mstrust #3- Why Didn't They Ask The BBC?

Welcome! I want to get that in before you meet the staff of The BBC. If this is your first visit, that stands for Books, Booze and Chocolate. This is our third year of business, and we happen to have every book you're looking for, you just have to find it in our ever mutating building. We also have a beautiful patisserie and tiki bar full of regulars.

2018 Reads

1. Vintage Spirits and Forgotten Cocktails- 5 stars
2. Backstrom: He Who Kills The Dragon- 3 stars- Nordic Mysteries Group
3. What Does This Button Do?- 4 stars
4. The Man in the Picture- 4.5 stars- Gothic Mysteries Group
5. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles- 4 stars
6. Once Upon A Dreadful Time- 4.5 stars
7. Addicted to Americana- 5 stars
8. The Hidden Art of Disney's Late Golden Age- 4 stars
9. Mrs. Harris Goes to New York- 3 stars
10. Thanks For The Money- 4.2 stars
11. Fairest Of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen- 3 stars
12. The Subway Chronicles- 3.5 stars
13. It's In The Book- 3 stars
14. Grifter's Game- 4 stars
15. iZombie: Six Feet Under and Rising- 4.2 stars
16. Hottest Heads Of State- 4 stars
17. Henry VIII- 4 stars
18. They Do It With Mirrors- 3.5 stars Female Sleuth Group
19. Piracy, Turtles and Flying Foxes-3.5 stars- ScaredyKit-Survival/Disasters
20. iZombie: Repossession- 4.5 stars
21. Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling- 4.2 stars
22. The Martian-3.5 stars- Survival/Disaster Group
23. Pink Ladies and Crimson Gents- 4.5 stars
24. More Stories from The Twilight Zone- 4 stars- Scaredy-Kit Weird Fiction Group
25. Fodor's Seattle- 5 stars
26. The Road to Little Dribbling- 4.5 stars
27. Let Us All Eat Cake-4 stars
28. Faceless Killers-2.5 stars- Global Mysteries Group
29. Howard's End is on the Landing-4.5 stars
30. So I'm A Heel- 3 stars
31. Stories from The Twilight Zone- 4.5 stars Scaredy-Kit Weird Fiction Group

You all know that Bernard is my second in command, but Assistant Manager Dwight is ever hopeful of being in charge one day. With his customer service skills, he might get there. He treats each customer with the same level of care.


Staff members Candace and Toni are always around with good suggestions. Go ahead and approach them.


Visit our in house patisserie, tiki bar and our secret rooms and tunnels. Maybe you'll get out, maybe you won't. Life is unpredictable.

Happy new thread!

Happy new one, Jennifer.

Happy new thread!

Oh good. I was watching this thread, like "Is she done setting up? Can I go in yet?" and now other people have ARRIVED so I can follow 'em in... *makes a beeline for the nearest armchair*

Happy new one! :D

Thanks for coming over everyone!
>6 Berly: I can always use a pool of chocolate!
>7 elliepotten: Nope, wasn't done, but I went ahead and wrapped up my intro since the posts were coming in. Glad you're here!

>8 mstrust: Awwww. Don't you hate it when you're still trying to hoover round and get stuff dusted and people come tramping through regardless? *stretches out luxuriously in armchair* :P

21. Hitman: My Real Life in the Cartoon World of Wrestling by Bret Hart. Anyone who was aware of the WWF in the eighties and nineties knows the name of Bret Hart. This is his autobiography, published in 2006. Coming from a dysfunctional family of twelve kids with parents who ran their own wrestling territory in western Canada, Hart grew up with the sport and became a professional as soon as he was big enough to get in the ring. This book follows his rise to fame over two decades, including his dealings with infamously underhanded WWF owner Vince McMahon. He is honest about what goes on in the ring, the set-ups, his feelings about other wrestling stars, and the permanent physical damage. He's surprisingly open about cheating on his wife, and his feelings about a number of his siblings, who he feels took advantage of his parents. And he talks about the in-ring death of his younger brother Owen during a wrestling event.
I think it's clear that though Hart kept recorded diaries of his years on the road with a mind to someday writing a book, this must have been ghost-written. It's riveting reading, but every other person Hart meets is moved to tears by being near him, and it's hard to accept someone referring to themselves as a hero quite so often. Other than that, this book was way more fascinating than I expected, especially the whole villainous sibling situation. 4.2 stars

>9 elliepotten: Ha! Ah well, it's better to have people beating down your doors than have the tumbleweeds rolling by. Since your sitting, how about unpacking a box or two?

>11 mstrust: Sure! Imma just... -



So helpful. :D

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Jennifer!
I'll do what I always do when I arrive in the next BBC :-D

>12 elliepotten: I see Bernard is teaching you to just dance around the piles of books. A very handy skill.

>13 drneutron: Thank you!

>14 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! No worries about finding a comfortable chair by the fire, we have more than one chair, and a surprising number of fireplaces.

One room-complete!

>15 mstrust: That one looks good! *wanders off to check other fireplaces and chairs*

Great to see a new BBC up and ready for customers!

Happy new one, Jennifer!

Happy new thread, Jennifer! Your patisserie photo makes me want to head to our local German bakery, but I'll have to wait, as it is closed on Sundays.

Somehow you missed me (>5 Ameise1:) but never mind. You were busy setting up your new thread and I put in my foot too early.
Happy Sunday, Jennifer.

Happy new thread, Jennifer! I'm all for comfy chairs and fireplaces! I'm nicely ensconced for the duration.

I'll help unpack as soon as I finish my mid-morning nap.

LOL, BBC sounds like the perfect place for me! Just saw your thread while looking for another's. Looks like you're off to a great start this year!

Thanks to everyone for dropping by my new place!
First, today is my mom's 75th birthday! I wish I could be there in Vegas with her, but she was out here two weeks ago and we had her birthday with cake and presents then, and I sent the basket of breads, soups and cake that was delivered Friday. And my sister was with her the last two days. Still, there's enough cake for everyone to grab a slice:


>16 FAMeulstee: I'm sure you'll see plenty of rooms, seating arrangements and fireplaces here. All our rooms are inviting, and some are hauuunted! Just kidding, we don't move into a haunted store until around Halloween.
>17 DeltaQueen50: Judy! Glad you found us!
>18 Crazymamie: Thank you, Mamie!
>19 harrygbutler: Thanks, Harry! Ugh, closed on Sundays? I'd go into bakery shakes except we've been running around all morning and one of our stops was the See's candy store. What,we're still using Christmas gift cards!
>20 Ameise1: No, I saw it.
>21 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda! One of my favorite things about cold weather is lying on the couch under a pile of blankets and reading til I'm sleepy. And I don't care how the customers feel about it, it's my store.
>22 SomeGuyInVirginia: So you're just going to spend the whole day curled under the front desk like that, right?
>23 PaperbackPirate: Nicole! I think this is your first visit to The BBC, isn't it? Glad you're here, grab some cake! And could you fill in at the register for just a minute?

So. Remember my haul of 54 books from the book sale just two weeks ago? I'm almost ashamed to admit that I bought books today. Mike needed to see if he could replace a pricing guide he'd loaned to a friend and didn't expect to see again. So we went to Half Price Books, where he didn't find what he needed, but I found:

Clandestine
Goosebumps: Night of the Living Dummy
Goosebumps: The Ghost Next Door- they had a stack of Goosebumps re-issues
More Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz
The Best of Mrs. Beeton's Cakes and Baking
The Sister Brothers

And yesterday I read two comics: the #2 issue of "30 Days of Night", which is the basis for the movie, and the #4 issue of "30 Days of Night: Night, Again". Didn't like this one so much. It was written by Joe Lansdale and I didn't care for the artwork at all.

Oh, and if you're Walking Dead viewer, I'll see you here tomorrow with some kind of freak out, I'm sure.

Happy birthday, Jennifer's mom!

Today would also have been George Harrison's 75th birthday.

Wish your mom a happy birthday from me too! Her cake is delicious! Thanks for sharing.

A very Happy Birthday to your mom, Jennifer! And nice work with the book haul - I loved The Sisters Brothers.

>24 mstrust: I hope your mom had a great birthday, Jennifer!

I don't usually have much luck at Half Price Books, but we still stop there nearly every time we're out in Ohio visiting my parents.

If the German bakery were closer (it's about 30 minutes away), I'd be tempted to go quite often. :-)

Happy birthday to your mom. What a beautiful cake.

>26 rabbitprincess: Oh, I didn't know that! The stars were aligned 75 years ago.
>27 VivienneR: Thank you, Vivienne! The cake is strawberry and chocolate. Yum!
>28 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! I've seen both good and indifferent reviews about The Sister Brothers and I hope to be one of the good ones too.
>29 harrygbutler: Thank you, Harry! Mom's plan was to go to a casino, but I haven't checked back to see if she won. My problem with Half Price Books is that I always find too much. I end up leaving because I can't hold any more in my arms.
>30 Ameise1: Thank you.

Are we ready to cry over The Walking Dead?

**Spoilers

1. I watched the previous episode, the mid-season finale, again, and yeah, if you know to look for the signs, you can tell when Carl is bitten. But in this premiere episode, they show the exact bite happen.
This is very much Carl's episode. He has the longest incubation ever, with time to bond with Judith and Siddiq, supply the tunnel, plant trees... See what happens when you help people, Carl? And he became so very Zen. Carl had words of wisdom for hours. What was he saying to Rick? That he should stop fighting, as if it was all Rick's choice? And what, be Negan's slave?
And we found out that those hazy fantasies of a white-haired, peaceful Rick were Carl's all along. And they included Negan? Huh.
2. Rick's reaction to Carl's dying was so low key and gentle. I think everyone expected him to lose his mind and shoot everyone in sight. Didn't happen.
3. So, crap, they really killed Carl. I tried to figure out a way that he'd survive, because like him or not, Carl is only 15 or 16 years old. And he died in a destroyed church looking like a torn up old alley cat. That kid had been through so much.
Other aspects:

4. That skinny Savior Gavin has always whined about "I don't like this..." as he does something awful. So now humans are as soft and mushy as the dead? Because how is it even possible for an eight year old to be strong enough to ram a stick through someone's neck? Not part way through, all the way. Come on.
5. Carol's back being Carol, so that's something. And she and Morgan are like superheroes. When Morgan ripped out that guy's, what, liver and intestines? Ha! That was so gross I had to back it up and watch again.
6. And then Carol tries to talk Morgan out of killing Gavin. Whhhat?
7. I didn't know that Dwight had gotten into the tunnel with everyone. Just saying, I was surprised he was there.
8. Lennie James has been transferred to "Fear The Walking Dead", as a ratings boost no doubt, so he might be killed of TWD this season. Or he may just run away through the Virginia woods and keep running til he's on the West Coast.
9. Jeff Kober, as the leader of The Claimers, is back on AMC.com with a web series. I always though he was a really interesting character.

You have GOT to be kidding me??!! It's like they shot the Waltons or something.

TWD needs to lighten up a little. If people want despair they can just get on the Sub'emway and go to work. Would a little song and dance kill them? Maybe introduce a cartoon character a la Who Framed Roger Rabbit? I mean C'MON! It's CORAL!

**Spoilers
Yes, it's cold-blooded to take out a kid who by all expectations, including Andre Lincoln's, was going to "inherit" the world once Rick was gone. And to give him a slow, torturous death in which he ends up shooting himself in the head while his father waits outside... Awful. Show runner Scott Gimple, who pretty much controls the show and says who lives and who dies, has enraged fans with this one. There's a petition up to have him fired for killing Carl, and it doesn't seem to be a reaction to sadness but rather anger that Gimple's "go to" for a ratings bump is to kill off a beloved character. It's become his pattern, and I think he compounds it by being so smug about his decisions.
There really were a hundred ways to end the mid-season finale rather than killing a character who's been there since the beginning.

22. The Martian by Andrew Weir. When astronaut Mark Watley is hit by a severe dust storm on Mars and sent spinning away, his crew has every reason to believe him dead. They have no choice but to leave his body behind and try to get the ship away from the planet's surface. When Watley gains consciousness, he sets about trying to survive on what the mission has left behind: a small living structure, limited water, food and equipment for oxygen. It's up to Watney, a botanist and engineer, to provide himself with what he needs until NASA can bring him home.
A story of survival through science, I'll admit that so much of the science stuff whooshed right over my head. The enjoyment for me was in Mark's unrelenting cleverness and resourcefulness. 3.5 stars

Happy reasonably new thread, Jennifer. xx

>24 mstrust: Thanks for the cake! I couldn't find the Total button so I've just been letting people take stuff. I hope that's ok.

>36 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul! Glad you found the new place.
>37 PaperbackPirate: So that's why the entire front room was empty. I should have known you had something to do with it, you wascaly wabbit.

23. Pink Ladies and Crimson Gents by Molly Glentzer and Don Glentzer. Subtitled "Portraits and Legends of 50 Roses", this is a beautiful, tranquil book that features the history and source of the variety and bio of who that rose was named after, along with a photo of each in the style of a portrait. It's a lovely book printed on thick stock paper, and each turn of the page had me thinking, "here is the prettiest one." But they're all gorgeous. 4.5 stars

The Anais Segalas Centifolia Rose:

>39 mstrust: Nice rose! I'll have to keep an eye out for that book.

I hope it crosses your path, Harry! It's been sitting on my shelf for maybe two years and I'm glad I finally pulled it down.

>41 mstrust: Erika often finds similar books at library book sales. The last one I recall was a David Austin rose book, but I don't recall which one. We often release those books back into the wild, so they don't necessarily get cataloged here on LT. :-)

>34 mstrust: Maybe for a break they can club baby seals for the season finale.

Z National is trash, but at least it has a sense of humor about being trash. Srsly, I don't need the agida.

>42 harrygbutler: I bought mine from a library sale, and David Austin gets a few mentions in it. Along with other prolific horticulturalists.

>43 SomeGuyInVirginia: Welp, I watched the "iZombie" season premiere and I'm so glad it's back. Liv made Buffalo wings out of a Seattle Seahawks fan's brains. They looked delicious.

Eewwww! Wait...tangy or ranchy?

Spicy! "iZombie" zombies consume copious amounts of hot sauce with everything because their taste buds are dull. One zombie was pouring hot sauce in his coffee this episode.

24. More Stories from The Twilight Zone by Rod Serling. A collection of stories from the original "The Twilight Zone" tv show, novelized by Serling. The stories include the pilot episode, "The Lonely", "Mr. Dingle, The Strong", "A Thing About Machines", "The Big, Tall Wish", "A Stop at Willoughby", "The Odyssey of Flight 33", and "Dust". To fans of the show, this is digging in deeper, with the reader getting so much more internal dialogue and backstory than the show could provide in its medium. Especially chilling is "A Thing About Machines", in which arrogant, offensive Mr. Finchley becomes aware that all the appliances and electric gadgets in his life hate him. 4 stars
I read this for the March Scaredy-Kit Weird Fiction group.

Happy belated birthday to your mom!! What a treat to be sent bread and soup and cake! Was she surprised?

Thanks, Lynda! Mom was very surprised, and of course told me that I'd spent too much money on her birthday between the basket, the presents she opened here and the birthday dinner and breakfast. What can I say, I'd like to turn it into "birthweek".

Well, we just had some awful excitement here on my street. The people next door have three (three!) pit bulls, the morons. This morning they had a guy over replacing a front window that is ground level, but obviously the guy failed, because all three got out and attacked the teenage girl who lives on the other side of them. I was in my living room and heard someone screaming bloody murder. I stick my head out the front door and saw two more neighbors in the street and they were trying to distract the pit bulls from the girl. She was screaming the owners name as she's being attacked and then she was able to run for her life into her house as they chased her. She got the door shut just in time. I called 911, and the dispatcher didn't want to send the police, which I get, she should be able to connect to animal control, but as soon as I said "some guy just picked one of the dogs up", she said, "okay, I'm going to cancel the call for the police. Bye."
So the owners have a tenant, and he was there sleeping, but eventually woke up to grab the dogs. I went over to the girl's house, and the other neighbors came over, and she's okay, just scratched up, terrified and crying. The dogs got her clothes rather than flesh. The only reason she isn't in the hospital is because her own dog was defending her and got the brunt of it, and a man down the street came running and was kicking the dogs apart. Her mom came home, but even though we were saying over and over that she needs to report it, they probably won't.
So the tenant came over while we were all standing there and claimed he didn't know how the dogs had gotten loose and that he didn't hear her screaming. I told him that three pit bulls is a pack and that I watched the girl running for her life. He just slunk away because he didn't want to hear it.

That's just terrible. We had a pit bull mix and she was the sweetest dog, but pit bulls need experienced owners who don't want a protective or aggressive dog at all because pits are determined to do what you want. Of course, the very people who want a pit bull are often the worst possible pit bull owners. I'm so glad the girl wasn't hurt, but how is her dog?

>47 mstrust: That seems like it might be of interest. It has been a long time since I've seen any episodes of the show.

>49 mstrust: Wow. That's a horrible situation, though thankfully she wasn't hurt; I do hope her dog is not severely injured.

>49 mstrust: That's awful! Is there a way to report the incident on her behalf?

That's a terrible incident. I can not believe that the police do not feel responsible. With us they would have disengaged and the dogs would have been taken. Whether the owner would ever get back, would be questionable here in Switzerland.

That is horrific and I'm shocked the police weren't all over that. A pack of dogs attack a woman and nothing happens? I hope she's ok, and her dog. What a brave, good dog. >53 Ameise1: is right, in Virginia the dogs would be seized and probably put down.

How are you? That was scary for you, too.

>50 RidgewayGirl: The breed has been ruined by people who bred them to get a meaner, more erratic behavior, and to get the most powerful jaw. Their jaws actually lock, and that's what the neighbors said they saw these pit bulls do to the girl, except they must have locked on the very thick sweatshirt she was wearing instead of her arm.
I really don't know how her dog is doing, other than it came to the door when I was there checking on the girl, and she said it was bleeding. I saw the mom's car was gone later and all I can hope was that she cared for the dog or took it to the vet. But no police came. The mother is a bit strange so I'm not surprised.

>51 harrygbutler: I hope her dog is okay too. I don't see the family very often, so I didn't know there were dogs there in the first place.
I found "The Twilight Zone" on Netflix last night and watched the "A Thing About Machines" episode, as I had just a foggy memory of it. It was good, and I had remembered the actor correctly, but I found the written story scarier.

>52 rabbitprincess: Well, I tried to get the police out, but the dispatcher pretty much decided that they weren't needed even though I told her the girl had been attacked. So I told the girl to have her mom call them and make a report, because at least that would start a paper trail. I really don't know what I'm able to do, but I'm going to look into it, as I don't want a pack of attack dogs next door.

>53 Ameise1: Vicious dogs are normally taken away here too, not just left.

