Maggie, aka Karen, is baaack! Reading and searching for a doggie companion.

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Maggie, aka Karen, is baaack! Reading and searching for a doggie companion.

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1maggie1944
Apr 13, 2017, 10:39 am

OK. I'll confess I've been hanging out mostly in the 75 books group, and my competitive nature had me trying to read lots and lots of books. And then the pressure I was putting on myself collided with my living in a new home, in a new retirement community, and my eyesight not being as good as I wish it were. Dang! Reading lots and lots of books was just not in the cards.

So, now, I've lost my beloved companion for the past 12 years when I had to put my miniature schnauzer, Greta Garbo, down due to horrible cancer. The very nice vet said "her body is just riddled with cancer". Broke my heart, I can tell you that and I still look for her in my apartment. I walked in the other evening after a meeting and the apartment was dark, cold, and quiet. It has not been like that forever. I walk right back out and walked down the hall to watch TV with a friend for a few minutes, and I was able to pet her new cat. I love my community, but I really, really miss my Greta.

I am reading an interesting book about Butch Cassidy written by a man who knew some of the old timers who actually new first hand of the Butch and the wild bunch of crooks he led. The Outlaw Trail: The Story of Butch Cassidy and the "Wild Bunch". It is not written in a gripping style, more a solid workman-like accounting of local history with a liberal sprinkling of enticing details. It is a book I would recommend only to aficionado of western cowboy history.

I hope to hang out here, read a little, and live a lot. I've found a nearby private pet rescue organization and I think I'll start volunteering there while I look for a new companion. That worked for me 15 years ago when I found my first miniature schnauzer, Nicky; I imagine it will work again.

2MrsLee
Apr 13, 2017, 10:42 am

Glad to have you back Karen. Many loving thoughts have been winging their way to you the past week. *Hug*

3Bookmarque
Apr 13, 2017, 10:43 am

Oh Karen I'm so sorry. Recently I had to euthanize my Thomas who I also had for 12 years. It's painful I know and I did the same thing - looked for him during the day when I knew he was gone. I hope you can find another companion to love and share your big heart with.

4SylviaC
Apr 13, 2017, 10:55 am

Nice to see you back here, Karen. I've updated your listing on the reading journal master thread. Sorry to hear about Greta Garbo. I always enjoyed your posts about her over the years.

5hfglen
Apr 13, 2017, 11:27 am

Welcome home! And good luck in finding the right dog for you.

6clamairy
Edited: Apr 13, 2017, 12:13 pm

I'm offering you hugs in this thread as well. I really do hope you'll stick around. You've been missed, my friend.

7pgmcc
Apr 13, 2017, 1:36 pm

Great to see back in the Green Dragon. Has anyone offered you a drink yet? What are you having?

8maggie1944
Apr 13, 2017, 3:49 pm

A nice little cup of tea (oops, I mean gin) would be just lovely.

Thanks

9catzteach
Apr 13, 2017, 10:40 pm

Glad to see you! Sorry about your loss. We had to put down two of ours over the holidays. We still look for them. I hope you are able to find the right companion soon.

10NorthernStar
Apr 14, 2017, 12:27 am

Good to see you back here. So sorry about Greta Garbo. I can relate, as I lost my lovely dog Hamish to cancer at the end of February. I'd had him for almost 11 years. They sure leave a hole in your heart and your life.

11maggie1944
Edited: Apr 14, 2017, 9:23 am

Hi, nice to see you.

News: I've been on the computer hunting for a miniature schnauzer, the breed I've come to love, and there were three adults up for adoption because their human recently died. I received a phone call yesterday saying that my application for another dog, previously, led to the agency considering me for one of these dogs. Wow! In one day, I gave them two names for references, plus the name of my Veterinary group, and they were able to make the contacts. Today I'm told I should expect a home visit...and tomorrow these dogs could arrive near here from California.

The dogs are adults and the one the agency is putting forward for me is named Gretchen, and is 8 years old. She has much the same look as did Greta. This is very fast but looks like an unusual opportunity. I'm not quite ready but here she comes. I think this may very well work out well. I hope. I am excited. This is not like getting married within a week of your spouse's death! I hope.

12MrsLee
Apr 14, 2017, 9:47 am

>11 maggie1944: This is not like getting married within a week of your spouse's death! I hope."

Decidedly not! Taking in lost and forlorn critters in their time of need is a good thing. I would only advise, be sure you see Gretchen for who she is, and not who you want her to be. Does that make sense? You will always miss Greta, but your heart is big, and perhaps there is room in it for you to be the balm Gretchen needs right now, as well as she being a balm for you.

13pgmcc
Apr 14, 2017, 9:52 am

My wife, her sister, niece and our daughters went to a Dublin hotel for a "Girls' afternoon tea". Afternoon tea is an occasion when sandwiches and pastries are served on multi-tiered cake stands with tea. A china tea service is the norm for such occasions. This used to be common in the 1960s and earlier. It is coming back into fashion as a little bit of luxury. In some hotels it is necessary to book afternoon tea some months ahead now that it has become fashionable once again.

The hotel visited by wife and girls' gang has a menu of afternoon teas. Some options vary the nature of the sandwiches (though cucumber sandwiches would be the most traditional) and pastries; others the tea. My wife and family opted the afternoon tea "special". This presented a variation on the content of the teapot. The teapot contained mojito. There they were nibbling sandwiches and pastries while sipping mojitos from delicate china cups.

14maggie1944
Apr 14, 2017, 10:28 am

MrsLee, I exactly what you mean. I looked again at the site where these dogs were pictured and realized that Gretchen has docked ears which is not what Greta had, for ears, and that will help me see Gretchen for who she is, I hope.

Peter, the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia, has "high tea" also with those three tiers filled with small sandwiches and sweets etc. etc. Cost a pretty penny, as the saying goes, and yet my good friend took me there for my birthday in 2014 when I turned 70! Lovely. I think having alternatives in the tea pot is a very clever ploy! In the end, I was glad to have done it once, and probably will not return.

I did like the baseball cap the Empress sold - black with rhinestones. The back of the cap had "the Empress" on it. I loved that "crown".

ah, life!

15AHS-Wolfy
Apr 14, 2017, 10:34 am

Karen, Welcome home! We've missed you here. Sad to hear about Greta but looks like serendipty has come your way with the potential new arrivals. Hope it works out for all concerned. I'm also glad to hear that you've settled well in your new community.

16pgmcc
Apr 14, 2017, 10:40 am

>14 maggie1944: Yes, high tea here is a pretty penny too.

I think the most famous high tea has to be the one in The Importance of Being Earnest for which Earnest was so insistent that the cucumber sandwiches must be ready for Lady Bracknel.

17catzteach
Apr 14, 2017, 10:20 pm

>11 maggie1944: sounds like a perfect arrangement! May Gratchen be everything you both need.

18maggie1944
Apr 18, 2017, 10:23 am

>15 AHS-Wolfy: Dave, thanks for the welcome. It does feel like home, here, doesn't it. So last night was the second full night with Gretchen, the newest pup in my life, and we were successful in her NOT wetting in my bed. Whew! First time was probably my fault for not timing the bathroom breaks and the trips outside smartly enough.

As for the community, if feels quite perfect. Good friends, always something interesting going on, a book group, a library, good food (really good food), reasonable price. I feel as if I've been rewarded for having spent some time searching for the right place for my retirement years.

Going to a meeting of my "Library Thing Book Group" this evening. It is a small group of steadfast readers who are willing to drive to some place where we actually meet face-to-face. I know it just does not happen like that much these days.
We will discuss The Outlaw Trail in part because one of our members has a relative who lived in the area and in the time of this story. There really was a Butch Cassidy and a Sundance Kid. Who knew? And the movie which so many of us loved was pretty accurate in many aspects. We will also talk about the "new pup" who will be there to greet everyone in the parking lot.

>16 pgmcc: Peter, thanks for stopping by. In my little retirement community we have one member who as a hobby rallies the old folks into a kind of readers' theatre which is a hoot for all who act in the play and all who watch it. I will look for the "high tea" scene. I also think I need to borrow a copy of 'The Importance of Being Earnest" and read it before they give it a go.

>17 catzteach: Hi, Cindy. Sorry I missed the Portland Meet-Up and I look forward to finding another time to get together. Maybe this summer in Seattle?

19hfglen
Apr 18, 2017, 12:08 pm

Woof! sniffsniffsniff ... etc.

20Bookmarque
Apr 18, 2017, 12:37 pm

Funny about the names. When I was a little girl my aunt and uncle had one German Shepard after another - the first one was Gretchen and the second was Greta.

21maggie1944
Apr 18, 2017, 2:10 pm

Hugh! ha ha ha ha ha! She's been doing a lot of that!

Bookmarque, that is a funny coincidence. I do catch myself calling my new girl "Greta" and then I fumble about for "Gretchen". She definitely knows her name, and calling her "Greta" gets no response at all.

22maggie1944
Apr 20, 2017, 6:07 am

Good morning, LT buddies. I'm awake at an unreasonable time in the morning, which I do every so often, and I know I'm not supposed to get on the computer, but it is comforting to know I have friends all around the world. And I can say, good morning.

23Bookmarque
Apr 20, 2017, 7:34 am

Good morning. Glad you're trespassing in the forbidden zone.

24reconditereader
Apr 20, 2017, 3:08 pm

Good afternoon to you and your doggie!

25jillmwo
Apr 22, 2017, 10:42 am

>22 maggie1944: There's always someone lurking about these parts, my dear, at all hours of the day! Give Gretchen a pat or rub her ears (whichever she may prefer) and enjoy your weekend.

26maggie1944
Apr 22, 2017, 11:50 am

Thanks, everyone. I've felt very welcome back, and Gretchen is a happy puppy who right now is begging to go for a walk. Need to put on my shoes and off we go before the rains hit us today.

27clamairy
Apr 24, 2017, 10:09 pm

I'm very happy that life with the new pup is working out so well for both of you. :o)

So... what are you reading these days, my dear?

28maggie1944
Apr 24, 2017, 11:03 pm

Ah, yes, I picked up A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, a book much praised by my friends in the 75 books group. Also, one of my friends in the F2F group which struggles on really recommended it, and when I was selling a lot of unread books she "ordered" me to not sell it.

It did grab me on the first page, and I'm sneaking reading time in here and there.

Busy life in the Silver Glen Cooperative retirement community. We are going through the agony of changing our Bylaws, and having an Annual Meeting to elect new Board members. Seems like there's a real possibility that I will be asked to be President. Sigh.

29catzteach
Apr 25, 2017, 12:07 am

Oooh, Amor Towles. I really liked Rules of Civility. I think I'll have to check out this one.

A meet up would be good! I have many friends in Seattle. Not sure when I'll make it back up there. I'm hoping to get up there the next summer or two for a workshop. I'll holler when that happens.

I'm glad Gretchen is working out!

30pgmcc
Apr 25, 2017, 3:21 am

>28 maggie1944: I have pondered over whether or not to buy A Gentleman in Moscow but your comments have pushed me over the line. I have some birthday book tokens so it will not be a financial decision. Thank you!

Good luck with the election, Madame President!

31Sakerfalcon
Apr 25, 2017, 4:13 am

A belated welcome back to you! My internet has been up and down lately so I've not been able to post as often as I'd like, and I had a message all ready to post here when I got disconnected and couldn't get back on. I'm glad Gretchen is settling in and that you are reading a good book. That one is on my wish list.

