karenmarie's reading in 2023 - part V

Welcome to my fifth thread of Two Thousand and Twenty-Three!

Bibliomaniac, bibliophile, lectiophiliac, bookworm. Four ways to describe me and books.

The Good: Family, friends, kitties, books, in constantly-rotating order. Jenna being home is wonderful although I know living at home chaffs her and she’d rather have her own apartment and a kitty or two. Knee replacement Thursday March 9th went off with a hitch. All the PT and stuff after continuing, of course. I’ve graduated to a cane, have been driving for a while now. I’m walking around the house without the cane a lot, too.

The Bad and the Sad: Covid is still in the mix. Ukraine is still fighting for its survival as an independent country. Women’s rights in the US are under continuing and even escalating attack. Racism is alive and well and able to easily organize on the Internet. The haves keep wanting more and more and the have nots keep getting shafted more and more. Much extreme weather here in the US causing trauma and damage. I’m still pretty much avoiding the news these days, frankly.

The Ugly: The Gang of Psychos infiltrating at every level of government, state and federal, to undermine rights, force their religious beliefs on others, and poison our republic.

The encouraging: Tucker Carlson and Don Lemon have been fired. They will land on more extreme platforms, of course, with more money, but hey! It’s something.

Like everybody else who gets to 70, I think “How did I get to be old?” Not in a bad way, just a real way.

I am so glad and grateful that I’m retired. I paid my dues. Every day I don’t work is a cause for celebration.

I read and am a charter member of the Redbud and Beyond Book Club, started in 1997. We will meet in June to pick books for the 2023-2024 year. I am President for our local Friends of the Library. I gave my resignation, effective June 30, 2023 at the July 2022 meeting. I’ll stay on the Board as Immediate Past President for however long the next President serves, then completely leave the Board and just stay on the Book Sale Team. The Book Sale Team meets on Tuesdays to sort donations for the spring and fall book sales. I’ll be going back to book sort meetings starting Tuesday May 9nd. I think.

I have been married to Bill for 32 years and am mother to Jenna, 29. The three of us live in our own little corner of paradise on 8 acres in central North Carolina USA.

We have three kitties. Inara, Zoe, Wash. Inara sacked out, Zoe giving Jenna heart palpatations balancing on the banister, and Wash helping me with my prone hangs.
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Found this pic recently, with my VERY strawberry blonde hair, circa April 1977. Peggy, this one's for you.
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My goal last year was 75 books, based on what I thought would be a tough reading year because of my health. Ha. I read over 300 books, mostly on my Kindle, mostly using Kindle Unlimited. They were, as my daughter calls them, smut, and my friend Karen in Montana calls porn. *shrugs* I really, really enjoy reading this subgenre of contemporary fiction/romance and will continue until it no longer interests me. This coming year’s goal is back to 100, but I’ve already read 122 books, am still enthralled with contemporary fiction/romance with no end in sight. I’m going to leave the 100 book goal as is.

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New Year’s Resolutions – 2023 – I think I’ll just posting this all year and make sure I read and update it!

Health:

Lose a minimum of 20 pounds.
Work out for cardio health 3 times a week when appropriate given potential knee surgeries.
Get knee replacement surgery (ies?) and assiduously follow through with all PT and other requirements.
Reduce red meat consumption and increase salmon and other healthy fish consumption.
Continue low-sodium lifestyle and gradually work to reduce sugared items to 2-3 times a week.

Reading:

Read 5% nonfiction this year if continuing with startling numbers of contemporary fiction - i.e., romances, otherwise 10% if the romance trend tapers off.
Inventory all book shelves in house, ruthlessly cull that which I won’t read/re-read and which Jenna won’t want when I’m gone. ~123 shelves = 10/month.
Finish The Federalist Papers, Pilgrim, re-start and finish Run With the Horsemen, a gift from Peggy.
Read A Brief Introduction to the New Testament by Bart D. Ehrman with friend Karen in Montana.
Maybe read Don Juan by George Gordon, Lord Byron, with Peggy.

House:

Get the Parlour back under control by making a decision about each thing in the room and immediately following through properly: keep and store, toss, donate.

Inter-personal:

Be in better touch with family and friends. I tend to isolate when stressed.

General:

As Judy says, pay attention.
Express gratitude for what I have - family, friends, intangibles and tangibles - every day.

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2023. I have high hopes for familial stability with Jenna living at home and socking money away for the eventual move to an apartment of her own. The new normal for Covid will, I hope, be continued vigilance and an eventual regimen of yearly vaccines as we do with flu. With politics, who knows, but I hope the Democrats continue to keep the Gang of Psychos in check as much as possible and the world does not implode via Putin/nuclear/Ukraine, Kim Jung Un in North Korea ditto nuclear, and the Middle East with Israel and Iran ditto nuclear. See a potentially devastating theme here?

Books Read - last year was 324

January
1. Glamorous by Romeo Alexander 12/31/22 1/1/23 202 pages Kindle
2. Commitment Issues by Ali Ryecart 1/1/23 1/2/23 372 pages Kindle
3. Take My Breath Away by Ali Ryecart 1/2/23 1/3/23 395 pages Kindle
4. Out of the Shadows by Ali Ryecart 1/3/23 1/4/23 364 pages Kindle
5. Loose Connection by Ali Ryecart 1/4/23 1/5/23 354 pages Kindle
6. Corporate Bodies by Ali Ryecart 1/5/23 1/6/23 318 pages Kindle
**abandoned Release by Ali Ryecart** 106 pages
**abandoned Time for Love by Laura N. Andrews** 84 pages
**abandoned Imperfect by Ali Ryecart** 52 pages
7. Hotline by Quinn Anderson 1/6/23 1/6/23 276 pages Kindle
8. Alaska by Cate Ashwood 1/6/23 1/7/23 182 pages Kindle
9. Bishop Ridge by Cate Ashwood 1/7/23 1/8/23 187 pages Kindle
10. Copper Creek by Cate Ashwood 1/8/23 1/8/23 198 pages Kindle
11. Bet on Love by A.F. Zoelle and Ariella Zoelle 1/9/23 1/10/23 178 pages 2020
**abandoned First Comes Marriage by Shira Anthony** 145 pages
12. Ex-Factor by CJ Bishop 1/10/23 1/10/23 22 pages Kindle 2022
13. Hot Boss by Scarlet Blackwell 1/10/23 1/11/23 110 pages Kindle 2021
14. The Mechanic and the Surgeon by Steve Milton 1/11/23 1/11/23 115 pages Kindle 2015
**abandoned Captured by Scarlet Blackwell** 82 pages
**abandoned Ironhearted by Cate Ashwood** 156 pages
15. The Best Man Problem by Jace Hadley 1/11/23 1/12/23 248 pages Kindle
16. Show Me Wonders by Riley Nash 1/13/23 1/14/23 327 pages Kindle
17. Hold me Under by Riley Nash 1/14/23 1/15/23 336 pages Kindle
18. Christmas Special by Riley Nash 1/15/23 1/16/23 261 pages Kindle
19. Gruff Touch by R. Cayden 1/16/23 1/17/23 170 pages Kindle
20. Off Limits by Riley Hart 1/18/23 1/18/23 265 pages Kindle
21. Trusting Tanner by Nicky James 1/19/23 1/20/23 197 pages Kindle
22. Not So Nice by Emma Lyon 1/20/23 1/21/23 215 pages Kindle
23. Reunion by Lynn Van Dorn 1/21/23 1/22/23 312 pages Kindle
24. Rebound by Lynn Van Dorn 1/23/23 1/23/23 381 pages Kindle
25. Be My Mistake by Lynn Van Dorn 1/23/23 1/23/23 92 pages Kindle
26. Wild By Nature by Lynn Van Dorn 1/23/23 1/23/23 134 pages Kindle
27. Damage Control by Lynn Van Dorn 1/24/23 1/24/23 426 pages Kindle
28. Delicious by Stella Starling 1/25/23 1/26/23 249 pages Kindle
**abandoned, 8 books** 693 pages
29. Sem by Cora Rose 1/27/23 1/28/23 276 pages Kindle
30. Whit by Cora Rose 1/28/23 1/29/23 290 pages Kindle
31. Emery by Cora Rose 1/29/23 1/29/23 294 pages Kindle
32. Luke by Cora Rose 1/30/23 1/30/23 276 pages Kindle
33. Lex by Cora Rose 1/30/23 1/31/23 233 pages Kindle
**abandoned Save Me by Beck Grey** 86 pages

February
34. Hard Target by Kelly Fox 2/1/23 2/1/23 246 pages Kindle
35. Full Contact by Kelly Fox 2/1/23 2/2/23 206 pages Kindle
36. Most Wanted by Kelly Fox 2/2/23 2/4/23 220 pages Kindle
37. Goodnight by Kelly Fox 2/4/23 2/5/23 264 pages Kindle
38. Heart of the Steal by Roan Parrish and Avon Gale 2/5/23 2/5/23 296 pages Kindle
39. In The Middle of Somewhere by Roan Parrish 2/5/23 2/6/22 428 pages Kindle
40. Out of Nowhere by Roan Parrish 2/6/23 2/7/23 316 pages Kindle
41. Straight to the Heart by Lynn van Dorn 2/8/23 2/8/23 302 pages Kindle
42. The Loner by Riley Hart 2/8/23 2/9/23 253 pages Kindle
43. The Husband Hoax by Saxon James 2/9/23 2/10/23 278 pages Kindle
44. The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith 11/1/22 2/11/23 audiobook 32.75 hours
45. Pretty Obsessed by J.R. Gray 2/10/23 2/11/23 350 pages Kindle
46. Pretty Toxic by J.R. Gray 2/11/23 2/12/23 228 pages Kindle
**abandoned May the Best Man Win by J.R. Gray, Kate Hawthorne** 116 pages
47. Just Want More by Evelyn Jeannie Hall 2/13/23 2/13/23 203 pages Kindle
48. The New Hire by A.W. Scott 2/14/23 2/14/23 116 pages Kindle
**abandoned Ben's Boss by K.C. Wells** 231 pages
**abandoned Powder and Pavlova by Jay Hogan** 99 pages
**abandoned The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde** 18 pages
**abandoned Sawyer by J.J. Harper
49. Gus by J.J. Harper 2/15/23 2/15/23 120 pages Kindle
50. Pushing the Limits by Riley Hart 2/16/23 2/16/23 322 pages Kindle
51. Giving Chase by Riley Hart 2/17/23 2/17/23 355 pages Kindle
52. Murphy's Law by Riley Hart 2/17/23 2/18/23 343 pages Kindle
53. Hard Knox by Riley Hart 2/18/23 2/18/23 358 pages Kindle
54. Griff's Place by Riley Hart 2/18/23 2/19/23 353 pages Kindle
55. Beautiful and Terrible Things by Riley Hart 2/19/23 2/19/23 386 pages Kindle
56. Snowed in With Benefits by Misha Horne 2/20/23 2/20/23 422 pages Kindle
57. Working Out the Kinks by Misha Horne 2/20/23 2/21/23 362 pages Kindle
58. Just a Bit Bossy by Alessandra Hazard 2/21/23 2/22/23 251 pages Kindle
59. So Into You by S.E. Harmon 2/22/23 2/23/23 312 pages Kindle
60. Stay With Me by S.E. Harmon 2/23/23 2/24/23 272 pages Kindle
61. Chrysalis by S.E. Harmon 2/24/23 2/24/23 238 pages Kindle
**abandoned Texas King by A.R King** 150 pages ugh. got weirdly kinky. I like kink, but not this kink.
62. Charming Him by Louisa Masters 2/25/23 2/26/23 183 pages Kindle
**abandoned The Last Favor by Meg Harding** 15 pages
**abandoned Until You Say Otherwise by Kate Hawthorne** 120 pages
63. Fake It 'Til You Make It by Louisa Masters 2/25/23 2/26/23 39 pages Kindle
64. Eurotour by Jaberona BL 2/26/23 2/26/23 95 pages Kindle
65. Proud by Tatum West 2/26/23 2/27/23 231 pages Kindle
**abandoned Not Used to Cute by Becca Seymour** 40
66. The Last Remains by Elly Griffiths 2/27/23 2/28/23 357 pages hardcover
67. 1066 by Professor Jennifer Paxton 2/14/23 2/28/23 audiobook 3 hours

March
68. Business As Usual by Alison Hendricks 2/28/23 3/1/23 219 pages Kindle
69. A Kind of Romance 3/1/23 3/2/23 by Lane Hayes 270 pages Kindle
70. Honeytrap by Aster Glenn Gray 3/2/23 3/3/23 336 pages Kindle
71. Honestly Yours by Jaime Reese 3/3/23 3/4/23 364 pages Kindle
72. The Marriage Contract by Aja Foxx 3/4/23 3/4/23 254 pages Kindle
**abandoned Out by Tatum West** 167 pages
**abandoned Forgotten:Luca by Sloan Kennedy** 116
73. Rare by Briar Prescott 3/5/23 3/5/23 302 pages Kindle
74. The Happy List by Briar Prescott 3/5/23 3/6/23 278 pages Kindle
75. The Dating Experiment by Briar Prescott 3/6/23 3/6/23 268 pages Kindle
**abandoned The Terror of History: Mystics, Heretics, and Witches in the Western Tradition** by Professor Teofilo F. Ruiz** .45 hours
**abandoned The Underdog by Briar Prescott** 22 pages
**abandoned Heal My Heart by HQ Kingsley** 24 pages
**abandoned The Long Game by Samantha Wayland** 14 pages
**abandoned Forgotten: Luca by Sloane Kennedy** 100 pages
76. The Inconvenient Love by Briar Prescott 3/7/23 258 pages Kindle
77. Dirty Forty by Mia Monroe 3/8/23 3/9/23 236 pages Kindle
78. His Touch by Elena London 3/18/23 3/18/23 55 pages Kindle
79. Redeem by Christina Lee 3/18/23 3/21/23 238 pages Kindle
80. Undone by Christina Lee 3/21/23 3/23/23 255 pages Kindle
81. Beautiful Chaos by Riley Hart and Devon McCormack 3/24/23 3/25/23 241 pages Kindle
82. Love Me Louder by Christina Lee 3/25/23 3/25/23 236 pages Kindle 2018
83. The Romantic by Riley Hart 3/26/23 3/27/23 270 pages Kindle
84. Destructive Relations by Hayden Hall 3/27/23 3/27/23 244 pages Kindle
85. Pretty Wreck by J.R. Gray 3/28/23 3/31/23 282 pages Kindle

April
86. Colin by Cora Rose 3/31/23 4/1/23 242 pages Kindle
87. Hard for Tristan by Brady Fox 4/1/23 4/2/23 86 pages Kindle
88. Roommate by Sarina Bowen 4/2/23 4/3/23 297 pages Kindle
89. Reaching Reed by Cora Rose and Nicole Dykes 4/3/23 4/4/23 264 pages Kindle
90. Filthy Sweet by R. Cayden 4/4/23 4/5/23 216 pages Kindle
91. Givers by Casey Cox 4/5/23 4/6/23 281 pages Kindle
92. The Unmasking of Kelly James by Belle Chapin 4/6/23 4/7/23 224 pages Kindle
**abandoned The Faker Rulebook by Baylin Crow** 77 pages
**abandoned Family Rules by Jacki James** 78 pages
**abandoned Moving On by Felice Stevens** 210 pages
**abandoned Filthy and the Beast by R. Cayden** 100 pages
**abandoned Thief of Hearts by K. Evan Coles** 17 pages
**abandoned Hired: Hadley by Nora Phoenix** 112 pages
93. Pretty Things by Devon McCormack 4/7/23 4/8/23 342 pages Kindle
94. The Night Screams by Devon McCormack 4/8/23 4/9/23 203 pages Kindle
95. #ROYAL by Devon McCormack 4/9/23 4/10/23 263 pages Kindle
96. Snowblind by Eli Easton 4/10/23 4/11/23 114 pages Kindle
97. The Trouble with Tony by Eli Easton 4/11/23 4/11/23 111 pages Kindle
98. Beyond the Sea by Keira Andrews 4/11/23 4/12/23 263 pages Kindle 2016
99. Honeymoon for One by Keira Andrews 4/12/13 4/13/2023 269 pages Kindle 2018
100. In Case of Emergency by Keira Andrews 4/13/23 4/13/23 155 pages Kindle 2017
101. Dearest Milton James by N.R. Walker 4/13/23 4/14/23 218 pages Kindle 2021
102. 2 Dead Fish Named Kevin by L.A. Witt 4/14/23 4/14/23 84 pages Kindle 2023
103. Surprise Groom by D.J. Jamison 4/14/23 4/15/23 312 pages Kindle 2019
104. To The Moon and Back by N.R. Walker 4/15/23 4/16/23 209 pages Kindle 2023
105. Prince of Lies by Lucy Lennox 4/16/23 4/16/23 298 pages Kindle 2023
106. IRL: In Real Life by Lucy Lennox and Molly Maddox 4/16/23 4/17/23 267 pages Kindle 2019
107. Say You'll Be Nine by Lucy Lennox 4/17/23 4/17/23 265 pages Kindle 2020
108. Virgin Flyer by Lucy Lennox 4/17/23 4/18/23 254 pages Kindle 2020
109. Facing West by 4/18/23 4/18/23 4/19/23 271 pages Kindle 2017
110. Hearts Colliding by Ali Ryecart 4/19/23 4/19/23 310 pages Kindle 2023
111. Gideon by RJ Scott and Meredith Russell 4/20/23 4/21/23 190 pages Kindle 2020
112. Cover Me by L.A. Witt 4/21/23 4/22/23 386 pages Kindle 2014
113. Hitman vs Hitman by Cari Z 4/22/23 4/22/23 272 pages Kindle 2020
**abandoned Attraction by Kelly Fox** 120 pages
114. Takeover by Anna Zabo 4/23/23 4/24/23 230 pages Kindle 2021
**abandoned Just Business by Anna Zabo** 130 pages
115. Hard for my Boss by Daryl Banner 4/24/23 4/24/23 380 pages Kindle 2017
**abandoned Jerk: An ABCs of Love by Daryl Banner** 140 pages
116. The Intern by Serena Akeroyd 4/25/23 4/25/23 270 pages Kindle 2020
117. Revenge is Sweet by Felice Stevens 4/25/23 4/26/23 273 pages Kindle 2023
118. Make Me Fall by Riley Nash 4/26/23 4/28/23 296 pages Kindle 2022
119. Deadly Lover: Special Edition by Jocelynn Drake 4/28/23 4/29/23 338 pages Kindle 2021
**abandoned The Marriage Runaway by Aja Foxx** 120 pages
120. And the Best Man Ran Away with the Groom by Isla Olsen 4/29/23 4/30/23 185 pages Kindle

May
121. List Me With Your Best Shot by Isla Olsen 4/30/23 5/1/23 205 pages Kindle 2023
122. Friendly Fire by Cari Z 5/1/23 5/2/23 228 pages Kindle
123. The Art of Possession by Cari Z 5/2/23 5/3/23 171 pages Kindle
124. The Intern by Ally Porter 5/3/23 5/3/23 59 pages Kindle 2021
125. Tate by D Alex 5/3/23 5/4/23 138 pages Kindle 2021
126. Soul to Keep by Garrett Leigh 5/4/23 5/5/23 238 pages Kindle 2018 Jamie and Marc
127. Christmas on Firefly Hill by Garrett Leigh 5/5/23 5/5/23 188 pages Kindle 2022
128. Angels in the City by Garrett Leigh 5/5/23 5/6/23 254 pages Kindle 2020
129. How to Catch a Prince by Ana Ashley 5/7/23 5/8/23 230 pages Kindle 2019
**abandoned No Good Mitchell by Riley Hart and Devon McCormack** 203 pages
130. Checking Him Out by Debbie McGowan 5/9/23 5/10/23 208 pages Kindle 2014
131. Up for the Challenge by Riley Hart and Devon McCormack 5/10/23 5/12/23 358 pages Kindle 2017
**abandoned Felix and the Prince by Lucy Lennox** 148 pages Why, oh why, did I think another Prince of a small European Country and an American would work?
132. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith 3/1/23 5/12/23 16 hours audio book
133. Addicted to Ellis D by S.E. Harmon 5/12/23 5/13/23 320 pages Kindle 2023
134. Misconduct by Lynn Van Dorn 5/13/23 5/14/23 198 pages Kindle 2023
135. Not That Complicated by Isabel Murray 5/14/23 5/15/23 283 pages Kindle 2022
136. The Trouble With Trying to Date a Murderer 5/15/23 5/16/23 167 pages Kindle 2022
137. Not So Fake by Emma Lyon 5/17/23 5/18/23 Kindle 187 pages 2021
**abandoned Midnight Ash by Ana Ashley** 183 pages
**abandoned Sugar and Sawdust by Debbie McGowan** 33 pages
138. Picking Up the Pieces by Frey Ortega 5/18/23 5/19/23 118 pages Kindle
139. The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey 5/16/23 5/20/23 254 pages Kindle
140. The Realist by Riley Hart 5/19/23 5/19/23 235 pages Kindle 2023 Marcus and Kai
**abandoned His Personal Assistant by LJ Harris** 120 pages
141. Edge of Living by HL Day 5/20/23 5/21/23 250 pages Kindle 2018
142. Five Night Stand by HL Day 5/21/23 5/22/23 151 pages Kindle 2022
143. Taking Love's Lead by HL Day 5/22/23 5/22/23 248 pages Kindle 2018 Zack and Edgar
144. Gaycation in Paradise by Ariella Zoelle 5/23/23 5/24/23 236 pages Kindle 2021 Rook and Aldo
145. Cinderella in the Sheets by Reece Pine 5/24/23 5/24/23 131 pages Kindle Presley and Louis 2018
146. Always MJ by SJD Peterson 5/24/23 5/24/23 49 pages Kindle Matty and Jared 2012
**The Gift of Strength by M.A. Innes** 126 pages
147. Kept in the Dark by HL Day 5/25/23 5/26/23 202 pages Kindle Dean Justin 2018
148. A Temporary Situation by HL Day 5/26/23 5/26/23 249 pages Kindle 2018 Tristan and Dominic
149. Time for a Change by HL Day 5/26/23 5/27/23 249 pages Kindle Michael and Sam 2018
150. Temporary Insanity by HL Day 5/27/23 5/28/23 258 pages Kindle 2019 Paul and Indy
151. Christmas Riches by HL Day 5/28/23 5/28/23 156 pages Kindle 2019
**abandoned Shai by HL Night** 146 pages
152. Not So Silent Night by HL Day 5/29/23 5/29/23 222 pages Kindle Ferris and Xander 2021
153. Exposed by HL Day 5/29/23 5/30/23 370 pages Kindle Tate and X 2020

June
154. A Flighty Fake Boyfriend by Z.A. Maxfield 5/31/23 6/1/23 250 pages Kindle
155. A Much Younger Man by Z.A. Maxfield 6/1/23 6/1/23 254 pages Kindle 2020 Beck and Lindy
**abandoned The Office Nemesis Calamity by Hayden Hall** 186 pages
156. Trick Play by Eden Finley 6/2/23 6/3/23 316 pages Kindle Matt and Noah 2018
157. Beautifully Stolen by Charity Parkerson 6/3/23 6/4/23 146 pages Kindle Brett and Roman 2020
158. Sometimes You Just Know by Bill VanPatten 6/4/23 6/4/23 258 pages Kindle Arnie and Peter 2022
159. The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith 5/13/23 6/5/23 17.5 hours audiobook 2014
160. Forrest's #Win by Jennifer Cody 6/4/23 6/6/23 221 pages Kindle Forrest and Blake 2021
161. Poison Hearts by Jennifer Cody 6/6/23 6/7/23 85 pages Kindle Orlando and Shannon 2023
162. The Best Men by Lauren Blakely and Sarina Bowen 6/7/23 6/8/23 326 pages Kindle Asher and Mark 2022
**abandoned A Guy Walks Into My Bar by Lauren Blakely** 138 pages
163. Reckless Roulette by Alice Winters 6/8/23 6/9/23 147 pages Kindle Kade and Len 2023
164. Dealer of Secrets by Davidson King 6/9/23 6/10/23 143 pages Kindle Zaire and Carter 2023
165. Leave No Trace by Michelle Frost and Sammi Cee 6/10/23 6/10/23 79 pages Kindle Trace and Kol 2023
166. Atlas by Eden Finley 6/10/23 6/11/23 257 pages Kindle Atlas and Lemon 2023
167. Snow Falling by Davidson King 6/11/23 6/11/23 236 pages Kindle Snow and Christopher 2017

Currently Reading:

Pilgrim by Timothy Findley 6/20/22 486 pages hardcover 1999
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith 6/6/23 audiobook 18 hours 2015
Pretty F*cked by J.R. Gray 4/29/23 Kindle 2023 Iris and Caspian
Bullets & Butterflies by Maz Maddox 6/11/23 Kindle Liam and Cisco 2023
The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr 6/2/23 trade paperback 218 pages 2021
The Federalist edited by Jacob E. Cooke 5/28/22 656 pages hardcover 1961

adds - last year was 371, with way too many Kindle books. Kindle Unlimited will reduce that number significantly this year. I hope. We'll see.

1. Kindle - Dangerous Books For Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels Explained: Expanded Edition by Maya Rodale (BB from Meg)
2. Kindle - The Mechanic and the Surgeon by Steve Milton free :)
3. Kindle - Hot Boss by Scarlet Blackwell
4. Kindle - The Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem - My RL book club book, trying the Kindle edition to actualy get interested in it.
5. Kindle - Remember Him by Steve Milton
6. Amazon - Livid by Cai Emmons
00 A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle - got rid of all L'Engle's books in a fit of pique, just found them all, want to keep this one, but won't count it against my acquisitions. A happy surprise finding it.
00 New Testament - family Bible never entered into LT before
7. Amazon - Gun, With Occasional Music by Jonathan Lethem
8. Amazon - Everything You Need to Know When I'm Gone
9. Friends Book Sale F22 - The New Testament Greek and English edited by Kurt Aland et. al.
10. Amazon - What Is Left The Daughter by Howard Norman
11. Amazon - Desperation in Death by J.D. Robb
12. Kindle - Baby Shark by Robert Fate
13. Amazon - No Plan B by Lee Child and Andrew Child
14. Kindle - The Golden Asse by Lucius Apuleius (Author), William Adlington, translator free on Kindle
15. Friends book sale team discarded - Oldtown Folks by Harriet Beecher Stowe
16. Amazon - Call for the Dead by John LeCarre
17. Kindle - Powder and Pavlova by Jay Hogan $0
18. Stasia - The War Against the Jews 1933-1945 by Lucy S. Dawidowicz - BB and gift from Stasia
18. Kindle - Fake It 'Til You Make It by Louisa Masters $0
19. Kindle - Eurotour by Jaberona BL $0
20. Kindle - The Fresco by Sheri Tepper - BB from Peggy
21. Kindle - Adreneline Jake by Louise Collins
22. Friends book sale team discarded - The Golden Age by Kenneth Grahame, 1922 edition w/dust jacket
23. Friend Karen - Call of the Cats by Andrew Bloomfield
24. Friend Karen - Writers and Their Cats by Alison Nastasi
25. Friends book sale S23 book sale setup - Moby Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville, Easton Press edition
26. Friends book sale S23 - Jewish Participants in the Civil War by Harry Simonhoff
27. Friends book sale S23 - The Rain and The Fire and The Will of God by Donald Wetzel
28. Friends book sale S23 - The Lost Skiff by Donald Wetzel
27. Friends book sale S23 - The Bible in Pictures edited by the Rev. Ralph Kirby
28. Friends book sale S23 - A Treasury of American Folklore edited by B.A. Botkin
29. Friends book sale S23 - Halley’s Bible Handbook
30. Friends book sale S23 - Jesus, Interrupted by Bart D. Ehrman
31. Friends book sale S23 - Misquoting Jesus by Bart D. Ehrman
32. Friends book sale S23 - Resurrecting Jesus by Adyashanti
33. Friends book sale S23 - The Tao of Zen by Ray Grigg
34. Friends book sale S23 - God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens
35. Friends book sale S23 - The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament by William Sanford LaSor
35. Amazon - The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont - BB for RL book club
36. Friend Karen - Thrust: A Spasmodic Pictorial History of the Codpiece in Art by Michael Glover
37. Amazon - The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr - BB from friend Karen
38. Amazon - The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey
39. Friend Rhoda - Bill Slider Omnibus by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles
40. Friend Rhoda - Whoever I am by Eileen Dewhurst
41. Friend Rhoda - 1222 by Anne Holt
42. Friend Rhoda - The Secret Mistress by Mary Balogh
43. Friend Rhoda - The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
44. Friends book sale S23 - Space by James Michener
45. Friends book sale S23 - The World Bible Handbook by Lawrence O. Richards
46. Friends book sale S23 - The Complete Idiot's Guide to American History by Alan Axelrod
47. Friends book sale S23 - Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
48. Jenna - Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupéry, French edition
49. Amazon - The Red Sea Scrolls by Pierre Tallet and Mark Lehner - BB from Jim
50. Kindle - Sugar and Sawdust by Debbie McGowan
51. Friends credit for marked book sale books - The Monks of War: The Military Orders by Desmond Seward
52. Friends credit for marked book sale books - Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie
53. Kindle - Checking Him Out by Debbie McGowan
54. Kindle - Say it by Sky McCoy
55. Kindle - Los Nefilim by T. Frohock - BB from RD
56. Thrift Shop - Still Live with Crows by Preston & Child
57. Thrift Shop - The Obsidian Chamber by Preston & Child
58. Amazon - Lessons in Chemistry to Bonnie Garmus
59. Amazon - Bleeding Heart Yard by Elly Griffiths
60. Amazon - Slow Horses by Mick Herron
61. Kindle - The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey
62. Amazon - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday
63. Kindle - Cinderella in the Sheets by Reece Pine
64. Kindle - Power Plays: MM Stories of Sin City by Tricia Owens
65. Amazon - Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutano
66. Kindle - Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell
67. Amazon - Fatal Shadows by Josh Lanyon

culls - only 88 last year. I hope for more this year with my resolution to completely inventory my catalog yielding books that need to be rehomed.

1. The Truth According to Us by Annie Barrows
2. American Sphinx by Joseph J. Ellis
3. The Wandering Fire by Guy Gavriel Kay
4. The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay
5. The Darkest Road by Guy Gavriel Kay
6. The Chameleon's Shadow by Minette Walters - duplicate
7. Montana 1948 by Larry Watson - trade paperback - duplicate
8. The Bishop's Secret by T.C. Fairley
9. The Billionaire's Vinegar by Benjamin Wallace
10. Closer Than You Know by Brad Parks
11. Sons by Evan Hunter
12. Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
13. The Player by Brad Parks
14. The Fraud by Brad Parks
15. Say Nothing by Brad Parks
16. Eyes of the Innocent by Brad Parks
17. Faces of the Gone by Brad Parks
18. The Politics of Rich and Poor by Kevin Phillips
19. The Forgotten War: America in Korea, 1950-1953 by Clay Blair
20. A History of the Twentieth Century by Martin Gilbert
21. Waking Raphael by Leslie Forbes
22. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - mass market paperback, 50th anniv edition, duplicate
23. The Autobiography of Henry VIII by Margaret George
24. Complete Works of Lewis Carroll - yellowed
25. Fowler's Modern English Usage - everything I'd ever need is online
26. Lily White by Susan Isaacs - will never read again, Jenna will never want or read
27. The Winner Stands Alone by Paul Coelho
28. Four Spirits by Sena Jeter Naslund
29. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
30. The Fever Tree and Other Stories of Suspense by Ruth Rendell
31. The Killing Doll by Ruth Rendell
32. The Secret Mistress by Mary Balogh
33. All Florence In Colours by Edouardo Bonechi
34. The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey - trade paperback, given to a friend

YTD Statistics April 30

120 books read
2 of them on my shelves before 1/1/23 and not rereads
41 books abandoned, 3846 pages abandoned, 1 audiobook, .45 hours abandoned

35.75 audiobook hours
Avg pages read per day, YTD = 283
Avg pages read per book, YTD = 283

Book of the Month: Prince of Lies by Lucy Lennox

Books by Month
January - 33 e-books, 19 books abandoned for 1711 pages
February 34 e-books, 1 paper book, 1 audiobook, 6 books abandoned for 718 pages
March 18 e-books, 7 books abandoned for 443 pages, 1 audiobook abandoned for .45 hours
April 35 e-books, 9 books abandoned for 974 pages

Author
Male 10%
Female 86%
Undeclared * 2%
Non-Binary 2%
* - can't find any info anywhere

Living 100%
Dead 0%

US Born 58%
Foreign Born 42%

Platform
Hardcover 1%
Trade Pback 0%
Mass Market 0%
Audiobook 2%
e-Book 97%

Source
My Library 3%
Library 0%
Kindle Unlimited 96%
Borrowed from a friend 1%

Misc
ARC/ER 0%
Re-read 0%
Series 67%

Fiction 99%
NonFiction 1%

Author Birth Country
Australia 11%
Canada 7%
England 9%
Ireland 1%
UK 1%
Undeclared * 11%
US 60%
* - can't find any info anywhere

Original Decade Published
2010-2019 32%
2020-2029 68%

Category
Contemporary Fiction 97%
Crime Fiction 2%
Informational Nonfiction 1%

Acquisition/Source Date
Kindle Unlimited 113
2022 2
2023 4
Borrowed 1

Average Rating
2.0 - Bad 0
2.5 - Average 2
3.0 - Good 12
3.5 - Very Good 18
4.0 - Excellent 62
4.5 - Outstanding 26
5 - Masterpiece 0

Average Rating 3.91
Books acquired YTD 49
Books culled YTD 28

April Lightning Round

Colin by Cora Rose 3/31/23 4/1/23 Kindle

Enemies to lovers, fighting over a weed on their property line. Colin has a young son he’s raising alone, Ethan is the neighbor who’s intrigued with Colin but doesn’t want a relationship. Sparkage, of course, lots of fun times with all three of them, HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Hard for Tristan by Brady Fox 4/1/23 4/2/23 Kindle

Yikes the title, but a sweet novella about an artist and a very rich man who collide over a piece of art work and end up with their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Roommate by Sarina Bowen 4/2/23 4/3/23 Kindle

Roderick returns to town on his last legs after a bad breakup. He is a baker and gets hired at a local bakery right away. He’s living out of his car. Kieran also works for the bakery and has a room to let… things go from there. HEA, of course, and caveat emptor re sex.

