Mamie's 2022 Madness, page 4

Another favorite photo. This February marks eight years since we discovered a certain kitty hiding in our crawl space and brought her inside to take up residence in our home and in our hearts. We named her Mercy after Mercy Thompson from the Patricia Briggs' books - that Mercy was a coyote living among wolves, and our Mercy was a kitten among toy poodles. Sadly, our toy poodles are all gone now, but they have left us a legacy of cats that began with our adopting Mercy.

I'm Mamie. I have BIG love for books and movies, cooking, making lists, wine, snark, and shenanigans. I try to get into trouble as often as possible, and I am very good at it, so I often succeed.

I live in the Deep South of the US - Georgia. I'm an Indiana transplant, so after nine years I am still adjusting to the hell-like temps heat and humidity. I have been married to my best friend for thirty-one years, and we have four grown children - all in their twenties, at least until March. We share our space with a trio of remarkable cats - Mercy, Mischief and Mayhem. That last one is excellent at living up to his name. I have been on LT for ten years, and it has been full of fabulous. I am looking forward to further shared adventures (and misadventures!) in my reading journey.

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March Reads:
26. The Memory Of Love by Aminatta Forna
27. Orwell's Roses by Rebecca Solnit
28. Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson
29. The Crazy Kill by Chester Himes
30. All Systems Red by Martha Wells - reread

February Reads:
15. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, adaptation and illustrations by Peter Kuper (GN) - Katie's Dirty Dozen
16. Dare to Disappoint by Özge Samanci (GN) - recommended by Beth
17. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
18. When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson, narrated by Ellen Archer - reread
19. Mindful Drinking by Rosamund Dean - Katie's Dirty Dozen
20. The Giver: The Graphic Novel by Lois Lowry, adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell
21. Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
22. Fangs by Sarah Anderson (GN) - recommended by lowelibrary
23. Why Orwell Matters by Christopher Hitchens
24. Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot, narrated by Miranda Richardson
25. Still Waters by Viveca Sten, translated by Marlaine Delargy - reread

January Reads:
1. Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots - recommended by Richard
2. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (GN)
3. Kim by Rudyard Kipling, narrated by Madhav Sharma
4. The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett, narrated by Indiram Varma - reread
5. The Kiss Murder by Mehmet Murat Somer
6. Good Talk by Mira Jacob (GN)
7. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
8. The Year of Lear: Shakespeare in 1606 by James S. Shapiro
9. Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
10. Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl
11. When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs (GN)
12. One Good Turn by Kate Atkinson - reread
13. Night of the Mannequins by Stephen Graham Jones - recommended by Richard
14. Pulp by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips (Artist), Jacob Phillips (Artist) (GN) - recommended by Charlotte

Katie’s Dirty Dozen - That’s right, folks, KAK’s reserved spot is back for an eighth year, let’s see what she hits me with this time.

1. Mindful Drinking by Rosamund Dean - Read 2/2022
2. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness by Peter Kuper (GN) - Read 2/2022
3. Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Jess Kidd - do the audio
4. If Beale Street Could Talk - Katie says do the audio
5. Here For It by R. Eric Thomas - do the audio
6. Last Best Hope by George Packer

The List: (this is a list of LT book bullets from this year)
1. Ballad for Sophie by Felipe Melo (GN) - Mary
2. Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix - Jennifer - requested from library
3. Evil Things by Katja Ivar - Judy
4. Wordslut by Amanda Montell - Micky
5. Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin - Anne over on Mary's thread
6. When the Wind Blows by Raymond Briggs (GN) - VivienneR Read 1/2022
7. These Precious Days: Essays by Ann Patchett - Stasia - reading
8. Last Man Off by Matt Lewis - Stasia (she hasn't read this but it sounds good! Plus, it's a Cold Read)
9. The Flame Trees of Thika by Elspeth Huxley - NinieB
10. An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten. -The Weird One
11. Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Özge Samanci (GN) - Beth - Read 2/2022
12. A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley - Carrie
13. Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger - VictoriaPL
14. Fangs by Sarah Anderson (GN) - lowelibrary - Read 2/2022
15. A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond - Rhian
16. 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World by Elif Shafak - Anita (FAMeulstee)
17. Velvet Was the Night by Silvia Moreno-Garcia "...detective noir set in 1971 Mexico City" - Jim
18. Fadeout by Joseph Hansen - Richard
19. 1599: A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare by James S. Shapiro - Eric
20. Pulp by Ed Brubaker (GN) - Charlotte - Read 1/2022
21. The Pasha of Cuisine by Saygın Ersin - Richard
22. This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno - sturlington
23. King Richard: Nixon and Watergate--An American Tragedy by Michael Dobbs - Jim
24. Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones - Richard - requested from library
25. My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies by Ed Brubaker (GN) - Joe

The List, continued:
26. My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson - Beth
27. The Ghost Writer by John Harwood - Amber
28. The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman - Linda mentioned this is a favorite
29. Unholy Land Lavie Tidhar - Rhian - Reading
30. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi - Robertgreaves
31. Pollak's Arm by Hans von Trotha - Richard
32. Echo by Thomas Olde Heuvelt - Richard gave it 5 stars!
33. Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey - Judy
34. Five Roundabouts to Heaven by John Bingham - Judy again
35. The Talented Ribkins by Ladee Hubbard - Richard
36. Marzahn, Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp - Helen, and Charlotte loved it, too
37. Dreaming of Rose: A Biographer’s Journal by Sarah LeFanu - Richard, do your homework first
38. Against the Ice: The Classic Arctic Survival Story by Ejnar Mikkelsen (tr. Maurice Michael) - Richard

This should do it - next one's yours!

Happy new thread, Mamie!

>1 Crazymamie: What a great picture of beautiful Mercy.

>1 Crazymamie: Happy new one, Mamie. Boy has that cat got big feet!

>7 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita! You are first - and very fast!

Mercy has been such a blessing to us - glad you like the photo.

>8 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul! Those are Rae's shoes (she she does have big feet!) - when Mercy was a kitten, she would sleep on those shoes with her front paws inside of one shoe and her back paws inside of the other shoe. So funny.

Happy new one, Mamie!

>11 katiekrug: Thanks, Katie!

Happy Sunday and happy new thread, Mamie!

>1 Crazymamie: Sweet Mercy. She definitely chose the right crawl space.

>13 karenmarie: Thank you, Karen!

We are very thankful to have been chosen.

Yesterday was lovely and lazy. After Abby's birthday festivities, she went upstairs to take a nap, and I did some laundry and indulged in an afternoon of reading. Last night Rae and I finished up season 6 of Shetland. Um...there had better be another season coming.

On the reading front, I got a nice chunk of reading in yesterday. I read from Why Orwell Matters - these essays are brilliant, and I feel like I will need to read them several times to get everything out of them. I listened to the next 3 chapters of Bleak House (I borrowed the audiobook from the Audible Plus Catalog which has Simon Vance as the narrator) while following along in print, and I think I am hooked now - there is a bit if a mystery here, and I want to see how it plays out. Richard, darling, avert your eyes. I can't believe I am reading and liking Dickens, but stranger things have happened, I guess. I also started The Wandering Falcon, which was a BB from Judy several years ago. Very good so far and it has deckled edge pages!!! I have several insomnia books going, but the one I read from in the wee small hours of this morning was The Long Call - the first book in Ann Cleeves latest series.

...them...at the top...then >15 Crazymamie:...
...
...
Thank goodness enough remains of my dear friend Mamie that reads Hitchens on Orwell.

::stifled sobbing::

>16 richardderus: *there, there. pat, pat* Poor, poor darling. Let's get you some coffee:

>16 richardderus: Perfect balm for the soul. *smooch*

>18 richardderus: Most excellent. *smooch back*

8 years?! That's impossible, I remember that so clearly ....

>20 ursula: Right?! I feel the same way, Ursula.

>1 Crazymamie: Mercy is a sweetie.

>15 Crazymamie: Yes, another series is in the pipeline I understand Mamie.

Glad the birthday celebrations went well.

Happy new one!

