Shelley Turns the page - Chapter One

Welcome to a new year of reading! I'm Shelley, retired teacher, cat mom to 2 precocious (but precious) high-maintenance boys, currently aged 6 (Theo) and 8 (Owen). Obsessions include reading (top of list), gardening, puzzling, feeding the birds. Also music and visits to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario). I'm not a fast reader but always seem to have several books going at once. Favourite genres: historical fiction, non-fiction, nature and pretty much anything else that catches my fancy at any given moment.

A few quotes:



Sign seen in local children's bookstore, Mabel's Fables (pardon the reflection of me, snapping the pic):

Not Theo but it could be!

And because I am being watched, here is the obligatory pic of the boys, being cozy:

Ok, I think that's about it for intros. Come on in. Grab a book, a cup of tea, and a warm cat or 2:

I have pretty much given up on committing to challenges. I am very much a mood reader and have never done well with deadlines so I read what I want, when I want. Which, of course, doesn't preclude checking out the challenges and seeing what speaks to me.

We shall see... My goal for January is to finish up the handful of books I started in December!

Happy new reading year, Shelley!

Don’t the boys look cozy together!

Thanks, Ella.

Why children's literature matters. A new branch of the Booker Prize:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8SdOg94uiQ

2026 orisons, Shelley. Many good reads in the new year.

Welcome back for another year, Shelley.

Thank you and welcome, Richard and Paul.

Have you starred! Happy new year :)

Thanks, Anita. You too!

Welcome back, Shelley!

Happy new thread, Shelley!! I am also trying to do less "goal" reading and more of just what I want. And I LOVE your book mug!! >6 jessibud2:

Thanks, Jim and Kim! I would really LOVE a mug like that, Kim. Too bad it's only a pic I found, not the real thing!

Hi Shelley. I'm stopping by to add my star. I love the photo of your two boys. They are beautifully marked. My grand daughter lived with me. She moved out, but her cat stayed. I'm ok with that because she is wonderful company. I've become a cat lady. Previously always had dogs. But, I'm learning the peace that Meow Meow, so called because she always meows twice, provides.

She was so happy on Christmas Eve when grand daughter Kayla and her soul mate Christian visited. Meow, Meow sat on top of her scratch board, and was so content to see them that she looked as though she was smiling. She couldn't help but jump up and visit them often.

Happy New Year. I look forward to checking your thread. I usually cull quite a few from your reading choices.

Happy New Year, Shelley! Glad to see you added puzzling to your list of obsessions! 👍

>18 Whisper1: - Hi Linda. I was a dog mum before I became a cat mum The honest truth is, I am a weather wimp and especially the older I get, the less I desire to be outside in bad weather. In that respect, cats are much more suited to my personality, lol. But they are also wonderful companions, even these current 2 high-maintenance ones. Such distinct personalities.

>19 SqueakyChu: - I am hoping to finish the new one today, Madeline and when I do, I'll post a pic. It's only 500 pieces but the final stretch is proving to be tricky. I have several others waiting in the wings!

I have just heard about a repeat run of a musical I can't wait to see. I missed its first run earlier this year but it was so popular that it's coming back in 2026. Just waiting for a friend to decide on a date so we can get tickets.

It's called *Inside American Pie* and is the story behind the story of Don McLean's iconic song. I LOVED that song (and most of his other work, too).

https://www.mirvish.com/shows/inside-american-pie

Scroll down for the blurb. I can't wait!

Bring on the New Year. Looks like you're all set, Shelley. I love the sentiment in >3 jessibud2:!

Happy New Reading Year, Shelley! >3 jessibud2:--my personal motto!

Thanks, Meg and Kathy. My personal motto, too. I think I will actually do some serious cleaning today, just so I can start the new year (somewhat) guilt-free. I am fighting a cold and have no plans to go out today as it's quite cold out, so may as well. That, and finish off my last book and current puzzle and I will end the year feeling somewhat accomplished. I am easily amused (or deluded), lol!

I made sure to include a photo of my boys too!

New Year greetings from Kuala Lumpur. My project is at least physically completed and an addition to the city scape.

Look forward to keeping up with you in 2026

>25 thornton37814: - Hi Lori. I had a peek at your boys and they are very sweet. Are they brothers?

>26 PaulCranswick: - Impressive, Paul! Now that it's done, will you be moving back to England this coming year? You have certainly waited a long time for that time to arrive!

>27 jessibud2: Yes. They were littermates--3 cats and all male in that litter!

Happy New Year, Shelley and Happy New thread!

Finished last night!

>30 jessibud2: Nice way to see out 2025! Hope your feeders have that much goins-on this year.

>28 thornton37814: - My first 2 cats were littermates. So much easier on the *territorial* issues!

>29 vancouverdeb: - Thanks, Deb!

>31 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard. So far, so good, re my feeder! (I have just one)

Happy New Year! Enjoy your reading

Thanks, Cyrel. You too!

Well, WHEW! At least I am not starting the new year with a broken streak:

Wordle 1,657 6/6 meaty, dance, gauge, waive, cable, fable

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Happy New Year, Shelley. Wishing you a healthy, book-filled 2026.

Happy new year! Love the New Year's Eve puzzle.

Happy New Year, Shelley. I hope 2026 is good to you.

I love the puzzle, Shelley! Gorgeous!

Hope you feel better soon and here's to cleaning up -- my New Year's Resolution is to purge!! I moved around a lot as a kid, and so we cleaned out regularly, but I've been in this house for about 18 years and I have so much stuff!! Ugh. Good luck to both of us. : )

>30 jessibud2: Ooh, I like it. Lots of bluebirds too! Good job.

I very much like your bird puzzle. Also, the play about Don McLean's song sounds wonderful.

Yes, I too have become a cat lady. When I watched my neighbors stray cat who came to the outside sliding glass door every night at 6 p.m. and entered the house for four-five hours, I discovered the joys of a very affectionate cat. When I stopped petting him, he softly batted my hands. Once when I was on my cell phone, he knocked the phone out of my hands.

My cat Meow, Meow is not as affectionate. Though, She does allow me to pet her, it is not as long of a time as my pal Buddy. Meow follows me from room to room. I think that is her way of showing affection.

>Kim. I've been ruminating about all the stuff I've collected. I spent an hour in the basement, getting plastic lids matched to containers, placing Christmas ornaments neatly in boxes, and #1 trip of the year to throw away things I do not need. Two large plastic bags go in the containers tomorrow. I hear you!

Thanks, Mark, Rhonda, Beth, Deb, Kim. And yes, to purging! ;-)

>42 Whisper1: -I did get tickets for the Don McLean show, Linda and am very excited about it. Not till April 21 but something to look forward to.

Wordle 1,658 5/6 meaty, quick, slosh, frond, proof

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>30 jessibud2: beautiful puzzle, Shelley. I just finished one that was a map of my section of the city. No picture to follow, just the map inside my head! And many of the pieces were just lines for the streets, as the street names were not on every piece.

>43 jessibud2: Great wordle-ing! I bombed today--every combo except the right one: raise, youth, brook, groom, drool, croon

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>5 jessibud2: Aw, look at those cuddly babies! Photo looks like a watercolor painting. I may try to paint it. If I do, I'll send it to you if it turns out at all decent.

Happy New Year, Shelley!

>45 Storeetllr: - Wow, Mary! I (we ;-) would be honoured!

Me, getting artsy fartsy. Couldn't resist:

>47 jessibud2: What a beautiful image!

>44 kac522: - Your puzzle sounds confusing to me, Kathy! (doesn't take much to confuse me). The friend I share and swap puzzles with regularly just showed me a pic of a very difficult one she just finished. She warned me that although the pic is up my alley (a room of books), she doesn't suggest I try it as it is extremely challenging. When I saw it, I agreed, lol. I told her I was happy to see the pic and that was enough.

>48 Whisper1: - They provide me with endless entertainment, Linda. I would have liked it to be more symmetrical but I didn't centre it well. Oh well, at least I got the snap before they moved!

Wordle 1,659 4/6 meaty, triad, stair, sitar. I messed up on guess#3 but after that turn, there really wasn't anything else it could be!

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Happy New Year, Shelley! I’m going to try to keep up this year.

>30 jessibud2: I almost bought that puzzle before the holidays but resisted. I’m working on one now and the remaining hundred or so pieces are all blue. Just blue. :(

>50 Copperskye: - Hi Joanne. All the green boughs at the inside of the frame were a bit tricky but it's a fun one. I am working on another now, beautiful pic but also challenging.

Happy new year to you too!

Shelley, you might enjoy this puzzle that Jennifer did--it's wooden and many of the pieces are shaped like the animals in the puzzle:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/377079#9060250

I've never done a wooden puzzle--have you?

>52 kac522: - Wow! That is gorgeous!!! The only wooden puzzles I've done was with my pre-school kids back when I was teaching. And those weren't too hard, lol!

>53 jessibud2: Right, that's how I remember wooden puzzles, too! These complex ones are apparently VERY expensive, but they certainly look worth it.

Well, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Starting fresh tomorrow:

Wordle 1,660 X/6 meaty, slice, chose, douse, force, worse. In truth, I don't think I'd have gotten it even if I hadn't messed up on that 5th guess. The streak ended at 176.

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First book of the year done. Something of a disappointment, if I am honest. Oh well.

The Glassmaker by Tracy Chevalier

As someone who has worked in glass (stained glass, fused glass), I have never thought about the process of actually making the glass itself. So this book called out to me on many levels. I have also read quite a few of Chevalier's titles and loved some, though not all.

I love good, well-researched historical fiction and Chevalier does her homework and research. So I was really hoping and wanting to love this book more than I did. On the one hand, I am impressed and respectful of an author wanting to try something new and stretch herself in new ways. She does that in this book, about a family of glassmakers on the island of Murano, in Italy.

The story begins in 1486 with the Rosso family, and ends in the present day. It follows the family of glassmakers through many major events and characters throughout history, including the plague, Casanova, Napolean and Josephine, World Wars, a major flood in Venice, to name a few. This could have been a truly fascinating historical novel - in my humble opinion - if Chevalier had followed the generations of the Rosso family through the years. But instead, she chose a rather odd device which, if I am honest, just didn't work for me. She chose to *skim a stone through time*, skipping years, sometimes hundreds at a time, while keeping the main characters alive through them all, aging them just a few years at a time. This made no sense to me, and added nothing to the story except disbelief. I have never been a fan of so-called *magical realism*, if that is what this is meant to be. To me, it was just a distraction and a suspension of belief that detracted from an otherwise good story.

Chevalier is a good writer. I am sure others will find this a great book. I just felt disappointed.

>56 jessibud2: That premise would drive me crazy. That's too bad--totally understand your disappointment.

>56 jessibud2: - I mean, she wrote Girl With a Pearl Earring, Remarkable Creatures and The Lady and the Unicorn, all of which I really loved. I expected, and wanted, to love this one, about a subject I was really interested in. All that said, most of the reviews I read (after reading the book), were good. Most people seemed to like it more than I did. Oh well, c'est la vie.

