Laura (lauralkeet)'s 75 in 2022 - Part 10

Alys' favorite fall/winter activity: snuggling on the sofa, nestled in blankets

Welcome to my thread! I'm Laura, recently turned 60, retired. My husband Chris and I live in an 18th century farmhouse in northern Virginia, and keep ourselves busy with gardening, re-wilding our pasture to attract wildlife, and the occasional interior renovation. We’re documenting this journey through a newsletter (free!) on Substack: Willow Greens Farm--check it out!

This is my fourteenth year in the 75 Book Challenge Group. Where has the time gone?! I read mostly contemporary fiction, with the odd classic or memoir thrown in. I am increasingly relying on our fabulous local library system to meet my reading needs, and that makes me happy. This year I’ll read where my mood takes me, keep plugging away at various series, and stay current with new series releases.

Besides reading, I spend a lot of time knitting and weaving. I have a thread in the Needlearts group; stop in and say hi sometime!

My 2022 threads can be found here:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9



Books Featured on This Thread
(Go here to see all books read this year)
47. The Bullet that Missed
48. Lucy by the Sea
49. Shrines of Gaiety
50. Not One of Us
51. And a Dog Called Fig
52. Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?

Series Progress

Active series as of October 1 (updated quarterly):


A snapshot of my active series sorted on the "progress" column.

Series completed/current in 2022:
* Ruth Galloway (July)
* Thursday Murder Club (September)
* Lucy Barton (October)
* Teifi Valley Coroner (October)

Series started in 2022:
* Mistress of the Art of Death
* Teifi Valley Coroner
* Anna Pigeon
* Thursday Murder Club

Series abandoned in 2022:
* Sandhamn Murders

Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?

Welcome to October!

I know my previous thread wasn't very long, but I like starting new threads at the beginning of the month. And besides, it was time to update my Series spreadsheet (>3 lauralkeet:).

We had a very enjoyable evening out last night. The Jasper String Quartet concert was held in a small theater in the center of Winchester's Old Town, rather than in one of Shenandoah Conservatory's concert halls. Seating was more like a jazz club with small tables, and wine and other libations available. The quartet had spent the day working with conservatory students and the audience was a mix of students and old folks like us. The program was all new music (the composers were all born in the last 50-60 years). Very different from the kind of classical music we usually listen to, but also interesting and enjoyable.

Before the concert we had dinner at Kasbah, a Moroccan and Spanish tapas place. The restaurant doesn't have a website (just Facebook) so information was limited, but their Google reviews were excellent. Still, we weren't sure what to expect in terms of ambience -- was it an actual restaurant, or more of a take-out place? Fortunately it was an actual restaurant with nice decor. And the food was AMAZING. We shared several small plates: pitas & dips, patatas bravas, meatballs, merguez sausage, and chicken. And I had baklava for dessert, yum. We'll be back! We'd also like to check out the Old Town in daytime when the shops are open.

So after our wild night we are feeling decidedly lazy today. It was supposed to rain all day, which put us in the mood to hole up indoors. Despite the rain having stopped for a while, we are sticking with our original plan. Maybe I'll even make brownies. And read! I'm nearly finished with The Bullet that Missed and have Lucy by the Sea on deck. Tonight we'll catch up on our usual Friday night TV viewing (GBBO/S, Gardeners World, etc.).

Wordle 469 5/6

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SPITE, GAUGE, FLARE, WHALE, LEAVE

Happy new thread, Laura!

Happy new one!

Happy new thread, Laura!

Happy new thread, Laura. We are starting new ones at pretty much the same time. x

>5 katiekrug:, >6 figsfromthistle:, >7 FAMeulstee:, >8 PaulCranswick: oh wow, you guys are on top of things this morning, posting while I was composing >4 lauralkeet:. Welcome!!

Happy Saturday, Laura. Happy New Thread! Love the Aly topper. I need to catch up on these Strout books. I am 2 behind. I am a big fan.

Happy new thread, Laura! I love your idea of staying in and reading today -- I spent all of yesterday at my desk (did get quite a bit done) and I would love some reading time today!!

Happy new thread!! And happy fall! I just finished the 2nd in the Osman series. Enjoyed it a lot!

I’m taking advantage of your new thread to say Hello, Laura. I’ve been doing too much lurking lately. I am looking forward to getting Lucy By the Sea from the library soon. Good timing because I just finished Oh William. I do like Strout’s laidback stories and am looking forward to an Olive sighting in the new book. Happy weekend!

>10 msf59: Hi Mark! Welcome to the Strout fan club annex, over here on my lil ole thread.

>11 RebaRelishesReading: Hey there Reba ... I managed to finish The Bullet that Missed today. Chris was off painting a wall upstairs so I snuck over to the sofa and read for a while. It was lovely.

>12 Berly: They are such fun books, Kim. I really enjoyed the third one, too.

>13 Donna828: Hey there Donna! I'm glad to hear you're caught up on the Lucy books, ready for the latest. I'll start reading Lucy by the Sea tonight.

Happy new thread, Laura. I'll watch for your comments on the Lucy book.

Happy new thread Laura!

>15 BLBera:, >16 quondame: Hi Beth and Susan!

As expected, it's raining again today. Poor Alys has missed her morning walk two days in a row. To be fair, she doesn't seem too put out by it. She doesn't like going out in the rain any more than we do.

Yesterday was rainy, mostly. Nothing severe, just light to medium rainfall. I did indeed make brownies, and finished The Bullet that Missed. Chris did some painting in one of our guest rooms and we assembled a headboard/footboard for the bed in that room. In the evening we enjoyed catching up on our Friday TV, and I started Lucy by the Sea at bedtime. I also worked on my sweater project while watching TV.

Today's weather is more of the same, and I have no specific plans. Having skipped yoga yesterday, I'll probably do an indoor bike workout a bit later this morning. I think Chris is going to do a bit more painting, this time in the hallway outside the bathroom, between the two guest rooms: another good, short rainy day project. And for me: a couple admin items and some time with Lucy Barton. I was immediately sucked into the book last night. The story begins in March 2020 New York, and Strout's account of that time is spot on (this might be a trigger for some readers).

Back to Friday TV and GBBO/S episode 3: I thought the absence of two contestants was handled well, and was the best approach for the competition overall. I suspect two people will be sent home in episode 4. There are several contenders for that "honor," in my book.

Wordle 470 4/6

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TRACE, THOSE, TITLE, TWINE
I was starting to sweat this one.

Happy new thread!

Thanks Jim!

Good morning, Laura! Happy new thread to you. I'm so excited to see there's another Thursday Murder Club book out and I look forward to your comments. The pre-concert dinner at the Moroccan/Spanish tapas place sounds amazing!

>21 AMQS: Hi Anne! I'll try to post a review of The Bullet that Missed tomorrow. It was a fun read!

Hi Laura. Glad to hear you got some couch/reading time in yesterday. I feel totally refreshed from my "sea day" yesterday :) Lucy by the Sea has arrived at my house but I'm going to try to wait a little bit to start it -- want to make a bit more of a dent in the stack of National Book Award winners I bought at Powell's recently first.

Hope you're having a lovely Sunday. Please feel free to direct some of that rain our way -- I'm told it's normal for the NW to have dry summers but it's October now and the garden and I would both love some rain :)

>23 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I sent the rain away but unfortunately I think it's heading north, not west. 😃
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Welcome to Monday ...

Yesterday was a wet, indoor day as expected. I made a lot of progress in Lucy by the Sea, and am really loving it. Strout recaps some of Lucy's history from previous novels, which is helpful, although I kind of envy those of you who decided to re-read the first books as I'm sure you'll pick up on things that I miss.

I'm working a library shift this morning and then ... not sure. No big plans today. I need to call the doc to schedule our flu shots, I have a book review to write, and I'm making a red lentil/sweet potato curry for dinner. University Challenge on telly tonight, and then I'm not sure ... we'll find something.

Wordle 471 3/6

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CLEAT, TOPIC, STING

Morning, Laura!

I also Wordled in 3 today. Nice.

For some reason, I have only read the first in the Amgash series, so I decided to start at the first one and read them one after another. I wanted to do it when Oh, William came out but never got to it.

Funny you should mention lentils. I just picked up a bag of red ones yesterday to try a recipe for dal that I found in the cookbook "Dada Eats Love to Cook it" (can't get the touchstone to work). I might ask for this as a Christmas present. Lots of great sounding recipes and we're trying to eat more plant-based. I think adding sweet potatoes to the dal would be a good idea.

Morning all! Add me to the Wordle in 3 club today :)

>25 katiekrug:, >27 RebaRelishesReading: Hmm ... not to detract from any of our accomplishments (!!), but I won't be surprised if the NYT GamePlay newsletter says today's Wordle was the easiest of the week. There seem to be a lot of 3s today.

>26 dudes22: Hi Betty, the recipe is from NYT Cooking: Red Curry Lentils with Sweet Potatoes & Spinach, and is described as a "vegetarian main inspired by Indian dal." So it would fit right in with your cookbook! I made this dish about this time last year, when sweet potatoes are so plentiful in my farm share. It's yummy. We're having it with garlic naan although you could also serve it over rice.

47. The Bullet that Missed ()

In The Bullet that Missed, our crime-solving octogenarians turn their talents to a cold case: the unsolved murder of journalist Bethany Waites. Ironically, the Thursday Murder Club formed to discuss unsolved cases, but the first two books found them untangling current crimes. In this installment they return to their roots, strengthened by real-life experience and a partnership with the local police force.

The mysteries are generally preposterous, as they invariably involve people from club member Elizabeth’s shady past, and this book was no exception. But the guest stars fit right in with the four principals, and even KGB agents and practiced criminals endear themselves to the reader. The crime itself took an interesting twist that I did not expect, and the lives of the main characters also progressed in satisfying ways.

Having read the first three Thursday Murder Club books in rapid succession, I can now quickly spot the formula at work, but I don’t really care. I just enjoy spending time with these people.

>29 lauralkeet: I'm averting my eyes because I haven't even read the second one yet, but I did peek and see you gave it 4 stars, so that's a good sign!

