Lori's (thornton37814) 2016 Musical Category Challenge

I want 2016 to be a year where I don't feel that I'm "stuck" trying to finish up categories and where I can just enjoy the pleasure of reading. I really want to whittle down my personal TBR pile so I can move a few books out of the house.

I realize I used basically the same theme in 2014 except with all 1970s songs. My musical selections this year range from the late 1960s to the early 1980s, so I'm using basically the same era, but entirely different songs.

So I don't feel pressure, the minimum in each category is one book. Have no fear though! I plan to read lots of books. I should have over 150 total this year, and I'm sure I'll read over 100 in 2016. I suspect some of my categories will be populated more than others.

My 2016 categories are:

1. Killing Me Softly (Roberta Flack; 1973) - Cozy mysteries
2. Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley; 1969) - Police procedural mysteries
3. Private Eyes (Daryl Hall & John Oates; 1981) - Detective fiction
4. Best of My Love (The Emotions; 1977) - Romance & Marriage
5. Ladies Night (Kool & the Gang; 1979) - Chick Lit
6. Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves (Cher; 1971) - Genealogy
7. Time in a Bottle (Jim Croce; 1973) - History & Historical Fiction
8. Hey Jude (The Beatles; 1968) - Christianity & Christian Fiction
9. I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (New Seekers; 1972) - Music or Music-Themed Fiction
10. American Pie (Don McLean; 1972) - Cookbooks, Cooking, or Culinary Fiction
11. Cat's in the Cradle (Harry Chapin; 1974) - Cats
12. I Feel the Earth Move (Carole King; 1971) - Disasters
13. ABC (Jackson 5; 1970) - Children's Literature
14. Harper Valley P.T.A. (Jeannie C. Riley; 1968) - Education
15. I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor; 1979) - Challenge Books (American, British, etc.)
16. I Wish (Stevie Wonder; 1977) - Books I Want to Read

I also try to name my Abandoned Reads. This year they will fall into:

Another One Bites the Dust (Queen; 1980)

Killing Me Softly (Roberta Flack; 1973) - Cozy Mysteries

1. Sinister Sprinkles by Jessica Beck - completed 4 Jan 2016
2. Fogged Inn by Barbara Ross - completed 24 Jan 2016
3. Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O'Connor - completed 26 Jan 2016

Suspicious Minds (Elvis Presley; 1969) - Police Procedural Mysteries

1. Death of a Prankster by M. C. Beaton - completed 17 Jan 2016

Private Eyes (Daryl Hall & John Oates; 1981) - Detective Fiction

1.

Best of My Love (The Emotions; 1977) - Romance & Marriage

1.

Ladies Night (Kool & the Gang; 1979) - Chick Lit

1.

Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves (Cher; 1971) - Genealogy

1.

Time in a Bottle (Jim Croce; 1973) - History & Historical Fiction

1. Day of Atonement: A Novel of the Maccabean Revolt by David Arthur DeSilva - completed 21 Jan 2016

Hey Jude (The Beatles; 1968) - Christianity & Christian Fiction

1. To Live Is Christ: Joining Paul's Journey of Faith by Beth Moore - completed 18 Jan 2016

I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing (New Seekers; 1972) - Music or Music-Themed Fiction

1.

American Pie (Don McLean; 1972) - Cookbooks, Cooking, or Culinary Fiction

1.

Cat's in the Cradle (Harry Chapin; 1974) - Cats

1.

I Feel the Earth Move (Carole King; 1971) - Disasters

1.

ABC (Jackson 5; 1970) - Children's Literature

1. The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith - completed 15 Jan 2016

Harper Valley P. T. A. (Jeannie C. Riley; 1968) - Education

1. Mathematizing: An Emergent Math Curriculum Approach for Young Children by Allen C. Rosales - completed 7 Jan 2015
2. Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens: The Handbook for Outdoor Learning by David Sobel - completed 11 Jan 2015

I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor; 1979) - Challenge Books (American, British, etc.)

1. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler - completed 19 Jan 2016

I Wish (Stevie Wonder; 1977) - Books I Want to Read

1.

Another One Bites the Dust - Abandoned Books

1.

All done here!

Nice set up! Now I've got songs stuck in my head. Multiple ones!

I have Suspicious Minds stuck in my head! Great choices for your theme. :)

>20 majkia: Happy to make you sing!

>21 rabbitprincess: Oddly enough, that's the one that is stuck most in mine too!

By the way, the dates I chose are the dates they made the charts, not necessarily the release date. Some were released at the end of the prior year.

Because it was the last one read, Another One Bites the Dust is the one that stuck in my head! Unfortunately the title words are the only ones I know.

Good, lots of mysteries to look forward to.

>24 VivienneR: We sang that one a lot my senior year during football season. We were undefeated that year, and we kind of made it our theme as we defeated each opponent.

Nice categories, Lori. I'll be watching all those mysteries for a few book bullets.

I am trying to keep the pressure at bay too by setting my goal to 3 books in each category even though I know I will read more than that in some of my categories. It's awesome that you found matching records for all of the songs! I hope you have a great reading year.

I have Suspicious Minds in my head, but Gypsies , Tramps and Thieves is taking over! My aunt loved the Sonny and Cher show and I watched it with her sometimes.

Nice categories Lori I've got you starred! Of course
I will be paying attention to your mysteries!

Great to see you all set up and I love that you are easing the pressure. I have been gathering January books and now I am wondering what I was thinking with 16 categories, Cats and other challenges, I think something is going to have to give!

Great categories and very creative!

Love the concept...and the songs.

>26 dudes22: I'm hoping I can read lots of mysteries! I feel that I fell behind this past year on the books I love most.

>27 Tara1Reads: Oh, I used a program to generate those covers. You will see the credit on the album photos if you look closely.

>28 lsh63: The minute I saw "Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves" in a list, I immediately thought of black-sheep ancestors, so I had to use that one!

>29 DeltaQueen50: I know what you mean. I think I've felt too obligated this past year to do certain challenges and so forth. I'm going to do the ones I want to do and ignore the rest.

>30 Tess_W: Thanks. I don't feel very creative since I re-used my song theme, but at least I changed it up some.

>31 lindapanzo: Thanks, Linda. It was fun choosing the songs. I've got some runner-ups I can use in future years for some of the categories.

