C. (Comment, never msg).’s Comments (group member since Jan 30, 2014)

C. (Comment, never msg).’s comments from the Gentle SPECTRUMS group.

Hello and happy New Year 2023 to Gentle Spectrums members! Some of you are old and new friends, others quietly enjoy this well balanced space. Whether buzzing or in a lull, "new message" text for our conversations and replies is always seen.

For "parked members" wanting an idea of what to find here, have fun exploring the following options. Search key topics, add a folder under the "Meet The Members" heading for discussing whatever you want, and browse conversations. Nothing is too old for one of us to chat about it with you and that includes buddy reading transcripts.

You don't need me for buddy reading that the rest of you might like to take up. If our literary tastes don't match, please find many conversations about music, television, films, news, plants, and animals. Sincerely, your hostess, Carolyn.

Happy New Year 2023, Kerri!!!! It makes me smile and be happy that my sweet New Zealand friends knows so much Manitoba work. :) I have more variety to send with pleasure.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MY DEAR FRIENDS, MEMBERS, AND READING PALS AROUND THE WORLD!!!!!!!

May you be safe, happy, healthy, fulfilled, and experience the splendid, heartening exuberance of wonderment and fun!

To new or quiet members, make yourselves a folder and introduce any conversation you like. Comment on any of our subjects interesting you, no matter their dates. Someone keen on animals, plants, television, films, books, world news, and music will answer.

With love and gratitude for your places in my life and for the ways we are protected and fulfilled in our homes, yours truly, Carolyn.

Hi Kerri! It is fun, even if a slow checking search, to introduce and organize authors by province. I knew you would be among those who loved this resource. For now, I'll do a little of each to get people informed and started.

I suppose I should include everyone, even if low quality is a fact, not an impression. There might be value in letting people have a go with the likes of David Arnason, or "Surfacing" by Margaret Atwood ~ *shudder*!

Mary Harelkin Bishop
“Tunnels Of Time” 2000

Gail Bowen
“Deadly Appearances” 1990
“Murder At The Mendel” 1991
“The Wandering Soul Murderers” 1992
“A Colder Kind Of Death” 1995
“A Killing Spring” 1996
“Verdict In Blood” 1998
“Burying Ariel” 2000
“The Glass Coffin” 2002
“The Last Good Day” 2004
“The Endless Knot” 2006

Paul Elder
“Eyes Of An ANGEL: Soul Travel, SPIRIT Guides, Soul Mates, & The Reality Of LOVE” 2005

Alistair MacLeod
“The Lost Salt Gift Of Blood” 1976
“As Birds Bring Forth The Sun And Other Stories” 1986
“No Great Mischief” 1999
“Island” 2000
“To Everything There Is A Season” 2004
“Remembrance” 2013

Sinclair Ross
“As For Me And My House” 1941
“The Lamp At Noon And Other Stories” 1968

Judith Silverthorne
“The Haunting Of Government House” 2011

Roxanne Willems Snopek
“Great Cat Stories: Inspirational Tales About Exceptional Cats” 2004.

Michael Bedard
“The Egyptian Mirror” 2020

CC. Benison
“Death At Buckingham Palace” 1996
“Death At Sandringham House” 1996
“Death At Windsor Castle” 1998
“In Cold Type” 2005
“Twelve Drummers Drumming” 2011
“Eleven Pipers Piping” 2012
“Ten Lords A-Leaping” 2013

Sandra Birdsell
“Night Travellers” 1982
“Ladies Of The House” 1984
“The Town That Floated Away” 1997
“Children Of The Day” 2005

Sheila J. Bleeks
“The Gift Of The Frost Fairy” 1976

Paulette Bourgeois
“Franklin In The Dark” 1986
“Franklin Is Lost” 1992
“Franklin’s Hallowe’en” 1996
“Franklin’s Neighbourhood” 1999

Martha Brooks
“A Hill For Looking” 1982
“Two Moons In August” 1991
“Bone Dance” 1997
“The Tiniest Guitar In The World” 2001
“True Confessions Of A Heartless Girl” 2002
“Mistik Lake” 2007
“Queen Of Hearts” 2010

