RebaRelishesReading 2023 page 5

Welcome Fall -- my very favorite season!

I joined LT in 2007 because I wanted to catalog my library but didn't truly appreciate the full wonder of the place until I found the 75'ers in 2012 (I think that's the year). It's a favorite part of my morning now. I also love meeting other members in person when possible.

For those of you I don't know, I'll introduce my self a bit. I'm a Californian by birth and have lived there much of my life but late in 2020 Hubby and I decided it was time to leave our condo in the Uptown district of San Diego and move to some place quieter and, most importantly, nearer our youngest grandchild. We have two older grandchildren who we adore but Ally is away at college and Kyle is a high school senior so they probably won't be living near us anymore even if we had stayed in San Diego. Quinn will turn four in January so we will have many years enjoying him growing up as we did the other two. So I've added Washington State to the list of places I've lived at various times in my life (California, Arizona, Connecticut, the Netherlands, England, the Netherlands, California, Ireland, California) and I'm enjoying becoming a north-westerner.

I'm a retired city planner who travels a lot (or did pre-Covid). We spent 11 summers at the Chautauqua Institution in western New York but among our recent changes we have sold our place there. We have plans to go back for two weeks in summer 2023 however :)

I read mostly fiction with a helping of biography or history thrown in. A couple of years ago I finished a personal challenge to read all of the Pulitzer Prize winning fiction and now I'm working on National Book Award fiction winners.

I recently joined a real-life book club, Women with Spines, and am excited to see what reading adventures this bring

My ranking system:
Superb *****
Excellent ****1/2
Very good ****
Good ***1/2
Average ***
Don't bother **
Terrible *

I try to keep this in mind when I'm assigning stars but I know I'm also influenced by my current mood, etc. so don't take it too very, very seriously.

JANUARY
1. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens****
2. Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver****1/2

FEBRUARY
3. The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston****
4. A World of Curiosities by Louise Penny****1/2
5. Moonrise Over New Jessup by Jamila Minnicks****1/2
6. Violeta by Isabel Allende***
7. Horse by Geraldine Brooks*****
8. We Are the Light by Matthew Quick***
9. Zorrie by Laird Hunt****
10. Het Nieuwe Land by Eva Vriend****

MARCH
11. The Ways of My Grandmothers by Beverly Hungry Wolf ***1/2
12. A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier ****1/2
13. A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay*****
14. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward*****
15. The Last Romantics by Tara Conklin****
16. The Round House by Louise Erdrich*****
17.Carnegie’s MaId by Marie Benedict****
18. The Friend by Sigrid Nunez****
19. The Centaur by John Updike****
20. Harry’s Trees by Jon Cohen*****
21. Let The Great World Spin by Colum McCann ****

APRIL
22. The Guest Book by Sarah Blake****
23. Queen Bee by Dorothea Benton Frank***1/2
24. Lord of Misrule by Jaimy Gordon**
25. The Rabbit Hutch by Tess Gunty**1/2
26. Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie*** (audio)
27. Maame by Jessica George****
28. Secrets of the Cottage by the Sea by Rebecca Alexander*** (audio)

MAY
29. The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell****1/2
30. The Mitford Affair by Marie Benedict***1/2 (audio)
31. Aunt Bessie Assumes by Diana Carissa***(audio)
32. Princess Margaret: A Life of Contrasts ***1/2 (audio)
33. The Winners by Fredrik Backman ***1/2
34. Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan****
35. The Golden Hour by Beatrice Williams *** (audio)
36. A Share in Death by Deborah Crombie ***1/2 (audio)

JUNE
37. A Country You Can Leave by Asale Angel-Ajdni ****
38. All Shall Be Well by Deborah Crombie****(audio)
39. The Snow Storm by Triana Walsh****(audio)
40. Trust by Hernan Diaz *****
41. Autism Spectrum Disorder by Chantal Sicile-Kira****1/2
42. I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai****
43. Black Butterflies by Priscilla Morris*****

JULY
44. The Postcard by Anne Berest ***1/2
45. To Kill a Troubadour by Martin Walker ****(audio)
46. Grandparent's Guide to Autism Spectrum Disorders by Nancy Mucklow*****
47. Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan.***** (audio)
48. Between Two Moons by Aisha Abdel Goad ***1/2
49 The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray ****1/2
50. Somebody's Fool by Richard Russo ****1/2

AUGUST
51. Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult****
52. A Future We Can Love by Susan Bauer-Wu*****
53. The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama****1/2(audio)
54. In Falling Snow by Mary-Rose MacColl ****
55. "G" is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton ***1/2(audio)
56. "H" is for Homicide by Sue Grafton ***1/2(audio)
57. "I" is for Innocent by Sue Grafton ***1/2(audio)
58. "F" is for Fugitive by Sue Grafton ***1/2(audio)
59. The Paris Apartment by Kelly Bowen****(audio)

SEPTEMBER
60. Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson****
61. Her Hidden Genius by Marie Benedict****
62. "K" is for Killer by Sue Grafton ***1/2 (audio)
63. The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins ****
64. Brigid of Kildare by Marie Benedict ***1/2(audio)
65. Tom Lake by Ann Patchett ****1/2
66. L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton **(audio)
67. Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt**** (audio)
68. Dreams of Joy by Lisa See****1/2

OCTOBER
69. Elephant Company by Vicki Constantine Croke*****
70. The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman***1/2
71. Oksana Behave by Maria Kuznetsova **** (audio)
72. M is for Malice by Sue Grafton ***1/2 (audio)
73. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan*****
74. The Seventh Daughter by Cecilia Chiang***
75. N is for Noose by Sue Grafton ***1/2 (audio)

NOVEMBER
76. J is for Judgment by Sue Grafton ****(audio)
77. The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich*****
78. An Elephant in my Kitchen by Françoise Malby-Anthony, Katja Willemsen*****(audio)
79. The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest***

Glad you followed me over to my new page. Look forward to having you visit often. This site is now open :)

Happy new thread, Reba!

Hi Diana -- I was just reading your thread when I noticed I got a message! Thank you for stoping by. If I was Richard I would have a beautiful crown to award you but I'm not and I don't -- I am most happy to have you open my new thread however. Welcome!

We're expecting rain today (and for several days to come) and we have nothing on the calendar for today so I've declared it a "sea day" (term from cruising -- on land it's a day when I don't leave the house and stay in my robe all day) -- some knitting, some TV, some reading ahhhhhh.

L is for Lawless by Sue Grafton** (audio)

In this one Kinsey gets herself involved with things she never should have gone near and the outcome is not pretty. No thank you.

New 🧵 orisons, Reba. The latest ear-read doesn't sound like it was a hit... better luck with the rest of the weekend.

Happy new one, Reba!

Happy new thread Reba!

You found a very fine topper!

Happy new thread, Reba. Great picture of your new car on your previous thread. Have you been able to drive it yet?

Happy new thread!

Happy new thread, Reba xx

Happy new thread, Reba!

Like you, fall is my favorite season. Sadly this year summer doesn't want to end over here.

Connections
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>10 richardderus: Indeed Richard it was not however the rest of the weekend is going well. We have tickets for the symphony this afternoon :)

>11 katiekrug:, >12 quondame: Thank you Katie and Susan

>13 Familyhistorian: Hi Meg. Yes we brought it home on Thursday and did a couple of errands with it on Friday. We still have our old car too because the friends who bought it are out of town and left it with us until they return.

>14 figsfromthistle:, >15 PaulCranswick:, >16 FAMeulstee: Thank you and welcome Anita, Paul and Anita!

Happy new thread, Reba!

>18 RebaRelishesReading: I hope you had a good time at the symphony!

Symphonic sounds to replace the tedious ear-read...lucky coincidence, or crafty plan...?

Happy new one, Reba. You are zipping through the Grafton series. My next one is "I".

