kath/ mckait 2012 ~ Still melting into thread #16 ~

http://www.usernetsite.com/photography/infrared-photography-are-absolutely-breat...

5 * star - loved it, breathtaking, keeper, will re-read. Possibly life changing!
4.5 * star - very good, possible keeper
4 * star liked a lot
3.5 * star - very satisfying
3 * star a solid read, nothing extraordinary, worth 1 read
2.5 * star- failed potential but somewhat engaging
2 * star A mixed bag not worth reading unless desperate
1.5 * star It was a book
1 * star Fail ! A bunch of words cobbled together







You have your way, I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. - Friedrich Nietzsche

Please find first 75 reads on my profile.

76. THE NIGHT STRANGERS by Christopher A. Bohjalian 4 stars
77. When The Storm Passes by Jett, Julie 2.5 stars /kindle
78. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury 5 stars
79. The Witch's Grave by Phillip DePoy 3.5 stars
80. The Celtic Conspiracy by Thore D. Hansen, Anne Adams (translator) 4 stars
81. A Minister's Ghost: A Fever Devilin Mystery by Phillip DePoy 3.5 stars
82. A Widow's Curse by Phillip DePoy 3.5 stars
83. The Drifters Wheel by Phillip 4 stars
84. Force of Habit by Alice Loweecey 3.5 stars
85. Nearly Departed by Max Patrick Schlienger 2.stars
86. Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut by Salma Abdelnour 4stars
87. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman 4 stars LTER

JOB LISTING

PerkinElmer is looking for employee
https://perkinelmer.tms.hrdepartment.com/jobs/4152/Online-Content-Specialist-Cor...

pls pass along

Perkin Elmer? Sounds like a joke name from one of Joan Hess's Maggody mysteries! Conga rats on thread 16!

I know, but the person I know who works there loves his job and makes much money.
This is entry level, and who knows?

Whom do we know who would want and could do the job? Stephen has no degree. Everyone else I know here is gainfully employed. Except me, that is, since I'm no longer even a homemaker.

Maybe post it in Joe's Cafe too?

I hate to spam it.. I put it in Paul's thread... a lot of people go there.
I just figured that people know people who know people? Wonder if Joe would mind..?

Joe wouldn't mind. He loves being a social center.

It sounds like such a good job. I wish I could think of someone!

Hi Kath - breathtaking opening image. Love it:)

Not job hunting myself but hope someone spots that one.

Sweet sixteen! Congrats on the new thread, Kath - love the picture up top!

Hi Calm.. I thought the white tree might have a cooling effect?

Mamie :) Glad you found me, I liked it, too..

Kath - signing in for number 16.
I don't mind for sure. Joe wouldn't mind I'm sure. RD suggests Joe (good pick) but the other obvious one to choose for visitors is RDs of course.

Hi Paul, and thank you :) You just never know.. someone might know someone who is just the person
who needs this job right now. Thank you kindly :)

Today is a karola day.

Oh dear.

love the photo, infrared? who knew, thanks for the link

Gorgeous opening picture Kath! I've come across a couple of infrared pictures and they are absolutely stunning. :)

Love love love the picture on your new thread, Kath! Absolutely gorgeous!

I know someone who'd be good at that job... so thanks for posting. I'm going to forward that to my friend's son who's just graduated from college with no idea what he's really cut out for. He's done some internships at web design companies and was a communications major, so maybe this will be a good first real job for him... if he's selected. If he gets the job, I'll make sure he thanks you in a suitable fashion. :-)

yay! A frosty tree, just like here :)
Just doing a drive by today Kath, going to try and get horizontal with my book before Little Lenny gets up. Fingers crossed.

Nice new thread, Kath! :)

Popping in with waves (that I hope will cool you off--they haven't worked for me)!

rd... I know

beeg...welcome!

Valerie ..Very welcome !

Caro Thanks, I liked it too :)
I hope your friend gets the job!

Megan, Hope you get some reading done :)

Welcome to all of you! I hope that you're having a good day.. and getting to do just what
you want to do.. at least a little :)

It has been an odd day...

blech

Sometimes odd is fun, but sounds like this time not so much. Sorry. Here's hoping that tomorrow is fun and relaxing.

Hi Kath- Love the colorful new thread! If this scumbag Rep. Issa has his way, we might all be out of a job. There are a couple more of these devastating bills going through congress this week. Fingers crossed.
http://www.nalc.org/depart/legpol/pdf/2012/HR%202309%20v%2005-25-2012.pdf

Beautiful pic, Kath. Sorry for the blech day.

Nothing intelligent to say...

love, however, and xo

Hi Kath!
Job sounds boring. #13 (gd or bad?)
NICE tree ;-)

Sweet dreams - catch ya tomorrow.
xo

Hi Kath, love the tree up top; stunning!

Wow, that's quite a tree!

Morning Kath, here's hoping that today is a better day!

Mamie..yeah. Some days can turn on a dime. Yesterday was one of them.
It wasn't a bad day by any means.. just tilted oddly.
Today should be better! I hope to see the nephlets..
It hasn't been working out lately and I miss holding that baby.

Mark.. I am so sorry. The whole thing has been handled badly..
The post office badly run, unfairly treated in some ways.. and
their response was to say, oh, I see.. well I will just make your service worse.
It will not be good when more changes are made. We have been through it
several times, and you have my sympathy.Having your living torn from you is indeed
a terrifying thing. So Sorry :(

Hi Gail :) That is how I felt yesterday. Nothing really to say..
no witty comments. no book being read.. I just had nothing. I am however..
as always, happy to see you .

Cee.. boring? huh. I thought it sounded interesting :)
I know someone who works there and he is one happy man with a good
salary. So? As for dreams.. I had weird ones. Very weird. About some people
I used to know, and a very small man who looked like Tony from the Ellen show..
and well.. it was weird.

Hi Bonnie.. Thanks ! I have been looking at lots of trees online... LOL

Hi Joanne. Desperation to feel cool .. and you know that I love trees...
good combination :)

Woke up still sleepy.. got up because iI was going to go to the store..
but I talked myself out of that. No idea what the day will bring.
Hope it's good for us all..

morning mamie!!!

Hope you are having a good day - with some nephlet time:)

The weather here meant that I didn't go out today - have to tomorrow though:(

Hope your day starts off great and stays great, Kath!

*smooch*

Not hot today. Instead it's humid.

I hate summer.

Drive by wave!


glitter-graphics.com

Oops, wrong kind of wave. I've got the Jersey Shore on my brain.


glitter-graphics.com

Hi calm... I went down for a couple of hours this morning ..
got some nephlet time in.. yay!

Thanks Valerie and right back atcha !

rd.. me too.. but it is pretty nice out there. I just sat on the porch talking to an old friend for 2 hours.
only private place in the house. Not k today, but my friend Mary's cousin. Great time !

Terri... that really made me LOL. Feel free to *wave* my thread any time :) Love it!

Now to try to catch up to my day.
( not gonna happen, I think )

Just keeping up here! Hope you see the nephlets soon...

Went to Kelly's for some food.. Love the Island in the summer :)

Hi Kim!

I not only saw the nephlets in the morning... but went to my sister's house in the afternoon and got into the pool with the kids. THEN came home and went to Kelly's . Fun day !

that's a striking photo at the top of this thread.

Glad you're getting some fun in and not just melting :)

So glad that you got the day that you wanted as far seeing the boys and the dinner. Did you figure out what book you wanted to read?

>36 mckait:.....and, yes, folks...that "island" is near Pittsburgh, PA!!

**smooch**

Hi Susan.. Thank you :) It has been a good day.
Hi Mamie... it got even better as the even went on..
more on that later :)

Nope ... no book. oops!

Love the resort look to the restaurant. So what did you eat?

A haddock sandwich with slaw with balsamic vinegar, cheese and tomatoes & fries
yum. It was delish! I love the look, too. Don't often see palm trees in Pa.

*waving* at Kath

Sounds like a very nice day!!

Yay! A Great Day!! : )

I WANT that sandwich!!

Stasia ! I'm honored, ma'am! *throws a smooch*

roni, it was good!

Kim, it was, and I enjoyed it :)

Mamie.. I think you would like the place, the music ( we went early to not stay for music..
Dan has a test tomorrow.. )

and the day continues to get interesting :)

That has possibilities! The interesting bit.

I will tell you :) (soon)

I slept in! yay! Now I have some errands..... booo!

Morning Kath- Good luck with those errands and enjoy your day.

Morning Kath! Hope today is a good one. Good luck with your errands.

Happy Day to you dear one!

*smooch*

Ahhh...sleeping in...sounds so wonderful. :)

Although my guy does sleep in till 9 everyday...I really have nothing to complain about.

Hope you have a fantastic day!

Hi Mark, hope your day is good

Mamie.. whew. They kicked my butt today. Lots of heavy things to carry today
but! I am finally done .. errands mean coming home and dealing with what I've bought.
I always get the fruit ready to eat.Today it was two melons so that means cutting them up and making
it "grab ready". I also made up some burgers for the freezer... you know, do it now so you don't have to later.