Wonderful categories and my best wishes that the Abandoned Books category is the one with the fewest entries. Happy reading!

>34 MissWatson: It normally is the lowest. This year's has four so far (with 147 read to date). Last year I had 2 (although I only had 114 completions). In 2013 I had a whopping 6 (with 191 completions).

>35 thornton37814: That sounds like a good ratio.

Great music choices, I think a few of these songs will continue playing in my head for the next hours. Hope you have a lot of reading fun next year! :)

Love your categories! It was fun to see your categories paired with the songs. My favorite pairing is Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves for Genealogy!

Ear worms! Ear worms! Ear worms!!

Have a great reading year!

>36 MissWatson: I usually find a way to slog through most of them--even some I should abandon.

>37 Chrischi_HH: It's always fun to choose categories.

>38 countrylife: I couldn't resist that pairing when I saw the song.

>39 mamzel: I hope it will be a fun year of reading.

I've always loved Harper Valley PTA. Hope you have a great 2016!

>41 LittleTaiko: Thanks, Stacy!

What clever categories! I especially like the Genealogy and Challenge Books ones.

>43 virginiahomeschooler: Thanks. It is fun trying to come up with the right song for your categories and/or finding songs that would work as categories.

A year of free reading sounds wonderful! I'll enjoy following along, and hoping for plenty of pictures of your three rascals.

>32 thornton37814: Oh awesome! I didn't know that could be done.

Nice idea and great song choices. I look forward to popping by.

>45 RidgewayGirl: The three rascals are chasing one another through the house at the moment. Their pet human is pondering a nap.

>46 Tara1Reads: One can find all kinds of nifty neat stuff on the Internet!

>47 Roro8: As I said, I wasn't being very original since I'd used the songs theme before. However, I did have new category names.

>48 thornton37814: Have yours done that thing where there's an enormous crash and so you run into the room to find all the cats facing away from each other and behaving in a suspiciously casual way, and yet you can't find anything broken or out of place?

"Who, me?"
"I didn't do anything."
"I didn't hear anything."
"You must be hallucinating or something."

>49 RidgewayGirl: Not yet, but it's only a matter of time.

>50 mamzel: LOL

Great group of songs and categories. I especially like your choice for abandoned books. Hopefully, there won't be too many there. Happy reading!

>53 staci426: It's usually pretty small, but I do allow myself to use it!

Great song choices for your categories! I think I recognize every single one of those songs. :-)

>55 lkernagh: I think they all work! I hate to repeat a theme, but at least the categories are different.

Nice theme! The illustrations are great too.

>57 -Eva-: Thanks, Eva!

We used to play this game back when I was in 3rd or 4th grade, especially if it was raining, and we couldn't go out at recess (in 3rd grade). I guess we played during lunch in 4th grade. I recently discovered its availability at Amazon and added it to my wish list there. I also added it to my Pinterest wish list that family members use that include items from other shops too. I was delighted when it showed up in my stocking. I don't remember the original game having suits and numbers/letters like a regular card deck.

Here were the rules:

I have you starred Lori.
I know what you mean about enjoying the challenge. I limited mine to 40 books so I could handle the pressure.

>60 VictoriaPL: Sometimes you just have to have a year of free reading. I really do need to whittle down the TBR stacks in my house. Maybe without feeling obligated to try every author in the challenges and just participating as I really want to participate, I can accomplish that.

>60 VictoriaPL: - yes, I'm the same. I am not bothering with any of the CATs or PUPs or Bingo Cards, as my system for tackling the TBRs is more random than that (although I do have my own categories). I want to enjoy my reads without any pressure beyond trying not to increase Mt. TBR any more!

>62 Jackie_K: I love that our group is inclusive enough to allow all of us to mingle together even though our challenges are so varied!

>62 Jackie_K: I think that a lot of us need to reduce Mt. TBR! Thanks for dropping in.

>63 VictoriaPL: We do have diverse challenges and diverse reading interests, but we all get along!

One of my friends posted this article to Facebook. I found it interesting and relevant for LibraryThingers: http://www.vox.com/2015/12/29/10634416/reading-list-books

Great article Lori!

>65 VictoriaPL: It was interesting!

>59 thornton37814: That last sentence on the instruction card pretty much describes my life.

>67 RidgewayGirl: I think there are a few other LibraryThingers who might give you a pretty good race on the "most books" part!

Hi Lori: Got you starred and I also enjoyed reading the article it was very interesting!

>69 lsh63: Thanks, Lisa!

I have an authors pack of cards! I haven't used it yet, but it's so cool. I rescued them from a friends garage sale and the friend couldn't believe I wanted them. She's not a pack rat. ;) Mine have women authors though.

Love the "Another one bites the dust" category!

>71 cammykitty: Glad someone else has them! A couple of years ago I began naming my Abandoned Reads category because I could find something that really fit with the them that was too good to pass up!

Since some have already migrated to the 2016 threads, I'm adding the link to our Living Christmas Tree now that they finally have it posted. The theme is "Christmas for All the World." http://fbcmtn.com/content.cfm?id=213&download_id=1284

>64 thornton37814: - that was a very interesting article and I think I even took a few book bullets.

>74 dudes22: Glad you enjoyed the article. Turnabout is fair play on the book bullets. I've picked up a few from you.

I'm going to have to go looking for the cards now. It would be fun to build a reading challenge around them.

>76 cammykitty: It would. That's actually one of the reasons I picked it up. I would like to make certain that I've read each book listed on those cards. I don't plan to do them all in a single year, but the addition of the suits might make it easier to do that. I could choose to read all the spades one year, all the hearts one year, all the diamonds one year, and all the clubs another. I don't know exactly which order I would do them in, but I would kind of like to do that some time. I don't think this will be the year I choose to do it.

Hold that thought. If we can figure out a "game" to do with it, we might be able to roll out a sub-challenge. The reason I haven't so far is that the cards don't have enough variety of authors. Of course. They don't have any of the new, young authors because those haven't been tested by time, but who can resist reading some young new authors.

We played Authors a lot when we were at our grandparents as children. I didn't know anyone still sold them!

Here's to lots of enjoyable reading in the coming year.

Just stopping by to say "hi". You've got quite the set up. :)

>78 cammykitty: True. However, I'm good with the classics too.

>79 hailelib: I didn't either until I searched for it at Amazon.

