking qualities. A slight bite would be an improvement over the overnight texture, but not enough for the effort and standing involved. Or the clean up.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. I had a perfectly lazy day yesterday. Watched my Cubs lose again but read a healthy chunk of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I am enjoying it. With this heat continuing, I won't get out birding again today (probably not until later in the week), so no specific plans. Hope we can get out and at least do lunch.

>135 quondame: I hope you find the right level of fluid soon.

>137 richardderus: Hiya, RD. The seafood was marvelous. There was a lot of talk about them moving their landscaping business to their home in preparation of downsizing and retiring within a few years, their Toyota RAV4 (which we rode in to the restaurant), their upcoming trip to Wisconsin/California, their getting Spectrum at home, a few bits about Bill, Jenna, and me. While chatting at the house prior to leaving for the restaurant, Bill had left the Olympics swimming on and it was hard to keep their attention. I wish Bill had turned it off. As a cranky aside, so far the only thing I'm interested in is football - soccer.

✔ Butter
✔ Thick
✔ Hot, not reheated

>138 quondame: No white stuff with my oatmeal, milk or cream. Good for Mike bringing home only Kerrigold for years now. I’ve only switched this year, perhaps 4 months ago, from something said on scaifea’s thread. You’re very well situated to find great stuff locally. We chose rural, somewhat remote for other reasons, and put up with not having lots of good stuff close at hand.

Oatmeal definitely has rib-sticking qualities, however it’s not got the protein jolt I usually prefer in the morning.

>139 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Sunday to you. Lazy's good, glad you're enjoying Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. Sorry that the heat is keeping you indoors. Your temperatures are just a tad higher than ours, both not fun for being outdoors in.
…
Well, I jinxed myself with iced, unsweetened tea for dinner last night. Sometimes when I have tea late in the day, I am abruptly awake 7-8 hours later. Last night was one of those nights. Awake at 1:40, went back to sleep about 4:40. I’m still trying to wake up.

>140 karenmarie: I'm not surprised it was hard to keep their attention. What can compete with TV sports? ::eyeroll::

I have Taken You To Task elsewhere for your folly.

Monday's review is coming along slowly, drat the luck. Might be a long night....

Congrats on credits in the Spousal Emotional Bank! Sorry about the tea for dinner. Glad to see yummy leftovers! Mama and I still have a couple of meals from Chinese take-out (all American Restaurant Chinese for any purists).

As to oatmeal, I'm not all that particular. I can eat Quick (5 minutes in the microwave) happily enough if it's good and hot with butter, brown sugar or maple syrup, raisins, and sunflower seeds. Walnuts are nice too. In other words, I don't much like oatmeal, so I have to tart it up.

>140 karenmarie: Oatmeal is an infrequent breakfast as I mostly have chicken and fruit with sour rye toast.
Atholl Brose is something I can't get easily. I was trying to get the local brewer to make a mocha version, but he stalled out at chocolate before having political issues with the group where he offered his brewing accomplishments.

>141 richardderus: I've definitely gone into a not-enough-sleep-because-of-caffeine-last-night lull. Sorry about your review coming along slowly. *smooch*

>142 LizzieD: Thanks, Peggy. Tarted up oatmeal. I like that.

>143 quondame: Hmmm. Chicken and fruit and sour rye toast for breakfast. Baked chicken? Broiled? Left-over rotisserie? Enquiring minds. I love rye toast.

Atholl Brose is new to me - I think I'm too timid to go out of my way for it though.

...
Lazy afternoon. I abandoned The River Between Us by Liz Fenwick at 103 pages. Too cutesy and shallow. On to Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley, suggested by one of the FoL Board members. And I don't even particularly like dogs...

>144 karenmarie: I get TJ's lemon grilled chicken these days. I used to marinate and fry up a breast myself, but laziness has spread its tentacles deeply into food preparation.

The Atholl Brose I've had tastes like a liquored up oatmeal smoothy, comforting with a bit of nip.

Hi Karen my dear, A belated Happy new thread, dear friend.

Re: oat talk...if my kids would eat it, I'd have it most mornings I think. With grated apple, cinnamon, brown sugar, milk, yummmmmmy!

Morning, Karen. I had a nice, mostly lazy birthday. We did go for a nice lunch with Matt, his girlfriend and my FIL. Bree & Sean were up in WI, on their boat. I hope to celebrate with them later in the week. I probably will run a few errands today but that is about it. Another HOT one.

>145 quondame: I love lemon grilled chicken, so yum. The liquored-up bit sounds great. Since I like almost crunchy oatmeal, 'oatmeal smoothy' sounds like an oxymoron to me.

>146 johnsimpson: Hi John! Thank you.

>147 LovingLit: Another good way to eat oatmeal, Megan.

>148 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, happy Birthday + 1. I'm glad you had a nice, mostly lazy day.

...
I got a last minute call to see if I could stay with Louise last night - she had hip replacement surgery on Thursday, refused to go to rehab, and so her son, daughter, and son-in-law are on 24-7 duty. They all needed a break after some rough words, so I got there about 8:15 and left about 9:30 this morning.

...
Call with my aunt about 11 a.m., then a followup visit with the doctor for my right knee problem - the meloxicam just isn't cutting it. Sigh.

Hi, Karen. good to see Mrs. Caliban in your Top 5. I got a big kick out of that one. I gave it, and Cluny Brown to my BIL for his birthday.

>149 karenmarie: Oh heavy heavy sigh. They are all so very lucky that you're willing to step in and help.

Still, a brighter better day awaits us all! And you have the pleasures of Coffin Ed and Grave Digger ahead of you, all fresh and unknowing. ::envy::

I'm back to Library of the Unwritten for Wednesday's review. I got Migrations done, posted, and promoted on time, and am ever so pleased with myself.

>149 karenmarie: Bless you, Karen! You probably don't know what good you did all around. Hope the doc comes up with something better and non-invasive for that knee.

That was really very kind of you Karen. Situations like that are so often an emotional Instant Pot, and I'm sure they really needed a break from each other.

>120 quondame: #Nobodyknows...

>149 karenmarie:, >152 LizzieD:, >153 SomeGuyInVirginia: As someone who's been in the pressure cooker needing help, this is the best gift you can give someone the situation.

>150 jnwelch: Hi Joe! Oh yes, I actually think I started the Mrs. Caliban wave here on LT recently - I had chosen it for my book club, which ended up not meeting. I read it anyway. Cluny Brown is now on MY wish list...

>151 richardderus: I was happy to help out. Louise's son Kevin is there for tonight. I do admit that I'm happy to be sleeping in my own bed tonight... Congrats on the Monday review, continued success in working the Wednesday review.

>152 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. The daughter says that the son's coming by later "with something for me." Have no idea what that means... edited to add - two mini fruit cheesecakes. One for Bill and one for me. We've just eaten dinner, so I'm thinking cheesecake with my breakfast coffee.

The doc suggested hyaluronic acid - aka rooster comb extract -

Viscosupplements, like the rooster comb injections, work differently. They work at rejuvenating what is referred to as the synovial fluid. Synovial fluid is the natural lubricant that we have in our joint that reduces friction. So that is how hyaluronic acid or rooster comb injections work. They rejuvenate and restore the volume and viscosity of someone's synovial fluid.

I'm willing - it's 3 injections, one week apart, and then there's the time it takes for the rejuvenation/restoration of the synovial fluid.

I'm willing to try it. Funnily enough, I only heard of this treatment in May when a member of our book sale team mentioned that it's what he was getting for the osteoarthritis in HIS knee. It sounded like a quack remedy, but guess not.

>153 SomeGuyInVirginia: Hiya, Larry. Louise is my friend - that's what friends do, right?

>154 drneutron: Hi Jim. Ah, you've definitely been through the wringer in recent times, too. Sometimes one just needs a warm body and their willingness to senior sit.

>150 jnwelch: I'm still on the hunt for a copy of Cluny Brown. I seem to be wallowing in nostalgia for my old timey reading. Have been searching for Five Smooth Stones, too.

Hi Sandy!

Comfort reading is big on my list, especially in the last year and 5 months. I hope you can find a copy. I just looked at our Library and they don't have it. Some books you immediately know you have to buy, others get added to the wish list. Cluny Brown is a wish list book.

...
I have to alter my morning routine to NOT see the result of the USA-Australia Women's soccer match, which happened early this morning. We'll be watching a repeat at 10 a.m. and eat our cheesecakes for a late brekkie.

Morning, Karen. Once again, no birding today but I am going over to Bree's place and help her with a few things. They are getting the nursery ready. Yah! BTW- I enjoyed The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.

'Morning, Mark, and happy Tuesday to you. I remember the excitement of setting up the nursery for Jenna - good times. Enjoy it.

Glad you liked The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet. I mentioned it to friend Karen in Montana again, and she and her editor talked about setting up the interview last week. Not sure when it will happen, but it will definitely happen. After all, she's got my copy of the book, and I won't let that slide.

Feeder report - finch feast. They're here in droves. Just saw one Carolina Chickadee, too. I haven't seen a hummingbird yet, but yesterday afternoon there was a lot of activity, and I saw three at a time swirling around the feeder trying to jockey for territory. Ah - I see one perched on the highest branch of the Crepe Myrtle.

