Shelley (jessibud2) Will Read Anywhere, chapter 2

Such angels when they are asleep:


Actually touching though neither looks thrilled about it:

This is a postcard I received, and it couldn't have come at a more opportune moment, given the current Theo issues. The card is black and white but it's clear to me that the naughty boy is a ginger tabby, like his namesake:


And then, there is this, the eternal cats vs dogs *debate*:

April 17 - Edited to delete the ticker. Its messiness is just annoying me.

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Books read: 40

Currently reading:

I Am My Father's Son - Dan Hill

open for business

Love the toppers Shelley. You are right, they don't look the happiest in the second photo ha. Maybe it is a 'not mom with that camera again' look.

Hi Shelley my dear, happy new thread, i am so far behind on the threads after being missing the last two days but i hope to be back on form and visiting the threads. Sending love and hugs to you and your fur boys from both of us dear friend.

Happy new one, Shelley.

Happy new thread, Shelley!

Love the photos!

>3 jessibud2: Forgive me if I'm telling you something you already know, but are you opening the post including your ticker to "edit" before copying?

I have noticed lately that I've had more trouble with the Ticker Factory site than I used to. I have 3 separate tickers I'm using, and if I try to edit more than one of them at a time, the image changes so they all look the same, even though they keep their distinct titles and counts. (If one is a pencil, then they ALL will be pencils, even though that isn't how I designed them.) I have to change the totals on each one at a separate log-in. So maybe it's not you....it's them.

Happy new thread Shelley.

>3 jessibud2: I haven't been reading much either, having trouble with the tougher books, so I started several books and got stuck in them. I do think it's the stressful atmosphere around the Covid issues, it's getting to me.

>2 jessibud2: Theo is very smart when it comes to being naughty and finding ways to do what he wants. As cats usually are;-)

>6 Caroline_McElwee: - You could be right, Caroline, lol!

>7 johnsimpson:, >8 PaulCranswick:, >9 FAMeulstee:, >10 torontoc: - Thanks, John, Paul, Anita, Cyrel.

>11 laytonwoman3rd: - I don't know when it all changed, Linda, but last year, it was easy to do, easy to transfer, easy to read. This year, the whole ticker site looks like it's just text. I do go into edit mode but there seems to be (at least I am not seeing) no html link to copy and transfer over to a new thread. Or whatever it was. I see nothing to copy and bring over. And that is the extent of my tech understanding when it comes to that. I may make up my own silly thing for a ticker or maybe not. I do have a small paper notebook where I have always tracked the books I read, but it's fun to see it as a ticker on the LT thread. But I refuse to stress over it because there is already enough stress in my life, and it's not like I'm setting any records here for books read, lol.

>12 EllaTim: - Hi Ella. Yes, I also find myself with bookmarks in several books. And of course, all the library ones seem to be coming in at the same time, too. And then there was that library grab bag initiative that I indulged in. But my focus and ability to concentrate is just not there lately. Oh well, this too shall pass, as they say. I usually get a slump every year but not usually this early in the year.

Between the issues with the cats (Theo's naughtiness, and his new adventure of waking me up at 4 am or thereabouts), the big concerns about Owen over the last several weeks, now, thankfully and hopefully, mostly resolved, concerns about my mum (she had fallen and has been in hospital for the past 3 weeks, just transferred yesterday to a rehab hospital), and a few other things, just all coming together at the same time, I just haven't been able to concentrate well.

Happy new one!

>2 jessibud2: Great postcard!

Happy new thread!

>15 figsfromthistle: - Thanks, Anita. It sure made me laugh! And I've had that Bizarro cartoon on my fridge for years. You can see how yellowed it is.

>16 drneutron: - Thanks, Jim.

From the always brilliant Tom Gauld:



The proofreaders one is the funniest, I think!

Happy Sunday, Shelley. Happy New Thread. I love the little angels up there. I did post on the Yard Bird thread and have it starred. Thanks.

Hi Shelley, and happy new thread!

>1 jessibud2: and etc. I’m glad that, with the exception of a few tomato toys and 4 a.m. wake up calls, the boys are settling down. Somewhat. Until the next Adventure, of course!

>14 jessibud2: I didn’t realize your mum had been in the hospital for 3 weeks. I hope the rehab hospital helps her.

>18 jessibud2: Clever, and I agree with A Gruop of Proofreaders.

Hi Mark and Karen.

Yes, I haven't talked much about the issues with my mum lately. She was sitting on her bed and was reaching her foot out to put on her slipper. She must have reached too far and slid off the bed. She hurt her back (she has a hospital bed at her place) and it turns out the there is a compression fracture. Unrelated (I think, but who knows), they tested and found she had a UTI and she is now on her second round of antibiotics. She was on strong pain meds for awhile but not so much any more as she says she doesn't have pain now. But she needs physiotherapy if she is to regain the balance and strength to enable her to return to her home and she is rather apathetic about participating and initiating. She may need further help once she does get home, whenever that may be but we will cross that bridge when we get to it. My biggest concern was the covid vaccine. She is 87 and in a high priority group. The residents where she lives got their last week and obviously, she wasn't there to receive hers. The hospital only had a limited supply and those were reserved for patients waiting to go to nursing homes so she couldn't get one there either. I did find out, though, that the rehab hospital are getting the vaccines starting tomorrow and she is being prioritized. Thank goodness! But then, I wonder about a second dose. I was told that because supplies are still limited here in Canada, they may not get the second doses for a few months. And hopefully by then she will be home. So, I will have to keep on top of things because I don't know which vaccine her place got. I think it has to be the same as the first dose, that you can't have, say, a first shot of Pfizer, then a second dose, say, of Moderna. I have homework to do....

As for the *angels*, I found a third tomato on the counter behind something. And now that most things have been put away, Theo is actively searching for new adventures He got the toilet paper off the holder the other day. It wasn't pretty. Today, after being here for 4 months and never noticing before, he found a small basket of pebbles and shells. Those will be put away before this day is over. I am heavy into behaviour modification regarding the sleep/wake schedule. We shall see how that goes. As Gilda used to say, it's always something!

In better news, he does love his window perch. At least, that. ;-)

"It's always something!" Agreed!
Happy new thread Shelley!

Is Theo treating his adopted brother better?

>22 mdoris: - Hi Mary! Long time no see. Hope things are going well with you.

>23 m.belljackson: - Well, Marianne, it depends. There seems to be a slight decline in the stalking-and-screeching routine, if only a small decline. And they do spend a lot of time together on my bed, though mainly ignoring each other. I'll take it. They (well, mostly Theo) continue to exhaust me. The latest in the ever-expanding repertoire, is waking me up at 3 or 4 in the morning. I generally don't like to sleep with my door closed so haven't, until now. But once this began, last week, I put them out of the room and shut the door. Owen doesn't seem to care but Theo has been known to scratch at the door and meow (softly, thank goodness) for quite some time. Too bad though because I refuse to give in and reward that behaviour. I think it's now a matter of how long till he moves on to something else. If curiosity doesn't kill this cat, I just might but I am hoping this is just a passing phase....

So now I’m back on your thread. Seems that Theo and Owen continue to keep your life interesting and challenging. Perhaps you should be writing a book: The Adventures of Theo and Owen. I’d share those stories with my grandkids, particularly if you could talk melydia into illustrating it. She does fabulous pen-and-ink drawings. LOL!

>25 SqueakyChu: - Hi Madeline. Well, I am not lacking for material, that's for sure. I was a bit ticked off last week when Theo stole the bookmarks out of my book (I usually keep at least 2 in a book) when I went to the bathroom for just a minute. But I am getting better at hiding my pens from him, as those are among his favourite things to steal. :-)

Does anyone here remember the meme that was going around last year, I forget when exactly but likely around or just before, the election; it showed a Jeopardy board and all the categories had to do with politics, American history, etc, all topics that tRump would know nothing about. I thought it was brilliant and I know I copied and saved it but for the life of me, I can't find it. It should be in my file of political cartoons but clearly, I misfiled it. If anyone has it or can find it, please post it here again. Thanks.

Remember them? (the Marsh family, so talented, each and every one of them!). They create covid-related spoofs from the tunes of Broadway and other popular songs):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnbOKH9Oe9s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYmSAMcwXA8&utm_source=20210223&utm_medi...

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMQF2R5A6x8

And there are more in the sidebar. Such fun!

Happy new thread, Shelley. Sounds good that your mother is in line for her first shot at last.

I'm confused about you not been able to transfer your ticker from your old thread. Don't you just copy it from the first thread and paste it onto the next one?

>11 laytonwoman3rd: I saw that problem about to happen where all the tickers became the same, Linda. What I did was to go back to where I had signed into the first ticker I was using and hit the log out button. Then I was able to go into the next ticker after entering its password.

>29 Familyhistorian: Good tip about logging out, Meg. I'll try that. Thank you.

>29 Familyhistorian: - Sheesh. You know, I think I'm really losing it. I just went back and did what you said, Meg, in fact, what Linda said back up-thread, too. I *thought* I HAD gone into my edit mode to copy and just paste the ticker, but I can see now that what I must have done was just click on the ticker itself, without being in the edit mode and then I didn't see any coded link to copy. I guess I wasn't kidding when I said my concentration was shot. How many years of threads have I been doing this??!

Anyhow, thanks. It seems to be successfully transferred now. For all those tons of books I am zipping through.... (eyeroll)

I am not sure why it appears cut off on the left side. It's true, I have only read a measly 8 books so far but it looks like 3! Whatever....

2 of the Mediterranean cookbooks from the library grab bags I picked up the other week, I will be returning today. I did copy a handful of recipes from them and they look amazing (photos will suck me in every time!). The two women who wrote these cookbooks are Nadia Zerouali and Merijn Tol. The cookbooks are Souk and Under the Mediterranean Sun. I love Middle Eastern food so these 2 books had great appeal for me, even if the recipes mostly looked more complicated and involved than I know I would attempt. But if I sat down in their restaurant in Amsterdam (https://oranjebloesem.nl/), I would try EVERYTHING on that menu (though maybe not all at once.)

I also loved how, especially in the second book, interspersed with the recipes, were the stories of their travels to the countries of origin to learn not only about the food and its history but also about the people, and to learn how to make and interpret the recipes from the source, the people of those regions, from Italy through the Middle Eastern Arabic countries, to Israel and parts of Africa. I could practically smell the aromas wafting off the pages! I can't wait for places here to open up again so I can go shopping for some of the more exotic ingredients. Toronto lacks for nothing when it comes to food from everywhere, but we are STILL in stay-at-home lockdown and it is beginning to wear and grate on the soul, if I am honest, even for me, a person who lives alone and generally enjoys my solitude. Still....!

>31 jessibud2: I noticed that "cut-off" appearance on mine as well, and the indicator partially blocked the number until it moved a bit further down the ticker. If you feel like fooling with it a bit, you might try a different combination. Or just read a couple more books, and increase your number---that worked for me!

>33 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda. I am about to go add the 2 cookbooks to that ticker and see if that helps! :-)

Ha! Now the black cat counter is covering the 10. Oh well.....;-p

>32 jessibud2: Sounds good. I love Middle Eastern food (well the vege bits).

I photograph recipes in magazines (and my faves from my cookbooks) on my IPad Shelley. A time saver, but also means I have them when I holiday in apartments, and it makes sharing easy too.

Well, it's *official*, now, according to the news tonight. I (as a person of 60 or older) will be eligible to *book an appointment* for my first vaccine as of June 1st. Yep, JUNE.

And, pessimist (or realist) that I am, I'd put money on it that that won't happen because of the messups that are sure to interfere. After all, it's already almost the end of February and there is so much here in my province that was supposed to be in place regarding the vaccines that just isn't. Including answers to basic questions from DOCTORS to the province and health ministers.

Sigh.... :-(

>35 Caroline_McElwee: - I don't have an ipad, Caroline. But I photocopy recipes I'd like to try and if they work out well, they go in my binder and if not, they get recycled. ;-)

>36 jessibud2: Yes, the provincial government really messed up the roll out- I don't know why the government didn't understand that they could create a plan before getting the vaccines. Now they have outsourced all planning to the 34(?) health units in the province to do their work.

Happy new thread!

I'm running behind, but I love your sweet thread toppers!

Hi Shelley. I do remember that Joepardy! meme. It was all about how badly tRump would do on anything requiring an actual knowledge of American History, the U.S. Constitution, etc.

Your toppers are adorable. I love that we both have challenging ginger cats. Carson is coming along but he still has his moments....

>30 laytonwoman3rd: >31 jessibud2: The tickers changing at the same time as they were changing LT created a lot of challenges. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be the same access to give feedback on the Ticker Factory site.

>38 torontoc: - It's still a mess, Cyrel, and I don't see it improving any time soon.

>39 ChelleBearss:, >40 thornton37814: - Thanks, Chelle and Lori.

>41 EBT1002: - It's been a rough couple of weeks, Ellen. In fact, last Saturday, I had made up my mind that I was going to look for someone who would take Theo. I felt I had to rehome him. Just a convolution of too many things going on, the most distressing being his continued stalking and attacking of Owen. I decided that Owen deserved to live without this trauma, especially given his needs and the fact that his first 2 years of life were in the shelter. He deserved some peace. Thing is, I have never surrendered a pet in my life and felt terrible. I cried all weekend and then, on Monday, I woke up and said I just couldn't do it. Somehow, I had to make it work.

The weirdest thing is, I think cats are psychic. Somehow, he knew, he just knew. Theo has been sucky and all over me all week. There have still been a few episodes of the stalking and attacking (and Owen's subsequent screeching) but not as many. I am trying to modify my own behaviour in how I react. I had been chasing him with my spray bottle to break it up, but though I had heard that isn't recommended, I felt it was the best (and only) thing I could do. Now I am using my voice more, trying for firm but calm. I am also hoping that one of these days, Owen will have had enough and turn around and give back a bit, so maybe Theo would back off. Hasn't happened yet but maybe. His only defense so far it his screeching, which, I have to admit, unnerves me to no end. If this was the only stress in my life right now, I might feel at my wit's end, but c'est la vie...

The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted. Despite getting some good reviews here on LT, I just never connected with this book. By the end, I was actively disliking it. There was some lovely descriptive writing, but mostly, it felt 2-dimensional to me, at times disjointed. There were some characters, some small tangential storylines that felt superfluous, irrelevant, unnecessary to the overall storyline. Even though I liked Tom, the main character, I never felt particularly connected to any of the rest of them. I felt for a few of them, of course, but I always had the feeling that something was *off*, not quite believable, about most of them. I despised the abuse of the child and could have done without the graphic descriptions of it and by the end, I nearly abandoned the book altogether. But I don't count a book as read if I don't finish it so I did. I rarely force myself to read through to the end of a book I am not enjoying but since I was closer to the end than the beginning, I just did, this time.

The Undefeated by Kwame Alexander and illustrated by the incredibly talented Kadir Nelson. Nelson stunningly illuminates a poem that Alexander wrote for his daughter, a poem of recognition of past heroes, known and unknown, a poem of hope and faith and pride in heritage. A poem to live and move forward with, a poem to embrace, and know that, even in the face of defeats, people can rise again. Such a gorgeous book. Nelson paints with a photographic precision and an emotional clarity that I am really drawn to.

>36 jessibud2: I see where Canada just approved the use of the J&J vaccine. Maybe that will help speed up your appt. I got my first Moderna shot yesterday through Kaiser, an HMO to which we belong. Barbara has still be unable to find an open slot in the chaotic slots that are posted online. Distribution in the US is supposed to be in tiers, but it is not managed effectively so people are jumping in line all over the place. For example, a mass vaccination venue in Baltimore was vaccination people who didn’t even live in that city!

>45 SqueakyChu: - The rollout here is so disjointed and idiotic, Madeline, that I will only believe that I'll get my shot when (if) it actually happens. I just heard that in one region of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area, which includes surrounding areas), people 60 - 64 will be getting theirs as soon as in the next few weeks, at *selected* pharmacies. But what about people older than 65? Who the hell knows. The *authorities* sure don't seem to.

Also, on the news yesterday were huge warnings about a new phone scam, targeting seniors, saying that, for a price, they can jump the queue and get an earlier appointment for the vaccine. Of course, vaccines are free and no one should be paying any price. I know it shouldn't, given the real world we live in, but it somehow never fails to amaze me that there are humans who are so dishonest and depraved that they could try to dupe and hurt innocent people at times like these.

No meds that can work for Theo?

>47 m.belljackson: - He isn't sick, Marianne. He is just barely out of kittenhood and has a rambunctious personality. I would be hesitant to start on meds for this. I am realizing that in all the years I have had pets (nearly 40 for cats, and 15 before that with my dog), I have just been lucky and spoiled with pets who have been easier. I remind myself that when I was still teaching, *behavioural* kids were not my area of strength, either......

>44 jessibud2: Sorry to hear that one did not work for you. I think I gave it a 3ish star rating. One thing I did enjoy was the bookstore itself. I was imagining how thousands of books would look like in a massive old red barn. I'm thinking secret passageways and nooks :)

Have a great weekend.

Oh, your boys are so cute! >1 jessibud2:

>49 figsfromthistle:, >50 banjo123: - Hi Anita and Rhonda. My reading slump continues to drag on. I just picked up Emma Donoghue's The Pull of the Stars from the library yesterday and hope to start it today. The cats - well, Theo - continues to give me grief but I am determined to get past this. I did a crazy thing the other day: I purchased a huge cat tree in the hope that this will give him (them) something new and exciting to focus on. Just once, I wish Owen would turn around and take a chunk out of Theo; maybe that would stem the stalk and attack syndrome. It took 2 of us to get the cat tree into my small car and today, a friend is coming over to help me get it out and carry it upstairs into the living room. Not exactly my idea of home decor but I am learning to adjust and adapt.