>58 jessibud2: I've only read Girl with a Pearl Earring. Of the other two, Remarkable Creatures sounds interesting to me. I'll put it on the massive Wishlist.

>59 kac522: - Remarkable Creatures was so good, Kathy. And it's about a real person, Mary Anning. I did a fair bit of reading about her after reading that one.

>60 jessibud2: Good to hear! It appeals to me, too.

I own a copy of Remarkable Creatures. I have a stack of library books to read, I did like Girl With A Pearl Earring.

>30 jessibud2: Nice puzzle, Shelley. I really need to get back to puzzling but that means I have to reorganize some room to do it as I can no longer use my dining table. Besides, getting reorganized takes away time from other, more interesting stuff.

>62 Whisper1: - It's a great read, Linda!

>63 Familyhistorian: - I bought one of those science fair type folding cardboards from Staples, Meg, and do my puzzles on that. For me, it's a matter of the cats. But you could do that and just move it under the table or wherever if you can't find another suitable place.

Snowing steadily here at the moment and it may well end up as freezing rain as the temps rise. I had planned to run some errands but I'd rather not be on the roads in this so happy enough to wait for another day.

A new streak (of 1!) begins. Barely:

Wordle 1,661 5/6 meaty, pinky, silly, hilly, filly

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>55 jessibud2: New streak orisons, Shelley. Sorry about the soft thud of your first book.

>66 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard. The core story of the making of glass on Murano (and the merchants and the gondoliers, etc), was still good, and well told. It was just the time thing that irked me.

Hi Shelley my dear, i have starred you again and hope i will be more visible on your thread this year.

I've only read A Single Thread by Tracy Chevalier, and I gave it 4 stars , so I must have enjoyed it. A better read next book.

I own a copy of A Single Thread but have not idea where it is located. ugh!

I think I've read 6 of Chevalier's 11 books and own one, as yet unread.

Weird word:

Wordle 1,662 4/6 meaty, chimp, morph, oomph

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>56 jessibud2: That does seem something of an odd literary device, Shelley.

>5 jessibud2: My cats sleep as far apart from each other as they can unless Ilan decides he misses his big brother and then will snuggle up to his big brother, Mallory. Chalfont wants nothing whatsoever to do with the boys. She is definitely diva material.

>30 jessibud2: Pretty!

>56 jessibud2: I have read a couple of Chevalier's books, but not that one. Into the BlackHole it goes!

A Belated Happy New Year, Shelley!

Surprisingly, I managed to get Wordle in 2 today. Good luck on my part.

>72 PaulCranswick: - I agree, Paul. She is a good writer and this just threw me. Not enough to DNF the book, the story was good otherwise, but sheesh!

>73 alcottacre: - Cats! Right, Stasia? My 2 are much more chill lately and the constant Theo attacking Owen of the first couple of years has mostly stopped but it truly melts my heart to see them snuggle together so often.

>74 vancouverdeb: - I got today's in 3, Deb

I finished a book the other day, Mourning Has Broken by Erin Davis. She was a morning radio host on one of Toronto's most popular stations for years. Her 24 year old daughter died suddenly, in her sleep, just months after giving birth. This is Erin's journey through the grief. It was heart-wrenching at times but also uplifting. Lessons to be learned on navigating this path that no one wants to ever walk. A worthy read.

I have now just started another NF book by a Canadian, something very different, though. Red Zone by Laurent Duvernay-Tardif. He was a professional football player for the Kansas City Chiefs for several years, as well as a medical student in Montreal. He won the super bowl, then walked away when covid broke out. He returned to Montreal to work as a doctor in a long-term care home. And that's just the beginning. What a back story he has, too! Quite a guy! So far, a very good read. (I will admit that I neither like nor understand football so when he talked about the super bowl game and certain plays, I did skim over those! Of course, if it had been baseball, I'd have read and understood every word, lol)

I found you. Just swinging by to say hello and ask you to give Theo and Owen a pat on each of their heads for me. :-)

>56 jessibud2: I agree with you Shelley. Tracy Chevalier's books are hit or miss.

Wordle 1,668 3/6 meaty, taint, trial

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>65 jessibud2: Thanks for the suggestion, Shelley. Not sure if I want to add anything else to my place right now. Still trying to integrate my son’s stuff.

We have had a ton of now here today! Not sure how much but a LOT and it's still coming down although it looks lighter now. Schools were cancelled which almost NEVER happens here. It sure didn't, when I was still teaching, lol! It's all so pretty out there, though. It is also quite cold, -12C at the moment but feeling more like -21C with the wind chill. I had to shovel a small path to hang up the bird feeder this morning but it filled in quickly. The feeder is almost empty now but I will only go out later to bring it in. It has been busy today! I am happy to be able to provide for the birds and I'm sure they are happy, too. How do they survive without feeders in the winter?!

The road was plowed once so far but it too, has completely filled in again. I am quite happy and grateful, to be able to stay inside. I intended to finish my current book but had a nap instead. Hopefully, later today.

The path:

Feeding frenzy:



Pardon the fuzziness. All pics were taken through a window screen with snow falling on the other side! Visitors were the regulars: goldfinches, nuthatches, cardinals, juncos, house finches, there was even a downy woodpecker and a couple of mourning doves but I didn't get a pic of them.

Although I gave a brief overview in >76 jessibud2:, I just finished Red Zone - From the Offensive Line to the Front Line of the Pandemic last night.

You know how there are some people who can just do everything and do it all well? Laurent Duvernay-Tardif is that guy. With an unconventional upbringing and backstory, a small-town French Canadian boy grows up to play football in the NFL, eventually winning a super bowl title with his team, the Kansas City Chiefs. And he studied medicine at the same time, by the way! In English, when, prior to his acceptance at McGill University, he barely knew any English at all.

When the pandemic hits, he opts to take a year away from his team and the game, and returns to Montreal to works as an orderly in a long-term care home. The contrast gives him perspective and insight but he eventually returns to the game for another year before making a decision for his future. The final decision comes after this book is finished (I googled to find out!)

Duvernay-Tardif is a man of intelligence and compassion, and many contrasts. And high energy! Let's not forget that energy! This was a compelling read.

"During meetings like that, I'd hear some of my teammates say things like COVID-19 is bullshit, or question the need for masks. I'm sure that happened everywhere, all over the league, all over the world. And, to be clear, it wasn't the majority of the locker room. Even so, it was disappointing to hear men I respected falling for some of the propaganda and outright falsehoods espoused by politicians like the then US president. It became increasingly difficult to reconcile the stark contrast between my worlds."

"...But my year away had put things into perspective. On the one hand, it reminded me, viscerally and sometimes painfully, how much I loved the game. On the other hand, it confirmed something I already knew: football isn't life and death, it just seems that way when you are in the middle of it.

The thing I did in that long-term care facility that I'm proudest of had nothing to do with medicine. It was fixing that bathtub so all the residents could use it. And that had less to do with cleanliness than with dignity. The more I thought about it, the more I knew it was the small things that mattered. The small things always matter."

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Trust me, you don't have to like or understand football at all (I don't!), to find this a great read.

>81 jessibud2: We had about 1/4 inch at my house. Just down the road, it was a dusting. Not much further, and there was nothing at all. Crazy! We had some flurries today, and they are saying we might get some overnight. I think they don't know what to predict, because every source I've seen varies from none to about 1/2 inch. I think there is a better chance later next week.

We got a lot, Lori, then after shoveling out, we got a few more cm last night but not enough to be concerned about. Today, it rained. What's left is freezing now that it's night and the temps are dropping. What a mess.

But climate change is a hoax, right? (eye roll here)

No snow here, just a lot of fog. I love the picture of the birds.

Boy, I wish we'd get some of that snow. We've had hardly any all winter and there is NONE in the forecast. It's going to be a brutal summer if we don't get some snowpack in the mountains.

>84 jessibud2: Yep, joining you in that eye roll. It's infuriating that the current "leadership" in the US are so greedy and corrupt that they are perfectly happy to let the Earth burn up. Sigh.

Shelley, have you seen the new MAGA caps they're wearing in Greenland?

They say

MAKE AMERICA GO AWAY

And I sure don't blame them.

>87 kac522:- That's brilliant! I hope they aren't red. They should be green, I'd think.

>88 jessibud2: I think they ARE red...

Appropos of the Chevalier book, have you ever been to the Corning Museum of Glass, Shelley? We absolutely love to go there, and especially to watch the demonstrations of glass making in their "hot shop". The most fascinating thing I have ever seen was a demonstration of how the Murano glass murrines are made. Last time we were there, in October of 2019, there was an Italian artist giving demonstrations...we couldn't tear ourselves away. I think there are videos on YouTube.

>88 jessibud2:, >89 laytonwoman3rd: They're red because the Greenland flag is red & white, and the ones I've seen have a small Greenland flag icon on the side.

>89 laytonwoman3rd: - Yes, Linda, I have been there, in 2017, I think. It was wonderful! I did a workshop and made a glass flower, which I love. Deep down near the bottom of my LT gallery, I posted photos of the process and the outcome. I loved that place!

Here is my finished flower:


>90 kac522: - Well, at least they are for real. I was worried it might have been a kind of internet joke/meme. I love that Greenlanders are fighting back. Kind of like our own *Elbows Up* campaign. For all the good it's done, ;-p

Phew! That was close but I could tell early on it was going to be guessy-guessy today. At least the streak is only a small one (12 or 13, I forget).

meaty, paler, fazed, bakes, haven, waxen

Wordle 1,675 6/6

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I subscribe to Andy Borowitz's newsletter. Mostly, he writes (wicked) humour and satire and it's a blessed relief from what's going on in the world. He also writes truth. Occasionally, he gets serious. Today, in the USA, is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and this is his tribute. It's both uplifting in how he encourages people to not give up and stay true to what matters. But I also find it somewhat depressing at how much has not changed, in all this time. Still, the man could write and he left an invaluable legacy:

MLK's Final Message
Andy Borowitz
Jan 19

The following is an excerpt from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s final essay, A Testament of Hope:

People are often surprised to learn that I am an optimist. They know how often I have been jailed, how frequently the days and nights have been filled with frustration and sorrow, how bitter and dangerous are my adversaries. They expect these experiences to harden me into a grim and desperate man.

They fail, however, to perceive the sense of affirmation generated by the challenge of embracing struggle and surmounting obstacles. They have no comprehension of the strength that comes from faith in God and man.

It is possible for me to falter, but I am profoundly secure in my knowledge that God loves us; he has not worked out a design for our failure. Man has the capacity to do right as well as wrong, and his history is a path upward, not downward.

The past is strewn with the ruins of the empires of tyranny, and each is a monument not merely to man’s blunders but to his capacity to overcome them. While it is a bitter fact that in America in 1968, I am denied equality solely because I am black, yet I am not a chattel slave. Millions of people have fought thousands of battles to enlarge my freedom; restricted as it still is, progress has been made.

This is why I remain an optimist, though I am also a realist, about the barriers before us. Why is the issue of equality still so far from solution in America, a nation that professes itself to be democratic, inventive, hospitable to new ideas, rich, productive and awesomely powerful?

The problem is so tenacious because, despite its virtues and attributes, America is deeply racist and its democracy is flawed both economically and socially. All too many Americans believe justice will unfold painlessly or that its absence for black people will be tolerated tranquilly. Justice for black people will not flow into society merely from court decisions nor from fountains of political oratory. Nor will a few token changes quell all the tempestuous yearnings of millions of disadvantaged black people.

White America must recognize that justice for black people cannot be achieved without radical changes in the structure of our society. The comfortable, the entrenched, the privileged cannot continue to tremble at the prospect of change in the status quo.

>92 jessibud2: Haha! You and I are “six sisters” today! But six is so much better than not at all, right?!

>93 jessibud2: Wow! Thank you for the MLK Jr. post! He had such a gift with words and speaking the truth.

Karen O

>91 jessibud2: That’s beautiful Shelley!

I’m sorry your last book by Tracy Chevalier was a bit of a disappointment, the premise sounds good. I read A single thread recently, and found that a bit disappointing as well.

>93 jessibud2: He did leave a legacy, in the memory of his personality.

>95 EllaTim: - I also read A Single Thread, Ella and didn't find it as good as some of her other books. I have read, I think, half of the titles she has written and I think that only 3 were real standouts: Girl With a Pearl Earring, Remarkable Creatures, and The Lady and the Unicorn. The others were, mostly, ok.

Ok, this is just weird. I just played wordle. I got it in 4, my usual.

meaty, windy, lorry, sully

Wordle 1,676 4/6

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But is says today's win brings my streak to 2!! I was positive that yesterday, it was at 12 or 13. Unless I had a complete senior's moment brain fart and forgot to play one day. I suppose that is not out of the realm of possibility. But sheesh!

I've been seriously contemplating cancelling my online subscriptions to the New York Times and The New Yorker. They seem to be all trump, all the time and it's really just far too much. I am deleting more than reading and even the sight of his name, never mind his ugly face, makes me sick. But, not a moment too soon, this. From good old Roz Chast. It might be hilarious if it weren't so true. That's the tragedy. Such a disgusting excuse for a human being, that man.

Wow! Sorry to hear about all that snow. Ugh! We have got hit with frigid temps but fortunately the snow has been minimal. May that continue.

I did see that Chast cartoon on FB. I agree funny and revolting.

It's very cold here, too, Mark. I cant wait for spring.

I am with you. It is not supposed to get above zero all day here on Friday. WTH?

>98 jessibud2: It's unbearable that felonious yam eats up so much mental energy. Would that there will be a giant THUMP one day soon and none of us will know why, but the world will be reset to 1994.

Another weather day here. I cancelled my hair appointment for 2 reasons: I don't want to be on the roads in this snow and I have a weather-related/induced migraine. May just go back to bed...

I thought our Canadian Prime Minister's speech yesterday in Davos was excellent and timely. He used far too many *big words* for trump to understand. But maybe (doubtful but maybe) someone on *his team* will know how to use a dictionary and can translate for him. He won't be happy once he understands what Carney has said but, what else is new? I don't even have the stomach to read the news yet today. Maybe later. If only you were right, Richard >102 richardderus:. It will be the thump heard round the world. And the collective sigh of relief will cause high winds that NO ONE will complain about!

>103 jessibud2: Let's manifest it!

>76 jessibud2: Adding Mourning Has Broken to the BlackHole, Shelley. Thank you for that recommendation! Also adding Red Zone to the BlackHole.

>81 jessibud2: Wow! Texans idea of a lot of snow is 2", lol.

>87 kac522: I love that!!

>94 klobrien2: Thank you for that post, Shelley. Americans, myself included, need to be reminded that there is so very much work still to be done to combat racism in this country.

>98 jessibud2: I have an app on my laptop so that every time Trump's picture comes up, I see kittens instead. I cannot stand looking at the man.

>103 jessibud2: I hope the headache lets up soon!

>105 alcottacre:- oh, Stasia, if I understood apps at all, that would be one I'd love, lol!! Kitties! 😄

>106 jessibud2: I am not sure what browser you use, Shelley, but you can find it under "Make America Kittens Again" in the Google store if you have Chrome. There are several other implementations for the various browsers.

Omg, a lesson worth learning! Thank you!
(Still giggling)

>108 jessibud2: Hey, giggling is good, right?

>109 alcottacre: - Right!

Does anyone here play wordle not through a NYT subscription? I just cancelled my subscription though it won't take effect till Feb 12. I will be able to access Wordle that way till then but not sure about after.

An AI robot tried to talk to me by asking what it could help me with. I said that I wanted to talk to a human. It asked again, in slightly different words. I repeated myself and would have kept on doing it until a human answered the call but thankfully, it took only those 2 times. Sheesh. The voice of the future: robots. At least the New Yorker had a human right away. I cancelled that subscription too, but it's an annual term so it won't cancel till October. She made a note that it shouldn't automatically renew. When asked by both for my reason, I just told them, too much politics and I'm not even American. I said it was just too much trump and I had had enough. Both people chuckled and said they understood. Didn't prevent them from using their script to try to convince me to reconsider but no, I just said I wanted to cancel. It went better than I expected and was easier.

>110 jessibud2: I play Wordle every day and I don't subscribe in any way. It does not keep track of my stats or let me play games in the archive, but I can copy my results for that day, but they're gone the next day. Also, without a subscription there's only limited access to some of the other games. The crosswords (regular and Mini) are not available, but Connections is available (although I haven't played that in months).

I think you can subscribe just to the NYT Games (without a newspaper subscription), but I'm not sure.

>111 kac522: Yes, you can just subscribe to the NYT games. And I don’t know any more than that, sorry!

Karen O

>111 kac522:, >112 klobrien2: - Thanks, Kathy and Karen. I personally don't care about stats. I only keep track of my own streak, and nothing beyond that. I have no idea how to access archives or words lists. I just play from my head, for whatever that's worth. I used to play several of the other games but haven't, in ages. Mostly due to laziness.

>113 jessibud2: Then there's really no reason to subscribe--you can play for free every day, which is what I do.

>114 kac522: - Good to know, Kathy, thanks.

Bracing for the frigid weather arriving tomorrow. I had to laugh, though, as several news sources here said that tomorrow, Toronto will be the coldest place on earth. Seriously? What about Antarctica? Or the north pole. What is the point of such exaggeration? Enough to know that if you don't have to go out, don't. I got my errands done today while the roads were clear. It was blustery and cold but that's all. I don't plan to leave the house tomorrow except to hang up the bird feeder and bring it in at night.

Still, these days, I am especially proud to be Canadian, even with the cold and snow. And grateful that we have a Prime Minister who is intelligent, articulate, brave and calm in the face of all the s**t flying around politically. It's really just all too much. I feel so much for my friends and family in the States (many of each). I fear that until trump is 6 or more feet under, things won't turn around. Not that those behind him are much better but I truly believe that NO ONE can be worse. Even our most respected and trusted journalists here cannot report on him without qualifying their reports by saying that we need to understand and remember that nothing he says can be taken at face value because it could all change in a matter of minutes. Last night, more than one reporter said that the fact checkers have never been so busy. Sheesh.

Good luck today, Shelley. Coldest place on earth? Yikes! It is currently -9F and it will drop to -10. WTH? At least we will miss any snow. Whew!

>117 msf59: - Yeah, wth. I think that statement was a lot of dumb hype, personally. Yes, it's cold and I did all my errands yesterday so I don't have to go anywhere today, except hang up the feeder and take it in tonight. I topped it right up and it's busy. They know!

In fact, here are a couple of pics I snapped when I drove into my driveway yesterday, coming home from errands. A red-breasted nuthatch and some goldfinches:

>116 jessibud2: Well, it *is* Antarctic summertime...and isn't Toronto inside the Arctic Circle? I mean, how else do y'all mush your moose-drawn carts between igloos?

*batbatbat*

I think any sane person would have to turn into an ostrich to avoid the world these days. A friend sent me this pic, from a few years ago, apparently, but honestly, never more relevant. It's the ever-present *fish mouth*, as I call it, exaggerated, but barely. It truly speaks for itself:

>120 jessibud2: - The moose are grazing out back, Richard. But we are going nowhere tonight. In fact, a friend of mine sent me an invite last night to a celebration party tomorrow evening (rather last minute, she admitted; I'm hoping maybe she will reschedule). She has written a book (about trees) and just, finally, signed a contract with a publisher. I won't go because of this weather (it's downtown and I won't drive downtown ever because parking is ridiculous so that means I'd have to deal with public transit, which, at the best of times is a pain in the ass but in this weather? No thanks. Yep, I am a weather wimp, and that's the truth.

>121 jessibud2: Yep, Shelley, I'm a weather-wimp, too. Staying in today and probably tomorrow. May go out to run the car for a few minutes, but that's it. I've got a puzzle on the go and a zillion library books to read and a book for my book club next week. Plenty to keep me busy.

I just rescheduled my Sunday Jan 25 theatre ticket and moved it to next week- I didn't want to go out in snow and really freezing weather.

>118 jessibud2: Love the bird pics, Shelley. I have not seen any goldfinch at my feeders in several months but I did briefly see a red-breasted nuthatch earlier in the week.

I just checked the feeders when I was getting my lunch. Sparrows, housefinch, a cardinal and a male downy. They don't seem to mind the cold.

>120 jessibud2: Love it!

Love today's featured puzzle on jigsawexplorer:

https://www.jigsawexplorer.com/puzzles/giant-book-facade-jigsaw-puzzle/

>123 torontoc: - I have a ticket to an in-person event on Sunday as well, Cyrel but if we get the predicted next big snow dump on that day, I will stay home. At least the ticket was free but I wish it was available online as well. I will not drive in an active snowstorm.

>124 msf59: - Oddly, and rather unusually, I am not getting many sparrows at all, Mark. The goldfinches, house finches, cardinals, nuthatches and juncos are my daily regulars, in plentiful numbers. Downies, mourning doves also show up but not as often. I was just so happy yesterday to be able to photograph from the car window. The pics come out must sharper than through the kitchen window screen.

>>125 kac522: - I saw that, Kathy, and did it! I get the daily puzzles in my email, thanks to you! ;-) I also have not one but 2 puzzles on my dining room table but in all honesty, I haven't worked on either one in over a week. I am trying to finish the 4 books I am juggling first. I will probably finish the library book today: Physics for Cats by Tom Gauld. He has the craziest brain and I am loving it. I will probably post a few of the comics in it once I'd done.

