Watcha' Doing - 2020 Showing 251-300 of 2,651

[Sandra, Moderator]

That is great, Rusalka. It is good to get at least some good news. I hope the rest of Australia gets a break too. Still praying for rain (in the right amount).

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Sandra wrote: "Still praying for rain (in the right amount)."

We're being a little Goldilock-esq at the moment, I understand lol

[Sandra, Moderator]

Wow, there's other interested information in that article, like it was thought that the Wollemi pines were extinct until 26 years ago when a ranger discovered a location that holds around 200 trees, and that location remains secret in order to protect the specie from visitors.
Thanks for sharing, Rus. Very interesting all along.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Rusalka wrote: "We're being a little Goldilock-esq at the moment, I understand lol"

lol

we readers can't help but find book reference for everything...

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Sandra wrote: "Wow, there's other interested information in that article, like it was thought that the Wollemi pines were extinct until 26 years ago when a ranger discovered a location that holds around 200 trees..."

It's amazing! I didn't realise we only found them 26 years ago too.

[Janice, Moderator]

That is amazing about the trees! I'm so glad they were saved. I'm happy that you are getting some rain, too!

[Peggy]

There's a news item today about the best selling books in the Netherlands in 2019. Irish author Lucinda Riley broke 3 records: her book The Seven Sisters is #1 for the second year in a row. Also, 5 books in the top 10 are hers (all the same series), and she has 11 books in the top 100. Her #1 book was sold 230.000 times, compared to 145.000 sales of the book in second place (by a Dutch author).

I'm so surprised by this! I read another book by this author some years ago, The Girl on the Cliff, and it was one of the worst books I ever read. Sometimes you read books and don't like them, but you don't think they're bad. Just not for you. This one was bad. Very much so. At least in my opinion. Afterwards I immediately deleted all other books by her that I had on my tbr.

So I'm not at all inclined to read this series. Is she as popular where you all live? Did anyone read the books? Am I missing something?

[Sarah]

Never heard of her! Doesn't look like my kind of thing anyway. I wonder why she's doing so well?! Someone in this group must have read her stuff.

[Sandra, Moderator]

I read The Orchid House and it was BAD. It wasn't a book I hated, though, but it was just bad. Uninteresting and predictable plot, the characters' actions didn't make sense to me, the writing of a middle schooler. I also deleted all the other book by her in my TBR. So I am truly surprised by what you say, but still I am not tempted to try that series. The probability I won't like it is high, and there are so many other books waiting for me.

[Margo]

Lord, I didn't even know she was irish! I have seen her name - probably on here. Most of our authors appear on TV now and again, or on other public forums, so I'm amazed to hear that we have this bestselling author that I didn't know anything about 😮

She gets great rating on GR, doesn't she?

[Peggy]

Exactly how I felt about the book I read Sandra. Just bad!

3 of my GR friends have read The Seven Sisters. 2 of them are Dutch and gave it 4 stars. 1 is not Dutch and her review also comes down to it just being a really bad book.

I'm starting to wonder if this is a Dutch thing. Why?!

[Peggy]

Her books are everywhere here. You can't walk into a bookstore without seeing piles and piles of them.

[Sandra, Moderator]

If I ever knew she was Irish, I forgot.

[Sarah]

I wonder if the dutch translation has been changed in some way making it better than the english version?!

[Peggy]

Very popular in Norway and Italy too, apparently. The books were only first translated to Dutch 1.5 years ago, and the author hasn't appeared in tv shows or anything, and there haven't been reviews in respectable news papers or anything. It's popularity is all due to people just telling each other how great the books are and that they should try.

Apparently the fans say that one of the great things is that you also learn something from the books as they are partly set in the past, and the author does such a great job of combining past and present. There are online fan clubs!

I'm just so intrigued. And flabbergasted.

[Peggy]

I was wondering the same Sarah. Maybe the translator changed the writing AND the plot ;-)

[Sandra, Moderator]

Maybe historical fiction wasn't that popular before, so it is in a way a novelty?

[Peggy]

Yeah, good one. Maybe it attracts a certain group of readers who are interested in romance or chick lit but never had a history element in it. If this introduces them to a new genre, that's great!

[Sandra, Moderator]

I wonder because in Uruguay historical fiction wasn't one of the most loved genres until some years ago, with the arrival of authors like Kate Morton. It is not that it didn't exist, but it wasn't as popular as realistic fiction or science fiction. There was a boom I these last few years.

( For example short stories are much more popular in Uruguay than they are here in the US)

[Cherie]

I did not recognize her name, Peggy. I do not have any of her books on my TBR list.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I only heard of her the other day, as my Danish friend did the whole 7 books that changed your life or whatever in 7 days on Facebook thing. I really like a lot of the books she's recommended me over the years, most being 5 star reads.

So her friends tagged her in to their posts when they did it, and I thought well, Christina's recs are awesome, maybe her friends are too. Another Danish friend linked in The Seven Sisters, and reading through the blurb on Goodreads made my brain leech out of my ears. Not my kinda of book, and I am glad I made the right decision from the comments here.

Otherwise, she's unheard of over here.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

But credit where credits due. That's pretty impressive, all those records.

[Kristie, Moderator]

I was going to say I've never heard of her, but apparently I own The Seven Sisters. I added it to my TBR in October 2016 and bought a Kindle copy in February 2018 when it was on sale for $1.99. I don't remember this at all and never got around to reading it. Weird that her books are so highly rated if they're really not good.

[Janice, Moderator]

I read her The Orchid House and gave it 3 stars. I don't remember the book other than a few vague memories. I noted in my review that she overdid it with the twists and turns. Less is more.

[Margo]

Sandra wrote: "If I ever knew she was Irish, I forgot."

According to her website she was born in ireland but moved to the UK when she was 6.

[Saar The Book owl]

Lucinda Riley is known here for a couple of months, but it's since the last 2 months, I think, that her books are flying high in Belgium. My colleage likes the series. She says it's much of the same in every book. She knows what I like to read, so she wouldn't recommend it to me, but it's not my thing, really.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Margo wrote: "According to her website she was born in ireland but moved to the UK when she was 6."

Maybe that is why I didn't catch that info.

[Renee]

I get my flu shot first. I am considered extremely high risk. The docs are not sure it will completely cover me. My immune system is wacky. I need to be really honest. It makes me angry when people who are involved in certain professions don't get the shot. They are endangering my life. They are endangering young children's life. They are endangering senior citizens lives

If you are in a profession that has frequent exposure to these populations, get the shot.


Fiona wrote: "I usually get a flu shot every year but I forgot to get it the last two years and guess who got the flu two years in a row 😄"

[Peggy]

Just read on the news here about the heavy rainfall in some areas in Oz right now, with floodings and all, and again consequences for wildlife, like rivers being polluted with ash from the fires, killing fish. It said some places had more rain in one day than they normally have in 3 months! You guys can't catch a break..

[Margo]

Peggy wrote: "Just read on the news here about the heavy rainfall in some areas in Oz right now, with floodings and all, and again consequences for wildlife, like rivers being polluted with ash from the fires, k..."

Oh lord, it never ends!

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Renee wrote: "I get my flu shot first. I am considered extremely high risk. The docs are not sure it will completely cover me. My immune system is wacky. I need to be really honest. It makes me angry when people..."

I understand, Renee. Herd immunity protects people who can't get vaccinations. So even if you are healthy, young, whatever, you should get immunised to protect those who can't - people who are immuno-compromised, allergic, or just too young. I totally get the anger, it must be really frustrating when you have to rely on others to not get sick.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Yup. It's another level of devastating. But it's the balancing of the environment being on fire, and able to regenerate. But there are terrible side effects of that much rain in fire torn areas. It's Catch 22.

Here in Canberra we are now shipping water every day to a town that has been on fire since the beginning of December. The fires that impacted my holiday. The day before the fires, they were put on stage 1 water restrictions. They now have no water, as every dam, lake, pool, river, tank etc was drained to fight that fire, that still is not out. I saw people commenting saying "Oh they obviously didn't plan enough!". But seriously, your choices are being on fire or buying water if you survive. I know what I would choose, even if water is hard to find.

[Margo]

I'm with you Rusalka. You deal with the emergency first.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

It's raining again!

[Saar The Book owl]

I've seen it on the news yesterday and there was an older lady who was so overjoyed. She said that it doens't matter if it's overflowing or something, she's just happy that it rains.
It's unbelievable how bad it is in Australia. Half a million animals are dead. Some species will never return. And then there's the news about Siemens building the new Railway for a mining compagny that's located only 16 kilometres form the Great Barrier Reef. Come on...

[Sandra, Moderator]

Rusalka wrote: ""Oh they obviously didn't plan enough!""

Stupid thing to say, really. You would think that everyone there is seeing first hand how difficult things are being, and know better. Jeez....

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Saar The Book owl wrote: "It's unbelievable how bad it is in Australia. Half a million animals are dead. "

The conservative guess now is over a billion :(

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Sandra wrote: "Stupid thing to say, really. You would think that everyone there is seeing first hand how difficult things are being, and know better. Jeez..."

I'm beginning to stop being surprised at how stupid humans are.

[Grainne]

It is good news that there is rainfall just unfortunate that the runoff water entering the rivers is carrying so much of the devastation with it.

Once an animal is extinct, it’s gone forever. Each of those species are important for our eco-system so their loss will effect the recovery.

I really hope that the Earth can restore itself. It definitely has the capability to and has done in the past.

If anything, the fires have brought communities together which is good. There is definitely a sense of collective effort from what I’ve read but it will take a lot more work.

Luckily, it’s a country where people want to live or visit so it is possible to get volunteers from across the globe to help in small, local projects once it’s organized well.

[Shirley]

Peggy wrote: "Just read on the news here about the heavy rainfall in some areas in Oz right now, with floodings and all, and again consequences for wildlife, like rivers being polluted with ash from the fires, k..."
Unbelievable! I was due to drive back to Brisbane from northern NSW on Saturday. Husband messaged don’t come, the motorway is closed. Yes, 4-lane (each way) closed due to flooding. To give them their due, workers had it reopened in 5 hours, pumping the water away and unblocking the drains. Thank goodness I waited. Wouldn’t want to be in THAT gridlock.
Re the animals. So heartbreaking to watch news footage of dead koalas, kangaroos etc. Let’s hope this is a wake up call for everyone. It’s a bit uncomfortable for Australia to be in the spotlight right now, but at least it highlights what are global issues. Not only is it catastrophes like the bushfires (some still burning I believe), but it is also the wanton destruction of bushland. Our area was a major habitat for koalas until it went from scattered small farms to numerous housing developments. Because it’s near the coast, it’s also an attractive place for people to live. So here’s the conundrum- people or koalas. We are all a part of the problem but what is the answer? Better planning would be a start. People and koalas can live happily together. At our local school of 700 children, koalas are often seen in gumtrees among the buildings. It’s a real treat to see mum and baby koala happily munching away and looking down on the hubbub of kids at play. They have even, at times, walked unconcerned through bunches of kids from one tree to the next.

[Shirley]

Just realised my Previous post is huge. Sorry.

[Renee]

Shirly That post was huge, but it was welcomed by me. All I can say to you is well said.

[Lilisa]

Shirley wrote: "Peggy wrote: "Just read on the news here about the heavy rainfall in some areas in Oz right now, with floodings and all, and again consequences for wildlife, like rivers being polluted with ash fro..."

I’m liking the visual of school kids and koalas hanging out together, Shirley!

[Janice, Moderator]

Shirley wrote: "Just realised my Previous post is huge. Sorry."

Not to worry! I enjoyed reading about the koalas in the trees around the school yard.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

I agree, Shirley. And I love the koalas ignoring the kids. Our possums are like that here.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

So... today was a day. A huge storm warning came in at lunch time, so I went home to get the chooks, as I had let them out. Massive storm came through, it was actually really scary. Winds blowing trees horizontal outside my windows. Hail. Heavy rain. The chooks hid under the dining room table and wouldn't come out. The chicks were just confused (benefit of only being 4 weeks old, you don't realise things aren't normal). All passed, all good. Until I got back online for work.

Holy hell.

Work and the Parliamentary Triangle (where Parliament House is, all the public service offices, and national institutions) have been decimated by hail the size of cricket balls/mandarins. All cars outside (which is most people's in those areas) have had all their windows/windscreens smashed and dented (including our EA's car which I was parked next to this morning). I wouldn't be exaggerating if it was thousands. Our tenant out the back left her car at work as it's undrivable, along with the entire carpark. She was filming out the window at work, and stepped back, and all their office windows smashed in. My work is apparently the same, skylights and windows all smashed. I wonder what the giant glass building we've been building the past 4 years looks like now...

I'm so glad I came home and parked in our carport. We wouldn't have a car otherwise

Have a look at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-01-2...
or on twitter/instagram with #canberra

It's beginning to feel a bit apocalyptic here. This was Parliament House two weeks ago with the smoke, and today after that hail

[Peggy]

Omg Rus, the video and images are insane! I'm glad you were safe at home.

[Peggy]

Love the koalas Shirley! That sounds so cute :)

[Margo]

Christ almighty Rus. Apocalyptic is right. Hail that smashes windows - that's scary.

[Margo]

On a more mundane note, I'm back to the dermatologist today. Tablets worked great for first month then back to sqare one. Palms and soles itchy, raw and painful again. I think I'll go back on the tar. It might sting but at least it's curing the psoriasis - or so they tell me.