All About Books discussion
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What are you doing right now? Part 2
B - if it’s any consolation, I’ll bet your grandniece will cherish the memory of her wonderful great-aunties and a day without electricity.
Awh , Bette, I understand your exhaustion, but Bette, I bet your grandniece will remember the day fondly forever.Glad to see you reading again. :0)
My husband has just sent me a warning letter he received from our M. of Transport and the Meteos:Today and tomorrow cold, gale force winds and torrential rain (we already have that) which will lead to flooding.
Then on Wednesday the temps will drop even further and there will be snow at high elevations possible in Jerusalem.
At work we don't have heating (except the individual bar heaters the cold suffers have scrounged) and I am chilly wearing two sweaters and a scarf.
I made need to bring the finger-less mitts tomorrow!
Is there no temperature set where employees are sent home?
Chrissie wrote: "Is there no temperature set where employees are sent home?"The A/C can be changed so it blows hot air but that is suffocating and so completely dries out the air it is hard to breathe. But if it got really cold that would be turned on.
Although houses are better constructed these days 20 years ago it was normal for it to be colder inside in the winter.
I used not to have a coat because most days it was sunny outside, but I would carry a thick woolly cardigan to put on once I went in a building.
Also you must remember that for an Israeli anything below 10c is very cold.
The situation certainly does sound difficult! I hope it gets better soon.
Yesterday we had what my mum used to call 'a stinker', a really hot day of 38C/100F. By 6pm, it was 37C/98F and when I went to bed at 10.30, the temp was still 35C/95F. The whole week ahead forecast looks just like yesterday was so I'll be in the pool from 3pm every day.
I’m in a real life book club meeting! It’s called literary musings and each person talks about a different book. Each meeting has a theme. I like it since I don’t have to read a certain book by a certain date. And I hear about books I’m not familiar with.
Good luck with that cold Esther.I remember during the US gas crisis in the seventies my parents had us wear hats even to bed.
B the BookAddict wrote: "Yesterday we had what my mum used to call 'a stinker', a really hot day of 38C/100F. By 6pm, it was 37C/98F and when I went to bed at 10.30, the temp was still 35C/95F. The whole week ahead forec..."
Thank goodness for the pool.
As a SAHM I always took the children to our town's outdoor pool. Once they learnt to swim well I would sit poolside reading in the cool breeze and after a few hours they would be so exhausted they would scoff down a picnic lunch then straight home for a long nap.
Joan wrote: "Good luck with that cold Esther.I remember during the US gas crisis in the seventies my parents had us wear hats even to bed."
My Dad always wears a hat to bed especially since he had gone bald. My Mum occasionally complains so I may have to knit him a proper nightcap!
Pam wrote: "I’m in a real life book club meeting! It’s called literary musings and each person talks about a different book. Each meeting has a theme. I like it since I don’t have to read a certain book by a c..."Sounds good! I was in a real life book club years ago when living in Luxembourg, but it was a "classic" book club where we all read and discussed the same book. It was wonderful though, and I got to meet great people from around the world, too :)
I really like the idea of reading and discussing different books. Is there a common theme from which you pick and choose your own book, or is it completely up to your choice?
Marina- Yes, there is a theme to each meeting. For example, biographies, SF, favorite book, YA, etc. When the Great American Read was on TV, they were following a theme from an episode. They’re doing something interesting in February. The library is holding an Author Speed Date event featuring 12 local authors. They each have 15 minutes to talk about their book(s). The theme of the book club meeting, which is before this event, is to read a book by one of these authors. Unfortunately, our two most famous authors in New Mexico, George RR Martin and Rebecca Roanhorse won’t be participating! I think it’s a great idea and plan on attending the event.
B the BookAddict wrote: "Yesterday we had what my mum used to call 'a stinker', a really hot day of 38C/100F. By 6pm, it was 37C/98F and when I went to bed at 10.30, the temp was still 35C/95F. The whole week ahead forec..."
Glad yo have that pool to cool off in!