Just finished reading Tom Gauld's latest, Physics for Cats. And no, it has nothing to do with actual cats. This guy has a crazy brain and I love it. I will share a few cartoons here. I will start with a couple very apropos for today:

Here are some more that tickled my fancy:

>128 jessibud2: Great fun.

I love the last one most.

>116 jessibud2: Toronto the coldest place on earth - not sure where they got that info. Have a look at Whitehorse. Good luck with all the snow, Shelley.

>129 PaulCranswick: - Yes, they are, Paul. He has a gift for the absurd that I love.

>130 Familyhistorian: - Honestly, Meg, I have no idea not only where they got that info but what was the point. It's cold, yes. Very cold. But the coldest on earth? Sheesh. I went out to hang up my bird feeder about half an hour ago and it's -22C at the moment. But not even a whisper of a breeze (thank goodness!). I was only out for maybe 2 minutes and it was ok. I certainly have no plans to be out for any longer than that and won't be, until dinner time, when it's dark and time to bring the feeder in again. I think we are expecting some snow later and they are saying another big dump of it tomorrow. I have batteries in my flashlight, just in case, candles, just in case, and will make sure my phone is charged. Soup, tea, hot chocolate available. I will phone to check on my elderly neighbour across the street a little later on. Other than that, the warm cats and my books will make this all ok. Winter in Canada. :-)

>131 jessibud2: Minus 22 degrees?!! I can't even imagine that. We're waiting for a 40 state snowstorm starting this evening. All of the grocery stores are running out of food. I asked Barbara to come and stay with us as we have a wood stove and a generator if worst comes to worst. The last time she was home during a storm, her electricity went out and the temp in her house went down to 47 degrees. A bit chilly, I'd say. Our son Avi is on snow duty at his work (wastewater management in Virginia). He heads up a snow-plowing crew. He's leaving for work today and will return home either midnight Sunday or Monday morning. His wife and twokids are home with the flu. Not a good start to this weekend.

>132 SqueakyChu: - Yikes. Is she coming to you? I hope so! Yeah, we are also hunkering down. No wind today so far so at least that. And that was minus 22 Celcius. At what point do the 2 converge (F and C)? At some point they do, is all I know. Our snow is also supposed to begin tomorrow.

>133 jessibud2: just looked it up: Looks like -40C and -40F are the same. We started getting light snow in the last couple hours and I think it carries into tomorrow.

>134 kac522: - Oh, that's COLD, Kathy!! Our snowfall hasn't begun yet here but they say it's coming. Sometimes, though, it can be snowing in one part of the city and not in another. My friend texted me the other day and told me not to look out the window. Of course, I immediately looked. Not a single flake was falling here but outside her window, it was coming down.

I wonder if it's all hype but on the other hand, probably not. I just hope we don't lose power. That's the one thing that makes it difficult. Otherwise, we just stay indoors and stay warm while we ride it out. I remember many years ago during the ice storm, we were without power on our street for 4 days. Others didn't get power back for a week or more. I can't even imagine!

Glad you are able to stay at home during the storm. They say that the heavy snow here will begin in the afternoon. I am just hoping that it wont be too bad before I get home from work. Fingers crossed.

>133 jessibud2: Barbara is here now. We just had dinner. It has not begun to snow yet. It is supposed to start at 11 pm tonight and last through Monday morning. The snow won't be as bad as the ice, though. It's pretty scary. During a previous ice storm we were without power and heat for 5 days.

>136 figsfromthistle: - Anita, is there a chance you could stay home from work if the roads are bad? Is this one of your jobs you could work from home? Or just miss a day. Surely no one would fault you.

>137 SqueakyChu: - Happy to hear that Barbara is with you, Madeline. Say hi for me! Yes, the ice under the snow will be particularly bad, especially for those not used to it or those without snow tires. Best to just not drive at all if possible. Not worth risking life and limb! The snow hasn't begun here yet where I am.

>138 jessibud2: I wish I could but this is not the work from home job. I am working in the hospital on Sunday and I suspect that it will be all hands on deck as there will be no shows, late arrivals and sick calls. I am not really a person to call in sick unless I am actually sick….I feel way to guilty even when I am sick. Ah well. Slow and careful travel should get me there safe and sound.

>139 figsfromthistle: - How far a drive is it for you? At least - hopefully - there won't be that many others on the roads. Find a plow and drive behind it, lol! Be careful!!

>140 jessibud2: Ha! I will be careful. It's only 25km away so not that bad.

>135 jessibud2: Fortunately, I don't think it's ever gotten -40 (C or F!) here, except in windchill, which I think was pretty close the other day. Right, we can have snow in one part & none in another. Part has to do with "lake effect" snow, so a band close to the lake can get more snow than outer areas of the city. And Chicago is very long (north to south), so sometimes it's snowing on the North Side but not on the South Side, and vice-versa.

>135 jessibud2: The mind boggles! Minus 40!

Please take care of yourself, Shelley. xx

>143 PaulCranswick:- Thanks, Paul. If i hadn't shut my laptop down for the night, I'd post a pic of exactly how I'm taking care. I don't know how to do that directly from my phone. I'll have to do it tomorrow. Hint: it involves book, bed, warm kitties. 😉

Brr ! It sounds very cold, Shelley! So lovely to live here, where Dave is pondering our overnight temperature of -1 C . It was 6C I think today, and as usual, people in shorts. Take care.

The snow is coming down hard now, Deb. It wasn't as cold as I expected when I went out earlier to hang up the bird feeder but that will always be the case when there is no wind. It's the wind that makes everything worse. It's very pretty, looking out right now. As long as we don't lose power, I'm good with whatever we get.

I hope the feeder lasts them the day because I don't plan to go out again until it's time to take it in for the night. I wonder how much snow we will end up with.

Montreal used to have winters like this all the time when I was growing up. I can remember once when downtown department store workers were unable to get home, they were allowed to stay overnight in the store and sleep on the beds in the furniture department, lol! Can you imagine! It would have been Eaton's or The Bay, maybe even Simpson's back then though I don't know that Simpson's had furniture departments.

I filled the feeder to the top this morning and word spread fast. A bit of a feeding frenzy here today. I hope it lasts because I don't plan to go out to refill. Note the junco on top of the baffle. They are pretty good at waiting their turns. Somewhat.



Mostly the regulars today: juncos, goldfinches, nuthatches, and I did see the cardinals, off and on.

In this one, I managed to catch a pic of a downy woodpecker, as well. Sorry for the bad fuzziness. Window screen, snow, you know!

I just got up from a nap. Seems appropriate for the day we are having.

I have bookmarks in 5 books. Maybe I will go finish one of them and work on the puzzle for a bit. These are the books:

NF:
50 Canadians Who Changed the World
Remember
Walking With Beth

Historical Fiction (real people, real history, events. etc. I guess the actual dialogue contribute to the *fiction* part):

The Watchmaker's Daughter

Fiction:
Theo of Golden

I should be able to finish the first one today. Feeder is down to half full, birds still going crazy, and it's a snow globe world out the window! Grateful to be warm and inside, still have power.

Hi Shelley, I'm writing from under the worst fears being realized: It's sleeting! On top of the snow. Shuddersome stuff. I'm off to be a sluggish reader for the rest of the day.

>149 richardderus: - Still snow globing out here, Richard. Pretty to watch from this side of the window but as long as it stays snow, until it stops, that's good. I think it's too cold here for it to move up into rain/sleet. At least, I hope so.

Yes, lots of snow! My phone says -10 Celsius feeling like -20 celsius I did go out this morning to clear my steps. I will do so again in about an hour. I do have a service that will snow plow my driveway and porch but only after the snow stops.

Which it doesn't look to be happening any time soon! Be careful, Cyrel. If you don't have to go anywhere, just wait it out and let that service earn their salary by doing it all for you!

Good idea!

About a half an hour ago I noticed that all the birds had disappeared. I took that to mean it was ok to go out and bring the feeder in. I shoveled a small path to the feeder. And yes, they didn't leave a single seed! I am happy that it lasted all day and they got to refuel.

The snow is very light, powdery and fluffy. Not heavy at all. It didn't feel very cold either but that could be due to the fact that I was quite bundled up and only outside for a couple of minutes. It's still coming down lightly so I won't be doing any more shoveling tonight. But it reminded me of when I was a kid. I loved shoveling at night. Everything is so quiet, and sparkly under the street lamps. So peaceful and, at least until some vehicles or dogs venture out, so clean! I was almost tempted to drop down and make a snow angel! lol

All that lovely snow!! I'm envious. I'm also glad you refilled the birds' feeder!! *smile*

>154 jessibud2: Your snow looks very much like what we got. I was just looking at totals around the city and they range from 5 inches to 9 inches of snow; our area got around 7 inches, I think.

I don't have to shovel but I do park my car on the street. I just didn't feel like venturing out today, but will probably do so tomorrow. I really don't have anywhere to go, but I hate having to clean off all that snow on the car when I'm in a hurry to get somewhere, so I just want to get it done. Plus it looks like there might be some sun tomorrow, so that will help with melting, but just a little--high of 10F (-12C) tomorrow. Forecasts for the rest of the week look like only small chances of lighter snow.

>155 EBT1002: Ellen, it was crazy to watch that Seahawks/Rams game right after the Patriots/Broncos game! From blizzard to blissful calm 😉

Well, yes, Sears did have a furniture department back when it existed, Shellley. That would be quite the adventure, having to spend the night sleeping on the beds in the store. An acquaintance of mine had to spend the might at Tim Hortons when a bad snow fall kept from returning home to her place in Prince George, not that long ago. I wonder what the sleeping arrangements would be at a Tim Hortons? ( She was an employee ).

Wordle 1,682 3/6 meaty, false, freak

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>128 jessibud2: Oh! You got me with Physics for Cats! Thank you for introducing me to Gauld. After this one, I think I'll get Revenge of the Librarians. Or maybe You're All Just Jealous of My Jetpack. I really need the lift right now.

>159 Storeetllr: - He's fun, Mary. Although their styles are different, I sometimes mix him up with Grant Snider but both are great cartoonists who love books and goofy humour. Enjoy!

Yes, -40 is where the Celsius and Fahrenheit scales converge. I remember it well as a friend and I were the only people in sight outside in Calgary when the mercury dipped that low.

>161 Familyhistorian: - It's bloody cold here right now though not nearly THAT cold. I hope to never experience that.

And watching the news tonight I see that Toronto got more snow yesterday than it has ever had. Apparently, the city proper logged 56 cm, which is, according to my metric convertor, 22.05 inches. The system has moved east and now the Maritimes are getting it but this snow isn't going anywhere any time soon. It's way too cold to melt, and finding places to put it is proving challenging for the city.

My cousin in Montreal lost power for almost 24 hours. Not fun at all. At least, we did not lose power though I am always prepared, just in case.

>154 jessibud2: So much snow on the various threads in the 75's today, Shelley.

