Shelley's Take Two - Reading off my own shelves - 2023 - page 7

Welcome to my last thread of 2023, not the best year I have had in my life but it will soon be over.

Here is the last of autumn light, which I am hanging on to for as long as I can. We had our first snow yesterday and though it didn't last, the minus single digit temperatures tell me autumn is over.

The talk:


The response:

Montreal book haul:


Currently reading (I don't know why it's sideways and I can't seem to turn it):


(This one is very timely and although written in 2017, has eerie and scary echoes of trump and his goons)

Hello, and welcome:

Happy new thread, Shelley! I thought I had better check in before I lose you again! Love the pictures of your boys.

Love seeing the boys...

Pretty pictures, but the cat pictures are especially cute! We had some snow flurries here today in Maryland, but they disappeared fairly quickly.

Happy new thread, Shelley. Great pictures of the boys!

Good to see that you are healing from your fall. I get you with the embarrassment but truly people do not really seem to see what goes on. I fell on a crowded escalator in a Skytrain station (seriously don't fall on an elevator, those metal steps are sharp) and nobody stopped or asked if I was hurt. There were no tears in my jeans but I was bruised. I hike up the escalator more carefully now.

Happy New Thread, Shelley! Your cats are just darling!

>1 jessibud2: love the colour Shelley.

>2 jessibud2: Love these especially. >4 jessibud2: ha!

>3 jessibud2: I enjoyed that book on Sacks. One of my favourite people.

>1 jessibud2: Beautiful topper! I am also trying to hang on to fall.

>2 jessibud2: Glad to see the two getting along so well

Happy new thread :)

Happy to check in, Shelley. Nice kitties.

Hi Shelley, just caught up from previous thread.
Scary accident in Mtl. No lasting damage, I hope. Slower healing and recovery as we age, yes?

>1 jessibud2: Beautiful topper photo and darn cute felines.
Happy reading...

Happy new one!

>8 Familyhistorian: truly people do not really seem to see what goes on

Exactly! When I last fell on an asphalt walk this summer in our local park, I sat, stunned, trying to figure out what I broke. At the same time, a young couple exited the recreation center, glanced at me, looked away and then walked away. Sure. A 75-year-old woman sitting alone, sprawled on an asphalt walkway, is an everyday occurence. No wonder they didn't stop. I was pretty pissed! It may be more that people ignore what is going on.

I always hold on to bannisters everywhere. I have had some pretty close near misses so I do this very seriously.

Hi, All, thanks for visiting my new and last thread this year, Stasia, Linda, Madeline, Meg, Deb, Caroline, Anita, Bill, Sandy, Jim. Yeah, I was pretty surprised that on a busy street, mid-week and mid-day, not one person stopped to see if I was ok. I was, but what if I hadn't been. Blech.

That pic in >1 jessibud2: is one of my favourites that I have ever taken in fall. I think it was from last year but in looking for a topper, I decided this was it.

Happy new thread, Shelley.

The cat photos are indeed very cute.

>8 Familyhistorian: & >15 SqueakyChu: I would definitely have stopped and asked if you were ok in both instances. I am constantly saddened by the lack of decency and general care for our fellow beings in life today.

Thanks, Paul.

Wordle 893 3/6 meaty, pious, sushi

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Bombed on Connections. The last category was just stupid.

>19 jessibud2: The last category was just stupid.

You tell 'em, Shelley! I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday.

Hi Shelley my dear, Happy New Thread. I was sorry to read about your fall and the fact that no one came to your aid, a sad indictment on today's society. I hope that you are fully recovered my dear and send love and hugs from both of us.

>20 alcottacre:- Ha, I did!

>21 johnsimpson: - Hi John. Thanks for your commiseration. I am pretty much fully mended except for still a bruised and sore knee and hand. Minor stuff. Could have been a lot worse, and yes, you are right about society today. Hope you and yours are doing well.

>19 jessibud2: HA! I bombed on Connections today too. (In fact, I put it exactly that way when I messaged my daughter this morning. We share our Wordle and Connections results regularly.) And I agree that the "last one" (by which I assume you mean the purple group) was stupid. But I ran out of turns before I got to it anyway.

