2024*4: LizzieD at Home with a Book

and

I always knew I looked like my daddy, but it was finding these two pictures in my mama's things that showed me how much! He was 23 at the time; I was 24.

READ IN AUGUST
41. Seduction in Death
42. The Hands of the Emperor (4th reading)
43. Petty Treasons (3rd reading)
44. The Redoubtable Pali Avramapul
45. Blackcurrant Fool
46. Virginia Woolf in Manhattan
47. Christ Stopped at Eboli

Into the House in August
78. Christ Stopped at Eboli ✔ - Library sale from the 1970s
79. New and Collected Poems: Richard Wilbur - AMP
80. The Night Will Have Its Say - AMP
81. The Eagle of the Ninth Chronicles - AMP
82. Sacred Trash: The Lost and Found World of the Cairo Geniza ✔ - AMP
83. Sisters of Sinai - on my Kindle forever and not catalogued until now
More uncatalogued books found!
84. Out of the Dark - Suze
85. By Heresies Distressed
86. A Mighty Fortress
87. Personal History ✔ - QPBC - How could I have missed this one?
Back to new to me ones
88. Love-in-a-Mist ✔

Read in September
48. At the Feet of the Sun (reread)
49. Milk Run (reread)
50. The Half-Drowned King
51. The Marylebone Drop
52. Quarter Share
53. City of Djinns
54. Half Share

Into the House in September
89. The Golden Wolf - PBS
90. The Half-Drowned King ✔ - AMP
91. The Sea Queen - AMP
92. The Ministry for the Future - PBS
93. The Noise of Time - Kindle
94. Courtesans & Fishcakes - AMP
95. The Misenchanted Sword - Kindle
96. The Seventh Bride - Kindle daily deal
97. The Bible with Sources Revealed - AMP
98. Playground - Kindle
99. Creation Lake

READ IN OCTOBER
55. Full Share
56. Double Share
57. Captain's Share
58. Owner's Share
59. A Decline in Prophets
60. A Novel Bookstore
61. Love-in-a-Mist
62. Sacred Trash

READ IN NOVEMBER
63. A Haunting on the Hill

Into the House in October
100. The Regency Years - AMP
101. Heartbreak Hotel - Kindle deal through Bookbub
102. The Old Buzzard Had It Coming - PBS
103. Panglor - Kindle freebie
104. Romans and Barbarians - Kindle deal through Bookbub
105. Necessary Trouble - Bobbie
106. Miles Off Course
107. Where There's a Will - Kindle
108. Interview with the Vampire - very old mpb, missed somehow in initial catalogue
109. The Vampire Lestat - Ditto

*review on book page

OPEN FOR READING IN OCTOBER


(Just because they're open doesn't necessarily mean that I'm going to get to them this month.) (This is such a joke. Maybe this will be the year I actually read *Life* --- maybe not. I do live and read in hope!)

BEST OR MOST MEMORABLE OF THE FIRST THREE QUARTERS!

The Marriage Portrait*
The Man Who Died Twice
The Debatable Land
Resurgence
Covenant of Water
Britain BC
Saint Elspeth
Babel (It seems churlish not to include it.)
House of Doors
The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store
Virginia Woolf in Manhattan
Christ Stopped at Eboli
City of Djinns

Rockton series + Haven's Rock series
Greenwing and Dart series

Happy new thread, Peggy dear.

>1 LizzieD: Oh my. The resemblance is absolutely amazing.

>1 LizzieD: I love, love, love the photos of you and your dad, Peggy. Thank you for sharing!

Happy new thread, Peggy. I love the photos of you and your dad.

Happy new thread, Peggy.

Your Dad cuts quite the heroic figure and his daughter was/is quite the looker too!

Thank you for visiting, Paul, Beth, Laura, and Karen! I'm happy to have my daddy's picture on my thread and really surprised at the very close resemblance. He was a B-24 pilot in the Pacific Theater at the end of WWII. He had trained for the glider program and would have been sent to Europe. They ended it as too costly in lives lost just as he graduated, so he got to spend more time in training, for which we have always been very grateful.
People called me "Little Tom" all my life, but I didn't realize how much I was like him. In fact, the first time my grandmother held me, she looked at me and said, "Little Tom."
(Thank you for the compliment, Paul. "Was" is the operative word.)

Happy new thread Peggy!

Thank you, Susan!

>9 LizzieD: Hahaha, you are far too modest, Peggy. Our good looks are still there they are just a little bit more secluded!

Paul, I love the line from Our Town when Emily's mother tells her that she is "pretty enough for all practical purposes." At almost 80, thank God, I find that there aren't all that many practical purposes. It's very freeing!

Home from church and too hot to walk. I look forward to an afternoon of books and naps!

Wordle 1,156 5/6*

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Happy new thread!

>13 LizzieD: I came afresh to Our Town last year, Peggy, from reading Tom Lake and I must say how struck I was by the simplistic beauty of what Thornton Wilder did with that play. A favourite of mine for sure.

If attractiveness is measured in the quality of your being then you remain a stunner, Peggy.

Thank you, Jim.

Paul, you are more than dear!

I've always loved *OT* too and loved teaching it.

'Morning, Peggy, and happy Monday to you.

I am charmed that you were called Little Tom.

I've got a busy morning/early afternoon planned.

Wordle in 4 today because of a dumb mistake in my third word.

Good morning, Karen! I wish you an efficient, busy day. I plan to do nothing......... I'm not sure I said anywhere, but our washer died yesterday. My DH, who can do anything he can read about, can't even get the back off our 2009 washing machine. He's gone out to see what's available. *sigh*

I never minded being "Little Tom." I'm a lot like him at my core too; I wish that I were more like my mother in some basic ways. They were splendid people.

As you see, I had to try a couple of words from the used list to get going. Oh well. I am relieved to be there in four.
Wordle 1,157 4/6*

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>18 LizzieD: oh no, sorry about the washer woes, Peggy. We recently had to replace our dryer which (sparing you the long story here) also ended up requiring us to replace the washer. But they do look nice and shiny, so there's that.

Thanks for sympathy, Laura, and mine back. We don't have a dryer although we gave Mama one some years ago. My DH climbs the stairs to the attic to hang our clothes for a quick dry. I won't/can't do that, so I guess I'll be using her dryer when he loses that preference.

>18 LizzieD: Dead washer, oh my, oh my. I'm extraordinarily fortunate to have a small appliance store nearby that we've been dealing with since 1975. The owner came to the house in the 1970s to fix the Sears washer we owned. He arrived with his hand bound up in white gauze and adhesive tape. And an assistant toting the tool box. "I'm going to tell this guy what to do and make sure he does it correctly."

Well, Erie retired and the youngest of his four daughters took over the biz. Bet it was 15 years ago that the washer Ernie sold us punked out. His daughter convinced us we should repair it; even though that model wasn't available any longer, it was still in demand because of its durability and repairability. We took her advice, and I'll be using it this week to do my laundry.

>18 LizzieD: I think a living washer is illegal nowadays...the Fourteenth Amendment and all...I hope a new dead washer that washes clothes is forthcoming.

Happy threading, wherever it may take us. *smooch*

>1 LizzieD: Oh wow! No denying there!

Happy new one!

>23 figsfromthistle: Yep, Anita. Nobody ever doubted his paternity.

>22 richardderus: True, Richard, but the thing has had a personality and has washed for us these 15 years. How will we talk about AI? We'll be living in science fiction soon if we aren't already.

>21 weird_O: You may well count your appliance blessings, Bill! Thank you for visiting my thread. I feel I know you pretty well. Because my DH has been able to do all his own work on everything, we are still using his mother's electric range from the 1960s. It was not new when I moved in in 1970. He's replaced all the heating elements many times, but nothing is available any longer. I know that oven, and I dread learning a new one even though I'm not much of a cook these days.

>24 LizzieD: Your phone has ten times the memory of the Space Shuttle. Your car keys have 100x the computing power of the Voyager space probes combined.

You get regular injections of a sight-saving medication for a condition that would've blinded you twenty years ago.

This is the SF future!

Just checking out the new thread, Peggy! I love the pictures of you and your dad up top. You will always be beautiful to me, Little Tom. I am sorry I never got the privilege of meeting him, but your mother was a wonderful soul.

Wanted to let you know that I will be finishing Virginia Woolf in Manhattan sometime tonight if all goes well. Thanks for the shared read of this one. I have had a good time with it!

>25 richardderus: You're right, of course, Richard. I was thinking specifically of the scifi that makes your house AI a legitimate person, as in Becky Chambers's first two.

Thank you, Stasia. I'm sorry you didn't know my daddy too. He was smart and funny. You would have loved him.

I'm 200 pp into *VWinMan*. If I get ordinary days, I'll easily finish this month. I'm having a good time with it too. Angela is a piece of work, isn't she? Gerda is her true child. And Virginia is the Virginia of the diaries as well as I remember her. Glad you joined me!

>27 LizzieD: Well, it was about time I dug Virginia out of the BlackHole so I appreciate your TIOLI challenge for this month! I just now posted my thoughts on the book, which I was able to finish tonight.

As far as your daddy goes, I bet I would have loved him too had I gotten the opportunity to meet him.

Good morning, Stasia. I read your thoughts and agree! I like Maggie Gee. I bought another couple of her books after I read My Cleaner, which I loved and reviewed - the two that you and Caroline read and enjoyed. I'll get to them; I am determined!

Wordle 1,158 4/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, venal, relax, delay Done in two tries, before and after lovely, lovely walk! Temp was in the 70s with a breeze --- AND the ginger lilies have started to bloom. *sigh*

Hi Peggy! I hope your Tuesday is going well.

>18 LizzieD: Ugh to washers dying. I hope he’s figured out to fix it or get a good deal on a replacement.

>19 lauralkeet: I had to replace one kitchen appliance in February, and that turned into four new appliances, which are also shiny.

Wordle in four, for me, too. Wordle sisters!

Happy new thread, Peggy! You certainly do have an uncanny resemblance to your dad. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

>18 LizzieD: I'm sorry to hear about your washer. It's almost 2 years ago that ours died, between the wash and rinse cycles. Our neighbor was kind enough to let us use his to finish the load. We wound up getting an LG, and luckily Home Depot was having a sale on them at the time. (We also checked Lowe's, but they only had front loaders. At my age, I'm not switching to front loaders where you have to bend over all the time. Not to mention that you have to keep on top of them to keep the seal clean, so that your clothes don't smell.) It was an adjustment to the new controls, over the old simple dials, but it has worked well for us.

>29 LizzieD: Kerry and I have not been walking as our mornings start out at 80 degrees even early in the morning. I do not do well in the heat sitting still, let alone walking a couple of miles. *sigh*

Hi, Friends!

Stasia, I can still walk if it's no more than 85 or 6 degrees; any hotter, and I need a long recovery time, so I don't do it. I dreaded summer, but we are making it through this one so far. I wish you may get out soon.

Irene and Karen, he did get the back off the old machine at last (the peculiar thing is held on with plastic do-hickies - lots of them), but he can't fix it. Lowes is having a sale on basic Whirlpools, which is what we will get - a top loader for sure!!! I'm hoping they'll still have dials. We won't get any other new appliances, having replaced a refrigerator just a few years ago. We will also move my SiL's electric stove in, I'm sorry to say. It's a glass-top like my mother's, and I dislike it but not enough to want to buy something else when this relatively new one is available.

I've just added some David Webers from my friend Suze's move years ago. I wonder what else I've missed.

>33 LizzieD: Off Armageddon Reef and its series (whose name scuttled under the filing cabinet when I turned on the light in my brain) were among the last chonksters I deaccessioned in my paper purge a while ago. I simply can't do big paper books anymore. I can barely do thin ones.

Those jackets so perfectly matched the appeal of the stories that they made me feel...contented, gruntled, satisfied by their mere presence.

I hope your Webers do the same for you as you catalog 'em, Peggy me lurve.

Thank you, Richard. I read the first one in '08, bought the second, and never got back to the HUGE series. I'm going to have to live an additional 8 or 10 years to get through them. It makes me happy that you enjoy Weber too. Oh- the series is *Safehold*, and there seem to be ten of them (so far?).
*smooch*

Wordle 1,159 5/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, girly, prowl, clunk, mulch Good grief! Whew!

Good afternoon, Peggy!

>33 LizzieD: Yay for top loaders! I do have an LG with everything electronic but hope you can get dials.

>35 LizzieD: Whew for sure, although you still had one more guess. I was fortunate to get it in 3, with spreadsheet help of course.

Today’s a good’un. Errands done, not in pain at all right now, even with only a bit of Tylenol lingering in my system, Jenna coming over at 4 for a visit before her Pharm Tech class.

Gorgeous and not too hot or humid weather – things will get bad again but we can enjoy it for the days well have it, right?

>34 richardderus: "name scuttled under the filing cabinet when I turned on the light in my brain." Ho! Is that familiar. No filing cabinet in my place, but lots of similar tight holes into which little brain cells can burrow.

Hi, Bill! Man, do the names and words scuttle away when I turn on the light - which is getting dimmer, I'm afraid!

Hi, Karen! I know that you and Jenna enjoyed your visit. YAY! No pain? Big YAY!

The new washer comes tomorrow. We were bemused, I guess, that the young woman trying to sell an insurance policy (the right name has deserted me) for the washer, basically said, "It's a piece of trash, being the cheapest one, so you'll need the protection."

Haven't seen one of these in over a week. Happy 3-day!

Wordle 1,160 3/6*

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THE REDOUBTABLE PALI AVRAMAPUL by Victoria Goddard

Although Pali isn't my favorite woman in the Red Company, I very much enjoyed her story. I was eager to see exactly what went on between the Emperor and Domina Black, and I got that. I was eager to see how Fitzroy joined up with Jullanar, Masseo, and Pali from their point of view, and I got that. I also got to watch Pali come to grips with herself, and she is going to have more courage in that endeavor than in any fight. I'm afraid I'm going to have to go ahead and reread At the Feet of the Sun. I can hardly wait!

>40 LizzieD: One very slight disappointment I had with ATFOTS was that Kip and Pali never got into a good discussion of post Fall government.......

'Morning, Peggy!

Low 80s in August? I'll take it, and hope you and your DH enjoyed your walk this morning.

Congrats on yesterday's Wordle 3.

Wordle in 3 for me today.

Susan, I agree. I expect that they will get into it in the third book. (Work on that third book, VG!!!!) I look forward to reunions too.

Karen, it was so cool this morning that we had to close the house!!! We haven't walked yet. It's cool enough to get back to our old schedule, and I was glad to have breakfast pre-walk.
We have the new washer. It runs more quietly than the old one, so that's a plus. I don't like the feature that locks the lid while the machine is going - I regularly find a dropped sock that I want to pop in. Oh well.

Thank you for Wordle love, 3 Sister. I thought of the word at 2 but didn't choose it first. NOT COMPLAINING!
Wordle 1,161 3/6*

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Hi again.

Congrats on the new washer. That's a feature of my now-5-year-old 'new' washer that I also don't like - it locks the lid. Just like you, I frequently find things I want to throw in.

Congrats on your 3!!

(((((Peggy)))))

>37 weird_O: I expect, being a slightly older model, you might still have a card catalog....

>38 LizzieD: I'm on a 20W bulb at present...next stop one of those horrible LED things, I fear, then I'm bloody well doomed!

>43 LizzieD: Alas, but not really, other than second half of The Glassblower, the release announced for this year is the next Greenwing & Dart.

>43 LizzieD: Congrats on Wordle in 3, two days in a row! I got it in 2 yesterday, lucky guess, but I never made it over to LT to post. Back to 4 today.

Our "new" washer also locks the lid, but we can pause it and sometimes do to add something that we missed on the original load. It works fine for us.

Thanks for the info, Irene. I'll look for a "pause." Wordle in 2 is always worth celebrating and sweetens streaks of 5s and 6s, which you haven't had!

Thanks for the info, Susan. I have picked up Blackcurrant Fool again, so I'm not desperate for a new Greenwing & Dart yet, but I'm glad to know that one is on the way. *Glassblower* is one I haven't heard of. VG is PROLIFIC!!!!!

Thanks for the info, Irene. I'll look for "pause" on the new machine. Wordle in 2 is such a cause for celebration that it makes up for a string of 5s and 6s, which you don't have!!!

Thanks for the info, Susan. I'm, in fact, reading Blackcurrant Fool at the moment, so I don't yet feel the need for a new Greenwing & Dart, but I'll be glad it's there. I don't know *Glassblower*, and I lost my post looking it up. Your review makes me think it will be years before I get to it if I do.

I think you're brighter than 20Ws, Richard, but that's about where I am. It's better than candlelight though.
A card catalog, eh? Heh.

I love the pictures of your parents,Peggy! I'll have to put up a pic of my parents some day. They were just 19 when they had me and the one of the three of us when I was about 7 months of old is kind of funny. My dad is looking at me like - where did you come from ? :-) And my mom is pregnant with my sister, born 10 months after me, though you can't tell in the picture. People have said I look more like my mom, but I did get my dad's curly hair.

Happy New Thread, Peggy!

'Morning, Peggy! Happy Saturday.

Gorgeous late August day here, tempts me to hang out in the hammock.

Wordle in three.

Good morning, Karen and Deborah!!!

Deborah, I love looking at family pictures, so I'll hope you'll post yours. The two above are of my daddy and me, not of him and my mother. I'll try to scan a young picture of her soon. The older I get, the more I look like her, I think.

It's so pretty that we haven't walked yet, Karen. Unfortunately, we're back in the 90s next week. I do so wish we could have several months of this!

Wordle 1,162 4/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, bluet, inlet, filet I shouldn't have tried #2, but I couldn't for several moments think of a possible combination ending in let. Then I did, but mispronouncing the word in my mind stretched me to 4. Oh well.

Hiya, Peggy. I got my last few August Burgoines for tomorrow's #WITMonth gang-post written. I wish I'd liked 'em better. Monday's read, thankfully, makes up for it.

*smooch*

Good afternoon, Richard. Hope your Sunday has been a good one. I wish you had liked your WITMonth readings better too. By the time I finally found one I might have liked, it was too late. *smooch*''

Wordle 1,162 4/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, stare, spate, skate After a promising beginning, I fumbled it.

>55 LizzieD: Morning, smoochling...wouldn't you know, I found a charming YA novel translated from Japanese that I powered through in a couple hours *after* the post was up! Perverse, that gawd of y'all's, she's just perverse to've hidden it from me until too late.

(A crime equal in weight to Gaza, I assure you, since *I* am an old white man.)

(Sorry, I'm still seething over a white nationalist jackanapes' Twitter post about the Black Students' Union needing fumigating before Alabama reuses the space.)

Good morning, Richard! I'm aghast and saddened but not surprised at Alabama's #_@&!!)()# stupidity, temerity, vileness, and other words.

You know I refuse to assign that God of mine a gender. At least she relented and let you discover the book. *smooch*

I am out of countenance because NYT has lost my streak and started me at 1 again today. At least it's a good 1.

Wordle 1,164 3/6*

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>57 LizzieD: *grumble* oookaaayyy I guess. BUT it *is* a YA fantasy translated from Japanese, so those plus points get docked.

from yesterday:

'Afternoon, Peggy!

That stinks that the NYT reset your streak. Yay for 3! Took me 4. Only I would think of stave before stake...

Today's a sad one, obviously, but Inara's romping around in kitty heaven, it's a gorgeous Carolina Day, and I have books to read and food to eat. Other things, too, but those are the first ones that come to mind.

edited to add:

'Morning, Peggy! Happy Tuesday to you.

Wordle in 3 for me today, and I'll be off to book sorting soon.

Hey, 3 Sister! Hope that the book sorting was efficient and that you found some treasures to bring home!!!

We're not having the very best day yet..... I am having to detox from too much coffee acid as happens a couple of times a year, doggone it. DH had to take Sparks, who is not eating but is fizzing up, to the vet for some anti-nausea and fluids. We're waiting to see whether he can fix whatever it is on his own. My ancestry DNA came back, and I've been trying to find my way around in that. A couple of surprises - I expected my mama to be 100% Scottish, but he has a lot more Irish than my daddy. I don't know that I'm any further along in figuring out what went on with my 2 great-grandmas, but I've only started looking at it.
Once again, I think I'll be spending the rest of my day here rather than working at Mama's house.

Wordle 1,165 3/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, groin, crown Nice that I chose the right one of the 5 choices that came to mind immediately for 3 rather than getting skunked.

>50 LizzieD: Actually, from late July through the middle of this month, I was getting almost entirely 4's and 5's in Wordle, so the more recent run that included more 2's and 3's was a nice change. Back to 5 for me today though.

I hope you have found a way to pause the washer. My DH figured it out, though it may have taken finding an online manual to work out how to do it. (Why have all the manufacturers abandoned supplying manuals with their products these days?)

>60 LizzieD: The only times I detoxed painlessly from caffeine were because I chopped up caffeine tablets and started the days with smaller and smaller bits over a 2 week period.

Oh my. What a crazy day. Fever, aches, sleep. Yuckyptooptoo!

A quick good night, Richard, Susan, and Irene. I'll do better by you in the morning!

BLACKCURRANT FOOL by Victoria Goddard

This is not my favorite of the Greenwing and Dart series, but that's not to say it isn't very good. Our two Mr.s are in Orio City, trying to evade the notice of the Indrillines, and failing miserably. I couldn't stop reading once the rising action sky-rocketed. I'm happy to have more ahead of me and to learn from Susan that a new one is out this year.

What a beauty! And the resemblance is astonishing!

Morning, Peggy me lurve. Happy Woden's Day to you. I'm pretty sure my fever's gone after twelve hours' sleep, but aching continues...ick!

'Morning, Peggy.

Sorry about Sparks 'fizzing up', and your need to detox from coffee. I'm glad that you decided to stay at your house instead of working at your mama's.

Wordle in 3 for me again today, once again Wordle Sisters! Well, we're always Wordle Sisters, but we're Wordle in 3 Sisters!

Good morning, Karen, Richard, and Lucy! Let me catch up....

Richard, I'm sorry that you're not shaking the whatever-it-is completely. I'm glad you got the sleep in and trust that you will continue to be kind to yourself.

My coffee woes are totally about the oil and not the caffeine. You're smart to think about gradual weaning, Susan, but I drink half and half, and have never had a problem with the caffeine. I'll have to go without for at least a couple more days before I'm completely back to myself and stay away from other acids too.

Sparks finally ate a little last night and again this morning. He also hairballed a little one, so I hope that he's truly getting past this for another little while. He and Lulu are 10 this year - hard to believe.

Thank you, Lucy.

Irene, we rail against the online-only-manual too, and I haven't bothered to look this one up. On the second load, it seems that the lock doesn't come on until the spin cycle. That's fine with me.

As to Wordle -----

A 2-DAY is a start to making up for their losing my streak.
Wordle 1,166 2/6*

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>68 LizzieD: Wow, I did the same thing with Wordle today! Very surprised to get it in 2, but I'll take it. I'm glad to hear that the lock doesn't come on your new washer until the spin cycle, so it should work for you.

Stay cool in this heat!

>68 LizzieD: Ah, well, it's the withdrawal from caffeine that makes me want to die. The caffeine itself is my dear friend.

Hi, Irene! I'm very rarely a 2-Sister, so I'm tickled to share the joy!!!

Hi, Susan. It is no fun to be without coffee. I drink my coffee half and half after several years of avoiding caffeine altogether because of osteoporosis. The half and half feels wonderful.

Our Sparks has lost the slender gain he made from sub-cu fluids and anti-nausea shot. I'm sad.

VIRGINIA WOOLF IN MANHATTAN by Maggie Gee

I really enjoyed the book, but I'm not sure how well a non-Woolf fan would like it. Virginia is somehow resurrected when a modern novelist, Angela Lamb, flies through a lightening strike on her way to research VW in NYC before going on to a VW conference in Istanbul. Angela is a successful writer, but she tells herself way too many stories to justify her self-centeredness. These mainly deal with how much she adores her 13 year-old daughter. Stasia didn't like the time Gee spent on the daughter, but I liked those interludes. Gerda is a sturdy soul, who has obviously had to make herself strong with no help from her mother.
Virginia is the Virginia of the diaries, and I loved meeting her in somebody else's reading of her.
Angela shepherds Virginia through Manhattan in the new century. Virginia blooms. Angela has an opportunity to see herself and make a change. Gerda finds her mummy.

>71 LizzieD: That's sad about Sparks.

Just because you're a Goddard reader, I'll mention that Spark/Sparks was an endearment I was thinking of using for Kip in my fanfic.

Good morning, Peggy!

I hope the detox is continuing without making you crazy. Interesting that it is the oil. Sorry about the continuing worry about Sparks.

Wordle in TWO! Congrats.

Wordle in four for me today.

>71 LizzieD: I’ll avoid Virginia Woolf in Manhattan, since you state that you’re not sure how a non-Woolf fan would enjoy it. I got rid of everything I had by her from my shelves except A Room of One’s Own, but in a strange fit of weirdness given how much I dislike her fiction, I actually paid $2.13 for the Kindle edition of Virginia Woolf: The Complete Works in 2021. As I always tell Bill, I reserve the right to be inconsistent.

Right you are, Karen! Let random inconsistency thrive!!!

I'm in something of a state about our Sparks. (That's a good endearment for Kip, Susan.) It's a sadness to watch a creature that you love starve. I can't spend time with him either. He's either out on the porch where the heat index will be 107° today or hiding behind vinyl LPs under a window-seat. That would be more for me than him anyway.

I was pretty much at sea with today's Wordle and needed a boost to get it at 5.

Wordle 1,167 5/6*

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟨🟨🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, child, nylon, knurl, flunk

>74 LizzieD: Sparks is clearly channelling his desert ancestry in seeking heat, Peggy. I was baffled by you suddenly talking about "Stasia" in your review of the Gee book until the 15W bulb in my mind's fridge went on: Oh, Stasia "Stasia"!

Can't brain today I have the dumb

>72 quondame: >73 karenmarie: I was going to read Virginia Woolf in Manhattan, then I got sucked into Queens' English which may be short of plot and characters, though it does have lots of setting.

Theodore Dalyrimple clearly despised Virginia Woolf, and while I've noticed that she wasn't universally admired, I was surprised by his arguments and vehemence. (in Our Culture) I rather liked Orlando, which is my only exposure to her work.

The Gee book sounds like fun, Peggy. I will look for it.

Beth, I'm pretty sure that you'd love *VWinM*. Susan, I'm not so sure about you, but you might. You might even be motivated to read more Woolf. I need to do a lot of rereading (or re-rereading). I haven't been a great fan of her fiction, but her non-fiction is a marvel. Then too, I read her diaries and letters in sync years ago and felt that I knew her better than I knew most of my in-flesh acquaintances and friends.
Richard, I doubt that you have dumb. I don't really consider what I write here as a review, so I didn't mind referring to Stasia's comments. I figured that most people who come here would also have read what she had to say about the book on her thread since we read it together - or as together as Stasia and I ever read anything. She zooms through and catches everything while I plod along and take what I can.

Sparks is holding on. My DH remembered that a former vet told him to try honey water, and our boy has kept down a syringe or two or three of that and some juice from canned cat food. I'd dearly love for him to come back from it this time.

>78 LizzieD: I'm sorry to hear about Sparks, Peggy. You and Karen both are going through it. My sister lost three cats within a year (last year and early this year), and it was very hard on her. Sending (((((hugs))))).

Thank you, Irene. I can always use hugs, and especially now.

‘Morning, Peggy!

>74 LizzieD: It's a sadness to watch a creature that you love starve. Yup, just went through it, as you know. The landscape guy Tony and I buried Inara just this morning. He was so respectful – he even asked me if I wanted to pray. I declined but thanked him – said we’d done what we wanted and needed to do already.

Wordle in 4 for me today.

>76 quondame: Susan, it occasionally happens that I get a BB from someone on someone else’s thread – you got me with Our Culture by Theodore Dalrymple. I was cheap, and instead of paying $22 + tax for a hardcover, paid $3.99 + tax for the Kindle edition.

>78 LizzieD: Poor darling Sparks. Many hugs to you, my dear.

I'm glad that you were able to bury Inara as you wanted, (((((Karen))))). Sparks is still with us and able to eat a very little. He seems to be keeping down a bit of food but not water. Of course, it's Labor Day weekend, so the vet will be closed tomorrow at noon. We'll see how he does today, I guess. It's hard to know what to do.... no right decision, really.

Wordle 1,168 5/6*

⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟩🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, grape, amaze, quake, knave Good grief! I kept trying to think of words with "n" and being unsuccessful.

I need to finish Christ Stopped at Eboli today, and with only 50 pages left, it should be a piece of cake. Time is not my friend, I'm afraid. It is quite a book!

I'm sorry to hear about Sparks, Peggy. Like you we usually say "let's just keep an eye on things" but I understand the need to work around the vet's hours too. In all these years we've said good-bye to six cats and two dogs; only two (both cats) crossed the rainbow bridge on their own. It sucks.

Sending hugs.

>81 karenmarie: You have my sympathy. Our Culture is quite vituperative, not unexpected, but I found the collection of essays full of contradictions and brutal inaccurate generalizations, and a bit monomaniacal in entirely blaming the academical elite for a decayed welfare state.

>84 quondame: Yikes, Susan! I wasn't immediately attracted to the book, but that's certainly enough to steer me away forever.

>83 lauralkeet: The best thing of the day has been that our Sparks has rallied a bit more. He's eaten a little 3 times, and my DH will feed him once more tonight. He's certainly a lot brighter, and whatever happens now, he's at least had one brighter day.

We, on the other hand, were totally unsettled by dealing with city hall over an overdue utilities payment, having gotten a notice today. After we stopped payment on our check, we learned that they HAVE the check but just hadn't processed it. They would not take the second check including the penalty payment that DH took down there. Since they couldn't clear the check in hand, he had to go back and pay them in cash with a $25 penalty for a bad check (I guess). They treated my poor DH as though he were trying to scam them. ????? In fact, check #1 now goes back to the bank, so that we'll have a bad check on our record with them. Put it down to our elderly misunderstandings and their bureaucratic idiocy.

I totally lost all motivation to work on Mama's house and made a meatloaf instead. I also finished my book (YAY!), and will try to write about it tomorrow.

CHRIST STOPPED AT EBOLI by Carlo Levi

I read this from Anita's list of years' best. I loved it too. I'm not sure exactly what it is, but on the face of it, it's Levi's memoir of the year, 1935, that he spent as a political prisoner in the village of Gagliano in the instep of Italy's boot. The title comes from the peasants' saying that reflects their belief that they are neither Christian nor human, despite the presence of a priest with a chapel and regular directives from the state in Rome.

Don Carlo expected to make the most of his exile by painting, but since he had gone to medical school, he was pressed into service as the area's doctor. Two other doctors were in residence, but one was unqualified and the other was too old. I was amazed at the venality of the middle class and the whole ethos of the peasants. I was surprised by how many male residents had been to NYC, lived there, and returned to Gagliano where they returned to peasant status within several months. I was pleased that I didn't have to read Levi's political philosophy for more than one chapter, but his convictions color the whole book. It's a tale of barren white clay country, malaria, ignorance, witches and magic, and burgeoning human life.

>85 LizzieD: Ugh, so sorry you had to deal with all the nonsense about the utilities payment Peggy. I'm tangling with some healthcare billing/insurance issues right now myself, that are similarly bureaucratic. Such a pain.

I'm glad Sparks had a good day.

‘Morning, Peggy.

>82 LizzieD: Of course things always go south when the vet’s office is closed, right? And you’re right there’s no correct decision. Our only concern was making sure Inara wasn’t in (obvious) pain, and she got to pass at home.

>83 lauralkeet: Hey Laura. Strangely enough, both of my calico kitties ‘crossed the rainbow bridge on their own.’ Losing our fur kids does suck.

>84 quondame: Thank you, Susan.

>85 LizzieD: Mind boggling about the utility bill. Putting a ding on your record because of their failings? Sheesh.

Cooking instead of working on your mama’s house is good therapy. Yum to meatloaf.

I’m glad Sparks had a good day, too.

Wordle in 2 for me today.

Saturday orisons, Peggy. I truly loathe bureaucratic pettifogging. (Good ol' Dickens, he could do caricature better than anyone else.)

Meatloaf sounds delectable! *smooch*

>88 richardderus: RICHARD!!!! Did you just say, "Good ol' Dickens"????? Wonders never cease. Oh my yes! Now if only I could convince the world of his masterful and apparently effortless turns of phrase, we'd have more CD fans, including those like me who deplore his sentimentality, total oblivion to what young women are, and personal ruthlessness.

I love meatloaf sandwiches: cold, please, with mayo, ketchup, and my crisp, sweet pickles.

