Laura (lauralkeet)'s 75 in 2022 - Part 4

Alys makes herself as small as she possibly can

Welcome to my thread! I'm Laura, late 50s just turned 60, retired. My husband Chris and I live in an 18th century farmhouse in northern Virginia, and keep ourselves busy with gardening, re-wildling our pasture to attract wildlife, and the occasional interior renovation. We’re documenting this journey through a newsletter (free!) on Substack: Willow Greens Farm -- check it out!

This is my fourteenth year in the 75 Book Challenge Group. Where has the time gone?! I read mostly contemporary fiction, with the odd classic or memoir thrown in. I am increasingly relying on our fabulous local library system to meet my reading needs, and that makes me happy. This year I’ll read where my mood takes me, keep plugging away at various series, and stay current with new series releases.

Besides reading, I spend a lot of time knitting and weaving. I have a thread in the Needlearts group; stop in and say hi sometime!

My 2022 threads can be found here:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3



Books Featured on this Thread
12. State of Terror - comments here
13. The Tortoise and the Hare - comments here
14. The Sentence - comments here
15. Edith Wharton - comments here

Series Progress

Active series as of January 1 (updated quarterly):


A snapshot of my active series sorted on the "progress" column.

Series completed/current in 2022:
* tbd

Series started in 2022:
* Mistress of the Art of Death

Series abandoned in 2022:
* tbd

Currently Reading


None so Blind

On Deck



What Remains of Heaven | Marcella

Dulles Greenway Eagles


DG1 having one of its first meals

I've joined a team of volunteer remote camera operators and chat moderators for the Dulles Greenway Eagle Cam. A pair of American bald eagles have lived in the Dulles Greenway Wetlands in Leesburg, VA for about 15 years. Through a partnership between the Greenway, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy and the American Eagle Foundation, an Eagle Cam has been established to monitor the nest with live video and audio streaming. The camera installation was done at night, which reduces stress on the eagles. They returned to the nest 5 days later. A local homeowner has made his home internet available for the cameras, since there is no service available anywhere near the nest.

We’ll be working from now through the nesting season (June-ish) to share these fabulous birds with the public. Click on the link below to watch. The eagles are most active in the early morning and late afternoon (US EST).

How to follow the eagles
There are two cameras, one fixed and one that can be controlled remotely. The latter is solar powered and availability is subject to weather. It will go down once a week regardless to recharge, and its return depends on an extended sunny period.

Ways to watch:
* Dulles Greenway Eagles on Facebook: photos and videos posted, and they're currently experimenting with FB live video in the early evening.
* Dulles Greenway Eagle Cam Website: You can toggle between cameras (side view and overhead view).
* Dulles Greenway Eagle Cam YouTube Channel: There are separate livestreams for each camera. Unlike the website, you can rewind these to see specific points in time.

News
Jan 12: A "name the eagles" contest is now underway in the local public school system. The winning names will be announced Feb 11.

Feb 1: Mom Eagle laid the first egg, now known as DG1, at 3:38pm EST.

Feb 4: Mom Eagle laid her second egg, DG2, at approx. 4:41pm EST.

Feb 11: The winning names are Rosa and Martin, after US civil rights pioneers Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.

Mar 1: We're eagerly anticipating the first "pip," the crack in the egg that indicates hatching is underway. Eggs typically incubate 35-38 days, so the earliest probable hatch date is Mar 8.

Mar 13: One eaglet hatched at 8:48am EDT today, and will be known as DG1.

Mar 17: The second egg has failed to hatch. This is the announcement and explanation: Why Did One of the Bald Eagles’ Eggs Not Hatch?

Happy new one, Laura! Love the picture of Alys looking very sweet and innocent.

*baaawww* Alys is a pweshus poochie!

Happy new thread, Laura.

Happy new thread! Now I have to make time between zooms to check on the eagles!

Happy new one!

Making sure I have appeared here on the is new thread.
Still reading Arcadia. I should be finished by bedtime today.
A *very* unusual way for the story to unwind. I guess one would call this dystopian literature meets speculative fiction? It was a BB from Lucy (chez sibylline). (Edited because I can't spell dystopian :D ha!)

Happy new thread, Laura!

Happy new thread!

>1 lauralkeet: The pictures are so cool! It looks like Rosa may be a bit longer in the beak than Martin, but there must be some other way to tell them apart.

Happy new thread, Laura.

Happy new thread, Laura. Your eagle photos are amazing. How fun.

Happy Wednesday, Laura. Happy New Thread. I like the Alys topper. With our mild weather, I am trying to get out each day. I sure like seeing the new arrivals, as they head north. Lots of red-winged blackbirds singing.

Hello everyone! Thanks Katie, Richard, Jim, Anita, Sandy, Anita, Susan, Paul, Beth, and Mark (whew)! I would pass on your compliments to Alys but they would only further inflate her already inflated ego. So I just gave her lots of head scritches on your behalf.

We did a tiny bit of work on the greenhouse yesterday afternoon, assembling the door handle & lock mechanism. But it was colder than forecast so we didn't stay out long. That meant I could also spend some time on my loom, so hooray. TV-wise, we watched the first ep of My Brilliant Friend, season 3. It's so well done. Anyone else watching this?

Today's agenda includes a trip to the dentist. Just a hygiene visit, but still, yuck. It's kitchen-cleaning day, which I'm realizing may be a larger task this time than in the following weeks. Like, I need to remove everything from the countertops instead of just haphazardly wiping down around all of the stuff. I should probably clean the utensil holders inside the drawers. Depending on how it goes I may do some this week and the rest, next week. Oh what an interesting life I lead.

I'm close to finishing State of Terror, about 90 pages to go, and the already fast pace has picked up as we start to get to the bottom of things. So once again, Edith Wharton is sitting idle on my nightstand, but I'll get back to her soon.

Wordle 256 4/6

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My 4-day streak of 3s ended today. I'm happy with a 4 though! The solution was an apt description of the puzzle, imo.

Hi Laura,

Hooray for getting time with the loom and making some progress on the greenhouse, but boo to having to go to the dentist (at least if just a clean). I should book a checkup at the dentist - I do one every other year and my last one was just at the beginning of covid so it's time.

>15 lauralkeet: I thought the Wordle resolution was apt in every way.

Poor old Edith, to be neglected so. Her fellow women's history month monadnock, Rose Macaulay, got a look-in from me today.

It's lovely outside so we've been getting stuff done, but just popped inside for a break.

>16 PawsforThought: Hi Paws! Thanks to dental insurance, we are eligible for two cleanings every year, so that's what we do, although we took a hiatus during 2020 for obvious reasons.

>17 richardderus: Oh poor Edith indeed, RD. I like Rose Macaulay, too. I read The World My Wilderness in 2019, and have Told by an Idiot in my Virago collection, still unread. Would you recommend it?

>18 lauralkeet: I have only read Towers of Trebizond by La Macaulay before now. I read this biographer's journal and realized how very much more there was to her, as well as her oeuvre, after that. (Chantry-Pigg! Indelible, Dickensian (in the good way) character!) So now I'm off to get her biography and then to plan a dive into her work.

>19 richardderus: I just saw your review of the biographer's journal, RD, so now I understand your new-found Macaulay love.

>20 lauralkeet: You definitely would enjoy LeFanu's book, so I hope you'll go get one soon.

Stopping by to say hello. I can't decide about reading State of Terror. Love the eagles!

>21 richardderus: duly noted, RD.
>22 sibylline: Hi Lucy! It's always nice to see you. I lurk on your thread all the time; I really should visit more actively now and then eh?

Good morning all. I worked an Eagle Cam shift this morning. I have a hair appointment this afternoon so I'm going to spend the morning getting a few things done around the house. The kitchen looks so nice after yesterday's cleaning that I'm feeling absurdly motivated.

Last night we watched an episode of Young Wallender on Netflix. And I finished State of Terror -- whew, what a ride! Next up is The Tortoise and the Hare, a Virago for this month's theme read, and I'll return to Edith Wharton as bedtime reading.

Wordle 257 4/6

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Thankfully, I recovered after a bad start.

I also got Wordle in 4. Could you please ship some of your absurd motivation my way? Thanks :)

Happy Friday!

Katie, I'm sorry I didn't ship you my absurd motivation. I used it all up! But I'm quite pleased to have a clean house, although I know it will just get dirty again.

Today will be a crazy day. Back in the autumn we decided to do some exterior work at the front entrance of our house. The driveway just sort of peters out there, and we want more (searching for the word) definition, I guess? On our landscape architect's plans it's called an "arrival court," which sounds more posh than it needs to. But anyway, after a long wait the mason who will do the work is finally available and will start today.

But wait! There's more! This week we signed a contract with a general contractor to do our bathroom. We have an initial estimate, but agreed that demolition will be a bit of a discovery process, as you never know what you might find in an older house. As demo goes, this is apparently a relatively small job so the contractor was able to divert his crew from another job to ours, and called yesterday to ask if they could do the demo ... TODAY. Yikes! But sure, why not. The sooner we know what we're dealing with, the sooner we can finalize the design and move forward.

I suspect I won't get much done today, although I hope to escape for grocery shopping at some point. Even that isn't essential, because we'll probably get takeout for dinner no matter what.

Wordle 258 4/6

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Almost 50% of my results are 4s, but I'm okay with that.

That is a lot going on, Laura! I hope you'll share photos when the projects are complete :)

Morning, Laura! Happy Friday! We have some nice weather scheduled for the weekend but I don't think I will be hitting the trails much. Lots of Jackson watching and we are looking at some more campers, so not disappointed.

Good luck with your busy day!

Somethin' fishy at my place. I'm up! Up before 8 a.m. What's going on? Mystified, but welcoming this development. Lots to do.

>27 katiekrug: You bet, Katie! Demolition, Day 1 went pretty well and they'll be back to finish that step on Monday.

>28 msf59: Hi Mark! You and Sue are the best grandparents. I love how involved you are in Jackson's life.

>29 weird_O: Well Bill, I'm pretty much always up before 8am. But let's not pretend I get anything done at that time of day ...

>26 lauralkeet: I got today's in six, disgruntling me mightily. There are 1/8 of my scores at six! 32% are threes, though, so I'm salving my scraped-up pride with that.

I hope you survive the demolition derby. Safe, fun weekend's reads.

>31 richardderus: Thanks RD!

Good morning all! I'm caffeinating and slowly starting to come alive. We don't have too much planned today, but the weather is supposed to be warm so I know we'll be outside getting things done. I don't mind that at all when the weather cooperates. I have a few other odds and ends I'd like to get done, and hopefully there will be time spent with books and/or yarn.

I'm really enjoying my current read, The Tortoise and the Hare. This is not the well-known fable; rather it's the story of a marriage in which the young, attractive wife is caught completely off guard by her husband's growing relationship with a woman who would seem to be an unlikely contender for his affections. You can guess where it's going but it unfolds very slowly, in a good way.

Wordle 259 4/6

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12. State of Terror ()

Ellen Adams is the newly appointed US Secretary of State, facing several challenges due to the previous administration’s policies, diplomatic missteps, and general cozying up to controversial nations (if this sounds familiar, it should). When a terrorist attack takes place in Europe and Ellen’s son Gil is injured, she is drawn into the conflict in more ways than one. Not only does she need to identify the party responsible for the attacks and unravel their plot, but it appears they may also have been aided by someone on the inside of the US administration, and that person needs to be stopped.

The pacing in this novel is superb from the initial drama of the attacks through Ellen’s carefully plotted investigation. There are plenty of diversions to keep the reader guessing. And of course I enjoyed the repeated digs at the previous US administration, clearly modeled on those in power from 2016-2020. To my surprise I was also moved by the Acknowledgements at the end of the book, where Penny and Clinton describe how they came to collaborate on this project, and how doing so helped each of them through a period of loss.

