Richardderus thread 8 of 2014

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”
― Maya Angelou

I have a category called Orphans, which will still catch all the other reading I do.

My ORPHANED books ticker:




I want to treat the Short Story collection challenge as a ticker-to-itself thread, thinking 48 reviews as my goal. I'll keep the thread over in the Short Stories forum.

My SHORT STORY collections ticker:




I'm keeping a mystery-genre thread over in Crime, Thriller, and Mystery forum. Way way way too many of my reviews have been, in all forums, mysteries and thrillers, and while I love them, I don't want to get too rut-ified and read only those books while keeping up my self-made review writing census.

My MYSTERY & THRILLER books ticker:




THIS THREAD is the 75 challenge for 2014, which will be non-fiction and non-genre-fiction books published in 2013 and 2014, plus recommendations from other 75ers.

My last thread of 2012.
My last reviews of 2013 in this thread.

My 2014 NEW books ticker:




Books 1 & 2...thread 5.

Books are reviewed in post:

Happy new thread Rdear :-D

>3 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara!

Happy New Thread, Richard!

Happy new thread, Richard. I love the colors in your opener!

for the medal

>5 scaifea: Hi Amber! *smooch*

>6 wilkiec: Thank you, Diana, I was impressed and amazed by the binding jobs considered ordinary a century ago versus modern, blah bindings.

>7 Ameise1: De rien, ma amie

Beautiful thread topper, Rdear. I am (just) managing to keep up with you.

Happy new thread, Richard! I love those book spines up there - just gorgeous! Hoping that Saturday is being kind to you.

As usual, a Dickens in your opening thread, right next to a book I hate, Gulliver's Travels, Freud would have something to say about that, you know.

Happy Saturday, Richard! I love the colors in your opening post but I love the quote more. :-) I save quotes I like and that one is going right on my list.

The photo and the quote in the topper are a great antidote to a snowy Saturday, Richard!

>9 Matke: Don't stress about it! The thread will be here. *smooch*

>10 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie, I'd love for a day to be kind to me...

>11 PiyushC: Will wonders never cease!

>12 phebj: Thank you, Pat! I love the quote with the colorful spines because they remind me of butterflies and because books are so transformative.

>13 rosalita: I agree, Julia!

I love the photo of the books!!! A joy to see.

Happy Saturday, RD.

many smoochies from Horrible

>15 karenmarie: Hiya Horrible! Happy Saturday back at'cha. *smooch*

Hi Richard. De-lurking to say that your opening pic is a beauty!

Happy new thread, Richard! Liking that shelf up top, but you know some poultry slipped onto it, right?

ah, the colorful spines are lovely, except for the wear at the tops. Piling them on top of one another like that sends my protective nerves twinging.

and by the way, I'm Ariana Cabrera. Flamenco, anyone?

>17 labwriter: Thanks! Glad you delurked.

>18 jnwelch: *gasp* NO! *faints*

>19 ffortsa: Ariana you devil you! Glad to see you here.

Hiya sweetums! We went out last night to celebrate Mom's 73rd. Whoop!

xoxo to you and Stella! The DeVilles send their slurps.

Happy new thread, Richard! That is quite the thread topper pic!

Going back to the previous thread, yup I am all caught up with the Inspector Lewis episodes and you are right about the curve ball they threw in.

Beware! The Disco Muffins..... crazy but that has caught my attention. Could have potential..... ;-)

Passing thru, couldn't help but Notice Dickens on your thread topper - Am ever so slightly concerned about your state of mind ??? have you wandered over to the dark side ???

I love the thread topper!!

Happy new thread, RD!

Ooh, shiny new thread and I love those book bindings!

oooh those books! You do know there's a Dickens in there, right? I love Gulliver's Travels. Pope, not so much.

Typing at the same time Roni and we both ooohed.

Great thread topper Richard.

beautiful thread topper!

OK, my computer and the wifi are set up. And I am once again spending many minutes per day reading threads, yours, too. I'm not going back and try to read all I missed, I'll just sigh, and say "oh, well, what the hell" and carry on. My Saturday is going well, and I hope yours is too. My RA continues to bite me but the meds help keep it at a low level of pain. i hope you are painless, today.

love the thread topper!

oooooooh pretty books

Beautiful books up top, My Friend!

Interesting question, no? I ponder as I wander the threads.

My maternal grandmother

What lovely books atop your thread!

>21 luvamystery65: A good time was had by all, I hope. Sending smooches, slurps, and schmoozles back!

>22 lkernagh: I know, right?! I was gobsmacked. Muffins aren't favorites of mine, and disco...well, let's just say I don't look back fondly on those years. Sounds like a perfect movie to horrify me.

>23 roundballnz: *mmmwwwaaahaaahaaa*

>24 connie53: Thanks, Connie!

>25 ronincats: Aren't they gorgeous? I so wish today's books were bound with similar verve and panache. *smooch*

>26 tiffin:, 27 Pope gives me gastric distress, but the book itself is lovely.

>28 johnsimpson: Hi there, John, happy to see you.

>29 mckait: I agree, they're so colorful and cheerful!

>30 maggie1944: Ahhh the true comforts of home, Karen44. Such a pleasure to be settled back in, eh what?

>31 leperdbunny: Thanks, Tamara!

>32 AuntieClio: *sigh* I know...I love the colors and the graphics.

>33 tloeffler: Hi TLo! Thanks, happy to see you around the threads when you're so ungawdly busy.

>35 AuntieClio: Interesting, Stephanie. Did you know her while she was alive, or is this a getting-to-know-you kind of chat?

>36 thornton37814: Thank you, Lori, so glad to have brightened your day!

#34 - My mom :)

>41 katiekrug: Is that something that could happen IRL, or is she gone?

She passed away when I was 21.

OIC

That's very early to lose one's parent. My mother died when I was 40 and my father refuses to die, unfortunately.

#40 Richard,
I knew her but she died before I had the chance to become grown up enough to ask about her life. I was in my late 20s, I think. This would be a getting to know her and a what the hell is the deal with your daughter chat. This might take more than an hour.

ETA: I adored my Grandma Lily and often wonder what she would think of my life now. I wonder if mom perplexed her.

#44 Richard,
I laughed when I read that. My mother continues to wreak havoc and while in a conversation with my sister-in-law a few days ago, I heaved a deep sigh and said, "Why isn't she dead yet?" But I am taking some solace in knowing that the problems I've had to overcome were not of my making. My parents really broke me, and I am just now figuring out how badly.

>45 AuntieClio: Oh my goodness, a parenting talk with the grandparents! Yikes! I would prefer to stab myself in the eyes with hot needles.

>46 AuntieClio: I don't miss my mother, and I was quite happy when she did me the favor of dying. I forgave her...hell, I gave up my life to move back to Texas and care for her!...but I didn't love her and wasn't a big fan of hers.

My father, who knowingly sent me back to live with a sex-abusive pedophile mother, I detest and am very happy to report haven't spoken to in over a decade. I assume someone will let me know when he finally dies. It won't make much of an impact, I suspect. I never respected him, even as a little kid. But sending your son back to be abused because, and I quote, "she'd make my life a living hell if I kept him," well that just put a period on the sentence for me.

>34 richardderus:: My grandfather. He passed away before I was old enough to realize just how valuable his life story might have been to me. I've heard stories from my father & his siblings, but you know how stories tend to get distorted, and I don't know if they know all the details either. My grandfather was in showbiz in New York before & after WWII, as part of a then-famous singing quartet (they caused quite a stir by being one of the first racially-mixed pop music ensembles!) and I'd love to hear about his experiences, about the challenges of being part of a mixed-race pop group during that time period, what it was like working on an early TV program (he knew the Three Stooges, Howdy Doody, etc.) and what it was like losing every penny in the end (I don't know the whole story there, but I know it has something to do with my grandmother).

I do have a few of their remastered albums on cassette somewhere, but I think one of my lifelong regrets will be that I never had the chance to sit down and hear his story... so I feel like I never really knew him, despite the incredible life experiences he had. Ack, it makes me upset just thinking about it.

Richard!
I have come home :)

Answer to your post: My maternal Grandfather. Never knew him, he died when I was a baby. I only have one picture of him holding me as a baby. He was supposedly full of piss and vinegar.

>48 dk_phoenix: Now I want to talk to him, too!! He sounds *fascinating*!

>49 curlysue: KARA!! How are you, darling? I don't even see you around Facebook much. What's up, Buttercup?

work
I get to post and thumb some things on FB when the chains are loosened
By the time I get home I just fall over, not willing to do anything

did you see my art post a couple of days ago?

Not that I recall, but I'll go look at your wall now.

ETA ooo I love Rousseau! Good choice indeed.

:)
wonder why you didn't see it?
FB is the devil

Their algorithm privileges people one frequently interacts with, and since I'm there most every day, that's not likely to be someone I'm not in daily contact with. I put you on the notifications list.

#47 Richard,
I can't seem to find any answers about why my mother is the egomaniac evil person she is. I have a hard time believing that this came from my grandmother.

And ... just ewwww. I'm sorry.

Both parents are in denial about my abuse. My mother refusing to even believe it was his fault and him believing that if we go into therapy together we can fix our relationship. Both make me laugh. Both brothers are spine and testicle challenged when it comes to mom, so that makes me the only one smart enough to send both parents to the curb

When they kick, I may go to the funerals just to make sure they are really dead.

Denial is a powerful survival mechanism. Many, many people who have done terrible things are in denial about it, and they genuinely bone-deep believe it wasn't what happened.

I've learned, painfully and with much much stress, that I'd rather let those in denial live there (without me) as I am not the Nut Whisperer and am also not responsible for the mental health of anyone except myself. I'll do my utmost to help someone who asks me to. I'll even nudge them in that direction. But if I get the slightest hint of hostility, there is no one on earth except my daughter that I love more than myself so I won't push or play. Never. And when I'm done, I am done and there is no going back to better footing.

I have been learning the same lesson. Sometimes things come dislodged inside and I do a lot of examining to see if there's anything to be made of it. After a while I can just let it go, but it does take some time and pain.

I'm here to tell you that it gets easier. Time and practice are wonderful things.

Thank you *smooch*

De rien, ma amie

Happy New Thread!

That topper photo is downright gorgeous!

LIKE!

Good morning Rdear. How are you today? Here we go with a fresh brewed Café Mocca

I would love to sit on that bench and talk with my mom and dad.

My mother died a week before I turned 15 and my father when I was 24.

I just like to know more about them and about how they were together.

Morning, Richard!

I don't know what to say to you and others here who have had awful childhoods. I breaks my heart, really.

Like many others here, I'd chose to spend that hour on the bench with a lost loved one - my brother.

The weekend is ending. Hoping that next week will be wonderful.

>62 SuziQoregon: Thank you, Suzi! Isn't it beautiful? So lush.

>63 ronincats: Anything in particular?

>64 Ameise1: Happy Sunday evening, Barbara! Well, afternoon at this point I suppose. Anyway, here's to a lovely cup of coffee.

>65 connie53: I can see that would be very much a subject on a person's mind. Losing parents at such a young age is a bad, rough youth incarnate.

>66 scaifea: It was the only childhood I knew, so it was just childhood. I didn't like it much, and have come (as an adult) to understand how extremely screwed up it was...allowed one pair of shoes that had to fall apart before mother would buy me another, never taken to the doctor unless I was almost dead, never taken to the dentist unless a tooth fell out...and how much that was caused by her insanity.

My siblings are a lot older than I am, and female. They had two parents, albeit weird ones. They had left by the time I was 8. I was isolated with the crazy woman, they went off to live their young lives and there I was. It's no wonder I don't like them much, and why I am still so revolted by my father.

I mistrust happiness and fear joy. They lead to disappointment and result in horror. Thanks Mama. Bless you Dad.

Rdear, I'm so sorry the hear about your awful childhood. It makes me very sad. That is something that no one should undergo, but I know that a lot of children all over the world have such a terrible childhood. It's a crime against humanity.

just for you

The bench.. so hard to choose, but I think I would take my gram. I miss Mary, but sort of feel like we "talk" now and then anyway. It would be my grandmother.

All of the people who dislike their mothers... it fills me with horror. Fear. Sadness. Even though I wouldn't choose my mother either.. for all the reasons you know.. being a mom makes me fear it

>69 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara, I appreciate the kindness.

>70 mckait: I can truly understand that, sweetness. It's a truth that our kids will hate us, but the fact is we get to choose what they'll hate us for. I'd so prefer to be hated for caring too much than for being callous.

Lovely opening image - beautiful books.

Hope you are having a great weekend.

>72 calm: Thanks, calm!

Morning RD- Love the new thread! Love the very colorful topper. Many great classics, including Chuckles himself. Was this an oversight? Or still worth posting?

I go missing for a day and you pile a 100 posts up making catching up tougher than normal. Love the thread topper and note the prominent Dickens there.

That park bench is spoilt for choice when it comes to potential occupants. Richard III would be a likely one especially if it was accompanied by truth serum. Dylan Thomas, John Lennon, David Lloyd-George, Aneurin Bevan would be other famous ones.

I loved my maternal Grandmother possibly as much as I have ever loved anyone but I think I'd want those memories to stay if you know what I mean. It would be nice to get acquainted slightly with my Maternal Grandfather whom my Gran adored and who was by all accounts quite a character. He died a few months before I was born.

>74 msf59: Thanks, Mark, it's all about the pretty not about whose book it is.

>75 PaulCranswick: How did I miss you before, Paul? I have no idea. I'm sorry! I'd say that RIII would be an intriguing occupant of the bench...I'd also specify that all and any people who sat there with you would, by geas, be required not only to answer you but answer you truthfully while they were there. And of course that would mean you'd have a TARDIS-fieldish translation doomaflotchie to be able to comprehend any and all languages.

Sorry about your crappy childhood, Richard. As I've gotten older talking with many friends and through my own experience, I've come to realize that to continue to subject yourself to people you hate is not worth it. . even if you are related to them and supposed to "love" them.

Many crazy people in my family and Mr. LBs family that we would not want to associate with but luckily my parents are supportive and loving (albeit the benign crazy/quirky).

I would want to meet Elizabeth I. She was my idol for a long while.

Kudos to you for overcoming that crappy childhood, Richard - I'm sure its ghosts aren't all gone by a long shot, but your strength and humor are impressive.

I'm the guy in the back of the class who'll make everyone groan, but I'd pick Shakespeare as my benchmate. He'd sure have a lot to say, right? And would be entertaining doing it, methinks.