Morning, Laura!

I need to get round to Osman at some point...

>30 rosalita: I get it, Julia. I would do the same in your shoes.

>31 scaifea: Just add it to your never-ending list, Amber ... 😃

Good morning ...

Yesterday I managed to do all the things I said I would -- not that the list was particularly daunting, but I'll still count it as a result. Chris was doing some painting upstairs; my role was mostly fetching things and helping to maneuver the ladder into some awkward spots.

Today's agenda is also light. I have a hair appointment in the afternoon, and that's pretty much it. I need to spend some time with my sweater project working out some pattern details on the sleeves, where the instructions are not as clear as they could/should be.

The weather has really been challenging our morning walk routine. Obviously if it's raining we're not going out. Today it's damp and blustery and just plain unpleasant. It's one thing to make a resolution, at the height of summer, to take a long walk every day. It's quite another thing to follow through on that! Part of the problem is that early morning is the coldest part of the day; again, great in the summer but less so now. We've decided to shift the walks back to late afternoon for the foreseeable future. Starting tomorrow, because Chris is playing tennis this afternoon.

Wordle 472 4/6

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ASTER, MOUND, POUCH, BOUGH
This seems a likely candidate for most difficult word of the week. I got it in 4 simply because it was the only remaining possibility (says Wordlebot), but it's a somewhat unusual word, IMO.

I also got Wordle in 4 today. I was worried, as my starter word gave me nothing :)

I'm hoping to finish today's To Do list. I got close yesterday but bailed on a phone call (because phone call!).

>33 lauralkeet: Ah yes, the seasonal transition to afternoon walks rather than morning - I'm doing the same for my WFH days. Still working on figuring out squeezing active time into my working in the office days - commuting and early bedtimes really work against me there, especially if I've got anything booked in the evening.

Congrats on your 4. I scraped out a 6 today.

>28 lauralkeet: so then they followed it up with today -- I don't even want to think about today's :(

>34 katiekrug:, >35 MickyFine:, >36 RebaRelishesReading: Hi there Katie, Micky & Reba. I could have sworn I responded to your posts yesterday but clearly that was just a dream. Sorry about that!

Katie, I hope you finished your to do list. I'll stop by your thread to see. Micky, thanks for the empathy regarding the seasonal transition. I always found it difficult to fit active time in around my work schedule -- I hope you can figure something out there. And Reba, I agree yesterday's word was challenging, probably because it was a bit unusual.

Today is yet another damp, gray day. A weather system -- remnants of Ian I suppose -- has been hovering off the coast for days, and simply will not go away. This has brought light rain off and on and cooler than usual temperatures but the weather gods claim this will all change this afternoon. Fingers crossed.

Meanwhile, yesterday was relatively uneventful. I'm back on track with my sweater, and knocked out a few rows while watching Shetland last night. That show continues to deliver.

In book news, I finished Lucy by the Sea, and thought it was excellent. Each Lucy Barton book has increased my appreciation for the series as a whole. And I can relate to some elements of Lucy's life, especially her relationship with her two daughters. In this book, they are adults living their own lives and Lucy's thoughts and emotions really resonated with me. So, all of this is percolating into an eventual review.

As part of shifting our daily walks to late afternoon, I'm changing up my yoga schedule. I've been doing barre on Wednesday afternoons and power yoga on Saturday mornings. But today I'm going to a yoga conditioning session in the morning, and I'll try the Saturday morning barre class which, at 8am, conflicted with our early walk schedule. We'll see how that works. I have a couple regular Guild meetings that conflict with the Wednesday morning class so I would need to find an alternative for those weeks.

If the weather does brighten up today, I might get out into the garden to take care of a few things. It's mostly end-of-year harvesting and cleanup at this stage, which is not very exciting but it's not as overwhelming when done in stages.

Wordle 473 4/6

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SCARE, ROAST, HARSH, MARSH

I really must start the Lucy Barton series. Somehow I never got on that bandwagon.

And yeah, another grey day here too. I'm thinking of building an ark.

>39 ffortsa: Hi Judy. The sun came out this afternoon! For the first time since Thursday! It was lovely.

Good day yesterday. I'm a bit sore from yoga, but in a good way. I did a bit of garden cleanup and we had a nice walk with Alys in the afternoon sun. I'm starting to get into Kate Atkinson's Shrines of Gaiety -- it takes a while to build the world. In the evening, we watched the first episode of Sherwood on Britbox.

Today we're getting our flu shots. We'll pick up our farm share while we're out and maybe get lunch, too. I don't have much else on my agenda today, or at least nothing that absolutely must get done. Except for a book review -- I do want to make time for that today. And I should probably do the menu planning/grocery list making, although that can slide to Friday morning.

Wordle 474 3/6

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SPARE, SHOUT, SLOTH

Hooray for the sun returning! It was nice to wake up to this morning :)

>41 lauralkeet: Hi Laura - we're really on the same reading path lately! I loved the latest Strout and have just finished Shrines of Gaiety on audio. I'm really interested to hear your thoughts - I'm still mulling it over. I had outrageously high expectations since A God in Ruins is one of my all-time favorites.

Hope your errands are going well! Sounds like a fairly relaxing day. Enjoy :)

>42 katiekrug: It's gorgeous outside today, Katie. I'm about to take advantage of some reading time on the terrace.

>43 vivians: We sure are, Vivian! Reading between the lines, I gather you didn't like Shrines of Gaiety as much as A God in Ruins. That one would be hard to beat!

>44 RebaRelishesReading: So far so good Reba. The flu vaccine was easy peasy and I'm glad to have it done.

48. Lucy by the Sea ()

Lucy Barton is a writer based in New York City, and in March, 2020 she is unaware and not prepared for the changes that will soon dramatically impact all aspects of life. If Lucy is somewhat in denial, her former husband William is not, and quickly takes steps to improve Lucy’s safety and that of their two adult daughters. Lucy agrees to share a rented house in Maine with William; their daughters make other arrangements. Everyone thinks this will only last a few weeks (didn’t we all?), but as time goes on they find new rhythms to their days. They also face loss in various forms, and at the same time forge new types of relationships with one another.

When My Name is Lucy Barton was released in 2016, I had no idea it would be part of a series, let alone a series I have consistently rated 4.5 stars. Each book has struck an emotional chord that surprised me given the somewhat unreliable first-person narration and relatively spare prose. But perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised, as there are aspects of Lucy’s life I can relate to; namely, trying to create deep and loving relationships with adult daughters, having had no role model growing up. Lucy stumbles and then tries again, sometimes making progress and sometimes setting them back a couple paces.

That said, readers need to be prepared for a pandemic-centric novel, and one that also covers several other major US events from what was, by all accounts, a fairly ghastly year. Strout’s depiction is spot on, and resurrected some memories that I would prefer not to dwell on. I hope to see more Lucy Barton novels and perhaps the next time there will be more good news. I vote for a meetup between Lucy and Strout’s other notable heroine, Olive Kitteridge.

>46 lauralkeet: Great, great review, Laura. You expressed my sentiments exactly!

>1 lauralkeet: I'm with Alys.

>1 lauralkeet: Building on the success of my Alys-translator skills from your last thread, I can tell what she is thinking in this picture is, "Why are you out there fiddling with that contraption when you could be over here snuggling with me?" And you know, it's a good question.

Happy new thread, Laura!

>47 vivians: Thank you Vivian!

>48 Caroline_McElwee: Caro, she doesn't like to share her blanket, but lucky for us we have a couple more for the humans.

>49 rosalita: Julia, you are amazing. And here I was thinking she was developing her plan for world domination.

>50 lauralkeet: Nope, she just wants more snuggles!

Happy Friday!

Yesterday's flu shots went off without a hitch. The afternoon weather was so lovely that I took my book outside to read. Bliss.

I have a doc appointment later this morning, just the annual gyn thing. It's a new-to-me doctor's office and, perhaps unfairly, gyn visits always give me flashbacks to my pregnancies. I loved my doc but her office was always crazy busy with lots of waiting around. There's no reason to expect the same from all gyn practices but I can't help fretting over it. At least these days I don't have to get back to work or anything like that.

The 11am doc appointment means I'll do the grocery shopping in the afternoon. Takeout for dinner tonight, and then our favorite Friday shows.

Wordle 475 3/6

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DOUSE, DRAIN, DANDY
This started my day off right!

>52 lauralkeet: I hope your appointment goes smoothly and the rest of the day is full of good things.

Doc appointment went just fine. I liked the practice so when they offered to make next year's appointment I said sure, why not. On the way home I stopped at a bakery I've wanted to visit, which has a cute name--Dolce & Ciabatta--and just happened to be on my route. I could have gone crazy in there, it was really nice. I bought a couple of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for Chris and me, and marked this down as IMPORTANT RESEARCH in the event of a future need for really nice baked goods.

>54 lauralkeet: - Glad the appointment went well! And what a nice way to reward yourself :)

>54 lauralkeet: Ooh yay for fancy bakery visit! It's hard to mess up peanut butter chocolate chip cookies, but I look forward to hearing the ultimate verdict on their deliciousness.

>54 lauralkeet: You gave me a late-morning tummy growl here in KL, Laura. Sounds lovely.

Dolce Ciabatta have their own website too: When you are next there Laura please try the cherry turnover for me!

https://www.dolceciabatta.com/pastries

>55 katiekrug:, >56 MickyFine:, >57 PaulCranswick: The verdict is in: the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies were delicious. Paul, I've been following the bakery on Instagram for a while and I'm just thankful they don't post treats on a daily basis, as they are far too tempting.

Happy Saturday, y'all ...

After a productive day yesterday we settled in to watch Gardeners World (in which the host Monty Don welcomed a new puppy to his family), and then GBBO/S, in which (IMO) the right people were anointed star baker and sent home. However, like last week's pizza challenge during Bread Week, Mexican Week's taco challenge was more about cooking than baking. I guess with a long-running show sometimes you have to stretch things a bit?

