Mamie's 2015 Madness (page 3)

Reflection of Milan in the pipe. (Diego Bardone)

My name is Mamie, and I love to read. That’s why we’re all here, right? This is my fourth year in the 75ers. Let’s see, what do you need to know about me? I like to take each day as it comes. I believe in kindness, in being gentle with people’s hearts. I think that words are powerful, so I would ask that you use them carefully on my thread. And I love to laugh.

About two years ago my husband and I packed up our Indiana born and raised family and moved to the Deep South, where macaroni and cheese is a vegetable, shopping carts are called buggies, and winter is just a breath of cold air. We wanted to sit on the back deck and look at the pecan trees, so we bought a house in Georgia where we could do just that. As I was a new 75er at the time, our moving adventures were a big part of my first thread, which is how our place got its name. Paul christened it the Pecan Paradisio, and that name has held true.

My reading is eclectic; I will read almost anything, but I avoid self-help like the plague. Not sure what that says about me. I read more fiction than non-fiction, and I tend to run home to Momma with rereads of old favorites and crime fiction when I can’t decide what to read next. I love discovering new authors, and I have slowly been dipping into new to me genres such as space opera and steampunk. I am learning the art of listening to audiobooks, and I have ventured into the landscapes of graphic novels. One thing about this group is that they are excellent with making recommendations. You will be better read than you ever imagined if you follow their advice.

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January Reads: (12 books)

1. Dead and Gone by Charline Harris (reread, 9th in the Sookie Stackhouse series), ROOT ebook
2. Walking Shadow by Robert B. Parker (21st in the Spenser series), library ebook (3 stars)
3. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, 2014 acquired ebook (4.5 stars)
4. The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel (3.75 stars), library hardback
5. The Ballad of the Sad Cafe by Carson McCullers (4 stars), 2014 acquired audiobook
6. King Lear by William Shakespeare (5 stars), 2015 acquired audiobook
7. Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch (4 stars), 2015 acquired audiobook
8. The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman (3.2 stars), 2014 acquired ebook
9. Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively (4.5 stars), 2014 acquired ebook
10. Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O'Nan (4 stars), library hardback
11. Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Winningham (3.5 stars), library paperback
12. First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen (5 stars), 2015 acquired ebook

Those of you who know me well know that while I love to plan and make lists, I then feel completely free to drop everything and just read what I want. The exception to that is if I told you that I would read something with you; I like to honor those commitments.

January Possibilities:

For Mark’s AAC:
The Ballad of the Sad Café by Carson McCullers, 2014 acquired audiobook (#22) COMPLETED
Reflections in a Golden Eye by Carson McCullers, 2014 acquired paperback (#19)

*If you have not yet read this author, I highly recommend The Heart is a Lonely Hunter – one of my top reads from last year

For Paul’s BAC:
Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively, 2014 acquired ebook (#15) COMPLETED
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, requested from library (#10), recommended by Kim Reading

For Jacqui’s ANZAC:
The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flanagan, library hardback (#2) - library copy had to be returned as someone else had requested it. THE NERVE!

For projects with friends here on LT:
The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman, 2014 acquired ebook (#22) COMPLETED
Moon Called by Patricia Briggs, ROOT ebook , this will be a reread

Other prospects:
Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth (#4), 2014 acquired ebook, shared read with Ilana
Chocolat by Joanne Harris (#3), ROOT paperback, this will be a reread, shared read with Ilana Reading
A Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O’Nan (#9), requested from library, recommended by Mark COMPLETED
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (#15), 2014 acquired ebook COMPLETED
The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher by Hilary Mantel, library hardback, recommended by Mark COMPLETED
The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh, 2013 hardback, gift from Benita
King Lear by William Shakespeare, 2015 acquired audiobook (followed along with PDF of play), shared read with Suz COMPLETED

TIOLI

There are loads of challenges running this year, and I intend to participate when my own shelves and the local library can provide a book AND when I feel like it. Those of you who participated in Mark’s AAC last year know that I was tainted, not pure. I’m fine with this. I love tainted. I want the challenges to a source of fun, not a source of stress, so I will take things one month at a time and see what happens. This space is just to help me keep track of those challenges.

Just a listing of what's already on my own shelves that I have not yet read:

Mark's AAC 2015:
January - Carson McCullers - The Ballad of the Sad Cafe (audio) COMPLETED, Reflections of a Golden Eye
February - Henry James-
March - Richard Ford
April - Louise Erdrich-
May - Sinclair Lewis- Main Street, Babbitt
June - Wallace Stegner-
July - Ursula K. Le Guin - The Left Hand of Darkness, Worlds of Exile and Illusion
August - Larry McMurtry- Lonesome Dove
September - Flannery O' Connor- A Good Man is Hard to Find, Everything that Rises Must Converge (audio)
October - Ray Bradbury-The Halloween Tree, The Illustrated Man
November - Barbara Kingsolver- The Bean Trees
December - E.L. Doctorow-

Paul's BAC 2015:

January :
Penelope Lively - Moon Tiger COMPLETED
Kazuo Ishiguro - Never Let Me Go (requested from library)
February :
Sarah Waters
Evelyn Waugh - Brideshead Revisited (audio/ebook)
March :
Daphne Du Maurier - Rebecca
China Mieville - The City & the City
April :
Angela Carter - The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories
W. Somerset Maugham
May :
Margaret Drabble
Martin Amis
June :
Beryl Bainbridge - Every Man for Himself
Anthony Burgess - Malayan Trilogy
July :
Virginia Woolf - I have her complete canon and have only read Mrs. Dalloway
B.S. Johnson
August :
Iris Murdoch - A Word Child, The Italian Girl
Graham Greene - Our Man in Havana, The End of the Affair (audio)
September :
Andrea Levy
Salman Rushdie
October :
Helen Dunmore - The Siege
David Mitchell - Cloud Atlas
November :
Muriel Spark
William Boyd - Brazzaville Beach, A Good Man in Africa
December :
Hilary Mantel
P.G. Wodehouse - Piccadilly Jim
Thirteenth Month :
Bernice Rubens - A Five Year Sentence
Aldous Huxley - Brave New World

Jacqui's ANZAC for 2015

Australia

January- Richard Flanagan - The Narrow Road to the Deep North (requested from library)
February-Cate Kennedy
March-Michelle De Kretser
April-Roger McDonald
May-Christina Stead
June-Kim Scott
July-Peter Carey
August-Helen Garner
September-Ruth Park
October-Robert Hughes
November-Kerry Greenwood - Flying Too High
December-Matthew Reilly

New Zealand

January-Fiona Kidman - In a Clear Light (requested from library)
February-Maurice Shadbolt
March-Elizabeth Knox
April-Alan Duff
May-Katherine Mansfield
June-Witi Ihimaera
July-Lloyd Jones
August-Keri Hulme - The Bone People
September-Michael King
October-Patricia Grace
November-Ngaio Marsh
December-Paul Cleave

Navajo Mystery(Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee)/Walt Longmire Project Navajo Mystery/Longmire Project

January - The Blessing Way COMPLETED
February - The Cold Dish
March - Dance Hall of the Dead
April - Death Without Company
May - Listening Woman
June - Kindness Goes Unpunished
July - People of Darkness
August - Another Man's Moccasins
September - The Dark Wind
October - The Dark Horse
November - The Ghostway
December - Junkyard Dogs

Patricia Briggs Group Read

MT = Mercy Thompson series
AO = Alpha and Omega series
WM = World of the Marrok

Here's our tentative schedule:

January: Moon Called MT
February: Blood Bound MT and Alpha and Omega AO (short story)
March: Iron Kissed MT
April: Cry Wolf AO and Star of David WM (short story)
May: Bone Crossed MT and Seeing Eye WM (short story)
June: Hunting Ground AO and Mercy Thompson: Homecoming MT (graphic novel)
July: Silver Borne MT
August: River Marked MT and In Red, With Pearls MT (short story)
September: Fair Game AO
October: Frost Burned MT
November: Night Broken MT
December: Dead Heat AO (NEW!) and the remaining stories in Shifting Shadows

Don’t laugh. Okay, go ahead and laugh. I want to read more from my own shelves and from the library this year, so I am going to try to keep my 2015 purchased books to just fifty. That’s right. You heard me. Fifty. I arrived at this magic number by taking my age (47) and rounding up to a nice even number. This is where I will post my purchases.

These books were pre-ordered in 2014, so I am not counting them in my tally:

Foxglove Summer by Ben Aaronovitch - comes out Jan. 6th COMPLETED 1/15
First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen - comes out Jan. 20th COMPLETED 1/23
The Alphabet House by Jussi Adler-Olsen - comes out Jan. 24th
Love and Freindship and Other Youthful Writings by Jane Austen - comes out Jan. 27th (this is a clothbound classic, which I collect)
Fairest by Marissa Meyer - comes out Jan. 27th
Prudence by Gail Carringer - comes out March 17th

1. Leaving Before the Rains Come by Alexandra Fuller - used an Amazon gift card that I got fro Christmas from Rae. Thanks, Rae! Purchased on 1/19/15, book comes out on 1/22/15

Mamie's Sweet Sixteen from 2014 (in no particular order)

1. The Hours by Michael Cunningham
2. *Middlemarch by George Eliot
3. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje
4. *The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton
5. Vanessa and Her Sister by Prima Parmar
6. *The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien
7. Stone Mattress by Margaret Atwood
8. The Descendants by Kaui Hart Hemmings
9. The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
10. *The Martian by Andy Weir
11. The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
12. *The Snowman by Jo Nesbø
13. The Bullet Catcher’s Daughter by Rod Duncan
14. *The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony
15. In Paradise by Peter Mathiesen
16. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller

* denotes that I listened to the audiobook

Saved one too many, so I'm bringing this back because I really love it.

That should do it - next one's yours!

Mami, Happy New Thread and I wish you a relaxed weekend.

Aw! So cute! Thank you, Barbara!

I set you up with the perfect desert island and you go and move on me? Sheesh, some people ;)

I know, right?! The old one was getting longish, which I know can make it hard to load for some. Feel free to move those lovely pics over here, Jenny!

Happy new thread, Mamie!

Thank you, Susan!

Happy New Thread, Mamie! One thing about this group is that they are excellent with making recommendations. You will be better read than you ever imagined if you follow their advice. So true!

Hope your weekend is off to a good start at the Pecan Paradisio.

Happy New Thread, Mamie.

>15 jnwelch: Yes, Joe, and I have gotten a lot of them from you! And thank you for those weekend wishes! The coffee had caffeine in it, so that is an excellent start.

>16 connie53: Thank you, Connie!

>17 Crazymamie: Mamie, I signed up for the Twinings tea mailing list before Christmas. The other day I got an email about their caffeine-free products. "Loser tea," I said to myself as I deleted the email. And then I thought of you :-)

Right, some views of our island:

Katie's Cabin


The view from her windows



The meadow



One of the coves



A reading castle



Tropical sandy beach for Roni



Swimming pool for Connie and Mamie, complete with cocktails

>18 susanj67: Oh, you made me laugh, Susan!! So delighted that you thought of me with the Loser tea! I am honored!

>19 lunacat: Hooray, Jenny! Thanks for that!

Lovely new thread, Mamie! Nifty island....

Thank you, Dejah! I am completely devastated that the PINES system is down until after the 20th. I mean, really!

Morning Mamie! Happy New Thread, my friend. Love the topper. I also love the On Tap image. Why didn't I think of that, huh?
You got my PM from yesterday, right?

I hate it when they do these 4 day updates - they're planning to do them twice a years, MLK and Labor Day. The system may be back up on Monday if they finish early. We'll see. Sometimes these updates have lingering effects.....

Morning, Mark! Glad you love the topper, and the "On Tap" image is in honor of you - you must have missed when I said that in my original thread. It will be here all year long - a tip of the hat to you, my friend! And yes, got your PM, thought I had responded, but I probably sent a PM to myself! I keep doing that! LOL!

>24 Dejah_Thoris: Me, too! I NEED that online access! Good to know when they are planning on doing them - I hadn't picked up on that.

I chat a lot with my favorite librarian. :)

SO you are IN the know! I'll remember that!

>19 lunacat: - I want to be there right now.

Hi Mamie! Happy new thread!

>29 katiekrug: Me, too! And thank goodness you're here!

>4 Crazymamie: Whoo a new thread for more shenanigans. I'm so glad I am not the only one aiming to misbehave!



Gonna post this one on my next thread!

>31 luvamystery65: Hello, Roberta! I LOVE that!! And yes - one can never have enough shenanigans!

Glad you got the PM, Mamie! And I am also glad the On Tap feature was in my honor. Smiles!
You should check your library and see if they have a copy of Through the Woods. I have a feeling this will be at the top of my GN reads for the year. It is that good and that creepy.

I will check, Mark! Creepy is good - I love creepy!

>34 lunacat: LOVE that, Jenny!!

>34 lunacat: Shenanigator could refer to a few of us here!
Flying start to number three Mamie.

Wishing a wonderful weekend to all at the Paradisio.

Thank you, Paul! Lovely to see you here!

Howdy do to your shenangalicious new thread, Mamie! I've been wrestling with the desktop all morning and I'm pacing the floors waiting to go out for Indian food tonight. Finally, a no need to cook a meal night!!!
Hope your Saturday is sunny and bright just like youuuuuu!

>34 lunacat: Love that Jenny.

Happy new thread, Mamie and to more shenanigans in Pecan Paradise.

Book #8: The Blessing Way by Tony Hillerman (3.2 stars), 2014 acquired ebook

I read this for the Navajo/Longmire Mystery Project that has replaced the Spenser Project this year. This was a strange first entry, I thought, given that we see so very little of who we would presume to be the main character, Joe Leaphorn, the Navajo Tribal Police lieutenant. We don't really get a feeling for his backstory or his motivations. What we do get is a whole lotta Bergen McKee, an anthropologist who comes to the reservation to research witches. As the story unfolds, there are multiple story lines that come together in the end and a fount of information about the Navajo way of life that is less than skillfully woven into the story. The book felt choppy and awkward in places to me, and the Navajo details felt like an information dump in spots, although it was always interesting. All of that makes me wonder if Hillerman originally wrote this as a stand alone, with no visions of a series in his head. Still, a lot of debut novels are less than stellar but offer the potential for something much more. This one qualifies, and I am hopeful, based on the comments of others who have read further in the series that this evolves into something more than this first book offers. I did really love the setting, and I also liked learning about the Navajo traditions.

>39 Carmenere: Thank you, Lynda - love that new word that you have created! We ended up having take-out this afternoon, but nothing as exciting as Indian food. We had a houseful, so we did pizza. Still, it was tasty and required next to no effort from me, so I cannot complain. And I thank you for those kind and complimentary wishes!

>40 cameling: Thank you, Caro!

I may not be Tony Hillerman's target reader. I read The Blessing Way a few years ago but I was unable to finish it. I remember thinking it was more of an anthropological study with a veneer of a story. Not that there's anything wrong with an anthropological study but if I wanted to read one, I would,and what I had wanted was a good story.

>41 Crazymamie: I don't have any quibbles with your review of The Blessing Way. The good news is that it's bound to get better from here! And next month we get to start the other series, which is exciting.

>43 cameling: To be perfectly honest, Caro, the only reasons that I finished it is because I am committed to doing the project this year, and because several people said that the books get better as you go along. " I remember thinking it was more of an anthropological study with a veneer of a story." This is a very interesting thought, and I agree with you - should be interesting to see what I think of the next one.

>44 rosalita: Ha! And even if it doesn't get better, then the discussion about the books is bound to be entertaining! I LOVE the Longmire books - I have already read the first five, but I am going to reread them with the project. I think you will really like those, Julia.

Oh I just love Hillerman! And his daughter has taken up the mantle.

I have somehow missed two threads already. I do apologize!

Hi Crazy--Perfect review of Hillerman's first effort. I agree completely! And I do love the company here so I am looking forward to our monthly commentaries, and drinks, and cabins in the snow and on the beach. Did I mention I like you and your posse? A lot! : )

>46 sibylline: Lucy, where have you been?! You have been missed, but we have been saving you a seat. And you enthusiasm for Hillerman makes me feel very hopeful about the quality of the upcoming books! I think I had heard somewhere that his daughter had taken over the series after his death - that's kind of cool, actually.

>47 Berly: Thank you, Kim! Your kind words made me smile - you say the nicest things!

>45 Crazymamie: In fact, sometimes the discussion can be even more fun if the book isn't stellar. I'm thinking in particular of all of your reactions to the Spenser clunkers.

>47 Berly: Kim, didn't you get the memo? You are officially part of Mamie's Posse! Which part of Jenny's fantabulous island do you want to live in?

>49 rosalita: That is so true, Julia! Good times, nothing but good times!

Julia has pointed out what was obvious to me - yes, you are part of the posse, Kim!

I may not be part of the posse, but if I got my south-facing sandy beach, I'm definitely part of the island!!

Oh! I love the thread topper! Beautiful photo!

Glad to know Foxglove Summer was another solid installment in the Rivers of London series. I've got it on hold at the library ON AUDIO (yay!) so I get to listen to the scrumptious voice of the handsome reader. Yay again! Sorry you weren't blown away by The Blessing Way. I read the entire series so long ago that I don't recall the individual books, exactly, only that the series is one of my favorites. Maybe the next in the series will rehabilitate your regard. :)

Hope you're having a great weekend!

>49 rosalita: >50 Crazymamie: Yay! I am part of the posse!! Feeling the love girlfriends. Okay, well, since you asked...I want the gorgeous mountain lake view from my window, but I want to walk out the front door onto the warm, sunny beach. Is that asking too much? I don't want to be any trouble or anything. ; )

It is raining like cats and dogs here, but without the fun of it actually being cats and dogs.

I'm in a posse? I've never been in one before!

One of our cabins has the lake view from the back and this view from the front, will that suit?



One of the upper rooms within the cabin

Nice, very nice. Especially the latter one!

We'll be picnicking here on the island today, if anyone would like to join me.

Morning Mamie! Happy Sunday! Hope you have an R & R day planned. I am loving my current reads, the Brief History of the Dead & Being Mortal. I see a theme there, don't you?

>57 lunacat: O yes! I'll be there. It looks lovely. Could we stroll to the teahouse? Or whatever it's called at the end of the pier?

Happy New Thread, lady!!

Absolutely, you can see the view from the gazebo is pretty amazing

Gazebo! That's the word I was looking for! And that a pretty nifty house in the distance!

>62 connie53: A surprising thing to find on a desert island certainly, but it houses a library so I let it stay :)

Of course!

Hi Mamie, I already missed lots of goings on here! Too late to wish you a Happy New Thread? Hope you've been enjoying a lovely weekend. It's good to have the good old Mamie back again, I'd really missed you last year!

My, what a lovely island Jenny has created. I'm more of a mountain than beach kind of person, so I'll be paying a visit to Katie's Cabin with those lovely views. I hope there's another chair in that well-furnished library. Side note: I love that my iPad wants to substitute LibraryThing every time I type library!

Mamie, I've read a few Hillermans here and there. My memories all involve a good mystery with the Navajo slant. I am heading out to my porch swing with The Blessing Way right now! Sunshine and 60 degrees here. Bliss!

>55 lunacat: Oh, yes, that will do very nicely. I am packing my suitcase.

Hi Mamie! Hope you're having a good weekend! I love the pictures that are posted all over your thread. Lucky you!

Happy New Thread, Mamie! I see that the island is shaping up to be quite the place!

Hello mom lovely thread here.

>66 Donna828: - Donna, I'd be glad for some company in my cabin! I think most people have been opting for the beach....

ETA: Hi Mamie! And, ooooh, a Rae sighting! Hi Rae!!

More seating required than just the one chair? We can do that, if you'd like to come downstairs in Katie's cabin.

>71 katiekrug: I'd kind of like to spend some time in all the different corners of this mysterious island. Sometimes the beach, sometimes the mountains, sometimes on that lake ... I am a woman of many moods!

Oh my goodness that topper photo is amazing!!

>73 rosalita: - The more the merrier!

And thanks to Jenny for doing such a good decorating job ;-)

"I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

Morning Mamie! I love the MLK quote. I hope you had a lovely Sunday. I am pretty much goofing off today. You?

>78 msf59: Morning, Mark! I love that quote, too. Sunday was...well...it could have been better. We were watching the VikingsPackers/Seahawks game and enjoying a meal that I have eaten many times, and all the sudden Craig is looking at me strangely and saying, "Uh oh..." I had a severe allergic reaction to something, and we still don't know what. So I spent the rest of the evening doped up, which was probably a good way for me to watch that second playoff game. So, I'm thinking that Sunday could have been better. On the other hand, I've had worse. LOL! Now today - definitely goofing off!

Wow! You guys have been busy here! And I'm liking the way that our island is looking - thanks, Jenny for all of your efforts! Watched both playoff games yesterday, and what an amazing fourth quarter those Seahawks had! Go Seahawks!! I have no idea what happened to the Colts. Yikes! Anyway, Seahawks and Patriots advance to the big show, which I hope will be an actual game this year.

