mstrust's #3- The Shop of Books, Booze and Chocolate

Yes, We're Open!





With this thread I will do what I've always wanted, which is to own a bookshop. One that is suited to my very particular personality.
Enter The BBC, which stands for Books, Booze & Chocolate. It contains every book I have or want to read, a little lounge in the back for cocktails, and an always stocked patisserie. There's live music or plays, tiki carving demonstrations, gem shows, and everyone who comes in is also a big fan of both "Downton Abbey" and "The Walking Dead". Also, dogs are always welcome.

Books Read

1. Japanland- 4.2
2. Easy to Kill- 3.5
3. Rickles' Book- 3 stars
4. Tepper Isn't Going Out- 3.5 stars
The Adventure of the Beryl Coronet
5. Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture- 3.5 stars
6. I Married A Dead Man- 3.5 stars
7. The Halloween Tree- 3 stars
8. Grow Your Own Drugs- 4 stars
9. Magic for Beginners- 4.5 stars
10. The Kalahari Typing School for Men- 4 stars
The Adventure of the Dying Detective
11. Carsick- 2.5 stars
12. Pines- 4.5 stars
13. Neither Here Nor There- 4 stars
14. Letters from the Hive- 3.5 stars
15. Shedd Aquarium: The First 75 Years- 3.5 stars
16. The Great Tea Rooms of Britain- 4.5 stars
17. The Most Beautiful Villages of New England- 4.5 stars
The Man With the Twisted Lip
18. Batavia's Graveyard- 4 stars
19. The Labors of Hercules- 3.8 stars
20. Aurora Borealis: A Photo Memory- 4.5 stars
21. Istanbul (Great Cities)- 4 stars
22. Foreign Babes in Beijing- 4.5 stars
23. The New England Coast- 4 stars
24. Dark Bayou- 4 stars
25. Dear Fatty- 4 stars
26. A Diet of Treacle- 4 stars
27. The Fever Called Living- 4.5 stars
28. Morality For Beautiful Girls- 4 stars
29. This Census-Taker
The Adventure of the Illustrious Client
30. Griffin & Sabine- 25th anniversary Limited Edition- 4.5 stars
31. Cheaper By The Dozen- 3 stars
32. The Walking Dead Vol. 9: Here We Remain- 4 stars
33. The Walking Dead, Vol. 10, What We Become- 4 stars
34. The Walking Dead, Vol. 11: Fear The Hunters- 4 stars

The Patisserie




And our tiki lounge


Welcome!

Happy new thread, Jennifer! I don't have room for any of your patisseire's lovely sweets so I think I'll have a cocktail in the tiki lounge and unwind.

Looking forward to the field trip to the aquarium tomorrow!

A big slice of gooey chocolate cake, a mug of tea and a gritty crime novel. Heaven! The BBC is the best :)

>3 Carmenere: Thank you, and I hope you enjoy our field trip! Maybe you'll be hungry when we return.
>4 rabbitprincess: You're a great and loyal patron! And doesn't that look like the most chocolately cake ever?

Start lining up for the bus- we'll be leaving soon.

The BBC goes to the Aquarium



I don't know the names of all we'll see, but I do know that it will all be fantastic. Enjoy the magnificence of the sea.





An Emerald Cushion Sea Star


Everybody loves the seahorses: And the Leafy Sea Dragons:

The Giant Pacific Octopus


Here's the Blanket Octopus- The Mimic Octopus


A sea slug in a hurry: And a Blue Ribbon Eel:


The Manatee- And a baby Beluga Whale. They've both spotted us.


Here's the Puffer Fish- And the Yellow Boxfish, always puckering:

Jellyfish- dangerous yet mesmerizing:
Lion's Mane




Did you know that sea turtles eat jellyfish?


Look at the baby stingrays!


And now to the sharks! Everybody wants to see the sharks!





I hope you've enjoyed our trip to the aquarium! Come back soon!


Lemonhead Zoanthids

What incredible images.
The baby stringrays and the eel are particularly fascinating.

Love the aquarium visit!! Thank you!

>9 Whisper1: >10 Copperskye: I'm glad you've enjoyed the visit! And remember that your pass gets you in as often as you like.

Love the slug in a hurry! The sort of phrase you don't expect to use.
However, my eye is caught by the plate of macaroons. With a froffee coffee and a comfortable sofa, please.
*flump*

Congratulations on a fabulous new thread!

I'll have chocolate cake while I watch the aquarium movies.

So sea turtles eat jellyfish? Who knew?

Congrats on your shiny new thread, Jennifer. I LOVE the aquarium pics.

Happy new thread! I LOVE octopi!

>12 Helenliz: That beautiful and speedy creature would probably be offended at being named a "slug".
Wouldn't it be pleasant to have a book in one hand and that plate of macarons on your lap? It'd save so much time.

>13 VivienneR: Thanks! I didn't think anything ate jellyfish due to the poison, but it turns out there are lots of photos and video of sea turtles doing it. Maybe it's akin to some people liking spicy food. ; )

>14 Ameise1: Thank you, and I'm glad you've had a good time! Me too! I love going to the aquarium.

>15 paruline: Thanks! Since I really hate spiders, I've had a hard time warming up to the octopus. But then I read about how intelligent they are, that they love puzzles and can unscrew jars and are masters at escaping from their tanks.
I can't remember where I read it, but there was a story about a researcher who brought an octopus home from work and put it in his home tank. A friend came over, the octopus had very quickly learned how to undo the tank clasp, and here came the octopus crawling into the room and scaring the guest out of his skin. Ha!

Aww! Baby stingrays! And I love the sea turtles. They remind me of Finding Nemo :)

>16 mstrust: Haha! Good for the octopus!

I've just got to say this has been the most beautiful selection of aquatic animals I've ever seen! So informative too.

Wow! Look at those choppers on the parrot fish
Ewwwww! The mimic octopus looks like a nest of snakes Ewwww!
I usually don't like eels (again too snake like) but these ribbon eels are pretty
I love the baby stingrays! I bought their likeness on a t-shirt in the gift shop.
Thanks for another fun outing!!!

Happy new thread!

>17 rabbitprincess: Those little kicking stingray legs are so cute. They remind me of a baby in a Bjorn, just kicking straight out.
I know, that story of the octopus had me laughing when I read it, but I'll bet the guy it happened to had nightmares!

>18 Carmenere: Thank you so much! I tend to use my thread like a bulletin board, or pinterest, to collect up all the things I find interesting, and it's great when others like them too! I'm glad you had a good time on our field trip.
Those parrot fish could be named "Gary Busey Fish". It's like seeing the teeth of a giant human on a fish, which is something you never expected to see. I'm with you on the eels. Moray eels look like they're on earth to eat souls.

>19 scaifea: Thank you!

Anyone interested in a tentacle of cake?




16. The Great Tea Rooms of Britain by Bruce Richardson, with photography by John Gentry. A big coffee table book of the most atmospheric and historical tea rooms across England and Wales. There are lots of beautiful photos of the establishments, some a hundred years old and run by generations of the same family, some only a few years old and some in famous hotels. There is Brown's and The Dorchester in London, and The Pump Room in Bath, and St. Tudno Hotel in North Wales, where this recipe for traditional Welsh bread comes from. Each tea room gives several of their unique recipes. 4.5 stars


Sweet Bara Brith

2 c. mixed dried fruit
1 & 1/4 c cold tea
1 c brown sugar
2 & 1/4 c self-rising flour
1 egg, beaten
1 & 1/2 tsp allspice

In a medium bowl, combine the fruit, tea and sugar, and let stand, un-refrigerated, overnight.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line and grease a loaf pan. Add the flour, egg and allspice to the fruit mixture and mix. Pour into the pan and bake one and a half hours or until a toothpick comes out dry from the center. Allow to cool on a rack for 15 minutes before slicing. Serve with butter or clotted cream.

Love the look of the new bookstore! Give me a cramped, antique looking shop with books staked floor to ceiling and I am in heaven!

Loved the aquarium trip! I will pass on the tentacle of cake.... I don't even want to know what that is.

The recipe for the Sweet Bara Brith looks so simple! Of course, I went and trashed my unused dried fruit a two weeks ago. I wonder if I could replace the mixed dried fruit with chopped dried apricots and maybe change the spice to cardamon? Humm... tempting. Very tempting.

Hi Lori! I'm a sucker for a stack of old books too, and the chandeliers are a must.
I think dried apricots would be great in this recipe. By "dried fruit" I take it to mean dealer's choice. I know that if I make it, there will be cinnamon.

It's George Washington's birthday!!! Recognize!

Ok, let's talk D.A.:



1. The episode starts with Edith making her unhappy face, and it turns out she has a right to it. Yes, Edith, things will go very badly for you this week. Because Mary exists. Edith had the grand moment of being able to tell her family that Bertie was no longer just an agent, but suddenly, a Marquees. Or Lord Hexum. Whatever- Mary's jaw dropped and Edith had her thrilling moment with Robert crowing that when Edith was married "she'll outrank us all!" Mary fought through sudden blindness to say "If he really is Lord Hexum he won't want to marry her now."

2. And Mary is being eaten up by the possibility of Edith doing well, and remembers about Marigold, just so she can use it later.

3. And Robert and Cora, when they're alone, marveling that Edith could attract a Lord. Robert says, "Poor old Edith couldn't make her dolls do what she wanted." Ha! It's just the two of you, go ahead and toss around the word "loser".

4. Mary's black dinner gown is quite slinky, almost sexy. But Edith's pale gold, embroidered gown is gorgeous. The hat Tom wore in the village looked like he got drunk and sat on it.

5. Edith gets another great moment at breakfast, when she clearly tells Mary "Henry's abandoned you so I'll be nice and not rub my super-great future in your soulless face. No, wait, I will." And Mary can't bear it for even a few seconds, and brings up Marigold. Edith could have squirmed out of this so easily, even if only for the moment, to not give Mary the satisfaction. But she didn't, the frigging idiot, she went along with it and lost her boyfriend. And then they sat there in silence.

6. And it turns out that Bertie doesn't have a problem with the illegitimate kid, of course, but with Edith not trusting him. Suuuuure, we believe that. And he's gone as fast as he can get away from there...

7. Which leads Branson to tell Mary exactly what he thinks of her. Yea, Branson! He had started to feel like her shadow, always at her side, but now he tells her how horrible she is.

8. And then it's Edith's turn. Never has the phrase "You're a bitch," carried so much hate. I expected Edith to swing her jewelry box at Mary on her way past.

9. Mary doesn't deserve love. Why does she keep being given chances at happiness? Why are her indiscretions kept a secret while she outs Edith? So Mary gets a husband while Edith is alone again. Why not just use Edith as a pinata at Mary's reception?

On to other people, because it isn't all about Mary:

10. The idiot policeman found another excuse to be at the back door. Adultery! A house of ill repute! The funniest thing about the scene was the way Mrs Patmore smiled at the idiot as if unaware that all he does is bring trouble and drama. And in this episode we discover that Mrs Patmore is about three and a half feet tall. Seriously, it's a wonder she can reach the counter.

11. The children were trotted out for their once a month airing.

12. Why would Moseley have trouble keeping order in class? Those were the days of teachers hitting pupils. He could have used his wooden pointer, a tree branch, a rolled up paper, his briefcase, a book, a fire poker from the abbey... But the next day, which is the worst for Edith, Moseley has his greatest day.


13. The other big news is that Barrow did what we knew he would- tried to kill himself. It was just a matter of how, not if. It's another historical inaccuracy that Carson and Robert would react with kindness. In 1925, he would have been bundled off to be straight-jacketed in an asylum. And see, aren't Barrow and Mary made for each other? What a rare glimmer of kindness for Mary to take George to visit Barrow. And then she takes a shot at her father about the situation. So Mary.

14. Finally, we have some sweetness between Carson and Mrs Hughes.

15. Branson calls for Granny and she actually shows up? And talks Mary into marrying a poor man? As my dad always said, I don't believe half of that.

16. Spratt!? What the hell is going on here?

17. Isobel was very kind to Mary. Who doesn't deserve it.

18. And in the end, Edith was the much bigger person. She could have told Henry about Mary's past, could have ruined the ceremony, but she held her tongue. Too bad.

19. Since this episode ran over by 20 minutes, I thought it might be the last, but we have one more to go. March 6th is the final one. I can't even guess what they will do as anything can happen in final episodes.

>23 mstrust: YES! Lets talk DA, Jennifer :-D

Mary was awfull in this episode, I used to like her... and there was some hope for Edith, but she still stays poor Edith.

12 Mosely is way to nice to be a teacher in that time ;-)
But I am glad he did get their attention.

13 that is indeed an historical inaccuracy, I thought the same when I saw it.

Yes anything can happen in a final episode ;-)

Mary was a monster, and that's why I wasn't happy for her marriage at all. It's like she was rewarded rather than punished, and that's not fair. ; ) I guess we'll have to go into the final episode with an open mind since they're bound to surprise us with something weird. Andy declares his love for Barrow, Edith's man comes back to marry her, re-structure the estate and knight Robert...



I've just finished watching last night's The Walking Dead.

Rick and Michonne! I know a lot of people wanted them together because they respect each other and are comfortable together, and it was in the comics. But I didn't think it would ever happen, particularly because Michonne knocked Rick out and he sawed off the hand of the woman he loved just last week. I know, maybe a few weeks have passed, but not more than that by the little deterioration of Deanna. But really, they seemed like they would remain just friends because they've known each other for a while and- nothing.
As for Jesus, it's the Armageddon. Where is he finding enough spirit gum to glue on that beard every day?

I'm not usually a Mary hater, but I was last night. At the breakfast scene I had to yell at the TV "You did not just do that, you bitch," followed by "this is not As the World Turns!" Well, yes, it is a soap, but they do not have to make it so damn obvious.

No class of school children would have dreamed of misbehaving like that. Not for another 50 years, anyway.

Branson is the magic Irishman. I laughed at the comment that his letter was eloquent. In reality, it's likely that he'd be barely literate.

I thought it was mean how everyone was laughing at Mrs Patmore's situation.

Carson is a boob.

That's all, I think.

I think I went along with almost whatever Mary did for a long time, but then, she wasn't doing really horrible things then. Too busy playing romance with Matthew to really dig into Edith's life. Oh, wait, what life?
That's true, Branson in all likelihood would have been illiterate. And Granny would have hated his guts til the day she died.
I was surprised by everyone's laughter over Mrs Patmore problem too. I think it may be that Mrs Patmore is so upstanding and, as she keeps saying, um, pure. Still mean to laugh behind her back.

I don't agree about the certainty that Branson would have been illiterate. There were many great writers in Ireland at the time and the literacy rate was not far off that of Great Britain. Besides, he's been co-agent with Mary. She wouldn't have put up with a nitwit.

I felt like cheering when Edith called Mary a bitch. Someone had to say it.

Can't that daft sergeant deal with something without getting everybody in a twist?

So Spratt has a secret hobby as Agony Aunt. What a surprise.

I agree with >26 Nickelini: Carson is a boob. Always has been, always will be. What surprises me is that the actor is so nice in real life!

I've liked Carson, I believe his name is Jack Carter?, since seeing him in the Masterpiece Theatre series "Lost Empires". He played a detective and wore a big walrus mustache.
I felt the same way when Edith told Mary off. But I admit that I really, really wanted a slap across the face too. Anyway, Mary still looked like she was about to choke on her tongue.
I don't know about the Spratt thing. He's always shown disdain for anyone else, so how could he want to help them with advice? Unless this is part of Danker's blackmail. We have to see her get fired for the last show, it has to happen.

Just connecting the dots, it would be not out of the ordinary for Branson, if it were real life, to be illiterate. Andy is, and his position is no lower than a chauffeur, and it doesn't imply stupidity at all. A person would be in service because they're family was somewhat broke, which usually had something to do with a lack of education. The lack of education was because their family needed them to bring in an income at a young age, which took them out of school. My grandparents were born in the 1920s and my grandfather was taken out of school, permanently, at seven years old, and my grandmother at nine.
The fact that Branson can go from being a chauffeur to an estate agent is along the lines of Edith suddenly capable of running a magazine. It's the magic of the abbey. : D

17. The Most Beautiful Villages of New England by Tom Shachtman, photography by Len Rubenstein. Continuing through my stack of new books, and adding to my collection of photography books on New England, this is a really good one. Sectioned by state, and then by village, these are lovely photos of places that have avoided tourism and the ugly chainstores. They tend to have the traditional clapboard houses, steepled churches, red and white schoolhouses and nearby livestock in brilliantly green fields. Old-fashioned, I know, but very pretty. 4.5 stars

True, that it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for Branson to be illiterate, but chances are he was not. I come from Ireland and of the adults I knew in my childhood none was illiterate. They would have been born in the late 19th century to early 20th.

Good point about Danker. She deserves a comeuppance, a major one!

What can I say, other than it's not a documentary.

>30 mstrust: What a fabulous book! I love books like that, especially if they take me to places I've never been.

>32 mstrust: You can say that again! :)

I seem unable to stop myself from acquiring another and another New England book. The Californian in me is awed by buildings that have existed for more than forty years, and the Phoenician I've become is amazed by all the greenery. Look at the trees!

This one is scary:



18. Batavia's Graveyard by Mike Dash. This is the true story of the 1628 shipwreck of the Dutch Batavia. The ship, with a full crew and passengers and a cargo of gold and precious gems, sailed for Java but hit a coral reef near Australia and broke apart. This caused the death of many, but it was what happened to the survivors that make the Batavia the worst shipwreck survivor tale. On board was a crewmember named Jeronimus Corneliszoon, the equivalent of a junior accountant, who turned out to be a silver-tongued psychopath. While the ship sailed, he talked many of the crew, including the captain, into plotting mutiny against the Dutch trading company who owned the ship. The ship wrecked before it could be carried out. This only made Corneliszoon plot on a grander scale, for now there was a small chain of islands, rather than a ship, for him to rule. Blood-thirsty, a natural liar and far more intelligent than the others, he managed to very quickly lure men to his pack and turn them into killers, while dispatching the men who were threats to his position. He gave orders to kill children, babies, unwanted women and even had the cabin boys hunted and killed. Out of 280 people to survive the wreck, Corneliszoon led his men to murder nearly three-quarters.

This is an unbelievably horrible story, yet fascinating. Here we have the 17th Century version of Charles Manson, able to talk mostly very young, poor men into murdering their friends, pregnant women, small children and innocent strangers, and to all agree to have him in charge though he brought nothing more than his persuasiveness to the table. I made the mistake of reading this in bed at night and paid for it by being unable to sleep because I so wanted to see this bunch of murdering crazies get theirs.
I wish the author had skipped giving the long history of apothecaries, of guilds, of religion in The Netherlands... the ship doesn't even sail until nearly 100 pages in! 4 stars

The skeleton of a Batavia victim:

Hi Jennifer! I finally got a chance to watch DA and the Walking Dead last night.

My favorite scene in DA was when Edith let it be known that her boyfriend was now a Marquis. The look on Mary's face was absolutely priceless! I thought it was funny how Mary looked so surprised when Edith called her a bitch and also when her father said "That's cruel, even from you". She's finally getting her own back - just a little. But it does seem as if everyone is willing to excuse Mary's terrible behavior because she was unhappy, but really once a bitch, always a bitch. I also thought the scene with her grandmother was a little off. Granny should have given Mary what-for for exposing family secrets at the breakfast table, and for driving off Edith's Marquis. I doubt if either Granny or Robert would ever forgive that.

My hope is that Edith's fellow decides he can't live without her and they get married and Mary has to take a backseat to her sister for the REST of her life! Ha!

Only one more episode to go. :(

Re The Walking Dead - I was one who wanted to see Michonne and Rick get together. I noticed that those two actors had excellent chemistry and I hope this isn't the kiss of death for Michonne as Rick's lady loves don't usually last very long. I don't remember those two characters getting together in the comics, I remember Rick with Andrea (who didn't get killed by the governor in the comics)

I know Daryl is a free spirited he-man type but don't you think he could at least wash his hair every now and again?

The show seems in a transition period. I guess Jesus will have a lot to do with upcoming storylines. Again I do remember him from the comics but it seems to me he was an ally so I guess we will see what his role will be on upcoming shows.

Hi happy two days after DA, Ahh we finally discover Branson's main purpose in life, and the reason he hurried back to Downtown Abbey, to cut Mary down to size and play matchmaker. Sigh, such a waste.
Horrible that Edith was so close to complete happiness and a snazzy title then BAM!
At the conclusion of the show and the previews from next week, I sense Merrygold's dad is about to return.
Did you have that feeling too?
And yeah, Barrow's desperate act was no surprise. What will be a surprise is where he goes from here.
So sad to see it all come to an end in March

>35 DeltaQueen50: Two really great episodes. Edith looked like she was trying to be all humble as she told her family, but her eyes lingered a bit too much on Mary as she drunk it in.
It seems like just this past season that we started to understand that Robert and Cora see their children clearly; Mary's mean and Edith's a loser and that's the way it is. But I would love it if Edith marries Bertie and Mary's got the driver.
Yea, Daryl is always greasy-haired, even though they obviously have access to soap. I think he may have been a dirty man before everything went to hell. And there Rick has to drive around in a little car with him all day.

>36 Carmenere: I hope Branson at least gets a girlfriend, a plot of land, something for all his trouble. I don't know if I saw all of the previews, as I don't recall anything about Marigold or Michael, but then my DVR cuts off right at the scheduled time. Or do you mean Mr Drew?
What will we do once it's over? That "Mercy Street" hasn't grabbed my interest.

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday, so we'll go see her for a few days. My sister will be there too and we've got a reservation at the Mon Ami French restaurant at the Paris, and Julie ordered an Angle Food cake from Mom's favorite cafe called Chocolate and Spice. Mike is already bitter because it isn't a chocolate cake.

>28 VivienneR: & >31 VivienneR:

Okay, I'll take your word for it that Branson isn't illiterate, since you know way more about that era in Ireland than I do. Note that I proposed that he was "likely barely literate," and that I commented because a character said he'd been "eloquent". It just seems that he is too much too wonderful to be believed. Based on my understanding of literacy in the English speaking world at that time, conversely, I can see that he could also have a decent degree of literacy*. But eloquent? How many superlative traits does this man have?

Also, I don't think Granny would have ever come around to him, no matter how fabulous his attributes.

That said, I do love him. I just don't find his position in the family even a little realistic.

* Case in point: my mother was born in 1926, grew up through the Great Depression in Saskatchewan, and didn't speak English until she went to school. Which she had to quit in grade 8 to raise her 10 younger brothers and sisters. She had excellent grammar and spelling skills, because she made sure she did. (She also adored the Queen, who was born the same year as her, got married the same year as her, and had her first child the same year. Because we all know the Queen is a big copy cat. )

>37 mstrust: What will we do once it's over?

Sigh. Well, nothing for a while. Life experience tells me that there will never be something quite the same, but I know there will be something else that will appeal to a similar taste, eventually.

>37 mstrust: Enjoy the birthday party - even without chocolate cake. I'm with Mike on that one.

>38 Nickelini: You're right about the odd use of "eloquent". I thought it was a facetious remark, meaning he made his point clearly.

He's probably still in the family because Julian Fellowes didn't know what to do with him. He obviously has no role to play.

Impressive that the Queen followed your mother's example! I bet your mother got mileage out of that story. I would have!

>39 VivienneR: He's probably still in the family because Julian Fellowes didn't know what to do with him. He obviously has no role to play.

Ha! Good point.

>38 Nickelini: >40 Nickelini: That said, I do love him. I just don't find his position in the family even a little realistic.
Yep, that sums up Tom Branson. He was incredibly annoying at first, then he had our sympathy, now he's the family's catch-all guardian angel, stepping in with just the right answer and diverting catastrophe.
How funny that your mother and the Queen share so much. Now if you tell me you have a brother named Charles...

>39 VivienneR: She had a good birthday. My sister went to Chocolate and Spice to get the cake and found that it had been sold to another bakery while retaining the name. And they hadn't sent the order to the bakery, though her credit card had been charged. So they made a two-layer white cake with lemon filling and fluffy frosting that tasted like a cross between buttercream and cream cheese, all swirled into roses and dusted with pixie dust. It was very pretty and very light and fluffy.

We got back last night. It was just 48 hours but we had a good time. We brought Mom a bouquet of red, white and yellow roses that opened up beautifully on her birthday. She opened her presents, the atomic clock she'd asked us for, and my sister Julie got her tickets to The House of Blues Gospel Breakfast on Sunday. We went to the Bellagio to see the conservatory which was decorated for Chinese New Year. I'll put up a pic later. There was a huge coin tree, a section of monkeys on a cliff with giant peaches hanging from the ceiling and a koi pond. We thew quarters on the giant pots with incense sticks. which worked out for. She won $400 the next day.



Part of Mom's present from Mike and I was lunch at Mon Ami Gabi, the French bistro at the Paris. It was incredible. Here's what we had: Mom had Croque Monsieur, Julie had a pulled brisket sandwich, I had a mushroom, chicken and kale crepe, Mike had mussels and frites, and because he wanted everyone to eat more, he also ordered the onion soup, Quiche Lorraine and a dish of wild mushrooms cooked in triple cream brie. What we needed was a bigger table for all the plates. I had a Sangria, Julie a French 75 and Mike a French Martini. Mom doesn't drink. Then as we all shook our heads, Mike asked for the dessert menu and ordered Bananas Foster, creme brulee and chocolate mousse. They were all fantastic. Julie has always loved bananas foster but it never did much for me, but this was really good, a crepe filled with whipped cream and covered in the richest caramel/banana sauce. Julie said it was the best meal she'd ever had, and we were all happy. And the comedian Carrot Top was seated a few tables away with his crazy hair, so Mom had a mini-celebrity sighting.
Internet photos, because mine never look this good:


We shopped and watched episodes of "Wet Hot American Summer" and went for Mexican food and rubbed doggie bellies, and then we had to go. Julie's still there so the celebrations are going on without us. But our dogs were very happy to have us back and Coral only tore up a little bit of mail and chewed one coaster while we were gone.

That sounds like a yummy birthday celebration!

The rest of us should be so lucky on our birthday.
Oh, I forgot to mention that we stopped by Amber Unicorn Books on Decatur while we were there. It's a small used bookstore that Mike likes because they get very rare books on WWII and old west stuff. He bought four books for $200. Damn.

I wish you could arrange my birthday celebration! Mike certainly made up for the lack of chocolate cake!

He makes sure everyone has eaten as much as they can hold. And we're in Vegas so much that it's great to find places we've never been a hundred times. We tend to have "our" places and that can get dull no matter how good they are. Not that Mon Ami Gabi has been hiding, as it sits right out on The Strip.

This is the perfect day to stroll a rose garden. BBC field trip! Get in!





Walk through the archway:

and into the garden:




Below is The Osiris Rose


Beautiful Cabbage Roses


The Tea Rose. This is the scent imitated in perfumes. The romantic red rose. This one named 'In Loving Memory':


The requisite gazebo:


And fountain:


The man-made Frankenstein called Rainbow Rose. And the lovely Yellow Rose of Texas.




Hope you enjoyed the day, and if you didn't, Lynn Anderson will tell you to just suck it up. See you back at the shop!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=I45nUJimrSA

I love Roses, and that is a fabulous idea for an outing. I got attacked by mine in the front garden today, it was desperate for a haircut, so it has been trimmed and the pyramid it climbs up re-positioned to try and stop it being blown over in the prevailing winds. It's Claire Austin, from David Austin roses.

I've only ever ordered one rose from them, but they send me their catalogue each year, and I dream of a rose garden...

Wow! How nice to stroll through the Rose Garden and see green grass and smell fresh flowers. That red rose at the end actually burst into full bloom as I walked by. Great timing! Thanks for the outing!

Thank you for the rose treat. It'll be months before I see any around here. Loved the rose "fountain".

Did you know that about 100 years ago, Leap Day was celebrated by allowing women to propose to their boyfriends?

>47 Helenliz: Those are beautiful roses, and I came across the name David Austin quite a bit as I went through the roses. I would love to have a rose garden too, but it's just too difficult on the desert. I have managed to keep several bamboo plants alive indoors. : )

>48 Carmenere: Isn't it a pretty day for it? I'm glad you could make it!

>49 VivienneR: You're welcome, happy to have you! Let's push that guy off the bench so we can have tea there...



I'll be back later after I've watched TWD. No Downton Abbey this week, awww. They're building up to the big finale on Sunday. Or they didn't want to compete with the Oscars.

Back for a quick rundown of The Walking Dead. Spoilers!

1. Sasha turned Abraham down very gently, and he spent the episode in a tailspin. Self-reflection is not his usual, so I really thought he'd die in this episode, which is what they wanted the viewer to think. Abraham spends more time worrying about Glenn and Maggie's pregnancy than they do.

2. Carl, and everyone else, finds out about Rick and Michonne.

3. So now we have a lot of biblical and Puritan stuff going on. Jesus, "the shining city on the hill", Gregory as an upper management Pilate. And Jesus' wig and beard are so bad.

4. Once again Rick is drenched in blood.

5. Another episode without Carol!

Hi Jennifer, loved the road trip to the rose garden!

Yeah, I didn't really enjoy last night's Walking Dead. I wish they could have spent a few episodes strengthening Alexandria's defenses (I think they are going to need it) and reconnecting the audience to the main characters. I think we should get ready to lose a main character or two when they have to face Negan and his tribe.

I love roses. So beautiful photos.

>52 DeltaQueen50: >53 Ameise1: I'm so glad you enjoyed the field trip! I have more in the planning stages.
Our weather here has not only finished with Winter, it has skipped Spring and gone right to Summer.

>52 DeltaQueen50: I think that next week's episode will have us thinking that this week's was the calm before the storm, the lulling. Only one human died? When does that happen? I agree that next week we may lose someone, because it's sounding like it will be a blood-bath and, though I haven't read those issues, word around the shop is that Negan makes The Governor look sweet in comparison.


I've read the Sherlock story The Man With the Twisted Lip in preparation for Wednesday night's club meeting. We'll be having dinner at a Moroccan restaurant as a tip to the lascar character in the story. I had never heard of a 'lascar' before, so looked it up. A sailor of South Asia or the Middle East. The story is about the double the length of most Sherlock stories and concerns a well-to-do woman who believes she saw her husband just moments before he was murdered.

>54 mstrust: Aw, my poor sweet TV-version Governor... :P
(note that I differentiated between him and the comic book version, who is irredeemably evil)

Yes, the In Memoriam section of Talking Dead was rather thin last night!

>55 rabbitprincess: Yea, I've heard that the comic Governor was so much worse than the tv version. I can only think that it was because each villain has to be progressively worse and you can't have the most evil pop up in Season 3 if you're hoping to get eight or nine seasons. But to me, the Terminus cannibals were the worst, because at least The Governor was very nice to look at. Why all the ladies in Rick's group weren't giggling when he came around, I don't know. : D

19. The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie. Before his retirement, Poirot sets himself the goal of solving twelve more crimes, cases which mirror the tasks set to Greek hero Hercules. "The Nemean Lion" involves a stolen Pekinese, while "The Augean Stables" is about the London gossip rags. These stories are from the 40's, so it's surprising how much drug use is involved, with one story about drug dealers and cocaine. 3.8 stars

I don't know why I just remembered about some other new things I found in Vegas. The first isn't new at all, but re-discovered. Ethel M. has been in Vegas since I was a kid at least, with a factory and cactus garden you can tour and the chocolates available throughout the city's higher end hotels and shops. But I hadn't tasted it since I was eight or nine, so I grabbed a bar of the plain milk chocolate at the Bellagio. Superior! It's thick yet slightly soft and creamy and tastes of very high quality ingredients. I'll pick up more when I go back.


We also visited one of our favorite spots, The International Market, and Mike got a family bag of Japanese Hazelnut mini Kit Kats. Course the "family size" holds all of ten pieces, but they're good and you do taste the hazelnut addition. The other thing I spotted, but wouldn't take home if you paid me, was a carton of "corn and cheese" ice cream. Nooooooooo!

I posted a message earlier, but it seems like it didn't "stick."

Anyway, your trip looks like it was fun and yummy!

It was, because we always find a way to eat too much good food!



Last night's meeting of the Sherlock club was fun. We met at a little Moroccan restaurant to discuss our story. A couple of our group were knocked out by sickness, but we had a good time and tried lots of different things. I'd never had yellow lentil soup or basilla? It was a big crisp jelly doughnut looking thing covered in cinnamon and powdered sugar, yet filled with ground meat and almonds and spices. Lauren ordered it and let everyone try. I stuck to my usual chicken swarma (it's misspelled, I know).
Mike's aunt and uncle from Vermont came along. They got in the night before and brought us a jug of maple syrup. Yea!

20. Aurora Borealis: A Photo Memory edited by Flip Todd. A collection of stunning shots of the aurora borealis taken by various photographers all over Alaska. I would imagine it would be hard to take a bad pic of such a sight, but these are really amazing. A bonus is that many of the shots also have the exact date and time and the weather conditions listed. I'd love to see this in person. 4.5 stars

Hey! There's a name I know, Ethel M.! Yes, I remember the cactus garden and if I remember correctly I think we saw the production line too. The best chocolate ever. Their liquor filled chocolates are out of this world. It's like eating an Aurora Borealis! I miss Vegas and want to go back sometime soon.

When I was a kid, the Ethel M. factory tour included a John Wayne impersonator who would act as a host to the cactus garden. Yep, you can still see the production line. We should really visit the factory again.
Is Ethel M. available outside of Vegas?

I haven't ordered in awhile but when I had, only non alcoholic chocolates could be sent through the mail. Maybe that's changed. I think I'll check on that

I haven't seen any satellite stores anywhere else

>63 Carmenere: I didn't even know that Ethel M. made liquor filled chocolates. I tried the plain milk chocolate so that I could really taste the quality of the brand, and it figures that I re-discover them when our temps here are in the 90's, so too hot to order.

We're having temps about 15 degrees hotter than normal, which I hate. But the orange trees have decided that it's Spring anyway and at night our neighborhood smells very strongly of orange blossoms, which is one of the most divine scents.
Impending annoyance alert- for me anyway. Mike's aunt and uncle were over for breakfast yesterday and she immediately spotted my Downton Abbey calendar in the kitchen. And jumped from "the last episode is Sunday" to "can I come over and watch with you?" in 3 seconds. What can I do? She's so nice and they're out for just a week, but she's a non-stop talker. Every thought that comes into her head, comes out of her mouth. I study each episode, stopping it to write stuff down, backing up, basically doing what I need to in order to ingest each scene. And I'm not a patient person, I know that, so I'm dreading if I have to spend two hours fielding her questions. There will be questions.




21. Istanbul (Great Cities). A coffee table sized photo book of the city with its famous Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the street vendors, gardens and architecture. Most of the photos are beautiful, but for some reason there are a few really blurry ones included. 4 stars

>64 mstrust: Yikes! That's a tough call. Can you fake getting terribly sick? (intestinal distress might be more of a deterrent than just a headache. Get descriptive if necessary).

I wish I had that option. The fact is, the last time they came to visit, I turned into a bit of a bear. We gave up our room and Cal King bed to them and went into our guestroom, which at the time had a Full, I think. That didn't last even one night. I spent the night on the library floor for the rest of their visit. Mike has sleep apneia. The couch wasn't an option because they are early risers. I also became sick the day after they came and they were just the first of three sets of visitors we were expecting that month ( why does everyone want to come in March?), so it all made me, ummm, edgy, knowing that I was going to be without sleep for a few weeks. The proof that they noticed is that they booked a hotel this time. So now I have to be extra nice to prove that I'm not (always) horrible.

>66 mstrust: Yikes! There has to be something you can do . . .

Ha! Yikes is right! I think I'll just have to suck it up. I'll let her know about my "process", but if she wants to watch with me, I'll make some tea and be nice as possible.

Happy weekend, Jennifer.

>69 Ameise1: Thanks for the pretty picture! Is that a Snowdrop?

We took the Vermonters to Honey Bear's for bbq last night, then walking around the art galleries of Scottsdale, then to the Sugar Bowl for ice cream. And all night we smelled the orange blossoms. So that, combined with me having four pounds of clementines and a pound of navels on my counter, makes me want to have a Day of Orange. Line up in the patisserie, as all these are being served up at The BBC today.

Navel and Valencia, which have a slightly oblong shape:


Bitter Seville oranges, used to make marmalade:


Cara Cara and the dramatic Blood Orange:


Now to the sweets! I don't know why we don't see orange cake more often because it's delicious.


Orange Chiffon Cake- http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/orange-chiffon-cake


Whole Orange Cake- http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/whole-orange-cake


Florida Orange Cake- http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/florida-orange-cake

I suppose you must have a meal before dessert, so...

Here's Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp- http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/spicy-orange-garlic-shrimp/

Cocktails-


Habanero Blood Orange Margarita- http://cocktails.about.com/od/tequilarecipes/r/Habanero-Blood-Orange-Margarita-C...


And one more recipe, this one for making a honey citrus scrub, which is simple and so worth it:
http://naturalthrifty.com/honey-citrus-scrub.html


Finally, on our BBC stage, here's Witchiepoo with "Oranges Poranges". From those of us raised on H.R. Pufnstuf, this will throw a switch in your brain.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0ki56yZD3A

>70 mstrust: Yep they are.

Oh, I love all kind of oranges.

I do too. My mom hates orange in anything but juice, but they're almost a versatile as lemons. Every winter I make a big jar of orange-clove bath salts to use throughout the season.

Sounds gorgeous.

Mike had to cut my wedding ring off yesterday. Back in October I broke the pinkie finger on my left hand, and of course it swelled. It took a couple of months to heal and I can move it now, but not to the same degree as before. And at some point my ring finger swelled up. I didn't think much of it, though it was possible I'd broken or dislocated it at the same time as the other. Anyway, for months it's been too swollen to get my ring off and at times it was swollen enough for the finger to turn a little purple-ish. It didn't hurt and I could turn it all around, but nothing worked to get it over the knuckle- oiling it, cutting way down on salt, wedging a stick under to slide it. So Mike had to use wire clippers, and it worked, except that clipping turned the gold inwards and sharp, so my finger was sliced like it was a razor blade and there was so much blood.

Other news, I told Mike that if the Vermonters brought it up again, and said they were coming for the "Downton Abbey" finale, I'd make tea and be nice. In his head that statement was very different, so he asked them to come for the finale and they accepted. So I'll make tea and a honey orange bread and have the episode ruined. : D
But I'll still be back here tomorrow with my recap.



And I've become so smitten with the scent of orange blossoms that I ordered a bottle of orange blossom cologne yesterday.

And it's Michelangelo's birthday!

Oh my goodness, the wedding ring finger injury sounds awful! Hope you now have some relief.

How nice of you to open your home tonight for the Vermonters. Knowing how much DA means to you just goes to show what a kind and thoughtful person you are! Are you able to DVR it so you can watch it again when they leave? *ps: don't even bring up anything regarding the Walking Dead*

Love the rose pictures, I have a dozen or more roses in my garden and am very fond of my David Austen "The Prince" and my huge climber "Westerland".

Ouch, must have been painfull to take the ring off that way, hope it doesn't hurt too much...

>68 mstrust: Tell her a lot of people are depending on your notes!

So sorry to hear about your wedding ring and injured finger. The same thing happened to my son who wore his great-grandmother's wedding ring on his pinkie.

Thank you for all the fabulous orange recipes, pictures, etc. I'm enjoying a delicious blood orange right now!

>75 Carmenere: Only Aunt Kath showed up for D.A. and she was really nice and tried not to speak during the show, poor thing. Thanks, my finger will be okay now.
>76 FAMeulstee: The only part that hurt was the actually slicing of my fingers. He tried to tug it off at first and that didn't bother me much. But now it will have a chance to get to regular size.
>77 VivienneR: And I have those notes! Thanks, and I'm glad you like the recipes. I made that honey orange bread, but it was so fluffy it was more like a cake. I put a glaze over it and it was really good with the pot of tea.

So let's get to it! The very last one.

D.A.



1. Let's start with Barrow. We see him back at work and expressing gratitude. Which makes me suspicious just because it's him. Every time he smiles I expect something really snotty to come out of his mouth, but lately, it's always kind and gentle. Hmmmph. Mrs Patmore tells him "I don't know if you're a good thing or a bad thing, Mr Barrow, but we've all been together a very long time." Then they get together and give him a very nice send-off, with Carson saying, "...no one's ever called you stupid." which brings tears to Barrow's eyes. It's the kindest thing anyone's ever said.
So we see which job Barrow took and that he's bored out of his mind. But luckily he's right there when Carson starts tossing champagne every which way. You knew what was coming, didn't you? In five seconds over the beverage table, bam!, Barrow, is restored to the Abbey!



2. Edith. She begins the show calling herself a spinster, so of course Bertie still wants her. Notice in the restaurant when they meet, Edith says, "Bertie, I don't know what I'm doing here." all reluctant-like as she drapes the napkin in her lap, because she's there and she's going to have a meal no matter who's across the table. And then they're back on. And Bertie's mother is played by such a well-known actress whose name escapes me. She's bossy and puts everyone on edge, so we expect of repeat of all the horrible relations we've had in the past, but she surprises us by being understanding.
Edith made a beautiful bride. Finally! Everyone turned out to make sure it really happened this time, and it did! And what's Cora's comment? "The last one off our hands." She had to have her arm twisted to go meet the in-law.

3. So Robert is fixing things with Carson and Barrow at Edith's reception, and meanwhile Anna goes into labor and has her baby. How many people are trying to steal Edith's thunder? Let her have one day.

4. Yes, Anna was pregnant and had a son in Mary's bed. Love how Mary looks down and so calmly mentioned, "Ah, your water's broken."

5. Knew it! Moseley will be a teacher. I really thought he would make some definite plans with Baxter though, but he seems very happy.

6. Daisy decides she'd better be open to a romance with Andy, as everyone tells her she should jump at anyone who likes her. And then the idiot cuts her own hair and it looks like she got caught in an industrial fan.

7. Spratt has tips for "keeping your husband happy." Unfortunately, Danker wasn't fired, which is something I'd been looking forward to. But Spratt got a promotion to "stylist".

8. Merton and Isobel. So Isobel was able to rescue him from his evil children and decided she wanted to marry him. And how wonderful that Dr Clarkson was able to slide in at the wedding and inform them that Merton wasn't dying. Funny how that worked out, as I could have sworn Merton was also suffering from "crazed eye disease".



9. Mary and Talbot. For the first time in her life, Mary did something for Edith's benefit, so hell has frozen over. And because she was kind for one hour, her new husband gets to start a new business venture and they're expecting. She has a charmed life.

10. Rose and her husband show up and really add nothing. They have a baby, but that's not interesting.

11. Edith had several beautiful dresses. The opening red dress, the fuchsia beaded dress, and the red Chinese pattern dress, then her wedding dress. Cora looked pretty in the lavender dress and Mary's black and white when she goes to see Granny, and the very vivid red with matching lipstick looked very good on her.

12. The editor kept smiling at Branson, then caught the bouquet, weakly implying something between them.

13. Granny lived! I thought they'd kill her off, but instead had her telling Cora that everything that had been hers was now Cora's. Might as well have killed her. She has no power, not even with the hospital. But it was meant as an improvement in their relationship.

14. Poor Carson! Robert sewed up Carson's future so quickly, and he meant to be kind, but you know that Carson had always wanted to drop dead on the job.



15. So nearly everyone had a life-altering situation in the end, except Branson. For all his work and years of being with the Granthams, he ended up with just a smile from a pretty girl.

16. A fitting song for the ending.

Glad you were able to watch DA and take such accurate notes!

I sort of hoped they would give everyone a "happy ever after" ending but it even exceeded my hopes. Marriages, jobs, death delayed, smiles from Edith (she has dimples, who would have guessed?).

Bertie's mother was played by Patricia Hodge. She used to be Phyllida on Rumple and the title character on Jemima Shore, a mystery series by Antonia Fraser.

I was a bit puzzled at Carson's "palsy", now known as Parkinson's Disease. To my knowledge it doesn't usually hit just like that. Frolicking" too much.

I'll miss your weekly DA column.

Yes, I'll miss the weekly recaps and the show itself. I wanted a happy ending, and got it. More tomorrow. But in the final scene with Dowager and Isobel, I realized that the two of them are the two old men from the Muppets.

>79 VivienneR: They gave everyone varying degrees of now-things-will-be-different, except for Branson, and I guess to some degree, Granny's household. Her speech to Cora was meant to imply that she was backing off but we can be assured that Granny will jump in to any fray as she's always done. Spratt is still the butler and Danker is still there being awful.
Yes, Patricia Hodge! Thank you! I first saw her as Doyle's love interest on an episode of "The Professionals", but more recently she was Miranda Hart's mum. "Such fun!"
I was wondering if that was Parkinson's, but I didn't know if only one hand would be affected.
I'll miss doing a D.A. recap too. They're such fun people to play with.

>80 Nickelini: I'm glad that you were as into it as I was! And that's great that you made the connection, ha! Add a couple of big hats and now we see where Fellowes got his inspiration.

I loved the last Downton Abbey. I thought they wrapped up the major stories and left enough open to the imagination. I am already wondering if we will get lucky enough to have a Christmas/Easter/whatever reunion show someday.

>78 mstrust: Yup, despite your Vermont visitor you did a splendid job with the recap! I was very pleased with the finale. Yeah! the cop did not make a curtain call! DA followers know that the sisters are friends again and all is right with the world :o). I couldn't help but think that WW II will be affecting their lives within 15 years or so which made me preemptively sad :o(

#8 I had to look up pernicious anemia. Oh! it's only a B-12 deficiency! I guess back in 1925 is was still untreatable.

#9 OMG! Are Branson and Talbot used car salesmen?!

#14 It seemed to me, while Grantham et al were deciding Carson's future, they seemed to forget that Hughes still works at the house so why wouldn't they remain in the cottage.

>79 VivienneR: I was surprised to see Edith's dimples! She's really flowered since the start of DA.

I hope to discover we have a mutual series to discuss in the future.

>82 DeltaQueen50: They did a very good job, but I couldn't help but watch it with the unhappiness of knowing it was the last. Oh, I'd love a reunion! Mary and Edith talking about all the people they had known and their teenage children rolling their eyes, a chubby Barrow running the dining room and Daisy still in the kitchen talking about "making something of me life".

>83 Carmenere: Thank you!
Speaking of the Vermonters, they are just about home by now. We went for Mexican food last night, which they have a bit of in Vermont, but nothing too authentic, so they love our restaurants. We had two pitchers of margaritas and sopapillas for dessert, and the second Aunt Kathy stepped out of the car, she threw up in our driveway. I think I'll end that information with just a "Ha!"

I didn't know what that exact condition was, but I didn't think anemia was that serious. Jeez, if anemia killed people today we'd lose a fifth of our population.
Yes, Branson and Talbot are used car salesmen, and Mary is happy about it. I can imagine the reaction of the actors when they read that. And I guess there wasn't enough of an industry back then for them to have the reputation they have now.
I thought about Hughes still being in the Abbey too. But I guess, from the way everyone treating them as still separate rather than a married couple, she would remain in her job and then go home to listen to him crab about how bored he was.
Well, we still have The Walking Dead, but I know a lot of people who watched D.A. don't watch TWD. It's still great storytelling.

I just have a wee bit of commentary for this last episode, because I can't help myself and Judy likes it too.



1. Carol's back! And with such a jaunty pop song while she spreads cheer and acorn cookies. And then suddenly, she has a romantic interest and it's about time.
2. And then we get a very cruel Abraham dumping Rosita. We've seen him angry before, but not cruel. And when he said he was leaving, I thought he meant he was leaving her and the group. So I was surprised to see him in the attack.
3. Rick asks Gabriel exactly what I was thinking at that moment, "Why are you still wearing that?" And then later Gabriel does a very creepy sacrificial-type murder.

22. Foreign Babes in Beijing by Rachel Dewoskin. Dewoskin was just out of college in the early nineties and determined to have an interesting life. Since her Michigan family had spent a lot of time traveling in China when she was a child, she decided to take a PR job with an American company in Beijing. She planned to stay until something else came along, but instead, she was asked to audition for a part in a nighttime soap opera called Foreign Babes in Beijing a "Dallas" type show in which she played a seductive American who lures a Chinese man away from his family, exposing him to the "open-minded" ways of the Western world. The show made Dewoskin famous in China, though the bad pay kept her from leaving her regular job, and the character she played caused controversy in Western countries.
She spent many years in China, made Chinese and ex-pat friends, fell in love, argued about cultural differences and tried to figure out how to fit in with a city she really loved. The author writes about the perception of the Chinese to Western people and culture, their perception of Americans and culture, and her perception of the Chinese ways. She discusses the ways the average person lives and the people she befriends who live outside the norm. Really interesting to me and has lots of information that is surprising, yet still would be good for the casual travel reader. 4.5 stars

Re: Downton reunion. I've twice heard Julian Fellowes interviewed where the interviewer has suggested that a DA movie is in the works. Fellowes definitely doesn't deny it, and sounds rather positive about it.

Well good! A big movie would be great and then they could really break the bank on the costumes. I loved his"Gosford Park" and had the DVD until a friend "borrowed" it.

The temperatures have finally come down a bit so it feels like Spring!

Daffodils


Daisies


Dahlias


This week's special at The BBC- half off The Drunken Botanist!

Foreign Babes in Beijing sounds really interesting.

It is. You might think that, having traveled quite a bit in China with her family as a child, that the author would be an old pro, but because the culture is so densely complex, she might as well be on her first visit. It's very much a "fish out of water" memoir even though she remained there for five years.

The last of my travel photography books from last month's book sale:


23. The New England Coast: The Most Spectacular Sights & Destinations. Text by Kim Knox Beckius, Photography by William H. Johnson. Going state by state, the history of a particular subject such as the artist colonies of Cape Cod or the maritime traditions of Connecticut, are explored in text and photos. Lots of lighthouse, beach and ship photos. 4 stars

Oh, and my bottle of orange blossom cologne arrived and really does smell like orange blossoms!

Hi Jennifer, I am finally caught up with The Walking Dead so popped by to see what you thought. I was so happy to see Carol , and I hope to see both Carol and Maggie doing some female kick-ass next week! Why oh why when Abraham moved out did he have to pull Rosita's heart out and stomp on it as well. He's never been a character that I cared all that much for and now I wouldn't mind if he became zombie soup! I was happy to see Carol get some romance, but I wonder what will Daryl think as he and Carol have danced around each other for years. A pretty good episode and one that left me eager to see what's next.

I was really happy to see Carol again too, and I hope she has a fight with these new people. Maybe she'll take care of this Negel when he shows up too.
I've always liked Abraham but I didn't like him in this episode. He was over-the-top mean to Rosita. So I guess he plans to pursue Sasha now even though she turned him down.
It's been so long since Carol seemed interested in Daryl that I assumed that's over. They spent a night in a dorm room together and nothing happened because Daryl had fallen into like with Beth. Silly Beth.

Stopping by to see what all I have missed since my last visit to the BBC. Sounds like a wonderful birthday celebration. I am positively stuffed just reading about all the great food you all consumed. Yummy!

Love the rose garden tour. The Osiris Rose is stunning! I am partial to yellow roses so happy to see the Yellow Rose of Texas on the garden tour. Not sure about that rainbow rose. We see carnations those very unnatural colour cropping up at the florists from time to time, but they all look like something at belongs in make believe.

>57 mstrust: - Hazelnut Kit Kats?! Want!

Love citrus flavours in baking/cooking. Making note to try the Spicy Orange Garlic Shrimp the next time we have shrimp/prawns.

>80 Nickelini: - in the final scene with Dowager and Isobel, I realized that the two of them are the two old men from the Muppets. LOL! Never thought about it but I can see it clearly now.

>87 mstrust: Love the eye candy, Jennifer! Have a wonderful weekend :0)

>92 lkernagh: Hi Lori! Aren't those roses gorgeous? Yes, except for the one that is clearly a manipulation by a botanist with really bad taste. I don't want flowers that look like they were tie-dyed. Or spray painted.
The Kit-Kats are good, wonder why they aren't in other markets. I really like orange flavors too, though I more often think of lemon in cooking. These recipes got me looking in my cookbooks for more orange stuff.

>93 Carmenere: You have a great weekend too! : D

We'll be having fun here at The BBC tomorrow, as I've booked another in-store exhibit. Come by and check it out. Our friendly staff is busy getting things ready, and they're showing varying degrees of excitement:

Take a cocktail. Admire the rich colors, the shimmer of light on the glass... then enter The BBC Gem and Mineral Show..



Sure, we've got very important stuff that will educate. Ho hum. Are you entertained?




Or would you rather see some cool stuff like natural rods of Watermelon Tourmaline?


Or a natural Opal. Looks like it came from outer space. - Beautiful Willemite


The Titanium Aura Quartz. Yes, it's real and actually grows in that rods and clusters shape.


This is what I'd expect to find in a pirate chest. The dark green is Dioptase, the lighter green is Duftite and they're growing out of Calcite. Gorgeous!

This is not a cotton ball, it's a mineral called Okenite: And this is Agardite. So delicate and pretty.


This is not a sculpture, it's Bismuth. It grows in these wild tech shapes and its iridescence is in things like nail polish.


Having fun?


Florite growing out of Quartz:


The Empress of Uruguay, the largest Amethyst geode at 11 ft. tall.


O.k., this is a diamond still in the rock: Then uncut and unpolished:


They can make for some very unique and pretty jewelry


But most people like their Diamonds a bit more shiny-

ohhh, shiny >:-D Very nice...
*whistles and secretes a shiny thing under her coat*

Ooooh! Beautiful exhibit! It's amazing how these minerals and gems grow.

Off to the gift shop...

Well, the BBC has done it again! The Bismuth, Opal and quartz were my favorites. Now I'm hungry. Is there a restaurant near the gift shop?

>97 Helenliz: Good to see you here, and we know where you live...

>98 rabbitprincess: Glad you made it! And yes, we have a gift shop well stocked with lots of shinies. Buy!

>99 Carmenere: I'm glad you enjoyed the exhibit, and wish I could have covered more territory, but space was limited.
There's no need to leave The BBC- ever. We're serving sushi, sake and special sweets today. Translation: give me your money.





That's right, buy a cupcake or slice of cake, get an enormous piece of jewelry.
I have to admit that all this work is due to the fact that we're going to another gem and mineral show tomorrow. : D

Love the BBC mineral exhibit. Exactly what I wanted to do today. ;-) Love the Amethyst geode best. That is such a beautiful purple.

>101 lkernagh: Glad you had a good time, Lori! That geode is pretty amazing, both for its size and the consistently rich color throughout.

We went to a small gem and mineral show in Anthem this morning. It was about 1/10 the size of the Mesa show and Mike was disappointed with the selection and prices, yet I managed to bring home a few things. Since it takes about 10 minutes each to get pics from my phone onto LT, I'm just going to find good approximations to give you an idea. Sorry, but I guess the exhibit continues.

I bought a nearly two carat pear cut garnet to go with two others I bought at the last show:


Dioptase from Namibia


A chunk of green calcite very similar in size and shape to this:


A very pretty chunk of pyrite on calcite:


A pale silvery-blue geode of celestite. It looks like you're looking into an ice cavern.


This last one will take some imagination because I couldn't find anything very similar. It's about 5 inches across and shaped like an island with a hill in the center. From the hill down to the shore is a streak of pale blue, glistening druzy quartz of about 1/2 inch wide that looks just like a waterfall. It's my favorite find for the day.

So it's Sunday night, 11:50, and my brain is saying "OMG, you need to be up and active in 7 hours" and my body is saying "daylight savings is silly. It's only 10:50. Start maybe thinking about going to bed."

And another part of my brain is saying "Sunday night! Downton Abbey!" what clever-snarky thing did Violet quip tonight? Did Daisy smarten up? Did Mrs Hughes hit Carson over the head with a frying pan when he didn't approve of her proper British breakfast? Did Cora make me like her, or go into a diabetic coma due to her syrupy sweetness? Did Tom find a purpose that isn't completely unrealistic? Did Barrow finally find his true love? Did Lady Mary get up in the morning and go to her shower to find Matthew naked and all soaped up, and realize that seasons 4-6 were all a dream?

Downton withdrawals. PBS must have anticipated it because, in my area at least, they've played the last episode nearly every day. I've seen parts of it three or four times just from passing the channel and stopping to see where it is in the story. Maybe there will be a movie later. There will definitely be more books, parodies, commercial appearances and websites about it, and in 20 years someone will want to do it all over again with a new cast.


24. Dark Bayou: Infamous Louisiana Homicides by Alan G. Gauthreaux and D.G. Hippensteel. A collection of case studies of murders, from the 1891 case of a mob-connected businessman to the 2006 murder of a woman who was divorcing a well-known local sportscaster. There is a chapter on the career and murder of former Governor Huey P. Long in the 30's, but for me, the most interesting were the chapters about the two young female serial killers I'd never heard of before. One young woman named Annie Crawford poisoned her parents, two sisters and attempted to poison an aunt before she was caught. Overlapping that time, a series of multiple murders, whole families brutally killed with an axe throughout Southern Louisiana and into Texas, were committed by seventeen year old Clementine Barnabet, and then by her followers, as she turned out to be a leader in a religious cult.

I won this through LT (thanks!) and it's really interesting. I'm not sure if it's an ER or ARC, but there are plenty of editing mistakes, with a paragraph of actions being followed by another paragraph that says the opposite happened and names changed in a paragraph.
I have to mention that Southerners have a talent for wonderfully quirky names, something that I see in my own older relatives. "Clementine Barnabet" sounds so sweet (though she was evil), then there's "Troisville Sykes", who was apparently a witness to a murder and also a murderer himself, and a lawyer named "Wiley Beevers". 4 stars

I can see you are well supplied with sweets, Jennifer, but since it is Pi Day all around the world, it's your civic duty to gorge yourself on pie today. Just any pie will do. Thank you for your sacrifice.

I'm trying, Bill! I made a maple sugar pie today, which I'd planned to do even before finding out that today is special. I must have pie premonition. It's chilling in the fridge right now and hopefully everything went right and it will set. You'll have to come by for a slice.



The Walking Dead recap:

1. Almost entirely all female episode!
2. Carol is such a chameleon. Even Maggie can't tell what's real and what's fake, and that scares her a lot.
3. Did you notice that Paula, the red-head, takes down a walker with a stab to the neck?
4. After a while, Carol's fear of killing this group seemed genuine. She seems to be having a real problem with the numbers, as if she thinks she's been too loose with her killings.
5. And Maggie had so much rage for the older woman Molls, who hadn't done anything that bad except smoke.
6. For taking out this whole group, Maggie gets Glenn back and seems a little cuckoo, while Carol gets the reward of Daryl hugging her and showing concern. So... are we going back to their little dance or will Carol return to flirt with Tobin?

Hi Jennifer, your gem exhibit was great and I was especially taken with those gorgeous cakes!

The Walking Dead left me rather confused. I certainly can't tell when Carol is being real or just setting up a murder (and I'm not sure if she does either). And Maggie was definitely over the top when she took down Molls. Where does all this anger come from? You know in the old days, I can't help but feel that instead of sneaking into their place and trying to murder everyone, Rick and his people would have talked first and perhaps invited some of these people to join them. They were definitely the aggressors in this attack, are they losing their humanity? Will there be a payback? I did enjoy the Carol/Daryl reunion and now wonder what going to happen there?

Love the oranges back up there Jennifer, especially the chiffon cake. I can eat a whole cake in the blinking of an eye by the way.

Your pie also looks scrumptious but then again with me being on a diet I am more than a little susceptible.

Well done on passing 500 posts already this year - you have returned with a real bang and a wonderfully entertaining thread in 2016.

>107 DeltaQueen50: Thanks, I'm glad you liked the exhibit! Aren't those cakes amazing? I want to wear the jewelry as I eat the cake.
Carol is able to read people and situations so quickly that it left us all in the dust. Watching Maggie watching Carol, trying to figure out if she was really having a meltdown or just acting, that tells a lot about Carol's acting ability. I got more info about that scene from "The Talking Dead" with Melissa McCarthy explaining that, for Carol, some of it was real feeling mixed in with a lot of fraud.
I too thought Maggie went strangely overboard with killing Molls. Maybe it was that she knew it was just her and Carol to take down all those people, but save some energy for the others...
We are definitely watching each member of the group become darker and more ready to kill. I think Rick got there about two seasons ago and now we see Maggie becoming more violent, and Gabriel, Eugene starting to kill walkers and Abraham has become changed. Glenn, Daryl and Tara may be the last hold-outs as far as thinking before they kill.
What will happen with Carol and Daryl? Two little love birds sittin' in a tree...

>108 PaulCranswick: You don't need to worry about desserts made with fruit. They are healthy and good for you and naturally low in calories. That's why you can eat a whole lemon meringue pie and be none the worse for it. That chiffon cake looks really good to me too, so fluffy, like a delicious hemorrhoid pillow. I actually made the shrimp recipe a few nights ago and it was very good, even though I didn't have cayenne so substituted Siraccha.
I never thought about my total of posts so thanks for bringing that to my attention. I've been so chatty! And I've had lots of great visitors who make The BBC an interesting place.
And I'm very glad you like it here. As a thank you, take a 1st edition of John Steinbeck.

The gems and minerals shows must have been amazing! And the items you took home are beautiful. I wonder how you store or display them.

And I'm so glad to know I can eat a whole lemon meringue pie with no ill effects! I missed pi day so will make up for it later without guilt.

The previous Mesa show was much better, but even this little show had some amazing stuff. There were people going around taking pics. This pic of mine just shows the stuff I bought at that Mesa show, so not my whole collection, but a good chunk of it. I don't think we'll go to another show this year as the ones in our area will be put on by the same promoters as this tiny one, so it may be a good ten months til I get anything else unless I find a great rock store.

Yes, lemon, apple strudel, cherry, blueberry, they're all healthy. In fact, eating a fruit pie or strawberry tart for dessert will cancel out anything unhealthy you may have had for dinner. So if you have a cheeseburger or fish and chips, make sure you eat your fruit pie after.

Hmm, Dark Bayou sounds interesting, but the editing mistakes would probably drive me crazy.

Yea, there were some pretty big mistakes that any editor or copy reader or the authors should have caught before it went to print. Yet the stories chosen were interesting enough that I'd overlook those mistakes and keep reading. If they could get it together, it'll be a very good book.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

A day to celebrate Irish heritage-



By drinking green beer and Irish Flags


And eating anything shamrock shaped:



Meet Irish people:


And have a good time.
The Coors and The Cheftains with some traditional Irish music and something weird near the end:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vtp4adNTP0Y

And an appropriate one from Flogging Molly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89NjEeHku8o

BBC Specials- today only!
40% of all Flann O' Brien, Edna O' Brien and potatoes O' Brien!

Have a fun holiday!

That pizza is fabulous! But you forgot McDonald's shamrock shakes.



Copycat Shamrock Shake recipe

Yields 3
Ingredients:

1 pint (2 cups) vanilla ice cream
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon McCormick pure peppermint extract
1/4 teaspoon McCormick green food coloring
Whipped cream and green sprinkles (optional)

Directions:

To a blender, add the ice cream, milk, peppermint extract and green food coloring. Cover, and blend on high speed until smooth.
Pour into glasses. Top with whipped cream and sprinkles, if desired. Serve immediately.

OR

Boozy shamrock shake recipe

Serves 2
Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups vanilla ice cream
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup whipped cream, plus more for garnish
3 tablespoons vodka
2 tablespoons crème de menthe
Green food coloring
Green sprinkles and shamrock cookies

Thanks for the recipes! I have to admit that I've never had a shamrock shake. It's a fact.

>115 mstrust: Well, they aren't to everyone's taste. But I like them. They were a big favourite when I was a kid they were a favourite -- I'd have maybe one every year back in the 70s, and then I didn't have one again until I had my own kids. Now my 16 yr old and I love them, my 19 year old and husband don't.

>113 mstrust: I made the pizza and posted my picture on FB a few hours ago. I already have 16 likes. It was pretty easy to do.

I like mint, so I guess I need to try one before they're gone. Mike has a favorite shake that, luckily, he can only get in Vegas. There's a place called The Burger Bar at Mandalay Bay and they put a twinkie in a vanilla milkshake, and you can also put in shots of liquor, like Bailey's.
You made the shamrock pizza? Way to commit! For being my most (and only) Irish-y visitor, I'm bestowing a first edition of Oscar Wilde unto you:

>118 mstrust: Wow, thanks! Definitely stress the "-y" part of the Irish-y, since I don't have a drop of Irish blood in me, and neither does my husband. Despite that, a trip to Ireland is high on my travel destination list. So the Wilde is very appreciated. I'da settled for a second edition even.

I guess all your other St Paddy's day fans were busy down at the pub.

The saying for St. Paddy's Day is "Everybody's Irish today! " My mom is Irish and my dad went his whole life believing he was. About two years before he died my sister sat down with him to trace his family and found out he was Scottish.
Yes, I assumed everyone had raced to the pub to put a full day in.

25. Dear Fatty by Dawn French. Written in letters to those in her life, this is the autobiography of British comedian Dawn French. The letters may start out addressed to her late father, her daughter or comedy partner Jennifer Saunders, but they become clear slice-of-life memories. She writes of the vast difference between her grandmothers, moving around as an RAF kid, her father's suicide and meeting Saunders. Some memories, especially of her wild friends, are funny, while some are painful. And there are others that are exclusive to being a celebrity, such as meeting with the ex-boyfriend who talked about her to the tabloids or getting noticed at her daughter's school function. If you like French, you'd like the book. I don't usually read celebrity bios, at least not about live celebrities, but I've been watching French for so many years. 4 stars

Love the shamrock shakes! My St. Paddy's Day unique food consumption was a grasshopper brownie, which was a rich, velvety brownie topped with a thick layer of green coloured peppermint frosting (the "grasshopper" part of the brownie). Soooooo Good!

That's another one that I've never had. I confess that I'm a very recent convert to brownies, which is strange because I eat pretty much anything chocolate. It's always been the dense, crumbly texture that made them not my first choice, but I've learned to like them. So I have a whole new world of baked goods that have opened up. And grasshopper brownies are so colorful.
I sometimes make Crickets, which have chocolate covered raisins replacing chocolate chips. What's with all the bug treats?



Gross. I just googled "cricket cookies" to see if there was a good shot, and of course there are pics of actual cricket cookies. People.

I understand that today is the first day of Spring. I'll have to take the calendar's word for it, as we've been in the high 80's- low 90's for weeks. But the rest of you go on and enjoy your season. I'll just pretend it's March.

Beautiful butterfly! I finally caught up here. I wish you a good start into the new week, Jennifer.

>125 Ameise1: And to you too!

I've been cooking and baking like crazy this past week and filling my deep freezer. With the temps getting this high this early in the year, I don't want to be turning the oven on when it really gets hot. So I'm doing my cooking now in the mornings and at night. I know I won't be able to make enough to get us through summer, but, combined with cold salads and grilling, I can certainly lessen the number of times the house gets heated up.
So far I've made African chicken peanut stew, sausage with field and green beans, couscous with carrots and bok choy, peanut butter cookies, chocolate chip cookies, Butterfinger blondies, lemonade cookies and pumpkin dog cookies. Tonight I'll make some roasted carrots with thyme and lemon. The freezer is already filled to the top.

TWD
Just some quick notes. Spoilers.

1. At first I thought "Road Trip!" And Daryl's confused look as Denise tried to explain how to work the stick was really funny.
2. Carol and Tobin are a thing, officially.
3. Poor Spencer. He lost his whole family in a matter of days and now he's trying to work his way into Rosita's life, probably just because they're both alone.
4. Eugene. A new ponytail and a bad attitude.
5. Denise saying "I threw up on my glasses."
6. Then, that happened. Shocking.
7. And Daryl is reunited with the guy who stole his bike and crossbow.
8. Eugene proves just how badass he's become by disregarding boundaries. And how could "Dwight" run away after that? Crawling more like.
9. Carol leaves? And says she doesn't love anyone? I don't believe half of that.

26. A Diet of Treacle by Lawrence Block. Twenty year-old Shank ends up in Greenwich Village after finding himself to be a burden in his mother's new marriage. His roommate Joe is a little older, but lives off Shanks earnings as a small-time pot dealer. Joe has no desire to do anything but be a bum, even after he meets square Anita, whose desperation to escape her predictable future leads her to latch onto Joe and move into their dirty apartment. Their lives as Beats leads them to the fringes of society, a world of heavy drug use, prostitution, orgies, and murder.

The people he gravitated to smoked marijuana or gobbled benzedrine or drank cough syrup or chewed peyote. They talked with each other, walked with each other, sat with each other and slept with each other. They listened to jazz, deep and grinding hard bop, and they spoke their own language, the inner language of Hip.

Originally published in 1961, this has been re-issued as part of the Hard Case Crime series. It's an interesting book, gritty pulp that includes somewhat graphic scenes that would have been scandalous back then. The word "Beat" is used a few times, but "Hip" is the preferred term, as it implies that a hip person is somehow more intelligent and free than a square. As one party guest recites poetry, you can practically hear the fingers snapping. 4 stars

I have four more in this series on the shelf, but I'll look for more from Block too.

>127 mstrust: Lawrence Block has been writing since 1961? Wow! I didn't realize he had such a long career.

I found a listing for his first publication in 1958, at the age of 20! And found out A Diet of Treacle was originally published under the title of "Pads Are For Passion". How'd you like that on your shelf?
I really love the Hard Case covers with their glam/gory covers. Incidentally, the scene depicted on this cover never takes place in the book.

My first thought was that the title was referring to sanitary pads. And no, they do not.

Beatnik pads smelling of cigarettes and festooned with black turtlenecks, that's a different story.

I think it's likely that's the reason the title was changed, because I thought of that too! I can just hear the author's groan when he discovered the other use of the word.

>130 RidgewayGirl: >131 mstrust: Another one who had that thought! Pads are the anti-passion.

Ha, too true! And I've come across a treasure trove of really great old book covers. Too good to pass us, so we'll have to have an exhibit very soon.

27. Edgar Allan Poe: The Fever Called Living by Paul Collins. A bio of Poe written by one of my favorite non-fiction authors!
Everyone knows the highlights of Poe's life- the alcoholism, the poverty, the marriage to his thirteen year-old cousin and the brilliance that was somehow mostly overlooked in his lifetime. He seems like a man who couldn't catch a fair break. But Collins goes through Poe's life with a fine toothed comb, finding obscure works published in magazines, friends who helped Poe in every way they could, and the many many ways in which he was his own worst enemy. A more complete image of the man appears than I'd ever expected, and what seems clear is that Poe was something of a jerk. Though his relationship with his Virginia and aunt was always loving, he habitually spent money desperately needed for food to get himself drunk, and used his position as editor or columnist in various magazines to insult other writers and poets, even his own friends, leading James Lowell, one of Poe's most ardent supporters, to remark, "I have made Poe my enemy by doing him a service."
I was also surprised to learn that many of his works were met with great success in his lifetime, though he never made much money from them due to the low paying magazines that published them and the proliferation of pirated copies.
This is a slim book, just 107 pages, but it's packed with information. 4.5 stars

Have a wonderful Easter.

Jennifer, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

>135 PaulCranswick: >136 Ameise1: Paul and Barbara, thank you and Happy Easter to you both!

Now let's have a look at some really questionable book covers. They tend to be from the 50's and 60's, they mostly feature sexy women posed front and center and have names so ridiculous that you know the story inside is like nothing you've ever read before. Some are crime, others Sci-Fi and lots could only be described as "back room books", but they are now collectibles. Enjoy!











Hope you got a laugh- Happy Friday!

>137 mstrust: Those are great. I don't know if you're connected with LT member alubalibri (Paola), but if not, you might be interested in her Pinterest board "Pulp Covers". Last I checked, she had 1,266 of these. Lots of ridiculously raunchy ones that always make me laugh. Take a look: https://www.pinterest.com/aluvalibri/pulp-covers/

Thanks, there are some really really bad ones there! No, I don't believe I've come across that LT member.
I saw some covers that I came across in my searches but had to pass on because they were so very raunchy or because of the dimensions, or both. I love how the taglines on many of these books are just as hilarious as the titles. "Their love was as mobile as their home and just as carefree."
And the covers often depicted something sleazy, yet the artwork was so good. I imagine these artist went to art school, honed their skills for years hoping to be the next da Vinci, then got their assignments- "Slutty girl, topless, cigarette, done by Tuesday."

>139 mstrust: And the covers often depicted something sleazy, yet the artwork was so good. I imagine these artist went to art school, honed their skills for years hoping to be the next da Vinci, then got their assignments- "Slutty girl, topless, cigarette, done by Tuesday."

I never thought of that. Excellent point.

