Author Archives: Lenora Good

Draft Women? Say What??

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Weather in the Tri-Cities for the next few days:  Monday, sunny but cool at 67, Tuesday warmer, Wednesday and Thursday around 77, clouds will start moving in Thursday, but temps will remain in the mid- to low-70s. Need warm? Need sun? Y’all come, heah?

It’s Still April, It’s Still National Poetry Month…and your local Poets still need support! Go into your favorite bookseller’s, ask them which poets are local (there’s probably a ‘local author’ section, if you know where to find it.) Of course, I want you to buy my books, I need support, but there are local poets to where you live and they need support, too 😉

Draft Women? Say What???

Read an interesting article in The Washington Post by Robert Barnes, headline: Biden administration asks Supreme Court not to hear challenge to all-male military draft. It seems someone is suing because they think the all-male draft is unconstitutional. Holy Moley, guacamole! why is this even a question? OF COURSE it’s unconstitutional! And if SCOTUS says it isn’t, then it’s time to change the constitution and bring it up-to-date.

To be honest, I didn’t realize the guys still had to register, since we have an all-volunteer military. But I agree, whole-heartedly, that if men have to register for the draft, then women should have to do likewise. 

If women and men are to be treated equally, it’s a given. All register, or no one registers.

Combat military occupational specialties are now open to women, so there is no longer any valid reason to impose the draft on men and not women. Women have not only served in combat with valor, but they have led the troops with honor, intelligence, and valor. 

Please, contact your congressperson/senator and ask them to address this issue and change this outdated, antiquated law. 

Now, I know there are Conscientious Objectors. I served with some when I was in the WAC, they were medics, and all had been to Vietnam once, one had been twice, and wanted to go back for a third tour, but he’d have to re-enlist, and that would remove his CO status. 

I firmly think there should be an alternative to the Military for those who want it—the US Public Health Service would be a great place to start. (It’s already one of the seven Uniformed Services). If women or men don’t want to enlist in the military, fine, they can enlist into the USPHS for the same amount of time and the same pay grades. They will go where needed—inner cities or rural. They will train as medics, wear a uniform, and serve their country. They won’t have to carry a weapon, and if war comes, they can be transferred to the military, as medics, and still not carry a weapon.

So, yes, women should be required to sign up for the draft. Women should be called forth when needed. And if you’re curious, I was told by some old time GIs when I was in, as a whole, women make better shots than the men. The main reason is they shut up and listen to directions instead of trying to figure out how the weapon works on their own 😉 I was invited to join the rifle team, and was all set to do so, until I discovered I’d have to buy my own practice ammo. You priced that stuff? And for practice, where I’d go through hundreds of rounds in a week? Uh, no, I don’t think so. Broke my heart, though. M16s are a lot of fun to fire. 

So please, call your elected officials in the other Washington, and ask them to support women signing up for the draft.

Dawn on the Columbia River, 16 April 2021, 0604

Entertainment:

Netflix: I guess I’m still watching 100 Days My Prince. But except for the news now and then, not much TV.

Books: For full reviews, please go to: http://lenoragood.blogspot.com

Finished Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents —by Isabel Wilkerson. I think it should be a class taught in high school, and if students want to graduate, they need to take it. The class reads the book and discusses it, in depth and at length. One of the best books I’ve ever read. Maybe the best nonfiction book I’ve ever read.

Education: Haven’t been able to finish the iPhone Photo classes, but am on last module, and have been taking pix. I actually had some printed and bought frames and hung them in my bathroom.

I am taking workshops in poetry, signed up for a 6-week class that starts on Wednesday. Tuesday is a 2-hour workshop. I’m so excited about both of them! See, I do need your support. Workshops cost money 😉

Quote for the Week: Ahmet Altan is a Turkish journalist and author who found himself speaking truth as he saw it to power and spent four years in a Turkish prison. While there he wrote:

“You can imprison me but you cannot keep me here. Because like all writers, I have magic.” —Ahmet Altan.

Have a great week. Sammy Brave Dog and his human ;-)Draft Women?

Didja Know I’m Dyslexic?

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Weather for the next few days in the Tries: 

Sunshine with Winds tomorrow! Sunshine! All week!!!

April is National Poetry Month. Support your local poets. Buy their books. (I have some (hint. hint.) available from your favorite bookseller or me.)