>23 laytonwoman3rd: - Great minds think - or bomb - alike, Linda, lol!

I was sure I had posted about this book in my last thread but I am not seeing it there. So this is the book I finished on the train last week: Saving Houdini by Michael Redhill.

The copy I have is an uncorrected proof so I don't know if anything was changed for the published copy. This was a fun, if a tad far-fetched, story of a magic trick gone wrong, propelling 11-year old Dashiel Woolf from his present day 2011 back to 1926. Through a series of rather wild *adventures* which include a short stint in what was essentially juvenile detention, hiding behind a car full of pigs on a train from Toronto to Montreal, among other things, Dash realizes that he has an opportunity to change history and prevent his hero, Harry Houdini from death on Halloween. But things don't quite work out and Dash is in a race against time to get himself back to his own time or be stuck in the past forever.

I found that there were a few too many characters for me to keep track of but otherwise I really enjoyed that the story took place in Toronto and Montreal, with landmarks I recognized. Overall a fun story, and Michael Redhill is a very good writer.

Happy Wednesday, Shelley. Happy New Thread. Love the colorful topper and the kitty pics.

Happy new thread, Shelley!

What a lovely autumn topper, the color is striking.
Love the interaction between Owen and Theo, who would have thought they would come to this.

Thank you, Mark and Anita. Yes, my boys are behaving much better, overall. Next big hurdle will be getting Owen to allow me to pick him up. He has become much calmer and even cuddly (on his terms) but he is still pretty determined that he isn't ready yet for the big *lift*. lol

Wordle 894 5/6 meaty, perch, weird, reign, resin

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Great photos! I hope that you are healing!

>25 jessibud2: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Shelley!

Have a fantastic day!

>30 torontoc: - I am, thanks, Cyrel. The knee and hand are still sore but the eye is looking much better, especially with makeup ;-)

>31 alcottacre: - I hope you enjoy it, Stasia. He has written quite a few books but I have only read one of them called Consolation.

Wordle 895 4/6 meaty, trace, taxes, taken

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Connections
Puzzle #173
🟩🟩🟦🟩
🟩🟩🟦🟩
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🟨🟨🟨🟨places to shop: mall, market, outlet, store
🟩🟩🟩🟩ways to remove hair: shave, thread, tweeze, wax
🟦🟦🟦🟦portions of profit: cut, piece, share, take
🟪🟪🟪🟪kinds of wrenches: allen, crescent, monkey, socket

Lots of options making for a tricky one today.

I am going to see a film in a theatre today, something I have rarely done since covid. It will be fine, though, since I wear my mask in such places. I am going to see the Bradley Cooper film, Maestro, about Leonard Bernstein. I saw a very good extended interview with Bernstein's 3 children a few weeks ago and they were very positive about the film. I'm looking forward to it

Happy new thread, Shelley. I love your photos. The color of the leaves is amazing.

>35 BLBera: - Thank you, Beth. Autumn colours are amazing anytime, anywhere, in my opinion, but this photo turned out so well. If I remember correctly, I was walking on a trail and the way the light just filtered in that spot, just caught me at the right moment.

>34 jessibud2: I want to see that Shelley, shall watch for your thoughts. Cooper is very talented.

I liked the movie, Caroline. The acting was excellent and I would not be surprised if Cooper gets a nomination at the Academy Awards. The storyline moved around a bit, and the characters did a lot of talking over each other, which annoyed me a bit, but maybe that's how they really interacted. Interestingly, I heard a review on the radio on my way home and I learned what I could not have known from the film, that Bradley Cooper studied for 6 years to play piano and as a child, actually asked for a conductor's baton for Christmas (or a birthday, I forget). This was a role he had been waiting for and when Spielberg came to him with the project, it was a no-brainer.