And major excitement. Yesterday while filling the feeders, I saw a bird perched on the chain holding the hammock to the frame and got a real good look. It's a Yellow-Throated Warbler, a Lifer for me. Apparently they only use feeders rarely, but I got lucky.

Chaos is what I'm creating. Absolute chaos. Oh, some would call it organizing the books, but I know it for what it is. Weird.

What happened on the soccer field? Did your women win?

*smooch*

>160 weird_O: Book chaos is not at all a bad thing, Bill. As long as you can eventually find things, that is.

>161 richardderus: The women tied, 0-0. The US moves ahead in in group G to the knockout stage, but it was a close thing.

I started watching another episode of Hoarders last night, which is always a mistake. I always wonder what's the difference between that person and their house full of old newspapers and me, who's carrying around more books than I'll ever be able to read in my lifetime and for which finding a place is... problematic. But I know that there is a fundamental difference between us, I just can't conceptualize it yet. Right now, all I can say is that 'that's not me'.

Hey Karen!

Yay for the Olympics. I'll be watching the women's gymnastics tonight.

>163 SomeGuyInVirginia: - Boy do I understand that. Every time I watch an episode of Hoarders, I start throwing things away and uh *trying* to tidy up a bit.

Well, it's official. I reached out to the church elders about establishing an emergency supply of food. I have nothing at all against my church, in fact I think it's a charming view of the world, I just wish that I could show up at Christmas and Easter and not be glommed on. Right now there's a high Episcopalian church not too far from where I live, and an Anglican Church in Amherst which is about 15 miles north. I'm going to start attending one or the other for the comfort of continuity rather than the theology.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. Hooray for the yellow-throated warbler. That is awesome. It has been a bit of a nemesis bird for me. I have not seen one, despite the fact that there are some that breed here. Someday?

I had a nice visit with Bree yesterday. We worked on the house for awhile and then went for lunch. She looks beautiful and is getting excited, like we all are.

>163 SomeGuyInVirginia: Hi Larry. I’ve never watched Hoarders before, but I just watched 2 minutes and that was more than enough, forever and ever, amen. The fundamental difference between you and hoarders is that you don’t have vermin feces in the house and you can put things on counters and walk on floors, not piles of trash. *shudder*

>164 streamsong: We didn’t watch Olympics last night, Janet. The next time I’ll go out of my way to watch them is on Friday, when the US women play the Netherlands.

>165 SomeGuyInVirginia: I hope church works out for you, Larry. I was raised by an agnostic man – my dad – and a religious woman – my mother. My dad refused to go to church and either refused to let Mom take us to church or she didn’t want to go without him. I wonder if my sister remembers which one it is. I went to a Lutheran church with a girlfriend when I was 10. That lasted perhaps 2-3 months. At Pepperdine I was fresh meat, so to speak, and was glommed on ferociously. But I didn’t feel it and resisted going to church. Tried it when Jenna was about 4 or so with some friends of ours. Nope. And at that one I didn’t like the drums and guitars. I have resisted ever since. And not being raised in it, so to speak, I don’t understand the social dynamics. Finally, I feel like it would be cheating to go to church without being a believer. I realize this isn’t a rule for attendance, but combined with my unease with professions of faith and not understanding the social structure, it’s still a hard pass.

>166 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you. Thanks re the Yellow-Throated Warbler. I didn’t realize it could be tricky seeing one. With your tenacity and the hours you spend birding, I hope it’s sooner than later for your YTW Lifer.

I’m glad to hear that you had a nice visit with Bree yesterday. What is the official due date? I know it’s August sometime.

>167 karenmarie: It got moved up a week, so I think it might be Aug 21st.

Morning, Karen! All caught up with this thread, at least. Hoping that your Wednesday is full of fabulous. Also hoping that it IS Wednesday, as the days tend to get away from me. Heh.

Morning, Karen!

>168 msf59: Bree's probably glad that it's moved up a week. Late pregnancy and hot humid summer heat do not mix well.

>169 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! I'm so glad to see you here. It IS Wednesday, because Bill's at work and we're not near a weekend. Bill works Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at the office and Tuesday and Thursday from home, although if there's not a lot of work or he doesn't feel like driving, he works from home M,W, or F. It makes this person who craves alone time a bit crazy occasionally.

>170 katiekrug: Hi Katie!

...
Today has been full of fabulous so far - washed my haven't-gotten-a-haircut-since-March-2020 ringlets, eaten a yummy breakfast, gotten the dishes under control and the dishwasher going, and drunk lots of lovely coffee.

I think your "haven't-gotten-a-haircut-since-March-2020 ringlets" look fabulous, Karen. Lovely photo!

Thanks, Mamie! The joy of selfies.

>171 karenmarie: No fair! You look great, and I looked like something from a freak show after cutting my hair for a year and a half. Karen, the first damn thing I did 2 weeks after my second job was to get my haircut. I went into the barbershop and I explained to everybody that was working there and everyone who was in a chair and everyone who came in that I was there for my first haircut and I was just soooo excited! There's a really good men's barber shop in Lynchburg called Gentleman John's. They have a whole hipster swing vibe going on, and the signage and attitude can be a wincy tad Victorian, but I like it. I sat in the chair and Noah, who did give me the best haircut I've ever had in my life, ask me what I wanted done. I said, Noah, I want you to make me look like it's 1963. And that's pretty much what he did. I got the Richie Cunningham special.

I've got a chicken in the IP, covered in cut lemons, turnips, two humongous onions because I really can't get enough onion, and a large potato. So I'll be eating on that for 3 days.

Thank you, Larry! I didn't dare try to cut my own hair, and being able to use hair combs and scrunches help me keep it under control. I am not at all sure I want to get into the rut of cutting my hair again, frankly. Save money and not have to stress getting my hair cut every 5-6 weeks with only 2 weeks of it really looking great. Obviously I might change my mind and have it cut tomorrow but so far so good. NOT getting a haircut every 6 weeks has saved me $648.

Excellent haircut story. Yay for chicken in the IP. We're going to have leftover vegetable beef soup tonight. If I get ambitious, we'll have homemade cornbread with it.

Excitement! Jenna had yesterday off and today off and had to go to Wilmington to finish cleaning out her apartment and turn in the keys and such. She stopped on the way back to Asheville and we visited for 2 hours. She also brought me a present from the Ingles in Asheville - almond stuffed manzanilla olives. Two jars!! And shared this meme:

>175 karenmarie: Oh, yeah. Familiar. *shudder*

>171 karenmarie: You look maaahhhvelous dahlingk.

So worn down by unexpected activity! But all in service of good things, so it was worth it. But I really want an early night. *smooch*

Oh my Lord, I was so excited to be out in public and getting my hair cut that I wanted everybody to share my experience. In short, I was a very annoying 11-year-old. I suppose I should just be glad that Gentleman John's will have me back.

>175 karenmarie: Oh Karen. Run both the air conditioner and the heater on the same day? I have, quite literally, done that. More than once. That's all I'm going to admit to and I have nothing further to add.

>171 karenmarie: I love the corkscrew curls! My hair doesn't, or didn't, do that when long. I got the little waves sticking out look. Maybe if I'd wrapped it around my fingers, it would have looked more like that.

>176 richardderus: Yes, the joys of living in the mid-Atlantic. Just think how much worse the Deep South is. And thank you, and glad that your activities were worth it. Yay for early nights.

>177 SomeGuyInVirginia: We’re all here for each other, and if sharing your haircut excites you, then it excites me.

Yup. Heater and air conditioning on the same day. Unsuccessfully run from yellow jackets. Last week I was almost hysterical in the grocery store because they didn’t have enough lines open because they were trying to force us to use the self-check kiosks and my ice cream was melting inside the store and I knew it would melt more on the way home.

And the ‘fall into the stickers in your front yard’ can loosely be translated as carefully edging past the beggar lice bush yet ending up with all the hairy little green football-shaped pods on your clothes and in your hair that are almost impossible to get rid of.

>178 ffortsa: Thanks, Judy. Growing up I wanted straight, thick, blonde hair. Now, my hair's okay by me. I’m not sure my hair’s ever done this before with the corkscrew curls (aka Shirley Temple curls), but I must admit that I’m sort of liking it. All I have to do is make sure that I brush it and put it up in a scrunchie at night so it doesn’t get matted.

More funnies from Jenna:

>171 karenmarie: LOVE the picture!!!! My hair corkscrews in the back (and it's at least as long as yours --- my DH cut about 4 inches off my plait a couple or three months ago --- but the front is sadly thin and less vigorous in the curl department. I vow to get my ma and me to the hairdresser before delta-variant shuts us down again.

I wish, I wish that Five Smooth Stones were a LOT less expensive at Amazon. Oh well.

>171 karenmarie: Real curls! Nice! Didn't we all want straight thick blonde hair. I started out with blonde curls as a kid, but unfortunately I went to straight thick brown hair. My mother was very disappointed.

>167 karenmarie: The American-Dutch soccer match is bound to be interesting. Our team has done very well up till now, but it has been an easy time for them. We will be watching on Friday as well, I think. Hope for a good match.

Nice pic, Karen. My hair is stick straight, so I'm slightly envious. I see no reason to rush out and have them cut off! How short was your hair in the before times?

