Laura (lauralkeet)'s 75 in 2022 - Part 7

Alys doing her best Wyeth imitation

Welcome to my thread! I'm Laura, recently turned 60, retired. My husband Chris and I live in an 18th century farmhouse in northern Virginia, and keep ourselves busy with gardening, re-wildling our pasture to attract wildlife, and the occasional interior renovation. We’re documenting this journey through a newsletter (free!) on Substack: Willow Greens Farm--check it out!

This is my fourteenth year in the 75 Book Challenge Group. Where has the time gone?! I read mostly contemporary fiction, with the odd classic or memoir thrown in. I am increasingly relying on our fabulous local library system to meet my reading needs, and that makes me happy. This year I’ll read where my mood takes me, keep plugging away at various series, and stay current with new series releases.

Besides reading, I spend a lot of time knitting and weaving. I have a thread in the Needlearts group; stop in and say hi sometime!

My 2022 threads can be found here:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6



Books Featured on This Thread
25. The Lost Man, by Jane Harper
26. The Wild Braid, by Stanley Kunitz
27. Recitatif, by Toni Morrison (intro by Zadie Smith)
28. Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel
29. Bridge of Sighs, by Richard Russo
30. Track of the Cat, by Nevada Barr
31. Those Who Know, by Alys Hawkins
32. The Last of Summer, by Kate O'Brien
33. The Fabric of Civilization, by Virginia Postrel
34. Where Shadows Dance, by C.S. Harris
35. The Thursday Murder Club, by Richard Osman
36. Young Mungo, by Douglas Stuart

Series Progress

Active series as of July 1 (updated quarterly):


A snapshot of my active series sorted on the "progress" column.

Series completed/current in 2022:
* Ruth Galloway

Series started in 2022:
* Mistress of the Art of Death
* Teifi Valley Coroner
* Anna Pigeon
* Thursday Murder Club

Series abandoned in 2022:
* Sandhamn Murders

Currently Reading


The Locked Room | The Cold, Cold Ground

Welcome to my new thread!

We decided to take our long walk with Alys early this morning, because it is so much cooler than it will be this afternoon. And we took it at a brisk pace so we got a bit more exercise than usual. We set out at 7am, walked about 3 miles down the gravel road and back, and were home by 8am. It was lovely outside. We may have discovered a new routine, at least for the foreseeable future.

Yesterday we received the quote for the guest bedroom HVAC and it was about what we expected, so that's good. We have a couple questions but plan to go ahead with the project. The bathroom is nearly finished, we are waiting for them to schedule the carpenter to do the wood trim, and then the fixtures can be installed.

I have almost nothing planned today. Yay!

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Words: TOILE, SABER, REACH, CREAM, CREAK
I've been going through a spell of less-than-useful first words, and then ending with a two-turn "oh! I got it! ... no, I didn't" situation. grump grump grump

One more thing:

Ellen and I are planning a shared read of Eudora Welty's novel Delta Wedding in September. Special credit to the 75ers for influencing our selection. I looked at a couple of novels on my TBR and this one includes very tempting and insightful reviews by both Linda and Richard.

Anyone want to join us?

HAppy new one!

>5 lauralkeet: Yay for Eudora Welty! You've picked a good one, but there are some I haven't read and I kinda wish your choice had been one of those so I'd be inspired to read along. Maybe I just will, anyway, even if it's a different title.

>5 lauralkeet: Happy new one and yes! I'd love to read along with you. Eudora Welty received an honorary doctorate and was the speaker at my college graduation but I was woefully unaware of her literary stature. I've never read anything of hers and am ready to make amends!

I love your opening image(s), Laura. Very clever.

I hope you enjoy your agenda-less day.

Hi Laura, and happy new thread.

From your last thread, I called my doctor’s office this morning because I hadn’t heard back from them about the getting an appointment for October. Turns out that my doctor’s out of the office the last two weeks of October and they haven’t opened up November's calendar yet. Sheesh. Anyway, several years ago I decided that I didn’t want to get bloodwork results via their website with just a note from my doctor, so insisted on scheduling bloodwork a week ahead of the exam so my doctor could actually discuss it with me. That allows me to get an afternoon appointment, too. Just sayin’. *smile*

Enjoy your almost-nothing planned day today.

Great toppers Laura. I love Wyeth.

Hurray for next stage of renovations.

I may read along with the Welty, as I've not read that one. I want to read more of her work before reading the biography I have.

Happy new thread!

>6 figsfromthistle: Thanks!

>7 laytonwoman3rd: Go for it, Linda.

>8 vivians: Excellent! Welcome to the party, Vivian.

>9 katiekrug: Thanks Katie! Alys' favorite thing to do in the garden is sit staring wistfully into the distance. Having lived practically in Wyeth's Chester County PA back yard for many years, the resemblance to Christina's World came immediately to mind.

>10 karenmarie: Hi Karen. I don't like getting bloodwork done, but I do like my doctor's one stop shopping approach. Our previous docs have required us to make another visit to someplace like Quest or LabCorp. This doc does it all in his office on the day of the exam. Obviously you don't get the results right then and there, so I can see benefits to the way you do it, too.

>11 Caroline_McElwee: Hi Caro, I'd be happy to have you join the Delta Wedding party!

>12 drneutron: Hiya Jim!

Happy new thread Laura! Love Alys' pose!

I'd be up for the Welty read-along. I haven't reread Delta wedding for a while but it used to be one of my favourite books. I'll see if I can find my copy by September!

>14 Sakerfalcon: That's great Claire!

Happy new thread, Laura.

Happy new thread, Laura. I love your topper photos.

I'm not sure about a reread of Delta Wedding; I may have overcommitted for June.

>4 lauralkeet: We set out at 7am, walked about 3 miles down the gravel road and back, and were home by 8am.

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Am I reading right? You walked six miles in one hour? With a dog stopping to sniff a million times? You must've been absolutely flying, Laura hahaha. So much faster than I am. I'm depressed now. I think I do 2.5 miles in 35 minutes. 😳

>18 brenzi: - I read it to mean the round trip was 3 miles, Bonnie. But I've met Laura and Chris and they are very fit, so who knows!

Love your topper and the description of your walk down the lane. You walked 6 miles in an hour -- wow!! That painting is one of Hubby's favorites and he used to have a poster of it in his office. I seen a bio of Wyeth that talks about his relationship with that family which is very interesting too.

>17 BLBera: Hey Beth, the Delta Wedding shared read will be in September, not June. So you can pencil it in and join us if it suits you at the time.

>18 brenzi:, >19 katiekrug:, >20 RebaRelishesReading: Katie's take is correct: 3mi round trip, so really not all that fast. I blame Alys, who needs to stop and sniff rather often and also gets to take a little dip in the creek.

Reba, have you read A Piece of the World? It's a historical fiction that tells Christina's story. I enjoyed it and it added a new dimension to such an evocative painting.

Thanks Laura. I should have read more closely. I will pencil it in.

Happy new thread, Laura.

Sweet Thursday, Laura. Happy New Thread. I hope to get to Sea of Tranquility next month.

Good morning!

We're back from our 3 mile walk (ahem). We're trying to maintain a pace that is more like exercise than a stroll, but I don't think we'll match Bonnie's 14-min mile when Alys is with us. Her little legs wouldn't be able to keep up! Anyway, it's a really energizing way to start the day. Today we saw lots of bunnies and a deer.

Yesterday I finished The Lost Man (review coming up soon), and started Sea of Tranquility at bedtime. We spent a bit of time in the terrace garden putting in lengths of plastic tubing for a drip irrigation system. Last night we watched another episode of Gentleman Jack season 2, and some mindless shows/videos.

Today I have to run out to pick up our CSA veggie share, the first one of the season. And because Katie got me thinking about salmon over on her thread, I might stop at the grocery to get salmon to have in a salad for dinner tonight.

Wordle 348 3/6

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Words: LEAST, SCOUR, SHOWY
Happy with this one.

25. The Lost Man ()

The Lost Man opens with the death of Cameron Bright, discovered in a remote location by his brothers Nathan and Bub. Set in the Australian Outback, the conditions are unrelentingly hot and dry. There is no sign of foul play, so it seems Cam may have died from exposure. But how could this happen to an experienced rancher whose car is chock full of water and other supplies?

That sets the stage for a mystery, but determining the circumstances of Cam’s death requires unraveling complex family relationships and motives. Nathan, the older brother, is divorced and trying to establish a more solid relationship with his teenage son. Bub is several years younger than Nathan and Cam, and desperately wants to earn their respect as a partner in managing the family’s land. Their widowed mother and Cam’s newly-widowed wife are part of the tangle, as are a long-term employee and a pair of backpackers doing seasonal labor. Jane Harper’s depiction of the outback’s isolation and climate add another layer of intensity.

While “whodunnit” is a question that needs to be answered, this novel goes deeper and is a very satisfying read.

Happy New Thread, Laura! Alys does a pretty good Wyeth impression. Does she have other favorite paintings?

>26 lauralkeet: I've enjoyed Harper's mysteries so I will look for this one.

Happy new thread, Laura! Your walks sound wonderful. I used to get up early and take the gals for a walk when Mario was a puppy, and it always felt like it started the day off right. Now we walk the dogs in the evening after dinner and it's a nice way to start wrapping up the day (and makes me feel a little better if I think I've eaten too much for dinner!).

Since Charlie's thinking about joining the cross country team next year, he and Tomm have started jogging together in the mornings, and I kind of love that they're spending that Guy Time together (plus, I don't jog so I'm happy to let Tomm take this particular parenting point).

>27 EBT1002: Ellen raises an interesting question. Perhaps you could do a series of Alys interpreting some other famous art works...it would be a viral sensation, for sure!

I enjoyed the novel by Harper that I read, her first one, I think, so I will add this one to my list.

I try to walk early in the summer as well, before it gets hot. It is a nice way to start the day.

>21 lauralkeet: Yes I have, Laura. I went to a lunch where Christina Baker Kline spoke a few years ago and bought a copy there. I also have her Orphan Train and The Way Life Should Be (audio) and I have The Exiles in Mt. TBR. I'm a fan :)

I'm still impressed by 3 mph -- that's what I do on the treadmill (sometimes) and it's a good clip.

>25 lauralkeet: I think I'm being mocked Laura, but ok hahaha.🥴

>27 EBT1002:, >29 laytonwoman3rd: Great idea, Ellen & Linda. Someone has probably done it already, but I see its comic potential. When Kate and Julia were little they used to watch an excellent show called Wishbone, in which an adorable terrier would re-enact classic literature. This one chosen specifically for Amber:

So yeah, why not have a dog imitate art?

>27 EBT1002:, >30 BLBera: Also happy to see the Harper land on your wish lists, Ellen & Beth.

>31 RebaRelishesReading: aahhh, I see you're quite a fan of Christina Baker Kline, Reba. I've only read that one novel.

>28 scaifea:, >30 BLBera:, >32 brenzi: On walking ...
For years and years and years we went to the gym with varying degrees of discipline based on what was going on in our lives. When young children and jobs got in the way, we used home equipment. When we lived in Philly we joined an excellent gym and did a small-group training session 3x/week. The results were great, but not sustainable through the pandemic and moving house. Now in our advanced years (okay, 60) we really can't get motivated to join a gym. We'd like to strike a balance of diet and activity level that keeps things more or less in check. The walks are part of that. And Bonnie, I wasn't mocking you at all! Back when I used to jog (at least 10 years ago), I was happy to run a mile in 10-11 minutes. So clocking in at 14 minutes on a walk is impressive, at least to me.

Happy new thread!

I knew I missed out on remarking one of yesterdays new appearances, but wasn't thorough enough in checking.

>26 lauralkeet: That does sound interesting, and there is an available eCopy at the first library I checked.

>25 lauralkeet: "Today we saw lots of bunnies and a deer." Yay!

I am working on getting morning walks back into my life. The weather has not been conducive but I did go for a walk here in NC yesterday. It was already so hot.... I got a good 1.5 miles in and that was it. I also knew I had gardening in front of me so I didn't want to overdo it.

"...why not have a dog imitate art?" Indeed there is no good reason not to.

>33 lauralkeet: Ha! You know, I completely missed out on Wishbone. I was too old for it myself and Charlie came too late for it. I've heard really good things about it, though.

Hi Susan, Ellen, and Amber! Happy Friday!

And a very happy Friday to everyone else, too. Yesterday was pretty low key, almost to the point of feeling at loose ends. But then while I was eating a brownie after dinner, I realized I had a broken tooth. It didn't hurt, but the top half of a molar was no longer in place. I called the dentist first thing today; they looked at my chart and said it looks like a crown has come off. They're only open half a day today and from a triage POV, I'm not as urgent as other patients, so I have an appointment Monday morning. What a joy.

Last night we watched BBC Springwatch, which we are weirdly devoted to, and then some video clips from the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. The flyover was really cool. I'm not fanatical about the Royal family (in fact I really dislike celebrity drama of any sort). But I have a soft spot for Queen Elizabeth and am amazed at how long she has reigned, the world events she has witnessed and/or participated in, and how has changed during that time.

Today I need to do the grocery shopping. The foreman for our bathroom remodel is stopping by with a carpenter to go over some woodwork (chair rail, wainscoting, etc). And we're having dinner with our friends Lori & Juan Carlos, at their place this time (they're the couple we hosted in our greenhouse last month). At their request, I'm bringing the same sangria I made that day. We're such partiers. 😀

Wordle 349 3/6

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MOLAR, PASTE, PHASE

Sorry about the crown, but at least it's not an emergency.

Enjoy your day!

Ooof, I've been there with the crown business, and I'm sorry you have to wait over the weekend. At least it's not hurting?

I've done the grocery shopping this morning and while I usually don't mind it, for some reason today it seemed like a read chore. I hope yours is a less chorelike task.

>38 katiekrug: Thanks Katie!

>39 scaifea: Amber, you were the first person I thought of when it happened last night. Don't you feel honored?! I'm off to do the shopping now. Normally I like to get it done in the morning but decided to stick around while the bathroom foreman was here, in case there was anything to discuss. There wasn't, they were just reviewing the work and taking some measurements, but that's okay. I don't have much else pressing today.

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I was super happy with today's Wordle. CRANE, SHAPE, PHASE

Friends for dinner with sangria! Sounds lovely. Enjoy!

>41 dudes22: woo hoo! Well done Betty.
>42 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba!

>33 lauralkeet: One of my favourite things on the internet is this post from The Toast that imagines the pitch meeting for Wishbone. I was exactly the right age for it when it was on and I remember loving the tie-in books as they had a little flip book effect in the bottom corner where Wishbone would do a flip or something else dog trick-esque.

I hope the grocery store isn't too bonkers this afternoon.

>44 MickyFine: That post is excellent, Micky! I love it.

And a happy sunny Saturday to y'all. It's sunny here at least and I hope it's sunny where you are too. Yesterday's grocery shopping was uneventful and now it's done. We had a nice visit with our friends. Juan Carlos, who is from Madrid, makes a mean seafood paella and the sangria was just the right summer beverage to accompany it. They served a tasty flan for dessert. It was a later night than usual but we were still up at our normal time today and took Alys on her walk which she now expects and gets very excited about.

Today ... hmm ... I have a few minor tasks on my to do list, nothing particularly interesting. There's probably some garden work that needs doing and it looks like it will be a really nice day. Maybe I'll start the sweater I'm going to make for Chris. Or maybe I'll read. We'll see.

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MEATY, SOUTH, CLOTH, BROTH, FROTH
Painful

>45 lauralkeet: Yum.

Sorry to hear about the tooth.

>40 lauralkeet: *snork!* I'm mostly sorry for myself that I'm the one you think of with tooth issues. It's true, though. *sigh*

Good morning!

Yesterday was indeed a nice day, and it looks like today will be more of the same. Yesterday I mostly puttered about and whatever I did, I can't even remember it today to tell you about it. There was a car accident at the edge of our property, at the intersection of a busy main road and a quiet rural gravel road. One car rear ended another, and if I had to guess I would say speed was a factor. Fortunately no one was hurt, but it took about two hours to clear the road.

Today ... hmm. More puttering, and hopefully also some reading time. I am enjoying Sea of Tranquility but for a couple of days now I haven't felt like curling up with a book in the middle of the day, so I've only been reading at bedtime. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! Ha.

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LOSER, DEITY, DEATH, DEPTH
According to Wordlebot, my second word narrowed the possible solutions down to two. And while I wasn't exactly aware of that at the time, I dithered between two choices and picked the wrong one first. Oh well.

>37 lauralkeet: Did you watch The Crown on Netflix?

Sorry about the other crown, the one no longer on your tooth. I hope it goes well tomorrow morning.

LOL on your comparison pics to open your new thread. And then the description of your walk with Alys. Walking a dog is wonderful most of the time. Some days I feel as if I'm being pulled along, and other days I am the puller. I try to get in two walks a day with Penny. We go for a 30-minute (minimum) brisk walk early in the morning, and then a more relaxing stroll in the evening. I also got a chuckle out of the time discussion.

Good thoughts on The Lost Man. I've enjoyed all of Jane Harper's books. I look forward to seeing how you like Sea of Tranquility. I'm in a longish queue at my library for it.

Happy Monday!

>50 EBT1002: Oh yes Ellen, we've watched all of The Crown and are looking forward to the next season (hopefully this fall?)

>51 Donna828: Hi Donna! Alys has come to expect these morning walks and gets a little demanding if we are slow getting ready.

Yesterday was sunny and not very humid, so I spent a bit of time reading outdoors on the terrace. It was soooo nice. I also started knitting a sweater for Chris. I was procrastinating the getting-started part because it involved a technique I don't use often, so I needed to be up for a bit more concentration than usual. But now I'm off and running, and the first part of the sweater is pretty easy going, good TV-watching knitting.

The main item on today's agenda is my dentist appointment. I have to skip my library shift but that's okay.

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Ugh. This was so frustrating! But at least I got there in the end.

>52 lauralkeet: - Although I got there earlier than you, it was still extremely frustrating:

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BLOAT, SLOPE, CLOCK, GLOOM

>53 dudes22: Thanks for the commiserations, Betty. Wordlebot says my first word resulted in 305 possible solutions, "the unluckiest possible outcome for this starting word," ouch. And although my second word took that down to 9, my fourth word (LOOPY) "didn't eliminate any potential solutions" meaning it wasn't in their solution list so that was a wasted turn. Just a bad Wordle day.

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Good news on the dental front. Pro tip: don't throw away the old crown! The remaining tooth was fine and the crown could still be used. They just re-cemented it and I was out of there. Yay!

Hooray for easy, quick (and probably a lot less expensive) crown fix!!

Love your garden pics on the blog but I'm jealous. We've harvested 7 strawberries so far and otherwise there is nothing doing much of anything. We need some sunshine.

Love to hear some good dental news :)

When do you leave on your trip? And, more importantly, is someone going to be looking after your garden?!!?!

Great on the dental news front. Funny story - when I got my crown, the dentist only "temporarily" cemented it in for 2 weeks in case I didn't like the color. You know what's coming - when I went back to have it permanently attached, he couldn't get it off. And it's still on - decades later.

>55 RebaRelishesReading: Well, 7 strawberries is better than 0 strawberries, right? 😀 I hope you get a bit of sunshine to turn things around, Reba.

>56 katiekrug: We leave June 18, Katie. Chris is in the process of setting up various watering solutions on timers. We will have a pet/house sitter and will ask them to do a few things, like watering plants in the greenhouse, but we can't really expect them to tend to things as we do. This gives Chris something to fret about during the entire trip. Ha.

>57 dudes22: Wow Betty, that's amazing. I have two teeth with crowns and I'm not exactly sure how long they've been there but I know at least one was done before 2000 (because I can weirdly picture myself at the dentist we saw at the time and I know we moved away from that area in 2000). The dentist told me today that this one should last a good long time with the new cement.

Glad the trip to the dentist turned out to be less costly than you originally thought.

>58 lauralkeet: - Ah, I see. I feel very invested in your garden, hence my nosiness interest.

Good morning all!

>59 figsfromthistle: Oh me too. A new crown would have cost a lot more.
>60 katiekrug: I love that you're interested/invested, Katie!

Yesterday we had lunch out while running some errands. There's a new bagel shop in town with various sandwiches on the menu, and it was tasty. Our errands included a trip to the cooperative extension office in Leesburg to get a soil testing kit, picking up some new contact lenses for Chris, and stopping at the paint store. We needed primer for the wooden porch at our side entrance, which Chris is going to sand and re-paint. We brought some color samples home so we can choose paint that matches the current surface. I also picked up some brochures for interior paints so we can choose the right shade for the wood trim in the bathroom. Last night I did some sweater knitting while we watched Gentleman Jack.

This morning I have a guild committee meeting, but it's over zoom so I don't have to go anywhere. And there's not much else on my agenda today so yay!

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PARSE, COUNT, BLOOM, FLOOD
Two days in a row with a double O?!!

Morning, Laura!

Yay for an easy tooth fix! That's wonderful!

>61 lauralkeet: - Actually, two days with LOO. Which got me again today - took me 5.

>62 scaifea: Thanks Amber!
>63 dudes22: oh yeah, you're right Betty. Weird, huh?

Good morning!

Yesterday turned out to be fairly productive, because I finished three books: Sea of Tranquility, a slim volume of essays called The Wild Braid, and Toni Morrison's Recitatif. Oh, and I started Richard Russo's Bridge of Sighs at bedtime last night.

Katie inspired me to read the Morrison and I followed her lead by reading Zadie Smith's introduction after reading the short story. I'm so glad I did. The essay unpacks what Morrison was trying to do in the story and makes you really think about what you just read. I'm not planning to write a review, because Smith pretty much says it all. The entire book is just over 80 pages and can easily be read in a day or even a single sitting.

We're expecting the bathroom remodelers any minute to start working on the wood trim in the bathroom, so life will be slightly disrupted today.

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PAINT, TACIT, TRAIT

I don't plan on "reviewing" Recitatif either. Glad you found it worthwhile, too!

I can't believe how fast your bathroom remodel is going (though it may not seem fast to you!).

I love all of Russo's novels (I have read all of them I think). Is this your first? Bridge of Sighs has some familiar characters in it, but in a new location which is kind of fun.

>66 katiekrug: Hi Katie! We've had a bit of a lull with the bathroom, actually. It took a while (and a bit of prodding) to finalize the wood trim for bead board, chair rail, etc. Then, we had to wait a bit for the carpenter to become available. I admit I prodded a bit more and like to think that had an effect, but who knows. Anyway, at least now something is happening.

>67 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, reading She's Not There reminded me that I had read and enjoyed some of Russo's novels. My first was Empire Falls, because at one time I was on a "read the Pulitzers" quest. A few years later I read Nobody's Fool and Everybody's Fool in rapid succession, and then Chances Are... back in 2019. I'm only about 20 pages in so the characters and setting are just taking shape, but I'm enjoying it already.

I've got nine Russo novels, but have only read two (Mohawk and Empire Falls). Hmmm. *Looking for open spot* Hmmm.

We did our bathroom over a few years ago. Plumber was great. We persuaded a very competent jack-of-many-trades friend to do the tile floor and to paint the walls. Then there was the carpenter. He agreed to make and install thresholds to soften the lip between the new tile floor in the bath the the hardwood floors in the hall and the dressing room. He was also going to make some trim to surround the new shower. I'm waiting for the roun-toit. Oh, I shouldn'da told you that.

Hi Bill. You have my sympathy re: the bathroom remodel. We decided to go with a general contractor because we didn't want to have to coordinate the various trades involved in the project. Our guy has his own staff and sub-contractors and has more leverage than we do. The main issue, besides availability of his higher-skilled workers, is that our project is pretty small potatoes compared to others they are working on, so we are lower priority. But they're doing a good job and are pretty responsive all things considered.

Sweet Thursday!

We're just back from our morning walk on this beautiful morning. Coffee is brewing and breakfast will soon be on the table.

Yesterday was pretty uneventful. There was a bit of gardening involved: tending to the potatoes, weeding some flower beds, and generally walking around to see what needs attention. We ended up ordering pizza for dinner last night instead of our usual Friday, and watched another episode of Gentleman Jack. We're now up-to-date and the season finale drops next week.

Today is another light agenda day. I need to pick up our vegetable CSA and a couple of supermarket items. I should write a review of Sea of Tranquility but despite really enjoying the book I'm having a hard time thinking of what to say.

Wordle 355 3/6

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TIMER, RIGHT, GIRTH

>70 lauralkeet: I've had the same issues with my remodeling projects, Laura. I, too, am small potatoes. :)

Gentleman Jack is making me so stressed out, stop spending so much money!!!

>72 BLBera: Welcome to the club, Beth!
>73 norabelle414: Nora, I know right?! I have my theories about how the season will end and I won't be surprised if that becomes an issue.

>74 lauralkeet: All the talk from the architect about how special Shibden Hall is makes me think she's going to lose it :-(

>75 norabelle414: Interesting. That could be some serious foreshadowing. We'll see what happens!

28. Sea of Tranquility ()

I don't know why, but I just can't get my head together to write a review of this book. I really enjoyed it (rated it 4 stars and all), and was impressed with the way the story was plotted. And that's about all I have to say. Oh well.

>77 lauralkeet: - It happens to the best of us.

>77 lauralkeet: This one is a tough one to sum up, Laura.

Happy Friday, Laura. I am back from my trip and slowly catching up around here. I plan on reading Sea of Tranquility in the next month or so. We can compare notes. Anything fun happening at your feeders?

>78 katiekrug: Thanks Katie!
>79 BLBera: And you too Beth. I'm glad to know it's not just me.
>80 msf59: Good morning Mark! We haven't had anything notable happen at our feeders in a while, but we had an amazing walk this morning. More on that next.

Friday Friday Friday!

Not much to report from yesterday. The carpenter made some progress with the wood trim in the bathroom and he's back at it again today.

This morning I need to finish the grocery list and then head to the supermarket. I have a few minor tasks to take care of later. And our trip is now about a week away so I should probably sit down and make a list of things that need to get done before we leave, and/or as preparation.

Today's morning walk was amazing. We walk along a gravel road surrounded by fields and the occasional farm or residence. Our first sighting was a turkey in an open field. Further along the road it becomes more wooded with a stream running along one side. We saw a large bird fly overhead, larger and stockier than a hawk. We thought it might be an owl, and stopped to see if we could locate it. There it was in a tree -- a barred owl. We watched each other for a few seconds and then it flew off. A bit further up the road we saw six wild turkeys, and then a great blue heron. And on our way home, three young deer jumped a fence and crossed the road about 100 yards in front of us. I don't think we've ever had that many sightings in one walk before.

Wordle 356 3/6

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PRIDE, PINES, PIETY

I'm happy to report that I won at Wordle again today. Bragging, I know. But I get the same score every day. I must invest a few hours today in yanking weeds and vines and brambles. I have a plethora of excellent places to start.

>82 lauralkeet: Lovely walk Laura. Hopefully many more sighting packed walks ahead.

>83 weird_O: Way to go with Wordle, Bill. I hope you defeated the weeds yesterday.
>84 Caroline_McElwee: I hope so too Caro, but it won't happen today ...

It's a rainy Saturday morning, so we have made it a lazy one and skipped our morning walk. The bathroom guy was planning to work today and I wasn't sure if he would show up because he's been using a space just outside the house for his table saw. But he arrived as I was writing this post, so yay.

I was hoping to do some garden cleanup today, and Chris was planning to paint the steps on our side porch. But I guess we'll be postponing those activities. We still need to buy the paint for the steps as well as for the bathroom woodwork, so maybe we'll do that. And **brain wave ** maybe we'll check out a new coffee shop in town. There is no end to the excitement around here!

Our vacation is now one week away, and there was some welcome news yesterday: the US government is dropping the requirement for inbound travelers to take a covid test the day before travel. This was the only leg of our itinerary that required testing, for all others proof of vaccination is sufficient. So that's one less logistical hurdle to overcome, and it has curbed my travel anxiety somewhat.

Wordle 357 3/6

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GRAPE, GUILE, GOOSE
Whew. I was afraid I'd end up with 6 guesses that all fit the pattern of my first word.

I thought of you when I saw the testing requirement dropped, Laura. It's also made me less stressed about my own trip (not until October, but that's how I roll!).

>85 lauralkeet: Glad to hear one less stress about your trip is off your plate. I hope the final prepping for departure goes smoothly.

>86 katiekrug:, >87 MickyFine: Thanks Katie and Micky. My logical brain realizes that dropping the testing requirement is completely separate from managing the risk of catching the virus, but still. All stress-lowering things are welcome.

It's another rainy morning here, so once again we are being lazy. It's supposed to clear up before lunch, and it won't be very hot today, so we decided to shift our walk to late morning. Right now I'm enjoying a bit of breakfast and, most importantly, coffee. Sunday Crossword coming up soon!

