leahbird try, tries again for 75 books

My name is Leah and I live in Tennessee. Until 3 years ago, I was a Cultural Anthropologist. Now I am a farmer, raising all-natural, free range chickens and pigs, tending my honeybees, and trying to master gardening (oh how I hate to weed). I am very interested in old ways of doing things and embracing the kind of foods/lifestyle my great-grandparents (who I grew up spending time with everyday) lived. So, I can fruits and veggies and am learning to make my own sausages and other preserved meats. I desperately want a dairy cow of my very own.

I also run a wedding business here on the farm. Check us out at Something Old Weddings. Oh, and I also work full time doing contracts for an underground construction company. I'm busy, but reading is my sanity.

As for my reading tastes, I read a lot of children's classics, myths and fairy tales (especially really good retellings), dystopian fiction, light fantasy (more urban/modern than Lord of the Rings and the like), dark humor, books about books, young adult novels (NOT Twilight), British humorists like Evelyn Waugh and P.G. Wodehouse, and non-fiction books about food, sustainability, organic/natural farming, and homemade/DIY ways of doing things.

“She is too fond of books, and it has turned her brain.”― Louisa May Alcott
"If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need."― Cicero

*Note: Descriptions are not mine, but mined from LT or other sources. Thoughts are all me.

Leah's Best Books of 2012
1. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern 5 stars
2. The Hangman's Daughter by Olier Potzsch 4.5 stars
3. What-the-Dickens by Gregory Maguire 4.5 stars
4. Sacre Bleu by Christopher Moore 4 stars
5. Soulless by Gail Carriger 4 stars
6. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M Valente 4 stars
7. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt 4 stars
8. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs 4 stars
9. The Woman Who Died a Lot by Jasper Fforde 4stars
10. One Day by David Nicholls 4 stars

Why hello there

And to you!

Welcome back!

You're starred!

Starred for 2013. But I'm grumbling about it not being 2013 yet!

Stopping by to say hi and to star the thread! =)

Hi Leah! Looking forward to seeing what good books come your way in 2013!

Dropping by to say hello, neighbor! (I'm in south Knoxville.) I hope you have a good reading year in 2013.

Glad to see you back with us again, Leah! Happy New Year!

Found and starred!

Happy New Year to all my LT friends!



My friends Wes and Lisa live in Seattle but always come back to TN for the holidays and always come spend a few days with me and the family. This year it was extra special because they are expecting their first baby. I've been so excited for them but this is the first time I've gotten to see Lisa since she found out and I was EXTRA excited to get to rub baby belly and talk to my soon-to-be new niece or nephew.

Then they made it even MORE wonderful by asking me if I would be the Godmother! I'm just super super thrilled! A lot of times being a godparent is more honorary than legitimately legal, but they want to go all the way and list me as the legal guardian if anything ever happens to them. Of course, I hope it NEVER comes to that but the fact that someone is literally entrusting me with their child is just about the most amazing, touching thing that has ever happened. Especially since Lisa lost her father when she was only 17 and her godfather, her father's best friend, very much stepped in and has remained her surrogate father for the past 13 years.

The second half of 2012 has been full of good things and 2013 looks to be shaping up to be more of the same. I'm feeling very blessed.

I wish amazing things for you all in the coming year as well.

Leah - Hope 2013 brings you everything you want from it. Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Leah!

Had a great New Year's Eve and now I'm off to bed to fall asleep to Doctor Who because then New Year's Eve can happen over and over and over. Night (or morning or afternoon) all!

Happy New Year Leah!

Stopping by to leave a star--Happy New Year!

Looking forward to your reading in 2013, Leah!

Wow! How cool that you will be a Godmother! That is one lucky baby!

Hi Leah. Starring your thread and dropping off a Big Congratulations on becoming a Godmother. You'll be wonderful.

I'm REALLY excited. I've already started spoiling him/her insanely. Now just to get them all back here full time and things will be better!

Hello, hello and happy new year! Also, congratulations on your impending godmotherhood. That's lovely.

Looking forward to great reads this year. :)

Glad to see you Sarah. I was searching all over for you earlier when I was starring everyone. I'm gonna run over and locate your thread now!

It's totally, completely disgusting outside. It's not been that cold yet this winter but it's been EXTREMELY rainy and it's a sea of mud out there now. It makes farm chores particularly unpleasant.

Everyone assumes that pigs really love mud but that's not exactly the case. Pigs are great diggers and extremely curious. Their noses rival that of great tracking dogs (in fact, they are used to hunt truffles like dogs are) so they use their rooting instinct to dig up goodies buried deep under ground. They also do need access to mud because they do not sweat and use the mud to regulate body temperature in hot weather. The mud cools them quickly and helps to transfer body heat into the air as it dries.

The problems arise when there is too much rain. Because of their digging instinct, pigs are pretty rough on their paddocks (one of the reasons pigs are so often raised in CAFOs -confined animal feeding operations- something farmers like me are trying to fight against) but if you want an area cleared of scrub and buried rocks, you can't beat them. When there is too much rain, the inconveniently bare areas of paddock turn into quagmires. It makes chores almost impossible. The biggest worry, however, is making sure the pigs don't get sick from staying cold and wet for extended periods and that they don't develop foot problems or injure themselves in the slippery conditions.

For the chickens, the major problem is keeping their feed dry. I typically feed in the yard because feeders that are in coops are a BIG draw for rodents that spread disease but have also been known to kill nesting chickens. When it's raining buckets for extended periods, feeding in the yard isn't possible because wet feed leads to moldy feed which leads to sick birds.

Also, rainy weather means the chickens stay in the coop a lot more which means that I spend a lot more time cleaning out the coop than usual. Typically, the only areas of the coop that get really dirty and need regular cleaning are nest boxes and directly under the roosts. When the chickens hang out inside most of the day for weeks at a time, that means I have to strip clean pretty much the entire coop on a weekly basis, sometimes even more.

The entire area around the barn has been churned up so much that it looks like chocolate pudding. We've had to break out all the elevated hay feeders to keep the hay from sitting in puddles in the field and getting moldy.

So, moral of this whole saga? The ONLY thing happy on the farm right now is Ricky the Goose, who couldn't be happier that the whole farm seems to be sinking into one giant pond. He's been out there splashing in puddles and squawking like a banshee for weeks. I could throttle him.

C'est la vie. If I disappear it's probably because I fell in the mud and drowned or got eaten.

It sounds like you've got what we used to call perfect "duck weather"!

Hope it dries out soon...for everyones' sakes, but especially for the safety of Ricky...

Wow, Leah, that sounds like alot of work but it was fascinating to read about. It made me think of a book that I got for my Christmas book swapee--The Seasons on Henry's Farm: A Year of Food and Life on a Sustainable Farm by Terra Brockman. Have you ever heard of it?

Ohhhh Ricky. At least someone is happy!

Go Ricky go! Enjoy it while you can, little man.

But ohhh Leah that sounds awful. And so much work! You really are dedicated to your animals and even if they can't tell you in words I know they appreciate you.

Yikes!!! I learned a lot about pigs when I read The Good Good Pig last year... absolutely fascinating creatures, they are, brilliant... but I can't say I envy you at the moment. I'll cross my fingers that it lets up soon, despite Ricky's delight!

>23 leahbird:: I got a bit of a late start with my thread, but it's good to have found each other again.

Sorry to hear that the weather isn't cooperative. Chin up! Hopefully it will change soon. In the meanwhile, know you are appreciated by your animals, and by those of us at the other end of the internet line, dry but totally impressed by your dedication. And your tolerance. That goose would have been dinner by now, were it me. ;)

#26 by @phebj> I hadn't heard of that one. Sounds good. There are a lot of that type of slow food/sustainable ag memoir on the market right now and most of them are a pleasure to read.

Thanks for all the words of encouragement. I think we're supposed to have some clear days this week, but who knows when things will actually dry up a significant amount. The soaking rain would be so much easier to live with if it wasn't for the damn mud.

Leah, I think you need this:



http://www.etsy.com/shop/BookFiend?ref=seller_info

OHH, that's lovely. I have a necklace with that quote on it that is a little wooden circle, but I love this styling of this one.

That's a beautiful necklace! And the quote is so apt.

Hi Leah! It looks like we appreciate the same types of books. I'll keep an eye on your thread. :)

I love reading about your farm. I admire you for all the hard work you have to do.

Sounds like you're having about the same type of weather as we have been having. Three weeks of solid rain before Christmas. Contrary to popular belief, England doesn't have as much rain as other countries think - yes, it rains often, but rarely in the vast amounts that have fallen out of the sky, we simply have continuous drizzle.

Interestingly enough, the area that I live in gets less rain per year than Jerusalem does!

Anyway, we are entirely waterlogged so that the horses can't go out because they'll destroy the fields, so they are all misbehaving as well. For once it would be lovely if we could have nice freezing cold weather to firm it up a bit. Even snow would be better.

We get a fair bit of rain, seeing as how I live in a temperate rain forest, but it's always at the wrong times. We had a drought this summer and then too much rain, so crops were basically ruined. Our winters are usually decently wet, but we don't get much snow (the mountains get the snow and we, in the foothills, get buckets of rain). However, it's usually a good soaking and then enough time to dry out. This year it's just been that damn continuous drizzle where nothing can dry out and the ground is so over-saturated that it's just turning to rivulets of chocolate pudding. It's so gross.

Unfortunately, we could never keep the horses up as we have 4 times as many horses as stalls, but they are coming into the barn in rotations for some dry winter feed and a chance to shake off. They aren't damaging the fields too much, other than around the barn, but the feed tractor is doing a number on them. Rather than eat up larger sections, they are just ruining a single, disgusting pathway that I'm sure will take ages to reseed come spring.

Stay dry and remember to take lots of hot chocolate or tea breaks as needed!

Well, I've finally done it. I just flipped my desk chair. In front of half the people I work with. It was super classy. I am, however, INFINITELY grateful that I changed OUT of the dress I was going to wear today and into jeans instead. That would have been... well, I probably would have had to take a leave of absence.

>39 leahbird: Wine for dinner. Solves all embarrassment problems.

I can't even tell you the number of times I have tripped and fallen in public, or walked around with my skirt tucked into my tights, or gotten home after an 8 hour day and realized my dress is ripped. You're not alone, sister!

No worries -- happens to the best of us. I'm sure it will be forgotten by morning. But yeah, good call on the jeans. :)

Happy New Thread! And I sympathize about the mud on the farm -- I've been visiting my grandparents' farm, which is mostly snow and ice right now, but by maple sugaring time the piles of snow will have melted into a morass of mud.

I don't embarrass all that easy, so this wasn't a terribly huge deal. Now, my dress flipping over my head along with my chair would have been just too much.

Wine though... hmmm good idea.

Ha! You know, for as shy and embarrassable as I am, I deal with situation like that pretty well I think. I'm sure I would have just laid there splayed out on the floor laughing until someone came to see if I was okay, then commented on how I never realized how ugly the underside of my desk is until now. :P

That's pretty much what happened. After making sure I hadn't smashed my nose and wasn't covered in blood, I started laughing hysterically. My boss and my coworker were concerned when I flipped, but probably more so when I was rolling back and forth laughing. I took the opportunity of already being on the floor to climb under my desk and fix the tangle of cords that's been bugging me for a while.

Hello Leah and welcome back and good luck in 2013.

Thanks! I need to stop trolling new threads and read something or this year is going to be a huge bust but I can't make myself stop!

That's like me! I spend all this time on the website when I could be reading a book....

If threads counted as books, I'd have probably finished the challenge yesterday...

Why in the world do I still feel the need to vocalize the answers to Jeopardy questions even though I'm watching by myself. Am I trying to convince my brain that I knew the answer? Maybe I'm doing it for the benefit of the dog.

Damn, I'm so distractable this evening. I came over here to mention a weird but cool thing that happened today and instead talked about Jeopardy and then went away and remembered. Shit. I'm going to blame Stephen, with whom I'm having a lovely get-to-know- you conversation.

ANYWAY. Today when I was at lunch the cafe tv was on Fox News (yuck) but they had a story about Doctor Who! It was about the 50th Anniversary and the commemorative stamps. It's the best thing that's ever come from Fox News. So, win!

Ohmigosh, Leah! I am seriously giggling over here. (Sorry. :D) You have no idea how often stuff like that happens to me, I'm such a freaking klutz. So I'll laugh and then hug you in solidarity.

As for Jeopardy... I'm afraid that's just what happens when you watch Jeopardy alone. We are each born with the innate need to shout trivia answers at a small screen, and Jeopardy is just the right outlet for it. I would give you encouragement that perhaps the neighbors will overhear you and be impressed by your erudition, but alas, you don't have any (neighbors, that is).

Yeah, no neighbors. The animals must think I'm a super smarty though.

No neighbors? Oh my goodness

Well they already knew that.

#54 by @gagirl101> Well, there are technically neighbors. They just aren't close enough to hear me talking to the tv. They probably aren't even close enough to hear me scream if I needed saving, but that's ok with me.

O.o haha not the same as apartment living ^^

They probably aren't even close enough to hear me scream if I needed saving

That's what Ricky the Goose is for.

Actually, he's probably going to get me killed one day. One of these rednecks is going to listen to screaming goose just long enough to plot my demise... and then eat my goose.

Can I tell my bizarre Jeopardy story? A number of years ago I had a doctor's appointment for a followup procedure following a kidney-stone removal and of course the resident and the nurse were doing all the work. There was a TV on the wall, apparently to take the hapless patient's mind off what was going on, and it happened to be tuned to Jeopardy. (I did manage to refrain from shouting the answers, but it was tough.) Anyway, about halfway through, the staff doctor (who was originally from Ireland but has been practicing the U.S. for 30 years) finally wandered into the procedure room. Did he check on what the resident was doing? Heck, no. He stood there next to my bed staring at the television. He was quiet for a long time, and finally he said (in a lovely Irish brogue), "So ... they give you the answer and you have to guess the question?" I really wanted to say, "Have you seriously never seen Jeopardy before, dude? And how about a little attention over here, since I'm paying you big bucks for this?"

All of which is to say, shout those answers out proudly, Leah!

HAHA. Other than being ignored by a doctor, which I HATE, that's a great story!

HOW WOULD YOU DECIDE?

Except that with Sherlock there is Martin Freeman (because I wouldn't want to replace him, just be his assistant) and this could happen at any time:



But then again, there's the whole of time and space. And I could hang out with River.

Crisis!

The Doctor's companion FOR SURE!! I mean, Sherlock and Watson are lovely but how could you pass up travelling through space and time? And as far as danger goes, it's soulless alien robots vs. sociopathic killers. Doctor wins again.

Um, yeah, I have to agree -- the Doctor wins it. Because as awesome as Sherlock is, I'm pretty sure I would want to punch him in that pretty face before the first day was up, whereas the Doctor I just want to hug. And travel with. But also hug.

What a delightful dilemma to have, though. :)

I'd probably pick The Doctor as well. For all the obvious reasons of time travel and for the fact that he's so weird and fun. Plus, if you choose The Doctor, you can always take your Doctor vacations with Sherlock and, supposing that the Tardis's clock is working correctly, Sherlock wouldn't even need to know you'd picked the other guy. Except that he'd probably figure it out since he would use that keen intellect to notice that you'd aged a couple years in the span on a minute...

Glad to hear that your fields are holding up okay.

Thankfully, from my side, the wet weather last year was a little bit of a blessing as it meant we got two extremely big crops of forage in. 2011 was terrible as there was a drought and the hay never grew, but last year there was tons of it. Not highest quality, but at least the price didn't shoot up again.

Not sure how it went for the other crops as I only know that round us got all theirs done in the gaps in the weather and I don't particularly follow it as a whole, being only interested in the horses.

The weather at the beginning of the year was extremely bad for my side though, as we had a month of drought at the beginning for the ground to go rock hard, and then rain so that first it just slipped off the surface, and then flooded everywhere. SO many horse events were cancelled because the ground was so bad, including a really big one that we had paid to go and watch, and rented a cottage for the week for. We ended up having a nice holiday but still annoying.

And don't worry. Although we don't have Jeopardy on this side of the pond, we still say answers at the TV. Especially when the contestant is being particularly stupid.

>62 leahbird: I would only pick The Doctor if it was Tennant. And like you said, I would only pick Sherlock if I could work with Martin Freeman. All night long.

Definitely the doctor. Although I'd have my will up to date because the companions don't seem to be very last-y.

I went through the mud thing in November. I had to build an island out of straw in my stud pen. The straw continually sank into the gook which meant I had to add more bales each day. And then it all froze up. :-) Unfotunately that means it will be a big mess in the spring thaw as all that straw will hold water longer.... and no way to get a tractor in there until it dries up.... Sometimes an apartment in the city sounds appealing!

#68 by @norabelle414> I would only pick Sherlock if I could work with Martin Freeman. All night long.

Get your dirty mittens off MY man. He won't have time for you because he'll be too busy making concerned, exasperated hmpf noises for my enjoyment.

You guys are adorable :D

I'd have to say the Doctor, too. As cool as Sherlock is, I'd probably want to punch him in the face at some point, and I couldn't do that to those cheekbones!

And Leah, you have an excellent point. How amazing would it be to hang out with River? She could give me lessons in innuendo! Bahahahaha!

Can't quite agree with only picking the Doctor if it was David Tennant. He is the only one I've adored, but I think I'd go with nearly anyone if I got to hang out in the Tardis and see the universe for a while.

And River. Couldn't resist. Plus the new companion (sorry for those who haven't seen her) is incredibly awesome and I can't wait to see where they go with it.

I think my theme this year is going to end up being "Stupid Things That Happened to Me Today, Mostly That I Did to Myself."

Clearly, the chair flipping would be on the list from yesterday.

Today it was walking out of work, getting in my car and looking for my cell phone. Not being able to find said cell phone, I thought to myself, being the smarty that I am, "I'll just call it." . . . . . . Because that's how you find things, by calling them on your imaginary phone.

Naturally, it was on my desk. I leave it there ALL the time. Because I hate it and have a secret desire for my coworkers to find it and see all the ridiculous text messages on it.

Sheesh.

Leah - I'm the lucky recipient of Pat's gift of The Seasons on Henry's Farm. Back on your 2012 thread, you mentioned Hastings. I've never heard of that store. I'll have to go check it out sometime when I've got a little time after a trip to Cades Cove or something. I guess I just always go to McKays in Knoxville or to White Pine Books in White Pine (about a mile or two south of exit 8 on I-81). Looking forward to keeping up with your 2013 thread.

Really, I don't think I'd bother with Hastings unless you really just happen to need something to do for a few minutes. That's usually how I end up there, just killing time until I meet someone or something.

McKay's is far superior and exciting. And I'm not even a huge fan of used books because I'm so specific about editions and condition. Another LOVELY new bookstore in Knoxville is Union Ave Books. It's so homey and they have a good selection.

>74 leahbird:: "'I'll just call it'" -- hahahahahahaha! I have had THAT EXACT SAME THOUGHT. I kid you not. But don't tell anyone, it is a little embarrassing. ;)

Also, I love the way you think -- the Doctor, but interludes with Sherlock anyway. Perfect.

Frankly, though, you can all have Martin Freeman. Precious, but he's a little too pocket-sized for me. Although, speaking of sexy and short, helloooo hot dwarves in the Hobbit movie. Can I keep Thorin Oakenshield? In the Tardis? While still visiting Sherlock on his good days?

>70 leahbird: Okay look. We can share him.

You get: Dr. Watson and Bilbo

I get: Porno stand-in from Love Actually, Arthur Dent, and Tim Canterbury.

*snort*

#78 by @norabelle414> I can mostly agree as long as we can share custody of Arthur Dent. And that I can convince Bilbo to wax his feet.

ETA: I'll even go 70/30 in your favor on Arthur Dent.

What, no love for Gary Shaller?

I haven't see The Good Night yet. Will have to remedy that.

I'm actually all about Simon Pegg. Not for the handsome but for the funny. :D If you haven't seen Hot Fuzz yet, do so immediately.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayTnvVpj9t4

When I watched Hot Fuzz, at first I thought it was a total dud. The first half was slow and a bit boring. And then, all of the sudden, it turned AWESOME. I laughed my ass off.

I like Simon Pegg for the funny too. I've watched Run Fatboy, Run several times and I laugh as hard each time.

Shaun of the Dead was like that for me-- I was just thinking WTF is everyone talking about this movie for, and then BAM.

okay

Love the info on the chickens.. I am a great fan of chickens...

I totally want that necklace! I have used that quote on my email as a sig. off and on for years...

Sorry about the chair thing. If it makes you feel any better, I was standing in the hall talking with some folks where I used to work, and fell off my Halflingers. I stepped back and totally lost my balance and went flat on my back. It was one of several falls there, but the stupidest, and the only one not caused by weather or kids toys.

>80 leahbird: 75/25 and I'll wax Bilbo's feet if you hold him down.

Simon Pegg was so adorable in Star Trek. And I liked Run Fatboy Run, too.

>Although I'd have my will up to date because the companions don't seem to be very last-y.

I don't watch Dr. Who and even I know that. The companions are almost as bad as redshirts.

::snort:: It's so true.