Margaret Buffie
“Who Is Frances Rain?” 1987
“The Guardian Circle” 1989
“My Mother’s Ghost” 1992
“Angels Turn Their Backs” 1998
“The Seeker” 2002

Cancer Care Manitoba
“Bears On Broadway: A Love Affair In Concrete” 2005

Dr. Stefan A. Carter
“Mozart: A Meditation On His Life And Mysterious Death” 2005
“From Warsaw To Winnipeg: A Tale Of Two Cities” 2011

Emilee Carter
“Firefly Time: The Art And Poetry Of Emilee N. Horn (Carter)” 2015

Andrew Davidson
“The Gargoyle” 2008

Vicki Delany
“In The Shadow Of The Glacier” 2007
“Gold Digger” 2009
“Gold Fever” 2010
“Gold Mountain” 2012
“Gold Web” 2013

Wilma Derksen
“Have You Seen Candace?” 1981

Richard W. Doornink
“1967: A Coming Of Age Story” 2019

Lois Forsberg
“Prairie Ghosts, True Manitoba Ghost Stories” 1988

Ed Golin & Jerry Maryniuk
“Marshy Winter” 1993

Oliver & Maudie Gray
“Letters To Jennifer” 2002

Frederick Philip Grove
“Settlers Of The Marsh” 1925

Dr. Paul Hiebert
“Sarah Binks” 1947
“For The Birds” 1980

Catherine Hunter
“The Dead Of Midnight” 2001

Guy Gavriel Kay
“The Summer Tree” 1984
“The Wandering Fire” 1986
“The Darkest Road” 1986
“Tigana” 1990
“A Song For Arbonne” 1992
“Sailing To Sarantium” 1998

Lake Winnipeg Writers’ Group
“Voices: Volume Ten, Number One” 2010

Margaret Laurence
“This Side Jordan” 1960
“The Tomorrow-Tamer” 1963
“The Prophet’s Camel Bell” 1963
“The Stone Angel” 1964
“A Jest Of God” 1966
“The Fire-Dwellers” 1969
“Jason’s Quest” 1970
“A Bird In The House” 1970
“The Diviners” 1974
“The Manawaka World Of Margaret Laurence” Clara Thomas 1975
“Six Darn Cows” Ann Blades (illustrator) 1979
“The Olden Days Coat” Muriel Wood (illustrator) 1979
“Heart Of A Stranger” 1984
“Dance On The Earth: A Memoir” 1989

J.R. Léveillé
“The Setting Lake Sun” 2001

Kendall James MacDonald
“Patrick The Diesel” 1974

Margaret Shaw-MacKinnon
“Tiktala” László Gál (illustrator) 1996

Susie Moloney
“A Dry Spell” 1997
“Bastion Falls” 1998
“362 Belisle Street” 2002
“The Dwelling” 2003
“The Thirteen” 2011
“Things Withered” 2013

Dr. Helen Norrie
“He Saw Himself In All His Creatures: A Mother’s Remembrance” 2006

Joan Parr (editor)
“Manitoba Stories” 1981

P.J. Peters
“This Land Of Ours And Other Stories” 1972
“Driftwood And Other Poems” 1978
“Reflections In Poetry And In Pictures” 1984

Jordan Power
“Extra-Ordinary: Stories Of Manitobans With Down Syndrome” 2015

Gabrielle Roy
“The Tin Flute” (“Bonheur D’Occasion”) 1945
“Where Nests The Water Hen” (“La Petite Poule D’eau”) 1950
“The Cashier” 1954
“Street Of Riches” 1955
“The Hidden Mountain” 1961
“The Road Past Altamont” 1966
“Wildflower” 1970
“Garden In The Wind” 1975
“Children Of My Heart” 1977

Alfred Silver
“The Haunting Of Maddie Prue” 2000

Don Starkell
“Paddle To The Amazon: The Amazing Canoe Adventure” 1990

Carol & Kristin Szuminsky
“Andrew Goes Fishing In Manitoba” Jack Brown (illustrator) 2008
“Penny Visits Oak Hammock Marsh” Jack Brown (illustrator) 2008

Larry Verstraete
“Extreme Science” 2000
“Survivors! True Death-Defying Escapes” 2003
“Lost Treasures: True Stories Of Discovery” 2006.

Here is SASKATCHEWAN literature from author birth or residency!
Because authors move and write a variety of settings, birth and main emigration provinces will inform the category. For example, landing in Manitoba at first, yields less of a connection than making a home in Saskatchewan.

Many of our friends and peers would benefit from a provincial database and I am happy to make it! These will comprise Saskatchewan material I am aware of, including books I have not read. Additions are welcome from all of you.

* I am just getting started. I will edit whenever I have time. *

Question: ought we skip authors or books we deemed poor, or ought we leave them for potential readers?

Here is MANITOBA literature (home sweet home!) from author birth or residency!
Because authors move and write a variety of settings, birth and main emigration provinces will inform the category. For example, landing in Manitoba at first, yields less of a connection than making a home in Saskatchewan.

Many of our friends and peers would benefit from a provincial database and I am happy to make it! These will comprise Manitoba material I am aware of, including books I have not read. Additions are welcome from all of you.

* I am just getting started. I will edit whenever I have time. *

Ought we skip authors or books we deemed poor, or ought we leave them for readers?

Aw, Shirin, it is nice to hear from you! Moreover, your words are poetic & picture painting, with exotic mystique! I love hearing from you, in your light & shining land, dearest friend. You 3 friends are part of my birthday joy among these miles.

As for my land of snow, more to tell you soon. I wanted to give you a chance to answer e-mail leftovers, so your short time on-line isn't overwhelmed. Love, Carolyn.

🎂 Here are 3 of my Goodreads besties!
Thank you too, dear Kerri and for your beautiful e-mail message as well! I will reply in minutes. My celebration with our little family is wonderfully happy and is ongoing this whole magical week-end. With love & gratitude, Carolyn.

Thank you, my sweet friend, Leeanne! I am surprised to already find myself in my new decade of life but and enjoying the gift and wearing it well. Thank you for your blessings and friendship.

Except one birthday in St. Lucia with friends at age 20, I have never been without snow on good old November 18th, even if it was the first snowfall of that year.

Yes, thank you: Dad, Aunt Carole, Ron, Angel, Petal are well. As soon as my guy is home from work, we will have fun! Despite this milestone, intimate cozyness is just what I need as the birthday girl this year. Love, your friend, Carolyn.

I am the birthday girl today! I am entering a new decade and appreciate my turn to be special and celebrated! Woo hoo!

I am watching for e-mail well wishes and our mailbox for cards. There is a flurry of snow and I am going to take pictures in it. Your friend, Carolyn.

It is very nice to continue writing in our group. You & I talked about your most recent additions in e-mail. Your feedback was a relief from feeling like I was the only one laying out conversations and waiting a long time for the ball to be picked up. Understandably, you & Shirin had to be away a lot since September. It is my busiest garden season anyway, besides planning & planting them.

So, thanks to your review today, I have an idea of a thread to pick up! I always welcome the rest of you to do the same. Even if we prefer other books, lets give each one some discussion, eh?

Did you both like this one better than the previous novel? I hated that one, full of gross people and cruel situations, with the exception of a Mother & child reuniting and William brightening our days in his pages. "Poor Tom Is Cold" is a little boring, I agree. Despite losing an unknown officer from William's station 4 team (the cast is very close on TV) , we had little investment in anything, hence no éclat, right? However, I liked a mystery without urgency, until a woman's family wanted to commit an innocent, healthy person.

Had the mystery and conclusion been engrossing instead of over the top and stupid, I would have enjoyed this novel, even though I was not invested in any visiting character. However, it is far less disgusting to read about than "Under The Dragon's Tail". Does poverty mean no one takes time to bathe! Even when Mom reunited with her 8 year-old baby, I cringed at the cleaning he would need. The preachy guy with weird sores flapping on his face.... just disgusting. It is easy to prefer this novel. What do you think, Shirin?

The conversation that your gratifying review inspires, Kerri, is about that ending. I don't think you meant that the end lacked drama because it was bonkers with it. You must have referred to the lack of excitement in the story and characters, is that right? Less really would have been more poignant and engaging. Don't freak out at the hospital during a chance to use a phone, or have William delivered to you. Then aybe a hospital escape wouldn't be over the top. However, had the woman not squandered her pssibilities it would be unnecessary; thanks to a phone, messenger, or William.

More over the top was everyone fighting in the barn until all villains and accomplices killed each other. Seriously stupid. For what: a man's money, who was dying soon and would have left it to some member of the family regardless? A flat motive tanks a mystery for me, how about the two of you? Losing her head in the hospital, running away, dying off in the barn.... this is heavy-handed content generating that I call "fake action" or "crash boom bang"; like the rewritten "Hardy Boys" / "Nancy Drew" stories.

Also, Kerri remarked astutely in her review that the woman played it cool long enough at the house and in her transfer to a hospital. Who would blow it when William was in front of her? I agree that it was utterly unbelievable.

Also, did we all sigh that the murder resulted from a woman calling the young policeman from a window? Talk about blowing your cover and bringing attention to yourself. That is as bad as old fashioned books in which a villian leaves notes or vandalism, shouting "Stay away".

Okay, I am voicing comments enough that I obviously found this novel as weak as you two do. If only the previous novel had not been so visually disgusting. That is all from me and I look forward to your new input or replies.

Thank you too Kerri, dear friend. I watched for e-mail and imagined well-wishes were here. This adds beautifully to celebrating our family cats. It is nice of you to wish our living kitties well, with Love always included in our words and hearts on their shared birthday. Love is Angel's twin and resembles Petal's, Conan's, & Marigold's eyes.

The girls had birthday tuna last night, finished it this morning, and are sleeping happily.

Thank you for wishing them all well, Leeanne! They are having a wonderful birthday this week. I always sing all their names and we do call them "kitties". :) September 7 will always be Love's birthday along with them, Marigold's second born child. I saw them and know what time they arrived.

Ron is away at the moment. He & I sang "Happy Birthday" for Conan & Love, who are reached remotely. I sang "Happy Birthday" for Petal & Angel in person.

Today is a special day: the birthday of our four kittens! Love ascended in 2014 and Conan is MIA since 2017. However, he & his Sisters are 12 years-old today! They have outlived their dear little Mom, Marigold, who reached 11.5 years-old last year. She, Love, McCartney, & Spirit must be very happy for them and my Mom surely is too. Angel & Petal are being pampered right now, I can tell you! Love, Momma Carolyn & Dad Ron.

You have me grinning for multudinous reasons and I am sharing the smiles in return with you, dear Kerri! I will start from the bottom, what I see on my screen atop this conversation box. You know I have not tried an audio novel. The closest was David Bowie's narration of the short "Peter And The Wolf". I needed something as triumphant as an orchestra, the day we laid Marigold to rest last June.

Did I tell you I have had two audio books to try for years? One, I asked for or ordered with a gift card: William Shatner's autobiographer narrated by himself. That will be fun. Later, I found at a mall book sale, Bill Clinton's autobiographer. He too has a voice and personality that will be fun. The world generally has "had the biscuit" (as my Mom would put it, meaning "had enough") with USA politics, Canadians like Bill, Hilary, & Chelsea. Their Daughter writes multicultural and feminist storybooks for children and they seem like colourful people who used to protest and stuff.

Too bad a book we have in common is one you are ousting, which is why I laughed. We have plenty others and you might find the cover I want of "Mystery Of The Stuttering Parrot", to read that awesome puzzle for yourself. I was also going to say that as much as donating books is generous and something I did a lot of, could you advertize a sale at your home? You often speak of raising money for vet care, postage, and things you want to do. I set aside unneeded books to sell and will clean up our library soon, so it looks well kempt to make good impressions for browsers and buyers. I don't want to sell by mail and the distance and price from our nearest two post offices are unideal. We need a place for book lovers to discover here. Maybe you will find buyers too.

I am glad your electrical socket is safe and clean, as is your room and belongings. Plastic tubs are great storage. I will tighten the ones I alphabetized last year so that the few carrying on in cradboard boxes will fit the plastic sorted ones. When we are making sales and reducing what is out, I am willing to sell others. Do your books fit in one room? I remember those days, hehe.