32Bookmarque
Apr 25, 2017, 7:42 am

I read Gentleman last year and it made my top 5 novels of the year! I hope you love it too.

33maggie1944
Apr 25, 2017, 8:36 am

I continue to love the book. I'm noting the author loves words, and the excellent turn of a phrase; and, this does not detract from the story. Nicely done, Mr Towles. I'm early going but I'm sure this book will be a delight all the way through.

In fact, I'm going to shut the lap top and go back to reading.

34maggie1944
Apr 30, 2017, 8:09 am

I'm also reading Will's Red Coat which is an excellent dog book, one which inspires me to be a good companion to Gretchen, my little old lady of a rescue doe.

35jillmwo
Apr 30, 2017, 10:14 am

>34 maggie1944: Had you read Tom Ryan's previous book. Following Atticus? Just curious about how you happened to learn of this particular title about taking in an old dog.

36maggie1944
Apr 30, 2017, 2:41 pm

Oh, yes, Jill. I read Following Atticus several years ago and it is one of my favorite "dog books". I admire Tom's approach to his dogs and loved reading of his adventures. When he announced he was working on Will's Red Coat I went immediately to Amazon and signed up for a prepublication place in line. I received the book the day it was released. I'm quite a few pages into it, and am loving it.

37maggie1944
May 2, 2017, 10:06 am

I finished reading Will's Red Coat and I loved it. It helped me deal a bit with my grief over Greta Garbo's death. I am so grateful for having spent twelve years with this lovely classy dog, and I miss her. But Tom's work with Will to let him live his best for a couple of last years helped me "let go".

I do recommend the book to all who love dogs, and who understand the connection between ourselves and our pets can teach us wonderful life lessons.

38maggie1944
May 2, 2017, 7:04 pm

Books read in 2017

1. Humans of New York - a lovely account of a young photographer becoming increasingly interested in photographing the average citizens of New York city. I enjoyed both the photographs and the accounts of conversations had.

2. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

3. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

4. The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

5. Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan

6. Local by Brian Wood

7. Maman, What Are We Called Now?

8. Will's Red Coat by Tom Ryan

A very sweet book about Tom and his sidekick Atticus (hero of an earlier book: Following Atticus) as they "adopt" Will, a very sick abandoned miniature schnauzer. Will came to Tom and Atticus nearly blind, and totally deaf as well as barely able to walk for himself due to arthritis and who knows what else. Tom nurses Will as if he were a millionaire able to hire the best and most selfless of servants. The little dog recovers a good life, and Tom finds a new spiritual understanding of how being a servant in life is the best of discoveries. I recommend the book to those who love dogs, and who understand the spiritual side of all life, human, animal and plants.

39maggie1944
Edited: May 6, 2017, 1:48 pm

Books read in 2017

1. Humans of New York - a lovely account of a young photographer becoming increasingly interested in photographing the average citizens of New York city. I enjoyed both the photographs and the accounts of conversations had.

2. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

3. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

4. The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

5. Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan

6. Local by Brian Wood

7. Maman, What Are We Called Now?

8. Will's Red Coat by Tom Ryan

9. His Bloody Project by Roderick Macrae. I read this book as the next book for my little F2F book group, meeting next on May 16. I mention the date because this is the first time in a long time that I was able to finish the chosen book well before the meeting.

The author received the honor of having the novel on the Man Booker Prize, 2016, finalist list. It was a very interesting, and unusual novel, but not at all hard to read. It is described as a "historical thriller" but I was impressed by its historical nature much more than its being a thriller. It is definitely a mystery, and the tension to arrive at the conclusion was well built in the final chapters; however, I think the majority of the book was spent in describing the condition of rural Scotland in the mid-1800s. And I, lover of history, and descendant of a Scottish immigrant to the USA, enjoyed this aspect of the book very much. The physical descriptions of a typical Scots highlander were compared, by me, to the physical characteristics of my father, my brother and myself. Silly me!

I also was interested in the accounts of the early development of criminal psychiatry and the dead end ideas of hereditary criminality and of moral insanity.

All, in all, a good read. Kept me in my chair despite it being a lovely Saturday morning, with sunshine, when I should have been out walking the dog.

40reconditereader
May 7, 2017, 4:50 pm

If you liked that, you might like The Alienist by Caleb Carr. (Although I think its sequel, The Angel of Darkness, might be even better!)

41pgmcc
May 7, 2017, 5:09 pm

>40 reconditereader: I enjoyed The Alienist many moons ago. I did not read The Angel of Darkness but may have it lurking somewhere in the house.

I did read his, The Italian Secretary, which I did not realise until I started reading it was a "Further Adventure of Sherlock Holmes", a detail not mentioned on the cover of my copy. It was mediocre. Had I known it was a Sherlock Holmes story written by someone who was not Sir Arthur Conan Doyle I would not have read it. I have an aversion to an author's creation being used by other authors. It is too much like seeking attention and sales on the coattails of someone else's work. Oh, hang on. It's not like that. It is exactly that.

42maggie1944
May 7, 2017, 6:26 pm

>40 reconditereader:, I did read The Alienist and liked it very much. I may have also read The Angel of Darkness but sadly I don't remember it.

>41 pgmcc: I agree that borrowing a famous character out of someone else's body of work seem very much like cheating!

43reconditereader
May 7, 2017, 9:46 pm

Agree with you both. I don't really read Sherlock Holmes (or other character) books written by some other author after the original author dies. For people who do, there's a lot out there, of varying interestingness and quality. Surprisingly, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has a Sherlock Holmes book out. Not bad.

44maggie1944
May 26, 2017, 10:50 am

Just checkin' in. I'm busy with trying to keep ahead of the paper work associated with being on my retirement community's Board of Directors. Also, try to read at least a bit of the NY Times every morning, and some of the New Yorker magazine before the next week's issue arrives. I do love the cartoons in The New Yorker but I wish it had more movie reviews. Articles are good, and they are on top of keeping the Trump machine humble.

Spring has arrived in the Pac NW and the sun is very cheerful this morning. I"m dedicated to get a lot of paperwork taken care of today and it will be more pleasant in a sun filled apartment.

Also, hoping my next door neighbor will feel well enough to go the The Seattle Storm basketball game with me. I'm pretty sad as the nephew has more interests in life and therefore more conflicts with the game days. I cut back the number of tickets I purchased but even this was not enough. I continue to be disappointed when he cannot go to the games because he is going bowling, or going to Boy Scout camp, or playing football. Ah, the grief of an abandoned great aunt. I need to beef up my own list of friends who will go to basketball. The next door neighbor is a great candidate except that her health is beginning to fail her, and maybe tonight she will just not be able to go. I have one more candidate and once it is a decent hour in the morning I'll check on whether she could go.

So, I guess you can see why I do not have another book to list as finished. But among things which are finished, I guess my little book "club" is a goner. Too many "members" find reasons to not attend, or to "oops" forget to attend. Last meeting was me alone, with my small cup of ice cream. The ice cream was good.

Thanks for visiting my pity party. Next time I'll have more interesting stuff to post, I promise.

45hfglen
May 26, 2017, 11:57 am

Hmmmmz. Thinks: I wonder if Kloof library gets the New Yorker. Must check next time I'm there.

46NorthernStar
May 26, 2017, 1:33 pm

>44 maggie1944: - always hard when lives change and groups, friends, and family we spent time with move on. Living in a small town with a pretty transient population, this is something I've also had to deal with many times over the years. I hope you will spend more time with us at the Green Dragon in the meantime!

And how is Gretchen doing?

47maggie1944
May 26, 2017, 2:26 pm

Glen, I hope you can find copies of The New Yorker to look at from time to time. The articles are usually quite good.

Gretchen is doing very nicely. She's much more relaxed and enjoys going for walks at a pretty quick pace. Good for my old legs. We also found a off leash dog park not too far away, and not too large. She loves to be on the loose, and she does try to "play" with the big dogs, and she does squeal when they are a wee bit overwhelming. She does come hide behind my legs if I'm close enough, so I know she knows who is her safe companion. There is a lovely large dog park which we may visit when I'm sure she'll stay close enough to me.

Thanks for stopping by.

48SylviaC
May 26, 2017, 11:26 pm

I love the New Yorker cartoons, too. I have several old collections of them, and now I follow them on Facebook, where they are always up-to-date and topical.

49clamairy
May 28, 2017, 5:45 pm

>44 maggie1944: & >48 SylviaC: Yes, the cartoons are awesome. So are the articles, but I could never get through a whole magazine full of them. Even in a week. My 'adult onset' ADD won't let me.

Glad to hear Gretchen is settling in so well.

50maggie1944
May 29, 2017, 1:12 pm

yup, I have some adult onset ADD, too. Without the hyperactive behavior, which I might welcome to keep the muscle tone.

Gretchen is quite the clingy doggie, and that takes a little getting used to for me. She's on my lap now, so the lap top has to balance on the arm rest. Good fun!

51Sakerfalcon
May 30, 2017, 8:52 am

Glad to hear that Gretchen has settled in and claimed you as her human.
I miss the New Yorker but would never find time to read the whole thing weekly.

52maggie1944
May 30, 2017, 9:09 am

I don't even try to read the "whole" The New Yorker every week. I'm lucky if I read one good article, and see all the cartoons, and skim the movie reviews. It is worth it, IMHO.

Thanks for stopping by. Yesterday, I attended a small "picnic" outside of our center building, and took Gretchen with me, staked her on a patch of grass. She put up with it for a while, but eventually she wiggled her way out of her halter, and walked right over to me, naked as the day the was born. I guess I can claim she is bonded to me. She is very sweet, and affectionate.

53maggie1944
Jun 4, 2017, 9:00 am

Ha ha ha, I just spent the last couple of hours of very early morning walking and feeding the dog, and then reading a Sherman Alexie story in The 6/5 & 6/12 edition of The New Yorker. The story made me smile big, and wish I had Mr. Alexie as a friend. He exhibits an admirable ability to see people as they behave in a very ordinary way and yet he captures their genius and luminosity of being human. I love that.

It is tough to get four people together consistently every month for a book group. I think successful groups are large enough so that they can stick with one certain day, and then show up in sufficient numbers that a few absences are not a huge problem. I did not like being stuck with not one person showing up last month.

I'm reading Born a Crime by Trevor North which might be a good book for the group. It is a quick, easy, and amusing read while letting us learn more about South Africa's very complicated history.

Also, our Silver Glen book group is reading The Geography of Genius which looks to be fascinating. Also could be a good next book for the group.

I think my group should just bite the bullet and cancel the meeting for June, and maybe July. It is hard to meet in the summer. I'll go over the book group's thread and suggest it.

How do the rest of you who are in book groups keep up the enthusiasm, and commitment?

54suitable1
Jun 4, 2017, 11:13 am

How do the rest of you who are in book groups keep up the enthusiasm, and commitment?

Wine and cheese?

55jillmwo
Edited: Jun 4, 2017, 12:18 pm

Well, from a leader's perspective, what I find is important is the ability to find different hooks into the particular title. For example, when I did a book discussion of The Bone Garden, I researched Boston's Night Watch that plays a part in the story as well as noting some additional information about the Underground Railroad. There's the hope of being able to relate an author's technique in the book under discussion to other books that the group has read, as that allows discussion to include those who may not have read one book but have read other titles with the group. It's another way to keep the discussion flowing -- noting tidbits of information that may not appear in the book, but which are relevant to the book.

