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Crazymamie's 75 in 2012 (Page 5)
This is a continuation of the topic Crazymamie's 75 in 2012 (Page 4).
This topic was continued by Crazymamie's 75 in 2012 (Page 6).
75 Books Challenge for 2012
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Fish are jumpin' and the cotton is high...
Currently Reading
June Possibilities:
Group Reads
River of Smoke by Amitav Ghosh (#8/shared read)
TIOLI Candidates
The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan (#6)
Insurgent by Veronica Roth (#7/shared read)
The Narrows by Michael Connelly (#8)
No Longer At Ease by Chinua Achebe (#13)
The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan (#13)
The Little Sister by Raymond Chandler - This book is MIA, I think my nephew has it...
Hey, Wait a Minute...This Wasn't on the List
Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri (#23)
Simmering on the Back Burner - Books Begun but not Yet Done
Cup of Gold - John Steinbeck (#23)
Lady Sings the Blues - Billie Holiday
David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
1. The Sense of an Ending - Julian Barnes (4 stars)
2. Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Laini Taylor (4 stars)
3. 11/22/63 - Stephen King (5 stars)
4. A Drink Before the War - Dennis Lehane (4 stars)
5. Ender's Game - Orson Scott Card (4 stars)
6. Cannery Row - John Steinbeck (4.5 stars)
7. The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien (5 stars)
8. The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway (audiobook) (4 stars)
9. The Woman in Black - Susan Hill (4.5 stars)
10. City of Bones - Michael Connelly (4 stars)
11. Behind the Beautiful Forevers - Katherine Boo (4.5 stars)
12. Mockingbird - Kathryn Erskine (5 stars)
13. The Wayward Bus - John Steinbeck (4 stars)
14. Pronto - Elmore Leonard (4 stars)
15. The Snow Child - Eowyn Ivey (4 stars)
16. Riding the Rap - Elmore Leonard (3.5 stars)
17. The Two Towers - J. R. R. Tolkien (5 stars)
18. Once There was a War - John Steinbeck (4.5 stars)
19. The Coroner's Lunch - Colin Cotterill (4 stars)
20. Below Stairs - Margaret Powell (3.5 stars)
21. 84, Charing Cross Road - Helene Hanff (5 stars)
22. Blood Red Road - Moira Young (4 stars)
23. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde (3.5 stars)
24. Thirty-Three Teeth - Colin Cotterill (4 stars)
25. King Soloman's Mines - Henry Rider Haggard (4 stars)
26. Still Life - Louise Penny (4 stars)
27. By the Iowa Sea - Joe Blair (4 stars)
28. A Share in Death - Deborah Crombie (3.5 stars)
29. A Severed Head - Iris Murdoch (4 stars)
30. The Return of the King - J. R. R. Tolkien (5 stars)
31. The Winter of Our Discontent - John Steinbeck (4 stars)
32. Don't Look Back - Karin Fossum (3.5 stars)
33. I Capture the Castle - Dodie Smith (4.25 stars)
34. Disco for the Departed - Colin Cotterill (3.5 stars)
35. The Moon is Down - John Steinbeck (4 stars)
36. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley (audiobook) (4 stars)
37. Things Fall Apart - Chinua Achebe (4.5 stars)
38. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Joan Aiken (4 stars)
39. Blacklands - Belinda Bauer (4 stars)
40. Chess Story - Stefan Zweig (4.5 stars)
41. Sea of Poppies - Amitav Ghosh (4.25 stars)
42. Julie of the Wolves - Jean Craighead George (3.5 stars)
43. All Shall Be Well - Deborah Crombie (4 stars)
44. The Fault in Our Stars - John Green (4.5 stars)
45. Rules - Cynthia Lord (4 stars)
46. Darkness, Take My Hand - Dennis Lehane (4 stars)
47. The Shape of Water - Andrea Camilleri (4 stars)
48. Cinder - Melissa Meyer (4 stars)
49. Binocular Vision - Edith Pearlman (4.5 stars)
50. The Wrestling Match - Buchi Emecheta (2.5 stars)
51. The Redeemer - Jo Nesbo (4.5 stars)
52. Casino Royale - Ian Fleming (3.5 stars)
53. If Death Ever Slept - Rex Stout (4 stars)
54. Persuasion - Jane Austen (4.5 stars)
55. Lost Light - Michael Connelly (4 stars)
56. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson (4.5 stars)
57. In the Heat of the Night by John Ball (4 stars)
58. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (4.5 stars)
59. The Time Machine by H. G. Wells (4 stars)
60. Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (5 stars)
61. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie (4 stars)
62. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (4.5 stars)
63. Anarchy and Old Dogs by Colin Cotterill (4.5 stars)
64. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (4 stars)
An idea stolen from Heather (souloftherose), who borrowed it from Liz (lyzard): ongoing series that I am actively reading. This doesn't include series where I have the first book in my TBR pile (i.e. series I haven't started reading yet aren't included). An asterisk indicates a series where I already have a copy of the next book.
*African Trilogy by Chinua Achebe: Next Up: No Longer at Ease (2/3)
*Charley Davidson by Darynda Jones: Next Up: Third Grave Dead Ahead (3/3)
Chief Inspector Armand Gamache by Louise Penny: Next Up: A Fatal Grace (2/8)
*Commissario Montalbano by Andrea Camilleri: Next Up: The Terra- Cotta Dog (2/14)
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor: Next Up: Days of Blood and Starlight (2/3)
*Divergent by Veronica Roth: Next Up: Insurgent (2/3)
*Dr. Siri Paiboun by Colin Cotterill: Next up: Curse of the Pogo Stick (5/8)
Duncan Kincaid/ Gemma James by Deborah Crombie:Next Up: Leave the Grass Green (3/14)
Dust Lands by Moira Young: Next Up: Rebel Heart (2/3)
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan: Next Up: The Dead tossed Waves (2/3)
*Harry Bosch by Michael Connelly: Next Up: The Narrows (10/18)
*Harry Hole by Jo Nesbo: Next Up: The Snowman (7/9)
*The Ibis Trilogy by Amitav Ghosh: Next Up: River of Smoke (2/3)
*Inspector Sejer by Karin Fossum: Next Up: He Who Fears the Wolf (2/9)
*James Bond by Ian Fleming: Next Up: Live and Let Die (2/14)
*Kenzie and Gennaro by Dennis Lehane: Next Up: Sacred (3/6)
*Lady Julia Gray by Deanna Raybourn: Next Up: The Dark Enquiry (5/5)
*Matched by Ally Condie: Next Up: Crossed (2/3)
*Millenium Trilogy by Steig Larrson: Next Up: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest (3/3)
*Philip Marlowe by Raymond Chandler: Next Up: The Little Sister (5/8)
Raylan Givens by Elmore Leonard: Next Up: Raylan (3/3)
*Sookie Stackhouse by Charlaine Harris: Next Up: Dead in the Family (9/12)
Temperance Brennan by Kathy Reichs: Next Up: Grave Secrets (5/15)
Vish Puri by Tarquin Hall: Next Up: The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing (2/3)
*Wine Country Mysteries by Ellen Crosby: Next Up: The Chardonnay Charade (2/6)
Okay, I am jumping on the list wagon, just for fun. I really enjoyed reading through everyone's lists this past week, and especially had fun with those who broke the decades into category lists. I will make lists, following the lead of Judy and Joe, for YA, Mystery/Crime/Thriller, and Everything Else (not doing a separate for non-fiction, as I need to read more in this area). My top tens are just a reflection of my own personal thoughts - the books I enjoyed most. They are not in any particular order.
Top Ten Books of the 21st Century (Um...for now)
* The Lotus Eaters by Tatjana Soli (2010)
* The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2009)
* Binocular Vision by Edith Pearlman (2011)
* Q & A by Vikas Swarup (2005)
* The Kite Runner by Kkhaled Hosseini (2003)
* 11/22/63 by Stephen King (2008)
* The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (2011)
* Sea of Poppies by Amitav Ghosh (2008)
* The Constant Gardener by John le Carre (2001)
* Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen (2007)
* Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese (2009)
I would give honorable mention to:
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Top Ten YA Books for the 21st Century
* The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt (2007)
* Divergent by Veronica Roth (2011)
* The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (2008)
* Harry Potter books 4-7 by J. K. Rowling (2000-2007)
* The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012)
* The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
* When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (2009)
* Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine (2010)
* Moon Over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (2010)
* City of Bones by Cassandra Clare (2007)
I would give honorable mention to:
Rules by Cynthia Lord
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Mister Monday by Garth Nix
Down the Rabbit Hole by Peter Abrahams
Top Ten Mystery/Thriller Books of the 21st Century
* The Devil's Star by Jo Nesbo - the 1st book in the series is The Redbreast
* The Lincoln Lawyer by Michael Connelly
* Blacklands by Belinda Bauer
* Trunk Music by Michael Connelly - the 1st book in the series is The Black Echo
* The Coroner's Lunch by Colin Cotterill
* The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
* Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
* Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn - the 1st book in the series is Silent in the Grave
* The Spies of Warsaw by Alan Furst - the 1st book in the series is Night Soldiers, but you don't have to read these in order
* The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
Okay, mine then. :-)
I can't believe I'm early for once. Happy new thread!
And I'm sure we'll get the 'SOLD' in this thread #5!
Edit: what a cute picture! Is it the first fishing trip?
Welcome Nathalie, and thanks for the good thoughts! Not the first fishing trip - my husband's parents have two lots of land up on Boy Lake in Minnesota. It used to have an old log cabin on it, but sadly that burned down a few years ago. My husband's family went up there for the summer every year as he was growing up (mother was a school teacher, dad was a farmer). When we got married, we would spend a week or so up there in the summer - Craig's folks would hold court and people would come and go throughout the summer. Our kids have been up there almost every summer of their existence. Craig's dad died of cancer a few years ago, and his mother never spends the whole summer up there anymore, but Craig still takes the kids that want to go up (um..our Abby is not much of a camper and neither am I) and they rough it for a week or so. That's Daniel and Craig's dad in the photo - Daniel is now 17, so it was quite a few summers ago.
Kath - You always make me smile!
Lucy - I'm impressed with you, too! Glad you like the photo.
I like your series list, Mamie. I'm reading many of the same, and at Caro's suggestion, I'm going to try a new "in Death" mystery series by J.D. Robb/Nora Roberts.
