Shelley's Take Two - Reading off my own shelves - 2023 - page 5

Welcome to my 5th thread.

This has not been the best year for me, on many fronts, so I am going to ignore the naughtiness of my boys and go with toppers that give me comfort and joy. I will pretend they are always this sweet and innocent. Yes, they have both made appearances in my last thread, but they deserve top spot, in my humble opinion. (sorry, Richard ;-)

I have added many more books so far this year than I usually do yet - perhaps not surprisingly - I have read much less than I usually do. Not the best equation... At least I am still reading, however sporadically. One thing is for sure: I won't run out of reading material in this lifetime, even if every bookstore and library were to close (heaven forbid!!)

Filling in these reserved posts that I forgot about when setting up this thread. This is an old photo from a trip to Boston, BC (before covid). Saw these very cool and clever (book) bird houses in a shop. Didn't buy one but I wish I had:

one more

and maybe one more

Welcome!

Happy new thread, Shelley.

Awww....the kitties are so sweet. Imagine either of them getting into ANY kind of mischief.

>6 PaulCranswick: - Thanks, Paul. You are first! Here's your prize, a link to the Paul Simon interview I mentioned to you on your thread (well, one of the interviews I listened to):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bi6NFPhsGyM

>7 laytonwoman3rd: - Yeah, Linda. Imagine (see my last posts in my last thread, lol!)

Last week, I went to the AGO again, this time to see an exhibit of 2 painters I had known of but often confused, as their styles were very similar (to my eyes). Mary Cassatt was American, Helen McNicoll, Canadian. You tell me if you can tell the difference. The friend I went with can, easily. Me, I still can't, really.

Here are a few by McNicoll:

The Blue Sea, around 1914:


Picking Flowers, around 1912. Perhaps one of her most famous:

And hmmm, I seem to have taken a pic of only one Cassatt. How did that happen?

Summertime, 1894:


Here is the gallery's overview of the exhibit, much better than I could write up. It was really lovely and worth seeing: https://ago.ca/exhibitions/cassatt-mcnicoll-impressionists-between-worlds

I am looking forward to the Keith Haring exhibit, too, opening in November, I think.

And here is my refuge and my reward, when in Montreal, Bonder Books (Montreal is French, don't forget, *Librairie* means bookstore in French, not library. Of course it does! ;-)

Happy new thread, Shelley.

>1 jessibud2: Owen and Theo still look so sweet together.

>11 jessibud2: Doesn't matter how it is called, you can buy books there! :-)

Thanks, Anita. In my eagerness to add photos, I completely ignored the >2 jessibud2:, >3 jessibud2: and >4 jessibud2: spots. Oh well, I guess I will just have to fill them with something, maybe more garden pics. Maybe later. Right now, the boys are waiting for supper... ;-)

>1 jessibud2: How adorable. They got along long enough for a nice photo!

>9 jessibud2: What a great exhibition!

Anyhow, happy new thread :)

>9 jessibud2: Gorgeous painting. I especially like Helen McNicoll's artwork. And I do think she handles her oils with more gentleness than Mary Cassatt's. I am not an art expert even in the loosest sense but McNicoll's technique often seems more dreamy somehow. I do envy your access to AGO exhibitions.

>14 figsfromthistle: - Thanks, Anita. Overall, they are getting along much better lately. At long last.

>15 SandyAMcPherson: - Sandy, my friend and I each bought a one-year pass this year. Only $35 for it and it gets us into the AGO for free for the year. No discounts in the shop or any other real membership perks but that's fine with us. We try to make sure we go at least once a month. Personally, I think it's a great price for a pass, and because neither of us live downtown, it gets us going more than we might otherwise. And they really do have some wonderful exhibits. We spent a lot of time looking at the permanent exhibits the time before this one last week so when went last week, we just looked at the Cassatt-McNicoll exhibit then felt fine leaving. We did spend quite a bit of time there this time, though.

>16 jessibud2: Only $35 for it and it gets us into the AGO for free for the year
Wow, DEAL! Worth knowing even if someone lives in an outlying 'burb or further but goes into the city by GO train.

>17 SandyAMcPherson: - Exactly. I'd do it again. I know I wouldn't go often enough to make a full membership pay for itself and this suits me perfectly.

Shelley, You've had so much stress. I pray that life will be calmer for you. I'm glad you are doing things that bring joy...art and books!!!!

Please know I am thinking of you.

Lovely Cassatt (always enjoyed) and McNicoll (new to me) paintings...looks like a wonderful exhibition. And what a great pass deal...who could resist?

ETA: I just looked at the AGO website to see if the exhibition is traveling anywhere, but doesn't look like it. Looking at the bios of the two women, I see McNicoll was born 35 years later than Cassatt. So Cassatt was at the beginning of impressionism and McNicoll was toward the end, so her works feel more modern and, well, impressionistic. It's interesting to see how that movement developed and changed over time.

Happy New Thread , Shelley! Such fabulous pictures of the kitties! Love the art exhibit too!

>19 Whisper1: - Thank you, Linda. Your words mean a lot.

>20 kac522: - Hi Kathy. There was a lovely coffee table sized book on the exhibit in the gift shop. I took a pic of the cover to see if my library has it as I'd like to read more on the 2 women. It does and I've requested it. There were the usual bio information on the walls and beside each painting but I know a book would go into much more detail. The book is called Cassatt McNicoll Impressionists Between Worlds

>21 vancouverdeb: - Hi, Deb. Thanks!

Well, damn. Too much guesswork today. New streak begins tomorrow.

Wordle 781 X/6 meaty, pious, bored, woven, hover, cover. I made a mistake in guess 4. Word was actually lover

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟨🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩

I just wanted to fill in the 3 empty posts I forgot about when setting up this thread (>2 jessibud2:, 3 and 4) but the photo isn't showing. I guess I will wait on the next 2 until this glitch is fixed.

Happy new thread!

Hi Shelley and Happy New Thread!

I love your story about Theo. He is indeed "just being a cat," LOL. I can picture him batting that bean all around the house, chewing on it a bit, and losing interest once it ended up in the powder room. I have to get down on my stomach about once a week to scoop cat toys out from under our sofa. We have a dowel about 1-2 meters long just for that purpose. And I do love it when I get to observe Carson batting his "flutterby" around the house. Along with felt balls, the flutterby from From the Field is his favorite toy. He has several of them.

Happy Wednesday, Shelley. Happy New Thread. Just peeked out at the feeders and spotted a northern flicker and a female ruby-throated hummingbird, plus the usuals.

Hi Shelley my dear, Happy New Thread. I love the photos of your boys and the the photos of the paintings, they are beautiful.

Hi Shelley, happy new thread.

>9 jessibud2: >10 jessibud2: The subjects of the paintings are similar but the execution is different. Cassat uses different colours within the basic blue to give the feeling of water, the short curved brush strokes also give the feeling of moving water, much different than McNicholls' treatment of water in the first picture.

To answer your questions from your last thread, If you are flying on a plane you are supposed to put your phone on airplane mode. You can take your phone off airplane mode as soon as they announce it's okay when you land, at least when you are in Canada. Your cell plan should be good for anywhere in Canada but as soon as you cross the border into the states then your provider tags you for roaming and charges you because your signal is pinging off cell towers in a foreign country. I've been able to use my phone in Nova Scotia and Ontario without getting charged extra.

Sent you a PM with a photo...
Hope you don't mind.

>10 jessibud2: Such beautiful art works. It is good for the soul!!! I'm thinking of you and sending lots of love. You continue to deal with a lot of stress with courage and fortitude. I admire you tremendously.@

Thanks, Jim, Ellen, Mark, John, Meg, Sandy, Linda.

Thanks for that info, Meg. Maybe because I haven't been out of the country since before covid, I am/was unaware of the airplane mode (more likely, though, is that I just didn't know because...well, tech, lol)

>30 SandyAMcPherson: - Got it, Sandy and no problems at all. I do know how to post photos but in truth, I don't understand and never did, about *sizing*. I have no idea what size to select because I don't know what it's *supposed* to be. Even when I download photos from the phone to my laptop, all taken with the same phone, even at the same time, they sometimes appear on the laptop as different in size. That's where I am lost. If, when trying to upload a pic to LT, I get a popup that tells me it's too large, I simply don't upload it. Ha! My response to tech! I will try deleting that photo in >2 jessibud2: and try uploading it again. If it still won't work, I guess I will just try a different pic. Or leave the post blank.

>31 Whisper1: - Thank you, Linda. I am trying to be gentle with myself these days.

Clearly didn't need my go-to second word today:

Wordle 782 2/6 meaty, empty

🟨🟨⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Lovely comprehensive article this morning on the loss of Canada's Robbie Robertson, one of the founders of The Band and iconic singer, songwriter, storyteller. There was a documentary on him a few years back, called Once Were Brothers which was really excellent.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/robbie-robertson-obit-1.6931772?cmp=newsle...

Edited to add an interview I heard this morning, replayed, from a few years ago. Long-ish but well worth the re-listen. I heard it the first time it aired but listened again today:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/thursday-sept-5-2019-robbie-robertson-and-sylvia-tyso...

Well, it's only the 10th of August, and so far, I have not had to make a return trip to Montreal. But that doesn't mean there isn't drama. Last week, her caregiver sent me photos of a rash spreading over my mother's face, which is now also appearing on her back. In fact, this is not new. This happens to her from time to time, and has, ever since she was diagnosed with lymphoma 5 or 6 years ago. I am not a medical person and don't know or understand the connection except that I believe there is one. Before covid, when I would go to Mtl to take my mother for her bloodwork and appointment with her hematologist/oncologist, the first thing that doctor did was check for rashes. So I have to believe there is a connection. The rashes never bother my mum, but they are, shall we say, not very attractive.