The bathroom guy put in a full day yesterday but isn't finished yet. The bead board is all in place and it looks like he did some work on the surfaces above it (primer maybe?). I'm guessing he'll be doing the chair rail and baseboard next. His tools are still here so I am fairly confident we'll see him tomorrow. 😀

I made a nice dent in Bridge of Sighs yesterday and with nothing on our schedule today, I hope to do more.

Wordle 358 3/6

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SPOIL, CLOUD, FLOAT
Once again, the Wordle gods smiled upon me because it would have been just as possible to blow through several turns with those two green letters. 17, in fact, according to Wordlebot.

>89 lauralkeet: - The gods smiled on me too. I had the last 4 green at my second guess and I too could have blown thru a bunch of words.

Hi Laura, and happy Sunday to you.

>27 EBT1002: Harper’s books have all been 4* reads for me – excellent in my book. I’ve still got The Survivors on my shelves just waiting for the right time.

>37 lauralkeet: Ugh. Dental stuff. Sorry about that, glad you weren’t in pain.

>54 lauralkeet: "didn't eliminate any potential solutions" meaning it wasn't in their solution list I have started checking potential choices against their list of 2,309 words although my always-used first word is not on their list. adieu tells me a lot about vowels. But after that, if it’s not a possible word, I won’t use it.

>54 lauralkeet: Wow. Just … wow. You’re smart and lucky and glad it was just a matter of cement.

>89 lauralkeet: I got it in 3 today, too. Congrats.

>90 dudes22: You sure could have Betty. Lucky you!
>91 karenmarie: Hi Karen! I definitely lucked out at the dentist. Congrats back at ya, for your Wordle result.

>85 lauralkeet: You do know I'm in the Wordle Control Group, don't you Laura.

The weeds and I took a mutual personal day, which is turning out to be a personal weekend. Yay! Instead of weeding, I went to a 21st-birthday pool party for the twins. Just family, but cake and homemade ice cream, courtesy of their other grandparents.

Today I'm trying to compost a book report or five, read some books, etcetera.

>91 karenmarie: - That's the same word my husband uses..

>93 weird_O: I always knew you were special, Bill. And I think you made a good call on how to spend your weekend!

>94 dudes22: Someone else around here uses that word. Katie maybe? I like to mix it up and try a different word each day, whatever comes to mind. I've definitely repeated words but I don't have a standard go-to first word.

Happy Monday!

The weather was really nice for our morning walk, but it's going to be a hot one today (89F forecast). We saw a deer though, so that was cool. Also two hawks in a field, one of which flew off with prey in its talons.

I made a lot of progress in Bridge of Sighs yesterday, probably around 100 pages. It's set in upstate NY, as are most of his novels, and is narrated by a 60-ish year old man looking back on his life in a small town. Lots of interesting characters and situations.

This morning I'm working a library shift; I had to miss last week because of the dentist so I'm looking forward to it. It's also my last shift until mid-July because of a) vacation and b) July 4 holiday. Other than that I have no scheduled activities all week, but I do have a bunch of little tasks, perhaps more than usual because we're getting ready for vacation. We're having a pet/house sitter so there's some preparation required to get the house in shape.

Wordle 359 3/6

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FRAME, SCOUR, DONOR
I'm happy with this one.

Good morning all,

Not much to see here, just same old same old it seems. I enjoyed my library shift yesterday. It did my usual tasks of shelving holds and shelving returns (quite a few carts full of returns had piled up), and then for the first time I handled returns as they arrived. The library has an automated conveyor belt system that sorts each returned book into a bin based on type (adult fiction, non-fiction, juvenile fiction/non-fiction, etc.), as well as one bin for books with hold requests. A library staff member handles the hold requests, which usually need to be sent to another branch. The contents of other bins are placed on carts and organized either alphabetically or by Dewey Decimal number, so they can be shelved later.

Today's excitement includes cleaning the fridge. Woo hoo! I have a thing about leaving home with a clean house (and therefore returning to a clean house), and the fridge would benefit from a thorough cleaning of the shelves and discarding old/expired items. I also need to do a few things to prepare for having someone staying at the house. This includes some cleaning, some laundry (sheets, towels), and a once-over to make sure we've put away anything we wouldn't want a visitor to see (general clutter and anything private like financial documents).

A good start to the day:
Wordle 360 2/6

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Thanks to a very lucky first word: STORE, ATONE

>77 lauralkeet: Hi Laura - I've ben away at a conference so am just catching up (and haven't gotten to my own thread yet!) I loved Sea of Tranquility and will also have trouble coming up with a quick review. But I thought it was a masterpiece of structure, reminiscent of David Mitchell and Cloud Atlas.

>97 lauralkeet: - Nice Wordle-ing!

>98 vivians: a masterpiece of structure, reminiscent of David Mitchell and Cloud Atlas
Oh .. yes! Great comparison, Vivian. I was really impressed with the structure even though I couldn't come up with the words to express it in a review.

>99 katiekrug: Thanks Katie!

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

The fridge is halfway cleaned and there's laundry a-washing. We just returned from some errands. First, a trip to Southern States, where we are newly eligible for their whopping 10% senior discount on Tuesdays. Most of the time we forget it's happening, but I remembered we were out of birdseed. Then we grabbed a quick lunch at Starbucks and headed to Leesburg to pick up an order from Bed Bath & Beyond. This is part of our "guest room plan B" which looks increasingly likely to become "plan A." The bathroom remodeling crew has been making great progress since last Wednesday, but I'm not sure they'll finish everything by Friday. We have a sleep sofa in my "studio," and a bathroom with shower just down the hall, and this area has central air. All things considered, it might be a better place for the house sitter to stay. We haven't been using the bathroom and it needed a shower curtain and bath mat, hence the trip to BB&B.

I'm up and enjoying that vital first cup of coffee before our morning walk. We're going to have breakfast at the new bagel place today so I'm posting a bit earlier than usual.

Yesterday after our errand run we did some rearranging in the veg garden area in preparation for our trip. We moved tomatoes and peppers from the greenhouse outdoors, in range of a sprinkler on a timer. I think the greenhouse was actually getting a bit too hot for these plants anyway; we have some tomato plants that have been outdoors all along and they seem to be faring better. I think we now have almost all of our plants on a timer and just a few flower beds that our house sitter will need to water for us. The sprinklers and timers will save us time in the long run, too.

Last night we watched the last episode of Gentleman Jack Season 2. I really liked the way they wrapped things up. The main conflict of this season was resolved and there were no ridiculous plot developments or cliffhangers. If I have a quibble it's about one subplot that they seemed to abandon halfway through. There's plenty of scope for a third season, but if that doesn't happen it has still been very good TV viewing.

Today I'm going to do some weeding in various garden areas. It's not too bad right now but if I don't do it before our trip it will be really out of control when we get back. There's also a bit more cleaning and guest bedroom prepping to be done.

Wordle 361 4/6

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PRIDE, PRISM, PRIMP, PRIMO
A dubious solution word, IMO. Wordlebot says my third word was not one of the 2,309 solutions and I argue it's a more valid word than the actual solution. Although Google tells me the solution word is a musical term: the leading or upper part in a duet, to me it is either slang or foreign. Harrumph.

>98 vivians: The comparison of Sea of Tranquility to Cloud Atlas is a good one.

I am envious of your travel, Laura. I've been waiting to see what happens with COVID to plan a trip, but I think it's time to just take the plunge. Enjoy.

>101 lauralkeet: I need to get back to Gentleman Jack. I watched the first episode of series 2, but got distracted. I do find JGs haring around everywhere a bit exhausting I have to say. Maybe I'm just jealous I can't move so fast. Stephanie Cole always puts in a good performance and makes me smile.

>102 BLBera: I'll be sure to report back on our plunge-taking, Beth. Ha.

>103 Caroline_McElwee: Oh, I like Stephanie Cole in GJ too. The older actors are all really good (Gemma Jones, Timothy West). Having recently watched the new All Creatures Great and Small, we noticed how much Samuel West moves and sounds like his father.

I haven't seen Gentleman Jack but would gladly watch anything with Stephanie Cole. I was disappointed when she left the Doc Martin cast, but I read that she prefers to limit herself to four seasons of a series.

>105 vivians: If you have HBO, I think you'd enjoy Gentleman Jack, Vivian.

-----

Yesterday the bathroom remodelers put in a full day working on the wood trim. This was their seventh day in a row here (with only Sunday off), which has been unusual in this project. Even though we would have loved for the project to wrap up this week, that won't happen and to be honest we are ready to have the house to ourselves for a bit before we leave. I mean, they really didn't interfere with our routine too much but after a while it just feels, I don't know, intrusive? Anyway, the bead board and other wood trim is 99% complete. There are some finishing touches, paint, and then fixtures left to do -- all of which I hope will be done soon after we return home.

Today I have a number of pre-vacation errands to run, stocking up on travel-sized toiletries, and picking up some snacks and stuff for the house sitter. I also need to do some laundry so we can pack tomorrow.

And with any luck I'll finish Bridge of Sighs before we leave, which would be great because I don't want to have to pack the book. I have just over 100 pages to go, which at the rate I've been reading this book, is definitely doable.

Wordle 362 3/6

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STAIN, CLEAN, APRON

Hope it's a wonderful trip, Laura!

>106 lauralkeet: - I was lucky today with Wordle and had 4 yellows in my first word so solved in two. YEAH!

>107 vivians: Thanks Vivian!

>108 dudes22: Woo hoo! That's great Betty. I've had a few really good first words like that but I'd say more often 2 or 3 yellows, not 4. Nicely done.

Happy Friday!

It's going to be a hot one so thank goodness I don't have any outdoor work to do today. Just a few small "to do" items, and of course packing. We have very little food in the house so we'll have lunch out, and then frozen pizza and salad for dinner.

Last night we watched an episode of The Responder on Britbox. We have just one left, so we might watch that tonight in order to wrap up the series before we leave. But it's also a dramatic/tense show, so we'll see whether we're in the mood.

I also finished Bridge of Sighs, which I enjoyed quite a bit. Now it's time for some vacation reads! More on that in a bit.

Wordle 363 4/6

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TAPER, WOULD, SCOWL, BLOWN

29. Bridge of Sighs ()

I'm taking a break from reviews until after vacation. I'll just say it was very pleasant spending time in Russo's world, so much so that I didn't even notice the book was more than 600 pages long. I really liked the structure: the story is told by one character for quite a while, and then Russo gradually introduces other narrators to fill in details the original narrator was not aware of or chose not to mention. I was totally invested in their lives, even those of the less likeable characters.

I have a few books queued up on my Kindle for vacation reading:



Track of the Cat | Those Who Know | The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty

I'll start with Track of the Cat. The Welty stories are a companion read, one I'll probably dip into both during and after vacation.

Hope you have a great trip, Laura and that you enjoy the reading that is traveling with you!

I guess I should pull Bridge of Sighs off my shelf...

If I don't "see" you before you leave, safe travels and have a great trip!

>112 lauralkeet: The Touchstone for Those Who Know should be corrected. It goes to a book titled Suicide: The Forever Decision. I'm thinking suicide is not of interest to you; why would you tote such a topic on a vacation? (Your book is ninth on the list!?)

>113 RebaRelishesReading:, >114 katiekrug: Hi Reba and Katie! We'll leave home around noon tomorrow so I'll be around here until sometime tomorrow morning.

>115 weird_O: OMG Bill, thank you so much for mentioning that. I've corrected the touchstone in both >112 lauralkeet: and >3 lauralkeet: so it points to Those Who Know by Alis Hawkins, the third book in the Teifi Valley Coroner series -- much better vacation reading.

Well, today we leave on our vacation. I can't believe the day is finally here. Fingers crossed that our travels are uneventful.

Last night we finished watching The Responder, which is an excellent 6-episode police series. I also started reading both Track of the Cat and the Welty stories. The latter is essentially an omnibus made up of three books plus two new (at the time) stories. This makes it a little more digestible in that I can start by reading her first book of short stories, A Curtain of Green. At Linda's urging, I am starting with Why I Live at the P.O., even though it is not the first story in the book. *twitches slightly*

We just used up the last of the milk over breakfast, and I need to get my act together with a shower, final packing, and last-minute "leaving the house" stuff. I'm going to try to take a break from LT so you will not see me posting here or visiting threads.

Good reading and Wordling to all!

Wordle 364 4/6

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STALE, ADORN, COPAY, CACAO
My current streak is 76, my max streak is 80. Can I keep this up through vacation? Only time will tell ...

Have a fantastic time!

Wishing you an utterly fabulous trip.

I've been missing your morning updates, Laura! Hope the trip has been fabulous.

I think you're due home soon, so I look forward to hearing about it :)

Hi all! We arrived home this morning after an excellent couple of weeks. First priority is doing laundry, grocery shopping and other "settling in" kinds of things. I'll post more about our trip tomorrow.

Welcome home, Laura! Hope you had a great trip and that you found your beautiful garden in great shape on your return. Get caught up and then we'll be looking forward to your update.

Welcome home, Laura. I can't wait to hear about your trip.

Oh good! I've missed your morning updates! Hope you had a fabulous trip!

Whew! After yesterday's laundry & grocery shopping and today's garden cleanup, I'm finally ready to re-engage here and tell you all about our vacation.


Mel, me, Chris, Kate, Tyler, Julia, Noah
NOTE: I feel compelled to explain why Julia looks so short in this group photo! It was all due to the terrain, which was quite rocky, and she just ended up in a spot where there was a dip. Julia, Kate, and I are all about the same height (a statuesque 5 feet).

Our first week was spent in the beautiful Mediterranean climate of southern France. We stayed at LaSouqeuto, our friends Jon & Mel's B&B, and had the place to ourselves to use as if we'd rented a house. Jon & Mel were free to do other things than play innkeeper, but we also did a lot of things together. They organized a wine tasting for us at a local vineyard, and we all went kayaking on a river one day.


A view of the river Orb from Roquebrun

We also enjoyed visiting a couple of beautiful villages, once for its market and cafe and the other for its stunning views.


Minerve

We also enjoyed time spent walking or taking e-bikes along the River Cesse next to the B&B, and the Canal du Midi which is also nearby. Besides some nice walks there are also a couple of good swimming spots in the river.

