Shelley's Take Two - Reading off my own shelves - 2023 - page 3

Hi, I'm Shelley, retired teacher, living in Toronto. Last year was one of my worst for reading, so this year HAS TO be better, right? So far, my plan of reading off my own shelves, one room per month (then repeat, till the end of the year) is working out ok. Not counting library books, I have been mostly good about sticking to the plan. Mostly. I'm very much a mood reader but there are lots of books in all my rooms (except the bathroom) so finding one to suit the current mood isn't really too difficult.

My boys, Theo and Owen, have settled down in the 2 and a half years since they moved in, thank goodness. Which is not to say our days aren't filled with mischief, just not the total chaos and frenzy of *kittenhood*. Thank goodness!

After that one week of summer we had, a few weeks ago, our weather has reverted back to winter/early spring. I did not purchase any more flowers or plants for my garden - I know enough to wait at least another few weeks for that. But the good news is that those I did purchase have not died, despite some chilly nights.

The ranunculas are my current favourites among early spring flowers. They come in many colours but I only bought this pot and a pot of solid yellow ones. I love these and you can see how they appear lighter or darker according to the light and the angle.

A few weeks ago, I went to the pharmacy at a local shopping centre. I was somewhat shocked to notice this female Canada Goose sitting on a nest on a very small, grassless median, right off the driveway into the centre, between the pharmacy, the bank and the parking lots. Someone had been kind enough to put a dog bowl of water out for her (and I saw her drinking from it), though they did not remove the pink paper cup obviously thrown there. Geese are known to be nasty and can be aggressive and dangerous if provoked (and sometimes even if not provoked) so I only took these photos from inside my car. In the second pic, taken the other day after I got home from Montreal, I see someone also erected a little shelter roof for her by bending some sort of sign.
I did call the Toronto Wildlife Centre to let them know about this. It is illegal to touch an active nest with eggs (and frankly, I don't much care about the goose herself) but I worried about how the chicks would survive once hatched. There is absolutely nowhere for them to walk around that isn't surrounded by road and traffic. What was she thinking, making a nest RIGHT THERE?! They told me to just monitor the situation and let them know if anything happens as, at this point, they can't really do anything.

I believe this is where the term *silly goose* may originate:

In other *nature* news, I am sure I mentioned last year that I had bought a raspberry plant. It was in a pot when I bought it and it gave me 3 lovely yummy raspberries. I had asked if it could go into the ground and was told yes, certainly. I was NOT told how invasive raspberries are and how it will take over! While all my other perennials are popping up nicely now, a few inches above ground, as one would expect in early spring, the raspberry is already up to my waist and I was appalled to find a TON of baby shoots all over the place. I have begun to pull them out, trying to dig them out, actually. Tomorrow, when there is no threat of rain, I plan to dig up the original plant and put it back into a pot. That will be ok but my big concern now is how to control the rest of what I suspect is a very VERY healthy underground network of a raspberry root system. I went to a different garden centre today (not the one that did not inform me), and the lady there showed concern and said it might not be easy. She said the best way, without using chemicals, which would kill them but might also kill everything else planted in my tiny space, was to try to stifle them using a tarp or newspapers, as one would to kill weeds. ARRRGGGHHH!

This is not Theo. But it must be what he dreamed of when he was a baby. Mr. Confidence, that's my boy!



(not sure why is looks pixelated and not clear, as it does on my computer)

Ok, that's it for now. Welcome!

From my last thread, (North American-centric), tonight on NBC, there will be a 2-hour special celebrating the life and career of Carol Burnett. I am looking forward to it!

https://www.tvinsider.com/1079000/carol-burnett-90-years-of-laughter-love-nbc/#:...

Currently reading:

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived

Radio Girls

Your Call is Important to Us

Yes, I know I have mentioned 2 of these before but I have not finished them. Hope to this time round. My attention span seems to be shrinking. What a surprise. I also have a book waiting for me to pick up at the library. I will likely do that in the next couple of days.

Happy New thread, Shelley! Am I first ?

That makes me second.
Happy new one, Shelley. x

Happy new one!

Yes, I am first ! Radio Girls looks interesting. I'll put that in my TBR pile. It's kind that someone erected a little shelter for the goose and provided a bowl of water. Good for you for taking the time to call the Toronto Wildlife Centre. I see a lot Canada geese when I am out walking , and I am not worried about them,but I would not approach a mama bird on her nest. That goose might well be aggressive.

Very pretty ranunculas . Dave finally purchased a small pot of ranunculas in pot that we put outside our front door. A little spot of colour for spring. The blooms are red and yelllow.

Happy new thread, Shelley. I love your photos. I am ready for spring.

Happy new thread, Shelley!

>4 jessibud2: Yes, raspberries are yummy and can grow fast all through your garden.
Mine are in a large pot, but even there they can escape, next to the pot are now some shoots... I'll have to do some work there. It looks like only the 'wild' raspberry escaped, the white (yellow) 'autumn' raspberry (gives fruit twice a year) did not escape.

Yes, Deb, you were first! :-) and hi and thanks to you, Paul, Anita, Beth and Anita.

Deb, I love ranunculas. Pity they don't last long. I also usually get a variety of colours and put them together in a pot. When I was at the garden centre that time, all they had were the yellow ones and the 2-tone pink that I got.

Today may be our only full day of sun until next week so other than yoga later this morning, I plan to spend as much of the day as I can working on getting the damn raspberry plant out, potted and getting the roots out of the garden.

Wordle 677 4/6 meaty, pious, choir, logic

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Hi Shelley my dear, Happy New Thread and i really love the photos of your Ranunculas, i have a couple to plant that we got from Madeira.

Happy new thread, Shelley. I’ve never seen Ranunculas before. They look pretty.

Hi John and Meg. Thanks. I love ranunculas. They are small, round, just beautiful and come in a ton of colours. They are early spring flowers but unfortunately they don't seem to last very long. But I always buy them, and put them in a basket or container to add a splash of colour after such a long drab winter.

Wordle 678 4/6 meaty, pious, viral, circa Pulled this one out of the blue.

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Love the photos of the goose and the beautiful flower! My three hostas seem to have died. I thought that they would survive after I had the very thick tree near them pruned last year.

>4 jessibud2: Hi Shelley.
Sympathy about the raspberry plant invasion. I had the same experience with a variety that was touted as *not* producing those underground stolons. PM me if you want to know what we did about that after removing the plants (not wanting to swamp your thread with a gardeners world blog chat).

>21 torontoc: - Cyrel, I am surprised to hear that hostas might have kicked the bucket. After my flood a few years ago, when I had to dig up every last plant in my back yard in order for the excavation that was necessary to repair the cracked foundation, everything got moved to my friend's garage then eventually replanted. Most things survived. In fact, one of my hostas never got dug up and somehow, it survived the excavation to return in the spring! I was stunned. Maybe yours are very old? Don't know but they have proven to me to be one of the hardiest plants. Good luck. If you want, I am happy to dig up and give you one or 2 of mine (I have several and could probably stand to downsize them!)

>22 SandyAMcPherson: - Hi Sandy. Well, I dug up the raspberry plant yesterday and replanted it in a pot. I had stopped in at Home Depot and bought the larger and deepest plastic saucer to place the pot in so the roots wouldn't wander. We shall see how that works out. Then I used a hard toothed rake to loosen the soil so I could try to pull out as many of those runner roots. I will continue to dig out any shoots that dare to show their faces in my garden. The gal at Home Depot said I could try to smother them by putting down either tarp or even newspapers to prevent sun from reaching them. She said it's worth a try and better than chemicals which would kill them but would also kill anything else planted so no chemicals for me. I will see if I succeeded in removing enough and if not, I will try the newspaper thing. I know it looks ugly but it works as a friend did that in her entire back yard when she moved into her house as it was a yard of nothing but weeds. By her second summer there, she had a magnificent garden and very few weeds.

I went to Costco this morning to fill up my gar with gas, and on the way home, decided to drive by and check on Mother Goose. She is still there. At first I thought something was wrong but she was only snoozing with her head tucked under her wing. The little roof was gone, not sure where or how that happened but the water bowl is still there and so is she. I am not normally so concerned about geese but it's hard not to worry, at least a teeny bit.

Chilly and overcast today and rain is coming so maybe I will actually finish a book this afternoon! What a concept!

>23 jessibud2: I was going to say in a PM (in case you didn't want to have your book thread disrupted), we didn't fare well at all with the newspaper layering. Probably because it is so dry here that the the papers had to be kept watered even with some soil on top. So the paper broke down too fast. And the rasps grew through it anyways, despite our having rooted out as much as we could find.

What did work amazingly well ~ we went to a bike shop and asked for any cardboard they were throwing out. The cardboard from shipping bikes was big and efficient for covering lots of ground. We had some old planks from taking a rotten patio deck apart and used those to hold down the cardboard. Left it like that from midsummer all the way through winter. The cardboard was pretty much disintegrated by then but the raspberry stolons (or whatever) had given up.

Hope you got in some reading and finished a book!

>25 SandyAMcPherson: - Thanks for that, Sandy. That's a good idea, re the cardboard. I may give that a try. We have rain now and there is no sun in the long forecast before next Wednesday. I think I'll wait for a few more days and see if any more shoots pop out. Meantime, I will look around for sturdy big cardboard pieces. Thanks!

>26 jessibud2: I'm glad to pass the idea along because like you said, no herbicides! Especially as it's in our vegetable garden area.

>27 SandyAMcPherson: - Mine, too. I grow tomatoes, 2 kinds of lettuce and I may add some herbs this year, maybe peppers. My space is so tiny and I tend to pack a lot in but I really don't want to use pesticides at all.

>24 jessibud2: I'm glad you checked on Mother Goose, Shelley. We have a raccoon in the neighbourhood, one that is missing a front paw and most of it's back tail. I'm not fond of raccoons, since I know how vicious they can bet, but I feel a bit sorry for this handicapped raccoon. I was slightly tempted to leave some food for him/ her, but it's illegal and they are vicious. But the raccoon is out foraging for food in broad daylight , and has even been seen a few times in the carports of our townhouse complex, looking for food. He is nice and plump, so I guess he/ she is doing well enough . Back in the late 1960's , if you imagine, our next door neighbours kept a racoon for a pet!!!!! They were a nice family with 6 children, but a little eccentric. I didn't realize at the time, but the mom was an alcoholic and I think dad cared for all six of those kids by himself. Anyway, I sure saw that raccoon a lot, up close and personal. It used to attack some of the neighbourhood toddler and preschoolers, and I think the neighbour dads prevailed upon the neighbour to get rid of their pet raccoon. I've had a healthy respect for raccoons since. then.

>29 vancouverdeb: - Eek, raccoons are nasty! Steer clear! Once, I was going for a walk on the boardwalk down by the beach here in Toronto. I needed to go to the bathroom and so, we stopped and I went into the facilities. As I was about to sit down, I happened to look up. There, up in the rafters, staring down at me, was a mama raccoon and her 2 babies. I decided I could *wait*. I didn't feel like being *vulnerable* if they felt I was intruding and invading their home...!

Today is Independent Bookstore Day. Toronto used to have a LOT of small indie bookstores, most of which are now gone, thanks to the invasion of the big box stores. However, we still have some left. One I used to love was the very beautiful Ben McNally Books. Their landlord bought their property a few years ago so they were forced to move. They relocated a few times before finally finding a permanent home. I receive their newsletters via email but haven't yet been to the new location. It's a miserable rainy windy day here today but I may be inspired to venture out later this afternoon to pay a visit (and buy a book or two...;-)

https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/books/2023/04/27/indie-bookstores-redefine...

https://lithub.com/10-of-the-best-indie-bookstores-in-the-world/

4 is my default, apparently (except when it's not, lol. And when I fail to pay attention, which also seems to be a default problem I have!)

Wordle 679 4/6 meaty, pious, fence, cedar

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Just hopping in to say that I am loving the goose saga updates - I've also seen goose keep nests in some pretty strange places. Hopefully everything works out for them.
>29 vancouverdeb: & >30 jessibud2: Also felt I had to hop in and share my love of raccoons, they are delightful critters and I had one as a pet for a short time as a kid. The mother had been hit by a car and so my parents brought it home to bottle feed. I remember learning how to scramble eggs for the first time so I could cook for the little guy. I've had nothing but pleasant interactions with raccoons, tame or wild (I've once had three young raccoons on me at once), they are sweet and a more intensely mischievous cat. We did eventually re-release ours to the wild once it was able to start hunting and catching things on it's own.

>33 WhiteRaven.17: - Hi and welcome! Yes, goose are quite a common site here and I've seen them on the lawns of local stores (I have a hilarious photo of a family stopping traffic to cross the drive into IKEA! I will post it if I can find it) and in parks and at the beach and garden centre. But usually, with chicks, they choose places with grass and access to water. This one, on the median in a parking lot, is new to me. I will be in that area again later today or tomorrow and will see how she is doing.

Edited to add those old photos. 2 from IKEA, and one at Edward's Gardens, Toronto Botanical Gardens:

Family outing, make way for goslings!


Wrong way, you guys! (still at IKEA)


Mad goose saying BACK OFF to people with cameras

Another 4:

Wordle 680 4/6 meaty, pious, prank, plaza

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Wordle 681 4/6 meaty, pious, glean, range

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I just read that Elinor Wachtel is leaving the CBC show " Writers and Company"!!

>37 torontoc: - What?!?! She must be retiring; I can't see her leaving for any other reason.

The cbc is bleeding good hosts lately. I bet it's because someone at the top is trying too hard to target the hip hop age audience. Never mind that they have their own music stations everywhere else in the universe, if they even listen to radio at all. Meantime, those of us loyal cbc listeners of a certain age and, if I dare use this word, intellect, are being left high and dry, with nothing much else out there on the airwaves. Quite a message they are sending us, isn't it? It's so sad and frankly, a bit insulting, if I am honest.

Hopefully, they won't delete her show's archives of interviews. At least that! Who's next, Shelagh Rogers?

Wow, this is incredible!! Just found this article about a family in England who creates beach art using pebbles, rocks, shells, sea glass, and other natural materials. Their work is stunning! For each pic, you can scroll right to see details, but to see all their work, scroll down. I absolutely love stuff like this and wish I had an iota of such talent.

I wonder if the art remains or if the tides wash it away. Good that they photograph it!

https://mymodernmet.com/beach4art-land-art/

I posted this over on the *In Memorium* thread but will copy it here. I was very sad this morning to learn that Gordon Lightfoot has died, although I knew last week this was probably coming as the news reported that he was in hospital.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/gordon-lightfoot-dead-1.6828991

I remember my dad bought me Lightfoot's very first album (which I still have!), before he was actually a Canadian icon. I now own around 6 or 7 albums of his and have seen him live in concert 3 times. The first time, was when I was around 12 or 13 and my friend and I managed to find our way backstage afterwards. We wanted an autograph. He was very drunk and didn't want to oblige us but one of his backstage people convinced him to just sign our papers. I was a bit stunned and as a petulant teenager, told my friend I'd never buy another Lightfoot album or go to another concert of his. That boycott didn't last too long, though.

There is a small folk venue here in Toronto called Hugh's Room. Every year, for many years now, they do a Lightfoot Tribute where local artists perform 2 songs each from the Lightfoot catalogue. Lightfoot himself used to sometimes show up, just as part of the audience, never going on stage. It was always great fun.

I don't think I can narrow it down to one favourite song, but I really do love Song For a Winter's Night, and of course, the Canadian Railroad Trilogy, among countless others.

There was also a very good documentary that came out in 2020, called Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ftmy3xjup8c

Wordle 682 4/6 meaty, pious, sully, sulky

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>2 jessibud2: Those are just beautiful!

>3 jessibud2: Wow, "silly" goose may be an understatement in this case.

Happy new-ish thread!

>42 alcottacre: - Hi Stasia, and thanks. I meant to check on Mother Goose yesterday when I was out and about, running errands but in the end I forgot. It's been a cold rainy week and I have no plans to go anywhere today so maybe tomorrow.

A short clip and the sound is not great but 2 Canadian icons in the early days: Lightfoot being interviewed by Alex Trebek!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/gordon-lightfoot-dead-1.6828991

My yard birds today, my 2 favourites and my least favourite. Sorry for the grainy quality of the photo. This is what happens on this new phone if I try to zoom. Pfft

Wordle 683 5/6 meaty, pious, glove, force, horde

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>45 jessibud2: The pigeon really looks drab compared to the other two.

>47 Familyhistorian: - It was also a rainy gray day. But those pigeons are huge and the other birds are not! ;-)

Mother Goose update from earlier today. I drove into the small parking lot so I could take pics without leaving my car and disturbing her but she wasn't there.
I noticed that the dog bowl that had held water was gone and a flimsy plastic planter saucer replaced it. Also, another *roof* shelter had been erected and a planter container was added. It's too deep for anything that I can think of as useful so I am not sure what it's for. At least one of the eggs, possibly more, is cracked and I wonder if she was just out stretching her wings, maybe gone somewhere to eat and poop, or if she has abandoned the nest. I also removed the pink plastic cup that had been there since I first noticed her a few weeks ago as well as a nail, a plastic fork and a shard of glass I saw (people can be such pigs).

Anyhow, I may try to drive by tomorrow if I remember and see if she has returned.

Happy Wednesday, Shelley. Bummer about Mother Goose. Unfortunately, Canada Geese do not put much thought into their nesting spots. This is why they have such large broods, I guess. The goslings and ducklings are beginning to arrive at my Wildlife Rehab Center, along with baby bunnies and squirrels. These bring the highest attention of the staff there, who feed these babies continuously.

I like your feeder pic up there with the dreaded pigeon on the scene. ☹️

>49 msf59: - Yeah, that pigeon. There are usually 2 or 3 at a time. As long as their numbers don't increase, I guess I have to live with it. ;-p

For Judy: Here is the pic from today (no noticeable roots yet but they will come):


I use wood matches to stake them. I always light the matches first and extinguish them under the tap, just for safety purposes.

And this was from several years ago:


It's a bit darker in this shot but you can see how nicely they grow and how I trained the leaves up and over the window. The main thing to remember it to make sure to top up the water levels daily. They drink a ton. You do not want the potatoes to dry up because then they will stink.

Feels like this should have been easier:

Wordle 684 5/6 meaty, pious, jumpy, pulpy, guppy. I really wanted it to be *puppy*

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>51 jessibud2: ooo. Thanks for the picture. It looks lovely. I'll try that, maybe for my bedroom window.

And yes, the Wordle took me far too long. Just squeezed it in in six, but it reminded me of the incident in my life where this word came up. Long, long ago.

>53 ffortsa: - Another thought: I set them in empty jars, from things like pickles or jam and such. Glass is better than plastic because glass is sturdier and once they start growing, they can get top-heavy and you don't want the thing tipping over and spilling water everywhere. You can leave the jar on the counter (or dresser, if in your bedroom) but because that was my one sunny corner of my kitchen (and house), I always had a lot of plants there and therefore used a tray to hold them. That way, if anything did spill, it was more or less contained. But in fact, I never had that happen.

Also, if you have a hook in your ceiling, you can place the jar (maybe plastic for this, as it's less heavy) into a macrame type hanger from that hook. It would look and work just as well, I would think.

>48 jessibud2: - I drove by again today and the nest is still there with no sign of Mother Goose. I have to believe that she has abandoned it, maybe due to egg damage. Only one egg that I could tell had a big hole in it and the other 3 may also have had cracks or maybe it was dirt I was seeing. I can't imagine they are viable if she is off the nest for long periods of time. Probably just as well, because I honestly don't think, given the location, that any chicks would have survived.

Love the pictures of the Canada Geese. In real life I don't always love them, but they can be cute. I've seen some cute little geese families walking around in a park in Richmond.

>45 jessibud2: Cute birds! We don't get those in my area, but the pigeon, yes.

>54 jessibud2: a hook in the ceiling! About 35 years ago, a roommate of mine put a hook in her bedroom ceiling. The bedroom has been mine since about then, but I never have used the hook. Too much furniture in the way just now, but it's certainly an idea!

>52 jessibud2: I wanted it to be puppy too!!

>56 vancouverdeb: - The cardinals and goldfinches are daily regulars at my feeder, Deb, as are the red-breasted nuthatches, who just weren't there at the moment I took this pic. Sadly, the pigeons are also becoming daily visitors, too. As long as there are only a couple of them, I can live with that (though I'd rather not!). It's when they appear in hordes that I worry about.

>57 ffortsa: - Let me know if and when you do it, Judy. I am sure it will look lovely. Back in my hippie teens, I used to make macrame hangings and plant holders. Not sure I'd even know how to begin now, but I do see them for sale in garden centres and craft places everywhere these days.

>58 EBT1002: - LOL, Ellen. At least I am sort-of back to my default of 4 today.

Wordle 685 4/6 meaty, pious, felon, below

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Love the Geese and the beach art Shelley, and your other feathered visitors.

Not very familiar with Lightfoot, will put that right soon.

I drove by again today, and this is what I found: the end of the nest. This is obviously the work of a human, not a bird or animal predator. Only a human would use a large rock (seen on the left) to make sure that no eggs will hatch. An animal predator is concerned only with eating, and would have simply taken the unattended eggs. All the other paraphernalia around the nest is gone today, too. It makes me sad, and angry, too. What the hell is wrong with our idiotic species, with its need to harm and destroy?! I am no fan of geese (or pigeons) but I would NEVER deliberately do anything to harm them. They are living creatures. :-(

>60 Caroline_McElwee: - Hi Caroline. I am sure you will find a lot about Gordon Lightfoot online. This is one of the last songs he wrote and recorded, in 2020:

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=oh%20so%20sweet%20gordon%20lightfoot%20vide...

I may head down to Massey Hall on Sunday, the venue he played more times than any other performer, to sign the book of condolences. He was truly a national hero and icon.

>61 jessibud2: Shaking my head with sorrow . Indeed , what sort of human would do that? 🥲

>63 vancouverdeb: - Thanks, Deb. It still bothers me.

Wordle 686 4/6 meaty, pious, wreak, anger

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Weird. I didn't even think guess #4 was a word but it wasn't rejected so I guess it is. New to me.

Wordle 687 5/6 meaty, pious, group, glout, ghoul

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Happy new thread!

Thanks, Rhonda.

Wordle 688 4/6 meaty, pious, valor, aglow

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I went to see a new documentary yesterday, called Still: A Michael J. Fox movie. It was really well-done, documenting not only his career but his much-too-early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease at age 29 and how it has affected his life. Despite the devastating toll it has had on his body, his trademark humour is evident throughout. I have read all his books, including his last one, called No Time Like The Future. The movie touches on a few of the issues he covers in the book, namely the decline in his health due to, among other issues, the many falls he has had as his balance diminishes. Interspersed throughout, are sessions with his physiotherapist who works with Michael daily, trying to learn strategies to reestablish muscle memory and help his walking and balance. At times, it's really hard to watch but still, in spite of everything - and admittedly, he looks pretty ravaged - he is an optimist and his sense of humour has a lot, I am certain, to do with having got this far. It was a terrific film.

The Hot Docs festival is on now and I saw another film as well, called Without Precedent: The Supreme Life of Rosalie Abella. It is the story of Rosalie Abella, the first (Jewish) woman appointed to Canada's Supreme Court. She also happens to be the wife of the late author Irving Abella, who wrote None is Too Many but she is incredibly accomplished in her own right and this was also an excellent film. Plenty of humour, but also humility. She was born in a displaced persons camp in Germany after the second World War, came to Canada as a child and rose to the top in Canada's Supreme Court. What a life! Still going strong.

A funny coincidence also happened yesterday. Back in >40 jessibud2:, I mentioned that my first Gordon Lightfoot concert, when I was around 12 or 13, in Montreal, was not a stellar experience for me. I had gone with a friend and we got backstage after and he was drunk and rude to us. The school friend I went with also lives in Toronto now but we only run into each once in a blue moon; years can go by without contact. Well, standing in line yesterday waiting to get into the film, there she was. She said she was stunned to see me as she had been thinking about me all this week, after news of Lightfoot broke. She said she was remembering that first concert we went to together! So funny. Both of us forgave him and went on to see him in concert many times after that and still listen to his music. Thankfully, he gave up alcohol and mellowed over the years and I guess we did too, lol. I had considered going to Massey Hall yesterday to sign the book of condolences but when I got out of the theatre, it was pouring rain and I decided I really didn't want to be standing around in that for hours as would probably have happened so I just went home.

>61 jessibud2: How sad.... :'(

>68 jessibud2: What a coincidence meeting your friend again after all these years! The movie about Micheal Fox sounds excellent!

>69 FAMeulstee: - Yes, it is, Anita. I haven't gone back to see if the whole thing has been removed. I did call the wildlife centre just to update them and let them know. I left a message on their voicemail.

>70 vancouverdeb: - Yes, it was, Deb, both the coincidence and the movie! :-) I watched another great doc yesterday and will write that one up shortly.

Another day of not paying close enough attention. I messed up in guess 4:
Wordle 689 5/6 meaty, pious, coral, cobra, cocoa

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Documentary film seen yesterday: Trained to See - Three |Women and the War

The film is narrated entirely from personal notes, letters and articles written by Martha Gellhorn (one of Hemingway's wives), Margaret Bourke-White, and Lee Miller (who I actually had never heard of; I did know of the other two). Almost all the footage was black and white, both stills and film footage, by the 3 of them, colourized in some select parts. At the very end, the footage and reportage of the concentration camps was very grim and graphic and difficult to watch. I have to say, the quality of the films was, for the most part, excellent and sharp. I was sometimes shocked and astounded at some of the things they reported and wonder if all of it was actually published by their respective magazines/newspapers, etc. Most of the reportage was from the early 1940s and up to just after the war.

What I am left with is this: humans will never learn. War will never end. It's 2023 and look at this bloody world. It's disgraceful.

At the end of the film, there were short blurbs on what each of the 3 women did after and how they ended their careers and lives. I would really like to read more about each of them.

Some quotes from Martha Gellhorn:

On war:
- There are too many wars and they have gone on far too long. What a world - to think that our Lord bothered to die for it.

- Is anyone going to make it fine? To prevent the massive insane cruelty from going on, that poison in the blood of humanity?

On peace:
- Peace was wonderful because no one got killed any more, and foolishly in those early days, we thought we had learned enough not to start killing again.

The official blurb for this film:

Trained to See – Three Women and the War
107 mins | Germany, Italy | 2022
Director: Luzia Schmid
Producers: Ulli Pfau, Katarina Cvitic, Roberto Dall'Angelo
Language: English
Subtitle: No
In the United States in the 1940s, most professional industries did not hire women, and the news media were no different—until World War II, when they began to employ female war correspondents. These first female writers and photographers who reported from European battlefields became some of the most influential US war journalists in history. Eschewing rhetorical patriotism for authentic and often haunting reporting, they covered the wounded and the terrors of concentration camps alongside the victories. Martha Gellhorn, a notable writer on the Great Depression and one-time wife of Ernest Hemingway, landed at Normandy on D-Day; Margaret Bourke-White was the first and only foreign photographer in Moscow when the Germans invaded; and Vogue photographer Lee Miller covered the London Blitz and the liberation of Paris, and was herself immortalized in Hitler’s bathtub the day of his suicide. Using only their original images, readings from their letters home, and never-before-seen footage, this vivid time capsule brings the female trailblazing of a nascent œuvre to exciting life.

Heading back to the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) today with a friend. Looking forward to seeing new exhibits.

Wordle 690 4/6 meaty, pious, thine, ethic

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Shelley, I think you did mention that your friend has a beagle named Poppy, I don't hear it often for a dog though. I was quite happy to hear another dog called Poppy while I was out walking her a month or so ago. The couple had another dog named Indigo, like (in my mind) the bookstore. I thought what great naming you did of your dogs! :-) But Poppy is bit of character, aka challenging, like one of your cats was. She was particularly challenging in her first two years. We got our share of small bites when things did not go the way she had mind. It was fear aggression, I guess. Anyway, we met with a lovely lady that specialized in dog behaviour and training and got a lot of ideas and education. She is out third dog, so we aren't new to having dogs. Anyway, she is now 9 1/2 years old and we love her very much. She still hides under the kitchen table when she realizes that I am going to take her for a walk. I have to crawl under the kitchen table to hook up the leash, and she she usually gives me a small growl . But that is Poppy. She loves to go for her walks. She also jumps in my lap and smothers me with her kisses. Yes, personality!

Wordle 691 4/6 meaty, pious, croon, broom

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>61 jessibud2: So sad Shelley.

Will look put for the docs.

>74 vancouverdeb: - Poppy sounds like such a personality, Deb!

>76 Caroline_McElwee: - All 3 docs I saw are well worth it, Caroline. I hope you get an opportunity to see them.

Wordle 692 4/6 meaty, pious, shark, snack

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>45 jessibud2: I have a family of cardinals that returns (I am guessing they are the same family!) to my yard every year since we have been here. I am always happy to see them!

>61 jessibud2: Idiocy!! All life is precious, including the idiot's who did that.

Have a fantastic Friday, Shelley!

>78 alcottacre: - Hi Stasia, good to see you. I know my cardinal family are close by as they come to my feeder daily. Just no nest this year in the lilac. I took my first cutting of lilac blooms yesterday and put them into a vase so I could inhale deeply. Put the vase in a closed room overnight so they would survive the cats but oh, this computer room smells wonderful this morning!

Wordle 693 4/6 meaty, pious, chain, acrid. I might have had it in 3 if I had paid closer attention. I seem hell-bent on missing at least once every time I play, by not paying attention!

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Happy Saturday, Shelley. I plan on seeing the Michael J. Fox doc. Glad to hear you loved it. My feeders have been fairly quiet but getting in some interesting birds- white crowned sparrows, grackles and I had a female rose-breasted grosbeak yesterday. Do you ever see grosbeaks up your way. I know you have pine and evening.

>61 jessibud2: Well, that is awful! People suck!

Hi Mark. I have only the regulars at my feeder: red-breasted nuthatches, goldfinches, cardinals, sparrows, house finches. I seem to be hosting a chipping sparrow too, which makes me very happy. I only used to see them rarely but have seen at least one or 2 almost daily, recently. I know we do have grosbeaks but I have never seen one at my feeder, sadly. I heard blue jays this week but they haven't stopped by the feeder. This is often the case, that I hear them more than I see them. And of course, the relentless pigeons are back. I saw 3 the other day. The minute I see 4 or more I will take my feeder in for a few days. At least I know the others can find food elsewhere now, though I prefer to have the feeder out year-round.

I haven't gone back to see the nest, Mark, and I don't think I will. It's just depressing.

Wordle 694 5/6 meaty, pious, stall, shark, scarf

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Good morning, Shelley. I needed five guesses for this morning's Wordle, as well.

The film going sounds fun! Seattle's film festival is happening right now, as well. I didn't take advantage of that city opportunity as much as I might have liked when I lived there.

Time for a quick update. Hardly enough here to call it a legitimate lightning round but so be it:

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived - This is a fun and entertaining look at some fictional characters from a variety of pop-culture areas that have left an impression of our lives, in one way or another, over the years.

The authors clearly had fun with this, and although their brief histories of each character seem clear enough, it is their somewhat *editorial* comments at the end of each short piece that let you know this is all very tongue-in-cheek, from a modern perspective. They also listed a bunch who almost, but didn't, make the final cut. I was a bit miffed that Charlie Brown (and the whole Peanuts gang) weren't included either on the missed list or the original 101, but c'est la vie.

The Idea of North - The Paintings of Lawren Harris - I got this as a BB from someone here on LT, Karen O, Deb? Can't remember but thanks! I got this out of the library as it is a large format coffee table book. I enjoyed learning more about Harris himself. Coincidentally, I spent a few hours at the AGO (Art Gallery of Ontario) again last week so was able to visit more of Harris's work from the period before his North paintings, as well as some more of the others in the Group of Seven, among others. Pictures to follow.

My reading this year has been rather dismal. In between many books started and set aside (of which there are several), I have been going through piles of magazines to get rid of (at least that!), as well as decluttering and gardening.

Currently reading You Went Away by Timothy Findley. I have enjoyed other titles of his. This one is a novelette and so far, so good. Also currently reading (for the NF challenge, Literary Biography, for May), Margaret Wise Brown - Awakened by the Moon. Also, so far so good.

This painting by Lawren Harris is from his period before the *North* paintings. I really like this street scene.

I forgot to take notice but I think these 2 are by Tom Thomson, of the Group of Seven (though, I know, he wasn't *officially* part of that group, as it was formed after his death. But he is, unofficially.)



Again, I forgot to notice the painter's name. Harris? Thomson? Can't remember.

Another Canadian painter I love, William Kuralek. He writes and illustrates many children's book. I really love this painting, especially how he used the frame to enhance and bring to life the painting itself.



A painting by Norville Morisseau, a real one, not a fake (his name has been in the news lately because of the scandal of many fake paintings circulating)

And no visit to the AGO would be complete without stopping into the mind-bending Yayoi Kusama Infinity room:

And now, a little garden oasis time:



I love my Brunnera! It is massive (I originally bought 2 but gave one to my friend as it just took over my little space). It makes the prettiest little blue flowers in the spring and is in its prime now. The leaves also grow much larger. A lovely and reliable perennial.



In the far corner, where my maple used to be, I now have a smoke tree. I bought it as a smoke bush but it is quite tall now. It has also leafed out nicely since I took this photo, just a week or so ago! Can't wait for the smoke *puffs* to appear!

The lilac tree is in full bloom now and smells intoxicating!



I have cut some of the lilac sprigs just to bring them inside. They have to be put in a separate room at night, away from curious cats, but meantime, I inhale deeply...



And finally, an experiment I am about to try. I found this in my garage, have no memory of when or where I bought it, but I am going to try it with one of the new tomato plants I bought yesterday!
Yes, I know, *As seen on tv*. We'll see how that works out... ;-)

Just one more shout-out to the AGO, truly a work of art in and of itself. Here are 2 views of its interior:

I did it again, didn't pay close enough attention around the third guess. I can't seem to overcome this mental block! Even when I think I am aware of it! Sheesh

Wordle 695 4/6 meaty, pious, value, canoe

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I enjoyed your pictures, Shelley! Thanks for posting them.

I have to tell you about the Mother's Day gift I received from my daughter. It's a bird feeder with a built-in camera that will send bird pictures to the app on my phone as they eat! We haven't mounted it yet, but I'll be sure to share what happens with it. Everything (and I mean everything!) these days can't seem to be done without an app or a difficult-to-navigate web site. I hope this works out well, though. We still need to get some bird seed and figure out where to mount this feeder to keep the squirrels out.

Thanks for sharing the art, Shelley, and your garden.
Sadly I had to get rid of the lilacs in our garden. I like them, but their scent triggers Franks allergies (the same with hyacints, and a few others), so he was sneezing all the time when they were in bloom.

>85 jessibud2: What a beautiful painting! The sunlight on the leaves, the shadows on the houses, very attractive.

>87 jessibud2: The frame makes the William Kuralek painting extra special.

>93 SqueakyChu: - Oh, what fun, Madeleine! Can't wait for updates! I wonder who will show up!

>94 FAMeulstee: - Such a pity, Anita but that's the problem with allergies. They are really out of our control. I'm sure you can find other beautiful flowers and plants that don't have strong scents.

Another sad day for our CBC. The host of The Next Chapter, the weekly program about Canadian books and authors, Shelagh Rogers, is retiring. I am really sad about this as I so enjoyed her show. I hope they don't delete the archives. So many wonderful interviews. Another literary giant on CBC, Eleanor Wachtel, also is retiring this year. It just makes me want to cry, the turn the CBC is taking, trying to win newer audiences (read: the hip-hop generation, pardon my cynicism). I have already stopped listening to much of what I used to, because I can't stand the music they choose to play. They are abandoning our generation, who are still alive and well and intellectually wanting what CBC used to offer. In my opinion, the younger generation, if they listen to radio at all, has just about every other station on the dial.

I may have to seek out a walkman of sorts and just listen to my own cds. I will miss the intelligent literary programs, though.

:-(

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/shelagh-rogers-saying-goodbye-to-cbc-aft...

Yes, I am sorry to hear that Shelagh Rogers is retiring! Loved the photos of the AGO and your garden. I don't get as much sun so that my Lilacs are not as lush as yours. Same with my Hostas- my neighbour's are so far ahead of mine!

Lovely gallery and garden photos Shelley.

>97 torontoc: - I just hope they don't remove the archives of her shows, Cyrel!

>98 Caroline_McElwee: - Thanks, Caroline. It's a beautiful space (the AGO) and my garden is coming along, too! ;-)

Wordle 696 4/6 meaty, pious, berth, latte

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Beautiful painting, Shelley! Thanks for sharing them with us. I think >87 jessibud2: is my favourite! I was once very fortunate that the Group of Seven had a display at the Vancouver Art Gallery and I loved it! That was before the time of cell phones, so I did not take any pictures.

Love the shots of the AGO, Shelley--from looking at your pictures, I had a hunch it was designed by Frank Gehry, and I was correct. He designed the outdoor Pritzker Music Pavilion here in Chicago's Grant Park:

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Those flying silver arches overhead criss-cross the seating areas; they hold speakers, so that nearly every concert-goer, both in the seats and on the grass, has great sound.

And love your lilacs! I can almost smell them from here!

By the way, we have hazy skies here today and more tomorrow, apparently due to the wildfires in Alberta.

>100 vancouverdeb: - Deb, we are really lucky here in Toronto, with the museums and galleries. The AGO is a real gem. I hope your back is feeling better today.

>101 kac522: - The AGO had its *facelift* some years ago and it is truly a place of beauty. Although Gehry has lived most of his life in the States, he was born in Toronto. Thanks for those shots of his work in Chicago, Kathy. He has quite a unique yet recognizable style, doesn't he?

Lucky today (and I paid attention!)

Wordle 697 3/6 meaty, pious, plank Is anyone else seeing the wordle letters looking smaller or is it just my computer being weird?

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We have been without services (landline, TV, internet/wifi) since 7 am this morning. Apparently a cable was cut somewhere and our whole area is affected. For reasons beyond my understanding, I can access internet on my cell phone (not the same provider) but not on my tablet. I have already told you more than I understand, lol.

All that to say I got wordle in 3 today but unless I can do it again on my laptop before midnight (their latest estimate of resumption of services), my streak there will be broken. I know it isn't, actually, but doing it on the cellphone instead of on the laptop messes things up a bit. C'est la vie.

meaty, pious, shorn

I was also sad to learn today that the father of Jeopardy's Mattea Roach died a couple of weeks ago of a brain aneurysm. He was only 57. Of course, the masters tournament was taped awhile ago and this is very recent. Once I get back on my computer I will post the link.

Thanks to no TV, I will miss both Jeopardy shows tonight. Grrr

Wordle 699 4/6 meaty, pious, shine, grief

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>106 jessibud2: The Jeopardy Masters tournament was not on last night, Shelley. It recommences on Monday. So you didn't miss that, at least.

>108 laytonwoman3rd: - Thanks, Linda. I did find that out today. All our services came back around 9 pm. I spent a very aggravating hour or more this morning toggling between being on hold and getting transferred to - count 'em - 4 different people. I explained each time, in full (and with increasing impatience) what happened yesterday and asking that I be credited for a full day of no services at all. Each one told me yes, that would happen and please hold on while they transfer me to the right dept. By the time the poor final guy came on, I had just about had it. He (all of them) was obviously on script, I know this, but he asked me how I was doing. And I told him. He also told me next time to push the option for tech support. I told him that made no sense. Asking for a credit on my bill logically suggested to me that what I wanted was billing. He said, no, tech support. Makes as much sense as anything there, I suppose. And then he had the nerve, after I poured out my entire story of the time wasted on hold and 4 different people (and apologized for unloading on HIM as I knew it wasn't his fault, personally), to ask me if I was satisfied with the service today. I was calm (no shouting) and polite (no cursing except in my head silently), but I did not hesitate to say, are you kidding me? Actually, no I am not.

I can't wait for the survey they usually send asking us to rate service. I usually delete surveys but this time, if they send it, I will fill it out. But I'd also be willing to bet it never arrives.

I also found out today that my little local library branch is closing permanently. I am about midway between 4 branches of the library so it's not such a big deal except I really like this branch and the librarians there. Sigh...

At least today was warm enough that I was able to sit outside and read for awhile, after several days of chilly weather.

>109 jessibud2: What an aggravating day of service interruption followed by the time stolen from you on hold/being batted back and forth/only to be aggravated again at the end by the local branch being shut down! *there there patpat*

I loved looking at the Lawren Harris and Tom Thomson images, as well as your lovely garden. I hope this weekend ahead's reads make up for the annoyances of the preceding week.

*smooch*

>105 jessibud2: So frustrating, Shelley! Well, waiting for a bracelet to be delivered by UPS a week ago, I spent about 30 - 35 minutes on the phone being handed onto 4 different reps!!! Argh! The tracking said they had tried to deliver my bracelet, but I had refused to pay duty. In reality, both Dave and I were both home when they said UPS was here, but I don't think they were actually here. Finally I was able to redirect my bracelet to a UPS store, and thus it was finally solved. But ugh, over an hour!!! Sorry about that.

>110 richardderus:, 111 - Thanks, Richard and Deb, for the commiseration. I have recovered. I guess it's time I just resigned myself to the fact that *customer service* is simply a myth, a misnomer, a lie and I just need to learn to deal with it.

It's pouring rain this morning which is good, I guess especially since it is said to clear up for the rest of this long weekend. I may even crawl back into bed for a short snooze. Theo has invented a new game. It's called Jump On Shelley at 2 a.m. So far he has a 3-day streak going. I am not impressed and the spray bottle I keep on my bedside table has been getting a bit of a workout. Unfortunately, he seems not to care much about that any more. *eyeroll*...

Wordle 700 5/6 meaty, pious, shard, flank, flask

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Hi Shelley - I love the art and the garden photos.

The 101 Most Influential People Who Never Lived sounds like a fun/interesting book. I wonder if it might be a good book club selection...

>113 BLBera: - It was a fun book, Beth. Not high literature but just fun. I can see that there might be good discussion around who made the cut and who didn't, and why or why not! I bet everyone could come up with their own list! The authors were pretty clear that there was no scientific approach to their lists!

Wordle 701 4/6 meaty, pious, shark, brash

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Wordle 702 4/6 meaty, pious, doing, igloo

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>116 jessibud2: I think everyone gets today's Wordle in four because it's such a weird one. Happy week ahead's reads, Shelley!

>117 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard. So, when will you rejoin the addicted?

Wordle 703 4/6 meaty, pious, cheer, clerk

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Hi Shelley. Caught up on your thread (finally).
Loved the photos of the AGO and the artwork. Must be at least 20 years since I visited the gallery. A lot of changes.

Commiseration re UPS. We decided to avoid even ordering something if we can't get it via Canada Post/USPS. In Saskatoon, there isn't even an option anymore to pick up at the UPS storefront location.

I had a very nice interaction with an online seller when I said why I wasn't ordering. I wish more sellers would recognize how unreliable UPS delivery has become. I wonder if it is the driver laziness or maybe an auto-message app gone squirrely. The local UPS denise it's an app problem, so to heck with 'em.

>119 SandyAMcPherson: - Hi Sandy. It was Deb (commenting) who had the UPS issues. At the beginning of covid, I actually ordered a book from Chapters/Indigo and it was delivered by UPS. The guy dropped it on the front step, never rang the bell. And of course, I was home. Covid. Lockdown. Where the heck else would I be? I'm not expecting the deliery guy to even wait, just ring the bell to alert me there is someone/something there. Even in the news there is a lot of porch theft awareness going on. I complained to the store and they told me they have no control over what the delivery service does. So I told them that's the last time I order a book online. As for the delivery companies themselves (and I have to assume it's not only UPS), they simply don't care. I wouldn't waste my time or breath complaining. If I can't go into the store in person to purchase a book, I will just have to wait or do without. It's not like I have no other books at home, ahem...;-)

I almost never do online shopping for anything, just books. And those I order from Thriftbooks, come through Canada Post and my mailman always rings to let me know there is a package. He even puts it between the screen door and the front door so it isn't visible from the street. I guess that's just too much to ask from the delivery *services*...

>118 jessibud2: I still can't decode well enough to make the puzzle anything but frustrating. The format completely bumfuzzled me the last time I tried. Couldn't make sense of anything.😑

>121 richardderus: - Fair enough. But don't rule it out. Everything else has come back for you beautifully (read: reviews, for example) so I believe it's just a matter of time. And that is for you to call the shots. You'll know when to say when.

>95 jessibud2: My older son kindly consented to work on the router so it would work with the bird camera. I bought birdseed today, and Jose set up the camera. The first picture was of him setting up the camera. LOL! The other pictures today were of two different nuthatches. This is going to be so much fun!

>123 SqueakyChu: - Ha! Jose is going to be an internet star! Sounds very cool! Enjoy it! Are you able to share pics from it? I have no clue how those things work but I used to watch bird cams on the internet so I know how fascinating they are (and how addictive!!)

>124 jessibud2: Yes, I can share pictures. When the camera senses motion, it takes a picture. I can forward the picture to anyone via email or message or other app. Here's a pic that came in this evening...



I can watch birds when I'm not even home! This evening I was at my grandson's band performance at a local high school when the above picture came in. LOL!

>125 SqueakyChu: - How cool! That looks like a white-breasted nuthatch.

Well, I'm nothing if not consistent, with my 4s. I had to walk away and come back for this one. I felt stuck for quite some time, even with having 4 of 5 letters, just none in the right spots:

Wordle 704 4/6 meaty, pious, truce, utter

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>126 jessibud2: It is. So far, the nuthatch and a cardinal (male) have been the feeder's only visitors. That will change as more birds visit the feeder. The camera also spies my husband when he walks though the yard! :D

Wordle 705 5/6 meaty, pious, bleak, baled, bagel

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I just finished a very quick read called No. More. Plastic. It was an interesting read but very British-centric and there were several terms that I wasn't familiar with. Some I could figure out from context, others, not. What are: a Guppy Bag, a biro, sarnies, a technical clobber, to name a few? Really, just a small quibble, as the point of the book was self-evident and quite practical.

Sarnies = Sandwiches
Biro = pen
Guppy bag (I hadn't heard of) but googling shows that it is laundry bag that goes in the washing machines and traps plastic particles.

>129 calm: - Thanks for the translations! And welcome to my thread. :-)

Wordle 706 4/6 meaty, pious, shine, swine

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Wordle 707 3/6 meaty, pious, ramen

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>132 jessibud2: ??!! What a crummy word! I'm glad you got it in three but it really isn't a word I'd expect them to dredge up.

Anyway, have a happy weekend ahead's reads.

>133 richardderus:- Agreed, Richard. A word I wasn't expecting. I think I have learned to expect the unexpected from wordle, though.

I am sitting outside in my little garden in the shade enjoying the breeze. I think the heat and humidity will arrive by week's end so I have to take advantage while I can. I am planning to finish my Timothy Findley book (You Went Away) and also a magazine called Spacing. It's a local (to Toronto) mag and this issue is from last summer, and is all about rain and how it affects us, our love/hate relationship with it and how climate change is forcing us (and others) to think and act differently. Not easy in a large city with aging and often inadequate infrastructure.

So, after reading that little book about no more plastic (>128 jessibud2:), I have decided that I will no longer buy any fruits or vegetables that are wrapped in plastic. Especially unnecessarily and especially in summer. Should be a no-brainer. I went to 2 supermarkets today looking for a cucumber. I want just one, for now. The only ones available are English cucumbers, individually wrapped in plastic wrap or a styrofoam tray of several cukes, wrapped in plastic. Right next to them are zucchini, individually sold, not wrapped in anything. Which is as it should be, given that they have a thick and protective rind. I asked why this store (I asked in both stores) can't sell cucumbers that way, same rind, etc. Don't know, they said. I have a name and phone number to call tomorrow to ask the produce manager about this. I may have to see if the farmers markets are set up yet anywhere. I know they are in summer but it may be too early at this point. This is really aggravating and stupid.

I bought 2 different types of lettuce (Boston, and red leaf) for my little garden. I am not bothering to put them into the ground, I just keep them in their pots. I did this last year and it is so great to go outside, cut off a few leaves and along with tomatoes, make a salad. Obviously, no tomatoes yet in my garden but the lettuce looks fabulous.

I hope you are having a good weekend, Shelley. Sorry about the plastic wrapped veggie thing. I think I've only seen English Cucumbers wrapped in plastic. I do go to the farmer's market's here and same thing, English Cucumbers are wrapped in plastic. The field cucumber's are not wrapped in plastic, though, if you can find them. My cousin shares your concerns about plastic and she takes reusable mesh bags to put her veggies and fruits in . Our plastic bags for fruit and veggies are now recyclable , for what that is worth.

>136 vancouverdeb: I buy my produce from a store that uses very minimal packing. English cucumbers seem to always be wrapped in plastic. I think that helps them not to degrade so fast. Things like grapes and cherries, I find in recyclable plastic bags with holes for aeration. I can recycle plastic bags in certain areas in my county. My grocery store does not provide plastic bags at all, but rather it has green biodegradable bags which can be composted. Since they take so long to degrade, I simply take them back to the grocery store and reuse them. When they gets holes in them, I put them in a "compost" bin right in my grocery store (My Organic Market - MOM's - anorganic grocery store chain which started in Maryland, but which has expanede to other states).

I do keep plastic bags at home for produce store. I reuse these until I can no longer use them. The green biodegradable bag don't work well for storage as they are not air tight so the vegetable dry out more quickly. In addition, they are opaque so it's hard to tell what's inside them. After each use, I take the plastic bags and turn them inside out to dry out before reusing them. Sometime I do have to throw them out, though, depending on the yuck factor. :D

I wholly support your idea of shopping at a farmer's market. I am so sad that this year (after 13 years), my CSA will stop servicing my area. I LOVED their weekly fresh fruit and vegetables from within my state of Maryland. I'll probably see about doing another CSA in the future. I cannot praise them enough!

>136 vancouverdeb:, >137 SqueakyChu: - Funny about that. I guess I have also only ever seen the English cukes shrink-wrapped in plastic. Makes absolutely zero sense to me. There are several small farmers markets that set up not far from where I live but I don't know if they are up and running yet. Might be a tad too early in the season for produce yet. It's hot now but as recently as last week, we were still having cold nights. I will definitely look into it.

Many if not most of our stores have stopped providing plastic bags. I always have reusable cloth bags with me (2 in my purse and tons in the trunk of my car) so that is not a problem. I only use the plastic bags provided for produce when I have to and reuse them for kitty litter if they are going to go into the garbage anyhow. I am trying hard to be more mindful and more assertive about the overuse of plastic and I have to say, it's depressing, how it's EVERYWHERE!

Wordle 708 3/6 meaty, pious, skimp

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The Farmers Market at Mel Lastman Square( in Toronto) just opened ( 9 ish to 1 on Thursdays) I just bring own bags. I collect the plastic containers that have raspberries or strawberries and and return them to the stalls once of twice a season.

>140 torontoc: - Thanks for that, Cyrel!

Did you go to Word on the Street this weekend? I just got home, went only today. I asked why it had been moved to May since it has always been at the end of September and no one at the info table knew. I am so happy it is back at Queen's Park. Such a great venue. At Harbourfront, there was no escape from the heat and sun; at Queen's park there are all those beautiful trees and lawns.

>141 jessibud2: Unfortunately I had three conflicting events to go to this weekend so I didn't get to Doors Open or Word on the Street .

>142 torontoc: - Too bad, Cyrel but I hope you had a good time no matter where you were. I found WOTS to be rather scaled back and smaller this year but that suited me just fine too. In truth, I haven't been to Doors Open in years. When it first started, I used to go every year and quite enjoyed it. But I actually found it got too crowded (read: very long lineups) and I haven't been since well before covid hit.

Well, this was easy! I had all 5 letters by that second turn! Doesn't happen that way often!

Wordle 709 3/6 meaty, pious, mouse

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Morning, Shelley. I like your comments about plastic. I know I want to do better in that department. It definitely takes more thinking and effort, that is for sure. Glad to hear, that you trying to do right.

My feeders have been slow but I am finally seeing ruby-throated hummers and Baltimore Orioles drop by. We also get the occasional red-winged blackbird.

>125 SqueakyChu: I am thinking that is a white-breasted nuthatch, right?

>143 jessibud2: A truly delightful Wordle result, Shelley! Funny, the words you used to get there are utterly unlike the final word and, in fact, make a hilarious mental image taken all together.

Enjoy you week-ahead's reads, Shelley!

>144 msf59: - Hi Mark. This morning, for a couple of seconds, I had a male cardinal, a male goldfinch and a red-breasted nuthatch on my feeder all at the same time! So colourful! I have also had a few mourning doves the last few days. I love their sounds and.. they are NOT PIGEONS!
Yeah, the plastics issue is not easy. And in the long run, one person won't put a dent in it. But if everyone tried harder, it might. It took everyone wanting plastic to get to this crisis point. It's going to take a huge collective effort to even attempt to reverse it. A small step in the right direction is that most stores here are no longer offering plastic bags. That's a start. And who doesn't have a trunk full of cloth bags?

Richard, that is so funny! What a visual, now that you mention it! lol. I use those 2 starter words all the time because they give me all 6 vowels right off the bat and I can go from there.

I ditched the Findley book. He is (was) a talented and prolific writer and I have enjoyed other titles by him but this one just wasn't grabbing me. I set it aside for a bit and picked it up again but in truth, I just could not find any sympathy for a character who was willfully and deliberately cheating in his marriage and I simply chose to DNF it. I immediately started one of the books I bought yesterday at the Word on the Street festival by a local writer, Rona Maynard. She used to run a popular magazine here, Chatelaine and now, in her 60s/70s, decided to switch gears. She got a dog. Her first (though not for lack of trying on the part of her husband!) The book is called Starter Dog and so far, it is a delight! I have been laughing out loud to the point of getting strange looks from the cats. I remember well the days before we got our dog, when I was still living at home. So much of her *search* is familiar and funny. I think this is just the right book at the right time for me and I would recommend it to anyone who ever had (or just wanted) a dog!

No, I won't be getting a dog any time soon but this is bringing back lots of good memories.

>146 jessibud2: It was the first thing I noticed, that image your word choices made...I used AEONS, MIRTH as my starters for a similar result.

>148 richardderus: - But meaty gives me the *y*, as well . ;-)

>144 msf59: It is indeed a white-breasted nuthatch. So far our bird cam has shown us a male and female cardinal, a Carolina wren (who has also built a nest under our Little Free Library!), that nuthatch, a female purple finch, and a male house sparrow (who thankfully has not returned). The bird cam, which has a motion detector, also showed me my husband mowing the lawn! LOL!

>150 SqueakyChu: - Wow, Madeline, that is amazing and so cool!
In addition to the ones I mentioned seeing above (>146 jessibud2:), I was in the garage and also saw at my feeder a chipping sparrow, 2 pretty house finches (they are red headed too) and a juvenile cardinal. I think it's a male because it was mostly red but it had no crest on its head and it was doing that flitting thing youngsters do! So cute!

>151 jessibud2: New bird news! A Carolina wren built a nest on the shelf under my Little free Library. In addition, a second Carolina wren is checking out the birdhouse I just put up yesterday. I hope the bird cam doesn't take a picture of it every time it leaves that birdhouse! That would be a whole lot of pictures (which I can easily delete).

>149 jessibud2: Indeed it does...if it ever transpires that I can go back to Wordleing, I'll co-opt it to gain that advantage, too.

Hi Shelley, I hear you on the pervasiveness of plastic and how impossible it is to avoid.
I (and likely you, too) grew up without all this plastic in the grocery store and imho, we could revert to that aspect.
I honestly think most of the resistance is from the "convenience" for shipping.

Shelley, here in the Vancouver area, including my area single use plastic bags became illegal in March of 2022 I think it was. So you bring a cloth bag to any kind of store, or you can purchase a cloth bag at most stores, or you can pay 25 cents for paper bag in the grocery stores. Some stores don't carry any bags at all. Plastic straws were banned, as well plastic cutlery and I'm not sure what all. I know some people are really keen are decreasing their plastic use. Have you tried refill shops, were you purchase a glass container and just refill your bath and laundry soaps etc ? I know my cousin also uses bees wax wrap instead of saran wrap or a cling film. I've not gone that far yet. And of course , we sort our garbage into organics, paper/ cardboard, and glass and supposedly it is all recycled except for the organics. " Garbage" is only picked up every other week and I think you are limited to one bag of garbage every other week. Garbage is anything that can't be recycled or put into organics.

I was looking up why English Cukes are shrink wrapped and apparently it is done to protect them from drying out in transit since they are so thin skinned.

I am totally stumped on today's wordle. I have made 4 guesses so far and have 3 letters, 2 in the correct spot. And I can get no further. I am leaving it and may come back to it later. In my gut, I feel this is the end of one streak and tomorrow will start another. Sheesh, I hate when this happens.

>154 SandyAMcPherson: - Sandy, you are right. And I surely don't remember plastic when I was growing up, not to this extent. We sure are a greedy and lazy species, when *convenience* is the priority...!

>155 vancouverdeb: - Same here, Deb, regarding the ban on bags and straws and cutlery. It's a good thing, long overdue. I have already bought myself some metal straws (not that I use straws much but still) and I have a *spork*, a plastic utensil that is both a spoon and a fork, that I take when I travel. A friend gifted me a set of 4 (different sizes) of beeswax wraps and they really are good. Convenient! :-) I use them a fair bit.

Like you, only food waste is collected weekly, with garbage and recycling bins every other week. Yard waste is every other week, too, on the same day as garbage pickup.

It makes me feel good to focus on what I can do as an individual, overwhelming as it can be at times.

Now, heading out to run errands before it gets too hot (as it is expected to be)

For crying out loud. It sure took me long enough!! But a great big PHEW!

meaty, pious, queen, cheer, wheel, kneel

The streak lives another day...

And success on another front, too! I found naked cucumbers! At the organic health food store and I probably paid more than I normally would but for now, until I can go to farmer's markets regularly, I grabbed 2.

:-) (so easily amused)

>157 jessibud2: I'm impressed, Shelley, with your determination to not use plastics. Like you, I rarely use a straw, but I checked our cupboards today and we still have lot of plastic ones sitting around. The rare time I eat out, they supply you with a paper / cardboard straw. I'm sure it's the same in Ontario. And I've yet to try beeswax wraps. Good for you! Naked cucumbers! Happy Day!

>159 jessibud2: Clapping.

>159 jessibud2: You are doing well, Shelley, in your quest to avoid plastics. And finding naked cumcumbers is a next step :-)

>160 vancouverdeb:, >161 Caroline_McElwee:, >162 FAMeulstee: - Thank you, thank you (bows deeply) ;-)

Wordle 711 5/6 meaty, pious, aerie, abide, agile

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Phew! And randomly phew!

Wordle 712 6/6 meaty, pious, gravy, canny, wacky, jazzy

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Wordle 713 4/6 meaty, pious, cumin, humid

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Shelley, have you thought of growing your own cukes?
I can't remember if you have a balcony or patio where you could garden in pots. In Saskatoon, there are garden centre services which can arrange to deliver large planter pots and a suitable growth medium for veg or flowers.

We see properties with cuke vines that grow up a net-covered trellis and even shade people's decks or balconies on the sunniest side.

I know you have squirrel problems so this is something different to us. We get wild red squirrels occasionally, but they only try to eat the food in bird feeders. The local crows love to run them off in a bird war vs squirrels (or feral cats). The crows always win 😊

Today I saw a squirrel try to chase away a baby bunny (which I named Popcorn) in my garden. It was really funny because they were both the same size, and Popcorn was not about to be run off by some creature he didn't even know! They were running round and round in some native plants. I don't know who eventually won the turf war, though.

I agree with Sandy that you should grow cukes, Shelley, They are pretty easy to grow. They just need something to climb on if you get the kind that is a vine. It's not too late to plant them.

I am also using sunflower seeds without shells for the first time in my bird feeder. I've never done that before, but the salesman at the local bird store (which I love) recommended that because there are no shells to fall on the ground...which is exactly what brings rats because rats will eat the shells without the kernel. I never knew that. I also notice that squirrels are not congregating under our feeder as they used to when we bought the regular sunflower seeds in shells. We are getting all kinds of lovely birds at the feeder: nuthatches, tufted titmice, cardinals, song sparrows, wrens, purple finches, and chickadees.

>166 SandyAMcPherson:, >167 SqueakyChu: - Thanks for those suggestions, Sandy and Madeline. Maybe I will try it next year. For this year, I have already used up the small amount of space that I have. For some reason, I didn't realize (or even know at all) that cukes could grow upward. I thought they had to be in the ground. I will try to post pics later on of what my garden looks like now. Quite full and it will only get more so once the tomatoes start growing in. I also hung up my upside-down tomato plant yesterday and have my fingers crossed that it works. After promising myself that I would only have 2 tomato plants this year (because last year, I found 4 to be too many for me), my lack of will power kicked in. I now have 3 tomato plants in the ground and one in the hanging planter. I also pulled the raspberry bush out of the ground and it's in a pot, doing very well. I also bought small eggplant this year and we shall see how that does. I have Boston lettuce and red leaf lettuce, both in pots, not in the ground. I have no balcony or deck, Sandy, and along the fences, my space is limited, partly because of trees/shrubs and partly limited by the light factor. I only get sun on one side for most of the afternoon, shade on the other side. My eyes are much bigger than my stomach, so to speak, when it comes to gardening; I have far more craving than I do space!

Madeline, I have been using sunflower hearts (the seed without the shell) for years now, for that very reason: very little mess and fewer visitors trying to clean up. Even our red squirrels can't get into the feeder I have. And I truly wish crows would come around and pick off some of the pigeons that continue to show up. Or the black squirrels who litter my back yard with pine cone mess. My handyman was here yesterday to install what we both hope is the next step in the solution to the squirrels using my fence as their picnic table. He took chicken wire and secured it to the top of the fence in an arc shape, leaving them little space to perch. We shall see....

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

Too many options today and I simply ran out. My current 41 day streak ends here. Pout...

Wordle 714 X/6 meaty, pious, rangy, handy, fancy, lanky

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>168 jessibud2: Drat, Shelley! That was a stinker of a word!

There is book my sister really enjoyed , and I keep meaning to tell you about it, because I think you might like it too. Overture of Hope by Isabel Vincent. It's historical biography of two British sisters who manage to save two dozen Jewish stars and people from the Nazi's during WW11. I have not read it yet, but my sister really love it and I have on hold at my library.

>169 vancouverdeb: - Thanks for that, Deb. I made a note of it. Oddly, the touchstone goes to the book I think you are talking about but the title is different. Still, I will look for it.

Better today:

Wordle 715 4/6 meaty, teach, pious, beast

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>168 jessibud2: Boo for losing your Wordle streak...

Enjoying your gardening news, though.
To not 'pollute' your Talk thread, I replied to your observation on my thread, about the cuke vines being able to grow vertically.
A few photos to show you how adaptable the vines can be. I hope this helps your planning for next year!

>170 jessibud2: New-streak orisons, Shelley!

>171 SandyAMcPherson: - You are welcome to post pics here any time, if you want to, Sandy. I have no problems with that! I did go to your thread and saw your pics. I will have to keep it in mind for next year as my space is jam-packed already this year.

>172 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard. It's now at 2! ;-)

Wordle 716 3/6 meaty, pious, ennui Random lucky guess. It doesn't happen often but I did have 3 of 5 letters so it was a possibility.

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An old high school friend who I bumped into a few weeks ago, is coming for lunch today. Last night she texted me to say she usually doesn't eat lunch (?!!) so not to go to any trouble. Sheesh. I am making 2 salads, I have mini na'an rounds and a few dip-type things for them like bruchetta, baba ganoush, tahini, and just in case, I also bought a small summer pasta (rotini) salad. Either she will eat or she won't, and I will be eating salads until I leave for Montreal on Thursday. I had forgotten that *food* was always a thing for her. I seem to remember her always eating those styrofoam-like tasteless rice cakes. This is not a person with a weight problem, never was, but I suspect maybe - though I don't think we knew the word for it back in those days - there might have been an anorexia thing going on. I would like to think that if so, she had perhaps outgrown that by now. We shall see. Even though we were friends from grade 7 on through high school and did a lot of things together, there was always a tension there. Oh well. We are both big girls now. We'll get through this lunch, one way or another! *eyeroll*...

>173 jessibud2: Shelley, I have to admit that since retirement, I'm not a lunch person, either. That's because my motto is Late to Bed, Late to Rise....(and so I'm unHealthy, unWealthy and definitely unWise). I have a pretty good breakfast around 10-11ish, so I'm not hungry for lunch, and generally can go until dinnertime, maybe with a snack around 3 or 4.

Of course, when I was working, I NEVER missed lunch! 🤣

Your lunch sounds lovely. Hope you have a good time catching up.

By the way, we are hazy and smoky (smokey?) here in Chicago today--I'm not sure from which fires, but you can definitely see it and even smell it a little in the air.

My friend just left. We did a lot of catching up and it was a nice afternoon. She did eat but barely. Oh well, I have some nice salads for today and tomorrow. One is a regular salad to which I added tomatoes, pomegranate seeds and couscous. The other is a watermelon, cucumber and basil salad with crumbled feta and a really nice dressing.

Kathy, your *routine and motto* sounds lovely and funny!

It was pretty hazy here today too, Kathy. Maybe from the fires in Alberta or more likely, from Quebec and possibly Nova Scotia though those may be too far away. I don't smell them here but there are just so many in our country already, it makes me really nervous for the heat of the summer to come. I watched a program on tv the other night with 4 experts talking about preparedness, the climate, the need for
stricter government bans and enforcement, and so on. I feel safe (so far) where I am but I think it's only a matter of time and there is really nowhere that is safe from fire.

Those salads sound lovely! I have a bunch of leftover couscous I want to make a salad from tomorrow. Yum. Glad you got to see your friend. Sorry about the haze and the smoke worry. We feel it here, too. And we are already off to a hot start to summer...

Wordle 717 5/6 There were a lot of choices here and it could have gone south for me to end this short streak. But luckily, it didn't.

meaty, pious, shout, stout, scout

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Sheesh. At least I got it, eventually

Wordle 718 6/6 meaty, pious, abate, treat, lathe, hater

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>170 jessibud2:, It's the same book , Shelley, LT has just included the longer title. I hope you enjoy it if you get to it. Yeah, Wordle was a tough one today! It's a little hazy here today too, or so Dave reports. So far no smokey skies warning on environment Canada. I hope we won't get a lot of forest fires in our area, but with climate change, things have changed. I'm a big fan of Cat Steven, and I do love his version of Peace Train that was made with the Hope For Change Organization. Glad you have the CD or album or whatever they are called. My brother is has one of those old record player / stereo sets that were popular in the 1970's , and a big collection of vinyl records. It's quite cool. He sometimes hits charity shops to add to his collection. We are heading over there for dinner tomorrow. Last time we were there he put on Cat Steven's at my request. He and his wife just moved back to the Vancouver area after 5 years in Calgary and then about 10 years in Barrie ON, so it is great to have him and his wife back in the area. Their kids are off to university, but they were in here over Christmas.

Wordle 719 4/6 meaty, pious, umber, crumb

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>179 vancouverdeb: - Hi, Deb. Carrying over the Cat Stevens conversation from Paul's thread, I always loved his music. As for the *Playing For Change*, check it out on youtube/google. I love the concept of what they do and the way they do it. The cd I have is called *Playing For Change - Songs Around the World* which is a great one but it's actually better watching them on the screen because it's cool to SEE each participant and where they are. Check it out. I also have a nice vinyl collection and I do have a turntable.

It's so nice that you and your siblings can get together so easily and are all so close. Enjoy!

I am off to Montreal in a couple of hours and will be home on Monday.

Sweet Thursday, Shelley. Have a safe trip to Montreal. Are those dreaded pigeons still terrorizing your feeders? My feeders have been eerily quiet, all week. I think many birds are sitting on nests, right now.

>181 msf59:- Hi Mark. Yes, to the damn pigeons. I am now in Mtl and never leave my feeder or water out when I am gone, so maybe by the time I get home,they will have moved on. Wishful thinking, but you never know.

I got wordle in 4 today although the *official* streak with the stats on my laptop will be messed up.

meaty, pious, samba, balsa

I am enjoying the current cooler weather as I know it will come to an end very soon. Not looking forward to high heat and humidity at all. And I am rather nervous about the extent and effect of so many fires this early in the season. What will the rest of the summer be like?

Took me 5 today:

meaty, pious, chain, brain, again

I hope you are enjoying your time visiting Montreal, Shelley. And perhaps get a bit of reading time on the train ride ?

Hi Shelley. I haven't been active in May or in June. I vow to correct that starting today. Thanks for posting the images of the silly goose.

Wordle: meaty, pious, quart, guard

So good to see you back, Linda. Hugs!

Wordle: meaty, pious, clock, brown, wrong

How do, Shelley! I hope you're doing as well in Life terms as you are in Wordle-streaking ones.

Hi Richard. I am on the train home, as we speak. Rather aggravating weekend in Mtl and I am eager to sleep in my own bed, among other things.

Hope you are doing well.

Safe travels home, Shelley. Have a good and restful week.

Wordle 724 5/6 meaty, pious, pouch, plump, plunk

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>190 SqueakyChu: - Thanks, Madeline. Sleeping in my own bed last night was just what I needed! Busy day today. I will go do early voting - Toronto is having a mayoral election - 102 candidates on the ballot!! How insane is that? Only the top 6 are real contenders and of them, I am not keen on any but I will vote. Sigh... then grocery shopping to replenish after my days away. Then a call to the head nurse of where my mum lives (issues there), then meeting the nephew of my elderly neighbour across the street who is in from Florida to care for her after she had a fall. He goes home later today.

I did finish one book while I was away and started another. More on those later.

>192 jessibud2: That's insane! A hundred and two candidates! Toronto needs a good mayor. It's such a large and lovely city. We're trying to institute ranked-choice voting here in my city and state. It's a fairer way of electing a leader.

You do need a breather!

>193 SqueakyChu: - That concept has been bandied around, on all levels of government. But nothing has been done. What else is new...This city is so broken on so many levels, it's really sad. It's not the city I moved to back in 1980.

This was an easier wordle for me. Connected thematically to recent US news headlines?

Wordle 725 3/6 meaty, pious, crime

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Glad you are home from you trip to Montreal and have a chance to sleep in your own bed. And the Toronto Mayor thing, - glad my city does not have 102 candidates!

>195 vancouverdeb: - yes, it's really a bit of a circus, this election.

Well, I didn't need my second go-to word today. My first gave me almost all the letters!

Wordle 726 2/6 meaty, maybe

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Wordle 727 4/6 meaty, pious, tapas, strap

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Wordle 728 4/6 meaty, pious, larch, ranch

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This felt harder than it maybe should have been, given that there were not a lot of choices. I did walk away and come back to it.

Wordle 729 4/6 meaty, pious, slyly, shyly

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I am stuck on wordle today. I have made 4 guesses today and I think I need to just come back with fresh eyes later. I don't use any online help or lists but it (admittedly) sometimes makes me crazy when I can't get it in one sitting. But going away and coming back does work (sometimes).

I will finish up one of my current books today and there may even be a lightning round later! 2023 has not been a great reading year so far for me. Too much noise and stress in my head for much concentration. But I plow on...

Well, definitely a weird choice of word:

Wordle 730 6/6 meaty, pious, valor, wagon, yahoo, kazoo I messed up with guess 5 as I repeated a letter already eliminated. Oh well. I am nothing if not consistent in that regard!

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>201 jessibud2: It was a tough one today, Shelley. A lot of strange letters left by the time I got to the sixth guess.

Amazing there were 102 candidates for mayor but then you have that mega city thing going, don't you? We have lots of different mayors depending on the city and there are lots of them in greater Vancouver.

>201 jessibud2: It was a strange choice of word, Shelley. Took me 6 tries too. I have the list of Wordle words, which I consulted today, but the word was not on the official wordle list, so it was no help.

>202 Familyhistorian: - As the days wind down to the actual election next week, one particular candidate has a big lead. Olivia Chow, widow of the beloved Jack Layton, looks like it's her race to lose. I like her but I did not vote for her in my early voting last week. She might have been my choice if I had waited, though...

>203 vancouverdeb: - I don't use lists at all, Deb (I'm probably not techy enough to even know how to find them!). Today's word seems more appropriate for your end of the country, though! ;-)

Wordle 731 5/6 meaty, pious, stock, ghost, frost

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I know you're an avid Blue Jays fan, Shelley. I just saw on Facebook that Spencer Horwitz had a hit in his first Major League at bat! I see that he (an American) played for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Plus...he's from Timonium (Maryland) which is my neck of the woods. :D

>205 SqueakyChu: - He had an excellent major league debut, getting a base hit in his first at-bat, plus a walk (maybe 2 base hits, it's been only 2 days but already I can't remember! eek). However, the Jays got clobbered yesterday in Florida, 11-0, I turned it off when it was *only* 4-0. Yes, I am an avid fan but I just can't watch when they play poorly. C'est la vie. As Scarlett used to say, tomorrow is another day...

>206 jessibud2: I feel the same way when I’m watching my local soccer team, DC United, and I know there is no way they will tie or win.

>204 jessibud2: I had to come and look after your post on my thread, Shelley. It did seem on point.

Well, this was almost a bust:

Wordle 732 6/6 meaty, pious, grace, craze, crave, crane Good thing there weren't any options after my last guess.

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I can go days, even weeks sometimes, without seeing friends then something like this week happens: lunch yesterday with 2 friends. Dinner last evening with a friend who is in town from her home in Tampa, Florida. She and I have been friends since were were 12 and have kept in touch over the years, always just picking up where we left off even if we hadn't been in touch for a few years. She is nurse and has lived there since her kids were small (they are now in their 40s with families of their own). She and her husband are retired and came to Montreal for a wedding so decided to do a little road trip. They head back tomorrow. I was so happy to meet up with them and catch up. The last time I saw her was maybe 25 or 26 years ago when she came here with her daughter.

Today my pet sitter is coming for lunch, which should totally confuse my boys. They will be happy to see her and probably look at me and say, Jacqueline is here! You can leave now! Obviously, we are never here at the same time! Should be funny.

Tomorrow, another friend and I are signed up for a guided tour of our beautiful Botanical Gardens. It's only a short drive from my house and I've been there many times on my own and with friends and visitors but never on a guided tour. Should be lovely and the weather this week is ideal. After that I may just collapse, all peopled out!

I will put together a lightning round after that.

I get "peopled out" too, Shelley, so I understand the sentiment! But it sounds like a lovely several days. How nice to see your childhood friend!!

>209 jessibud2: I'm peopled out just reading about it, Shelley. Survive the excess of fun as best you can! *smooch*

That’s funny. We were “peopled out” this past weekend, too. It was so much fun, but I found the food gave us issues. We don’t usually go to a hotel luncheon, a family barbecue, and a restaurant lunch three days in a row after a big Shabbat dinner on Friday night. I got hit with the “drowsies” probably from overdoses of soda and sweets. Jose got hit with the first gout attack he has had in two years. One never knows what’s in food we don’t prepare ourselves. I guess that means we usually eat well and healthily.

Tomorrow we leave on a four-hour trip to visit a former roommate in Pennsylvania. The trip will be great fun. Hoping for good weather and safe travels. The only downside to this is that _Zoe_ and radicarian wanted to stop by for a visit this coming week, but we will not be back in Maryland by then. :(

>210 PlatinumWarlock: - Hi Lavinia. I'm an introvert by nature, and after years of being a teacher (retired now) and having to be *on* all the time, I truly love my me time. I can happily be by myself for weeks on end and not mind a bit (or even notice). In fact, I know I am in a teeny minority but covid isolation played right into my wheelhouse, if truth be known. Still, I do like getting together with friends, in small numbers, though it might have been easier if all this wasn't crammed into one week! I actually had an hour and a half nap this afternoon! :-)

>211 richardderus: - Thanks, Richard. I can tell you are on the mend since you are back to visiting and smooching! Yay!

>212 SqueakyChu: - Funny you should mention that, Madeline. After a really good dinner last night (pasta, and a delicious slice of apple pie with ice cream for dessert), I also had issues, with bloating and cramps. It did pass after a few hours but that hasn't happened to me for a long time. Safe travels and enjoy your visit. Are you staying overnight? If not, that's a lot of driving for one day, each way!

>213 jessibud2: We’re staying for five days. Our friend has 23 acres of land with a 200 year old log cabin on it. We are actually going to help her set up her day lily garden for an open house in a July. I’ll be doing some gardening. Jose will help with construction kind of repairs. We haven’t seen her for many years so all of us are looking forward to this reunion. Sadly, it will cause me to miss my mini nursing school reunion in Ocean City, Maryland, which is also happening this week. I’m okay with too many good things, though. The last few years have been rough.

>214 SqueakyChu: - That sounds wonderful! The first of my daylilies popped open just today, with lots more buds to follow. I love them! Enjoy and I hope the weather cooperates for you.

>215 jessibud2: My day lilies all get eaten by deer, but I enjoy them until they are swallowed up! I see buds but no flowers yet.

I just went to check what day lilies look line online and they look like what I would call Tiger Lilies. They are beautiful , aren't they? Ours have been open for about a week or so. Ours are a a yellow - orange combo. I really love them and they survive overwinter here. Glad you had such a nice get together with your old friends. I know what you mean about being peopled out. I think I was quite a bit more extroverted in my younger years, but less so now. I used to feel ( even after we had our two kids ) that is we didn't have plans with friends every Saturday night I was a social failure. Not so any more! After my son's wedding 7 years ago, the wedding , the dancing and wedding dinner etc I was peopled out. The day after the wedding, another family member had a BBQ for William and Serenade. I was just too exhausted to go. I need my down time.

>216 SqueakyChu:, >217 vancouverdeb: - I will take some pics of my day lilies today and try to get them up soon.

Well, true to form I guess. I messed up guess 3 but at least I didn't bomb. Close, but the streak lives another day.

Wordle 733 6/6 meaty, pious, slate, waste, haste, taste

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Finally, back to my *average* of 4:

Wordle 734 4/6 meaty, pious, towel, covet

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Happy Friday, Shelley. Sorry to hear about all the fires ravaging your country. Are they mostly in the west or do you have any in your area? Is it still bad?

It is a scary thing, Mark. There are fires in the west, fires in the east (Nova Scotia) and fires in northern Quebec and northern Ontario. So far, here in the south, the only effect we've felt or seen is some days of poor air quality. But it's still so early in the year for any of this and they say it will only get worse as the summer heats up. This is the new normal, I fear, thanks to climate change. Due to long bouts of drought, the ground and the forests are so dry, that it just becomes tinder and more dangerous fuel for the fires. Some are started by lightning but some are also careless human activity. Governments really need to take their heads out of their asses, er, the sand, and enforce stricter regulations about human activities regarding fires because clearly we can't depend on *common sense* and unselfishness any more (if we ever could). The devastation we see on the news is horrific. I can't even imagine.

Happy weekend!

Hope the tour of the botanical gardens was nice. Sounds like a great tour!

Wordle 735 4/6 meaty, pious, clang, grand

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Wordle 736 6/6 meaty, pious, force, boxer, rowed, rodeo

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Wordle 737 6/6 meaty, pious, shute, unset, quest, guest. I didn't even think guesses 3 and 4 were real words but they weren't rejected so I guess they are. To someone. I am not doing so well here lately.

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Better late than never. My reading continues to plague me this year. Slow, and not up to par, at least, not according to previous years. Focus and attention span being the main culprits here. Still, I plod on.

Lightning round:

This I Know Terry O'Reilly - Terry O'Reilly has had a radio show on the CBC for years and it's a favourite of mine. If anyone had ever asked me, I would be quick to say that the world of marketing and advertising is pretty low on my list of topics of interest, if it's on the list at all. With one exception: O'Reilly and his programs. He is very smart, quite witty and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, and he is a hell of a storyteller. He has also written 3 books and I enjoyed this one (haven't read the other 2 yet). I love that I can *hear* his voice as I am reading, having listened to him on radio for so long. Recommended, even if, like me, you'd never imagine spending time in the world of advertising. You'll surprise yourself!

Starter Dog Rona Maynard - Picked up this brand new book a few weeks ago at Toronto's Word on the Street book fair. The author used to be the editor of one of Canada's large magazines, Chatelaine, and is now retired. In her retirement, in her mid-60s, she finally agrees to get a dog, much to the delight of her husband, who has been lobbying for years. This is their story. Laugh-out-loud funny at times, a really enjoyable read.

The Scent Keeper Erica Bauermeister - I wanted to love this book more than I did because I adored the first book I read by this author, The School of Essential Ingredients. This was a coming of age story, a story of families lost and found, and a story of how the sense of smell can trigger and evoke memory like no other sense organ can. Sometimes, though, it felt like there was too much trying to get packed into the book and for me, anyhow, that didn't always work. Parts felt too vague, parts felt a bit unreal but all that said, it was a good read, if not as satisfying as I had hoped.

The Pocket Encyclopedia of Aggravation Laura Lee - This was literally a short compendium of life's (or at least, the author's) aggravations. Published in 2001, some of them - those related to technology, mostly - are quite dated. Some were funny, most only meh.

Currently reading: Paper Love Sarah Wildman - Not long ago, I read an article in the New York Times written by this journalist, about losing her young daughter to cancer. The writing was elegant, eloquent and compelling. I googled to see if she had written anything else and found this title. I requested it from my library and am immersed in it now. Not just another Holocaust story, it is the story of how, over a number of years, she has searched for a woman from her grandfather's past, a woman Wildman knew nothing about until she found letters in a (deliberately) mislabeled file cabinet after his death. In some sense, it reminds me vaguely of another book I recently read, The Red Leather Diary, in that it is a search for someone from the distant past, who may or may not be alive now. The similarities, of course, end there but this is a theme that resonates and speaks to me. The search itself, the fleshing out of real history, the kind the history books never tell and that relatives (survivors) seldom want to talk about. Wildman is a thorough and excellent investigative journalist and a great storyteller. What more could a reader ask of a book?

>226 jessibud2: I had mixed feelings about Paper Love; I'll be interested to read your thoughts when you're done.

Nice lightening round,Shelley! I'm sure you are reading faster than I am! :-)

>227 kac522: - So far, I am enjoying it but I am not yet half way through and at times, it does fell a bit dragged out. But then, it did take her a long way and a long time to do all her research and none of it was in English.

>228 vancouverdeb: - Thanks, Deb, but I doubt I am currently reading faster than anyone! I have been deliberately trying to choose *thinner* books and certainly lighter in content - though my current read doesn't fit that profile, lol - though that doesn't always work out. I just don't seem to have the patience for longer or heavier books it seems.

This is more like it!

Wordle 738 3/6 meaty, pious, about

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>226 jessibud2: Paper Love sounds like one I would enjoy. Thanks for the recommendation, Shelley!

>231 alcottacre: - You're welcome, Stasia. Good to see you out and about again. A good sign!

New thread up and running. Please join me over there.