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. Finally getting out with my birding buddy today, after a week off. I then have a volunteer interview, about a Trail Watch position, something I signed up for. With some milder weather coming up, I plan on getting out more. Yah!

>171 karenmarie: Lookin' good!

>180 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Thanks. I’m beginning to think that there are things that need to get done before the delta variant shuts us down again.

There are inexpensive options on bookfinder.com: Five Smooth Stones on bookfinder

>181 EllaTim: Hi Ella. Too bad your mom let you see her disappointment. Straight thick brown hair is not a bad thing at all. I wanted anything but what I had ‘til about my mid-20s.

Yay for Friday soccer. Or football. Speaking of women and balls, we watched a bit of the Brasil Canada women’s rugby match. I don’t understand it at all, but it was lots of fun to watch.

>182 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. My sister has stick straight hair and was always envious of my curls. Go figure. Here’s a pic from November 2018. Curls all over.



>183 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and a very sweet Thursday to you, too. Enjoy the cooler weather, your birding buddy, and the interview.

Thanks re the pic. *smile*

…
I’ll be going out with Bill to run a couple of errands later this morning. Normally I’d go by myself, but these are two quick errands so might as well save gas and wear and tear on the Escape.

>184 karenmarie: Thanks for the additional pic, Karen!

Morning, Karen! I am back home from all my errands and very happy not to have to venture out again today. We have 91% humidity and the temp is going to 97F. It's like walking through soup out there.

Morning, Horrible, what's the news. Errands go well?

>185 lauralkeet: You're welcome, Laura!

>186 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! Blerg. 91%/97F. It's only going to be 94F here today, but the heat index will be 102-104F. Can you say inside with air conditioning?

>187 richardderus: Hiya, RD! I thought I had a book waiting at the Library but I didn't, and I couldn't find the name tags that the volunteer coordinator had left for me in the sort room - my fault, as I didn't listen to her voicemail properly. So 0 for 2 there. We picked up prescriptions and said goodbye to last-day-is-today owners of the Hwy 55 franchise. Bill got to-go food, but I passed. It was nice to see Cassie and Phil. They gave Jenna her first job when she was 15 and it was a great experience for her. Then home again, home again jiggity-jig.

Thanks for the link, Karen. I may indulge in those *5 Stones*.

Sorry your friends from Hwy 55 are moving on, but I hope that somebody else will keep the franchise open.

I'm very happy to report that today's temp peaked at about 75°. Supposed to stay there into the weekend. I might get some mowing done. I am contemplating pulling back, letting nature take a larger portion of the hillside.

>190 weird_O: letting nature take a larger portion of the hillside.

Yes *fist pump*. Go for au naturel. Think of all the song birds you'll encourage.

>171 karenmarie: >184 karenmarie: Like your looks both before and now, Karen.

Watching the women soccer Netherlands-USA.

>190 weird_O:, >191 SandyAMcPherson: What Sandy said!
Bill, if your thoughts are heading in that direction I highly recommend Nature's Best Hope, which discusses things each of us can do, on our own property, to restore our ecosystems. I just reviewed it this week so you can read more about it on the book page or my thread if you wish.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. I had a male RTH at my feeder at 530. Early bird...Only 75F today! Yah! So I will be getting out today. We had a nice bird walk yesterday, clocking in nearly 30 species. It did get very hot quickly. It looks like I will be joining the Trail Watch team. Orientation should be in a couple of weeks.

>189 LizzieD: You’re welcome, Peggy. I hope you get Five Smooth Stones, because clearly you don’t have enough books at home, same as me. *smile* The franchise is being taken over by a franchise-holder in Apex, so we’ll see. I think it’s supposed to reopen on Monday or Tuesday.

>190 weird_O: 75F. Wow. Wouldn’t that be wonderful. We’re looking at mid 90s with a heat index of 100-105. And I really need to run an errand or two in town. Sigh. Letting nature take some back will make it easier on you for sure, and will probably look great, too.

>191 SandyAMcPherson: Hi sandy. The birds are eating me out of house and home. Today is a charm of finches, a Carolina Chickadee, and a female Cardinal so far. I haven’t seen a hummingbird yet.

>192 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita. I just finished watching the Netherlands-USA soccer game. I didn’t expect to be watching for 2 hours and 50 minutes. Of course I’m glad the US won, but it was not an easy win and the Netherlands women actually looked better than our women for most of the game. It came down to the penalty kicks of course, and I can’t believe the Miedema’s penalty kick was saved by Naeher.

>193 lauralkeet: Hi Laura!

>194 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Friday to you. Yay for the hummingbird – took me a second to figure out what RTH stood for. 30 species, fantastic. And, wow. You and weird_o, with your 75F temps. Yay for joining the Trail Watch team. What does the volunteer position entail?

…
Well. As I said above, I did not expect the soccer game to go 2 hours and 50 minutes, so just got some brekkie, finished my coffee and am starting my LT day. Eventually my real life day will include a short run into town.

>194 msf59: Doncha love 75°, Mark. I sure do. We had a drenching downpour yesterday afternoon, which downed a lot of trees just to the south of us. Kudos on marking the cut and joining the Trail Watch team.

>193 lauralkeet: A long time ago, when I had employment, I was involved in producing a book called Nature's Design: A Practical Guide to Natural Landscaping. The author, Carol Smyser, was a student who married the professor, he being Ian McHarg, a pioneer in environmental design and urban planning. She adapted his approach for urban planning, outlined in his book Design with Nature, to landscaping your own homeplace. I did read your comments on Nature's Best Hope, Laura, and that kinda renewed my interest to reducing the mowing I do.

ETA: Gee, I guess I should salute the impresario of this fine, fine, superfine thread, Karen.

>193 lauralkeet: I’m glad you mentioned Nature’s Best Hope. It’s been on my wishlist and my library has it on audio now.

>196 weird_O: That's interesting, Bill.
>197 2wonderY: And I'm happy to have reminded you of Nature's Best Hope.

And finally, apologies to Karen because when I posted in >196 weird_O:, for the life of me I thought I was on Bill's thread!!

We're expecting 83°/28C as our high, which is the upper border of my comfort zone. It's a lovely day, though, as there was a thunderstorm yesterday and there's next to no humidity compared to usual.

I'm off to see the wizard who keeps me from turning into a mass-murdering slavering red-eyed beast shortly. TTYL

Karen, I did order *5 Stones* last night, and I look forward to it. The 60s were my time.

>195 karenmarie: The silver lining for me was that my favorite American player, Megan Rapinoe, finished the game.

Hi Karen. Trying to catch up as best I can. I own an old but rather intact copy of Five Smooth Stones as well as her other book (I believe she only wrote the two), That Man Cartwright. I don't recall much about the latter but I do remember really loving the former and wishing someone would make a good movie out of it. I must have liked the second one, too, mind you, if I still own it.

>196 weird_O: Why thank you, Bill. It wouldn’t be anything except a recitation of what I add, cul, and read but for my visitors.

>197 2wonderY: Hi Ruth.

>198 lauralkeet: No apologies necessary. I love when visitors chat with one another here.

>199 richardderus: Hi RD. You’d be miserable here in central NC most of the time, then. 83F. And, he’s off to see the wizard…

>200 LizzieD: Yay, Peggy. Books are a necessity, aren’t they?

>201 FAMeulstee: Although Rapinoe looked off most of the game, she definitely stepped up at the end.

>202 jessibud2: Hi Shelley! Have you ever reread either one? Just curious - I'm a re-reader but some folks aren't.

I’ve gone through several cull attempts over the years. Interestingly, I kept all my Judith McNaughts until this week. Now all 8 of them are going to the Library’s 25 cents-each cart since the Friends do not sell mass market paperbacks any more. Anne Rice books are gone, too, but I'll take them to the second hand book store for credit.

Today’s been a lot of fun so far. Got Jenna’s birthday card ready and put it in our mailbox for the carrier to pick up, visited with Louise for a bit since she was sitting outside, read, hung or folded/put up clean laundry, and happily puttered.

I rarely reread, Karen but there have been a few exceptions over the years. Five Smooth Stones could be one of those someday, which could be why I kept it. I really remember loving it. I remember thinking that the very young Denzel Washington (as in, from his early ER days) would have made an excellent whatever-the-main-character's name was. But that's the way my mind works...;-)

>195 karenmarie: I thought it was a very good game. A pity it had to be decided by penalty shots.

Enjoying lots of other sports, the BMX races, crazy, but fun. Dutch TV of course picks the sports that we compete in, unfortunately cause I would love to see other sports, and other competitors.

>204 jessibud2: Perhaps one of these days, eh?

>205 EllaTim: Hi Ella. It was a good game, and yes, penalty shots are not an indication of how each team played.

Bill's watching more Olympics than I am.

71. Ties That Bound: Founding First Ladies and Slaves by Marie Jenkins Schwartz

7/11/21 to 7/30/21





From Amazon:

Behind every great man stands a great woman. And behind that great woman stands a slave. Or so it was in the households of the Founding Fathers from Virginia, where slaves worked and suffered throughout the domestic environments of the era, from Mount Vernon, Monticello, and Montpelier to the nation’s capital. American icons like Martha Washington, Martha Jefferson, and Dolley Madison were all slaveholders. And as Marie Jenkins Schwartz uncovers in Ties That Bound, these women, as the day-to-day managers of their households, dealt with the realities of a slaveholding culture directly and continually, even in the most intimate of spaces.

