Katie's 2022 Reading Room - Part 5

CURRENTLY READING
(Print) (Audio)

Hello, friends! Glad to have you joining me on another year’s reading (and life) journey.

For anyone new to my thread, I’m Katie: reader, wine drinker, food appreciator, shenanigan-ator, and non-sufferer of fools. I live outside New York City with my husband, "The" Wayne, our cat, Leonard, and our dog, Nuala/Noodles. Last year, I left my job in association management to explore life as a domestic goddess. I hope to do some writing, too, but that requires discipline and motivation, neither of which has ever made a permanent home with me…

My reading varies widely - I love genre fiction (romance and crime), contemporary and historical fiction, and narrative nonfiction. I try to balance my reading in all these areas. I also use my thread as a bit of a life journal, which mostly means I talk about what I’m cooking, eating, drinking, watching, doing, and avoiding doing.

Thanks for being here!

Books Completed

Books Off My Shelf: 3
Books Off My Kindle: 2
Books from Audible/Chirp: 4
Library Loans (print/e-books/audios): 9

February
18. The Wedding by Dorothy West (audio) (3.75 stars)
17. Last Best Hope by George Packer (audio) (4.25 stars)
16. Here For It by R. Eric Thomas (audio) (4 stars)
15. Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag (audio) (3.5 stars)
14. If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin (audio) (4.5 stars)
13. The Fell by Sarah Moss (4.75 stars)
12. Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen (audio) (4 stars)

Did Not Finish (YTD)
1. These Silent Woods by Kimi Cunningham Grant
2. This is the Story of a Happy Marriage by Ann Patchett (will come back to this one; was just not in the mood)
3. Breathless by Beverly Jenkins

COMPLETIONS - Q1

March

February

January
11. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (4.25 stars)
10. As You Wish by Cary Elwes (audio) (3.5 stars)
9. The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin (audio) (3 stars)
8. Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Jess Kidd (audio) (4 stars)
7. Mindful Drinking by Rosamund Dean (3 stars)
6. Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne (3.75 stars)
5. Aliens of Extraordinary Ability by Maeve Higgins (audio) (4 stars)
4. I Loved You First by Various Authors (audio) (3 stars)
3. Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness by Peter Kuper (4 stars)
2. Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty (4 stars)
1. Henrietta's War by Joyce Dennys (3.5 stars)

Around the Year in 52 Books:

TITLE
A book with a language or nationality in the title
A book with a time-related word in the title
- A book that uses all five vowels in the title and/or author's name - Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne
2 books with the same word in the title
2 books with the same word in the title
- A book with 22 or more letters in the title - Aliens of Extraordinary Ability by Maeve Higgins

COVER
- A book with an image of a source of light on the cover - Mr. Flood's Last Resort by Jess Kidd
- A book with one of the Monopoly tokens on the cover - Henrietta's War by Joyce Dennys
- A book without a person on the cover - I Loved You First by Various Authors
A book with handwriting on the cover

THEME
- A book that features loving LGBTQIA+ relationship - Here for It by R. Eric Thomas
A book related to mythology
A book with a theme of food or drink
A book related to a game
A book related to Earth Day
- A book related to psychology, neuroscience or the mind - Mindful Drinking by Rosamund Dean

SETTING
- 3 books set on three different continents - Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag (Asia)
3 books set on three different continents
3 books set on three different continents
A book set in a small town or rural area
- A fiction or nonfiction book that is set during 1900 -1950 - Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
A book set on or near a body of water
A book with an academic setting or with a teacher that plays an important role

CHARACTER
A book where the main character is a female detective or police officer
A book that involves aging, or a character in their golden years
A book with a non-human as one of the main characters
A book about a woman in STEM
- A book with a main character whose name starts with A, T, or Y - If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin (Tish)

GENRE
A book that involves alternate reality, alternate worlds, or alternate history
A book with gothic elements
A book from the historical fiction genre

AUTHOR & PUBLISHING
A book published in 2022
A book published at least 10 years ago - The Wedding by Dorothy West
A book by a Latin American author
A book by an Asian or Pacific Islander author
A book with a Jewish character or author
A book by an author with two sets of double letters in their name

GOODREADS & RECOMMENDATIONS
A book posted in the 2021 or 2022 ATY Best Book of the Month threads
- A book connected to a book you read in 2021 - Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty
- A book that fits your favorite prompt that did not make the list - The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin (Book with a character who loves books)
- A book with fewer than 5000 ratings on Goodreads - The Fell by Sarah Moss

AWARDS, CHALLENGES and LISTS
A book that won an award from Powell's list of book awards
A book from NPR's Book Concierge
A book from the TIME list of 100 Best YA Books of All Time

OTHER
A book connected to the phrase "Here (There) Be Dragons"
2 books related to flora and fauna
2 books related to flora and fauna
The next book in a series
A book related to one of the 22 Tarot Major Arcana cards
A book related to glass
A book related to inclement weather
- A book less than 220 pages OR more than 440 pages - Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness by Peter Kuper

My Ratings (revised, once again, as I continue the fruitless search for the perfect scale...)

2 stars = Whyyyyyy?
3 stars = Eh, ok.
4 stars = Definitely worth the time.
5 stars = Perfect *for me*

(Anything below 2 stars is unlikely to be finished)



WELCOME!

5/4

6/4

7/4 (because "Solsbury Hill" by Peter Gabriel, one of my formative music experiences, is in 7/4 time)

>5 Crazymamie:, >6 richardderus:, and >7 richardderus: - You guys are dorks.

ETA: But two of my favorite visitors :)

Yeah, I own my dorkdom. It's a burden, like Great Beauty, but an equal gift.

>9 richardderus: - I get it because I am, of course, burdened by Great Beauty *big ol' winky-wink*

>9 richardderus:, >10 katiekrug: And I am burdened with both. *blinks*

>11 Crazymamie:, >10 katiekrug: We're a quorum, then! Time to take over the world!

>11 Crazymamie: - An embarrassment of riches!

>12 richardderus: -

Happy new thread, Katie!

Thanks, Amber!

Is this the Three Stooges? Katie, Moe, and Curly. Hi. Luv you guys.

Happy new one!

>12 richardderus: I call shotgun.

>13 katiekrug: I try not to let it go to my head.

>16 weird_O: - Welcome, Bill!

>17 drneutron: - Thanks, Jim.

>18 Crazymamie: - You're a picture of humility and modesty, Mamie.

>19 katiekrug: *muffles wild hilarity to stay out of trouble*

>18 Crazymamie: Have at!

>19 katiekrug: I try to lead by example.

>20 richardderus: Just so we're clear, I'm talking about the seat in a car, not the weapon. I'm not good with weapons, but I do live in the Deep South now, so I can bless people's hearts with the best of them.

>21 Crazymamie: ...and I've always pictured you thus...

>22 richardderus: Replace the gun with a frying pan, and you've got it.

Happy new one!

>23 Crazymamie: Your apron's The BOMB then! :-D

>20 richardderus:, >21 Crazymamie:, >22 richardderus:, >23 Crazymamie: - You two crack me up.

>24 figsfromthistle: - Thanks, Anita!

>25 richardderus: - Heh.

Happy new thread, Katie!

>27 karenmarie: - Thank you, Karen!

Happy new one, Katie.

Happy new thread, Katie! Hope your day is going well.

>29 BLBera: - Thanks, Beth.

>30 RebaRelishesReading: - Thank you, Reba. So far so good with the day :)

I just broke up with my RL book group and I feel so good about it. I'd been enjoying it less and less, and one member in particular made it often unpleasant. I asked myself why I was subjecting myself to it, when I often hated the books anyway. So I replied to a group text about Thursday's meeting and said I was taking a break and they could remove me from the text group. It really *is* my Independence Day today (see previous thread...)!

>32 katiekrug: Atta girl! Life's too short to put up with unpleasant people, unless they are paying you.

>33 rosalita: what Julia said. You could stew on it and be miserable for months, but why? Your feelings have been brewing for a while and you were smart to make a clean break of it.

>32 katiekrug: Brava! Good lookin' out, Search.

Thanks for the validation, Julia, Laura, and Richard! I'm still getting texts from the group, so I assume my nemesis who organizes it is just being obnoxious on purpose...

Ghachar Ghochar by Vivek Shanbhag

This novella is about wealth and class in contemporary India, which is a huge and multi-faceted subject. While a good read (listen), I think I wanted more. One can barely scratch the surface of the topic in the space of this book.

3.5 stars

>32 katiekrug: - well done that woman. Life's too short for that kind of behaviour.

>5 Crazymamie:, >6 richardderus:, >7 richardderus: snort.

Thinking in 5 letter words is clearly catching. This was the opening sentence of a Guardian article last week. Guess the topic?
Smart daily brain tease works magic, makes eager crowd happy, later turns truly viral – until game’s adept maker earns great money (ample Times bucks).

Happy new thread, Katie!

>7 richardderus: Oh, I love "Solsbury Hill" (and "Biko")!

>38 Helenliz: Now I try to make 5 word sentences in Dutch ;-)

>38 Helenliz: Oooh, thanks for the list of new starter words, Helen. :-)

Poking my nose in and see you're reading Beverly Jenkins. I hope it's a gooder. I've only tried one by her but I really should read more.

Happy new thread, Katie!

Now I'm picturing you, Mamie, and Richard taking over the world hehe 😁

>39 FAMeulstee: I loved "Biko" as well, Anita! Generally I like Peter Gabriel's music. But "Solsbury Hill" was the first song I knew was truly his, since it wasn't Genesis. I fell for it.

>38 Helenliz: what >40 rosalita: said

>37 katiekrug: I was a little fonder of it than you. But it's a good story, no matter what.

Happy new thread, Katie, and hooray for independence day. I scrolled my way through your last thread so caught the Vid news. Strangely, I now have a yen to watch Detectorists and do today's Wordle which would make it the second time I've attempted it.

On the writing front: I recently added a book to my collection which might be up your alley - Romancing the Beat: Story Structure for Romance Novels. It's a slim volume recommended by a writer who I'm familiar with who writes romance.

Ahem. I am here to boast.

Wordle 235 3/6

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Streak: 100%, 3 tries now 45% followed by 4 at 40%, only 15% at five and no scrubs yet.

>38 Helenliz: - Oh, that's clever!

>39 FAMeulstee: - Thanks, Anita!

>40 rosalita: - Heh.

>41 MickyFine: - I've also only read one by her, Micky. So far, so good.

>42 bell7: - I think the three of us would be excellent overlords. At least for those we liked :)

>43 richardderus: - Yep. I enjoyed it - just felt it was a bit slight.

>44 Familyhistorian: - Hi Meg! Thanks for the rec! It's on my list already, as it was also recommended by Sarah MacLean during a virtual class I took with her.

>45 richardderus: - Ugh. I got it in 6. It was ugly. But yay for you. I guess. *grumble*

Morning, all! It's very bright and sunny here and is supposed to go up to 45F this afternoon. I might take Nuala for a nice long walk, if she's up for it. She's very tired from day care yesterday :)

Trivia was fun - we came in 6th. My major contribution was identifying 4 boy bands on sight. I wasn't even into 90s boy bands, but whatever.

We may have been out a bit too late, as we hung out at the pub after trivia for a bit. It was so nice to be somewhere other than the house!

To Do:
- grocery shopping
- appointment making
- laundry

Menu:
- Breakfast: not really hungry so will probably just have an early lunch
- Lunch: tuna salad sandwich
- Dinner: homemade(ish) pizza - It's National Pizza Day, which is a High Holy Day in the great state of New Jersey :)

Books:
- listened to a chunk of Here For It, which I am loving
- no print/Kindle reading yesterday; bad Katie

Viewing:
- nada

Morning, Katie! hooray for 6th place - 6 is my lucky number. We also have bright and sunny today - it's so cheerful out there that I can't decide if it's happy making or slightly off-putting. Heh.

Your lunch plans are making me crave tuna salad, so now I think I have to make some.

>25 richardderus: I like to be prepared.

>32 katiekrug: Good for you for breaking up with your book club. Way to go, you!

>47 katiekrug: Good job on pub trivia! I'd've been hamstrung. I didn't know who Ricky Martin was until the Aughts.

>46 katiekrug: Six is still a win. Go you!

Isn't pretty much every day Pizza Day in NJ?

>48 Crazymamie: - Morning, Mamie! I made tuna salad yesterday, and it was yummy. I toasted two slices of rye, put a slice of provolone on one right out of the toaster so the cheese got soft, then added sliced red onion, and topped with tuna mixed with dill yogurt dip. Delish.

>49 richardderus: - I was sort of embarrassed to be able to identify them by their photos... Thanks re: Wordle. We were chatting with the trivia MC last night, and she said she always uses PENIS as her starting word, which I think is hilarious because I am an adolescent boy.

>50 laytonwoman3rd: - Fair point :) Though we alternate Pizza Day with Bagel Day...

>51 katiekrug: Rob does, too! Ha!

>51 katiekrug: YUM!

>51 katiekrug:, >53 richardderus: You made me spit my coffee!

>53 richardderus: - :D

>54 Crazymamie: - You're welcome.

>51 katiekrug: "Spine" uses the same letters, and as a prim old lady, I might suggest you keep that in mind if you ever grow out of it....adolescence, that is. Which isn't necessarily a recommendation that you DO so, you understand.
>53 richardderus: I have no advice for Rob. None.

>57 laytonwoman3rd: Well, he *does* choose to associate with the likes of me, so I suspect advice would be wasted. He'll be 26 soon enough, maybe the MaturityBulb™ will go on...?

>57 laytonwoman3rd: - Yes, but SPINE doesn't make me giggle...

>58 richardderus: - :)

>59 katiekrug: We had a chuckle last night about him turning 26 while I'm still 62.

>59 katiekrug: Yes, see prim old ladies disapprove of giggling...awww, who am I kidding...giggling is one of life's best gifts. Carry on.

>60 richardderus: - There is a nice symmetry in that.

>61 laytonwoman3rd: - Will do!

I really need to go to the grocery store and I DON'T WANNA!!!!

>62 katiekrug: It amused us probably more than it should've.

>61 laytonwoman3rd: ...I was about to say...

I came to cement my place in your Tsundoku-Enablers' Hall of Shame:
https://smile.amazon.com/Library-Witch-Mysteries-Books-1-3-ebook/dp/B08L24VYBJ/
The Library Witch cozies for 99¢.
"When bookshop assistant Rory Hawthorn unearths her late father’s secret, she discovers her witchy relatives — and their enchanted library! Will Rory’s newfound magical abilities help her solve a murder… or three? A must-read box set of supernatural cozy mysteries."

>63 katiekrug: Me, too, and I think I'm gonna push it to tomorrow even though I really should go today.

>64 richardderus: - Hmmm, the Library Witch is not calling my name. I don't love cozies and this sounds a bit... twee? Also, I just bought a truckload of Kindle books yesterday and need to give the One-Click button a rest.

>65 Crazymamie: - I was supposed to go yesterday, so I've already pushed it. And I am now out of hazelnut coffee creamer, so needs must.

No? Okay...have you read the Sebastian St. Cyr Napoleonic-War-vet series? Because #15's on sale for $1.99...or permaybehaps Janet Malcolm's essays, Forty-One False Starts, for $2.99?

No rest for the One-Click if I can help it....

>67 richardderus: - Evil man.

I have the first St. Cyr book on my Kindle but haven't read it yet.

The Malcolm sounds like it would make my head hurt.

But, er, thanks for thinking of me!

Groceries have been acquired, and I didn't kill anyone so I am feeling virtuous. I rewarded myself by buying a scone to enjoy this afternoon.

Now I just need to make one phone call, tend to the dishwasher, sort the laundry and put a load in, and I can relax for the rest of the day.

>68 katiekrug: Of course, my dear! Always lookin' out for my book-buddies! hmmm

the target is weaving instead of bobbing

new strategy needed

>70 richardderus: - Not today, Satan!

>32 katiekrug: Good job! Life is too short to spend it wth mediocre books and unpleasant people! Perhaps you will find a different book club.

>32 katiekrug: Congrats. It’s not as if you don’t do any reading on your own, is it?

I enjoy the St Cyr books. Maybe you should give the one on your Kindle a try, Katie.

>32 katiekrug: said I was taking a break and they could remove me from the text group.

"I'm taking a break. A forever break."

❤️🙌

>68 katiekrug:, >74 Familyhistorian: I've read four of the St Cyr books and really enjoy them. I like the historic setting, and the swashing of buckles.

Good morning Katie!

Morning, Katie!

>72 figsfromthistle: - I'm thinking of starting a book club, Anita. We'll see, though. I met some nice people through the one I just quit, so it was a net positive.

>73 karenmarie: - Exactly, Karen. I do love being in a book club, as long as the people are at least mildly intelligent and the book picks are good...

>74 Familyhistorian: - I'm sure I will give it a try at some point, Meg. I know Laura is a fan, and she rarely steers me wrong. Good to have your endorsement now, too!

>75 ursula: - Ha! Yes! *waves at Ursula*

>76 lauralkeet: - And here's Laura now :) I think the St Cyr is on my Kindle because of you...

It's Thursday! My favorite day of the week :) *Kermit arms*

Yesterday turned out to be busier than expected, as I fielded a few phone calls about different projects we're tackling and was trying to manage the scheduling of various things. The big one is having some electrical work done, which will necessitate our power being off for a day and a half. Yuck.They wanted to come out and do the work next week, but I put them off for an extra week because we need to figure out how The Wayne will work, if we want to send Nuala to boarding, should we just get a hotel room, etc. And then the fence guy called because we have some concerns about the proposed placing of the fence given what our property survey looks like (it narrows significantly as it moves toward the river). Anyway, not working for a few months has diminished my capacity to juggle multiple projects in my brain, so now I have a handy notebook to write down details of phone calls and such :-P

Other than that, I managed some reading and puzzling/listening time. I finished up both my audio and the puzzle, which was very satisfying.

To Do:
- load of laundry
- Nuala to day care
- errands
- bake banana bread

Menu:
- Breakfast: orange-cranberry scone
- Lunch: soup
- Dinner: trying something new - falafel-spiced chickpea wraps with cucumber and red onion slaw

Books:
- Finished Here For It on audio, which I recommend, especially in that format
- A chapter in Breathless

Viewing:
- Olympics: downhill skiing, snowboarding, half-pipe

Get the hotel room. Pet-accepting motel near-ish by? No boarding that way...or maybe just board Nuala to give her some extra doggo time after her COVID-denied play dates?

Yeah...notebook time, for sure. Use it or lose it is a very real thing.

Wordle 236 5/6

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*sigh* I used a C. Damn.

>80 richardderus: - I think it would just be easier to board her then mess around with trying to get her to settle down in a strange place. The cat can stay at home, of course.

This was my set today:
Wordle 236 4/6

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>81 katiekrug: *marvels* not one yellow square! *envious sigh*

Checking in on the new thread before I lose all of hope of keeping track!

>82 richardderus: - But even so, took me 4 tries!

>83 alcottacre: - Hi Stasia!

>80 richardderus:, >81 katiekrug: Feeling smug about my 3.

Hi Katie!

>78 katiekrug: My book club, currently moribund, has such a wide variety of intelligent women that our annual book selection was always quite a variety. 1997-2019 we read 229 books. I actually read 137 of them and liked 116 of those. I’ll be interested to see if you eventually either seek out another book club or form one yourself.

>79 katiekrug: Good idea about the notebook. I usually write down a day’s tasks on the back of an envelope that was going to go into recycling, copying what didn’t get done to a new one when I run out of room.

Orange-cranberry scones sound delicious. I may amend my Walmart-for-cream-cheese run to include an orange. I have cranberries, frozen for a recipe I didn’t make at Christmas.

>81 katiekrug: Congrats on 4. I took 5, having the same problem Richard did.

>85 Helenliz:

>77 Crazymamie: Ahem. *sniff* Ugh to the power being off for a day and a half - I'm with Richard, I would hotel room it. I got lucky with the Wordle today.

Wordle 236 3/6

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>88 Crazymamie: see >87 richardderus:

>87 richardderus: Oh, dear! It really was just luck: steam, phase, pause

>85 Helenliz: - I'm so.... happy.... for you. ;-)

>86 karenmarie: - Morning, Karen! This book group started off pretty well, but the one person who annoys me just seems to have gotten worse. And I feel like he took an active dislike to me (What? How? I'm delightful and charming!), and I don't really need his little comments and shit in my life. I've started a book club before - back in Dallas. I like having the control :)

Please note I did not make the scones. I bought them at the supermarket. I have yet to attempt scones. I hope yours are delicious!

I have a planner where I do my daily lists, appointments (also in Google Calendar, shared with TW), and such. Then I have a notebook where I keep my master list. And now I have one to manage/organize these various house projects. I like stationery and cute notebooks...

>87 richardderus: - Now, Richard, we were all bvery nice about your excellent result earlier this week... Heh.

>88 Crazymamie: - I'm so sorry, Mamie! I rarely overlook people. Given the timing, I think you snuck in while I was composing a message and the thread didn't refresh. A thousand apologies!

Nice going on the Wordle. You and Helen should start a Cool Kids Club, and I'll look in sadly through the window...

>89 richardderus: - Snerk.

>90 Crazymamie: - It's always luck. :-P

ETA: That is a very elegant progression of words, Mamie!

Nuala is safely deposited at day care, I got what I needed at CVS (mostly birthday cards - my hoard was getting low), and I picked up the book I had on hold at the library (Notes On an Execution). I also perused the New Arrivals shelves and came home with:

Assembly by Natasha Brown
Brown Girls by Daphne Palasi Andreades
Love & Saffron by Kim Fay (thanks, RD!)
Find Me by Alafair Burke

>92 katiekrug: It surprises me to say this but I don't think I've ever read an Alafair Burke book. I like her daddy's work, and I know she works an adjacent field, but somehow I've just never cracked one yet. I'll be most interested....

>91 katiekrug: "Tolerated your boasting without visible eyerolling," I believe you mean. :-P

>90 Crazymamie: what >91 katiekrug: said...a lovely small poetic Moment.

>92 katiekrug:. >93 richardderus: Chiming in on Alafair Burke, too. I read her very first novel, Judgment Calls, long ago, and was really excited to check her out because I also loved her father's stuff and she was a character, at least in name, in so many of his books. I guess I wasn't overly impressed, as I've never tried another. It was pre-LT, so I have no record of my response, just a notebook entry that I did read it.

>93 richardderus: and >94 laytonwoman3rd: - I've not read anything by her, though I think I have one or two on my Kindle, thanks to various sales. The one I got at the library sounded intriguing, and has a New Jersey connection, so how could I not?

I always agonize over gifts for my younger Texas cousins (ages 16, 12, 8 and 4). I always give books, or a Barnes & Noble gift card. The two oldest always send a thank you note for their Christmas gifts, but I rarely get any acknowledgement for birthday gifts. And the two youngest have never sent a note, even one penned by a parent, for any gift whatsoever. Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I find this intolerably rude. On the other hand, I feel bad not marking their birthdays beyond a card, so I've decided to make a donation to a literacy organization in lieu of sending a gift. The 12 year old has a birthday coming up, so I made a donation to Reach Out and Read in his name, and then made up a little notification with the organization's logo and printed it out to stick inside his card. At least this way, my gifts aren't going to spoiled, ungrateful children LOL.

I think I may be a cranky old lady.

I'm happy to take responsibility for St Cyr being on your Kindle, Katie! Also, I have no issues with boarding Nuala just wanted to say that we have traveled with pups a couple of times and been pleasantly surprised with how well they adapted. YMMV of course, but it's also kinda nice to hang out in a hotel or airbnb with your pupper.

>96 katiekrug: Well this reminded me to call my grandmother to thank her for the Christmas gift she finally got to me yesterday (via my Mom). Thank you!

>96 katiekrug: "Perhaps I am old fashioned, but I find this intolerably rude." I'm with you. Especially when the gift has to be mailed or shipped, and you don't even know if it arrived. I think your point will be made quite clearly (at least to the adults) by the card enclosure. I like that idea.

>97 lauralkeet: - We never had any issues with Louis in hotels when we traveled, but Nuala has taken to barking at any little sound from the street outside (luckily, we live on a dead end, so it's not very busy or noisy), and I just can't imagine her in a hotel situation with people in the hall, doors closing, elevators dinging, etc. Plus, she'll be due for a grooming by then, so....

>98 MickyFine: - Glad I could help, Micky!

>99 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda!

>96 katiekrug: I think that's a good solution to the manners issue, as well as the privileged-kid-doesn't-need-stuff issue.

You are King Solomon Ann.

not sending thank you's --- don't get me started!!! I don't care if it's a note, phone call is nice too, but please let me know if you got it or not!! (end of rant)

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.

>91 katiekrug: If I had a good place to buy scones, I’d probably indulge, always excepting Covid and possibly high sodium. I like to bake, and scones aren’t a challenge for me.

>92 katiekrug: Ooh, ooh! I have 3 by Alafair Burke on my shelves, acquired from a Friends book donation. I have The Ex, The Better Sister, The Wife, all as yet unread.

>96 katiekrug: I always wrote thank you cards for Jenna when she was little and had her scribble on them. Once she could print, I’d write out what to say and make her copy it out. She graduated to writing her own cards in junior high. Now, she’s 28, and it’s up to her. At least she was brought up right. *smile* I’ll be interested if there’s any response to the donation/notification.

>102 RebaRelishesReading: Even a text… I still have to hear from one cousin about their Christmas gift.

>101 richardderus: - The fact that they don't need more stuff - even books - is also a consideration...

>102 RebaRelishesReading: - Yep, I'd even take a text as a bare minimum...

>103 richardderus: - Hmmmm.

>104 karenmarie: - These aren't great scones, but they are sufficing for now. I am resisting baking my own because that way lies madness, as I ADORE scones.

I think The Ex is one of the Burkes I have on my Kindle...

Yep, I think the progression of parent-assisted thank yous is normal, and what we are seeing with our nephew, who is 5. When my aunt Peggy died, we found a collection of thank you notes I had written to her over the years. My two cousins (parents of the 4 kiddos mentioned above) joked that it was no wonder I was her favorite. I was just quietly aghast that it wasn't part of their post-birthday/Christmas/visit routine like it was for me. My mama raised me right :)

Morning, all. I'm up and about a little earlier than normal, as this morning I make my triumphant return to the gym (ha!) and I like to have a good chunk of time to myself in the morning.

Dinner last night was a great success, as far as I was concerned. The Wayne didn't hate it but I don't think he was as in love with it as I was. I used this recipe as a starting point, but added more seasoning to the chick peas because of course I did, and used store-bought tzatziki because I'm lazy. The red onion and cucumber slaw was more like a quick pickle, but it was delicious. And I started with a base of roasted red pepper hummus on the pitas which kept them from being too dry, as the recipe notes. I set everything up like a taco bar and we built our own. Anyway, here is a finished product:



I also made a banana bread yesterday which may be the best one I've ever made. I swapped out some of the regular granulated sugar for brown sugar and I added more cinnamon than usual. It's lovely, and I can't wait to have a slice with my coffee.

To Do:
- gym
- paperwork/filing
- writing

Menu:
- Breakfast: banana bread
- Lunch: leftovers
- Dinner: homemade(ish) pizza and salad

Books:
- On audio, I started Last Best Hope by George Packer and it is, unsurprisingly, excellent. But infuriating.
- Read a couple of chapters in the historical romance I've got going.

Viewing:
- Olympics, but man, the prime time coverage is really terrible. Might watch a movie tonight instead...

Happy Friday, Katie!

>106 katiekrug: That looks delicious! Hope you have a fun time at the gym. Try not to overdo it on your first day back!

>107 figsfromthistle: - Thanks, Anita! I am fairly confident I will not overdo it. I am a weenie.

Wordle 237 3/6

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>109 katiekrug: pffft. I was stupid and it took me 6 tries.

Re: banana bread, the world is divided into people who put chocolate chips in, and people who don't. Which one are you?

‘Morning, Katie!

>105 katiekrug: I got up early enough this morning to make scones, but got busy with organizing my stupid pill box. Time sink that keeps me alive… harrumph.

It’s charming that your aunt had saved all your thank you notes. I have never, ever gotten a thank you from my 43-year old niece or her 41-year old brother, much less my 7-year old great nephew or scribbles from his 2 ½ year old brother.

>106 katiekrug: Kitchen busy yesterday, I see. Good for you.

Bill was complaining about the prime time coverage last night, too. No matter what channel we went to, all we saw were Nathan Chen gold medal skate repeats or Shaun White screwing up the last run of his career. I.Want.Curling.

>109 katiekrug: I haven’t started Wordle today, and looking at the time, have 15 minutes to get ready, capture the cat, and leave for the vet to get her some shots

>109 katiekrug: I got one from it today.
Wordle 237 6/6

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>104 karenmarie: "At least she was brought up right." We call that "fetchin' up" around here, and it's a very common observation that someone has "NO fetchin' up" when they fail at the social graces.

I have cleaned out an aunt's house after she and my uncle passed away, as well as my mother's house after SHE died---both of them had saved piles of thank-yous from nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and some adults as well. It MATTERS, people. Teach your children well.

>110 lauralkeet: - Pfft. It's just luck!

I wouldn't turn down a slice of banana bread with chocolate chips, but I do not put anything in mine.

>111 karenmarie: - Morning, Karen! Scones and Wordle will be there when you get home :)

FYI, nbcolympics.com has a handy schedule thing where you can select a specific sport and it will tell you exactly when there will be coverage and on what channel.

>112 richardderus: - Luck of the draw...

>113 laytonwoman3rd: - I've never heard that term, Linda, but I like it!

It does matter. I'm not saying I would save them all, but I would certainly appreciate them :)

Gym is done and dusted. It weren't pretty, and I am going to be so sore tomorrow :-P

Going to read for a bit before doing "useful" stuff. I haven't been doing a lot of reading because I always tell myself I'll do it after I accomplish everything else, but there's always something more to be done. So I am going to start prioritizing small bouts (~30 minutes) of reading during the day. I've even put them on my daily task list :)

>115 katiekrug: Going *back* to the gym is what I think the world needs to celebrate. After going, you know what awaits; going *back* is the proper thing to oooh and aaah over.

So, oooh! aaah!

>114 katiekrug: Glad to spread the wisdom of the woods of NE PA with y'all.

>116 richardderus: - Thanks for that! *smooch* I was glad to be back despite the delayed pain I'll be feeling. I missed Sweet Julian the trainer and talking sports with him for 45 minutes :)

>117 laytonwoman3rd: - Now I just need to find an occasion to use it!

>78 katiekrug: Katie you're always welcome to poke a nose into our virtual zoom book club meeting first Tuesday of the month and currently in progress reading Ann Pachetts The Magicians Assistant

>119 magicians_nephew: - Thanks, Jim. I really hate Zoom but I appreciate the offer!

Smart to pick up birthday cards and other for the stash.

Just no good card stores any more. So whenever I hit a CVS that has a decent selection I pick up a few for the just-in-case.

This past Christmas I got a lot of Jackie Lawson even a Jackie Lawson Online Advent Calendar which was a lot of fun. (I LOVE Advent Calendars where there is a little door for each day with a little toy or gift or piece CHOCOLATE! in there.) The Virtual version also no chocolate but sayings and games and little things to do behind each door. Fun

Ok serious stuff. When I got on the "Wordle" train i downloaded an app to my phone and play the game that way. Then I heard that Judy was playing it on a web page? What do you all do? Is one better than the other?

Asking for a friend.

>121 magicians_nephew: - i really enjoyed my Godiva advent calendar this past Christmas season. Small joys...

There are lots of Wordles apparently. The one that garnered all the attention and was recently purchased by the NYT is here: https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/. I expect it will be moved to the Times site and app in the near future. I don't believe this version has an app, so you are probably playing an imposter version - horrors!

>114 katiekrug: I agree that I wouldn't turn down banana bread with chocolate chips but wouldn't use them myself. I really do like to have either walnuts or pecans in there though -- and your idea of brown sugar and cinnamon wound lovely. I hope I remember to try that when we get home.

Good work getting back to the gym...boy do I need to do that!!

>114 katiekrug: I am a recent convert to chocolate chips in banana bread but I respect your right to choose, Katie.

>121 magicians_nephew: I love Jacquie Lawson cards and the advent calendar is one of our family traditions. Super cute and fun.

I'd never had chocolate chips in banana bread until my daughter made some that way and well, Katie, I'm not sure there's any going back. Lol. Not that I've made it myself. If I could make banana bread and eat just one slice, I would. But that's never going to happen so I just don't make it. Same with a wonderful Orange Cranberry bread that I used to make all the time. And the same kind of scones that you mentioned. All soooo good.

>123 RebaRelishesReading: - I am not a big fan of nuts in baked goods, Reba. Again, I won't turn down something somebody's made but I never put them in.

It felt great to be back at the gym after my bout with The Vid. I am definitely feeling it this morning, though!

>124 lauralkeet: - My body bread, my choice :)

>125 brenzi: - That's an issue here, Bonnie, as The Wayne doesn't like banana bread, so it is all mine. So far, I have been very good about not gobbling it up. This is not always the case :)

Good morning, friends. It's supposed to be another lovely day here, with a high of close to 60F. Light snow tomorrow.... February is weird. The Wayne and I were going to go to a local nature preserve for a walk/hike, but the gym yesterday kicked my butt, and I can barely move, so I think we'll be delaying that. I didn't want pizza last night, so we walked to a local place for dinner. I tried a new addition to the menu - pastrami reuben quesadilla. It was quite good. I especially liked that the sauerkraut and dressing were on the side, so I could have as much or as little as I wanted. It was also a nice walk there and back in the mild temperatures.

I have a couple of errands to run today - grocery store (off-cycle because The Wayne is starting a new food regimen so we need some specific things for that) and liquor store for Super Bowl beverages. I should also do some cleaning but will probably find a way to procrastinate on that :) So hopefully, lots of reading and puzzling/listening. We'll be having the pizza and salad planned for last night for dinner.

I do want to give a shout-out to my current audio - Last Best Hope by George Packer. It is EXCELLENT. Thought-provoking and approachable and the audio is well read by Packer himself. Anyone with a modicum of interest or heartburn about the current state of the American polity* should pick this one up. I'm halfway through and really appreciating it. I also loved Packer's The Unwinding and this latest of his is a good companion piece to that tome.

*And if you're American, you should. And don't tell me you "don't like politics" or "It's too depressing to read about." You basically have one job as a citizen, and it's not that difficult to be informed, especially for smart people like LTers.

Wordle 238 4/6

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And my previous stats have disappeared now that it's on the Times' site. Oh well.

Happy Saturday, Katie. Happy New Thread. Slowly making my way through the threads. Folks are as chatty as ever. LOL. I hope you are doing well and enjoying those current reads.

>128 katiekrug: WHAT!?!

Mine are going strong! Are you a registered user, or a subscriber? Maybe that impacts your data-dignity, IDK, but get on the blower and bellow at them!

The Times newsletter I read today made me grin:
If you’re awake at odd hours, consider a book “that luxuriates in the seedy spaces of late night, ‘when the straight world slept and the bent got to work.’”
Heh.

>127 katiekrug: I concur with your rantlet.

Morning, Katie! I love living vicariously through your dining out experiences. Good luck at the grocery store today - hopefully it won't be too crowded with people needing super bowl party supplies.

>129 msf59: - Morning, Mark! Good to see you back.

>130 richardderus: - Eh, I'm a full subscriber but I just don't care that much. I saw a headline somewhere that they were working on the issue, so we'll see. I care more about my crossword streak which is at 183 days :)

>131 scaifea: - We used to eat out a lot more but now we are trying to be more responsible (yawn).

Oh, ew, I didn't even think about the potential SB shoppers. I may just tell TW to go himself!

>132 katiekrug: Plead fragility! Being outside the house in SuperDays is simply unendurable.

>132 katiekrug: *snork!* I always run through all the possibilities of a crowded supermarket before leaving the house.

Hi Katie!

>128 katiekrug: Impressive. I played it on the original website this morning but just played the same words on the NYT website. So I've started new stats.

>133 richardderus: - I probably won't have to do much pleading, as stuff like that doesn't bother him. Such a good egg, he is.

>134 scaifea: - Normally I would, too, but I already got the one thing I needed to purchase for our SB party of two (cheese puffs - it's tradition - long story), and I've ordered other food from a favorite deli, so it's completely off my mind.

>135 karenmarie: - Interesting, Karen. I don't even see it on the NYT site. And I didn't see the old site for it, though I didn't look very hard. It's all a bit sloppy, but since it's just a game, I am not going to get cheesed off about it.

ETA: I mean, I see it's now hosted by the Times, but when I go to the Games page, there is no link or anything to it.

You're right - it was not on the games page. I found it by duckduckgo'ing it. NYT Wordle

>138 karenmarie: - It's weird it's not on the Games page. *shrug*

____________________________

Crossword done, Spelling Bee completed (with an assist from @beesolved on Twitter), coffee drunk - I think it's time to do something semi-productive with my day :)

>127 katiekrug: HUGE fan of George Packer. Had the luck to hear him read and get his The unWinding signed by the author. Got the new book on the Kindle its a sooner rather than later

It's so weird, my web link for Wordle hasn't changed yet. I keep seeing all this NYT kerfuffle but the old link is still working for me and isn't forwarding me elsewhere. 3 for me today. :)

Hope you have an excellent Saturday!

>140 magicians_nephew: - I just finished the audio, and it was great. I look forward to your thoughts on it, Jim.

>141 MickyFine: - The whole thing is odd, but as long as I can still play my one game a day, I'm okay :)

Saturday is good so far, thanks!

I had trouble with today’s Spelling Bee. Never did get the pangram.

>143 drneutron: I managed to get the pangram (at which point I was cut off as I subscribe to the NYT but not to games) but I am frustrated with Wordle. Like Katie, my stats did not transfer over, and neither does my current history or even my current game! If I step away - as I did today to help shovel snow, the page reloads and my guesses are wiped out. I can play as many attempts as I want which takes the fun out of it, and my report when I win is a line of straight zeros. Ugh.

As someone who clears their cookies every time I close the browser, my stats have been reset regularly. I can live with it.
Current streak is all of 2 days long.

So strange how the Wordle transition has been different for everyone. My URL switched days ago, streak and stats are still there.

Pastrami reuben quesadilla sounds interesting. Probably more a Morgan thing than a me thing, I think, but I'd definitely try it!

>143 drneutron: - Ooh, I hate when that happens, Jim. I have a whole set of "rules" I follow about getting help for the SB. I am slightly obsessed...

>144 AMQS: - That stinks, Anne.

>145 Helenliz: - And you can just look upon the rest of us in bemusement! Though, as I've said, I'm not that upset about it :)

>146 ursula: - It is odd how different people's experiences have been, but I expect they did it in "batches" and maybe subscription level or lack thereof messed things up.

The quesadilla was great, but I am a sucker for melted cheese and meat smooshed together (see: grilled cheese with bacon).

It's snowing! It was 60F yesterday and I ran errands in a t-shirt. This morning, we already have about 2" and it's still coming down - big, heavy, wet flakes. Normally I wouldn't care since it's Sunday and I rarely have anywhere to go, but I need to pick up our Super Bowl food from the deli around noon... For now, it makes for a peaceful morning. Nuala must agree because she didn't so much as lift her head when I went downstairs to make coffee.

Yesterday was fairly boring - I ended up going to the supermarket with The Wayne because he bribed me with lunch at a local diner (turkey club for me) - I am, like Nuala, very food-motivated :-P We also picked up some adult beverages, including a few bottle of FitVine, which is the only halfway decent lower alcohol/sugar/etc wine I have found. It's not great, but it's miles better than some of the swill out there. And I can feel virtuous when I drink it. Heh.

Other than that, I did a bunch of puzzling/listening and some picking up around the house. I finished up Last Best Hope, which I highly recommend. The first half to two-thirds is stronger than the last, but the whole thing is worthwhile. Still plugging away at my historical romance - unsure why I can't settle down to read but it's getting very annoying.

Today is all about the sports - Olympics and Super Bowl. And food. Nashville hot boneless chicken wings and 3 varieties of "spring rolls" (chipotle chicken, buffalo chicken, bacon cheeseburger). And the traditional (for me) cheese puffs - though instead of the usual Cheetos brand, I got white cheddar veggie puffs that are baked not fried. I am healthy af ;-)

Wordle 239 3/6

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Stupidly, I forgot to account for one of my letters in the 2nd try. Grrr.

>149 katiekrug: You can imagine how chuffed I was today to use "AEONS" and "MIRTH".

>148 katiekrug: Isn't this peculiar? I was completely bumfuzzled opening the blinds onto whiteness.

>150 richardderus: - I used NORTH and then HONED which was stupid for two reasons. Amazed I got it in 3.

I knew it was supposed to snow but I didn't think we'd get 2+". I am surprised you at the beach got snow...

>151 katiekrug: It won't last long. I'm told to expect icy sidewalks tomorrow. I will be waiting until that's over to go out!

re: Wordle, it was just a bit on-the-nose, wasn't it...

Morning, Katie!
Happy cheese puffs day (I don't do sports, but I am a huge fan of the junk food)!

WTG on the Wordle, Katie. I'm just stopping by to boast about my crossword solve time. That is all.