One of my groups is very small (from 4 women down to 3) and sometimes it is difficult to keep conversation going if the title is unsatisfactory for one of the trio. Again, it helps to have looked at a variety of book reviews -- both positive and negative -- as it makes it easier to comment on what others encountered. (I will note that this book group meets at idiosyncratic intervals. Sometimes it's only 3 weeks between gatherings, sometimes it's six. Is that possible for your group?)

Fostering conversation is also fueled by asking questions. When one of the members of my group(s) is fumbling for why she did or didn't like the book, it's sometimes useful to ask highly specific questions about events or episodes within the narrative to help the person identify what exactly it was that they found problematic. The more you engage with a person, the more they feel as if their thinking is valued. (I once had one woman tell me she's stuck with the library book group for as long as she has, because it was the first group that had ever acted as if her opinion about a book had validity.)

I always end up having sheafs of paper that I can refer to over the course of the 60-90 minutes of a discussion, so that when the group goes silent, I can jump-start it again.

For the record, one of my groups failed because I actually did try to keep it to the same day every month. Sometimes that's an aid to attendance, but it really can be a barrier. It's an issue of rhythm, I suspect. And sometimes, the problem is that what people are looking for in their leisure reading and discussion is just out of sync with the larger portion of the group. One woman I know (a dear friend) once told me that she found my book groups to be very intense and sometimes just too much work for what she could give. It was kind of disappointing, but it was valuable feedback as well.

56maggie1944
Jun 4, 2017, 1:37 pm

Wow, Jill, this is really helpful. I'm going to grab it and post it in our book group's thread. I don't know how soon it will be read by members but I think it could be helpful.

Thank you, very much!

57maggie1944
Jun 12, 2017, 8:59 am

June 14, 2007 is when I joined Library Thing! Ten years! That is an eternity in "on line life".

58MrsLee
Jun 12, 2017, 9:48 am

Happy Thingaversary! A bit early, so I don't forget. :D

59Bookmarque
Jun 12, 2017, 11:18 am

Hey congratulations! May the next 10 be just as wonderful.

60AHS-Wolfy
Jun 13, 2017, 9:41 am

Happy Thingaversary Karen! Congrats on the new badge.

61jillmwo
Jun 13, 2017, 5:19 pm

Happy Thingaversary indeed! So glad you've been a part of this place.

62Sakerfalcon
Jun 14, 2017, 4:35 am

Happy Thingaversary! I hope you find an appropriate way to celebrate.

63maggie1944
Jun 14, 2017, 6:50 am

It does make me want to evaluate my ten years here. First of all, I joined because I wanted to organize my huge library. Well, that is a bust as of today. I've sold the bulk of my books, I've not paid any attention to the "library" here under my name. I read less than I used to do.

Why? 1. My cataract surgery was difficult on my reading eyes. I do not have the stamina. My eyes are dryer, and I forget to use eye drops. I sit and read and within 20 minutes to a half hour I want to get up and move around, doing something.
2. I have less patience to read "difficult" books. This is probably in part because I have less willingness to sit still and read for a protracted period of time. 3. The damn political situation has me glued to the TV for far too much of my days. 4. My responsibilities in my new retirement community take up a good deal of time. 5. I'm still downsizing and settling into my new nest. 6. I have to walk my dog.

Whah whah whah

Silly me. I'm having a pity party on my anniversary.

Today is the actual day, and I do want to celebrate. My budget is strained just now after $$$ spent on the car, $$$ spent on my precious Greta Garbo's last illness, and what all. So I'll not be buying 10 books, with one to grow my library. I did buy Sherman Alexie's new book: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. And I am hoping it will arrive today.

64clamairy
Jun 15, 2017, 9:35 pm

Well, I guess 'Happy' might not be the correct word to use then. Ummm.... Congratulations on your 10th Thingaversary, then. Don't fret too much. :o/ We've discussed having dry spells in here before and for most of us they do pass. *big hugs*

65maggie1944
Jul 10, 2017, 10:01 pm

I am stopping by to say I'm not running out to buy 11 new books. I have a few piles of unread books here in my living room, and some in my bedroom, too. I read a few pages today. That was a good thing, and I talked about the book to one of my neighbors here at SG, she seemed interested. Says she no long can read print books, and we both hoped it is available on Kindle. She also loves games and crossword puzzles. We have some lovely people here. And I can say it is a great delight that we are all retired.

66maggie1944
Edited: Jul 26, 2017, 8:48 am

I saw a moving account by Sherman Alexie on Facebook where he described the emotional impact of his having written this memoir, and his decision to cut his book tour short due to his being very emotionally raw and vulnerable. I am so very impressed by this man who through his writing has one foot in the 21st Century, reaching out to people of all backgrounds to share his human experience, and one foot in his heritage and family history. A great deal of courage is demonstrated.

I find reading You Don't Have to Say You Love Me along side of Trevor Noah's Born A Crime to be very moving. I'm delighted to see both these courageous men using humor to illuminate the very unfunny reality of racial divides in the 21st Century.

edit: fixed touchstone

67jillmwo
Jul 19, 2017, 7:24 pm

So what was the title by Sherman Alexis? You didn't specify. (And how are the eyes doing?)

68maggie1944
Edited: Jul 19, 2017, 8:02 pm

Hi, Jill. The Alexie book is You Don't Have to Say You Love Me. Sorry I did not make it more clear that title, and author. His name is Alexie, not Alexis (as corrected by auto correct).

69jillmwo
Edited: Jul 20, 2017, 7:18 am

I think the issue was the touchstone link in #66. It's going to a different work altogether -- one by Saara Manning. The touchstone in #68 goes to the correct book and author. Thanks for the clarification.

70maggie1944
Jul 26, 2017, 8:49 am

Thanks, Jill. I fixed it.

71clamairy
Jul 26, 2017, 11:16 am

Just put Alexie's book on hold with OverDrive. I may snag the Audible version of Trevor Noah's.

72maggie1944
Jul 26, 2017, 5:18 pm

Trevor Noah does his own audio and is very good. He has a natural born funny bone and it shines through the audio version of his book.

73maggie1944
Aug 4, 2017, 8:35 am

So, I've had my sweet Gretchen for 3.5 months now and she has settled in very nicely. She loves people, more the females than the males, but she is generally friendly and approaches people easily. She loves going to the dog park as she gets to socialize with others of her species, which I'm sure she misses as she used to live with two siblings. She loves going for walks which is great as that is what I need: something to get me out of my reading chair, and getting moving. She is very affectionate and likes falling to sleep in my lap/arms.

She will never be Greta Garbo who was beautiful, and stately. A friendly dog but mostly just happy to be a dog, doing what dogs do. Gretchen is a bit ungainly looking with a head way too small for her body, and legs a wee bit too short. She ends up looking a little bit like a pot bellied pig, and she does snort a bit. "Miss Piggy" - but she does not have the personality of that muppet character, thank goodness.

I'm sitting on a huge number of books started, but not finished. Currently, I'm reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for the small, but happy, book group which meets in a few days. (This group started from a LT Meet Up in Seattle several years ago). The book is sweet and cheerful, just what I need. It talks about how wonderful books and friends are and indeed that is true.

I'm also reading The Geography of Geniuswhich is on the list of books to read this summer for the "Book Club" here at the retirement cooperative where once a month a medium sized group gets together to discuss a book. I really want to finish this book by September, but it is one of those "hard to read, but I committed myself to do it".

It is quite warm here in the Pacific Northwest corner of the USA, unusually so. We've not had rain for some weeks and the landscape is beginning to show the stress. I feel generally grateful that our climate here is very friendly and this brief bout with "heat" is not too bad, but it does demonstrate how much we need to change our human ways and let our planet heal itself.

74MrsLee
Aug 4, 2017, 9:53 am

>73 maggie1944: Good to hear from you. Glad Gretchen is settling in and you are enjoying each other's company.

I have two outdoor cats which have decided that I am their human within the last week. One for the front porch, one for the back, and both extremely jealous of my time and affection, so that makes for some real cat drama around here. I think they were probably brother and sister, but they were abandoned by neighbors who moved, and so have issues. She was sleek and not too skinny when she came to us because she is a hunter. He was skin, fur and bones. Looking better now, and his neutering is only two weeks away. She was already spayed. Now the issue is to keep other strays from eating their food. May have to feed them in the house if they will. Jinn ate in the house this morning, but Brindle is not comfortable. She will come in, but the minute she thinks the door might close she is OUT.

Sorry to tell you my pet woes! :) Are you enjoying the Guernsey book? Have you read it before? That is one I loved and intend to read again, but haven't done so yet.

75maggie1944
Aug 4, 2017, 10:22 am

Ah, cat wars. They screaming can be quite piercing, and unnerving. I had cats all the time I was a working woman. Dogs only arrived in my retirement. I am impressed with your desire to treat some outdoor kitties nicely. Good luck.

Yes, I have read the Guernsey book previously, but it was long ago and I am re-reading it with a sense of discovery. I kinda remember it, but not really. I am enjoying it. It is pretty light and an easy read, but also amusing and engaging.

Thanks for stopping by and saying "hey".

76catzteach
Aug 4, 2017, 10:31 am

Gretchen sounds like a fun doggie. I'm glad she has settled in.

I really enjoyed the Guernsey book. It would be a good re-read.

77maggie1944
Aug 7, 2017, 7:18 am

Hi, Cindi, yes, Gretchen is a fun dog. Her personality is coming out more and more and she makes me happy. She likes to fall to sleep in my lap which is nice and cozy, but in this hot weather not always comfortable. Yesterday, she kept wiggling and finally I put her down on the cooler floor. We were both happier.

I did like the Guernsey book better the second time around. Fun how that goes. I have a hard time frequently with re-reads. Somehow if I know "how it turns out" I just don't want to read it again. But truthfully, the second time is a good time to appreciate the writing even more.

78catzteach
Aug 7, 2017, 2:04 pm

I don't do many re-reads either. I usually remember too much of the book to enjoy it. There are a few I like to re-read, like To Kill a Mockingbird, but not many. I am re-reading the first few books in the Wheel of Time series because I want to read all of them and it's been years since I read the first six or seven.

79maggie1944
Aug 7, 2017, 2:24 pm

I know what you mean. I've been thinking about re-reading some of my favorite childhood books, and I started today by reading a bit in The Wind in the Willows.

80maggie1944
Aug 14, 2017, 8:29 am

I continue to be bedeviled with a lack of making time to read. Yesterday, I had a surprising number of interruptions from the community. I am being called upon to settle disputes and I'm nervous that this is an arena in which I have little experience. I hope my good intentions, and good listening skills, will be helpful. I'm sure I'll end up like many a "leader" with half of my friends being happy, and the other half being unhappy with me.

This week I also have to weave going to Jury Duty into my life. Yikes. The use of mass transit from where I live to downtown Seattle may take as long as two hours, so 2 + 8 + 2 = 12 hours dedicated to my civic duty. The other 12 must be divided between eating, walking the dog, washing up, and sleeping. Where's my reading time? Oh, yeah, on the bus. In the jury waiting room. Thank goodness for my Kindle. Must go plug it in.

81reconditereader
Aug 14, 2017, 1:14 pm

You can get quite a lot of reading done in the jury waiting room. Bring earplugs. Good luck!

82catzteach
Aug 14, 2017, 8:26 pm

Jury duty. Yep, all I did was read when I had it. Makes a long day for you, though.