>162 jessibud2: Whoa. That is a LOT of snow. Although still frigid, we had sun and it did help melt bits off my car. We haven't lost power, so I feel fortunate. So many places did; no matter how little snow, losing power is the worst.

Yes, Deb and Kathy, *snow* is the word of the year, so far! ;-)

Wordle 1,683 4/6 meaty, furry, punky, dusky

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>154 jessibud2: That is still a lot of snow. Yikes. Good bird Mom.

Love the Gauld cartoons and the feeder pics. You have the feeders well-placed for your visual entertainment.

I have just the one feeder, mark. I live in a townhouse and my entire front lawn is the size of a postage stamp. There really isn't room for more. When I first moved here I had 4 feeders but the mess on the ground was awful so I quickly *downsized*. This is a very good squirrel-proof feeder, I used sunflower hearts (no shells) and it works well. What little spillage there is gets hoovered up quickly by the squirrels on the ground.

I have a window perch by that front window for the cats. To be honest, they love sleeping on it but seldom watch the birds. lol

50 Canadians Who Changed the World by Ken McGoogan

Although published in 2013, long before trump intruded and bullied his way into our world, this book still doesn't feel that dated. The author chose to highlight the lives of 50 Canadians born in the 20th century who have left their marks on the world in a variety of realms, from science, to arts, to sports, to humanitarianism and activism. And more. A really nice overview. Makes me proud to be Canadian!

One side note. At the end, in his end notes (remember, this was published in 2013), McGoogan reflects on the difficulty of choosing just 50 Canadians. He looks ahead to a possible sequel, 50 more Canadians who changed the world and mulls over some possible candidates:

"...and Mark Carney, governor first of the Bank of Canada and now of the Bank of England, and also chair of the G20's Financial Stability Board, shows signs of becoming a transformative figure in global finance."

:-)

I will have to check the library and see if he did, indeed, write a sequel!

Wordle 1,684 3/6 meaty, slice, cruel

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>162 jessibud2: That's a lot of snow, Shelley. Were you around in Montreal when we lost power for a week? It was sometime back in the '60s according to my memory (it's not that reliable but the only one I've got.)

>170 Familyhistorian: according to my memory (it's not that reliable but the only one I've got.)

I just busted out laughing--boy, can I relate!🤣

>170 Familyhistorian: - If it was the 60s, Meg, I was there. But I honestly don't remember that. It could be that some parts of the city lost power while other parts, not. Happens like that a lot. I do know we had a lot of snow days when I was a kid. It was just part of the norm.

>171 kac522: - Me, too, Kathy! (my mum would sometimes call it *selective memory* but I think that applied more to (my!) childhood than adulthood, lol)

I subscribe to a gardening newsletter (more than one, to be honest). Today's arrived with this opening paragraph. It was about starting seeds NOW. In this miserable January that feels like it will never end. I really like the idea:

"There’s a great expression I heard the other day: start where you are, use what you have, do what you can. It’s a gorgeous maxim for everyday life, and for gardening in particular. Staring out of my window as I write this, the weather is being predictably grumpy and storms are rattling bird feeders and jiggling trellises. So much about growing at this time of year can feel like wishful thinking – but it doesn’t have to mean waiting for that next magical start."

I think it's good to inject a positive note into this endless dreary winter. I do have seeds packs. Off to see what might be possible....

Wordle 1,686 5/6 meaty, chump, group, mumbo, jumbo

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I had hoped to finish my last book of this month Remember by Lisa Genova, last night but unexpected plans derailed that. Friend from out of town arriving today around noon so major cleanup was in store for me (nothing like visitors, expected or not, to get me moving to clean!) Not a heck of a lot of motivation otherwise, if I am honest. Zoom doctor appointment later this morning then out for dinner tonight.

Deep freeze here still in place though a (relative) warmup is expected this weekend. I think we will go up to -2C or so by the beginning of next week. Which should feel downright balmy compared to the -21C it is right now. Is it June yet?

Just saw this and wanted to share. I first heard of the Marsh family during covid. They are talented and amazing. Solidarity with Minnesota:

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

>175 jessibud2: Thanks for sharing that video, Shelley. I think Bruce Springsteen yesterday brought about a huge response to his new song, Streets of Minnesota which is energizing young people to join our fight for justice and righteousness in the US...so necessary to get more young people involved. This is their future!

Wordle 1,689 4/6 meaty, final, rival, cigar

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>168 jessibud2: Keen eyes, McGoogan! It's finally warming up a smidge here, there will be some melting as we scale the dizzy heights over 30F /-1 for the first time since 1789. (Or so it feels to me.) Certainly not since the first Washington presidency. *shiver*

Stay warm, read hearty, be happy felonious yam will die before you do. xo

>178 richardderus: - Yes, McGoogan gave me a chuckle there!

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How is the weather , Shelley? I hope it has warmed up somewhat - a lot ? We have had no snow, and it's supposed to be sunny for the next few days. Today wasn't bad, some rain/ drizzle late in the day.

It's going up to a high of -5C today, Deb. Downright balmy, lol. But the deep freeze will be back this weekend. The city is still trying to remove some of the snow we got last week. It's taking awhile... I'm looking forward to spring! I just bought a pair of new boots. They have a little thing on the heel that folds out and has *teeth*, that helps grip when walking on ice. I plan to try them out today! Very cool, if they work!

It's semi-tropical here today, the high is -1! The snow removal efforts ahead of the next blast from the pole have been pretty effective. Stay toasty!

You too, Richard! At least it will be sunny today, unlike yesterday. I will finish my current book this morning, only 20 pages left. I hoped to finish it last night but I fell asleep.

Wordle 1,691 4/6 meaty, choke, chive, chide

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quote of the day from AWAD (A Word A Day) today:

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
There comes a point when a man must refuse to answer to his leader if he is also to answer to his own conscience. -Hartley Shawcross, barrister, politician, and prosecutor at the Nuremberg War Crimes tribunal (4 Feb 1902-2003)

(still waiting...)

Dropping by to thank you for your recommendation of At Home on audio. I was struggling with the text in the library book that I was reading, so I went ahead and found a copy of the book on audio and will start it as soon as I am finished with Stolen in Death.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

>186 alcottacre: - Hi Stasia. Not all authors are good narrators but Bryson is! I have listened to most of his titles on audio. The only one I listened to that he didn't read was The Road to Little Dribbling and I did not enjoy that one. Not sure if it was because I simply didn't like the narrator or if the story just wasn't up to his usual standard but every other title of his I have read or listened to, I have loved.

Remember by Lisa Genova.

I believe this is Genova's first non-fiction book. This is the neuropsychologist who wrote Still Alice, Inside the O'Briens and Left Neglected, among other fiction titles. I read somewhere that she was inspired to look into memory, after watching her grandmother disappear into Alzheimer's. Genova examines what memory actually is, how we remember and why we forget. The book is subtitled *The Science of Memory and the Art of Forgetting*. Although she does, inevitably, uses some scientific terminology, she also uses a lot of lay language, examples from her own life (and from ours!) to explain what is *normal* forgetting, and what things affect what, and how we remember. She reassures us so that we can understand the differences. She also talks about the fact that while there is no cure for Alzheimer's/dementia, there are definitely things that we can do (lifestyle choices) that can affect our memory and improve it.

Without rewriting the entire book here (I underlined and highlighted many passages), I will sum up as best I can what Genova says are the important points.

Attention (paying attention to what we are doing and wanting to remember) is something we don't usually think about but it's crucial. As is meaning, relevance context. We are much more likely to remember something that is personally meaningful, than if it isn't. Simple, it makes sense but it's true.

Mix it Up - "Sameness is the kiss of death to memory."

Be Positive

Stress is Toxic

Sleep is Essential - She states that 7 to 9 hours of nightly sleep is optimal to consolidate the new memories we create each day. It's critical for locking in long-term memory. And getting enough sleep reduces your risk of developing Alzheimer's. Naps are fine but not a replacement for sleep at night. She also acknowledges that many of us do not get the 7-9 hours nightly and that it doesn't help that our society seems to glorify less sleep, multi-tasking and these things that rob of us what is truly necessary for a healthy brain and prevention of memory over the long term.

A very readable book and an important one.

>188 jessibud2: I read Remember back in 2021. I actually couldn't remember if I read it or not, so I went back to read my review. LOL!

I gave it five stars and highly recommended it. Now ask me, in another five years if I remember reading this same book. I might not! LOL!

That makes me think of the example she gave of writing lists or using our phone's calendars to aid memory. People ask if relying on those external things is kind of cheating and ultimately harming our memory. No! She reminded us that we don't question wearing glasses if our eyes need help, or hearing aids if our ears need help so why not use what works to help us remember things we want to remember. Then she said, if only we remember to check those lists and calendars! Lol. That's me, for sure! I am an eternal list maker. But if I don't have a pocket to put the list into as I leave the house, I will inevitably forget what I wrote on it!

>190 jessibud2: I keep all of my lists on my phone. I still have to remember to take my phone with me when I leave the house. I think the only other lists I have are those here on LT of various things. :D One thing I can't keep track of is where I leave my phone and/or my eyeglasses when I put them somewhere (which is multiple times a day). I guess all the exercise I get hunting for those two things must be worth something on my scale of health. Wouldn't you think?

I use my landline to call my cell phone if I can't find it in the house. But in all honesty, that rarely happens. So far, lol. I have always made written lists. I enjoy the satisfaction of crossing things off.

So easily amused, I am... ;-)

I also carry things over to the next day's lists. I won't tell you how often THAT happens......

>187 jessibud2: I rarely listen to audiobooks in which the author does the narration because, as you say, 'not all authors are good narrators.' I just started listening to At Home today and am happy to report that I agree with you - Bryson is a good narrator.

>188 jessibud2: Adding that one to the BlackHole. I loved Genova's Still Alice.

>190 jessibud2: Count me in as an eternal list maker too! You would not believe how many lists I have saved on my Google Drive, lol.

Have a fantastic Friday, Shelley!

>193 alcottacre: - Good to hear it, Stasia. Another one by Bryson that I loved (and yes, on audio) was One Summer: America, 1927. Classic Bryson.

>188 jessibud2: That sounds like a must-read for me. My memory is definitely not as good as it used to be. Stress is toxic, yes, and lack of sleep too.
Can one exercise memory?

>192 jessibud2: I use my landline to call my cell phone if I can't find it in the house.
Ha! I love it! We still have a landline, too, but we got a notice a few months ago from AT&T that they are discontinuing landlines in our area as of March 2027. At least they're giving us a full year's notice. I'm not sure if "our area" means my neighborhood, or all of the City of Chicago or all of Illinois or what, but I suppose there's not much we can do about it. I need to call them (one of those phone calls to hell) to find out what happens to our DSL internet that's on the landline (yeah, still have that, too).