Unlike other histories that treat the stories of the First Ladies’ slaves as separate from the lives of their mistresses, Ties That Bound closely examines the relationships that developed between the First Ladies and their slaves. For elite women and their families, slaves were more than an agricultural workforce; slavery was an entire domestic way of life that reflected and reinforced their status. In many cases slaves were more constant companions to the white women of the household than were their husbands and sons, who often traveled or were at war. By looking closely at the complicated intimacy these women shared, Schwartz is able to reveal how they negotiated their roles, illuminating much about the lives of slaves themselves, as well as class, race, and gender in early America.

By detailing the prevalence and prominence of slaves in the daily lives of women who helped shape the country, Schwartz makes it clear that it is impossible to honestly tell the stories of these women while ignoring their slaves. She asks us to consider anew the embedded power of slavery in the very earliest conception of American politics, society, and everyday domestic routines.

Why I wanted to read it: Time for a meaty nonfiction book about my country. This was a birthday present from me to me this year.

This is a well-researched, well-written, and unflinching look at three First Ladies and the Mistress of Monticello – Martha Washington, Patsy Jefferson (Thomas’s daughter), Dolley Madison, and Sally Hemings (Thomas’s concubine).

Martha Washington and Patsy Jefferson were brought up in slave-holding households. Sally Hemings was a slave, and Dolley Madison was brought up as a Quaker and therefore came from an antislavery background. However, after her first husband died, she married James Madison and adopted the Virginia grandee lifestyle with enthusiasm.

This book is absolutely fascinating. It is well documented and rich in detail. The women and their families and their slaves and servants come to life. There is not one thing in this book that condones slavery. The women were a product of their environments and saw black people as intrinsically inferior to white people, needing to be supervised and managed and controlled. Everything they did in their everyday lives was intertwined with that of the slaves and dependent upon slave labor.

George and Martha, Thomas and Patsy, and Dolley and James do not come off well in this exploration of their lives in terms of their dealings with the humans they owned. Much time and money was spent on buying and selling slaves and disingenuously pretending that they were ‘good’ slaveholders, and there was much worry and maneuvering to help their legacies and reputations.

Washington freed the slaves he owned upon Martha's death - Martha owned slaves separately through her Dandridge and Custis inheritance - but Jefferson only freed a few slaves and Madison and Dolley never freed slaves but sold them to pay off debts due to their living above their means and constantly being in debt.

Slaves did not necessarily live on the estate of their owner. They were swapped around, loaned to family members, and leased out to nonfamily members to raise cash. The most dangerous times to be a slave was when there was a slaveowner’s death and anything could happen to a slave family.

Many slaves and their stories are written about here, as there were always decisions made about specific slaves, inventories made of slaves, and births and deaths recorded.

Slaveowner rape of their slaves was very common, and the children of these rapes were frequently kept in the houses and managed by the legal wife of the slaveholder. Sally Hemings’ story is more well-known than that of most slaves. Interestingly, Jefferson ‘keeping’ her and having children by her was an open secret and scandal during his lifetime, but until the late 1990s their relationship had faded out of history. 1998 DNA results have proved him to be the father of 4 of her children (and presumably 2 who died). Also interesting is that she was Jefferson’s wife’s half sister and her children by Jefferson looked white. Jefferson freed them when each turned 21, and several of them moved away and presumably passed for white.

An eye-opener even though I already knew some of it.

Six word review: Unfortunately, products of their slave-holding times.

>207 karenmarie: The right-wing moralizers who rant and carry on about how vile and evil it is to allow us fags and dykes to *gasp* marry like we were normal people are correct: what they do now will follow them through history...just like slavery's followed those who practiced it through history.

The long trend being towards kinder, gentler, and better, I don't like their odds of being remembered well. We're always gonna reassess the past.

Dropping in to say hi!

>207 karenmarie: BB for me.

>207 karenmarie: that looks like an interesting read, Karen. "Unflinching" sounds like an apt description. And I'm glad to see that -- much better than glorification.

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. Heading out shortly for another solo run. I clocked in 29 species yesterday. I will see if I can beat it, on another beautiful day. You asked about the Trail Watch duties- You pair up with a partner, with an official vest and everything, and walk a forest preserve for a couple of hours. You are on the lookout for safety hazards, violations, (you only call in these) or any other issues. Actually you can either bike or walk, which is kind of a cool option.

>196 weird_O: 75 yesterday. 81 today. I can handle this, Bill.

>208 richardderus: Agree 100%, especially The long trend being towards kinder, gentler, and better.

>209 figsfromthistle: Hi Figs. Enjoy isn't the right word because of the subject matter, but appreciate the writing and research and wealth of information.

>210 lauralkeet: It was fascinating and awful all rolled up into one. I can never look at these First Ladies with much appreciation any more. Not that they were ever really on my radar, to be honest, except for perhaps Dolley. And the rescuing of the portrait of George Washington during the War of 1812? This book says that she wouldn't have been able to get it safely out without slaves getting the portrait down and literally breaking the frame on her instructions.

edited to add:

>212 karenmarie: 'Morning, Mark. Yay for another birding adventure. Thanks for the info about Trail Watch duties. It sounds right up your alley.

…
Sad book sale news – ‘out of an abundance of caution’ we’re cancelling the August sale. Realistically, I think we’re going to have to cancel the September sale, too, but we’ll cross that bridge in late August. Darned delta variant and unvaccinated people. And I had just bought 300 face masks to hand out to customers… oh well, we’ll either be able to use them or we won’t. C'est la vie.

First sips of coffee are good, though, and I’ll be reading more of Lily and the Octopus today.

I won't finish any more books today, so here are my July statistics and lightning round.

Statistics Through July 31

71 books read
24 of them on my shelves before 01/01/2021 and not rereads
11 books abandoned, 974 pages abandoned
20902 pages read
20 audiobook hours
Avg pages read per day, YTD = 99
Avg pages read per book, YTD = 294

Book of the month: Tie: The Midnight Library by Matt Haig and Ties That Bound by Marie Jenkins Schwartz

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

Author
Male 58%
Female 42%

Living 56%
Dead 44%

US Born 68%
Foreign Born 32%

Platform
Hardcover 45%
Trade Pback 24%
Mass Market 27%
Audiobook 1%
e-Book 3%

Source
My Library 86%
Library 10%
Other 4%

Misc
ARC/ER 1%
Re-read 18%
Series 58%

Fiction 89%
NonFiction 11%

New to Me Authors 26

Author Birth Country
England 15%
Germany 1%
Jordan 1%
Scotland 11%
Spain 1%
US 68%
Wales 3%

Original Decade Published
1890s 1%
1910s 1%
1920s 1%
1950s 7%
1960s 23%
1970s 4%
1980s 4%
1990s 6%
2000s 11%
2010s 24%
2020s 18%

Category
Adventure 3%
Biography 0%
Chrestomathy 0%
Contemporary Fiction 7%
Fantasy 8%
Historical Fiction 6%
Humor 1%
Informational Nonfiction 10%
Memoir 1%
Mystery 42%
Poetry 0%
Science Fiction 0%
Suspense 0%
Thriller 22%


Book Acquisition Date
2007 - Joined LT, added 1853 books 10
2008 1
2009 1
2010 1
2012 1
2016 3
2017 2
2018 8
2019 1
2020 6
2021 27
borrowed from friends 3
Library 7

Rating
2.5 - Average 1
3 - Good 6
3.5 - Very Good 17
4 - Excellent 34
4.5 - Stunning 13

3.48 - YTD Average

Sad book sale news Boy, I'll say it's sad. I'm glad I was able to binge in June and early July. But I recognize the need for caution. The folks at the Bethlehem library are sending mixed signals. At booksalefinder.com they've got a sizzling announcement of a sale in the beginning of September. The library's website says no sale is slated.

>207 karenmarie: A book that'll drive the family-values dead-enders over the edge (of the flat earth). Salut! Heather Cox Richardson is explaining (historian-'splaining) about the anti-Asian and anti-Mexican laws enacted as Texas and California entered statehood before the Civil War.

ETA: Stats! Oh my.

July’s Lightning Round

The Murderer’s Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers 7/2/21 7/7/21

One of my rare forays into contemporary fiction, this is a beautiful novel about two sisters growing up after their father murders their mother and almost kills the younger sister. Emotions ring true, characters are beautifully developed. Chapters move forward in time from 1971 to 2003, alternating between the two sisters, sometimes from the same years, other times skipping ahead quite a bit. This did not make the novel disjointed, rather it focused on what was important for this story. A jewel.