In other news, I also went to the garden centre yesterday. I receive their weekly newsletter and saw that they have the tabletop tomato plants. I was too late the last couple of years so I wanted to grab a few this time. I succeeded and placed one on the kitchen counter in my sunny window and the other in one front room upstairs. I am not sure if it will get enough sun there but we'll see. There are already some red tomatoes on the plants! I have to say, it was pure torture to be in the garden centre (I was only one of 3 customers in there as all retail outlets that have been allowed to reopen this week after being in lockdown since November are under strict in-store number limits). I have ALWAYS had lots of plants and fresh flowers in my house, throughout the year and since last October when the cats arrived, I have nearly none now. To see the brilliant spring flowers, ranunculas, pansies, etc, and know I could not bring any of them home, just makes me so sad. I can't wait till May when I can at least begin to garden outdoors.

As we are at the one-year mark this week since covid dropped its bomb on the world, I rather liked the google doodle from a couple of days ago, commemorating the inventor of the face mask. Such an interesting back story:

https://www.google.com/doodles/dr-wu-lien-tehs-142nd-birthday

I have quite a collection of face masks. If I have to wear them - and we all do! - at least I can enjoy the *fashion* of them! I try to buy masks that are made locally when I can, to support local small business but I have to admit, not all the ones I have bought are locally made. My 2 current favourites are spring-themed!

>52 jessibud2: We have a ridiculous amount of masks at our house. Chloe has to wear them at school and goes through 2-3 a day (depending on if they get wet at recess).

Not sure if this is my own quirkiness and if I am the only one bothered by such trivial things. But the fact remains that this does bother me. Rant ahead.

I am currently reading a book, The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue. I like this writer, I heard her interviewed about this book and I wanted to read it. I have been on the waiting list at the library for it for months. My turn finally arrived and I am struggling. Why? I will tell you. This is a story of the pandemic in Ireland a hundred years ago, told from the point of view of a nurse/midwife. Mostly fiction but based on facts and with one real-life character intertwined in the story. She wrote it in 2018/19 and it came out just literally, as covid hit. She could not have known how timely this would be.

However. The book is nearly 300 pages long. There are only 5 chapters, the first being around 90 pages long and the other four averaging around 70 pages each. I am a person who loves to stop at the end of a chapter. So this is gripe number one for me. There are also no quotation marks used for dialogue at all. This is a big issue for me. I find it distracting to have to figure out who is speaking (especially when names aren't used, as in, so-and-so said...) and if what I am reading is actual dialogue or *thoughts* (internal dialogue), or just narration. I have abandoned books before because of this. I don't understand why editors go for this convention. Or is this something an author demands? No idea but it bugs me probably way more than it ought to. And another problem I have - my third gripe - is that, throughout this entire book, there are NO PARAGRAPH BREAKS. At all. If I can't stop my reading at the end of a chapter, at least give me a paragraph break. What the hell??

I really want to read this story. But I don't know if I have the patience for this nonsense. Bad enough that I am in a reading slump but I have a feeling that this is going to be a DNF for me. End of rant.

The good news is that there is always a *next book*, right? I am not wanting for choice...

My other current book, on the other hand, is a delight: The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop

>54 jessibud2: sorry that your current read is annoying you.
My reading is more scattered with the kids around and my crappy attention span so I rarely make it to the end of a chapter anyway, I usually just stop and start many times during a chapter.

My mother is finally going home today, after 3 weeks in the hospital and 3 more weeks in a rehab hospital. They would have kept her for another 2 weeks but I insisted and did everything in my power to get her out of there. I know the nurses and hospital staff are overworked, but the sad truth is, the toll it was taking on my mother's already fragile mental health was just not worth it to me. Physically, she is as recovered from her fall as she is going to get, I believe. She was getting physiotherapy, such as it is, 3 times a week. Thanks to covid restrictions, that consisted mostly of walking with the walker in her hospital room. From the bed to the door and back. Not in the hallways with the therapist. She had no tv in her room and was bored to tears. She cried many times to me that she wanted to go home. If all she is going to do is stay in bed or sit in a chair, she might as well be in her own living room where she could at least watch tv or use her telephone to make calls herself and not wait for someone to phone her. The therapists told me she is passive, and does what they ask her to but has no initiative of her own. Well, what exactly is the motivation for her, I asked myself? I asked her residence to pack up a bag of clothes, shoes etc and send it to the rehab place so the Occupational therapist could work with my mum and dressing herself, something she hasn't done in 6 weeks and needs some stamina to do safely. She actually had no clothes there because when she was taken to the hospital after her fall, she was in her nightgown. I also sent her (via snail mail) a magazine, some chocolates, a lipstick, hand cream, etc, just to give her something to do. It bothers me a lot that seniors like her, with dementia, are allowed to just sit or sleep all day long with no mental stimulation at all other than when we phone her or a nurse or therapist is there.

Anyhow, I am sure she will be glad to be home. We just got a newsletter last week that her residence has 3 cases of covid, so everyone will once again be confined to their apartments. It's such a pity because they had actually been totally covid-free, staff and residents, since last April. They had even started to allow residents to leave their apartments and walk in the halls and common areas (supervised) not too long ago. Oh well. Still, I am happy she is home. It will still be quite some time before I can go visit. I won't travel until I am vaccinated and the way this province is going, who knows when that will be. I am not eligible to even make an appointment for my first shot before June.

>56 jessibud2: I'm sorry you and your mom are dealing with such a rotten situation, Shelley. I hope getting her resettled in her own surroundings helps her mental state. Can't imagine how the therapists think she should be "taking initiative" when she's so restricted...and so are they. What exactly would that look like?

>57 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda. I know. I am shaking my head. There has to be a way, after all this time of covid, to adapt enough to do better. There is no rehab for mental decline. Use it or lose it....

An interesting discussion about indie bookstores: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000srg7

I am not a big fan of rap but as a teacher, I loved this. :-)

>58 jessibud2: Did your Mom already have her shots?

I sure hope so - our family has already lost three good and loving people to COVID.

(No printable words left for the monster in the U.S. who could have prevented this.)

>60 m.belljackson: - She was in the hospital when her residence had their first shots and the hospital she was in only had a limited supply, designated for patients going to nursing homes. So she missed 2 opportunities. But she did get her first shot at the rehab hospital. Because Canada has messed up a lot with vaccines and our supply is still slow to arrive, many places are now extending the time in between the 2 shots to hopefully ensure that more people get at least one. So she may not get her second till a few months from now. But at least she has had the first and I am relieved about that.

My deepest sympathies, Marianne, on your losses. What a time we are living in, and so hard it is to feel so helpless.

>54 jessibud2:

Long chapters
I'm with you on this one. Short chapters are great because there is always a natural stopping place for whenever I choose to stop reading. Failing that, I generally stop at the end of a sentence at the top of the left hand page.

No quotation marks
Oooh! My husband agrees with you on this one, Shelley! He once started a Cormac McCarthy book like that, refused to finish it and got angry that the author wrote conversations without quotation marks.

This doesn't bother me much at all. It really depends on the quality of the story,. if I'm engrossed in a story, I don't worry too much about who said what but rather concentrate on the story as a whole. I know this does not work for some others.

My husband agrees with you that editors should not allow writers to use conversation without quotation marks. LOL! My feeling is that authors can write however they want. If readers choose not to read their books, they might alter how they write next time...or not!

No paragraph breaks:
Again, this might disqualify a book from me reading it, However, I have read some superb books (albeit few) with no paragraph breaks, but, yeah, it takes some work.

Here's an example of a book I read with no paragraphs or chapter divisions, yet this story blew me away!
https://www.librarything.com/work/598517/edit/26843233
I would gladly read any other of this author's works which I could get my hands on.

>56 jessibud2:
Your mum
I am so sorry for your mum's limited exercise and mental stimulation. I agree that can't be good for her. I hope being at home will provide greater stimulation to be less passive and more independent.

Vaccines
I am so sorry that your vaccine roll-out is taking so long. That must be so upsetting to you after already a year of caution and isolation.

>54 jessibud2: Sorry to hear that it did not work for you. I was looking forward to it however, I think that I will push it to the middle of my reading stack.

Have a great Tuesday ahead!

>54 jessibud2: Re: 90-page chapters and no paragraphs: GIMME A BREAK! ...and I mean that literally!....it would be DNF time for me.

Re: no quotation marks: this is highly dependent on the author. I've read books where the author has been able to skillfully write the dialogue so that you can tell who is talking by the speech patterns and/or content. But these are the exception, not the rule. If I can't easily figure out who's talking, it's a DNF for me.

IMHO, reading should not be a struggle.

>54 jessibud2: Although, like you Shelley, I prefer to have shortish chapters and paragraphs, if I'm primed for other styles, and the writing is good, I can cope without. Sebald's novel Austerlitz is two paragraphs for a 400 page novel. But I knew that was what I was getting.

I can also cope with lack of quotes, but again the writing has to be good enough to warrant the extra effort.

>56 jessibud2: I hope your mom is settling back into her routine at home now.

After many years of completing every book that I read, I finally gave myself permission to stop reading if I wasn't happy with the story/structure/prose.
I hope that your mother will be happier at home with more stimulation than at the rehab hospital.

>62 SqueakyChu: - Hi Madeline. Now that you mention Jose, I think we may have had this conversation before as I now seem to remember that he is like me when it comes to these issues re books! I think I am just too lazy at the moment to work that hard, to plow through.

>63 figsfromthistle: - Well, each of us is different and it may well work just fine for you, Anita. I think it may be more a statement of where I am mentally at the moment.

>64 kac522: - Hi Kathy. The lack of quotation marks is something that has always bugged me and maybe that's just me, being anal. I just don't want to work that hard when reading. At least, not these days. I could probably tolerate the long chapters if there were normal paragraph breaks. But the lack of those breaks did it for me. And it's a pity, as I do like Emma Donoghue's writing. I have read one other book by her and don't remember these issues being in that one at all. Either they weren't, or I was just more tolerant then, lol.

>65 Caroline_McElwee: - Good grief, Caroline, that 400-page, 2 paragraph book would have done me in. Maybe at another time, I would have persevered with the Donoghue, but I returned it to the library yesterday and have begum Maggie O'Farrell's I Am, I Am, I Am, from my shelf.

Morning, Shelley. Sorry, I haven't been by to see the updates on your Mom. I read them now and I am sorry to hear about the lack of vaccinations available. How is her back? You mentioned her falling off the bed.

*This was a backyard photo, from a few weeks ago.

My mum's back pain healed up pretty quickly, all things considered, Mark, thanks for asking. But her energy level has been low for far too long and my main concern was the lack of physical activity, to build up her stamina. Then, as well, the lack of mental stimulation became my major concern. She got home yesterday but to me, still sounded somewhat disoriented. Hopefully, being back in familiar surroundings and with familiar people, will help. She is 87, and has dementia and my main goal is for it to, at the very least, remain stable and not further deteriorate, though, realistically, there isn't much I can do about that, being 6 hours away from her. If I lived in Montreal, I'd visit daily and make sure she was more actively engaged in things. But I don't and I can't.

Lots of sympathy re your mum, Shelley. UTIs can cause dementia, or what sure seemed like it to me (both my parents had that problem), and my dad got nutso for a while from a vitamin B-12 deficiency, which I guess isn't uncommon. A couple of B-12 shots later, we had him back with us with his usual sense of humor. We did get him to work out with a physical therapist at home, doing light weights and so on, and really felt it helped keep him steady in his last years. You've probably read Being Mortal, but it helped my sisters and I get our heads on straight as he headed toward the end.

>1 jessibud2: Love the fox curled up with the kitties. Ha! Happy New Thread!

Oh, I'm sorry The Bookshop of the Broken-hearted didn't work at all for you. I loved those main characters, and they caused me to enjoy it. The child abuse is sad, for sure, and I can see why that would be a reading problem. The boy's steadfast love for and faith in Tom, and vice versa, helped carry me through. I was also very happy to see that horrible Reverend get his just desserts.

>69 jessibud2:

Familiar old Music is reported to help ease dementia.

It makes no sense that Caretakers, of any age, for people who receive COVID shots should not receive them at the same time.

>70 jnwelch: - Thanks, Joe. Yes, its been a few years since I read Being Mortal but it made a very big impression on me. I am trying to stay on top of things as much as humanly possible, given the (covid) circumstances. My brother and I are on the same page in accord to everything, but he is in Vermont and hasn't seen my mother in over a year. Very hard for him, too.

I often seem to march to my own drum when it comes to books that are really popular. C'est la vie. I'm used to it. There was just something about some of the characters that didn't quite ring true for me and that sort of stuck in my craw. Oh well, I moved on.

>71 m.belljackson: - I am not, technically, her caregiver, Marianne, as I live 6 hours away from her and am not visiting her daily. I haven't seen her since early September. All of the staff of her residence have been vaccinated.

As for music, I completely agree. I did bring her a small transistor radio last summer when I was there and set it to her favourite station. I made sure she could operate it herself but she forgets it's even there. It sits on the table right beside the tv, in full view, but she just doesn't notice. I had it sent to her at the hospital and she was thrilled but then, forgot to turn it on. Sigh...

HI Shelley, Following your mom's challenges and so glad that she is back home but sad about the continuing isolation in her place. That must be difficult.

I too like chapter breaks and proper punctuation but when the story is amazing, these things don't matter as much to me.

Hi Shelley. What you are describing, no quotation marks, no paragraphs, long chapters, I wouldn't like that either. It's almost like the whole book suffering from a bad editor. Not enough white space on a page makes it difficult to read, most of all when I am tired. And what's the use of it?

I am so sorry, reading about your mother. It must be so frustrating and difficult for you. When your mother is home again does she have people visiting, familiar caretakers?

Hi Mary and Ella. I think that maybe if I, myself, wasn't in such an agitated state of mind, I might have had more patience to persevere with the story. I know Donoghue is a good storyteller so ii's a good bet that the story is well crafted and written. I will admit to being a bit anal when it comes to things like grammar and punctuation and the lack of quotation marks has always just bugged me.

As for my mother, she got home Monday and I thought she would be thrilled and relieved and just slide back into her groove. But she was very disoriented and when I talked to her, it really rattled me. But yesterday and more so today, she sounded so much better, more like herself. Still some memory gaps (she keeps asking if I want to come visit and where do I live), but her humour is back and when she is lucid, she sounds just fine. So, in that sense, we are back to what passes for normal again. And yes, the staff at her residence all know her and like her and she is on an extra memory care program for now, so they are coming in frequently throughout the day to check on her. I am hoping that tomorrow they will start walking with her in the hallway, to get her used to walking and not just sitting on the couch watching tv all day. She even told me she would walk by herself if they didn't come but I don't want her doing that alone until she is stronger so I told her she wasn't allowed unless someone was with her. In fact, that may even be true!

My next order of business with her is to get her one of those fall alert buttons to wear around her neck (or possibly the wristband version; I learned that that is an option and it may be a better one). More phone calls to make tomorrow.

In other news, I just learned on our news tonight that our city is staying in lockdown a little longer, with some possible outdoor exceptions. Apparently, we are in the third wave, and it's those nasty variants. I will likely not be having my hair cut next week, as hoped. I know this sounds vain but I can't tell you how much this bothers me. My poor hairdresser, this is devastating her business. And I can't stand looking in the mirror any more. She is a one woman business. She has no employees, and in all the years I've gone to her, there is never more than one, maximum 2, customers in her little shop at a time. How that can be more dangerous or risky than freaking Costco and shopping malls, is beyond any logic that I understand. But this is Ontario, and logic does not apply.

Yes , I can hardly wait for a haircut!
I think that ADT/Telus offers a fall alert system.

In cat news, I have come to accept that I have 2 special needs cats, very different needs, very different personalities. But this afternoon, a bit of good news. I think Owen is NOT deaf! I had a suspicion a couple of weeks ago when I squeezed a squeeze toy and it was loud and both cats ran from my bedroom to my front room, where I was. Owen led the way. Though, most of the time, he ignores everything (including microwave, doorbell, phone, even my clapping hands behind him) which always led me to believe he was.

Just now, I watched this video and I have no idea where Theo is at the moment but Owen jumped off my bed and ran into this room, and looked right at the computer! I did it a second time, about five minutes after he went back to my room, with the same result!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3U0udLH974

This is the *translation* version and just as funny (though no reaction from Owen, ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JynBEX_kg8

I guess Owen might just have a case of *selective hearing*, as my mother used to say of me, when I was young....(we'll leave it at that). Still, most of the time, he really has me fooled. There are plenty of things that he just doesn't react to that most cats would.

Never a dull moment around here...

>75 jessibud2: Hi Shelley. Good to hear that your mother has been settling in after the first confusion of the move. The home sounds like a good one, with people who care for her. I hope you can find a fall alert system for her, that works for her.

Here shops are mainly closed, but hairdressers are open again. My hair is corona proof, I have been wearing it long, and cutting it myself for ages. But a nice hairdo is nice of course! I spotted a hairdresser and his customers not wearing any masks, not a good idea!

>77 jessibud2: That is funny, and those cats are adorable. So now you have caught Owen out, not deaf at all...

As I have mentioned before, I am a big fan of documentary filmmaker, Ken Burns. His newest film, Hemingway- The Man, The Myth, The Writer Revealed, will air on PBS tv starting on April 5. There is a very interesting article in the New York Times today on Burns:

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/03/15/magazine/ken-burns-interview.html...

>76 torontoc: - Hi Cyrel. I will be making some phone calls this morning. I did not know about the Telus one but I don't know if they are in Quebec and I'd rather go with a known entity. We'll see what I find out.

>78 EllaTim: - Hi Ella. My hair is very curly so I have always snipped it when parts don't behave and no one but my hairdresser can really tell, I don't think! But if I am honest, it's the colour that bothers me most. I never thought I'd be a person who coloured my hair but I am. If it had all grown in really white like my mum's, I'd just let it be. Total white looks beautiful. But that is not what is happening and I don't like how it looks. I know people colour their hair by themselves at home but I tried that once and never again. Too messy and without my glasses on, I can't really see what I am doing. So, I wait for whenever we will be allowed to go back. The hair really has outgrown its shape and is just looking straggly now (I keep it short so no ponytail for me) and I guess the good news is, I am not going anywhere or seeing people I need to impress. At least that! lol

Hi Shelley, it's good to see that your mum is back home and getting acclimatized again.