Morning, Laura!

Wow, it's busy at your place right now! We'll have that in our near future, I think: we're having a contractor come out to give an estimate on putting a sunroom/four seasons room on the back of our house. I'm really excited about the idea of the finished product, but maybe not so much for the process...

>34 lauralkeet: That sounds like a much better origin story than a read, to me at least.
***
Wordle 259 2/6

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I am most pleased.

>34 lauralkeet: - I've decided to switch to the audio of this, since my reading time wasn't doing the pacing justice.

Enjoy your Saturday, whatever it may hold!

>34 lauralkeet: Always knew that Ms. Clinton did fiction. Won't be reading that one, but mainly because I don't care for collaborative efforts like that, I prefer to know who to praise and who to blame.

Have a lovely weekend, Laura.

>34 lauralkeet: This does sound fun, Laura. There's a wait at the library, but I do have other things to read.

>35 scaifea: that sounds like a fun project, Amber. I can't wait to hear more.

>36 richardderus: Well RD, as the saying goes, chacun à son goût. Hearty congratulations on your Wordling!

>37 katiekrug: I'll be interested to hear what you think of the audio, Katie.

>38 PaulCranswick: Well Paul, we'll have to agree to disagree. I have tremendous respect and admiration for Hillary Clinton.

>39 BLBera: I waited forever for it, Beth. But, like you, I had plenty of other books to occupy my time. I hope you enjoy it, whenever it comes in to land.

>40 lauralkeet: I know, Laura, she does divide opinion so. I have to say though I did think her husband was a good President.

I too respect Mrs. Clinton and think that she may be the best thing Bill ever did. Also loved State of Terror -- there's enough praise for that one to share between two authors imho

She would have been a better President than her husband. Thanks, rampant misogyny and Russian troll farms!

>34 lauralkeet: That looks appealing though I don't generally go for political thrillers.
>40 lauralkeet:, >41 PaulCranswick:, >42 RebaRelishesReading:, >43 katiekrug: Re HRC, IMO the worst thing about her is the allegiance to Bill. She has many admirable qualities, her flaws are within the normal range for a politician or a human, and women of approximately her age viscerally recognize the balancing act.

Laura, I read an essay collection by Rose Macaulay today: Personal Pleasures: Essays on Enjoying Life and it struck me you'd quite likely enjoy the read. I've only read one of her novels before this, so was unprepared for how deep her habit of mind was rooted in observing reality without padding:

But how true it is that every pleasure has also its reverse side, in brief, its pain. Or, if not wholly true, how nearly so. Therefore, I have added to most of my pleasures the little flavour of bitterness, the flaw in their perfection, the canker in the damask, the worm at the root, the fear of loss, or of satiety, the fearful risks involved in their very existence, which tang their sweetness, and mind us of their mortality and of our own, and that nothing in this world is perfect.

I'm hoping to get a real review done tomorrow but, in any case, hoped you'd give her a whirl.

All good points about HRC. Let's move on, shall we?

>45 richardderus: Thanks for that recommendation, RD. I know next to nothing about her and you've piqued my interest.

I listened to the audio of State of Terror so I didn't get the acknowledgment Laura. I enjoyed the book but have to say it didn't stay with me as in I don't remember much about it. I understand there's going to be another one.

>47 brenzi: I'm not sure the book will stay with me either, Bonnie, but it was a fun ride.

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Yesterday we finished assembling the metal frame for the greenhouse and bought some fast-setting concrete so we can level the structure and set it in the ground. That's today's task, and we might also start installing the panes of glass. It's supposed to be quite warm, so it should be a nice day to work outside.

I need to start getting my act together re: our veg garden. We have lots of seeds and some idea of what we want to do with them, but I need to turn that into more of a task list and/or schedule. Without that, I will flounder around and do nothing. So I might start planning things out today.

I'm also hoping to have a FaceTime call with Julia sometime this afternoon. She started a new job a couple of weeks ago, so we want to have a little catch up and see how things are going.

Wordle 260 5/6

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A tough one for me today

Hoping the greenhouse structure is coöperative with y'all. I got Wordle 260 in three but only because I sat still and thought hard for a while after #2.

Enjoy your catch-up later today.

We made tons of progress on the greenhouse yesterday, setting it in concrete and installing most of the glass. This took up most of the late morning and afternoon, but the weather was so mild it felt great to be outside. We had a nice catch-up with Julia and then, just as I was putting the finishing touches on dinner, our water stopped working. It looks like the well pump failed. This is not a complete surprise, as the pre-sale inspection last year noted it was worn.

So ... that means we have no running water until we can get it fixed. Also, the toilet can't refill after a flush. We have 5-gal containers of potable water for emergencies. We filled a bucket from the rain barrel and poured that water into the toilet tank so we could flush (ewww, TMI). It's the first time we tried that and thankfully, it worked.

Meanwhile, the bathroom demo crew is returning this morning and the mason is here to work on the outdoor project. Grand Central Station, it is. We made a run to Starbucks for coffee and breakfast sandwiches so we'd be ready for all the "excitement." And speaking of excitement ...

Wordle 261 3/6

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Yay.

Yikes about the water pump, but you seem to be taking it in stride! I hope it can be fixed ASAP.

>51 katiekrug: Thanks Katie. I called the well service company right when they opened, and they'll be out later today. Fingers crossed.

Hi Laura, and happy new thread.

>26 lauralkeet: Wow, two projects going at once. I hope you find something interesting – when my cousin had work done on the family Century farmhouse in Iowa, he found a sepia-toned photo tacked into the wall. He had reprints made then tacked it back into the wall for his great-great-grandchildren to find.

escape for grocery shopping That’s on my agenda today, too.

>50 lauralkeet: Yikes about the well pump. No running water is never fun. I hope it’s an easy and quick fix. And look at you with so many 3s on Wordle. Congrats.

>53 karenmarie: Hi Karen, I never thought about the possibility of interesting finds hiding beneath the 1980s bathroom fixtures. That would be really cool, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen on this project.

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Good news: we have water!
The pump has lived to die unexpectedly another day. The problem turned out to be a loose wire on the tank, which was a quick and relatively inexpensive fix. Whew!

Congratulations on a quick, inexpensive fix on the water pump!! Also on making so much progress on your green house. Sounds like a little celebration might be in store tonight.

What a relief to have the pump fixed so easily! I don't know that I'd have the know-how to figure that out. Which is why you live in an 18th century farmhouse and I don't:)

What does re-wilding your pasture look like?

>54 lauralkeet: I'm glad that wasn't any worse. Access to more than sufficient clean water is what I miss most when camping.

>48 lauralkeet: The greenhouse sounds like a nice addition to the garden. Enjoy!

>55 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba. Wine was consumed with dinner, if that counts as a celebration 😂

>56 AMQS: We didnt' have the know-how either, Anne. Thank goodness the well service company was able to get to us tout de suite.

In answer to your question about rewilding the pasture. One of the underlying principles is to leave the land alone and let nature take its course. That includes leaving dead trees standing, because they provide excellent habitat. I wrote about rewilding our property in our newsletter here, and a bit more here. But I need to do a follow-up about the pasture/meadow at some stage. Leaving it alone won't quite cut it; we actually need to do some things to suppress and eliminate non-native grasses.

>57 quondame: I can imagine, Susan. It's one of the reasons I don't care for camping.

>58 figsfromthistle: Thanks ... it's looking pretty good now. We're pleased with it.

Water flowing is a Very Very Good Thing.

Wordle in three is even better! It was satisfying to stare at it and *see* the word.

Hoping Tuesday is a good one for you.

Good morning on this International Women's Day!

The greenhouse is now down to just some finishing touches: a bit of trim here and there, hardware to open the roof windows, that kind of thing. We still need to "furnish" it, meaning a workbench or something similar, but I'm really excited to have it ready in time for the gardening season. I started working on some garden plans yesterday, to figure out what we will plant in each of our raised beds, when we need to start each type of crop, etc.

I spent a nice chunk of time at my loom yesterday, and am a little over halfway through the scarf I'm making. I also did a bit of housecleaning per the new "clean one room every day" plan recommended by Amber. As I hoped, after last week's "big clean" yesterday's work was a breeze.

This morning I have a knitting group meeting, and this afternoon we might go visit a couple of places to look at bathroom tile.

Wordle 262 4/6

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My first word was TEASE which helped tremendously because I learned right away that the word would have two Es. Still, it took a few more turns to find the elusive solution.

Yay for getting the greenhouse set up! The Wayne's garden makes me sad every time I look at it, as he still hasn't cleaned it up since the flood. It's like a memorial or something...

I am slightly jealous of the possible trip to look at bathroom tile. I love stuff like that.

>61 lauralkeet: - I was where you were on row three and it took me to #6 to guess the right letter. AAGH!

>62 katiekrug: We're back from the tile expedition. It was ... okay. At this point we're just gathering ideas vs. trying to make a decision, but we were slightly underwhelmed. We'll get there eventually.

>64 dudes22: AAGH! indeed, Betty. Sorry to hear it.

Happy Wednesday, Laura. Any sign of a hatching up there? Any day, right? I got my first pileated woodpecker of the year and my first sighting of one at that location. I heard them drumming from the parking lot. These are one of my favorite birds. How are your feeders doing? Any spring arrivals?

Good morning Mark and good morning to all!

I just finished an eagle cam shift. We are indeed eagerly awaiting the first signs of hatching. Exciting times!

Mark, we are seeing increased activity at our feeders and have had some interesting sightings on our evening dog walks. Most days we see a herd of deer in the woods just off the road, sometimes crossing the road. We've seen an increase in bluebirds and red-winged blackbirds. Our route includes a creek and the other day what we believe was a pair of wood ducks, which was pretty exciting as we don't typically see waterfowl in our immediate area.

It's wet and rainy today, with not much planned now that I've finished my shift. I'll get a bike workout in soon. It's kitchen-cleaning day so in addition to the normal countertop cleaning, this week I'll tackle the insides of some of the cabinets and possibly the junk drawer. I'm also going to make Karen's cornbread recipe to go with dinner tonight: white chicken chili (leftovers from a couple weeks ago that have been in the freezer).

I need to get some reading time in. Hopefully that will happen this afternoon.

Wordle 263 3/6

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A good way to start the day! I'm now at 30% 3s, and 46% 4s. The elusive 2s are just 4.6%, but I am of the opinion that those are mostly luck.

Morning, Laura!

Sh*t! I'm supposed to clean the *inside* of cabinets? Gah! I hate cleaning.

I agree about Wordle. I think solving in 3 is the true mark of good play. 2 is pure luck. (I also got it in 3 today :) )

>68 katiekrug: I'm supposed to clean the *inside* of cabinets?

Not every week! I'm not crazy. For me it's a 1-2x/year kind of thing. We've been in this house nearly a year and I don't think I've done it even once. I'm trying to do a couple of these "extra" items every week for a few weeks so then I can forget about them entirely ignore them for a while.

I have never cleaned the inside of a cabinet, except upon moving into a new house. I feel completely inadequate now. But I've survived this long, so I think I'll just conveniently forget that you dropped this bombshell.

>70 katiekrug: LOL Katie! In my case, I noticed an accumulation of crumbs and such, especially in the drawers under counters where the most cooking/mixing/etc. occurs. These drawers hold utensils, pots, and pans, so they get a lot of use. I'm much less concerned about the overhead cabinets.

I have one drawer (where I store tea) that tends to accumulate crumbs and lonely tea leaves and I clean it when I notice it's getting bad. Otherwise, unless there is a major accident or something I don't clean things behind closed doors. Forget the bombshell, Katie, and enjoy your day :)

>72 RebaRelishesReading: You make me laugh, Reba!