>152 richardderus: - It's pretty while it lasts...

Wordle - what do you mean "on the nose"?

>153 scaifea: - Ha! Thanks, Amber :)

>154 lauralkeet: - I commented on your time on your thread. Well done!

This is the back of our property, where the river is (evil river that floods!)*. Nuala had a grand time dragging me all over in the slippery snow. I did manage to keep my footing, but there was a lot of sliding!

* Please pardon the unsightly wire fencing. Its removal is on The List...

>156 katiekrug: Purty!

>155 katiekrug: Choosing "ROBIN" as spring is coming crankily in felt like a simultaneous nose-thumbing "y'all're gonna Say Stuff if we don't use this, and Say Stuff if we do, so let's just get it over with" and sentimental "ooohhh the birbs are coming back, look Ethel Mary, I saw a robin!"

>157 richardderus: - OIC! I must still be foggy this morning :)

>156 katiekrug: Oooo pretty! We had some impressive fat-flake snowing this morning, but it didn't accumulate into much. It was pretty to watch while it was happening, though.

Hi Katie! Enjoy Super Bowl Sunday with all the lovely food and the game. Bengals or Rams?

>156 katiekrug: Pretty snow. Slide-y snow. Happy Nuala.

>159 scaifea: - I love those big fat flakes. So pretty!

>160 karenmarie: - Morning, Karen! I don't really have a dog in the fight but if forced to choose, I would invoke The Musanti Rule* and go for the Bengals.

* The Musanti Rule (named for my best friend's family which is where I learned what little I know about football) states that one never roots for any sports team from California. (Sorry.)

>161 katiekrug: Not to mention The Lindsay Rule (mine) which is to cheer for any Cincinnati team. I don't even follow football, but my dad was a season ticket holder so in his memory, I am a wee bit excited. Not excited enough to watch, but excited enough to leave you with this: WHO DEY!

>161 katiekrug: >162 lauralkeet: My Dayton students were So excited on Friday about the game (Dayton is essentially a northern suburb of Cincy at this point). They were exasperated at my "oh, is there some sort of sporting event this weekend?"

Morning, Katie! I am also rooting for the Bengals because they have never won, and I love when something like that happens.

Hooray for snow! Yesterday it was 72 here and today is going to a high of 58F. *happy dance* Also, it's overcast, so a bonus for me.

Took me four to get the Wordless today because my first guess was a dud:

Wordle 239 4/6

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Your Super Bowl snacks sound most yum!

Enjoy your Super Bowl Sunday, Katie. (I didn't know it was today until I read your thread.)

Love the snow photo Katie. It's rare enough here for me to admire it without being struck by the inconvenience. Just lots of rain here (and predicted high winds from and as-yet-unnamed storm). There's been rugby on this weekend, but that's the sum total of my sport knowledge.

>156 katiekrug: Oh, lovely! I wish we had gotten snow like that. We got about 1/2" of ice and maybe an inch of snow on top of it. I am glad to hear that Nuala enjoyed it!

Wordle 240 6/6

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Shocked at myself! THIS of all words!

>156 katiekrug: Very pretty. I do like snow pictures.

Have a great start to your week.

>162 lauralkeet: - It was a good game but not the outcome many of us wanted, obviously!

>163 scaifea: - Heh.

>164 Crazymamie: - Hi Mamie! Hope you and the girls enjoyed snacking through the game as much as we did. I got Wordle in four today.

>165 Familyhistorian: - Well, if one is not a football fan, there isn't really any reason to know when it is, Meg!

>166 charl08: - It was a pretty-making amount of snow without being annoying. All the roads were perfectly fine.

Rugby is a total mystery to me :)

>167 alcottacre: - Yeah, chalk up another reason I will never move back to Texas. I've rediscovered my love of snow!

>168 richardderus: - I was getting worried and then took a deep breath and slowed down. And took out a piece of paper and a pencil...

Wordle 240 4/6

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>169 figsfromthistle: - Thanks, Anita!

Oh, look, it's Monday again. Woot :-l

The Super Bowl was decent as a game, the ads were mostly boring, and I was tempted to switch over to curling at the Olympics. But the food was good and now I can start missing football until it comes back in September.

Today is the gym, the junk removal dudes, maybe going to DSW for new sneakers but maybe not, and general relaxing. The Wayne has his monthly Wellness Day off, and when those happen, I don't make myself do anything productive either. We are going out to dinner tonight to a nice steak place, ostensibly for Valentine's Day but we really just look for any excuse...

I read a little bit of my book yesterday, and listened to some of my audio and hope to get more done in both today.

Morning, Katie!

Oooo, that menu looks really good!

Hi Katie!

>161 katiekrug: Ah, of course. The Musanti Rule. I’d forgotten it.

>170 katiekrug: I guess I’m the only one who wanted the Rams to win? Being from SoCal and wanting to stay in my sister's good graces made it easy to cheer for them.

I must admit that for today’s Wordle I actually went to a spreadsheet after getting 3 letters, absolutely knowing the word was lyric and having it NOT be that word, then systematically plopping in 2 other letters ‘til I got it in 4. I’m impressed that you went from letters in the wrong place to the right word.

>171 katiekrug: The ads were not geared towards old folks, and being 68 puts me in that category. I did like baby Pegasus, but do forget which company that ad was for. Fortunately none of the ads were offensive enough to make me have to boycott their products like last year’s M&Ms ad with the horrific Karen bit.

>172 scaifea: That menu does look wonderful. I look forward to seeing what you and TW choose.

>172 scaifea: - Morning, Amber! I am agonizing over what to get.... Also, when I called to make the reservation, I asked if it was a special menu (because The Wayne hates those because he's a bit picky), and the guy said no, the regular menu, plus some specials. So who knows what I'll be tempted by when I get there?

>173 karenmarie: - I don't hate the Rams, and I rather like Matthew Stafford, so I wasn't really rooting for anyone, just watching the game. I did feel bad for Burrow having such a God-awful offensive line, though.

Your spreadsheet for Wordle solution is much fancier than my scrap paper and pencil! But whatever works, eh?

I did rather like the Alexa ad with Colin Jost and Scarlet Johanson (sp?), but had already seen bits of it during the Olympics. The Zeus/Hera/pegasus ad was for an all-electric BMW (I only remember that because The Wayne said, "Ooh, that's our next car" because our current is an electric hybrid BMW and he really wants an all-electric car:-P)

We go to this restaurant a lot, but only sit at the bar and get small plates and/or happy hour specials (which are excellent). We have never actually sat in the dining room and ordered from the full menu, and as I said to Amber, I am really torn about what to order. Though, since they have a peppercorn sauce, I will probably get a steak because steak au poivre is one of my very favorite things in the world...

The gym was good, and I went up in weight on a few things, which is good. Hard but good, because it means I am making progress.

The junk guys are here now and The Wayne is in a bit of a tizzy because any reminder of the flood and how much he lost gets him upset. But having it gone will, in the long run, lessen his psychological burden, I think. Yes, I took Psych 101 in college ;-)

Once they are gone, I'll shower and settle in for some real relaxation. But first - I need to tend to the kitchen which is a bit of a nightmare after our SB festivities.

>168 richardderus: And TODAY, of all days! (I got it in four...but then, I'm older than you.)

>176 laytonwoman3rd: Like >173 karenmarie:, I was ***sure*** it was that word and it was damn near the polar opposite! Most, most irksome for me of all people to not get that one.

You're not a lot older, and I'm pretty sure I've got you tied if not beat in the cynicism racket.

Sounds like a lovely day ahead, Katie. Hope you have an excellent steak dinner.

I was getting worried that today's Wordle was going to be my first failure but I managed to pull it off in 5.

>176 laytonwoman3rd: and >177 richardderus: - I thought today's word was funny for V-Day.

>178 MickyFine: - Thanks, Micky! And good job with today's Wordle. I really had to stop and think to get it.

______________________

In happy news, my Wordle stats are back. I tweeted at the NYT games account and got a DM from them very quickly, with a resolution. It has something to do with going to the old site to be redirected, rather than just Googling (or whatever) for Wordle and accessing the new site directly.

>179 katiekrug: Meanwhile, it took me way too long to get the pangram on today's Spelling Bee.

Is your snow still hanging around? Forgot to comment on how lovely your picture of it is. They're threatening us with up to 6 cm (2") before tomorrow but no sign of it yet.

>180 MickyFine: - So should I not mention that there are two pangrams today?

Yep, the snow is hanging around - I think it's only in the 20s today. But it's going to warm up soon.

2"? That's nothing for y'all!

>181 katiekrug: I am not very good at the Spelling Bee, I admit. If I make it to a score of great, I'm happy.

>182 MickyFine: - Understandable, Micky. It's no crossword - the Greatest of All Word Puzzles :)

>183 katiekrug: OMG I'm so glad you mentioned the crossword. I usually do it first thing in the morning, but ran out of time before going to the library. Gotta keep my streak going!

>183 katiekrug: Agreed. :)

>170 katiekrug: It does actually pay to know when the Super Bowl is even if you're not a football fan, Katie. It changes behaviour and traffic patterns especially here where things are shown later.

>168 richardderus: >176 laytonwoman3rd: I got today's Wordle in four but if I'd checked here first it might have been less.

>184 lauralkeet: - Happy to help!

>185 MickyFine: - :)

>186 Familyhistorian: - Oh, I didn't realize it would have an impact "up there," Meg!

Ahem.

Wordle 241 2/6

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We had a very nice dinner - started with a cocktail at the bar before being seated, and then we shared a bottle of wine, The Wayne got steak frites, I got skirt steak with peppercorn sauce and a baked potato, and then we shared (well, I ate most of it) a chocolate lava cake, that was almost *too* rich and chocolate-y but the macerated strawberries and Tahitian vanilla ice cream helped alleviate the intensity.

Nuala goes to day care today, so after I drop her off, I'll clean up my desk, organize some paperwork, and then chill. Trivia tonight!

I'm listening to The Wedding by Dorothy West on audio which is good, but I'm having trouble keeping track of names and relationships. It might not be the best choice for listening while puzzling...

I made very little progress in the historical romance I'm reading - it's kind of boring? I dunno. I might skim it, but then again, I might just give myself permission to set it aside for now. I have a pile of library books looking at me reproachfully...

>188 katiekrug: *blush* between us, we average a 4.
I seem to have a blind spot with words using repeated vowels.

>189 katiekrug: Oh good! Someone else is having issues with their current read! I feel better now.

>188 katiekrug:

Anyway. Triviate well.

>190 Helenliz: - I don't think you are alone in that. I have made a conscious effort to consider double letters and Ys as vowels recently.

>191 richardderus: - This reading slump is killing me!

And I think what you mean is, "Good job, my friend. Your great intelligence is exceeded only by your beauty." Or something like that...

>188 katiekrug: wow!

>192 katiekrug: mm

sure

why not

>193 figsfromthistle: - I got lucky!

>194 richardderus: - That's better :-P

Black River by S.M. Hulse is one of my favorite books of the last several years and it is currently $1.99 on Kindle. Highly, highly recommend this one!

Here For It by R. Eric Thomas

An excellent collection of autobiographical essays in which Thomas explores his identity as a gay Black man in America. He is funny, heartfelt, and thought-provoking throughout, and the audio, read by him, is well done.

4 stars

Last Best Hope by George Packer

Packer uses the pandemic as a jumping off point for an exploration of how the US got to where it is in terms of a fractured and polarized population. It's an interesting companion piece to his excellent The Unwinding, and some of his theories and analysis seem spot-on to me. This book gave me a lot to think about it, and I recommend it for anyone who is concerned about the state of affairs in the US. There's a lot more worthy of attention here than in anything you'll find on social media, including on LT.

4 stars

Hi Katie!

>188 katiekrug: Big congrats!

>189 katiekrug: Yum for the dinner, just yum. Rather than death by chocolate, I might have chosen the Crème Brulle.

>199 karenmarie: - Morning, Karen!

I was going to get the apple dessert, because I generally prefer fruit-based desserts to anything else, but the lava cake was a special so I decided to get that since I could get the apple one any old time :)

Good point, and I did notice that the lava cake was not on their website menu. Best take advantage while you can, right? The apple one sounded good, too, but I don't like hard work with my desserts and figuratively chose scooping up smooth, creamy mouthfuls over cutting with fork or knife through the croissant.

>188 katiekrug: Most excellent! It took me four today.

Dinner sounds full of fabulous. And I'm adding those last two books to your Dirty Dozen - making a note of the audio for Here For It.

Thanks for setting me straight about what day it is. I feel better already.

>201 karenmarie: - And you have a good point about not wanting to work too hard for one's dessert :) I just don't love creme brulee...

>202 Crazymamie: - Hiya, Mamie. Glad I could help reorient you!

Both those books are worth a listen/read.

George Packer is fascinating to me. Peter Thiel's existence is an intolerable blot on the escutcheon of Queerness, and The Unwinding unpacked exactly why that was. Packer is a very good writer, which is how he gets the message he delivers past the defenses of his readers...since goodness knows his critiques would feel like harsh criticisms from a different pen.

>204 richardderus: - Well said. He was quite up front about his own feelings and politics, but managed to write understandingly (sympathetically?) about the factions on the other side of his own position.

Okay, I am officially calling it quits on Breathless by Beverly Jenkins. I've been reading it for 11 days and am only halfway through. It's just... boring. There is no humor, no good banter, and no chemistry between the main characters. Life is too short!

>189 katiekrug: Hooray for the chocolate lava choice. There's nothing I would take over chocolate!

>206 katiekrug: Awomen!

>205 katiekrug: It's surprising to me, mired in my inability to see the Rightness of the right wing, that there are people who can and do get what these people are saying without agreeing with it. I judge them for their failings (while not infallible myownself, I see their failings as heinous and mine as merely unkind and intolerant), Packer appears to be able not to.

>198 katiekrug: I read a long essay he wrote as a sort of condensation of this book - maybe in the Atlantic? If Jim doesn't get the book, I might.

>198 katiekrug: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the recommendation, Katie.

I got a copy of Taft in today. I will be reading it later on this year. I hope I like it as much as you do!

Hi Katie.
>171 katiekrug: Your mention of DSW reminds me... We have a new mega grocery store opening in our neighborhood next week. Imagine my surprise when I saw that it would include a Designer Shoe Warehouse store inside along with the milk and bread.... also a state-of-the-art deli which I am eagerly awaiting.

>175 katiekrug: I'm glad you took Psych 101 and remembered it. I know you were joking, but what you said is so true. The flood was awful and it's best not to have the remnants around to remind you of your losses. The fantastic chocolate lava cake at your sweetheart dinner is a much better memory to hold onto.

>207 vivians: - I think I am in the minority on chocolate usually being my second choice, Vivian :)

>208 richardderus: - I feel similarly, Richard. I tried to be understanding and to see the other side of things, but it went so out of control so quickly that I gave up. I'm very good at being judgmental, and one should lean into one's strengths, no?

>209 ffortsa: - I think he's a staff writer for The New Yorker, Judy, so that may have been where the condensed version of the book (or the article that led to the book?) was. I think Jim said he had the book on his Kindle.

>210 alcottacre: - I hope the Packer is a worthwhile read for you, Stasia. And yay! for Taft.

>211 Donna828: - Wow, Donna, I've never heard of such a thing! What is the grocery store? And what makes a deli state-of-the-art? Robots? Holograms? You'll have to report back.

Well, in fact, I didn't actually take any psych classes. But my "diagnosis" makes sense to me!

Happy Wednesday, friends. Sunny and chilly out there, but we are supposed to warm up to the high 40s today and then tomorrow it will be 62F. I am personally offended by this.

Trivia was okay last night - we came in 8th out of 17. We did get every single answer correct in the final round, which was all about booze. Heh. I had a flatbread for dinner which wasn't very good, and I'm still mad about it.

Anyway, after deciding to part ways with the historical romance I was reading, I started Love & Saffron, which I got from the library on Richard's recommendation, and it hit the spot perfectly. I raced through about a third of it yesterday (granted, it's a short book with small pages, but still!). Hopefully, I've got my reading mojo back.

Today is Stuff I Don't Wanna Do Day, so errands, annoying chores, and the like. Depending on when I get to the store, I might try a new slow cooker soup recipe for dinner; otherwise, it'll be a stir fry.

Off to do my morning word games!

>213 katiekrug: I'm deee-lighted that Love & Saffron has unjammed your readerly overdrive.

I think you might as well give in now and get a copy of The Treeline. Handsome young man decides to learn about the planet's other lung, takes us along. Very, very interesting, nice writing:

Dating yew trees is notoriously hard. This is partly because there is no upper age limit. They grow rapidly in youth, steadily in middle age, and can survive in senescence for an apparently unlimited period.