>80 inge87: Thank you very much!

I always like to post the end-of-the-year meme in the new year's thread. These answers are based on my 2015 reading.

Describe yourself: Walking a Literary Labyrinth

Describe how you feel: Restless

Describe where you currently live: The Strange Library

If you could go anywhere, where would you go: Choosing Charleston

Your favorite form of transportation: Locomotive

Your best friend is: Daisy Miller

You and your friends are: The Hurricane Sisters

What’s the weather like: Clouds Without Rain

You fear: Creepy Carrots

What is the best advice you have to give: A Prayer Journal

Thought for the day: Why Was the Partridge in the Pear Tree?

How I would like to die: Read and Buried

My soul’s present condition: Journey

The last book I read in 2015 was a cookbook featuring cuisine from another country. It made me start thinking about New Year's foods. In the Southern United States, it is traditional to eat greens (usually collard greens but some do use turnip greens and possibly even mustard greens) which are supposed to bring prosperity, black-eyed peas which are supposed to bring good luck, and hog jowl (which is usually put in the black-eyed peas) which brings health. (Some Southerners do hoppin' john instead of the black-eyed peas since black-eyed peas is an ingredient in hoppin' john.) I'm wondering if other regions or cultures have traditional New Year's foods and why?

Carrie (cbl_tn) and I will be getting together tomorrow, and I made a little dessert for our get-together.

Best of 2015

Best Children's Picture Book: The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant; illustrated by Melissa Sweet
Best Children's/YA Book: The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
Best Cookbook: The Chinese Takeout Cookbook by Diana Kuan
Best Nonfiction: The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman
Best Fiction: (tie)
The Long Song by Andrea Levy
Red Bones by Ann Cleeves

Honorable Mentions:

Nonfiction:
The Cherokee Struggle to Maintain Identity in the 17th and 18th Centuries by William R. Reynolds
Leisure and Spirituality: Biblical, Historical, and Contemporary Perspectives by Paul Heintzman

Fiction:
The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich
The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham
The Secret River by Kate Grenville
The Hog's Back Mystery by Freeman Wills Crofts
The Fitzgerald Ruse by Mark de Castrique
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
The Lie by Helen Dunmore
Clouds Without Rain by P. L. Gaus

Happy New Year! Hope you guys have fun tomorrow!

>86 LittleTaiko: Since we were both out of town at Christmas, we're doing our late Christmas get-together and also watching the Vols play in the Outback Bowl.

In Germany, the food to eat at the start of the new year is a Krapfen or Berliner. These are similar to jelly-filled donuts, but they are lighter and less sweet, and during the first months of the year, they are available with a variety of fillings and toppings. Traditional Krapfen are filled with a tart apricot jam, or sometimes mixed berry jam. These are dusted with powdered sugar.



But the real treat is all the variations available from now until Lent. My favorite is a Himbeerger, which is a Krapfen sliced in two and the middle filled with a raspberry sauce and thick, unsweetened whipped cream.

I think lentils is another traditional New Year's food, although I don't know the where or why. When my husband and I went out to eat last night, one of the appetizer specials was lentils and that's happened before.

>88 RidgewayGirl: - Those look and sound so great.

I just put some black-eyed peas on to soak. We don't do the traditional greens but cook a little cabbage and some cornbread.

Enjoy your get together!

>88 RidgewayGirl: Okay. I think I want to be German for the day. Those look and sound tasty! I'm hoping Aldi will have that second one. They had stollen. Maybe they'll have it!

>89 dudes22: On the 75 group, someone mentioned red lentils as being an Italian thing. They apparently are cooking with some pork fat.

>90 hailelib: I am actually doing salad greens (mostly spinach) instead of collards. I'm using canned black-eyed peas, and I'll probably use a strip of bacon instead of a couple of strips of hog jowl in them because I don't think I have any hog jowl in the freezer (and know I don't in the refrigerator). I've got some corn bread (which I bought at the deli because I don't want to have to eat an entire skillet of cornbread) and a piece of pork tenderloin to go with it.

I have never played Authors but it does look like a lot of fun!

>88 RidgewayGirl: - Jam donuts! YUM!

Nothing special from this part of the world although I do love lentils but right now I am craving sweets and I am just fixated on those jam donuts! Happy New Year and best wishes for 2016, Lori!

>92 lkernagh: We may both have to become German for the day so we can eat those!

New Year's Day dinner:

Carrie has requested the I post my cheesecake recipe. I took some over to her house earlier today. The recipe was given to my mother by Ann Haughton, a native of New York, who married a man from Mississippi and settled in my home town.



Cheesecake Supreme

1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup butter, melted
5 – 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1 ¾ cup sugar
3 Tbsp flour
5 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup whipping cream

Mix graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Butter a 9-10 inch spring form pan and press crumb mixture into bottom and sides of pan. Let ingredients except last two reach room temperature. Then beat cheese till fluffy. Mix sugar and flour gradually. Blend into cheese, keeping mixture smooth. Add vanilla. Add eggs and egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in cream. Turn into crust. Bake in a very hot 500 degree oven for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 200 and bake one hour longer. Remove from oven and place away from drafts until cooled. Refrigerate until cold. Remove sides of pan and put on serving dish. Serve plain or with fruit. Keep refrigerated at all times.

This morning I found a piece of orange rope (a heavy paper kind) down in the laundry room when I went down to feed the cats. I couldn't figure out where in the world it came from until just now as I saw the cats playing with a ball and pulling at it. They unwound one of their toy balls! Cat toy makers must not know my kittens very well.

I ran across this article while ago while I was seeking the contact info to recommend that a friend of mine submit his book to Englewood Review of Books for review.

Top 50 Books for Christian Readers to Watch for in 2016: http://englewoodreview.org/top-50-books-for-christian-readers-to-watch-for-in-20...

It includes mainstream books as well as books published by Christian publishers. It includes books by Elizabeth Strout, Anne Tyler, Wendell Berry, and other authors most of us recognize. However, it contained two books on "Books and Reading" that caught my attention. One was "Reading for the Common Good: How Books Help Our Neighborhoods and Churches Flourish" by C. Christopher Smith. It's being published in August by IVP. The other is "The Maximum Security Book Club: Reading Literature in a Men's Prison" by Mikita Brottman which is being published by Harper in June. I'm assuming that neither book would have touchstones here yet, so I am just reporting them.