So, I called her residence yesterday because I was told by the floor nurse that the new doctor was actually in the building yesterday and I wanted to make sure he saw her. When I was last there, and wanted to meet and speak to him, I was told he doesn't speak to families (?!?!). So there was no reason for me to expect he would call me yesterday. I went to run some errands in the morning and when I got home, discovered that I had missed his call by 5 minutes. Sheesh. Anyhow, I spoke to my mum's caregiver who told me the doctor decided that my mum has shingles. Good grief. Is there anything we've left out that she hasn't had yet? However, non-doctor that I am, I don't believe she has shingles. For one thing, she is in no pain or discomfort at all. The rash is not even itchy. I have had shingles, a mild case years ago and it was painful! He prescribed a pill (great, she hates and resists pills like the plague) to take for one week, for shingles. Of course, by then he was gone. So I called the pharmacy to explain the situation and to ask if she takes this pill and in fact, doesn't really have shingles, could there be any adverse effects. The pharmacist said no so at least that's good. She said to use warm compresses on her face and for the back, to use a prescription cream she already uses for another skin issue.

But honestly, it never ends....

At the Botanical Gardens, there is music in the garden tonight (and every Thursday through the summer). It's a bluesy/gospel/jazz/motown singer tonight who I'd love to see live. But there is also rain predicted to begin this afternoon so I will wait and see if I will go. It's free, and I would like to go to the farmer's market they have Thursdays as well, but it all depends on the rain.

Edited to add that I am going to the music event! My friend is joining me and we are bringing folding chairs and umbrellas, just in case. Also, picnic-style dinner. So far, the sun is still shining so maybe the weatherman will be wrong again! I am hyped. This is the blurb about tonight's performer:

Thursday, August 10 at 7 p.m. - Quisha Wint

Quisha was born to sing and entertain. She grew up in a Jamaican/Canadian home listening to Reggae, Motown, Gospel, R&B, then entered the jazz program at Humber College in the mid-’90s. She is a phenomenal and expressive vocalist who also inspires others to live out their dreams. She aims to educate both the public and upcoming artists on the importance of keeping the music from the past alive, music that touches our hearts.

Baahhh re the doc. Lets hope you can see the month out without another trip for yoyr mom's health.

I hope the concert is good Shelley.

>35 jessibud2: Truly the drama never ends...and the issues with medical care! Anyway, enjoy the concert.

>32 jessibud2: Don't give up! I agree, learning html code is cumbersome. I am so not a code monkey.
Good idea, " I will try deleting that photo in >2 jessibud2: jessibud2: and try uploading it again".
You can type in any number in the "height= __ " and click 'preview'. I just play with the number to get what I want.

Edited to add my sincere sympathies for the worries in your mother's care. How sad that she can't be in the same town as you, though perhaps moving her is out of the question now.

>1 jessibud2: I love the pictures of your boys.

One thing is for sure: I won't run out of reading material in this lifetime, even if every bookstore and library were to close (heaven forbid!!)

I used to joke that I stocked books at my house for future reading in case my local library every caught on fire - and then it did and was out of commission for about 18 months! Good thing I have a lot of books here :)

Happy new thread, Shelley. I love your cat photos.

Oh wow, a rash and the Shingles. I'm am sorry , Shelley. So much for both you and your mom. And that the doctor won't speak to families? I don't understand. I hope you have enjoyed a nice evening out at the concert and you could let go of your worries for a time. (hugs)

Thanks Caroline, Madeline, Sandy, Stasia, Deb, Beth.

The concert last night was lovely. She is a good performer and did a lot of cover songs by others such as Gladys Knight, Lionel Richie, Earth Wind and Fire (those last 2 happened to be in Toronto this past week performing together), Bonnie Raitt, etc. She also did several of her own songs. I was hoping she might choose a Robbie Robertson song, as a tribute but she did not. Maybe she hadn't heard the news of his passing. Anyhow, the weather turned out to be perfect, the skies cleared up, there was a light breeze and it was so nice to sit among the gorgeous gardens. There were 2 old hippies who were up and dancing the entire hour and a half. Seriously, they did not stop moving even once! Such energy. The guy looked like he was doing a cross between dancing and tai chi, and the woman was actually doing 60s things like (those of a certain age will know what I am talking about here!) the frug, the swim, etc. It was hilarious! Another couple got up and did beautifully coordinated dancing together - looked almost like what you might have seen on Dick Clark's Bandstand. And then, near the end, a tiny little girl started moving around in her own *dance* and before you knew it, a ton of kids were joining her. It was so cute.

Today I must tackle what I have been procrastinating all week in doing: dealing with yet another issue from the Quebec govt and my mother's bank regarding my mother's care. I think I must have done something very bad in a previous life to warrant such punishment. I actually thought I was done with this particular one but no, they will not let it go. So...

Wordle 783 4/6 meaty, pious, felon, hello

⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I was at the pharmacy yesterday picking up a prescription. It was seniors day so of course I checked out the book racks. I found a copy of The Maid, a book I had heard a lot of good things about and haven't yet read so because the price was decent, plus my seniors discount, I bought it. But I noticed right away that it looked...odd. It wasn't the regular size and shape of a trade paperback, or of those smaller old-fashioned paperbacks. It was long and skinny, vertically rectangular. I immediately checked inside to see if the print was smaller but no, it was fine, readable. I noticed a few other books on the rack of the same shape. Is this a new trend in publishing? It just looks funny. The cashier, who I chat with all the time, also noticed it immediately. She said, everything is shrinking these days. And then, in unison, we both said, except prices!!

Has anyone else noticed this anywhere?

>44 jessibud2: I have in my donations to our Little Free Library quite a few of what I call "long mass market paperbacks". They usually have easier-to-read print than regular size mass market paperbacks, but they are taller. I still prefer trade paperbacks.

Be careful of blurbs by Stephen King! He is one of my favorite authors so I recently started a book he blurbed and then could not put it down. It's an interesting horror book called Carrion Comfort. The only problem with it is that it is over 700 pages long. However, fat books don't bother Stephen King because he writes those! LOL! I can only read a few pages a day as it is very intense. I will NOT give up on it although who knows when I'll ever finish it. *shrug*

>45 SqueakyChu: - Well, this is the first time I have ever seen this format of book, Madeline. Interesting. I also prefer trade paperbacks but I'll still be interested in trying this one. Maybe I'll save it for my next trip. One thing I'm guessing is that you can probably fit more of them on a bookshelf!

I don't read King's genre of book so no danger of my being swayed by anything he blurbs. ;-)

>44 jessibud2: Those "tall" paperbacks starting appearing here a few years ago, and personally I hate 'em. I find they are harder to hold open, don't fit well on my shelves, which were assembled with the shorter ones in mind, or stack well with older mass markets in my cupboard. I don't really think they use less paper...can't see the point of the change. In any case, I rarely buy new mass market pb's these days, but I avoid this format entirely.

>47 laytonwoman3rd: - Well, it doesn't surprise me to learn these have been out for awhile and I am only now *noticing*...

Wordle 784 4/6 meaty, pious, bruin, quick

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Have a wonderful weekend, Shelley!

>42 jessibud2: Sounds like a great evening Shelley. I can't keep my shoulders from moving to a good tune, even when I have headphones on on the bus occasionally. I've noticed the odd smile when I'm caught doing it.

>50 alcottacre: - You too, Stasia!

>51 Caroline_McElwee: - She was a good performer, Caroline. This coming Thursday is Cuban music, the following Thursday is a brass band and the final Thursday is Billy Newton-Davis (R&B/jazz/gospel). I am trying to convince 2 other friends to go with me this week. Normally, I don't mind going anywhere myself and even though I don't usually, in the evenings, this is a *safe* place to go, only a 10-minute drive from my house. All 3 of the next concerts appeal to me but still, it's nice to have company. We'll see

>34 jessibud2: Thanks for the link. I have not been watching the news lately and missed this.

>35 jessibud2: The concert sounds like it was wonderful.

>44 jessibud2: My copy was a normal size ( actually it felt bigger). I hope you enjoy it. It was a good read for me.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend

Another *inattention* mistake on guess #3

Wordle 785 4/6 meaty, pious, watch, wrath

⬜⬜🟩🟩⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟨🟨⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

The concert sounded lovely, Shelley. Great that the weather cooperated.

Shelley, I made a mistake in saying that Kenny's Bookstore in Ireland is free. I checked and it is 1 pound sterling to ship to Canada , about $2.50 Canadian I think. Blackpool Books is free though. As best I know, both bookstores only sell new books not used. I was out book hunting over the past few days, without a lot of luck, ,but I did see The Maid in the long , narrow format you describe and picture above. I had not heard or seen that before either. I prefer trade paperbacks, but I would still purchase that unusual format if I that was all I could find. I hope you enjoy a night of Cuban Music, Shelley! Sounds lovely!

>55 Familyhistorian:, >56 vancouverdeb: - Thanks, Meg and Deb

Ok, is this even a word?! Sheesh. I made a stupid mistake on guess #2 but honestly, I didn't think this was even a word!

Wordle 786 5/6 meaty, pious, shady, scaly, snaky

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Not bad for being half asleep

Wordle 787 4/6 meaty, pious, chive, index

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Morning, Sleepy Shelley. I finished the Unforgivable Blackness doc. It was very good. Another slice of ugly American history. I know you dislike boxing but you might enjoy this tragic story of possibly the best heavyweight fighter in the world.

>59 msf59: - Thanks, Mark. But no. I'll take your word for it, and trust you are right. But I avoid violence if at all possible and unfortunately, that's how I see boxing.

On a happier note, I added a pic up at >2 jessibud2: that might bring a smile to your face. ;-)

I was just doing the NYT mini crossword and was amused to see that one of the clues was: Wordle's most popular starting word, the answer being *adieu*. That used to be my starting word but I switched over to my current one awhile ago.

Hi Shelley, I missed the transition, and come here to find that some idiot MD thinks a 90+ year old has shingles without the one absolute diagnostic: Pain. At least the pill won't hurt her. Still...not speaking to families in eldercare is borderline negligent IMO and I can only hope he doesn't last long so he can't do much harm.

