Shelley Turns the page - Chapter Two

Time for a new thread. Looks like this is the place to be lately:





I never played this but saw it in a store:

Well, I think I am done for now but can't seem to undo the reserved threads. So, just go ahead, and WELCOME!

Welcome

Ok, I found a *filler*:



Does this box make my ass look fat?

I got very behind on your last thread, Shelley, so I hope to keep up better on this one.

Happy new thread!

Hi Stasia, and welcome!

>7 jessibud2: Thanks! I love visiting the threads - just like neighbors, right? - I just tend to get caught up IRL that takes time away and then I can never get caught back up again!

Happy New Thread, Shelley!

Happy Wednesday, Shelley. Happy New Thread. I like those toppers.

Happy new thread, Shelley!

>1 jessibud2: I just finished a re-read of Fahrenheit 451 and your "Life without Books" is really resonating today. Plus I want that board game!

Happy new thread, Shelley. xx

Thanks, Deb, Mark, Kathy and Paul!

Not bad for 7 a.m. Guess I am awake!

Wordle 1,713 3/6 meaty, farce, lance

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Happy new thread, Shelley. Love your toppers!

>14 jessibud2: Good one, Shelley. I solved it in 4 and I got a message I've never seen before: "You solved it with all greens!" Which I did. But I can't seem to copy my results since I'm not subscribed.

Happy new thread!! The Toppes are great!

Good to see a new thread from you, Shelley. I'm jumping in when the number of posts is low. I know it's going to bloom in the next couple of days. Huzzah!

Happy new thread!

Happy new one, Shelley!

Happy new thread! Droppin' my star so I don't miss out on the fun.

Happy new thread, Shelley!

Thanks, Beth, Kathy, Kim, Bill, Anita, Jim, Mary and Meg.

Wordle 1,714 4/6 meaty, sorry, fuzzy, dizzy

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Off now to watch the library dvd of the film Jesus Christ Superstar which, amazingly, I have never seen. I have been doing an online course about Norman Jewison and his films, career, etc. I am trying to watch those films of his I had not previously seen although admittedly, I did rewatch Fiddler on the Roof last week even though I had seen it at least twice before.

Pfft. Well, that didn't last long. I think I bailed at 10 or 15 minutes in. Maybe I should have realized that a rock *opera* meant *opera*, as in EVERY SINGLE line was singing. I have no patience for that. I only recognize 2 songs from this and everything else was not melodic, not rhyming, not memorable at all (for me). The scenery was stunning, being shot entirely in Israel but the addition of *modern* elements (tanks, airplanes, a freaking postcard stand with cards that had Queen Elizabeth's face on them!), made zero sense to me and it was enough. I will attend the course lecture and see what they have to say but I've seen enough of it. There was a feature on the dvd that had a discussion with Jewison but for whatever reason, I couldn't get it to play.

Sheesh

>23 jessibud2: I have never seen either Jesus Christ Superstar or Fiddler on the Roof - this last genuinely astonishes me given my love of Broadway and movie musicals.

The Norman Jewison course sounds interesting!

Happy new thread Shelley!

>25 alcottacre: - Stasia, Fiddler was, in my humble opinion, wonderful and although I've seen it a number of times, I'd watch it again any time. It holds up. The one today, however, just not my style. I just came back from a library run, to return it and came home with another Jewison film that I saw eons ago but I remember it being very funny: The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. Other films discussed in this course include In The Heat of the Night, The Thomas Crown Affair, both of which I had already seen, and a few others, earlier, that I may see if I can get at the library, Send Me No Flowers and The Thrill of it All. Overall, it has been an interesting course. I think next week is the final week (it's once a week for 6 weeks).

>26 Kristelh: - Hi, Kristel, thanks.

Hi Shelley my dear, Happy New Thread dear friend.

Happy new thread!

Thanks, John and Lori.

>25 alcottacre: Oh, you must manage to see Fiddler on the Roof! Glorious. I was introduced to that one in high school when our chorus/orchestra conductor played the role of Tevya in a regional production, and there was a school trip to see it. I've seen the movie with Zero Mostel several times.

>31 laytonwoman3rd: - Linda, I believe Zero Mostel was in the Broadway production. The movie featured Israeli actor Topol (who did the stage show of it in London which is where Jewison first saw him). Mostel wanted the movie role but Jewison chose Topol, an unknown name for North American audiences. He was fabulous, though.

>32 jessibud2: You're absolutely right, of course. Even as I was picturing Topol, for some reason I said Mostel. Wouldn't it have been bliss to see him live?

>33 laytonwoman3rd:- It would have. Either one of them, although I think I prefer Topol. He's a bit more subtle, less over the top than Mostel though both were excellent.

>24 jessibud2: To me Jesus Christ Superstar is some kind of icon of the sixties. A long-haired bearded flower-power movie. I have seen it several times I think. So your reaction was quite refreshing to me. I’m sort of chuckling here.
And I have never watched Fiddler on the Roof! Sounds like something to remedy, from everybody’s reactions.

>1 jessibud2: Love that books-igloo, very nice. I want a shelter like that too. Sorry to read on my thread that you are still stuck in the cold, hoping for some spring for you there as well.

Ella, it was +6C here today, felt like spring but the cold returns over the weekend. Crazy weather.

Do try to find Fiddler. It's really a good one. The humor is gentle, the story, classic and the music is terrific.

Wordle 1,717 4/6 meaty, flume, clime, slime

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I am officially concerned (not to mention, somewhat freaked out). This morning I found a third dead goldfinch on my doorstep next to the brick wall, like the first one. And this afternoon, a 4th! I wrote an email to Birds Canada, asking if there were any other reports of this and also, if anyone tests birds to see if there is a virus or some such. I know my seed is fresh, I know my feeder is clean (I emptied, and cleaned it out just a week or so ago), and whatever is causing this, seems only to be affecting the goldfinches, not the many other visitors (cardinals, nuthatches, juncos, house finches, mourning doves, woodpeckers) that I get at the feeder. I am wondering if there is something affecting their brain and sense of direction that is causing them to fly into the walls instead of the bushes and trees. Four in under 3 weeks (and 2, just today) seems highly unusual. I am in this house 25 years, have always had a feeder and this is the first time anything like this has ever happened. I hope Birds Canada answers me. Each bird is wrapped in a kleenex and placed in a ziplock bag, in case they do want to test. Could this be bird flu? So why only the goldfinches? So weird. I am almost afraid to go out the door!

:-(

>38 jessibud2: That is disturbing, Shelley. You might mention it over on Mark's thread, and see if he's heard anything about a possible problem.

>39 laytonwoman3rd: - It is, Linda. I am hoping I hear back from Birds Canada tomorrow. I will mention it to Mark but I think, in this case, it has to be a local thing, very local, as in, the birds at my feeder. At least, as far as I know, unless I hear differently. I haven't heard anything on the news. When bird flu first appeared, it was on the news, warning to people to be aware. But as far as I know, bird flu affects mostly water birds or chickens. I haven't heard about it being specific to goldfinches without affecting other feeder birds. It's a mystery, so far.

I hope you get to the bottom of the mystery of the dying goldfinches soon, Shelley.

>38 jessibud2: I am sorry to read that, Shelley. I would be freaked out too. I'm glad you contacted Birds Canada and I hope they can give you some answers. I've not heard anything here.

>38 jessibud2: Yikes! That is freaky and would have me freaking out too.

I wonder if a neighbor or nearby company may have sprayed something that poisoned a food source of the goldfinches. I hope you get an answer soon.

No sprays here in winter, Mary, but the thought did occur to me that maybe they are being poisoned by the salt used on our roads and driveways. I have an ongoing fight with our landscapers re their oversalting. I refuse to allow them to salt my driveway at all (don't get me started). I do my own salting, only salt where actual human feet could slip and fall (when they do it, they scatter it like chicken feed and it goes everywhere) and I spend more money buying *supposedly* animal-safe salt. But still, it's on the roads so who knows. But why only the goldfinches, is what I am wondering. So far, no new ones today but the day is still young. I wish that Birds Canada would reply to my email!

Well, two full days in a row without any more dead birds so maybe things have turned around. Hope I didn't just jinx it.

The weather was glorious yesterday though today and tomorrow will be cold and rainy. But spring will arrive in full force on the weekend and for the foreseeable future (a week, anyhow) we will be in double digit temps!!! I actually got my car washed yesterday. haven't seen the colour in months!

Picked up and read a new book by Margaret Renkl, her first for children, The Weedy Garden. It is aimed at very young readers and the illustrations (made of collage) are by her very talented brother Billy Renkl who also illustrated her previous 3 books. I also picked up the dvds for the first 2 seasons of the British show, As Time Goes By which stars Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer. I have been watching it on PBS and quite love it. I decided on a whim to see if it was available on dvd and it is so I am going to go through the series in order.

Another book I picked up from the library yesterday is Grant Snider's new one Thinking About Thinking and I will dive into that one today.

Wordle 1,720 4/6 meaty, price, spend, sheep As far as I know, as long as I've been playing, my opening word has never been *the* word. It has to come up some time, doesn't it?

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>45 jessibud2: I love "As Time Goes By." Whenever I see a season on DVD at a library sale for a dollar or two, I pick it up and re-watch.

>47 kac522: - I discovered this series accidentally when I was still going back and forth to Montreal, when my mum was ill. We'd watch it together. I had no idea Judi Dench had done anything but Shakespeare and films. I watch it now on pbs but am never really sure what season I'm seeing as they seem to be random, not in any order. So I was rather pleased with myself when the thought occurred to me to check the library to see if they were on dvd. That's how I binged watched Call the Midwife when I discovered that series, several seasons after it began airing. I am not a huge tv-watcher (and never watch anything at all that has anyone carrying a gun, which is almost everything these days) but it's kind of fun to be able to watch it in order. :-)

>48 jessibud2: I know we weren't watching As Time Goes By when it first was broadcast either. At that time we had 2 PBS-affiliated stations in the area, and it was on the one we rarely watched. At some point our main PBS station re-ran it from the beginning and we watched it pretty regularly. There's an early episode with a young Samuel West--maybe in his 20s or 30s. We've watched Call the Midwife from the beginning, I think. The cast has changed quite a bit over the years, but it's still pretty good. I think I read somewhere that there's only one more season planned at this time. And currently I love All Creatures Great & Small, and I'm not a big animal person. But the scenery is gorgeous and is especially meaningful because my son now lives in Yorkshire (granted, in a city--Sheffield).

>49 kac522: - I am a huge animal person and I've never watched it, in spite of being told by everyone who knows me that I should. I will see if I can figure out pbs passport and watch it that way and if not, I will try to find the dvds at the library.

I also love the scenery in England and the UK in general. Do you watch Escape to the Country? Another favourite of mine.

>44 jessibud2: strange about the birds. Perhaps birds Canada will have an answer at some point. Glad that there are no new casualties though.

I also buy the "special" salt for my driveway. I have a lot of trees nearby and those trees by the gravel road always suffer from salt burn.

>50 jessibud2: I love escape to the country. However, it annoys me when they end up not buying because they are uncertain of the area or they were not ready to move in the first place.

>27 jessibud2: >31 laytonwoman3rd: I really need to watch Fiddler on the Roof. Really. Maybe this will be the year!

>32 jessibud2: I am glad you clarified that, Shelley, because I was sure that Topol was in the movie version and Mostel in the Broadway production, but I am occasionally wrong :)

>38 jessibud2: Oh, wow. I hope you get some help with the issue and it can be resolved soon!

>38 jessibud2: Wow! That is really too bad, and I have no answers either. I don't think I have ever found a dead bird in the backyard. We have had window strikes too but it looks like they usually recover and fly away. I have found feathers from time to time, due to a cat or a hawk but that is it.

Glad you made contact with someone. Please let us know what they say.

>51 figsfromthistle: - It also annoys me when they show homes that are above the buyers' budgets. Why? They have a budget, why show them something they might love but won't be able to afford. I don't understand that.

>52 alcottacre:, >53 msf59: - Two days in a row now without any more dead birds. Maybe, hopefully, that is the end of it. I am disappointed that no one has got back to me. I will go back to the website today and see if I can find a phone number to call.

This could have gone any number of ways as there were 3 distinct possibilities I could have chosen from for my last guess. Luckily, I chose the right one! Kathy, I also got that *all greens* message!

Wordle 1,721 6/6 meaty, windy, funny, punky, junky, gunky

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Happy Friday, Shelley. Sorry that you had not heard back from that group. That is discouraging. They should be glad that folks report these things and should respond quickly. Frustrating.

On another note, I have been listening to Fully Completely by The Tragically Hip. A truly great rock album. It is like listening to a greatest hits LP. I remember you being a fan too. Up to Here is very good too.

>50 jessibud2: I haven't seen Escape to the Country. Basically, if it's not on PBS, I haven't seen it. We only watch local news and sports on the other regular stations and we don't have any streaming or cable. Too many books to read.

>54 jessibud2: Good one! I noticed all the green right away before I read your text. I bombed--I actually didn't think that was a real word--even though I use it all the time, I thought it was a word my mother made up. 🤣

>54 jessibud2: Congrats on getting today’s Wordle! I ended with a six, also, and got caught in that same ending framework situation! Ugh. Not a lot of fun, but at least our streaks go on.

Happy weekend!

Karen O

>57 klobrien2: - Yup!

>56 kac522: - Escape to the Country is British, Kathy so I thought it was on pbs but in fact, I watch it on CBC. I don't even know if they are still making the show as the episodes I see are from a few years ago. But maybe you can find an episode or two on youtube. I haven't checked to see if they are on dvd at the library.

>55 msf59: - Hi Mark. I did try phoning today, twice and just get someone's voice mail. I didn't bother leaving a message. I'd rather connect with a human. And yeah, it is disappointing and discouraging. But the good news is that so far, no more birds on the ground. And our temps are said to be soaring starting tomorrow.

As for the *HIP*, as we call them here, I will be honest. I was never a big fan of their music, except for a few select songs. I don't really know their albums but in the year before Gord Downie died of brain cancer (glioblastoma), he (and they) actually went on a farewell tour across Canada. The last concert was broadcast live on tv across the country and you couldn't help but watch. Not a dry eye anywhere, that's for sure. By then he had to have the lyrics on the ipad in front of him because he couldn't always remember them. It was really sad.

Wordle 1,722 5/6 meaty, price, clone, house, vogue

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Morning, Shelley. I remember you mentioning the HIP farewell concert and I remember watching some clips from it. Gord Downie was immensely talented. Too bad he had to die so young.

This one should not have taken so long!

Wordle 1,724 6/6 meaty, party, salty, nasty, tasty, hasty

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What a gorgeous day it has been here today: 18C, sunny, light breeze. One could almost believe spring was here. It is all set to change tomorrow, and for the rest of the week but believe me when I tell you I had windows wide open today!! Snow is mostly melted, too, except in spots that don't get a lot of sun.

>63 jessibud2: Yep, it hit 72F (22C?) here and sunny. Not a bit of snow left. Tomorrow we drop 30 degrees with drizzle. Ugh.

>63 jessibud2: Ohh nice to get a taste of spring, Shelley, we went the other way today and had a few blasts of snow/hail - at least where I was. I know the first blast was very local to my area because there was no evidence of snow when I drove to the city to the east of me 10 minutes away.

>63 jessibud2: Nice, Shelley! That is warm! Was a beautiful sunny day today, but possible snow tomorrow! Cries just a bit

Well, it was still warm this morning when I put my bins out for collection but they say we will be getting a lot of rain and possibly freezing rain over the next couple of days, and of course, back to low single digit temps. Good thing I didn't put away all my mittens and boots yet.

I don't know if I am in what I usually call a reading slump but I can't seem to sit still and settle on just one book. At this moment, I have bookmarks in 6 books and am jumping around a bit! Crazy. None are DNFs, I just can't seem to settle on one at a time.

Vindication for yesterday's game, I guess:
Wordle 1,725 3/6 meaty, cloak, shoal

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Hardly optimistic but sadly, rather true:

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
We are not an endangered species ourselves yet, but this is not for lack of trying. -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)

Severe weather warnings here and to the east of here: heavy rain, snow in some places, freezing rain and ice storms and possible powere outages, in others. I waited for a small lull in the rain to go out to hang up the feeder. Sadly, I found bird #5 near my front door. This time, though, it wasn't a goldfinch. It was either a sparrow or possibly a female house finch. Tummy was stripy.

Weather is going to be miserable for the next couple of days so I got my errands done yesterday and have no plans to go anywhere now. I have bookmarks in several books so maybe I'll actually finish one or two, at least!

The 3 or so days of spring were lovely, while they lasted ;-p

Wordle 1,726 4/6 meaty, wetly, terry, teddy

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>58 jessibud2:, Hi Shelley my dear, they are still making new episodes of Escape to the Country as well as Celebrities Escape to the Country and Re-visiting couples who made the Escape to the Country.

>71 johnsimpson: - Thanks, John. Good to know. It is still on tv here every week day. Right now I am enjoying borrowing the dvds of As Time Goes By, from the library. I have just finished up season 4 and will pick up the next 2 seasons tomorrow. They made 9 seasons in all, I believe.

Hope you are doing well.

