The Library

[Frybabe]

I am not following that mess of a trial, but I think is Ex-wife has accused him of abuse and this this trial is where Depp is suing her for defamation/liable.

I think the closest I got to anything, in a long, long time to the French Revolution is The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo which is a biography of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas written by Tom Reiss. I have, in my audio book collection The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas which I read a long time ago (and saw Richard Chamberlain in the movie) and wanted to give it another go. There is an old biography of the Marguis de Lafayette and another about his wife that have yet to be read. Oh, and then there was The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy, read it and saw the old movie. That is the pretty much the extent of my French Revolution/Napoleon eras. Oh, I lie. I just remembered I have a huge biography of Lord Nelson, again, unread.

[BarbStAubrey]

hmm if that is what the trail is all about it sounds like a way to get publicity - he has not acted in much lately

Yes, I remember The Count of Monte Cristo and like you I too saw the movie version - Seems to me about the same time The Man In The Iron Mask was made into a movie. Don't remember the actors thought  - I remember reading Dumas back when I was high school age and yes, the Scarlet Pimpernel and there was also The Tale of Two Cities and The Glass Blowers and Scaramouche - Never read Joseph Conrad's The Duel - oh and another action adventure Dumas' The Three Musketeers although, I think that was earlier Louis XIV or maybe XV -

This whole aspect of the lack of spontaneity and how the crowds were riled to act has me really curious about the politics leading up to the Revolution - even remember The Glass Blowers had the crowds walking out of the forests onto the highways and byways as if on their own accord when according to the little I've read so far none of it was spontaneous - Yes, folks were angry but it took leadership and the marketing/advertisement of the day to convert that anger into action and some even predicted out of control retaliation but were just as horrified to witness the reign of terror - hope I can find how that got started. So far I've learned there were 4 major political groups...and the storming of the Bastille was a year before the Revolution really got going.

What amazes me is how both you and Ginny can sit still for a movie - I'm having a time of it sitting still for an  evening of TV - after one or two shows I'm to ruchy and have to get up and do something.

[Frybabe]

Hah, Barb, I have no trouble sitting for long periods on the whole (I could read all day), but I did notice that I prefer shorter films over long ones anymore. Maybe I've spent too much time with the short YouTube clips and got used to flipping around too much. I noticed that when choosing a movie or documentary to watch, I generally select the shorter ones first. Time seems to go by so fast, maybe I am trying to pack more in. 

Now you mention it, I've seen The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Tale of Two cities, and various versions of The Three Musketeers. I've read The Scarlet Pimpernel and the children's version of The Three Musketeers. I may have seen The Man in the Iron Mask, or maybe it was just clips of it. I thought The Three Musketeers was set closer to the French Revolution, but no, it appears it was set between 1625 and 1628. It is in my TBR pile to read the adult version, as is Scaramouche. I am trying to remember if I read Conrad's The Duel. There was something I read years back where a sword duel was the central feature.

Propaganda and crowd manipulation (psychology) has been going on for a long, long time. Even now, people often do not realize to what extent they are being manipulated into thinking one way or another on any number of subjects. It doesn't take much, just a well-chosen word or two over another to sway someone's perspective. Remember the PBS program (was it called World News Report?) from years ago where a panel of newscasters read an article from different countries on the same subject? Just a slight change in wording in an otherwise accurate report could change the whole way the reader is expected to view the event. And then there is advertising - a whole different level of attempts at crowd manipulation.

[ginny]

For my part, I don't have much choice, I've sprained my knee and am mobile only via  the desk chair, but it HAS brought home to me how much I DO sit, at this computer,  far too much. FAR too much.  I need to start walking again when I am able.

I would think a reader would spend more time in a sedentary position?  It's hard to read and walk or do house chores or work in the garden at the same time.  (My poor Covid gardens and an awful drought on top of it, no water),  Awful awful awful. Too much time in front of the computer but what is one's choice? 

And it's vacay time so one should do precisely as one wants, (for a little while, such luxury) which makes it a vacay. It's only been a week.   

The "movies" I watch are on tape, so you get enough to think about, in a very short time (that "short little attention span"  Paul Simon used to sing about)  leave, and come back. It's a luxury like reading and I, having said  yesterday that there's nothing at all to read,  found one which is very engrossing. Yes!

 Casting about through the TBR stacks,  I found the sequel to The Gold Coast  by Nelson DeMille. I really liked the  Gold Coast once upon a time,  about an old money neighborhood and a  man whose new neighbor was a Mafia don. Perhaps it appeals to me from the land sales taking place on either side of us. hahahaha  It won't affect us, I sincerely hope,  but it's unnerving anyway.

This sequel,  which it took him years to write, and came out in 2015, is called The Gate House, and  so far (other than the first Introductory section which gives new meaning to the words "X Rated," (is there a quadruple X? Ridiculous, it really is, being cast as "dream," or not. )  Other than that,  he writes very well, you settle in and you're shocked to see you've read 86 pages when you get back up. Escapism.


I think it's the "raging" definition of furibundus which applies at the moment, there are many definitions. Raging seems to fit our current society.

All I can say about the Johnny Depp trial is I am glad I am not on the jury because one of the litigants is a lot more believable to me  than the other, and I fear my vote would keep people  at this point a much longer time than they would like to stay.

Looks like Netflix, by the way, is in trouble. That's the only place I can see the 2022  Derry Girls series  and the Great British  Bake Off (the new ones) and they have a new season out, I hope that's not true.

[BarbStAubrey]

Ouch on your knee Ginny - how long do you think it will be before you are able to walk normally again

Well you both had me curious and looked up the Johnny Depp trail - looks like two actors wanting attention and they have the money to get it in a compelling way that would not be as compelling if it was typical Hollywood news. Johnny Depp had aged and that pony tail hair do does not do him justice - but then it is hair he can arrange for various movie parts - never heard of this Amber Laura Heard who evidently was at one time his wife - and what in the world are they doing in Virginia - is that where he lives these days? From what little I read it sounds like the testimony in court is well acted and a bit raunchy - another crowd source for attention is all I see... such boring lives - they both have all and more than they need and do not know what to do with themselves and so might as well pick a fight...

I've got a doe in the backyard ready to pop - she is eating grass which is what they do just before birthing and from the size of her I bet it will be twins. Closing three quarters of the way my drapes so my moving around does not scare her - left just enough open for light and so I can take a look now and then - we shall see what we shall see - she may go off to the side of the house or even wander into a neighbor's yard - neither neighbor currently has a dog so she will feel safe.

Trying to remember books about deer and the only one that came to mind was The Yearling - but the word reminded me of the Deerslayer - forgot the story line - I do remember reading just about all of the Fennimore Cooper books back in 8th grade - need to look up the Deerslayer and get the gist of that story. Lots of adventure in those stories and native tribes pitted against each other.

The Gold Coast sounds intriguing - isn't that or wasn't that a nickname for an area of Chicago along the lake where high end homes and high end living took place?

There are a couple of good British bake shows in the late afternoon on Digi Ginny - not the caliber of British Bake off but interesting - one show pits three groups all ready in business against each other.
https://www.watchdigitv.com/series

[ginny]

That DIGI Channel  is very interesting, Barbara, and I liked the look of the Garden Rescue program and the ...can't recall the exact title, Country  Estate Rescue? One on right after the other. I thought I'd watch them both tomorrow starting at 10 to see what I think although I usually tape shows and watch them when I feel like it.

Is this the channel you were talking about a while back which took the place of the BBC? I do see two cooking shows as well.

The Gold Coast book is about the area of New York out on, I think it is, Long Island, in Nassau county. The author actually lives there, I think, and has recently built himself a....Tudor Castle type house, as his  website puts it. It's gorgeous. The book also has some imaginative scenes, not quite X but close.

I think the Depp- Heard trial is in Virginia (and I could be wrong) because that's where the Washington Post article main offices are which he's contesting.

It's really GOOD to be reading a book so engrossing after such a long time. Just sit there and lose yourself and let the rest of the world go by for a while. 

[ginny]

I've now watched two programs on the DIGI channel, Barbara, and they were both very interesting. The first one reminded me of one of their shows on the BBC where people go stay in hotels and critique?

The Country  House Revisited one apparently was the result of a makeover of this gigantic country home which had been listed in the  Domesday Book called something like Aubury Park? At any rate it had 63  gothic chimneys and was home to many senior residents and tremendously in the red.  It required 700,000 British Pounds yearly to run,  50,000 to 60,000 per month, the owner was somewhat nonchalant about the entire thing (in the tradition of British peerage? Downton Abby type stuff? Though  it never mentioned a title), but his poor wife whom he put down constantly was the one who could do things. So the...woman expert ...who I must say was somewhat rude in the tradition of these programs, centered on the wife, made recommendations to her and she picked up the ball with wedding venues, the old folks disappeared, and they began to turn a profit.

And this was the return visit.  I must say I enjoyed it tremendously.

 That's a FIND!

Then I watched the Garden one called Garden Rescue,  which came on right after it. This is a contest, apparently? This couple had a back yard, they loved Italy, and wanted an Italian garden. I almost stopped watching it because that usually consists of  no flowers, just formal borders, but anyway there's a contest for design  in  which the landscapers compete among their own staff  to produce a plan, and then the winning team is helped by the losing team or something to build the thing. Not sure how much help this woman (the losing team) was to them, but they did use some of her ideas, and for those with the stray  column or two,  if you paint old columns  with yogurt they will age more and look more ancient.

Anyway, that's a good tip if I ever require one.

What got ME was the budget was 7,500 British Pounds for this back yard. POUNDS for a back yard (not particularly large) garden!!!! This morning that's $9,368+ dollars for what appeared to me to be a normal back yard, possibly smaller than we are used to.

For THAT I would expect the moon. I think what they got is called parterre, although they didn't SAY that word, areas of small ornamental bits with paths in between.....The paths were sand.  They got a small projecting stone accent wall about 4 feet or so high...can't estimate the length, about 6 feet? I would need to watch it again, with sedum growing out of it, areas of LOTS of  tall leafed out  olive trees (!!!!) where it rains a  lot,  surrounded by box edging. Very  nice, if you don't like flowers.

Keeping this many box hedges trimmed and neat is going to require a gardener.

Perhaps as it ages it will be pretty spectacular? Maybe they'll revisit it.  I doubt those olive trees will make it, the announcer said they require dry soil, good luck with that. How pretty that's going to look if they die out one by one and have to be replaced with a smaller one each time or even one of equal size, would also be an issue with me. There is a man about 10 miles from here who had the idea to plant huge oak like trees as a border along his road frontage and he has a LOT of road frontage.... he started with big ones, and over the years as this one or that one  died out  he has to keep replacing them with something the same size  or it ruins the effect. I can't imagine where he gets those giant trees but it must have cost a fortune so far to keep them the same appearance.

But the programs were fascinating.   Both of them were, a real find if people like British whatever, or think they do.

Thank you for that!

[BarbStAubrey]

Thanks Ginny for the tip as to where the 'Gold Coast' is located - and yes, I too enjoy the Garden show - I've learned many tips about plants but the garden designs for me are a boon - planning on moving this summer and a yard will be part of a new home - few yards here are gardens as such planned as those in this show and many of the plants would not work in our soil or weather zone but it sure gives me ideas. I must say though Charlie and that hair drives me up a wall - she is forever tossing it with her muddy hands - why she does not gathering it all up and tie it with a scarf or ribbon is beyond me - there was one show when she did use a scarf and acted so annoyed with it that gradually it slipped and slipped till it was useless.

The various areas of the country must get these programs at different times - the Country House one here is on the weekend and yes, she is full of herself isn't she - but her makeover for business success stories are varied and highlights the features of these grand country houses - yes, an amazing look at the upper British class that few even want to acknowledge their enormous debts or want to change to get out from under - the other that I like is Restoration Man - mostly couples but a few singles take on the restoration of an old falling apart building, some as old as 500 years - the finished restorations are wonders using most often sleek furnishings or that country raw wood in a sleek contemporary look - the moderator finds the history of the building and sometimes the surrounding area that I found fascinating.

Chef James Martin is only on once a week but I really enjoy his show - he has a soothing low key way about him and works up do-able recipes - evidently he is a well known Chef in Britain

And one more Britain's Best Bakery is a love of a show - only compliments from the judges - I prefer over all the negativity we hear on TV - the show is about 3 bakery's compete and the winner goes on to the next level. I believe the top contest is between bakery's from England and Scotland. Not sure if Wales is considered part of England or not and certainly Northern Ireland would be part of England. Although so far I am not remembering a bakery from Wales however there have been a couple from Northern Ireland and even one from Brittany France that did not win. 

[jane]

Barbara....You're right on the "gold coast" for the area outside Chicago along the Lake for the well-to-do...like Oprah who had a residence there when she was broadcasting from Chicago, etc.

https://www.choosechicago.com/neighborhoods/gold-coast/

[ginny]

Unbelievable scene yesterday at the  Uvalde elementary school massacre,  just horrific beyond belief.  So sorry for all those involved.  There are no words really but unimaginable  horror and sadness. Senseless. Evil.

I thought of you yesterday morning, Barbara,  as we had a doe nursing a fawn in the front yard. This morning when I awoke and looked out at my Covid Garden II,the hostas were entirely gone , eaten down to the ground, deer food. Deer are definitely a mixed blessing when you're trying to grow anything, and quite frankly makes me think of fences, not that they would do one iota of good unless 20 feet tall.

I did not know you were moving! Where are you planning to live? That's big news!!!

ON the DIGI channel so far the very best program to me was the Pentille castle. I forgot it was on and only caught the last 40 minutes this morning  but it was splendid. They have a good schedule so I see it's again on Saturday June 11 here and I won't miss it next time.

Drawbacks of this DIGI channel is it is streaming but it's recorded streaming. Even so  you can't tape it and watch it when you want and the AWFUL long commercials you must sit through, can't skip them either.

Still reading the Gate House, some of his X rated stuff is slipping in here or there. Watching recaps of the Depp- Heard trial, that psychologist yesterday for Miss Heard,  appears desperately in need of professional help.  He was......uh....ridiculous.... to put it nicely.

On Charlie on the Garden show, she.....does not appear to be the most vigorous of helpers?  I'll put it that way.  I can't imagine her doing the physical work  should she "win,"  it appears the "boys" do all the work each time,  and she puts the occasional potted tree in a hole. I think banana trees (and more olive trees! They must have an Olive Tree Franchise in the wings) are really a bad idea for that locale yesterday. I guess if you insist on planting a plant which has little to no hope of survival where you live you agree to watch it die or pay a great deal of money to replace it or care for it, I mean who can cover a banana TREE? It does not seem that that series has a "revisited" program to go with it. No small wonder.


It's good TV, though, despite all the issues. Reminds you of the old days when you had to turn out and watch it or miss it entirely.

[BarbStAubrey]

Thanks Jane - seems to me I read a novel years back that labeled that area of Chicago as a Gold Coast - there may be more than one is what I am thinking...

See that is another difference Ginny - we do not get Pentille Castle - and yes, the commercials are a pain - I've learned to tune them out - they repeat and repeat and repeat however, they are not selling anything I have an interest in and I am now beginning to see the exact same commercials on some of the other secondary stations like, NBC has a secondary station called COZI with re-runs of comedy sitcoms and another, ION that comes down from Waco that all day airs episode after episode of programs like Blue Blood or Chicago P.D. - and now their commercials are the same as those on DIGI - every bit of tech is commercialized -

There is a book Getting Paid for Everything You Do by Nancy Benson that seems to have nailed it - I hear even my daughter thinking she can't do this or that if it won't sell - every aspect of life is now photoed for social media to I guess impress followers and with enough followers there is advertisement - to escape into TV even PBS is no longer free of all this insane marketing - there is another book that fits, The World for Sale - I've just gotten adapt at tuning it all out...

There was an episode of Garden Rescue that explained how they can plant trees like Olive - seems if the tree does better in dryer soil or less acid soil when they dig the hole for the tree the fill back is mostly rocks or broken pottery and a layer of rocky soil under the plant so that the moisture drains away from the roots.  Her garden plans usually include some sort of water feature that her skill and knowledge of materials used to pull off a pond are evidently exceptional and she is big on using Pergolas to create height in the garden where as the boys use mature trees that are expensive and their designs have a hard edge straight line over all effect where as her designs tend toward rounded curves.

Yes, Austin is no longer the Austin I knew - the growth has brought changes that may fit the young however, it is not just the retired, long time residents are moving away in droves - Although my daughter would have loved it if I moved to Saluda, just the thought of all those trees blocking the view of the sky and no where to escape them is more than I can handle especially knowing these are my last years - Plus I prefer Texas and so my plan is to move to Magnolia near my Son, Paul and Daughter-in-law, Sally - yes there are more trees - they are on the edge of East Texas Piney woods even though north of Houston where as Houston is coastal - Magnolia includes and incorporates Egypt where they live which is next to the Woodlands with all the shops I would ever want along with doctors, dentists, etc etc and then nearby going west is Tomball, with the various German festivals through out the year and then north it is a hop skip to Conroe, where my new eye doctor is located - 

Been sorting out for over a year - This June I am in this house for 55 years so there was a lot to sort out and decide what to toss and what to keep - Plus I'm physically not as able to 'do' as I think I still can  - Still have bunches more to do and Kevin, the Broker, know him from my days as a Broker - Kevin will be here to talk about how to go about all this on June 8 and Katha comes to help me on June 20 with Gary flying in the last day of June and they drive back July 4 staying one night at Paul's on the way back - I don't want to go on the market till I have everything but what the movers are taking packed in baskets and boxes in my vehicle - and so according to how long that takes hope to have the house on the market in July but if it is August than so be it - If I do too much than I'm napping all day the next day so I have to pace myself. The glories of aging sheesh...

As to Uvalde - so many want to make it a migrant thing without realizing most of those who live in Uvalde are decedents of those who fought for Texas Independence and have lived in the area since before we were a Country much less a State and yes, for many Spanish is their first language - have not kept up today with all the details - Sally's brother has a ranch just south of Uvalde and the area is like a war zone - they have to wear guns all day since the coyotes regularly crash through their fences and use their property rather than the roads - between helicopters overhead at night tracking them and their pickups hitting ditches or trees then left for Derry to have them carted away and never knowing when they are going to be on the patio trying to escape - its madness and so we may never know if this young man was part of them or what set him off to shoot his grandmother when all this blew up - Kimmie is an attorney and does some work for the county so she may learn some of what happened that they would prefer the media not know - Astonishing this was a A1 school for emergency preparedness. I live across from both a grade school and a middle school - it is the grade school youngsters running around under all the oaks in the park like school yard full of joy that is hard to listen to and look at today.   

Complete change of subjects and not about books - but I learned a trick I never knew - Received a lovely bouquet delivered from an old Austin florist for Mother's Day from Paul and Sally - it lasted and lasted and the scent from the flowers was wonderful - yesterday finally decided there were too many dying flowers and I liked the square clear glass vase and so I tossed the dead flowers and low and behold the trick that I can see using when I cut and arrange flowers from the garden or from a roadside - they used scotch tape across the vase in two lines front to back and two side to side creating a grid - tape was only about an inch on the side of the vase and that top inch had a piece of tape like an anchor completely encircling the top of the vase so that all the tape on the side would be hidden by the leaves and flowers - brilliant - instead of expensive needles and other devises just some scotch tape and the flowers will stay in place rather than having to jam in as many as will fit just to get the flowers to stand up in a vase.   

[Tomereader1]

As to "books", I am still attempting to read "HAMNET" by Maggie O'Farrell (isn't that a delightful Irish name)? I say "attempting" as I have started it three different times, and it is so confusing to me.  I know it's basically about Shakespeare's son, Hamnet. The characters are written well, and there are a lot of them, which may be why I am so confused.  I'm over halfway through at this point, and hope to finish in a day or so (limited reading times...in bed, before I fall asleep!)  If anyone has read this, just give me your take on it.  It's been well-reviewed, and my f2f book group has mentioned it as a "possible" choice.  I think I am just back in the "early months of Covid ennui" during which I couldn't focus on any reading material, or even any TV shows.  Of course our book groups shut down, which was just as well, as I couldn't have finished a single book at that time.  I am glad to come in here to SL and find a few folk still posting (and reading).   

[ginny]

Hey, Tome!! Welcome back!!

 I was interested in Hamnet when it came out,  but I was put off somewhat by hearing it was about the loss of a child and Shakespeare's great grief and I did not think I could stand that, particularly now. But you're half way through, IS it about that?

This Covid plaque has clarified some things for me and one of them is I read to escape, or at least I do now.

I think you're brave to take it on and especially your third time. I admire that persistence. Let us know your ongoing or  final conclusions and recommendations?