My Lover. Especially the top right. OH yeah.

He does look particularly dashing in the top right one.

Not sure about your choice in lovers - looks like it could become a bad hobit! (cringeworthy pun apologised for).
Thread rocking at the start of the year Leah. Have a great weekend.

Hehe. That was good for a hearty chuckle Paul!

Another strange tangent for my decidedly nonbookish thread (so far, please god, let it only be so far): I've been a nail bitter my entire life. I've tried to kick the habit a million times but it's subconscious at this point. I actually realized a few weeks ago that I even bite my nails when in that foggy almost asleep state. The only thing that keeps me from biting them is if they are polished. I've managed to keep from biting them for 3 weeks now by constantly keeping them polished. Yay me.

The new problem is that I also seem to have a pathological need to pick at chipped nail polish. I spent more time than I'd like to admit doing my nails last night and while watching tv earlier I managed to peel the polish off every single nail. Completely.

So, who's got recommendations on really stellar nail polish that won't chip easily? I'm just going to get a manicure tomorrow, but I won't be able to do that all the time and need a back up plan. Because I'm 30 now and would like to have the hands of a woman rather than the hands of a 7 year old.

Have you tried Pinterest? They probably have all kinds of nail polish hints. I see nail designs there all the time.

I'm a Pintrest addict but I think I'm trolling the wrong sections to be picking up nail tips. ALTHOUGH, I did see an awesome nail polish called Weeping Angels!!!

Do what I do and go polish-free. ;) I can't keep it on my nails either so I have short, plain nails. I like it tons better than color anyway. I do polish my toes though.

>94 leahbird: I have the same problem, Leah. Um. Except. Sometimes I find myself sub-consciously biting my nails even with the nail polish on . . . .

As for chipping, I have found that using a top-coat seriously reduces chipping. But it increases peeling. So if you're a chipper, but not a peeler, then try using a top-coat. If you're a chipper AND a peeler, then let me scoot over and make room for you in this boat we're both in.

Oh I don't know how I missed the polish is for nail-biting. I guess polish-free won't work! Or maybe it will-- if you can see the layer of grime that builds up under your nails from farm work, you won't want to eat it.

And even when you can't see it, it's still there... germs just lurking, waiting to be ingested, so they can infect your whole body...

ETA: A coworker of mine uses the shellac polish at the nail place. It lasts FOREVER normally. But IDK how it holds up to self-inflicted wear.

Wow, lots of action and lots of fun here, Leah! Hope the mud dries up soon--send the rain to central Kansas, they are still in drought. And I'm not one to ask about nail polish--can't keep it on my fingers to save my life! And while I was an inveterate nail biter as a child, now I just worry at them when they are uneven or tear.

It's normally where friends pin them that I see it. I did a search on nail polish tips and one was a chip resistant polish (or claimed to be).

#98 by @norabelle414> If you're a chipper AND a peeler, then let me scoot over and make room for you in this boat we're both in.

Well, get to scooting. I can keep from peeling until there is a chip, even the tiniest chip, and then all bets are off. Tonight I had just one little bitty chip in the bottom of one nail and yet had to peel every single one off. Yikes.

#99 by @UnrulySun> It's ok Kathy, I wish I could just go polish-free. The temptation is just too great. As you said, the grime beneath my nails is driving me bonkers. It's something that's so unfamiliar (because before I had literally nothing for it to get under).

#100 by @ronincats> Thanks for dropping by Roni!

Leah - enjoying your thread. Laughed through your chair and phone incidents. Agree about some of those hobbit dwarves - very cute.
Like you, I'm spending all my spare time reading threads and have only managed a few pages of reading in the last couple of days.

I'm not a nail biter ( congrats on making great progress in your battle)
but, my nails peel. Awful. I hope you find something that works for you..
I always have a high chip rate if I polish mine too.. I use a clear polish to
stop the peeling. Sort of.

The weirdest thing is - when I quit smoking, I also quit biting my nails. The urge to bite them just went away. No idea why.

Morphy, I'm slowly winning the battle with both. I do see a bit of correlation. That old oral fixation dies when you stop giving it attention. I've not bitten my nails in weeks and I'm down to about 1-2 smokes a day! I had almost quit before I went back to work last summer but my main trigger is being in the car and the 45 min commute each way destroyed my progress. My goal is that my 30th year of life will be my big life changer in all kinds of positive way. It's going really well so far.

I set aside Pyg, which I've been reading since earlyish December because I seriously needed to jump start myself out of this reading slump. Pyg is good, but it's not helping me move along quick enough. I decided to take a page out of Nora's book and tackle a short story collection. Hopefully this will get me back to Pyg and reading like crazy again.

1. Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm: A New English Version by Philip Pullman


Description: Two centuries ago, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published the first volume of Children’s and Household Tales. Now Philip Pullman, one of the most accomplished authors of our time, makes us fall in love all over again with the immortal tales of the Brothers Grimm.

Pullman retells his fifty favorites, from much-loved stories like “Cinderella” and “Rumpelstiltskin,” “Rapunzel” and “Hansel and Gretel” to lesser-known treasures like “The Three Snake Leaves," "Godfather Death" and "The Girl with No Hands." At the end of each tale he offers a brief personal commentary, opening a window on the sources of the tales, the various forms they've taken over the centuries and their everlasting appeal.

Suffused with romance and villainy, danger and wit, the Grimms' fairy tales have inspired Pullman's unique creative vision—and his beguiling retellings will draw you back into a world that has long cast a spell on the Western imagination.

Thoughts: I have been eagerly looking forward to this book since it was announced. I love classic folk tales and I love Philip Pullman's writing, so this was right up my alley. I was surprised to receive it as a Christmas gift from my sister. I mean, it was on my Birthday/Christmas list, but she usually only buys me books that she wants to read herself (case in point: she also got me the deluxe edition of The Last Unicorn, one of our favorite books/movies from childhood). Reading the introduction, you get a real feel for how much Pullman invested time in really understanding how and why the brothers began their undertaking and how much of themselves they put into these "collected folk tales."

Many of these stories I've never read in their mostly original form. I'm familiar with a much larger number of them, but apparently what I know of the tales is generally the much later retelling. It's great to delve into these stories with such a great guide.

Each story is presented, via Pullman's "new English translation," and then there is a bit at the end where Pullman classifies each story and writes a short discussion. It's very scholarly feeling and I love it. This is what it looks like:

Tale Type: ATU 440, "The Frog King'
Source: a story told to the Grimm brothers by the Wild Family
Similar Stories: Katherine M. Briggs: "The Frog," "The Frog Prince," "The Frog Sweetheart," "The Praddo"

1.1 The Frog King, or Iron Heinrich: This is so not the story I'm familiar with. You know, where the princess kisses the frog and he turns into a handsome prince and they live happily ever after. For one, this princess is a bitch who only keeps promises because her father makes her. Second, there is some truly weird details about the frog wanting to sleep in her bed and eat from her plate. Most importantly, though, is that there is no kiss! He turns human again AFTER SHE THROWS HIM AGAINST THE WALL! It's very weird. They still ride off into the sunset together, but I can't for the life of me figure out why.

Also, there is what feels like a completely different story tacked onto the end, the story of Iron Heinrich, the faithful manservant of the prince-who-was-a-frog. I won't go into details because I don't want to spoil anything. I will just say that you should read this story mostly for the end with Heinrich.

That old oral fixation dies when you stop giving it attention.

I imagine so. :(

Oh, and good luck with the no s-m-o-k-i-n-g business. I was fortunate not to ever start in high school, despite the fact that every single person in my family smokes, except my mom.

I got an e-book version of Grimm's Fairy Tales last year and have been dipping in and out of it on occasion. I'm always surprised at how much more violent and dark the original stories were! Murder, incest and cannibalism, oh my. The Pullman edition sounds like it would be a really nice one to read with all the context provided.

We got that book via our leased book program at our academic library, and it was still sitting on the shelf when I left for Christmas (about a week after its arrival). I really had expected someone to check it out before break. It's one of those we got because we knew we'd want to keep it though. Maybe someone who came in after I left got it. I would hate to see it languishing on the shelf without someone to read it when I get back.

I couldn't resist adding that one to my wishlist. As a child I loved reading fairy tales. I was particularly fond of two collections of my grandmother's. Whenever we visited her (once or twice a year) I would head straight for the bookshelf, pull one of them out, and spend what seemed like hours reading the fairy tales. My other grandmother's special bedtime story was Rumpelstiltskin. My brother and I would beg her to tell it to us. We especially liked it when she fell asleep while telling the story. She talked in her sleep, and sometimes the embellishments were really funny.

I've been thinking about reading Pullman's Grimm book...it'll be good to see your thoughts.

1.2 The Cat and The Mouse Set Up House: A lying, conniving cat does not make a good husband for a mouse. End of story.

1.3 The Boy Who Left Home to Find Out About the Shivers: Hmm, this story leaves me torn. It's basically about a "simpleton" who doesn't know enough to understand what people mean when they say "that gives me the shivers" and his understanding of the world is so basic that he has no fear. There is some messed up gruesome stuff in this one and I have a problem with the ethical ramifications of a story about someone who would seem to have a mental development issue but ultimately this story is about being fearless and determined even when the world is basically telling you that you will amount to nothing.

In the end, the way he finally gets the shivers is... weird and suggestive. Pullman notes that another version of this story from another writer places an overtly sexual nature on him finally getting the shivers. Just weird.

1.4 Faithful Johannes: This is the story of the ever faithful servant who will do anything, including sacrificing himself, to serve his king. There is the usual exceedingly beautiful woman, the love at first sight, and the servant who overhears how to save everyone but to do so will most likely cost him his own life.

I'm rather uncomfortable with the old folk tales that basically involve kidnapping a princess in the hopes that she will willingly marry you and the end of this tale has a quite unthinkably violent moment, but it's nice to read a story where the servant's dedication doesn't go completely unrewarded by some self centered, ungrateful royals.

1.5 The Twelve Brothers: This is one of the early foundations for the ever popular stories about a girl with 12 (or 7 or 10 or however many) brothers who are turned into birds by her innocent actions and she is given an almost impossible task to save them. I've read/heard/seen a few other versions but I have to say that I really liked this telling. Don't know how much of it was Grimm and how much was Pullman, but it was good.
________

So far, I'm being reminded how freakishly violent and harsh these stories can be and just how often they involve someone being kidnapped or beheaded or suffering for years and years and years. Sheesh.

On a totally different note, I took my friend Todd out for his birthday this afternoon. After a fantastic really late lunch or really early dinner at the new Tupelo Honey Cafe in Knoxville (thornton, cbl- get there if you haven't already because it's GREAT), we wandered down to one of the new little bookshops and I bought Mr. Penumbra's 24 Hour Bookstore after it was getting so much attention here on LT and on just about every good bookstore's staff picks.