Hi Mamie! Also hoping for a 'SOLD' this thread :-)
I love the photo but I really am not a camper either. Holidays don't have to be anywhere hot or exotic but I like a comfy bed, an indoor bathroom and as little cooking as possible.
Hi Joe - I have read quite a few Nora Roberts books, but have not read any that she has written as J. D. Robb. I should try one of those.
Hi Heather - Amen, sister! Indoor plumbing is a wonderful thing. I used to go up with them every year until the cabin burned down - even with the cabin there was no indoor plumbing, no electricity, pretty much just shelter and an outhouse. But there was a gas stove. Now they really rough it, and at first all four kids went each year with Craig and I stayed home with the poodles. It was so luxurious having the house all to myself with no responsibilities other than the dogs - ah, bliss! But I was always ready for them to come home again. The past two years, Abby has also elected to stay home, and we have had great adventures together.
Book #60: Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury
Somehow Ray Bradbury managed to capture the essence of childhood summers in the pages of this book. Beautifully written and magically rendered, this book belongs firmly on your "keeper" shelf besides the likes of The Color Purple and To Kill a Mockingbird. Twelve year old Douglas Spaulding and his ten year old brother Tom are about to experience the summer of 1928, and by merely opening the pages of this book, you can go along for the ride and also be transported back into your own childhood summers. No plot you say? Does life have no plot? This book is not about the climax and the denouement, it's about the ebb and flow; it's about how good melting ice cream tastes on a hot summer night and how bright the lights of fireflies look with only the stars to lessen the darkness. It's about how big a small town seems when you are twelve and about how magic is a part of everyday life if only you are willing to believe in it.
Somewhere, a book once said, all the talk that ever talked, all the songs ever sung, still lived, had vibrated way out in space and if you could travel to Far Centauri you could hear George Washington talking in his sleep or Caesar surprised at the knife in his back. So much for sounds. What about light then? All things, once seen, they didn't just die, that couldn't be. It must be then that somewhere, searching the world, perhaps in the dripping multi boxed honeycombs where light was an amber sap stored by pollen-fired bees, or in the third thousand lenses of the noon dragonfly's gummed skull you might find all the colors and sights of the world in any one year. Or pour one single drop of this dandelion wine beneath a microscope and perhaps the entire world of July Fourth would firework out in Vesuvius showers. This he would have to believe.
Checking in on your new thread, Mamie. I'm swamped, swamped, swamped at work so I don't have much time to "play" on LT (I know, after graduation things are supposed to lighten up, right?)...... I look forward to reading Dandelion Wine --- your review is wonderful. Comparing it to To Kill a Mockingbird and The Color Purple --- well, that is high praise indeed!
Thanks, Joe.
Ellen - I saw you streaking through Joe's place earlier! Sorry you are so swamped - do you get part of the summer off, or do you pretty much work right through it? Dandelion Wine works its own kind of magic, or at least it did for me, and left me feeling, as did To Kill a Mockingbird and The Color Purple, like it would be one of those books that I would want to pick up over and over again through the years. Not all books feel like that. Some books are are truly great and worthy of a five star rating, but are not books that you will pick up and reread every few years. The sentences are beautifully crafted and make you think about your own life as well as the lives contained within the story itself. I just loved the journey that it took me on.
Hi Mamie, just checking into your great new thread. Love your lists, you have given me a few to look into. Great review of Dandelion Wine I am looking forward to getting the time to read it.
BTW I love your picture at the top, it's captured the essence of summer!
Judy! Thank you for all the kind words. That picture definitely says "summer" to me!
Lovely photo - but I think I like the untamed outdoors more in theory than in practice as well!
Going back to your question on your last thread J very much likes fantasy, dystopian fiction, some adventure. He's gone through most of the normal things: Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, Percy Jackson, Hunger Games, Alex Ryder, anything by Philip Reeve. At his age (12) much of the fiction that he might otherwise enjoy is starting to have more about relationships in it, which he just isn't interested in as yet. Any suggestions gratefully received.
I like the look of Dandelion Wine by the way. I hadn't heard of this prior to Ray Bradbury's death. I've added this to my wishlist.
Wow, wish I could write reviews like that -- you nailed it!!
wow there are some good lists here! I like the list of series, I'm afraid to try and figure out mine as it seems like I have a lot!
Mamie- Congrats on Thread 5! Not bad for a newbie! The photo at the top is priceless. I also love to fish, (I find less and less time to do it these days) but Boy Lake sounds heavenly. Is Craig a big fisherman?
Terrific review of Dandelion Wine. I'm closing in on the halfway point and enjoying it very much. I can't believe a week ago, I had never even heard of it.
Mamie - lovely well organised listing of books to start your new thread.
Thoroughly enjoyed your review of Dandelion Wine just as I have enjoyed the book itself!
You are well over 1000 posts already and climbing the posting league prodigiously. Already inside the top 20 and that with only 200 posts at the beginning of April.
Rhian - I will put my thinking cap on because I am sure that I can come up with some suggestions. I LOVE the untamed outdoors...um..in photographs! And I had never heard of Dandelion Wine either until it was chosen for the group read to honor Ray Bradbury - what a gem I had been missing all these years!
Reba - Thanks so much - what lovely praise!
Chelle - I think your series list would be at least three times as long as mine! But it would be so much fun to see!!
Mark - Thank you, kind sir! Craig is not a big fisherman - he would rather go out in the boat and read! But he will fish a lot up in Minnesota because Rae, our oldest is CRAZY about fishing. She must get it from her Grammie (Craig's mom), who is also quite the fisherwoman. Daniel also likes to fish, but he is not obsessed with it like Rae. It is really gorgeous up there - and the night sky is not to be missed.
Cee - Bless your heart, dear friend! How lovely of you to remember.
Paul - Thank you - I know how you love a good list! Had you read Dandelion Wine before? The posting stuff is mind boggling - who da thunk it?!
Book #61: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
During the Cultural Revolution in China, two teenage boys whose parents have been labelled "enemies of the people" are sent to a village on the mountain called the Phoenix of the Sky as part of Mao Zedong's re-education campaign. These boys are not brothers, but they are friends.
"We were not the first to bemused as guinea pigs in this grand human experiment, nor would we be the last. It was in early 1971 that we arrived at that village in a lost corner of the mountains, and that I played the violin for the headman. Compared with others we were not too badly off. Millions of young people had gone on before us, and millions would follow. But there was a certain irony about our situation, as neither Luo or I were high school graduates. We had not enjoyed the privilege of studying at an institution for advanced education. When we were sent off to the mountains as young intellectuals we had only had the statutory three years of lower middle school"
However, although these boys are not highly educated, they are in fact clever, and even better than that, they are talented at thinking on their feet. The isolation of the village works in their favor as they discover that a talent that seems useless for a work camp can, in fact, get them out of work.
"The only thing Luo was really good at was telling stories. A pleasing talent to be sure, but a marginal one, with little future in it. Modern man has moved beyond the age of the Thousand-and-One-Nights, and modern societies everywhere, whether socialist or capitalist, have done away with the old storytellers - more's the pity. The only man who truly appreciated his gift, to the point of rewarding him generously, was the headman of our village, the last of the lordly devotees of narrative eloquence. Phoenix mountain was so remote from civilization that most of the inhabitants had never had the opportunity of seeing a film, let alone visit a cinema."
The closest city is the small town of Yong Jing, which is two days travel away on foot. It is here that the headman decides to send the two boys so that they can watch the latest movie and then come back and perform it for the village. The catch is that the reenactment has to be the exact same length as the actual movie. It is in Yong Jing that the two boys meet "the Little Seamstress for the first time. She is the beautiful but uncultured daughter of the only tailor on the mountain. When the two boys discover a hidden suitcase in the room of a friend who has also been sent for re-education to a nearby village, they eventually learn that the suitcase contains treasure beyond price - banned books.
Now the stage is set for a story that is utterly delightful, much like Animal Farm or City of Thieves, there is more to this story than meets the eye. Deceptively short at just 184 pages, this book is full of symbolism and hidden meanings. It's a book about the love of books and of stories, but pay careful attention because the books that they are reading also play a role in the plot - if you are not familiar with the stories that are mentioned, it is worth your time and effort to dig a little deeper and look them up.
"Did Four-Eyes stop to think about which book he would lend us? Or was it a random choice? Perhaps he picked it simply because, of all the treasures in his precious suitcase, it was the thinnest book, and the most decrepit. Did he have ulterior motives which we could not fathom? Whatever his reasons, his choice was to have a profound effect on ours lives. The slim little volume was entitled Ursule Miriuët. Luo started reading the book the very same night that Four-Eyes lent it to us, and reached the end at dawn, when he put out the oil lamp and passed the book to me. I stayed in bed until nightfall, without food, completely wrapped up in the French story of love and miracles. Picture, if you will, a boy of nineteen, still slumbering in the limbo of adolescence, having heard nothing but revolutionary blather about patriotism. Communism, ideology and propaganda all his life, falling headlong into a story of awakening desire, passion, impulsive action, love, of all the subjects that had, until then, been hidden from me."
Is this Kismet or what? I just picked up Balzac yesterday. I need to move it way up.
My daughter also loves to fish, more than my son, who's actually showing more interest lately. I love the Northwoods!
Mark - That's so funny! It was one of the books that I picked out for my birthday, and I opened it up today to read the first few pages to get a feel for it...didn't put it back down until I finished the last page. It's delightful! Craig loves the Northwoods, too, and he LOVES to camp - so do our oldest two kids. Our son likes it better up there with no cabin because they get to use tents and sleeping bags! He saved up his money and has purchased his own equipment!! And I love to hear all the stories when they come back home.
Oh, lots going on here, Mamie!
Lovely reviews of Dandelion Wine and the Balzac book, both of which sound quite wonderful. I was kind of intending to join in with the Dandelion Wine read over the weekend, having established there was a copy at the city library but the library was closed by the time I got to it after work on Friday.
I love your lists. This is actually the first thread I've seen with lists according to genre but think it's a great idea and have perused your YA list with particular interest!
Rhian - I remember my J who is now 14, going through an in-betweeny stage where he'd read (or rejected) all the obvious 8-12 books but wasn't quite ready for YA, when he was 12. One series which filled the gap was The Broken Sky books by Chris Wooding. I think they were originally written as nine thin novels but are now published as a trilogy. An absolute favourite series but a common one which I suspect your son's already read, was the Wolf Brother series by Michelle Paver. Once J was thirteen, he loved the Malorie Blackman Noughts and Crosses books but relationships feature quite strongly in them!
I also love the idea of camping more than the reality! Wonderful photo!
#28 I really like the look of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress - I'd seen it mentioned a couple of times but I had no idea what it was about.
#31 Dee, The Broken Sky books that you mention look promising. He has read Wolf Brother but for some reason it didn't grab him as much as a lot of children - he hasn't expressed any burning desire to read the next one. I think Noughts and Crosses will have to wait a year or so - he just doesn't get the whole relationship thing at the moment although I know that other boys his age do.
Great review in 28, Mamie.
I work a 12-month contract and this summer, in particular, I will be working a lot. I long for summers off but my ambition and professional path have not taken me in that direction.....
I love Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, Mamie! It's so great to see a good review of it. Thumb from me. Isnt' that one of the best covers ever?
Great to see that you have had two good reads in a row !
I am reading a fluffy thing I started yesterday and have one or two on the short stack.
We will see what tomorrow brings. I am too busy today to have made much progress with anything.
Dee - Hello! Thank you for the kind words. That's too bad about missing getting the book from the library - definitely one you should get to sometime. Reading it as we head into summer was so perfect because you are already thinking about all those things that only happen in the summertime.
Rhian - Hope you get to read Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress -for such a little book, it has so much depth.
Okay, so thinking about books your son might enjoy, I was thinking back to what my son (now 17) read at that age and also about what my youngest daughter likes to read (she's 13) - she likes the kids of things you son does. She says, "I want adventure without all the drama of the mushiness!" So, here are my suggestions:
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
The Inheritance Cycle - the first one is Eragon
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians - this is the first in a series that fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson wrote for kids, and Birdy read every one of these
The Alchemyst - this is the first book on a series by Michael Scott, there are six books in the series so far and two novellas
Leviathan - the first in a trilogy by Scott Westerfield
I will keep my thinking cap on and drop you a note if I think of any more - which I am sure I will.
Ellen - Thank you. And bummer for no summer! I thought perhaps that was the case.
Joe - thanks! I love the cover, but was sad to learn that in the book her shoes are pink and made of canvas...deep sigh...
Kath - Sorry you are so busy. Hoping for things to slow down for you.
Beautiful thread, Mamie. Wonderful photo, great lists, thought-provoking reviews . . .
I'm loving Dandelion Wine.
Mamie - any update on the house sale? (fingers and toes crossed in the interim)
Trying to keep up is throwing me into despair! LOL
I am making burgers for dinner. In case you care :)
I have not yet read a word.. garden and so on keeping my attention.
It was beautifully cool this morning, so I wanted to put up a couple of
trellises. The better to train the Glories, don't ya know :) The lattice is
up on the front of the house, so that is sorted... and as usual the one end
of my fornt porch is less welcoming than the other to the plants. sigh. Do.
Not. Get. Anyway.. Luck with the showing :))))
Thank you, Terri! Glad you are enjoying DW - and the beginning of summer is such a perfect time to read it.
Paul - Always good to see you here! The house - okay, here's the latest scoop.
Those people who have looked at the house twice and loved it still really want it but their broker advised them to close the deal on their own house first - I'm actually happy about that because I would hate for them to buy our house and then have the deal on their house fall through. They are hoping to have everything locked up on that by the end of June - remember, they sold their house themselves, so no realtor to keep things moving smoothly. They are hoping that our house doesn't sell in the meantime.
Other prospective buyers - we have had three others that have said possible offer. These are people just starting to look, so our house is in their realm of candidates - we made the first cut, in other words. Things here have been slow lately, although it was nice to have a few days to catch our breath. We have a showing this afternoon - when the realty company called to confirm the appointment, I did ask if we had fallen off the radar - no showings for 5 days. She said no, that there had hardly been any showings in the last five days because of the key box exchange. I had forgotten about this - apparently they are changing over to a new system of key boxes (those locked boxes that hang on your front door so that realtors showing the house can just show up at the property, punch in the code, and retrieve the key to the front door). Anyway, last Thursday the realtor took the box off of our door to turn it in - the new ones won't be given out until later this week, and there is some kind of training they have to do first in order to be able to use the new boxes. So, the lady from the office told me that most realtors don't want to have to go to the realty office first to sign out the keys for the houses that they are showing and then have to sign them back in when the are done - the result: almost no showings in the last five days!! Too funny!!
Things sound pretty positive, Mamie - despite those realtors with their funny ways with the keys ;)
Oh Kath, don't despair! I am interested in what you are doing - burgers? That's a great idea, maybe I'll copy cat that. I do not have a green thumb - usually Craig keeps the outside of the house and deck area looking so beautiful with different plants coming up at different times, and he loves to just putter out there. I think it relaxes him. SO, he is in Georgia with no garden to putter in, and I am in Indiana desperately trying not to kill his lovely flowers!
Thanks, Dee! I sure hope so - the key thing cracked me up, too!
Dan cuts the grass.. he trims the trees ( most times, sometimes I do that )
He never pulls a weed or does anything else with any of the flowers or anything I ask for help with.
Bless him. I bought some new A-1 sauce.. peppercorn. I will use that when mixing my burgers.. He does put up the lattice each spring, because he insists on taking it down each winter. I keep the Glories growing, and failed at the Lily of the Valley I spent so much money and time trying to get started.
:( oh well..
Sounds like things are moving in the right direction towards a sale. Will continue to wish you all the best and I'm sure it will go through for you soon.
Guess realtors only want to make money if it's easy -- I mean really!!
I suppose it's like writer a 'real' letter after the ease of email......
#36 Thanks for all the recommendations. There look to be some good ones here, especially Leviathan and The Alchemyst. He's read The Hobbit but I think he finds the idea of The Lord of the Rings quite daunting. I've pointed out that it's not much longer than the later Harry Potters, which he's read all of, but I suppose they built up to that length of book gradually.
Kath - If Craig didn't do the flowers we would have none - truly! I love them, but they must sense my fear because I can kill almost anything; luckily, I am much better with children! Didn't make burgers because the kids said could we have individual meatloaves instead...um...YEAH - even easier. Except, now I am wanting a burger!!
Paul, Reba and Lucy - These are crazy times we live in. We are so spoilt by instant gratification that we shudder when we have to do things the old way, myself included. It made me feel better at least that it wasn't just our house that wasn't showing. I was picturing the realtor showing up and putting the sign back in her car, and giving me the bit about well, at least we tried, maybe next year.
Rhian - Glad you found something that might be of use. Has he thought about reading The Lord of the Rings as three separate books and taking a break in between to read something else? That's how my son read them the first time.
Mamie- Thanks for the house-selling update! At least there are positive indicators. Fingers still firmly crossed. I finished and loved Dandelion Wine. Another LT winner. A week ago, I had not even heard of it.
Oh my Mamie, those lists are great, mostly because I see so many favorites. And speaking of favorites, I loved Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress when I read it many years ago. Greta review BTW. I hope something pops with the house soon. Just remember the old saying: Patience is a virtue, possess it if you can, found seldom in a woman, and never in a man.
Mark -Just one more day, right? Then off to beautiful Indiana? Or do you start tomorrow? I had not heard of DW before either - what a great find!
Bonnie - I am laughing because I had never heard that expression in its entirety! Well said!! Thank you for the kind words. My sister used to tell me that if you ask for patience, you are given struggles that you might develop it. SO now I try tone very careful about what I ask for!!
Fingers still crossed for you, Mamie. I've been quite absent the past two days - sent the students home last week and this week has been *crazy busy*!!! Meetings, meetings, meetings. But I have jury duty next Tuesday and I am hoping that will translate into a full day of reading while I wait for my name to be called.......
Thanks, Ellen, and I am honored that you took time to post here when you are in such a busy schedule. I am laughing that you are looking forward to jury duty! I served on a jury just last Spring, and while I am thankful that we live in a Democracy and that we are entitled to a jury by our peers, my jury duty was no fun - child molestation and intimidation. Here's hoping that if you are chosen to serve, you get something less haunting. And you could very well spend a full day reading just waiting for your name to be called; it is definitely a lengthy process.
Okay, so I finished reading Wolf Hall, which was well worth the initial effort of figuring out the pronoun usage. I gave it 4.5 stars, and will definitely read the next book. I am too tired to gather my thoughts into coherent sentences tonight, but I will try to post my review tomorrow. I also read H.G. Wells The Time Machine last weekend and then completely forgot to post a review for it, so I will try to get to that as well. Hope everyone had a good day - tomorrow is Thursday already, how is this week going by so fast? See you tomorrow!
Looks like we agree on Wolf Hall, Mamie. I gave it 4.5 as well.I loved the story, but never grew entirely comfortable with the style. I will also be picking up the second one in time.
And another BB for me with the "Balzac". Paul already hit me with the Dandelion Wine BB on his thread.
I rated WH with 4.5 as well and will certainly do so again after my reread. It's my top rating for a book I loved but that wasn't 'life-changing'. The Time Machine is another book I am planning to reread, so I am looking forward to your review.
My fingers will stay crossed - I am convinced that this here will be the 'SOLD' thread, although once again it moves very quickly with > 50 posts in less than 3 days.
Judy - that's exactly it - excellent story, but slightly off-putting to have to reread certain sections to figure out who "he" referred to. I'm really surprised that the editor didn't do a better job with it because I could see some people putting it down part way through because they thought it was too much work and too confusing.
Nathalie - Excellent. Two great reads in your future. How you think about ratings is so similar to how I think - I give 4.5 stars to a book that I loved but that I didn't fall IN love with. 5 stars for me means I will probably read it again sometime because it was such a great experience. I will be so happy if we can sell the house before the summer is through - that is my goal. If we sell it sooner than that, then WahHoo, extra bonus.
Mark - I hope you have a fabulous time. The weather should be perfect!
Just stopping by to catch up, Mamie. Glad things look positive regarding the house. The key box thing is a laugh!
Catching up... Not much to say.. Are you planning to read Something Wicked, now that you have read DW?
Yes, looking forward to yr. review of The Time Machine -- there are I think two movies too, which we as a fam. watched - both quite interesting, esp the portrayal of the underground folks and the end of the world. We listened to the book on a trip I think, it worked quite well read aloud. The stuff in the museum is what really stays with me! I have to check about whether it was one or two movies..... maybe that was Journey to the Center of the Earth (also fabulous!). yes yes -- there is a 1960 and a 2002!
