Mary (bell7) Reads in 2023 - Thread 1

Hello and welcome!

For those that don't know me, my name is Mary, and I've been with the 75ers since 2010. To those that do, welcome back! Hope you'll sit back, relax, and continue to enjoy hearing about reading and life in 2023.

About me: I'm single but part of a large family, including two brothers, two sisters, a couple of in-laws, my parents, and a niece and nephew, all of whom may be mentioned on this thread at some point. I'm a librarian living and working in western Massachusetts, and my job responsibilities include the local history collection, a book club, and buying all the adult fiction for the library. I tend to share a bit of my life here, so you’ll hear about my house (purchased in 2020, with interesting connections to my family in the neighborhood), knitting, sports (primarily football and hockey, Giants and Bruins respectively, and also tennis), and genealogy when I can manage to find time for all that.

About my reading: I'm an eclectic reader. The last two years found me mostly reading general fiction, followed by fantasy, and then historical fiction and memoir not far behind. I have a wide variety of interests and will try just about anything that’s not horror.

My 2023 reading goals:
None - I usually set a couple to keep me reading widely, but I thought through a bunch and decided they sounded like work. I'll be tracking how diversely I read and how many books I read in translation, which are general goals of mine to keep up every year, but I decided to step back from hard goals and observe my reading more this year. I'll revisit this and may give myself mini-goals at some point (like... catching up on all the Jodi Taylor books, or some such).

I am going to participate in the Massachusetts Center for the Book 2023 Reading Challenge, which has 12 general challenges each month that will be easy for me, because I was going to do most of them anyway (like read a book of poetry in April or read a book from my local library in July).

2023 Book Club Reads (library)
January - Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann - COMPLETED
February - The Sweetness of Water by Nathan Harris
March - Facing the Mountain by Daniel James Brown
April - Wingshooters by Nina Revoyr
May - All We Can Save edited by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katherine K. Wilkinson
June/July/August - a low key "what are you reading now?" meeting where participants can tell us about their current book(s)
September - The Overstory by Richard Powers
October - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
November - Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford
December - The Violin Conspiracy by Brendan Slocumb

2023 Book Club Reads (SIL and friends)
January - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman - didn't reread, but did go
February - The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

Best reads 2022 (not including rereads) -

4.5 stars
Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
Caste: the origins of our discontent by Isabel Wilkerson
The winners by Fredrik Backman
The hero of ages by Brandon Sanderson
By the book by Jasmine Guillory
The grief of stones by Katherine Addison
The Thursday murder club by Richard Osman
The book eaters by Sunyi Dean
True biz by Sara Novic
The Raven tower by Ann Leckie
These precious days by Ann Patchett

5 stars
Ain't burned all the bright by Jason Reynolds
Did ye hear Mammy died? by Seamas O'Reilly
The hands of the emperor by Victoria Goddard
The Twyford code by Janice Hallett (comes out Jan 2023)

Random things I'm keeping track of -
Bookish articles:
1.

How to make pretty block quotes (directions from Richard):
{blockquote}TYPE OR PASTE QUOTED TEXT HERE{/blockquote} and replace the curly braces with pointy brackets.

Number of books read since keeping count on LT:
July - Dec 2008 - 65
2009 - 156 (plus over 70 graphic novels and manga volumes)
2010 - 135 (Note: in June, I started working a second part-time job for full-time hours)
2011 - 150
2012 - 108 (Note: accepted a full-time job in February)
2013 - 107
2014 - 126 (plus 8 Graphic Novels)
2015 - 120 (plus 6 Graphic Novels)
2016 - 141
2017 - 114
2018 - 105 (Note: my first full year as Assistant Director)
2019 - 116
2020 - 153
2021 - 138
2022 - 131

Rough guide to my rating system:
I'm fairly generous with my star ratings - generally a four is a "like" or "would recommend" for me, while a 4.5 stars is a book I would reread. I break it down roughly like this:

1 star - Forced myself to finish it
2 stars - Dislike
2.5 stars - I really don't know if I liked it or not
3 stars - Sort of liked it; or didn't, but admired something about it despite not liking it
3.5 stars - The splitting hairs rating of less than my last 4 star book or better than my last 3
4 stars - I liked it and recommend it, but probably won't reread it except under special circumstances (ie., a book club or series reread)
4.5 stars - Excellent, ultimately a satisfying read, a title I would consider rereading
5 stars - A book that I absolutely loved, would absolutely reread, and just all-around floored me

I see it more in terms of my like or dislike of a book, rather than how good a book is. My hope is that as a reader I convey what I like or what I don't in such a way that you can still tell if you'll like a book, even if I don't. And I hope for my patrons that I can give them good recommendations for books they will like, even if it's not one I would personally choose.

Currently reading
Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura

Bible reading/Devotionals
Genesis, Psalms

January
5. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
4. The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner
3. The Emma Project by Sonali Dev
2. The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde
1. Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown

DNF

Global reads in 2023 (author's country of origin):

Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

Carrying this over from 2022:


Create Your Own Visited Countries Map

*dust hands*

Alright, all ready for you. Question to start us off: what are you looking forward to reading in 2023?

Happy to be first, Mary. Wishing you a comfortable reading year in 2023!

Welcome back, Mary! Looking forward to: gonna do a reread of The Lord of the Rings sometime this year. It’s been a while!

...Mary...let's see...Mary...I think you used to be in another group I was in, too, right...?

Well, anyway, have a happy 2023! I'll come by once in a while, see how you're adjusting to life here, k?

Happy reading in 2023. I hope to be a more frequent visitor.

>7 PaulCranswick: Nice to see you, Paul, and thank you!

>8 drneutron: Oooh, I will be interested in your thoughts on the reread, Jim. I have a much harder time with the books now than when I was a teen, but I've been thinking it's about time I rewatched the movies.

>9 richardderus: I would hope you'd be as frequent a visitor as you always are, Richard! *smooch*

>10 Familyhistorian: Happy reading in 2023 to you, Meg! I look forward to seeing you as often as you get here :)

Happy new thread, Mary!

I'm looking forward to reading Scattered Showers in 2023. I'm hoping it'll be under the tree this year, but if it isn't I'll be purchasing it for myself. :)

Happy new thread for the new year Mary!
>2 bell7: I've had Killers of the Flower Moon on my shelf for years now, I really should read it soon. A Man Called Ove is on my cousin's and I's reading list for this year as well, we plan to watch the movie together after we finish it. Hope they make for good January reads for you.

>12 MickyFine: I've liked what I've read by Rainbow Rowell, Micky, and I'll look forward to your thoughts on it! Was it under the tree or will it be a purchase? :)

>13 WhiteRaven.17: Thank you, Kro! I'll look forward to your thoughts on both as well. I've read A Man Called Ove a couple of times and saw the Swedish movie a few years back so I wasn't planning on rereading it this time, but I'm looking forward to the discussion. Killers of the Flower Moon has been on my TBR for awhile, and I was glad when it was selected by book group to give me the push to read it now.

Wordle 555 X/6

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Had my streak up to 50-something but got beat today with too many options and not enough time. ARISE, POUTY, QUEUE, BUGLE, NUDGE, FUDGE.

Morning, Mary! We have the same reading goals for 2023. *grin*

>17 Crazymamie: Good morning, Mamie! Good to see you here, and best wishes on reaching all your 2023 reading goals :D

>14 bell7: It's going to be a purchase. 😊

>16 bell7: Bummer. It was a 4 for me but it could have very easily been alphabet soup.

>19 MickyFine: Always lovely to gifts yourself with books you know you'll like :)
Yeah, it was definitely an alphabet soup day and I don't have Richard's method of alpha order (it's literally about letter placement and the first word that pops into my head that does what I want it to do), which did not work in my favor todya.

Starred for '23!! Where do you live in MA? I have lived in Wellesley, Sudbury, Brighton, Boston and Amherst (college).

>21 Berly: I don't mind saying, Kim, but don't like to post exactly where in the public forums - I'll PM you :)

Happy almost New Year, Mary :-)

>23 norabelle414: Thanks, Nora! Same to you :)

Happy new year Mary!

>25 quondame: happy new year, Susan!

Time to purposely post this here:

Wordle 561 4/6

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ARISE, CHIME, THINE (yeah, I didn't exactly expect it to be accepted but I wanted to test the T), WHINE.

Happy New Year, Mary! We are closing out another wonderful year of books and banter and I am looking forward to sharing another with you.

>28 msf59: Happy new year, Mark! I completely agree with the sentiment. My last book of 2022 was one you recommended, by the way - Girl, Woman, Other. I didn't like it quite as much as you did, and in fact almost stopped reading it, but I'm really glad I persevered. It's truly excellent, though challenging.

Great to see you back for another year! Have a great year of reading, but I do need to comment that the title alone would keep me away from your October book club read. I don't do snakes.