Too bad The Pull of the Stars didn't work for you. I don't remember those structure issues with the book but it has been a while since I read it. It seems that many current books are structured that way, unfortunately. It takes a lot longer to read them and makes it harder to look forward to getting back to the book once you've put it down.

>79 jessibud2: I'm very much looking forward to that Ken Burns doc, even though Hemingway isn't one of my favorite authors. His life certainly makes great material. My husband and I are currently watching Burns's Country Music series for the second time. SO much great stuff.

>81 Familyhistorian: - I am in the process of trying to organize more help for my mum, a few hours a day a few times a week; someone to engage her, play cards with her, maybe walk a bit with her. She just really needs mental stimulation as this has been a rough week for her and she sounds really down.

>82 laytonwoman3rd: - I saw Country Music when it was on tv last year and even though I never thought of myself as a country music person, the stories behind it, and the overlaps with folk and blues, were fascinating. That is really Burns' strength, the storytelling, and the way he does it. The exact same thing happened with his Jazz, for me. I have now seen 19 Ken Burns documentaries. It's been a personal project of mine for the last few years and any docs that my library can get hold of, I borrow. During this last year of covid, of course, there has been a pause on requests to purchase but they have taken my requests in the past so I am hopeful that some day, that will resume. There are still a few of his films that aren't in our library system that I would love to see, and unless they air on PBS, the library is really the only other way I have to see them.

>83 jessibud2: We have the DVD set of Country Music, and amazingly, the extras on each of the 4 discs are full of stories that didn't quite make it into broadcast version...I don't know how they made the editing decisions. It's all fascinating.

Hi Shelley!

>75 jessibud2: I’m glad your mum is settling back in, but I know how hard it is to make sure she gets the attention and care she needs with you not there. We weren’t near Bill’s Mama but she had friends who could visit, and Bill’s stepmom visited her mother every single day.

>77 jessibud2: Yay for Owen only being selectively deaf, and that’s a very sweet video. My semi-feral Zoe talks like that to me.

>80 jessibud2: I’m sorry your hair isn’t the color or way you’d like it to be right now. I hope things open up soon.

>83 jessibud2: Good luck with finding the right person for your mum, Shelley. It would be nice if our vaccines would get in track so that you could visit her soon.

>85 karenmarie: - Hi Karen. I am still not 100% sure about Owen. I cleaned the litter box this morning and emptied the old into a spare box just inches away from where he slept on the first step. I made a fair bit of noise in the cleaning and moving around and he didn't so much as move a whisker or open an eye. Twenty minutes of activity right there and nada. If Theo had been upstairs, he'd have been all over everything. Whatever.

>86 Familyhistorian: - As of midnight tonight, Meg, Ontario is back in strict lockdown, province-wide for the next 4 weeks. Not that it will be or feel much different from the last several months. But still. Our mayor has asked the premier to lower the eligibility age for vaccines to 60, but who knows if he will. And even if he does, it's rather meaningless until we get more supply. Which is *promised* next week but, skeptic that I am, I'll believe it when I see it.

In other news, I was thrilled yesterday to get an email announcing Esi Edugyan as the next Massey Lecturer:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/acclaimed-author-esi-edugyan-to-deliver-2021-mass...

A few years ago, I began to collect the Massey Lecture books but it goes back so many years (they started in 1961, I think), that I doubt I will ever collect them all. I look forward to this year's as it is not only timely and relevant, but it's Esi Edugyan! I will also try to listen to them live when they are broadcast.

Here is a link to the archive of Massey Lectures:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/ideas/archives-cbc-massey-lectures-1.5753765

For those who are unfamiliar, each year, some prominent personality delivers 5 lectures on a single theme, and they are delivered (previously, to live audiences, not now, obviously), each in a city across the country and broadcast live on CBC radio. The five lectures are then published as a book.

I actually have been reading but will post an update some time this weekend. There will be 4 more books, at least.

>87 jessibud2: I have quite a few of those massey lecture books as well. Some are quite hard to find though. Esi Edugyan! What an excellent choice.

Have a lovely weekend.

>89 figsfromthistle: - Hi Anita. Back in pre-covid time, when the Word on the Street festival was outdoors, down at the Harbourfront, the CBC often had a booth and tables set up with books (and merchandise) for sale. I found quite a few of the Massey Lecture books there over the years. Still, my collection is very far from complete.

Success! I booked my first vaccine for 2 weeks from today, Sunday, April 18. They gave me an appointment for the second one, too, Sunday, August 8. Yes, 4 months out. Not what I consider good but such is the reality here in Canada (or, at least, in Ontario). Not ideal but I will take it. Initially, I wasn't eligible to make an appointment until June but just this past week, they lowered the age eligibility.

I only had to wait less than 5 minutes to be connected to a human, too, when I called. I consider THAT a minor miracle.

Yay on the first vaccine! But wow on the long wait for the second one!

The distribution of these vaccines has been nothing but chaotic...everywhere. Poeple are jumping into line all over the place. Now in my county anyone over the age of 16 can sign up for the vaccines, but they cannot choose which brand they will get. There is the possibility of Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson.

Jose and I got the Moderna. My second one was adminstered three days ago on time, while his scond one has been postponed for eight days due to lack of sufficient vaccine supply.

I had no reaction to the first one, but I felt really bad for one day after the second one. I'm fine now and relieved to have finished with them. Now I'm waiting the two weeks to develop the status of "fully vaccinated".

The good news is that after one vaccine, you are supposed to have 80% protection. You will still need to take all precautions, but you will be partially protected.

>91 jessibud2: Congrats, Shelley! I’m sure it’s quite a relief to you.

Congratulations! All of my friends are now vaccinated or going later this week for their appointments. My nephew ( much younger!) is taking part in a phase three trial of a new vaccine- he will get the real thing and a placebo over two months.

That's great news about your vaccine, Shelley! But wow, 4 months in between sounds like a lot. Still, the first one provides a pretty good level of protection and is certainly better than nothing!

>92 SqueakyChu: - The one question I forgot to ask, Madeline, when I was booking, is which vaccine it was. I do not want the Astra Zenica but as far as I know, those are only available at pharmacies which is why I did not book at a pharmacy. I guess it really doesn't matter which one, in the end, as long as I get it.

>93 karenmarie: - Yes, Karen, it is a big relief. Because of the alarming rise in variant cases here and the seriousness of them, it probably won't make a difference in my being able to go visit my mum, as I don't think I want to travel yet until those numbers turn around, but still, I am happy to have the appointment.

>94 torontoc: - Cyrel, did you get yours yet? Where did you go for it? Is your nephew here in TO? Pretty much all my friends have got it already, too.

>95 katiekrug: - Hi Katie. Thanks. Yes, 4 months IS a long time but because Canada's supply is so unreliable, I think the reasoning is to get as many people vaccinated with the first, as possible and then go for the second jab. They say the vaccines are good for up to 4 months so they are just stretching it as much as possible. Maybe if our supply picks up, they will shorten the time but I am not holding my breath on that.

Quick reading updates:

Some Writer! - The Story of E.B. White by Melissa Sweet - This was a lovely short bio of E. B. White, written for children. The art work alone, was brilliant, done in collage form, using photos of old personal photographs, and paper ephemera from his life, including excerpts from his journals and *first drafts* of his writings, clippings from his newspaper columns, etc. It was beautiful. The afterword, written by his granddaughter Martha, praised the author's efforts in putting this book together. This book first came onto my radar on Linda's thread (Whisper1), and when I searched for it on my library's website, I also found another book with the same title but a different author. I requested that one, too, just to check it out.

Some Writer! All About the Author of Charlotte's Web - Beverley Gherman -This bio of E. B. White was written for an older age group but still, for kids (around 10 years old or so). Mostly text, it did include a few photos, and went into a bit more detail of his life. The one thing I forgot to note in both these books was the publication dates. I did notice that neither book referred to the other so it is still a curiosity that they both use the same title.

Banksy - Wall and Piece - I found this book on the helves of Value Village awhile ago and decided to go through it now. Mostly pics of his work, with very little text. Each piece is identified with date and location but little else. Interesting, I suppose, but I would have been interested to learn more. It's physically a heavy book, soft cover but large sized.

Lifelong Yoga - Sage Rountree & Alexandra DeSiato - One of the yoga books I took home in the book bundle from the library several weeks ago. I had been going through these slowly, trying to get myself back into the mindset to doing yoga every day. I liked that this book had photos of each and every pose, along with explanations and suggestions for which poses and stretches are best sited for which daily activities. I miss REAL yoga class!

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop - Lewis Buzbee - Part memoir, part history of the *bookshop*, part love story TO the bookshop. Very readable and interesting. I like this guy's writing and, having worked in a few book stores over my lifetime, (and of course, visited tons!), I could relate to many of his anecdotes and some experiences.

>96 jessibud2: So great you're finally getting your shot, Shelley. I've had both doses, and only about 24 hours of fatigue after the second. When I made my first appointment, I was told that I would be receiving whatever vaccine they had available that day, so it's not unusual to find out when you get there.

>97 jessibud2: Looks like the younger kids' book on E. B. White was published in 2016. The older kids' book got some award in 1996, so it's at least that old. I think the "Some writer!" refers to "Some pig!" in Charlotte's Web, and therefore easy to steal use again.

>98 kac522: - Hi Kathy. Yes, finally! The much anticipated jab. Thanks, re the publication dates of those books. I understood the reference to *some pig* right away, of course, just thought it coincidental, if unusual, that 2 different authors would settle on the same title. The younger (newer) one did not (as far as I noticed, and I did look) make any mention of,or reference to, the previous book.

Morning, Shelley. I know you HATE pigeons but I hope you like doves. I saw this Eurasion Collared Dove a couple of weeks ago, on a nearby residential street. It is only the second time I have seen one in the state. You can just see the collar on the back of it's neck.

I recorded the first Hemingway ep but did not start it.

Hi Mark. I did watch the first episode last night but unfortunately, when I get on the couch, I tend to doze off, so I missed chunks of it. I will try to do better tonight for the second episode (I haven't actually checked but I am assuming it's on tonight). I might end up waiting for the dvd to arrive at the library and I'll borrow it and watch during the day when I am more awake.

I do love doves, especially their cooing. I have mourning doves on my lawn regularly and I don't mind at all. It's just the pigeons I can't stand. I have nightmares of waking up one morning and seeing a ton of them on the lawn. They tend to gather in crowds. You should see them at the mall parking lots. It's freaky.

>96 jessibud2: I got my vaccination at North York General Hospital clinic at Seneca College. The whole procedure was very well organized. I think that all clinics run by the city and hospitals are giving Pfizer( what I got ) or Moderna.
My nephew is living in Toronto- he had to go to Brampton to get his vaccination from the company running the study.

Oh lordy, I am way behind but reading through. The video in >77 jessibud2: cracked me up! I love it. I remember hearing something once about the large number of vocalizations cats have, especially compared to dogs (which P would say have bark, growl, and whine). I definitely think cats have lots to say. Certainly Carson does!

I am really sorry I didn't realize the documentary about Hemingway was getting started. I will have to wait and watch it when it becomes available on some kind of rerun or streaming or something.

You get your first shot this Saturday - yay! Four months for the booster is indeed a long wait but the good news is that the first shot does provide some protection. We're all going to be wearing those fashion accessory masks for a while yet, anyway.... I hope the first shot is painless and that you have an experience similar to mine: no real reaction to the first. Like many others, I had about 24 hours of fatigue and mild aches after the second dose (Pfizer).

I am joining you in coming to terms with having a special needs cat (okay, you have two of them!). Carson is such a love and he is just challenging. He is so needy and when he is not getting what he wants (usually this means attention), he still swipes at feet now and then. I HATE this. But we are working together to deal with him. P is being so awesome, taking more than her share of turns getting up at, say, 2:30am to feed him, after which he comes back and snuggles and lets us sleep for a while longer. My alarm goes off at 5:10am but the coffee is on a timer and it starts dripping around 5:00. I don't know if that rouses him but he is simply not interested in letting us sleep for that ten minutes. Sigh. Once I'm up, he is again a love. I feed him, pour my coffee, sit in my reading chair with a fleece blanket on my lap, and he will stretch out and sleep on my lap for as long as I will sit there reading.

>103 EBT1002: I don't know what streaming service you use, Ellen, but we're watching the Hemingway doc on YouTubeTV, where PBS streams live; most stations will air it multiple times--"check your local listings", as they say. We've seen about half of it; it begins slowly (especially if you're already at all familiar with Hemingway's bio) but picks up in the second hour and we're enjoying it.

>103 EBT1002:, >104 laytonwoman3rd: Hemingway Episode 1 is here: https://www.pbs.org/video/hemingway-episode-1-writer/

I think all 3 episodes are available for a limited time.

>104 laytonwoman3rd: and >105 kac522: Thanks!

>102 torontoc: - NY General?! I can walk there from my house! Oh well. I am booked in at North Toronto Memorial Community Centre on Sunday morning, at 12 noon. That's at Yonge and Eglinton, very close to where I used to work. I can park at the ice arena, right behind it. I will let you know which vaccine I get but according to what you wrote, might be Pfizer.

>103 EBT1002: - Hi, Ellen. My Owen is rather a quiet boy (except for his blood-curdling screeches when Theo attacks him, which, thankfully, seems to be less frequent than it used to be). He is warming up to me but doesn't talk much. Theo, on the other hand, is very vocal and has plenty to say. Theo continues to be a challenge, and it's all I can do to keep up. He has been waking me up around 2 or 3 am every night for weeks now. I have always hated sleeping with my bedroom door shut but I do now. I always start the night with it open, and he usually sleeps on my legs. But the minute he wakes me up and starts with his antics, out he goes. For some reason, my bedroom door is the only one in the house that the doorknob doesn't shut properly and stay shut, so I barricade the door from the inside, propping a scratching post and a brick to keep it closed. It's totally insane and if I wasn't experiencing it myself, I would scarcely believe it. My handyman is coming on Monday and will hopefully fix that doorknob. Theo sleeps a lot and when he isn't being naughty, he is extremely affectionate so it's hard to stay mad.

>104 laytonwoman3rd:, >105 kac522:, >106 EBT1002: - Linda, Kathy and Ellen, not sure if it's the same in the States, but here, my library has an extensive dvd section and most of the Ken Burns docs I have watched, I have borrowed from the library. It might be a bit early for the Hemingway one yet, but it will eventually be available on dvd and you could try to get hold of it that way. I turned off episode 2 because I didn't want to watch the hunting and bull fighting parts, and then, on the final day, I totally forgot to watch episode 3, so I will catch up when my library gets its copy of the dvd

Hi Dear Shelley!

I've been MIA. It dawned on me that the inability to read and the feeling of sadness is because the two year date of Will's passing is three days away.

I'll be back visiting your threads and that of others, just for now, I am in a foggy time.

>108 Whisper1: - So good to see you here, Linda. I know these anniversaries are difficult. I am happy that you are surrounding yourself with happy memories and that you are making the effort to visit threads. {{hugs}} to you.

My Theo and his bible. Just saying:

I returned 2 books to the library today. Both were graphic novels, by a Quebec artist/author, Pascal Girard. Can't remember on whose thread I first saw these but I read the first (Reunion) and found it only ok. Not ok enough to persuade me to read the second, Petty Theft. Oh well.

Picked up 2 more books: Ask Again, Yes and The Lost Spells. I am more hopeful for these.

>110 jessibud2: Ha!

>111 jessibud2: Oh, can't wait to see what you make of Ask Again, Yes, Shelley.

Happy weekend's reads!

>112 richardderus: - Hi Richard. I will probably start it tomorrow as I plan to zip through The Lost Spells tonight. It is a visually beautiful book and looks to be a quick read. I am savouring the language so far and the artwork. My only niggle is that the print is rather light in colour and the lack of contrast on the page makes it a bit difficult. But it's not enough to put me off and I love it so far.

Hi Shelley!

>107 jessibud2: Early a.m. wake up calls from kitties are so annoying.

>110 jessibud2: My gingers worship at the same church...

>114 karenmarie: - Hi Karen. If only early mornings were the worst Theo dished out.... And as Ellen says, what is it about gingers?!

I just read Robert MacFarlane and Jackie Morris's lovely new book, The Lost Spells. It is a visually beautiful piece of art and I just love the play with language.

