bohemima's books, part three

This is of course, bohemima's books, part 3, section b.

Sigh. I always hit those buttons too fast!

August Reads

58. The White Tiger
59. The Lifeboat
60. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
61. The Folks that Live on the Hill
62. Moo
63. The Abbess of Crewe
64. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency

September Reads
65. A Reading Diary
66. The Walk
67. Tears of the Giraffe
68. A Man in Full
69. With or Without You: A Memoir
70. Fly Away Peter
71. Lucia in London
72. The House on Sugar Plum Lane
73. The Technologists

October Reads
74. Coffin, Scarcely Used

Currently Reading:
Miss Mapp
The Small House at Allington
The Year of Henry James

Books-in-Waiting No More

I've read 35 books off my shelves so far this year. Most, though not all, have been passed on to others.

Library Books

9 as of today.

Books Bought and Read This Year

7 as of today

This has been updated to reveal the sad truth about myself, way downthread.

You see how very lazy I am.

Books Abandoned This Year

Don Quixote
I just couldn't do it. I gave it a valiant effort, but...no. And I'll not try it again, as this was at least my third attempt.

Fall of Giants
Well, I may go back to this sometime. The characters seemed awfully shopworn to me, and there was a LOT of exposition about the times; didn't feel I needed a reveiw of that period of history. I dunno, it just wasn't the right book for me right that minute.

Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman
I was reading this for months, which was okay, as it's very episodic. But after a while, the genius adolescent/adult thing wore thin for me. Also, my interest in physics is nil. That didn't help, either.

Love Among the Ruins: A Novel
Actually I was enjoying this book quite a bit, but it's a late entry in the series, which meant I couldn't keep up with all the backstory. Some sweet day...

And several others which, mercifully, I've forgotten.

Big Surprises This Year
The Count of Monte Cristo
What a rip-snorter of a book.

O! That's it? LOL
um... great start ;-)

Hi Gail! Figured I'd come over to see how the thread construction was going.

It's okay Gail. You can join our support group since Deb (Vancouverdeb), myself, and a few other Lter's have done this, some even more than once. ;)

In all fairness, the thread continuation process is very confusing, I think. I'm worried every time that I'm forgetting to change something or other before hitting the fateful Submit button...

Hi Gail!

Section b duly marked as active duty. *smooch*

Getting distracted is most understandable in your current life circumstances.

I found you ! Good. Now things are in order.
A thread under construction is a good thread where anything can happen.
I like that !

Dan just turned the tv even louder. Nice.

So.. I am tired and grumpy and getting increasingly so :( He is no doubt retaliating because I needed his help to move one of the rugs.

oh well.. I will quit drizzling negative energy all over your nice new thread and blow it all away..

hope your day was a good one..

hugs

So, what's the plan for today? Anything interesting?

It's almost exactly 12 hours later.. so just sending positive energy and a hug :)

See ya when we see ya!

Cee, Valerie, Amber, Porua, Rdear, and Kath!
So happy to see you all here. I don't know why or how I fouled up, but there it is. I'm so glad you all found your way to the "new" thread.

I've been doing some reading...but not finishing anything much. I started Moo by Jane Smiley, which is very funny. Also making my way through A Reader on Reading, by my favorite author, Alberto Manguel. If one could fall in love with someone simply by reading his books, well...'nuff said.

We''re going to see if we can get better medication for Dh by seeing a neurologist in about a month. I hate to do this--denial is soooo comforting--but he does need some help with sleeping, mood changes, anxiety. I don't talk about thisi much because it's very difficult. On the other hand, yesterday he cooked, packed up, and cleaned up from cooking, 13 quarts of collard greens. And so it goes...

Gail - congrats on your latest thread my dear and I hope you have a wonderful weekend with Jane Smiley. She can be funny can't she?

I am glad that you are going to be finding more help for DH, and thus yourself. I hope this will soon result in happier days and more general ease in our life. I can't fathom Dan ever doing anything around the house. He used to do dishes 2 times or so a week, when I was working.. ( for about 2 years or so ) I ate greens once as an adult.. ( I know I ate them as a child, but don't remember) at a restaurant near to Jekyll Island.
They were delicious! Good for DH !

More work for me this morning.. hope for some down time this afternoon.

Why, thank you, Paul! I'm finding the Smiley book not only very funny but particularly on point re: government, education, and life in general.

Hey, Kath! A good Sunday to you!

I'm off to do some chores but hope to return later in the day with some thoughts on (good grief!) books.

Sunday *smooch*

Checking in.. hope the day turned out to be a good one?
Thinking of you :)
hugs

Hello to Kath and Rdear

Well, today was very quiet. I went shopping by myself.
How I hate shopping.
Did find 2 pairs of nice slacks. Bought what I thought would be a nice match for a skirt I own; not having the skirt with me, I screwed that one up badly. And 3 t-shirts. I am always ruining my t's, mostly by cooking without an apron or large bib.

Even the nicer stores are
too crowded with people
too noisy, what with loud music (which I can assure you does not encourage me to buy anything, but rather to flee the store holding my ears)
too full of junky stuff
too full of stuff that would have been okay for me maybe 35 years ago--maybe
too crammed in with the merchandise so that one has to pick one's way around.

If the internet had done nothing else, I'd be grateful for the easier shopping experiences.

Then I read a little. And I rested a lot. I've got to look up my meds to see if they are possibly sapping my energy.

And tidied up the thread a bit and looked around LT a bit as well.

Clothes shopping *shudder* is the thing I loathe the most in life. The reading sounds good!

Hi Gail - I totally agree with your shopping observations. You are doing better than I - at least you went and tried to get what you needed.
I just keep saying "I really should go shopping."

I need to start wearing more aprons too. So far I have only learned to remember one when I am making spaghetti sauce. It's a start. *sigh*

I agree completely with you all about shopping, and your assessment is a good one. gak!
I often wonder why we are assaulted by music everywhere. Grocery stores, restaurants, malls, any public place. Terrible. To me, to be pounded with music that is not my choice, for long periods of time is torture.

Diana Nyad is swimming again. Trying to swim from Cuba to Florida. She is 63. Bless her, but I think she's nuts. I hope she makes it this time so she will stop !

Me three on the shopping discussion. I detest it. Online is my preferred way to go. And I have an entire drawer of old "spaghetti" tee-shirts....since we eat tomato saucey stuff at least 3-4 times a week, and since I am congenitally incapable of eating anything red w/o wearing it, the tees are a must. One of my most prized wedding gifts was a set of embroidered spaghetti bibs my sister made for me.....at least we could be classy when we had guests. They have alas, gone the way of the dinosaurs over our 19 moves and 45 years....

I also agree about the clothes shopping experience. And I'd also add that there are too many rude sales clerks.

I am a messy eater, too. And a messy cook. I have to learn to shop better. I tend to just buy a size larger than I think I need and hope for the best. I hate returning things and so I often look like I am swimming in my clothes.

Hi Gail ! It was nice to see your note in my thread this morning. I am going to be out and about starting in a few minutes.. but will try to catch up more later. In the meantime.. I want to with you a very very good day !
hugs

Hate. Shopping. For. Clothes.

My solution is to find a pair of slacks or a shirt that I like, and that fits okay, and order several in a variety of colors. I have five pairs of a certain style of slacks via llbean: brown, black, navy, khaki, and stone. There. My work week is covered.

New thread looks great to me Gail!

I hate clothes shopping too so I can sympathise. Re your meds, mine make me feel quite tired and out of it when I increase the dose but I've found it does wear off after a while (well, after a month) as my body adjusts. Might be worth asking your doctor too?

My solution is to find a pair of slacks or a shirt that I like, and that fits okay, and order several in a variety of colors.

I've done that with a variety of clothes items. I have the same dress in three different prints, the same shoes in various colors, etc.

I have done that as well. Not for jeans. Doesn't work for jeans.

ah! here you are ! Good morning to you! What is going on in Gail land... ?
Always wondering about that.. What are you reading, eating, doing for fun?
Okay, not so much fun, but entertainment?

I don't remember fun either.. lol

So nice to hear from/see Rdear, Cee, Kath, Tina, Terri, Ellen, and Heather, and note that most of you agree with the hatred of clothes shopping. Even when young and slim (when was that, again?), I didn't like it, and was quite happy for Mum to take charge, with her perfect sense of style, just trying on whatever she recommended, or even better, waiting for Christmas and birthday to be completely and beautifully outfitted. Once we found some suede shoes that we both loved and she bought me 3 pairs, one in each color; not practical colors, either, but rose-red, teal blue, and a sort of gold. Sigh. Well, never mind. I was "spoiled", I think over-indulged would be a better word, in some ways as a child and teen. Lots of strict rules, usually enforced with a simple "look", however; good manners, and taking care of the helpless were heavily emphasized. Of course, that was when Mum was in her better periods.

So anyway, Kath, I saw last night that Diana Nyad gave up on her swim. I was sorry to see that she didn't make it, even if in my own mind it seems a loony sort of idea.

Not sure what happened to us today. I awoke at 6:15, got up, made coffee, read the paper. Alarm went off at 7; when it finally penetrated to Dh's ineffective eardrums, he shut it off. Asked him at 7:30 if he wanted to get up; "no" was the answer, so we went back to sleep until 9:30. 9:30! Good grief, the day's half over by then!

Tonight I'm making hamburg, peppers, and onions with mashed potatoes, a tiny bit of greens, a tiny bit of lima beans, tomatoes and cucumbers. Tomorrow will probably be taco salad, Friday unknown.

I'm trying to read Moo. which is really, really funny and interesting, but keep getting distracted by two Manguel works: A Reader on Reading and A Reading Diary. I gave up this month, finally, on Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman. It was okay, but after a while I got tired of this genius playing all these practical jokes, kind of, on people. I was about half-way through when I realized it had become a chore and put it aside for the library sale shop. Also gave up, quite quickly, on Love Among the Ruins, which has to be one of my favorite book titles. This was the Thirkell book, not the Waugh. I could see that it was quite funny, but it's part of a series, and I just couldn't keep up with it all; too much reference to backstory. Perhaps some golden day I'll be able to start the series at the beginning to see if works for me.

Um, fun...um...what? If I get a chance this p.m., I'll watch the next episode of Doc Martin, which is fun for me. I wish I could get to a real beach; now that would be fun.

Oh, yesterday we went to Jason's, which a chain deli, but really quite superior food; I had a Sgt. Pepper sandwhich, and a lovely slice of classic New York cheesecake. Yum! And we just discovered that there's a Vietnamese restaurant in town; we both love that food, so will be trying it out soon.

*smooch* for sleepyhead Gail

I'm not a big fan of shopping when I was younger and clothes actually fit nicely, or now after having a child and clothes just don't fit right anymore. I really hate taking clothes on and off and on again but then I hate returning clothes that don't fit when I try them at home even more.... I like buying stuff that I don't have to "try", like books! :)

Oh good! A nice sleep in to start the day. Good news. Nothing new here.. still busy and getting ready to get furniture changed over. It feels like I have been working on this project forever. But! nearly there. Cory home tomorrow to help, bless him.

Nice to find a new restaurant with potentially yummy food. . .

I am going to make Mamie's GoTo chicken tomorrow for Cory. It is yummy and crispy and he will like it.

No reading yet today...

So is this a bridge day? I can't keep track.

Cory coming home here.. and a few odds and ends need to be moved. This is getting old.. lol

I have no plan beyond wait and see what the day brings. I am not sure I will be able to read any time soon.. but we shall see.

How is life treating you today? I hope gently........?

Good morning to Rdear, Valerie, and Kath! And of course to any and all lurkers.

A good start to today; got the car washed (whoopie), dh and I picked up a pot--unusual, square terra cotta--for his croton which is rapidly outgrowing the maddeningly attractive black plastic bucket thing it came in, got some new gardening gloves and potting soil; picked up a USA Today so we could at least learn a bit of what's going on in the world without any noise attached. Now to pot up the plant, do some heavy-duty pulling up/culling of plants that are taking over where I don't want them to.

Valerie, I've found book and movie shopping much, much more satisfactory than clothes shopping. Erg. I've tried the "several of the same in different colors" quite often, but then I get so bored...

Kath, So glad Cory is coming home for a bit. That will be sweet for you. No bridge today; yay! Only on Tuesdays and Fridays.

Last night I fell asleep listening to "Book Lust" podcasts. Must figure out where I went to sleep and listen on while I do the gardening.

I'm still laughing at HS friend who complains, "They don't make clothes to fit the MATURE FIGURE!" That's what I have all right!
Congratulations on no bridge! We play only once every three weeks.
And we have a Jason's in nearby Fayetteville, but I rarely get over there. It is good though - everything very fresh.

I watch a lot of documentaries on YouTube and find myself awakening at 3am with no notion of where I drifted off...not that I'm not interested, but sometimes a mellow baritone and a recumbent position = meganap.

I am soooo in agreement with Valerie: "I really hate taking clothes on and off and on again but then I hate returning clothes that don't fit when I try them at home even more.... I like buying stuff that I don't have to "try", like books!"

It also irritates me that women(e.g., myownself) seem to need at least 3 different sizes in their closets (which 3 sizes fluctuates over time) and men (e.g., my husband) seem to continue to wear the size they graduated in :PPPPPP~~~~
Maybe a small overexaggeration, but in this house it's very close.
rant over.

Hi Gail!!! Don't work too hard digging in the sun ;-)

With ya n that Cee...

Taking my negative energy and leaving here before I get any on you.

I think I tried Moo when it first came out (long time ago!), it being set in the town in which I attended grad school and me being a Jane Smiley fan. I don't think it "took," though, so I didn't finish it.

A quick hello for today... so much left to do, but I need to sit and do nothing for a few minutes...
I hope your day is being kind....

Moo U made me laugh the first time I read it. And then she names the book that! Ha!

Good morning to you! So, here it is the weekend again. How on earth did that happen? I have been so busy, I haven't been keeping up with anything, including days of the week. Whats on the agenda for you today?
Are you hurricane watching? Will it bring you rain or cool di you think? I am ever hopeful that hurricanes will bring us rain, too :)

No reading for a couple of days, here. Soon, I hope. Too busy. I tidied the basement a bit yesterday afternoon. It needs more, of course... but that's okay. I hate a messy basement and Dan brought a bunch of "Stuff" from the garage, about 2 years ago and just piled it in the corner. I intend to fix that when he is away this time. shhhhhhhhh don't let him know.

:)

Hey, all. What's up with your Saturdays? We're doing the quiet thing here at Chez Bohemima. No errands to run, no major cooking to do today, just some dusting, reading (now there's a chore), a bit of laundry, which I find never ends. I could work in the yard, but it's already hot-ish and very humid outside, so no. Hoping the hurricane has enough strength to give us some rain, wind, and cooling off.

Peggy: On the clothes front, what is truly annoying is that one size is just the tiniest bit too tight (underwear lines) and the next size swims on me. Hate that. Also, I have a, um, large-ish chest, so tees that fit everywhere else look a bit odd and blouses almost always have to be one size up from the perfect fit, or they won't stay buttoned at the critical area. Pain in the neck...I can remember as a teen, often spilling food--we've chatted about that here--and my Dad saying, "Well, whaddaya expect? It's hard to get stuff over the continental divide." Yeah, thanks, Dad, for at least making me laugh about what was a sensitive topic for me back then.

In addition to Jason's, we have a Panera Bread here, and a Fuddrucker's for hamburgers. Other places, of course, but those are the chains that we favor. We try to go out to eat, not because we particularly like to eat out, but because Dh needs some outside time every day, and that's an easy way to do it. I, of course, could hibernate here at home, just using the yard for my outside time...

Rdear: You are exactly correct; it's so soothing listening to calm voices, no matter what they're discussing...I often nod off. It's a great help to getting to sleep. A few hours later, though, I wake up and groggily shut off the machine...We don't have a t.v. in our bedroom. When we first married, we did. The third time my husband woke me up and said, "Aren't you going to shut that thing off?" when he had been watching it before he fell asleep, the t.v. went out of the bedroom the next day. We've never missed it. That was before remote controls, of course.

Cee: I only use 2 sizes now, neither of which is quite right, although I'm having a bit more success with slacks lately, in getting a proper fit. No idea why.

Ellen: It took me just a bit to warm up to Moo. I'd have finished long before today (which I will, only about 30 pages to go) if I hadn't been so very distracted by those Manguel books, and, ya know, real life. I like it a lot. I came to Jane Smiley through Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel, a wonderful nonfiction work.

Kath: Enjoy today with your boy, try to rest from all the work, and just ignore any pests that might be living with you.

*smoochiesmoochsmooch* for a lovely, restful Saturday.

Reading The Various Flavors of Coffee and becoming a weentsy tidge irked with the narrator, and the skips in POV being marked by skips in tense.

Delurking to say hi Gail.

Sunday... kid call day for me, and that makes me happy.
I have three beds to make up, and I am off to do that in a few. other than that and my hope to read, nothing much on the agenda but dinner. And after Dan leaves I hope to read. ( or sleep) zzzzzzzzzz
I am so tired! Not really sleepy, mostly achy and done with all of this "stuff". Now my sister is annoyed because I'm done and she hasn't started yet. She is waiting for her son and son in law to be around to help.
She is moving out a bedroom and moving in another one. She is taking Walter's set. It is VERY old, and cherry wood. A couple of the drawers have built in boxes.. like jewelry boxes or? Special treasure boxes? lol
Very nice. Well kept. Her son is taking a couple of things and Kim's piano is in the basement. I am glad to know that my part of this is done, and that I will only have to help a little with cleaning when she is done so she can try to sell the house.

Moving on
Nothing going on here... just a regular quiet sunday so far... and hope your day is going well, too.
Peaceful days are necessary.

Hope today flies speedily by and is pleasant despite any indication to the contrary.
Sending energy :)

I remember struggling to get into *Moo* and then being sorry to get out....
I'm just back from the annual weekend with my best high school friends and their spouses at White Lake. I guess I should write about it on my thread. Great time as usual!
I wish you a good week!

I know that you have a busy day ahead, I hope it is also VERY good and some good times in there wouldn't hurt :)

(((((((Gail))))))))

Just needed to catch a Breeze......

Things are sooooo crazy here; back on either Thursday or Friday of Saturday....

Don't even have time to consider the books I've read...

Yikes. sorry about that.. you will be here when you get here.. we will keep your thread warm for you..

Sending energy to deal with the crazies!
{{{Gail}}}

<a href="http://media.photobucket.com/image/dusting/stevebaslow/Dusting.gif?o=4" target="_blank">

Good... erm, afternoon, my friend! Sorry I didn't pop in earlier. It's supposed to be hot here today, and I wanted to get my chores out of the way early and then sit and do nuthin'! Which is exactly what I am going to do... for the most part.

So your crazy part of the week is over? Good. Hope everyone and everything was well and good and happy.
All is well here, too. Dan is on his way and I am V glad to be able to do things in my own time and at my own pace, without having to worry about disturbing his sleep or annoying him by asking for help. I did some stuff today that I have asked him to do for ages.. PfffffffT I did it. And my basement is a lot less lurky and dark and cobwebby.

So .... How are you ? I have been leaving you in peace, as I knew that you were busy, but now I want to know everything! LOL

hugs

Good Morning!

Just keeping your thread on top where I can keep an eye out for you :)

Hi Gail!
Sending hugs :-)

Sunday hug!

Such an idiot. I had a message going, looked back upthread to check something, forgot I had a message going, edited some messages up top, and naturally lost the orgin of today's message.
Sigh.

Kath and Cee! Good to see you. I don't seem to have much energy lately--I think I mentioned that--and so have been off LT pretty much for a bit. I've been doing a good bit of reading, and must get together at least a couple of sentences on each book. My RL bookclub chose A Man in Full by Tom Wolfe for this month's selection. Not that great a choice, in my opinion. And very, very long.

Gail .. that's a sure sign that you're not supposed to be doing anything except reading today. ;-)

Well good morning! It feels like monday. I hope you are doing better, today..
It's terrible to get into a funk, and hard to find something to get you out.. ((((Gail)))

I have to take Dunkers for a mani pedi :) and then I have a haircut appt. It's going to be one of those days..
I am planning to forgo Irish night, so I should be home for good by 3. I am not looking forward to running the world around, but there is no way out... some things need to be done.

Take care of you today....

Hi Gail! Hope you had a great weekend

Gail, I remember liking A Man in Full when I read it. I wanted to give up on Tom Wolfe after Charlotte Simmons, but his new one looks interesting. The name escapes me...I don't think the book has been released yet.

I hope your tiredness goes away soon. Maybe when fall arrives? This has been such a miserable summer here in Missouri. My plants are a mess. I'm hoping the gardening bug bites me when the weather moderates.

Gail, that's happened to me more than once, that looking around and erasing all I'd typed before. Maddening, I know. And that's not counting when my web browser decides to freeze up on me and reload pages when I've written a small novel. Hmph.

Anyway, glad to get a sign of life and yes, enjoy just sitting back and reading. I'm spending much less time on LT too, and though I miss the socializing with people I care about, I'm glad I'm doing other things too. It's always about finding the right balance, right?

Hugs.

*smoochiesmoochsmooch* for the busy Gail

*waving* at Gail

Hi, Gail! I've lost messages that way, too, more often than I want to remember . . . worst was when I was working on my list of series on my thread and did that . . .

Hi, Gail! :-)

My grandmother used to come to my house early in the morning, when I was a kid...
she would hello the house.... or whistle ( that woman could whistle!) and be banging on the door by 7 am.
She would come in and say to me, "Good morning Glory!" and off we would go on some adventure. I can't take you with me on an adventure... but I will say Good morning Glory! and hope that you have some good adventures of your own today.

Well.

Good morning to all.

Caro, if I had my way, I'd spend most of my time reading. Like, 70%. But I do have one or two other things to attend to, here and there.

Kath! My dear! Thank you for thinking of me so often. It's a tiny bit cooler today, so got a wee bit of the yard tidied; very wee bit, I'm afraid. Still cloudy, but not actively raining at this moment. Oh, yeah, I wanted to ask, you mean just saying "I'm a Buddhist" will not bring me to instant enlightenment and peace? Well, phooey. Might have know there'd be work involved.

Donna: I read Bonfire of the Vanities years ago when it first came out and quite liked it. The problem here is that one of our members is a native of and still madly in love with Atlanta, so each book she recommends is centered there and very much concerned with the city itself. Unfortunately, I really dislike Atlanta. A lot. However, I will finish this, as it's not badly written, in fact it's sort of funny and snarky, but I'm just sick of the topic right now.

Ilana: Oh, and have you ever inadvertently hit a key and wiped a whole message out, without any idea why? Oh, yeah, that's fun.
You might be interested to know I glommed onto the Audible sale this a.m. and got quite a few books at the very reasonable price of $4.95 each.
And, she said confidingly, next week I plan on starting a tiny bit of art experimenting. Just for myself, of course.

Terri: Sometimes I get so aggravated by those mistakenly deleted thread messages that I just have to walk away from the computer, or I will hurt it. Maddening.

And a great good morning to Chelle, Rdear, Stasia, and Porua. Hope all is well with all of you and you continue to read as much as possible.

Things here continue as mostly usual. Had a nice visit with my brother, although it's heartbreaking to see him in his physical state. Still, it's great to be able to just start a sentence and have someone immediately know what one is talking about. We swapped a few books, too.

I'm kinda slow on the uptake sometimes. After many and many a stressful day, I finally figured out that the reason I hate to go to the V.A. place is that Dh gets confused and disoriented, and the extent of his problems become dreadfully apparent. Lots of anger because he can't understand what's going on, etc. Here at home he's developed lots of coping skills and this is his comfort environment, so his problems aren't nearly as noticeable. Which is why he'll be staying here as long as is at all possible.

Hi Gail!
Stopping by with a few things for you:

You can try it... the Buddhist thing... let me know how it works. I feel more Zen with Jo than with most people I know in RL. She is a permanent part of my heart. We don't get together often enough. So Lunch today was long and good in a hundred ways....I am grateful for it, too.

How are YOU today? Are things going ok? Are you feeling well? Have you found any bright spots in your day? Tell me everything! Or at least the G rated parts. Did you get a sheet?

Cee: Wow! Thank you for the nicies! How kind of you!

Kath: Yeah, well I keep trying, saying "I'm a Buddhist now," but nothing happens. Perhaps if I (gasp!) read a book about it?

Things are okay here; I might actually be making a teensy bit of progress--yay! Working on stopping the negative thoughts (all 8 billion of them) and replacing them with positive thoughts. Oh, ya know, sometimes one can be so stupid--dr. said today that when I feel tense, frantic, tight, when reacting to Dh, to just assure him I'll be right back, but walk away for a bit...down a hallway, in the other room, whatever. So so simple, and yet I couldn't think of it myself. Jeez.

Anyway, on to some little book notes:

Book 60 of 75
was a great one: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,
a true American classic. At my now greatly advanced age, and on my third read, I found Francie's father to be less a scoundrel and more of a pathetic person than I had on my last go-round. What a great, sad, but hopeful story. The only thing that I wasn't crazy about was the rather simplistic ending. Still, a marvelous picture of a vanished place and time. I love these old stories of New York and Brooklyn, as my Dad grew up there and told some interesting, if very strange stories about his youth.

Book 61 of 75
The Folks that Live on the Hill
is a Kingsley Amis novel mostly about drinking. A nice satire, quite funny and biting in places, but my favorite is still Lucky Jim, a book that made me laugh so hard I cried.

Book 62 of 75
Moo
Whne I finally concentrated on this novel, I absolutely loved it. Its crazy college politics, ridiculous goings-on among faculty who think they know what they're doing, added to a pretty good picture of what a first year in college away from home must be like, all combined to make this just a lot of fun to read.

Book 63 of 75
The Abbess of Crewe
I'm going to review at the book page. I didn't like it for reasons I'll state there.

Book 64 of 75
A Reading Diary
is a another superb contemplation of reading and what it can mean over the ourse of a lifetime. Many of the books and authors he mentions in his year of reading were completely unfamiliar to me, but the way that books jump one's conciousness from one thing to another rings true for all of us, I think. I honestly think I've fallen in love with Alberto Manguel.

Book 65 of 75
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
was a re-read for me and a most welcome oasis of calm, thoughtful, caring people doing the very best they can, solidly content with their lives but still trying to do a bit better.

Book 66 of 75
The Walk
is...well...I don't know. I'm notsorry I read it, but certainly would never read it again. I can't explain it; I enjoyed reading it, but it was sort of like cotton candy: when you finish, you're left saying, "What was that?"

Book 67 of 75
Tears of the Giraffe
is the secondf in the Precious Ramotswe series, and another re-read for me. Want to be soothed, and yet amused at the same time? This is a series for you. I love them.

The Abbess of Crewe .....looking forward to your review.. cause it looks like, I''d like it :)
Glad you are feeling better, and have a new coping skill....every little bit helps. :) I'm always so glad to see you here...!!

Hmmm... maybe I'll skip it..

Funny about The Abbess of Crewe, I'd just added it to the WL earlier this week! I wonder if I'd appreciate it more as wouldn't be able to compare it to the Watergate scandal since I know so very little about it, other than Nixon saying "I am not a liar!" (is that what he said? lol)

I love the The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books! I've had #4 The Kalahari Typing School for Men sitting on my stacks for ages and ages. I know I'll love it when I get there. You're right, totally soothing and absolutely amusing.

You're probably doing a whole lot better than you realize. If I were in your shoes... I'd rather not imagine. I don't deal well with stressful situations. At all. Hugs to you my dear. xx

That isn't my favorite series of Alexander McCall Smith's.. I don't hate it, but it didn't really grab me as did the Dalhousie books..

Wishing you a good day!

:)

I like the Dalhousie books very much, Kath, but not as much as the Botswana books.

You take care of yourself young lady, or else...

Gail, it does sound like RL has ben crazy busy for you. I can completely understand why going to the VA would be stressful given dh's reaction.... sigh.
Meanwhile, you have been fitting in some reading. I'm a fan of The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series -- and the PBS series was extremely well done. All good for when you need a mental rest and rejuvenation.

Gail, I asked you on my thread, but will repeat my question here: what did you get from the Audible sale? Inquiring minds want to know. Also, I want to rule out the possibility that I might have missed a gem I'll regret not getting later! :-)

Gail - just catching up and stopping by to wish you a happy and book filled weekend.

Morning coffee together would be great! The whole small world thing is so right, and yet so wrong..
How are you today?

Popping in with a good morning, Gail!

74 So so simple, and yet I couldn't think of it myself. Jeez.
Not surprising. Some of those "simple" coping skills just aren't obvious until someone points them out. (Plus, I think sometimes we need someone -- a professional, even -- to assure us that it's OK to walk away for a few minutes when things get dificult.) Anyway, I'm glad you've added that coping skill to your repertoire.

Ellen: Hi! It's so good to see you here. Things do get crazy here from time to time, but I'm getting some help with remembering my boundaries, my own limitations, and trying not to continue the same hopeless/lame patterns.

Ilana!: At the Audible sale I got
The Human Stain by Roth
Corduroy Mansions by McCall-Smith
Good Omens by Gaiman/Pratchett
Childhood's End by Clarke
Snuff by Pratchett
The Tempest--I don't understand this one very well, and so thought a performance would help me follow it
Drama John Lithgow's autobiography/memoir
Call of Cthulu and Other Stories by Lovecraft
and, finally
The Story of Philosophy by Will Durant.

There were several others that I considered, and may perhaps go back to the sale in a couple of days. I noted that after I had made my purchases, the original prices were listed. Whoa! Talk about saving money! There were a couple more that interested me very much.

Paul: Hello, dear man! I've been doing a lot of reading, but the latest one isn't a personal choice, so it's slow going.

Kath: It's late, I know. We had the trauma of male clothes shopping--whew!--not my favorite thing. W survived pretty well, though, and had a nice lunch. Then I took a long, long nap. As did he. Lots of reading to do now, if I can work it up.

Terri: I know; it's been amazing what I've learned in the short amount of time that I've been seeing the dr. One gets so caught up in the mess that one can't see any way out. Of course, I get infuriated by him because I can't get by with one single thing. Not. One. I told him he was annoying.

Glad you came through unscathed! Dan just texted... he will be home early...
tonight not tomorrow ...ack!

I just got back from a visit with the nephlets at my sisters house.
I am hoping to finish this perfectly good book tonight..

I found more broken branches in the back 40... weeping aspen.. :( it's pretty bad.

Glad you stopped in :)

hugs

Greetings, Danny darling, I had to drop a comment on The Abbess of Crewe...oh so heartily I agree. I like Muriel Spark, but as I approach extreme old age, I find her stuff more and more hits me with the dated dart.

Iris Murdoch too.

*smooch* Happy Monday!

And a sweet *smooch* back to you, Rdear.

Haven't tried Murdoch, but she's around here somewhere...

Please have a better week this time than last.

LOL at the comment but she's around here somewhere....
I know that feeling...

Wishing you a good morning, and a peaceful and pleasant day :)
Did I miss what you are reading today?

*pats foot* Danvers? Did you hear Miss Kathleen's question?

*smooch*

Danvers, Ma... a beautiful place! I loved it there. I wanted to live there, but we couldn't find a place..

Very sorry, Rdear; the machine has been acting up today...no excuse, I know; forgive me.

Miss Kathleen: I'm finally finishing up A Man in Full for the RL bookclub meet tomorrow, and reading Lucia in London for fun.

Machine is stll acting up; I may smash it.

I hate tech problems with a vibrating Day-Glo orange passion!!!!

*smooch* to soothe frazzled nerves

I need to get back to the Lucia books. Thanks for the reminder, Gail!

I hate tech problems too... and I was struggling for a few days myself. I had added a few extensions to chrome and figured that since they began after I added the extensions, I would just get rid of them one at a time. The one extension that I really like on any browser is photo zoon, so that when you hover over a photo, most photos, it just enlarges and you can see it better. That was the last one I got rid if and it solved the issue. So I'm not sure if it was the fact that I had added extensions and apps at all.. or if it was that particular one, but when it was gone, things cleared up. Drat it anyway. I hope you can sort out your problems... I miss you!

Have fun at book club!

Rebecca: thank you for your sympathetic kindness and soothing smooch! I'm deeply grateful.

Stasia: So good to see you here! I love Lucia and her silly ways and her very perceptive friends.

Kath!: What happened was that I couldn't access the mod. poetry course using IE 7. So I went to the help area, skimmed too fast, tried to add chrome. Screwed me up but royally. Finally remembered to go back to a restore point, went back to the course help area, changed to IE 9, and now no more problems. It'll take a bit of fiddling to get all my favorites and buttons back, but that's okay; at least we're working and working fast now!

"If all else fails, read the directions." Yet another family motto.

Oh good. Glad it's sorted. Modern poetry course? You and Cee are improving your minds, and I am doing nothing. Sigh. Oh well... maybe it's just too late for my mind anyway? :)

Improving my mind? You're presuming there's a mind up there to improve? I am interested in the mod. po. course though; even what little I've seen so far is fascinating.

Dr.'s visit with Dh not so hot. Now I have to learn to take his b.p. daily.

Oh dear. Poetry. *flees at top speed*

Glad to hear that the course is making you happy :)
I seem to have made a mission of sorts to not committing myself to ANYthing. It's working for me.

I imagine that you are off to your nice breakfast out.. hope it's wonderful.. and now that I mention it, I am craving pancakes.

Just dropping by for a visit Gail!

I hope things aren't still too busy for you and that you are finding time to relax and read some good books! :)

Good morning Gail.. well, just squeaking in during morning. Not my best of days today.
Nothing much going on here ( all day, I hope) and I put jammies back on after I did some errands this morning. I plan on a real do nothing day today.

How are you? What is going in in Gail land today?

*smoochiesmoochsmooch*

Just cause

Whilst RD is debating whether to flee or smooch, I'll nip in and wish you the very best of weekends.

I saw you flitting by elsewhere..I did! That always makes me say, GOOD!
Hope the weekend is being kind.

xo

Happy Monday Gail :)

*waving* at Gail

Hi Gail,
Hope today is a better day than you expect it to be!
hugs

Just stopping by to say hi, Gail!

Merry Moon's Day!

Happy Tiw's Day tomorrow!
Another Lucia Lover here!
Take care of yourself too!!

Hi to all, and thank you very much for keeping the thread active while I was/am struggling a bit. Many health issues, too many to even list here, involving both spouse and self (yikes! Who'd a thunk it?) are keeping me tied up/tied down/busy/anxious/sad.

But. I have been reading! Finished 3 books since last book posting, and now lolling with Lucia, the perfect combination of amusement and relaxation.

This is today's quote in our local, and usually quite lame, paper:

"Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea."
Robert A. Heinlein

Good morning my friend! Nothing much going on here.. the usual, some house work :)
I am switching up a few things.. ... bedspreads and so on, to change the looks up a bit. That means a little laundry.. but then I hope to read.

I am so sorry that you are having issues and physical annoyances. I hope that can be sorted and maybe an easy "fix" found? crossing crossables... and leaving hugs

I have a cold. I feel sorry for myself. That is all.

Except it's a perfect fall day. That's important to note. Perfect, sunshine, breeze, under 70.

And I have a cold.

See?

{{{Gail}}}

Kath.: Hi there, Sweetie. Dr.'s visit went okay, but Dh so exhausted from it--and it was not too extensive--that he took a 3-hour nap this afternoon and is asleep again now. Dr. changed one med., added another, and scheduled an MRI for Monday, just to see where we are. He seems to be leaning more toward Alzheimer's than vascular dementia. While that made me a bit, um, unhappy, this is the perfect dr. for him--jollies him along, tells him he sees old feisty guys like him all the time, doesn't put up with any b.s., but kind of jokes him out of it. Really, the perfect fit re: dr/pt. Dr. says the goal is to get as many good days as possible; hence the medication changes.

Rdear: There, there, Dear Man. Here's some tissues and a bit of lemonade with some vodka...a cool cloth for the forehead, a soothing pat...there. Just relax; it will get better soon...and concentrate on how beautiful the weather is.

*smooch* to you.

Glad it went well, and ever more glad that you have a good doctor for him! It is what it is, and you can do what you can do and no more. It is all so much harder to face when you aren't feeling your best... I wish I could help . It's no fun when it is never you getting the TLC... it wears you down, doesn't it? The only thing you can do is to give TLC to yourself.. and do it without hesitation or guilt. So I hope you find a way to do this on a regular basis. Do it often enough that it is a breeze to accomplish!

(((Gail))

Thank you, Kath. It is hard, no denying it; but...we (try to) keep calm and carry on. See my own dr. this p.m. Perhaps he can help a bit...

Just a quick hello and a hug :)

Mornin' Kath and all. We have coffee available and some coffee cake made with fresh raspberries...

My own dr. sort of got on me...well, spoke sternly would be a better way to put it...about not walking daily. That's daily, rain, cold, whatever. Make it a habit like brushing the teeth...this was after I told him that I feel my very best when I'm outside.

So, on this morning's walk I discovered some wildflowers which now I have to look up to see what they are. Quite pretty, viny things looking something like very small morning glories, mostly a mauvy-pink, but also a delightful pale blue. Really, I was very nearly inspired to go back and dig some up to put in our less-tame section of yard.

Also on the walk I was listening to a podcast called "Books You Should Read". It's British and very, very funny to listen to. This segment was on Dick Lit, with a longish section on James Bond. Honestly, I laughed aloud. People must think I'm totally batty, but who cares?

mmmmmm coffee cake and raspberries sounds fabulous! and mmmmmmm coffee!

Well, walking is good.. it's wonderful. But I think that saying that you have to do it rain or shine or flames from the sky, would just stress me out and make me dig in my heels... :P I used to enjoy walking all over town...and I took pictures. Then... it just sort of left me...

I can't think what those flowers would be.... tell me if you find them online? They sound so pretty.. I'm glad to know that you were laughing out loud. In fact I think you should make a habit of it just there every day and see what happens, in fact :)

Good morning to you my friend! Are you having a redux of yesterdays breakfast :)
So far, I have just had coffee. I am not a breakfast person, most days.
I hope today is a serene one for you :)

No breakfast for me today, just coffee after my walk. Feeling rotten, having magically caught Rdear's cold and naturally spread it to Dh as well, so we are both housebound, achy, cranky.

Crab salad for dinner tonight. Easy to make and so delicious to eat.

Crab salad sounds like the *perfect* dinner for cold day! *smooch* and it's DARRYL'S cold not mine. HE spread it from London.

So sorry you're both feeling under the weather Gail. I've asked Paul to contribute an answer to your question about translations over on my thread, since I'm short on answers there, but hopefully he'll be able to help you out since he's a huge Balzac fan too and has read just about everything the man ever wrote (no small feat!).

I never make time to listen to podcasts because I'm constantly actually plugged into books, but I did look up this latest one you suggested, and the only "Books You Should Read" podcast I was able to find was decidedly not British. I don't know much about podcasts, and looked it up on iTunes where I imagine they must all show up? Could it be a slightly different name by any chance?

Wishing you well my dear. Crab salad does sound wonderful. Yum!

Sorry you're feeling rotten. Having a cold, on top of other health issues, is the pits.

Crab salad sounds lovely. I hope you enjoyed it.

So sorry to hear that you and your DH are both under the weather, Gail. Sending good vibes your direction in the hopes that you recover soonest!

Hoping that you feel better today, my friend !

*smooch* for good ol' Gail the Gal Pal with the mostest on the ball!

I'm feeling better; it's livable; but poor Dh, with compromised immune system, is truly down and out. A shower exhausted him this a.m. However, at least I can get close to him now without mentally saying, "Dawg! You need a bath!" I know he's really sick, though, as his appetite is way off and all he wants are soft foods...

Went out to pick up milk and scrips; came home with same plus high-end ice cream for self and ice cream bars for the sick one and fruit for both of us. Possibly might do some laundry today. Possibly not.

Thank you for stopping by this sorry-assed thread, Kath, Rdear, Ilana, Terri, and Stasia. I think I'll visit a couple threads and then maybe nap.

Sorry Ass

Couldn't resist!

Sorry to hear you and DH have both been under the weather Gail. Sending hugs and I hope colds clear up soon.

Kath, I'm laughing so hard I'm crying. Love it.

Heather: Hi! Thanks for the hugs and kind thoughts. Dh has decided he may live. He hates being sick.

I've been looking around some threads; must take a shower now, and then look at more threads.

I've read several books since last book posting (wait, this is Librarything, right?) but can't seem to move my lazy self on to the reviews. Must get busy.

:P~~~~~~~~ No worries about the reviews... Just post the titles and the stars :) We're easy...

De-lurking to say that I'm sorry to hear that you're both under the weather, and I hope you both feel better soon!

ah! Here you are . Well here it is Monday. For some reason, since I have been not working, the weekends make me feel anxious. Like something is expected of me, and I don't know what. Being crazy can be exhausting :P

I hope DH is perking up? Nothing to report here. My life is so dull. ( Thank goodness )
I am waiting for signs of life from Cory, who was having a rough day yesterday. Nothing else ... a trip to Aldi for chicken so I can cook for Dunkers. And I think I will make up a batch of meatballs today or tomorrow..
Some to freeze and some to eat. Yum.

I hope that today, all you have to worry about is what you will make for dinner :)

*waving* at Gail - I hope you and your hubby are on the upswing!

I hope you're both on the upswing too. In fact, I'll even hope that your DH is past the cranky stage in recovery and looking around in amazement at how good life is after having felt so bad!
So we are anxious to know what you've been reading besides Lucia although she is enough right by herself!

Oh dear, I do feel like I stepped into a time warp today.
I just watched an episode of Last Resort while on that blasted bike. I think it's going to be a good one..
ABC.com. So how is everyone at your house? Did you have a place to go today.. hope you made it and that all is well :)

Dieting sucks

Worth it?

Yes, dieting does suck, to attack the most important point first. Worth it? It was/is to me, but only on my own terms. Tried WW, which is really an effective program, I think, with plenty of scope for individualism--once splurged most of my day's points on New York cheesecake--but, in the end, what I wanted to do was use the recipes, keep the point counts vaguely in mind, and do what the body said, like, "Skip lunch today; you're not hungry anyway." Of course I was helped by a loss of appetite. Srsly. I'd think I wanted it, eat three or maybe four bites, and think, well that's enough of that for now. Now I eat much less than before, but just because I don't want it. Many a supper is a piece of fruit for me, with lots of water.

Don't tell anyone about the mac and chees on tonight's menu, 'kay?

Amber, Stasia, and Peggy: Hello and welcome to the recovering thread. Let me tell ya, a dr. appt. for dh yesterday a.m., one for me p.m., the ultimate hassle of getting scrips at the military base (free, but the wait time and glitches are a pain; and wouldn't ya know it, today I forgot my book! Wah!), gassing up Carmen, getting ink and (blush--I was pretty crabby) a couple of Vera Bradley items and then grocery shopping on top of it all...sheesh! And then there's an eeg tomorrow and a dr. visit a.m. Friday and bridge p.m.

Hmmpphh. Saturday is a pajama day, I can see that coming right now.

In another little splash and dash, I had to rpelace the coffee pot at Ammy and while I was there, just casually browsed a few dvds': Lon Chaney Jr. in the 1930's "The Wolfman"; Colin Clive and Boris Karlof in "Frankenstein"; Bela Lugosi's "Dracula"--I loved all three of these classics as a child, so thought they should be in my collection; "White Oleander", a movie I love; "Van Helsing: with Kate Beckinsale and Hugh Jackman, and "Cast Away" with Hanks. I may have mentioned that I'm in love with movies. After, way after, books, of course.

It sounds like that is working for you. My app is working for me, most days... today, not so much.
It was just one of those days. So I worked more so I could eat spaghetti... and it made me sick.
le sigh.

It is worth it, or so I feel when I'm not feeling sorry for myself because I'm not eating chips .

ever.

I love chips

sigh

You deserve mac and cheese now and then.

My app is similar to WW but easier... for me.

Saturday... I will join you in pajama day, if that's okay?

Yikes, Gail. Your post made me tired. Well, I already was (busy day) but thinking about all your running around pushed me over the edge. After this message, I'm going to bed!
Sorry to hear about all the illness and struggling in your home lately. Hope there is no relaspe after all the running around and you are both feeling better.
Can't figure why 2 cranky people would have "crab" salad for supper???? lol

Get some rest and sound sleep tonight to power up and get thru to jammie day!

Today is a much better day for me, so far. Yesterday I woke up hungry and lightheaded... and battled it all day. Then, finally after dinner I felt better.. except that the dinner didn't agree with me. But I feel "normal" today.

No book at the drug store?! Terrible. I hate when that happens.

Dan is going out to breakfast .. again.. he is one popular guy.

Hope today is a good one at your house.

Hi Gail....finally catching up on threads... hope you are feeling better and DH is at least holding his own.

several comments:

>120 - where do you find your Brit lit podcasts? Those are just the kind of thing I'd love to have to listen to so I can drown out hubster's incessant listening to politico bloviation.

I can definitely relate to long waits at military pharmacies...and it would be excruiciating w/o something to read. I got so desparate last week that I downloaded the Nook app to my phone while waiting in a checkout line someplace just so I had something besides the National Inquirer to read. LOL.

I do WW on line and have the app (and point calculator) on my phone. I've lost 38 pounds in last 16 months....just taking it slo and easy. If Mac and Cheese is what I want, that's what I eat. Last Wednesday I blew a week's worth of points on a pumpkin muffin from Dunkin Donuts and then later that evening I needed room in the freezer so I finished the carton of hand-packed pistachio ice cream "to make room." I'd been swimming so I figured the ice cream points didn't count. I'm finding that I'm perfectly happy losing only .2 lbs or so a week. As long as I'm able to indulge in anything I want and be reasonable about it, I'm fine. Eating lots of fruit and crunchy veggies with hummus helps the "munchies" but life's too short to get hung up on worrying about what makes you feel good.

Gotta go get my bi=monthly blood draw, and then off to the pool so I can listen to Hotel on the Corner of bitter and Sweet for our next book club read.

Hope you continue to mend, eat good and feel better.

Kath: Glad today is better; knowing that Cory is doing better is bound to make you feel better, too. I love chips, too; I fondly remember the days when I was so very active that I had no fear of weight gain if I just sat down with a bag of chips and ate till I didn't want any more. Talk about "le sigh"! Back then I walked and/or biked everywhere and ate heartily, to put it mildly.
Hope that tomorrow will find you even better, no tum troubles and feeling well.

Cee! I guess I must have tired myself out yesterday. I had an EEG this a.m. and, believe it or not, actually fell asleep during the test. I thought I was kind of in that twilight zone between sleeping and waking, but the tech. said no, I was soundly sleeping, even if only for a few minutes. Got my thyroid med. increased; hoping that will give me more energy when it kicks in.

Tina, hi, how are you? I got the "Books You Should Read" at iTunes; just go to iStore, click on podcasts, and type the title in the searchbox. Actually I originally found it when I was poking about among BBC stuff somewhere. They are truly funny and different, but I think there's a finite number of them and they're no longer on...but the company that made them (something with the word "syndicated" in the company name) is still in business and has other podcasts available as well.

So. I read a great book about WWI, finished off the Lucia volume, read a really quite good E.R. book, and dabbled in a couple of others. Today I had to put all that aside to read my R.L. bookclub book, which is so light that one almost doesn't need to pay attention. Well, that's what I get for missing the planning meeting: eveybody else chose books. I'm reading it way ahead of time so as to not feel rushed when the time comes...and I promised to share it with another member.

We're off to have breakfast and do a bit of grocery shopping--yes, I know I just went. Never mind.

The R.L. bookclub book is titled The House on Sugar Plum Lane, which pretty much tells you all you need to know. 2.5*'s

More later...oh, one thing I've noticed is that I always read more in the fall and winter. Quite a lot more.

A good day to all.

Tomorrow is my shopping day. I'm glad because I need bread and deli stuff. Deli turkey is a good go to for me. If I don't have it in the house I don't know what to choose for those yikes I'm hungry moments .. except apples, and I'm out of apples too.

What was your LTER?

Hope you are having a nice breakfast and find something at shopping to make a nice dinner.
Do you go to the same place for breakfast all the time? A favorite place?

Hope to see you later :)

We have three favorite breakfast restauants; 2 are locally owned and the third is a chain, which comes in way last. Got the shopping done. Dh saw something about a pork shortage on t.v. and insisted on stocking up on bacon and ham. Well, it's far too much trouble to argue, so I just went along with it and bought some seafood (scallops and shrimp) as well.

My LTER book is With or Without You: A Memoir. I choose ER books using some really odd criteria. This one takes place mostly in my hometown of Danvers, which was my reason for requesting it. Very good; I read it straight through and fairly quickly. More when I get a complete review figured out. I really, really liked it.

We're having meatloaf, veggies for dinner. Haven't made a meatloaf in a while; I make enough for two, one to cook and one to freeze.

At the risk of being offensive to someone, I have to say I found the RL bookclub book both inane and heavy-handed in its message. It's a nice little story, but just too, too preachy.

Must do some (yuck) chores...

