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

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

LOVE RIEDEL
September 7, 2010 to July 31, 2014
Here's to you: our dearly sweet, love-giving son!


My young boy, 'Love' atop our highest shelf. Cute at 11 months old. [August 2011.]


We kept finding Lovey around books. At 2 years-old, he toppled a storage trolly.
I laughed at the spill of paperbacks and considered this tableau artistic.
These were published before either of us were born! [September 2012.]


Here is Lovey at nearly 3 years-old, beneath the same shelf of our library/cat lounge.
There is a sidewalk between it and our house. [Aug 2013.]

My anniversary has been nice. Ronnie & I have celebrated it these 3 days. August 4th we went to a Mennonite museum; not a dusty building but a whole village, with farm critters to pet, authentic heritage buildings. Last night we exchanged our gifts because we wante to continue the spray of happiness through the extremely recent loss of our 4 year-old white cat, Love. See him in my profile picture with me right here.

We were surprised by how much relief a very sentimental and positive funeral was for us, which even managed to include Love's six other cat family members; a good hour's service of our own! With songs, messages, and a last walk around our property, highlighting places Love played in especially.

Today, though Manitobans grow flowers earlier, I sowed Marigolds, zinnias, bachelor's buttons, and wild pink spray flowers around his resting place. We don't like call it specifically his grave: he isn't there. Merely the dear familiar body he finished with. Marigold is his Mother and the most glorious part of a flower, Petal, is his orange sister. All of a sudden, I feel I accomplished something useful and important. I retired and awakened feeling sick. Now, I feel less heavy in my soul. We went to the city to see about getting my few cell phone pictures off of a very old Nokia that is unlikely to plug into a CD. We'll try a bluetooth connection with someone's phone that has e-mail capacity and we'll try buying a data package (it's only a pay-as-you-go phone) that will let me attach the photos with a text message, to someone who would e-mail them to me. After heavy grief from July 31 onward, with a little relief in between; I am beginning to feel better and like I could read again.

It's hard to get through a family tragedy. But 4 days later it is our anniversary (non marital). So with chin up, I'm celebrating a positive event that's important. It'll do us good and we're about to go out. Happy fourteenth anniversary to Ron & I!

It is horrible and shocking to believe and tell all of you: one of our youngest kittens, only 3 years old passed away last night. We can't understand it. But our beautiful strong white male, Love, deserves to be honoured and his life mentioned so I'm letting the public know. He is the kitty in my profile photograph with me right now. He went to Heaven last night of unexplained causes; throwing up, breathing hard later, then dying in several hours. A big strong cat, not 4 years-old until September 7th, who adds so much brightness to our life. Dying in one day is unbelievable.

The right thing to do now is prepare ourselves for a funeral tonight where we will let him go. Thank you, for supporting our family by reading this message. Our cats are people and children to us so we are sad. Every kind word and thought is tremendously uplifting to us right now. Carolyn & Ron.

The solution was added to the same post. A big thank-you to everyone for sharing your 2c! One can only play games if there are contestants. :) http://cmriedel.wordpress.com/2014/07...

Keep on sleuthing. We have gone to round 2! http://cmriedel.wordpress.com/2014/07...

Good morning, fellow mystery lovers! If no one guesses 'A RIEDEL Clue #2' by tonight, I'll automatically give a hint. There's no request in comments but it's unspoken. :) One person can win by wagering a correct guess today, without a hint though. A glance at the three ladies' bios is all it takes. www.CMRiedel.wordpress.com

'A RIEDEL Clue #2' is on, folks. http://cmriedel.wordpress.com/2014/07...

Visiting 'All Challenge Updates' in my topmost blog menu, is the handiest way to keep track of events in all of the RIEDEL challenges. Alterting y'all individually to prize activities (if not subscribed to the blog) is difficult on dial-up telephone internet.

Announcement: the second 'A RIEDEL Clue' will likely roll out tomorrow! It is for everyone in "My Kind Of Mystery", even if you're done that challenge, or haven't begun linking reviews yet.