Here are parts of 2 separate entries. Both are longer than I am copying here. But I love them:
~~~~~~~~~~~

Jackdaw

Always with the comeback
coal-black crackerjack,
joker of the haystack,
ready with the wisecrack,
giving it the backchat!

King of the chimney-stack,
the belfry bivouac,
bright-eyed steeplejack,
from church-tower to tarmac,
giving it the snicker-snack!

Don't call her Crow
or Rook or Raven,
for she is a Jackdaw,
grey-headed outlaw,
fighting the class war,
dipping down on quick wings
to hijack a wedding ring or
ransack a knick-knack or
snatch up a gimcrack
while giving it the guffaw!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gorse

Good luck trying to force your way through
Gorse! Better setting out across
a field of spears, a lake of pikes, a sky of
hawks, a hundred winters;
better getting dealt a thousand scratches
by a million splinters!

Each of us is partly made of Gorse, of
course; prickly, cussed, hard to parse
and tough to handle, all helter-skelter
points and angles - but only ever really
seeking love and giving shelter.

I will be leaving my house shortly. I have an appointment to get shot at high noon...!

>117 jessibud2: Yay...

>118 Caroline_McElwee: - Home, done and survived. Thanks, Caroline. It was all very smooth, fast, organized and easy. I got a sticker, too! :-)



Next appointment: Aug. 8 (hopefully sooner, if my province ever gets the supply it was promised. Not holding my breath but still hoping).

>116 jessibud2: I am a big fan of The Lost Spells (and The Lost Words). Gorgeous books.

>119 jessibud2: Brava! Glad you're jabbed at last.

Congrats! I never received a sticker though ;)

That sticker is day glo, Shelley. Can't miss that. The one I got on Tuesday was much more subdued. When I got the first shot I was told that I would be contacted in 4 months for the second one. Hopefully they will speed things up because I see that they are telling people 45 and up to book their appointments now.

>120 Oberon: - Hi Erik. I wonder if his other books are as beautiful. I will have to check them out.

>121 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard. Me too!

>122 figsfromthistle: - Maybe you had to ask! I did, though I think I would have got it anyhow.

>123 Familyhistorian: - Meg, I was given the second appointment date at the same time as I was given the first. It's much more efficient that way and surprising to me that it isn't done that way everywhere. There must be a reason. Or, maybe not. A lot (here in Ontario, anyhow) is done without any reason at all. Thus our rather dire situation, currently. As of a couple of days ago, our numbers here were so horrible that the provincial borders with Quebec and Manitoba are now closed (except for essential workers and trucks carrying goods) for the next 6 weeks or so and our stay at home lockdown has been extended as well. In truth, for me anyhow, it doesn't feel that much has changed. Though I don't have kids, so I am not feeling that part of it as much. Schools are now closed for the foreseeable future, which is hard on everyone. But teachers have not been prioritized here and most have not had their first jab yet.

Yay on the shot!!

I’ve spent lots of the weekend on the BookCrossing Zoom Unconvention which was great fun. I got to see and hear lots from Bookgirrl this weekend as well.

I am so sorry Ontario is having such a rough time with covid and the vaccines. Of my family, only my younger son needs the second shot. I walk maskless now, but I carry a mask with me. Psychologically, it feels better to have had the shots.

>125 SqueakyChu: - I was too dim-witted to figure out how to log onto the UnCon. Give me a link to click on and I'm fine. But beyond that, well, not so much. Oh well. Glad you and Madeleine (Bookgirrl) had such a good time.

Our idiot premier STILL isn't listening to the medical experts here. They are all telling him (and us, through radio, tv and print media) that being outdoors is far safer than staying cooped up indoors. It ought to be a no-brainer, especially as the weather improves (well, except for the next 48 hours - we are expecting snow!). But our premier has no brains and that's why he is still calling for people to stay home. He did have to back-track a bit on some of the restrictions he announced last weekend. Sigh. It's all getting old already. And our numbers continue to climb...

I think it will be some time before I feel comfortable being around people without wearing a mask. I always have 2 in my purse, and one in my coat pocket. I switch them around with others I have, as I wash them. I actually like the collection I have amassed. Some have seasonal patterns (I have a snowflake one, and currently, a few flower and garden-themed masks). It will also be some time before I will be fully vaccinated (August), so this is my reality now and actually, I am ok with that.

Covid Medical Consensus (a little humour, which we could all use right about now):

Medical experts today were asked if it is time to ease the COVID lockdowns.

Allergists were in favour of scratching it, but Dermatologists advised not to make any rash moves.

Gastroenterologists had a sort of a gut feeling about it, but Neurologists thought the government lacked the nerve.

Obstetricians felt certain everyone was labouring under a misconception, while Ophthalmologists considered the idea short-sighted.

Many Pathologists yelled, "Over my dead body!" while Paediatricians said, "Oh, grow up!"

Psychiatrists thought the whole idea was madness, while Radiologists could see right through it.

Surgeons decided to wash their hands of the whole thing and pharmacists claimed it would be a bitter pill to swallow.

Plastic Surgeons opined that this proposal would "put a whole new face on the matter."

Podiatrists thought it was a step forward, but Urologists were pissed off by the whole idea.

Anaesthetists thought the whole idea was a GAS, and Cardiologists didn't have the heart to say no.

In the end, the Proctologists won out, leaving the entire decision up to the assholes in politics.

>126 jessibud2: I agree that it would have been nice to have a link to click on. Next time, just get either Bookgirrl of me to type you out simple directions. They might do this again in the future. In the meantime, I figured out a better way to set up which allowed me to fully participate, except for listening to Faisy whom I could not understand at all. I learned how to sync my hearing aids to my phone. I get the video on my computer, while I use the audio and camera on my phone. It was the best I could do. If it sounds complicated. it is. Oh, well.

I am so sorry you have to deal with your premier as well as face all the issues of covid-19. That must be so frustrating and disheartening. Here in Maryland, our numbers are not going down. They've been at a plateau for two months. Though the vaccine is now available to everyone over 16 years of age. most of the vaccinated people are elders. Meanwhile the younger, still unvaccinated people are now allowed to go out to bars and restaurants . People continue to die here and be hospitalized here every day with covid. People just do not use common sense. The prevalent strain here is one of the variants, the UK one, Ibelieve. It is more infectious and more lethal.

A fellow BookCrosser whose son was in college in Virginia just had her son come home from college because his roomate tested postivie for covid, and he begged his parents not to make him go into quarantine at school (in a motel).

I am so ready to not use my mask with my family, but I'm still afraid of everyone else. I do not trust others.

>128 SqueakyChu: Even though I am " half" vaccinated , I always wear a mask with 3 layers( one is a coffee filter that slips inside the mask inside pocket) and stay away from people -I shop early in the morning when the grocery stores are almost empty. Everyone I know is so mad at the Ontario Premier- he is planning a $1000 a person zoom fund raising event in the midst of an emergency. Two of the medical doctors in charge of two of the " hot spot areas"- Toronto and Peel- have just authorized a closedown of factories and warehouses that have 5 or more COVID cases. Social and political pressure just might force the provincial government to have paid sick days- I hope so.

>127 jessibud2: Funny.

>129 torontoc: - Cyrel, I heard that there is pressure on Ford to resign. I can't see that happening, to be honest, and besides, who would replace him? Christine Elliott? Not much of an improvement, I'm afraid. Not a lot of brains or common sense at the top.....

That political fund-raiser is outrageous. So very *Ford*, if truth be told. Grrr

>131 jessibud2: I just read online that the fund-raiser has been " postponed".

Hi Shelley!

>118 Caroline_McElwee: Congrats on getting your first dose of vaccine. I got a sticker, too.

>124 jessibud2: I was given the date/time for my second dose when I got my first.

>127 jessibud2: Clever, and I thank you for the laughs.

>124 jessibud2: I think the reason they didn't give the second appointment at the same time was because of the unreliability of the vaccine supply. We currently have restrictions between moving between health regions in BC.

I just saw a short clip on PBS about New York theatres and they were saying how their audiences were now restricted to 150 people. Imagine, 150 people in one place legally.

{/lurk}
I do drop in, just unannounced. So I'm announcing.
{lurk}

HAppy Monday!

>127 jessibud2: Quite clever. It made me smile :)

>128 SqueakyChu: - I will be using my masks for a long time, Madeline, no matter what. I just feel safer with them.

>132 torontoc: - Did you see his cry-fest *apology* the other day? Sheesh. Give me a break. I wonder if there is anyone at all who fell for it. It's a week now and still, nothing much has been done where it's needed most, ie, paid sick days for essential workers who are still going to work sick because they can't afford to stay home. I honestly think that Ford and his puppets believe that if they say something enough times, it will magically become true. *We listen to our medical experts*. They don't, still aren't, but if he keeps saying it often enough, somehow, it will become true. Just like his idol, trumpty dumpty. Makes me want to puke.

>133 karenmarie: - Hi Karen. A laugh or two is necessary sometimes, for sure. I'll take them where I find them!

>134 Familyhistorian: - Meg, I am hearing rumblings of perhaps being able to mix and match vaccines soon. A different one for the second jab than the first. Not sure if anything is for sure though and who knows when. You are right, until supplies are more reliable, nothing is certain. It boggles the mind why a country like ours isn't manufacturing our own vaccines. You'd think they'd have figured something out by now.

And yikes, I can't imagine an indoor gathering like that! Not for a long time.

>135 richardderus: - Do drop in, Richard! :-). Always good to see you.

>136 figsfromthistle: - Hi, Anita!

>129 torontoc: Ontario sounds like such a nightmare now. I am so sorry this is happening in your province.

>137 jessibud2: I made my first visit to a grocery store today since the beginning of the pandemic. I only went there to buy organic plants, but since I had to go inside to pay, I also bought some produce, other groceries plus a jigsaw puzzle. It’s called MOM’s and is an organic foods grocery store and my favorite place to food shop. It was mid afternoon so there were very few people in the store.

Just when I was about to feel safe, I learned that a very good friend of mine became really sick with covid-19 last week. She and her husband, having been fully vaccinated, had an indoor dinner at the home of another fully vaccinated couple. A week later, my friend became severely ill although she was not hospitalized. Thankfully, her husband who has lung issues remained okay. They are scheduled to come visit us in a couple of weeks although they remain on quarantine now. Needless to say, this scares the hell out of me. I wonder if we’ll ever get to live normally again in my lifetime. I feel so sorry for all the young people whose lives the pandemic has disrupted. I feel so grateful for the freedom from fear of virtually everything I had when I was younger.

>137 jessibud2: >138 SqueakyChu:
Some " good things"-happening now- several hard hit areas are shutting down companies where there is a Covid outbreak ( five cases or more), some companies are setting up clinics to vaccinate their workers, and medical help is coming in from out of province to help exhausted Ontario medical workers. The premier of Ontario still won't listen to his " science table" - they have been calling for more allocation of vaccine to Covid " hotspots", and sick pay for workers so that they won't come to work sick.
We are probably going to socialize out of doors for a long time!

>139 torontoc: >137 jessibud2: I am glad there is some progress in Ontario, but the delay in doing what is needed (by all countries, not just your own) has cost so many lives. I agree that it will take a very long time for life to ever look as it did prior to this pandemic.

Fortunately my friend continues to progress well, unlike another fiiend of mine who had been infected in March over a year ago and became a "long hauler". Recently the latter responded well to being treated with steriods. It's all so scary.

This weekend, my husband and I are planning to do a maskless visit to my daughter and her husband to celebrate his belated birthday with gluten-free pizza and gluten-free cupcakes which I plan to make at home (including the pizza sauce). It will be our first maskless visit with any of our children since before the pandemic. I/m a bit nervous, but I trust them to be safe.

On a birding note, our wren house has been taken over by a pari of house sparrows. Somehow the hole opening has been pecked a bit wider so the sparrow pair litterally "stuff" themsleves into that birdhouse. What we do NOT need are more hiouse sparrows! *sigh*

Madeline, good luck. I have been lucky in that I only know one friend whose family (she, her husband and 2 adults kids) have had covid but all were mild cases and all recovered well (as far as I know). I think we can never be too cautious but also, we have to trust and do the best we can. I have one acquaintance who doesn't want to get the vaccine. I hate to be judgmental but I am not sure I want to get together with her, if I am honest. She is young, has no medical issues, but is into holistic everything and doesn't think it's necessary. I guess these are the times when we find out who people really are. She isn't a close friend and I don't see her regularly but I just can't understand that thinking.

And yes, Cyrel, I have heard all that news, too. Still, too little, too late. And Ford just digs his heels in and refuses to do the right thing. Not surprised but disappointment is turning to anger. Just shame on him.

I haven't posted any cat updates lately. I bought a huge cat tree with shelves and coves, mainly for Theo, to release some energy. I put things on and in it constantly and he really does love it. He owns it, too, and though Owen has explored and enjoyed it, he seems to prefer my bed.

Here is the King of his Castle:


Owen has his own quirky habits. I fold my blanket down at the foot of the bed each morning. He likes to dig a cave and that's his *territory*:


And here is a rare moment of harmony. Actually, they are not as rare as they once were but still, it's sweet to see:


Owen turned 3 this month and Theo, is a year and 3 months and continues to exhaust me.

>141 jessibud2: Shelley, I also have a friend, a very close one in fact, who refuses to be vaccinated for the same reason. I’ll just get together with her masked, outside, and socially distanced. She is careful. Her family are all getting vaccinated. Eventually when we get to herd immunity, she’ll be able to shed her mask. But that could take forever!

Love the cat pictures!

>138 SqueakyChu: I feel so sorry for all the young people whose lives the pandemic has disrupted. I feel so grateful for the freedom from fear of virtually everything I had when I was younger.

So very, very true. Imagine being 6 years old now and wearing a mask in school and needing to stay clear of your friends. We thought we had a scary time when we had to learn to duck under our desks for fear of nuclear attack. I think this is much worse, and this fear may last much longer.

On a better note (and this will happen in Ontario in the future as well), I got to do two unmasked outdoors visits today. First, BookCrosser Mom-Oyster did a driveby to exchange books and fabrics with me and my husband. Second, I was outside reading and my neighbor stopped by to visit us with her three-month-old baby. We all got to see and hear each other. What a blessing!

>142 jessibud2: Theo looks very content up there, Shelley, and so does Owen on his blanket.

>141 jessibud2: My husband has this trouble at work, only 20% wants a vaccination :-(
Most of his collegues are young, and easy targets for all the misinformation that is widely available on the internet.

>142 jessibud2: Owen and Theo are so handsome! Give them some ear scritches for me, please.

Hi Shelley!

>141 jessibud2: My brother-in-law has so far refused to get vaccinated, although my sister, their children, and their daughter-in-law has. I dislike him in the best of times, and this only confirms my opinion of him.

>142 jessibud2: Yay. Kitty pictures. A rare moment of looking relaxed for your wild boy. Owen looks happy, and it is nice to see them together.

>146 FAMeulstee: - It's not just young people, Anita. Unfortunately. Ignorant people come in all ages. See the article I link to, below. It's mind-boggling to me, frankly.

>147 scaifea: - Hi, Amber Thanks, ears scritches are frequent around here (and best of all, accepted by the receivers!)

>148 karenmarie: - It's infuriating, isn't it, Karen? See the article below, that a friend just sent me.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/private-florida-school-won-t-employ-va...

I wonder if any of the parents of the students are intelligent enough to pull their kids from a school with a mind set like this. It's outrageous, to be honest.

Theo update. Yesterday, he knocked the tv onto the floor. Thankfully, nothing broke and everything is still working. My handyman just left. He came over to secure it and (hopefully), this won't happen again. I think Theo knew he had crossed a line because he was so well-behaved after the *event*, that last night was the first night in weeks I didn't have to kick him out of my room in the middle of the night and shut the door. He has been very apologetic. Till his next adventure, that is. I am not fooled. I told him he is inching toward his 6th or 7th life, easily. I am calm. Yes, I am............

Off to get some groceries and yet more library holds to pick up. I will never catch up.

I saw your post on another thread about enjoying author talks. Me too! Especially in this time of Zoom. I'm getting to hear so many authors that I otherwise wouldn't have access to in my remote corner of the mountains.

>151 streamsong: - Hi! Thanks for stopping by. If you enjoy them too, check out this author program on our CBC radio. The host, Eleanor Wachtel, talks to authors for the full hour. Just keep scrolling down till you find one (or many!) you like. But beware, you'll be falling down a rabbit hole. They are ALL great!

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/writersandcompany

Another CBC books show focuses more on Canadian authors and Shelagh Rogers is just as good. As with the previous one, just keep scrolling down....:

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter

You can thank me later...;-)

>150 jessibud2: Oh dear Theo. He is certainly a challenge for you Shelley. Maybe a bit of brandy in his milk will slow him down, hick!

Hi Shelley my dear, i am slowly catching up with the threads and have missed quite a lot especially with yours. I hope that Theo and Owen are OK with each other, the photos seem to answer that for me and they are so cute. Apart form the fur babies, i hope that all is well with you my dear.

We are still waiting for Amy to give birth, her due date was yesterday but that came and went, oh well it will come out when it is good and ready, lol.

I hope that you have a really lovely weekend my dear and we both send love and hugs dear friend.

Hi Shelley. I'm glad you had your first shot of the vaccine! It isn't full protection but it does help.
Holland is doing lousy when it comes to taking measures, so frustrating, we're nearly into code black, hospitals overflowing, and our government is opening up. Very wise., not.

>150 jessibud2: Uhoh, that Theo is a handful. I think he realises full well that he did something wrong. My cats were always very careful not to throw anything from ledgers, and would tiptoe around everything. I hope he will stay a bit remorseful, but it will probably be temporary!

>142 jessibud2: Such cute kitties! Sorry for the naughtiness. Hopefully he will be calmer as he gets older. (I say, even though my 11 year old cat is SO bad. But at least cute, and sometimes sweet.)

>153 Caroline_McElwee: - lol! I am getting to the point where I am almost ready to try anything, Caroline!

>154 johnsimpson:- Thanks, John. And big congrats to you and the family of the arrival of little Elliott!

>155 EllaTim: - Very temporary Ella. He was contrite for a short while. And is now back to being Theo!

>156 banjo123: - Oh no, Rhonda. I don't want t hear that!! Heaven help me!

I am grateful beyond the stars that I retired from teaching before the pandemic arrived. I honestly don't know how I would have coped with teaching this past year. I still have a couple of friends/colleagues who are still at it, and I can only offer a supportive (virtual) shoulder and ready ear. Anyhow, one of them sent me this pic tonight and I think it is brilliant. I think every teacher should have one - as well as every parent who has had to be *it* at home during at home learning. I asked my friend if it was a real thing or just a clever meme. She did a little digging and texted me back saying, omg, they are real! Pretty decent price, too, and free shipping!