The secret to eating one's meal in peace is a can of tasty pate for the kittens.

Thanks for the recipe, I'm going to give it a try. The recipe I use is a little bland to my taste although it always gets eaten. I can see right off that yours has more eggs. It'll be a couple of weeks because I'm going out of town but I look forward to giving it a try.

>99 clue: I love that cheesecake! A lot of cheesecake recipes only use 4 cream cheese packages, and this one uses 5.

I finally get to your category challenge thread, 100 posts in.

I really, really like your theme and categories, Lori! And I thoroughly agree with setting it up to be sure you're not "stuck" reading things you don't particularly want to in order to finish categories. I've been giving myself lots of room to read what I want in recent years' challenges.

>101 tymfos: Thanks, Terri. I still haven't managed to get around to all the threads either. I make a little more progress each day. I'll probably fall way behind when I head back to work Monday. I'm alternating reading books, cross-stitching, and catching up on threads now. I did have one other project I was completing earlier today that was in the rotation.

I made 8 can taco soup tonight. It's an easy recipe, but oh, so tasty. I added the sour cream, cheese, and cilantro to it. https://doingitlikemartha.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/69/

By the way, the neighbor's dog managed to eat a $30 book from my Amazon package that was left at my doorstep today.

>103 thornton37814: Oh no! I hope you'll be able to get it replaced.

>103 thornton37814: Oh no! And I've been complaining about my neighbor's dog today and all he did was bark for about 3 hours nonstop (I think he gets lonely).

>103 thornton37814: - Sounds like a dog with good taste! Hope you can get it replaced soon.

>104 rabbitprincess: Unfortunately the neighbor has been out of work for 4 months so she's not sure how she can afford to replace it at the moment.

>105 clue: She has at least two dogs, and I've seen a third one there lately. They bark and show aggression all the time.

>106 LittleTaiko: I have gone ahead and ordered another copy because it was intended to be a gift that I'll need late next week.

1. Sinister Sprinkles by Jessica Beck

Date Completed: 4 Jan 2016

Category: Killing Me Softly

CAT Challenge: None

Rating: 4 stars

Review: It's nearly Christmas in April Springs, North Carolina, and the Winter Festival is taking place. As Suzanne runs her store's booth, she sees a commotion taking place near the courthouse. She discovers a woman dressed to look like Miriam was murdered. In spite of her best intentions to stay out of the investigation, she ends up investigating. In the mean time, her friend Grace's house is broken into, her store is robbed, and snow keeps falling. It's a fun read with several red herrings that will keep many guessing until the end.

If she's home, shouldn't she be able to keep her dogs under control? I understand there may be reasons that she chooses to keep dogs she can't care for properly, but as a dog owner this frustrates me tremendously. People need to not have a dog if they are unable to train and exercise them. And don't get me started on people letting their unfixed, unvaccinated dogs go roaming. I wonder if she understands that she's financially liable if her dogs bite someone or cause an accident?

I do understand if she has suddenly become disabled and can't physically care for her dogs anymore, but mostly the problem is people who don't understand that they live in a community and that they are responsible for their dogs' behavior. Or that having a dog takes time, energy and money.

I'm sorry you have to constantly deal with the results of someone else's irresponsibility. Those poor dogs.

Happy New Year, Lori! That cheesecake looks divine and I am copying the recipe but since hubby and I just agreed that we are going to cut back in January, I will hold off actually making it for awhile. I'm so sorry that your neighbour's dog trashed one of your books and I totally agree with Kay that people need to ensure that their dogs aren't able to run free and get in trouble.

>109 RidgewayGirl: She's just a poor excuse for a dog owner.

>110 DeltaQueen50: I hope you enjoy the recipe when you decide to indulge. I, of course, agree that she needs to be more responsible.

Cute kitten moment of the day: I was watching "Finding Your Roots" on PBS. Just as they mentioned something about finding a portrait of an ancestor, Barney pulled himself up to the TV and appeared to be intently peering at the portrait. My camera was where I couldn't reach it in time to capture the moment. Figures!

>103 thornton37814: Oh no! Even the worse as it was to be a gift!

>112 thornton37814: I think I intended to record that but forgot to set the DVR. Was it good?

>113 VictoriaPL: The episode was good. PBS usually has them online later for viewing. I checked, and it is available: http://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/

>114 thornton37814:. Thanks Lori!

>115 VictoriaPL: You're welcome!

Others sometimes display their hand-crafted items. I've finished the cross-stitch part on this and just need to finish it off. I've got to go purchase backing material, but hopefully I'll have it completely done at some point this weekend.

Very nice - is it to be a wall hanging or a throw pillow? Or something else completely?

I love cross stitch and there is nothing quite as pretty as a classic pattern on a classic fabric. Very nice. Are you keeping it or giving it?

>117 -Eva-: Oh, it's smaller than that -- it will be an ornament.

>118 clue: I'll be gifting this one. I might end up doing another for myself later because I really like how this one turned out. A lady in our church who is really an expert cross-stitcher told me tonight (when I showed it to her) that I was braver than her to be stitching on linen. She does evenweave fabrics like Lugana and Jobelan more. I love those too, but this pattern called for linen. It actually called for 35 count, but I couldn't find it. At it's size, it was only going to be about 1/8 inch difference to use 32 count so I just used it.

>116 thornton37814: That's great cross-stitching. What a nice sentiment too. If only it could be true...

it's smaller than that -- it will be an ornament.

Wow... even more impressive. I had envisioned it as being much larger. I am no good at close worked needlepoint so I think you did a fabulous job!

>120 Tara1Reads: Yes

>121 lkernagh: Sometimes photos can be deceiving when it comes to size.

2. Mathematizing: An Emergent Math Curriculum Approach for Young Children by Allen C. Rosales

Date Completed: 7 Jan 2016

Category: Harper Valley P.T.A.

CAT Challenge: None

Rating: 4 stars

Review: The author advocates teaching young children mathematical concepts by learning concepts such as tall, short, wide, narrow, long, and round. He shows how teachers can create conversations that reinforce these concepts and provide children with a good foundation for advanced mathematics. A full review of the book will appear in a future issue of The Christian Librarian. A review copy for my library was received in exchange for an honest review.