>67 lauralkeet: Oh, I got today's in three as well. It was really satisfying.

Hoping your reading time today will present some excellent discoveries.

>74 richardderus: Thanks Richard! I did manage to curl up with a book for an extended period, which was very nice.

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I've been on the Eagle Cam again this morning. No signs of pip or hatch yet, but hoping it will be soon. After yesterday's rain, today is rather cold (about 30F now, with 50 as today's high). At least it's sunny.

Not much on today's agenda. Our bathroom contractor is stopping by later this morning to discuss some details. I have an Eagle Cam Volunteer meeting this evening. And in between, a few small tasks to get done and some bigger things I *should* start doing. I've been thinking about going through all of my warm-weather clothes to decide what should stay and what should go, and then planning to restock accordingly. I haven't bought much clothing the past couple of years because: pandemic isolation, why bother? But that means some of my stuff is a bit ratty, and I could use one or two nicer outfits just in case we actually do something that requires more than a T-shirt and jeans.

Wordle 264 3/6

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I wish I knew why I'm getting more 3s lately, because I could just keep doing whatever it is that I'm doing!

>70 katiekrug: You've never been invaded by ants, then? I have to clean the inside of my cabinets once a year to remove the inevitable drips, flakes and crumbs of stuff that accumulate and attract pests. ALSO, I usually find a few expired items to discard in the process. It's kind of fun, actually. (That's my story, and I'm trying hard to believe it.)

>76 laytonwoman3rd: - We once had an issue with ants when we lived in Dallas, but they didn't get in the cupboards.

>76 laytonwoman3rd:, >77 katiekrug: The one cabinet I've cleaned more than once is the space under the sink. Because effing mice. Ew.

I, too, did a bit of rearranging and discarding as part of the process. This kitchen has a ton of storage space. When unpacking and settling in, we made reasonable decisions about where to put things but now I have a better feel for what we use most often and rearranged to put those things in easy reach.

Happy Friday!

The cold weather is back for another day, and there's actually a possibility of snow over the weekend. WTF?!

Last night I was putting the last few dishes into the dishwasher when OMG there was a mouse on the top rack. I literally EEK'd like a woman in a cartoon. Chris came over to have a look and the mouse was on the floor of the dishwasher and somehow skittered out, onto the kitchen floor, and away to its hidey-hole. AND THEN. This morning I discovered the lid was off the peanut butter and there were tiny mouse foot impressions in the pb. The jar was on the counter near the dishwasher and I know the lid was not tightly shut, so I suspect this was all part of the same evening mouse romp and I just hadn't noticed it last night. So gross. Our chief mousetrap baiter promised to deal with our traps.

To add to my critter misery, I filled the suet feeder about 5pm yesterday and this morning it was on the ground, lid removed and suet all gone. Sheesh.

So I really hope today is uneventful. I'm going to work out and then do the grocery shopping. Takeout of some sort for dinner.

I have better news on the reading front. Early this morning I finished The Tortoise and the Hare, which was very good. I am planning to read another Virago this month but I see that my library hold for Erdrich's The Sentence is in transit. So I think I'll devote some time to the Edith Wharton biography and pick up the Erdrich no later than Monday, when I go in for my volunteer shift.

Wordle 265 5/6

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Bloody hell. Too many possibilities.

Yikes about the mouse. The dishwasher disturbs me less than that they opened a jar of peanut butter, even if the lid wasn't super tight!

"Our chief mousetrap baiter promised to deal with our traps. " Well, at least he'll know what bait they prefer, and since the jar is already contaminated, it's available for that use now!

I hate when the critters get in. Molly has been listening at kitchen baseboards lately, which often means that mousetraps are warranted. Haven't seen any other evidence of their presence, though.

>80 katiekrug: I know right, Katie? I've tried to imagine how it happened and it may have involved scaling to the top of a fruit bowl, which would put the PB jar within reach. But the weird thing is, there was no mouse poop whatsoever on the counter or in the jar. I dunno.

>81 laytonwoman3rd: Oh hey! That's a great idea. We eat peanut butter occasionally, but the primary uses are a) giving Alys her daily dose of puppy prozac, and b) baiting the traps. I was so grossed out I didn't think about using the contaminated jar for the latter, but I might still be able to retrieve it from the trash.

OMG Laura -- I would freak out for sure. Only thing worse, I think, would be to find the mouse had been undiscovered and had a ride in the DW when it ran.

>79 lauralkeet: Yeeeccchhh on the mouse situation! We got thoroughly plugged up and haven't seen one in weeks. Before that I could barely keep up with trap-changing.

My Wordle streak ended at 40 today...I got X/6. Too darn many options.

>79 lauralkeet: I missed wordle today for the first time - way too many possibilities! I had atch on the 3rd try with match and then tried hatch, batch, latch, :-(
Oh well!

>83 RebaRelishesReading: That actually happened once several months ago, Reba. I was completely grossed out.

>84 richardderus:, >85 japaul22: Aww, that's too bad about your Wordles, RD & Jennifer. I was sweating it, I tell you, and it was a close call for all Wordlers in the family. Chris got it in 6, and just before his last guess he asked me, "is it XXXXX"? which was the correct word so I didn't feel too bad saying yes.

Happy Friday, Laura. You might be interested in The Bald Eagle: The Improbable Journey of America's Bird, which was recently released, to glowing reviews. I just snagged the audio. Just sayin'...

Heh, welcome to the country…

We came home from a week away today and found a dead mouse in our downstairs bathroom. Third one this winter…

>87 msf59: Thanks for the book rec, Mark. I think I've seen some buzz in the press. My library has it so I've put it on my "read soonish" list.

>88 drneutron: Yeah, it's not surprising really, Jim. We didn't see mice until the winter (also not surprising). I've had a few sightings of live mice scurrying away, but this was the closest I've ever come to one -- we made eye contact!

This morning's weather is living up to the forecast: rain/sleet early on, which turned to snow around 7am, and it's windy. We're under a winter storm warning until the afternoon. Temps are hovering around freezing so I'd like to think the snow won't really accumulate. We'll see. It's a great day to stay indoors, reading and crafting, so that's the plan. I've also decided this weather calls for making chicken and rice stew for dinner.

Last night we watched the first episode of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, season 4. Each season is a retrospective of the previous racing year. Last year was very competitive and ended in controversy, so it will be interesting to see how they tell that story. I didn't give a damn about Formula 1 until this show came out a few years ago, so if their goal was to build interest, they succeeded. Plus, for the most part the drivers are nice to look at. 😀

Wordle 266 3/6

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Because of letters I'd already eliminated, I really had to puzzle over my third choice.

>90 lauralkeet: - I only recently heard about the F1 show and it piqued my interest. It might be something TW would be interested in, too, so we'll have to check it out. We don't always see eye to eye on viewing choices :)

I also got Wordle in 3 today!

>90 lauralkeet: >91 katiekrug: I also redeemed myself after yesterday's loss by getting wordle in 3 today. Phew.

Good luck getting rid of your mice. In the country, in an older home, I imagine it is a challenge. You will love The Sentence!

I skimmed by the F1 show because I have zero interest in cars or racing, but I might have to rethink that.

>91 katiekrug:, >92 japaul22: Yay for Wordle! Chris and I both got it in 3. Kate scored 4, because she inexplicably guessed TOADY before TODAY.

>93 BLBera: Thanks Beth. I hope this is mostly a winter phenomenon. As for F1, Chris has followed the actual racing for some time, and I always did something else while it was on (the timing doesn't usually encroach on US prime time viewing). But I like and getting to "know" the drivers and the behind-the-scenes drama.

>94 lauralkeet: Kate's wordle choice made me giggle! :-)

>95 japaul22: me too! I looked at her result thingy (like the one I posted above) and thought, what were you thinking? She claims it was the early hour that kept her from seeing the more common (and correct) word.

I am guilty of making it harder than it should be sometimes as well!

>94 lauralkeet: I did exactly the same thing!!

Speaking as someone who lived in the country for many, many years Laura, you've heard the saying "if you've got one mouse you've got a hundred." No, you haven't? Oh. Lol.

I'm afraid >99 brenzi: beat me to it: "There is no such thing as one mouse."

Traps. Lots and lots and lots and lots of traps.

Hi Laura. I love the photo of Alys and of course the eagles. I have that page bookmarked for quick peeks at work but I haven't looked in a while. I'll check it out this week.

It's spring break which doesn't mean much for me, but I do have fewer meetings than usual. Since Prudence is still in Palau, I hope to come work from home a couple afternoons to keep Carson company. He misses her!

"...a mouse on the top rack>" IN the dishwasher???? Yikes indeed. I am sorry and I hope you can find a way to encourage them to live outside your house rather than inside it. The joys of country living, right?

I received the touring copy of The Fell and read it quickly. It was a five-star read for me. There was a short chapter near the end - the whole chapter was one paragraph - that I thought was one of the best passages I have read in a really long time. Maybe it resonated to so deeply because I'm thinking about mortality these days (who isn't?) but in any case, I loved it.

I hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

>97 japaul22:, >98 RebaRelishesReading: I think it's so interesting how our brains work!

>99 brenzi:, >100 richardderus: Yeah, I know these things. Chris knows these things. But staying on top of the trap situation is a challenge.

>101 EBT1002: yes Ellen, the little bugger was IN the dishwasher. We think it was on the counter and stepped onto the dishwasher door which was slightly ajar. So "fully closing the dishwasher" is another thing I'm trying to make sure I do. Ugh.

I'm so glad you enjoyed reading The Fell!

Brrr, it's really cold again this morning, and we have a few inches of snow on the ground. Temperatures should get into the 40s today so let's hope it all melts away quickly.

I do not have any big plans for the day, just a few tasks here and there that I'd like to get done, like sending some of our fixture selections (tub, sink etc.) to the bathroom contractor, and writing a book review. I've made a nice dent in the Edith Wharton bio, and am now in the third and final part which is post-WW I. By this point, Wharton is in her late 50s, has two houses in France, and spends her time gardening as well as writing. I have about 200 pages of actual text left to read (this is followed by a lot of notes and indices).

Wordle 267 3/6

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Eagle News

We have an eaglet as of 8:48am EDT today!

>104 lauralkeet: Hurrah!

13. The Tortoise and the Hare ()

Imogen is the young, attractive wife of Evelyn Gresham, a London barrister, and mother to their son Gavin. At 52, Evelyn is much older than Imogen, and his career success has made them comfortably well off. Imogen is devoted to Evelyn, keeping house and making sure his meals and other needs are attended to. But Evelyn has struck up a friendship with neighbor Blanche Silcox, who fills an emotional void in his life. Imogen is initially dismissive of Blanche; after all, she is older and plain in her appearance. But the reader sees what Imogen does not: Evelyn is finding reasons to spend time with Blanche, and to stay in London “for work” instead of coming home.

Reality dawns slowly, acceptance even more so. As her marriage unravels, Imogen must decide the shape of her future. Locked in the societal norms of the 1950s, she has options but saying and doing are two different things. Support from friends and an unlikely ally make for an unconventional outcome. Elizabeth Jenkins delivers a fairly balanced character study: Evelyn comes across as a fairly decent guy who cares about his family, even Blanche Silcox has her merits, and all three played a part in the ultimate fate of the marriage.

Interesting review.

>104 lauralkeet: Great!

>105 PawsforThought:, >108 drneutron: It's exciting news for sure. There's been a nesting pari in this location for 15 years, but probably not the same two eagles that entire time. This is the first time we've been able to watch them, and those who know these things believe this may be Rosa's first nest.