Also, I am the featured poet on Quill & Parchment this month with at least 4 poems posted, and they have a good review of  REFLECTIONS: Life, the River, and Beyond. Available through Amazon only (though your favorite bookseller can order it for you). Marking the Hours is available wherever fine books are sold 😉 If you like shorter books, and longer history, check out Blood on the Ground. (See My Books above for descriptions).

Didja Know I’m Dyslexic?

I’m sure you’ve noticed that a. I don’t ‘do’ numbers and b., I often write a correctly spelled word, but it’s not the right word. And I claim to be a word person. Yeah. Write!

As an adult in a fun job with a stressful, very stressful, management, I discovered I’m dyslexic. I was also dyslexic as a kid, but hid it, didn’t know it, and nobody else caught it. Obviously, I’m not seriously dyslexic, but I am dyslexic.

Remember the old game we used to play as kids, where the class would form a circle and the teacher would whisper a word to the student on her left, that student would turn and whisper the word to the next, and on we’d go until back to the teacher. IT WAS NEVER the same word all around the room. Why? One answer may be a form of dyslexia. You say “policeman” I hear it, and then say, “cop” to the next person someone else may hear my word and say “copper” and so it goes. A form of dyslexia.

If I’m in a hurry, I’ll use the word that sounds right, but isn’t. I want six cups of flower in my cake mix. Of course I do. I here you sniggering. When I was a kid and pulled some of those stunts, the teachers told me I was in too much of a hurry. They were right, but also not.

If I’m really stressed, I also stutter. Another manifestation of dyslexia. Many people who stutter are dyslexic, and if they can get the dyslexia under control, the stuttering goes away or is greatly diminished. I imagine it’s because they learn to slow down. There are singers who stutter, but sing beautifully. They slow down, they breathe deeply, they are comfortable singing.

And, I’m numbers dyslexic. When I was in the stressful job years ago, I had to maintain a log of work as it came in. A simple, sequential log. So, I one day I wrote in the logbook, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 58, 57, 56, 55 and went on about my business. No one caught it for several weeks. I got fired for that. Fired from the job, not the company. It was that job that brought my dyslexia to the fore. The other day I had an appointment with the Tax Man for 1.00pm. I wrote it in my calendar. I wrote it on the folder with all my tax stuff and showed up promptly at 10.00am for my appointment. I don’t do numbers. Now you know why.

Do you remember the old Stephen J Cannell tv shows? He created or co-created something like 40 shows, and many (most? all?) of the intros showed him at the IBM Selectric typewriter typing madly and the pages flying out. In an interview I caught one time, he was asked what he was typing. He laughed and said just letters, he was too dyslexic to be turned lose on a typewriter for real. Wikipedia says this, “Cannell was dyslexic, and was a spokesman on the subject. According to an episode of Paul Harvey‘s The Rest of the Story, Cannell frequently had to dictate ideas or even complete scripts with the help of his personal secretary Grace Curcio, an employee of 20 years. Following Grace’s retirement in 2003, Kathy Ezso became his editor and executive assistant. He discussed his experiences as a dyslexic in the 2009 documentary Dislecksia: The Movie.

Cannell wrote on a typewriter, an IBM Selectric, when not dictating to an assistant, and only used a computer for research purposes.[10]”   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_J._Cannell

I have learned many writers, and other creative and intelligent people are dyslexic. I think Marlon Brando was. That’s why, I think, he never read a script and was such a fine method actor. Perhaps some of that creativity comes from the creative ways we’ve learned to deal with it through our lifetimes. I am fortunate, mine is mild, but the more stressed I become, the more noticeable it is.

So, the next time I write something that makes you smile because I obviously know better, but must have been in a hurry, well, now you know why. And I’m in good company, too.

Here are two shots of a feather from a Canada goose. I used the 25x macro lens on my phone.

Entertainment:

Netflix: Still watching 100 Days My Prince

Books: For full reviews, please go to: http://lenoragood.blogspot.com

I am a tad over half way through Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents —by Isabel Wilkerson. Two things are “wrong” with this book: 1. It’s an Oprah’s Book Club book, and I’ve never read one of those I liked and 2. It’s a hardback book and when I fall asleep it falls and hurts. As to 1., Oprah said in an interview I saw once that she would NEVER recommend a happy book (maybe she meant novels?). While this one isn’t happy, it’s fascinating, and well worth the read and isn’t a novel. As to 2., I read in bed. I’ve done that since I was a kidlet. My favorite place to read, but sometimes when I fall asleep reading, the book falls and conks me in the face. And hurts. Life’s rough, sometimes.