All in all, it was really nice to spend time together. At the end of the week the younger folk went their separate ways, and Chris and I flew to England to visit a bunch of gardens. This was a much busier/active week. In the Gloucestershire/Cotswolds region we visited Hidcote, Kiftsgate, Prince Charles' Highgrove, and the Westonbirt Aboretum. Then we drove over to the southeast to visit Sissinghurst and Great Dixter. We ended up with some time on our hands so we toured the site of the Battle of Hastings in 1066, which was pretty interesting. Our last day in England we returned to the greater London area and visited RHS Wisley, a huge public garden. Where all of the other gardens were once estates, RHS Wisley is run by the Royal Horticultural Society and has an educational/scientific mission on top of some very beautiful garden spaces. It's difficult to choose a favorite out of all of these, each one had something to offer and provided us with lots of inspiration. I seem to have very few photos of the gardens, I think Chris took most of them. They are sure to appear in upcoming newsletter posts. 😀

Travel was surprisingly easy, and the gods smiled on us as we had very few issues. Most travel-related covid protocols have been relaxed so it felt very much like traveling in the Before Times. Masks were seldom required, but not frowned upon, so we exercised our judgement.

30. Track of the Cat ()

This is the first book in the Anna Pigeon series, which I heard about from someone here in the 75ers. I enjoyed the setting (remote areas of the American Southwest), and the mystery was decent. I'll keep going.

Currently Reading


Those Who Know | The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty

I started Those Who Know, the third Teifi Valley Coroner book, and have about 100 pages to go. I've read a few of the Welty short stories, which are well-written and enjoyable but OMG, so southern! I need to take a break once in a while. This will definitely be a long-term, dip-into-it-now-and-then, sort of read.

Your trip sounds great, Laura. Thanks for sharing.

I've read the Nevada Barr books and really enjoyed the varied settings.

>125 lauralkeet: Welcome home. Your trip looks and sounds wonderful. Did you get a lot of great ideas for your garden? (or do I need to wait and read about them in the newsletter?) I'm going to need a Europe fix before too long but it's not likely this year or next :(

Hi Laura.

As a dog person, a walk lover, and a reader, I recommend And a Dog Called Fig. I read it in one day and just loved it. And I've never had a dog!

Your trip sounds marvelous!!!!

I'm glad you had such a wonderful time in France and England! You really saw a lot of gardens! I love Wisley and need to go back there soon.

Glad to hear your vacation went so well!

Hello Beth, Reba, Ellen, Claire, & Katie!!

We had a really great trip. And yes Reba, we did get a lot of gardening ideas. Chris wrote today's newsletter post, which is about two of the gardens we visited. Subscribers will find it in their email at 10:30am EST. If you haven't subscribed, 1) why not? ha ha and 2) look for it here after 10:30.

Claire, Wisley was really amazing. It was a bit of an itinerary-filler, as we needed to get back to the London area and thought a visit would then help us pass the time. It did that, but so much more.

>129 EBT1002: Ellen, I've added And a Dog Called Fig to my library list. It looks great. I also wonder if writer-daughter Kate might like it, even though she's more of a cat person.

Happy (Amurcan) Independence Day for those who celebrate. This morning I was remembering what a big deal the 1976 Bicentennial was, and also what a different time that was for our country. The Semiquincentennial (I had to look that up) is not that far off -- 2026 -- and I can't help wondering what this country will look like then. So yeah, I guess I'm not really celebrating?!

On to happier subjects ...

It's nice to be home. Our garden went bananas while we were away (which I guess is better than everything dying), so yesterday we did some weeding and cleanup in the terrace garden, and a few maintenance tasks in the veg garden. We harvested the first batch of peas before we left, and yesterday I removed all the pods and then the vines. Some of the pods contained edible peas; many more were brown and dried but that just means I can save the peas as seeds for next year. We have a bit more weeding and maintenance catch-up to do today, and then it will be back to normal daily puttering.

Other tasks today include reviewing and signing off on our tax returns (our tax prep firm had filed for an extension back in April), and vacuuming my car's interior. When we picked up our car at the airport we were struck by what an absolute mess it was compared to the rented cars we'd been driving. I mean honestly, there's still dog hair from Woody in the back, and he left us 5 months ago.

Wordle 380 4/6

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On day 1 of vacation I completely forgot to do the Wordle, thus ending my streak, so I decided to just take a break. When I returned to it on Saturday I found that not only had my streak ended but all of my stats were gone. What the ... ??!! I was grumpy for a little while and then decided I needed to get a grip. So this is day 3 of a new streak. I scored 5 on day 1 and 4s after that. Still hoping a 3 is out there somewhere ...

Hi Laura!

>94 dudes22: Glad to know I’m not alone, Betty.

>100 lauralkeet: 10% off? I need to check it out to see if our local Southern States offers that same discount. That would be significant since I buy 40 lbs of wild bird seed and 50 lbs of black oil sunflower seed at a time, plus suet.

>125 lauralkeet: Thanks for the pic of you all with names. Beautiful scenery, lovely family.

>133 lauralkeet: Bill and I rarely celebrate the Fourth of July anymore. It’s a day off work for him, and just a normal retirement day for me.

We’re still waiting to hear from our accountant re our taxes. She, too, filed an extension for us in April.

>134 karenmarie: Thanks, Karen (re: the group photo). And I hope your local Southern States has a similar discount program. It doesn't apply to everything (we bought some fence materials once and didn't get the discount), but it's definitely valid for birdseed and such.

Our taxes are signed and submitted, and refunds are expected so yay!

Good morning! It's a beautiful day here, although there's a possibility of rain later.

Yesterday I doubled down and finished all my must-do's before lunch, which felt great. I rewarded myself with some reading time in the afternoon, and finished Those Who Know. This one had a twist I didn't see coming, although I'm not sure what I think about the way it was resolved. I always find reviews of series books to be a challenge, because I don't want to say much other than what I just wrote. But I'll post a short review at some point anyway.

I've been pleasantly surprised at the state of our garden after vacation. Chris set up various timed watering systems before we left: drip irrigation in the terrace garden, and a couple of strategically placed sprinklers in the veg garden. We returned to some weeds, of course, but working together it took us very little time to get things back to where they should be. And we've been enjoying the fruits of our labor with lots of salads. I'm going to use the last of the peas today, in pasta with peas and bacon. During our travels we had a nice quiche for lunch one day that included some thinly sliced beets, so later this week I'll try a similar recipe I found online. The tomatoes are just beginning to ripen and the basil is looking good so I see caprese salad and pesto in our future. Yum.

Today's agenda includes a Fiber Guild committee meeting this morning and a haircut this afternoon. My stylist was a little more ... erm ... aggressive last time so I debated rescheduling but in the end decided I could use a little shaping up.

Oops, I totally forgot a guy was coming to clean & service our boiler this morning. Surprise!

Wordle 381 3/6

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CRIME, INFER, FIELD
Nice to have a 3 in my new stats.

Glad to see your trip was wonderful and you're already back into the swing of things.

Glad it was so easy to get your garden back in shape -- benefits of good planning! Pasta with peas and bacon sounds lovely. I don't really like peas on their own but that combination is tempting.

>137 MickyFine: Hi Micky! It's almost like I never left ...

>138 RebaRelishesReading: Pasta w/Peas and Bacon is one of my quick meal go-to's, Reba. It's an easy recipe: saute bacon or pancetta in some olive oil and butter, then add the peas (frozen ones are fine) and saute a bit, then add some cream and mint. When the pasta is ready (small shells or orrechiette work well because they grab the peas), reserve some pasta water and then add the drained pasta and some lemon juice to the bacon & peas. Add pasta water as needed to make a smooth sauce, then add parmesan to finish. You could wing it, but NYTimes subscribers can get a recipe here.

I have to admit, I have mixed feelings about growing peas in the garden. They are easy to grow, but take up a lot of space for a fairly low quantity of peas. And I don't taste the huge difference in flavor that people ooh and aah about. But Chris likes them, and we have the space so why not.

31. Those Who Know ()

One of these days I'll get my reviewing mojo back. Today is not that day. This was a solid entry in a series I enjoy, and the author introduced some interesting social issues for the time period. Because of that I thought the reveal would be more dramatic and was a bit disappointed, but still recommend the Teifi Valley Coroner series overall.

"I don't taste the huge difference in flavor that people ooh and aah about" Have you eaten them fresh from the pod, raw? That's worth growing them for.

>141 laytonwoman3rd: I agree! when we grew a garden, peas were strictly for eating fresh and raw, preferably while standing in the garden.

>139 lauralkeet: Thanks Laura. That sounds good to me (might be a hard sell with Hubby though since it is neither Mac & Cheese or spaghetti w/red sauce lol)

Welcome back! What a wonderful time you had.

Glad all the prep work you did in the garden before leaving worked out. I have never tried peas with bacon before.....sounds good

Laura, I love the few pictures of your trip. Thank you! I'm happy that you all had such a wonderful time - sounds idyllic to me. I've managed to grab a copy of Bridge of Sighs from PBS, so I thank you for that one. I like Russo!

I also like the Anna Pigeon mysteries more for the settings than for the actual mysteries although I've grown to be fond of Anna herself. If you liked the first one, you're going to love the rest!

I am not a fan of peas of any freshness. My DH and Mama both enjoy them, so I put up with the cooking smell on occasion.

>141 laytonwoman3rd:, >142 raidergirl3: I hear you both, and I guess I know what you mean, but I never thought I was growing a snack. I want to be able to enjoy them in a meal. But don't worry, I'm sure we'll grow them next year. I have a ton of peas I'm saving for seeds.

>143 RebaRelishesReading: Ha! That made me laugh, Reba.

>144 figsfromthistle: Thanks Anita.

>145 LizzieD: I hope you enjoy the Russo, Peggy. He's such a great writer. And I'm delighted to hear the Anna Pigeon series just keeps getting better. I loved the setting and I really liked Anna, too.
* makes note not to serve peas when Peggy comes to dinner *

Happy Wednesday, Laura. Your France/England trip sounds amazing. And I am so glad you did not run into any travel issues, which seems to be plaguing Europe right now. Whew!! Love the group shot too.

Oh yeah- great sighting of the barred owl. Always a joy to see one of those.

Hi Mark! Nice to see you. And hello to everyone else too!

Yesterday went pretty much according to plan. My committee meeting was productive, and my hair stylist recognized my hair needed shaping more than a cut, and even charged me less because of that. Whoop.

The bathroom remodelers return today for the rest of the week. They're talking like the job might be finished then, but my guess is we'll still have some loose ends. In any case, we're getting pretty close. Unfortunately, the new AC for the bedrooms isn't likely to start for another month or so. We have new window treatments ready to be installed but don't want to do that until all the "construction" is finished. Sigh.

I don't have much on my agenda today, except for a couple of phone calls and even those aren't all that urgent. But I'll get them done, nonetheless. I'm also going to make a quiche for dinner. At one of the gardens we visited on our trip, we had a very nice quiche that included a layer of thinly-sliced beets on top of the crust. I have beets coming out my ears in the garden. I roasted a few the other day and have been using them in salads, but I found a quiche recipe I'd like to try.

Yesterday I started reading Kate O'Brien's The Last of Summer, chosen because the Virago Group is reading Irish authors this month. I don't normally read Virago's introductions because they can be spoilery, but I read the first part of this one which discussed O'Brien's writing and how she draws you in from the beginning. Maybe I was primed for that, but yes I was hooked right away.

Wordle 382 5/6

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PIETY, BOARD, HUSKS, FLUNG, FLUFF
Wordle, you are just cruel. I normally use my first two turns to find the vowels. You can see where that got me. Chris and I don't normally discuss our turns, but today we did, in a 20 questions sort of way.

>148 lauralkeet: I agree -- just cruel! You'd think they were running out of five-letter words and getting desperate.

>148 lauralkeet: A very tricky Wordle today so I was pleased with my 4.

Looking forward to your report on the quiche recipe. I don't mind beets but I'd never have considered them for quiche.

>149 RebaRelishesReading: I know, right? Ugh. I hope tomorrow is better.

>150 MickyFine: Well ... the quiche was a fail, I'm afraid, and not because of the beets. The crust didn't come out right either because of the recipe or my technique (and I'm guessing mostly the latter). I mixed everything up and the dough was a bit dry but I still went ahead and chilled it as instructed. When it came time to roll it out to put in the pan, it was just a crumbly mess. I didn't have enough butter on hand to try again. Thankfully I hadn't mixed up the other ingredients.

So, it's frozen pizza tonight with some roasted veggies.

>151 lauralkeet: Frozen pizza is one of God's gifts to humankind :)

>152 RebaRelishesReading: It sure is, Reba. I try always have one on hand for emergencies and yesterday I was really happy about that!

The bathroom remodelers made some progress yesterday. On their way out they said they would not be returning today, but the plumber is still scheduled for Friday. There is still wood work to be done so we aren't sure why they aren't coming today. We need time to paint the wood trim before the tub and toilet are installed (otherwise it will be very difficult to reach those spaces). So we've reached out to the owner and foreman to discuss scheduling.

I have a few errands to run this morning: the vet to get flea & tick meds for Alys, the library to pick up a hold, and our CSA for our weekly share.

Wordle 383 X/6

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CRAVE, SKATE, WHALE, INANE, AMAZE, ADAGE
This really sucked. Too many combinations, and it took me too long to realize there was a repeat letter

So let's close this on a high note, shall we?



This barred owl swooped in front of us on our morning walk. It landed in one tree and then crossed the road to this one. It was calling to another owl, which we also spotted briefly. We looked up barred owl calls when we got home and confirmed this one was a juvenile, either calling to an adult or sibling. Absolutely amazing.

Hi Laura, and happy Thursday to you.

>135 lauralkeet: I sent an email to our CPA and heard back on Tuesday. She had 350 extensions to process after tax day, and we should hear back from her in a week or two. We already paid estimated taxes mid-April to the Feds and will get a smallish return from the state.

>153 lauralkeet: Sorry about the skunk, happy about the Barred Owl.

Great photo of the owl, Laura. What are you picking up from the library?

>153 lauralkeet: Very cool that you both heard and saw the owls!

>153 lauralkeet: How super cool!! We have an owl somewhere near here. We saw it's shadow fly by a bathroom window one night and saw other evidence I've now forgotten but we've never seen the actual bird.

>154 karenmarie: Karen, our tax firm was really backed up this year too. Staffing shortages were at least part of the problem. I was surprised to hear we were getting any money back. The Federal refund is usually applied to the next year's return, and that is the case again this year. We're getting two tiny state/local refunds from areas where we no longer reside, but will receive a tidy sum from VA. We paid estimates last year which turned out to have been way overestimated.

>155 BLBera: Beth, my library hold was The Fabric of Civilization, which Jim (drneutron) posted about back at the beginning of the year and I'm just getting around to. It's nonfiction, about textiles. I'm still waiting on Young Mungo and French Braid.