It truly never ends.

Anyway, *smooch* for your new thread.

>62 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard.

Can I have a little tantrum here, for a moment? Have I mentioned (ever) how much I hate math? And government bureaus? (and while I am at it, doctors, telephone answering machines, etc, etc)

I have just spent the entire afternoon working on budgets and other number-related crap that the Quebec government is demanding of me, re the administering my mother's finances. It never ends. I thought I had dealt with all they are requiring of me months ago. Seems I misunderstood. They needed some documents signed by the bank. I thought the bank forwarded them directly to the govt. They did not. So I will do it but I just now, after looking at them more closely than I apparently did months ago, have noticed some discrepancies. I just emailed one of the bankers who, miraculously, responded and asked if he can phone me at 6 pm to answer my questions. At least one person who responds. I am, of course, still waiting on 2 others (in the medical field, of course) who haven't.

Ok, end of (current) rant.

If my head explodes, please excuse the mess on the thread. My mother would be mortified if she knew how much stress this is causing me. And she'd probably be speechless (or laugh herself silly) if she knew the amount of math I am actually doing. All my school years of trying to avoid it, and it has come back to bite me in the bum. Maybe some of it actually sank in, though. Or not... we shall see.

>64 jessibud2: So sorry about the hoops you have to jump through to satisfy Quebec's financial statement needs.

I went through a similar exasperating experience with trying to close our business this year. I was so upset dealing with government and private agencies needing to have information and never communicating with me with information that I needed. I think I'm finished everything. One last amusing note was from the Internal Revenue Service (which handles our federal taxes). They sent me a letter recently tellling me that they received my email with questions about closing our business months ago, but still haven't had time to answer them. I'm not holding my breath. All our taxes are paid, and I'm not opening Pandora's box by responding to this non-communication.

For relaxation, I baked sugar cookies today. Eating them relaxes me even more! :D

>65 SqueakyChu: - Honestly, I sometimes wonder how the world functions at all, with all the idiocy of bureaucracy! Can you imagine what life would be like if people were actually doing what ought to be WHEN it ought to be done, and being nice about it? Actually, I can't...

Wordle 788 4/6 meaty, pious, shrug, scrub

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟩🟨
🟩⬜🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Most people in bureaucracies seem to think that your ignorance of the rules that govern their working lives are a personal affront. I myownself think that is overidentification with their function as functionaries and should be discouraged by the institutions they uphold.

In a better world, permaybehaps.

>66 jessibud2: I feel the new electronic world contributes a great deal to this. People feel they do not need to answer emails or the phone (or not in a timely fashion) so communication is 90% lost. Often I find myself wading through phone menus which result in nothing other than a hang-up or a transfer to another ringing phone. That mail (a real letter) that I got from the IRS to give me the answer that they were not giving me an answer seemed like the ultimate stupidity. I fear for the future.

As Linda (whisper) and Karen (kareno) have been doing, I have lately been returning to reading illustrated children's books. When I was still teaching, of course, they were a mainstay for me and my young students but I have always loved them.

I just found this article on Lit Hub and found it both heartening and disheartening, at the same time. I am only familiar with 2 of the 4 Robert McCLoskey titles mentioned (not the last 2 of the trilogy though I may now seek them out at the library!). But the author of this article makes a case for reminding us of what's really important. Sometimes we need to look back a long way to find that.

https://lithub.com/reading-robert-mccloskeys-maine-trilogy-as-an-antidote-to-cli...

>69 jessibud2: I not only loved Blueberries for Sal, but I also loved reading it to my children and grandchildren.

>70 SqueakyChu:- And Make Way For Ducklings!

>71 jessibud2: Yeah, but Blueberries for Sal was always my favorite. :)

>69 jessibud2:, >71 jessibud2: Make Way for Ducklings was a favorite in our house, although we had Blueberries for Sal, too.

Right now I'm reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The copy I'm reading isn't illustrated, but as companion pieces I'm reading The Annotated Secret Garden, which features illustrations from many different editions and Unearthing the Secret Garden by Marta McDowell, a biography of Burnett which concentrates on Burnett's own gardens. It has a ton of pictures: from the classic book, of the author and of the gardens, then and now. Very calming.

>73 kac522: - What a fun way to embrace a classic, Kathy! Clever and fun!

I was listening to the radio this afternoon when out running errands. It's a show I often listen to, a call-in show with a different topic, and guest each day. I missed part of it while driving so I listened again from the website after getting home. It really spoke to me.

The guest today was a clinical psychologist whose focus is on the caregivers of dementia patients. Of course, my ears perked up because I feel so close to the edge, myself, these days and felt that finally, someone was recognizing that. She has also just written a new book which I have now requested from the library. I related to many of the conversations of the callers as well, and am really interested in her new book. I hope these links work.

The show: https://www.cbc.ca/listen/live-radio/1-45-ontario-today/clip/16003759-what-learn...

The book, reviewed in The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/22/travellers-to-unimaginable-lands-b...

Sure took long enough but I just wasn't *seeing* it.

Wordle 789 5/6 meaty, pious, amirs, amins, amiss. I didn't even think my guesses for 3 and 4 were even real words but they didn't get rejected so they must be.

🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

>2 jessibud2: Ooh, I love the book bird houses up there! How perfect.

Sweet Thursday, Shelley. We are heading out for another camping trip. This one much shorter and much closer.

Have a fun trip, Mark. Hope the weather holds for you.

Wordle 790 5/6 meaty, pious, trace, enact, exact

⬜🟨🟩🟨⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟩🟩🟨
🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

>69 jessibud2: I requested Robert McKloskey books! I’m sure I’ve read a few of these before (maybe in the distant past as a child) but they sound great.

Have a lovely, book-ey weekend!

Karen O

>69 jessibud2: McCloskey is one of my favorites. I remember being introduced to Lentil as a very young person, through Captain Kangaroo. The old coot sucking a lemon ... I read Make Way for Ducklings and One Morning in Maine as a child also. And when our daughter was 4 years old, we took her on the first of several vacations along the Maine coast, and bought her a copy of One Morning in Maine in a little bookstore in Boothbay Harbor. Did you know there is a sculpture of the ducks in Boston Gardens? And one of Lentil with his harmonica and dog in McCloskey's home town of Hamilton, OH. The man was brilliant at story-telling and illustration.

>80 laytonwoman3rd: - Captain Kangaroo, a blast from the past. I loved his program. He was really ahead of his time, as far as educational tv and early literacy for kids.

And um, yep, re Boston Gardens. I did a road trip in 2018 with a friend, which included Boston :-)

>81 jessibud2: Great photo Shelley.

>81 jessibud2: What a wonderful image!

>81 jessibud2: Oh, what a sweet photo, Shelley!

Shelley, that is such a cute picture of you and the ducks!

Here's a book that you gave me that went traveling tonight. Remember it?
https://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/16961305/

>69 jessibud2:..THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE!!! I am delighted when I learn of members of our group finding joy in illustrated books!

Thinking of you a lot. How very pretty you are. The ducks cannot hold a candle to you!

>81 jessibud2: Oh, cool!

Thanks, Caroline, Richard, Lavinia, Madeline, Linda and Linda! It was a fun road trip, that was and we couldn't leave Boston with visiting the ducklings!

Madeline, I had no memory of giving you that book at all until I read the journal entry and saw the cover, and now I remember. Weren't you about to become a grandma for the second time, shortly after your visit here?

Tricky today. But the streak (such as it is) lives:

Wordle 791 6/6 meaty, march, pious, madam, mamma, magma

🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜🟨🟨
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

>88 jessibud2: Yes, I was about to become a grandmother again at that time. I keep a box of books for Isabel so that she can take a book home with her when she goes home after Shabbat dinner at our house. I was so tickled when she picked your book!

>90 SqueakyChu: - Is she reading yet by herself?

>89 jessibud2: it was indeed tricky today!

>91 jessibud2: She's writing her name and starting to write words by sounding them out.

>92 EBT1002: - You have been so incredible at Wordle, Ellen! How long is your streak these days?

>93 SqueakyChu: - Excellent!

Is it just me or is LT constipated today? Everything seems slow to load and when I click on a thread, it doesn't jump to last read post automatically, as it usually does. At first, I was about to blame my cell phone again but it's the same issue here on my laptop.

>95 jessibud2: No, it’s not just you, and thank you for saying something! It’s probably “X” throttling LibraryThing! https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/15/technology/x-delay-throttle.html

Driving me crazy, though!

Karen O

I had to walk away and come back but that worked, as it often does. I messed up guess 3, using a letter already eliminated (as I too often do) but I got it!

Wordle 792 4/6 meaty, pious, stupe, quest

⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
🟨🟨🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

>96 klobrien2: - Thanks, Karen, things seem back to normal this morning, thank goodness.

For Anita, and anyone else who may be growing zucchini in their gardens and don't know what to do with the excess, I am posting here a recipe for chocolate zucchini bread. Sounds odd, perhaps, but it is really delicious. I don't grow zucchini but you only need 3 medium sized ones for this recipe. Worth helping a grower unload... ;-)

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
Yield: makes 2 loaves

Ingredients:

4C grated zucchini (I have a note I made myself saying that I used 3 med zucchini and didn't peel them)
2 1/2 C all purpose flour
1/2 C unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 C granulated white sugar
2 eggs
3/4 C unsalted butter (12 TBSP or 1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 tsp instant coffee granules (I don't like coffee so I didn't use this at all)

Method:

1 - Drain excess moisture from grated zucchini

2 - Preheat oven, prepare loaf pans - Preheat to 350F with a rack in the middle. Grease 2 9x5 inch loaf pans with cooking spray or butter.

3 - Whisk together dry ingredients (flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, cinnamon) in a large bowl. Whisk until well combined with no lumps.