Happy new thread, Mamie. I wanted to throw something at the screen at the end of Season 6 of Shetland! They are almost done filming Season 7, so there will be one more season.

Love the photo at the top, and I am honored to be on your lists!

>22 Caroline_McElwee: She is indeed, Caroline.

Good to hear about Shetland, otherwise heads were goin got need to roll.

The birthday celebrations are done and dusted, and they were most excellent - it was fun to have a two parter. Heh. Next month belongs to Rae, my oldest who will be turning 30! I'm still kind of in shock about that.

>23 figsfromthistle: Thank you, Anita!

>24 BLBera: Thanks, Beth! Yep - we finished it up, and I turned to Rae and said, There had better be more coming.

Glad you love the Mercy photo - she has grown and is so full of gorgeous.

I had no doubt that you would make The List as some point - you get me every year.

Happy new one, Mamie! 8 years ?!? Jeez, I must have still been a young woman when we "met". Time really does fly when you're having fun, doesn't it?

Mercy is adorable. >:-)

What a lovely photo of Mercy! And a reminder that we need to get back to watching Shetland!

Happy new thread, Mamie and Happy 8 years since discovery for Mercy. Such a lucky kitty.

'Allo Mamie. Being lurky lately, but still sliding through. :-)

Happy new thread.

>1 Crazymamie: Mercy is a darling. I've enjoyed Mercy Thomson and her coyote ways.

>15 Crazymamie: I like Bleak House. It was given to my by my Regency Dance master, a lawyer who has made distributing it to his clients a custom. But Diana Rigg as Lady Dedlock may have influence my appreciation.

Happy new one! I’m with you on Shetland - new season better get here soon!

Ah, Shetland. We love that series but yeah, wtf with the end of S6? Bring on S7 please.

>1 Crazymamie: What an absolutely beautiful cat! I can only imagine how very special she was when you found her and brought her inside your home. This seems like a great win/win situation!

I saw your list that noted The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman. She remains one of my favorite authors. I've read most, but not all of her books. I hope that 2022 will allow time to read more of her. While it is difficult to choose which book I like the best, I think I would pick The Museum of Extraordinary Things. Have you read this one?

Happy new thread, Mamie. That's a pretty shoe cat in your topper.

>27 RebaRelishesReading: Ain't that the truth, Reba?! When I think about all that has happened in those eight years, it makes my head spin.

>28 Helenliz: Thank you, Helen!

>29 sibylline: Thanks, Lucy! Shetland is most excellent - lucky you still having more to watch. Well, I do, too, but I will have to wait for it to be available to me.

>30 Carmenere: Thank you, Lynda! Lucky kitty and lucky us - it is very happy making that we found each other.

>31 weird_O: Hey there, Bill! I need to come catch up with you. Lurking is perfectly fine, but please do remember that you bring much joy when you delurk, Oh Weird One. Your posts always make me smile.

>32 quondame: Thanks, Susan! I love those Mercy Thompson books - I still have a few that I have been hoarding for when I need a new Mercy adventure. I have read through the first books of the series multiple times.

I love that Bleak House story - thanks for sharing it. I will make a note to watch that version of it when I have finished the book.

>33 drneutron: Thank you, Jim! Agreed about season 7 of Shetland - if I have to wait too long, I will have to rewatch all of season 6 just to be able to remember everything.

>34 lauralkeet: Perfectly stated, Laura! I concur.

>35 Whisper1: Thank you so much, Linda! She has brought us so much joy - we all absolutely adore her.

Yes, I love Alice Hoffman, too. I have read Practical Magic, Blackbird House, and The Ice Queen and I think some others I am forgetting. I have not read The Museum of Extraordinary Things - I'll add it to The List just because you said so.

>36 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg!

Morning, Mamie! Sounds like I need to watch 'Shetland'. I have the first two books in the series, but maybe I'll just skip 'em.

>40 katiekrug: Morning, Katie! I love the books the most, but the show is very good. You could totally skip the books and just watch the show - they change so much anyway.

Happy new thread! I had been waiting on Shetland until I caught up on the books, but maybe I should just go ahead and watch the show. I do love a good TV mystery series.

>42 cbl_tn: Thank you, Carrie! You can absolutely just watch the show because it's so different from the books. I love the casting, and the scenery is full of gorgeous.

A belated "Happy new thread" from me, Mamie! I hope you have a wonderful week.

Mmmday orisons, Mamie, and a lovely day-ahead's reads.

Hi, Mamie. Happy MONDAY! Bwahahahaha...

The funniest thing happened the other day. Remind me to tell you about it.

Hiya, Mamie! Happy coffee! Happy daughters laughing in the kitchen! Happy good books!

Happy new thread, Mamie! That's such a great picture of Mercy, and too funny how she used to sleep in Rae's shoes.

Speaking of Orwell, I haven't read it but I'm intrigued by the new book by Rebecca Solnit, Orwell's Roses. I wonder if you've heard anything good, bad, or indifferent about it?

>44 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia. So far, so good with the week.

>45 richardderus: Thank you, dear! I did get a nice chuck of reading time, so I was most pleased.

>46 weird_O: Hello there, Bill! Are you messing with me? You are a tease, Oh Weird One.

>47 karenmarie: Hello, Karen! That's a lot of happy, so thank you. Kaitlyn came over yesterday to spend time with Abby since she could not make it to the birthday lunch. They decorated sugar cookies with a Valentines theme. The bonus is that now we get to eat them - having one with my coffee right now. Yum.

>48 bell7: Thanks, Mary! It was funny that she loved to sleep in those shoes. She was very happy to be rescued from the crawl space and was delighted with absolutely everything.

I have Orwell's Roses in the stacks, and I have heard only good things. I know that Bill is currently reading it. I was trying to finish up Why Orwell Matters first, but I might just pick up my copy and dip into it because then I could compare notes with the Weird One.

Morning, Mamie!

Morning, Katie! I was just over at your place!

Hi Mamie!

I just analyzed my sugar cookie recipe for sodium. 1667 mg. The recipe says it yields 65 cookies, but I don't believe them and don't remember it yielding nearly that many when we made reindeer for Christmas when Jenna was little. I have the most wonderful heart-shaped cookie cutter that makes cookies about 4" wide, so I could make them for Valentine's Day, although I'm gearing myself up to make a Turtle Cheesecake.

>53 karenmarie: 65 cookies! No way. Sugar cookies always make me think of my mom -she had this tin that she kept in one of the kitchen drawers, and it had all these wonderful cookie cutters. I loved looking at them and playing with them. I made the dough up for Abby's cookies using a recipe that Kaitlyn provided - no added salt because you use salted butter. A cup of salted butter, so however much sodium that is. The dough was very crumbly at first, but it came together beautifully and it does make excellent sugar cookies. Birdy and Rae rolled out the dough and cut and baked the cookies so that Abby could save her arm for the decorating. I have no idea how many cookies it made, but they sure are tasty.

Yup, salted butter has lots of sodium, and for sugar cookies I'll use Kerrygold. My recipe doesn't have added salt either, and uses powdered sugar instead of granulated, although I use granulated sugar to decorate if I'm too lazy to make frosting. (grocery store list is up to 6 because I need Kerrygold salted butter. you may want to place a new bet)

The Kerrygold is most yum! Interesting about the powdered sugar. This one used a cup of granulated sugar.

Okay, I'll take 10 then because once you have six items in the cart...

>56 Crazymamie:, >55 karenmarie: Eleven! And still only four from the original list.

A serving of cookie is 1 ounce. That means your recipe should make 65oz, or about four pounds. Does that sound about right?

>57 richardderus: A serving of cookie is 1 ounce." Does. Not. Compute.

I'm positive one of us is going to win. Most exciting.

In case of inexactitude, I get up and you get down.

>59 richardderus: Agreed.

>59 richardderus: - I think you should play with The Price is Right rules - closest to the actual number without going over.

>61 katiekrug: ...I never realized before now how closely you resemble Drew Carey...

:-P

>62 richardderus: - Ouch.

>63 katiekrug: LOL

In spirit! In spirit!

>64 richardderus: - Mmmm hmmm...

>65 katiekrug: Of course you believe me! I would most certainly never risk angering the Goddess-avatar be so insensitive!

Don't you? Hmmm?

Is there going to be a fight? Because if so, I can fetch the popcorn from Richard's thread. And we will need Julia because she loves to eat popcorn with me while watching shenanigans.

>67 Crazymamie: Let's leave that stuff on Cranswickulus's thread.

>66 richardderus: - I went looking for a snarling dog gif and found this gem which made me laugh. So I guess you are forgiven.



>67 Crazymamie: - Fight averted. But you could serve some popcorn anyway. And if Julia comes, we could probably stir up some shenanigans...

>68 richardderus: Not that kind of fighting. More like:



>69 katiekrug: This cracked me up!

>70 Crazymamie: HA!

>69 katiekrug: *phew*

>71 richardderus: *grin*

>70 Crazymamie: - But that gets less attention.

>72 Crazymamie: - NOICE.

>48 bell7: >50 Crazymamie: I am currently reading Orwell's Roses. I have only 50 pages left, but I'm still at a loss to describe it. I may have to must reread it. I'm just not able to connect all the links she presents. He grows roses that he bought at Woolworth's in the mid thirties and that brings forth connections to Orwell's father's employment in India and Orwell's employment in Burma, sugar plantations in the Caribbean, slave trading, the contemporary rose industry in Columbia, Newspeak. I find it fascinating, horrifying, topical, and a little much for ME to get laid out.

I've read very little of Solnit's work, but I am gobsmacked by her perspective.

And by the way, I have a collection of Orwell's writings, compiled by George Packer under the title All Art Is Propaganda. That's pretty near the top of the reading to do.

>54 Crazymamie: Would you share Kaitlyn's sugar cookie recipe? I have some fun cookie cutters but never use them because all the sugar cookie recipes I have tried end up with cardboard cookies - cute but not worth eating. I would love to have some that tasted and had the mouth-feel of shortbread but could be rolled and cut into shapes.

>74 weird_O: Bill, thanks for sharing your thoughts on Orwell's Roses - I have just pulled it from the shelf and will start it today, and then we can compare notes.

I need too check and see which essays are in that Orwell collection - I don't have that specific title, but I do have a lot of his essays in different volumes, so I will do some homework to see if I can read along with you whenever you get to it.

>75 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I'm always happy to share. Kaitlyn pulled it from the internet, but I have no idea which site. Here is the recipe:

Sugar Cookies:

3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup salted butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper (we used a silpat pad).
2. Whisk together flour and baking powder, set aside.
3. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until smooth and creamy. Blend in the egg and both extracts. Gradually add in the flour mixture and beat until just combined, scraping down the bowl as needed. (I found this impossible and used a pastry blender to cut the butter into the sugar, then used a hand mixer to further blend, then a spoon to stir in the flour. Had to use my hands at the end to make the dough come together. Next time I will try it in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment.)
4. The dough will be crumbly, so knead it together with your hands as you scoop it out of the bowl until it comes together.
5. Roll on a floured surface to desired thickness and cut into shapes.
6. Place on baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes until just barely golden on the bottoms. Don't over-bake.
7. Let cool completely before icing.

It says it makes about 18 (3-inch) cookies, which sounds about right.

>55 karenmarie: I remember baking the Christmas cookies with unsalted butter and the results were amazing. I can only imagine that Kerrygold unsalted butter would boost that. I think baking sweets with unsalted butter was one of my mother's religious tenants and that is a faith I'm happy to observe.

1 serving is 1 cookie? I think not...
It's like those serving sizes on the side of a packet of chocolate. One serving is 4 smarties (or something equally stupid). Who can actually just eat 4 Smarties? Even Smarties don't have the answer to that one.

>77 quondame: *Waves at Susan*

>78 Helenliz: Agreed, Helen. Serving size on packaging always cracks me up.

>74 weird_O: Rebecca Solnit is a force to be reckoned with and a heckuva a writer. Her Men Explain Things to Me adds a lot to the discussion about how women are treated and how normalized that treatment is.

She also wrote a version of Cinderella in which Cinderella and her friends, including the prince, get to make their own choices. Cinderella Liberator.

It doesn't surprise me she see all sorts of connections around Orwell's Roses.

Hi Mamie! :wave:

Well, Wednesday's upon us like a dose of backne. I hope it wears off soon.

Morning, Mamie!

>80 AuntieClio:, >81 AuntieClio: Hello, Stephanie! I have Men Explain Things to Me in the stacks, and I am hoping to get to it this year. I read the first essay in Orwell's Roses, and I loved it, so I'm thinking the collection is going to work for me.

>82 richardderus: Oh, dear! I had very sporadic sleeping last night, so I'm hoping to snag a nap today, but it's so bright here. I really need blackout curtains. Really.

>83 katiekrug: Morning, Katie!

>84 Crazymamie: Me, too...awake two hours then two more hours' sleep then *BLINK* wide-eyed at the appalling hour of 7a.

Awake! And the kind with precisely zero chance of recovering a few more minutes! You know all too well the kind I mean.

>85 richardderus: Yep. Exactly.

>76 Crazymamie: Thank you Mamie -- I hope to remember to try that when I get home

>76 Crazymamie: Since I have All Art Is Propaganda sitting in my recently acquired "Bookseat", I can and did tap out the ToC of said book.

Charles Dickens
Boys Weeklies
Inside the Whale
Drama Reviews: The Tempest, The Peaceful Inn
Film Review: The Great Dictator
Wells, Hitler and the World State
The Art of Donald McGill
No, Not One
Rudyard Kipling
T. S. Eliot
Can Socialist Be Happy?
Benefit of Clergy: Some Notes on Salvador Dali
Propaganda and Demotic Speech
Raffles and Miss Blandish
Good Bad Books
The Prevention of Literature
Politics and the English Language
Confessions of a Book Reviewer
Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels
Lear, Tolstoy and the Fool
Writers and Leviathan
Review of The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene
Reflections on Gandhi

By the way, I have completed Orwell's Roses. First pass. I think I'll need at least a second pass to absorb it all. It isn't a collection of essays. It's a book.

>87 RebaRelishesReading: You are welcome, Reba!

>88 weird_O: Thanks so much for that, Bill! I have about half of those in A Collection of Essays, and I could have sworn I had another collection of essays, but I am not finding it at the moment. If I don't, then I think I need to do me some shopping. I'll report back.

Interesting about the Soling book - so far I have only read the first chapter? (the first part of the first section), and I loved it. Looking forward to comparing notes on this when I have read more.

>88 weird_O: Now that looks like an Orwell that might not wake my murderous tendencies. One can hope.

Waves at Mamie!

>76 Crazymamie: Trying not to look at recipes for cookies. Couldn't sleep and it is 5.23 a.m. here and 6 hours and 37 minutes before it is time for me to eat. This morning intermittent fasting has become interminable fasting.

>91 PaulCranswick: Well, I didn't have trouble fasting today because I slept 13 hours straight!! And I am still exhausted and will need a nap. It's been a month of this. I hate COVID. : P

Hi Crazy!! : )

>92 Berly: Fasting and sleeping! Does anyone else remember Galatea?

>90 quondame: *waves back at Susan* Crossing my fingers, Susan. I have a thing about Orwell. I don't think I would have enjoyed hanging out with him, but I love to read his stuff.

>91 PaulCranswick: Hoping you made it through, Paul. I have not been good about the intermittent fasting this week, and I need to get back to it.

>92 Berly: Oh, dear, Kim! I'm so sorry to hear that - that sounds like my first round with COVID. Hoping you are felling better soon.

>93 quondame: I have not even heard of that one, Susan. I have only read two by him - The Postman Always Rings Twice and Double Indemnity.

I need to make a market run this morning - I have my list at the ready, but I want to time it with picking up two holds at the library, so I will wait until closer to 9am. Coffee at the Pecan Paradisio today is maple bourbon - most YUM. Yesterday I made tuna salad and a pasta bake, so I don't need to do any cooking today unless I decide to do some prep for future meals.

On the reading front, I listened to more of When Will There Be Good News?, which might be my favorite of the Jackson Brodie books (so far - I haven't read the last one yet). In the wee small hours I read from The Long Call - the first book in Ann Cleeves' latest series.

Last night Rae and I watched three episodes of Cold Case. And then I discovered while messing around on Amazon Prime that I can watch The Sandhamn Murders (based on the novels by Viveca Sten), so I am wanting to give that a try. It's included with Prime until the 28th of this month, so I need to get a move on - I think I have just found a lovely project for February.

Morning, Mamie. It's Thursday! My favorite day of the week - hope it's a good one for you.

>96 katiekrug: Morning, Katie! Thursday is my second favorite day - a lovely prelude to Fridayness. Thanks for that fine wish - hoping yours is also full of goodness. (Which means that good things happen, not that you have to actually be good, just to be clear).

>95 Crazymamie: The show's very pretty. I hope you enjoy it!

Happy Thursday, sweetness, and get your pasta-bake on for lunch?

>97 Crazymamie: - I appreciate the clarification, because goodness is a quality unknown to me ;-)

Also, what kind of pasta bake did you do? I love pasta bakes...

>88 weird_O: I have Orwell's Roses in my near future too Bill.

Serendipity: I read a review of Orwell's Roses in the New York Review of Books. It's long. Here's a link: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2022/02/24/invitations-to-dig-deeper-orwells-ro...

I don't know if there's a paywall. I've had a subscription to the dead-tree edition for years, and I don't know how they work, but I can access the publication on line.

My dear Mamie,

This formal condolence note will, I hope, offer you some sense of comfort in your distress over Stephen Graham Jones's decision to retire from writing instead of completing Don't Fear the Reaper, the sequel to My Heart is a Chainsaw, citing "creative exhaustion".

Juuuuuust kidding! See? Now learning that it won't come out until February 2023 isn't so bad!

Smooches!

>98 richardderus: Thank you, Richard. I mean beautiful scenery and murder, what's to not like. Heh.

Happy Thursday to you! I had tuna salad for lunch today. I had the pasta bake for dinner last night - it was most yum.

>99 katiekrug: I didn't want you to feel any pressure, Katie.

>100 katiekrug: I made that pasta bake where I use my lasagna recipe and the instructions from the Skinnytaste pasta-bake that you did - so, penne pasta, lasagna sauce, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, then repeat the layers and bake it off. It's SO good. And my lasagna sauce makes enough to make the pasta-bake and a small lasagna in a loaf pan, which is awesome.

>101 Caroline_McElwee: *Waves at Caroline*

>102 weird_O: I'll see if I can read that review or not, Bill - thanks so much for the link.

>103 richardderus: Oh. My. Word. You had me going there for a moment, you wicked child. Okay, but it IS coming out, right?! I mean...*whimper*...2023...*sob*...okay.

*smooch back and Bear hug that scares you just a tiny bit*

>105 Crazymamie: ...I...oof...am ingaspformed...that yes it...grunt...will.

Ahem.

In service of my quest to earn my demon-horns, I am required to remind you that TODAY ONLY your Kindle can be made to contain The Grand Tour: Letters and Photographs from the British Empire Expedition 1922 by Agatha Christie for the negligible sum of $1.99. Follow this link: https://smile.amazon.com/Grand-Tour-Around-World-Mystery-ebook/dp/B007HB8CSW/

You're welcome.

Hiya, Mamie!

Lots of fun food stuff here since I last visited. I made a successful Walmart run for cream cheese today after rehab - 2 things on the list, 5 acquired. *smile*

>106 richardderus: I can attest to how wonderful this book is. I own and read the hardcover. Fascinating stuff.

>107 karenmarie: You, O Horrible Temptress, are the one who put this onto my watchlist in the first place. It's only come on sale now!

>106 richardderus: Ha! I have snagged the book, thank you, kindly.

>107 karenmarie: Hiya, Karen! Hooray for cream cheese! I hope you got yourself a treat.

>108 richardderus: I did not even know the book existed, so thank you to both of you for spreading the love.

>94 Crazymamie: Galatea has, thankfully, a different twist.

Happy Friday, Mamie! I am still making my way through the threads. A monumental task, so there has been a lot of skimming. I hope the books are treating you fine. Were you joining us on The Memory of Love?

>110 quondame: I'll have to check it out, Susan.

>111 msf59: Happy Friday to you, Mark! Nothing wrong with skimming. I can't complain about how the books are treating me. Yep - I am joining you on The Memory of Love.

Much, much tedium in my latest read. It's about anonymous sex. And it's boring.

>95 Crazymamie: I think I will join you in watching The Sandhamn Murders, Mamie. It looks right up my alley, even if I have never read the books - my local library does not have any of them.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Saturday, Mamie! And thanks for the heads-up about The Sandhamn Murders. I might not make it through the whole series before it disappears from Prime, but I'll give it a shot!

Duplicate post. Sigh.

>95 Crazymamie: Oh, I've been watching the Sandham ones too. Who knew so many people got murdered in such a beautiful place? Gorgeous setting. I did a day trip to one of the larger islands from Stockholm and even in the winter it was lovely, relaxing, peaceful.

Morning, Mamie! Are you still doing mostly meatless weekdays? I linked to a good recipe yesterday for chickpea wraps you might like to check out. If I weren't so lazy, I'd go find it and paste it here, but...

Hope you have a great weekend!

Happy Saturday, Mamie! Hoping you and the family have a wonderful weekend.

Happy preSuper, Mamie me lurve. I wish to announce that Anonymous Sex is overrated. Twenty-seven times, and I only remember three.

*unhappy sigh*

Hi Mamie, and a happy Saturday to you and yours.

>109 Crazymamie: I bypassed the two-dozen cookie tray but did get an extra orange when I was buying an orange for orange-cranberry scones, which I haven’t made yet. The orange was yummy.

>113 richardderus: Sorry about your latest read. May your next one be much better.

>114 alcottacre: Stasia, what a bummer that your library doesn't have the books. I think the tv series is better, if that helps. Rae and I have watched the first two seasons, and we really like it. Only the first season is free to watch on Amazon Prime until the end of the month - we just discovered this last night when we went to watch season 2. We really wanted to keep going, so we opted for the 7 day free trial of MHZ - I had been wondering about this channel anyway since it is full of sub-titled crime shows that I would love to watch.

Hoping your weekend has also been full of wonder.

>115 cbl_tn: Hello, Carrie! Only the first season is available, unfortunately, and it has just three episodes, but it is good. I love the casting. And the scenery.

>116 cbl_tn: Duplicate post always feels like magic to me, so I actually love when it happens. I know, silly...

>117 charl08: Right, Charlotte?! This never bothers me. Heh. Lucky you having been to one of the larger islands. Sounds full of fabulous to me.

>118 katiekrug: Hiya, Katie! We are still doing mostly vegetarian weekdays. I will check out that recipe, thanks! I love me a wrap or a pita.

Thank you for those weekend wishes - it's been lovely so far.

>119 bell7: Hello, there, Mary! It's been an excellent weekend so far - hoping yours has been, too.

>120 richardderus: Oh, dear! I see I can safely avoid that one - thanks for taking one for the team. Poor, poor baby. *smooch*

>121 karenmarie: Hello, Karen! Saturday was very happy making. Orange cranberry scones sound awesome - I love scones. Almost any kind. Glad the orange hit the spot - Abby loves oranges, and I love the smell of them.

Craig left Friday late afternoon for the five-hour drive to help care for his mom. Don't get me started. Anyway, the girls and I had a lovely Friday evening and Saturday. Got some household chores done, listened to audiobooks while cooking, spent time reading on the screened-in porch (it was 72F here yesterday), and watched some Leverage with everyone and then switched to The Sandhamn Murders with just Rae and me. We had baked potato bar for dinner last night and we currently have chicken with wild rice soup in the slow cooker for late lunch today. Tonight we will just have several appetizers while watching The Game.

