What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread) Showing 4,401-4,450 of 8,509

[Mary JL]

Nina: Thanks for the kind thoughts! Another tea drinker--good! I prefer tea to coffee. Do you drink flavored or herbal teas? I like cinnamon tea, min and Earl Grey!

[Mary JL]

Yes, Joy! If we can make it to March, the end will at least be in sight. I AM glad the February is the shortest month, though!

[Mary JL]

ReF. #4401---should read "mint" tea!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Funny, but sometimes I prefer coffee and other times I prefer tea. I think it's when I want something lighter that I drink tea. I recently bought a Keurig coffee maker and it has increased my desire for coffee. So far the K-cup I like best is: "Newman's Own Special Blend Coffee (K-Cup Portion Pack for Keurig K-Cup Brewers)". ("medium roast coffee extra bold") It's online at:
http://www.amazon.com/Newmans-Own-Spe...
Good price too, at the above site. Only 58 cents per K-cup. K-cups (of various brands) in the store can cost over a dollar each.

[Nina]

Mary JL wrote: "Nina: Thanks for the kind thoughts! Another tea drinker--good! I prefer tea to coffee. Do you drink flavored or herbal teas? I like cinnamon tea, min and Earl Grey!"Mary, here are some of my favorite teas; Scottish Caramel Pu-erh, Lavender Chamonile, Irish Afternoon Tea from Bewleys in Dublin, Irish Morning tea, English breakfast tea, De-calf Apricot tea, Twinings(any kind.) I usually prefer black tea to green but I attribute that to drinking tht kind in the tea place in England. I do also like Earl Grey as you mentioned but do you know you only are to drink that in cold weather so enjoy it now.

[Nina]

As far as books are concerned I am now reading one that I don't want to end,"Mrs. Queen Takes the Train," from the one I just finished that I thought would never end,"Flight Behavior," by Barbara Kingslover. Shows an author can't rest on her laurels.

[Nina]

Joy, this is a book I was given by my grandson that I won't recommend to you but wonder if some others might find it interesting, "The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning." I can't believe when I read it that I laughed when I should have been agahst. Terrific writing but thousands of four letter words I could have done without. Somewhat distracting. Good part was description of Iceland.

[Jim]

My favorite tea is Lapsang Souchong. It's hard to find, although I don't know why. Wonderful stuff & reminds me of my paternal grandparents since it was a favorite of theirs. Brings back memories of Granny's kitchen. Luckily, my next favorite, Earl Grey, is easy to find.

[Werner]

Although my mother was a heavy coffee drinker (and actually addicted to the caffeine in it), I never liked the taste of it. I do like hot tea, though, especially on cold nights, with a spoonful of honey dissolved in it. Regular tea is okay, but I really prefer the herbal kind.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Joy, this is a book I was given by my grandson that I won't recommend to you but wonder if some others might find it interesting, "The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning." I can't believe when I read ..."

RE: The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning by Hallgrímur Helgason
Yes, Nina, you had mentioned it before.
The title is misleading. The GR description starts out: "With some 66 hits under his belt, Tomislav Bokšić, or Toxic, has a flawless record as hitman for the Croatian mafia in New York."
Doesn't sound like my kind of book. :)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner, I too love honey in my tea!

[Werner]

Joy, we both have good taste! :-)

[Nina]

It wasn't mine either but it was a gift. Strange but we could discuss it and that gave us a chance to visit long distance over the phone so all was not in vain. Werner and Joy my son, Tim always has honey in his tea. joy, the title of the book, Hitman..really isn't misleading when you read the book but you are right that you wouldn't like it.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "... joy, the title of the book, Hitman..really isn't misleading when you read the book ..."

Nina, I thought at first that it was a non-fiction book about how to clean a house. That's why I said the title was misleading. The title is: The Hitman's Guide to Housecleaning

Just the word "housecleaning" is a turn-off for me! LOL

[Jim]

It's 2 degrees again & will probably get a bit colder before the sun warms us up. I think we're supposed to hit the 20's today & may come close to 30 on Sunday. These will be our warmest days in a week & for another. Tuesday we're supposed to go below zero again with highs in the single digits.
:(

[Nina]

Joy, strangely the Hitman likes a clean house and goes about cleaning his victim's houses and others. Crazy, yes! I can see why the title threw you if you thought it non-fiction. I loved,"Mrs. Queen takes a Train." I think you'd like it. fiction but reads like it's true.

[Jim]

I goofed the temperature. It was 21 this morning! It was dark out & I just missed the 1 when I looked at the digital thermometer in the poor light. Unfortunately, we got another 3 - 4" of snow until 11am or so with 30 - 40mph wind gusts. Then it got nice for a while & even got above freezing for a bit without any wind. Now, 3:30, the wind is back with a vengeance. I think they're 50mph or so. They're hammering the house & blowing the snow around like crazy. I'm glad I didn't bother shoveling.