>155 BLBera:, >156 MickyFine:, >157 RebaRelishesReading: We hear barred owls pretty often, and sometimes see them swooping from a distance. We were super excited to be close enough to see it in detail and get a photo.

---

I'm pleased to report the bathroom remodeler ended up coming back here today after all. He expects to finish the wood work this afternoon. Hopefully the plumber will come early next week, giving us a bit of time to paint.

Hooray for seeing the end of the bathroom remodel!!

Awesome on the owl! I've always wanted to see one.

>153 lauralkeet: What a great sighting. Cool picture.

Oooo, I hope you like Fabric!

>159 RebaRelishesReading: We're getting there, Reba. To us it feels like they ought to be able to wrap it up in a day but there seem to be a number of finishing details for every task. They're not obvious to the untrained eye but once completed, you see the difference. That said, I'm sure there will be a short "punch list" at the end. Like repairing the window pane that was broken during demolition.

>160 dudes22:, >161 quondame: It was really great, and it just makes me want to pay even closer attention on our walks in hopes of spotting them again.

>162 drneutron: I'm sure I will Jim. As I said, your review piqued my interest initially, and I've seen it mentioned in various fiber/textile circles since then. It looks like a good one.

>153 lauralkeet: I LOVE IT!! Great sighting. I hope this is near one of their roosting spots, so that you may see them again.

Happy Friday, Laura.

Morning, Laura!

Cool about the owl! I can say that now that I've seen one, too ;-)

Happy Friday!

Sorry for the belated post, I got a bit distracted finishing my grocery list. Hello to fellow owl-watchers Mark and Katie. No sightings this morning, but I don't expect it will happen often.

The carpenter made good progress in the bathroom yesterday and we should be able to paint the wainscoting this weekend. We're not expecting any bathroom work today, so I'll do the grocery shopping this morning and I think we're going to go to a nursery/garden center in the afternoon. This one is huge but about an hour away. We don't visit very often but it's always worth it.

I'm making good progress on The Last of Summer, which is really quite excellent. And I don't know if I've mentioned that I'm knitting a sweater for Chris, but that's moving along nicely too. It's knit from the bottom up and the first part is fairly plain, but at some point I'll have something photo-worthy.

Wordle 384 4/6

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STARE, COUPE, DOLCE, VOICE
I'm okay with a 4, but still feeling really rusty after vacation and having a hard time choosing my next words.

Good morning!

We had a very productive trip to the nursery yesterday afternoon, coming away with 5 different types of perennial, 3 each. We then spent some time setting the pots around the garden in various configurations to decide where to plant them. Chris planted 3 before dinner. We had some rain overnight and it's supposed to rain on and off today so we'll just have to get them planted as weather permits. Dinner last night was takeout pizza, and then we watched the Tour de France.

I don't have much of an agenda today. One of the bathroom remodelers arrived about 10 minutes ago, apparently to do some drywall finishing. That means we probably won't do any painting today (it's a small space and we don't want to encroach on him). I might do a little veg garden cleanup; there's some lettuce past its prime that I can pull out and throw on the compost pile.

Wordle 385 5/6

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PAUSE, STEAK, STEAM, STEAL, STEAD
Sigh. Wordlebot tells me that after my second turn only three possible solutions remained. And yes, Wordlers, I used them all. I would have fared better had I used Richard's alphabetical-order method.

167 - Although I used RAISE as my first word giving me yellows in the same spots as you, number 2&3 were the same as yours. I did get it in 4 though (lucky guess).

>168 dudes22: congrats on your 4, Betty!

>167 lauralkeet: If it makes you feel better, Laura, I had only four options after my second turn and I went through all of them. At least it was a Phew day.

>170 MickyFine: commiserations, Micky. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Congratulations on your successful nursery trip. Look forward to hearing/seeing where you decide to put them in the garden.

Good morning!

Well Reba, we weren't able to do any planting yesterday because it didn't just rain on and off, it rained most of the day. Just a light, steady rain but enough to keep you indoors. Today Chris needs to paint the bathroom wainscoting but maybe we'll find time later.

Yesterday I finished reading The Last of Summer, which was excellent, and started The Fabric of Civilization.

Has anyone read The Locked Room, the new Ruth Galloway mystery, yet? I've been eagerly watching my library's catalog, waiting for them to add it. It finally showed up this morning and while copies are "on order," you can submit hold requests. I'm #2 in line, yay!

I have a fairly light agenda today. Some garden puttering, probably. I need to write a book review. And I'm going to finish cleaning my car's interior. I took it through the car wash last weekend but to my disappointment they don't do any basic interior cleaning. So I vacuumed earlier in the week, and picked up some Armor All the other day so I can do the dashboard and other non-fabric surfaces.

Wordle 386 3/6

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MOUSE, EARTH, BERTH
That second word helped A LOT.

Joe just finished the new Ruth Galloway and liked it.

I need to follow your example re: cleaning the car. More interesting things always seem to crop up to distract me. Funny how that works...

Have a good Sunday, Laura!

>174 katiekrug: Hi Katie! Joe's post about the new RG was today's reminder to check the library catalog. And there it was!

I'm not sure I'm such a great example for car care. To wit: the last time I took it through the car wash was probably a year ago. I cannot recall the last time I vacuumed it properly. I used a dustbuster hand-vac not long ago to get the worst of the pet hair but it was barely acceptable and I didn't deal with the miscellaneous dirt, leaves, etc. in the footwells. I really prefer the soft cloth car washes that clean the interior as well as exterior. Why ours doesn't is beyond me, especially since their other location does. But it's 20 min away so ... DIY cleaning it is.

Hope your Sunday is excellent too!

Hi Laura: I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't do a good or frequent job with car care.

I'm #3 on the list for the new Ruth Galloway. Can't wait.

>173 lauralkeet: Anxiously awaiting The Locked Room! My library’s copies are still on order, and I’m number 19 on 8 copies—it will be forever! Good news is that those who are in line are probably as eager to read it as I am— here’s hoping!

Karen O

>173 lauralkeet: Good news that the wainscoting is ready for paint (or, by now, has been painted). Sounds like that job is wrapping up.

What Wordle vision do you use? Your words are different from the ones I get.

You've reminded me that I need to take the vacuum out to the garage and do our car. It's only about 10 feet from where the vacuum is stored to the front of the car but somehow it's hard to make myself do it.

Lunchtime update: Chris has done all the pre-painting prep (masking, etc.) and will put brush to wall after lunch. We're both wishing we hadn't insisted on doing the paint ourselves. We definitely want to do the paint above the wainscoting, which is a lime wash finish that Chris did in an adjacent room. But we could have had the bathroom crew do the wainscoting and I'm not sure why we didn't think of that.

>178 RebaRelishesReading: Reba, I assume you meant Wordle version and as far as I can tell we are playing the same game. At least we did yesterday. My browser says it's this site:
https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html

32. The Last of Summer ()

In the summer of 1939, Angèle Maury, a young French actress, is traveling through Ireland and makes a spontaneous decision to visit the house where her father grew up, now occupied by relatives she has never met. Little does she know the impact her visit will have. As stated in Eavan Boland’s introduction:

She will remind them, for good and ill, that the past is inescapable. She will bring into their consciousness the names of threatened cities and wasted loves. She will change everything before she leaves.

Angèle’s appearance on the doorstep is a complete surprise to her Aunt Hannah and adult cousins Tom, Martin, and Jo. Hannah is distant and brusque at first; the cousins are more welcoming. As Kate O’Brien slowly teases out the details, it becomes clear Hannah has kept a number of secrets over the years, including the existence of a brother-in-law who left home, married a French woman, and never returned. Angèle is a fly in Hannah’s ointment to say the least, but she will never show it, remaining at all times the gracious hostess. That is, until Angèle’s relationships with her children pose a real threat to Hannah’s carefully crafted existence. Here, once again, O’Brien is master of the slow reveal. Not surprisingly, I was on Angèle’s side all the way, and sympathetic to the three cousins whose lives had been so craftily manipulated for their mother’s benefit.

The onset of World War II brings this brilliant character study to a close, leaving many unanswered questions about the family’s future.

>175 lauralkeet: - We keep saying we're going to take it in to the full-service car wash (inside and out) and then walk over to the diner next door for breakfast one day. Hasn't happened. The car hasn't been cleaned in any way, shape or form since we got it last September :-/

Julia (rosalita) just reviewed The Locked Room this afternoon, FYI.

>180 lauralkeet: - Sounds good. I've got that one on my shelf.

>179 lauralkeet: OK, I was confused -- won't bore you by admitting in what way -- yes we're doing the same version.

Hope you have time for some relaxation and pleasure after the wainscoting is done :)

>183 RebaRelishesReading: No further questions, Reba 😂

Happy Monday everyone.

It's such a beautiful day, cool and sunny, very nice for our morning walk. Today a deer crossed the road and, a few seconds later, the smallest fawn I've ever seen. I didn't have time to get my phone out and take a photo. Trust me, it was very sweet.

Yesterday was taken up with painting the bathroom wainscoting. It looks really nice, but since the floor is still covered with drop cloths and masking it's not really photo-worthy yet. While Chris was painting I did some vacuuming and other cleaning (as well as the car interior). After painting Chris mostly wanted to relax and watch sports, and I can't say I blame him. I used the time to make progress on my sweater project, and read.

Today I have a volunteer shift at the library, my first in a month due to vacation and the July 4 holiday. I'm really looking forward to being there. This afternoon we will finish planting everything we bought on Friday. Tonight we're going to have a little catch-up with Julia over Facetime. Our TV-watching has included a lot of Tour de France, but today is a rest day so not sure what we'll pick.

Wordle 387 4/6

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PARSE, BATON, DAILY, MADAM

We had a doe and a fawn in the backyard the other day, and the fawn was so little! I'm not sure I've ever seen one that young so "close up."

Same here, Katie. This one was really tiny and unusually close to us (for about a split second anyway)

>180 lauralkeet: Oh, this sounds good! Kate O'Brien is on my list of authors to check out, but my library doesn't have any of her books. Must look further afield ...

>187 rosalita: Welcome Julia! I went through a period (thanks to LT, BTW) of voraciously collecting Virago Modern Classics. I have way more than I could ever hope to read in my lifetime, but I discovered Kate O'Brien that way along with many other female authors whose work was often neglected. You might find her books in used bookshops/websites.

>188 lauralkeet: After I struck out at the library, I thought to check Kobo and found that most of her books are available as ebooks for less than $5, so that's a happy discovery. Is there one in particular that you recommend as a starter?

Julia, I've only read one other book by O'Brien, but like this one I gave it 4.5 stars. The title is Without my Cloak. I wrote a more complete review of this book than I did The Last of Summer, so you might want to check it out on the book page (there are only 9 reviews so it won't be hard to find). lyzard also wrote an excellent review (and she knows her stuff about this type of literature).

>190 lauralkeet: Thanks, Laura! I'll check out your review of that one and decide between the two which to start with.

Good morning all!

It's another beautiful morning although it's supposed to get hot today. This morning we saw a young buck on our walk. There's a corridor of about 1/4 mile where we are most likely to see wildlife. Sometimes it's just a lot of bunnies, but we've been lucky lately.

It was great to be back working at the library again. The last time I was there, school was still in session, but now that it's summer the place was positively buzzing. The morning story time had about twice the usual participants and there was a group of school-age children there for some other summer activity. I did my usual tasks of shelving holds and returns, and pulling requests off the shelves. I'm not sure why this is so satisfying, but it is.

In the afternoon we finished planting everything we bought last Friday, so it was a nice productive day. And we enjoyed our chat with Julia. The only dull point in the day was the first episode of the new season of Endeavour (S8). We've enjoyed this series in the past but this one seemed overly complicated and we just weren't into it. Oh well.

This morning I have my Guild Knitting group, which I had to skip last month so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone. The Guild is like my one social activity and I enjoy hanging out with others who like to knit, weave, and spin.

Wordle:
I got it in 4 today. No graphic because my Wordling device is in the other room and I'm lazy. This is one that could trip people up, because the last 4 letters are a very common combination. I got there through a different route so I didn't have that problem, but it still took me more turns than I wanted. MANIC, UNION, NIFTY, NIGHT

Hi Laura, and happy Tuesday to you.

I read The Locked Room in March because a friend has a dealer in London send her books that are published there first and she lets me borrow them. I rated it 4.5 stars.

I haven't washed my Ford Escape in way too long. I might offer to pay Jenna to wash it sometime this summer.

We had a doe eating the begonias right by the Sunroom door yesterday - I'm mad because they were doing so well. Deer have never come that close to the house before - she was no more than about 6' from the Sunroom door, darn her.

Four is not bad for Wordle today, Congrats on your choices giving you the critical NI. I got extremely lucky with NIGHT instead of the other 8 words that end in ight that don't have an e in them, with my first word choice of adieu.

Lucky you, Karen, getting early access to The Locked Room. I'm glad to see you enjoyed it so much. I can't wait. Sorry about the deer damage. We have deer nearby of course, but not that close. The rabbits are another story.

The wildlife in my neck of the woods seems to be very cyclical. Last year we had more squirrels than I can count; this year it seems like the rabbits are taking over. On my morning walks I am again seeing deer, which hadn't been around as much the last few years. They ignore me completely and continue munching away as I pass.

Hubby saw three does standing on the sidewalk at the side of our next-door neighbors' house this morning. He was driving away and didn't come back (or call) to let me know so I missed it -- darn!

Rabbits are taking over my yard.

>195 vivians:, >196 RebaRelishesReading:, >197 BLBera: Hi Vivian, Reba, and Beth ... the rabbits seem to be taking over our neck of the woods also. Last year I frequently saw deer on our property, but for whatever reason they have been less visible this year.

Well ... we had a heckuva storm yesterday. Around 4:30 we received one of those emergency alerts on our phones about a severe thunderstorm. We were walking Alys so we turned around and went home. Around 5:15 we had about 30 minutes of rain and some really heavy wind, actually rather scary as we could see limbs falling from a walnut tree outside the kitchen. And then we lost power. The adjacent gravel road is lined with very tall, old pine trees (on our neighbor's side, not ours). Last year one fell and took out both a power line and a pole, and we were down for almost two days. This time it was "just" a power line. The power company estimated power would be restored between 10pm and 3am.

Fortunately I had blitzed a batch of pesto around 5pm, and we were able to light a gas burner on the stove to make spaghetti, so we actually had a rather decent dinner. We played cards for a while and then Chris watched the Tour de France on his phone. Eventually we just went to bed. The power came back at 2:45am.