I thought so too, Terri!
Kath - Yep! LT says there are two more in the series - Farewell Summer and Something Wicked This Way Comes. Farewell Summer is the second one in the series? I am assuming you have read both of these, Kath? And then there is a short stories collection called Summer Morning, Summer Night? Out of all four books, the only one I had ever heard of before was Something Wicked This Way Comes - incredible!!
Lucy - I have not seen either of the movies, but I have a soft spot for the old scifi movies (and old horror movies, if truth be told). I bet the story would lend itself very well to an audio because the narrator is basically telling the story to you just like that.
Hi Mamie!
Lots of blue on this thread! I just had a great thought.
I used to look forward to retirement so I could read, read, read! Turns out I am way more busy than I thought I would be.
So now - I am looking forward to being elderly ;-) My cataracts will be mature enough for laser surg and my eyesight will be much better! Also, I'll probably be infirm and have more sitting around unable to do other things time.
So, how old do I have to be to really make a dent in my TBR list? 75 -80? eeeeek!
Have a good luck day today ;-)
HI Mamie
Glad to see that you enjoyed Wolf Hall! I should be starting it later this weekend or at the latest early next week!
Cee - You crack me up; you'll never be old because your heart is so youthful!
Chelle- I think you'll like it, but hang in there at the beginning because it is confusing at first. Also, Ilana's tutored thread is a great source of info.
Nope, not only never read book2, never knew it existed! *swoon*
Time to feel the furkids.. they are beginning to circle the wagons.
Hi Mamie, just saying hi for now, though I fully intend to start from the top (so far have read all your great lists) and make my way down again.
Wolf Hall?
Am I being paranoid in thinking that you guys are making fun at how slowly I'm reading it? (Yes, I know the answer is yes. The word doesn't revolve around me after all!) ;-)
eta: forgot to place a period. Done.
Ilana - How lovely to see you here! Nope, not making fun of you at all - Ellen was just being funny because it has taken her so long to get to it. She really wanted to start it when you started your read to follow the thread as it was created, but had other books to finish first - I think library books that had to go back. So, now she is ready to start, and she typed it that way, I think, to show her determination - like putting one foot in front of the other. Slow and steady wins the race. I copied her pattern just to give her a laugh, and told her it should count as three books because on her thread she said that she had to read ten books off of her shelf before she could buy anymore new books. But, it's taking her forever because she had to read the library books first. There is a meet up coming up in Seattle, and she wants to be able to buys books there...so, someone said that books over two hundred pages should count as two books (because they take up the space of two books and also take longer to read). Ellen said she was going to do that, so I said here, in post 70, that it should count as three books - because it has 653 pages. Rachel and Kath just copied the pattern to be funny - it's like that time on your thread when you wrote a haiku, then I wrote a haiku, then everyone was writing one. Because LT people are like that - always ready to embrace an idea and jump in. I'm so sorry if you thought we were making fun of you - we would never do that. You are far too special to us for anyone to hurt you in that way. And I definitely wouldn't allow it on my thread. If I were doing a tutored read of Wolf Hall where I had to come up with all the questions and type all that info into the computer, I wouldn't be finished with it yet either. The only reason I finished now is because I stopped reading the other stuff I was reading and just concentrated on it. I made notes about the stuff that was confusing and have been still following your thread to get all the lovely info that Suz is providing. So far, your questions have been so great that I haven't had to ask any.
Mamie, as I told you privately, I was only poking fun at myself for being so slow, and honestly there's so much to take in with Suzanne's incredibly generous contributions that I find it all a bit overwhelming, which slows me down even more. But it's all good. Nice and slow wins the race. So it looks like
Wolf Hall
So has the changeover been accomplished on the lockbox?
( sorry if I missed the update, if there was one )
Any showings today? I am guessing that by now, it is getting to
be rough to keep you chin up about being routed from your home
at the whim of others .. I hope you sell soon :)
Yep - new lockbox in place, and we have a showing at 2:30 today. The being routed from the home has not been a big deal yet. Actually, the worst part is just staying ready to show - it's a bit stressful and I have become slightly nutty about things. Fingerprints on the dishwasher - hurry fetch the windex and newspaper. All the appliances are being sold with the house, so I am trying to have them clean and empty during showings so that people can actually look at them. Here's the funniest part - remember that I said this house has the laundry in the kitchen, which is a bit odd, but actually nobody had commented on it. Anyway, I have three daughters - so lots of bras, right? SO now, because we have to be ready to show all the time, I am doing that kind of laundry in the evenings so I can hang it to dry overnight, but have it down and put away by morning - I feel like I'm sneaking around in my own home!
:-/ That sounds like no fun! In fact, it sounds imossible, especially with the dogs.
Thank goodness they are poodles and not goldens, who shed in poofs. Often.
Yep - and they're little, so we can just scoop them up when it's time to get out and we are in a hurry.
Bonnie - I just saw that you had posted up there last night. You are too funny! You just gotta love LTers!
Sorry to hear that house isn't sold yet. I painfully remember how much of a pain it was to keep my house in tiptop shape for showings. I hope it sells for you really soon!!
Chelle - Thanks. Can't complain really as it has only been on the market three weeks. How long did it take you to sell yours?
Fyi Mamie, there's a GR of Don Quixote over at the 12/12 group that was scheduled to take place over the whole year precisely because it's such a big book. Son no shame at all about you taking over a year to finish War and Peace. I've yet to tackle that one. I look forward to it, but with some apprehension because of the sheer size, I do admit.
I hope for your sake you sell the house quickly. Living in a showroom full time has got to be very taxing. It would drive me absolutely bonkers, but it sounds like you've got it all perfectly under control!
eta: I meant to join that GR I mentioned, but have yet to crack open DQ... so maybe another year eh?
Ilana, I haven't read DQ either, so when you do get ready to tackle it let me know and we can do it together. Now I feel better about War and Peace, so thanks for that! The thing about it for me is that some parts are really riveting, and so I go quickly through those. Then other parts move sooooooo slooowwllyy, and that's when I tend to put it aside for other things. I am determined to finish it at some point, though, so we'll see. Perhaps in the Fall I'll get back into the grove with it.
I took the day off to go for a hike in the woods, checking back in and am literally laughing out loud (and getting sort of funny looks from P). I love this thread. Thank you, Mamie, for explaining to Ilana, though I know she is (hi Ilana, yes you are) prone to more self-critique than any of us would ever dream of sending her way (and I fully agree, Mamie with two particularly important points -- that we care about Ilana too much to hurt her in any way and that you wouldn't - nor would I - allow any meanness on your thread). I just loved the way folks imitated my cadence, and I also love that you suggested that Wolf Hall would count as three books. I must admit that, at around mile 4 of our 6+ mile hike, I thought "why am I not allowing myself to count library books? what was I thinking?" So --- there may be changes in the wind for my infamous RTBBO self-challenge.
I read the first little bit of DQ last year. I gave up on it in a hurry and I can comfortably say that I never expect to attempt it again.
I do hope you get a sale soon, Mamie. I know how stressful it is to not be able to actually live in your place because it has to be ready for a showing at almost any time!
Okay, off to immerse myself in River of Smoke since I told Mark I'd host the GR thread for him over the weekend......
Wonderful comic relief here on your thread, Mamie!
Our laundry room and furnace room were one and the same when we were putting an addition on a few years ago. A nice warm room for line drying - which is where I hung all my intimates. The contractor had to check something in that room when I had some things drying. He did a double take and a step back exclaiming "Whoa!" as he entered. Now this guy was a married man! So???? I made sure to do the same as you for the rest of the project... ALL rooms were acceptable for public viewing :PPPPP
Thumbs up from me for your wonderful review of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. I really liked this book.
Your reviews are incredibly well written.
15: I'm on a search for Dandelion Wine and Fahrenheit 451. Kansas was a bust for Bradbury. Guess I'll try my local used bookstores. You make DW sound like a "must have soon" book, Mamie.
Balzac and the Chinese Seamstress is a dear little gem, isn't it? It's in my permanent collection to be read again someday.
I know I am way late on that fun, but I fell behind during my week in Kansas City. I was hoping to find a big fat Sold sign over here when I got back. Next week!
Did someone say pancakes?
Morning, everyone! My little thread has been busy while I was away - thanks for stopping by.
Ellen - Thank you for your kind words.Glad we made you laugh! I really do think you should count library books, after all you are reading them off the shelves and not spending any money on them. Things don't look good for DQ if you abandoned him- oh dear. What about War and Peace? And how are you liking River of Smoke so far. I am only a couple of chapters in.
Cee - I LOVE that story!! Too funny!
Linda- Thank you for the thumb, and for your kind words! So lovely to see more of you on the threads these days! How is the delightful Lily doing?
Donna - I found Dandelion Wine at a used bookstore in Muncie, which was actually two finds for me because I didn't know that Muncie had a used bookstore! I ordered the follow up book from Amazon, and I usually get 2 day shipping, but this time I really had to wait - it's supposed to be here on Monday, so I'm excited about that. Don't know if they had a run on his books following his death or if they just don't stock a lot of them regularly. I haven't read Fahrenheit 451, but I want to. I will be hanging on to my copy of Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress also, as I tend to reread books that I really enjoy, and that one certainly counts. Glad you liked my review of it. And glad you joined in the fun that Ellen started!!
Ellen- See what you started- you're a trend setter!!
Thanks for getting me up and at 'em, Kath!
Yep, bacon...and eggs...and coffee! We call that Big Breakfast, and we try to have it once a week because the kids adore it. I can get my son out of bed everytime by frying bacon or sausage - works better than an alarm!
Mmm pancakes and bacon! I'll have my bacon extra crispy please and thanks :)
I think our place took about 3 weeks to sell. I had started to panic because Nate was graduating and would have to start work here whether our house sold or not! Thankfully ours sold the weekend that he graduated and with a short closing date we only spent another month in different provinces (which wasn't too bad after just spending 14 months apart!)
Hopefully yours sells very soon!
That's exactly how I like my bacon, Chelle, although my youngest insists that bacon should be able to bend! That's good to know about the house sale- that worked out so well for you. I'll be happy if somebody buys it before summer is out because I really do NOT want to be responsible for getting the leaves up after they fall- our yard is the land of a thousand oaks! I will miss our black squirrels, though. We have these tiny black squirrels that are just the cutest! I adore them- wonder if Georgia has those?