Barbara, how exciting for you! You will enjoy being near your son!!! It sounds quite adventurous, a new place after all this time.  And after you mentioned that,  I looked up in earnest about the olive tree in Great Britain and see many articles saying Yes you CAN!

And they've just shown a tropical paradise garden in Bristol UK, which has been going for 30 years. Looks like a jungle. He advises starting with small plants, so they can adjust.

And I will have to say in the one yesterday Charlie actually did pick up a shovel and dug a bit.... a couple of light shovels full of loose soil, another plant jammed into a prepared hole, several small (and amittedly pretty) plants put in position for somebody else to dig..... And her design was really cute for the small child's future pleasure.  Such amounts of MONEY being spent, however, in these small back yards!!!!   Today in 20 minutes for 6,000 British pounds which this morning is $7, 550+ dollars they are going to recreate a former garden in Africa....again something quite exotic...don't know the size of this one.

However yesterday Midsomer Murders was showing on DIGI and I thought to see if I could see it on amazon or any other place where I would (1) not have to watch those awful long commercials and/ or (2)  not be able to be interrupted or  get up in the middle of it and found them all on Amazon, same ones. So  after watching Midsomer Murders the Garden of Death  on Amazon Prime last night, I got lost in the Gardens of Losely Park (where the series was shot)  If you look at this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjjravWiU4o&t=84s and you see what does thrive in the UK..... I can't imagine why anybody would want anything else. But hey, de gustibus.  And the African Garden this morning  WAS beautiful.

Anyway am now hooked on Midsomer Murders again and need to discuss this in the Movies or Gardens area....

[BarbStAubrey]

Great news Ginny on Midsummer... love Barnaby compared to the guy who was supposed to be his cousin that took over - I need then to go to Movies because there is I think great acting and the wonderful camera angles and sets and and and - I never get tired of watching these old Midsummer Murder episodes - wow I did it - I've had the worst time remembering how to spell episode - everytime I ended up with a red line under the word - this is the first time but I made a pact with myself the other day and remembered like spelling homework in 3rd grade. Anyhow glad you found them without the infernal commercials.

I think we are seeing newer Garden Rescues - I've been watching DIGI for at least a year and with the shows repeating everyday that were originally a year long I've seen twice through several of the shows but not Garden Rescue - I saw a couple of repeats but not a steady diet of repeats and in all this time Charlie has put on a bit more weight and yes, she huffs and puffs, she has always been on the chunky side - Yesterday's show with the playhouse the wife seemed so subdued I wondered later if she is depressed and part of doing up the garden was his effort to bring some joy into her life - he is straight forward but did show some enthusiasm - they both dote on Andrew. I see the show in the evening here - and yes, for all that money the garden upon completion looked a bit sparse

I  looked it up and yes, it is on during the day but I never turn my TV on till it used to be for the 6: news but I skip the news these days and turn it on at 7: and so I have an African garden to look forward to - sounds interesting - a garden in Africa has me thinking Casablanca - I really know nothing about garden types even in South Africa 

Went berserk yesterday and downloaded 7 books on my Kindle - all were either 1.99 or 2.99 - I grabbed when I saw they had reduced Pure by Andrew Miller (author of Now We Shall be Entirely Free) from 11.99, which is the price the other day, down to 2.99 -

A cookbook that explains the chemical makeup of foods and how they can be combined for optimum taste and also new ways of cooking based on industrial technology - The Kitchen as Laboratory: Reflections on the Science of Food and Cooking 

Could not pass up - The Quest for a Moral Compass: A Global History of Ethics

Then Quantum Wanderlust was a freebee - 9 short stories using Quantum creating a fantasy of could be's based on as I understand the excerpt Amazon provides, the stories mix time so that what we know today is brought into the past or the future. We'll see - sounds like what we end up doing often when we read - we use today's values - well it was free so whatever...

And then for being a good customer there was a list of books I could choose from that I could apply 3.99 to the price - the two other books I would have chosen I already own - I've read Carolyn Brown before and put her in my Chit Chat book folder so I ordered The Sometimes Sisters - there are a few others in my kindle I will read before this one but hate to pass up the 3.99 which is probably a gimmick that I fell for because there is no way I would have purchased a Carolyn Brown book at what they said was the original price of 4.99 

Then another group of books that were Prime reduced that cost 1.99 and I chose The Giver of Stars: A Novel by Jojo Moyes. It's her version of the women who delivered books in Appalachia as part of Eleanore Roosevelt's 1930s program - I've a couple of other books about this same book delivery into the hollers of Appalachia. Years ago now, before living here in Austin we lived for 12 years in Kentucky. I was very active in Girl Scouting and Community work spending a lot of time in those mountains and in Barea and so reading these stories bring back my memories of life in the mountains in the 50s and 60s. I had Paul with me all the time - he was a toddler - he was born in Kentucky.   

Finally - Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn's In the First Circle: The First Uncensored Edition - he died a few years ago - spent time living here in Vermont but most of his work is about his surviving the Gulag - I'm going to have to be in a good place to read his work so it may be awhile but again at ONLY 1.99 for any of his work is time to grab it while I can.

None of the kids are in school here - a pale has fallen across the city - I think most are still in shock and there are no words - I wish the clamor for action would have waited a few days - we still do not even know what set him off but so many think they have the answer - ah so - I do think we are all on edge - just as we have posted how we find it difficult to settle into a read or the kind of TV we normally watched and I think that is a factor - some can handle it better than others and some families have better coping skills - add that on top of personal or family issues - but then that is my opinion isn't it because we are all floundering trying to make sense of the senseless

[BarbStAubrey]

Zambia??? I had to find it on the map - about the only thing I could figure from the garden created was the wall and color of the wall carried through onto the herbal growing box represented Zambia. I had the distinct feeling none of the three garden designers were ever in a garden in Zambia - and then sumac? Sumac - actually Sumac - poisonous Sumac - the oils remain even after the sumac is dead that cause a grand rash that pops up later or even as late as the next day that can last for weeks. Sumac??!!??

This is the first of their shows I had serious reservations - the garden design was interesting and the wall incorporated in the design is a wonderful garden feature but we have no idea if the plants chosen are typical of Zambia but then, I wouldn't know not knowing a thing about Zambia except on its border with Zimbabwe is the famed Victoria Falls that among others Hemingway climbed and wrote a book about his experience.

I think they are trying to be more eclectic with their clients and garden designs rather than the English clients they had been designing for. I remember one other couple that was from Morocco and there was more tile than plants or grass in the design for their garden - wonderful patterned tiles though. Plants were in interesting thick pots

And yes, the tropical garden in, was it Bristol, where ever. was lush and I liked the owner - the plants were typical of the gardens in San Antonio most of which were totaled last year during the historic freeze that we endured without electricity - here in Austin we still see signs of dead trees and bushes. In fact I have a half dead tree in back - Sally's sister lives in San Antonio and her tropical garden was completely destroyed. Most of the tropical type plants grow well in Houston but I just do not like the tropical plants and would prefer gardening with plants that are emblamatic of East Texas Piney Woods. Pines, Redbuds, Magnolia, Red Oaks and even Sugar Maple that would not grow in the lime soil of the Austin area. 

