Mount TBR 2014 Challenge discussion
Level 6: El Toro (75 Books)
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Carolyn Pitches A Tent! (Cue The Double-Entendre Snickering)
The low-down, with complete links for intrigued parties' perusal of polished reviews, is this. :)“Light A Penny Candle” Maeve Binchy, 1982 (5/5)
“The Curse Of The Giant Hogweed” Charlotte MacLeod, 1985 (4/5)
√ (60) “Death Island” Robert Sutherland, 1994 (5/5)
~ "EL TORO" BEGINS HERE ~
“Mariana” Susanna Kearsley, 1994 (3/5)
“The Black Joke” Farley Mowat, 1962 (5/5)
“Two Moons In August” Martha Brooks, 1991 (3/5)
“Come Like Shadows” Welwyn Wilton Katz, 1993 (4/5)
“Remedy For Treason” Caroline Roe, 1998 (4/5)
“The Family Vault” Charlotte MacLeod, 1979 (5/5)
“The Withdrawing Room” Charlotte MacLeod<, 1980 (4/5)
“The Night The Gods Smiled” Eric Wright, 1983 (4/5)
“Smoke Detector” Eric Wright, 1984 (4/5)
√ (70) “Death In The Old Country” Eric Wright, 1985 (4/5)
(71) “Cure For A Charlatan” Caroline Roe, 1999 (3/5)
(72) “False Face” Welwyn Wilton Katz, 1987 (3/5)
(73) “Kiss Me” Andrew Pyper, 1996 (3/5)
(74) “Reflections In Poetry And In Pictures” P.J. Peters, 1984 (4/5)
√ (75) “Spring Floods: Poems, Short Stories, And A Play” Mari Pineo, 1990 (4/5)
Thank you. I appreciate at least you, asking about my kitty's well-remembered birthday and both you and Leslie popping in recently, as well as Cath last time she was on the horn, as I call it. :) Barb had a look too and others - which makes me glad.I was impressed you knew what Canada day was about; put a different, more simple spin on it than I did before. I'll keep that twist, about combining colonies, in mind. I recall Australia day is January. I hope you shout it out next time it comes. I guess we're out of Él Toro! Should anyone want a belated look at my reviews and how much I am enjoying these books; I will carry along this list to my new mountain. Sincerely, Carolyn.
Hi Carolyn! :-) I haven't been 'on the horn' as much as usual lately as I took a fall in the yard a couple of weeks ago and aggravated my cervical spondilosis. It still hasn't cleared and as too much typing is painful I'm not online commenting as much as I would like. Seeing the dr. on Monday so hopefully it won't be too long before I'm up to speed and around here being a nuisance once again. ;-D
Christine, then definitely announce your occasions in January and it will be my pleasure to greet them with gusto. :) Cath, I'm so sorry about the fall. I don't want you falling down those English hills. Devon and Cornwall have adders, never mind!Prairie folk aren't used to any animals that are venomous or scarcely dangerous. Wolves, cougars, coyotes, foxes stay away from people (my priority is that my pets stay safe). So if we see a snake, we could pick it up if we liked. Get well soon and don't be afraid to see a chiropractor like so many. There's nothing more freeing than a neck or shoulder that isn't hampered by normal movements.
Get well soon, Cath.
Carolyn: I'd have been better off falling down a nice grassy slope rather than on the concrete outside the back door. A much softer landing! LOL! Saw the dr. today and I'm progressing nicely... but have to keep taking the painkillers for a while. We don't have much that's venomous here either. Adders are quite rare, I've only ever seen one once and it was going quickly in the opposite direction!
I'm so glad you're better, my dear gardening friend. You mean I stepped gingerly all over Cornwall, unnecessarily? You know the true answer to the question "Why do you live in a place that can get so cold"? is that there is scarcely anything dangerous. No ominous tropical storms come here of course and tornadoes are rare. If they enter the Canadian prairies, one area is very finely honed-in. I've longed to tell my international friends here so they would enjoy the tale: a gorgeous, beautiful black bear walked through our east yard; around Wednesday evening.He started at our back door, likely peering in to see who we were and what might lie behind the glass part of our back door. Ron saw him on two legs but he quickly jogged across our marsh, at sight of Ron in the window. No trouble at all, just figuring out where he was and what our house was. I saw him poking in our compost pile, way across the yard and enjoyed it. I hadn't seen a black bear in a 1 1/2 year and he was just glorious. Unlike the average person, we feel very honoured to see forest creatures walk by. It is why we live here.
I told a nice bear story here for everyone's entertainment.
I think you did step gingerly over Cornwall unnecessarily, Carolyn. LOL Yes, I know the answer to that question too. It doesn't get as cold here as it does where you are but like you we have very little that would harm us. I couldn't cope with somewhere like Australia... too hot and all those venomous snakes and spiders. Loved the fact that you had a black bear in your yard. Wow. Unimaginable here unless it had escaped from a zoo. It must have been very special. :-)
Thank you for being someone to appreciate that. I don't refer to animals as "nuisances" etc. We feel honoured by these sightings, rare enough to enjoy. We wouldn't want a pack of wolves camped nearby (we have never seen one - a fox running fast, once). We put away our only potential "attractant" at night: our bird feeders and empty our compost pail into the pile far from our house. Of course, there is no meat at our home other than rinsed cat food tins.Then, we can enjoy glimpsing these critters, for they are who we are here to see. There is a deer who regularly feeds at the salt lick we have for her, by the compost pile. Last week, I discovered she is a Mother because a tiny fawn hopped in and out of view! She is wisely taught to stay out of sight when Mom feeds in clearings. I saw her hop in and out of view twice, in fast succession.
C. wrote: "I'm so glad you're better, my dear gardening friend. You mean I stepped gingerly all over Cornwall, unnecessarily? You know the true answer to the question "Why do you live in a place that can ge..."Wow, that must have been amazing! I also like to see the wild creatures but the most exciting for me is your commonplace deer.
I should clarify, I've only seen a baby deer at our home one other time. (Never around my region at all, which I approve for their safety). Deer are surprisingly more open in camping parks but here, it was a rare gift and I'm glad it came to someone who treasured it as much as I.
A turtle strolled by recently too. They are also rare for me to see and faster than people think.
The mother and baby deer sighting must have been so special. Thrilled for you. And a turtle? That's amazing! I thought they were mainly in the sea. How stupid am I? LOL!
We are marsh land. A fawn sighting is fleeting. With hunter mentality around here, it's best she keep out of sight. I sure did cherish knowing she was there and seeing her hop in a flash! Just this afternoon, a garter snake was on my front sidewalk. They were once regular visitors under our back door step; the former neighbours were an elderly couple with just a dog and were often out. We're mainly home and presumably seven cats deter the reptiles from hibernating there. I don't fear them but one doesn't like snakes close to the house. So I walked with this one until he was across the lawn and enjoyed saying hello to him too, which has become rare.
It seems hunter mentality is everywhere. :-(Wow, a garter snake! What a fantastic encounter. Your wildlife seems very exotic to us here in the UK. We get small mammals in the garden, hedgehogs, woodmice etc, and we have seen slow-worms, frogs and toads and many different birds. Where we lived before we often had badgers and foxes in the garden too, but not here. We have many species of deer in the UK but those tend to be in the wilder parts of the country or dense woodland. Of course Canada is still a wild country compared to the UK. I love the idea of Canadian wilderness still being there despite the ravages of civilisation elsewhere.
Good morning! I was thrilled to show you my backyard, which you could see really includes forest. No wonder critters visit. This spring, even more rare than fawns, bears, turtles, and snakes was a groundhog! Not the groundsquirrel beaver size: synonym "woodchuck"! Spirit, our grey tabby who will be 10 July 19th, showed me by staring at it up a tree. It isn't a climbing animal but was startled into a good height! I brought the cats in so it felt comfortable leaving. Recently, Angel & I (the white tabby) were at this very window when a raven swooped down and took a deceased mouse from the lawn. I appreciate all of these sights. Should others like to see my four-season photos: http://cmriedel.wordpress.com/2014/07...A short walk on an animal path in that stand of trees, leads to our property ribbon. The trees continue, government land owned by no one. Other properties meet it intermittently. Our cleared land is minimal; the rest lying on the west side of our house. Most people would put things in the field space you saw, for instance chopping the marsh. The elderly Irish greenhouse man from whom we bought soil to refresh the flowerbeds, gazed over it and suggested a pond. His properties in town are *full to the brim* of projects and 'stuff'. I replied: "How about leaving it natural, exactly as is"? We trimmed a good deal around the marsh but like living a strip across the east, which leads to a ditch. Creatures hide, wildflowers and lovely reeds grow.... It gives a special look rather than a plain field. I was so pleased to show people our yards and lovely in all seasons.
Just when you think there must be nothing to behold in winter; we are greeted by winter birds. Believe it or not *we* are their southern migration from places in the higher north. My favourite thing about visiting other countries is seeing their animals and birds. I hope to see your red kite sometime. My visit to your Chiltern Hills was as brief as everything else but we read about it and did stop. Thank you, Cath. I love that Canada leaves vast space alone. The sole reason we built even that flower circle, was to replace a tall pile of brush that was dumped there. Much better than London, I loved England's small towns and natural regions. Gorgeous - my camera film knew no bounds. Your space is beautified by castles, follies, stone walls, and I can't get enough of lighthouses.
Those pics of part of your garden (forest!) through the seasons was just delightful to me, Carolyn. Not many homes in the UK have that much land... our garden would be considered big here, but not in Canada. I think it's wonderful that you left that area of your land wild. Perfect. And I love the idea that you see winter birds from the north in the winter!I so agree with you about liking to see what the wildlife has to offer in other countries. Our visits to the USA were fascinating for that reason and I loved seeing bluebirds, chickadees, North American robins, which are different to ours, wild turkeys... we don't have those. I hope you get to see a Red Kite oneday, Wales is the best place for that. I've seen one but not in the UK... I saw it in France. London is an amazing city but as you know, it's not really 'England'.
When we went country for our cats in 2010 (our apartment building owner renovated and ceased including pets), I hoped for major land like 50 acres. We have under 3. There are two close neighbours (thank goodness the pesky ones to our south have left the place vacant) and the people two properties down are noisy. But indeed, this is a finer expanse than the city and as a matter of fact, it is our first house at all. A wonderful leap from an apartment. Ironically our house is small and some rooms, tinier than the apartment rooms were. But what you see outdoors and having a house at all, are sure worth it. There's nothing wrong with what we do have at our first try.I figured out that by "garden" a Brit sometimes means "lawn" or "yard". At first I thought, "you haven't seen any of our planted gardens yet" but I understood after some thought. I'm so happy you were pleased to see my favourite side of our home. Since those gardens aren't in the view, it's true we are blessed with still more space than that. You bring me joy and do me proud, by delighting in it with me. By the way, the Chiltern Hills brochures mentioned red kites, which was an attraction for going. They were lovely stops in southern England anyway.
Last night a raccoon couple cleaned under the birdfeeders (put away for the night). We see them often near 11:00PM. There was a lady turkey in June last year who ate at our birdfeeders for a few weeks I recall; we have photographs of her. Why not? She is a bird too after all! At first our cats were startled by her, then began chasing her. When we gave them heck enough and perhaps the novelty dimmed, they let her be until she migrated to mate. She took dust baths in a few spots belonging to corn seeds but no matter, she was very worth it and we loved meeting her dearly. Just now I awoke to see a young male deer, with a tiny horn pointed from his head unicorn style, grazing the grass near my bedroom window. When we look out in the livingroom, or in our room in the morning, we never know what we'll find and we absolutely love that. Your country friend, Carolyn.
C. wrote: "We are marsh land. A fawn sighting is fleeting. With hunter mentality around here, it's best she keep out of sight. I sure did cherish knowing she was there and seeing her hop in a flash! Jus..."
I saw some sort of water mammal today in and on the banks of our local river -- maybe a muskrat? it looked too small to be a beaver but too big to be a water rat.
I think so! Those sweet guys seem to be more visible than their cousins. Such nice little heads bobbing along. I don't get to water bodies often. It's a treasured sight you have had today. :)
Carolyn, I think you did very well for your first 'house' to get such a lot of land, despite wanting 50 acres. 3 is excellent and would be 'huge' over here. Many people have tiny pocket handkerchief sized gardens. We have, I suppose, about half an acre. Biggish for the UK. 'Garden' tends to mean all of the land, unless people have a field or paddock attached then that would not be described as part of the garden. Most don't have fields attached so 'garden' tends to mean where we grow flowers, veg, and lawns... all combined.Our friends in Pittsburgh had a family of wild turkeys parade through their garden every day. Huge fun to watch them. Loved hearing your story of how your cats reacted to turkeys in your garden! How wonderful to wake and find a deer in your garden. Wow!
I didn't realize that about the British 'garden'! And I am such an Anglophile... I had always assumed as Carolyn said, a planted bed of flowers or veg...
Visit my site above all you'll see my surprise, along with our comments. At first, I thought Cath was complimenting the flower "circle garden" but we had spoken a great deal about food gardening and I told her, she hasn't seen anything yet. Then I thought of my Birmingham friends who have lived her for 20+ years. They say "garden" when we mean "lawn" or "yard / property"; they say "decorate" which we only use for INTERIOR decorating. Otherwise it's "renovate" or "repair". They say "holiday" when we mean "trip" or "vacation". A holiday is Christmas, Easter. When I figured it out I was extremely touched, that Cath is praising the look of my home as a whole. That's why I shared it. :-)
It fascinating to compare how different nations change the language and wonderful to find out about these things and smile about them. Let's hear it for diversity! Would that some nations of the world could celebrate these differences instead of warring over them. I'd better climb off my soapbox now. :-)Re: 'decorating' Carolyn. I was telling an American friend that we were 'decorating' the house. I meant, but didn't say, painting and wallpapering a couple of rooms. Her reply,'Why? It's not Christmas or Halloween!' LOL. Love it!
I quickly realised many years ago that North Americans use 'vacation' rather than 'holiday' and that holiday generally mean something like Christmas! Our use of 'holiday' is the same as the Aussie one, which is perhaps not really surprising.
Never a soapbox with me, my ladies. Public places, reading especially, are for sharing, teaching, thoughts of hope and change. Both of you are welcomed and encouraged to be yourselves and spark fascinating conversations within the 'RIEDEL Fascination' pages too. (How it is pronounced is a discourse in itself). I've teased my friends that since they are landed immigrant Canadians, they must use our language. But I do the very same when I visit anywhere else. I call myself a linguist. I very quickly pick up even the personal expressions of others (such as the Trinidadians with whom I grew up) and use them in their presence. I wouldn't dream of travelling ('holidaying' - haha) without at least trying "hello" in the language of my hosting country.Rest assured in England I used "shut" instead of "closed" and "petrol" instead of "gas" and "crisps" instead of "potato chips". It took me a week to shake it after Ron & I returned home (August 2009). Christine and I are both colony countries but I do notice some are more British than others. For instance St. Lucia (and Australia) drive "on the wrong side of the road" but we don't. I learned why England chose that side - all part of our tour of castles. ;) Then there are people who use certain expressions. Some are grammatically incorrect and some not kind; other than those scenarios diversity is fun to explore. I love seeing someone else's home not to mention their province or country, which is why I initiated the photo activity in the link above.
I consider deer magical, it doesn't matter that I now see them with interspersed regularity. It was never about novelty. But their loitering in summer is a risk to our gardens, as much as one hopes they will stick to the clover. Indeed, I found a whole lettuce roll decimated. In winter or scarcity of food, I wouldn't be frurstrated. There are branches and lush grass as far as the eye can see - no excuse. Anyway, I refuse to instantly regard wild animals as a nuisance (including pigeons and squirrels) and only say that I prefer their visits in winter. They have a salt lick in the rear year round (perhaps folks spotted the trough in pictures at the webpage above, by the compost). They may come all they wish in winter.I insist on a fence, Ron says we don't have the supplies (I say we do), nor funds to buy the fancy set-up he must be envisioning. Use what we have and block it a bit. I'm growing all I can around my flowerbeds as is, plants they can't resist like: spinach, beet tops, Swiss chard, broccoli, sunflowers. A few nibbles trying the lettuce and pea vines, fine. Taking all of a lettuce row? Far too cheeky.
I'm one of those that quickly picks up accents and words too. In the US even after three weeks I was saying sidewalk and so on. I speak a little French and find that when in France, even if you're not word perfect (and I'm not) the locals appreciate it when you try. And some fun conversations happen! Yes, some friends in Ohio regularly lose crops to the local deer and like you would pefer it if they came in winter. We occasionally lose things. A visiting badger decimated our sweetcorn crop one year, which was rather discouraging but it hasn't happened since. When you grow a veg garden you have to expect that things will not go smoothly every year. We net our seed beds as the local cats will dig the beds up otherwise. You just have to take precautions. And I think gardeners are rather philosophical people. :-) I agree that an entire lettuce bed is a bit cheeky!
My small row is gone too, alas. They're just visiting more this summer than I've ever seen and eating stuff they wouldn't bother with. The landscape is lush. I adore them and yes indeed, we have a good attitude towards critters. In all other instances, I'm their greatest fan. Ron said a skunk passed by the other night (at sunset, I *read*). We both chimed: "How wonderful. Mice carcasses must be cleaned up". I ought to create a funny name for my 100-level crime and start it.The other topic is, I was pleasantly surprised to hear you know French. You should chat with Leslie and I. The Englishmen and women I know here are stoutly English-only, as if the thought of them attempting another language is more absurd than being struck by lightnening. One argued: "Someone always knows English wherever one travels". That strikes me as a disappointing, irresponsible, and lazy point of view. It misses the boat rather, doesn't it?
Sure, they might claim survival without it but that is never the point. Someone stuck with a single language just won't understand the realm that opens up when one is multilingual; I mean attempting phrases. One needn't speak it well. I can't express the plethora of connections I've made in music, film, literature, and unexpected places by having an inkling of other tongues. A stock broker where I once worked had a heritage tattoo of which he was proud: "Nie Oublie". I've never taken so much as an hour of Latin but he was thunderstruck when I hazarded: "Never forget"?
A skunk? How amazing!! Wow.I don't think my French is good enough to join in a written conversation, Carolyn. :-) But when in France I like to try verbally and it's surprising how quickly my schoolgirl French came back to me. And how nice it was to try to converse with my late sister-in-law's neighbours with their bit of English and my bit of French. And a chap who had a small biscuit shop on the coast of Brittany miles from anywhere. He was so thrilled to have English people walk through the door as his father had fought in the resistance in WW2. And his daughter had recently been to Cornwall and brought back a packet of our Cornish Fairings for him to try. When he realised he'd got a real live Cornish person in front of him he was beside himself. :-D He had a smidgeon of English and we had a little French and we garnered all this info. A wonderful encounter.
Weirdly, I got Nie Oublie immediately as I know the French for 'forget' is 'oublier' and realised it probably comes from the Latin. As you say, knowing just a bit opens up all kinds of opportunities and avenues.
Yes, our French made it automatic. As a child I liked David Bowie and a friend with whom I used to hang out, was over the moon about him (my over-the-moons are Corey Hart, A-ha, Chris DeBurgh). As at least one die-hard fan, we had to see everything David did. In 1987 came "Labyrinth" and its ensuing soundtrack - the source of much enthrallment. Well, one of the pitfalls laid by the disgruntled goblin king is "the oubliette", into which the now-famous Jennifer Connelly ("A Beautiful Mind" many years later as an adult) stumbles. This is the best part of the film, where she's trapped in a dream and a dance is performed to the song "As The World Falls Down". We, as French immersion pupils needn't no translation. The oubliette would make them forget reality.The bit you shared about eking out a conversation with strangers met in travel, is one of the most beautiful, last memories a person could have. I look forward to touching upon it more when our timelines meet and I have returned from used book perusing, in a fresh new town today. Ron's on holidays. By the way, if no one guesses 'A RIEDEL Clue #2' by tonight, I'll give a hint.
Keep on sleuthing: we have gone to round 2! http://cmriedel.wordpress.com/2014/07...In other news to share with peers, we scored the booksale of all booksales today. I'm not saying we needed 77 of them but some will be gifts, some will be prizes, some to trade in Winnipeg's used shops for others I need. This is the best result we have ever attained: averaging 11c per book!!!!
The most fulfilling are finds that culminate a search for tiltes on our wish lists. Most aquisitions are about accepting a good deal: not on our list, series fragments, new discoveries. To find an item we are seeking, is to know the joy of paper book questing. This was a highly stellar moment for me. I found a long out-of-print youth mystery, among those I have wanted the most!I could only buy it used at Amazon.ca, scour Ebay (with which I have not bothered for a few years), or spot it locally in a used store. I couldn't tell you the odds of finding it at all. It was a quarter! It is in pristine shape. I would not have touched it at Amazon.ca because the lowest used price I see today.... is $340.00 CDN! I am deleriously happy!
Yes indeed, the find at 25c is enormous when sellers were trying to charge $340 on-line. This isn't a longest-searched item but there is certainly awe in finding it. It has been out-of-print for probably decades. Barring the internet, which I refused for foolish prices, sifting it out could only be by chance. I'm elated because that's what happened... for 25c!
We're going on another used book scouring trip; next to the city for a lot of credit trading. My pile of giveaway books is higher than number of folks who participate in activities. ;) My sweet kittens have had breakfast and want to cuddle, so off to bed with them. This was a fast check.
I'm back from the aforementioned trip. This week has yielded very good hauls in four towns. Cath darling, I hope you're well. Trust you to welcome the newcomer, Jessika as well. It means a great deal when wonderful people like you comment in other people's threads. That's what my sharing aloud is for and you are a true dear to visit, contribute, and encourage.
I hope your neck and back are better and that the cement fall didn't make it uncomfortable to read in convalescence. Your progress and variety is outstanding this year.
It's time to name another mountain and write down my accomplishments anew! Pals and peers might have missed my spiel about an awesome treasure I found, on a used store shopping spree. Turn to the previous page in this very thread to read it. Then we can surely follow up, lounged in lawn chairs at my new heading. Yours Truly, Carolyn.
I don't see our hostess' mountain on the current list, so I'll give well wishes on the spot. Happy birthday to you, Bev! I very proudly have gone on book-searching quests this week too!
This is my path up this mountain. See the end of the previous page, for a discussion about my recent book spree jackpots! For your information: all authors from (59) to (75) are Canadian.“That Quail, Robert” Margaret A. Stanger, 1966 (4/5)
“The Merlot Murders” Ellen Crosby, 2006 (3/5)
“Light A Penny Candle” Maeve Binchy, 1982 (5/5)
“The Curse Of The Giant Hogweed” Charlotte MacLeod, 1985 (4/5)
√ (60) “Death Island” Robert Sutherland, 1994 (5/5)
~ "EL TORO" BEGINS HERE ~
“Mariana” Susanna Kearsley, 1994 (3/5)
“The Black Joke” Farley Mowat, 1962 (5/5)
“Two Moons In August” Martha Brooks, 1991 (3/5)
“Come Like Shadows” Welwyn Wilton Katz, 1993 (4/5)
“Remedy For Treason” Caroline Roe, 1998 (4/5)
“The Family Vault” Charlotte MacLeod, 1979 (5/5)
“The Withdrawing Room” Charlotte MacLeod<, 1980 (4/5)
“The Night The Gods Smiled” Eric Wright, 1983 (4/5)
“Smoke Detector” Eric Wright, 1984 (4/5)
√ (70) “Death In The Old Country” Eric Wright, 1985 (4/5)
(71) “Cure For A Charlatan” Caroline Roe, 1999 (3/5)
(72) “False Face” Welwyn Wilton Katz, 1987 (3/5)
(73) “Kiss Me” Andrew Pyper, 1996 (3/5)
(74) “Reflections In Poetry And In Pictures” P.J. Peters, 1984 (4/5)
√ (75) “Spring Floods: Poems, Short Stories, And A Play” Mari Pineo, 1990 (4/5)
I have all of my drafted reviews and their links. Listing all of this - of course - is for you all. Enjoy and hope you find it helpful!
If at any time people reply, this would mean a lot to me this day. To the shock and sorrow of Ron & I: our healthy, largest and very strong cat, Love died last night! He was only nearly 4 years old and fell inexplicably sick at around noon. This is sad enough as it is but we are a family who considers animals equal to people and our cats, very much our children. Dearer to us than many could know. To lose Love so early, without warning is terrible. More than that he is our son and the loss is tremendous. Thank you very much, any of you, for listening. Your words will get me through until we hold a funeral this evening. In shock, Carolyn & Ron.(A message in this discussion thread is great. But if anyone were compelled to message me privately through Goodreads, I would find e-mail easier and could keep the message of support too: AlyshaeB@hotmail.com).
I replied to your status update on the Anne Perry book, Carolyn, but just wanted to repeat how very sorry I am to hear your sad news. What a terrible shock for you... life can be horrible at times.
It is too soon and sudden but I can say loving him is worth it. I wondered how I would handle eventual (I thought) crossing-over of my seven dear children. This part feels robbed, of rightful time for him and for us. But this pain is worth loving him, the brightness he placed upon our lives permanently. His existence is worth it. He is the best cat and I pray his presence continues is obvious to both of us always. My profile photograph right here happens to be of he & I.His cat mother checked the basket just now where he is lying in wait, I think one calls it. The others can't seem to bear to look any more now after looking him over, ill and passed away. But Marigold has just checked on him again, her first son. She is accepting it well as animals seem to very well but it is meaningful that she keeps looking in. She put her paws to lean on the basket earlier this morning as Ron readied for work. Every kind word gives us a lift. God bless you!
Condolences trickling in are very helpful. Thank you with all of my heart. I will keep checking today, the hardest day of my life since these beautiful kitties were born. Odd that the next day is worse. It becomes real, past the shock and support means everything in the first while.
I don't have the heart to read since Lovey was inexplicably sick Thursday afternoon. I tried a page of a book that was previously enthralling but worried about him. All I could do was hug him close and do my best to sooth his fast breathing. Since our young bright cat, to our shock, actually died Thursday night I've been numb. But a very uplifting funeral we held last night, mixed with ideas and traditions that occurred to Ron & I, helped a great deal. Now, I hope those who haven't stopped by with consoling words, still say something or e-mail. That will help ease the next several days to come. It's okay if it wasn't all the first day, so long as people come out and say something. It is all appreciated. Carolyn, missing her most gentle 'Love'.
C. wrote: "If at any time people reply, this would mean a lot to me this day. To the shock and sorrow of Ron & I: our healthy, largest and very strong cat, Love died last night! He was only nearly 4 years ..."So sorry to hear this :( My condolences...
You are the best, one who understands the love of family animals. Thanks a million for popping in to cheer me up. I noticed since last year or more that Lovey is in many pictures with books. He clearly liked to be around them and what I was doing. All seven adore lounging in the library. Most of his funeral at 9:00PM last night was there. We are touched that all his feline family were equally present, comfortably gathered to see him off and attend. This tribute and branch of closure working out so well, uplifted Ron & I a great deal. Notes like yours will help us through the next days. *Hugs Leslie*.
Mod
Thanks for the birthday wishes, Carolyn.
My current mountain-climbing list is at Everest--my stated goal (I don't put up lists for each peak along the way).
The list for my most recent TBR stack (birthday-buying trip) is on the blog.
I have finished my seventy-sixth book, so I will bid sayanora to this mountain discussion page, with whichever kind words follow this. :) Positive greetings to everyone, Carolyn.