There's a fair amount of debris in our yard and garden, branches from the walnut tree and an evergreen next to it. Although some of these fell in the garden, most of the plants were spared. The new fence also held up well despite taking a blow from a large-ish limb. All in all, it could have been a lot worse.

As for today ... hopefully it will be uneventful! I have a guild meeting this morning and the plumbers are here to install fixtures in the bathroom.

Wordle 389 5/6

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CARVE, SNAIL, PLANT, GLAND, BLAND
On my fourth turn I chose the only solution I could "see", only to realize there was another option and for whatever reason in hindsight it seems like the more likely word.

We were under a severe storm watch yesterday late afternoon/evening, but nothing materialized - no wind, not a drop of rain...

Glad your damage wasn't worse!

That storm was crazy! Usually my cat does not even notice severe weather but he really didn't like the sound of the hail hitting the windows.

Wow, sorry to hear about your storm and all of the clean-up you'll have to do in the aftermath. But fixtures going into the bathroom sounds exciting! That's a big step.

>198 lauralkeet: Quite enough excitement, let's hear it for uneventful.

Oof. After my committee meeting this morning I helped Chris clear debris, mostly from our fence line along the road. Last night the authorities cut the fallen tree into pieces and moved it aside, but there were tons of limbs and small branches strewn about. Although the tree itself is the responsibility of our neighbors across the road, they are young inexperienced homeowners who seem to have not accepted this strip of land as their responsibility. They do not use the gravel road to come and go, so it is invisible to them. And in any case, the wife is out of town on business and we haven't seen the husband. So ... a couple hours' labor loading debris onto the tractor to be taken to the far edge of our property. After lunch we crashed and watched Le Tour.

The bathroom guys made only moderate progress today, having run into some issue connecting the sink, which requires a part to be ordered. They spent an inordinate amount of time on that, and have not yet connected the tub and toilet. Sigh. If the part requires lead time we can probably get the lighting installed and finish the painting, but still. We are ready for this project to end.

I made brownies. For medicinal purposes, you understand.

>203 lauralkeet: Good medicine, brownies. Too bad they're not a panacea for plumbing.

Forget laughter. Brownies are definitely the best medicine!

Here's to brownies, relaxation and restoration (not to mention completion)

The brownies are a good idea.

Medicinal brownies!! Are they legal in Virginia?

>198 lauralkeet: Wow! I'm so glad your damage wasn't worse! I lived in earthquake country for many years, but honestly? It was the windstorms that scared me more. Now, of course, it's the monsoon rains we get here in the Lower Hudson Valley that I hate.

I got Wordle in 4 today, but the last two words were the same as your last two. And I thought the same thing: that the correct word was the more likely.

Mmm, brownies! Last time I had a brownie that my niece gave me for medicinal purposes, I gobbled down a half of a large one without thinking about how she warned me to only have a small piece. Apparently, today's weed is so much stronger than what I knew "back in the day." I couldn't move from the chair I was in for the rest of the day. It did help with my arthritis pain, though. Actually, I couldn't even feel my body. Anyway, enjoy!

Oh wait wait wait … I didn’t mean the brownies had medicinal additives! These were plain old Duncan Hines with some chocolate chips. All of that chocolate was enough “medicine” for me!

But your comments made me laugh!

Oops. (But glad all the comments made you laugh.)

Also, chocolate IS a wonderful medicine all by itself. In fact...I think I've got a bar of dark chocolate in the fridge that needs opening.

LOL. Brownies truly are medicinal. : )

Sweet Thursday, Laura. Sorry, to hear about your storms the other day. Glad you avoided any real damage. And yah for brownies!

Good morning!

I am so hungover from those brownies. Kidding! But they were delicious, and an effective reward for our physical labors.

There's not much on today's agenda, which is fine with me. I need to pick up our CSA share and do the menu planning/grocery list-making for tomorrow. Some reading, some knitting, and ... who knows.

Today's Tour de France stage is supposed to be epic. A) because it's Bastille Day, and B) because it is an incredibly challenging route. We've been recording each stage to watch in the evening (fast-forwarding through the less exciting parts). But today NBC has decided to air the the British Open live, and shifted the Tour to their premium service Peacock. The Tour will air on USA this afternoon, but it's an abridged recap. So we just signed up for a month of Peacock. I just need to remember to cancel it. So annoying!

Wordle 390 5/6
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TIMER, WISER, DINER, RIVER, LIVER
A promising start but too many choices! And this time I chose what I thought would be the more likely solutions (on what basis? I don't know ...) and the solution ended up being an uncommon word I thought of first and mentally set aside. I just can't win.

ALSO ... today the NYTimes prompted me to link my stats to my NYT account. Having just lost all of my stats due to their previous stats-saving method, I am happy to do this. And before anyone dons their tinfoil hat, it looks like you can also do this with a free NYT account. But it's not required so if you really don't want to register you can still keep playing.

>214 lauralkeet: I don't know what kind of degenerates visit your thread, Laura, but for the record, I was only thinking of normal delicious chocolate brownies. I'm glad they hit the spot. :-)

I got Wordle in 4 today but it was one of those letter combinations where the possibilities seemed almost endless. I just got lucky. Interestingly, I did not get the prompt to link Wordle to my NYT account. I wish I could trigger that manually because it's annoying to try to remember to always play on my iPad Air. Maybe they are rolling it out slowly? I looked at the NYT site but couldn't see a way to do it from that end, either.

I really dislike the way the proliferation of streaming services has allowed networks to play fast and loose with their programming. I hardly watched any Olympics coverage last year because I could never figure out which of the 17 different channels/streaming outlets were covering which sport and when.

>215 rosalita: The 75ers are a degenerate bunch, Julia. Ha!

Re: Wordle stats, I think you might be right about it rolling out slowly. This CNET article says the NYT tweeted about the change yesterday and asked people who weren't seeing it to be patient, that it would be coming to them soon. Also worth noting: linking your account not reversible.
https://www.cnet.com/culture/internet/wordle-stats-will-soon-be-linked-to-new-yo...

And I totally agree about the proliferation of streaming services. I don't regret cancelling our cable subscription a few years ago, because we were already starting to add streaming services to fill programming gaps, but this constant shuffling of access rights is a real pain. And it's not limited to sports -- popular series can be affected as well.

>216 lauralkeet: Thanks for linking the CNET story. Sounds like I'll just have to be patient — not one of my strengths, honestly. :-)

>215 rosalita: Isn't the motto of the 75er group "Hijinks and Shenanigans?"

>218 Storeetllr: Hi, Mary! If it isn't, it certainly should be. :-D

Maybe that's the problem — since I'm not a member of the 75ers anymore, I am no longer qualified to participate in hijinks and shenanigans here.

>218 Storeetllr: I like that, Mary!

>219 rosalita: We have a very liberal guest policy in this group, Julia. Just wear this every time you visit.

>219 rosalita: Nonsense! You are always welcome to participate in hijinks and shenanigans here! Do you have a thread somewhere else? I saw that Bruce is doing a concert series this year, and I thought of you. Not sure if he's playing anywhere near you, but, if not, I heard there will be a second series later.

>220 lauralkeet: :)

>220 lauralkeet: Black and gold! So kind of you to make the guest pass in Hawkeye colors. :)

>221 Storeetllr: I have a thread over in the ROOTs group, Mary. And I'm on top of the Bruce news and have already submitted my name for Ticketmaster's "Verified Fan" lottery system for several of the Midwest shows (Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Detroit). We'll see ... they used the Verified Fan system when he was on Broadway and I struck out for a year until I finally got in, so I'm not getting my hopes up.

>222 rosalita: *ahem* also Purdue colors. Although I'm not a very loyal alumna.

>223 lauralkeet: How did I forget you were a Boilermaker? I'd much rather think of you when I think of Purdue than Gene Keady's terrible shellacked combover. :)

>214 lauralkeet: Smiling about the brownies.

I put a note in my mobile calendar three days before a subscription runs out asking myself if I want it to continue Laura.

>224 rosalita: happy to oblige, Julia.
>225 Caroline_McElwee: funny Caro, I put a reminder on my calendar earlier today.

Happy Friday!

Today's agenda is ... grocery shopping. Boring, but it must be done. I usually liven things up with a drink from the in-store Starbucks. Soooo exciting, right? This evening we might take a walk to the winery up the road and call that dinner (yes, they serve food lol). Or, we will revert to our usual homebody selves and get some takeout. It depends on our mood and, honestly, how hot it is at that time of day.

I'm nearing the end of The Fabric of Civilization, which has been a really interesting read. My library holds haven't quite come in to land yet (specifically, Young Mungo) so I borrowed the Kindle edition of Where Shadows Dance, the next Sebastian St Cyr book, to tide me over.

Wordle 391 5/6

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CAMEL, TIERS, COUPE, HENGE, WEDGE
I'm still in a post-vacation Wordle funk. I used to score 3 fairly often but have only done so twice in the past two weeks. It's bumming me out!

>222 rosalita: Yes, I figured you already knew. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, Julia!

Good morning all,

We had a nice visit to the winery last night. They have tons of outdoor seating with views of the vineyards. We took Alys with us and she was really good. There were two other dogs there and we kept our distance. She was curious but not defensive or anxious, which was a big win. We could not have done this in Philly. The food menu is limited but hit the spot for us. I had meatball and mozzarella sliders and Chris had lamb gyros. And of course, wine. I think they have different food specials every weekend so we will probably return at some point.

I don't have much on today's agenda. Probably a bit of gardening work, although it's very much in maintenance mode at this point in the season. As expected, yesterday I finished Fabric of Civilization and at bedtime started Where Shadows Dance. Maybe I'll write a book review later. Other than that, I've got nothin' !

Wordle 392 4/6

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TASTE, MOUND, COMIC, ROOMY

I'm jealous you can walk to a winery :)

Enjoy your low-key day!

It's literally the only thing we can walk to, Katie! You have many more walkable options. But it is nice that we can drink wine and not worry about driving home.

Enjoy your day full of nothing, Laura!

>232 MickyFine: Thanks Micky!

Sounds like a lovely evening (jealous you can walk to a beautiful winery) and now a nice relaxing Saturday (and now I am jealous because your garden is in maintenance stage and mine needs serious weeding!). : )

>235 Berly: Hi Kim! Would it make you feel better to know I spent a bit of time today weeding the gravel that surrounds our barn and raised beds? It's annoying how many weeds have worked their way into that space.

33. The Fabric of Civilization ()

This was a very interesting account of the ways in which textiles have played a role in the development of civilization. Virginia Postrel looks at all stages of textiles from fiber to thread to cloth and dye, as well as the roles of traders and consumers, from ancient times to the present day. She concludes with innovators who are driving today’s textile industry forward in ways their forebears could never have imagined.

In every chapter of this book I found “aha moments,” and things that sent me off to the internet to learn more. I had never thought about the parallels between weaving and computer programming, but that explains a lot about why I find weaving patterns so interesting. Postrel unpacks a lot of scientific concepts in ways that make them easier for the layperson to understand. Although I admit some of these interested me more than others (I may have skimmed at times), I found this book fascinating on so many levels.

>236 lauralkeet: - My husband uses a mixture of 1/2 a container of salt dissolved in 1 gallon of vinegar and a squirt of dish soap for the weeds in out gravel which he sprays on them and they die.

>236 lauralkeet: At the farmer's market today there was a vendor with garden things including a rusty old shovel with letters cut into the blade reading "ring the bell if no answer pull weeds" -- You should get one to put by your front door :)

>238 dudes22: that sounds like a possible answer to my problem with a couple of ferns that insist on growing in cracks between the foundation of the house as a slab -- Maybe I can get rid of them with salt water.

>238 dudes22: That's interesting, Betty. Especially since it's non-chemical. Thank you!

>239 RebaRelishesReading: Ha! That's clever, Reba.

Good morning! It's another quiet day here, not much to report about yesterday other than making a significant dent in Where Shadows Dance. These St Cyr mysteries zip right along.

Not much planned for today either. I have a few little tasks to get done including a quick grocery run to pick up a couple items I missed on Friday. And we might pop into the hardware store for some paint. Woo hoo.

Wordle 393 5/6

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TAPER, DAILY, SASSY, FANCY, WACKY
Lots of unusual letters in this one. I admit that Chris and I compared notes once we'd both burned through 3 turns.

>238 dudes22: Oooh! Gonna try that weed kill recipe! Thanks.

Hoping to test negative tomorrow. No more real symptoms, just wiped. But I actually made it outside my bedroom today and spent time in the garden weeding. It was a beautiful day and it felt MARVELOUS!

>241 lauralkeet: Glad you collaborated. ; )

Happy Monday!

Yesterday was a quiet day. We ran a couple of errands in the afternoon and while we were out decided to try a new coffee shop. It's not completely new, it just changed owners and has a new name and new menu. The previous shop was entirely gluten free, which I understand on some level but that does affect the selection of baked goods. The selection is more to our liking now, the coffee is good, and they also have breakfast sandwiches. So we'll be back!

I'm working a library shift this morning, and have a few little tasks to get done this afternoon. I realized I'd booked an annual exam with my primary care doc but had kind of forgotten I'm also due for a gyn visit. Oh joy.

>242 Berly: Kim, I hope you test negative today -- you've been dealing with this round for a while. I'm glad the weeding was therapeutic. I may not get any garden time in today because it's supposed to rain this afternoon. We'll see.

Wordle 394 5/6

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POINT, SHORE, CLOUD, BLOCK, FLOCK
My scores have been worse since vacation, with 5 being the most frequent where 4s and 3s were neck-and-neck before vacation. WHYYYYY ?!!

Our last three were the same :) I got it in four because your third word is one I often use as my second (and did today).

I've used that as a second word before too, Reba. I should have done so today!

>238 dudes22: That sounds like the Carthage Solution. (I've used it too, and it works, but there are always more weed seeds lurking below the rocks.)

>243 lauralkeet: I get Wordle in 4 tries twice as many times as 3 or 5, which are tied. Today, I got it in 4. I got it in 2 twice, which is amazing since I use the same starting words every time: adieu and story, which contain every vowel possible, plus a few commonly used consonants. I must have mixed it up one of those times and used a different word.

Happy Monday to you too! Mine started out with the kitchen flooding from the rain. *sigh* Seems I just can't get a break from water problems.

>246 Storeetllr: Oh no Mary, not again! I'm so sorry to hear that. Details on your thread?

>247 lauralkeet: Not yet. It's the usual - whenever it rains more than a little, the well at the bottom of the short set of steps that leads to my kitchen fills up and flows into my kitchen. I'll write more about it on my thread.

Good morning y'all.

