John Simpson - Back to the Normal Reads No 2

Please join me for further reading adventures in 2021.

Hello everyone, this is my Ninth year being part of this wonderful group. I am John, 57years old and married to Karen for 36 years and counting. We have two lovely children, Rob and Amy. Rob lives with his Fiancee Louise, daughter Hannah who will be 10 in February. Amy married Andy in 2015 and they now have a cat called Combie and a first child due at the end of April.

Please come along and leave a message and let's see what fun we have.

I love books and currently have just over 2,650 books on my shelves and this doesn't include my Cricket collection which stands at about 430 books. While reading I do enjoy the odd pot or two of tea.

CURRENTLY READING

I just love Big Books, these are my 1000+page reads so far with more to add.

1.Shogun by James Clavell, 1243 pgs
2.Gai-Jin by James Clavell, 1578 pgs
3.Noble House by James Clavell, 1435 pgs
4.War & Remembrance by Herman Wouk, 1171 pgs
5.Whirlwind by James Clavell, 1343 pgs
6.Centennial by James A. Michener 1100 pgs
7.The Covenant by James A. Michener, 1080 pgs
8.Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, 1344 pgs
9.Homeland by John Jakes, 1138 pgs
10.Russka by Edward Rutherfurd, 1007 pgs
11.A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, 1474 pgs
12.Love and War by John Jakes, 1019 pgs
13.Texas by James A. Michener, 1508 pgs
14.My Life by Bill Clinton, 1000 pgs
15.Child of the Phoenix by Barbara Erskine, 1086 pgs
16.Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, 1059 pgs
17.The Journeyer by Gary Jennings, 1219 pgs
18.Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton, 1144 pgs
19.Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton, 1235 pgs
20.Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, 1185 pgs
21.Wicked by Jilly Cooper, 1007 pgs
22.The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, 1412 pgs
23.London by Edward Rutherfurd, 1299 pgs
24.The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, 1076 pgs
25.A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, 1391 pgs
26.World Without End by Ken Follett, 1111 pgs
27.Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey, 1,015 pgs
28.The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer, 1,056 pgs
29.An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, 1,065 pgs
30.New York by Edward Rutherfurd, 1017 pgs
31.Hawaii by James A.Michener, 1130 pgs
32.The Company by Robert Littell, 1281 pgs
33.The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F.Hamilton, 1225 pgs
34.Spangle by Gary Jennings, 1276 pgs
35.Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, 1024 pgs
36.Alaska by James A. Michener, 1073 pgs.
37.Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson, 1180 pgs.
38.Chesapeake by James A. Michener, 1132 pgs
39. 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster, 1070 pgs.
40. The Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch, 1156 pgs.
41. The Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F. Hamilton, 1259 pgs.
42. The Naked God by Peter F. Hamilton, 1244 pgs.
43. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy, 1104 pgs.
44. The Source by James A. Michener, 1032 pgs.
45. Against The Day by Thomas Pynchon, 1220 pgs.
46. The Stand by Stephen King, 1325 pgs.
47. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, 1006 pgs.
48. Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer, 1401 pgs.

2020 Reading Stats

Books Read ----------- 24

Pages read ------------ 21,961

Authors ---------------- 22

New Authors ---------- 10

Male Authors ---------- 14

Female Authors ------- 8

Avg Book Length ------ 915.04

1st July 1995 to 31st December 2020 Stats

BOOKS READ ---------------- 1211

PAGES READ ----------------- 568,336

AVG BOOK LENGTH --------- 469.31

DAYS OF READING ---------- 9316

LONGEST BOOK ------------- 1578

SHORTEST BOOK ------------ 101

AUTHORS -------------------- 376

MALE AUTHORS ------------- 218

FEMALE AUTHORS ---------- 158

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY BY JOHN

1. Heavenly Dates and Other Flirtations by Alexander McCall Smith, PB - 200 pages.
2. The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich, PB - 249 pages.
3. The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman, PB - 275 pages.
4. Juror No.3 by James Patterson, PB - 331 pages.
5. Following On by Emma John, PB - 257 pages. Non-Fiction
6. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, HB - 377 pages.
7. The Strange Disappearance of the Bollywood Star by Vaseem Khan, PB - 356 pages.
8. Agatha Raisin and the Witches' Tree by M.C. Beaton, PB - 232 pages.

BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY BY JOHN

9. The Store by James Patterson, PB - 322 pages.
10. Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child, PB - 522 pages.
11. The Wandering Wombles by Elizabeth Beresford, PB - 169 pages.
12. Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase by Louise Walters, PB - 294 pages.
13. The Scent of the Night by Andrea Camilleri, PB - 228 pages.
14. Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer, PB - 322 pages.
15. Agatha Raisin and the Dead Ringer by M. C. Beaton, PB - 233 pages.
16. Resort to Murder by T.P. Fielden, PB - 310 pages.

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY BY KAREN
1. A Good Heart is Hard to Find by Trisha Ashley, PB. 4.5 Stars
2. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, HB. 5 Stars
3. Seven Kinds of People you find in Bookshops by Shaun Bythell, HB. 4 Stars
4. My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith, PB. 4 Stars
5. Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell, HB. 4 Stars

BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY BY KAREN

6. Things we left Unsaid by Emma Kennedy, PB. 5 Stars +
7. To the Land of Lost Friends by Alexander McCall Smith, PB. 4 Stars
8. The Wandering Wombles by Elizabeth Beresford, PB. 4 Stars
9. Under Gemini by Rosamunde Pilcher, PB. 4 Stars
10. Death in a Tunnel by Miles Barton, PB. 3.5 Stars
11. The Haunted Season by G. M. Malliet, PB. 5 Stars +
12. Devils Breath by G. M. Malliet, PB. 3.5 Stars
13. Hormones, Hexes and Exes by J. C. Blake, PB. 3.5 Stars

BOOKS READ IN MARCH BY JOHN

17. Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley, PB - 402 pages.
18. 18th Abduction by James Patterson, PB - 381 pages.
19. I Talk Too Much - My Autobiography by Francis Rossi, HB - 306 pages. Non-Fiction
20. Nice Work (If You Can Get It) by Celia Imrie, PB - 391 pages.
21. the next person you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom, PB - 210 pages.
22. 59 Memory Lane by Celia Anderson, PB - 382 pages.
23. Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer, HB - 306 pages.

BOOKS READ IN APRIL BY JOHN

24. Agatha Raisin - Beating About The Bush by M. C. Beaton, HB - 238 pages.
25. The Firm by John Grisham, PB - 490 pages.
26. Changing Times by Jack Sheffield, PB - 334 pages.
27. The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier, PB - 176 pages.
28. Chocolate Shoes and Wedding Blues by Trisha Ashley, PB - 402 pages.
29. Private Vegas by James Patterson, PB - 479 pages.
30. Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich, PB - 313 pages.
31. Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich, PB - 313 pages.

BOOKS READ IN MARCH BY KAREN

14. Top of the Dale by Gervase Phinn. 5 Stars
15. Intrigue in Capri by Ashley Weaver. 3 Stars Novella on Kindle
16. Perils of Morning Coffee by Alexander McCall Smith. 4 Stars Novella on Kindle
17. Notting Hill Carnival by Candice Carty-Williams. 2 Stars Quick Reads.
18. Becoming by Michelle Obama. 5+ stars
19. Nice Work if You Can Get It by Celia Imrie. 5 Stars
20. The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell. 4 Stars

BOOKS READ IN APRIL BY KAREN

21. A Nice Cup of Tea by Celia Imrie. 4 Stars
22. Finding Love at Hedgerow Hollow by Jessica Redland. 4 Stars.
23. Bill Mitchell's Yorkshire Compiled by David Mitchell. 3 Stars.
24. The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson. 3 Stars.
25. Wedding Tiers by Trisha Ashley.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN 2021

JANUARY

1. 1st Case by James Patterson, PB.
2. Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Childs, PB.
3. A Cricketer and a Gentleman by Bob Willis, HB.
4. Seven Kinds of People You Find In Bookshops by Shaun Bythell, HB.
5. Hawk by James Patterson, PB.

FEBRUARY

6. Lessons by Jenny Colgan, PB.
7. 20th Victim by James Patterson, PB.
8. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, PB.
9. Hormones, Hexes & Exes by J.C. Blake, PB.
10. Inspector Singh investigates : A Curious Indian Cadaver by Shamini Flint, PB.

BOOKS BOUGHT IN 2021

MARCH

11. Becoming by Michelle Obama, PB.
12. The Moroccan Daughter by Deborah Rodriguez, PB.

APRIL

13. Private Moscow by James Patterson, PB.
14. ME by Elton John, PB.
15. Caedmon's Song by Peter Robinson, PB.
16. The Killing Place by Tess Gerritsen, PB.
17. Date with Deceit by Julia Chapman, PB.
18. Camino Winds by John Grisham, PB.
19. Playfair Cricket Annual 2021 ed by Ian Marshall, PB.
20. Playfair Cricket World Cup Guide (1996) ed by Bill Frindall, PB.
21. Wisden Cricketers' Almanack 2021 ed by Lawrence Booth, HB.
22. The Battle of the Bulge - Britain's Untold Story by Charles Whiting, PB.
23. The Death Box by Lorna Nicholl Morgan, PB.