I think I'd like to sit with my maternal grandfather who died when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I knew him a little bit, we'd play cards when I came home from school. He immigrated to the USA from England as a young man which seems to be to have been an interesting life path. I'd like to go visit his birth place. I would just like to know more about him. My maternal grandmother said of him that he always treated her very well. And on the other hand, I'd like to sit on that bench with my father who died when I was in high school. He just never got over World War II. I don't know if he would have been alcoholic had he not participated in the macho hard drinking, hard smoking, hard working officer corps of WWII. I wish I had known him better.

Thanks for a lovely question. It is nice sometimes to reflect on just all of this.

We had a touch of snow last night and I'm enjoying sitting on my sofa again (at long last). I've got a nice little sitting area set up by a big window looking out on some woodsy spaces. The rest of the house is chaotic mess of boxes and unplaced furnitures but it can wait while I play with my pals here. I hope your Sunday is peaceful and pleasant. I look forward to keeping up with you again. I'm pretty much all done with the house sale, and move. Yay!

#34 I'd like to spend an hour with my mom. Yeah, we talk every week. But I haven't actually seen her in 8 or 9 years. Between finances and physical disabilities, we haven't been able to get to each other.

RD, I'm so sorry about your childhood. It makes me want to cry. :(

If it could be a park bench in 1951, I would want to sit on it with my father on the morning of the day he asked her out on their first date so that I could warn him about her.

Hi Richard. Hope your weekend has been a good one and that you are feeling well or at least well-ish.

>77 leperdbunny: Thank you, Tamara, I appreciate the kind sentiments. I'm convinced that those we dislike in this life are here to teach us something positive...like where to set our boundaries to keep them the fuck away from us.

I suspect Her Maj would be a difficult person to be around....

>78 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe, but really I had no choice...it was sink or swim, and I am too damned stubborn to sink. Whatever else you ask him, be sure to get him to tell you if he liked boys or girls better and you'll be the richest man on earth when the hour's up.

>79 maggie1944: The snow's drifting softly down here, just now, and looks t be a light coating at most. It's sort of pretty but I'm heartily sick of the up-and-down pressure which makes me ordinary aches and pains worse. No effect on gout, but the normal ones are going bananas.

Lots of family business to take care of in the group!

>80 Morphidae: Hi Morphy, speaking of family business! Thanks for your kind wishes.

>81 Fourpawz2: Heh! I considered that same behavior briefly. I dismissed it. Why ruin at least two more peoples' lives by settin' the two of 'em free of each other?

I am not the Nut Whisperer.

I should have had that engraved on the back of my hand at birth so I could have read it every day as I tried to deal with whacked out parents, brothers, and (thankfully ex-) husband. All of that craziness is in my past, thank all the gods and the goddess, and there it remains forever, unmourned and seldom remembered.

So, who would I want to talk with? Not sure, but I wouldn't mind sitting next to Paul while he discussed the Princes and other historical conundrums with Richard III.

Paul,
I have an idea. Let's combine our hours and have conversations with Richard III and Elizabeth I. That'll guarantee some fireworks for sure.

Richard,
I know just what you mean about happiness and love and joy. And I also agree with you about people being put into our lives to bring us something positive. Cheers to surviving.

>75 PaulCranswick: How did I miss you before, Paul? I have no idea. I'm sorry! I'd say that RIII would be an intriguing occupant of the bench...I'd also specify that all and any people who sat there with you would, by geas, be required not only to answer you but answer you truthfully while they were there. And of course that would mean you'd have a TARDIS-fieldish translation doomaflotchie to be able to comprehend any and all languages.

>83 Storeetllr: I'd like a transcript, please. But not in chancery hand!

So many people look at me like I'm rotten-souled when I explain that I don't miss, or mourn, my parents. Oh well. Not theirs to judge, as I remind myself.

>84 AuntieClio: Ooo! Another transcript, please!!

*clink* Surviving!

Good morning Rdear. I wish you a lovely start into a new week :-D

Good morning, Barbara! I'm starting my Monday very early...I fell asleep early, and woke up about 1a ready to go. Dammit! I've taken a Benadryl to get back into unconsciousness. Let's see if it works.

I hope it helps. :-D

Morning Richard.

Morning, Richard!
I'm hoping that the Benadryl worked and your sleeping comfortably...

xo rd

Sorry about the middle of the night wakefulness. Hate when that happens ..

>88 Ameise1: It did, a bit. I was back to sleep by 3 and woke up a short time ago. Not too shabby a result.

>89 johnsimpson: Hi John! How are you and the lovely Karen?

>90 scaifea: Good morning, Amber, hope all is well in the Great White North. I was dozing away when you wrote that, blessedly.

>91 mckait: Thanks, sweetness, I'm not fond of it either. I can predict it will happen when I feel that sleepy at 9pm, though, as I won't force myself to remain awake (successfully anyway). But wow, waking up around 1 or 2 wide awake and rarin' to go? That's not a lot of fun.

Month and day of birth plus color of your current shirt = ?

Ms (Mr.) Universe swears by their pretty floral bonnet while wearing a cunning hat

Ha, Rdear it's your turn now. What's your sentence?

Saffron toasts the Alliance after smuggling little dolls with heads that wobble.

..... well, that's just silly. ;-)

Kaylee swears by their (her) pretty floral bonnet to keep the crew together ?

Badger smuggles beagles to keep the ship flying. . .

All good ones! I'm Mr. Universe toasts the Alliance to keep the ship flying. Heh.

Thumbs up!

It was no biggie... I left some papers there.. I will pick hem up next monday :)

I think I might try to squeeze in a quick nap with Dunkers before I have to go back out...

Snooze well, and yay that it wasn't a major issue.

If I did this right, Book pick-pockets a slave trader, then dumps the payload to keep the crew together.

That's an episode I'd watch.

Wash eats too many strawberries to keep the crew together. This would be more fun if knew anything about Firefly. :-)

Book accidentally gets married after smuggling little dolls with heads that wobble.

hee hee

Heavens, that would render the exercise moot indeed. I've loved the show for more than a decade. So cool...a crew of lawbreakin' smugglers redeemed by the presence of a Licensed Companion, aka fancy whore, in the eyes of their society.

Horses! Gunfights! Spaceships and monstrous human nightmares and a complicated interrelationship of Chinese and Murrikin kulcher! *happy sigh* *miserable moan* that it's not entering its twelfth season even now.

#103 Julia,
oh no!!! Get them (Firefly and Serenity) from Netflix and start watching! Such great shows.

I happen to know that Wash didn't eat too many strawberries because Zoe would smack him upside the head if he did.

Not sure Kaylee would've shared anyway....

#108, There is that too. Kaylee loved her strawberries.

River wins the Miss Persephone pageant with Reavers on their tail.

Grammatically incorrect, but they can send a shirtless Mal to my cabin to make up for it ;-)

Jayne eats too many strawberries with Reavers on their trail (whatever that may mean)

>109 AuntieClio: And I suspect it was somethin' she'd use her "no-power-in-the-'verse" to keep.

>110 katiekrug: Heh. That'd make up for a lot, eh what?

>111 connie53: It's so specific to the tv show Firefly that I don't know where to begin....

Then leave it at that, RD!!

I've been told by others that I would really like Firefly, so I need to put it on my Netflix queue! All I know is that one of my friends who loved the show has a habit of saying "I'll be in my bunk" but I don't know how that relates to the show or if it even does in a way that would make sense to anyone but her.