Yes, the tag lines are the best. Just the whole combination is fabulous. Every time I see a new one, I wonder "did people really think this way in the 50s and 60s?"

>137 mstrust: Yes, they made me laugh :-)

>140 Nickelini: Right? I do wonder where books like "Orgy Office" were sold. Like a guy had to siddle up to the clerk at the drugstore and pointedly ask, "What's new?", which was understood to mean, "I'm a perv."
>141 FAMeulstee: Good! Me too!

I've just pulled a batch of triple chip (chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla) bars out of the oven to pack in the deep freeze. And Mike's A/C repairman friend fit us in today, so now we have a new A/C unit on our top floor, which will really cut our bills during the summer.
After dinner last night we headed down to the Asian grocery store, so I have two big bags if fresh noodles in the fridge and some giant honey tangerines. I'm set for the weekend.

Happy Easter to everybody! Hope it's thrilling!

I had a LOT of catching up to do, but HI! In brief:
* I love aquariums! I've only been to Phoenix twice and only for long weekends, so I never made it to yours. I'd love to get to the Shedd Aquarium someday. I was a member at the Monterey Bay Aquarium when I lived in SF; that's one of my favorite places on earth. And I go to the one in Boston several times a year.
* When I was a kid, I wanted my name to be Aurora. Not because of Sleeping Beauty, but because the main character in the book This Place Has No Atmosphere's name was Aurora Borealis, which was how I discovered the Northern Lights, which I would love to see for myself.
* So many lovely finds at the gem shows!
* I went to see the first folio last week and I promised pictures!



(this size looks good on my screen, but let me know if it needs changing)

>142 mstrust: Ha! That picture reminds me of my son's best friend. As a pre-schooler he was terrified by those costumes. He took part in a kids' fun run, but as the finish line had giant vegetables to greet the kids as they finished, he took one look and turned around and raced right back to the start.

Hi Jennifer, Happy Easter to you and your family. I finally watched Walking Dead last night and agree with all your statements. I was still giggling over Denise throwing up over her glasses when WHAM! I am rather upset by that, she was an interesting character. Poor Carol seems to be needing something (maybe Daryl) but her running away is going to lead the rest into danger I think. I guess they are building up for the season finale!

Love, Love, Love the pulp covers!

Happy Easter, Jennifer!

Happy Easter, Jennifer!

>137 mstrust: - LOL! I don't know which gave me a bigger chuckle... the pulp covers or some of those titles!

Happy Easter Jennifer!

Happy Easter!


Everything is perfect here.

>143 kgriffith: Another aquarium fan! I have yet to get to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, but I've seen it on t.v. and know it's a fantastic one. Fingers crossed that one day...
I first learned of the Aurora Borealis from "Northern Exposure". I loved that show.
Thanks so much for bringing pics of the First Folio. How great that you've basked in its presence!

>144 RidgewayGirl: Without even trying, I came across so many pics of kids being terrified of the Easter Bunny or Santa. I picture them 25 years later, pulling up the picture on their phone showing the exact moment of trauma to their therapist.

>145 weird_O: Yum, Peeps! Mike surprised me with a big Easter basket that includes a package of yellow birdies and a dark chocolate covered Peep bunny.

>146 DeltaQueen50: Happy Easter to you!
I liked Denise too. She was a complex person and it feels like we just scratched the surface with her. I think that with her willingness to push herself, she would have been a great fighter eventually. Now Tara's lost a second girlfriend.
And I don't get what Carol's doing. It's so out of nowhere, and I don't see how she could have been that traumatized by that one day when she's lived through so much worse. But I guess we'll learn more tonight.

>147 Carmenere: Happy Easter! He's reading Rabbit, Run no doubt.

>148 RidgewayGirl: Yes, children, flee! Happy Easter!

>149 lkernagh: Happy Easter! Glad you enjoyed the book display- I really wish I could read the blurb on the cover of "Amorous Dietitian". I expect it's something like "He counted his calories...and conquests!"

And once again I've forgotten about my LT anniversary. It was my eight, it was on the 25th of this month, yet I did manage to celebrate it. I received Wayward in the mail, the second on the Wayward Pines series, and went out for Japanese that night. I must have just felt the LT vibes in the atmosphere.

>142 mstrust:, >148 RidgewayGirl:, >150 mstrust: The Easter Bunny: the makings of a lifetime of nightmares!

Happy Easter!

28. Morality For Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith. The agency isn't bringing in enough money, so Mma Ramotswe moves her detective agency into the auto repair shop of her fiancee. He hasn't been showing up to run his business, so assistant detective Mma Makutsi must keep his apprentice mechanics working while taking care of a big case. She must discover which one of the finalists for the title of "Miss Beauty and Integrity" best deserves to win. 4 stars

I've watched the one season of the tv series and really wish it had gone on.



The Walking Dead

This episode started out showing all the lovey-dovey couples. Carol and Tobin, Glenn and Maggie, Daryl and his bike, Abraham and Sasha making googly eyes at each other right in front of Rosita, then Rick and Michonne.
1. How did Carol get out of Alexandria, and with a car?
2. Why did she pull such a dumb Lori-like move? Is she having a mental breakdown for real?
3. Is Maggie having a miscarriage?
4. Oh, hi, Enid. We hoped, um, thought, you were dead.
5. Daryl is not dead. They know better than that. And the voice at the end that says, "You'll be alright" or "He'll be alright", I thought it was Daryl's.

>153 mstrust: Oh, Norman! I applaud your gif-selection skills ;)

Happy belated Thingaversary, Jennifer! Have you bought the required number of books?

>152 VivienneR: I hope you had a good one! I have many bags of candy in the pantry, so I'm good.

>154 rabbitprincess: Thank you- it's just a matter of which great Norman gif to choose. The man is photogenic.

>155 Carmenere: Thanks! I have not bought the proper number yet unless you count the 50 I bought last month. Oh, why didn't I discover LT just a month earlier, when we have the huge book sale?

Burning question: Did Denise get to finish War and Peace?

Taking into account that she'd just been held hostage, saved Carl's life, had a new romance and was scouring maps for drug locations, I would guess she bought the farm without finishing. She didn't even get to finish her sentence.

At The BBC, we're busy building new displays.





Our wonderful staff enjoys moving the books around almost as much as they like helping customers!

>158 mstrust: A coat like Manny's would be super convenient!

It would make a line more pleasant to stand in. Imagine the income you could make from bored people who, unlike us, leave home without something to read.

We had a power outage in my neighborhood last night for 40 minutes. We took the dogs for a walk since it was a cool, breezy night, then sat on the patio with candles. We tend to have at least one outage during the humid monsoon season so at least this time we weren't desperate for the A/C to kick on.

Yea! It's Amy Sedaris' birthday! Honor her by doing something super weird today.

29. This Census-Taker by China Mieville. O.k., I think I'm done with Mieville. 60 pages in and I've had enough brutal animal death. I gave up on The City and The City a few months ago as it was requiring too much effort on my part and not enough of an interesting story in return, so I think the author and I just can't make it work.

Be here in the morning for the latest BBC Field Trip!
Hint: it's really beautiful, with historical architecture, a world-famous botanical garden, dual languages and fabulous food.
Look for this bus- the cool people are already climbing on board.

Friday Field Trip!

We're going to Musee des Beaux Arts in beautiful Montreal.


Grab a seat on the bus.



We've picked up the admission for everyone, so go right in-



The Asian Exhibit


The Pop Art Exhibit and Dali's gold chess set

Admire a spectacular view


And great works of Canadian art

"The Critics" by Honore Daumier


"The Lute Player" by Shary Boyle and the Michael Snow installation called "Place des Peaux"

We'll stroll through the sculpture garden on our way out


And head over to a feast of Canadian treats.

And I have to tell you now that my husband and his mother got kicked out of the Musee des Beaux Arts. Our tickets were the general admission and those two managed to wander right into the special exhibit, which was a higher price, and the guards kicked them out. I went through the whole museum by myself expecting to come across them in the next room, but they were planted on a bench at the main entrance like naughty children.

So, food! Of course there will be plenty of poutine:


And tourtiere (meat pie)


And Caribou, a drink made of red wine, whiskey and maple sugar:


Beavertails, long, flat stretches of fried dough topped with chocolate, stewed apples, cinnamon and sugar or lemon juice


Or tarte a la farlouche (raisin molasses pie), which looks so good!


And finally, we couldn't leave Quebec without having some of this:


Back on the bus- and hope you had a good time!

I've enjoyed my visit to Musee des Beaux Arts. What a treat! As I was studying Dali's chess set I accidentally stepped on the toes of the person behind me when I stepped back aghast and said OMG! are those fingers?! Once calmed down I enjoyed my stroll thru the sculpture garden and chuckled at your story. Too funny!
I love, love, love poutine and whenever we're in Ottawa we always, without fail, walk to the little Beavertail shack to buy a few. Delish! excuse me Manifique!!! Yes! maple syrup ice! Yum

Slightly upset David Cassidy was not on my bus

Yay! Montreal is such fun to visit. Thanks for the opportunity to meet up ;) Also, you can never go wrong with poutine. Ottawa's having two poutine festivals in as many weeks, one the weekend of April 28 and one the weekend of May 5. Naturally, I will end up attending both.

Montreal is great! We made some homemade maple taffy last week by boiling some maple syrup. The house smelled heavenly! For once, I planned ahead and put some snow in the freezer.

*looking slightly askance at the plate & pointing with a fork* what's poutine?

Wishing you a great weekend, Jennifer.

>168 Helenliz: French fries, cheese curds and gravy. Easy to get wrong but so delicious when it's done right (usually at some greasy spoon in Quebec). It's a good comfort food in winter, because it can be a bit heavy.

Some places like to do "gourmet" poutines, which often boil down to "random food dumped on fries" (e.g. pad Thai poutine). I'm more of a traditionalist. Cheese curds are the best! They're even good just on their own.

And for everyone, so fantastic news!

https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1665&dat=19900326&id=yRoaAAAAIBAJ...

The price of maple syrup has already fallen dramatically at my local grocery store here in Munich.

>170 rabbitprincess: I've never tried traditional poutine, because I don't like brown gravy. However, if I ever visit my friend who's doing grad school in Montreal, I just might have to try it.

In defense of "non-authentic poutines," I'm just going to drop this here:



"Poutine de Peru" -- fries, yellow pepper sauce, queso fresco, and cilantro, from Scratch Truck in Indianapolis. These fries are seriously addictive.

>172 casvelyn: Those fries look like a great basis for poutine, traditional or otherwise :)

Also to be fair to non-traditional poutines, I had one at the poutine festival last year that substituted a Cajun-spice sort of sauce for the gravy and was very good.

>170 rabbitprincess: I'm not sure about that as a combination. Chips & gravy I can do, and cheesy chips works, BUT I can't get alongside cheese and gravy together.

>174 Helenliz: Fair enough. I'll eat the cheese curds for you ;)

My daughter went to Carnival in Quebec City with her school in February and ate all the foods that you picture. She especially loved the maple syrup on a stick.

Lovely museum photos - thank you for sharing!

I'm another who has never had any of the foods you mention. I'm glad to hear no beavers were harmed for the delicacy. Caribou sounds just nasty. Have you tried it?

>158 mstrust: Too bad about D and W & P. Just think, though, how many women would be happy to be die while talking to Darryl.

Hi everybody! For a while there I thought I must have picked the most hated museum possible, ha!

>165 Carmenere: Glad you had a good time, and yes, that chess set it is made up of fingers and joints. Which is disturbing to say the least, yet Dali was a wonderful weirdo.
That story is all too true, so we must behave ourselves at the Musee because those guards take their jobs very seriously. But then when I came upon the entrance to the special exhibit I might have strolled in unaware too if not for the guard they then posted there to keep the delinquents out.
Oh, he was there, but you didn't notice because he's a master of disguise.


You can barely see him!

>166 rabbitprincess: Eat enough for me! I've only had it a couple of times, but it's so good. So, one bite for you, one for me.

>167 paruline: I'm glad you had fun, and what a coincidence! I wish I had snow in my freezer. Who am I kidding, I wouldn't make maple taffy with it, I'd make a hard snowball and hide behind the couch when Mike came home.

>168 Helenliz: Yes, rabbitprincess described it perfectly.

>169 Ameise1: Thank you for the beautiful flowers, and you have a wonderful weekend too!

>170 rabbitprincess: I've had the traditional and then with chicken added too, so not far off the track. The cheese curds are squeaky fun. Poutine should be more wide-spread.

>171 RidgewayGirl: Oh, exciting news! Time to buy! Maple syrup on everything!
I actually had some delicious maple honey frozen yogurt last night.

>172 casvelyn: That looks good and I'm sure if I tried, I could eat the whole plate. I've seen many variations on the traditional now, so you could probably find a version of poutine for everyone. I think they're very amendable to flavor switch-ups, like street tacos or pizza.

>173 rabbitprincess: You need to come back with a review of these poutine festivals- we want to know!

>174 Helenliz: It works! It really does! Millions of Canadians can't be wrong!

>176 Nickelini: Then your daughter had a fantastic school trip! Where was my school trip to Carnivale?

>177 streamsong: Ah, someone who enjoyed the art! I haven't had the opportunity to try Caribou, but I'd love to. It can go to either extreme- I don't like whiskey, so if it has too much it'd be nasty. I like red wine and maple, so if that's stronger... but then, I've had a couple of brands of chocolate wine and that was awful.
Many wouldn't mind for Daryl to be their last view!

So, this week my MIL had to put her beloved Jazz to sleep. She was a 13 year-old Chocolate Lab and the mother of our Greta. Mike had to be there too because his mom's arm is still wrapped from her surgery, so he was very unhappy.

I have an additional meet-up today with the Sherlock group. Not to discuss the latest story, that will be in a few days. Today is more of a potluck and wine meeting, so very official. I'm bringing a Jamie Oliver recipe called "Crunch Salad", which is apples, carrots, celery and golden raisins in a peanut dressing.

Poutine and tourtière, YUM. Maine has a very large French-Canadian population, so these are quite common on local menus (poutine) and at holiday dinners (tourtière).

Thank you for the wonderful museum visit. I particularly liked the Michael Snow installation "Place des Peaux" and I'd like a longer stay at the sculpture garden. The poutine just finished it off perfectly! I like mine traditional but I'm willing to give other variations a try.

PS After about 20 years, I gave up trying to create a vegetarian tourtière.

>180 kgriffith: I had never heard of there being a French-Canadian population in Maine, but I've wanted to visit the state anyway. Now I know that if I ever get there I'll be having some great food too. And that's a big plus.

>181 VivienneR: I'm glad you liked the museum visit, and Snow's installation. In some of the photos you can see the lighting making the colored plastic glow like stained glass.
I saw that some recipes were a vegetable and meat tourtiere, but I didn't see any that were vegetarian. I guess it isn't meant to be with that particular recipe, but a vegetable pot pie would still be tasty.

Our get together yesterday was a lot of fun, with the hosting member making a fantastic square apple pie in a 13x9 ceramic dish and served with caramel gelato. We also played a Sherlock Holmes board game from the 70's that she'd found online in excellent condition.

To The Walking Dead fans- tonight will be the 90 minute season finale. Then about 8 friggin' months without it. I've said before that I don't read the comics, yet bits of info still manage to get to me. And while I believe Daryl will be safe, there are two deaths from the comic that I'm hoping don't happen tonight.

Almost forgot to mention that I finished the Sherlock Holmes story for our upcoming meeting. The Adventure of the Illustrious Client is unusual in the canon for two reasons: 1. There isn't a mystery, but instead the domestic problem of a young woman falling in love with a man her family hates. 2. The villain in the story gets the most gruesome comeuppance I've seen in a Holmes story.

Hi Jennifer, I am late for the party but I actually did manage to just sneak onto the bus for the field trip. Loved the museum and love poutine! When I lived in Ottawa and visited Upper Canada Village, I always would buy a bag of cheese curds from the cheese factory there. So yummy!

I am both looking forward and dreading the Walking Dead finale. I am also pretty sure that Daryl will be ok, they would be fools to get rid of the their most popular character. I have my fingers crossed that we don't lose Glen (thinking about the comic book here) and I am upset that it appears that Maggie could be losing her baby (I am wondering if the production staff didn't want to handle another baby story). I suspect we will be left dangling as it is the season finale. I haven't gotten over my Downton Abbey withdrawal and now I have to get ready to lose The Walking Dead. Luckily Call the Midwife is starting and later this month Game of Thrones!

>184 DeltaQueen50: That's a good point about them having done the dangerous childbirth story before and I thought about that watching the finale. They tend to not do the same thing twice, even if childbirth without doctors and sanitation would still be the norm and lead to death. We sure were left dangling at the end. They have to have some kind of cliffhanger, but to leave the audience for 6 months wondering which beloved character has died? I hope the information gets leaked just because that was mean of them.
The other show I never miss is "Better Call Saul" and I like "Those Who Can't" too. This was its first season but it was a favorite of ours right away.



Just a few notes about the season finale. ***massive spoilers***:

1. Everybody the audience cares about is either already a hostage or on that RV. So you knew this would end badly.
2. You can gauge the situation entirely just by knowing that Gabriel has been left in charge of Alexandria and Judith.
3. Did you notice that in the first confrontation with the Saviors, it was Rick out of the bus first with Eugene right on his heels? Foreshadowing.
4. Carol is having a nervous breakdown, a sign of the Apocalypse. And the guy actually shoots her. Twice. Now how's she going to stab people?
5. Daryl didn't show his face til the last ten minutes. Not enough Daryl.
6. Why was Rick looking so stunned and shaking? He, and Carl, were captured by Terminus and he didn't behave like that. His behavior here seemed weird even for the situation. Maybe it will be explained in 6 months.
7. The two characters I thought might die are still alive, though in the same frying pan as the rest.
8. So they set it up that Maggie looks like she's miscarrying and they're trying to get her to a doctor so she doesn't die, or the baby. Then Eugene is sacrificed, we thought. Then Glenn throws a fit and we think he might be killed. And when the murder happened, I thought the person had just been knocked unconscious. From Negan's words, something like, "If anyone tries to stop it, cut the kid's other eye out and feed it to his father," I thought he had chosen Carl. So I had get the facts from "The Talking Dead" that someone was killed and it maybe wasn't Carl. But since Negan said he was only going to beat someone, either he picked someone already frail, or he was lying.
9. There were way too many commercials. Way way too many. I think the extra 30 minutes was just in additional commercials, because it really seemed like every 7 minutes of show was followed by 7 minutes of commercials.

The Walking Dead - Warning "Spoilers"

I watched the finale last night and they certainly did leave us dangling. Carol and Morgan should be safe now if the people who rescued them are the same as the ones in the comics, they may also be the ones to save Rick and the group eventually. Hopefully Carol will get her mojo back soon. I have my fingers crossed that it wasn't Glen, Daryl or Maggie that got beat on. There wasn't a huge outcry when it happened so that makes me think it wasn't Carl as I don't think Rick would have stayed quiet for that no matter what the threat. I did wonder why Aaron was with them as he isn't a part of the inner circle so perhaps it was him but that would make their claim that a "Beloved" character was going to die a little strange. Right now my money is on Eugene or maybe Abraham.

The actor who is playing Negan is very familiar but I can't figure out where I saw him. I do think it's a well cast part as that guy definitely has presence.

Maggie seems to have more of a fever with flu-like symptoms now rather than pains that could bring on a miscarriage so maybe her baby is alright.

Oh well, I guess all will be answered eventually, we just have to patient and wait for next season.

***Spoilers

The guys who found Morgan and Carol looked like a cross between knights and Tron. I hope they're good guys because it seems like our group only comes across homicidal maniacs.
I wonder if, like me, a lot of viewers didn't realize that the screen going black meant the person had died. I thought they were knocked-out, and I think that's why they went over it on "Talking Dead", that it did mean the person died. They also brought up that some viewers would see it as a stunt, as in the "Glenn is Dead" storyline, and that it was sorta mean to leave a character's death as a season cliffhanger.
I had read something about Negan killing Aaron and Rosita, and I was hoping they wouldn't do that because I like them both.
I think the guy playing Negan looks a lot like the Spanish actor Javier Bardem (probably spelled wrong), so that's why he looks familiar to me. He's doing a good job and I hate him already.
I'll have to go back to the comics during the summer. I like "Fear the Walking Dead" but it's not the original.

30. Griffin & Sabine- 25th Anniversary Limited Edition by Nick Bantock. A re-release of the book that made Bantock famous in anticipation of the fourth and final book in the series. I won this from LT.
This is the beginning correspondence between mysterious Sabine of the Sicmon Islands, who can somehow see in her mind the artwork that lonely Griffin is creating in his London studio. Through handmade postcards and letters, we see Sabine prove that she really is watching his drawings appear and evolve, and Griffin quickly falls in love. 4.5 stars



31. Cheaper By The Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey. A memoir of growing up in a family of twelve children with a psychiatrist mother and a father obsessed with "motion study". Frank Gilbreth Sr. was hired by companies to study the movements of workers and streamline their operations to make everything faster and more efficient, something he worked on at home with his children too. He also insisted on them learning Morse code, typing, languages and pretty much anything else he thought they should know. Rather than exhausted by they're dozen children, Mr. Gilbreth seems to have had the energy of a four year-old and is at the heart of much of the chaos. I kept thinking about how much the neighbors must have hated living next door to them, and was proved right in a passage when the Gilbreth house caught fire. One of the neighbors is quoted as yelling, "The Gilbreth house is on fire- thank God!"3 stars

So sad that Merle Haggard has died. He was a favorite of Mom and Dad.
Listen to one of big hits, "Mama Tried":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loT_pYzi3Vw

32. The Walking Dead, Vol 9: Here We Remain by Robert Kirkman. I went to the library last night and came back with a little stack of TWD comics to help with the withdrawals. In this issue, Rick and Carl find a little store and house to hide in while Rick heals from recently losing a hand. He finds a phone that allows him to hallucinate Lori's voice, and they are reunited with Michonne. This is the issue where we meet Abraham, Rosita and Eugene. 4 stars

33. The Walking Dead, Vol. 10: What We Become by Robert Kirkman. In this issue, Rick and Morgan are reunited, Dale has lost faith in Rick and Abraham tells the story of how his family died. 4 stars

34. The Walking Dead, Vol. 11: Fear The Hunters by Robert Kirkman. In this issue, little twin Ben murders his brother, we meet Father Gabriel and The Hunters, a group of cannibals. 4 stars

Going through the comics as a fan of the show, it's interesting to see just how aspects have been used, re-shaped or discarded. In the comics, Andrea and Dale are a couple rather than the father figure/friends in the show, and in the show, an older sister is clearly insane and murders her younger sister, while here we barely have an inkling that Ben is off before he kills his twin. Herschel's amputated leg on the show belongs to Dale here and The Hunters are a much smaller, less organized Terminus.

Hi Jennifer, I too am thinking of ordering a couple of the WD graphics to help with the withdrawal. I am up to Issue 22 I think. Its fun walking down memory lane with you and the earlier issues.

I too am very sad to say goodbye to Merle Haggard, I am a big fan of his.

Happy weekend, Jennifer.

Happy weekend, Jennifer.

>193 DeltaQueen50: I've bounced around on the comics, having read a few of the beginning ones, but now I'm going to read in order as much as I can, til I'm satisfied. Just in the mood. I know there are over 100 now so I won't be caught-up anytime soon. It feels like there's an infinite stack.
I grew up hearing Haggard, Hank Williams, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Dad's very favorite, George Jones. Wasn't Haggard handsome as a young man with his dimples?

>194 Ameise1: >195 Ameise1: I'm taking your double post for enthusiasm, and say "Happy Weekend to you too!" Let me treat you to breakfast-



Right now I'm reading Amy Poehler's Yes Please, and then I have Ian Rankin's graphic novel and one more TWD. And I'm getting together an exhibit for next week.
And we'll visit the local wood source this morning to see if there's something for me to start a new tiki.

Ha, thanks. My computer is playing tricks some times.

>197 Ameise1: I've had that a few times too. It just shows conviction. ; )

Yea, the wood store had a 4 ft. block of walnut! I'll be able to get five or six tikis out of that.

Yay! I can't wait to see the new tikis you'll create.

Thanks, and me too!
I'm gonna-



Nope, dreaming too big. But I will be carving my biggest tiki yet, which will be around ten inches. I need to start drawing some options.

I've opened #4, so please bring your purchases through.