I didn’t work on this until late in the afternoon yesterday, but I made a lot of progress. I guess it’s like solving a crossword puzzle, the more you do them, the sharper your skills become. I’m certainly putting this one together more quickly than the Nancy Drew. Maybe too quickly…
I do have another puzzle arriving in the mail tomorrow, but I’m worried that, since the second puzzle I ordered hasn’t even shipped yet and won’t ship until next week, I might be twiddling my thumbs for several days. I might have to order another one in the meantime – one that will ship quickly.
We worked outside yesterday. Don cleaned up an area near the shed, I worked on edging one of the garden beds, trimming brambles, cleaning up other beds, and weeding the peony beds. I was tuckered out afterward. My stamina needs improving and just like working a jigsaw puzzle, the more I do it, the stronger I’ll become. Ideally, I’d work out there several days in a row and that would help enormously, but unfortunately, we’re due for 3 or 4 more days of rain.
Enough already.
I finished A Gentleman in Moscow this morning. Even better the second time around. I’m sad; I love the story and the characters and Amor Towles’ writing. What to read next is the question for the day. I have no idea! I keep staring at my TBR pile but nothing is calling out to me. I’ll give it time and eventually, something will.
I saw a pileated woodpecker this morning, a male cardinal, two deer, and some fat robins.
No Henry yet. No bunnies, either, though Don has seen one.
And that’s it from the cottage today.
Stay safe. Stay home.
Happy Wednesday.
I just finished reading The Diplomat’s Daughter, a novel by Karin Tanabe. I would not hesitate to read another book by her.
Finally saw my first hummingbird yesterday so I’m going to get out my second feeder. We usually only have two a year but it”s fun to watch them go back and forth between the feeders. My daughter in Oklahoma had seven feeders out and has to fill them every two to three days.
My husband has seen a jackrabbit twice on the other side of town near our Farmer’s Co-op. Hopefully it can stay safe. Several years ago for several years there was a roadrunner that made this small town in Kansas his home. We saw him many times in our backyard. He was under the loading dock at co-op with string wrapped around his legs. The guys rescued him and let him go. People would post pictures and videos of him on Facebook.
I get a 1000 piece puzzle every year at Christmas for a gift. I usually start it right after Christmas but haven’t yet this year.
Have a great day!
We are working on another puzzle too. I keep telling my husband to pace himself. We can’t afford a new puzzle every week.
I put in a few pieces a day…I could really stretch it out, lol.
Raining in Michigan too.
I started reading Station Eleven, about life after a devastating pandemic. Have you read it? It takes place mostly in Michigan so I thought that would be interesting. It started out with a character I was interested in but then switched to 20 years after the pandemic and jumping back and forth in time to characters I just don’t feel any connection to. But 1/3 of the way into the story no mention of that first character. I wanted it to be his story I guess. Anyway, life is too short to read a book I’m bored with. So, I’m not sure what to read next either.
I made my first visit to my favorite large supermarket yesterday. No flour or rice to be found!
Other than that it was less crowded, no line to check out so mostly a success.
Take care, stay safe.
I’d urge you to keep reading. It is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read. I’m a huge fan. I read it when it was first published.
I keep hearing that flour is not to be found! Stay safe, Marilyn!
Walmart.com finally came thru for me on flour, but there is no yeast to be found ANYwhere.
And I guess the next shortage (besides meat) are the disinfecting wipes and sprays; ‘Patrick Penfield, a professor of supply chain management at Syracuse University, told CNN he’s hopeful the country will see shelves restocked with disinfecting and cleaning products by the end of July — with the caveat that coronavirus cases decrease by the summer. The issue with disinfecting wipes is “prolonged demand,” he said. Meanwhile, Steve Tracey, the executive director for the Center for Supply Chain Research at Penn State University, told CNN it’s impossible to tell when we might see the items back on the shelves. “It’s unpredictable,” Tracey told CNN in an interview. “It’s not a question of if — it’s a question of when. It’s very difficult to predict the when.”‘
xo
xo
Good news: we bought a pound (!) of yeast on Amazon. Fleischman’s Rapid Rise.
I love when I hear stories about people rescuing animals. So good of them!