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>19 atozgrl: Thank you, Irene. The symphony was wonderful as always. We have a local orchestra that plays about 10 minutes from our house. It's so pleasant to go with no stress involved in travel or parking plus they're really good :)

>20 richardderus: lucky coincidence, Richard -- especially since I'm now ear-reading Remarkably Bright Creatures which is charming.

>21 BLBera: Hi Beth. Nice to know we're walking the Kinsey path together :) I skipped J is for Judgment because I wasn't able to download it even though I bought it and it shows in my "library". I have since discovered that I can get to it on my laptop so I guess I'll just do it that way. It's less portable but I often knit while I'm listening and no need to move around for that.

Little grandson and Mom were supposed to come over for a visit this morning but we just heard he's under the weather and they won't be coming. He started kindergarten this year but she was going to keep him home today anyway because the school was going to have its "first active shooter drill" this morning!!!! I can't really express how much it upsets me that in this country we won't control guns and, instead, subject 5 year-olds to "active shooter drills"!!! One of several things that make me spitting angry!!!

>23 RebaRelishesReading: I'm so glad you're enjoying Remarkably Bright Creatures! I was very, very fond of it.

Enjoy the week-ahead's reads, Reba.

>25 richardderus: Thanks Richard -- you too :)

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>24 RebaRelishesReading: Five year olds???
This leaves me speechless...

>28 FAMeulstee: Yes, his entire school which includes "kindergarten" classes which are for 5 year-olds!! Schools are now being built with high fences and gates and special locking doors -- all in an attempt to stop mass shootings at schools. Some have armed guards.

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It's been raining gently for two days now making both me and the garden very happy. Keeping my fingers crossed that this really is the beginning of fall!

*smoochiesmoochsmooch*

>2 RebaRelishesReading: I joined LT in 2007 because I wanted to catalog my library That is the same reason that I joined LT! I lucked out with the 75ers and joined the year of the group's inception, 2008.

>24 RebaRelishesReading: One of the reasons I homeschooled my girls was because of school shootings. I do not blame you at all for being spitting mad!

Happy new thread, Reba!

>32 richardderus: Good morning Richard dear :)

>33 alcottacre: Hi Stasia. I find myself shaking my head in disgust with the world more and more...which makes me feel older and older :(
LT is a bright spot though :)

>34 RebaRelishesReading: I find myself shaking my head in disgust with the world more and more...which makes me feel older and older :(

You are not alone there.

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Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt**** (audio)

Cameron is thirty and his life is a mess. He has never held a job for more than a couple of weeks and his girlfriend just kicked him out of their apartment. He heads to Modesto to visit the aunt who raised him and then heads north to a small community on Puget Sound where he meets Tova, a 70-year-old widow who works nights cleaning an aquarium where she has made friends with Marcellus, a very bright octopus. The book is the story of all three of these characters, their separate lives as well as their connections. It's a good story over-all but Marcellus is the charm that makes it a four-star read.

Went for Covid/flu shots this morning and hoped to get an RSV while I was there but they don't have it in yet. Then we stopped at TJ's where we got several things including Chicken Piccata (thank you Katie) and chicken pot pie (Hubby loves c.p.p - hope he likes this one). Also picked up some Broccoli/Kale Slaw which I love and a few other odds and ends that jumped into the cart as we passed by including a half-dozen roses for $5.99. These are tiny roses with a lot on each stem -- 45 blooms in total actually!! Final stop was Costco where we first indulged in a dog-deal lunch and then I faced the mega crowded store to pick up some sale items we use plus a rather long list of "wants" from D2 who doesn't have a membership. It now almost 3 p.m. and I'm exhausted!!

That is a very full day! I hope the chicken picatta is a winner for you. I like to make a bit of pasta on the side, tossed with some of the sauce...

>37 RebaRelishesReading: Marcellus rawks! Cute read, ain't it.

*smooch*

>38 RebaRelishesReading:
I had the same experience last Friday when I went to get my shots. I got the Flu and the Pneumonia shots, but no RSV or COVID available. They told me to call back after October 1. They MIGHT know then when it would be coming in.

>39 katiekrug: Hi Katie. I was thinking about making some mashed potatoes but pasta sounds better. I have some Amish noodles my cousin brought us when they visited -- maybe those. We have some left-over pork tenderloin that we should eat tonight so I'm planning the piñata for tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.

>40 richardderus: Hi Richard -- indeed he does and indeed it is :)

>41 benitastrnad: Hi Benita -- as shocking as it seems, Oct. 1 is only next Monday so not so far away. We got the Covid and flu (one each arm -- flu was the more sore one) and I don't need Pneumonia. Our provider will email us when they have RSV.

I'll be having a somewhat quieter day today. I signed up for a pickle ball "drill" at the gym. I haven't played since stopping lessons over a year ago and have hesitated to show up for the "open play" hours at the gym since I don't know what level of play to expect -- either from the group or from myself. I hope I haven't forgotten everything I learned.

D2 may come over today (or maybe tomorrow) to pick up her Costco order.

Otherwise it should be a quiet day. It's still raining softly most of the time and is a brisk 57/14 degrees outside right now (9:37 a.m.). I LOVE FALL!!!

Second good day in a row with Connections:

Puzzle #109
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>42 RebaRelishesReading: - I hope you enjoy the piñata ;-)

I'm getting my COVID booster tomorrow. I was going to wait to get the flu so both arms wouldn't hurt, but maybe I'll just bite the bullet and go for it...

>44 katiekrug: LOL -- didn't notice that typo Katie. Actually by the time I went to bed my arms only hurt if I actually pressed on the band aid covering the injection site -- so really no problem -- but then reactions differ. Hope you have an easy one.

>42 RebaRelishesReading: I didn't know TJs sold these ... 😂



I've served piccata with plain old spaghetti before. The pasta gets all lemony and it's delicious.

>46 lauralkeet: LOL - maybe they do in So. Cal :) Good idea! I think I'll make some pasta to go with the chicken and sauce.

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⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩Now I'm having trouble with Wordle :( least acrid peony baddy faddy waddy

A music venue in Portland is offering a program today for kids from "0-10" to explore musical instruments. Our little grandson (age 5) is totally nuts about music so we're hoping to take him today. He did end up at the doctor yesterday with an ear infection but hopefully the meds will have kicked in and he will be OK to go.

Here's the description of the event: "The Reser has partnered with local arts providers to create a day of fun, interactive musical experiences designed to empower, build community connection, and inspire creativity. The Musical Playground aims to provide an interactive and inclusive experience where children and families can create music together in a fun and carefree way. There will be a variety of music stations that will allow children of all ages to play drums, guitars, pianos, violins, and ukuleles with the support of trained instructors."

>50 RebaRelishesReading:. This looks like tons of fun, and I've heard good things about the Reser.

For Louise Penny fans who are active in their local libraries--she has written a play which can be used, royalty free, for library fund-raising purposes. She talks about it on her blog at
contact@louisepenny.com.

>51 banjo123: Hi Rhonda. The event was a success!! It was fun and quite engaging for the kids (also noisy and a bit intense but even our 5-year-old OSD kid was just fine. The Reser is really beautiful. I wish it wasn't in Beaverton (rather far for us) but we might go there for a concert sometime anyway just because it's so nice. The highlight for me was a display of classic international instruments.

"petting" the sitar


assortment of classic international instruments available for "petting"


The man who owns Backbeat Music Academy provided these instruments and was available to talk about them -- even to grandmothers (me) who were interested in them :)

What a cool event!

When my girls were preschool age, we did a weekly program/class together at a local music school. Lots of singing, movement, and props. It was so much fun.

>52 RebaRelishesReading: That's a terrific idea for an event. The sitar "petting" pose is so adorable!

>53 lauralkeet:, >54 richardderus: Hi Laura and Richard. It was fun. He is totally absorbed by music and instruments now so it was pretty much made for him but I learned some interesting things like the relationship between balalaikas and sitars (who knew?). We also saw a two-necked ukulele -- guy said it was the only one in existence.