Copied from my 2022 thread -

December in review
131. Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo
130. The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li
129. The Seeker and the Monk by Sophfronia Scott
128. In Every Mirror She's Black by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom
127. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
126. Nomadland by Jessica Bruder
125. Misfit City, Volume 2 by Kirsten Smith et al.
124. Misfit City, Volume 1 by Kirsten Smith et al.
123. Kiss Her Once for Me by Alison Cochrun
122. The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett
121. Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk
120. The Mountains Sing by Nguyen Phan Que Mai

Did Not Finish
None this month (12 for the year)

Books read: 12
Rereads: 1
Children's/Teen/Adult: 0/2/13
Fiction/Nonfiction/Plays/Poetry: 11/1/0/0
ABC Challenge: Yiyun Li was born in China and moved to the U.S. as an adult, so The Book of Goose could count for this month or a previous one

Because I want to awards:
Most challenging, but I'm glad I read it - Girl, Woman, Other
Twisty mystery to recommend - The Twyford Code

YTD stats -
Pages read: 36,181
Avg pages a day: 102
Books by POC authors: 58 (44%)
DNF: 12

Thoughts: 2022 was an excellent reading year. The most common ratings I gave were 4 or 4.5 stars - 50 each - so the majority of what I read are books I would recommend to others. I had a few 5 star reads (a couple of rereads, which I didn't count towards my favorite of the year). The ones that were less than 4 stars were either stretch reads, such as a book that I may not have picked up on my own but fit the Asian Book Challenge, or books for book club that I felt obligated to finish.

My reading was mostly fiction at 78%. I read about 72% paper books, 27.5% e-book, and one lonely audio. Both of those stats stayed pretty comparable to 2021. I read more children's and YA this year than last, but adult books made up the majority of my reading (68.7% in 2022). My most regular genres were general fiction (31.8%), fantasy (17.8%), historical fiction (12.4%), and memoir/bio (10.1%). The rest were in single digits including, a little surprisingly to me, science fiction.

My goals for 2022 were to read at least 50% books by authors of color, complete the BookRiot Read Harder Challenge, read at least a book a month for the Asian Book Challenge, and read at least 12 books that were first published outside of the U.S. or U.K. I gave up on the BookRiot challenge partway through the year to concentrate on the others. Though I didn't always read them in the theme month, I did read over 12 books for the Asian Book Challenge, and I also read 20 books that were originally published outside of the U.S. (12 of these were in translation). I didn't quite make my goal of 50% books by authors of color, but my percentage didn't drop from last year's 44% either, and overall I'm happy with that.

I'm taking a break from hard-and-fast reading goals in 2023, but I'll still track the same numbers. I'm using the BookRiot Reading Log that you're welcome to view and copy to use yourself. I love that it's all set up for me with tracking and graphs, and allows me to compare my reading since I started tracking like this in 2019. One major change I'm making is that I'd been using "Nation of Origin" to mean the book, but in 2023 I'll be putting in that of the author to better match the map I'm keeping of reading around the world.

>30 thornton37814: Happy new year, Lori, and I hope 2023 is full of great books for you too. I believe Demon Copperhead is a person and not a snake, a play on David Copperfield, and set in Appalachia. But I'll report back for sure after having read it!

Happy new year, all!

I think I've done all I wanted to in closing out the 2022 year this morning, writing up my review for Girl, Woman, Other and updating all my reading logs and such. I'll be leaving in an hour or so to help out in nursery at church (there's only one service this morning), and then heading to my mother's for a late brunch and to watch the Giants game. If they win this, they're in the playoffs. My dad and brother are on their way down to the game as I type. I did have the opportunity to go, but chose to watch this one from home and have a more relaxed day. Five games in person in a year is plenty, I think.

I finished up all my books of 2022, and just started one last night - Black Candle Women, which comes out in March of 2023. I'm hoping to get far enough to see if I want to nominate it for LibraryReads by the end of today. I'll also start The Emma Project soon (e-book/audio combo), and I've decided that the first paper book of the year is going to be The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde. I'll be starting those today or tomorrow, depending on how the day goes.

Happy new year, Mary!

>33 bell7: Happy Sunday's somnolence, Mary. I hope your P.A. has instructions to shake your chair and wake you up once in a while since you're doing so much slacking.
*smooch*

Fingers crossed for today!

Happy New Year, Mary. It will be lovely when we can do meetups here safely again. It’s time to see you again! :)

>3 bell7: I have already started purchasing some of the books on the list that I have not read thanks to the Christmas card you sent me :)

Have a wonderful 2023, Mary!

Happy New Year, Mary.

Hi Mary, I'll try and follow along this year!

Happy New Year, Mary!

>34 DianaNL: Happy new year, Diana!

>35 richardderus: I... have a PA? I have not been utilizing them to their full potential! And nah, as you well know, football is never a somnolent activity in my family. *smooch*

>36 katiekrug: YES! What a great game! Condolences to The Wayne - I really was hoping the Dolphins could knock the Patriots out of playoff contention.

>37 SqueakyChu: I will definitely look forward to that day, Madeline!

>38 alcottacre: Oh excellent! I couldn't tell you now if the one I typed up was the same as what I put in my thread lol.

>39 BLBera: Happy new year, Beth!

>40 kgodey: Nice to see you, Kriti!

>41 rosalita: Thanks, and the same to you, Julia!

Happy New Year, Mary!

>43 ronincats: Happy new year, Roni!

>44 Berly: Happy new year, Kim!

Wordle 562 3/6

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That was fun! ARISE, MONTH, SKIRT.

Good morning, all! Happy new year - I know, I know, yesterday was Jan. 1. But today is the holiday for me, so I'm home and looking forward to a relaxed day. The Giants clinched a playoff berth yesterday, and watching them win the most comfortable game of the season was a LOT of fun. My mom and I streamed it while my dad and brother R. and his girlfriend were at the game.

Plans for today? I really should get up and dressed and do *something* soon, as I've taken a lazy morning, had my coffee, completed Wordle, and caught up on threads some. I can't really decide what I want to do, so I think I'm going to take a mostly lazy day. I want to walk up to the cemetery again and take more photos, and I do want to make a pot of soup and clean the bathrooms. Other than that, reading, knitting, and watching Doctor Who will probably make a very relaxed day for me.

Sounds like excellent plans for your day off, Mary.

>27 bell7: I also played THINE before WHINE for this one and Wordlebot informed me thine is one of acceptable words. Who da thunk? 😆

I am also doing the lazy today, Mary. What kind of soup are you making?

>48 MickyFine: ooh, interesting! And rather unexpected, honestly. Have a great day, Micky!

>49 Crazymamie: probably going to try a new recipe for cauliflower kale soup, Mamie. I will let you know how it goes 😊

Dropping a star and wishing you a happy 2023, Mary! Looking forward to following your reading, especially the banned books

Kale?! Why insult a perfectly good cauliflower with that dreadful thing?

Whatever...I ain't gotta smell it...so enjoy soupage and a last day off before facing the hordes of screaming barbarians demanding Soylent Green. (Isn't that how 2023's supposed to go? I'm sure I read that somewhere.)

*smooch*

Enjoy the lazy day. And the soup. : )

>51 swynn: Out of Darkness is the one I mean to read next, Steve, hopefully soon. Happy 2023!

>52 richardderus: It's been awhile since I had kale, Richard, but I kinda remember it being tasteless (I made kale chips, and mostly tasted the seasoning, but I will say they don't keep crispy in the fridge at all so if I were to do it again I'd only make what I was going to eat in one sitting). At least - and I say this with confidence - it can't be any worse than the 15-bean soup that I bought as dried beans and cooked to absolute tasteless mush a couple of weeks ago. Thanks for the well-wishes for the day, it's been very pleasant so far. *smooch*

>53 Berly: Thanks, Kim! About to go make it now :)

>54 bell7: Must admit that if kale is meant to be health food then I will stay as I am. S'weed innit?

>55 PaulCranswick: Well, I knew how Richard felt about it, but I hadn't realized you disliked kale, too, Paul. Honestly, I didn't mind the kale but I'm not sure I'd bother with the soup again. Not sure the cauliflower/roasted red pepper/kale combo is really my thing - though I'll finish it, unlike the 15-bean soup concoction I mentioned in >54 bell7:.

1. Black Candle Women by Diane Marie Brown
Why now? Working on reading some ARCs on my Kindle - this one comes out the end of February, and I wanted to read it before it comes out

*Free e-book ARC received from the publisher through Edelweiss Plus - thank you!*

Four generations of women were impacted by one action, long ago. The matriarch, Augusta, was the protegee of a hoodoo-working woman who cursed them, and since then she, her daughter Madelyn, and her granddaughters Victoria and Willow, have all been unlucky in love. Now Victoria's daughter, Nickie, only seventeen, likes a boy but doesn't know about the curse. Will the women be able to share their secrets and free themselves from the past?

The set up of the story was promising, but the results were mixed. Readers alternate in close third-person perspective among Augusta, Victoria, Willow, and Nickie. Each woman is keeping secrets from another, and the way they're revealed to each other and the reader is piecemeal and frustrating. Much of the tension could've been resolved with a good long talk (or Google search) early on, though it was believable that Augusta's story grew legs of its own and became too difficult for her to tell the truth to her granddaughters. Whether or not there's actually a curse is in doubt - some of them believe it in, some of them don't - and plot points and revelations sometimes seemed more convenient than natural outcomes. I did like the bonds and love among the women, and seeing Madelyn's growth, and learning more about their history and relationship to the book of spells and recipes and poems that was part of their heritage. 3 stars.

The book suffered a bit from following Girl, Woman, Other. Black Candle Women is a debut, and the story didn't have the polish or deftness with language that the former had. It reminded me a little of Sarah Addison Allen, though, and I could see recommending this to fans of hers.

Wordle 563 3/6

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Huh. ARISE, MONTH, ANTIC.

Kind of a dank day down here, Mary. I hope y'all's rain comes through here with less force and no storms, but could really use the atmospheric wringing out that it represents!

*smooch* and YAY for a 3day!

Afternoon, Mary! Sorry about the soup.

Happy new year and new thread! I'm most excited to read Moira's Pen: A Queen's Thief Collection by Megan Whalen Turner -- I was only just made aware of its existence, and it was an immediate purchase. I also just picked up two library holds: The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, and Marmee by Sarah Miller. I'm sure there are several 2023 publications on my TBR list that I'm anticipating later in the year, but those are my most immediate delights.

Hope it’s not too late to wish you a Happy New Year.

Sorry the soup didn’t work out. Other than the peppers (I don’t do nightshade), it sounds good. I wouldn’t eat kale on its own (at least without a lot of seasonings), but I love it in soups and stews and pretty much all cooked dishes. Good thing, too: my ophthalmologist prescribed it for my macular degeneration.

I made a really nice pasta and bean soup with spinach, celery and sweet potatoes yesterday. Nothing fancy, but it’s warming on cold wintery days, and it tastes great.

>62 Storeetllr: Man, that sounds yummy. I have a ham bone in my fridge just waiting to be turned into bean soup.

>63 foggidawn: It was! Soup is always wonderful on cold winter days. Any kind, but I’m trying to cut back a little on meat this year, so soups made with pasta, rice, and beans are going to feature large on my menu this winter.

>59 richardderus: It's definitely a wet day, but I managed to get a walk in before it was raining hard. We're in for a couple of days of rain, but just rain, no storms - maybe cold enough for some snow on Friday morning. Hope you're staying warm and dry with some good books to read! *smooch*

>60 Crazymamie: Eh, it's okay. I enjoy trying new things from time to time, it just doesn't make the cut for "recipe I must record and start making on a regular basis."

>61 foggidawn: Oooh, I seem to remember something about that coming out, and really should get myself a copy, too, foggi. LOVE that series. I enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club and I believe Marmee is on the list, so I'll look forward to your thoughts on both.

>62 Storeetllr: Not at all, Mary, and happy new year to you! The soup was alright and I don't object to kale, it's just not one of those stellar recipes that I'll turn to again and again. The pasta and bean soup sounds delicious! I do love a good soup on a cold day, and have been eating taco soup the last few nights.

>63 foggidawn: and >64 Storeetllr: *drools*

I didn't give my usual rundown, but I was mildly productive this morning. I took a walk in the drizzle and then took a shower to warm up. I did some dishes, made some more when I had lunch, and took the sheets off my bed so I'll be forced to change them and make the bed when I get home.

I'm working 12-8, and have already worked with the one volunteer coming in and signed up for a genealogical conference in May that I'm really excited to attend (and for work!). I'll be bringing some things from our local history collection for a showcase on one of those days, too. It's the time of year that we choose our Senior Tax workers, and I will be calling our first choices tonight or tomorrow.

When I get home, I have to put on new sheets and I'm hoping the movement gives me energy to finish the dishes, but after that, it's a couple of episodes of Doctor Who and bed, I think. I gave myself the "rule" that I can't watch Doctor Who before dark, so I will make sure to do other things on mornings before work or weekends and holidays and not binge it *quite* as bad as I would otherwise.

>66 bell7: Good luck with adhering to your "rule," Mary. Of course, up here it currently gets dark at 4:15 p.m. or so, so it wouldn't be hard to adhere. :P

>57 bell7: Well, there is one I can do without reading. Thanks for taking one for the team, Mary.

>67 MickyFine: yeah, it's dark here by five, it's more of a way to get myself to use the daylight hours for other things on days I work at twelve or have the day off. It helped me *only* watch three episodes yesterday on my day off 😜

>68 alcottacre: I was sorry to be lukewarm about it, but yeah. Ah well, I'm confident my next couple of reads will be better.

>65 bell7: Mmmm, taco soup!

>61 foggidawn: Moira's Pen's a BB!

>71 quondame: I'm interested to see how much of it is new to me. I know there are a couple of short stories floating around, some of which I've read, and I expect they'll be collected here, but I'm also hoping for lots of fresh morsels.

>65 bell7: Now taco soup sounds much more my thing, Mary!

I had one of my favourites for supper yesterday home made cottage pie. Wholesomely delicious.

>70 Storeetllr: It is a good one! Nice, simple recipe that's easy to substitute, too.

>73 PaulCranswick: Guess I should add that taco soup recipe to the Kitchen thread :) I had to look up cottage pie, as I wasn't sure I've ever had it, Paul. We make something similar that we call shepherd's pie (my family's version was a very simple "hamburg, corn, and potatoes" that I detested), but the recipes I'm seeing for cottage pie sound much more delicious. I've saved one to try.

Wordle 564 4/6

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Little bit of luck there, it could've really turned into a guessing game. ARISE, MONTH, WEARY, LAYER.

Good morning, all!

There's a lot I could try to tackle at work today (9-5), so my first order of business will be deciding where to start. I need to call the folks I've decided are the the first choice for our Senior Tax program, and then I have some local history projects I want to dive into - a report we got from the roving archivist grant we received in 2022, and deciding what I want to bring for a showcase to a genealogy conference in May. I also have to meet with the director, primarily to go over what I need to do while she's away the following two weeks, and have tasks ready for volunteers. That will all make my work day go fast!

When I get home tonight, I have plenty of soup made (taco and cauliflower-kale), so there's no need to cook. The local genealogy group that I joined has their monthly virtual meeting tonight, and I'll be joining in on that right after dinner. Then it's a quiet rest of the evening reading or watching more Doctor Who.

Shepard's pie is traditionally made with lamb and the beef version is cottage pie. But I think here in the US, because lamb is less commonly eaten, we usually just call the dish shepherd's pie.

Sounds like a busy day at work!

Morning, Mary! Hoping today goes smoothly for you.

Good luck with all the things at work today, Mary. Being the grown-up in charge at the library again so soon must be fun. :P

>76 bell7: Does your cauliflower-kale soup have meet in it? If not, could I get the recipe from you, please?

Thanks, Mary. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Hqppy New Year, Mary! Finally mking the rounds and dropping stars.

Soup sounds ideal - I'm a bit short of veggies until I get to the store for groceries in the next day or two, but I think I'll make a curried pumpkin lentil soup from Budget Bytes that I enjoy.

Homemade soup sounds good for these cold days. So does shepherd's pie. Good luck with all your work projects, Mary. The genealogy conference should be fun.

Dropping my star, Mary. Happy reading in 2023!

>75 bell7: We did the same thing again today, Mary.

*smooch*

Katie's got it (>77 katiekrug:), Mary. Cottage pie, which is what I've made, is comfort food, like mac 'n' cheese. (My wife had a "pet" ewe when I met her, which she'd gotten as a lamb. She would not even entertain the notion of cooking and eating lamb. So cottage pie, as opposed to shepherd's pie, is what she cooked.)

My older son shared this recipe from the BBC in 2018, and it's still on-line.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cottage-pie

I made a batch and shared a photo of it when it came out of the oven.

        

Jeremy asked me to cook a batch for January 2. Enough to feed 7 it was.

Happy New Year! I see your book club is reading Killers of the Flower Moon this month. I read it a couple of months ago and really liked it. It should generate a good discussion!

Halfway through reading everything new since my visit here on the first, I had to stop and navigate over to Ammy to put in an order for Moira's Pen--I had no inkling! Unfortunately, it won't get here until NEXT Wednesday. So you and Misti are responsible for my first book purchase of the year.

>77 katiekrug: Ah, I did see that distinction when I Googled it but wasn't sure exactly where the distinction was drawn, and if it was a "universal" sort of breakdown or a New England regionalism. Thanks for the clarification!

>78 Crazymamie: Thanks, Mamie! It was a busy, but good day.

>79 MickyFine: Thanks, Micky! Yeah, I get to cover both the Friends and the Trustees meetings over the next two weeks, and one of my co-workers already told me to brace myself for whatever major happening will occur while the boss is out :P (Truly seems like there's always something, and we joke about it. I should start keeping a list.)