I'm wondering if our comments on this show would be better in the Garden discussion - the Garden discussion appears to have been about everyone's experience gardening where as this show is our viewing and commenting on professionally designed gardens and the personalities in the show. I know you suggested the movie discussion but I just wonder if the garden discussion would be a good place - whatever you decide but after this I will try to keep my thoughts about this show out of the library...   

[ginny]

There are two kinds of Sumac, I think, and surely they wouldn't plant poison sumac but I agree, it's so pretty in the fall but one has to stay a long way away. I'll put up something on it in the gardening area, come see in a minute.

I agree that since we do HAVE a place to discuss Gardening, by the  Book or otherwise, this might be better there.

However, one  thing we DON'T have here on SeniorLearn is a place to just chat about anything, our day, what we're doing, etc.  That's in comparison to a lot of sites for seniors, and possibly this discussion was intended to include all that, since people have noted things like,  well I can't talk about mysteries here, we have a Mysteries discussion, etc.

So let me just say in passing that this DIGI thing you have found is marvelous, if people like British shows of that type: https://www.watchdigitv.com/watch-live

It's free, well organized and you can watch on your ipad or phone or whatever.

It's a hit!

_______________________________________________



Speaking of books, the new Booker Prize winner looks absolutely amazing. An 80 year old woman struggles after her husband dies, to find meaning in life again. It's called The Tomb of Sand, by Geetanjali Shree translated by Daisy Rockwell (Author)
The reviews are varied, and it's very hard to get here in the US at the moment. I'd read the reviews carefully, perhaps not for everyone's taste, but then  again, what is?

 Quite frankly it looks like exactly what I want this summer, but seems impossible to get, at least on Amazon.

LONDON — “Tomb of Sand,” a novel about an 80-year-old Indian woman’s sudden decision to travel to Pakistan, was named on Thursday as the winner of the International Booker Prize, the prestigious award for fiction translated into English.

Geetanjali Shree, the book’s author, and Daisy Rockwell, who translated the 739-page novel from its original Hindi, will split the prize of 50,000 British pounds, about $63,000, which they received at a ceremony in London.

The novel claimed the title despite not having been reviewed by a major British newspaper. It is the first in an Indian language to win the International Booker Prize, and the first in Hindi to even secure a nomination.

[BarbStAubrey]

Goodreads has a wonderful write-up on Tomb of Sands - and yes, the cost of the book is beyond belief - over $45. for a paperback - however it must be quite a tome since Penguin says it is 696 pages long  - Ebay has a copy for just over $18.

Never heard of a recently published book in that price range unless it is a special book of scholarship about a particular subject - but a recent novel - wow... even the advertised prices in the UK is 55 pounds plus over $18. shipping  - the rational for these prices is beyond me - I can see no logic to help me out here...

Yes, Ginny on two counts - will use the Garden discussion - and yes, maybe it is the library where we talk about anything and everything - since physical space libraries have rows of computers where anything can be looked into and downloaded, and the nooks and small rooms in libraries are hosting all sorts of meetings from local concerns like loose dogs to roads handling both bikes and vehicles as well as, quilting groups, poetry writers, local history groups, and and and the public libraries no longer seem to be limited to just books, hard or soft copies or ebooks. With so few of us left maybe broadening out our concept of the library is in keeping with our need to just visit - 

Well school ended for summer break yesterday however, very few came back after closing on Wednesday - the parade of seniors that started with a special way to celebrate during the pandemic and appears now to continue took place last Saturday and so for all practical purposes this was simply putting in the days required for funding. I'll miss hearing the kids running around under the trees or seeing the middle school youngsters regularly either walking or running up and down the steep hill that is the back of their schoolyard and adjacent to the grade school schoolyard or band practice that takes place on the large track and football field (no bleachers and no lights). Hope to be out of here before summer ends and so I will no longer have the sights and sounds of children wrapped up in school activities out my front door. That and the deer camped out in my yard is what I will miss... However, I'm betting there will be other wonders for me to enjoy in my new location.

[PatH]

Hi, Tomereader.  Good luck with Hamnet.  I've sometimes gotten stuck in a book 2 or 3 times, then had it suddenly catch on, and read it straight through.  I don't think I'm in good shape to deal with stories full of grief and loss these days though.  Too much of that in the news.

[Tomereader1]

Having finished "Hamnet" I have to say after all my stopping/starting, I did like the book.  The part where Hamnet succumbs to the plague was so terribly "fitting" as it pictures his mother by his bedside, losing her entire sense of self, and the ensuing days where she neither eats, drinks or interacts with the other household members.  Her interior monologue, after his passing, touched me so deeply in light of the horror we have witnessed in the last few days in real life.  She was saying things that I could hear the 19 sets of parents saying or thinking about the loss of a young child.  Sad, yes, but a point in the novel that had real relevance and a timelessness about a mother's all-encompassing Love.

I'm sure it's not a book anyone would rush to read at this time, but I'm glad I made the effort to finish it.  Not a great many books can leave you feeling you have been touched deeply by a character or monologue.

(You will note that I am detailing only the Mother's role, but the Father (Shakespeare) and his other children are monumentally affected by this loss and deftly covered in the final few chapters.  I meant no disrespect, but needed only to speak from the mother's POV).

[PatH]

Thanks for the review, Tomereader.  You're right, I can't read it now, but maybe sometime when I'm stronger.  Sounds like it's really worth it.

[BarbStAubrey]

Thanks for the review Tomereader - very helpful - had it on my list of books to purchase and it had been there for quite a while but like Pat not just now -

I keep thinking about the mother of Salvador Ramos - I'm thinking she must be having a difficult time accepting her son's actions to be as horrific as they were - she probably remembers him as a young boy - she had said there were difficulties for Salvador which to me suggests she has not been able to accept the gravity of what her son did but, in her shoes, with Cancer and evidently a drug addiction, that does not come out of no where and a husband that is living with his girl friend for several years and he and the girl friend either had or is having a child together - that is a lot on her plate and now she will be publicly vilified and blamed for her son's behavior -

My heart is heavy for her - she has probably made some wrong choices but I doubt this is what she thought when her son was young, how her boy would come to his end and do such a horrific act much less shoot his grandmother which is her mother - the pain and confusion she must be handling. Double whammy for her and what could have helped her son is that the South Texas Mexican culture does not consider Therapy as a 'go-to' solution -

[ginny]

OH my word, you're right, Barbara, look at that! The price change on the book Tomb of Sand!!!! It  WAS $19.00 for the paperback, but it was "out of stock and we don't know when it will be in stock,"   now LOOK at it! That's the first time I've seen Amazon do something like that. Even the one in the UK shot up, so I did not buy it, either, and this the very day after the announcement.

I'll have to wait on that one.

Tomereader, thank you for that lovely review of Hamnet! Your review makes me want to read it, now.