Yesterday I was going through a list of books being published in March. When I read the description of one of them, I immediately went to Amazon.com to read a longer description because it was the strangest plot I'd seen in awhile. I discovered it was really coming out in February, and the plot seemed even stranger after reading it there. I wanted to see the reaction of one of my co-workers. I normally will e-mail or phone her to get her reaction, but I wanted to see her face on this one. She laughed just as much as I did. We decided that we were going to order it when it was released. She posted it to Facebook, and we already have three or four people on the waiting list for it when it is released. So, if you want to see a rather interesting description of a forthcoming book, I invite you to check out Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue.

>124 thornton37814: What the heck did I just read?

>125 casvelyn: Mind-boggling, right?

>124 thornton37814: Oh my. On the watchlist it goes.

Somewhat weird!

>126 thornton37814: Do we know if Enrigue was... on something... when he wrote this? Or is he just the most brilliant novelist of our time?

>124 thornton37814: This sounds weird! But also fun!

>124 thornton37814: What?!? I'm still trying to conceive of it all of together as one body of work.

>127 MissWatson: I know. You have to be curious about the book with a description like that.

>128 dudes22: Definitely.

>129 casvelyn: My boyfriend asked what he was on when I showed it to him. Penguin (or their Riverhead Books imprint) must think he's brilliant enough to deserve a chance with that convoluted sounding plot.

>130 Chrischi_HH: That's exactly the reaction we had which is why we are ordering it.

>131 VictoriaPL: It does stretch the imagination. Mind-boggling is the word that comes to mind!

We just showed the description of Sudden Death by Alvaro Enrigue to one of our English professors who thinks it would make the perfect "book club" read. We are apparently going to try to incorporate his idea which may mean that several of us get Kindle copies. His idea is to read a couple of chapters a week. This could end up being rather interesting, particularly since this professor who is quite fun and another one who is also quite fun are probably both on board with it. Another fun professor in another department already expressed interest in the book. This could turn out to be a quite interesting turn of events.

>133 thornton37814: Please let us know if anything comes of it. I have found out that it is available in German as "Aufschlag Caravaggio" (no touchstone) which would translate as "Serve Caravaggio". Not in my library, though, so I have to keep looking.

>134 MissWatson: Interesting. I knew it was translated into English. It's neat to see it has been translated into other languages as well.

>133 thornton37814: PM me those professors, I'm dying to know.

Sudden Death is a novel? Sounds more like 'shrooms. I'm curious about it, but I let you be the first guinea pig.

>124 thornton37814: >137 cammykitty: Yes, I think I'll wait till others have read it! Sounds bonkers!

According the amazon UK site it's not published here until mid-April.

>137 cammykitty: Actually the Spanish professor is going to be the first guinea pig. It's already been released in Spanish so she's downloaded it. I think everyone wants to know what drugs he was using.

>138 Jackie_K: It does sound "bonkers."

I took the tree down. They all helped me get the ornaments off. I just hope I found all the ones they'd already removed. I put the tree down on the floor while I was packing up the skirt. The kittens started climbing in and out of the folded up greenery. I don't have the heart to take it away from them at the moment. I needed a break anyway, right?

Carrie, Sherlock is a Vols fan. He keeps looking up at the game on the TV. He just sits there watching it. I think orange is his favorite color. ;-)

>140 thornton37814: I envy you, Lori! Sounds like three kittens make chores fun!

>141 DeltaQueen50: Well, they have managed to find a couple of ornaments I missed!

>124 thornton37814:
Wow, it's gotten great reviews too - very intriguing!

>143 -Eva-: It has. It's definitely one of those that begs to be read.

>124 thornton37814: How can anyone not want to read that one?

>145 lindapanzo: Curiosity alone maks me want to read it. Some people say it sounds too weird for them.

>146 thornton37814: Not sure I'd want to pay good money for it but I plan to put it on reserve at the library.

>147 lindapanzo: I think we've finally settled on the person with the tightest budget which is the librarian who has a stay-at-home husband who watches the two toddlers will get the library's copy for the group read. The rest of us will do Kindle. The Spanish version is cheaper, but I don't think I want to tackle it in Spanish although I might do better than expected. It's just been too long since I've done extensive reading in Spanish. I manage pretty well with stuff that comes across to be cataloged, and I often even read a little just to make myself keep up, but trying to read a full-length novel is another thing.

Hi Lori! I'm slowly making my way around the threads. All the songs from your categories are running around in my head now. Harper Valley PTA!! I haven't thought about that song in decades. Good luck with your challenge.
Didn't someone base their category challenge on the Author Card game a few years ago? Maybe it was just one category. I think it was mysterymax.
The New Years donuts are making me very hungry. Esp the cream filled version. For New Years I made a Black Eyed Peas and Stewed Tomatoes Salad. It was yummy.
Sudden Death has the most interesting plot synopsis ever. Can't wait to hear what your book club thinks about that one.

>149 VioletBramble: - I was also thinking there was someone who did a challenge based on the author cards.

>149 VioletBramble: I don't remember if someone based their category challenge on the Authors card game or not. It is a rather interesting plot synopsis. It's begging to be read.

>150 dudes22: If two of you remember it, it very likely was the case.

I didn't manage to get much read today. I spent most of the day at church. I sang on praise teams for the 8:00 am, 10:45 am, and 6:00 pm services. I sang a different part at every service -- tenor at the early one, soprano at the blended later morning service (although I did sing my usual tenor on the choir song), and alto at the evening one. I also help with our youth choir which met at 4:45 pm.

This afternoon I finished off the cross-stitch piece by sewing it to backing fabric with a sheer ribbon edge. I'm pretty happy with the 3 edges that I got to sew before flipping it inside out. Unfortunately I'm not that great of a seamstress so the bottom edge is not quite so lovely. I took a photo of it, and I will try to remember to post a photo online after I gift it this weekend when we celebrate a belated Christmas.

The plot of Sudden Death sounds like it will be either very good or very bad!

>153 hailelib: Definitely. The reviews sound promising. I just hope the book holds up.

3. Nature Preschools and Forest Kindergartens: The Handbook for Outdoor Learning by David Sobel

Date Completed: 11 Jan 2016

Category: Harper Valley P.T.A.