Archie Meets Nero Wolfe by Robert Goldsborough 7/7/21 7/9/21

Not bad at all, frankly. Archie is hired to provide security at the docks and kills two men within two weeks of getting hired. Although his boss appreciates what he did, he fires him. Archie hooks up with Del Bascom and immediately solves a case, and when Bascom is recruited by Wolfe on a kidnapping, brings Archie along. Reminiscent of the Lindbergh kidnapping, and actually quite well done. Wolfe, Archie, Cramer, Saul, Fred, Orrie, and Fritz all are recognizable and in keeping with the characters as written by Stout.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 7/9/21 7/11/21

Another rare foray – this time into fantasy. Nora Seed wants to die, takes an overdose of pills, and is whisked away to the Midnight Library, where the time is 00:00:00. Here she is guided by her high school Librarian, Mrs. Elm, as she tries on different versions of her life. It is always 00:00:00, until Nora has a revelation. Absolutely wonderful.

Men Explain Things to Me by Rebecca Solnit 7/2/21 7/11/21

I think I’ve been a feminist ever since my parents told me in about 1961 that I could and should go to college, thus giving me a sense of self-worth and acknowledgement of my intelligence that I didn’t even realize I needed. However, in the culture of white America in the 1950s-1960s this was an outlier position. I’ve always been keenly aware of cultural assumptions and slights and male power plays against me and read much of the feminist literature of the 1960s and 1970s. I internalized my right to be the equal of any man, the right to make my own decisions about my body, and the right to manage my own life. This book has gotten me refreshed and caught up, so to speak. The only essay that I really disliked was the one about Virginia Woolf, because I simply Do Not Get Virginia Woolf and reading about her irritates me. However, even there Solnit is incisive and astute and illuminating. A very good book.

A Promise of Spring by Mary Balogh 7/13/21 7/15/21

A slow-paced and nuanced look at a marriage of convenience and how it grows through honesty and respect for the other person. Perry marries Grace after her brother dies, leaving her in a precarious situation. He does not know of her illicit relationship and child born out of wedlock. They work together to build a loving and fulfilling life. Very nicely done.

Night Film by Marisha Pessl 7/14/21 7/24/21

Engrossing and occasionally brilliant, I was totally frustrated when our hero finally tracks down filmmaker Cordova on a tiny island at the tip of South America. Cordova is going to spill the beans, and that’s where the novel ends. There are some beautifully written scenes of looming danger and terror. The mystery is intriguing. Am I glad I read it? Yes. Will I keep it on my shelves? The jury is still out.

Hi Bill!

The vote was just finalized this morning via email, so the appropriate people will be updating our website, booksalefinder, and etc. We're electing to say 'Postponed', but that's really only to hold our place on booksalefinder.com.

Personally, the deteriorating pandemic situation will ensure that I revert to only going out for absolutely necessary errands and NOT socializing with people we had just started socializing with again. I think I'm going to have to back off visiting Louise, too, because her kids are all over there taking care of her and I'm not sure they will be as cautious as I am being. Sigh. I did visit yesterday, but we were outside and stayed pretty far apart except when I handed her the phone that she'd dropped. I just hate having to second guess what's safe and not again. I realize that I'm not alone, just venting a bit.

Sorry to hear about the book sale(s), Karen. This situation sucks.
ETA: totally agree with your venting in >216 karenmarie:

Thanks, Laura. Just another thing to worry about.

Our Friends group is in a decent financial position, though, thanks to two donation letters we sent out last fiscal year. We got $35K between the two letters, and that's in addition to the regular membership dues that people were kind enough to continue sending.

>215 karenmarie: Nice lightning round! I'm always glad when a belovèd series can continue *well* in new hands.

Hiss boo hiss about the friggin delta variant ruining something else good! But very wise, of course, to elect not to spread it more widely.

Thanks, RD. I was encouraged by Archie Meets Nero Wolfe.

Yes, we're sad about cancelling it but know it's the right thing to do.

I keep seeing mention of Five Smooth Stones.
Did I miss something in between >156 SandyAMcPherson: and somewhere before >200 LizzieD: >204 jessibud2:? Happens that I mentioned that I've been searching for that title too. Or was there a Talk thread elsewhere I didn't see?

>215 karenmarie: Love the lightning round. I hope to do mine later today. We agree on the Solnit. I liked Night Film a bit better than you, (it has been awhile, though). And you definitely liked The Midnight Library much more than I did. Bree & Sean loved it as well.

Happy Sunday, Karen. I had a very nice solo jaunt yesterday, clocking in another 29 species. A belted kingfisher was a highlight. Lots of cedar waxwings around too. Heading out for another solo outing, in just a few.

>221 SandyAMcPherson: I’ve only seen Peggy mention it, Sandy, but we don’t necessarily visit all the same threads.

>222 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Sunday to you. Thanks re my lightning round and thank you for the idea, which I started using in January of last year. Rather than feeling obligated to write a full-tilt boogie review for every book I read, the lightning round lets me jot down something about every book I read that I don’t write a review for. My statistics spreadsheet even has a Review or Lightning Round column.

Enjoy your solo outing.

>221 SandyAMcPherson: - When I was trying to catch up after my time offline when I was away in Montreal, I saw someone (possibly you, Sandy) mention Five Smooth Stones on some thread but I can't remember which one or where. I was only skimming threads and not posting so I only commented here after seeing it come up again. Hope you can find a copy somewhere.

>224 jessibud2: I rarely remember where I see things here on LT either.

Sunday's begun, coffee's downed, stories unwind apace. Good stuff. *smooch*

So here's a question that I've been meaning to post for a while but it came up again today.

If you post more than just a "hi" on somebody's thread and they don't acknowledge the post, do you
1. say something like 'missed me up there'
or
2. shrug and move on

I've accidentally missed a post and appreciate it when the poster gently reminds me that I missed their post, but never tell folks that they've missed one of my posts because I have the horrible thought that they might say something like "well, you didn't say anything worth acknowledging" or not even acknowledge the new post. Is there 75ers etiquette that I don't know? Or am I being paranoid?

>226 richardderus: Hiya, RD. Yup. Blueberry biscuits consumed, coffee drunk, plans made to watch women's soccer tomorrow at 10 a.m. replay instead of 4 a.m. live. I'll just have to make sure I don't accidentally see or hear the result before I watch. *smooch*

>227 karenmarie: Depends on who it is, where it falls in the thread's conversation, and how much I care.

If you miss me, I shrug and move on...I'll be back tomorrow anyway.

If someone whose thread I've visited for the first time says nothing, I shrug and move on because that's pretty clear: No thanks.

In between those poles, I try to figure out if they just didn't see my conversational gambit or are the personality that says "mmm" to social noises. It's a lot like return visits. I'll overlook its absence for a while because we all do stuff our own way, but after a time where it's all me visiting you, there's no point to me maintaining this one-sided (dis)connection.

>227 karenmarie: If it is someone who always answers all posts, I might say something like "did you miss my post". In other cases I shrug and move on.
That horrible thought also occurs to me sometimes. If so I try to move my thoughts in other directions.

>227 karenmarie: Ooh, this is such a great question. Personally, I would only post "you missed me" if I'd asked a direct question. On my own thread I try to respond to everyone but occasionally I make a mistake. So if someone doesn't respond to me on their thread, I assume it was just an oversight. I don't mention it because I don't want to call them out in public.

>227 karenmarie: I’m never offended if not acknowledged directly. That could take up a lot of space better used for more interesting bits.

Hi Karen. As always, I enjoyed your July lightning round. The Pessl and Solnit especially caught my eyes. I do like Solnit's essays, and this sounds like one that will speak to me, and I do love Virginia Woolf. :)

>227 karenmarie: That is a great question. I personally don't care if someone skips over me. I do try to respond to everyone, but I know I miss people at times.

I agree with Laura in >231 lauralkeet:. If I just say hello and don't get a direct response, it's fine. I mean, what are they going to say besides hello back? But if it's a more "meaty" post, I am likely to get annoyed. But I won't call them on it because I prefer to fume internally and add them to my nemesis list. Ha! (Mostly kidding...)

I think there should be a moratorium on responding to every single "Happy new thread" post :)

>171 karenmarie: Nice hair cut!! I still haven't ventured in to a parlor. Been cutting my own for over a year and a half! Not too shabby, although it is hard to but the back using a mirror. LOL.

>207 karenmarie: That sounds like a powerful read. Love "birthday present from me to me"!

>216 karenmarie: Sorry about the Friends book sale and the increased need to mask and be safe again. Sigh.

>227 karenmarie: Ha! I just reminded someone that they missed responding to me although I hadn't said anything earth-shattering. So I covered my bases. And I thought they would notice me since I have been so MIA! LOL Seriously though, it depends on the person and what I said, and I frequently I let it go.

Richard, Anita, Laura, Ruth, Beth, Katie, Kim - thank you. I appreciate the honesty and laissez-faire approach most of you seem to take. I shall not worry about it any more.

>233 BLBera: Thanks, Beth. I enjoy publishing it.

>234 katiekrug: I personally like acknowledging visitors, Katie, but I do understand that rattling off a bunch of generic thank yous is tedious. Perhaps one generic “Thank you all in advance who wish me a happy new thread.” I certainly wouldn’t mind.

>235 Berly: Thanks re the haircut, Kim, but that was from 2018. My hair now is the ringlets in >171 karenmarie:. I think the window of opportunity is closing for haircuts again. I can’t imagine cutting my own hair like you do and am glad I’m mostly reconciled to long hair, hair combs, and scrunchies. I do wish I had the skill to put it into a French Braid.