83maggie1944
Sep 3, 2017, 9:01 am

I finished reading John Lewis's trilogy about the civil rights movement from his perspective of being a member and leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. I spent a couple of years on the University of Washington campus raising money and awareness for SNCC and was very passionate about that work. A best friend went to the Mississippi Freedom Summer to help try to register voters in face of violent and unlovable white prejudiced society. The 1960s were very dramatic even before the anti-war movement began.

I'll not write about what my response to John Lewis's books is until after our little book group meets on September 19.

I do think the format of graphic nonfiction is very effective.

84maggie1944
Sep 16, 2017, 11:08 am

The book group moved its meeting back a week at my request due to the fact that EVERYTHING wants to happen on Tuesday nights. Frustration galore. I sometimes have a choice of three things I want to do. Wah!

85maggie1944
Sep 16, 2017, 11:10 am

Here's what I have to say about March: Trilogy Slipcase Set by John Lewis: Brilliant. A iconic account of John Lewis' part in the 1960s- 1970s Civil Rights movement, including all the nasty stuff. Murders, beatings, police dogs put on protestors, fire hoses and all the bravery and boldness of the new generation of Americans in the south who would not put up with segregation of lunch counters, public bus lines, and public bathrooms and who would not stand down in their insistence that all American citizens have the right to vote.

The books were accurate to the era I lived through; and they were lovely with illustrations which did not candy coat the violence of those days.

86maggie1944
Sep 19, 2017, 10:45 am

Here's what I'm trying to read now:

Al Franken: Giant of the Senate was both informative and funny. I read it fairly quickly because it was not ponderous, and not preachy. I have finished reading this book, and I do recommend it.

What Happened by Hillary Clinton - I have just started it and I cannot say that, so far, it offers anything new to me. But of course I'm addicted to MSNBC on the TV so I have heard lots about what happened. I came to the book believing that in many ways the Clintons have both created their own difficulties and have been the victim of those all too happy to take advantage of everytime they made poor decisions.

Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire - again, I've just started this book. I bought it due to a review declaring it was the most important book about what is going on. It is an interesting romp through the history of the United States of America, from the beginnings. I'm not sure it is "most important" but does provide an interesting glimpse into the tendency of the citizens of this brave new world, of this young experiment in government by the people, for the people, and of the people; the tendency of these citizens to picture reality through the lens of fantasy, not reality.

Unbelievable by Katy Tur. Yet again, I've only started this book, but I have watched Katy Tur cover, for NBC/MSNBC, Donald Trump from the beginning of his campaign. She is intelligent and gutsy. She tolerated being verbally abused by Trump from his "pulpit" and by his followers who caused the Secret Service to protect her occasional retreat from the field. I look forward to read her interpretation of what his character and behavior told her.

Lastly, I'm also reading Reclaiming Epicurus about this Greek philosopher who recommended "moderation in all things".

87maggie1944
Sep 27, 2017, 6:29 pm

Well, having learned that I should read 3 books at a time to fully enjoy each of them, I went on a buying spree:

1. Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
2. Little Charlie's Big Adventure in France by Kyle Campbell Miller
and
3. Clos de Paris: Tales of Restoring a Normandy Farmhouse by Kyle Campbell Miller

The last two are written by a friend of a friend, who moved to France and also restored an old farmhouse. What an adventure. When I visited her in 2008 it was only inhabitable in two large down stairs rooms, three bedrooms, and two bathrooms. Charming. Full of potential. It is for sale... if any one wants to buy a restored farm house in France, let me know.

I just cannot stick to one book. The book club which started with LT folks and is still functioning is reading #1 above for the month of November, so I guess I'll put the priority there for now.

88maggie1944
Oct 6, 2017, 7:59 am

Reading The Sons of Profits by Bill Speidel. Mr. Speidel lived in Seattle during my childhood and I heard of him many times. I thought I had read is book, but now that I have it, and have dipped into it, I realized "nope, have not read it".

It is a hoot! He loves to dig into relatively recent history (about 150 years ago) and debunk all the glamour and class ascribed to Seattle's "founding fathers". He uncovers some real renegade characters who "came west" to avoid being civilized. I'm not finished so I"m not writing a review, I'm just enjoying reading it, and wanted to tell someone.

It is cool and beautiful in Seattle these days. The leaves are beginning to turn, the sky is often deep blue, and the temps are completely comfortable.

89pgmcc
Oct 6, 2017, 8:40 am

>88 maggie1944: I know the feeling of wanting to share the joy of a good book while I am reading it and understand your post perfectly, especially as you appear to be enjoying the weather and surroundings as you read.

P.S. I am really enjoying Ken MacLeod's Corporation Wars: emergence, the third book in the trilogy.

90clamairy
Oct 8, 2017, 5:50 pm

I'm happy that you appear to be reading quite a bit again, my friend! (But three at a time would be too much for me!)

91maggie1944
Edited: Oct 15, 2017, 7:49 am

Hi, Clam. I have had actively open books numbering at least 2 before. Used to have one book that I could take to the tub, and the other might be a hard back, too heavy to read in the tub, or a Kindle. But I don't think I buy the theory that you pay more attention to each if you are reading multiple books. I think I pay attention when the book's author does a great job at writing.

I am also happy to be reading more but I confess I do suffer from my eyes not being as good as they were. I think mostly now I feel they become tired sooner.

Sigh. The rest of the body does so, too.

92maggie1944
Edited: Oct 15, 2017, 7:51 am

Books read in 2017

1. Humans of New York - a lovely account of a young photographer becoming increasingly interested in photographing the average citizens of New York city. I enjoyed both the photographs and the accounts of conversations had.

2. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie

3. Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard

4. The Aviator's Wife by Melanie Benjamin

5. Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan

6. Local by Brian Wood

7. Maman, What Are We Called Now?

8. Will's Red Coat by Tom Ryan

9. His Bloody Project by Roderick Macrae.

10. March: Trilogy Slipcase Set by John Lewis

11. On Power audio tape by Robert Caro

12. Clos de Paris: Tales of Restoring a Normandy Farmhouse by Kyle Campbell Miller

Well, the experiment of reading 2 or 3 books simultaneously continues. I picked up the shortest one and finished it early this Sunday morning. It is very quiet and peaceful at 4 AM on a Sunday, I tell you!

Kyle Miller is a magazine writer, and a life long traveler. She and her husband purchased Clos de Paris as a second home, and embarked on restoring it, including such joys as supervising someone who chipped out all the old, multicolored, grout from their outside wall in order to replace it with a uniform colored sand based grout which would breathe with the weather, coming and going.

I read the book because Kyle is friends with my friend Annie who has spent the last few years doing much the same with a lovely farmhouse in Normandy. I visited Annie in 2008 on what I called my one and only trip to France. I had a wonderful time, and so reading this book gave me the opportunity to revisit my memories. Annie helped Kyle and so I was treated to mentions of her's and her husband's names throughout.

I enjoyed the book primarily because of all these personal connections and also enjoyed the whole restoration story, albeit completely foreign to my life.

Clos de Paris: Tales of Restoring a Normandy Farmhouse by Kyle Campbell Miller

You can look see at www.closdeparis.com

93MrsLee
Oct 15, 2017, 10:15 am

I guess I wasn't the only one up at 4 a.m. this morning! I spent my wee hours starting a rich broth cooking.

94jillmwo
Oct 21, 2017, 11:18 am

>91 maggie1944: I think I pay attention when the book's author does a great job at writing. Yup! That's the ticket. And like you, I think I find reading print (rather than something on the Kindle) is less taxing on the eyes. And at least for me, better in terms of retaining what I read!

95maggie1944
Edited: Nov 7, 2017, 8:09 am

I had a lovely weekend in Fairbanks, Alaska. I joints other members of The Mountaineers' Photography committee to fly up north to see, and hopefully photograph, northern lights. Trip went well, but clouds obscured the northern lights phenomena. No photography but much exploration of a different locale, always good for enjoying and appreciating home.

While gone I received Bobby Kennedy: A Raging Spirit by Chris Matthews and Papa Ă  Grand Pas by Nadine Brun-Cosme. The latter a book to help me practice my child-like French language skills.

96Sakerfalcon
Nov 7, 2017, 10:04 am

>95 maggie1944: That sounds like a great trip even without the northern lights. I imagine it was pretty cold at this time of year?

97maggie1944
Nov 7, 2017, 10:05 am

A bit, but we all brought layers, and could layer up if needed. More often, we were taking layers off. Funny. I never really felt the cold.

98Sakerfalcon
Nov 7, 2017, 10:08 am

Good layering always does the trick!

99pgmcc
Nov 7, 2017, 11:06 am

>95 maggie1944: Great trip.

100maggie1944
Nov 7, 2017, 1:21 pm

Gretchen, miniature schnauzer the third, is home! Sitting next to me like glue on an envelope flap.

101NorthernStar
Nov 8, 2017, 12:13 am

>95 maggie1944: Sorry you missed the northern lights. I was just watching them out my living room window a few minutes ago, and they were spectacular; the best I've seen for a while. Lots of times I miss them by just not looking at the right time, but I am lucky enough to live in a location where they are often visible.

102jillmwo
Nov 11, 2017, 12:34 pm

Just stopping by to wish you a very Happy birthday! Hope you and Gretchen are happily wrapped up against any chill.

103maggie1944
Nov 11, 2017, 3:23 pm

Thank you, Jill. We are doing very nicely. Although she still HATES the rain, and our early morning walks are sometimes not very productive. Mostly she just hunkers down and head right back to the door into the apt. building.

104maggie1944
Dec 18, 2017, 5:00 pm

I am house sitting for my niece, watching over her dog, bird, and one fish. Also, watching their three cars. I started up the big truck who (I mean "which") paid attention to how small I am compared to its normal driver. I had very little to do in order to be able to see out in all directions. It did all the seat adjustments. I practice driving it down the block and back. Amazing.

I am opening the door for the dogs, and when it is raining neither wants to go outside. Luckily, it stopped raining.

Naps, too. Reading the last of Sapiens, also need to look at Born A Crime soon as I have a book discussion to lead.

105MrsLee
Dec 19, 2017, 8:15 am

>104 maggie1944: Sounds nice. Wishing you well. :)

106jillmwo
Dec 19, 2017, 8:30 am

I am tickled by the image of you driving the truck up and down the block. I assume Gretchen and your niece's dog both get to sit up there on the seat with you?

When you have a chance, tell us about the book discussion of Born a Crime as that one sounds interesting.

107maggie1944
Dec 19, 2017, 9:12 am

oh, no! No dogs in the "master's" truck. He would not like that one little bit. I left the dogs at home, and they did just fine. They get along.

I did some more practice yesterday by driving to the local _target store, and the post office. I have a package to mail today. Had to go get one of their boxes.

I am mostly just being a couch potato and watching more TV than I usually do. Watched a lot of a Star Wars marathon for the first 2 days I was here.

By the way, Born a Crime is a very interesting book in that it explains how a interracial couple were able to avoid being arrested and having a baby boy. Then it explains how this interracial lad was able to navigate schools where the "blacks" were segregated from the "whites" and here was he, half and half. No wonder Trevor Noah has a unique ability to cut through the crap and call it as he sees it. Well worth the reading of his book, or listening to the audio version.

108maggie1944
Jan 2, 2018, 7:05 am

Happy New Year everyone.

Fresh starts. My resolutions for the day are to drink more water, take good care of my aging and complaining eyes, work harder at de-cluttering my apartment. That's enough for now.

