karenmarie's Comfort Zone Quandary - Don't Wanna vs Should - V

Somber, sad, scary times.

I’m eschewing my normal fluffy opening message. It just doesn’t seem right for me, personally, so will post the following instead. I’ve seen it around for a while now, and for me, at least, it brings solace.

“And the people stayed home. And read books, and listened, and rested, and exercised, and made art, and played games, and learned new ways of being, and were still. And listened more deeply. Some meditated, some prayed, some danced. Some met their shadows. And the people began to think differently.

And the people healed. And, in the absence of people living in ignorant, dangerous, mindless, and heartless ways, the earth began to heal.

And when the danger passed, and the people joined together again, they grieved their losses, and made new choices, and dreamed new images, and created new ways to live and heal the earth fully, as they had been healed."

~Kitty O'Meara~

books read

1. A Divided Loyalty by Charles Todd 12/27/19 1/2/20 326 pages trade paperback, Advance Reader's Edition...
*abandoned* A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens 20 pages
2. Abraham Lincoln: Mystic Chords of Memory edited by Larry Shapiro 1/8/20 1/9/20 **** trade paperback, 79 pages...
3. Why Don't Woodpeckers Get Headaches? by Mike O'Connor 11/24/19 1/12/20 211 pages trade paperback
4. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith 11/17/19 1/14/20 audiobook 18 hours
5. So Many Steps to Death by Agatha Christie 1/12/20 1/14/20 200 pages
6. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton 1/3/20 1/18/20 458 pages trade paperback
7. Dark Sacred Night by Michael Connelly 1/18/20 1/20/20 433 pages hardcover
8. The Night Fire by Michael Connelly 1/20/20 1/20/20 405 pages hardcover
*abandoned* Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding, 14 pages
9. Cecily by Clare Darcy 1/22/20 1/23/20 285 pages mass market paperback
10. The Second Sleep by Robert Harris 1/23/20 1/27/20 298 pages hardcover
11. Spying on the South by Tony Horwitz 1/13/20 1/27/20 417 pages hardcover
12. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood 1/28/20 2/4/20 374 pages trade paperback
13. Dr. Seuss Goes to War: The World War II Editorial Cartoons of Theodor Seuss Geisel by Richard H. Minear 1/18/20 2/5/20 267 pages hardcover
14. Apprentice in Death by J.D. Robb 2/4/20 2/6/20 343 pages mass market paperback
15. In the Frame by Dick Francis 2/7/20 2/8/20 206 pages mass market paperback
*abandoned* The Cold Last Swim by Junior Burke 131 pages
16. The Sacrament by Olaf Olafsson 2/8/20 2/11/20 292 pages hardcover
17. The Last Basselope: One Ferocious Story by Berkeley Breathed 2/12/20 2/1/20 30 pages hardcover
18. Slay Ride by Dick Francis 2/12/20 2/13/20 279 pages mass market paperback
19. Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher 2/9/20 2/14/20 180 pages trade paperback
20. The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker 2/13/20 2/16/20 299 pages hardcover
21. The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths 2/18/20 2/20/20 370 pages hardcover
22. River of Darkness by Rennie Airth 2/16/20 2/24/20 435 pages trade paperback
23. Echoes in Death by J.D. Robb 2/25/20 2/27/20 371 pages hardcover
24. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 1/23/20 2/28/20 22 pages of introduction, 381 pages hardcover
25. Orphan X by Gregg Hurwitz 2/27/20 3/2/20 354 pages hardcover
26. Secrets in Death by J.D. Robb 3/3/20 3/4/20 370 pages hardcover
27. Dark in Death by J.D. Robb 3/4/20 3/7/20 372 pages hardcover
28. Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift 3/7/20 3/8/20 177 pages hardcover
29. Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb 3/8/20 3/12/20 385 pages hardcover
30. Connections in Death by J.D. Robb 3/13/20 3/18/20 371 pages hardcover
31. Vendetta in Death by J.D. Robb 3/20/20 3/21/20 356 pages hardcover
32. Lethal White by Robert Galbraith 1/16/20 3/24/20 22.5 hours audiobook
33. Golden in Death by J.D. Robb 3/22/20 3/27/20 387 pages hardcover
34. Blood Sport by Dick Francis 3/28/20 3/29/20 309 pages mass market paperback
35. The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz 3/27/20 4/3/20 373 pages hardcover
36. A Small Book of Grave Humour edited by Fritz Spiegl 4/5/20 4/5/20 192 pages paperback

Currently Reading:

Beastly Tales From Here to There by Vikram Seth 4/5/20 152 pages hardcover 1991
Recursion by Blake Crouch 3/22/20 326 pages hardcover 2019
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 3/18/20 415 pages hardcover 1813
An Easy Death by Charlaine Harris 3/18/20 306 pages hardcover 2018
What the Bible Really Says by Manfred Barthel 2/12/20 388 pages hardcover 1980 Germany
The Bible and the Common Reader by Mary Ellen Chase 314 pages hardcover 1944 US
A Year with G.K. Chesterton edited by Kevin Belmonte 1/1/20 400 pages trade paperback 2012 US (?)

books added - 341 added in 2019 - goal is to reduce that by 20% or more

January
1. book sort team reject - Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout
2. Amazon - The Second Sleep by Robert Harris
3. friend Karen - Christmas - A Higher Loyalty by James Comey
4. friend Karen - Christmas - The New English Bible
5. friend Karen - Christmas - A Beginner's Guide to The Books of the Bible by Diane L. Jacobson and Robert Kysar
6. friend Karen - Christmas - The Bible and the Common Reader by Mary Ellen Chase, first printing, 1944
7. friend Karen - Christmas - What the Bible Really Says by Manfred Barthel
8. Amazon - River of Darkness by Rennie Airth

February
9. McKays - The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. DuBois
10. McKays - The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
11. Jenn - The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald
12. McKays - Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
13. McKays - Kiss the Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton
14. McKays - Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb
15. McKays - Dark in Death by J.D. Robb
16. ER - The Cold Last Swim by Junior Burke
17. Amazon - Dear Committee Members by Julie Schumacher
18. Amazon - Religous Literacy by Stephen Prothero
19. Amazon - The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
20. Amazon - Maddaddam by Margaret Atwood
21. Thrift Shop - The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope
22. Thrift Shop - Connections in Death by J.D. Robb
23. Amazon - The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths
24. Amazon - An Ocean of Minutes by Thea Lim
25. Amazon - Miss Buncle's Book by D. E. Stevenson
26. Amazon - The Blood-Dimmed Tide by Rennie Airth
27. book sort team reject - Ishi Last of His Tribe by Theodora Kroeber

March
28. BookMooch - Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
29. Amazon - The Benefit of Hindsight by Susan Hill
30. Amaon - The Nowhere Man by Gregg Hurwitz
31. book sort team reject - the Epic of Man by Time-Life Editors
32. book sort team reject - Golden A Guide to Field Identification Trees of North America by C. Frank Brockman
33. ER - Lose Yourself in Nature by Serge Joncour
34. Amazon - Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
35. Bookmooch - Recursion by Blake Crouch
36. Amazon - Vendetta in Death by J.D. Robb
37. Amazon - Golden in Death by J.D. Robb
38. BookMooch - Bad Feminist by Roxanne Gay

books culled - 255 culled in 2019 - goal is to maintain or increase by 10%

1. A Cold Treachery by Charles Todd
2. A Test of Wills by Charles Todd
3. A Matter of Justice by Charles Todd
4. Legacy of the Dead by Charles Todd
5. A Fearsome Doubt by Charles Todd
6. Wings of Fire by Charles Todd
7. Search the Dark by Charles Todd
8. A Pale Horse by Charles Todd
9. Watchers of Time by Charles Todd
10. A Long Shadow by Charles Todd
11. A False Mirror by Charles Todd
12. The Red Door by Charles Todd
13. A Lonely Death by Charles Todd
14. The Confession by Charles Todd
15. Proof of Guilt by Charles Todd
16. Hunting Shadows by Charles Todd
17. A Fine Summer's Day by Charles Todd
18. No Shred of Evidence by Charles Todd
19. Racing the Devil by Charles Todd
20. The Gate Keeper by Charles Todd
21. A Divided Loyalty by Charles Todd
22. Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by J.K. Rowling - duplicate
23. Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney
24. The Book of Merlyn by T.H. White - duplicate
25. Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination by Helen Fielding - abandoned
26. Cecily by Clare Darcy - read and culled
27. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro - @thornton37814's review made me realize I'd never read it
28. Life with Maxie by Diane Rehm - dogs, not me, plus I need .3 points on bookmooch
29. Rise to Rebellion by Jeff Shaara - ditto the .3 points, plus novels about the revolutionary war ... meh
30. The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen - ditto the .3 points and I'll never read it - contemporary fiction

Statistics Through March 31

34 books read
15 of them on my shelves before 1/1/20 and not rereads
3 books abandoned, 165 pages abandoned
10206 pages read
40.5 audiobook hours
Avg pages read per day, YTD = 112
Avg pages read per book, YTD = 300

Author
Male 49%
Female 51%

Living 76%
Dead 24%

US Born 59%
Foreign Born 41%

Platform
Hardcover 58%
Trade Pback 21%
Mass Market 15%
Audiobook 6%
e-Book 0%

Source
My Library 82%
Library 12%
Other 6%

Misc
ARC/ER 3%
Re-read 15%
Series 50%

Fiction 88%
NonFiction 12%

Author Birth Country
Canada 3%
England 32%
Iceland 3%
South Africa 3%
US 59%

Original Decade Published
1810-1819 3%
1950-1959 3%
1960-1969 3%
1970-1979 9%
1980-1989 3%
1990-1999 9%
2000-2009 6%
2010-2019 55%
2020-2029 9%

Category
Biography 3%
Chrestomathy 3%
Contemporary Fiction 3%
Historical Fiction 9%
Humor 3%
Informational Nonfiction 6%
Mystery 64%
Science Fiction 9%

Credit to Katie. I really like this in the sad sick way that anything that has to do with DJT inspires:



Bill's friend Geoff forwarded this to him:

Welcome all.

Happy new one, Karen! I like your choice of topper message.

Thanks, Mamie. Not to say that I'm not enjoying some of the snark out there, just that underlying it is the awareness that these are not normal times.

I'm going to go back and add 2 funnies in message #6 - one I'm going to steal from Katie, and the other is something my husband showed me yesterday.

Good morning, Karen. Good start here. Keep smiling.

Hi Karen, nice new thread, I like the message up top. A little humor is nice too, so I look forward to seeing what appears in >6 karenmarie:.

>1 karenmarie: I really like that poem/prose-poem/message at the top of the thread, Karen. I've read it quite a few times in the past week and it's made me feel better every time. I do think this scary situation is going to change people for good, and I think most people will be changed for the good.

Happy new thread, Karen.

Thanks @weird_o, @lauralkeet, @PawsforThought, @katiekrug.

Just finished breakfast. I was able to score a half gallon of buttermilk the other day and decided that homemade buttermilk pancakes and eggs (scrambled for Bill and over easy for me) would be a good start to the day.

Happy new thread, Karen!

We presently live in a strange and scary time...

Happy new thread, Karen!

>6 karenmarie: I saw that on Katie's thread and laughed out loud. Not sure who is responsible, but it for sure was not me :)

Happy new thread, Karen.

Happy New Thread, Karen. Love the topper message!

Joining the crowd who likes your topper message. I think I'll print it off and put it where I can reread it several times a day.

Be happy. Stay well.

Happy New Thread, Karen! I also love the topper message. Of course, we all assume that we and those we love will be the ones who survive and are changed, and I know that's not a given. Even so, we live sensibly and in hope, and I pray God's mercy for this world.
If that's a downer, I don't mean it to be.

Thanks Anita, Stasia, Shelley, Mark, Reba.

I’m glad folks are liking the message at top – don’t have any idea at all who Kitty O’Meara is, but more power to her!

edited to add: Hi Peggy! It's not a downer at all, it's realistic. We have no idea where this thing is going, and thanks to the criminal incompetence of the administration, it's going to be worse than it needed to be. I pray God's mercy for this world too.

Happy new thread, Karen. I love the quote in your topper. Stay well.

for the new thread!!

Love the quote up top. Beautiful.

>6 karenmarie: LOL! Got to have some humor in all this. I needed that.

Adding my ♡ for the poem by Kitty O'Meara. I would say she is right about the potential for healing and for positive change.

I read on the news that the reduced use of automobiles in mega-sized cities and restricted air traffic has allowed the levels of pollution to fall so rapidly that the clearing effect is visible from the images relayed by the satellites that circle the earth every day.

>24 SandyAMcPherson: and Venice is reporting its canals clear enough to see the fish!

>22 BLBera: Thank you, Beth!

>23 Berly: Thanks, Kim, so glad you love the quote too. The occasional bit of humor does break up the somber and scary, doesn’t it?

>24 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy. I don’t like very many ‘inspirational’ quotes because they seem too sappy but this one just calms my breathing and puts things in perspective.

I’ve read about reduced pollution, too.

>25 ffortsa: I’ve read several articles about this, too, Judy. It’s a hopeful sign that the earth can heal itself so quickly.

Hello my friend. I'm passing through quickly to say hi. Love your >1 karenmarie: post. Such a lovely thought. I hope you're enjoying your mandatory introvert time. We are learning that we have vastly different responses to this situation. I am on the "social distancing is great, but if I need stuff I will go to the store" side, whereas my husband is wanting us to go ahead and shelter in place. He's quarantining the post and asking if we've washed our hands - I mean Have You? Really? You're sure?? Sigh. The downside of doing Risk analysis for a living. Retirement should be fun. LOL

I've started the new Hilary Mantel. So far, it's a little stream of consciousness, but it's good.

Happy new thread Karen my dear.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread!

>27 nittnut: Thanks, dear Jenn. I'd laugh about your different reactions to the coronavirus, but it must be stressful. Dare I admit that I quarantined the groceries? The pantry ones are on a shelf by themselves until Tuesday. Refrigerated ones and frozen ones are okay. Bill said if I wanted to quarantine them I should do what made me comfortable, but I worry that I'm overreacting. Way too much uncertainty about everything right now.

I tried Wolf Hall once upon a time and think I abandoned it about halfway through. I wasn't keeping track of # of abandoned pages then, so can't be sure. Enjoy the newest!

>28 johnsimpson: - >30 quondame: Thanks John, Jim, Susan.

Happy new thread, Karen.

>31 karenmarie: I hadn't heard of anyone quarantining the groceries - didn't you pick 'em up in the first place, Karen?
Bill is right, though, do what makes you comfortable and feel safer.