72. Lily and the Octopus by Steven Rowley
7/25/21 to 8/1/21





From Amazon:

“Lily and the Octopus is the dog book you must read this summer…a profound experience.” —The Washington Post

Combining the emotional depth of The Art of Racing in the Rain with the magical spirit of The Life of Pi, Lily and the Octopus is an epic adventure of the heart.

When you sit down with Lily and the Octopus, you will be taken on an unforgettable ride.

The magic of this novel is in the read, and we don’t want to spoil it by giving away too many details.

We can tell you that this is a story about that special someone: the one you trust, the one you can’t live without.

For Ted Flask, that someone special is his aging companion Lily, who happens to be a dog.

Lily and the Octopus reminds us how it feels to love fiercely, how difficult it can be to let go, and how the fight for those we love is the greatest fight of all.

Remember the last book you told someone they had to read?

Lily and the Octopus is the next one.

Why I wanted to read it: A Friends of the Library Board member mentioned that she was reading The Guncle by an author I’d never heard of. I checked him out and was gobsmacked by the title Lily and the Octopus. I read about it and had to have it.

I am not a dog person. Let’s be clear about that. However, if I ever had a dog, I would want a dachshund just like Lily.

This book is easy and hard and joyous and painful. Laugh out loud, too.

Ted meeting Lily:

In my twenties, I had another terrible therapist (therapists!) who concluded that since my mother never says “I love you” (at least not in the same way that other mothers do), there was going to be a limit to my ability to feel love. Love for someone, loved by someone. I was limited. And then on the very last night of my twenties, when I held my new puppy in my arms, I broke down in tears. Because I had fallen in love. Not somewhat in love. Not partly in love. Not in a limited amount. I fell fully in love with a creature I had known for all of nine hours.

I remember Lily licking the tears from my face.

THIS! EYE! RAIN! YOU! MAKE! IS! FANTASTIC! I! LOVE! THE! SALTY! TASTE! YOU! SHOULD! MAKE! THIS! EVERY! DAY!

The realization was overwhelming – there was nothing wrong with me. There were no limits to what I could feel!

"Remember the last book you told someone they had to read?

Lily and the Octopus is the next one."

Six word review: Lily and Ted's joyous life together.

>236 karenmarie: I think of the new thread greetings as sort of a reverse ping - yep, I'm still around.

>237 karenmarie: After I met Gretchen, the cutest, friendliest wee dachshund, I desired to have one. That has led to my and my family having owned many very bad dogs. Of course the second dachshund we bought, Sam, was every bit as wonderful as Gretchen, but he belonged to my mother while my dog, Piglet, was a more ambiguous beast.
We had one other good dog, and my favorite bad dog ever, Gertie, but unless you are prepared to love a pile of stubborn quirks with a guarantee of bad behaviors, you'll have a better chance of getting a good dog with other breeds. But when dachshunds are good they are beyond golden.

>238 quondame: I love that, Susan - a reverse ping - yep, I'm still around.

Of course I knew you had Gertie and am glad you chimed in about dachshunds. My friend Karen in Montana and her family had dachshunds all her life until recently, too, and all I ever heard was good things about them. The one bad dog was a dachshund-something mix.

>225 karenmarie: Yeah, me too. I often favourite posts and then have to troll through a zillion yellow blocks trying to find the fave I'm searching for.

I have occasionly thought of asking the LT programming staff (or Tim) if we could select colours for faving a post. That way I could sort out my fave topics...

I suspect they have better things to do. I *do* copy post links when I've asked a question so I can go back to look for answers. But then my links file becomes silly-long.

Edited after reading further:
I'm very up and down about answering absolutely post and really poor at returning to the person's thread who left me a message. I have never managed to always visit everyone who pops by, simply too overwhelming some days. I really like these folks but often I have nothing to say on their thread because their reading tastes differ hugely. Or I don't want to get into a discussion of whatever is prevalent when I visit.

When someone misses acknowledging my comment (on their thread), I don't mind at all. Maybe there was nothing to add. I attempt to keep on topic but that's a boat I often fall off.

>234 katiekrug: I agree with Katie that the "Happy new thread" post can be excessive and rather irrelevantly lengthens the thread, if that's all they say. I do get Susan 'ping' remark. So, it seems very idiosyncratic here (in this group) that there came a tradition of these greeting posts everytime a new thread was continued.

OK. Long winded... sorry Karen!

Morning, Karen. I didn't see as much variety on my solo walk yesterday but I did see a score of bluebirds and red-headed woodpeckers which it made it all worth while. I am meeting with birding buddies today.

BTW- I am starting The Orphan Mother later today. Have you read it? I remember you really enjoying The Widow of the South, which I have still not read.

Morning, Karen!

Yeah, I tend to assume the person has just missed or forgot my post, and I don't worry about it. I'm sure we've all done that more than once on our own threads, too. On the flip side, I waver about responding to people on my thread who are directly responding to someone else's post and aren't actually talking to me: do I make up some sort of response and butt into the little side convo or will I look like a butt myself if I don't? *sigh*

Morning, Karen! I am still recovering from the heat index this past weekend - it was full of yuck.

>227 karenmarie: I almost always say something (unless it is someone I know does not respond to every post) because I would want to know if I missed someone on my thread.

When someone misses me I think Oh well, it happens. Unless it's more frequent, some people don't respond at all, not really wanting visitors i guess.
I do like the wishing you a new thread, sometimes i just don't have anything more to say, but i like knowing people were reading mine as well. A little ping to say you were there.

I deliberately didn’t get online this morning because I wanted to watch the US-Canada match without knowing the result in the 10 a.m. rebroadcast. Sigh. Well, they lost. Sadness. Congrats to the Canadians for beating the US for the first time in 20 years. The US will go for Bronze.

>240 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy. I’ve only marked a post as a Favorite Post 26 times in almost 14 years on LT, so color coding Favorite Posts isn’t something I need. I star topics to keep up with folks.

Everybody has the right to manage their threads the way the wish. Acknowledging or not acknowledging Happy New Thread posts is up to you, as is posting the cartoons you wish to post.

You never have to apologize for being long-winded, Sandy. 😊

>241 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark. Ah, I’ve never yet seen a Red-Headed Woodpecker, but I’ve seen several Bluebirds taking baths in the birdbath recently and just saw a female Downy Woodpecker attempting to get suet from the empty suet feeder. Gotta fill bird feeders when I get off LT! I have not heard of, much less read, The Orphan Mother. Sigh. Another BB. I might use some Chase/Amazon credit to buy it…

>242 scaifea: Hi Amber! I usually just say “hi” to someone who’s responding to someone else on my thread, but it’s not a hard and fast rule.

>243 Crazymamie: Hello Mamie! I must admit that I wouldn’t want to live in Georgia most of the year… you’re usually more humid than we are in the summer and we’re already in the God-I-hate-humidity range. Thanks for chiming in on >227 karenmarie:.

>244 EllaTim: Hi Ella! I like the ‘little ping’, too.

…
Well, our Treasurer had surgery on her shoulder last week then developed a staph infection and is still in the hospital, so I have 6 check requests. Fortunately, I kept a packet of checks for just this type of emergency since as President I’m the official backup. Having been Treasurer before, I also have the right forms and procedure to follow.

After I write checks I think I’m going to go into town to the Library, the PO, the grocery store, and the pharmacy. Might as well get exposed to the Delta variant all in one day, double masked and with hand sanitizer at the ready.

Hi, Karen. All this talking about responding and visiting makes me a little sad for myself. I love this place because of my friends here and in a few other groups. I just can't be here as often as I'd like or as I used to be. I think most people have understood that and are gracious in giving me a pass. I appreciate it!!!!!

>237 karenmarie: That sounds like a surprise hit. I wouldn't *dream* of recommending a dog book to you! See what we miss by thinking we know what another person likes?

Happy weirdsday. *smooch*

>246 LizzieD: Peggy, any time you visit is a joy, and I certainly understand that your visiting time is extremely limited.

>247 richardderus: I thought you'd be surprised... As I always tell Bill, "I reserve the right to be unpredictable."

Yup. weirdsday it is. *smooch* back

>245 karenmarie: "I must admit that I wouldn’t want to live in Georgia most of the year… " This made me laugh. Me, either.

I think we all miss comments occasionally, especially if we are doing several consecutive posts and someone 'sneaks' in.

Call me Pollyanna, but I wouldn't attach negativity to being missed.

>227 karenmarie: Karen, I am really bad about not responding to direct posts. I don't do it intentionally, it's just the way that I read posts. I generally read and then wait a day or two to respond because I figure that I'll eventually have something interesting to say, and quite often I just forget because something else comes along.

I'd shrug it off unless it was something that I really wanted a response to, like a direct question, and then I'd just nudge.

>242 scaifea: I think a vast majority, if vast can be used here on LT, like getting responses to posts however directed. I do so, obviously, my thread or not, and at least those who have objected haven't complained, which probably says more about their manners than mine.

>249 Crazymamie: Anything to put a smile on your face, Mamie! I haven't even ever visited Georgia, but did pass through in 2011 with daughter's Jazz Band to compete at Disneyworld. My back and feet will never forget it.