Yesterday was uneventful, but I did manage to make the doctor's appointment I mentioned. I had a devil of a time last year finding a primary care doc that was reasonably close to home and accepting new patients, so I was steeled for a hassle. I called a doc who came highly recommended in an area FB group, and although she's booked until September making the appointment was easy. I'm in no hurry so the timing is fine.

Today I expect to finish Where Shadows Dance -- just 10 pages to go! I am eagerly awaiting a hold notification from the library so if that comes in I'll pop over there to pick up The Thursday Murder Club and probably also the first Sean Duffy (The Cold, Cold Ground) because Katie recommended it so highly and I saw it on the shelves yesterday. I'm still waiting on other holds, like Young Mungo and the new Ruth Galloway.

Other than that, this is another day with a light agenda. I have a short call with some Fiber Guild folk later this morning. Chris is meeting a friend for lunch and has decided to ride his bike to/from the lunch spot so I am guaranteed a few hours of quiet time, which I plan to savor.

I am also savoring this:
Wordle 395 3/6

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MOUSE, BRAIN, ANGRY
Thrilled to finally get a 3, the first in a while.

Morning, Laura! Yay for a non-painful phone call/appointment making. My PCP does "well woman" exams, which is nice one-stop shopping, if you will :)

I'm all nervous you'll hate the Sean Duffy. IIRC, the first one is actually very good, too, whereas so many series start off a bit weakly and one has to warn people to give it a chance. I will say, some of the Northern Ireland political stuff/acronyms can be overwhelming until you sort of settle in.

I also Wordled in 3 today! *high five*

>250 katiekrug: Katie, when I signed on with our PCP last year I thought they did well woman exams. In fact, their website says they handle women's health, particularly preventive care. But when I requested a mammogram Rx last fall, they said they would rather I obtain this from a gyn as part of a regular exam. I was surprised they didn't recommend someone in their medical group, but whatever. It appears they don't do women's health at my PCP's location so if I can't have one-stop shopping I might as well look around. Hopefully the doc I've chosen will live up to the rave reviews I've seen online.

*high five back at ya* !!

Good morning everyone ...

I really enjoyed a quiet solo afternoon yesterday. I finished Where Shadows Dance and puttered around taking care of this and that. And just in time, my library hold for came in as expected The Thursday Murder Club and I also picked up The Cold, Cold Ground.

Inspired by Katie's recent efforts, I made a taco salad for dinner last night. It was perfect for a hot day, very tasty, and a kind of fun nostalgic throwback. We both vaguely recalled a certain frisson of excitement when taco salad was on the menu in our college dorm ... 40 years ago (yikes).

I requested The Thursday Murder Club on Rhian's recommendation, and it looks like it's going to be a barrel of fun. Author Richard Osman is an English comedian and television presenter and he was making me laugh from page one. The description sounds like it might be too cute and cozy:

In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet up once a week to investigate unsolved murders. But when a brutal killing takes place on their very doorstep, the Thursday Murder Club find themselves in the middle of their first live case. Elizabeth, Joyce, Ibrahim and Ron might be pushing eighty but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves. Can our unorthodox but brilliant gang catch the killer before it's too late?

But the humor is pretty snarky and so far it's a fun read.

Today is another no-agenda day. I need to get out in the garden to take care of some weeds and harvest some lettuce, and I should probably do that this morning before it gets too hot. And then I suspect it will be indoor time, keeping cool.

Wordle 396 4/6

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HOUND, CRATE, WRITE, TRITE

34. Where Shadows Dance ()

Sebastian St Cyr becomes involved in the mysterious death of a young diplomat believed to have died suddenly of natural causes … until evidence of stab wounds are found. The investigation heads down several trails, and of course more people turn up dead. Sebastian finds himself in conflict with bad guys, who pay a dear price for their behavior. I do find it interesting that Sebastian can knock off these ne’er-do-wells at will and suffer no consequences …

There is also a running story arc about Sebastian’s personal life involving both his ancestry and his romantic relationships. This storyline continues to develop in ways that only make sense if you’ve read the previous books, and would be huge spoilers if you haven’t. I thought this installment might take a surprise turn but ultimately found it pretty satisfying and can see ways it could make things interesting for him in the next book(s).

Glad the taco salad hit the spot!

>254 katiekrug: *snap* I just left a comment about it over on your thread!

>252 lauralkeet: We are reading the second in the Thursday Murder Club series for my next family bookclub. I definitely enjoyed the first one. Easy, fun summer reading.

Yum on taco salad!!

>256 Berly: The Thursday Murder Club is such a fun read, Kim! I'm about halfway through now -- that's one benefit of this infernal heat.

This morning I need to head out to pick up our CSA share, and then I'll do the menu planning/grocery list making for next week. I have a few guild-related phone calls to make so I might knock out a couple of those.

Tonight we're going out to dinner with another couple. The guy is a long-time friend who moved to this area about 20 years ago. Although we reconnected with him a few months ago, we haven't met his current partner (he and his wife divorced a while back). We're going to a restaurant offering "small plates," which always confuse me. How many plates do we need to order? Are we supposed to share? I'm sure we'll figure it out, and hopefully we'll have a nice time together too!

Wordle 397 3/6

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TAMES, HOARD, APHID

Not sure how I got 250+ posts behind, Laura, but hopefully I will keep up better with your next thread better than I did this one.

Have a thunderous Thursday!

Morning, Laura! Have fun tonight - I love small plates because you get to try more things :)

>252 lauralkeet: I enjoyed the Osman books. I too thought they might be too cosy, but once they get into their stride they are interesting puzzles and character studies I thought Laura. And definitely page turners.

>257 lauralkeet: Enjoy your social evening.

>258 alcottacre: No problem Stasia, you are always welcome!

>259 katiekrug: Thanks Katie -- more on our evening in a minute.

>260 Caroline_McElwee: Caro, I'm happy to see another recommendation for the Thursday Murder Club series. I see what you mean by "puzzles and character studies". It's different from other mystery series I'm following, and in a good way.

~~~~~~~~~~

We had a nice evening with Clark and his partner, Beth. It was fun getting to know her and the food was very good. We ordered a few "snack" plates to have with our drinks to start (a hot crab dip with crackers, shishito peppers, that kind of thing) and then added a few more plates when those ran out, finishing with some very tasty lamb meatballs in a cucumber raita. Everything was delicious. The only downside was no dessert! What?! But they've only been in business since March and the waiter said they are working on adding desserts to their menu. I will keep watch ...

Yesterday I made my guild-related phone calls and every one went to voicemail (okay, I don't pick up on numbers I don't recognize either), and so far no one has returned my call. Boo hiss!

Today I need to do the grocery shopping, and I have a short Zoom call in the afternoon. No plans tonight other than vegging out in front of the TV.

Wordle 398 3/6

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FEAST, MOIST, TRYST
My "eliminate as many vowels as possible" strategy paid off on this one.

>140 lauralkeet: Bummed that this is the only title in the series my library has, in any form. I'll check Amazon.

And how did I get so far behind? Your garden stories make me wish I had at least a place to put a pot of something, but for now, we will make do with the local Greenmarket. Oh, it's open today! But it's so hot out here. I may make a quick trip.

>262 ffortsa: Hi Judy! My library doesn't have the Teifi Valley Coroner series either. I snapped up all four of them at once in Kindle editions, because they were going for a song. Hopefully you will find the same.

>262 ffortsa: snagged it!

Excellent!

>261 lauralkeet: Osman has announced he is starting a new crime series, the first will be published after the fourth Thursday Club, so 2024:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-62238308

That's great news, Caro, even if it is some way off.

Good morning ...

Today's agenda includes a bit of light gardening work this morning, dealing with a few weeds here and there and pruning the tomatoes to let more light in to ripen the fruit. I also need to run to the hardware store and see if they have the types of light bulbs needed for our bathroom lighting, because we are expecting those fixtures to be installed next week.

Young Mungo is waiting for me at the library. I could wait until my Monday volunteer shift to pick it up, but I think I might be ready for it sooner. Yes, I have The Cold, Cold Ground on my nightstand but I think I'd rather follow The Thursday Murder Club with a different genre. I can renew the McKinty if I need to. So, I'll pop into the library and pick up my hold as well.

Last night at bedtime I came to a twist in The Thursday Murder Club which I decided to save for today, and I can't wait to find out where it's going.

Wordle 399 3/6

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POISE, IMAGE, MIDGE
My fourth 3 this week, yay!

Happy Saturday, Laura. I have a short list of new novels to get to in the coming months, and Young Mungo is on there. I will watch for your thoughts. I may get to it in August.

>269 msf59: Hi Mark! I just started Young Mungo last night, so watch this space.

Yesterday I did that bit of gardening I mentioned, and we had a lot of ripe tomatoes so I ended up making some tomato sauce as well as using some in a salad at dinner. I also picked a bunch of basil for the sauce and the salad, but we have so much that I need to do something to save it for future use. I've been looking into the best ways to preserve basil: drying it, freezing whole leaves, freezing chopped basil in ice cube trays, freezing pesto ... you get the idea. I might try a few of those methods.

I finished The Thursday Murder Club and it was an absolute delight. I recommended it to Kate and 10 minutes later she texted me with a photo of her holding the book. Apparently she just happened to be passing a bookstore. That's my girl.

Today is supposed to be very hot so I might go out to pick some basil but other than that I'm going to stay inside where it's cool. I should write a book review, and then it might be a good day to make a dent in Young Mungo.

Wordle 400 6/6

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CASTE, TIRED, RULER, HOVER, FOYER, POWER
I knew that my string of thrilling 3s had to come to an end, but this was just cruel.

>270 lauralkeet: All I can think of for using up basil is Caprese salad and Margherita pizza (the two main ways I usually consume basil).

Stay cool, Laura.

I'm a big pesto fan - so many uses! - so that would get my vote. If we are voting. Which we probably aren't because that would be weird...

>271 MickyFine:, >272 katiekrug: All good suggestions! Doesn't LT have some sort of poll feature? But maybe that would be weird. Also, we have a s**t ton of basil, so I can do all of those things and still freeze some for later.

35. The Thursday Murder Club ()

The Thursday Murder Club is made up of four residents of an English retirement community who meet weekly to discuss unsolved crimes. It’s all harmless fun, and when an actual murder occurs in the local village the club springs into action to “help” the police investigation.

If you’re thinking, “that sounds too cute and cosy for me,” then stop right there. The mystery is fast-paced, complex and well plotted, challenging the reader to solve a number of puzzles. The characters are equally complex, facing aging, death and loss in realistic and moving ways. Author Richard Osman channels his significant comedic talents into a novel that had me laughing out loud, but also brought tears to my eyes more than once.

I can’t wait to read the next books in the series.

If you’re thinking, “that sounds too cute and cosy for me,” then stop right there.
Perfect description, and the second book is as good, if not better, than the first.
Have you watched Pointless? The British game show that Osman helps host. My sister got me on it, YouTube is where I find it.

>275 raidergirl3: Thanks Elizabeth -- I'm glad to know the second book is a winner as well! I haven't watched Pointless (although I'm familiar with Osman from appearances on Have I Got News for You, also on YouTube). I was reading about him online and saw that he has decided to leave the show to focus full-time on writing! But I'd still like to check it out, because he's quite funny.

Hiya, Laura. I'm feeling pretty good today. Tests on successive days were flunked, so I'm covid-free. The heat's a challenge, of course. I hope to engage some book, ANY book, and get reading once again.

>274 lauralkeet: I have this one in the ROOTs pile — I should get to it sometime soon!

>277 weird_O: Welcome back, Bill. It's nice to see you making the rounds again.

>278 rosalita: Yes you should!! 😀

>277 weird_O: Glory be!

>132 lauralkeet: I'm more of a cat person, too, Laura, but I'm sure that writer-daughter Kate will like And a Dog Called Fig. If she is a writer, she'll like it. If she likes animals at all, she'll like it. If she enjoys a contemplative life, she'll like it. Well, anyway, I hope so.

I'm glad you liked The Thursday Murder Club. P and I are also fans. :-)

After a week of the grid (hooray!), I admit that I'm not catching up so much as starting where I left off. Just wanting to check in that we're still planning to read Delta Wedding in August. I have it in my plans! Looking forward to it.

>281 EBT1002: Ellen, you'll be glad to know that I ended up buying A Dog Called Fig. I "needed" to spend $ on Kindle to get a credit (they get me with this deal every time!).

About Delta Wedding ... I think we said September? I'll leave a comment on your thread too.

>274 lauralkeet: I have read the first two and enjoyed them both, Laura. I liked the second one slightly better than the first. I am glad to see that you enjoyed the first.

Have a marvelous Monday!

>283 alcottacre: Hi Stasia! All this talk about the second book is making me want to read it sooner rather than later. I wonder if I can sneak it in between some of my other library holds.

Happy Monday!

Yesterday was a quiet indoor day as expected. I made some nice progress with Young Mungo, which is not surprisingly pretty bleak. It's a difficult adjustment after The Thursday Murder Club, to say the least.

I also did my first "basil preservation experiment": blanch basil leaves, set them on paper towels to dry completely, then lay them out on a cookie sheet and put that in the freezer for a while. Store in the freezer container of your choice. The leaves turn black, but I haven't found a method that avoids that. I think these would be best when you want to use full leaves of basil but the appearance doesn't matter so much.

Today I might try freezing ground-up basil in ice cube trays. Time permitting I'll make pesto base (pesto, oil, garlic) and freeze that too. Dinner will include a caprese salad (made with fresh basil).

But first, I have a library shift this morning. We are also expecting the bathroom remodelers. Fingers crossed that this week they finish installing plumbing and electrical fixtures, because then we will be DONE.

Wordle 401 3/6

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SAFER, YIELD, ELOPE
A lucky guess saves the day!

Ah, the challenges of preserving basil! I took a class once and tried a few things. I should look for the materials to remind me. I think I froze the leaves with paper towels but without blanching them...

>274 lauralkeet: I just posted on Julia's thread that I nearly bought this one yesterday and now I'm regretting that I didn't... *sigh*

Hi Laura - I loved reading the latest newsletter. Great photos. I have a similar 3 mile morning walk habit and it's often the highlight of my day!

>285 lauralkeet: Ooh, all your preservation experiments sound fun, Laura. And I'm very envious about your caprese salad. I've been craving it for a few weeks and the Neapolitan pizza place where I often order it, was doing renovations the last time we tried to eat there. :(

>286 BLBera: I'm not sure blanching has that much of an effect, Beth. I might skip that step next time, too.

>287 scaifea: I just saw that, Amber. I'm sure you will have another opportunity!

>288 vivians: Thank you so much, Vivian!

>289 MickyFine: Hi Micky. Caprese relies so heavily on in-season ingredients. I tried making it once with supermarket tomatoes and basil -- fresh, but not in season. It just wasn't the same.