Behind the credits at the very end, there was a clip of the real Bernstein and I asked the friend I was with if that was actually Bernstein, or Cooper. He had so inhabited the role, it was hard to tell

In the interview I saw on tv a few weeks ago with Cooper and the 3 adult Bernstein children, they said they worked really well together so that he felt he truly KNEW Bernstein even though he had never met him. Once my library is back up and running (sometime in January, after a huge ransom attack back in Sept or Oct), I will seek out Jamie Bernstein's book, Famous Father Girl.

PS - I started the Sacks bio today, on the subway on my way downtown. So far, so good.

Wordle 896 4/6 meaty, weird, perch, genre

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Bombed out again on Connections

New 🧵 orisons, Shelley!

>38 jessibud2: I think we came out in the same place Shelley. Worth venturing out in the weather for sure.

>4 jessibud2: I love this image of your cat looking out from a chair. Eyes are wide open!!! I am sorry I haven't visited in awhile. Today is a good day -- I have energy and manageable pain. It is a perfect day for reading and visiting threads. The rain outside is soft, and it makes the house feel cozy, with a cup of tea in one hand and a book in the other. 2023 was a year of Illustrated books. I am so glad I found this genre.

My granddaugter Kayla is here, she is visiting while doing work for her five classes she took this semester. Later we will decorate the Christmas tree. She can carry the boxe of ornaments from the basement. I have many Hallmark ornaments, some from when she was a little tot. They bring back wonderful memories.

She brought stinky the ferret. I haven't seen him in a long time. I miss him, but he gets in too much trouble for me to keep him here with me. He found his toy basket and immediately scampered with toy in mouth too hide each one in the exact places he hid them when he was at the house full time.

I'm going to search Thriftbooks.com to see if I can obtain a copy of Saving Houdini by Michael Redhill. You are reading some very interesting books!

I'm thinking of you and hoping you are well. I send much love.

Linda

>40 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard.
>41 Caroline_McElwee: - Yes, I agree. He may even garner more than one Academy nomination!

>42 Whisper1: - Actually, Linda, that's Owen, peering through the railing on the stairs. He seems to like hanging out on the stairs. He sure has done a number on them, using them as he would a scratching post. The carpet covering of them is in tatters and one of these days, I will have them removed and maybe just leave the wood, if it is any shape to be seen. Who knows. Not exactly a priority for me these days, to be honest.

Glad you had a lovely visit with Kayla and crew. I hope you are feeling better these days.

Wordle 898 3/6 meaty, strip, worst

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No time for Connections now, maybe later.

The perfect gift. Can you guess?

http://www.incidentalcomics.com/2023/12/gifted.html

Connections
Puzzle #176
🟨🟨🟨🟨unit of bread: baguette, bun, loaf, roll
🟩🟩🟩🟩assure, as a win: clinch, guarantee, lock, secure
🟦🟦🟦🟦small imperfection: chip, mark, nick, scratch
🟪🟪🟪🟪head of__: hair, lettuce, state, steam

That final category - really?

I knew the name Michael Redhill was familiar for some reason (besides the fact that my birthplace was also called Redhill.) I read his Bellevue Square and have Consolation on the shelves somewhere. Saving Houdini sounds interesting.

I never read Bellevue Square, Meg, because I thought it sounded a bit too creepy for me. But Consolation was very good and this Houdini one was fun. I got my copy from Value Village, where I seem to find a number of uncorrected proofs.

Wordle 899 4/6 meaty, synch, yourn, young

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Bombed again in Connections. I got the first 2 categories easily but there was a tricky twist in one of the remaining ones and I ran out of turns.

Hi Shelley! Happy newish thread.

Your pictures of Owen and Theo made me smile.

I’m very interested in your opinion of the Sachs biography. I hope it’s a good one.

Thanks, Ella.

A Number of Things by Jane Urquhart. Read for the November AAC, Canadian authors.