>51 ronincats: Roni, make no mistake, you are in the posse! And looks like Jenny has got you covered as far as your island wishes go.

>52 Storeetllr: Thank you, Mary. I have decided to go with reflections this year for toppers since this thread is a reflection of my reading and my thoughts throughout the year. And hooray for getting to indulge in the fabulous narration of Kobna Holdbroke-Smith! I just adore him! I am often not blown away by the first entries in murder mystery series, so no worries. My weekend turned out too be full of surprises - how about yours?

>53 Berly: Can you ask too much of a fantasy island? I think not! Funny you should mention it raining cats and dogs - we were just talking about that expression the other day and wondering where it came from. Rae has trouble with idioms, as she is very literal with her thinking and so we have tracked a lot of those expressions down, and the explanations are almost always very interesting. Guess I'll have to look that one up now! hoping that the rain has stopped, and that you are enjoying a bit is sunshine today.

>54 connie53: There's a first time for everything, right Connie?! And I love your enthusiasm!

>55 lunacat: All of these wonderful places are looking very inviting, Jenny! Nice work!

>56 connie53: *grin*

>57 lunacat: I love a good picnic! You packed wine, right?

>58 msf59: I was just thinking that you reading has a theme, and then you mentioned it, Mark! Mostly just watched the games on Sunday, although I did squeeze in a quick trip to the market for snacks.

>59 connie53:, >61 lunacat:, >62 connie53:, >63 lunacat: ,>64 connie53: Looks like you have sorted everything out Connie and Jenny!

>60 scaifea: Hello, Amber! Thank you!

>65 Smiler69: Hello, Ilana! Me, too!! Absent for one day and looks at all the lovely photos! And thank you so much for those kind words - how lovely of you! I need to come catch up with your thread properly - I have lurked but not posted, and now I am behind again.

>66 Donna828: I agree, Donna! I would like to hang out in Katie's cabin, too! And so funny about your iPad!!

Your weather sounds perfect - enjoy your mystery!

>67 Berly: Most excellent, Kim! We will reserve your suite!

>68 The_Hibernator: Hello Rachel! Lovely to see you here! The weekend was mostly good. We had beautiful weather. I love those photos, too! COuld not agree more - lucky me to have such great friends posting here!

>69 lkernagh: Thank you, Lori! We are all going to be wanting a spot on that island!

>70 GeezLouise: Hello there, Rae! Welcome! And thank you!

>71 katiekrug: I would choose the cabin over the beach every time, Katie - especially if you're there!

I think Rae might be setting up a thread later today!

>72 lunacat: Oh, I love the look of that library, Jenny!

>73 rosalita: Looks like Jenny's got your many moods covered, Julia. ANd when you're in the mood for a drink and a bit of mayhem, come on up to the cabin!

>74 SuziQoregon: Thank you, Juli! I knew as soon as I saw it that it was destined to be a topper this year!

>75 katiekrug: Somehow, I knew you'd say that!

>76 katiekrug: Agreed! Thanks to Jenny for all of the beautiful photos and all the work she has put in to make our island a reality to us!

Happy new thread, Mamie!

Thanks, Valerie!

Okay, here's some very exciting news for all you Sarah Addison Allen fans - her newest book First Frost comes out tomorrow. AND it's a follow-up to Garden Spells!!! Supposed to be set ten years after the first book -I cannot wait! This is one of the books that I pre-ordered last year, so it will magically appear on my Kindle after midnight tonight!

>86 Crazymamie: Oh, my. I'm one of those Sarah Addison Allen fans, Mamie, and Garden Spells remains my favorite. Thanks for the tip!

I'm going to start The Night Circus, which should make many LT warblers happy. When I mentioned I hadn't read it a while ago, the cafe filled with birdsong.

Glad the mysterious allergic reaction departed, and I hope you have a great Monday.

Yes do start in Het nachtcircus. I'm just adding some more buzz to the birdsong.

>87 jnwelch: I knew that she had a new one coming out, Joe, but I hadn't realized that it was connected to Garden Spells, which is also my favorite of hers. And I am ecstatic that you are finally getting to the Night Circus - I really loved that one. Pure magic. I remember reading that one from the library, and when I was finished I went right out and bought myself the hardcopy. Glad I did, too, as the book itself is gorgeous - love when they do a good job with the entire package.

Enjoying my Monday so far, thank you!

>88 connie53: I know - it's a good one, isn't it, Connie!

>79 Crazymamie: Vikings/Seahawks? We Minnesotans should be so lucky to make it to the NFC Championships. Those were the hated cheeseheads playing.

So sorry to read about the allergic reaction! And that Colts loss...I was rooting for them, for various different reasons, but it clearly didn't do much good. :-(

Take care - I hope you're feeling better and a wee bit less doped up today.

Thank you, Kerri. It's my second reaction like that in just a week or so - hoping to figure out what caused it. And the Colts! They didn't even show up! I have no idea what happened there - I was expecting a good game at least. But your Seahawks were awesome! Go Seahawks! They were crazy good in that fourth quarter!

And yes, thank you, I have come out of the drugged haze. I feel fine today, but I have only eaten vanilla yogurt - feeling just a wee bit nervous about eating anything else.

>90 Oberon: Oops! Almost missed you there, Erik! Whoops! I knew it was Green Bay. Perhaps the drugs haven't completely worn off. YIKES!

Ahhhh..add me to the Allen fanclub. I had no idea she had a new one coming out. Gotta get my hand on that one, but first really, I should read Garden Spells. I'm such a hoarder.

>93 Crazymamie: If you could come up with drugs that would replace the Vikings football for Packer football you could make a lot of money in this state! Hope you are on the mend.

>94 jolerie: VALERIE! what do you mean you haven't read Garden Spells?! Yes! Get on that right away!

>95 Oberon: Ha! I'll see what I can do! And thank you!

Sorry to hear about your allergic reaction Mamie, but I'm glad to see it's cleared up now, even if it did leave you doped to the max. Hopefully you'll be able to figure out what it was.

I've never had a food allergy but I am allergic to nearly all grass, trees and pollen. The time from the beginning of March till around the middle of September is always a fun game of balancing my symptoms with how drugged I want to feel, and playing juggle the medications as if I take a particular one too many days in a row it stops working. I might actually go to the doctor this year about them to try and get some stronger drugs.......I can't bear another spring like last year.

My post disappeared! Grrr!!!

Happy Monday Mamie.

Scary about the allergic reaction. I hope you figure out what it is quickly.

Great quote by MLK, and I was just reading an ER book about Thailand today and how the protests went violent. He and Gandhi were right.

I have strange allergies, Jenny - I am allergic to some nuts, but not all of them, and some shellfish. I am also allergic to a lot of soaps and cleaning products, so I tend to stick with what I know works for me. What freaks me out is when I have a bad allergic reaction to some unidentified substance. What I will do is go back and revisit everything I was eating at the time, but just one thing at a time to see if I can narrow it down. Nothing was new to me, but perhaps something old has a new ingredient - like the taco seasoning or the salsa.

I cannot imagine being allergic to grass, trees and pollen because they are impossible to avoid - YIKES! Hoping that you do go to find out if they have better drugs to manage your allergies - those are scary ones.

>98 luvamystery65: I hate when that happens, Roberta! I hope we find out what caused the reaction, too - it bothers me that it might be some tiny ingredient in the taco seasoning or the salsa. If it's my Fat Tire beer, I will weep.

Happy Monday to you, too!

>99 cammykitty: Thank you, Katie! It's disturbing to note that we have progressed and yet we still have so very far to go. Everything he said (and Gandhi, too) is still very relevant today.

Sorry to hear about your mystery allerhic reaction Mamie :-( Just stopping by to say that I have nearly finished Foxglove Summer and I have been loving it!

Thank you, Heather. I'm so glad that you are loving Foxglove Summer - the only bad thing is that now we will have a long wait until the next installment! *sigh*

I knew First Frost was coming out soon - didn't realize it was tomorrow! I will be buying the hardcover. I have all of her books in hardcover. And if I could just rant for a second: I was *really* annoyed when my copy of her most recent, Lost Lake, arrived and it was a different size than the others. The first four look so pretty lined up on the shelf together, but I guess she changed publishers, and LL was a large hardcover vs. the smaller ones that I like so much. *sigh* First world problems...

>104 katiekrug: I know what you mean about different sizes or different cover art for that matter. I was so happy the Dutch publisher of the books by Diana Gabaldon offered free dust-jackets for book 8A and 8B to match the previous books in cover art. Now they look good together in the bookcase.

Rant away, Katie - that always bothers me, too. Anymore, I almost always purchase the trade paperbacks because of my wrists, but they do the same thing with those - my Olen Steinhauer's are a complete wreck because the book size and font size don't match! I have four and they are all different - and it's the same publisher, for Pete's sake!

>105 connie53: Yep. Sing it, sister!

I am done running around, Mamie! It is time to dive back into my books. They are screeching my name. I just want to visit a couple of threads, by golly!

I asked this on my thread too, but have you read The Brief History of the Dead. If not, this could just be your cuppa !

Thank goodness you can finally settle down and read, Mark! I have not read The Brief History of the Dead - in fact, I had not even heard of it until you mentioned that you were reading it. It you say it's my cuppa, then I'll just add that title to the list - you are almost always right!

Brockmeier has been on my To-Read list for a long time now. I am glad I finally pulled it off the shelf. Funny story: I was describing the book to my son yesterday and he immediately said, he had read that one in high school. WTH? I never read books like that in H.S. Of course, I LOVED the classics but reading something modern once in awhile would have been a treat.

Oh, that is funny, Mark! We never got to read any modern stuff, either.

Your being doped up probably made the Pats/Colts game less boring ... and this is coming from a Pats fan! I was hoping for a more exciting game - although it didn't need to be quite the heart-stopping game that the Green Bay/Seattle game was, and although I'm really glad my team's going to the Superbowl, I wish the Colts had thought to come onto the field to play football instead of running around like headless chickens.

Are you going to get the patch tests to find out what you're allergic to? Could it have been expired spice in the food, perhaps? The only thing I'm aware of that I'm allergic to is iguana. Apart from that, I don't seem to have any food allergies. Oh, I was allergic to shrimp when I was a kid and would break out in hives whenever I had any. Which drove me nuts because I really liked them, so one year during summer holidays, I decided to eat shrimp everyday for 2 weeks. I itched like mad and probably looked like i had the measles or some scary skin disease but guess what? I'm no longer allergic to shrimp. :-)

>112 cameling: And how often do you find hidden traces of iguana in your food? That must be a nightmare to keep track of, it's disguised in so many items.

No, it did not, Caro! I would have had to be sleeping for it to be less boring! Regardless of who is playing, what I like to see is good football, and the Colts were a HUGE disappointment.