Stay safe, Claudia!
if possible, please thank the people who helped that jackrabbit! thank you. it does my heart good to hear of such kindness.
hope you find a book you like and stay safe!
kathy in iowa
You ARE too quick with the puzzle but those are great puzzles and it must be hard to stop yourself! I am reading “Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine” by Gail Honeyman and it is quite enjoyable. I got it from one of the “Little libraries” in my neighborhood! Thank goodness for that as I am not so fond of ebooks. Rainy here today also, but the grass is VERY green! Stay safe!
I’m not very fond of ebooks either, Ellen! Rain is headed our way, too. Ah, well. I can see more and more leaves emerging on the trees and the rain will surely speed that along! Stay safe.
glad you have another puzzle on the way because you are going to finish this one soon! it looks like another fun one.
also glad that you and don could spend some time outside. feels good, doesn’t it?
also wonderful to see birds and other creatures (cardinals, blue jays, robins, swans, geese and lots of squirrels here). hope henry shows up soon.
i trust you will find a book to read. :) i know i’m “preaching to the choir” here when i say a tbr pile needs no justification, but if it did, now is a very appropriate and necessary time to have some choices! also applying that to my two baskets of yarn, counted cross-stitch projects and watercolor supplies. :)
i am grateful to be home today.
hope you and everyone else have a nice day and stay safe.
kathy in iowa
I’m always glad to hear you’re home during this crisis, Kathy. Enjoy all your favorite things today and stay safe!
I have only seen one pileated woodpecker in my (long) lifetime, and that was about 6 yrs ago. It was an amazing sight!! We have lots and lots of bunnies! I’m sure there will soon me lots more. We put the Oriole feeder out over the weekend and filled it with jelly but I haven’t seen one yet. We usually have 6 or 8 that frequent the feeder every year. Can’t wait!! I saw on the local Birder page on FB yesterday that 3 different people have seen them in the past few days. Yay! Many beautiful goldfinch have been feeding, too. I have seen a wren in the Maple tree for the past 3 days, but it isn’t singing yet. And we have a pair of Cardinals that have nested in one of our Cedar trees. It is a fun time of year to watch the wildlife returning. It gives some hope and a bit of stability right now, too.
Have fun puzzling today! We are getting some rain today, also, but the weekend looks quite lovely. We are thinking about “getting together” with 2 dear friends this weekend. We have a screen on our garage and we will sit inside, and they will sit 8 ft out in the driveway. It will be BYOE (Bring Your Own Everything) including chairs, drinks, snacks, etc. We haven’t seen them in about 6 weeks. It is supposed to be 72*!! Just trying to think of the logistics to make it work successfully is crazy! But surely worth figuring it out in this new world.
Oh, that will be fun! Great idea, Chris! I usually see at least one pileated woodpecker a season. I’ve already seen two (or maybe it’s the same one on different days.) Rain is coming here today, tomorrow and Friday (with thunderstorms on Fri.) Sigh. I know we need it but gray days don’t help right now. Stay safe!
We’re in a weird world of Harry Bosch around here. While I read the ebooks one after the other, the film version of Harry is talking about other cases on television. Mr Wizard is totally bingeing the Amazon series—all six or seven seasons.
Still can’t find any yeast anywhere (except on e-Bay, where it is being sold for exorbitant prices). Good news, though. They brought me a package of disinfectant wipes, finally. Yay!
Yay! Don got some the other day – it was like manna from heaven. I don’t watch the Bosch series. I like the actor, but I’ve been reading those books for many years and I have him well-defined in my imagination and don’t want that messed with. That is weird, though, television and books at the same time. Stay safe!
I don’t mind the actor as Bosch. They do make the stories usually very different from the books—different people commit the crimes, some people who died early on have a much longer life, his daughter figures in all of them as a teenager, Bosch is a Desert Storm vet instead of Viet Nam—everything’s the same, but different.
Yep. That’s why I won’t watch. Titus Welliver is a good actor and I’m sure he does a good job. xo
My sister went to a local wholesale dealer where she purchased saf instant yeast block , one pound, for about $4. each. They also sold 50 pound bags of flour . None of our local stores have any flour, yeast or rice. Just a suggestion.
Claudia, you are one very-productive gal, both with your progress on the puzzle AND the yard; looking forward to your photos of the evolving garden once you’ve got some sun and an end to the rain. We were actually glad to see a fog bank this morning so that we can have a respite from the heat which is supposed to be back again next Monday here; we are very unseasonably warm in SoCalif; yesterday, we were 16 degrees above normal. For you, it’s too late for rain now; for me, it’s too early for hot weather!