>54 SomeGuyInVirginia: Yes, I'm scratching my head about it too. I think I just got a shitty dispatcher who didn't care what was happening. I'm fine, it was plenty of scary excitement, thanks. But now I have to figure out who to call. I walk my dog nearly every day, and I knew the neighbors had two pit bulls, which is bad enough, but I didn't know they had three. I suspect they are keeping them in kennels indoors. I told the husband, when I saw him with the first pit bull, that our dividing fence wasn't high enough for a dog like that, and he assured me that his dog would never get over the fence. I don't believe there is any home owner's insurance that would cover three pit bulls.

25. Fodor's Seattle. The latest guidebook for our vacation to Seattle in May. I tend to prefer Fodor's guidebooks over Frommer's or others, I guess I just like their layout and color photos better and I've always gotten very practical info that I use on our trips. 5 stars

We have a list of things we want to see and do on this trip. We're both interested in a whale watching ferry, of course, and maybe going to the San Juan Islands and seeing native carvings. We both like seafood a lot, and I'm very interested in both coffee and berries, so I want to sample huckleberries, marionberries, currants and cloudberries.

IF you're ok with pissing your neighbor off, call the local police station directly and tell them that you don't feel safe, that you feel threatened. They need to know that you saw the woman and her dog being attacked with your own eyes. You should work to get the dogs removed if the other person won't. Seriously, what's wrong with her? Her daughter is mauled by a pack of killer dogs and she's going to let it slide? Neighbors!

Once in DC I called 911 to report an intruder in the building, this was his second break in. The dispatcher said 'You want me to send a car for THAT?' I told her that I did.

It turns out that every dispatcher isn't an interested dispatcher. You would hope that when you call 911 you'll get someone who's a little curious about your situation. I've called before and they've been more helpful than this one.

I did track down our new community officer, who works out of our local precinct, and I explained the situation, and that I didn't know if the girl or her mom had made a report. He said they hadn't received any calls about a dog attack, and didn't even have my call on record. So he emailed me the form for reporting a dog attack. I went down to the girl's house to give them the information and her mom was very grateful that everyone had come to help and invited me in. Long story short, her dog spent hours at the vet being stitched up and having a stint put in the neck, the owners had come over and taken responsibility for the bills and apologized, and that seemed like it was enough for everybody. Seeing the girl composed and not crying for her mom, I see that she must be around twenty rather than a teenager. Neither of them seemed interested in making a report of the incident, and since I'm not the neighborhood busybody, I'm leaving it with them. Which I hope won't bite me in the ass later.
But the neighbors who had been outside first during the attack told me that the girl's dog had been the primary target, not the girl, and that the pit bulls had actually started the attack by pushing the girl's front door open and coming in and grabbing the dog and dragging it outside.

I forgot to provide something interesting on Friday. Until a few days ago, I'd never heard of the Els Enfarinants (Flour and Egg) Festival that takes place every December in Ibi, Spain. Just like with the tomato festival, everyone comes to battle in the town square:

>58 mstrust: I hope the dogs don't prove a continuing menace.

>59 mstrust: Sounds fun, but I think it's not really sporting to toss a whole flat of eggs at once. :-)

>60 harrygbutler: That's very much what I'm hoping too. They're nice people, but I think it's just incredibly dumb to have three pit bulls. They are too intense and too strong to allow them to form a pack.
I know, ha! It seems very much like, "This is my final word!"

>61 mstrust: Now I want to watch the pie fight in The Great Race of Blazing Saddles. :-)

>32 mstrust: Walking Dead Spoiler! I cried Sunday but it was time for him to go. I hate his hat, his hair's too scraggly, and why can't he wear a proper pirate eye patch?!

>39 mstrust: Thank you for the flower eye candy!

>49 mstrust: That's so scary! I'm glad you were able to help. Those people deserve to have their dogs taken away!

I just have to add that I have known several pit bulls in my life, and even people who have owned multiple pit bulls at once, and they were all some of the sweetest dogs I've met. It truly depends on the owner. Also it's a myth that their jaws lock.

>62 harrygbutler: I guess the egg and flour fight pic is what caused me to get up and make Mike a batch of chocolate chip cookies. I'm too easily persuaded.

>63 PaperbackPirate: I have to admit to being very sad about Carl too. Partly for Rick, because he's experienced the very worst thing a parent can, but also because Carl was so young, had seen horrible things and lived in fear half his life. It made me sad that those little moments with Enid were as close as he got to a normal childhood.
I know, if only Carl had known to run back to the dead Governor and grab the cool leather eye patch. ;-)
Glad you enjoyed the roses. I have a big bouquet of daffodils on my coffee table right now. Trader Joe's, $1.49 a bunch!
You're right about the jaws. I had to look it up, as I'd always heard that their jaws lock together, but it turns out to be a big dose of extra determination coupled with breeding to bring out a very powerful jaw.
If you're soft-hearted, don't read beyond the first photo. Seriously, I wish the article finished there, but the first few paragraphs are about the reputation for locking jaws.
http://thetruthaboutpitbulls.blogspot.com/2012/06/locking-jaws.html
A lot does depend on the owners, but I believe almost as deciding in dog behavior is the history of the blood line and what traits have been bred into the animal. That's how you get some breeds that have a natural affinity for livestock herding or long distance running. I don't think I'll change my opinion about them as this isn't the first pit bull attack I've seen with my own eyes. It would be great if kind, responsible breeders could turn the breed around, but to do that, the horrible breeders would have to stop altogether.
Be sure to come back Monday! We're going to see Rick's reaction to losing Carl and I'll bet it's going to be biblical!

Hi Jennifer. I can't believe it's taken me so long to check in and see your comments on TWD. I have very mixed feelings about Carl's death. He wasn't a favorite of mine, but it was very disheartening to see one of the very few original cast members be killed off and of course, his age made it a very difficult death to watch or accept as well. Carl's 'death talk' may have been a way for the show to leave the door open for Negan to be kept alive. When push comes to shove, Rick may honor Carl's words and keep Negan alive. Carl's death also pointed out that the zombies are still there and are still dangerous, which everyone has been forgetting lately. Also having zombies be responsible for his death means that Rick probably won't go into "Crazy Rick" mode against Negan's people.

I am sorry to hear that Morgan is going to be going over to the other show, he is one of my favorites. I do think we are going to be seeing some heavy action soon and have my fingers crossed that Carol, Michonne, Tara and Rosita are at the forefront.

>64 mstrust: I think the same, Jennifer, behaviour is mostly genetic.
Pittbulls were/are bred to fight other dogs & to be gentle to people. So on average they are nice and sweet to humans and not so nice and sweet to other dogs...

>49 mstrust: OH MY GOODNESS! Never a dull moment at the BBC! What an awful sight to have witnessed! It basically turned out ok but come on who needs 3 pit bulls?!

I hear you about not being a busybody. Maybe the tenant will move the dogs off.

I'll have to start watching TWD again, but I swear the desperation can wear me down.

>34 mstrust: Sounds like the George R R Martin school of character development. Popular character? Kill 'em off!

>49 mstrust: Wow! Just...wow - especially the dogs pushing into the neighbor's house to attack the other dog.

>56 mstrust: You are coming to Seattle in May!! Any chance of a meet-up? If I can find the time I will drive up there. : )

Also, I though of you when I saw this in the store. If you download the app and then focus on the label, the characters come to life and talk about their life and crimes. I brought it to my latest RL bookclub and it was a hit. Happy Sunday!!

>65 DeltaQueen50: I was wondering if you had thoughts about the premiere! I know you didn't like Carl, but yeah, we're down to Rick, Daryl, Morgan and Carol for the originals. You're right, Carl's words may inspire Rick to keep Negan alive. But don't you really hope that Rick will have the knife to Negan's throat, think about Carl's words, and say, "After this one," then kill Negan?
Good point- the walkers have taken the backseat to The Saviors this past season. Carl reminds us of that, and also that the walkers can have a full set of strong teeth even if their flesh has rotted away. I believe the one that got Carl had a glorious set of chompers.
I believe they announced Lennie James going to FTWD on a special episode of "Talking Dead" that was a pre-mid-season premiere about a month ago. He Skyped on and announced it but I don't think he said when or how he leaves TWD.

>66 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! I'm sure in Europe the breed isn't in the condition it is here. They've been over bred here, and for about 25-30 years, unscrupulous people have bred the most aggressive dogs to produce animals that are erratic in behavior. It's very sad. I'm on the local pet shelter sites almost daily, and our homeless dog population is about 85% pit bull and pit bull mixes.

>67 Carmenere: Exactly, why three. I don't get it either.

>68 SomeGuyInVirginia: I have just a little hope that the mom and daughter will push for the dog owners to do something security-wise, but I'm not optimistic. It's probably going to blow over until the dogs knock the same window out again.
Watching TWD shouldn't be a chore, so if you don't like it, you don't like it. The only ray of sunshine I can offer is that Negan is headin' for a fall!

>69 rretzler: And I get that in order to keep it somewhat realistic, people have to die to remind us that it's a dangerous world. But it's become such a pattern at mid or end of seasons.
Yeah, the dogs going into the house to drag out their prey is shocking.

>70 Berly: Yes! Sweet! How far away are you?
Oh cool, now I want to go to BevMo and stand there looking at all of them. I told Mike about it and he said there's also a wine that has zombies on the label and you use their app to see the zombies coming out towards you. Fun!