I would do the patch tests only as a last resort - I am hoping to figure it out on my own. I have a very severe reaction to scallops - not just hives but swollen tongue and throat, difficulty breathing, etc., so needless to say, I will not be trying out your remedy any time soon even though I did love how they tasted in that one bite.

>113 lunacat: Jenny, you made me snort me coffee! Hidden traces of iguana! Actually, that's quite disturbing if you stop and think about it. *crosses fingers that there are no hidden traces of iguana in ANYTHING*

They do blood tests instead of patch tests any more for allergies, so much more comfortable and according to my doctor, much more accurate as well. Sorry about your reaction, Mamie, but as Caro commented, the drugs probably made the Colts/Patriots game more endurable.

You're not supposed to snort your coffee, you're supposed to drink it. Snorting it makes the hidden taste of iguana come to the fore.

They say that insects are going to be the best way to keep our ever expanding population in protein so perhaps iguana is the first step ;)

See? I'm not even current with the times. And my husband's a doctor! Oh, well, I would do it if I could not figure it out on my own and it continued to be a problem. I don't know that the drugs made the game more endurable, unless you are talking about making it more endurable for those watching it with me since I was too zoned to properly yell. So, the game was still awful, but I remained seated and on good behavior.

I know. Believe me, I know, but lately that has become difficult while visiting certain threads. And no to the iguana. Just no.

Sorry to hear about your troubles with allergic reactions Mamie. Please excuse me now as I have to go check the labels of all the food in the house for hidden iguana ingredients. :)

>120 Cobscook: I know, right?!

So guess what? I had another reaction tonight! We were having steak, steamed broccoli, and roasted potatoes, so we are thinking definitely a spice. Unfortunately Craig was a crazy man with the spices on the steak, but one of the spice mixtures he used had almost the same list of ingredients as the taco seasoning, so....

Anyway, my poor body, so no spices for me the rest of the week and Craig wants me to take Allegra regularly for a while, too, because now after three big reactions so close together, my system is overloaded and probably hypersensitive. Bummer.

I'm sorry you're going through a rough patch with the allergies. I feel your pain. I have been allergic to tomatoes for years. I figured out earlier this year that I have at least a sensitivity to corn, if not an allergy. It was very hard to pinpoint since it's in almost all processed foods in some form. Allegra and Claritin do not work for me. I take Zyrtec regularly and add Benadryl if I have a reaction to something.

Patch testing for allergies is still used. I had patch testing earlier this year, but not for food allergies - just environmental ones. A coworker had blood tests for allergies that only found an allergy to one tree. When she continued to have allergic reactions for some unexplained reason, her doctor sent her for patch testing. This revealed a slew of allergies that the blood tests didn't uncover.

It could be worse, Mamie. My friend Andrea has developed an allergy to wine. Especially red. Can you imagine?!?!

But seriously, I'm sorry you're having to deal with that. No fun at all :(

Allergies. Blech. So sorry yours are acting up, but glad you have an idea what it may be. And thank God for OTC allergy drugs, huh?

I never had any allergies or sensitivities to much of anything until I reached middle age. Now, just the faintest scent of a chemical can send me to bed with a migraine, and I don't want to talk about how red and burning my eyes get and how stuffed up my sinuses get during high pollen days. Luckily, no food allergies (of which I'm aware), though I suffer when I drink wine, esp. red, due to the sulfates in it, I guess. I know you can find wine without sulfites, but it's more expensive, and I don't care enough about drinking the stuff to pay the price. Gin & tonic works for me just fine. :)

Anyway, feel better soon!

Crazy--You have my utmost empathy! When I was a little kid I was allergic to 90 out of 100 things they skin tested me for and my poor Mom had to put me on a rotation diet so I couldn't eat leftovers or have the same thing two meals in a row. Allergy shots for years! Ugh. Then I discovered acupuncture--Nambrudipad Allergy Elimination Technique. NAET. Now, I was very skeptical. I was a Neuroscience major. My husband is a chemical engineer. But you know what? It is WAY wu wu and I don't care because it worked for me! I ate my first egg at age 36 and it has cured so many things for me. Still can't eat nuts, but I won't die now. Just lots of hives. (I still carry an epi pen just in case.) You should check it out! No matter what though, take care and no more reactions for a while now, OK?

>121 Crazymamie: & >123 katiekrug: Allergic to spices! Allergic to wine! At least you are not allergic to books my dear. Hope you get to the bottom of it soon.

Oh boo to allergies! I hope it's not those pecan trees in your back yard....
I'm a 365 day taker of Zyrtek; can't imagine life without it. I'm not a lot allergic to anything but apparently I'm mildly allergic to lots of things: dust, animals (sigh), grass (that's probably the worst offender), pollens. The zyrtek just keeps it all under control. It also allows me to live with Abby and to bury my face in the fur of friends' canines when I visit. :-)

I hope they figure out what it is and that the solution is as easy as mine.

I've never read Sarah Addison Allen. Heck, I've never even heard of her! Until now....

Thanks for fixing the link to Connie's thread, Mamie!

Oh no, sorry to see about the third allergic reaction Mamie. I hope you can give your system a bit of a rest and then start to figure out what's going on. I've read a few things now about people using NAET to cure their allergies, and while I find it all rather 'hippy dippy' it might possibly be something to look at?

Or you can just go down the normal route and go to the doctor :). At least all this talk is inspiring me to think harder about seeing my GP about the allergies this spring. Whether I'll do it when it comes to it is another matter though!

Hope you begin to feel better soon.

Mamie, I'm sorry to read about the allergy problem. Could it be a colouring ingredient in the spice/taco mixture, perhaps, rather than the actual spice?

Cherry tomatoes give me blotches (other tomatoes are fine, weirdly) but apart from that I've been lucky. It must be scary when it happens, though.

Oh, dang, Mamie - I'm sorry about all of the allergic reactions! I broke out in hives a couple of Thanksgivings ago and still don't know what caused it exactly, although I've narrowed it down to either the cranberry sauce (first time I'd ever eaten fresh cranberries) or the MIL... Ha!

>104 katiekrug: That always annoys me too. In one case, I went back and bought the earlier books again to match the later books....

>121 Crazymamie: Oh no! :-(

Good luck with the allergy hunt, Mamie - how miserable. I had a one time allergic reaction to Chinese food as a teenager which scared the socks off of me. I've never eaten Moo Goo Gai Pan again!

I hope your reading is taking your mind off the mystery.

ETA: And obviously I need to get around to reading Garden Spells. I've had a copy since it came out, lol.

Morning Mamie! Hope the day is going well and you are feeling fine.

So sorry to hear about your allergies. I hope it's getting better soon. Hugs xx

Mamie, thank you for making my thread accessible to everyone here! I'm very grateful for that! Really very sweet of you.

And take care with all things allergenic! I hope you did not have another one and are just reading or doing something nice.

Today was a good day at the Pecan Paradisio. Started off slow, as I was feeling not quite myself, which I think is just the fallout from the reactions and the drugs to counter the reactions. On Mary's thread, she had posted photos of her new gym and was talking about what she is doing to get in shape, which made me think about how I have not been walking like I used to. So I did go today - just 2.5 miles, but it was a start. Dan went with me, which was fun. Then off to Target to pick up the Zyrtec - I went with Zyrtec instead of Allegra just based on comments here, so thanks for that. Stopped by the library as they had a few of my holds come in. Here's what came home with me:

A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley - looking forward to this after all the recs for it here
The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstøl - I am thinking Jim recomended this one
Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham - because last year I read and loved both the Hours and The Snow Queen

The weather was gorgeous here today, so when we got home, I sat out on the deck and read for an hour or so. Then I took a nap! For dinner we had salad with all fresh ingredients, so I ate mine without dressing just to ensure no reaction to anything. And just water - no wine! *sob* Setting the alcohol aside for the rest of the week and trying to eat only fresh food with no hidden ingredients just to give my body a break. No allergic reactions today, so that is a very good thing!

On the reading front, I did finish up Moon Tiger, which was a huge hit for me - I gave it 4.5 stars. I will share some thoughts about what I liked about it and some quotes from it tomorrow. In the meantime, thanks so very much to all of you who have stopped by with your thoughts and your good wishes. I am thankful for each and every one of you!

Hi Mamie, sorry you've been having these allergic reactions, and I hope you are able to find out what was causing it. The not knowing would drive me crazy! I was planning on spending the afternoon reading, but I got caught up here on LT and now it's time to start preparing dinner! My granddaughter is coming tonight so want to make something nice for her.

I'm glad you're hanging in there! We had glorious weather here today too. The cold temperatures are supposed to come back overnight. :(

Good thinking about keeping things simple to give your body a break. I even support the ban on wine.

Glad you're feeling better!

Sorry to hear about the allergy troubles, Mamie. I can sympathize as I have a niece and nephew who have severe allergies, several of them and all different ones. They can never eat food outside of the home because of cross contamination. Their mom is a superhero in my eyes because how she handles the daily stress of feeding her kids, something that I take for granted most days. Lucky your hubby is doc and can provide you with insight and med advice. Hope you feel better soon!

Yay, sounds like you had a lovely day, and I'm pleased to see no allergic reactions. Hopefully by giving your body a bit of a break, you'll be feeling completely back to normal soon.

Today would have been my Dad's 89th birthday. He loved old movies and chili cheese dogs and sarcasm and me. Last year we ate chili cheese dogs while watching one of his favorite movies in honor of him. This year, since I am avoiding things like chili cheese dogs for the moment, and since three of our Paradisians have a thing tonight, I am going with something quieter. Something indulgent just for me - I haven't decided what that is yet, but you'll be the first to know.

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Happy Birthday to your Dad, Mamie! He sounds like a very special man!

Morning, my friend! Glad you loved Moon Tiger and snagged a copy of A Thousand acres. You made this mailman proud.

Happy Birthday to your Dad. I hope you find something to do that is a lovely treat, and that honours him.

Happy Birthday to Papa Mamie! I love your tributes to him. And i love that when you post a photo, I can see you in him.

Have a good day, my friend.

Catching up with the thread:

>122 cbl_tn: I went with Zyrtec since you and Ellen both said that worked for you. Corn and tomato would be tough ones because those are hidden in so many different things - my niece can't have gluten, and I was amazed at all the places it turns up that you just don't think about. Like hand lotion and condensed soups. Good to know about the patch tests vs. the blood tests - filing that away in case i need it in future. Thanks, Carrie!

