karenmarie's book journey of 2016, thread #1

Hi all!

Early days, early thoughts for the new year, but I do know that I will definitely have more time to read as I plan on quitting my job, effective January 29th. I will give myself the opportunity to get bored, relax, deep clean the house, and READ, READ, READ. I may find a job that makes sense, I may do some volunteer work, I may sit on my keister all year.

Last year was the first year since joining LT that I haven't made it to 75 books, a combination of cataract surgery at the end of 2014 and changing jobs internally at my company in July and working ridiculous hours.

2016 will be a much better year for everything, not the least reading.

I have two reading rules:

1. Read whatever takes my fancy and do not feel obligated to read books because I "should".
2. Stop reading a book when it isn't pleasurable anymore. When the time seems right try again, but No Guilt Ever.

I absolutely adore this group and look forward to getting ideas, perhaps giving ideas, and chatting with book lovers all year long.

2016 Reading List

1. van Loon's Geography by Hendrik Willem van Loon 11/1/15 01/02/16 ***1/2 505 pages hardcover
2. The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto 12/9/15 1/7/16 ***1/2 **audiobook** 622 pages hardcover
3. Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay 1/2/16 1/8/16 ***1/2 292 pages trade paperback
4. Pacific: Silicon Chips by Simon Winchester 1/3/16 1/24/16 ***1/2 444 pages hardcover
5. At Home by Bill Bryson 1/8/16 1/28/16 **audiobook** **** 560 pages hardcover
6. The Unstrung Harp by Edward Gorey 1/24/16 1/24/16 **** 64 pages hardcover
7. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker 1/24/16 2/2/16 **** 640 pages trade paperback
8. *reread* Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie 2/2/16 2/3/16 **** 212 pages hardcover
9. Desert Heat by J.A. Jance 2/3/16 2/4/16 *** 373 pages MM paperback
10. The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson 2/4/16 2/8/16 *** 376 pages hardcover
11. A Key into the Language of America by Roger Williams 2/8/16 4/4/16 *** 205 pages trade paperback
12. *reread* Green Tea and Other Ghost Stories by J. Sheridan LeFanu 2/8/16 2/9/15 **1/2 92 pages trade paperback
13. Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews 2/9/16 2/12/16 ***1/2 427 pages hardcover
14. *reread* The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith 2/1/16 3/4/16 **** **audiobook** 464 pages hardcover
15. The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink by Erle Stanley Gardner 2/14/16 2/15/16 **1/2 226 pages mass market paperback
16. Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin 2/13/16 2/16/16 ***1/2 228 pages mass market paperback
17. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins 2/16/16 2/17/16 **** 323 pages hardcover
18. Fox Evil by Minette Walters 2/17/16 2/24/16 **** 369 pages hardcover
19. No Shred of Evidence by Charles Todd 2/24/16 2/26/16 **** 341 pages hardcover
20. Ross Poldark by Winston Graham 2/27/16 3/1/16 ****1/2 455 pages trade paperback
21. Demelza by Winston Graham 3/3/16 3/4/16 **** 432 pages trade paperback
22. Save the Date by Mary Kay Andrews 3/8/16 3/11/16 *** 464 pages trade paperback
23. My American Duchess by Eloisa James 3/12/16 3/15/16 **1/2 404 pages mass market paperback
24. Girl Jacked by Christopher Greyson 3/18/16 3/21/16 ***1/2 218 pages trade paperback
25. *reread* The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith 3/21/16 *audiobook** 455 pages hardcover
26. The Quartet by Joseph J. Ellis 3/23/16 248 pages hardcover
27. Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben 3/25/16 3/27/16 **** 387 pages hardcover
28. Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver 3/27/16 3/31/16 **** 437 pages hardcover
29. Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews 3/31/16 4/2/16 *** 419 pages hardcover
30. *reread* Funerals are Fatal by Agatha Christie 4/4/16 4/5/16 ***1/2 226 pages hardcover
31. Clarissa Harlowe, or The History of a Young Lady by Samuel Richardson 4/3/16 1534 pages Penguin Classics being read on Kindle
32. Lexicon by Max Barry 4/6/16 387 pages trade paperback
33. The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer 4/8/16 4/10/16 ***1/2 316 pages trade paperback
34. *reread* Outlander by Diane Gabaldon 4/10/16 4/14/16 **** 850 pages mass market paperback
35. *reread* Dragonfly in Amber by Diane Gabaldon 4/15/16 4/24/16 **** 947 pages mass market paperback
36. On the Choice of a Mistress by Benjamin Franklin 4/22/16 5/24/16 ***1/2 59 pages mass market paperback
37. *reread* Voyager by Diane Gabaldon 4/24/16 4/30/16 **** 1059 pages mass market paperback
38. *reread* Griffin & Sabine by Nick Bantock 4/29/16 4/29/16 **** 48 pages hardcover
39. Sabine's Notebook by Nick Bantock 4/29/16 4/29/16 **** 48 pages hardcover
40. The Golden Mean by Nick Bantock 4/29/16 4/29/16 **** 48 pages hardcover
41. Drums of Autumn by Diane Gabaldon 4/30/16 1070 pages mass market paperback

Saved for book acquisitions.

1/3/16 - I used some Christmas money from my mother and have pre-ordered No Shred of Evidence by Charles Todd, the newest Ian Rutledge mystery, due in February and End of Watch by Stephen King, third in the Bill Hodges Trilogy, due in June. A nice way to keep Christmas going.

Oh, and, I also ordered Shooting Stars by Stefan Zweig based on the reference to it in Pacific: Silicon Chips that I started this morning.

I think I ordered other books during the Christmas frenzy; if so, they will turn up in their due time. :)

January
Amazon Elizabeth is Missing by Emma Healey
Amazon The Kill Artist by Daniel Silva
AbeBooks Shooting Stars by Stephan Zweig
Bookmooch Pay Dirt by Rita Mae Brown
Bookmooch Murder at Monticello by Rita Mae Brown
Thrift Store Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews
Thrift Store The Pope's Rhinoceros by Lawrence Norfolk
Thrift Store The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma
Amazon A Catholic Interlinear Old Testament Polyglot Volume 6 by Paul A. Boer Sr.
Journal Subscription Lapham's Quarterly Volume IX, Number 1, Winter 2016:Spies by Lewis Lapham
Amazon The Road to Little Dribbling: Adventures of an American in Britain by Bill Bryson
Thrift Store The Black-Eyed Blonde by Benjamin Black
Thrift Store The Stolen Bride by Jo Beverly
Thrift Store The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker
Thrift Store The Confabulist by Steven Galloway
Amazon The Fountain Overflows by Rebecca West

February
Circle City Books Used Books Desert Heat by J.A. Jance
Circle City Books Used Books The Arrangement by Suzanne Forster
Amazon Dead in the Scrub by B.J. Oliphant
Bookmooch The Murderer's Daughters by Randy Susan Meyers
Amazon No Shred of Evidence by Charles Todd
Bookmooch Remains of Innocence by J.A. Jance
Bookmooch Portrait of a Killer by Patricia Cornwell
Amazon A Monstrous Regiment of Women by Laurie R. King
Amazon Ross Poldark by Winston Graham

March
Amazon Demelza by Winston Graham
Amazon Jeremy Poldark by Winston Graham
Thrift Store Dark Places Gillian Flynn
Thrift Store Outlaw Mountain by J.A. Jance
Thrift Store Damage Control by J.A. Jance
Thrift Store Dead Wrong by J.A. Jance
Amazon Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
Neighbor Larry Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King
Neighbor Larry The Talisman by Stephen Kinvg
Costco Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

April
Amazon Lexicon by Max Barry
Amazon And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
the following books were acquired at the Friends of the Library Sale April 7-9
Easton Press 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" leather-bound books of poems by: Browning, Burns, Byron, Coleridge, Longfellow, Shakespeare, Shelley, Tennyson
The Friendly Jane Austen by Natalie Tyler
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
Life for a Life by T. Frank Muir touchstone not working
Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh
The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh
An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Love Story, with Murders by Harry Bingham
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer
Night Train by Martin Amis
The Arts by Hendrik Willem Van Loon
The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews
On the Choice of a Mistress by Benjamin Franklin
The Chessmen by Peter May
Blowback by Peter May
The Lewis Man by Peter May
Exit Lines by Reginald Hill
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
Bruno Chief of Police by Martin Walker
The Marx Sisters by Barry Maitland
Police by Jo Nesbo
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
One Man's Flag by David Downing
Dark Mirror by Barry Maitland
Folly du Jour by Barbara Cleverly
The Blood Royal by Barbara Cleverly
The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization by Hornblower and Spawforth
How to Do Everything by Courtney Rosen & the eHow Editors
Three Exemplary Novels by Miguel de Cervantes
King of the Confessors by Thomas Hoving
Heloise & Abelard by James Burge
Insatiable by Meg Cabot
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
Rooms by Lauren Oliver
The Future for Curious People by Gregory Sheryl
Jefferson's Legacy A Brief History of the Library of Congress by John Y. Cole
Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis
Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer
The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier by Jakob Walter
Nora Webster by Colm Toibin
The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories by O. Henry
Passing on by Penelope Lively
The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman
The Illustrious Dead by Stephan Talty
Impulse & Initiative by Abigail Reynolds
The Game of Thirty by William Kotzwinkle
Autumn, All The Cats Return by Philippe Georget
The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz
The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer
The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
The Preacher by Camilla Lackberg
The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz
Fiddlers by Ed McBain
In a Dark House by Deborah Crombie
A Sight for Sore Eyes by Ruth Rendell
Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

Audiobooks:
Where God Was Born by Bruce Feiler
America's Hidden History by Kenneth C. Davis
His Excellency George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis
Paris by Edward Rutherford
Disclaimer by Renee Knight
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson
The Sherlockian by Graham Moore
Cold Vengeance by Preston & Child

Great to see you here, Karen. Hapy Reading 2016.

Welcome back!

Great to see your thread up and running!

Glad to see someone else is planning to just "enjoy" reading this year.

Hi Barbara. Thank you. I'm looking forward to a year of as much reading as I want.

Thanks, doc. I wouldn't miss being a part of this group for anything.

Hi Lori. I was thinking this morning, and realizing that I might not finish some of the books I've started this year by the end of this year. I guess I include them in 2016. So I'll be off to a good start.

Yes, Lori, I read for fun. Fun includes academic subjects - I'm currently reading Van Loon's Geography and re-listening to The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto. I'm also reading Wolf Hall and powering through Darkly Dreaming Dexter. (We are watching Dexter and just finished season 7. Boo hoo, only one season left. Amazing, weird, macabre, intelligent stuff.)

Happy 2016, Karen! I'm looking forward to it..........and I hope you're enjoying Wolf Hall.

Hi Peggy! I took a hiatus on Wolf Hall to read Darkly Dreaming Dexter. That was my last finished book for 2015.

I think I'll go back to it today, although I must say that I don't find it as fascinating as everybody else seems to. But perhaps picking it up again will get me more involved.

Husband and I are off today. I had Tuesday and Wednesday off as vacation days, and promptly got sick - husband's been sick for a week and a half and shared his germs. I didn't get up 'til 8:30 today and then took a nap from about 11 - 12:30.

I haven't been sick for so long I've forgotten how irritating it is. (I discount paralyzed vocal cords, cataract surgeries, and kidney stones).

Hello dear friend!

Thanks, Barbara! Today is starting off pretty good (except for the being sick part). I've gotten back into van Loon's Geography and will happily finish it in the next day or so.

Stephanie! I'm glad you've visited because I know how hard it's been for you the last year or so. Welcome and I hope you visit me often here.

The weather is totally weird. December broke all records for warm weather in NC and I've got the sunroom door open, a leeetle bit chilly but refreshing, and can hear the peepers. One doesn't usually hear frogs in January, and I imagine that their voices will be silenced when we get some real winter weather. Trees are blooming, grass is GROWING. Bad, bad.

I haven't been out of the house since Tuesday night so will venture out today to food shop. Even though I'm sick, husband is STILL sick, and is really sicker than I am. I credit my stubborn Bohemian genes and Melaleuca vitamins.

I posted on your old thread instead of your new thread... too many threads this morning... Happy 2016!

Thanks, qebo! No problem. Because of you I have now found the Non-Fiction Challenge/Journal group and have created my own thread. I'm going back to 2008, my first 75 group challenge, and pulling all my non-fiction to add to that thread. I'll try to post mini-reviews of the non-fiction I read starting this year. I'm reading one and listening to another, and have 3 on taps that I got as Christmas presents.

Yay non-fiction.

>15 karenmarie: I really slacked off cross-posting in 2015, aspire to get things in order before I have any non-fiction to add for 2016.

Thank you, Lori! New Year's Eve was a dud. It usually is because I'm an early riser and staying up 'til Midnight usually makes me cranky and gets me out of my sleep pattern.

Hi qebo. I'm very excited about reading more non-fiction in 2016 - heck, I'm excited about reading more of EVERYTHING in 2016.

Since I just reviewed all my 75 Book Challenge threads for my non-fiction reads, here are the total number of books per year. This includes audiobooks and re-reads, fiction and non-fiction.

2008 - 119 books
2009 - 116 books
2010 - 121 books
2011 - 136 books
2012 - 126 books
2013 - 89 books
2014 - 84 books
2015 - 65 books

I hate insomnia.

1. Van Loon's Geography by Hendrik Willem Van Loon. 11/1/15 01/02/16 ***1/2 Here is my review: van Loon's Geography

>19 karenmarie: Huh. I'd suppose not a book many people happen to have around.

172 of us on LT, apparently. I found it at one of the local Friends of the Library Sales and since I already had van Loon's Lives, as yet unread, thought I'd buy it too. Funny that I've read it first and the other's been on my shelves for quite a while.

Here's my Non-Fiction Challenge/Journal thread: karenmarie's Non-Fiction Journal

Have a wonderful bookfilled 2016, Karen. xx

Thanks, Paul! We're finally getting seasonal weather. Today's high is supposed to be 54F, and it's currently 27F. Brrrrr.

My Bohemie genes and Melaleuca vitamins are letting me down - see #13 above - I feel really bad today. I hope the decongestants and ibuprophen kick in soon. It really sucks being sick when you have 5 days off in a row.

I have started Pacific: Silicon Chips by Simon Winchester, a gift from daughter for Christmas. Winchester's titles are irritatingly long. The full title is Pacific: Silicon Chips and Surfboards, Coral Reefs and Atomic Bombs, Brutal Dictators, Fading Empires, and the Coming Collision of the World's Superpowers but when I put that in the touchstone didn't work.

I'm also reading Dearly Devoted Dexter. With the way I feel today, perhaps I'd better stick with Dexter.

Hi, Karen. Reciprocating your visit to my thread. Dropping a star. I joined LT last March, so I missed the hooha of everyone closing out old threads and launching new ones. Sees like one can keep up with all the chatter or read. Think I'll read.