Danvers is one of the most beautiful places I almost lived :)
Beautiful place....

We have a little place My sister likes.. I think it's a chain..First Watch. That's nice, different from the usual around here. We have a little local spot called Janice's which is okay. I guess I don't have a favorite place..
LOL at having a bacon stash!Good thinking :) and can't hurt, eh?
My Yuck chors are done :) ( mostly) ....

I do the very same thing with meatloaf.. aren't we smart?

I choose LTER books like that too :) but no matter what, If I request 2 or 3 I always get the fluffiest.
I guess cause I keep reviewing them?

dishes next.

Well, of course we're smart, Kath. Like you, I strive for the easiest, most efficient way to get things done. I look forward to jammie day tomorrow and hope you're joining me?

Yet another appt. today at 9:10. This should close out appts. for two months...at least my appts.

Dh having a tough week. Not sure what the problem is, but it's tough.

Reading two books, a really, really overdue ER, The Technologists by Matthew Pearl, and The Painted Veil. Should finish at least the Pearl book by the end of the month.

In a determined effort never to be without a book, or the nook, or a crossword puzzle book never, ever again, I bought a tote to carry my stuff to appts. and such. It's pretty and bright, and brightens my mood.

Must run now.

Sorry to hear that DH is having a tough week. I hope he is feeling better by the weekend.

Hope that DH and your goodself have a good weekend dear lady. You are right - dieting does suck but my nearest and dearest has persuaded me to have a no carb October so I may be doing plenty of grumbling with my reading in the next 30 days or so.

Hi Gail,
My cat is laying on my arm now - so I am typing one-handed, left-handed. I tried to get her off for awhile, but she keeps coming back. A needy day for her. At least she is nice and warm. My house is getting chilly. Refuse to turn the heat on til after Oct 1st.

So, do you freeze extra meatloaf before or after cooking? I'm guessing after?

You ladies do so much grocery shopping! I'm kinda jealous as that makes it much easier for fresh stuff.

Sorry about the tough week. Hope next week is a good one.
hugs

I am trying to do shopping only every two weeks.. what trips me up is Duncan, as I run out for fish or chicken for him in between. This week should see me through nicely.. since I am making chicken soup, and some of the chicken will go to Dunkers...

I can go for 2 months and use only .25 % of a full tank. IN two weeks, the needle didn't move.
Life in the midst of "civilization". yay. :P

I freeze mine before.. with a packet of sauce and a packet of cheese in sandwich bags in the packet.. so I have everything I want in the pkg. I also make extra burgers when I make them, and freeze those in sandwich bags in a freezer bag for future use.

And chili starter, which to me is meat and sauce.. pre beans. I think the beans get mushy when frozen .... so, it's just a starter. I chop a batch of peppers when I buy them, too. First in sandwich bags and then freezer bags. Easy adding to this or that. And if you chop a lot of onions, they can be stored and frozen in a water bottle.. and shaken into whatever you're cooking. Like Rachael says, chop once use five times.. or something. Why make more messes than need be? Makes it easier.A sign of a lazy person.

Gail... Sorry DH is having a rough week.. that, of course means that you are too.. glad your appts are over for now. hope wellness is now taking over for you both.

Smooches and pats...wish I could come and help out.

Happy weekend!

Morning has broken! Well.. not really, but you know what I mean. I am making a pot of chicken soup because I got some celery at the farm market and it goes well in chicken soup. I have carrots and all the rest of the fixins.. so it isn't so much dinner as the first pot of "well, there's soup" of the season. You know what I mean right?

Auction finishes tonight, and I am both hopeful and terrified.

I showered and put jammies on :) ( okay, jammie pants and a sweatshirt) Hope you are still in!

So just popping in to say that I hope your weekend is going well. Did you get your jammie day or a reasonable facsimile?

Not too much happening here... yet. Time will reveal what the day will become :)

hugs

Just stopping by to see how you're doing, Gail. Sorry hubby has had a difficult week. Best wishes for a better week to come.

Good monday morning to you! I hope the weekend was a good one.. maybe some surprise happiness ?
I have to tell you, I was in a couple of antique shops yesterday ( long story, not my thing) and a museum.. found some lovely "church pew" looking things. Three, in fact. I wonder if it's a sign.....?

"church pew" looking things
Now, that leaves one wondering...

Hi Gail, hope things are going okay :-)

I was wondering about those "church pew" looking things too, Kath ... methinks there needs to be a picture or a fuller description.

hi Gail, I'm delurking to say hello.... ;-)

I've just a very short time available to be here right now, so I want to do my social parts ;>)

Stasia: Thank you for stopping by and your kind thoughts. I know how busy you are with school (yikes!) and all, and always appreciate your visits.

Paul: No carbs? Urghhhh...but, but, no bread, cake, pie, other assorted goodies? Who wouldn't be grumbling?

Cee! Like Kath, always freeze the meatloaf before cooking, as it just doesn't do right, texture or taste, if frozen after cooking. Again like Kath, I prepare lots of things, throw them in the the freezer, yank 'em out and finish 'em off. Shrimp creole mix without the shrimp, various sauces...

Rdear: Always welcome here, my dear young man, even though you revealed our pole dance class to all and sundry on FB...Hope that you are feeling at least a smidgeon better.

Kath: My Dear. The church pew looking things...of course it's a sign...I'm with ya on the start-up...Don't forget, I'm bringing the candles...

Terri: Good to see you! Dh is sick, I mean physically ill, not just the dementia issues.
Sad thing? He can no longer remember the word "grape", but calls them "those little round green things"...

Cee (part 2): Dh is sick (see above) and the care continues, endlessly...

Caro: So good to see you here. This p.m. I'm hoping to have some serious LT time, the Powers willing and if the creeks don't rise...

Must get Dh his breakfast and then off to get a chest x-ray, just to rule out pneumonia. Tole ya he was sick...

Great, candles and you! I just laid in some fresh bergamot and rosemary oils, lavender and of course clary sage.. I am ready!! Best part is that you will come with the candles !

Oh, I'd love to be there just to breathe in the aromas...bergamot; lavendar; oh my. Any color pref. on the candles? I'm thinking unscented beeswax.

Just taking one second to say that I've finished my remaining 2 ER's and reviews will be up this P.M. Yay.

I am just glad to see you here... you were missed.. hope things are okay at home, not too challenging..
hugs

Sending hugs Gail. Hope dh feels better soon.

Just here to add my echo. I certainly hope that your DH doesn't have pneumonia and that whatever it is clears up quickly. No comfort for anybody until he's well - I"m sorry.

*smoochings*

Welcome to both Heather,Peggy,and Rdear and thank you for your kind thoughts.

I've heard that confession is good for the soul, and certainly my soul needs all the help it can get:

Confession #1:
Dh often doesn't feel sparkly. He has allergy problems and is prone to dreadful, inherited sneezing fits. So when this all started I didn't pay much attention. I mean, I petted him and all, but figured it was just a cold and would wear off eventually.
WRONG.

Finally he said, "I've been sick for four weeks and no one makes any dr. appt.s for me!" Huge sigh on my part, as he had been to a dr., but for the dementia, within living memory--like, last week or so. So anyway, I said, "Fine, we'll get your bloodwork done on Monday and on the way home stop at Dr. C's office to try to get an appt." As luck would have it, there was an opening (to be honest, they worked him in just because it was Dh) and we found that he has a massive sinus infection (have I mentioned Dh has a compromised immune system? Never mind.) and prescribed big antibiotics; also detected lots of lung congestion, hence the x-ray today. And he really is feeling terrible, too; totally exhausted and as though he'd been run over by a truck. Sigh. At least he's not blaming me at all. It was sort of funny when he fussed about not getting the appt.
Odd, that confession didn't make me feel better.

Confession #2:
Oh my. Honestly, I don't know how this happened, but happen it has. Pretty embarassing, too.
I've read 72 books this year to date. Of those, 38 have been books from my shelves (a good thing); and 9 have come from the library. So far, so good, right? Uh-huh. Oh, and I am current on my ER's!

But then there's this:
Paper books bought this year: 44
Audio books bought this year: 52
Nook books bought or acquired somehow: 117

Uh-Oh.

Uh, hi, my name is Gail and I am truly a hopeless bookaholic. I've fallen off the wagon so many times I'm permanently black and blue.

{{{Gail}}}

btw, save the "wagon" for the books and walk. Fewer bruises ;-)

>171, 172 What Claudia said.

I hope the xrays are clear, but even if not.. he is already on ABX so that will be good. Poor DH and Poor YOU!
Remember to take care of you, too. He has you to worry about him... please know that there are people who are concerned about your health and happiness too...

Heart goes out to the battered and bruised Gail. Keep your chin up dear lady.

Sorry you're having such a rough time of things and that DH is doing so poorly.

As for the book confession, well... I already made you feel better about how difficult it is to meet goals today, so maybe this will make you feel better too?

Out of 134 books read so far this year, only 32 are from my own shelves (purchased before 2012). That's less than 24%
Apparently I've acquired 186 books this year. 83 of these are paper books. Which should mean I got 103 audiobooks, but according to Audible, I purchased 128 audiobooks this year, which would bring my grand total up to 211. And that's not counting all the books I got from the library (50). So... whatever. We're all guilty as charged when it comes to getting more than we can possibly read. We could all be crack addicts. So books... not such a big deal in comparison.

xoxo

Gail...crossing my fingers and toes and whatevers that things go well with DH, and sending warm hugs and virtual cups of soothing herbal tea to relax you and encourage you to take care of yourself. Maybe it's time to pick out a silly little fluff book and settle back when DH next naps.

Just a good morning stop... not much to say yet.. we shall see what develops as the day goes on...
Hope your day develops into a good one !

Cee: How very clever of you! Lots more books can be pulled in a wagon than carried in my arms...