4 - Beat sugar and eggs, add melted butter (coffee grounds if using them) and almond extract, until smooth.

5 - Stir zucchini into sugar mixture, add flour mixture. Add flour in 3 additions, stirring to combine after each addition.

6 - Divide into pans and bake. (the recipe said to work quickly because once the dry ingredients have mixed with the wet ingredients, the leavening has begun).

7 - Bake for 50 minutes at 350F or until a knife inserted in the centre comes out cleanly and easily.

Let it cool in pan for 5 minutes then run a blunt knife around the edges to separate the bread from the pan. Remove from loaf pan and let cool completely. If you try to slice the bread before it has completely cooled, it will be crumbly. Also, easiest to slice with a bread knife.

>98 jessibud2: Thanks for the recipe. I can't wait to make it...perhaps on Wednesday :)

Wordle 793 4/6 meaty, peace, reach, beach

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Lucky today.

Wordle 794 3/6 meaty, pious, spice

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

>81 jessibud2: We stopped here at the Boston Gardens a few years ago on our way to the Cheers Bar. A gorgeous park. I would sure like to get back to the Boston area. Several good LT pals live in the vicinity too. So many places...

When we were there, Mark, we stayed at a cute hotel walking distance from Fenway and took in a Blue Jays/Red Sox game. Jays won :-). We stared our road trip in Corning, NY, taking in the fabulous Museum of Glass, drove to Walden Pond, and ended our trip in Cooperstown, at the Baseball Hall of Fame. Such a great road trip!

Another inattention mistake on guess 5 (using a letter I'd already eliminated - will I ever stop doing that?!) but at least I got it before breaking the streak!

Wordle 795 6/6 meaty, pious, leech, genre, nerve, verve

⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟨🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

>104 jessibud2: You got it in the end, Shelley, so it's a good Wordle. Happy middle-of-the-week wishes. *smooch*

Much better today:

Wordle 796 3/6 meaty, pious, wordy

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Hi Shelley! Somehow the star on your threads got lost, and I wondered where you were. Glad there is a threadbook.

>1 jessibud2: How lovely your boys look now together.

>98 jessibud2: Thanks for that recipe. Making bread from zucchini, it’s new to me, but it sounds very nice.

>107 EllaTim: - Hi Ella. Actually, it's a very nice and very moist bread. Almost like cake, in a way. It also freezes very well. I forget where I got the recipe, could have been from my mother or aunt, as my aunt used to grow zucchinis in her garden and she always had more than she could use!

Zucchini bread - it's that time of year again. Thanks for the recipe, Shelley. I hope you got all your bureaucratic math annoyance out of the way.

Sigh. I did it again, the stupid inattention mistake.

Wordle 797 4/6 meaty, pious, orate, ocean

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

>109 Familyhistorian: - Well, so far, it seems ok. For the moment......

Uh-oh. KarenO is to blame for the newest time suck:

Connections from the NYT. Apparently, it's a new one and not on the games page yet (still beta).

Connections
Puzzle #75
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩

>112 jessibud2: Yay! Isn’t the answer “chart” gorgeous?! And I did spot Connections on the app Games page now. And I don’t think it sucks as much time as Wordle, for instance.

Have a great weekend!

Karen O

Have a wonderful weekend, Shelley!

I hope you have a very relaxing weekend Shelly. I hope you have time to read a very good book.

Thank you, Karen, Stasia, Linda. And the same to all of you.
After a few days of gray skies and rain, the sun is finally back out this morning.

This was a surprise:
Wordle 798 3/6 meaty, pious, choir

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I am still working on the new game, Connections....

Edited to add that I totally bombed in Connections today. One group (the last one) I would not have got anyhow, no way, and the rest, probably not, either. Oh well. I guess yesterday was beginner's luck.

If I didn't already distrust facebook for any number of reasons, this would be a pretty good one:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/22/world/canada/canada-wildfires-meta-facebook.h...

Yet another piece of proof that the only thing that matters to them is *profit*, certainly not people. And most certainly not people in a traumatic emergency situation.

Disgusting.

>117 jessibud2: I've refused to do anything that could be described as important via FB since That Fuck Zuck sold out his country for profit and political gain via Cambridge Analytica. Scum always rises, and he's the posterface for that truism.

From The Guardian: Films reimagined as vintage paperbacks:

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2023/aug/26/cover-version-films...

Wordle 799 3/6 meaty, reach, peace

⬜🟩🟩⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

So, on my very first try at Connections, I succeeded. Yesterday, my second try, I totally bombed out without getting anything correct. Today, I succeeded again, making no errors!

Connections
Puzzle #77
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪

I don't know how to post what the words and categories are but the colours are pretty!

>120 jessibud2: Looks like it was a great gaming day for you! Woohoo!

Karen O

Hi Shelley!



>1 jessibud2: Those pics of your boys are so cute. I hope the new litter box works out well for you, per discussions on my thread. I didn’t realize one, Theo?, was so much smaller than the other, Owen? Sorry if I don’t remember who’s who.

>61 jessibud2: I always do the NYTimes Mini crossword, and loved and appreciated that clue, too, since that’s always my starting word.

>64 jessibud2: I’m sorry about the Quebec government giving you fits.

>75 jessibud2: You must be going crazy from as a financial manager, care giver facility overseer, and loving daughter.

>81 jessibud2: Yay for Captain Kangaroo, I still remember the theme song.

>98 jessibud2: Saved. Sounds yummy.

>121 klobrien2: - I will give it a few more tries, Karen. I was surprised about today. In all honesty, my final category was only a success as it was all that remained. I never would have got it otherwise.

>122 karenmarie: - Hi Karen, welcome back! Owen is the smaller one even though he is older by 2 years. He has come a long way from being the scared traumatized kitty I brought home almost 3 years ago but though he is more cuddly and much calmer, he still won't let me pick him up or touch him unless He Says So. I am learning.... Theo is maturing but is still (and probably always will be) a curious, energetic boy. As for the new litter box, today is day 3. It sits in the bathroom, near the old one. They have sniffed it and checked it out but so far, are not using it. I will exercise patience. What's the alternative, anyhow, right? As the old box empties, I will gradually add new litter (pellets) to mix with the old, until they get accustomed to it. We shall have success if my logic works. But human logic does not always equal cat logic so I suspect it will be a matter of who can hold out longer.....

Yeah, the paperwork, overseer jobs are wearing me down, for sure. But again, what's the alternative? We do what must be done because we can and it's what we were taught to do for those we love.

I hope you try the zucchini bread. I think I am going to make it this afternoon. It also freezes well, so you aren't stuck eating it every day if you don't want to.

Hi Shelley. Wanted to swing by to say I’ve been playing Connections for about a month or so. A friend discovered it while it was still in Beta testing. It’s quite variable — sometimes I complete it “perfect”ly and sometimes I make a mistake or two or three. Or I fail altogether. It can be tricky and of course there are categories that are not my forte such as “first words in rapper’s names.” Right. Got it. But it’s a fun game which I now play every morning along with Wordle.

>112 jessibud2: I have to try that one out. It will probably be like wordle- a daily must do!

>124 EBT1002: - Ha! I should have guessed! So far, I'm 2 out of 3. I haven't tackled it yet this morning... Hope your vacation is all you hoped it would be and more!

>125 figsfromthistle: - Let me know how it goes for you, Anita.

Wordle 800 3/6 meaty, trite, write

⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Had one mistake today but got it eventually!

Connections
Puzzle #78
🟪🟨🟦🟩
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪

By the way, yellow is the easiest, purple the trickiest, and green, then blue come in between.

Interesting article on how Connections came to be:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/26/crosswords/new-game-connections.html

I hope this is open to everyone to read. From today's New York Times, letters section, Favourite Songs and Prose, Re-Imagined. Very clever!

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/27/opinion/letters/songs-and-prose-reimagined.ht...

>128 jessibud2: Morning, Shelley! Hope you love the week ahead.

Nothing in the New York Times-verse is free. Ever. One article a month, but not even that if you use an adblocker, and never, ever one of the Opinion articles. Subscribers can get gift links and those can be read for a certain amount of time by anyone.

>129 richardderus: - Hi Richard. Looks to be a wondrous weather week ahead so yes, I plan to enjoy! Hope you get the same.

I subscribe to online NYT and I do use an ad blocker which I refuse to disable for anything. But I am going to try and copy and paste the 3 letters in the link above because I think they are quite excellent:

William Shakespeare Revisits His Sonnet 18

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day?”
That likening hath never been less apt
Today, our summers kindle flood and flame,
To which humanity might not adapt
That summer I once dared to denigrate,
Compared to now, was such a pleasant place
I fear this torrid tempest won’t abate,
What spiteful irony I now must face!
I once lamented summer’s fleeting span;
In hindsight, there was much I hadst to learn
“Eternal summer,” ’tis a frying pan:
Without a change of course, the world will burn
My modest sonnet, fate hath cruelly read
Now, summer only warms my heart with dread.

Joel Watson
San Diego

The Gettysburg Regress

Four score months, almost seven years ago, our voters brought forth on this continent a new president, conceived in Queens, and dedicated to the proposition that “when you’re a star, they let you do it.”

Now we are engaged in a great culture war, testing whether that president, or any president so conceived and so dedicated, can elude censure. The internet is the great battlefield of that war, with some very fine people on both sides. We have come to dedicate a large portion of our field of attention to websites and apps as the final resting place for our opinions that they may live forever. It is not altogether fitting or proper that we should do this.

And, among the nonsense, we can no longer enjoy the love we make — in case we accidentally procreate — with abortion newly struck down. The brave women, living in dread, who struggle in fear, have old men to blame for it, and deserve nothing less than to have us now act.

The world must long note, and long remember, what he did on Jan. 6 after an election year. It is for us the voters, then, to be dedicated without fear to the unfinished but necessary work of eternal vigilance.