I have always made written lists. I enjoy the satisfaction of crossing things off.
Me, too! Plus I think it marginally helps me remember stuff if I write it down, especially grocery shopping & errands I need to do while I'm out. Typing is not the same. I still forget stuff if I forget the paper, but I can usually bring it back up eventually (like when I'm all done and back home and walking in the door!)

>196 kac522: - Ha, I can be resourceful when the need arises, Kathy!

Well, we are in the deep freeze today. I just came in from putting the feeder out. I filled it right up and they are already on it. The early bird gets the seeds! The current temperature is -21C (-5F). My phone says it feels like -32C with the wind chill but honestly, I didn't feel any wind when I was out. It should start to warm up tomorrow and through the week. We may even hit zero by Wed. I do have to go out for a quick errand later this morning but otherwise, I am content to hibernate for the rest of the weekend.

Is it spring yet?

Just bombed in wordle. New streak begins tomorrow. This one ended at 14 days, which is a lot easier on the ego that the over 100 days of my last one. C'est la vie. ;-p

"Discontinuing landlines" may remind one of Disappeared Blue Mailboxes and Phone Booths.
And -
what do people do who need to make a phone call and cannot afford a cellphone...?
or their own suddenly won't work...?

>197 jessibud2: I am so sick of the cold! At least it is above zero here, and I think we are supposed to have warmer temps next week. It should be coming your way...

>199 m.belljackson: I have no idea, Marianne. Apparently Illinois is AT&T's first attempt at this, so we'll see how far it goes:
https://www.citizensutilityboard.org/blog/2025/12/02/cub-qa-att-letters-announce...

Landlines are useful when there's a power outage, since copper-based landlines don't rely on electrical power. Even cell phones rely on power to the towers, as well as being charged by the user.

>93 jessibud2: Many thanks for posting Martin Luther King's last message. It is beautiful! Sorry I am so very behind in checking threads. I'm on a mission to go through the house, room by room and downsize and giveaway items not needed, and books purchased long ago and not read. It takes a lot of time, but I'm slowly making progress.

I am also cleaning closets and giving away clothes used when I worked. I don't need a lot of the nice jackets and slacks. It's a lot of work, but I can only get it done room by room. Too often, I find something and then end up in another room and not return until a while later. I'm trying to stay in one room at a time. So far, I've given away a lot of books to the local library. Our cat Meow, Meow, named because she never gives just one meow, periodically roams in the room and looks at me as if to say "what in the world is happening here?"

I'll join the posts of others in saying I'm weary of the cold. This is the third night we have 1 degree temps.

>188 jessibud2: Remember looks like a good one, Shelley. Thanks for putting it on my radar.

Sorry to see that your weather is still cold. The weather is so strange lately. Signs of spring are here but that doesn't mean we couldn't get a dump of snow. So far though we are getting rain.

>199 m.belljackson: - I actually saw someone using a pay phone the other day! First of all, there aren't many left around. But to see someone use a pay phone! I did a double take.

>200 BLBera: - Me, too Beth. For the last 2 days we have had bright blue skies, not a cloud in sight but temps in the double digits below zero (C). And yes, they are saying it will warm up this week, maybe up to zero!!

>201 kac522: - I have no clue about any of that, Kathy. I do try to make sure I charge my phone every night before I go to bed so in case I should wake up to no power, at the very least I will have a charged phone.

>202 Whisper1: -I am doing exactly the same thing, Linda. It is very labour and time intensive and yes, it's not always easy to just *let go* of things. But I am determined and consider this my full time job these days.

>203 Familyhistorian: - It is a good one, Meg. As for the weather, my friend is in Vancouver as we speak, visiting her son so I know what's going on there. Except for the rain, she actually sent me a pic of her wearing sandals earlier this week. I sent her a pic of our weather network page. She returns tomorrow. I have instructed her to bring some warmth. ;-)

A reminder that tonight on PBS at 9 o'clock, the documentary The Librarians will air. I saw it in the theatre when it first came out but I may watch it again. It is, in my opinion, a thought-provoking, disturbing but very important film.

>205 jessibud2: Thanks for posting that reminder on my thread, Shelley. I missed it but I know my PBS station will run it again; I just need to check the schedule. I definitely want to watch it.
ETA: just checked the WTTW website--it's available to watch on their website (fortunately; because the only re-run is Wed at 2:30AM!)

I didn't see your post in time because I was watching a movie I got from the library: Mrs Miniver. I just finished reading the book and wanted to see the movie, but it's a bit different: the books ends in Fall, 1939, but the movie *begins* in Fall 1939. I'm not sure why. The characters are the same, but the storyline is different.

On another note, I'm posting a link to a picture from the NYTimes of a USA fan at the Olympics--not sure if I can post that without some copyright infringement, so here's the link:

https://static01.nyt.com/athletic/uploads/wp/2026/02/07183849/GettyImages-226041...

It's how I feel. My heart goes out to all the athletes who have to answer for our government's behavior.

>206 kac522: - In the end, I chose not to watch the movie again. Instead, I watched some Olympic skating (and skiing and snowboarding) and I read. Much better for my mental health!

As for that image, wow. I am wondering how they are dealing with such things. I heard this morning on the news that one competitor is not going to be allowed to wear his helmet in competition because he has pasted photos of former Olympians who have been killed in the war in Ukraine, on it. The premise being, no politics at the Olympics. I think the Olympic committee needs to rethink such stances. Banning Russia is a political move, isn't it? I think the skaters from Georgia are Russian, just competing under the Georgian flag because of that ban. I agree with the ban but I think there is just no way to *eliminate* politics from anything any more. Either do away with bans or do away with politics in the games. You can't have both. Or, I guess, they can...

What a mess. And so sad. Sports should just be sports. Athletes work so hard for this event; they should be allowed to just do their thing.

(If this pic was in the NYT, I don't think you have to worry about copyright infringement. But what do I know.)

>207 jessibud2: I think Russian athletes have been allowed to compete under a "neutral" status.

>205 jessibud2: I'm glad I watched it and FURIOUS at what it means.

I really hate religion.

>209 richardderus: - As I mentioned in my response on Joe's thread, I feel most sorry for the young kids who have to grow up under such ignorance, and feel saddest for all the loss of freedom to read and learn that has been taken from them, without their consent. Such ignorance as those right-wing idiots display ought to be illegal but *legal* is no longer a term with much meaning in those (and many other) places. It's really a tragedy.

>210 jessibud2: Tragic is underselling it. I'm goin' with *apoca*bloody*liptic!

>211 richardderus: - But I have nothing but admiration for those who spoke up and stood up to the idiots (and continue to do so). They had to know that came with great personal risk and danger. But if not them, then it goes under the radar and that, too, would be a travesty.

>207 jessibud2: The problem is all the athletes are supposed to represent their country. Maybe we should just do away with that? Everybody would just be competing as an individual not representing anything?
I liked the American athletes for the way they spoke about what’s happening. I thought they were courageous to speak up and showed a lot of decency.

>207 jessibud2: I can understand how you didn't want to see the movie again. This stuff is so infuriating and disheartening. I plan to watch--I just need to set aside the time for it (and be in the right frame of mind).

That is odd about banning the pictures of the dead in Ukraine as "political." Since Russia was banned due to the invasion (because it promotes war, not peace), then honoring the Olympians who were victims of the war would seem to be honoring them and pleading for peace. I suppose if they were combatants (soldiers, etc.) in some way, I could maybe understand not promoting aggression on either side. But if they were just civilians or those involved in non-combatant roles like medics, I would think they should be honored as victims of war.

Stopping by to say hi, Shelley. We have had some good weather today. I was out walking in short sleeves a fleece jacket today. I could have worn just the short sleeves. We did have rain yesterday, but we have sun for a few days .

>213 EllaTim: - I agree, Ella. I haven't done any research but I wonder what the Olympics were at their very beginning? I would not be surprised to find out that they were just that: athletes competing for the joy of competing and being athletes. As they should be.

>214 kac522: - I wish I could remember where I saw that, Kathy. I can't remember if I read it or if I saw it on the tv news. I haven't heard anything further on it but then, I haven't watched much of the Olympic coverage at all, to be honest.

>215 vancouverdeb: - Go ahead, Deb, rub it in. Today we might actually go above zero and ditto for a few more days. Gray and gloomy, too. I will still be wearing warm socks, boots, scarf and mittens for awhile yet.

Wordle 1,698 5/6 meaty, feral, sedan, began, vegan

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I just found a link:

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/other/ukrainian-olympian-now-threatened-with-di...

I honestly think it's disgraceful that he is being threatened with being disqualified. Why can the IOC ban Russia from competing but this man can't wear his helmet to honour his fallen countrymen, people who have died as a direct result of Russia's aggression? The IOC needs to get over itself and wake up to the real world.

I do love the first line of this article:

"The International Olympic Committee should know better than to think an athlete who throws himself down an icy track at 140 km/h would back down over a threat."

And why isn't this American athlete being threatened with disqualification because of the same thing?

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/feb/06/team-gb-winter-olympic-skier-gus-k...

Such a double standard.

(and why are ICE agents even allowed in Milan with Vance anyhow? Security? Stay home, JD. In fact, the IOC should simply ban all politicians from attending Olympic games. That would make far more sense.

>218 jessibud2: According to that second article, the guy posted on social media, not directly on his uniform or at the games. There is no restriction on opinions expressed on personal social media accounts. Interesting that he was born in the UK, moved to the US when he was little, competed for the US team in the last Olympics but this year is on the UK team (Team GB). I've never quite understood how that all works.

I still don't understand how a memorial to deceased athletes is a violation of a "no-politics" policy.

The supposed reason ICE is in Milan is for additional security for US Olympic athletes and dignitaries. They apparently always have some sort of government-provided security, and the powers that be sent ICE employees this year to beef up the security detail. But nobody wants them, either here or there. I suppose Vance can go wherever he wants but he's finding out how much he's not wanted. What a country. It's just one embarrassment after another.

And accept my apologies for the brouhaha over the Gordie Howe Bridge. Sheesh. I hope Carney stays strong.

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>219 kac522: - Well, Kathy, they did disqualify him. I honestly think it is disgraceful.

https://www.msn.com/en-ca/sports/other/ukraine-s-vladyslav-heraskevych-out-of-wi...

Political statements? What about the American who peed his (foul language) political message in the snow? I truly have lost all respect for the IOC.

As for the Gordie Howe bridge, don't worry. President TACO cannot be taken seriously for every baby tantrum he throws. He is a fool and the bridge will open in spite of his ignorance. It is really tiresome and exhausting. My heart aches for you and all the *real* Americans who did not vote for him and must endure until he is gone. May it be soon.

>221 jessibud2: I appreciate your expression of sympathy. I wish felonious yam's departure, however and whenever it occurs, would take with him the horrifying, evil scum who support and defend him. That won't happen. It's so disheartening, but it's reality's unfiltered ugliness so must be faced up to.

Here's an odd, but compelling, Message, from the often odd Minocqua Brewery:

"Wanna Fight ICE? Go Back to Church!"