Reaching Reed by Cora Rose and Nicole Dykes 4/3/23 4/4/23 Kindle

Camboy Carter has a new video partner, Reed. Reed is trying to raise his sister alone. Carter and Reed start falling for one another. Very sweet, with Carter’s moms providing lots of love and comic relief. HEA and caveat emptor re sex without too much angst.

Filthy Sweet by R. Cayden 4/4/23 4/5/23 Kindle

Music exec Fox helps out when his best friend Reggie’s younger brother moves to Seattle to take up a job after getting his PhD. Sparkage, hiding it from Reggie, which of course goes sideways, HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Givers by Casey Cox 4/5/23 4/6/23 Kindle

Robbie pitches his Wellness Package to the owners of a Property Development empire and one of the brothers, Dunlop, is immediately attracted to him. Separately from that, each of them is on a LGBT dating website and they are recommended to each other for anonymous conversations, possibly leading up to a meeting. Huge sparkage in person and on the website. Complications when Dunlop’s company buys the rest home Robbie’s grandfather lives in to raze it and put up high-end condos, but we get a rom-com HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

The Unmasking of Kelly James by Belle Chapin 4/6/23 4/7/23 Kindle

Kelly walks in on his fiancé cheating in their bed and leaves, returning to the town where he graduated college with his best friends. His temporary fix is to be a barista, where he meets Jonah, spilling coffee on him. Jonah is in a bind – his sister is returning to her life that she put on hold after Jonah’s wife was killed in a car accident, leaving him with 3 young daughters. He places an ad, Kelly answers it, and after the initial shock of Kelly being a he instead of a she, Jonah hires him full time, live in. Kelly turns the unhappy house around with love, dinosaurs, mud, and Halloween costumes, and slowly Jonah comes to realize that his arranged marriage to Marie, the girls’ mother, was never one of love only upper class expectation and expediency. He loves his daughters but doesn’t know how to be a father to them, and slowly come to realize that he has strong romantic feelings for Kelly. Kelly, ditto, and it’s a joyous time until Jonah’s mother makes a phone call. However, they get their HEA. So sweet and fun. Plus, caveat emptor re sex. I’m looking forward to more in The Tavern series as soon as the author can whip them out.

Pretty Things by Devon McCormack 4/7/23 4/8/23 Kindle

I wanted to like this one more than I did, an age-gap romance. Ty, 25, meets his father’s friend Liam, and it’s game-set-match for him with feelings for Liam. Liam’s 20 years older, just retired. However, he’s just retired from a secret agency job with the government and when Ty comes to visit, things go sideways with kidnappings, betrayals, and etc. All’s well that ends well, though. The thing that bothered me, and what has always been less appealing in any romance I read, is the squishy feelings and emoting. It just seemed over the top. Lots of growling if anybody even looks at Ty sideways, and Liam’s conflicted for most of the book. Caveat emptor re sex.

The Night Screams by Devon McCormack 4/8/23 4/9/23 Kindle

I do not normally read books about high schoolers, but this one sucked me right in. It started with Cal, a boy escaping a serial killer/rapist/torturer and showing up at a convenience store to steal some food. The clerk, a higher schooler named Jake, tackles him and takes him to his legal guardian Gary, who convinces Cal to go to the police. Cal, who is temporarily mute from the experience, writes everything down, lets them photo/process his injuries. Based on his evidence, the police find and kill the man in a standoff. Gary and his wife legally adopt Cal. Sigh. Normally, I’d run from this, but the family dynamic and Jake and Cal’s growing attraction, and the love Gary and his wife have for Jake, also adopted, and Cal, along with family tragedies and a HEA, make it very sweet. Marrying at 18? I don’t recommend it. True love? I do. Caveat emptor re mostly-implied sex.

#ROYAL by Devon McCormack 4/9/23 4/10/23 Kindle

I don’t know why I finished this one except that Keeg, the 19-year old tourist who gets thrown into a dungeon in Prince Owen’s family palace, is rather endearing. But then it’s too many puppies and cute-i-tudes. Owens’ recognition of his own bisexuality and thus justification for how he feels about Keeg is too trite for words. Eye bleach needed. Caveat emptor re sex.

Snowblind by Eli Easton 4/10/23 4/11/23 Kindle

Hutch is hiding out from the government agency that he quit unilaterally. They find him via facial recognition software and send in an agent to seduce him and force him to assassinate a bad guy. Sparkage between Hutch and the agent, Jude – and this cracks me up because the agent’s name is Jude Devereaux. Jude Devereaux is a prolific historical romance author, and one of my favorite time travel books of all times is her A Knight in Shining Armor. So back to the story. Jude tells Hutch to agree to the mission but disappear. However, that’s not Hutch’s style, so he shows up a day early, rescues Jude, and all in a highly satisfactory and hot way. Caveat emptor re sex. Total HEA.

The Trouble with Tony by Eli Easton 4/11/23 4/11/23 Kindle

Another short, sweet, and complete novella by this author has PI Tony pretending to be a sex clinic patient to investigate the murder of a woman who’d been going there. Tony’s demisexual, and when he meets the prime suspect, Jack Halloran, he can’t believe this is only the 5th person in his entire life he’s been physically attracted to. Sparkage, but Jack is under the constraints of the patient-doctor privilege. A particularly sweet HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Beyond the Sea by Keira Andrews 4/11/23 4/12/23 Kindle

Oh, I loved this book of Troy, a boy band member storming off after his brother starts being wilder than usual. Troy rents a private plane to fly home, but the plane goes down, killing the pilot and leaving just Troy and the co-pilot Brian. They make do, are attracted to each other, are rescued of course, don’t think things will work, yet they do. I particularly like how the author writes about their resources and their experiences on the island. HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Honeymoon for One by Keira Andrews 4/12/13 4/13/2023 Kindle

Ethan finds his fiancé and his best friend in bed together the day before Ethan and Michael’s wedding. He goes on their Australian honeymoon alone, where Ethan is attracted to a supposedly straight bus driver, Clay. Interesting learning about the emotional trauma and trials and tribulations related to Ethan’s being hard of hearing, losing his hearing gradually from ages 22-26 or so. Their unexpected attraction is sweet, and when Ethan returns to the US to close out his life their to return to Australia, there is a satisfactory confrontation with Michael and his best friend. No forgiveness, no wish for further contact, no information about his new life at all. Caveat emptor re sex.

In Case of Emergency by Keira Andrews 4/13/23 4/13/23 Kindle

Daniel is on his way out of town for a vacation with a potential boyfriend when he gets a call that his stepbrother, who he hasn’t seen or heard from in 10 years, is in the emergency ward. Cole put Daniel down as his emergency contact at Daniel’s mother’s request. So Daniel hauls Cole off to his vacay. The potential boyfriend brings other people, is a total jerk, and after everybody being snowed in for 2 days, it’s down to Daniel and Cole. Sparkage and the HEA, of course, and caveat emptor re sex.

Dearest Milton James by N.R. Walker 4/13/23 4/14/22 Kindle

From Amazon: Malachi Keogh finds himself in a job he neither wanted nor asked for when his father, boss of Sydney’s postal service, sends him to the end of the business line, aka The Dead Letter Office. Malachi expects tedious and boring but instead discovers a warehouse with a quirky bunch of misfit co-workers, including a stoic and nerdy boss, Julian Pollard.
Malachi’s intrigued by Julian at first, and he soon learns there’s more to the man than his boring clothes of beige, tan, and brown; a far cry from Malachi’s hot pink, lilac, and electric blue. Where Julian is calm and ordered, Malachi is chaos personified, but despite their outward differences, there’s an immediate chemistry between them that sends Malachi’s head—and heart—into a spin.
To keep his father happy, Malachi needs to keep this job. He also needs to solve the mystery of the pile of old letters that sits in Julian’s office and maybe get to the bottom of what makes Julian tick. Like everything that goes through the mail centre, only time will tell if Malachi has found his intended destination or if he’ll find himself returned to sender.

The mystery of the letters and the story of Julian and Malachi’s romance are both sweet, intriguing, and poignant. Also sexy and caveat emptor re sex.

2 Dead Fish Named Kevin by L.A. Witt 4/14/23 4/14/23 Kindle

Best.Title.Ever. Two men, Garrett and Tristan, meet at a zoo where they have both purchased a dead fish and named it Kevin, to be fed to the polar bear. Turns out that they both hate the same Kevin, manipulative and a cheater. They spend the day together at the zoo, there’s sparkage, and there’s a HEA. Caveat emptor re sex. The title is what attracted me to this one, and it was wonderful.

Surprise Groom by D.J. Jamison 4/14/23 4/15/23 Kindle

Caleb will be forced to sell the family island and wedding/event business to his father’s former friend unless Caleb marries the man’s daughter. However, the debt only states that Caleb marry a child of this man, and Caleb tracks down his son, Julien, and they have a contract to marry, stay married for two years, and then part. Straight-to-gay for Caleb, sparkage, romance, and HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

To The Moon and Back by N.R. Walker 4/15/23 4/16/23 Kindle

Gideon is an exhausted new father of a 6-week old, who’s devastated that his long-term boyfriend abandoned him and his son. He needs a nanny stat, and friends of his put him in touch with Toby. Toby gets the household under control, loves the baby, and he and Gideon start having feelings. HEA, of course, and caveat emptor re sex.

Prince of Lies by Lucy Lennox 4/16/23 4/16/23 4/16/23 Kindle

Oh, this one was funny. Rowe Prince is a lying liar who windmills into my life in full color, claiming to be Sterling Chase, a quirky, eccentric billionaire… and founder of the company I created.
Two can play at the lying game, though, and I’m not about to let some burrito-delivering, floppy-haired virgin from Indiana best me at a game I was born to play.
So I do him one better and pretend to be Sterling Chase’s new assistant. I’ll teach him a lesson that will hopefully wind us both up in bed… with nothing but the truth between us.
But it turns out his shameless lies are enchanting… unintentionally hilarious… and make it all too easy to forget the truth…
Until I learn that this cutie’s intent is to defraud the company I’ve spent years building. I have to choose: risk the company or say goodbye to the man I’m falling for. A guy who just might be…
The Prince of Lies

Rowe can’t lie to save his life, Bash is intrigued. HEA, caveat emptor re sex, and the first of what I hope is a series with all 5 of the Board of Directors of Sterling Chase.

IRL: In Real Life by Lucy Lennox and Molly Maddox 4/16/23 4/17/23 Kindle

A sexting message to the wrong cell phone number has Wells dominating Conor in a scorching and anonymous bit of sexy times. Unfortunately, the next day Wells recognizes the tie Conor’s wearing as one of the pics he sends. Juggling professionalism and growing attraction is lots of fun, and of course there’s their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex and hot sexting.

Say You'll Be Nine by Lucy Lennox 4/17/23 4/17/23 Kindle

One dilapidated cabin in need of renovation.
Two stubborn men pretending to be a couple.
Three summer months to get the job done.
Four tangled legs in only one bed.
Five cameras catching it all for YouTube.
Six hundred thousand Instagram followers.
Seven nosy family members with Opinions.
Eight thousand reasons they should never fall in love.
Nine million reasons why they will.

Cooper and Nine are pretending to be a couple, but of course feelings come about, and they have their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex. I particularly like the character of Nine, ninth boy in a family of very conservative parents, who is sweet and generous and a people pleaser.

Virgin Flyer by Lucy Lennox 4/17/23 4/18/23 Kindle

Unintentional re-read – once I started it and remember that I’d read it, I was happy to continue. Here’s what I originally wrote:

Teo has been in love and waited for Chris forever. Chris won’t commit. Teo meets Jack on a hookup to lose his pesky V card, and because Teo wants things kept anonymous they don’t know how to get in touch with each other when they’re really attracted to each other. They meet months later when Teo has to fly with Chris’s grandfather on a business trip and Jack’s one of the pilots. The flight has problems, Grandpa has a heart attack, and etc. Neither Teo nor Jack want a relationship with each other – Teo because of Chris, Jack not at all, but True Love wins out. I liked their dynamic and Jack’s caring. Caveat emptor re sex.

Teo’s and Jack’s story is even better as a re-read.

Facing West by 4/18/23 4/18/23 Kindle

Nico, who ran away from home 15 years ago, is shocked to discover that his mother and sister are dead and he’s the uncle and guardian of a 4-month old baby girl, Pippa, in a small town in Texas. He returns to settle things up and give the baby up for adoption but runs smack dab into Weston Wilde, gorgeous doctor who just happens to be gay and is the baby’s pediatrician. Sparkage, angst, and of course a wonderful HEA. Caveat emptor re sex. Oh, and did I mention ink? *smile*

Hearts Colliding by Ali Ryecart 4/19/23 4/19/23 Kindle

Sir Alex Love returns to his family estate in rural England and is planning on turning it into apartments, turn a local abandoned farm into low-income housing, and lots of shops. The village is distraught, and Ryan is the first to meet Alex upon his return after Ryan’s dog goes onto the estate. Two more times they unintentionally clash, then there’s a kiss, then secret meetings because the village has formed a Free Love campaign to fight the proposed plan. They’re found out, of course, they separate, of course, then realize that they’re meant to be together, of course. The plan is modified, and there’s a HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Gideon by RJ Scott and Meredith Russell 4/20/23 4/21/23 Kindle

Gideon owns a successful company, with Rowan as his PA. They’ve been secretly attracted to each other forever. One Christmas, when Gideon is at loose ends, Rowan invites him to his two moms, lots of adopted sibs, lots of kids, lots of dogs, loud, and chaotic family Christmas. Gideon loosens up, they kiss and more, and although there are things to work out regarding their work relationship, it’s HEA time. Caveat emptor re sex.

Cover Me by L.A. Witt 4/21/23 4/22/23 386 Kindle

I gave this 4.5 stars because of the descriptions of what Nick, an EMT, goes through after triaging a crime scene, ‘black-tagging’ a black woman he thinks he cannot save, and saving a woman who, it turns out, is part of an undercover detective team and is white. Her partner and work husband Andrew and Nick have to meet up as part of the aftermath. City-wide uproar about Nick being a racist, two threats to him personally. There’s sparkage, with Andrew trying to keep Nick safe and dealing with his PTSD while they navigate their attraction. There’s a HEA (although the 3rd in the series is about Nick and Andrew again and so this might be really a HFN). Caveat emptor re sex.

Hitman vs Hitman by Cari Z 4/22/23 4/22/23 Kindle

This one had me laughing out loud all the time, as Ricardo and August are both hired to take out a billionaire. They meet up at a party – one in a wetsuit, the other disguised as a pest control technician – and decide to join forces since they’re suspicious of why both of them have been hired. Many hijinks, many rescues and much danger, and serious sparkage. The writing of this one just flowed, capturing me from the first page. Caveat emptor re sex.

Takeover by Anna Zabo 4/23/23 4/24/23 Kindle

A one-night stand in Curaçao becomes complicated when Michael realizes that Sam is the new fixer, come in to work magic at the flailing company Michael works for. They try, of course, to keep things professional, but alas, don’t succeed. There’s a HEA, of course, and caveat emptor re sex.

Hard for my Boss by Daryl Banner 4/24/23 4/24/23 Kindle

Ugh, the title. However, the intern Trevor is clutzy and being picked on by another intern, and the boss is hot and … well. There are complications from Trevor’s straight friend Elijah, who is also an intern. There’s a serious lack of professionalism, alas, but there’s the HEA and, of course, caveat emptor re sex.

The Intern by Serena Akeroyd 4/25/23 4/25/23 Kindle

Devlin and Micah meet up in a dark room at a private club – totally anonymous and hot until the power fails and they catch a glimpse of each other for the 2 seconds that the emergency lights come on. Okay, no harm no foul, until it turns out that Micah works in one of the marketing departments at the company Devlin owns. They try so hard, but the sparkage continues, and Devlin, totally repressed and in the closet, secretly woos Micah. Then, a dreadful thing happens to Micah at the company, Devlin takes care of him, things change dramatically at the company, and the HEA is particularly sweet. Some books discuss important issues, and this is one of them. Micah is roofagra’d with Rohypnol and Viagra and raped by the female marketing director. Made me sick, but the bits with Devlin taking care of Micah, accepting where he was in his recovery, and etc. were well done.

Revenge is Sweet by Felice Stevens 4/25/23 4/26/23 Kindle

Lyon is literally left at the altar when is best friend calls to say that he and Lyon’s fiancée have eloped to Vegas. Lyon is livid and decides to take his revenge on Dan with Dan’s brother Miles, a sweet young man who owns a bookstore. Revenge changes to attraction, there are secondary stories of Lyon’s Uncle Harry and his friend Malcolm, and although this one was rather shallow and preachy, I still liked it a lot. Lyon’s motivation was childish and ridiculous, but Miles is sweet and it works out. HEA and caveat emptor re sex.

Deadly Lover: Special Edition by Jocelynn Drake 4/26/23 4/28/23 Kindle

I really love it when hitmen fall for each other – guns, knives, contracts, violence, then tender feelings and romance. Justin and Gabriel are hired together as a team to take out whoever killed two scientists who were discovering that a cancer drug was not all it is cracked up to be, with the deadline of doing it before the FDA approves the drug. They’re both attacked, work out who is behind it, take out the bad guys, and it’s left on a cliff hanger with Gabriel needing to close out some open bits of his life before he and Justin can be together. So, not even HFN, but lots of fun. There’s a short story attached at the end with them meeting up for a booty call in London, up against part of Gabriel’s past. After another night of lovin’, Justin wakes up in the flat alone, knowing that Gabriel will come to him when all his personal loose ends are tied up. Book two, Vengeful Lover, is already on the Kindle ready to go.

Make Me Fall by Riley Nash 4/26/23 4/28/23 Kindle

A young man gets upgraded to business class because he is kind, and he is seated next to a Very Hot Man. Jonah, the young man, babbles about how he’s confused about his sexuality, and they meet in the business class restroom for an experiment. Fast forward, and Jonah meets a man who is visiting his 1st year law class, and it turns out to be the him, the man in business class. Gray is attracted to Jonah but stays away until Jonah is at the end of his rope trying to stay in law school but hating it. Gray offers him an internship, which doesn’t work out, but their relationship does, sparkage and caring. It’s a wonderful story, with a beautiful HEA and lots of understanding and caring. I particularly like that Gray is not put off for one second that Jonah’s left arm is missing just above his elbow, and Jonah understands Gray’s insecurities and emotional needs. Young sunshiney and optimistic meets grumpy and repressed… Caveat emptor re sex.

And the Best Man Ran Away with the Groom by Isla Olsen 4/29/23 4/30/23 Kindle

This was a lot of fun, with Trent helping his best friend Jack escape out a window on the day he’s supposed to marry Xavier. Trent offers to go with Xavier on what was supposed to be his honeymoon trip. Trent’s straight, but not really… turns out he’s demisexual for Xavier and things get steamy quickly and once they get back after the two weeks they realize that it’s not just a fling and there’s a wonderful HEA. Caveat emptor re sex. I already knew most, but not all, of the Aussie slang, but it’s nice to have it after each chapter.

324 books read

1 Masterpiece
51 Stunning
181 Excellent
48 Very Good
30 Good
9 Average
4 Bad
0 Very Bad
0 Don't Bother
0 Anathema

Best Fiction
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
The Adults by Caroline Hulse
Should We Stay or Should We Go by Lionel Shriver
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Hopelessly Bromantic and Here Comes My Man by Blake Lively

Best (only) Nonfiction
Woke Racism by Dr. John McWhorter
The Book of General Ignorance by John Mitchinson
The Story of Human Language by Dr. John McWhorter
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow
Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow

Top five overall for the LT Top Five Books of 2022 list:
The Guncle by Steven Rowley
Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
Woke Racism by Dr. John McWhorter
The Adults by Caroline Hulse
Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow

…...

Welcome! Next one's yours.

Happy new one, Karen! Love the pics! I will reach your milestone b'day later this year and I ask myself the same question!!

New 🧵 orisons, Horrible.

Happy New Thread, Karen!

Happy new one, Karen!

Happy new thread, Karen! It seems like everyone is starting a new thread this month. I haven't quite gotten that far yet.

Happy new thread, Karen!

Ten years younger, and wondering the same about my age ;-)

Happy new thread Karen!

I made it to your new thread!

April lightning round has some great reads in there. I picked up a couple of BB from it.

Happy new one!

Happy new thread, dear Karen.

>1 karenmarie: Awww. Look at you, Karen! What a sweetie! (!) And what gorgeous, gorgeous hair!

Hope you're already sleeping well. I'm off. Now.

Morning, Karen. Happy New Thread. I will be particapting in the annual Spring Bird Count today, so that will keep me busy for a big chunk of the day. Have a good one my friend...

Good morning, Karen. It's a beautiful day here - hope it is where you are too. I'm off to my Saturday park walk, grateful that the interminable rains have stopped - or at least paused. Great pic of you in your splendid red hair.

>10 jessibud2: Hi Shelley, and thank you. Here’s something for being first. Fill with the beverage of your choice, young’un!



Thanks, RDear, Deborah, Katie, Irene, Anita, Susan, Anita, Paul, Mark.

>14 atozgrl: I always start a new thread after ~300 messsages, Irene. Some folks start them at a smaller message count, some go longer, some do it by season… it’s whatever you want to do.

>15 FAMeulstee: Significant birthdays – ones that end in 5 or 0 - are always times of joy, introspection, stress – sometimes all three. My goal has always been to age gracefully, although sometimes it’s hard. I want my 21-year-old body back! But hey - celsius. *smile*

>17 figsfromthistle: Thanks re the Lightning Round, Anita. I’m still in my MM romance phase, as you can tell.

>19 LizzieD: Thank you, Peggy. I thought you’d like that pic. My boyfriend-at-the-time took it at his place in San Pedro, CA. Thrift shop top, center part without a single hair straying, no makeup (I only wore makeup for 6 years on a regular basis, from when I was 34 to 40), aviator frames, unheard of for GIRLS then (lots of flack from the glasses place).

I slept mostly well last night. I hope you slept well, too.

>20 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Yay for the annual Spring Bird Count. I hope you count record numbers. I’ve got finches and a male Cardinal at the feeders. A squirrel went from the Crepe Myrtle to the roof. Ah, a male Purple Finch is in the Crepe Myrtle, all decked out in his raspberry plumage.

>21 ffortsa: Hi Judy! Same to you. Enjoy your Saturday park walk. Thanks re my red hair from one redhead to another.

Wordle 686 4/6* adieu, alley, angel, anger

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...
Yesterday was too busy, but it was with things that either eased shoulder/back/SI joint pain, made me stronger with a mobile knee, or made me happier with a clean(er)* house.

Chiropractor, PT, Alex the cleaner, in that order.

Jenna texted me at 7 p.m. last night with a heartfelt "Oh my god" from the Wake County Speedway in Raleigh. Hang out and wait for the race to start, too loud, not her cuppa. Her boss, who is a drama queen, shared more of her crazy life choices with Jenna who then shared them with me, and Jenna got to ride in the BAT (big ass truck) of her boss's friend Tim. Jenna was home about 11:30 and was so wired I could hardly understand her. I'm not sure she'll ever go to a NASCAR event again, but at least it won't be on her bucket list when she's 80.

* Our house is too much for one person to completely clean in 3 hours, so I always give Alex a list of stuff to do.

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Bill's watching The Coronation. I didn't even know it was going to be on today, so that shows you my level of interest. I'll just say that I have never been Team Charles and leave it at that.

Other than that, normal Saturday stuff. Bill will bring back takeout and make a dump run. I'll hang out. I really need to get my home office/Sunroom desk back under control. Maybe watch some soccer today, although Arsenal plays Newcastle tomorrow and that's the match I'm really interested in. Man City plays Leeds today and I want Leeds to win because I like Leeds (3 great Americans my main reason) but also because I want Man City to lose, so I might watch some of that, too.

Oh, Karen --- Oh, Jenna!!!!! What an experience!!!!! It's one I've missed with thanks for the missing. Meanwhile, I'll remember BAT if I ever get out and around in these parts.

I've never been Team Charles either or particularly Team Royal (except going backward from 100 years ago). I'm sorry that Megan's in-laws were racist jerks, but I wouldn't have expected anything else - not that I'm especially Team Harry & Megan either although I did love her wedding gown. Hmmm. I didn't leave it at that.

Arrived to a cheeping smoke detector battery, but that's sorted, and we're off. Enjoy your day!

My youthful red was darker than yours, Horrible. There's a picture on my Goodreads profile https://www.goodreads.com/expendablemudge/ of me and my older sister and my high school boyfriend that I can't access on the Pixel app. Apps that don't do everything that the desktop does should be unconstitutional.

*smooch* from my irritable self

Hi Karen my dear, Happy New Thread my dear friend. Hope that you, Bill, Jenna, Inara, Zoe and Wash have a lovely weekend and we both send love and hugs to you all and Felix sends miaows.

Happy New Thread!

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. The Spring Bird Count went well, despite some rain early. 60-63 species seen. It makes for a long day though. Just hanging at home this AM. Chores and a quick run to Costco.

Feeders are quiet. Just a mourning dove on the tray feeder.

>23 LizzieD: Jenna made a great story out of it, Peggy. She’s a natural born story teller, so I was highly amused. I think that BATs should be functional – i.e., used on a farm or ranch or as Mark does to pull a trailer or even us when we had horses – but many people drive them as testosterone substitution devices. TSDs, if you will.

I am glad Harry and Meghan got out – really, what else could he do except support his wife when it was killing her? I admire them. Apparently he and Andrew didn’t get to be on the balcony. Mean spirited to do it to your son, fifth in line for the throne, who was protecting his wife, understandable with your brother who’s smarmy and covered in ick.

Glad you got the smoke detector back under control.

>24 richardderus: Hiya, RD. I must love you a lot, because I tried very hard to see your goodreads pic. First I had to reset my password, then I got to your page but couldn’t find where other pictures are. I even tried it on different browsers in case that was the issue. The octopus did not have red hair. I agree that mobile device apps should have all the functionality that desktop apps do.

*smooch*

>25 johnsimpson: Hi John, and thank you. We’re having a normal weekend for us – errands, take out, not much else. Sending love and hugs to you and Karen and miaows back to Felix from Inara, Zoe, and Wash.

>26 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver!

>27 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Sunday to you. Impressive count. I think you deserve some R&R, even if it includes chores and a Costco run. My feeders are completely quiet. I put out fresh sunflower seed and wild bird seed yesterday.

Wordle 687 3/6* adieu, mouth, ghoul

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Today's excitement is getting together a combined grocery list and placing an on-line order to be picked up later - last week's go-into-the-store-with-Jenna was not a good idea and I'll give it a rest for another couple of weeks.

Arsenal Newcastle at 11:30.

Yesterday I only did 6 minutes 30 seconds of prone hang. I hope for a better result today.

Congrats on Wordle in 3, Karen. I'm my usual fourder self today.

Prone hang.............I keep meaning to try it just to see what you're dealing with. When I think about draining my legs at night (dead bug legs up for 7 or 8 minutes, which I used to do), 6½ minutes sounds like a good amount of time.

Enjoy your day! I'll say a "Go Arsenal" for you.

>28 karenmarie: I'm flattered that you tried! The photo link is under my octopus avi in the profile page. It's tiny. It's also not hugely important.

The LT app is truly awful. Goodreads at least let's me interact with others on its app. The LT app just is a poor excuse for one.

Very wise to keep the major shopping to online ordering and pick-up or delivery for now. More prone exercise! It's a deeply necessary part of healing.

*Sunday smooch*

Go {insert name of Horrible's team here}!

>29 LizzieD: Four’s good, too, Peggy. I’ll have to try the 7-8 minutes of dead bug legs too, because elevation is also very good for reducing the ongoing (admittedly hardly there any more) swelling. Thanks re Arsenal! Starts in about 5 minutes. I just spent 25 minutes placing a Food Lion online order, to be picked up between 2 and 3 today. I always put a note in – no substitute, or what the acceptable substitute is. They always seem to think anything RANCH is a good substitute. And we CAN’T STAND RANCH in any way, shape or form.

>30 richardderus: Ah, ha, RD! I just found it, clipped it, and it’s in my Pictures folder on my laptop. Want me to share? And, who is the white-haired gentleman?

I only use the LT app to see if I already own a copy of a book so I don’t buy a duplicate. I never, ever, add books with it. I'm too persnickety about my books to just slam one in willy nilly.

$250 later, I’ll head out 2-ish to pick up the order. I like the away time, and am listening to The Cuckoo’s Calling again, starting a re-listen to all 6 Cormoran Strike books.

Thanks re Go {insert name of Horrible's team here}!

*smooch*

>31 karenmarie: may I have y'all's Ranch dressing, please? Oh, and any creamy Caesar you got, too.

Sure, share the pics. Fine by me...the oldster is John Henry Faulk, the guy who sued to get the Hollywood blacklist ended, and won. He was friends with my sister and her then-husband. The picture is taken at a book signing he did in their bookstore.

You can have all the Ranch dressing in the world, RD. Creamy Caesar, too. Also Creamy Italian. See the theme here?

>33 karenmarie: Looking at that image for the first time in years, it strikes me forcefully that Winter does not look like me...you'd be forgiven for thinking Mat, with his straight black hair and oval face, was her little brother, not the big red 'n' curly kid at the back. Of course she does not share a father with Lynne or me.

Happy new thread! I purposely haven't tried to the order online even though it has because my little grocery store is often out of even everyday things, and I really don't want them picking replacements. But, it does have its appeal.

>28 karenmarie: Your comment about the BATs gave me a good laugh! I hadn't thought of it that way, but I think you're right on. I'll have to remember that one.

Wishing you a great week ahead!

Morning, Karen. I was getting ready to meet my birding buddies but rain is moving in and it may stick around all AM. Bummer. Migration is in full swing. You hate to miss it. Nothing at my feeders yet...

Have a good Monday!

>34 richardderus: Hiya, RD! Yes, Winter and Mat do look alike. You looked pretty darned happy in that pic, though.

>35 witchyrichy: Hi Karen, and thank you! I have learned to add a note to every single item I order, with either “No substitute.” or the only acceptable substitute in detail. It makes the shopping go quicker for them, doesn’t allow them to make any decisions, and I don’t get stuff I don’t want. Not to say they still don’t make mistakes – we still have one of two Stouffers Family Size Frozen Cheese Lasagnas in the freezer in the garage that we got instead of the 18 oz Meet Lovers size for Bill. Bill doesn’t like it, I can’t eat it, and Jenna won’t eat it. And they forgot the lettuce on the list from yesterday. I'm probably going to walk into the store today to get the four things I want.