The premise of this book is that author Jane Urquhart was asked to choose 50 objects that tell about who we are as Canadians, in a way not done before. Each object is told in 2 to 3 pages, and exquisitely illustrated by artist Scott McKowen. What I really enjoyed about this book is how, though she tells a brief history of the object, and how it figures in the Canadian picture, she also sometimes connects it to her own family. And there is sometimes a surprise twist at the end, an *I didn't know that!* moment of recognition. All in a few pages. Here is just one example: a Sampler, from around 1858 or so, tells a story of a wistful young rural woman, whose life turned out very differently from the one she dreamed of. This sampler was handed down through the generations of women until it came into the hands of her great-great-granddaughter. That g-g-granddaughter went on to write stories of multi-faceted rural girls and women. Her name is Alice Munro.

There are surprising histories of artist Lawren Harris, Lester Pearson (before he was Prime Minister), the CBC, and more.

There are other stories with such twists; not all, but enough to keep it interesting! This book might resonate more with Canadians and might not be of interest to everyone but Urquhart is such a good writer, that I found it an easy and fascinating read. Here is part of her opening paragraph in the section on *Codfish*:

"When, as the very first *come from away* writer-in-residence, I arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland, in the autumn of 1992, I was entering that fascinating and unique culture at a significant time. I had visited Newfoundland once before, on a reading tour, and had fallen in love with the multicoloured houses on streets that somersault down to the harbour, the song in the speech of the inhabitants, the warmth and energy of the people, the freshly caught codfish that could be bought on the docks..."

The artistry of illustrator and graphic artist Scott McKowen is also beautiful and noteworthy. The blurb on the jacket says he "works in scratchboard, an engraving medium in which white lines are carved into a black surface with a sharp blade". Really gorgeous and moving.

Edited to add a few samples of McKowen's talent:

Another DNF: The Littlest Library. I loved the title, loved the cover, loved the premise but didn't get very far into this one. A tad too *chick lit* for my taste. And, in my humble opinion, not so well-written, or maybe that's just the genre. Oh well. I'm sure someone else will enjoy it. Into the bag it goes for an LFL or my next bookcrossing meetup. And onto the next one. I am in the middle of 2 other books at the moment so I am focusing on finishing those before the end of the year so they can be counted in my totals.

Another migraine day and I am not firing on all cylinders. Some silly inattention mistakes here:

Wordle 900 4/6 meaty, ardor, manor, woman

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>53 jessibud2: It sounds too twee for words, Shelley. I need insulin after reading part of the book description.

Better reads soon, my friend.

>55 richardderus: - Yep, that about sums it up, Richard. I am about 40 years past that genre, I think...

I edited in some pictures in >52 jessibud2:. The illustrator's artistic ability is amazing! His ability to create 3 dimensionality and detail is stunning. All carved with a knife!

Wordle 901 5/6 meaty, chime, boxer, queen, sleep

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Connections - Seriously?! Absolutely no clue today.

Gorgeous pictures from A Number of Things, Shelley. My mom chose The Littlest Library as one of the book I am giving her for Christmas. But she likes very happy, easy going stories, so finger crossed.

Thanks, Deb. Glad to hear you and yours are back to good health.
I hope your mum likes the book. It seems definitely a light read.

Wordle 902 4/6 meaty, larch, shard, sharp

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Wordle 903 4/6 meaty, thong, shirt, shift

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Connections - easier today than in recent days, for me

Puzzle #181
🟦🟦🟦🟦kinds of cooking oil: corn, olive, palm, peanut
🟩🟩🟩🟩hardware fasteners: bolt, nail, rivet, screw
🟨🟨🟨🟨ice cream treats: float, shake, split, sundae
🟪🟪🟪🟪sticky__: fingers, note, rice, wicket

Wordle 904 4/6 meaty, quash, chair, chain

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Connections
Puzzle #182
🟪🟦🟦🟦
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🟪🟪🟪🟪jump into the air: bound, leap, spring, vault
🟨🟨🟨🟨parts of a river: bank, bed, delta, mouth
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🟦🟦🟦🟦wrap around in a circle: coil, spiral, twist, wind
🟩🟩🟩🟩something easy to do: breeze, cinch, picnic, snap

Lots of trickiness today!