I've been to the Tupelo Honey Cafe in Asheville but haven't made it to the one at Market Square yet. I really must do that soon!

I would advise doing as we did and going at 4:30. There was already a 25 minute wait for a table. We snagged some first come seats at the bar but even that was packed within 20 minutes of us sitting down. The couple next to us only managed 1 seat so the husband ate standing. The food, atmosphere, and service was great and I can hardily recommend them, even though they did poach one of our best assistant managers/bartenders from my family's restaurant (she waited on us at the bar today which made it even better).

Somehow I had convinced myself that I hadn't seen the Christmas episode of Downton Abbey so I'm watching it now but I'm now remembering watching it at some point. Still boohooing over Bates. FREE BATES! Can't wait til tomorrow night! 23 hours til Downton!

Misread (which appears to be a common theme at the moment) that you said

'just how often they involve someone being kidnapped or beheaded and suffering for years and years and years.

Was intrigued as to how this could be. Then remembered it was fairy tales so would make more sense, but something seemed to be nagging at the edge of the logic. Then I reread.

Think I might go back to bed.

HAPPY DOWNTON DAY!

I know, I'm so excited!! I've cleared my shed-yule for this evening so I can watch unhindered... hopefully.

The best thing about TODAY being Downton day is that my mom, who I usually watch with, is out of town. Which means I can watch the whole episode without having to pause to catch her up, remind her what happened before, or explain something she doesn't understand. It's going to be AMAZING!

Truly Hilarious Explanation of Characters in Les Mis

Seriously Funny. Poor Cosette.

Was very confused reading your excitement over a new Downton series, and then realised you are just starting season three. I couldn't for the life of me work out how you would have seen the Christmas special and then be getting the new season when we haven't got it yet.

And supposedly I'm intelligent.............*sigh*

You just need a reboot! Power nap usually does it, if you can fight the sleep hangover.

We are now getting Doctor Who at the same time as England, but we're still woefully behind on almost everything else, including but certainly not limited to: DA, Sherlock, Call the Midwife, and even Top Gear, which I sometimes watch because the guys are silly and do silly things and have on cool guests. Too bad I don't really give a shit about cars...

I don't either but do enjoy Top Gear, especially the special travel episodes, although the most recent one in India was rubbish. Top Gear is one of the things that gets put on in the background in our house as J (my best friend) needs the TV on the whole time.

If it's any consolation, we're behind you on everything coming over from there! Although I think Greys Anatomy is the only thing I usually watch and that I just find on the internet. It's not shown on any mainstream channel here at all so doesn't have a big following.

Used to watch ER and that was always at least a season behind. Think that's all I've ever religiously seen.

#122 -- LOL!

That Les Mis thing is great, leah!

Why I Love Martin Freeman

It's Downton Abbey time! BEWARE OF SPOILERS

This is NOT a spoiler free zone, so if you haven't watched the first episode of season 3, beware of spoilers.

BWAAAA! Bates in jail makes me loose it.

How can these people loose their fortunes so often?

On of my favorite things about Downton is how they highlight that the estates weren't just for the benefit and pleasure of the aristocrats but also as a major employer for the entire district. Like in the first season when Matthew didn't particularly want a valet but Robert made him understand that choosing to dress himself would mean that loyal Mosely would be out of a job. The system was obviously imperfect, but it kept lots and lots of people employed.

Branson. Swoon. So glad they are back!

How did O'Brian get an attractive nephew?

1920s roofies! What will they think of next?

Shirley McLain just had the very best entrance EVER.

Oh Mary and Matthew. Can they ever get it together?

In her wedding dress and robe, Mary looks like Princess Leia. Didn't anyone see that in fittings?

Now, THAT is what a bride should look like!

Wouldn't it be amazing to have a whole town of people waving to you on your ride to your wedding? Maybe when I get married (IF I get married) I can just hire a bunch of people to dress in period garb and wave flags!

War brewing between O'Brian and Thomas is kind of terrifying!

Wish Edith and Sir Anthony would work it out.

"Are you not popular downstairs?" HA!

Mrs Hughes can't be dying. And the family can't loose the estate... I mean, you can't have a show called Downton Abbey that doesn't take place in Downton Abbey.

All in all, a very good episode!

I have to confess that I have a hard time liking Cora because she's so easily manipulated by O'Brian.

And why doesn't anybody ever listen to Daisy? She's often right.

Agree on both accounts. It shocks me time and again that Cora can't see what O'Brian is like.

La la la la ... skipping the Downton Abbey posts until I have a chance to watch the episode tomorrow night. Thank you for the spoiler alert! Carry on ...

#133 -- I'm in the same boat. I've been re-watching the first two seasons (got the DVDs for Christmas!), but I don't get PBS on my TV, so I have to wait until I can watch online.

No PBS? No local stations? Awww.

Leah I think Matthew may figure out a way to keep the money. Like using a portion to set up a foundation in Lavinia's name, or taking in a family member, or some such. Surely something has to happen to keep DA.

1.6 Little Brother and Little Sister: I actually really liked this story of a brother and sister who run away from an evil step mother only for the brother to be turned into a deer by one of her spells. Naturally, there are plenty of folk tale mainstays in this tale- I mean, just how many eligible kings can their be? How many beautiful maidens?- but it's one of the rare Grimm ghost stories. Nice development.

1.7 Rapunzel: I thought I had read the original Grimm version of Rapunzel. I recognized the beginning of the story with the father stealing rapunzel greens (lamb's lettuce) from a witch's garden and the witch taking their child as punishment. What I DON'T ever remember reading is the bit where Rapunzel gets herself into a delicate situation, the prince gets blinded by a thorn bush, and they each, separately, spend a lot of time as beggars. A knocked up Rapunzel is a VERY different message than I was expecting.

1.8 The Three Little Men in the Woods: This is VERY Cinderella-ish except with the added benefit of three little men who reward nice girls with beauty and riches. Naturally, SOMEONE'S head has to be cut off, but happy endings all around?

1.9 Hansel and Gretel: Again, there always seem to be little bits of these stories that I've never heard before. This time it was an interlude with a duck. Who knew?

1.10 The Three Snake Leaves: This one is totally new to me and it's kind of gruesomely awesome! I won't ruin it because it really should be read, but let's just say you haven't seen a bridezilla like this one before!

I'm going to try to be good and review these in MUCH larger batches from this point on because their are 50 stories in all and otherwise I'd need a whole other thread to get at them this way. But I'm really enjoying this book so far.

I'm enjoying your summaries of the fairy tales, Leah!

Glad someone is. I was worried they were becoming tedious. Since I'm only 1/5 through that would be terrible!

>135 UnrulySun: Can't they, like, name a room at Downton after Lavinia, and then use the rest of the money?? They could call the bedroom where she died "The Lavinia Bedroom" or something. Or put a plaque on that bench under the tree.

Lean, I'm working on the Grimm's Fairy Tales translation by Pullman right now, myself. I'm really enjoying it so far.

Oh yay! Feel free to share your thoughts! I'd love to compare favorites and duds. ;)

Oh no Leah, I'm enjoying the fairy tale summaries too. It makes me want to go read some of the old Grimm tales... which I probably won't get around to, but I have some other short story collections I may dust off soon.

Nora: That's what I'm thinking, some sort of memorial or rememberance of Lavinia, and keep the rest of the money. Won't it disappear completely if he doesn't accept it? Who would get it, the gov't? The bank?

>142 UnrulySun: I think if he gives it up it will go to the next person in line

Didn't he mention that since the other heir died before Lavinia's father, he didn't stand to inherit anything?

ETA: I mean the other guy's family didn't stand to inherit.

Oh, it's definitely Matthew's. The only thing he could do would be to gift it away. I mean, he COULD give it to the other possible heirs' heirs, but it wouldn't default to them. I guess if he refused it it would got to the government?

Oh I see. He would accept, but give it away. Could he simply refuse it outright? Where would it go then? Where are our resident estate lawyers when we need them??

Me, too! (on enjoying the fairy tale summaries)

Every time I see someone reading the Grimm collections I say I'm going to peruse them in the near future.

...and then I never do...

1.11 The Fisherman and His Wife: A fisherman catches a magical fish and his terrible wife takes advantage of many wishes. Overly long and repetitive. There are too many terrible old women in these stories.

1.12 The Brave Little Tailor: A story about a tailor who kills 7 flies and apparently that makes him the smartest, bravest person in the kingdom. He deals with giants and rowdy animals through wit rather than strength. Ultimately, I couldn't believe that a guy who wasn't smart enough not to leave his jam toast next to an open window was smart enough to outwit and entire kingdom...

1.13 Cinderella: This is the Grimms traditional Aschenputtel story with a bit of the English Mossycoat story (which I've never read and now want to). There is lots of added charm to this story. The ball goes on for 3 nights so there are 3 beautiful dresses for Cinderella but the best part is where her dresses come from. Hint: It's not a fairy godmother. You should read it because that bit is very nice. The biggest negative, one that almost ruins the story for me, is that Cinderella's father is alive. The idea of this father who speaks like he cares for his child yet he lets her be treated so poorly by his wife and stepdaughters... I just can't get past that.

1.14 The Riddle: Yeah, this one was pretty pointless. Except for this hilarious, very modern sounding section: "The prince's servant had taken his place, and when the maid came in he snatched away the robe she'd covered herself with, and chased her away with a stick. So that didn't work." It make me snort when I read it.

1.15 The Mouse, The Bird, and the Sausage: First line: "A mouse, a bird, and a sausage decided to set up home together." Need I say more? This does have a nice moral but it's so utterly ridiculous that it's not worth even this many words.

1.16 Little Red Riding Hood: Story just as we all probably know it. The thing that's always made my nose twitch about this one is, well, HOW does one sleep through having their belly snipped open, filled with rocks, and sewn shut again? This is a ridiculous train of thought given that it doesn't bother me that 2 fully formed people were retrieved, whole and unharmed, from said stomach, but that's neither her nor there.

An interesting note from Pullman regarding this story and Cinderella: Charles Perrault's versions are arguably more well known in Britain, the US, and France than those of the Grimms. What's notable is that Perrault happied up the ending of Cinderella (no stepsisters get their eyes plucked out) but didn't rescue Granny and Little Red Riding Hood from the belly of the wolf- his version ends with them being eaten to serve as a strong morality tale. It's intriguing that Perrault found the systematic abuse of Cinderella to be less morally degrading than the sin of Red wandering off the path to pick flowers...

1.17 The Musicians of Bremen: I like this story a lot. Especially the description the robber gives after he runs from the house!