>36 atozgrl: We do that a lot, Irene – initials for a three-word phrase. VCC is very cute cat, for example. We have fun with it. Thanks – I hope your week is a good’un, too.

>37 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! I am sorry your BBA (Birding Buddy Adventure – see, Irene?), cancelled it. I’ve got one bird on the wild bird seed feeder, unidentified, and a female Cardinal in the Crepe Myrtle. I did have a White-Breasted Nuthatch visiting yesterday. I hope you can find fun things to do today oh, say, like reading? *smile*

Wordle 688 3/6* adieu, acorn, aglow

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I have a PT appointment at 10 today, and as I mentioned above, may go to the grocery store. Nothing else on the schedule.

Bill stayed home and is still asleep. I got up too late to see Jenna off.

Running a little late for it, but... Happy new thread!

>38 karenmarie: John Henry Faulk was one of my heroes, and Winter and John had just reprinted his 1963 book, Fear on Trial. It was a peak moment of happiness all around. Not least, for me, because Mat, being a devout theater fag, was over the moon meeting raconteur Faulk whose radio show we listened to religiously. I got good-boyfriend points galore for that.

Good morning, Karen! Thanks for posting the auburn curls picture!

We're 3 Sisters today! And I'm off with wishes for a satisfying therapy workout and a more satisfying day at home with groceries easily done.

Hi Karen! Wishing you a slightly delayed Happy New Thread!

I'm glad Inara is feeling better. The older I get, the more sympathy I have for the old critters in my care. I know I will have to make that decision for one of my elderly horse friends before winter rolls around again. In the meantime, he'll get lots of grazing and rubs and will let me know if it needs to be sooner.

Love the Nascar pit crew coat - I'm sure that added to Jenna's good time at the races.

>38 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Just to clarify, it wasn't the use of initials that I was referring to, it was your comment that "many people drive them as testosterone substitution devices" that I thought was so funny.

I hope PT went well for you today, and that you got everything you need at the grocery.

Morning, Karen. I did get out for a bit yesterday, before the rain. I got a few species but it was pretty quiet. I did have 4 or 5 white-crowned sparrows forgaging around my feeders yesterday, which was a treat, along with a few housefinch. Better weather today. Heading off to Rehab in a bit...

>39 drneutron: Hi Jim! Thank you for all you do for our group.

>40 richardderus: Hi RD. I like it – peak moment of happiness all around. Getting good-boyfriend points had to have been especially nice.

>41 LizzieD: You’re very welcome, Peggy. That’s the color of Jenna’s hair, too, that deep glossy auburn. She got hers from Bill’s Mama. I took this pic last December, with Wash laying claim to Jenna's lap.



Took 5 today for Wordle, alas.

>42 streamsong: Hi Janet, and thank you. Yes, we have to be responsible critter owners and take care of them at the end. I cannot abide people who don’t want to let their beloved pet/animal go because it will make them sad or unhappy. Give your elderly horse friend a few rubs from me. Thanks re the NASCAR pit crew coat.

Jenna’s best experience at the Wake County Speedway was related to the bathroom facilities:

1. there were stalls with doors, not porta-potties
2. The toilet paper was more luxurious than the best 2-ply Charmin or Great Northern

She mentioned this Sunday night.

>43 atozgrl: Ah, got it, Irene.

Wordle 689 5/6* ugh. adieu, bloat, loamy, comma, cocoa. I just noticed that I shouldn't have used m in comma. Not enough coffee yet.

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PT went well. I’m transitioning from just mobility (bending and extension) to mobility, strength, and balance. He had me walk outside in front of the 3-unit building without my cane, walking behind me. I also got a new exercise, Hip Abduction Extension – Standing, in addition to the calf extensions, squats, hamstring curls, and balancing that I'm now doing every PT visit. I was tired after all of that, for sure. It took me ‘til yesterday morning to figure out why my calves hurt. It’s the exercises we started 1 1/2 weeks ago, of course.

When I was leaving yesterday, the next patient rolled in – literally – my Friends of the Library friend Weezie’s husband. She and I ended up talking outside by my car the entire time he had his session, so about 45 minutes or so. It was nice to catch up with her. I didn’t go to the grocery store, but went to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Bill and get some OTC items, then went to the Library to drop off a couple of books as donations. Rita the Branch Librarian wasn’t there, but I talked with the Children’s Librarian for a few minutes. You can imagine I was pretty whupped once I got home!

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I have a chiropractic appointment at 2:15, might drop off a small box and get stamps at the PO. I will definitely go to the grocery store for 4 items and get 50 lbs of sunflower seed and a box of suet from the local farm and garden before I head home.

>45 karenmarie: 50lb sunflower seeds! It amazes me how that doesn't result in dozens of sunflowers all over your yard.

You'd think so, but we have lots of ground feeders who hoover them up, I guess.

>47 karenmarie: So future paleontology-minded cockroaches will refer to the "Horribilian formation" under the Huge Wet Salty Thing, since you're supporting an ecosystem.

Just speaking since it's time for bed. Hi, Karen!!!!!

>49 richardderus: LOL, RDear. Yes. Our 8 acres supports many bugs, lizards, frogs, other crawly and flying things, in addition to the deer, raccoons, possums, ground hogs, and etc.

>50 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I hope you got a good night's sleep.

Wordle 690 4/6* adieu, piece, relic, ethic

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Today's PT and picking up 2 prescriptions from the pharmacy. I will also find a place for about 20 or so books from the Spring book sale in the Library. They're cataloged, just need to find shelf space then update my location tags.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. Glad PT went well. Looks like you are strengthening a lot of key areas. My Rehab went well. Surprisingly quiet. Lots of goslings, of course. I am doing Trail Watch this AM. I haven't been in a month or so. I will then do Door Dash for a couple of hours. At least, I have been getting my reading in, in the PM.

'Morning, Mark! Happy Wednesday to you, too. Thanks re the PT. I'll be at it again today, with a noon appointment.

Busy and happy man, right? I'm glad you're making time in the PM for your reading.

Wednesday orisons, Horrible. I'm looking out at a very nice, partly sunny day going up to about 65°. Not awful for May!

I know you're in a smutty phase of your reading life just now, but I would like to draw your attention to a series of novellas called Los Nefilim by T. Frohock, which posits the existence of angels, demons, and nephilim in 1930s Spain. The horrors of the Spanish Civil War are down to a longer term civil war brewing among the angels, who are hugely powerful entities but not answerable to any god...

Our PoV character is a half-angel, half-demon married to a Nefil, happily, for centuries now... and it's only down to the brewing war that he finally comes out...as married, not as gay. They are very interesting and on KU, I think.

Anyway, have a Wednesday *smooch*

Hiya, RDear! Yay for 65F. Ours is 61F, going to 77F. Beautiful Carolina blue skies, all the trees leafed in, birds everywhere. Brekkie eaten, meds taken.

Los Nefilim acquired, you silver-tongued devil, you.

Thanks for my *smooch*, here's one back atcha. *smooch*

The last two paragraphs from The Federalist No 46, written by James Madison, in my copy of The Federalist, edited by Jacob E. Cooke.

January 29, 1788

To the People of the State of New York.
…
The argument under the present head may be put into a very concise form, which appears altogether conclusive. Either the mode in which the federal government is to be constructed will render it sufficiently dependent on the people, or it will not. On the first supposition, it will be restrained by that dependence from forming schemes obnoxious to their constituents. On the other supposition it will not possess the confidence of the people, and its schemes of usurpation will be easily defeated by the state governments; who will be supported by the people.

On summing up the considerations stated in this and the last paper, they seem to amount to the most convincing evidence, that the powers proposed to be lodged in the federal government, are as little formidable to those reserved to the individual states, as they are indispensably necessary to accomplish the purposes of the union; and that all those alarms which have been sounded, of a meditated and consequential annihilation of the state governments, must, on the most favorable interpretation, be ascribed to the chimerical fears of the authors of them.

chimerical fears

I'm enraptured, ensorcelled, enthralled by these two words.

>55 karenmarie: *happy dance* I gotcha! You won't be sorry, Horrible, the characters are really fun to follow around.

Particularly fascinating is the way the Bomb plays into the plot....

Oh! You're back in the *Federalists*! GOOD for you! And good for me if I have time to sit and concentrate on what you've written!!!

Enjoy your day. Karen. That is to say, get through the PT with flying colors and have fun handling your books.

Happy Thursday, Karen.

Glad to read your knee is still improving, keep up the good work.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday! Joining a birding buddy early this AM and then I am doing Door Dash for a couple of hours. Should be another beauty here today.

Good morning, Karen!

Thursday orisons, Horrible! *smooch*

>57 richardderus: You did get me – it was only $5.99 + tax to get the 3-novella bundle.

>58 LizzieD: ‘Morning, Peggy! It was good to read one essay, and I might read another one here in a little bit. My 18th-century reading mind needs to catch up again. Update on PT and books below.

>59 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita, and happy Thursday to you, too. Yes, thank you re my knee. I sent a query to my surgeon’s office yesterday about being able to put lotions/oils/scar-softening or scar-reducing ointments on it yesterday. It’s finally fully healed, no places for infection to enter, so they gave the go-ahead. At a minimum I will be putting heavy-duty moisturizer on it – hypoallergenic and fragrance-free.

>60 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and sweet Thursday to you, too. Enjoy your birding buddy adventure. I’m glad the Door Dash is providing the extra $$ for birding stuff. We’ve got another beauty here, too, as you put it. Finches, a Downy on the suet feeder. I saw a male Cowbird yesterday.

>60 msf59: ‘Morning to you, too, Katie!
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Max the PT let me off a bit easy yesterday because Monday was brutal and I really felt it in my calves Tuesday. What that really meant is that he didn’t have me do squats. Friday we’ll start on the 4” rise stairs. I go up and down stairs now here at the house, but it’s foot on stair, other foot on same stair. I’ll be graduating to foot on stair, other foot on next stair, but it will take a while. 4” rise stairs now, leading to 7” stairs.

I got all my books shelved in the Library and updated my location tags. I culled two books, too. However, I now see that one, All Florence in Colours was Bill’s grandmother’s, so back onto the shelves it goes. Sigh. I did get the opportunity to scan in the correct cover, so there is that.

Wordle 691 3/6* adieu, ghost, broom. Lucky guesses.

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Today is the chiropractor. I'm also going to mail a small package to my sister and buy stamps plus go into the grocery store once again, this time to see if they have a good Marie Calendar or Mrs. Smith's frozen fruit pie for Sunday's dessert. If they don't, I'll get the ingredients to make a German Chocolate Cake, usually reserved for my birthday, but Jenna offered to make it with me supervising, and how can I resist my favorite cake?

Various and sundry paragraphs/sentences from The Federalist No 47, written by James Madison, in my copy of The Federalist, edited by Jacob E. Cooke.

January 30, 1788

To the People of the State of New York.
…
One of the principal objections inculcated by the more respectable adversaries to the constitution, is its supposed violation of the political maxim, that the legislative, executive and judiciary departments ought to be separate and distinct. In the structure of the federal government, no regard, it is said, seems to have been paid to this essential precaution in favor of liberty. The several departments of power are distributed and blended in such a manner, as at once to destroy all symmetry and beauty of form; and to expose some of the essential parts of the edifice to the danger of being crushed by the disproportionate weight of other parts.
…
The oracle who is always consulted and cited on this subject, is the celebrated Montesquieu. If he be not the author of this invaluable precept in the science of politics, he has the merit at least of displaying and recommending it most effectually to the attention of mankind.
…
The British constitution was to Montesquieu, what Homer has been to the didactic writers on epic poetry.
…
On the slightest view of the British constitution we must perceive, that the legislative, executive, and judiciary departments are by no means totally separate and distinct from each other.
…
His meaning, as his own words import, and still more conclusively as illustrated by the example in his eye, can amount to no more than this, that where the whole power of one department is exercised by the same hands which possess the whole power of another department, the fundamental principles of a free constitution, are subverted.

…
If we look into the constitutions of the several states, we find that notwithstanding the emphatical, and in some instances, the unqualified terms in which this axiom has been laid down, there is not a single instance in which the several departments of power have been kept absolutely separate and distinct.

…
What I have wished to evince is, that the charge brought against the proposed constitution, of violating a sacred maxim of free government, is warranted neither by the real meaning annexed to that maxim by its author; nor by the sense in which it has hitherto been understood in America. This interesting subject will be resumed in the ensuing paper.

I love the logic of this essay. Each state’s constitutional statement regarding separation of powers and it’s actual executive/judicial/legislative intermingling of powers is gone into in detail. None live up to their stated philosophy, and some don't even have that stated philosophy.

>64 karenmarie: As is always the case, principle must give way to practicality when the subject is governance. Madison was nowhere near as doctrinaire as most Federalists. Not quite a practitioner of Realpolitik but closer than most of his compatriots.

The failings of our present government are not Constitutional but partisan.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/350767

>65 richardderus: Always excepting Hamilton, RD, who implemented the principles of the Constitution in the Treasury Department, creating what became the Coast Guard, established the First Bank of the United States, funded by tariffs and a whiskey tax. He also assumed the states' debts for the Revolutionary War, among other practical things. My hero. Madison fell in my estimation when he broke with Hamilton and followed Jefferson's concept of strong state governments based on an agrarian model as opposed to a strong federal government as espoused by Washington and Hamilton.

I do think there are institutional weaknesses - the Electoral College being the biggest - but agree that the partisan divide is bigger than in living memory and is pushing this country to breakdown and possibly even civil war. Except that I wouldn't want to have to visit Stasia by crossing a national border, I'd love for Texas to leave. *smile*

>66 SilverWolf28: Hi Silver, and thanks.

Wordle 692 5/6* Alphabet soup. adieu, cloak, stack, slack, snack

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PT and nothing more outside the house. I did go to the PO and the grocery store yesterday. I bought a frozen pie to be baked - cherry crumble - which will be less involved than making a scratch cake with scratch frosting.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. It looks like you were up pretty early. It is Jackson Day here. Unfortunately, we have rain in the forecast. If it can hold out until late AM or just after noon, I could still take Jack on the trails. Fingers crossed. Good luck with PT.

Happy "new" thread, Karen (it is only a week old, lol) Have a fantastic Friday!

>67 karenmarie: Madison's conversion to the Jeffersonian model has always stumped me. What the hell happened? I've read a bio of him but it was in the 1970s. Montesquieu was one of his heroes, FFS, how did he disconnect the separation of powers from the existence of a strong government capable of enforcing the laws meant to protect citizens from the tyranny of the majority?! *sigh*

Morning, Karen. Get through that PT and on with a wonderful day at home!!!!

>67 karenmarie: You're welcome!

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. I hope you are feeling okay. Cloudy start to the day. Nothing much happening at my feeders- just a robin poking around. I did have a female rose-breasted grosbeak stop by yesterday. First time this year at the feeders. Also had a pair of common grackles.

Saturday orisons, Horrible. Dank and foggy here today, so I won't be hoofin' around much. Still working on the end of LOS NEFILIM...hard to concentrate with the achy joints and I want to be sharp for this read. The story is too good to waste on indifferent attention.

Triassic critters on YouTube seem to be what I can focus on.

>68 msf59: Happy next morning, Mark! Yes, had trouble sleeping, and I seem to have made up for it today by waking up at 8:30. I hope you and Jackson were able to hit the trails, and thanks re PT. Report below… *smile*

>69 alcottacre: Hi Stasia, and thank you. Yesterday was a pretty good day. I’ll come visit in a bit.

>70 richardderus: Without delving too deeply, Madison was, of course, a fellow Virginian with Jefferson, both also owned slaves which influenced their positions, and the polarization of the Cabinet under Washington made for some bad feelings. Another thing to add to my list of people to have dinner with if I ever was able to travel back in time.

>71 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! PT went well. I added going stepping up and down from a 4” rise step. I read, lazed, and even sat outside in the rocker AND the hammock. Of course, getting out of the hammock was a challenge, but I didn’t fall. Zoe kept me company. *smile*



>72 SilverWolf28: Happy weekend, Silver!

>73 msf59: Late start, Mark, so ‘morning and happy Saturday to you. I’m fine, thank you. I had a Downy earlier, but nobody right now. Yay for a Rose-Breasted Grosbreak and the Grackles.

>74 richardderus: Happy Saturday to you, too, RD. Ugh. We’re overcast but not beachy-dank-foggy. Sometimes YouTube is the best way to spend some time when concentrating on books doesn’t work, right?

Wordle 693 2/6* Yay for adieu! adieu, acrid

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Max worked me hard yesterday - walking up and down in front of the 3-business complex, calf raises, squats, leg lifts, bending, extensions, and 4" stair stepping. I felt great yesterday but am definitely feeling it today.

I'll be running errands with Bill this morning to give Jenna a bit of alone time, not much, but still. I need to go into the grocery store to get a few salad fixings and 3 pounds of Gala or Honey Crisp Apples.

Yay! Yay for your day so far - HAMMOCK!!! I love a cat in a hammock.... Alone time for Jenna and groceries for you. I guess I'm the only human who has had one who finds honey crisp apples peculiar, but I love galas. Wordle in 2! Enjoy the day!

>75 karenmarie: Yay! Wordle-in-two! Getting that first letter is key, isn’t it?! Good job!

Karen O

Congrats on Wordle in 2! Woo hoo!
I'm glad to see your PT is progressing so nicely too.

>75 karenmarie: What a lovely area you have made of the porch! And good company. I guess haint blue porch ceilings aren't a requirement in your area.

Happy newish thread, Karen. Congrats on your Wordle in two. I did that two. Looks good that you are graduating to new exercises but I did have to look up "dead bug legs" that were mentioned up thread.

Looks like there are a few weather reports for the day today. I'll add mine. It's 31C (about 88F) and we had a May Day Parade - at least it didn't rain! (Love what Jenna was impressed by at NASCAR.)

Happy Mother's Day, Karen. I hope you had a good night sleep. I like the Zoe on the front porch photos. Looks like the perfect spot. Cool and damp here. We are going over to Bree's later this afternoon to celebrate the day. My son and girlfriend will be there too. Enjoy your day!

>76 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Our kitties rarely get up on the hammock – too wobbly with chances to fall through. I do have this pic of Inara, though, already here on LT:



So many good apples – I personally love Granny Smiths/Pippins, but as long as an apple isn’t mealy or soft, I’m in.

Yesterday was a good’un, see below.

>77 klobrien2: Hi Karen and thank you! I always use the same starting word. I know some folks use different words every day, but I like the consistency.

>78 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. PT is coming along, but compensating for my left knee/leg is causing havoc with my right knee and SI joint. Sigh. Hence the chiropractic. I’m also going to ask the surgeon’s office if I can get a cortisone shot in my RIGHT, non-surgical knee.

>79 quondame: Thanks, Susan. I’ve mentioned this before, but when we decided on the house plan and had bought the land, we decided to face the front house away from the 300-foot-away-behind-a-small-tree-line cul-de-sac road, facing our view. So the front porch, 10’ deep x 40’ wide, faces our view, which is towards the creek and second tree line. We love it.

Well. *blink: When I duckduckgo’d haint blue porch ceilings, I saw this one, which is eerily like my front porch:





I’m sure there are some out here, but I’ve never, ever seen a haint blue porch ceiling. Peggy – common or rare?

>80 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg, and thank you twice. Yay for two on Wordle. Peggy mentioned dead bug legs, and I’ve done them a couple of times now, but only if I’m on a couch with a high back and I can rest ‘em there. Good for getting fluid out of your lower legs, for sure.

Wow, 88F. And Jenna had her priorities right – good, soft toilet paper. *smile*

>81 msf59: Thank you, Mark! I had a broken but with a 4-hour-stretch sleep. When I woke up, I had all three kitties on the bed. And then Jenna came in, so I had all four children. I hope you enjoy your time at Bree’s, especially with Matt and his girlfriend there, too. Happy Mother’s Day to Sue.

Wordle 694 5/6* adieu, skate, sharp, scary, scarf

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I ran errands with Bill yesterday - getting gas for his SUV, picking up one of my prescriptions, dump (Bill went alone), grocery store (me only), then picking up take out.

I had gotten Louise a card and a box of cookies, which Jenna found me a gift bag/tissue for, and I visited Louise for about an hour or so yesterday. Her daughter is in FL, her son died several years ago, her husband in 2018, so I figured she needed a bit of attention. We saw a Brown Thrasher, along with all the usual suspects.

I fell asleep during the second Shakespeare & Hathaway episode last night.

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This morning Bill had a card and this mug for me:



He also got me a car detailing, scheduled for some time down the road.

Jenna got me my very own Active Ice Cold Therapy System (I've called it Polar Care, but I guess they've changed their name). It is wonderful, is programmable, and I'm going to test it out as soon as I read the instructions on both my knee for swelling and my SI joint for inflammation.

Plus she made my coffee and got me brekkie - only grapes, triscuits and pepperjack, but I didn't have to get it.

She'll make dinner with my supervision - steak and potatoes, and I'm going to bake a Marie Calendar pie this afternoon, a Cherry Crunch pie.

Arsenal plays Brighton at 11:30 today. Man City is playing Everton right now, and Man City just scored. I need for Everton to beat Man City and Arsenal to win.

CHERRY CRUNCH PIE?! You, my most Horrible friend, are livin the dream! Bill did a great job with your new mug. It's clear that he has paid attention all these years.

I'll send Arsenal-victory vibes so your Mother's Day will be a happy one.

*smooch*

I didn't want apple, and it was the only alternative to us making something here at the house, which Jenna was perfectly happy to do, but I love cherry pie so this is easier.

Bill has done the following over the years to feed my love of having books:

1. sacrificed one bedroom in this house to become my Library
2. had bookshelves built here in the Sunroom
3. had bookshelves built into the Parlour when we put a 9' ceiling in the living room to make the Parlour upstairs to house his mother's excellent living room furniture
4. had bookshelves built into Jenna's playroom when we were building the house
5. put bookshelves in the kitchen for my cookbooks
6. not complained when I co-opted some of the bookshelves in the Media Room for my books
7. never complained at how much money I spend on books

He's not a reader. However, I'm not a TV person, particularly, but got him a 65" 4K OLED TV in 2017 for his birthday/ anniversary/Christmas. I don't like listening to it when I'm not actively watching, but it's his equivalent of books. *shrug*

Thanks re Arsenal. It would be the cherry on the top of my Mother's Day.

*smooch* back'atcha.

Happy Mother's Day, Karen! Sounds like you are celebrating in style!

>82 karenmarie: I knew about the blue porch ceilings, but I think that's further south; could be wrong.

Off to get Mama up and ready for church in the living room!

>84 karenmarie: Wise man, is Bill. Now you need noise cancelling headphones for TV days.

Hi Karen. The meme up there with the conversational exchange ending in "Harry Potter and the Death of the Person Not Letting Me Read" cracked me up. And I love the three pics of your kitties that you chose for toppers.

>84 karenmarie: Sounds like a healthy and loving marriage! P is a reader but much more restrained in her purchasing of books. MUCH more restrained. But she also puts up with my love of acquiring books. I do sometimes buy something at least partly because I think she might also enjoy it. ;-)

Congrats on Wordle in Two! Very fun. And I love the mug Bill gave you.

I have seen that picture of the mug and I think I need it, too! Fun!

>85 LizzieD: Thank you a day late, Peggy! We had a good day, and Bill and I ended up watching Red for perhaps the 3rd or 4th time. Ah, thanks re the blue porch ceilings. I hope your day was wonderful.

>86 richardderus: Hi RD. If it really bothers me, I close the door between the hall and breakfast room, but although I always register that there’s TV noise, sometimes, when I’m lucky, I forget about it.

I have wireless earbuds that I can use with white noise apps on my cell phone if worse comes to worse.

>87 EBT1002: Hi Ellen! I’m glad you like the Harry Potter meme – one of many great ones that Jenna has sent me over the years. Thanks re the kitty photos, too. I have fun picking them and building the ‘group shot’.

I’m glad P and Bill both put up with our love of book acquisition. I’ve got 3 coming later this week –
Slow Horses
Bleeding Heart Yard
Lessons in Chemistry

Thanks re Wordle in two and the mug, which I’m using again this morning.

Wordle 695 5/6* adieu, steak, flame, carve, canoe

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I have an in-person Friends Board meeting to conduct at 10 a.m. today at the Library, then possibly a dentist appointment for a regular cleaning EXCEPT that the office did not submit the prescription for 2 GRAMS of amoxicillin I now need for every single dentist visit for the rest of my life because of my knee replacement. I'll call at 8 a.m. to see if they can get it to the pharmacy and the pharmacy can get it filled by 1 p.m. If not, cancellation at their expense.

Morning, Karen. Sounds like you had a good day yesterday. We had a nice time at Brees despite the cruddy weather and I got to hang out with Jack for awhile too. I won't see him this week, since we leave for camping on Thursday. Joining a group bird walk this AM. Hope to see a score of warbling migrants.

>84 karenmarie: Bill is definitely a keeper!!

'Morning, Mark. Glad you had a nice time at Bree's, and of course getting your Jackson fix, especially since you won't see him this week, is a relief - wouldn't want you to expire from Jackson-withdrawl.

Enjoy your group bird walk this morning.

Yup, Bill's a keeper.

I've got a Downy on the suet feeder, a finch or Two on the sunflower seed feeder, and a squirrel in the Crepe Myrtle making his way over to the roof. I can hear a crow cawing and saw a Bluebird on the bird bath earlier.

Sounds like you had a nice Mother's Day, Karen!

>89 karenmarie: Boo-hiss to the dentist not submitting the amoxicillin Rx. (Boo-hiss on going to the dentist at all, for all of me.)

Enjoy your leisurely day today, Horrible. *smooch*

Good morning, Karen!!!

I wish you a good meeting, which you are starting now. I also hope that the dentist's office gets on the ball and has the amoxicillin ready when you have adjourned so that you can get that cleaning done and be free!

Wordle for me in 2 today after barely getting the word yesterday. We're up and down as usual, you and I. Enjoy the rest of your day!!

I'm stoked that you're giving yourself a chance to enter Slough House!

>82 karenmarie: Sounds like you had a wonderful Mother's Day! I hope Arsenal won to complete the day.

I love the mug! I think I need one of those.

>63 karenmarie: German Chocolate Cake, yum! That's my favorite too. Although you settled for Cherry Crunch pie in the end, which is also a great choice, and less work.

>75 karenmarie: Your porch looks wonderful, with the great view and the beautiful sunny day! I'm glad to hear you're making so much progress with your knee.

>84 karenmarie: Hurray to Bill letting you have bookshelves in so many spots and not complaining! >90 msf59: is right, definitely a keeper!

Sending wishes for a great week!

>67 karenmarie: Interesting discussion re The Federalist. I know what you mean about Texas, but for me, right now I'd like to see Florida go even more. And I've got a good friend who lives there now, and I'd like to visit her, but I don't want to set foot in that state at present.

>82 karenmarie: I used to use duckduckgo..not to find my porch (!!??...lol). But I found it just didn't come up with what I wanted ...how do you feel about it?

>92 katiekrug: Hi Katie! Yes, I did, thank you.

>93 richardderus: Hi RD! When I called the dentist at exactly 8 a.m., Kristy immediately knew what the problem was – when she saw her reminder for last week she had only written “Karen”, not “Karen Hengeveld”. She was able to get the pharmacy to get it filled before 1 p.m., so I picked it up at 12:55, pulled off to the side, took 4 of the 500 mg capsules (2 grams, which I amended up above), and headed north. Not much leisure, alas, but today will be more leisurely. *smooch*

>95 LizzieD: ‘Morning, Peggy! Thanks – the meeting went well and it was nice to see folks in person. Prescription was ready, and the cleaning went well – no surprises. AND, they always give me a toothbrush, small tube of Crest, and dental floss, so for my $277 I consider that a win. *smile*

TWO for you for Wordle. Brava. Yes, we go back and forth. Today’s, as you’ll see below, is 3. My three books arrived yesterday. However, first I have to at least attempt The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey for this coming Sunday’s RL book club meeting.

>96 atozgrl: Hi Irene. Alas, Arsenal lost big time, 0-3, so they pretty much can’t win the Premier League. However, they’re my team, and that’s the way it goes.

I’ve been making myself a scratch German Chocolate Cake for my birthday every year for decades. My birthday’s in June, so it’s something already coming up. I’m a nice wife and because my husband does not like coconut, I always frost part of it with chocolate frosting. I always make it in a 9” x 13” pan, too, even though I have the pans to make the 3-layer version. Here's 2017's version.



Thanks re our porch and my knee and yes that Bill truly gets my need to acquire books.

>97 atozgrl: You bring up a good point about Florida. Republicans there are trying to decertify the Democratic Party, and although I call Orange County California being “behind the orange curtain”, the entire state of Florida being behind the orange curtain is pretty darned accurate too. I’ve been to Florida twice. I have no desire to go there again. I have some cousins and an aunt-by-marriage there.

>98 LovingLit: I Hmmm, Megan. I stopped using Google so long ago that I can’t even imagine trying to compare. Prior to using duckduckgo I used ixquick until I saw that it had partnered with Google. Just now I went down a rabbit hole re ixquick and see that it’s subsumed into startpage… I found a startpage and duckduckgo comparison article and aaargh. Too much information. I can stick with duckduckgo without feeling bad although startpage has good features too, like being based in the Netherlands and thus under EU privacy laws compared to duckduckgo’s being based in the US with less user privacy safety. And then there’s the invisible web and the dark web. The invisible web intrigues me, but I'll stay away from the dark web if I can.

Duckduckgo found excellent images of haint blue porch, so that’s what I went with. I won’t give Google the satisfaction of a search.

And, sigh. Here’s a photo of a porch with the colors of our house - our siding is called brick dust, with white trim and maroon/red-brown shutters, gray porch - and a haint blue ceiling. Now I want haint blue ceilings on our two porches, darn it.



Wordle 696 3/6* adieu, elate, latte

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Chiropractor today at 1:15, and that's it outside the house. Minimal amount of walking. I need a day of lots of nothing.

Morning, Karen. Good luck at the chiropractor. I am leaving in a few minutes to get my bi-weekly adjustment at Sue's work. It has been a routine that has worked for me. Then I will be off to my Rehab assignment. The baby critters should really be rolling in.

I had my first hummer yesterday and I think I saw my first oriole back there but it was just a fleeting glance before it darted off. Baltimore orioles seem to everywhere lately, so I am surprised I haven't seen them in my backyard. Got fresh jelly out...

How do, Horrible. I'm off to leave some already-read books in the Little Free Library for my daily ritual of clearing out my overburden. I think today will actually be some poetry books I got and never read... and never will. They can test my theory that absolutely anything will find a home in a high-traffic box like this one.

It's an Old Stuff binge day today, so I'll leave the trip until after I eat lunch instead of before.

*smoochiesmoochsmooch*

>99 karenmarie: Ooops, I didn't realize I would be hainting you!

>99 karenmarie: Sorry about Arsenal. I know what you mean by 'that's the way it goes.' My team (baseball - the Cubs) haven't been doing well lately, and we just have to live with it.

My dad didn't like coconut either! But my mom never put a different icing on parts of the cake. I had never thought to make it in a 9" x 13" pan. That's a great suggestion! I'll have to give it a try. I don't make cakes often, but when I do, I usually use a mix from the store. Now that I'm retired, I'll have to try making them from scratch. I better go look for a recipe.

I've got at least one cousin who lives in Florida, but I've only met her once that I remember. I just don't know how the people down there put up with all these attacks on people's freedom, by people who claim they're trying to stop "indoctrination" (when it looks to me that the ones behind all these new laws are the ones who actually want to indoctrinate kids).

I'm glad you had a good Mother's Day, Karen. The German Chocolate Cake looks yummy! I've had a sore back for a few days, so I'm feeling especially sympathetic to your knee replacement pain. Sunday I spend all day at home, with a heating patch on my back, and took advil. Never left the house. Yesterday, Dave was back to work , so I had to walk the dog. So out I went for about a mile in the heat. Wore the heat patch on my back and took Avdil again. It's still bothering me, but no Advil or heat patch for far.

Yes, there are DNA test for dogs. How accurate, I do question that. I've never done one for myself, but with Poppy being rescue, I was curious and the test was just $60 , and was advertised by our local humane society. But I'm a little uncertain about the veracity of the results.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. I hope everything is okay. I am going to do some solo birding and then get the travel trailer a little later and start getting things ready. Sue is taking a half day off. I got a better look at the Baltimore Oriole but he didn't linger long enough for a photo.

How do, Horrible. I'm sitting pretty today...Old Stuff's hangover has him sleeping in. It's sunshine washed, won't get above 70° today, and my new book is good... how much better can one expect it to get?