>87 karenmarie: and >86 lauralkeet: Sparks continues to eat and keep the food down. We're feeding him a little often, and will move him to solid canned food as long as this trend continues. I'm happy to see our boy coming back to himself. I hope for more time with this sweet boy and with our other 6.

The utilities mess was partly our fault, I grant you, but it was ignorance on my part and a wrong choice on DH's (who wasn't sure what city hall's holiday policy was, so he called the bank first and learned that the check hadn't cleared). The rest was insult added to injury on their part. Oh well. It won't happen again.

Wordle 1,169 4/6*

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩⬜🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, snore, shout, spout I had the right word in the box at 3 but changed it. Oh well.

TWO for you, (((((Karen)))))!

(If anybody cares to read them, I put my few comments on Christ Stopped at Eboli back in >85 LizzieD: where I didn't write it last night.)

>89 LizzieD: ruh roh

Nonono, Peggy! I didn't mean...nope...never!

*ew* I feel dirty.

>90 richardderus: Hee Hee Hee! Sorry, Richard, but that's too funny!

Just to make things worse, here's a picture of our Sparks today, included in a message with your name. Sorry. (Do please come back. I won't do either again.....)

The Imperious Archie Sparks - a couple of pounds lighter than last week but on the road to recovery, I dare to hope.
(He is saying, "Come. I Will Lick You.")

>89 LizzieD: I'm happy to hear of Sparks signs of recovery!

>91 LizzieD: What a beautiful boy!

Sparks looks lovely. I hope his recovery continues apace.

I have a strange yen to read Christ Stopped at Eboli without knowing anything about it. So thanks for the comments. It's a very provocative title, isn't it?

'Morning, Peggy!

Awww, sweet Archie Sparks. Yay for gingers - our Zoe Rose looks a lot like him.

Wordle in five for me today.

Many hugs for you and kind regards to your DH.

>91 LizzieD: Oh, so handsome! Glad he is feeling better. They can surely scare us when they aren't well.

Thank you for joining our delight in having our Sparks on the road to recovery, Linda, Karen, Judy, Laura, and Susan!!!

Judy, the title is ambiguous as well as intriguing. For the years that it was on my shelf I thought it meant that Christ was on the way somewhere else and maybe spent the night in Eboli. The other, true possibility actually occurred to me as I took it off the shelf. Anyway, it's not quite like anything else I've read. I recommend it!

Wordle 1,170 5/6*

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, snick, bushy, pushy, mushy I should have guessed the sole different pronunciation maybe. Oh well.

>91 LizzieD: He looks most Bastet-ly in his demeanor.

I shall now stalk off to my decontamination shower.

*smooch*

Bless you, Richard! *smooch*

What happened to my post? I posted sympathies for the problem with your utility bill, and also cheers to the good news about Sparks, including how good he looks in >91 LizzieD: but the post has disappeared. Oh well. It's a much shorter post now. Here's hoping that Sparks continues to get well.

'Morning, dear friend, and happy Monday/Labor Day to you.

We got pounded last night off-and-on for 4 hours with training thunderstorms. It was glorious because it did no damage here. I haven't walked around and there might be limbs down, but otherwise it's all good.

Wordle in 3 for me today.

There are already guns going off in nearby fields, since today's the official start of Dove, Pheasant, and King or Clapper Rails (had to look them up), season. Sigh.

Thank you kindly for good thoughts, Irene, and I wonder too about occasional lost posts. Sparks is acting like himself, and I hope that all his kitty functions are functioning properly....

We are 3 Sisters, Karen, and I wonder about Irene.
We got a shower last night but nothing like the deluge you had in your central NC spot. It is cooler today anyway, and I'm looking forward to this cooler week. Our niece and nephew and big dog Mac arrived yesterday and will be here until tomorrow. They're staying in Mama's house, and I love having them here. I also just got a call from cousin Catharin saying that she is on her way here to have lunch (!) with our Aunt Betty. She joined her Wilmington friend in Colorado for some time at Lisa's grandfather's ranch, and then they flew back to W'ton together. She has to be back in Canada this weekend, so this is likely my only visit with her. Busy! Busy! Busy!

I had forgotten hunting season since I no longer live in the country. Granddaddy used to tell about a hunter who spotted a covey of quail and asked the farmer who owned the land if he could hunt there (back in the days when people were courteous). The farmer said, "Sure. Shoot all the quails you want, but I have a nice flock of pat(to rhyme with cat)ridges out there, and I don't want any harm to come to my patridges." Tickled Granddaddy.

Wordle 1,171 3/6*

🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟨🟩⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, eagle, camel Now do I see the value of guessing a word with the same letter twice. YAY! I haven't seen many 3s lately.

Here it is Labor Day, thus I have yet to do more than lift a finger or two. But I do haave some wood that must be worked. And some books to read. Onward!

>102 LizzieD: "Patridges" LOL

Go Granddaddy!

>102 LizzieD: Good story from your granddaddy.

No, sorry, I'm not a 3 sister today. It took me 5. I got hung up on a guessy-guessy _A_EL pattern, and it took me multiple guesses to find the right one.

Have fun visiting with all the relatives!

Hi, Irene. I was in the guessy-guessy mist yesterday. I figure we're both lucky to have made it in 5. I'm glad that you and Richard both enjoyed Granddaddy's story. He was a witty, funny man, totally uninterested in academics like his father or his younger brother and sister or his granddaughter.

Hi, Richard! *smooch*

Hi, Bill! Hope your Labor Day turned out to be a good one. What kind of wood work do you do? I'll have to trip over to your thread to see. I ask because my DH has been a wood carver and built the kind of furniture you can do without good power tools. He also made very handsome caskets for an older friend and his wife, whose daughter is also one of my best friends.

'Morning, Peggy!

Love the story about the patridges.

Enjoy being busy with family.

Wordle in 3 again for me today - I honestly think I'm channeling the Wordle word choosers, because my second word today was simply me picking a random word that satisfied the clue in my first word. I made sure it was a valid Wordle word, then made sure it hadn't already been used. That led me to my third guess, and I got lucky or psychically connected. *smile*

Today's book sort/Virlie's. I'm also about halfway through Remarkably Bright Creatures and really loving it.

I hope by this time that you're happily enjoying the company and Virlie's food and that book sorting was fun and profitable!

We enjoyed walking with the kids this morning in the COOL!!!! This is gorgeous, perfect weather: temp in 70s, Carolina Blue skies with lots of sun, light breeze. I wish we might have a couple of months of it interspersed with rain when we need it.

Hooray for Wordle intuition!!!! I don't have it at all, so I'm not dissatisfied with my 4 today. I didn't expect my second guess to be the word, but I did want to nail down a couple of letters. As you see, I could have done it in three, but I didn't.

Wordle 1,172 4/6*

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, groat, taint, faint

Dumb! Dumb! Dumb! I just lost my post, which my computer didn't load. I won't reproduce it; Karen, you know everything I said without my saying it.

Wordle 1,172 4/6*

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, groat, taint, faint

I finally made it here and am happy both with Wordle in 3 and with finding a potential new friend, annarchism, whose review of an Iain Banks book is sending me to the shelf for it as soon as I get up from here.

Wordle 1,173 3/6*

⬜🟨⬜🟨🟨
🟩🟩⬜🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, stone, stern On days like today, I love my starter word and my usual method!

I also love and adore Chiopher Mdang! I have him and his (dare I say the word?) fanoa just now meeting their ancestral counterparts. I want to read other things right now; I really do. I just can't.

'Afternoon, Peggy!

@annarchism, eh? Just looked her/him/them up. Just joined a month ago, 3200+ books, 1800+ reviews. I have 280 books in common with them. They have 10 books tagged 'smut', but most of them are Laurell K. Hamilton. However, it's given me the idea to add the tag 'smut', which I never thought to do before.

Congrats on Wordle in 3 - we're Wordle twins today.

>110 LizzieD: The AtFotS Kip and Fitzroy show is such a delight!. But it is no surprise that I think that.

all-purpose *smooch*

>110 LizzieD: Hm. No thread for Annarchism. How did you find her? From the review?

'Morning, Peggy.

Wordle in 3 for me today.

I had fun looking at some of @annarchism's reviews. Maybe you can entice them to join the 75ers?

The weather is still pleasant, and I woke up to a coolish room that didn't even require AC.

Happy to see you, Richard, and *smooch* right back.

Judy, I did find her from the review. She hasn't replied to my message.

Afternoon, Karen. I gave annarchism a link to the 75 with what I thought was a decent promo.
We've had AC on very seldom this week, and next week looks reasonable too. Wouldn't it be super if we were through with the 90s for this year!!!

Wordle 1,174 4/6*

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟨🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, noire, winey, widen

Congrats on your 3 again, (((((Karen)))))!

Missed you, Susan. I had just spoken on your thread, and I'm returning with maybe another question..... You know that I also love the F & K Show!

Oh brother. I had to get help on this one. I don't think the mental block was due to age. *sigh*

Wordle 1,175 4/6*

⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟩🟩⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, nerve, ferny, rerun

Hiya, Peggy. Have a great weekend-ahead's reads.

'Afternoon, Peggy!

>118 LizzieD: I had help on this one, too. 4, too.

>118 LizzieD: Four for me today too. A stupid guess on 3--I failed to use a known letter. And if I had used my traditional second word instead of the alternate one, I would have had the first and last letter in place and might have gotten it in 3. Sigh. But I can't complain about getting it in 4.

Hi, Irene and Karen. I love it when the 3 of us are 4 Sisters. I love it more when we're 3 Sisters, but we can't have everything all the time!

I am loving my reread of At the Feet of the Sun. I started the day with Kip and the Sea-witch, one of my favorite episodes in the whole book. Now he is finally at the lowest entrance of the Palace of the Sun, thanks to the sea turtle. I don't love reading about his journey to the depths of his heart, but that section has stayed with me from the first reading. Good stuff!

Richard, I thank you kindly and return the good wish.

Sheesh. Here at last and still needing to use a word list. I don't know why it's so hard for me to Wordle when I have 4 correct letters, but it is.

Wordle 1,176 4/6*

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟨⬜🟨🟨
🟨🟨⬜🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, noire, recon, owner

We're going to walk now since I slept in for the first time in years. If I can get up 6-ish in the morning, I'll offer the same gift to my DH. Then I plan to do nothing but read.

>123 LizzieD: I hope you get your plan to do nothing but read today, Peggy!

'Morning, Peggy! Happy Sunday.

I actually read the book for my RL book club for today's discussion and loved it. I surprise myself.

Wordle in 3. I was particularly proud because I thought of the second and third words without resorting to analyzing the available words list, just checking that each word was there and not already used.

It's a gorgeous day, isn't it?

Sunday orisons, Peggy me lurve. I'm finishing Monday's whinging review of a myth-retelling novel that disappointed so /I needed to come here to break out of the naggy-grumpy mood I was bringing on myself.

I throw my napkin at naggy-grumpy in memory of my grandmama. In her early 90s she was nearly blind and had an 80-something woman in the house with her so she wouldn't be alone. (They didn't like each other. Typical dialogue --- "I can see." --- "Well, I can hear.") Anyway as we were clearing the table after lunch, Mrs. Lewis, the other woman bent over to pick up a dropped spoon. Grandmama saw the movement of gray, and threw her napkin with a "Hssst! Cat!" Therefore, "Hsst! N-G!" I hope you read something a lot better next. *smooch*

Karen, I hope your book discussion is as satisfying as the book was and as good as the food! I'll go to my two clubs this week. I looked at the list of members in Mama's book club, and there are some women whom I like a lot. If they come, I'll stay in the club. If not, I think I'll let it go.

I wasn't displeased with my Wordle in 4 for the same reason. Good for you for 3!!!

Wordle 1,177 4/6*

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, board, drank, drawn

I can almost believe that autumn will come again!!!!

>123 LizzieD: Sometimes it is difficult, even when you do have four letters. I think it's harder when the first letter is a vowel. It took me four tries yesterday as well. Another bad guess on three. But I got it in three today.

Morning, Peggy, have a lovely fall day (I hope...unless your local Weather Goddess has turned summer back on *ptooptoo* against that).

'Morning, Peggy!

Wordle in 3 today, lunch out with a book sale team friend and then grocery shopping.

What Richard says about having a lovely fall day. Warmish, but not awful, a definite win.

>106 LizzieD: How well do you remember Labor Day? It was a week ago, only a week ago. Two of my granddaughters returned to college. I do remember that. One is beginning graduate studies in the Classics at Stanford, the other is a sophomore at Smith. And I just hung around the homeplace, stumbling through my clutter.

You asked about my woodworking. Lately, I've done a lot of bookcases. I do have shop tools in the basement, meaning table saw, jointer, planer, etc.

         Claire's bookcase, now residing in Palo Alto, CA.

>131 weird_O: Nice work, Bill. An heirloom begins its journey...

>131 weird_O: I love that bookcase, Bill.
>132 laytonwoman3rd: Exactly. Something to treasure forever.

Whew! It's a relief to be able to get back into LT. This is my first opportunity to try this afternoon.
Thank you for the visits, Laura, Linda, Bill, Karen, Richard, and Irene!

>131 weird_O: Much, much bookcase love here to which I add my own! Happy, happy Claire! Is she the Classics student? How wonderful! My own foray into Latin was a patchwork thing that I loved anyway. I thought when I retired, I'd revive it. I didn't, and now I doubt that I will. During COVID I did the DuoLingo Italian course all the way to the end. Then I dropped it, and it was gone from my brain inside a month. Now all I want to do is read what I want to read, and I hardly find time for that.

It has been a lovely not-yet-fall day here, Richard. We walked in the early afternoon, and it was still good. *smooch*

Behold the Wordle, Irene and Karen, my 3 Sisters for once!

Wordle 1,178 3/6*

⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, refit, debit

>134 LizzieD: Nope, not today. I was three yesterday, back to four today.

>131 weird_O: Add me to the bookcase love. That one is *very* nice. Looks solid too.

Happy Tuesday, Peggy.

Another beautiful almost-fall Carolina day, I’ll be out and about again for all good reasons – book sort and meeting a friend for lunch at Virlie’s after.

Got my Covid booster yesterday, Moderna, and my arm is tender but otherwise, so far, good to go. The pharmacist asked if I wanted a flu shot, but my doctor specifically told me to get it in October, as he always does. From the time I walked into the pharmacy 'til I left, including filling out the form and the 15 minute wait time for adverse reactions, it only took 30 minutes.

>131 weird_O: stumbling through my clutter Yup, Bill. And I want one of your bookcases. No. Make that 3 or 4. I’ve got a wall currently being taken up with a piano and a small desk that I need for books.

>134 LizzieD: Yay for Wordle in 3.

Wordle in 3 for me again for me today, with serious spreadsheet help.

I'm off to the book club with time only to post my Wordle. (GOOD for you, Ms. 3!)

Wordle 1,179 4/6*

🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟨⬜⬜
🟨🟩🟨⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, melon, beryl, rebel

Morning, Peggy! *smooch*

Good evening, Richard! *smooch*

I'm antsy about this debate, but I did at least want to say the names "Irene" and "Karen." There. Hope your day was good and that we have something to celebrate in a couple of hours!

Better than a "WHEW!" for that debate. I hardly see how Kamala could have done better.

This is such a busy week for me, and I dislike it. I did resign from Mama's book club yesterday. The books have never been a very good fit for me, and one of my friends I was looking forward to seeing had resigned over the summer. I don't know most of the new members, and they are such friends that they don't make room for me in their conversations. That will be one less thing for me to do in the second week from now on!

I'm still working on Mama's estate and have a couple of stops to make for that today, get my COVID booster (YAY), and get a haircut (also YAY}! That doesn't sound like much to normal people, I know, but with study club meeting tomorrow and an eye appointment Friday, my week is gone.

Wordle 1,180 3/6*

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟨🟨🟨⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, slake, aisle I was so excited to have 4 letters that I put the A back where it didn't belong. I suppose it might have made a difference, but 3 is likely as good as I was going to do. I'm happy.

Good morning Peggy! I agree with you about last night's event. I didn't (couldn't bear to) watch it but have read coverage from various sources and feel much better than I did the morning after the previous debate. It sounds like dropping the book club was a good idea, especially if the current members aren't including you. That's not nice!

I hope your busier-than-usual day is a good one!

>140 LizzieD: Morning, me lurve. I'm tired reading about it. Glad you came to a decision about a commitment that wasn't working for you. Fewer of those, please, I say to myself when I open my email and find people asking for my time and (slim) wallet.

Spend today relishing this victory. *smooch*

‘Morning, Peggy!