Hi Linda :) so nice to see you as always.

xo rd

Valerie Well, I usually get up around 5-6 and I slept until 7 .. so that was good.
I was really tired last night..

Hoping to do some nothing today :)

Hope you get to do some nothing today:)

Sounds like you have been busy already though.

I've never been a morning person so getting up at 7 is already a push for me and only occurred when the monkey was a baby....
I thought having kids would totally make me more of a morning person. I was wrong. :)

Valerie, I have been a morning person for my entire life. Sleeping until seven is
definitely sleeping in for me :) It has made many things easier for mr :P

calm, I always like to work early :)

gah, I missed that you had started a new thread! I'm clearly a tad behind!
Anyway, HI :)

>60 mckait: 7am is a sleep in here too, I dont mind mornings at all. Post 6am that is. Pre-6am makes me cranky.

Hi Kath! Just checking in with you. :) How's things?

Work is attempting to turn my into a morning person. I have add earlier morning conference calls a lot the past month (6:00 or 7:00 start times) so on the mornings that I am able to sleep into 7:30 i find myself waking up with a start at 5:58 thinking I'm late for something.

If this is growing up, it's for the birds!

Here here for us morning people, Kath! I get growls from the hubster because I bounce up and want to do things when I wake up and he just wants to bury his head under the covers until I go away. I tell him he should have warned me he really wasn't a morning person before we got married ... all that false advertising while we were dating and in the first few years of marriage had me completely fooled. haha

The older I get, the earlier I get up in the morning. I'd like to say it is because each day is so precious and I'm just so excited to get going, but no. I just get so danged tired at night that, living alone, with dogs, I just go to bed, and listen to the radio, and fall to sleep.

get ready for bed about 7 pm ish, reading until about 8 pm ish, sleeping by 9 pm ish... sometimes way earlier. Turn on radio, fall asleep. hahahah

So I do get up early. Just think: sleeping from 8 pm to 4 am is 8 hours!

Hi Chelle ! I know, it is so hard to keep up daily!

Megan... with 2 little ones, I'm not surprised :)

Laura... I keep missing you :(

ty... sorry, sometimes it is part of growing up :) no worries, you;ss get used to it !

Caro! High Five for morning people!

Karen, I did that more when I worked, I now try to stay out of my bedroom til 10...
then usually asleep by 11 or 11 30. I take my iPad. Then up early :)

It turned into a long day. Dan had issues with his kindle.. and I had to fix it.
I will say only that it took hours, required a factory reset, and I refused to cook,
because by that point it was better that I not be near to fire. Grrr

And now I am too grumpy and done to hang around, so I will see you in the morning..
hope all y'all are good, and forgive me if I wait till tomorrow to catch up

nighty night and hugs

:)

Cheers for Morning People, which of course, have nothing to do with The October People. Ooh, that's spooky.

I wake up early because it's what the body wants to do, then lie in bed and read until the dog wants her morning constitutional.

By midnight I'm late for the pillow if something has kept me up past 11p. If I'm up later than that, and there isn't a man involved, it means I'm hurting.

Richard - 11:34pm LT time...I hope you're not hurting...

I love the quiet and light of early morning - if I don't have to go to work. Unfortunately, I also like to stay up late.

What are you reading Kath?

I have no idea where that tree/garden is, but I want to go there immediately.

Mark, what/who is/are October People?

rd.. ditto... I hope you were just awake and on lt because you missed us.

Joanne.. my sister is a night person. Trying to make plans to do things with her is
difficult. We live on completely different planes of existence, most of the time :P
Reading? well I opened The Celtic Conspiracy ... but yesterday fell apart a bit..

ty.. that is the response I had, and the one I hoped my visitors would have.
Along with a book of course.

So.. Dan ... is not an electronics kinda guy. That is in fact an understatement.
I have tried to explain to him ( countless times) that he needs to check his email. Why?
you ask? WEll, he has a Union position and has given his cell # and email ( which he has finally
learned ) to people, including people at work. Long story short, he has been assuming that he has
no email, because he looked a time or two on his phone.. and saw none, but never noticed that it wasn't
updating, since he needed to sign in again.

There were so many, I suggested he use his Kindle fire to read them.. but..
again, he was not signed in. AND there was some Glitch in his email app on Kindle.
This all took me about 2 hours to figure out because he kept giving me an incorrect password.
So once I had the correct password, I had to go through all the same stuff and devices all over
again. I have told him ( again countless times ) that I have my own passwords to remember and
that he needs to figure out a system to remember his own. I have mad his password the same across the board, and hope he can figure it out.

I ended up on the phone with Amazon and had to do a factory reset on his phone.
This all took something like 4 hours. My brain was at critical mass, and I thought my head
would explode. ( I am sure that there were at least 2-3 small fires though) BUT! The Amazon
tech was so sweet and so patient that by the time I was finished
I was pretty sure that I would survive. The young man was a doll. The first level tech was kind of a wash..
but he was nice enough. The second level tech was great. And he had a soft voice and a nice accent...
very soothing.

Anyway. Not much reading ensued.

Ah! Soothing techie voices helping with devices! That is a gift from the Universe. I hope Dan's devices and Dan develop a healthier relationship, for your sake Kath.

Hope today is much less challenging and that you get time to read a good book!

Thanks Karen.. I had to take it back to factory specs which of course lost a few things...
and I also had it linked to Dan's Amazon account. I had mistakenly not done that when I purchased it..
this makes things easier despite the lost books.. although, the tech also gave me an Amazon credit
on Dan's account to re-purchase books #why I love Amazon

Morning Kath! I'm off to a slow start today - absolutely no idea what the day will hold except for promise, which is always there.

Not only because I miss y'all, I'm afraid. It's getting nasty again. I have a doc appt on the 19th SAY HALLELUJAH and hope all will trend better after that.

Good luck with your doc. appt. on the 19th Richard!

I have a tree in my bedroom now!
sorta
Took a couple branches of some kind of fancy, twirly tree that a friend gave me and Ron nailed it to the wall.

Big question of the day:
Should I hang any little things from it or leave it plain and simple? I thought I might like to hang diamonds from it - but Ron would not buy that. ;-)

HAve a good day!

Cee.. pictures are required.
Many zillions of years ago, I did that. But the branch I had was small..
and it got all brittle.. and had to go. Love the idea :)

Linda and rd.. This makes me very happy and hopeful that relief will come soon..

Mamie.. I agree, every day holds promise.
Sometimes it blossoms like a rose, and other times bursts like a water balloon! lol
But water balloons are okay sometimes, too!

It's already 80...I'll go with a water balloon, thanks.

Today is Thursday, which makes it the day before Friday, which makes me happy. :)

HA! Adorable!

oops Valerie.. Hello! sorry I missed ya :) Good it' a happy day :)

lol rd

Woo, what a beautiful picture up top, Kath! Hope everything is going well.

Whew, I'm glad at least the Amazon tech helper was kind and patient (and presumably competent...).

I'm way behind, Kath, since being on vacation, but wanted to swing by. Just checking on your last couple of days.

I've definitely become more of a morning person since holding down a day job for a couple of decades. Even with traveling two time zones to the west yesterday, I stayed up until 2am reading (presumably my poor body thought it was 4am!) and I still woke up at 7am. I like mornings; they are peaceful and it feels good to have the whole day in front of me. Still, I like them better when I don't have to get up to an alarm and when I don't have to go to work. :-|

80. The Celtic Conspiracy by Thore D. Hansen, Anne Adams (translator)

4 stars read and reviewed, a good one!

Next up A Minister's Ghost

LOL. I meant "The Autumn People", not the October People. See, what happens when I go out and have a couple beers on a week night? Danger, Will Robinson.
The Autumn People were mentioned in Something Wicked and pop up in other Bradbury work's as well. I know my quip sank like a stone.

LOL, I think you need to have a beer.

Fighting Bill Tracy BOOTSTRAPS updated version.. not final

http://www.fightingbilltracy.com/mp3/bootstrap3.mp3

Hello Kath - trying to catch up with you gargantuans of the thread world is hard work!! Love the pic of the tree - gorgeous....cold and grey here in Melbourne but never with the excitement of snow to make up for it....

Hi Kath!
Here's one for ya -
Sunnybrook is having a water balloon toss on the side lawn today! If I hadn't already spent two days this week with Mom, I would go take pictures hehehe. Nice warm day for it!

Am getting concerned about Mom this week - she is much more confused than usual :(

Have a good day !

Morning Kath - What's on the schedule for today?

Kath - Where are you today? I miss you!

Catch up tomorrow - hope all is well?
Nightie night!

You feeling ok?
Did you melt?
Rushing over with ice cold lemonade and Russian teacakes...