>107 ffortsa: thanks Judy!

Another Monday ... sigh.

I had a productive day yesterday, almost-finishing a scarf I've been weaving. I just have to do the fringe on each end. It's my first wearable weaving project and I'm reasonably pleased with it. I may have ordered yarn to make another. 😀

Although today is off to a cold start (25F), the weather should improve with high temperature around 60 in the afternoon. If that's the case, I may spend some time in the garden starting seeds in trays. They'll start off on a heat mat under grow lamps in our barn, and move to the greenhouse or beds later. But first, this morning I have my library volunteer shift. While I'm there, I'll pick up my hold as well: Louise Erdrich's The Sentence.

Wordle 268 5/6

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Well, crap. I haven't had a 5 in a while, so I guess it had to happen at some point.

>104 lauralkeet: Hooray! that's so exciting!

Hi Laura!

>67 lauralkeet: Your post reminded me that I saw a herd of 6 does on our front field last Friday and managed to snap a photo on my cell phone with the passenger window rolled down. I just posted it on my thread. Yay for the cornbread recipe.

>68 katiekrug: Sh*t! I'm supposed to clean the *inside* of cabinets? Gah! I hate cleaning. Giggle. What I hate is cleaning the little glass panes on the corner cabinet in the kitchen. One of those things that looked good on paper and turned into a usually-cloudy version in RL, what with a gas stove and all.

>79 lauralkeet: Yikes. A mouse in the dishwasher, telltale footprints in the PB. I’d have EEK’d too. My worst experience was when I opened a Tupperware Celery Keeper that I kept long pasta in and a mouse jumped out and ran under the refrigerator. I'm pretty sure I screamed like a girl.

>104 lauralkeet: How exciting about the eaglet. I just looked at the Eagle Cam and see Rosa? Martin? on the nest. Can you tell them apart just by looking?

Morning, Laura!

>104 lauralkeet: Yay! I watch a feed from England that features owls and have loved watching the owlets growing and the new clutches of eggs making their appearances.

>106 lauralkeet: Adding that one to the BlackHole. Thanks for the review and recommendation, Laura!

>110 lauralkeet: After my streak-snapper, I had a five and a six...today, it was three.

Luck has this weird way of not appearing where it used to, doesn't it?

Happy Eagleting this week.

>111 Sakerfalcon: Hi Claire! The volunteer team were all pretty excited to see that little fluffy bobblehead, that's for sure.

>112 karenmarie: Hi Karen! I'll have to check out that photo of deer on your thread. I know they can be a nuisance, but they're also beautiful. I'm glad you're a fellow member of the "EEK" club. As for your eagle questions, I checked a log that one of our volunteers keeps and see that Rosa was on the nest from around 8:25-11:00 so you would have seen her. It's hard to tell them apart isn't it? Rosa is larger, but that doesn't help if you're just looking at one eagle. Rosa's eyes are speckled where Martin's are very clear. If you're lucky enough to get a closeup, you'll see what I mean. Martin also has a dot on the back of his head.

>113 katiekrug: Hiya Katie! I hope you and TW are enjoying his day off. I'll have to pop over to your thread to see what you're getting up to.

>114 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! I've enjoyed watching the eagles. You do start to see distinct personalities after a while. Martin likes to add corn cobs to the nest and Rosa usually moves them out of the way. It's funny.

>115 richardderus: Congrats on being back in fine Wordle form, RD. I hope my 5 is a one-day event.

Since I've been blathering on here about our greenhouse, I thought the least I could do is share the finished product. Obviously it needs some benches and, um, plants. But if you'd asked me in January whether we'd be here buy now, I would have said no. Chris wrote about the making of the greenhouse in the latest issue of our newsletter, here.

I most appreciate the crenellations on the roofline. Bird-proofing glass roofs is urgent.

Thanks Richard! The rooftop decor is optional. It looks a little more "fancy" than, say, the barn and the raised beds. But I like it and am pushing to keep it there.

>104 lauralkeet: Yay! That must be fun. Have the views gone way up?

>117 lauralkeet: Cool. It must feel great to have it ready to furnish. Lots of space around you, I somehow pictured it more full of trees though I expect that spring will fill in lots of foliage. I somehow edit out seasons when I think of the south and think of it always green.

>117 lauralkeet: I read Chris' entry in the newsletter about the greenhouse and loved the pictures posted. What a wonderful thing to have!

>117 lauralkeet: that looks wonderful! It will look even better when theres some greenery in there ;)

Hi Susan, Stasia, and Anita! We're pretty happy with the greenhouse. Yesterday we put couple of potted plants in there and some cuttings that had been propagating in the kitchen all winter. We also moved a small table and two chairs inside, which will go back outside when we have more consistently warm days. I think it will be more of a working space once things get going, but for now, it's a nice spot to have a cuppa.

Susan, you mentioned foliage. You're definitely getting a winter view there, but also the land behind is just open field. There are some trees along the border, but I'm afraid that particular area will never be the lush green of your imagination.

Morning, Laura. The greenhouse is looking good. I am impressed. No eagle babies yet, right? How is The Sentence? I have heard nothing but good things about it.

>124 msf59: Mark, I think you missed my brief announcement in >104 lauralkeet:.
DG1 hatched on Sunday!

Good morning all!

Yesterday's weather turned out really nice. It seemed like Chris was busy outdoors for most of the day. We recently had some new rose bushes delivered that needed to be planted in the ground or in pots, so he did that and some other cleanup tasks. I went out in the afternoon to start some seeds in trays: 3 varieties of hot peppers and 2 of tomatoes. They'll germinate on the heat mat for several weeks. Also yesterday our bathroom contractor stopped by to confirm some details about our choice of fixtures. We hope to see the crew later this week for electrical work.

This morning I have a Fiber Guild committee meeting, and hope to do some yoga before I get showered and dressed. I need to get a bit of cleaning done sometime today. I also volunteered to write some "articles" (more like blurbs, really) about the eagles for social media posts. That requires a bit of research into the specific topic(s) so I may do some of that today.

I started The Sentence last night, but it was bedtime so I didn't get very far. More today, I'm sure.

Ahem:

Wordle 269 2/6

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I firmly believe 2's are just luck. This was my fourth 2 (out of 71 games). My first word was STARE, and I could only think of one word that would use all the green and yellow letters.

Nice Wordle-ing!

Your day sounds busy, so I hope you do get some reading time in :)

Love the greenhouse, Laura. The article was very amusing. It sounds like you are a good sport.

Greenhouse looks great and I agree, the little row of decoration on top adds just the right touch. As to 2's being luck -- I totally agree.

>127 lauralkeet: Whoa! Wordle-meister! It took me four because I tried YEAST before TEASE but honestly I was pretty pleased with it.

Good morning Katie, Beth, Reba & Richard. Sorry I didn't get back to visiting last night. As expected, it was a busy day. The weather was really nice so I ended up working outside in the afternoon, instead of doing what I'd planned. We needed to do some post-winter cleanup on our terrace, and it looks really nice now so that was satisfying.

I just finished up an eagle cam shift, and I think we'll do more outdoor work today. Chris ordered a bunch of very small trees (more like sticks) from the cooperative extension, and they arrived earlier than expected yesterday. They will ultimately be placed along the back of our property, but we're going to start them out in some biodegradable grow bags. We need to unbox them today and figure out our next steps.

This is a very busy time in the gardening year, and I love it but it's also going to have an impact on other things I enjoy! Fortunately I'm still doing the Wordle LOL ...

Wordle 270 4/6

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>132 lauralkeet: I was slightly more slow-witted than is my wont today.
Wordle 270 5/6

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Four was what I hoped for!

I hope you get some good reading in. I reviewed Slash and Burn today; not sure you'd enjoy it just now, but I do hope it will stay on your radar. Very timely, quite a good story, too.

Morning, Laura. The weather is beautiful here, too, so I can understand you doing a lot of outdoor work.

>133 richardderus: Hi RD! My wordle was helped along by getting two vowels in PAUSE, and then realizing the yellow vowel probably had to go in the second-to-last spot followed by a specific consonant (in other words, ER). Still, there are many possible first letters.

>134 katiekrug: Hiya Katie! We just had lunch but now my evil taskmaster loving husband is poking me to get back outdoors. But hey, it's 70F out so I'm totally okay with it.

>132 lauralkeet: I pretty much never check my email or LT more than once a day so there's definitely no need to apologize to me! Glad you're having great weather and getting a lot done outside. I bought a new camellia a week ago and it's still sitting in it's soon-to-be new home waiting for me to plant it. I've now decided that Friday, when it's forecast to be 57 degrees and cloudy will be The Day! I'm afraid I like the idea of gardening a lot better than the reality :(

Sweet Thursday, Laura! Hooray for DG1! Sorry, I missed your post but I did see the news on FB. I can't see it, on the cam yet. The volunteer gig went well yesterday but it was also a bit over-whelming. I am sure I will get used to it. I better, because the busy season is coming soon. They bounced me around to a few different areas, so I could get a feel for it. I will be a busy dude on Tuesdays. I will post more details/highlights on my thread.

Good morning all! So, this was yesterday's project.



In Nature's Best Hope, Doug Tallamy writes about the benefits of native plants and, in particular, planting keystone species like cherry & oak. A while back, Chris learned of a program through the Virginia Cooperative Extension where you could order very young native trees at about $1-2/tree. This is about 150 trees, mostly two varieties of pine, in biodegradable grow bags. We have about 100 more trees left to do, a mix of cherry & oak. We are planning to put these around the far edge of our meadow as part of our "rewilding" plan. And while we may never fully experience it, these trees will someday serve as a visual barrier between our place and the property next door.

Today is overcast and drizzly. I don't have too many must-do's, except for cleaning the kitchen which I didn't get to yesterday for obvious reasons. But we may be able to get more trees in pots if the weather cooperates.

Wordle 271 2/6

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Another lucky day. First word was MAVEN and when I solved it I wondered why I hadn't used that word to begin with.

>136 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! Good luck with your camellia. We have one just outside our door and it's gorgeous.

>137 msf59: Mark, are you viewing the overhead cam? We've kept it on close-up almost consistently since the hatch, and DG1 makes regular appearances. But you won't see that on the side view.

Hi Laura!

>116 lauralkeet: Thanks for the reply about Rosa and Martin.

>117 lauralkeet: Impressive job getting it in place. Thanks for the link – informative, fun, and I like that the greenhouse is Alys approved!

>125 lauralkeet: Thanks for the pic!

Look at you, two 2-word Wordle days out of three. Congrats.

>138 lauralkeet: - I'm so impressed with how methodical you and Chris are with all your projects. If the Krugs decided to order 150 trees, they would sit around for weeks on end while TW dithered and I avoided helping with manual labor and we would eventually plant about a third and call it a day :-P

>138 lauralkeet: Oh, wow, what a great project! I wish more people would plant trees - mostly I just see people cutting them down, even when they're not endangering anything or causing problems. We are getting new neighbours and they cut down all the trees on the property, including the gorgeous 40-year old oak tree that was right on the border to us and that we love. I'll never forgive them.

I love trees! What a great project. Kudos.

>139 lauralkeet: Thanks Laura. I'm most impressed by your efforts yesterday especially since I have still not managed to plant that one bush. It will go in a row of three other camellia's, all of which are doing very well so I have high hopes for it...if I ever get it in the ground :)

>141 karenmarie: Hi Karen!

>142 katiekrug: Hey Katie, We have certainly had our share of half-asked projects over the years. I guess we were motivated because a) if we let the trees stay in the box too long they would all die, and b) it was an absolutely perfect day to work outdoors. Also, we don't have the unpleasant distraction of a paying job.