Happy new one!

Happy new thread, Karen!

>32 PaulCranswick: I agree with Paul, do what makes you feel comfortable. Maybe there will be better information available online later, but for now better safe than sorry.

(I didn't buy oranges today, because they were from Spain. Feel like I should write this in extra small font)

Back again..... I found this from seriouseats.com interesting and helpful. I had been obsessing about those who stock shelves not to mention kitchen workers in restaurants, and I thought their suggestions were sensible.
Jenn, I am the uptight one in our family, an unfamiliar role for me. DH continues to go out and be careful.
We have our first Covid-19 case diagnosed in our town; the person had apparently been in DC. We're bound to have more undiagnosed.

Happy new thread, Karen. Great topper quote. I noticed an airplane overhead when I was coming back from my walk today and it seemed odd because I hadn't seen one in a while.

Morning, Karen. Waking up to about 3-4 inches of snow. Ugh. It is mostly on unpaved surfaces but will probably still be a pain at work. It looks like Sue will be working too, but not sure if they will be shortening their hours.

>32 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. I did pick them up, but the virus can stay on surfaces hours to 9 days depending on the surface, according to the WHO. I thought it was up to 3 days, so will forego the quarantining of groceries and just wash my hands before and after using something from the pantry. Thanks for the question – it made me do a bit more research and come up with a better plan.

>33 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita!

>34 EllaTim: I’m back to not quarantining, Ella, and washing before and after I get something out of the pantry. And re the oranges – do what makes you comfortable and better safe than sorry.

>35 LizzieD: I’ll be reading that article in more detail in a while, Peggy, thanks for sharing. Sorry about the first case in your town – I don’t know if we have any in our town, but have 3 in our county.

>36 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg. Sad that an airplane seems unusual.

…
Bill’s off to work today- we’ll see how long that lasts. I will have to go out tomorrow to make a deposit for Friends, but will call the bank today to see how the deposit slot in the lobby works. I don’t really need to go inside…

Books, a few housekeeping-type things on tap for today. Perhaps do a bit of work on my bedroom closet. I’ll be making turkey meatloaf for dinner, I think, with roasted potatoes and a vegetable.

>37 msf59: Hi Mark. Snow. Stay safe and warm. I hope it's a good thing that Sue's still going in to work today?

Morning, Karen! We are also having meatloaf and potatoes for dinner with some other vegetable - probably corn because the girls always want corn with that combo for some reason.

We wiped down non-produce grocery items with a Clorox wipe before putting them away. We gave the produce a quick rinse (except for the onions). The bags we use are washable, so I threw them in the washer.

Hi Mamie! Yay for meatloaf/potatoes/vegetable. I'll probably give Bill canned green beans and I'll have a bit of salad - cuke/pepper/tomato/red wine vinegar/EVOO.

Good idea, but I don't have any Clorox wipes. I guess I'll start making a bowl of diluted Clorox water and use a washcloth to wipe things down before putting them away. I'll buy another quart of bleach when I'm out - I've got an unopened half gallon and about 1/3 of an opened half gallon.

Are you talking about the "Grocery Bags Reusable Foldable 6 Pack Shopping Bags Large 50LBS Cute Groceries Bags with Pouch Bulk Ripstop Waterproof Machine Washable Eco-Friendly Nylon Elephant Hedgehog Cat Turtle Dog Penguin "? 'Cuz, mine will arrive Thursday by 8 p.m., ready to embarrass my husband with when we go shopping on Saturday!

Ha! Yes, those are exactly the bags I am talking about - you made me laugh out loud!

>41 karenmarie: Had to search for those bags on Amazon (not difficult given your thorough description LOL). I think the hedgehog and penguin are my favorites, but they are all wonderful.

Happy new thread!

>42 Crazymamie: We aim to please, Mamie!

>43 lauralkeet: Mamie had posted the link on her thread, Laura. I immediately went out and bought them.

I was very happy to see that Mamie posted the Amazon Smile link.

For US Amazon users: If you go to https://smile.amazon.com and use your regular log on (don't know how/if it works for other countries), you will be able to choose a registered charity and Amazon gives a small percentage of qualified purchases to that charity on some unknown-to-me schedule. You can change charities at will.

It's not much, but so far Amazon has donated $7.95 on my behalf to my charity, our FoL. Please pick a charity and let your purchases do a bit of additional good if you're already using Amazon.

I anticipate sending the Penguin to my daughter and, if I'm feeling particularly generous, will send the Hedgehog to a friend of hers who is very stressed right now in her second year of teaching art to middle schoolers in a small town west of us and now working from home. I've never met Amber, but know she's obsessed with hedgehogs.

Hi Horrible. Old Stuff's walker appeared in front of the door this morning...no note, nothin'...and it took me hours to find the facility director to explain what's what. He can't keep the thing while he's in the hospital, and they sent his warm jacket back as well. It seems he's threatening to walk out.

Heh.

It's too bad that you had to track them down, RD, to get an explanation.

>45 karenmarie: I have been using https://smile.amazon.com for years now, donating to the Jack Vasel Memorial Fund, which is for board gamers in times of need. I actually had to use the Fund last year due to my medical expenses and being unable to work.

Morning, Karen. And just like that the snow is gone. By the time I finished the route, most of it had melted. Just mushy lawns to cross. Nothing much to report on the birding front, although our mallard couple has returned to our feeders. Funny, thy waddle up, from the retention pond, (mostly drained) behind our house, forage under the feeders for awhile and then waddle off. This has been going on for a few years now.

And yep, Sue is continuing to work.

>48 alcottacre: I only heard of Amazon Smile last year. I'm glad that you were able to use the charity you were supporting, sad, of course, that you had to use it at all.

>49 msf59: 'Morning Mark! Snow-be-gone. And yay for your mallard couple. Glad to hear that Sue's continuing to work.

...
I spent hours on FoL check writing and a very puny deposit and decided to go out yesterday to the bank, PO, and Lowe's to get a new garbage disposal. Ours is dying and I'm a spoiled-rotten princess who can't live without one. I hope the plumber can come this week. The plumber is disinfecting between customers and I'll Lysol anything he/they might touch.

From Peggy's thread:

Copied from Vincent W. Wright: Take a break from the Coronavirus and learn about each other...

1. Who(m) are you named after? A popular name from the year I was born.
2. Last time you cried? Watching a video of What The World Needs Now is Love shared by Shelley
3. Do you like your handwriting? Yes, although it’s gotten sloppier over the years.
4. What is your favorite lunch meat? Rare roast beef.
5. Longest relationship? 29 years with Bill.
6. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes.
7. Would you bungee jump? Not only no, but hell no.
8. What is your favorite kind of cereal? Cold - Frosted Mini-Wheats, hot - steel-cut rolled oats with raisins, brown sugar, and butter
9. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No. Even though they're lace-ups.
10. Do you think you're strong willed? Yes.
11. Favorite ice cream? Rocky Road.
12. What is the first thing you notice about a person? Their hair. Strange but true.
13. Football or baseball? Football, meaning American Gridiron Football.
14. What color pants are you wearing? Black with white, pink, and red polka dots.
15. Last thing you ate? Roasted unsalted peanuts.
16. What are you listening to? The quiet, the hum of the UPS.
17. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Sea green.
18. What is your favorite smell? A new package of medium roast whole bean coffee, just opened.
19. Who was the last person you talked to on the phone? My daughter.
20. Married? Once and still.
21. Hair color? Light brown with natural red highlights, a bit of white at the crown and sides.
22. Eye color? Blue.
23. Favorite food? Homemade German Chocolate Cake.
24. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings.
25. Last movie you watched In a theater? The Favourite.
26. What color shirt are you wearing? Bright pink.
27. Favorite holiday? Thanksgiving.
28. Beer or Wine? Wine, preferrably red.
29. Night owl or morning person? Both – I need less sleep these days.
30. Favorite day of the week? Monday.
31. Favorite animal? Cat.
32. Do you have a pet? Three cats - Inara, Zoe, Wash - and a Betta fish named Freddie Mercury.
33. Where would you like travel to? In these pandemic days, California to visit sister, niece/wife, nephew, aunt/uncle. Any other time, Canada.

Morning, Karen. Love the meme answers!😁
I would have called your hair red, and isn't it amazing how retirement changes perceptions! I love Mondays too.

Hi Peggy! I had fun filling them out - I didn't change any from my immediate first response, although I added a hot cereal option, too.

Looks like we've cross posted!

>51 karenmarie: Also enjoyed your answers, Karen. For some reason I found the answer "sea green" beautiful.

So you have four pets and the fish is the queen?

Thanks, Paul.

Freddie has pride of place on my desk and I'm pleased to report that my queen is at least a year and a half old. The woman who I got him from said that her daughter acquired Freddie in October of 2018. I just took this pic:

>55 karenmarie: I don't know if that is good for a Betta fish but he is striking so I think you named him well!

>51 karenmarie: Heh..."once and still"

Happy pandemic!

>56 PaulCranswick: He's healthy and active and I think 'Freddie' works too.

>57 richardderus: Yup. 29 years on April 27th of this year. Unbelievable.

...
The plumber's come and gone and I have a new garbage disposal. Since I didn't get the disposal with the built in BioCharge septic assist dispenser because the unit was too large for the space we have under the sink, I'll just squirt some into the drain from a hand dispenser each time I use the disposal.

I now have no reason to go anywhere until Saturday - dump/grocery shopping. It's a very strange concept. And of course now that I shouldn't go out I want to, although pretty much everything's closed.

So far there are only 3 cases in our county, but that's no excuse to go out and run about.

I have a new gargage disposal

Karen's so well off she needs a way to get rid of multiple garages at once. ;)

>59 PawsforThought: Fixed... garbage disposal. *smile*

Hurray for the new garbage disposal!!

Today is the first day I feel somewhat confined. It's raining out and I can't do any of my yard work. Caught up on mail and dishes and laundry. Hmmmm. Guess it's time to start a new book. Hey! I feel better already! : )

Happy New Thread, Karen!

I've been using Amazon Smile for a long time now, and it's a great idea to encourage our group to use it. I will say, it doesn't add up to all that much going to your designated charity, but something is always better than nothing. :-)

>61 Berly: Hi Kim! Being caught up makes reading guilt-free.

>62 jnwelch: Thanks, Joe! Aggregate numbers for Smile are what make it powerful. I wish I'd known about it years ago.

>51 karenmarie: Those 33-questions were amusing.
I posted the list on my thread, too. Thanks Peggy as well. My answers were maybe not all that original, and some were "what Karen said" :D

>51 karenmarie: This is fun! Love your answers, and the picture of Freddie.

>64 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy! I had fun with them, too. I'll go check out your answers.

>65 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! Yes, a bit of fun, sorely needed. Thanks re Freddie. I just fed him breakfast. I also just fed the kitties about 15 minutes ago, too.

...
First sips of coffee - heaven - and off to visit some threads.

>55 karenmarie: What a beautiful blue color!

>51 karenmarie: Great answers :)

'Morning, Anita, and thanks.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday. It should be a very nice day off. A couple of walks planned and decent weather. A good combo. Glad to hear that Louise saw the pileated woodpecker. I need to still see my FOY. We have been getting a male hairy woodpecker at my suet feeder lately. Always good to see.

I visited Mama GHO yesterday. She is sitting up higher in the nesting box. There is supposed to be at least one owlet in there too, but I did not see the fuzzy head pop up. No Papa, this time, either.

Hi Mark! Happy Wednesday to you, too, and a very happy Day Off! Yay for Mama GHO.

I also forgot to report that on one of my last forays out last week, I saw two Bald Eagles at Kingfisher Pond. I'm sure they have a nest nearby, but the pond is on private property (and that's only our name for it anyway). Or, how large is a Bald Eagle's territory? Enquiring minds and all that!

Am just about as unwilling to "do" this day as any I can remember. In fact, I almost skipped coffee the better to doze through it.

Some days just beez li' tha' I guess.

Genevieve Cogman keeps dribbling fun into my eyes, so that's a plus.

I'm late to the game, but Happy Newish Thread, Karen.

I love that Invisible Library series from Cogman. I'm also a fan of C.J. Box's Joe Pickett mystery series, and a new one just came out, so I'm a happy reader.

>71 richardderus: Must be a humdinger to even consider skipping coffee, RD. Sorry about that.

I bought The Invisible Library for my Kindle on 3-29-18, started it, didn't like it, and abandoned it after reading 44% of it. I hope you keep enjoying the fun though.

>72 jnwelch: Hi Joe, thanks. I have the first Joe Picket on my shelves, just waiting for the right time.

>72 jnwelch:, >73 karenmarie: Considering I'm on The Secret Chapter, aka "book six," my enjoyment gears are engaged!

Hi! Congrats on the new disposal. I feel a little silly. I went out today to pick up a few things we needed and thought I'd return my library books. LOL Of course the library is closed. I was able to pick up handsoap, which I have needed for a while, and regret not buying before the great run on soap. I found a lone bottle at Target, Not antibacterial. I don't mind. I'll just add a drop or two of Purify essential oil to the sink bottle when I refill. It's quiet out there, which is good. We now have what we need to hunker down for a couple weeks in relative comfort.
I copied your thing up there. I agree completely re the bungee jumping. Goodness no.

>74 richardderus: #6 of 7, yay for having one more to queue up tout de suite.

#75 Hi Jenn. Why thank you kindly. The (Silly) First World Acquisition of the Month Award Winner, my disposal. *smile*

Ah. Purify Essential Oil. Doterra. I have a cousin who uses and sells Doterra, swears by it, and plans to retire from her 'real' job in a couple of years and go at it full time. I have a bunch of cute little sample bottles she gave me at Christmas which I haven't tapped into yet, probably should pull out my notes on what's good for what. I loved the toothpaste sample.

Glad you have enough to hunker down for a while in relative comfort.

I'll be interested in your "thing" - heading on over now to see how you answered it.

Hi Karen my dear, it seems Eeriely quiet now that we are in lockdown. Karen is on her second day of her two week furlough and we did our usual Aldi shopping before she had her nails done for the last time until this all ends and then dropped some Easter Eggs off at Rob's.

The weather has been really good the last few days and i am hoping to do a few little jobs in the garden before it drops colder at the weekend with wintry showers forecast for next week.

I hope you, Bill and Jenna are well and coping with this situation and send Yorkshire love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

>51 karenmarie: I enjoyed filling out that meme too. I love the name of the fish and appreciate you sharing a picture of him with us!

>77 johnsimpson: Hi John. I hope you and Karen settle into a 'furlough' routine, keeping as safe as you can.

I bought some acetone - the best way to soak off acrylic/gel nails - and plan on doing that as soon as they get too long to type with. Then I'll cut them very short and hope I don't chew them to shreds since that's what I usually do when I don't get them done. That will probably be in about a week or so. I feel for Karen's not being able to get her nails done, believe me.

We've had rain and cold but it should get much warmer and more spring-like here by the weekend. The pollen is out and I can't open the windows for fresh air because I'm allergic and even with taking allergy medicine every day would be miserable.

Bill had some good news today - his company is considered an essential operation within the meaning as defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security as they provide sinks/counters/window sills/etc. for hospitals and medical buildings. He still has his job, in other words, and if worst case comes to worse he can work from home since his job is estimating and it is all done on the computer any way. That's a relief to me because he's too young for Medicare and I can't imagine losing income AND having to pay for medical insurance in this pandemic.

Jenna's finishing the final semester of her 2-year Business Administration degree - a crap time to be getting a degree and trying to find a job in her field, but so far she's just concentrating on getting her school work done.

I'm sheltering in place - no volunteer work because the library's closed, and being over 65 and not wanting to bring anything home to Bill are two reasons for me to not do any other type of volunteering right now. No visiting friends or neighbors.

So that's that - we're all fine and very fortunate so far. Sending North Carolina love and hugs to you and Karen and Felix!

> 78 Thanks, Stasia. It was the perfect name at the perfect time. That meme was fun - Peggy found a good'un, didn't she?

I just got an e-mail from the Internet Archive, announcing a national emergency library to provide digitized books to students and the public. Here's the link to the announcement:

National Emergency Library

Good news from Bill and Jenna!!!!! That means good news from you, Karen, and I'm glad. Stay home!
Thanks for the NEL link. I don't know that I"llneed it,but it's nice to have.
Pollen - we're knee-deep in it.
I tried a betta fish once, but it had Ick when I bought it, although I didn't realize that, and died within the week. I vowed never to try again.
We're fine and fortunate too. Long may we flourish!

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. Back to work, after a nice day off. Rain in the forecast for later. Hopefully I will be done with most of the route by then. I got some decent bid photos yesterday. I will have to share a few.

>81 LizzieD: Hi Peggy!

Yes, I'm staying at home. Rather than go out today to mail two packages - one a package to Jenna with 2 ingredient sets for Skillet Pilaf (also known as Church Rice in our house) and the Penguin Tote from the set that arrived yesterday and the other a package to her friend Amber with the Hedgehog Tote from the same set, I will hold off until Saturday when I'm out anyway. Even this introvert likes to go out and about every once in a while!

I offered to go shopping on Friday by myself when there would be less people in the store, but I think Bill enjoys shopping enough to go and wants to go on Saturday instead, but we can go earlier than usual.

I inherited a Betta fish named Gil from a friend about 10 years ago. They had him in a very, VERY, small container with one bare twig. They had named him Gil so that when he inevitably died they could get another and name him Gil-again. I tried putting him in a bigger tank but that stressed him and he died. Then I got a Betta that I named Zephyr but had a different, too-small a tank and the water flow was too strong. He died after about 3 or 4 weeks. Freddie is still thriving. Sorry you had a bad experience with an Icky fish. Not fun and I understand why you wouldn't try again.

We're fine and fortunate too. Long may we flourish! Yes indeed. Stay in, stay safe.

>82 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! I hope your work day goes well. I'll be interested in your bird pictures.

...
First sip of coffee taken, a small bit of yummy goodness to offset the anomie.

edited to add: Here's a terrifying AND fascinating link that rates social distancing efforts by county within state using aggregate GPS data.

Social Distancing Scoreboard

>83 karenmarie: That Social Distancing Scoreboard is rather terrifying. I'm assuming, since it uses GPS, that it's picking up distances cellphone users maintain. Some of those stats are pretty lousy. And then look at the NY figures! We may get an A, but we are getting slammed anyway.

It is terrifying because of the data being captured and the information it's showing. I'm not sure I necessarily buy all of it, but it's an interesting take on how different states and counties may be handling distancing and lock downs and how that reduction in movement might be impacting local rates of infection.

The info is average distance travelled, not distances maintained between cell phone users.

oh, I didn't realize that. There was a post on FB about people monitored when standing on line.

And as far as distance traveled in New York City, I don't even have to leave my building to be at risk. So that A might not mean anything.

I know you have a man in your building who has the virus and was/is in hospital. Bad for him, scary for you and Jim.

...
So, I'm reading Golden in Death, the 50th in the In Death series by J.D. Robb, and something Eve says on page 267 made me think of DJT: "He couldn't lead himself out of a room made of doors." Unfortunately, it's our country the idiot in chief can't lead out of the room made of doors.

>87 karenmarie: What a great line! Horrifying that it's so apt.

I got outside in the gorgeous earlier. A short stay, my ankle was bothering me and sitting is not much fun. But lovely and mood-lifting all the same.

>87 karenmarie: That's a really good quote. Sad that it's so fitting to you current "leader".

>88 richardderus: I'm glad you got to go outside, RD. The pollen is getting fierce here and I'm not in the mood to get more congested than I already am.

>89 PawsforThought: It is sad that my first thought was how apt it was for our leaderless.

>80 karenmarie: Thank you for mentioning that, Karen. I have passed the information along to Catey, who is still in school currently.

>87 karenmarie: JD Robb has 50 books in the In Death series!!! I am not sure whether to be overwhelmed or thrilled. Guess I'll go with the latter. ; )

>90 karenmarie: Sorry about the pollen. Flowering tree season can be short, but awful. I was talking to my sister today over Messenger, and her eyes were just about swollen shut in response to the billowing pollen in San Antonio. I hope you feel better soon.

>91 alcottacre: You're welcome, Stasia.

>92 Berly: Number 51 is due out in September. Thrilled is better than overwhelmed. I started the series in 2011...

>93 ffortsa: Thanks, Judy. I'm sorry about your sister - at least I take Claratin-wanna-be every day and minimize the symptoms.

Well, it's a horrific statistic, but now the US is #1 in the number of coronavirus cases. Totally appalling, with criminal negligence from the administration. I'm very sad tonight.

Also love your first post. The author is evidently a retired teacher and chaplain.

https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a31747557/and-the-people-stayed-home-poem...

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. Well, I dodged the rain yesterday and I may do the same today. It moves in later in the afternoon. Tomorrow, will be our first full week, of our Shelter in Place order. Our Chicago mayor shut down the lakefront, all trails and paths. People were refusing to not congregate and she had no choice. That really sucks for the responsible people, who use those paths for exercise.

>96 ronincats: Hi Roni! I'm so glad you posted that link. Thank you. Brava for Kitty O'Meara.

>97 msf59: Hi Mark! Happy Friday to you, too. I'm sorry some people are flouting the shelter in place order, which ends up punishing the responsible people, like you said.

...
Coffee. Home from the grocery store. Well, actually two grocery stores. I thought it made more sense for just me to go out because Bill has some underlying health conditions. I got there just when they opened, and there were probably 20-25 people in there. One guy was getting some canned gravy, taking a bit of time. Rather than go around him, I was waiting. When he was leaving the area he said "I ain't going to give you no disease." I replied "And I'm not going to give you a disease, either." I couldn't find milk, cream cheese, or sour cream, but they had chicken, so I bought some. Then I went 10 miles the other way to the other Food Lion, which had milk, butter, sour cream and cream cheese, a type of bread I like, and bacon. So it took 2 hours and 45 miles...

>98 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Oh, good reaction to that guy!

Here the government has finally given stores directions on how to handle things: no more than so many people per square meters floor available. Keep people at their proper physical distance. When a store doesn't keep to it, it can be closed down. It was necessary, some stores just didn't take necessary measures, and most people are careful, but some are not.

Hi Ella! Thanks. It's a two-way street. Our store is not that concerned yet with physically distancing people, but I'm sure it will get there. I was the one avoiding other people...

>98 karenmarie: Oh my...45 miles to do your shopping, and at the dreaded and dreadful Food Lion no less...! You do take your life into your hands in pursuit of nourishment.

*smooch*

I have never gone to more than one store unless it was to find ingredients for book club at my house. This was a huge exception to my usual rule.

*smooch*

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. Looks like a stormy day in the Midwest. I hear thunder rumbling out there, right now. I hope I dodge the worst of it, as I trudge through the route. Enjoy your day and be safe.

'Morning to you, too, Mark! I hope your work day goes well - dry and safe.

Janet, @streamsong, posted this article on her thread, and I think it's so good that I'm posting it here too.

That Discomfort You're Feeling is Grief

>105 karenmarie: - Thanks, Karen. A very important article. I have already sent it to several friends and family.

I'm glad you're passing it on, Shelley.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday. Enjoying a quiet A.M. It looks like a chilly, blustery day, so I think I might just stay put and check on the feeders now and then. We visited my daughter last night and I was glad to see she is keeping her tube bird feeder, (that I got for her) filled up. Getting lots of finches and chickadees. Yes, I smiled.

Enjoy your day and be safe.

Happy Sunday!

>98 karenmarie: Going to multiple stores sucks. I had to hit three different stores last week to find flour and sugar. I'm officially finished with going outside though, and will be getting delivery from now on.

>108 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Happy non-working Sunday to you. Yay for Bree's tube feeder and the resulting smiles.

Today is the two of us, no errands. I made diced bacon and scrambled eggs and sourdough toast. Yum. I'll figure out something for dinner.

>109 ChelleBearss: Thanks, Chelle! Glad you were able to find flour and sugar and that you can get things delivered. We live 9 miles from the closest grocery store. Nobody delivers anything out here, which, most of the time, we don't mind at all. I started buying stuff about 5 weeks ago. One of this, one of that, etc. I keep extra rice, flour, sugar, cornmeal, and butter in the freezer.

I'm reading Blood Sport for the Dick Francis Shared Read March-April selection. Just what the doctor ordered - fun, interesting, not demanding.

Happy Sunday, Horrible, and enjoy the Dock Francis read. I simply couldn't get past my indifference to horses in order to engage with the books.

*smooch*

Happy Sunday! I've been too tired from online meetings to browse threads. But I did write about living in the country yesterday and having food in the freezer and pantry is just part of our lives regularly.

Stay safe!

>111 richardderus: Thanks, RD! Horses are not a primary interest with me, but we did have two of 'em for a while and Bill's Mama introduced Dick Francis to me donkey's years ... er... horse's years ago. *smooch*

>112 witchyrichy: Thanks, Karen! I can imagine you've been going crazy cancelling things reorganizing thngs. I'll come on over to visit in a bit.

Hi Karen my dear, glad to see that you are all ok and you are self-isolating, we are now in the COVID-19 Network for Walton group and are co-ordinators for our estate so that either we can help a resident or contact one of the other estate volunteers to sort out what is required for the resident that is self-isolating. It is nice to be able to help fellow villagers.

Keep safe my dear and the same for Bill and Jenna, sending special Yorkshire love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

I'm in! >1 karenmarie: that poem choke me up. I hadn't heard it before.

I've been out for a couple of days with what I guess was food poisoning. 4 a.m. Friday morning I kind of just exploded. I've always hated 4 AM. It's the hour when most people who die in hospitals do die. If I find myself getting up at 4 to go to the bathroom or whatever I always automatically think of the second line from the Ave Maria, 'Pray for us sinners now and in the hour of our death.' But I'm southern, and as a group we tend to be very morbid. When I was a kid My grandmother used to read the obituaries out loud every night.

Anyway, it's Sunday afternoon and I feel fine. But I'm way too much of a hypochondriac to be okay with an apocalypse that doesn't have zombies in it.

Imma make basmati rice and chicken. Or maybe Spam. I have way too much Spam. On the plus side, new Spam has 25% less sodium. On the downside, that's 25% less sodium than actual sodium. It pays to read the fine print.

Hi Larry! That poem calms me. It is very emotive, for sure.

Yikes, sorry you've been so sick. Chicken and rice should be good. I'm making tuna noodle casserole. Good old comfort food. I don't think I can quite apologize for the apocalypse not having zombies...

I debated buying some Spam the other day - I haven't bought any in decades but used to like it fried in butter.

Just popping in to say Hi and Happy Sunday. And I have never tried Spam.

>115 SomeGuyInVirginia: SWMBO is a hypochondriac too and I start my day normally with a text message which reads "I don't feel right". I usually reply "then know you don't need to feel left"

Stay safe.

Morning, Karen. I enjoyed my quiet, lazy day with the books and then we watched a few shows on Netflix. Back to work today, but with our virus cases, really spiking here, who knows what will happen. I wish Sue's boss would shutdown the shop. I get worried.

>117 Berly: Hi Kim! Spam was a staple for me at my apartment during my college years, either fried or just out of the can on a sandwich. Let's just say my taste buds have grown more sophisticated, but if I can find a can of plain Spam I'll buy it.

>118 PaulCranswick: Hi Paul. Clever answer. I hope Hani is hanging in there in the UK. Isn't Kyran there, too?

>119 msf59: 'Morning Mark, and I'm glad you had a relaxing Sunday. I just checked out Illinois's covid-19 map by county, and Cook and DuPage counties are bad. I hope that Sue's boss shuts down although all the folks who need chiropractic will be out of luck for a while. I'd be worried too. I'm going to cancel my April massage appt - it's at Sherry's home office but she has been working out of a chiropractor's office so I'm sure she's around a lot of potential cases.

...
Tonight at 5 p.m. NC will be in official Stay At Home status. I will take my taxes to my accountant today but will leave the envelope on the hood of my car, call the office, and they'll come out, pick them up (hopefully with gloves on and then quarantine them for 24 hours), and I'll wave and leave. It's a 28 mile drive and even I, introvert that I am, love the idea of a drive, listening once again to Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

My new computer showed up Saturday. I'm a tad intimidated about opening it and setting it up, but will put on my big girl pants sometime this week and tackle the job. I do have technical support, so could let Dell walk me through it, I suppose.

I think I'll start The sentence is Death, a book I received for Christmas from some cousins. Murder and mayhem in books works for me right now. I don't know if it's a character defect or just a protective mechanism, but inspirational books just have me rolling my eyes right now.

>119 msf59: - Mail is still being delivered here, Mark, and we have over 13000 cases. And I haven't heard of it being stopped in NY, so.....

Hi Karen - good luck with the new computer!

>120 karenmarie: Kyran is with her, yes, Karen. They are waiting for his British passport to be delivered and then they will look to get back here.

>121 katiekrug: Hi Katie! Thanks re my computer. Today's not the day... I just got back from taking taxes and going to the grocery store. It was critical - I want to try out Richard's beer bread (I forget whose thread he posted it on) so had to get some beer. I don't think we've had beer in the house for upwards of 10 years. *smile*

>122 PaulCranswick: I hope they can get home sooner than later for your peace of mind.

Glad to read that your life is going on fairly close to "as usual". I've neglected/ignored/avoided/whatever LT for several days, so there's a lot of catching up to do.

I've launched a crime-novel binge. A book by Sayers, now Christie, to be followed by Mosley, Stout, and Hiaasen. I've usually avoided binging on a particular series, reading one book after another. Last time I remember reading an entire series from first to last was the Harry Potter books. Now I'm thinking—I mean right now, just this instant—that I have Lethal White on the TBR.

Stay sane.

Hi Bill! Good to see back out and about. I'm afraid that I'm seriously addicted to LT and can't imagine being away for days.

Somewhat as usual. Now that I've taken my taxes to be done I literally have nothing to do outside the house except shop for groceries as needed until May 12th.

Yay for a crime novel binge! Lethal White is a good'un, if you like long and complex mysteries, which I do!

HI Karen:

Glad you're safe and sound and tucked in for the duration.

I've always found grocery shopping fun, but the last few times I've come back exhausted. Friday was my last out and about day as the curfew started Saturday morning at midnight. Of course, there were lots of people shopping that day.

The two weeks previous to that we were semi-quarantined and I made several store trips.

DS who is sheltering in place in the bay area says they were told to wash fruits and vegetable in soapy water and rinse well with clean water afterward.

Morning, Karen. Breezy and cool today, but it is supposed to be pretty nice for the rest of the week. Reports that there are 3 GHO owlets in the nesting box. I plan on swinging by there on my way home from work. You need to find a bit of joy, in these times of trouble.

Glad to hear your state went to SIP status.

>126 streamsong: Hi Janet! I normally like grocery shopping, too. Sorry the last few times have been stressful. I think I read that bit about washing fresh fruits/vegetables in soapy water. I just did a duckduckgo search and more headlines say that's not a good idea than say it is.

>127 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! It was in the 80s here yesterday, today the high will be 61 with rain. Yay for the owlets. I hope you get to see a head or two poking up.

...
Coffee. Reading. Worrying.

I might make some beer bread today.

I'm using an accountant for my taxes this year, first time ever. She's way out of state, though. For some reason I keep on thinking she's in Chicago. I don't know how I'm going to get hard copies to her now that I don't have access to a fax machine. I'll probably put on that tivek suit and go to FedEx and have them fax them. I need to call her today.

And I honestly don't know what I'm going to do about a haircut. I keep telling myself that this is overkill, but I also told myself that was Overkill when I started buying canned goods in late February.

Have you listened to the slightly foxed podcast? Have we already talked about this? I can listen to music while I work from home but I can't listen to audiobooks and I just sort of fade in and out of any other spoken word item.

Much love!

Hi Larry!

I hope you find a good way to get your hard copies to her. If you have a printer at home, can you scan them then e-mail them to her?

Your canned goods, 18 lbs of peanut butter, and etc. look like a good investment to me. I just saw that VA is now officially a Stay-at-Home state too. I thought our governor was taking it seriously by having it go Mar 30 - Apr 29, but your governor took it much further with Mar 30 - Jun 10.

I saw a banner scroll across the screen last night while Bill was watching WRAL news. I may have even sat down for a few minutes too... strange times for me to actually watch a bit of TV news. Anyway, the banner said that it is illegal to arrange for home hair appointments, nail appointments, and spa appointments. I assume that would include massage... I'm cancelling my April massage appointment. I really REALLY hate to do it, but it's the smart thing to do.

I haven't listened to Slight Foxed, but will check it out.

edited to add: I just wished a former work colleague a happy birthday and she told me that the company has put everybody on a 10% salary reduction for the next 90 days but they're still expected to work 40 hours from home. I personally think I'd slice about 4 hours per week off...

>131 karenmarie: - LOL!

>128 karenmarie: That's interesting, Karen, about not washing fruits and veggies with soap. So far I've washed a few green peppers with soap and survived. But I did rinse, rinse rinse afterwards. I have jars of alfalfa sprouts and mung bean sprouts started and have planted some indoor greens, Hopefully, I can get away from buying store veggies for a while.

>128 karenmarie: I wondered about fruit and vegetables too, Karen. So I bought those oranges and washed them with soap.
I looked the question up, just now. Some sources say yes, was them. Others say it isn't necessary. So I'd say be careful, and wash them.

It is stressful, isn't it. Yesterday evening I went shopping late, thinking the shop would be quiet, but it wasn't. Personnel refilling everything, so those are young people, being hasty and less than careful, as they've had a busy day anyway.

Happy Tiw's Day. Spend it wisely.

>134 EllaTim: I think citrus fruits can and should be washed, especially if you aren't using the zest or peel. Then I'd super rinse them. But I've heard that lemon rinds are a more common source of harmful bacteria in a kitchen than other produce. Not that they often are, but when all the produce is compared, it's the lemons who are the more common vector.

All the reports I've seen and the information I've heard from officials have said that food isn't a source of infection to worry about. I might be misremembering but I believe I read that there is not a single confirmed case where the person had been infected via food. And since the virus doesn't survive longer than max 30 minutes on porous surfaces (which I believe food would count as), I fail to see why you'd need to worry about washing your vegetables and fruit.

>132 jessibud2: My sister sent that to me, Shelley. She's staying at home because of her health issues and vulnerability after finishing up chemo. Her husband is staying home because the gym and shooting range are closed. They've been married for 45 years so will survive, but I think there's a bit more snarling than usual.

>133 streamsong: Everybody just has to do what makes them feel safe, Janet. I wish I had some alfalfa sprouts for tuna salad sandwiches but am not going to do anything about it. I'm envious that you've got two kinds of sprouts going and some indoor greens.

>134 EllaTim: Hi Ella. It's very stressful. I'm not sure there's a good time to go shopping anymore and if washing produce reduces the stress, more power to you.

...
Louise has reported seeing the first Ruby-Throated Hummingbird of the season. I put out my feeder first, and I guess it's just the luck of the draw that she saw the first one.

>135 richardderus: Thanks, RD! Louise’s daughter just bought me a pound of yeast and it will be delivered this weekend. Thoughtful of her. I just had some steamed broccoli with melted mozzrella cheese for lunch. Don't know what's for dinner yet. It will probably be a 'wing it' night, with each of responsible for our own food.

>136 quondame: I’ve heard that about lemons, Susan, and although it doesn’t apply now, cut slices of lemon at restaurants are the worst.

>137 PawsforThought: Good info, Paws. Everybody has to do what makes sense to them.

And I think that washing fruit and veges in vinegar/water has long been a better solution (get it?) than using soap. I'm washing things as I normally do - in water with a scrub.
Also, I think that the warning about lemons is mainly for sliding a slice in your water or tea in a restaurant, which probably hasn't washed them.
Who knows what to think? I think that everybody is joining me in frantic "Am I doing enough? Am I doing enough?" from time to time.
(I came by yesterday, Karen, but Mama's computer refused to post it time after time, so I gave up. I'm sure that I didn't have anything to say worth reading.)

>137 PawsforThought: Hi Paws, unfortunately officials have been saying not to worry a bit too often here. I don't trust that anymore, I'm starting to think that when the government says not to worry, it's time to do the opposite. But when you say the virus doesn't last longer than 30 minutes on porous surfaces that does make me rethink.

>138 karenmarie: Yes, I hope it will get better. I went to a small shop just now, just two people allowed inside, and you had to wait outside to get in. It felt a lot better.

I love that idea of making your own sprouts! No more eating out, so we have to do our own cooking. Time to give it a bit more attention.

>137 PawsforThought: - I'm with Paws on this. The danger is the virus transferring to your hands and then you touching your mouth or nose or eyes. Hence the reason hand-washing is the single best thing one can do.

I always wash watermelons with soap and water before I cut into them because I read once that you can transfer bacteria (so I assume also viruses) into the meat with the knife as you cut. I had never thought about other fruits and veg other than a rinse and scrub but I've started washing everything with soap that I can.

>141 EllaTim: This information isn't coming from the government, though. I understand that it's scary and maybe dong something like this helps people to feel like they're doing something actively to protect themselves, but I can't help but think it's just making people's stress levels sky-rocket - which definitely isn't good for you.
It's not a matter of not worrying, of course people should have a certain level of worry - that''ll keep them vigilant, but it's not good for that worry to go too far. Making yourself sick with worry isn't going to do anyone any favours.

>142 katiekrug: Yeah.

From what I've heard and read, the only surfaces where it might stick longer (the number I've heard is up to 48 hrs) is non-porous materials like steel. But they can fairly easily be wiped with a cloth that's been prepped with water and dish-washing liquid (something that dissolves fat is what you need, since that breaks the virus - hence why soap-and-water is better than hand sanitizer).

I have never washed a single piece of food with soap in my life. And neither has anyone I know "IRL". Fruit I'm not going to peel before eating gets rinsed with water, usually. Well, sometimes. The stuff I know gets sprayed with things I don't want to eat, I rinse.

My friend on the west side of 14th St. in NYC has been complaining that she is not getting her mail. It's been like that for at least a week, maybe longer. Our mail is a bit slow - some magazines are not arriving on their usual day - but otherwise it's been ok. I throw most of it out anyway.

>140 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. Vinegar and water is a good idea. I’ll be more careful now than in the past, but will probably just use water.

Yes, the lemons in restaurants warning is for sliced in water or tea.

Everybody’s in panic mode, you’re right about that. I’m still quarantining new food on its own shelf in the pantry. Who knows what the truth is? This is all still so new.

>141 EllaTim: Glad you went to a small shop and felt safe, Ella.

>142 katiekrug: I agree, Katie. Lots and lots of hand washing.

>143 RebaRelishesReading: Now I’m paranoid about watermelons, Reba. You’re probably right, though. Sigh.

>142 katiekrug: “Constant vigilance”, as Mad-Eye Moody says in the Harry Potter books. Take what precautions you feel are necessary and try to not stress too much.

I honestly don’t know what to think any more – you can find any source that will back up the idea you believe in.

>145 ffortsa: I’ve noticed mail coming late to the Friends PO Box – postmarked one city away and arriving two weeks later – that kind of thing.

And I got that post card from the CDC, dated March 16th, yesterday. Did they post-date it to cover their asses or is it a valid date? I honestly don't know. Anybody else get it? It absolutely makes me sick that DJT has his name on it.



Two good things:

1. >5 karenmarie: new statistics
2. Success! Richard's Beer Bread is wonderful. (posted on @Chelle's thread). Easy to mix up. Dense texture, crisp crust when it first comes out of the oven. Warm with butter, fantastic.

..

>146 karenmarie: - I replied to you on my thread when you mentioned this card, in response to the card we got here in Ontario re covid 19. I guess it shouldn't be entirely surprising that t-Rump always makes everything about HIM. It would make sense if he wrote President Trump's Lies about Coronavirus guidelines. On the card we got, the Govt of Canada appears in tiny print at the very bottom of the card. Sigh. I guess something is better than nothing and I guess later is better than not at all, but honestly, that man is an unmitigated disaster.

Do you actually taste the beer, in that bread? Nothing is better than bread fresh out of the oven, but I am not a fan of the taste of beer. I might make some banana bread though, after I finish up the bread I currently have on my counter (only a few slices left)

>146 karenmarie: Yay! And could it *possibly* be easier?!

>147 jessibud2: No, not really. It's there to yeastify and activate the raising agent...no real flavor is imparted with blander, less oomphy beers. It was the desire to use but not drink six-packs of yucky light beer that led me to that recipe in the first place!

>131 karenmarie: I love it!

>147 jessibud2: As Richard wrote, it does not taste like beer at all. For the record, I used Premium O'Doul's. I liked the packaging. *smile*

>148 richardderus: Couldn't be easier at all. I didn't sift the flour although I did mix the flour and sugar before dumping the beer and butter in and stiring it all together.

>149 BLBera: Thanks, Beth.

Just peeking in as I roam the threads.
I missed seeing beer bread at RD's 'home'.

We're okay here in the Canadian Steppes, The Man and I.
I definitely needed a break from the barrage of info shooting into my eyeballs off this website as well as the news feeds.


My equanimity has started on some recovery, but I need to be more mindful how susceptible I am in reacting to emerging viral news.

Yum! The beer bread looks yummy! I hope you are keeping well.

>152 weird_O: This is perfect, Bill. You may save many lives.

Morning, Karen. Happy Wednesday! 80F there? I would gladly take some of that warmth. We are barely breaking 50 and only 40 yesterday. Looking forward to my day off tomorrow. I am itching to hit the trails.

>151 SandyAMcPherson: Hi Sandy! Sorry you’re in info overload. Deep breaths, read >1 karenmarie: above – it works for me to re-read it periodically.

The recipe was not on his thread, it was on Chelle’s. But I’ll repost it here as I’m sure he won’t mind. My oven runs hot, so I took it out at 52 minutes.

Richard’s Beer Bread

3 cups self-rising flour
1 can beer
1/4c plain old white sugar
1/4c melted butter

Mix. Pour into a greased 2lb loaf pan. Bake in a 375°/190C oven for ~1hr or until the top crust is firm not squooshy.

No kneading, no fuss. If you're not using self-rising flour, add 3t baking powder & 1t salt. That is, literally, all there is to it.

>152 weird_O: Brilliant, and unfortunately 100% true. Thanks, Bill!

>153 vancouverdeb: I’m going to try some toasted this morning, Deborah. Bill had a slice last night and really liked it. He thought it would be good with chipped beef on toast – we might do that this weekend.

I’m keeping well. I did get a bit cranky last night – Bill was distraught, Jenna was a tad snarly when we spoke on the phone, a friend responded in an unexpected way to part of an e-mail, AND Zoe chewed the corner of an audiobook box. On top of that I ate too much.

But today’s another day, I’ve taken several sips of coffee, and will carry on.

For any US citizens who haven't filled out their on-line census form, please do so - it will save a census worker having to track you down. Normally, this would give a census worker more hours, which is good, but now it's a riskier proposition with the potential for coronavirus.

>152 weird_O: - Brilliant. And TRUTH (something the white house wouldn't recognize if it bit them in the bum)

>154 msf59: Hi Mark! Happy Wednesday to you, too. Today the high will be 56, so lots of early spring volatility.

>156 jessibud2: Bill does have it right, for sure, Shelley, and Mark’s also right for saying that following those recommendations will save lives too!

…
I’m happy to report that although it does crumble a bit, Richard’s Beer Bread is very tasty toasted and spread with butter. I would have used some Simply Fruit Raspberry but would have had to open a new jar and was lazy. Perhaps tomorrow.

