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

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

Hi Kerri. I am relieved because I wrote in e-mail or another place, that you read too fast and bumb me out, at how many books you have finished! I would love to know your routine. You can't only read at night like me. Audio books probably help by day, where you can do something else. I don't think we have spoken of music much yet but I know you love films and TV.

Thinking like a detective, a horsewoman who wears a medium shirt isn't inactive; doing nothing but holding a book in her lap. Although that sounds wonderful, from a non sporty person, haha. Thankfully, the distance to check our 4 gardens, pots, and flowerbeds is enough walking. I guess you just fit in more than I do, or audio books really boost you up. Then again, a lot of them are little pony books. I add in short stories myself, when my quota is looking low.

When you get a chance, I would love to hear your impressions of "Shipwreck" at that conversation. I think so far, you treated Shirin & I to a reply to our musings. I'll save most personal updating for when you continue by e-mail. I love having the personal things we share saved in letters in one place I can go back to, no matter if websites come and go. Your mail is simply a book (we need space!) and a card for Jimmy. Xoxoxoxo.

I hear you on technology being made too dependent but shifty all at once. You won't get me using Apple because I know PCs well (whereas someone not very computer savvy can move to another system they don't know in depth either; you know what I mean). But I hate the way they constantly force an upgrade eventually. I still have Windows 7, was looking for someone to give me a WIndows 8 CD to upgrade a little. I still want that.

I was told to not bother and to go for Windows 10. That would require someone with high-speed downloading the files for me, I am not paying $200 CDN for the CD. When I asked how much they would charge to do it, it was nearly the same. She asked about my computer specifications and it seems that our perfectly good PC with more harddrive space and RAM than we need, is too old to handle Windows 10. It would come with that damn operating system at about $700 CDN. Naturally, I would price check.

Can you imagine complications, if I had listened to the first guy and started upgrading, without anyone verifying our PC was suitable for it? As for your internet set-up instructions expecting you to have a second source of internet to read them: please complain. Companies have to stop being stupid and narrow-minded. I actually had one shop tell me a few years ago, to look on-line for modems. Are they kidding? I guess I could check now as a back-up. Higher-speed ISPs are still limited here. We hoped to skip to a new one this summer.

Canadian authors translated into Persian? That is wonderful! Is it a physical book? Happy reading to both of you too!

In keeping with every night I intended to make progress on the dragged out Kim Sheridan book, which was not presented the way I hoped; I fell asleep 7 pages from the end. I have not started Maureen Jennings yet but will tonight.

Okay, I hope everyone is in the habit of looking all the way up for new messages, since I divide long ones into their own topical comment boxes. Good evening, Kerri! and Shirin I am nearly finished "Animals And The Afterlife" by Kim Sheridan.

I will continue on with "Except The Dying" by Maureen Jennings tonight. Ladies, start your engines and jump in any time! Any conversations we are having here: "Jekyll & Hyde", Ian Rankin's books, "Shipwreck".... may certainly continue as long as we wish. As I clarified in my review of another fine Canadian, our very dear Howard Engel: he is the funny one. However, I hope to enjoy Maureen's beloved characters too in writing.

I am glad to be back, even though I was only off for half of a day. The rain we needed came on Monday. Crazily, thunder & lightening that I observed, short-circuited my dial-up modem as I was waiting for it to turn off! I had to phone the solitary store selling them, with the relief that they had a modem in stock and buy a new one again: five years going! It is our only internet: no smart phones, librairies; hardly any neighbours have it.

I can take slow but not an absence of getting on-line. There are fewer phone books, post office price pamphlets for me to work on parcels at home.... we are expected to look everything up on the internet. I cried in frustration when Ron got home from work but was relieved when I knew I could buy one. I have to stay off when it rains. I made a nice drive of it: saw the chiropractor, bought more minutes for my flip phone that thankfully still works (2G is supposed to stop working).

I mailed mail to certain friends (I am looking at you, New Zealand)! And yes, I bought new second-hand books. I scored a third Cleveland Amory book about his cat that I didn't know he wrote. Your note about the absence of captchas encouraged me and when I encountered a log-in last week or so, none popped up. There is my update.

It surely goes without saying anyone appreciates aspects of a Great-Granddaughter. A little girl is usually cute. However, the interruptions to the story we were there to read pushed to an annoying point. Carving that much detail to justify telling family history was superfluous too and I loves detail. Many authors succeed at filling us in without detours. Thankfully, Maureen did do so in the story of interest. For example, we knew William was cautious around an alcoholic Dad but very close to his Mom.