Sad commentary on the state of things, my own small town as an example I guess. But lots of comments on local social media about our town’s various USPS mail boxes scattered here and there being wrapped in tarps with signs, “Out of Service”. The scuttle is that ‘someone’ has been stealing the mail, apparently oblivious this is a federal offense but, clearly, this could be where we’re landing now with desperate people needing money (would seem they’re likely stealing checks; I don’t know the whole story yet and haven’t spoken to my friends at the main post office, although we did make a mail run earlier this morning to get our mail out of our post office box; thankfully, again, not running into any humans in the hours before the lobby opens). We had this happen several years ago; I feel like it was when the nation was trying to pull out of the Recession of the 2000s. I was told it was always safer to go inside the post office to send on your outgoing mail; but then I had an experience where I’d gone in early to get my mail, like maybe 2 hrs before the postal counter was open, and another woman was in there, too; saying to me, ‘you won’t believe what I just saw’ which prompted me to say, ‘what?’ but there was a guy with a long tool of some sort that had managed to fish it thru the outgoing mail slot to somehow grab mail that had accumulated in the bins on the employee side of the wall. Anyway, because of these memories and knowing there’s a problem at present, I didn’t feel comfortable mailing out any checks today, so I don’t know what I’m going to do about it yet. I haven’t been out of town for over two months but we may just have to drive over to the adjacent city until my own town’s postal people have this figured out. Isn’t it a shame? My main post office isn’t in the greatest part of my town; there are a lot of vagrants/panhandlers (homeless). I’ve frequently been approached for money. Now, nobody’s on the street, few people in cars, shops in the area closed up; they’re not getting any handouts. But why blame them when it could be a professional bad guy trying to take advantage of the deserted area, at a time when most citizens are trying to do the right thing by staying home. Sigh.
hej, vicki.
as if it isn’t bad enough having to sanitize mail in case it has coronavirus on it, now you all have to fear someone trying to get your mail?! whether they are desperate for food (sad) or are jerks taking advantage of an awful situation (pathetic), either way that is awful. i hope you and your mail stay safe!
kathy in iowa
…thanx, kathy; you know, I feel for the postal workers; they’ve got enough problems than having to deal with thieves!
Another interesting (sad) thing is what, according to my husband, is showing up on our local craigslist; clearly people in a bind are trying to sell what they can. I guess what I mean by interesting (horrifying) is to see all the many layers unfold in an economic crisis. I do worry about some of my newer neighbors; the younger people with families of small children; their first home; I hope they’ll be able to make their mortgage payments in this downturn. (We saw some homes today that look vacant; a lot of weeds. I know the homes and neighborhoods very well in my small city; those houses were occupied in February; so, SOMEthing has happened, go figure.) My husband and I are always so sobered with these kinds of details, saying ‘there but for you go I’ (knowing it could just as well be us) and your heart just goes out to those who are in a bad, scary pinch that will probably only get worse for them. One guy has stripped his apparently VERY small avocado orchard, so we bought $5 worth of avocados after we saw his ‘ad’ (he’s about to deliver them to our front porch, and we’re leaving him a healthy tip with his ‘pay’, under the doormat; if they’re decent fruit, we’ll prob buy more from him if he still has any left, as I could easily eat one small avocado per day).
Also, when we drove by my fave dollar store, it’s all roped up inside to where the only things you can purchase are food and other essential supplies (can’t get to any of the fun stuff; this is no time for fun stuff). Noticed, too, at the hardware store/garden center that they only have two doors open, one for entry and one for exit and it appears they, too, have only one-way ‘travel’ in their aisles. (This is all intriguing to me because I haven’t been in any kind of store since March 6; I can only visualize what, say, a grocery store looks like right now, with the plexi-glass shields around the clerk at the register, etc.) We drove by the two veterinarians in town and, in both instances, we noted that the vet techs come out to the cars to fetch the pets but the pet owners stay in their cars; seemed busy. At my primary care doctor’s office, big signs saying ‘No Walk-ins’; please call this number for further assistance’. A flurry of activity, though, with CalTrans working on the freeway/off-on ramps; also construction workers around town, and city workers doing work on street repair; so, SOME people are out there working, God Bless ’em.