>146 karenmarie: Awesome! I keep forgetting to check my cupboards to see if I have a yeast lost in the back. If not I may try this one with Chloe. Nate requested sweet buns from the bread maker but I need yeast for that, and an interest in doing any sort of baking ;-p

>152 weird_O: Ha! That's pretty great.

I got this in my monthly SFFBC newsletter today: "We've further decided to end 2020 this month and take some time so that we start 2021 right. Please tell us how your challenges fared."

Was a smidge verschmeckeled until today's date registered. Heh. But, in point of fact, I am all about it!

Hi Karen. Thanks for posting the Beer bread recipe. I replied on my thread...
It was really nice to see people there. LT 75-ers are the *Best*!

>158 ChelleBearss: Hi Chelle! Sweet buns sound yummy. Good luck finding yeast. I have 12 packets and Louise’s daughter has ordered a pound for me, to be delivered this weekend. Now I actually have to start baking!

>159 richardderus: Hi RD! Oh yes, 2020 will go down as our nation’s annus horribilis for sure.

>160 SandyAMcPherson: You’re welcome, Sandy! As I wrote yesterday on @thornton37814’s thread, ‘Ain’t LT grand!’

...
I cleaned out the hot water heater closet this morning. Now I have to divide the 3-lbs of ground turkey into 4 oz. patties and freeze them.

A Stay-In-Place Retired Person's work is never done.

>161 karenmarie: Wow that's a lot of yeast! I look forward to many photos of yummy bread!

>143 RebaRelishesReading:, >146 karenmarie: I'm sorry :( just what we need right now is more to worry about, right? really, I'm sorry. I share too much sometimes.

>152 weird_O: so sad, so true

>155 karenmarie: I've been thinking it would be nice to try the beer bread but we aren't beer drinkers (don't think wine bread would be quite the same ;>) and then I remembered -- there's a bottle of beer in the back of the fridge left from son's last visit. There's beer bread in my (near) future :)

Hope today is a better day (coffee does usually help) and are you typing this from your new computer or do you still have to set that up?

>161 karenmarie: "A Stay-In-Place Retired Person's work is never done." LOL

>162 PawsforThought: I had actually bought some of the yeast for someone who hasn’t responded to my offer of it yet, so I may end up with just the pound.

>163 RebaRelishesReading: I didn’t mind you talking about watermelon worry, Reba – I’ll honestly probably forget about it when I buy a watermelon this summer. Please don’t worry about it on top of all the other worry we’re going through right now!!

We’re not beer drinkers either, although Bill might surprise me and have one or two of the O’Douls because he will have an occasional beer if we’re out. Yay for the bottle in the fridge!

>164 Berly: Thanks, Kim. Coffee always helps. Ah, well, I’m still on the old computer. Zoe’s guarding the new one and I still haven't girded my loins, so to speak, to set up the new one.



But I did two good things so far today – the closet and the turkey. And I ordered my Melaleuca vitamins and was able to snag a 16-oz hand sanitizer that I’ll mail to Jenna.

April is National Poetry Month on my blog! I will Celebrate The Art all April long!

>166 richardderus: Ha. It is the 1st, after all.

>161 karenmarie: I took some time to clean out my spice cupboard and found a new jar of quick rising yeast that I bought a while back for pizza dough. It's still good and I'm pretty sure that's what I use in my bread maker :) So maybe Nate will get those sweet buns after all :)

Yay Chelle! It's amazing what shows up in cupboards, sometimes, isn't it? Of course the yeast is a better find than the 8-year old coffee sample I found...

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. Looks like a sunny, warmer day, so I am itching to get out for a ramble or two. They officially closed the Arboretum, so us birders and nature folk are bummed about that. I sure hope forest preserves aren't next. Fingers crossed.

We have a skunk living under our shed, (right next to my feeders) so we are trying to devise something to block the entrances, once the skunk leaves. This is important because we let the dog out back there, even though he is on a chain. He got sprayed once, a couple of years ago and that is a major hassle.

I forgot to post my March Lightning Round. Lots of J.D. Robb, Mothering Sunday hidden amongst the mysteries.

March’s Lightning Round:

Secrets in Death by J.D. Robb 3/3/20 to 3/4/20 370 pages hardcover

A lesser light in the Dallas universe, in my opinion. It relied heavily on future technology in order to figure out who Larisa Mars, the murdered woman, was. More than decent, just not a stunner. There is one incident of Dallas going out of character a bit, as she gives a gift to Peabody when Peabody mentions that McNab is at the end of his rope.

Dark in Death by J.D. Robb 3/4/20 to 3/7/20 372 pages hardcover

This one was sly – lots about how authors write, which may or may not give insight into how Robb writes. No personal issues for Dallas, so it’s straightforward mystery and solution.

Mothering Sunday by Graham Swift 3/7/20 to 3/8/20 177 pages hardcover

This deceptively small novel packs an emotional wallop in every description, every remembrance, every action of Mothering Sunday 1924 and the tantalizing glimpses into Jane Fairchild’s life for the next 75 years. Beautifully done, lyrical, full of hints and what-ifs.

Leverage in Death by J.D. Robb 3/8/20 to 3/12/20 385 pages hardcover

A very interesting take on loyalty, coercion, and blame. What would you do if your family was threatened with death and you could kill yourself and others to save them?

Connections in Death by J.D. Robb 3/13/20 to 3/18/20 371 pages hardcover

I found this one less compelling as others, sad to say, as corrupt lawyers and gangs play lethal games and a former gang member dies under suspicious circumstances. Dallas kicks butt, but the stupid mindless loyalty of gangs is very depressing.

Vendetta in Death by J.D. Robb 3/20/20 to 3/21/20 386 pages hardcover

I also found this one less compelling as others, sad to say. It seemed curiously flat perhaps because the serial killer was certifiably insane. I was also very unhappy that Dallas absolutely knew who the next victim would be and didn’t notify him immediately or provide a police escort when he arrived back in New York. But the drama and need to have an exciting capture were supposed to be there, so that’s what got written.

Lethal White by Robert Galbraith 1/16/20 3/24/20 22.5 hours audiobook

As good as the time I read it – this time was audiobook. It’s a rich and satisfying mystery that blends Strike’s and Robin’s personal lives in with two separate mysteries that are related. I love the detail, red herrings, sheer volume of activities, conversations, and number of characters.

Golden in Death by J.D. Robb 3/22/20 to 3/27/20 387 pages hardcover

I found the motivation a bit credulous but the police work sound. Very little about any of Eve’s friends made an appearance and Dallas's musings about what most people think of as normal things wore a bit thin.

Blood Sport by Dick Francis 3/28/20 to 3/29/20 309 pages mass market paperback

I began to tire hearing about protagonist Gene Hawkins’depression, but realize that when it was published in 1967 there wouldn't have been many fictional discussions about depression, especially for otherwise alpha males. The story was engaging, the good guys (mostly) won, and there was hope for Gene in the end.

‘Morning to you, Mark! I was busy editing my March Lightning Round (thank you for the inspiration!) and just saw your post.

I hope you can find a good, social distancing place to ramble.

Ooh, skunk. That is a major problem for sure. Bill used a bright light to get the skunks to leave the area under our porch since they’re nocturnal and once gone was then able to board up the entrance.

>131 karenmarie: This made me laugh out loud, so thanks for that!!

Morning, Karen! I am all caught up with you now, and I had fun doing it. Very interesting conversations going here. We never use soap on the produce - just water. And hooray for the lovely beer bread - my mom used to make beer bread all the time, but I have no idea what recipe she used. I think I'll give Richard's recipe a try.

Happy Thursday, Karen! I am just checking in as I was a few days behind.

I hope you and yours stay healthy and safe!

>155 karenmarie: Beer bread recipe looks great! I might try it (but how much volume is in a can of beer with you - I suppose it might be different from here).

Supermarket shopping is getting better here now, but they are limiting to a maximum 3 of any item, which is a bit of a broad brush approach. But I miss being able to pop out for things. I am at a higher risk because of asthma and mild COPD. I am not one of the million or so people identified as very high risk (and neither is my mother despite her being 98) but I suppose I count as medium risk and we are encouraged to socially distance ourselves as much as possible. I received a call from my GP’s surgery this morning to check that all was well with me and to emphasise that i should phone them if I had any problem, which I thought was nice.

>173 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! We aim to please, and all laughs are welcome right now, aren’t they? Way cool about your mom making beer bread. You’ll have to let me know how it turns out for you.

>174 alcottacre: Hi Stasia, thanks. So far so good re healthy. Same to you – stay healthy and safe.

>175 SandDune: Hi Rhian! The bottle of beer I used was 12 US ounces. I was a tad worried as I was prepping it, but it was exactly right. I suppose that you’ll have to translate the rest of the recipe, too…

Glad shopping is getting a bit easier. Gracious. I wonder what high risk is if you and your 98-year old mother are ‘only’ considered medium risk?

Yes, we’re all consolidating trips now to avoid undue exposure. I haven’t been out since Monday. Pre-covid-19 that would have seemed like heaven, but now I’m having to remind myself that there’s nothing open anyway, we don’t need anything at the pharmacy, and I’ll probably go grocery shopping early tomorrow morning to save Bill the exposure since he’s got two things – being a senior and underlying health conditions – and I only have one – being a senior. I’ll take trash too, so Bill won’t have any reason to go out on the weekend.

Today’s goal is to box up all the pans I took out of the pantry recently and put the boxes up behind the closet in the guest bedroom. We’ll see if I actually get it done because I’d rather read and look out the windows. Porch sitting is out of the equation because of pollen.

>176 karenmarie: I do have a set of measuring cups although I’be hardly ever used them, so I should be OK for the rest.

>176 karenmarie:I wonder what high risk is Apparently it is people who have had organ transplants, or are undergoing cancer treatments or have severe asthma or cystic fibrosis, things like that. Everyone in those categories has been written to and they are supposed to distance themselves from other members of their household as well and not even leave the house for exercise. At my work, out of 85 employees 2 people are falling into those high risk categories and so are automatically off work for at least 12 weeks, even if its not possible for them to work from home. With my mother, although she’s very old, she hasn’t actually got anything specifically wrong with her apart from high blood pressure ...

>171 karenmarie: I like your lightning reviews, Karen. It's nice to see the month's reading in one spot.

I got a new modem this morning and decided to run to CostCo's after, ostensibly to look for rice but mostly just to see what was going on in the world. There were a few precautions but nothing really marked. However I wore a face mask and gloves the entire time. I'm claustrophobic. The mask makes me pant and sweat, I feel like I'm drowning the whole time I'm wearing it. So the whole time I'm standing in line at Costco, trying to interact with the cashier, and saying What? pantpant. What? pantpant. What? pantpant. It was not a pretty sight. I get to the exit and the lady and the plastic booth, and I'm holding up my receipt so she can check it against what's in my cart in my hand is shaking like I'm on cocaine.

Earlier, when the technician showed up, he knocked on the door and I answered wearing a mask and gloves, and he's wearing a mask and gloves. I say, 'Gawddamn! Everybody looks like a bank robber nowadays!'

I did find rice. And paper towels, which I needed, and toilet paper, which I bought because everybody's buying toilet paper.

Also, my therapist made me swear that I would stop watching the news obsessively. Now I check it only in the morning, a few times during the day, and certainly once at lunch, maybe once or twice in the afternoon, and then only one time before I go to bed. And then when I'm in bed. I if to wake up to go to the bathroom at 2 in the morning. But that's it. And then at 5 a.m. when I wake up. But really that's it for the whole day. Except for the other times during the day. And listening to the news on the radio doesn't count.

>177 SandDune: Good news on having everything for the beer bread, Rhian. I hope you make it and that the recipe works well for you! Understand about high risk vs medium risk now, thanks for the explanation.

>178 BLBera: Thanks, Beth! I did have one real review at message 33 on my previous thread: Orphan X Review. I think I’ll put links in for any book with a real review in the Lightning Round message from now on.

>179 SomeGuyInVirginia: You’re braver than I am, Larry, to go to Costco these days. For one thing I don’t have gloves or a mask, but for another thing there’s nothing I need any time soon. Yay for rice and paper towels and TP. You are set. So now the only question is, where are the zombies?

After thinking it over, I think we’re going to pass on going to the grocery store this weekend. We can live for quite a while on stuff in the house, although cucumber-less Greek salads are a bummer.

It must have been strange to see a gloved and masked technician. My plumbers wore masks and I stayed 6 feet away at all times, then eventually Lysol-ed down anything they touched.

>181 SomeGuyInVirginia: 10+ times a day is not good for our mental health, but I admit to doing the same. I look at the worldometers.info/coronavirus website and the NC county website almost obsessively during the day. WaPo too. When I started these responses there were 1,009,352 cases worldwide, now there are 1,015,446 cases. Sigh.

…
Louise’s daughter brought over my pound of yeast and I paid her the $8.50 which included shipping and handling. I suppose I should actually make something with yeast tomorrow. Perhaps Chef John’s Sticky Buns? They take an entire 2 teaspoons of yeast! Fortunately yeast freezes well.

Morning, Karen. Happy Friday. I had a great day off. A beautiful day walking the trails. I saw a mute swan, an eastern towhee, bluebirds and tree swallows, among many other treats. Many people out too, getting fresh air and exercising, and, of course maintaining proper distance. I don't know what we would do if they closed the forest preserves. Shudders...

>183 karenmarie: Karen, I tend to err on the side of caution and build in redundancies for any failures. When I first started buying food to store away I was planning on two weeks to a month. Based on what I've heard in DC, I now know that it will be at least two months because it's already been a month and they're saying another month, but it might be up to 4 months. Plus, as the disease eats its way into society, goods will only get more difficult to find. You're a dear friend and, as your dear friend, I would recommend that you have 4 months of necessities and place. One huge plus for where you live, deer are thick on the ground and you can always shoot one for meat.

I'm also planning ahead for supplies for later in the year after the virus returns from its summer vacation. I do hope they develop a vaccine quickly.

I live in a suburban area only slightly less crowded than downtown Arlington. The only thing that gets shot in my neighborhood is people. And I don't care how bad things get, I'm not going to eat people. Not this time. Oh God! Not again.

>184 msf59: ‘Morning, Mark! I’m glad you had a good day off. Lots of good bird sightings, too.

>185 SomeGuyInVirginia: Hi Larry! You’re making me rethink my plan of not going out food shopping today. Sigh. And yes, I’ve already seen speculation that it will come back after summer vacation. *weak chuckle*

>171 karenmarie: This was a nice round-up.
I decided to use the idea for a currently reading e-Book list. I'm getting lost by not having paper copies lying around the house!