>123 katiekrug: No, I cannot imagine. How unfortunate - you are so right; that would be much worse for me. And yes, no fun, but "we get what we get, and we don't throw a fit". *crosses her fingers that she never has to deal with a wine allergy*

>124 Storeetllr: So true that at least there are OTC drugs to deal with it! And thank you for those kind words, Mary.

>125 Berly: I have never heard of that, but I am not one to doubt in such things. I believe there is plenty of magic in the universe. Thanks for sharing, Kim.

>126 PaulCranswick: Truth, Paul! I NEED my books! But I would love to also have the wine...

>127 EBT1002: Yes, Ellen, boo to allergies! It's not the pecan trees, thank goodness! And thanks for sharing about the Zyrtec - I went with that over Allegra since you and Carrie both said it worked for you. Also thank you for those good wishes. Sarah Addison Allen writes books that are full of magical realism, so if you don't like that, steer clear, but if you do - then Garden Spells is a delight.

>128 Storeetllr: Jim fixed it, Mary, and he was scary quick with it, too! I sent him a PM, and boom baby it was done!

>129 lunacat: Feeling more myself today, Jenny, now that I have had a break. And the nap yesterday helped, too, I think. If we can't figure it out, then i will definitely follow it up. And thank you for those good wishes!

>130 susanj67: Good thought, Susan - it definitely could be. It is scary when it happens but also annoying. This was just hives the first time, but by the third time my tongue was swelling, and that's when it starts to scare me a bit.

>131 scaifea: Probably the MIL, Amber! Yours sounds eerily similar to mine, so you have my sympathies.

>132 souloftherose: I did that, too, Heather - I had been collecting the George Smiley books by le Carré, and then they totally changed the covers of the trade paperbacks. I ended up getting all new ones, and buying them all together so it couldn't happen again. Luckily, Roberta took the other ones, so they didn't go to waste.

And doing much better now - no allergic reaction yesterday! *grin*

My issue with Allegra (or the store brands) may be the inactive ingredients. A lot of medicines use corn products as fillers. :(

This coming Sunday would have been my dad's 79th birthday. I'll be going to a Burns dinner Monday night in his honor. They shared the same birthday. :)

>143 Crazymamie: Happy birthday to your Dad, Mamie. I wish you a lovely day.

>133 Dejah_Thoris: Thank you, Dejah - I need it! Oh! Chinese food! How tragic - I adore Chinese food! And YES, for heaven's sake get to Garden Spells!!

>134 msf59: Thank you, Mark! It was a very good day!

>135 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara! Much better, now. Hugs back to you, dear.

>136 connie53: Jim did it, Connie! The link in the threadbook just went to the wrong thread - a different version or something. And thank you for those thoughts - no more allergic reactions. You were right - I was just reading.

>138 DeltaQueen50: It is making me a bit crazy, Judy! I like to fix things, but I'll just have to be patient. Calming things down right now, and then I will revisit what I had one thing at a time to see if we can narrow it down. Hoping that you had a lovely time with your granddaughter!

>139 cbl_tn: I am wanting the cold temps back, Carrie! I was out on the deck in shorts and a sleeveless shirt, for Pete's sake. In January! Still, the sunshine was so nice to soak up. Planning on doing a bit of that again today. Saturday is supposed to be back in the 50s, so we'll see - today it is going to 71F!!

>151 Crazymamie: Don't fret, Mamie - I didn't give up Chinese food entirely, just the Moo Goo Gai Pan! It was one of those mystery events never repeated. Who know what caused it? But because of that event and a slight but growing problem with bee stings I ALWAYS carry a fair bit of Benadryl/ dipenhydramine with me (in my purse, in the car, spares in suitcase, etc.)

ETA: And the weather is glorious! You're crazy, Mamie!

>140 katiekrug: Thank you, Katie! I am feeling so much better today as a result of keeping things simple yesterday, so the payoff is worth it.

>141 jolerie: That would be so hard, Valerie. My niece has several allergies, and I know that it is a very big deal for her trying to find places where she and her husband can eat out because of it. No fun. I am feeling much better, thank you.

>142 lunacat: I did, Jenny! It was a practically perfect day! Hoping for another one today.

>144 msf59: Thank you, Mark! He was just so great - smart and lovely and funny. I am very excited t read A Thousand Acres after all the love it has received here. FUnny thing - I went to enter it into my library, and it was already there - I had put it on my WL back in 2012, and my note says that it was recommended by our very own Katie! And I am so pleased that I could make that mailman proud!!

>145 lunacat: Thanks, Jenny! And me, too!

>146 katiekrug: Thanks you, Katie! What a lovely thing to say! I have his eyes - he had gray and my mom has brown. All of the sisters got brown except for the oldest (hers are blue) and me - I got his gray! And Abby has them, too, which is just so wonderful.

>149 cbl_tn: Well, who would have guessed that, Carrie! Hoping that you have fun at the dinner, and Happy Birthday to your Dad a bit early. So great to remember him on his day!

>150 Dejah_Thoris: Thanks for that, Dejah!

>152 Dejah_Thoris: Oh! Just the Moo Goo Gai Pan. Good. I wonder what's in there that caused it. I always have Benedryl on me, too! The weather is glorious, I have to agree. I just miss the cold. I like crisp. And yes, I am crazy Mamie!!

If I missed you, holler! I always like to answer everyone who visits my thread, so don't be shy about letting me know if I skipped you.

I've put the first Allen, Garden Spells on the WL ---

Love the annual photo and mention of your Dad.

I have some weird allergies too .... like fermented legumes. I mean, REALLY!!!!

Howdy Mamie, Trying to catch up a bit. That's got to be one heck of an allergy to garner the words "Uh oh"! Could you feel it coming on?
Well, glad to see things have simmered down.

>156 sibylline: Oh, hooray, Lucy! Glad you love the photo - I wish I had that hat he's wearing! And fermented legumes!! Wow - that is one I've never heard of!

>157 Carmenere: Howdy, Lynda! Ha! I could feel it coming on - my face starts to heat up and then starts to itch just before the hives appear. I am very thankful that things have simmered down. Very.

Well the worst of it is that I am deathly allergic to beer! Hops! Fermentation! Old tofu will make me wheeze too. . .

Oh, no! How terrible, Lucy!!

Mamie, what a lovely picture of your Dad. I hope you find something perfect to do to commemorate him.

On the subject of weird allergies, I was at an all-day meeting a while ago, and one of the lunch choices was octopus. One of the other participants chose the chicken on the basis that he was allergic to octopus, which made me wonder how on EARTH someone would know that, as octopus is such a rare thing on menus. (Isn't it?) I just thought it sounded icky, so I also chose the chicken :-)

Thinking of you today, Mamie, and wishing you a lovely quiet celebration of your dad's life.

I'm glad to hear that you've managed a couple of days flare-up free.

>161 susanj67: That made me smile because Caro was discussing allergies on her thread, and mentioned that she's allergic to iguana! I think it must be one of the weirdest and most specific allergies out there, as well as one of the easiest to avoid.

Back from a walk that started out at just the right temp (41F) and felt too warm by the time I returned (54F), but that's because the sun is out in full force, and my body thinks that walking is actual work. I did get my full circuit in today (4 miles), so I am feeling pretty pleased with myself. Now off to the shower!

>161 susanj67: Thanks, Susan. Still thinking on my something indulgent...

I have actually had octopus before, but that's only because in 6th grade our class went to a Chinese restaurant and they brought us these big platters of pretty much everything, which included octopus. I didn't like it, but I have never tried it again. I would think it a strange choice for a business meeting luncheon.

>162 scaifea: Thank you, Amber!

>163 lunacat: Well, one day anyway. Today will be day two if I make it - so far, so good!

I was thinking you were going to say it reminded you of Caro saying that she pretends to be allergic to live baby octopus because she doesn't want to eat but also doesn't want to offend.

Happy Birthday to your Dad, Mamie! He sounds like a wonderful man. I hope you are able to spend some time today remembering him in your own special way. :)

Mamie, I love that you always commemorate and celebrate the life of your father on his birthday. I did not have such a splendid relationship with my own father who cheated my twin brother from the business they had built up together, serially cheated on my mother, was caught in bed at nearly 60 years old with an 18 year old 'lady' by wife number two and bullies along wife number three; who referred to the three apples of my eyes as "half-breeds" and who wonders why Hani and I steer clear of him.
I am sure that however your Dad is looking down upon you he is proud of all of you at the Paradisio. xx

>165 jolerie: Thanks, Valerie! He truly was full of fabulous. And snark! I remember him every day in a thousand different ways, but today I want to do something out of the ordinary.

>166 PaulCranswick: That makes me so sad about your father, Paul. My mom is a piece of work, and I do not have a relationship with her even though she is still living. But my Dad! He was just so great, and I am so very thankful for all the memories that I have of him. I like to think of him looking down on us here at the Pecan Paradisio, and I can feel him with me, knowing that he will always be a part of who I am. Daniel has his build - lean and lanky, although Dan is much taller. Abby has his eyes, Rae his gentle heart and Birdy his snark, so I get to see parts of him every day in a physical way, not just the somewhat hazy photos of memory. I thank you for your kind words from the bottom of my heart. xx

>151 Crazymamie:. I will stay clear from the threadbook in the future!

Happy birthday to your dad, Mamie. I always do remember the birthday of both my parents and send them some extra fond thoughts on that day. Even though they are gone for a long time. My mom died in 1968 and my dad in 1977. But I still cherish the memories. Just make this day a special day.

I like to think of him looking down on us here at the Pecan Paradisio, and I can feel him with me, knowing that he will always be a part of who I am. Daniel has his build - lean and lanky, although Dan is much taller. Abby has his eyes, Rae his gentle heart and Birdy his snark, so I get to see parts of him every day in a physical way, not just the somewhat hazy photos of memory.
That is lovely, Mamie.

>169 PaulCranswick: I agree with Paul - that's just wonderful, Mamie.

>168 connie53: LOL! Did you put your thread in there? I always let Jim do it. And thank you - my Dad has been gone just a bit over three years, so I still have trouble with it from time to time. I promise to make the day a special one.

>169 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul.

>170 scaifea: Thank you, Amber.

>171 Crazymamie: I'd like to say it gets easier but for me, it never has. The grief has changed, and I've evolved around it, but I recently described it as a hole in my heart. I've got used to the hole, I've adapted, I've even figured out how to disguise it so others doesn't see. And the acute pain from the creation of the hole isn't there any more. But there is still a hole, and the ache is still just as intense. It's too big to heal. You just learn to live with it.

It sounds as though you've managed to bring him into your life and make sure he is with you in lots of different ways though, and I hope you have a lovely day today, whatever you end up doing.