This up and down weather is doing a number on my migraines. Not to use that as an excuse but clearly, my brain is not working this morning. I made some really dumb plays here this time, twice, but thankfully, did not bomb. Close, but escaped it this time.

Wordle 1,727 6/6 meaty, chime, among, umber, emcee, smell

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Well, I guess spring isn't here after all. We had quite a dump of snow today and the temps stayed below zero. It could well be gone tomorrow but for today, well.... All I can say is it was wet and very heavy to shovel.

Sorry to see you got more snow, Shelley. We've had colder (for us) temperatures and my power has gone out twice due to wind. It's definitely March!

I'm sorry, too, Meg, that we got more snow! Enough already! ;-p

This could have gone badly. Far too many options. I wonder when my starter word will make it to being *the* wordle word. Hasn't, yet.

Wordle 1,730 5/6 meaty, place, quake, grave, grade

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Wordle 1,732 3/6 meaty, plank, clasp

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Snow overnight and super windy here this morning. Glad I ran my errands yesterday. I may just go back to bed.

I didn't expect this: meaty, barmy, amply
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Wordle 1,734 4/6 meaty, legal, rebar, rehab

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A nice surprise:

Wordle 1,738 3/6 meaty, weird, serif

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I am sad to report, and, to be honest, a bit horrified because I actually bought this new, that I am slogging to DNFing a book: Mona's Eyes. The concept was interesting to me, the book, a heavy hardcover (I rarely buy hardcovers, let alone new ones but I bought this one as a birthday present to myself awhile back) but so far, barely 60 pages in, it's a slog. Translated from the French, I initially thought maybe it was just not a good translation. The dialogue felt contrived, sometimes stilted and just not realistic at all. The style feels, even this early on, repetitive. I had not read any reviews beforehand but decided to *just have a peek*. Not promising. There are a few 4 and 5 stars but most tend to agree with my own so far.

It's a pity. The concept is creative: Mona is 10 years old and losing her eyesight. Her grandfather doesn't want her only visual memories to be those of the kitch that fills her child's bedroom so every week, he takes her to the Louvre, to view a masterpiece, and discuss it. One per week. A bonus is that the dust jacket, when removed from the book, opens and unfolds to reveal pictures of each piece of art they see. Enticing. But that's where it ends, for me. This story is just not grabbing me. I will continue for a bit, hoping it will improve. But I sense a DNF in my future. Damn.

Meantime, I am also trying to finish at least one of the several others that hold bookmarks at the moment. Perhaps this is the week I will finish Baseballissimo by Dave Bidini, a Toronto author, singer/songwriter and journalist. He was the founder of the Toronto rock band The Rheostatics, in the 70s, I think. I like to read a baseball book each spring and with the season opening at the end of this week, this is the book for me now. So far, it is actually quite fun.

Hi - Can't remember if I already recommended this old Baseball Classic, THE BROTHERS K.

>80 jessibud2: Oh! That is disappointing, Shelley. For me, too, as I thought Mona's Eyes sounded interesting and have had it on my Wishlist.

>81 m.belljackson: - I have not heard of that one, Marianne. I will look into it.

>82 Storeetllr: - I have set it aside for the moment, Mary. I'm trying to finish up a couple of the other books I am currently reading before picking up something else or returning to Mona. Sigh...

Wordle 1,742 4/6 meaty, windy, privy, ivory

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Happy Friday, Shelley. Well, my Cubbies did not look good yesterday- once again leaving too many guys on base and the pitching was abysmal too. I hope your Jays do much better.

I am really enjoying Separation of Church and Hate. It is helping to explain some of that Christian nationalism.

>80 jessibud2: I hate it when that happens! I try not to buy books, so when I do, I expect they will be winners. If you go back to it, I hope it picks up. The premise sounds great.

>84 msf59: - I just posted on your thread about the terrific start to the Jays' season: a sweep of the A's, the first 2 being walk-off wins. Only 159 games left till the playoff, lol! They are off to a strong start. :-)

>85 BLBera: - In truth, Beth, I rarely buy books new, especially hard covers. So that adds to the disappointment. But I have been juggling several other books so am now concentrating on finishing up a few of those. Much better. I may return to Mona at some point.

Glad for your Jays. Boo for our Cubs, as Mark noted. They started at home and the weather has not been the best--I'll blame climate change for their losses. But like you say 159 games to go....

I still buy hardcovers,though I try to use the library and prefer a softcover book. Sorry you had to DNF one. It happens to me too, Shelley.

The only books I buy anymore are digital or, if a hard/softcover book, ones that I loved so much I feel I must have a copy. Or for gifts. The latest book I want to buy in paper form is Wordslut, because I really loved it and because I want to underline and highlight parts of it because it's that profound.

Oops, double posted. Sorry.

I have a great story about PBS. The affiliate in upstate New York is partnered with my city of Toronto and the call letters for the station are BTPM (Buffalo Toronto Public Media). A little over a year ago, before the idiots in Washington removed funding for public radio and tv, I had decided to become a monthly donor. I don't watch a lot of tv but I do watch PBS because the quality of what is on that station is just so much higher than other commercial tv stations (except Jeopardy, of course, lol). Anyhow, when you join as a donor you can usually choose a thank you gift. At that time, I had chosen a coffee table book commemorating 50 years of Peter, Paul and Mary. It is a great book, by the way.

Fast forward to now. Last weekend, there was a show on PBS that I wanted to stream. I found out about it on Friday and it was said to stop streaming on Sunday. For some reason, I was unable to log into my PBS passport in order to stream. I wrote them a letter but being the weekend, I had a feeling I'd end up missing the show because they likely wouldn't get back to me till Monday. I was right but the gal who wrote me was really nice. She apologized and said I wasn't the only one with log in problems lately It took 2 tries but we managed to reset my password and I was once again able to log in. But the streaming rights had ended. I asked if it might come up again at a later date. She said she didn't know but would look into it. I thought that was the end of the discussion. So imagine my surprise when a day or so later, I had an email from her saying that she found a dvd of the program and would I like it as a thank you gift. Maybe I am just a polite Canadian but I felt compelled to tell her that I had already received my thank you (for donating) gift last year. She checked my file and these are her exact words: "​If you wish, you can add a thank you gift once a year to your donation. Some people do, while others decide not to. I noticed, you did not this year, so I thought if you would like we could send this DVD to you."

Wow! I had no idea that was even an option and was delighted! I thanked her and the dvd is now on its way to me. By the way, the dvd is with neuro scientist Lisa Genova, whose book Remember I recently read and enjoyed. This program was called Supercharge Your Brain: Maximizing Your Cognitive Abilities. Sounds to me like a follow up to the book. Will keep you posted.

You can be sure no commercial tv would go this extra mile for a viewer.

>91 jessibud2: I'm glad you had a good experience. I love PBS, and I'm sure they're going way out of their way these days to accommodate donors--they need every dollar (US or Canadian or otherwise) that they can get!

>92 kac522: - You are right, Kathy but it felt genuine, not groveling, lol. I also love PBS and am happy to be able to donate monthly (not a lot, probably minimum, but I know every little bit helps).

Wordle 1,746 4/6 meaty, gloam, stamp, swamp. One little booboo but thankfully, not enough to cause a bomb.

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Hiya, Shelley. Happy New Thread!

I enjoyed your Theo of Golden review on your last thread, and the excerpts you chose. I just read it, too. I’m so glad you included the bike riding excerpt. That was one of my favorite parts of the book. I loved Ellen’s character. I got a kick out of your reminder of the aftermath of the jerk leaving, like a cactus leaving a foom filled with balloons. Ha!

Wasn’t that great news about Trump losing on defunding NPR and PBS? As Linda said, I hope it sticks after the inevitable appeals.

We’ve been getting warm weather days followed by polar plunges.. so weird. Todsy was a warm one, and I enjoyed reading on our front porch. I hope all is well in your neck of thecwoods.

>95 jnwelch: - Hi Joe! Thanks for your comments on my Theo of Golden review. I need more books like that!

And yes, the news about the NPR/PBS ruling is wonderful though I doubt anything will actually happen quickly, as far as restoring funding. We all know how much tRump hates being wrong. But still, it's important.

And our weather is just like yours. We reached 20C yesterday, felt like summer. It was 18C when I got up this morning and it was only 8 by afternoon. Up and down, for the foreseeable future. I did wear shoes instead of boots, though, for the last few days! :-)

Whew! Nearly blew this one as there wasn't much left to choose from:

Wordle 1,747 6/6 meaty, surly, horny, picky, biddy, fizzy

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I bombed today--I've perfected the art of "wrong guesses":
Wordle 1,747 X/6

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I'm not far behind you on that, Kathy. Pure luck, is what it boils down to

I got down to the wire on today's Wordle too, Shelley. Love your PBS story and the related story about the ruling against the defunding order.