Pam wrote: "Marina- Yes, there is a theme to each meeting. For example, biographies, SF, favorite book, YA, etc. When the Great American Read was on TV, they were following a theme from an episode. They’re doi..."Looks great! If you want, let me/us know how the author speed date goes. I'm sure your TBR will grow!
We had a horrid 44C/111F here yesterday, I thought I was going to melt into a puddle. No shade near the pool until 3pm so I had to stay inside till then. I wet both cats (longhaired) under the cool tap which they did appreciate.
B the BookAddict wrote: "We had a horrid 44C/111F here yesterday, I thought I was going to melt into a puddle. No shade near the pool until 3pm so I had to stay inside till then. I wet both cats (longhaired) under the c..."
That's HOT!!!!!
Wow B! I have never experienced such heat, came close at 41C one day 30 years ago....
I have either, but too hot or too cold like we have it here now, and I'm trapped in the house. Neither my Ms nor my asthma like extreme weather. Thank goodness for pools, B. Pam, we have a local author event at my library too. They are alot of fun, though the books vary in quality.
I feel for you, Bette. I've experienced temperatures as high as 46°C and here in the summer it's not at all unusual to be in the 40's, but I suffer every time we have such a temperature.
Yes, I am not a hot weather person either. Autoimmune joint disease and eczema both tolerate the heat very poorly.
I have never been one fond of either HOT or FRIGID weather, having grown up in a temperate climate. The hottest I've ever been in where I knew the temperature was 105 F and I HATED IT. I may have been in slightly hotter.BTW, it can get as hot as 45 C in Saskatchewan, Canada (yes the frigid prairies and that is 113 F) although in the summer it's usually in the 30s C. My dad once tried to fry an egg on the sidewalk (in the sun) when it was 110 F in the shade as a boy and that was 38 miles NORTH of Saskatoon, so not that far south, really. I'm not sure if it hit 45 C when he was growing up or not--too hard to find all of those records. He said it took 45 minutes.
Also, it often hits 40 and higher in a number of areas in Canada in the summer. In many parts of Ontario and Quebec it gets VERY HUMID--Montreal is very bad for that in the summer. So even if it's only in the 80s F it feels so much worse than it it.
But I grew up in southwestern BC where it was like Seattle but with less rain thanks to the Island (aka Vancouver Island, but we ALWAYS just called it the Island). However, there is temperate rain forest in parts of BC--plus desert areas and a variety of other types of ecosystems.
As for me, the perfect day in warm weather is in the 70s F and not humid. The perfect day in winter is just cold enough for snow all over the ground before people have shovelled down to it when there are zero mould spores in the air.
Mod
I wet both cats (longhaired) under the c..."
Hot, but definitly betetr that my -3 C and rein and wind as we're having here at the moment!
LauraT wrote: "B the BookAddict wrote: "We had a horrid 44C/111F here yesterday, I thought I was going to melt into a puddle. No shade near the pool until 3pm so I had to stay inside till then. ..."Hot, but definitly betetr that my -3 C and rein and wind as we're having here at the moment!..."
I am not in agreement about that! I would much prefer to be cold than hot; I can always put on another layer of clothes.
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Usually no one is! But think... Remember the Italian soldiers in WWII: who was better, those in Russia or those in Africa????
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Usually no one is! But think... Remember the Italian soldie..."
I feel like I should know this but my mind is drawing a blank now. Been writing an essay on who was better prepared for WWII.
Hi Everyone,We are in the middle of summer here in Australia and it has been very very hot. Some days its just too hot to go outside, best to stay inside hunker down and read some books.
We have had a few scorchers this summer last week was one of the hotter days 47 degrees it was a shocker, Days like that its too hot to even go to the beach..... So I have done a lot of reading this month its been great actually. I want to get back to spending more of my free time reading books than staring blankly at the TV screen :)
I've always loved reading, Now days everything is so instant and immediate to get things. Reading is one of those things you use your imagination, you stimulate your mind and its an investment of time....
LauraT, you make a good point but I stick to my position... cold is better than hot. Note that I am saying this as the snow is falling!
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Easy enough: soldiers in Russia perished in thousends, and those who didn't die had feet, fingers and sometimes limbs torn apart from the extreame frost. In Africa, a part from scarcity of food in the allied camps where they were in the end inprisoned, and the "usual" fleas and ringwoarm, they almost all retourned home!
LauraT wrote: "Alannah wrote: "I feel like I should know this but my mind is drawing a blank now. Been writing an essay on who was better prepared for WWII."Easy enough: soldiers in Russia perished in thousends..."
I am sure that you are right in survival terms (such as those soldiers faced) but in the comfort of my home, I will continue to prefer cold.
I am just starting to watch the Italian film "Swept Away" while I drink some red wine... (It is just after 9 pm here in the east coast of the US and it is cold out: 4 °F or -15°C but my window is still slightly open).
I’m with you Leslie - cold weather, turtleneck shirts and bulky sweaters. It is unusually cold here, 15F was the high today, but what a glorious blue sky.
Mod
You mean the remake of Lina Wertmüller's "Travolti da un insolito destino nell'azzurro mare d'agosto"? The funny thing is that the male protagonist in this second one is the son of the one of the first!!!
Hi everyone. I haven't been on here for awhile. Things have not been great. We had to put my mother in a nursing home just before Christmas. She is at the place where my sister works so at least she can see my sister every day. Her dementia was getting worse and we just felt she wasn't safe anymore at my brother's house. Two weeks ago my Uncle (Mom's brother) passed away. He lived a good life and was loved by many people. He used to say all the time that he was a lucky man. I haven't done much reading but I'm hoping to get back to it now. Hope everyone is well.
Glad to see you back, Ruth.
I was sorry to hear about your mother. Dementia is a devastating illness, particularly for those around the person with dementia. I'm glad to hear that your sister is nearby. That's got to be a comfort.
Oh Ruth, a tough month for you and your family, I’m sorry.
Glad to see you back Ruth. You have been dealing with some difficult situations. I hope you have had some help.
Ruth , good to see you back. Sorry to hear about your mother .
Ruth, I'm sorry for what you've had to go through. My great-aunt has dementia and, as others have said, it's devastating. She's still at home with her children (my uncles), but it's not easy at all.
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Ruth wrote: "Hi everyone. I haven't been on here for awhile. Things have not been great. We had to put my mother in a nursing home just before Christmas. She is at the place where my sister works so at least sh..."I'm sorry for what you've had to go through. This is one of the most difficult things to do; I was in my late 30s when my mother and aunts had to move my grandmother to a home (one was resisting until she helped care for her).
Now my mother is in the earlier stages of dementia and it is hard. Thankfully right now my dad is alive and healthy for his age, so she can be at home as long as he's alive, but he's 5 years older.
So sorry Ruth to hear about your mom. Sounds like she’s in a better place now. Welcome back!I’m going to Phoenix, AZ this weekend to visit my mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law. We try to get out once a year but somehow missed last year. This is a good time to go (weather-wise) since it will be in the mid to high 60s. Usually it’s 90s and 100s. We might hit snowy roads on the way, though, from a storm blowing through today in northern NM and AZ. Hope not! I should get in some good reading on the drive since my husband does all of the driving.
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LauraT wrote: "Enjoy in Phoenix, Pam! I'm going away as well fo the week end: from Saturday night to Tuesday night I'll be in Palermo, Sicily, looking for a bit of sun and warm weather!"How nice! I've never been to Palermo but my parents tell me it's a wonderful city. Enjoy!
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How nice!..."
THey say so! I've only visited the southern part of Sicily - Pachino, Noto, Ragusa, Siracusa, Agrigento - but I'm still missing the "upper" part. We'll start with Catania this Saturday - there's a direct flight from Perugia, and later on ... something else!
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I then collapsed on the sofa with The Stars Are Fire, my next read and author Anita Shreve's last book before her death.