And I saw something quite heartwarming. On one of our streets in the nicer part of the city, a very woodland-y sort of enclave at the creek, an area shaded by many oak trees and not a lot of vehicular traffic (they get a lot of walkers and joggers), there were appropriately-spaced lawn chairs (like 7 or 8 chairs) out in front of one home (house itself was set ‘way back off the curb; houses here also have much space between them; big, deep lots), where there was a crushed gravel area to sit between their front low wall and the asphalt of the road, with a big, colorful sign which reads, “A Neighborhood Place To Gather With Proper Social Distancing; Have a Seat and Have a Chat.”
I was also heartened to see, around town, although there weren’t a whole lot of people out & about (at 9:30am-ish), maybe 98 percent of them were wearing a facial covering, even toddlers. (We just can’t reverse this with reopening; so important to protect the children, too.) Anyway, all in all, I felt encouraged, like people have finally come around to the reality of a face mask for protection from the virus. For all the violators we see in our midst or on TV and on the web, it’s good to remember that a MAJORITY of Americans have heeded the call to protect themselves AND others. I’d been so amped up/annoyed with our SoCalif beachgoers being stupid on our recent blistering-hot weekend (poor distancing, no masks; an unattractive defiance of the rules/orders), that it was good for me to see other people being very responsible this morning. It’s going to be hot to wear a mask in summer, but we’re gonna have to keep wearing them for a long time yet, so get used to it! (I’m going to scout around for cotton bandanas in my storage here at home; it seems quite easy to make a facial covering with a bandana and two simple ponytail holders; I watched a video on it. I feel it’ll be cooler than my other masks. It’ll be ‘summer style’!!
(Oh. And, today, there were NO jacaranda trees blooming yet [Claudia, we’ve spoken before of when you lived in San Diego and that you also admired these lovely trees!]. I haven’t missed any blooming by being shut up at home [which was my wee fear; I’ve already missed the bulk of the Spring wildflowers; oh well]; I guess, much like wildflower season here, which wasn’t a super-bloom but rather a ‘normal’ bloom this year, we’ll be getting a ‘regular’ bloom on the jacs instead of an early bloom, which is fine; May-June are traditionally the bigger months for those gorgeous purple-flowering trees. [We drove by all my fave viewing sites in town and, nope, no purple glory so far, but it’s on the way!])
Claudia, I don’t know anything ‘peony’. Do you clear the bed because you’re about to plant all new ones there? From seed? They’re not a bulb plant like a tulip, right? I’ve always understood them to not bloom or thrive in SoCalif because they need a colder climate (I feel like we spoke of this before but I can’t remember; same as lilacs, you just don’t see them here; I only know peonies and lilacs from other people’s photos or paintings [those who live in other locales, although I do feel like I remember that somebody told me once that peonies WILL grow in the northern part of my Pacific-West state]).
Peonies are grown from bulbs. The peonies here have been here for decades. They’re planted down by the road where they get a lot of sun. I was simply weeding the beds. Some peonies (probably) hybrids can be grown in California, but basically, they need a freeze and winter weather. Lilacs also have versions that grow in California. I’ve read about them. But yes, again, they are a flower that needs a hard freeze as a rule. Stay safe!
This is when I’m glad our lobby doesn’t open before the main office. That way they can keep an eye on things. We have a very small post office. They’ve been talking about opening the lobby earlier, but I think that’s been shelved until this pandemic is over. Stay safe!
I do hope Henry is okay. I love the pictures you take of him. I have weeded around my peonies but I don’t think they are going to bloom again this year😢. In NC, I would think there would at least be a bloom by now. I guess I should move them. They must not be in a good spot.
Well, it might be that they’re late this year. Ours never bloom until the first week of June. I have to move some of them in the fall, as they are under a tree that is now shading them too much. Stay safe, Jane!
Jane, if you do transplant them, remember that peonies don’t grow well if you plant them too deep. They are one of the few plants that need a shallow planting. Just a thought!!!!
Hi, friend I’ve never met. A book suggestion (which you may have already read): Time and Again, by Jack Finney. It has been more than 30 years since I read it . . . but am thinking about re-reading it. It was fantastic. Took me a little bit to get into it. It was my favorite novel. And, because it is a day ending in “y,” and because he is responsible for so much death and economic collapse . . . LOCK HIM UP, LOCK HIM UP, LOCK HIM UP.