https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/1013106083/custom-survivor-teacher-2021-shirt

>157 jessibud2:, Thank you Shelley my dear, Mum and Baby are home now and Karen and I have had cuddles.

The cutest baby bird photos!

https://www.audubon.org/news/did-somebody-say-baby-bird-photos?ms=digital-eng-em...

-Golden-Crowned Sparrow. This was a target bird of mine in Oregon and I got to see quite a few. Not many great photos though.

Sweet Thursday, Shelley. I hope all is well. I would sure like to see a spring warm up.

>160 jessibud2: I LOVE THIS!! I am still smiling.

Hi Shelley!

>150 jessibud2: Thank goodness you have a good handyman! I’m glad Theo toed the line, at least for a while.

>160 jessibud2: So adorable. I think I like the Common Loons the best – the babies look blissed out.

>161 msf59: - I knew you would, Mark!

>162 karenmarie: - I agree about the loons, Karen. And also about my handyman! I only half-joke when I say the 3 most important men in my life are my handyman, my computer guy and my financial advisor! ;-)

I just found out that the author of The Boys in the Boat has a new NF book out and it looks like a good one! I will have to wait for the paper version or at least until I get through some of the many library holds that are currently flooding in. It's called:
Facing the Mountain and onto the list it goes!

This is the current batch of library holds that came i and I have started all of them(!!):

Wintering - The Power of rest and retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
The Rise: Black Cooks and the Soul of American Food - Marcus Samuelsson
Out of Many, One - George W. Bush
The Pull of the Stars Emma Donoghue
Weird - The Power of being an Outsider in an Insider World - Olga Khazan

I am no cook and am highly unlikely to attempt any of Samuelsson's recipes (but who knows) but I love the guy and am eager to read the text of this book (and there is plenty of it!). I loved his memoir of several years ago.

George W. Bush as a writer would have seemed rather oxymoronic to me but I saw an interview with him recently on tv about this book and it intrigued me. It is a story of immigrants to the United States and their contributions. He has painted their portraits and captured their stories.

I had abandoned the Donoghue book in print not long ago because I had issues with the lack of quotation marks and absence of paragraph breaks. But I like her as an author and so decided to give it a try on audio.

edited to add another library book I am currently reading. Five is usually a bit more than I generally try to juggle at once but they keep on comin'....

>165 jessibud2: I really enjoyed Wintering Shelley. Gobbled it up in two days just before Christmas.

HI Shelley, I just put Wintering on hold at the library. It will be a long wait but that's okay, I have lots to read in the meantime! I too loved the Samuelson memoir and will look for his new book too. Thanks. Drats the library doesn't have it (yet).

>165 jessibud2: Can't wait to read what you think about Pull of the Stars.

Enjoy the rest of the week.

>166 Caroline_McElwee: - I am hoping to finish it by the weekend, Caroline. I am enjoying it so far.

>167 mdoris: - H Mary! Long time no see. Hope you are well. The Samuelsson book is large and physically heavy (as in, weighs a lot!). It is also gorgeous with lots of photos and stories, beside just the recipes. We have 3-week borrowing periods here so I will dp in and out until I have to give it back.

>168 figsfromthistle: - I have heard from literally everyone who has read it that it's a very good story so I am confident that it will work for me on audio. This one is on a slightly different format than I have ever tried before. Usually, when I used to do audiobooks, they were cd discs that I'd pop into my car's cd player, which broke a few years ago. This format is called an audio media player and is one unit. I need to have earphones and need to insert one AAA battery. No need to change discs or anything. Sounds like exactly what I need for when I go walking, too. I will try to finish one book before I start this one, hopefully by the weekend. Looking forward to it.

I hope the audio works better for you for The Pull of the Stars, Shelley.

Shelley, hope you are enjoying your Samuelsson read!

>110 jessibud2: Oh my, that cracked me up. It's so true!!!

Hi Shelley. I see you are reading Pull of the Stars. It is on my wish list....

>170 Familyhistorian: - Well, I haven't started it yet though I intended to, today, Meg. But I realized that the Marcus Samuelsson book is actually due back today and when I tried to renew it, I wasn't able to as someone else has requested it. So, since there are no late fees these days, I have decided to blitz that one for the next couple of days and will get to the Donoghue after that. Besides, it is too damned hot and humid here today (31C with a humidex of 33C), to go for a walk and I wanted the Donoghue as my walking book. But I WILL get to it next up. The temps will drop starting tomorrow, thank goodness.

>171 mdoris: - Mary, I am actually loving the Samuelsson. His talks not only of Black food, but also Black history, immigrant history, and how all of that comes together in this place and time. He put the book together and published it just in the past year, so he talks of how, just weeks after opening his own newest restaurant, he had to totally pivot and ended up preparing and serving food to the hungry, to front line workers, and how his staff (and the staff of many restaurants like his own) were the real unsung heroes during the pandemic. He highlights Black cooks and chefs and restaurants across the States, gives a profile of their backgrounds and how they came to be where they are now. It's a wonderful concept for a cookbook and the book itself is also visually stunning. Tons of photos of the food and their creators, and the graphic display (borders around each page) are also beautiful. I love reading about people and their journeys through life, and even if I don't end up making a single recipe from this book (and I might), I am enjoying the read.

>172 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen. Yes, Theo could have written that book himself, I can attest to that. See my note to Meg, above in this post, re the Donoghue book. I am looking forward to it. Unfortunately, I just this morning picked up 2 more holds that have arrived at the library. When it rains, it pours.

As our temperatures reach a tropical 31C today, I have just finished reading a book called Wintering by Katherine May. It was a BB from Caroline and while the (seasonal) timing could have been better, it was an interesting read. I am not much of a winter person but maybe it is more accurate to say I am not much of an extreme season person. I don't do well in this type of heat and humidity, either. May talks about embracing the winter and she does go to extremes, herself, to prove to herself that she can. Much as I love dogs, I won't get a dog precisely because I don't like to go out in bad weather so it was a bit cringe-worthy to me to read how she learned to swim in the ocean in sub-zero temps. Among other things. Not my style, to be honest. But she does have some good and worthy things to say about life and learning to adapt, and accept yourself and the seasons of your own life, in all its ups and downs. I did enjoy the read.

I still have several library books in my possession and on their way but I have made a decision to stop requesting books for awhile, once this batch is done. I honestly need to make my way through the bazillions on my shelves in order to clear some out. Since it doesn't seem likely I will stop buying books in my lifetime, the least I can do is read the ones I have -- and truly want to read, since that is why I buy them, isn't it? Our current pandemic lockdown here in Ontario is set to end on June 2, less than 2 weeks from now. And that's when stores (read: bookstores) will reopen. Not that I am running to buy more, but one must be prepared.... Actually, my priority after lockdown is over is to get a damned haircut!

All I really wanted to do today was sit outside and read, while inhaling my lilacs, which are in full bloom right now. But it was too darn hot to stay out there after I finished watering.

I took photos, but I recently got a new cell phone (an upgrade from my old one) and it is giving me fits. I am not great with *new technology* at the best of times. I have already phoned tech support 3 times but still, absolutely nothing is intuitive. I have not been able to download photos from the phone to my computer, for one thing. Oh well, by the time I figure it out, only the pictures will remain of the lilacs, I can tell.

They smell heavenly, one of my favourite nature aromas, and a childhood memory, too. I have been taking cuttings and bringing them in but can only keep the 2 vases in this room where my computer is because I can close the door when I am not in here. Can't trust Theo with any vase of water anywhere... any time.....

Shelley, I grew up in Toronto not so far from the school where you taught. Below my bedroom window was a lilac tree and I will never forget the amazing fragrance from that tree. The lilacs are fragrant out west too and presently in bloom but nothing like the fragrance of the eastern ones. There must be something in the soil (maybe??). Enjoy your lilac time!

>176 mdoris: - Mary, we had a lilac tree in our backyard in Montreal, right under my bedroom window too, when I was growing up, so this fragrance feels like part of my DNA. Our temps this week have been very hot (today we got to 31 or 32C) so maybe that has something to do with it, too. I give it another week or so before the peak is over but for now I am just inhaling as much as I can, lol!

This lilac was a small shrub that my friend gave me when I moved to this house, exactly 20 years ago. It is now a tall tree. I just bought another small lilac bush, a triple bloomer, apparently it will flower 3 times over the summer. It's still too small to do much but appears to be healthy and I was so happy to find it.

Yes- a haircut! You might have notices that John Tory(Mayor of Toronto for your non- Toronto readers) has not had a haircut and the Prime Minister is also looking like he needs a haircut. I have more faith in those politicians who are following the lockdown rules.
I have also done a deep dive in my book piles and have pulled out books that I should have read a few years ago. I am just stating Mudbound for that reason.
Lilacs! I have a very big lilac bush in my front yard that looks so great now and am looking for another for my backyard.

>178 torontoc: - Oh, Cyrel, John Tory's hair!! I saw this article and could not stop laughing!!

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/star-columnists/2021/05/19/hair-today-gone-tomor...

Cyrel, try to find the triple bloomer lilac bush. It's from Proven Winners and though I bought mine at Sheridan Nurseries (on Yonge St near Lawrence), you could probably find them at other nurseries, too. I feel like a drug addict, inhaling deeply every time I go outside or walk into this room where my computer is ( and my 2 vases of cut lilacs are!) :-)

Cats and Lilacs - most are pretty safe, but a couple can be poisonous.

>180 m.belljackson: - Hi Marianne. I am less worried about the poison factor than I am about the water damage to my computer! The 2 small vases of cut lilacs are on the shelf above the computer! I have pretty much gotten rid of most of my indoor house plants because Theo is just too curious to keep them safely. Anything that isn't nailed down is a potential toy for him to bat around, including vases of water! Because I have had cats for so many years, I have never had plants in the house that are poisonous so that (for me) was never a concern. I guess I have just always had cats who were less naughty. Perhaps, one day when he is older and wiser (or at least, less active), I can once again have house plants! ;-)

>177 jessibud2: Yep, hot in Chicago, too, Shelley...today the car thermometer said 90F which is 32C, I think (official weatherman high was 89F). And it's supposed to last until at least Tuesday, with maybe a few scattered showers.

We also had lilacs in our yard growing up, both lavender and white. And tulips and lily of the valley. All of which bloomed in May in Chicago, which is my birthday month.

So to me: lilacs + lily of the valley=my birthday!

Unfortunately, neither of these are in the yard where I live now, but I sometimes sneak down the alley and smell the bushes hanging over the backyard fences.

Needless to say it is also hot here as it is every single day of the bloody year!

Must say that I am yearning to travel and to search out the seasons, especially the cooler ones!

>182 kac522: - Hi Kathy. Today is is a much more pleasant and *cooler* though not for long, apparently. I'll take it. I did go for a walk this morning and it was lovely.

My lovely backyard garden (and front, too, though to a lesser degree) has, over the past 24 - 48 hours, been covered with the little maple keys (aka, *helicopters*) from the maple tree on the neighbour's yard several houses up the street. It is somewhat surprising as it isn't windy at all, barely breezy, in fact. Yet, I will be sweeping and raking them up for the foreseeable future, I think. And, as well, I noticed that my patio table is covered in a thick layer of yellowish dust, which I am guessing is pollen. No wonder I have been sneezing up a storm lately. Ah, spring....

>183 PaulCranswick: - So, Paul, when is the projected time of your relocation to the UK, land of seasons?

I just finished a lovely little book, possibly the best little book of philosophy since Winnie the Pooh and his friends became immortal dispensers of childlike but eternal wisdom. This one is called The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse by Charlie Mackesy. The drawings are whimsical in a very Pooh-like fashion, and at first I thought the text font would put me off and be difficult to read as it is his handwriting. But in fact, it wasn't off-putting at all and it took me about 15 minutes to read.

Here is my favourite bit of wisdom, particularly apropos for the times we are currently in:

"When the big things feel out of control...focus on what you love right under your
nose. This storm will pass."

This book (and author) first came onto my radar awhile ago, in this interview:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charlie-mackesy-the-boy-the-mole-the-fox-and-the-ho...

We got to 33C here. UGH!!

Anyway, here's to hoping the a.c is in good nick for the overuse you'll be making of it.

>186 richardderus: - I actually did not turn it on today, Richard, though it sounds like it will be back in use tomorrow for the next few days at least. It's only 21C (69.8F) here today and the air feels great. I actually have my windows open (despite the pollen). Any temps approaching 30C are too much, for me. Today's temps are my ideal: warm enough not to need a sweater or long sleeves but comfortable enough not to need the A/C.

>187 jessibud2: I'm with you...perfect starts at 18C and ends with a crash at 22C. Then the shades of "okay" to "tolerable" to "yuck" to "CALL MY SENATOR THIS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL" take over.

>187 jessibud2: 21C is marvellous. Enjoy, Shelley! But 30C no thank you very much.

We're still below that, we had the spectacular high of 14C. And rain. Very good for the garden. And it keeps the street outside quiet;-) (I am now living opposite an Italian Ice Cream shop. It has done a good advertising campaign, and there are rows of people outside to taste this most wonderful of ices. Very expensive. Noisy. Well, sorry about that, I'm done complaining now.)

>185 jessibud2: Sounds like just the thing for the times right now!

Hi Shelley!

>184 jessibud2: Oh, I love helicopters. Blech to pollen. Our spring pollen season is mostly past, and I’ve got a window in the Sunroom open. I’ll have to close it in a while because it’s supposed to get to 91F/32.78C today.

I hope 'the boys' are minding their manners and getting along with each other and you.

Hi Richard, Ella, Karen.

Well, Mother Nature is at it again, poor thing. Not knowing which end is up, as it were. I actually needed a jacket when I went out yesterday and this morning, it was only 8C and our high (if we get there) will only be 10C. This is not a complaint, except that I have already put away my blankets and sweaters. After the rain (much needed!) of today passes (and in truth, it is only raining lightly right now; we sure could use a lot more), the rest of the coming week will be lovely, warmer but not as hot as it was for the last couple of weeks. I'll take it!

I am currently reading, and enjoying, George W. Bush's new book, Out of Many, One - Portraits of America's Immigrants. I have to say, I never had the impression of him as a writer, or particularly insightful or articulate, though, to be fair and honest, I don't think I aid nearly as much attention to politics back when he was in office, as I have since he left. But he always seemed to come across as bumbling and well, just not all that intelligent. Probably not a very intelligent assessment on my part. And if this book was ghost-written or actually written entirely by him, I have no idea. But I am liking what he does here.

He has painted portraits (he is a painter, who knew?) of Americans who were not born in the USA, and in 2 to 4 pages each, tells their stories of their backgrounds, and how and why they chose to come to the States. He chose to focus on immigrants who are still alive now (or were when he wrote the book, which was written and published just this past year), and though some are well-known (Madeleine Albright, Henry Kissinger, Annika Sorenstam), most are not names most of us would recognize. Yet all have contributed positively to American society and all have the same strong and positive values of family, hard work and gratitude. Some back stories are terrifying (the 2 I have read so far from Burundi and Rwanda are examples), others less so, but all just wanting to escape something and create a better future for their families.

In this book, I have learned about the Bush Institute and his immigration initiatives. As a non-American, I probably have no right to say this but this all seems so un-Republican to me, given recent years of politics. I am impressed and that alone, is a surprise to me. I think if more Republicans sincerely felt as he seems to, The United States would be in a far better, healthier and safer position today for everyone. It all seems so self-evident to me, but apparently, not so much, for others. Even Canada, which professes to be so welcoming and open to immigrants, and could have our own version of this book, could do well to follow the examples here, and remember the contributions of our own immigrants.

This is a library book and will be returned in the next day or so. It's a hard-cover coffee-table sized book, weighs a ton and that makes it a bit difficult on the wrists to hold as I sit in bed reading but still, worth sitting at the table, propping it up to read!

Well, here is a weather update. For the past hour or so, on this 28th day of May, in Toronto, is has been snowing. Yep, you heard me right. Big fat flakes, coming straight down. Not accumulating or even sticking to the pavement but just falling relentlessly. This, in a week that had A/C weather just days ago.

*eye roll*...

>192 jessibud2: Interesting Shelley. I'd have probably shared similar views as you, so that is out of left field, and interestingly so.

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

>193 jessibud2: ha. The joy of schizophrenic weather.

Snowing? That would be a lot more normal in Calgary at this time of year than Toronto. The weather continues to be odd all over. Yesterday we had really intense rain for about half an hour. It's been cold for this time of year too and I'm a lover of warmer weather. Looks like the temperatures are going to climb though which will make life so much easier to bear.

We now have a plan here for how the province is going to open up. I hope things are improving in Ontario now that it seems that vaccine supply is much better.

>194 Caroline_McElwee: - Darn, Caroline, that video is unavailable to view in my country. I should probably do some googling and see if I can find something that I can see. Maybe after I finish the book (which could be this afternoon, if I don't get distracted by something else! ;-)

The snow is gone, thankfully, but rain continues. Happy about that, too, as we've had none for, easily, 2 weeks or more. :-)

>196 jessibud2: - Hi Meg. Ontario's *plan* is, as ever, a lot of hot air. Yesterday, our premier announced that he sent out a questionnaire to a bunch of doctors and other invested professionals, to ask what they would do. On the one hand, sounds like a good idea, to get consensus. However, I tend to agree with the critics that all he is doing is shifting responsibility to others (so he can have someone else to blame when his *plan* is announced). Today, he announced that the timeline to second doses will be shortened. I did not listen to his announcement live (because I can't stand to listen to his voice), I only read the headlines, online. Seems like he is still rather short on details, and people, including doctors, pharmacists, and people waiting to get their jabs, are still in the dark as to when, where, how, etc.

Different day, same dilemma, same lack of details.

I don't envy him his job, to be sure. But I sure wish someone else who knows what's going on, would be in charge...

>192 jessibud2: - Because I can't resist, I'll add my two cents. People always liked to reduce GWB to one of two extremes: a useful idiot or evil incarnate. I don't think he's either. He's not articulate, no, and I disagreed with much of what he did as President (I resigned from my job at the White House because of that, in part) which had terrible consequences for many, many people both here and abroad. But he is a fundamentally decent person with a good heart. People will disagree with me on that and point to things he did and decisions he made to dispute it, but I've met him and talked with him on several occasions, and I think on some level, you have to separate the political leader from the man. Also, and no one ever believes me, but he is a reader :)