Nina wins for "Gentle Spectrums" in Bulgaria and Rain wins for "Ethreal" in the southern USA! Congratulations to both of these lovely members. Read all of the details, browse the photographs, and comment at the RIEDEL Fascination blog.

Your reviews have a spot for permanent viewing! It's taking a lot of entry but all three of my groups' guests have a menu atop my blog, to re-visit your efforts alphabetically. I hope you're pleased with how mine came out as well: overall books and additionally featuring works by Canadians. www.CMRiedel.wordpress.com

Guests of the two reading challenges "Ethereal" and "Gentle Spectrums": your first prize activity has arrived! Consult the main blog and let's have fun with this. :) Sincerely, Carolyn. http://cmriedel.wordpress.com/2014/07...

Many participants of the Canadian challenge wrote a profile. If anyone would like to read mine, it shares a great deal beyond the literary: my concern that many reviews are spoilers, why I love print, trivia my brothers and I played by car and anywhere, even a local ghost story. http://www.bookmineset.com/2013/11/7-...

Something it wouldn't have shared, last November, is about my family's very dear cat who was with us for TWENTY-ONE YEARS. Our most precious Thumbelina Sandy was born on this very day today, in 1982. The only way to celebrate is to share it with people, so I'm shouting it out.
We always remember you and love you, our very dear Thumbelina!
All of the present cats say hello. Happy birthday to you with love, always!

Our dangling conversation, of the end, are the best parts! I'd like to know if you think Henry was pushed on purpose and.... your thoughts on the last few paragraphs here. :)

Here is my non-spoiler review for everyone! http://www.amazon.ca/review/R49OVPZKK...

Hello! I am due to follow-up the first event held at our main blog, 'RIEDEL Fascination' and roll out activities for guests solely in Gentle Spectrums or Ethereal. I'll post them at Wordpress soon. Would those in this Goodreads chat forum like to introduce themselves, if they haven't? There is Vicky, Mave, Sarah, and recently Shonna. (Kristine, Emma, Margaret are unsure they have time to officially take part but are glad to follow along and discuss the same books they read). How is everyone these days? Any updates about reading, yourselves, summer where you live: share. :)

Today we wish our very dear Siamese, McCartney Hendrix: a happy fourteenth birthday! Happy birthday McCartney! With all our love, the whole family.

I merely wondered if Tony was gay because he avoided a proper wedding meal. Who wants to be in a crowd on their honeymoon? I felt the heaviest drinking came later. But you rose a worthwhile point that already having inpotence could spark drinking.

Yes, Eileen was even more a second Mom than the friend's parents I had as a child and still do; albeit being out-of-touch with them. (Except my trusty birthday and Christmas cards. I told you it's my inner workings shooting out the message: "Cards mean you are still friends or with relatives, you are still close"). Because Elizabeth was raised by her during heavily growing years, Eileen *WAS* a second Mom; she didn't just resemble one. Yes, the bedside scenes were poignant. I agree it was because it showed the possibilities of her character, to admit to Elizabeth she guessed about Johnny & Aisling. It was poignant because this was her sole occasion to spend time with Elizabeth's daughter.

I've been so eager to discuss Henry with you, that I was careful not to hint about it in any way. I refused to raise suspicion about him to you so you could be blown away. In one way, I felt that the second-last two chapters were the only ones I didn't enjoy because they didn't match the characters, nor the rest of the book. Aisling would never have goofed up about the abortion; not even an assumption that Elizabeth had divulged it to a family member. What was Maeve Binchy thinking? As for Elizabeth tossing her true love and baby's Father down the stairs; I'm surprise you didn't exclaim about THAT. It felt out of left field like our previous joint read. Self-defense, yes. I love Harry's loyalty to his step-daughter, figuring no good could come of her being mistakenly imprisoned. I don't think she meant for him to hit the stairs, or die at all; just shove him out of the apartment so she could lock it until he sobered.