I think that I know what you mean, Jenny. And I love how you describe it because it totally makes sense to me. Adapt is a good word. I guess I'm not expecting it to get easier, just, maybe, less intense? I'm not sure that is the word that I want. Less overwhelming? Maybe less overwhelming some of the time? More bittersweet than raw open grief, I guess. I will always miss him, I know that. And I can think of so many things that I would like to ask him but I cannot. I really hate that you didn't get to have your Dad for longer because at least I have that. I guess what I get (to keep) is that I know that he loved me - completely, unconditionally, unfailingly. And I know that he knew that I loved him the same way. And that is a huge thing. A very huge thing that no one can ever take away from me. I thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and your feelings with me. And those lovely wishes.

I am so glad you are back to your walking, Mamie! Hooray! Did you say you listen to something while you walk?

Me, too, Mark! I used to listen to music always, for the beat, to keep things moving. But now, you would be so proud, I listen to audiobooks - but I like it to be something that holds my interest and that doesn't require too much brain power. SO the past two days I have been listening to Trapped - gotta loved those Iron Druid books!!

Hi Mamie, I'm so sorry you've had these allergy troubles. Hope you find out what caused them so you can eliminate the guesswork. Happy Birthday to your dad. I know this isn't an easy date for you to celebrate and I hope you find the right indulgence to mark this day with. Hugs to you my dear. xx

So far, so good with the allergies today, Ilana. And thank you for those kind words. I am also hoping to find just the right indulgence - something that would make him laugh, I think. Hugs back to you, dear!

Okay, speaking of laughing, I forgot to post this picture that I took of Dan and Bella in the vet's office last week. We always joke about how small the waiting rooms are, but this made us laugh out loud. Look at the only seating:



Don't you love how they had the bench pad cut to go around the pillar?!

>178 Crazymamie: LOL! I'm surprised you could fit in to take the picture, Mamie. In the old days we'd say that office was in a phone booth.

My best wishes and sympathy on your dad's birthday, too. Sounds like you just had a terrific relationship with each other.

I don't think I'm as close to mine as you were to yours, but close enough. And in his 90s he's struggling, poor guy, with one health issue after another. I keep reminding myself to ask those questions you mention while he's with us.

>178 Crazymamie: That is a small waiting room!

Happy birthday to your Dad, Mamie. I hope you can think of something special to do tonight to celebrate him - he sounds worthy of being celebrated.

Cute photo. And can you give me Dan's number? He'll go for a slightly older (only 8 years) British girl, right? ;)

Great photo of your dad! Happy birthday to him, and all the most wonderful memories of him to you.

He loved old movies and chili cheese dogs and sarcasm and me. Love it! You were both very lucky to have each other, I think!

Happy birthday to your Dad!! He sounds like such a great guy and he certainly did right raising you. : ) Love the photo at the vest--LOL!

>178 Crazymamie: It's Doctor Dan the Bandage Man in the Vet's Office! Ha! Looking both handsome and hilarious, I might add...

Morning, Everyone! This is what I did yesterday - read out on the deck in the sunshine while watching them work in the pecan grove (they had pruned the trees a few days ago, and now they were picking up the limbs), went to the bookstore and browsed (I didn't buy anything!), bought a latte at my favorite coffee shop and brought it home so that I could watch the sun set out on the deck while drinking it and remembering my Dad (normally I would drink a glass of wine, but wine is out right now). It was a lovely quiet day and felt very indulgent. My Dad would have approved, and I think he would have liked to sit on the deck and watch the sunset with me, in fact, it felt like he did.

Drum roll, please. I have made my first book purchase of the year - from Amazon because I wanted it on my Kindle. I bought the newest memoir by Alexandra Fuller (Leaving Before the Rains Come) that we were discussing on my last thread - it comes out today, by the way. So now I have 49 books left to go! I am guessing that one of them will be the new Dr. Siri that comes out May 19th of this year. AND they changed the cover - WHY do they do that?! Here's what it looks like:



On the reading front, I finished up Prayer for the Dying yesterday, and I really liked this one - I gave it 4 stars. Review coming if I can figure out what to say about it without making it sound overly morbid. Which is isn't, and yet it is about grief and death. It somehow manages to hit just the right tone, and O'Nan is just so great about using language to communicate ordinary moments and feeling that we can all identify with. And of course, I still have to share my thoughts on Moon Tiger, which I know KAK is breathlessly awaiting. (Just kidding - couldn't resist)

Happy Thursday to you!

Happy Thursday, Mamie! Your day yesterday sounds lovely.

Thanks for the reminder about the Alexandra Fuller - I've just wishlisted it at the library where they have no copies, but 16 on order. Plus I have three things on my reserve list and I'm sticking to that crazy self-imposed limit. Of course, if I happen to see a copy on the New Books shelf, I can get it then :-)

>179 jnwelch: Joe, I am actually standing with my back to the wall to take the photo! The door was between us, and I kept picturing someone flinging that door open and flattening me. We were laughing in there like complete nuts - they were probably thinking, those crazy Yankees! And I thank you for your kind words. We were very close even though he had five other daughters - they are all much older than I am, so they had moved out and gone on their way by the time I was a teenager, so Dad and I hung out a lot together.

I can so sympathize with you and your Dad as he gets older - not sure who it is harder on, the parent or the child. I know that my Dad hated being dependent on others to care for him. And I hated seeing him that way even though that is just how life works. Sending my thoughts your way - and yes, ask those questions now.

>180 souloftherose: I know, right?! And they shut the door, and it feels like the walls are closing in - very tight!

Dad was definitely worthy of celebrating, and I was happy with how the day turned out. I could just hear him saying, "Well, I guess if there's going to be no parade, then watching the sun set will be fine." He loved sarcasm, and he was full of it all the way to the end.

>181 lunacat: You made me smile, Jenny! He is very cute, isn't he? I am sure he would be completely charmed by a slightly older woman with a British accent, a keen wit and a wicked sense of humor!

>182 Storeetllr: Thank you, Mary! I think so, too. Especially me!

>183 Berly: Thanks, Kim! Such a nice compliment! And those rooms at the vet always make us laugh!

>184 scaifea: Ha! Too funny! And he is handsome, isn't he?! And also very funny! When he was little he would always ask, "So what makes that funny?" About commercials, jokes, stories...seriously, it was exhausting, and it isn't always easy to explain what makes something funny, I have learned. But I would always try to explain it - and now we have the exact same sense of humor!

>186 susanj67: Thank you, Susan! Yesterday turned out just about perfect, I think. And you're welcome about the Fuller book - our library system is getting five copies, I think, but not the branch that I use, which would make the wait really long for me. I don't so well with waiting, and I loved her other two memoirs, so I decided it was worth using one of my 50 available slots for new books!

>178 Crazymamie: Love the pic of Dan and Bella, although they look as though they had an argument in the car on the way over and are sitting as far apart as possible — which isn't very far from the looks of that waiting room!

I'm glad your dad's birthday turned out to be a lovely and peaceful day for you to remember him. I wonder what he'd think to know that people all over the world reflect on his birthday along with his Mamie. I bet he'd like it!

Ha! They do look like they are in timeout, don't they?!

Thanks for that, Julia! I had not thought about it that way, but he would get such a kick out of that. And it made me smile big, too! Such a lovely thought.

Book #9: Um... Not Moon Tiger, definitely not. by Penelope Lively (4.5 stars), 2014 acquired ebook

What made this book so great for me was that Lively obviously understands how memory works. She gives us a main character that is not all together likable, a timeline that is out of whack, and a thread of beautiful language that so perfectly weaves the separate pieces into a whole. There have been so many brilliant reviews of this work already, that I will just leave you with a few of my favorite quotes and highly recommend that you read it.

"The strata of faces. Mine, now, is an appalling caricature of what it once was. I can see, just, that firm jaw-line and those handsome eyes and a hint of the pale smooth complexion that so nicely set off my hair. But the whole thing is crumpled and sagged and folded, like an expensive garment ruined by the laundry." p.20

"Today language abandoned me. I could not find the word for a simple object - a commonplace familiar furnishing. For an instant, I stared into a void. Language tethers us to the world; without it we spin like atoms." p. 41

"Children are not like us. They are beings apart: impenetrable, unapproachable. They inhabit not our world but a world we have lost and can never recover. We do not remember childhood - we imagine it. We search for it, in vain, through layers of obscuring dust, and recover some bedraggled shreds of what we think it was." p. 42

"I've grown old with the century; there's not much left of either of us." p.66

"Speech regenerates itself like the landscape." p. 68

Book #10: A Prayer for the Dying by Stewart O'Nan (4 stars), library hardback

“If all of this has taught you anything, it’s that hope is easier to get rid of than sorrow.”

First I would just like to say that the cover of this book completely creeps me out. When I initially glanced at it, i saw a man with his back to us, facing the town, but when I looked closer, I realized that he is facing forward - and his face is, well, let's just say that when I look at it I start to hear those hair-raising chords from Psycho. Disturbing. If this were my own copy, I would have to permanently remove the dust jacket. Enough said.

Inside, however, we find a beautifully wrought story about living in the midst of death and chaos. There is a diphtheria outbreak requiring the town to be quarantined and an approaching fire to be dealt with. The second person narrator works here because it adds to the dream-like quality of a story told with blurred edges - what is truth and what is not? It gets uncomfortable and yet remains so truly human that you can understand that level of grief. It makes you squirm in your seat a bit, and yet you can't NOT read on. Highly recommended, but wait until you are in the mood for something a bit darker.

"Still, it’s your job to be suspicious. You’d never say it, even to Marta, but you’re proud of your ability to both believe and question everything. Secretly you think everyone does, but at some point they give in, surrender to the comfort of certainty. It’s too much trouble, this endless jousting of belief and doubt, too tiring. Finally you suppose it will break you, yet strangely it’s the only thing that keeps you going-though, true, at times you feel unbalanced, even somewhat mad.”

Morning Mamie! I loved your thoughts on Moon Tiger. What a pleasant surprise that book turned out to be. I hope you are feeling better today

ETA- I did start Broken Homes, because you TOLD me to! Smiles...

>191 Crazymamie: - Mamie, dear, you are showing a (awesome) cover of P&P over your, ahem, Moon Tiger review.

I like both those reviews. I even read the one for MT :D

Hello there, Mark! And thank you! I am feeling better today. Hooray for you starting Broken Homes - thrilled that you did it because I told you to!!! *grin*

>194 katiekrug: *blinks* I am? Now how did that happen? I actually have that edition of P&P! I ordered it immediately after seeing it in that coffee table book I read last year about all the Jane Austen covers. Isn't is da Bomb?! And thanks for reading both reviews - the O'Nan book was so good but so hard to describe.

Oh, were you trying to *trick* me into reading your review of, ahem, Moon Tiger (which is, by my count, the 173rd review of that particular book I've read this month)?