It is for us the voters to be dedicated to the great task remaining before us — that in spite of what we may have seen on Reddit, we take increased devotion to that cause of facts over emotion — that we hereby resolve that Gold Star families shall not have grieved in vain — that this nation, however odd, shall only give birth to freedom — and that, though we may not always get what we want from our leaders, we always get what we vote for.

Jason Luban
Ronda, Spain

Their Least Favorite Things
(to the tune of “My Favorite Things”)

Library shelves have begun to look lonely
Filled with the books deemed acceptable only
Gone are the classics we all read in school
Revising history’s the new golden rule

“Slaughterhouse-Five” and “The Sun Also Rises”
Wallflowers, Handmaids, and “Lord of the Flies”-es
Mockingbirds, Cuckoo’s Nests, Mice and Men too
Know Why the Caged Bird Sings? I do. Do you?

Facing history is no mystery, cruel truth often stings
So people remove the “uncomfortable” themes
And all their least favorite things

>117 jessibud2: I quit Facebook in March of this year. I do not miss it in the slightest.

>119 jessibud2: Those are so cool looking. Thanks for sharing the link, Shelley!

Just thought I'd stop by and say hi, Shelley. I too am really enjoying Connections. I've only played it a few times so far, but yes, fun!

Hi, Stasia and Deb

Well, I pulled this one out of a hat! I guess it helped having so many correct letters so quickly.

Wordle 801 3/6 meaty, grace, caper

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Well, I bombed in Connections again. I got the first category easily but couldn't get more than 3 out of 4 for any of the others, although I am sure I got the third (blue) category right. Oh well, as Scarlett said, tomorrow is another day!

Connections
Puzzle #79
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟪🟦🟦
🟦🟪🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟦
🟦🟪🟦🟦

>130 jessibud2: I love all of these, Shelley, especially "Their Least Favorite Things".

>134 msf59: - Clever stuff, for sure.

Mini lightning rounds.

Heart and Soul by Kadir Nelson. Nelson is not only an exquisitely talented artist; he also writes many of the book he illustrates. Heart and Soul is his concise yet broad overview of the history of America and African Americans. As he states in his author notes at the end, he interviewed elder members of his own family as well as others, to get the *voice* of those who lived through the many periods of the African American experience throughout history. Even though I am not American, there was much I already knew, from my own readings. But there were things I learned in Nelson's book that I did not know. This would make a wonderful, and important, addition to the curriculum of ALL schools, in my opinion.

I have been borrowing many of Nelson's books from the library lately to get a wide perspective of his work and talent. One of the things I have noticed is that not only are his paintings almost photographic in quality, but the large format of many of his books enhances the impact of them, making them almost larger than life and therefore incredibly powerful.

I look forward to more of his work in the years to come and hope he has many more books in him!

One of the things I am noticing from rereading many illustrated children's books lately is that, though the books themselves are still the same, I am a different person now than I was when I first read them, so, in essence, I am reading them for the first time. I am seeing and internalizing the stories, the artwork differently now and they give me an appreciation and perspective as an adult that I surely did not have as a child, or even as a young adult. I am enjoying this!

Dinners With Ruth by Nina Totenberg. Thanks to Linda and Stasia for encouraging me to move this one up the pile. I am Canadian, so I will admit that I did not know of Totenberg before reading an article about this book, earlier this year. However, I was a big fan of RBG so my interest was piqued. This is a memoir of not just friendships, but also of how professions overlap and come together. I learned a lot about the American judicial system, more than I will ever understand, truth be told. But she gave some really interesting insights into Ruth's moral compass, such as this quote, when Ginsberg was talking about how the Supreme Court works:

"We are blessed in the way no other judiciary in the world is...We have lifetime tenure. The only way to get rid of a federal judge is by impeachment. Congress can't retaliate by reducing our salary , so the safeguards for judicial independence in this country, I think, are as great or greater than anyplace in the world" But she also noted that the whole notion of the country's independent judiciary hinges on public trust. "The court has no troops at its command. It doesn't have the power of the purse, and yet time and again, when the courts say something, people accept it.. Ruth spoke specifically of Bush v. Gore, in which the Supreme Court stopped the Florida recount after the 2000 presidential election. "I dissented from that decision. I thought it was unwise. A lot of people disagreed with it. And yet the day after the Court rendered its decision, thee were no riots in the streets. People adjusted to it. And life went on."
Remember, as you read this, that she said those words in 2019, well before the riots at the Capitol on January 6, 2021."

Chilling, in retrospect.

I also laughed out loud at another way Totenberg revealed a side of Ruth not many know about:

"The truth was that Ruth, having lived in New York for much of her life, was not a dog person. Wallace {her granddaughter Clara's dog} was not initially in Ruth's good graces, especially after he peed on her bed, a crime that Ruth forgave him for only when he became a visitor-fixture during the pandemic".

Totenberg meandered a lot, through her own life, and other friendships but she always returned to the centre, and tied it all together. She revealed a very human side to Ginsberg, a side usually not seen by the public. And this was just a very good read. I did pause a lot to google and/or listen to pieces by Totenberg on youtube, from her days on NPR or tv spots.

Wordle 802 3/6 meaty, pious, audio

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Very nearly bombed on this one:
Connections
Puzzle #80
🟪🟦🟪🟦
🟪🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦

>130 jessibud2: Well chosen! I love them all.

Happy Wednesday's battlings with the Stupids.

>135 jessibud2: My local library has several of Nelson's books, so I am going to have to check them out. Thanks for the recommendation, Shelley!

>136 jessibud2: I am glad that you got a chance to read that one! Also glad that you enjoyed it.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

>139 alcottacre: - The one Kadir Nelson book I own is We Are The Ship, about the Negro League in baseball. He is such a talent. And if you google him, you will see he is pretty easy on the eyes, too, if you get my drift! ;-).

>138 richardderus: - They are good, aren't they?

Wordle 803 4/6 meaty, pious, chide, bride

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

And look at that, no errors at all today. I guess this makes up for days when I bomb out totally!

Connections
Puzzle #81
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨

I had a fail on Wednesday's Connections. Just could not sort the blue and green categories. Good for you for squeaking it in! I like the game but i wish they counted mistakes differently. You really only get three because the fourth mistake crashes you. I feel like they could visually represent that better. *shrug*

Wordle 804 4/6 meaty, chase, place, space. I could have had it in 3 if I hadn't made *that* mistake again...

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟩🟨🟩
🟨⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

This one didn't seem hard today:
Connections
Puzzle #82
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦

>142 EBT1002: - True, Ellen. Maybe it just takes getting used to? When I *see* the categories, it feels easy. When I don't, it seems hit and miss and I feel as if I have no idea what I'm doing, lol! It even took me a few days of playing before I understood the mistakes thing.

>140 jessibud2: So, of course, I had to Google him :) He is easy on the eyes.

Have a wonderful weekend, Shelley!

>145 alcottacre: - I'm assuming you found your way to this page: ;-)
https://www.kadirnelson.com/about
Such a talent!

have a great weekend, you too, Stasia.

>146 jessibud2: Yes, that is where I went.

Thanks, Shelley!

Canadian Wildlife Photography winners. Some real beauties here!

https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/announcing-the-winners-of-the-2023-canadi...

Connections was weird today. For 2 of the groups, it said I was *one away*. I still think my one guess in one of the groups would have worked but I guess it would have messed up what remained. At least I didn't bomb totally.
Connections
Puzzle #83
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟨🟨🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟦🟦🟦
🟦🟪🟪🟪
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟦🟦🟦🟦

As for wordle, I'm still working on it. It's going to be one of those days where I have to walk away and come back with fresh eyes. For now, I'm stuck.

Well, finally:

Wordle 805 4/6 meaty, pious, avion, onion

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

>148 jessibud2: Amazing photos Shelley, I especially like the top one.

>151 Caroline_McElwee: - Some of those (well, all of them, really) were gorgeous!

Wordle 806 5/6 meaty, tract, plant, pious. await

⬜⬜🟩🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Oddly, I found today's connections very easy, almost too easy. Not complaining....;-)

Connections
Puzzle #84
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦

Wordle 807 4/6 meaty, pious, dingy, giddy

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟩⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections
Puzzle #85
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟦🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪

>148 jessibud2: Wonderful pictures, Shelley! Loved the first one, but several others were really striking.

Looks to me like you are doing great on Connections! I definitely have days when I simple cannot.

Thanks, Ella and Rhonda.

This is completely out of left field!

Wordle 808 3/6 meaty, pious, birch

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Not bad though the last one was only correct because it was what was left. I never would have known any of those otherwise:

Connections
Puzzle #86
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪

I haven't posted much lately about what I'm reading, which doesn't mean I'm not reading. My 2 current reads are Playing With Myself by none other than the brilliant Randy Rainbow. And What Are We For?, a compilation of wisdom from the writings of Eleanor Roosevelt. Very different books, for sure, but both very honest. I also have about 3 other books on my table that I had started before and want to get back to to finish.

But first, more drama in Montreal. I will probably have to go again in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I have drafted a letter to the head of nursing and to the director of the residence where my mother lives. I can't even begin to explain how much I despise and avoid at all costs, the very thought of confrontation. But enough is enough and I am done being *good*. I did not use any swear words or threats in my letter. But I listed the 7 most concerning issues, with dates (yes, I document everything) and told them there are more but these are the most pressing at the moment. I also said I look forward to their response and that there must be a response.

I am also once again, looking for another place to move her. I wanted to avoid moving her because I don't think it's a good idea. But I no longer have trust in where she is and I see no choice. I just hope I can get lucky and find something. And my family wonders why I am angry and stressed all the time.....

>148 jessibud2: These Canadian Wildlife Photography winners are absolutely incredible. Hard to pick a favorite but those great grey owl fledglings might be the one for me. Thanks for sharing.

Good luck with that drama in Montreal. Sighs...