Wordle 905 5/6 meaty, prize, ounce, douse, house

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Connections:

yellow: luxurious fabrics: chiffon, satin, silk, velvet
green: come down to rest: perch, roost, settle, land

The last 2 categories are beyond me at this early hour. I see no connections between more than 2 of the remaining 8 words. Do you? Here they are: tongue, package, baby, speech, lace, eyelet, sole, blow

Oh well.

Think shoes and things that are delivered

Wordle 906 3/6 meaty, there, these

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Connections
Puzzle #184
🟨🟨🟨🟨murky condition: cloud, fog, haze, mist
🟩🟩🟩🟩follow: shadow, tail, track, trail
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🟦🟦🟦🟦pinball machine components: ball, bumper, flipper, plunger
🟪🟪🟪🟪__land countries: ice, ire, fin, nether

>64 calm: - Thanks. I never went back to it. I think once I bomb, I walk away, lol

Wordle 907 4/6 meaty, tiger, steno, spent. I could be mistaken, but it seems to me that it isn't often that a wordle word is a verb or an adverb. Is it?

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Connections - trickier today, probably more so for non-native speakers

Puzzle #185
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🟦🟦🟦🟦indecent: bawdy, blue, coarse, risque
🟩🟩🟩🟩"I give!": enough, mercy, stop, uncle
🟨🟨🟨🟨golf course parts: bunker, fairway, green, rough
🟪🟪🟪🟪"_ough words that don't rhyme: bough, cough, dough, rough

Guessy, guessy

Wordle 908 5/6 meaty, pious, round, could, would

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>52 jessibud2: Nice to see McKowen's art, Shelley. How did you do with Connections today? I seem to be on a short streak of actually solving them.

>67 jessibud2: Connections - trickier today, probably more so for non-native speakers

As far as I'm concerned, it's tricky EVERY day for NATIVE speakers!🤣 Much of the time I have no clue, as it is often full of cultural and idiomatic references and phrases that are beyond me.

Happy Thursday, Shelley!

>69 Familyhistorian: - Hi Meg. I was quite fascinated by McKowen's creative talent. As for Connections, it seems to be hit and miss for me. Either I get them or I bomb. It helped me to realize that I only really have to get 3 of the 4 categories and the 4th takes care of itself, but still. Today, for example, I never would have guessed what that last category was but since it was all that was left, it revealed itself to me after I got the first 3. Hehe, the games we play with ourselves... (I did nearly give up)

Connections
Puzzle #186
🟨🟨🟪🟨
🟪🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩sports venues: arena, bowl, dome, field
🟨🟨🟨🟨pester: badger, bug, hound, nag
🟪🟦🟦🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟦separate: divide, fork, part, split
🟪🟪🟪🟪silver___: fox, lining, screen, spoon

>70 kac522: - You do have a point, there, Kathy. I also find it tricky but that's part of what keeps me coming back to it. It's a good exercise for my little brain. Until I swear in frustration and walk away, lol!

>71 richardderus: - Hello to you too, my friend.

So, I went for an xray yesterday on my hand. It continues to hurt and seems to be hurting more and not less, as time goes by since my fall 3 weeks ago. The knee bruise is healed and gone. The eye is healed and though I do have a scar, I am content to live with that considering how much worse it could have been. It's a small scar and makeup helps, if I feel like bothering. The right lens of my eyeglasses that got badly scratched in the fall are being replaced and I should have them back next week. But the outside of my hand, from the pinky finger up to the wrist and a bit on the top of the hand itself, hurts like hell. I know it isn't broken as I can move all my fingers and my wrist but I just can't put any pressure on it and have a hard time with the simplest thing like opening a bottle or lifting anything. I thought maybe there was a little crack, a fracture, so the doctor sent me for an xray. I have an appointment next week to discuss the results, which I assume are negative or he wouldn't make me wait till next week. But I will want to know if there is anything to be done about it. The good news is it's my right hand and I am left-handed so it isn't impacting me as much as it could be. Still... Getting old isn't fun, so just be careful, everyone!