Hoping for the same for you...*smooch*

Good morning, Karen. I trust that you weathered your storms last night. It looks as though we might have gotten a shower at some point, but I didn't hear it. At any rate, I anticipate a cool-down of maybe five degrees. I wish you a very good day of doing exactly what you want! (I was surprised to get Wordle in 3 today: a total accident.)

>100 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Happy next day. I’m envious of your bi-weekly visits. I know that Sue works in a chiropractor’s office – family discount, particularly good insurance, or both? I hope Rehab went well and that you got to see lots of cute baby critters.

Nice about the hummingbird and I hope your glance means one’s really there.

Something knocked the suet feeder down 2 days ago. I had to bring the feeder in to clean it. It’s in the dish drainer and I’ll put it out with a fresh suet cake soon. According to the allaboutbirds.org range map, Baltimore Orioles migrate through here, but I’ve never seen one. We do have Orchard Orioles, but I’ve never seen one of them either.

>101 richardderus: Hiya, RDear! Culling books is always good. Heh re the poetry books. No doubt they’ll get taken up. Blech to an OS binge day. *smoochiesmoochsmooch* back’atcha

>102 quondame: Hi Susan. Yup, you have now officially got me thinking about painting the porch ceilings haint blue. It would certainly be a conversation starter, and it might keep haints and bad spirits away.

>103 atozgrl: Hi Irene. Yes, I’ve been keeping track of the Cubs win/loss record because of Mark and now you. But like you say, they’re our teams.

9” x 13” pans are easier than 8” rounds with every kind of cake. Not as pretty, although if I take a cake somewhere I’ll put it on a Wilton board and ice the sides.

If you want good recipes, I have tried-and-true chocolate, white, yellow, and German Chocolate cake recipes. It’s taken my whole adult life to find some of them because I didn’t get my Betty Crocker 40th Anniversary Edition Cookbook ‘til the 1990s, which actually has all three of my favs. The German Chocolate cake recipe is on the inside of the German's Sweet Chocolate box, as is the Coconut Pecan Frosting. No canned frostings for me either.

The hypocrisy of the Gang of Psychos in recent decades is breathtaking, and not in a good way. I’ll leave it at that.

>104 vancouverdeb: Hi Deborah, and thank you. I’m sorry about your sore back, envy you being able to take advil – I can’t take NSAIDs on a regular basis because of my heart. I hope Poppy didn’t pull at her leash too much.

Since the test was through your locale humane society I might believe it.

Wordle 697 4/6* adieu, groan, slant, plank

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Yesterday was lazing and chiropractor and a brief foray into the grocery store to get bottled water and Jenna's Propels. Naturally I grabbed the largest Dasani 13.9 oz bottle package, wrestled it into the cart and wrestled the Propel package into the cart. The cashier offered to have someone go with me to the car to put them in the back, and for the first time in my life ever, I took her up on it.

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Just got back from a visit to my surgeon’s office to get a cortisone shot in my non-surgery knee, and he reassured me that the increased pain in my surgery knee was normal and okay.

>105 msf59: I thought I’d posted a reply to your yesterday’s message but got caught up in getting out of the house in time to make the 46-mile-one-way visit to the surgeon’s office. I’m fine, dealing with pain in both knees, lower back, and SI joint – a combination of knee replacement surgery recovery and compensating for the walker and now the cane. It sucks, but like I wrote above, got reassurances from the surgeon and a cortisone shot. Glad you really did see the Baltimore Oriole. Have fun with the solo birding and getting the travel trailer prepped.

>106 richardderus: Hiya, RDear! Yay for a comatose OS, new and good book, and gorgeous weather. We’ve got beautiful weather. I’ve filled all the bird feeders and am going to prone hang then ice for a while.

>107 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Wow, they were something! Lots of lightning, thunder, and rain. I loved it since we were all safe and sound and the kitty door locked with the kitties inside. Congrats on Wordle in 3.

I’ve got a PT appointment at 1 pm.

I hope the prone hang plus PT appointment doesn't make your knee hurt. I've had a really irritating day today. Just a big NO from me on almost every front... anyway I'm in no position to get too worked up because I have a roof, medical care, and no one is threatening to kill me...yet.

Happy Thursday, Karen!

>99 karenmarie: Sorry Aresenal lost their game, but as a fan you stay with your team through good and bad times.
I always disliked that in my late brother, who hopped from liking one team and an other in the next year.
As you saw on my thread, we are happy this year :-)

>109 richardderus: I was a hurting unit when I went to the surgeon's office yesterday morning. Dr. Watters explained that the pain in the outside of my knee was probably because he also corrected the valgus deformity - knock knee. I'm not sure i was actually aware that they did this, so his explanation was as good as a placebo yesterday. And he gave me a cortisone shot in my right knee, no questions asked, and I both my knees are much better this a.m. I did 7.5 minutes of prone hang yesterday at home. PT Max didn't have me doing walking, and no balancing on my right knee or squats because of the shot. Dr. Watters said my extension was not good yet, sigh. Max the PT said he was going to submit a request to Dr. Watters re the JAS Knee Extension Device, which is free for me under my Medicare/BCBS plans, unlike the easier to use but more expensive device not covered for me.

Yesterday I wore an underarmor long-sleeved shirt because I'm pretty much always cold and a t-shirt I purloined from Bill's closet a long time ago but couldn't fit into until recently - it's from the 1985 American Dance Festival. It's so soft and comfy. On his way out of the exam room, Dr. Watters did a double take and said "Is that t-shirt almost 40 years old?" I smiled broadly and said yes, I'd stolen it from my husband's closet and can wear it again since I've lost so much weight. He was amazed, not at the weight, but that it's 38 years old.

I'm sorry you had a Really Irritating Day Yesterday. Boo hiss to all the NO. We can still be grateful for what we have yet have things that make us miserable. I'm always grateful for the roof over my head, heat/AC as needed, food on the table, clean water out of the taps because of our lovely well water, family, friends, and pets (deferring to your sensibilities...) among other things - now including good affordable medical care and having reached my 70th year relatively intact. And yet, sometimes there are things that are not right in our world. I hope today's better.

>110 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita, and happy Thursday to you, too! Yes indeed, I saw your sports happiness and pictures. Congrats again. I seriously came to the Premier League last year and picked Arsenal because Jenna's a rabid Arsenal Women's fan. I almost didn't realize the men were league leaders for most of the season for the first several months, then was really happy, and now am just happy for their phenomenal year. I flirted with the idea of another team, but decided several months ago that Arsenal's my team.

Wordle 698 4/6* adieu, moron, brown, shorn

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Another medical visits day - 10 a.m. chiropractic and 3 p.m. appointment, moved up from June 5, with my PCP for the tingling/numbness in my feet, ridiculously high levels of B12 and increase by 3 x in my total bilirubin levels from November 2021, my heart attack. I also have several other things on my list for him since I'll be there anyway. Gonna place a grocery store order to be picked up after my doctor's office visit.

For Mark: Bird report: Female Cardinal, Downy, Indigo Bunting, various and sundry finches, Carolina Chickadee. I haven't seen a hummingbird since I put out fresh food yesterday and STILL haven't seen a female. And, of course, just as I write that, I now have a male hummingbird taking a nice long drink.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday! Hope you are feeling better and the pain has lessened. Hope the chiropractic treatments help. We have the camper in the driveway and we started packing stuff in it yesterday. We plan on getting out of here at 10. It is a 3 hour drive. Needless to say, I won't be on LT much.

Thanks for the feeder report. I love it, that you get indigo buntings.

Enjoy your trip, sans Juno this time. Glad Matt's staying for the 3-day weekend with her.

They love the wild bird seed feeder.

>82 karenmarie: I love that mug and really need to find one of my own!

>84 karenmarie: He's not a reader. However, I'm not a TV person, particularly, but got him a 65" 4K OLED TV in 2017 for his birthday/ anniversary/Christmas. I don't like listening to it when I'm not actively watching, but it's his equivalent of books. *shrug* That sounds so much like Kerry and me it is not even funny.

I hope you have a wonderful day, Karen, despite the medical visits.

>111 karenmarie: I know the alchemical *something* that makes a team your team is not always even to you obvious, but how could you pass up the chance of a lifetime to root for Tottenham Hotspur? The name alone...!

Your extension will improve in direct proportion to the amount of discomfort you endure. This an immutable Truth. Joints that need and get repair will always hurt because we use them so very much. Keep up the good suffering. It WILL pay off. Look at how much you got from doing the weight-loss work... wearing t-shirt that's old enough to have grandkids isn't nothing!

*smooch*

Good morning, Karen! I have to get going, but I'm eager for your blood levels of this and that to get back into the normal range. You're doing a good job on yourself. Keep it up! Keep it up!

My world is crashing down around my ears. I missed a prime library sale yesterday, because...I FORGOT! And no making it up; the opportunity is psszzt! Until mid-July. Ohhh, the horror. The March sale was cancelled because of course it was. The two-day sale routine is Wednesday and Saturday. Saturday I must be at the second of three graduations. I will soldier on. Chin up, eyes front.

Such is the life of an old fart.

I've read your updates, and while I feel for your aching and paining, I am pleasured to read how well you are navigating your course of rehab. Keep at it.

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/350931

>114 alcottacre: They are on Ammie, Stasia, so easy peasy. This morning I'm using this cup, sans the cake, alas:



My friend Karen in Montana, who’s never married, says that marrying a non-reader would have been a deal breaker for her, but you never know where the heart leads. And I actually enjoy being able to co-opt the entire house for MY books, greedy book wh**e that I am.

>115 richardderus: Tottenham’s name is very special, of course, but loyalty overrides the name. And the Arsenal Gunners ain’t bad, either.

I will prone hang this morning. Good suffering, pain for gain.

>116 LizzieD: ‘Morning the next day, Peggy! Thank you.

>117 weird_O: Bill, Bill, Bill. What are we going to do with you? Those of us who don’t have many book sales during the year RELY on you to help us control our book-buying binges.

Heh. Old fart. I knew a couple in California in the early 80s who had baseball caps – his said OLD FART, hers said OLD FART’S WIFE. Thanks re my rehab and I shall Keep At It.

>118 SilverWolf28: Thanks, Silver! I need to get organized and start thinking The Readathon Way.

Wordle 699 3/6* adieu, crier, grief

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Chiropractic in the a.m., PCP in the afternoon. Lots of driving = good The Silkworm listening time.

Chiropractic went well, and I deliberately didn't take the cane in and managed fine.

My PCP appointment went well, too, and he's convinced that the B12 is not an issue with peripheral neuropathy AND also thinks it's the result of me having to compensate when using first the walker and now the cane. These walking aids have caused my lower back problems to flare up and he thinks the inflammation and pain are causing lightly pinched nerves, leading to the tingling/numbness. sensory loss in both LE c/w lumbar neuropathy, probably a l4 or l5 disc injury. Since it is intermittent (?positional) and not progressive, we can continue to observe. She will contact me if worse. The Total Bilirubin levels being high are most likely a result of some of the meds I was on in the hospital and immediately after. He doesn't feel that it's dangerously high - if I see any signs of jaundice (yellow eyes or greenish/gray skin) contact them immediately. Dangerously high would be 8-10, and mine's at 1.9. He's already submitted the blood work request for my annual exam in October to include the Total Bilirubin level.

I also don't need another Covid booster because I got the newest bivalent one in September, but he said I really need to get the 2-dose Shingles vaccine regimen. And when I talked with Karen last night, she said to google Diane Feinstein. *shudder* I got the original Zostovax Shingles vaccine soon after it was approved in 2006, so at least I have that.

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Today is PT at 10, my house cleaner at 11, and lunch with friend and Librarian Rita at 12:30 unless she has to bail again. We're going to a Mexican place, Mi Cancun.

Bill's working from home today so will be able to monitor Alex when I've left for lunch.

>119 karenmarie: Your day sounds great, Horrible dearest. Mostly because of Mi Cancun... I'd kill for Mexican food... lunch is baked ziti but enchiladas sound better to me. I'm glad you can leave Alex to Bill's tender mercies. Coming home to a clean house is a joy.

Sen. Feinstein needs to heed the calls for her resignation. This health issue is not going to be the last one for an all-but 90 year old. Let Gov. Newsom appoint a replacement before her term ends.

Good morning, Karen, on a day when we are Wordle 3 Sisters. I love it!

I'm relieved that your docs have reasonable explanations for your blood levels. I read a couple of places that older adults & immune-impaired folks should get the bivalent booster again now before the new formula in the fall. After all, September was 8 months ago. Walgreens is offering it, and I'll be checking with Brownie before I see him in July. Shingrix laid my DH low for a couple of days after each shot, and he doesn't give in to illness unless he feels dreadful . I know that most people get off without a severe reaction, but I can't afford two days off, and I'd probably need 3 or 4 if it took me the same way. I also had the 40% effective shot, so that's going to do it for me for now. Poor Sen. Feinstein though. She looks really awful.

Happy day! I love that mug!!

Thanks for promising To Keep at It. Happily, my own ailments are largely imaginary. Ready for a nap.

>119 karenmarie:, >121 LizzieD: Re: getting the bivalent booster, here's an article from the Your Local Epidemiologist newsletter (yes, an actual epidemiologist) that might help you think through it:
https://yourlocalepidemiologist.substack.com/p/do-i-need-a-spring-booster

Re: Shingrix, I can understand your quandary. We were vaccinated in 2020 and yep, we had side effects but then we'd not had the previous booster so there was really no question about getting it.

>119 karenmarie: Love the cup in that shot. The cake looks pretty good too.

I didn't have any reaction to my first Shingrix shot but did with the follow up but I had the second shot shortly after I had a Moderna shot which I reacted to so I blame my reaction to the second Shingrix on that. Oh, the wonderful things we have to look forward to as we get older!

>120 richardderus: Hi RD! Happy Saturday. I was trying for a low-sodium meal – steak tacos in corn tortillas – but the steak was rather salty and they weren’t that good. I was worried enough about the salt that I only had some (unsalted) buttered angel hair pasta with a few sprinkles of Lite Salt, so the entire ‘meal’ was less than 40 mg of sodium and I didn’t retain water overnight. I actually prefer the LESS authentic place near the grocery store, Mexican-American, if you will, which I’ll recommend for next time. And I’d kill for anything Italian because cheese and tomato sauce/marinara sauce/etc. are the things I’ve had to give up except for pizza one time in March. Of course, not eating them has also contributed to my post-heart-attack weight loss.

Newsom needs to replace her with the black woman he promised in 2021 and not let anything get in the way of having a woman US Senator from CA. He needs to do it now to relieve Feinstein of the burden of serving and to get a Democrat in. As we've seen, the Gang of Psychos is wily and underhanded and who know what they'd do to sabotage the process and entitlement of a Democratic Senator.

>121 LizzieD: ‘Morning, Peggy, a day later. Yay for being Wordle Sisters yesterday. Took me 4 today, but I got it quickly.

I may override my doctor’s recommendation against the Covid booster. Gotta think on it a bit. I’d need to time getting Shingrix to a Friday to have time enough to recover to not disrupt PT and continuing exercising/and now some walking (ugh) for knee recovery. Did Feinstein get shingles vaccines and is seriously unlucky or did she not get shingles vaccines?

Thanks re the blood levels and the plan going forward. The mug makes me happy, but yesterday’s mug is in use again today since I drink my coffee black, no sugar and finished up a cup completely yesterday morning.

>122 weird_O: You’re welcome Bill. I’m glad your ailments are largely imaginary. I hope you enjoyed your nap. I took a nap yesterday afternoon, too, and was barely coherent when Jenna called at 4:15 on her way home from work.

>123 lauralkeet: Thanks for the link, Laura. For me, it didn’t provide a direct answer, but it with the CDC website info on Covid comorbidity factors means that being 65+ with the comorbidity factor of heart issues suggests I should get it. I think I'll think on it a bit more, but if I decide to get it I'll get it first for as soon as possible then wait a couple of weeks then start the shingles 2-dose vaccine regimen. Thank you!

>124 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg, and thank you. I can’t remember what cake that was, but by appearance it was probably my paternal grandmother’s ‘raisin pudding’ with cream cheese frosting.

Thanks for your experiences with the shingles vaccine.

Getting older is complex. I will be 70 next month. If one has access to good quality health care, which I do, and one doesn’t have TOO many underlying medical conditions, which I do not, then the aging process is tolerable. So few people don’t have chronic pain/debilitating conditions brought on by either lifestyle or genetic conditions by the age of 70 that even with my widow(er)-maker STEMI heart attack in November of 2021, I don’t have high blood pressure, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, or debilitating back issues, or etc. I'm a heart patient forever, but so far it's managed well.

I did inherit the heart issues from my mother’s side of the family and being severely overweight with high cholesterol caused the heart attack. But, good news - when I looked at the online doctor’s notes from my Thursday visit, I’m below their official weight goal for me for the first time in … oh… forever. And I still want to lose 15 lbs this year, but it’s not critical.

My goal is to age as gracefully as possible.

Wordle 700 4/6* adieu, baron, stash, flask

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Arsenal plays Nottingham Forest at 12:30. Jenna and I are going to do a bit of straightening of linens today, weeding out some of the too-many-sets-of-single-sheets at a minimum. We currently don't have twin beds out (the antique brass beds are in the attic) but the linens we do have are high quality and keeping two sets with Battenburg lace isn't a hardship. We're also going to put a winter bedspread into the cedar chest and put 2 silk comforters and a queen-sized comforter into my car for me to take to the dry cleaners sometime this week. They'll have to help me bring them in, but they will.

I'm glad the covid booster info was helpful, Karen. I actually liked that it didn't give a firm answer, but provided information to help you evaluate your personal situation. I think you're doing a great job taking care of your health!

>125 karenmarie: Thank the goddesses that the Guardian covers soccer in such detail...I now understand why people hate Man City. Didja know San Diego is getting a FC expansion team in 2025?
{San Diego} beat Las Vegas to become the 30th team in American soccer’s top division beginning in 2025, after this ownership group paid a record expansion fee of $500m for the privilege.

...Egyptian Mohamed Mansour – a dual British citizen who is the senior treasurer for the UK’s Conservative party – and the Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, a local casino-operating tribe, partnering to launch a California-based football team sounds like something only Thomas Pynchon could conceive of, as clever people on Twitter have noted.
The sport Americans watch their daughters play but can't be bothered to watch hunky men in skimpy shorts play is serious about conquering the US couch potatoes. Go know from this.

I'm overwhelmed by tomato sauce and cheese laden pastas in the diet here. Gives me quite a belly to eat so much carb-laden stuff. Rob likes the belly fine, I don't. I'm so sorry about that indifferent steak taco meal. What a waste it is to go out to eat and get something disappointing. Still you have a plan for next time to minimize the risk.

Your weight loss is the most inspirational thing you've kept going on. It's a long term investment in not having another STEMI heart attack. So amazing that you have beaten the genetic odds and kept yourself on track! Modern medicine and sheer stubborn refusal to give up are an awesome team.

*smooch*

>126 lauralkeet: I second Laura's commendation (and Richard's, which appeared while I was writing this), dear Karen, and thank you both for the link to the epidemiologist. Since we are going-on 79, 80, and 102, I don't think there's any question that we should be boosted again now. I'll get on it Monday!

Off to start the day.... Wordle in 6, but at least Wordle!

Y'all have a great day! (((((Karen)))))

>108 karenmarie: I finally found some time in an unusually busy week to get back over here. I've got a Betty Crocker cookbook--I'll have to take a look to see what the cake recipes are in there. I've also got some chocolate in the pantry, but not sure if it's just unsweetened, or if I have something else. I'll take a look to see if I've got any German's Sweet Chocolate. I remember my mom making the icing from scratch. I even remember her getting coconuts and draining the milk from them before cracking them open.

Really glad to hear that you had such good news from your visit to the doctor! Also great to hear that you have lost so much weight to improve your health. I think you're doing better than I am in some ways. I definitely need more exercise than I'm getting, although I do try and I'm taking a couple of classes at the senior center.

I have not yet seen any hummingbirds, although the feeder is out. I'm very surprised. I also envy you getting indigo buntings on a regular basis. I only ever saw one here once, close to 20 years ago.

We'll be leaving town tomorrow to go visit Mr. A's family in Mississippi. We're staying with his mother, who is in her 90's and doesn't have internet, so we will probably be offline for most of the next couple of weeks.

>126 lauralkeet: Yes, indeed it was, Laura. Thank you re my health – I’m trying.

>127 richardderus: I wish I had one cent for every word of Premier League soccer coverage by the papers in England. I’d be able to endow colleges and feed the multitudes. I did not know that San Diego is getting an expansion club in 2025. Guess I shouldn’t tell you that part of my Arsenal password is hotbodies…

Richard, I honestly can’t see any belly fat on your svelte form from the most recent picture, but appreciate Rob’s appreciation. Yes, my plan for future Mexican restaurant meals will make me happier. Thanks about the weight loss. Who, me, stubborn? *smooch*

>128 LizzieD: I'm glad you have a booster plan, Peggy. Boo hiss to Wordle in 6, but it still beats a skunk. Enjoy your day – I’ve mostly enjoyed mine, with getting things done with Jenna even though Arsenal lost. (((hugs)))

>129 atozgrl: Hi Irene! Yay for a visit. I have semi-sweet chocolate and chocolate chips in the pantry, along with peanut butter chips. Don’t keep German Chocolate and I am out of unsweetened chocolate. Make sure to use the right chocolate called for by a recipe because the sweetness of the finished product will be Very Wrong if you don’t. I love fresh coconut.

Thanks re the doctor’s visit result. Have a safe trip to Mississippi. Being offline is not necessarily a bad thing, is it?

The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey
5/16/23 to 5/20/23





From Amazon.com:

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year | An O Magazine Best Book of the Year

The New York Times bestselling author of The Flight of Gemma Hardy delivers another “luminous, unforgettable, and perfectly rendered” (Dennis Lehane) novel—a poignant and probing psychological drama that follows the lives of three siblings in the wake of a violent crime.

One September afternoon in 1999, teenagers Matthew, Zoe, and Duncan Lang are walking home from school when they discover a boy lying in a field, bloody and unconscious. Thanks to their intervention, the boy’s life is saved. In the aftermath, all three siblings are irrevocably changed.

Matthew, the oldest, becomes obsessed with tracking down the assailant, secretly searching the local town with the victim’s brother. Zoe wanders the streets of Oxford, looking at men, and one of them, a visiting American graduate student, looks back. Duncan, the youngest, who has seldom thought about being adopted, suddenly decides he wants to find his birth mother. Overshadowing all three is the awareness that something is amiss in their parents’ marriage. Over the course of the autumn, as each of the siblings confronts the complications and contradictions of their approaching adulthood, they find themselves at once drawn together and driven apart.

Written with the deceptive simplicity and power of a fable, The Boy in the Field showcases Margot Livesey’s unmatched ability to “tell her tale masterfully, with intelligence, tenderness, and a shrewd understanding of all our mercurial human impulses” (Lily King, author of Euphoria).

Why I wanted to read it: For my RL book club May meeting.

At the end of this book, even though the boy in the field actually commits suicide years later, I realized that there is only forgiveness, love, inclusion, and positivity from what could have turned dark, awful, and toxic.

The story is told from the viewpoint of the three Lang children in POV chapters. Duncan is 13, Zoe is 16, and Matthew is 18, I think. There are secondary plots of Duncan wanting and getting a dog and looking for his first mother, who gave him up at 3 days, Zoe enamoured of Rufus, an American, and Matthew suffering through the betrayal of girlfriend Rachel but becoming closer to his friend Benjamin. The Lang parents also have their issues.

Overall I found the writing clean and crisp but subtle and evocative. The boy in the field, Karel, is a mystery from beginning to end. I really appreciated the epilogue 8 ½ years later, when the parents and the three children are together after years of separation as a family.

Six word review: Ripple effects of a traumatic event.

I loved The Boy in the Field when I read it a few years ago. Glad it was a good read for you, too.

Hi Karen. I'm added the Boy in the Field to be TBR pile. I'll head to Thrift books site to see if they have this one!

I very much enjoy reading the books you've completed.

>130 karenmarie: Thanks for your best wishes for our trip! No, being offline is not necessarily bad. :-) Hopefully that will give me some reading time while I'm there. My cake-from-scratch investigations will have to wait until we get back.

Hope you have a great week!

>132 katiekrug: Hi Katie! Have you read anything else by her? I have, have read, and loved The Flight of Gemma Hardy. A friend recommended Eva Moves the Furniture years ago but I didn't follow up and am now intrigued.

>133 Whisper1: Hi Linda! Good luck finding it, and I'm glad some of my BBs resonate with you.

>134 atozgrl: Enjoy your family visit and reading, Irene. Cake from scratch investigations are always fun.

Wordle 701 4/6* adieu, coral, raspy, brash

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Minor sadness - we finished watching C.B. Strike, which goes through the 6th book Troubled Blood. Mamie gifted me with the first DVD when I was just home from the hospital after knee replacement surgery, I loved it then got Bill to watch it, then we've bought the rest of the seasons on Amazon. I was particularly pleased to see that Robert Glenister, who has narrated all the Cormoran Strike audio books, played Jasper Chiswell in Lethal White.

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Today is RL book club to discuss The Boy in the Field. Next month is book selection for the next book club year. There are 11 of us. I'm leaning towards either Lessons in Chemistry or Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, although I have 'til June 11th to decide. And even then, depending on whether other people want either of those books, I might have to bring in another choice. Best have 3 or 4...

I also want to make Snickerdoodles today, with Jenna's help, to give to Walter, the guy at her work who loaned his Polar Care Cold Therapy Ice Machine. We returned it last week, and Jenna got me my own as a Mother's Day present. It's really helping with the swelling.

He told Jenna he loves sugar cookies, Snickerdoodles, and Chocolate Chip Cookies without the chocolate chips - just the cookie dough baked up. Strange man. I'll use the Betty Crocker Snickerdoodles recipe since it's the one my sister also uses, with great success.

Good morning Karen! Like you, we were sad when we came to the end of CB Strike. I'm sure the latest book will be adapted, but I hate waiting.

Mmm ... Snickerdoodles. I haven't had those in ages. We tend to gravitate toward chocolatey baked goods (no chocolate chips, WTF?!), but I do love Snickerdoodles.

Hi Laura!

I've never met Walter so can't put a face to the weirdness of chocolate chip cookies without chocolate chips, and rather than experiment, possibly with disastrous results, I decided to go with Snickerdoodles, which are less work than rolled/cookie cutter cut sugar cookies. I do have the best sugar cookie recipe in the world, though...

>131 karenmarie: ...funny...I can't see anything in that there box... must be my self-preservation filter kicking on...

>130 karenmarie: I am so pleased that you can't see my belly fat! Of course Rob sees me naked, and so has a rather different view, but as long as he's content so am I.

Hotbodies is le mot juste...eons ago I got on the mailing list of the Warwick Rowers, a group of fit young lads who pose naked for an annual calendar. They have gone much wider in their catchment and mission, now calling themselves Worldwide Roar, but still finding young athletes to pose nude for the calendar from all over the world. The organization is set up to raise awareness and money for the fight against homophobia in sport. That's a cause I'm glad to chuck $35 towards annually. The calendar offended Old Stuff so it goes to Rob now. Funny thing is that he is just lukewarm about it... preferring older and more padded men. I guess he humors me by taking it... and it supports a cause we both approve of.

Good afternoon, Karen! Happy snickerdoodles and happy book club. You're certainly staying busy!

>135 karenmarie: The Polar Care Cold Therapy Ice Machine seems like a great item to have, but I wonder how Mike would receive it if I gave it to him as a birthday or Father's day gift. He should be out of the sling by then and isn't really anticipating more joint surgery. But I'll put on my Amazon "useful" list in case another joint requires repair.

‘Morning, RDear! Happy Monday to you.

>138 richardderus: Poor you – I’d be interested in your take on it but if you can’t even see what’s in that there box…

We’ll continue to let it just be Rob who sees you naked. I looked at the Worldwide Roar website, and I was happy to do so. I won’t shell out money towards their calendar though.

>139 LizzieD: I did make the Snickerdoodles, Peggy, and we all three approved of them. I found a nice silver Levenger box that I've kept for decades that held 12 nicely, and Jenna’s taking them in for Walter today. I also just had two with my first sips of coffee.

>140 quondame: Hi Susan. Ice therapy works well for just swelling and aches and pains, too, with different pads. I’ve considered getting the blanket pad for my SI joint, but haven’t done so yet.

Wordle 702 4/6* adieu, pivot, inbox, igloo

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Book club was very nice yesterday. I got into Diane's house without taking or using the cane - both from sheer stubbornness and the fact that her place is teensy and I could easily navigate around without it. Of the 7 of 11 of us there, two truly despised it, one was meh about it, and the rest of us loved it. The two who despised it had a variety of reasons, but 'boring', 'shallow', and 'illogical' featured prominently. We had a very good discussion, and at one point Judy, a lover of the book, stopped Steph (who despised the book and who had already gone on ad infinitum about it) when she interrupted, telling her that she needed to be quiet so that she, Judy, could talk about her experience of the book. I not so secretly smiled.

While I was at book club Jenna made chili - I'd left everything out and when I got home she had just finished putting the spices, S&P, and basil in. I made cornbread about 5 p.m., and we all really enjoyed it. Bonus - leftovers of both for tonight.

Jenna has a late morning doctor's appointment this morning so is home right now. She'll go straight to work after. Bill has stayed home for whatever reason but hasn't come out of the bedroom yet.

I have my every 6-month cardiologist appointment today in the early afternoon, otherwise am just home puttering and hanging out and reading.

Morning, Karen. Once again, thanks for keeping my thread warm while I was gallivanting in the woods. We had a good time. Always a learning experience for us, plus we camp with such a great group of friends. I managed to see 37 species of birds in MI. Honestly, I hoped to see a few more. We heard a pileated drumming loudly on a few occasions but never got eyes on it.

Good review of The Boy in the Field. I have added that one to my TBR. Good luck today with your Dr appt and enjoy that chili.

I am taking it easy this AM. Run a couple of errands, tend to my feeders, plus lots of reading time later on.

>141 karenmarie: Happy New Sunday, Horrible my love. I'm jealous of y'all's chili-and-cornbread dinner plus leftovers. Nothing like chili the next day. Or cornbread, for that matter. I dislike corn as a vegetable but love it as meal, made into breads and tortillas. Inconsistent much?

I can't think you'd want the WR calendar but the cause merits support. Let your fellow smut-reading folks know the site exists!

The banging on that Steph did reminds me of the pitfalls of IRL group activity. Some people dominate, some people quietly listen, others feel excluded... hosting the gathering is quite a lot of effort. I'm glad you enjoyed the meeting. Oh, and the book of course.

I hope your cardiologist says only happy, chirpy things to you today. *smooch*

Good morning, Karen! I can't imagine that your cardiologist is going to be anywhere but over the moon at your steady, wonderful progress. Be proud!

I also envy you the chili. Mine never turns out so well, so I should probably look at your recipe if you have time and inclination to post it sometime.

Your club's discussion reminds me of the format for the Great Books discussions that I used with my high school kids. It's the leader's responsibility, and she states it up front, to ensure that everybody speaks, nobody dominates, nobody ducks out. It made for good use of class time and some surprisingly illuminating responses if the initial question was well-chosen.

Yay! Both Helen and Claire are officially college graduates. I get a weekend off to end the month, and I will use it to attended a street fair in Collingswood, NJ with the younger branch of the family—Ned and Sam and their three daughters. We Zoom pretty regularly, but we have not gotten together face-to-face in well over a year. Then Gracie will graduate from high school on June 3 (which is also the twin's birthday). Weather permitting, there'll be a rollicking good pool party at "the other grandparents" house, commingled (somehow) with festivities at the parents house (about 30 miles from the pool house). I'll just be along for the ride. :-)

Hi Karen, wanted to drop by and say "Hello" ~ I've been preoccupied with family visits that threw off my garden and reading schedule.
But it's all good times.
Also, lovely to discover you are making such excellent progress. Hope you come away from the cardiologist visit with a gold star.

>141 karenmarie: Yay for Judy. Some people feel the need to re-repeat the points they made until everyone is nodding in agreement, which like never happens so some intervention can be most welcome.