Education:

I’m on the fifth and last module of the iPhone Photography Academy classes. If you have an iPhone, any model, I strongly recommend you look into the class. If you have an Android, I urge you to check out your brand and see if they have something equivalent. I bet they do. 

I also bought Luminar4, the photo editing software mentioned last week. That will take a bit of education to use, too. But I’m looking forward to learning it. I wanted PaintShop Pro, but it won’t work with Mac.

New Year’s Resolution:

Remember, I started writing a poem each day Anu Garg & Company published a new word? I kept it up for 3 months, and then something happened, and I went about two weeks without writing anything creative. Still, I went 3 months. That’s 2 months 28 days longer than I’ve ever gone before;-)

Remember, you’re not getting your shot/s to keep YOU safe from Covid-19, you’re getting it to keep your family, friends, and neighbors safe! 

Have a fantastically wonderful week. See you next Monday 😉

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog!

Update to an Old Blog

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Weather for the next few days in the Tries: Sunny to mostly sunny, highs in the 60s with  one foray into the 70s. Lows all above freezing! Plants will be happy campers!

April is National Poetry Month. Support your local poets. Buy their books. (I have some (hint. hint.) available from your favorite bookseller or me.)

Also, I am the featured poet on Quill & Parchment this month with at least 4 poems posted, and they also reviewed REFLECTIONS: Life, the River, and Beyond. Available through Amazon only (though your favorite bookseller can order it for you). Marking the Hours is available wherever fine books are sold 😉 If you like shorter books, and longer history, check out Blood on the Ground. (See My Books above for descriptions).

Update to an Old Blog:

Do you remember my blog about my car trip when I moved to ABQ? It was posted on my now defunct Odds n Bods site on 29 Apr 2018. Well, I found it in my files and here it is. Most of it, the important part about the actual trip through Ouray, CO. Enjoy, again, for the first time?

***

Gooooood Morning Gentle Readers!

Yes, it is, once again, Monday. Funny how that rolls around on a periodic basis, isn’t it?

I am in my home in Albuquerque, or ABQ for short, because hardly anyone I know can spell it 😉 

And what an adventure I had in getting here. Get out a map of Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico and follow along.

Normally, when coming this direction, I would take I-84 until it meets up with I-15, at which time I bid I-84 a fond farewell, and head south through Salt Lake City, Provo, and just south of Provo is Spanish Fork. There, I turn left (East, if you’re a purist) and take Hwy 6 thru Price and spend the night in Green River, UT. From there, I’d take I-70 about 20 miles, hang a right and go through Moab, UT, and Cortez, Shiprock, Farmington, and pick up US 550 in Bloomfield. US 550 is four lanes, well maintained, and has a speed limit of 70mph. Drive that speed at your own peril, as most everyone else is faster.

So, as I was getting ready to leave on Saturday morning from the motel in Green River, I looked at the map, and holy moly, 550 meets up with I-70 just a way over into Colorado. Well, Hwy 50 meets I-70, then 50 becomes 550. I could drive a few miles farther on the freeway, then take that marvelous 550, 4 lanes, 70mph road all the way into ABQ!!! Hot Damn!!!

Uh. Yeah. Got off I-70 at Grand Junction, 4 lanes, fair speed (city, congested, 45 or so) and about the time we got out of the congested area a sign said something to the effect of Welcome to US Highway 550 and immediately dropped to two lanes. Well, there wasn’t much traffic, so it was ok but no 70mph limit. More like 55mph.

Until it began to climb and to wind. By the time I got to the town (village?) of Ouray CO, there was snow on the roofs, 4-6 inches on cars, and sides of the road. and the speed was down to about 30mph. The road itself was bare and wet, if not dry. I don’t know what the elevation was, but someone said over 7,000 ft. After Ouray, it really climbed, and every 20 feet or so was a hair-pin curve. To the left was mountain wall straight up, to the right was a whole lot of nothing, straight down! Believe me, when the sign said 20mph limit, I did a sedate 15mph—or less!! It was that whole lotta nothin’ that got my attention real quick. Unknown to me, and probably a good thing, I was on the Million Dollar Highway, http://www.dangerousroads.org/north-america/usa/635-million-dollar-highway-usa.html one of the listed dangerous roads. If I was younger, and a biker, I think I’d love to do it on a bike.  In summer. No snow. No ice.