FEBRUARY'S READING STATS

Books Read...................... 8

No of Authors.................... 8

New Authors...................... 2

Male Authors..................... 5

Female Authors.................. 3

Pages Read....................... 2,400

Daily Avg........................... 85.71

Book Length avg................. 300

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-2-2021 - 2677
Books added in February - 5
Books read in February - 8

Revised book total - 2674

Pages to read at 1-2-2021- 1,104,447
Pages added in February - 1,483
Pages read in February - 2,400

Revised total pages to read - 1,103,530

Next one is yours.

Happy new thread, John!

Happy new one!

Hope you have a great week.

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, John.

>14 johnsimpson: More books read than added in February, well done!

Happy new one, buddy.

Happy new thread, John! I'm happy that you're starting to heal and have the stitches out!

Happy New Thread, John!

Happy new thread! I fell way behind on threads at the end of last month. I'm glad to hear the surgery went well, and I'm sorry I missed all the pots of tea of the last 8-10 days!

>16 drneutron:, Thanks Jim, mate.

>17 figsfromthistle:, Thanks Anita my dear.

>18 quondame:, Thanks Susan my dear.

>19 FAMeulstee:, Thanks Anita my dear, two months running that i have read more books than have entered the house. I will get away with this for another month and then as soon as April 12th arrives and the shops and charity shops are open, all that will go out of the window, lol.

>20 PaulCranswick:, Thanks Paul, mate.

>21 scaifea:, Thanks Amber my dear, the hand is slowly getting better but i need to take care for the next week or so.

>22 connie53:, Thanks Connie my dear.

>23 thornton37814:, Thanks Lori my dear, surgery went well and the hand is slowly healing now the stitches are out but i will have to be careful for the next couple of weeks. The tea consumption is gradually rising to the usual levels, lol.

Yesterday was quite a busy day, Karen went back to work after her week off and once i had dropped her at work i parked up and went into the store to do an essential shop as it was the first of two days of staff double discount.

Once the shopping was done i made my way home and unpacked and put it all away before having a pot of tea and picking up my book. This was the pattern until 2pm when i went into the loft to get the cat carrier down for Felix. At 2.15pm i got Felix off the spare bed and into the carrier and we set off to the Vets for his yearly healthcheck and vaccinations. Felix howled like a baby all the way there but once we were outside and i put the carrier on the floor he was fine.

Felix was very good seeing the Vet and he got a clean bill of health, she was very complimentary about him and he was totally relaxed. This all changed once we were back in the car and once home he was not impressed with me and blanked me. I had a pot of tea and perused my phone until it was time to make Karen a pot of tea in the travel mug and go and pick her up from work. I told Karen what had gone on and once home she went upstairs to get changed and found Felix under the spare bed.

Later in the evening i was forgiven because he wanted his ears stroking and knurling but he was still a little bit subdued.

The weather was horrible all day, we woke up to very foggy, dank and damp conditions and it didn't improve much all day.

Today has been a pretty good day, we awoke to a slightly better day than yesterday and it did improve after midday.

After we had breakfast it was time to take Karen to work, after dropping her off i parked up and went into the store to see if they had the Cat food that Felix likes as the shelves were bare yesterday. Luckily today they had his food and i picked up two boxes and then made my way back to the car. I moved from the parking space over to the recycling area and got rid of the juice and milk cartons.

Once the recycling had been done i made my way to the Post office at Crofton to pay a bill and then went to the garden centre near Featherstone to pick up some gift vouchers.

Once the gift vouchers had been bought, i made my way home but stopped off in the village of Sharlston where i was born and lived until got married. I parked up in the car park on the Common and then went for a walk along Fernside. I haven't walked along there since probably July 1984 with my Dad, it was a regular part of our walks around the village.

After my little step back in time i made my way home and got everything out of the car, i put the gift vouchers in my neighbour Steve's 70th birthday card and then took his card and his daughter, Rachael's birthday card, across to them. Once this was done i got back home and made a pot of tea and read for a bit. Felix went out for about ten minutes and then came back in, he spent the rest of the day on the back of the armchair and then went onto his chair in the dining room until 4pm and then went up to the spare bed.

The Postman called as he had an ink parcel for me, i had ordered Niche Pens special edition ink, Alexandrite 80ml, along with a 30ml bottle of Diamine Writer's Blood and two cheap Jinhao 992 fountain pens. After finishing my Pork Pie i filled the pens with the new inks and then watched the news before going upstairs to do the housework.

Once the housework was done i made a pot of tea and then got a message from a lady who was selling off a few pens, i had asked for the PenBBS 267 Amber is a Cat with Paw Prints on the nib, Karen paypalled her and she was letting me know that it was in the post. And then later i found that i had won a pen that a chap had put on the pen site and he selected a winner from those who commented about it.

I picked Karen up from work and we had a drink before making tea and then we watched the news and are having a nice steady, relaxing evening.

>28 johnsimpson: It seems like any time a store is out of my cat's favorite food or their brand of cat litter, all of the ones in the area are out. It's crazy! I now try to stock up way ahead. I never had to do that pre-COVID. I need to purchase cat litter this week, but I'm okay on food.

Happy new thread, John. It's good to see that you are healing well. Hopefully by the next time Karen has time off work you will be able to venture further afield.

I find it so interesting to read about your pen and ink hobby. Do you use the pens for everyday things? Like paying bills? Or do you do calligraphy and things like that with them?

>29 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, we don't normally have a problem getting Felix's Cat food and when i mentioned it to Karen she said that over the weekend the store had had massive sales and obviously they had not got around to fully stocking up the Cat food. We had a box of food in but as it was staff double discount she thought we ought to pick up his food.

>30 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg my dear, the hand is healing nicely although the base of the hand is still tender at times. I though Karen had used all her holidays up but she has a few days off towards the end of March, unfortunately apart from food shops nothing opens up until April 12th.

We are already looking forward to getting back to our date days out and just having the freedom to go off and wander about.

>31 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita my dear, i currently have 24 pens inked up and two more pens to come, one of which i already know what ink i am going to put in it. I use a different pen each day to fill in my diary but may use another pen depending on the ink in the pen i am using.

I have picked up four new inks in the last couple of weeks, all by Diamine and they are Marine, Aurora Borealis, Alexandrite and Writer's Blood, they are all lovely but the middle two have a nice sheen to them and show hints of red and green in a blue/teal colour.

I much prefer Fountain Pens but have to use Ballpoint pens occasionally (Devil Sticks) and always have at least one in my Coat or Jacket pocket.

Finished my 17th book of 2021 this afternoon, Twelve Days of Christmas by Trisha Ashley, PB - 402 pages. this is the 5th of 6 in the Lancashire Series.

27-2-21 to 4-3-21

>34 johnsimpson:
Wow - that's so cool that you actually use these pens and inks for writing. Writing seems to be something that many people don't do very often.

>35 johnsimpson: That plot sounds like a Hallmark Christmas movie!

Another tough day for England cricket fans, John. Poor Stokes has hardly bowled all winter and then has to slog away with effectively only three bowlers with no faith in Bess. Really Ollie Stone should have played.

Happy new thread!

>36 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita my dear, i have always loved writing and once i left the mining industry and West Yorkshire Police i always used a fountain pen at work. As i said i write every day and i tend to pick a pen for each day but on some of my writing i have to use another one and most times that is the TWSBI eco-t fine nib filled with Diamine Earl Grey.

I have a couple of letters to write and will get on with them on Monday, i filled my PenBBS 267 "Amber is a Cat" (it has two paws on the nib) with Herbin's Ambre de Bermandie, unfortunately i knocked the bottle over twice. It is only a small bottle with 10ml in but now there is only about 3ml left, i will order the larger bottle as it is a bit too small really.

>37 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, it does seem as though it could be a Hallmark Christmas movie but the book was enjoyable. Karen was surprised i was reading a Christmas book in March but i told her it was the next one in the Lancashire series and i want to finish this series this year and now i have only one more to go and then it is done.

>38 PaulCranswick:, I must admit Paul that it was a tough watch, i harboured hopes of possibly a small first innings lead but then Pant and Sundar took the game away from us, we didn't seem to have an idea how to bowl to them but then again Pant is one on his own, what he did to Jimmy was sacrilege and he should have shown some respect, the little tyke, lol.

Since his monumental effort in the first Test, Root's batting has been poor, he should know not to go back to a spinner like he has been doing. He is the Captain and best batsman and yet he has been found out and yet he normally is a damn good player of spin.

My prediction about Kohli was flawed, he has been found out by our bowlers and this should have given the team a big lift and made them crack on but they failed to capitalise on getting such a player out for nothing or next to nothing on a regular basis. Oh well, we will have to wait for the English summer and on that score i think it will be a good Test Championship final between New Zealand and India.

>39 ChelleBearss:, Thanks Chelle my dear.

Dropping by to wish you a wonderful reading weekend!

Hi John, and a very belated happy new thread.

Poor Felix and having to go to the vet for his yearly checkup. I'm glad he finally forgave you and hope the subdued bit is gone and he's completely back to normal.