Reading comes naturally, no need to make a resolution.

109MrsLee
Jan 2, 2018, 9:07 am

>108 maggie1944: Happy New Year! May your resolutions be realized and may your year be joyful.

110maggie1944
Jan 19, 2018, 8:11 am

Still intending to take good care of my eyes. No really long periods of uninterrupted reading, TV or computer watching, etc. Must blink more often. Tears in a bottle! Drink water, and rest those eyes a couple of times a day.

111maggie1944
Feb 9, 2018, 2:18 pm

Well, distracted I am. Lots happening at my community, lots happening with my general health, and so forth. I'm still reading The Big Sky and enjoying it when I can find the time to read. Did not want this thread to become "inactive".

112MrsLee
Feb 10, 2018, 4:36 pm

Always good to hear from you, whether it is about reading or not.

113maggie1944
Feb 10, 2018, 9:46 pm

Thanks! I am also reading Gut. Maybe it will suggest something’s to do to improve my health🙏

114cmbohn
Feb 10, 2018, 10:45 pm

Glad to read your thoughts about Born a Crime. It's been On my radar a bit.

115jillmwo
Feb 11, 2018, 11:59 am

>111 maggie1944: I'll be interested in hearing more about that one. I'm completely unfamiliar with either the title or the author.

116maggie1944
Feb 11, 2018, 11:08 pm

>114 cmbohn: I think you will enjoy Born a Crime. It is quite uplifting.

>115 jillmwo: The Big Sky is a wonderful western fictional history of the end of the early exploration of the west, mountain men, last of the buffalo, many native people still fighting for their land and their way of life. The author also wrote Shane, another iconic western. If you've not seen that movie, find it on Netflix or somewhere, and see it! Very authentic feeling. Not for the faint of heart, tho, a bit brutal in places.

117misskate
Feb 14, 2018, 3:44 am

So sorry about your doggie. My little guy just had his 9th birthday and is the love of my life so I know how they fill up your days and nights with their warm presence. I hope you will find consolation in remembering him and maybe adopt another pup to fill your heart. Happy reading.

118misskate
Feb 14, 2018, 3:45 am

Wow! I really go for an older dog. Hope all works out.

119maggie1944
Mar 10, 2018, 9:30 pm

Life with my miniature schnauzer is much less boring. She had a big dental procedure, cost me a bunch of dollars, but she is so much more comfortable and perky since she is not dealing with infections in her mouth. She is very affectionate and fun.

She is 8 - 9 years old, and could live to be 15 +/-; but then again she could decide to not live that long.

120maggie1944
Mar 21, 2018, 12:25 am

I tried to read Doomsday Book by Connie Willis for my real life book group, and only made it about 60% through it. I am too damn old to read books which do not grab me by the neck and force me to pick them up every day or so. So, I put it on the shelf after the group met, and picked up our next selection: One Square Inch of Silence by Gordon Hampton. It is a book I've had for years and have always wanted to read. Never was able to get into it on my own, so I'm relying on my sense of responsibility to my real life buddies to get this book read, all the way through.

Happy first day of spring, everyone.

121jillmwo
Mar 24, 2018, 11:49 am

I understand the impulse to spend time only with the compelling reads, but remember that sometimes authors surprise you with how they construct something so that the final denouement is stunning. (I do also know that sometimes an author's idea of the big pay-off still wasn't worth the slog...) But I'll look forward to hearing what you think of One Square Inch of Silence!

122maggie1944
Mar 25, 2018, 12:33 pm

Hi, Jill. Thanks for stopping by. I'm going to go get that book and read for a while right now.

123Darth-Heather
Mar 26, 2018, 2:14 pm

>121 jillmwo: sometimes authors surprise you with how they construct something so that the final denouement is stunning

The first thing that comes to mind is A Prayer For Owen Meany, which seemed like a lot of irrelevant incidences until suddenly... it all comes together.

124maggie1944
Apr 25, 2018, 7:50 pm

bump

125maggie1944
Edited: May 14, 2018, 10:10 am

Well, I've finished a book that I choose to read for no other reason than it appealed to me. The author spent a year trying to not go "shopping"; that is, she limited her expenditures to only that which she truly needed.

But it ended up being a book about so much more. Cait Flanders wrote the year of less: how I stopped shopping, gave away my belongings, and discovered life is worth more than anything you can buy in a store, c. 2018

She knew all about "quitting" addictive behavior. Her first quit was drinking which I share with her. Secondly, she quit eating for all the wrong reasons and began to eat to support her health; and then... ta da.... she decided to go beyond the fad of "decluttering" to the challenge of the economic system within which we all live. She stopped buying things and stuff which were based on "I want it"; she went straight to "do I really need this"?

Her book is very human, and she allows her vulnerabilities to shine through. She takes her readers along with some very sad time, some very challenging times, and yet, she did it! She saved a huge portion of her income, and she followed her best self into self employment, and saving to do what she loves - traveling. She makes a "good living" and she really knows why she works for money. She know why she spends what she spends.

I don't recommend this book for everyone, it may be too much of a "self help" book for some. But for me, I share much of the same psychology as the author, and I recognized myself in many parts of the book. I am not hunting for a new way to make money, nor do I spend my money traveling.

I want to spend less, and save more for the day when I am sufficiently old that I'll need help with daily chores. That kind of help is very expensive and right now I could not afford what I might need. So I need a fill my treasure chest.

I like the idea of buying only what I need, and saving most of the rest.

126Darth-Heather
May 14, 2018, 11:40 am

>125 maggie1944: I like the idea of buying only what I need, and saving most of the rest

I like that idea too, but for me it's a challenge because I feel inundated by so many things to want. If you tell yourself "NO" to 49 things, it's really easy to "allow" yourself to give in to the 50th one and still feel like you've been relatively disciplined. But when you are tempted by hundreds of things, even giving in to a few still adds up to Too Much Stuff. Maybe the key is to limit exposure to Stuff?

127maggie1944
May 14, 2018, 3:05 pm

I do keep my lap top on my lap when watching TV, so that way I can ignore the ads on the television.

128maggie1944
May 14, 2018, 3:56 pm

I have a favor to ask. Is there any one in this group who owns, or knows of, a good decibel meter app for an iPhone? I'm curious about the ambient noise here, and would like to search for a quiet place to walk. I want to test out how much noise I can tolerate and still call the place quiet.

You can either answer here or send me a PM. Thanks.

129MrsLee
May 16, 2018, 9:34 am

>125 maggie1944: That sounds like a terrific book. I try to keep in mind not to buy anything except to replace something I use which is truly worn out or broken. However, I haven't made it a firm plan yet. I am going through all the personal product items I use, lotions, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. and finding ways to accomplish the same goals with less product, or natural products. Coconut oil and baking soda for the win! :)

130maggie1944
May 16, 2018, 10:30 am

I think it is a trend which has much to give back to regular people. More money to spend on what you really want: travel, good food, time to spend with friends and family.

131maggie1944
Jun 5, 2018, 10:54 am

bump

132maggie1944
Jun 16, 2018, 2:23 pm

I am writing from the Washington State Democratic Party State Convention, and I read the Platform of the party, to be adopted here today. How many of you know what is in the platform of the political party with whom you most closely identify. It is a good read!

133reconditereader
Jun 17, 2018, 2:04 pm

Sounds like an awesome time!

134catzteach
Jun 17, 2018, 4:57 pm

>125 maggie1944: I read a decluttering book a couple of months ago. Since then we’ve only been buying what we feel like we need and not just want we want. It’s amazing how much we have saved now that we are really keeping track of our money.

135maggie1944
Jun 18, 2018, 7:48 am

Years ago I read Your Money, Your Life with started the whole "watch your money" movement with a simple calculation as to what your time earns. Something like divide your net salary, pay, income... whatever.... by the number of hours that you work. Know what the society thinks your time is worth in money. Then know when you spend it, what you are spending. For example, this cup of coffee is costing me 45 minutes of work, or whatever it is. It is a great perspective on the whole "shopping" aspect of modern life.

In any case, I'm attracted now not only by "only buy what I NEED, not what I want" movement but also "eliminate plastic in all discretionary choices". Sadly, I cannot make the health care industry to stop giving me plastic containers for my medications, which are not discretionary but I can stop buying water in plastic bottles, and I can stop accepting plastic bags when I shop.

You get the point. It is not an easy task but it does seem like the moral thing to do. No more micro plastics in cosmetics in my house, I hope.

I am sorry if this seems "preachy" but along side of Zero Tolerance for Separating Children from their Parents it seems like a nonnegotiable call to action today.

136jillmwo
Jun 18, 2018, 9:37 am

(((Hugs))) It's good hearing your voice on these kinds of things, maggie1944. You're a role model for me. You remind me to think of more than my "work cubicle" concerns.

137maggie1944
Jul 10, 2018, 10:35 am

It has been a long time since I received a book from the LT program....

Reading from the corner of the oval by beck dorey-stein

So far, I'm loving it. I'm an absolute politics addict and reading about this young woman's incredible luck at landing a stenographers job in the White House has been a very enjoyable, and fun, read. We'll see what I think when I finish it.

138catzteach
Jul 11, 2018, 10:50 am

>135 maggie1944: I’m with you on the plastics thing. I really wish companies would stop using it for packaging when they could use glass instead. There is a group of high schoolers in town that are leading a movement to get rid of plastic bags in the stores. I hope they succeed.

139reconditereader
Jul 12, 2018, 7:26 pm

the problem with glass is, it's heavy to transport as well as fragile, and when it breaks it's a health hazard.
Less packaging overall!

140MrsLee
Jul 13, 2018, 9:02 am

>135 maggie1944: I don't know how to get around the medical industry packaging. Not without increasing the potential for fraud and tampering, etc.

However, I now buy very little processed food, and eliminate most of that packaging. We eat mostly veggies and some meat, beans, pasta and or rice. I suppose if I bought all my meat at the butcher, I could even save on that packaging, but it isn't convenient or budget do-able. Of course in California, you either bring your own bags or pay to buy some at checkout (the fee is minimum, and the bags are extra sturdy, so they last a few trips, anyway). In the produce isle, I have stopped using bags for anything I will either peel or not eat the outside of.

The packaging I hate is for things like toys, tools or small electronics which are in molded plastic shells which take an act of God to open, then when you finally get it out of the shell (I'd rather spend that effort on an oyster), you have to find something to cut the stiff plastic bands which are around it usually on more stiff cardboard. Or when I used to buy processed foods, and there would be a food in plastic, with a cardboard cover, sometimes then wrapped in plastic again, or attached to a second with a plastic shell. :/

141maggie1944
Jul 13, 2018, 3:03 pm

Exactly!

I think we all need to work to eat from the veggies and fruits section of the store, add a little meat, and some rice. And then no troubles with packaging.

Except of course the toilet paper, and ... you know. There are always exceptions.

Let's all just keep trying.

142MrsLee
Jul 14, 2018, 9:41 am

>141 maggie1944: Yep, I was just reading an article about recycling which is both sad and hopeful. Sad, in that many people put things into the recycle bins which should not be there, and rather than sorting through this, the companies that collect them dump them into the landfill. This is not a bad on the companies. Most of our recycling material is shipped overseas to China. Here is where the hopeful comes in. China no longer accepts contaminated materials because they do not want to have children and families sorting through garbage anymore. They want to employ people at factory wages. So now we are shipping to other countries in Asia, who presumably still have people sorting our garbage. :/ Ah what a world.

I know that in our community, there is a program to get businesses on-board with recycling. They come to the business, train the workers, provide receptacles, and in the end it saves money because less garbage is created and the monthly bill goes down. Hopefully. I'm working to get my employers in this program, but inertia and other factors are still in play. Not many folks want to work sorting out other folks garbage.

I would like someone to come up with practical ways to deal with adult and baby diapers. A huge burden on the landfills, and yet, such a blessing to those who have incontinence issues.

143maggie1944
Jul 14, 2018, 11:45 am

Oh, boy, I really did not want to start the day thinking about adult and baby diapers. At least, with the babies, we could go back to using cloth and laundering them. I know it is not fun but there is lots about life which we have to do which is not fun.

But, talking about fun: I have started reading Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver and I think it is going to be awesome. I'm already wanting to recommend it.

144clamairy
Jul 15, 2018, 12:29 pm

>143 maggie1944: I adored Uprooted so I hope it's as good.

And I'll just pretend I didn't read the first part of your post.

145maggie1944
Jul 25, 2018, 11:43 am

Finished Spinning Silver and enjoyed it. I'm less inclined to read fantasy books these days but I liked this one because it was based on old folk tales coming out of eastern Europe, western Russia, I think.

146maggie1944
Jul 25, 2018, 11:44 am

I'm off to buy a copy of Overstory today I think. I saw a friend's comments about it and she made me want it. I will not be denied.

147YouKneeK
Jul 25, 2018, 9:05 pm

>145 maggie1944: I’m glad to read you enjoyed Spinning Silver. I haven’t seen too many reviews for it yet amongst the people and threads I follow. I’ll probably try it eventually since I really enjoyed Uprooted and also her Temeraire series.

148catzteach
Aug 16, 2018, 11:28 pm

>145 maggie1944: I'm on the hold list for Spinning Silver. Not sure where on the pecking order I am. I loved Uprooted and am really looking forward to reading Silver.

149maggie1944
Aug 17, 2018, 9:14 am

I'm definitely experiencing the whole "attention deficit disorder" in my reading practice. Ha! I bought Overstory and started it. Liked it, but did not get that "I must get back to that book" feeling. So it languishes, and today I'm trying out Anne Lamott's Grace (Eventually).

I think you both (147, 148) will like Spinning Silver.

150catzteach
Aug 17, 2018, 11:52 pm

>149 maggie1944: I get to pick Spinning Silver up tomorrow! I'm excited, but I do have two books to read before I get to it.

151maggie1944
Edited: Sep 24, 2018, 10:56 am

So, my "come back, come back" book for now is the graphic novel Fun Home. I found it in our little library which hangs out in the "elevator lobby" of the 1st floor where my apt. can be found. I walk by it multiple times during a day and so books sitting on those shelves have a good chance of capturing my attention.

I am also working on The Hidden Life of Trees for the Silver Glen book group, the discussion is scheduled for Oct. 3, and I doubt that I'll finish by then, but at least I'll know a wee bit about it.

There are other books hanging out on my shelf, or in my Kindle, waiting for me to get back to them. It is a good life.

152maggie1944
Sep 24, 2018, 4:52 pm

OK, I finished Fun Home. A remarkable effort by this author, I'm told this was maybe the first memoir done in the style of "graphic novel". Well done! At one point in the book she contrasts the drama of her family life with her own cool approach to understanding it. And I think she hit the nail on the head, no drama in the book, but clearly there was drama in this family.

I recommend it highly.

153maggie1944
Edited: Oct 27, 2018, 2:17 pm

This message has been deleted by its author.

154maggie1944
Oct 27, 2018, 7:11 pm

my bad, I was trying to share a photograph from Flickr but evidently I've forgotten how to do that.

155maggie1944
Nov 19, 2018, 9:39 am

I am reading The Red Collar and I recommend it, even though I've not yet finished it.

156clamairy
Dec 11, 2018, 5:30 pm

Where'd you go?

157maggie1944
Dec 14, 2018, 11:27 am

I am here occasionally. I just wrote a longish response and then my lap top ate it. That's what I get for sneaking into The Green Dragon.

158pgmcc
Dec 14, 2018, 11:35 am

>157 maggie1944: It is very frustrating when that happens. You have my symathy. You are not alone. :-)

159maggie1944
Dec 14, 2018, 12:19 pm

Thanks! I'm working up some energy for re-do.

160MrsLee
Dec 16, 2018, 12:21 pm

>156 clamairy: I hate when that happens. Happy to see you here though. :)

161maggie1944
Dec 18, 2018, 10:05 am

Hi, everybody. So, I have one more challenge: high blood pressure and a doctor who does not listen well. She insisted that I start taking diuretics and another medication to "relax blood vessels". Well, she gave me such a large dose of the second (the pharmacist asked me to check with her about the dosage) that I had a crisis level drop in blood pressure and had to go the Urgent Care and get the doctor there to give me an order to cut the dose in half. Unnecessary use of Urgent Care. Extra cost for me. Irritating!

In any case, the reason I'm crying on your shoulders is that this is one more distraction from reading. Dang. Nonetheless, I do have Becoming by Michelle Obama on my table, as well as an early reviewer book which I need to finish. Never expect a reader to stop reading all together!

Happy holidays, everyone!

162littlegeek
Dec 18, 2018, 12:32 pm

>161 maggie1944: Feel better, Maggie, and listen to your own body. Doctors can be jerks, and everyone is different.

163MrsLee
Dec 19, 2018, 8:57 am

>162 littlegeek: Amen to that! Mostly though, I think it important to find one that listens, or take someone with you who will insist the doctor listens to you. Unfortunately many of them diagnose "you're just old." Whereas if you have an advocate by your side they aren't so quick to dismiss you.

Hopefully your medication is sorted now.

164maggie1944
Dec 19, 2018, 12:13 pm

Thanks, Mrs. Lee. Yes, I think the medication is sorted out correctly now. I took my BP this morning and it is back in the normal range; I did have some difficulty with sleeping last night but I think the reason was more or less unrelated to the health issue. I was worried about some other stuff.

I did turn on the light and dove back into reading Michelle Obama's book. It is quite delightful.

165maggie1944
Jan 3, 2019, 8:18 am

Still working my way through adjustment to the BP meds. Energy level is decidedly lower than that to which I am accustomed. Boo!

I think I need to have a serious talk with myself and ask whether this is because I'm choosing to have lower energy because I'm tired of my self imposed responsibilities around the coop or is it because I have indeed lower energy due to combination of BP reducing drugs.

I'll keep you posted.

I'm still reading Becoming and enjoying it.

166pgmcc
Jan 3, 2019, 9:39 am

maggie1944 HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope you can quickly get back onto an even keel and enjoy your reading.

167MrsLee
Jan 3, 2019, 9:44 am

>165 maggie1944: I'm glad to see you here any time you visit. I think you have the right idea. Be gentle yet firm with yourself. :)

168Sakerfalcon
Jan 3, 2019, 9:50 am

Happy new year! I hope 2019 brings you good things in books and in life.

169maggie1944
Jan 3, 2019, 10:24 am

>166 pgmcc:, Hi, Peter! Thanks for you good wishes. I too hope to get back on an even keel. It is one of those moments in life when one has to adjust to a "new normal".

170maggie1944
Jan 3, 2019, 10:26 am

>167 MrsLee: Hi, Lee. Thanks for coming by and cheering me on. Your advice is good, but I confess sometimes I am way more gentle, than I am "firm" with myself.

171maggie1944
Jan 3, 2019, 10:28 am

>168 Sakerfalcon:, thank you, Claire, for coming by to encourage my participation.

I think I've decided to stop posting in a thread in the 75 Book group, and just focus here. This is a great place for reading just exactly what you wish to read, and reading at just the right speed for you. In my case, nowadays, that means slowly.

172haydninvienna
Edited: Jan 3, 2019, 11:04 am

>171 maggie1944: I haven't been a member of GD for long but I've found it a very comfortable atmosphere (cheese doesn't hurt either). I think you made a wise decision. Incidentally, re your BP-meds issues, I feel for you--both my wife and I have been there. Mine seem to be sorted; hers, not so much.

ETA: Sorry, it just occurred to me that that comment might have been seen as patronising, or implying that the GD was for old fogies. Neither is true--the GD is for everybody, and I for one refuse to consider myself as an old fogey (even if the statement on my profile about "late middle age" indulges in a bit of creative licence; I'll be 70 in less than 3 months' time). But I've read a lot of the old threads on GD and you always seemed to me to be a natural GD person. I'm glad you're back.

173littlegeek
Jan 3, 2019, 11:42 am

I take BP meds and I never realized that they can affect energy. I figured my low energy was just post menopausal blues...I might have to ask the doc about that!

174haydninvienna
Jan 3, 2019, 11:49 am

>173 littlegeek: You should definitely ask. One combination of BP meds had me feeling like absolute crap, no energy and no interest in anything much. I told the doctor that I was dropping that drug and we would have to see what happened, woukdn't we? I dropped it and was soon back to normal. A while (years) later I had to add another, different drug but that one has had no adverse effects.

175suitable1
Jan 3, 2019, 12:56 pm

>172 haydninvienna:

Some of us are just young fogies no matter what the calendar says.

176maggie1944
Jan 3, 2019, 5:47 pm

I'm perfectly happy to be called a "little old lady" as I'm growing a wee bit shorter each year which passes, and I've always been kind of short; but, now I'm a wee bit "little" too. Old fits: 74 last birthday. But I think "old fogies" suggest "grouchy" which I would rather not be, although I am on some days.

Oh, well. I like reading Michelle Obama's book as she is a very reasonable, kind, and intelligent person who is willing to share her moments of growth, and doubt, and triumph and accomplishment. Just like the rest of us, I think.

177maggie1944
Jan 7, 2019, 4:33 pm

Finished Becoming by Michelle Obama, and found it to be a charming book. She blends carefully disclosure of her own personal journey growing into her own self from her childhood in Chicago and descriptions of what it was like to be the spouse of a President of the United States, and the mother to two "first daughters". Her dedication to her daughters was admirable and I think the girls will make her and her husband proud. As a book, it was very uplifting, reminding me to be optimistic about this lovely country of ours.

178jillmwo
Jan 16, 2019, 5:40 pm

>177 maggie1944: This is good to hear. It's one of the few celebrity-politico autobiographies that I've found tempting. Maybe I'll go ahead now and pick up a copy.

179maggie1944
Jan 19, 2019, 11:06 am

Today, I am on Maui and enjoying the warmth, and relaxing in a nice condo unit just steps away from the ocean. We can hear the waves in our living room, and luckily are facing a direction where the full moon shines in our window. I needed some time away and am happy to be enjoying it. Going off for a mani-pedi in a few minutes.

Reading The President is Missing on my kindle and kind of enjoying it. I must say I've read more gripping spy novels back in the "cold war era" but this is captivating in a way as it postulates some very possible, but improbable, threats.

I do love having my Kindle with me because I know if I get tired of this book, I can read another. I have many many unread books here, just like at home with my real book library. ha ha ha

180MrsLee
Jan 19, 2019, 8:47 pm

>179 maggie1944: How wonderful! So glad you can bask in the serenity and get such a beautiful break from the every day.