I did not know about Virginia's autobiography and would be interested. The ghostwriter might be the right person to have penned it. We prefer Virginia as the authoress of her stories but he or she ought to know her and her work better than most. Mom had the impression from whatever newspaper or magazine article her information came, that she had unpublished and unfinished manuscrifts that the Andrews family attended to, possibly with her instructions. Mom & I pictured degrees of work starting with manuscripts entirely created by her, paring down to rough drafts and I guess by now, newly invented stories. I am happy to hear how much you enjoy "Sweet Valley High".

I will eventually enjoy testing that our cassettes work and that their magnet tape did not fade. I heard from two people years ago to whom I gave tapes that they worked. What I want when I clean up the crowding since my parents moved, is a unit you can buy new: with a cassette deck, record player, CD player, presumably the radio, and a USB port for transferring the music digitally.

Nothing beats "Alfred Hitchcock & The Three Investigators" for intelligent, colourful, original youth mysteries. However, I am going to decide if I prefer the "Hardy Boys" to "Nancy Drew" after reading several more apiece. Nancy sees more action than an 18 year-old child should but our generation's edits have her focused on good manners. Mom confirmed the original versions have her as more of a tomboy, which is odd. Wouldn't it be the reverse the the olden days? Then again, the original ghostwriter, Mildred A. Wirt flew a plane and was a rough & tumble feminist herself. I guess Harriet Stratemeyer toned that down while taking out socially inappropriate parts, after letters of complaint in the 1950s. I dislike that Laura Hardy has hardly a role in those novels so far but the worst is that Nancy's novels need to stop describing Bess as curvy, wanting to eat, and fearful; as if they were weaknesses.

I am going to ponder your intriguing discussion subject but at this moment, I don't recall a librarian in "Poor Tom Is Cold". It is a puzzling point that poses a question again, poor Maureen. Did she overlook a detail, or could women be librarians in a male domain? Please tell me where in the novel this was, why William was there. I will see if it jogs into place meanwhile. I smiled at your apt observation: we three international women reading a scene about a book institution meant for men. That is a good one!

Here is my review as we await follow-up to our numerous conversations here. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

On a light note: I used to know the "You're The One That I Want" song and dance by heart, because a school pal & I re-enacted it in his basement. One time, my foot nudged him too hard in the chest. He deserved it over the decade I tolerated him, haha.

"Physical" was the first popular song of anyone's that I memorized. What grade was I in, in 1981 or 1982? It came out on September 28, 1981 so it was likely 1982. Aw, Sandy gave birth to Thumbelina that July. I was 9, which makes it grade 4; unless we were looking at an old issue.

I remember having library time in our French Immersion elementary school. That is when I would pour over "Alfred Hitchcock & The Three Investigators". This time, maybe an early visit prior to discovering them, I saw a magazine with the song "Physical" printed out. I knew how the melody went and it felt good to speak and do English things in our French Immersion schools, being our own language, so I sang and learned it with a couple of pals. I still know it!

Yes, seeing her in person was a treasure and amazing. She was so famous for so long, I grew up with her as you see and of course Ron knew who she was.... we were blown away just to be there. Her performance was excellent too, at the intimate Walker Theatre. I bought an expensive t-shirt to savour our moment. I will wear it and Ron will see it as soon as he is home today.

I am glad we can miss Olivia together, Kerri and send our love to her husband and her Daughter, Chloe. They did a few new songs together and I am seeing if I can download the dancey ones. I love upbeat music that can be danced to (not rap or R&B) but something by the two of them is a must, very special. I am unfamiliar with Chloe's singing and look forward to it too.

It took awhile to get anyone to reply to this and share the sadness with me. I figured it would be you because the check the group and I imagined Olivia was also legendary and loved in New Zealand. I really was thinking of her the night she ascended.

She believes in a lot of things I clued into after her: holistic eating, living, keeping the chakras balanced and clear, peace with the world. She incorporated positive energy, happiness, and comfort into the Australia cancer hospital and developed early detection tools; things to go hand in hand with traditional doctors. Here is to you, Olivia! Be at peace Chloe, family, and friends!