I don't think Henry really had it in him to commit the r-word (I don't utter it - terrible). Suggesting sex with Aisling at all was a drunked whim, mixed with depression over thinking A JOB is the end of the world (as a woman, I at least view it as something ones does, not who we are). So you get another job. He wasn't even fired; he was merely mistaken about the advancement opportunity. He SHOULD have sought a position elsewhere if he was overlooked, as George once was at his bank's location. Didn't you wonder what Simon's problem was to leave him like that? There were plenty of warning signs that he wasn't right, which is why Simon took him out privately to explain things in the first place. He recognized a freak-out risk while Henry was SOBER.

Don't minimize your 'Victorian' reaction by calling it a fault. Cheating is never okay. My previous post said let the other person go if it isn't working. There is never an excuse to cheat. Dude isn't devoted to the woman expecting a baby? Work out an improvement or separation, as tough as it is. But you don't sleep with someone else until the parameters are settled and feelings are addressed. What's 'Victorian' is being programmed to think of sex itself as naughty. Or to judge someone for doing it without a marriage. Definitions of committed relationships have changed, like mine & Ron's and many feel that just enjoying a booty call is fine too. But cheating; there's nothing Victorian about feeling disapproval about that.

If I had to answer what Maeve's point was with the book, what would it be? Best friends forever, through think and thin? People come & go or change, elders pass away, jobs are transferred around and we retire from them. What's important is that you keep being YOU and that we never forget to cherish those we love most closely. Henry was a very poor sport about his career disappointment (there were likely numerous other firms at which he could work too). He had an adoring wife and baby. She had plenty of money to sustain them and George was going to join them, with his retirement fund. I imagine instead of Henry, Aisling would move in with Elizabeth and her Dad and daughter. That much makes me smile.

I hate spoiling even slightly. I avoid reviews for the possibililty of a hint and tactfully ranted in an article about how most people do them incorrectly. It's the latest on my Wordpress blog. I swear, I thought the hitting part was near Eileen's messy house confrontation. I got the impression you'd reached much futher. With my apology for what you took in very good stride, the explanation I can think of is that I zoomed through that book for the reasons I explained further above in this forum. Part worry about how long a chunkster would take, close to scrounging for the Canadian challenge and partly because I couldn't help how great the book was. I'm glad it only jarred you a moment and that enjoyment remained raised.

Yes, my own Mom said her parents being divorced, with fighting and separation well before, seemed really off at that time. Not one member of my distant family on either side is catholic. The times are strong influences as it is. The one thing in my paragraph I was itching to ask you a long time, I'll have you re-read because I still do. Is it possible Tony was gay? And everything I said about the ruined honeymoon and how I would have spoken up much sooner "I'd rather have a fancy supper at the hotel". It didn't even need to be a fight. Those two things you could have legitimately discussed. ;-) Alcholism might bring impotence, or while one has that much alcohol in their blood at any rate but at the start of their marriage? Before they tried to even eat supper? I wondered he was avoiding the moment. A stretch but that's what musing is for.

I looked forward to discussing is Harry, who I didn't name. We love his personality and think it's about time Johnny were kicked to the curb, with or without a more special person. Imagine having to tell Johnny sex was out! So used to cheating! I even consider it a bigger deal than our author, who often incorporated it as 'normal'. She didn't seem as outraged of the topic as I deem it. You want to be with someone else, excuse yourself from the relationship ship and set THEM free too.

Yes, I remarked kindly about Mrs. Murray in previous paragraphs. From honeymoon to Christmas, in our family you don't go anyplace else on certain occasions! It appals us that my youngest brother bowed out often enough to have formed a tradition with a friend on Christmas day, which he now cites as an excuse. Even though he does so later, we have always felt this is THE ONE DAY we should be able to count on him sharing the whole night with us. I stopped the morning thing years ago - it made no sense (before I was an hour out of the city) when everyone else left for a while in between. But once I arrive for supper, that's it. I mentioned how devoted Aisling was to the faux-marriage by being without her big family bash. She stepped into her never-felt role, ensured her new relative wasn't alone or unhappy. She was very good to everyone. The sister who was once her friend could have shared Christmas at home if not the other brother.