I'm not feeling so hot, anyway. Nothing specific, just couldn't get warm this morning & I was starving. Now I'm too hot. Bleck. Well, it's a good day for a nap.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Napping is the best thing when you don't feel well. Sleep helps to restore the body. Usually after I take a good nap, I feel more energetic and I get a lot done.

[Werner]

Hope you feel better soon, Jim!

[Jim]

Thanks. I feel better this morning, which is good since I have to do hay & shoveling this morning. We're supposed to get above freezing briefly this afternoon. Hopefully the wind stays down. It was awful yesterday.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Glad you're feeling better, Jim. We had 5+ inches of snow yesterday but the sun is out today. Current temp is 9°F / -13°C.
http://www.keepcalmandposters.com/pos...

[Nina]

Today here is near sixty degrees but we can't count our laurels as it is going below zero on Tuesday eve. What's with this crazy weather; not global warming by a long shot.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Sure is crazy weather! Someone said that the other day the temp in South Carolina was 22 F.

[Jim]

Thanks, Joy. It felt wicked cold this morning when I first went out since it was in the low 20's with a strong wind. The wind stayed with us, but by the time I got the hay & shoveling done, we were up to 37. There was a lot of the latter. Our mesh gates act as snow fence so I had to shovel 10' on either side of the big ones so we could open them. My toes & fingers were cold, but I was sweating by the time I was done.
The ground around the barn is absolutely miserable. While I've graded pretty well, we had soupy mud that froze & that left every hoof print as a 3" - 4" bump. On top of that, the horses' manure piles are freezing to the ground even in the shed.

It's now 44. Once I finish my coffee, Lily & I will go back out & trim the goats' feet. It's been hard to do with all the mud & cold. I'll try to break some of those loose while I'm out there. Today is the only day it will be possible for a week. Another front is coming through with some freezing rain turning to snow tonight. Tuesday morning they're calling for -10 below in Lexington, which is usually a bit warmer.

Lots of 'warm' weather chores to do. The fish pond needs refilling. The birds all drink from that since we keep it heated, although it has almost frozen over a couple of times. That means unwrapping the hose bib in the back of the house & re-wrapping when done. Or maybe I'll just carry the water around from the front. It only needs 20 gallons, so 2 trips with two 5 gallon buckets. Everything is more work & time in this weather.
:(

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, as my son said to me when I told him I had to clear the snow from the yard for the dog with a broom: "It's good exercise!" LOL

Hope your animals aren't suffering.

How's Marg?

[Jim]

Marg is doing good. Another week 'off' has helped a lot. It was gorgeous out today. I worked around the place in shirt sleeves. Loved it! Hope it returns soon!!!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Shirt sleeves! You're gonna get sick! (as a mother would say) LOL
Glad Marg is OK.

[Jim]

It felt warm, Joy. Great news! We didn't get the freezing rain or snow they predicted. Let's hope they're wrong about the sub zero temps tonight, too.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Fingers crossed.

[Nina]

Hey, Jim glad you had one nice day as we did yesterday. However, we are down to the singel digets once again until Wednesday so at least it isn't a week of misery. Won't we al cheer when January leaves us..Glad your wife is better; some good from forced housebound. Take care of you plus, the animals.

[Nina]

A question..I recently finished reading, "Mrs. Queen Takes the Train," and liked it very much so I googled the author, William Kuhn. In his brief bio he mentioned how he came to write this fiction book about the main charactre, Queen Elizabeth. He was working on the non fiction book that has now been published concerning Jackie O's personality based on the books she chose for the company she was working for at the time. He wrote a sentence with the idea she was speaking and his editor said he couldn't do that as he had not heard her say that. He then decided to write a fiction novel where he had control over what the characters would say. My question is this: I have read numerous biographies and I seem to remember that the people involved did speak and I don't recall any of those type of books where there was no dialogue..What do you people think? Hope I am making myself clear.

[Werner]

Most of the biographies that I've read don't have dialogue, or very little dialogue; and they definitely don't have invented dialogue. The exception would be biographies written for kids; those often borrow a lot of the conventions of juvenile fiction, so they do tend to have invented dialogue (and to put particular thoughts and perceptions in the subjects' heads), even if they stick close to known facts otherwise. But that would not be the case in biographies written for adults.

However, it's not infrequently the case that writers DO know exact words that were said on particular historical occasions, if they were remembered and recorded in writing by participants or witnesses to the conversations (in some cases by more than one person). And from around 1900 on, some exchanges may actually have been mechanically recorded, on tape or other media. We often know the exact content of Presidential conversations, for instance.

[Nina]

Thanks, Werner, for your input. I think I will pay more particular attention when next I read a biography. Sometimes I do find mistakes, not necesarily in biographies, and am amazed they got by the editorial dept. My name is often misused, Teresa. It is mispelled and even when it is referred to Mother Teresa's quotes. They spell it Theresa. You would think they'd know better. There is no Saint Theresa; only Saint Teresa and Saint Therese(Little Flower.)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina, they can invent dialogue for famous people in fictionalized biographies. That's the only time I've ever seen that sort of thing.