I have been somewhat more entertained by the Depp-Heard trial than any other media, it's certainly been interesting. It's going to be interesting to see the verdicts, the attorneys for Miss Heard have ...well.....had some unfortunate missteps, I guess you could say.  I mean some of their witnesses have been...clowns, truly,  and they themselves have not been too far off sometimes as well.  I don't know any other way to put it, when you have an attorney objecting to his own question?

That trial, should her allegations have been true,   should have been, and technically may still be,   a foregone conclusion, but I don't  think it is.  I think he's gotten what he wanted out of it,  no matter how it goes.

 Where is Dominick  Dunne when you need him? I'd have liked to have  his book to read on this one. The  psychiatrists who analyze it and the people who discern when a witness is  lying for the  police  have been riveting in their assessments of the trial. I had no idea that there's an entire way of speaking posture wise in many elements  when you are lying that differs from when you are not.

[BarbStAubrey]

Saw one episode of the Depp-Heard trail - some strange channel where a guy is the moderator and they show some of the courtroom exchange and then there is a split screen with 4 people who appear all to have been attorney's give their opinion on what took place  - Granted they are both actors but my take was that she was after money and publicity for her cause - winning a high profile case would do it - just the way she holds her head and uses her hair as a prop - Depp has aged and was very self contained but when I read the background on what he was subjected to back a few years ago by Heard the trail made sense to me - I remember hearing or reading about him as a wife beater and to learn it was not true was an OH moment and then, I saw I think yesterday a few photos of a younger Heard when she dated other big name Hollywood personalities that added to my concept, this gal is wanting public attention.    Yep, my opinion...

I wonder if the price of Tomb of Sand is adjusted by the publisher rather than Amazon or a book store - Although Tilted Axis Press says it is non-profit, translating such a large tome would have cost them tons and then maybe they see a chance to make some profit that will fund many more translations - The price gouge can't be politically motivated trying to slow the read about some issue in the book since the price shot up in Britain as well.

Evidently Tilted Axis Press brought us Han King's, The Vegetarian - I ended up giving it away when I was purging my books to make this move - I could not make heads or tails out of it and did not read more than about a fourth of that book. I purchased it because Haruki Murakami (Kafka on the Shore & The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle) said, Han King influenced his writing. 

[ginny]

Yes, they have a lot of people analyzing the testimony at the Depp- Heard trial, other lawyers, behavior specialists, people who were in the courtroom and are lawyers, they all seem to see something different. The points they make are interesting, though, especially about the waving hands of the attorneys when speaking (in short: don't wave your hands about when making a speech, it makes the viewer have divided attention and makes YOU look fragmented and unorganized, too much to focus on, so the viewer loses the key points). .  Apparently the closing arguments came under fire, which is interesting. Apparently time was also  an issue in the closing arguments, the judge, who was in the Marines, kept careful time, so the Heard team had to rush through, (the woman lawyer did) her closing arguments.


I guess we will see.

The price is declining daily of Tomb of  Sand:  By Geetanjali Shree Tomb of Sand

Paperback
$28.00
$45.00
Get it Tue, Jun 14 - Thu, Jun 16
FREE Shipping


Still too high, it was $19.00 originally.

[BarbStAubrey]

You're right - still too high -

I noticed that when Katha and I visited my sister in Newburgh N.Y. 3 years ago this summer there were lots of people talk with their hands and even arms moving during the entire conversation - forgot people do that - I'm also wondering why certain areas of the country do and other areas don't

Need to change my sleep pattern - don't get enough done after dark so I need to get to bed earlier and get up earlier to use the cooler mornings - triple digits start next Monday

Did you know, I didn't that for the body to assimilate Calcium you need to accompany it with Vitamin D and coffee kills Calcium - the best way to take Calcium is with yogurt and the Vitamin D. I remember years ago in a health food store the owner/manager was popping Vitamin D capsules, he said he took about 10 a day because they are good for everything - now I believe him - at the time I thought he was exaggerating to get more sales.

My sister just sent me a book she finished reading and thought I should also read - The Hero's Way Walking With Garibaldi from Rome To Ravenna - Sounds fascinating - evidently a hiker follows the trail of Garibaldi - I'm reading bits and pieces from too many books but this one sounds like it is made for just that approach - I can dip in and the go onto something else. I forgot how in the scheme of things just how recent it is that Italy was united as one. We were fighting our Civil War that would separate the Union while Garibaldi was uniting Italy for the first time in history   

[jane]

Barbara...Check out Vitamin D3.  It's what my doc has me on...OTC...

jane

[BarbStAubrey]

Yes Jane that is what I have - all during the pandemic I was taking Vitamin D with Zinc an then I heard that quinine was important so I was taking my vitamin combos with Tonic water a couple of days a week.

My thinking is that so much of the good is processed out of food and the additional additives may be good for shelf life but I'm not so sure good for our health so that now we have to include a regime of pills and capsules to get our needed vitamins and minerals.

Fresh Vegetables out the backdoor is my idea of what was good - Haven't had a vegetable garden in years and where kneeling on the the earth - I'd never get up - I'm thinking those large cloth like bags - a row of them - if they are good enough for women in Africa to grow food in outside their 'hut' front door then why not - Raised beds is all the thing now - I bet because the Boomers who are still a formidable number are aging and so they too in order to garden need something that requires less bending and kneeling - However, with the price of lumber that would not be cost effective and I'm tired of seeing lined up cattle troughs - they were fun to see when it was a new idea over 20 years ago but all that metal is too industrial looking for me

I've been at this clearing my house for so long now that it is no longer an adventure but a chore and so I end up daydreaming of how I'm going to do things in my new surroundings - Never thought I would still be here but I had no clue how age slowed me down so everything takes longer.

I need to get back to reading Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale It started out fun and she piled all the valuables on the front lawn selling off all the antiques in the family home as she was getting ready to move on with only a daughter who skipped out years ago as the next inline who would have inherited - Town's people are horrified at what Faith is doing selling off valuables for practically nothing and contact the daughter who comes back - now we are getting the back story as to both Faith's childhood and her daughter's childhood - I stopped there and need to go back - hope this is not just a painful family dynamic but goes more into Faith's actually moving - maybe I should peak, I seldom if every have done that, and read one of the last chapters to see what is featured as a conclusion.

Her garage sale idea reminded me of what I've been doing - too much work to have a garage sale and even by the time I brought books to Half Price to sell and then waited for sometimes nearly an hour so they could price and give me an offer, plus driving over there I decided none of it was worth it - fine a few years ago when I had all the energy but now, or the last few years, mostly during the pandemic it was not worth the effort for the little return so it all goes over the Good Will, books and all...

Tried to give a sofa, some bookcases and granted an old piano needing work to Salvation Army but they were so rude and decided my Henredon sofa was too dated, and the bookcases had particle board on the back and and and so, they took nothing and the biggest, the one guy was especially rude to the point of nasty and the other guy after a bit had panic in his eyes was trying to make up softening they way he said things but that was the end of the Salvation Army for me...