This morning I changed up my yoga schedule went to an 8am Barre class. It was really good and worth the early (for me) start to the day. The rest of today is fairly unplanned, I have a few household tasks to do, and the whole day to do them. So no excuse, really! Except that I didn't do much reading yesterday and I'd like to make up for that ...

Wordle 476 5/6

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BEAST, ROUND, WORRY, CHOIR, VIGOR
Very challenging!

>59 lauralkeet: It was challenging and a little annoying for an Englishman too!

>60 PaulCranswick: And this Canadian (although I pulled off a 3, miraculously).

Happy Saturday, Laura!

I drove Tomm a bit bananas last night over GBBO - every time someone said "tack-oes" I had to repeat it. I'm fascinated with that pronunciation.

>60 PaulCranswick:, >61 MickyFine: Yeah, I can see where today's word may have been a problem for you.

>62 scaifea: Ha. that and "gallo" with the double-L!

Don't forget the weird "guacamole" pronunciation one of them had...

My favorite resulting meme from that episodes was a screenshot of Lizzie peeling the avocado with a knife. Someone tweeted it with the comment, "This made me join the IRA."

>64 katiekrug: the avocado peeling! Oh ... the horror!

I never really gave this much thought before this GBBO/S episode, but it makes sense that the everyday person in the UK would not have even the basic Mexican/Spanish vocabulary that we in the US do. OTOH, French culture and vocabulary is much more present in the British culture than ours. If it weren't for the overwhelming dominance of French cuisine in the culinary world, a lot of American cooks would make a mess of French dishes and ingredients just as the GBBO/S contestants mangled the Mexico Week terminology.

Brrrr! It's cold outside this morning (37F). It's supposed to reach 63F today, but still I'm glad I don't have to go anywhere. I'm also a little sore from yesterday's barre class and don't have anything pressing on today's agenda, so I'm just gonna be lazy for a while this morning.

I managed a nice chunk of reading time yesterday with Kate Atkinson's Shrines of Gaiety. I'm close to the halfway point now, and am enjoying it but am not wowed.

Would anyone like to see Alys pretending to be a person? Of course you would ...



And now, this:

Wordle 477 4/6

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TOILE, ROUND, MOODY, HOWDY

>66 lauralkeet: - How adorable. Not up-to-date on GBBO/S but can't wait to see that episode. And - is that really a word? I got it in 4 also but - seriously?

>67 dudes22: It's a distinctly North American word choice isn't it, Betty? I googled it and was given a definition from Oxford Languages, which is pretty much the definitive source in my book. But it does note its North American usage and I can imagine it might throw off some other solvers.

Just like "tacos" on GBBO/S ... 😃

>68 lauralkeet: - That's what I was thinking.

>66 lauralkeet: Of course Alys is a person. Maybe not the human sort, but many dogs are people. Important people.

>66 lauralkeet: She's a very nice person too :)

>69 dudes22: great minds, Betty.

>70 quondame: I like the way you think Susan.

>71 RebaRelishesReading: Alys says thank you, Reba!

>66 lauralkeet: And the jammies seem to fit so snugly too!

I just picked up Lucy by the Sea from the library, so will get to it soonish. I am looking forward to it after seeing some enthusiastic comments here.

I'm also just about midway through Shrines of Gaiety Laura and probably enjoying it more than you (I don't remember her other books being so Dickensian) but I must say: so many characters! I'm still having a hard time keeping them straight.

>75 brenzi: Three things of positivity to note:

1. Bonnie on the threads.
2. A new Kate Arkinson
3. It is Dickensian!

Hi Laura.

>73 PaulCranswick: Ha! Who knew men's clothing could be such a perfect fit eh?

>74 BLBera: Yay! I'm glad to see this Beth.

>75 brenzi: BONNIE!!!!! Hello friend. I spent a lot of time with Shrines of Gaiety yesterday and am now enjoying it more. I was in a bit of a mood on Saturday so will write it off to that. And I agree with you about the characters. Just when I think I've sorted them all out, a new one comes along.

>76 PaulCranswick: Indeed, Paul. All good things!

Good morning ...

Yesterday was a quiet uneventful day. I ventured out to the garden to have a look around, and most of our fall veg seems to be doing pretty well. This is the first time we've planted a second round like this so I have no idea what to expect. The lettuce had a slow start (it was probably too hot), but is now coming along and some plants can be harvested. The beets are showing signs of readiness too (they start peeking out of the soil). With carrots it's more difficult to tell, but it's still a bit too soon anyway. We're waiting until after first frost to harvest the spring-planted parsnips, but we pulled one up yesterday and were pleased to see a normal-sized, well formed parsnip. I have a couple of go-to recipes for but am now actively searching for more so we can make good use of them.

As mentioned above, yesterday I enjoyed my time with Shrines of Gaiety more than the day before so maybe it was just a mood thing. I actually wish Kate Atkinson would write more Jackson Brodie novels but she's gone in a completely different direction so I guess I just need to accept that she's done with him.

Today is Indigenous People's Day. The library is closed, so no shift today. Chris has a dentist appointment though, and then he's meeting a friend for lunch (said friend is a teacher so he is enjoying a day off). I'll probably get a workout in and tackle some house cleaning. And then reward myself with some reading and knitting!

Wordle 478 5/6

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TIERS, WHOLE, MONEY, DECOY, ENJOY
I had a tough time with this one.

Aw, sweet Alys!

Ooh, the house to yourself for a bit. Enjoy!

>66 lauralkeet: What a well-dressed young lady! She looks like a professor waiting for students during office hours.

>6 figsfromthistle: Very funny.

>79 katiekrug:, >80 rosalita:, >81 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Katie, Julia, & Caro ... Alys wants me to tell you how much she appreciates her fans!

I had a fairly productive day yesterday. I forced myself to do a bit of cleaning but also managed to spend a nice chunk of the afternoon knitting my sweater, and then more knitting in front of the TV. I'm still working on the first sleeve but it's coming along nicely. I also had some reading time and am now in the final 100 pages of Shrines of Gaiety. I'm interested to see how Atkinson wraps this one up. Last night's TV included University Challenge and the third episode of Sherwood. Good stuff.

This morning I have my Knitting Group meeting. I also have a few errands to run, and may or may not do all of them this afternoon. Julia and her bf Noah will be arriving sometime Thursday and will stay for a few days, so I'm prioritizing things that need to get done before their visit. Tonight we'll probably watch the latest episode of Shetland.

Wordle 479 4/6

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Wordlebot says there was only one possible solution after my third word. That explains why I stared at it forever before getting it.

>83 lauralkeet: I think I would have stared at that for a long time too! My words were a much easier path to the answer, although my third choice only helped by eliminating letters.

Enjoy your day :)

>84 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba!

And hello everyone to everyone else too ...

I enjoyed getting together with my knitting group yesterday. We gather in a meeting room at the library, but found out halfway through our meeting that another group had the room reserved. Oops, I think the knitting group leader just forgot to make our reservation. Fortunately it was a lovely autumn day and we were able to relocate to some picnic tables outside. In the afternoon I made an off-schedule grocery run so we'd have food to see us through Julia's weekend visit. I'll do our weekly meal planning/shopping after they head back to NY on Sunday. I had a couple other errands on my list but didn't want to spend my afternoon driving around. They can wait until next week.

This morning I have a Fiber Guild Board meeting (I'm on the board because I chair a committee). Fortunately the board meetings are pretty low-key affairs, not at all stuffy or bureaucratic. This afternoon I'll finish getting the guest bedroom and bathroom ready.

I am super close to wrapping up Shrines of Gaiety -- maybe today?

Wordle 480 4/6

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Morning, Laura!

That's all I got :)

Happy Wednesday, Laura. Glad to hear you enjoyed Lucy by the Sea so much. I need to bookhorn in Oh, William first, although I have such a large stack of books to get through. I did very little birding in Kentucky, but Carolina Chickadees and Tufted Titmouse visited our campsite regularly.

Hi, Laura!

This book just came in on our cargo truck and I had to tell you about it in case you haven't stumbled onto it already: Overshot Simply. It looks like it might be right up your street.

>86 katiekrug: That's enough for me Katie!

>87 msf59: We've been seeing lots of those little birds around here too, Mark.

>88 scaifea: ooh, I'm a sucker for a craft book, Amber, and I'm honored that you thought of me. Thanks!

>89 lauralkeet: Of course!

49. Shrines of Gaiety ()

Kate Atkinson’s latest novel is a sprawling tale of 1920s London, specifically the seedy nightclub culture, a form of organized crime that trafficked in drugs and young girls. Nellie Coker, owner of several clubs, is released from prison (for reasons never explained), and assumes control of her empire, which during her absence was cared for by her adult children. Nellie is crafty and driven, both to succeed in business and ensure her children live in comfort. The police are wise to Nellie, but many are also in her employ.

The “good guys” in this tale include Frobisher, seemingly the only London detective who has not sold out to corruption, and Gwendolen Kelling, a young woman from York searching for two girls who recently left their families to “seek their fortunes.” From time to time readers also get a glimpse of the girls and understand the reality of their situation far more than Frobisher or Gwendolen.

I enjoyed the ride for a while, but ultimately the novel as a whole simply does not work. There are so many characters that none are realized fully enough for the reader to become emotionally invested in them. Frobisher, for example, is in a sad marital relationship but his wife’s back story, why they married, and how they got into such a bad state, are not sufficiently explained. Frobisher is also surprisingly inept even when clues are in front of him. This may have been Atkinson’s wry humor at play, but the humor doesn’t quite land and instead left me frustrated at Frobisher’s inability to solve a serious crime.

And subplots abound, so much so that after about 350 pages Atkinson abruptly starts killing people off and then resorts to one of those “where are they now” chapters that tidily sums up what happened to each character later. When my daughter (now a writer) was in primary school, she would end all of her stories with a sudden, unexplained party. That was fine coming from a 10-year-old. It is not fine coming from an author of Kate Atkinson’s calibre.

>91 lauralkeet: I may be in the minority here -- the average rating on LT is 4.5 stars. But by the time I reached the end of the book this afternoon my thoughts were trending negative, and then she threw in that "where are they now" chapter and THAT. WAS. IT.