What was precious to me is the man's Daughter being reminded of what a good parent she had and not only seeing him to seek a favour. However, the details readers weren't told is if that was recent. It would be understandable if she only avoided visiting while she was working out whether or not to bring her ex-husband back into her life. We aren't keen on visitors if life isn't going well, or if we are working on rebuilding it, until we want company and support.

My favourite part of the modern story is the Daughter curling up to be read a story by her Dad. We love and need our parents at any age. My Dad has filled in very well, especially before being in the hospital. But Mom was the one I called, on the rare, overwhelming occasion of a cat's ascension to Heaven. She also reassured me when we got our dear Spirit in 2004 to join McCartney, that the soul of my childhood cat wouldn't mind. I could still use my Mom now but am doing my best. She taught me well.

I loved watching the grown Daughter listening to their family tale. She kept the momentum going. I will only say of the Great-Granddaughter that I suppose her purpose was to show readers that many details can be gleaned about people if we keep our eyes pealed, just like William Murdoch and the priest.

I don't expect two dear international friends to know the geography of Canada, so I would like to share a map at my blog: http://cmriedel.wordpress.com/reviews.... Leeanne's province, Ontario, is east of mine. In fact, Ron & I were there walking on docks by the lake and buying books on Friday! But Toronto is a 2 hour plane ride away, in the south east nearer Québec. That is where William Murdoch moved to be a detective.

The beautiful Nova Scotia, my favourite province after mine, is an "Atlantic Province" on the east coast of Canada: another plane ride away. In pre-plane days, I don't know if William and his parents visited back & forth but I hope to find that they did.

Maureen is elderly and it seems that she only wrote 9 stories. I wonder if she deems them unnecessary, in favour of the TV show. They have surpassed those few mysteries. Surely they could use material, although I am told they have the humour and a tone of their own, different from the serious novels. We can start them in a couple of days. I have read far enough into "Animals In The Afterlife" that it is no longer a drag.

I didn't see this on July 17. Thank you for your warm words about my childhood cat's birthday. McCartney's was June 13, likely shared in another thread before I made this folder for members. However, he added 19 days and matched her age on her birthday, you see. Now, McCartney is our whole family's longest-lived cat, carving out his own record as a great blessing to all of us and inspiration to many more.

Know this about me: I will never pay to drink water and what I call "air": non physical entertainment and literature. The PDF is free for those with fast enough internet to find it. I will e-mail it by tomorrow if you don't e-mail that you have it already.

Happy birthday to our precious Spirit today! We wish he were still living and celebrating age 17 with us and beyond. Love, Carolyn.

I had no doubt you would be game and perhaps other friends. I am glad you haven't read it yet. My impression of the story is that it will be so detailed and poignant, as well as pioneering of numerous stories in the genre to succeed it, that it will be ideal to marvel at with friends. I would love to prioritize this ahead of future proposed stories.

I remember the old fashioned machine seat from my Uncle's favourite film and that the protagonist fell in love with a cavewoman. I remember how odd watching time must look and feel to occupants who don't ride around, like in Emmet Brown's Dolorian. I remember a body turning skeletal on a cave floor as the rider returned to the present. Did his house used to be a cave, or did he move his vehicle? We will see.

Thank you, Kerri. When you started sending reactions to what you had received, it was in the middle of anxiety of explaining that my disc was unformatted and only stored files. I could enjoy it much better now. I love having it all in one letter.

Goodreads, most websites, and most people don't know that captchas block out rural customers instead of "robots" or spammers. I need people who consistently have access to such websites to help me warn them. Stop using captchas, until Google gets the message to reconfigure them to have loading time for slow speeds. Dial-up is a reality even in 2021. I am glad they don't show-up with regular log-ins.

Shirin wrote: "Well, I have finished the story! Quickly problem solved. I'm not sure I could call it a problem"

Shirin, thank you for your two great points. I had not noticed but you felt the Nova Scotia priest was present more than William Murdoch and wondered if we will see him in other books. It makes a lot of sense, except we know that the series starts with William as an adult, in Toronto, Ontario; next to my middle province. Nova Scotia is on our east coast. We are reading backwards and will find out if he did. Although this childhood prequel comes first, it was written in 2010, book #8. I will bet that Maureen Jennings featured the priest because William did mention him as his career inspiration.

Your other point is very close to my heart: the best mystery solving is just about figuring out answers to questions! There does not need to be a crime or a villain arrested! William and the priest using clues to figure out who is who on the ship and what happened, is definitely a mystery. There was a crime in this mystery but no one would be arrested because they were dead.

The situation was investigated by the priest and William for accurate record-keeping out of respect for the families and the dead and out of keen interest in what had happened. They could find the families of these people and bury the drowned people with their names. Most importantly, the baby could grow up with her own name and background.

I liked to see a little bit about William's descedents in the future but thought that Maureen spent way too much time on introducing a reason for telling the old Nova Scotia story. Just start telling it. Also, the little girl interrupted too much and was annoying to me. The story flow should not be interrupted. I know the tie-in was to teach readers that everyone can pick up clues about school children, divorced couples, and people around them. That is a smart tie-in but Maureen should have kept it short. She needed no complex justification of future relatives telling a family story.

I would have rather seen a few scenes with the baby Daughter and her adopted Mother. It is lovely that one woman's loss was eased a little by a new infant.

I see that Maureen is very skilled at orchestrating thorough backgrounds for the stories she builds. I have a concern that she not take too long to make her points. A lot of authors are successful at starting their action and adventure quickly and feeding out information we need along the way.

Ladies & Gentlemen of our group, I hope you are well and enjoying summer or winter around the world. Western Canada to Ontario has been in a long heat wave but we are all right. Our prayers and care are for those citizens and animals who were in forest fires; mainly in British Columbia that I know of.

Please add prayers for the families and friends, whose Aboriginal children were buried at former residential schools this year. If we cannot manipulate time to change things for all who suffered by natural or human-made causes, we can protect and respect our people, animals, and land now. Every race, religion, and choice to practice spirituality free of religions (like me), is "our people" equally.

I notice that I recently got a copy of a classic, "The Time Machine". As a dedicated "Back To The Future" fan and also someone who felt the impact of the old film of "The Time Machine" when I was a kid, I would enjoy reading this as a buddy collaboration. Like most classics go it seems, the page quantity is brief. I added it to Message #3, from which I also removed books we have read. Your friend, Carolyn.

Kerri, please let us know if you are getting a PDF to read this half historic, half futuristic blurb. Shirin, please let me know if you are free enough to get back to our conversations around here. I would rather stir up activity again when you have time to jump in fully. I completely understand that setting up house takes time.

I hope you see my personal and national Message #6. As a general rule, please ensure you always read upwards past the newest messages, for others you had not seen.

I am glad, Kerri. If you obtain and read a "Shipwreck" PDF, naturally add your comments to that thread. I am awaiting Shirin telling me she is less busy, before adding to comments and I have dealt with crises at home anyway. I'll e-mail you soon but please don't hesitate to catch-up with me in e-mail about other things.

Let me clarify so I don't have to repeat this part in e-mail a second or third time, that captchas are nearly always a problem for slow speed internet users. I emphasize as strongly as I can, that I was lucky to get in the day they refreshed everyone's log-ins. I would like someone to please clarify if there is always a captcha at login now, or only if signing in doesn't go smoothly? I want to be forewarned.

Slow speed internet users often can't see captchas and get rejected by pages. When we do see them, like thankfully I did that sole time I needed to sign-in, it is rare, Kerri, that I can get the checkmark to work. I know you had trouble that day but I want to be clear that slow speed internet ISPs always have trouble checkmarking a captcha, if they see it and I was fortunate to get in. Slow speed internet members must avoid running into captchas at all costs and we need help warning Goodreads, who no longer offer e-mail addresses, to remove them for this reason.

I am glad, Kerri! That is heartening that if today's visits, including e-mail, seem unusually brief; you expanded your way around a tour of my writings. I would probably love to have the keepsake of the larger portions in our e-mails but my blog, with Wordpress loading these days, is another great place. You missed messages 9 & 10.

Would you let me know in e-mail, if you have seen all my personal films and elaborate on your impressions of them generally? That's the only thing missing or that got abbreviated, the only two times we talked around them. Mailed long ago, delayed by our post offices, then with a frustrating technical conversation to discuss. I wonder if you would write me an e-mail I can keep about what you think overall. I would cherish it. I wish all three of those deeply missed faces were still alive and with us! My Mom, Spirit, and Marigold! :) The poor videos became a time capsule. I guess it is nearly a year that I mailed and have looked forward to discussing them; or those you saw so far. Xoxo.

Happy Canada Day to all of my family, friends, and peers! I sang our anthem outside to the forest of our backyard, as my Mom taught me to do in caring patriotism. Kitty Petal was there to watch and kitty Angel no doubt heard nearby.

I thought of our precious Conan whom we pray is returned soon. And I am thinking strongly of our precious Marigold, who ascended to Heaven as rawly recently as last week and our precious Spirit, as recently as January. I wish they and my Mom were here, as well as kitty Love, ascended 6 years ago far too young. I think of all my loved ones and gather the love of their souls near to me on a sentimental day like this.

McCartney is in the house, relaxing from a large breakfast in the air conditioning and room ceiling fans. Tomorrow, on the birthday of my childhood cat, Thumbelina, he will match her age exactly: 21 years and 19 days. McCartney will then become our longest lived cat and forge ahead to new futures for our loved ones who remain: Angel, Petal, Conan. I have written about our children here. https://cmriedel.wordpress.com/2021/0...

Thank you for that, Shirin. Happy Canada to you and everyone as well! I am happy you moved and that your cats are taking to it very well. Examining every centimeter is not depression or fear: it is excitement, fortitude, and bright interest. That is good! You are already in the busy period I expected, so carry on and I look forward to your news when you have time. I will add to the "Shipwreck" conversation later. I am interested in the review grade you give it.

Tomorrow, we will also honour the birthday of our childhood cat, Thumbelina. She made it to 21 years and 19 days and McCartney matches her, on that very day. We are proud of him, excited and grateful for him. May Angel, Petal, and Conan do just as well as he does in a long, healthy life. We remember and honour Love, Marigold, Spirit, Thumbelina with all of our hearts.

There is a lovely photograph of our baby, Marigold, in our Gentle Spectrums photo album. It would already be my profile photograph if I knew how to copy or select it from a group photo album, to add to my profile photo album. Marigold climbed our high metal ladder onto the low workshop roof, to look around the sky and our home, even in her last couple of days, last week. She is our spry, strong, intelligent, loving, dear girl. https://www.goodreads.com/photo/group...

Well, it will not take long for us to meet at the same place with our reading. The last 10 pages of the PDF or so are advertisements. I have finished the story! There is however, a lot to discuss, so tally ho! Let's have your impressions. Lead the way. :)

I want to leave a note for Kerri to see, in case she joins us, that will ensure she does not judge Maureen Jennings' novella for using simple, straightforward vocabulary. I have to say, it is a fresh change from authors who are too wordy and I liked it. Stick to the details, feelings, and action. It is in Maureen's first novel that we will learn her style and the character of her storytelling voice. Please give me a chance to indulge in a few non-Canadian books I have looked forward to reading in July, when this year's reading challenge is done this month. After, I am game to try out book 1.

Kerri, in 2010 the Canadian government had an adult literacy campaign called "Good Reads". They obviously didn't give a hoot about their moniker b similarity to this American social network, haha! The object was for a few Canadian authors to contribute adult content with simple words, so mature folks learn to read in English, with a more suitable level of interest than from baby books. That is a thoughtful idea. It so happens this is my second book in the program, after Louise Penny's.

Kerri, if you are curious: you are 15 hours ahead of Manitoba, if in tandem with Australia. It is easy for me to tell your time. I mentally switch my clock from AM to PM and add 3 hours. You do the reverse to tell my time. I am going to bed to read "Ghosts Of James Bay" now. Keep the reading going, with a goal to finish 4, for 40 total.

Well, thanks to Shirin, I have something else chalked up for Canadian content before the end of this sacred, hard month. I finished 6 flowerbaskets this afternoon and watered all of our pots planted earlier. They all contain Marigold seeds with planned flowers. :)

Ron handled the gardens with the sprinkler when he arrived home from work and read outside with the cats. Now he is watching a hockey game, even though the Winnipeg Jets aren't in the Stanley Cup playoofs. That's a Canadian for you: loving summer stuff, then sitting down to a sport with ice, haha. Bonne nuit, mes cheres amies!

Woo hoo! First, I will sow 4 flowerbaskets. Every one of the 10 left to plant will include Marigold flower seeds. :) Then I will read a little from the PDF. At night, I will bring my Canadian paperback, "Ghosts Of James Bay" to bed. Two books at once will make extra reading! I checked your time zone. You are 9 1/2 hours ahead of Manitoba.

My friends, having been gifted with a PDF to start with this prequel novella, it is my pleasure to read it first! I usually choose publishing order to let authors carve out their strides but sometimes it is fun, to see if retrospective prequels are solid and work well. A paperback novel exists, which I will be glad to obtain second-hand sometime. Your friend gratefully and sincerely, Carolyn.