>143 PawsforThought: Paws, that breaks my heart. I don't even know them, and will never forgive them, either.

>144 BLBera: Thanks Beth!

>145 RebaRelishesReading: Ha ha you'll get there, Reba. We moved here largely to be able to tend to the space like this, so it's working for us. It keeps us off the streets and out of trouble.

Eagle News

It looks like eaglet DG1 will be an only child. On Tuesday we confirmed a pip, meaning the hatch was in process, but it has not progressed. This is the announcement and explanation: Why Did One of the Bald Eagles’ Eggs Not Hatch?

>147 lauralkeet: Well, it's still one more eagle in the world.

>138 lauralkeet: Good luck indeed on your first-word choice!

I think the rewilding process sounds like a great use of energy, even if you won't see the results.

Delurking to say that the eagles have made our news here in Maine! Watching this morning with my husband, I was excited to say I had already seen that cute baby eagle on LT!

>148 richardderus: Great point about the eaglet, Richard. This one is healthy & feisty, and that's a good thing. And thanks for the rewilding encouragement. I think we'll be witness to some benefit, but we certainly won't see these young trees come to maturity. We planted some other, larger trees back in the autumn for that reason.

>149 jayde1599: Hi Jess! I'm so glad you de-lurked, it's always a pleasure to meet someone new. I can't believe the eagles made your local news. That's amazing.

Happy Friday!

No tree-planting yesterday due to crummy weather, but I was able to get some seeds started on the heat mats we have out in the barn. We also did some post-greenhouse assembly cleanup, dealing with all the packing materials and putting away tools and stuff. Indoors, I did my weekly kitchen cleaning. For those who were appalled to hear I was cleaning inside the cabinets (I'm looking at you, Katie & Reba!), I checked the overhead cabinets off my list by doing ... nothing. They were fine! The real issue with cabinets are the ones below counter level, as they are most likely to attract crumbs and such from above. I'm pleased to say that Amber's "clean one area a day" strategy is working for me. The house looks a lot nicer, and I've organized things so I don't need to clean every single day.

Today I need to do the grocery shopping, but other than that I have no real obligations. The bathroom guys are expected today and tomorrow, which is disruptive but that's the nature of the beast. They haven't been here yet this week so I really can't complain. The room just looks like a shell because they're doing framing and electrical work, and will follow that with the plumbing. Nothing pretty yet, but we'll get there.

In book news, I'm finally getting into The Sentence. It took me a while, I think because my reading time has been so fragmented this week, but something clicked last night/this morning.

Wordle 272 3/6

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Morning, Laura! Yay for not cleaning more cabinet interiors! I did invoke your level of cleanliness in my update yesterday, so maybe you're actually a good influence ;-)

I am getting better (or at least have the last couple of days) about doing my assigned cleaning. Some I have deliberately put off until the weekend because with TW working from home, I don't want to disturb him. But I definitely feel more in control of things now.

I'm glad The Sentence clicked with you. I am looking forward to that one.

I got Wordle in 4.

>151 lauralkeet: Shocked maybe but not appalled :) I have a drawer where I keep "tea things" including a one-pound bag of my favorite loose tea. That one tends to look like it's been visited by your mice and I do clean it from time to time. Other food items are all in the pantry I do vacuum the floor when I'm cleaning. Otherwise my cabinets close pretty well and don't even get dusty inside (honest!!). I'm fairly relaxed about cleaning I think--Hubby thinks I'm obsessed but that's another story.

>152 katiekrug:, >153 RebaRelishesReading: Well. After proclaiming my happiness with the cleaning routine, I failed to do any cleaning whatsoever today. I just completely forgot. I do want to clean the pantry this weekend. That's the one part of the kitchen I haven't tackled yet, and there are crumbs and bits lying about.

Good morning everyone!

It's a lazy Saturday so far, which I gotta say has been pretty nice. I've paid the bills, and solved the crossword and Wordle, while becoming fully caffeinated.

Yesterday I puttered around a bit and, as mentioned, completely forgot about cleaning the rooms-of-the-day. Oops. The weather was lovely again so I spent more time outdoors. We planted some more trees (some in bags, a few directly in soil), and put up the bluebird nest boxes in the meadow. We also have new wren nest boxes this year, which we've placed near the barn.

Have I mentioned the black vultures are back? If you missed this story last year, this newsletter post will bring you up-to-date. This year, we successfully prevented them from nesting in the barn bays, but they are crafty buggers and managed to get into the top level of the barn through the eaves, and have laid two eggs. We don't use that space but damn, why would you lay eggs up there? How will the little ones get out before they are able to fly? The parents seem to be coming and going a lot, so we're not sure the eggs are getting the necessary attention. Maybe they know what they're doing, or maybe they made a stupid decision. Last year we gave them a wide berth and basically didn't use the barn at all. Not so this year. Sheesh.

Today I am going to clean the pantry (woo!) as well as the rooms I overlooked yesterday. I might do some gardening if it warms up.

Wordle 273 3/6

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It took me forever to find even one word that would work!

I remember the black vultures. I think they're stalking you.

Have fun cleaning the pantry. Is it a walk-in/separate room or a closet/cabinet-type? Ours is the latter and is narrow and deep and things get lost...

>155 lauralkeet: black vultures
A local wildlife rescue/rehab has an ambassador vulture:
https://www.pahomepage.com/video/meet-baron-von-vulture/6960029/
https://www.facebook.com/barronvonvulture/

>156 katiekrug: Katie, it's a cabinet type of pantry. Two doors, and four shelves. I like the design a lot. The shelves are 30" wide and 20" deep (because you asked!), and they slide out so it's easy to get to the stuff at the back. And ... now it's clean! I emptied each shelf, wiped them down, threw out stuff that was old or that I knew I wouldn't use, and did a wee bit of rearranging. Very satisfying. And that concludes the major cleaning tasks on my plate. Now I just need to keep things looking halfway decent.

>157 qebo: Thanks for those links Katherine. Our nearest wildlife rehab center also has a black vulture ambassador! In her case, it was due to human stupidity, not injury, but the good news is she's well cared for. They have several ambassadors at the center and last year opened a "wildlife walk" where you can saunter past their enclosures. Like a really small zoo, I guess.
https://www.blueridgewildlifectr.org/education-ambassadors

>158 lauralkeet: Cool. Quite an array of critters.

I know their niche is an important one, but I myownself prefer vultures do their vultching elsewhere than my space.

Silly of me, but the odour is deeply unpleasant to me.

>138 lauralkeet: Happy planting!

Good morning Katherine, Richard, Anita, and anyone else lurking out there. It's a bit cooler today than yesterday, but I'll still probably get outside and do gardening things. I started a new weaving project yesterday -- a second twill scarf -- so I might spend a little time on that, and some time reading of course. Right now I'm procrastinating on getting a workout in, but I'll make myself do it soon.

Other than that, I've got nothin'.

Wordle 274 5/6

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This was a struggle.

Morning, Laura. I haven't Wordled yet, but now I'm scared.

ETA: Okay, done it now and got it in 3. I returned to my standard two starters - ADIEU, NORTH so was reasonably well set-up, though still a bit surprised I got it on my first real guess.

Hey there Katie, sorry to alarm you! I've been trying to mix up my starting word by going with whatever pops into my head. But I still prefer it have at least two vowels, so sometimes I have to tell my brain to pop something else into my head please. Today I started with STEAM which was less than helpful. On my second turn I'd find more vowels, but no! It was a bit ugly.

I have a little list of starter words and just pick one that appeals to me that day -- today's choice was not very helpful :(

>165 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I guess if I'm being totally honest I'd say my starter words are not completely random. At first I had maybe 2-3 words and would pick one of them. I'm trying to be more random but my starter words are probably more like close neighbors of my initial 2-3.

My brother, on the other hand, has actually tried to make every single guess a unique word. Yes, he has a spreadsheet (we do share some DNA, after all). Over 70 Wordle games played so far, 90% of his words are unique. But he's insane, and I'm normal.

Because I use the same first word all the time, it's like buying lottery numbers. If I change now, that'll be the word! I use FRESH which burns me sometimes if the word has lots of vowels. I'm using my word until it is the word of the day!

>167 raidergirl3: I'm not even looking at your favorite word, Elizabeth. I don't want to do anything that will jinx your "lottery" approach!

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Happy Monday everyone.

Yesterday went pretty much according to plan. We were outdoors for a while, creating our new composting set up (exciting, I know). But it was windy and therefore felt colder than we liked so once that was done we came inside for the rest of the day. I got a few little tasks done, and some weaving and reading. For dinner I made a new-to-me recipe from NYT Cooking, Coconut Pork Stew with Garam Masala, using a cut of pork from our meat CSA. It was really good, with a nice spice level. This is what I love about CSAs: finding ways to use something I'm not familiar with, and now having a recipe I'd make again.

I have a library shift this morning and the afternoon is pretty open. The bathroom contractors are here today (as they were on Friday), which isn't as disruptive as it could be since they spend most of their time upstairs and we don't need to use those rooms. Sometimes they need to turn the water off for a bit, but they're good about communicating with us. We have to manage Alys, which mostly means sequestering her in our bedroom and taking her outside more often just to give her some attention and exercise.

I'm making decent progress with The Sentence. I'm enjoying it but am not wowed by it. Also, it's taking me longer than expected to finish. I think that's more a reflection of the amount of time we're spending outside, than it is on the book.

Wordle 275 3/6

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Remember my visits to the Historic Records Office? I wrote about it in our newsletter today. Of interest to those who like genealogy, history, or both!

Honey, I Shrunk the Farm

>168 lauralkeet: I got it in three, as well...but between my (almost-always the same) first and second words, I had all five letters. But not one in the correct place.

Not a pattern I've ever seen before!

Enjoy the week ahead.

>170 richardderus: That's quite a result, RD. I'm pretty sure that's never happened to me either.

>169 lauralkeet: What a lovely article. It certainly was a journey learning the farm's history.

>172 quondame: Thank you, Susan. I really enjoyed the research.

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Hello all ... I just wrapped up an eagle cam shift. That DG1 is the cutest little thing. Yesterday was productive enough, and the bathroom contractors completed most of the electrical work. The plumber should be here later this week. Progress! We planned to grill burgers outdoors for dinner but got lazy and made them on the stovetop grill (lazy bc we have an old-fashioned charcoal grill that probably needs cleaning before use).

Last night we watched a University Challenge semi-final match because we are geeks. And then I read while Chris watched cricket, which interests me not. So I finished The Sentence. I enjoyed it but as I said before, I wasn't wowed by it. I did appreciate the way Erdrich captured the pandemic and the events surrounding George Floyd's murder (the novel is set in Minneapolis where that tragic event occurred). Review to come after some pondering.

Now I think I'll turn my attention to finishing the Edith Wharton bio. I have about 150 pages to go and it would be great to count this one for March.

Nothing much on the agenda today except trying to balance
"the things Chris wants help with" with "the things Laura would like to do." Ha.

Wordle 276 4/6

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A pretty graphic, anyway.

"Nothing much on the agenda today except trying to balance
'the things Chris wants help with' with 'the things Laura would like to do.' " You are singin' my song, sister!

Morning, Laura! I'll keep an eye out for your final comments on The Sentence. I plan to read it sometime this year....

>174 laytonwoman3rd: It's a constant negotiation, Linda! I got my upper body workout in this morning as chief shoveler of compost to go into the raised beds. I think Chris recognized that I'd done about all I could in that department and I was free to do my own thing after lunch.

>175 katiekrug: Hi Katie! I need to rev up my review-writing mojo ...

>173 lauralkeet: Where is University Challenge to be found? We would enjoy that.

Glad your bathroom project is going well. Glad you're getting some Laura-time this afternoon.

