Saturday, January 8, 2022

Saturday morning odds and ends

 ***Pupdate***

The little puppy has found a good home--not with us! He was at the pet store for less than 24 hours when a nice family adopted him. We'll have a new puppy one day, when the time is right and the right one comes along. For now, this was the best outcome for everyone!

Good Saturday morning, blog friends. It's bitterly cold outside today. When we woke up it was 28F (2.22C) with a wind chill of 21F (-6C). We put a little red sweater on George when we went out for our morning walk. A pair of hawks were flying low over the creek, hunting for their breakfast. They're always a pleasure to see early in the morning; we sometimes see a pair of owls at night. It's a good neighborhood for raptors, and all birds, really. The Northern Flickers were also back this morning, congregating on our front lawn. We only ever see those in the winter.


I've finished the two books Martina gave me for Christmas: The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, and Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Do any of you remember the movie Fright Night with Chris Sarandon back in the 1980's? The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires sort of reminded me of that--the alluring new neighbor who turns out to be a vampire, some gore, some campy humor. It was a lot of fun!

Piranesi, on the other hand, wasn't a particularly "fun" book. It was so odd and unfathomable at first that I wasn't sure whether or not I wanted to read it after all. The writing and the protagonist's observations were so beautiful, though, that I continued until I finally started to get an inkling of what was going on. One review I read said something along the lines of "this book is permeated with a gentle melancholy", but the word "melancholy" doesn't do justice to how sad it made me feel. It's brilliantly done, relatively short (especially compared to the absolute tome that was Clarke's first book, Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell) and I'm glad I read it, but it made me want to cry throughout. Even so, it's really good and I see why it won the Women's Prize for Fiction 2021

Martina did a great job picking books for me! I hope the two I got for her will be as enjoyable when she finally gets time to read them. The veterinarians' office she works for has gotten hit hard by Covid and 2/3 of the staff are out. She's one of the few left who tested negative and she's working long days right now. 

Speaking of books, I'm headed over to my friend Paulette's house in a few minutes to borrow our book club selection for January. I hope it's a good one (I can't remember the title) because now that I've finished my Christmas books I'm ready to start something new. These cold January days are perfect for reading by the fireplace, and that's just what I'll be doing this afternoon and tonight! 

Have a great weekend, friends.

21 comments:

  1. Northern Flickers are such beautiful birds!

    ReplyDelete
  2. One of my daughters recently recommended a new-to-me author, Natasha Pulley. I finished one of her books, "The Watchmaker of Filigree Street" and enjoyed it very much and am on a second one now. She writes beautifully and there are elements of fantasy in a sort of Neil Gaiman way but definitely in Ms. Pulley's voice. Have you read anything by her?
    That Flicker is just gorgeous. Look at that blue on the back of his head and neck!

    ReplyDelete
  3. We de-Christmas'd the outside of the house this morning; it was 27!! Oy!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. We used to love to see the Northern Flickers on our suet feeder. A nice memory. Wind chill of 21F? I guess I won’t complain that it was only 61F, no wind, and sunny during my walk.

    ReplyDelete
  5. So glad the puppy got a new home...didn't think it would be long.

    Northern Flicker are so pretty. I see them at the lake, but rarely will I get them at my windowsill with all the other varieties I get. I do get Red Bellies and Downy's though.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I am always struck that what we in the uk think of bad weather you Americans have to deal with so much worse xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm glad the puppy found a good home. You will know when you find the one that is right for your family. Those books sound good and you got through them pretty quickly if they were Christmas gifts. I hope it warms up for you soon. We've been in the deep freeze since the first of the year too.

    ReplyDelete
  8. My Book Club hav it are just read Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons - none of us expected to like it at all - all of us found it hillarious

    ReplyDelete
  9. My, you're having a warms spell, it was a chilly 17 F up here this morning and right the temp is sitting at 26 F.

    ReplyDelete
  10. That northern flicker is a beautiful fellow.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I enjoy hearing about other people's Book Club choices. We had a bunch of great ones in the last series of 4 but this last group of books was mediocre at best. The discussion will (hopefully) be good!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I would really like to find a book club now that I have the time to read. I came here for the update on the little pupcake. I am glad that he has a good home.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I read through a bunch of the Magic Men series by Elly Griffiths and enjoyed those. I do love reading mysteries, tho!
    Our driveway and local roads are solid ice today so it will be a good Sunday to stay home and read!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Happy reading, Jennifer! I am quite excited to get started on my Christmas presents but want to finish my current read first.
    So good to know Snap has found a new home!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Going to check those out. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Sorry that Donald didn't come home with you. The time was probably not right. Ginger was such a lovely dog. Not easily replaced.

    ReplyDelete
  17. I got a smile visioning George in a walker-jumper. I hope he likes it.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I'm glad the little puppy has a good home.
    I need a good book recommendation right now. I've been in a book club for 10 years. Interestingly enough, we all have differing interests when it comes to reading preferences. The book club forces me to read outside of the box. Left to my own devices, I read historical fiction. I love the combination of a history lesson and a good story.

    ReplyDelete
  19. What a gorgeous bird to have come to your garden - I have never seen one of those. How I envy some of the garden wildlife I see on blogs from the US. But then we have good sea birds here I guess - and the other day I saw an egret in our field. All nature is good.

    ReplyDelete
  20. going to check and see if our library has them and if not see if Nancy can get them from the Waco library..they sound good.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I lost my job few months back and there was no way to get income for my family, things was so tough and I couldn't get anything for my children, not until a met a recommendation on a page writing how Mr Bernie Wilfred helped a lady in getting a huge amount of profit every 6 working days on trading with his management on the cryptocurrency Market, to be honest I never believe it but I took the risk to take a loan of $800 and I contacted him unbelievable and I was so happy I earn $12,500 in 6 working days, the most joy is that I can now take care of my family I don't know how to appreciate your good work Mr. Bernie Doran God will continue to bless you for being a life saver I have no way to appreciate you than to tell people about your good services.
    For a perfect investment and good strategies contact Mr Bernie Doran via WhatsApp :+1(424)285-0682 or Telegram : @Bernie_doran_fx or Email : Bernie.doranfx01@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete