The flag at my workplace on 9/11/25.

On a bright clear day
Two planes in New York, then smoke
Seen from my window

#haikuhive #haikuaday

I‘m not going to Mars. Just New Jersey! Final tally of reading material that I‘m taking with me:
-7 magazines
-6 books from my shelves
-3 library books
-2 Libby books
-1 book borrowed from my brother-in-law
-1 audiobook for the drive

No, I‘m not going to run the vacuum cleaner or do laundry before I go.

I‘m heading to the farmers market here one last time before I leave town, so I decided to write a little something for the #haikuhive

The farmers market:
Fresh produce, food trucks - maybe
I‘ll see a neighbor

We do not care that we are only house sitting for two weeks. We will take as much reading material as we want. We might go to a bookstore too. #wdncw

I finished! This book was okay. Creepy situation with an explanation that felt a little flat. Dual timeline structure that mostly worked but sometimes didn‘t.

The MC made some boneheaded decisions but was also not well served by her support system/safety net.

Though I wasn‘t crazy about this book, I‘d consider reading more by this author. I think we‘ll have a good book club discussion.

As a #longtimefed I contributed to the CFC every year. I appreciated the opportunity to distribute payments throughout the year and reach small organizations I might not have been able to reach otherwise. Now it‘s apparently one more casualty of the regime. An indefinite “pause” with no explanation. Just in time for the holidays!

WTF is wrong with these people? #ranttime

See links in comments.

This book is a little unsettling, which is not surprising from a psychological thriller, but in any case I set it aside for a few days. Book club is on Wednesday, and I have about 100 pages to go.

No baseball on TV tonight. Just football, but at least it‘s the Ravens. 💜

#hyggehourreadathon

Is anyone surprised that I want to live in Middle Earth? #sundayfunday

I had a nice trip to the bookstore. The tagged book is out of stock but has been reordered and should be available in a couple weeks. I also ordered a book for my sister‘s birthday, had a great gossipy convo with the bookseller, and afterwards went down the street to the brewpub for lunch.

Touching and poignant without being maudlin, this small book provides a lot of food for thought. On Memorial Day 2019, Geraldine Brooks received the dreaded phone call: your spouse has died. In the crush of all the end-of-life tasks, she doesn‘t take time to fully mourn her husband. In February 2023 she visits a remote island for several weeks of grieving and healing.

Congratulations to the author for winning the LoC American Fiction Prize!

1. Quite by accident I discovered that my little handheld fan has a light-up feature.
2. I went to a different exercise class this week and was still able to walk the next day.
3. One of the eateries outside Nationals Park has an upstairs dining area with a lovely terrace view.
4. I‘ve wanted a phone charger on my headboard for years and was finally able to make it happen.
5. Vet‘s office sent a card.
#5joysfriday

Yay! It‘s back! Great list! #threelistthursday #TLT

We‘re encouraged to maximize our scores, so I included something I‘ve only seen as a play*. This brought my score to 42/70. 😎

Here‘s the survey if you want to play along.
https://tinyurl.com/mr2m6ydj

These are three that I‘ve read AND seen the movie.
1. The Hobbit
2. And Then There Were None
3. Anna Karenina

*My sister played Rebecca Nurse in her high school‘s production of The Crucible.

We do not care that you‘re an old man with a tiny bladder. There are other bathrooms. You don‘t need to try the door FIVE TIMES and then have the hostess knock on the door. There are other bathrooms. Let people pee in peace! #wdncw

I managed to read about 1/3 of the book around various activities this weekend, and I‘m pleased with that progress. I‘ll definitely finish it by the book club meeting next Wednesday and start some other books too. #summersend

The other day I pulled up to a stop light, and there was a woman in the car next to me singing along with the radio with great enthusiasm. She looked at me and gave me a big smile, and I smiled back.

The car next to me
Woman singing into hand
Sanitizer bottle

#haikuaday #haikuhive

😢

Welcome to September!

Today‘s Labor Day
In the USA - can
Fall be far behind?

#haikuaday #haikuhive

Tonight‘s selection for #hyggehourreadathon while I decide whether to finish my dinner or take it home to eat for lunch one day this week.

I have read some standalone books and thought it would be great if there was a sequel. Of course, I can‘t think of them when I‘m asked the question!

The sequel I most want, however, is one that is never going to happen. When Sue Grafton died in 2017, the series died with her. I‘d love to have one last journey with Kinsey, her found family, her problematic biological family, and her evolving PI practice.

#sundayfunday

Pic Collage was being goofy, so I reconfigured.
1. I found a box of “stuff” under the bed. Some went to the donation bag, but I held out this lantern shaped container for my niece.
2. The Nationals announced their 2026 schedule, and I have a road trip or two in mind.
3. My sister and I went up the road in the other direction and took in an Orioles game. The only picture I took was of my car in the lot so we could find it after the game! ⬇️

August has been a challenge. In addition to all the crap going on in the world (and there‘s a LOT), we lost our cat unexpectedly. My reading went out the window for several days.

We also changed our internet and TV provider, which will ultimately be an improvement, but in the meantime I‘ve been spending so much time trying to solve lingering issues that it feels like a part time job.

Anyway, I know I won‘t finish anything else. #wrapup

August hasn‘t been great for reading, for a number of reasons, but I hope to finish the tagged book for the #summersend readathon. It‘s the first up of September book club selections. The Litsy comments are not encouraging, but I‘ll see what happens!

Thanks to @Bookwormjillk for organizing!

Yikes! It‘s almost (US) Labor Day! I will be going to four ballgames in five days, and on the other day I hope to go to the pool before it closes. So I‘m calling it for summer reading. Altogether I read 20 books in 14 weeks, but I only read 10 on this list.

I plan to finish Emma in September with the #Pemberlittens since I initially misread the calendar.

King of Ashes is just a little intense for now. Maybe later? 🤷🏻‍♀️

#14books14weeks

⬇️

We do not care about the size of Taylor‘s engagement ring, the Cracker Barrel logo, or male cheerleaders in the NFL. We do not care that Snoop Dogg thinks he can‘t take his grandchildren to the movies.

We do care about the Epstein files, DOGE wasting our taxes while also exposing our private information, friends losing jobs, national guard troops on street corners, and a president who thinks we‘d be cool with having a dictator. #ranttime #wdnc

Women‘s Equality Day!
Reminder! There was a big party flip in the 1960s.
#haikuaday #haikuhive

In 1800s
I would have voted for Rs
But I couldn‘t vote

There are many themes in this book. Family! Secrets! Family secrets!

The power and magic of art. The ties between Spain and Cuba. War and revolution.

This also points out one of the perils of reading historical fiction: characters unwittingly running headlong into a catastrophe, and there‘s nothing you can do about it.

Part of a series that can all be read as standalones but the different books all inform the others.

I‘m hoping to finish this tonight so I can move on to September book club selections. I‘m about 70% done, but my dinner will be ready soon. #hyggehourreadathon

I especially like series design, when you can tell that the books are part of the same family but are different members. Two of my favorites are the Jaipur trilogy (Alka Joshi) and the Winternight trilogy (Katherine Arden). Tagged book has my favorite cover of the trilogy. #fundaysunday

The thing about revolution is that sometimes the problems it was supposed to defeat remain long after the dust has settled.

1. Researching potential day trips
2. MLB history: the first game managed by two Venezuelan born managers
3. Fans at DC Spirit game chanting “Free DC”
4. Cat socks
5. New treats from the Amish market
#5joysfriday

We do not care that you have a disability parking placard. We have one too! Not so much to park close to the building but to be able to get in and out of the car. How entitled do you have to be to park astride the line between the only two handicapped spaces in the lot? #wdncw

Clever story and some deeper insight into what makes the main character tick. I‘m looking forward to reading the next installment! #serieslove2025

My reading fell off a cliff for most of last week, then I went to ballgames two days in a row. For tonight‘s #hyggehourreadathon I‘m easing back in by dipping into more lighthearted territory.

I don‘t really have a reading nook. I want a reading nook! For now, the closest thing is to curl up on the couch while watching TV or to sit and read on the patio if weather permits. In the fall I like going to the sports bar with my husband and friends and reading while they watch football. #sundayfunday

In a year of bittersweetness, this week has probably been the bittersweetest. Still, there is joy.
1. A lovely remembrance gift from a thoughtful Litten. @dabbe
2. A basil plant kit from the library, a prize for completing the adult summer reading challenge.
3. Mid-week evening Still Hour service.
4. Girls Night Out at the local shopping place.
5. My friend made me earrings for Girls Night Out at the local shopping place.
#5joysfriday

1. I loved (and still love) summer vacation, even if lately it‘s more of an ideal than a reality. Anyway, I‘ve also appreciated returning to the structure of the school year, even if my younger self didn‘t necessarily articulate it that way.
2. In elementary school I loved music class in whatever form it was offered.
3. In high school I loved Spanish class.
#TLT #threelistthursday

I also love that there‘s a BTS Leslie Meier cozy mystery!

We do not care that it‘s “almost” autumn. It‘s still summer! Don‘t try to sell me a sweater! #wdncw

Earlier this year I was shopping in the little co-op store next to the faraway bookstore. I saw a very cute necklace and earrings made to look like the Maryland flag and said: I can do that!

I‘m not completely happy with the necklace and want to redo it, plus make some earrings for which I haven‘t found charms I like.

#ShowAndTellTuesday

So many of you provided kind words of condolence on the loss of Kili, I lost track. Thank you all. It‘s one of the things I love about this community.

It was strange to get up this morning and not have a cat to feed. I bundled up his food and donated it to the county shelter, but I‘m keeping the treats. They‘re good for another year! When the time is right, I expect the CDS to do its thing.

I had to say goodbye to Kili this morning, and I‘m heartbroken. He was in respiratory distress around 5:00, and I hustled him to the emergency vet where things escalated quickly. Long story short, the tests uncovered two serious conditions with completely opposite treatments. In other words, treating one would worsen the other, and vice versa. So for the sake of his quality of life, we let him go. 😭💔🐈‍⬛

Here he is working from home.

I read Are You There God… when I was much closer to the demographic target, so this looked like an interesting change of pace. I snapped it up when it was offered in my free cycle group.

It was a compelling story of coming of age amidst tragedy. For the most part I was pulled along and wanted to know how the story turned out, but some of the plot verged melodrama with characters that got on my nerves. #authoramonth

1. Grateful Dead Night at the ballpark. The game got out of hand quickly, but it was a pleasant night anyway.
2. I rearranged a couple shelves in the bookcase, a mix of read and to-be-read.
3. I sorted a big folder of recipes and in the process found one for vegetable curry that I thought was long lost. I think I need to rewrite it!
4. Finally! A woman will umpire for a regular season MLB game.
5. MASCB concert.
#5joysfriday

“You are too generous to trifle with me.” - P&P

“General Lee, I have no division.” - Gettysburg
https://youtu.be/rGv1VKAybcI?si=rpcggW5s-ic7pCCj

“Wine is sunlight, held together by water.” - Bottleshock
Quote from Galileo, voiced by Alan Rickman

#threelistthursday #TLT

In the truth is stranger than fiction department…

Can you imagine
Joe Biden walking around
On the White House roof?

#ranttime #longtimefed #haikuhive #haikuaday

This was a bit intense! I won‘t say much more until the discussion Saturday except…it‘s interesting timing that I‘ve seen some stories about recent earthquake swarms at Mt. Rainier.

Anyway, I‘m chipping away at my #14books14weeks list. Nine down, five to go, and sixteen total books read.

Ballgame on TV, leftovers for dinner, and a compelling story for #hyggehourreadathon

This afternoon I went to the Maryland All State Community Band concert. It was a wonderful performance by a group of dedicated adult amateur musicians. They played a total of five pieces with an interesting range of styles and moods. I wrote about for the #haikuhive and #haikuaday

Lush harmonies and
Some dissonance, but not of
The cognitive sort

My favorite was this piece by Johan de Meij. ⬇️
https://youtu.be/gBW8Dtgkljw?si=KLQf8zG3Ni-ew8Up

Easily half of my reading is from the mystery genre, so it‘s hard to pick a favorite. I‘ll lean on an author I love and my favorite from the ongoing series. It‘s several mysteries in the same book! #sundayfunday

It was hot and blah earlier in the week, so I stayed inside and played with my files. There‘s always space for joy in any case. #5joysfriday

It was close, but Lula Dean and her library was my favorite book from July reading. #wrapup