CAT Challenge: None

Rating: 3 stars

Review: David Sobel and his contributors show the benefits of play, specifically in a natural setting, for young children. Differences in American and European attitudes are discussed. While curriculum is given a little bit of treatment, the book is more of an overview on running such a program. While I agree with the author that children are probably not playing enough, I'm not certain that this movement has the complete solution to the problem. A copy of the book was received for my library in exchange for a full review that will appear in a future issue of The Christian Librarian.

I went to Walmart. Among the items I purchased were a couple of two liter bottles of Coke. The cashier failed to double bag them. My gut instinct was to ask her to do so, but I thought I would make it okay. As soon as I got to my kitchen, the two bottles went busting through that plastic bag. The lid popped off one, spewing Coke on everything nearby, including three kittens. They were very lucky actually, as they were mostly behind me and just got sprinkled. The floor in front of me was absolutely covered with Coke. The lid had shot into the dining room. I ran to get towels and the mop. The kittens went to sniff the Coke but decided they didn't want any. They did supervise my cleanup efforts though.

>156 thornton37814: Oh what a mess! I hope you will let the store know. I just came in with a 1/2 gallon of milk and a large bottle of juice in the same bag and didn't think I'd make it either but got in okay. I have a friend that works at one of our regional groceries and she says the clerks are reminded to be cautious with using bags because they cost 2 cents each. I know they use a lot of bags and 2 cents grows to a pretty big expense but I'd pay 2 extra cents to keep a bag from breaking.

>157 clue: Actually one of the store employees is a Facebook friend of mine. He apologized on behalf of the store. I did let him know which cashier it was. Aldi charges for bags. It's 10 cents for a plastic bag or 6 cents for a paper bag which will hold much more. Of course, a lot of people remember to take their own bags.

>156 thornton37814: It's a good thing the kittens weren't interested in it! I would think that caffeine is as bad for cats as it is for dogs.

>159 cbl_tn: I know -- and I had no way to keep them from helping themselves to it while I grabbed towels from the hall closet and the mop from the garage.

Aroo! Good thing the kitties don't like the taste of Coke. It can't be good for them. Do let us know what the Spanish teacher things of Muerto Suddeno.

This is another reason why I haul my own cloth bags when I do my grocery shopping. Also, it keeps the house from slowly being covered in a thick layer of flimsy plastic bags. I do have to store them in the trunk of my car, or I would always forget them, but it's worth it.

>155 thornton37814: There's a nature pre-school in my neighborhood. It's called idig2learn. They have a little spot near the park with two tables and some chairs. They have something they call a Living Library -- a garden for the growing part of the year and a compost heap for the non growing part of the year. I have no idea where they go when it rains/snows/gets very cold.

>156 thornton37814: Oh no! This happened to my sister but the bag broke inside her car, the cap came off a 2 liter bottle of soda and sprayed all over her upholstered car roof. Huge mess.



Here's a photo of the Living Library garden from a few years ago

My daughter's German kindergarten did an all year outside in the woods the year after we left and it was a great success. They were big on spending an hour outside regardless of the weather while she was still there and there was a very specific list of outerwear items each child needed to have, including rain pants. With the proper clothing, the kids were fine, although I did a lot of laundry on muddy, rainy days.

I did prefer it to the elementary school in SC the kids were at, where it was at the discretion of the teacher whether they got to spend their short 15 minute recesses inside or out. There were weeks when it was chilly or rainy, when the kids were stuck inside all day and emerged insane with the need for exercise.

>161 cammykitty: I think it is actually Muerte súbita.

>162 RidgewayGirl: I have some of the reusable cloth (or whatever you call that fabric) ones, but I always forget them.

>163 VioletBramble: The living garden is lovely. It sounded like the author of this particular book believed in keeping kids out even in the rain. (The could make mud pies which they called chocolate something or other.) I'm very happy the bottle spew didn't occur in my car.

>164 RidgewayGirl: I'm not really saying that kids don't need more outside time and play. I'm just not sure all the time should be spent outdoors. Of course, we didn't have preschools when I was a kid. Kindergartens were private back then and not required for admission into first grade.

I'm officially behind on threads again. Hopefully I can catch up again soon.

I came home today to discover that the floor heat register from the bathroom had been relocated to the living room by the kittens. I'm pretty sure that required a great deal of team work. I'm amazed they lugged it that far.

I'm beginning to wonder how much longer your house will remain standing.

>168 RidgewayGirl: I have the same concern.

One of my colleagues posted this fascinating article. I noticed it mentioned Clarissa which many of you are reading. In Search of the Novel's First Sentence: A Secret History: http://electricliterature.com/in-search-of-the-novels-first-sentence-a-secret-hi...

4. The Fox and the Star by Coralie Bickford-Smith

Date Completed: 15 Jan 2016

Category: ABC

CAT Challenge: None

Rating: 4 stars

Review: A beautifully illustrated book that relates the story of a fox whose only friend is a star. When the star disappears, Fox is frightened. He eventually overcomes his fear and finds that he is far from alone. The illustrations are very well done!

>170 thornton37814: Thanks for the link -- very interesting article!

>167 thornton37814: Oh my! Very strong kittens! I wonder what feats of strength they will achieve as full-grown cats.

I like your song/category set-up. Lots of great music there, which I'm sure will lead to lots of great reads.

Nice challenge categories! I grew up in the 70's, so many of those songs bring back good memories.

>170 thornton37814: Glad you enjoyed that one.

>171 thornton37814: I'm almost afraid to find out.

>174 LisaMorr: Thanks. I'm hoping so.

>175 mathgirl40: Yes. I love the old 70s music too.

>171 thornton37814:, some beautiful cover art on that book.

>177 Roro8: It is wonderful! You should see the inside illustrations!

5. Death of a Prankster by M. C. Beaton

Date Completed: 17 Jan 2016

Category: Suspicious Minds

CAT Challenge: None

Rating: 3 stars

Review: Multimillionaire prankster Andrew Trent invites his family members to his home in the north of Scotland. None of them really like him, but did someone hate him enough to murder him? That's the question PC Hamish MacBeth finds himself contemplating as DI Blair and his team investigate. It's a nice little formulaic mystery, and Hamish is a likable character. Few of the other characters truly appealed to me, and it's almost a shame that some of those implicated by the red herrings were not guilty of collaborating. I listened to the Blackstone audio recording available through Overdrive. The reader did an acceptable, but not outstanding job.

As I was driving from the hotel to church this morning for Praise Team rehearsal (at Jeff's church), I realized that one of my earrings had fallen off somewhere between my room and the car. I called back to the hotel so they'd know who it belonged to in case it was turned in (and hoped they might actually look for it in case it was in the parking lot). When I pulled in this evening, I noticed something about the shape of my earring at approximately where the back door of my SUV was in the parking lot. I walked over, and although there was another car in that space now, the earring was miraculously unharmed and still in one piece!

That is amazing about your earring Lori ! I have several singles in my jewelry box hoping that they will turn up one day!
You never know!

Also thanks for the Hamish reminder ! That was one of those times I amassed about ten of books in the series just because I enjoyed the one I was reading.

>181 lsh63: I was shocked. Where it was lying, it is amazing that cars had not run over it. Hamish was a perfect fit for the drive. I spotted someone who had enjoyed that one this month and decided to see if our library had the audio available through Overdrive. They did, so that's the one I chose for the trip.

>181 lsh63: Several singles in my jewelry box....me too! Like a lonely hearts club they just sit there hoping their match will come back, LOL.

>183 VictoriaPL: It's really a shame that earrings don't stay on better than they do. This was one of those dangly ones where there is nothing but the u-shaped loop that goes through the hole. Of course, the backs pop off of some of those others. We need to talk to those earrings about their divorce rate.

I'll be driving back to Tennessee in a bit. I'm just praying that the 6 hour drive is really 6 hours instead of 9 like it was the other day. I don't think I can handle a 9 hour drive! I have too much I want to do at the other end of the trip before the kittens come back home tomorrow from where I have them boarded. (I'm arriving after hours so I'm going to take advantage of that to get a few things done that are easier without kittens underfoot.)

6. To Live Is Christ: Joining Paul's Journey of Faith by Beth Moore

Date Completed: 18 Jan 2016

Category: Hey Jude

CAT Challenge: None

Rating: 3.5 stars

Review: Beth Moore is a popular author of women's Bible studies, and To Live Is Christ is an example of why she is so popular. This particular study covers the life of Paul. It covers the passages dealing with Paul in the book of Acts and explores some of Paul's writings in the epistles. The study weakened for me when it began examining the epistles, but only certain passages in them. These sections would have been best left for studies of those books rather than lumping them in with the book of Acts. Additional questions for each chapter are at the end of the book, but would probably be better to include at the end of each chapter.

>186 thornton37814: Lori, I love Beth Moore's studies but I have not yet done this one. Thanks for the review!

>187 VictoriaPL: She certainly seems to do her background research!

>187 VictoriaPL: Her daughter is a Bible scholar too and helps her out. I love how excited she gets.

7. Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler

Date Completed: 19 Jan 2016

Category: I Will Survive

CAT Challenge: None

Rating: 3 stars

Review: The Tull family of Baltimore is dysfunctional. The father leaves the mother Pearl to rear the children alone. Only the son Ezra remains at home. He takes over management of a somewhat successful restaurant but manages to make it into one which struggles. The other children move on, rarely coming home, and interacting infrequently with the rest of the family. The book is well-written, but the narrative is slow and seems to have little point except the exploration of the dysfunctional family. Near the end of the book, I began to think this is the type of book that I'd probably enjoy more as a movie than as a book.

>190 thornton37814: - very similar to my reaction.

>191 dudes22: I'm really glad to see you saying that. I've read so many comments by people who really liked the book.

Time for a photo of my fur babies who are growing up so quickly!

They look so very comfortable - and adorable.

Great categories. I know it's not one of them, but now Elvis Costello's Watching the Detectives is stuck in my head.

>193 thornton37814: Awwwwwwww! X3 I love it when cats twist their chins up to the sky like that. :-) :-) :-)

They are beginning to be cats!

Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant was my first Tyler and I read it for the first time when I was in high school. It just hit the sweet spot for me - Tyler's characters are so good and she creates moods with her books. Poor Ezra. I still remember his complaint about out-of-season tomatoes.

>194 VivienneR: They are wonderful. I've been interested to see how they respond to the snow, but they've disappointed me a bit. Brumley was always so fascinated by it. These three are more fascinated by playing with one another than watching the white stuff out the window.

>195 pamelad: LOL - Your brain must be doing word associations with the category descriptions and artists.

>196 Tara1Reads: Yes. They were perfectly content.

>197 RidgewayGirl: They are just about grown up. They will be 6 months old in about 3 weeks. I'm glad the Tyler book worked better for you than for me. I do remember the out-of-season tomatoes comment.

A genealogist posting on Facebook pointed out that Ludwika: A Polish Woman's Struggle to Survive in Nazi Germany by Christoph Fischer is free (for Kindle) today only at Amazon. The book has very high ratings at Amazon. I decided to download it.

>199 thornton37814: And after seeing this, so did I!

Thanks, Lori. I've snagged a copy.

I believe Eastern Europe is coming up in the GeoCAT in March. Maybe I'll get to it then.

>200 cbl_tn: >201 RidgewayGirl: I thought people would be interested.

>202 cbl_tn: Great future planning! I knew I wasn't going to get to that one this month, but it looked like it might be a winner.

>199 thornton37814: I grabbed a copy too! When are we reading it?

>204 VictoriaPL: Carrie says we should save it for March when it's Eastern Europe in the GeoCAT.

>205 thornton37814: I can do that!

>206 VictoriaPL: It's a plan!

>193 thornton37814: Awwwww! Seems like only yesterday they were wee kitties!

>208 rabbitprincess: I know. They just grow up too quickly!

The ultimate in kitten cuteness: Mr. B washed Barney's ears for him!

I'm pretty sure my head was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or maybe it was Barney's tail that was in the wrong place when Sherlock reached up to get it and got his claws into my right temple.

>193 thornton37814: - When did they get this big? Still quite cute though.

>212 LittleTaiko: Overnight, it seemed!