1.18 The Singing Bone: Evil brother kills innocent brother and almost gets away with it. Almost.

1.19 The Devil with the Three Golden Hairs: In case you were wondering, the Devil is a granny's boy.

1.20 The Girl With No Hands: This story is terrible. But it afforded Pullman a chance to make a wonderful observation:

"'But aren't fairy tales supposed to be full of preposterous things?'

No. The resurrection of the little boy in 'The Juniper Tree,' for example, feels truthful and right. This feels merely silly: instead of being struck by wonder, here we laugh. It's ridiculous. This tale and other like it must have spoken very deeply to many audiences, though, for it to spread so widely, or perhaps a great many people like stories of maiming, cruelty, and sentimental piety."

I've only read 20 of the 50 stories, but I'm very nearly halfway through the book. I guess the other 30 are quite short. Hope to get through them in the next day or so.

#148 by @Ape> Do it! Get this one! tapestry is reading it too!

I would have to check my library and the likelihood that they have a specific edition is slim, but maybe the next time I'm in there I'll see what they have.

Your synopses are making me laugh Leah! But in regard to the depiction of so many evil women, and not finding the abuse of Cinderella as bad as we do... it's trite but true-- that was the time they lived in. Women made lovely scapegoats. Witch trials, anyone?

Where did the evening go? Crap. I never got around to eating dinner and now it's time for bed.

Blergh. Can you skip it or will it make you ill? I'd be a wreck without supper!

I can easily skip it but the problem is that I've skipped it several times this week. I don't eat enough. Which makes being overweight really annoying.

No shit, IKR?!

But I have to watch my blood sugar levels, so I'd eat something. Or suffer the Wrath of Migraine!

Well, never a dull moment around here. A pack of coyotes just invaded the pasture where my chickens are. How do they always seem to know when I'm alone on the farm? For now, a few warning shots were enough to scatter them but they are never deterred for long. They've never actually gotten into the chicken fences but I will be obsessively checking fence chargers tomorrow when I get home from work. I have to say, a yipping pack of coyotes close to you in the dark is one of the fastest ways to get the hibbie-jibbies.

Eek. Very glad I live in England! The worst we have are foxes, which I happen to think are cute but the chickens don't appreciate being eaten by.

We used to have wolves but they died out over two hundred years ago, even in Scotland.

We get foxes too. The only thing that's ever penetrated the chicken fences was some sort of weasel I believe. It killed all my Silkies over a weekend but didn't touch Ricky Goose who was in the same pen. I lost 2 nesting hens to a bloody minded big barn rat last year. When I finally found his hiding spot I showed no mercy. It's bad enough when rats eat incubating eggs, but to kill the hen as well was just too much.

The coyotes have been getting worse the past few years. Packs are getting bigger and braver and where we used to hear them in the distance they are now prowling around the paddocks and getting VERY close to the house. The place across from the our farm has guardian donkeys in with their calved heifers and some nights I can lay in bed and listen to them stomp the bejesus out of a coyote. Our donkey is so old and decrepit that I worry about him getting attacked rather than doing the attacking.

Grr, coyotes are a nuisance. Poor chickens.

Someone just showed me a picture of the biggest bobcat I've ever seen. He took the picture from his deerblind. He was wondering why there were no deer on a usually quite-populated area. Well, turns out he's got a bobcat as big as a deer!! Long legs, stocky, huge. He's probably terrorizing the whole area. He called the game warden but they didn't believe the cat was that big.

Ugh, I hate rats. They are one of the only animals that I would happily kill without feeling any regret whatsoever. Others I know are a necessity, but them I would do it anyway.

The yard where I used to work was two sides, front and back. There was a lot of light on the front yard but only a motion sensor light at the back. When we went round there in order to feed the horses or put them to bed in the dark, we'd often discover a HUGE rat sitting in the middle of the path with his little minions around. Cat sized rat. His friends would scurry off and hide but he would sit there and try to outstare you, only sauntering off when you got within striking distance.

He was also covered in scars and only had one eye. Clearly survived a decent number of fights. I hated him with a passion.

I have had little rats as pets and I love them. They are incredibly social and affectionate.

Barn rats might as well be an alien species compared to house rats. Barn rats are the devil. They are huge and aggressive and disgusting and will eat anything and everything that they can get their grubby paws on. ::shudder:: We have had barn cats KILLED by barn rats. We are currently overrun by pigeons because the cats won't stay in the barn any longer.

This article is a great discussion of the "Fake Geek Girl" thing that's been going around: Why the Fake Geek Girl Meme Needs to Die

As soon as I started seeing this stuff popping up on the net, it really rubbed me wrong. Mostly because I think it's incredibly asinine to try to tell someone that they aren't really a fan of something. I mean, WHAT? I think the real issue here is that geek culture is so mainstream and popular now that there is a backlash by those who feel they are the true owners of it. I mean, I can say that it's frustrating- as a not gorgeous, thin, outrageously popular girl- when you have something that you feel sets you apart and gives you something special and then the hot girl next door is into the same thing. But does that mean that she's faking it or that it's not ok for her to be into it? No, of course not.

I think these angry geek guys are railing against the "fake geek girls" because it's safer for them to do so than to attack hot pseudo-geek guys. I mean, if they alienate all the buff, Captain America types of alpha males who will act in their hetero males fantasy movies?

I feel the same way as you on all accounts. Being a nerdy book-guy would, at one time, been the one thing that made me admirable in some people's eyes, but now that the nerdy guys are the tall/charming type with nerdy glasses it really puts me back at the bottom of the totem pole once again. :(

However, that's no reason to claim someone is not a geek just because you don't like that them. We can be angry at the situation, but the people aren't doing anything wrong.

Besides, I should be happy that my behavior, which might normally be considered strange, is being popularized and made acceptable by the likes of The Big Bang Theory and its ilk. :)

Exactly. I think it's just as ridiculous to say that some super hot girl can't possibly be a geek as to say that a plain, awkward looking girl can't be totally kick ass awesome. It's also discounting the girls who just randomly turn hot. My cousin Annie, who I talk about here all the time, was always pretty but in a kind of awkward kind of way. She's always been a reader and into geeky, indie stuff. She would not have been seen as a contender for "fake geek girl," just a geek girl. Now, between turning 16 and 17, she blossomed like crazy and is gorgeous. Someone was hating on her on FB the other day (I almost stepped in but then realized she was handling the situation VERY well, thank you very much) because she was geeking about John Green and this person said she was only into him because he was mainstream now. What a teenage toolbag.

I am kind of strange in that I like listening to the "coyote parties" that go on at night in the woods behind our house. But I don't have any small animals out at night... that would probably change my mind in a hurry.

I completely agree that pet rats are entirely different than barn rats. My son has two pets, Whiskers and Nibbles. They are sweet and smart and curious and friendly. Not so the barn rats! I try to keep the barn rat-free, as I'm afraid they'd hurt my little dog who hangs out in the barn when I'm at work. (My Lexie dog is so not a rat hunter.)

I like listening to coyotes when I know they aren't close by and possibly about to ravage my livestock. It's is eerily beautiful. But when they are in the pastures and near the house, all bets are off. Creeptastic.

Enjoying the fairy tales!

I'm having "Reading a Great Book for the First Time" envy! Kath is reading Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore and all those people over on Morphy's Green Dragon thread are reading The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle. Don't you ever wish you could go back to a state of never having read a favorite book so you could experience it for the first time all over again?

Definitely! But then again, my memory is so terrible that I'm sure if I wait a decade or so I can re-read books and they'll feel new again, so...hurray?

This quote has been at the top of my 75ers threads this year and last. I LOVE this image of it:

I'm not quite as far as you are in the Grimm's yet. I'll have to sit down and catch up with you this weekend and we can compare notes. =)

Sounds great! I think I'm up to 23. But that will probably go up after my reading/lunch break (which I'm heading to now). Once you get past 20 they are much shorter.

This guy can be a little crazy sometimes, but he's never wrong when it comes to our food supply.

That's crazy, how quickly our worlds have changed. Eesh.

It's also very important to realize that the rise of supermarkets was only possible because it was coming about at the same time as the rise of industrialized farming. Which was only possible because of the technology and industries that would otherwise have become useless after WWII (factories that supplied nitrogen for explosives during the war were changed over to nitrogen fertilizer companies after). It's no wonder a company that started out in the war business now controls the vast majority of the world's food. In case you don't know, Monsanto is evil. And insidious. Chances are, almost everything you've eaten today (and every day) has some contact with Monsanto.

While I agree with the sentiment, the idea is skewed. 1946? Maybe the modern refrigerated-aisle supermarket. But what about farmer's markets, agoras, general stores, etc? People lived in cities long before 1946.

Oh, it's definitely the modern concept of supermarket. Markets as you mention have been around for centuries. But even those markets were driven by seasons and local community supported goods. "Supermarkets" changed the whole system.

I am enjoying your takes on the fairy tales, Leah, and I look forward to reading more. Thanks!

I think electric refrigeration may have led to a larger corporate farming system, and the boom of the supermarket industry, but there has always been a manipulative and coercive food trade.

Also, pre-modern markets were driven by the seasons not out of any sense of community or ecological responsibility. They functioned that way out of necessity.

I don't necessarily see the supermarket as the "bad guy" in today's food woes. I believe it's human greed on both sides of the equation that has turned it into such a monster.

Leah, I hope you don't read my posts as argumentative (in anything other than a discussive way)! I enjoy your food posts and chat. I also feel strongly about these things, and like to talk about it. I think it's important to strive for better, I just don't necessarily think "older" always equals "better", KWIM? And that graphic irritated me because it implied that modern=bad and older=noble. The idea of wanting to get back to fresher, local foods is wonderful; the delivery in that graphic wasn't, to me.

No, I don't blame supermarkets. They are a symptom of a bad system not the cause. It's just that the supermarket system is so entrenched now that people don't usually realize what a recent development it is or that it was not a natural progression. It wasn't really need or customer demand that drove us to our current system, it was that the means of production existed and needed an outlet. The presence of chemical fertilizers and, like you pointed to, large manufacturing (which was dramatically ramped up for war production) was switched over to things like refrigeration and processed foods.

>182 UnrulySun: Oh I don't read it as argumentative. Even if I did, I wouldn't mind. I like a good well reasoned argument!

OK good. :) Except now I think we agree, so what's left to argue! LOL

YAY! ;)

I was super thrilled to find out that I could finally get a whole home DVR system (DirecTV's Genie). The nicest thing about it (other than being able to watch recorded shows in whatever room I want) is that I can record up to 5 shows at once. I have had to cancel things several times because the old system only recorded 2 shows at a time. This isn't such a problem except for the shows that don't get reshown.

Anyway, they were coming today to set it up. I thought I'd be able to keep the old DVR while I finished up watching some shows I'd recorded. This was all taking place while I was at work so my Mom met the tech. I got home to find out that the old DVR was incompatible with the new dish and therefore the 2 seasons of Fringe I'd recorded on New Years Eve and New Years Day were wasted... I was bummed but oh well.

I didn't even THINK until the guy was gone that I didn't make a list of the shows I've been recording. I thought I'd have a month at least to do that while watching the recorded shows. So now I have to try to remember everything that I record... which sounds like it should be easy but isn't at all because several things are on sporadically or haven't restarted for the year. NOOO!

Oh. My. Gosh. My tv-watching world would collapse!! What chaos! :(

But it'll be really awesome once you get re-setup. I can only record two things at once on mine, which isn't enough during premiere week. But we have another box in the office so it gets the spillover. Two is enough once I cull out the shows I don't want to end up watching, but it sucks when new things start.

Two was usually enough except when there were special things on and then I got super irritated that I had to choose!

I've never had a box in my bedroom but I got one now. This could be seriously dangerous. Especially since I now get free On Demand! I've never had On Demand at all, so I'm thrilled!

Hahaha, we'll never see you again!

I think your reading might drop dramatically from this point onwards!

Nah. I'm sure I can balance... oh, wait what's that on the movie channel?

I'm really thankful for it today actually because I started feeling VERY ill on my way home from work and I am now in bed enjoying some Tivo. Especially sweet because I conned my brother into doing my evening chores!

If you didn't catch Ryan Gosling on Jimmy Kimmel last night (ahem, Nora), you misseed a fantastic story about him buying a bazillion boxes of Girl Scout cookies and then giving them away. It was hilarious and really sweet.

I got a bit of reading done today but formatting a real post on my Kindle is too difficult for my current state of yucky. Catch it up later.

>191 leahbird: Joke's on you, I'm watching it on Hulu right now.

Should have known. It's so awesome!

Thank heaven for my germaphobic office manager. I called her this morning to say that I would be coming in late because I was still sick but that I had things that HAD to be done today, so I'd drag myself in long enough to get those things done. She INSISTED that I stay home and that she would do my important work (which is TOTALLY out of the norm) but not to come anywhere near the office if I might have a stomach bug.

That makes feeling disgusting so much easier to deal with. I slept really late, ate toast in bed, and am now headed back to bed to read a bit and troll the tv. So glad it's Friday!

Oh, I forgot to share this. Ag policy is one of the few things I wholeheartedly disagree with the President on. Mrs. Obama's White House garden makes me furious. I mean, I really love the message she's trying to send and the effort she's making, but to do that while her husband subsidizes shit and blindly signs Farm Bills that continue the status quo... well, it feels like a slap in the face to a lot of us small, natural farmers.



I don't believe in a nanny state that regulates what you can and can't consume, but I am VIOLENTLY opposed to a system that makes it cheaper to eat Doritos than carrots, to drink Coke than milk, to eat highly processed breakfast cereals than to have some natural, free-range eggs. I'm sure I've said it here before, but anything resembling the policies of Earl Butz should be completely reevaluated. I agree that we have to find ways of making food affordable for all people, but by food I mean REAL FOOD not the processed crap that is killing us.

Your last paragraph heartily hear hear Leah!

Lost on the Downton Abbey stuff but enjoying your ramble through Grimm 2012.

Have a lovely weekend.

Mmmmmm, Doritos...

I'm applauding your last paragraph, and I may post it as a quotation on my Facebook wall if that's okay! There's a lot of ignorance out there too, which isn't helping. I'm glad to see some food documentaries popping up on Netflix these days -- I've noticed that several of my acquaintances have watched a few of them and are starting to think differently about food... but we have a long, long way to go yet.

In terms of reading, a friend of mine just gave me a fairy tale compendium as well, full of all the old stories. I like what you're doing, making comments on each as you go along... I might try that as well, once I get to it!

Thanks guys for not throwing stones at me while I was up on my soap box! Faith, I would be honored if you wanted to share my words! Disseminate! Get the message out! It's all good.

I'm finding that writing down my thoughts for each story is very helpful. Not only can I address specific themes in each, but I think I'm even remembering more about each story as I progress through the others, which is giving me a great opportunity to compare. I'm hoping to get through the rest this weekend because I really want to start Etiquette & Espionage.

In a pathetic attempt to lure Nora and the horny masses, here is my very favorite commercial. They might not be shirtless, but they are hot English guys rapping about farming. How can you not love it?



Yeo Valley rap video. Watch it!

ETA: OH, have no fear. I found shirtless ones too!



Yeo Valley Churned video

>200 leahbird: Why hello there . . .

>200 leahbird: That's totally awesome :)

#195: Hear, hear! It is not a coincidence that the unhealthiest state in the U.S. is also the poorest. People can afford a bag of potato chips, but not a bag of potatoes. I read a great article about this subject several months ago and unfortunately, have lost the link.

1.21 The Elves- 3 Stories: This is a collection of 3 somewhat common stories about elves. The first, most recognizable, is about the elves that help the shoemaker. It's well told and almost exactly what you probably remember.

The second is about a hard working servant girl who is asked to be the godmother of a fairy child. I'd never heard this one but it's nice, but very short.

The third is basically instructions on how to get rid of a changeling and make the fairies bring your real child back. Didn't really do it for me.

1.22 The Robber Bridegroom: This story is horrifically gruesome and not in the least bit magical, which made it all the worse. It includes a very violent and repulsive scene where an innocent girl is murdered, chopped into bits, and eaten by a band of murderers. This is all witnessed by the heroine of the story. The resolution is very well executed and satisfying but the story itself is seriously repulsive. It's one thing to have some gruesome stuff in a mystical tale, but this one reads like a horrifying episode of some true crime show.

1.23 Godfather Death: I really like this morality tale. It's one I'm not familiar with but it does have some familiar themes. There was one bit that was particularly interesting and felt especially like something that would catch Pullman's attention. A man is searching for a godfather for his son and approaches the first man to come along the road.

"The first person who came along was God himself. Since he knew everything, he didn't have to ask what was in the man's mind.
'My poor man,' he said, 'I'm sorry for you. I'd be glad to hold you child at his baptism. I'll look after him, don't you worry about that.'
'Who are you?' said the man.
'I am God.'
'Well, be on your way. I don't want you for a godfather. You give to the rich who don't need it, and you let the poor starve.'
Of course, he only said that because he didn't know God's purpose in being so kind to the rich and so cruel to the poor."

That last line just begs for some clarification but there isn't any. I would love to know the Grimm's justification for such a belief.

1.24 The Juniper Tree: Again, this one was completely new to me. It is, quite simply, AWESOME! The structure is perfection. There is a lovely bit at the very beginning where the passing of the months/seasons symbolically represents the passing of a woman's pregnancy and it's just so perfectly done.

From there, the story turns grim and violent quite quickly but again it is so well structured and executed that I almost didn't mind. There is a lot of repetition of a song but the way it is worked into the story makes it much less obnoxious that something like that would typically be. The ultimate conclusion to the story is just perfect. As Pullman notes, "For beauty, for horror, for perfection of form, this story has no equal."

You really must read this story and Pullman's discussion of it, which is quite interesting. I find it quite noteworthy that this story can't really be attributed to the Grimms- it came to them already in manuscript form from the painter Philipp Otto Runge.

1.25 Briar Rose: Yep, it's Sleeping Beauty. And it's almost completely pointless. While the bones of the story are here- beautiful princess born, gifts from godmothers (here they are Wise Women rather than fairies), one "Wise Woman" snubbed so she curses the princess to die, saved by the last godmother's gift to sleep instead, everyone falls asleep with her and a briar grows around the castle- there is almost zero dramatic tension. Unlike the Disney story we're probably most familiar with, Briar Rose isn't secreted away to be raised as a normal girl, she just stays in the castle. The evil Wise Woman doesn't ever make a reappearance. Briar Rose doesn't have to wait for true love's kiss, she's going to wake up either way after 100 years- having not aged a day mind you, nor anyone else within the castle. When the prince does come, the 100 years has actually just ended so he just saunters in without any trouble.

The only people who suffer in this story are the people from around the castle. For 100 years their sons go off to try to "rescue" the princess in the hopes of marrying her and not being dirt ass poor anymore, only to die horrible, drawn out deaths stuck in the briar. Why in the world did this story prevail?

1.26 Snow White: Again, this one is pretty much as we know it but with a few notable exceptions. The most interesting is that the Dwarfs' home is not an unkempt pigsty, it's rather tidy and cared for. This is notable, as Pullman points out, because the Disney version made a conscious effort to downplay the fact that Snow White, a child, is taking up with 7 adult men, regardless of stature. As Pullman states, " ...here {the dwarfs} are a band of little earth-spirits, benevolent and anonymous. They are perfectly capable of looking after themselves, unlike the bearded babies of Disney, who have to be cooked for and cleaned up after by Snow White the all-American mom."

The other big change, the one that freaks me the f*ck out, is how the ending comes about. The dwarfs put Snow White in her glass coffin and a prince happens to stumble upon it. She's so lovely in her not-decaying death that he FALLS IN LOVE WITH A CORPSE AND CONVINCES THE DWARFS TO LET HIM TAKE HER COFFIN/DEAD BODY HOME WITH HIM. He says "Let me take the coffin away with me. I've fallen in love with Princess Snow White, and I can't live without being able to see her. I'll treat her with all the honor and respect I'd feel for a living princess."

The dwarfs agree and the only reason Snow White comes back to life is because one of the prince's bumbling servants nearly drops the coffin, which just happens to dislodge the piece of enchanted apple from her throat. And they live happily ever after. Oh, well they live happily ever after once they invite the evil stepmother to the wedding and make her dance in red-hot iron shoes until she falls down dead. You know, your typical wedding celebration.

1.27 Rumpelstiltskin: Exactly as you've heard it a million times.

1.28 The Golden Bird: A young prince has to complete several challenging tasks, added only by a wise fox, a fox he only seems to listen to about 1/3 of the time.

1.29 Farmerkin: Farmerkin is a trickster in a village full of rich dupes. Not my cup of tea.

1.30 Thousandfurs: This story start out typically enough, with a beautiful dying queen asking her husband to never marry another who was less beautiful than she. So what is he to do? Oh right, fall in love with their DAUGHTER and decide to marry her. Eww. I was done at that point.

She runs away and the story becomes very Cinderella-ish and I couldn't have cared less.

OK that second video is great! All the little winks, lol!

To give some love to the Land of Aus, here are the beauties from my favorite tv show, McLeod's Daughters.



Watch this video and droollllllllll Dustin Clare, The Rooster

1.31 Jorinda and Joringel: Jorinda and Joringel are engaged but they fall into the trap of a wicked witch. Jorinda is turned into a bird, one of 7 thousand girls to meet such a fate, while the witch lets Joringel go. Naturally, he ends up saving the day. This story is most notable because of the common sense of the young couple. It reads more like a literary fantasy than a folk tale with a moral message.

1.32 Six Who Made Their Way in the World: Five men with extraordinary talents agree to follow around one ordinary soldier. They do some mildly interesting things and take all the king's money.

1.33 Gambling Hans: Hans is broke but he shelter's the Lord and St. Peter for a night and they grant him three wishes: a pack of cards that can't lose, a pair of dice that can't lose, and tree that bears amazing fruit but you can't get down from once you climb up. Hans then uses these to cause all sorts of bother, even for the Devil and the Lord. Pointless.

1.34 The Singing, Springing Lark: Kind of like Beauty and the Beast meets The Odyssey. Weird.

1.35 The Goose Girl: A princess is tricked by her maidservant into switching places so she can marry the prince. There is a talking horse who gets beheaded and some twaddle about controlling the wind.

1.36 Bearskin: This is a lovely story, full of charity and faithfulness, which is a nice change. Naturally, not everyone ends up well, but that's to be expected. There was a plot twist I was expecting that never actually happened, which was a tad disappointing but mostly this one was right on the money.

1.37 The Two Traveling Companions: A good natured tailor and a sour-puss cobbler travel together for a while. Despite the fact that the tailor always treated him well, the cobbler takes advantage of the tailor's poor planning to carve out his eyes and leave him for dead. The tailor is saved (and his eyes regrown) and later helped by many animals he didn't eat when he was starving to death.

1.38 Hans-My-Hedgehog: Hans-my-Hedgehog is half boy half hedgehog (bottom half boy, in case you were wondering). He is gallant and resourceful and honorable and yet his parents can't stand him. He gets his just rewards in the end, marries a beautiful and honorable princess, and gets to be a whole person instead of half hedgehog.

1.39 The Little Shroud and 1.40 The Stolen Pennies: These are both extremely short, little more than a page each, ghost stories. They each have a clear and succinct moral and little else.

Only 10 more stories to go!

You are making great strides on the stories. Good job, Leah. I am enjoying your recaps of them.

It's really interesting, the summaries of these stories. I recognized a number of them from Robin McKinley's books and short stories. Her anthologies The Door in the Hedge and A Knot in the Grain include retellings of several of those stories, and her book Deerskin is a retelling Thousandfurs (although she referred to it as Donkeyskin).

Pullman notes all the popular variants of these stories in the little section after each and he listed Donkeyskin as a variant of Thousandfurs. I believe Donkeyskin is the English variant to the Grimm's Germanic story.

There is some cruel cosmic joke being played against me. I have been complaining and complaining about how gross the weather is. Well, I've been sick in bed since Thursday evening. It has been in the mid 60s to low 70s with just the tiniest bit of sprinkles that entire time. It's the meanest joke. I don't like it. By the time I'll probably be feeling better, we're supposed to be back down in the 40s.

Hi Leah--great videos!

Something in one of your posts made me wonder if you have the influenza that's making the rounds? Hope you feel better soon!

I would so take temps in the 40's right now (except for the mud!)

Oh dear, sorry to hear about being sick. I hope you're soon on the road to recovery.

I'm sorry you can't enjoy this absolutely blissful weather as much as I am. *Swoon*

I should be reading but I'm watching The Big Bang Theory while waiting for Downton Abbey to start. I LOVE TBBT. This is the one where Sheldon and Leonard's apartment gets broken into. Just wonderful.

Big Bang Theory is one if my favorites. It's the ONLY show I can get my husband to watch with me!

Downton Abbey Spoilers

Well damn! Poor Lady Edith. It's just too much.

That "loosing Downton" package was wrapped up quite nicely.

end spoilers

And then it started pouring down rain and my satellite went out and I missed the last 5 mins...

Oh no! I guess you can watch it online when it's available, but the delay is a bummer!

Is it just me, or does Lady Edith remind you of Jan Brady?

I never watched much of the Brady Bunch, but from what I know, I agree.

>219 cbl_tn: HA! She totally is Jan Brady.

In related news, my sister just started watching season 1 of Downton on DVD this past week. I'd been telling her she would love it forever but she wouldn't listen. She came in today and was cackling about Maggie Smith saying "Put that in your pipe and smoke it." Ah, to be new to Downton!

Another set of converts are my mom's friend Robin and her husband. I'd tried loaning them my DVDs but they hemmed and hawed and never took them. Apparently in the last month or so they've bought season 1 & 2, watched them, started watching season 3 last week, and already pre-ordered the season 3 DVD. Robin even wants to buy a Free Bates t-shirt!

Why do these people ever doubt me? I'm obviously always right. ;)

218: yes, the money thing was quite tidy...

I cannot tell you how miserable I am to be back at work today. Oh god, it's more than I can take. The beautiful weather of this weekend is over and it's now cold and raining again. And I'm dripping snot like a fountain. Such a good combination.

More Downton Abbey spoilers

I was pretty sure that Edith would not marry Sir Anthony. I figured either his good nature would win out and he would jilt her for her own good, or Edith would have some sort of last-minute whirlwind romance with some younger, richer man and dump him. It was in pretty bad taste of him to wait and do it at the altar, though.

The money thing was tied up pretty nicely, though Mary was quite obnoxious over it, and I think the fallout over that will persist for some time.

Downton Abbey spoilers

You know, I knew that Sir Anthony wasn't going to go through with it when they were outside the church and Lady Mary said "Good luck" to Edith. That just struck me as such a weird thing to say to right before a wedding. Like it's a test or something.

Even More DA Spoilers

I always suspected that Edith and Anthony wouldn't work out for whatever reason. Which I think is too bad because they seem perfectly suited for one another. As soon as they started showing wedding scenes (because we got none of Cybil's wedding or Mary's) I knew it wasn't going to happen. I'm very disappointed in Anthony. Granted it wasn't the thinking at the time, but why couldn't everyone just shut up and let Edith choose? If she wanted to marry Anthony, knowing what would probably be their fate later on- her needing to care for him, being a young widow, etc- then why oh why shouldn't she? I detest that whole "I'm hurting you for your own good" stuff.

*more spoilers*

I thought he might die right there at the altar! He got so sweaty, I was waiting for a heart attack. And I agree foggi, Mary was very obnoxious about the money. I can understand her insistence, but I think she handled it poorly. Then again, so did Matthew really. He probably should have taken a different approach with Mary than "I broke poor Lavinia's heart" even if that's what he was thinking to himself. The preview for next week shows Matthew and Carson disagreeing about control of the household, so nothing good is going to come of their solution, that's for sure. But at least we get to continue looking at the pretty house. ;)

DA spoilers

My mom thought he was going to drop dead right there too! I have to admit, I'd rather have seen that than this horrible state of affairs.

Still spoilers!

Yeah at least Edith could have mourned and moved on, instead of being the jilted woman and a hot topic of gossip. :( One thing that bothered me too was Lord Grantham's reaction at the altar. I know he was worried about appearances but WTF? It's too late, just hurry up and get it over with?? He didn't even go after him or confront him! Ahhckkk!

And I'm sorry you're sick and at work... But I guess it can't be all bad if you're able to come chat in LT! :D I suppose it could look like you're working, all type-y and read-y.

Feel better soon, Leah. ♥

I can't believe how many people are sick around the country. Seems like everyone! My PSA for the day is "Don't bother with the flu shot, people." There's a flu-shot panic going on, and the CDC admits that this year's shot isn't effective against the strains going around right now. (I don't like the idea of flu shots for healthy people anyway.)

You don't like the idea of flu shots for healthy people? What does that mean?

>231 UnrulySun: Amen! I got my flu shot on Thursday and I got the flu on Saturday.

Yeah, I've never had a flu shot. I probably never will. I don't do non-necessary medications. I've had the flu twice and it's no fun, but it still hasn't convinced me to get a flu shot. I don't know what the stomach yuckiness was this weekend but now it's just a sinus infection, which I get all the time. Crazy TN weather, allergies, and bad air make it impossible for me NOT to get them.

Yeah, unless I'm slammed at work, I can check LT periodically. No one particularly cares so long as I'm not on LT INSTEAD of doing work.

#231

I agree. I'd say for the elderly, those with weak immune systems and those with respiratory disorders it's indicated and a good thing, but given how many viruses are now becoming resistant to vaccines and drugs, and adapting in worse ways, I think it's a real problem.

Here in the UK you can't get a flu shot unless you're in one of the categories I mentioned above. If you're a healthy individual it doesn't seem necessary. Yes you'll feel rough and be laid up but there are worse things that can happen.

And it also seems (from personal opinion and experience) that people in the US call things flu much quicker than we in the UK do. For us to classify it as flu it has to be actual influenza, not just a bad cold or a chest infection. They are different things, although not necessarily better or worse.

Not to say that any of you don't have flu. Just commenting.

I found this on the CDC website: Once we looked at the differences across study sites and correct for that but not other factors, we found the overall vaccine effectiveness to be 62 percent. That means that if you got vaccinated you were about 60 percent less likely to get the flu that required you to go to your doctor.

That doesn't sound like "not effective" to me.

Getting a flu shot isn't just about you. It's also about everyone around you, too. There are people who can't get vaccines due to age or allergies or compromised immune systems, not to mention the fact that vaccines effect everyone differently so not everyone gets the same amount of protection from the same vaccine. If there isn't a sufficient herd immunity, then the rate of disease will be higher. Look at what's happened with pertussis, thanks to those horrible anti-vaxers.

232: Pretty much what the others said after me. :)

Here, at the start of "flu season", when the current shot is released for use, it's typically only encouraged for the elderly and immune-compromised. You can get it if you're not in that category, however, and it seems to be popular for teens and children to get them. (not sure why? maybe parents thinking they're helping?)

But recently, with the widespread flu-like symptoms and hospitalizations, some major-city mayors and state governors are opening up the shots to all ages and health-states, and encouraging everyone to get one.

A 62% success rate doesn't sound good to me. If you were diagnosed with cancer and had a 62% chance of survival, you'd be feeling pretty bad about it I'd imagine.

Children are getting more seriously ill, and having weakened immune systems, because they are never exposed to any illness and allowed to teach and strengthen their systems to fight it off. That is the only way immune systems become stronger, by getting ill and fighting back. Therefore vaccinating against non-life threatening illnesses in fact decreases the immune system effectiveness. So when something serious does come along, it has a far worse effect.

If you truly have flu you won't be wandering around giving it to other people anyway, because you'll be in bed feeling awful. Therefore not exposing other people anyway. If you feel like you're getting sick, don't go near those with compromised immune systems.

Your prejudice is clearly obvious by your description of 'ant-vaxers'. Not everyone who thinks we vaccinate too quickly, against minor illnesses, is militant about it. But we need to learn when to draw a line. Just because we can doesn't mean we should. It's unnecessary.

236: I'm not sure, I don't hear the term 'flu' thrown around very much. Every winter it's big news here, 'go get your flu shot go get your flu shot!' but I rarely hear people complain of actually having it. "Cold" is the popular word here, I think. Everyone complains of having a cold, whether it's a sinus infection, a cough, or a sore throat.

There is a bit of an influenza epidemic happening here right now, though.

#238

I think children and teenagers should be the least ones needing it. They need to build strong immune systems, and they will bounce back quickest. I was never given a flu vaccine and no one I know has ever had one. We are all fine.

239/241: I agree.

#240

Just personal perception. I know there is an epidemic currently in the US but my opinion comes from previous years as well. Within my whole family (which is big) and my friends, acquaintances etc, I've only ever known two people to say they've actually got the flu. The rest simply had bad colds or a chest infection.

On a lighter note, my grandparents had a classification for the flu as opposed to a cold.

You're in bed and someone puts a £20 note on the front doorstep. If you would get up and go and get it, it's a cold. If you feel too ill to do so, it's the flu! Not scientific but seemed to work.

Influenza IS a life-threatening illness. A dozen or more people have died in Boston alone this flu season. And the anti-vaxers who are against the pertussis vaccination ARE horrible and have caused the deaths of children.

I'm sorry, I can't be a part of this discussion any longer.

I never said influenza was not life-threatening. I agree, it is life threatening. To SOME people. The elderly and those with compromised immune systems in particular.

Plenty of things are life threatening to those people. And to others. Chest infections, pneumonia, bronchitis. All life threatening. Fatty food, obesity, no exercise. I would imagine heart attacks will kill more people in Boston this winter than flu will.

Car rides are life threatening. Alcohol.

I am currently under tests for my immune system. I won't be getting a vaccine.

This conversation is moving far too fast, so I can't be expected not to be several posts behind by the time I type this, however I just want to say that it would be incredibly foolish to intentionally avoid flu vaccinations.

Exposing children to flu does NOT make their immune system stronger. The immune system gets stronger by combating individual diseases and then developing antigens for that specific microbe. Flu mutates at a pace that renders this method inneffective. The flu vaccine insures you have a better chance of avoiding the flu this year, NOT getting the vaccine does not strengthen your immune system, and puts you at risk of catching a disease that is deadly, occasionally, and is historically is the most deadly virus to humans in existence.

I've never had a flu shot in my adult life, but I would consider it if I actually spent time around other humans, especially children.

Each to their own. My mother works with children and has never had a vaccine, and none of her colleagues have either.

I will continue to not have unnecessary vaccines and allow my immune system to do its job.

This isn't exactly how I wanted my thread to explode... Everyone has a valid point to make. We are all informed, consenting adults, so we each have the right to make the decisions for ourselves. I can't fault anyone who chooses to have a flu shot, there are numerous reasons someone would choose to do so, but it's not something I choose for myself. However short sided it might be for my own personal health, I have a good friend who has been severely handicapped and wheelchair bound since he was a small child because of the polio vaccine. Now, trying to end polio is a good thing, but some people GOT polio from the vaccine and nearly died. Does that mean that I think no one should be vaccinated for Polio? No. It's just made me much more hesitant to get any vaccination.

Sorry about the row Leah! I've stopped now. As I said in my last point, each to their own. That's the beauty of not living in a dictatorship :)

No apologies necessary. People get heated about these topics because they are important. I just want to see constructive debate whenever possible.

So is it time for a new thread, Leah? :D

Yup, lets have a nice happy one :D And I'll keep my opinions to myself, promise!

I was hoping to get through the rest of the Grimm stories before moving on. Since I plan to finish those today, we'll move on to a shiny new thread this evening probably.

Oh hey, Leah... Ricky just texted me. He wants one of these to wear to the farm weddings.

Simply dashing.

Back to the Downton Abbey spoilers...

#227 -- Ooh, interesting perspective! I actually though Sir Anthony was too good for Edith. I'm not sure why I'm so down on poor Edith, though; I want very much to like her but her inability to ever say the right thing makes it harder, I'll admit. For instance, would Sir Anthony have gone through with it if Edith hadn't given him the "I love you because you need help; you'll be my life's work" speech? Guess we'll never know, but who wants to marry somebody in order to be their little project? And it's interesting to note that earlier in history an Edith-like character might have been pushed into that marriage because of his money and position, even if she had objected to the age difference, etc.

#228 -- I agree, Matthew was obnoxious, too. Of course, I couldn't understand why he couldn't take the money in the first place -- guess I haven't the requisite amount of nobility of character. It's not as if he wasn't willing to marry Lavinia, had she lived, and saving Downton doesn't just benefit him.

#229 -- I thought he might have a heart attack when he was running away from the church, myself.

#254 by @UnrulySun> Ricky would look rather debonair in that, especially if I could dye his tuft black so it would look like a top hat. He would be so regal as he chased and attacked guests that they wouldn't even mind.

I personally would pay good money to get chased by a goose named Ricky wearing a tux.

I should totally sell that as a package. I'll send you your reservation.

You should get an outdoor speaker that plays Yakety Sax whenever Ricky starts running.

Here is a picture of Ricky taking a dunk in his drinking water. His swimming pool is not 5 ft away but half the time he prefers the tub. Wouldn't he look adorable in a tux?

Hey, Ricky is a cosmopolitan duck. He likes his modern high-rise studio loft. He needs some spats to go with his tux though, Leah. And an entourage.

Ahhh! Spoilers! *Looks away*

Have no fear, they are at least clearly marked spoilers this time.

I had planned on getting to this last night but the power was out for hours and I was reeling from going to work when I was still much too sick. (I'm feeling a TON better today but not totally back up to scratch.)

1.41 The Donkey Cabbage: This story was really two (or three) separate tales smashed together and it sure felt like it. Not worth the time.

1.42 One Eyes, Two Eyes, Three Eyes: Another Cinderella-ish story but with the added weirdness of 3 sisters with varying numbers of eyes, hence their names and the title. Two Eyes is treated poorly because she's not "special." Weird.

1.43 The Shoes That Were Danced to Pieces: The Dancing Princesses. Familiar and enjoyable.

1.44 Iron Hans: A prince helps a "wild man" and is rewarded by being kidnapped and then sent off into the world alone. He does get the promise of help. He ends up saving a kingdom and living happily ever after, which, incidentally, frees the "wild man" from his curse and turns him back into some king. The only really good part is the bit about the Prince's hair turning gold.

1.45 Mount Simeli: A variant on the Aladdin or 40 Thieves story, but Germanic. It's nice and short but not particularly exciting or satisfying.

1.46 Lazy Heinz: Really annoying story of two really annoying and lazy slobs.

1.47 Strong Hans: This story suffers from severe multiple personality disorder. The are too many false starts and too many random details thrown in. It just doesn't work.

1.48 The Moon: A nice little creation myth. Surprising because it doesn't seem to fit with the other stories or what seemed to appeal to the Grimms, but it's quite nice.

I've got 2 stories left to finish which I should get to at lunch and then I will be able to list my first read book of the year! YAY! I brought Etiquette & Espionage with me so I can start it as soon as I'm done with Grimm.

You are making good progress on the Brothers Grimm book.

There is a VERY real chance that I will disappear for a bit in the coming days. It could be because all the power poles get washed away. It could be because all the trees fall over because their roots rot. It could be because I'm swimming in the lake that used to be my farm rescuing stranded farm animals. If I never return my sister has instructions on how to divide up my library, so you may be asked to provide your mailing address to receive your bequest.

Seriously though, I don't know if we can take any more rain. Everything is seriously flooded. The chicken coop is currently on the top of a hill and even there it's standing water. Like INCHES of standing water. On top of a hill. The pigs... the pigs yard is full of probably half a foot of water and about to be completely obliterated because the creek next to it is about to overflow it boundary for the first time that I can remember. To give you an idea how insane this is, the normal run of the creek and the lower part of the pig yard are about level, separated by a little rise which is about 5 feet high and 6 feet wide. Said creek is about to overflow that rise and pour into the pig yard.

Therefore, I just had to move the pigs into the horse barn. This should be interesting. Thank god I trained them to follow the truck otherwise I would have had to walk them 1/2 a mile in the pouring rain. I was feeling much less sick today, but a 1/2 mile walk in the cold and the rain probably would have landed me in the hospital.

I'm off to eat some venison chili and warm up. Be back later with a book review!

Leah, this week's weather is a minor inconvenience for me. I can't imagine what you're having to contend with at your farm. The road I live on dead-ends at riverfront properties, but the river is down a fairly steep hill. My house is on a ridge. We've got some major pooling in indentations in the road, but it's basically a grading issue and not a major threat to people's homes.

Luckily, most of the houses on the farm are pretty safe unless the lake overflows and floods my sister's house. THAT is so highly unlikely that I can't imagine it happening even if it rained for weeks more. The farmhouse is in the most danger but more from being on top of a dirt cellar and ~150 year old foundation. It's been reinforced in the past couple years, but it's probably going to be full of water. Good thing we bought that giant suck pump!

I'm most concerned about what to do with the pigs if it doesn't stop raining soon. They can't stay in the barn long but who knows how long it will take for the water to drain?

The rain is insane! Your poor animals... and poor you for having to wrestle them onto higher ground.

The bayous are overflowing here and where some friends of mine live in LA their entire acreage is under water. Yet the Fort Worth area is in drought! The rain needs to spread the love a little!!

I would be SO glad to share the rain!

I know lots of places are way more flooded than we will probably ever get but it's just so weird to live on highish ground in the mountains and have flooding.

Oh I know! It does seem odd for you on a hill, that's a lot of water.

I will be keeping my fingers for you and your animals, Leah! My very good friend's farm has flooded a few times over the year, so I know how panicky it can feel watching that water come up toward your fields and outbuildings. Do you have trailers to haul everybody out if you need to?

Stay safe, Leah!

Do you have a county fairground? Ours will take refugee animals (floods, forest fires). Any chance of getting them loaded into a trailer or truck to get them there?

I sure hope it doesn't come to needing to trailer animals out, but we can if we have to. We've got a giant stock trailer- the kind a semi pulls- that hasn't been used in years. If it keeps raining, I might have to turn it into temporary housing and put it up on high ground. Maybe I should check the tires on that thing...

Ok, on to new (hopefully dry) pastures for this thread! Come on over and see my first review of the year!