Today being quieter I'm spending some time at my computer and trying to do the NYTimes puzzles. So far I surprised myself with Connections
Connections
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Dreams of Joy by Lisa See****1/2

When Pearl and her younger sister, May, escape from China to the U.S. about 1940 unmarried May is pregnant. Pearl raises the child, Joy, as her own and May becomes "Auntie". When Joy is 19 she finds out and then runs away from home to China, which she believes to be a socialist utopia, to find her biological father and move to the countryside to participate in this great new society. The Great Leap Forward is just beginning and things in rural China are changing as we follow Joy in her new life. Pearl travels to China to search for Joy more of the early life of Pearl and May is revealed. In the background the book reveals a great deal about China in during The Great Leap Forward. Very interesting.

Morning, Reba! Here's hoping all your reads this week are like >56 RebaRelishesReading: and >37 RebaRelishesReading:!

*smooch*

>57 richardderus: Ah, thanks Richard. Hope yours are too :)

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Rhonda's post pushed me to finally do what I'd been thinking about for a week or more ... we took the new car on its first little road trip and went apple picking. It was overcast and a bit rainy (not like the beautiful day Rhonda chose yesterday) but it was fun, we have a couple of months supply of apples and we've tested travel in the new car a bit. (Yes, I know those are pears, not apples, on the rim of the box).

We had a lovely dinner of TJ's Chicken Piccata, thank you Katie for the recommendation!! It was enhanced by adding some noodles to share the sauce with the chicken, great suggestion Laura!! This will be added to the rotation frequently.

>61 RebaRelishesReading: - Glad to hear it was good!

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Hi Reba my dear, Happy New Thread dear friend.

Hiya Reba! *smooch*

>52 RebaRelishesReading: What a great event. All of those beautiful instruments.

>60 RebaRelishesReading: What a wonderful apple harvest. I love the smell of apples.

>56 RebaRelishesReading: I am going to put that on my list. I read Island of the Sea women which was awesome but quite brutal. This one sounds like it is more of a pleasurable read.

Hope the rest of your week is fantastic!

Connections
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>64 johnsimpson:, >65 richardderus: Thank you John and Richards! Wishing you each a fine day:)

>66 figsfromthistle: Hi Anita. This one is very good but the life in a rural village in China during The Great Leap Forward isn't easy to read about.

We picked the same amount of apples last year and they lasted us until the end of the year. It's cool and rainy this morning (although supposed to warm up) so I may bake a couple of the Granny Smith's for dessert tonight.

Well, I was over here happily replying to your posts and LT evidently at my post.

I am glad that you liked Remarkably Bright Creatures and that it worked well on audio for you.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Apple picking! How fun.
And I'm glad you enjoyed the chicken piñata LOL!

Hi Stasia -- hope you had a great Wednesday too!

Hi Laura -- we've gone apple picking at the same orchard every year we've been here (this is the third already!). I ate the first of this year's Honey Crisp at lunch and it was wonderful.

Elephant Company by Vicki Constantine Croke*****

I listened to the audio book in 2017 and loved every minute of it. My RL bookclub selected it for this month which prompted me to do a reread, this time a paper copy, and I still love it. It's the story of James Williams who is "demobbed" from the British army after WWI and, in 1920, goes to work for a teak logging company in Burma. He loves the jungle and elephants and becomes an expert in both. When the Japanese start invading Burma in WWII he is tasked with establishing an "elephant army" and ends leading a large group of elephants, their drivers, and civilian refugees through the jungle to safety in India. This is a wonderful adventure story and a most interesting lesson about elephants.

Hi Reba, happy newish thread! Elephant Company sounds like something my husband would like, so thanks for the rec. And I'm glad to see Remarkably Bright Creatures worked for you!

I got both the flu and covid shots last week, too, and it was the covid arm that ached for a day or two.

I'm heading to TJs this week and I haven't bought the chicken piccata in a few months. Thanks for the reminder - it's so good!

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>73 Copperskye: Hi Joanne! Nice to see you. I think my husband would like Elephant Company except the print in my paper copy is on the small side so he may have trouble reading it.

You can thank Katie for the chicken piccata reminder since I learned about it from her. It really is good, isn't it? I love their broccoli/kale slaw kit so that's what we had with it for a veg. Good, easy meal.

I've decided to start the Thursday Murder Club series this afternoon. I have a massage appointment at 1 (much needed after the tree trimming yesterday) and a good mystery sounds like the perfect way to complete the afternoon. We can barely get the fridge door closed what with apples, half a watermelon and a lot of left-overs, so dinner will definitely be the latter :)

>60 RebaRelishesReading: Looks like you got a great haul of apples! It must have been fun to take the new car out.

>72 RebaRelishesReading: Completely unknown story to me, and exactly the kind of history I love best...off to procure...drat you! *smooch*

>77 atozgrl: Hi Irene -- nice to see you. Yes, it was fun to give it a real try-out. It did very well but takes a very long time to recharge on 110. No big problem, however, since there are plenty of 220 charging stations around.

>78 richardderus: Ah, Richard, it's only fair given the number of bullets you've given me recently. :)

I just had a massage that seems to have solved my back-pain-from-pruning problem but I remembered too late that it isn't a good idea to have a massage on a full-stomach and ate lunch just before I left -- feeling a bit sicky at the moment :(

Connections
Puzzle #117
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Wordle 839 4/6

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>72 RebaRelishesReading: Oh, that one sounds very good! Into the BlackHole it goes!

>76 RebaRelishesReading: I hope you enjoy the Thursday Murder Club books, Reba. I am starting the (currently) last one in the series today.

Have a wonderful weekend!

>81 RebaRelishesReading: Good morning, Stasia. Glad Elephant Company appeals to you. I think you'll enjoy it. Adventure, history, enjoyable characters, great animals...

I'm about 1/3 through the first TMC and enjoying it

Hope you have a good weekend too :)

>72 RebaRelishesReading:
That was a BB for me as well.

I started a sweater knitting class that meets on Thursday's and we are well into the stitching at this point. (It's a top down sweater) and so I have been listening to lots of books while I am sitting and knitting. I am also indulging in some binge watching of TV series and movies from the local library collection. I said that retirement was going to be all about me taking the time to do some things that I have not done because I didn't have time. This class is one of them. It is a Fair Isle sweater and top down thing plus the Fair Isle are the new techniques I am learning. I am doing lots of ripping out stitches at this stage, and I am watching lots of instruction videos online, but it has been fun so far. I just wish it wasn't so far to drive for the class. It is in Gadsden, Alabama and it is 120 miles from Tuscaloosa. But, since I am not doing any other traveling at the moment the class is counting for my travel.

Wow!! That's a long way to drive for a knitting class!! I fully understand the pleasure you're getting from knitting though. I knit mostly to donate and recently have found a top-down pattern for a baby cardigan that is a pleasure to knit and comes out very well. Made four of those and then went back to use some yarn I had for a little blanket. I alternate between audio books and fun TV when I knit.

Happy Thanksgiving to all of my Canadian friends :)

Happy Thanksgiving, Canadian friends.

>87 richardderus: OK -- that woke me up!! LOL.

Connections
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Wordle 840 4/6

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>83 RebaRelishesReading: My local library actually has a copy of Elephant Company so that is good too!

Have a wonderful weekend, Reba!

>90 alcottacre: Thanks Stasia -- you too.

I've been running errands for the last 4 1/2 hours (well, that long including a nice lunch out) and I'm really tired!! One thing I did was try to find a new source for bulk tea and I failed at that. I've been so happy with my local tea store for a couple of years now but it went to on-line a few months ago and now has been sold and the new owner tells me she isn't licensed to sell yet (license? to sell tea? who knew?). I guess I'll see what else I can find on-line ... Anyway, it's nice to be back in my nice air-conditioned house (it's 83/28 outside 😝) and we have lots of left overs for dinner so I hope I may get to finish TMC #1.