I didn’t watch the debate, and haven’t looked at any news this a.m. You’re a good reporter – your 16 word review makes me feel comfortable checking things online now.

Sorry/glad that you resigned from that book club. It’s just rude to not include everybody in discussions. I am glad you're still in a RL book club and hope that it is a good fit for you.

Busy day – and yes, those are necessary time-sucking things that put dents in weeks. I’m busy 4 of the 5 days of this week and it’s making me antsy.

Congrats on your three – I got it in three today, too.

Hi, Karen. For the record the conversations that left me out in the book club were among friends chatting while we ate not a program or group discussion.

I've listened to people today, Karen, Richard, and Laura, and am convinced that people hear what they want to hear. The woman who handled my driver's license renewal today said she didn't like either candidate and wasn't going to vote. I made the best case I could.
I also got a haircut, my COVID booster, and finished (I devoutly hope) all that I can do about Mama's financial business, plus another thing or two or three. Tomorrow is study club, and I'm looking forward to that. Friday I have an eye appointment. This is not my favorite week of the month.

AT THE FEET OF THE SUN by Victoria Goddard

I have said several times over the past week of rereading this that I enjoyed it so much more than I did the first time. It's too long, but I don't particularly care. I read some reviews this time that identify Kip as ACE. That's obvious, but I would never have thought to label him. Anyway, I don't want VG to rush the last book, but I surely am anxious to get it!

Now to something else!!!!!!!!

>144 LizzieD: Kip as an representative of an ace person is very strongly felt.
I mostly thought he always had something going on that getting distracted by sex would interfere with, and missed learning any subtly - and then went off into a alien culture where the signals were even more subtle and he was a complete outsider. Sure he would never have been as prone to sexual exploits as an average for young men, but with so much going on in his life from 11-18, then Ghilly taking him in tow, then going to Astandalas, well it wasn't the most normal coming of age.

Of course I got into trouble online by saying why I thought Damian wasn't, or wasn't very much, on the spectrum. Half the clues indicate that he is, or maybe more than half, but I felt Goddard also put in quite a bit that contradicted that assignment.

I like Charles Dickens, Peggy, but let Richard know. His works are rather long, or perhaps I would have read more. It was just in the past couple of years that I readGreat Expectations . It was an interesting read. I'm glad your dropped out the book group, especially if people if people weren't chatting with you. I'm glad you have your hair cut and also got your covid booster. Is the new one out in your area? I'm waiting for the new variant of covid vaccine to come out in Canada - sometime this autumn.

'Morning, Peggy.

Got it about the book club. Still, glad you've taken one thing off your plate that isn't absolutely perfect for you.

Wordle in five for me today. No yellow though, only green. I love patterns.

My thanks for visits, Karen, Deborah, and Susan. I'll hope to be back later in the day to reply to your thoughts!

Wordle 1,181 3/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, chasm, brass I finally used a list after fiddling with maybe all the possible final letters. I'm not proud of this 3, but it's done.

Checking in on you, Peggy, and hope all is well there.

Have a fantastic Friday!

Hi, Stasia, and thanks! My left eye is active again, and I just got a shot, so I'm off to the sofa for a nap to let it adjust to some of the insult that goes with the sight-saving shot.

Wordle 1,182 2/6*

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>150 LizzieD: I hope ypur nap was a solidly restful one, Peggy. *smooch*

Finally, I am catching up with much-appreciated visitors!

Richard, not only did I nap and nap again, but I slept 8 full hours. I was finally able to get the goop out of my eyelashes (no showering or face-washing the night of a shot to minimize the danger of infection from tap water and everything else), and everything is back to normal. May Vabysmo do it's work!

Deborah, I assure you that Richard knows both about my Dickens love (promoted by my grandmother, who happily held a copy of Tale of Two Cities in her lap after she was no longer able to read... I was such a self-absorbed teen that I never offered to read to her. How I wish I had!) AND all our cats! de gustibus non est disputandum I'm glad that you enjoyed *Expectations*. Everything that Richard deplores about CD is pretty much true, but his prose is genius. Yes, he's prolix, but what prolixity! When you feel like tackling him again, do try Bleak House, my absolute favorite, which I need to reread. I do.
And yes, it was the new booster that I got. My DH and I went to the same pharmacy on different days. He got Moderna, and I got Pfizer - I have no idea why. He came down with the most common, distressing side-effect, which I'd make you look up because I can't spell diarrhea..... WOW! I just did. I'm always reminded of the mother in E. Taylor's A View of the Harbor. Her child has written from camp that she has been horribly ill but can't say what it was. A phone call reveals that it was diarrhea, and the child couldn't spell it. The mother remarks, "---as who can?" That has always tickled me.

>145 quondame: That's how I felt about Kip too, Susan. He wasn't averse to sex and enjoyed women, but sex wasn't a prime mover for him. I'll be very interested to see how or whether VG addresses this in the 3rd book. (Write, VG, write, but don't hurry!) I haven't read any of the books that do more than mention Damian. I'll get there if I live long enough. I do very much hope to live long enough!

Hmmm. I'm prolix too.

Meanwhile, I am reading The Half-Drowned King and City of Djinns. Although I'm 90 pages into *H-DK*, it hasn't grabbed me. I would have loved it twenty years ago before I had thousands and thousands of unread books demanding my time. It's picking up my interest though, so I have hopes. I'll certainly read it since I bought it, Scot that I am. (I'm only 37% Scottish; I thought it would be a lot more than that, but my maternal line had a lot more Irish than I expected.)
I always enjoy Dalrymple, and this book about Delhi is my cup of chai.

>152 LizzieD: Enjoy your Dalrympling, and may Harald Fair-Hair grab your interest fully in the near future. I will not wish you to increase your misguided allegiance to Chuckles the Dick because I am not by nature a cruel person. *shudder*

Prolix is polite for his real issue of logorrhea. *smooch*

Thank you, Richard. You know you're wrong about CD, but we kindly agree to disagree. Moving on ----

*smooch*

>154 LizzieD: Sunday orisons, Peggy me lurve!

And straight back to you, Richard!

I can't believe how late I am getting here for the first time. Waiting this long didn't help my Wordling any. I had to get help for the last word.

Wordle 1,184 4/6*

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>154 LizzieD: As RD knows, I am with you on Chuckles, as he refers to the Great Man.

Have a lovely weekend, Peggy.

Thanks for letting me know that RD is aware of like of Charles Dickens, yet holds no grudge against us, Peggy. I have read Bleak House, so I've have to chose a different book when I next want to read a long book , and perhaps a long winded author. I'm glad you and your husband both got the new booster variant.I hope it will soon be available here. I have had almost all Pfizer, but one Moderna booster and it did not affect me any differently than the Pfizer - tired, a little achey, sore arm. But our eldest son Daniel had Moderna twice I think and he was similarly afflicted like your husband. I can't spell diarrhea , expcept with the help of spell check here.

Happy day, Deborah and Paul! I love to know about Dickens Disciples! If we keep talking about him, I'm going to have to reread *BH* in spite of myself.

Hi Peggy! Happy Monday to you.

Glad you got your boosters, sorry your DH had such a distressing side effect. I hope your eye is all better, too.

Wordle in 3 for me today. I'm really distressed because I just wasn't able to work on Friday's at all because of EVENTS, so lost my streak. Ah well, I've lost it before, I'll lose it again.

In the meantime, back to bed to read and doze. Being horizontal feels best right now.

Thank you for coming here, Karen. I'm glad that you have found something that helps. Back pain is pretty awful; actually, I find any pain pretty awful - not a good sign for my advancing years.
We are both back on track, I thank you very much. In fact, the eye is behaving better sooner than I had expected.

Congrats on Wordle in 3! Boo! Hiss! on losing your streak. It's not a huge priority, but it's fun. I feel that I was stung again (having taken plenty of stings helping DH) with my 5 today. I fixate on trying r and n and neglect to see the obvious. Oh well.

Wordle 1,185 5/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 I just like that second word that I never get to use in conversation; that's my excuse for trying it.

>157 PaulCranswick:, >158 vancouverdeb:,>159 LizzieD: I wouldn't characterize my disdain for y'all's appalling taste for endless spaghettified strands of words doused in lutefisk brine as a "grudge" but an objective analytical evaluation of a deficiency whose root cause I dare not speculate on, but which is almost certain to involve childhood traumas so heinous they can't be named publicly.

Hiya, Peggy!

Sorry I did not get back to you yesterday, Peggy, but *life.*

I hope you have a marvelous Monday!

'Morning, Peggy. Happy Tuesday to you.

Wordle in 6 today, but better that than getting skunked.

Nothing planned except reading and napping. All good things, just not ALL I wanted to do but that I can't right now because of the back pain. Sigh.

I'm always glad to hear from you, Karen, and that things are as good as they can be. Not being skunked is good. Your first word was not a friend today.

Stasia, we know about *life*!

Happy Tuesday to you both!

Wordle 1,186 2/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, beaut A super first word and dogged trial and error. Yippee!

Congrats on your two!!!

Thank you!!! I was so excited by it that I forgot what I meant to post. Here it comes!

My absolute favorite meme for the past nearly 20 years at least, and I may have the first wording wrong --- on fb Sunday:

The far right is unhappy because they are being judged by the content of their character rather than by the color of their skin.

It makes me laugh and cry at the same time.

I was also going to say about The Half-Drowned King that it reminds me of the M.M. Kayes that I read 50 years ago except that it's hugely and ruthlessly violent and very lacking in romance. I suspect that the first is historically accurate, and I'm grateful for the last.

>167 LizzieD: That is just bloody perfect, Peggy. I've tweeted it and hope someone notices it.

>167 LizzieD: That absolutely nails it!

>165 LizzieD: Congrats on Wordle in 2. It was 4 for me today. I actually thought of the right one at 3, but didn't think it would be considered a legitimate/offical word--more slang--and went with a different word first (one you used in >167 LizzieD: ). I got it on 4 only because most other words that would fit used letters I had already eliminated.

Irene and Richard, I couldn't agree more.

I had that same thought about the word, Irene, but I went ahead with it because I couldn't think of anything else that fit what I already had. As I say, I spent some time trying and discarding words that had been used already. I don't consider that cheating.

>170 LizzieD: It's Wednesday. I'm 65. There's a chance the US will reinstall malware in the White House...on purpose.

How did ANY of these awful things happen?! Can I go back to the GOOD timeline now?

‘Morning, Peggy! Happy Wednesday to you. Kind regards to your DH.

>167 LizzieD: Love that meme. I was watching stuff on YouTube last night and was amused/saddened at some interviews with Trumpers where they’re called out on their bullshit but do not yield. They don’t even acknowledge that they just might have gotten The Bible wrong… they’re really scary.

>171 richardderus: Happy Birthday on Peggy’s thread, RDear! I knew it was in September, had it down wrong but missed it because or Recent Events, and now stand corrected.

Wordle in 5, alas.

>171 richardderus: HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RICHARD!!!! I was off checking to see whether I had read your post correctly. You are a great gift to your friends here and to anybody who gets to read your writing! I wish you may have much that pleases you on your day!

Meanwhile, I do think we may have stepped sideways into some malign alternate universe. I don't see any way out except to plow on forward and hope that we may eventually get somewhere better.

>172 karenmarie: Good morning, Karen!!! It is still morning, but we haven't walked yet. I can't abide to do more than read the occasional feed from a friend or relative on fb. I thought a cousin-in-law had reached stupidity bottom when he posted "If you don't think Harris was given the questions before the debate, I have swamp land I'd like to sell you." ??? (I don't respond, but he is smart enough to realize that he could have predicted every single question that was asked. Then too, his man won the debate and needs no defense.) THEN my DH reported hearing a new twist on the QAnon story that Mother Teresa was Anthony Fauci's mother. Are you ready? Mother Teresa was a man and was Anthony Fauci's father. There you go.
None of this makes me feel any better, so I'll stop. YOU feel better, Karen.

Wordle 1,187 4/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, clonk, pully, fully

In my excitement about Richard's non-birthday, I forgot to say a word about my sneak-reread, so here it is.

MILK RUN by Nathan Lowell
I needed some comfort and couldn't quite bring myself to reread Ishmael yet. This is the next best thing. Natalya and Zoya were roommates at the CPJCT, Confederated Planets' Joint Committee on Trade, academy for space fleet officers. Newly graduated, they are forced to flee the academy for Toe-Hold space beyond the jurisdiction of the CPJCT. It's rather contrived and not particularly convincing (as I also find the Ishmael books on each rereading), but that's not Lowell's aim nor my aim in reading him. He puts his readers into the ordinary lives of ordinary professional people. If they get into trouble to make a plot, then they deal with it.
I enjoyed this one more on this reread than I did the first time when I was missing Ish and Pip. I don't think I'll need to go on right now, but I have two more when I do need them!

>174 LizzieD: Yay for sneak re-reads! Yay for comfort reads!

Stuff happening at my house. Kerry is making an emergency trip to Nacogdoches tomorrow.

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday!

>173 LizzieD: Harris was given the questions? Excuse me? She spent most of a week preparing, and it couldn't be very hard to figure out what kinds of things were going to be asked. If Trump couldn't be bothered to prepare, that's his own fault. I had heard that reported theory on Colbert, but I never heard either of the QAnon stories you mention. Good grief, how do people fall for this bs?

>174 LizzieD: That was a good reread, indeed. I hope you get as much pleasure out of your next new read. Thank you for your lovely kind words about the ghastly transition into another year.

*smooch*

Quick hello, my dear.

Off to my GP in 20 minutes. I'll be glad when I'm back home in my jammies.

Wordle in 3.

Karen, I'm glad that you're getting into your GP's clutches so quickly. I hope that you're home soon if you're not there already and can spend the rest of the day recuperating! I also hope that the doc has some good guidance on healing the back AND making sure that the heart issues - if you still have them - are under control.
Good for you for Wordle in 3!

Richard, I'm glad that you let us celebrate even if you won't. I must say that I'm enjoying being old and relatively healthy. We'll enjoy the good time while we have it! *smooch*

Irene, it's amazing. I also heard and didn't report a faulting of Harris who had obviously memorized her answers and was unable to deviate from them. Dun. Again. AND from my classmate, who is a Trump priestess, a meme with picture of MLK's granddaughter saying that Trump is not a racist. (It was his niece, who did say that in 2018 on Fox as a Fox commentator.... that's what a little research shows.) All of that reeks of desperation, and yet I still worry.

Hi, Stasia! You should have seen on your thread my late response to Kerry's need to get back to Felisha today. Life doesn't stop, does it?

Wordle 1,188 4/6*

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Hi Peggy! Happy Friday.

The echocardiogram they performed at the hospital came back with continuing good news - my heart is still at 55% function, which is NORMAL. I'm probably permanently off the BP medicines.

Today was Wordle in 2. A lucky guess.

No plans on leaving the house, thank goodness. Chat with my Aunt Joyce this afternoon, pain management otherwise.

>180 karenmarie: I'm more than delighted and relieved to hear your good news, Karen! I didn't know what heart efficiency was in the normal range, and I guess it lowers with age??? I'm also glad that you're saying goodbye to the BP meds. My triglycerides have landed in borderline high range, so I'm trying to correct. I had thought I was doing pretty well except for a lot of cheese. I can cut back on that, cut back on 2 fast burgers a month, cut back on real butter (but it takes me at least 6 months to consume a pound of butter since I'm not baking these days). I will not give up my 3 slices of bacon a week until I must. I will add dried beans to my diet. I have a green lentil salad planned for today. I see that I'm supposed to eat a lot of sweet potatoes. I don't like sweet potatoes, so I'll ask for recipes.

Does anybody have a good sweet potato recipe, especially one that disguises the taste without too much sugar?

WOO HOO for Wordle in TWO!!!

Wordle 1,189 4/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩least, snore, spoke, smoke

Happy weekend-ahead's reads, Peggy! *smooch*

Funny coincidence Peggy, I was just harvesting sweet potatoes in my garden this morning. I love 'em but this is my first year growing them. I gave some thought to your recipe request, but none of mine disguise the taste.

Thank you for thinking, Laura. I wish you well with them.

Thank you, Richard. I was just over at your thread responding to another BB.

I don't know about "disguising" the flavor, but this recipe certainly treats the sweet potato differently than a lot of more traditional preparations: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/241834/oven-roasted-sweet-potatoes/ I do something similar with butternut squash, adding chopped bacon along with garlic, sprinkling lightly with sage, rather than the balsamic vinegar at the end.