HA!!!!

It's a Jayne reference, after seeing Inara entertain a...special...client. (That will make sense once you've watched the show.)

Richard, have you seen this? My favorite line is, "She didn't cry whenWash died

Heartless rottensouled evil wench!!!! Imagine not...doing that spoilery thing.

I know!

I am fine Richard and the lovely Karen is... Lovely. She has had a good day at work and a nice relaxing evening. She says Hi and thanks for the compliment.

Nice relaxing evenings after good work days are a bonus. I'm very glad you're both feeling more "the thing" as time passes.

What a beautiful day it was here. Cloudless and cold, but sunshine galore. So pleasant!

We had a similar day Richard, a cold and frosty start but by 10am the sun was out and blue skies but still cold. It made a change from the rain we have been having for the last few weeks but unfortunately the poor devils in the South of England have had more rain and winds so the flooding continues with no sign of any improvement before March. The Somerset Levels and now the Thames Valley are resembling vast lakes and a government that does not seem to care although with the Thames Valley now suffering and Tory constituencies under threat we may see a response but the folks in Somerset have been under water since Christmas, my heart goes out to them.

*waving*

I'm oblivious to the above game, and don't want to know. I've got too many boxes to unpack. Think I'll go unpack that one labeled BOOKS in the new library.

*whistles while she works*

Firefly! I love that show so much. Time to watch the DVDs again? Yes, I think so.

So, mine is "Book wins the Miss Persephone pageant with Reavers on their tail," which really doesn't make sense. But who cares. Big damn heroes, sir.

Hey, Firefly is available on Netflix streaming! I've added it to my queue. (Is this where I say 'I'll be in my bunk'? Somehow it doesn't seem so.)

>121 johnsimpson: Ye gawds and little fishes (you should forgive)! And California, Arizona, Nevada (ironic name, "snowy"), Texas, and Utah in severe drought! Maybe some tankers could be loaded up with flood-waters?

>122 maggie1944: *happy happy sigh*

>123 Storeetllr: Oh, I don't know...an episode where Book...wait, never mind, who cares? See that large man hangin' outta the spaceship? He's the one you oughta be scared of.

>124 rosalita: *chuckle* It will, petite, it will (to paraphrase Sarah Bernhardt's famous snort).

Loving all of the Firefly love here!

Julia: Oh, move it up to the top of the queueueue! You *will* indeed love it.

Richard: I made Charlie a Jayne hat. I should find the photo I took of him in it...

I'm sure it's very cunning, Amber, and most shiny of you to make one for Charlie.

Great. Now I'm going to have to watch Firefly again... Darn!

Jayne Does a Crazy Ivan After smuggling little dolls with heads that wobble.

Whaaat?

So confused, I don't watch Firefly

>128 drneutron: Awww. Poor Jim, forced to rewatch 14 episodes of misunderstood TV greatness. I weep for your travail (not).

>129 curlysue: Oh oh oh that's the best one yet! HyLARious, as Jayne himself would say! It's worth trying an episode, Kara, if you've got Netflix. Begin at the beginning.

don't have Netflix :(

what is a crazy Ivan?

it is NOT like twerking is it?

Not remotely. It's a military maneuver involving nifty, well-controlled flying. The name comes from a submariner's term used in the US Navy for a characteristic Soviet submarine maneuver.

Are you a Prime member? Firefly streams on Prime Instant Video free!

Oh thank the goddess! I was having a vision of a tongue sticking out of a mouth and a foam finger!

nope, no prime member

Netflex might be in my future, DH has been talking about it :)

...not...Prime...mem*faint*

Without Prime and Netflix I'd be a crazy person in a week. Okay, a crazIER person. Most ugly, the situation would be. Most.

Interesting how many people would choose a grandparent to share that hour on the bench. Me too...both of my grandfathers died when my parents were young children. I watched my daughter grow up with HER grandfathers, how she adored them, and they treasured her...now I see my brother learning to play the role of Grandpa. It's a mighty special relationship; I can't complain about a thing in my childhood, but it would have been even better with a Grandpa or two in it.

One of my grandfathers was a pedophile, the other was 80 the year I was born and meaner than any three Westboro Baptist people. His kids and his wife attested to this.

Grandmothers? One cooked like a dream and whined like a rusty hinge. The other was a sour, bitter, angry old bat whose least destructive interaction with you involved slapping your face.

The concept "happy family" carries no meaning for me.

((((Richard)))) I'm so sorry.... It sounds like there's not one person in your entire family that had a redeeming quality. :(

Please come to Georgia and be a part of my family. They are FAR from perfect, but they are loving at least. They get on my nerves and make me crazy but they love ANY ONE that I love.... We adopt folks into our family all the time. We have tons of love to give and I want you to be my family. As soon as the snow melts, come on down. You don't have to stay long, because they'll drive you batty too. Bring Stella and stay with Lisa and me and have a little vacay. We'll introduce you to my crazy parents and sister and show you around our goofiness. My brother / sister in law live in Texas and they are another story... ;)

But the Georgia folks are here and we have open arms for one Richard Derus!

Richard I know you despise The Help but I did see the movie and I wish every child was told they are kind, smart and important.

I'm sorry for all the awful you went through and I'm sure glad you're a swimmer not a sinker. I count you among my blessings.

>138 TinaV95: Awww! Tina, you are a sweetikins and I so appreciate you! That's the dearest and kindest thing I've heard tell of this livelong day. But as to redeeming qualities, didn't you see the part about my paternal grandmother cooking like a dream? Omigosh her potato salad...! Bacon, chopped homemade dill pickle, mustard powder and horseradish and mayo...*drool*

Now go calm Lisa down with reassurances that the offer is what I treasure, I won't be inflicting myself on y'all any time soon. (Besides, travel is out :_{ unless a miracle occurs.)

>139 luvamystery65: Gee Roberta, you and Tina seem to be working overtime to convince me that not *all* women are vile, irredeemable hate-factories! I might even, tentatively, start to imagine that a few might not be cat-hugging man-hating shrieking wretched viragoes.

Naaaah. A lifetime of experience says otherwise.

:-P

Mr Universe puts out the fire to keep the crew together.
My maternal grandmother was everything that one could hope or envision for that role. Cuddly, full of stories, advice and love. Adored the ground she largely flattened with her tread.
Paternal grandparents were on the other hand mean-spirited and nasty individuals who, redeemed by a fantastic work ethic were let down by a viciousness of countenance and zero sense of humour.

>141 PaulCranswick: One of four is an enviable average from my PoV.

I grew up with a man-hating mom. Man-hating is waste of energy.

I am a crazy dog lady! Allergic to cats.

Shrieking wretched virago…not really but I can still get all Latina from time to time.

I heart you! You're the sweetest meanie I know.

*smooch* and don't you mean "de vez en cuando?"

¡*besitos* y si!

Oh, Richard dear, you do call me the sweetest things--"cat-hugging man-hating shrieking wretched virago"! Well, the cat-hugging part fits, anyway.

>138 TinaV95: Tina: Wow. Since Richard can't take you up on your offer...will you adopt me? I already have an amazingly loving and supporting family, but who couldn't use two? Ha!

Morning, Richard!

Way behind but having skimmed, just want to drop off a big dollop of love and smoochies. Despite a few skeletons I sometimes fail to realise how bloody lucky I am in my family.

Good morning, Rdear.

Goodness, lots of family trauma here. It makes my mum seem quite benign.
Well, almost.

Cannot, and never will be able to, imagine a family without laughter and constant joking, poking fun, conversation and, um, animals. When I consider others, I seem to have a nearly idyllic childhood, at least from ages 5 to 12.

> Me too. As I get older, and hear from more people, I realize how my not-so-perfect family was pretty special.

As for who I would want on that bench, well, my father's parents would be top of the list. I lost my paternal grandfather when I was 2 1/2. I was closes to him of the four. My paternal grandmother was stricken with Parkinson's and impossible to communicate with when I was a child - I'd LOVE to talk to her when she was healthier, and hear her stories. And my maternal grandfather was far more interesting in retrospect than he let on - I'd ask him for stories of his childhood.

My maternal grandmother was very loving, but very grim. I think I'll let her rest as is. Except that I want her recipe for spongecake, the best I've ever come across by a mile, and her oatmeal cookies. Oh well. I'll have to invite her too.

Then there are my mother's siblings, both gone now. It would get crowded.

>145 luvamystery65: *smoochings*

>146 ronincats: You would choose the one completely unforgivable attribute on the List of Shame, Roni....:-)

>147 scaifea: Isn't she a smoochster, Amber? So generous of spirit...but that shouldn't be a surprise, considering her career as a caregivers' caregiver.

>148 BekkaJo: Thanks, Bekka! It's always a joy to get love and smooches. It's always a good thing to remind one's self how truly fortunate one is. Even I, amazingly, can be moved to tears by the horrendous sufferings of others' childhoods that so far eclipse mine. The amazing part to me is that so many of us survive.

>149 Matke: No. Not benign. No indeed. Mine was a materially privileged childhood, but an emotional abattoir. Sending smooches away to Alabammy for your un-zippy day's plans!

>150 ffortsa: Interesting how grandparents cause such interest, Judy. I'd just never consider the possibility of chatting one of the old horrors up. I hope you're staying warm, what with the single-digit windchills.

I can't talk without you once again.

Lots of stories of horrendous families here....{{{{{{Hugs all around}}}}}. It makes me feel particularly lucky to have the family I've got...not to say they aren't all crazy of course. Thankfully none of them in ways that should get them tossed in jail I have to say!

I have not watched the show Firefly but if it is on Amazon Prime I can give it a try. I *heart* Amazon Prime but I heard on the Book Riot podcast that Amazon may be raising the yearly membership fee by as much as $40. I'm not sure I will continue on with the service if that proves to be true.

Richard... the offer stands and is forever open. Of course I forgot a little problem of your cat hatred when I was writing my message. :( That wouldn't work too well. I was too overwhelmed. I did see about your cooking grandmother, but also saw about the whining and that gets old FAST. I've got some whiners in my clan, but I won't keep you around them too long. ;)

Amber... mi familia es tu familia for anyone who needs one! :)

Richard... if Roberta and I ever meet face-to-face and get to put our collective energies together, you'd better watch out, honey. We're coming to rescue you!!!

>154 Cobscook: It's on Prime, and boy oh boy do I hope they aren't about to raise the price 50%. It's a stretch for me at $80 a year since it all comes out in a wodge, but I cannot do without the benefits of it on more than just book-buying.

>155 TinaV95: You're such a blessing of a being, dear and wonderful Tina. So inexpressibly dear and kind and good-hearted that I am all the more upset for the unkindness of your family's absence of acceptance and acknowledgment with respect of your marriage to Lisa.

Hi Richard! Have you seen this one yet:

Hi Nora! I love that one! And yes indeed, that's the very definition of bliss. Today I'm craving a cheese omelet, so I went to scope out the cheese situation in the fridge...a whole block of cheddar! Yay! Omelet supper here we come.

Hi Rdear, I had a wonderful moussaka. Enjoy your cheese omelet :-D

I used to love moussaka, Barbara, but aubergines give my gout a terrible flare-up. I miss them!

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that.

Just waving **HI**.

The Lustcase. I mean, staircase. No, lustcase is correct.

>161 Ameise1: *sigh* me too, me too.

>162 connie53: *smooch* hi Connie!

Hi RD *smooching back* . Wow what a beautifull 'lustcase'!

And there is room for more books there!

Oh, lovely idea for a stairwell library!

Love that staircase!

Whew, man was I behind here! Ok, firefly B-day Game:

Zoe puts out a fire to keep the ship flying.

love the lustcase. & comfy pajamas are a must.

Hello Richard! Just peeking in to wish you a good day. Have you seen this one?

hahahaha, that is a really great 'sign'!

>169 michigantrumpet:

>163 richardderus: Oh....gimme THAT.

>165 connie53: Like any well-managed collection housing, there is room for growth!

>166 rosalita:, 167 *sigh* Isn't it *dreamy*?

>168 Thebookdiva: That one actually makes sense, Abby, no fair!*smooch*

>169 michigantrumpet:, 170, 171 Yeah, that's a favorite of mine, Marianne, and it's always applicable.

>172 laytonwoman3rd: I know, right?! *drool*

So...a lovely surprise from my gentleman caller: After Dark: A Novel of Silver John arrived. We were chatting about the Manly Wade Wellman kick I've been on and he got me this. What a guy!

Your young man is very thoughtful.

*sigh* He is. Such a sweet guy.

Lovely to be gifted by a smart person, who is also caring. Very sweet.

I'm swimming my way through your thread while taking a break from unpacking boxes and reading. The POD was picked up today and I have my driveway back, and my covered parking which in our rainy winter is a great benefit. Yesterday, the yard boys did a great job on pruning all my overgrown northwest loving plants. There is more light in my house now. Yay! Come on Springtime!

smooches, dear man

>169 michigantrumpet: Got a good chuckle out of that one, and how true. :P

>169 michigantrumpet:. Thanks for a great laugh.

>153 richardderus:. Likewise.

I'm reading these posts from the bottom up. I can't keep up.

>169 michigantrumpet: LIKE

drive-by *smooch* before I get all behind by an entire thread again :)

Hi RMD! Good pictures I see scrolling by....and that top one is loverly!!! So- I say hello on your new (to me) thread, and state that I might catch up retrospectively, if I do :)
*smooch*

>156 richardderus: I love you, Richard. *smooch*

>163 richardderus: I'd say "lustcase" is accurate here. LOVE!!!!

>177 maggie1944: Ain't it, Karen44? I'm very fortunate. Hooray for more light in the house! It's amazing to me how much of a difference that makes to one's experience of a place, the light. Sending hugs!

>178 leperdbunny: It so is. So so is. Happy Hump Day (now), Tamara!

>179 labwriter: Ha! That's the ticket. Keeps you from going mad trying to read a whole wodge of posts.

>180 mckait: I KNOW, RIGHT?!

>181 bell7: Hiya Mary! *smooch* right back, sweetiedarling!

>182 LovingLit: Heck, start from where you are and call it good, Maudie. I myownself am just tickled aubergine you're back to posting!

>183 TinaV95: baaaaaaaawwwwwwww you angelflower you! *smooch*

Tickled aubergine- a phrase to take places!
A week off LT feels like a month- I missed my peeps, especially my dream team :)

Good morning, Rdear. How goes the battle? We're experiencing copious amounts of rain; better than snow or the dread "wintry mix."