>95 jnwelch: >96 jessibud2: Wasn’t that great news about Trump losing on defunding NPR and PBS?

Absolutely! I hope the appeals process goes by quickly and we still come out ahead!

Wordle 1,749 5/6 meaty, chive, inure, noise, singe

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>91 jessibud2: What a great PBS story, Shelley. Enjoy your DVD. I did not know a yearly gift was an option either.

>103 BLBera:- I bet they don't advertise that, Beth. If they did, it would probably cost them a bunch of money they don't have.

>104 jessibud2: Actually (I know, as my husband worked for the local PBS/NPR station and kept the phones and computers up and running for their fundraisers) the stations get a certain number of those DVD's and other 'thank you' gifts related to their programming, and if they're just lying around, it isn't costing them anything extra to pass them out, particularly to keep sustaining members like you, Shelley (YAY, YOU!) happy.

As I mentioned somewhere, on Joe's thread I think, the ruling against Trump's executive order won't restore funding even if it makes it all the way through the appeals process. It only says HE can't do what he tried to do, and say no station can get federal funding if he doesn't like their programming. Congress still has to allocate funds, and they did not do so. Sadly, there isn't even a conduit for those funds to be distributed now, as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has been dissolved. It will take a lot of work to undo the damage that's been done.

>105 laytonwoman3rd:- Well, I will not pretend to understand the logic of how government works, if, indeed, there is any logic at all. If what he did was not allowed (illegal) then shouldn't it be able to be undone/reversed? It just seems that trump can do whatever he wants and he knows that no matter what the *official * outcome, in fact, he never seems to have any consequences. Sigh...

>106 jessibud2: What he did was not what actually removed the funding. So there isn't anything there to "undo". The ruling simply said he does not have the right to suppress free speech as he was attempting to do. Congress's action is separate from his. They control the purse strings, and they said "no more funding" because he wanted them to. That isn't undone by this ruling, as it wasn't grounded in "we don't like your positions and you're saying bad things about us", and it wasn't the subject of the lawsuit.

"if, indeed, there is any logic at all" There is, in fact, a great deal of logic in the way the government is set up to work. The problem always is that one branch or another is trying to circumvent that logic. If no one challenges it, they get away with it. Trump is being challenged in the courts left, right and center--and quite often he's losing. The fine points of any given case are often overlooked in the headlines, which are slanted by both sides for effect. It certainly takes a lot of time, patience and sometimes further explanations to understand any of it, and that's why the b-tards keep trying to get away with stuff. (Like: "Let's throw THIS pile of doodoo at the wall and see what sticks") They assume most people won't bother. Being a good citizen is harder than it ever was right now.

Thanks, Linda, for trying to educate me. Not sure I will ever actually understand how it all works but it seems as if at least attempts are being made to hold him to account. Even if nothing comes of it.

The Watchmaker's Daughter by Larry Loftis

This is a very well-researched and well-written biography of a Dutch woman, Corrie ten Boom and her family. They were non-Jewish resistance workers in WWII who risked their lives to hide and protect countless Jews and non-Jews from the Nazis. When they themselves were eventually betrayed and sent to concentration camps, they faced some of the worst horrors of the war. Only a small number of Corrie's family survived.

While I admire who they were, and what they did, at great risk to themselves, and how strong their beliefs and morals were, I have to admit that I had a difficult time with this book.

I am not religious at all, and I admit that. Such strict and fervent belief, regardless of what religion, has never sat easily with me. The ten Booms believed that ALL people were valuable. Period. They did not discriminate in any way. But I think that more than anything, what truly rankled me and tested me throughout reading this book, was her concept of forgiveness. This is a concept I have always struggled with. I have always understood and interpreted *forgiveness* to mean the same as saying, "I forgive you. It's ok".

I truly don't want to offend anyone here though I realize I might, in saying this. Maybe I am just too much of a realist to *understand* this kind of deep religious belief; maybe life is too black and white for me. But, to me, there are simply people who are beyond redemption. There are acts in life - deliberate and knowingly - that are simply not forgivable. Not ok. Period. Corrie herself was tested, more than once but she always leaned toward her religion to guide her. When coming face to face with the people who tortured her and her sister in the worst women's concentration camp, Ravensbruck, and later, with the man who originally betrayed them, she did hesitate momentarily but decided to forgive them (and *love* them ?!). I simply cannot accept this. These people who deliberately and knowingly tortured thousands of others - this is surely NOT forgivable. Pretty much anyone associated with the Nazis during WWII, are beyond forgiving. Surely, I can't be the only one who feels this.

But, this is what I feel. This is what this book made me feel. You can't always help what you feel. I deeply admire the courage and conviction it took for Corrie and her family to do what they did, before, during and long after the war. That is not in question at all. But I feel very conflicted with the concept of *forgiveness* and it is clear to me that this cannot be separated from their core values, in those specific circumstances. This is what I will never understand.

This is an important book to read. Difficult in its details but important. Whether or not you agree with my feelings.

It took me a long time to read this book. I set it aside more than once. I could not (would not) read it at night, before going to sleep. I think I will definitely need something light after this one.

>108 jessibud2: Sorry if I came on a little strong, Shelley--it's one of my pet peeves that so many citizens of this country don't have a fundamental understanding of the 3 branches of our government, and how they work. I don't know about Canada, but in the U. S., public education has failed miserably in the last several decades at educating citizens about such things. It's one of the many reasons why we're in the current mess. What we called "social studies", or civics education seems to stop around 7th grade, and a lot of people of my generation have forgotten what they were meant to learn even then. I'll try not to bring my soap box around again for a while!

>109 jessibud2: I remember reading about Corrie ten Boom when I was a teenager...and I remember way back then questioning her ability to forgive. I was raised in the Methodist church, and had a brief spell of religious fervor when I was 12 or 13...that's probably when someone gave me a book about her.

>110 laytonwoman3rd: - Oh no, Linda, I never thought you were coming on strong! I honestly don't remember ever learning about the American system of government (here in Canada) and my attempts as an adult to try to understand it haven't been all that successful (or clarifying). I guess it's naivete (sp?) to just want to believe in logic, and that people in positions of power and authority would *know better* and just do the right thing. Sheesh. That bubble burst long ago, didn't it? ;-p

I had not heard of Corrie ten Boom before reading this book but I have read a lot about WWII and the Holocaust. I was raised Jewish but our home was not all that observant and I questioned EVERYTHING, even as a young girl. Probably drove my parents around the bend. They did their best to answer my questions (we were traditional in that we observed holidays, but not religious) and at some point, I realized I was just going to have to decide for myself what I would and wouldn't believe. The issue of forgiveness was a tough one for me, though. My grandmother came to Canada in her late teens. Most of her siblings made it out of Europe safely but not her youngest sister and their parents. We knew not to ask her a lot of questions, as the pain of her experience never went away and she didn't/wouldn't talk about it. But that never stopped me from thinking about it.

Beautiful weather her today, Shelley . I hope your weather is good in your area too.

>112 vancouverdeb: - Hi Deb. Our weather can only be described as being like a yoyo. On Thursday, it was like winter again, freezing, very windy and a ton of rain. Friday was like summer, 20C! Yesterday, cold and rainy again and will remain like that for awhile (a high of zero next Tues!), before we get back to double digits. I feel sorry for the wildlife and plants. They are probably very confused.

Wordle 1,752 5/6 meaty, pious, shook, sword, sworn

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Good grief. We had snow overnight and everything this morning is a sheet of ice. I just brought the garbage bin to the end of the driveway and nearly fell. It won't last but in the meantime, it's treacherous. April!!!

Whew!
Wordle 1,753 6/6 meaty, perch, being, nerve, sense, dense

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>115 jessibud2: Ice is the worst, isn't it? No snow here, Shelley, but we're right at freezing (32F).

>117 kac522: - Our snow (and ice) is mostly gone now, thank goodness but it remained chilly today. The sun is out so that helps.

Spring is back. For today, anyhow.

Wordle 1,755 5/6 meaty, alone, nails, laned, laden

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Off to see an art exhibit today: Immersive Monet. Can't wait. I saw the Immersive Van Gogh several years ago and it was wonderful. I expect nothing less today!

>119 jessibud2: Immersive Monet sounds wonderful--you'll definitely feel Spring amidst the water lilies.

Hope you had fun at Immersive Monet, Shelley. Last night Global News did a piece about April across Canada. Not sure if that was to make us feel smug or count our blessings. (I didn't need a jacket when I was outside today.)

