Realized today that among the tapes I’d picked up at Half Price Books last week was Jack Higgins’ The Wolf at the Door–found I’d downloaded it to Kindle some time back. Same problem I occasionally had with paper books–get one I saw in the book store then get home and find I already had it. Short term memory can be costly.
Candace
Title says it all.
Sorry about that epilog, Candace; see if the library has the first book of the Sisterhood series, WEEKEND WARRIORS, and go from there. But it is really good. Michaels hits her stride in all the later books as she gets more and more inventive, but WARRIORS is still a good choice. I have all the books in the series so far.
She has another, SCOOP, about some older ladies , one of whom buys a rag of a newspaper so that her daughter won’t lose her job. She convinces her best friends to (a) come visit her and (b) go to the LA area where the ‘rag’ is published. I love Michaels sense of humor and fun in these types of books.
It’s very warm here today, too. I think I need to turn the AC back on. I turn it off in the a.m. when I get up as the place is beautifully cool. But along about 1:30 pm or so, it starts to get warm. And then it REALLY does and the AC is once again required. Yuck.
Nothing new here - going to an opthamologist tomorrow. Did I tell all y’all I sold my car? Turned out daughter/SIL come to pick me up and, although I miss not having my own wheels when the weather is nice, it’s beautiful not to have gas, car insurance, etc etc expenses. Ah well, no gain without SOME loss.
And that is the extent of the news.
Take care all,
Jo
Fern Michaels was the author of Kentucky Sunrise. I was enjoying her writing and thinking I might enjoy her Sisterhood books but the epilogue turned me off.
I was interested in your reviews of books about earlier years. I’m listening to A Proper Pursuit by Lynn Austin. It is set in 1893 in Chicago a few years after the fire. The title comes from her knowledge that she is expected to “marry well.” She finds out that, contrary to being told her mother had died, she had in fact divorced her father when she was very young and was living in Chicago. She is permitted by her father to travel alone to Chicago where she meets three aunts with varying viewpoints. She is torn between the expectation that she “marry well”–before she turns 21 which would mean she would be an “old maid” and the aunt who introduces her to the movement by suffragettes and the concept that women should have equal rights.
Candace
I read These is my words but had forgotten about it. I will look for the sequels.
We are having a horrible heat wave with very high humidity. I swim in an out door pool and then mostly stay in the ac house. Today my cleaning lady came right at lunch time so I treated my self to a lunch in the deli department of our grocery store. I like to get out when she is here. Tonight there are showers all around but they seem to miss Princeton. The grass is all going dormant.
Forgot to write about “THESE IS MY WORDS” and the two sequels, ‘SARAH’S QUILT’ and ‘THE STAR GARDEN.’
WORDS tell the story of Sarah Prine and her family in the western US during the late 1800s and early 1900s. It’s written in the form of a diary as she relates the goings-on between the whites and the Indians mostly. Tell of her marriage to Jimmy Reed and what a louse he really was.
QUILT tells mostly of her meeting and finally marrying and their life together. He is first of all in the US Army, then becomes an Arizona Ranger and then back to the Army. She has a ranch to tend to and family nearby who seem to feel that she is the backgone of the family. Her trials and tribulations in this book get a bit more serious but very common to the times.
GARDEN is the final book of the series and tells of her ongoing battle with a neighbor who has asked her to marry him but she turns him down without really saying no - and she doesn’t do that purposely; she just is trying to imagine being La Senora. There is another much nicer man around too which doesn’t help her torn heart and mind to decide. This is not a romance by any means.
GARDEN is concerned mostly with 1906/1907 and she gets involved in rescuing her son/family from the SF earthquake that did so much damage. Her struggles with the neighbor really involve politics, as she realizes, and would put her property, which is substantial, in his name and which he would then sell to the railroad. Her handling of that problem is masterful.
I’m probably not reviewing this properly but I thoroughly enjoyed all three books, all written in diary format.
Jo
Kentucky’s Derby: was that book written by Fern Michaels? If so, that one and a couple of others have the same characters involved and I found I didn’t care for those two or three related books although I did read them all. I usually like her stories, too, especially the Sisterhood series.
re Quail blocks: find out what kind of seeds/? they like and make you own…probably be cheaper! 
We’ve been having some quite warm weather here but what I appreciate about that is that there is also a fairly decent breeze. It’s easy to sit on my balcony or in my daughter’s backyard.