Why didn't I name my daughter Prudence? I love that name! Good to see you :)

Love the idea of a water balloon toss, Cee.. I think I will tell my friend jac about that for her
Rest Haven folks :) I haven't melted, but I do love lemonade!

Sorry Mamie.. yesterday was.... well it's over yeah?
Today? Invited to a "weenie roast" at Margie's..
Hard to fib your way out of an invite when the inviter lives across the street...

I read
81. A Minister's Ghost: A Fever Devilin Mystery by Phillip DePoy 3.5 stars
I am liking this series.. so Thanks Terri!

ETA

I think I am going to be taking a wee break from LT.
Just a day or two... no worries. All is well. Don't forget me while I'm gone?
I'll see all y'all in a day or two! *waves*

Kath, enjoy your "LT Break"! Hope you've got a good book or two to help keep you company. (HUG)

Enjoy your mini-LT vacation, Kath. We'll be here when you get back .... hope you get to relax and that you get some good reading done

...who is this "Kath" person anyway?

Hope you have a restful break Kath! Enjoy your time off. :)

ok, my friend!
take care and rest your soul

:-)

Kath - Enjoy your time away and take care of yourself. We'll be waiting for you.

{{hug}}

Hi Kath!! I think LT breaks are wonderful and sometimes, much needed. Ack! when you said you were at Kelly's Island I thought of the island that sits near Cleveland in western portion of lake erie, bt then again that's Kelley's Island. Ahh, but I see it's a food -ish type of place. Looks refreshing and I'm rambling. Take care while breaking.

LT break? What's that? Enjoy your respite, my friend. We'll be here, waiting patiently. Hope you are having a nice weekend.

LT with no Kath for two days - that's like a bee without any honey.

It's like a library without books around here! A break for you, Kath, means catch-up time for me! Enjoy your time away from LT. You know it will be impossible to get caught up again, don't you?

Enjoy your break, Kath. We all need them now and then.

My partner's name is Prudence. The story is that when she told the nurse's aid the baby girl was to be named Prudence, the aide laughed all the way down the hall. Not an auspicious beginning, but it's worked out all right.

Haven't checked in with you in a couple of days, Kath, and was wondering where you were, but now I know...I often take LT breaks; unfortunately, many of them are sort of planned by others instead of myself. Enjoy your rest and we'll be very happy when you come back.

I love those old-fashioned names: Patience, Hope. OTH, there's some doozies that I wouldn't want to be named. Wait, I don't even like the name I have now!

Hope you enjoy your LT break!

*smooch*

*poke*

Our Kath

>113 curlysue: lol
Hi Kath, resting up and reading methinks.
Have a great day!

Just checking in over here so that you know that we are thinking about you. Hope you are enjoying your time away.

Hi everyone :) thank you, my friends for visitng ..I am hugging all of you. I am fine and busy...and sorry for not commenting back to each of you individually. I am sorry in advance, for not keeping up with you.

On top of just needing a break, I have been busy with errands, an appt, and the nephlets. Then the universe stepped in to say that i should pehaps, extend my break. The power cord to my macbook had a meltdown. I have ordered another, which should be here tomorrow. I appreciate you all and I will be back to play very soon.

One last hug for all... Be happy!

*smooch*

*waving hi, while passing by, on the way to the swimming pool with toddlers in tow*

Good to see you, Kath! Good luck with the busies, the mac-fix, and the nephlets.

Hi, Kath! Sorry to hear about the cord meltdown. Enjoy time with the nephlets and whatever other good things RL may offer to fill your time!

Hi Kath - Computer issues and real life are good reasons to take a break from LT! Wouldn't it be nice to be able to incorporate LT friends into real life - say on a Friday night once a month? That'd be so much fun - eat drink, talk books and stuff! Hope all is well with you and that the weather has been cooler out your way. See you when you get back here and have fun!

ps - stop by my thread when you can and scroll down to the photo... :)

Glad to hear you are doing well Kath! RL can definitely keep us on our toes, but LT will be here when you come back. :)

Glad all is well with you, Kath! No need to apologize for anything - just take the time that you need and soak it all up. We will be here waiting for you whenever you get back here. Sending good thoughts your way.

Kath - Sorry to hear of the cord meltdown .. never fun. I keep spare power cords because of this very reason ...and also so I don't have to keep lugging them upstairs and downstairs or from office to home, or home to the airport. If a burglar were to break in, he'd have no problem finding enough cords to tie us up with.

Kath, so good to know that you're doing a bit better, despite the yucker problems. At least the boys could help keep your spirits up.

*smooch*

rd * smooch back

Joe.. cord came... laptop now has laptop juice.

Terri.. was going to go to into the pool with the nepthlets today, but it started to storm... I was fine with it, as I really wanted it to rain. Lots. So it is raining.. we shall see how much

Joanne.. will do!

Valerie, I really needed the break. Just one less thing to have to do, you know?
It is good to have friends who get it :)

Mamie.. all is well.. I have to come and see what is happeneing in Mamieland...

Caro.. that is a wonderful idea! I did have a spare, but when it became the "one" I never replaced it.

Gail.. Hope all is well with you... I have to try to get in a quick spin around the block before I
have to sign off. Storms... yay!

So nice to see you back here -you were missed! We are getting plenty of thunder and lightening, as we did last night, but still no wet stuff. And we really need it. Our area of Indiana is now considered to be in a severe drought. Cross your fingers that we get some actual rain.

Laptop juice is good - how about you, are you feeling recharged?

Stopping by to say hi, Kath. :-)

Hi Kath, glad to see you checking in. Your thread will hardly be vacated in your absence- quite the opposite Im sure!
Take care

Mamie.... no rain for you ? so sorry >_

Hi, Kath! Good to see you back, and glad your new cord arrived.

We got rain . . . I stayed late at the library for extra air conditioning time, and to tie up a few ends of work . . . and kind of got stranded by heavy storms for a while . . . the power even went out for a couple of minutes . . . at least it was cooler when I finally left!

Hi, Dearie, welcome back. So good to see you hereabouts. We've had some storms as well, and some mimimally cooler weather. Otherwise things going sort of fair.

But...so good to see you.

xo

Hello hello ---- did the break help? (Actually, I'm not sure what it was intended to help, but I hope it helped something!).

xo

Breaks are good. Broken is not. Sorry about the power cord. Hope you both get recharged!!

Mornng Kath! hope you're enjoying these lazy hazy days of summer despite the heat. Sometimes, it's nice just to lay in the grass and look into the blue sky and do nothing.

Morning Kath! We're off to the orthodontist this morning and then a couple of errands. We did end up getting just a bit of rain yesterday - hoping for more today. Hope whatever you have on the agenda is fun!

Lynda.. you have grass?!!

Kim, so true! and thanks :)

Ellen.. I just need an LT break now and then. Someone once advised me strongly to let folks know.. so...
I try to do so. I just felt like I needed some quiet time.

Gail.. slightly cooler here today, too. I am in the fair zone myself...
Terri.. I know.. I went to my sisters to get in the pool and it promptly started to thunder etc.
Not enough rain to suit me, but can say that most times.. lol

Okay, I took an OTC sleep aid last night and today I feel like a zombie... ?? the question is why?
I sept for 8 hours....

Nothing much to share yet.. lets wait and see what the day brings?

Mamie! have a good day.. I know you will find some fun somewhere :) see you later I hope?

Morning Kath- We missed you! I hope you enjoyed your respite. Breaks are good. How's the reading coming? Slow?
BTW- I've been hearing very good things about The Sandcastle Girls. Some are saying it's his best book yet. I requested the audio.

Hi Mark.. I have been seeing him tweet about that one so much, I am not feeling like I want to read it.
I just feel like Enough Already!!! But we shall see... I have totally lost your thread, I have to hunt it down...

Hi Kath - sorry to hear you are groggy. It's the heat, I think. I know it wipes me out.

Feeling a little lost myownself lately. Maybe a letdown from being so damned happy for so long. I seem to be leveling off finally. Need to reset or something.?? Hoping vacation will do it for me.

Mornin', Kath! We had the special delight of fresh peaches on the cereal this a.m. So ripe, juicy, sweet, yum...

And, I actually have a lunch date with a couple of friends today. They are so sweet, trying to make sure I get out at least once a month with just women to chat and relax...too bad they don't know about the social anxiety thing! Still, I need to do it.

Gave myself heat prostration Sunday (literally). Sigh. And they used to say I was a quick learner; how wrong they were...got out for a bit already and tied up some sunflowers, trimmed, pulled a few weeds. Must needs go off to the shower now, as am unbearably yucky feeling.

Oh, and Cee, hey! Been missing you too.

Hi Kath! Hope you feel less groggy now. Did you get enough rain to bring the temps down?

Hope you are having a great day!

I requested Sandcastle Girls from this month's ER books, but we've ordered a copy for the library so I'm sure I'll get to read it. I hope it really is as good as everyone is saying.