On the reading front, I am behind on reporting what I have finished. Just this weekend I have finished two murder mysteries (The Long Call and a reread of When Will There Be Good News?), and Mindful Drinking. So here's what I have completed so far for the month:

February Reads:
15. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, adaptation and illustrations by Peter Kuper (GN) - Katie's Dirty Dozen
16. Dare to Disappoint by Özge Samanci (GN) - recommended by Beth
17. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
18. When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson, narrated by Ellen Archer - reread
19. Mindful Drinking by Rosamund Dean - Katie's Dirty Dozen

I also started The Giver: The Graphic Novel - really well done, and read the intro material for All Art is Propaganda. In the wee small hours I started a reread of Still Waters, the first book in Viveca Sten's Sandhamn Murders series.

Hoping to put together some thoughts on what I have finished, but it won't be today - maybe tomorrow.

>125 Crazymamie: ::eyeroll:: about the trip

*smooch* for a lovely Sunday

>122 Crazymamie: Hi Mamie! I watched The Sandhamn Murders last night and enjoyed it very much. It looks like the remaining season are available with an MZh subscription, along with a lot of other international crime dramas like the Fjallbacka Murders and Donna Leon's Brunetti mysteries. I might add it sometime so I can binge watch a few series.

>126 richardderus: Let's just say that Craig is a nicer person than I am.

*smooch back* Hoping your Sunday is also full of lovely. The sun came out in full force and has ruined my gloomy overcast day - it's depressingly cheerful out there. I countered by reading All Art is Propaganda on the screened-in porch.

>127 cbl_tn: Carrie, I am taking advantage of the 7 day free trial of MZh to finish watching it and to check out some other things I have had my eye on - Detective Montalbano and Young Montalbano as well as the ones you mention. Plus they have the Wallander that features Krister Henriksson. I had actually been thinking about asking for a MHz subscription for my birthday in June, so I might just consider it an early birthday gift to myself. *grin*

Morning, Mamie! I hope the week is off to a good start. We are still shivering up here in the North. A few more weeks, my friend. I am into the second half of The Memory of Love. It is a slow read but I am enjoying it.

>129 msf59: Morning, Mark! It's Monday, so my expectations are very low. We are going to 70F today and 78F tomorrow, so it does not feel like winter here. I have been getting in some reading on the screened-in porch lately. Just started The Memory of Love last night, but I am not very far in yet.

Mamie, dear, it's Tuesday. xx

15. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, adaptation and illustrations by Peter Kuper (GN) - Katie's Dirty Dozen - 3.5 stars

Like Katie, I have a thing for Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness - I have read it multiple times, and it always speaks to me. It's short and powerful, and it packs a punch. This graphic novel adaptation does a pretty good job of conveying some of the imagery - it's uneven, IMO, and parts of it work better than others. I think too much of the narrative was cut, but it must have been overwhelming trying to make an adaptation. I would have liked to see it done like the excellent GN adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep where not one word of text was cut. Still, this is worth checking out if you are wanting to revisit the story - for first time readers, I would say stick with the actual novel.

>131 katiekrug: Morning, Katie! So it is!! Craig and Rae were off yesterday, so my week is all messed up - but this does explain why yesterday was yuck. Craig was grumpy from his visit to Florida, Rae was out of sorts because she had to get two cavities filled...not the best Valentine's Day I've ever had. Heh. Thanks for pulling me back into the now. xx

>132 Crazymamie: - I think I gave it 4 stars but I have so little experience with GNs, that I had nothing to compare it to :)

>133 Crazymamie: - Sorry yesterday was so Monday-like.

16. Dare to Disappoint by Özge Samanci (GN) - recommended by Beth - 4.5 stars

The Amazon blurb:

"Growing up on the Aegean Coast, Ozge loved the sea and imagined a life of adventure while her parents and society demanded predictability. Her dad expected Ozge, like her sister, to become an engineer. She tried to hear her own voice over his and the religious and militaristic tensions of Turkey and the conflicts between secularism and fundamentalism. Could she be a scuba diver like Jacques Cousteau? A stage actress? Would it be possible to please everyone including herself?

In her unpredictable and funny graphic memoir, Ozge recounts her story using inventive collages, weaving together images of the sea, politics, science, and friendship."

I loved this one! This is slightly heart-breaking, but there is so much humor and warmth here as well. The artwork is a perfect fit to the narrative.

>134 katiekrug: I think some of the artwork is perfectly done, and if the entire thing were like that, it would easily be 5 stars for me. I did really appreciate all the information in the Forward (written by Maya Jasanoff, author of the fabulous The Dawn Watch: Joseph Conrad in a Global World, which I highly recommend) and the Art of Darkness sections that preceded the GN.

Thank you. The fact that it is actually Tuesday is happy-making.

Happy...um...well, better Tuesday, Mamie. May it present its smooth, scrubbed cheek to you for a kiss, not its beard.

17. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves - 3.5 stars

This was not as good, IMO, as her Shetland or her Vera series, but it is also just the first book. I often find that in crime fiction, the first book suffers because the author has to establish everything - setting, characters, chemistry...It was good but not great. I do have the next in the series, and so far there are just the two books in it. It has already been made into a tv series, and I am wanting to check that out but will read the second book first.


18. When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson, narrated by Ellen Archer - reread - 4.5 stars

This was a reread, and the audio is full of fabulous. It's interesting that each of the audiobooks in this series is read by a different narrator (this is book three of five in Atkinson's Jackson Brodie series). This one might be my favorite in the series. I love how Atkinson starts a book like a juggling act - throwing multiple balls into the air and somehow managing to keep them all in play and then slowly starts to bring them together, overlapping them until they become one story that is richer for all of the parts that make up its whole. For me, this one is almost perfect, and perhaps worthy of the full five stars. Something for me to think about, anyway.


19. Mindful Drinking by Rosamund Dean - Katie's Dirty Dozen - 3 stars

As Katie pointed out in her review of this one, the author is not an expert but is simply relating her own experiences and sharing what she has discovered in her own journey to change how she approaches alcohol. A lot of the things here did not apply to me personally because I do not have workplace pressures or social circle pressures placed on my alcohol consumption. I want to cut back, to drink more mindfully, but I don't need to silence or address other voices than my own in doing so. Still, there is useful information in this one, and I took notes and marked several passages. Definitely worth the read for me.

>137 richardderus: An excellent wish, Richard. Although, on the right face I don't mind me some stubble:

20. The Giver: The Graphic Novel by Lois Lowry, adapted and illustrated by P. Craig Russell - 4.5 stars

This is excellent. I have read The Giver more than once, but this graphic novel elevates it and makes the ideas presented in it tangible. I loved how P. Craig Russel has adapted and illustrated it - his use of color, which he explains, is brilliant. The blue undertones on the black and white illustrations adds so much depth. I don't want to give anything in the story line away, but the use of color for memory is also stunning. Highly recommended if you like dystopian.

'Morning, Mamie, and happy Tuesday.

For the first couple of hours today I thought it was Wednesday, even thought I paid the propane bill a day late thinking it was the 16th. However, I got on the right track soon enough.

Sorry about Craig's journey to FL and Rae's cavities.

I hope today is better.

>141 karenmarie: Morning, Karen! Happy Tuesday. SO I was oneway behind, and you were one day ahead. Heh.

It is what it is. It would help if Craig's sister would stop constantly texting him - she is texting or calling him before he even gets home. It's exhausting for him, and it's annoying for me because there are four siblings and Craig is the only one still working (he is the baby of the family by seven years). His brother is retired and has power of attorney, so he could take time to be there and get things sorted.

Poor Rae with the cavities - and she still has one or two more to be filled. She was most annoyed that the dentist numbed her and filled one cavity then worked on two other patients before returning to finish up on her. I don't blame her - that is annoying.

Thank you. Me, too.

All caught up with you again, Mamie. I enjoy reading about your family life and, of course, your reading life as well. I'm reminded that I need to start The Memory of Love. Enjoy the rest of your week.

Donna, thanks for catching up with me and for your kind words. Hoping the res of your week also involves joy.

I just started The Memory of Love last night - didn't get very far as I was tired. I loved the other two I read by her - Happiness and The Window Seat.