>121 Familyhistorian: - The exhibit was excellent, Meg. So well put-together. A real mix of pics on walls, reproductions of rooms of his house in Giverny, including books and furniture, historic explanations of his art, his use of colour, light, etc. And the main feature, the room where chairs (bean bag chairs and lawn chairs) were set up in the centre of a large space and projections of his works were projected on the walls all around, 360 degrees. I could have sat there all day. And the finale, another room where we were given crazy virtual reality glasses and headphones and it felt like I was floating on a small drone or slow helicopter, just above land or water level, again, taking in scenes from Monet's world and his works. That was my first experience of VR. The whole thing was really good. Each entry is timed, to be in there for one hour but there weren't that many people there and the space is so huge and vast that we were able to stay for an hour and a half, no problem. I did take photos and will try to get some up tomorrow.

There was also an exhibit in the same place (in another section, obviously) called The Art of the Brick. It was a Lego exhibit and I would have loved to see that one too but there was a separate cost for it and my feet had had enough for one day.

As for the weather, yesterday I think we reached a high of 6C. Today, 19C. Tomorrow, 5C. I don't think we get double digit temps in a row until next week. Crazy. And today it only rained when we were inside! :-)

Wordle 1,756 3/6 meaty, karma, carom

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Wordle 1,758 3/6 meaty, lacey, alley

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I still have bookmarks in a number of books I'm currently juggling. I'm making progress in 2 but then, yesterday, picked up 2 more and the *home* books are off to a side again. I am loving one of the library books right now and if my drugs can put the migraine on the back burner for a few hours, I may just finish it today. It's delightful so far. If you love dogs, you may want to check this out: Please Write by J. Wynn Rousuck. It's funny, poignant, creative and endearing.

>122 jessibud2: That sounds fabulous, Shelley! I wonder if it will come to New York (or if it already has and I missed it). I'm starting to feel up to going to museums again after a few years of surgeries and recoveries, and the Immersive Monet exhibit sounds like something I definitely would want to see.

>109 jessibud2: I'm with you on the forgiveness issue. There are some things that are unforgiveable, though I know it's better for our health not to carry it in our hearts. I do know I'll never be able to forgive what the orange monster and his thugs and supporters have done, or the tech bros, or the 1%ers, or the social media toxic masculinity/fascist influencers. The U.S. had problems before, but it seemed at least to be going in the right direction, if slowly. Now... Well, I am not sure we will ever be able to repair the damage that has been done even after we get rid of the trash, if we can manage that.

>125 Storeetllr: - I am running around today with appointments but will try to upload some photos later, Mary.

Wordle 1,759 3/6 meaty, piece, elfin

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Last night, I finished Please Write by J. Wynn Rousuck. It was the perfect book after the dark and heavy one I ready before this one, about Corrie ten Boom.

This is a *novel in letters*, an epistolary tale of 2 dogs, their humans and their *Grandma Vivienne*. Although it deals with topics such as abandonment, alcoholism, and attachment, it is also sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, very sweet, sometimes sad moments and is quite creative. Winslow is a Boston Terrier, very smart and quite content to be an *only* dog in the house. When his human finds and brings home Zippy, a 7-month-old terrier mixed-breed who he found abandoned, mayhem ensues and training begins, with hilarious (if sometimes crazy) results. Winslow has his hands full but thankfully, Grandma Vivienne is there to offer unconditional support to them all. This was a quick read and you don't even have to be a dog person to love it. As the author said in her acknowledgements, her publisher sent her this note: "Your (damn) book made me do it: Our first dog!".

I have another library to finish this week (coffee table size) and another to start plus the 2 from my own shelves that I am currently reading. One is a before bed book, the other, my travel book that I take to appointments (several this week) and subway travel. More on those later. Off to the dentist now.

>109 jessibud2: My local library has a copy of that one. I will have to check it out some time. Thanks for your thoughts on it, Shelley!

>127 jessibud2: Adding that one to the BlackHole. I am glad to see you enjoyed the lighter read after the Corrie Ten Boom book.

I hope goes well at the dentist today!

>127 jessibud2: Ooh, you got me with Please Write! I’ve already requested it from my lovely local library.

Hope your week is going well!

Karen O

>127 jessibud2: I’m glad you found such an enjoyable book to read, Shelley. Books that feature animals are often uplifting. I wonder why that is?

>129 klobrien2: - I look forward to your impressions, Karen. It's an unexpectedly good one.

>130 EllaTim: - Uplifting or very sad, I've found. Sometimes, I can't read them. But this was a good one, even though there is some sadness, there was no cruelty and for me, that made the difference, I think.

Wordle 1,761 5/6 meaty, wench, rains, deign, begun. Brain fart at guess #3. Just wasn't paying attention.

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Wordle 1,762 3/6 meaty, count, cubit

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Last night I finished the big coffee table tome called Nora Ephron at the Movies by Ilana Kaplan. I have always enjoyed (most of) her films and her writing. I have now started to request the dvd films of some of my favourites of hers from the library. It seems a good time for light, funny romcoms.

Especially since I am about to start another dark book, Hostage by Eli Sharabi, one of the hostages abducted and held in captivity (for 491 days) by Hamas on October 7, 2024. It is his account of his time as a hostage, the first published since the release of the hostages. I am sure it will be a difficult read but I am determined to honour his experience by reading this book. I think it is an important book. I have been on the wait list for some time but the library just acquired copies so now is the time.

>133 jessibud2: Hostage sounds like it would be a difficult read, Shelley. Good luck with it.

>124 jessibud2: - I have it on the table but haven't opened it yet, Meg. I can't read this sort of thing at night so will have to find/make time during the day. Maybe I'll start this weekend.

Wordle 1,763 5/6 meaty, weird, felon, bells, belle

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>135 jessibud2: Wordle took me five today, too—tough word! I like your Wordle’s pattern, though. Kind of a pine tree look.

Karen O

Wordle in 6 for me this morning. Definitely a tough one!

Better today:

Wordle 1,764 3/6 meaty, stagy, toady

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This sure took awhile!

Wordle 1,766 5/6 meaty, peach, learn, beads, weave

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Stopping by to say hi, Shelley. Like you, I am still enjoying wordle!

Hi, Shelley! Hope all is well in your neck o' the woods.

Today's Wordle was a doozy, but I managed somehow to get it in 3. (bleak, renew, eerie)

Wordle 1,773 3/6

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Hi Deb and Mary. Today's wasn't too bad. 4 is my average.

Wordle 1,774 4/6 meaty, prank, chalk, quack

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I've been reading and hope to have a few reviews up later today.

Seriously? at least it wasn't a bomb. Close, but not.

Wordle 1,776 6/6 meaty, pious, blood, hooch, clock, crock

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>143 jessibud2: at least yours were all "green"!:

Wordle 1,776 6/6

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>143 jessibud2: >144 kac522: It took me 5 and I deemed myself very lucky! Tough word!

Karen O

Close call today! I nearly forgot to go to wordle! I spent 5 and a half hours in emergency last night with an elderly neighbour and was so tired today, that I am only now feeling that I am awake. Eek, I hope this doesn't mess with my sleep tonight. I got home last night just before 1 am. She is ok (sort of) but my role is done, for now. She is 83 and her only living relative is her nephew who lives in New York. He is very competent and on top of things and is coming in next weekend. I am nervous about her being alone, in spite of home care which comes daily to check on her but I am not family and I don't feel comfortable butting in too much. I am in close touch with her nephew, though.

Anyhow, that said, I did better than the last time in wordle:

Wordle 1,777 4/6 meaty, drone, flume, plume

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I nearly finished one book while sitting in emerg last night and I will try to finish it up tonight so I can post a few reviews tomorrow. I am going on a nature walk at the Botanical Garden tomorrow afternoon despite the fact that spring is missing in action. At least there is no rain predicted.

>146 jessibud2: Thank you for looking out for your elderly neighbor, Shelley. That was so kind of you. Your walk at the Botanical Garden sounds wonderful.

Something is screwy. I got a notification for new *mentions*. I tried to access it as I had no idea what it means. Now I can't get back to my starred posts in *Talk*. I only am posting in my thread because I accessed it via *Groups*. On the left sidebar, I can't seem to find my way back. When I click *talk* in the brown bar across the top, I am not getting in either.

Help!

edited to add: never mind. I clicked starred topics and I'm back. But when I clicked that originally, it took me to the *mentions* thing. What is that?? And what just happened?? Weird

>148 jessibud2: Here's what I think it is: "Mentions" is when you post or someone mentions your user name on someone else's thread.

"Mentions" is right below "Starred Topics" on the left-hand side menu, so you might have inadvertently clicked "Mentions" instead of "starred topics."

You can turn off getting notifications of "mentions" by doing this:

--On the Home Page, go to PROFILE.

--On PROFILE, go to either Edit Profile OR Settings. Both are in the right-hand upper corner.

--On the Left-hand menu, go to "Notifications".