>91 lauralkeet: Ouch. I guess I won't elbow TBRs aside to read THAT. Thanks again for reading an ungood book so I don't have to.

That's disappointing about Shrines of Gaiety. I will still read it because I've loved some of Kate Atkinson's other books (although I did not enjoy her mystery series and only read the first one). Good to temper my expectations, though!

Yikes. Thanks for taking one for the team, Laura. I loved Life After Life and A God in Ruins, so I would have been tempted to read Shrines of Gaiety.

That's disappointing about the Atkinson. I've only read the Jackson Brodie books (well, still have the latest to read...) but I've got several of her others on my shelves. I won't be adding SoG to the collection!

>93 weird_O:, >94 japaul22:, >95 kidzdoc:, >96 katiekrug: Hi Bill, Jennifer, Darryl & Katie!

I was so disappointed! Especially coming from an author whose work I've loved: Life After Life and A God in Ruins were 5- and 4.5-star reads, for heaven's sake.

Thinking about it more this morning, I think she could have done a better job of character development--just for a few of the characters, to make them stand out as the principals--and giving them each a well-crafted plot. Then she could have let the other characters be a supporting cast without having much of a story on their own.

Instead it felt like Atkinson had all these characters in her head, with an idea of the outcomes for each, but couldn't get all the threads tied together in just under 400 pages. Hence the abrupt and rushed ending.

I rarely pan a book like this, and I almost always feel guilty afterwards. I mean, it's all subjective. Maybe I missed something that would have helped me enjoy it more. One or more of you might love it!

It's a wet morning here -- we've had a bit of rain which has now stopped, but there's more in the forecast this afternoon. This morning I'm going over to a Guild member's house to pick up one of our "traveling projects" (something that passes between members from one month to the next). This one is an Inkle Loom, which I had the chance to try at a Guild meeting but have never used for any length of time. She's going to help me get started and send me on my way.

I also need to pick up our farm share, and this afternoon I'll start a pot of White Chicken Chili while we await Julia and Noah's arrival for the weekend.

Reading time will be scarce this weekend, but when I get a chance I'll be dipping into the fourth (and final) Teifi Valley Coroner book: Not One of Us


I've enjoyed this series and they are light-ish reads, which feels right for me at the moment.

Wordle 481 4/6

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RAISE, CHEAT, VEGAN, EQUAL

I skimmed over your comments on Atkinson's new one. I have high hopes and will read it, but you have tempered my expectations. I expect great things from her as I have loved all her books. I am reading Lucy by the Sea right now, and at the halfway point, I have mixed feelings.

Your fiber projects sound like so much fun. I'm going to my knitting group in a bit but it will just be a few women sitting around knitting and chatting -- fun but not nearly exciting as exploring all of the interesting things you do :)

>99 BLBera: ooh, I can't wait to see your take on Lucy, Beth. As you know, I loved it. And perhaps it was a tough act for Shrines of Gaiety to follow.

>100 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I was part of a social knitting group in Philadelphia and I absolutely loved it. We began as strangers and became good friends. The guild here is a bit different, because guilds by definition have an educational mission. The Knitting Group has a strong social component including "show and tell" with things we're working on or recently completed. But we also always have a topic or theme to either discuss or do hands-on.

>91 lauralkeet: 😳

>102 brenzi: LOL I know, Bonnie, I know. What can I say? I hope you have continued to enjoy it.

Happy Friday!

Julia and Noah arrived about late yesterday afternoon and we had a nice evening together just generally catching up. Our plans for the weekend are pretty loose, and I'm not exactly sure what we'll get up to. So ... not much to say here today!

Wordle 482 3/6

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REACT, GROUP, FLOOR
Got lucky with this one!

Happy Friday, Laura. What happened to Ms. Atkinson? I loved her Jackson Brody series. Life After Life & A God in Ruins were excellent but the last 2 I have read were just "meh". I hope for a strong return.

Enjoy your time with Julia and Noah!

>91 lauralkeet: >92 lauralkeet: Very disappointing Laura. I guess even good writer's can drop a clog sometimes, and publishing is very different now to when she started out. As is everything else. Subject to different pressures or interferences.

Have a nice time with Julia and Noah.

Hi Laura, thanks for making me crave peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. That sounds like a match made in heaven. ;-)

Well, Kate Atkinson's later books have been kind of hit and miss for me...and a friend whose opinion I trust just told me she couldn't get through Shrines of Gaiety. I will probably give it a go at some point in time just to decide for myself, but it will probably be next year.

I do have Lucy by the Sea to read this weekend so I am a Happy Reader. I haven't rated the Lucy books very highly but they are solid hits with me just the same. For some reason I just can't rate a book that I can read in an afternoon with over 4 stars. One of my many reading quirks I suppose.

Have a great weekend!

Hi there Mark, Katie, Caro & Donna!

>105 msf59:, >107 Caroline_McElwee:, >108 Donna828: I agree that Kate Atkinson's books can be hit and miss. Next time I will probably wait and see, and read more reviews to decide whether I want to read it. I read the New York Times' review this morning and while it's more or less favorable, it also describes it as "light refreshment." I just expected more from Atkinson, I guess.

We had a nice day with Julia & Noah yesterday. We had a lazy morning and then played a bit of tennis (or, more accurately, just hit the ball around. No actual games or scoring). It was a beautiful day and great to be outside. Chris and Noah are going to play again this morning, not sure what else we'll get up to. Sometimes it's nice just to hang out together.

Wordle 483 4/6

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I feel lucky -- this could have easily turned into an alphabet soup skunking.

I had the last 4 letters on my 3rd word, but there were just to many choices left and I didn't get it today. Sad face!

It sounds like you are having a nice visit, Laura.

I got skunked on Wordle today. Boo. Hiss.

Sad face for me too. I had the same problem as Jennifer.

I haven't read Kate Atkinson, other than the Jackson Brodie series. Somehow the descriptions of her other novels never tempted me, even when they were well-reviewed by readers I trust (such as the Esteemed Prop. of this thread). I have a copy of Human Croquet, an early one of hers, but like >93 weird_O: Bill, I don't think I'll rush it to the head of the line.

>110 japaul22:, >112 katiekrug:, >113 dudes22: Hi Jennifer, Katie, & Betty. Sorry to see these Saturday Wordle woes. Hopefully today will be better for you.

>111 BLBera: Thanks Beth.

>113 dudes22: Esteemed Prop: that made me laugh, Linda. I didn't realize you hadn't been keeping up with Atkinson. I haven't read Human Croquet, in fact the title is completely unfamiliar to me. But I'm happy to join you in your place just outside the line.

Happy Sunday folks.

We had another nice family day yesterday, wrapping up with a visit to a brewery that had a wide selection and loads of outdoor seating, perfect for a sunny late afternoon. We were also able to get some BBQ there for dinner. On the way home we stopped at one of those frozen yogurt places with tons of flavors and toppings that you assemble yourself. This was Julia's idea -- she spotted the place and wanted to revisit a childhood memory -- and it was just silly fun.

Julia and Noah will head back to NYC this morning. I need to do a grocery run to see us through the week, and then maybe some post-visit tidying & laundry? This evening we might do a bit of TV catch-up since we missed some of our regular shows over the weekend.

Wordle 484 3/6

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Happy Monday.

It's a big gray outside, but temps are mild and I don't see any rain in the forecast. So just one of those gray Mondays, I guess.

Yesterday I did a load of guestroom laundry (sheets & towels), and cleared some flower beds. These were mostly zinnias and cosmos and a few sunflowers -- all very tall stalks by this point. At the end of it all I realized that some of the plants I'd been pulling out, which were close to the ground, weren't weeds, but actual plants. Damn. This is not the first time I've made that mistake.

Last night we watched GBBO/S from last week (Dessert Week), and an episode of Sherwood, both dramatic but in different ways LOL. While watching, I worked on my sweater project. I also managed some reading time with Not One of Us. This is the fourth in a series and it's unfolding much as the previous books have done. Kind of repetitive, but not in an annoying way.

This morning I'm working a library shift, and this afternoon I have to take care of some admin tasks & phone calls. Not sure what else.

Wordle 485 3/6

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Morning, Laura! Oh dear about the not-weeds...

Nice Wordle! And lucky you didn't fall victim to alphabet soup!

>119 katiekrug: Hi Katie!

And hello to anyone else lurking out there.

Things were slow at the library yesterday, so much so that I "clocked out" 30 minutes early. Either they just didn't know what to do with me (ha) or it was just a slow day. It kind of felt like the latter, just in terms of the general vibe. I'm not concerned about it, it's just that hasn't happened before. In the afternoon I took care of a few admin things. I had to call the HVAC company that did our recent upstairs AC because I had discovered, almost by accident, that we had not made our final payment. When I spoke with them I learned they had sent the invoice to our Philadelphia address. What?! The check I used for our first payment had our old address printed on it, and they said "many of our customers have second homes so we use the address on the check because 'that's where your money is going' " Um, okay ... but ... (looks at check image online) I had crossed out the old address and wrote in our current one. And in a way that makes the old address very difficult to read. I chose not to debate this with them, I just thought it was odd.

Last night's TV-watching included University Challenge (which was an unusually dramatic matchup), last Friday's Gardners World, and the final episode of Sherwood. If you haven't seen this series, it's really well done. And there will be a second season, so yay!

Today I have a Guild meeting -- the Communications committee this time -- and I'm leading today's meeting because the committee chair is traveling and I'm a nice person. 😊 This afternoon I might do a bit of garden work, or maybe I'll read. Tonight we'll probably watch the Shetland season 7 finale. And then we'll need to find a new series. Karen Pirie is a possibility. I've seen the Val McDermid books recommended on the threads here. It's on Britbox beginning next week.

Wordle 486 3/6

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I didn't see how funny my word sequence was until just now. LMAO.

LOL. Your Wordle choices are a delight, Laura.

Hopefully the committee meeting is painless.