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman***

Hmmm...well not my favorite murder series so far but perhaps I'll like them better as I go along. It seemed to me to wander about a lot, provided a lot of alternative solutions and I ended up not sure who had committed which murder, or when, or why. Interesting main characters though and I will continue reading and see how it goes.

Connections
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Wordle 841 3/6

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Good luck finding the bulk teas! It's kind of frustrating, these days, how often one has to order on-line rather than going to brick and mortar stores.

I am blessed with a GREAT!!!! tea house. It is also my local yarn shop. It is Taming of the Ewe in Gadsden, Alabama. It is a yarn and tea shop. One side of the store is yarn and one side is tea. She sells tea from three different tea suppliers. Harney & Sons, Simpson & Vail, and Allegro Tea. They also sell local honey gathered by the owners husband, who is a bee keeper. Not only can I learn how to knit a Fair Isle sweater from the top down, I can do so while drinking the tea of my choice. It is just a splendid place. It is local and just a great place to purchase yarn and tea. I am so lucky.

>96 benitastrnad: What a fabulous resource that shop is!

I spent a great day yesterday with my friend Sharon. The one who owned the house in Lakewood. She is feeling so much better after her bout with breast cancer. The radiation treatments caused some heart problems for her, something about the positioning of the tumor caused radiation damage to her heart, but she is feeling much more like her old self. We talked about her house in New York, and how much she loved that house and being up there. I suspect that she is beginning to regret selling it, but she and I talked about trying to find a place for next summer for two weeks in the area. I would love to take her back.

>93 RebaRelishesReading: Oh well, we can't all like the same things can we? Although now that I think about it, it's the main characters, not the crime-solving, that keep me coming back.

>93 RebaRelishesReading: We had the same response to the read, Reba, but I decided just to abandon ship on the others. Still and all, Osman can make a funny sentence like there's no tomorrow, can't he?

Lovely week-ahead's reads!

Wordle 842 4/6

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Puzzle #120
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Well, that's a nice start to the day :)

>95 banjo123: Hi Rhonda. My local brick & mortar tea store went on-line about a year ago due to radically increased rent. It was still personal though because I knew him but I also knew that he was sick (multiple myeloma -- and a young guy too -- so sad!!!). I've foolishly let my stash get quite low so...yep...I'm now looking for something new on-line. Years back I bought from Mighty Leaf because I knew them as a start-up when I worked in Sausalito. They kept growing and moving and finally sold to Peet's who made a mess of it and now offers very little in the way of tea :(
Gripe, gripe, poor me

>96 benitastrnad: That sounds lovely Benita.

Glad to hear Sharon is doing better and hope you get a chance to go back to NY with her.

>99 lauralkeet: Hi Laura. >100 richardderus: Hi Richard. This is only one of the four (and I have them all) so I'll keep on. I may takes notes in the next one so I may be able to keep things straight. Indeed the main characters are fun and just finding out what Elizabeth did in her working life may keep me reading lol.

The Words That Remain by Stenio Gardel****1/2

Raimundo is growing up in rural Brazil when he discovers love with a neighbor boy, Cicero. As their families are tearing them apart, Cicero smuggles a letter to Raimundo. A letter he cannot read because he was required to work on the farm rather than go to school. He escapes his father's beatings and his mother's rejection and makes a life in the big city doing physical labor and keeping his true self hidden, never able to read the letter or know what happened to Cicero, until he is invited to join a senior literacy class.

This heart-breaking little book is beautifully written, heart-breaking and wonderful.

Thank you, Richard.

>103 RebaRelishesReading: I'm so very glad it was a successful read for you, Reba. It's a lovely artifact of how little people matter to others and how cruel that makes them. Such a wise book, and Gardel so young (43 feels young to me) to get it so fully...this awful human tragedy that turns into a love-letter to Love.

>102 RebaRelishesReading: I felt much the same way about the two Thursday Murder Club books that I read, Reba. I still might read #3 at some point. They were quick reads which is sometimes just what I need.

I’m glad you are enjoying Ruby’s company these days. I think red cars are the stars of the highways. I had two in a row, so got a silver Cadillac SUV two years ago. I still have trouble finding it in large parking lots! Haha. Her name is Pearl.

Elephant Company sounds good. I think my dad, who loves reading history, would like this one.

>104 richardderus: It was just lovely, Richard. (and 43 is younger than any of our children or their partners -- feels very young to me).

>105 Donna828: Hi Donna. My son, however, warned me to be careful of the speed limit in a red car (and I've heard that from others) -- I'll try but my foot gets a bit heavy at times. Pearl sound like the perfect name for a silver car (and I've had a couple of them -- none ever named Pearl though)

>106 BLBera: Hi Beth. Elephant Company was a hit with everyone in my bookclub yesterday. It's great for people who like history and for those who like animals both. I like both :)

I have let the laundry pile up for two weeks (YIKES!!) so I'm going to be paying the price today. About to leave for "seated yoga", however, so there will be a short break. Otherwise it's a cozy, rainy day today so I'm hoping to find some time to settle into a favorite chair with a book...yet to be selected.

>93 RebaRelishesReading: I will agree that the first book in the series is the weakest. I think you will enjoy the books more as you go along. I am glad to see that you are at least willing to give them a try.

>103 RebaRelishesReading: Not a book for me, I fear, after much discussion on Richard's thread.

>109 alcottacre: I may start the second one when I finish here. It's 2:00 p.m. and I still have some "stuff" to do at my desk, plus a HUGE laundry underway so I nice, simple book would fit in the cracks of the afternoon I think.

>108 RebaRelishesReading: I hope all laundy is done by now, Reba.
And that you got some nice reading time in your favorite chair :-)

>111 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. The last load is still in the dryer but I did make some progress in a new book. I decided to try the second Thursday Murder book and, so far, I'm liking it better than the first -- so that was nice.

Connections
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Wordle 844 5/6

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>110 RebaRelishesReading: nice, simple book would fit in the cracks of the afternoon I think. Sounds like it! I hope you got a chance to at least start on it.

Connections
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Wordle 846 4/6

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>115 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! Yes, it fit the cracks in my afternoon just fine and I like this second one much better than the first :) I made great progress and hope to finish it today although we've talked about a road trip to (1) learn more about traveling in an EV and (2) buy some tea. We'll see what the day brings once Hubby appears out of the bedroom :)

Good to see that you like the second book in the Thursday Murder Club series better, Reba. It's the characters who make the books for me as well. I like that authors have started writing about older characters with agency.

Sunrise in Vancouver, WA - looking SE toward Mt. Hood, Oregon.

Thanks for stopping by, Meg. I did not get back to the book yesterday because our little road trip became a day-long adventure. We stopped at a casino 10 miles or so north of us to get a little extra charge and learn about using public chargers then went on to Gig Harbor where we found a place near the waterfront to have lunch and get a little additional charge into the car. After that we found the tea shop I had seen on-line (Everything Tea) which was everything my heart desires in a tea shop. The walls of the largish shop were lined with shelves holding maybe 200? jars of different kinds of tea. I had my glass jars with me and selected the teas I wanted to have them filled with. Jars were filled, I paid and we headed back home. There was a bad accident on the highway which had us creeping along for about an hour so we were worried about having enough charge to get home. We stopped at the casino again but only one charger was available and it didn't seem to be working properly. We went inside and had a little walk around, ate an ice cream sandwich for dinner and then headed on home with our charge level showing a warning orange. Made it safely though and the car has been charging all night. On our 110v home charge it estimated we would have a complete charge by 6 a.m. Monday -- we've decided to take it to a fast charger here in town today to fill faster. Having an EV is certainly a learning experience -- a fun one but there is definitely a learning curve.