>198 katiekrug: - Hi, Katie. Thanks for that insight. It's good to get another perspective. I chuckled at your last sentence but see, that is why I am liking this book so far. I learned things about him that I would never in a million years have guessed to be true. He does seem like a decent human being (at least from the commentary he puts into this one, and also, the fact that the Obamas seem to think so, too; yeah, I'm a groupie of the Obamas, so maybe this is a naive statement on my part), well, that is another point in his favour. Anyhow, it's heartening to see that he is more dimensional than I once thought (admittedly, all I really knew of him was what was projected through the media, obviously). I have a confession, and I am not proud of it: I once saw one of those memes and it stuck with me. It was of Bush's face morphing into the face of Alfred E. Newman. The morph was seamless and it was like an earworm for the eye, I can't stop seeing it (can't un-see it). Maybe bad Shelley, but there ya go.

;-)

>198 katiekrug: All true...being from Texas and with a mother who was hooked into Repulsivecan politics, I've met him, he's a good ol' boy to his boot caps.

He's also a war criminal, and that outweighs his good points by a lot for me.

SNOW!!! Yikes. Glad it didn't stick around. That's crazy.

Daughter #3 who lives in Denver had the opportunity to hear GWB speak and much to her surprise, was greatly impressed. Media, like it has done with others, took a major spearing to him and then as media consumers we seem to easily digest the theme. I am hoping that some wonderful journalist does a exposé soon about main stream media.

Snow! May seems way to late.

Here is my GWB take, from SNL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpkRFHSpvGI

And speaking of your kitties, we have been doing clicker training with out cats. (actually, Mrs. Banjo is doing most of the work.) I think it's calmed them down a bit, and they love it. Maybe something you could try? Here is a link to the training we've done at the local humane society. https://www.oregonhumane.org/training/virtual/

>200 richardderus: - I am occasionally surprised by discovering another side to politicians but don't think I've ever been surprised enough to change my mind about their politics. :-)

>201 mdoris: - Don't hold your breath about that, Mary. I think we are too far past the time re media.

>202 banjo123: - That was funny, Rhonda. As for my boys, I have to say, things have settled down nicely here. Theo rarely stalks and attacks Owen any more and overall, they are both more mellow and calm. I guess they have explored all there is to explore around here and have made peace with the fact that neither of them is going anywhere. Yeah, it's taken 8 months, and that is way too long for me but we have arrived so I am happy. Owen lets me pat him and even brush him, even on his belly, so I count that as major. I have tentative hopes that one day, he will let me touch his paws (I am working on it) so that I may some day be able to give him a mani-pedi. He is so far the only cat I have ever had where this is not (yet) possible. He still won't let me pick him up but then again, I haven't tried in awhile and see no need to so far. I am trying to take things slowly so that when the time comes that I am able to travel to Montreal to visit my mum, I will be able to get him into the carrier without trauma. I hate the thought of boarding him but the 2 people I could have relied on for in-home cat care have both moved out of the city. Had that been a possibility, I would have boarded Theo, no problem and left Owen to stay where he is comfortable but I don't think that is an option any more. Anyhow, that isn't likely to happen for at least a few more months so I am not going to worry about it now.

I have finished the GWB book and am now concentrating on trying to get through Emma Donoghue's The Pull of the Stars on audio. I got it specifically so I could listen while out walking but that isn't really working out. The volume, even at its highest, isn't loud enough when out walking if even the smallest bit of outside noise (traffic) is in the background. And the stupid ear buds keep falling out of my ears; I have to hold them in. I don't like ear buds. Anyhow, I will either finish it or not. And so be it. It's due back tomorrow and if it can't be renewed, I will just return it. And move on.

>204 jessibud2: Isn't the story involving enough to make a tree-book run at worthwhile? I'm a Donoghue fanboy, though, so that could be me wishing my ideas on you....

Anyway, better read for the week ahead! *smooch*

>205 richardderus: - I actually tried the hard copy first, Richard, but for a number of reasons I have already complained about earlier (no quotation marks at all for dialogue, zero paragraph breaks throughout the entire book and only1 or 2 chapters total), I found it impossible to read. Thus I decided to try the audio, where such petty things ought not to bother me.

I did find another set of ear plug thingies in the house that wrap around my ears and this is much better than the earbuds that the library gave me that kept falling out. And suddenly, the volume problem is solved too. And I was able to renew the audiobook so there is now no reason for me not to be able to finish the book. I am pleased about that as I do like her writing.

Hi Shelley, glad that your cats have settled, and that you are enjoying the Donoghue.

Hi Shelley!

I'm glad the boys are settling in, even if it's taken 8 months. I can't imagine a world where I'd give a cat a mani-pedi, but I am able to touch their paw and play with their toe beans and massage between the pads.

I mostly agree with Richard that GWB is a war criminal, but compared with 45 he's a dream. And if he reads, as Katie says, well, then, that's something.

-Eastern Bluebird. From yesterday.

Happy Wednesday, Shelley. I had not been by in awhile so I wanted to drop a bird and say hello. I am just getting the usual suspects at my feeders but they have been hungry.

>207 banjo123: - Hi, Rhonda. The Donoghue book was lovely, and the narrator's Irish brogue made it even more so. :-) I have another by her ready to read but not sure when (Akin).

>208 karenmarie: - Hi Karen. I wish I could cut Owen's nails. In more than 40 years of living with cats, he is the first for me (in many ways, in many things) with the issue of not being able to have mani-pedi time. Oh well, maybe one day. And if not, it should be the worst we have to deal with. I snapped an adorable pic of them yesterday, practically holding hands on my bed, also a first. Usually, though they are often together on the bed or the couch, they are at opposite ends of it. Not yesterday. But the new phone is giving me fits and I have to clear some time today to call the company with my (growing) list of issues, not least is to get the damn pics out of the phone and onto my computer. What used to work easily with my last phone, apparently doesn't with this new one. And don't even get me started with picking up phone messages. Can't do that either. >:-( (that is supposed to be an angry face)

>209 msf59: - Hi, Mark. After a couple of weeks of lots of goldfinches and house finches and the occasional downy, I had to bring my feeder in again for awhile. I woke up on Saturday to find 5 pigeons pecking around my front lawn. Uh-uh, not happening. I miss the birds but do NOT want pigeons. I think they should be declassified from *bird* to parasite....

Thanks for the bluebird! :-)

Well, hello from the northern tropics. Our temp today is going to reach 31C feeling closer to 40-ishC with the humidity factor. Delightful. And this is only the beginning of the summer.

In better news, I am suddenly eligible to try to book my second vaccine. My original appointment for my second shot is scheduled for August 8 but as we get more supply, the wait times are being shortened. Of course, getting through to the website (or phone line, even worse) could take as long as August. Look at what just came up for me as I logged on:

Your number in line: 2052791
Number of users in line ahead of you: 109966
Expected arrival time on the website: 12:47 PM EST
Your estimated wait time is: 56 minutes

Status last updated: 11:50:19 AM EST

I shouldn't complain, and am not, really. I just want to get the damn shot. Wherever, whenever, as long as it's soon!

Edited to add: booked! Second shot: July 2.

>211 jessibud2: Yay for the revised date for your second shot Shelley.

>211 jessibud2: Sorry to read about the hot weather, Shelley. We went from cool spring to warm summer at the start of the month. Not as bad as what you have to endure, but sunny 23-26°C for the next two weeks doesn't make me happy. My preferred range of dry 16-19°C weather was skipped again this year.

Yay for rescheduling your second shot!
I will have my first tomorrow, and the second on July 14th.

Thanks, Caroline and Anita. Even better news, just in the last few minutes. I had put myself on the waiting lists for Costco and a local pharmacy chain as well, just in case. I just got an email from Costco that they have more supply and I could book an appointment. I am getting my second shot now THIS THURSDAY! June 10. That's 2 days from now! I can hardly believe it, and, skeptic that I am, I will not remove myself from the pharmacy wait list or cancel my appointment booked yesterday, until after I have that vaccine in my arm. Because, you just never know.

I can hardly believe it!

Anita, it was 22C at 6 am here this morning and going up to 28C today. But this disgusting weather should be breaking up by the end of the week (I hope!) At least it is raining this morning so no sun beating down. The air is still heavy and thick, though, making it unpleasant if you want to breathe. ;-p

>214 jessibud2: That is even better news, Shelley!
I would'n cancel the other appointment either. First the vaccination on Thursday, then cancel July 2nd.

>214 jessibud2: Hooray for earlier vaccination! Full coverage is on its way to you.

Happy week indeed, heat be damned.

Congratulations on getting that second shot scheduled, Shelley! And I agree...don't cancel anything until you know you've been jabbed. We were in that position, too, with waiting lists, when we got ours. It sounds like things are getting better, distribution-wise, up there. I'm glad.

ACK! I just wrote a long post and it's gone.

Thanks, Anita, Richard, Linda. I am heading out for a few errands before my 1 pm appointment. Yesterday, the air was so disgustingly humid, that I ran one errand, out and home in under an hour and could barely breathe. I am so not meant for this climate. But the air today is much fresher, cooler and no humidity! The original *breath of fresh air*!

I had no reaction at all with my first shot but am prepared for something after the second. No matter, I am ok with it, I just want it done. In other good news, tomorrow is the first day of partial reopening of our city after a very long stay-at-home lockdown. I have already phoned the bookstore to see if they are opening to in-person shopping and they are! I decided what my book purchase will be. A bit unusual for me to buy a brand new hardcover but I am celebrating. It will be Lisa Genova's newest, her first non-fiction, called Remember: The Science of Memory. A timely one for me, given my mother's current status. I love Genova's writing and think this will be a good one.

>218 jessibud2: Luck with your second jab, and YAY for the treat of a new hardcover!

*smooch*

>219 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard. Twice shot and done now. So far, nothing hurts, just a tad sore at the site of the injection but that always happens when I get any shot.

We are having a kind of weird event tonight. Our 50th (:-0 !!!) high school reunion, via zoom. Just as well, via zoom, as I am quite sure I'd not be attending or participating in any way if it had been in person. For a number of reasons, not least being that I just don't have the interest. But over the last several months, a friend from HS has been doing zoom get togethers and they have actually been not bad. I was reluctant to join at first but 2 friends I am still close with convinced me and it wasn't bad at all. Most of the people who join I have not set eyes on since high school (and some I never even exchanged 2 words with back then) so I will admit to more than a touch of curiosity about how they look today. Shocked that a few have not changed at all, and shocked that some have changed so much I did not recognize them without the name identifier. Anyhow, the good thing about zoom is that it's an hour and done. That's a good time frame for me, tolerable, and I can always duck out and leave any time. The introvert in me has not changed much since then, either, in fact. ;-p

>218 jessibud2: Oh that sounds like a very good purchase! I have put it on reserve and there will be a long wait with 141 holds for 5 copies. I'd better be patient. My mom had dementia at the end so I do want to learn more.

Hope you are fine after your 2nd shot.

Congratulations on your second shot! ( I got mine last Sat. and had some fatigue 2 days later)
My university class found ourselves via society media and email-we are all planning to meet in late August in person.
Reading has been slow- the highlights of last week were- dental cleaning and watching a crew take down a tree( very old and dying tree) in my backyard!

Hi Mary. It was wonderful to be just walking around in the bookstore. One guy asked me if he could help me. I said, no thanks, I am just browsing. And happy to be doing so after so long! He laughed and said, I know what you mean!

Cyrel, my arm was very sore last night and this morning but now, it's just achy and much less so than just 24 hours ago. I don't seem to be having any other side effects so I am happy about that.
I remember when the massive tree in my backyard (the one whose roots cracked my foundation and caused the flood of a few years ago), was taken down. It is quite something to watch and they sure made a big mess, but they cleaned up pretty well, all things considered. I had very mixed emotions about that tree. It was beautiful and was one of the things that sold me, when I bought the house. But it was just too big and too close and I wasn't sorry to see it go.

So, my celebratory trip to the bookstore was a success. I did buy the Lisa Genova book, Remember: The Science of Memory. I did also add a few others to my (physical!) basket: Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, recommended by Darryl, The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power (I have been waiting for this one to come out in paperback and there it was), and a book that looks just plain fun, off the sale table, for $4, Word Nerd. I hope it's good but I just couldn't resist. Also grabbed a magazine of 100 Time magazine covers of the last 100 years of Woman of the Year. I will read it but it will also be a good one to send to my mum, I think. I have been sending her some of those commemorative magazines from time to time that focuses on one person at a time. I sent her one for Alex Trebek when she was in the hospital earlier this year, which she loved. Also one about Betty White, and the most recent, about Elizabeth and Philip and their life together. Funny, my mum is not a royalist, per se, but it is of her era and she told me she enjoyed that one the most and has reread it a few times. I am happy to have stumbled on this idea because she was always a big reader and now, due to the dementia and her easy fatigue, she just doesn't have the concentration to read full books any more. But giving her something short and engaging and easy to focus on is something she loves (and it keeps her from sleeping all day!).

Good thing I have a membership reward card to the bookstore and not only get discounts on all purchases but also accumulate points I can redeem for: books!

Anyhow, it was a good feeling, the store was surprisingly not crowded and I just hope this reopening in the city doesn't backfire because no one wants to have to shut down again! In the meantime, I am soaking it up.

I have to go to the hardware store but have put it off for a few days. I thought that there would be a lot of people there!
The tree was dying and really needed to come down- I have to replace it with another ( City of Toronto rules in order to get a permit to cut it down- it was that big) in the fall.

>225 torontoc: - I went to Canadian Tire this morning, Cyrel, to get a light bulb for inside my fridge. There was a lineup to get in but it moved fairly quickly. I only got to read 2 pages of my book (I find that having a book makes the waiting in line go much faster! ;-) and then I was in. Also, not too crowded, and everyone was masked and distancing. It's encouraging, I have to say, to see people behaving like this. Everyone just wants to get back to normal and by following the rules - really, not so difficult! - we can.

Congrats on the second shot and your Zoom reunion. And Happy Sunday!

Hi Shelley!

Congrats on getting your second dose of vaccine and only a sore arm after.

>220 jessibud2: You’re saying all the things about your 50th HS reunion that I’m thinking – mine’s this year, too. I’m not interested in participating in any of it, frankly.

Thanks, Kim and Karen.

My mum is getting her second shot this afternoon, finally! I am making plans to go visit her in early July. I may even be allowed to stay with her instead of having to book a hotel! Just waiting for confirmation for that.

My first and main priority now is to find a pet sitter to come to the house so I don't have to board Owen. Theo will be boarded, without question. No way I can trust him if I am not here. He is still bullying Owen (though less frequently but still unpredictably) and he is also still something of a terror in the house. Paying for 2 sets of cat care is going to take a bite out of my budget but if I can avoid the hotel costs by staying with my mother, that will certainly help. My friend who used to live down the street and with whom I traded cat-sitting duties for free (she also has 2 cats and we just used to do each other's cats when either of us travelled), has moved out of the city so that is no longer an option. I hope to set up an in-home interview/meet and greet with someone very soon. I have spent quite a bit of time doing homework on a few cat-sitting agencies here. I really am not comfortable with the idea of someone I don't know coming into my house when I am not here but the truth is, I have little choice. I have decided that to try to get Owen into the carrier and have him in a kennel at the vet's for a week would likely retraumatize him and undo all the progress we have made over the past 8 months. Not sure that's worth it. So I will have to suck it up and try the agency.

In reading news, the library holds continue to flood in. I am about to begin Harry Bliss and Steve Martin's A Wealth of Pigeons and I will probably read Notes on Grief by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie today. It's a short one. I have chosen 4 books off my shelf to take to Montreal but those could change by the time I actually go. ;-)

Lots going on chez vous. At least it's not being done in a huge, emergency-driven rush...cold comfort is comfort still...?

Here's to the best happening the soonest.

Congratulations on getting your second shot, Shelley. I got mine yesterday. How wonderful to be able to plan to see your mother at long last.

Congratulations on getting that second shot, Shelley.

>229 jessibud2: Good for you, planning a visit to your mother, and how nice that you could find something she likes to read. I hope you manage to find a good cat-sitter!

I visited my mother for the first time in nearly a year, recently. Was very glad to be able to do so.

Good luck with travel planning, Shelley. We had good luck with Trusted Housesitters.
https://www.trustedhousesitters.com/ I think it works best if you live in a desirable location.

>230 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard. Always plenty to stress about here, it seems.....

>231 Familyhistorian: - Thanks, Meg. I am looking forward to seeing her again.

>232 EllaTim: - Thanks, Ella. She hasn't been feeling well the last few days so I know seeing her will be good for her as well as for me. And the best part is that it was confirmed today, I can now stay with her, so won't have to stay at a hotel and travel to see her, which I had to do twice last year. That will not only save me a ton of money but will give me more time together with her, instead of having to waste time travelling to her each day.

>233 banjo123: - Thanks, Rhonda. My location isn't exactly what I would call *desirable* for visitors. It's suburbia and rather quiet (which I like), plus, at least at this point in time, not a heck of a lot open and going on in the city. We are in stage one of reopening but far from *back to normal*, which suits me fine but probably wouldn't, someone else. I did find someone and have my fingers crossed that it all works out. If not, then back to square one, before the next time I have to travel.

>224 jessibud2: I used to take those commemorative magazines to my Mom in her last few years, when she was no longer able to concentrate or retain enough to read much. She loved them too, and it helped her not to feel deprived of her life-long love of reading. The things we learn to do... I'm so glad you will be able to visit and stay with your Mom. And, naturally, I wish you all the best with the kitty sitting situation. We have a wonderful boarding place (Kitty Kondos, multiple level individual units with windows onto an open yard with bird-feeders, etc.) But Molly still hates going there, and turns from the sweetest love bug imaginable into a total wretch with the nice people who operate it.