>250 streamsong: Yes, Pollyanna, I am guilty of missing comments, too, and am not always diligent in reviewing my thread to catch my faux pas after the fact. But I think with the responses I’ve seen here, most of us are comfortable with not always getting a response and don’t take it personally when it does happen.

>251 SomeGuyInVirginia: You underestimate your ability to have something interesting to say right away, Larry, but getting diverted is understandable. Ah, a gentle nudge.

>252 quondame: So here’s my opportunity to say Hi Susan, because she’s responded to someone else’s post on my thread.

…
I was busy today and am ready for a bit of reading then some sleep. I’ve started The Stranger Times and so far it’s laugh-out-loud clever and funny.

Trying to keep up from here on!

Morning, Karen. I had a great time with my birding buddies yesterday. Lots of waterfowl and waders. Doing a solo run today. Clearly taking advantage of these cooler temps.

I decided to change books- I thought I had The Widow of the South and wanted to read that one first. I went with The Last Town on Earth instead, which has been on my shelf forever. I am a Mullen fan. If you are interested, I can send you The Orphan Mother?

>254 connie53: Hi Connie!

>255 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Tuesday to you. Glad you're taking advantage of the cooler temps for both solo and birding buddies adventures.

I'd love to have The Orphan Mother. I almost bought it the other day, so glad I didn't!

...
Yesterday was so busy that I am going to do a whole bunch of nothing today. I might make my sister's Instant Pot Chicken and Potato Soup for supper, but that's it. Lots of reading and puttering.

It is our daughter's 28th birthday. We don't know when we'll see her, but I did see her last week and we had several visits in May-July as she made the move from Wilmington to Asheville.

One of my favorite pictures of her, with Dolly. 2010.



It's also my step-mother's birthday, Kay Hengeveld, 8-3-38 - 3-3-2014. And our friend Geoff's. AND, as it turns out, my maternal uncle's third wife's.

>256 karenmarie: And it's my dad's 88th birthday today!

Hi Amber! Wow. Another August 3rd birthday. Best wishes to your dad.

>258 karenmarie: Will do! It's funny when that happens. My mom's birthday and Tomm's mom's are the same day, and one of my brothers shares a birthday with Tomm's dad.

It's the Birthday Paradox in action, and it is counterintuitive and pleasing to think about.

In a group of 23 people, the probability of a shared birthday exceeds 50%, while a group of 70 has a 99.9% chance of a shared birthday. Wikipedia

>260 karenmarie: Ha! Neat. Charlie's birthday is, or so I read somewhere at some point, the most 'popular' birthday out there. January is cold and snowy and there's not much else to do, apparently...

>260 karenmarie: Amusing statistic.
My birthday must be an anomaly... back in the day, our department at the Uni groups people by birthday month and around the 15th (or closest Friday) has a coffee and cookies event for the event of birthday people of the month.

There were usually about 50 people who gathered (our dept had 200+ employees), and no one had the same day as mine.
(The departmental secretary looked at the records ~the actual dates were kept private~ when I asked her if there was anyone at all with the same day.)

>256 karenmarie: Snappy birfdee to the kidlet!

Twenty-eight! Oh my. Well, I can't add to the pile of thirdsday birthdays...but I can honestly say I am glad she hasn't been bitten by the writing bug since she shares a birthday with Leon Uris and Steven Millhauser!

*smooch*

Morning, Karen, and happy birthday to Jenna!

>261 scaifea: There are a lot of websites with info about birthday distribution in the US, all fun to look at.

>262 SandyAMcPherson: How odd. Perhaps people working at the Uni wouldn't have been considered 'random'? Don't know. Very few people have my birthdate either.

>263 SomeGuyInVirginia: I've already spoken with her this morning, but just texted your birthday wishes to her.

>264 richardderus: She's definitely not a writer. When I asked her how it felt to be 28 ('cuz that's what old fart parents do!), she said that being almost 30 was a bit of a shock although being 30 wouldn't be so bad. Silly young'un.

>265 katiekrug: 'Morning, and thanks, Katie!

We're having the HVACs serviced today - checking out the air conditioning and getting back on a regular maintenance schedule. I had to make sure the upstairs was presentable. Harrumph.

Happy Birthday to Jenna! Happy Jenna's birthday to you!

Now I'm really, really curious to know what Sandy's birthday is. It's weird to me that nobody else in a group of 200 would share the day. Hmmm. I don't know that I know yours either.

Thanks, Peggy! I was curious about Sandy's birthday too. I've actually thought that we could have a group wiki for birthdays for those who wish to publish them.

My birthday was June 26th.

Hmm. I see that I have your name in my birthday book, Karen. It's nice to know.....

Belated happy birthday to Jenna.

I think Linda made a birthday thread in the 2010 group, might be a good start. Just a moment to search... https://www.librarything.com/topic/105833

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. I enjoyed my solo walk yesterday, and finished it up by doing some trash pickup along the bordering roadways. Always makes me a bit sad. My birding buddies are golfing, so another solo run for me. I got to mow the lawn today too, before we our trip.

ETA- The male ruby-throated hummingbird has been especially industrious lately. I have caught him feeding at 530am and last night at 8:10. I have yet to get a photo.

>269 LizzieD: I keep birthdays in red ink in my desk calendar, with the year if I have it. Yours is there...

>270 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita! She had a quiet birthday, just as she wanted except for visiting with us. I'm not sure when that will happen, as she only gets 2 days a week off (while tutoring, she got 3 days a week off) and this job exhausts her. She's not a people person and dealing with customers of the hotel and the mostly strange people she works with drain her dry.



I don't even remember that birthday thread, yet I posted to it! I've now updated my calendar with the folks I'm following that I didn't already have. Thank you!!

>271 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you, too. Enjoy your SBW. I can't believe that people still litter. It's sad that grass grows, isn't it? If one could just buy a lawn grass that didn't grow and stayed green all year! Excellent news about the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird. I just watched one fly off the feeder here.

...
Yesterday was too exciting. I thought Bill would have a heart attack, he got so stressed. The compressor is out on the media room HVAC unit. We couldn't find our paperwork from 6 years ago indicating that we bought the lifetime extended warranty. We both looked for it. (We have never been really organized with this stuff, alas.) By the time Trane called us back to say they'd found their record of it, Bill was off the deep end with upset and anger. So instead of costing us $2800, it will only cost us $1600. It was the best extended warranty available yet we're still paying extortionate labor rates for getting the unit replaced. And Bill's upset got me off kilter. And he's home all week because he's worried about the shop floor guys who aren't vaccinated. His boss is a complete squish. He should insist they get vaccinated or fire them. But finding labor is almost impossible here right now. Sigh.

>272 karenmarie: All my symaphty, both for misfiled (lost?) warranty receipts, outrageous workplace conditions (un-vaxxed workers). It is easy to overload on anxiety. This ol' pandemic, she ain't done yet.

I'm really cross that our province hasn't mandated compulsory vaccinations for healthcare workers. I think it is a disgraceful situation. We have no leaders, just sycophants.

Hi Karen my dear, a belated Happy Birthday to Jenna, hope she had a really good day. I am back doing the rounds but things with us have not changed as yet. We are just trying to get on with things day by day, some days are good and others, there are tears.

I hope all is well with you and Bill, i am glad the extended warranty was found but even so $1600 is a hell of a cost for you to pay, i hope it all gets sorted out for you.

Sending love and hugs to you and Bill and Jenna and Kitty skritches to Inara, Zoe and Wash from both of us dear friend.

Not a great day, was it. I'm sorry for it, this is the kind of yucky day that leaves a bad taste behind it. *there there, pat pat*

Sorry to hear about all that stress, Karen. I'm glad you were able to use your warranty, but it's too bad you still had significant out of pocket costs. And don't even get me started about the vaccine situation. I can just imagine how frustrating that must be for Bill.

>273 SandyAMcPherson: Thanks, Sandy. You’re right about the pandemic. I was oblivious to how awful it would become – got a pandemic haircut in March of 2020 and made an appointment for the unheard-of 98 weeks out, thinking that 8 weeks was enough for things to get back to normal. Thought we’d get to go to Jenna’s graduation in May of 2020. Thought we’d see her for her birthday that year. Cancelled Thanksgiving in early October and the family Did Not Understand. Christmas was Jenna-less. Etc, etc.

The healthcare network I’m in is now requiring its healthcare workers to be vaccinated, as is Duke Healthcare. But with the delta variant it doesn’t have the impact it would have had 6 months ago. It's not exactly too little too late, but it only dulls the impact of delta, IMO. I do hope your healthcare workers are required to be vaccinated, though.

>274 johnsimpson: Thank you, John. She did have a good day.

We’re doing okay, although like everybody else we’re looking at self-imposed lockdowns, constant mask wearing while out, social distancing, and back to scrupulous handwashing and hand sanitizer. We’re lucky though – we’ve been vaccinated, Jenna’s been vaccinated, and we’re just doing the best we can.

I’m so sorry that things are still awful. All I can do is have you all in my thoughts and prayers and send love and hugs and kitty skritches to Felix.

>275 richardderus: Today was better than yesterday, but I must admit that I’m frazzled. I think I’ll take some heavier-duty painkillers for my knee tonight. Thank goodness for drugs!

>276 lauralkeet: Hi Laura, and thanks. They are coming next Tuesday, so we’ll get the invoice then. The money’s not the issue as far as having enough money to pay for it, it’s just the principle that the compressor shouldn’t go out after only 6 years and we still get stuck for the labor.

The vaccine situation is … yes. I guess I shouldn’t harp on it now, when I need to calm down, relax, read, watch QI (thanks a lot, RD! I’m totally addicted.), then hopefully dream good dreams.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. Sorry to hear about Bill's work troubles and the A/C issues. I hope things improve at his job. We are getting ready to pack up for our camping trip and head to WI. It looks like an absolutely beautiful location. Our first adventure with the new truck too, although I wish we had our new camper, instead of tenting.

'Morning, Mark, and happy Thursday. Bill loves his job, hates how squishy his boss is. Fortunately, we aren't using the Media Room these days as Bill's knees can't take it and we've got a perfectly good 4K OLED TV in the living room.

Enjoy the truck, enjoy the trip, and I hope you see lots of interesting birds.

...
Coffee, thank goodness. Bill can't find a rebroadcast of the US women's bronze medal match and I'm not zooming around on my normal news sites yet just in case he can find it.

Morning, Karen! I am hoping that Thursday is kind to you. Sorry about the stress and the hassle and the expense of the dud compressor.

I am also very thankful for the morning coffee. Hoping Bill can find that rebroadcast for you - crossing my fingers.

Hi Mamie!

So far so good - coffee, a load of laundry already in the dryer, false alarm about the kitties bringing in a critter (lots of unusual noise, but it was only them both trying to get through the kitty door at the same time), getting ready to do some reading. And 🤞

I hope today is much calmer for you, Karen!

Spend your day more pleasantly than yesterday, Horrible my dear.

>282 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie. New excitement - Zoe brought in a critter just now. We don't like them bringing critters in but realize that it's in their nature to hunt. Even with the bell collar on Zoe still manages to successfully hunt.

>283 richardderus: I've been productive, RD, and also gotten some good reading in. I'm loving The Stranger Times.

>208 richardderus: The long trend being towards kinder, gentler, and better...
Just seeing that as a statement by a real person in the world give me hope!
Our Prime Minister is continuously given crap by right wing media commentators for her request during lockdown, and in the Covid period generally, that we be kind to one another. She is labelled too kind, only about kindness, and somehow not strong/tough enough because she called for kindness. Humph. How can being kind be turned into an insult!??!

>272 karenmarie: sounds like a tough day, I hate those days! I hope things are on the improve now

>285 LovingLit: Hope's waning again re Covid here as we go into the Delta wave. I would imagine that quite a bit of that right-wing shit is because she's a woman. Thanks. Things have settled down this week, fortunately.

I just came downstairs and didn't know that the Sweden-Canada women's soccer game had been delayed and the second half will start in a few minutes. For some reason I want to watch it.

Morning, Karen! Watching soccer is always fun, and what a lovely Friday pursuit. I'm ready for my second cup of coffee - it's hazelnut today.

>287 Crazymamie: Watching soccer is always fun in response to >286 karenmarie: For some reason I want to watch it.



*smooch*

>287 Crazymamie: Hiya, Mamie! Wow. Amazing match. I don't know how those women stand the stress.

I know you like flavored coffees, Mamie - Hazelnut is a good choice. When I drank flavored coffee I'd sprinkle some cinnamon or nutmeg in over the grounds before brewing. Now I like unflavored medium roast and have been having problems lately getting our favorite beans. For some reason we like the Food Lion whole bean medium roast but haven't been able to get it. So I've been trying different beans on Amazon, got in 4 lbs yesterday, 2 different products. Bill's also put in a Subscribe & Save order for one we recently liked after a one-time order was "Usually ships in 1-2 months". However, today when I looked, I can get it Prime delivered tomorrow. It's crazy. Can't be without our coffee.

>288 richardderus: Hi RDear! *smooch*

What a nail-biting game. I generally don't watch and do not understand the rules of soccer so I was a bit confused over the overtime penalty kicks. I thought it was like sudden death, first one to score, wins. Not so. And just as well. Anyhow, Canada has gold and I imagine the partying will be nuts. Saw only one person wearing a mask and he (the Swedish coach, I think) was wearing it under his chin. Sheesh

But if I open my windows, I bet I will hear the country screaming! :-)

Not being Canadian, I didn't have a horse in the race although I marginally wanted Canada to win because... North America.

It was a nail biter for sure. Here are the Penalty Kickout rules from the Olympics site:

In penalty shootouts, players from the two teams take penalty kicks alternately.

There’s an initial set of five rounds, with each team taking a kick each in a single round. The team which leads in the shootouts after the five rounds is the winner. If they are still tied after the five rounds, the shootout continues and sudden death comes into effect.

In sudden death, if a team scores and the other misses its kick in a set, the scoring team is the winner.

Sudden death continues till a winner is determined.

Canada won the sudden death round.

It may be that the team/coaches/support staff are all in a Covid bubble and so masking was not prevalent. Don't know.

Thanks, Karen. It just seemed strange to me that at the end of the game, it was tied,, then they played another period (or whatever it's called in soccer). After that overtime period, and still tied, I would have thought that THAT was when sudden death would happen. Instead it felt like it was just going to continue indefinitely!

They actually played two overtime periods of 15 minutes each. Even that's not sudden death - at the end of the two periods combined, if it's still tied then they go to the Penalty Kickout phase.

Our daughter got us interested in women's soccer about 10 years ago. I still remember how crazy it was watching it at first - none of it made any sense to this American.

Karen--Hurray for all the birthdays and for Women's Soccer!! Enjoy your AC. I think we are without until this fall....next week is supposed to break 100 again. Sigh. Happy Friday!

Hi Kim! Thanks. Our main house AC is working fine, as is the upstairs bedroom area - it's just the Media Room that we aren't really using right now that's broken. I'm sorry you won't have any 'til fall and I'd probably be hysterical if we didn't have AC with 100+ temps. Hang in there - back home or are you holed up in a hotel still or again?

Well, Karen, I'm glad that the Media Room AC is sortable and wish you an easy end-of-week.

Our on-going problem --- my much-loved '98 CRV wouldn't crank about a month ago after having been fine the day before. My DH has spent most of the month reading circuits and testing relays with online help, and yesterday (having replaced a broken plastic connector that tells the starter that the clutch is completely depressed), it started. I am SO PROUD of his perseverance and ability! He put everything back together this morning, but when he tried to start it for a test drive, it wouldn't turn over. We devoutly hope that it's the battery. We'll wait until he can charge it outside before trying again. Meanwhile, we went ahead and bought a newer CRV for our necessary out-of-town doctor visits. Having only one thing at a time is about the best we can expect, I think.

Meanwhile, today my copy of *5 Stones* was supposed to get here; it didn't. I continue to read *P&P* and have started the next Maron.

I remember you saying you bought a newer CRV. I didn't realize the older one was in the DH repair shop, and hope it is just the battery. It's always something...

And your *5 Stones* didn't show up and my box of books and a late birthday present from friend Karen in Montana was 10 feet from being delivered. The mail carrier had it out of the truck and ready to put down in front of my garage. I went to meet her by opening the garage and saw her carrying it back. She says there's no postage on it even though Karen sent me the tracking number. Now I have to wait 'til the little pink card tells me to come pick it up at the PO with postage due. Except that I'm sure Karen mailed it media mail and they won't necessarily record the postage due as media mail. Sheesh. How could it get all the way from Montana to central NC with NO POSTAGE on it???

>297 karenmarie: that is incredibly annoying! I wonder if your PO can use the tracking number to trace back to the original payment.

Karen took a photo of the receipt and texted it to me. When Bill and I go to run errands tomorrow I'll take that in and see if I can preempt the pink card crap and just get the box, hopefully without them saying I have to pay for it again.

Honestly.

And Bill just signed up with a physician at the practice I go to, had his initial appointment 3 weeks ago, and now that doctor's left the practice. No birthday present and no doctor for a husband who has medical conditions that require a good physician and stability.

Okay, so I officially want this week to be over.

>299 karenmarie: Sheesh. Didn't the physician know the planned escape? Irresponsible to take on a new patient, unless of course he was ousted for cause. I hope the next doctor to show up is a good and stable choice.

I assume he knew, Judy, but we may never know.

New thread time!

Just finished catching up here, Karen! What a frustrating string of events you have had. And the mailed birthday box thing is just weird. Hoping they will let you pick it up today without any more money needing to change hands.

I do like flavored coffee, but I also like just plain coffee. I grew up with Folgers, which is what my parents drank all day long. I love trying new ones - I might be slightly addicted to trying new ones, actually. I have been ordering my coffee online and having it delivered more and more because it's getting harder to find the whole bean stuff in store.

Who do you order your coffee from, Mamie?

We were so happy with our grocery store's medium roast beans - 1.5 lbs for $6.79 + tax - and I still haven't found anything that exactly pleases us.

I like Eight O'clock coffee and also Peet's Coffee.

Thanks, Mamie!

>237 karenmarie: Thanks for the BB! I've got "Lily and the Octopus" requested!

Karen O.

Hi Karen!

I hope you like it as much as I did.