>185 laytonwoman3rd: ooh yum. I make something similar to that with a collection of root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, onion etc.). You could definitely toss in some sweet potatoes.

Roasted Root Vegetables

INGREDIENTS
2 lb. of various root vegetables, peeled and cut into 1-1 1/2 inch chunks
6 peeled shallots or 1 red onion (shallots cut in half if large, onion cut into 1 1/2-inch wedges)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 2 tablespoons rosemary needles, roughly chopped
1 head garlic
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

PREPARATION
Preheat the oven to 400. Toss the cut-up root vegetables and shallots or red onion in a 9" x 13" baking dish with the olive oil and kosher salt. Roast for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, and toss with the rosemary needles. Nestle the garlic bulb in with the vegetables and return to the oven, roasting for another 25 minutes. Squeeze the garlic cloves out into the dish, sprinkle with the pepper, and toss the dish one final time.

>181 LizzieD: I'm not sure I'd accept a life that required me to eat sweet potatoes - or yams. Both are too sweet for me, and I want to enjoy the calories I consume. There must be something else to meet whatever nutritional niche sweet potatoes do.

>186 lauralkeet: sounds completely yummy. I might bestir myself to try it out.

Thank you, Linda and Laura! I'll try them and let you know. They both sound good to me.

Susan, I don't find sweet potatoes sweet without added sugar. I'm not a fan of pumpkin either although I do eat squash without making a face or a fuss. I think sps are on the list because of their fiber content and other nutritional value. I have been eating a lot of carrots instead, but I guess I need to expand my intake.

Today though, it's make the lentil salad. I'm off to do it now.

I think butternut squash is a great alternative to sweet potatoes (which I agree, do not taste "sweet" except in concoctions with added sugar or *shudder* marshmallows). I found this information on more than one website, so I think it's pretty good: "the butternut squash beats the sweet potato with fewer calories, carbs and sugar per serving. Moreover, it is rich in calcium, magnesium, potassium, and vitamins B6 and E. On the other hand, the sweet potato provides more fiber and protein".

>189 LizzieD: Horrible things, yams...stringy, unpleasantly not-quite-sweet flavor. Lentils get my approval, though, as well as slight jealousy because I'd love to have some. *smooch*

>189 LizzieD: >190 laytonwoman3rd: Sweet potatoes taste sweet to me served salted as fries. I can eat them, but never enjoy doing so.

>190 laytonwoman3rd: I do love sweet potatoes, but also butternut squash, and the nutritional info and comparison is interesting. Sorry, those of you who don't like sweet potatoes, with butter and black pepper, which is also the way I like the squash.

Thank you for the vegetable help and comments, Judy, Susan, Richard, and Linda. We finally have butternut squash available locally; I had never eaten one until a few years ago. I think I need the sp for fiber, but I should expand my menus. I at least cooked the lentils (managed to get them tender before they mushed) and will make the salad on the back of the package tomorrow. I wish I could send you some, Richard. My DH isn't fond of them because of the chewiness of the skin. ?

THE HALF-DROWNED KING by Linnea Hartsuyker

I went ahead and bought used copies of the first 2 of this Viking fiction trilogy (sort of to honor the 4% of my DNA that is Swedish/Danish) and got the 3rd from PBS. I wish I hadn't, but since I did, I'm glad to have read the first one. It's OK. The author uses two names from an Icelandic saga to manage her story of Harald Fairhair, who becomes the first king uniting all of Norway. Spanish machismo has nothing on the 9th century Norse. Their life is harsh and violent, just as I expect that it was.
I won't be reading the next one anytime soon.

Speaking of DNA, here's what Ancestry says about mine:
Scotland 37% (This was a surprise. I expected my maternal line to be fully Scottish. Instead, it's more Irish.)
Ireland 30% (That's the rest of what I got from Mama. The rest is paternal.)
England & NW Europe 18%
Germanic Europe 11%
Sweden & Denmark 4%

>194 LizzieD: Don't forget, me lurve, a lot of what's Scots to us, including that name, originates in Ireland. They conquered the South from Antrim in the Iron Age.

Lentils make good meat substitutes in veggie "burgers" for that skin texture. I myownself like it, but then again I just generally like 'em.

The hardscrabble life of humanity in all of its past makes me sit here in front of this melted-rock hunk of wizardry, in this wood-and-fiber-lined brick cave, with a lightning-powered north wind keeping me cool, faint with grateful relief for their sacrifices and my absence of need to make 'em.

‘Morning, Peggy! Happy Saturday.

>181 LizzieD: I’ve added cubed sweet potatoes to my vegetable beef soup before. Other than that, everything I make is sweet, alas.

Wordle in 4.

It’s a gorgeous Carolina blue sky day.

Good morning, Good Richard and Good Karen! It's lovely to see you both here!

>195 richardderus: I do indeed know that Irish/Scottish connection, Richard. I'm wondering though how much of mine came when/if the ancestors stopped off in Ireland before making the journey across and how long they stayed. I haven't seen anything to that effect, but then I haven't looked. My grandmama especially was proud to be Highland Scot through and through as far as she knew. She'd look at me and say, with a tiny air of superiority, "Well, I think people with mixed blood are generally smarter." ("Mixed Blood" meant Scottish and something else.)

I get wrapped up in myself until I remember to feel grateful for those amenities you mention plus so many, many more.

>196 karenmarie: Gorgeous day indeed, Karen! Ack! I'm sorry. I just can't fathom adding sweet potatoes to my vegetable soup. I hope that some small dietary adjustments and losing the stress which is always just below the surface will bring that level back down to normal. Oatmeal for breakfast this morning. I can't tell you how much I miss my mushroom and cheese omelet with the slice of bacon.

Wordle 1,190 4/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, senor, seine, seven I was thinking river not fishing net for guess 3, but Wordle couldn't read my mind so it's OK.

Have a wonderful weekend, Peggy!

'Morning, Peggy! I hope you ... like, appreciate, are inspired by, or etc. ... Church today.

We'll leave your vegetable soup pristine. There are definitely other ways to get what you need, and I'm sorry that yesterday's mushroom and cheese omelet and bacon have been sacrificed.

Last night when I spoke with Karen, she said she'd ask the whole church to pray for me, which I truly appreciate. This a.m. is rather tough, actually, but after I visit you here and Richard on his thread, I'm going to go to the couch in the living room and doze and watch a Premier League match. Arsenal plays Man City at 11:30, which I was already planning on watching.

Today I got Wordle in 3.

It's another gorgeous day, even at 89F with humidity. Happy Fall!

Love to you, Karen!

I hope that you're resting and that Arsenal is doing well! Yay for your 3! As for me - Behold! My turn...

We walked after I got home from church - warm but still nice!

Wordle 1,191 2/6*

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Sunday *smooch*

May your tWordle be an omen for the week ahead.

>200 LizzieD: Hurray for your two! It was 3 for me today.

It was warmer and more humid today, but I guess we'll be back to the lower temperatures before long. I finally got my bird feeders refilled today.

Have a great week, Peggy!

Many thanks for Wordle wishes, Irene and Richard!

I'm ready for this to have been the last hot day of the season, Irene. We walked after I got back from church, and it was almost not pleasant. How's that for spoiled?

THE MARYLEBONE DROP by Mick Herron

This is a novella that is a bit of a relief for the reader if not for the protagonists before jumping back into Slough House. I suspect that I'll be forced to move on to Joe Country since it looks like there's a new horse headed their way. I also want to see what happens to poor John Bachelor.

>203 LizzieD: Spoiled is right! After the recent nice weather, I was not pleased at how warm it felt this afternoon. But we've had so many recent Septembers with lots of days in the 90's that I should not be complaining. I have to accept temps in the 80's, even with the higher humidity. It could be much worse.

Hi, Irene. You're right. It has been a lot worse and will be again!

Wordle 1,192 2/6*

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🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, steam This NEVER happens to me! I foresee weeks and weeks of 5s at best and with luck to make up for two 2s in a row! (Just thought I'd point that out in case somebody hadn't noticed.)

I confess with so much else that I long to read, I'm very happy to be back in Slough House with Joe Country. Oh well. I will certainly try to finish City of Djinns, which is a real treat. I have some sort of affinity with anything sub-continental, and Wm. Dalrymple in Delhi is not to be missed.

‘Morning, Peggy! Happy Monday to you. Enjoy your day.

>200 LizzieD: I can see how you got to the right word from your first word, so congratulations.

>205 LizzieD: Another two!! Congratulations. We’re Wordle in Two sisters today.

I have Slough House, keep meaning to read it, get enamoured and get the rest of the series, but alas! So far it hasn’t happened.

Overcast, too warm outside although I wasn’t planning on going out today anyway.

I was just headed over to see you when I noticed your post here, Karen. Hope you can take full advantage of staying in today. I get a dose of Prolia and shop for a few groceries before I can be home.

>205 LizzieD: Wordle in 2 again! Congrats! Maybe you won't have a run of 5's. It was 3 again for me today. I tried STEAK first.

>205 LizzieD: ...so >201 richardderus: worked! My whammying muscles are strengthening!

Have a lovely Tuesday, dear Peggy. It's pleasantly autumnal here so I'm contented as a cow in tall clover.

Hope you have a good day, Peggy. Yesterday I closed every window in the house, first time since—I dunno—April? In the low sixties all day. Today promises to top out in the high fifties. Haven't nudged the furnace into action, but the time for that is near.

Whoop!

Hi, Bill! Ain't Autumn Grand??? We open at night and stay closed during the day to keep the heat out, but that's beginning to change for us here too. I was just at your profile page and discovered from the books I should borrow from you that I haven't catalogued any of my Spenser mysteries. I have a bunch of the early ones. Now I'm wondering whether I skipped that whole shelf. Uh oh.
Happy day to you too!

I thank you for the whammy, Richard. The residual is at least keeping me from the 5s, 6s, and skunks that I anticipate as payback. We were able to walk a little late again after a good shower at our normal time. I don't know about cow in clover, but all is good with us immediately. I just learned, though, that a HS friend died yesterday. A.D. Frazier organized Jimmie Carter's inauguration celebration and his office staff and was the COO of the '96 Atlanta Olympics. We hadn't heard directly from him in years, but I'm sorry that he's gone from our world.
We'll keep on keeping on! *smooch*

Hi, Irene. My saving grace yesterday was that I thought of The Word before I thought of Your Word, so that's the one I used. Today wasn't so great, but I'll take it gladly since it's not bad dream come true!

Wordle 1,193 4/6*

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, ardor, panda, handy I don't know what my attraction is to using same letter twice, but I think I've been doing it a lot lately.

Wordle 1,194 3/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
🟩🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, trunk, torch Luck rules!

Oh dear. One of my life-long besties will be having valve repair surgery next Friday (!) when the rest of us are celebrating our 80th birthdays together. We'll miss her. She asked for some book advice, easy stuff for recuperation. She has a very low tolerance for any violence, so I recommended the Ishmael books since she's already made her way through Goddard. That was all it took for me to start *Ish 1* again, doggone it. I must still be in need of comfort.

>212 LizzieD: Wow. Unless this is walklover you're talking about, it will make the 4th woman I know or know of to have this kind of surgery this month. What a cluster!

I haven't had a stress test myself, so I don't know what my own insides look like, which is how one of my friends got the unexpected news. Perhaps I should broach this with my PCP.

...low tolerance for violence...wow...that's a toughie, since I really just don't notice violence outside my areas of intolerance (eg, animals, children). The Bob books don't have violence that I recall. They're really addictive, like the Ish books are, so maybe those'd go down well with her?

*smooch*

Thanks for the suggestion, Richard. I had forgotten the Bob books - I've read the first. She might like them; can't hurt to suggest one although she's not typically a scifi reader. (BTW, I've been meaning to ask whether your "Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence," comes from Ish or general knowledge. That was a question.)

Judy, at our age, it can't hurt to ask. My mother had the surgery when she was 86 and got along very well. No, this woman is a professional harpsichordist in Chapel Hill, who is glad to have the surgery now so that she can be ready for her concert schedule this winter. Good grief! She is, in fact, a walk lover!

>215 LizzieD: I'm innocent of the Ish books but I've been using that phrase since hearing it in my 1975 world history class. It's so infinitely expandable to cover any topic or subject.

Checking in on you for the day, Peggy. I hope all is well with you and G!

We're good, Stasia. Hope everything is going well with you and yours!

I didn't think you had read, Ish, Richard, but it is one of his favorite bits of wisdom for his crew. *smooch*

Wordle 1,195 2/6*

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩least, thank They hadn't used that word yet???? I'm astonished!

>218 LizzieD: Lady Dualist! I'm compressed you got that one because it'd be the last one I'd try thinking what you said just *hadda* be true.

Have a lovely one, angelflower. I'm in a right pet today, thinking All morning it was Friday but it isn't. Also the Weather Goddess shipped us a bonus round of humidity meant, I'm morally certain, for y'all. blech

>219 richardderus: It's so humid here, maybe the humidity overflowed to you, RD. Not enough room here to contain it all.

>218 LizzieD: How do you keep getting all of these Wordles in two? I'm impressed! I've gotten 5 out of the last 6 puzzles in 3, with one 4 in the middle, but you are passing me in the quick solves. I guessed TRACK before THANK today.

Irene, I have no idea how I'm Wordling so well. The used word list helps, but neither of your last two choices was on it. I know it won't last, so I'm enjoying it.

Richard, you get an extra day. I think that's a good thing.
Our humidity ------ we have plenty, thank you, and now it's raining. I'm not sure what I'm doing with my time, but it doesn't seem to include a lot of reading. *sigh* Maybe tomorrow!

Back to normal! Guesses 2 and 3 are of the Will-they-accept-this-word?Let's-see variety. No patience!

Wordle 1,196 4/6*

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, warty, panto, faith

>222 LizzieD: Normal is not so bad! Have a wonderful weekend, Peggy!

The Discworld books are not violent.

Hiya Peggy me lurve! Horrible's home and posting, now we just need to hear from our other North Carolinians, starting here with you.

So. You're okay or there would have been eclipses and comets and rains of blood announcing the disaster already. Please confirm soonest.

You are right, Robyn. I guess I'll suggest them, but I haven't forced myself to read any beyond the first. Lucy has given me a copy of Guards! Guards!, and I will read it - but not now. Welcome, by the way! Happy to see you here.

Normal is welcome, Stasia, but look at today. I'm gobsmacked again!

Wordle 1,197 2/6*

⬜⬜🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, brain

QUARTER SHARE by Nathan Lowell

I have nothing more to say. As long as I need him, I'll read him.

>226 LizzieD: And 3 again for me today. You are on quite the roll!

Did you miss Richard up there (>225 richardderus: )? You should probably let him know how things are where you are, so he doesn't worry.

>226 LizzieD: Oh I do hope you read something other than the first few Discworld books. They aren't the best place to start the series. Rincewind is really an acquired taste.

That's what they tell me, Robyn. I don't care to acquire the Rincewind taste. I'll let you know about *G!G!* eventually. I'd like to like it.....

Irene, I swear his post wasn't there when I answered Robyn's although it's supposed to have been posted 5 minutes before mine. I did speak on his thread, so he's not worried...
I think 3 is the perfect Wordle score although the 2s are amazing. 3 shows that you thought about it logically.

Anyway, *smooch* to Richard!!!

I sure hope you and yours are keeping safe, Peggy!

Hi Peggy! I’m back…

Not much to say beyond that. Thank you for posting to my thread in my absence, thank you for your loving texts and the phone call yesterday.

Wordle in 4 for me today. R&R with kitties, husband, and etc.

>229 LizzieD: mmm hmmm

I see how it is around here

I shall now flounce off in high dudgeon

>232 richardderus: Oh, Richard. Don't flounce off even in low dudgeon. Forgive me instead, please! *smooch*

>231 karenmarie: Karen, it is always GOOD to talk to you, and I'm vastly more easy in my skin knowing that you are home again and continuing to heal.

>232 richardderus: Stasia, it is always GOOD to talk to you too!

Wordle 1,198 X/6*

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟨🟩⬜🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, noire, wiper, mixer, diver, hider What did I tell you? And just after I was speaking about reusing a letter a second time too. Call me Katie Scarlett.

The day prior I managed to get Wordle in 2, and on Wordle 1,198, I managed to bomb out just like you. I see we also both managed to get Wordle in two the same day! Erie! :-)

'Morning, Peggy!

Sorry you got skunked, Katie Scarlett.

Wordle in 4 for me today, still not using my spreadsheets. I was in the Library, cuddling with Wash, and solved it on my cell phone again.