So sorry to hear you've still having problems from your fall, Shelley. I'm glad you followed up with yur doctor, and I hope all heals well. Stay safe, my dear! Happy last night of Chanukah.

Thanks, Madeline. Hope yours was lovely.

Wordle 909 4/6 meaty, throw, toxic, topic

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Well, this was a nice surprise! (unlike yesterday, where I barely made it at all!)
Connections
Puzzle #187
🟪🟪🟪🟪swindler: cheat, crook, quack, shark
🟩🟩🟩🟩get low: crouch, duck, squat, stoop
🟨🟨🟨🟨curmudgeon: crab, crank, grouch, grump
🟦🟦🟦🟦national symbols: anthem, flag, motto, seal

I'm sorry to read that you are still having pain with your hand, Shelley. I hope that soon be in the past.

>77 vancouverdeb: - Thanks, Deb. Me too.

Wordle 910 5/6 meaty, price, joule, louse, globe

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>74 jessibud2: Falls are a lot more serious than we generally take them for, so good on you for getting the roentgen ray done. I am confident that a fracture could be dealt with but might be quite a while healing. Stay safe!

Sorry to see that your hand is still bothering you, Shelley. I hope that they come up with some solutions for you.

Thanks, Richard and Meg.

Here's a Tom Gauld Christmas present puzzle: :-)

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/736950942804606976/christmas-present-puzzle-my...

>52 jessibud2: This sounds like a great read. BB for me.

>74 jessibud2: Sorry to read that your hand is still causing you trouble. I hope the x ray will be able to determine what it is. Hopefully nothing too serious.

Happy week ahead!

Might have had it in 3 if I hadn't made that careless mistake of inattention in that third guess:

Wordle 911 4/6 meaty, harsh, baron, bacon

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Wordle 912 4/6 meaty, shiny, crony, funny

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Connections
Puzzle #190
🟩🟨🟦🟪
🟨🟨🟨🟨brief moment: flash, jiffy, second, wink
🟦🟦🟦🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪__hour: amateur, eleventh, happy, rush
🟩🟩🟩🟩primary: chief, first, main, principal
🟦🟦🟦🟦avenues in NYC: Broadway, Fifth, Madison, Park

Not trying to catch up, Shelley. I hope all is well there. Just a drive-by wave for today :)

Hi Shelley, Sympathy for the injured hand. I have zoomed through a few posts and stopped to admire A Number of Things by Jane Urquhart. I hope you have a good report with the findings.

Hi Stasia and Sandy. I see the doctor tomorrow so will figure it out then.

Wordle 913 3/6 meaty, trade, table

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Hope you get some helpful news about your hand soon Shelley.

Well, guess what? It turns out I do have a fracture in the bone of the outside of my right hand! Right metatarsal? I was surprised but in a way, relieved to know it's wasn't all in my head. He said to try icing it and if there is still pain by the end of January, to come in again and he will refer me to an orthopedic doctor. He said the xray people also noticed that the bone density in my hand, overall, seems *thin* so I have a bone density scan scheduled for Jan. 8.

Heading off to Mtl tomorrow for a week. My mother has stopped eating. No rest for the wicked...

Well, too bad about the fracture, but nice to know you aren't imagining the pain in your hand, as you say , Shelley. I'll have to go and google the metatarsal bone. Sorry to read about your mom not eating and your trip to Montreal tomorrow. Best wishes and Happy Holidays. Take care, Shelley!

Best wishes, Shelley! For you and your mother.

Thanks, Deb and Ella.
Metacarpal. My mistake. Good thing I am not a doctor. I just googled it, myself.

>95 Caroline_McElwee: Wow! Rough going. Hoping your hand fracture heals okay. I had a bone density done this past year and was diagnosed with osteopenia for which I need to take calcium and vitamin D. That’s not a problem. I’d rather do that than develop osteoporosis. I’m trying to be especially careful not to fall, but falls are accidents…which do happen.

That’s troubling about your mom not eating. Perhaps she’ll perk up a bit when she sees you and start eating a bit.

Safe travels. Have a good visit with your mum.