--Scroll down to "Mentions"--if you don't want to receive any Notifications of your "mentions", then uncheck all the boxes under Mentions. Or you can choose which type of mention notifications you want to receive.

>149 kac522: - Thanks for that, Kathy. It was just freaky. I got the notification for mentions as well as for books in my email, something that never happens. I like the notification for books, just to see what's there but I never even knew that *mentions* existed. I certainly never clicked the boxes for it in my profile. But once I tried to figure out what it was, I was stuck in that loop and couldn't get out of it. Those boxes must be automatically checked by the system. I haven't even been in my profile for years! Anyhow, it's fixed now so thank you so much!

>150 jessibud2: You're welcome! Actually, I think a similar happened to me some months ago and it took me awhile to figure it all out. I think I went to the "New Features" thread and found out the basics and fiddled around after that.

Checking in on you, Shelley. I am sorry to hear you had such a long night, but very happy that your neighbor could call on you for help.

I hope you get some much needed rest tonight and have a lovely Sunday!

>151 kac522: - I am fine with technology, Kathy, when it works and when nothing changes for the sake of change. I am just not built to understand and figure tech things out for myself. Nothing is intuitive for me in the tech world. Thankfully, I have a wonderful computer guy who always is there for me for my home computer stuff. I once tried to figure something out myself instead of calling him and as it turned out, we both agreed, I should have called him. End of conversation. ;-p

>152 alcottacre: - It almost happened again today, Stasia and I think something is going to have to change very soon. I am in close contact with her nephew in Florida and I think he will be coming in soon to deal with all this. Legally, there is nothing I can do (nor do I want to be put into a situation of any kind of decision-making for her); only he can do that. But he is smart and competent and he will manage. I will help however I can but I'll be honest, sitting in that hospital for so many hours stressed me out way more than I expected. The last time I spent any time in hospital was with my mum and I guess that is the reason.

In other news, I went on a Jane's Walk today at our Botanical Gardens. Jane's Walks are a series of walks around the city, in honour of Jane Jacobs, an American-Canadian author, journalist, community activist and urban planner who was famous in New York City for her successful fight with Robert Moses to prevent urban sprawl. She moved to Toronto in the late 60s and continued her urbam activism here, too. Jane's Walks take place on the weekend of her birthday (May 4) and I have always wanted to join one but for one reason or another, never did till today. Today's walk was in one of my favourite places in the city, close to home, too. Here is the blurb on the TBG website:

Jane’s Walk: Rituals of Memory: Love, Loss, and Belonging
Celebrate the Jane's Walk Festival at the Toronto Botanical Garden with a thought-provoking guided walk through lush landscapes and hidden stories. Journey through Edwards Gardens as you uncover how everyday moments—love notes on benches, quiet rituals, and shared memories—transform public gardens into powerful spaces of connection and meaning. Blending nature, culture, and storytelling, this unique experience reveals the emotional life of the city in full bloom.

I took a lot of photos (can't help myself when I am there!). Here are a few. There were 2 staff of the TBG on the walk with us so they provided some info on the Marsh Marigolds and Dawn Redwood, neither of which I had ever heard of before.

Marsh Marigolds


Dawn Redwood


One of several streams


One of a few bridges (this one in the style and shape of Monet's!)


One of the many patches of spring that is bursting throughout the TBG right now:

>154 jessibud2: One of our library board members (an architect) hosts a Jane's Walk every year, and every year there's some reason I can't go! This year, I can't even find the information on where/when it's taking place. Jane Jacobs was born and raised here in Scranton/Dunmore, PA. A few years ago, at a library fund-raiser, I met Glenna Lang (I took the photo of her on her author page), who has written a terrific biography/history of Jane and her work called Jane Jacobs' First City. It's well worth reading. Will love to see your photos of the Botanical Garden.

It sounds like you had a lovely day at the Botanical Gardens today, Shelley. That is great after your stressful night helping your neighbour, which is so kind of you. I hope the nephew will be in town soon to manage things.

The first of my 4 reviews. This one is longer than I planned but I left out so many priceless quotes I could have included.

Baseballissimo by Toronto's own Dave Bidini.

Dave Bidini, the author of this book, was a founding member of the Toronto Indie rock band, The Rheostatics, of a few decades ago. He was a singer/songwriter for them and is also a journalist and author of a few books, besides this one. But baseball is an obsession of his and so, while ostensibly exploring his heritage in Italy, he decided to research, join and write about a minor league team in the heart of Italy's baseball capital (I had no idea there *was* Italian baseball!): Nettuno

This was a truly fun read. Part character study, part philosophy, part travelog, part poetry with lots of music, history, cultural, sports, literary and food references thrown in for good measure. Also, plenty of laugh-out-loud sections. Bidini is a great writer.

A few quotes:

- "Baseball generously harbours all kinds of kid athletes. In my day, there were more knobby-kneed nerds and fat kids on the diamond than in any other sport, a phenomenon that continued until the Internet and video games stole the youth of our nation. Since failure is an inherent part of baseball, it shortens the distance between the great and the not-so-great, allowing room for everyone. Take the at-bat. Not only does it offer the possibility of atonement - giving a hapless player a second, third and fourth chance - but its one-to-nine hitting carousel ensures that every player takes a turn. Hockey offers scant scoring chances per game, but baseball guarantees several trips to the plate, fostering confidence. I was always much better at baseball than hockey for this reason."

- "...I'm still waiting for the pitcher who, in protest, decides not to concede the ball. There would be grave consequences, of course, for without the ball in play, baseball is just chess with hats and hot dogs."

- "The great thing about being part of a team is that you belong...Teams comfort and cloud. They throw an arm around the vulnerable, shy, and self-doubting...Teams are more essential than ever in a world pushed apart by technology, where it is easy to fall victim to doubt and fear and isolation. By bringing together people with different realities - not by videophone or chat rooms, either but by a shared effort - teams unify the disparate... Teams - like bands - show the world that people want to be together, that they need each other, that, despite nasty falls and bitter words and cruel fortunes, people can persist and occasionally triumph together in spite of a society - at least in North American - that tries to wedge us apart, to compartmentalize and cross-market and demographize us...On the ice or on the grass, you're encouraged - at least at an amateur level - to be who you want to be."

Nora Ephron at the Movies - Ilana Kaplan

Just before the Oscars, our library had a display table of theme-related books. I saw this one and decided to give it a go. It's a heavy hard-cover tome but I like her writing (have read a few books by her) as well as her delightful rom-com films. It was a fun and interesting read and after returning it to the library, I have been borrowing a number of her films on dvd, to revisit. So far, I've watch Julie and Julia, Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail. A few others are on the way. I also requested one I read about in this book that I hadn't known about, that her son made about her after her death, called Everything is Copy. I just seem to need light fare lately (maybe perpetually), as there is nothing but doom and gloom everywhere else you turn.

Monet's Passion - Elizabeth Murray

After seeing the *Immersive Monet* exhibit a few weeks ago, the friend I went with lent me this book. It was a quick read filled with photos, and information, garden tips and lots of love for Monet's genius. I can never utilize any of the tips, of course, in my postage-stamp sized space but still, I enjoyed reading about h ow he built Giverny.

Here are a few pics from the exhibit I saw. My pics didn't turn out as good as I had hoped.





Those two are from the room where we sat in the bean bag or lawn chairs and the pictures were projected on all four walls around us. Very cool.

This next one is a replica of the interior of Monet's hose:

Hostage - Eli Sharabi.

This was a tough one. It took me longer than it might have if I hadn't be so reluctant to read it at night, before bed. But by the end, I couldn't put it down. Sharabi was a 51-year old father of 2 when Hamas terrorists broke into his house on Kibbutz Be'eri on October 7 and dragged him out, in front of his wife and 2 daughters. They took him to Gaza where he was held in captivity for over a year, first, in a house, but later, in the tunnels, his worst fear. He was mostly with other captives, younger men who had been at the Nova music festival.

I won't go into the detail that Sharabi does, but as terrifying as his ordeal was, I was incredibly impressed with his ability to stay strong and positive. He had held many positions of leadership and responsibility in his work life, including teaching at university, and because he was twice the age of the young men held in captivity with him, he assumed the role of father figure, helping them to learn to stay strong and positive, as well. What I found so heartbreaking was knowing that he had no way of knowing all that time, that his wife and daughters (and his brother) had all been killed by Hamas. In a way, I am glad he didn't know. He himself said he wasn't sure how he would have survived captivity if he had known. I did google and watched an interview he did with Seth Doan, of CBS Sunday Morning. It was a long interview but it was good to see that he is still strong, and forward-facing. What a man!

>155 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks for that info, Linda. I will see if my library has that book you mentioned.

I am going back to my >154 jessibud2: to edit in some of the photos I took on the walk. Stay tuned.