Today we took Coral to run around in a park we hadn't been to in years. The park now has both a community garden and Little Free Library, and Coral had a lot of fun running around.
We dropped her back home and took off to look at some houses in Black Canyon City, about 30 minutes outside of Phoenix. We went to the Rock Springs Cafe, a place we used to stop in often, but again, hadn't been there in years. They're famous for their pies, so I had a slice of lemon meringue, Mike had pecan. We bought a one pound jar of raspberry jam and went in the old rock shop next door. This is a very old wooden house, narrow and crammed with rocks and gems. And the Jean Harlow Museum, which is a single bedroom containing several framed photos of the actress, but nothing she owned. The "museum" consists of a sparsely furnished bedroom outfitted in the style of a room Ms. Harlow stayed in during the 30's when there was a hotel on the premises. It's free to walk into the room, but you're responsible for turning the lights on and off. The shop employee didn't know much about who had created the museum, just that it had been there for years and had come with the property when the cafe bought it.


internet pic


The Jean Harlow Museum- internet pic

>72 mstrust: Sounds like a good day. Did you pick up any new rocks at the shop? And I'm glad to hear of the Jean Harlow Museum, even if it doesn't offer much — just the sort of little minor tourist attraction Erika and I like to encounter.

I just got some geodes to break open and share with my mom, who showed an interest in them when she was here last month. I gave her one that I had, but it was just a small one. The ones I bought yesterday are a little larger.
I like finding little obscure museum and attractions like the Jean Harlow Museum too. I like the proof that some people were quietly quirky in the past.

The Walking Dead:

All spoilers***

1. This episode starts off with silence. Rick and Michonne have just buried Carl and remain silent as they go about their packing. And just because Carl had visited the gazebo, which is still actively burning while the rest of the more permanent structures are only smoldering now, they put their energy into putting out the fire. It's surprising that Rick is still motivated to fight.
2. Ugh, once again Rick wants to deal with the garbage people. It seems like he's dim-witted when it comes to them.
3. Notice how the show has begun using some intense focuses on the characters when in peril, like the kung fu movies of the 70's.
4. Simon shows some spine towards Negan, and doesn't hold back. In response, Negan screams, "You will do your job!" like they've had a bad sales quarter. Even though the episode was broken into character chunks, it overall felt like Simon's episode. And he did us the great favor of taking out most of the garbage people.
5. Jadis was an awful leader. It was strange that her people allowed her to remain in charge screw-up after screw-up. Well that won't happen again!
And that scene with the garbage grinder? Wow. But the writers were able to change an eye-rollingly lousy character into a sympathetic one in just that scene, and there wasn't even dialogue.
6. Why would Negan be upset over Carl's death, other than he lost quite a bit of leverage over Rick? Negan seems to be displaying sadness, and I wondered why he'd bother. He's a sociopath, and since he's not there to see Rick's pain, it just seemed like he wouldn't waste the time considering Carl.
7. No Daryl. Humph.

I've watched the first three episodes of the Red Machete web series and it's very interesting, following the numerous owners of the red machete that ended up in Rick's hands.
Also, AMC has a new series starting this month called "The Terror" that looks good. Stars Ciaran Hinds, and I like him, plus it's a old British Navy ship stuck in ice.

Wasn't that the title of a book that came out a few years ago by the guy who wrote Carrion Comfort? Simmonds? Sounds good, but I'm a sucker for any scary book that has snow in it.

* lurk *

>76 SomeGuyInVirginia: The Terror? Yes, there's a book by Dan Simmons, a horror about Arctic exploration, so that looks like it's the basis for the show. It looks like it's going to be a good one.

>77 weird_O: I remember you lurking around here last year, occasionally spotted peering through the kitchen window.

They're ready!

It's been too long since we had a BBC Field Trip. Pack your bags, we leave on Friday.

>79 mstrust: Woohoo! *packs viking helmet just in case*

You never know, might come in handy...;-)

Ahoy! I'm in line!

Ohohoh! I want to keep time by banging on a drum!

>82 Carmenere: Happy you're coming along, Lynda!
>83 SomeGuyInVirginia: Great! Your other duties will be making the coffee and organizing the entertainment. How 'bout a rodeo?

26. The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson. Forty years after arriving in the U.K., Bryson decides to travel about to visit many of the places he'd never seen. Of course, after 40 years in a smallish country, he also ends up in many places he hadn't seen in decades and can't help but compare them to his memories, and the present day version often loses. This is an older, grumbling Bryson, who complains about train lines, customer service, housing developments, the disappearance of traditional British shops and littering. He also delves into the history of Stonehenge, the fishing industry, holiday camps, eccentric museum founders and nuclear power. He visits perfectly preserved tiny villages, seaside towns with their best days behind them, and lots of small museums. While not everyone would enjoy being guided by a testy old man who constantly complains that things aren't what they used to be, I was happy with his surly company. Bryson hasn't lost his sense of humor or his sense of adventure. He walks every chance he gets, taking roads and trails without knowing where they'll lead him. 4.5 stars

>79 mstrust: Are we going by boat? Because then I need to pack some Gravol.

>85 mstrust: I might have enjoyed The Road to Little Dribbling a tad less than you did, Jennifer.
Although I did enjoy the grumpy, complaining and funny old Bryson most of the time ;-)

>86 MickyFine: I was unfamiliar with the brand name Gravol, so read it as "grovel", which is fitting. "Please don't let me throw up!"
I suggest you do bring your medication, as depending on the group size, we could be rowing. Or flying, or snorkeling, or riding those giant bouncy balloons with the handle at the top.
>87 FAMeulstee: It's easy to imagine some people just wanting him to stop complaining, but I belong to the "If you can't say anything nice, come sit next to me" group,as long as there's humor too. And lots of his complaints, such as the littering, were valid.

>84 mstrust: I'm sorry I can't hear you over the sound of this enormous drum! Wait...did you say cowboys?

>79 mstrust: >88 mstrust: I'm in. *to self - now where did I put my snorkel and swim fins?*

>85 mstrust: Have you read Notes from a Small Island? I'm going to read that for the British Author Theme challenge for travel later this year - I couldn't decide between it and The Road to Little Dribbling

>88 mstrust: I find myself in that group quite a bit, although I tend to try to control myself around others (my husband seems to get the brunt of it, poor man!)

>79 mstrust: Now where did I put my oilskins ... and >84 mstrust: my Nudie suit?

>89 SomeGuyInVirginia: Just a thought. But I think your choice of a Sid & Marty Krofft night was awesome.
>90 rretzler: I have read Notes from a Small Island, and I believe it was my first Bryson, so it sent me looking for more from him.
>91 harrygbutler: Uh-oh. Did you get one of the "clothing optional" invitations? My bad, thought I threw them out. No, you'll want to bundle up for this.

Ladies and gentlemen, take off your blindfolds and secure your parachutes.
We're in Reykjavik, Iceland!



That enormous building is the Hallgrimskirkja (Hallgrimur's Church), a Lutheran church that stands 244 feet, making it one of the tallest structures in the country. It took 41 years to complete. So don't land on it, because we didn't bring a ladder.

Temperatures in March average between 31-40F, so put on an extra sweater and gloves.
First thing, you'll want to get a feel for the language. Listen to this traditional folk song, "Krummalvisur". Scroll down in the comments to see the English translation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tq4seuBFxIM
Soooo, probably not going to pick up much in a weekend.

Our first stop is the National Museum of Iceland, established in 1863.

Maritime and Viking history are big here of course, and we'll see more.

Next stop, the Vikin Maritime Museum, to see the artifacts of the Icelandic Vikings.
.

Jump down for more.

Our next stop may not look like much from the outside:


But look at the inside:

They feature the whales specific to the region, and do so beautifully. And of course, whale watching ferry tours are a popular activity here.

Bet you're hungry, what with all that flying and parachuting. We'll stop for lunch and get one of the most popular of Icelandic foods, hot dogs. Icelandic hot dogs are famous, as they're made of lamb, pork and beef, and come covered in ketchup, sweet mustard, fried onions and remoulade.


If you're really hungry, order the kjotsupa, traditional meat soup made of lamb, potatoes, carrots and rice.


Jump down for more.

I'm all in for a trip to Iceland. Give me some hot springs and some aquavit or whatever they drink over there and I'm happy.

But I just can't do the cranky travel narrator. I'll avoid this one since it always makes me reassess liking that author in the first place. Paul Theroux and Michael Creighton have done this and it makes me incandescent with rage when these wealthy dudes swan around places most of us will never even get to see and whine that it doesn't perfectly suit them -- Creighton was the worst and I've never read a single other book by him because he doesn't deserve to be listened too -- he trekked through the Himalayas with a private guide and all he did was whine about how much walking he had to do and whine about how when the guide pointed out some spectacular thing he didn't emphasize enough how important and spectacular that thing was so that Creighton didn't bother to look at it (as he was tired from walking on the trek he had signed up for) so that when he got home and bothered to research the area he's been in, he was mad he hadn't looked at it. And then he went to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro and complained because he only unpacked the brand new hiking boots on the day of the climb and they hurt his feet and some people apparently all talked about how he was not going to make it to the top, which was very hurtful and then I threw the book forcefully away and don't know how it ended.

Theroux is a terrible whiner, too, but I've ranted enough for one day.

Now we come to the Saga Museum, which is possibly the only waxworks Viking museum in the world. Not only do you see the Viking world, you can dress in Viking gear to tour the museum. Yes, it's true.


A little bit of modern Icelandic music now. You may be familiar with the band Of Monsters and Men and their hit song "Little Talks", but did you know they're from Reykjavic?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghb6eDopW8I

Now to the Reykjavic Art Museum Hafnachus, the country's largest art museum:


This is Volcano House, which is dedicated to Iceland's geology and volcanic systems. Visitors are allowed to study and play with the rocks. It's on our tour because it's a very popular place:


And then we go to a more unexpected stop, one that your average traveler might miss. The Icelandic Punk Museum. Johnny Rotten's been here!

Snacks!
It really can't be stressed enough how popular and important skyr is in Iceland. It's the traditional, low-fat yogurt that has been made here for over 1000 years. But now you can get it in coconut flavor.


Vinarterta cake is traditional. It's multi-layers of vanilla, cardamon or cinnamon thin cakes with a plum or prune filling between. It can be iced or left plain and sliced into wedges, or more often, stacks.


Egils Appelsin is an Icelandic soda that's been produced since the 50's-


And Brennivin schnapps is also known as "Black Death", which says all you need to know. But we've had a full day, so why not?


Okay. Last stop, icebergs!


Remember how I mentioned snorkeling? We're swimming home.

Thanks for coming along on the BBC field trip, and I hope you had a good time!
Special thanks to anyone who read the message in the first post and waited for boarding ;-)

>96 harrygbutler: Thanks, Harry! I just like to keep field trip posting together in a sequence so it's a clear story. Anal, I know, but I always let it be known when I'm done. Enjoy Iceland!

>101 mstrust: No problem, Jennifer! If >93 mstrust: had already been posted I wouldn't have interrupted, but when I started my reply only >92 mstrust: was there.

That field trip was great!

Great tour, Jennifer, I hope to get to Iceland one day...

Excellent timing for this field trip! I am reading an Yrsa Sigurdardottir novel right now, Someone to Watch Over Me, so I am in an Iceland mood. Love the icebergs and the geology museum!

Yay! I'm finally here! Guess you landed on the steeple?!
Yes, yours truly! I was a bit behind everyone else but I saw all the sights and appreciate the hot dog and Applesin you left for me. Funny thing is i saw a completely empty bottle of Brennivin rolling around. Oh well, Thanks for a wonderful field trip, Jennifer. Spectacular!

Great trip to Iceland, one of the places on my bucket list. I loved all the places you picked for us to visit and the food. I really love hot dogs and they just aren't included on enough menus for me. The swim home was very invigorating as well. ;)

and now on to TWD:

I expect we will be seeing Rick dealing with Carl's demise for most of the season, but yes, I would much rather see Rick get "rid" of Negan than keep him around. He is dangerous and they should never forget that. My hope is that even if Rick turned the other cheek, someone like Daryl or Maggie would finish him off. I am ready to see some action - Daryl,Carol, Rosita, Tara etc. taking the fight to the Saviors - let's go people!

Oh, The Terror does sound good. I will have to make sure to set up a recording for that.

Loved the trip - good think I found my snorkel and fins in time! You've put me in the mood for some Björk and the Sugarcubes - *singing to self - 'Deus does not exist, but if he does he'd live in the sky above me...'* Favorite stops - Reykjavic Art Museum Hafnachus and Icelandic Punk Museum. Thanks for sharing!

>102 harrygbutler: Thanks!

>103 MickyFine: Glad you had a good time! Iceland has more stuff to do than I'd ever suspected.

>104 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita! I find that the name alone-"Iceland"- is so intriguing that I want to go and see how they survive.

>105 rabbitprincess: Glad you made it! Thanks for giving me an Icelandic author to check out. And aren't those icebergs beautiful?

>106 Carmenere: Yay, Lynda's here! No, I landed okay, but then had to spend the day shoveling paths all over town. I'm glad you liked the hot dogs and soda. I happened to spot the Icelandic skyr brand Siggi's at the store so I'm trying that. And I don't know how that Brennivin was empty, as I only had three glasses of it before I fell asleep. Glad you had fun!

>107 DeltaQueen50: Me too, Judy! If you like hot dogs, Iceland is your spot, as there are hot dog stands throughout the city.
TWD- I agree, Rick's pain will stretch out through the season, and probably the show's run. Oooh, I hadn't even thought of Daryl or Maggie being the one to take Negan out, but now you've planted that hope in my head! They've both become loose cannons.
I don't know why Aaron and Enid have gone running to Oceanside for help, as Rick took their guns, it's a small community of women and children, and they've already said they're hiding from The Saviors. Is Aaron really going to convince them to fight?

>108 rretzler: I'm so glad you remembered to bring your equipment. Maybe I should have recommended wetsuits too.
I thought about Bjork and the Sugarcubes while I was looking around Iceland. They were the first major-ish Icelandic band to go worldwide. It must be about 25 years ago or more that they came out! I wasn't surprised to find that death metal is still popular in Iceland, as it is in Sweden and Finland.
Glad you enjoyed the trip!

Interesting field trip. My husband has promised to take me there one day. He went there on a tasking with the military and said it was amazing!

I hope you get to go, it's such a gorgeous country. I know people get sick of being cold, but I get sick of being hot, so Iceland looks wonderful.

If you get too cold there is always the Blue lagoon thermal springs!

Interesting tidbits about Iceland. Thanks for sharing!

Looks like you had a wonderful field trip to Iceland, Jennifer. Did you loose anyone on the swim back?

>112 ChelleBearss: I'm sure the locals are so happy to have some thermal springs there. It's probably the most crowded place in winter, but it sounds great.

>113 harrygbutler: Tidbits?! No, we've visited the most important sights of the city! The only thing we missed was trying to scale an iceberg (or scale a fish).

>114 Familyhistorian: You know, now that you mention it, I haven't seen any of the bar staff come in. Huh, guess I should have done a head count. Well, live and learn.

I wasn't going to give up the drum but some guy with his hair in a manbun told me I was appropriating native culture and a quarter beat behind then he carried it off in a huff. Minute and huff tops. (Don't tell, I kept the bangy thing.)

Thanks for the field trip!

Thanks for mentioning "The Terror" on AMC - I put it on my calendar and looking forward to it. I've had the book sitting here for ages and I need to get to it.

>116 SomeGuyInVirginia: Glad you were able to make it, Larry! And I married a drummer and look where it got me :-D

>117 RBeffa: You're welcome, it looks like it will be really good. Looks like lots of icebergs and frost bite!

Today was somewhat similar to last Sunday. Took Coral to the dog park, she went nuts, dropped her back home and we went to New River, on the outskirts of Phoenix, to look at houses. Found lots of muddy roads, saw quail and rabbits and one ground squirrel. Stopped for a lunch of chicken mole enchiladas and prickly pear margaritas, then to buy gardening supplies. Besides having to trim the grass around the Bird of Paradises by hand, I have to rip a big strip of thorny weeds out of the backyard.

27. Let Us All Eat Cake by Catherine Ruehle and Sarah Scheffel. Ruehle, known for being a regular on "Food Network Challenge", makes beautiful baked goods that are gluten free, vegan or address other health issues. This book provides color photos and recipes for sheet cakes, layer or fancy cakes, and frostings and fruit fillings. There are really, really gorgeous cakes here that look just rustic enough for the average home baker to reproduce.
This was a gift from my MIL, though I have no food allergies (I eat everything) and I don't think I've ever tried gluten free baked goods. So these recipes call for ingredients that I don't have on hand, like xanthum gum, used as a binding agent. On the other hand, these cakes look delicious, like the Pink Velvet Strawberry Cake. So I don't know if I'll try these out just because I'd have to own even more baking supplies than I already have just to make stuff from this one book, but if I needed gluten free, this is the baking book I'd work from. 4 stars

Hey Jennifer, Looks like you had a nice day yesterday, up till the thorny weeds. Hope your week ahead is far from thorny.
Yum to cakes! yes yes, add to your pantry!

>119 mstrust: I like the look of that strawberry cake — am I right in thinking there is no chocolate in it?

>120 Carmenere: Thanks, Lynda, it was a good day. And it ended with a late dinner of In 'n' Out burger, so I have no regrets.
Have you ever tried gluten free?

>121 harrygbutler: I should say that this pic isn't the pic from the book, but it looked so delicious and the dimensions were right, ha! It turns out that there are lots of strawberry cake recipes and most of them are beautiful. You're right, no chocolate in this particular recipe, which makes it a surprise that I'd single this one out when there were plenty of chocolate cake recipes included. It just looks like a good Spring/Summer cake, as it calls for two cups of strawberry puree, a cup of strawberries and half a cup of cherries because they are in the cake, the frosting and layered on top.
I hate biting into a fresh strawberry, the texture makes me cringe, but I like the taste and smell of the jam or puree.

TWD Report- Spoilers

1. Tara still wants Dwight dead because he killed Denise two seasons ago. Surprisingly, Dwight apologizes to Tara for it, and they have a very good chase scene.
2. So Dwight gave himself up, which can be seen as heroic as he didn't know if what's-her-name had survived the ambush. But now what will he do?
3. Ugh, man buns have survived the Apocalypse. And where does Rosita find double 0 yoga pants and leg warmers? Is LuluLemon still open?
4. Notice how Morgan suggests to Carol that she feed the boy and she says, "Why don't you?" Carol's not a nurturer these days and Morgan should have known better.
5. Eugene could have killed Negan with one shot when they were alone and Lucille was on the table. I know he's not a risk taker, I was just pointing it out. Did you catch Eugene mumbling to himself? It sounded like, "I majored in Social Sciences. Management. Maybe running a drapes factory." Like Eugene had planned on a quiet life.
6. Now we see all the Alexandria survivors out in the woods trying to find their way to Hilltop. So how did Rick and Michonne end up on their own last week? That would mean that Daryl, Tara and Rosita, left them to tend to Carl, and that doesn't seem likely.
7. Gabriel and the Doctor seemed like a good pairing. Until the ending. Poor Gabriel.
8. Everyone arrives at Hilltop, sweaty and filthy, except for little Judith with her glorious head of long, styled hair and flowered dress.

-Fingers in ears-La la la la la la la la la.

>122 mstrust: No chocolate is a good thing for me, as I don't care for chocolate cake. :-) I'm a big fan of fresh strawberries (in fact, I'm using them for ground cover beside our driveway), especially right from the plant, but not of the unripe ones so often found at the grocery store. I also like them half-frozen. I do like them in jams and such, and they make a good-flavored shrub.

>124 SomeGuyInVirginia: Larry! Listen to me reveal all the spoilers, Larry! You can't stop me!

>125 harrygbutler: It's true, no strawberry is as good as one right from the plant. When Mike and I were dating in California, he had a few wild strawberries outside his front door that produced the tiniest, most beautiful fruits. I let him eat them all, but they smelled wonderful.
Fresh fruit is one of the things we horked down like crazy on our trips to San Francisco, and we're really looking forward to it in Seattle. So much of our fruit in Phoenix tastes like water, especially in the summer.
Would you like this strawberry cake recipe? It's made with a blend of flours.

>126 mstrust: Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass on the recipe. I doubt I'd ever get around to making anything requiring a blend of flours, so I appreciate your mentioning that.

I pluck a strawberry or two from our plants often when I'm passing nearby and they are ripe, which is pretty much from May or June until November, as we mostly have ever-bearing plants. A minor disappointment when we bought our house was discovering that the "wild strawberry" plants in the backyard were actually "false strawberry."

We're pretty fortunate in the variety of fruits we're able to get fresh locally (or grow ourselves), though our favorites are probably our raspberries.

I'm a bit jealous of your trip. I just read something the other day that rated Reykjavik really high as a tourist destination.

>127 harrygbutler: I never thought about the amount of fruit available when I was growing up in Ca. We had a big lemon tree that produced year round, a lime tree, and wild concord grapes. I also grew tomatoes that produced like crazy, and I grew strawberries at some point. Everything grew with little input from me. I've tried growing things here but the weather turns from Spring to Summer in one day, and my little seedlings die.

>128 thornton37814: Oh, I didn't know Reykjavik was a hot spot, but it's certainly worthy. I picked it because I've always liked the sound of "Iceland" and you really don't hear much about what's going on there. Unless a volcano is erupting.

I just told the office manager that I didn't want to set up my new printer today because my hair was looking too good to crawl around on the floor connecting wires. So it's been real nice working here and all...

You know, you either get Good Hair Day or you don't.

That seems very reasonable to me. I can't imagine your manager not understanding.
Oh, I get the joy of a good hair day. Probably because each hair on my head seems to have it's own agenda. Some curl, some wave, some are straight. It's like they came from different heads and gathered for a wild party on mine.

>129 mstrust: I'm still spoiled by California fruit and veges. I have not had a veg garden the last couple years because of the drought - but I have grown tomatoes for about 25 years and I miss having my own right there - but we have good farmer's markets available. I have a number of fruit trees in my yard - two plums, two apricots, a big apple and a dwarf peach. Plus a lemon and pomegranate that are on the young side and just gave a few last year. Hopefully more this year.

>123 mstrust: I need some action to happen in TWD. Of course, Negan's new plan of spreading the disease will probably come into play next week, he seems to be thinking of catapulting zombie parts over the walls into Hilltop - that would be interesting. I noticed that Enid got back from her road trip with Aaron just in time to learn about Carl's demise. I too, wonder what Enid and Aaron were trying to do with Oceanside - maybe they just need more numbers since they have lost the garbage people. I was sorry to see how Gabriel and the doctor's little trip ended. I am still hoping to see Eugene do something creative to help defeat the Saviors - maybe he will built exploding bullets or something!

>122 mstrust: >120 Carmenere: No Jennifer, I can say that I have never eaten Gluten-Free anything and I hope I never have to. :0}
An In 'n Out Burger is definitely on my bucket list. I want to eat like an Oscar winner.

>132 RBeffa: We have a local Farmer's Market, but it's on Saturdays and pretty small, maybe 30 vendors. And in the Spring we have people who will give us either lemons, grapefruits or oranges from their trees, which is great. Unfortunately, our house didn't have any fruit trees on the property and when we planted some, the dogs ate them, trunks and all.

>133 DeltaQueen50: Don't you think it's a little strange that Negan had to be told about throwing diseased corpses? I thought most people knew that about Medieval battles, but it seems to be all new information for him. Maybe I'm horrible, but if it were me and there were looters on the other side of my fence, shooting diseased heads over the fence would have been week one.
Right, Enid and Aaron are back at Hilltop without telling us the outcome of their lame plan to involve people who refuse to be involved. And how many doctors need to die in this world?

>134 Carmenere: Ha! I think my MIL bought the book for herself just to look at, because she doesn't bake but she also doesn't eat white flour, sugar, chocolate, root vegetables, tomatoes, corn... she pretty much lives on grilled chicken. I've seen gluten free recipes that are just switching out the white flour for something like coconut or rice flour, which seems much more doable.
Are you saying you don't have In 'n' Out Burger there?

28. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell. The first in the Wallander series, this begins with the murder of an elderly farmer in the Swedish countryside. His wife has been tortured, her last word being "foreign" before she dies from her injuries. Inspector Wallander is in charge as his boss is away, but his investigation is hindered by the media's report that an immigrant is the killer, leading to attacks on local refugee camps. Meanwhile, the police discover that the quiet old farmer had been leading a double life.

I don't know if this was Mankell's first book, but for me, it started out very promising, but along the way I lost patience with this not very bright and downright klutzy detective. He lets a murderer barrel into him because he doesn't know how to handle his police gun, and when he commandeers a civilian car, he takes one that is hitched to a horse trailer, with two horses inside that get hurt. The main character should have been Wallander's second, Rydberg, who is smarter and does his police work even with a bum leg. I have to assume the series gets much better down the line, because otherwise I can't see it being as successful as it's been. 2.5 stars

I read this for the Global Mysteries Group.

No way! Not even in a story- "no animals were hurt in the making of this thriller". Not just pretty words.

What do you call a detective who would give chase while hauling around a horse trailer, making sharp turns, and mentioning that he can hear the horses whinnying as he treats them like pinballs? A friggin' idiot.
I'm currently watching two movies you might be interested in. "The Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse" is a comedy, and on Netflix streaming is the French horror, "Ravenous". Also a zombie movie, but along the lines of "28 Days Later", out in the French countryside.

And behold! I found these in the Easter aisle last night. Yes, pancake and maple syrup Peeps! Haven't opened them yet.

Jeez, even I'd try pancake and maple syrup peeps, and I think they're foul.* I've seen Scouts but will try Ravenous.

*See what I did there?

I do see what you did there. And what a sight it is. I finished "Scout" and it was fine, I like David Koechner and Cloris Leachman.

Currently reading:
Howard's End is on the Landing
So I'm A Heel
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

>140 mstrust: Good luck with 20,000 Leagues. I couldn't make myself finish that one.

I understand. I started it maybe eight or nine months ago, and I've put it down for long periods, though not because of the story but because my copy is a beautiful hardcover with heavy paper. It's like holding a cinderblock.

Anxiously awaiting your review of the pancake and maple syrup peeps.

Well, here it is, Lynda. The smell is strongly of syrup, the taste is mapley, not so much a pancake flavor, just maple syrup, or a general maple-flavored syrup. It's good, I like them. And it may be my imagination, but they seem a little less sugary than regular Peeps.
The store I found these also had them in fruit punch, sour watermelon and sour cherry.

Great, Jennifer! It sounds much better than I had imagined.

Ha! I hope I didn't oversell them, but I liked them. And at least they didn't cover the bottom of the Peep in that awful white chocolate like they did with the otherwise delicious lemon ones.

Friday's "Whaaaaaat?" of the week:

A baker in Lancashire, England has invented Spam doughnuts.

>144 mstrust: Hmm. I think I'll stick to regular ole Peeps, though the idea of lemon ones is attractive.

Cracker Barrel provides little miniature bottles of syrup with orders of pancakes, so it's possible to carry one around in case one needs a quick nip. :-)

>147 mstrust: There's no need for that.

>147 mstrust: That's just wrong...

>148 harrygbutler: The lemon (lemon meringue?) Peeps were very good. I ate the tops and threw away the nasty bottoms.
Sounds like Cracker Barrel knows their customers. I know World Market sells tiny bottles of Vermont maple syrup, which makes it easy to do shots in waiting rooms or in the car.
You don't want a Spam doughnut? Are you sure?

>149 drneutron: You know, even as I posted that pic, I was thinking, "gross gross gross." But I think it has a lot of the same components of a Monte Cristo sandwich. Salty meat, dense bread, fruit jam, all deep fried. It's just the Spam, so pink and...chunky.

I can't see the word "Spam" and not think of Monty Python - or is that aging me? I will pass on the Spam doughnuts, in fact, I will pass on Spam anything!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anwy2MPT5RE

One of the smartest bosses I ever had asked me if I'd ever eaten human flesh. I said (&^%# NO!) Then he asked me if I'd ever eaten jerky or Slim Jims, and when I said I had he told me that I'd almost certainly eaten human flesh.

GROSS!! I just KNEW jerky wasn't supposed to come tattooed. ...and how does he know this?...

>151 DeltaQueen50: Lovely spaaaaam, wonderful spaaaaam!!!

>151 DeltaQueen50: The screech of "I don't like Spam!" has been ingrained in my psyche for years. I love it, though I also enjoy those videos of screeching, spitting goats and llamas.

>152 SomeGuyInVirginia: :-D hee hee! Most conspiracy theories are about JFK or the moon landing. Imagine seeing someone eating jerky (never in my life have I seen someone eating a Slim Jim) and saying, "You know what's not in the ingredients list?"

>153 rabbitprincess: Do we get to shove all our Spam onto your plate?

>154 mstrust: You could, but it would just stay on the plate ;)

>138 mstrust: I liked Faceless killers much better than you did, Jennifer.
For me it wasn't surprising to read that a policeman didn't know how to use his gun, most of them did not carry a gun at all in that time.

Look what I found! : P



I am a 3.5 hour (without traffic) drive from Seattle. Let me know when you are headed there...!

>157 Berly: That can't be real!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!


>155 rabbitprincess: Oh, dang it. I was hoping you were raving about it. Well, the dog liked it.

>156 FAMeulstee: That whole scene of the killer getting past five cops and the car chase, it had such a Keystone Cops mood that I couldn't take Wallander seriously after that. But I expect the series gets better later.

>157 Berly: Ha, gross! But at least they're making it with "100% Spam" instead of making you guess if they used a lesser meat product loaf. Standards.
Oh, three and a half hours is a long way to drive just to meet me. I'm not that great ;-). Please tell me that you'd be coming anyway to do something more important. We're going the last week of May.

>158 SomeGuyInVirginia: Because dreams can't come true?

We went for a German dinner last night. Giant homemade pretzels with spicy mustard, bratwurst, homemade sauerkraut, Mike had schnitzel and giant mugs of German beer. Then waddled down the street to a comic book shop where I bought issue #1 of "30 Days of Night", issue #30 of "Haunted Horror", which looks like the horror comics of the 60's, and they gave me a free copy of "Krypton".

Today, our tiki bar has been converted into a traditional Irish pub.

>150 mstrust: I'm quite sure about the Spam donut. :-)

I can eat Spam fried, though it's no favorite, and I'd much rather have scrapple, but I don't think I'd want it as a filling.

>159 mstrust: Happy St. Patrick's Day to you as well!

Your dinner sounds good. We went for dinner at one of our local German-American clubs on Wednesday, and bratwurst was the German dish on offer (the other was shepherd's pie), with sauerkraut and a variety of sides; it didn't happen to be a week for schnitzel. Sadly, no pretzels were in evidence.

Great field trip. Thanks for taking us along. Happy weekend, Jennifer.

>147 mstrust: Gross
>157 Berly: Gross

I bought mint Oreos today. Much better than spam!

>160 harrygbutler: Now if you want to talk about "ewww!", my dad loved both Vienna sausages and those little cans of deviled ham. And cans of Hormel chili, no other brand would do. And he'd share it all with his dogs, so they looked like little sausages too.
Your dinner sounds good. I like sauerkraut as long as it isn't super sour, and I like just about every German sausage and bread, and the spicy mustard. The place we went to also had a chocolate sauerkraut torte for dessert but we passed. That's too much to ask of me.

>161 Ameise1: Glad you had a good time. Happy weekend.

>162 ChelleBearss: Ha, double gross! Mint Oreos sound good. I haven't had an Oreo since they closed the Chicago plant, but Easter is the time for some of the best candy.

My favorite Easter candy. They're like huge M&Ms and I like to break the candy shell off with my teeth.

29. Howard's End is on the Landing by Susan Hill. Hill, the British author of The Woman in Black and so many others, goes looking for a certain book in her book-filled house. She discovers so many forgotten or unread treasures that she decides to spend a full year reading from the books she already owns. The result is this book of essays on book topics, such as her collection of published diaries, her opinion of short story collections, how books should be arranged, if at all, and books about people she has known personally.
Wonderful! I love books on books, and this one is written by a fascinating author who not only discusses her favorite book themes, but has met so many of the authors or subjects of the books she's discussing. It was published in 2010, so of course I wish I'd found it sooner, yet I would have gotten as much out of it if I had read it ten years from now. It sent me digging through my own shelves to see if I had the titles, or at least the authors, she's writing about. Yes, I have The Unpleasantness at the Belladonna Club! I have Nicholas Blake on the shelf, and Bleak House, Kingsley Amis and The House in Paris! No, I don't have a single book by Virginia Woolf, Hill's favorite, nor Bruce Chatwin, and I'd never heard of poet Charles Causley. I stuck first one, then two Post-Its to the back of the book to write down all the names I wanted to remember, and now I have a stack of books that I'll be working into my reads. The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star read for me was her little bits of religion here and there that finally led to an essay of Christian books, which doesn't interest me. Still, a book that I enjoyed so much. 4.5 stars

>163 mstrust: I don't think I'd have gone for a sauerkraut dessert, either! I've tried some gourmet sauerkrauts with mixed success, although I'm always puzzled to find them in the refrigerated section. There's a bare possibility that someday I'll make some of my own, but I'm not sure that it would be worth the trouble.

I'd be hard-pressed to name a favorite Easter candy: spiced jelly beans, Brach's Marshmallow Easter Eggs (with the thick candy shells), the little chocolate eggs with the decorative foil wrappers, malted milk eggs, and Peeps bunny rabbits are all good. I like a big, dense fruit and nut egg (with the white center and a dark chocolate shell, and so dense you had to cut it with a knife), but I've not really had one that matched my childhood memories for a long time — though it wasn't exactly a top favorite then, it was a regular part of Easter, so I wish I could still get a good match.

>164 mstrust: That does sound interesting. I used to read more books on books than I do now, but I think I'll see whether our library system has it available. (ETA: It does, so I'll have to check it out at some point when I'm ready for some essays like that. Thanks for the review!)

I hope you like it when you get to it. This is just the third I've read from Hill, the other two being fiction, and I've enjoyed them all a lot. It's so strange that she's been well known in the U.K. for decades, yet I'd never heard of her until a few years ago. She needs to be more famous!
I'm not sure I've ever had a fruit and nut Easter egg. Sounds like something from See's, because they make really great individual eggs like Mayfair or divinity. I really like spiced jelly beans too, but Mike won't touch them, so I don't get them.
The dessert sign that listed the chocolate sauerkraut torte said "Don't worry, it doesn't taste like sauerkraut!" Still, I'd know it was there.

TWD Report: Spoilers!

1. Negan now has two very close associates who are disloyal to him. And it doesn't take long for Simon, with a whole new attitude, to try drawing Dwight into a conversation about Negan's lousy plans. Of course Dwight is wary of saying anything that can be used against him, but Simon turns out to have had enough of Negan and his rules. And once Dwight shows some agreement with Simon, he almost instantly realizes that Simon is even more blood-thirsty than Negan. The "Uh, what?!" look on Dwight's face says it all.

2. This episode gives us a close-up of walker disemboweling. It all poured out like a chunky sangria.

3. New people. The fact that Georgie is wearing all light colored clothing in a world of browns and grays means something. And notice that this encounter was all women.

4. Because Rick and Negan were off having an awesome fight with fire and walkers and Lucille! Negan showed some fear of Rick by trying to re-negotiate and offering to take 25% less food from Rick's people. That's significant. And Rick let Negan know what Simon had done to the garbage people, which really threw Negan. He also pointed out that to Negan's people, he was missing, but they weren't looking for him. Way to trash talk, Rick.

5. Being happy to see Jadis was a new feeling.

This was a good episode. It felt like each character and story line was moving forward and a lot was happening. They also had a commercial for Fear The Walking Dead that featured Morgan, or at least, Lennie James.

>164 mstrust: Looks to be a great book! I will have to keep an eye for it on my next book-buying adventure :)

>164 mstrust: I wish books still looked as good as they did in the past. Probably be way to expensive to make the equivalent today.

>168 figsfromthistle: I hope you enjoy it, and I wish I could come along on your book buying adventure. It sounds like tunnels and rope ladders are involved.

>169 SomeGuyInVirginia: The books on the cover are very beautiful. I agree, it's unfortunate that things aren't made with the same eye towards beauty now. Maybe a couple of us should take book binding lessons so we can supply the rest of us with gorgeous covers.

Mike came home with a great big bag of lemons from a friend's tree last night, which of course kicks off at least a week of lemon everything here. This morning I made Lemon Bars, which is Mike's favorite lemon recipe. I expect I will also be making a broccoli lemon rice tonight, and in a day or two, steamed lemon pudding and roasted lemon chicken. Yay lemons!

>170 mstrust: Oh, if you don't mind I take a piece. Big waves from over the pond.

Roasted lemon chicken!!!

YUMMMM lemon bars! As much as I love chocolate, sometimes only a lemon dessert will do.

>171 Ameise1: Help yourself, plenty of people have had a square.

>172 SomeGuyInVirginia: Is it a favorite of yours too? Sometimes it's lemon, garlic and parsley chicken, other times it's lemon, onion and paprika. Roast chicken is so versatile.

>173 rabbitprincess: Yep, I usually go for chocolate, but sometimes you want the clean, tangy lemon flavor. I've got all the ingredients on the counter to make a lemon blueberry loaf later on.

I remembered that the 25th, Sunday, will be my 10th anniversary on LT. I'm kinda proud of myself just for the remembering part, as I usually notice a day of two later. But I won't be buying myself books to celebrate, as I added up all the books I've bought from the big book sale in February, from the book store, from Kindle and a few that have been given to me as gifts. Are you ready? I've acquired 73 books just in the three months of this year. Part of me says that's I've also been weeding books out and I keep them organized, while another part of me part screams, "What the hell?!" Anyway, I've had a lot of fun on LT over ten years.

>170 mstrust: Another fan of lemon bars here, though I think lemon meringue pie may edge them out as my favorite.

>174 mstrust: Congratulations on the impending Thingaversary! And what's another 11 books, after all? :-)

Congrats on the Thingaversary! Did you find that joining LT changed the way you read or buy books? I get a lot of satisfaction from having everything cataloged. Now if I just had room for all the books!

I LOVE lemon chicken!

Cool gif, what's it from? Alzo, I watched part of the first episode of The Magicians on Fletnix. It's a complete ripoff of Hogwarts, but the acting is amazing. It's supposed to be a really great series, too. Have you watched it?

>130 SomeGuyInVirginia: >131 mstrust: Wow - you actually get a whole day of good hair? If I'm very lucky, I sometimes get a good hair hour! 😜

>170 mstrust: Yum! Those look delicious

>174 mstrust: Happy early Thingaversary in case I don't stop back on the day!

>175 harrygbutler: I think I like them equally, along with lemon drizzle cake, but I do love a pile of toasted meringue on a pie.
Thanks! I'm going to restrain myself as well as I can until our trip in May. I know I'll be visiting the Elliot Bay bookstore. The fact is, like Susan Hill, I could read from my own books for a very long time, probably three or four years.

>176 SomeGuyInVirginia: Thanks! Joining LT changed my reading drastically. I'm more focused on finishing each book I start, and I pay more attention to style, because I know I'm going to review it. Before LT, I'd always kept a list of books I wanted to find, but now I also look for more from an author I've liked previously. LT has been incredible for leading me to books I never would have found on my own, so my library has doubled in ten years.

That gif is from an SNL commercial several years ago that was a Disney princesses version of "Real Housewives". I haven't watched "The Magicians" yet, but I've seen it listed. I still haven't watched "Ash vs. Evil" and I was so anxious for that one. I've been bingeing a British reality show called "Can't Pay? They'll Take It Away", which, I know, sounds like the most horrible thing, and sometimes it is. The British laws are so very different and it's so surprising how debt is handled there.

>177 rretzler: Thank you! I suppose I should think about serving cake or gravy or something for my Thingaversary...

30. So I'm A Heel by Mike Heller. Ed Hawkins lives in the small, seaside Southern California town of Laredo and has worked at and been fired or quit just about every manual labor job available. He's a rotten person, and some of that can be blamed on the fact that he had his lower jaw blown off in the war and now has to wear a piece of plastic with fake teeth. His wife and ten year old are as nervous around him as everyone else. When he's hauled into the police station, Ed happens to see a police bulletin that says a local bigwig had just been arrested for suspected child molestation but released. That's when Ed decides to try his hand at blackmail.
Published in 1957, it's an unusual story in several ways, for addressing child predators, for Ed's bizarre reaction when he believes his own son is in danger, and for the convoluted ending. It also has a Japanese-American police sergeant whose in charge of the local police force, a very rare character for 1957. For much of the book Ed Hawkins is a grim wanna-be sociopath, and then suddenly he isn't. 3 stars

Congrats on your 10th Thingaversary!!! : )

Please feel free to pass on any of your lemon recipes. They all sound great. I know there's a The Kitchen thread around here someplace, but I seem to have lost it.

Not sure I can fit in Seattle at the end of May: Memorial Day, my brother's 50th birthday, son graduates in June...but I will see if I can swing it!

Jennifer you have such a way with words - "This episode gives us a close-up of walker disemboweling. It all poured out like a chunky sangria. Now that was a perfect description!

I agree that last Sunday's episode was pretty good. I was only disappointed in the too short "bro" makeup scene between Rick and Darryl.

I am looking forward to seeing what Jadis does with Negan, although I suspect he will talk himself out of trouble and the two of them will go after Simon.

>180 Berly: Thanks, Kim! When I get my picture of the lemon blueberry loaves uploaded, I'll put the recipe on The Kitchen thread. It's okay if you can't make it to Seattle, that's a really long drive. See if you can but don't feel bad if you can't.Your May sounds like my family's June.

>181 DeltaQueen50: Ha! I think the fact that these old, withered walkers had so much blood coming out of them was scientifically impossible, but the show wanted to give the viewers an "ewww" moment.
I know, the bro moment was very brief. Yet Daryl said a complete paragraph, which doesn't happen often. Jadis doesn't have the best negotiating skills, or common sense, so there's a good chance she'll die next. And it's kind of even about which one I'd be most satisfied with seeing die but it will have to be Simon going first, then Negan.
And I should mention that I have a Walking Dead calendar in my kitchen, and after Carl died, I turned to March, and there he is. :-(

Hello again!

So much to catch up on!

I didn't read your link about pit bulls but thank you for sharing. I've read some really eye-opening pit bull books already, Wallace: The Underdog Who Conquered a Sport, Saved a Marriage, and Championed Pit Bulls--One Flying Disc at a Time and The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption both by Jim Gorant. I didn't expect to change your view on the breed. Experience is our best teacher and we both have had very different experiences with these dogs!

Thank you for taking me on a field trip. Sorry about taking your in-flight snacks on the plane while you were sleeping. I'll make it up to you next time.

Walking Dead...wow! A car chase between Rick and Negan?! That was something a little different. I appreciate that they're trying to change things up this season. I hope it doesn't fizzle out which is kind of how I felt the last season ended.

Happy Thingaversary! You are brave to count up all the books you've acquired this year so far. I hope your celebration at least includes some reading time.

*edited a spelling error!

Hey Nicole!
Oh, I don't mind you eating my snacks, as I hope to get through my life without ever eating pickled herring. Enjoy.
That's true, you really don't expect a car chase in a zombie show. Decapitations, cannibalism, but not a car chase. I agree, last season left me disappointed (as a lot of fans were) and I think they're making up for it by throwing all these curve balls. The show uses the comics as more a suggestion for storylines than a blueprint. Carl is still alive there. People I want to see die:
1. Negan, of course
2. Simon- he can't be allowed to live
3. The douchebag Savior with the long hair who taunts Morgan
4. The girl Savior with the crappy hair who killed Olivia
5. Jadis. Me don't want Jadis survive to season 9.

Thanks! I knew my 2018 (so far) total would be high, but I wasn't expecting 73. I guess that explains why so many of my shelves have books stacked horizontally on top of vertical books. Curse that amazing VNSA sale!

Friday's "Whaaaaat?" of the week:


...to spread the word about the almighty hold of AquaNet.

😂😂😂 Wow, that's some impressive structural integrity...

Srsly, sometimes I miss the inquisition.

>186 drneutron: I like how the photographer composed the picture with the two giant heads flanking little Miss Subtlety in the middle. Her hair only stands two inches from her head, the shrinking violet.

>187 SomeGuyInVirginia: You could try a reboot and go after man buns?

185 OMG! I actually remember when hair like that was in style. That pictures gives me flashbacks of backcombing and hair spray!

>185 mstrust: Just...WOW!

>189 DeltaQueen50: Ha, were you a "hair hopper", Judy? It seems like a couple of these girls had their hair placed on their heads like an astronaut's helmet.
>190 rretzler: And don't you know they told each other they looked great?

31. Stories from The Twilight Zone by Rod Serling. The first of Serling's novelizations of his stories, this includes "The Mighty Casey", "Escape Clause", "Walking Distance", "The Fever", "Where Is Everybody?" and "The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street". Serling's daughter Anne wrote the introduction and a paragraph or two about each story that gives a little background into her father's thinking or interest in the subject matter. Serling loved baseball, and his daughter remembers him driving around listening to baseball on the car radio whenever he could, which explains his baseball tale of "The Mighty Casey", about a robot pitcher. The stories with the biggest punch here are "Escape Clause", about a hypochondriac who makes a deal with the devil for immortality, and "Maple Street", which is one of the most memorable episodes of the show. 4.5 stars

For anyone interested, I posted a pic and the recipe of the Blueberry Lemon loaves I mentioned earlier in The Kitchen thread.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/278978#6425968

Alright, this is my 10th Thingaversary. Drinks are on the house!



The bar staff has just arrived for a day of fun.

>185 mstrust: Jesus told them not to wear make-up. He didn't say anything about their hair.

Happy Thingaversary. My tenth was last month, so we're practically twins!

Happy Thingaversary!

Happy LT anniversary! What are you going to do to celebrate?

Ermagerd! You can listen to The Faith Tones on YouTube. You know, the hair looks silly today, but those girls were fierce.

Happy THingaversary!

>195 RidgewayGirl: That's right, no make-up or nail polish, but raise your hair towards Jesus. Those girls were just a swipe of frosted blue eye shadow away from the Grand Ol' Opry. Yes, we joined around the same time, so I'll wish you a Happy Thingaversary too!

>196 ChelleBearss: Thank you! Grab a cocktail!

>197 SomeGuyInVirginia: Thanks, Larry! I celebrated with an early lunch on a golf course that started with a bellini, ended with a chocolate buttermilk cake with pecan ice cream, and then a couple of hours later later I test drove a Buick. Now I know what being 80 will be like.
>198 SomeGuyInVirginia: Ha! I never even thought of that. So are you asking for the album for your birthday?

>199 drneutron: Thanks, Jim!

I'm so glad I left Bernard in charge today. He's taken care of the festivities remarkably well.

Happy Thingaversary, Jennifer!

>200 mstrust: Now I know what being 80 will be like. HA! Don't do it! But if you do, wear cat's eye glasses and sit on a cushion when you drive.

I admire what it takes to make that hair work, but they're pretty gawd-awful singers. With YouTube and them being an internet sensation and all, they've never been more popular.

>201 harrygbutler: Thank you, Harry!

>202 SomeGuyInVirginia: Wellllll....it's certainly not the car I would have asked for, but it's a smoking deal, so we might just buy it. Well see if it's still there tomorrow, and if it is, we'll be buying it. Mike has known the salesman for years and he texted Mike when this came on his lot as a trade in because it's in pristine condition and I need to upgrade from this Rodeo I've been driving for too many years.
I still need to listen to The Faith Tones. It seems like it's the least I can do for all the entertainment they've given us.

Come visit my new thread. It's up!