Rdear: Wish I could find someone to blame for this hobby/pastime/obsession *looks around accusingly*

Kath: Thank you, Sweetness. Don't know if it's new meds or the infection or what, but Dh's sugar levels are just really quite low...woke at 3:00 a.m. and needed half a peanut butter sandwich and a full glass of milk; his sugar must have been waaay down, because it was only 122 at 7:00. I really hate juggling insulin amounts, trying to keep things on an even keel, but needs must, I guess.

Paul! My dear man! So nice to see you hereabouts. As I'm slowly getting back into my LT groove, your thread has made its way to the top of "Next To Read" list...

Ilana, I'm always comforted by a fellow sinner book lover who just keeps right on a-buying. You do, however, read lots more than I do. I'm sort of on track for my usual hundred or so reads this year. RL has really interfered with that lately.

Tina! How I envy your Maine weather, ambience, and food. It's very nice here today, beautiful sun and low temps. Still, New England will always call to me...

Went for my walk today, 2 miles in 40 minutes, so was clipping right along. I must look so strange: denim pedal pushers crop pants, old cherry red t-shirt, white sneakers and low white sox, earphones, white baseball cap pulled well down over my face, and, as the final coup de grace to any semblance of caring about appearance, a nice thick smear of sunscreen on my upper lip as protection against fever blisters, cold sores, or whatever you want to call them. Charming indeed.

What was that about age not withering her beauty nor custom staling her infinite variety? I seem to have the variety part down pat...

I see we dress much alike..

Comfort matters more than looks after high school. Or is that marriage?

Maybe it's age 40? ( or 30 ) ?

Hi Gail

I'm stopping by to say hello and to see how you are. I'm sorry that dh is not well. I so admire you and all you do for him.

You are an angel.

Kath and Rdear: For me comfort started around age 50 or so, when I realized that the slim, young, actually quite good looking thing in the snapshots was no longer me at all...and never would be again. I do try to maintain a semblence of decorum in dress at resturants, concerts, and other things of that sort. Those occasions are mercifully few. And there's not a whole lot of incentive here to dress up...I don't hang with the upper crust sorts, except possibly at RL Book Club, which certainly proves that an excess of moola doesn't naturally coincide with good literary taste.

Linda, My dear, it's so good to see you here! I'm hoping that your health continues to improve as time goes on. Thank you for the sweet but undeserved compliment. Some days are good, some not so much.

I myownself haven't found money and taste of any sort are strongly positively correlated.

Isn't this LT? Isn't this supposed to talk about books? Well, look who's fallen down a well here...Doing better now:
Book 68 of 75
A Man in Full
This was the September RL Bookclub choice. It's a good book. Really. The main character is despicable, but there is Wolfe's lovely writing and attention to detail. Well, almost too much detail: I know way more about the cut of suits and hard-finished fabrics, men's shoes, etc. than I ever needed to know. The story, about the downfall of an Atlanta real estate promoter, is a good one, but in the end, I didn't like the book very much, even though I could recognize its quality. 3.5*s

Book 69 of 75
With or Without You: A Memoir
is an ARC that I chose because it took place in my hometown (I mentioned that somewhere). I loved it, not because of the setting, but because it's a very realistic look at bad parenting and the devastating effects it can have. Full review at book page. 4*s

Book 70 of 75
Fly Away Peter
is something I picked up by chance because Paul, I think, recommended something else by the same author. Anyway, this short novel tells the tale of two men from New Zealand who are living a pretty idyllic life and then go off to the endless horror of WW I. David Malouf is primarily a poet, and this work, with its spare but very expressive language, shows how Malouf has learned to say a lot in just a very few words. I really liked this book a lot and would recommend it to anyone. 4.5*s

Book 71 of 75
Lucia in London is the second in the delightful Lucia series by E.F. Benson. While I enjoyed the first book, Queen Lucia, I didn't like the main character at all. Here, however, Lucia becomes a much more rounded character, while losing none of her social-climbing schemes and complete self-absorption. If you want some light, completely amusing entertainment to get you out of the everyday doldrums, do try this series. It's hilarious and totally harmeless.
4.5*s

Book 72 of 75
The House on Sugar Plum Lane
was this month's RL Bookclub pick. Useless waste of four hours that I'll never get back. Don't bother with this unless you are trying for the Pollyanna Award for 2012. 2.5*'s

Book 73 of 75
The Technologists
is my shamefully late reading of an excellent ARC by Matthew Pearl. Good sense of time and place, mystifying atmosphere, interesting characters; this is a great historical suspense story. A much more believable ending than in Pearl's first book. Full review at book page. Recommended. 4*s

Sooooo clooooooose!! (Duly upgethumbed the reviews I could upgethumb.)

The Technologists sounds quite good :)

LOL @ Pollyanna award. I confess to liking to have one of those now and then, like a cupcake...
( shhhhhh don't tell )

A Man in Full reminds me of one I just read that describes ships and sailing to a fare thee well...

With or Without You: A Memoir... I barely survived Glass Castle, I gave two away and ran and ran but it caught me when my third copy was given me by my daughter... so I had to read it. I Can't do reality despair.. I am weak :P

I did errands.. I am about to run to the shelter to give them books.. it makes me feel good to help.. but that place terrifies me.

Hmmm I clicked post without meaning to... distraction...
I hope that you have a soft and quietly good day... hope to see you here today :)

hugs

And here I am, Kath! If only for a few moments.
I was so infuriated by the parents in The Glass Castle that I wanted to track them down and do physical damage to them. You know how you read something and you get that sick feeling in your stomach? Well, yeah; there's a lot of that in With or Without You: A Memoir, but the author keeps on plugging away, sliding back, going forward, back...forward. It's an excellent book of that type.

I feel so, so much better after getting all those books recorded. Why I put off stuff...hmmm...question for dr.

Rdear, Thank you for the thumbs. So sweet of you. And on the taste/big money connection: obviously there is none; one only has to look at Donald Trump.

I must pay our shamefully low real estate taxes this a.m. and see The Man this p.m. Dh feeling somewhat better, but still very weak, and naturally the ABX are acting as a laxative...a very strong laxative. So he's not jumping up and down with joy.

I agree. And Glass Castle had so many rave reviews... but prior to that, I saw the author on Oprah with her mother. It was all too much for me, and that is why I kept trying to run away from it.. I am not glad I read it. :(

I just finished a Vine book and have one more I need to read before I can go to one I want to read... so..
hopefully I can get through it quickly...I am already wondering why I requested it... viners remorse.. :P

Hey, Kath. Good idea for you to avoid that memoir; it wouldn't be a book I'd pick for you at all.

Apparently I'm being a good girl and learning my lessons ( bit of crabbiness here, do ya think?) as The Man says I'm doing well and getting better. Still, this is the very hardest thing I've ever had to do. Never mind.

But anyway, no bridge tomorrow, a good thing for me but so sad for Dh, as it indicates how lousy he feels.

Feeling at sixes and sevens about books; enjoying Coffin Scarcely Used enough to want to get to the rest of the series, but not a lot of enthusiasm for anything else right this precise minute. Perhaps some horror for Halloween would help me out?

*smooch* just cause

At one point I read about 8 of Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles books in a row. They are like potato chips and I enjoyed them just as much :) Why not just carry on with the series and not worry about anything else? ( as much as is possible)

No Bridge today ? yay! Enjoy it being good for you, and since DH isn't feeling well anyway, there is no reason to feel guilty about it. He wouldn't enjoy it anyway, right? You do it for him week after week...and he will feel better soon. You are doing all you can to help him to feel better.. so, read, enjoy and order in? Do you do that?

Why, Rdear, how sweet of you! And a wee smooch and gentle hug right back to you.

Kath: I'm looking for a series or even several different series, to take me down the road for a week or so. I mean, I'm looking in my own collection of books. Or I could just go on to Miss Mapp; I have a tendency to save books that I know I'll love "for Best" or "for an emergency", which I guess is right now. It was Dh's deccision to skip the bridge, which lets me know he's miserable. Not finishing his meals either. The ABX is doing wonders for the infection but making him feel terrible.

Off to my walk.

So it sounds like it might just be Miss Mapp time :)

*Drive by hugs* to you, Gail. I hope you and the DH are feeling a bit better?

Mapp and Lucia should end any funk. Some Wodehouse? Heart of a Goof?

Hi Gail,
My oh my, you are closing in on that 75 mark! Very fun (and interesting that you're feeling in a bit of a book funk as you get this close....).
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

Kath: Book funk nicely evaporating. Miss Mapp is peering at me impatiently, waiting for me to get started.

Valerie: Thanks for your kind thoughts and hugs. Dh has decided that he may yet live. We're going to try going to the barbershop today; great for me: I get to read in the car.

Rdear: I was very glad when I discovered E. F. Benson, through here and through Michael Dirda's books on books. Looks like Miss Mapp is coming right up. I've got the entire Wodehouse ouevre on the nook, so I can dip in and out as need be, without getting caught in too much stickiness at any one time.

Ellen: Yes, I'm almost there, as I finsished another this a.m. Funny, though; I joined this group for the people, not as a goal-helper. As anyone who has even skimmed this thread will know, I can set a goal and immediately sabotage it with a vengeance (cutting down on book-buying, anyone?). I can't remember not reading 75 in one year, ever, I don't think. Note, however, that I did not sabotage myself by going for 100 in a year. I mean, I know I'll do it; but I don't want any pressure, just in case I decide to read War and Peace, The Mists of Avalon, and The Gormenghast Trilogy all in one year.

Unlikely, that.

Just had a brief discussion of barbershop, now postponed to the p.m.

Book 74 of 75
Coffin Scarcely Used

This is a new-to-me author, Colin Watson, who wrote a 12-book series about the small town of Flaxborough in England, supposedly modeled quite closely on the town of Boston in Lincolnshire.

When one man dies in Flax, it's not thought odd; he wasn't young, dr. gave cert., all seemed fine. When his neighbor dies in very odd circumstances, found under an electric pylon with a mouth full of marshmallows, the law, as embodied here by Inspector Purbright and Sergeant Love, slowly begins to suspect a spanner in the works somewhere. Yet another murder attempt, and we are off and running.

When I first started this, I tried 4 times to read the same 10 pages. Possibly my inablility to do this was caused by my overuse of a sleep aid. Anyway, when I finally read the first couple of chapters in daylight, I was hooked. Very, very funny in a subtle way, author Watson keeps the story intelligent and interesting. The two detectives, despite their rather twee and off-putting names, are just delightful. Not much gore, but a very canny eye on the foibles of people, particularly when money is involved. One tip: Don't, please, read the last page first (you know who you are), as you will spoil a very amusing little twist. 4.5*s
Recommended to all fans of classic British mysteries.

Hi Gail, I hope DH continues his slow recovery. You will both feel so much better when he does!

I am quite certain I could be mistaken for a bag lady on my walks if I wasn't moving along so briskly. I've never been a fashionista but I seem to carry comfort to its lowest levels these days. My only saving grace is that DH accompanies me after his 4-mile run and he is a sweaty mess.

Congrats about cranking out so many reviews and nearing the magic 75 number. I wouldn't worry about the book acquisitions. At least you are in good company here...and the audiobooks don't count because they don't occupy space on a shelf.

Donna How right you are about audiobooks! And the Nook? Well, I could classify that as just one book, because that's all the room it takes up. Thank goodness.

On the other hand, I just bought next month's RL bookclub selection, Tumbleweeds: A Novel, the next two in the Watson series, and a nonfiction by Watson about mysteries and readers of same.

Drat. Nice review. That one does sound good.... I am a huge fan of British mysteries.

I never used to keep track .. I do now.. but frankly I don't care how many I actually read. As long as I have books and some time to read them .. all is well. I always set my second ticker to 150... never get there.. gamely do it again the next time.

Today, I hope to read and laze around. maybe watch some tv? Or not...

I am glad to see you here today :) and every day that you are here :)

HI Gail! Hope you and DH are feeling better!! Don't feel guilty about not knowing Dh needed to see the Dr. I find that Nate (and a few other husbands that I know) have a tendency to embellish their ills more than they really need to. His minor cold some how becomes the same (or worse) as my sick-in-bed-flu. I find it funny but when my dad is like that it actually makes my mom a little mad.

Glad to see you are still getting lots of reading done! So close to 75 now!

Gail, so sorry your DH has been ill. I hear you feeling bad about not realizing he was really sick. Once my mom brushed aside complaints of a pain I had until I wound up in the hospital with it undergoing emergency surgery. And she was normally neurotic about taking good care of me, so it's not like she was neglectful -- sometimes it's just not obvious what the situation is.

As for the book acquisitions, seems to be a common situation here on LT.

Hugs to you!

Just strolling though beore I log off for the night, and try to get back into my book...

hope today has been good :)

I hope book 75 is a great one!

I hope that your hubby is doing better these days, Gail. And you too, of course :)

((Hugs))

200> Oh, Gail, you cracked me up. I love the sidebar about reducing one's book buying -- ha! LT has the exact opposite effect! And I agree and encourage you in avoiding the pressure to read a particular number. Like you, I want to focus on quality more than quantity and some books can take up a lot of hours.... and be worth every one of them.

Hi, Gail! Sorry to hear about the cold! Hope everything's better now. :-)

Good morning to you my friend! I am sitting here with 3 cats sharing my chair, and I have the fire on.
Dunkers is at my side... so, it's cozy here.. hope it is nice and relaxing for you too, today :)

Kath: When I was a child/teen, I'd check out 7 to 10 books from the library, which would last 7 to 14 days. So I know I was a huge reader then. There were two years when I did almost nothing but re-read...never mind about those. Then I just read every free minute (sometimes a lot, sometimes not so much), until I retired and discovered the internet.

I like 75 because it's a number I know I will read, barring a complete disaster of some sort.

Chelle: I hear ya, Honey. After many, many years of marriage and some very serious medical matters, I finally said one day, "Look. Are you really sick or do you just need attention? Because I'll happily pay attention and pat you, but I can't be worried about medical stuff if it isn't real." Made him very angry infuriated volcanic for an hour or so, but solved that problem.

Terri, I was on the lookout for all the usual symptoms of something more than a cold, but just missed it somehow. And of course it wasn't four weeks, it was two. But you know what husbands, even the best of them, can occasionally be like.
*Unlike wives, she said casually, eyeing the nearest exit...*

Stasia: How goes it? Midterms done and gone, I believe, and just a few nasty little papers hanging about waiting to be written? I find I must laboriously go back and check my numbers--note to self: number all books at tops of thread monthly, like these really clever people do--but I'm reading Miss Mapp, which is a joy, and will make sure the next one is a joy as well.

Ellen: Since I've discovered LT, surely one of the best things to happen in my lifetime, the scope of my reading as grown exponentially. I no longer read fairly lame books just to have something to read...well, I did read two this year, but that was to accomodate friends. It's a good thing, too, as a lot of my life is now lived vicariously while my real life seems to be telescoping quite a little bit.

Porua! Hello, my dear! How is it with you? Have you read anything by the above-mentioned Colin Watson? Most of his work is readily available. Do give him a try; I think he's right up your alley.

I really like what you told Chelle about speaking up :) Well done!

I am happy to see you... It was very very quiet here... and I am feeling quite antsy :P
Not to mention, that I am always happy to see you :)

#212 My health is a bit better now. Wish I could take some time off work but I couldn't so why think about it?

I have never heard of Colin Watson before. Shows just how many mystery authors are out there. I may try a lifetime and yet never find the end of them! Not that that's a bad thing. ;-)

Monday *smooch* and a reminder, whatever you do don't go shopping. It's a holiday.

Why not shop on a holiday? Around here, that's when they have BIG COLUMBUS ( etc) DAY SALES!
I mean, other than the don't go shopping being generally good advice at any time. I did notice that in MA things were shut down. Is it that way in NY? NJ?

I heard yesterday that Columbus day was instated as a political ploy by... Was it Roosevelt? Silly. I mean a holiday is a holiday and all that, but to honor a guy who did not do anything historically remarkable ... well.. he did cross the ocean in record time. But still.. I think we should rename it. In fact, I think that every month should have a monday off holiday. Say, the second monday of every month can be called Holiday monday. And be a paid holiday. And .. well.. never mind.

Hi Gail! Whatcha doing today? I am hoping to have all sorts of things done by the time Dan goes to work and then not do much. Maybe take a walk and see if there are any leaves worth walking through?
Or not

Just checking in on you today. . .

Glad that your personal health is improving, Porua. At least that's one thing getting better.

Rdear: I did some groceries but that's all. I avoid the shopping malls/centers/whathaveyou like the plague on holidays. I went once, once mark you, on the day after Christmas and thought I'd lose what very little sanity I was hanging on to at that moment. Even daughter said, "Ma, let's get outta here!"

Kath! Doncha love those "sales" where they mark down crap that wasn't selling? Ye gods and little fishes, I do despise shopping.

Resting now. Thinking about sauteeing some mushrooms and mashing some taters to go with the nice meat that Dh grilled this a.m.

I don't know what's closed today because no power on earth could make me shop on a Federal holiday. NOTHING!!! If there's no food, well, fallin' off a little isn't so bad.

Columbus Day was a sop to the Italian immigrants who didn't have a major holiday not Catholic and therefore, in the Good Old Days, not acceptable to the gummint. St. Valentine's Day wasn't thought of as religious, apparently, bein' about sex an' all. And who KNOWS how the Irish got St. Patrick past the censors.

They aren't, though, Federal holidays...aha!

Hi Gail,
I just can't start another series - but I'm glad you found one you like. Book #75 coming up! YAY

You and DH are valiantly struggling through so much lately. I hope you find at least some small thing to enjoy every day.
Good luck with " being a good girl and learning (your) lessons"
I have an inkling of how hard it is.
Hope DH feels better tomorrow.

Hi Gail, just dropping by to catch up and say hello. I've been in a weird headspace lately and started on some half-dozen books this month that I gave up on in no time at all. This includes Queen Lucia, which is not to say I won't attempt it again, though as you say, she's not exactly a likeable character. Usually I'm much more patient, but if something doesn't grab me right away, then I just drop it. Hopefully I'll get over whatever "it" is and be less of a curmudgeonly reader again soon.

Gail, it won't surprise you to hear that I once... long ago.. got into trouble by refusing to
co operate with just that type of thing. I worked in housewares in HIlls.. A woman came in to take advantage of a "sale" and found the brass goose she wanted marked up 2$ from the day before. She was right, too. I went and got a manager and got it marked down 2$. My stint in that job was brief. Another time a woman wanted a framed picture.. There was no price on it... so the manager marked it with the price of the highest marked framed piece in the store. I disagreed, ( yes.. afraid it was in front of the customer) pointind out that the others of the same size were 9$ less. There are things i am just not cut out for..

And what the heck are you doing up so early?!?!?!
Have a happy day... hugs

"ye gods and little fishes..."

borrowing that.

*huggles* for dear ol' Danny

hey I'm over here ! What time is your daughter coming?

I hope you have a splendid time with her. Anything special planned or just a lot of hanging at home eating comfort food?

I doubt that you will be checking in, but I am leaving a hello and a hug just in case. See you post visit..

She's heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeere!

In fact, she's talking to me while I'm typing this. Mostly we're just hanging out...it's what we do best.

Very cool... I am happy for you :)

*yay* for family visits! See you afterz

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank">

Hey, when was this picnic supposed to start?! Am I early (hoping) or late (oh no!)?

Thanks, Kath. Made our day.

*smooch* for Saturday sweetness

Hi Gail, thinking of you. xx

That's the "waiting bear" Isn't he the most patient bear person ever?
Happy to see you my friend!

I'm just popping in with a hello, Gail!

(I love Kath's waiting bear. He looks more patient than I feel most of the time.)

Hi Gail! :-)

Oh love the waiting bear! So cute!

*waving* at Gail!

(I am there with you, Terri - I have no patience at all, especially these days!)

Since I forgoot how to use the "continue" button, I'll just say that my new thread is

RIGHT HERE

even though it really isn't quite ready.