>120 lauralkeet: Giggling at your sequence -- looks like some of Katie's. Also impressed by 3 on this one -- it took me 5 :(

>121 MickyFine:, >122 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Micky & Reba, I never give a thought to my word sequence while I'm solving (and I'm not going to start now), so this was a fun happenstance. I'm glad you appreciated the humor too.

~~~~~~~~

Yesterday's committee meeting was ... fine. Not exactly painless, because there's one person who has a tendency to launch into topics way outside the committee's scope. But I think every committee on the face of the earth has at least one of those LOL. She's a very nice person with a lot to contribute, it's just that sometimes she needs to be reined in. To be fair, the rest of us went right along with the off-topic discussion for a while so we were all part of the "problem" yesterday. But hey, it was just an hour-long meeting and nothing terrible happened so it's all good.

I had good intentions about doing some outdoor work yesterday but it was windy and that made it chillier than I wanted to deal with. I took care of a couple small tasks in the late afternoon but really need to get out there today. Two areas need attention:
1) Dahlias: we want to save the corms over winter, and I need to label the plants now so we will know what they are once we've dug them up
2) Garlic: it's time to plant!
These are the most urgent tasks because the colder weather is setting in and we'll soon have our first frost.

And a followup to last week when I met with a Guild member to get started on an Inkle weaving project. When I met with her we warped the loom and started the weaving. Inkle looms are small and used to make narrow bands of cloth: think belts, straps, lanyards, dog leash and/or collar, etc. I'm just gonna make a few bookmarks. This is a pic of what we did together; the woven band is at the lower right. I did a bit more on my own yesterday. There's definitely a learning curve to making the selvedge edges (sides) look nice -- which is pretty much the case with all types of weaving.



This morning I'm going to yoga, and will run some errands in Leesburg after that. And then I'll do some gardening in the afternoon. Not sure what we'll watch on TV tonight now that we've finished Shetland. I thought the mystery element was a bit weak this season, but loved the character development and the way they brought closure to one part of the story even though it made me sad. I will really miss Douglas Henshall/Jimmy Perez.

Wordle 487 3/6

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Your description of the committee meeting reminded me of every Board committee I ever attended in my old job and made me not miss it even more ;-)

>124 katiekrug: Ha! I totally get that, Katie. My last years of working life were much the same, and I actively avoided any sort of committee work for the first few years of retirement. The very thought of it made my stomach turn into knots. But now, 5 years on, it's okay although I still have to remind myself that no one is evaluating my performance!

>123 lauralkeet: We finished Shetland last night and I agree with you about this season and the future. Such an excellent show imho.

Looking forward to seeing your bookmarks, Laura. Weaving is so fascinating although I'm not sure I'd have the patience for it.

I hadn’t seen anything about Sherwood until recently. I assume it’s about Robin Hood? Here’s the funny part - my community is Sherwood, and we have a restaurant called Maid Marion’s. The first I heard of Sherwood was on Twitter when a local posted the trailer poster and asked, jokingly, to describe what the show was about. All hilarious and local jokes followed.
I see it’s on Britbox which I don’t have but I think is accessible thru Prime. Will have to look into it a bit more.
Have you seen Phoodle? Food based 5 letter word guesses. It reminds me of the Canadian version we did, but they, wisely stopped it after using all the reasonable guesses. In some ways it should be eadieff to because thexwords have a theme, but it does make it hard to guess.

>126 RebaRelishesReading: I completely agree, Reba!

>127 MickyFine: I'm not sure I'd have the patience for it
Says the woman crocheting a temperature blanket EVERY DAY ALL YEAR LONG!! That's patience in my book, Micky! 😃

>128 raidergirl3: Hi Elizabeth! Nope, Sherwood is not about Robin Hood. It's set in Nottinghamshire, but that's where any resemblance ends. It's a crime drama starring David Morrissey and inspired by two real life murders in 2004. The community, a former mining town, was severely affected by the 1984 miner's strike and tensions have remained high. These divisions are central to the plot in this first season.

I haven't seen Phoodle. It sounds interesting although I'm not sure I need another word puzzle right now ...

Happy Thursday y'all.

Yesterday was pleasingly productive. It was great to be back at yoga (I wasn't able to go last week). I dropped off our election ballots in Leesburg and then I had an iPhone service appointment at Best Buy to clean out the charging port on my phone. Longtime readers will remember I had this issue late last year. The port gets clogged with dust and dirt and then will not charge. I think this is a casualty of having my phone with me when gardening, and it picks up dirt that has mysteriously landed in my pocket. So I'm going to try and manage that situation better. After chatting with the tech I'm also more confident about trying to clean the port myself next time, but it's also nice to know they will do it for free.

In the afternoon I took care of the gardening tasks on my agenda. I planted the garlic, harvested the last of our potatoes, inventoried the dahlias and created labels for them. I'll attach the labels today. Time is of the essence because the cold will soon make the flowers and foliage turn black and collapse, so if we want to know which ones are pink, yellow, white, etc. they need to be labeled now!

Today's agenda also includes menu planning & grocery list-making. But first ... I need to get a shower and run out to pick up our farm share. Back later!

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I'm always happy to score 3, but even more so today when the number of 3s now equal the number of 4s (36 each, out of 111 games since these stats began). It won't last, but I'm going to revel in it for now.

Not for nuthin' (as they say somewhere), but my phone case (Otter) has a little rubbery flap that covers the charging port when not in use...

>129 lauralkeet: LOL. Ok maybe I have some patience. But the blanket is simple compared to the fine (maybe even finicky?) work that goes into weaving.

Have fun doing all the grocery and meal-planning things!

>131 laytonwoman3rd: That's quite sensible, Linda. Here I was thinking about how I should just be more aware of where I put my phone when I'm gardening. I have two pairs of pants with a zipper pocket on the leg that would protect the phone pretty well (and incidentally, the pair I wore most recently has a pocket full of dirt which pretty much explains this latest mishap). But it is such a reflex for me to stuff my phone in that particular pocket that I might be better off with a different case. Must investigate.

>132 MickyFine: Yeah, you may be right Micky, it just made me laugh.

>129 lauralkeet: Hm...must look that up. At least half of what we watch is on Britbox these days and a lot is crime drama.

Sounds like you've got a very busy day ahead!!

>129 lauralkeet: That makes Sherwood - the show, sound even more interesting! Our community has mostly got tree names for streets, but when we first moved here I lived on Scarlet Ave, which is off of Friar Dr and Robin Dr, and there is a Nottingham Dr as well. I also lived on Montgomery Dr, a very unusual name in PEI, lol.

I still enjoy your retired adventures and am thinking of my time, in two more school years. I'm in an online fitness group that has barre, and pilates classes, and I attend a yoga class once a week. Barre is not my favourite but it's good for me.

>123 lauralkeet: I also planted garlic ( last week). Glad I did because the weather has been cold and rainy the last few days.

For cleaning the phone charger, I use compressed air. If you do it on a regular basis, you won't have to bring it to a professional to clean.

Have a great weekend!

>135 raidergirl3: Oh my Elizabeth, you have quite a Robin Hood-themed neighborhood! I understand your feelings about barre. I may enjoy it more than you do, but oof, I sure do feel it the next day.

>136 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita. Thanks for the charging port cleaning advice. Most of the internet articles mention compressed air but with dire warnings that Apple doesn't recommend it and you might mess things up royally. And then they provide instructions for how to use it. Mixed messages! The tech also recommended compressed air and said as long as you don't go crazy with it you should be fine.

Meanwhile, I did a little poking around on Amazon after Linda mentioned her phone case with a charging port cover. I found a set of small plugs for the charging port and have decided to give them a try because the set of 4 cost about $7 vs. much more for the Otterbox cases. Now of course it will be very easy to lose a tiny plug when it's removed from the phone so I'll have to come up with a system. But again: $7. We'll see how it goes.

Happy Friday!

Yesterday was another reasonably productive day. I labeled most of the dahlias; if the corms survive a winter in storage we can plant more intentionally next year. There are some still unlabeled because I can no longer tell what color they were, but I don't mind a bit of randomness come planting time.

I also harvested some fall veg: lettuce, beets, and parsnips. The parsnips were actually planted in the spring, but they take forever to mature. The lettuce and beets are from a second round of planting in mid-August. They aren't growing quite as vigorously as the spring sowing but it's enough to satisfy our needs, and I'm just happy to see that the season can be extended like this.

Today I'll do the grocery shopping and hopefully a bit more garden work in the afternoon, either clearing the sunflower beds or cutting back the dahlia plants (after that they need to sit for 10-14 days before we dig them up for storage). I also want to get back to the Inkle loom soon. I've been working on Chris' sweater while TV-watching and am almost finished with the first sleeve. The end is in sight!

I'm about 3/4 of the way through Not One of Us. Some new plot developments are making it a bit less "same old same old," and I'm happy about that.

Wordle 489 5/6

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Every time I crow about my scores (see yesterday), I get knocked down a peg. 😒

I always have to have my pen and paper out to put books on my wishlist -- but how disappointing that Kate Atkinson just bailed like that. I loved the description of your daughter ending all tales with a party!

And Alys in her pillows and dressed up.

Now you are weaving!

I do think I might need to get into the Lucy Barton's, I don't know why, but I haven't. Maybe I've read one?

>138 lauralkeet: Your growing season astounds me, Laura. We are having an extremely warmer than usual October here so my flower pots have lasted far longer than typical but our growing season is usually late-May to late September/early October.

So exciting to be almost done the sweater. Are you already plotting next projects?

>139 sibylline: Hi Lucy! It's always such a pleasure to see you here. I lurk on your thread all the time and really must comment one of these days. I'll be interested in your thoughts on Lucy Barton if you decide to start. You may have read the first one: My Name is Lucy Barton? They are all fairly short books. Unlike Ms. Atkinson 😒

>140 MickyFine: Hi Micky! I'm not surprised your season is so much shorter than ours. Oddly enough even though we are further south than our previous home in Philadelphia, the climate, gardening conditions, and length of season are nearly the same. I listened to an interview with a woman from Minnesota not long ago, who has been able to extend her season considerably but it sounded like an awful lot of work to make it happen!

And yes to next knitting project. Ignoring for a moment the socks-in-progress that are hibernating in a project back, I am planning to make a cardigan for myself. I've never made a cardigan before, and I picked up some lovely yarn not too long ago when a Guild member was selling off some of her stash. I'm kind of itching to get moving on it, but don't dare even look at the pattern for fear of distracting myself.

>141 lauralkeet: Oh yes. Looking at patterns almost feels like a whole other hobby (same with looking at yarn, really). I can lose big chunks of time to browsing in Ravelry. I won't add to the temptation to browse but will instead say I'm eagerly looking forward to see the completed Gansey sweater. :)

>137 lauralkeet: I had that phone-not-charging trouble. The advice I read on line (and followed successfully) said to use toothpicks to excavate the compacted dirt from the bottom of the socket. Took a while, but it worked and there was a lot of dirt to scrape out. And yes, compressed air rather than putting your lips together and blowing. But compressed air alone didn't do the job. Toothpicks.

>123 lauralkeet: Love the weaving Laura.

>142 MickyFine: Thanks Micky. I started the ribbing (cuff) on the first sleeve last night and have about 1" to go there before starting the second sleeve. I'm at the point where I wish I could wave a magic wand, but I'll soldier on.

>143 weird_O: Thanks Bill! It's good to know you've had success with the toothpick method. I need to lay in a stash of toothpicks I guess.

>144 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks Caro!

Good morning all,

It's an early start for me today because I'm going to the Saturday barre class at -- yawn -- 8am. I really like this instructor, but I'm still weighing the early start vs. the other, more cardio-ish class at 9:30.

I took care of a bunch of garden work yesterday, cutting back the dahlias and the sunflowers, and then raking up a bunch of leaves to mulch over the garlic I planted the other day. I need to actually dig the sunflowers out of their beds at some point but I didn't feel like tackling that yesterday.

Last night's TV-watching was GBBO/S "Halloween Week." I kept thinking how weird it would be to film that in the summer. But the end-of-episode decisions went the way I thought they should, so it was satisfying.

I finished Not One of Us last night at bedtime. It was fine, a bit lacking in something I can't put my finger on, but I'm now current with that series. Next up: And a Dog Called Fig, recommended by Ellen a while back.

Today's post-yoga agenda will be more garden work of the fall cleanup variety. I know I'm sounding repetitive and you must think it's a huge amount of work. It doesn't seem like there's much to be done but every day I see something new that could be pruned or put away or whatever. I hope that if I do a little bit every day I won't fall behind and feel overwhelmed.

Wordle 490 3/6

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RAISE, SPIES, SPIEL

Morning, Laura. I love reading about your gardening routine. I wish I had more of a green thumb. I always intend to do better, (putting in natural bird friendly plants) but always drop the ball. Glad to hear you also get to enjoy the juncos through the winter. Other migrating sparrows are also moving through. Do you see white-throated and white-crowned? I know sparrows are tough to identify, even for more experienced birders.

Good morning ...

>147 msf59: hey there Mark, white-throated sparrows are very common here and I can't say I've seen a white-crowned sparrow but they do look awfully similar so I may have misidentified them. Both are common here winter.

Yesterday, well let's see ... I was able to fit in a bit of gardening time, pruning some bushes near our side door. But before that we decided to take some stuff to the county dump/landfill. There were two ancient window A/C units in our guest rooms, which we no longer need thanks to our recent A/C project. And you can't just set them out for the regular trash collection. Since they had to go to the dump to be disposed of properly, we took the opportunity to get rid of some other unwanted/no-longer-needed items. Not very exciting, but satisfying.

Today I have lots of little tasks I'd like to take care of, some indoor admin stuff, some garden work, etc. I finished the first sleeve on the sweater last night so I'll most likely start the second sleeve sometime today or maybe tonight while watching TV. So, pretty much same stuff, different day around here.

Wordle 491 6/6

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STAIN, POUCH, RULER, BUGGY, MUDDY, MUMMY
Yikes, this was too close for comfort. Also: what the hell?! Is this the first time we've seen a letter repeat THREE times?!

50. Not One of Us ()

When Teifi Valley Coroner Harry Probert-Lloyd is called to investigate the sudden death of a healthy young woman, the medical examiner confirms death by natural causes but the behavior of the girl’s father raises suspicion. While Harry digs into the case his assistant, John Davies, remains at Harry’s Glanteifi estate where, in addition to serving as assistant coroner, he is training to take over as steward. All is not well on the home front, where Harry’s hands-off approach has led to the current steward making some poor decisions. John sees disaster looming but is unable to turn it around on his own. Things eventually come to a head at about the same time as a second death related to the murder investigation. Harry and John then have to solve the crime, intervene in estate management, and heal a rift in their relationship all at the same time.

By this, the fourth book in the series, the formula is set. Harry runs off to solve a crime in a way that challenges the boundaries of the coroner position. John struggles with class differences between himself and Harry, and with isolation as his role takes him outside his traditional circle. Harry behaves poorly and needs to be set right. It’s fine, if a bit predictable. The history of the Welsh Teifi Valley and the imminent impact of the railroads and industrial mechanization added interest to the story, but I’m kind of glad this is the last book in the series, at least for now.

This might be worse. My husband made the mistake of saying, "If you get this letter, you'll have it in two". Sent me off in the wrong direction, obviously.

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CRAZY, WHINY, LOBBY, MESSY, MUGGY, MUMMY

>149 lauralkeet: Grump. The Sainted NYPL does not own a copy of the second Alis Hawkins mystery, In Two Minds. I may have to actually buy a copy. Horrors. I did like the first one, and learned a lot about Wales.

>150 dudes22: ouch, that's painful Betty.

>151 ffortsa: That's a shame, Judy. I bought all four at once for my Kindle because they were really inexpensive (at least at the time).

>150 dudes22: How did you decide between MUDDY and MUMMY for your last guess?

>153 raidergirl3: - No real reason. It was a toss-up.

Welcome to Monday ...

Sunday went pretty much as expected. In the garden I cleared the sunflowers from their beds and then did a bit of organizing in the potting shed. There are tools, pots and general gardening stuff all over the place, and it's time to (re)arrange things neatly on the shelves. It's sure to become a mess again next season, but I like ending the season (and starting a new one) with everything in order. I didn't finish the job yesterday but I made a pretty good start. I also spent a bit of time with the Inkle loom and reading A Dog Called Fig; in the evening I worked on my sweater while we watched the 2004 TV adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South.

Speaking of A Dog Called Fig, it's a contemplative memoirs and besides that, there are dogs. It's enjoyable so far, and not taxing my brain too much. And how is it that I've never read any of Helen Humphreys' work? I'm hopeless with poetry but two of her novels are calling to me: The Frozen Thames and Coventry. Anyone read these? Thoughts?

This morning I'm working a library shift. I'm making pot roast for dinner so I'll be puttering around the house this afternoon while it cooks. Tonight's TV will be University Challenge and then ... maybe another episode of North and South? We'll see.

Wordle 492 6/6

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OUTER, TRUTH, STUCK, BLUNT, VAULT, FAULT
Sigh.

I've never read anything by Helen Humphreys but I've been meaning to for a long time! I think I own two of her books. I remember lots of positive reviews of Coventry a few years back.

Wordle - I didn't get yesterday's, bummer, but I got today's in two!

>156 lauralkeet: Good morning, Laura! I can't help with Humphreys advice but I'm interested in what others have to say. She's not been on my radar at all.

I've been meaning to ask you where you watch University Challenge (channel or streaming service, not "on the living room couch," I mean).

>157 japaul22: Coventry rang a bell for me too, Jennifer. For a moment there I thought I might have read it, but LT says no. Congrats on your Wordle today!

>158 rosalita: Julia, we watch University Challenge on YouTube! The current season is Season 62. I'm glad you asked about it, because I found out the schedule has changed, at least for this week. It normally airs on BBC Two on Monday evenings and is up on YouTube by evening US time. But this week the program doesn't air until Tuesday, apparently because of a Rugby World Cup match tonight. Waaah! Anyway, there are 8 episodes so far this season so you can catch up (or not: we started watching the middle of last season and it was totally fine).

>159 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura! I will check it out — I've heard lots of good things about it but didn't see it on the BBC America lineup. It didn't occur to me to check YouTube.

Edited to add: Did you mean the current season is 52? That's the latest I could find.

Oh yeah, I probably did. Sorry about the typo Julia!

I haven't read those two, but I did read The Lost Garden and it might be worth a look. I liked it a lot. Sometimes, when I read of your gardening exploits, I miss all the gardens we had at our last house. Where we are now, what we have is limited. So, I live vicariously through you.

Loved The Frozen Thames and it made me try to find other books of that style, but I didn't really find any. I wouldn't call it a novel though. All her books are good, although very short. The Frozen Thames is my favourite.

I loved Coventry and very much liked The Frozen Thames.

Hi Laura: Regarding Humphreys, what Katie said. >164 katiekrug: I also liked The Lost Garden.

Wow, thank you Betty, Elizabeth, Katie and Beth for all the Helen Humphreys love. Recommendations from people like you mean a lot! I can get both Coventry and The Frozen Thames at my library, and while they don't have The Lost Garden it looks like used copies are readily available. So all three are now on my never-ending list ...

Hi Laura - great substack post this am - I really enjoyed reading about the trees!

Loved the discussion of trees on your blog today. We have a row of HUGE evergreens across much of our back property line (which is only about 25' from the house) and a little ways up one side. They give a nice woodsy feel to the area and keep weeds (or anything else) from growing under them which is nice for non-gardeners such as us but they block any view in that direction and I worry about one falling and taking out half of the house :( Not going to even think about having them removed though -- would probably cost as much as the house did!

Aaah, North and South adaptation with the lovely Richard Armitage in. I was lucky enough to see him on stage in a very fine production of Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Enjoy Laura.