>159 jessibud2: Any chance you could move your mum to a place in Toronto? You could see her more often and would have to travel shorter distances. That might not be feasible at all, but it would make things so much easier for you. Best of luck with what you have ahead of you. I hope all goes as best as it can.

>135 jessibud2: Your comment regarding reading illustrated children's books as an adult vs when a child is so very well said. I am thinking of you as you try your best to sort through issues with the place where your mother is housed. My heart goes out to you.

>161 SqueakyChu: I was thinking the same thing as Madeline, Shelley . Could you move your mom to Toronto, or is the heath care coverage a big deal ? Best wishes.

Hi all, What an ordeal LT is going through at the moment. Practically needed a body scanner to get in the front door!

Re my mum. I did get one response, from the head of nursing. I was hoping the director of the facility would reply but he did not. I was not impressed with the reply I got, For one thing, he misread one of my issues completely and I had to correct him. For another, the rest is basically babble, just *official-speak* about doing better, taking appropriate disciplinary steps (my biggest fear, of course, is that those disciplined will take it out on my mother. Of course, they *shouldn't* but they are human and I am not dumb, and if no one is there to see....). Anyhow, I did what I had to do and I have to accept that it is what it is.

I did finally speak to the hematologist last night and she wants a CT scan so I will be going back once they call me with an appointment date. Probably toward the end of the month. As for moving my mother to Toronto, that was never an option. Her entire medical file and team are in Montreal and even if the health system weren't so f'd up, health care coverage is different in each province and navigating the nightmare of switching over is the last thing I want to deal with. Besides, the few friends and family she has left who visit her regularly, her cousin and husband, are in Montreal so she'd lose that in-person connection. So, no, not even a thought. And I am certainly not going to move back to Montreal! Besides, travelling by train gives me *forced* reading time, which is a good thing, as I seem to be so distracted otherwise and my reading has suffered this because of that. :-)

Connections
Puzzle #87
🟨🟪🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟨🟨🟨🟨

Wordle - meaty, chain, gnash

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

>159 jessibud2: I am so sorry that you are going through this with the staff at the facility your mom is at. Sometimes it is best to move the patient somewhere else to get the proper care at a place that is managed better. ((hugs))

>159 jessibud2: >166 figsfromthistle: What Anita said! I hope you can get some resolution to your mother's situation soon.

Just made it! *Phew* indeed

Wordle 810 6/6 meaty, prior, queen, shelf, whelk, dwell
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩⬜
🟨⬜🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I am *perfect*! Ha! Who knew?
Connections
Puzzle #88
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪

>166 figsfromthistle:, >167 alcottacre: - I really don't want to move her again, if I can avoid that. Her dementia is progressing and even though she may not know or remember the names of the staff she sees every day, her physical surroundings and routines are familiar and to disrupt that, I think, would not be a good thing. She is also beginning to have some difficulties with language, word retrieval, etc. She can't always speak, that is, answer when you talk to her or ask her something though she will nod or shake her head in response. She also sometimes starts to say something then stops dead as she either forgets or simply can't get the words out. It's very sad but being with people who know her, helps. Moving her, I think, would lose that. No easy solutions here.

I got yet another reply from the head of nursing yesterday. He ended his email by thanking me for working with them and placing my trust in them. Sheesh. I forwarded that to my brother and told him that it was a crock of you-know-what. I've practically had to turn summersaults to get THEM to work with ME, and as for trust, ha! Not quite....

*eye roll*...

*eye rolling* along with you Shelley. So stressful. I'm sure it can be as bad here too. Luck of the draw, and all very expensive.

Thanks, Caroline.

Does anyone get book recommendations? Today I got 29 recommendations. Got it 4 times. Is it possible to delete the duplicates?

>169 jessibud2: Geez louise. Sounds like the administrator hears what he wants to hear.

>171 jessibud2: Yes, I get the book recommendations. I get 1000 at a time, no idea why. I would not know if I had any duplicates, lol.

>172 alcottacre:- A fifth just landed. All the same. Sheesh. I wonder if it's part of the recent glitches

And yes, that's part if the problem with administrators. But he/they will be hearing from me a lot more frequently if I don't see real changes. Immediately.

Wordle 811 5/6 meaty, pious, souse, louse, rouse

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections
Puzzle #89
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟦🟦🟦🟦

I am almost finished - it will happen today - Playing With Myself, Randy Rainbow's memoir. I only heard of him when his political spoofs started appearing on youtube during covid. I find him to be wickedly funny, clever, brilliant. My kind of humour, for sure.

It was so interesting to read his backstory, his unusual family, bullied as a kid (not just for his name, which is actually his real name!), and how the course of his life led to where he is now. I had no knowledge of any of it and I loved the parts where he explains exactly how he creates the youtube videos. There is plenty of name-dropping in the book, as there must be, in fact; it's part of his story!

He doesn't read or write music, and had no tech background at all; learned everything he needed to know about how to make the videos just from watching youtube tutorials! But what he has in spades is wit, humour and guts. And an insane memory for and love of Broadway musicals. I was laughing out loud a lot! For example, the agent who signed him, then ignored him then told him he was basically a nobody who would go nowhere. And then the 2016 election just happened to come along, and the rest, as they say, .....

Of course, reading this book was interspersed with many breaks as I re-watched so many of his youtube videos. I don't think I can even pick a favourite. I think each new one is my favourite!

But this one, from BEFORE the 2016 election, has to be right up there!

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?&q=braggadocious+randy+ra...

From today's Thought for the Day. Interesting that this was written by someone who lived over a hundred years ago, and intended for the USA, because it could have been written today, and applicable pretty much anywhere in the world. Seems there's a lesson in there that has simply not been learned over the years...

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
If more politicians in this country were thinking about the next generation instead of the next election, it might be better for the United States and the world. -Claude Pepper, senator and representative (8 Sep 1900-1989)

>177 jessibud2: Claude Pepper got that right!

Wordle 812 3/6 meaty, doily, lucky

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Bombed out today in Connections. Too many overlaps of words and categories, did me in!
Connections
Puzzle #90
🟦🟦🟪🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟨🟨🟨

>176 jessibud2: So clever.

Good luck with your mom's care. I know moving is hard, but my experience is that if the move is to better care, it usually works out. Of course, getting good dementia care is so hard that it might not be better in the end. But maybe it she was closer to you it would be better?

>180 Caroline_McElwee: - He really is, Caroline!

>181 banjo123: - A move closer to me just isn't feasible, Rhonda. She needs to be where her medical team is and besides, health care coverage here in Canada varies from province to province. Even if it was easy and seamless to just find a doctor here (and it isn't, hasn't been for a long time), there is usually a waiting period for coverage to kick in. I remember when a cousin of mine who had moved out of province, moved back, she had to wait 3 months for her coverage to be reinstated. There is simply no way for my mother to go for any length of time without a doctor or coverage.

Wordle 813 4/6 meaty, chute, quite, quote

⬜🟨⬜🟩⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟩🟩
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

For Connections, I got my first 2 groups easily. For the life of me, I cannot make sense of the remaining 8 words. I have used up 2 tries for a group I was sure was right (but isn't) and I have one try left before I bomb. But there are 3 words that I see no connection to anything.

Edited to add: I bombed. That final category was a killer!

Connections
Puzzle #91
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟨🟨🟪
🟪🟨🟨🟨

A friend of mine moved her elderly father from Ottawa to Toronto. Although she checked out the residence -it was a bad move. You are right to keep your mother in Montreal.

>185 torontoc: - Among all the other reasons I mentioned and considered, a physical/geographical move for a person with increasing dementia would be so very disorienting. I know my mother - even among her familiar settings and routines and people who know and love her - is already disoriented and confused. I can't, in good conscience, add to that by moving her. I just have step up my vigilance of her care at the residence. And maybe visit more often.

Wow, moving between states is hard here, but that sounds impossible. We did move my mother in law out here; she did OK for a while, then her dementia got worse and she’s have done terribly anywhere.
She is lucky you are able to travel to her; that is a huge gift you’re giving her

Thinking about you and your mother, Shelley. I hope that everything works out fine. x

>187 banjo123:, >188 PaulCranswick: - Thanks, Rhonda and Paul. I have visited every month so far this year plus twice in May and July. It's a trek, for sure (7 hours travel one way) but she is my mother and this is what we do for family. For a number of reasons, the bulk of this falls to me even though my brother lives geographically much closer. Not in Canada but still closer. But he is still working full time and - sorry if this sounds sexist but unfortunately, I just believe this to be true in our case - he is a guy, and rather clueless and oblivious to the needs on so many levels, of our mother. Whatever, I am happy to do it all but it's exhausting, to say the least.

Wordle 814 5/6 meaty, pious, where, corer, older

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I have completed 2 of the 4 categories in Connections and am completely stumped on what remains. I see no connections at all with the 8 words left. Maybe I will try again later.

I never did get Connections yesterday. No idea how those last 8 words fit together. Today, on the other hand, was easy:
Connections
Puzzle #93
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪

I am still working on Wordle. My handyman just left so I will try to get back to it shortly.

Wordle 815 4/6 meaty, pious, shirk, whisk

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨
🟨🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Tech question. Could I get an iPhone if I don't have any other Apple devices? I am so done with my Samsung. Difficulties sending texts for awhile now and today was the final straw: the entire thread of texts with my mother's caregiver suddenly disappeared. They included photos and other vital information. I did not delete anything, they just were gone, not there. Spoke to 4 different so-called tech support people since Saturday and not one was able to get things sorted. I'm done. I have to be able to rely on text communication. I never wanted an iPhone because it will cost me 2 to 3 times what I now pay and I will never use half the bells and whistles I will be paying for but I need to know I have something reliable.