Hi, Lucy! Craig is not allowed to cook the bacon, as he burns it- and makes a mess in the process! He's pretty good with most other things, though.
Mmmm, it's the middle of the afternoon wher I am, and yet I could eat that breakfast right now :-)
I've added Dandelion Wine to my list, Mamie.
Oh yeah, Susan, I hope you love it! I can eat breakfast food at any time of the day!
bendable bacon please :-) Wonder how that would "go" with the yogurt and berries I'm eating?
Hi, Reba! I'm thinking they would go really well together- sweet and savory.
How do men always know where there is bacon? Some kind of radar?! Hi, Jim!
Way overdue catch-up Mamie - I love your review of Dandelion Wine. It seems like every review I've seen of that over the last week (and there have been quite a few following the group read) has been really positive so that's definitely on my wishlist.
#28 And another cracker of a review. That one's been on my wishlist for a while now.
#69 - 78 You guys are making me giggle like crazy reading this thread.
#80 Sorry to hear about all the extra effort you have to make to show the house (and associated stress) - I hope it pays off soon!
Mmm, pancakes and bacon.
Heather - I love when you stop by to catch up! You were right, I loved Wolf Hall. The extra effort and the stress will all be worth it when we get to see that sold sign out front - life is a journey, right? I am way behind on my reviews, and I really need to get busy and write them up, but it is such a lovely quiet day that I think perhaps just one more hour of reading...or maybe two.
My spousal unit LIKES burnt bacon so we have had to teach him to take ours out when it is still 'raw and wriggling' as Gollum would say.
LOL! Lucy, you crack me up!
Hi Mamie- Just a quick check-in! Really enjoyed my return visit to Turkey Run. It is a very cool state park. I learned it was the oldest in the state.
Hope you had a nice & cool weekend!
Ron likes his bacon just barely short of burnt!
I like it crisp - but not particularly burnt...
Everytime he orders bacon at a restaurant, he has to go into a long speech about how he wants his bacon crisp.
Same thing happens with beer - long dissertation on how he wants it really cold.
I'm just so dang happy I don't have to cook when I go out, I'll take about anything.
Hello Mamie - just wanted to say how enjoyable your thread is! Couldn't dodge the Balzac BB - oh well....
Kath- I like mine crisp, but not burned. Birdy likes hers cooked but bendable. Everybody else will eat whatever is put on the plate!
Mark- so happy to see you made it back safe and sound! Did you melt? It was pretty hot and humid in Indiana this weekend. I did not know that it was Indiana's oldest state park- so see, I learned something!
Cee - you are too funny! I don't like to be served undercooked breakfast food at a restaurant; it always gets my goat because breakfast food is so easy. I always want to just go back there and do it myself, but then, I LOVE to cook! Glad you survived your dinner dilemma!
Prue - Welcome to my thread! Thanks for stopping by, and I'm ever so pleased that you liked it and have been hit by a book bullet already!
OMG, Turkey Run. My family has had a reunion there 1st Sunday in August since the mid-50's. I've only made it a few times but it surely is a lovely place.
Reba -So is part of you family from Indiana?
Mamie- I stand corrected. Turkey Run is the 2nd oldest, established in 1916. My friends took a cool photo of a dead tree with at least 7 or 8 turkey vultures roosting in it. I hope they send me a copy soon.
Well, that's just great, Mark! I learned something new, and already it's wrong!
I would like to see the turkey vultures!!
I'm just glad I caught it before someone else did! LOL. Maybe, I was suffering from sunstroke during the introduction.
Yeah, stick with that story because it was really hot and humid! Nice to have you back - you were missed!
You know, I'm having problems with editing my books, after adding them. I try to click on the SAVE button at the bottom and nothing happens. I tried this with 2 or 3 books and none of them work. What the ....?
Just tonight? Because I'm having trouble, too. I was trying to change the collection the book was in and it wasn't letting me.
*edited to fix typo
LibraryThing is simply not allowed to have glitches.
I'm starting Wolf Hall tonight, after I make the coffee for tomorrow. (oh rats, tomorrow is Monday. I wish I had one more day for gardening and reading.......)
Both of my parents were from Indiana. Dad from Summitville, Mom from Davies County. They moved to CA for my Dad's asthma but Mom's 9 siblings and Dad's 3 + many many cousins mostly stayed in IN. I still have relatives all over the state (including several Ball State grads).
Mamie - enjoying your perpendicular thread!
I like bacon too but beef bacon as we are not allowed to eat the other stuff over here. Crispy but not burnt is the right way.
Well, of course I don't like my bacon to be a cinder.. but very crisp verging on burned.
Beef bacon?
LT was a little glitchy for me when I posted my review last evening. I clicked save and
then there was nothing there. But I went back to the edit page via the Add Books page,
and the review was there. I had my usual difficulty posting to twitter....
What's the plan for today, Mamie
Ellen - Hooray for starting Wolf Hall. I hope you weren't too tired when you started it because those first few chapters require quite a bit of paragraph rereading to get used to Mantel's writing style, at least they did for me. And you're right - LT is simply not allowed to have technical difficulties. Sorry you have to work today.
Reba - Yeah for Hoosiers! Most of my family is in Fort Wayne, but I also have a niece who lives in Scottsburg. No Ball State grads on my side, but Craig's mom and one of his sisters graduated from there.
Paul - I have never heard of beef bacon. We make turkey bacon quite a bit, as that's what Craig likes, and it is tricky because it doesn't cook the same as bacon made from pork. It's very good on sandwiches, but for breakfast, I like the real thing - "real" being pork for me. Isn't it funny how we get used to what we grow up with? My oldest daughter prefers the turkey bacon.
Kath - Good Morning! I hate when you're trying to post a review and then it disappears - AARGH! Glad you didn't have to redo yours. The plan for today? Not much on tap yet - oven repair guy coming this afternoon - some time between 2pm and 5pm. I hope they call to narrow that time frame down a bit because that's a pretty big window. The stove works fine but when Craig was trying to change the oven light, he accidentally cut the wire that feeds the power to the light! Of course, he forgot to tell me this. So, last week I tried to turn the oven light on and no light. I said oh that's great now I have to change the light bulb in there and the kids said no you don't because the light bulb works fine - it's a new bulb, but when Dad put it in, he cut through the wire to the light. What?!
That reminds me of a funny story (don't roll your eyes, and stop groaning everyone):
Craig is usually very competent with fixing things - and he can fix a lot of stuff. He grew up on a farm, so he tries to fix almost anything himself. This is good most of the time, but not good when the repair doesn't go the way he thinks it should. So once, when the kids were little, and I had been out running errands, I walk in the door to find a fountain of water spraying everywhere from behind my washing machine. There stands Craig in the middle of the chaos and the kids are clapping and screaming in delight because of course a sprinkler in the kitchen is just the ticket, and he looks up and sees me standing there. Without even missing a beat, he says, "Oh, you know, I thought you'd be gone longer. Perhaps you should run just one more errand, or coffee - why don't you treat yourself to coffee out and sit in the shop and read for a while." He had accidentally cut through the water line!
Morning Mamie! You know I just have to say it!
I normally keep my review (when I write one) on "Word" until everything is saved. To much work to have it disappear.
I await your stories with delight. It wouldn't be a bad idea at all if you kept a file of them, in fact, if you don't mind my being bossy, you have a gift.
I cook turkey bacon to 'crumble' (it doesn't really crumble) on pizza, it's great for that. I just cook it for 'awhile' - it is hard to decide when it's done, isn't it?
#129 Great story Mamie :-)
Morning, Mark - That is such a great idea! I usually try to remember to copy it before I hit preview, but sometimes I forget, and of course that is always when something goes wrong...you're idea is better.
Morning, Lucy - You are SO sweet! I should keep a file of them if only so the kids would have them in case I'm not around to delight the grandchildren with tales about when their parents were young. And that is just exactly it - so hard to determine when it is done as it doesn't shrink much and has about the same consistency raw as it does cooked!
Heather - You snuck in there while I was posting! Thank you. I hope this is the start to a great week for all of us!
OK OK, I have to weigh in on the very important bacon issue. I like mine soggy and delicious!! and not very often!! unfortunately!
Crisp bacon but not burnt in any way Mamie. And often. We love bacon and put it on just about anything. My son-in-law was so excited last summer when he found chocolate covered bacon at the county fair.
Itsn't it funny how particular we all are over bacon. I like mine very crispy and well done but not burnt. I also love the combination of chocolate and salty things, so I would probably love chocolate covered bacon. On another thread someone was saying how good chocolate dipped potato chips are as well.
OKAY, at the risk of completely alienating everybody, and since we're still discussing bacon...I grew up eating...wait for it...bacon and jelly sandwiches. You toast the bread, spread grape jelly on one piece, then layer the bacon on top, then top with the other piece of toast. Sadly, I cannot eat them anymore because they have lost their culinary magic for me, but all of my sisters love them. The funny thing is that I always thought that everybody ate these until I got to college...who knew that I had been completely warped from a very young age?! My oldest sister puts grape jelly on her burgers and also on her meatloaf, so really, next to her I feel completely normal.
Thank you Cathy, Bonnie, and Judy for joining in on the bacon discussion. And thank you Kath for your moral support!!
Please, everybody, don't be afraid to come back!
I think I just threw up a little in my mouth ;-)
I like crispy AND limp bacon depending on the context...
Oh great, now I'm going to be ostracized, and I don't even eat them anymore...*hangs head in shame and shuffles off weeping copiously because she LOVES her LT friends*
*peeks in to make sure the coast is clear* So maybe too much information? Didn't any of you grow up eating something that seemed perfectly normal to you until you got older and found out that actually it was quite bizarre?
Fun food conversation! For me bacon has to be thick strip and double smoked. Luckily, one of my favorite grocery stores has an excellent meat/fish department where I buy bacon by the slice. They also make their own sausages.... all beef natural chipotle is one of my favorites.
Mamie, nothing wrong with your favorite memories of bacon sandwiches, especially if chocolate with bacon is all the rage and in some cases even a gastronomic delight!
bacon *sigh*
Haven't had any breakfast yet, and it's almost 10am.
I love my bacon crisp and with maple sirup on top. But it's difficult to get US style bacon here, because South Tyrol is Speck (bacon) county, and theirs is more air-dried than smoked and it's seasoned with herbs. Tastes wonderful and mild when thinly cut and eaten with bread, but I don't like it fried.