It is now "a relict species—the remaining examples are outliers from a different epoch." So, I'm a Jew yew!

Wordle 242 3/6

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The crossword is solved and I've already hit genius on the Spelling Bee; 7 words away from Queen Bee. Stay tuned!

>214 richardderus: - Treeline sounds interesting! I'll put it on my List.

Hi Katie!

>206 katiekrug: Too many books, too little time. Agreed.

>215 katiekrug: Congrats. Took me 5. I chose two perfectly good words with the three middle letters a u l before I hit the correct one.

Morning, Katie! Took me four:

Wordle 242 4/6

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I love that you are personally offended by your weather - me, too.

Morning, Karen and Mamie!

I guess we should all start noting which Wordle we've done since it's all effed up now *eye roll* My word was CAULK on the official NYT site.

>219 katiekrug: That's the one I had, too.

>219 katiekrug: Me, too.

>220 Crazymamie:/>221 karenmarie: - I'm glad you both are on the side of order and justice.

>215 katiekrug: ahem. NYT version, got it in TWO. A miracle!

>219 katiekrug: I was still playing on the original site, so I had a different word this morning. But I read an article about the two being different, so just to be safe I did the NYT one, too. I was 4/6 for both.

>212 katiekrug: I will try to remember to report back on the Hy-Vee deli. The new store opens next week. I will not be in the in-crowd and will wait to scout it out when it isn’t a madhouse. I’ll be on the lookout for the robots!

I'm trying out my Christmas crock pot, finally. I put all the stuff in, turned it on, and supper will be beef stew. Time will tell. It's the tale end of my "domestic god" routine. Yesterday I did laundry, clean sheets on the bed, rotated dishes in the dishwasher, grocery shopping.

Am I a guy or what?

>223 lauralkeet: - How DARE you outshine my 3?!?! *shakes fist*

>224 rosalita: - What was the old site's word, Julia?

>225 Donna828: - What if your new deli is the vanguard of the robopocalypse, Donna?

>226 weird_O: - Well done, Bill!

>227 katiekrug: *snort*

>223 lauralkeet: best be hills-headed, Laura!

>226 weird_O: Bet you feel really good about yourself. Clean sheets are always worth the effort, I feel. Whereas that dishwasher thing never brings me much satisfaction...

A very productive morning here - I IPed some chicken breasts for The Wayne's lunch salads, cleaned up the kitchen, tidied up my desk, and went to the grocery store. I'll shortly be putting together dinner (it's a bee and vegetable soup) - the recipe uses the crock pot, but I might just do it on the stove, so I don't have to lug out the crock pot. I also hate cleaning the crock pot vessel because it's humongous and heavy...

I also need to make myself lunch at some point (spinach salad with tuna, red onion, and feta).

At the store, I treated myself to some tulips because the weather has put me in mind of spring.

>228 richardderus: - I was SO proud of my 3 on that word.

I wonder what Laura's started word was....

>229 laytonwoman3rd: - Clean sheets are The Best.

>230 katiekrug: a bee and vegetable soup? Ewwww.
Did the bees come with the tulips?

>231 katiekrug: I started with ROUTE

>231 katiekrug: Some Wordle-ator thing in Demotic or Linear B.

>230 katiekrug: Purty fleurs!

>232 lauralkeet: - Snork. Yep, it was a 2-for-1 deal :)

Seriously?!!? You got the word from THAT word?!?! I bow down.

>233 richardderus: - :)

>227 katiekrug: My understanding from the CNN article I read is that NYT dumped the original word intended for yesterday because they thought it was "too hard" (AGORA) so they are a day ahead of the original game. Thus, the word on the original site today was AROMA (which I assume is the word you played yesterday?) and the NYT word for today will be the word originally intended for tomorrow.

I regret refreshing my browser tab because now when I navigate back to the original site it just re-directs me to the NYT site, so there's no way to get back to the original game. But it's probably just as well, since I want to be playing the same word as everyone else. I don't like that NYT is dumbing down the word choices, though.

>234 katiekrug: I accept your hero worship LOL!

I just came by to complain that the NYT did not accept "toff" as a word for the spelling bee. Although I managed to make it to Genius today, which felt nice.

Hope all your tasks are complete and you're relaxing now.

>230 katiekrug: Your tulips are full of beauty! I adore tulips.

>235 rosalita: - What I don't understand is why the "old" version is still around. The whole thing is now confusing because you don't know if a person is sharing their result from the same word you are. And that was sort of the fun of it - the social aspect. I thought that was the point.

>236 lauralkeet: - Ha!

>237 MickyFine: - I am still annoyed at the SB for not accepting RAGU a couple of weeks ago. There is a fun sub-set of players on Twitter who like to give the editor a hard time. Congrats on reaching Genius! I was one away from Queen Bee and got so frustrated, I just looked up what it was. And then was mad at myself because it's a word I know. Gah!

>238 Crazymamie: - I love tulips, too, and it was hard to limit myself to just two bunches :)

Putting tonight's soup together took me a bit longer than I anticipated, mostly because my peeler broke while I was prepping the carrots. So that made doing the rest of the carrots and the potatoes (I should have just left the potato peel on...) interesting. And then I spent a couple of hours with my current puzzle and audio book and finished the latter. So what to listen to next? Decisions, decisions...

>240 katiekrug: Didn't skinning the bees and picking out all the tiny bits of meat take a long time too?

>239 katiekrug: The old version is only around as long as you don't close the browser window or refresh the window/tab. And it wouldn't be problem at all if NYT hadn't decided Americans are stupid.

>241 laytonwoman3rd: Ha. You beat me to it Linda!

>241 laytonwoman3rd:, >243 lauralkeet: - My bee soup turned out very nicely, despite all the work involved ;-)

>242 rosalita: - I guess it's all automated. I had a vision of the guy - Mr. Wardle - programming the new word for each day. So will his old site go on in perpetuity? I feel like that defeats the purpose for the Times in buying it. *shrug*

>244 katiekrug: The old site doesn't really exist now. It's just a URL that re-directs to the NYT site.

>230 katiekrug: Nice tulips! The vase looks nice as well. I always enjoy spring colours and have also begun slowly taking out my spring decor.

Our slow cooker lid has broken, and while I can work around it, I did look for a replacement and was unsuccessful. Now I'm wondering about just replacing the whole thing. Has anyone bought one somewhat recently? What kind? Would you recommend it?

Our current one is a 6-quart (I think) Crock Pot brand, with a basic dial for setting "Low," "High," and "Keep Warm." The current equivalent of this one gets mixed reviews, hence my question. I really don't want a super fancy one, and definitely not a "smart" one because The Wayne might divorce me if I got one of those :)

>245 rosalita: - I'm so confused. If it doesn't exist, how did it have AGORA when the Times had AROMA? It seems like it is offering a new word every day? (And no, I don't know why I am struggling to understand this or why I even care :-P )

>246 figsfromthistle: - Thanks, Anita! I can't remember where I got that jug - maybe from a Wayfair-type site? It usually sits empty on a shelf on our coat rack in the foyer. I wasn't even sure it would hold water, but so far so good.

>248 katiekrug: it's confusing! And I'm not sure I fully understand it, either. The CNN article linked to a site that listed the Wordle words by date, so they could see that Tuesday was supposed to be AGORA but the NYT word that day was AROMA. And as I discovered, you can still play the old site if you had it open in your browser and you never close it. But what's the fun of playing a different word than everyone else?

>247 katiekrug: Katie, my slow cooker died in 2020 and I replaced it with the same model: a 6qt Hamilton Beach. It's programmable, but not fancy. You can set it to cook on low or high for a period of time and it will keep the food warm after. I did a bit of research first, and by that I mean I consulted Wirecutter, who recommended it as their top pick:
https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-slow-cooker/

>247 katiekrug: I have two Crock Pots, a 4qt and 10qt. It's always been able to slow cook but the IP does the saute and simmer.

There's never been a reason for me to regret them.

>249 rosalita: - That's exactly it, Julia. How do we know what word people are playing? It's chaos!

>250 lauralkeet: - Thanks for that, Laura! You didn't steer me wrong with the vacuum, so..... :)

>251 richardderus: - The IP slow cooker function is bad, IMO.I can't imagine how heavy a 10-qt Crock Pot is!

New thread!

https://www.librarything.com/topic/339639