Washburne had his first vet visit since being a Hengeveld kitty last month and in order to keep the stress down I conferred with the vet and gave him 1/2 of a Gabapentin tab the evening before and 1/2 a tab 2 hours before I dropped him off. He did fine, is a perfect weight, and although he yowled like nobody's business going there and whimpered a bit on the way home, isn't permanently traumatized.

Happy New Thread, John.

It's fun to hear about the pens and ink you find. Have you ever tried a quill pen? I sometimes think of the old-timers writing by candlelight and periodically re-sharpening the nib.

I hope your week goes well, and your reading, too.

>46 jnwelch:
Stopping to sharpen a quill would give a writer time to think about what they are writing so when they put that pen back to the paper it would have lots of thought put into it.

Hi John, just popping in to see what you are up to. I love the fountain pen story. I used to write with one in the past, using purplish ink.

>47 benitastrnad: I like that, Benita, thanks.

>44 figsfromthistle:, Hi Anita my dear, the reading over the last few days has gone really well.

>45 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, thank you.

I am back in Felix's good books again, that night he came onto the bed and settled on me and wanted his ears knurling and then his neck and chin and then back to his ears and on it goes for about 10 to 15 minutes before i can get to my book.

I am glad that Washburne was OK with his first vet visit, and like Felix he got a clean bill of health and everything was OK.

Over the last few days it has been Karen that has not been flavour of the month as she has given him his flea treatment and his worm tablet. As she says it is cupboard love with her as she tends to feed him more than me and the rest of the time it is me that he gets on and wants cuddling etc.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

> 46, Hi Joe mate, i love my pens and inks as you know and the colours and their names are intriguing and interesting to write with. The only problem is that our Facebook group, Fountain Pens UK sends you down the rabbit hole as different members show their pens and the inks they use and like with books, they get added to a list to be got eventually.

I haven't used a quill pen but may see about getting one and giving it a try out, although i said i had two letters to write, i haven't got around to them yet due to other things getting in the way and could do with writing more to make better use of the pens and inks.

The week has been mixed but the reading has gone well.

>47 benitastrnad:, >49 jnwelch:, I think you are probably right Benita, i wonder if this is why books took so long to write with having to stop every few words to dip the quill into the ink pot.

>48 connie53:, Hi Connie my dear, as you know i love my Fountain pens and inks and have a few inks of the Purplish shade which i like along with greens and blues.

There are a number of lovely Fountain pen shops in The Netherlands, i like to peruse them online and am just waiting to see if any members of the Fountain Pen UK group buy from them to see what difference Brexit has made to the purchase price with confusion on VAT and Customs charges compared to pre-Brexit. One of these days i will get over to The Netherlands and visit you along with some or all of these pen shops.

Sunday was a nice steady day for both of us, i did a bit of pottering about in the garden and Karen did some baking before we had a nice Sunday lunch.

Monday started with me taking Karen to work and then once home i had a pot of tea before getting on with the jobs i had been left. The first job was to put a new screw in the Dishwasher door cover, i eventually got the wooden cover off and then measured the old screw next to a new one and cut the new one down to size. I tightened up the other screw and then started on the new one, just as i did the last turn i heard a crack, the screw had broken in the hole, bugger.

I took the handle off and went to the garage to try and drill it out, sadly it didn't work and so a new handle was required. I had a look online and found that the DIY store B&Q had one in stock so i got in the car and went to the store. If i had fully read everything including the reviews, i would have found out that it was the small sized handles that they had not the larger one that i needed, i found this out after wandering around the store and finding where the door handles were.

Once back home i had a drink of tea, watched the news and set the DVD recorder up and then got on with sanding down the area on the side unit in the living room that Felix had scratched badly while racing about the room. I sanded as much as i could but needed to get the woodfiller out, i filled in the two worst spot and left it to dry and had some lunch. Two hours later i sanded off the excess woodfiller and then oiled the area, it needs another couple of coats of Danish oil.

The rest of the day was quite steady once i had picked Karen up from work.

Tuesday was another steady day but ended up painful. After breakfast i took Karen to work and after dropping her off i popped into store to take a washing up bowl back as it was too big for our sink. Once this was done i made my way home and had a pot of tea and picked up my book to finish it off. Once the book was finished i selected my next book and then watched the news and set the DVD recorder up again.

My hands had been aching ever since i got back from taking Karen to work, after setting the DVD recorder up i had a pot of tea and read and then took the vacuum and duster up stairs to do the housework. By the time i had finished my hands were really aching so i called it a draw with the housework, made a pot of tea and read after playing Freecell on my phone.

I read until it was time to make Karen a pot of tea in the travel mug and then go and pick her up from work. Again we had a steady evening.

Finished book 18 of 2021, 18th Abduction by James Patterson, PB - 381 pages, on Tuesday morning.

4-3-2021 to 9-3-2021

John I wonder what is your take on this rotation nonsense in the England test side. My own view is that a four test (surely ought to have had five) series in India must be a priority as will the Ashes tour next winter. These have been exceptional times but I have not seen any player take issue with having to dedicate his time to the IPL.

I think it has gotten to the stage whereby we need a test side distinct from the T20/ODI team. I would determine in a changed system that we have 30 white ball (limited overs) and 30 red ball (test) players and that for a year there will be no cross over.

I think it is also essential that all players be fully available for all games for their respective counties. 17 first class games with a 50 over limited over cup and a T20 Sunday League. This hundred nonsense should be held at the end of the season over a few weeks only.

This way the balance of the game is better and players could no longer be grumbling about burn out.

My Test Squad would be:
Batsmen : Root (c), Crawley, Sibley, Madsen, Lawrence, Hildreth, Pope, Northeast, Dent, Gubbins
All Rounders : Stokes, Higgins, S. Curran
Wicket Keepers : Foakes, Bracey, Cox, Hosein
Seamers : Anderson, Broad, Stone, Archer, J Overton, Tongue, Garton, Robinson
Spinners : Virdi, Leach, Parkinson, Sisodya, Qadri

My One Day Squad would be:

Batsmen : Vince, Malan, Livingstone, Morgan (C), Buttler, Banton, Salt, Roy, Hales, Hain
All Rounders : T. Curran, Gregory, Mullvaney
Wicket Keepers : Bairstow, Billings, Davies, B Brown
Seamers : Topley, Mahmood, Wood, Jordan, P Brown, Willey, Helm, Plunkett
Spinners : Dawson, Rashid, Ali, Van Buuren, Briggs

Several players like Rhodes, Clarke, Duckett, Hameed, Coad, Denly, Crane, Roland-Jones etc could still force their way into the reckoning with good performances in either discipline via the County games.

We need to find some spinners. I like the look of Virdi and the boy at Glamorgan is one who may be able to be developed. Bess is not quite good enough to play Test cricket it seems but apart from Virdi and Ali it is hard to think of other off-spinners available who are better than him. I am backing a hunch in putting Hamidullah Qadri the young Kent off spinner in front of him. Sisodya and Qadri are players we need to try to develop.

Glad things are going well. I'm enjoying a nice relaxing vacation with the cats. It's very safe where I am. It's off season. Everyone wears masks when out and about. Stores still limit the number of customers. I enjoyed a walk on the boardwalk in the marshes around Bodie Island lighthouse yesterday.

>58 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, to be honest i think the rotation policy is stupid and has shown to be a waste of time and with those going onto the IPL, has made a mockery of it. The fact that Silverwood has said he is considering using it during the Ashes shows a total disregard for how important the Ashes are. I understand all the issues around touring at this present time but they are well paid for what they do, the majority of them have been away from families before and when the NHS and other key workers are going into work day after day, long shifts, i think it is a poor show from them.

I have never been in favour of Central Contracts and feel that it has made English Cricket poorer, add to this the way our domestic season is being made purely for the bish, bash, bosh game and the quick buck is a total detriment to the Test team.

We will never develop decent spinners when Championship games are held from early April when conditions are no good for them and the arse end of the season when early starts and dew are no good to them. The batsmen and bowlers, fast, medium and spin need to be able to develop on decent, hard tracks where they have to work hard for wickets and develop techniques to get batsmen out. We have been out played on dry, dusty tracks and hard tracks and in OZ the tracks will be hard and fast.

I had thought that getting rid of Graves would give us change but Harrison is of the same ilk.

At the end of the day, Root needs his best Eleven for all five tests Down Under, if that means they play all five Tests then that is what should be done. I am sick of sportsmen and Women moaning about workload, they have the finest experts around them, they are fitter than ever, they have recovery programs, they have all the technology to keep in touch with families and they are well paid for all this. Rant over.

I forgot to mention that we have both got our Vaccine dates sorted out, we have our first jab on the 21st March and 2nd jab on the 8th of June, we cannot wait for them.

>61 johnsimpson: That's great John! The 21st is quite near. This is for the both of you?

I wish I could say the same, the UK has definitely done better than he rest of Europe.

>62 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, ten days to go before we both have our first jab, i think that this shortage of vaccinations done in Europe is due to the beaurocracy of the EU Commission, whereas we are on our own now, for good or bad.

The last couple of days have been quite windy although today it has been a mix of sunshine and showers. The weather lately has not helped my hands and today was no different, i could chop my right thumb off although it didn't help catching it in the dishwasher when emptying it.