>80 alcottacre: It does not have meat in the soup itself, and though it was a chicken broth, I bet you could make a vegetarian version instead. I'll share the recipe below.

>81 streamsong: Nice to see you, Janet! I tend to avoid squashes in all forms (except bread), but a curried pumpkin lentil soup sounds intriguing.

>82 Familyhistorian: Homemade soup is truly one of my favorites things to make in the fall/winter. I shall have to try the shepherd's/cottage pie, instead of the weirdly bland version my family made. I'm very much looking forward to the genealogy conference! I signed up for both RootsWeb in March and the New England Regional Genealogical Conference in May and I'm extremely excited!

>83 Copperskye: Happy new year, Joanne! Glad to see you here.

>84 Whisper1: Thank you kindly for that, Linda. Happy 2023!

>85 richardderus: Too funny! *smooch*

>86 weird_O: That looks delicious, Bill! Dumb question, but can ground beef be used where it says "minced"?

>87 cbl_tn: Happy new year, Carrie! We are, I should be starting it in the next week or so. Glad to hear it should generate a good discussion.

>88 ronincats: Happy to be an ever-so-small part of that, Roni, though it was really Misti doing the warbling :)

>80 alcottacre:

Cauliflower Kale Soup

3 T. olive oil
2 medium potatoes, diced
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
3 T. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 large caulifllower, chopped
2 jarred roasted red peppers drained
6 c. chicken broth
1 bunch kale, stemmed and torn

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add potatoes, onions, garlic, and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper.

Cook, stirring frequently, until potatoes soften and onions are translucent, about 8-9 minutes. Add cauliflower and cook for additional 5-6 minutes until tender.

Stir in chicken broth and peppers, cover and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Add kale and simmer additional 5 minutes, until kale is wilted and cooked.

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Wordle 565 5/6

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Bit of a challenge today, but my current streak is up to double digits. ARISE, POUTY, SENDS, SWELL, SLEEK.

>90 bell7: ...[C]an ground beef be used where it says "minced"? Absolutely. FWIW, I Googled "minced beef" and learned that mincing involves chopping more than grinding and uses different cuts of beef and yields a different texture. It's a bit more than a British-ism, apparently.

I've been to Ireland twice now, but didn't have cottage/shepherds pie either time. Wonder now how the difference in the beef processing affects the dish?

>92 bell7: We're on similar trajectories, Mary. Great word, though, wasn't it?

*smooch*

Got you starred! I seem to be among the minority as someone who really loves kale. I add it to a lot of recipes that are lacking in green stuff just to get some more nutrients, and would much rather eat a kale Caesar salad than a normal Caesar with romaine. Cauliflower I can do without, though, unless it's roasted to the point of caramelization.

What I'm looking forward to reading in 2023: Well, Foggi got me with a book bullet for Moira's Pen above. I also have a bunch of stuff that came out in Fall 2022 that I haven't gotten around to yet that I'm really excited for: The Golden Enclaves, Seasparrow, A Restless Truth, and Ocean's Echo are at the top of that list.

>93 weird_O: Excellent, I'll add that to my list of recipes to try, Bill! I have some frozen beef in the freezer that the folks I used to live with gave me from their brother's farm, and I really should use it up in something. Couldn't tell you how it was processed, but it is rather fascinating to realize there are so many variations on things we take for granted. If I ever get back to England and try cottage/shepherd's pie, I will report back :)

>94 richardderus: It was a good word, tough, but good. *smooch*

>95 curioussquared: I prefer either kale or spinach to lettuce, honestly, and have been known to get a BLT at Subway and substitute spinach for the "L". Though romaine is better than iceberg. I don't mind cauliflower roasted or raw. I think it becomes more of a texture thing, but I don't like most of my veggies soft. Dang, I sound picky, don't I? I really do eat most foods, just in particular ways haha. A Restless Truth is on my list as well. I haven't heard of Seasparrow and will look forward to your thoughts on all of them!

I meant to post the plan for the day this morning, but got busy making phone calls to churches regarding genealogical info for my family, and forgot.

Yesterday I attended a Zoom presentation for the western MA genealogical society on church records, presented by Sunny Jane Morton. It was really fun, interesting, and informative. I have some new ideas for how I *might* be able to get more info on family members in New York and New Jersey, either filling out more information or going back another generation in my research. I reached out to a church not far from me where my great-grandparents attended, and another in Madison, NJ, whose pastor conducted the funeral for my 3rd great-grandmother in 1935. I'm... tentatively hopeful that I could get some useful tidbits. I also learned a handy trick for looking up records by location in FamilySearch that I'll definitely share with my library patrons researching town or family history.

So that was a nice fun way to start the very beginning of my day (well, other than making phone calls, which I hate, but getting the calls back that there might be info was fun). Then I had my physical, which was better than expected. Then I went to work, and I'm here 'til 5.

Tonight should be pretty laid back. I might cook a meal, but I don't have to as I still have plenty of leftovers. We'll see if I'm in the mood to read or knit and watch Doctor Who.

>96 bell7: Yeah, let's do away with iceberg altogether :) Romaine I love in certain contexts -- my family's go-to salad growing up and at all of our family events is romaine-based, and I do like it on BLTs and other sandwiches. I just don't use it much in my own cooking. Lol, I believe you! I'll honestly eat almost anything, and most of my food pickiness is preference rather than straight-up won't eat it.

>98 curioussquared: most of my food pickiness is preference rather than straight-up won't eat it.

Same, the only straight-up-don't-eat food for me is squash in all forms but bread (ie., zucchini and pumpkin bread).

>99 bell7: Mine is probably olives, but at the same time I won't turn up my nose at a slice of combo pizza :)

Iceberg has it's place - shredded, on tacos :)

Only one food I will not eat even to be polite: Corn on the cob.

No.

I am not a hog. No silage shall enter my person.

I'm a no mushrooms person. They activate my gag reflex.

I can't do organ meats. And I didn't enjoy the goat I tried.

Oh, interesting. The foods we won't eat are quite varied, aren't they.

>100 curioussquared: I'm not a huge fan of olives on their own, but I wouldn't bother to pick them off a pizza, either, and I do like olive oil just fine.

>101 katiekrug: I wouldn't say no if it were presented to me that way, but I usually skip the lettuce altogether when making my own tacos. Extra tomatoes and cheese to make up for it. Yum!

>102 richardderus: I recall you not being a fan of corn. Ah well, more for me ;)

>103 MickyFine: That's why I can't have squash, actually.

>104 quondame: I haven't tried either of those, Susan, so don't know what I'd think of organ meats or goat.

I finished a book during lunch. Always feels a little weird restarting my count for a new year.

2. The Cancer Journals by Audre Lorde
Why now? Massachusetts Center for the Book 2023 Reading Challenge prompt for January was read a book under 100 pages, and this fit

Three essays (one based on a speech) related to Lorde's experience with breast cancer, a mastectomy, and dealing with the aftermath, are collected in this book.

Lorde's perspective as a Black lesbian feminist was an interesting one worth reading, and I appreciated her deftness with language and describing her emotions going through a mastectomy. However, I'm neither familiar with her work nor a breast cancer survivor, and I think I would've needed to be one or the other (or both) to fully connect to the work. 3.5 stars.

Worth reading, but I'd probably only reread it if I had breast cancer myself.

>105 bell7:, >103 MickyFine: ...y'all're weird, ya know that right?

>107 richardderus: no weirder than anyone else! I do like mushrooms though... I make a mean chicken Marsala. *Smooch*

>108 bell7: I scandalize Purists by getting the sauce from chicken marsala, splitting a baguette or ciabatta loaf and soaking up as much as possible into the bread then putting it split side down on a super-hot baking sheet and putting it back under the broiler for a couple minutes before taking it out to pile the bread with provolone, mound the shrooms on top, then the sliced breast meat down one side and spike 'em together for a sammy.

Like, not leftovers. That's the first use of it.

So much tutting and scowling and nose-up-turning! Poor fools.

>109 richardderus: That also sounds delicious. I usually put mine on rice, but I will definitely keep that alternative in mind.

Wordle 566 4/6

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Okay that one was fun. ARISE, MONTH, BILGE, BELIE.

TGIF! Busy day today, I'm working 9-5 and going from there to my regular volunteering, which is back after a couple weeks off for the holidays and involves teaching 3rd and 4th graders at my church. Fun, but I do get home exhausted and ready to get into PJs.

I'm nearly done my e-book/audio combo, The Emma Project. My Kindle tells me I have a little less than an hour of reading left, which unfortunately is not enough time to read before work, so I'll probably finish it tonight or early tomorrow, depending on how tired I am when I get home.

For my paper book, I've just barely started Lonely Castle in the Mirror, a book I was hoping to fit into the Asian Book Challenge last year and didn't get to.