They/we are getting ready for the big blowout b’day parties coming up. #1son/wife are arriving on the 8th which is about a week early but they want to do some sightseeing first. I hope they’ll invite me to go along as I’ve not been able to do much of that. But anyhow . . . . . .
My plants are doing nicely - I should take a picture of the curly-leaf rush which is a most unusual one as far as I’m concerned. It’s rather wispy blossom is in the middle of the stem. I’ll give it a whirl. 
That’s about it - I usually lead a very sheltered life.
Take care, all.
Jo
I got a new bird feeder that closes the ports when something heavy sits on the perch. So far the squirrels haven’t got to it. I am waiting to see. They seem to always get the best of me. I am really enjoying A Quindlan’s new book, Every last one. It is about a family and friends and so far has been mostly character development, but you feel that you really know the family.
I found a place online that has various types of blocks including quail blocks. I’ll see if I can get it before I sign out here: http://www.duncraft.com/Bird-Seed-Blocks-C57.aspx. Hope this helps.
Candace
For some reason, I can not find quail blocks anymore, so bought a “bird seed” block. Big mistake! The sparrows demolished in within days. I wish to primarily feed quail, grackles and pigeons. Does anyone have any suggestions?
One of the best things about my move was getting access to C-Span 2. Saturday and Sunday they have various book interviews and as usual I find I’m fascinated by subjects I would never have thought about. The other side of that is the immediacy of access through Kindle (for most books). That means I have at least four downloaded that I’ve yet to read. One of the most compelling interviews I have seen (before the C-Span one) was Jere VanDyke who wrote “Captive” about his time has a prisoner of the Taliban. Also interesting was a clip of an interview with Senator Susan Collins and others about what they read. My stock of taped books for the car was low and I was going by Half Price Books yesterday–have a big new supply of mysteries for highway driving now. Kentucky Sunrise which I just finished was interesting, included a lot of Kentucky Derby information. However, the epilogue which chronicled what happened later was a real downer–unusual in my reading experience.
Candace
I just finished reading Anthony Boudain’s new book, “Medium Raw”. It is as it’s title suggests. Once I got past his gutter language, it became almost enjoyable.
You can buy a Kindle at the Target store now. Price $189.
Down to $189–sounds like the competing versions of e-books may be having an effect.
Candace
Someone here mentioned Kindles? Amazon has just reduced the price to $189.
I probably would be a little more tolerant of them if they would stay away from my bird feeder but I can’t help thinking of them as rats with long tails. I guess I am in the minority. I am reading Quindlan’s latest book but have just started it. I think I am going to like it though.
Yes, thanks, Jerry for the tip on the Kindle. I made a note of your instructions in case it happens to mine.
Candace
Present company excluded, of course.
I enjoy watching the squirrels. They are such clowns.
Boy, it’s hot again today. I just watered my balcony plants and I should have done that earlier. I am quite near to melting melting melting.
I ordered These Is My Words and the two sequels for my Kindle, and thanks for that timely tip, Jerry. Is the back easy to get off??? The first one is Sarah’s Quilt and the third sequel is The Star Garden. I did enjoy Words, and I’m sure I’ll like these last two also.
I am also taken with Fern Michaels’ Sisterhood series which I’m sure I’ve talked about earlier.
Daughter Suzanne is coming over and we will go get daughter Debbie’s b’day present. Son’s Gene’s present is going to be tee-shirts from the various breweries around. He has made his own quite tasty beer so it’s appropriate. These two are the ones besides myself whose birth year is divisible by 5. That should be quite a blast, don’t you think? All but one son will be here that week, and the missing son and his family will be here the week after. Even some of the g’kids are coming so Suzanne and Paul’s backyard will be filled.
I’m looking forward to it but I expect I’ll be thrilled to death to get back home in the evenings after all the noise, etc.
Well, Suzanne is here - later. folks.
Darlyne, I figure if I feed them they won’t have as much incentive to get into places I don’t want them. They are fun to watch. I put a bird bath out in the bird/squirrel feeder area. One morning I saw a squirrel coming along the top of the fence and jump over to the bird bath where he drank water. It occurred to me I had never seen a squirrel drinking water. I had not thought they could get on the bird bath because it is ceramic–nothing for them to cling to. Since that time I’ve seen them jump straight up from the ground onto it and drink.
Candace
I love ‘em! They are one of natures most entertaining animals. They’re quick, sassy and clean! I have never seen any Squirrel doo-doo, and they rarely mate in public. Right now, as I type a couple of them are chowing down on mulberries outside my kitchen window.