I have been doing my exercises with the left hand but the base of the hand into the wrist is not good at the moment but it is still early days.

Finished Book 19 last night, I Talk Too Much - My Autobiography by Francis Rossi, HB - 305 pages.

9-3-21 to 11-3-21

Here we definitely have a major storm going on. I was going out for groceries but we are okay for diner tonight, so I will stay indoors, nicely tucked away in my chair and my book(s)

Reading now

Laten wij aanbidden by Ann-Marie Macdonald book
De eed van de zwaardvechter - Juliet McKenna book
The once and future witches - Alix E. Harrow ebook

>60 johnsimpson: I of course agree with you on everything you said, John.

What would be your Best XI for Australia. I may have to concede soon that Hildreth is never going to get picked and if he doesn't get a chance this summer he is unfortunately and unfairly, toast. The bowling needs to be fast and fearsome down under and we need good summers by our very quicks - Wood, Archer, J Overton, Garton and Stone
We need two spinners to tour.
We need a batting lineup that will be consistent.

I think that Sibley has the temperament to play in Australia. Malan did well there last time and is getting better with age. Root picks himself. If Stokes bats at five we get an extra bowler.
That leaves an opener to find. Perhaps Crawley can cement his place.

Have a great weekend.

Hi John!

>51 johnsimpson: Over the last few days it has been Karen that has not been flavour of the month as she has given him his flea treatment and his worm tablet. As she says it is cupboard love with her as she tends to feed him more than me and the rest of the time it is me that he gets on and wants cuddling etc. Poor Karen, doing the work and not getting the cuddles. I am the cat magnet of the family, although Wash has started sitting in Bill's lap sometimes.

>61 johnsimpson: Congrats on getting scheduled for your vaccines!

Sending love and hugs to you both and kitty skritches to dear Felix.

>67 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, i will reserve judgement on picking my XI for Australia until i have seen the domestic season to the midway point. I agree that Sibley has one opening slot, Malan has what the Aussies call "The Ticker" for it, Root and Stokes pick themselves and i think i would go with Crawley at the moment. The big loser is Burns although he played well against the Aussies last time out but i think his confidence has been shot, he doesn't seem to know where to move his feet.

I would say that there are a few places up for grabs in the tour squad and it is up to potential candidates to showcase themselves, we just want good weather for the Championship games for them to prove themselves.

>68 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, Felix has been showing Karen a bit more love but as soon as i appear he comes over to me and gets himself settled for Skritches.

Three days before we have our first vaccine shot and we cannot wait, getting a step closer to some sort of normality.

Sending love and hugs and kitty skritches for your three furbabys.

Finished book 20 last night, Nice Work (If You Can Get It) by Celia Imrie, PB - 391 pages. Book 2 of 3 in the Bellevue-Sur-Mer Series.

11-3-21 to 17-3-21

Hi John, good to hear you and Karen will get your first shot soon! I hope to hear when it's my and Peet's turn soon. I think he will be first because he is over 70 and I'm not. So we are scheduled in different groups.

Have a Lovely Weekend and love and hugs for Karen and yourself!

Hi John! All caught up here again. I see you are enjoying your tea and pens, as usual. : )
Congrats on getting your first vaccine shot soon and on already reading book #20!! What a change from your tome tally. ; ) Best wishes to you and Karen.

>69 johnsimpson: Sensible John. At least we can hold our heads up a little with the T20 games as we are jolly good at those even in difficult Indian conditions.

Our pace bowling for the tests will be interesting.

Archer, Wood, Stone, J. Overton and Mahmood bowl really quickly as does Garton who has the added benefit of being a left-armer. Tongue and Helm have promise too. Anderson and Broad still feature and can be outstanding even today. Woakes is good at home and bowlers for English conditions are also in abundance - Coad, Porter, C Overton and Robinson. 15 seamers for 3 or at the most 4 places.

>72 connie53:, Hi Connie my dear, we were surprised to be able to book our vaccine shots as we thought it would be early April before they got around to our age band. I hope that now they have sorted out that the Astra-Zeneca vaccine can be used in Europe you will get a message to book your vaccine shots.

I hope that you, Peet and the family all have a good weekend, sending love and hugs to you all from both of us, dear friend.

>73 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, lovely to see you here again. We can't wait to get our first Vaccine jab on Sunday and the second one is already booked in. You know me very well with the books, tea and pens, i am loving the new inks i have got recently especially with the sheen they give in the light.

The reading is going really well with the "normal" tomes, lol. I have a good chance of finishing number 21 tonight and will match last years total by the end of March.

Sending love and hugs to you and the family dear friend.

>74 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, the T20's are our redeeming part of the India tour and the ODI's should be interesting.

As you say the Fast bowling department for the Tests will be interesting as you have noted down numerous candidates for the job. This is one area where we have a glut of good bowlers for all conditions in the non-spin area of the game, there are some good candidates who will be hoping for a good start to the Championship season to throw their hats into the ring. I just hope that Silverwood has the chance to have a good look at some of them and has a good say in the selection meetings and they don't just look at the stats which is what Ed Smith seems to think is the main criteria.

With a damned good Test squad to take down under, it would be nice to give the Aussies a good stuffing on their midding.

Hope that you and the family have a good weekend mate.

Happy weekend!

Today I received a parcel full of tea that I ordered a few weeks ago. Can't wait to try them. I have been getting into the habit of relaxing with tea in the afternoons instead of having coffee. So far, I am loving it!

>78 figsfromthistle:, Hi Anita my dear, you have me intrigued about what tea you have got, i find a nice pot of tea keeps me nice and mellow and add a book to this and nothing could be better to my mind. Since Covid struck i have been drinking more coffee than usual but am getting back to more tea than coffee as it is so much better for me.

Have a nice weekend dear friend, sending love and hugs.

>77 johnsimpson: Good point about stat based selections, John. If that is what Ed Smith is doing then it is a bit hit and miss.

The batsmen who have done enough to stay in and around the test team - Root, Sibley, Crawley Pope and Lawrence need some boosting. Burns probably needs a while back in the county game to reassess his game and get some confidence back. I think decisions need to be made as to whether Buttler and Bairstow are test batsmen because they are not test quality wicketkeepers in my opinion. I also feel that Dawid Malan should not be written off and Ben Duckett and Adam Lyth could still come again.

Other players suggest themselves as worthy of genuine contemplation at test level:
Wayne Madsen (who took the time to qualify and would be good on Aussie pitches)
Chris Dent (cannot be too many openers in front of him)
Aneurin Donald & Sam Northeast at Hampshire
Liam Livingstone
Hassan Azad
Joe Clarke
James Hildreth (I know)
Phil Salt

We need to confirm an opening partner for Sibley - (possibly Crawley but Dent, Salt, Lyth and Azad should come into consideration).
We need a number 3 if Root won't play there If Crawley is not opening he can play one down but Malan, Livingstone and Madsen suggest themselves to me.
The number five needs to be bedded in. Lawrence and Pope will have their supporters and I would obviously pick Hildreth but the Hampshire pair and Joe Clarke have a chance too.

I would make Stokes play as an all rounder and come in at six.

Bracey is getting better behind the stumps and should push Foakes. Ben Cox and Steve Davies are the alternatives if form and injuries intervene.

During the last week i have got back into the garden seeing as the weather has not been too bad. I decided to tackle the last bodge job that the previous owner had left, over the years we have picked up on things that could have been done better when we have decorated or in the garden.

We want to finish off the paving that our neighbours son, Antony did for us, this means that the old greenhouse area needs to be paved and the path finished off. At the back of the greenhouse area is where i keep the compost bins and a water butt, this are is a mix of paving, concrete and bricks so i have started to break it all up and use the old paving slabs to make it better and level. As it is only for occasional use it is no use spending money on decent paving. I intend to fence this area off and down the side where the raised veg beds are going to be. This will hide things away from where the new paving will be and we will use this as a seating area as it is a good sun trap.

I have taken care as my hands can only do so much before they ache and the rubble i am making is quite heavy so i only half fill old compost bags. I do six at a time and then make a trip to the recycling centre to dispose of the rubble. I have done one tip run and have half filled the bags again for another tip run either on Monday or Tuesday depending on how we feel after our vaccine shots.

I also have some perimeter fencing to paint and hopefully that will be done in the next couple of weeks. Once all the concrete, bricks and paving is up and disposed of i will get Rob to come over and help me lay the 3ft X 2ft paving slabs otherwise i will get into trouble if i try to do it myself.

I spoke to Antony this morning and he is coming round sometime next week to measure up what needs doing and will give me a quote. He is a good bloke, he worked with his Dad from leaving school and now runs the business himself, he is an accredited Marshalls patio and paving specialist and will not rip me off.

Finished book 21 last night, the next person you meet in heaven by Mitch Albom, PB - 210 pages.

17-3-21 to 19-3-21

Congratulations on you soon to be getting your vaccines! A milestone indeed.

Hi John! I hope the jabs go well today.

>70 johnsimpson: I can’t tell you how happy I am that you used the word normality instead of normalcy. The latter is a real word, but I like seeing the former.

>82 johnsimpson: Congrats on book #21.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen, kitty skritches to Felix the Cat.

I see that you are doing lots of work in your garden. It must be spring in Yorkshire. Here in Alabama we are just coming out the other side of a cold snap. It got down into the upper 30's (degrees F) on Thursday and Friday nights, but I think that is the last gasp of winter showing through.

I lost a bunch of clay pots this winter. They weren't in good shape so I am not surprised, but now I will have cleanup to do this spring. I also will need to replace a couple of plastic pots as they have sun damage and are starting to split. I have not moved any plants outdoors yet, but might do so next week. Then I can start planning for my spring planting. It is going to be more rushed this year as I won't have time off at home like I did last spring. My patio garden was one thing that benefitted from the COVID lockdowns.

>81 johnsimpson: We will be doing some gardening next week as well I think, as Mr SandDune will be on holiday. It all needs a good tidy up. In the autumn we pruned a buddleia bush right back, and I was beginning to think we had killed it as there was no sign of life whatsoever, but I was pleased to see that there are no some very tiny buds coming through, so not dead after all.

>81 johnsimpson: All that sounds like fun! It would be welcome to see photos of your progress,
from "the old greenhouse area" to the future paving.

>83 LovingLit:, Thanks Megan my dear, the vaccine shot went OK on the day.

Haven't visited threads for too too long...happy spring and happy gardening! I am ready to dig in literally with lots of cleanup and relocating. A few bags of bulbs arrived in the mail this week. And, I was able to visit my parents in Pennsylvania. They bought me a few flats of herbs as an Easter present.

Mostly stopping by to say hello and send love to you and your family.

>84 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, the vaccine shot went well on the day (more to follow). I am glad that you liked the use of the word Normality, i would never have thought to use Normalcy, Normality is my go to word and i think i used it when talking about this years thread after a year of the Chunksters.

I am hoping to keep up my average of eight books a month this month but i will have to find four months where i can read nine books to get to my goal of 100 books.

Sending love and hugs to you all and Kitty Skritches for your three lovable kitty's.

>85 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita my dear, Spring has sprung over here although the temperatures are a bit up and down at the moment from 48F to 63F. I have been doing some of the hard landscaping at the back of the old greenhouse area although now there is no great rush.

Antony has said he will give me a quote for the paving that needs to be done but it will be next year before it can be done unless when he looks at the area to be done, he thinks he would be able to fit us in. Either way it does not bother us as long as i get the rest of the garden finished off this year.

I have done two trips to the recycling centre and five of the six bags i am using have been filled again. I have a little area left to demolish and so with the old bricks to go i have two more trip runs to do.

I also have a couple of broken Terracotta pots to replace and a few plastic pots have cracked but i have plenty of them at the moment.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>86 SandDune:, Hi Rhian my dear, i think it is the time to start gardening again although what i am doing at the moment is my domain, lol. It sounds like you have pruned the Buddleia bush like i used to prune mine although once all you could see was a stubby mess of trunk and branches and yet by the height of Summer it was a riot of colour, i don't think you can over prune a Buddleia.

>87 m.belljackson:, Hi Marianne my dear, i will have to take some photos to show before and after.

>89 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, it does feel like Spring now but as for happy gardening, it is more like demolition time. The area i am clearing was a mix of paving, bricks and concrete and i want to use the old 3ft X 2ft paving slabs as it will only be for the compost bin and water butt and will be screened off from the proposed new patio seating area on the spot where the old greenhouse was.

It sounds like you are going to be busy bulb planting and new herbs to put in, i bet it will all look lovely my dear.

Sending love and hugs to you and Bob from both of us dear friend.

After having our first dose of the Oxford Astra-Zeneca vaccine on Sunday afternoon we were fine but come Monday morning and i felt horrible and Karen wasn't too bad. All my achy areas seem to have been attacked doubly and my hands felt like i wanted to chop them off.

As the day wore on i began to improve but Karen started to feel bad to such an extent that after having a light bite to eat at tea time, she went up to bed. I spent the night in the spare bed as Karen was running hot and cold and she had a disturbed night because of this and would have disturbed me.

I felt fine this morning whereas Karen was till feeling off colour and still is as i type, i on the other hand did a run to the recycling centre with another six half bags of rubble and then went through to Dewsbury to have a look in the WH Smith store as it is closing down. Sadly i appeared to be a bit late to the party as it was quite empty, i did manage to get six packs of Lamy ink cartridges for the price of one and a quarter packs. Unfortunately there were no fountain pens left, a member of the FPUK group went into the Blyth store that was closing down and managed to get ink and pens all at 75% off.

By the time i got back i thought Karen would have been wondering where i had got to as i had been out for two hours, most of this was spent queuing to get into the recycle centre.

We had a relaxing afternoon and after watching Escape to the Country i went out and filled five of my empty bags with more rubble for the recycle centre.

>95 johnsimpson:
I got the Moderna vaccine back in January and it knocked me on my butt for about 3 days. I didn't feel up-to-snuff for about 5 days total. That was with the first shot. The second one was much smoother. I only got a tennis ball sized lump on my arm.

>95 johnsimpson: I'll find out how the first vaccine affects me next week. I'm going to make sure someone is available to open the library Wednesday morning in case I'm unable to do so.

Hi John!

Sorry you and Karen had reactions to your first dose of vaccine. I hope you're both feeling more the thing.

Sending love and hugs to you both. Kitty skritches for Felix, too, of course.

>95 johnsimpson: Both Mr SandDune and Jacob have had their first dose of Astra Zeneca and both have been pretty knocked out for a couple of days. I had Pfizer and just had a sore arm, but they say the side effects with Pfizer are worse second time around ....

Finished book 22 late last night, 59 Memory Lane by Celia Anderson, PB - 382 pages.

19-3-21 to 25-3-21

Finished book 23 yesterday morning, Artemis Fowl and the Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer, HB - 306 pages.

25-3-21 to 31-3-21

I have been busy in the garden over the last seven days and things are coming together, i am further ahead than i thought i would be at the beginning of April. I finished off breaking up the mix of paving slabs, concrete and bricks.

The weather from Monday through to the end of Wednesday was unusually warm for March and within reason i tried to make the best of it.

I dropped Karen at work on Monday and then went onto the recycling centre to get rid of seven half bags of rubble and once this was done i made my way home. After a pot of tea i went out into the garden and bagged up the remaining rubble. The next job was to empty the small amount of gravel into the washing up bowl to swill it through with water. Once this was done i went and weeded the top border before starting to scrape more gravel from the fence side border of what will be the veg bed and put it into the large trug.

After a coffee and setting up the DVD recorder i went outside and decided to give the lawn its first cut of the year. I raised the cut and gave it a once over before lowering the cut and getting a nice finish. After cleaning up and putting everything away i had time for a pot of tea and then to make Karen a pot in the travel mug and went to collect her from work.

On Tuesday i dropped Karen at work and then headed to the DIY store to pick up some sharp sand and a bag of cement and then made my way home. I had a pot of tea and then went outside and sat on the bench to decide what i was going to do. I emptied the trug of gravel, weeds and soil on the patio to dry out so it would be easier to sift. I had another drink before going to do the upstairs housework and when that was done i set up the DVD recorder.

I had a pot of tea and then went out to sift the gravel, this took a couple of hours and a couple of pots of tea and then i swilled the gravel through and emptied it onto the gravel pile. I had time for a pot of tea and to make Karen one before going to pick her up from work.

Yesterday we had a pot of tea in bed before getting up, washed and dressed and then stripping the bedding off our bed. We set the washer off with the dark washing in and then got breakfast ready, meds out and coffee made and Felix's dishes cleaned and re-filled.

By the time we had finished breakfast the washer had finished and so we got the washing out and put the bedding in before we set off to the Aldi and the B&M store at Featherstone. I stayed in the car and read while Karen did the shopping, i managed to finish my book. Once done we made our way home and while Karen unpacked and put the shopping away, i put the washing onto the airer outside as it was gloriously sunny.

We had a coffee sat outside on the bench before Karen decided to do some baking and i did some work in the garden. Sadly by late afternoon the work i had done and the previous two days had caught up with me and i was aching all over, even after a nice shower. My hands didn't seem to belong to me and i spent the night in the spare bed to try and get some ease.

Today has been one of relaxation and i still ache a little bit and so tomorrow i will be doing the same.

I worked a bit with my plants today. I had a root-bound plant in a pot that I had to get out of the pot and planted it in the ground. It had sent a root out across the cement and into the flower bed. I knew I should have repotted it last year, but I got lazy so I lot the pot and now have to hope that the plant survives the trauma of being moved. I guess time will tell.

I also hauled some dirt and placed it around my tree that tried to fall over last year. I am still filling in the low spot in the yard around it.

I have to find a new lawn service, as the couple that were taking care of the mowing and spraying for me have decided my lawn is just too much. She has gone back to work after the Covid quarantines and shut downs and her husband has decided that since he is now 70 he is going to be retired retired. That means I have to start calling and finding somebody else to do it. That means that when I do find somebody I will have to take time off from work for the first time they come to the yard and explain what I want them to do. I hate that Big Green Monster and yet I love the plants I have in pots.

>103 johnsimpson: Sending quick healing vibes to you.

Hope you have a wonderful Easter.

Happy Easter, John and Karen!

Sending love and hugs.