Dr. appt. today to sort out the sinus/throat/bronchial problems. I'm a Life Member of the If You Ignore It, It Will Go Away Marching and Chowder Society, but 5 or so weeks would indicate that this may be a different sort of thing.

So, how are you holding up? How much do you like Stewart O'Nan? Did you think As I Lay Dying was funny, or am I totally warped beyond any hope of recall?

refraining from sharing germs....
just saying good morning!

Morning RD- Things move quickly over here, as usual! Just popping in and hoping you are keeping warm & snugly. We are finally warming up here. Hooray!

Hi Richard! *smooches*

Book aims to misbehave with Reavers on 'their' tail. Not much of a sentence..... and how, precisiely would Book EVER misbehave? Eat the last strawberry?

>186 LovingLit: *smooch* So happy to see you around and about, Maudie!

>187 Matke: Good morning, Danvers, and not a minute too soon are you going to the doc. I'll ignore most everything except bronchial stuff. Breathing is an amusing pastime that I'd prefer to continue unhindered.

Wintry mix *shudder* might be on its way here, too. I'd far, far prefer the predicted 2in of snow all by itself!

>188 mckait: Good morning, my dear, glad to see you! *smooch*

>189 msf59: Warmer is better, Mark, at this point even I think warmer is better. Ice is the devil. Stella thinks she's in heaven. Her peemails are far longer-lived and fresher in this weather. *grumble*

>190 wilkiec: Hi Diana! Sending hugs!

>191 sibylline: Morning cuz! Heh, Kaylee'd have words to say about that. But I suspect Book's past holds plenty of practice misbehaving. After all, his ident card got him free Alliance medical help....

Today's two book perks worth noting are:

Burning Bright by Ron Rash
Let It Come Down by Paul Bowles

each $1.99 on the ereader platform of your choice.

I didn't like The Awakening any more on second reading than on first. It's just not very good. See why I say so.

ETA link to edition

Keepin' up, just keepin' up.

I've put myself on a reading schedule so that I can finish the books I've started while doing all this darn nest building, boxes unpacking, bookcase filling, behavior. So I'm reading Of Parrots and People at a 10 page a day rate so I'll be prepped for the next Book Group; Light in August at a 25 pages a day rate so I'll finish as February reaches it soon to be end; listening to Cinder just because it is fun; and, finally, when I feel like it I sit down like a young student, open Guns in August and listen to the audio version so I keep my concentration. I shall get through that book, yes, I shall!

Sounds like fun?

Hi Rdear, how are you today?

Enjoyed your review of The Awakening, Richard. It can't be hated, that's like hating seltzer water. Nice! Did you post it? I had my thumb out, but all it got me was a ride to work.

>195 maggie1944: Sometimes that level of organization in the reading life is a huge help and a stress reliever. I can see this being a good way to do it for your busy self!

>196 Ameise1: Hi Barbara! *smooch*

>197 jnwelch: I've fixed up the touchstones, Joe, but this link is directly to my review.

Thank you for the link to your review of The Awakening. I have now starred that thread and will go back to read more of the previous reviews.

*smooch*

>199 katiekrug: *smooch*

And still more ebook goodness! This time it's a doozy: HarperCollins offers a FREE sampler of first novels they're publishing this year. I couldn't resist.

Aw, come on, Richard. My Kindle is gettng stuffed. Cut it out!

>201 ffortsa: No.



And it's never the wrong size or color, either.

Especially the book gifts we get ourselves!

>203 luvamystery65: There is a certain extra *oomph* in getting something unexpected from one's wishlist. I adore it.

Apparently I pre-ordered Quesadillas after I read Villalobos's first novel, Down the Rabbit Hole. I don't remember doing so, but Ammy assures me I did and they delivered the book today. Boo hoo!

>198 richardderus: Thank you. Duly thumbed.

No no, thank YOU!

#194> Richard, thank you for posting the link to your review of The Awakening, if only because it pointed me toward a thread I had no idea existed! So that's where you've been hiding your reviews! I looked for your review of The Goldfinch but didn't see it — do you have one hiding somewhere?

#200> A friend of mine, Carrie LaSeur, has her first novel included in that sampler. I downloaded it the other day but haven't gotten to reading it yet. I hope it's good!

Re: The Awakening - It is not like you, RD, to indulge in fence-sitting, hahaha.

Too true about a book being a PERFECT gift!!! Always! Why does no one but us here on this particular website seem to understand that?? ;)

>207 rosalita: Cool about your pal being in the sampler! I'll be sure to eviscerate that entry with extra cruelty. I mean, pay it special attention.

I've sort of stopped writing reviews. I got my titty in a wringer over at Goodreads when they deleted my data...backed up, true, but still!...and I stopped posting data there. Since that was the source of my limited influence...over 1600 followers there...it feels sort of pointless to write reviews.

Leafmarks, Booklikes, here, and my blog added together don't even get to half that number. *sigh*

>208 PaulCranswick: I know, I need to be less reserved so as to make my feelings known, don't I?

>209 TinaV95: I wish I knew why we couldn't convince people that, since gifts are meant to please the givee not the giver, a book from the wishlist is surefire success for all concerned.

I hate plastering on a smile as I open the mugs, the sweater, the *snort* tie! I haven't worn a suit in over 10 years and I won't ever again! Just give me a book. Used, new, whatevs, just pick it from the list and you're DONE!

Or gift cards......

I caught up with you before you started a new thread!! Lovely conversation here, as usual. Adding my thumb to that review of The Awakening - I miss your reviews. Just saying... Tomorrow is not Friday, but I feel it coming!

since gifts are meant to please the givee not the giver
I selfishly give books even tho those who are not as booky as myself. I see it as changing the world for the better, person by person :)
(I have yet to give a book to someone who "doesn't read" though - "doesn't read": whatever THAT means!)

RE: your review of The Awakening

Why don't you tell us how you really feel? LOL Great review, and thanks for writing it so I never have to read the book. I hate the idea of reading about a woman who would ignore her children for the sake of an affair, her art, her job, whatever. The kids didn't ask to be born!

So....there's a thumb there from me.

#210> I guess it depends on why you're writing the reviews. I write them because I enjoy exploring and (hopefully) explaining how I felt about a book. I never expect anyone to read them, really, so if anyone does and comments I'm darn pleased. But if you're writing them because you want lots of people to see them and maybe comment on them, I can see why you'd feel discouraged. Except you do write some reviews, and post them on that orphaned reviews thread, and on your mystery reviews thread. So how do you choose what you will write a review for and what you won't?

I hope none of this sounds like I'm attacking you, because I am truly not. I enjoy reading your reviews; I think you're a fine writer; I like the way your reviews make me think about my own reactions to a particular book, and I'd selfishly like to read more of them. That's all!

Heads up..... Gail's birthday!

Way back to #93 - Saffron helps a fugitive to keep the crew together.

Sounds like a typical episode but why can't I remember who Saffron is?? For the record, I know all the other characters listed as I've watched the the series (in proper order) and the movie both at least three times. I must be suffering from saffron block...

Also, The Awakening - My son had to read it in high school and again in college. He was not a happy camper, especially the second time. He thought it was awful. I had never heard of it when he read it the first time and by the second time I was wondering what great book I was missing. Hah!

>211 mckait: Yes, gift cards only come in one size: YAY!!

>212 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie me lurve. It's nice to be missed.

>213 LovingLit: I used to do that, too, until I realized that was the source of all the pinecone-shaped "decorative items" and *boggle* ties. I'm now an online-only giftcard giver when I can afford to, and must, give a gift.

>214 Cobscook: How I Really Feel About The Awakening, by little Richie D., age 54-1/2:

Me no likee.

>215 rosalita: No, Julia, not feeling attacked. I don't decide by any sort of conscious process what I'll bother to review. I got spoiled by the attention and influence of being a top reviewer in a big pond. Publishers and writers gave me oodles of books. I'm just sulking because my brief moment of attention is over.

I also miss the discussions--though not the flamings--that came with that stature. It's lovely, and I appreciate, to be complimented on a review, but it's not a substitute for a multipoint discussion. Group reads aren't a substitute because I don't want to read on a schedule.

I'm attempting to make myself get over it by setting a goal of having 1000 reviews here by the end of the year. About 130 to go.

>216 mckait: Thanks sweetness, I left her a cake.

>217 Copperskye: Oh my heck! What the educators imagine a male under 40 is going to derive from this tedious thing is beyond me. Most men will never get anything worthwhile from it. Men don't have any experiences (as a rule) that make Edna's struggle against invisibility relevant to them, or even comprehensible to them.

#191 sibyx,
Well there was that one time he let his hair down and scared River.

#213 Megan,
oh do I have stories about people who "don't read" but I will limit it to my landlady who told me she should read a book but she is too lazy. I am usually the only one reading at the laundromat.

#217 coppers,
Saffron was the character who tricked Mal into thinking they were married as the result of some sort of gift from people he had traded with. She was played by Christina Hendricks (Joan on Mad Men).

Good morning to you...I hope that you're feeling well today?
Or at least fairly chipper ?

Stephanie...River AND Zoe!

Hi sweetness, I'm doing okay...still haven't been outside, Stella feels like a lie-in this morning. Thank goodness. It's a sheet of white out there, though not windy yet.

Good Morning, BigDaddy!! How lovely of Stella to desire a lazy morning.

>217 Copperskye:/222: Saffron was one of my favorite characters... I have a feeling she would have had a much larger role in the series if it had continued. There was a lot of potential for her character there!

>225 Crazymamie: Good morning, cuddlemuffin! *smooch* I couldn't be happier. Stella usually jingles her jewels at me starting around 6a, wanting to go out and romp. When she progresses to a nose-touch, she's ready to go out for business purposes.

>226 dk_phoenix: YoSaffBridge was a great character, the serial bigamist babe! Kind of a female Jayne in the naked honesty of her desire to be Bad to the Bone. Of course, she was smart and Jayne gets out-thought by tree stumps.

#219> I think I do understand a little bit how you feel. When I was an entertainment reporter and editor for a decent-sized newspaper I got books and CDs in the mail every day, not to mention free tickets to concerts of all sorts. I had weekly book and music review columns that ran in the Sunday paper, which had a circulation of nearly 100,000. It was tough when I left that job to have the fountain of bounty dry up.

I agree about group reads, which either don't work with my reading schedule or just don't generate much discussion at all. I think substantive discussion of books is really hard on LT and I'm not entirely sure why or how to fix it. But I feel the lack.

Thanks for the thoughtful discussion. Just keep writing whatever reviews tickle your fancy (you do like having your fancy tickled, don't you?) and I'll keep swinging round and reading them and everything else you throw up. :-)

>228 rosalita: Yes, it's no fun to matter then all of a sudden not matter. Happens to us all at some level.



“Do your bit to save humanity from lapsing back into barbarity by reading all the novels you can.” —Richard Hughes

I am *GOB*SMACKED* that the USPS delivered at all today. I got a book from the gentleman caller today and the PO delivered it! Thanks for The Martian, sweetiedarling!

>228 rosalita:. I agree about group reads, which either don't work with my reading schedule or just don't generate much discussion at all.

Two thumbs up for that one, Julia.

Richard, your review of The Awakening left me laughing.

The group reads that work well for me aren't actually group reads, they're tutored reads, where someone like Ilana is asking questions about the books and someone like Liz is answering them, with others chipping in.

What group reads are good for, for me, is giving me some moral support in reading a long one I've been avoiding, like Anna Karenina.

>231 labwriter: Why thank you! I was irritated by that book and tried to express it with a little humor.

>232 jnwelch: I can understand that, Joe, and tutored reads are far and away more likely to cause comment than group reads because the point is to ask and answer questions.

Ooh, I've been hearing good things about The Martian. Please read and report back ASAP!

>234 katiekrug: 30pp in, it's got my attention.

Oh good, I'm really interested in The Martian, too. I forgot it just came out. Glad to have you blazing the trail, Richard.

220 - Snort! That was a very funny moment! I'd forgotten it!

Lashings of good tidings to you RD.
Carry on.

Yes right, River and Zoe both scared by Book's unleashed hair. Seriously funny.

Even Inara acknowledged Saffron's training and presence. And Jayne wanting to trade his gun Vera to Mal for Saffron was delightful.

I would probably watch the ever luscious Christina Hendricks read the phone book.

#230 Oh yay! The Martian is one that I want to read very much. I can't wait to see what you think of it.

Your gentleman friend keeps going up and up in my estimation!

>236 jnwelch:, 240 Liking The Martian a good deal indeed. I hope we don't fall into the "how do I end this and still stay consistent" failure.

>237 sibylline:, 239 I loved that episode. "You don't fix the Bible, River, the Bible fixes you." "But it doesn't make sense!" Oh yeah.

>238 LovingLit: Aye aye, Colonel! *smooch*

>23 roundballnz: Our mail truck zoomed right into the driveway, ejected a mailman who tromped onto the porch and left a box, reabsorbed the mailman and zoomed back out backwards, in the midst of the blizzard this morning. I was very pleased...the box contained books. Sometimes stuff in life works the way it's supposed to.

Rain on top of snow plus wind = Satan. It's HORRIBLE out there. We ain't goin' out again, thank goodness. Maybe not until April.

“We’re all a little weird. And life is a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall into mutually satisfying weirdness—and call it love—true love.”
― Robert Fulghum

Good morning Rdear

>244 richardderus:: Amen, brother!

>245 Ameise1:: Oh, the cuteness! The Cuteness!!

#34 and #66 - I was going to say a great-grandparent in order to learn more about some genealogical gaps, but when I saw scaifea's note about wanting to talk to her brother, it made me realize that that's what I wanted to do too. My brother Doug is still alive, somewhere, but I haven't spoken with him in 5 years. He's such an unhappy soul and there was nothing he would let me do for him. He's cut himself off and I have a missing piece of my life and heart because I can't speak with him.

*smooches* for a good day, RD from your own Horrible

>245 Ameise1: Good morning, Barbara! Many happy smiles in Switzerland today for the Olympic golds!

>246 scaifea: *smooch* Howdy, Amber!

>247 karenmarie: Oh dear. That's sad indeed. I don't miss my sisters, we speak (if you can call it that) electronically, but they weren't forces for happiness in my life nor, I suspect, was I one for it in theirs. I didn't like their husbands, I am still not interested in their kids, they've never seemed to want to relate to me in any kind of positive way, so it's best this way.

Happy VD, Richard!

SSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Sweetienubbins reads my threads! I do NOT want awkward questions.

*smooch*

Thanks, Abby, that's a sweet old-fashioned Valentine!

LOVE The Martin Chronicles ...
Also loved Anna Karenina back in the day when I had brain cells and hormones to fuel them...

Thumbed Awakening....

making soup and Duncan food...

wishing you melting rays

Thanks for the thumb, soup sounds good, The Martian is a novel not the collection of short stories, happy VD. *smooch*

oh... the blue text to me to Bradbury....

Which message was that in? This is the disadvantage of not giving any context to responses...I'd like to be sure all the touchstones are correct.

OIC

Oh well, can't fix that one. Drat.

Thanks, Berly! Back atcha!

>257 mckait:/258 - Voila. Ask (or not) and ye shall receive.

163.....lust lust lust.....

>261 katiekrug: *whew*

>262 tututhefirst: Me too! I adore it.

Waving 'hi':

**sigh**again!!**/sigh**

And Richard, I just noticed 163 even has dedicated spaces for tchotskes....

Stopping in for quick Happy Valentine's Day **smooches**

Just made it to the top of your thread. For some reason, my first thought re: the park bench was Noel Coward. Don't know why, but it made me smile!

Happy Valentine's Day, Rdear and lovely greetings from winterly Davos :-D

>264 connie53: Hi Connie!

>265 tututhefirst: Which can, of course, be modified or used to fit in odd-trim art books. Pas du tchotchke is my motto.

>266 michigantrumpet: Noel Coward! Gracious goodness me! That would be one sparkling hour.

>267 Ameise1: Hi Barbara! Enjoy Davos.

Happy Valentine's Day, Richard!

Hello Richard! No books were knocked over by my butt last night, my evil plan is working. :-)

Interesting parent talk earlier today. Even more happy and pleased with the decision I made to excise them from my life all those years ago.

*hugs*

>245 Ameise1: Awwww...!

Happy weekend Richard!

>269 phebj: Thank you, Pat! You too!

>270 AuntieClio: Stephanie, parental excision is what saved my own sanity many years ago. I know it hurt them, but they hurt me constantly and deliberately. When someone has been told, directly and in so many words, "do not presume to judge me just because I'm your child," their continuing "moral" judgments are deliberate provocations. I don't put up with that from anyone. So on today of all days, when we celebrate love in its many forms, I'm with you on celebrating self-love and self-respect.

>271 Copperskye: I know, right?! *smooch*

*lurk*

*lurking smooch*

*lurk*

Good heavens! Potter's Cloak of Invisibility slipped for a moment and I'd *swear* I saw Roni.

Who knew she was in Slytherin....

Hmmmpf! Obviously only Gryffindor housemates would be able to borrow his Cloak.

OIC "borrow" is it, not errrmmm "liberate" oooh aaaah.

Have a lovely weekend, Richard! xx

There is a schism between my father and I as I am pretty sure I have mentioned before. He is 70 this year in March and will not have his sons (one of whom, Peter, he tried manfully to ruin and render homeless) in attendance.

Stupid, crass and greedy man that he may be I will still have my guts upended when it is his day and I can't help the fucking biology of it. Want to hate him but can't.

Apart is good RD.
Have a wonderful weekend, dear fellow.

hey my favorite grumpy... there are so many posts I am missing I will demurely give up :P

instead let's do coffee - here is dark, soggy and all together ugly in between weather - we need some spring in our bones and house so here it goes:

Happy weekend, everyone! It's brunch day. Hash topped with poachies, a cup of hollandaise, toast, and some fruit. Perkins will accommodate your drinking whims at the bar:



Coffee is, of course, *always* available:

>277 wilkiec: Hi Diana, happy Olympics to you!

>278 PaulCranswick: I wasn't upset when my mother died, and I sincerely doubt I'll be upset when my father dies. I didn't love them, so there was nothing to curdle and no sense of something lost.They were bad people, and I am only sorry that I had to meet them at all.

>279 tigerlyly: Good Saturday, Lyly! *smooch* for the springtime wishes.

>280 richardderus: Ooh...be right there!

Perkins! Fire up the crepe pan, the doc is on his way. Nutella and banana in a cinnamon crepe, Darryl?

When I glanced at the coffee photo in >280 richardderus: I thought it said
COFFEE . . . . . . . Druids

And I was going to investigate. More coffee needed, clearly.

Happy weekend wishes for you..

>284 mckait: Ha! Ken Druids! Heh. He's a really nice guy, Ken Davids, a little odd but nice.

>283 richardderus: Nutella and banana in a cinnamon crepe, Darryl?

Can I have mine in a plain crepe?

My aunt still talks about the crepe I brought back to Jersey City when we went to the Creperie in NYC.

Sure, plain-jane's fine. Those are wonderful crepes indeed. I love a crepe now and again, but I couldn't make a habit out of eating them. Some foods are best left as treats.

Good morning, everybody. Yes, thank you, a cup of coffee is just the ticket! I hope your weekend plans will please. Mine are to alternate reading with putting junk away and doing as little work on homeowner association stuff as I can get away with doing. Awk! The reading part, and the putting stuff away part, will make me smile. No appointments, no plans, and so I can do as I please when I please and those are the best days! Hope yours is excellent, also.

>287 richardderus: I agree. The joy of eating foods like that would be diminished if you had them on a regular basis. That's why I only get hot doughnuts from Krispy Kreme every 3-4 months, even though there is a KK only two miles from me. (Hmm...I haven't had any since last summer.)

>288 maggie1944: A lovely day indeed!



Have some Ca' del Bosco prosecco. Oh wait, you wanted coffee. Well, have some prosecco in the meantime.

>289 kidzdoc: Hie thee hence! Time's a-wastin'!

Oooh! Prosecco! I only recently sampled some for the first time and it's a new favorite. :-)

If you can find it, Pat, the Ca' del Bosco brand is fabulous. It's from a region of Italy called "Franciacorta" and that's apparently "champagne grape Heaven" in Italian. The prosecco made there is like drinking angel's tears: Deeply and wickedly satisfying and, one is sure, a sin.

I love a glass of prosecco!

Hi RD, you have been busy feeding everybody, I notice.
You and Paul must have a secret frame-up to let us all gain weight just looking at those pictures. ;-)))

Enjoy all those virtual calories, Connie, since they stay inside the computer and not on our hips. It's a miracle!

Close enough to 300, so I've made a new thread.

Inara gets a rain stick after smuggling little dolls with heads that wobble

***

cat-hugging man-hating shrieking wretched viragoes

I'm allergic to cats. I love men. They are yummy. One in particular. Don't shriek - hate loud noises and high pitched noises. Wretched, no. I may fight depression but in general I have a positive, determined attitude.

virago: a domineering, violent, or bad-tempered woman.

No, no and no. Well, okay. I might be a little, um, "large and in charge" at times. But if I get any type of resistance, I tend to fold easily. I'm not at all violent and if anything, I'm told I'm too good natured.

So, NYAH! BZZZZZZ. :D

***

Couldn't find your review for The Awakening through the touchstone, so found it through your profile. Then went on a thumbing spree. Read a bit of Fleming, huh? Heh.

No, watched all the movies last summer on Amazon! They were all going away as of 31 August so I binged and watched them all. Amazing. Not something I'd recommend doing, like eating a whole box of chocolate.