Hi Sandy, and thanks.

35. The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
3/27/20 to 4/3/20





From Amazon:

New York Times–bestselling author Anthony Horowitz and eccentric detective Daniel Hawthorne team up again in a new mystery, the sequel to the brilliantly inventive The Word Is Murder, to delve deep into the killing of a high-profile divorce lawyer and the death, only a day earlier, of his one-time friend.

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late . . . ”

These, heard over the phone, were the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine—a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, to be precise.

Odd, considering he didn’t drink. Why this bottle? And why those words? And why was a three-digit number painted on the wall by the killer? And, most importantly, which of the man’s many, many enemies did the deed?

Baffled, the police are forced to bring in Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, the author Anthony, who’s really getting rather good at this murder investigation business.

But as Hawthorne takes on the case with characteristic relish, it becomes clear that he, too, has secrets to hide. As our reluctant narrator becomes ever more embroiled in the case, he realizes that these secrets must be exposed—even at the risk of death . . .

Why I wanted to read it: Called out to me because it's almost too stressful to read more than mysteries, my favorite genre, right now.

Clever, funny, amusing, yet curiously emotionless. Once again Hawthorne runs circles around Anthony, once again all the clues are there. An enjoyable and entertaining read with everything tied up nicely at the end.

And that’s pretty much it. I had a bit of fun guessing who was as real person and who wasn’t, and which people were disguised to save lawsuits and retribution.

>189 karenmarie: I think I already have the first book in that series in the BlackHole. Off to check. . .

Have a wonderful weekend, Karen!

>189 karenmarie: I've got his magpie murders, didn't you read that and rated highly? I'm sure you did.

I've been coping in the exact opposite way. I'm studying a series of lectures on Amazon prime Great Courses on infectious diseases, I'm pulling out all my books on pandemics, reading up on the black death and the Spanish Flu. It's grim and frightening, but not in the way that I find the news to be grim and frightening. To me the stories provide a sense of continuity. Plus, I'm rather fatalistic about the whole thing. I live in a huge apartment building and share a laundry room with probably four hundred other people. I would be surprised if I didn't get it eventually. That being said, I have Lysol spray, Lysol disinfectant for laundry, and wipes. When I do eventually get the nerve up to do laundry in the laundry room, I'm going to look like something out of a bio hazard level 4 movie. I was going to take everything to my brothers and do laundry there at Virginia Beach but he has a compromised immune system with that neurological disease, and I don't think it would be fair to even take a chance. I bought a clothes drying rack in case they shut the laundry room down and I'm forced to do laundry in the tub. I tell you, I went total prepper on this. I bought 500 feet of strong cord. Why? I have no idea other than one of the prepper sites said that I would need it. Is it a macrame thing?

In other news, I have perfected the process of cooking perfect basmati rice. It's fluffy, nothing stuck together, it's delicious. Yes! The pandemic of 2020 has turned me into a cook. Who woulda thunk it? Always a silver lining.

>190 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! I think your Black Hole is as large as one of the wings of the Library of Congress. And thanks re the weekend. We're staying at home. Bill may make a trash run to the dump and get off-road diesel for the tractor to mow, but I don't envision going out at all. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

>191 SomeGuyInVirginia: I did read that in September of 2017. I just found my review, re-read it and still feel the same. Here's a bit that makes me feel good even now:

I have to thank Anthony Horowitz for explicating my love of mysteries. Here is my favorite extended quote from the book for why I’ve loved mysteries ever since I picked up my first Nancy Drew when I was 10.

”I’ve always loved whodunnits. I’ve not just edited them. I’ve read them for pleasure throughout my life, gorging on them actually. You must know that feeling when it’s raining outside and the heating’s on and you lose yourself, utterly, in a book. You read and you read and you feel the pages slipping through your fingers until suddenly there are fewer in your right hand than there are in your left and you want to slow down but you still hurtle on towards a conclusion you can hardly bear to discover. That is the particular power of the whodunit which has, I think, a special place within the general panoply of literary fiction because, of all characters, the detective enjoys a particular, indeed a unique relationship with the reader.

Whodunnits are all about truth: nothing more, nothing less. In a world full of uncertainties, is it not inherently satisfying to come to the last page with every i dotted and every t crossed? The stories mimic our experience in the world. We are surrounded by tensions and ambiguities, which we spend half our life trying to resolve, and we’ll probably be on our own deathbed when we reach that moment when everything makes sense. Just about every whodunit provides that pleasure. It is the reason for their existence.

Morning, Karen. Happy Saturday. I will be shoving off shortly for the salt mines. On a tip, I found another nesting Mama GHO, yesterday. I will have to share a photo. No youngsters or no Papa though. Finding a little joy, during turbulent times...

Enjoy your day!

'Morning, Mark, and Happy Saturday to you, too. GHO joy indeed.

On a sadder note- Bree is postponing her June wedding. Probably moving it to September, if possible. We are bummed.

I was wondering about that, Mark, and am so sorry that it's come to that. I hope September works out.

>195 msf59: Poor Bree.

Morning, Karen!

Hi Mamie!

Bill just left for the dump and off-road diesel. He's got hand sanitizer, wipes, and an attitude.

While getting cat boxes cleaned out and stuff ready for the dump I did something to my lower back and although it's not excruciating it's more than noticable. I've taken ibuprophen and although should probably be using ice am using heat. :(

"He's got hand sanitizer, wipes, and an attitude." Sounds like he's all set!

OH, poor baby about the back - not good. I say use whatever works best.

Karen, do have any of those heat wraps for your back. I always have a box of them in the house, just in case (they come 3 in a box, I think). Made by the company that makes Robaxicet:

https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=robax+heat+wraps+for+back+pain&qpvt=rob...

They really help me when that happens. I am susceptible to lower back issues and at times when I can't get out or to my physiotherapist, having these around can be a life-saver.

>199 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie.

>200 jessibud2: I don't have any of those, Shelley, but do have Icy Hot, BioFreeze, capsaicin and even a TENS machine. I just put some Icy Hot on it. I hate hobbling around - makes me feel even older than I already feel.

I also have a corn bag, which although not a wrap, provides heat.

If we weren't in a stay-at-home situation, I'd consider going to my chiropractor, but their website says although they're still open they don't really want to see patients with allergies which could really be Covid-19 although they don't specifically say that. I have allergies.

>201 karenmarie: - Yikes. I am surprised that chiropractors would still be open. Being a hands-on practice (like massage therapists), there is no way to do a 6-foot distancing. Even most doctors' offices here are doing telephone appointments unless urgent.

>198 karenmarie: Ugh, lower back pain and a sore thumb are the worst. Have you tried laying on your back on the floor? I used to throw my back out when I worked out all the time, and that would sometimes provide relief. I hope you feel better soon Karen.

Sorry to see you've hurt your back. Hope pain meds help quickly!

Grocery shopping this morning. Damn! Up at 6. Not even the dog got up with me. I did wear a suitable pair of gloves, and folded a bandana into a face mask. I noticed a couple of shoppers with bandana masks, and quite a few with manufactured masks. Glasses fog up, but it worked, and I didn't feel foolish. And now we have food for the coming week (at least).

Keep calm and hang in there.

I came by to speak (Hi, Karen) and leave sorry about your bad back. Even when it's not bad, mine is one of the ducks nibbling that makes life a tad less easy than it used to be. Baby yourself. Really.

Ickyptooptoo back problems! So sorry, Horrible.

>198 karenmarie: Sorry your back is troubeling you again, Karen.
I hope you can find a way to ease the pain.

>202 jessibud2: It surprises me too. I sure want to go, but won’t, Shelley.

>203 SomeGuyInVirginia: After reading your message I hobbled to the library and it did help. I gently rolled around a bit and although still painful when I walk, it’s not bad when I sit or recline on the couch. Thanks, Larry.

>204 ChelleBearss: Wish I had something stronger than Tylenol and ibuprophen, but oh well. Thanks, Chelle.

>205 weird_O: Sounds like you did it right, Bill. Yay for enough food for a week.

>206 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I had some back problems just about a year ago, darn it. I’m sorry your back gives you fits. I am babying myself – won’t cook dinner, nothing except trying to be comfortable and not aggravating it.

>207 richardderus: Thanks, RDear. I’ve had back problems off and on since I was in a car accident 45 years ago. They are usually minor, but every once in a while… And now, when it’s just not safe to go to the chiropractor, I don’t have any easy way of resolving them.

>208 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. Painkillers and topical gels are helping, but walking isn’t pleasant right now. I bend over like an old lady and hobble around. Grrrrr…

I just got out my TENS machine and am using the acupuncture-combination mode. It feels good, we'll see if it continues helping after the 16 minutes are done.

Reaching deep into my well of compassion for a chronic-pain sufferer, I will now demonstrate *immense* self-control and strength of character to refrain from making the joke, "I bend over like an old lady" by asking, "'like'?"

Such a noble, self-sacrificing thing (not) to do, don't you agree?

Sorry to hear you're in pain and hope you find a way to alleviate it!

>209 karenmarie: Oh, yuck, Karen, back pain! And no, don't visit that chiropractor, people can be contagious before they realise they are ill. Sorry, don't want to scare you.
Resting on a flat surface, good advise. And have someone read to you? Hope it feels better soon.

Karen, while you are there on the floor, are you able to try some gentle leg stretches? Pull one knee up to your chest, and if possible, gently pull it first to one side (use left hand to pull right knee over to left side), then the other (open knee to right side), then straight down again. And repeat, on the other side with the other leg. These are lower back stretches my chiropractor taught me years ago. He literally talked me through them, over the phone, once when I was flat on my back in bed and could not sit up. I have been doing them religiously to this day, every morning when I wake up, before I even get out of bed.

Continue to baby thyself and to mend, dear Karen!

Sending healing vibes your way, Karen.

>210 richardderus: I am all admiration, RD, for your self-control and strength of character. *smooch*



>211 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! Thank you. Right now, after 5 hours of sleep and a hot shower, it’s under control. I’ll take some pain meds in a while and alternate the TENS machine and heat throughout the day.

>212 EllaTim: You’re scaring me in a good way, Ella, and I’m resolved to not go to the chiropractor. If the pain is really bad today I’ll call my doctor tomorrow morning and see about getting some Tramadol or other kick-ass pain killer. I was able to do some stretching in bed last night and this morning and right now the pain’s about 1 out of 10. Thank you.

>213 jessibud2: Leg stretches have been helping, Shelley, thank you for reminding me about stretching to the other side. I did some stretching before getting up this morning.

>214 LizzieD: Yes, Ma’am! I didn’t cook yesterday or even do the dishes. Bill had spent 2 ½ hours on the tractor mowing the lawns/fields (but not pastures, and that’s okay) and was also a hurting unit – we make a great pair right now hobbling around. I’ll get to the dishes today. I might even make some brekkie for us, who knows. *smile*

>215 Berly: Thanks, Kim!

>216 karenmarie: - Good to hear that you are able to do the leg stretches for those lower back muscles, Karen. They strengthen those core muscles and your body will thank you, in the end. Another very basic yoga stretch I do, after the leg stretches before I get out of bed is to roll over onto my hands and knees and do the Cat and Cow stretch.

All this before I get out of bed and it doesn't have to take longer than 5 or 10 minutes. And it's worth every minute.

Hope today is a better day.

Thanks, Shelley! I really need to take your advice stretch first thing every morning.

...
I forgot to report that yesterday was an exciting bird day. I saw my first male Ruby-Throated Hummingbird yesterday morning and yesterday evening. They're probably still migrating up north and this is only a temporary stop, but I'm happy to see them.

>218 karenmarie: I'm going to take Shelley's advice as well:-)

Oh, seeing hummingbirds, I would love to see one, but there are no hummingbirds in Europe. Not even the zoo has them. Sigh.

Morning, Karen. Happy Sunday! Hooray for the hummingbird sighting. We should start seeing ours, in the next couple of weeks. Still cool here and very little is flowering.

Sue was busy yesterday and started cutting poultry fencing to put around the base of the shed. We will then place paving blocks in front of the wire mesh. Of course, we will have to make sure the skunk is completely out, before we finish up.

It looks to be a nice day, so I will head out for a bird ramble and then come back and work in the yard.

Sorry to hear about your back pain woes, Karen. I'm glad to see that today the pain level is only 1 out of 10. And how exciting to see your first hummingbird of the season! I love those little guys.

>219 EllaTim: It seems strange to me that there aren't hummingbirds in Europe, Ella. I wonder why?

>220 msf59: Hi Mark! Good luck with the skunk elimination plan and a bird ramble and yard work.

>221 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. Hummingbirds are so much fun. My mom started seeing them at the house when we moved in 1967 from one part of LA to another (Hawthorne to Diamond Bar) when I was 13, put up feeders, and fell in love with 'hummers' as she called them. Many presents became hummingbird themed. I've got a few hummingbird things, too...

...
Well the pain's back up to about a 3 or 4 of 10. I've taken some pain meds, made brekkie for both of us (eggs over easy and toast, easy peasy but not much fun having to stand right now), and will use some Icy Hot and finish my coffee.

Mom made this when she took a stained-glass making class.

>222 karenmarie: Hummingbirds evolved in South America's cloud forests, and no way could they make it across the Atlantic with their energy budget.

>223 karenmarie: That's wonderful, Karen.

>224 richardderus: That must be the answer. Maybe they could take a ship? There are lots of so-called invasive exotic species here anyway, like American lobsters. I'd welcome hummingbirds.

>224 richardderus: Here's an interesting article from about 2 years ago that I found while duckduckgo'ing "why aren't there any hummingbirds in Europe":

Hummingbird Origins

>225 EllaTim: Thanks, Ella. It's in the dining room although I've had to move it to another window that the new kitties can't get near and accidentally knock down.

I'd heard about American lobsters invading Sweden - Netherlands too?

>223 karenmarie: Wow, your Mom had skills, that wasn't easy. My mom and dad enjoyed working with stained glass also. Is the hummingbirds tail cobalt blue? God I love the color blue.

Hey, Karen. Just for you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eo9M4-BrJA

:-)

I am going to compile a list of parodies I have found so far. Some are so good. Stay tuned

>218 karenmarie: We often have humming birds zipping about our back yard, generally fairly boring looking fellows, a few of whom splat into our window from time to time, usually with fatal results. This one however, revived and clung to my hand for about 15 min while I prepared some sugar syrup for it and snapped a couple of pics. Yesterday a small bright yellow bird fell victim to unexpected glass, and we found him neatly laid out on a comforter that had slipped from my reading chair with Gertie doing vigil from 18" away.

>228 jessibud2: That's brilliant, Shelley! Thank you.

>229 quondame: Handsome Hummer! I'm so glad you were able to rescue him, Susan. We get unexpected glass victims, too, sigh. Yay for Gertie and her vigil.

When Jenna was little there were a couple of times when a hummingbird would get confused and not be able to fly down the back porch skylight - if we were there Bill and Jenna would patiently stand under the skylight 'til the hummingbird fell, exhausted into a towel. They'd try to feed it if possible, but at a minimum put it in a safe place to recover and fly away.

>229 quondame:, >230 karenmarie: When I was young, a male cardinal thought his reflection in out living-room window was a rival, and cracked the window two years running until I hung a planter in that window.

We just cross-posted, RDear!

We had a male Cardinal do that too, until I hung a piece of cloth in the window. It's disconcerting, isn't it?

Well, my back is feeling a lot better. I can mostly walk without bending over. However, I plan on taking benadryl to help me sleep as per your inspiration.

>232 karenmarie: Reliable ol' benadryl, doesn't matter if your every nerve fiber feels like it's aflame benadryl will send you into the Court of Morpheus in ~20min.

Have a lovely, peaceful, safe and healthy weekend, Karen.

No bird kamikazes, but my balcony door is mostly glass and a few days ago Parker got into a serious argument with a black bird that landed on the balcony. From the sound of things the Blackbird enjoyed it as much as Parker did.

Benadryl is an excellent recommendation for sleep. Effective and not habit forming.

Morning, Karen. I saw this female eastern bluebird on Thursday, while tromping along the trails on Thursday. I had a good Sunday but it was a busy one. Never cracked a book. What the heck?

>233 richardderus: It worked like a charm. I slept 5 ½ hours before having to get up for a bit, then back to sleep for another 2+ hours. I look forward to tonight.

>234 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! All things to be desired. All were attained, thank goodness.

>235 SomeGuyInVirginia: That must have been fun to watch, Larry. Taking the Benadryl saved me from taking ibuprophen – I know I should be taking less ibuprophen than I do, so yay.

>236 msf59: Lovely pic, Mark, thank you for sharing it here. It’s always disconcerting when a book doesn’t get cracked, right? My profile has a line I’ve used for decades: …it's not a day if I haven't had a chance to read. Bizarre times if Marky-Mark hasn’t read…

>226 karenmarie: Interesting article! So we did have them, long, long ago..

Do we have American lobsters? Yes, unfortunately. We now even have five different species. And they carry a lobster pest that kills our own indigenous ones, no, they are a disaster. We now have so many that the children in our allotment complex have taken to catching and eating them.

Here's a link to a map:
https://waarneming.nl/species/10083/maps/?start_date=2019-04-05&interval=155...

Hi Ella!

Nasty ol' American lobsters. Of course if I could catch lobsters in an allotment I'd be eating lobster more than the once-every-other-year-or-so when I splurge at our favorite fancy restaurant.

I'm sorry you don't have hummingbirds Ella - I just saw one perched in the tree nearest the feeder, watched him zoom on down to the feeder and take a good long drink, then zoom away. Such a simple pleasure.

>239 karenmarie: Their parents do the preparing and say they are very tasty. I haven't tried yet, but that's mostly from not knowing what to do with all those claws and sticky ends.

Simple pleasures, enjoy Karen!

Hi Horrible, happy Monday!

>240 EllaTim: Oh yes indeed, they are VERY tasty. I like 'em steamed with drawn butter and lemon. There are many videos on Youtube about how to eat a whole cooked lobster. It's an effort, but definitely worth it, IMO.

I visited a friend who was living in Maine in 1985 and came back to California with two live lobsters packaged in seaweed and dry ice in a cardboard box. The stewardesses all thought it a big joke to ask me for their boarding passes. I'll never ever buy live lobsters again because although I love the results I did not like having to kill/cook them myself.

We usually go to the favorite fancy restaurant, Angus Barn in Raleigh NC, in the summer to combine/celebrate every family event of each year - all three birthdays and our anniversary. The last time I got lobster I think it was $60 or so and totally worth every penny. (It came with soup or salad and potato/vegetable).

>241 richardderus: Hiya, RichardDear! So far so good, although making brekkie and emptying out the dishwasher took a small toll on my back. I'm rethinking about how much I want to do today and may settle for making oatmeal cookies and figuring out how to use 1 lb of already-cooked ground beef. The closet may have to wait for another day.

In the meantime, the comfort (re)read of the day is Fer-de-Lance, the first Nero Wolfe mystery. So far so good.

Saw my very first brown-headed cowbirds at my break spot. A male and 2 females. Cool. And of course, a tree of cedar waxwings.

I love all types of shellfish. Could live off it.

Is it lobster or crayfish, Ella? AFAIK both exist in Europe but crayfish is the one that's been spreading pest.

>243 msf59: Yay for the cowbirds, Mark! I sort of like 'em too, although not when they swarm a bird feeder. Ah Cedar Waxwings. I envy you. Of course I still have my ABA 2020 poster, but have lost the opportunity to get it framed any time soon.

>244 PawsforThought: I started to say that I liked all types of shellfish, too, Paws, but I dislike mussels and oysters. I remember being able to order abalone off the menu at seafood restaurants in Southern California when i was young. I've had crayfish only once, as Crawfish Etouffee, in New Orleans, but it was to die for and I could eat it again any time.

I made a double batch of oatmeal raisin cookies and baked up one pan's worth - 16 cookies. Now the question is whether Bill and I can ration ourselves to make them last a while.

>226 karenmarie: Hummingbirds are even more interesting than I thought! Thanks of the article.

>245 karenmarie: I've actually never eaten oysters (so technically lied when I said I liked all shellfish) because you can't really get fresh ones here - too far from everywhere. I love mussels, but mostly eat it mixed with shrimp in a seafood stew we like as a family.
We eat crayfish once a year - the crayfish premiere in late summer is a tradition. I dream of eating New Orleans style crayfish, though, so am very envious of you for having done that.

Would you post the oatmeal raisin cookie recipe? I love oatmeal cookies/biscuits but can't recall ever eating oatmeal raisin ones.

>246 quondame: They are at that, Susan. You're very welcome.

>227 SomeGuyInVirginia: Larry – sorry I missed you above – I was going to go take another picture of the hummingbird and got distracted. Here it is, and yes, the tail’s cobalt blue.

227 Larry – sorry I missed you above – I was going to go take another picture of the hummingbird and got distracted. Here it is, and yes, the tail’s cobalt blue.

>248 karenmarie: What a beautiful, beautiful image. The colors are perfect.

Wow for the humming bird picture! Hooray for the restoring back!!! Take it easy, please, Karen.
I'm going to make oatmeal cookies today, and that will do my back in, but we need them.
I neglected to say that we have a pair of bluebirds nesting in the box in Mama's backyard. A high point of Saturday was the male flying out and dive-bombing some flickers (I think --- "fletchers" to the readers of James Thurber, and that's what I think of first), innocently enjoying the birdbath in front of the box.
We should have hummers too, but DH hasn't gotten around to fixing the feeders.
He is watching the Nero Wolfe series, and I haven't read one in a long time. Maybe you'll inspire me with FdL!

Sounds like you have some challenges but are dealing with them effectively. Backache primarily.

Is your daughter at home with you? Our kids and their kids are scattered; I don't think we've seen any of them since the Christmas-New Year's holidays. So our youngest, Ned, scheduled a Zoom session, and we enjoyed a family get together yesterday afternoon. Swell to hear everyone laughing and joking and to see them. Don't know why we didn't do this sooner. Ned's already set up for next Sunday.

Now say. When did this Rex Stout/Nero Wolfe thing start? I read Fer-de-Lance last year, first time ever. Just a couple of days ago, I read Death of a Doxy, the only other book in the series that I own. I kinda like the ensemble of investigators Rex Stout created, but I'll have to shop on line for additional books. I think I read that your advice is to read 'em in order of publication. I can get the list from Wiki, I'm sure.

Mmm, lobster. Growing up my mum told us all we didn't like it. I couldn't believe how good it was when I first tasted it. That was when I moved to Nova Scotia and we used to have lobster boils. Tasty and messy!

I hope your back is better, Karen. Keep up the stretches. Your back will thank you for it.

How I know I'm unwell: Old Stuff is out of the room, Rob skyped and all I wanted to do is sleep.

>249 richardderus: Thank ‘ee kindly, RD! I’d like to keep it where I can see it all the time – like here in the Sunroom – but kitties and window sills, and etc.

>250 LizzieD: I’m finding out that Icy Hot/Bio Freeze/Cat’s Claw/Mentholatum really help, Peggy. Yay for oatmeal cookies.

A pair of bluebirds is very exciting and watching their territorial and nesting behaviors is especially fun. I think your DH has been pretty busy making sure you all have what you need to be staying safe at home.

Which series is he watching? Who plays Nero Wolfe? I’m really enjoying FdL.

>251 weird_O: Hi Bill. This back thing is only irritating by now, although if I’ve been sitting too long I get stiff more quickly than usual.

My daughter is in Wilmington, about 3 hours away in Wilmington, in a one-bedroom apartment finishing up the last semester of her 2-year Business Administration degree. We saw Jenna at Christmas/New Year’s too. Have fun with your Zoom sessions. Jenna and I talk pretty much every day anyway – I’ll take it as long as I can get it. She’s got a new romantic interest, which is good, who lives in the next building over, so I might start getting less time…

I may vaguely remember your reading FdL last year, but I saw Mark mention Rex Stout or Nero Wolfe on his thread and it just seemed right to pull out FdL. I’ve got 35 of the original 47 and haven’t read any of the Robert Goldsborough authorized ones.

>252 Familyhistorian: Clever mum to save on her grocery budget. Yum for a lobster boil. I’ve never been to one, alas. Thanks re my back. It’s better but not best… I had to walk out in the yard just now to show a handyman where to put some lumber and gutter to repair guttering on one of the barns, and that didn’t help my back much.

>253 richardderus: Richard.Dear. Sleep over skyping with Rob is definitely a sign that Not All’s Right. worried *smooches*

>244 PawsforThought: You are right Paws, it's crayfish. Sorry about the confusion. What is really the difference? Lobsters are bigger? Anyway have never eaten neither.
And I have eaten mussels, and liked them, my first time, and then was sick from them. Allergy, unfortunately. I could try oysters, but the idea of eating a live animal, no.

>248 karenmarie: Still a wonderful picture.

The Nero Wolfe series from A&E with Maury Chaykin at Wolfe (not nearly large enough) and Timothy Hutton as Archie. I thought it was a pretty good series - liked the look of the house. My recollection is that they didn't do the novels. I don't remember the short stories enough to know whether they used Stout's material or just stole his characters. They are on YouTube.

>256 LizzieD: I just watched an old pilot with William Shatner as Archie. He was pretty good in a hammy just overdone, manner.

>255 EllaTim: Well, they're a different species so I'm sure there's technically several differences, but the main this for a layman is that they're bigger. Both are delicious, by the way. Sort of similar to shrimp/prawns in taste, but not the same.
Sorry to hear you're allergic to mussels. Is that just mussels or clams too? (We call both mussels and clams "mussels" here.) And you don't have to eat oysters raw! Plenty of recipes with cooked oysters around. Oysters Rockefeller being the most famous, I believe. I really want to try that some day.

>248 karenmarie: What a beautiful stained glass picture!

I can't wait until the hummingbirds arrive in my area. Have a wonderful Tuesday :)

>248 karenmarie: I love this hummingbird stained glass. Gorgeous.

Morning, Karen. Stormy overnight here and it will be very warm today. I just ordered an oriole feeder, which I am excited about. I should get it by the end of the month. Last year, if you remember I got my first orioles, to feed on orange halves. Beautiful birds.

Dressed and grilled to perfection is my favourite with lobster:

>258 PawsforThought: No never eaten clams, but I have eaten periwinkles, once. Nothing special, a bit salty. The allergy is more common, and is probably just mussels, but I have become reluctant to try other shellfish.

>261 PaulCranswick: Now I am hungry, Paul.

Sorry for hijacking your thread, Karen!

>262 EllaTim: Ooh, you have me beat there. I've never eaten periwinkles. Clams are delicious - I'd definitely recommend trying them if you're not too worried about the allergy flaring up.

And yeah, sorry about hijacking the thread, Karen.

>255 EllaTim: I wonder if allergies to one type of shellfish means you’re allergic to all of them?

I tried oysters twice, admittedly cooked, both times in oyster dressing for Thanksgiving. Both times I thought they’d gone bad because they tasted that terrible to me, but everybody else seemed to enjoy them/the stuffing so figured I just didn’t like the taste. I love raw clams on the halfshell but never tried raw oysters before hating them cooked.

>256 LizzieD: Thanks, Peggy! I’ll check it out.

>257 quondame: Interesting, although I’ll probably pass, Susan.

>258 PawsforThought: Fascinating that mussels and clams are both ‘mussels’ in Sweden, Paws.

>259 figsfromthistle: Thanks, Anita! I haven’t seen one yet today, but I only got up at 8:45 a.m. Eastern Time. I took one of Bill’s tramadol tablets last night and slept long and well.

>260 msf59: ‘Morning to you, too, Mark! Thanks re the stained glass. Yay for an oriole feeder. We only get Orchard Orioles, and then only during breeding season. I’ve never seen one, but Louise has.

I just saw a lifer – my first White-Breasted Nuthatch! It was a male. He’s getting one sunflower seed at a time.

>261 PaulCranswick: Looks absolutely scrumptious, Paul!

>262 EllaTim: Hijacking is perfectly permissible, Ella! Now I want lobster, too.

>263 PawsforThought: I’ve never eaten periwinkles, or whelks or any other kind of sea snail except abalone.

…

I am going to go out and run errands today – first time in a week. Post Office, grocery store, and pharmacy drive-through.

Hi, Karen. I'm like you, I'm reading a lot more mysteries during this pandemic. That quote way up in >192 karenmarie: says it well.

Good review of The Sentence is Murder (touchstones still wonky for me). An enjoyable and entertaining read with everything tied up nicely at the end. Exactly how I felt about it.

I've been wondering what the next Horowitz mystery will be, after this one and The Word is Murder. The Paragraph is Poison?

>229 quondame: How lucky is Susan?! I don't know anyone who has gotten to hold a hummingbird.

Hi Joe! Mysteries are perfect for my frame of mind right now. Twenty years ago it would have been Georgian/Regency Romances and I still love Georgette Heyer, but right now... nope.

Thanks re The Sentence is Death. We are working up the aggregate writing structure chain, aren't we? I think The Paragraph is Poison is a perfectly lovely idea.