>104 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita my dear, you have been busy lately, sorry to hear that you need to get someone new in to do your lawn but i am sure you will find someone reliable and not overly expensive.

Hope that you are having a good start to the Easter weekend my dear and we both send love and hugs to you dear friend.

>105 figsfromthistle:, Hi Anita my dear, i am slowly getting rid of the aches and pains but i haven't done anything since Wednesday. I was hoping to restart slowly on Easter Monday but the weather over here is to change dramatically. Last Monday it was 23C and this Monday is forecast or 6C.

Wishing you a very Happy Easter and send love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

>106 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, thanks for stopping by with the Easter wishes. I hope that you and Bill and Jenna have a really lovely Easter weekend and send love and hugs to you all from both of us dear friend.

Finished book 24 last night, Agatha Raisin - Beating About The Bush by M. C. Beaton, HB, 238 Pages.

31-3-21 to 2-4-21

MARCH'S READING STATS

Books Read...................... 7

No of Authors.................... 7

New Authors...................... 2

Male Authors..................... 4

Female Authors.................. 3

Pages Read....................... 2,377

Daily Avg........................... 76.68

Book Length avg................. 339.57

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-3-2021 - 2674
Books added in March - 2
Books read in March - 7

Revised book total - 2669

Pages to read at 1-3-2021- 1,103,530
Pages added in March - 718
Pages read in March - 2,377

Revised total pages to read - 1,101,871

Thursday and Friday were relaxing days for me again, the stiffness and aches had eased but the pain in my right thumb is getting worse. It is not until you injure something like a thumb that you realise how much you use it, i am struggling with grip on things and opening things. The left palm base is still very tender and i stuggle to put any weight on it, i will try and get an appointment with the doctor this week or next to try and sort something out.

Thursday morning we had a pot of tea in bed and then once up and about had breakfast before going to the Aldi at nearby Sandal so that i could pick up a new set of step ladders, sadly we must have got the date wrong as they had none in store or online, Karen picked a couple of bits up and we made our way home. After a pot of tea i went to get half a dozen ordinary eggs and half a dozen Duck eggs from Tanya at the farm. I dropped these off and then went to the doctors to drop off a prescription for Karen.

Whilst i was out Karen had started baking again, she made a Chocolate cake which she decorated this morning and also made some Iced Animal biscuits. The rest of the day was spent relaxing, reading, drinking tea and watching a bit of TV.

Friday morning we were up with the alarm, no tea in bed as it was work day for Karen, once we had breakfast it was time to take Karen to work and then i parked up and went into store to do the little bit of shopping. Once the shopping was done i made my way home and unpacked and put it all away.

I made myself a pot of coffee and picked up my book and read and this was the pattern for the rest of the morning. I watched the news and then set the DVD recorder up before doing the downstairs housework. By the time i had finished my thumb was aching due to using the extension pipe. I had a pot of tea and read for a bit before doing my book stats and notes and then had a pot of tea before making one in the travel mug for Karen and then going to pick her up.

Karen had started to feel a little unwell on Thursday night and by Friday morning she could hardly speak. By the time i picked her up from work she was just about mute, we had our drink and then made our tea before watching a programme on TV and then she went up to bed. I stayed downstairs and read and occasionally went outside and on one occasion i spotted the hedgehogs visiting.

>113 johnsimpson: Oh dear. I do hope Karen is feeling better by now.

>113 johnsimpson: I hope Karen is feeling better, John. Give her my well wishes.

I'm sorry to hear that your thumb and palm are giving you problems and that Karen's not feeling well. Sending healing thoughts to you, get well wishes to her, and love and hugs to you both.

Sending healing wishes to you and Karen!

>113 johnsimpson: Sorry to read Karen didn't feel well, John, and that your thumb getting worse.
Sending healing vibes for both of you.

I hope Karen is getting better, John.

>114 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, sadly Karen is still not 100% and now seems to be moving to her nose/head and may develop into a full blown cold.

>115 connie53:, >119 connie53:, Hi Connie my dear, sadly Karen is still under the weather and it seems to be heading to her nose and may develop into a full blown cold.

>116 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, the thumb and palm are getting worse and although i have done the upstairs housework today and done the bank statements sat at the dining room table followed by a shower, i am in a lot of pain. I have not twisted or anything like that but i am worse after the shower than before. The constant pain i am in at the moment is worrying me as the meds do not seem to be helping at all. I will need to have a conversation with my GP when i see him.

Karen felt a little better on Sunday evening but has got worse since then and it now seems to be migrating to her nose and head and she suspects it could be leading to a full blown cold.

Sending love and hugs to you all and please give your furbabys kitty skritches from both of us.

>117 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, thank you for the healing wishes dear friend. Sending love and hugs to you and Bob from both of us dear friend.

>118 FAMeulstee:, Hi Anita my dear, sadly Karen is still not feeling up to the mark and it seems that it is migrating to her nose and head and she thinks it will develop into a full blown cold.

My thumb and palm are still no better and after a little light housework and 90 minutes doing the bank statements at the dining room table and the benefit of a nice hot shower, i am in a lot of pain, in fact i was better before the shower which has puzzled me.

Hope that you and Frank had a good Easter my dear and we send love and hugs to both of you from both of us dear friend.

I do hope you and Karen both recover quickly.

Hi John. I would not wait to ask my GP until I see him. If you are in so much pain I would contact him now! Give Karen my well wishes for her recovery and you should really call your GP.

Checking in and I am with >126 connie53: maybe go see the GP now.

I hope you have been to the GP, John!

Finished book 25 last Wednesday afternoon, The Firm by John Grisham, PB - 490 pages.

2-4-21 to 7-4-21

Finished book 26 yesterday afternoon, Changing Times by Jack Sheffield, PB - 334 pages.

7-4-21 to 11-4-21

Finished book 27 this afternoon, The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier, PB - 176 pages.

11-4-21 to 12-4-21

>125 thornton37814:, Hi Lori, i am not too bad but Karen is still suffering bless her.

>126 connie53:, >128 connie53:, the left hand is a lot better and i will be seeing the Doctor next week.

>127 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen, i will be seeing the Doctor next week.

The last week has been pretty good and busy, Amy's Baby shower weekend went very well, despite the cold weather. Amy decided to stay over on Saturday night as she felt quite tired after the first get together. It was lovely having her with us and on Sunday morning she was fully refreshed.

It was a bit cooler on Sunday but everything went well, when everyone had left we had a pot of tea before Amy headed home.

My reading this month is going well and i am back on track to hit 100 books and i may break through the 600,000 page barrier overall.

I'm so glad to hear your hands are better. I'm very sympathetic to hand pain and wish there would be a lot less of it.

>136 quondame:, Thanks Susan my dear, apart from a bit of writing i have been quite rested for the last 7 to 10 days.

Nice to see you posting, John and I am pleased to see your hands are much better.
Love to Karen and hope her health will be back to normal too very soon.

Hi John! Good to see your reading is doing well and your hand is also getting better. Give Karen my love and good wishes.

So glad to read Amy's baby-shower was a success. I saw some pictures on FB and it looked very nice.

Glad your hand is getting better.

Congrats on staying on track with your reading.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Hi John! I hope Karen's fully recovered from her cold.

>131 johnsimpson: I bought that book through a book buying program when I was about 10 and still have that copy – same book, different title Escape From Warsaw. It’s a marvelous book.

>133 johnsimpson: I’m glad your left hand’s better AND glad that you’re seeing the doctor next week.

Sending love and hugs to you both and kitty skritches for Felix.

>138 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, the hands are better than they were but not as they should be, sadly Karen is still no better and i think she will have to see the doctor soon.

A good win for Yorkshire and Lyth is in very good early season form, i hope it continues for him. After 17 tons, two of which were doubles in the first round of matches, we had 15 tons, one a double in the second round of matches. As long as the numbers are not decreasing, it should be a good season for batsmen although the bowlers are taking a few wickets, Robinson at Sussex is continuing his good form of the last two seasons, could he get a look in this summer at Test level.

>139 connie53:, Hi Connie my dear, the hand is still a work in progress but getting there and poor Karen is still being plagued with an infernal cold.

The baby shower was good and now we are just waiting, 11 days to her due date and i am making sure my phone is charged ready to receive the call to action stations.

>140 figsfromthistle:, Hi Anita my dear, the hand is slowly getting better and i am doing a bit of work in the garden but making sure my hands aren't being over worked. The reading slowed a little but has picked up the last couple of days, and the weekend has been good.

>141 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, sadly Karen's cold has not gone and today she is shocking, she is not sure if she has a little bit of hayfever that has snuck upon her, but her head feels like a bucket, bed for her shortly.

The Silver Sword or Escape from Warsaw is a fantastic book and like me, i am glad that you enjoyed it.

The hands are getting better and i am being careful using them but will see what the doctor suggests.

Sending love and hugs to you all and kitty skritches for you three lovely Cats.

I have been missing in action for the last three or four days and will start maintaining my thread from tomorrow. Since Amy's baby shower weekend things have seemed to be busy in RL but things are back on track now.

The weather has been pretty good over the last week and i got back into the garden today, i took things nice and steady both with my back and hands and things are starting to come together. I will be mixing my days with a bit of gardening and reading and of course keeping up with my housework tasks.