Kath, I absolutely and completely understand the need for quiet time sometimes. I'm glad you took it for yourself (and thanks for letting us know so we didn't worry about you ---- not that any of us are prone to worrying or anything..... ha)

Groggy is not good, Kath ..... are you feeling better? Please take care of yourself? You don't want to fall down the stairs.

*smooch*

Valium, G&T, then beddy-bye.

Hi Kath - hope that you get some quiet time and manage to rest.

{{{hugs}}}

Hi, Kath, I am hoping your day goes nicely. BTW, I hate the OTC "sleep aids". They all make me feel hung over, groggy, and stupid the following morning, maybe even the whole following day. I'd rather read when I can't sleep, and then I'm just tired the following day.

Mornin', Kath. Nothing to offer today except fruit and perhaps coffee, hot or iced.

Hope to see you feeling less befogged today. I used to use, wait, uh, oh yes, Benadryl to try to sleep. It often worked but left me with a headache and some grogginess next day. Then used some scrip. aids; they worked well but I no longer have them. Now using a half tranqulizer at the dr's suggestion--my, that man can be a bully, but damn, he's so often spot on--and it works fairly well most nights. Sometimes.

Mum brothers and myownself typically used Karen's method (#151). I use it still, but the tiredness the next day can make things difficult.

Hot today, but cooler than before. Oddly, and isn't it just like Mother Nature, we had so much rain in just a few days than several well-started plants rotted at the ground level and keeled over. Geeeeeezzzzzz....

Today's predicted high: 69. Yes, seventy minus one.

W.T.F!

I'll gratefully accept the gift, but...whaaa...?

*smooch*

Kath - Could have sworn I had posted over here this morning. Oh dear, I must be losing my mind. Just wanted to check in with you and let you know that I was thinking about you. Hope you are enjoying some quiet and a bit of whatever you are in the mood for. Happy Friday to you!

Happy Friday from me, too, Kath. Hope you get some of that cooler weather RD mentions.

Hi Cee.... almost time to travel.. yay!! Back you go to cloud 9

Gail...I did that once... the heat prostration thing. Please don't do it again..
very bad and yucky

Chelle... it was just that morning.. all is well .. Hard to keep up with your thread these days..
posts just piling up!

Lori.. I sure hope you get your book! But it's true, the library will probably have it soon.
I did not request that one...

Ellen.. yeah.. for some reason, now and then things just pile on ..
When it starts feeling like work to check in, it's time for a break :)

Caro.. no worries, I was careful to be careful on the stairs...

rd.. LOL

Hi calm... nice to see you, as always :)

Karen, I know.. but I really just wanted to sleep... just sleep...

Hi Gail, I have used benedryl myself :) same deal.. hangs on forever ..
Now and then I consider it worth it to just be blank during the night.. no wake ups
with accompanying freaking out over.. this or that. Sorry about the plants.. but ye gods, this country needs rain. And it needs it 6 weeks ago :( Besides, I do love rain! lol

rd... not hot here either.. but wicked humid. I was a wet sponge when I came in from
errands this morning.

Hi Mamie.. I slept til seven, then head out to do some errands and heavy lifting..
I miss the banter in your thread, and have to make more of an effort today, to pop in.
done.. now to get Dan some food and so... I will catch up with all of you in a bit..

ooops! HI Joe ! nice to see ya !

Hope your feeling better today Kath!
I'm like most of the people who have posted here about the sleep aids. There was a period where I was taking them to fall asleep at night because I was an insomniac, and I love that kind of feeling where you are so drowsy you can barely stand straight. I'm the type where it takes me on a good night about half an hour to drop to la la land, unlike my hubby who can fall asleep within seconds of hitting the pillow. Anyways, the pills always made me out of it the next day till until past noon so I decided they weren't such a great idea, even if the falling asleep part was magical. :)

I don't usually take anything to sleep anymore. But now and then the day has just been so big, that
it helps to find a way to make it distant, sooner.

I've been taking Royal Sleep spray and it's the first time I've ever taken a sleep aid where I fall asleep gently, sleep well, and don't wake up with a hangover! Granted, I've only tried aids a few times and was so disappointed that I just threw them out. This stuff is nice though, and a friend of mine got hooked on it too. It doesn't taste too bad either, which is a nice change from how medicinal-tasting some of them are. *shudder* Blech.

Laura.. I will look into that, thank you !

84. Force of Habit by Alice Loweecey gritty-ish crime novel, with an ex nun in the Pittsburgh area.
Kinda liked it :)

Kinda liked it, Kath?? Any further comments? The Pittsburgh-area setting has me curious about that one.

Well... maybe I should say 3.5 and I did like it enough to decide that I will read the next one.
I will, however give it a bit of time for the price to come down a tad...
It was the ex-nun bit that drew me in.. I can't think what to compare it to :-/

When it starts feeling like work to check in, it's time for a break

Amen.

Pace will be picking up even more tomorrow for me...
off to bed now - Nighty night!
Hope you have sweet dreams tonight ;-)

Force of Habit looks most interesting! But the used PB is $1.92 and the Kindle version is $9.99. I think I can wait for it to be mailed.

Oh my dear Friend!!! I'm sorry I lost you again! But alas I have found you again too!

I hope everything is going well!

:) I got the kindle edition on a one day freebie...
Now I want book 2....sigh.

Brit! I am so happy to see you :) I can only imagine how busy you are, so I look for
posts here and on fb :) So glad you found me!

Ellen, I am glad that you understand. I think most of us do....
At times we just have to pay attention to our offline lives.

Hi Cee ... busy again?!
I hope that you slept well, too and that you have a happy day!
I miss seeing you around here :)

Not a thing has happened yet.. I did some weeding this morning and
set my potatoes to par boil. I answered some email and.... that has been my day
so far. I have no expectation for the future of the day, aside from avoiding network TV all day.

I may read Jasmine and Fire today..

eta

I did want to share this

Which has to do with Amazon reviews, Amazon's algorithms and how our stars alone affect authors.
So, before rating or reviewing, better know what the rules of the game are and what consequences giving a three star rather than a four star review are.

Read more: http://www.epublishabook.com/2012/07/20/amazon-book-reviews-10-cardinal-rules-of...
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution No Derivatives
ePublish a Book (http://s.tt/1irlS)

Hi Kath, just keeping up. Hope you have a good weekend.

Just stopping in to say good morning and wish you a fabulous weekend! That link above was interesting.

Mornin', my Dear. Is there any more coffee? I'm dyin'/fallin' asleep here at the keyboard.

Thanks for the link, Kath. It's useful to know that star ratings I may use here won't translate precisely as I want them to over at Ammy. Means more work, as in actually commenting, rather than just rating; wait, I don't think they allow that any more, although they do have the (barely) useful "like" button.

Haven't done much today. Getting up and having the coffee and cereal was an accomplishment. Headachy--not sure if it's allergy or I'm grinding my teeth again. Naturally when I stopped (or perhaps I should say "paused") grinding my teeth, I put away my nightguard and now can't find it. Sigh. So very typical.

Anyway, only one load of laundry to do, I mean only two loads of laundry to do...cloudy today, 78, maybe some pruning later. Or maybe I'll just lay my head down on the desk here and close my eyes for a sec...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Thanks for the Ammy review info. I don't review on Amazon, and now I'm glad I don't. For me, three stars is a decent read -- only below 3 is not recommended. Sad to see that the publishing world doesn't see it that way.

Hi, Kath! Just stopping by to *wave*

Following Joe with a fly past wave and tropical hug. Have a lovely weekend dear lady and it is great to see you back and whizzing around after a short break.

Good Morning Kath! Sounds like you will be a having a relatively productive day?

I just read your article about the Amazon rating and thought it was interesting. When I compare it with the ratings that we dish out here on LT, 4 is considered a really generous rating already (at least for me) and most books get a 3 not because they are bad, but that they are just average, nothing wrong with that really... I've never rated anything on Amazon, but that's definitely good information to have. I want authors to do well, so they keep writing books, so I can keep buying them. It is a wonderful cycle to support. :)

Interesting blog piece, Kath. I do want authors to do well, but I don't them I'm doing them, and the reading public, any service by artificially inflating my rating of their books more than I already do. I think I rank the books I like higher than most people on LT, and on sites such as Amazon and Goodreads that don't permit 1/2 star ratings, I'll almost always bump up a rating to the next highest whole star (e.g., a 3-1/2 star book almost always becomes a 4 star book, etc.). I think I'll stick with what I'm already doing.

That was a really interesting blog post. I now don't trust Ammy ratings at all. I never trusted them much, but now? Pffft. Four stars is the beginning of just recommended? What?

No thanks. I'll figure out WHAT to read here, or on Goodreads, and buy it there. Unless it's specifically requested by the author, I don't post reviews on Ammy anymore because I don't like the way snarky snotball strangers feel free to say nasty personal things there.