Now, Katie, we both know that I would never even dream of trying to trick you into reading my review of Moon Tiger...

Mornin' Mamie. Sounds like you had a lovely day yesterday. Hope the allergy question is resolved soon. I love your references to your father in your threads. I was lucky to have two wonderful parents but I was closer to my Dad (we were more similar). I was only 23 when he died and I miss him still.

>199 RebaRelishesReading: Reba! SO lovely to see you here! I did have a really wonderful day yesterday - just what I was needing. And thank you so much for those kind words - I love sharing my Dad with all of you. So sad that you had so little time with yours.

>192 Crazymamie: Oh, I love that cover. LOL! I couldn't resist buying a copy with it. "Lock up your daughters . . . Darcy's in town!"

I have to admit that the P&P cover is scaring me slightly ;)

>201 jnwelch: I love it, too, Joe! It cracks me up every time I see it!

>202 lunacat: Really? Okay, don't look at it, Jenny. Do not make eye contact with Mr. Darcy.

>185 Crazymamie: What a lovely way to remember your dad and celebrate his time with you.

I can say the raw pain moves away and it's just the things in everyday live that are shocking. Seeing a truck drive by that is from the same company as the one that killed my dad. Seeing a man on his bike and in a flash seeing my dad on his because they move and sit similar. I've just a few memories of my mum. Just a very cheeky one:

I was maybe 12 or 13 (1965 or so) and I went on summer camp with kids from the company my dad worked for. And I learnt a new word. not a very lady like word I must add. It was f**k and when I was home again I shared my new word with the girl next-door, Angéle. I had no idea what the word meant. I could not interpretate the drawing on the ceiling of the dorm. No idea what the two people were doing on that bed. My friend told the word to her mum and the mother stampeded over to talk to mine. She was al ready bedridden by breast-cancer and all the complications and she took me apart. She was not cross or anything. She just told me that was a word a girl did not use ans explained a little what it meant. And she smiled and said: Just come and tell those new words to me, don't tell Angéle.

I've never forgotten that story because of the stampeding next door mother I thought trouble was coming my way.

It's those things that I remember now and those are things that make me smile. The pain is gone, but the good memories remain. Hugs!

skimming hugging. starring.
I loved the new SAA book! I had the ARC.
Keep well

What a great P&P cover, Mamie .... although I did have to do a second take because I was then wondering what the reference to Moon Tiger had to do with the P&P cover. Well done ..... it's a good way to check who's just skimming and who's reading the reviews. :-) I have to say I chuckled aloud when I saw the cover recommended readers to Lock up your daughters.....Darcy's in town

>203 Crazymamie: Yes Ma'am. No looking. It's really hard to post with my eyes closed though..........are you impressed with my blind typing? ;) Ok, I opened one eye to blink!

How are the allergies doing today?

Your birthday celebration for your dad was wonderful and precious.

My relationship with my dad is like yours with your mom. He's alive but I don't have any contact because he's a real piece of work. I don't miss him but I do miss the "idea" of having a dad.

And your son is gorgeous. Can you send him up to me on the next plane? I'll feed him well.

>204 connie53: Connie: Your description of the everyday things that can bring back the pain of losing someone is so spot-on; I feel those little shock waves every so often for my brother, seeing the kind of car he drove pass by on the street, or someone with a similar build and mannerisms across the way in a shop, and I'll start crying. But I can talk about him and share happy memories without too much pain now, too.

Morning, Mamie! I think you need to sort out some kind of security system for Dan - the cougars are circling... *snork!*

Friday!! We made it to Friday! My favorite day, and it is pouring rain here. This means I must stay in and read, right? I mean, I really have no choice. The nephew is off on another interview, so cross your fingers. No big plans for the day. Some kind of chicken will be served for dinner because that's what I have in the freezer. Last night we had potato soup and bacon, tomato and cheese quesadillas, which was fabulous and just what I was in the mood for - and no allergic reaction, so hooray for that.

Finished up two more books - reviews coming soonish.

Fingers crossed for the nephew, yays for staying in and reading (what I plan to do today, too), and yays for no allergic reactions!

Wonderful anecdotes and memories here today. I was close to my mother and I miss her every day. I have her bureau and sometimes when I open it, especially when it is humid, I could just fall down as some little tendril of the mix of her lotions and woolite and whatever else drifts out.

Love the P&P cover and the quotes from Moon Tiger which is waiting in the wings on my tbr shelf!

>204 connie53: Thanks so much for sharing that, Connie. I love that story about your Mom, and I know just what you mean about seeing things in everyday life that remind you of your Dad. That has happened to me a few times - a laugh that sounded just like his, the way someone has their head tilted, any time that someone uses the phrase "and so on" - because after his stroke when I was younger, he said that at the end of almost every sentence. Old movies and cigarette smoke (he smoked for most of my life, but quit a decade or so before he died). Twinkies!


Here is a great memory - my Dad worked swing shift at a factory, and so his work times were always changing, and as a kid I never knew if he would be coming or going because the schedule didn't make any sense to me. My Dad always took his lunch in one of those big black lunch boxes (another thing I wish I had). This one:


Anyway, my Dad had a sweet tooth, and mom always packed his lunch with some kind of special treat just for him. We never (well, very rarely) got this stuff - probably too expensive. So one day when I saw my mom putting the package of Twinkies in there, I asked if I could have one. Nope, she said. These are for your Dad. That night when Dad came home, he handed me his lunch box and asked if I would clean it out for him - that factory is full of dust, he said, and it would probably be a good idea if I could clean his lunch box out from now on. Better take it in the back room (our kitchen had a front and a back room - I have no idea why, but there was a curtain hanging in the center of it, sectioning it off) so you don't get in your mother's way, he said. When I opened the lunch pail, there sat the package of Twinkies - I poked my head out the curtain and looked at Dad. He was waiting for me - better clean that up, he said with a wink. I started crying, and he got up and came back there. This was not what he was expecting. What's the matter, kid? I can't eat your special treat, I said. You're my special treat, he said, and don't you ever forget it. I tell you what, we'll split them - but don't tell your mother because then she'll probably want in on the deal. After that there was always exactly half of whatever special sweet thing my mom had put in his lunch that day waiting for me.

>213 Crazymamie: Oh, Mamie, I'm crying right now. What a wonderful dad.

>213 Crazymamie: That's so adorable. Thank you for sharing that with us.

>204 connie53: >213 Crazymamie: Thank you both, Mamie and Connie, for such lovely stories - thank you for sharing them.

It's pouring here, too, Mamie - stay dry. And good luck to your nephew!

Happy Friday to you dear one!

>205 mckait: I love your post, Sis! I loved the new SAA book, too. Just finished it early this morning, actually. Hugs back to you, dear!

>206 cameling: The cover was just to make Katie laugh, Caro! The review is for Moon Tiger. And true - it works as a check for who is just skimming! LOL! That cover makes me laugh every time I see it.

>207 lunacat: I am! I am impressed with your blind typing, Jenny! Such talent!

>208 Morphidae: The allergies are doing fine, Morphy - made it through yesterday with no reactions, so I was thrilled. Thank you for your kind words - I think that I would miss the "idea" of having a mom if I didn't have older sisters - they were pretty much like moms to me, especially the oldest two.

I will tell Dan that he is much in demand! I think he is gorgeous, too, but I might be ever so slightly biased. I will let him know of your offer - with good food on offer, your chances look good!

>209 scaifea: I agree that Connie was spot on about those every day things triggering a memory.

Your second remark made me laugh out loud! Cougars!! Ha!

>211 scaifea: Oh, thanks for that, Amber!

>212 sibylline: I love all the shared memories here, Lucy. And smells make such powerful memories, don't they? That always amazes me for some reason. How lovely that you have her bureau.

Glad you love the P&P cover, and I think you will adore Moon Tiger when you get to it.

>214 scaifea: Aw. So sweet, Amber. He was indeed a wonderful Dad.

>215 lunacat: You're welcome, Jenny. My pleasure.

>216 Dejah_Thoris: Thank you, Dejah, for those wishes. And you're welcome - I love that COnnie shared her memories, too.

>217 Whisper1: Thank you, Linda. Happy Friday to you!

>213 Crazymamie: Wonderful story! I tearing up right now. It's very special to share memories about our parents with special people that will know exactly what you mean. I'm feeling very honoured and cared for by all of you. Thanks!

Thank you, Connie. What a wonderful compliment to this group. I agree that the 75ers are an extraordinary bunch, and I, too, am so honored to be in their midst.

>213 Crazymamie: >214 scaifea: Aw, it made me cry, too. What a special dad you had.

You people are SO sweet! Thank you, Morphy!

Book #11: Fables: Legends in Exile by Bill Willingham (4 stars), library paperback

This is the first entry in a series of GNs featuring exiled fairy tale characters - forced to flee their traditional realms, they now live in the real world in disguise as ordinary humans. This was fun and fast paced and the artwork was good - definitely not the best GN that I have read, but it looks promising. And I like having something lighter to sandwich in between heavier stuff. Adult themes here, so not your children's fairy tales - I am hoping that the story lines get more complex as these develop. There certainly are a lot of them already, so I should be good for a while!

I'm looking forward to starting Fables once I get to the library, so I'm glad to hear the first is promising.

Morning Mamie! Happy Friday! I tried one or 2 of the Fables books but they didn't seem to click at the time. Maybe I will have to revisit.

Book #12: First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen (5 stars), 2015 acquired ebook

"The Waverley sisters had married men as steadfast and normal as the women were mercurial and strange. The men in their lives loved them the way that astronomers loved stars, loved the promise of what they were, knowing there was something about them they would never truly understand."

Okay. This is a lovely addition to the Garden Spells story. I have to admit that I was very excited when I heard that it was a follow-up to one of my favorite books, but also a bit nervous because I really love the original story. There is not one wrong note here. She picks up the story ten years later and gets it just exactly right - we get to revisit all of the characters from that first book, and they have aged appropriately and yet remained true to their original identities. I don't know how she did this, but I am thankful for every word of it - just as magical as that first time around, and now I have two books to read over and over again. Thank you, Ms. Allen!

Favorite quotes:

"A woman's ability to surprise herself is far stronger than her ability to surprise others." p.33

"She couldn't change who she was, and she no longer wanted to, even if she could. She knew that who you are is a stone set deep inside you. You can spend all your life trying to dig that stone out, or you can build around it. Your choice." p.72

"Some people you can be yourself with, some people you have to be less weird with." p.115

"The right men make all the difference in the world. But the wrong men do, too." p.226

"She wished she had known back then. Known that happiness isn't a point in time you leave behind. It's what's ahead of you. Every single day." p.228

"Maybe you don't fall in love. Maybe you jump. Maybe, just maybe, it's all a choice." p.275

>225 lunacat: I just started dipping my toes into the waters of GNs last year, Jenny, so I haven't read a lot of them yet. This was just plain fun, I thought. And I liked the snarky humor in them. I am hoping that the story lines get a bit darker and twistier as these go along, so we'll see. I do think they have potential, and since our library system has them, I'm out nothing but my time to investigate. Hoping that your library has it so we can compare notes!

>226 msf59: Morning, Mark! They might be too light for you. Happy Friday!

I have been following on my phone the last days, so couldn't post. Thank you and others for sharing all those memories of loved ones! That Twinkie story made me cry, too! What a wonderful man!!

Fingers crossed for the nephew of course!

Wishing you a relaxed reading weekend.

>213 Crazymamie: That's such a lovely story Mamie!

>229 Deern: Hi Nathalie! I am always happy to share, so you are most welcome. And I'm so happy that you liked the Twinkie story - Abby just read it a bit ago, and she said, Mom, that Twinkie story made me cry. I said you've heard that story before, and she said, no. No, you just told us that your Dad used to save you one of his Twinkie's in his lunch. So, I guess I need to start writing these things down for them.

Thank you fro crossing your fingers for the nephew! And for those good weekend wishes. Hoping that yours is filled with fabulous!

>230 SandDune: Thank you, Rhian.

>213 Crazymamie: Madeline asked over on the TIOLI thread about books we've read this year that made us cry. I wonder if I should list your post instead? Like everyone else, I love the Twinkies story, and I love your dad for being such a great father. "You're my special treat," indeed.

Isn't it funny how we tend to gravitate towards one parent rather than another? It sounds as though you were a complete Daddy's girl, as was I. I was recently brave enough to ask my mum if she had ever thought it would have been better if she had been the one to die instead of him, and she said she'd thought it all the time.

I was sad to hear it as I know we have always had a difficult relationship that was nothing like the one I had with my dad, but also relieved as I'd spent a lot of time wishing it was my mum that had gone instead of my dad.

She said she was devastated, not only because she'd lost her husband and the love of her life, but also for me because I'd lost the parent I adored, who I always went to when upset or ill, who I gravitated to at all times, who was THE most important person in my life.

I feel awful even writing this, as I love my mum and I appreciate she had a dreadful time during my teen years as I wasn't exactly easy, but.........even now when I know it can't change anything, I still wonder.

Clearly I need some therapy :/

That was a tear jerker of a story, Mamie! I was never close to my Dad. He was in and out of our lives constantly so my memories of him were always bad ones. I'm closer to my mom but she is a quirky one. We either get along like old chums or we fight tooth and nail. I see how my boys play with my husband now and it always makes me a bit teary eyed because they have the kind of relationship, the kind of security, the kind of love that I always felt I missed out on.

Ahhh...5 stars? I have to read Garden Spells at some point this year!

>232 rosalita: Oh, Julia, that is such a lovely compliment! So glad you loved my memory.

>233 lunacat: My mom wasn't really interested in parenting, Jenny. She is a yeller and she is very mean-spirited. She can have soft moments, but they are short ones and very fleeting. She is a bitter, self-righteous and withdrawn individual who has no interest in being a parent or a grandparent. I once asked my Dad what he had seen in her when he asked her to marry him, and he said that she was a very different person then. "She used to be fun," he said, "she used to know how to laugh and how to dance. But then she found Jesus, and after that no one could save her." So, it's Jesus that's the problem, I asked. "No. Nothing the matter with Jesus," he replied, "it's his people that scare the hell outta me. A lot of them have one face for God and another one for everyone else." And I knew what he meant because my mom spent every extra moment at the church but could cut you to bits with just a few short sentences as soon as she came home.

I think that you and your mom were both brave to be so honest with each other. I don't think that you should feel awful, although I know what you mean, but the thing is that we can't help how we feel about things. Our feelings are an intrinsic part of us, and they are part of what make us who we are as individuals.

>234 jolerie: Valerie, you snuck in there while I was posting. I am just so touched that my memory is connecting with so many of you. Our parents are so much a part of who we are, aren't they? Scary if you really stop and think about it. How wonderful that your boys have two parents who love them so much.

Garden Spells is such a delight - but only if you enjoy magical realism because it is full of that. All of her stories are.

>213 Crazymamie: *tearing up* That was a lovely story.

>237 souloftherose: Thank you, Heather. At least all these tears are good tears, right?!

I agree with you on the Jesus thing, Mamie. I often wonder how people can act out and still say they believe in God or Jesus or Mohammed. I think my God is a good and kind one, and not one who is bitter and raging!

>235 Crazymamie: "No. Nothing the matter with Jesus," he replied, "it's his people that scare the hell outta me."

Wasn't sure whether to comment on this or not, but sometimes, yeah. I'm really glad you had such a good Dad to counterbalance your Mum.

>238 Crazymamie: I think good tears, yes. :-)

I think that God, or whatever you want to call it is in all of us, Connie. I think that we are supposed to look for good in everyone, and we are supposed to be kind. We are supposed to be gentle. I don't understand how people can excuse small-mindedness or mean-spiritedness by hiding behind religion. Every single one of us, every single creature has worth and therefore should be valued. I think it is just as simple as that.

>240 souloftherose: I appreciate your honesty, and I did hesitate before sharing that. What (I think) he meant was that sometimes people get lost in serving the church, and they become so focused on doing the things that are perceived as correct and important within the structure of the church, that they lose sight of the big picture; they lose sight of themselves. For my mom it was the church, but it could be anything, really, that draws all of our time and our energy and our focus - a job, politics, an addiction. Anything that makes us forget that it's important to be present in life, that it's more important to be kind than it is to be right.

Should I delete that up there? I don't want to offend anyone, I was just trying to share that my mom was a different person when my Dad married her.

Wow, I have missed a lot today, Mamie.

Like everyone, the story of your Dad and the Twinkies is wonderful. What a special memory and shared experience. My mom and I would share a plate of cinnamon toast every Saturday morning - she's bring it in to my room and sit on the side of my bed and we'd talk about what we were going to do with our day. Now I can't eat cinnamon toast - for real, I get choked up and can't swallow.

And I feel for Jenny for losing her dad and the parent she was closest to. I wasn't so young when I lost my mom, but it was like losing my whole world. And I shouldn't say it, but it makes me angry that my mom was the one I had to lose. My dad would have been no real loss as far as I'm concerned.

And don't delete what you wrote in >235 Crazymamie:. Anyone who might be offended or misunderstand what you were saying is probably the kind of person your Dad was talking about.

And as further proof that we are bosom buddies, I have a magnet on my fridge that says, "I've got nothing against God. It's his fan club I can't stand." So there!

ETA: And I meant to also comment on the new SAA. Can't wait to read it!!! Love her.

Mamie, I don't think you need to delete anything. I am a Christian. I believe in Jesus and I was not offended by a real and honest moment you had with your Dad. I agree with what you said that we need to treat people with kindness, with respect, and the dignity they deserve, irregardless of their beliefs. Religion or not, I think we are all free to believe what we want and in light what is happening around the world, I respect everyone's freedom and right to express themselves. :)

I also teared up reading your story about your dad and the Twinkies. You were blessed to have him. I had the same sort of dad. He would have given up anything for me...except his recliner. I used to sit in his recliner when he wasn't using it. Then he would walk into the room and ask me to trade seats. I eventually realized I was getting shortchanged since he didn't have a seat to trade! I usually ended up on the floor at that point, which I didn't actually mind.

>243 katiekrug: Thanks so much for that, Katie! I was just thinking that I should have shut up already several posts or so ago. And now you have made me cry with the cinnamon toast. What a lovely memory, but it makes me sad that you can't eat that toast now. I cry every time I watch The Big Sleep because my Dad loved that movie and we watched it together countless times. I wish that I had a movie of us watching the movie because he always had these comments that he made at specific parts of the film that made me laugh. And so now when I watch that movie it just takes my breath away how much I miss him - I am guessing that's what happens with you and the toast.

And I hear you and Jenny both with feeling like you lost the wrong parent, the one you needed most. Me, too.

I love what you said about not deleting my post, and I WANT that magnet.

You will love the SAA when you get to it - it was lovely to be back in that story again. She really did get it just right.

>244 jolerie: Thank you, Valerie. You and Katie are making me feel better. I like what you said in your post and how you said it.

>245 cbl_tn: I'm glad, Carrie. And the recliner story makes me laugh!

Just this Mamie, I love you. *hugs*

Thank you, Stephanie! Sending some Paradisio love back to you! *hugs*

Mamie, so many things to comment on today. I love your stories about your Dad, he sounds like a very special man and a wonderful parent. I lost my Dad when I was in my forties, which meant I had him for a good part of my life, but I still miss him every day. I was a Daddy's girl through and through. The nice thing for me is that my Mom and I have grown a lot closer over the years that my Dad has been gone and we have managed to develop a wonderful friendship and closeness.

I also want to thank you for your review of First Frost. I love Sarah Addison Allen's books but was a little worried when I read that this one is sequel to my favorite, Garden Spells. You've laid that worry to rest. :)

Finally, Fables. I read the first one a couple of years ago and just recently picked up Volumes 2, 3 and 4. I really enjoyed them, they are perfect for reading between heavier works. I was a late comer to graphic novels but have found so many that appeal to me for different reasons and I am very pleased that I made room for them in my Category Challenge again this year.

Have a great weekend.

>250 DeltaQueen50: Judy, so lovely to see you! Me, too - lost my Dad in my 40s, so had him for a long time but still miss him every day. I love that you and your Mom have grown closer over the years. No chance of that with me - my mom and I have not even spoken in over 15 years. No bitterness or anger, just an acknowledgement that we do have a relationship.

Good to hear that I have laid your worry to rest regarding First Frost. I was so delighted to discover that it held up all the way through. I am betting that the author was a bit nervous about revisiting such a popular book, too.

I have high hopes for Fables! The premise is a great one, that's for sure. YOu'll have to let me know what you think if the next ones in the series. I have requested Volume Two from the library, but that could take a while to come in.

Wishing you a great weekend as well!

I heart you Mamie! I love the story of your Dad & I love how much you miss him.

>242 Crazymamie: 'Should I delete that up there?'

No, no, no. No deletion required - I don't really know why I was hesitating to say something. Just worried in case it got taken the wrong way I guess.

>252 luvamystery65: Aw! I heart you back, Roberta! So glad that you loved the story.

>253 souloftherose: Yep - I know that feeling. I hesitated before I posted it originally for the same reason.