At the moment from Thursdays through to Sunday i am checking my phone regularly for updates on the Cricket scores and Rob is back playing again now the season started as of yesterday for Old Sharlston Cricket Club. The only downside is that because the Clubhouse is still out of bounds until the 17th of May.

I was missing in action part of last week too. Just too much going on. I spent a lot less time on the computer over the weekend, and it was a nice break.

It has been a glorious day here in Walton, we had a top temperature of 16C but it was lovely and warm.

Once we were up and about we got everything sorted out and had breakfast before it was time for me to take Karen to work. After dropping her off i made my way to the recycling centre to drop off the last of the rubble. After getting rid of the rubble i made my way to B&Q DIY store to pick up a couple of metposts and then i made my way across to Wickes DIY & Building store to start getting some concrete blocks for the raised veg beds.

As soon as i had my first dozen blocks in the car i made my way home, once home i emptied the car of my DIY purchases and then made a pot of tea. After i had finished my pot of tea i started to lay the first two paving slabs for the composting/water storage area. I managed to get two paving slabs down but i need some more sharp sand for the remaining two.

Once the paving slabs were down i made another pot of tea, got my sandwiches out of the fridge and watched the lunchtime news. By the time the local news had finished i had eaten my lunch and then set up the DVD recorder. Once this was done it was back outside to mow the lawn, i do enjoy giving the lawn a cut and when i had finished it was time for a pot of coffee before i did a bit of soil sifting.

I stopped what i was doing at 4pm and relaxed until it was time to make Karen a pot of tea in the travel mug and then go and pick her up from work.

The weather is to stay the same for the rest of the week so i hope that i can get a bit more garden work done whilst not over taxing my back and hands.

Finished book 28 late last night, Chocolate Shoes and Wedding Blues by Trisha Ashley, PB - 402 pages.

12-4-21 to 18-4-21

It seems that lots of us have been missing from these pages this last week. I got a new hotspot and when I tried to switch my computer to using it - things just wouldn't work. I spent the last three days without Internet. Finally had to download the new Apple operating system and now things work just fine. However, it shot my weekend and today all to pieces. I did get my granola made this morning while waiting for the download to be completed.

>142 johnsimpson: I am thrilled at the great start to the season by Adam Lyth. Always felt that he is the most talented of batsmen. My soapbox for Hildreth continues too and he got his first 50 though he has been on the end of a couple of shocking LBW decisions in the first round of games and he does look in good nick. The other team I have banged on about is Gloucestershire and I am pleased to see how well they have started. In Dent, Bracey and Higgins they have three players good enough to get a chance this summer for England. Bracey at three and Higgins in lieu of the injured Stokes. Robinson has been knocking on the door for a while and it will be interesting to see which spinner comes forward - Parkinson's wonder ball gives hope.

A bit early but my thirteen for the NZ first test would be:
Lyth, Sibley (Dent if he isn't yet fit), Bracey, Root, Hildreth, Pope, Higgins, Foakes, Robinson, Broad, Stone, Anderson and Parkinson.

I am disgusted by the greed and selfishness of the owners of Man Utd, Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs but not entirely surprised. Imposing the American sporting model on the UK and Europe will not be supported by the fans and I really think that the Government/Governments should involve and stop this nonsense. I can see a situation whereby the players of those clubs strike because they are barred from domestic leagues and UEFA/FIFA competitions. Mourinho was sacked yesterday apparently because he refused to take the players out for training and I am sure that Klopp will resign at Liverpool if they proceed and possibly Pep will do the same. Gary Neville is spot on. Rio is spot on. The Leeds' player's T-Shirts are spot on. Those clubs should be taught a lesson that the game is not just about them and I would immediately kick them out of the league/relegate them without parachute payments and support UEFA to ban them altogether. The governments should then withhold any sporting licences to the league to operate and kick out the owners of the clubs under the fit and proper rules.

Let's face it football has brought this on itself by allowing too much control in the hands of too few (as a socialist I would say this!) and by playing the players ridiculously obscene amounts of money.
Squad salary caps, rules on numbers of home-grown players in teams must come and our game must be saved from the American sporting system. Sport without the fair competition of promotion and relegation and equality of opportunity is not true sport in a European context - we should send these self-serving owners back to from where they came from.

>148 johnsimpson: It sounds like you've got a great start to your spring outdoor projects, John! Will you share photos once you're finished?

>150 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita my dear, it does seem that Real life has got in the way of quite a few of us and so posting has been intermittent or non-existent for extended periods of time. I am sorry that you were without internet and that your computer would not work. I am glad that installing a new operating system has done the trick and you are back working and online again even though it spoiled your weekend.

I hope that you have a good rest of the week and send love and hugs dear friend.

>151 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, i hope that Lyth's form continues with tomorrows game with Sussex and that Robinson does not add too many wickets to his tally. There is a good article on Hildreth in The Cricketer Online site and he states that sadly he has missed the boat and puts it down to the 2009 season when he hit his highest score and had 600 runs by the end of May but only added just over 400 more to the end of the season. Apparently he was quite close to selection but then form deserted him.

I have seen that Sibley will miss the next two Championship games so Dent would be my pick as well especially if he continues his good early season form.

Don't get me started on the diabolical behaviour of the Supposedly Big Six, i messaged Rob on Monday morning to say that it was time to burn any Man Utd shirts if he had any, i would have burnt mine if i had any left. Just what did they think they were doing and i am with you on punishments to them, they need to be seen to have suitable measure taken against them as a warning to others.

UEFA needs to be reformed and i would go back to the original European club tournaments, go back to the European Cup format where only the league leaders are allowed to enter, the Cup Winners Cup brought back and the UEFA Cup. I think this would get the game back to some sensibility on the financial side. It is wrong that the likes of Ajax, PSV, Anderlecht, Club Brugges and others in other European leagues have to go through the early qualifying rounds of the Champions league to get to the group stages.

When you think that Man City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Spurs have less European Cup/Champions League wins between them than Ajax have and yet they were part of this super league.

Man United is in my blood but i don't often watch any matches that are shown on Terrestrial TV even if my team is involved because of all the money swilling about and yet they moan they are playing too much, blah blah blah. I always refer back to the 1983 Challenge Cup Final, Featherstone V Hull, Terry (Tex) Hudson and Steve Hankins stripped in my locker row at the pit, they worked Monday to Thursday, travelled down to Wembley on the Friday, played the Final on the Saturday, got home on the Sunday for a Winners parade on the afternoon and were back at work on Monday morning. Premier league footballers make my heart bleed.

>152 scaifea:, Hi Amber my dear, i will take before and after photos to show what has been done my dear. As long as the weather remains dry i will be able to do work each day without causing me any pain issues as i would like the veg beds to be ready for planting with autumn/winter veg.

Yesterday was glorious again with a high of 18C, after taking Karen to work i had a pot of tea before vacuuming and dusting the bedrooms before having a shave and beard trim and a shower. I left the bathroom until the shower curtains were dry before cleaning the bathroom.

After another pot of tea i did a bit of pottering in the garden before having lunch while watching the lunchtime news both national and local and setting up the DVD recorder.

Once that was done i went back into the garden to do some soil sifting and hopefully by the end of next week i may get to start building the veg beds. I did about 75 minutes work before it was time to make Karen a pot of tea in the travel mug and then go and pick her up from work.

Today has been quite cloudy for most of the day although it did brighten up mid-afternoon and warm up a bit. We had a pot of tea in bed before getting up and once washed and dressed and downstairs we sorted Felix out and Karen set a load of washing going while i got our meds and vitamins out and Karen made a pot of coffee and got breakfast out. We had our coffee and meds before going to the Aldi in Featherstone to do the little bit of shopping, Karen went into store and i stayed in the car and read.

Once Karen had done we made our way home and unpacked and put the shopping away and then we had our breakfast and then Karen put the washing on the indoor airers. We had a steady couple of hours before it was time for me to go and pick Hannah up from school.

We had Hannah for about three hours before i took her home, she had her tea with us and Karen bathed her. We chatted in the car about Auntie Amy and i told her i was on alert for a phone call from Amy to take her to the hospital. Amy has one week left to her due date, the car has plenty of fuel and day or night i am ready at a moments notice.

>154 johnsimpson: John, Cricket first. Hildreth has I feel no chance of selection now which is a crying shame. Look at his record. How many batsmen average over 42 for more than a decade and never get the opportunity? Look at the averages of Stoneman and Crawley and Roy and Denly and Westley who all got picked above him.

I am pleased that Silverwood will pick the sides now. I thought Smith was too much an establishment figure and a coach should be judged on the performance of a team if he gets to pick it.

Football second. Phew! Game still needs changing but I would welcome the six back now without penalty as they saw sense in time and their players did contribute to the decisions to reverse and deserve our credit and thanks and not punishment.

Rugby League third. Sharlston was always such a hotbed of talent wasn't it?

>156 johnsimpson: Glad to hear you are ready to take Amy at a moment's notice. I may try to put out tomatoes and a few other things this weekend. I avoided last weekend because I had seen this week's forecast for freezing temps at night. Last night was one of those nights.