>139 Crazymamie: Purty, ain't they?

The Giver in comic-book form! Wow, that is a *great* idea that I am amazed took this long to make happen.

Lurky lurky. Time for coffee, methinks.

>145 richardderus: Mighty purty.

It's really well done, and would be great in the classroom.

>146 weird_O: I have already had two cups - what's kept you?

>148 Crazymamie: Sleep had ahold a me.

Hey, are you reading Orwell's Roses? I noted up toward the top you had lined up All Art Is Propaganda. You going to read that instead of the Solnit? Or in addition?

>149 weird_O: OIC

Yes. I am reading both of them because I am crazy like that. I am also reading Why Orwell Matters by Christopher Hitchens.

>150 Crazymamie: Oh my! That's exhausting to even think about. I think I'll take a nap.

>151 weird_O: But you just got up! Orwell exhausting? I think not! *sniff*

>135 Crazymamie: Oh yay, glad you enjoyed Dare to Disappoint, Mamie!

It looks like you've had some good February reading. Mine slowed down to a crawl, but I'm hoping that now that I've finished my book club books the dam has opened - and I do have Saturday and Monday off to potential read for fun.

>139 Crazymamie: So I was reading along and then there was Timothy Olyphant and … what now? I lost the thread of the conversation.

I just wanted to add to the love re the Jasanoff book in >136 Crazymamie:. I want to read more by her.

Hopefully Monday-associated glums are in the rear view mirror for a bit.

Morning, Mamie!

Hiya, Mamie! I hope you enjoy your morning coffee and everything else today.

>153 bell7: It was very well done, Mary. Parts of it had me laughing out loud.

Hoping your reading takes off again. This is why book clubs never work for me - as soon as I know I have to read something, then I don't wanna. Hooray for Saturday and Monday off!

>154 ursula: You're welcome, Ursula.

>155 charl08: It was so good, wasn't it, Charlotte? I would love for her to wrote more like that one - it was fascinating.

Tuesday behaved itself, and now we are on to Wednesday, so it's all good.

>156 katiekrug: Morning, Katie!

>157 karenmarie: Morning, Karen! First cup of coffee was excellent, and now I am ready for a second. Thank you for those good wishes!

>122 Crazymamie: I watched the first episode of the first season and that is it for me. I hate subtitles, no offense to anyone, because then I have to keep my eyes on the screen and cannot do anything else if I hope to know what is happening. I am glad you and Rae are enjoying it!

>135 Crazymamie: I get to dodge that BB since I have already read it. I also gave it 4.5 stars.

>138 Crazymamie: I need to re-read the Jackson Brodie series too!

Bleurgh

"They" are changing The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel so it's not about Midge making comedy anymore!

Boohoohoo

Morning, Mamie! Sweet Thursday. We have snow arriving this afternoon. Boo! Hoping for the lesser amount. How are you coming along with The Memory of Love? I didn't read as much yesterday as I would have liked but I should finish the book today. The Group Read is kind of a joke. It is a morgue over there. Grins...

>160 alcottacre: For some weird reason, I love subtitles, Stasia. I watched the first episode of Montalbano, and it made my head spin a bit because they were talking so fast it was hard to keep up with the subtitles. I finally mastered it, but it made me laugh - I loved it, though, so at least it was worth the effort.

Dare to Disappoint was very good - so much humor but it was also slightly heartbreaking.

Yes to rereading Jackson Brodie - it's so full of fabulous!

>161 richardderus: Bummer. I only watched the first season, but it was very good.

>162 msf59: Hello, Mark! No snow for us. 60s and very humid here. Ugh.

I am reading The Memory of Love on Kindle, and it does not give pages for this one - I am not very far in, about 16% it says. I love how she writes, but I am not loving any of the characters yet. Hoping to get some time with it today so I can make some progress. I think some people have not started reading it yet which is probably why the GR thread is quiet.

Morning (barely), Mamie!

Hope all is well down there.

>163 Crazymamie: We keep closed captioning on all of the time because Hubby doesn't hear too well. It's somewhere between funny and annoying to see how many bad mistakes the computer makes. Voice to text definitely has a way to go yet.

>158 Crazymamie: This is why book clubs never work for me - as soon as I know I have to read something, then I don't wanna. Yeah... I'm the same, but still manage to read a lot of "have to" books of one sort or another!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Hey, Mamie! I'm here. Visiting your thread. I'm so pleased with myself. Now. I got reports to prepare. Busy, busy, busy.

Eartha Kitt! "Santa Baby" in a musical! *hubbahubba* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlWDyfiSWBA

Dropping by to wish all at the Pecan Paradisio a wonderful weekend.

I'm not good with the have to read books either and that includes library holds with people waiting for them. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend, Mamie.

Hi Mamie, I haven't checked into this thread for some time but my timing is perfect, if I do say so myself, arriving in time to admire a picture of Timothy Oliphant. Thanks for posting!

I've finished two books today but neither one was hugely exciting. Both were, however, good and pleasant.

It's Sunday, all right.

Tuesday *smooch*

Hi Mamie! Happy Tuesday to you.

Hiya, Mamie!

Finished A is for Arsenic, a book I believe I can lay at your door. It was informative and entertaining. Good shot!

Sorry for my sporadic attention to my thread - I have been taking some time to myself after Abby had a very bad week. This week was much better, but I was feeling tired and slightly frazzled, so I took a break from everything except reading and what had to be done. I feel back to myself again. My default mode is happy and hopeful and full of snark and mischief, and I don't want to lose that, so I need to remember to recharge as needed. We had weather in the 80s this week - can I just say UGH.

On the reading front, I finished Much Ado About Nothing, Fangs, and Why Orwell Matters. Rae and I have been watching our way through The Sandhamn Murders, so I started a reread of the first book in the series Still Waters just for fun. I have been making my way though All Art is Propaganda, a collection of George Orwell's essays and reviews compiled by George Packer - really enjoying this. On audio, I have been listening to Bleak House - I'm at chapter 20, about 300 pages in. And I'm working on The Memory of Love - still not really liking any of the characters, but I am willing to give Forna time because she has yet to disappoint. I am waiting to see if Atilla will develop in this book - he is a main character in Happiness, and I loved him in that one.

>164 katiekrug: Hello, Katie. All is well except it is too hot.

>165 RebaRelishesReading: So true about the loads of mistakes in closed captioning, Reba. We keep it on most of the time, too.

>166 bell7: You are a better person than I am, Mary - I just can't do it. Even if it's a book I want to read, knowing that I have to ruins it for me - crazy but true.

Thanks for those good wishes.

>167 weird_O: Bill, I am also pleased with you. Thanks for visiting - always makes my day.

>168 richardderus: Oh, my! I had no idea!! Thanks for the link, BigDaddy.

>169 PaulCranswick: Thank you, Paul. Much appreciated.

>170 Familyhistorian: Good to know I am not alone, Meg! And thanks!

>171 DeltaQueen50: Hello, Judy! I did think of you when I posted that image - I know we both have big love for him.

>172 richardderus: Good and pleasant are nothing to sneeze at. And now it is almost Sunday again. I'm hoping that Saturday is kind to you. *smooch*

>173 richardderus: Thanks for keeping my thread warm and for thinking of me! *smooch back*

>174 karenmarie: Hello, Karen! I missed Tuesday, but Saturday Happiness to you, my friend!

>175 katiekrug: Hey there, Katie!

>176 Helenliz: I'm so glad you liked it, Helen! I thought it was a fun and very interesting one.

Morning, Mamie. I am very glad you recognized your need to slow down and recharge. It's so important, especially for anyone doing any kind of caregiving.

>182 katiekrug: Morning, Katie! Thank you - I realized I was letting little things get to me, which is SO not like me. A week of just letting go has worked wonders.

>177 Crazymamie: Hiya Mamie! Happy Saturday.

The Venerable Orwell, Kapell-Meister of the Church of the Sub-Genius, deserves our sustained attention right now as we watch Little Vladdy Pu-Pu set about restoring the Russian Empire more thoroughly than before...feelin' the years is my guess. Sad, isn't it, when we're clearly and memorably warned of a type of person's ill intent but choose to ignore it as applying only to the one individual.

Enjoy the Sandhamn re-reads! *smooch*

>184 richardderus: Hello there, darling! Happy Satudayness to you.

Yes! That's perzactly it. Well said.

Thank you - they are perfect for the lighter side right now and helping to balance out my reading. *smooch back*

Welcome back. You're always missed. So sorry about Abby's tough week. Hope it's better for a while now.

>186 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, thank you for that. Much appreciated.

Hi Mamie!

I’m so sorry Abby had a very bad week. I’m glad you took the opportunity to take care of yourself.

>188 karenmarie: Hello, Karen! This week was a good one for Abby; it was the previous week including last weekend that were really rough for her. This week has been a good one for Abby - I just took some time for myself to recharge. Thank you for your kind words - I am feeling much better.

>177 Crazymamie: I am sorry for Abby's troubles and for your subsequent distress. And glad you are feeling able to jump back into LT activity.

>177 Crazymamie: I hadn't realised there was a character overlap in Happiness and The Memory of Love, Mamie. This might be the nudge/ excuse I need to treat myself (!) to myowncopies of both books for a reread. Thank you!
I just finished Ancestor Stones which has been sat unread on my shelves since 2013. Loved it. Not sure what took me so long, though.

Glad you're taking breaks when you need them. And also glad Abby has had a better week.

Happy Sunday!

Glad Abby is having a better week and that you took some time to relax a bit.

I agree with you about books that you have to read for whatever reason. I prefer to randomly select one based on whatever mood I am in. If I select to read something at the wrong time it seriously affects how I enjoy the book and may make me give a bad opinion about it. When read at the correct time, I am much more fair and clearheaded with my opinions ;)

I'm glad you took some time for yourself, Mamie. And also glad you're back amongst all of us again!

Morning, Mamie! Happy Sunday. Nice to have you back. As usual, you were missed. Glad to hear that Abby is doing better and that you are finding comfort in the books. Other than Kai, I also had a tough time liking any of the characters in The Memory of Love but still ended up liking the novel.

>190 quondame: Thank you, Susan!

>191 charl08: Charlotte, I do not know how much we get to see or know of Atilla in The Memory of Love - I am about half way through and so far he is only a minor character. I'm hoping we get to see more of him. I might reread Happiness when I finish this one.

I'm adding Ancestor Stones to The List since you loved it - thanks for that.

Thanks so much for those kind words. We are doing fine - we just need to remember to stop and take time for deep breaths along the way.

>192 figsfromthistle: Happy Sunday, Anita! Thank you.

Yep. Same when it comes to reading books - I am very much a mood reader. I do better with something that is a spontaneous GR or a shared read of something I am really wanting to get to anyway. Even with reading challenges, I often just read out of order - following the list but not the order of the list.

>193 lauralkeet: Thank you so much, Laura - much appreciated!

>194 msf59: Morning, Mark! Happy Sunday. And thank you, my friend. I am still only about half way through The Memory of Love, but I will finish it - maybe not before we run out of February, though. Heh.

Have a restful Sunday, Mamie!

>197 katiekrug: Thank you, Katie! Hoping your Sunday is full of happy!

Glad to see you are feeling recharged, Mamie. Enjoy your Sunday.

*smoochissimus*

Howdy do, Mamie! Oh no! I've just scrolled thru your thread and I'm sorry you and Abby went through tough week or two. I hope things are getting back on the right track. We all know when your kids are hurting you hurt just as much.
80's?! Too much too soon. Hope you have more comfortable weather headed your way.

>199 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg!

>200 richardderus: I love you so much! Made me smile BIG. *smooch back*

>201 Carmenere: Morning, Lynda! One week of tough and one week of recharging. We are good to go now. I am both proud and amazed by how Abby is holding up - she is da Bomb. It's so hard that I can do so little to make things better or to help.

Yep. 80s over the weekend, so I got a lot of porching in, but it feels so wrong in February, even for the Deep South. Today is more my speed - overcast and 55F currently - going to a high of 60F, so I plan to soak up the cooler temps. We are heading to 90F for next weekend, so I need to gather my strength.

>202 Crazymamie: Oh no, not the 90s! Bad decade, bad temperature. Our cool spell has wimped out on us and that may be it for the year. I hope not.

>203 quondame: Well, the decade wasn't too bad for me, Susan - I got married in 1990, and my kids were born in '92, '94, '96 and '98. As a temperature, it leaves much to be desired. I think we are done with our cold, such as it was, too.

>204 Crazymamie: Well, to be fair, my daughter was born in '92, and I made an awful lot of money which got us into our house. I also burnt out and was not entirely sane for lots of the second half. But I did survive the decade.

>203 quondame: My 90s were good too:

Malaysia : 1994
Married to Hani : 1996
Yasmyne : 1997
Kyran : 1999

Brit-Pop, Peace in Northern Ireland, A Fine Balance, A Place of Greater Safety, Braveheart, Leeds United in the Champions League Semi-Finals, Birthday Letters, Clinton in the White House, still only 70kgs.

>204 Crazymamie: >205 quondame: >206 PaulCranswick: Well, it looks like the 1990s were special for many of us. Bree was born in '90, Matt in '92, both in March. We were married in '89, so just missed it there.

Morning, Mamie! I hope the week is off to a good start for you. We are going to be in the 50s the next couple of days, so you know I love it. I just finished A Children's Bible. I think you will like this one.

I went to university at the beginning of the 1990s, ended it as a post doc in London. Some of the decade I have mixed feelings about, but less so than the 1980s (where teenage angst ran riot).

I loved the 90s - it was mostly high school and college for me. My mom passed away at the very end of 1999, though, so it didn't end on a good note. But the rest of it was fun :)

When I look back at the 90's, all I have are fond memories. Married in '93, moved from a condo to the home of our dreams in '97 and little baby Will was delivered in '99. If I could choose a decade to live over, that would be the one.
Have a super duper day, Mamie

Nice to see you pass 1,000 posts on your threads again, Mamie.

>205 quondame: Surviving is good, Susan. Sometimes all you can do is plow forward - we've had years like that. Sounds like the 90s are maybe 50% for you. Breaking even is never a bad thing.

>206 PaulCranswick: We had a move in 1994, too, Paul - from Indianapolis to Yorktown, IN. We bought three homes in the 90s - our Indy condo shortly after we married, our first detached home in 1994, and then another house in 1998. The one we moved from when we came to Georgia. The 1998 house was a Money Pit, and I wish we had never bought it even though the location was beautiful and we learned a lot by pretty much gutting it room by room.

>207 msf59: Hello, Mark! Our 1992 baby was in March, too - Rae was born on Friday the 13th of March. Hard to believe they will be 30 this year, isn't it?!

>208 msf59: Morning, Mark! Hooray for the weather being what you want it to be! We are bright and sunny today and going to 74F. I'll probably snag some time reading on the screened-in porch.

Look where your touchstone goes - made me laugh out loud since I am positive that is not the book that you are referring to at all. I'll come check your thread to see which book you are talking about and add it to The List on your say so.

>209 Helenliz: I loved the 80s, Helen, despite the teenage angst. I graduated from college in 1989.

>210 katiekrug: Glad that the 90s were mostly kind to you until the end, Katie. Makes me want to cry just thinking about it. I'm sorry you lost your Mom at such a young age for both of you.

>211 Carmenere: I don't want to live any decades over, Lynda, and I definitely don't want to give birth four times again in a single decade, but the 90s were very kind to us. Sounds like we were experiencing a lot of the same iconic life moments.

Hoping your day is also full of super!

>212 PaulCranswick: Thanks, Paul. It's lovely that people still want to hang out with me.

There isn't a decade I'd willingly relive.

This one, maybe...?

>216 richardderus: Nope. I don't want to relive anything. I like going forward.

Hiya, Mamie, and happy Tuesday to you.

>217 Crazymamie: - I like that attitude towards life, Mamie. I don't think I'd want to relive any era of my life over again, though I have a few regrets about some of my time in my early to mid-20s. Nothing major - just passing thoughts about roads not taken...

>219 katiekrug: The thing about roads not taken is that if you had taken them, then you wouldn't be where and who you are. I like me. I like my life, so I wouldn't want to try to second guess the choices I have made that have led me here. I get up every day, and I look for my happy, and I almost always find it.

>220 Crazymamie: - Totally agree. I shouldn't have said "regrets" - maybe just musings. But whatever. I love my life, so it's all good :)

>221 katiekrug: Musings is an excellent word choice.

I think people overuse the term "regret"...or else I'm a complete sociopath. I have three regrets, the kind that keep me awake trying to find my way around, and nothing else gets more than a "gosh, that wasn't great was it?" So by my usage, it sounds like neither of y'all have many more than I do.

>214 Crazymamie: While I'm not usually one for Bibles or Bible stories, I do wish I still had the large book of stories from my childhood, which was not new then, though it probably only dated as far back as my older sister's childhood. I loved the illustrations and it's dark purple binding and I think the texture of that binding.

>215 Crazymamie: Yes, while I'd very much like my pre-autowreck body back, reliving any decade just wouldn't do. There just aren't any of them without mistakes that were bad enough to have made the first go round, and if we could go back and change, well, that would be endless chaos!

The Nineties. I remember them. Semi-fondly. Good, then bad, then good, then...but you get the picture. We began the decade moving into a house we built (off the main road). Two kids off to college. Judi caught breast cancer, lumpectomy, radiation, chemo. ("I don't want to lose my hair," she told the doc. Distraught. Panicky. "My son's getting married." "Wear a wig," he said firmly. Oh, and she did, and she looked great!) And then of course the marriage. Followed for me by forced retirement after 27 years. Followed by the Enron-induced financial calamity that swallowed up too much of the retirement bonus.

So same-o same-o as everyone else, yeah?

Morning, Mamie! Happy Wednesday. Rae's birthday is coming up, huh? Bree's is on the 8th and Matt is on the 20th. Special month.

I went a-Wordleing this morning and was most gruntled that the word was what it was.
Wordle 256 3/6

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Hope you're porching and lolling and generally allowing your world to be just as it arranges itself.

>226 msf59: March is a busy month of commemorations for me too. Hani has her birthday today, our wedding anniversary is on 23rd and my father on 19th.

Have a lovely weekend, dear Mamie, and love to all at the Pecan Paradisio.

>219 katiekrug:. What Katie said. That really is a lovely attitude and the world would be a much better place if it was more universally shared.

Happy Saturday, Mamie! I hope all is well at the Paradisio. I'm sorry Abby had a rough patch last month, and I'm thankful that it passed.

I also loved Ancestor Stones. It was my introduction to Aminatta Forna.
It didn't win as many awards as The Memory of Love, but I think it's the better book of the two.

I look back fondly on the 1980s and 1990s, when I was in my twenties and thirties. I have many good memories from those years. Sometimes I wish I could go back to visit to see all the special people who are no longer here with me. But only if I could take Adrian with me!

*deedle dumdee doo*
Wordle 259 2/6

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*traaa lee laaa*

Happy weekend, Mamie! I hope all's well with you & yours.

Greetings, Hibernatrix.

One more Mamie-less day and this thread will be declared a Mamie-Mummy.

>233 richardderus: Oh, dear! I'm here. I'm here! Coming off a CT flare up that is finally calming down, so I'll catch up with all y'all tomorrow, but I am here. *double smooch* Thanks for keeping my thread warm. Much appreciated.

Oh owwww! I'm glad it's calming down. Crummy old bodies, letting us down like this just because we're old. *smooch*

>234 Crazymamie: Yay and boo all at once.

Good to see you posting, Mamie. We get concerned when you're not around. Hope the flare up calms down quickly.

Interesting reminisces about the '90s. Looking back in my life they were a lot better than the 2000's, so at least they had that going for them.

>235 richardderus: So true, dear one! Better every day. I just have to remember to be careful. *smooch*

>236 Helenliz: Made me laugh - thank you, Helen!

>237 Familyhistorian: Thanks, Meg! Every decade has its own blessing and burdens - I'm just thankful I only have to go through it once.

Morning, Mamie. Sweet Thursday. I hope you are feeling better. We miss seeing you around. I hope you are still getting some reading in.

>223 richardderus: That is an excellent point, Richard. I also have regrets, but as you say, they are so few in relation to all that has transpired.

>224 quondame: Susan, your volume sounds full of gorgeous. We used to have this set of Bible stories that my mom would read to me from sometimes. Only books I can remember her reading to me, actually, and I can still see them vividly in my mind. They had bright blue covers and they were hardbacks and there were a lot of them. They sat right underneath of our Funk and Wagnalls set of encyclopedias which was still missing a few volumes. Funny thing is, my sisters argued over these books when my mom passed, and it gave me a giggle because I could not imagine wanting them.

>225 weird_O: Bill, that is one roller coaster of a ride. I think my 90s were better than yours. But my 80s were a lot like that - with the big happy and the big sad and the big C (my favorite sister had stage four Hodgkins, and was diagnosed while pregnant). Life is like that - all complicated and tricky and heartbendy. Some days all you can do is get up and keep moving forward and hang on tight to your sense of humor. Big bear hug for you, Oh Weird One.

>226 msf59: Hello, Mark! Rae's birthday is right between Bree and Matts - on the 13th, so this Sunday. Hoping Bree's was full of happy!

>227 richardderus: I have not Wordled is some time - I have been avoiding most computer stuff because that aggravates the CT, and it was already angry. I have mostly been porching with the books and spending time with my various streaming services. I have not even cooked this week, and that is VERY unusual for me.

>228 PaulCranswick: Hey, Paul! March is a busy month for many of us, it seems. Besides Rae, I have two nephews, a sister, and two BILs (both named Steve!) who have March birthdays. Hoping Hana's birthday was full of happy! And cake!

Thank you so much for your kind words and good wishes, my friend. Most appreciated.

>229 cbl_tn: Carrie, thanks so much for that. All is well here, I just managed to really aggravate my CT, so I have been giving it a break from the things that I know irritate it. Unfortunately, a big one is the computer.

I just picked up Ancestor Stones - it's currently $2.99 on Kindle. So happy to hear that you also loved it. I ended up really liking The Memory of Love, but I think Happiness was better. I just love how she writes. If you have not read her essay collection The Window Seat, I think you would really enjoy it.

Of course Adrian would have to be allowed to go! I would love to sit and visit with my Dad one more time. Or even just hug him again and hear him say my name.

>230 richardderus: Most impressive!!!

>231 bell7: Thank you, Mary!

>232 richardderus: Hello there, BigDaddy!

>239 msf59: Morning, Mark! I have missed typing that! Sweet Thursday, my friend. The CT is slowly calming down - I just need to remember not to push it. I'm doing very well with the reading - I will hopefully update later today and share my reading adventures.

Hoping your day is full of fabulous!

Hi Mamie!

>240 Crazymamie: Life is like that - all complicated and tricky and heartbendy. Some days all you can do is get up and keep moving forward and hang on tight to your sense of humor. You nailed it.

I'm really sorry the CT has flared up.

Throughsday *smooch*

>235 richardderus: Heh!! You two don't know what old is! (But sorry you've been suffering, Mamie. Hope it gets better fast).

Sorry to hear about the CT kicking in, Mamie. I do hope the flare up goes away soon!

>244 karenmarie: Hello, Karen! *smile*

Thanks - the CT is settling down. I just have to be patient. And behave. I am not very good at either one. Heh.

>245 richardderus: Ha! I love the spelling there - perfect. *smooch back*

>246 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I will take your word for it. I don't feel old, but I must admit that the body is not as spry as it used to be. And thank you for those kind words and good wishes.

>247 alcottacre: Thank you, Stasia! Definitely getting better - I just need to not overdue it in my excitement.

Glad you're feeling better, Mamie!

(You do not need to reply to this message :) )

>249 katiekrug: Thank you, Katie!