>177 RebaRelishesReading: There as multiple seasons of University Challenge available on YouTube! I always watch it when I’m forcing myself on to the exercise bike, because the fiendishness of the questions takes my mind away from how much I dislike the exercise bike.

>178 PawsforThought: Thanks. I'm assuming they are on the part of You Tube that requires a subscription, right?

>179 RebaRelishesReading: - Nope. You can just search for it on YouTube and multiple seasons/episodes come up. I love it, along with Only Connect, and Mastermind. And all are Laura's fault :)

>177 RebaRelishesReading: Looks like you got your answer, Reba. We're coming to the end of the current season (one semi-final and then the final remain), but you could go back to some previous episodes, like the quarter-finals, to get to know the current contenders. The episodes drop on Mondays.

>178 PawsforThought: that's a good idea, Paws! I too need distractions when I'm on the back. At the moment I'm listening to a gardening podcast. Not as fiendish as UC, but it does take my mind elsewhere.

>180 katiekrug: I take no responsibility for your discovery of Only Connect and Mastermind, Katie! I'm familiar with the latter but not the former so *wags finger* guess who will be at fault if I get hooked on it?

>181 lauralkeet: Only Connect is GREAT! You have to think laterally. And the teams are always a delight.

And also, the creators are wonderfully petty - when they had a complaint about their use of Greek letters instead of Latin letters (or numbers) being snobbish they switched to using Egyptian hieroglyphs!

I'm disappointed that you didn't enjoy The Sentence more Laura. That book marked my return to Erdrich after years of not reading her books because of disappointment. I listened to it and Erdrich was the perfect narrator for that book.Oh well, plenty of other books to read, that's for sure.

>182 PawsforThought: Thanks Paws. I just Googled Only Connect, and it does sound fun. We'll have to check it out.

>183 brenzi: I'm sorry, Bonnie. I rated it 3.5 stars, which means I'd still recommend it. There were aspects of it that really worked for me. I do feel like my reading time was a bit fragmented, which probably had an impact as I never got as fully immersed as I wanted to.

Good morning everyone!

Yesterday we started filling our raised beds, first with compost we built up last year. I shoveled from pile to wheelbarrow and Chris then dumped from wheelbarrow into bed. No surprise, my arms and shoulders are a bit sore this morning. We plan to mix our compost with some that we had delivered. We bought a home soil test kit and found that our stuff is low on nitrogen, where the purchased product is more balanced. Fascinating, huh?

Today is another day without much on the agenda. I always have a few little tasks that are hardly worth mentioning, like we're out of bread and eggs so I need to run to the store at some point. But today I have no actual commitments or things that must get done, or else. The weather is a bit cool and it's supposed to rain later, so it might be an indoor day. Perhaps I will turn the tables on Chris and get him to help me with a couple jobs that need doing ...

Wordle 277 4/6

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>181 lauralkeet: - Gah! You're right. I think it was Helen who mentioned Only Connect at some point. It is great fun. I am terrible at it because my mind just doesn't work that way, but it's still a lot of fun. Mastermind is interesting in that there is a general knowledge round and a specialist round and people declare their own specialties and some of them are so incredibly specific or esoteric, it boggles the mind. Anyhoo, I often play that one in the background while I'm doing other things. Only Connect you actually have to watch.

So, um, yeah. I love trivia and quiz shows :)

>186 katiekrug: Good to know, Katie. I have definitely watched Mastermind before, although it was a long time ago.

Today has now turned rainy, as predicted. I'm glad I went to the store this morning because now I can just hunker down indoors. Yay!

>188 RebaRelishesReading:, >190 lauralkeet: We started it last night but Hubby said it was "too esoteric" for him so we didn't even finish one episode :(

>184 lauralkeet: No need to be sorry Laura. I just wish you'd enjoyed it more.

>188 RebaRelishesReading: We just watched an episode, Reba. It was indeed fun!

>189 brenzi: I'm glad we're still pals, Bonnie. 😀

14. The Sentence ()

After several years in prison, Tookie’s sentence is commuted. Once freed, she finds work in a bookstore, gets married, and becomes a stepmother. Flora, one of the bookstore’s regular customers, dies and begins to haunt the shop during Tookie’s shifts. At first Tookie says nothing, but eventually finds it so disturbing she enlists others to help her understand why Flora continues to visit, and how to help her move on. While this is ostensibly the main storyline, there are several other threads running through this novel which were a bit disjointed, and some were underdeveloped.

The most striking part of the novel was its setting. The Minneapolis bookstore where Tookie works is modeled on the author’s own shop, Birchbark Books. The store fosters Native American cultural awareness and serves the local indigenous community. Most of the story takes place in 2020, so the characters experience the first year of the pandemic and live through George Floyd’s murder and its aftermath in Minneapolis. Erdrich depicts this period so well that the raw emotions of that time came flooding back. I admire Erdrich’s ability to evoke that response and it caused some reflection on my part, but it was also not a space I wanted to be in for long.

This is a well-written, thought-provoking book that would make a great book club pick.

>191 lauralkeet: Although I bought this book (pre-ordered a signed copy directly from Birchbark Books) I am in no hurry to read it. I don't think I can sit with those "raw emotions" you mention ...maybe not ever.

>192 laytonwoman3rd: I get that, Linda.

And good morning everyone! I just finished an Eagle Cam shift. Last night a barred owl swooped in on the nest. Rosa was not pleased, but fortunately it didn't stick around. Here's a clip: https://youtu.be/jGye8Iy6hBw

Last night we watched an episode of Only Connect, which was fun so thanks Katie! Then I read my Wharton book while Chris watched cricket.

Not much on the agenda today. We need to run an errand later this morning, picking up chicken wire to enclose some new apple trees. If it warms up as it is supposed to we'll probably do more work outside.

Hmm. That's it. My life is boring.

Wordle 278 4/6

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>191 lauralkeet: I'm glad you've lowered my expectations for The Sentence, which I'm waiting for in my library queue. There has been such enthusiasm all around, but I haven't had much success with Erdrich's recent works. I did really like The Round House though.

Glad you enjoyed Only Connect. In addition to the puzzles themselves, I also enjoy the snarky host :)

Hi Laura!

>185 lauralkeet: But today I have no actual commitments or things that must get done, or else. It’s always nice to have days like that.

>191 lauralkeet: Erdrich depicts this period so well that the raw emotions of that time came flooding back. I admire Erdrich’s ability to evoke that response and it caused some reflection on my part, but it was also not a space I wanted to be in for long. I recently read the newest Ruth Galloway, not yet published in the US, that a friend got from ‘her’ bookseller in London. It, too, took place in 2020, and evoked the same emotions. It was very good, and I was glad when I’d finished it. It brought back all the dread and fear of the unknown.

>193 lauralkeet: If your life is boring, Laura, then mine’s boring x 10. *smile*

zzzzzzzz*snorp*smack smack*

Ooohhh...wow...needed that nap.

Hey Laura, what's new?

>194 vivians: Vivian, I have similar feelings about Erdrich's more recent work although like you I really liked The Round House.

>195 katiekrug: Katie, we've seen Victoria Coren-Mitchell on the satirical news quiz show, Have I Got News for You? and yes, I like her. Are you acquainted with her husband, David Mitchell (not the author)? He is very funny.

>196 karenmarie: Hi Karen! Thanks for the heads up on the latest Ruth Galloway. You got me thinking about how authors are addressing the pandemic in their work. For a long-running series set in the present day (Ruth Galloway, Inspector Gamache, etc.) it would be weird not to at least mention it. The latest Gamache does so, and I thought it was handled well. To me there's also a difference between books where the pandemic is mentioned but is largely in the background, and books where it is central to the plot. But then ... I read Sarah Moss' The Fell in which it is very central to the story, and it didn't hit me the way Erdrich did. So I dunno ...

>197 richardderus: Ha Richard, I see you succumbed to my boring life. It continues as such. The weather has not warmed up as expected so I'm hanging out indoors, puttering about mostly.

>193 lauralkeet: I love boring days! They have so much potential compared to days filled with plans.

>199 Sakerfalcon: I'm inclined to agree, Claire. I think there's an ideal balance somewhere, between boring days and overly-scheduled days, but I'd take boring over scheduled any day.

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TGIF!

My weekdays and weekends aren't all that different but somehow Fridays always feel momentous. So, here we are.

Last night we watched the first part of Restless, an adaptation of William Boyd's novel (same title). There are two, 1.5-hour episodes with an all-star case including Charlotte Rampling, Hayley Atwell, Rufus Sewell, Michael Gambon, Michelle Dockery, Adrian Scarborough ... Chris just finished the book and says the adaptation is very true to the novel so far. I really enjoyed it.

We were going to go out for breakfast this morning but Chris has a 9am haircut and we decided we wanted a more relaxed morning. Maybe we'll go out for coffee later? While he's off doing his thing I'm going to get the grocery shopping done. I have a short knitting-related committee meeting this afternoon. I might also make some progress on my current weaving project: a twill scarf using the same pattern as one I just made, but different yarns.

I'm lobbying for takeout dinner tonight. I don't expect much resistance. It's a common Friday thing for us, unless had takeout (or actually dined out) earlier in the week for some reason. I really enjoy cooking but I also like knowing I have one day in the week where I don't have to do so!

Wordle 279 3/6

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This was my 81st Wordle. I've been scoring 3 more often lately (yay), which of course shows on the little bar chart but I also decided to calculate my average score: 3.75. I'm happy with that!

Happy Friday, Laura. How is DG1 doing? Sorry to hear about the second egg. I had been hearing mostly glowing things about The Sentence. You took it a down a peg. LOL. I had issues with The Night Watchman, so I was hoping for a comeback.

Any summer residents showing up at your feeders?

>200 lauralkeet: - I'll have to have a look for the Restless adaptation. Not that I've read the book, but it is sitting on my shelf :)

For much the same reason you have a designated takeout night, I do frozen pizza and a bag of salad on Friday nights - don't have to think about it and it's easy. We toyed with the idea of going out tonight to watch the basketball game but after last night, I don't think it'll happen. Plus, going out on Friday nights is usually such a pain because everyone has the same idea...

Great comments on The Sentence, Laura, although I think I liked it more than you did. I think it's her best novel in a while, and certainly it's a departure from her usual work. I loved the setting; when I finished I wanted to start work in the bookstore! I wondered how it would be reading about 2020, but I thought she portrayed it well, and I enjoyed learning about the Indigenous community's response.

>201 msf59: Hi Mark! DG1 is doing great, growing by leaps and bounds. On the home front, we're starting to see more feeder activity. We had cardinals, blue jays and mourning doves year round and now we're seeing more red-winged blackbirds & goldfinches, among others. There's a pond at a house up the road, and we spotted ring-necked ducks there the other day, but apparently they were just passing through. We put our bluebird boxes out in the meadow last week because we've been seeing them in fields nearby.

>202 katiekrug: I keep a frozen pizza on hand for emergencies, although we're more likely to have it for lunch. Discussion on your thread made us try the cauliflower crust and we were surprised how much we liked it. After trying three different brands I think I like California Kitchen's pepperoni & mushroom the best.

>203 BLBera: Beth, I loved the bookstore, too. I had the sense that the description of it pretty much matches the real life bookstore. And one thing I always appreciate with Erdrich's writing is insight to the indigenous community and culture.

>204 lauralkeet: Hubby doesn't like mushrooms so I don't buy that one but CPK's Sicilian and their BBQ Chicken are favorites in our house.

>204 lauralkeet: I had the sense that the description of it pretty much matches the real life bookstore. You know the fictional owner's name was Louise right? So it would probably be a really good look at her bookstore Laura. 🤭
Just kidding of course.