Morning, Peggy! It's a weird day for some reason. I feel like it's already two in the afternoon...I got a lot of quarter-ending admin done so it should be later than the clock says. The tedium of going through Medicare claims is numbing even to describe. No questions or challenges for a change. Still, *sigh*

Enjoy yours more than I have mine. *smooch*

Happy to be spoken to, Richard, Karen, and Deborah! I'm of my way to get Shingrix.... I'll speak better later!

I did finally hear from my two in the Asheville area. They are both OK and dealing with the horror.

Wordle 1,199 4/6*

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟨⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩least, moldy, drool, cloud Now I have a 1-day streak!

Richard, I hope that your day straightened itself out and that you felt satisfied to get things done.

Karen, this was another day, and you see my 4, which was a relief.

Deborah, great minds - undoubtedly - except when they aren't!

I didn't have the best shot-giver for Shingrix 2 today. It hurt a lot going in - she chose a sort of weird place for it, I thought, and I finally took Tylenol. The flu shot, which I wasn't going to get yet but did because I was there and they had it, is fine.

HALF SHARE by Nathan Lowell

I now realize that the question should be, "How many more times will I read this before I can simply recite it to myself and save wear on the Kindle?"

Wordle 1,200 4/6*

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟨
⬜🟩🟨🟩🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, noire, homed, modem Good enough!

‘Morning, Peggy.

>237 LizzieD: I’m so glad you heard from your Asheville two. Glad you’re getting Shingrix’d.

My doctor, who always said get my flu vaccine in October, just rolled his eyes yesterday when I said I was waiting… his nurse Vonda made it painless so now I’m recently Covid vaccined and flu vaccined. Already Shingrix’d and Pneumonia’d. *smile*

>238 LizzieD: Sorry about the weird vaccination site and needing to take Tylenol. Yay for your flu vaccine, too. Flu vaccine sisters now, too.

>239 LizzieD: Congrats on your 4, I needed 5 today.

I

>238 LizzieD: Kindles are there to be used, me lurve. They even sell new covers for when the hinges wear out and everything! Read hearty. *smooch*

Hi, Richard! Believe me, I read on the Kindles.... no covers though. I am, of course, reading the third Ish even if it isn't a favorite. I also re-picked up the Cairo Geniza book that Stasia enjoyed and am dallying a bit in Creation Lake. I love the beginning of the reading month! *smooch* for yours!

Hi, Karen! No-Flu sisters! Sounds fine to me. I think I've gotten that shot even earlier some years. I roll my eyes at doctors. So there! The arm is a lot better today, and we walked. (Hmmm. I don't walk on my arm, but it is connected to the rest of me and didn't help neck and shoulder on that side. In fact, walking itself is less than pleasurable these days, but we must do it, and I like having the time with my DH.)

Yesterday was consumed with trying unsuccessfully to get the only game I play on my Fire updated. My frustration level is out the roof. Pre-pandemic, the game company had techs who took care of the issue the only other time everybody but me got the update. I'm off in a minute to see what I can do. If I don't get help, I'll just let it go. It is a stupid time sink that I don't need, but I have enjoyed it.

'Morning, Peggy!

Wordle in 4. Still slurping coffee, need to take morning meds and eat. Neither appeals, frankly, but oh well.

I hope you have a wonderful day, full of your DH, kitties, books, and napping.

>242 LizzieD: Gawd...Fire support rots on ice. "Buy a new one" is the answer to every request for help.

>238 LizzieD: One of these days I will get to the Lowell books, which you read like I do the In Death ones.

>242 LizzieD: I will be curious to see what you think of Creation Lake. It is already in the BlackHole because it is on the Booker short list. My local library recently got a copy.

>245 alcottacre: I think my fascination with Ish is an idiosyncrasy, Stasia, although many people enjoy the first three. I'm eager to get to Creation Lake. Anything that opens with Neanderthal info will pull me in.

>244 richardderus: In my case, Richard, that would be a valid response, I think. I use mine almost exclusively for that game though, and even I am not addicted enough to buy a new tablet to support it. *smooch*

>243 karenmarie: Hi, Karen with a hmff for LT. I would have sworn I put my Wordle chart on what should have been ahead of Richard's with a promise to return. It's obviously not there. Anyway, I wish you the same wonderful day back. We're sisters in more ways than 4!

Wordle 1,201 4/6*

🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, shlep, shelf, shell

>246 LizzieD: No idea who or what Ish is, but you are welcome to your idiosyncrasy :)

>246 LizzieD: Today was my turn for a Wordle in 2.

I hope you can get whatever update you need for your Fire.

Wishing you a great week, Peggy!

Good for you, Irene! That was a tough Wordle to get in 2, I thought!!! YAY!

Thanks for the good wish. I haven't even tried to do anything about the game on the Fire. One day maybe I'll have patience enough to deal with it, or maybe a miracle will happen and the automatic update (which has worked without fail in the past) will decide to work again. It remains "On."

Stasia, ISH is the narrator and hero of the now 15 Lowell space operas!!!! He also wrote 3 additional ones with a couple of women's adventuring in the Deep Dark. I just reread the first one of those, hoping it would keep me away from Ish for another month or so. It was good, but no deal.

'Morning, Peggy!

Overcast here. Heard a migrating bird this a.m. when I was just getting up, but couldn't tell you what it was.

Wordle in 3 today, nothing scheduled, yay.

I wish you a wonderful day.

Thank you, Karen, and the same wish back to you! I'm not sure how the morning has disappeared, but I hope I can give some account of myself in the afternoon.

We're 3 Sisters! Chekhov would be proud. I am.

Wordle 1,202 3/6*

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
🟨⬜⬜🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, armor, wagon

>251 LizzieD: It's afternoon?! Howinahell?! *sigh* I'm not sure I care for this whole "time marches relentlessly forward" dodge. Permaybehaps you could use your pull with the gods to get it to slow down...?

Good night, Richard. I have no means of explaining this nor any means of mitigating the effects. I am now ready for bed, except that I have to get ready for bed.
I did finally hear from the game today. The update requires OS 5, and my old Fire has OS 4.3.3 That's that.

I wish you a good night!

FULL SHARE by Nathan Lowell
Apparently, I keep going.

>253 LizzieD: ...but Peggy...Ammy pushes your OS updates automatically. You can do it by visiting "devices" from the Account tab. It's worth doing anyway.

*smooch* for a happy weekend!

Really? I thought it was the limitation of an old Kindle. Thank you, Richard! I'll see what I can find. *SMOOCH*

Wordle 1,203 3/6*

🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨
🟩⬜🟨🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, toile, title

>249 LizzieD: Thanks for the clarification regarding ISH, Peggy.

Have a fantastic Friday!

'Morning, Peggy. Happy Friday.

You beat me to it on Wordle reporting today! Wordle in 3 for me, too, sister.

I made and enjoyed lentil salad as part of dinner last night.

Hope you can get OS5 on your Fire, as per Richard's info.

I'm just back from your thread, Karen.

I tried finding the nudge for updating the Fire, but it's not obviously available. I'll look a bit more later today.

Yay for us 3!!!

>255 LizzieD: I thought it was the limitation of an old Kindle.
Hi Peggy! Tech vendors systematically withdraw older devices from support, and then the automatic updates no longer happen. This page might help you determine whether your Kindle is "old" or "too old". It's specifically about software security updates would likely be applicable to other types of software updates too:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=GF3LDHSB5YM9BYF7

>251 LizzieD: >255 LizzieD: I join you as a Wordle in 3 sister yesterday. Today I surprised myself by getting it in 2.

Have a great weekend, Peggy!

Thank you, Laura. I had gotten to that page and scanned it before I had to leave for our party. I suspect that my Fire is "too old." 15 years maybe? As I say, that game is the only reason I keep it going, and I'm not interested in getting a new one just for that. I can read PDF files on it and use it that was sometimes.

Yay, Irene! We will look up to you today and hope to join you in the low numbers tomorrow!

We had a fine time at our 80th birthday party! I'll try to put the picture up here when I get a copy. This was one of those times when I talked to everybody a little and nobody a lot. We had one wheelchair, 2 walkers, and a cane. The rest of us were still under our own steam.....pretty good!

Wordle 1,204 3/6*

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟨⬜🟨🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, noire, miner Wooo Hooo!

Back later to speak......... friends coming by in just a bit.

'Morning, Peggy! Happy Saturday.

I'm glad you had a fine time at the 80th birthday party. I like it - "I talked to everybody a little and nobody a lot".

>262 LizzieD: Yay for your Wordle 3. Took me 4, alas.

Enjoy the time with your friends.

Saturday *smooch*

'Morning, Peggy. Happy Sunday.

Wordle in 3 for me. A Quiet Day is planned.

Good afternoon, Karen! Wordle in 3 for me too with similar plans for a Quiet Day!

I'll exchange a Saturday *smooch* for a Sunday one, Richard!

Wordle 1,205 3/6*

🟩🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, lamer, lager

'Morning, Peggy! Happy Monday to you.

Wordle in 2 for me today. I am chuffed because it's the first word I thought of that hadn't been used, simply thinking it would give me more ideas for word 3.

I'm way too busy today, alas. I hope your day is more restful.

Wow! Wordle in 2!!!! That's always a thrill. I took 4 as you see below. I wish you stamina for what has to be done and rest when it's accomplished!

Wordle 1,206 4/6*

🟨⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, pylon, broil, flour

DOUBLE SHARE by Nathan Lowell

For some reason that I can't begin to explain, this is one of my favorites. I had to get rid of desiring that Ish always live in happy circumstances. I'm trying really hard not to move on this very minute. I have so much else I want to read NOW!

>268 LizzieD: Happy rereading Monday, smoochling. I'm pretty sure I've never re-read anything this often...I've somehow always had the sense that there was too much else waiting that I wanted to experience. Isn't humans psychology weird? We all start out and develop into such disparate beings! Makes life fun...sometimes.

'Early morning to you, dear Peggy.

>268 LizzieD: I did have the stamina, fortuntely, but 80 miles of driving, the longest amount of driving in one day in many months, wrecked my back. It is, of course, currently pretty wrecked in general, but tylenol didn't do much and I didn't want to squander an oxycodone. In hindsight, I should have.

Another two in Wordle today - honestly, I thought of the word, then checked that it was valid and not yet used, and went for it. I had thought of perhaps 3-4 other words but they were already used, latched onto the fourth letter I wanted to pursue, found another word, and voila!

I hope you have a wonderful day. I'm going to try to get some more sleep, having been up since around 4. Perhaps even 3:30 - it's a grainy-eyed blur right now.

Checking in on you today, Peggy. I hope all is well there and that you have a terrific Tuesday!

Morning, Peggy. It's the bad-sleep brigade here to visit, eh what? I slept really poorly last night, unusually for me. Now I expect a day that will feel twenty-six hours long. Oh well, it IS unusual for me, so I shouldn't complain. *grumble*

Good morning to my bad-sleep brigade. I'm glad you visit, but I wish the sleep were better!

Richard, my guess is that you won't get to/don't want to nap. I'll wish you restorative sleep tonight.
I've never reread anything this often either, but then, I've never been in a long-term emotional state like this one either. *smooch*

Stasia, I know better than to ask whether/how you slept. Hope it wasn't disastrous.

Karen, I am distressed that you had to drive the 80 miles although I guess it wasn't that much worse than riding the 80 would have been. Even so, I'm sorry. I'm off to see what you have lined up for today. If it's library business, I hope you can skip it even though you won't want to. YAY for Wordle in 2 again!!!! Exciting!!!!!

Wordle 1,207 4/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟩
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
⬜🟨⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, trout, divot, joint I was all over the place as you see.

I have errands today that I should have done yesterday and didn't. It is gorgeous out though - real October weather and promising to be even nicer as the week goes on. Unfortunately, hurricanes are more and more becoming real October weather. Our hometown friends in Venice have already evacuated. They stayed home during ??? 3 or 4 years ago and learned a lesson, I think.
Actually, another friend reminded me that Hazel blew through here as a Cat. 3 on October 15, 1954. We had a vague notion that a storm was coming but no real idea of what that could mean. Mama picked me up from school right after lunch as the eye was passing. The straight shot to Grandmama's house was blocked by chinaberry trees filling the street. We had to detour 2 blocks and inch along among fallen trees and limbs and under one memorable live wire that was sparking. We got inside just as the winds started again and watched a huge pecan tree fall on the neighbor's garage. That storm moved fast, which is one huge difference between it and Matthew, for instance.

O.K. I have to get up and get out. Happy day, y'all.

>270 karenmarie: Karen, I hate to hear that all that driving messed up your back. I hope you were in much less pain today.

>273 LizzieD: My good friend from work who moved to Florida after she retired is still there. She tells me she is in a non-evacuation zone. She and her husband had settled in Clearwater, but moved to a senior apartment complex in Seminole last December, and she said they feel safe there. But since she seems to be in the bullseye of this storm, I am still worried.

Wordle in 4 for me as well today.

Irene, I haven't seen the latest updates, but I thought that Seminole, where my cousin and her husband are also, was north of the direct line this time. My hometown friends in Venice have evacuated, and their property looks more endangered to me. I think I said somewhere else that they seem to have learned not to stay after whatever hurricane it was came through a few years ago. It is more than worrisome.

>276 LizzieD: Thanks, Peggy, I'm glad to hear more confirmation. It's just that Milton is, by all forecasts, heading toward Tampa Bay, and since Seminole is across the Bay, it's also in the line of fire. Even though the last report seems to look like the storm may be trending a bit south, hurricane force winds should still be hitting the area where my friend is. So it's worrisome to me. I guess I have to trust that the officials who say where people need to evacuate (and places that don't need to evacuate) know what they're talking about.

'Morning, Peggy!

So many of us have family and friends in Milton's path - I have cousins in Port Charlotte and friend Louise and her daughter Cathy in North Port. Cathy and Louise have evacuated, but only as far as Gainesville. The cousins are in Port Charlotte a cement block house with metal shutters and have weathered some pretty severe storms in the past. I hope your cousin/husband in Seminole will be okay. What a monster of a storm.

Wordle in 5 for me today.

Another busy day for me, alas.

Alas, the storm bears my father's name. He was definitely not stormy.

>277 atozgrl: Now I'm upset, Irene, and very much with myself. I had checked Seminole when Helene came through and thought that it was far, far to the north. I'm texting my cousin right now. I'm sure she has had sense enough to evacuate, but I'm not sure about her husband.
Whew! They have evacuated to a little town near Jacksonville.

>278 karenmarie: Good morning, Karen. I'm scared for Florida and for my friend who elected to have valve repair surgery with an ablation Friday and is not doing well at all. We have had a terrible time getting updates, but her daughter is with her and promises to let us know.

>279 ffortsa: I'm glad that your father wasn't stormy, Judy. That certainly made for a better childhood for you! The only Miltons in my experience were calm men --- I'm not so sure about the poet!

Wordle 1,208 5/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, irony, (I thought of THE word here but didn't try it), cocky, goody, mommy

Afternoon, Peggy me lurve. Enjoying the gorgeous fall day with a slight twinge of fear that Milton could exit Flahdah and restrengthen. Stay safe, okay, and get the woman-mojo connection to the weather goddesses a-hummin' to keep the damn thing away from decent people.

*smooch* Richard......

I am distraught. My friend Bev, my friend for 75 years, had what was supposed to be a routine mitral valve repair at Duke Friday - done by the doc who developed the technique. She didn't do well and has been on dialysis since the surgery. Last night the external, temporary pacemaker failed. Installing a permanent one today, they punctured her heart. They had to have a cardiac surgeon open her to clean out the blood, and he had to leave the site open at least until tomorrow. Please, if you pray, pray for healing and recovery for Beverly.

Oh all the good wishes possible for your friend Bev. And for you to have what you need to take care for yourself.

Oh no Peggy, I'm so sorry to read your update about Beverly's surgery. I hope there's better news today.

>282 LizzieD: Prayers going up for Beverly! I am so sorry to hear about your friend's ordeal.

>282 LizzieD: Oh, my, Peggy. It just keeps getting worse, doesn’t it? More healing thoughts and prayers for Bev, hugs for you in your distress.

>282 LizzieD: Oh no. So much for 'routine' surgery. I have several other friends heading for the same type of surgery. This makes it much more scary.

Thank you for all good wishing and praying, Karen, Stasia, Laura, and Susan. This morning Bev remains stable, and her day nurse was pleased. She'll do a neuro check this morning and they will close her chest and maybe change the dialysis port in a step-down later today.