Anyhow no front lawn garage sale - just giving away what it took me awhile to realize - what I value is now considered 'old lady' stuff and so I could relate to Faith - even fine antiques with all their craftsmanship and history are no longer valued - the young today paint them and cut them up - sad in my eyes - but then goes with so much of changing or obliterating the past happening in every aspect of our life.   

[ginny]

I'm a big believer in vitamins, too! Sometimes I worry I take too many, and have for years, actually.

I'm surprised to hear that about the Salvation Army, I thought they would pick up the stuff at your home if requested.

Just when  you thought it was safe to come out, and the Depp/ Heard trial was  over,   that one may be over,  but apparently there are to be more?

Apparently appearing on the talk shows this morning (seen on youtube  in surprise when one was trying to see the Queen's Platinum Jubilee)  Miss Heard's  female attorney,  Elaine Bredehoft,  is  vigorously protesting the verdict, and that Miss Heard  will appeal, despite the fact that every morning show I've seen her on, (again in clips of interviews)  Savannah  Guthrie and Gayle King, both tried to tell Elaine B kindly,  that nobody believed  one thing Miss Heard  (that repeated in both interviews) said. But Elaine  says it's a great defeat for women, and nobody believed her because her client was demonized and she was not allowed to present the mountains of evidence that the UK trial heard, and there were cameras in that courtroom, and tremendous social media against her, and the jurors went home at night, and etc., etc.

 Then one of the moderators,  on the show Gayle King hosts, a former  NFL player,  talked about losing a game and looking to himself and asking himself if there were anything  HE could have done differently, and did she feel there was anything their team might have done differently, which certainly  was an excellent question, considering what I saw of the trial,  and her response was very interesting, if you get a chance, watch it, essentially that  nobody was perfect, Miss Heard stated that,  lots of excuses, media bias, etc., etc.,  and allowed that  she might have done her closing argument differently, but it was like a Roman Colosseum out there.... etc..... 

But she never did  deal with the elephant in the living room  which was, to me,  (1) her  client was NOT a good or believable witness and nobody (including me) believed a word she said, because even when caught  lying outright on the stand,  she  kept on insisting she was right and (2) the legal team for Mr. Depp was superior in every way to that for Miss Heard. Those two things, to me,  are what lost the case.


 But  apparently Miss Heard's attorney  is ready to carry the standard forward for the sake of all women.

I don't know what more possible evidence the (female)  judge could have allowed the defense to present in that case. What they did present was a circus without proof, or reputable witnesses, and "experts,"  and quite frankly when one of your own attorneys objects to his own question, it's time to look at your own team and see if something might be tweaked. When you combine that with the devastating tapes of Miss Heard's  own physical attacks..(her infamous "I did not punch you, I hit you..."..I don't see how they could have found otherwise.


I thought it was over. Apparently not.

[ginny]

 Speaking of books, I am almost through the 780 page The Gate House and, and despite its size, it's been enjoyable (except for the continuing apparently required sex scenes which really are just thrown in,  as if he's saying OK I got that one out of the way, now on with the plot).

He's a very good writer, however,  and you want to see what happened. Possibly a little on the macho side.

The main female character is not very well developed or likeable, however.   Seems flat  for some reason.

[Frybabe]

I was just about to download a book called Wonderworks: Literary Invention and the Science of Stories by Angus Fletcher but changed my mind after reading the very few reviews that I found of his book(s). They were rather scathing. The GoodReads bunch, on the other hand, gave it four stars.
Fletcher is a professor of English and screenwriting at Ohio State University. He has a BS in Neuroscience and a PhD in Literature. Has anyone read his books?

[BarbStAubrey]

Looked up Wonderworks: Literary Invention and the Science of Stories and it reminded me of another I skipped after it was on my list for a few weeks - forgot now the title but it was how one small seemingly insignificant thing made the difference in major wars and other nation-making and nation-changing events - the excerpt of the book on Amazon went into how the pilots of Enola Gay were given 4 possible targets and the advance plane checking weather told them to ditch the first target and so weather determined where they dropped the bomb - there was going to be something about D-Day and Napoleon and even George Washington but decided I had too many other books to read.

Wonderworks sounds as interesting in that I had never thought of a new way of telling a story as a breakthrough - I think I will add it to my list for the future - and maybe see if I can find the one I discarded about historical events

Yes, Yes, and yes Ginny - Did not know she won in the UK and that may explain her haughty attitude that I saw as the way she held her head - She probably thought it would be a piece of cake since she won in UK - the story of more evidence I think is an exaggeration - if they had more then they would have presented it and what they chose from the bit I saw was not very compelling. Her statement after it was over was mind boggling - everyone is male domineering or a fan - sheesh that means she even saw the jury as male domineering - I'd love to know more about the trial in the UK - who was Johnny Depp's attorneys during that trial I wonder - and is British law that different from US Law that somehow she made her case in the UK?

Having volunteered at a shelter for battered women seldom do the women even want to take the battering husband to court - not because of loosing or winning and yes, many because of the cost but mostly, they want safety which often means hiding in a new area of the country with a changed name as well as, wanting to just get on with their life not as a victim or a spectacle - wearing a badge of victim is not conducive to being thought of as a future strong and spectacular employee in a new job. And a final, it takes years of therapy to stop feeling responsible for what happened and most need to get on with their life which means a new job and a new place to live.   

Onward - had not heard of this legal contest till y'all mentioned it here in the Library - I sure quickly had my opinion and now I am on top of the latest gossip that unfortunately became national news - Looks like I'm stuck in the past when news was not on the level of those Hollywood Gossip magazines and news papers that were available at the checkout counter of most grocery stores. I wonder do y'all think most news now is told in a way so people will share their opinion on some media site?   

[BarbStAubrey]

Good Lord she is appealing!!??!!

[ginny]

 Apparently.

 The UK trial was not before a jury, and it wasn't between the two of them, Depp sued a tabloid for defamation because it called him a "wife beater."  There are many articles on this which point  out the major differences, including  the  difference in the expertise of the two attorney teams in the US,  which anybody could see:  Heard's was inexperienced in that type of litigation, and made many mistakes, and in the UK trial the 70 something judge threw out or did not allow much of the Depp testimony because of their rules of trial there.  And her credibility was the major issue in the US the jury simply unanimously  did not believe her.

NOW of course she is fast becoming exactly what she said she was, the voice of the abused on social media, when the proof and witnesses seemed to show the reverse.


You can sequester the jury, you can remove all media, you can try to shift the blame from him to her,  but she still is a remarkably poor and unbelievable witness, although I guess she could be coached better, but her legal team apparently is to remain the same as well.  So  it will be the same song second verse unless somebody does something about those two situations, because if the jurors don't believe you or your evidence, and your legal team is  inexperienced in that type of trial, you have two major strikes against you which probably can't be overcome.   https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/jun/02/johnny-depp-amber-heard-libel-outcomes-differ-us-uk



 Surely there is somewhere a statute of limitations on this type of thing or can it drag on at the taxpayer's expense for ages?