>142 msf59: ‘Morning a day later, Mark! NP re your thread, glad you had a good time. 37 species would stun me, but of course being the Serious Birder that you are, I can see how you would have liked more. Right now I’ve got a male Cardinal and a sparrow of some sort on the feeders. Earlier I had an Indigo Bunting. I just listened to the drumming of a Pileated on allaboutbirds.org – it’s so distinctive, isn’t it? Thanks re my review, see below re the cardiologist’s appointment. Leftover chili and cornbread, pieces cut in half and toasted last night, were highly satisfactory. There’s enough chili left over for one bowl for a lucky winner, probably Bill. I hope your day of errands, feeder replenishment and reading was a good’un.

>143 richardderus: Hiya, RD! Mondays never bothered me when I was working for some reason, and now in retirement I only actively think of what day of the week it is to confirm my schedule. Of course Jenna works M-F, so there’s that structure, too. Bill seems to at least temporarily have given up on going to work, don’t know the potential repercussions from his boss.

Inconsistency is the spice of life – I have said for most of my adult life that I reserve the right to be inconsistent. Yay for corn inconsistency.

Your mention of smut-reading folks reminded me of this: Tom Lehrer’s Smut

Our RL book club works such that whoever’s book it is chooses the venue – their home or a public venue in these STILL-Covidy times – provides snacks and drinks to whatever level they want, and controls how the discussion goes. Diane is non-controlling and rather diffident and let Steph and Tamsie control the discussion with their dislike beyond their turns, so Judy’s stepping in was a lot of fun to watch. Four of the eleven of live off the same road, about 10 minutes from my house, and are all close friends – Steph, Diane, and Judy plus a woman who was sick, Blanche, and not present.

*smooch* and chirpy noises

>144 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, and thanks. Cardiologist’s report below. Here’s my Low Sodium version of Chili. You can make it easier to use by substituting regular canned tomatoes and canned beans – 5 14.5 oz each – and using any chili powder. All three of those items are much higher in sodium, so I've found lower sodium alternatives. And, I have been using Morton Lite Salt for decades.

Karen’s Chili, Low Sodium Version

2 lbs ground beef – 80/20, 600 mg sodium
1 onion, chopped – 0 mg sodium
28 oz can no salt diced tomatoes – 105 mg sodium
1 lb dried light kidney beans, soaked or lightly cooked to be soft – 0 mg sodium *
2 T Spice Islands chili powder – 240 mg sodium
¼ t cayenne powder – 0 mg sodium
1/2 t black pepper – 0 mg sodium
1 t Morton Lite Salt – 1160 mg sodium
1 t dried oregano or basil leaves- 0 mg sodium

In a dutch oven or stock pot, cook beef and chopped onion until meat is browned. Drain. Return to pot, add tomatoes and cook for 15 minutes at medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add rinsed beans and enough water to cover plus 1 or 2 cups. Add seasonings and stir. Cook for 1½ hours at medium low heat, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasonings about half way through.

*InstaPot 30 minutes with 8 cups water, natural release after ~20 minutes, let sit for 2 hours before using. Rinse thoroughly.

Yield 16 cups
2105 mg sodium total
132 mg sodium per cup

I’m glad you had a way to make sure all your kids were given an opportunity to speak.

That reminds me of my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Greenblatt. For the softball unit during PE, she had a 2-part wheel, with a brad in the middle of the two wheels. The position was on the outer wheel and each child’s name in the class was on the inner wheel. We had lots of fielders because our class was probably around 30 or so, so 15 on a team, everybody out there for each team. It was rotated one click every day during softball season so that EVERYBODY got to play every position, and Don McMahon was not always pitcher, Little League champ that he was, in addition to being my 5th-grade crush. Even Donna Langford, the most clutzy girl in class, got to be pitcher.

>145 weird_O: Congrats on the graduations. Have fun with the younger branch of the family, you social butterfly!

>146 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy, and thanks for the visit. I’m glad the family visits are all good times, and thanks re my progress. Gold-star progress report below.

>147 quondame: Hi Susan, and yes, Judy stepping up in her low-key but devastating way was brilliant. I can see you stepping in, too, and I certainly would have had it been my book.

Wordle 703 4/6* adieu, slept, fleck, clerk

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The Cardiologist's Report:

We reviewed my meds and (unfortunately) I still need 'em all, so except for the 2 non-prescription meds I use that I could theoretically stop, I am on 8 meds, probably forever. As Jenna says, it is what it is. The cardiologist is pleased with my weight, my heart function from the echocardiogram last year, my continuing on the low-sodium diet, and her physical exam of listening to my heart, checking for edema on hands and feet, and etc. I asked her HER opinion of another Covid vaccine dose and she said she didn't have one, which sort of surprised me, but no problem. I also asked if she thought there were any contraindications of me getting the 2-dose shingles vaccine and she said no. I also explained the peripheral neuropathy stuff, which she was happy to leave in my PCP's court, and then I asked her if it would be okay if I got a tattoo - not a possibility while on Brilinta for my stent and nothing I was going to work on with the knee replacement surgery, but I've been thinking about a small one for a while and just may go through with it this summer. Jenna was gobsmacked when I mentioned this to her earlier this year. *smile*

I graduated to once-a-year with the cardiologist, always with the understanding that if I want/need to see her sooner that I can make an appointment. I asked her if she was going to be around in a year, and she and her husband bought a house in Pittsboro recently, so the answer was yes.

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PT at noon, chiropractor at 2:15, with a stop in between for a pharmacy visit to pick up a couple of things and arrange for COVID and shingles vaccines, separately, of course. I may try again to drop off three large comforters at the dry cleaners - they'll have to come out and get them, so I'll have to park in the fire lane right in front, always nervous making.

And, while looking for the gold star in my gallery, I found this and couldn't resist posting:

Morning, Karen. Glad the doctor's appt went well. Keep up the good work. I am heading out to Rehab shortly- I like to get there early and walk the wooded grounds. It can be birdy around there, especially during migration, plus a special released bird may be hanging around back there.

My feeders are quiet- a couple of housefinch and a cardinal, last time I looked.

Congratulations on the gold star from the cardiologist, Karen! That's fantastic news.

Excellent report from the cardiologist! That must feel good :)

Love the First Amendment graphic!

>148 karenmarie: I love love love that jpeg! I'm thrilled that you have graduated to an annual visit with the cardiologist. Your stubborn streak has served you very well indeed. The lifestyle changes you've made aren't easy to maintain but you certainly have!

The Tom Lehrer earworm is most welcome since what I usually have stuck in my head is the goddamned LEAVE IT TO BEAVER theme. I detest MeTV.

It'll be a perfect day for my walk to the Little Free Library, about 65° and little breeze. This May has been so beautiful weather wise that I dread the deep summer... believing as I do that the Weather Goddesses are Calvinists to a woman so will be exacting severe revenge for the clemency of this month. I'd so love to be proved wrong. Permaybehaps you could have a word with them at your next meeting...?

*smooch*

>148 karenmarie: Yes! YES!! YES!!! for your cardiac review!!!! I knew that it would be good. You have been the best.

Also many thanks for the chili recipe. I was going to make a meatloaf today, but maybe I'll try chili instead. Hmmm. I know Mama will eat the meatloaf. Maybe I'll wait and make a small chili batch just to see.

Tattoo??? Are you telling what and where???? I wouldn't have minded a little violet somewhere, but I realize that it would now be a shrinking violet, and that would make me sad.

Wordle in four for me too. I'm happy enough to be there. Cheers for your day!

Hooray for your good cardiology report! All your hard work has paid off.

Oh, I've been thinking of a small tattoo, too. I'm thinking of a simple line cat. icanhascheezburger? had some cute ones the other day.

Ha! Come out to Montana to visit Karen and we'll get tattooed!

That's a great result from you cardiologist! Yay you!

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. My Rehab stint went well. Lots & lots of babies. I am doing a solo walk at the Arboretum this AM. I have not visited in awhile. Nothing happening at my feeders at the moment...

Enjoy your day!

Hi Mark! Happy Wednesday to you. Thanks re the appointment. I hope Rehab went well. I hope you saw some interesting birds on your walk before duties. I’ve had a male Cardinal and Indigo Bunting, and have a Carolina Chickadee and finch or two.

>150 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. I’m pleased.

>151 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie – it does feel good and is always a relief that I’m coming along. Thanks re the graphic.

>152 richardderus: Hiya, RDear! I’m happy to have graduated, too. She’s pleased. Who, me, stubborn? 🙄 Not eating pasta/cheese/tomato dishes and pizza, a huge part of my pre-heart attack diet, is easy now. I just don’t think about eating them, and don’t have any cravings for them. I’ve had pizza once since my heart attack.

Yay for Tom Lehrer! Glad I evicted the LitB theme from your head.

Nice walking weather and I dread summer, too. Heh. I’m impressed that you think I hang out with the Weather Goddesses. I just asked my guardian angel to intercede with the Weather Goddesses to try to make the summer not so deep summery for us.

>153 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, and I’m very happy. Thank you for your joy and enthusiasm for me.

I hope the chili recipe works out for you. I just went down the rabbit hole of chili, saw a picture of French fries topped with chili and cheese sauce and think I have enough chili left over to make a modified version that uses a bit of shredded cheese instead of cheese sauce for dinner tonight – might be enough for all of us.

I think I want a tattoo of the kanji characters for fujoshi.

Fujoshi literally means 'rotten girl', and humorously refers to women who who like to read BL/shonen-ai (or yaoi) fiction.

It is often used in a self-deprecating manner to refer to one's own 'impure' thoughts when fantasizing over BL fiction. Fujoshi also often like shipping men - in real life or otherwise - together. The same word, fujoshi, also means respectable lady (though written using different kanji) thus it is also a kind of otaku in-joke.

It is thought that the first appearance of the word, on the online message board 2channel, was used to refer to people who like to imagine or "ship" male-on-male romantic and sexual relationships between fictional characters, celebrities, or people they know, even when the relationship is not canon or even remotely possible. It wasn't until later that fujoshi came to refer to girls who read works specifically written about homosexual relationships.

https://myanimelist.net/featured/1571/What_The_Hell_Is_a_Fujoshi_Meaning

The characters are 腐女子

Given that I’ve read 344 books in this romance subgenre since last June with no sign of losing interest, it seems appropriate. Of course, I’ll confirm that those characters are actually fujoshi. I don’t accidentally want the kanji for aglet or dog eyebrow or something else ridiculous. I think I want them on my left wrist or inside left forearm halfway between my hand and elbow. They'll be small - perhaps .5" x 1.5" - in black ink. Yay for Wordle in 4 – today’s effort for me was 4 again.

A violet would be nice, and I don't think of you as a shrinking violet.

>154 streamsong: Hi Janet and thank you. Yes, so far so good. Gotta keep going, obviously, both on low-sodium lifestyle and recovery from knee replacement surgery. I’ve been given the go-ahead by the surgeon’s office to start back up on the treadmill, and will take it very slowly. I might go to the Senior Center as early as tomorrow. I have nothing outside the house scheduled for today, first M-F day in 15 days.

Oh my, what a temptation! Karen already knows I want a tattoo and has been making ‘visit me this summer’ noises. A simple line cat sounds fun and would be logical for me too except for my obsession with yaoi. I just looked at the icanhascheezburger? website, and there was an article that said MOMs handled tattoo gun pain the best because of having given birth and going through all that pain and trauma. The tattoo gun is nothing to that. And, we’re both moms! And, I don’t think Karen wants a tattoo and isn’t a mom, but I’ll ask her tonight. Of course that will put a 2023 visit on her radar and I'll hear about it regularly…

>155 quondame: Hi Susan. Thank you. I’m still basking in it.

>156 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Happy Wednesday to you. Yay for Rehab babies – sorry they’re there, glad they’re there. Enjoy your solo walk at the Arboretum.

For a while I was considering a 70-year-birthday trip with friend Jan, but think I want to have one with my sister, possibly even Hawaii if she hasn’t already been (don’t remember), with a stop off in Montana on the way back. Just possibly. It would mean up to a month away from home. I don't know if I can put Jenna through that...

Wordle 704 4/6* adieu, ruler, upper, utter

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As mentioned above, no plans outside the house today. I'm going to do my PT exercises, the dread prone hang, use my Polar Ice machine, read, and do some upstairs puttering.

Jenna's at work, Bill's at home.

edited to add: Got a Pfizer Covid booster yesterday afternoon. So far the only side effect is a sore upper left arm.

>157 karenmarie: Your tattoo idea is 🖖

I would advise you against wrist and/or ankle tatts because they HURT. Meatier bits don't hurt much because the nerve endings are further down from the dermis. Inside the forearm would be the less painful option.

I've always just figured that all y'all stubborn old women hung out together to decide how much to make Humanity (read: men) suffer. I've put your influence down as the moderating one keeping the other immortal and yet menopausal Goddesses from unleashing worse havoc. Are you suggesting that my cosmogony is incorrect?

Good morning, Karen. What a fascinating article on fujoshi! A whole new world for me.....

I'm impressed that you got your booster yesterday. I'm calling the health department right now!!!!

Enjoy your day!

Happy Thursday, Karen!

>148 karenmarie: Glad, like everybody else, to read the visit to your cardiologist went well.

>157 karenmarie: I hope you are still free of side effects from your booster.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. I hope you keep that birthday trip in mind. It sounds awesome. I am meeting a birding buddy this AM. We are also preparing to keep Jack here for the next 2 nights. Bree will bring him by about 5 or so. We sure miss the little guy.

Nothing to report about my feeders. It continues to be slow...

>158 richardderus: Hi RD! Thanks. In thinking about it in more detail, I think I’d prefer to be able to look at it more on the outside of my forearm. But, still in the future.

Being the intermediary between havoc and immortal and … can we say capricious instead of menopausal and get THAT out of the way? … Goddesses is rather exhausting, actually, and at least THIS stubborn old woman takes on the responsibility gladly. I don’t always want men to suffer, but honestly, RDear, most of the ills of this world are caused by men since women don’t have the power, influence, or inate yet puzzling testosterone-driven desire to conquer and subjugate their fellow human beings.

Your cosmogony is part of what I accept as reality, consistent with being a Liberal Theist. *smooch*

>159 LizzieD: ‘Morning, Peggy, on this sweet Thursday. We aim to please… I don’t even know where I first heard the word, but I have a Word document with some things related to fujoshi/kanji for it from last April.

I hope you were able to call the Health Department and arrange for boosters for you and your fam.

>160 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita, and happy Thursday to you, too. Thanks re the cardiologist. And my arm isn’t even sore today and i've had no other side effects. I don’t think I’ll get any now, but you never know. *shrug*

>161 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and sweet Thursday to you. I mentioned a trip to Hawaii with friend Jan to celebrate our 70th up above or on a previous thread, but the more I've thought about it, the more I want to see my sister so broached the subject with her yesterday. I got three huge hearts and Timon from The Lion King in a grass skirt and lei pumping his hips gif... so we chatted and might actually do this. Neither of us has ever been and although it would be fun and interesting with Jan it would be beyond special with my sister. Her DiL Amber works in the tourism industry and can help us figure things out.

Enjoy your birding time and the extended Jackson time.

So far I've seen male Cardinals, finches, a Downy, and a Titmouse today and saw a male hummingbird yesterday.

Wordle 705 5/6*adieu, water, camel, gavel, bagel

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I had a productive day yesterday, which included puttering around upstairs. I found 4 sets of twin sheets after setting aside two sets with Battenburg lace for us to keep. Pillowcases need to be found and matched up in some cases. Get it? Cases? *smile* I’ve also found some of the twin mattress pads, some of which I'll keep. Once/if I get pillowcases/sheets reunited, and even if I don't, I’m going to offer them to members of my book club and what's left will go to the thrift shop. Then I’ll work on doubles and queen… less of each of those. Then other linens – we found a stack of things I inherited from my paternal grandmother that I’m going to keep, ditto some linens from Bill's mother/grandmother.

I also moved some books to a staging area for the Retreat and cleaned off a small chest, finding a gorgeous handmade blanket given to Jenna by my friend Daniel Todaro in 1993 and two handmade flannel blankets from Bill's distant cousin Dot Matthews.

...
I had such success puttering around upstairs yesterday that I'll probably do some more today.

I have PT and chiropractor appointments today, need to either go to the grocery store or place a small order, and possibly go to the Senior Center for 10 minutes on the treadmill to get back into cardio workouts.

In the meantime, coffee, threads, reading.

>162 karenmarie: Coffee, 🧵 s, walking on the boardwalk for me... give the Goddesses my heartfelt gratitude for the string of perfect days we're having here!

Your clear-out is a very nice inspiration to do the same. I've given away a lot of clothes that I can't wear anymore due to downsizing but there are lots more somehow. Do these things multiply when I'm not looking? How do they accomplish that? Anyway, I'm hoping you will have productive appointments and enjoy the senior center visit for your treadmill time.

*smooch*

You are being so busy and productive that I'm in awe! If I were at home, would I be doing similar clearing???? I should. Otherwise, I'll just tell the nieces and nephew that when we're dead, they know where the good stuff is. Get it and torch the rest.

Your Wordle at 5 and mine at 6 are making me rethink using my second word, except that when it works, it really works.
Cheers for PT and chiropractor out of the way and getting home for more fun and games. And --- Hawaii With Your Sister!!!! WOWZER!

Back from being boosted and having lunch. Now I have only to wash up and can have my cup of tea and continue with my Deborah Crombie. I do love Gemma and Duncan!

Here's the Memorial Day readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/351075

I'm glad your visit to the cardiologist went so well , Karen! Bravo to you on the weight loss and low salt diet. Well, it's covid booster for me on May 29th. I think my last one was October of 2022, and according to the email I received, " I would likely benefit from a booster. ". The BC provincial government sends out "vaccine invitations" and also a thank you for booking your vaccine . So stereotypically Canadian polite, but I appreciate it.

>163 richardderus: I hope your plan of Coffee, 🧵 s, walking on the boardwalk was carried out, and with aplomb.

I have clothes from size 8 to size 20, L to 3X. I will keep 14 and smaller pants and 1x and smaller shirts, but I want to spend some time with Jenna this 3-day weekend putting clothes in the right-sized piles for the thrift shop then bagging them up and getting them into the SUV. At least, a bag or two. Things do multiply. I look at some clothes and can’t remember where I got them. some are definitely Bill's Mama's, and I can now wear her lovely Totes 3-season storm jacket. It’s like socks getting lost in laundry. The Mischief Goddess of Clothes works her wiles. *smooch*

I will go to the Senior Center today after PT since PT’s the only thing on the docket – I didn’t look at my desk calendar yesterday morning, got dressed for PT, got ready for PT, got in the SUV for PT, then realized it wasn’t a PT day and today’s PT at 11.

>164 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, and yes, my energy’s up, and between PT and chiropractic and healing I’m coming along. Heh regarding the nieces and nephews. Jenna knows where all the good stuff is, I think, but I do need to mention a few things to her. I also need to make a list of books that she should get evaluated and not just get rid of willy-nilly.

Hawaii with my sister sounds quite wonderful, for sure. It's already fun to think about. Today’s Wordle could have been a disastrous Alphabet Soup, but I guessed right at word 4, guessing vowels correctly at 2 then working through consonants. *preens*

>165 LizzieD: YAY for getting boosted, my dear. I hope you don’t have any side effects.

My sore arm is a thing of the past, but I have some finger-sized bruises from the pharmacist. I just took a photo of them and will show them to him when I go get the first-of-two shingles vaccines next week. He can be much gentler with me since I don’t flinch and am not afraid of needles.

I abandoned another book yesterday. This is now 48 books for 4812 pages this year. Thank goodness for Kindle Unlimited. Enjoy your Gemma and Duncan. I love the name Gemma.

>166 SilverWolf28: Hi Silver! I haven’t gotten organized enough to record things yet, but please keep letting me know.

>167 vancouverdeb: Thanks for your kind words re my weight loss and cardiologist’s visit, Deborah. Our CDC’s recommendation regarding my age and the comorbidity of heart issues is what got me to override my PCP’s opinion that I didn’t need it. Yay for your May 29th appointment. I’m glad the BC provincial government sent you a vaccine invitation. Politeness is never to be sneered at. I can’t imagine first off getting that kind of invitation from my state or county, and second off it being couched in such pleasant language.

Wordle 706 4/6* adieu, crime, while, swine

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Yesterday's chiropractor visit went well. Got sticker shock at the pharmacy with a 3-month supply with one of my heart meds since it's too early in the year to be in the donut hole yet, then went into the grocery store and bought a few things.

...
As mentioned above, today's PT and a brief visit to the Senior Center to get on the treadmill for ... 10? 15? ... minutes. If it hurts too much I'll get off, but I won't do a full 30-minute workout regardless.

Other than that I need to replenish the bird feeders and do some puttering in addition to reading, of course. Some of that reading just might be in the hammock.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. Of course, a change of plans- we didn't get Jack yesterday but I will scoop him up in a couple of hours. I will then meet Sue and Juno on a favorite trailhead of ours. Hopefully it warms up a bit more. It got cool last night. At least there will be plenty of sunshine. Looking forward to seeing Jack. It has been a long stretch and we miss him dearly.

Nothing to report on the backyard birds. Enjoy your day.

Hi Mark! Happy Friday to you, too. Sorry you didn't get him last night, but yay for getting him today and have a Sue-Juno-Jack-Mark outdoor adventure.

I had a Tufted Titmouse earlier and a male Cardinal.

There was indoor drama, though - Zoe gave her death trill and came in with a bird. I cornered her, Wash, and the bird in the Utility Room. It was upside down but its beak was moving, so I gently scooped it up in a paper towel, closed the kitty door with all three kitties inside, and took it outside. 10 minutes later it was standing on the deck catching its breath. Still there, but I have high hopes for it to survive. It's an Indigo Bunting...

Oh my! I've never even seen an Indigo Bunting, much less rescued one!!!! I missed our friends' Painted Buntings last year and am beginning to be antsy for the return of the Wood Thrush.

I wish you command of PT and just the right amount of treadmill. You're the best!

Wordle in 5. Second word gave me the form of the word for 3, 4, and 5. Alpha order stretched it out, and that's a bit frustrating.

>168 karenmarie: Smoochling, I think your reply to me was truncated by your Peggy response.

I love the fact that you abandon books that aren't working for you. Keep working out as much as you can make yourself to get those benefits solidified. You have made such enormous strides that I stand in awe! Keep the hits a-comin'!

*smooch*

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. We had a perfect walk yesterday. Both Jack and Juno were perfect. In the afternoon, Sue took him to get his first haircut. She said he was very well-behaved. They are still sleeping. We will have him through the AM.

>170 karenmarie: Oh, I hope the bunting made it. Did you check on it?

>171 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I so wish I could see a Painted Bunting. The allaboutbirds.org range map doesn’t show them in NC but Peterson shows them on the coast between Wilmington-ish and SC. Wood Thrushes are so gorgeous and dramatic looking.

PT and treadmill report below. Sorry about alphabet soup for you yesterday. I’m pleased with today’s Wordle…

>172 richardderus: Yup. I just fixed the message, bold stuff the fixes. Had to get rid of the less-than-or-equal-to signs. I always forget that chevrons don't work well unless part of HTML code. Here’s what my message originally said:



Thanks re my awe-someness. *smile*. Treadmill report below, and I’m still finding good smut authors and books. Now that I’ve read 342 MM romance books, here is an off-the-cuff list of the tropes I won’t read:

1. paranormal
2. motorcycle club
3. tattoo shop – although the jury’s still out on that one
4. certain kinks, to be left to the imagination
5. gay men who own bakeries except The Vers Podcast guy who owns Beach Buns, but I’ve already read his story
6. ex-con
7. military except ex-military security services

*smooch*

>173 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and happy Saturday to you. I’m glad the walk went well. Oh my, first haircut. I still have the envelope with the locks of Jenna’s hair from her first haircut. Glad he was well-behaved.

The bunting made it. I checked again after 10 minutes, still hanging out on the deck. I checked 20 minutes later and he/she was gone. I left the kitty door closed for a while longer so Zoe couldn’t go out and try to find the bunting if she/he was sheltering someplace on the ground trying to continue to get it together. I saw a bunting on the feeder later yesterday, don’t know if it was the same one or not. But yes! I effected a Bird Rescue.

Wordle 707 3/6* adieu, raven, ramen

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PT went very well, including a walk in front of the building. A bit of prone hang so he could see how well I was doing.

I went back to the Senior Center for the first time since mid-October 2022 and used the treadmill for 10 minutes. Got up to 1.2 speed, no incline. It was nice to see the center manager, who noticed me and came in. I also met a guy who started coming in October, just after I stopped, so it was nice to compare weight loss and etc. He just turned 70, and I'm just turning 70, so there was that, too. He has 3 more weight goals and I only have one, hopefully attainable this year. (20 lbs for 2023).

This morning was really rough when I woke up with my hips and lower back, probably a combination of yesterday's PT walk and the treadmill work. I won't quit, I'll just endure for the strengthening/cardio and perhaps take ibuprophen occasionally since the cardiologist said I could.

...
Today's a whole lot of not much. Home PT including the dread prone hang (I did 11.5 minutes two days ago in one go so yay for me), reading, perhaps time in the hammock on the front porch bundled up since it's only going to get 58F with rain sometime. Premier League's over. I'm happily soccer-ed out for a while.

Reading a book about Michael and Sam - grumpy-sunshine trope, which I enjoy.

>174 karenmarie: I am now caught up on the truncated message. I'm pretty much the same on your tropes-I-don't-enjoy list except for the military one. Kink is not my go-to genre within romantic fiction, but it has appeared occasionally in things I've enjoyed. The darker alleys of the topic aren't places I choose to go.

Enjoy Michael and Sam!

*smooch*

Yes, I appreciate the courtesy of my provincial government with regards to our covid vaccine invitations. I'll get a thank you for getting your vaccine via email and text after I get the vaccine , too! :-) Generally speaking , most Canadians are quite polite. Not always, of course. I had to laugh at myself today as I was out walking Poppy, ( our dog ) and I accidentally dropped her leash for a moment and reflexively said ' sorry Poppy, for dropping your leash".

Your weight loss is so amazing, as is sticking to a low sodium diet. I would really like to lose 15 or 20ls, and while I managed that back in 2017, I'm not being very successful lately.

As for tattoos , I've considered a small flower on the inside of my wrist, with colour. But I think I fear the pain to much. My niece has three tattoos now, one on her ribs and she said the rib area was painful. She has one on her bicep too, and she said that was relatively pain free. I'm not sure where the third one is.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. I had a rough day yesterday- I woke up with a bad rash, that crept up from my legs to my neck, plus I felt poorly. Fortunately, I woke up today, much better, despite a lousy night sleep and the rash has faded considerably. Whew!

We had a great time with our Jackson. He has been dealing with a bit of a cold or allergies too. They all went up to the boat for the weekend. Nothing to report on my feeders this AM, but I did see both the oriole and hummer yesterday. We have been seeing a red-winged blackbird back there too.

>175 richardderus: 'Morning, Rdear! Happy Sunday. I like some kink - witness my joy at the Sin City series by Tricia Owens with BDSM. And I just realized there's a book of short stories about Max and Ethan, and just bought it for my Kindle. Sigh. But no active military for me. I'll leave it all for you. Michael and Sam were good but not stunning because Michael was almost grumpy and stupid enough for me to abandon it. But I persevered and it ended up satisfactorily. I'm reading about Paul and Indy right now. *smooch*

>176 vancouverdeb: Apologizing to Poppy for dropping her leash is adorable. Yay for polite Canadians. Thanks re my weight loss and sticking to low sodium. It's second or third nature by now after ... 18 months. I could never manage to lose weight after successfully managing it in 1990 and 1993 (after having Jenna) so completely understand how hard it can be. I had a reason above and beyond, still do, so simply started doing what needed to be done for my heart and the weight followed.

I hope you can find something to help ou with your 15 or 20 pounds.

Your description of where your niece's are with relative pain scales ties in perfectly with what Richard said in >158 richardderus:: Meatier bits don't hurt much because the nerve endings are further down from the dermis. A flower with color would be very nice, perhaps on the upper portion of your forearm, inside or outside. What flower? Or haven't you gotten that far?

Wordle 708 4/6* adieu, blink, spiky, skimp

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Jenna and I already made scratch buttermilk pancakes and all three of us have consumed them. I'm still sipping on coffee.

Arsenal plays the Wolverhampton Wanderers, aka The Wolves, today at 11:30, last game of the season. Man City already clinched the championship last week. All 20 teams play today at 11:30. The only team truly relegated at this time is Southampton, so actually the games with Leeds, Leicester, and Everton have a more critical outcome than the Arsenal game. But, they're my team and I'll be happy to watch them. We can watch the other games as replays on Peacock.

Probably lemon chicken for dinner, but not sure yet.

>178 karenmarie: Sunday orisons, Horrible. Lemon chicken sounds excellent. The Times cooking newsletter had a recipe for chicken and artichokes francese (breaded, with lemon) that had me sobbing into my pillow because I have no kitchen.

The grumpy/sunshine trope often runs into trouble with me because of that very problem... going too far with it just annoys me no end.

Hoping for you to have a perfect reading/Arsenalling/etc day.

Hurray for Sunday pancakes! We had them too. It's been ages since we last made them. Enjoy the footie.

>179 richardderus: Sunday orisons back'atcha, RDear. I'm too cheap to subscribe to NYT Cooking, although I just decided to not renew WaPo when my subscription ends in August because it's jumped to $120/year. But I'm not sure I'd use NYT Cooking enough. Rabbit hole time: Just pulled my Craig Claiborne's The New York Times Cookbook and looked at all the chicken recipes. Then I looked at the half-of-torn-post-it which flags "My Mother's Chicken Spaghetti" recipe. I've made it once because it's incredibly labor intensive, but oh my! was it good. Dare I try to make it again? I'd have to calculate the sodium and see if it was worth it because skimping on a Craig Claiborne recipe is criminal.

I'm reading an enemies-to-lovers book now, which is highly satisfactory.

It's rainy and stormy today. We're glad to be inside. Thanks re Arsenal.

>180 lauralkeet: Yay for pancakes, right, Laura? I can't remember the last time I made buttermilk pancakes because Jenna prefers scratch buttermilk waffles, but today seemed like a pancake day, so out came the 1971 Joy of Cooking. I used to be able to just make the recipe from memory because I made it all the time, but not anymore. A single recipe made exactly 9 pancakes, 3 4.5"ish pancakes each with Kerrygold butter (salted for Bill, unsalted for J and me) and real maple syrup. Have almost finished using the 32-oz jug of real maple syrup I bought in 2021 and have kept in the refrigerator. I can hear crystallized bits knocking about at the bottom and can strain it for it's last hurrah with French Toast later this week, I think. I'm ordering another jug from Amazon today.

Good day to you, Karen!!! I am a great and fairly recent lover of maple syrup, thanks to Lucy's influence. I'm guessing its crystals respond to a hot but not boiling water bath in the same way that honey does. I never keep the maple long enough for it to crystalize.

Ummmm. We share our main 3 cookbooks: Joy of, Craig C., and Betty Crocker even though I'm not the cook that you are. My normal in-a-relative-hurry mode is to type ingredients I have on hand with "recipe" into search and see what comes up.

I was delighted to get Wordle today in 4 too.

Happy viewing to you and happy walking to us! We didn't make it yesterday because of either rain or general wetness.

Hi Peggy!

I'm glad you now use Real Maple Syrup, kudos to Lucy. It probably melts as nicely as honey does when it's crystallized, so I can do that.

I also use a 1950s cook book by Meta Givens for several of my go-to-recipes. And, just for the heck of it, I just looked at my catalog and I have 143 cookbooks. 74 of them are in the kitchen, along with metal boxes of recipes from 3 of Bill's relatives and my wooden box of recipes.



Yay for being Wordle sisters, glad you were able to get out to walk

There are so few things I can make because of my low sodium diet or Bill's pickiness. Mostly grilled meat or chicken or baked salmon.

Very late on commenting but I've been offline, living like it's 1999.

>75 karenmarie: I LOVE your porch. And, I wanted to let you know that we have a haint blue porch ceiling on our outdoor porches on the 19th century farmhouse. The paint was pretty faded but we revived it. I have an afternoon porch sit about 4 PM every day I can.

>181 karenmarie: We got a brief break in the rain and I took the dog out. Now, it is pouring again so we are also tucked in. We needed it so my garden is happy.

Hi Karen, good to see you here.

Thanks re my porch, and I am absolutely charmed that you have haint blue porch ceilings. I'd love to see a pic, either here or on your thread.

We've had rain pretty much all weekend so far, but since we didn't have outdoor plans, it's no harm no foul.

Wordle 709 6/6* Gads. Reverse alphabetical order would have gotten it in 4 since I guessed rouse all on my own: adieu, quest, rouse, house, louse, mouse

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Nothing planned except for me to replenish feeders and perhaps do a bit of decluttering upstairs with Jenna.

Merry-Monday *smooch*, Horrible!

Morning, Karen. I think you missed me up there yesterday. We may have cross-posted. As a recap to that post- We did not go out for our anniversary dinner. I ended going to the ER to have this rash checked out. It kept coming and going. Turns out I have hives, a bad reaction to something I ate or came in contact with. So I am on a steroid, which should knock it out of my system. I would like to know what caused it but I may never know. We are invited to a BBQ with friends today, mostly our camper buddies but I will be taking it easy.

I hope there is much less drama at your place.

‘Morning, Mark! I’m so sorry I missed you in >177 msf59::

Wow, sorry about the bad rash. Is it from hiking around in the woods or is it a Mystery Rash? I’m glad you’re better and hope you got a better night’s sleep last night. Yay with Jackson. I hope it’s only a cold, not allergies. Yay for the bird report. I need to replenish the feeders today.

>186 richardderus: Thanks, RD, and the same back to you!

>187 msf59: Sorry Mark for missing you up there. Yikes – an ER visit. Hives, steroids, and awfulness for you. I hope the steroids are helping, although I know sometimes they take a while to kick in.

Much less drama here, for sure. The biggest thing going on is me asking Jenna to help with a bit of puttering today.

I think the ten minutes on the treadmill on Friday was almost too much, frankly, but I’ll continue with it because that’s the only way to get through it. Lots of lower back and SI joint pain Saturday and yesterday, lessening this morning but still more noticeable than before the treadmill. This included a return of some of the pain on the outside of my left calf and quad muscles. I’ll go before PT and the chiropractor on Tuesday and figure out whether to go Thursday or Friday, before the chiropractor Thursday or PT on Friday.

Catching up, how fun that you're thinking of getting a tattoo. Agree that inner forearm is almost universally considered the least painful place, and therefore a good spot for a first tattoo. But mileage varies a lot in what people tolerate. My first one was around my ankle and there were only a couple of places that I found were painful - mostly just because it felt like incessant hard tapping on the bone. In general tattoos feel like being scratched very hard, in my opinion. My sleeve went into what are considered some spicy-feeling areas but none of them bothered me much. I don't consider myself particularly tough, and I'm sure I can find some places that would bother me quite a lot!

Everything hurts more if you're not properly rested, fed and hydrated though, so that's the best tip I can give - make sure you are set there when you go!

Sorry to hear you've been having some pain. I did some running for the first time in a year or so and I definitely felt it the next day, in spite of feeling just fine when I was doing it!

I'm sorry for the continuing pain too, Karen. How can you know if you don't try? Anyway, take care of yourself!

Once more on recipes. I have one treasured card box from my MiL and also her 1930s copy of *Boston School*, which can be a treasure.

More tattoo talk. I'm at a point where my skin is no longer supple, and I was sort of playing with the term "shrinking violet," but I meant it pretty literally.

I did Wordle in 4 today. My last 3 were your last 3. I would have loved a 2, but I'll live. Commiserations and look forward to tomorrow!

>188 karenmarie: I am sorry for the pain. When I was full on losing weight, I did ridiculous treadmill workouts almost every day. But, I have backed off as I was starting to feel really "beat up" if I did my usual half hour. I'm using Leslie Sansone's Walk App along with my old Wii Fit Plus as well as dog walking and gardening. I still get stiff and sore but in a less painful way, if that makes sense.

We got lots of rain and the garden is happy for it. Green beans I planted last week have popped up nicely.

And, here is my front porch:

>191 witchyrichy: What a gorgeous, homey porch!

Hi Karen, delurking to envy Karen R's photo.
I hope you are well and recovered from treadmill pains.

>178 karenmarie:, Yes, in fact I have screen shots of two flower images on my Iphone. I'll download them to your thread when I get a chance. Just something small, no longer than 1. 5 inches. One is all blue, and the other is combo of colours. But, I'd be very surprised if I actually went ahead with it. I'm a pain coward, I'd say , and more than anything, I'm afraid I would get tired of any tattoo that I got. I once was at a fair that offered Henna Tattos for a small price. Of course they are temporary and I got one for fun. But I was sick of it in a day or two, so I'm not sure I'm a good candidate for a tattoo. But I know many people do love their tattoos, permanently.

Morning, Karen. Still struggling a bit, so I called off my Rehab assignment. Working in the sun and heat would not be a good idea. I will take it easy today and hopefully things are much better tomorrow. My feeders are very quiet this AM.

I hope you had a good holiday weekend.

>189 ursula: Hi Ursula! Inner forearm it will probably be, then. And, rested, fed, and hydrated – aye! I absolutely love your sleeve, so does my daughter. My friend Dawna got a tattoo of the sun and moon on her ankle in the mid 1970s as I think I’ve mentioned – the first person I knew who had a tattoo.

Rabbit hole time… Dawna… her tattoo of Charlie Tuna’s little friend (who we still can’t remember the name of), Dawna’s father Henry Corden… Henry playing Henry Babbitt on The Monkees, and my remembering that I was at the September 7, 1986 Monkees concert at the Greek Theatre when Mike Nesmith joined them on stage for the first time in forever. Rabbit holes are fun!

You have to be tough to endure getting a full sleeve and I’m seriously impressed both by your commitment and choice of artwork.

Thank you for the empathy about the pain. I was never a runner so can’t relate, but even working out at the gym in the 1980s – aerobics alternating days with weights/machines – made me sore.

>190 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I might put off the treadmill ‘til tomorrow – the jury’s still out on whether going before chiropractic today will help or not. I love that you have your MiL’s treasured card box. I inherited *Boston School* from Bill’s side of the family, but someone here on LT bemoaned her copy’s being worn out, so I sent my inherited one to her. Do I wish I had it? Yes? Enough to get another copy? No.

Heh. My skin is not the same as when I was young either, but I’m still gonna do it, I think. Fun idea to toy around with, at a bare minimum.

Today’s Wordle was 5. Sigh.

>191 witchyrichy: Hi Karen, and thank you for the commiseration. I understand getting stiff and sore in a less painful way. I’m sure I’ll get there as I get back into the treadmill routine and my knee replacement settles in. I’ll be at 12 weeks this Thursday, which seems to be a magic number according to my PT. Yay for rain and your garden.

Oooh, thanks for the haint blue porch ceiling. I love that you and your husband refreshed it. I love the … spindle work?... too.

>192 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy! Gorgeous, isn’t it? Haint blue was (is?) peculiar to the southern US. I’m mostly recovered but still feeling it some.

>193 vancouverdeb: I look forward to seeing the flower images when you get a chance Deborah. I’ve been thinking about this tattoo since last summer, and nothing else has appealed yet. Even if I go off MM romance, this will represent a particular time in my life – graduating off Brilinta, knee/Bakers Cyst pain/knee replacement surgery/Jenna being home/fujoshi. But, still going strong with MM romance as you’ll see at month end when I post my Lightning Round.

>194 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and I’m sorry that you’re till struggling with the hives. I hope the steroids kick in sooner than later. Good idea to take care of Mark instead of going to Rehab when you’re not 100%. My feeders are noisy – a finch just chased off the Indigo Bunting, and there are 4 finches and a Tufted Titmouse on the empty sunflower seed feeder. A Mourning Dove is perched in the Crepe Myrtle and I’ve been hearing her/him all morning.

Wordle 710 5/6* adieu, often, never, sheen, kneel

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As mentioned above, PT and chiropractic. I'm also going to place a grocery store order and I just called the vet - Inara has been yowling and has taken to peeing on stuff again. We put her in the utility room last night with box, water, food, LLBean cat bed AND a favorite blanket because we're not interested in washing ALL the bed linens. She apparently drank all the water, and was Not Pleased at being locked up, as reported by Jenna. Dr. Cindy isn't there today, but they put in a call-back for her. I requested the next level of antibiotics, explaining that we'd brought her in on May 3rd for a complete workup. When I saw the cat this morning, she was upstairs yowling at me, then came downstairs and stood in front of the front door yowling 'til I let her out. She's spry, but definitely not well. Sigh.

Karen, I'm sorry that Inara is suffering again. I trust you won't have trouble getting the meds she needs before Dr. Cindy comes back.

I wish you satisfaction in your away endeavors and a happy time when you get back home. I just cluttered Richard's thread bemoaning the possible arrival today or tomorrow or Friday of my unvaccinated cousin, down from Canada. I'll check with her, thankful for text; otherwise, following her family's practice, she will just show up. (Don't you love how many commas I plastered into that sentence AND a semi-colon?) She'll have to sit out front in a mask and talk to Mama through the open door.

Wordle in four again. I'm not best pleased with that word choice. Your tries were logical as they always are.

>196 LizzieD: ^^^what she said

Good health whammies for Inara.

I'm off to fix up the Pride Month lineup for Thursday...I'm really going to try hard to keep the review-a-day pace. If it doesn't kill me it will make me stronger, right?

I see you are up to your usual disciplined routine. My compliments. Girding myself for the third and final graduation on Saturday, which is to be followed by a Bacchanal in two locations.

The festivities celebrate not only graduations but also the twins' 21st birthdays. Because I'm insecure about gifting, I thought I'd get each of them a book and salt the books with nice, crisp greenbacks. Uh! Can't get them greenbacks in nice and crisp any more, my bankers told me. Since the pandemic started, the Fed or the Mint—whatever agency distributes currency—won't distribute freshly printed currency to banks. They can't request it, even for (or maybe especially for) special occasions like holiday gifts. So I'm taking what I can get and roughing it up—crumbled, soiled, stained. Starting that today.

I guess the new currency goes directly to the American oligarchs—Gates, Bezos, Musk, the Koch family, the Waltons, Zuckerberg, Buffett.

Have a nice week, Karen.

I have a very rough sketch of the tattoo I may do - since I never had reconstruction surgery it will be just above my mastectomy site. If I get brave I will share the tat - since it's free hand and I'm no artist, I hope a tattoo artist can make it all good. If you don't make it to Montana, I think I will have it done anyway. Maybe I'll try a henna tattoo first to see about size and placement.

>192 SandyAMcPherson: The big porches along with an honest-to-goodness library are what sold me on the house.

>195 karenmarie: The house was built in 1854 and we are pretty sure the spindle and other Victorian doo-dads were added later. They are fun but were painful to sand and paint, at least I'm told by the people who did the work.

As for all the tattoo talk, I've been considering something small myself. And, in the age of social media, I've reconnected with a much younger cousin who, it turns out, is a well-known tattoo artist. He has several books on Amazon including artwork and how tos.

>196 LizzieD: Hi Peggy- thanks re Inara. She’s hanging out on the dresser in the Sunroom right now. I’ve given her Meloxicam 2 days in a row and hope to hear from Dr. Cindy tomorrow.

Yikes. Just yikes, regards your unvaccinated cousin. What planet is she living on? Certainly not ours. Yay for commas AND semi-colons! Stand firm and keep her outside with a mask. Your mama, you, and your DH, are too precious for unvaccinated bulls**t. Yay for your Wordle in 4.

>196 LizzieD: Thanks, RD. I know you don’t love THEM, but your good health whammies for the one we love are greatly appreciated. Yay for your Pride Month lineup. Of course everything I’ve read this month except for one audiobook and one Federalist essays are a paean to Pride. I don't anticipate a change in focus in June. *smile*

>198 weird_O: Hiya, Bill! I’m mostly disciplined – let’s not talk about the small pack of cookies I bought on the way home from the chiropractor. *smile* Yay for the final graduation and a TWO location Bacchnal? Well. Celebrate, have fun. Yay for greenbacks. You do know you can iron them, right? That’s what I do. Not hot off the presses, but crisp, flat, and all the corners ironed flat. Don’t get me start on the oligarchy and Gang of Psychos Kackistocracy. The week’s progressing.

>199 streamsong: Yay for your sketch, Janet, and I love the idea of the placement.

I’m not sure of my summer/70th birthday plans – my sister blew me off for the Hawaii trip AFTER telling me yes! She wanted to go with me! Perfect! Sister Time! because her husband wants to go to Hawaii. She had said that she and Mike had discussed it in recent years but never made official plans. So I asked her if she would rather do something else with me this year or even next year but NO! Hawaii this year with my sister! Perfect! Sister Time! To heck with Mike! Set me up big time, because two days later the phone call. He didn’t speak with her for 2 days and she caved. Could we do something different? I’m beyond disappointed and haven’t spoken with her since. I won't make plans with her this year.

I’m thinking about a trip to visit my aunt in the Santa Cruz area for 2-3 days (more than that would be too stressful on them) then visiting Karen for a week or two and making sure we meet up with you.

>200 witchyrichy: Oooh, 1854. How wonderful. Library and porches are definitely high on my list – we just built them, didn’t find them with history like you did. Separate but related and in Iowa – my cousin George and his wife Joanne restored the family Century Farm that my grandmother was born in in 1909. Here’s the pic with the original paintwork instead of the ugly white that was put on it in later years:



...
PT and chiropractor went well. I hung out in the hammock for about an hour this afternoon. Time to get organized and head upstairs for the night.

Now, we'll see if I can manage to upload an image of one of my two tattoo ideas.. I did it . Sorry for the huge size, I don't know how to resize..

Here is the other one, sorry for the size.

Sorry about Inara. I hope she is soon feeling better. My sister has a darling , very small older cat and Harriet struggles with constipation and pain, and not eating enough. She was adopted from Pet Value or something, so her age is unknown, but my sister and the vet think she is around 13 - 15 years old. Like you, my sister is often at the vet's getting Harriet checked out and needing pain meds off and on. We do love our pets, be they dogs or cats.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. My skin has cleared up but now I think a cold has moved in, (Sue has been fighting a cold). Sighs...I am helping out Bree today. We are planning on visiting friends in WI this weekend, so I won't be available for Friday. Hopefully we will all be feeling better. I am seeing my doctor this afternoon, for a follow-up.

I love the Century Farm house! Beautiful. Sorry about Inara. Hoping she rebounds.

>202 vancouverdeb: - >203 vancouverdeb: Those are delicate and sweet, Deborah. I like them.

If you add the width=xxx option after the last letter of 'jpg' and before the right chevron and play with it a bit with the preview option, you can probably start sizing things quite nicely. Here's the fam farmhouse with different sizing options:





And this is the html code:



>204 vancouverdeb: Thanks re Inara Starbuck. I'm sorry about Harriet.

>205 msf59: 'Morning, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you. I'm sorry that the hives are gone but that Sue has shared her cold with you. You just can't win for losing, can you? But yay for Jackson time. Thanks re the Century farm and Miss Inara.

Wordle 711 4/6* adieu, arise, anime, agile. Alphabet soup, but I would have at worst gotten it in 6.

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...
No doctor, PT, or chiropractor appointments today. Yesterday's attempt at ordering groceries didn't work because even with two different browsers and clearing browser history, the website wouldn't let me log on. One customer service call later, and I'm still stuck. If it's not resolved by lunch time, I may actually have to go into the grocery store today and decide if I should use the treadmill. I hate thinking that 8-10 minutes on a treadmill (the chiropractor suggested 8 for today, darn her) and going to the grocery store would do me in, but that's reality.

Perhaps walking around the grocery store could count as your treadmill work? :)

I didn't realize you could adjust the photo size that way. I always put the height and width between

Hi Katie!

Good idea about the grocery store being a replacement for the treadmill today. And I will endeavor to only try to push the cart as much as I can, not use it as a prop too much.

Could I get Jenna to go to the grocery store? Yes. She's offered many times, but it's good for me to keep getting back into my routine more and more and not relying on her. Bill can hardly walk from the garage to the kitchen, so can't imagine him going into the grocery store although he finally asked for and got a referral to my PT guy for balance and strengthening.

I used to put both width and height, and one day didn't and it did just fine. Laziness is not punished in this case.

Re: photo sizing, I use either height or width. My book cover pics are always height=150. If I want two photos side by side I'll make them both the same height. Anyway as Karen said you can use just one of the parameters and the other will be scaled accordingly.

Sorry about the grocery order, Karen. What a pain!

My DH has endless trouble with ordering online for pickup. They keep changing the interface (Is that the word?) for one thing.

Good for Bill for making a step toward improving his mobility. I hope he carries through with it. You have been an inspiring example.

As to the picture size, I learned to do "width" before "src." Apparently, it doesn't matter. I do find that book covers here vary so that I have to fiddle with the width to get them the same height to go side by side.

Hope Inara is doing better and that the shopping doesn't wear you out!

So sorry about your Hawaii plans! I hope you can find another splash-y way to celebrate your 70th! I'd love for it to be Montana, but you may want to plan something larger. Does Bill not like to travel?

I have decided to no longer travel with my DB and SIL as they change plans at the drop of a hat without talking to me. I met them in Jackson Hole for the solar eclipse a few years back. We had lunch and then they decided to take off for Las Vegas instead. Families.

I insert my picture size between the img and the src as in img height=200 src= etc

>202 vancouverdeb: >203 vancouverdeb: Lovely flower tattoos!

Concrete grocery store floors have absolutely no give at all - walking on them can make my knee sore. This might be the day to let Jenna do the store and you do your planned treadmill work.

>209 lauralkeet: We all seem to have found our own solutions, haven’t we, Laura? I need to use the height option to make sure that the kitty photos are even without me having to mess with them, thanks.

I’m consolidating the three shopping lists after I finish with these replies. I’ll probably go out after lunch.

>210 LizzieD: I don’t know if you guys use FL or not, Peggy, but the laptop interface hasn’t changed. I tried the mobile app once and it was so frustrating to me that I removed it from my mobile.

Thank you re my being inspiring. We’ll see how Bill carries through with the PT, because it will be a very good predictor of how he’d do after knee replacement surgery. He forwarded the referral to Max’s email address but hasn’t heard back. I go back to Max on Friday.

It’s all good with positioning for putting an image into LT, isn’t it? Book covers are the worst, and I have to do quite a bit of finagling with width to make sure I’m always consistent with the visual.

Inara’s mobile but just hanging out with me here in the Sunroom. I spoke with Dr. Cindy this morning, and we’ll not get another antibiotic – that, apparently was the strongest one for this type of problem – and are now going with a daily capsule called Cosequin. I’ll buy it from them now as a friendly gesture, but it’s apparently available on Amazon. I’m also going to keep Inara on Meloxicam every other day for a week, then go back to every 3 days.

My errands today now include mailing a book at the PO, stopping at the Vet, and the grocery shopping. I’m going to forgo the treadmill at Katie’s suggestion that walking around the grocery store offsets the not using the treadmill.

>211 streamsong: Hi Janet. Yes, I’m seriously disgruntled about my sister/husband. Bill cannot travel – his doctor told him 21 years ago that he couldn’t fly after his heart bypass and he’s never wanted to fly since then. Any driving trip right now would be too hard on him, frankly, even if that’s what I wanted to do, which it’s not.

Sorry your DS and SiL change plans willy-nilly without talking to you. Ah, like Peggy with the img syntax.

True, grocery store concrete does not give. However, I have some new shoes that seem to be working out well. I have another 30 days to return them with no questions asked but think I’m going to keep them.

I do like the control of deciding what to buy at the grocery store based on what looks good and is at good value, but if push comes to shove can certainly ask Jenna to do the shopping from a very detailed list. I might ask her to go with me two Sundays from now instead of me going alone.

Laundry, puttering, and reading. I'm all caught up on my May Lightning Round. I may finish another book today, may not.

Here's exciting news - I matched up my summer socks and put 3 orphans on the rag shelf. I don't think I'll find their mates, sigh.

>203 vancouverdeb: Those tattoo options are so beautiful! So delicate. However will you decide?

Karen O

Hi Karen! Good question for Deborah.

Janet wants a cat, Deborah wants beautiful, delicate flowers, and I want the Japananese kanji characters for fujoshi, see >157 karenmarie: above.

I'm sure there's a moral in there somewhere...

...
Well. I picked up the medicine for Miss Inara. It says it's for joint health for cats, but my vet wants it for her to help coat her bladder to keep it from being so inflamed. One a night for ... forever... I suppose.

I paid $34.75 as a friendly gesture for Dr. Cindy speaking with me on the phone - she told me to give Inara a hug from her. She really loves our girl. From now on I'll get this stuff from Amazon, where it's $18.99 for the exact same thing, the exact same number of pills.

Jenna and I completely changed out the pellets and pad and cleaned the cat box thoroughly. And then I learned the hard way that getting a capsule down a cat's throat is not as easy as getting a pill down a cat's throat - for that, I'm the pro from Dover. However, after 4 failed attempts with the capsule, I realized that her saliva was binding with the capsule to keep it from going down her throat, so I got it and my fingers wet, and the 5th time worked like a charm. Honestly, the things I go through for our kitties. Jenna and I were almost laughing too hard to actually get her to swallow it. We each washed our hands about 5 times between the box and the cat spit.



I'm going to try to finish one more book tonight - A Flighty Fake Boyfriend. I'm 35% done, so about 180 pages or so to go by midnight. Fake boyfriend trope, age gap trope, too. Epic - Robert Epictetus Alsop - is the twink, Ryan is the 'old' man. Not so old, just burned out with work and restless at not having a boyfriend. Fake boyfriend is needed for billionaire ex's wedding. I'm having fun with it.

Sigh. Insomnia reared its ugly head - nothing bad, just awake. Tried to read then go back to sleep, but nope. Inara and I are hanging out in the Sunroom, me with my first cup of coffee.

Wordle 712 4/6* adieu, clock, swarm, jazzy. Pure lucky guess since I was running out of consonants.

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YTD Statistics through May

153 books read
2 of them on my shelves before 1/1/23 and not rereads
49 books abandoned, 4958 pages abandoned, 1 audiobook, .45 hours abandoned

51.75 audiobook hours
Avg pages read per day, YTD = 349
Avg pages read per book, YTD = 274

Book of the Month: tie: The Boy in the Field by Margot Livesey and
Exposed by HL Day

Books by Month
January - 33 e-books, 19 books abandoned for 1711 pages
February 34 e-books, 1 paper book, 1 audiobook, 6 books abandoned for 718 pages
March 18 e-books, 7 books abandoned for 443 pages, 1 audiobook abandoned for .45 hours
April 35 e-books, 9 books abandoned for 974 pages
May 32 e-books, 1 audiobook for 16 hours, 8 books abandoned for 1,112 pages

Author
Male 8%
Female 88%
Undeclared * 2%
Non-Binary 2%
* - can't find any info anywhere

Living 100%
Dead 0%

US Born 52%
Foreign Born 48%

Platform
Hardcover 1%
Trade Pback 0%
Mass Market 0%
Audiobook 2%
e-Book 97%

Source
My Library 4.58%
Library 0.00%
Kindle Unlimited 94.77%
Borrowed from a friend 0.65%

Misc
ARC/ER 0%
Re-read 1%
Series 59%

Fiction 99%
NonFiction 1%

Author Birth Country
Australia 10%
Canada 5%
England 15%
Ireland 1%
Philippines 1%
Portugal 1%
Scotland 1%
UK 3%
Undeclared * 10%
US 53%
* - can't find any info anywhere

Original Decade Published
2010-2019 35%
2020-2029 65%

Category
Contemporary Fiction 97%
Crime Fiction 2%
Informational Nonfiction 1%

Acquisition/Source Date
Kindle Unlimited 143
2015 1
2022 2
2023 6
Borrowed 1

Average Rating
2.0 - Bad 2
2.5 - Average 3
3.0 - Good 14
3.5 - Very Good 21
4.0 - Excellent 83
4.5 - Outstanding 30
5 - Masterpiece 0

Average Rating 3.88
Books acquired YTD 64
Books culled YTD 34

May Lightning Round

List Me With Your Best Shot by Isla Olsen 4/30/23 5/1/23 Kindle

Enemies to lovers. Jack’s best friend is Trent, Alastor’s is Xavier. Xavier and Trent ended up together in the first book of this series, and while they’re away on their honeymoon Jack and Alastor start off trying to find Jack at least a hookup, much less a relationship. Jack’s still in love with Trent, but there’s serious chemistry, ups and downs, and a HEA. This one had a bit more kink than I really like, but the author writes about their vulnerabilities and feelings quite well. Caveat emptor for kinky sex.

Friendly Fire by Cari Z 5/1/23 5/2/23 Kindle

Self-help company CEO Elliot is in need of home security and his PA Serena has her ex-brother-in-law Lennox meet him at his house to set him up. Immediate sparkage. Lennox is former-Army-Ranger with issues of his own, but getting to know and protect Elliot from what appear to be escalating attacks from a former client when Elliot was his lawyer becomes paramount for Lennox. Throw in Elliot’s dog Holly, Lennox’s daughter Lee, his ex-wife Gaby, and a caterer client of Elliot’s named Stuart, and it’s a fun, dangerous, sexy romp. Vivid characters, tight plot. Caveat emptor re sex.

The Art of Possession by Cari Z 5/2/23 5/3/23 Kindle

Another fun book. Disgraced British Museum curator Malcolm, banished to a small museum after false accusations, is hired, along with a fixer named Alex, to retrieve a valuable and ancient scepter. Lots of shooting, tracking, and adventure, plus sparkage and a HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

The Intern by Ally Porter 5/3/23 5/3/23 Kindle

Ugh. Intern Augie literally runs into CEO Jack on his first day as an intern. Jack wants him, gets him, and just ugh. Caveat emptor re sex. It was a novella of 59 pages so I finished it quickly, otherwise I would have abandoned it.

Tate by D Alex 5/3/23 5/4/23 Kindle

Archer is a disgraced bodyguard, licking his wounds at home. Tate is a famous actor hiding out. Archer saves Tate from the paparazzi, sparkage, things move along. Shallow but enjoyable? Caveat emptor re sex.

Soul to Keep by Garrett Leigh 5/4/23 5/5/23 Kindle

Jamie’s a recovering heroin addict, clean for a year. Marc is returning from Chicago after needing another surgery on his leg. They meet on the flight, then meet again. Marc falls hard, Jamie’s skittish, but agrees to earn money by cleaning out Marc’s house. I normally do not like books about recovering addicts, but this one captured me from the first page. Sparkage, attraction, and caveat emptor re sex.

Christmas on Firefly Hill by Garrett Leigh 5/5/23 5/5/23 Kindle

Logan is a single dad of twins, a firefighter. He met Remi when he was moonlighting as a temporary fire marshal, they shared a brief kiss, then fast forward to Remi renting a shed from Logan’s uncle. There’s a lot of sweetness in this one, with both Remi and Logan caring for each other deeply, Logan’s boys getting to know Remi, and danger for Logan as a firefighter. Caveat emptor re sex.

Angels in the City by Garrett Leigh 5/5/23 5/6/23 Kindle

Jonah owns a company that shares a floor with the company that Sasha is hired to help get out of the hole on an app they bought but don’t know how to fix. There’s a lot of snark, a lot of Sasha wanting only a one night stand yet keeping coming back for more with Jonah, and feelings developing on both sides. Another very sweet one, with a lot of frustration reading about Sasha’s reluctance to be more to Jonah than friends with benefits, but slowly and surely things change and there’s the HEA I was hoping for. Caveat emptor re sex.

How to Catch a Prince by Ana Ashley 5/7/23 5/8/23 Kindle

I never learn – novels about Princes of rich small European countries meeting American or British guys are always ridiculous, IMO. Prince Kris is hiding out from a scandal, and is literally tripped over by Charlie, in town for his sister’s wedding. Sparkage, cute stuff, keeping his title/role secret from Charlie, and etc., make for a predictable and rather unexciting book. Caveat emptor re sex.

Checking Him Out by Debbie McGowan 5/9/23 5/10/23 Kindle

Sol is married to a woman even though he’s gay. He’s been afraid to be himself ever since his best friend was killed by homophobic men in his small town in England, so he fled to Boston. In a grocery store line, he’s jostled by Adam, who he’s immediately attracted to. There’s serious sparkage, yet Sol tries to sabotage the relationship. It takes Adam being persistent, Sol’s wife kicking him out AND moving her female lover in, for Sol to face the demons of his past for the HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Up for the Challenge by Riley Hart and Devon McCormack 5/10/23 5/12/23 Kindle

I really liked this tale of an arrogant straight man, Ethan, who is rescued twice in one night by a slight, deceptively strong gay man, Sean. Ethan is intrigued with the sexual aura about Sean and wants to experiment. Sean is attracted to Ethan but has had some pretty bad experiences with supposedly-straight men. However, things progress nicely, with sparkage and other shared experiences including personal tragedies. Ethan is an architect and so we see him watching a documentary about Sagrada Família, which I recommend going down the rabbit hole to find out about if you don’t already know about it. The book meandered between family and sexy times. I did roll my eyes quite a bit at Ethan’s arrogance, but it worked with Sean, who was also arrogant in his own way. Vers, anybody? Caveat emptor re sex.

The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith 3/1/23 5/12/23

Oh my, this is better listening the THIRD time around, read by Robert Glenister. The adoptive brother of the supposed suicide Lula Landry hires Cormoran Strike, a private investigator, because he thinks she’s been murdered. As clues pile up and Strike and his temporary secretary Robin Ellacott learn who all the players are, we are treated to Cormoran’s and Robin’s backstories, at least enough to understand why they are where they are. Robin is excited about working for a PI, Cormoran Strike is intensely proud and doing the work he loves after being invalided out of the military for injuries suffered in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan. Outstanding crime fiction, by a mistress of lush, intricate, character-driven stories, full of plot twists and red herrings. The denouement is absolutely stunning.

Addicted to Ellis D by S.E. Harmon 5/12/23 6/13/23 Kindle

Luca owns a restaurant, doesn’t have time for relationships, so hires Jamie for sex. Jamie moves away, leaving his roommate homeless and destitute and with a list of a couple of his clients. Ellis becomes a sex worker and is hired by Luca. Ellis is too proud to tell Luca he’s homeless for the longest time, but eventually Luca figures it out and offers Ellis a place to stay and a job at Luca’s restaurant. There’s always been sparkage, but they both develop feelings. Luca has a health scare, Ellis has an offer from a grandfather who disowned him, and we get our HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Misconduct by Lynn Van Dorn 5/13/23 5/14/23 Kindle

Maxie, from The Oleander Chronicles, has moved back to Chicago to help his mother. Out partying with his sister, dressed outrageously as only a small twink dynamo can dress, he’s grabbed by a drunk and presented to the friend’s pal Derek as a birthday present. Needless to say, he’s exactly Derek’s type and goes home with Derek for what is ALWAYS a one-night hookup. Imagine Maxie and Derek’s surprise when Maxie’s first day as a lawyer is in the firm Derek’s a partner in, and he’s assigned to Derek. Sparkage, denial, hijinks, and laugh-out-loud dialog had me as much in love with this book as The Oleander Series. They both start having feelings. Maxie runs away twice, and only by an intervention from Maxie’s BFF do we get our HEA. Caveat emptor re sex, of course.

Not That Complicated by Isabel Murray 5/14/23 5/15/23 Kindle

This was funny and intriguing and complicated within the scope of Ray’s finding a mummy in a box in house. Ray lives alone after breaking up with his boyfriend after he found him and Adam. Adam swears he didn’t know Lane didn’t live alone and Ray believes him. Adam is a caregiver, is attracted to Ray. Ray is too, but tries to date Adam’s cousin, who’s also a detective on the mummy case… see? Funny and serious and the HEA after Ray figures out that he needs to treat Adam as well as Adam treats him. Caveat emptor re sex.

The Trouble With Trying to Date a Murderer 5/15/23 5/16/23 Kindle

U.S. Senator’s son Lane hires escort Zach to be his boyfriend at his ex-boyfriend’s wedding to a woman. It goes well, and Lane hires him for a meet-and-greet for his father. Finally, he hires him to a weekend at the family’s house at the beach for the 4th of July weekend, where things get completely romantic, there’s more than serious sparkage and things look to be going well until the Senator tells Zach that he’s not good enough for Lane and Zach breaks it off. It takes some serious Mom talk with Zach for him to realize what he really wants – Lane – and we get our HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Picking Up the Pieces by Frey Ortega 5/18/23 5/19/23 Kindle

Noah is an app writer and partner in a very successful business and goes clubbing to forget hurtful things in his past. He gets severely beaten and his partner and an investor come to the hospital to see him. The investor, billionaire and oil mogul Farid, is immediately taken with Noah and slowly gets close to him, who has severe self-esteem and trust issues. This is a very sweet story, with more word play than well … sword play, if you will… but there is a warning for explicit sex. HEA, too.