Strange childhood food? Just the usual cheese with jam thing (preferably camembert with strawberry or apricot jam), but everyone is doing that now.
#144: In New Zealand, a burger often includes a fried egg, beetroot and a ring of pineapple with the burger patty and the other typical burger stuff. To Kiwis, this is normal. But not in the UK. There is a burger chain here that I think is part Kiwi-owned, and they have a "Kiwiburger" on the menu which includes the egg, the beetroot and the pineapple. If we go there for lunch at work I inevitably order it, and the rest of the table spends the lunchtime looking on and saying "Ewwww, how can you EAT that? Who would put that in a BURGER?" And so on. So of course I have to enjoy it even more than usual :-) It's funny because I am not even remotely an adventurous eater, but at Gourmet Burger I am right up there with those people who eat bugs on TV.
That's very funny Susan! My father did a year sabbatical in Italy when I was five and in the beginning my mother always said we were (ranging from ten to teensy) horrible and embarassing about the food for the first couple of months. Wouldn't eat anything but pasta with oil and salt - milk 'tasted funny' (as in delicious and less processed)..... and so on. We didn't even like most desserts. My daughter was the same way when we took her to Italy when she was around 4, 'pasta nudo, per favore,' was the refrain..... those poor chefs would get the plate back if there was so much as one green fleck of parsley evident, although she would eat a sprig on the side, go figure!
Lori - Welcome to my thread! I have never bought bacon by the slice. There is a butcher in Muncie that sells peppered bacon and Cajun bacon and those are both really good on sandwiches.
Nathalie - My youngest likes maple syrup on her bacon, too. Cheese with jam - I have never had that, but it makes sense because again it's a combination of sweet and savory. Never thought about US bacon being different or hard to get because it is everywhere here - so interesting how we prepare the same foods differently depending on where we live.
Susan - Somebody else was talking about a burger with an egg served on top, and I am trying to remember what else was on it. It might have been Caro (cameling). We used to get these sandwiches down in South Carolina that were so delicious - Bacon, lettuce and fried green tomato on this thick and crusty bread. They were fabulous! We were so sad when they went out of business because we used to stop in there every summer.
Not much on tap for today - the two youngest both have appointments at the orthodontist. My 16 year old is really close to being able to get her braces off, so she eagerly awaits each visit to see if it will be the one where they tell her that she can get them off the next time. She had one of her canine teeth up in her palate and they had to do surgery to expose the tooth, so that they could put a bracket on it and start pulling it down into place. I had never heard of having a tooth up there before - it took over a year to pull the tooth slowly into position, but now you'd never know it hadn't been where it was supposed to be all along.
I NEED to get my reviews written, so I am really hoping to get to that today.
Good Morning, Lucy. We were posting at the same time. I would dearly love to go to Italy. Have you been back there with your daughter now that she is older?
Mamie, I hope your daughter gets the news she wants. I had braces for years and I can still remember the day I got them off (and it was in the olden days and everything). She'll never regret having them, but it's hard at 16.
Mamie - love the story of Craig and his household chores! If you get chance you should watch Some Mothers Do Ave Em - a british comedy from the 70's which immediately came to mind. It is just the sort of thing the protagonist Frank Spencer would have said!
Interesting discussion on variants of the great breakfast staple - beef bacon is actually very palatable but for many of those used to the pinker version it is not a substitute. I have not had pork for almost 20 years and don't really miss it if truth be known and your matching it with jelly confirm my suspicions that I could well do without it.
Don't worry I cannot conceive of any circumstances in which you could be ostracised - your thread is a hoot!
So I read your thread while I was sitting with a hot pack on my neck at PT
and left there, only to go and buy .. yes.. BACON
I blame you.
Bacon and jam? Well, Burger King or someone is putting it on ice cream now.. so?
BTW this thread had me LOL-ing all alone in a room PT with .. odd looks followed me around, thereafter.
hey! if you put the @ symbol.. it brings up someones profile. Did I know that before?
It seems like an ever so vague memory. We appear to have a member called PT
Susan - Thank you for your good wishes. She has actually been really good about them and has taken wonderful care of them and her teeth. Now my oldest - let's just say that I thought that I wasn't going to survive her having braces!
Paul - Always a delight to see you here! I will check out that comedy which I have never heard of before. Good to know that I won't be ostracized any time soon. My thread thanks you for your fine compliment!
Kath - Where have you been? If you put the @ symbol where?
Oh - I just saw your first message - too funny! And I love that you were laughing out loud in the PT room!
put it right against the name, like mckait.. but with the @ up against the m
Morning Mamie- Hope you have a good day and stay cool. That's my plan. Nothing to add to the bacon discussion, other than I like it crispy.
I didn't know that either!
Morning, Mark - Now just think, if I ever have all of you over for breakfast, I'll know just how you like your bacon!
Don't worry Mamie, while I find your bacon and jam sandwiches revolting it won't stop me from visiting ;0
I'm sure everyone eats something that others will say is gross. I eat mayo on my fries which Nate thinks is disgusting. Oh and I put olives in my cottage cheese which Nate also thinks is pretty gross.
And I think it's gross that Nate likes his bacon wiggly. Bacon should be crisp and have no wiggle!
Good to know, Chelle. And I don't eat them anymore - but Birdy, my youngest, loves them! My son eats mayo on his fries, too! Which kind of olives - black or green?
We haven't been to Italy since ' 00 -but we did get her to France. Ireland is next on our agenda, and Spain, as she is almost fluent in Spanish and should be even closer after her month at immersion camp (starts this SUNDAY!!!!).
Mayo on your fries is the norm in Belgium and the Netherlands. My husband loves "moco loco", a Hawaiian dish that is rice topped with a hamburger patty and fried egg with brown gravy poured over the top -- which makes we look and say "eeuuuewww".
Lucy - I would love to see all of those places, but if I could only ever see one, it would be Italy. So great that your daughter is almost fluent in Spanish! ANd immersion camp - WahHOO! Big plans to be completely irresponsible while she is gone? If not - note to self: make some!
Reba - Wow! "Moco loco" sounds...interesting. Not sure I am that brave!
Ellen - I know, right?!
Kath - Do you think she means black olives or green olives? Inquiring minds want to know.
Mamie I'll take any olives that are offered! I don't like them as much with pits though
ETA I checked and we only have green olives in the fridge right now...
Okay, then. I have never tried olives with cottage cheese, but I love both, so...
I was thinking that it didn't matter to me either.. I also like black or green olives on cream cheese on a bagel.. yummers-ness. I love olives.
I don't like olives, so I'm the perfect companion for those of you who do and want my share.
Hmmm. When we were kids, my sister and I polished off a jar of olives at a picnic - while everyone else was busy getting things set up. We got in trouble, of course. ;-)
To tell the truth, I can't remember anything else we have ever agreed on!
ETA: They were green :)
Mark -Coffee at 8am, breakfast at 8:30am. Too early? We could do brunch.
Joe - No olives? My son doesn't like them either.
Cee - That cracks me up! I have two sisters that can never agree on anything, but when they were kids they pilfered a pack of my Dad's cigarettes (Camel unfiltered) and smoked the entire thing! Then they were sick as dogs!!
Kath - LOL!
Belle would name three foods for her school lunch box:
Strange girl.
Like I said.... suggestible.. lol
I put black olives in lots of things.. anything that is remotely appropriate.
Green olives, Dan doesn't like so I just eat those out of the jar for me..
often at night for a snack.
Morning Mamie! Missed breakfast today. Maybe tomorrow! Enjoy your day and keep cool. Any word about the house?
Paul - LOL! I love olives and broccoli, but NO to the raisins. Paul, you would love the stats that our realty company sends us each time a realtor fills out a form about how well our house shows. There are pie charts and everything! So far 70% of the people who see our home think about possibly making an offer, 64% say that it shows as well as other homes, 36% think that it shows much better, 100% say the home was excellently staged for showing. Now, if just one of those 64% would make us an offer...
Kath - We all love black olives except for Dan (my son), but I am the only one who likes the green ones.
Morning, Mark - Still showing like crazy, but no offers yet. The people who saw it Saturday loved it, and are thinking about making an offer. Their realtor said they saw a mom and her baby deer in the back yard and were completely charmed. Too bad they didn't see the twins - we have another mom who has twin fawns, and they are SO cute!
We have a showing Friday morning at 10am - YIKES! I see a drive-thru in our Friday morning routine.
deer with fawns -- even twins -- how could anyone NOT love it?
I'm hungry just thinking about the pie charts! Must confess to opening your thread every morning with bated breath in the hope and expectation that there is an offer on your home and delightful barn.
Look what happened at our house today!
Here's where my daughter was sitting. She was completely covered in debris, and really shaken up, but not one scratch on her.
Can you believe this? No one was hurt!
Mamie, you are JOKING, right?
Holy Goddess in a Honda!
What the heck happened? I am so glad you are all okay..
hugs.. big ones..
Wow! I'm so glad noone was hurt! That's so scary!
holy crap! Did you have a storm or what happened??
So glad your daughter wasn't hurt!
OMG!! So sorry to hear that! I'm so glad everyone is okay and that it wasn't even worse. Was it just a strong wind?
It was windy today, but not what I would call strong winds. Abby and I were sitting on the back deck, and we heard this loud cracking sound, but then nothing happened. We were looking around to see what was going on, and I noticed that one of the trees in the front side yard looked like it was leaning in the one next to it. I asked Abby if that tree was leaning before, and she said she didn't know. I was just saying that I should call somebody to look at it and down it came! We ran inside and Birdy was screaming, sitting in the middle of the couch that pulls out into a sofa bed completely covered in debris. She does not have even one scratch on her - I can't believe it. The tree had a nest of carpenter ants in it that had eaten away a lot of the inside. This is a HUGE tree. And it took out the hickory tree next to it which was completely healthy. I am just so happy that no one was hurt. They removed the tree from inside of the house and boarded up the side of the house for tonight. The contractor and the insurance adjuster are coming at 9am to get everything rocking on the repairs.
So, how was your day?
Here's another one:
Oh , Mamie.... how terrible...
I don't even know what to say...
What a mess....I am so glad no one was hurt..
Well, Kath, we did have to cancel the showing! We're fine - everybody is fine and it should be fixed up good as new in about a week. It could have been so much worse. It just boggles the mind that my daughter was sitting RIGHT THERE and she didn't get hurt. We are just so very thankful.
Holy S***!
Thank heaven everyone is ok - but I imagine your daughter may have a nightmare or two.
Geeze - that is just not right! Now you have to clean up that mess!
Oh. I just don't know what to say. Those are scary pictures :{
Hugs to all {{{{Mamie and family}}}}
Thank you, Cee! Thanks to all of you - Kath, Rachel, Chelle, and Mark. Just knowing you guys are out there is a comfort to me.
What a scary thing, oh my, I'm so glad no one was hurt. Sounds like you were able to get help quickly.
It just so happens that the guy who has done all of the remodeling on our house over the years is also a good friend, and I called him on his cell and he was here in five minutes. I got permission from the insurance guy for the tree to be removed from the bedroom, and about 1/2 hour later the tree was removed from the house, and the side of the house was boarded up. The insurance guy put the claim through quickly and so the adjuster will be out tomorrow. Our contractor friend is putting his other jobs on hold to get our house fixed as quickly as possible. So we were lucky all the way around. Thanks, Lucy.
Thank God no one was hurt Mamie. That's the only good thing to say about that mess.
Thanks, Bonnie!
Thanks, Katie!
Oh Mamie --- I am so glad that no one was hurt and so sorry that this happened. How terribly frightening! Is this the house you are trying to sell?
I'm also glad that folks are rallying to assist you. Please take care and make room for all the emotions that will inevitably get to swirling around!
Thanks so much, Ellen! Yes, it's the house we're trying to sell. Probably not the best marketing strategy, huh?! When all is said and done, it is only a house, so we're fine. This is just a little bump in the road. My daughter is fine, and that is just so beyond wonderful to me, so we're thankful that we just have the house to repair. It could have been so much worse. I truly appreciate your kind and caring words.
I just stopped by to catch up and . . . holy cow!
On the one hand, how awful. On the other hand, how fortunate no one was hurt!
Good grief!!! Your daughter must have an angel on her shoulder. Those are REALLY scary photos. So glad no one was hurt but what a pain. Hope it's fixed up soon.
Mamie, how terrible. Thank heaven no one was hurt. Your daughter must have had her guardian angel sitting on her shoulder to emerge with not a mark. Glad to hear you have some help to fix up the mess.
Oh Mamie, I am so glad your daughter is ok but I'm also so sorry about your house! I'm glad the insurance people have put the claim through quickly for you
" Probably not the best marketing strategy, huh?!" :-D
Mamie, just dropping by to say I'm so glad that your daughter wasn't hurt, but she must be quite shaken up. Selling a house is stressful enough without having to deal with that as well.
A bit stuck for words Mamie - amazed that you are so sanguine about the whole thing - like you see it is only a house and your daughter wasn't hurt but it is a little more than a bump in the road too! Hope the insurance fellows get cracking and that it does not affect your relocation plans any.
Mamie, what an awful thing to happen. Your poor daughter. Thank goodness everyone is OK and they can start the repairs soon.
What an absolute shock for everyone and what a huge relief that everyone is ok.
I hope normality is resumed and house selling back on track as soon as poss.
Well, good morning to you! Welcome to a day that is bound to be better than yesterday !
The picture of the chair where your daughter was sitting just chilled me. I say that you
all go out and celebrate somehow today..and sprinkle confetti on Birdy...
You have a great attitude!
OMG - I almost can't believe what I'm seeing!
I am so glad everyone is okay. How is your daughter doing today? She must still be in shock.
Oh my goodness, where to start...
Glad that your daughter's OK and it looks like the damage to the house will get fixed quickly.
Between your thread and Richard's I'm now craving bacon. Oh, and as far as weird combinations go when I was a kid I liked jelly and cheese sandwiches - apparently when my mom was a kid, my grandmother used to have grape jelly and cream cheese, but my version was Welch's grape jelly (I tried others, but it was never the same) and American cheese (wasn't as picky with this, though I never have liked the yellow version). My teenage sister really wants to have one of those bacon ice cream things, but I'm not that adventurous.
Not food related, but when I got older (high school/college), the thing that always most surprised me was how different people's rules were growing up ("You mean you never had the rule 'No singing at the table'?!").
It's very wise to have contractor friends. And I'm guessing that your photos enabled the adjuster to move quickly --- it's amazing really -- sometimes the new technologies make you want to tear out your hair and then something like this happens and you can reach a person on a cell phone instantly, lob off the 'live action photos' and get things moving, when formerly it might have taken days.
So with you bell7 - our house is, apparently, much more laid back than most of our daughter's friends, one reason they like coming here. My most important rule? Never leave an empty tp roll and no replacement visible. Second most important? The Bill Cosby rule, just finish the damned thing, don't put a container with one mouthful left back in the box so you don't have to deal with it. (He has a very funny riff on this.)
This, bytheway, is meant to entertain you Mamie, I would be feeling kind of disoriented today in your shoes. Unreal.
Wow! I am staggered by the out pouring of support and sympathy. Thank you so much everyone, really, from the bottom of my heart. What a wonderful group of humans you all are! Not sure what I would do without you!!
Teri - Holy cow pretty much sums it up! The part that was making me a bit crazy was leaving the mess in the bedroom - we were told not to move anything or clean anything up until the insurance adjuster sees it. We have gotten into showing the house mode and so my fingers were itching to clean up that mess pronto.
Reba - Thanks for your concern. They're were thinking at least a week because of the drywall. So, we'll see. I think we'll have a better idea after this morning. Our contractor/friend will go over everything with the insurance guy.
Judy - Everyone wanted to take Birdy to buy lottery tickets because they said her luck was astonishing. The contractor said it was a good thing that Craig chose such good siding for the house because we really got our money's worth out of it. The siding is Hardie Board which is a fiber cement board - so very strong and durable. He thought the siding slowed the tree down and made it harder for the tree to get through, so absorbed a lot of the impact as it came through the wall.
Heather - Birdy is doing fine. She had to take two showers to get all the debris out of her hair if that tells you anything. I am still just so astonished and so thankful that she was not hurt at all. That sofa was not up against the bed like that, so it shows you that the impact moved the sofa a good foot and a half as the tree came in. Rae's bed is a loss though.
Rhian - The really great thing is that the contractor is a good friend of ours and he has done almost all of the work on the house. We have lived here for thirteen years, and have remodeled every room. Most of them we gutted and started from scratch. So, he is very familiar with the house and the kids just love him. And we are very used to construction after living with it for so many years, so, one more big project before we move.
Paul - I really mean it. A house is a structure, and it can be mended. We were so lucky that nothing special was hurt - we lost some furniture, and small things like a clock radio, an eyeglass case, a frog aquarium. Here's a really great story - Rae has one of those really tiny frogs, not sure what they're called, but it had a tiny aquarium with little colored pebbles and the like. The aquarium was thrown off of Rae's shelf at the head of her bed and smashed - all the water and stuff came out. BUT - we found the frog, and he survived! Can you believe that?! Rae was so tickled - she said, "Now that is SOME frog!" Really it's amazing that she found it because it's like the size of a nickel. Now that is SOME girl!
Oh Mamie, I picked the wrong time to get behind on your thread. I'm so grateful that Birdy's guardian angel was on duty! What a nightmare! Ants are the culprit? Wow, unbelievable. What awful timing with a big For Sale sign up. I hope everything gets back to normal as quickly as possible. Again, I am SO very glad no one was hurt.
Edited to add that I'm also glad the pet frog made it. I hope he has a tasty snack of carpenter ants in celebration!
I'm glad your frog lived! When I was a child our house burnt down, and our turtle somehow managed to escape his cage and live. Wonders!
Morning Mamie- Hope you guys slept well and no bad dreams. And yes, this is a wonderful "group of humans". Nothing beats 'em!
I'm sure breakfast/brunch got canceled?
Susan - As I type, there are men in the yard cutting the tree up, so that we can remove it after the insurance guy sees it. Insurance is a funny thing. The local guy sells it to you and handles your questions and concerns through the years, but as soon as you have need of the insurance, they send in an outsider that has to travel from out of town to come an see the damage. Does this make any sense to anyone? The local guy was here yesterday afternoon, but he only has the power to get the ball rolling, not actually effect (affect - not sure which one is correct here) change. These are the kinds of things that make life more complicated than it needs to be. Just saying...
Dee - We had to cancel three showings! I am really hoping that we can have the house part ready to go within a couple of weeks. Thanks for your good wishes.
*Back in a bit - Insurance guy is here!
Lord, love us. Glad no one was hurt. What a miracle!
Now, back to the food discussion. I grew up with peanut butter and onion sandwiches...don't knock it 'till you've tried it.
And my parents were Maritimers so we had my grandmother ship dulse to us from New Brunswick. Quebecers looked at us like we were crazy, eating seaweed.
And for dessert we often had white bread dipped in maple syrup or molasses.
Oh, and brown sugar sandwiches ... bread slathered with a lot of butter or margarine and then brown sugar pushed down into the butter. I loved it!!
I haven't eaten flour or sugar in three years and, now, can't even imagine eating any of those things ... they would be far too sickeningly sweet!
I'm so glad your daughter (and everyone) is fine. You're right, it's just a house and it can be repaired.
*considering trying a peanut butter and onion sandwich sometime......*
Wow, what a shocker, Mamie! I just came by and saw the photos and caught up. I'm glad like everyone else that your daughter came through this fine. She's never going to forget this one! Good to hear your substantial siding helped slow the tree down. Just incredible.
Our contractor is a friend of many years, too, and it's come in handy many times, including when we came downstairs to leave on a trip and found water leaking down from our second floor bathroom through an old chandelier onto our dining room table. He came over right away, said no problem, he'd take care of it, and off we went on our trip. Your friend's knowing the house so well is a real plus, too, I'm sure.
Mamie - Hooray for the amphibian - good job it didn't happen in a french household otherwise the fortunate animal may have found itself literally in the soup! I have a construction company and would be pleased to help but the airfares and book shopping would make my tender uncompetitive!
Kath - So true! Today is bound to be better than yesterday!! I'll tell Birdy that you said we should sprinkle confetti on her - she will LOVE that! Thanks for checking in on me.
Nathalie - Birdy is fine. She did not have an nightmares, and she is still asleep, which is amazing because they are cutting that tree up outside, and it's really noisy. As a matter of fact, all three girls are still sleeping! They have taken over the master bedroom and are comfortably ensconced!
Mary - Yep, hopeful that things will get taken care of as quickly as possible. See - jelly and cheese sandwiches - that's what I'm talking about! I have never had those, the jelly and cream cheese I get, but it cracks me up that you modified that to your own version! And the bacon!! Who knew people were so fanatic about their bacon! You're right about the house rules - it's funny how different they can be. My husband's parents were SO strict (not sure how he has such a soft heart because they were hard parents - his mom still is), and mine were not strict at all. But I love the little individual ones like what you are talking about - like my no texting at the table rule that I had to create for my nieces and nephews!
Lucy - You always entertain me - we have our own rules that are just for visitors that are staying over. They are called Crazy Mamie's House Rules, and I used humor to get my point across that this is a home not a hotel, and therefore there is no staff - no maids, no concierge, no pool boy (oh, I wish we had a pool boy, but since we have no pool that seems gratuitous), no room service. I LOVE the Bill Cosby rule - Craig's mom saves everything, and so if there is one spoonful of apple salad left, away it goes in to the fridge to be pulled out again at the next meal. She will do this for every meal until someone eats it - even if they have company over. And it makes me COMPLETELY INSANE! SO, let's not talk about Craig's mom, because trust me, you do not want to go there. Now, back to choosing joy over righteousness.
Donna - Thanks for taking time to catch up. And you were probably either hungry or slightly nauseous after all that talk about bacon and olives! You should see how many trucks are in our drive-way. And the roof guys aren't even here yet! You made me laugh with your thoughts of the frog and the ants!
Rachel - So sorry that your house burnt down when you were little - that must have been traumatic! Glad the turtle made it though.
Mark - Slept fine. The girls are just now getting up, so breakfast was grab and go today.
Cathy - You crack me up! I am not telling Birdy about the butter and brown sugar sandwich because I know she would want to try that for lunch!! I don't think I could do the peanut butter and onion sandwich because I am not a big fan of peanut butter - but all the kids love it.
Morning, Ellen - let me know if you try that sandwich! How is jury duty going?
Joe - Yes. you're totally correct, the contractor friend has been a life saver many times over. I would like to take him to Georgia with us, but I think his wife might object!
Paul - So you think hiring you would be cost prohibitive? That would be some commute to and from the job site for you!! I guess you'll just have to maintain your current position as dear and trusted friend. And the frog would not make much of a soup, perhaps a small appetizer.
Seriously, everyone, thank you so much for your kind thought and wishes, and your wonderful support. Each and every one of you means a lot to me.
I am Very pleased to hear about your frog.. is his name Lazarus?
I guess it was only a near death experience for him though.. lol
No, his name is Viper! But Lazarus would be a good one!
Mamie - hahaha I'm happy as I (we) am (are).
As usual, lots of comment on here. My Dad used to eat peanut butter and onion sandwiches which really grossed out us kids. But now having discovered the joys of Peanut Sate, that sandwich makes more sense.
I had to laugh about your mother-in-law, Mamie as my mother does the same. We just wait until she's not around and then go through the fridge and throw out all unwanted substances. We then tell my Mom that we were hungry and ate them up as snacks. In this way everyone is happy!
She's the same about jars, she will hang onto a jar of mayonaise etc., continuing to scrape away at it long, long after I would have opened a new one.
Glad to hear that Viper came through ok - a happy ending for all!
I'm just amazed that you're getting the work done so fast. That would never happen here Mamie. It wouldn't matter if you knew somebody or not. The fact is this is the contractors' high season and they're busier than ever. So other than someone who works for an insurance company exclusively to do emergency repairs, it would be weeks before any real work would get done. And roofers?? Hahaha you'd wait forever for them to show up. Maybe the industry here is busier than where you are or maybe your angel is still looking after you:)
Judy - I don't know what Peanut Sate is. And trust me, if I went through my mother-in-law's refridge, I would no longer be able to draw air into my lungs. She may be old, but she is also mean and feisty - she will probably outlive me just to prove that she can.
Bonnie - The contractor/friend arrived this morning at 8:30 am with five guys to start cutting up the tree, which was huge. They had permission to cut it, but had to leave it in place until the insurance adjuster showed up to see it. The insurance guy got here at 9am, just like he said he would, and went over every thing with the contractor and myself. He called the roofing company because we also had damage to our roof - we have these shingles that are called Art-Loc shingles that are interlocking and designed so that you can replace small sections as needed without having to replace major portions of the roof. Our roof is only seven years old, so it is still under warranty - damage like this is not covered by the warranty obviously, but we needed to use this same company to do the repair work. Plus they are the only company around that carries this product. Anyway, the contractor and his group worked from 8:30 until 4:30, with a small break for lunch, and our yard is completely pristine - you'd never know what a mess we had out there this morning. The girl's bedroom is also completely cleaned up. So tomorrow they will be back to start on the repairs, and the roofers were also hoping to be here - we have to replace the entire front section of the roof and the front gutters because of damage from that tree. And you're right, we do seem to have an angel looking out for us because everything is just coming together so smoothly.
Craig is flying home tomorrow for the weekend just because he doesn't want me to have to deal with all of this by myself - he really is the greatest guy! He would also like to hug the stuffing out of Birdy!!
Sounds like things are coming together nicely. Hope you and your family have a lovely, uneventful weekend together.
Thanks, Reba! Lovely and uneventful sounds wonderful.
It's great that Craig is coming up! You guys have a wonderful weekend and count your blessings!
I am really glad that you have a partner that you can depend on to have your back, and help out.
I hope you manage to have a great time despite the chaos... and I am VERY happy that the work will be done ASAP.
No- we need Judy!
Mark - Thanks so much - trust me, we are counting our blessings!!
Kath - Thanks - we are enjoying a beautiful afternoon! I am sitting on the deck, and Craig is puttering in the yard - Ah, paradise! Drywall starts tomorrow.
Peanut sate is a thick, spicy sauce made primarily from ground peanuts (most cooks use peanut better as the base) which is common in Indonesian, Malayasian, etc. cooking. It's also common in the Netherlands (Indonesia was a Dutch colony) where I loved to adore it. It's commonly eaten over skewered, grilled chicken or beef but in Holland they use crusty bread to "sop" up the remains when the meat is gone and that's the very best part imho.
It sounds delicious! Thanks for that, Reba!
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text:
Love natural, clean hair but hate that you don't get the few day old results you desire on wash day? Do you love it when you hair is a few days dirty so that you can achieve the volumized hair you want?
When it comes to hair, you can have BIG problems and some people love BIG hair problems, while others stick to hair that is uniformed and neatly in tack. Hair is hair, it just grows on different heads, respond differently to products and other things. When it comes to creating volume or big hair for your natural strands, you have to pump things up a bit. To create volume on your natural stresses on your wash day, you can either take a pick comb and comb through the hair from the scalp to half way up the hair shaft or use your fingers to create the volume. Either way you will get great, big, beautiful hair.
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
05 lift gate cargo lamp
How are you supposed to replace the lamp? Mine is burned out.
Re: 05 lift gate cargo lamp
Would that be the center mounted brake lamp on the outside on the lifgate? or is it a Lamp on the inside?
Re: 05 lift gate cargo lamp
You have to remove the rear hatch cover. There are screws around the outside that need to be removed, and some friction clips that you have to tug on the cover to remove. The you will have access to it.
Re: 05 lift gate cargo lamp
Its a pain, but yea the entire panel needs to be removed.
Re: 05 lift gate cargo lamp
I looked into this because mine is out as well it is kind of a pain in the butt. I have decided against changing the bulb. the little light and where it is positioned does not put out enough light for my liking anyways. I am going to buy an aftermarket light and try to wire it into the existing system so it will operate when I turn on the dome lights or open the liftgate. I will post a thread on this when i do it.
Re: 05 lift gate cargo lamp
3 Attachment(s)
I replaced the light with a brighter led bulb a long time ago and it still wasn't that bright....Plus like said above, the housing is a pain in the butt to deal with. You don't have to remove the whole panel though to get to the bulb. You can use a small screw driver to pry the plastic lens cover off. Then take a pair of needle nose pliers to grab the black bulb housing and pull it gently down prying it through the hole at an angle, it will come out. Replace the bulb, then put the lens cover back on bulb holder and push the whole assembly back up into the door.
I decided to follow Omelet's advice and use two 8" and 6" led strips hot glued to the upper vent above the rear cargo area. The vent just pulls down. I spliced the strips into the existing wiring used for the rear hatch light. There's a wiring harness that runs between the roof and headliner literally right on the edge of where the vent is. Pretty simple and is a way more effective mod!
Here's a link to his build thread and quite a few pics/instructions on he did it:
Omelet's Build Thread (aka The Bison)! - Page 10 - JeepForum.com
For now, Here's a couple pics of how mine turned out:
Attachment 19166
Attachment 19167
Attachment 19168
Re: 05 lift gate cargo lamp
it can be done without removing the panel, Just pop the lense off take a flathead or needlenose pliers and pry out the black recepticle, dont worry, its very flexible. took me less than five mins
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Event Time and Date
Saturday, April 29 2017, 9:30 AM to 12:00 PM
This league, run my GR Soccer members, gives the female youth of Rochester an opportunity to be mentored by University of Rochester students in the game of soccer and academics. The girls are given homework assignment each week, and come to campus to play games against other girls. No coaching or soccer experience is required in order to participate.
Fauver Stadium
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well, since ive been here since sep. 27th i finally decided i should introduce myself. my name is russell, i live in Austin Texas and after jumping through hoops pulling files in austin downtown, getting registered documents, digital fingerprints, letters of reputation and recommendation i finally today got my plastic Texas chl in the mail, just 3 hours ago :bier:. i always felt sort of funny not having it and out of place on this forum until now.
i wasn't sure i would get it as i was not a very law abiding or LEO liking person in my youth.i changed my mind and my ways about that about 15 yrs ago and decided to move into the light.i was also sick of being scummy.
anyway i think all or most of you realize from most of my posts that i am one of you and more importantly i think as most of all of you do on responsibility and law abiding folks rights.
i just want to say if anyone out there has not had a great unblemished past , but has led a good life for at least 10 or 15 years dont be afraid to try and get your CHL if you really want one. you will never know if you dont try.
i sent a letter to the DPS thanking them for their help in working w/me to get my CHL they were great. i think everybody on this forum are really good people and i am proud to be associated with you all.
other than that all i have left to say is God Bless Texas.
sorry about the long post everybody and thanks for bearing w/me i needed to say it. :wave: