Onion Budgie

Me too, usually, but the Guardian review swayed me to give this one a chance, and I'm glad that I did. It's markedly different to what you might expect.

I'm a third of the way through Holding by Graham Norton. Really enjoying it so far! It's a murder-mystery set in Ireland, and it has a soft melancholy tone that I'm finding particularly appealing. Would recommend.

I should hopefully finish Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie this weekend. It's not one of her better ones; it feels uninspired, and the dialogue is repetitive. It won't get more than a 2/5 from me. Not sure what I fancy reading next. Perhaps Holding by Graham Norton.

Enjoyed The Pigeon very much; it wasn't at all what I was expecting. About to begin Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie. I've missed Poirot!

Where Angels Fear to Tread was a great read; I'll definitely be picking Forster up again before too long. I'm about to start The Pigeon by Patrick Suskind, which is only 77 pages long so I should whizz through it. Existential angst, here I come!

Good luck with your blood tests, Abielle! If you'd rather not eat red meat, see if there are any other foods you could eat which would increase iron in your diet. There are iron-fortified cereals, green leafy veg (kale esp.), and beans & lentils, which all help, and wouldn't adversely affect your blood pressure. I've not tried weight-loss shakes, so can't help you there.

Thanks, frankie. I am chuffed indeed! As for the iron, the doc believes it's diet related. I know that I'm eating more iron as a veggie than I ever was as an omni, so I guess my system has been trying to play catch-up this past year, and failing. I hope the pills sort me (us both!) out.

I have lots. 1. Maurice by E.M. Forster. A brave, beautifully written love story with a happy ending. 2. Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote. Never has a novel set my heart beating so fast towards its conclusion. Is it really going there? Yes, it is. Extraordinary then, and extraordinary now. 3. The Martin Benson trilogy by Michael Carson: Sucking Sherbet Lemons, Stripping Penguins Bare, and Yanking Up the YoYo. Silly, funny, and sweet. The coming-of-age of teenage Martin Benson. 4. Queer by William S. Burroughs. Autobiographical, poignant, and raw. 5. Skin Lane by Neil Bartlett. Terrifying, gripping, heartbreaking, exquisite. Mr. F. says very little, but he's a fascinating, complex character.

Treating myself to a double Chivas Regal. I've not tried it before. It's quite toothsome.

Update on the blood pressure fandango: The Potassium did the trick. After a bit of seesawing (I ended up having to see the doc, and having blood tests), my final blood pressure reading at the doc's office came out at 125, which is well within the normal range. At home my readings are under 120, which is optimal. I cracked it. I don't have to go on meds. I'm so relieved. One problem they did find after the blood tests is that I have iron deficiency anaemia (same as frankie!), so I'm now on a three month course of iron pills. If it ain't one thing, it's t'other!

I hope everyone's enjoying the long weekend (if they have one)! I'll be cooking a late lunch, a fancy nut roast, same as my Christmas menu. I'm looking forward to it -- and there'll be plenty of leftovers! I'm hunkering down with some YouTube and Robot Wars, and E.M. Forster (if he cares to join me). I love relaxing Sundays like these.

I haven't been in the book-reading mood this past couple of weeks. I'm halfway through E.M. Forster's Where Angels Fear to Tread, and am thoroughly enjoying it when I do pick it up, so here's hoping I get around to finishing it within the next week. I found a couple of his novels at my local secondhand bookshop recently: A Room With a View and Howards End. A catch at £1 apiece! I remember that someone here (was it Janet?) read Howards End not so long ago, and found it slow going. I'm going to give it a shot. I can't lose at a quid!

I do a weekly rather than a monthly shop. This week it's: A ton of veg: kale, broccoli, sprouts, corn cobs, carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms. Avocados Bananas and apples Soya milk Coconut water Sunflower seeds Tinned black beans Tinned chopped tomatoes Kellogg's All Bran cereal Linda McCartney mushroom & spinach burgers A bottle of supermarket own-brand whisky! (I'm a cheapskate, lol. It's a good one, though.) The veggie burgers are an occasional treat. They're delish, but high in sodium!

I finished Up Against It, it was a short, fun read. I'm not surprised that The Beatles didn't film it -- I couldn't begin to imagine the controversy if they had! That's what I like about Joe Orton, though. Up next is Where Angels Fear to Tread by E.M. Forster.

I finally finished Whisky Galore. Didn't like it. I've just started Up Against It by Joe Orton. Actually, I'm still reading the introduction by John Lahr, who's waffling on a bit! Up Against It was the screenplay that Orton wrote for The Beatles in 1967. It was never filmed.

Spaghetti with a green lentil sauce, and steamed broccoli. Tasty!

A short while ago I read The Mysteries of the Crystal Skulls by Chris Morton, which goes into a fair amount of depth regarding spirituality, and the history and meaning behind the skulls. I preferred the first half of the book to the latter half, which I felt was too repetitive. I've read a few books on this subject now. Crystal skulls fascinate me, and I have a large collection of my own. They're characterful, energetic little beasties. I've wanted to read a book by Darryl Anka (who channels Bashar) for a while now, but haven't been able to source anything at a reasonable price. I find his talks/channelings absolutely fascinating. Booknutt, you mentioned Diana Cooper earlier on in the thread. Have you ever tried using her Oracle cards? Oracle and Tarot are another of my great loves.

Veggie chilli with white & wild rice, and a corn on the cob.

Ooh, thanks for letting me know, I'll jump on iPlayer and take a peek.

Peering at my Goodreads TBR, it's these guys: Virginia Woolf Rex Stout Thomas Hardy Fyodor Dostoyevsky Sherwood Anderson Hilary Mantel Patrick Gale Mary Renault Harriet Rutland Shirley Jackson

Still reading Whisky Galore by Compton Mackenzie. It's supposed to be a classic comic novel. I'm a third of the way through it and I haven't cracked a smile. I demand a smile out of this book! A guffaw would be sheer nirvana. Has anyone else here read it? There was a film made in the late 40s, which I haven't seen. I wonder if that's any funnier.

She signed in yesterday afternoon, so she's around. The forum has felt quiet in general lately, it seems to me.

Blue skies and sunshine! The temperature's slowly creeping up indoors, too.

Thanks, everyone. Google really was my saviour here for getting all the information on helpful nutrition. I wish the nurse who took my blood pressure had been a little more clued up in that area, for other patients' sake if not my own.

Welcome, Kafka.