181maggie1944
Jan 20, 2019, 9:54 am

So, I finished reading The President is Missing and recommend it. I has a nice conclusion which gave President Clinton and opportunity to give an informal, and unasked for "state of the union" address, in print. I skimmed through most of it as I had little felt need to be told of all the issues on which I already agreed with the writer. But I completely understood his impulse to stick this on the end of the gripping book. I might even get some readers who do not agree with him. Gotta use every weapon in the quiver.

Next up: 11/22/63 by Stephen King. My grandson gave me a door stopping big paperback copy of it, and naturally I'd much rather read it on my relatively light weight Kindle. King does a great job of describing settings and I"m enjoying that part, and his overall premise is enticing, so I"m glad to be reading it.

Six more full days in paradise. Met some people yesterday who moved her full time some 15+ years ago, from Chicago. They seemed very happy.

182jillmwo
Jan 21, 2019, 8:44 am

So glad you're enjoying your time in Hawaii! I have a friend whose children are sending her there as a dream-of-a-lifetime gift. She's so excited in anticipation!

183maggie1944
Jan 21, 2019, 11:47 am

Jill, what a nice story. One of our party is an 88 year old neighbor who just recently lost her husband. She also was very excited, but truthfully, it is also hard on her as we do lots of walking. She tires easily, but we do not mind going back to the condo and taking naps, too. After all vacation is all about relaxation!

I'm still reading more than I usually can at home. I'm well into 11/22/63 and as usual Stephen King's smooth writing makes it so that I can believe I'll finish this door stopper of a book in this life time.

184maggie1944
Jan 26, 2019, 9:42 am

I saw Andrew Roberts, the author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny on MSNBC the other evening and I immediately bought it for my Kindle. I'm still on vacation on Maui and I am so happy I have a Kindle and can buy a 1000 page book and begin reading it immediately. So, here I am with two doorstopper sized books to read, both on the Kindle, thank goodness.

185pgmcc
Jan 26, 2019, 10:02 am

>184 maggie1944: I consider that the one big advantage of an e-reader; you can bring a big library with you wherever you go.

186maggie1944
Jan 26, 2019, 11:36 am

>185 pgmcc: you are so, so right. There are also disadvantages such as constantly looking for a place to plug it in.

187clamairy
Jan 26, 2019, 8:16 pm

I'm glad you are enjoying Maui. Did you abandon the Stephen King book for the Churchill tome?

188maggie1944
Jan 27, 2019, 1:21 pm

No, Clam, I am trying to do the very hard thing of reading them both. The Stephen King book was given to me at Christmas by my grandson, and he wants to talk about the book when I finish reading it. So, I'll do so, but it might take me until next Christmas.

I spent about 75% of the time on the flight home from Maui reading the Churchill book. It is very easy to read, and fascinating to someone like me who loves to read about history, and politics.

Thanks for you stopping by and wishing me well. Maui was very nice. Warm, peaceful (mostly) and relaxing.

189littlegeek
Jan 28, 2019, 11:54 am

>184 maggie1944: Last night I was reading at about 2:00 am and I finished the book. It was so nice that I could just "go to the library" and borrow another book while in bed in the middle of the night.

190maggie1944
Jan 28, 2019, 5:11 pm

>189 littlegeek: I completely understand!

191clamairy
Feb 5, 2019, 7:10 pm

>189 littlegeek: Yes, it is a wonderful thing. :o)

192maggie1944
Feb 7, 2019, 9:59 am

It is fun to see visits from both >189 littlegeek: and >191 clamairy:.

I'm plugging away at Churchill: Walking with Destiny and yes, I did abandon the Stephen King book. I did pick up Sugar Money: A Novel by Jane Harris. It is an "advance reading copy" which Ellen, from the 75 books group sent to me after she finished reading it. As it is a paperback of medium weight I am using it as my bathtub book, that is: reading it while soaking in lavender smelling warm baths. Can't take the Kindle, or computer, or iPad in there.

Hunkering down, expecting more snow in the Seattle area tomorrow evening and Saturday morning. Should allow for more reading time.

193clamairy
Feb 9, 2019, 3:14 pm

>192 maggie1944: Stay safe & warm. Your weather certainly looks interesting this week!

194jillmwo
Feb 9, 2019, 5:04 pm

I looked up Sugar Money: A Novel and I'll be interested in hearing what you think about it! That one sounds like a really interesting historical novel.

195maggie1944
Feb 10, 2019, 9:11 am

>193 clamairy: yup! I have a couple few inches out my back door and not many footsteps through it. The rescue schnauzer, Gretchen, had never seen snow before and was a bit shy at first, but once she got the hang she loves it. Me, well, it is a love hate relationship. It is pretty, and I do like the silence of having most cars off the roads. But I don't like the slippery icy floor of the world nature of it.

Being a responsible part of the retirement community, I have to care about clearing sidewalks and finding enough salt. So far so good.

I did not find extra reading time yesterday, but I'm making a fresh effort today.

>194 jillmwo:, yes, I do like it so far but the problem with being my "bathtub book" is that I only read a very few pages at a time. But so far so good. A very clever concept of a story of slaves in the Caribbean doing the bidding of some Catholic fathers. (at least that is what it seems like in the beginning)

196Morphidae
Feb 20, 2019, 5:27 pm

*drive by hug*

Glad to hear you had a great vacay in Hawaii!

Have you given up the Kng entirely or just for now?

197pgmcc
Feb 20, 2019, 5:58 pm

>196 Morphidae:
Great to see you in the neighbourhood, even if it is only a drive by.

Keep well!

198haydninvienna
Feb 20, 2019, 7:35 pm

>196 Morphidae: Hey Morphy! I’m sort of new here, but very glad to meet you!

199maggie1944
Feb 21, 2019, 9:01 am

ha ha ha

>196 Morphidae: It is great to "read from you" (can't say hear from you cuz I'm listening to NPR)

And I love it that your visit is a great excuse for others to say hi to you.

No, I've not given up on the King entirely, but Churchill is the man of the moment for now. Unfortunately, I'm in another phase of not having much reading time. I could give up getting on Facebook, and LT, and all other chatty parts of my computer table of contents, but for now I am doing a little computer and a lot of taking care of business for the cooperative, and for myself.

Not much reading.... sigh.

200maggie1944
Mar 21, 2019, 8:45 am

continuing with the "little time to read". My relaxation these days is spent solving jig saw puzzles on my iPad and doing paper/pencil Word Find puzzles in a paperback book (perfect for doctor's waiting rooms). Ah, life. It is definitely "living in interesting times" for me.

201MrsLee
Mar 21, 2019, 8:54 am

>200 maggie1944: I would never wish "interesting times" on you. Don't forget to come and chat with us when you need to. *hug*

202maggie1944
Mar 21, 2019, 3:40 pm

Thank you, Mrs. Lee

I do check the page every day or so but do not always post

203Morphidae
Mar 22, 2019, 9:59 pm

>200 maggie1944: Which jigsaw app? I just discovered “Jigsaw Puzzles” and I find it very relaxing.

204maggie1944
Mar 23, 2019, 8:15 am

The latest one I've stumbled on is Jigsaw Collection.

There are a lot of apps, some try to get you to buy collections, some not so much. I just hunt under jigsaw in the app store, and viola! bunches.

205Busifer
Mar 24, 2019, 6:55 am

>200 maggie1944: I'm holding my thumbs for the interesting times to come to an end, and for everything to turn out well.

206Morphidae
Edited: Mar 24, 2019, 12:13 pm

>204 maggie1944: Jigsaw Puzzles has some that you can buy but they aren't blatant and the vast majority are free. There is one free puzzle a day plus a huge library. Of course I did the book puzzle right away.

207maggie1944
Mar 24, 2019, 8:14 pm

>205 Busifer:, Thank you for your kind thoughts. It is not all "interesting"; some of it is fun. Today we performed a Readers Theatre Moliere's play "The Hypochondriac"... well, not his real play, but a member took an English version of it, and altered it a bit to fit our location (references to the Internet, and text messages, etc.). Very funny, and audience enjoyed it a lot! As one said, "things just don't change that much do they?"

>206 Morphidae:. You are right. I do not buy any of them. All the free ones keep me quite happy.

208maggie1944
Edited: Mar 25, 2019, 7:26 am

Yesterday, a friend shared with me our Silver Glen's library's copy of Unbelievable: My Front-Row Seat to the Craziest Campaign in American History by Katy Tur. And I've read about 50% of it in the last few hours. She writes a fascinating account of "chasing" D. Trump around during the campaign for the Presidency. First time in a long time I've hit on a book which is a "can't put it down"! Yay. But then, I'm a politics junkie and I'm sure it is not everyone's cup of tea.

209Morphidae
Mar 25, 2019, 11:35 am

>208 maggie1944: While it looks fascinating, I don’t think I could handle a whole book about Trump. I can barely manage a headline and the first paragraph or two of an article most days. It upsets me too much.

210Morphidae
Mar 25, 2019, 1:31 pm

How many pieces do you do with your puzzles? I did a couple at 64, then 81, now I’ve done several at 100. I’m thinking of moving up to 121.

211maggie1944
Mar 25, 2019, 4:05 pm

I am up to 120. I find it relaxing to work on it while listening to National Public Radio, or other public radio programs.

I have a real life 1000 piece puzzle I'm starting on my art table. I'm not doing much card making these days. So puzzles seems like a good idea! !000 pieces! I imagine it will take me months.

212Busifer
Mar 25, 2019, 4:07 pm

>207 maggie1944: That sounds fun!

213Morphidae
Mar 26, 2019, 12:31 am

>211 maggie1944: I like listening to music on Spotify - pop/top 40 music from the 50s to the present.

214MrsLee
Mar 26, 2019, 9:34 am

>211 maggie1944: I would love to start doing puzzles in real space again, but I now have 2 cats, and I suspect they would find the little pieces irresistible. I did play puzzles on my tablet for a time, now sure why I quit. Maybe the app I had was not good? Anyway, I spend my procrastination time playing Pocket Camp on my phone now. :P

215hfglen
Mar 26, 2019, 11:37 am

>214 MrsLee: No, you are owned by two cats. Jigsaw pieces were specially made by the human slaves for Cats to play with.

216MrsLee
Mar 27, 2019, 9:02 am

>215 hfglen: Yes, but for now they have to make do with corks and ping-pong balls, which amazingly disappear, no matter how many we buy.

217maggie1944
May 11, 2019, 2:50 pm

puzzles ! Sadly, I find doing the jig saw on my iPad and listening to public radio while in bed before sleep and that means: less reading!

Nonetheless, I have finished reading Operation Columba which was alternately a bit tedious, and an interesting picture of one obscure corner of the battles fought during WWII. Pigeons flying home from Belgium to the UK with messages for the Brits to use in fighting the German occupation forces. A appreciated knowing about this interesting story and relieved to have finished reading it, as it was an Early Reviewers book!

Today, I spent a few minutes being sure I'd lost my mind as I had been looking for my camera for about a day, and then was looking for my phone for a couple of hours. Lucky for me, I dropped it while walking the dog on our 5 acres, and it was picked up and when I called if from a friend's phone, I was able to discover it was meer feet away! Yay! And then I came home and just as I decided that if I could get my apt. cleaned of all the clutter, I could spend money to buy a new camera. Ha! Of course, that is when I found it in a black bag at the bottom of a closet, in the dark. I need some neon flags for the bag!

I did not lose my mind, my phone or my camera. All is good in my world.

218Morphidae
May 11, 2019, 3:23 pm

Great to see you posting! CRS (Can't Remember S...tuff) sucks. The older I get, the worse it gets, too.