The Realist by Riley Hart 5/19/23 5/19/23 Kindle

Third in The Vers Podcast series, has Marcus, the Realist of the group, offering to let Kai live at his house when Kai needs a place to live. Kai’s always been attracted to Marcus, his boss Declan’s friend, but Marcus is bemused by Kai, not understanding his effervescence and love of live. Simmering sparkage waits while they learn to live together domestically, then things get hot. Kai is moving to Atlanta, neither knows how to tell the other how they feel, yet things work out fine when Kai’s plans fall through. Secondary plots of Marcus’s parents finally getting close to their son, fourth member of the Vers and Kai figuring out what he wants to do with his life are satisfactory. Caveat emptor re sex.

Edge of Living by HL Day 5/20/23 5/21/23 Kindle

Austin returns books to the Library for his mother, where he sees and is intrigued by Alex, very shy and distant. He sees him at a local diner, and over the course of several conversations gets Alex to eat a meal with him. Austin doesn’t push, Alex eventually agrees to spend the night without anything more than sleeping at Austin's because he’s intimidated by a neighbor in his own apartment complex. More leads to more, feelings develop. However, Alex is hiding the fact that a year previously his mother, father, and sister were killed by a psycho wanna-be-boyfriend. Alex saves his nephew, stabs Oliver, who is captured. Alex’s life is wrecked, he stays hidden from the press, and he vows to kill himself as soon as Oliver is convicted. Austin, of course, knows none of this. The emotions and tentative feelings that develop between Austin and Alex and well written and tender. Austin is almost too good to be true in his careful courtship of Alex. This was an absolute stunner. There’s a wonderful HEA, and as in most things I’m reading these days, caveat emptor re sex.

Five Night Stand by HL Day 5/21/23 5/22/23 Kindle

Nathan notices CJ at a speed dating event at a lodge/cabins they’re both staying at – Nathan to try to rework his novel and CJ to photograph wildlife. They hook up, never expecting any time to continue the relationship, but an avalanche has them and all other guests bound to the lodge/cabins. Over the course of five days they fall in love, and Nathan, who was originally so shut down emotionally, opens up to CJ’s love of life and open nature and takes the first step in declaring himself. I really loved the sweet, non-angsty nature of this one. Caveat emptor re sex.

Taking Love's Lead by HL Day 5/22/23 5/22/23 Kindle

The story of Zack and Edgar. Zack is the owner of a web design business, Edgar is a dog walker who tries to do other things. He becomes a personal shopper for one day to Zack, is fired, but has left his business card in Zack’s car. Zack is smitten and sets up an elaborate ruse with is pregnant sister to have Edger walk her Dalmation. He stalks Edgar in the park, and etc. Sparkage, but Edgar just KNOWS he’ll mess up this potential relationship like all others. Of course that doesn’t happen, and we get our HEA. Lots of fun dialog and antics with dogs. Caveat emptor re sex.

Gaycation in Paradise by Ariella Zoelle 5/23/23 5/24/23 Kindle

Rook is a famous, supposedly-straight movie star who gets outed by paparazzi and flees to the Maldives to hide and lick his wounds, visions of his destroyed career weighing him down. Aldo is the butler for his stay, 18 years younger than he is, a foot shorter. Sparkage, true love in 3 days, much sappiness and too much twee, except that I finished it because it was a train wreck of a book I couldn’t look away from. In other words, I had Residual Pinhead Slowing – RPS – a phrase I learned decades ago in California. Caveat emptor re sex.

Cinderella in the Sheets by Reece Pine 5/24/23 5/24/23 Kindle

This book was so much fun! Presley is the stepson of the President of the US, bitterly opposed to his politics, but running under the radar. He has Secret Service Agent Rico hire escorts for him every once in a while, with Presley always blindfolded so he won’t be recognized. One night in Chicago turns into a dream come true, with sparkage and sex and food and playing Battleship. The escort leaves before Presley gets up and Presley and the whole team search for him. Lots of fun, a great misunderstanding, and the HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Always MJ by SJD Peterson 5/24/23 5/24/23 Kindle

Matty and Jared have been best friends since college. Neither one has had successful romantic relationships. Matty starts an online relationship with Jay, whose username is Always MJ – supposedly Always Make Jokes – but really Always Matthew Jonathon. After 6 months Matty agrees to meet Jay in Florida and freaks out and feels betrayed when it’s Jared. Over the course of the weekend they realize their feelings for each other and there’s a HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Kept in the Dark by HL Day 5/25/23 5/26/23 Kindle

Dean is an actor who works as a waiter and as an escort to make ends meet. He rarely escorts for sex, but is hired to have sex in the dark, not touching, following specific rules, then leaving, every Tuesday. He’s obsessed with the mystery man. Separately he meets a scarred man, Justin, who comes into the restaurant, and they start dating. Guess what? One and the same, and when Dean finds out he breaks it off, feeling humiliated and betrayed. We eventually get the HEA. I was glad to read about a disabled vet and the man who saw past his scars. Caveat emptor re sex.

A Temporary Situation by HL Day 5/26/23 5/26/23 Kindle

Dominic the PA is loaned to the CEO of the company, Tristan. Dominic is gay, Tristan is straight and engaged to a model. Well, it turns out that Tristan is not really straight. He pursues Dominic, breaks off his engagement with Maria, and there are some very funny hijinks and drama. HL Day writes good conversations and laugh out loud scenes. Tristan’s deathly afraid of spiders, so there’s great fun there. Turns out it’s love on both sides, with a very satisfactory HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Time for a Change by HL Day 5/26/23 5/27/23 Kindle

Michael is grumpy, repressed, and rude and wants to get back together with the man who dumped him, Christian. Sam is on trial as a barista at the diner Michael does his work at most afternoons and for Sam it’s an immediate attraction. There are ups and downs and Michael is so seriously rude that if I was Sam, the book wouldn’t have ended well at all. But Michael comes to realize what Sam means to him and Sam is, as always, his irrepressible and joyful self. Michael was almost too grumpy, but Sam’s character kept me going. Caveat emptor re sex.

Temporary Insanity by HL Day 5/27/23 5/28/23 Kindle

Paul is Dominic’s friend, from Temporary Situation above, and the books take place simultaneously. Paul sees the man who his boyfriend was cheating with, working at a bar that people from work go to. He really hates him, but Indy didn’t know Stephen wasn’t single. Paul doesn’t believe it. There’s a supposed hate-sex scene that is more funny than hate-filled, and over time they fall for each other even though the don’t have a relationship, just enemies with benefits. HEA and caveat emptor re sex.

Christmas Riches by HL Day 5/28/23 5/28/23 Kindle

Tom’s just turned 18 and picks up Aiden, 31, at a bar. Bathroom hijinx, then Tom takes Aiden home. Eventually they start spending time together, and then Aiden does the hardest thing he’s ever done – let Tom go to art school in Scotland. Three years later after no contact, Tom comes back to Aiden and we get the HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Not So Silent Night by HL Day 5/29/23 5/29/23 Kindle

Xander breaks his pelvis and gets a serious leg injury while skiing in St. Moritz. His boyfriend immediately abandons him for a photo shoot opportunity, being a photographer, and Xander’s brother Miles fetches him back to London and arranges for 24/7 nursing. It benefits both of them – Xander needs the help and Ferris needs a place to stay between apartments. Things are off to a bumpy start, but just as they start realizing their feelings the ex-boyfriend shows up. Misunderstanding, a week without contact, then a happy reunion on New Year’s Eve and HEA. Caveat emptor re sex.

Exposed by HL Day 5/29/23 5/30/23 Kindle

Somewhere on a large continent in the year 2076, after the end of the world as we know it Tate lives in a highly controlled ‘safe’ environment – good except if you do something the powers that be consider a crime, when you’re immediately sought out and vaporized. You’re considered guilty unless proven innocent after the fact, but you’re already dead. Tate goes back to work to fetch his wallet and walks in on an IT guy at his boss’s computer. He doesn’t think anything of it until he’s in a bar dancing and is surrounded by the DTP – government goons, Defenders of the Peace. Tate is sentenced to immediate death but is rescued by a mystery man who kills 3 of the DTP and escapes with Tate into the slums, where X lives. Tate was set up by the IT guy, but has absolutely no recourse except to permanently flee. He and X stay one step ahead of the DTP, going down sewers and out of the slums. They keep escaping, keep staying one step ahead, relying on X’s survival instincts and resources. Tate slowly learns X’s secrets, slowly falls in love. I loved this book, with the slow reveal of X’s backstory and why he rescues Tate. X’s love of his knives is sweet for a man who has no problem using them. Tate comes to understand that to survive sometimes previously unbroken rules have to be broken, and X finally admits that he loves Tate. Caveat emptor re sex and joy that so many DTP soldiers get it, bloodthirsty woman that I am. *smile*

Happy Thursday, Karen!

Sorry about Inara, I hope the pills capsules will help her.
ETA: crossposted, opened your thread, and went on with my own. Sorry you are awake. But you are making good use of it.

Not much to say. I have used up all words by writing 10 reviews within 27 hours, to finish May.

Hi Anita, and thank you. I hope your Thursday is going well, too. Wow, 10 reviews within 27 hours. Impressive.

Thanks re Inara. The capsules will take up to a week to 'kick in'. We cannot keep her locked up at night in the Utility Room too long - Dr. Cindy says that it is very stressful for Inara to not have her normal routine. Perhaps another night or two, between the Meloxicam and the capsules, to see if things are back on track, so to speak.

>206 karenmarie: Wow! That is very helpful! I never even knew you could adjust height. Thanks for sharing.

>217 karenmarie: Impressive lightning round. I need to start getting better at those. Sighs...

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. I noticed the hives are sneaking back into the picture. I may need another round of steroids. I took my last dose this AM. WTH? I did see the doctor yesterday for a follow-up appointment and she suggested I may need that. Sighs...

I am meeting a birding buddy shortly. I have not been on the trails all week. Enjoy your day.

>217 karenmarie: Hitting the KU collection hard, Horrible! Looks like you've found some very good reads, indeed. An overall excellent reading month, it seems.

I'm plugging away, getting the new Pride Month reviews written, and drumming up interest in the ole ones on social media as best I can. It's a daunting task but entirely self-imposed...I just want to feel more like my old self and this is a good way to help me do just that.

I hope all goes well with your health-improving regimen for Inara.

*smooch*

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/351187

>220 msf59: ‘Morning Mark! Happy Friday to you. There’s even a very helpful thread that has lots of HTML tricks, like all the bold, underline, italicizing, numbered lists, and more. And it you go down to the second message in THAT thread, it links to a WIKI.

The New How to Do Fancy Things in Your Posts Thread

Thanks re my Lightning Round. I got the idea from you, of course. I just take it to a ridiculous degree, which saves me the guilt when I don’t write a review for every book I read. And since last April, when I started this crazed romance phase, it’s saved my mental health because of the sheer volume of books I’m reading on the Kindle right now. Don’t let guilt take over.

>221 msf59: I’m really sorry about the Hives not being completely gone. I hope another round of steroids helps if that’s what you and your doctor decide that’s what’s needed. I hope your BBA – birding buddy adventure – was wonderful.

>222 richardderus: Oh yes, I’m seriously taking advantage of Kindle Unlimited and when I think about it, kick myself that I didn’t do it earlier. I loved my reading month. I’m also keeping the smut list updated. What I wanted to do, and this has reminded me of it, is post the monthly list of names.

Name # of Times in May's Reads
Adam 2
Aiden 1
Alastor 1
Aldo 1
Alex 2
Archer 1
Augie 1
Austin 1
Charlie 1
CJ 1
Dean 1
Derek 1
Dominic 1
Edgar 1
Elliot 1
Ellis 1
Ethan 1
Farid 1
Ferris 1
Fox 1
Indy 1
Jack 2
Jamie 1
Jared 1
Jonah 1
Justin 1
Kai 1
Kris 1
Lane 1
Lennox 1
Logan 1
Louis 1
Luca 1
Malcolm 1
Marc 1
Marcus 1
Matty 1
Maxie 1
Michael 1
Noah 2
Paul 1
Presley 1
Ray 1
Remi 1
Romily 1
Rook 1
Sam 1
Sasha 1
Sean 1
Sol 1
Tate 2
Tom 1
Tristan 1
X 1
Xander 1
Zach 2
Grand Total 62

Yay for your Pride Month Reviews.

Thanks re Miss Inara. She’s sitting on a blanket on my desk, keeping me company. I’m pretty sure we’re going to be Senior-Kittyless by the fall, but I hope I’m proved wrong. *smooch*

>223 SilverWolf28: Hi Silver, and thank you.

Wordle 713 3/6* adieu, druid, humid

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Yesterday was happily spent puttering, reading, chiropractor, icing my knee, and making liver and onions with brown rice for Bill and me for dinner. Jenna graciously declined, and went for some Basmati rice with lemon and black pepper for her dinner.

Today is PT, stop at the pharmacy, and getting the first dose of the two-dose Shingrix regimen. I've made a note in my calendar to get the second dose in August.

Alex the house cleaner comes today at 11, and it appears that even though Bill said he was going to go into work, will work from home after he wakes up.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. I did get a new round of steroids, so I am set for our weekend trip. I sure hope that does the trick. We leave shortly, for our long drive.

Good luck with PT and have a great weekend.

Hi Mark, and I hope your Friday has gone well. I hope the second round of steroids will knock the hives out. Safe travels and I hope you have a wonderful time with your friends.

The PT went well - he had me on an exercise bike for 3.5 minutes, plus various exercises for mobility and things like hip abductions, squats, balancing, walking, and etc. for strength.

I got the first of two Shingles vaccine doses today and so far no side effects. I can get the final dose in 2-6 months, and I want to get it closer to the two months, so early August.

I enjoyed some outside time in the hammock, reading, and then talking with Jenna. Turkey tacos for supper.

Inara will get to sleep wherever she wants from tonight forward again, no more Utility Room - we've decided to move one cat box upstairs so she'll be less inclined to pee on linens and use a box. And, if she's downstairs, there's the other box. Tonight's only the medicine capsule since she got Meloxicam last night. It's been warmish here today, 85F.

>224 karenmarie: It's unnatural to only have one Michael. Mikes are scattered like leaves...

Hi, Karen. I hope you and Ms. Inara are both sleeping peacefully. I'm off to try the same almost immediately. I'm glad that you're not reacting to the Shigrix. Keep that up! You inspire me to try it sometime!!!!!

>227 quondame: I know - 4 Michaels previously reported, only one in May. My most serious boyfriend in SoCal was a Mike to most people, Michael to me.

>228 LizzieD: We were definitely asleep by 1 a.m., my dear. Inara, contrary beast that she is, chose to sleep downstairs in my chair here in the Sunroom all night. She's now sleeping on a blanket I put on the desk for her old kitty bones.

I do have a slightly sore arm, which developed last night. It's noticable but not debilitating. I hope you had a good night's sleep.

My PCP has been after me for as long as Shingrix has been proven to be effective. It came out in 2017, so probably 2018?

Wordle 714 5/6* adieu, cloak, tramp, mangy, nanny. Nanny and fanny were options, but the originator's from Wales and his partner Palak Shah (female) may be, too. She whittled the 12,000 5-letter words in English down to ~2,500. I am surprised that fanny's an option, given what it means in the UK as opposed to what it means in the US. I chose nanny for that reason, so got it in 4 instead of 5. But fanny is still an unused available option.

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Yesterday's PT was rigorous. The shingles vaccine was uneventful. I also went into the pharmacy for various and sundry OTC stuff and a prescription. We used Bill's OTC card to pay for $28 of the $49. We each get $70/quarter OTC money from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Our cards automatically re-load the first day of the new quarter, so July 1.

The turkey tacos were yum, and I'm still very grateful to Stasia for giving me the low-sodium taco seasoning recipe.

...
Another quiet day planned in paradise... errands for Bill, probably take out for all of us. Spectrum is coming out 4 p.m.-ish, on their own, because something they've seen has caused them to think we've got a problem with the line to our house from the box. We're getting speeds that satisfy us, but hey! If it's a problem and they fix it before it breaks or otherwise cuts us off, we'll take it. We're still only paying $97/month (for the next 8 years, too) for high speed wifi AND their Platinum package.

There might be hammock time again today, although it's going to get to 89F.

Re: Wordle - it's got a NYT editor now, and the list has changed/expanded.

Your quiet day sounds pretty good! I really must look into getting a hammock...

>229 karenmarie: Hammock time! Glorious. It's 20° cooler here and cloudy, possibly rainy, so no big outdoorsing for me. I'll walk after lunch.

I hope SPectrum does their magic with little disruption.

*smooch*

>230 katiekrug: Hi Katie! Have you been able to find the changed/expanded list? So far only one solution has not been on the original 2,309 word list for me.

Pawley's Island Hammocks are the best. This is what we have:

DURACORD® Single Original Rope Hammock - White
15 ft. TRI-BEAM® Steel Hammock Stand - Forest Green 15 ft.

>231 richardderus: Hiya, RD. I was in the hammock for about 2 hours and would have been there longer except that the Amazon guy got all the way onto the porch without waking me. He apologized, dropped off my package, and I couldn't get back to sleep. I also got warmish, being in my winter jammies. Bill keeps the inside colder than I'd like in the summer and I haven't switched from winter to summer jammies.

>232 karenmarie: - I haven't, but I haven't looked for it. I like to fly by the seat of my pants :)

This does not surprise me about you - liking to fly by the seat of your pants. *smile*

>99 karenmarie: I need a day of lots of nothing.
Sounds good to me!

>217 karenmarie: a glut of well-starred reads there!

Re: hammocks. I ordered one online in mid-summer, and it arrived a few months late as the weather was turning cold. Ha. But I look forward to breaking it out on a warm day :)

>235 LovingLit: Hi Megan! Doing nothing days, recharge the battery days, etc. I hope you get them occasionally.

Thanks re my May reads. I'm still in my MM romance-reading phase. Don't know when it will end.

Wordle 715 3/6* adieu, share, beast

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Yesterday I spent about an hour going through piles of too-big-for-me-clothes, putting them into short-sleeved shirt, long-sleeved shirt, jeans/khakis, dress pants, and pajamas piles. Jenna's going to help me bag them up today to take to the thrift shop. She's also going to bring out all the rest of the hanging clothes so I can go through them, too, and ditto about bagging them up. Next will be stuff in the drawers in the closet and shoes, possibly today, too. After that, finally, all the non-clothes/shoes things in the closet. And then the closet will be under control once I only put back things that I really want there.

Other than that, filling bird feeders, puttering, and reading.

Happy Sunday, Karen. Very nice job on the Wordle, you avoided the dreaded alphabet soup. Your closet clean out is impressive! Enjoy your puttering and reading.

Hi Laura! Thank you, and the very same to you.

Thanks re Wordle - both were just guesses, checked against the original list of 2,309 words and confirmed as not having been used before. I did decide to go alphabetically, but was only thinking of beast and least, so was very happy to get it in three. There are 4 words on the list that are _east words - least, beast, feast, yeast. Feast has already been used, and now beast.

edited to add:
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Richard has mentioned bee's knees on his thread twice recently, and I went back to what turned out to be my fourth thread of 2020, started February 29th, just before we realized that Covid-19 was getting ready to smack the world down. By my fifth thread, I wasn't posting this stuff about how happy I was to be retired.

It’s Killer Diller! It’s the humdinger. It’s also dilly! It’s the Lollapalooza. It’s the lobster’s dress shirt! It's the snail's ankles. It’s bonaroo! It’s the berries! It’s aces, snazzy, hot, smooth, sweet, swell, keen, and cool. It’s also the fox’s socks, the cat’s pajamas, the bee’s knees, the eel’s hips, the monkey’s eyebrows, the sardine’s whiskers, the gnat’s whistle. It's the razzmatazz and the chipmunk's cheeks.

I might start putting it in my topper again, not because the world has righted itself, but as a whimsical thing for us all to smile with.

Rabbit hole in 1920s slang: I'll add "It's jake!"

Good morning, Karen! I loved that topper and would smile to see it go up again. I think y ou're going to be able to have another thread or two this year!

Wordle! I've been over-guessing by using alpha order so often that I decided to go with what came to mind first today. With alpha I could have gotten it in 2. Oh well. Four is a lot better than the skunk I did twice last week.

Enjoy the March weather today!

How do Horrible! I'm glad to see you reviving your delightful litany of retirement superlatives using the slang of your youth. How lovely to have such a good memory after an entire century.

*smooch*

>201 karenmarie: The house is gorgeous!

Sorry about Hawaii. My husband would love to go again--his parents took him when he was a kid--but it would take a lot of energy for us, I'm afraid.

>239 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I just spent about 20 minutes working on my sixth thread topper, going down the rabbit holes of the debt-ceiling compromise and the WGA strike for my ‘The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly’. I’ve added my 20s slang bits, including “It’s jake!” Hmm. Six threads by the beginning of June definitely means a few more. Makes me happy.

The weather was coolish and I actually didn’t spend any time in the hammock. Perhaps today, with the high of 80F but tolerable humidity. Today’s 3 was with a potential word/used word lists assist.

I hope you had a nice post-cousin visit day.

>240 richardderus: Hi RD, and thank you kindly for assigning me centenarian status, you brat. My dad was born in 1921, so by association? *smooch*

>241 witchyrichy: Hi Karen, and thank you re my maternal grandmother’s birthplace. I can even picture the room she was born in – a middle-of-the-house room with no windows. I never thought to ask what the room’s purpose was beyond birthing babies. Four were born there – my grandmother, my Great-Aunt Edith, my Great-Uncle (George) Milton, and my Great-Uncle (Henry) Burton.

And thanks for your commiserating with me over Hawaii. I simply do not know what to do about celebrating my birthday with a trip, although that’s what I want to do. Visit my Aunt/Uncle in Aptos, CA? Visit my Uncle/Aunt in Cedar Rapids, IA? Visit Karen in Bozeman, MT? Something else? With someone else? Sigh.

I know about the energy thing. It surrounds every decision I make.

Wordle 716 3/6* First word luck. Adieu, issue, ennui

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I spent 30 minutes counting and writing down every category of clothing going to the thrift shop with the # of items per category and we bagged everything and put the bags in the back of my SUV. She also pulled out more shirts for me to go through.

Today I have nothing outside the house scheduled. Regular puttering, clothes puttering, reading, and etc. Exercises and the dreaded prone hang, too.

Morning, Karen. Yep, I am back. Trip details are over on my thread. Of course, I am getting ready to skedaddle and join a bird walk this AM. Nice and cool at the moment, so a good time to get out. I will tend to my feeders on my return.

I hope you had a good weekend, my friend.

'Morning, Mark! Glad you're back, I'll come visit as soon as I post this. Enjoy your bird walk, especial with it being nice and cool.

My feeders are full and I have one White-Breasted Nuthatch working the sunflower seed feeder. I heard a woodpecker drumming this morning - listening on allaboutbirds.org it turns out that it's a Pileated. I also heard a Mourning Dove about 30 seconds later.

I had a quiet weekend, which is what we always like. Productive in spurts, restful in others.

>242 karenmarie: Categorizing discards? Getting things out of the house is quite enough for me.

>242 karenmarie: Go to Bozewoman for your bicentennial birthday trip! What better place to get the heck away from the heat?

Hang prone, smoochling!

I'm just weird that way, Susan. I'm doing it for my own need to control my stuff AND to make it easier on volunteers/paid workers at the thrift shop. I volunteered at the thrift shop for many years when Jenna was in school. We have 3 thrift shops in the county whose profits are divided among the eligible schools (14 schools while Jenna was in school, at least 3-5 more now.) Profit after setting aside $10K each year for the building/maintenace fund and expenses was distributed - 40% evenly to each school, then 60% calculated on % of total hours worked by school. The more hours a school worked, the more money it got. By 2011, when Jenna graduated, the thrift shops had given over $2 million to the schools since the programs started before our time in the school district. Goodness knows how much has been distributed now. Hour by hour, we earned money for the schools Jenna went to.

Quite a bit of the evening volunteer work was opening bags of donated clothing and having to first separate out the (occasionally disgusting) junk that just needed to be thrown away and then putting the keepable clothing into the correct bins. Other work included straightening the store, vacuuming, dusting, hanging clothes, restocking shelves, etc.

Our local food pantry, which also provides needy families with clothes and household items, always posts on their Facebook page when someone donates clothing that has been sorted and tagged, making their job easier. It is much appreciated, so good on you!

>247 karenmarie: It certainly makes more sense when you know where any money raised will go and can increase the margin. I figure most of what I donated in my last few purges either went to landfill or offshore bulk rag men.

>247 karenmarie: That's an awesome contribution! Both yours and the thrift shops. Nice.

>217 karenmarie: Awesome job on the lightening round of books! Wooh! I am not even going to try to recap May. I have reasonable hopes for June. : )

>248 katiekrug: Hi Katie! Thanks. Interesting that your local food pantry also provides clothes and household items. Ours does not do that, and I don’t know where people can get clothing for free in our county except for the questionable swap rooms at the recycling centers. Hmmm. I do know that there is another thrift shop in town that is owned by "Second Bloom of Chatham, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to providing person-centered support and resources for survivors of domestic violence and/or sexual assault in Chatham County, North Carolina." Second Bloom also has a shelter, obviously kept well hidden from the predators.

>249 quondame: Our thrift shops sell EVERYTHING they don’t put out by the pound, even books. It might be a question you ask who you donate to.

>250 Berly: Hi Kim, and thank you. My lightning round gets updated within a day or so of every book I read that I don’t do a review for, which these days is most of them. I also update my tickers and my books read message ditto. Most Kindle book # of pages are less than what’s listed on Amazon (Kindle Unlimited, thank you again!) so I always note the actual last page of what I read and text my email with the book title and # of pages when I finish it. I also send myself texts when I abandon a book, with the title and # of pages. Yes, I do not use email on my cell phone. *shudder*

Wordle 717 5/6* Alphabet soup time. adieu, blunt, shout, spout, scout

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Ten minutes on the treadmill yesterday and except for some rather nasty right SI joint pain this morning am doing quite well. I also stopped and visited with Louise for about an hour, taking her some books from my shelves.

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Today I'll be heading on out to do sorting with the Book Sort Team and possibly even going to Virlie's after for a bit of brekkie if we get there before 11 or early lunch if we get there after 11.

Grocery shopping after, I'm afraid, so lots of walking today.

And, I have actually been going upstairs one foot one step instead of foot then other foot on the same step, so there's definitely some progress there, and my stamina is improving.

Bill has his first PT today, so we'll see how that goes. It's for balance and strengthening.

Morning, Karen. My friends in WI have pileated visit their feeders- mostly the suet. I am surprised that they don't drop by your place now and then. Glad that you get to at least hear them.

The bird walk yesterday was excellent. Saw many special birds- mostly grassland species, plus it was such a good and knowledgeable group. Off to Rehab soon. Nothing to report at my feeders.

Enjoy your "Friends" part of your day.

>251 karenmarie: Had the same problem with Wordle today...

>250 Berly: As usual, I am inspired by your organization (hmmm I think I say that every month, but it's true.) I'm currently 8 reviews behind (5 for May, 3 for June). But your post had me whip over to Word and work on a review. I'll edit it later today and get it up this evening or so. My goal is a review a day until I get caught up.

>251 karenmarie: >253 drneutron: Yep three tries to get that nasty second letter for Wordle. Took me all six tries to solve today.

>252 msf59: 'Morning next day, Mark, and happy Wednesday to you. I've seen a Pileated one time, as it flew across our open pastures. That was on March 1, 2017. I don't know what I'm doing or not doing to prevent them from visiting cloer to the house. Right now I've got finches and a female Cowbird. Ah, a Tufted Titmouse just grabbed a sunflower seed and flew back to the safety of the Crepe Myrtle.

>253 drneutron: Hi Jim! I had a worse problem with Wordle today but got it in 5 again.

>254 streamsong: Hi Janet! I'm glad you're inspired to work on reviews.

Wordle 718 5/6* Ugh. Alphabet soup again. adieu, wafer, lager, saner, hater

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Yesterday was happily productive. I stayed on my feet for the entire 2 hours of book sorting, went to lunch with 7 other members of the team, went grocery shopping and then came home. I got the frozen and perishable things into the kitchen and then just left all the other pantry stuff out. Jenna put those things in when she came home. I remember when I quarantined things for 2 weeks during 2020 because of Covid, and am grateful that I'm not feeling like I have to do that any more.

I came down the stairs one foot-stair-other-foot-next-stair this morning - first time. Definitely painful, but well within the scope of the new temporary normal.

I've got my once-a-week-only-now chiropractor and PT appointments today, at 9:45 a.m. and 11 a.m. respectively.

Then I'll stop at the grocery store to get the 7 things I didn't get yesterday - I left the list at home, but getting 31 of 38 items isn't bad, I guess. I've added one item too, chicken thighs. I found a good recipe to try for the air fryer, and this way if I like it I can make them for me for quick lunch protein hits.

Reading, puttering, and trying a low-sodium spaghetti sauce for dinner are on the agenda.

Yesterday I finished the second audio book in the Cormoran Strike series, The Silkworm, and have started the dread Career of Evil. This one wigs me out, frankly, but I'll persevere.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. Bree needed me to drop by after Rehab yesterday, so I got to hang out with Jack for a couple of hours. Pure torture, I tell you. I am leading a bird walk this AM. Our weather continues to be dry and mild.

Feeders have been eerily quiet but I did hear doves cooing outside my bedroom window at 5am.

You poor darlin', having to spend time with Jackson. I hope the bird walk goes well, and yay for dry and mild weather. We're experiencing the same.

I now have a Downy on the suet feeder and a male Cardinal just flew away.

Six for me in Worldle today.

Yes, working on reviews is easier when the books are fresher in my mind, just like the dreaded housework is easier before things pile up. Sigh. I read such a mishmash of books that I get stuck in the 'however am I going to say anything about this one'

At your rec, I've started The Cuckoo's Calling. Robin and Cormoran are interesting characters - guess I should have expected to no less from Rowling.

Hooray for going downstairs! My knee doc says that's the hardest - and it's one of the questions he uses to ascertain progress or deterioration

>22 karenmarie: Agree on the 21 year old body - and I'd also happily take the 30-year old one.

>82 karenmarie: lovely mug

>89 karenmarie: Ugh. I had no idea a knee replacement can result in needing antibiotics for unrelated later situations, let alone for dental cleanings. That would play merry hob with my Irritable Bowel Syndrome - my gut was still recovering from antibiotics prescribed just-in-case when I had a tooth extracted some weeks ago well after I was eating comfortably again. (Possibly a few days of eating mush didn't help the gut either.)

>97 atozgrl: >99 karenmarie: Perhaps we could fantasize about the secession of *both* Texas *and* Florida?

>125 karenmarie: "My goal is to age as gracefully as possible."

Mine too.

>255 karenmarie: I expect you're hugely tired after the appointments.

Wednesday joys, Horrible my dear.

Good afternoon, Karen! I was talking to our minister's wife yesterday, whom I thought would be most conservative. Instead, she said, "If we can't do anything about gun laws, we're certainly not going to do anything about COVID now that it's no longer a pandemic." (You should hear sarcasm in that last clause.) Then she said, "I'm so tired of stupid people that I told David I was referring all the stupids to him. We should just send them somewhere." I thought, "How about Florida or Texas," so I see that I'm in good company here.

How's your air? We aren't walking because the DH has a doctor's appointment, but I think I see a slight haze.

(I've given up on ageing gracefully. I now simply strive to age.)

Karen--Congrats on putting one foot in front of the other (down the stairs)!! Another milestone achieved. : )

Hoo hooo, Karen. I'm out of the graduations cycle for...maybe...four years. Saturday's hullabaloo was just dandy because it didn't involve overnight stays anywhere and rain played no role. Everyone was elated, and I got a lot of hugs.

I'm now back at the Book Bin, my version of Scrooge McDuck's Money Bin. I'm presently engaged in shelving the fiction, alphabetically by author's last name, filling the most recently built bookcase. Two rows of books on each shelf. I've got three shelves open, and I'm beginning the letter S. Salinger, Saramago, Saunders, Sayers, Shakespeare, Silko, Smiley, an awful lot of Smiths (Ali, Martin Cruz, Zadie), Stead, Stegner, Steinbeck, Stephenson, RLS, Stout, Styron, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera, ending (I believe) with Swift. Not sure if I'll get to T (in this bookcase).

More than enough about me.

Your steady, dedicated attention to health and healing is inspirational. I hope your Bill is as inspired and will take care of himself. I can tell you that losing a lifelong companion is real crap.

Happy Thursday, Karen!