>119 RebaRelishesReading: What a beautiful picture, Reba!

Your little road trip sounds good, although charging the car on the way was a challenge. Could you install a fast charger at home?

>120 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita. We could install a faster charger at home (one that uses 220v rather than 110v) but for our normal usage that isn't necessary and when we're on the road we aren't here to charge with it :) so...we're learning about public chargers. We joined one that we used yesterday. Their chargers are 220v and it was faster than at home, but would have taken all night to recharge at the end of our trip. Today we signed up for a second provider who has 150 KW ones (I could have recharged in a few hours on that) and some 350 KW ones (haven't found one of those to try yet). Either of the ones provided by the second company would be much better than we were using yesterday. It's a learning process which is both fun and somewhat challenging :)

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The tea shop sounds absolutely wonderful, Reba, and it sounds like your supply will last a while. I'm so glad you found it!

Your experiences with car charging are interesting. We have been waffling about what sort of car to get when we replace our 2015 Prius v. It has less than 70K miles on it and runs well so we're in no hurry, but we're idly watching developments in electric cars.

>123 lauralkeet: It is an interesting journey, Laura. I'll try to keep reporting but should also include the warm feeling we get when we pass by gas stations. That feeling will be magnified soon when we're using solar generated electricity to charge at home :)

The tea shop was wonderful -- almost made me want to move to Gig Harbor (not quite though lol). I'm having my first cup of black current this morning -- very tasty. My two jars should last me a couple of months. I wish I had known how wonderful it was going to be because I would have emptied my other two tea jars into something else and filled them too :)

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Wordle 848 3/6

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The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman***1/2

I'm not sorry I decided to read on as I enjoyed this book more than the first one, perhaps in part because I was getting to know the main characters better. Paragraphs like this one also made me smile and helped me warm to the series. Donna kneels and switches on the light. Joyce thinks about kneeling but, really, kneeling over the age of sixty-five is a pipe dream, so she sits on the step above instead. Elizabeth kneels. Is there nothing she can't do?quote>

>124 RebaRelishesReading: If I were to buy a car now (not in the plans!), I think I would look at hybrids rather than fully electric cars. I'm a bit twitchy about not being able to find a charging station when I need one, especially as it takes some time, at least, to recharge the battery.

But I don't propose to buy anything. If I rent a car, and I might from time to time, it will probably be a conventional or hybrid.

>127 ffortsa: Hi Judy. Living in NYC I doubt you drive all that much plus train service along the east coast is pretty good. We could do with a hybrid for our local stuff (and Hubby wanted a hybrid at first) but for any kind of distance travel (apple picking, tea buying, etc. lol) we would be running on gasoline most of the time anyway. With all of the good info I got here on LT I convinced hubby we could do full EV and now we're learning how to handle the charging needs. I'm confident we can drive to San Diego with no big problem. There are a lot of charging stations along the way, many of them fast ones. We don't like to drive more than about 350 miles a day anyway so if we leave home full, stop for lunch where we can charge fast and then have an overnight charge at the hotel (many have charging stations now and you can reserve your spot) we'll be fine. I would not try to drive across the middle of the country, however, because there are big blank spaces with no charging spots there but in the coastal areas there are plenty. It's mostly a question of planning ahead it seems (and that's my thing both by training and by character).

Wordle 849 5/6

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Not only did I have a hard time with Wordle today, I didn't even get close to solving Connections -- not my day!! (although I did do the big crossword with no great difficulty - whew!)

>128 RebaRelishesReading: I did see my first charging station in Kansas yesterday. It was at the Love's Rest Area on Interstate 70 between Lawrence and Topeka, KS. Of course, that is close to major urban areas. Kansas City is 30 miles from Lawrence. Lawrence is a bedroom community for K. C. and that rest stop in between Lawrence and Topeka (the state capital). I didn't look to see if they were public charging stations or if they were part of the Love's station.

>130 benitastrnad: If they were at a Love's I'm sure they were public -- as in you can "join" (i.e. give them your name and credit card number) and charge there. As far as I know the only "non-public" ones (besides ones at home) are those on business property for the sole use of charging their pool cars. If you but "EV charging stations" into the place on your GPS where you would enter an address you're looking for you will get a screen that shows all of the public stations, how many positions they have and what level they can charge at. It's interesting to do that on a bigger screen where you can see the huge voids in the middle.

Oksana Behave! by Maria Kuznetsova**** (audio)

The charming life-story of a woman born in Ukraine and brought to the U.S. by her parents at age 7. Ms. Kuznetsova has created a cheeky, bright character who does, indeed, often need to be told to behave. A fun read well read. (thanks to Katie for the recommendation)

Connections
Puzzle #128
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Wordle 850 4/6

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Happy midweek day, Reba! *smooch*

>135 richardderus: Hi Richard -- crazy busy today so not much time to chat. Hope all is well with you.

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>136 RebaRelishesReading: Recovering well from the cold, enjoying the beautiful fall day, savoring the veggie lasagna I'll get for dinner tonight in advance...good day. *smooch*

I hope your dynamo keeps whirring through the busyness.

Glad you're feeling better, Richard and hope you're enjoying the lasagna. I think I'm just going to throw a salad together for dinner.

I was up very early (6) because I was awake and I'm expecting a guy about cleaning tree "stuff" off of our roof and being sure the gutters are clear. (He just arrived). Otherwise the only thing on the agenda is picking up friends at the airport who are returning from Spain.

Tomorrow we have tickets to a concert by the Oregon Repertory Singers at 4 (D2 sings with them) and then we'll probably have dinner at P. F. Chang because we love that restaurant and there isn't one near us but there is one near to the concert venue :) All by all it looks to be a most pleasant day.

Sounds like you have a nice couple of days ahead, Reba. Enjoy!

Enjoy the rest of your week, Reba. Hopefully your weather is less rain than ours although the deluge seems to have slowed down.

Thank you Meg and Laura.

I've been using the time at home to take care of some chores. One of which I've been putting off for a long time!! Twenty-eight years ago we had a bench made for the foot of our bed. The fabric has been looking a bit tatty for some time and a couple of years ago I bought new fabric to recover it. Finally this week I got myself together and this afternoon I finished the job. It looks pretty darned nice (if I do say so myself) and I feel so much lighter for being able to cross that off of my (lengthy) to-d0 list :)

>143 RebaRelishesReading: I'm impressed that you can see the fabric on the bench at the foot of your bed! Our cedar chest is 3 deep in somethings.

>143 RebaRelishesReading: What a great project! I'm impressed that you can do upholstery like that, Reba. Good for you, crossing a project off your list.

>140 RebaRelishesReading:
I love P. F. Chang's as well. I often go there by myself just to enjoy the lettuce wraps. I also think of Cecilia Chiang. She is the mother of P. F. Chiang (Phillip Chiang). I read her book Seventh Daughter: My Culinary Journey from Beijing to San Francisco a long time ago, but found it to be one of the best cook's autobiographies I have ever read. It is a hard book to find and I had to get it through Inter-Library Loan, but found the story fascinating. She was one of the first people to introduce regional Chinese cuisine to the US back in 1960 at a famous San Francisco restaurant called the Mandarin. She lived to be 100 years old and died in 2020.

>146 benitastrnad: We recently acquired a new outpost of P.F. Chang half a block away from us, but we haven't been in there yet.

>144 quondame: Hi Susan. We actually sit on this one to put shoes on plus at night the spare pillows and bathrobes go there so nothing actually accumulates.

>145 lauralkeet: Thanks Laura. It feels really good to have it done and it really wasn't that hard. Worst part was getting the drill and stapler out and remembering how they work :)

>146 benitastrnad: That sounds most interesting, Benita. Thanks for calling it to my attention. I immediately went on-line and found a copy at Abe Books -- will be here Tuesday they tell me :)

>147 ffortsa: Lucky you, Judy. We used to live just a couple of miles from one in San Diego but now the nearest are either in Tigert (south of Portland) or Hillsboro (west of Portland) -- 20+ miles -- too far for a casual visit. The venue for tonight's concert is Reser Auditorium which is in Beaverton so we're going to take the opportunity.