Winter returned to Alabama in the last two days. It has frozen both nights, so I am glad that I have not planted my itty-bitty garden yet. The rest of this week will be lower than normal temperatures so I plan on waiting to really start work on it until next weekend.

>159 benitastrnad: Stay warm, Benita, although I must admit I do miss that clear, cool spring Yorkshire air that the Simpsons will be presently drinking in, I'm sure.

Lyth continues his excellent form, John. I hope Silverwood picking the team gives him a chance of a Test return. Always been my favourite player (other than Hildreth of course).

Wishing you and Karen a lovely weekend.

Finished book 29 yesterday afternoon, Private Vegas by James Patterson, PB - 479 pages.

18-4-21 to 24-4-21

Good start to the County Championship, John. Some players in great form and it would be interesting to see an England team selected based entirely on runs scored and wickets taken. Would throw up an interesting team to be honest.
Assuming that Root plays as captain then the team would be:
Lyth (Yorks), Haines (Sussex), Bracey (Gloucs), Root (Yorks), Critchley (Derby), Carlson (Glam), Hosein (Derby) WK, Robinson (Sussex), Overton C (Somerset), Rushworth (Durham), Parkinson (Lancs)

I actually like the look of that team to be honest!

>157 PaulCranswick:, >160 PaulCranswick:, >162 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, i think sadly that both of us beating the Hildreth drum is coming to an end, Somerset seems to be an unfashionable club for the England selectors on the batting front.

I am still of the opinion that the so called big six clubs should be punished, ideally a six to 12 point penalty would suffice for me. The remaining clubs would then have to see if they can benefit from this. It is not the players or fans fault BUT clubs who have fallen foul of excess spending or other misdemeanors, some no fault of fans and players eg. Wigan have suffered point deductions. The big six owners wanted to line their pockets more than they are doing and so something has to be done. Hopefully some of these owners will sell up but i cannot understand why Real Madrid, Barcelona and Juventus are still thinking something might happen, apart from they are all in financial trouble and it is their own fault.

Lyth has done a bit of work on technique and things are working out for him which is pleasing from a county point and hopefully may get him in the selectors sights.

Sharlston was famous as a hotbed for finding Rugby League players both as a village and via the Pit.

I have enjoyed listening to the County Championship and it has produced some good results, and good batting and bowling performances. I would fully agree with your choices and it would be interesting to try a few of these players in the upcoming series against New Zealand with a view to the winter Ashes series. I would go with a full strength side to give India a good going over as revenge for the winter loss unless any tried showed outstanding performances. Not sure this will happen but it should.

Hope you all had a good weekend mate and hope you have a good week ahead mate.

>158 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, on full alert now with Amy, her due date is this Thursday so it could happen any day soon.

I am in the garden preparing the Veg area and keeping an eye out with the weather for the plants that are in the ground as we have had mild frosty mornings but lovely sunny days.

>159 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita my dear, like you we are having some mildly frosty mornings but the sun has quickly burnt off the frost but i am being careful to keep and eye out if the temperatures drop even more.

I am out in the garden sifting soil to get the large stones and gravel out where the veg beds are going to be. I am hoping to start laying the first foundations next week but all this is dependent on when Amy decides to have the baby, her due date is this Thursday so i am on full alert to dash over and get her to the Maternity unit in York.

Hope you have a good week ahead dear friend.

The last three or four days have been pretty good, Last Thursday Amy called in after she had her hair done and we had lunch together and a chat before she left for home. I did a bit in the garden, being mindful not to do too much.

On Friday i did the shopping after dropping Karen at work and then popped into Wakefield to do the banking. Once home i did a bit of reading before doing the downstairs housework.

Saturday was another lovely day and after visiting the new village market at the pub we came home and had breakfast. After a steady morning i took Karen to work and then made my way home, made a coffee and finished my book. I had been told to put the directors chairs back in the loft and then look for two books for Karen. When this was done i went into the garden and did a bit more soil sifting and cleaned up some gravel.

I have noticed that while i have been sifting soil using my right hand, the thumb problem has eased a bit and i think the motion of crushing a small handful of soil and getting any stones or gravel out on a regular basis for about an hour at a time is good exercise for my thumb issue.

Sunday was a nice steady relaxing day for both of us along with a nice Sunday lunch. We watched a bit of TV during the evening, Countryfile, Antiques Roadshow and then the second episode of the new series of Call The Midwife. I am not going to spoil anything but both the first two episodes have tear jerking endings, so hankies or tissues required, you have been warned.

Today i dropped Karen at work and after going into store to get some food for Felix, we have been having problems with cat food shortages, i made my way over to Amy and Andy's to do some work for them.

After a pot of tea i put the unit back up in the lobby and then after another drink i put up a coat rack and then the new washing line while Andy used our Vacuum cleaner to give the staircase a good clean. Think they need a new Vacuum cleaner to be honest. Once i had done and Andy had finished, he made lunch for all three of us and another drink. After a quick chat i made my way home to sort Felix out as he was out when i left and they were going into Selby town centre as Amy had a couple of bits to pick up and this might be the last chance she gets to go out that far.

>166 johnsimpson: We had moments during the pandemic where it was difficult to find cat food. I've had trouble finding both the dry and the wet kinds at various points. I can usually order some if I can't find it locally. I've had trouble recently finding the large bags of dry food, but I could get a smaller one--and I just ordered a large one from Chewy. I've also had trouble finding the treats my cats like best.

>167 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, Felix has been quite fussy but we have a food that he loves and at the moment it is going into any of the Supermarkets at the right time to pick some up. Luckily with Karen being in for 9am i dropped her off at 8.50am and then went into the store to have a look and with the store only being open for two hours by this time and early closing on Sunday, the shelves were quite well stocked and i dropped lucky. We now have enough for a month now.

Like you, trying to get Cat treats is also a bit troublesome but i have managed that far easier than the Cat food.

The big problem i have now is trying to get some Sharp sand, builders sand and Cement, both my local DIY stores are bereft at the moment and Builders Merchants are only selling in bulk at the moment and even they are having some difficulties. Oh well, there are other jobs i can get on with until i can get some, i am building up a stock of Cement blocks for the raised veg beds, so i will be ready to start building when i can get sand and cement.

Finished book 30 late this morning, Tricky Twenty-Two by Janet Evanovich, PB - 313 pages.

24-4-21 to 27-4-21

It has been a nice and steady day for me, we were up earlier than normal as Karen's shift today was 8am to 4pm. Once we were up and about we had time for our meds and vitamins and a pot of tea before it was time for me to take Karen to work. After dropping her off i made my way home and made a pot of tea and got my cereal out.

I had breakfast while watching BBC Breakfast news and then read for a while before heading to the Post Office in the next door village of Crofton. I had two book packages to post to friends in her Online book group. Once the packages had been posted i made my way back to the car and headed to Wickes DIY store to try and pick up some Sharp Sand. Sadly like the other DIY store they were out of Sand and Cement so i picked up ten Concrete building blocks to build the veg beds, eventually.

For some reason the DIY stores are having problems getting 25kg bags of Sand and Cement and the Building supply Merchants only have what i require in bulk and they would be far too big for what i want. In the meantime i can continue getting everything ready and i have some other gardening jobs that i can get on with.

Once i had put the blocks in the car, i made my way home and unloaded the blocks before making a pot of tea and picking up my book which i finished a short time later. I watched the Daily Politics show and then the main and local lunchtime news before setting up the DVD recorder. After this i went upstairs to do the upstairs housework and once this was done it was time for lunch and a pot of tea.

After my lunch i started my next book before it was time to go and pick Karen up from work. After picking Karen up, i took her to her friend Shirley's to drop off some Kitten food and Karen stayed to have a chat and a coffee with Shirley. I left them to it and made my way home and had a coffee and read until it was time to pick her up.

As i type we are still waiting for our next Grandchild to appear although Amy's due date isn't until Thursday. As soon as i have any news i will post it on here.

Hi John!

It's quite exciting to wait for Amy's baby. I wish her an easy time of it and hope for good news soon.

>166 johnsimpson: I have noticed that while i have been sifting soil using my right hand, the thumb problem has eased a bit and i think the motion of crushing a small handful of soil and getting any stones or gravel out on a regular basis for about an hour at a time is good exercise for my thumb issue. Glad to hear.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen. Kitty skritches for your feline boy.

I hope you are able to find the Sharp Sand. They need to come up with their own bags and break down some of the bulk to sell. ;-)

Babies don't always show up on their due dates, do they?

>171 karenmarie:, >173 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, no sign of the baby as yet, due date passed and it could be next week although i don't think Andy is that bothered as long as it comes on Tuesday seeing as it is May the Fourth and being a big Star Wars fan it would be apt, lol.

The soil sifting does seem to be helping and it is noticeable as i haven't done anything for the last three days and the Thumb has been aching, hopefully i will get to do some tomorrow and the Thumb will feel better.

I hope that you have a good weekend my dear, love and hugs to you, Bill and the Kitties dear friend.

Looks like you and Karen are keeping busy, John. Hopefully your latest grandchild will show up soon and not wait for the 4th. LOL

Finished book 31 yesterday, Turbo Twenty-Three by Janet Evanovich, PB - 313 pages.

27-4-21 to 30-4-21

I think it is time for a new thread, please join me on thread three in about twenty minutes.