Details are delivered on all the Religious Leaders, from Bishops to Rabbis to ...
now uniting in Milwaukee to combat ICE.

>221 jessibud2: That is a terrible decision and it took guts for him to stick to his principles over personal glory.

And here, we have 3 more years of personal glory over moral principles (not that he actually ever had any morals). It's already seemed like an eternity. Thanks for your support; we're all going to need it.

>194 jessibud2: I have not yet read One Summer: America, 1927 so I will have to look for that one. Thanks for the recommendation, Shelley!

>208 figsfromthistle: Yes, they have. There is a man taking part in the figure skating who is doing that.

>224 kac522: - You (and all on your side) always have the support of those of us who see *him and his ilk* for the scum that they are. I just hate that there has to be *sides* at all. It will end one day and that day can't come soon enough. My dad was American and one of his brothers lived in Plattsburgh, NY, just an hour's drive from Montreal. I can remember summers going to the beach there on weekends, or to my uncle's house. We never needed passports to cross the border. "Where are you going today?" they'd ask. " "To the beach" my dad would answer. "Have a fun time!" they said as they waved us through. Those days are such a distant memory as to seem like fiction. Sigh...

>225 alcottacre: - I hope you find it on audio, Stasia. It's a good one!

>226 jessibud2: Yeah. I remember walking across the border into Mexico back in the early 1970s. I never needed a passport until I traveled to Israel for a year as a volunteer nurse.

>226 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley. People speaking up is working--they're pulling out of Minneapolis, so that's one thing in the right direction.

Wordle 1,700 3/6 meaty, mourn, mooch

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Wordle 1,701 4/6 meaty, idiom, broom, bloom

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>230 jessibud2: Getting from your first word to the answer made me giggle, for some reason. Enjoy the weekend's reads!

>231 richardderus: - Not sure I follow the humour but spring just isn't on my horizon yet, Richard, so it took me awhile to think of that word. We are supposed to get above zero degrees today, so that's something!>/spoiler> :-)

>232 jessibud2: I don't know why, but "meaty" to "bloom" is just really funny somehow. Yay for above-freezing temps!

>233 richardderus: - :-)

I am reading 2 books at the moment and enjoying them both. NF is Walking With Beth by Canadian writer Merilyn Simonds, about the friendship between 71-year old Merilyn and her 101-year old friend Beth, as one looks to find advice as she looks ahead and the other reflects as she looks back, on life. The *walks* began during covid when that was the only way to get together, outside, masked. Lovely and well-written.

The fiction is one that I haven't heard about at all here on LT, Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (attorney, judge, singer/songwriter, author!). And no, I did not choose this book because of *Theo* although that did catch my eye. It has some great reviews on the book page but I did not read them until last night for some reason. In any case, it is keeping my interest so far and I am liking it.

I also just requested from the library another NF Canadian book, by Maritime fiddler Natalie MacMaster called I Have a Love Story. I have always loved watching her play and her talent is evident. Her story is also amazing. She married fellow Maritime fiddler, Donnel Leahy and they have 7 kids! It's been awhile since I saw her perform but they perform as a family these days!

Another book I have out from the library but will have to renew as I haven't dipped in as often as I thought I would is called Literary Gardens - The Imaginary Gardens of Writers and Poets by Sandra Lawrence, exquisitely illustrated by Lucille Clerc.

Wordle 1,702 4/6 meaty, quick, skunk, skull. I knew my third guess was reusing the *k* at the end but I had to figure out where else it might fit. Satisfaction!

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From the other day. This male downy woodpecker was on my feeder, stock-still. I was able to get closer and closer and he didn't move, didn't blink, almost as if he was in a trance. I kept taking pictures with every step I took. Eventually he flew away but I was wondering if maybe he had a heart attack or something, he was that still. Anyhow, I like that I was able to get such a close pic.

>226 jessibud2: No luck on the audio, but my local library does have the book.

>238 jessibud2: Evidently he was just posing for you :) Great pic!

Have a marvelous Monday, Shelley!

>238 jessibud2: Great pic, Shelley! I just love woodpeckers. ❤️

He does look like he's posing for the shot! I hope your weather is warming up, Shelley.

>238 jessibud2: The coolness, Shelley! Handsome beast indeed.

>239 alcottacre: - You may well still enjoy it though, with Bryson, I'm personally spoiled for his audio readings.

Madeline, Meg, Richard - The downy is a regular if infrequent visitor (as in, not daily like the others). I actually thanked him for *posing* for so long, lol. Every now and then, less frequently, I get the larger but almost identical, hairy woodpecker.

Meg, today is warm (+5!) but apparently tomorrow we are in for more *weather*. The nasty stuff: wintery mix meaning snow, ice, freezing rain, etc. Today is errand day!

>238 jessibud2: That’s a good picture, Shelley! Maybe he thought if he sat still you wouldn’t see him?

Happy Tuesday, Shelley. Slowly catching up on some threads after my FL trip. I love the male downy. How are the feeders doing? I had a northern flicker stop by- first at the suet feeder and then at the birdbath.

>238 jessibud2: Great shot of the downy woodpecker, Shelley. Oh, plus 5! That is nice. I think it was +6 here today, but just a small bit of rain, barely noticeable.

>244 EllaTim: - LOL, Ella! You mean, like when my cat hides his head but leaves the rest of his body out in plain sight, I can't see him? ;-)

>245 msf59: - Hi Mark. The birds are cleaning me out daily! But it gives me a great opportunity to see all my faves! :-)

>246 vancouverdeb: - We actually got up to +8 yesterday, Deb! With sun! It was great to get outside in weather like that. Today will be another story, though. So far, nothing has started but it's coming! NFLD will get up to 60 cm on top of what they already have, I just saw on tv. Thankfully, nothing like that here.

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Our rain/snow is just beginning to fall so I just went out to salt outside the front door. There, on the ground next to the wall, I found a poor little goldfinch, dead. Must have hit the brick wall. Poor thing. One wing was askew and it wasn't moving. I picked it up with a tissue hoping that maybe it was just stunned (that can frequently happen) but no, it was gone. Must have broken its neck on impact. A little seed from the feeder was still hanging out of its mouth. :-(

>249 jessibud2: It's always true that one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic. So many birds die like that, accidentally but out of sight so we just know about them in the abstract.

Rest in peace feathered friend.

Thanks, Richard. This isn't the first time this has happened but sometimes, they revive and fly away. At least this time was fast and hopefully he didn't suffer. Thankfully, it doesn't happen often. There is the tree and plenty of other foliage for them to fly to for cover so why he headed for the wall, is anyone's guess.

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How’s it going? I was speaking with my cousin and she said that Toronto had snow yesterday and we’re hammered with ice rain. Here in my region we had thunderstorms with hail.

Love the photo of the woodpecker

>253 figsfromthistle: - Yeah, it snowed pretty much all day yesterday but not nearly as much as the last time. At times it was heavy, at times it was light rain. They say we could get more tomorrow but because it was warmer, it's heavy to shovel. Is it June yet? ;-p

Yes, the downy woodpecker is one beautiful bird. The female doesn't have the red spot on the back of her head but it's the male I see most often. Interestingly, I don't hear him calling in the winter though I can hear him often in spring and summer, alerting me that he is here.

Pouring rain here this morning! Maybe it will help wash away some of the snow!

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We hope!

>255 jessibud2: We got rain on Tuesday night and I was hoping it would clean the car off a little. Imagine my surprise when I came out Wednesday morning and the car looked like it had rained dirt--and it had! Apparently the rain had picked up the dust and ash from the wildfires in Oklahoma and Kansas and dumped on us overnight. Fortunately it was an unusually warm day so I went straight to the very LONG line at the car wash. It is now nice and clean, until the next ash-rain!

>257 kac522: - My car remains in the garage, Kathy but it is so filthy that I probably won't see its real colour until I take it to the carwash, which won't be any time soon, I'm afraid. This is the season of filth, where cars are concerned. I will take it if I notice too much road salt on its underside, though.

Whew. I just finished a book that actually had me going for the tissues at the end. An emotional roller coaster of a ride. But a truly beautiful book.

The official blurb called Theo of Golden "a heartwarming novel about anonymous generosity, community connection, and the transformative power of kindness."

When I read that blurb, I worried that it would be a bit sappy and that if so, I might DNF it because I just can't spend time on books that don't speak to me on some level. I am happy to report that I was wrong.

This is a slow, quiet book, that won't be rushed. You sense a mystery underneath it all, as the story unfolds. Slowly. Yes, it's a story of kindness, generosity, and community. But it is also a real study of character development. It is a story that reveals a deep love of art, of nature, of music, of history. It's also a story of tragedy and triumph. And there is also humour. Subtle but definitely there.

The author, I might add, is a lawyer, a singer-songwriter and a storyteller. His prose is gorgeous, at times. I will include a few passages that I marked because I kept going back to them just to read the words again:

pg. 95 - Theo's year in Golden allowed him to watch that tree through a full cycle of seasons: tiny springtime buds becoming oblong, hand-sized leaves; light greens becoming deep green becoming scarlet and gold; pearl-sized cups becoming thumb-sized acorns; shade-making limbs blown bare by frigid winds.
But regardless of the season, this towering tree, as others had done in other places, served as Theo's quiet companion and mentor in the ancient ways of stillness and listening. It was good company for an old soul.

pg. 123 - The frame. How is it, Theo wondered, that a piece of paper - a letter, a photo, a ticket stub, a sketch, a painting - is suddenly transformed by placing it in four bits of wood beneath a pane of glass? What does it mean that we place permanent boundaries around transient moments? What does it say of humankind that we take such trouble to freeze specific memories, that we devote such energy to capturing and preserving the *minute particulars* of our lives?

pg. 239 (on riding a bicycle after many years) - In short order, Theo was a man at ease, enlivened by the wind in his face. If Ellen had been able to see the picture in his mind at that moment, she would have beheld a little boy on a simple child's bike, painted red with a basket on the front, pedaling vigorously through Pinhao, en route to the local baker for bread and cheese. The sent of crushed grapes is rich in his nostrils; his feet, ankles and calves are stained slightly purple; and his elbows are spread wide, like bent wings, as he speeds by tile-fronted shops and houses under the Portuguese sky. At intersections, he glances downhill to the Douro, where boats are loading and unloading.
But all Ellen could see was an old man, a very happy old man, whose face was radiant with sunlight and youthfulness. He was moving forward in space and backward in time. His lungs filled, and his heart beat with a vigor that belied his eighty-six years.

pg. 249 - When he arrived at the Riverwalk, he stood at ease, hands clasped behind him. Faint light from both sides of the river shimmered on top of the Oxbow, as if a cache of diamonds was being floated to some distant destination. The thought of water filled Theo's mind. The incessance of its movement. The hidden life beneath its surface. The utter dependence of all living things on its presence. The gentle beauty and surprising strength of its flow. Its surrender to forces about and around it: gravity, temperature, ingratitude. The deathlessness of it. At some point, Theo's mind rested, and he gave way, like a floating leaf, to the peacefulness of the current.

pg. 298 - (on the exit of a boor of a man from the room) - What followed was an awkward silence and a collective sigh of relief, as if a cactus had just left a room full of balloons.

pg. 355 - The radiance of the evening sun through stained glass dappled the sanctuary. The slow movement of color would have been undetectable from minute to minute, but over the course of the hour, patches of red, lavender, melon, gold, and emerald shifted kaleidoscopically across the room. The sun was a brush; the west window its palette; the floor, walls, ceiling and congregants its canvas; an angel somewhere, the artist.