>193 jessibud2: Yes, you can get an iphone with no other devices. My only smart phones have been iphones since I upgraded from a flip phone years ago. I've had two. I kept my iphone 6 until it didn't have enough memory to be able to use any longer. I now have an iphone 13 and have not had any problems with it. I actually do have an ipad, but I've never used it since I got my iphone. Barbara also has an iphone. I think she got it only because I had an iphone. Her current model is an iphone pro which she chose because of its excellence with photographs.

>193 jessibud2: I would just question whether it's your phone, or your service provider that's responsible for the missing messages. There are ways to back up your text messages to another device (I realize it may be too late to save what's lost, but going forward that might help you, whatever phone you're using).

>194 SqueakyChu:, >195 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks Madeleine and Linda. Good to know. I spoke to 3 different tech support people today (and one this past Saturday). One might think that one of them might have been able to figure this out. After the third one, I finally said you know what, I think it's time for me to find a phone I can rely on because I need something reliable.

My friend just got an iphone 13 as well. Tomorrow will be my research day. Good thing my dentist appointment is Friday and not tomorrow. Almost as painful....

>196 jessibud2: Barbara has the iphone 13 PRO. My older son has the iphone 13 PRO Max. I don't have any complaints about either of the iphones I had. As a matter of fact, I was sad about having to give up my iphone 6. I was very attached to it. There is a weird issue now with one of my friends with a Samsung who sends me messages each day. Sometimes I get them, and sometimes I don't. I have not heard of this happening to anyone else who messages me. I don't know if it's her phone or her provider.

>197 SqueakyChu: - Yes, I have had problems sending texts, too. About a month or 2 ago, I was suddenly getting messages that I was near the end of my data, which turns out was not true at all. I told the tech support guy at that time that I don't watch or download anything, I just use it as a phone, for texting and as a camera. When I was in Mtl, my petsitter sent me 3 15-second videos of my cats but he said that 3 15 second videos were not going to use up data. He was the one who suggested that I turn off my data when I am at home and turn it back on when I am out. Also, to turn it on if I want to attach emojis or photos to a text. A pain in the ass to remember but I got used to doing that.

Then, I would write a text, not even long ones, and with no attachments or emojis, and I'd get a message: cannot send. Check options. There were only 2 options: delete or resend. It often takes 3 or 4 tries resending before it goes through. When I called about this last Saturday, he helped me reset stuff in the settings but it continued to happen. Often. Then yesterday, when the entire thread of texts disappeared, that was it. No more. I have enough stress in my life, I should be able to use a freaking phone without having to stress more. Anyhow, at least it's not raining today so I am out of here to go waste more money....

Wordle 816 4/6 meaty, pious, wager, clear

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections
Puzzle #94
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟪🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪

Much easier today. The only mistake was my third group because there were 5 that could have fit and I initially chose the wrong one.

>198 jessibud2: I have had an occasional text message that didn't go through (stating "not delivered"). I don't know why this sometimes happens. In those cases, I usually just try to send a smaller text or send pictures individually instead of in groups, and that helps. I think my data is backed up on "the cloud", but I've never had to retrieve anything so I never tried to do that. I'm no techie either. This is just my experience.

>198 jessibud2: Unless there is something actually wrong with your own phone, all of that strengthens my suspicion that your provider is to blame for the trouble you're having. My husband and I have Samsung Androids (and have for years), and our daughter does as well. She tends to get a new phone every couple years, but we don't. We haven't experienced any of the issues you've mentioned.

>201 SqueakyChu: - Even smaller texts with nothing attached, not even emojis, has caused this to happen.

>202 laytonwoman3rd: - I know, you and others I know have mentioned this to are happy with their Samsungs. But this one has given me grief from the day I got it. None of the tech support people seem to know what to do. I have noticed that I have also received contradictory info and advice from different support people. I thought I was speaking to the providers. They are the ones I pay every month for my data and service plan, not Samsung per se. Anyhow, too much to do today. Tomorrow will be my day to run around and see what I can find.

>203 jessibud2: In defense of Samsung, my daughter and my husband have them and have always been fine with them. My younger had a Samsung earlier (his wife has always had an iphone), but now has a Pixel. I just stick with what works for me! :D

>203 jessibud2: Maybe you got a lemon! I hope you can get a solution that works for you...no fun not to be able to rely on your technology.

I am hoping you get your phone woes worked out soon, Shelley. I know that this is one more thing that you do not need!

I'm not sure what to say about the phone situation, except I hope you can solve it soon. I have an Apple iphone 14, and no problems, but it is my second apple Iphone and I've not had a problem with either, and I don't know any one who does. One of my son's uses an adroid phone, Samsung and he's not had any problems. Perhaps it is your carrier? If memory serves, you use Lucky Mobile? I don't know what kind of service they give. I used to use telus and no problem , but then my younger son convinced us that Koodoo was a less expensive option and it is a self serve version of Telus and no problem there either. Best of luck getting it all sorted out quickly. I think my son Daniel that uses the Samsung phone uses Bell as his carrier, if that helps.

Off to the dentist.

Wordle 817 4/6 meaty, plays, mayor, rayon. My first blooper, in the second turn, was accidental. The third turn was deliberate, trying to get the letters I had into their correct spots and maybe hit on another correct letter. Which is what happened. After that, there wasn't much choice. Whew

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections will have to wait for later in the day when I get home.

I am so sorry to hear that you are still laboring through issues with your mother's care. It shouldn't be like this.

Connections - pretty easy for me today (unlike other days!)
Puzzle #95
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪

I will try to update more tomorrow but let's just say, I spent HOURS at the store today, getting a new cell phone. NOT an iphone, as it turns out, but another Samsung Galaxy. Even in the store, with the gal watching, my texts wouldn't send. She had never seen anything like it. She did say the model I had was old, and probably outdated (odd, since I only got it less than a year ago) but the one I have is a much newer one. Here's where the problems began though. Problems transferring data from the old phone to the new. Problems emptying data from the old phone so they could take it as a trade-in. HOURS! Anyhow, bottom line, all seems ok now. There are still things I need to look up on my own (as I really don't want to have to go back for small issues), such as how to get my screen to not rotate, and how to change the sound so that emails just vibrate and don't all sound like incoming texts. I think I am capable of figuring that much out myself. But man, there is no way on earth I could have done all this on my own or even over the phone. This better be the last cell phone I ever need to get because who the hell has that kind of time?! She was VERY patient and persevered till all was functioning. But... HOURS!!!

>209 BLBera: - Missed you up there, Beth, sorry. Thanks for your kind words. I will be heading back to Mtl on Sept 26th but only for 4 days.

>211 jessibud2: Yikes! That sounds dreadful, but I hope you are happy with your new phone, there will be no problems with this one, and it will last a long time.

Sending lots of positivity for unfettered and non-frustrating phone usage from here on!

>213 SqueakyChu:, >214 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks. I have a list of around 4 things I need help with this morning but I will play with it for awhile, waiting for my handyman to return, and if I can't figure things out on my own, I will head back to the store later.

Wordle 818 4/6 meaty, stern, overt, exert

⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟩🟩⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections Well, that last category is really pushing it, isn't it?

Puzzle #96
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟦🟨🟨
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪

Wordle 819 4/6 meaty, cache, quean, angel

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟨⬜⬜🟨
⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections Took awhile, had to walk away and come back but I got it done. Some of this was tricky today...

Puzzle #97
🟦🟦🟦🟪
🟦🟦🟦🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪

I struggled a bit with the blue and purple lines in today's connections, too, Shelley.

>218 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen. Some days are definitely trickier than others. Sometimes it seems that 5 words make a category then it's hit and miss deciding which one goes somewhere else. But it's fun!

Wordle 820 3/6 meaty, mourn, music

🟩⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Todays, for example, I totally bombed in Connections. For exactly the reason I mentioned to Ellen in >219 jessibud2:: there were more than one category that had too many possible options. Oh well.

If getting it in 6 is a *phew!*, how could getting it in 5 be *great*? But that's what it says:

Wordle 821 5/6 meaty, poach, slang, brand, frank

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Close (one away) too many times and I ended up totally bombing on connections today. Sheesh

Once more, I find myself flitting. In the middle of far too many books at one time, even for me!

Still reading (with no plans to abandon but it would be nice to finish at least one or two this week!):

Sophie and the Rising Sun
Happily Ever Older
The Book of Lost Friends
I Think I'm Outta Here
The Great Believers
What Are we For

Honestly, they are all good but I just find myself unable to sit and read for any decent period of time. Too much brain clutter and it's getting in my way. I leave for another trek to Mtl next week and I have already packed 3 books (a 4th may possibly find its way into the suitcase) but I am hoping to finish at least 2 or 3 of the above before then. And of course, I am also (always) hoping to make my way to Bonder Books when I am there and see what I can add to suitcase for my return trip...

Hopefully one of these days I will finish and have a worthy lightning round to post!

Wordle 822 4/6 meaty, pious, shone, close

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟨⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Go figure, total bomb yesterday, perfect score today:
Connections
Puzzle #100
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪

>223 jessibud2: I am, like you, a flitter-reader. The one thing I'll say about writing up your thoughts on the reads is that it doesn't need to be a worthy number, whatever that feels like on the day...it needs to serve your needs as a reader. If that's one two-line note or six essays, it's your reading and your thread...we'll keep coming to visit no matter when, if, or how you decide to tell us about your reading. At the very least put that rock down,you're shouldering so many others.

Thank you, Richard! You (and LT in general) are amazing. Shouldering too many rocks is quite accurate, to be honest. I don't even have the energy to go into it all right now but I find myself lurking more than posting here lately because that's all I can do. I don't wish this burden on anyone...

Big smooches to you!

>226 jessibud2: I hope you're going to feel ready to share the burdens sometime soon...lots and lots of shoulders to lean on around here.

*smooch*

Hi Shelley. Just making rounds to catch up, so amazing how fast he threads expand in 3 weeks.

I had to skim but caught RD's comments about shouldering rocks. I hope you can pass off some burdens to someone else dependable. At "our" age, one should not have to deal with such dysfunctional bureaucracies.

I find Connections very challenging too, Shelley, and often bomb out. I am a one book at time person. It's my small brain can handle!

>211 jessibud2: Sounds like an annoying experience. I can't believe the explanation- the phone is too old even though its only a year old. Absolutely ridiculous. I missed is you said that the phone is still under warranty? At least you were able to find a solution and I hope you have no issues with the new phone.

Happy Wednesday, Shelley. We are back from our camping trip and slowly catching up around here. Sorry, to hear that you are still having dealing to deal with so much. I sure hope things get easier for you. You are in our thoughts.

Wordle 823 3/6 meaty, plane, snare

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

>227 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard.

>228 SandyAMcPherson: - Thanks, Sandy. I actually am becoming more bold (but still polite, though barely) in letting those idiot bureaucracies know how I feel. After leaving one voice message and 3 emails to try to coordinate 2 appointments for my mother next week, in my final email I informed the secretary that if I don't hear from her by phone or email next week, we will just show up without an appointment and I will not leave until the bloodwork is done and we have seen the doctor. I told her that I knew the health care system in Ontario was deteriorating but that my experience since my mother got sick is that in Montreal, and especially in this hospital, it is far worse. And completely unacceptable. Guess what? I got a reply email within a couple of hours. And she said that we should come and she would fit me in. And it was the doctor herself who had told me when I last spoke to her to arrange for the 2 appointments to be on that day, to just contact her secretary (ha!). I'm amazed I am not bald. I could tear my hair out every time I need to try to communicate with anyone there.

>229 vancouverdeb: - Hi Deb. Connections is hit or miss with me. Usually it's all or nothing!

>230 figsfromthistle: - Hi Anita. Well, so far so good with the new phone. There are still a few things I am trying to figure out but so far, it seems to be working well.

>231 msf59: - Hi, Mark, thanks. I saw your photos, such beautiful scenery. I have been lurking more than posting but hopefully, will catch up one of these days. I have a busy few days ahead as I prepare for anther trek to Mtl plus getting together with different friends over the next few days and taking in an art fair on Sunday.

Meanwhile, I got the first 2 groups (yellow and green) fairly easily in Connections today, but I can see absolutely zero connections between the remaining 8 words. Oh well.

Sheesh. I just took another stab at it. I got the final 2 groupings but purely by fluke, not by any logic. The *connection* I thought of for the blue group got the correct words but was nowhere near what they said was the grouping. And of course, the last group I got by default but still didn't see the connection until I read what it was.

Connections
Puzzle #101
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟦🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟦🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪

>211 jessibud2: I do not have that kind of patience, Shelley. HOURS? That is just ridiculous!

>223 jessibud2: I hope one of your current books grabs you so that you can finish it :)

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

>236 alcottacre: - I don't know about the patience part, Stasia. I didn't have much choice. It helped that the store is close to my house so when I couldn't remember the passwords to the 2 emails I wanted on the phone (on my laptop, I never log out so no need to *remember* them), I was able to just go home to get them and go back. 10 minutes.

Wordle 824 3/6 meaty. stile, stone

⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Guessy guessy today:

Wordle 825 6/6 meaty, pious, shush, flush, crush, brush Phew, indeed.

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I got the first 2 categories in Connections, easily. I can see absolutely no connections for the remaining 8 words. That appears to be becoming my default...

>237 jessibud2: Well, at least retrieving the passwords was easy!

Have a fantastic Friday, Shelley!

Hi Stasia, wishing you a great weekend ahead!

Well, thanks to Mary (storeetllr) I now have a new game to add to the wake-up-the-brain morning mix. It may just break my brain as science was never a strong suit for me but I will give it a try. I got the correct answer today with one guess left to spare. I may need to crack a biology book or two...Phew:

🐖 Animal #53 🦄
I figured it out in 19 guesses!
🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟧🟥🟧🟧🟩🟩🟩
🔥 1 | Avg. Guesses: 19

https://metazooa.com/
#metazooa

Wordle 826 4/6 meaty, abhor, razor, carol

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟨⬜⬜🟩🟨
🟨🟩⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Lots of overlap possibilities today but at least I got it:
Connections
Puzzle #104
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟨🟨🟨🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟩🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩

Well, ok. First game yesterday was a fluke. Today involved outright cheating by using google and wikipedia because half, no, more, of what I was looking up I couldn't even pronounce, let alone know what the heck it was. But hey, I'm 2 for 2 regardless so I may continue for awhile yet.

🕊️ Animal #54 🐙
I figured it out in 15 guesses!
🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟥🟨🟨🟩
🔥 2 | Avg. Guesses: 17

https://metazooa.com/
#metazooa

Hi Shelley!

>233 jessibud2: Thanks for the link, this was fun. I have bookmarked it.

Sorry to hear of your reading problems. Same here, when there is too much going on.

>242 jessibud2: Haha, so glad I’m not alone in becoming addicted to this new monster of a puzzle. I save it for last, after I wake up my brain with the numerous word puzzles and Connections. Got today’s, but only just barely. Have fun!

>246 Storeetllr: glad I’m not alone in becoming addicted to this new monster of a puzzle. This is exactly why I have never started Wordle, et al. I would sson get addicted!

Have a wonderful weekend, Shelley!

>245 EllaTim:- Hi Ella. Thanks. Right now, it's just all I can do to make myself read for even half an hour straight (without falling asleep)>. I am trying to stick to lighter books or at least, not such dark ones.

>246 Storeetllr: - Mary, thanks (I think). I don't drink coffee at all so this is my brain wake-up. Seriously, though, I don't think I could do it at all without google. It's interesting, though. I am not sure what the colours represent but I guess all that matters in the end is whether or not I can get to the right answer before the guesses run out. We'll see. I also do a few puzzles from the NYT game page (tiles, letter-boxed, mini crossword, and spelling bee, though not all of them every day or I'd be sitting on my bum all day!

>247 alcottacre: - Stasia, as a game player, I thought you'd be on this for sure!
Have a great weekend.

>248 jessibud2: I use google. Otherwise, I’d be all over the place. It’s fascinating, though. I love the way it populates.

>247 alcottacre: Yes, but it’s a good kind of addiction. 😉 I play while I’m having breakfast, which kicks my brain into gear. Otherwise, I’d probably be on social media, which just ticks me off.

Birds being birds, courtesy of Audubon:

https://www.audubon.org/news/our-favorite-fascinating-bird-behaviors-2020-audubo...

I tried your game, Shelly!🐠 Animal #55 🐧
I figured it out in 14 guesses!
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
🔥 1 | Avg. Guesses: 14

https://metazooa.com/
#metazooa

>250 Storeetllr: - I bet this game, had it been invented (and had there been computers back in the dark ages when we were in school), would have made biology FUN!

>253 vancouverdeb: - Yay, go you, Deb!

This could have been a guessing game but I guessed right the first time, once I got those last letters!

Wordle 827 4/6 meaty, foist, digit, right

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Bombed at Connections. Got the first 2 categories easily but as often happens, I could not make sense of the remaining ones. When I saw the third category, I knew I'd never have gotten it (Super Mario related?! Not a chance.

Connections
Puzzle #105
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟪🟪
🟦🟦🟪🟦
🟦🟦🟪🟦
🟦🟦🟦🟪

Whoa! This was a fluke!!

🐋 Animal #55 🦘
I figured it out in 5 guesses!
🟨🟨🟨🟩🟩
🔥 3 | Avg. Guesses: 13

https://metazooa.com/
#metazooa

>252 jessibud2: Thanks for sharing the Audubon pics, Shelley. Simply gorgeous. I love the Crested Caracaras. I have been fortunate to have seen them in the wild, along with several of the other birds featured.

Wordle 828 4/6 meaty, windy, furry, rocky

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

I got the first group in Connections easily but and struggling in the next ones. I may try later in the day as I don't have time now. I have a ton of things to get done before my travel day tomorrow

Morning, Shelley. I hope the new week goes better than you expect it to.

*smooch*

>253 vancouverdeb:, >254 jessibud2: I joined in this game and it is great fun. I also love how the taxonomic tree populates, Mary (at #250).

Good thing it matters not at all if one uses Wikipedia to find out the arcane family names. I got today's in 4. But *not* because of any genius on my part.

I couldn't get the share button to work, though I've no intention of sharing on LT. I confine game shares only with one family member.

>247 alcottacre: No, I try and play board games every day instead.

>251 Storeetllr: My social media is LT, so no worries there :)

Well, I doubt I will ever beat my score from yesterday (5 guesses) but at least I haven't bombed yet!

🐂 Animal #56 🦙
I figured it out in 7 guesses!
🟨🟩🟩🟨🟩🟩🟩
🔥 4 | Avg. Guesses: 11.5

https://metazooa.com/
#metazooa

>261 alcottacre: - LT (and bookcrossing) are my social media, too, Stasia. Never had any temptation to go elsewhere. And I'd play board games if any of my friends here in the city enjoyed that but none do, only my out of town friends do and so I play Scrabble online with them!

My 46 day streak for wordle on my laptop is broken now that I am only on my phone while away but in fact, I have not really broken it at all, as I got it in 4 today. And got Connections in 4, too. I can't face trying Metazooa on this tiny screen so that will have to await my return to the laptop.

Finished one book on the train and started Lessons in Chemistry.

I did bring 2 other books with me but you just know that there will be more coming home if I can manage to squeeze in a walk to the bookstore. Not a given, sadly, as there is much I need to tend to in the 2 days I have here before going home, but I am sure going to try!

I'm home, for the moment but I will be going back a week from Monday. I will write more later.

Still working on Wordle, but Connections was easy this morning

Connections
Puzzle #111
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟪🟪🟪🟪

Got it:
Wordle 833 5/6 meaty, fancy, dairy, dally, daddy

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

First word helped:

Wordle 835 2/6 meaty, merry

🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections
Puzzle #113
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟪🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟪🟪🟪🟪