I've stopped playing with jigsaw puzzles and now I play CodyCross, a word game. I'm about done with it though as the reward system leaves a lot to be desired and I'm getting bored.

219maggie1944
May 11, 2019, 7:45 pm

Thanks for stopping by, Morph. Yes, it is true. Getting old is not for sissies.

220littlegeek
May 14, 2019, 1:30 pm

Yeah, I have CRS, too. The game I'm obsessed with right now is Flow Free and its variations. I also really like Wordscapes and its variants.

221maggie1944
May 15, 2019, 9:57 am

(-;

222Morphidae
Edited: May 15, 2019, 1:09 pm

>220 littlegeek: I was cursing your name (not really) as I went to download Flow Free. Thankfully I’m terrible at it, got frustrated, and deleted it! Whoo hoo!

Unfortunately, I then started perusing the App Store to see if I could find anything and am now hip deep in Harry Potter Hogwarts Mystery. Bah!

223clamairy
Edited: May 15, 2019, 1:54 pm

Pokémon GO for me still, plus Words with Friends. When I'm watching something that doesn't require full-time eyeballs (like the news or a movie I've already seen but just want on for comfort) I play something called 1010. It's similar to Tetris, but it's not timed, thankfully. It's taking every ounce of self control I have not to look for Flow Free. Luckily I'll forget all about it once I walk away.

Good to see you over here, Morphidae and maggie1944.

224-pilgrim-
May 15, 2019, 4:28 pm

*whispers* ATOMAS....

(I got addicted to this one a while back)

225YouKneeK
May 15, 2019, 7:29 pm

>220 littlegeek:, >222 Morphidae: It’s probably been a year or more, but I played that Flow Free game for a while. I had great fun with it for a while, but eventually I sort of developed a pattern for solving them and then even the hardest ones usually seemed easy, so I lost interest.

I’ve gotten to where I try to avoid adding those types of casual games to my devices because it’s way too easy to pull them out for “just a minute” when I’m waiting on something or have a couple minutes to kill. Then I get caught up in it and keep telling myself “one more game” until I’m mad at myself for how much time I just wasted. The last game I did that with was some match 3 game that was installed on my phone by default, and I don’t even like those kinds of games!

I remember that number game, 2048, that absolutely drove me nuts and I could not stop playing it. Thank goodness I finally beat it, because then I lost interest and stopped wasting my time on it.

226ScoLgo
May 15, 2019, 8:27 pm

>225 YouKneeK: "Then I get caught up in it and keep telling myself “one more game” until I’m mad at myself for how much time I just wasted."

Are you me?

Seriously tho... I have to avoid those 'quickie' type of games because of the time suck you describe. There are too many other things I would rather do - but once one heads down the rabbit hole... it's (*ahem*) Game Over, so to speak.

227YouKneeK
May 16, 2019, 7:04 am

>226 ScoLgo: Haha, it’s possible that we’re the same schizophrenic person and we’ve each created our own LT account. One of us is very confused about where we live though! :)

228maggie1944
May 16, 2019, 5:35 pm

Glad to see all you willing to come to a meeting of "Games R Us". I am satisfied for now with my jig saw puzzles in the morning and in the evening. I am still working to find time to read but yesterday I did get a chance to read quite a bit of Working: Researching, Interviewing, Writing by Robert Caro. I think he is my favorite writer of popular history works. His first book The Power Broker was hands down one of the best books I've ever read about politicians and political history. And then, he started publishing his books about LBJ, and I think he has now written 5 fat volumes on that guy. Fascinating.

I'm enjoying this book as he tells some of the behind the scenes work of finding sources for his research, especially with a politician who was as secretive as Robert Moses was; and as prolific as LBJ was. Boxes and boxes.

Fascinating.

Good to see you all, please come back and let me know what you are currently reading.

229littlegeek
May 17, 2019, 3:51 pm

>222 Morphidae: Haha, sorry, not sorry Morphy!

>225 YouKneeK: Yeah Flow Free has gotten really easy for me too, but that's kind of what I like about it. It's relaxing. I really should be knitting during baseball games, tho, it's at least productive.

230maggie1944
Oct 21, 2019, 10:08 pm

I love listening to the Canada geese, but I do not see as many as I used to see in the autumn. It is autumn, yes? End of October, beginning of November is my idea of the beginning of the wet, dreary, dark and damp months for the pacific northwest on the west side of the mountains. Today was a good example, rained all day long, on and off. Poor Gretchen did not get much walking.

I bought two books today just because I wanted to have plenty to read on the Kindle during my Hawaiian weeks (2). I bought Me: Elton John Offical Autobiography by Elton John and I bought Running with Sherman. I think two weeks in Hawaii is timed just about perfectly!

231MrsLee
Oct 22, 2019, 5:21 pm

>230 maggie1944: Good to see you before you leave! :) Hope you have a perfect trip.

232clamairy
Oct 22, 2019, 5:55 pm

>230 maggie1944: Have a great trip, but please drop in more often! You're missed.

233maggie1944
Oct 22, 2019, 8:02 pm

I will try to be back more, but for now, I'm not taking the computer with me. Vacation!

234haydninvienna
Oct 22, 2019, 11:00 pm

>230 maggie1944: I was seeing lots of copies of the Elton John book in airport bookshops last weekend. Waiting with interest to find out if it’s any good.

Have a great trip!

235maggie1944
Oct 23, 2019, 6:44 am

I put the Elton John book on my kindle as I had heard an interview with him and I was interested. I am kind of a sucker for autobiographies and biographies. I am up too early so I'm taking one more tour of the devices, and looking for news.

236Sakerfalcon
Oct 27, 2019, 4:06 am

I hope you have a wonderful time in Hawaii. It sounds like the perfect time to go.

237maggie1944
Oct 31, 2019, 12:01 pm

I am a ways into Elton John’s book and am feeling ambivalent; I will finish it, I think.

Hawaii is lovely. Warm, maybe a wee too warm without usual trade winds blowing. A couple of scattered showers. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets, all just around 6 am or pm, I am enchanted.

238maggie1944
Nov 7, 2019, 6:12 pm

Home after two weeks in Hawaii. I spent entirely too much time sitting on my butt and generally enjoying the feeling of having no appointments. I did try to read Elton John's book but truthfully it became quite tedious. I'm sure that if I were a more enthusiastic fan of popular music I would enjoy the comings and goings of the musicians of note in the 1960s, 1970s, and perhaps into the 1980s. Frankly, my dear, I don't and didn't give a damn.

So, it lays there on my Kindle, unfinished, and I might read it some long night when I can't sleep, and will read anything.

I also started Running with Sherman: The Donkey with the Heart of a Hero and I'm recommending it for a long airplane ride home, after two weeks in Hawaii. Relatively light and funny with a reasonable amount of serious discussion of the animal/human bond. I will finish this book soon.

239MrsLee
Nov 8, 2019, 9:47 am

>238 maggie1944: Your vacation sounds marvelous! Glad you enjoyed it and I hope your springs are full again. :)

240maggie1944
Nov 8, 2019, 12:50 pm

It was lovely, temperatures were in the low 80s; my travel pal just called to say that right after we left the temp. plunged into the mid-60s! Wow.

Happy to be home, and to be reunited with my pup, Gretchen, who had a vacation from me, staying with a nearby lady who runs a low key dog sitting service out of her home. She sent me nearly daily reports and snapshots. I knew Gretchen had a great time with her.

Back home in Silver Glen Cooperative housing for the over 55 gang. Our book group met last night and discussed This Is How It Always Is: A Novel by Laurie Frankel. It is about a family dealing with their youngest child who wavers from being a male into wanting to be a female. A very readable, and fascinating novel. The group who met were divided between those who appreciated and enjoyed the book and those who were shocked or surprised. The issue is one which appears to be new to some of the "seniors" while others were well informed and supported the author's attempt to make the issues better understood.

241Sakerfalcon
Nov 11, 2019, 5:14 am

>240 maggie1944: I read that book earlier this year (I think. Maybe last year). I though it was good, and can imagine it generating some interesting discussions.

242maggie1944
Nov 11, 2019, 10:02 am

I am into another "odd" title: Running with Sherman: the donkey with the heart of a hero. What looked like a fun book has turned into that, and more. The author, Christopher McDougall, dips into many associated discussions such as the benefit to humans of relationships with animals. Of course, he talks about therapy animals, but also just the plain benefit of being in relationship with the natural rhymes and rhythms of aminal life. Donkeys are a bit of an unusual animal, famous for their relationship to the solitary miners of the "old west". It is an interesting book and has made me laugh out loud more than once, startling Gretchen the animal with whom I share my life.

Speaking of that: time to walk her and feed her this morning.

243MerryMary
Dec 29, 2019, 9:33 pm

Just finished reading this whole thread. So many friends keeping tabs on you (and vice versa), I enjoyed it all...except for the loss of our dear Greta. I remember her fondly. How lucky and blessed Gretchen is!

I am easing back into LT after a lengthy absence - for no reason I can pinpoint. Moving to Council Bluffs is part of it. Uprooting 35 years of living in Dunning was painful...not only am I a packrat, but I married one! It's been since 14 years since I lost the dear man, and I still found tattered cigars and petrified red licorice in odd places. I still struggle with the odd depression episode now and then, and that hampers my ambition and persistence. But I'm in a good place now and finding joy in reinviting myself into LT's warm and comfortable world.

Take good care of yourself, Maggie May, and I'll check back soon.

244MrsLee
Dec 30, 2019, 10:49 am

>243 MerryMary: I for one am very glad to see you back in the pub. *hugs and kisses*

245littlegeek
Dec 30, 2019, 12:18 pm

>243 MerryMary: Welcome back! I was on hiatus for a while but I am very glad to be back. This place is warm and sweet.

246haydninvienna
Dec 30, 2019, 1:30 pm

>242 maggie1944: >243 MerryMary: >245 littlegeek: As I said when I first poked my head around the door, it's a friendly kind of place.

247maggie1944
Jan 8, 2020, 3:08 pm

Happy New Year, you all! It is sweet to come here and find greetings from old friends and a new friend, too!

I am busy reading Where the Crawdads Sing which was a Christmas gift. Truthfully, it was listed on my Amazon wish list for Christmas, so I was not too surprised. What a great read!

I have settled into my apartment in Silver Glen to the extent that I am surrounded with stuff I still need to sort and get rid of.... a small apartment is a great motivator, but not good enough. I've been here for over 4 years and still I have stuff to get rid of. Transitions!!

248MrsLee
Jan 9, 2020, 10:08 am

Happy New Year, maggie! Hope yours is a lovely year. As always, great to see you here. :)

249clamairy
Jan 9, 2020, 10:26 am

Welcome back MerryMary and maggie1944. Please stay a while, both of you.

250maggie1944
Jan 10, 2020, 1:19 pm

I will try harder to post here frequently.

I am living in a small apartment with boxes of papers I need to sort. I mostly procrastinate. But I am reading some.

Today, I need to nurse my little pal, Gretchen. She did something to her back leg and is limping and doesn't want to walk much. I think it is minor and will be fine, but I have to give her some extra attention today.

I will use this time to make significant progress in Where the Crawdads Sing. I will be interested to reading any of your comments if you have read it.

251maggie1944
Jan 15, 2020, 10:45 pm

I also need to read Beloved before the first week in February so I can participate in my community's book group.