Oh yes, I read it long ago and loved it. And then I worked on a musical version of it when I was out in California at the Old Globe. It starred two talented Broadway stars, Howard McGillin and Rebecca Luker. I thought it was fantastic, but for some reason it never went to Broadway. All this is to say I’m very familiar with it. Enjoy – you should definitely reread it. Stay safe, Chris.
You’ve made great progress on your puzzle…guess you better slow down a bit…lol. We have 4 different kinds of woodpeckers that frequent our feeders, but, I’ve never seen a Pileated. I’m still waiting.
Our oriole feeders will go up on Friday…and I’ll be recleaning the hummingbird feeders. They are sure to return anytime after May 1. I can’t wait. That to me really signals springtime. Our trees are finally leafing out…it’s so nice to see green leaves again. Seems like we’ve been waiting forever. April was such a tediously long month, I’m sure that’s due to our safer at home orders.
It is rainy here today…but tomorrow promises sunshine…I hope they are right.
I need to work outside. I need to breathe in fresh air without a mask. I need to feel the earth under my fingernails without gloves. I know you understand.
Stay safe! ;)
I see them at least once or twice a season. I’ve seen one of them twice so far this spring – it may be the same one. They are so gorgeous and BIG! April was long and COLD! Enjoy your time in the garden tomorrow. Alas, we have three days of rain ahead. Stay safe, Donna!
Donnamae, I don’t know if you will see this, but I saw on our local Birder pg on FB that people have begun to see the Orioles here. I am quite happy about that!! Someone said if you have seen any Grosbeaks, the Orioles always arrive at the same time. I did see Grosbeaks at the end of last week, so I am waiting. I haven’t heard of any Hummer sightings yet. We are setting up their feeders this weekend, too. I know the tracker showed them in Northern Illinois about 10-12 days ago, so they, too, should be arriving soon.
Well done on the yard work. I got a chunk weeded yesterday and one bag of mulch down — there’s much more to go and it has been raining all day and probably tomorrow, too. It will stop.
You need to slow down on that puzzle or else hope for lots of sun to keep you out and busy so you don’t have a puzzle pause. I love the design. I might have to order one of those for when we get north this summer. If we get north this summer.
Happily, I still have a little bit to do. I should finish tomorrow. And the puzzle I ordered arrived today – a day early. Huzzah! Because we’re getting three full days of rain, so I can’t distract myself with doing stuff outdoors. Stay safe, Jeanie!
You sure are getting the hardy Boys puzzle done quickly. I just finished reading Emma by Jane Austen. I have now started The President’s Daughter. It is about Thomas Jefferson’s oldest daughter. The same authors wrote My Dear Hamilton. Hope your puzzle arrives tomorrow. We have seen a few Robins and Morning Doves.
Marilyn
The puzzle came a day early, Marilyn, so it’s ready and waiting when I finish this one. Stay safe!
Love the H. Boys puzzle…my grandson-turned 8 this month-is on number 7-his dad’s collection.
I work puzzles October-March…always have one on the table. I do a new one…Then I do the new one the second time…set it aside and do another. For now, my days are so hectic and busy. This is day 48 or 49 or 50 that my car has not moved. lol…family still dropping groceries off outside the building. I do the blogs, review books online for Netgalley-love that…read books I have…puzzle books…counted cross stitch-yes back to that…Bible study…texts, emails, snail mail…three hours a day on Facetime with two little grandsons for school. Facetime one granddaughter one time a week…school…just seems my hours fly by…I clean, of course, daily and cook each morning for myself…laundry…same old same old…we will get through this…I know some states are opening, and when that happens, I have a million lol appointments to make…hair…lol…dentist, eye, etc. etc. All have been on hold including doc and blood tests and Prolia injection…I love love love your blog-just so encouraging…I know this is difficult for many who are inside…but it will be worth it in the end-well…we hope and pray it will. Keep writing and know that so many are with you… I keep thinking of you and Don as the couple getting others through the virus isolation…perhaps the adopted mentors.
Ah, thank you for your kind words, Brenda. Don is desperate for a haircut (as am I.) Even when restrictions are relaxed here in NY – which won’t be for quite a while, I imagine it will be hard getting an appointment! Stay safe.