(bold font, mine)

I am not in any way religious or even particularly spiritual. But this book touched me, despite that. I am going to give it to a friend who is both and I just know she will love it.

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Now to try to zip through Literary Gardens which was due back to the library yesterday. I can't renew it because there are 15 people waiting for it. It's one I can skim through some of the texts, but the illustrations are stunning and I need to spend a bit more time with them!

>259 jessibud2: How nice that you enjoyed this book so much! That’s the kind of reading experience we all love.

And have fun with the gardens.

Thanks, Ella. It was a read I guess I needed at this time.

And it's snowing as I speak. I am heading out to the Botanical Gardens for a *hurry up spring* event, not a moment too soon, lol!

And, phew! indeed. Too guessy-guessy today:

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Hello Shelley. so happy to find your thread and your review of Theo of Golden. I look forward to reading it. The group has not scheduled a month for it yet. We are reading Anxious People in February which I haven't gotten to. I also do the wordle most days. I also watch my birds and have a downy out there right now as well has house Finch, golden Finch, cardinals.

It appears we do read similar books. Have a good weekend.

>259 jessibud2: I was out to dinner with friends the other night and one of them had just started reading Theo of Golden. She was loving it too. It's high on my list to get to.

>262 Kristelh: - Hi, Kristel. It's a very quiet but powerful little book. I hope you get to it soon and enjoy it. I looked at the reviews here on LT after I finished it and most are very good. I don't always like to read reviews before reading a book (sometimes I do but usually not) because I am not generally swayed by them. Even the highest praise won't make me want to read a book if I don't want to and sometimes, I will really like a book that others don't, so, there you go. I was curious about this one, though.

>263 laytonwoman3rd: - I look forward to your thoughts on it, Linda, when you get to it. I had not heard of this author before (it's his first novel so that's probably why, lol). I wonder if he is working on a next one.

I went to the Hurry Up Spring event at the Botanical Garden this morning. I came home with 4 varieties of African Violets. I hope they survive me! I have never had a lot of luck with them but the grower I bought from gave me a new way to tend them: wick watering. I now have printed instructions and fingers crossed. They are safely in another room, away from curious kitties, and in a west-facing window. I will add a pic here shortly...

>264 jessibud2: Levi is an interesting guy. There's no telling whether he'll write another novel, or what he might get up to next. He's been a lawyer, a musician, and wrote a memoir about the last year of his brother's life...I hope he does write something more.

>266 laytonwoman3rd: - Indeed!

And, now a word from our sponsor: Spring (yes, I know. Wishful thinking. I am immersed in it today, as long as I don't look out my window. Indulge me)

I always see something interesting as I walk into the TBG (Toronto Botanical Garden). This morning, it was this tree with unusual bark. I neglected to read the sign so I can't tell you what it it called. Forgive me.



Inside, at a special spring flower event, I bought 4 African Violets, with the eternal hope that I can keep them alive at least until they flower. If they do, they will look like the pictures, which are beautiful. Fingers crossed:

>2 jessibud2: I like that, exploring a world of creativity.

Also, in keeping with the spring theme, I returned a book to the library today.



There were blurbs about each literary piece but it was the illustrations I was most drawn to. Such detail and so beautiful! Here are just a few:

from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:


from Tan Twan Eng's The Garden of Evening Mists:


from Beatrix Potter's Mr. McGregor's Garden in The Tale of Peter Rabbit (can you find the bunnies?):


And one I was not familiar with but loved the art anyhow: Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce:

>7 jessibud2: I am sure you will do just fine.

>271 randallisaacs047: - Thank you, and welcome to the 75ers.

Maybe I should not have reduced the size of the illustrations, this time. Just because the exquisite details seem to get lost in the reduction. I'm too lazy to go back and enlarge again but you get the general idea of how this illustrator imagined these literary gardens.

>273 jessibud2: My daughter recently showed me that if you right click on the photo and go to Open a New window,
it will enlarge the picture.

>272 jessibud2: You are most welcome, and thank you to you too.

Nice to see the garden and Spring theme on your thread, Shelly. Hopefully Spring will be there soon!

>274 m.belljackson: - Thank you, Marianne. I have just learned something new! And if you click on the newly opened page, it enlarges even more! Yay!

>276 Familyhistorian: - It is snowing here today, Meg. So long as I keep my blinders on, I can pretend! :-)

>270 jessibud2: Those illustrations are gorgeous.

>279 BLBera: - They really are, Beth. There were many more than the few I posted here. The book opens with the imagined garden of Manderley, from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca. There were other gardens referenced from books I had not heard of as well as from books I have but have not read. It is really a lovely and creative concept for a book and the big kudos, in my opinion, go to the illustrator, who brought it all to life.

>270 jessibud2: Oooh, that cover looks like an illustration from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, one of my all-time favorites. I need to track down this book!

Gorgeous pictures of the gardens from the Literary Gardens book, Shelley! The temps are pretty good here, and daffodils, crocuses , snow drops and the start o the cherry trees in bloom. I was out with my niece who is from Edmonton ( well, born in Montreal) and I asked her if she preferred cold or rain ( she has lived here for 2 years now ). She said cold! Gah! But she would not like to return to Edmonton as transit is so poor and she doesn't want to drive , though she is 23 or 24 know. My brother has urged her to learn, but no go.

>282 vancouverdeb: - It will be some time before we see anything coming out of the ground here, Deb! I think I might agree with your niece. Much as I dislike the cold, you can always bundle up against it (or stay home, I suppose). But rain, especially constant rain, is just so dreary and I don't think I'd do well in that.

Sheesh.

Wordle 1,709 6/6 meaty, plank, chair, board, suave, guava I am aware of deliberately using letters I knew had already been rejected but I needed to see if there were others that might direct me to the appropriate end. Thankfully, not a moment too soon.

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>274 m.belljackson:, >277 jessibud2: Wow... that trick is new to me too! How wonderful. Thank you, Marianne! And many thanks for sharing the illustrations, Shelley.

>285 laytonwoman3rd: - The links don't do actual justice to the real illustrations in the book but that enlargement trick certainly helps, Linda.

>286 jessibud2: Only one of the libraries I have access to has an ebook version, but that wouldn't do justice to the photographs, I'm sure. None have a hardcover. It might be too early--I think they wait a certain number of months after publication before buying a physical copy.

I think I am accustomed to the rain, Shelley. You can wear rain pants, gortex jackets with a hood and even waterproof shoes, and you are good to go. I'd rather it was sunny though.

>270 jessibud2: It appears you have spring fever! Good luck with the violets. My parents have a few and seem successful with them. There is a fertilizer by Schultz that works quite well.

Happy start to the week!

>289 figsfromthistle: - Thanks!

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Morning, Shelley. I am was hoping an LT pal would chat about Theo the Golden, since I have been hearing so much about it in other places. Glad it was a hit for you.

Glad you are having a good time with your feeders. I did see a chickadee yesterday. They have been absent. I have also been seeing robins and a lone flicker last week.

Too bad about the snow, Shelley. I hope your African violets bring a taste of spring to your home.

>291 msf59: - I did enjoy it, Mark.
>292 Familyhistorian: - No complaints about our snow, now, Meg. The Maritimes and the east coast of the States were hit hard yesterday and here, so far, it's just cold. But spring is coming, right?

I am really stuck in wordle today. So far, I have 4 out of 5 letters but only one in the correct spot. But for the life of me, I can't figure anything out! I will go do something else and come back later. Sometimes, that helps.

I had not heard of Theo of Golden but I'm adding it to the wish list immediately. It sounds like a worthwhile investment of time!!!

>293 jessibud2: I got wordle in 4 today but it took me a loooooong time to get there after my third guess!!!

Hi Ellen. I do hope you get to Theo of Golden. I think it will touch your artistic heart. :-)

I did go back to wordle and eventually got it in 5. But it makes me a bit crazy when I have most of the letters and can't *see* the word.

I just got home from a library run. As I turned into my driveway, I saw another dead goldfinch on the ground. This time, at the foot of the driveway, nowhere near a wall. I can't begin to imagine what happened or how it got there. No teeth marks or blood visible, no obvious signs of anything, except it was dead. I wrapped him in a tissue and he joined his brother in the garage in the ziplock bag. :-(. That's 2 within a week. I know it's not the seed. It's fresh seed, the feeder itself was thoroughly cleaned not long ago. I know these things happen. They just rarely happen where I can see. I hope this is the last of them.

>296 jessibud2: It's always so disturbing to see dead birds, Shelley. I saw a couple two days in row last week. I believe they were snow geese, and I assume it was a coyote or eagle that did the killing and partial eating. Ugh. I hope you see no more for a long time.

>297 vancouverdeb: - I don't think I could stomach seeing a mutilated bird, Deb. Although, that said, I did once see a squirrel actually eating a goldfinch. It was on the branch of my tree. I had no idea squirrels ate birds! It was rather shocking.

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Question. I just noticed that there is a button or oval on the wordle site and it says *75%off*. Does anyone know what that means? It's probably always been there but I just noticed it now and have no clue.

Morning Shelley. It's snowing again and I'm feeling salty about it. My Internet is spotty and I've already used all my mobile data for the hotspot... reduced to using the phone to keep connected. First world problems, eh?

Duplicate?

another!

Your phone wants to make sure you are connected! lol

Stay warm, stay inside and go read a book! ;-)

>270 jessibud2: The library didn't have a copy of this, but I was able to get a digital copy from Hoopla. I am having a hard time reading the text - the letters are so small, I'd have to use my laptop to read it. The pictures, though, are just exquisite!

I completely bombed on Wordle yesterday.

>304 Storeetllr: - So happy you got to see the illustrations, Mary. The words almost don't matter, lol!

>7 jessibud2: It seems like you are my twin soul: cats and allergy to challenge commitment!

Thank you for your lovely pic intro, I will steal the idea for my thread.

>306 Elanna76: - Welcome and, steal away! Do you have a thread?

>270 jessibud2: It looks like an interesting book.

>308 thornton37814: - It is, Lori, and such an interesting concept for a book. Worth seeking out, if you like gardens and are a reader, lol!

>270 jessibud2: Lovely illustrations! I am going to see if I can get a hold of a copy of the book. Thanks, Shelley!