[ginny]

(Is there anybody but me receiving at least 20 phone calls per day?) We still (old fashioned as we are) have  a landline and it rings from morning to night with out of state calls. Some of them masquerade as being local but AT&T says it's out of the area.

Strange names and abbreviations appearing on the who is calling little window. So much for the Do Not Call List.

[BarbStAubrey]

Yep, it is why I seldom answer the phone - the phones that have the window telling me who is calling or at least giving me the phone number I can feel safe in being selective - the phone near the kitchen is old and no way except to answer or let it ring hoping if it is someone who really knows me will call back. I've been getting a rash of calls here of late saying they are from the Publisher's Clearing House which you know they do not call you - one of the guys on Facebook that moved out by San Saba seems to know the ins and outs of some of these callers including making in fun of the Publisher's Clearing House calls so that he has become my scout for some of this nonsense.

Thanks for filling me in on the background of this Depp-Heard circus - my take on her keeping this alive is she and her friends see money because I bet the female attorney is a 'friend' - I remember Mary Lou, my very best friend's daughter who practiced Law with a well known firm in Houston that also had offices here in Austin so that when Mary Lou came monthly and later every two weeks to visit she had a local office to use - anyhow the biggest effort Mary Lou had was constantly looking for and building a client base that would be giving her referrals - the higher dollar cases she worked came from the higher dollar contacts she had on her Rolodex so to speak - the more higher dollar cases she brought the more she moved up in the law firm to finally become a partner - with her Austin contacts she did a lot of work for Tech companies and even worked cases in Europe and Britain representing American Tech individuals. Come to think on it her moving up was not dependent on if she won or loss the case - only that the firm represented new high dollar clients.

Having seen her in action for so many years I am betting this is the window that Heard's attorney is hoping to use - by winning a case I bet they have their hands on millions of dollars from hundreds of other women clients they expect to represent and so this is not just about Heard but it is about future millions -

As it is I don't see anyone in Hollywood wanting her for a movie and so until she can make her cause a winner she too is looking at a bleak financial future from Acting. And so they both are trying to buck how they see all women's plight when I think they have myopic vision having listened to the real horror stories of women who have experienced domestic violence.

I'll give them one in that with the 'MeToo' movement they are trying to right the wrongs of thousands of years of violence towards women - to this day part of war includes the raping of women and in the home to this day we have men believing they can unload their frustration on the 'weaker' sex - we shall see where this goes... However, they are as bad using, (I do think they are using) Depp as their door to right this wrong on top of not being on a single mission - their other mission I think is big bucks and not from Depp - Organizations are huge funnels of money and to repeat, I bet her lawyers see a cash cow if they can win a high profile case. 

Strangest sky I've ever seen - overhead the sky is as dark and the wind is going like as if their is a tornado in the area while just down the hill - steep hill I live on top of a Mesa - the sky is almost white - not sunny but white with a line across the sky where the dark grey blue meets the white pale gray. Supposed to get a rain storm from West Texas so we shall see - looks like two fronts battling each other over the street where I live... 

[BarbStAubrey]

Thought I had gone through all the saved magazines and found another drawer full of old magazines - some complete and many only the pages I wanted to keep between the cover - Why I saved this article I have no memory but in the McCall's 1957 December issue there is an article President Eisenhower's Special Diet - The author is the White House Chief, François Rysavy  -

The article explains after Eisenhower's Heart Attack September of 1955 his diet was adjusted -

"Habitually a hearty eater he was not particularly fond of sweets and so no restrictive diet and the first dinner after convalescence was a family affair with Ike and Mamie playing host to their son John, his wife and 3 children as well as to Mamie's mother, Mrs. Doud.

Oysters on the half shell
Curled celery, ripe olives
and Melba toast
Prime ribs of beef
Brown gravy
Stuffed baked potato
Turnip greens
Green Tomato pickles
Rolls
Savarin with fresh fruit

The dessert of savarin, a cake ring filled with sliced fresh fruit, was a dish François introduced that rapidly became a White House favorite. Then by contrast, two months later when the president was put on a diet the first restricted dinner menu as as follows:

1 up turkey soup, 145 calories
3 slices Rye-Krisp, 60 calories
6 trimmed short ribs, 193 calories
1 medium baked potato, 100 calories
1 cup string beans, 30 calories
1 sliced pear, 63 calories
Total amount of calories 595

The rest of the family had caramel custard and fruitcake for dessert."

The article goes on to explain how the White House physician Major General Howard Snyder inspected and proposed menus and how Mamie invented subtle means of serving the special dishes without embarrassing either patient or guest...goes on to explain how meals were sent to their quarters and a day to day diet was included that I did not save.

Forgot he had a heart attack while in office - remember he played a lot of golf and their two daughters lived in the White House - one if I remember married while they were in the White House. But for Mamie to not embarrass Ike or guests is such a 1950s way and to have a Major General first as your physician and then for him to overlook and propose what the president ate... Wow!

[Frybabe]

Morning everyone!

My sister gets many more spam phone calls than I. She is on Verizon's network, I am not. When I switched to FIOs and Verizon for a few years, my spam phone call went sky high. When I went back to Comcast, I also included my phone in the bundle. Guess what! The spam count went way down again. Interesting, isn't it? Has anyone else switched and noticed a change in spam calls?

I am about to start another Charlie Lovett book, this one is The Lost Book of the Grail. Meanwhile, I am still listening to Ernest Cline's The Fold. It is one of those books that took a while to get interesting. The book is about a group experimenting with teleportation. It does not get very technical, focusing instead on the people involved.

[jane]

I have Verizon on my cell phone and get almost zero spam calls there.  My landline...with Windstream...is 99.9 % robo/spam calls. 

[ginny]

It's ridiculous. I'm not sure why we even keep a landline. All morning long. It seems if you answer one, a million more call, even if you say do not call.

Has everybody been watching the Jubilee? Absolutely loved the last party with the Queen tapping her teacup with Paddington
Bear along with her drummers to the band  Queen's drumming,   Brilliant. Loved it all. Something good in the news for a change.

Finally finished The Gate House which kept the sex motif to the end but which was very excitingly written anyway. Have enjoyed the vacay (while sprained knee heals) sitting and reading in peace and quiet.  My poor Covid gardens, however, are suffering, although they have performed beautifully so far (from what I can see).


Am reading a book on Narcissism versus the Psychopath and the Sociopath. It's amazing how many labels there are for aberrant behavior.

What's everybody reading?

[BarbStAubrey]

Loved the news clip showing the Queen on the Balcony to end the 4 day Jubilee and yes, the sketch with Paddington bear was fun, cute...

We've got triple digits with a vengeance - it is too early - appears we are in for a furnace of a summer. Even the deer know - nary a deer in sight after yesterday - they have probably all skedaddled down by the creeks while they are still flowing.

Not too much reading getting more and more cleared and cleaned in the house - I get worn out and there are just so many naps a person can take and so to rest I turn to a few books - been going back and forth between Faith Bass Darling's Last Garage Sale and The Wild Silence and one I forgot I had downloaded but perfect The Power of Fun How to Feel Alive Again.