Impressive to knock that off your chore list!

>149 banjo123: Thanks, Rhonda. I was very happy to get it checked off!!

Saturday's concert was fantastic even though D2 had a sore throat all weekend and wasn't able to sing. The concert was the 50th anniversary celebration for the Oregon Repertory Singers and they did an amazing job with Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil.

Yesterday afternoon we went to the first performance of our Chamber Music series related to the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. It featured classical works for two pianos, three pianos, piano(s) with 4, 6 and 8 hand configurations. Another great concert.

Today I'm trying to get my act together for having houseguests. Hubby's long-time friend and his wife are expected tomorrow. They've lived in the south for nearly 40 years (and we've always been on the west coast) so we don't see them often. They're lovely people and we enjoy each other's company...however, their body clocks are totally different from ours (they're larks, we're owls) so I'm not sure how this is going to work.

Sounds like a lovely weekend, Reba, full of good music!

Good luck with the house guests. Perhaps leave a list of good breakfast spots nearby for them ;-)

>152 katiekrug: Hi Katie! I've tried to have an assortment of breakfast foods in the house and I think they'll accept my offer to use what they like. They seem to prefer their main meal around lunch time and we can do that then I think we'll leave everyone to their own devices in the evening. I'm hoping that will work and that we'll all be awake at the same time for at least part of the day lol.

I have a little house cleaning to do this morning which should be no problem since they texted that they expect to be here about 4 or 5. Spaghetti and salad for dinner and probably a quiet evening for us :)

Both of your weekend concerts sound amazing, Reba. So many pianos! I'm sorry D2 couldn't sing, though.

Enjoy your visitors. It sounds like you are well prepared and they are okay with the different body clocks, so I'm sure it will go well.

>154 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura. I hope so 🙃

M is for Malice by Sue Grafton***1/2

Kinsey is hired to find a missing heir. He has been estranged from his family for nearly 20 years but now that their father has died his three brothers must either find him or show that they tried and have him declared dead. He was kicked-out by their father for his consistent bad behavior and hasn't been heard from since. When he left the family was solidly middle-class but now they're wealthy and the brothers aren't anxious to share that wealth with him.

Another fun detective novel by Ms. Grafton.

>151 RebaRelishesReading: Larks and owls. Well, that means each couple has some private time during the day, which isn't a bad thing. As long as they make their own breakfasts!.

>157 ffortsa: You're right, it seems to be working out that way. They were up and had eaten before I appeared. Hubby followed me by a bit. Last night they went to bed an hour or so before us. Fortunately I don't feel the need to provide constant entertainment.

We went to Powell's this morning and found they were having "20% off nearly everything" so I bought four books, all of which did indeed get 20% off:
Afterimage by Helen Humphreys
The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Judy, Laura)
The Master Butchers Singing Club by Louise Erdrich (Laura)

We stopped for lunch at one of our favorite restaurants on the way home and now everyone but me has gone to their room so I can catch up here a bit :)

On the way home we decided to watch Barbie tonight since we all missed it in the theaters. I hope it's a funny as I've heard it is.

>158 RebaRelishesReading: Oh, the Keegan and the Erdrich are two of my favorites!

Barbie is funny, although it left a bad taste in some of my friends' mouths. I'll be interested to hear what you think about it.

>159 ffortsa: Hi Judy! I loved Small Things Like These too!! We enjoyed Barbie too although I didn't have Barbie things as a child and neither did my son. My granddaughter could really relate and absolutely loved it. I think I need to watch it with her sometime so she can explain some of the popular culture connections that I suspect we missed in the last part of the film. I thought it was funny and that it had some great things to "say" about the superficiality of modern U.S. culture and about women's lack of empowerment. No bad taste in my mouth.

Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan*****

Such a beautiful little book about human kindness and dignity and, at the same time, about the darkness that can exist in society. I knew about the Magdalene Houses, so that part was no surprise, but the loving goodness of Furlong and Mrs. Wilson was beautiful. A little gem of a book.

Houseguests left at 5:30 this morning (and I actually got up to wave them off...can't remember when I last was up at that hour!!). They were lovely guests and we did some fun, touristy things in the three days they were with us but I didn't have much time for anything else so today will be "catch up day" both in the house and here :-)

>161 RebaRelishesReading: I'm happy to see another fan of this book, Reba. it is just lovely.

>163 BLBera: Indeed it is, Beth, indeed it is :)

>161 RebaRelishesReading: I, too, thought this was a lovely book.

>162 RebaRelishesReading: I'm glad to hear the visit went well. I hope you are all rested up now!

>165 lauralkeet: Actually, Laura, your comments and Judy's were the reason I bought it :) Thank you!!

I had a wonderful, long night's sleep last night and I think I'm completely restored.

Connections
Puzzle #140
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🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟩🟩🟩🟩

Connections
Puzzle #139
🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟦🟦🟦🟦
🟪🟪🟪🟪
🟩🟩🟩🟩

I sometimes have such a struggle with Connections that I just had to share the results from yesterday and today :)

I also compare times with my granddaughter and her boyfriend on the NYT Crossword Mini and I was fastest today :) All evidence that I am truly restored after that good night's sleep.

and then...Wordle 862 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩brain peony phony

The Seventh Daughter by Cecilia Chiang****

Benita mentioned this book when I said we'd been to P.F. Chang's so I ordered a copy and am very glad I did. It's an autobiography of the mother of one of the founders of P.F. Chang's who herself opened and ran very successful Chinese restaurants in San Francisco and Los Angeles (The Mandarin). She was born to aristocratic family in Shanghai in 1920 and raised in Beijing. The book follows her very eventful life through the Japanese occupation of China to the communist takeover and finally her move to San Francisco. Each chapter is followed by a few recipes for some of her favorite Chinese dishes. I may even try my hand at one or two of them :)

>167 RebaRelishesReading: Well, you’ve had some great puzzling lately! Congrats!

In Connections, I find it interesting when I solve the purple or blue (most difficult) before the allegedly easier yellow and green. You’ve done the same here. I guess it’s got a lot to do with one’s knowledge base but maybe just as much with recent experiences and current mindset. And how many cups of coffee one has had?

I really enjoy the NYT games!

Karen O

>169 klobrien2: Hi Karen -- thanks for stopping by.

My success with Connections varies so much that I had to post these two because they're rare. I also find that what's "easy" (or at least relatively easy) for me isn't always the yellow or green line. I am not a coffee drinker so it isn't that...but perhaps it's related to tea, how well I slept or just dumb luck -- not sure -- but it's very satisfying when it happens :)

I enjoy the games to and also enjoy that they've become a connection for me with my 20 year-old granddaughter :)

Two of my librarian colleagues and I share our scores every day for the mini, wordle, and connections. Sometimes I get completely skunked by the connections puzzles, and generally the last group I get only by process of elimination! I almost always leave them in the dust with my mini time, though, so I take comfort in that.

>171 scaifea: Hi Amber. Those are the three I do every day too. I share my scores with my Granddaughter and we share the Mini with her boy friend too. I love it that we're pretty evenly matched and the three of us rotate who does best. Yesterday was a banner day for me with the fastest Mini times and the fewest steps to solve the other two. I definitely find Connections to be the hardest!

I have a doctor's appointment at 8:50 this morning. It's now 7:47 and 27/-3 outside!! At least it hasn't been raining for a few days so I hope the streets aren't wet/icy!! I'm not thrilled about going out in this weather though.

>173 RebaRelishesReading: ah, I know the pain. I have a PT appointment tomorrow at 7AM! Luckily, it's just downstairs. But I will be sleepwalking through it all.

>173 RebaRelishesReading: - Ooh, that is cold! Fingers crossed for no ice.

Glad the visit with your friends went well.

It sounds like the Larks were perfect houseguests. How nice that you could all enjoy each other's company while still maintaining your own circadian rhythms. A trip to Powell's would be such a treat, and how convenient that you walked into such a great sale. ;-) Will you be attending The Literary Arts Festival in Portland, OR next week? You are pretty close, right?

>174 ffortsa:, !75 Doctor's visit was fine and the streets were dry so driving wasn't a problem. By the time I left there after having an X-ray and a nice talk with my doctor the temperature was 50 degrees. I hope things go equally well for you tomorrow Judy and thank you for the good thoughts Katie.

>176 Donna828: Hi Donna. Yes the Larks were good houseguests. We had a nice time but everyone managed to stick pretty much to their own schedules -- only real difference for us was eating dinner earlier than we usually do but it wasn't really a problem.

I finally looked at my November calendar yesterday and found a note for and LT meetup at the Book Festival on Saturday. I now have to try to find out when and where we are supposed to meet up!! HELP folks planning to attend :)

N is for Noose by Sue Grafton***1/2 (audible)

I really enjoy listening to Sue Grafton's novels while I knit. They're require exactly the right amount of attention to share with knitting (assuming no complicated pattern is involved). In this one, Kinsey is hired by a recent widow to discover why her husband had seemed concerned about something in the weeks before his death. The book is set in a (fictional I believe) small town in the Sierra Nevada of California. The husband was a police investigator with an excellent reputation and no known problems. An easy to take crime novel, typical for the series.

Hi Reba! Hope you and the other attendees get together at the book festival. It's going to be a lovely, quiet weekend here, as Old Stuff seems to be planning a visit to his son in Connecticut. At least I HOPE it's this weekend...

Meanwhile I'm getting my Booksgiving reviews all nice and shiny to tempt all y'all into doing the Icelandic Book Flood thing for Yuletide. There are so many excellent books out this year it's almost obscene. *smooch*

Hey Reba, I sent you a message about the book festival.

Thanks Richard and Rhonda -- Rhonda has me all sorted now and we'll be joining the meet-up (love LT meet-ups).

For some odd reason when I bought J is for Judgment it appeared in my "library" on the Audible website but I could never get it to download to my phone so yesterday I took the laptop in to my knitting chair and listened to it that way.


J is for Judgment by Sue Grafton****

Kinsey is hired by a recent widow who is bothered by the fact that her husband seemed upset by something in the month before dying of a heart attack. He had always shared "everything" with her and now she needs to find out what was bothering her in order to come to terms with his death.

Several months ago one of our smoke detectors went off and, in trying to turn it off, I pulled it down and discovered that it was hard-wired. I couldn't get it to stay up after that so it's been dangling from the ceiling since. On Halloween day it started "chirping" first every few minute and then one or more times per minute. Then the one in the others decided to add some syncopation with chirps of its own. Just before we went running down the street screaming we decided to go to bed, close the door and turn our noise machine on. That solved the problem temporarily and we slept well. When we got up yesterday morning everything was silent...guess the Halloween ghost had gone away. The experience was enough, however, to get me to finally look up an electrician and call for help (which I had been saying I was going to do since the first event). Today a very nice gentleman arrived and we learned that 1)there are 7 such devices in our house, not just the two that were chirping, 2) they were all installed when the house was built 23 years ago -- should be replaced every 10 years per nice gentleman, and 3) even hard-wired ones have batteries hidden inside them which need replacing. So now we have 7 new ones installed and with batteries in 6 that last 10 years and in the 7th (which is high on a vaulted ceiling we can't reach) a 20-year battery. Silence reigns :)

>183 RebaRelishesReading: Whew. Those alarms are nasty.

>184 ffortsa: I am most pleased to have it done...finally...I'd been putting it off forever because I didn't know an electrician but now, in desperation, I checked YELP and I couldn't be more pleased with the guy who came out.

It's always satisying to get something taken care of that you've been meaning to. And to find a trustworthy service person for future needs!

>183 RebaRelishesReading: "No, no, dear, your father and I have a new address...what's that? what do you mean why?...because. Well, if you MST know, we had to move suddenly because...because the old house was haunted. Yes, haunted! you know, horrible noises in the night, unstoppable wailing, the usual stuff...how on Earth should I know who was haunting a twenty-three year old house, do I resemble The Exorcist?! Just take down the new address...."

Trying to get some catching up done after weeks out of town, Reba! I hope all is well with you and yours.

>183 RebaRelishesReading: Thank heavens for silence reigning and a competent electrician! I am glad that it was a relatively easy problem to fix.

there are 7 such devices in our house, not just the two that were chirping…

OMG this cracked me up, Reba. You could have had a whole choir of chirping alarms! I’m glad the electrician sorted things out so quickly.

>178 RebaRelishesReading: That reminds me to continue with the series. I read the first one and enjoyed it.

Happy weekend ahead!

>186 katiekrug: Indeed, Katie. I got his card and added it to the file of cards I have for people I would call again. Hope I never have to but glad to have him on file.

>187 richardderus: LOL, Richard. I've never read it because horror just isn't my think but that is a most apt quote.

>188 alcottacre: Welcome home, Stasia. Nice to have you stop by :)

>189 lauralkeet: Hi Laura -- I actually didn't know how many we had (don't look at the ceiling much I guess) or I would have really been worried. That would have been quite a chorus.

>190 figsfromthistle: I've been enjoying it, Anita. It's the perfect thing to listen to while knitting I find.

Quiet morning here today but quite a storm expected this evening ... just in time for our trip to the city. I'm hoping it will arrive a little late and let us get home reasonably dry.

Meanwhile I've spent the entire morning catching up on things on my computer. I know hubby is anxious for some lunch (we each make our own but generally eat together) so I'm about to shut down and head into the family room.

>192 RebaRelishesReading: I hope navigating the storm goes well for you! And your evening's plans as well!

>183 RebaRelishesReading:
I have had the same problem with my smoke detectors in the years I have been in my house. They are also hard wired but my problem is that they burn through batteries like a kid eating cake. I have to replace mine every 6 months. The units are due to be replaced this year (they are 10 years old) and I am going to have a colleague from work who is a retired certified electrician do the replacing. For some reason I don't think the original units were installed correctly and that is why they use up batteries so quickly.

The worst offender is the one in my bedroom. When it goes off making that chirping sound it is impossible to sleep in the room.

>183 RebaRelishesReading: We have smoke detectors like that. We've had to replace the batteries a number of times, and replaced the detectors once. Unfortunately, most of the ones in our house are too close to the bedroom (including one in the bedroom) to be able to sleep through their chirping if they go off. My question is, why do they always start chirping in the middle of the night, never during waking hours?

>195 atozgrl:
I have asked that question as well.

>193 quondame: Thanks Susan. We actually wussed out and didn't go out in the rain :(

>194 benitastrnad: Hi Benita. Ours were 23 years old and the battery space (which I hadn't found on the one I had been working on) was empty!! Now we have new ones and batteries that should last for 10 years for 6 of them and for 20 years in the one we can't reach. Thank heavens the one in our bedroom didn't join the chorus. The worst offender is right outside our bedroom door but with the door shut and the noise machine on we couldn't hear it.

>195 atozgrl: Good question, Irene :)

>182 RebaRelishesReading: Congratulations on reaching 75, Reba!

Thanks, Anita! My (secret) goal is 100 so we'll see how far I get with that by the end of the year.

I've been told that when it cools off at night the battery contracts (minuscule-ly) and the electric current drops. So if it's already marginal, that's when it's most likely to go off.

>200 jjmcgaffey: Interesting, Jennifer. I hope we're safe from checking that out in the future though :)

Hi Reba, congrats on the 75! I was sorry not to see you this weekend, but we will plan something else.

Congrats!

>202 banjo123:

Thanks Rhonda. I was sorry too but hope you guys had a fun time. Yes, it would be nice to get the local bunch together again sometime. I think Judy is thinking about a trip so that would be a good time.

>203 drneutron: Thank you Jim.

The Painted Drum by Louise Erdrich*****

I'm just going to quote the cover of the book because it describes it so well without giving away too much: While appraising the estate of a New Hampshire family descended from a North Dakota Indian agent, Faye Travers is startled to discover a rare moose skin and cedar drum fashioned long ago by an Ojibwe artisan. And so begins an illuminating journey both backward and forward in time, following the strange passage of a powerful yet delicate instrument, and revealing the extraordinary lives it has touched and defined.quote>

A beautiful, engaging book that I read in one lovely afternoon.

>206 RebaRelishesReading: I really enjoyed The Painted Drum too, Reba. I was thrown off at first, because it started out in New Hampshire but I soon found my footing. I'm glad you enjoyed it so much.

>207 lauralkeet: Hi Laura -- We were posting on each others thread at the same time:) Hope you're having a good day.

I have The Painted Drum on my shelf - sounds like I shouldn't let it linger there too long!

>209 katiekrug: Hi Katie. Thanks for visiting. I keep a stack of 5 or 6 books next to "my" chair that are my "next up pile". If you have such a thing I would suggest putting The Painted Drum there 🙂

>206 RebaRelishesReading: The different levels of engagement with the characters' past and tribe are fascinating in The Painted Drum

I can't resist sharing the view from my back deck yesterday. It was cloudy and a bit wet but the colors of fall are just so beautiful I don't even care how cloudy/wet it gets :)

>212 RebaRelishesReading: OOOO

How very lovely it is! The sky makes it look so much more vivid and intense.

>213 richardderus: Hi Richard!! Thanks for stopping by and sharing the view with me. I love the NW!!

>212 RebaRelishesReading: - I love that. It looks like a big, hairy pumpkin :)

>215 katiekrug: Hi Katie! LOL -- it does, doesn't it? When I look at it I just see a short tree that really needs trimming -- as soon as the leaves are gone I will take my lopping shears out there and give it a haircut.

>212 RebaRelishesReading: We did miss you, Reba. What a great view.

The Painted Drum is one Erdrich I haven't read. One of these days...

>217 BLBera: Thank you, Beth. I struggled with that decision for a while but then wimped out :( I hope you're back sometime when the weather is better.

>212 RebaRelishesReading: I sort of want to say so pretty and flee for your lives! at the same time. That is quite the shrubbery.

>206 RebaRelishesReading: Erdrich is one of my LT-found authors. I own that one, but have not yet read it. I am reading her The Plague of Doves this month, so maybe next month for that one. . .

>212 RebaRelishesReading: Lovely! I do love the fall colors!

>212 RebaRelishesReading: That picture is gorgeous. What a view you have!

>212 RebaRelishesReading: What beautiful colours! That orange is quite amazing.

Gorgeous autumn color, Reba! Thanks for sharing your corner of the world.

>219 quondame: LOL Susan. I plan to stand my ground and wield my pruning shears once the leaves fall off.

>220 alcottacre: Hi Stasia. I haven't read The Plague of Doves so look forward to your comments. I have The Master Butchers Singing Club in my "read soon" pile then, if you like The Plague of Doves I may get that one next.

Thank you Stasia, Irene, Anita and Laurel for the fall color love. It's my favorite season and the colors seems especially vivid right now so I couldn't resist sharing the view. Actually I don't remember that little umbrella tree being particularly colorful in the previous two falls we've been in this house but it sure is doing its best this year :)

I always try to read the books for RL book club close to the date of the meeting so put off starting The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest until yesterday (meeting is coming Monday). I barely got started when my granddaughter called and we ended up talking for 2 hours!! which was wonderful and unusual but left me with only 20 pages or so read! Must get more serious today!

An Elephant in My Kitchen by Françoise Malby-Anthony, Katja Willemsen***** (audio)

This charming, engaging book is the story of Francoise Malby-Anthony's life on a South African game reserve which she is left to run alone after her husband, Lawerence Anthony, died of an unexpected heart-attack in 2012. They had purchased a 5000 acre property in the mid-1990's and built it into a successful game preserve with Ms Malby-Anthony running the business end of the venture while he was in charge of the animal related part. She describes the challenges and rewards of her new situation along with providing wonderful descriptions of the various animals and antidotes about the animals and her life. It was a really wonderful "listen" and I can't wait to read/listen to the rest of the books she and Lawrence have written.

>224 RebaRelishesReading: I read The Master Butchers Singing Club recently and enjoyed it. I hope you do too whenever you get around to it, Reba.

I popped over to your thread to thank you for your recent recommendation of Mad Honey. I finished it tonight!

>226 RebaRelishesReading: Adding that one to the BlackHole!

>227 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! Glad you liked Mad Honey -- I'm a big fan. As you see, I also loved An Elephant in My Kitchen and now I've started listening to The Elephant Whisperer which is her husband's book (and listed as "book 1" in the series along with Francoise's books)

Rainy day here in the NW but I need to finish The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest for bookclub on Monday and tomorrow is looking like it's going to be pretty full so I will take advantage of the rain and spend much of it reading I think :)

>229 RebaRelishesReading: Oh dear, poor lambkin! Your enforced reading time sounds just awful...may it be better tomorrow. /facetiousness

>230 richardderus: Well, it's not the most engaging book I've ever spent time with but, then, one thing I like about book club is it gets me to widen my reading horizon so.... (must stop finding things to do and get back to it)

I hope your reading day was productive, Reba. I love having an excuse to do nothing but read. Not that I really need one, but I'm prone to finding other things to do instead.

>231 RebaRelishesReading: I'd say it's worth it for that alone. I'm always stepping onto the teeth of the rake so as to keep my prejudices fresh and reinforced, or flushed away like a sloughy wound. Emily Wilson and her Greek translations haven't, despite their excellence, convinced me that poetry is not intrinsically awful. But I keep poking away to be sure I'm not differently minded all of a sudden.

>227 alcottacre: Another fan of Mad Honey! Good luck finishing your mandatory reading. LOL

>232 lauralkeet: Hi Laura I nearly finished yesterday and was able to finish the last 40 pages or so this afternoon. David Douglas' time traveling and living in the NW and northern CA and HI in the 19th century was interesting but I could have done without the listing of all of the various plants and animals he found, killed, dug up, skinned, etc. Still, not sorry to have read it.

>233 richardderus: I agree Richard but I also like the women in the group so it's worthwhile from a purely social perspective too. I can't say I find poetry "intrinsically awful" but I usually don't read it by choice.

>234 Berly: I'm so glad you liked it Kim!! So sorry to have missed seeing you last week :( Hope there's another meet up before too long and I'll truly put my big-girl pants on and come no matter the weather.

>235 RebaRelishesReading: We did miss you and, yes, we have to schedule a local meetup. It's been way too long! : )

The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest***

David Douglas was a young Scotsman who had not been a very good student, very possibly as much the fault of his school as himself. He was, however, "possessed of a quick intelligence and excellent memory" and "became proficient in Latin, penmanship, and basic arithmetic". He was also "consumed" by interest in natural history which led him to a series of jobs working in nurseries and gardens and ultimately to being hired by the London Horticultural Society as a "botanical collector" and being sent to the NW United States to explore and collect specimen. After completing his first long assignment largely in the Columbia River Valley he returned to the U.K. to report his findings and then got a second assignment which took him to Hawaii and northern California as well as the some of the eastern tributaries to the Columbia.

I found the information about live in the NW in the mid 19th century interesting, especially the description of life in Fort Vancouver (which is only a couple of miles from my house) but I'm not particularly interested in botany so it was hard for me to engage with that part of the story.

Looks like it getting to be time to start a new thread ... please follow me :)