>160 jessibud2: Sharabi is now one of my heroes. He stayed (and is continuing to stay) so strong in the face of all the pain and sadness he experienced. I wish him and his loved ones a gentler, kinder future.

>162 SqueakyChu: - Ditto, Madeline.

Well, yesterday I noticed my Wordle streak was 6 days long. Working back on the calendar, it appears that I forgot to wordle last Monday and so, my 70-something day streak ended, without my noticing! Sheesh. In truth, I don't often look at the number of days, I just work the puzzle. Oh well. My brain is and always has been more word-oriented than number-oriented.

Wordle 1,780 5/6 meaty, slice, piers, wiser, riser

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Last night, I dnf'd a book I have had on my shelf for ages. It is a slim book, written by a friend of my friend. I had only ever met her once, at the book launch, where I bought the book. It is called Newsgirls and is about gutsy women journalists in Canada over the last 100 years or so. Of the 10 women profiled, I only knew the names of 4. I read the first chapter yesterday and found the writing *difficult*. There were typos (more than 1 or 2 makes me think there was either no editor or not a very good one) and the author's use of commas was excessive; maybe it's the teacher in me but this sort of thing just bugs me. There were some sentences that made no sense to me at all, either in a grammatical way or just in context. I have decided that I will only read the chapters of the 4 I am familiar with then dnf the rest of the book. Pity. I really hate dnf'ing but you know, so many books, so little time....

>154 jessibud2: I love those photos, Shelley. Spring is coming!

>165 BLBera: - Hi Beth. It was such a gorgeous day here today, sunny, warm and breezy. I didn't even wear a jacket! But the rest of the coming week will be considerably cooler and rainy so I am glad I didn't cave this afternoon and buy the 2 hanging baskets of flowers I really wanted. It's really still too early for that here. Another few weeks. Such restraint, lol!

Ok, here is some book karma if ever there was any. I love when this happens.

As you can see from the books I recently finished and reviewed yesterday, I recently read a very fun book about baseball in Italy. The author, Dave Bidini, did a fair bit of traveling also, when he was there and he mentions a lot of wonderful places, architecture, etc. One of the places he mentioned more than once was Villa Borghese.

I also subscribe to the substack blog of Grant Snider, whose comics we all love. He was recently in Italy to attend a poetry festival and promote his book Poetry Comics.

https://incidentalcomics.substack.com/p/tired-feet-full-sketchbook?utm_source=po...

He also talked about Villa Borghese.

And, just today, I started my next book, in honour of Caroline. It is The Notebook - A History of Thinking on Paper, a book she loved and encouraged me to read. I bought a copy on her recommendation. I am only still on the introduction but the author talks about Moleskin notebooks, which of course I had heard of, as well as other brands of notebooks I had never heard of before, such as Leuchtturm.

Well, it turns out that Grant Snider always used to use cheap sketchbooks, but for this trip to Italy, he bought a Leuchtturm.

Maybe I am just easily amused but this feels like serendipity. I love overlap in books I am reading and the author of The Notebook also mentioned how actually writing things down seems to have sparked some brain research, to confirm its value and validity. He mentions another book I own but have not yet read, The Revenge of Analog. Maybe my next book?

>154 jessibud2: Those photos are beautiful...thanks for sharing them. I spoke with my "Jane expert" today, and in fact I have not missed this year's Jane's Walk, which will be next Saturday morning, through some of the neighborhood where she lived as a child. (A lot of it is very different now, sadly.) I hope to be able to make that.

>168 laytonwoman3rd: - Oh, I hope you get to go, and tell us about it!

Well, at least it was only a 7-day streak that I just broke. There were several possible choices for my final guess and of course, I chose the wrong one. C'est la vie.

Wordle 1,781 X/6 meaty, karat, catch, batch, watch, patch

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>169 jessibud2: I ran out of possibilities on Wordle today too - there were just too many possibilities.

>169 jessibud2: Too bad, Shelley. I have a 200 day streak going with Wordle, but I shouldn't say in case I jinx it.

>159 jessibud2: Gorgeous pics! As for the replica of his house, all I could think was that it was really neat and tidy. Nothing like I'd expect of a prolific artist like him. He must have had an army of servants to clean up after him. lol

I bet the flowers in hanging baskets would thrive on cool and rainy! Just so long as it doesn't freeze. I'm already having to be sure to water the potted plants outside daily.

>160 jessibud2: This book is already in the BlackHole or I would be adding it again. Thanks for your review of it, Shelley!

I hope you have a fantastic Friday!

Thanks, Meg and Deb. Another streak begins...

>172 Storeetllr: - Our temps are still pretty low in the night, Mary. But we are entering into a warm(er) spell now, then another chillier one. Not sure I can wait that long, though, lol!

>173 alcottacre: - I just picked up from the library and started another good one, Stasia: Heart of a Stranger. So far, very good.

Here's AI, doing something good, for a change, and Charles, doing what he seems to do best: humour! Happy centennial,. Sir David!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1D9YF0YapQ

I saw an excellent program the other night on PBS on the making of his *Life on Earth* series.

Better today:

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>174 jessibud2: I will be curious to see how Heart of a Stranger is, Shelley, when you are done with it.

>175 jessibud2: I saw the same PBS program. I am a big fan of David Attenborough.

Have a terrific Tuesday!

>179 alcottacre: - I am about half way through, Stasia and so far, I am really enjoying it. It is very well written and well organized.

>179 alcottacre: >180 jessibud2: I really liked the memoir. What a strong woman!

>179 alcottacre: I loved Heart of a Stranger. I thought it was a terrific book!

Hi Shelley. Lovely pictures of your walk in the botanic garden. Jane’s walk, nice idea.

>167 jessibud2: Both books you mention here sound interesting. I love notebooks, secret vice, and have way too many of them. And analog vs digital, yes, interesting. I am quite convinced that we need to experience the world. And certainly children need hands-on experience.

>181 torontoc:, >182 SqueakyChu: - Yes, it is really good so far. I am always drawn to memoirs and when they are well-written, and by someone I consider admirable, all the more!

>183 EllaTim: - Oh, don't even get me started on what digital, and now, AI, is doing to kids and the future. I am so grateful not to be growing up now,...

Well, sheesh.

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Yesterday, a friend and I did a road trip, to a place called Clarington, about an hour east outside of Toronto. There is a tulip farm there that we wanted to visit. Except for the chilly temperatures, we were really lucky with the weather. It was a sunny, blue sky day and we dressed warmly. As long as the predicted rain held off, I was happy. As it turned out, it was fabulous, the colours of the flowers really popping in the sunshine. There was also a section out in the fields, where there were picnic tables set up near the snack stands and they had bright colourful umbrellas strung up high as one might string lights. Against the sky, it was delightful!

Here are just a sampling of the tons of photos I couldn't stop taking:



These were gorgeous, the yellow tulips outlined in pink!







We could have paid a bit extra to pick our own tulips from the pick-your-own section of the farm but we didn't want them to wilt in the car and the cost was about the same as we'd find for a bunch of cut tulips here in the city. But I did buy some home-baked things in their garden market shop (a loaf of rosemary garlic focacia, and a 6-pack of butter tarts!) as well as a nice vase, that is actually a tall cylinder with a pouring spout but I plan to use it as a vase because it's nice and heavy and won't easily tip over.

And it started clouding over as we drove home and was raining by dinner time. It rained most of the night and early this morning but the sun is trying to break through now. The temps are said to warm up once and for all by the weekend. I'll believe it when I see it but I did break down and buy some coleus plants this morning at the garden centre. I am having a hard time waiting.....

>186 jessibud2: What a great day trip! Your pics are lovely.

Hmmm, I can't figure out why the last pic (of the umbrellas) isn't showing. Can anyone see it? I just double-checked the code and it seems to be right....

>188 jessibud2: No, I don't see it, either.

Trying again:

Didn't do anything different, that I can tell but at least it seems to be working!

Mark taught me how to make the pics this small otherwise I would have them all huge! I have to say, sometimes bigger is better, visually, though, lol!

I see them--that is so cool--they look they're floating! (I had to enlarge the picture to see the tiny wire.)

Love your tulip pictures, but those floating umbrellas are really great as well. My dad used to grow tulips, long time ago. So I still have a bit of a soft spot.
I’m following a dutch photographer on twitter, great pictures, nature and tulips. Worth a look: https://www.albertdros.com/tulips

>190 jessibud2: Stunning! A couple photos on my thread disappeared the other day. I just edited the post and re-entered the code, and they came back. I think there must be a glitch somewhere deep in the site's coding causing this.

>194 EllaTim: - I will check that link out, Ella, thanks. I have followed a Dutch nature blogger for years. I can only read the names of the birds or other things he posts when he writes the English translation under the pics, but his photography is spectacular. It's: mailing.vogeldagboek.nl and his name is Adri de Groot.

>195 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda. Better them than me, lol! At least LT has tech people who are smart and can fix glitches. I am neither a techy or smart, when it comes to figuring this sort of thing out. Yesterday's blue sky was just the perfect backdrop for photographing the umbrellas. Our temps today never really warmed up and we didn't have much sun. It's bloody COLD outside right now!

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I love your tulip pictures, Shelley. It sounds like a fun outing.

The tulips are gorgeous, Shelley, but the umbrellas! Just stunning. I love the colors against that blue blue sky. Kind of reminds me of the umbrella sculpture erected by Christo in California in the early '90s, though those umbrellas were yellow and blue only.

Thanks, Beth and Mary. It was a fun outing. This is a friend who can always manage to find fun *farm* visits for day trips. Last year we went to a sunflower farm, and one year, to a lavender farm.

I am not sure the owners of the farm would be aware of Christo, Mary, but they sure seemed to have fun with their umbrellas (like upside-down tulips, maybe). And yes, against that blue sky, I couldn't stop snapping pics, lol.

Today feels like winter. gray, damp, cold. They are promising warmth by the weekend. I spent an hour at physio this afternoon - I've been having a lot of pain in my right shoulder/rotator cuff/neck. So, what did I do after physio? I drove down the road to a garden centre and bought 6 plants. I lifted one of the pots -too heavy, I discovered too late - and pow! I felt it all the way down the arm as far as my wrist, on the side my physio had just worked on. I will phone her first thing in the morning but most likely won't be able to get an appointment till after this long weekend. I'm such an idiot. Meantime, I'll crack out the heat wraps or heating pad....

At the risk of jinxing it, today is off to a good start: sunny, warming, and bright. The arm pain is gone (though not the shoulder/neck) so I have plants to pot and a haircut at noon. A book to finish, too, hopefully.

A slower start today...

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Climate change is crazy. Earlier in the week, when we went to the tulip farm, and even the day after, I was wearing my winter coat and a scarf. Yesterday, we hit 30C!! This isn't going to break till tomorrow and if this is happening now, in May, I dread the summer ahead. I don't do heat very well.

I think the heat fried my brain, too. I started wordle yesterday, took a break and simply forgot to go back to finish. Thankfully, the streak was only at 10 or 11, I think. So, today, I begin with a streak of 1:

Wordle 1,794 4/6 meaty, catch, swath, loath including the brain fart at guess #3. Whatever.

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Today, I will read indoors, with the a/c and maybe finish a book.

I forgot to mention that when I was at the tulip farm, I noticed a bird scurrying across the gravel. I didn't recognize its body language so I snapped a pic. It wasn't until I got home and was able to enlarge the pic, that I realized it was a black and white warbler! Very well camouflaged on the gravel. I have only ever seen one once before. Very cute and quite easy to identify as they don't really look like anything else. I'm having a computer issue at the moment but when I can, I will post the pic.

>30 jessibud2:! I’m afraid you could be right, Shelley, about that warm summer.
Neat, a warbler among the tulips.

Finally, the computer is cooperating. Here is the pic of the black and white warbler I saw at the tulip farm. Suitably camouflaged on the gravel.

>205 jessibud2: My daughter and I saw this lovely warbler yesterday in Token Creek, Wisconsin.

>203 jessibud2: Such crazy weather! A few days ago I was heating the home and now A/C!

a tulip farm? That's neat. Do they grow them for cut flowers or just for show? Must have been a spectacular sight!

>207 figsfromthistle: - And tomorrow, back to MUCH cooler weather. Crazy!

The tulip farm grows them for both. There is a sectioned-off area for pick-your-own. It cost $15 for a bunch but we didn't choose that since it's comparable to what you'd pay for a bunch of cut tulips here in the city ad we didn't want them to wilt in the car on the way home, lol! A guy there told us they have seasonal fields as well: pumpkins in fall, lavender fields we saw in their early stages, and various other fields. It's a huge place! Called Pingle's Farm (not PRingles; Pingle's), in Clarington. They have 2 shops on site as well: one for locally grown produce and breads, etc and one for gift-y type things.

A few quick kids' books. The back story/intro to the life of cellist Yo-Yo Ma, called The Music Inside Us, is one I got from either Karen or Linda's threads. It was lovely and better, had an entire page at the end of links for further reading/listening exploration. Later today I will be picking up from the library 2 dvds, one called Extraordinary Minds, featuring Ma, which I am looking forward to. The second is actually a film I first saw at my local documentary theatre when it first came out years ago but loved it so much and am excited to revisit it: The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. This one was magnificent!

The second book was cute, called Katie and the Starry Night about a little girl's visit to the museum and what happens when she goes a bit too far. There are others in this series of Katie and her adventures with art.

The outside air this morning is wonderful! Almost 20 degrees cooler than yesterday! I love it. It will continue like this through the weekend then the heat will return. But all my windows are open!!

>209 jessibud2: I love Yo-Yo Ma. Have you seen this clip?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNvAUobb1y4

>210 kac522: - Kathy, that was excellent! I have seen small portions of that clip but never the entire thing. If you've never seen his The Music of Strangers, see if your library has the dvd. It's also wonderful!

>186 jessibud2: Beautiful! I like tulips a lot.

>190 jessibud2: What a cool looking display!

>205 jessibud2: Suitably camouflaged may be an understatement. Wow, is it ever hard to see!

>211 jessibud2: Thanks, Shelley, I just put it on my library's "for later" list. Right now I have so many holds, plus they're having delivery problems between branches. But it's at least on my radar.

Did you see him on Finding Your Roots some years ago? It was so interesting.

For subscribers to PBS Passport, Yo Yo Ma has been a contributor to Scott Yoo's "Now Hear This" episodes of Great Performances a couple times. Those programs are just generally fantastic.

>213 kac522: Correction: Yo-Yo Ma was on the series "Faces of America" with Henry Louis Gates in 2010, which preceded Finding Your Roots, which started in 2012.

>214 laytonwoman3rd:, >215 kac522: - Thanks for this info. I will seek these out.

I was able to find a short of the Yo Yo Ma episode from FacesofAmerica on YouTube after I found out about it by reading your thread, Shelley.

>217 Familyhistorian: - Oh, good to know, Meg, thanks. I will save my computer scrolling for the weekend, which is expected to be a rainy one here, both days. Today is bright and sunny, though chilly (only 9C at the moment). I plan to use today to garden.

>205 jessibud2: Hooray for seeing the black & white warbler. They are seldom found on the ground so good sighting. They are usually found feeding along the trunk of a tree or its biggest limbs.

Sweet Thursday, Shelley. I hope all is well.

>219 msf59: - Hi, Mark, thanks. It was a lucky spotting, for sure!

Wordle 1,799 4/6 meaty, pious, chunk, chuck. Now, I have to wonder, why hasn't my starter word EVER been *the* wordle word? I've been using it forever and it's never made it. Of course, it would give me a wordle in one, and I'd then need to find a new starter word but that's a hardship I could live with.

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Hi, Shelley! Hope you had a lovely weekend and that the weather has warmed up without getting too hot for you. We here in the Lower Hudson Valley of New York have been in the midst of cool rainy weather the past few days. The plants love it. Me? Not so much.

>200 jessibud2: Has your therapist ever used a TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator) on you? It works great for my lower back and shoulders pain. My therapist used it when I was going to PT after knee surgery and also for my lower back. I got a portable TENS unit from Amazon (sorry but sometimes you just have to go there) and it wasn't too expensive. You might ask your physio if they would recommend it.

>205 jessibud2: It looks like a little mirror! What a great little camouflager!

>222 Storeetllr: - Hi Mary. We had a very cold rainy weekend. I slept with socks and even turned on the furnace the other night! Then yesterday, the sun came out, the temps rose and I may need the a/c before today is over. Everything is looking green and lovely outside although I won't need to water for awhile, that's for sure. We are also in for some hot weather for a couple of days before it settles back down to normal. But I will probably be able to sit outside and read this afternoon! Yay!

As for TENS, I think that is part of what my physiotherapist does each time I go. Yes, it helps, but only for so long. I've been going to her clinic for ages, since before she had kids (her oldest is in university now!) and they are really excellent at what they do.

I will probably start a new thread later today. I have a few reviews to post so I'll do that once I get it set up.

Meantime...

Wordle 1,802 4/6 meaty, pious, round, couch

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New thread later as I'm having issues again with pictures from my computer. Errands this morning and I'll try again later.

>223 jessibud2: Yes, TENS doesn't cure, but I find it helps for a time with the pain.

Hope the weather is cooperating with your outdoor reading plans!