[Nina]

Thanks Joy. I am sure that's probably where i've seen it before.

[Nina]

Below zero this morning. Brrr. I am enjoying the book I am now reading, "The Perfume Collector," by Kathleen Turner. Check it out Joy as I think you might like it. Just finished making apricot bars for a visiting son from TX. Used to be his favorite as a child.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Below zero this morning. Brrr. I am enjoying the book I am now reading, "The Perfume Collector," by Kathleen Turner. Check it out Joy as I think you might like it. Just finished making apricot bars..."

Nina, I don't know where you get your energy! You must love to cook! :)

I will check out that book you mentioned. (The Perfume Collector) Thanks.

Is it the book by Kathleen Tessaro Kathleen Tessaro?

[Nina]

Yes, I just read the author's name briefly and it went off the screen. It is Tessaro, not Turner. I am enjoying it. Love the descrptions of London, NY and Paris. And the clothes of the era and mentioning famous people. Look it up and see if it appeals to you.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Yes, Nina, it does. I just read the GR description. Sounds wonderful!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I didn't know where to post this but I guess this thread is the most appropriate right now.

Today, for the very first time, I have added a book to the Goodreads listings!
See its page at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

HERE'S HOW I CAME TO DO IT:

I've been reading Morgan's Run by Colleen McCullough and I noticed that the real Richard Morgan (who settled in Australia) was not listed at Wikipedia. After researching, I added his name to Wiki's disambiguation page. See my entry among the entries there:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard...
(Scroll down to see my 2 entries.)

Yes, I've been learning a bit about how to add info to Wikipedia. So far, so good. In the past I've added info re David Halberstam (who graduated from my H.S. with me in 1951) and now I've added the info re Richard Morgan.

After researching Richard Morgan, I found out about Tasmania! A Saga of a Pioneering Family. Goodreads didn't have it. So I added it.

I had found out about it here:
http://www.tasfamily.net.au/~schaffer...
(Scroll down to see it mentioned.)

Then I searched Google. I found the following which gave me all the info I needed to add it to the Goodreads website.
http://books.google.com/books/about/T...

I'm so pleased that my entries worked!

BTW, I just found out that the book is listed at WorldCat:
http://www.worldcat.org/title/tasmani...
I found that out via a link at the new book page I added. I clicked on the "Libraries" button and there it was at WorldCat.

PS-See my follow-up posts here: Messages #4441 and #4455.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-I just added a picture of the book cover to the Goodreads book page mentioned above (the book page I added to GR)!
See it at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

(I copied it from the WorldCat page and saved it to my photos on my laptop, and then uploaded it to the book page! Wow! It worked!)

[Werner]

Great job, Joy; kudos!

[Nina]

Good cover picture. Not easy, but you did it. Great info.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Thanks, Werner and Nina.

Actually, it wasn't hard for me to do. All one needs is a little experience playing around with this sort of thing. The know-how builds upon itself. But, as with all learning processes, one must take baby steps. :) For me it takes a lot of perseverance!

[Jim]

I LOVE the Settlement Cookbook. It's simple & gives basic ideas that are easily modified to fit what's available. I asked Marg what was for dinner tonight & she had no idea, so I spent a few minutes looking in the section devoted to leftover ham.

A few minutes later I poured some pineapple into a dish, put in a layer of ham, then poured Jiffy corn bread mix on top. Baked at 400 for 20 minutes, served with a mushroom sauce that was just a can of cream of mushroom soup with 1/2 the milk & 1/2 cup of brown sugar. (The brown sugar was supposed to be on the ham, but I forgot. Whoops!) It was delicious & took less than 45 minutes from the time I got the book out. Can't beat that.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim, that's terrific. Which Settlement Cookbook is it?

[Nina]

Jim, Isn't your book the 1977? I know it was a year later than mine. I agree, you just can't beat it. Regardless of the year. My mother in law's was a little later than the first issue which was in 1903.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

I have requested a copy from our public library. I want my husband to look at it. He loves to cook.

[Jim]

Nina, I think you're right. We have the 1977 edition. While I also have a copy of the the 1903 edition, it's a lot thinner & not particularly good for today since oven temps are given for a wood or kerosene fired stove. My grandmother used to cook on one, but I never have.

I doubt Eddy will find anything surprising in it, Joy. It's the perfect book for young people. Marg gave all out kids a copy. It's just basic recipes. Perfect for people like us that don't have a lot of time or desire to cook fancy.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Eddie doesn't cook fancy. Lately he's been buying too many frozen "bag" meals or other prepared suppers. However, on Friday we always have fresh fish. He's especially good with salmon. He could use a few new ideas though.