Chiming in late on the food discussion, I also don't do olives (I actually would pick them off a pizza) or organ meat. But I'll take all of your squash, corn, and mushrooms. I can take or leave the goat -- the only time I've had it, it was in Indian food, bones and all, which wasn't a super pleasant eating experience, but the taste was okay. That marsala sandwich Richard describes sounds absolutely amazing, and now I'm hungry.

>91 bell7: Thank you, Mary!

>106 bell7: I think I will give that one a pass for now.

Have a fantastic Friday!

>112 bell7: TGIF indeed, Mary. I'm all Wordled and review-posted and sighing in appalled disgust at the Comedy of Errors in the Speaker's debacle of a race.

I hope the weekend treats you fabulously well.

>111 bell7: I got it in 4, too. I also used the same word 3 and chuckled—it’s a funny word!

Karen O

You are off and running in 2023, Mary. Two books read, soup made, and lots of good chatter on your thread. I'm dropping my star and adding my wishes for a Happy New Year of Reading.

>113 foggidawn: You can most certainly have my squash. Blech. I am rather interested in trying goat now, though I'd probably have to go to an Indian restaurant to do it, as I can't recall ever seeing it available at the supermarket.

>114 alcottacre: You're very welcome, and yeah, book #2 of the year is not one I'd recommend widely.

>115 richardderus: Yayyyy re: Wordle and reviews. Hope you have a wonderful weekend too *smooch*

>116 klobrien2: It is a funny word, isn't it? I laughed at my progression in Wordle today too - it's funny sometimes to realize what comes into my head in trying to figure out the puzzle.

>117 Donna828: So nice to see you, Donna, and a happy new year of reading and life to you too.

Wordle 567 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, MELON, LEMON. I laughed after my third guess because of course there was only one option left.

Good morning! It's Saturday, and I'm off from work today but working tomorrow and as usual have a busy time planned. I have so many things I want to do at home and at work that I've added a bunch of reminders to myself on my Google calendar (a lifesaver) for the next few days.

Today, the main chore I need to remember to do is bring my recycling down to the center. They only have a once-a-month drop off day, and I forgot last month, so I've got a bunch of stuff cluttering up my porch. I'll also take my trash down to my friend's dumpster (no trash available at all in my town) in the same trip.

But you don't need to hear about all my boring chores - the fun things I'm doing today are having a retired co-worker over briefly in the morning to see my place, and at noon going over my grandfather's to get together with my mother's family for a slightly belated New Year's blessing. My cousins called it "huggy kissy day" growing up, because we'd all go to my grandparents to celebrate New Year's, my grandfather would give good wishes for the new year, and then we'd all go around hugging and kissing everybody wishing a happy New Year. It'll be a smaller gathering than when I was a kid now that all my cousins are adults with families of their own, but it'll be nice to see my mom's siblings and any cousins that do show.

Oh, and last night I heard back from the church in Madison, NJ, and they have some things for me! I'm so excited :D I'll call back on Monday or Tuesday and leave them my email address to send copies of what they found on the Talmadge family.

3. The Emma Project by Sonali Dev
Why now? I love retellings of Jane Austen, and started reading this series with an e-ARC of Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors. I had the e-ARC of this one, too, but didn't manage to read it before it came out last year, so it 1. helped me clear out the back log of titles yet to be reviewed and 2. was next in a series I was enjoying. Got it most recently when the e-book/audio combo was available from the library and I was ready for that format.

Vansh Raje is the youngest in his very well-to-do family, but he's spent much of his adult life away from home working on a variety of projects to better the world. Naina Kohli has worked hard for years bettering the life of women, and now has a rich benefactor who's provided the money for her latest project. But when that benefactor meets Vansh, to Naina's frustration, her locked-in funding suddenly becomes tentative, and they're going to have to work together in order to make it work.

Sonali Dev's series about the Raje family uses four of Jane Austen's stories as inspiration. This one is Emma, gender flipped, since it's Vansh who's the nice but spoiled rich boy with everything handed to him on a silver platter. His and Naina's banter was fun, though it takes a frustratingly long time for them to even work together well, let alone anything else. It's believable, but it got a little long as they both worked through their personal hangups. Added to that, there's a side love story with a nod to Jane Fairfax in the original, and you end up with rather a lot going on all at once. That being said, the characters - including several side characters, such as Naina's mother - are complex and sympathetic, and you can jump right in reading this book without having read any of the others. An enjoyable ride whether you've read Austen or not, but especially rewarding in looking for the parallels. 4 stars.

>119 bell7: We did the same thing on #3 and #4! Heh. I have no excuse word #2 was MIRTH which showed me quite plainly that M did NOT start the word.

Your Saturday sounds pleasant and surprisingly lackadaisical by Mary standards. Enjoy it. *smooch*

>121 bell7: That looks interesting. Off to the library to get the first in the series.

>122 richardderus: Ah, yes, I've definitely made a similar mistake before, generally in an undercaffeinated state. My Saturday was pleasant, thank you. Visiting through much of it, but home for the evening and not rushing about from one commitment to the next. *smooch*

>123 dreamweaver529: I hope you like it, Amanda! IMO, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors was the best of the bunch, but they were all enjoyable.

Wordle 568 4/6

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Probably should've been able to get today's in three but could not for the life of me come up with a word to fit, so used guess three to eliminate some letters and fortuitously it gave me the final two. ARISE, WEARY, PLONK, OPERA. Come to think of it, if I'd used my regular #2 despite having three letters, I definitely would've gotten it in three. Oh well!

Good Sunday morning, all! Yesterday was a fun day. My retired co-worker came over and I gave her a grand tour of the house. She gave me a lovely housewarming gift of a new plant that appears as easy as spiders to take care of and propagate, so it'll be fun adding that one to the collection I've got going. Then I headed over to my grandfather's for the New Year's blessing and stayed for a few hours, visiting with him, his girlfriend, my parents, my uncle and his wife. My brother and SIL came over for a little bit, but left earlier than the rest of us. My grandfather found a treasure trove of old family photos that we went through, and my mom and her brother each picked one or two but then I got the rest as one of the two designated family genealogists. I texted my cousin (the other one) as soon as I got home to let her know we needed to plan a day to get together and start going through all the family stuff. Most of the pictures are off my grandmother's family, of her and her sisters and brother as kids, but also some beautiful photos of my great-grandmother as a young woman, my great-grandfather as a child, and some of his ancestors going back into the 1800s, as well as a scrapbook he kept of old postcards that relatives sent him as a child (roughly 1908-1912). Most of them are labeled, some are not, so we'll have some fun doing the detective work and putting them all together. Most will ultimately end up with my cousin, I expect, as we split the genealogy materials my grandmother had, and they're of the family that she has the records for. A few of them - my great-grandmother's side - will stay with me.

Today should be a pretty busy day, but a typical Sunday during football season: church, work, then I'm headed over to my parents to watch the final regular game of the season, Giants vs. Eagles, that will start at 4:25 but I'll get to watch most of. The Giants are already in the playoffs and it's not a must-win game for them. But it matters for the Eagles: if they win, they're the #1 seed in the NFC, but if they lose and Dallas wins, they are a wild card as Dallas will win the division instead. So it'll be interesting to see how the coaches decide to play it and everything shakes out, win or lose.

>102 richardderus: I agree with that - corn on the cob is avoided by me. Always.

>126 bell7: I love going through old photos.

>127 PaulCranswick: It was so neat to look through, Paul! My mom and her brother remembered some of the folks who were still living when they were kids, and I'll probably want to quiz them (and my grandfather, though they're his wife's family) on who some of the folks were, and what they remember.

Wordle 569 3/6

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It took me awhile to think through options, but once I got it, I was very pleased with my result and the word. ARISE, POUTY, PIXIE.

>129 bell7: I got it in three today as well

Happy Monday

>130 figsfromthistle: Congrats on the 3, Anita! My most common result is four, so any time I can beat that is very satisfying.

Good Monday morning! I worked yesterday so I would normally be off, but I switched nights with a co-worker, so I'm working 12-8 today. I was going to take tomorrow off for Sunday, but I have a meeting to cover for my boss, so it's going to end up being a very weird week where I don't have a full day off, but end up going in for only a couple of hours tomorrow and probably leaving early on Friday.

This morning my main "to do" was sort out some appointments and referrals with health care providers, and I've sent messages on the portal and made the phone call I needed to, so I'm feeling accomplished already. I think I have one more "health" to do, making an appointment with a cardiologist (no symptoms, just family-history related), but I'm double checking with my PCP first to make sure they aren't making the appointment for me.

It's my youngest sister's birthday, so I'll try to call her at some point. And I have a few things I'd like to do this week sort of floating around in my head but I can't decide, so I think I'll try to sit down, write some things out, and prioritize. But there's nothing pressing that absolutely has to get done today, so that's a nice feeling.

I Wordled in 2 today because I knew there couldn't be many options, given the letter placement I had, and I decided to actually be patient and not just try to eliminate some letters. Result!

Yesterday's game was not fun to watch - I know it didn't matter and that resting starters is important, but *yawn* It was nice that Webb got his first-ever touchdown... He seems like a good guy.

>133 katiekrug: Yeah, it was enough of a yawn fest that we FaceTimed my sister and her family to see how Matthew was enjoying the game (he has become a dedicated Giants fan this year). And if you know my father, doing ANYTHING other than watching a Giants game is generally a big fat NO.

I was glad for Webb that he got the start and the touchdown, and for Galloday for finally making a good catch and getting a touchdown too. And overall encouraged that it wasn't a blowout like last game... bodes well for going into Minnesota.

Hi Mary! It's nice to get caught up.

I don't know what's happened to by brain but I've struck out the last two days on Wordle. :(

I enjoyed the first two of Sonali Dev's The Rajes series. Thank you for reminding me of them.

I'm working the 12-8 today, too!

*fistbump*

>135 streamsong: Ah that's too bad, Janet. Sometimes it's merely the luck of what letters I got in the first two words that either set me up beautifully or leave a guessing game, but I'm always bummed when I run out of guesses. I do hope you continue to enjoy the Raje series when you get back to it :)

>136 scaifea: *fistbump* I like having the morning off, but I'm always pretty tuckered out when I get home from this shift. I'm working three nights this week, too.

Happy reading in 2023, Mary!

>138 FAMeulstee: thank you, Anita! Same to you

Wordle 570 4/6

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I was pleased with the result and the word. ARISE, POUTY, BRINY, GRIMY.

Happy Tuesday! Today is kinda-sorta my day off for working Sunday (and working 12-8 yesterday instead of taking it off). So naturally I have a mile-long to-do list and errands to run. Most importantly, I need to go to Xfinity to straighten out my bill and account, and make an appointment with a cardiologist (preventative care because of family history, no personal symptoms) and get the details to my doctor's office for their referral.

And as I mentioned I'm only kinda-sorta off today - I'm going into the library for a couple of hours this evening for a Friends' meeting since my boss is away. I'll make up the time on Friday.

Good luck with all your errands today, Mary. I am tired just reading about them - they are not the fun kind.

>121 bell7: Since I just read through all of Austen last year, that one captures my attention. I will have to see if my local library has a copy, but I think I will read the series in order.

Have a terrific Tuesday, Mary! The saga of Petty Treasons is ongoing. . .

>142 Crazymamie: No, they're not the fun kind, and they're not completed yet. I'm waiting for the referral to be faxed to the cardiologist office so I can make the appointment. Secondly, while I was able to pay my bill and set up autopay with my bank account, Xfinity has me all screwed up with two accounts (I had, once upon a time, a pay-as-you-go plan, and I don't any longer) and they couldn't fix it at the store so I need to make another phone call and try to make it through their automated process to actually talk to a person. Ugh...

>143 alcottacre: I hope you're able to find a copy of Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors (which is the first and my favorite) at your library, Stasia. No worries on Petty Treasons. I need to start my book club book, so waiting on that one is not a problem.

My five-year-old nephew Matthew is following in my side of the family's footsteps and fast becoming a rabid Giants fan.

A couple of weeks ago, my parents were visiting and watching a Giants/Commanders game. It was Sunday night, and while Mia fell asleep sometime in the second half, Matthew was up and wired, jumping around the living room and paying attention to the game. At one point, he says, "Remember when the Giants scored three touchdowns and no extra points?" My father - who along with my brother has an encyclopedic memory of the Giants games he's watched - did, in fact, remember that they did that in their loss to the Detroit Lions on November 20, a month before the game they were watching with him. Matthew also wanted to know if the defense could score any points, so Dad taught him about a safety, that they could score two points if they tackled the offense in their own end zone. When the Giants were up 17-12, he turned to my dad and said, "If the Commanders get a safety and a field goal, they'll be tied!"

His parents have been putting football on and teaching the kids the rules this year, but Matthew is definitely the one that's most interested. Last week, he watched the Giants on the main TV, and his dad went downstairs to watch the Commanders game. This past Sunday, they were all watching the Giants game, though Mia was playing games on my sister's phone, and we FaceTimed them to say hello (the Giants were not going to beat the Eagles, and it was boring to watch because they were sitting a bunch of starters, otherwise there's no way my dad would've suggested such a thing). And apparently for his screen time in the evening before bed, he's at least once requested old Giants games on YouTube. Dad's thrilled to bits, he's so excited to take Matthew to a game next season.

>145 bell7: - Matthew and my nephew, Charlie, should get together. Charlie is also a Giants fan living in Commanders territory :)

>146 katiekrug: I think they would get along famously! We'll have to keep it in mind as a "road trip" game going down to DC someday.

Actually I think my dad feels a little bad that Matthew chose the Giants (his grandpa's team) over the Commanders (his dad's team), but he's super excited by how completely into it Matthew is getting.

Updates on my errands:

I got to maybe half the things on my to-do list for the week. I did get the cardiologist appointment made after some back and forth between offices (shockingly, it's in two weeks). And I still have to straighten out my Xfinity account but apparently it's been screwed up for a couple of years so it can stay screwed up a bit longer before I go call them to get it all figured out. The bill pay is set up and that's what matters in the short run.

Wordle 571 4/6

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Steady results today. ARISE, POUTY, SHEAF, SEDAN.

Good Wednesday morning, all! I'm working my regular 9-5 today - the one day all week I am working my normal schedule - and I gotta get going shortly to be dressed and ready for work on time. I finished an ARC of The London Seance Society on my Kindle this morning and will review it later today. Since I have been reading more e-books than paper books lately, I downloaded my book discussion book on the Kindle as well as having the paper book out from the library, and will be concentrating on Killers of the Flower Moon over the next few days.

I have a packed work schedule and am planning on cooking tonight, but other than that it should be a quiet evening.

Happy Wednesday, Mary. I hope your workday goes smoothly. How is Killers of the Flower Moon coming along?

>151 msf59: Morning, Mark! Had to smile at my workday going smoothly - it was bound to happen as weird as my schedule is this week, but I messed up going in, I'm really supposed to be working 12-8. So now I'm back home. I've just barely cracked open Killers of the Flower Moon, but I'm planning on sitting down with it for a bit this morning and making a good start before going back to work.

Whoops... as some of you may have read in my message to Mark, I messed up my schedule today and I'm really working 12-8. I got to work, looked at the calendar, and realized I was not supposed to be there. Soo... I'm back home, and gonna make a start on Killers of the Flower Moon for next week's book club.

Hi Mary, and Happy New Year. I can still say that for a few more days, right? My book discussion group read Killers of the Flower Moon back in 2018, and it was one of the best discussions we've had.

I'm enjoying your stories about Matthew and football. My five-year-old is getting into it too. Last year, he loved updating us on the scores and results of games. This year, he is paying more attention to the actual game, team records, and things like that. He hasn't narrowed it down to one team to follow, but he definitely prefers the Packers, Browns (my husband's teams), the Lions for me (haha, I grew up in Michigan), and the Bengals (because he sees a specialist at Cincinnati Children's).

I'll be following your thread again this year, and will try to post on it more.

>121 bell7: I really enjoyed the first book in that series and need to move on to the others.

>154 aktakukac: Happy new year, Rachel! Nah, it's not too late yet - though I did get confused about what week it was and come in to work at the wrong time today, oops. I haven't gotten far in Killers of the Flower Moon yet, but I bet it will be an excellent discussion. Cracking up at your five-year-old trying to decide on who to root for. My niece, Mia, gave me a rather elaborate rundown of her top six, I think, including one that made #5 (Green Bay) because it was the favorite of one of her stuffed animals, if I remember correctly. I'll have to dig into that more and report back haha. Sorry the Lions didn't make it this year - they sure looked good against the Giants!

>155 ronincats: I hope you enjoy the rest of them, Roni. After the first one, my next favorite was Incense and Sensibility (#3).

If any of you enjoyed Hench (which, I admit, I purchased as a Kindle deal but still have not read) or follow the AskaManager blog (which I do, religiously), here is the fanfic for you.

Not letting another day pass without coming to say *smooch* and thanks so much for visiting the sickbed.

>157 bell7: I haven't read Hench but I love Ask a Manager and this is fantastic.

Wordle 572 5/6

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I'm so pleased with the word that I'm not even annoyed it took me five. ARISE, POUTY, TAPED, PETAL, LEAPT.

>158 richardderus: *smooch* back and hope each day finds you a little better.

>159 curioussquared: Isn't it great? Alison herself posted a link to it (and recommends Hench as well!). Really got the voice down.

Happy Thursday! I have remembered that I'm not going in to work until 11:30 today, because I have a program tonight teaching people how to search on Ancestry Library Edition that's after library hours so we can take over all the computers. I'm going to finally cook those noodles I mentioned yesterday, too.

The dogsitting job that I normally have around this time of year is starting up tomorrow - they were originally planning on leaving December 30, but they got sick with Covid and plans changed. I will be going in the mornings and walking & feeding SIX labs until they officially leave (date is still up in the air), upon which I'll be staying at the house and taking care of five labs. And a cat. Through March 20. I look forward to catching up on podcasts while I walk the dogs, but it's very possible my reading will slow down.

4. The London Seance Society by Sarah Penner
Why now? I enjoyed her debut The Lost Apothecary in 2021, so when I saw the e-ARC available, I nabbed a copy, and made a priority to read it before its release on March 7

*Free e-book ARC received from the publisher through Edelweiss Plus - thank you!*

After Lenna's sister, Evie, is murdered, Lenna Wickes becomes an apprentice to Vaudeline D'Allaire, a French medium who has a precise way of holding seances and doesn't much like the swindlers of the era. Vaudeline receives a letter asking her to return to London to solve the murder of the head of the London Séance Society, and Lenna chooses to accompany her even though her scientific mind doubts the very existence of ghosts. They two women find themselves with an intriguing mystery involving secrets of the club and what Evie was up to before her murder.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical fiction set primarily in London in 1873 during spiritualism's heyday. The mystery of the deaths and what is going on with the London Séance Society were compelling, as is the side story of Lenna and Vaudeline's growing regard for one another. Occasionally the reader knows more than any one of the characters, since we get both Lenna's third-person point of view and the first-person narration of Mr. Morley, the member of the society who asks Vaudeline to London. This dual narration worked well for the most part in ratcheting up the tension, but occasionally things are spelled out repetitively for the reader. Still, a very enjoyable book and even better than her first. 4 stars.

>162 bell7: walking & feeding SIX labs until they officially leave (date is still up in the air), upon which I'll be staying at the house and taking care of five labs. And a cat.

OK, you can't just drop a sentence like that and not explain — IS THE SIXTH LAB TURNING INTO A CAT???

:-)

>164 rosalita: Bahaha, no, when they leave they're taking one of the labs with them. The cat stays there regardless, but as I don't have to walk her, I will have minimal responsibility for her before they leave.

>163 bell7: I don't know if you do audiobooks, but I can recommend Erik Larson's No One Goes Alone. Larson normally writes nonfiction, but he collected a lot of extraneous research while writing Thunderstruck about Marconi's invention of the wireless, and he worked it up into a novella that features William James (brother of Henry), who was very into the spiritualist movement and leads a team of psychical researchers to investigate the disappearance of a family from an island off the Cornish coast. It's spooky but not terrifying — more suspenseful than scary, I think. I really enjoyed it.

>164 rosalita:, >165 bell7: This cracked me up! Mary you did this last year, and it was exhausting for me. I'm not sure I can do it again. I mean, just thinking about all of the walking...

Five labs and a cat! Through March 20! That's quite the dogsitting job.

>166 rosalita: That sounds really entertaining and my library's copy is in. Thanks for the recommendation, Julia! It's about a half hour from where I'm dogsitting to work, so perfect length for some listening.

>167 Crazymamie: it was exhausting for me. I'm not sure I can do it again. Hehehe, thanks for the chuckle, Mamie! It is pretty tiring, but I get exercise in that I wouldn't otherwise, and get to watch the Australian Open and Bruins on their TV, so helps balance it out.

>168 curioussquared: Indeed. I'm paid well for it, though. It's often about half of what I make in a year from the dogsitting gig, plus lower utility bills from not being home. Though I do still keep the heat on and check in regularly, of course. Wouldn't want any frozen pipes or other issues.

>169 bell7: It does sound like great extra income! And as an owner of multiple dogs, I know those people must be so grateful to have you as a reliable dogsitter they trust and the dogs know. That can be really hard to find!

>169 bell7: Yay! I hope you like it.

>126 bell7: A treasure trove indeed! Have fun detecting! I hope to get back to my family genealogy as I’m currently the only one doing anything.

>170 curioussquared: Thanks, Natalie! My little side business is a pretty good gig overall. I do no advertising, it's all word of mouth, and I'm as busy as can be - I think I calculated I was home maybe 20 days more than I was away in 2022.

>171 rosalita: I'm planning on starting it tomorrow, I'll let you know!

>172 Storeetllr: Thanks, Mary! It's a blast... my cousin and I both have what my grandmother left to us on our maternal side, but both of us tend to focus on our paternal sides since that's what we know the least about haha. I have another cousin on my dad's side that I contact every so often about our genealogy, too. We've each been able to give each other info helping along - I had a birth certificate for a great-aunt or uncle that specified a town in New York that their mother was from, and that allowed her to find the birth certificate of her grandmother, my great-grandmother that we hadn't had before. Fun stuff like that.

Wordle 573 4/6

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Interesting progression this morning. ARISE, POUTY, QUALM, HUMAN.

TGIF! A change in routine today, but still a busy one. I have already been to the lab house and walked them all. I will be leaving for work shortly and work 9:30-2:30, as I'm making up time that I came in on Tuesday (my day off this week) for a meeting.

I'm coming home to make dill potato chips for book club tonight instead of my normal volunteer gig, and will hang out with my SIL and friends discussing A Man Called Ove, which as you can see from my reads so far this year I did not (re)read. Our book club tries to incorporate food related to the book we're reading and we have dinner together while we chat; I believe some of us will be making Swedish dishes and others Iranian. I haven't made it in a few months, so I'm looking forward to it, but I'll most likely get home a little later than usual and head right to bed.

>174 bell7: Dill potato chips sound delicious. I have a friend whose mom is Russian and makes the best potato salad I've ever had, of which dill is a big component.

>175 bell7: That sounds like a delicious evening, even if the group are not so keen on the book. Did you see the (Swedish) film version? I liked that a lot.

>174 bell7: I got it in 4 also! I love your third word!

Karen O

>176 curioussquared: I'll let you know how it goes! Dill with potatoes does sound delicious - I've made a chicken salad that includes Greek yogurt and dill that I love.

>177 charl08: The emails seemed to indicate folks were enjoying it, so I think we'll get a good book to talk about and a delicious evening! I did see the Swedish film, and I may watch the new one with Tom Hanks, too, though I'm still kinda wondering why they bothered to change his name. *shrug*

>178 klobrien2: I liked my third word too :D Isn't it funny how some are just fun to try even if they don't turn out to be the result?

Wordle 574 6/6

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Got it by the skin of my teeth there. ARISE, POUTY, VOCAL, MOOLA, HOLLA, KOALA.

>180 bell7: Today's was tough for me too. I had the middle letter in the right spot from the first guess but it didn't help a lot - I got it in 5. (After walking away from it for several hours to avoid tearing my hair out, haha.)

Morning, everyone! Book club last night was a lot of fun. I made dill potato chips that we had as an appetizer, others made Swedish meatballs, dumplings, and glogg. Everything was delicious, and we had a great time discussing the book and talking about life in general.

I have to head out soon to walk and feed the dogs, then I'll come back home and get ready for my uncle and aunt to come over for dinner tonight. "Getting ready" here very loosely defined as tidying up a bit (nothing too strenuous) and possibly taking down the Christmas tree. I'm planning on making a chicken pot pie, a recipe that I haven't made before but tried at the library's cookbook club program earlier this week and found delicious enough to photocopy the recipe. My aunt will bring a salad to go along with it.

I'm halfway through Killers of the Flower Moon and pleased with my progress. The story is a compelling, if maddening, one I think it'll make an excellent discussion. I shouldn't have any trouble finishing it up by Monday (generally my goal for discussion on Wednesday).

>181 ursula: I went through every permutation I could think of before finally realizing that the one double letter I hadn't accounted for was the A, and after that the solution was obvious. I would've gotten it in five if I had used LOCAL instead of VOCAL, which was my first thought for guess #3.

>166 rosalita: I had never heard of No One Goes Alone: A Novel. I am surprised it didn't get more buzz, especially how popular Larson is. I may check it out on audio.

Happy Saturday, Mary. Glad you are fully immersed in Flower Moon, although I am not surprised. Oh yeah- Go Giants!

Mary, your Book Club last night sounds like a lot of fun. Except for the part where you have to get dressed, go out, and spend time with other people.

Killers of the Flower Moon is heart-breaking, but it is so well done.

>184 msf59: Going against a division rival, are we? I'll take the cheers, though... looking forward to the game and getting together with my family tomorrow to watch it.

>185 Crazymamie: It was a blast, though I grant you, getting dressed and leaving the house are both overrated activities. Happy weekend!

>184 msf59:, >185 Crazymamie: Yeah, Killers of the Flower Moon has been incredibly compelling reading for me. I've read all I need to for today, but I am going to pick it up and read more this afternoon for sure.

5. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann
Why now? Book discussion pick for this coming Wednesday

In 1921, Mollie Burkhart's sister Anna was murdered. Then other mysterious deaths began occurring and Mollie, an Osage woman with oil rights that made her and others of the tribe extremely wealthy, grieved for her family and sought answers for what happened.

Grann divides the narrative into three parts: the first, primarily from Mollie's perspective as deaths pile up; the second, focusing on investigator Tom White who worked for what would become the FBI; and the third - well, I'll leave the discovery of exactly what the third section does to fellow readers. Suffice it to say, you are reading history and true crime at the hands of a master of narrative nonfiction, who keeps the pages turning throughout the investigation. Photographs throughout bring the places and people to life. Grann's thorough research gives you enough background to follow it all and only occasionally gets a little too long-winded, though it's always fascinating. This is one that'll stay with me for a long time. 5 stars.

>187 bell7: - 5 stars! Why has this one been sitting on my Kindle so long? With a goal of reading more nonfiction this year, I'll be downloading it so it stares me in the face everytime I open my Kindle :)

>187 bell7: I am so glad you liked the book so much! What a horrible story. So glad it got told.

>187 bell7: I need to bump that one up too, Mary. Maybe next month.

Have a lovely Sunday.

>188 katiekrug: I hope you find it as riveting as I did!

>189 richardderus: Absolutely horrible but important to know, I think, and perfectly constructed. I was in awe of the way Grann brought everything together in the end.

>190 PaulCranswick: I'll look forward to your thoughts, Paul. Happy Sunday!

Wordle 575 2/6

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ARISE, SPIRE.

Happy Sunday! Yesterday after dog walking I managed to putter around the house tidying up quite a bit and crossing small things off my to-do list. I made a new-to-me recipe for my uncle and aunt coming over, and mis-timed it a little bit so instead of being ready when they arrived, I was still just putting the chicken pot pie in the oven. But it came out absolutely delicious (they raved), and I would definitely make it again. We had a great visit, talking well after we'd finished eating about all sorts of things. I've never really visited with them without being at my grandparents' house, and it was really fun to do that, and to show them around my house.

Today I woke up a little before six and the wheels of my brain started turning with everything I need to do today, so I gave in and got up for the day. It's all good, it gave me time to have my coffee and catch up on threads before really getting going for the day. I'll leave for dog walking shortly, and then I'm going to church, work, and to my parents' to watch the Giants game. Since I'm not staying at the dogs' house, I don't have to worry about being home at any particular time and can enjoy time with my family. I'm going to stay at their house for a week starting Wednesday now, and have no idea if they'll want me to continue in February-March.

Tomorrow I have a glorious day with little planned. I will get up and walk the dogs, and after that I have a massage appointment and Bible study. I don't even have to worry about finishing my book club book since I completed Killers of the Flower Moon yesterday.

>192 bell7: I got Wordle in two today, also too (see why I changed that?) I have a similarly-formed first word irate and that seemed to really help. Still, was quite a surprise! Congrats to us!

Karen O

>193 bell7: I love reading about your busy life, Mary, and being glad that I am retired and just busy enough not to be a recluse! I got a laugh out of your day with "little planned" except for walking the dogs. FIVE dogs! That is no little feat. I remember talking with you about it last year and feeling tired.

You are reading some great books and your book group meal sounds wonderful. Our library has a no food policy still in place from Covid restrictions.

>194 klobrien2: Hahaha, nice "two" plays, Karen. It certainly helped to have four letters from the get-go, but I was still delighted.

>195 Donna828: And yet many of my retired friends tell me they're busier than ever in retirement, so somehow I don't think I'll slow down 'til I have to. I'll walk six dogs tomorrow - it doesn't go down to five 'til they officially leave on Wednesday. They've arranged to have me come in the mornings only for now and feed and walk the dogs when I get there. The walking takes me roughly an hour, going one at a time. So, I should be home by nine and have a nice, relaxing few hours before the massage.

That book group was with my SIL and in a private residence, but the library's cookbook club restarted (I don't run it anymore). The only restriction we've left in place is asking people not to use the water fountain, and to use the bottle filler part of it instead.

Wordle 576 4/6

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ARISE, POUTY, CROWD, FROCK. That kind of progression to win in four is always satisfying.

Go Giants!! As expected, the best game of the weekend. Jones was amazing.

Hooray for Flower Moon. It IS a 5 star read. I hope they do an honorable job with the film adaptation.

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. day, all. I'm enjoying my holiday at home and slept in a tiny bit. I will head out to walk the dogs soon - at this rate, I won't get back 'til 9:30 or so, but even then will have much of the day to do what I want. Massage appointment in the afternoon and Bible study at night. I'm planning on reading and hanging out at home otherwise, and enjoying that Giants win.

Yesterday at work was pretty steady until about 4 p.m., and I spent some time searching on Ancestry for my family tree. I'm close to being able to get a branch another generation back - I'm hoping to prove who Melissa Bidwell's parents are, and while another Bidwell who married her daughter may be a first cousin, I haven't quite been able to prove (yet) that Melissa is his father's sister. I'm hoping to find some probate records that would list them both in a will, but haven't managed to do that yet. If I can make the connection, though, it'll take my father's family back to the late 1700s and I will be very excited about that. (Most of his family is more recent immigrants.)

And of course the football game was a lot of fun! I missed the first two drives, so when I arrived at my parents it was 7-7, and it stayed close throughout, giving me a tension headache at the end. Both my brothers, my SIL, and my brother's girlfriend and I all went to my parents to watch. I think the ladies were a little amused by my family's passion, but what ya gonna do? Giants will play the Eagles on Saturday. Not sure if I'll be getting together with siblings or not - my parents will be in Maryland visiting my sister's family, and I think my dad is looking forward to watching a playoff game with Matthew.

>198 msf59: It was a fantastic game, wasn't it, Mark? Jones looked great, but dang I wish the guy would learn to slide. He's gonna have a short career if he keeps running pell mell down the middle.

I'll be mentioning the film adaptation to my book club for sure. They certainly have a stellar cast, so I hope they do it justice.

>199 bell7: If the family owned land, land records may help if you can't find it through probate. As experienced genealogists will tell you, it pays to "follow the land."

>201 thornton37814: Oh thanks for that, I'll check that out.

I determined that Melissa Bidwell died sometime May-September 1881, as I found her will. Her daughter Sarah Hamilton was married to Alva Radney by then, and he was her executor so it very neatly made that connection, along with other material I had. That's the first year I can get a death record from New York, so I'll put in an order for that.

Anna White was married to Elias Bidwell, and I found her ... well, shoot, I went too fast and I didn't save what I'd found for a death date, so I'll have to look for that again. But I added to my tree that she died in Lee, Massachusetts in 1855. She and her husband moved from Colebrook, Connecticut to Lee by 1850, and they're listed there with her older brother, Ezra, in the U.S. Census in 1850. They're also enumerated in the 1855 Massachusetts census. So I think I could follow up with Lee and the Berkshire County probate (and registry of deeds) to see about more records.

And as I poke around in that branch, I realize that a marriage record for Melissa Bidwell and Ezra Hamilton may help as well. So a few options to help me put the pieces together :)

What I'm hoping to prove is that Melissa's parents are the same as Miles's, Elias Bidwell and Anna White. And if I can find any more siblings, so much the better.

Edited to add: I realize I left out a couple of the steps between my finding Melissa Bidwell and Ezra Hamilton and Anna White and Elias Bidwell and the previous paragraphs may not entirely make sense without it. This is probably TMI for those of you not into genealogy, fair warning.

So to clarify... Melissa and Ezra's daughter Maria Hamilton married Elias Bidwell, the son of Miles Bidwell and Sarah Thomas. There are a couple of Bidwells that show up on that side of the family tree, and I believe they're connected, so I was tracing through the husband's family.

Miles's parents are Elias Bidwell and Anna White, which show up in my Ancestry hints as potential parents of Melissa as well. So, if I can make that connection, Elias isn't just the paternal grandfather of the husband of my 3rd-great aunt, he's actually my 5th great-grandfather, and on his wife Anna's side, I can get an additional generation back to her parents, Henry White and Elice (?).

I kinda randomly started working on that part of the family at work on Sunday during the quiet hour and was pleasantly surprised to find some probate records from New York and Connecticut that really helped piece some of that together. I'm crossing my fingers that at least one of the records I send for will have parents' names and help me put that final piece together.

I concur that the Giants played a stellar game on Sunday. The Vikings had more winning coming into the game than the Giants, but in this one they fell short. But I can't be rooting for them in the next game, because Iggles. It'll be the third game the two teams have played this season.

>203 weird_O: the game on Christmas Eve certainly proved the Giants could stay right with the Vikings. They played a better game and had more guys healthy yesterday, which certainly made me feel good going into it.

Saturday's game against the Eagles will be a tough one. I was at the first game they played, which was tough to watch when the Giants got creamed. Though, my dad points out they'd just had a really tough tie against the Commanders, playing a full overtime, and probably had a bit of a letdown. The final week of the season, they sat a lot of their first stringers and still stayed within a score. So... Well, who knows really? That's why they okay the game and we watch, right? I'm not really expecting a Giants win, but I would like it to stay close.