Currently I’m reading “Breakfast of Champions” on the Kindle. I love to read Vonnegut! He is the original cynic’s cynic!! If you haven’t read any of his books you might try “Slaughterhouse Five” or “Cat’s Cradle”.
My Kindle quit on me other day; dead in the middle of a story. If this happens to any of you Kindle readers just take off the back and use a paper clip in the tiny hole there that says “reset”. The machine comes back to life with everything intact and on the same page on which you left off.
Huggz to all,
Jerry
Sorry that I don’t sign my name here. So—it is Joanne, although I post under “bookworm”.
May I offer thanks to whoever advised that Jo in CO was on Facebook, then Jo added several of our other “friends” from this site. Now I’m in touch with almost everybody!! I really don’t do much Facebook,and I certainly do not do the Farmville thing. Both my daughters do, and I neglect enough stuff around here without having to build a farm!! LOL
I would never get off the computer! Just visiting my “books/readers” sites keeps me plenty busy and out of trouble.
I didn’t think about feeding corn on the cobs to the squirrels. Since I have them here, and they’re not leaving anytime soon, I may offer up some corn. They really eat anything I put outside for them, bread crumbs, chip crumbs, stale peanuts, etc. They are fun to watch, but I could do without them racing across the rooftop in the wee hours of the morning!
Stay cool and have a good day!
Joanne
Thanks Candace, I will look for that feeder. There is an Ace hardware near me and I need to get furnace filters anyway. I will never feed squirrels. They can be a real pest. They got into the attic of neighbors and they had a hard time getting rid of them. This town has so many trees, therefore an abundance of squirrels. There are many here who love them.
Darlyne, I got the squirrel-proof feeder at Ace Hardware. I don’t have the box with the name now but it was not expensive and does work. I got one first that cost about the same, about $23, and the squirrels literally ate it up little by little in a week. This is a square metal frame around a plastic container with five recessed food cups–two on two sides and one each of the other two sides. There are springs on two sides that hook onto little holes in metal decorative leaves so you can adjust the tension. There is a metal cap which flips back to fill it without it spilling out of the cups. The birds can light on the porches in front of each cup and eat. When the squirrel climbs on his weight pulls the wire frame covers over the seed cups; when he jumps off, the springs pull the covers up above the cups. It is so simple and so effective. I’ve seen a lot of attempts to thwart squirrels and someone finally came up with a simple answer. I’ve had it six or eight weeks, fill it every day and have watched squirrels spend up to 30 minutes trying to get to the food and give up. It is designed so well that the frame doesn’t let their teeth reach the plastic. The squirrel feeder is a rectangular wire frame with a one end hinged as a lid. It holds four or five ears of corn. By wrapping the chain so the lid holds securely shut they can maneuver the ears of corn so they can strip them to the cob. I have both feeders hanging on the same tree on limbs about 8 feet apart. They can all eat up in the air or on the ground where I put some of both types of feed.
Candace
I thought CO would be cooler.
Hey everyone - I’ve not forgotten nor lost interest.
El Paso will be warm but as Darlyne says, very low hunidity - it’s high desert there, as it was in ABQ and kinda like that here in NoCO. Shade is lovely.
It’s true I am on FaceBook and I have to do my ‘chores’ in the mornings usually. Have I mentioned that I hate housework? It doesn’t seem to do itself while I’m doing chores. Frustrating.
We (here in the sr complex) were supposed to go see the Tut Exhibit in Denver but someone got crossed up in their dates — it doesn’t open until July 1. (I’ve never done anything like that y’know.) So we went to Blackhawk instead, it’s the CO version of Reno, Las Vegas and Atlantic City all rolled into one. I did well, too. Came home with more than I left with, and made enough to keep me playing until it was time to head back. I would love to go back.
I’ve seen that bird feeder which covers the seed supply when the squirrel lands on the perch. It is clever and really does work.
We can’t do anything like that here; it gets really windy and anything that would hang on the bldg would likely get blown to ABQ!
Message to Judith, Garvin, Miselle, Jerry and two others who are also in Facebook but whose names I’ve allowed to escape thru my ears. Joann in TX is now on Facebook and is looking for her friends. She never remembers to sign her name but unless CRS has done me dirty, she is ‘bookworm.’ She lives in Dallas.
Whew - time to get something to drink - Gatorade does well in a dry climate to keep you perkin’ along.
Jo