Does anyone have anything fun or interesting planned?

No, it's just another busy day. Yesterday, I was asked in a meeting if we could put a leap-day onto any other month, which would it be? Most people answered December or July, in order to add to vacation time.

Why would a perfect ghawd allow his planet to have an imperfect orbit?

Nothing exciting going on here. Somehow I forgot that it’s still winter. My yard is a boot-sucking morass. The ducks have engineered a pond. The sun is hiding. I don’t know if there’s more mud inside or out. The sump pump has been going 24/7, and my right knee aches.

But all the animals are happy and fed, and a warm kitty is relaxing on my leg that hurts. Three cheers for feline heating pads! My dog is outside waiting for her boyfriend, Jim the Mailman. My kid’s partner hasn’t accosted me yet this morning, so I will gladly appreciate this peace while it lasts :)

Do you have anything fun or interesting planned?

All in all, it sounds good there.

I plan on going for a walk, avoiding watching any news, and trying to repair the botched haircut I gave my dog. If the day goes well, I'll cuddle with my cat and dog to read something fun. I should take advantage of a break in the snow to do stuff in the yard, but I'm in denial.

I hope your knee feels better soon. The older I get, the more things randomly hurt. Getting older is not for sissies. Tell Jim the Mailman hi from my dog too.

Oh no! Poor puppers with the funky ‘do! <3

Yeah, I started reading the paper and decided I just can’t today.

I missed Jim, which is a shame because he’s a cheerful soul with an acerbic wit. He delivered my order from Adaptive Seeds in Oregon. They carry a lot of seeds that do well in our short growing season and our acidic clay soil.

I need to start prepping the yard, part of which includes cleaning the straw out of the duck house and distributing their bedding around the soupy parts of the yard, but that can wait. Last thing I need is to do the splits in the mud.

What are you reading? Soooooo, I just read Ender’s Game and Speaker for the Dead. I’m very annoyed with that OSC individual. And with myself, I guess.

I decided to read a couple books that I think summer here mentioned once. I have the first two books of the Shetland series by Ann Cleeves. They are mystery/thrillers set on an island in Scotland. I've never seen the TV adaptations, so they are new to me. They are good but kind of drag (IMO). They do an excellent job of helping me fall asleep after two chapters.

I've been reading "100 Years of Solitude" by Gabriel García Márquez. It was on my list to read for years. I know it is a highly ranked book by a Nobel prize winner and all that. I got half way through and I am ashamed to admit I didn't really like it. It's about human isolation and a few generations of a family. I rarely don't finish a book I start. I can't explain why, but I didn't stay interested.

I never got into 100 Years… either. I liked “Chronicle of a Death Foretold”, though.

Have you read “The Bee Sting”? I also liked “The Ministry for the Future,” The Liar’s Gospel” and “Salvage the Bones.” Oh, and “The Return.” That’s a great one. What else? Um…”Record of a Night too Brief” and “ On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous.”

I’m slogging through “ Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution.”

I've added those to my list! Thank you!!

Oh, and I should have been more precise “ The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between” by Hisham Matar

Noted on my list!

I love the book recommendations from folks at RfM. Some of the best books I've read came from reading here.

Aww! Sorry that you are finding Ann Cleves a snooze-fest. I'm enjoying her latest, "The Raging Storm." I'm getting a long weekend, and should be able to carve out some time to read. This week was way too busy.

That can be a good thing. It means I'm reading them a long time until I can't stay awake.

The stories are good. The setting is interesting. I've learned a lot of Scottish terms for the landscape there. I learned about some unexpected things like the Viking tourist celebration (Up Helly AA). I think the thing missing for me in that type of book is some kind of comic relief.

I'm also going to try the Vera series which you also mentioned.

My taste in books seems to change like the wind.

I've seen a couple of the Shetland TV shows.

I've seen all the Vera ones - love her - and read a few of the books.

I'm embarrassed to say I have trouble understanding the accents in the Shetland series - I always say how much I love Scotland so I disappoint myself that I miss so much of the dialogue. It doesn't help me solve the mystery before the final scene. During the first one I saw I honestly thought they were speaking Gaelic. I was looking for subtitles.

I haven't read any of the Shetland series yet. I should - hopefully I'd understand them better than the shows. However, the scenery is amazing to see. It always seems cold and windy though. I guess that adds to the air of mystery. And the lead detective always looks completely exhausted. Part of his rough charm maybe.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 02/29/2024 07:52PM by Nightingale.

Beth - if you should ever write a book and oh how I wish you would! - I would be your first and best customer. I could read how you write every day forever.

Very entertaining. :)

I don’t know how. I don’t know where to start. But I might give it a shot.

If only I lived in a ramshackle attic in the Latin Quarter.

I know it's weird to have a baby on leap day, but what about making a baby?

Is that your plan, lobo?

I need to mature more...

Now that’s just crazy talk, zorro plateado.

A productive day beating up people in wheelchairs.