>167 vivians:, >168 RebaRelishesReading: Vivian and Reba, thanks for your lovely feedback on today's Substack post. These trees will eventually block the view of a house which is not ugly exactly, but just isn't much of a view. And yes, we're hoping for a bit of woodsy feel, weed suppression, and hopefully a nice habitat for birds & wildlife. Who knows if we will we live to see all that. 😀

>169 Caroline_McElwee: Thanks Caro. We're enjoying it. I've read the book but Chris hasn't. It reminds me of some Austen adaptations I've seen. That didn't strike me when reading, so maybe it's just the way the TV program is made. And that's not a criticism, because I do love a good costume drama!

Just chiming in with my love of the North & South adaptation you're watching. Richard Armitage is very swoonworthy in my books. :)

I hope the library treated you well today!

>170 lauralkeet: Many generations in the future will enjoy them I hope.

>166 lauralkeet: Hold on Laura. Big Helen Humphreys fan here.I've read four of her books including the two you're looking at. All excellent but The Frozen Thames is a fine work of art and you're going to need/want your own copy. Trust me.

>171 MickyFine: Hi Micky! I always enjoy my library shift but weirdly, the past two weeks have been quiet and a bit slow. Maybe they've added staff, but it seems there's less of a backlog on some of the tasks I typically do. My "library boss" has not been on duty the past two Mondays but I might ask about it the next time I see her. Maybe there are other things I can do to fill the gap.

>172 RebaRelishesReading: Me too Reba.

>173 brenzi: NOW LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE BONNIE.
Not only did I just order a copy of The Frozen Thames, but while I was at it I bought Betty's recommendation, The Lost Garden.

You are all a bunch of enablers. 😉

Glad you are able to enjoy the migrating/winter sparrows. The white-crowned are very distinctive, especially the adults, with their neon white striping on their heads.

>175 msf59: Thanks for that pic, Mark. I'll be on the lookout for those little guys.

And a good morning to everyone else too!

Not much happened yesterday, and yet it felt like a good day. Weird, huh? After my library shift I stopped at the supermarket for a couple ingredients I needed for my pot roast, and then prepped the pot roast. I popped it into the oven around 1pm and then just had to turn it every so often. When it was done I set the oven on a low temperature just to keep it warm until it was time for dinner. It was sooo tasty -- total comfort food.

While the roast was cooking, I took care of some garden chores, and spent a fair amount of time both reading and doing some Inkle loom weaving. A perfect afternoon, really.

I'm hoping for more of the same today. There's nothing critical on my agenda. I'll do some exercise this morning. I'd like to finish up my Inkle weaving today, because I could then return the loom to its owner at tomorrow's Guild meeting. We'll see how that goes. There will also be more reading -- I might actually finish A Dog Called Fig today -- and more knitting in front of tonight's TV-watching.

Wordle 493 4/6

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SKATE, ROUND, FOLLY, FOGGY

>176 lauralkeet: I hope you're laid back day came to fruition. Also looking forward to seeing the results of your borrowed loom. :)

>177 MickyFine: Here you go, Micky!



I made a set of bookmarks. My initial attempt (not pictured!) was pretty ugly due to really uneven selvedges. I slept on it, and the next time I was at the loom something “clicked” and I had more success. There's some variation between the length of each bookmark and the selvedges aren’t perfect, but they’ll do. All in all, I’m pretty happy with the results.

Very nice Laura.

Good morning!

My natural morning-person demeanor is in unusually high gear today for some reason. Perhaps I'm just well rested or perhaps it's because I have to get going a bit earlier than usual, but it's 7am and I'm already caffeinated and have done the Wordle and the crossword. Bring on the day!

Yesterday I finished And a Dog Called Fig, which was lovely. At bedtime I started reading Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?. Katie's recent warbling and Reba's even more recent positive comments nudged this to the top of the pile, and it was enjoyable from the first page despite the subject matter.

The Fiber Guild meets this morning and we have a speaker coming to show us Thai and Laotian textiles and talk about her work with artists in those countries. The meeting starts at 10, but I need to be there at 9 so she can set up. I have Barre in the late afternoon. In between I might spend some time taking down curtains in one of the guest rooms so Chris can paint. He's painted the other bedroom, the bathroom, and the hallway already, so we just have this room left to do.

Wordle 494 3/6

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STEAM, COURT, FLOUT

>174 lauralkeet: You won't regret buying The Frozen Thames. It's lovely.

Hi Laura! Very belated happy new thread and happy Wednesday to you.

From your last thread, then run to the Southern States store to pick up a few things. Heh – I use Southern States for my bird seed. It’s always fun to walk in there and just look around.

>29 lauralkeet: On my shelves, just waiting for the right time. I loved the first two.

>46 lauralkeet: A series I should start. I have the first on my shelves.

>91 lauralkeet: Sorry Shrines of Gaiety didn’t work for you. Nothing by Atkinson has worked for me since Behind the Scenes at the Museum and the first Jackson Brodie. We just watched the Jackson Brodie series with Jason Isaacs and loved it, so I really want to get back to the series. I also have Transcription on my shelves.

>178 lauralkeet: Gorgeous book marks. You amaze me with the variety of loom and needlework projects you successfully conquer.

>181 lauralkeet: Sounds like a fun and varied day. Congrats on your 3. It took me 5, but I count anything less than a skunk as a success.

>178 lauralkeet: I think they look great!! What a fun idea.
>181 lauralkeet: Glad you're enjoying Mammy
Your fiber guild meeting sounds really interesting.
Finally, sounds like you're making great progress on your house. An old place has great charm but can be a lot of work -- fortunately you two are able to take in on.

>178 lauralkeet: Ooh, lovely work!

>179 Caroline_McElwee: The presentation at the guild sounds really cool. And congrats on being almost done (all?) the painting!

>182 raidergirl3: another endorsement! Thanks Elizabeth.

>183 karenmarie: Nice check-in, Karen. I really liked the Jackson Brodie TV series. Atkinson has taken her writing in some very different directions since that time. And obviously I've liked some of it more than others ...

>184 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba. When we bought the house we knew there were projects ahead, and they are mostly fun. There will be some that are necessary but not particularly fun, like when we replaced the hot water heater last year. Some of that comes with the territory.

>185 MickyFine: Thanks Micky!

Good morning!

The Guild meeting program went really well. The speaker was super interesting and had some really gorgeous fabrics and garments, all of which could be purchased. Some members made a great start at their holiday shopping! I did my part, buying a smallish beaded bag.

In the afternoon I took down the guest room curtains as planned, which wouldn't be a big deal except for one thing: every one of the four windows has slightly different measurements, and isn't necessarily square (sometimes one side is closer to the ceiling than the other). So each curtain panel is a slightly different length and width. The first task was to label each panel using painters tape, and create a diagram to remind me which one goes where. Now they are gently folded and laying out in the other guest room where they should remain undisturbed until it's time to put them back up.

Yesterday I also took a couple of baby steps on a project to digitize my dad's slides. The slides have been in my possession for 6+ years and every winter I think, maybe I should do something about those slides. But then I get overwhelmed by the sheer number of them, and the cost/effort to digitize. I finally decided the only way forward (other than continuing to ignore them) is to create an inventory. There are two boxes, each with about 30 sleeves of slides (I think). I went through one box yesterday and was happy to see Dad had labeled each sleeve with a letter and brief description (e.g., A, "Family 1969"), although some of the writing was faint. The next level of inventory will require reviewing the slides in each sleeve and ultimately deciding which ones should be digitized. I ordered a slide viewer thingamajig yesterday. I expect all of this to take a while ...

Today should be a quiet day, with no need to leave the house except to pick up the farm share. Yay!

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The guild presentation sounds really interesting, and I'm not surprised members took the opportunity to do some shopping.

I'm impressed with your patience re: the curtains. I think I would go the minimalist route and skip curtains in a room where all the windows were different. Maybe some decorative blinds?

>187 lauralkeet: - Took me 6 today. Last 4 letter 4 times - I just seem to never pick the right letter right away.

>188 PawsforThought: - I kind of agree with Paws. I'd go for a deep valance with a hidden pulldown shade if privacy was needed.

>188 PawsforThought:, >189 dudes22: Well, I'm afraid it's too late on the curtains as they are now a not insignificant sunk cost. But I'm really happy with them. We have curtains in one room and shades in the other. The walls and windows in the "curtain" room are far more wonky than in the room with shades, and the curtains hide a lot of that, even when they are open.

We've spent most of our home-owning life with either no curtains/blinds, or with "budget" solutions of one sort or another. This time around, the curtains were actually our first decorating decision. A friend of ours created "mood boards" to illustrate color palettes for each guest room, and we decided to choose curtains in patterns/prints and use them as a guide to choosing paint, bedding, etc. by picking up on colors in the curtains.

>187 lauralkeet: My mom's cousin did a low tech solution to digitizing some of his parents' slides. I think he held the slide super close to the lens of a digital camera and took a picture - not perfect but not terrible results either.

Hi Laura. Bonnie gave you some good advice about having your own copy of The Frozen Thames. I have a small collection of those little books that can get lost on the shelves. They make me happy. Also, when I was purging books right and left last year, I kept my copy of The Lost Garden, another little gem.

I've enjoyed reading about your adventures putting the garden to bed for the winter. I have mostly perennials that need little care. My annuals are in pots for ease of replacing in the spring. I've become a lazy gardener due to creaky bones and back issues, but I do love to be outside. I'm currently raking leaves off our long driveway so they don't make it to the garage. Hubby will do some mulching with the mower this weekend.

I've never taken slides but Hubby and his father both took a lot of them "back in the day". He spent a lot of time right after he retired scanning them and now has a lovely archive he was able to share with his daughters. I don't think I would have had the patience to do it but he did and I think you'll be glad you did too.

>192 Donna828: Donna, I'm delighted to hear how much you enjoyed and treasure those two books. I can't wait for mine to arrive. I'm also glad you're still getting outside to garden. Someday we will need to slow down, too, I'm sure. It happens to all of us. Even now we are very conscious of making choices that will not create an ongoing maintenance nightmare.

>191 MickyFine:, >193 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks for the moral support for slide scanning, Micky & Reba. I went through the second box of sleeves today, noting the labels (A through Z, AA through ZZ, A1, B1, and a few unlabeled), and the title written on each sleeve. Of the approximately 60 sleeves, most are full (50 slides). That fits with what I remembered calculating when I first brought these home. No matter what method you use, 3000 is A LOT of slides. However, only about half of them have the word "Family" in the label (e.g., "Family 8/77"). The others are mostly names of places we visited (e.g., "British Columbia"). Those two examples are from the same timeframe. My dad being the sort of cataloguer that would have made him a good LTer, I'm hoping he separated photos of scenery from photos of people. Because I'm more interested in the people at this point than I am every flower and landmark seen along the way. I'll know more when my slide viewer thingamajig arrives.

Happy Friday!

Yesterday was just the quiet day I expected. Besides that bit of work on the slide inventory, I helped Chris with a painting project, applying primer to some closet doors that we're refinishing. Our evening TV watching included the last episode of North and South, which I really enjoyed. We also watched the 2006 film, The Wind that Shakes the Barley. It won the Palme d'Or and is very well done, but let's just say that films about Irish Independence never end well.

In books, I'm really enjoying Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?, although I haven't had a lot of concentrated reading time the past few days.

Today's agenda includes grocery shopping in the morning and a medical appointment in the afternoon (routine). Takeout for dinner tonight, and then Gardeners World (last episode until spring 😢) and GBBO/S on TV.

Wordle 496 3/6

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>187 lauralkeet: I'm not sure if I mentioned this to you before, but after trying to use a slide scanner on my own slides, I realized that it wasn't reliable enough for my taste, and sent them all to ScanCafe. They will keep all your slides appropriately grouped and return them to you along with a disk (or maybe only online files now, not sure). I found it economical and of professional caliber. You may want to edit the collections for repeats (I edited my father's collection pretty severely). It was so worth the cost.

Just fyi -- Hubby had a gadget that allowed him to put 4 slides at a time into the scanner which helped. Nevertheless, Judy's suggestion sounds like a winner to me :)

>195 lauralkeet: I love the last episode of North & South. A little swooning happening here just thinking about it. :)

Sounds like a great Friday night plan!

>197 ffortsa: Thanks Judy! I do have a vague recollection of discussing this before, but I appreciate learning about your experience with ScanCafe. That's an attractive option.

>198 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba! We have a combination printer/scanner but it's pretty basic so I'd have to buy a scanner better suited to the task, and therein lies the rub, because I don't really *need* another scanner. A service is attractive especially if my brother and I agree on the number of images to scan and share the cost.

>199 MickyFine: Swooning indeed, Micky. There were some overly convenient plot developments like the sudden appearance of someone who knew Margaret's brother, who then dies and other characters were being killed off right and left and it was all getting to be a bit much. But then ... the ending (which we all saw coming, right?) was perfectly executed.

Good morning ... yesterday was uneventful. Grocery shopping done, medical appointments done, pizza for dinner. We watched the last Gardeners World of the season and then a few shorter programs like Have I Got News for You. We didn't get around to GBBO/S so maybe tonight.

I'm heading to yoga pretty soon and I need to stop by the post office on my way home. Not sure what else is in store today, other than a few odds and ends/minor tasks. So maybe more reading time? Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? is a great read and not taxing, but I haven't had much time to just curl up with a book so my progress has been a little slow.

I guess that's all I've got for this morning. Onward ...

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Morning, Laura! Glad you are enjoying the O'Reilly memoir, even without being able to dedicate solid time to it.

>202 katiekrug: Hi Katie! It's a lovely book; thanks for recommending it so highly.

Happy Sunday to all ...

Yesterday's excitement included buying a can of paint for the guestroom project-in-progress. Equally exciting was the unrolling of 500' of hose intended to run from our barn out to some newly-planted trees. The hose is not as robust as typical garden hose material, which means it's prone to twisting on itself and of course that's exactly what happened. If only we'd had a sort of giant spool to roll it on ... but we didn't which meant basically unrolling the whole length of it, untangling/untwisting periodically, and only once we had the entire thing laid out all over our property could we drag the hose out to the trees and then run it back to the water source at the barn. It was more time-consuming than expected but also not as difficult as it sounds. More like something from an old comedy sketch.

Last night we watched the latest GBBO/S episode (Custard Week). While we will definitely finish this season, I've lost a bit of my enthusiasm for it. Not sure why.

After a few warm days it has turned chilly again. Chris is going to put the new can of paint to use. I need to run an errand this morning to the other grocery store in town, to see if they have a cut of pork that was not available in my regular supermarket. Tonight we have tickets to a chamber music concert with the Beau Soir ensemble, a flute, viola, and harp trio. The venue is an arts space not far from here, in Berryville, VA.

Wordle 498 3/6

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This looks better than it felt. After two turns I had the same three yellow letters in various incorrect spaces and was totally stuck. I started writing out possible combinations of those three letters in search of one that would work. When Chris got to a similar point we had a short discussion. He said, "Maybe it's ..." and I said "oh yeah maybe" and we both tried it. Et voila.

Wordle took me all 6 tries today, but at least I got it.

I totally hear you about GBBO/S. I don't know if it's the contestants or the hosts or the judges who are stale, but it's just kind of blah for me. I haven't watched Custard Week yet...

>203 lauralkeet: I love chamber music. It may be the thing I miss most from Chautauqua where it was usually available somewhere on the grounds every day.

>204 katiekrug: Katie, I just read your comments on Custard Week over on your thread. It looks like we're in the same place.

>205 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, it has taken us a while to find chamber music here. This is partly due to the pandemic of course, since so many performances were cancelled for a long time. We were lucky in Philadelphia, in that there was one organization that put on about 50 concerts in a season, usually international touring artists. So it was all there on our doorstep. Here we're gradually discovering smaller organizations with fewer concerts in their season, but altogether there's enough out there to be able to attend a concert once a month or so and that suits us just fine.

Welcome to Monday ...

I had a quiet, relaxing day yesterday. I spent a little time inventorying my dad's slides. So far, I've found the slides are all numbered and captioned which is a huge help. I'm recording those details in a spreadsheet along with the approximate date and location, and the people in each photo where applicable. I'm going to try to do a sleeve or two a day. I also had plenty of leisure time both for reading and some knitting. Then we went to the concert in the evening, and really enjoyed it.

This morning I'm working a library shift. In the afternoon we might go on an outing to the arboretum, but that depends on the weather since there's possible rain in the forecast. I'm very close to finishing Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? so will likely wrap that up today. Next up will be Wendell Berry's Remembering, one of two Port William novels that I haven't read yet.

Tonight should be quiet. Because we don't live in an actual neighborhood we don't get trick-or-treaters. A quiet night of TV-watching is fine by me.

Wordle 499 4/6

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟩🟨
🟩🟨⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
SCARE, FAULT, ATOLL, APTLY
At one point in yesterday's puzzle I considered trying today's word. Spooky, huh?! 😆

>207 lauralkeet: Good morning, Laura! Today's puzzle started with a distinct feeling of déjà vu, to the point where I used yesterday's final word as my third word today, just in case the NYT had messed up and served me up yesterday's puzzle by mistake!

When we lived in the condo in San Diego we wouldn't have any trick or treaters either but I think we had about 100 last year. Big change. Hope I have enough candy for this year.

Tomm and I sort of fizzled out after maybe three episodes this season, and honestly I'm not sure we'll get back to it. You're right that it's just...meh.

>208 rosalita: aha, so I'm not the only one Julia.

>209 RebaRelishesReading: 100! OMG, Reba. I don't think we've ever lived anywhere with that kind of trick or treating traffic.

>210 scaifea: I was wondering about that, Amber, because you haven't mentioned the show on your thread. Ah well, I guess the bloom is off the rose, at least for a few of us.

>206 lauralkeet: The Peoples' Symphony is a long-standing (over 100 yrs) group in NYC that produces chamber music concerts near us for VERY little money. We buy subscriptions to two of their series, and because of the pandemic they have been recording them and offering the concert via computer starting the day after, for about a week. They get The TOP talent in a city full of talent, because the musicians want to reach people who can't afford Carnegie prices. It's great. If you are interested, look them up online. I think you can buy a digital-only subscription, and it's cheap cheap cheap.

>207 lauralkeet: A spreadsheet. Of course.

>212 ffortsa: Thanks Judy. I'll take a peek.

>213 ffortsa: Ha!

51. And a Dog Called Fig ()

In this short memoir, Helen Humphreys recounts her first months with a new puppy. This isn’t her first dog by any means, but invariably Fig’s behavior and personality are quite different from her predecessor, Charlotte. As Humphreys and Fig adapt to one another, she also notes the ways in which dogs, and the rhythm they impose on her days, have influenced her creative process. And she is not alone–the book includes anecdotes of numerous other writers known for their love of dogs.

This is light but pleasing stuff, especially if you are already a dog-lover. It also piqued my interest in reading more of Humphrey’s work.


52. Did Ye Hear Mammy Died? ()

Seamas O’Reilly’s mother died of cancer when he was just five years old, leaving her husband and ten other children (Seamas is the ninth). In his memoir, Seamas describes his childhood in Derry as part of an unusually large family with a devoted father who managed to keep everything together despite the tragic circumstances. There is a lot of humor in this book, like the story of a family holiday to Spain traveling in their family bus, towing a caravan. But this book is more than just light, humorous prose and anecdotes about being part of a large family. It is a memorial to a mother he never really knew, and a tribute to Seamas’ father, who made sure the children’s needs were met and, more importantly, that they knew they were loved.

It's a new month, and I wanted to post my last two October reviews on this thread. I'll start a new thread shortly ...

Glad you enjoyed the O'Reilly!

And I'll have to keep an eye out for that Humphreys...

>217 katiekrug: Hi Katie! Thanks for warbling about the O'Reilly, it was a joy to read. If only I had a physical copy of the Humphreys -- I'd send it to you. But alas it's on my Kindle.