8. Day of Atonement: A Novel of the Maccabean Revolt by David Arthur DeSilva

Date Completed: 21 Jan 2016

Category: Time in a Bottle

CAT Challenge: None

Rating: 4 stars

Review: Intertestamental period expert David Arthur deSilva deviates from his normal academic writing by penning a novel based on the Maccabean period. It's a period many Christians know little about although Jews have a feast to commemorate it. We see the high priest's brother becoming too involved in the Greek culture around him and allowing his faith to be watered down by it. We see some Jews who remain true to their heritage and who are persecuted for it, and others who give into the culture around them. This is a great and readable novel that will be appreciated by both Jews and Christians. My library received a copy of this in exchange for my review of the novel for a publication. A longer review will appear in a future issue of The Christian Librarian.

I think I told Darryl I hoped to have Peets in San Diego. We stopped this morning.

This was our view during breakfast at the hotel this morning. I think I'm going to crop the corner of that chair out and send off for a jigsaw puzzle.

The surf was kind of high when we had lunch at Ocean Beach.

What a fabulous photo! Perfect for a jigsaw. The surf looks great too.

>216 thornton37814: Great photo! I didn't know you could send photos in to have jigsaws made of them. That would be a neat idea.

>218 VivienneR: I love the way the restaurants lights (which were in the view we had too) appeared.

>219 rabbitprincess: Yes. I've never done it, but I've seen it offered. I just need to decide where!

Are you expecting/getting a lot of snow where you are, Lori? Oh wait! smacks head you're not there. Duh!

I love San Diego! Soak up that sunshine, Lori. :)

>221 dudes22: I think San Diego is expecting a blizzard in this wonderful 60+ degree weather. ;-)

>222 DeltaQueen50: I'll enjoy it while I can. I'll wake up here in the morning, but I'll be in Knoxville late afternoon if all the planes work out.

9. Fogged Inn by Barbara Ross

Date Completed: 24 Jan 2016

Category: Killing Me Softly

CAT Challenge: None

Rating: 2.5 stars

Review: Julia Snowden and her boyfriend Chris have recently opened an evening hours restaurant in Busman's Harbor, Maine. After a corpse turns up in the locker, and several guests pay with tampered (although legitimate) gift certificates on the same evening, Julia becomes suspicious. Rather than leaving it for the officials, Julia can't resist the temptation to snoop on her own. Her apartment over the restaurant is broken into and the gift certificates are stolen. Julia uncovers evidence that the gift certificate recipients all have a connection. Who was the the recipient of the other gift certificate purchased in that lot who did not arrive? The main characters were likable, although I did not feel they were particularly well-developed in this fourth book in the series. It was my first time to read a book in this series although the first has been on my wish list. The characters were probably better developed in earlier installments. I have trouble believing that all of the guests would lie to the authorities. I did not really enjoy the way this one ended. The cozy sleuth had it wrong, and the investigators had it right. While that may be something that is more likely in real life, if an author wants a cozy sleuth to have an audience, that sleuth needs to solve it correctly at least at the same time as authorities. While the book is a pleasant one, it is flawed. I received an advance reader's copy from the publisher through NetGalley with the expectation a review would be written.

>215 thornton37814: I like Peet's so much more than S.B. Their coffee is actually drinkable.

>225 mamzel: I agree that Peet's is better than Starbucks. Part of our group went to Starbucks with the San Diego host. The rest of us talked our van driver into taking us to Peet's.

10. Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O'Connor

Date Completed: 26 Jan 2016

Category: Killing Me Softly

CAT Challenge: None

Rating: 3 stars

Review: Siobhán O'Sullivan runs the local bistro in Kilbane along with her siblings. When her brother James is accused of a murder that occurred after the grand opening of a hair salon where all attendees received a pair of scissors, Siobhán feels she has to investigate to clear the charges. He had a fight with the man, but most of her friends agree James would never kill a man and that he was too drunk to kill him. The local garda simply settles on him as the easiest suspect. The Irish names make the reading a bit more difficult. The author does provide a pronunciation guide for the names in the front. As with most cozies, it is not that difficult to puzzle out the perpetrator if enough clues are followed although the author does throw in one red herring near the end to make it a bit more interesting. The village atmosphere would have been enhanced if the characters had moved a little further out of the inner circle and more about the town itself. The novel felt as though it were driving a bit too much by conversation. I'm not certain if this is intended as the start of a series or not, but it's one I might revisit to see if the author develops the setting beyond the Irish names and occasional term. This review is based on an advance reader's galley provided by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.

I was sorting through some gift books today at our library when I stumbled upon this book:



I flipped it open and was greeted by a flood of memories as I realized this was the exact same version I had as a child. I must have received it for Christmas my kindergarten year because the copyright is 1968. I thought I would have had it before then, but I guess I did not. It must have been something they thought I could easily read at that age.

So, I'm lying in bed last night when the phone starts flashing and making weird noises. Barney has figured out how to "call from base."

>229 thornton37814: They are an enterprising lot!

>230 MissWatson: They get into stuff my former cat never dreamed about exploring. Of course, there are three of them, and they are young!

>229 thornton37814: So what did he want? Food, milk, or someone to play with him? Or all of the above?!

>232 cbl_tn: Probably attention in general.

I wonder how long it will take them to dial 911? It took my son a few years, and he only managed it because the emergency number in England is 999.

It was fun greeting tense police officers wearing only a towel!

"Call from base" - that's so cute. "Mom? Hey Mom? Are you there?"

>234 RidgewayGirl: - I have a nephew who managed to call Egypt when he was little.

>234 RidgewayGirl: Thank goodness I don't live in England!

>235 dudes22: I really have no idea what number he dialed, but it said "Call from base" on the phone's screen.

Stopping by to get caught up - and to enjoy the kitten antics - and joining the others in commenting how surprised I am at how big they have gotten! I kind of forgot that you didn't just get them yesterday but can't they stay small and adorable for a little while longer before they become the lean and limber felines they will become? ;-)

>237 lkernagh: I know! I'm just praying they'll stay out of the cheesecake while it is cooling this evening. I'll go to bed around 11 p.m. (or probably closer to 11:05 since I'll need to get that into the fridge!

Mmmnn... Cheesecake! I bet it would be delicious even decorated with cat prints.

>239 DeltaQueen50: So far it isn't decorated. I hope it stays that way.

I had 2 pet raccoon when I was growing up and they didn't call anyone but went into the neighbors garage and turned on the washing machine and dryer about 2 AM.

>241 clue: Thankfully they haven't done that yet!

Amazing what the furkids can get up to when they're bored!

>243 tymfos: I think they are just curious. I haven't seen them bored yet.