I forgot the horrible parts where Aisling understandably wanted someone to feel for the child nearly hit by a car. I don't see her parents thinking well of that - perhaps they weren't told of that. At that point, surely it isn't about following rules of religion and it's more important to keep their streets free of danger. And they wouldn't expect a young, beautiful soul to remain married to a prisoner. Not if her adoration of him was fleeting and that she could have done without the marriage. That's right: I had wanted your take on my explanation of their marriage too. A few additions when you have a second to glance up, unless you recall my propositions of course. :)

The question I wanted to ask: might it be, with the author keeping the inclusion discreet in 1982, that Tony was gay? Either that or alcoholism impotence. When you read her WONDERFUL Christmas stories and "The Lilac Bus" stories, you'll see she treated homosexuality kindly.

You picked up cues about Eileen I didn't retain. Another case of being lucky to have a reading buddy. I was shocked by her treatment of Aisling. She cleaned like mad, certainly with nothing else to do and SHE gets in shit because Tony turned her care into a hovel? On one hand I 'got' the tough love: "You needn't accept it as a hovel, never mind he did it. Give your husband as many reasons as possible to come home". Also that other people would give their eye tooth for a modern house. But I work better with encouragement and coddling so I lost respect for Eileen on that. I *did* figure 'slut' was an expression, to her, of 'lazy ass'.

What I would have lost respect over too, even if it doesn't appear they did much of this; is if her family insisted Aisling stay with the bastard AFTER he accidentally struck her twice. It's for each spouse to decide to work around it, forgive, or whether or not it's a deal-breaker for them. I'm bewildered Eileen, Sean, or Aisling's brothers didn't tear into Tony for that. The explanation can only be that they regarded it as the act of someone who was sick.

Yes, I'm very proud of Aisling walking away. As we have said: it isn't about reasons, or the person not meaning it, the sick being unable to control it. It's about stopping ill treatment ~ period. She walked away in the 1950s, in a small town, despite catholic rearing. It isn't that she didn't try for two years. She was very good to Tony's Mother too and accepted her wife role, having dull Christmases alone with them and whatever else. How did you find my assessment of why she married Tony?

It's delightful you used the expression bartering/trading; I've intended to inquire about that in a future letter. I'm thrilled you loved "Light A Penny Candle" from the get-go as I did. The best part for me, was seeing the best friends together in the same town. It's where they belong and it brightens the entire book, doesn't it? So does talking it over with you. :-)

Good evening, Margaret. :) I never would have figured out Violet, the way you explain it. I didn't want to imagine it was terrible timing, of someone who was ill all along. Gritting the teeth of unease, which doubled as a lid on sanity? THIS is the gift of 'buddy reading' and I applaud having help sorting that out. It feels less tragic. I wish Maeve had let her enjoy her new husband permanently but I see how freedom could loosen other things too.

I felt bad for Maureen but she's such a bitch whenever Aisling attempts to be a sister or friend, I was unable to like her. The portrayal of religious-thinking showed us why she couldn't say "This marriage wasn't what I signed up for" and march off. But later she declines to take a trip, that makes me feel she isn't playing the victim more than she needs to.

No, you'll be a little further along when I pose a question about Tony. Wasn't her honeymoon enraging? I'd be furious but I would open my mouth BEFORE the first bout of bar-hopping and say "A hotel supper is what I wanted for a wedding meal". I couldn't fathom Aisling keeping quiet about something that might be a long-recalled disappointment. Why did she marry him? I hadn't thought of delving there. He seemed to answer the questions / hesitations she had at the time. He seemed fun, movies and walks. He was much older though and she, not very attracted to him. I didn't find my first boyfriend good-looking. It was more that we were both available and I felt like dating. Would someone as beautiful, young, vibrant as she do that with a marriage? There was no other suitor at the time, so "might as well be him"? I guess I didn't get it either. She had ample time.

My general question to you is: do you see what I mean about being swept away by Maeve right away? Do you see why she breaks me "the kinds of books I like" rules? This is your first time with her and I'd love to know what your experience of enjoyment is.