Wordle 1,209 4/6*

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟨🟩⬜⬜🟩
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, range, barre, carve

Has anybody read Han Kang?

Judy, Bev also had an ablation with this repair, and the surgeon planned to do anything else that he saw as necessary. The carefully planned communication chain broke down, so we have no idea what went on. You're right though; the medical community sees this as routine - so is putting in a pacemaker. Mama had the repair done almost 20 years ago and got along fine.

>288 LizzieD: Bev is clearly a strong woman. I hope she decides to keep fighting.

I hope the stress is staying manageable, dear one. *smooch*

I'm so sorry to hear about your friend's medical misadventures, Peggy. I took a look at her website---I wonder if she's able to have music playing during this tough time. It can be very healing, and surely she could be comforted by hearing her familiar pieces.

Thank you, Richard and Linda. Bev had a better day today. They woke her and she was appropriately responsive. They also closed her chest cavity, and that was a relief to us all. Linda, I'm relatively sure that they will get music to her at some point. Both her duo-harpsichord partner and her daughter are with her and will see to it. Thank you for the suggestion though. It is now going to be a long road back, but Bev is full of spirit and determination if they can give her a fighting chance.

‘Morning, Peggy!

>288 LizzieD: I have The Vegetarian on my shelves but haven’t read it yet. I sent a text to Jenna yesterday to tell Hwan congratulations on Han Kang’s Nobel Prize in Literature, the first Korean to receive that honor.

>291 LizzieD: I’m glad that yesterday was a better day for Bev. I hope today continues the trend.

Wordle in 5 for me today.

Good morning, Karen! They continue to work on our Bev, but she had a better night. They still have her sedated, and I am eager for them to be able to get that intubation tube out. Thanks for good wishes!
The Vegetarian was the one the NPR commentator suggested as entry into Han Kang's work...... I don't know.....

Wordle 1,210 4/6*

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
🟨🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, storm, dusty, gusty I'm liking a used word for my #2 just for elimination purposes since I have so few 2-solves anyway.

Off to get ready for eye shots!

>293 LizzieD: "Yay" for eye shots, Peggy. Vision yay, shots *shudder* but better than lack of vision for sure.

Happy weekend-ahead's reads, smoochling.

Thank you kindly, Richard. My eyes are holding on, so I'm hugely grateful. No reading today, but tomorrow will be better!

*smooch* for your weekend!

'Morning, Peggy! I hope your vision is cleared up this morning. Choosing to not read is one thing, not being able to read is another.

Fingers crossed that today's Bev report is one of more improvement.

Wordle in 4.

Drat. I actually thought about pulling The Vegetarian out of hiding, but it's up in the Media Room, and I have to decide if I want to negotiate the stairs. I have done it once since I got back from the second hospital stay, but we'll see.

>295 LizzieD: Tomorrow will indeed be better...tomorrows almost always are. Hoping your peepers are peeping per usual by now, dear heart.

Thank you both, Richard and Karen! My eyes are fine as frog hair this morning - uh, yuck. (I'm finishing coffee in a mug our niece sent with her mother's characteristic sayings: "Hey, Puddin!'" "Do some of your best" "I'm fine as frog hair" and her formula for goodbyes to her family. Love it!) I'll hope to make up for yesterday's reading lack today and tomorrow. I look forward to it.

Karen, I wonder whether *Vegetarian* would be worth the climb to me. It doesn't quite sound like something I'd be eager to read right now, and I gathered that that might be so for her whole work. You might eat it up. (Oh dear. I seem to be on a roll. I'll stop.)

Wordle 1,211 4/6*

⬜⬜🟩🟨🟨
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, stamp, stack, stain This time my #2 was not a used word!

>282 LizzieD: I've had a busy week, so this is the first day I've been back by since Tuesday. I'm so sorry to hear that your friend Bev had such an unexpectedly hard time with her surgery. I'm glad to hear that she seems to be doing better. I'll keep her in my prayers.

I got an e-mail from my friend in Florida last night. They got through the storm OK. She, her husband, and neighbors waited out the storm in the hallway of their apartment building, 5th floor. She says there was some roof damage to several buildings and at least one tree down, but otherwise they were fine. They were without power for only one day. So it was good news from them. I hope your cousin's experience was no worse than that.

More eye shots. I'm glad they're saving your vision, and I hope your eyes are working well again today. Have a great rest of your weekend!

Always a hazard for us readers Peggy is problem with the eyes.

Wishing you perfect vision on your birthday dear lady.

I will take advantage of time gaps to wish you a Happy Birthday

So sorry to read about your friend, Bev. I will keep her in my prayers. A fellow dog walker I used to meet up with often underwent mitral valve surgery replacement/ repair, I'm not sure. He did ask me to pray for him, but it was successful without complications. Take care.

Irene and Deborah, thank you for prayers for Bev. She just gets worse instead of better. Now she has an infection in her lungs. She volunteered for this surgery now because she was so healthy and the interventions needed were as minor as they would ever be. We are distraught.

Thank you for good wishes, Paul. Today the eyes are without complications, and I am glad that I'm as protected as can be for the next couple of months.

Irene, I haven't heard from my cousins since the hurricane. They evacuated even though they were not extremely concerned about their condo since it is 30 feet above sea level. I don't know when they will be able to get home. My other cousin in the Asheville area was still in Raleigh since her community had no power Monday when I heard from her. We live in dangerous times.

(((((Peggy))))) I am so sorry to hear about Bev's worsening condition. Prayers and thoughts for her, prayers and thoughts for you in your distress.

We do live in dangerous times. Not what I really expected in my senior years, frankly, when I was envisioning them as a 'youngster'.

I thought a separate message was appropriate to wish you a Very Happy 80th Birthday!!

I hope you and your DH have a lovely day.

(((((Peggy)))))

>302 LizzieD: Oh dear, I wish Bev's news was more encouraging. {{{Bev}}} and {{{Peggy}}} for all the worrying I know you're doing quietly. *smooch* my dear lady and a big loving hug

Thank you, Richard and Karen for good Bev thoughts. I heard briefly from her daughter before she left for the hospital today but not since. That's worrying. I wish I wouldn't.

Thank you, Karen. He made a pound cake for me (and if it put on only a pound, I'd be a happy woman), I've been to church, and now is time to relax and hope for better news from Bev.

Almost forgot ---
Wordle 1,212 4/6*

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟨⬜🟨🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, noire, drone, prone

>302 LizzieD: I hope your cousins are fine and their property is fine. And I hope you hear from them soon.

I am really sorry to hear that the news about Bev is worse. Continuing thoughts and prayers for her and for you as well.

Is it your birthday? Sending very happy birthday wishes, and hopes for many more!

It is, and thank you, Irene.

The cousins should be fine. They evacuated to Jacksonville. Don't know about the property.

Bev's condition continues to worsen, but so far they have countermeasures to try. Thank you for prayers.

Happy Birthday!

Best wishes for Bev's improvement.

Thank you, Susan, on both counts! No good news from Bev, but I'm eating well for my birthday.

'Morning, Peggy.

I'm sorry you didn't hear about Bev yesterday.

Glad your DH made your birthday pound cake. Now you've got me thinking of pound cake. I've got 3 good recipes - Bill's Great-Aunt Eloise's, KitchenAid Chocolate, and Buttermilk. Don't quite have the stamina to make one yet.

Wordle in 3 for me today, out-of-house errands, and etc.

Birthday pound cake!

Maybe no news was good? Will be thinking of you all day. xx

Good morning still, Lucy and Karen.

I did hear from Bev yesterday; it just wasn't good news. Her platelet count is unbelievably low (her body is producing antibodies that attack the platelets), and they had planned to do a plasma exchange. I didn't hear from that, so I don't know if they actually did it. I do text with Rebecca every morning before she goes to the hospital, but it's more in the nature of "I'm still here, still praying," rather than a request for info. She'll let us know when she sees what's what.

Good pound cake! Good beef roast! We'll enjoy both for the rest of the week. We're both looking forward to his mother's beef pie, a simple thing made with leftovers, a little gravy, onions, and mashed potatoes. Yum!

Wordle 1,213 3/6*

⬜⬜🟨⬜🟩
🟩⬜⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, groat, gamut Rarely, my foolishness pays off.

Better news from Bev (and I must add that I've realized she would be unhappy to know that I've talked about her. She is a very private person, but then, except for Karen, none of you will ever meet her, and I coveted prayers for her.) At any rate, the intubation tube is out and she is coughing. Whew!

>314 LizzieD: Such a relief to know. Now have a celebratory rosbif sammy. *smooch*

>314 LizzieD: that's good news, Peggy. All of us are pulling for Bev, and that can't hurt!

Thank you, Laura and Richard! She ate and drank some tonight, and that is really, really good news! How I hope that this is the first step back to good health!!!

>314 LizzieD: >317 LizzieD: Oh, I am so glad to hear that the news is better today! I too hope that it's the first step and her health will return ASAP.

I thought of Bev today as I was out walking and prayed for her. I will continue to do that. Oh, just now read that the intubation tube is out. Great news, and she is eating and drinking!

'Morning, Peggy!

Good news about Bev. I'm happy to hear that she's doing better.

Wordle in 5.

Off to get ready for book sort, Virlie's,. I realize that it's just too much to go to book sort and Virlie's the way my back's feeling right now, darn it. I still have my cleaning ladies, AND a 90-minute massage later. Still way too busy today, alas.

*smoochiesmoochsmooch*

Thank you for good thoughts and prayers for our Bev, Karen, Irene, and Deborah. She had another pretty good day, a rest day. Tomorrow she gets a swallow test to be sure nothing is going into her lungs. We are jubilantly hopeful that this is the turnaround we've been hoping for.

*SmoochSmoochSmooch* yourownself, Richard!

Wordle 1,214 X/6*

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟨🟨
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩 least, noire, mover, boxer, coder, coper By the time I got to the end, I had forgotten about trying a repeated letter. I'd tried it at 3 but found my words on the used list. Oh well.

>322 LizzieD: Merry Wednesday on the back of such encouraging news, Peggy! *smooch again out of happiness*

I'm with you, Richard! *smooch* for sure with thanks!

Wordle 1,215 2/6*

⬜⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, grant Way to start yet another streak, Liz!

'Morning, Peggy! My my, skunk one day, 2 the next. Congrats on the 2. Took me 3 today.

The HVAC guys are here. Haven't seen the kitties yet, they're hiding. We warned them to close doors behind them when they went into a closed door room, and close the door behind them when they left. Bill's jawing with one of the guys while the other one, a newbie, is doing the actual work. I'd prefer the long-term tech to supervise the newbie, but won't interfere.

I'm glad they've got a plan for Bev's continuing recovery.

>282 LizzieD: Oh no! I will keep her in my thoughts. I hope she is beginning to get better.

'Morning, Peggy! Happy Thursday.

Zoe showed up noonish, Wash around 3 p.m., both freaked out because of the HVAC maintenance guys in the house.

I hope Bev is continuing to improve.

Wordle in 4 for me today, and I'll be off in a while for the hair cut/lunch road trip with Jenna and Hwan.

Hi Peggy, I hope the news on Bev is good today.

>322 LizzieD: It looks like a lot of people got skunked on that Wordle. I barely got it in 6, and only because I had started tracking the words fitting the _O_ER pattern that I had already seen in previous puzzles, along with letters I eliminated in that puzzle. I thought that one was particularly difficult because of the repeated R. As I said on another thread, I think the _O_ER pattern is especially difficult because there are so many words that fit it. One of the first times I got skunked in Wordle was way back when the answer was FOYER, and I thought I had come up with just about everything that fit. I used most of the letters on the keyboard and still didn't solve that one.

After a nice run of solves in 2 and 3, I'm back to mostly 4's and 5's, with that one 6. So your >324 LizzieD: 2 is impressive!

Have a good weekend!

Here I am at last, Irene and Karen. I was not on the computer more than a few minutes at a time today, so I hardly made it here.
Wordle 1,216 5/6*

🟨🟨🟨⬜⬜
🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
⬜🟨🟨🟨🟨
🟨🟨🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, alien, wheal, leach, halve What a waste my #4 was! I don't know why it's so hard for me to have correct but misplaced letters. Anyway, I was glad to save it in 5.

I heard from Bev this morning only. She had walked out to the nurses' station for TP by the time her daughter got to the hospital, so that is encouraging! We've been getting an update before 10:00 until tonight.

Hi Peggy. Happy Friday to you. Gorgeous Carolina blue skies. Brrr. It got down to 34F here last night, but it's already 48F.

I'm glad to read that Bev's mobile.

Five's better than a skunk, right? I was channeling the NYT person who choose words this morning, and got it in three.

Happy and gorgeous Friday to you too, Karen!!!!!

I've heard from her daughter this morning (she sent me memes that she had found yesterday), but no update from Bev. I assume that means that she is doing well. DH was reading about grip strength this morning as an indicator of overall body and immunity strength. I noted that they gave Bev a ball to squeeze yesterday. Hmmm. I guess we need to get hand or racquet balls.

Good for your 3 this morning! I knew that my #2 was on the used list, but it had letters that I like to try, and it helped.

Wordle 1,217 4/6*

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟨⬜⬜🟩
🟩⬜⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, snort, shunt, stint Anyway, better than yesterday!

Hoping for still more good Bev news, Peggy. Good you news, too, like something really excellent read. Enjoy the weekend ahead, smoochling!

Thank you, Richard. Bev is still in cardiac ICU, two weeks today. She is eating - dry salmon and dry mac and cheese for lunch today would make me a bit ill, but I guess when you haven't eaten anything at all, even that sounds good.

Thank you for good wishes all around, Richard. Right back to you! *smooch*

'Morning, Peggy.

Wow. Still in cardiac ICU. It's been a rough road, but squeezing a ball and eating are good things. Dry salmon is one thing... drymac and cheese? The mind boggles.

Wordle again in 3 for me today.

Good afternoon, Karen! I'm late here after an hour+ with Bobbie, mostly talking about what goes on with Bev. We each had insights that the other lacked. She has a long way to go!
Meanwhile, another classmate attended the funeral of a contemporary in Greensboro who died when his team there punctured his heart while putting in a pacemaker. Y'all look after yourselves. Really scary!

Good for you and your 3! If I had used biker at 3 instead of my choice, I might have gotten it in 4, but I didn't. Oh well.

Wordle 1,218 5/6*

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, noire, wiper, diver, fiber

Saturday orisons, Peggy me lurve. I'm staying as still as I can to keep this latest bleeding event under control. *sigh*

Hoping the good times are rollin' there. *smooch*

Richard, I hope the enforced stillness is working. Take care! *smooch*

The good times are at least strolling. The best thing is that Bev moved to a regular room tonight. That's a real step in the right direction!

>337 LizzieD: Oh, what great news! I'm so glad to hear that.

‘Morning, Peggy! Happy Sunday to you.

Yikes about people you know and bad heart operation outcomes.

I’m glad to read, however, that Bev is being moved to a regular room. Progress indeed.

Wordle in 3, but I can’t claim any more than using my spreadsheet to help find a word, not just confirm that a word is valid and I haven’t already used it.

>337 LizzieD: Excellent news! I'm happy to hear it. *smooch*

Thank you for enjoying the good news, Richard, Karen, and Irene! She has a long way to go, but she is on her way!

Wordle 1,219 4/6*

⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
⬜⬜🟨⬜🟨
⬜🟩🟩🟩⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, noire, bicep, dicey This has got to be one of those, "You've got to be kidding me," words. Why did #3 even pop into my head????

Off to walk!

Wordle 1,220 3/6*

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, shorn, spoon

Hi Peggy!

Ran out of time before I had to leave for the Friends Board meeting this morning.

I hope your walk went well. It's certainly a gorgeous day out for it.

Wordle in 4 for me today. Congrats on your 3!

Hi, Karen!

Let's see. The excitement of the day was a shooting in the park about 5 minutes after we got in from our walk by the park. The police were right on it. The victim drove himself a quarter of a mile maybe before the police found him. They found the weapon, a Glock. I don't know for sure about the shooter. Yikes!

On a happier note, DH voted today. I expect I'll go tomorrow.

'Morning, Peggy!

I don't like that kind of excitement for you. Nope, not at all.

Wordle in 4 for me today, may early vote but probably not, since I'll be going by there during lunch hour and won't be able to stand too long.

I can't say that I care for that kind of excitement either, Karen. That's RobCo for you.

I did go out before breakfast this morning to mail a PBS book and vote. I counted 5 other people voting at the same time and as many more arriving or leaving. I'm glad to have done it. Wish I could do it again.

