pontalba

They're all beautiful, muggle! Which is your favorite? It sounds like a beautiful drive, I haven't been up that direction since I was a child. We have talked about driving up around Chattanooga, Lookout Mountain area... someday.

Ran across this absolutely fascinating new instrument.....NPR has a 10 minute video of Leonardo da Vinci's String Organ. Built for the first time recently. Here is the article and accompanying vid. Enjoy! http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2013/12/01/247543086/da-vinci-s-string-organ-must-be-heard-to-be-believed?utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=20131208&utm_source=mostemailed Scroll down for the video. Well worth the time!

Hot tea, plain.

Yeah, just above freezing, actually. Not too unusual this time of year, it fluctuates quite a bit, slowly settling down to "normal" cold. That would be an average of lows in the lower 40's, and highs more or less from 40's to 50's. It all depends on how low the cold fronts dip down from Canada, or the Arctic regions. If you look at a map of the U.S., you'd see the fronts sweep in the extreme Northwest, swoop down Southward, to the middle of the country, then swooping Northeast. Most of the time we are only brushed with the southerly tip of the fronts. Sort of on the line, so to speak. Snow is very rare here, and even more so on the South Shore of the Lake...in New Orleans. They are protected somewhat by the lake. It's always 5 - 10 degrees colder here than in N.O. Having said that, I've seen it snow, lightly, on Christmas Day, and at the other end of the spectrum, be very mild, highs in the 70's on Christmas. In December of 2008 we had a rather heavy snowfall, for us. I'd never seen snow like that in my life, it was amazing! We had 2 feet in the back yard. Unprecedented.

Thank you! Oh, I hope you do make a list of this sort, I'd love to see it. Oh, goody! Glad you've added some to the never ending TBR pile! And thank you, Julie. But I know I'll be adding at least one more to the list, later. I'm reading Purge right now, and it'll go on the list, for sure.

We saw Catching Fire yesterday, really enjoyed it. I haven't read the books yet, and am glad to hear the films are so close to the books. What a cliff hanger ending! I may have to go and read the third book, just to scratch that itch. LOL

I didn't get a chance to read yesterday at all, so am only a little over a hundred pages in, but loving it.

^^^^^What she said!

I didn't realize you'd gone through that experience, Sari. Of course you didn't plan it, no one does, and no one would. You've managed to take a bad experience and learn from it. That is one of the most important and best things a person can do. Brava! And, yes, how we deal with difficult times can definitely make or break us. You've come through a fire, my dear.

Definitely! It's actually the book that opened my eyes to.......how can I put it?........lyrical prose, non-genre (type) novels.

Honestly, I didn't think there was anyone out there for me. Imagine my surprise when I started 'talking' to someone who was a good conversationalist, was as mad about reading as I was and actually expanded my reading life! Then, I found out he loved animals, specifically cats. He likes dogs too, but I didn't have any at the moment. Probably won't for a long time, as one of the cats actively HATES dogs....so I have to think about him (the cat). Anyhow. This is rather a cliché, but we never know what'll happen, 'round the corner.

What they said, Devi....this is the place to vent. Never, ever feel bad about that! We care, and support you as much as we can.

Chalie, you are so right, nothing goes as we've planned while young. We just don't know enough. I know I've said this before, but it's worth a repeat (IMO) lol My Aunt, who passed 4 years ago at 91, always said that by the time anyone learned anything, it was time to croak. I think she was right.

Love, love, love "besserwisserism"! Had to google it.....fantastic! No, you don't want that. Welllll, re not reading.....it's such a large part of our lives, I don't think I could get past that. Not if he didn't read at all, or worse yet, was dismissive of my (or anyone's ) reading. But not liking animals, that is something I could not get past. Ever.

Ok, the weather has changed......again. It went down in the high 30's (F) last night, and won't get out of the 40's today or tonight. It's cloudy, a bit rainy, and generally scummy. Had to turn the heater on again, after having the a/c on for two days earlier in the week. Insanity! Bookshop without buying books!? Horrors! Bite your tongue, woman! Never heard of Placebo, except as a sugar pill.......

Glad you're getting some relief, LL. Interesting review!

Errgggg! The very idea gives me the heebe jeebies! Imprint this ^^ upon all of your memory circuits! In Bold Italics! Underlined! Remember it when you have the vaguest inclination to "settle", or think; if you can just change this or that about a prospective date/partner/mate.....PEOPLE DON'T FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGE! /phew/ Rant over.

Wow. Just wow. mrjhale, it sounds as though you read a different book from the Lolita I read. VF...I couldn't tell one way or the other.......

Thanks to frankie, I've started Purge by Sofi Oksanen.......35 pages in, and the tension is palpable.

Ah, well, I was carded back in the "old days". heh It was funny, because the girl I was with was younger than I was, and she wasn't! /giggle/

Did you go? We saw it a while back, and thought it excellent.

Oh, forgot to post the books we've received in the last few days. The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson Past to Present, A Reporter's Story of War, Spies, People, and Politics by William Stevenson (author of A Man Called Intrepid, one of the most fascinating, true spy stories ever written) 90 Minutes at Entebbe by William Stevenson (true account of the Israeli strike against terrorism) Red Fortress History and Illusion in the Kremlin by Catherine Merridale The Black House by Peter May

I liked both the book and film, but as I'd seen the film first, all I could do was picture Anthony Hopkins......./sigh/ Gotta love the guy.

LOL Ruth. My 30th, 40th birthdays didn't bother me a bit. It wasn't till I hit 50, plus that was when I started showing my age more. I looked the same from about 16 to 40. It was nice, but was annoying at times. Especially when I was asked for ID to go into a place. heh But when I hit 60, I said, what the hell? This is a breeze! It was only a few years ago! No kidding!

I thought I'd post this here, more than one favorite.... Best of Historical Fiction would be the wildly popular (for once with much reason). Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel Oliver Cromwell, humanized beautifully. The Kingmaker's Daughter by Philippa Gregory Story of Anne Neville, daughter of Richard Neville. She was married to King Richard III. Part of Gregory's series on the War of the Roses, and as far as I am concerned, the best. Best of Non-Fiction Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard. The story of the assassination of President James Garfield. Blood Will Tell (A Medical Explanation of the Tyranny of Henry VIII) by Kyra Cornelius Kramer. Her Majesty's Spymaster by Stephen Budiansky Story of Sir Francis Walsingham, you could call him the Father of Modern Spycraft. Best of Literary Fiction Dangerous Liaisions by Choderlos De Laclos. The Summer Guest by Justin Cronin.....yes, that Justin Cronin of the vampire (going to be) trilogy. This guy can write a wonderfully moving tale of love, sacrifice and redemption. Just lovely. Invisible by Paul Auster Travels in the Scriptorium by Paul Auster. Twisted. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. I know, it's a play but fits the genre, IMO. Starkly intense, fantastic. House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III. Realistic, and so artfully and intensely accomplished...heartbreaking. Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Replay by Ken Grimwood. How many lives does it take, with a twist. The Rook by Daniel O'Malley. Innovative. The Inverted World by Christopher Priest It's all perspective. World War Z by Max Brooks I've not been a fan of zombie books, but this, told in newspaper reporting style was terrific! Best Spy/Espionage Death Will Have Your Eyes by James Sallis. Very different. Asset by Jonathan Orvin. A journey. Best New (for me) Author Ellen Ullman, I've read two of her books, so far. By Blood Close to the Machine: Technopilia and it's Discontents She is a computer geek's, Geek, and can tell a wonderful story beautifully.