Susan is lucky, athough every time I've rescued a bird I've triple-washed my hands because of parasites. Now I'm triple-washing my hands all the time and don't even have the joy of holding a bird to go along with it.

...
Pssst... Anybody who can shop at Food Lion Grocery stores, I found everything on my list and more. I ... ah.. er... may have spent two week's worth of grocery money, but I'm resolved to not go food shopping for 2 or 3 weeks now. I was even able to get some organic non-fat milk and a London Broil, which is now in the freezer and will be grilled for our anniversary on April 27th.

Came home, quarantined the packaged goods, have now washed all the clothes I was wearing and taken a shower.

Back to my book!

My murder 'n' mayhem reading is on hiatus at least until the weekend. I'm caught up in William Shirer's Berlin Diary, which he wrote day-by-day while working the German beat between 1934 and 1940. Actually, IT is murder 'n' mayhem on a vast scale. It's 600 pages, so I'll be engaged with it for a week or so.

>265 jnwelch: >266 karenmarie: I felt totally blessed and lucky myself, and though I was home because I was laid off and was deeply depressed, physically and mentally at a very low point, I couldn't help but feel saving a wee miracle of a bird was point enough in life.

>266 karenmarie: I want lobster too! I wonder when will be the next time I have lobster? August?

I quarantine food I bring in from the grocery store, too. How long do you quarantine items that are in plastic or cellophane? I've heard everything from five to nine days, just to be sure.

One thing I did find that I don't have enough of, or as much of as I'd like, is bar soap. Well, I do have enough to last for four weeks, but I wish I'd bought more. A week from today I have to refill my prescription for ropinirole for twitchiness. I'm also looking for a pharmacy that has a drive-thru. That's brilliant!

>267 weird_O: My, my, Bill, you are reading ambitious books when most of us can barely read. Yay for the Shirer.

>268 quondame: Finding joy even in a bad time is precious indeed.

>269 SomeGuyInVirginia: Larry, I must stop thinking about lobster. It's preying on my mind.

So far I have no exact rule for quarantining - what's on the quarantine shelf can probably stay there for 5 days, I suppose.

Ha. I just sent 4 rolls of toilet paper, 16 ounces of hand sanitizer, 10 hand sanitizing wipes, and 2 new bars of hand soap to Jenna. The box should arrive Friday. While searching for bar soap I found quite a few already-started bars just chucked into drawers which can be put back into circulation as needed. Sometimes being disorganized has coronavirus benefits.

Our pharmacy is drive through - I have Quick Pay established so I don't even need to give them a credit/debit card.

Yikes, I feel like a big risk taker. We don't quarantine our new food items at all! Don't tell anyone ;-) I can't find hand sanitizer or wipes anywhere here, but I do have lots of liquid soap. I'm not a bar soap person, but my husband likes his zest bars.

It's all what you feel you need to do, Deborah. I may be paranoid, after all. However, there are 21 cases in my county, 3321 in my state.

The only reason I have hand sanitizer and wipes is because I order Melaleuca vitamins every month and last month I was able to order two each of their 16-oz hand sanitizer, 2.4-oz hand sanitizer, and 20/per box sanitizing wipes. THIS month the limit was one of each and they were out of everything except the 16-oz hand sanitizer.

I quarantine everything that comes into the apartment. That includes packages that have been delivered, groceries, absolutely anything. I've even got an Uber Eats delivery guy tied up in the guest room, and he's going to stay there until I know he doesn't have the virus!

Morning, Karen! Happy Wednesday! I had to take a day off, to help my son out with something. I just had a red-bellied woodpecker at the suet feeder. I think he is also pecking at our aluminum siding. Sounds like machine gun fire.

>273 SomeGuyInVirginia: Except for the Uber Eats guy, not a bad idea. You should really let him go, Larry...

>274 msf59: 'Morning, Mark! Happy Saturday to you, too! Actually, I hope it's Wednesday... Yay for the Red-Bellied Woodpecker.

...
Just got up a few minutes ago and am enjoying my first cup of coffee.

>275 karenmarie: Hope you enjoy that coffee in wonderful silence. I am enjoying mine to the sounds of Ellie's toy cat meowing. It's great.

>273 SomeGuyInVirginia: Is he cute?

Hi Horrible, happy Humpday!

>276 ChelleBearss: Hi Chelle! When Bill's not home - he's still working at the office but has tomorrow off - the TV is NOT on, so yeah, wonderful silence. I do listen to NPR when I'm in the kitchen or utility room and even sometimes here in the Sunroom. Glad you're enjoying Ellie's toy cat meowing. Does it startle Blue?

>277 richardderus: Hallo, RD! Happy Humpday for sure.

I'm reading Fer-de-Lance, a mass market paperback printed in November of 1984. Look what I found! I have this set courtesy of my mother, and am thrilled to think that she filled out this exact form and mailed it in to Bantam...

Sorry they're a bit blurry.

...

Speaking of hand sanitizer, Son the Younger said that the company he works for can't get the stuff from their packager because the bottle manufacturer is selling everything it makes as fast as it makes it. The sanitizer maker is stalled, all its vats full, waiting for bottles.

Still with that Third Reich. It's something of a revelation to read the attitudes of the German population and the leaders and the like "in the moment." For example, reading entries in 1939, you learn about the rationing imposed and the Germans' reaction to it.

>279 karenmarie: oh how cool is that! How many have you read, Karen?

>264 karenmarie: Shellfish allergies are interesting. I know some people are allergic to all shellfish, but my mother and a friend of mine were both allergic ONLY to lobster, and I hear that's pretty common. Of course, growing up in a kosher household, my mother had never had it, and ended up passed out in the restaurant bathroom after tasting it. Scary.

>280 weird_O: Hi Bill! It only takes one broken link, doesn't it? I hope they get bottles quickly.

Interesting about rationing in 1939. What's an example?

>281 lauralkeet: It's very cool, Laura, and I love having these because they're Christie and because my mom got them for me. I've read 83 of 88. Here are the 5 I haven't read.

Akhnaton
The Unexpected Guest
Star Over Bethlehem
Poems
Partners in Crime

>282 ffortsa: Hi Judy! I would imagine there are people just allergic to shrimp, too, so it's interesting insofar as what unique thing in one particular shellfish causes an allergic reaction. And yes, anybody who's always been in a kosher household wouldn't even know that they're allergic to shellfish. Very scary for your mom.

...
Well, okay. I changed my mind because of the pain and went to the chiropractor today. I had my mask on, they had their masks on and sprayed down the adjustment table and then the roller table and I used hand sanitizer twice in their office then once more in the car then came home and washed my hands.

I've got ice on the sore place now which I absolutely HATE, but it seems a shame to go there, spend money, risk the virus, and then not do everything to help myself. Harrumph.

Hi, Karen! I'm so thankful not to be allergic to shellfish. I love them every one although I haven't eaten crayfish or maybe mussels.
Sorry about your back and hoping that the chiropractor and the ice will have done enough to get you though this.

I never thought of my DH as a germaphobe, but we have always been well stocked with alcohol and peroxide, and Clorox wipes since Matthew. That said, we have enough on hand for me to wipe down everything that comes into the house from outside except DH himself. I don't quarantine anything - just wipe thoroughly with alcohol and then wipe the workspace. I do wipe containers and then put perishables into my own containers and throw out the stuff from the store. As I keep saying, I hope this is good enough. We have our 6th case in the county. This one and #4 are not related to travel, which I take as a bad sign.
Did I tell you this already? I saw this meme (!) on my mother's fb feed, passed on by one of her bridge acquaintances: "We were told to put America first. We were told to close and guard our borders. Now we know why." So now the unspeakable is a prophet as well as a messiah. The poster is a woman of normal intelligence. My mind boggles. I also look at all of these folks where I live and don't send $ to Move On (for example) because I know that facts and reason will not touch them.

Well, that was cheery.

DO read Partners in Crime. I have a soft spot for Tommy and Tuppence. Are you maybe the one of my friends who doesn't? I didn't know about poems or the other play. I think I can live without them. I love the look of your collection though.

>283 karenmarie: The Unexpected Guest was turned into a play that I was involved in when in a drama group at work! No acting for me in this one, but it was fun to be a part of it.

>283 karenmarie: your Agatha Christie reading is impressive!

I'm glad you were able to get someone to look at your back. Here's to fast healing.

No, I won't let the cute Uber Eats delivery guy go! This is for his own good!

Srsly, I have a guy tied up in the bedroom. What's the big deal?! I mean, how do people think that I paid for college?!

I'm hoping that I can follow guidelines and stay inside for the next 10 to 12 days. I've been stretching out my ropinirole, hoping that I won't have to refill it next Tuesday. I have been looking into pharmacies in the area that have a drive-thru, though. I take ropinirole for restless legs, and it's been miracle medicine. It started working the first day that I took it. I only heard about it because my brother has taken it in the past, he's had a lot of neurological issues over the past decade or so and he's up on all the medications.

>287 SomeGuyInVirginia: ...so YOU're the one who came up with the Aldo Moro plot...much is now explained....

Passing through! Kids are out washing the vehicles, and I have a few free minutes. I hope all is well with you. :) We are ticking along nicely. Miss M is living her best life. She doesn't have to go anywhere or talk to people. She suffers us occasionally when she's hungry. :) DH is working from home and we are liking that. He comes out and takes Eli to the baseball field to throw balls. I have been sewing masks with Project Mask - Winston-Salem. They are a powerhouse group. They have collected over 16,000 masks from home sewists and are distributing them around the area. The masks were tested by Wake Forest Health and approved for use in place of surgical masks. We are reading Julius Caesar out loud at lunch time, and it's hilarious to see the kids fight over who gets to read Mark Antony or Brutus. They aren't fans of Cassius at all. And they thought it would be boring. Haha!

Just checking in on you, Karen! I hope the back problems are easing up for you.

>284 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! I think it would be terrible to love shellfish and be allergic to them. Thanks re my back – it feels a lot better.

It sounds like your preventative measures are thorough. Scary how people will justify xenophobia, isn’t it?

Yes, I’m one of your friends who doesn’t particularly care for Tuppence and Tommy. I may end up reading all 5 this year simply so I can say I’ve read all 88 Bantam editions. Sigh.

When I told my mother I was thinking of moving the Christies up to Jenna’s old playroom she said, sort of plaintively, something like “Oh. I really love knowing they are where I saw them when I came to your house.” Well. Couldn’t move them after that, and I actually do enjoy them where they are.

>285 ffortsa: Good to know, Judy!

>285 ffortsa: Thanks, Laura. I’ve read many of them two, three, or even four times over the decades, too. Thanks re fast healing.

>287 SomeGuyInVirginia: But what if he’s allergic to cats? Poor Uber Eats delivery guy. Good luck either stretching out the ropinirole or finding a drive-thru pharmacy.

>288 richardderus: Hello RD.

>289 nittnut: Hi Jenn! It sounds like you are all coping quite well with the stay-at-home. That’s a riot about Julius Caesar. And brava for sewing masks. I admire people who
1. Have sewing machines.
2. Know how to use them.

>290 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! The chiropractor visit today has helped a lot. It’s still tender and occasionally painful, but it doesn’t feel out of kilter/align anymore. I couldn’t see it getting back into align on its own.

>288 richardderus: RD! No I don't mean I paid for college by tying guys up, I mean I paid for college by getting... Oh. Never mind.

>291 karenmarie: I'd be tempted to get a full sized image of the shelved book spines and place it over the replacements to see if anyone noticed....hmm, my husband's golden age comic reprints take up a lot of shelf space, maybe.....

>275 karenmarie: LOL. Wow! I was fuzzy-headed yesterday morning. Better today.

Morning, Karen. Sweet Thursday. Back to work for a single day, but also back to a chilly, damp day. It may not get out of the 40s. Ugh!

While out on my bird ramble yesterday, I heard a GHO hooting twice, but could not locate it. Hey, it still counts. I also saw my FOY, Yellow-Bellied Sapsuckers. I love these woodpeckers. Great colors.

>292 SomeGuyInVirginia: 'Morning, Larry!

>293 quondame: Hi Susan! Jenna would notice because she sleeps on the sleeper sofa in the Library when she comes a'visiting. I can't remember the last time Bill was in the Library. Does your husband access those shelves frequently? Would he notice?

I've come to the conclusion that I'm grateful Bill's not a reader of books. He read magazines before he had articles on his cell phone but he'd compete for shelf space if he read books. *smile*

>294 msf59: Good morning and sweet Thursday to you, too. 40s there, 57 going to a high of 80 here. Grumble. Yay for Yellow-Bellied Suckers.

Now that I've identified the White-Breasted Nuthatches, they're all I see. I need to fill the feeders and change out the hummingbird food today.

...
Bill's taken the day off but has one bid to work on so has gone into his home office. My back's better, was just a bit stiff first thing. I'm going to baby it for a few more days and will wait to start two major cleaning/organizing plans.

>283 karenmarie: You asked for examples of rationing in Germany in 1939. So I tagged a number of passages and posted them on my own thread (rather than cluttering yours). Link: https://www.librarything.com/topic/318375#7122023

>295 karenmarie:, >296 weird_O: They are really scary, too!

>296 weird_O: Thank you, Bill for taking the time to do this. Whew.

>297 richardderus: You're right, RD.

...
A friend of mine's daughter moved to Dallas last year and got married and had a baby on January 22nd. Jan tells me tonight that Aislinn's husband Brendan probably has Covid-19 - coughing, fever, shortness of breath - but his fever is not high enough for him to be tested. Unbelievable. They did give him a chest x-ray and he doesn't have pneumonia, but I'm absolutely ashamed that this country of ours cannot give people who clearly need a test a test.

This not much of a first-world country right now.

>295 karenmarie: In general one of Mike's virtues is that he can be relied upon to notice very little. However, anything to do with comic books is in that very little - also the spines of the books protrude from the shelves, so camouflage would be complicated. He does read, though usually for less than an hour at a time just before he goes to sleep. Right now he's into Witcher, but he introduced me to Gene Wolfe and there are many authors we both like.

I guess because they are something he treasures, right?

>300 karenmarie: As a very young boy he would bicycle miles in search of comics in big stores that would let him read without buying. Twice before we were married he had to sell off his collection, but he has rebuilt it and then some, barring a few major losses. While he was unemployed for an extended time some years back, he bought a huge lot and sold all that he didn't want on eBay to pay for that and an new computer with which to do it. Yes, comics are important to him. Which, as I accumulate dolls and miniature tools, I sort of understand.

Completely understandable, Susan, and the signs of a relationship that includes respect for what your partner loves.