>235 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda. Yes, that is exactly the reason I am so pleased about the commemorative magazines. My mum has always been a reader and even though her local library brings books to her, she doesn't finish them (if she reads them at all). I also have the Saturday newspaper delivered to her door because that was also a lifelong love of hers. When we first moved her there, I had it delivered daily but she told me it was too much and the Saturday paper could last her all week so that's what we settled on.

As for the cats, if things go well, I may consider leaving Theo home with Owen, next time. He hasn't been as aggressive toward Owen in recent weeks so who knows, maybe he is *growing up*. I would not dare to board Owen, though. It's not worth the trauma and the inevitable setback. And he is so much calmer now than when he first arrived. Why upset the applecart. Of course, cats are unpredictable so who the hell knows but it will be what it will be, right?

Tom Gauld's 5 new literary islands added to the government's safe travel list:

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/654500536267194368/my-cartoon-for-yesterdays-g...

:-)

Just a cautionary tale: the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, the hockey team now in the playoffs, just tested positive for covid-19. And he has had both his vaccines. Here are some excerpts from the article I read in today's Montreal Gazette newspaper:

"Dr. Matthew Oughton, a specialist in infectious diseases, said the high-profile positive test after a second dose should remind people they are not fully vaccinated until two weeks after their second shot.

“This serves to emphasize … that you are not fully protected until a bare minimum of two weeks after your second dose and (Ducharme - the head coach of the Montreal hockey team) certainly falls into that category” of the partially vaccinated, Oughton said.

He pointed to recent data out of the United Kingdom looking at the protection provided by the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines against the super-contagious Delta variant after one dose versus two. The vaccines provided only about 35- to 40-per-cent protection against hospitalization after one dose, but the rate of protection went beyond 90 per cent two weeks after a second dose.

“There really is a major difference between partial vaccination and full vaccination in terms of the protection that you have from some of these very contagious variants, like Delta,” Oughton said, stressing he has no information about what type of COVID-19 virus Ducharme has contracted.

Asked to comment on the many published photographs of Ducharme talking to players while wearing his mask on his chin, Oughton said all partially vaccinated people need to be vigilant about following the rules.
“Protecting those around us, as well as ourselves, still means keeping our distance, that still means wearing masks properly. We don’t breathe through our chin, so wearing a mask on your chin means that it’s not doing its job.”

Oughton said it is understandable people are feeling some relief lately. “People are thinking: ‘We deserve it. We’ve been through so much. Look the Habs are making it really deep into the playoffs, let’s kick back and finally enjoy ourselves.’ ”

But he said it reminds him of travellers returning home from countries where there is a risk of contracting malaria who stop taking anti-malaria drugs when they get home.

“People are good about taking their meds while they’re travelling. but as soon as they hop on the plane home they think: ‘Okay, we’re good. I can stop,’ and then they develop malaria one or two weeks afterward. This is the exact same phenomenon. (People are thinking) ‘Oh good, we are really smoking this disease. All of our numbers are good. The cases are coming down, the hospitals are opening up, it’s beautiful outside, the Habs are in the playoffs, let’s go and celebrate.’ ”

But it’s not quite time for that, Oughton warned.

“We are getting it under control, but it is not all the way under control. And there is a very big difference between those two things.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, basically, I will not be ditching my mask in public any time soon. Why would I? Better safe than sorry!

Not to mention the complete absence of the common cold...the great reduction in allergy symptoms...all of that counts as plus-one on my masking up before going out.

I have a friend who developed breakthrough covid. She and her husband had dinner with another couple. All four of them were fully vaccinated. The vaccines are NOT 100% effective, You also have to take into consideration the positvity rate in your area. Here in my state of Maryland it is now 0.73%. My chances of contracting covid, being fully vaccinated, are very small. but not absent.

People who wear masks that do not cover their nose and mouth should just throw away their masks. They are doing no good for themselves or anyone else. I see that all the time, and it always makes me really mad.

As for myself, I always carry a mask. I wear masks inside of medical facilities and grocery stores, but I haven't gone inside anywhere else except my kids' houses. Everyone inour family but my grandchildren are fully vaccinated. I also maintian a friendship with an individual who will not be getting vaccinated. We visit safely out of doors, maskless, but very distant. She has no contact with others, and I consider her very safe. I would do maks, but I lip read, and don'tunderstand people talking through masks due tomy hearing disability.

Bookgirrl conveyed greetings from you today at our Zoom BookCrossing meetup. Sorry you couldn't make it. I wish you could come to our real life meet up next month at ResQGeek's house!

>239 richardderus: - In today's news, Richard, yet another hockey coach (from another playoff team) has now tested positive (after both vaccines). Personally, I think this needs to be publicized more, to warn people. Also, not so sure about colds and allergy symptoms. Maybe because I have been outside gardening, they don't seem to be eluding me much, ;-)

>240 SqueakyChu: - So sorry I missed it, Madeline. I even wrote it down, to remind myself, but I suppose if one doesn't look at the written reminders, it doesn't help much, does it? I was out running errands and only remembered when I got home and saw an email from Madeleine, asking me where I was!

I have actually seen masks that have a transparent panel in the front, so the mouth is visible. I believe a teacher created those for her young students. Pretty brilliant, actually.

>241 jessibud2: I don't particularly like the masks with the plastic part in front of the lips. For one thing, it makes the wearer look grotesque. The second reason is that the plastic actually stops the sound of the speech whereas a cloth mask lets the sound through unimpeded. Anyway, today our positivity rate dropped to 0.66% with no deaths from covid-19 in my state of Maryland for two days in a row. I'm feeling more secure every day (but not foolishly so)!

I got the second Pfizer shot in mid-March, and I must admit I'm eschewing the mask unless it's required. Of course, I'm living alone in a big house on a big lot and haven't been out and around much. Grocery store, Goodwill, visiting family and friends who also are fully vaxed. Spent Father's Day trudging around NYC, including a couple of hours inside a crowded Strand Bookstore.

Hi Shelley my dear, congrats on getting your second vaccine shot, we both got our second shot on the 8th and we feel so much better for having both doses. Things are still a bit hairy over here with the Delta (Indian) variant and so nothing much has changed since the last reduction in restrictions in May. We were supposed to have come out of all restrictions yesterday but that has been put back until the 19th of July, i am not sure even then that all restrictions will be done with.

Hope all is well with you my dear and we both send love and hugs dear friend.

>242 SqueakyChu: - Makes sense to me, Madeline.

>243 weird_O: - So, Bill, waiting on news of the Sunday haul!

>244 johnsimpson: - Hi John. We are in stage one of reopening and it's going well, so far, I think. I do believe it's better to go slowly.

So, the new cat-sitter arrives tomorrow morning at 10:30 for a meet and greet visit with me and Owen. Fingers crossed. I have typed and printed out my *Cat Notes* which I will leave for her on the kitchen and bathroom counters and show her all the places he is likely to hide. I'm sure Theo will charm the pants off her but little does he know, she isn't here for him! Just when I thought things might be getting better, there was a full-on stalk and attack last night, complete with Owen screeching and plenty of fur flying for me to pick up after. Geez. This is precisely why I can't trust him to stay here. And Owen deserves better, some peace and quiet, if nothing else.

In other exciting news, my hairdresser phoned me today. She has invited me to come in for a haircut tomorrow! Illegally, of course, as salons are not opening here until July 2. In fact, I was already asking a cousin in Montreal where I could go to get my hair cut there when I go because, honestly, it's driving me crazy and I have already begun chopping, myself (my hairdresser will not be happy about that). But no need now and I am very excited. My appointment is for 12:30 so though it will be close after the pet-sitter's visit, I should have no trouble making it on time.

Today, I also received in the mail a book I ordered through Thriftbooks: a biography of Helene Hanff, author of one of my favourite books, 84 Charing Cross Road, and other books. I hadn't realized there was a bio of her and I think I will save it to take on the train with me. Hmm, the pile of books I am planning to take has grown considerably over the last few days and in the end, I know I will have to whittle it down somewhat. Such a problem to have! ;-)

Hooray for the new cat-sitter and the upcoming haircut. Are you still having issues with those lowly pigeons? That is a bummer.

>247 msf59: - Hi Mark, good morning. To be honest, I haven't had my feeder out for quite awhile because the pigeons had returned. I do refill the birdbath with fresh water daily, though. As badly as I feel about the feeder, I know food is plentiful elsewhere in summer. I do get some visitors to the birdbath and especially in the first days of keeping the feeder in, I had my regular visitors come in the morning, expecting the restaurant to be open for business. I may try putting it out again after I get back from Montreal.

>246 jessibud2: I hope everything works out re the sitter etc Shelley. Ha re the pile of books planned: been there, done that, got the T-shirt. As I'm sure most visitors here have. I'm not a big reader on Kindle, but it has reduced my hardcopy book pile for a week's holiday, I allow myself 3.

Well, it looks like my province will go into stage 2 of reopening a few days earlier than originally planned, on June 30, to be exact, which will allow salons to open legally. Still, I am not sorry my hairdresser was brave enough to risk taking customers on the sly. She hasn't been allowed to make a living since last November! I am now happily no longer messy and scruffy-looking (or gray).

The pet sitter visited yesterday and she seems lovely, and competent. Theo, of course, thought the visitor was for him and he was all over her. ha! Boy is he going to be surprised.... But Owen came out to check her out so that was a good sign.

>249 Caroline_McElwee: - Caroline, I don't have an e-reader of any sort and to be honest, have no interest in getting one. I know they must be much more convenient for travel but I am such a luddite and will never surrender the feel of a real book. My suitcase has wheels, so I can live with the extra weight, ;-). I am trying to limit myself to taking 4 books. I am only going for 6 days and probably wouldn't read more than that anyhow. Plus, I have my fingers crossed that the 2 small indie bookstores near my mum will be open and still in business.....;-)

>250 jessibud2: Plus, being a BookCrosser, you can release the books you finish in Montreal, and won't have to lug them home. Ha!
AND...that will give you even more space for the new books you'll buy in Montreal!

>251 SqueakyChu: - There is actually an LFL on the corner of my mum's street at the entry to a little park. I actually left a book there once. :-)

>253 SqueakyChu: See? I was right!!

I don't drive now due to poor vision, but I had Jose take me to four Little Free Libraries today to release books, I have quite a backstock since we haven't had spring book fairs (for two years now!) at which to give away the extra books. I'm begging other Litte Free Library stewards to take them! :D

I'm sure I've mentioned more than once that I am not a Margaret Atwood fan. I haven't read many of her books but of those I have, I have only liked two (Alias Grace) and another (Cat's Eye) which I can't remember a thing about other than that I liked it. I also am not a fan of her flat, droning voice so generally don't listen to her when she speaks anywhere. All that said, I do like her wit and insight and will read articles by or about her on a variety of topics.

Which brings me to last night. I usually watch a local evening tv program called The Agenda which is hosted by Steve Paikin. He is a great interviewer and often has really interesting guests. Last night, he interviewed Atwood about her take on democracy and all I can say is, if you have around half an hour, there are worse ways to spend it than to watch this interview. It starts off talking about democracy in Canada, then gets more global and while you know it's going to veer off toward recent history south of our border, it doesn't dwell just on that. Her insights are sharp and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed this discussion:

https://www.tvo.org/video/are-democracies-fighting-for-survival

Hi Shelley!

Congrats and getting your hair cut and colored AND having a good experience with the cat sitter.

I loved Alias Grace and Oryx and Crake. O&C surprised me since SF isn't my go-to-genre, and will get around to the other two in the MaddAddam trilogy one of these days.

>254 jessibud2: Voices can be a real deal breaker can't they Shelley. It is why I rarely do audio books. I'm too fussy with voices.

I don't mind Atwood's, in fact watched her Masterclass recently. Thanks for the link, I will look forward to it over the weekend.

Not familiar at all, nope, never....

https://myjetpack.tumblr.com/post/654955149493665792/a-cartoon-to-celebrate-indi...

;-)

>255 karenmarie: - Hi Karen, I'm not much for sci-fi or fantasy either.

>256 Caroline_McElwee: - Before my car CD player died, I listened to audiobooks a lot but have been fairly lucky with narrators. Most I have experienced have been pretty good, some are wonderful. I have ditched a few really bad ones but not many. Not all authors are good readers, by the way, but some are.

Hope you enjoy the Atwood interview, Caroline.

>257 jessibud2: Ha!! Yes indeed. *smooch*

I'll be very interested to learn whether the Hanff bio was worth the weight....

>259 richardderus: - So will I! :-) It's already in the suitcase, packed and ready for the train.

Hi, Shelley. Just checking in.

You have me curious about the biography of Helene Hanff. Like you, I loved 84 Charing Cross Road, and I also enjoyed The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street. I look forward to hearing your reaction to the bio.

That Atwood interview is very tempting , but my cup runneth over with people talking about democracy. Down here south of the border, the faucet never seems to get shut off. After-effects of the coup- threatening last president, and concurrent effects of the vote-suppressing Republicans.

>261 jnwelch: - Hi Joe. Good to see you out and about on the threads! I will certainly let you know about the Hanff bio. Hard to believe, I have a friend who is very well-read but when I mentioned receiving this book, she had not heard of Hanff! I immediately had to send her 84 Charing Cross Road! I told her to think of Anne Bancroft as Helene and Anthony Hopkins as Frank, as she read, and then, get the film. Anyhow, I hope I won't be disappointed by the bio. I will definitely report back after I read it.

>262 jessibud2: I think it is written by the guy who owns her books, or claimed he did Shelley. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts.

As well as the two books Joe mentions >261 jnwelch:, I loved Q's Legacy.

>263 Caroline_McElwee: - Yes, I read that one, too, Caroline. I also own but have not yet read Underfoot in Show Business and Apple of my Eye, the latter, a beautiful hardcover edition with black and white photographs that I found in a Little Free Library!

>264 jessibud2: What a lovely find Shelley. I've lost track of how often I've read 84 Charing Cross Road. There is a discrete sign on the building it was once in.

>265 Caroline_McElwee: - I am not usually a re-reader, myself, Caroline, but 84 CCR is one of my few exceptions. I have read it a number of times. Have also reread Time and Again by Jack Finney several times and am waiting for a brilliant director to make a good film out of it. I am usually not a fan of sci-fi or fantasy AT ALL, but this one was different. It was almost *real* and I just loved it.

Hi there! Glad you found a cat sitter and got your hair cut and colored!! Life is looking up. : ) I still wear my mask when out in public event though I am fully vaccinated. Just to be safe. I am going to eat out tonight, which I am sure will feel really weird, but I am looking forward to it.

Looks like you are all set for your trip: books, hair cut and cat sitter all set. I enjoyed 84 Charing Cross Road when I read it, Thanks for that.

I decided not to wait. I started the Helene Hanff bio last night. So far, sad to say, not very impressed. Hopefully, it will improve. For a man (author) who has written other books, other bios, he seems in need of an editor. I have already found a few sentences that are not proper sentences (pedant that I am), and that is not for effect, as sometimes happens, but rather, it feels more like ignorance or neglect (if there was an editor). And the family tree diagram that opens the book is more confusing than helpful. And that is a feature I often crave in bios. Sigh....

Stay tuned.... ;-p

>267 Berly: - Hi Kim. Hope you are staying cool. Are you still at the hotel or has your a/c been repaired? It was a smart move on your part to get the hell out of the heat!

>268 Familyhistorian: - Hi Meg. You, too, hope you are managing ok in the sweltering heat. Records broken, making our news out here!

Glad to have made another fan for Helene Hanff. If you read my last post, though, you will learn that the bio is not off to a stellar start. I will persevere, hopefully it will improve....

>270 jessibud2: It was cooler (that being a relative term) yesterday and today. I hope the bio improves as you get further into it.

>271 Familyhistorian: - We should be cooling down after tomorrow, for a couple of days, Meg, but then, by Monday, your heat is making its way east to us. Not looking forward to it at all.

And now, a major rant: is the job of editor truly obsolete? What IS the job of editor, anyhow? Isn't it, at the very least, to check for grammar, spelling, and to make sure that the sentences flow and make sense? I am barely on page 50 of the Hanff bio and am nearing the point of ditching it. Last night, I nearly threw it across the room. In one paragraph, the author was telling how Helene's father, Arthur, was very briefly married to another woman before he met her mother. He mentions the woman's name, Sandra, who was 18 at the time he met her. Her daughter's name is Margaret. Here is what author Stephen Pastore wrote:

"Enter, Sandra Stemple. Sandra was an attractive red-haired, buxom chorus girl at the Real Nugget. She also had a daughter by the name of Margaret. The father was, purportedly, John *Woody* Woodruff, the owner of the Real Nugget Saloon. Within a few weeks, and noticing that Arthur had an eye for the 18 year old Sandra, Woody approached Arthur with a proposition: if Arthur married Sandra, he would receive fifty dollars (ten weeks salary). Of course, if Arthur accepted the offer, he would have to leave the employ of the Real Nugget. If he didn't accept, he'd be fired anyway. Thus in a corner, Arthur wisely accepted the fifty dollars, Margaret, unwisely, perhaps, accepted Arthur's "proposal" and, on August 12, 1910, they were married in front of a Justice of the Peace."

Am I the only one who notices that, in the space of one paragraph, he has Arthur marrying the baby daughter of an 18-year old? And this is only on page 40. Another item that irks: there is a not very good or clear family tree diagram at the beginning. Some of the dates Pastore cites in his narrative simply don't match the dates he has in the diagram. At one point, he mentions how Arthur "approaches his mother's brother, Uncle Albert..." when the family tree diagram clearly shows that Albert is his wife's brother, not his mother's. Why bother with the diagram at all if it doesn't match what he is writing? Perhaps I am being overly nit-picky but these little details annoy me (perhaps more than they should).

Anyhow, I will give it another evening of my time and if it doesn't improve, I am afraid I will ditch it. It's hot, I'm cranky and life is too short.

He also stated in his introduction that much of what Helene wrote (including 84CCR) was fictionalized and not at all the truth. That just made me angry. I don't want to believe that and given what a crappy writer he is, I have my doubts about his own authenticity and ability to get facts straight.

Harumph.

Happy Canada Day!


>272 jessibud2: Bail, Shelley, that is unforgivable sloppiness in a not-self-published book...basically unforgivable period, but one expects it from a self-published book.

Thanks, Richard. Canada Day this year is not a good one. So much bad stuff going on here right now and many places across the country have either cancelled the festivities or modified them. Rightly so, in my opinion. The US has its ugly history when it comes to slavery; our hidden shame, now finally being exposed, is Canada's treatment of our Indigenous peoples. Too awful for me to expound on here but just google if you want to know more. And the Catholic church, as well as the Canadian government, are equally guilty of what, in my opinion, can only be called crimes against humanity.

>273 richardderus: - Yeah, I am going to bail. >:(

I also recently finished a memoir of sorts by novelist Maggie O'Farrell (of Hamnet fame), called I Am, I Am, I Am. I found it rather grim, almost harrowing, to think that one person could actually have 17 brushes with death (as the subtitle states). However, here is one quote that I loved, about travel:

"After he had sailed around the Mediterranean in 1869, Mark Twain said that travel was "fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." Neuroscientists have been trying for years to pin down what it is about travel that alters us, how it effects mental change.

Neural pathways become ingrained, automatic, if they operate only by habit. New insights, sounds, languages, tastes, smells stimulate different synapses in the brain, different message routes, different webs of connection, increasing our neuroplasticity. Our brains have evolved to notice differences in our environment; it's how we're alerted to predators, to potential danger. To be sensitive to change, then, is to ensure survival.

Professor Adam Galinsky, an American social psychologist who has studied the connection between creativity and international travel, says that, "Foreign experiences increase both cognitive flexibility and depth and integrativeness of thought, the ability to make deep connections between disparate forms."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~```

I, myself, have travelled some, not nearly as much as many people but enough to know of what O'Farrell speaks. I also learned a new language as an adult (far from fluent, of course, but enough to get along just fine and far more, and far better, than the French that was forced on us in school and - I see now -- not taught properly). Even now, I can often identify other languages I hear (and I hear them a lot in this multi-cultural city of mine), just by the melody, intonation and sound of them, even if I don't understand a single word. I like that! And though I don't travel much any more (covid notwithstanding), I know I am enriched by the travel I did in my 20s and 30s.

>275 jessibud2: Good! Save that eyeblink for something worthy of it.

>274 jessibud2: I've followed enough to know that almost 1,000 unmarked disposal sites...can't call them graves...of Indigenous children are now known to exist. It's too horrible to process, isn't it, just numbing in the scale of the callousness and casual evil of denying these children even a place of memory.

But the truth, as always, is finally coming out.

>276 richardderus: - Yes, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Now, sites of former residential schools are being searched all over the country. No one expects this to be the end of it. There will be more, lots more. Statues of men who were instrumental in the creation of the residential school system, are coming down across the country. Here in Toronto, there is demand for name changes to streets, schools, and so on. The discussion, long overdue, is about who exactly are we commemorating, and why. Yeah, it's a Pandora's box, for sure but it is so long overdue. I just hope real change comes about. Lasting change.

>277 jessibud2: Amen and selah

The change is always welcome.

Happy Canada Day, Shelley! Despite the terrible things (and I do not want to discount them in any way) happening in both of our countries, I want to reflect on the wonderful time, Barbara, José and I had with you on in that memorable Canada Day rainstorm in Toronto in what seems like eons ago. Lovely and happy memories, for sure. It will always remain in my heart as one of my favorite trips.

>278 richardderus: - Thank you, Richard.

>279 SqueakyChu: - Thanks, Madeline. Yes, that was such a fun day, wasn't it?! And yes, it sure does feel a million years ago. How does that happen? Hopefully, we will meet again in person!

I feel vindicated!! I am not a member of Good Reads but I just had to google the awful author of this horrible bio of Helene Hanff. Just get a load of these reviews! It's not just me!!

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9758237-helene-hanff

>281 jessibud2: Ha! They really didn't hold back. And it WAS self published! "Grand Oak Books" isn't a normal publishing house or an imprint thereof.

Much is explained. But...wow.

Sweet Thursday, Shelley. I hope you are having a good week.

Hi Shelley my dear, Happy Canada Day dear friend.

>272 jessibud2: Humm, from the little I'd read/heard of the author I suspected this might be a stinker Shelley.

I am surprised that no more gifted writer has picked Hanff up as a subject, but suspect they feel that she did a good enough job about writing about her own life to wish to compete?

>282 richardderus: - Well, that DOEs explain a lot. I did not know about the self-publishing thing. I also posted this on my bookcrossing site. I posted my short, 4-word review: don't waste your time. Of course, I also added the goodreads link, for backup, lol!

>283 msf59: - Aw, thanks, Mark. Love that mug! :-)

>284 johnsimpson: - Thanks, John. Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

>285 Caroline_McElwee: - I hadn't heard of him at all, Caroline and yes, it is disappointing that someone more literate hasn't attempted a bio of Helene Hanff. This guy was a disaster from the get-go. It ought to be illegal! ;-)

I just started another book last night and already, I feel *recovered* from the insult of the Pastore debacle. This one was a finalist for the Governor General's Award and for the BC National Award for non-fiction back when it was published in 2013. It's called The Juggler's Children - A Journey into Family, Legend and the Genes That Bind Us by Carolyn Abraham. Already I am hooked. Interestingly, Abraham opens her tale with the birth of her daughter, in 2003, and how she, her husband and the baby had to isolate (quarantine) in the hospital during and after the birth because it was at the height of the SARS epidemic here in Toronto. Her mention of isolating, masks, etc, made this feel so *now*...! Abraham is (or was at the time) a science journalist for The Globe and Mail, and she can write! The birth of her daughter was the beginning of her odyssey into searching her ancestry to try to solve a mystery, specifically, of 2 of her great-grandfathers. I am only at the beginning so I don't yet know what the mystery is, but there are 2 (very clear and simple) family tree diagrams, tracing her mother's and her father's lines back to the g-grandfathers. There are also 2 maps. Her lineage goes back to Jamaica, China and India.

I just love this sort of book. And it feels like exactly the right thing for me right now. Stay tuned...

>287 jessibud2: Sounds interesting Shelley.

>287 jessibud2: >288 Caroline_McElwee: I agree that the book sounds interesting!

"is the job of editor truly obsolete? What IS the job of editor, anyhow? Isn't it, at the very least, to check for grammar, spelling, and to make sure that the sentences flow and make sense? " As my daughter is a free-lance editor, I know that there are several different kinds of edit---proofreading, copy editing, content editing, etc.; they all include specific things, and they all cost money. Self-published authors can pay for any or all of these services if they want (and thank goodness, because that accounts for much of work my daughter does), but they don't always, for obvious reasons, and they don't always accept the revisions that result, either. So a book could have been "edited", but still have certain sorts of goofs in it that weren't covered by the sort of edit the author paid for.

>288 Caroline_McElwee:, >289 SqueakyChu: - So far, it is. I will likely finish it on the train ride tomorrow.

>290 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks for that explanation, Linda. And thanks to your daughter for doing the job that should be left to no writer alone. She is an endangered species, if you ask me.

Well, tomorrow is my big day: travel to Montreal. I know I need to start a new thread but that will have to wait until I return home. I have a ton of last minute prep to tend to today. Also, even though I keep a refurbished laptop at my mum's place (from pre--covid times, when I was going there every 5 or 6 weeks or so to take her to her appointments), once covid hit and I was no longer allowed to stay with her, I cancelled the wifi part of her tv/phone package because why pay for it if I was the only one using it. Bottom line, I won't be doing much internet time over the next week or so. Anyhow, no big deal. I'd rather have the time with her and a few cousins and friends, anyhow.

In other news, Theo managed to spill some water on my laptop's keyboard the other day and the entire bottom row of letters no longer works. Thankfully, my computer guy had a spare external keyboard that he gave me. Plugged it in and whew! all is good. I was plenty ticked off but in truth, mostly at myself for even having any water near the computer. Theo was just being Theo and it was entirely my fault for leaving him alone for even the minute it took me to go to the bathroom, when he appeared dead to the world asleep on the chair. It was a small vase with a flower in it, on the shelf above the computer, He saw an opportunity to explore and explore he did. Live and learn.

So, I will be home again next Monday evening. I will still check in here today but after this evening, not again till I am home. Though I can still access email etc on my cell phone, I can't do website like LT because it's just way too small for me to see and use on the phone screen. Those of you who do, must have infinitely better eyes than I do!

Safe travels and a good visit with your mum and family, Shelley. What book did you substitute for the Hanff debacle?

>287 jessibud2: - Thanks, Caroline. I immediately started reading The Juggler's Children after ditching the Hanff bio (>287 jessibud2:). And yesterday, I picked up the bb I got from you, Vincent's Books from the library, though I won't be taking it with me. The books that are coming with me are:

The Juggler's Children
Hotel du Lac
Behold the Dreamers
The Lost Garden

I could easily take more but I am also hoping to add a few others if the little indie bookshop near my mum's place is open.

Safe trip and I hope your time with your mother and cousins is wonderful.

How wonderful for you to be able to travel again to visit with your mom. Wishing you safe travels and excellent visits in Montreal.

Safe travels, joyous visits, and a happy homecoming.

Have a safe and wonderful trip. Enjoy yuor time with your mum. It should be a relaxing, fun time for both of you. Talk to you when you get back home.

Thanks, Karen, Mary, Richard and Madeline.

I am home now and just now (9:30 am) beginning to get myself organized. The weather in Montreal was perfect for the whole time I was there, deliciously cool and humidity-free. I even wore a sweater a couple of times. I did not have a single headache the entire time I was there. Until yesterday morning. I woke with a migraine and this morning, waking up in my own bed, after 5 nights of sleeping on a couch that I *just* fit onto, I woke up at 4 am with another one. Gone now, thanks to drugs but, wtf?? Also, it's so humid here ​now, that I should probably just take a towel with me when I leave the house. Ick.

My mum was very happy for the visit and we had a good time. She seems weaker to me than when I saw her last summer but she doesn't complain much. The highlight was my brother's visit on Sunday. He was double vaccinated long before we were (Vermont, I think, has a better record for vaccines than we do) and had to have a covid test 3 days before he hit the border. He did and got his negative result and he arrived on time for lunch. We were going to try to find a place with patio dining because, although Montreal is more open than Toronto, I was not inclined to tempt an indoor dining experience. In the end, we decided on a childhood favourite place that's basically a drive-in hot dog and hamburger joint, where you eat in the car (they used to have picnic benches but those have been put away during covid). That place has been around since my mother's childhood and it was good as she didn't have to get out and walk anywhere. All in all, a good day.

Because I refuse to use amazon, my brother did the honours for me and ordered a phone case for my new phone that I have been unable to find anywhere in my city. No one seems to carry a case for the model phone I have. He ordered it, received it and brought it for me. And, it doesn't fit my phone at all, despite being advertised as the one for this specific model. So he took it back and will return it. I was disappointed and ticked off (not at him).

Also, when I got home, all my portable phones were not working (for my landline). The Panasonic phones. The display reads *base no power* and so, I tried to move my furniture in the living room to see if the base had somehow got unplugged or something. It is deliberately behind the couch and table so the cats can't reach it. All seemed fine with the wiring and plugs so I have no idea what the problem is. This is most troubling and inconvenient because my house has lots of stairs and I need one of those extension on each level so I don't have to run to answer every time it rings. Especially now because, the day I left for Mtl, my knee went out again. The joys of aging...My physio's office is closed all next week and I can't get an appointment this week because they are booked solid. Of course they are. Unless they get a cancellation, which won't happen. Sigh...

Books: I finished exactly zero books while away. I started reading Anita Brookner's Hotel du Lac on the train, since it was the smallest (in number of pages) and I wanted to finish at least one. I ditched it barely half way through, bored almost to tears. How did this win the Booker prize? No idea. I decided to just continue with the one I had started at home, The Juggler's Children, which continues to be very good. Never got to the others I brought with me. But my favourite little indie store is alive and well and yes - this will come as no surprise, I'm sure - I bought 4 more books:

Half Life by Jillian Cantor
Written in Stone by Peter Unwin (no correct touchstone for this one)
The Beach Trees by Karen White
Maiden Voyages by Sian Evans

The cats survived just fine without me, it seems. Theo charmed the entire vet staff, no surprise, and did not even punish me for leaving him there when I brought him home. Owen seemed to delight the cat sitter, who sent me daily reports, and was quite frisky with me when I got home so I think that worked out well, too. Thank goodness.

I am off to replenish groceries before it rains. I will try to catch up on the threads at some point later.

I'm glad you had a good trip and enjoyed time with your mother and brother. Sorry about all the aggravations, phone and headache related. And about Hotel du Lac I had exactly the same reaction to it years ago. I think I did finish it, as other people I knew were reading it at the same time. But it was a dud for me. I gave it 1/2 star!

"Vermont, I think, has a better record for vaccines than we do" I think I read somewhere that Vermont has the best vaccination rate in the US.

>300 laytonwoman3rd: >299 jessibud2:

Just checked my review of Hotel du Lac} "The most exciting main character was the weather on the lake...."

So great you had a rewarding trip and what welcome news about Theo and Owen!

>299 jessibud2: I'm so happy you had such a delightful visit with your mum and brother. All three of you deserved this joyful reunion. I agree with you about avoiding indoor dining as I see covid beginning to surge in my area again - no doubt fueled by those who choose to remain unvaccinated.

So sorry about your migraine and phone problems. I, too, boycott Amazon. What is really funny is now Amazon refuses to let me post book reviews on their site because I no longer buy on their website. I hoped to post reviews for SFWP, a publisher whose founder I know in real life and who continues to send me ARCs. He realizes that I can only post reviews to LT and GoodReads, but Amazon reviews most affect sales. Oh, well. Not enough incentive to buy through Amazon again, though.

I am also happy that your cats did well and am sure both are glad you are back at home. It's a relief to know that your cats were well cared for in your absence and, in the future, you'll be able to travel without having to worry about them.

Bye for now!

>299 jessibud2: Yay for good visits, boo for jerky phones! Glad your animals survived intact.

Rest! Vacations are exhausting, aren't they.

Sounds like a really good trip, Shelley. So glad you and your brother were together with your mother.

I am one of those weird people that like Anita Brookner--not much happens, I know. It's all the stuff inside somebody's head.

Re: phones: I have Panasonic landline phones, too. Mine have rechargeable batteries (there's a place to open on the back of the phones). It could be your old batteries won't take a charge any more and you need new ones. You could try that first before buying new phones.

>304 kac522: - Thanks, Kathy. I thought of that, too but my base plugs in so I don't think I ever had batteries in it. But, some good news: I kept going back to it and suddenly, a light bulb went on. The wall outlet that it's plugged into is the same outlet that a lamp is plugged into. I went to turn on the lamp and nothing. Yet, when I went into the garage to check the fuses, nothing else on that wall was problematic and the fuse didn't look blown. I went back to the living room and looked carefully at the light switch. AHA! It must have been turned off, then on again and not pushed fully on (likely by the cat sitter but she wouldn't have known not to touch it as I never mentioned it). I will make sure now to put a sticky note over it, warning her. I pushed it in properly and voila! The lamp came on and the phone base beeped and all was right again. Thank goodness.

If only all problems were as easily solved! I could change my name to Sherlock.

>300 laytonwoman3rd:, >301 m.belljackson: - Yay, I am not alone in this! Marianne, you made me laugh out loud!

>302 SqueakyChu: - Hi Madeline. I have one friend who may use amazon and if she does and is willing, I may ask her to order a different one on it. It just annoys me so much that Best buy, or any other tech store here, doesn't carry it. There are so many reasons I am not enjoying this *upgrade* new phone and not having a case to protect it is just one more reason.

>303 richardderus: - Yes, they are, Richard. In fact, I just this afternoon booked the train and cat sitter for my return to Mtl in 2 weeks. I got a call this afternoon from the hospital for my mother to have an appointment for a biopsy and I decided I will be going with her. It's just a whole lot easier to be there and get the info I need in person, than trying to reach people who never call back, as I spent much of the past month doing. Long story, not going into it now. But I will only be away for 3 nights instead of the 5 I was this time. And I may leave Theo home since he hasn't attacked or bothered Owen once since I brought him home yesterday (I hope I haven't just jinxed that)...

>299 jessibud2: Sounds like a very good visit Shelley, I'm sure your mom really enjoyed getting together after such a long time.

>305 jessibud2: Glad you sorted your landline issue too.

>307 Caroline_McElwee: - Before I left to go to Mtl last week, I was all caught up on my library requests. Only one had come in but I left it at home, knowing I had 3 weeks to read it. It was a BB from you, Caroline, I believe, Vincent's Books. I will begin it tonight.

In the meantime, 4 more have arrived. I picked up and read 2 today (children's books) and the other 2, I have another week to pick them up so hopefully, by then, I will have made good headway in the Vincent book, maybe even finished it.

>305 jessibud2: Woo-hoo! Glad you figured it out, Miss Marple! My base plugs in, too, but the phone has batteries as well. Mine's probably an ancient model; we've had it for years.

Mine is an old model, too. I never thought about it because I never had any issues with it before this. I always leave that light switch *on* and just turn the lamp on and off manually. I never even thought to mention this to the cat-sitter but will, now.

I cannot believe how long it has been since I visited your thread, Shelley!

A good cat sitter is one of the most wonderful things on Earth. We LOVE our cat sitter and, more to the point, Carson loves her. I'm glad you had a good visit with your mum and I'm assuming the cat sitter actually worked out????

I read Hotel du Lac last year and quite liked it.

>308 jessibud2: I hope you enjoy it Shelley.

>311 EBT1002: - Hi Ellen. Yes, that is so true. I looked at 3 different agencies in the city but settled on one called Flying Duchess. Their site was good, giving brief profiles of each of the cat sitters and their backgrounds (many had years of experience in vets offices or shelters, farms, etc). The sitter who was assigned to me, Jacqueline, came for a meet and greet before I actually went away and was lovely. She sent me daily reports and photos. She will be coming back again in 2 weeks when I return to Montreal. It really is reassuring to have someone good that you can trust. I haven't had to deal with this before since my friend used to do it but since she moved away, I feel lucky to have found this agency and Jacqueline. And Owen seems to like her, which makes all the difference.

>312 Caroline_McElwee: - I haven't got very far in yet, Caroline because I watched tv till much later than usual (baseball All-Star game!) and only read for a short while. But will get more in today.

I have one landline that is not electric- and just connected to a Bell line- it is the only one that continues working during a blackout or loss of power. Glad that you had a good visit!