>205 RebaRelishesReading: Those sound really good, Reba! I'll keep them in mind.

>206 brenzi: Oh I know Bonnie. I wasn't sure if the bookstore was modeled on Erdrich's shop, or if it was actually her shop. If that makes sense, in a work of fiction?!

Good morning everyone!

Yesterday was a good mix of activities. I did some weaving and reading, and I also helped Chris put in a a few fence posts in an area surrounding the barn, greenhouse, and newly-planted apple trees. I think he's now ready to add gates and actual fence material. It will be nice to have an enclosed area so Alys can play and hang out with us while we're gardening. It's not just about the dog (although she begs to differ); I think it will look nice too.

We're expecting colder weather today and the next few days. I guess March is going out like a lion this year. So I s'pose today will be mostly an indoor day. Maybe I'll bake something.

I am sooo close to finishing the Edith Wharton bio (I mean, like i just read the death scene). It's very good but at 762 pages of text I will be glad to be done with it. I was hoping to read the next Sebastian St Cyr mystery next, but someone had the nerve to check it out of the library so now I'm waiting. But no worries, thanks to Rhian and Tui I learned of a historical mystery series set in Wales: the Teifi Valley Coroner series by Alis Hawkins. The first book is None so Blind and I think I'll start that next.

Wordle 280 4/6

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Happy Saturday, Laura. Very cold here too, with a dusting of snow. What the heck? I like your bird report. We also see an occasional ring-necked duck as they migrate through. Yep, bluebirds should be arriving anytime. I love the fact that you have bluebird boxes up.

Congrats on (almost) finishing the Wharton bio. It seems like that one has gone on forever - probably even more so for you!

The changes to your garden sound wonderful. The idea of it all appeals to some hidden gardener gene in me (that will never come out I'm sure).

>209 msf59: Hi Mark! I forgot to mention yesterday's bird news: we were working at the edge of our meadow and heard a bird we couldn't identify calling from a tree directly above us. Another bird would answer its call from across the meadow. Merlin's SoundID told us it was an Eastern Meadowlark, a lifer for us. Woot!


NMP, as Mark would say

>210 katiekrug: I finished it just before lunch Katie. Yay yay yay! And it hasn't gone on forever exactly, but it has gone on all year (I started reading it on Dec. 30). It's really quite good, but the type of book that worked best in small bites.

>211 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba! My gardening mojo has been dormant for a few years; the last time I had a veg garden was 2016. So it's fun to be back at it. Chris is putting in a lot of time outdoors both with actual gardening, and with more physically challenging projects like putting in the fence. He enjoys that sort of stuff and I say more power to him. Ha.

>212 lauralkeet: Nice lifer Laura. Exciting learning what visitors you get.

>191 lauralkeet: Hi Laura, I thought for sure I had commented on that picture of your greenhouse upthread, but apparently not. I can't wait to see the plants in bloom when the time comes.

We had similar thoughts on The Sentence I liked but didn't love it and I certainly didn't want to relive the Covid experience along with the emotions of George Floyd's murder and resulting demonstrations.

>213 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caro! We've been here a year now (hard to believe), and thought we had a good handle on the local avian population. It was a bit of a thrill to spot a new species.

>214 Donna828: Thanks Donna. The greenhouse is already being put to use for some seed starting, although a cold snap required us to use a small supplemental heater last night. Thanks for your thoughts on The Sentence. I'm glad I'm not the only one.

Hello all ...

We're having a momentary weather relapse this weekend, with today's high expected to just clear 40. Brrr. Definitely a day to hunker down indoors. I started None so Blind yesterday and it's off to a good start, so I hope to make significant progress again today. The Libby hold request I made yesterday (for the next Sebastian St Cyr mystery) inexplicably became available later in the afternoon so ... whatever. I checked it out and will read it next. I am looking forward to a couple of easy mysteries as an antidote to the heavier stuff I've read lately.

Today I might spend some time researching lighting choices for our bathroom remodel, along with other accessories like mirrors and towel bars. There's quite a bit to be done before it's time to install lighting, and we've already selected and ordered the big stuff, but I'd kind of like to cross this off the list if possible.

Wordle 281 3/6

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This was tricky. I had a heart-stopping moment when my first two turns eliminated all vowels except for that pesky sometimes-vowel. Yikes.

15. Edith Wharton ()

Edith Wharton is one of my favorite authors, so when I came across this biography in a used bookshop, I snapped it up. And then it sat on my shelves for over a decade. So much for my fan-girl enthusiasm. I decided 2022 was the year to right this wrong. With more than 700 pages of text I knew I would need to pace myself, and spread my reading out over the first three months of the year.

Hermione Lee has built a reputation for solid, well-researched biographies of literary figures, and this book is no exception. Wharton’s life story is divided into three parts: from her birth in 1861 to World War I, the war years, and the post-war period until her death in 1937. Wharton came of age in New York society, and is known for novels set in that milieu. But her early career was focused on the decorative arts, bringing European style to America before making her name in fiction with The House of Mirth, published in 1905. Wharton made a disastrous marriage, which she escaped by moving to Paris and becoming part of a learned and literary set (divorce came years later, and only after her husband exhibited serious mental health issues). Wharton threw herself into the war effort by founding and operating a number of charities. Post-war she remained in Europe, ultimately owning two homes in France.

Lee delves deep both into Wharton’s literary career, and her personal life and relationships. She comes across as simultaneously sympathetic and complicated and difficult, a product of her time and class. There is no debate about her literary genius, but even there Lee shows how her reputation grew and then, around the time of her death, began to decline. In the late 20th century, Wharton’s work experienced a resurgence thanks to the 1990s film adaptation of The Age of Innocence and feminist publishers like Virago Press.

I have just two quibbles about this book. First, its length, requiring a genuine interest in Wharton to even attempt it. And second, Lee assumes readers have a basic command of French. Not surprisingly, much of Wharton’s correspondence was in French. Sometimes these passages are translated, but far too often they are not. This makes additional work for the non-fluent reader, and I found the inconsistency annoying. That said, I really enjoyed this deep dive into a favorite author’s life and would recommend it highly to any Edith Wharton fan.

>216 lauralkeet: I also had a hard time with worlde this morning. I got it on the 4th try, but it took me a long time to come up with that word!

>217 lauralkeet: I have a similar story regarding Hermione Lee's biography of Virginia Woolf. I read all of Woolf's novels over a few years and fell in love with her writing. I have a crazy idea of rereading them all in order and simultaneously reading the Lee biography some year (or two or three). But I'm not quite ready yet and think I'll do a Faulkner year first. Anyway . . .
Your review gives me a little push to think it's doable.

HI Laura!

>212 lauralkeet: Congrats on the lifer.

>217 lauralkeet: Wordle was tricky today. It took me 5.

>216 lauralkeet: - I made Wordle in three but only because I heard my husband mumbling under his breath about that "issue".

Congrats on finishing the Wharton biography, Laura. I do love Wharton, but this sounds a little daunting.

It's turned cold here, too. Still, it's above zero...

>127 lauralkeet: I have this on the shelf Laura, as well as her ones about Willa Cather and Penelope Fitzgerald. I want to read more of Wharton and Cather's work first. I liked her Virginia Woolf biography.

>218 japaul22: Jennifer, your thoughts about approaching the Woolf biography make sense. I think it's best to read Lee's biographies once you've already read a fair amount of the author's work. She often describes not just the creative process but details of the novels themselves. Some of it could be spoilery. Wharton's oeuvre is so extensive that there were invariably detailed synopses of books I haven't read. But if I ever get around to reading those books, I'll probably have forgotten all of that.

>219 karenmarie:, >220 dudes22: Hi Karen & Betty! It was fiendishly tricky, IMO. Chris was solving at the same time and I sensed he was closer to a solution than I was, so I asked, "is it a tricky word?". He frowned at me and said, "you're not asking for a hint, are you?!" Chastened, I returned to staring at the Wordle keyboard. It was then I realized my first letter was green, not yellow, and that the second letter had to be the sometimes-vowel, and things fell into place.

>221 BLBera: It was a bit daunting, Beth, but its time had come LOL. Hope you stay warm up there in MN!

>222 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caro ... as I mentioned to Jennifer, I think it's wise to read a fair amount of the author's work before tackling their biography. I'm not sure how much Cather and Wharton you've read, but feel free to hit me up if you need recommendations!

It took me all 6 tries to get it. I like how the Wordle message when you solve it in 6 is Whew! I tend to start with one of the same two words, and to be honest, usually just one word: voice.

Love your eagles and your descriptions of all going on in and around your home! I'm sorry The Sentence wasn't a better book for you - I haven't read it, but did give it as a gift this year. Haven't heard feedback about it yet from a giftee.

I like your comments about the Wharton book. I unexpectedly "met" her while reading The Planter of Modern Life, as she and Louis Bromfield bonded over gardening in France despite their age difference.

>224 AMQS: Hi Anne! Wharton had a very interesting set of friends over her life. Most were her contemporaries but as an older woman, a few much-younger people were welcomed into her circle.

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Happy Monday, friends.

It is damn cold here today, absolutely not what you'd expect at the end of March. And it will continue to be chilly for a couple more days. This is challenging our early start at vegetable seeds. We sowed tomatoes and hot peppers in trays and have used both the heat mat and greenhouse. Most of the seeds have germinated into little sprouts. But there's only so much you can do when the overnight temperature dips below freezing. We bought a small supplementary heater for the greenhouse and used it last night to keep the temperature around 40. We'll see if that helped, but we might bring the seed trays into the house tonight. We sowed a few other plants, too, but the tomatoes and peppers are the most sensitive to cold.

This morning I'm working my weekly library shift. I have a few tasks to get done today, nothing major. This evening I'm going to a craft night at the library. I tend to avoid evening commitments. But in this case, the Fiber Guild has just assumed responsibility for running these monthly gatherings, at the library's request. This falls under the Guild's Programs and Workshops Committee, which I will be leading come June. Also, the outgoing chair is organizing the new monthly group, and she's a nice person so I want to support her. 😀

In reading news, I'm enjoying None so Blind, a historic mystery set in 19th century Wales. It's just my cuppa, and moving along quickly compared to some of my other recent reads.

Wordle 282 5/6

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Too many choices!

So true!
Wordle 282 X/6

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>226 dudes22:, >225 lauralkeet: I HATE when that happens. Today, though, I got lucky early.

Wordle 282 3/6

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>225 lauralkeet: Have you just handed me another series I'm going to have to start reading?

Laura - I’ve just read your newsletter and am now going around saying Easter BUNNY … EASTER bunny to myself! I definitely say the first one.

>225 lauralkeet: I hope craft night is a good time, Laura. My home library system (i.e. not the library system for which I work ) has been doing a craft night via Zoom since early in the pandemic. I think we're likely to stay virtual as quite a few of the attendees do less portable crafts (bag making, quilting, stained glass, etc.) but we have talked about maybe doing a couple gatherings IRL this year as a more social thing.

>226 dudes22: Ugh, sorry to see that, Betty.

>228 laytonwoman3rd: Woo hoo Linda! And as for the Teifi Valley Coroner series: the real responsible parties are Tui & Rhian!

>229 SandDune: Tee hee. For those wondering what you're talking about, here's the relevant paragraph from this week's newsletter:

Apropos of nothing, and prompted by a minor story line in The Archers, we’ve been laughing about one of those funny Anglo/American linguistic quirks. In America we refer to the “EASTER Bunny”, emphasis on the first word. I guess to differentiate it from the “CHRISTMAS Bunny”, or the “HALLOWEEN Bunny”. But in England it is pronounced “Easter BUNNY” as if to keep it separate from the “Easter MOOSE” or “Easter AARDVARK” Two countries divided by a common language, I guess.