*Waving* at Mamie, Joe and Paul as they fly by! And to calm who is trying as I a, to keep up :)

Hi Gail! My project for today was to change out my router, for a new one. It was done with minimal, if vivid cursing and it clearly does work, so yay me!! Aside from that, either a book or a movie.. ? Dunno

Valerie, rd, Terri and Darryl... Amazon reviewing is not for everyone, I know that to be true. You have to be either thick skinned as I am not, or disinterested in what others think of your review. Which I am. I too, always go up the half star from say.. 3.5 to 4 on Amazon. I always have. I rarely do 5 instead of 4.5 because not 5 star is just not 5 star. I won't say that I have never done it, but I don't remember doing it. So, No.. I don't artificially inflate ratings either. I do wish they allowed a .5 on their ratings, as they do have the .5 in their total ratings next to the title.. but wishing means nothing. I won't change a thing. An author
Rick Gualtieri that I regularly tweet with feels the same as some of us do about a 3 star read being a good solid read. Can I just say that he is one sweet guy and I like him a lot.. check out his books.. although, I can say that I doubt anyone posting in my thread would like them.. I haven't read them yet. But Rick is a sweet sweet guy. I mean to at least try one of his books sometime..

so.. there ya go. I am going to have a look around and log off for a while. I need to tell roku the news about a new router, and also nook. Then maybe I will stream a movie from Amazon?
dunno.

Have a happy day!

Kath, congrats on successfully changing out the router -- done with minimal, if vivid cursing, LOL!

I rarely get through any kind of major technology change/upgrade w/o significant ranting and raving. Hubby and I are talking about making the upgrade to some sort of smartphone, and while part of me thinks that might be really handy, part of my DREADS trying to learn to use the *&!@^*& thing. (See, I'm cursing it, and I don't even own it yet!) ;)

Drive by hello.
I almost never look at reviews on Amazon. It just has never particularly appealed to me or seemed very engaging. I like the discussions we have about books here and the comments people share; I'm not confident my own ratings are at all consistent, so I try not to attend too closely to the number of stars a book gets.

Although I keep thinking I'll do a TIOLI challenge to read a book that Darryl has rated 4.5 stars or higher. :-)

Heeeeyyyyy Kath, Just ziplining through to wish you a happy and relaxing day!

Hi Terri :) I think it would have been worse if it had been any hotter up there. I did it in the morning though before it was too bad ...I hate to admit it but I ove my iPhone. Dan does too.

Ellen. I love to read the reviews on Amazon. Just reading it, you can tell if it is a breathless
cheerleader who 5 stars everything.. or someone who puts some thought into a review . Amazon stars
never make the decision for me, mind you... but I do read reviews, both good and bad. I don't like reviews done by professionals, and I don't claim to be one. I just consider myself someone with an opinion. And as such, it is as valid as the next persons opinion. So.. I am a fan of reviews. I confess though, that when I catch a blurb that compares a book to another book that has done well, or uses the phrase "coming of age"
I tread very carefully, and it will count in the negatives when I am making my decision.

Hi Lynda :) Nice to see you ziplining through.. I haven't even finished my coffee yet and there you go ziplining! Clearly I can't keep up with you.

I woke at 4 ish today.. had some trouble with a cough this morning... still do. Weird.

So yesterday, my niece had to go with her mom and dad to see her brother in a play.
I got myself an invite down to see the nephlets and Keith. He is such a good daddy!
I ended up staying much longer than planned..it was a nice time .

#182: Glad you had such a good time with your nephlets yesterday, Kath. I hope the cough does not hang around with you too long!

Sorry to hear about the cough - hope it goes away very soon.

Great to hear that you managed some nephlet time.

Enjoy your coffee and the rest of the weekend.

STAS!!!!!!!!!!! Hello hello hello! :) nice to see you :)

#185: Thanks, Kath. It is nice to be seen.

Morning Kath- I never cared for Amazon's rating system or reviews. I much prefer our little LT World of ratings & reviews.
Hope your weekend is going well. Hugs!

Good morning, Kath, hope all is well!

I regularly post my reviews to LT and Goodreads, but I often forget to put them on Amazon. Let's see...I've written 384 LT reviews, but only 119 on Amazon. Although I haven't received any personal attacks to my knowledge, my review of The Finkler Question by Howard Jacobson started a bit of a flame war about the author. I'll probably continue to post my longer, more thoughtful and more positive reviews there, but I'll hesitate before I put any of the exceptionally negative ones there.

What Mark said, Kath. You can tell when a review's been written by a professional and I'll read them, but I tend to discount their reviews somewhat. I much prefer reading reviews by regular people ...and you can tell when they're just regular people writing the reviews. But for books that have tweaked my interest here on LT, I put more weight on the reviews I read on LT and Goodreads from people I'm familiar with.

I stopped posting my reviews on Ammy because some troll kept saying insulting things about me personally. He or she was alerted to my existence by a review of a liberal-leaning book, and the person apparently is a conservative.

I don't want to play if others don't play nice.

Good morning Kath! Glad to hear you will get to see the nephlets today. I hope you are having a great Sunday. :)

hello Caro, rd and Valerie :)

yep.. Like I said, I do not read the professional reviews. And I never, ever... look back once I post a review.
I just don't care enough about what they have to say. Vine reviewers in particular have trolls.. other Viners
( and other readers, as well ) giving not helpful clicks on the theory that it improves their status. I post the reviews to give my opinion and move on. I must say that I shudder to think what will happen if {MS26} gets their way and there is a thumbs down added.

I tend to look at professional reviews (e.g.: Library Journal, Kirkus) for non-fiction titles, looking to see if there are red flags raised about the reliability of the information in a book. I've been warned off a few books with factual inaccuracies or unreliable sources that way. For fiction, I'm more interested in regular peoples' opinions. I find it especially helpful if reviewers say WHY they liked or disliked something. For instance, if someone who dislikes horror complains about a horror novel, well . . . 'nuff said.

It's most helpful to read reviews from people here whose tastes I know and understand. And I'm on one of those threads right now . . . hi, Kath! :)

Hi Terri... hmmmm you are practically my nemesis! I think I pick up more books from your thread than anyone else's.. sigh. I need blue blockers when I am there.. as for reviews.. I do sometmes read profesional reviews.. for my own purposes... I don't pay any attention to them. Now, sometimes if a writer that I like posts on their own blog about books they like, I will have a look.. Like you though, I prefer regular readers. And, not only that.. I start with the three star reviews most of the time. I guess I feel that they are like minded, lol. Three stars = a good solid book. Much of the time, that is what they say :)

Well, I just got back from the store.. I bought a watermelon and some other fruit.. and sandwich fixin's
I am hoping for more rain. The weather guesser practically promises it one appearance, and then says maybe not the next. Well played Demetrius !

I am currently reading a freebie on my nook.. it's okay.. I want a good read.. I just don't know what I want ..I should really read Jasmine and Fire... I need to review it.

Morning Kath! Just checking in over here - and I was 25 posts behind!! Hope today turns out exactly how you want it to! I did fresh fruit over the weekend and it was great to just have it all prepped and ready to go in the fridge. Love that!

*yawn*smacksmack*

just slithering out of sleep

Donald Ray Pollock kept me up until all hours. Don't read his stuff. Unkindness to animals.

Woke up to hot coffee on my nightstand and the Gruesome Twosome gone in a cab, a note said I was too worn out for them to feel right about waking me. Very thoughtful!

Hi Mamie.. crossing all crossables for you...
rd... Blasted Pollock guy.. hope you got enough sleep?

okay.. This was a good and productive morning.
I feel good about how it played out. Don't give up...
there really are some good people in the world.. even off of LT~

Good morning Kath!

Slow morning for me today. Just starting to make my rounds on the threads now since the hubby is home sick from work. :( It's nice having him home, but not so nice hearing him cough his lungs out. Cleaning and cleaning to keep the germies at bay.

Valerie, sorry to hear about your husband being ill.. I hope it passes soon and that he is a good patient :)

86. Jasmine and Fire: A Bittersweet Year in Beirut by Salma Abdelnour 4stars
read and reviewed. This was a selection from Vine.

Caroline.. take a look at this one, I think you might like it? I wish I could just send it along, but
Vine is very strict about that... In some ways the author reminds me of you :) She is a beautiful
world traveler with an interest in food, and has no problem tackling the preparation of it herself.

It was a bit tedious in some spots for me, but I think it was well written and pleasant, so I recommend it
to those with an interest in food ( particularly Mediterranean food) and travel.

Thumbs-upped your review of Jasmine and Fire!

Off to Ammy to like it now.

Thank you rdear!

With that review and mention of food focus, how could I not add this to my obese wish list, Kath! Thumbed you.

Kath- Just swinging by to say hi! I hope you are keeping cool. It was a scorcher here! Ugh!

Gave your review of Jasmine and Fire a thumb - well said! That sounds like one for me. Did you decide what to read next?

Hi Kath,
how are you on this drizzly rain-day. Fire roaring.....cosy house...are you in a state of disbelief that Im even saying that? :) Dont sweat it, get into some breeze if youre suffering the heat.

Caro.. good! I think you will like it..
Mark...col, if only...
Thanks Mamie.. no.. no real decision made. I started Bill The Vampire (The Tome of Bill) by Rick Gualtieri on kindle.. but I think that will be a sort of on the side read. I admit that it is funny.. the language is a bit uncomfortable at times.. but I wanted to read something by this author so I am going to forge ahead.
I will probably choose to read something else at the same time.. not sure..

So... Dan is off today. He was going to go to some protest in Harrisburg today.
I told him that I would prefer he not... ( what the heck was I thinking? ) Due to some pressing matters
that need to be attended to. To my horror, he got up out of bed at 6 am and has been storming around
ever since. Usually it takes something ( like the protest or the union) to get him up before 10. Great way to start the day, a tantrum-ing 61 yr old.

Morning Kath! Sorry not a good start to you day - bummer. Nothing big on the schedule today - today marks two months on the market for us. Craig has plans to come back for a visit the first weekend in August, so that will be fun. I have no idea what we are having for dinner but I hope it's good!

reposting from FB

Mint is the cockroach of the plant kingdom. Never ever plant it.
srsly. And whatever giant bug lives on it bit me this morning ...
If I die, it was the mint

Ouch! Sorry to hear about the giant bug and the mint, Kath.

And here I thought horseradish was the ultimate plant that would not die . . . it has taken over the flower bed on the side of my garage, and encroaching on the flower bed in front of the garage . . . My husband once met an expert in environmental botany and asked how to get rid of it, and the man laughed in my husband's face at the thought . . .

The interwebz say this will kill anything..

There are several ways to kill mint without the use of harmful chemicals, which should always be a last resort. Many people have had luck using boiling water to kill mint. Others swear by using a homemade mixture of salt, dish soap and white vinegar (2 cups salt, teaspoon soap, gallon vinegar). Both methods will require frequent applications onto the mint over some time in order to kill it. Be aware that these methods will kill any vegetation that it comes in contact with.

I will try it

I hope you don't die from the mint bug bite!! And I hope Dan calms down for you

Hope your day better gets 100000 times better!

Thanks Chelle :) It will.

Mornin', Kath. Let's have a cup of coffee...um, let's make that a glass of iced coffee...

One way to ensure that the Plant Death Liquid won't harm other, better things is to use small plastic things to put the liquid in, bury them a bit in the ground, and clip several stems of the plant into the liquid. Of course this is only necessary if one has valuable plants near the Monsters. I myownself don't like mint in the garden as I find it attracts kitties, who think it's a delightful form of air freshener for their toilets. Ewww....

Ya know, I wonder if they have those animal tranquilizing darts at Ammy; one of those delicately shot into the rear of the unruly old fella should do the trick. I've been thinking of doing that myself, not that Dh ever gets unruly or anything like that...

Iced coffee sounds delightfu, Gaill! mmmm .. I never had iced coffee until I lived in New England.

That sounds like a workable solution. Although I must say that at this point, I would willingly kill another plant or two to get rid of the mint :-/ I have a shrub and a rose bush in the infested area.

I can use the vinegar jugs, yeah? Just cut a bit open alongside the handle...
hmmm.

I was actually thinking of using a modified version of my tree watering scheme. For that I fill cat littler buckets with water, After drilling a hole or 6 into the bottom. Then I fill the bucket with water. I water the tree area, and fill the bucket for continued watering. I thought I would mix the weed klller straight into gallon jugs of white vinegar...and put a small hole or few?

Darts might be out of the question but it does have me thinking....................

He is so ridiculous. He asked my neighbor to do his resume. She has the disk form the last time, and he needs to add a few new credentials. He asked her on Sunday. He has yet to write down the additions. He canceled on her yesterday, rescheduled for today.. or I did.. he was just going to not show up. So I called and asked her if we could switch the day to today. As you know, I heard about this whole protest thing last night. When I called him on it, he said I scheduled the time, not him. He just has no idea of the value of other peoples good hearts or time. It makes me furious. She emailed me and asked to make it later today.
I haven't told him yet. He thinks he has to be there in 20 minutes. He has still not written down the info.
He worked outside this morning, too.. trimming the weeping trees... and now he is on the phone with Union stuff. At least it isn't just me that has no value in his world.

Narcissistic personality disorder.

Morning Kath! Sounds like a rough start with the grumpy husband and mint infestation that lead to a bug bite!

My husband (Joe) went to work today, despite me telling him he's still sick and my issues are weeds. I have more weeds than grass, but I can't go and yank them all out because then I'll have more holes and than grass...hah!

Anyways, treat something to something nice to offset this morning. :)

Oh Kath Kath Kath - you are so popular! I just wish I could keep up with you!

Good morning! It is COOL out this morning! I don't mean to taunt, but seriously.. it is 59F


I ended up being pretty busy yesterday ( post mint war)

Didn't read.. but I did receive my LTER book from June The Light Between Oceans
So I think that will be up for today.

rd.. just same old same old

Valerie.. I think weeds keep a lawn strong! lol. In a drought, they are the only green to be found!

Brit.. It warms my heart that you took a second to stop by.. with so much on your plate, you must be flying from one place to another all day.

So what's going on with you... ?

Morning Kath! Next week at this time it will be August - how did that happen?

Hi Kath - hope things are going well for you today and you manage to get some reading time.

Wait... What? August? OMG crazy...

Good till now calm.... my cousin just called me :(

Well, geez louise, Kath, they tell you that you can't pick your family, but does it have to be quite so bad???

Hot. HOT here today; 84 as I type. We're off to the dr. in just a few minutes; I'm sort of dreading it...I sort of dread lots and lots and lots of things...

Anyway. What's for dinner? I'm thinking maybe taco salad.

Garlicky Baked Shrimp
(Adapted from Real Simple)

Ingredients:

1 lb. raw shrimp, deveined and peeled
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. white wine
salt and pepper
1/4 cup (4 Tbsp.) melted butter
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 Tbsp. fresh Italian-leaf parsley, chopped
half of a lemon (optional)

for dinner. I finally got Janice off the phone.. now Marty .. Dan's sister is pulling up.
WOE is me

Janice AND Marty?! Holy maloley.

*smooch* and holds out plate for some garlicky baked shrimp.

I am so sorry about Marty; still contemplating a way to get her under my metaphorical microscope in the interest of scientific study...

Sweetheart, you've saved me; a perfect supper for tomorrow night. May the Moon shine her calming light on you.

Gail..I am trying to figure out what to make with it. Of course I want rice something or other..
Dan wants potatoes... le sigh . It looks pretty simple, doesn't it? It's a new one for me. I am glad I could help :) Company tomorrow or just a craving for shrimp? For me, this was inspired by a sale on shrimp.. lol

Yes, Janice AND Marty and Marty is coming back tomorrow.
My head hurts. *fills plate*

What?! Back?!? Didn't the garlic-and-pennyroyal sachets and the silver-studded threshhold rug work? I swear they did here!

Oh Gail... here is the recipe in its natural habitat with the rest of the directions..

http://gimmesomeoven.com/garlicky-baked-shrimp/

Hey Kath, I'm way behind but chuckling about your mint posts. We like to have fresh mint so we can make mojitos and a few other things, but we definitely ONLY plant it in a pot. As you say, it'll take over in a heartbeat.

The garlicky baked shrimp looks so delicious! I love garlic. I love shrimp. 'Nuff said.

Hi Ellen!
I wish I had known that the day I put in a handful from my daughter's then boyfriend's mom ... sigh I will let you know how the baked shrimp goes :)

Found on FB too good not to share

‎"Dear God

I know that I don't talk to you that much,
but this year you have taken away:
my favorite visionary Steve Jobs,
my favorite author Ray Bradbury,
my favorite children's author Maurice Sendak,
my favorite American Bandstand guy Dick Clark,
my favorite hairdresser Vidal Sassoon,
my favorite screen-writer Nora Ephron,
my favorite 60 Minutes guy Mike Wallace,
and my favorite singer Whitney Houston.

I just wanted to let you know
that my favorite radio personality is Rush Limbaugh"

HA! Oooh, Mr. Santorum might break off the wedding if he sees that...

>211 mckait: I found that boiling salt water will kill most anything...just keep applying it!

No comment on family woes..I have no "words of wisdom"

Love the Garlic Shrimp recipe...I'll have to see what the shrimp look like at the store tomorrow

Chin up, kiddo!

Jude... we eat early here on Dan's day off. His work days, lunch is the main meal...
So I just finished eating. ( didn't even clean up yet..

The baked shrimp dish is the best thing I have cooked in a long long time.
It is absolutely delish. ( note.. I did not have wine so.. yep, you guessed it..
I put in a splash of beer. ) I had some great hot sauce to add when served.
( the sauce is Nando's medium peri peri sauce) I am stuffed and happy :)

>233 mckait: Heh! Missed me!

HI Kath! Sounds like you have had a busy day!
Hope you have a good night!

Hi Kath! Your shrimp recipe looks and sounds delicious. My husband is going through a I love shrimp phase so I may have to give it a try one of these days!

I hope you are having a lovely evening. :)

When you are not expecting it... Bam! It will get you, rd

Chelle.. it was a day alright :) I am hoping for a thumping good storm today, but then I am always hoping for a thumping good storm, so nothing new there.

Valerie ... I hope that if you do you like it as much as we did :)

Mornin', Kath. When the storm gets done your way, please send it down south...about 4 this p.m. would be good.

Hope your day is quieter than yesterday.

*noted*

Good morning, Kath!

That shrimp dish looks yummy, Kath. I'm going to try it. :)

unlurking to say 'HI!'

Morning Kath! I'm making that shrimp dish today, so I will let you know what everyone here thinks of it. Thanks for sharing the idea! Hope today is a good one.

>239 mckait: I awoke to thunderstorms...hmmmm

Just swinging by and wishing you a good morning and hopefully a relatively stress free day! :)

231> Perfect.

Thinking I might try that shrimp recipe.....

Hi Terri and Carri ~ Glad you are going to try it Terri :) I am ready to make it again already ! lol

Nice to see you Valerie and Ellen :)

Mamie.. I am going to adapt it to chicken, and try that in a day or three... I will report back. I figure sliced
chicken breast is the way to go for that..

rd.. we are promised storms soon...

ok.. I just spent the last two hours with Marty. Again.
I added all of her contacts to her phone, since it had a charge today..
and taught her how to answer it again. and I made her call me. And more.
I think we are good for a week or two. Please the goddess........

Poor Dan.. I was not being nice to him. There was still an issue setting up her vicemail..
I called tech support and fixed it. She put her voice on the greeting in her voice. It is
all sorted now. She has a samsung galaxy.. it is terrible ...imo. So beware. It is not user
friendly for a newbie. If she ever actually gets on the internet it will be a miracle .

I hate Jello

eta

She came back. She had somehow turned the brightness of her phone to next to nothing.
How on earth?

Oh my dear friend...no way in Hell will i comment on Family Issues...they are way too personal

I will send you a *Hug*

I find that most Shrimp recipes can swap out for Chicken...like Shrimp Creole???

The Pigeon Pie Mystery: A Novel
By: Julia Stuart

Me, Who Dove into the Heart of the World: A Novel
By: Sabina Berman, Lisa Dillman

The Muffin Tin Cookbook: 200 Fast, Delicious Mini-Pies, Pasta Cups, Gourmet Pockets, Veggie Cakes, and More!By: Brette Sember, Melinda Boyd

Vine day ... So I went wild and requested 2 books, and one from the Last Harvest.

I know, me and a cookbook. lol. But! It looked interesting... all sorts of things to make in a muffin tin :)

Storm threatening.. not quite here yet.. hoping it rains!

Jude.. I am the most unadventurous cook you will ever meet.. so have not made that.. or anything else too crazy looking. But it seemed to me that it would swap out well..

>251 mckait:: Oh, are you, Kath? In my better days I like to try new stuff as I get booooooored with old, usual stuff. We won't mention that I got so tired between the dr. appt. and the grocery shop that we're having rotisserie chicken for supper, with assorted vegetables that we had already prepared and frozen...shrimp tomorrow.

But, anyway, yeah, I agre with Jude: most recipes can be swapped between chicken and shrimp; also between chicken and boneless pork chops.

Bob Ross... I have always loved you !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLO7tCdBVrA is a Bob Ross Remix

Like the one they did for Mr Rogers. Loved him too...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=OFzXaFbxDcM

Kath - Had to come over here to tell you that we made the garlicky shrimp dish that you posted the recipe for, and it was delicious. Thank you so much - another new favorite! And so quick and easy to make. You rock!

FYI...i love Muffin Tin cooking...Meat Loaf, Mashed Potatoes...i do often..if you just mash the potatoes without milk or butter, they freeze well...then, once thawed, you can go to town

I love tiny meat loaves, since they're perfect for individual servings and/or sammies

And what Gail said about chicken/pork/shrimp...They only had frozen shrimp at the store this morning..and most of them, in the bags, were covered in ice crystals, so i couldn't actually see the shrimp...i passed..

Jude... you should have been a chef. The frozen shrimp I got was fabulous! It was split for the grill, but I peeled it easily, since It was slightly frozen when I started .

Mamie :) good! Glad you liked it..

Now, I'm hungry.

Oh, thank you Kathy...but i am way beyond temperamental!!

The frozen shrimp, today, just looked kind of "old"...and this is the first day of the week, as far as my store's weekly ad is concerned...so they have what they need to sell, in front in the freezer case...then put out the New stuff....later...a con game for sure

♥♥♥♥

Gail.. I didn't mean to skip you. I am indeed a very boring cook. I am try ing to spread my wings a little now that the kids are grown. I have a couple of problems though.. in both dieting and spreading my culinary wings.

IBS which weirdly would rather I eat a handful of potato chips instead of a bowl of salad.
And it's unpredictable. Baked potato instead of broccoli ... you know.

And, my background of growing up eating slavic types of food...
potatoes, dumplings, rice, stuffed peppers and cabbage and ..
so.. changing foods is hard... plus I am so disinterested in cooking these days..

FYI: I have a slight case of IBS...which means I never know when it will "visit" but I have to be prepared when it does..then i live on boiled potatoes (which help) and clear broth...good way to lose some weight...crappy way to eat if one is actually hungry....

I get sick and tired of cooking, too...but that's how i have to eat....the "restaurant" fare in town is pretty crappy...Fast Food or Country Cooking..both loaded with salt/sugar/fat

We soldier on, though...

And I am just too flat out lazy to go out and eat all the time.
Easier and more comfortable to eat at home..

Where's the "LIke" button???

I'm late to the Jasmine and Fire review, Kath, but thumb from me, too. Hope all is well with you.

>260 mckait: and 261: yes, indeedy.

Kath, my dad was full-on Bohemian, but mother didn't care for slavic food at all, so we only had it as a rare treat when "The Uncle" cooked. Oh, yum. But a bit on the heavy side.

I'd much rather eat at home; then at least I know what's in it...

Various tum problems as well keep me on some odd food kicks now and then...

>263 Matke: I'm with Gail...i want to know what's in my food!!

Hey Kath, thanks for sharing the Garlicky Shrimp recipe. Mamie's pictures look delicious. So I've copied it and will pick up some shrimpers on my next market trip.

Welcome! Hope you like it, too. I need more lemons and limes and panko b.c. And i will do it with chicken on sunday.

I have to do a store run this morning...out of sandwich fixins, too.

I will catch up wth everyone afterwards :)

Morning Kath- Have a good day! It supposed to be more comfortable today. Hooray. We are overdue.

Hi Kath

I'm thinking of you.

Mark, you sure are! Hope for a nice cool breeze coming at you all day.

Linda... I hope the visit means that you are feeling a tad bit better.

I am already hot and sticky :P it is so humid! No complaints though, we got a fair amount of rain yesterday
and may have more today. It was a nice and cozy evening here... rumbling thunder, rain...

I did my shopping, deli stuff and fresh fruit and vegies from a farm just over the border in Ohio.

Corn, peppers to stuff, cukes, and absolutely gorgeous tomatoes! Jude... I am following your suggestion from one of your last shops... and freezing some corn. it was 10 for 2$ ..peaches and black cherries :)

So.. burgers today, stuffed peppers tomorrow and garlicky chicken for sunday.... with mushroom rice pilaf.
There will be leftovers, and it is time to do up a batch of pasta salad for dan.. so I suspect I will be doing some cooking today. hmmm might work around and skip the pasta salad. surely I can think of something else?

Just now getting coffee though. Bad, that.

drive by good morning

mmm your daily menus make me feel hungry!

Nate is home tonight and I haven't figured out what to feed him yet. Yesterday we had blueberry pancakes and I cooked bacon in the oven for the first time. I think I saw that on your thread, or maybe Richard's. It was the best bacon I've ever tasted and from now on all bacon will be oven cooked!

You went out without coffee????????????

Oh my. Brave, brave Kath.

I'm off to do a few things here and then make lunch and do bridge. Yuck. But, maybe we'll get some good cards and actually know what to do with them.

*Waves at Ellen's disappearing back as she runs fleet footed through my thread* lol

Chelle.. sorry. I got stuck with stuffed pepper thoughts in my head from someone on fb.. sigh

Bacon...yum

Morning Kath! We just had stuffed peppers the other night. What do you stuff yours with?

ground beef, rice, and chopped onion and diced tomato.. all mixed and cooked in tomato sauce. I never use more than 2 peppers. I cut them in half and stuff them .. then I make another 4 ...sort of giant meatballs..
Typically this will make a couple of meals for us.. 2 lunches for dan for work.. then I freeze the leftover bits to use as a starter for soup in the future.

Traditionally served with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob .

And hmmm maybe you subconsciously influenced me too.. but the picture that Donna put in her thread on FB is what finished me off. ... much like your photos of the shrimp dish got to a few folks :)

What do you stuff yours with?

We like to dice and sauté a package of mushrooms, then set aside and in the same pan cook a 1:1 combo of ground turkey and ground sausage. Cook a package of your favorite rice - we like the Uncle Ben's original. Combine all of that. Pack into peppers that have been baked at 350 for 20 minutes - we cut the tops off and clean out the pepper, line them up in a pan, pour a bit of chicken stock into the bottom of the pan, cover with foil, and bake while assembling the above mixture. Then stuff the peppers, top with a bit of shredded cheese and bake, again covered with foil in the same pan for 20 more minutes. The stuffing that doesn't fit into the pepper we throw a bit of shredded cheese onto and keep warm to serve for people who want more than just what was in their pepper. It's good leftover as a side, too.

Yummy sounding... ! Very yummy sounding. I used to cut off the tops of peppers and stuff them that way, too. But my MIL told me she did it the way I do now.. I like using the red or yellow peppers, but we had local green today. I am not a fan of green peppers, but it will work for this for me. Anyway.. using half peppers isn't as pretty .. but it works... Oh and instead of stock.. I use a can of "sauce" by which I mean whatever version of tomatoes I have on hand.. crushed, diced etc.. I rarely have actual sauce.. but I add V-8 for liquid if I have it. Broth if not.. :) Yours are way prettier than mine!

Leftover sides are hajaja here ..lol any dinner that is bits of this and that leftover .. hajaja night.

We lucked out because the red peppers were on sale - which is why we made stuffed peppers this week! I buy 6 peppers and stuff them because there are 6 of us. My sister makes a stuffed pepper that is very similar to yours and it is very tasty (and she also cuts the pepper in half before stuffing it because she thinks a whole pepper is too much), but Birdy does not like tomatoes which is why I had to come up with something different. I love to smell them cooking.

I love hajaja night! Totally stealing that!

Help yourself .. lol Much better than leftover night imo!

I am a tomato fiend. Luckily Dan has adapted. We eat some form of tomato almost every day...
seriously. Sliced, diced, or sauce or something.. I had to work around it with Cory too.. I also love to smell them cooking. Mine are done. I will let them cool and put them away for tomorrow !That makes me happy!

I am very achy from all the .. stuff today.. I lugged, lifted and cleaned out the bottom corner cupboard. That makes me feel old... lol. Getting up from that position on the floor.. whew!

I love tomatoes, too. Glad you are feeling happy! Now you need to relax and take some time for yourself.

I am going to try to get some reading done this weekend..
I have 2 books going, one on kindle and one LTER.. And I bought cherries.. so woot!
Cherries and a book later :)

I just found out that I will get a copy of Military Fly Moms to read and review. It looks really good!
Happy is me!

general all-purpose *smooch*

oh good, you're here.

Just catching up ... and I had to laugh at the letter to God you posted, Kath. Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant! From all our mouths to God's ears on this one.

I found it on fb.. and it was so weirdly close to what I would have said if I was more creative and funny... lol
I had to pass it on. Good to see you back in circulation :) less fun when RL claims you for too many days :)

I miss LT when I'm away for even a day ... I find myself thinking of what I would post if I were online ... is that weird?

Nope, not to me.. sounds only right :) I feel the same !

My sons neighbor...

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/07/27/12993058-maryland-man-found-with-doze...

Oh, dear. Yikes!!!

Terrifying ... He called to tell me and I couldn't breathe...

:(

Well, I'm glad they caught the guy at least.

me too!

Oh, Kath; I'm so glad Cory is safe.

>289 mckait: that is scary indeed. thank goodness he was stopped from whatever ridiculous plans he had.
Guns, they're just no good.

Oh Kath, not good. SO glad they caught the guy. Scary.

Oh, good lord.

87. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman 4 stars LTER
This was a poignant and tragic tale, a good read.

Gail, I know. So scary. He had posted about it.. but I wasn't on FB at the time.
When he called me I didn't know what he was talking about. Very scary stuff.
Apparently the police took some time scoping out the situation, but did indeed
come and get him. To say that I am relieved would be an understatement.

Megan.. I agree. What is wrong with people? What is wrong with us... we allow
people to have these crazy weapons :(

Mamie. agreed. At least they caught him. Thank goodness his call was reported and the police
took it seriously. It was all over and done when Cory got home from work. Seamus hadn't been
interested enough to watch, and so had nothing to tell :) But he was extra glad to see Cory come home!

Joanne. I know.. words fail.

Angus is currently knocking the books off of the top shelf.. one by one. He is so pleased with himself!
I think he will tire of this activity before I need to stop typing and convince him him to do something else.
Good thing he cracks me up ..lol

I did watch the Olympics opening ceremony last night. I rarely watch the whole thing. I guess that;s true for last night, too.. since I gave up on it when the parade of athletes paraded in. I loved it! Real people showing us real history instead of a bunch of flashing lights and pyrotechnics. It honored history, literature .. art in all forms. And it had Voldemort. I can't remember enjoying an Olympic ceremony as much ever before. The beginning, with the Queen cracked me up. She clearly doesn't take herself too seriously. I am hoping that I can find it On Demand to see the ending that I missed.

So what's happening in your corner of the world?

Wow, I'm glad they got that guy before he hurt anyone!

That opening ceremony seemed very bizarre to us. It's going to be fun to read the reactions today. The Queen was a hoot.

LOL, I suspect that there will be a lot of diverse opinions on the ceremony.... I have read some on fb... but I did love it all.. beginning with the Tor :)

eta

I installed Chrome last night... on a whim. Good grief! It just slides right onto the hard drive and does what it needs to do. So far, 8 stars of 5 !

Yikes! Your son's neighbor sounds like a man who needs help...lots of help.

I agree Linda.. I hope he doesn't make it back there any time soon..
and I hope he doesn't get his guns back.

Oh my gosh - that is scary, pleased the police acted promptly and that no one was hurt.

I've been using Chrome since I first got a computer:) I find it really easy to use and it definitely works for me.

Didn't watch the opening ceremony - it looked like it would go on too late for me. I'm sure I'll be able to find it on-line sometime though. The bits I've seen look like it was good.

Whew! I was AFKB for a couple of days with computer issues and I'm here to tell you: IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO CATCH UP WITH THESE RACING THREADS! Gads, Kath, you have so many buddies and so much good stuff to say. I found the discussions about reviews very interesting. I seldom read any proper reviews, and only occasionally pay any attention to any professional opinions. I find plenty of books to read without all that.

I do like to keep up with some people here in LT. I don't even know how I pick who to follow and who to let slide....on by.

Any way! Have a great day! And I'll be lurking through....

Just buzzing by to say Good morning!

>300 mckait: Yay!

TOTAL DAD-TERROR ATTACK about the neighbor thing! I'm amazed you can even form sentences!

Rainy and gloomy outside, just gloomy inside. After the Olympic opening, two hours of meltdown tearful Skype from Jeremy.

It's his first heartbreak as a grown-up, and that really, really, really rots to live through. Now he's furious at everyone including me for "deciding his future for him."

I deserve a gold medal for being patient enough to tell the hawt boy who wants to stay with me to think of himself IN THE FUTURE with a crippled-up man older than his father.

I'm not feeling too terribly sociable after doing the right thing.

I have been thinking about chrome for a while... jumped in on a whim... what kind of computer do you
have , calm?

Karen.. yeah.. we chat a bit here.. remember, a lot of it is me answering back :P so it isn't as much as it seems.

Okay.. dry eyes. Not a constant problem, but an occasional one.. irritating me today. AND my dryer sounds like it is on it's last legs. :( I have had it for ages, bought it used for 100 dollars.. it has been a good old thing. Unlike that blasted washer that I hate. The washer did not fall over dead as I hoped, but the dryer is threatening. Woe is me. BUT! I don't have to cook today ... woot!!

My sister won "a pack of books k" from the author Emilie Richards !!! I liked her books
Whiskey Island & Parting Glass but I only read one or two others.. Iron and Lace I think? Happy for my sister :) fun to get free books.

That is frightening, Kath. I'm glad that Cory is okay, and that this guy was caught before he could hurt anyone.

Thanks Darryl... I just hope they take the guns and keep

uh oh!

Broken Harbor: A Novel
by Tana French

I think I need this. Maybe I will get it and consider it a Thingaversary buy?
Since I'm not working, I try not to purchase new books .. but then again.. I haven't read her last one yet, so maybe I should wait til I can get it hardback and used?

Google Play? Oh dear... that looks good.

I haven't read her last one yet, so maybe I should wait til I can get it hardback and used?

My shelves are full of books I "needed" to buy, but by the time I get around to reading them, I've seen a gazillion copies at lower prices. :-{

right then. Wait it is.

Morning Kath!! I have the first Tana French in my TBR - need to bump it up?