Hi Bill! I do more reading than chatting, but have a few favorite LT friends who I like to visit with occasionally. I also have found it invaluable to have a good place to keep track of my reads and get new book recommendations from people whose opinions I trust.

I've been a member since October 2007, about 8 1/2 years, and every moment of it has been pretty fantastic.

Tim - thanks again for LT!!!!!

Off I go to do more laundry, and continue with Dearly Devoted Dexter. Today's a work day, insomnia has struck, and it's an opportunity to read and get a few things out of the way.

2. The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto 12/9/15 1/7/16 ***1/2 A wonderful book about the history of the Dutch in what has become the United States - from the early 1600s through their loss of Manhattan and New Netherland to the English in 1664. Dutch influence is everywhere if you look hard enough, and Russell Shorto looks through historical records of both the Dutch and English, including the larger-than-life figures of Peter Minuit and Peter Stuyvesant and lesser known but arguably more important people like Adriaen van der Donck. Nothing is too large or to small to bring to the table of his argument for the profound and positive Dutch influence, more than that of the Puritans or Pilgrims, that has caused the United States to become a unique world power.

I first listened to this book in 2009 and wanting to listen to some non-fiction and not having anything new, decided to listen to it again.

I bought At Home by Bill Bryson, audiobook, over the Christmas holidays, and so immediately started it after finishing the Shorto book. I love Bill Bryson's books, and his reading of his own books is exquisite.

Dexter is coming along, too. So far a very good start to my reading year.

>27 karenmarie: I loved The Island at the Center of the World! I listened to some of it on audio with my father, who bought it because we had recently confirmed New Netherlands/Dutch ancestry on his direct paternal line. I decided I wanted to move along a little faster than he was listening so I bought a print copy.

>27 karenmarie:, >28 cbl_tn: I read it a few years ago, also because I have ancestry in the area, alas never got around to writing a review so details are lost in a fog. I haven't tried audio books, but suspect I'd space out and miss critical portions.

I'm not exactly of Dutch ancestry, but I'm 10th generation American on a 2nd-great-grandmother's side - HER 3rd great-grandfather Rene Piatt was born in France in the 1650s but was in Piscataway New Jersey marrying Elizabeth Sheffield in 1677. The Dutch connection is that he was French Huguenot and fled to Holland and from Holland may have gone to England then possibly to South Carolina. Huh. I've never really thought about that before in exactly that way.

Changed the above to say 10th generation - I wasn't counting one!

BIG NEWS.

I gave notice on Wednesday, last day of work is January 29th. I am retiring, I think - we'll probably wait until after my 63rd birthday to start Social Security so that I'll get just one more year in for the $$ calculation.

Wednesday I was stressed. Yesterday I was a bit giddy. Today I think that waiting 'til the 29th is going to be hard..... I found all my personal e-mails over the last 15 years or so and have them in an archive folder. I'll start mailing them to myself systematically this coming week.

Gotta find the missing company cell phone. It was last seen Christmas Eve by daughter..... hope it didn't get thrown away! I spent some time looking for it over the break, then got really sick, and am slowly recovering. This weekend will be more in-depth searching. Unfortunately the battery will have died - no calling it - too bad I didn't realize earlier that it was missing before the battery died.

>30 karenmarie: I gave notice on Wednesday
What was the reaction?

My boss looked bemused. Asked me why, I said it was mostly because I was going to retire, but that there were issues relating to work that were causing me to retire sooner than later - that the environment made it hard to get anything done (and I went into a bit of detail) and that I thought he unfairly singled me out among his Logistics direct reports by ignoring things I said, interrupting me, and pretty much always disagreeing with me. That he supposedly respected the company knowledge and logistics knowledge I had but pretty much ALWAYS disagreed with me. (He's been at my company 3 years, I've been there 20). He continued to look bemused. I said "You're not saying much" and he said that he processed things slowly and had to think about it - especially my criticisms of him. I told him to let me know what he wanted me to work on in the next 3 1/2 weeks.

Haven't heard anything back regarding my leaving. Haven't had any acknowledgement from him about my leaving. Disappointing. It doesn't make me want to do anything for him. I am working on some documentation for other people, though. Nothing from Senior Management. Assholes.

There have been several initial reactions from the people I've told - "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO", "We're really going to miss you", "I'm jealous", "Who is going to help me?". By the end of the conversations, I always get "I'm happy for you. Everybody who leaves here looks much happier when I see them around town."

My "cube mate" Debbie said that I looked stunned on Wednesday, stressed on Thursday, and happy on Friday. I've done a happy dance a couple of times.

I finished Dearly Devoted Dexter. He's much more psychopathic than in the show, obviously. It's macabre stuff for sure.

I'm going to dive into Pacific: Silicon Chips by Simon Winchester today, I think.

And put away all the Christmas stuff - we've both been so sick that it just didn't get done last weekend.

Only three weeks to go, Karen. Wishing you a most lovely weekend.

Thank you, Barbara! Very nice picture.

15 more work days.

Yes!!!

This is Zermatt in Switzerland. I'm glad you like it.

I'm sure you will love retirement. Everyone can always find plenty to do to keep busy. Do you have plans for volunteering somewhere?

Thanks, Barbara. I've never been to Switzerland, would love to go sometime.

Hi Lori. My plans for the next several months are to do anything I want without any commitments. Of course that may change, but right now no obligations sound pretty good to me.

10th generation American - that is impressive! My family's North American roots only go back 3 generations - except for my paternal grandmother's line which goes back 5 generations in NA (that we have been able to figure out).

Congratulations on retirement! How do you feel about that? Where I work a number of retirements have been announced over the past 16 months, and all with different levels of joy/uncertainty. Sorry to read that Senior Management hasn't been communicating about you retiring or anything.... Never a good sign. I think succession management is something that a lot of places 'talk about' but never really get down and actually do.

I hope you have a great week.... especially with the countdown to retirement. ;-)

Holy cow, you did it! I'm happy for you, that sounds like a soul sucking place too work. Reminds me of Joe vs. the Volcano. As for management, leave them to heaven. You did the right thing for your peace of mind.

Parker says hi and not having any obligations is awesome!

>32 karenmarie:, This guy sounds toxic. I imagine retirement looks better and better after interactions with him.

Good Luck to you!!!!

Hi Lori: I honestly think they're going to put my cycle counters under the woman who manages the material handlers, who cause a majority of the inventory accuracy problems. I like Deb, but she thinks she knows more than she does.

13 days to go.

Larry, I did do it!!! I saw Joe vs. the Volcano but don't really remember anything about it. I will leave management to whatever circle of Dante's Hell they belong in.

Hi back to Parker D.

Hi Linda. Retirement looks better and better minute by minute. I never thought I'd say this, but in some ways, not many but some, his predecessor who was my manager in Logistics for 2 months was better. If I could combine the best of Luigi and the best of John it still wouldn't be better than retirement because the whole company is toxic, but it would make daily life easier there.

13 days to go.

Gotta get ready to go to Day 13.

Last week I was going through my e-mail archives at work. Now, remember that we're looking at 19 years of archives..... and I found 1600 or so that I had saved in personal folders. I moved them all to another folder called tbf (to be forwarded), and I'm reviewing them and forwarding home what I want to keep. That's fun.

Other than that my boss told me yesterday (a roundabout way) that I'm too helpful in meetings where he is trying to figure out what other people know - in other words, to be quiet more. In a way, it's valid. In another, it's terrifyingly obvious that if I wasn't already retiring, I'd be going insane with the realization that our styles are absolutely too different for us to work together. Then I'd feel trapped and depressed.

So I will. Be quiet more. I'll be so quiet.....

Too bad he's out of the office today and tomorrow. I'll have to wait until Monday to put my new Meeting Behavior Plan into place.

>42 karenmarie: Be quiet only for the few days left with him in the office ;-)

>32 karenmarie: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! You're doing exactly what I did in the waiting to turn 63 before beginning Social Security....in 2008 it meant $7.63 more per month than taking it at 62. I'm not sneering.
Glad that you have time to go through your archives. Also interesting to see where your boss is coming from and WONDERFUL that you don't have to figure out how to live with him.
They should be powerful sorry to lose you.
On the other hand, HAPPY READING!

>42 karenmarie: Punch him in the throat.

I hope your remaining days simply fly by... and don't be quiet. Keep answering for everyone during those meetings and drive him crazy. What's he going to do, fire you?

>43 FAMeulstee: yeah! And look at him and smile wryly while doing so :)

heh heh heh

Hi FAMuelstee - it's always nicer when he isn't in the office.

Thanks , Peggy. I haven't had time to look up the 62 vs 63 delta but may this weekend. I'm also going to go over to the SS office in the town I work in.

Hi Larry! Your suggestions are always welcome. He's a short little sucker, so maybe I'll elbow him in the throat.T

mistrust - I love that picture! And I am a cube rat for sure. But only for 11 more days. :) And I'll take your advice under advisement - I never thought about being snarky but I'm open to the idea.

Ireadthereforeiam - I have a very nice wry smile.

Payday today! (we get paid on the 15th and last day of the month).

And I'd better go over to HR to make sure everything is in place for my last day in 2 weeks. The HR folks are incompetent at best, and I'm not even sure John turned in my resignation. Doesn't matter, though, because I can make official today with 2 weeks left anyway.

>49 karenmarie: Rest your coffee cup on top of his head.

John did turn my letter of resignation in, and I confirmed today that that I have 23 days of vacation that I'll get paid out in February. YAY.

10 days to go.

He's not a very restful person, Larry, and I might miss and spill coffee

on

never mind. Good idea!!!

>51 karenmarie: That is good news, 10 days to go & 33 days payed :-)

Karen, horrey for only 10 days. I wish you a relaxed weekend.

Watching the countdown to retirement...

Stopping by and joining Katherine in watching the countdown to retirement.

Thanks, Katherine and Lori. I was just thinking about what I'd do tomorrow - mostly clean out old directories and work with my cycle count team leader to get her some security to give info to my boss after I'm gone.....

And it's been fun to go in at 8 and leave at 5. I was going in at 6:30 or so and leaving at 5:30 or 6..... 8 hour days! What a concept.

And the Panthers won today. Barely, but they won. Yay.

So next Friday, the 29th, is your last day in the wankers' paradise? Whoo-hoo!

Yes. The 29th. I'm going to start my Farewell Tour this week..... making sure I say personal good-byes to everybody who means something to me. This will exclude a few people of course..... :) but will include a lot of hourly folks. I've gotten a few new Facebook friend requests - I'm not a serious Facebook fan and NEVER post, but I occasionally respond to something someone posts or "Like" something. And a couple of friends communicate via Facebook rather than e-mail. So I will check out Facebook a bit more after I leave to see how people are faring.

Almost without exception, when I tell someone I've turned in my resignation and am retiring, they say "Oh, I am SO jealous." We eventually get to the "I'm really happy for you" part, but rarely first.

Our illustrious HR department sent an e-mail today stating that they wanted to consolidate to one vacation accrual policy (why they ever went away from the one we had 1976-2012 is anybody's guess, although it wasn't the current idiots, but previous idiots) and for those of us on the old plan, we get to take 1/2 our accrued 2015 vacation this year on top of our new accrue-as-you-go vacation for this year and the rest next year with THAT year's accrue-as-you-go vacation. That means that this year and next year I'd get approximately 34.5 days of vacation each of the next two years if I was staying. Strange. But, importantly, I think it means that since I'll be here for the whole month of Jan 2016, I'll accrue almost 2 days of vacation on top of my 2015 23 days.

Nine more days.

You are going to love retirement! It seems to be a well kept secret. I retired 18 months ago and there is not enough time in the day to do everything I want to do. It did take me about 6 months to calm down...I had multiple lists of things that I had always wanted to do around the house that I never had time for. Then, realized I was working just as hard as I did when working. Now, I 've calmed down and have fun every day! Congratulations, you will never be sorry!

>58 karenmarie: More free time is more reading time Karen? Whatever the future intends for you my dear I hope and trust it is kind to you.

Aaak! Get out there and see and do!

>59 Dianekeenoy: I agree with you Diane! I hope to retire in a few years, and already I'm making lists of what I want to accomplish after I retire. Then, I stop myself from adding more because I realize this list making is a way in which I am telling myself that I won't be bored when I retire. I'm so accustomed to working like I'm on a treadmill that is ready to run at the highest level while my body flies through the air and splats against the wall, that I wonder how I will transition from all - nothing.
You are an inspiration to me.
>60 PaulCranswick: And ditto what Paul said!

Thanks Dianekeenoy, Paul, Larry, Linda!!

I want to do all the things I've resented having to put off, do half-assed, abandon, and forgotten about. Cupboards are calling out to me, closets whimpering, boxes in the garage groaning. What's in the attic? What's in the room near the media room? What's in the dormers in the guest bedroom? The extra closet in the playroom behind daughter's bedroom? Stuff I've forgotten about for sure.

I'm aware that I want to start slowly, perhaps deliberately not do anything but read and hang out for the first week or two.

I am beginning to prepare a mental list of things to do around the house, am thinking of a list of things to do every day (like get dressed, use the exercise bike just a little, drink more water than I have been lately, READ, re-start my genealogy project, READ, relax, etc.) I also want to spend more time with my neighbor Louise as she copes with her husband's progressive dementia, and go to California for 2-4 weeks to stay with sister, visit mother, then take road trip with sister up to Northern California to visit with nephew, nieces/baby, aunt, cousins, etc.

I want to plant a vegetable garden this year and actually follow through with the weeding, pruning, harvesting, etc. and not watch it wither away like it has for the last 5-6 years or so.

I want to listen to music, watch movies, go to local museums. I want to visit daughter for a day or here and there. I want to inventory all my books and make sure the tags are correct.....

The lists are getting big but NOT intimidating and I can't wait.

>63 karenmarie: Hope you enjoy getting that genealogy project re-started! Maybe I'll run into you at the State Library & Archives in Raleigh sometime.

T-7 and counting.

That would be wonderful, Lori. Gotta remember where daughter put all my genealogy stuff when I needed room for more books in the sunroom. :)

T-7 indeed.

YAY.

I'm enjoying your countdown and can only imagine how you feel. Not long now!

Thanks, Meg!

Yesterday was mostly routine stuff - my boss was in a monthly steering committee meeting and so was unavailable. I worked on some documentation and started making some inventory adjustments from a physical inventory that the maintenance crib took in December. Of course they'll only let us make $0 adjustments..... but when we set the crib up last year we put everything in at $0 value because it had been expensed when originally purchased. Only new items and items that we've purchased since then have costs. Poor Tim the Maintenance Manager is up to his ass in alligators so I offered to make the adjustments yesterday. 22 items at a time, cut and pasted into a SAP transaction, with 2 entries of data for EACH line after that. Tedious. Mind numbing, but Tim's haunted look eased up a bit when I offered.

And since my boss hasn't given me any directions - I can either look at it as a slight or as a trust in my decision-making powers and choose the latter - I'm working on what I feel is important.

Today I'm home in the morning waiting for the propane company to send a guy out to run a line to where we used to have our wood stove. Husband is tired of dealing with wood so we are putting in a Jotel propane stove. There's a remote possibility that the stove will be installed today but I hope not. I really have too much to do to at work to hang around. I can do it here from home, but it's easier at work. Plus it helps my staff to have me there. Of course who knows what John's going to do to about the reporting structure for them - I have a bad feeling he's going to put them under the woman who supervises the material handlers and there will then be clashes. Sigh. Not my problem.

My 16-year old gray mackerel tabby Kitty William is watching me type. I'll swear he wants to understand what I'm writing. If I don't supervise him carefully he will sit on my book when I'm trying to read and actually walk across the keyboard. Off to check the work computer!

T-6 and counting.

Are you guys supposed to get any snow? WIlliamsburg VA is slated for 5-7 inches, a lot for the but that's further west than you guys. We, in the little ole city of DC, are supposed to have a BLIZZARD with up to three feet! I have enough canned milk and meat to fed an army. I was a madman in the store, I mean I bought Fruit Loops. I haven't bought Fruit Loops...ever. The last time I had Fruit Loops my Mom bought them for me. I'll be eating this crap for a month.

Tonight's going to be a big party night.

Hi Larry! I ended up staying home all day and working quite a bit of it. The propane stove guys are here now, mostly on the roof. By the time they finish, husband will be home. This stove has a Remote Control to let you turn it on from a distance.

Just in time.

We're supposed to get up to .5 inches of ice - enough to cause power outtages. Plus sleet AND snow. It's going to be a real CF tomorrow and into Saturday a.m. I don't think we'll be going to work, but you never know, we might dodge a bullet.

Today I was going to get bacon, more milk, and potatoes. I ended up with $82 worth of groceries, including potato chips, special K chips for dipping, buttermilk to make pancakes or waffles, hamburger, cheese, etc. That's on top of the 2 loaves of bread and milk I bought yesterday afternoon. If we had to eat ourselves out of house and home, it would probably take 2-3 weeks, although husband would go crazy by then without snacks and soda. :)

We're getting ready to hunker down.

Excitement!
I agree with at least two things you wrote in your retirement list: drink more water and READ!
I have a bunch of things I would like to do, but not once has housework ever made the cut. Too bad.
Hope you get through the storm very well. Here in the southeastern part of the state, we will get some ice accumulation, but then it will warm up and the heavy rain will wash it all away by tomorrow night. At least, that's what I hope will happen and what they say. Meanwhile, you can't buy a loaf of bread or a quart of milk. What do people actually do with those two items?

RETIREMENT. Getting close, for sure, although I'm working from home today because of the weather. Sigh. I feel obligated to do some documentation and generate a report for my boss.

I drink milk - love the stuff but am the only one in the family who does - usually have a glass in the morning to wash down my vitamins and my Claratin (well, generic loratadine). We make grilled cheese sandwiches with the bread. Plus there's always French toast.....

We've already had 1/2 inch of snow/sleet and after a lull we're having a huge sleet storm. Just imagine all those billions and billions of tiny ice pellets. Boggles the mind.

Safe and sound, but we're expecting lots of ice and therefore power outtages.

We did get our new propane stove installed - replaces the wood stove in the living room. It's a Jotel, Norwegian design although manufactured in the US. We had the propane line extended yesterday and then it took the stove guys 6 hours to install - they had to modify the piping on the roof, and then install the new pipe inside and the stove itself. Yay. I almost blush to say this, but I like the Remote Control. I pushed one button, and we had instant fire.

Well, back to work. Stay safe and warm, Peggy, your DH, and your kitties.

Sending you a sunny day to use at your convenience:

Ooooh, drink more water. Never mind.

Well, water, milk, coffee, iced tea, the occasional glass of clear soda to keep the kidneys from making another kidney stone. And, oh, yes, the occasional glass of wine. I don't drink beer, and haven't had a mixed drink in probably 3 years.

We dodged a Huge Bullet - no ice. Just snow and sleet. About 3" total, from looking outside. A bit of ice glaze, but nothing serious.

Coffee calls.....

Happy weekend, Karen. Stay safe and warm.

>75 karenmarie: You must be enjoying that coffee, Karen!

Hope that the despite the weather you remain snug and cheerful this Sunday.

Thank you, Barbara! We are safe, warm, and snug. We didn't lose power, - which we consider almost a miracle. We always lose power. But the ice didn't cometh, and thus the electricity stayed.

And Paul, yes, I've been enjoying my coffee. and I'm cheerful too. Mostly fresh ground beans with our good well water, but early in the morning I'm using ground flavored coffee - Crème brûlée - so as to not wake husband up with the coffee mill.

Today - well, yesterday and today - are my last weekend days as an employee. Everything this week will be a "last". Yay.

And tonight is the Panthers game, starting late at 6:40 p.m. However, tomorrow morning may be dicey getting to work on time because although it will get to 42F today, it will get back down to 21F and everything will refreeze.

I finished one of my Christmas presents - Pacific: Silicon Chips by Simon Winchester. Here's my review: Pacific

So as a reward for finishing a large fact-filled book, I decided to go for a ROOT challenge and read The Unstrung Harp by Edward Gorey. I absolutely adore sentences like

"He cannot help but feel that Lirp's return and almost immediate impalement on the bottle-tree was one of his better ideas."

Finished with many smirks and chuckles.

Now to find a book that takes more than 10 minutes. :)

That's a great line. The ' last' Monday. Nice!

Sounds like you have some great plans for your approaching retirement. I love the vegetable garden idea!

Thanks, Lori - actually it's merely getting back to the peace of mind I had when I was having a summer garden successfully. The last 5 years or so have been devastating for several reasons and I'm retiring as much for mental and physical health as for the reason that we can afford for me to.

Peace of mind = vegetable garden, reading, relaxing, genealogy, organizing the house, etc.

Today was my Last Monday. Some training, didn't see hide nor hair of my boss, some reporting. Tomorrow I must make time to start my Farewell Tour.

I am reading a most interesting book that I found at the local Thrift Store over the Christmas Holidays, I think. I didn't catalog it until January 15th, but I was so sick the first couple of weeks of January that I KNOW I didn't go to the Thrift Store then.

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker is fast paced, intriguing, and starts at a gallop.

T-4 and counting. Your last Monday and you have Harry Potter fire. Looking good, Karen.

I added The Island at the Center of the World to the tbr pile. It looks like a great read.

Excitement! I trust that the last week is going to speed by at just the right pace to keep you engaged but to get you out of there!
I'm also delighted to hear that you got only snow. We had ice, but it didn't last more than 8 hours or so. And we got a dusting of snow the next day, but the flakes were so fine that it was hard to see it falling. That was gone in another 4 hours. Today was warm again and with sun. I do so miss the sun when it's gray for day after day.

T-3 and counting.

Hi Larry - yes indeed. People keep commenting that I'm smiling more.

Hey Linda - glad you think so. It's very detailed history so not a zoom-through type book, but well worth the effort IMO.

Hi Peggy! We both dodged bullets. My daughter, in Wilmington, was wistful. She loves "weather" and except for not being able to work, would have enjoyed snow, sleet, freezing rain, and ice from the safety of her apartment. I might start paying more attention to gray or not by NOT being in a building where I don't have access to windows. It doesn't bother me but perhaps in retirement I'll crave blue skies more.

T3 and counting. Yesterday I actually got to sit down with my boss and discuss a few things I'm working on. He had two agenda items, bless him - to ask if I wanted to go out to lunch or have luncheon brought in - so we're going to have food brought to the Technology Center, 3rd building down, where we can sort of "hide" and enjoy ourselves. I asked if my cycle counters can come without worrying about only 20 minutes for lunch and he said of course, so we'll fool the company by having them take their "lunch" after we actually have ours luncheon. The other agenda items was who I thought among his Logistics direct reports should take over my cycle counters. I told him of the two that might make sense I wanted the Rcvg/Shipping Supervisor as opposed to the Material Handlers Supervisor and why. Satisfying.

Harry Quebert is coming along. Had dinner with a friend last night. Am getting excited about Monday. The weekend not so much, but I have fantasies about Monday morning after husband leaves about jammies, coffee, book..... and a whole day of not having to Do Anything Except What I Want knowing that thoughts of work won't play a role.

Today at work will be documentation and training and starting the The Farewell Tour. I actually started a bit yesterday as I saw a few people from Finance and one of the Quality Supervisors.

Farewell Tour coming along. Stopping people as I see them to tell them good-bye.

I'm down to 2 days of work before I retire. Probably more like 1 day and 5 or so hours. Yay. I was in a meeting this afternoon to resolve a problem that I identified last August, tried to get people going on, didn't succeed, then gave up, figuring it would come to a head when we needed to ship. Sure enough, today was the day. Costing wasn't done, Finance didn't know which rev was being built, what the sales order was calling for, miscommunications to Assembly who built the exact right thing, but created the inventory for the wrong rev. I did what I could, left the rest for tomorrow, and washed my hands of it. So glad I won't have to worry about "Hurricane" after Friday afternoon.

>88 karenmarie: a problem that I identified last August
I hope they remembered that you told them so.

I hope you remember it the next time you use the remote to start a fire shoo you can read.

Actually, no. Lay your burden down and walk away.

Final several hours. Exit interview, turn the computer in, wander around saying good bye, luncheon, leave.

Have a wonderful last day at work, Karen, and an even better retirement,

Happy Retirement!

Thanks, Larry and Lori - emotional day, did exactly what I said I'd do in #91 above. They had a nice luncheon for me, I got a retirement cake, the standard $10/year retirement gift from HR ($200, fun money), and the way the Payroll Manager paid out my vacation optimized the cash. The happy surprise was THREE retirement cards worth of signatures, and $105 in cash - this, from people who work on the line, are hourly folks, and certainly need cash more than I do. But I will buy something awesome that we can put in the living room - a small sculpture or vase or other object-d'art that captures my eye - and I can remember the important people from the company I worked for for 20 years and 7 months.

So I came home, emptied the car of the cards, left over food (2 pizzas, a huge tray of salad, and cake), audiobooks, jackets, scarves, gloves, and etc., and took the car to get it inspected - I'll get in just under the deadline of the 31st by registering online. Whew.

Of course I also went to the bank, got gas for the car, stopped off at the Thrift Store and bought the following:

Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews
The Pope's Rhinoceros by Lawrence Norfolk
Map of Time by Felix J. Palma

And a bookmooch book came in the mail today - Murder at Monticello by Rita Mae Brown.

I'm in my jammies and relaxing. Dinner tonight will be, surprise!, pizza, salad, and cake. We will continue watching Season 6 of Downton Abbey. We always buy the series on Blu-Ray, and got in the mail earlier this week (or late last week - my sense of time is somewhat whacked right now.) We watched the first two episodes last night.

Yay.

Weary.

Done.

>94 karenmarie: Congratulations! You are going to have such a wonderful time! I was very excited for you all week and so happy for you.

Mozel tov my friend.

HOORAY FOR KAREN!!!! Congratulations and enjoy! It's going to be awesome for you. Monday will be amazing, Tuesday even better, and two weeks from now ---- honestly, every day is a gift.

I am told retirement is a time to look forwards as much as backwards, Karen, and I am sure that you will do both with your usual equipoise. xx

Have a lovely weekend.

>94 karenmarie: Done.
Hooray! A happy weekend to you, and especially a happy Monday and beyond.

Congrats on your retirement, Karen. Enjoy it. xx

Thank you, Diane, Larry, Peggy, Paul, qebo! I've slept really well the last two nights and anticipate having a fantastic day tomorrow. No alarm, no work. I don't have any plans except perhaps to call my neighbor Louise.

Shower, coffee, breakfast. Fed the cat. Librarything. Heaven on earth. The house is quiet.

>102 karenmarie: Enjoy! I still have 2 puppies on my lap while reading but I really need to get moving. Still too many Christmas decorations staring at me!

Hello lady! The start into your new life sounds fabulous.

Hey Diane! My Christmas decorations are still out..... my goal is to get them upstairs today. We'll see if that actually happens.

Hi Barbara! So far so good. I did have to set the alarm this morning, but for a good reason - my cleaning ladies come every other Tuesday at 7:10 a.m. They're still here - I think they leave earlier when we're not here, so the house is getting extra clean today with me here.

Another goal for today is to package 4 books for Bookmooch requests and take them to the post office.

And read, and read, and read.....

I just finished The Truth About The Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker. Excellent book - lots of twists and turns, backwards and forwards from 1969 to 2008. Love, friendship, mystery, mental illness, violence, redemption, tragedy. All good stuff.

Breezed through Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. How I love her books! This is an umpteenth time re-read and didn't disappoint.

Christie is awesome, I bet she's read in a hundred or two hundred years.

I'm so happy for you that you have all the time on the world. It's so great to see your reading pace going up.

Heh heh heh..... I promise you that it just gets better!

Hi Larry! I agree - Dame Agatha is timeless.

Thanks, Barbara! Just sitting down on the couch to read when I want, kitties cuddling around. Thanks for the kitty pic! Today we had rain storms and the creek is flooded... again.....

Yes, Peggy - I can see the light at the end of the "this still feels like vacation" tunnel, although I'm still in a frenzy of just Not Working. Husband has only said "I'm jealous" once since Sunday night, although today he did say he still has 5 years to go..... But my heart is hardened. I worked when he was home NOT working (not by choice, mind you, but still..... hearing your husband say "Well I'm going to have lunch with Carl today" and getting up after I'd left for work Every Day was tough.)

I bought a book today with some leftover gift certificate money - Desert Heat by J.A. Jance, the first Joanna Brady. So far so good.

Finished. A good start to a potentially interesting series.

Today is lunch with my old IT department - I was in that department for 20 years, then in Logistics for 7 months. They're taking me for a Retirement Lunch, and our old boss and another co-worker, both retired, will join in. Now it's up to three retirees and three still working. We always meet for birthday lunches anyway - I'll just have to start driving for the lunches. Next one will be March 22nd, Michelle's birthday.

Now to find another book.

WOW, will you guys trade some stories!

Have I ever mentioned Gladys Mitchell? Christie contemporary, but odderer. Also, one of my personal favorites is Ngaio Marsh. One thing I really like about each author is you can get through a book in a typical plane ride. Hilda Lawrence? Oh oh oh! Amazon is rolling out Kindle versions of Margaret Millar's books. Beast in View is a classic, up there in the weird zone with Whatever Happened to Baby Jane.

We had a good time, and all agreed that our company WAS a good place to work for until about 2005 or so. They bought my lunch, got me a card, and gave me a $50 Amazon Gift Card. I was feeling good, then got a Facebook message from my Cycle Count Team Leader (well, mine 'til last Friday). My boss put the cycle counters under the material handlers supervisor, which I told him I disagreed with. Donna told me all the horrible things the MH Supervisor is doing to wreck the cycle count group..... makes me cringe. Now I'm feeling stressed and bad for Donna and Janizel and Charles - but there's not a single thing I can do about it. I knew the MH Supervisor would be trouble. Sigh. Not My Problem. I did tell Donna that I'd give her a good recommendation if she finds another job......

I am sorry your work (that should be behind you) bothered you again, hope some find other jobs...
(((hugs))) for caring

>114 karenmarie: Sigh. Not My Problem
Yeah, but not easy to detach.

I bet it would be a lot easier in Barbados.

Congratulations on your retirement! 20 years, wow! It's difficult to think I have 20 minutes left in this day to go. ;)

Insomnia! From a job I retired from last Friday. Also, husband came home distraught - he works at the same company as I did - and "cried on my shoulder" for about 20 minutes. Between Donna and husband I started getting mired in Company Shit. Am I ridiculous or what? Gotta let go of that company, even when husband carries on.

Thanks Anita. And you're right, qebo. Not easy at all. This is the first time since last Friday, though, that I let it get to me. Blech.

Yes it would be a lot easier in Barbados, Larry. It's a lot warmer too. The temperature's dropped 5 degrees outside since I woke up at 2:30. It's now 37F.

Thanks Marie. I was a programmer/analyst for most of my career, starting in 1972 in college. I always was loyal to the hardware and software, never staying at job longer than 4 years until I moved to NC and found my company. I wanted to retire from there and have, it's just that the last 10 years weren't remotely as good as the first 10. It was definitely time to bail. And husband, bless his heart, agreed.

Back to Bill Bryson's amusing and bitchy The Road to Little Dribbling. And hopefully sleep.

Sorry, to hear about your former work place,Karen. I'm glad that you had a good time with your friends at lunch. Happy weekend.

Thanks, Barbara. My retirement resolution is to Let Go of my company. Not the people, just the company.

Happy retirement! Nice to see you are settling in to 'no more work' mode, except for the insomnia bit. Sorry to read that your husband is having a hard time at work.

Yeah, sorry about the work/company thing for both of you.

Thanks, Lori and Larry. I'm only 6 days into this retirement thing and feel pretty good about it so far. I Do Not Miss Work At All. I think I'll start missing some of my friends, but that's what lunches are for. :)

Reading, relaxing, getting caught up on a few things. Switched from coffee to unsweet tea.

I've booked my tickets to go visit my family in California March 5 - 20. The vague plan is to stay with sister/husband a few days, visit Mom, then go on a Road Trip with sister up to visit nieces/great-nephew, nephew, aunt, and various and sundry cousins. Then Road Trip back. We think we'll stop one night each way, doing a bit of sight seeing. Yay.

Horrible Superbowl. Blech. Where was Cam Newton? What awful quarterback was wearing the Cam Newton suit? And why didn't they take him OUT and bring in Anderson? We had some friends of ours over and except for the game itself had fun eating and talking.....

I finished The Road to Little Dribbling and want to alert people to NOT read At Home within 6 months or so of reading Little Dribbling. Too much similarity. It was good, but by the end I was tired of pubs, restaurants, walking tours, historical anecdotes, and litter. The form is monotonous after a bit, too.

I've started two books, Green Tea and Other Stories by J. Sheridan LeFanu, and A Key into the Language of America by Roger Williams. The LeFanu book is ghost stories.

Key is fascinating although after the first 30 or so Native American word/phrase translations into English, I've started skipping the Native American words and just read the English words to see what was important to Roger Williams and to see what kinds of things were important between him and Native Americans. Here's are samples (without the accent marks):

Wonckatack - Another
Tunnati - Where
Ntauhaunanatinnenommin - I cannot find
Cowaunckamaish & Cuckquenamish - I pray your Favour

Not being a linguist, I feel that it is Okay to read the book in this manner. Interspersed among word/phrase translations are observations and comments, which to me are the meat of the book, giving his impressions of the Native Americans, how they live and interact among themselves and the English. It's very interesting.

>124 karenmarie: I absolutely agree about the Super Bowl. The Panthers really fell apart and spent so much time looking puzzled...but like you, we had great snacks! Keep enjoying your retirement, it just keeps getting better and better.

Thanks, Diane! Yesterday and today I've been inventorying my bookshelves, which is fun for me. Making sure things are where they're supposed to be, and in the process have culled 20 books! This means, of course, that I can buy 20 more.

Well, it's official. I've lost my mind. I just finished Green Tea and Other Ghost Stories, went to update my tags and rate it, and discovered that I read it in 2009. I honestly didn't remember a SINGLE thing about this book, that's how unmemorable it was. Here's what I wrote in 2009:

I just finished Green Tea and Other Ghost Stories by J. Sheridan LeFanu and was mostly disappointed. They were very atmospheric and I loved the language and pacing, but I guess they weren't ... explit... enough for me. No true ghosts, nothing proven, just hints, and vagueness.

Well, fortunately, it was only 92 pages. Sheesh. My comments still hold, though. And actually, it should have been called Green Tea and Pacts with the Devil. No ghosts.

Sigh. Back to A Key into the Language of America and I've started a totally silly summer book although it's only about 40F out called Savannah Breeze by Mary Kay Andrews. I've read a couple of the others in the series, and this one is about Bebe Loudermilk. Fun, frivolous, silly.

>127 karenmarie: LOL, maybe your mind can be found again, Karen ;-)
Before LT this happened to me once in a while, now I first check here before picking a up a book.
I don't mind a re-read, some books are so good or comfy that they are to be read regular, but not unintentional.

Hi Anita!

Good idea to check - since I record whether I've read it or not.

I definitely love to re-read certain books - Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Georgette Heyer, J.K. Rowling come to mind.

>129 karenmarie: Re-reads? Interesting..

My top ten

Agatha Christie
The Sherlock Holmes books
Charles Dickens
Tolkien
Hammond Innes
Alistair MacLean
The Doctor Who books
Of Mice and Men
Cider With Rosie
The Chatto Book of Modern Poetry, 1915-1955

Have a lovely weekend, Karen

Thank you, Paul. We had a nice weekend. We had lunch with I also love to re-read the Jack Reacher books, Bill Bryson, and Stephen King.

We had a very nice weekend, thank you. We met a friend of husband's and his wife for lunch on Saturday. We went to their offices first so they could show us around. They wanted to walk to the diner for lunch, but between it being 33F out and my feet performing poorly lately, they walked and we drove. Lunch was only adequate. Elmo's is a bit pretentious and overreaching, but the company was fantastic.

Sunday was Valentine's Day. Cards, candy, and lunch out. Very nice.

Wishing you a great start into the new week, Karen.

Thanks, Barbara! Today is freezing rain and sleet. Everything shuts down around us under those circumstances, including my chiropractic appointment today. And they don't have anthing available between now and my next scheduled appointment. Very irritating.

I finished up an old Perry Mason book - The Case of the Moth-Eaten Mink by Erle Stanley Gardner. I must say I was disappointed. The language was stilted and awkward, the case was confusing, and the resolution weird. I'm not sure I'll re-read any more, which is sad. I started reading Perry Masons when I was 11 and it was the adult continuation of my fascination with mysteries that started with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I won't get rid of what's on my shelves, yet, but will wait a while before trying another.

Sorry to hear about missing your appointment du to the bad weather. Stay safe.

We're warming up! Sorry about your feet, but happy that you've had a pretty good weekend.
I guess I was lucky. At 11 I graduated from Nancy Drew to Agatha Christie and have loved her ever since. I do love Perry Mason on MeTV!

I've never read any ES Gardner. What would you recommend as a good starter?

Hi Larry! I like starting series at the beginning, and the first of the series is The Case of the Velvet Claws. Of course there are 85 in the series according to LT. I remember my mother had a piece of cardboard with a list of all the books (this was in the late 60s) and she'd put a line through it if she'd read the book. She'd get them from the library and we'd both read them.

I finished Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin and it turned out to be a much better book than I thought halfway-through. John Rebus' backstory is critical to the entire book and there are some clever things, some interesting insights into the characters and to life and living in general, and a satisfactory mystery/solution. Just a teensy bit of deus-ex-machine, but it was okay with me.

I'm now reading The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Found it at the Friends of the Library Sale, dust coverless and forlorn, and brought it home to join my book family. It's very good so far.

I've been inventorying my shelves, starting with the sunroom. I'll be finished with it tomorrow, then it's off to the Library, then the parlour, then the kitchen, then, O happy idea, off to take a few shelves over in daughter's rec room.

I finished The Girl on the Train just a few minutes ago and it was a wonderful psychological thriller. I had it figured out before the end, but not by much. Very well written, excellent dialog and I was pulled in immediately.

Now to find another book to read.....

Oh oh oh! I just started Beyond This Point Are Monsters by Margaret Millar. Oh how I do love her. I'm going to buy a Kindle version of The Case of the Velvet Claws. Sounds good and I like mysteries from the 30s.

The Millar book sounds good, Larry. I've never heard of her, even though I'm from SoCal! I'll have to check her out.

Good luck with the ESG.

Beast in View is a camp classic. T-1 min...

One minute left wasn't bad..... and Beast in View sounds creepy. Sounds great.

Millar has Highsmith's keen psychological insights without her moral ambiguity. I hope you like her.

Naw, T-1 min was time to leave for the weekend minus 1 minute. Whoohoo!

Her books sound good. Another new author and probably many book bullets! Thanks, I think, Larry!

3 hours and countless hundreds of dollars later we have new smart phones. The guy at Verizon was knowledgeable. I also got my early anniversary present (on my husband's birthday - shame on me!) - a Verizon Ellipsis 10 tablet. I don't know how to use it yet, but I'll figure it out next week.

Tonight is dinner with friends to celebrate husband's 60th birthday and then home for my homemade cheesecake.

Happy Birthday for your husband, Karen. Enjoy the dinner.

Thank you, Barbara, we had a lovely time. The company was good, as was the food, and the cheesecake was, even if I do say so myself, scrumptious.

Today is lazing around, writing letters, playing here on LT, and possibly doing some laundry.

I've started a book by Minette Walters called Fox Evil, very good so far.

>146 karenmarie: Glad to hear that you had a blast. I love Walters' books. Reminds me to read her this year, too.

Was Minette Walters the one who wrote a series set during WW I?

One of the authors I like who wrote a series set AFTER WWI is Charles Todd - the Ian Rutledge Series. Charles Todd (mother and son team) also have written the Bess Crawford series, which I'm not as interested in.

I don't know about Minette Walters and WWI, but I don't think she writes series.

Karen, if you like Minette Walters you may well like Hilary Bonner whose books have a certain similarity IMO.

Thanks, Paul! I will check her out.

Speaking of Charles Todd, I have devoured the newest Ian Rutledge, No Shred of Evidence. Extremely interesting and well done. Hamish makes much more of an appearance in this one and there is at least one interesting plot twist that makes me yearn for the new one - of course THIS one just came out so I'll have to wait 'til next year. Sigh.

Today is more inventorying of books and a wish to clone myself - in the course of inventorying 1873 books I've rediscovered perhaps 2 dozen that I want to read right now.

Off to find another book to read AND to inventory location L27. :)

>152 karenmarie: That one looks interesting. It arrived earlier this month in the library.

Hi Lori: I love the Ian Rutledge series. There were a few where Hamish didn't make much of an appearance and the mysteries were meh, but mostly the series is strong and well done. I hope that you'll like it.

I've decided to read The Map of Time by Felix J. Palma. I usually shy away from Jack the Ripper stuff, but this one has gotten me interested rather quickly.

>154 karenmarie: Well there would be something a bit funny about young ladies actively seeking out The Ripper, Karen!

Have a lovely Sunday.

Hi Paul! Let's see, is 62 1/2 young? Yes, if your goal is your 90s like mine is.

I have always been fascinated by true crime and started reading books about the US gangsters of the 1930s and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln when I was in my teens. Looking through my library now I'm reminded about how much I love the writing of Vincent Bugliosi, starting with Helter Skelter. I have 6 of his books, looks like there are another 9. I don't know if they're all non-fiction or not. I was living in LA during that period and it terrorized people as it was occurring. We lived (and my mother still lives) in a different direction than the focus of Manson's sick activities (LA, Valley, west LA, etc.) but I remember seeing it all on the front page of the (yellow rag) Herald Examiner that my dad insisted was a better paper than the LA Times.

Ah, memory lane.

My fascination also helps explain the fact that my favorite genre bar none is mysteries. Offhand the only subgenre I don't particularly care for is cozy mysteries except for Dame Agatha.

So husband and I watched the 2015 Poldark series and have fallen in love. Naturally I had to get the first book, Ross Poldark, and have read about 100 pages since last night. Good, interesting writing.

Today I am getting my car detailed - there's a mobile service that will come to your house as long as you have an outside faucet and a source of electricity. Husband's birthday present last weekend was getting his car detailed, this weekend is my retirement present of getting mine done.

I've started thinking about my California trip and am getting excited.

>156 karenmarie: Well 62 and a half gets younger with every day I get closer to it.

Yes. But you and I will always be the EXACT same number of years apart. When you're 62 1/2 I'll be 75, I think - you're just about 50, right?

Here's a bizarre thought - my daughter will be exactly half my age when I'm 80 and she's 40. Okay, stopping that ramble.

Wow. I just finished Ross Poldark by Winston Graham. Excellent book - lyrical, informative, fun, romantic, vivid. I devoured it in less than 4 days.

We just watched the 2015 Poldark series and I needed to read the book. Some of the dialog is taken verbatim, some license taken, but the whole of it respected.

I've ordered Demelza and Jeremy Poldark and can't wait for them to arrive tomorrow.

Lovely and powerful writing.

I'm starting to get ready for my trip to California - March 5 to March 20. Got my wallet in order, registered travel strategies with my credit card and bank debit card.

Tomorrow I'll start packing.

In the meantime, I'm going to go visit a friend who had knee replacement surgery last Tuesday. I spoke with his wife yesterday and she said that yesterday was the first day he has actually felt good - I know he had a rough time in the hospital, and if James says the pain is worse than kidney stones (which he and I have both had), then it had to have been really rough.

Yesh! How long ago did he have the surgery? I hate not being young any more.

Safe journey, Karen.

Hi Larry! His surgery was last Tuesday and he's babying himself - not walking as much as he should. I had a good time with him and Joyce and then stopped off at my neighbor Louise's on the way home.... it's so NICE to just be able to do what I wanted today.

I'm not thrilled at being 62 1/2, but it beats the alternative. I hate that I'm not flexible and that I have no strength in my legs. But it comes to all of us and I'm trying to handle the signs of aging gracefully.

Thank you, Barbara.

So much going on!!!
Dear Karen, at 71 I'll say that practicing standing up and sitting down without flopping is a smart thing for you to start now. I wish I had begun sooner. Yeah - age is not quite what I had expected. Like you, I plan to live way into my 90s. (Mama is 94, slower, but still driving, living alone, counting the $ for the weekly church deposit, playing bridge, doing water aerobics at least 3 times a week, reading, cooking, and being completely herself. What a model!) Anyway, both of us swear by the benefits of the pool, and I recommend it with my whole heart.
YAY POLDARK!!!!! I am having a harder and harder time watching current video stuff because it's so word poor. The earlier BBC Poldark series is a feast of words from the books. I've never been a Robin Ellis fan, but the rest of the cast was just perfect. If you ever come across it, you should give it a chance. My only real quibble, besides the Ellis, was that they left out Aunt Agatha.
I haven't read any Minette Walters in a long time. I wasn't aware of any series, so I'll have to check that out. She reminds me a bit of Ruth Rendell / Barbara Vine.
Have a fabulous, safe trip!!!

That's right, you leave for swimmin' p and movie stars on Saturday!

Hi Peggy - note taken on strengthening my legs. Your mother is a wonderful model. My mother is 84, has a lot of health problems, but still goes to Bible Study on Sundays, water therapy on Fridays, and bunco once a month. She is just now acknowledging that her driving days are probably over, and her former boarder currently helper and errand-runner Terril is going to the store, helping cook meals, and taking her places.

I love Minette Walters. Fox Evil was very satisfying.

Yes Larry! "California here I come, right back where I started from..." I'm going to start packing here pretty soon..... my list needs to be reviewed once or twice more then I'll start.

After I write a letter to a 91-year old friend and eat breakfast.....

I've always been a last-minute packer.

Happy weekend, Karen.

Thank you, Barbara!

Mostly packed, just made the decision to NOT bring my new tablet. The laptop, Kindle, and cellphone should be enough. :)

I'm bringing two Poldark books and my non-fiction A Key into the language of America by Roger Williams. If I get through all those, I can either buy more books or download to the Kindle. I hope to read some of Clarissa by Samuel Richardson on the Kindle too, inspired by Lori.

Safe travels, Karen!

Good if long flights (3 hours each, Raleigh to Dallas/Fort Worth, Dallas/Fort Worth to Ontario. Dinner with sister and husband, yum. And my first joyous reunion with ordering "iced tea". Unsweet.

Today is rainy, today is going to either see a movie and/or going to the best deli in the Inland Empire.....

And I finished Demelza. So good, such wonderful writing and interesting story.

Oh oh oh! Have you seen the new Star Wars movie? Oh man, it really got to me.

>170 karenmarie: I flew in and out of RDU once and loved the airport. Terminal 2 was pretty new at the time, and I loved how "connected" it was with all the ports and electric at each seat. I'll be in Raleigh the next couple of long weekends, but I won't be flying.

Hi Larry! Daughter and I went to see Star Wars over Christmas and loved it. It really had the feel of Episode 4, which is really the only one I liked.

Lori - I really liked Terminal 2. Easy to get into and around. Lots of interesting shops although I didn't do any shopping. Aack! I won't be back 'til the 20th, so probably won't get to see you.

Today is major laziness, we haven't even gotten out of our jammies. We're getting tons of rain.

Tomorrow we're going up the coast. We're going to Solvang for part of the day, spend the night in Pismo Beach, take a tour at the Hearst Castle, then finish the day in San Bruno CA visiting niece/wife/baby.

>173 karenmarie: Probably not unless you go to the Passion Play at Green Pines Baptist Church in Knightdale that evening (the 20th) where I'll be singing. I'll have to leave early the next morning so I can work the evening shift at the library.

Glad to see you really liked Ross Poldark. I haven't seen the TV adaptions yet, but I think this is one of those stories I want to read first before watching. ;-)

Have a wonderful trip!

>170 karenmarie: I will get to Demelza soon. I read the first Poldark book in December and really enjoyed it.
Have a lovely Sunday, Karen.

Wow! When you fall off the grid you're gone!

Hey, Karen. It's Pi Day around the world. 3.14 etc. etc. etc. So have a slice of pie in commemoration. It's your civic duty.

Hi guys!

Sorry I'm going to miss seeing you Lori.

Also, Lori K - the trip is wonderful so far. I devoured Ross Poldark and Demelza but decided to wait on Jeremy Poldark. Since then I read Save the Date by Mary Kay Andrews, a fluffy Southern Romance.

Larry - I had a problem with my proxy settings but figured them out tonight at the Best Western in Paso Robles California. Sister and I just saw Whisky Tango Foxtrot with Tina Fey - excellent movie - had Chinese food for dinner, and are back at the motel reading and relaxing.

Thanks, Bill! That pi looks yummy.

We visited nieces/baby and my nephew Wednesday - today and all of us went to see my Aunt Joyce and Uncle Ted Saturday night in Aptos CA. Wonderful visit all around, so special to see family since mine is so small and mostly in California.

Tomorrow we're going to the Justin Vineyard and Winery. I bought some bottles of the Syrah in ... 2006? earlier? and thought it the best red I'd ever had. We were going to go a winery anyway, I checked to see where Justin was and it's on the way home. Seredipity.

Off to read and eat Red Vines licorice - the best red licorice. Twizzlers doesn't hold a candle.

Happy to hear how well your visit is going! In fact, you've been AWOL, and I'll bet it's because you're doing so much and having so much fun. Hope so!
GLAD to see another Poldark fan!

I am also very glad to note that your trip continues to be splendid, Karen. I had to look up Red Vines licorice. Wouldn't do much for my diet, I expect.

Have a lovely weekend.

Yay for drinking wine, going to the movies and eating out. I hope you're having a blast!

Hi Peggy! Yes, I've been AWOL. Part of it is because of proxy settings problems, part of it is just because I was busy and having tons of fun. And I love Poldark - time to read Jeremy Poldark.

Thanks, Paul - my trip was totally excellent. We went to Justin Vineyard and Winery last ... Tuesday. I think. My sister is not much on wine, so she puckered her lips a lot, but I just sucked it all down. I joined their Wine club and will get 2 bottles of white and 4 of red next month. And the same distribution in September. It's a beautiful drive out there, and a gorgeous wine tasting room and facility.

Red Vines do not do well for diets mostly, but when I was on The Zone Diet I could eat one Red Vine as my carbohydrate snack..... 9 grams of carbs. To go along with 7 of protein and 1 of fat. And I'm very bizarre in that I like it dried out and chewy, not fresh. We can finally get it here in NC, thank goodness. My mother used to mail it to me at Christmastime.

Hi Larry - we had a blast squared. Best vacation ever. It turns out that my sister and I are excellent Road Trip companions - talk when we want, silent when we want, easy going about making choices, and etc.

Back in NC, fighting a cold. I was feeling a tad puny in CA and the 4 changes in pressure flying home and the contained germs got a slight foothold. Not enough to keep me down, just feeling less sparky than usual.

I had lunch with old work friends today - it was Michelle's birthday. We always celebrate birthdays, it's just that I'm now in the Retired Side of the House, not the Active Side of the House. There are 6 of us, and we're now evenly split 3/3. Today we had an out of town IT person join us from our parent in Auburn Hills MI. He was mostly quiet but he and his wife are expecting their first baby in September so we got him going on that a bit.

Off to relax and read a bit.

Have a wonderful Easter.

Karen, I wish you a fabulous weekend.

Thank you Paul and Barbara. Easter to me has always meant candy and hidden eggs, not religion, I'm afraid - my dad gave up on the church when in his teens and Mom wasn't strong enough against him to insist on religion/church as we were growing up. I went to church a few times with friends and neighbors, but never felt the commitment or made the commitment. Since Dad died Mom has gone back to church, and my sister/husband are Pentacostals.... I always joke with them and ask how the snakes are doing. No snakes, but sister and I have fun with it.

Today was joining the new Costco near us - only 30 miles away - and buying $384 worth of stuff. Needed stuff, mostly, but a few treats. When we got home and had put everything away, husband sat down at the TV, turned it on, and was shocked there was no NCAA Basketball March Madness - he forgot it was Friday. I went to visit neighbor Louise and stayed for 2 hours. Just got home and am watching Kitty William watch me type and watch the mouse move. Computer mouse, that is. He just yearns to understand and participate.

Sunday we are going to husband's high school friend's mother's house for Easter Luncheon - she's 91 but still lives alone and is doing pretty well. She always has the most interesting people come to visit and we made the "A" list about 5 years ago and are invited to every Easter Luncheon. Daughter will join us from Wilmington NC and we'll have a wonderful time. Daughter enjoys watching old people enjoy their wine and loosen up, as she puts it..... she will definitely be the youngest there at 22. If it's the mostly same crowd as last year, the next youngest will be about 28 or so. That's if that couple comes back, otherwise the youngest will be about 40.

Off to read!

Sounds like you don't need any help working into your retirement, Karen. YAY!

Hi Peggy - no, I'm working into it slowly. I haven't exhausted myself cleaning out everything that needs cleaning out, haven't started volunteering anywhere. I'm reading, hanging out on the computer, putzing around the house. Husband and I did clean out the storage room under the staircase yesterday, and I finally got all the clothes out of the hall closet and cleaned the floor. Had to get the vacuums back in in an organized manner.

I'm reading a really good Harlan Coben book - Fool Me Once. I'm also reading Quartet by Joseph E. Ellis and A Key into the Language of America by Roger Williams. I've even started Brown Girl Dreaming for bookclub, but I'm finding it a bit irritating.

Off to get ready for Easter Luncheon!

Happy Easter OK to Wear Pastels Day! What do you think of the Coben book? There's one of his I want to read but forget the name.

Hi Larry!! Well, I failed the Wear Pastels Day requirement. I wore black jeans, a maroon button-down long sleeve shirt and a black down vest. We had a nice time. Interesting, intelligent people.

We traveled to Atkinson for Easter Luncheon - 2 3/4 hours there in rain, 4 hours there, and 2 3/4 hours back in rain. Our darling hostess, 91 and a fanatic gardener, insisted that daughter and I visit her garden even though it was raining. We wandered through a few pathways of marvelous azaleas and rhododendrons, getting wetter and wetter, then finally made our way to grass, wandered over to a huge rose bush with the teensiest yellow roses in the world - probably no wider than 3/4" each - finally giving up and going back inside. We overheard Frances asking a landscaping friend to order her 30 azaleas, much technical talk involved, and were pleased that her gardening is continuing apace although her vision has seriously deteriorated since I saw her in November. She is almost completely blind now.

I like the Coben book a lot - I only got it in the mail two days ago and am already on page 258 of 390. And that's with watching BB last night and being out all day today. It pulled me in right away and for what it is - a thriller with no pretentions to literature - quite good.

I have 25 books by Coben, 7 of them tagged 'tbr' including the one I'm reading right now. I might have to read more of them. :)

I finished Fool Me Once last night - an amazingly good book with a stunner of an ending. I did not predict it at all. I like books like that.

I've decided to read a ROOT challenge book, Anatomy of a Murder by Robert Traver. So Far So Good.

Monday, overcast, headache-y sort of day. I didn't sleep well Saturday night, was very busy yesterday, and just can't seem to get much energy going so far today.

Thank goodness I Don't Have To Go To Work. Being retired has its perks.

Back to reading and drinking coffee.

I wish you a relaxed weekend, Karen.

Thank you, Barbara! Relaxing days, busy evenings. Tonight is the NCAA Men's Basketball game between our own UNC Tarheels and Syracuse and tomorrow night is bookclub to discuss a book I won't have finished reading. Free verse. Blech.

I finished Anatomy of a Murder and am almost finished with a fluff book The Fixer Upper by Mary Kay Andrews. Still reading Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 by Joseph Ellis and A Key Into the Language of America by Roger Williams.

I always thought Ruth Rendell was a cozy writer but got disabused of that notion. Do you have a favorite of hers you can recommend?

Hi Larry! My three favs are A Judgment in Stone, Wolf to the Slaughter, and One Across, Two Down. I have 33 of them on my shelves, and have read 25 of them. Have fun!

I spent 9 hours today, off and on, with Dell Tech Concierge, reinstalling windows 8. Still don't have most of my programs back on, and it's back to 8, not 8.1. Tomorrow afternoon we'll continue the process, Gaurav and I.

Be Wary of Upgrading to Windows 10!!!!! I have had Windows 10 messages for months and months, so decided to perform the upgrade. Windows Live Mail immediately hosed, and when I called Dell they told me that my laptop was not compatible and that I should have looked on their website. Huh.

Nothing but problems ever since. Sucks pond water.

So tomorrow a.m. is the dentist - a piece broke off inside a crown and after 2 days of getting the crown off and out, go tomorrow to continue the process to get the crown back. And I had a serious lapse of faith in my dentist of 25 years, so am SO not looking forward to this.

However, tonight is the final between UNC and Villanova. Go 'Heels! Should be fun. It's not the end of the universe for me if they lose, although I'd like for them to win, but husband lives and breathes Tarheel Basketball so they need to win for him. Otherwise he'll be a bear for a day or two.....

>195 karenmarie: It is such a pain when your laptop has problems :-(

I succesfully upgraded to Windows10 shortly after it came available, a few programs did not work anymore, but within Windows 10 you can let them run in an other version of Windows, by using that I got them back running again.
Now I have a new laptop and those old programs (like my old Ulead Photo Express from 1998!) work here too.

Hope all goes well at the dentist....

Hi Anita!

Laptop and dental problems. Woe is me! I'm continuing to get the computer back, although I think I'll need to go to 8.1 instead of the 8.0 Dell reinstalled yesterday. And I can't get to my e-mail yet. Sigh.

The Dental visit was awful - shots and drilling - and the whole right side of my face is numb. Time for ibuprophen and coffee. (not too hot so I don't unintentionally burn myself in my numbness)

Fortunately nothing else to do today except mourn the Tarheels loss. What a heartbreaker. Husband was more distraught than I was, although I really did want them to win.

I've heard from other people who have Dells and had the same problem with Windows 10. I'm running Windows 8 on a HP and hate it. No way will I download 10, because MS's slogan seems to be 'Sucks Less than Windows 8.1!'

What's your weather like? It was in the 20s here this am. Wackiness!

Beware, Larry! Microsoft is the one sending out the "Upgrade to Windows 10" messages, not Dell. Dell apparently has a list of their computers that it's not compatible with. It never occurred to me that there would be a compability issue. Mine, unfortunately, is one of the incompatible ones, and I won't even get close to back to normal until Friday.

This a.m. was 30Fs, I think, but tonight it's supposed to be 29F. And Saturday night it's supposed to get to 28F.

A friend of mine says he always knew when the last frost would occur. It was an infallible method. The last frost would occur when his peach tree was in full bloom. Kee-rash. Black peach blossoms and no fruit.

Yesterday while working with Dell to once again fix my computer back to Windows 8 after foolishly upgrading to Windows 10 (note to Dell users: check with Dell prior to upgrading. not all of their computers are compatible with Windows 10.), I picked up A Key into the Language of America that I started in February and finally finished it.

Here's my review: A Key Into the Language of America

Oh yuck. Dentists and Windows 10 + MS help - not a pleasing combination. I could wish that you were spending your first bit of retirement in a more positive way. Then I think how awful both would be if you were still working! Call me Polly-Anna!
Lovely review of *Key*! Duly acknowledged with thumb. I won't read it, but I appreciate the fact that you did.
And - oh WOE. So sorry about the game. Never mind. It's still "HOW 'BOUT THEM HEELS!" around here.

Yuck indeed. I woke up about 4:30 this morning in about 5 out of 10 pain, took ibuprophen and then slept until 8:30.

I've had coffee and brekkie and finished up Funerals are Fatal by Agatha Christie. This is the second Christie that I have re-read after seeing someone's thread mention that they are reading it. I am going to continue to re-read Christies as they are mentioned among the 75ers. The only ones I won't bother with are Tuppence and Tommy. I have never enjoyed reading them and actually think there are some I have NEVER read. I've read pretty much every other Christie.

So far here are several things I like about retirement:
1. No alarm clocks except every other Tuesday for my cleaning ladies. Financially we may decide to either reduce or eliminate their schedule, but so far we're continuing with them. We've had them for 22 years although it used to be Pat and Clarissa (cousins) and now it's Pat and Pam (mother and daughter). To use a wonderful Southernism, they're a mess.
2. Slowly cleaning out drawers and cabinets and making plans to attack the outside-the-media-room closet. First phase is getting rid of husband's old magazines WITH his permission, of course. I might bring down a hundred or so today. I'll let him review them before they go to the recycle table at the dump.
3. Not thinking about the problems at my former and husband's current company in an internal-sort of way. First week after retiring husband had an issue that I wanted to Do Something About. I realized I couldn't, but it really bothered me. Now, meh. Parenthetically, I miss seeing some of my favorite people but nothing else about that place.
4. Being able to make personal appointments during the week and in the middle of the day. Everything either had to be at the end of the day to minimize missing work or on Saturdays or after hours. Now, I can schedule a hair appointment for Thursday at 12:15!!!! Breakfast with friends at 10!!!! It hasn't lost its novelty.
5. Having quiet time in the house without the TV on. Husband, bless his heart, is one of those people who need background noise even if they aren't directly watching TV. So whether he's watching it or not, it's on. I'm not doing it on purpose, but so far I haven't turned on the TV once.
5. Going to bookclub Sunday nights without worrying about being tired Monday morning.
6. Being happy to do whatever husband wants to do on the weekends, knowing that I'll have the quiet time I need Monday- Friday. It's really alright to go to Walmart to look at TVs and eat lunch out on Sunday, not fussing about the precious weekend time away from the house.

Off to have my second cup of coffee and start Lexicon by Max Barry, suggested by you, dear Peggy.

W00T! Hope you like Lexicon half as much as I did!
I'm smiling at your retirement list.......... #5: I'm married to one of those too. And getting to eat lunch out! And the hair appointments! Oh yes, this is the life! I hope that you're finally through all the dental pain.

Good morning, Peggy! It's tender, and a reduced round of ibuprophen is indicated as I gird my loins and rush into the Friends of the Library Sale this morning.

My usual companion can't make it this year - she has to take her husband to a doctor who can only see him This Morning or she'll have to wait several weeks - so I rushed out at 7 a.m. and got a numbered ticket so that when I return about 8:45 I can be No. 10 in line to go in. I haven't decided whether to rush over to the audiobooks or to the one-time-only sale of 700 donated records.

Today will be busy - book sale, haircut (see #4 above), then cashiering at the book sale from 5-7 p.m.

I would be terribly surprised if I had the same success that I had in the fall of 2015, but it will be fun to see some of the people I know and perhaps snag a few good'uns.

I am enjoying but not loving Lexicon, as some of it seems confusing to me, but I'm only about 75 pages in and anticipate its getting clearer as I continue to read. I really like Emily and Wil.

It does clear up as you read further.
Good luck with the book sale AND the haircut!!!

I want a swag report!

>204 karenmarie: Good luck with the Library Sale! When I retired year before last, I volunteered to help set up our library sale as well as help out. That puts me in a great position to get some great early books. I just have to be careful not to buy the books that I donated!

Hi Larry: See below. My computer is still relatively hosed - in process with a Windows 8.1 upgrade, re-install of my printer, and generally getting back to where I was before I STUPIDLY upgraded to Windows 10.

Beware. Do not assume that because you are getting popups to schedule your Windows upgrade that your computer is actually compatible with Windows 10. Check with your computer mfr.

Hi Diane: I debated volunteering this year to help sort, but didn't want to be put in the position of feeling like I had to actually work the sale for them - I want to be there first thing and find treasures.

Which I did.

(and now Windows 8.1 install is interrupting me again and don't want to risk it restarting in the middle of this list of my swag, so I'll return later today)

Swag, haul, booty, treasures:

8 Easton Press 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" books of poems by: Browning, Burns, Byron, Coleridge, Longfellow, Shakespeare, Shelley, Tennyson
The Friendly Jane Austen by Natalie Tyler
The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig
Life for a Life by T. Frank Muir touchstone not working
Flood of Fire by Amitav Ghosh
The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh
An Impartial Witness by Charles Todd
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Love Story, with Murders by Harry Bingham
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer
Night Train by Martin Amis
The Arts by Hendrik Willem Van Loon
The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer
Lila by Marilynne Robinson
Ladies Night by Mary Kay Andrews
On the Choice of a Mistress by Benjamin Franklin
The Chessmen by Peter May
Blowback by Peter May
The Lewis Man by Peter May
Exit Lines by Reginald Hill
A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
Bruno Chief of Police by Martin Walker
The Marx Sisters by Barry Maitland
Police by Jo Nesbo
The Janissary Tree by Jason Goodwin
One Man's Flag by David Downing
Dark Mirror by Barry Maitland

Audiobooks:
Where God Was Born by Bruce Feiler
America's Hidden History by Kenneth C. Davis
His Excellency George Washington by Joseph J. Ellis
Paris by Edward Rutherford

**windows 8.1 interruption again**

>209 karenmarie: Wow, what a haul! Congratulations! I'm looking forward to the Bethelem Book Sale in May, hope I'm as lucky as you were.

Love Story, with Murders looks good. The first in the series is free on Kindle so I downloaded it.

>209 karenmarie: You found a lot, Karen ;-)
I just started to read the Dutch translation of The Janissary Tree :-)

That is an amazing list! I'm drooling at the thought of those two Ghoshes. Also checking out the Bingham with thanks to that guy for the Kindle tip.

#210 Hey Diane! I hope you're as lucky, too. I just kept finding books and finding books..... I stopped after 2 hours because I was tired. And of course I'll go Saturday for $5/bag day.....

#211 Hi Larry! Wow! Thank you, I just downloaded Talking to the Dead for free too!!! Excellent. I find that I want to read series in order, now, and was going to have to spring for it. But, the springing was free.

#212 Hello Anita! I did find a lot, and there were probably dozens more I could have found - I didn't even look in mass market paperbacks or cookbooks or science fiction. Ah well, Saturday bag day looms.

Back to Windows 8.1. My Dell Tech Concierge guy should call soon to continue the process.

In addition to books, I got the following records:
45 rpm:
Simon and Garfunkle "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and "Keep the Customer Satisfied"
Herman's Hermits "I'm Henry the VIII, I Am" and "The End of the World"
A Charlie Brown Christmas Read-Along Book & Record
Rubber Duckie Sesame Street Book & Record

33 rpm:
Kiss Me, Kate Original Broadway Cast Recording
The Swingle Singers Christmastime
E. Power Biggs 24 Historic Organs in 8 Countries Covering 7 Centuries of Music by 24 Composers
E. Power Biggs Bach Organ Favorites
E. Power Biggs Bach Organ Favorites Volume 2
E. Power Biggs The Biggs Bach Book
E. Power Bigs The Organ in Sight and Sound
Jazz Poll Winners (my mom and dad had this one)
Hair - I still have the copy I got for Christmas from my parents in 1968, but this one is much cleaner
21 of the World's Greatest Trombonists Led by the Superb Trombone of Urbie Green (for daughter)

$2/each for the 33s, $1/each for the 45s. Such a deal.

Off to $5/bag day at the Friends of the Library Sale.....

>215 karenmarie: Good luck! Can't wait to hear what you find today!

Happy weekend, Karen.

Hi Diane and Barbara! Got some good ones, Diane, and thank you, Barbara! Buying books always makes the weekend wonderful.

I came home with two bags. $10. Herewith the haul:

Folly du Jour by Barbara Cleverly
The Blood Royal by Barbara Cleverly
The Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization by Hornblower and Spawforth
How to Do Everything by Courtney Rosen & the eHow Editors
Three Exemplary Novels by Miguel de Cervantes
King of the Confessors by Thomas Hoving
Heloise & Abelard by James Burge
Insatiable by Meg Cabot
Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
Rooms by Lauren Oliver
The Future for Curious People by Gregory Sheryl
Jefferson's Legacy A Brief History of the Library of Congress by John Y. Cole
Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis
Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer
The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier by Jakob Walter
Nora Webster by Colm Toibin
The Gift of the Magi and Other Stories by O. Henry
Passing on by Penelope Lively
The Teleportation Accident by Ned Beauman
The Illustrious Dead by Stephan Talty
Impulse & Initiative by Abigail Reynolds
The Game of Thirty by William Kotzwinkle
Autumn, All The Cats Return by Philippe Georget
The Commoner by John Burnham Schwartz
The Interpretation of Murder by Jed Rubenfeld
The Intern by Gabrielle Tozer
The Ritual Bath by Faye Kellerman
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz
The Preacher by Camilla Lackberg
The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz
Fiddlers by Ed McBain
In a Dark House by Deborah Crombie
A Sight for Sore Eyes by Ruth Rendell
Monday Mourning by Kathy Reichs

78 books, 4 audiobooks, and 14 records for a total of $160. I'm happy.

Wow, what a book haul.

That's an incredible deal!

>219 karenmarie: Congratulations, how much fun will you have going through all your treasures!

Barbara, mistrust, Diane - twice a year I over-indulge in books (the other 363 days I only indulge in books). Our book sale is a good deal. They just sent an e-mail out telling everybody that they made over $21,000. They do this twice a year, and our library is the beneficiary.

I cataloged all my booksale purchases yesterday. I took books out of shelves downstairs to put upstairs (won't need them anytime soon) so I could put the new ones where I can see them every day. Husband handed me books while I clung to a ladder and put the books in the recessed shelving in the upstairs Parlour. I just finished retagging them from "S" something to "P" 41 or 42. And I just realized that when daughter helped me clear out the shelf in the sunroom (currently tagged S01-S04) by putting photograph albums on the "P"41 and 42 shelves, she took down all the books and put them in her rec room but I haven't reclassified them. Sigh. Fun.

I'm either reading or re-reading The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer. I say this because I honestly can't remember if I've ever read this one before. I bought it because it's one of the new excellent trade paperbacks published by Sourcebooks Casablanca. I expected to take an old ratty copy down and put this shiny new one up, but there was no old ratty copy to take down. *blink* So naturally I have to read it - am halfway through, thoroughly enjoying it, but not remembering a single thing about it.

That's some good swag, Karen! You always make out like a bandita. One day I'll classify my books, I really look forward to that. Do you organize them before you classify?

>224 SomeGuyInVirginia: Hi Larry! Thanks. My bandita status is mostly attributable to the quality of the sale itself with some persistence on my part. I feel particularly good about this haul. And to think, I only bought 2 duplicates!

I use tags to organize my books. I don't classify them consistently.

The only books I have organized physically are my Stephen King/Dean Koontz, Agatha Christie, Charlaine Harris, J.D. Robb, and Lee Child. (well, perhaps a couple of others, but I don't recall them offhand).

My rule for putting a book on a shelf (excepting the specific authors mentioned above) is to find a space for it on a shelf that has mostly the same SIZED books. Of course some shelves have trade paperbacks and hardcovers, and since not all trade paperbacks are the same size and not all hardcovers are the same size, there's a wide variety of what's on a shelf, but mostly mass market paperbacks are grouped together and depending on the height of a shelf, taller books go together.

My tags are critical (since I don't use collections). Here is my rule for tag order:
1. Location (room, row, shelf)
2. 'kph' for my books. At one time I was going to tag husband's and daughter's books. I may still do so now that I'm retired, so I might have to add 'fwh', and 'jmh' tags. In fact, there might be a few 'jmh' tags already.
3. fiction, nonfiction, or reference.
4. Any descriptive tags (American History, Wheezie & Juts, romance, Regency, cookbook, etc.)
5. tbr (to be read), ntbr (not to be read - usually cookbooks or reference, although some are books I inherited and keep for sentimental value only), started (which I think I'll switch back to 'tbr'), and read.

I also have a tag "onloanto", and then put the person's name as a tag if I've loaned it out.

I recently thought I might go through my nonfiction (tagged as such) and add classifying tags, but so far haven't done so.

I have inventoried everything except for daughter's rec room, which now has some of her books, my original P41 and P42 shelves (long story), and 3 bags of J.D. Robb books which still say S12. I might get rid of them, but since I'm expanding into daughter's rec room, I think I can put them there just in case I ever decide to re-read them.

The rec room is going to get an overhaul soon. This will be my TV/reading retreat. We're going to buy a new TV for the living room (4K technology for husband), bring up the "old" HD plasma TV and an extra blu-ray player to the rec room, and then husband will reconfigure everything using daughter's original HDMI-compatible receiver, her tuner, and her surround sub-woofer, center channel, and 4 surround speakers. She can't use these things in her small apartment and has given me permission to use them until she needs them. Plus, she's said I can use the shelving in the rec room (60 linear feet) for books as long as I don't throw anything of hers away. Now all we have to do is find someone to haul away the 35" 200-lb non-flat-screen TV so I can move things around, vacuum the corners properly, and set up the room.

This retreat may be more critical than originally planned as husband's job is in jeopardy and at 60, with no college degree, it may take him a while to find a decent job.

Oh dammit! I am so sorry your husband has to deal with that stuff. That sucks.

Thank you Larry, it does indeed suck. He's very upset about the whole thing, as you can imagine. And of course with my just retiring everything was planned out nicely but will have to change a bit if he loses his job and we have to pay COBRA health care costs in addition to losing his income. Sigh.

However, he has already put out some feelers to people and at least that's encouraging.

I just finished The Reluctant Widow by Georgette Heyer. I honestly don't remember reading it before, but probably have. It's good to have a nice clean copy of it.

Back to Lexicon and Quartet: Orchestrating the Second Revolution 1783-1789 by Joseph J. Ellis. And possibly finding another quick read.....

I am in awe of the quality of your book haul. Our library rarely has such neat stuff as you've listed - except that I too got an Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization at our annual library sale. (I overpaid for mine though - probably 50¢)
Happy you enjoyed the Heyer and hope that things are starting to sort themselves out in Lexicon. It becomes perfectly straightforward after a confusing beginning.
Your tagging system is just like mine except that I don't use "tbr." When I finish something, it gets a "read" tag.

>225 karenmarie: I am sorry to read your husband will be loosing his job, Karen, I hope he will find something soon!

>228 LizzieD: Hi Peggy! Thank you. I thought it rather impressive, too - I'm convinced that the quantity and caliber of books is provided by Fearrington Village, which is a very well off retirement community within Chatham County's limits. I couldn't resist the Oxford Companion to Classical Civilization after opening up any random page. I knew I had to have it.

I do like Lexicon but still haven't figured out who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. :)

Being a former IT person, I like everything to have a status, hence the 'tbr'. That way I can actively search rather than download to excel and then eliminate. I'm lazy.

>229 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita! He's on what's called a final warning, but we anticipate that they will use that as an excuse to fire him. He's trying to decide whether to quit on his own terms or get fired. Not a happy position to be in and I feel for him.

*****
Did I mention that we're watching Outlander? A friend was on the new season countdown on Facebook and I remembered liking the first 4 books (stopping halfway through book 5). Husband found the first season(s?) for free. The new season started Saturday but we haven't watched yet.

So in honor of watching Outlander, I've started a re-read of Outlander by Diane Gabaldon.

I picked up a few Ruth Rendell books. I tried listening to an audio version on the subway but my mind keeps on drifting.

>231 SomeGuyInVirginia: I've never tried listening to Ruth Rendell, Larry. I have lots of her old, yellowing paperbacks.

The re-read of Outlander is going well. I'm loving it and happy to see that the TV series is so faithful to the book so far. (A few minor additions and changes, but nothing to ruffle my feathers.)

Jamie is pretty hunky huh?

>233 beeg: Hi! Jamie is seriously hunky, both in the book and in the person of Sam Heughan in the TV series. Just as I have imagined him after reading the first 4 books.

Just for S&G, I have added up the number of pages that count towards this year's reading (having started one of the books last year), and it is a respectable 8875.

The page count has motivated me. I found it pretty much impossible to have the time to create statistics in previous years even though the Doc inspired me to want to try. However, today is "free" until about 5 p.m. so I decided to update my statistics spreadsheet with this year's completed reads. Here are the results for 30 books read/listened to this year. Fun stuff.

Author
Male 17.5 58%
Female 12.5 42%

Living 19 63%
Dead 11 37%

US Born 15 50%
Foreign Born 15 50%

Medium
Hardcover 15 50%
Trade Pback 7 24%
Mass Market 4 13%
Audiobook 3 10%
e-Book 1 3%

Misc
My Library 30 100%
Other 0 0%

ARC/ER 0 0%
Re-read 7 24%
Series 12 40%

Fiction 24 80%
NonFiction 6 20%

Year Originally Published
1643 1 3%
1932 1 3%
1934 1 3%
1945 2 7%
1946 2 7%
1952 1 3%
1953 2 7%
1958 1 3%
1987 1 3%
1993 1 3%
2002 1 3%
2004 1 3%
2005 1 3%
2006 1 3%
2009 1 3%
2010 1 3%
2012 1 3%
2013 2 7%
2014 2 7%
2015 3 10%
2016 3 10%

Nice work up! I'll have to take a look at the books I've read...

>236 SomeGuyInVirginia: Thanks, Larry! It was fun.

I finally took the shoeboxes that hold to-be-used greeting cards off of the little dresser in the hallway and put them into newly-freed space in another dresser in the sunroom. Out of sight, but not out of mind.

Back to reading....

>237 karenmarie: That is an enormous and sufficient bit of cleaning for one day! Ah, Retirement!

>238 LizzieD: Good morning Peggy! Yes indeed, I must pace myself.

I am not being very organized in my determination to clean things out and then up. The only thing I've been systematic about so far is my book inventory. Everything else is as a whim takes me or a search for something makes it obvious.

Two days ago I cleaned out the 4 drawers in the kitchen desk, washed all the grocery store bags, put all the users manuals/instruction guides with the other ones in the sunroom, etc.

Today? So far I'm having a hard time waking up. I was at dinner with a friend when I started having an allergic reaction - itchy eyes and nose, sneezes. Fortunately it was pretty much time to end the visit so I headed home. When I got home husband gave me 2 Benadryl, which wired me until midnight, but has left me groggy this morning. I'm injecting coffee.....

During my wakefulness last night I finished Outlander. It's as good as I remember it. The first book is the first season of the series. It ends up with..... well. No spoilers in case people want to read it themselves. The differences are mostly minor, but one in particular aggrandizes Claire's skills for no real reason - we already know she's a good healer. But all in all, the series is extremely faithful to the book.

And now for book 2, Dragonfly in Amber.

Well, so much for stress-free retirement. And time to myself in a quiet house.

Husband got laid off today. Not fired, and they are paying ALL medical and dental premiums through end of July, when they might recall some or all of the 13 salaried folks laid off today. 60 years old without a college degree will make finding a reasonable job difficult.

😕

Oh, Karen. I'm so sorry to hear about your husband's job situation. Thinking of you both and sending lots of positive energy. I keep my fingers crossed that he'll find soon something.

Dammit. I am so sorry. Your husband must be beside himself. He shouldn't have any qualms about applying for unemployment?

And look, I have to ask. If it's too personal you don't have to answer. But seriously, why were you washing grocery store bags?

Well, I'm also sorry about your husband's job. Knowing that it was coming really isn't much help. I don't know what his situation was, but I'm thinking evil thoughts about companies (and is it only in the South that they do this?) who prefer to let go experienced workers with a firm work ethic because they had to pay them more. Sending good vibes and prayers too if you don't mind them.

>241 beeg: Indeed. I'm feeling whupped right now, and of course husband is numb and whupped.

>242 Ameise1: Thanks, Barbara. I appreciate it.

>243 SomeGuyInVirginia: Larry - he's either going to apply this afternoon or first thing Monday. Nasty-name company won't contest, so he will get unemployment, probably within a couple of weeks. A help, but definitely not a replacement.

Ah. The grocery bags. Well, it is personal, but just for you..... they are white cotton bags. My MiL got some of them for us years ago, and I inherited some when we cleaned her house out after her death. I've used them for lots of things, but never actually at the grocery store. I was cleaning out the kitchen desk drawers the other day, saw them, and decided they needed to be washed. I might even start using them at the grocery store, especially in honor of your interest in them. :)

>244 LizzieD: Hey Peggy. Evil thoughts about companies apply in this situation - remember this is the same company I retired from in January. This is not retaliation because they let 13 people go, up to and including the Molding Manager..... North Carolina is a labor-unions-frowned-upon..... oops..... er.... Right To Work state, and there is much more abuse here than in some other states, I think. I will take all the good vibes and prayers offered and thank you for them.

I'm really sorry about your husband's job. I too live in a "Right to Work" state, which is sort of like being in America during the Wild West, employer relations-wise.
I hope your husband is able to relax a bit during his enforced break.

Poor guy, you all should go out to dinner and a movie. I'll be thinking of you guys.

>246 mstrust: Thank you. Good analogy. No worker rights at all, really. He did say today that now he'll get a vacation, but he needs to find a job too. He's registered with the unemployment website and will be able to file the claim on Monday.

>247 SomeGuyInVirginia: Well, while I was upstairs he sent me a text (the bedroom and living room are pretty far apart after all, and he didn't want to wake me if I was napping) to say that he was going out to dinner with friend Carl for some sympathy and support. I didn't mind. As far as a movie goes, we live 40 minutes from the closest theater, and it panders to Bible Belt inanity. Occasionally movies we want to see, perhaps 2-3 times per year.

So I guess after he gets home we'll watch something - either last week's opening episode of the new season of Outlander or the increasingly boring 5th season of Game of Thrones. Or perhaps start a re-watch of something fun like The Office.

Good morning! I do forget how close everything is in the burbs. Hey! I'm skipping a big book sale today! That's growth, right?

>249 SomeGuyInVirginia: Good morning to you too, Larry! I sit here with coffee cup in hand, trying to get un-groggy. It's been 25 years since I lived in the burbs of LA, with everything within a few minutes. It was unusual for anything to be more than 1/2 hour away, and that was live theater and music venues mostly.

I'm impressed that you're skipping a big book sale today. Growth or denial. Why, pray tell? I know you're in Cull Mode, but what if there are Books That You Cannot Live Without?

In my present frame of mind I think losing myself mindlessly in books would be wonderful. Alas, today is friend coming over to continue finishing the installation of new French and front doors, 2nd coat of mud and trim work on the window-that-has-replaced-the slider-on-the-back-porch, determination of all final outside trim repair work in anticipation of painting this spring, other inside trim/repair work and determination of supplies needed for the 3 new double-hung windows for upstairs to replace the dread casement windows that suck.

Husband is not in the mood for Outlander right now, grrrr. Of course he doesn't know that I bought the first series on BluRay, due to arrive Monday from Amazon. He wasn't supposed to be here when it arrived. I need to put some of my slush fund into our checking account to cover it. :)

We could only stand one episode of GoT last night - the only interesting parts right now are with Tyrion Lannister. Peter Dinklage is a wonderful actor.

Happy Sunday, Karen. I hope it's a sunny one.

>251 Ameise1: Thank you, Barbara! What a lovely picture. Here it is a beautiful blue Carolina sky, gorgeous spring day. 48F now, going to get to 71F.

I'm going to the last production of the Chapel Hill Playmakers Repertory Company today - Sweeney Todd. Macabre and fun, I think. My neighbor Louise and I buy season subscriptions and have just paid for next season.

Actually, all that activity sounds kind of fun. Inactivity=badness. I don't get to do much for this place because I rent. I've never seen GoT. I've been a fan of The Walking Dead ever since it was slated for NBC, but after this season's cliffhanger finale I was all meh. Not a fan of cliffhangers with months to wait.

>253 SomeGuyInVirginia: We finished GoT Saturday night. The last two episodes were actually pretty good. Stunning cliffhangers, but since we don't adore it as much as we used to, we may or may not buy season 6.

I've never watched the Walking Dead. I think I'm over my vampire/zombie phase although I'll probably re-read the Charlaine Harris Sookie Stackhouse series again sometime. We watched one episode of True Blood and never watched another.

We enjoyed Sweeney Todd. I don't have anything to compare it to, being the first time to see it, but it was an excellent production. One thing I have to say about the Chapel Hill Playmakers is that even though the venue is small, they always have wonderful and clever sets. This one had a 2nd floor, as quite a few of them do, but this one had live music on the far right, the room Johanna was kept in, and Sweeney's upstairs barber shop.

The main floor had a lift built into the center of the state - it variously brought up the judges's podium, Mrs. Lovatt's pie-making table, and interesting things in the basement. They always get strong singers for musicals, and this was no exception. It was long - 3 hours with a 15 minute intermission and wonderful.

Husband and I had a scare yesterday. Kitty William didn't show up for breakfast and wasn't around by the time I left for lunch/theater. We feared the worst, after looking everywhere we could think of in the house and checking around the house and barn. It's funny because I had a dream of a kitten meowing last Saturday night, and in retrospect we think it was Catman. It turns out that he was stuck under the house. Renovation work Cary had opened up the crawl space to retrieve some of the materials he had bought and Catman must have gone in exploring with his knowing. Catman is 16 or 17 and although pretty perky, could have just wandered off to die.

***

The absolute hardest thing about getting married 25 years ago was that I've rarely gotten to have time alone in the house ever since. I am an introvert and need time to regroup alone. Husband is an extrovert and needs people to be his best self. I know it's temporary, but I'm pretty stressed that he's home right now. And of course the blasted TV is on. Probably sooner than later we're going to have a come-to-Jesus meeting about my getting half a day without the TV on - otherwise I have to hide out in remote rooms to get the quiet I need. Sigh.

I'm making respectable progress on Dragonfly in Amber.

Hey, I just read The Devil in Amber! Fun pointless piffle.

My apartment building used to be really quiet but for the past year or so it's been kind of noisy. Listening to my neighbors' stereo drives me nuts, so I bought noise canceling headphones and listen to a white noise app when I'm reading. Not ideal, but the practical thing to do.

Get a hammock! I used to love reading in a hammock, very very much.

>240 karenmarie: Oh no! What an injection of stress.

>255 SomeGuyInVirginia: Almost hammock weather, Larry! The metal stand is on the front porch, the actual hammock is upstairs just waiting for me to put it back out. Sorry about the noise in your apartment building. Your solution at least gets you the quiet you need.

>256 qebo: Yes, stress. I'm trying to not snarl about the TV and be supportive when all I want to do is scream and hide. :(

At least our taxes are done and the amounts paid. Our accountant is in the town husband (and I) worked in, so we had to drive down there today. Dropped off my car in our town to get the oil changed, drove to Sanford and had lunch, will pick up my car in about an hour or so.

Now perhaps off to read.

My sympathy on the radio/t.v./scanner front.
I'm off to swim. If I'm lucky, I'll get the lap lane and nobody else will blunder into it or throw pool equipment in, and I can put my head in the water and be alone for 45 minutes!

82 books is a haul I would certainly have been proud of Karen!

My accumulation is steadier than usual this year - I won't do the 1200 I managed a few years back for sure.

Now the trick is to read some of them! xx

>258 LizzieD: Thanks, Peggy. Enjoy your exercise and alone time.

>259 PaulCranswick: I am proud, Paul! I can't imagine ever getting 1200 books in a year, much less figuring out where I'd put them. I've quite a few bookcases, and they hold all 4460 of my books, but still.

Well, reading them is the next step, right? For those of us who like to acquire books, reading is almost secondary. I derive a great deal of pleasure in just looking at and knowing I have certain books.

I'm glad that I don't have the need to group books by author, series, subject, color, Dewey Decimal or other designation. Size is the determining factor and double- and triple-stacking is a blessing. Hooray for tags.

Today it's back to the periodontist to see if he can finish the removal of the porcelain and what-not on this dratted tooth. So far it's 6 visits to 2 dentists, with at least 4 more needed. The only consolation is that it's not costing me anything directly. Time and gas money, however.....

Dragonfly in Amber is coming along, although with the stress of husband being laid off, I'm playing more cell phone games than reading. Instant gratification.

Lunch with a former co-worker, then home. I think I'm going to start on the rec room this afternoon.

Oh man I love me some game on my smell phlone.

Highly addictive, bad for hands. I try to cut back, but when I get stressed, sometimes I turn to the cellphone instead of a book. Boo, Hiss! I also play cell phone games during some of the series we watch - ones that interest me less than others.

Dentist said that he would try to remove the porcelain, using a burr then cracking the porcelain. There's a chance it could break the implant. Next Thursday.

In the meantime I'm making serious progress on Dragonfly in Amber, being on page 346 of 946.

Pish tosh. When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro to sudoku.

Oooh, Larry! I breakfast with a former co-worker and his wife two Fridays ago and he gave me two Sudoku books AND an eraser - Black Diamond Sudoku and Mind-Melting Sudoku, both by Will Shortz. I've finished one puzzle having had to use the eraser to erase the whole thing once, and am stuck on the next two. I keep playing with them - they'll finally work out when I find the currently-missing "key."

You twisted my arm, I bought a sudoku puzzle book yesterday. Great stuff to play on the train.

The joys and frustrations of working Sudoku. I just continued working on #3, with little success.

I read the Mensa Guide to Solving Sudoku, it really helped my times. I swear though, some people's brains are like computers and they can rip through the hardest puzzles in minutes. Not me!

Oh Karen, so sorry your husband lost his job :-(

I understand the difficuties when both all day at home and different needs... until Frank got his small 2 nights a week job, we were in the same situation, it took a long time to get things worked out. In our previous house we both had a room for our selves. Haven't that luxery here, we have a spare room upstairs, but somehow I never used it the way I did when "my" room was on the same floor.

It sounded like you were just getting into the swing of being retired when your husband got laid off. That's too bad. I hope he finds something good soon and you get your quite time back.

Hope your husband is having some luck in searching for job opportunities.
I must admit Karen I share with you a need to have my own space on a daily basis which, considering the hours I work, drives Hani occasionally round the bend. Can't help it though - I need to get into my room and chill.

Have a good weekend and I hope things work out ok for both of you.

>268 SomeGuyInVirginia: Any special hints in it Larry? I've been playing Sudoku for at least 12 years or more so would appreciate any new tips!

>269 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita. We're in the fortunate position of having separate rooms - he's got his home office, I've got my home office (far enough away from the TV so that I don't have to hear it) plus I am going to convert daughter's recreation room (behind her bedroom) into a Woman Cave. Daughter lives 2 1/2 hours away and is currently working 6-7 days a week. We haven't seen her since Christmas. :( Husband already has a Man Cave - a media room over the garage, but he doesn't like going up there because it just reminds him that he doesn't enjoy music like he used to and the projection TV doesn't hold appeal over being downstairs in the living room where the TV is smaller but he is in the "thick of things." He says that even knowing I'm in the other room close by makes him feel better..... Sigh.)

>270 Familyhistorian: Thank you, Meg. I want that too and am frustrated that he's not working harder to find another job - I understand he's in shock and stressed. When I got let go from a job in 1994, when daughter was 1, we kept her in daycare and I worked the job search like a job - 40 hours a week when I could, until I found a job. That job only lasted 6 weeks because I hated it, but I quickly stepped into the job that I just left after 20 years. He's not making that effort yet - I'm going to give him another week before insisting that he is going to have to start really digging deep to find opportunities.

I also know that there's the very real possibility that he'll have to find a minimum wage job without benefits and our retirement picture will change dramatically. He will do that, unlike some other folks that I know won't "sink" to that level. He doesn't have false pride that way, or if he does, he ignores it and does what he has to do. He doesn't have a degree, and the way the white collar environment seems to be working these days, companies use software to scan resumes for critical bits, one of them being a degree. Last time he looked for work he sent out 300 resumes and only got 2 calls, or something ridiculous like that. It was a good resume, too. Networking is key, and he's done some of that but not enough.

>271 PaulCranswick: See above, Paul - husband's done a few "easy" things. I'm waiting a bit before insisting on a concerted effort.

Needing space is critical for me too - I feel drained with him in the living room all day, sitting there watching TV and playing on his cell phone. I like reading there, but can't do it with him there and the TV on. He's an extrovert and gains his energy from interactions with other people, I'm an introvert and gain my energy from myself. I know I'm whining, and we're actually rather fortunate. Still, I'm not a happy camper right now.

*****
Today is off to run an errand or two. Yesterday was rainy and NOT hammock weather, but today is gorgeous blue, supposed to get to 77F, and the hammock will be calling by early afternoon.

I just finished my re-read of Dragonfly in Amber and it was even better than I remembered it.

I'm 197 pages into Voyager by Diane Gabaldon, and it is maintaining the good story line and beautiful writing of its predecessors.

Husband is off on a crusade - fighting the pharmacy because they were supposed to code two of his drugs using their plan instead of our insurance and screwing up *again* after he's fixed it twice. 25 pound bag of sunflower seeds to feed the birds and fast food lunch and he'll be back within the half hour or so.

I've started working with my 401K provider through my former work. Since I don't work there any more, I figured it was time to get a handle on the accounts status, fee structure, and fees if I move them somewhere else. It's all good news, only $78/year in a service fee, no fees for moving monies around among different Mutual Funds, and absolutely no fees at all if I decide to withdraw the funds to our Asset Management company. Now all I have to do is find out what the fees are at our Asset Management company and make an intelligent decision. Unless the new fees are horrendous, husband is inclined to want to put all our eggs in the one basket, which I'm not adverse to, so we'll see.

Hi Karen, Ive been putting off the re-read Outlander series, but you put me back in the mood for it.

>275 beeg: It is so good. I'm devouring it. I don't even want to read And the Mountains Echoed for the May 1st discussion for my RL bookclub. I may have to go to another meeting having to say that I haven't either started or finished a book - so far it's been 4 out of the 7 so far this "book club year" of October - September. Sigh.

>272 karenmarie: Aak! Sorry, forgot to answer. To solve the puzzles at your advanced level, you're going to have to learn to solve for X Wings, squirmbags, swordfish, etc.; ways to remove possibles from consideration. You can find tutorials on these on YouTube. How's the sudoku going?

Just speaking. Hi, Karen. Sending you wishes for peace and patience.

>277 SomeGuyInVirginia: *blinks* X Wings. Well I looked it up on the interwebs, as my daughter puts it. Interesting. I'll have to try to incorporate it. More research, but probably not today. Still struggling with the first two unsolved, have started another two. I know, I know.....

>278 LizzieD: Hi Lizzie. Thank you.

Today should be a good day, it's our 25th wedding anniversary. First thing husband said when I came downstairs? "You didn't leave in the night! Thank you for being here!" Joking aside, he does realize that life with him has been ...challenging.... in the last however-many years.

I made breakfast - something I rarely do - bacon and homemade buttermilk pancakes with butter and real maple syrup. We're not going to have lunch per se, but will have dinner at the Angus Barn, reservation at 6 p.m.

Happy 25th anniversary, Karen, wish you a wonderful day, filled with love and laughter!

>280 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Anita!

Happy Anniversary! That's very, very cool!

Happy Anniversary! Have a great day!

I finally stumbled my errant way over here, Karen, to extend Anniversary wishes and to catch you before your new thread. We celebrated our 25th, 2 years ago.

I hope the books are treating you well!

Ooh, your breakfast sounds good.

>282 SomeGuyInVirginia: Getting to 25 is a milestone. Thank you.

>283 mstrust: Thanks, we had a wonderful day. More below.

>284 msf59: Well, hello Mark! Nice to see you. Books are treating me well, and homemade buttermilk pancakes are one of my favs.

We had a very nice day. We looked over our wedding album, reminiscing over our day, our loved ones, and remembering fun things we'd forgotten. Husband, in particular, was happy to see the photo of the minister in his Duke suspenders; husband being a Carolina fan. I'm pleased that the album has stood the test of time - we have good photos of all family members and friends.

Our wedding was small, 45 of us including husband and me. The reason I know 45 is that after the ceremony, we had a group shot taken by our photographer of everybody at the wedding, and it is a double-page spread in the center of our album. I counted heads. I had heard or read about a group-shot centerfold, and our photographer, Verle Berry, made it happen. It reminded us of elusive relatives and distant friends, divorced spouses, children now grown up, loved ones gone, the people who sang at our wedding, and husband's divorced parents standing next to one another.

Our reception was larger, about 150 or so, at a posh venue in Chapel Hill NC. There are photos from that, too. It is a well-known fact that my husband hates broccoli, and there was a conspiracy of broccoli boutonnieres. They even had his mom wearing one! Fun memories.

Last night's dinner at Angus Barn lived up to the expectation. I had two glasses of a very nice Malbec, and husband leaped out of his comfort zone of Pinot Grigio and had Chardonnay. Excellent prime rib for me, NY Strip for husband.

Today is back to reality with a thump - I have an 11:30 dentist appointment for them to try to get the last bit of the porcelain out from the defective crown. He may or may not be able to do that without damaging the implant, so keep your fingers crossed for me! I don't even know if there will be Novocain. I hate shots.

I'm glad you had such a good anniversary. Sorry you have to see the dentist today. Fingers crossed!

>286 mstrust: The porcelain is out without damaging the crown! It did take 3 shots of Novocain, but I honestly didn't even feel the "pinch" they warn you about. It's a bit tender right now, but all I have to do now is go back to the dentist for the crown impression and then the crown. Hallelujah!

Glad the worst is over! Hope the rest of it goes as smoothly and quickly.
I've brought you something gentle to snack on.

WHEW! Congratulations on the good outcome with the porcelain.....
Also congratulations on the anniversary. Angus Barn!!!! 2 words to make any North Carolina carnivore drool! Your wedding sounds memorable, and I love that the two of you sat down with your album on such a significant anniversary. My mother told me, "The first year is crucial." Then she said, "The second year is crucial." By the time she was saying, "The fifth year is crucial," I got it. This December I look forward to hearing, "The 47th year is crucial," and I'll believe it.

>288 mstrust: Yum! That looks refreshing and cool. We're under a severe thunderstorm watch and it's hot and humid outside.

That sounds like a great wedding, and I'm glad you guys took the time to look at the album. As for the dentist- yay!

>289 LizzieD: Peggy, thank you on both fronts. You get Angus Barn - yay. I'm a carnivore and proud of it - I had the prime rib although it was a serious decision between that and lobster. But I started with a glass of a superior Malbec and, being the traditionalist I am, that decided it. They now have sweet potato fries, and although I was only able to eat about 4 of them, they were wonderful, as was everything, as usual.

Our wedding was joyous and looking over our album was fantastic. We did express the hope that we'd be able to celebrate the Golden Anniversary..... let's see, I'll be almost 88 and husband will just have turned 85. Early congratulations on your upcoming 47th!

>291 SomeGuyInVirginia: It was a great wedding, all things considered. The funny part was that although I was sick as a dog, my mother having thought(fully)/(lessly) gotten a cold that she then immediately proceeded to share, I didn't mind at all. Our friend Pierce, who sang at our wedding, shared his Fisherman's Friend cough drops. Our honeymoon, however, was another matter, and husband to this day commends me on being a trooper when all I wanted to do was crawl under the covers with a good book.

I'll call my dentist today to see if the periodontist called them yesterday like they said they would. My vanity being what it is, I'd like to get a tooth back where there's currently a hole.

I have pulled out my 3 Griffin & Sabine books as they were mentioned on ROOTs by friend Ava and am now happily immersed in Griffin & Sabine as a petit divertissement from Voyager and The Quartet: Orchestrating the Second American Revolution, 1783-1789 by Joseph Ellis.

I've now read all three Griffin & Sabine books that I have and am utterly confounded as to why I never read the 2nd and 3rd when I bought them. Strange. They are wonderful and mysterious and you can lose yourself forever in the art work.

Griffin & Sabine
Sabine's Notebook
The Golden Mean

>293 karenmarie: Agreed! Bantock's artwork is amazing. I was lucky enough to meet him once and spend a lot of time talking to him, and it was clear that he was a genius. And very, very nice too!

>294 mstrust: I'm envious that you've met Nick Bantock. I need to find more of his books and learn more about him.

I'm going to finish up here and go read Voyager in the hammock for a while. When it gets too sunny and hot, I will continue working on the upstairs closet since part of today's errand was to take the old magazines, monitor, and printer to the dump to make more room for cleaning out.

Karen, you have passed Caro and are presently having the most posts of anyone with only one thread in 2016.

I can sympathise with the views of vegetarians and vegans and fully honour their principles but, I am with you, in being totally unable to follow them. Steak au Poivre, Roast Pheasant, Roast Beef, Venison with roast parsnips and a game sauce.............

Have a lovely weekend.

Ugh, I hate going to the dentist. I get to keyed up I have to unfold myself when I leave.

Happy weekend!

>296 PaulCranswick: Hi! Welcome. Well, at the risk of losing the position of Most Posts to One Thread in 2016, I suppose I'll create another thread around message 300, as has been my plan all along. Unlike a lot of threads there are few pictures here to take time loading, but 300 is a good number.

Ditto vegetarians and vegans for their principals, but I am a carnivore.

Thank you. So far the weekend is good. Lazing around then dinner with friends. Tomorrow is book club and I'm going to try to at least start the book And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. I liked The Kite Runner, but for some reason one by this author would have been my limit without Kira choosing a second one. *grumble* She always accuses me of not liking her books, and it's somewhat true - I've only liked 3 of her last 8 choices.

>297 SomeGuyInVirginia: Yup. I get so stressed and filled with tension that I always leave with a jaw- and headache from clenching. But this was a productive visit, and, if things go right, there will only be two more relating to this tooth. One for impressions, the second for the crown. All with no charge, thank goodness.

I just finished Voyager, the 3rd of 8 in the Jamie & Claire saga by Diane Gabaldon. I'm on a roll, really enjoying and understanding so much more about the series this time. Drums of Autumn is next, after I give it the old college try on the Hosseini book.

Good luck on Hosseini. I haven't even tried although I certainly hope to.
You're about to catch up with me in the Gabaldon series. I like #s 1 and 3 so much that I tend to reread them rather than pressing on.

Hi Peggy!

I read part of the first chapter and just don't want to waste any energy no it. I'm sure Kira will make a comment. :(

We enjoyed talking with our friends last night, but O'Charley's was too noisy and the Garlic Shrimp Pasta was meh at best.

Back to Drums of Autumn, #4 in the hit parade.

How's it goin' wid youse there?

I's got insomnia right now, Larry, been up since about 4. I don't know why - I had a nice little glass of red wine about 9 or so and took a muscle relaxant for the slipped disc in my jaw (never heard of that one before, I bet! I have been reading and surfing the news on my cell phone, then sat down at the computer and here I am.

On to my second thread.....