~~~~~~~~~~

ETA: I'm excited to report that a copy of The Locked Room with my name on it is in transit to my local library branch. Woo hoo!

>285 lauralkeet: I blanch the fresh basil, lay it on towels, roll up, put in a plastic bag and refrigerate overnight - up to two nights is fine. Then I let it soak in olive oil for 3 days, filter the oil through paper towels and use for cooking or pesto - the second thing I do with fresh basil, rinsed and dried overnight like the blanched basil, garlic, pine nuts salt & pepper. I don't put cheese in because the cheese-less pesto distributes more easily in the pasta and I add the cheese as a second step. The basil oil in the pesto ups the flavor a bit too, and is great for other uses where mild basil flavor works.
There was a chopped fresh basil with chopped tomatoes & garlic like a pico de gallo that is amazing served with garlic brushed crostini.

>282 lauralkeet: Oh, September is great for Delta Wedding! And I'm glad you "had to" buy a copy of And a Dog Called Fig. :-)

Ah basil! I usually put it in a small jar and layer it with a really nice oil. I also do the same but layer it with salt. If I use something from the second method, I just reduce the amount of salt I use in my cooking. Of course I also make pesto with it. I quite love basil :)

Happy Tuesday!

>292 EBT1002: Great, September it is! Thanks Ellen.

>291 quondame:, >293 figsfromthistle: Thanks for the basil preservation tips. I've come across articles on the web that mention preserving in oil or salt, but I didn't stop to read them at the time. I have enough basil to try several different methods and my inner science nerd loves a good experiment!

Good morning ...

Yesterday was a really lazy day, so lazy I didn't even get around to preserving basil. We had a short thunderstorm in the afternoon and I hadn't gone out to pick the basil yet, so that was that. Fortunately I'd picked some tomatoes and a bit of basil the day before (and put it in a vase of water), so I had enough for the pasta dish and caprese salad. The salad was very tasty. I used whole basil leaves for appearance but I think next time I'll cut them into ribbons, because a whole leaf was a bit much.

Anyway, enough basil talk. I spent a lot of time yesterday reading Young Mungo. Like Shuggie Bain, it's a bleak and difficult read and I'm probably not in the best mood for it, but Stuart is an excellent writer and I'm invested in the characters.

It might rain again today so I'm hoping to pop out into the garden before that. I'll tend to a few things here and there and harvest some lettuce, beets, maybe some carrots, and of course tomatoes & basil. I have a few phone calls to make, to people I called last week who haven't called me back (grrr). And then there will be reading ...

Wordle 402 3/6

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COURT, CHASE, CINCH
The first letter was a lucky guess, but it kept me from getting into that situation where you have most of the letters but there are still a myriad of possible solutions.

"that situation where you have most of the letters but there are still a myriad of possible solutions." You mean, like this?
Wordle 402 5/6

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>296 laytonwoman3rd: Exactly. That's my Worst Wordle Nightmare (TM) !

>297 lauralkeet: Takes ALL the fun out of the game.

Oh, caprese salads! How I miss them! (I can't have nightshade or my arthritis flames up unbearably.) Enjoy!

Today's Wordle was, for me, the opposite of today's word. I ended up in the "getting all the letters except the first and then trying to guess what that is" dilemma. I managed to get it in 6, but by then I was quite annoyed.

Took me 6 also - same reason.

>298 laytonwoman3rd:, >299 Storeetllr:, >300 dudes22: I feel your pain. Sure, it didn't happen to me today, but it's happened before and I still have bruises.

~~~~

This also seems a good time to mention that I plan to start a new thread on August 1. Because of my vacation, this thread wasn't ready to be continued at the beginning of July so I decided to make this a two-month thread. I like starting fresh at the beginning of the month.

Hi all,

Yesterday I enjoyed a bit of gardening time and then blitzed a bunch of basil to freeze in ice cube trays. I made my phone calls, and managed to talk to one person. The other sent me an email to say she's on vacation -- fair enough. We'll talk when she gets back. Yesterday's big news is that bathroom remodelers came and wrapped up all but a couple of small "punch list" items. Hurray!! Photos soon!

This morning I have a Guild meeting, and I am now "the person who picks up the key to the meeting venue" so I need to leave home a bit earlier than I'm used to. We meet in a former train station in town. The key is kept at the town hall, which is not near the train station but is on my way there. So ... I have just realized that I need to start getting ready sooner than I was thinking. First, breakfast.

Not sure what I'll get up to this afternoon, but I'm sure reading will be part of it. Young Mungo is building to a critical point in the central conflict and I'm bracing myself.

I haven't done the Wordle yet ...
ETA: Now I have:

Wordle 403 3/6

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TIMER, MOUNT, MOTTO
Pretty happy with this one!

Morning, Laura! Can't wait for the photos of your bathroom remodel :)

Huzzah for the bathroom remodel being (almost) completely done! So exciting.

I love the description of your fibre guild meeting space. It sounds delightful and like the beginning of a cozy mystery. LOL.

>303 katiekrug: Hiya Katie. I'll probably post the photos in a few days, on my new thread. There are a couple of things we need to do, like hanging the mirror, and maybe we'll get that done by then. Or maybe we won't, in which case I'll just post pics.

Today's Wordle is now posted in >302 lauralkeet:. I like to include Wordle in my daily agenda post, but I was short on time this morning. My brain seized up after my first turn so I thought okay, just do the agenda post and then start getting ready to go out. And then I had one of those in-the-shower aha moments: a good second word came to me, and although it wasn't the solution it was a huge step in the right direction. The moral of the story: don't be a slave to arbitrary deadlines!

This is probably more than anyone cares to know about my Wordling.

Oh my Gawd! She Wordles in the shower. Don't get your device wet. (Yep, free advice.)

>302 lauralkeet: I often use that as a second word.

Congratulations on having the bathroom remodel (almost) finished Looking forward to those photos

>306 weird_O: Excellent free advice, Bill, but not to worry. It was a mental exercise only.

>302 lauralkeet: I have a couple words similar to that one, Linda, that are part of my "vowel elimination strategy" if I come up short on the first word.

>308 RebaRelishesReading: Thanks Reba! We're happy with the results but I right now we're even happier that the project is done. We were pleased with the company doing the work, but after a while we tired of their company if you know what I mean.

Hello hello hello!

Yesterday was more productive than I expected. I had no plans for the afternoon, and was suddenly seized with a desire to clean the guest rooms which are on either side of the remodeled bathroom. One was a bit dusty in a normal sort of way but the other had been used as a staging area during the project. The crew was really good about sealing off the area during demolition and cleaning up after every shift, but dust was inevitable and there was a rather thick coating. I took care of the less-dusty room fairly quickly, and did most of the other room. It's really bad under the bed but I can't move the bed myself and that seemed to be a sign to take a break LOL. I'll tackle that area in the next day or two, but these floors will need a second pass. Anyway, it's progress towards getting things back in order.

Today is relatively agenda-free. I need to pick up our CSA share, something to cook for dinner (I'm thinking maybe salmon), and my library hold: The Locked Room, the latest Ruth Galloway, hurray! I am nearly finished with Young Mungo but oof, it's a tough read. Spending time with Ruth will be a welcome break.

Wordle 404 2/6

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SPORE, STOMP
* Happy Dance *
No shower-thinking required for Wordle today! This is my first 2 since my stats were reset. 2s are usually the result of pure luck but in this case my starting word was super helpful.

Oh! I forgot to mention an Amazon experience I had yesterday. A few weeks ago I received one of their promotions: spend $x on Kindle books, and receive a $5 credit. I'm a complete sucker for those deals, so I opted in, spent money, and received the credit.

Yesterday I decided to redeem the credit and immediately received another credit, this time for $6!

Has anyone else experienced this?

Enjoy your time with Ruth, Laura. How nice that your bathroom is almost finished. I can't wait to see the photos.

>310 lauralkeet: Excellent Wordling!

I got an ebook copy of The Locked Room yesterday, and I too am thrilled! I have a few other things to finish first, but then it’s all Elly (Griffiths).

Karen O

Mmmm, salmon! Sounds good. I've got a nice piece of salmon in the freezer; I may have to break down and actually cook something, if it's not too hot today. Anyway, enjoy!

Great deal on the Amazon book credit! I haven't had that offer, but I did get one from Audible today - spend 2 credits and get a $5 credit/4 credits and get a $10 credit. I'm considering what audiobooks to get.

Congrats on getting today's Wordle in 2! (Took me 3 tries, thanks to my second word: adieu, story, stomp).

>312 BLBera: Thanks Beth! I'm holding off on photos for a few days until I start a new thread. And maybe I can prod Chris to hang the mirror?

>313 klobrien2: Thanks Karen. There are a lot of us reading Ruth these days. I love that series.

>314 Storeetllr: Hey there Mary! That's a great second word, especially since your first word was a big fat zero (I hate it when that happens).

I'm flying through the new Ruth. It feels like it's reading faster than some of the other recent ones.

I'll be starting it tonight, Katie -- I just finished Young Mungo.

Hi Laura, I am catching up. Your trip in June looks absolutely wonderful. I am hoping to get back to Europe at Christmas... hoping Stelios who is going back to Cyprus and then to Italy to take Marina to school is not Europed out (or airplaned out, more like it).

>237 lauralkeet: oh wow, this looks terrific!

>318 AMQS: Hi Anne! Those flights are grueling, there's no doubt about it. I hope you get to visit too. And I'm glad I got you with a book bullet!

Have a fantastic Friday and a wonderful weekend, Laura! BTW - I continue to enjoy your blog despite never commenting. You guys have accomplished so much already!

Happy Friday everyone ...
(and thank you, Stasia!)

Yesterday I finished Young Mungo, which was really good but not for everyone, I think. My review is percolating. Now I'm happily immersed in the new Ruth Galloway.

Last night we watched a new HBO production, The Last Movie Stars, about Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward and the Hollywood era in which they lived and worked. The source material is presented in an unusual way, but it totally works. And there's plenty of footage to feast your eyes on if you know what I mean. This article in The Guardian describes the concept and how it was made: Who knew a six-hour documentary about a Hollywood marriage would be so electrifying?

Today should be pretty low-key. I'll do the grocery shopping later this morning. I might pick some tomatoes and make a batch of sauce. I might also make some pesto base. I have a bunch of shiny new freezer storage containers to put to use. Takeout for dinner tonight, probably pizza because that's our usual.

Wordle 405 3/6

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GREAT, DEIST, UPSET
Not too long ago I was whining about scoring 5s, but then had a run of 3s which now outnumber the 4s and 5s. Woo hoo.

Hi, Laura. Every time I visit your thread the picture of Alys in Wyeth pose at the top makes me smile, but I keep forgetting to mention it once I make my way down to the new posts. So here I am, mentioning it — so cute!

It took me 5 guesses to get Wordle today. I use the same starter word every day, and this week it has not served me well. Alas.

The Newman-Woodward doc on HBO may drive me to invest time into mastering the TV I got Judi. Maaaaybe. But maybe not. I got stuff to do, books to read. I'm so slow.

Anyway, you are cookin' along on lots of fronts. Was the area of France you vacationed in torched by the wildfires? I meant to ask before, but news of them whizzed of the news feed awfully quickly.

>322 rosalita: I'm glad you like the Alys photo, Julia. I've been trying to come up with something clever for my new thread but think that may have been a once-in-a-lifetime inspiration. Maybe I'll just re-use it!

>323 weird_O: Hi Bill, the area we visit was not affected by the wildfires. I'm happy about that for our friends' sake, but honestly the climate and terrain are so similar it absolutely could happen there. It's a scary thought.

Happy Saturday, Laura. Glad to hear you liked Young Mungo. I am sure it will work for me. I will request it. I watched the first ep of The Last Movie Stars and loved it. Newman is my favorite actor and this was a nice reminder, on how good of an actor Joanne Woodward was too. Looking forward to watching the rest.

Welcome to the weekend!

Yesterday I picked a bunch of tomatoes -- nearly 8lbs! -- and we made tomato sauce. We consulted a few recipes and then kind of did our own thing. Towards the end we decided it would benefit from use of a stick blender, only to remember that ours broke some time ago and we had not replaced it. This is a seldom-used tool for us, but when you need it, you need it. Amazon to the rescue. We put the sauce in the fridge, awaiting stick blender delivery today. And then, in a rare break from routine, we ordered pad thai for dinner, and we'll have what's left of it for lunch.

Today I'm going to pick some carrots and make carrot muffins. I haven't gotten around to making pesto base yet, but want to start using our carrots so they don't go to waste. Besides the muffins, I have a couple of full-meal salads to try this week.

>325 msf59: Mark, I'm glad you liked The Last Movie Stars. We watched ep 2 last night. And I'm also glad you're going to try Young Mungo. It's difficult reading, but also a book I think you'll appreciate. Review coming up next.

Wordle 406 5/6

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SPEAR, MOUNT, CLUCK, FLUID, BLUFF
I jinxed myself yesterday, crowing about my 3s.

36. Young Mungo ()

In the opening pages of this book, 15-year-old Mungo Hamilton is on a bus with two men who are taking him on a fishing trip. This is no fun-filled holiday; it’s immediately clear the expedition is doomed from the start. Why is Mungo there? Who are these men? Before this can be explained, we are taken to a point in time six months earlier.

Mungo is the youngest child of three children. His mother, Maureen, is only in her mid-30s but alcoholism and poverty have taken away any hope of a stable and happy life. Mungo’s older brother Hamish lives with his girlfriend and their baby daughter, and is the leader of a prominent gang of Protestant youths. Mungo’s sister Jodie is close to finishing secondary school and hopes to attend university. She worries about where that would leave Mungo, since Maureen is prone to disappearing for days on end. Mungo is a loner with several emotional and mental health issues, and is devoted to his mother despite her neglect. One day Mungo meets James, a Catholic boy his age who, like Mungo, is often left on his own. As their friendship develops into something more, they attract unwanted attention, both for daring to love another boy, and for crossing religious lines.

The narrative moves back and forth between the fishing trip, which just gets more horrific, and Mungo’s daily life on the housing estate, which grows increasingly violent. While well-written, this makes for very difficult reading. The novel ends with a shred of hope for Mungo, but at significant cost.

It sure was quiet here yesterday. But now I have a shiny new thread! Follow the continuation thingy ...