FOUL!!!! I had this word on my used list or I would have had it in 3. There was no other real word at my 4th try. BOO!

Wordle 1,221 4/6*

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩
🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩⬜🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, short, shoot, shout

I feel a need to read!

>346 LizzieD: Wow...awful. I'm so sorry you had that kind of excitement. Yechhh

*smooch*

>346 LizzieD: I hope you were able to fulfill your need to read today, PA!

Thanks, Richard and Stasia for visiting and wishing me well! I did get to read some today (except when I napped). I have at least 3 more books I'd like to finish this month, but I don't know. At least I finished Ish #6, and I really, really don't feel the need to proceed to the last 6 now.

OWNER'S SHARE by Nathan Lowell
I enjoy a lot about this entry, but the big villain's motive is a little shaky, and I'm always saddened by the climax. Lowell doesn't do love dialogue very well either, but that's a common failing.
On the other hand, I'm charmed by Jezebel/Iris, a lovely fast packet. Oh well.

'Morning, Peggy, and happy Wednesday to you.

Wordle in 3 for me, with a lot of spreadsheet help eliminating words already used.

I bought another antique book case yesterday, will have to figure out where to put it if I can't get the piano a good home any time soon.

>349 LizzieD: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I need to get to Lowell at some point. . .

Have a wonderful Wednesday!!

Good morning, Stasia and Karen! I'm even a little earlier than usual so that it is still morning!
Stasia, I don't know that you need to get to Lowell. You'd breeze through one in an hour or so, so you might eventually give him a try.

Hooray for the second book case, Karen! I hope you find a taker for the piano soon. I should get rid of the spinet that I grew up playing, but my sentimental heart just can't quite stand for it to be junked. My SIL had it in her house for years but then sent it back to me.

We're 3 Sisters! Sometimes I get lucky, and the used word at #2 did it for me.

Wordle 1,222 3/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, groin, goofy

All-purpose *smooch*

Hi Peggy, and happy Thursday to you.

The only reason the piano needs to go is because none of us have a sentimental attachment to it. Otherwise, it would stay, along with the many, many items of furniture we have here that do have sentimental value.

Congrats on your 3, took me 4 today.

Good morning, Karen!
Morning *smooch* back, Richard!

I simply didn't have patience enough to think about this today. I'm happy to have gotten there in 5, given how random my guesses were.

Wordle 1,223 5/6*

⬜⬜⬜🟩⬜
⬜⬜🟨🟩⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, frosh, noise, mousy, bossy

'Morning, dear Peggy. Brrr, but going to a high of 75F. Gorgeous Carolina blue sky day.

Wordle in 4. Wash is grooming himself on my printer.

I hope you have an excellent day.

An excellent day wish back to you, Karen.

Wordle 1,224 X/6*

⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟨🟩🟩⬜
⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, snowy, brown, grown, drown What can I say??? "Oh well."

Just swinging by to wish you a fantastic Friday, Peggy!

>357 LizzieD: New streak starts tomorrow!

I'm about to put myself down for a nap. I really need it! *smooch*

>359 richardderus: Glad you had such a lovely time, Richard! I read about your food on Karen's thread and where you went on yours, but I think I just lurked both places. Rest well tonight too! *smooch*

Thank you, Stasia! The same wish for your Super Saturday and Satisfying Sunday!

A DECLINE IN PROPHETS by Sulari Gentill

I wasn't a huge fan of the first mystery in this series, but I liked it well enough to read this one. I loved this one! About half the book takes place on the RMS Aquitania with a stop-off in NYC where Ed(na) charms Archibald Leach before heading home to Sydney. Rowly, of course, is in the center of the action although he'd prefer not to be. The year is 1932, and I look forward to the rest of the series moving through the 30s. Good stuff!

>360 LizzieD: Author Gentill has a good ear for titles that express the spirit of her reads, eg After She Wrote Him that takes us through an author's experience of writing a character-centered book, and The Woman in the Library, an hommage to Christie's The Body in the Library. That appeals to me almost more than the experience of reading the book because it makes the care and the intention of her craft plain from the moment one reads her book's front cover.

Still tired after a good long sleep, to be expected after getting a year's exercise in three days.

‘Morning, Peggy!

>357 LizzieD: Aack. Alphabet soup got’cha.

I hope your new streak starts off well. Got in 5 today.

Gentill's titles are certainly interesting, Richard, without being cutesy. I enjoy the whole 30s vibe.
Hope you can catch a nap today. *smooch*

If I had avoided my second guess yesterday, I might have gotten it in time, Karen. I used to care deeply about how I did; now, not so much. At least I have the beginnings of a new streak today. I didn't think Wordle would accept my second word, but it turned out to be helpful. Thank you for the used word list!

Wordle 1,225 4/6*

⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟩⬜🟨
⬜🟩🟩🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, crema, freak, wreak

'Morning, Peggy.

I've indulged in 2 of Gentill's books - The Woman in the Library on Audible and A Few Right Thinking Men on Kindle.

Wordle in 3. I apparently channeled the Wordle word chooser.

Jenna and Hwan are coming over today, not exactly for a visit, but we'll get to see them regardless. It's time to clean out Jenna's storage unit, so some stuff will come here.

Good morning, Karen! Glad that you get any kind of visit with your girls. I always shudder when stuff comes in but I expect it won't be for too long. I hope you enjoy both Gentill books. I liked *Library* too, especially the journey through it. As I say, *Men* was at least good enough to send me to #2, and I'm really glad that it did. Now Rowly & Co. are a part of my mystery rotation. So many good books!!!

Wordle 1,226 3/6*

⬜⬜🟨🟨⬜
⬜🟩⬜🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, marsh, sandy If I were not so stubborn about using r in word 2, I might have gotten it in 2. I'm certainly pleased with a 3, a rarity these days.

I'm pretty low-energy today, so I'll stop to say *smooch* and go back to reading.

Thank you for the visit in spite of low energy, Richard! *smooch* right back for the rest of Sunday!

A NOVEL BOOKSTORE by Laurence Cosse

I really enjoyed this book. I'm not sure how successful it is, but I don't really care. The protagonists open a bookstore in Paris, The Good Novel, which sells only worthy novels chosen by a secret committee. Almost immediately, they face growing opposition from disgruntled publishers, authors, and critics whose work hasn't made the cut and from fierce advocates who extol the equal value of all reading. Three of the committee are attacked in ways that could have been deadly. It's hard to believe that the general population could get so worked up over literature, but discovering who is behind the movement drives the plot. The other driver is the relationships among the funder of the project, the manager of the store, and the young woman whom he loves.
Nothing in all of this is particularly neat, but I had a fine time reading to the end and will from time to time research the many French novels mentioned in passing.

'Morning, Peggy! Happy Monday to you.

Wordle in 3, with a seriously lucky guess.

I really enjoyed this book. I'm not sure how successful it is, but I don't really care. i feel that way sometimes, just enjoying a book regardless of my own expectations or outside opinions.

Hi, Karen! Happy Monday right back to you and congrats on your 3. I was singularly unthoughtful today, but I made it and now have a streak again.

Wordle 1,227 5/6*

⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩⬜⬜🟩
🟩🟩⬜🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, narco, baggy, baddy, bawdy

>367 LizzieD: A book I loved as well, Peggy, I'm so glad you liked it.

I'm on a woman-centered novel kick. Tomorrow's is another one. Weird how that works, no?

*smooch*

>370 richardderus: We agree! Tui loved it too!

I guess it has to happen from time to time. *smooch*

Here we are, LHS Class of 1962 at our 80th birthday party.

'Morning, Peggy.

I love the LHS Class of 1962 pic. You thought you could hide, didn't you?

Wordle in 3, and another terribly busy day for me, but no book sorting, alas.

>360 LizzieD: The only book by Sulari Gentill that I have read is The Woman in the Library and I liked it well enough that I would give her another shot. I will have to see if I can locate any books in that series.

>367 LizzieD: Dodging that BB as I have already read it. Glad to see you liked it!

>372 LizzieD: Great picture! Thanks for sharing.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

>372 LizzieD: Great photo, Peggy.

Beth, Stasia, and Karen - how nice of you all to like our picture! I should put up the kindergarten one again for a look at waht life did to us!
Karen, I just wanted to stand by my husband for once, but hiding was an added bonus.

For any classical music lovers, the woman seated on the far right is Isaac Stern's widow, believe it or not. The man directly behind her in white shirt is Kaye Gibbons's ex-husband. They are our group's two most obvious claims to vicarious fame.

>372 LizzieD: Quite the crowd for an 80th! Y'all clearly took Dorian Gray as a role model not a cautionary tale.

*smooch*

Thank you, Richard, I think. We all look a lot older than when I saw us last. *smooch*

Went to the funeral of another classmate today, who had been dying of COPD for some time. On a brighter note, Bev has moved to a short-term care facility today after 25 days in the hospital. I just hope they didn't push her out too soon, but she's happy for the progress right now.

I think I'm off to read myself to sleep. I hope I last a page.....

‘Morning, Peggy! Happy Wednesday to you.

>376 LizzieD: I've only seen your elusive DH one time, and honestly didn’t recognize him back there with you. Wow. Isaac Stern’s widow and Kay Gibbon’s ex-husband.

I’m so glad that Bev has moved to a short-term care facility. 25 days in the hospital for a routine procedure. Sad, but I'm glad she's on the road to recovery.

Wordle in 4 for me today.

Coffee in hand, some budget work to do, and, of course, reading.

>378 LizzieD: COPD is a dreadful death, sorry the classmate self-inflicted it. Bev's news is heartening. May this trend continue! Wednesday *smooch*

Happy Wednesday, Richard and Karen. Thank you for good wishes for our Bev. Her daughter has gone home for a visit with her young family before coming back.

COPD is a dreadful death as I have sad reason to know here in the heart of tobacco country. My own daddy was spared that by dying from an acute leukemia, but his lung cancer had returned. All my uncles but one and one cousin died from cigarette induced disease.
*smooch*

Karen, we have aged since you saw us! I'm sure you recognized Bobbie in front of my DH. Richard, my lifelong friend in the blue shirt in front of me is the one whose mind reminds me of yours - except that his is sadly diminished.

Wordle 1,229 3/6*

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜
🟨🟨🟨⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, slake, easel That one should have been 2 for me especially since my second guess didn't move one letter from its incorrect place. I thought of the word, but I was spelling it wrong in my dotage. Oh well. Anyway, Karen, my first word, unlike yours today, should have given it to me while you had to work harder.

>381 LizzieD: Diminishment is, I suppose, inevitable; I'm gonna fight it like hell, though. Read read read write write write study listen read more. Not simply giving in as I see so many doing.

Of course I'm concerned for Bev and want her to progress back to health! She's a human being, but adding to my sense of urgency she's your dear friend. I insist the world do good things that increase your happiness, so Bev must receive divine support for recovery. QED.

I think fighting like hell - and finding joy in what we have and being thankful for it - is everybody's job at this point, Richard. *smooch*

Our Bev apparently had a good day today. She deserves one! I'm eager for her to be able to enjoy her phone again so that we can be in touch!

SACRED TRASH by Adina Hoffman & Peter Cole
Great thanks to Stasia for pointing me to this book. The story of the geniza of the oldest synagogue in Cairo is fascinating. Jewish practice is to store all paper that has the name of God on it. In the 1890s an out-of-the-way room was discovered packed with paper and parchment, whole and in scraps, in Hebrew, Arabic, Aramaic, etc., squirreled away for 900 years. I was less fascinated by the early (1890s) work but became engrossed as the century progressed. The scholars who have devoted their lives to the work have read, sorted, compiled, catalogued almost the whole thing. They have found wonderful poetry that nobody knew existed, and evidence of the lives of fascinating medieval individuals. I loved it!!!

Love-in-a-Mist by Victoria Goddard
This one was so much fun!!! Even though there's a murder in a stately house in a snow storm, the following developments move the series along.
Jemis enjoys being alive, gets practice being the Lord Saint-Noire in society, learns the identity of the Hunter in Green, and is a bit slow to catch on. Peregrin finds a life companion and embraces his wild magic. Hal finds that his proper aunt's list of worthy brides is accurate.
On to the next, but not yet!

Great picture of you and your classmates, Peggy!Every one looks well. I am happy your friend Bev is in a short term care facility. I hope she makes a very good recovery.

'Morning, Peggy! I've got beautiful Carolina blue skies and a Downy Woodpecker on the suet feeder.

I'm so glad Bev had a good day. I hope it's the first of many until she can go home.

Wordle in 4 for me.

>383 LizzieD: I think Stasia gave me this BB, too, and it's here in the Sunroom waiting for the right time.

>383 LizzieD: I am so very glad that you enjoyed Sacred Trash!

Victoria Goddard has firmly established herself among my favorite authors. I love the twists and turns the Nine Worlds books have taken.

>385 karenmarie: I am always happy when my BBs bounce around and hit other people too :)

>383 LizzieD: "Sacred Trash" indeed. I'mm very pleased to hear that Bev had a good day, hoping for more to follow, and some more top-flight reading to cross your radar screens. *smooch*

Thank you, Deborah! That's a bit less than a quarter of our class, but we're doing "some of our best" to requote my SiL.

We agree a lot, Stasia and Karen! Since the book was published in 2011, they have done much work to get the whole thing online at Friedberg Geniza Project. They require a registration that asks for name, phone #, email, and reason for wanting access. It's amazing!

Thank you, Richard, for good wishes all around. *smooch*

Wordle 1,230 4/6*

⬜🟩⬜⬜⬜
🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜
⬜🟩🟨🟨⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, recon, eerie, weird I forgot that today is Halloween and used the wrong word first because I thought of it first. Oh well.

>372 LizzieD: Hi Peggy. Thanks for sharing the picture! It's a good looking group. Amazing that you have a couple of connections to famous people. I don't think my class has any. The closest I can come is having a classmate named Mike Pence, no relation to the former VP. Although Jeff Gossett, the former pro football kicker, was in the class after mine.

>378 LizzieD: >383 LizzieD: I'm so glad to hear that Bev is out of the hospital and seems to be doing so much better!

>383 LizzieD: I have also been tempted by Stasia's reporting (and now yours) on Sacred Trash. So far I'm trying to avoid it, as I don't know when I would ever find time to read it.

Hi, Irene. The class and I appreciate your kind comments. Mike Pence, eh? Bless his heart!

I hope that Bev is doing better. I'm trying to respect her time (she hadn't planned to have any electronics for her hospital stay at all), but I haven't heard from her today. Maybe later.

Finding time to read everything is just not possible. Maybe you'll want *ST* someday!

'Morning, Peggy! Happy Friday to you.

I just checked out the Friedberg Geniza Project website. I won't go to the effort at this time since I still haven't read Sacred Trash, but have passed the link along to friend Karen.

Wordle in four with luck and spreadsheets.

Good morning, Karen! Working on my SS lesson this morning, I found references to a couple of "lost" manuscripts and am now interested to see whether the Friedberg Project has found any part of them. Otherwise, I'm interested in looking and reading some transcriptions and commentaries, especially of the medieval Spanish Hebrew/Arabic poetry.

Wordle 1,231 4/6*

⬜⬜⬜🟨🟨
🟩🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟩⬜🟨🟩🟩
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, stork, smith, sixth I'm surprised that I didn't fumble more! (Four Sisters doesn't have the literary panache of Three Sisters! It's OK!!)

Shoot! I need to start a last thread!!!

Friday! YAY!

*smooch*

Good morning, Peggy! Happy Saturday to you.

My goodness, I'd love to be in one of your SS lessons.

I'm going to head off soon to watch Arsenal play Newcastle.

Oh - Wordle in 4 for me today.

Good day to you, Karen! Hope Arsenal is playing well. I wish you could be in our SS class too; I think you'd enjoy the varied viewpoints. I have to work on that lesson this afternoon since I didn't really get anything down yesterday.

Wordle 1,232 4/6*

⬜⬜⬜🟨⬜
🟩⬜🟩⬜🟨
🟩🟩🟩⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 least, scorn, snowy, snoop! You and me!

>396 LizzieD: And me too in 4 today. I also had the same word as you at 3. I thought of it at 2 but decided to try something else, otherwise I could have gotten Wordle in 3 today.

Have a good weekend, Peggy!

I know the feeling, Irene. I'm just glad I didn't think of Karen's third word for fourth. I would have taken 5.

A HAUNTING ON THE HILL by Elizabeth Hand

Back in a bit.....

I think I'll put this on my new thread that I have not started yet really. You'll find it HERE