We had our annual holiday BookCrossing party with our First Line Game (which you Zoomed last year). We no longer Zoom it. It was fun as always. It was just a nice relaxing afternoon with tons of laughs. Does your BC group do anything like that? If not, it should. The food is all pot luck so no heavy responsibility falls on anyone (except the host, I guess).

>90 jessibud2: Well good to know at least Shelley, and to have the bone density issue flagged.

I hope there will be some downtime and some pleasure in your trip as well as the dutiful daughter time.

>95 Caroline_McElwee:- yes to your first comment, Caroline, but no idea about the second. We shall see. I am on the train as we speak, about an hour and a half from arrival. It's a bright sunny day, kind of a pity to waste it in a train but that's OK.

>90 jessibud2: Fractures HURT, but at least it's now officially diagnosed. Future issues are covered.

Sorry about the issue with your mother. I hope it's easily resolved.

>94 SqueakyChu:- we had a small holiday meetup of our local bc group this past Sunday, Madeline. We were only 4 of us but I guess that's due to the holiday busy-ness at this time. Always fun anyhow. A newish bookcrosser to our group picked up my copy of A Number of Things that I brought. I actually didn't bring home any books (except for the one Madeleine gifted me for Christmas!). I forget the exact title right now but it's by a retired, much loved Canadian journalist, Peter Mansbridge. Not his latest but one from a couple of years ago.

>97 richardderus:- Thanks, Richard. As for the fracture, nothing really changes; it's not a location that any sort of splint or anything can actually help. I will just ice it (something that, frankly, hadn't occurred to me before, duh!) and try to just be more conscious of not doing it any more damage. As for my mother, I have a feeling that she has turned another corner and that there isn't a good outcome from this one. I am meeting with a nurse tomorrow morning and we'll see what she says.

Wordle 916 4/6meaty, trust, tough, touch

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I actually just figured out how to paste my results here! I have tried before but it never worked for me. Of course, being on the tablet breaks my streak from the laptop at home but I know the streak continues and that's good enough for me. :-)

Happy Friday, Shelley. Sorry to hear about the fracture in your hand. You just can't catch a break, right? Well, at least not the right kind. Good luck with your visit with your mother. I hope you can get it sorted out, without completely disrupting your Christmas holiday. Hugs.

Wordle 917 3/6 meaty, hover, slope

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>101 msf59: Thanks, Mark.

Wishing everyone a very happy and safe holiday season. Stay safe and healthy. I am posting this here as it's a bit cumbersome for me on my phone or tablet to visit all the threads.

>90 jessibud2: Oh no! Well I suppose at least you know whats wrong and you were able to catch another potential issue with the bone density.

I hope you have a calm and peaceful trip to Montreal.

Hope you have a good holiday weekend!

Best to you and your mom as you spend time in Montreal, Shelley. Wishing you well.

Isn't it great to be vindicated, Shelley? You really did yourself an injury. I hope your time in Montreal goes smoothly.

Thinking about you during the festive season, Shelley

*smooch* on your owwie hand-fracture

Hi Shelley! I'll try to visit more next year. But in the meantime

Hi Shelley, I was sorry to hear of all the trials you've endured lately. Fractures in your hand are the very devil. It is hard to get enough rest for hands. And then your mother on top of that.

I add my best wishes for the coming year and hope that you can enjoy a break from these mini-crises.

Just thinking about you, Shelley.

I am hoping that both you and your mother have a healthy and happy new year, Shelley. I hope the hand heals quickly.

Dang! Hoping the hand heals quickly and wishing you and your Mom the best!!

Thank you all for your good wishes and for stopping by. The week in Mtl was brutal and I am soooo happy to be home. I'll leave it at that.

I am trying to catch up on threads this morning and will try to get my own new thread up later today.

We had a lovely dusting of snow overnight so everything looks clean and pretty this morning. Nice way to start the new year.