>230 MickyFine: The library craft night (aptly named "Common Threads," btw) had a virtual component until last month (and may very well have been entirely virtual before that). Last month we had no remote participants and there was only one the month before, so we made the decision to be in-person only unless the situation changes. The group was small, and I suspect it will take some time to build up participation.

>225 lauralkeet: Your crafting and fiber guild activities sound great. I would love to see some of your fiber work. Would it show well enough to share here?

I got a bit lucky with Wordle. After struggling to figure out the vowels I picked the right choice on my second try.

I had to share the Easter Bunny bit with Hubby and now I'm still chuckling about it. The expression will probably make me laugh every time I hear it for the rest of my life.

>232 RebaRelishesReading: Hi Reba! Well ... since you asked ...

I have a thread in the LT Needlearts Group and here's a collage that I used in my opening post:


Favorite projects from 2021, clockwise from top left: Icelandic Sweater, Aran Sweater (original design), Lemon Lime Towels, Petty Harbour Socks, Sumiko Sleeveless Tee

In 2021 I completed a 4-year journey of becoming a Certified Master Hand Knitter. And, thanks to the local Fiber Guild which I joined after we moved to VA, I became interested in weaving and took some online courses. My first few projects were cotton kitchen towels but I just made my first wearable thing that I would actually wear:



Probably more than you wanted to know LOL. Bookish conversation can resume now!

>233 lauralkeet: Definitely NOT more than I wanted. Thank you. I remember the original design Fair Isle sweater (most impressive) but the rest are new to me. The Icelandic one is spectacular! I also love the scarf. Is that the new loom technique you tried recently? Beautiful, beautiful work! (I had no idea LT had a needle arts group -- must look it up -- although I don't really need a new group to follow)

Thank you so much, Reba. You're too kind. And yes, the scarf involved some new (to me) techniques. And it's a twill pattern but one of my yarns was variegated and that obscured the twill. I'm making another one now with two solid colors.

>228 laytonwoman3rd: >231 lauralkeet: I have been trying to get Mr SandDune to read None So Blind since I bought it last autumn but he resisted. He finally sat down with it yesterday and is really enjoying it too!

>233 lauralkeet: Fabulous work. Knowing the scarf is twill makes the diagonals stand out, but they are more subtle than a two-colored weave would be.

Stopover greetings...still on the cranky old smartphone's hotspot for internet.

Wharton's life with untranslated French? Who thought that was a good idea in the monoglot USA?

Happy week-ahead's reads.

>233 lauralkeet: Gorgeous! And then you get to wear them, Laura.

>236 SandDune: Chris rarely reads books I recommend to him, although to be fair he would say the same about me. I'm really enjoying None so Blind. Your review has a familiar ring to it so I know I heard about it from you first, but seeing it mentioned on Tui's thread brought it to my attention at just the right time.

>237 quondame: Knowing the scarf is a twill makes the diagonals stand out
Well spotted, Susan. You know your twills! When I was making it I had a very hard time spotting the twill and kept posting photos in the course asking, "am I doing this right?" Subtle, indeed.

>238 richardderus: Well Richard, Hermione Lee is British so I forgive her. English children are much more likely to learn French during their school years. Geographic proximity makes it likely that adults will master tourist French, and popular culture assumes a sort of working knowledge of the language. So, I get it. My own French is rusty, although the building blocks are in my brain somewhere. I just didn't want to have to work while reading.

>239 brenzi: Thanks Bonnie! I had an unexpected opportunity to wear my scarf Sunday and yesterday because our weather has *sucked*.

Good morning ...

The craft night went well although, like last month, it was a very small group. The Guild member who has taken on responsibility for this group did a great job facilitating a topic on crafting ergonomics. I've had some issues with that myself and came away with a few exercises that I should do before & during craft sessions.

I wasn't home for most of last night's TV-watching time, but did see a semi-final episode of University Challenge and then I hung out while Chris surfed around sports and re-runs. I was really tired, largely due to having been up in the middle of the night dealing with the plants out in the cold. Fortunately we brought them all indoors yesterday afternoon, and I slept better except for the moment Alys decided to visit us. She's never done that before but in her defense, we had also left our door open.

It's very cold again today, which has Chris grumbling over all the things he needs to get done outside and cannot do. And it has me rubbing my hands in glee over the prospect of reading, weaving, and/or knitting.

Wordle 283 6/6

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Dammit!

Hi Laura!

>223 lauralkeet: Impressive. And that woven scarf is wonderful.

>241 lauralkeet: It’s cold here, too, but not as cold as where you are. I braved the 35F and cleaned and refilled the bird bath, so feel virtuous. Now I need to fill the bird feeders. Enjoy your day indoors.

Alys decided to visit us. She's never done that before but in her defense, we had also left our door open. I get better sleep in a separate bedroom from Bill. He keeps the door closed against the kitties, I frequently have all three on the bed at night.

Morning, Laura! It's cold here, too, but I think this is the last of it. It's supposed to be 70F on Thursday...

I love the woven scarf you made!

>242 karenmarie:, >243 katiekrug: Thanks Karen & Katie re: the scarf, and for commiserations about this hopefully last burst of winter weather. It's delightfully sunny today, but brrr! too cold to be outdoors. Thankfully temps will head upwards later in the week.

Well, I am 100+ posts behind and not even going to try and catch up. I hope all is well there! I have been reading all of the blog entries, which are just delightful to read.

Happy Tuesday, Laura!

I love the scarf, Laura. I was so impressed by Rhian's comments on None So Blind that I ordered all three books in the series. I'm glad to hear you are enjoying it. One of these days...

I've recently had a bunch of library holds come in, so I am trying to read through those.

>240 lauralkeet: Ah, yes. Birds-eye twill is very fashionable for SCA vikings and 2/2 twill is used for the best fitting hose. My tablet weaving in 3/1 broken twill was a major project for very small results, but fun.

>246 BLBera: Beth, did you know there are now 4 books in the Teifi Valley Coroner series? I was initially sad to see my library doesn't have them, but then realized I could get the full set on Kindle for $10. Deal!

>247 quondame: That sounds like an interesting project, Susan.

>233 lauralkeet: All of your knitting creations are beautiful. Those socks sure look comfy.

>249 figsfromthistle: Thank you so much!

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Yesterday turned out exactly as I hoped. It was cold but sunny, so Chris decided he could probably get some outdoor jobs done. This left me free to do whatever I wanted, which was quite a bit of weaving and reading (I usually knit while watching TV). I also did some cleaning so it wouldn't look like I'd been sitting on my a** all afternoon. Ha. Last night's TV was an episode of My Brilliant Friend.

Today's weather will be just so-so, but I think we're on the way to more normal temperatures for this time of year. I have a Fiber Guild meeting this morning and might run another errand while I'm out. It's my weekly day to clean the kitchen, but that shouldn't be too onerous. And that's about it for the agenda, so yay.

Wordle 284 3/6

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Another one with lots of options, so I got lucky this time.

I totally get the "do something so it doesn't look like you've done nothing* while the other person is working. I have struggled since "retirement" with reading or watching TV/a movie during TW's working hours because it seems so wrong. So I am either cleaning/tidying, running errands, or at my desk. He says I'm being silly but I can't help it!

Happy Wednesday, Laura. I just checked the eagle cam and I can just see DG1, tucked under Mom. Always puts a smile on my face. The Rehab stint went well yesterday. Mostly cleaning, scrubbing and preparing meals. Of course, I can't move animals yet, so I don't even see them much. They did bring in an injured coyote. I just saw it briefly, but it was supposed to be in pretty bad shape.

I'm amazed at how much DG1's color has changed just in the last week.

>251 katiekrug: I'm glad I'm not alone in this, Katie! Which reminds me, I really *should* get off LT and get a couple less pleasant/interesting things done. But I don't wanna!!

>252 msf59: I just visited your thread to read more about your rehab adventures, Mark. Great stuff.

>253 dudes22: I can't believe how quickly the little ones develop, Betty.

Good morning all ...

It looks like March will indeed go out like a lamb, at least where temperature is concerned. It's 55F now, heading to 70-ish. But we're also expecting rain if not today, then tonight. April showers, as they say.

Yesterday I enjoyed the monthly Fiber Guild meeting and the rest of the day was uneventful in a good way. I cleaned the kitchen (boring!) and read a bunch of None so Blind. The mystery is coming to a head so I'm at that point where I would prefer to do nothing but read. That's not likely to happen in a literal sense, but I'm sure I'll curl up with a book at some point(s) today.

Late this afternoon Alys has her annual vet checkup. We're trying a new vet's office that our neighbors recommended. We've been going to the "big" vet in town, which besides being a regular vet serves as an emergency center for the wider area. Their medical staff is excellent but their desk and administrative staff are not. I think there's a lot of turnover in those positions. We had a few issues with them dropping the ball on prescription refills etc., but didn't want to disrupt Woody's care. So, here's hoping all goes well at the new place today.

Wordle 285 4/6

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This was a tough one!

Very interesting thread I almost didn't read! Laura, from where I am in a 15th floor apartment, your life of gardening and planting and weaving and birds sounds anything but boring! The greenhouse will be a pleasure, I'm sure. Coming from a suburban environment with a back yard and fruit trees, I get planting fever about now but no place to do it.

Katie, I know just what you mean by being reluctant to seem to be doing nothing. I've never spent so much time cleaning the kitchen, recycling plastic, and drifting into actually being a housekeeper (my housekeeper can't get into the building because she can't be vaccinated against Covid, and the building staff check.)
It feels weirdly satisfying, but with good weather coming I know my reading time will dwindle even more. I'm still in pre-retirement mode, and watching a movie in the middle of the day seems awfully decadent.

>255 lauralkeet: and read a bunch of None so Blind Well that’s exactly what Mr SandDune has been doing today as well. March is not going out like a lamb here though: it tried to snow this morning (well I suppose it did actually snow but only for 10 minutes) and there is a freezing wind.

I hope the new vet works out!

Leonard has his annual check-up in a couple of weeks, and I think they are actually letting people inside the building now. I always felt bad just handing him (or Nuala) off in the parking lot...

>255 lauralkeet: I read None So Blind not long ago and am reading the second book in the series in April. I am hoping it is as good as the first book. I hope you enjoy them all, Laura.

I woke up to snow this morning, Laura. I'm hoping it is the March going out like a lion, and we are now done with the cold weather.

Unlike >260 BLBera:, it was almost 70° here today. Blech.

Happily cruising through, seeing the sights. Not enjoying having crummy wifi until they pay the bill, I must admit.

>256 ffortsa: Hi Judy, thanks for stopping by!

>257 SandDune: Brr! That's nasty weather, Rhian. I'm glad you successfully got Mr SandDune to read None so Blind. I love it when Chris and I have a shared reading experience although it doesn't happen often.

>258 katiekrug: The vet visit went really well, Katie, thanks. We've been allowed inside vet offices for several months now, which I'm glad about especially on a first visit. I liked the practice and the doc. Alys was a weenie, a bit nervous and scared, but they won her over with some cheez whiz.

>259 alcottacre: Another fan! I'm sure I'll continue with the series, Stasia.

>260 BLBera: Snow?!! That's outrageous. I hope it doesn't last long, Beth.

>261 richardderus: Hi Richard, I'm sorry your wifi continues to be an issue. Fingers crossed that they pay that bill soon.

It was 70 here today but it's actually 43 right now and the wind is howling, Laura, and there's snow in the forecast for tomorrow. So I wouldn't say March went out like a lamb exactly. Gah.

Well Bonnie, we had high winds, an afternoon power outage, and an overnight thunderstorm so I'd say March went out kicking and screaming here.