Great you managed to go down the stairs with a foot on each stair. I am happy to follow your steady progress after the surgery.
I hope the PT visits will help Bill to get where he needs to get with balance and strength.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. My bird walk was pretty good but several people canceled, so it was just me and one female birder. Beautiful AM, though. There have been recent sightings of a pair of mockingbirds at the Arboretum, so I will be heading over there after breakfast. This would be a first time sighting for me, in my state and county. Wish me luck. I will probably do some volunteer trash pick-up after that.

Nada at the feeders. Sighs...

>258 streamsong: Hi Janet. Timeliness is a good thing but... I read books for my RL book club only in the month before we talk about it, and have even started making notes. Housework is under control with my once-every-two-weeks housecleaner, but he's just one person and can’t get to everything in every room each time, so I have to rotate things in for him to do. And, of course, with 3 kitties and 3 people, heavily trafficked areas need a bit of help between his visits.

I hope you like The Cuckoo’s Calling and want to continue with the series. Yes, JK is right up there with authors who have mastered writing the most vivid characters. Warning that books two and three are a bit more gruesome and macabre than the first, but things get less so after that.

Interesting about how your knee doctor uses stairs to determine progress or deterioration. I went upstairs slowly last night and came downstairs slowly this morning one foot per stair again. Side-lying hip abductions are what did me in yesterday, and I felt it in my right SI joint starting early this morning. I haven’t seen the surgeon regularly enough for stairs to be a question. Heck, I don’t see him ‘til next spring unless I feel the need to come in. But my PT said it was okay to start doing this.

>259 ArlieS: Hi Arlie! I’d even take my 51-year old one – I was carrying Jenna upstairs and downstairs simply because she was literally and figuratively clingy then, and she weighed 85 pounds at age 11. I could still do cartwheels and did vegetable garden and other outdoor gardening work then, too.

I’m sorry you have IBS and are sensitive to antibiotics with it.

Oh yes – apologies to our LT friends who live in Texas and Florida (Stasia for sure…). I just tried to down the rabbit hole of a remembered document one of my MiL’s friends gave her that eventually came to me – how blue states subsidize red states. It’s in a box somewhere and completely outdated, of course. But I just found this interesting and possibly even true link:

Most Federally Dependent States

>260 richardderus: Hiya, RD! I hope you had a very good Wednesday. I’m very happy to be down to two appointments per week. Chiropractic appointments will end in a week or two, PT appointments in 2-3 weeks. Then nothing ‘til July when I see my optometrist. After that, October. *happy dance* Your air quality must be awful, and I hope the air filtering system in your facility is keeping your air good to breathe.

>261 LizzieD: ‘Morning, Peggy! I love your minister’s wife. And yes to Florida and Texas. I’m also heavily inclined to include Montana except for US Senator Jon Tester and Zooey Zephyr, among other minority lights in the darkness that is becoming that state. I was filled with glee when my friend Karen told me that US Senator Daines – her next door neighbor (good neighbor, appalling politican) said that if Zephyr wants to run nationally the millions will pour in and she (I'm not sure Karen called her a she, actually) will go far. This from someone who thinks she should be eradicated from the face of the earth, supposed Christianity notwithstanding.) Nothing like trying to silence someone because of their gender or sexuality.

I hadn’t even heard about the air quality as a result of the wildfires in Canada, but friend Karen asked me about it last night. The air quality is officially at code orange in my county through tomorrow morning. We don’t go out much anyway. I wonder if we’ll see any ash particles?

Striving to age gracefully is still my goal, and I think that you’re actually doing it quite well from my point of view. To me it means accepting what’s happening to you physically and mentally with grace and as much good cheer/less whining and complaining to your significant others and friends as you can manage. Obviously, catastrophic conditions and even short-term catastrophic conditions like my heart attack do allow for some upset and grieving, but frankly, day-to-day whining about physical limitations and complaining about being forgetful without putting a plan in place to make things easier to remember make me crazy.

>262 Berly: Thanks, Kim! Slow and steady wins the race.

>263 weird_O: Hi Bill! Yay for getting through the graduations cycle for a while. Elation and hugs are wonderful, glad you got a good share of them recently.

I’m glad you’re playing with your books. That’s one of the things I love about being a book sale team volunteer – getting to touch, hold, evaluate, and admire books every Tuesday. I’m back full time now, starting two days ago, and was happy to play with books this week.

Personally, I can’t conceive of alphabetizing books because it makes me crazy when I have to put a book in a full shelf then move the last book in that shelf to pole place in the next shelf, bumping the last book in that shelf… etc. I suppose leaving some shelf space works for a while, but never for long. LT came along at just the right time for me, October of 2007, and I immediately saw that using Location Tags was necessary for my sanity. That's when I had about 2000 books contained in one room - I now have about 5500 books in 5 rooms.

Thank you for your very kind words. I know how much you still do and always will grieve for Judi. I guess that’s why I’m so mad at Bill for not doing the things he can do to help his quality of life AND save me being in that situation sooner than later. Bill’s 2.5 years younger than I am, but even post-heart attack and post knee replacement, I’m much more mobile and better able to do things than he is.

>264 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita, and happy Thursday to you, too. Thanks re my progress. He’s got exercises to do every day here at home, and goes back to the PT next Tuesday.

>265 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark, and sweet Thursday to you, too. I’m sorry people cancelled, but having even just one person along had to be pleasurable. Good luck sighting the Mockingbirds!

I’ve got a sparrow of some sort or another. I had a Red-Bellied Woodpecker and an Indigo Bunting earlier. Last night I saw two Mourning Doves on the walkway leading to the concrete pad within two feet of each other. Ah, now, in the time I’ve been writing this I’ve had a male Cardinal and a White-Breasted Nuthatch visit.

Wordle 719 4/6* adieu, plush, truck, crumb

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Yesterday was the chiropractor and PT, plus dropping off the bags of clothes at the thrift shop (they came out with a rolling cart for me, bless 'em), then a bit of grocery shopping. I'd forgotten a few things the other day since I forgot the list. I took a nice nap after I experimented with chicken thighs in the air fryer - I saw someone's comment on a NY Times recipe (yes, Richard, I broke down and added the Cooking subscription to my NYT subscription) as follows and tried it when I got home! Bill and I had a late lunch of chicken thighs.

This is what she wrote: air fry bone-in skin-on thighs frequently, usually with nothing but olive oil rubbed on and seasoning, and they are crispy and delicious. For my fryer (a small and inexpensive Proctor Silex), I do 11 minutes skin side down at 400°, then flip and do another 11 minutes. I had to do 13 minutes skin-side up, but they did come out with crispy skin and juicy and tender. I used lots of EVOO and dried basil and a sprinkling of light salt, nothing more. I now have something new and easy to make sure I get a good chunk of protein every once in a while.

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Today I have absolutely nothing outside the house scheduled. I'll probably do some slides and leg extensions and the dread prone hang, but not the calf raises, balancing, hip abductions, and hamstring pulls since I did those yesterday with the PT.

So a glorious day of puttering, reading, and R&R.

>266 karenmarie: It didn't occur to me to use tags for locations - instead, I've been using collections primarily to indicate which set of shelves a book is in. This leads to some oddness, like having a "fiction" and a "large fiction" collection - the latter for books that won't fit on shelves spaced for paperbooks. But it helps me find those borderline books that could be in e.g. history or sociology.

>266 karenmarie: Sounds like a good and happy day filled with new, excellent cooking advice thanks to the sagacious and timely prodding of a *very* wise friend.

*smooch*

Here's the next readathon: https://www.librarything.com/topic/351336

>267 ArlieS: 'Morning, Arlie! I joined LT in October of 2007, before Collections. The first day I started adding my books to LT, it occurred to me that knowing myself as I do, I'd want to find a particular book or all the books by a particular author. I haven't shelved books alphabetically by author since 1991, so, still working at the time in the wonderful world of IT, I immediately decided to create a location system using tags. I wrote this up in November of 2020 and just updated it a bit:

Here's how I use location tags for my books. The location tag is always first tag in my tags list.

Room
Shelf
Row

Rooms are (S)unroom, (L)ibrary, (K)itchen, (G)reat Room, (P)arlour, (R)etreat, and (M)edia Room, where I, ah, repurposed one of Bill’s built-in bookcases. Shelf starts from the left, rows are top down. So, as an example, S24 is Sunroom, where I’m sitting right now, second shelf from left, 4th row down. R11 is first shelf on left in Retreat, top row of two. Additional tags are ERR for ER books removed from my physical catalog but kept to keep the ER gods happy, Kindle, misshelved, and a few R(oom)xx or yy tags where I just got them into whatever room they landed in but either aren’t on a shelf or are on a shelf and I haven’t updated the tag.

Tags take time to maintain, of course, but I don’t have to keep authors together because I can find all books for an author by searching for the author. A search on ‘Salinger’ using Title/Author brings up 6 authors and 17 books. I also have some series tags which help, too. I typically shelve books by the height of the shelf needed for the book if it's shelved vertically. Some books are shelved horizontally. All shelf space is optimized.

Offhand I'd say that my location tags are probably 98% accurate. I take periodic inventories, sometimes just rows, sometimes whole shelves.

Once Collections came out, I briefly toyed with the idea of using them instead, but bucked the trend AND vocal unhappiness of some folks about how I use tags and kept using and still use them. Collections simply won't work for me and I don't use them for anything.

>268 richardderus: Hi RD! Heh. I was upstairs two nights ago playing on my cell phone and got tired, once again, of not being able to see a NYT Cooking recipe. Katie, Ellen (?), Laura (?), and a few other folks post the links, and sometimes I want to see 'em. *smooch*

>269 SilverWolf28: Hi Silver, and thank you.

Wordle 720 4/6* adieu, cloak, balmy, balsa. Balsa is not on the original 2,309 word list, but once I realized that balmy wasn't it and baler couldn't be it because there was no E, I had to expand outside the 2,309 word box.

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Yesterday was working on clothes - keep, donate, trash. I also made a low sodium marinara sauce that's adequate but not outstanding. I think Bill and Jenna liked it better than I do. Bill said I could make it again, but although I'll stick the recipe on the shelves, will conveniently ignore it. I might revisit Craig Claiborne's Fresh Tomato Sauce recipe. The online one isn't the same as the one in the cookbook, which called for using the food processor to smooth it out. Next time I go to the kitchen, I'll pull that cookbook and check it out.

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Today is a repeat of yesterday - So a glorious day of puttering, reading, and R&R. Plus I might also try to sign up for Alliance Rx, to save money on prescriptions.

Morning, Karen. I got my mockingbirds yesterday and immediately too. No pics, though. It appears that a pair may be nesting in that location, at the Arb, which is awesome.

It is Jackson Day! I will also be taking him to his other grandma's house around noon. We are going to a bluegrass concert tonight, with Bree and Sean. It should be fun.

"So a glorious day of puttering, reading, and R&R." I could use one of those days.

I finally made it back over to your thread and got caught up.

>201 karenmarie: I love the picture of the old farm house! I grew up in a neighborhood with a bunch of old Victorian homes, and I always enjoy seeing them. The paintwork in the picture is gorgeous.

>238 karenmarie: Snail's ankles? That's a new one on me!

I'm so glad to see that your recovery from the knee replacement is going so well! Enjoy your "glorious day of puttering, reading, and R&R."

Weekend-ahead's reads happiness *whammys*

I'm keeping up the pace of a review-a-day for Pride Month, and not even finding it as stressful as I was worried I might. I don't *think* they're less good than usual, so it's pretty much another entry in the win column over the strokes.

*smooch*

>270 karenmarie: (or just any of your shelving protocol posts). The tag system would be ideal for the newest bookcase, which I had to make double-deep to accommodate the kick-space radiator. Each shelf has two rows of books.

Good night, Karen. That's about all I have the brains to say. Hope your day was good and that tomorrow will be even better!

Happy Sunday, Karen!

There is something satisfying about sorting through stuff and organizing. I have been doing this slowly and trying to be quite ruthless about what I keep and what gets donated.

I am glad that PT is going well for you- may it continue to give the results you need.

I'm with >276 figsfromthistle: let's just skip Saturday and have two Sundays.

*smooch*

>271 msf59: Belated Happy Jackson Day, Mark! And happy Saturday to you. Congrats on the Mockingbirds. I hope the bluegrass concert was lots of fun.

Hope you can carve out a ‘glorious day of puttering, reading, and R&R’ soon.

>272 atozgrl: Hi Irene! Glad to see you. Thanks re the Century Farm. It’s not my direct line, but my Great-Uncle George Milton’s son George Warren (to differentiate him from my g-grandfather George Charles and the aforementioned Uncle Milton) and his two sons, one on the farm with his family and one in Cedar Rapids managing the financials and working somewhere in town with HIS family. I’m sure the next generation has made an appearance, too, so George Warren/Joanne’s g-g-grandkids.

I collected the sayings over a year or more, searching out online and book sources to get fun and contradictory sayings.

And, I came downstairs one step after another today without using the cane, although you can believe that I definitely had a death grip on the banisters. Yesterday was fun and productive.

>273 richardderus: Thanks for the whammys, RDear. I am in the midst of a bad-guy-helps-good-guy-stay-alive trope book by Davidson King, Dealer of Secrets. King is someone new to me, but it’s part of The Elite series. This is the second in the series I'm interested in, so hope to find more good’uns, all by different authors.

You’re the man. Miracle recovery from strokes, stubborn demander of all that was before, and now Pride Month review publisher extraordinaire. Fishing for compliments? No fishing needed – your reviews are at or above par. *smooch*

>274 weird_O: Hiya, Bill. Double stacking is a great use for tags. If you do use them, make sure to put the room first, like I do, JUST IN CASE you want to expand the WOBTS – the Weird O Bibliomaniac Tag System.

>275 LizzieD: Your days are so busy with the emotional and physical responsibility for your dear mama and keeping up with your DH, Peggy, that I’m amazed that you get as much reading AND flitting around the threads in as you do. I hope you got your good night’s sleep and are raring to go for today.

>276 figsfromthistle: Hi Figs, and thanks. I just checked my calendar, though, and it’s Saturday. *smile* See below for organizing closet update. And yes, PT is going well. It should be ending in 2-3 weeks, and I’m currently down to one time per week.

>277 richardderus: No, no, RD! Saturday means take out from Elizabeth’s – either a grilled chicken salad or plain 8 oz. hamburger and crispy french fries. I deliberately told Bill to NOT get Elizabeth’s yesterday, first so we’d have it today, and second so Jenna’d get fresh take out for lunch, too.

Wordle 721 5/6* adieu, attic, avail, await, again

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I worked hard on the last of the hanging clothes yesterday, getting rid of jackets and even a wonderful winter wool coat that was ridiculously too huge. I still have a wonderful winter wool coat that fits, along with a newly-fits-again full length Talbots raincoat and Carhart barn jacket that I may or may not ever wear. But it still has the tags on and I like it better than I did when I hung it up in the closet years ago.

I also dragged out all the shoes and other stuff on the floor, getting rid of most of the shoes. There's a box of wallpaper rolls for the wallpaper used in every room in the house so I can repair if and where I need to (not me personally, but hire someone), my Barbie Doll in her case, and a gorgeous old Pacific cloth wooden chest with small silver things in it - old baby cups and spoons, and etc.

I also looked up, something I don't do frequently, and saw a cardboard box, 12" x 18" x 8", with my mother's handwritten 'Media Mail' on the side. I got on a stepping stool, wrangled it safely down, and discovered a treasure trove of high school memoribilia plus three things from Pepperdine - the Schedule of Classes for my first two trimesters, Fall 1971 and Winter 1972, and the certificate of membership in Alpha Chi National College Honor Society in its original mailer from Pepperdine, postmarked June 28, 1974 from the Malibu campus.

Jenna's going to help me put stuff in bags today to take to the thrift shop. Lunch, more puttering, and reading, and filling the bird feeders are all on the admittedly-don't-have-to-do-any-of-it schedule for the day.

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. Yesterday ended up to be a perfect day. I played with Jack in Bree's backyard for a couple of hours and we had a great time in the city last night. We had a nice brewery dinner and then really enjoyed the concert, in a gorgeous new venue. We got home after midnight, which is pretty late for the Warbler.

When I first got up, there was a bunny, a chipmunk and a pair of housefinch around the feeders. I have not spotted a hummingbird in awhile.

>278 karenmarie: Happy Elizabeth's Day! then.

Dealer of Secrets sounds very appealing, I'll await your verdict before investing.

Honest and truly, there was no fishing intended...it's astonishing to me that this road hasn't been a lot harder than it was.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. We had a perfect day visiting with family yesterday, (my side). I am volunteering today at a Fishing Derby event for kids. I will be a fish checker. My first time doing this sort of thing. Just hoping the rain holds out. Much cooler too- it may not hit 60. Books in the PM.

Karen, I always love your thread and I just wanted to delurk and say so!

Have a lovely Sunday. x

>279 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! Happy Sunday. I’m glad yesterday was perfect and glad you were able to get out and about with Bree and Sean.

I like the fauna report, sorry for no hummingbirds. I was taking the empty hummingbird feeder down (critters, alas, not hummingbirds) and getting ready to put up a fresh one when I got buzzed by a male. He didn’t stick around for the new one, though, and so far, in the less than 10 minutes I’ve been downstairs here in the Sunroom, I haven’t seen him out there.

>280 richardderus: Yes, Elizabeth’s Day was good. Grilled chicken salad with tomatoes and olives (an indulgence in this low-sodium life!), O&V dressing. I loved Dealer of Secrets and here’s what I wrote for my June Lightning Review:

Dealer of Secrets by Davidson King 6/9/23 6/10/23 Kindle

I loved this one. Murder, revenge, and love. Carter makes a promise to his twin brother Gavin, and 5 years later is called to Gavin’s side, where he lays dying. Along with a key card, Carter finds mystery upon mystery that is Gavin’s life – aliases, money, and an invitation to the club Anonymous. Carter shows up there in total ignorance that he’s recognized. Fortunately, Zaire, a dealer in information, picks him up and takes him home, if nothing else than to keep him alive. They work to discover what caused Gavin’s death, start having feelings for each other, and get their HEA. Caveat emptor re sex. Caveat emptor re on-page violence and murder, too. All highly satisfying for this bloodthirsty mystery and revenge lover.

>281 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! I’m glad you had such a good day with family. I love it – Mark the Fish Checker. Have fun with books in the PM.

>282 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul, and thank you for delurking. I hope your Sunday’s going well, although it’s almost over, of course. I’ve been so remiss in visiting threads…

Wordle 722 3/6* adieu, fraud, guard

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Yesterday was more good progress on the closet, reading, hammock time.

Today is my RL book club meeting to choose books for the next 11 months - one for each member, her choice. We're meeting at 2 p.m. at a local venue, The Belted Goat, in their meeting room upstairs. Saves us all having to bring something to a potluck, those who are feeling peckish can get something from downstairs.

I'm bringing Lessons in Chemistry and Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, having read the first chapters of both. I don't know which one will end up being my choice.

Good Sunday morning, Karen, and good hopes for your book club! My HS friend who visited for a walk yesterday was saying how much she enjoyed Lessons in Chemistry. Now I may have to find it and read it.

Good for you! Wordle in three. I took four.

Hi Peggy, and good Sunday morning to you, too. Thanks re book club - I am the informal secretary of the group, keeping track of offerings and selections and scheduling for the coming year. I publish an excel spreadsheet of it all - can that surprise you? *smile*

I never read my book club selections 'til the month before I'm supposed to host/lead the discussion, and don't know when my meeting will be scheduled yet.

Thanks re the 3, 4 ain't too shabby either.

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I need to take a shower and prepare a grocery shopping list for after the meeting. I'm too disorganized to make an online order, but it's probably better that I get out and about anyway.

>283 karenmarie: This year I've seen many more humming birds outside the breakfast room window than I did since 2020 after Mike had the trimmers come in early March. It took over a year before the camellias flowered again and any 2022 trimming was done in Nov. The birds are back to pre-2020 levels.

Hi Susan. I'm happy that your hummingbird population has come back. SoCal has so many different hummingbirds, unlike NC, where we only have Ruby-throated Hummingbirds (except for accidentals, obviously).

Wordle 723 5/6* adieu, color, throw, frown, wrong

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Yesterday’s book club book selection meeting was fun, although, frankly 2 of the books don’t thrill me. We’re skipping July, and it’s my book for August. Anybody care to guess which ones I’m not thrilled with? *smile*

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Indigo Field by Marjorie Hudson *lives in our county and will probably 'attend' the last part of our book club meeting via Zoom
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
An Immense World by Ed Yong - nonfiction, looking forward to this one
Shy by Max Porter
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters *yay - I have a copy on my shelves
Solito by Javier Zamora
The Last Ballad by Wiley Cash *yay - I have a copy on my shelves
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

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Today is my final Board meeting as President of the Friends of the Chatham Community Library, Inc. Next month I’ll be Immediate Past President, and so far my duties only include handing off banking stuff to the incoming President and having a meeting with her to discuss stuff in general, mostly focused on any questions she might have.

After that I might use the treadmill for 10 minutes and will definitely pick up some dry cleaning and go grocery shopping. Busy day.

Morning, Karen. I had a very good time at the Fishing Derby yesterday. It is so fun helping the kids. I will do this again. I have Trail Watch duties this AM. I am having a tough time fitting these into my active week.

I love your list book club choices. I really enjoyed both The Immense World and The Last Ballad. Of course, I was completely knocked out by Demon Copperhead.

>287 karenmarie: I know Max Porter's pretty much Literature's spotty little brother of a writer, but you never know...this one might actually be good.

It's unlikely, but it *could* happen.

Happy New Sunday *smooch*

Happy Day, Karen! Happy, happy day!

That list is all over the place - some I'd like to go to and some that I'd say away from.

Your organizing impresses me. I have not one of those bones in my body. Your wallpaper and shoe boxes together remind me of my CLEAN aunt, who got all her own possible housekeeping genes + Mama's and mine. I looked in her closet once (at her request), and saw that she had covered her shoe boxes in the bedroom wallpaper. Really. She vacuumed and damp-mopped her rugs every day of her life until she was no longer able. Husband 3, though, was a match for her. She had put 4 neatly folded paper towels on the back floort of her car to use on dog Muffy if needed. When that husband opened the door to let Muffy out and saw the towels, he said, "WHAT is all this mess back here?" Really.

Enjoy your day! ((((((Karen))))))

Hi Karen! Do you think the Wordle people chuckled that the last word is wrong!

Ok There's only a few to choose from with your book club choices as to which one you don't think you'll like. I'll choose Cloud Cuckoo Land since I don't think you like SF.

Photo of new foal on my thread ...

Do you think the Wordle people chuckled today that the answer is wrong!

Not many choices of which book from your book club list that you'll dislike. I'll guess Cloud Cuckoo Land since I don't think you like SF.

At last! Photo of new foal on my thread.

All your organizing and moving things you no longer need along is inspiring, Karen. It was a total fluke but I got Wordle in 3 today!

>288 msf59: Happy Tuesday, Mark! I’m glad you fun at the fishing derby. Your weeks seem filled with amazing things – bird walks, volunteer work, Jackson. Retirement is working well for you.

Glad you like the book club choices. One woman wasn’t there and hadn’t provided us with her book, so I’ll be adding one sooner than later, I hope.

It’s just getting light, too early to see birdies.

>289 richardderus: OMG, Max Porter. He’s written four books. The Death of Francis Bacon - A great painter lies on his deathbed, synapses firing, writhing and reveling in pleasure and pain as a lifetime of chaotic and grotesque sense memories wash over and envelop him. First paragraph of Amazon’s description.

When I want to wallow in death and despair, I’ll turn to Porter, I guess. And we’re scheduled to read Shy in November, to be discussed in early December. Just perfect for the holidays! Not. *smooch*

>290 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I had a happy and productive day, thank you very much.

The list is all over the place because the women are all over the place.

Retired systems analyst/master scheduler, original member, frequently brings obscure books or nonfiction, but this time brought a best seller. Frequently crankly about books chosen. Yours truly.

Retired software designer/tech field entrepreneur, usually brings nonfiction or classics to the table, but not always.

Accountant, dislikes nonfiction, feels obligated to finish every book she starts.

Raised in Africa by missionary parents, always a stay at home wife/mother although ran a day care out of their home for years, reads every book but rarely remembers details.

Retired special needs teacher and tutor, usually brings YA.

Retired medical field/insurance adjuster, slow but persistent reader. Doesn’t suffer fools gladly.

Works in an indie book store, original member, has already pretty much read everything on our list. My most hated book was her book one year – Twelve by Twelve.

Retired law office clerk, knitter, usually wants to get her way but has a heart of gold.

Brain tumor survivor with slight speech and memory problems, forcibly retired from tech field because of it, mother of just-graduated-high school fraternal MF twins and a 40-year old daughter from a previous marriage.

Retired nurse, original member, usually brings sci fi/speculative fiction. Wasn’t at the meeting, hasn’t picked her book for the year yet.

Honorary member, has had a series of TIA strokes in recent years and can’t concentrate on reading, original member.

You make me laugh and smile with your descriptions of your CLEAN aunt and your and your mama’s not getting housekeeping genes. I must admit that the wallpaper is still in rolls and there are actually places in the house that need some wallpaper repair work. I admire CLEAN aunt’s vacuuming/damp mopping every day, would never have considered doing that.

When I went to Greece, and what was then West Germany in 1979, my friend Haika was renting a basement one-bedroom apartment from a woman who had a gorgeous home in Göttingen. There was never a single speck of dust, never a single thing out of place. She spent so much time cleaning that we didn’t figure she had much of a life, and Haika said that she was like so many German women she, Haika, had met.

I am organized until I’m not, then eventually the urge to organize rises to top of stack and I can’t stand it any more. I’m actually amazed that I’ve kept the pantry under control since the beginning of Covid, when I cleaned it out. I also did a high-sodium clean out in December 2021, but that only required removal and not fixing a problem.

>291 streamsong: and >292 streamsong: Your foal is gorgeous, Janet – I went over and looked, snipped a photo and sent it to Karen. She said that baby horses are all legs.

Cloud Cuckoo Land is one of ‘em – but not because it’s sci fi, rather because I didn’t particularly love All The Light We Cannot See and am not really interested in reading anything else by this author. Not fair, but oh well. I’ll at least start it, because I’ve borrowed it from the Friends book sort room. We’re discussing it in October, so will at least open it, and perhaps even finish it, in September. Just for the record, the other books I’m not particularly interested in but will at least start are The Last Ballad and Demon Copperhead.

I was happily surprised with the last book of our last book club cycle, The Boy in the Field, so who knows? I may love all three.

I didn’t think about the Wordle word as a word, just as an answer. wrong is as good as any word, but you’re right – it is amusing

>293 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg! Thanks. More accomplished yesterday, see below. Congrats on getting Wordle in 3.

Wordle 724 5/6* adieu, gulch, lousy, plump, plunk

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Yesterday was productive and fun. Conducted my last meeting as President of the Friends, got the budget for 2023-2024 passed, and got thanked for my service with a $100 gift card to our local indie book store. They know me well.

I then used the treadmill for 10 minutes, no really bad repercussions last night or this morning, so will up it to 15 minutes the next time I go. I picked up 3 comforters from the dry cleaner - $80! - and dropped off the three bags of too-big clothes at the thrift shop. Later on I went back out and did the grocery shopping.

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I'll go to book sorting and brekkie/lunch out with whoever wants to go after, then come home and get settled and talk with my sister for the first time since she floored me by cancelling the idea of going to Hawaii because of her husband. Husband and Hawaii will be off the table for the talk, you can be sure. I'm still almost teary about the whole thing.

In the meantime, threads and reading til about 8 or so.

>294 karenmarie: I enjoyed your descriptions of the book club members. What an interesting group!

the other books I’m not particularly interested in but will at least start are The Last Ballad and Demon Copperhead.

This surprised me! I loved both of them: 4.5 and 5 stars, respectively. Of course we can't all like the same things and that's totally fine. What is it that puts you off?

Morning, Karen. Rehab duties the in AM. Books in the PM. That is all I got...

Feeders continue to be quiet...

Hi Horrible. Fang-grinding today, my personal ninth circle of hell. I need to go but I hate it so very much.

Hoping your spree at the bookstore is fun, and that Demon Copperhead surprises you with joy. The others are very, very unlikely to.

Good morning, Karen! I haven't said lately how proud I am of your regaining knee use so quickly! Stairs (and why wouldn't you hold the banister???? That's why it's there!) and treadmill. We will be able to walk to the river when you can finally come to see us again! *GRIN*

I'm delighted that your Friends board knows exactly the right way to give you a token of thanks for the leadership you've given them. Get something GOOD!!!

I expect to enjoy both *DCopperhead* and maybe the W. Cash. Somebody put it in our book club, and I still have the copy. And I also enjoyed reading about your book club members. Interesting group!

Enjoy your day!

>294 karenmarie: Hi Karen - I'm new to Groups, and to this Group in particular, but I'm wading through a number of threads to get a sense of what people share, and I just came across your description of your fellow book club members - what a fascinating group! The perspectives and ideas must be as diverse as the book suggestions - I would love to be a fly on the wall during your gatherings! The books themselves (most of which I don't know) also sound marvelous... and now I'm running off to add them to my TBR list. :)

>295 lauralkeet: Hi Laura. Thanks re my book club members. Our book club was formed in 1997. The newest member is from 2006, so a very stable group. Unfortunately, our most senior member, the one who’s had the TIA strokes, comes rarely, and can’t participate beyond hugs and simply remembering who we all are. We has 12 at one point, but are just as happy to be 11, with 10 active for now.

I’m irrational about those books, admittedly. We’ll see. I’ve liked Kingsolver in the past, but comparing a book to David Copperfield doesn’t do it a service to me these days. And The Last Ballad should be fascinating because of my living in NC and even having Bill’s Great-Aunt Josephine working her entire career in the office of a textile mill in Mooresville. And Bill’s Dad nominally worked for the same textile mill so he could actually play baseball in the textile leagues. I’m not quite sure why I’m resistive, but perhaps after writing the above and then getting into it will love it. The member who hadn’t chosen a book picked a very interesting book that I also already have on my shelves, never read, The Scapegoat, by Daphne du Maurier. My copy is 'cherce', a book club edition published by Doubleday with excellent dust jacket, from 1957, added to my catalog on 9/29/2012. I’ve also got a copy of Cloud Cuckoo Land, borrowed from the book sale donations. So, 5 of 10.

>296 msf59: Hi Mark! Happy Tuesday to you, hope your day was a good one. Yay for books in the PM. My feeders have been busy but aren’t right now.

>297 richardderus: Urgh. Sorry about the visit to the you-know-who today, RD. I hope you’re back home safely ensconced in your room. I’m looking forward to splurging at a retail book store, since I rarely pay list price any more. *smooch*

>298 LizzieD: Hi Peggy, thank you so much. I appreciate your support and pride in my accomplishment. Yes! I want to walk by the river with you as soon as possible.

I’ll be happy to report back after acquiring books at McIntyre’s. Glad you enjoyed reading about my book club members.

Today was fun at book sorting, then lunch with the group. Steph and I will probably go pick up a donation of art books from Greensboro within the next week or so. The people who used to pick up donations are Very Senior and aren’t doing it any more – it started with Covid and no donations being picked up and now people are supposed to bring them to the Library. However, Steph and I get along great, being in my RL book club AND the book sort team, so we will make a road trip out of it.

>299 PlatinumWarlock: Hi Platinum! Welcome to LT last November welcome to Groups, and specifically this one. We’re a very chatty group, and you can chat as much or as little as you want to. You can start a thread or just visit. If you start a thread in our group, Jim, drneutron, our group leader, will notice sooner than later, and add you to the threadbook. Lots of us lurk and only delurk when something sparks a comment, some of us are here every day like I am although I’m behind on threads I’d like to be caught up on.

Our book club meetings are quite interesting because of the thoughtfulness and intelligence of the group. Having said that, sometimes we don’t have a lot to say, and that’s okay, too.

If you have any questions about the group, how to do things in posts, or anything else, ask away! If I don’t know the answer, I’ll be able to find out. Or, someone will jump in with the answer. I’ve been on LT for almost 16 years.

And, although everybody has their own favorite number of messages per thread, mine is 300, and I’m off to set up my next thread! Give me a few minutes to set it up, then come visit me there.

…although everybody has their own favorite number of messages per thread, mine is 300, and I’m off to set up my next thread!

>300 karenmarie: Aaand… that was one of my questions! I didn’t know if we make those choices, or it’s built into LT, or what…so, thank you! 😁

You're very welcome! See you on the other side, as it were.