As a brief summary, I was surprised to discover that I read a total of 87 books in 2023. It sure felt like I was hardly reading at all. A good number of them were smaller children's books and I turn to those when I just can't concentrate on anything else. Half of me feels I shouldn't count those but in truth, they are books and I read them, so of course they count! There not many standouts for me last year but a few of the better ones include:

My Russian Grandmother and Her American Vacuum Cleaner
The Red Leather Diary
Lessons in Chemistry

The last book I finished was Women of the Post by Joshunda Sanders. It was about the first and only Black female unit to serve overseas during WWII. It was a part of history I knew nothing about and for that reason alone I wanted to read it. I also wanted to like it more than I did. The author is supposed to be an award-winning journalist but in truth, I found the narrative sometimes clunky, sometimes a bit contrived. The author's note at the end was interesting and shed more light on the story itself. It was based on true events and even 2 real people, though the way Sanders changed facts seemed odd, to me. Still, it was worth reading.

I am hoping for more good reads in 2024. I really need stories to pull me in and not let go! No more slogs! ;-)

Finally got my first 2024 thread up. Excuse the photos (too many?) but c'est la vie. Seeing their sweet faces makes my day!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/356579#n8336862

I got home late this afternoon and am ready to sleep for a month. It was a very difficult 10 days, for many reasons that I won't go into but 10 days may have been too long. In any case, I hope I don't have to go back for at least another month. I'd love to get through an entire month of no crises....

I finished one book and might have finished a second if I hadn't slept on the train.

Birds in Fall by Brad Kessler

This is such a quiet but powerful story. Told in 3 parts, it is the story of tragedy, grief, coming together and moving forward. That's the simple description; it's a lot deeper than that. The writing is elegant, clear and compelling.

An airplane crashes into the ocean, off the coast of Nova Scotia. The first chapter of the book is told from the point of view of the passengers, just prior to the crash. I found this opening to be surprising, terrifying, unusual. Then main section deals with the families coming to the crash site and all that that involves. The reader gets to know some of them (connected to the passengers we were briefly introduced to in chapter one), layer by layer, and through them, their lost loved ones. The main protagonist, Ana, and her lost husband, Russell, are ornithologists. Another survivor is a musician, as was his passenger wife. Those 2 themes of birds and music are woven through the story in subtle but lovely ways and pull the threads together. The final section finds us revisiting the survivors and the site a few years later.

Author Brad Kessler has an understated but elegant style of writing. Here are a few passages that I loved:

- For five days, consciously or not, they'd wanted to get to the water. For five days they'd lived with the torment of not knowing, and then finding out, that their daughters or husbands or sons were somewhere lost in that sea. And seeing the orange moon lift from the sea now, like a spotlight luminating acres of open water, they found themselves disheartened all over again. So vast was the sea. So appallingly cold, so indifferent the metronome of the tide.

- All of them were drawn into the night like metal filings attracted to a much larger magnet. They passed one another in the dark, each in his or her own orbit but unaware of the others.

- What was it about violent mass death that brought everyone out of the woodwork? Hundreds died each hour, each day, in hospitals, on freeways, and no one showed up to witness or weep. Why had all these people come now?

- Mounties stood stationed every few yards to keep people from the edge of the rocks. The water itself was cordoned off with yellow police tape. The entire Atlantic, Ana thought, was a crime scene.

- At her lab, there was the unavoidable parade of colleagues. They stopped her in the hall, knocked meekly on her door, offered her what words they could (inadequate, fumbling) or slipped small notes in her box (kind, a bit cowardly). She had to endure all that. A second death -- of words.

- The pathologist talked for awhile longer, but his words no longer cohered; they seemed to Ana like tiny black beads falling out of the receiver and spilling over the floor - pearls on a necklace, bouncing out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~

What I also found intriguing were a few quiet, very subtle, back stories that were hinted at but not expanded on, of some of the other characters, like the 2 inn keepers, a police constable and one of the victims of the crash. I liked that tease, and appreciated the author's assumption that the reader is smart enough to recognize and figure them out. I started and finished this book in 2 days. Which is more than I can say for any other book I have started this month (and haven't finished). Published in 2006, it's been on my shelf at home for years. I am going to seek out more by this author.