Eventually I came to a car going some slower than I, but he was following the snowplow. I settled in and followed, too. There didn’t seem to be snow on the road ahead of the plow, it was more like he was clearing off the foot or so of the right side of the road of a couple inches of white stuff. At the second pass, he pulled over and we went on our way. Crossed 4 passes. One was over 11,000 feet high, 3 over 10,000 feet high. I’m really glad I went that way. Yes, it slowed me down, considerably, but OMG the scenery! It was marvelous!!! Well worth the trip!!!

Once I made it off the mountain, and into Durango, 550 became the expected 4 lanes, and once through Aztec, Farmington and Bloomfield, the speed picked up.

***

And why that re-run of an old blog now that I’m back down at nearly sea-level and have been for a tad over 18 months? Because there is an interesting article, The Ice Farmers of Ouray, in one of the latest issues of Atlas Obscura.  Not to mention some great photos that I couldn’t stop and take. I believe they are off some of the side roads. I still remember that trip. And with the right person, would love to make it again. In the summer. And go from the south to the north, so I could pull off onto the side roads and come back onto the main highway without having to make left turns across it. And there would be an extra lane between me and the whole lotta nuthin’ 😉

Entertainment:

Netflix: Still watching 100 Days My Prince

Books: For full reviews, please go to: http://lenoragood.blogspot.com

I finished The Reluctant Queen (Book 2, The Queens of Renthia) —Sarah Beth Durst. A great read. Even if I did threaten my friend I wouldn’t finish it unless she told me if one of the characters lived or died. I would have finished either way, but if death happened I wanted to be prepared.

Deja Dead: An American in Paris, Book 1 —Susan Kiernan-Lewis. This is a cozy with the female protagonist in her 60s, and she doesn’t run a book store, bakery, tea shoppe, or knittery. She has real problems, and a real life, and she finds herself moving to Paris, France a recent widow and orphan. Loved this book!

Breaking Bat: A Cozy Witch Mystery (Book 6) —Erin Johnson. I think this is the 4th one I’ve read, and they are great fun! Pure calorie-free enjoyment, though there is an underlying “message” in this one on prejudice that makes it worth the read.

In the Bear’s House —N. Scott Momaday. Oh, know that I have been in literary lust with this man ever since I read House Made of Dawn. With each book of his I read, that affair grows stronger. There is a definite, to my way of thinking, Zen quality to his writing. Very simple. Very accessible. Very deep when contemplated.

Education: I think I mentioned last week I’m taking the iPhone Photo Academy classes? Yes? Well, I’m now into module 4 and am finding it very worthwhile. There are a couple classes on editing in the phone, I watched, learned things, but did not download the app, nor will I do much in the phone, I prefer to export to my desktop where I have a 23” monitor all the better to see with. If you have an iPhone, especially one of the newer ones, I highly recommend the classes.

Have been buying little things for my new camera—a blue tooth shutter release, an adapter so I can use my tripod and it came with another blue tooth shutter release, a set of add-on lenses (that also came with another blue tooth shutter release!). I wanted the macro, and I’m so glad I got it. It’s 25x and seems to work well. There are also wide angle lenses (2 I think), a kaleidoscope lens that will be fun to play with, a polarizing filter and I think something else. These lenses screw into a clip that goes over the filter. 

Now a question for you? Do any of you have, or have used, Luminar photo editing software? What do you think of it? Is it easy enough I can use it? I know PhotoShop is the gold standard but it has two things I don’t care for: 1. it’s a subscription and, 2. it’s too confusing for me. PaintShop is also highly rated, and easy, but they don’t work on Macs. sigh.

Here are two samples of new lenses. There is no depth of field in macro photography, well, there is, but it’s pretty shallow. These are photos of my African violet. The petal was pretty flat, and parallel to the lens, so not too bad. The other photo was with the kaleidoscope lens. Fun, eh?

And there you have all the news that’s fit to publish from my corner of the world. Hope it brought you a smile. Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog wish you a fantastically good week 😉

An American-Only Epidemic

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Weather for Monday in the Tries (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco WA):

Should be sunny and breezy most of the week. Highs in the upper 60 to mid 60s, lows down to 20 to 41. Sunday was hazardous weather, very high winds and dust storms that should die out around 5am Monday or so. Sunday was a perfect day to stay in and take online classes and read. (I often post this blog on Sunday.)

An American-Only Epidemic:

We’ve had yet another mass shooting. As of March 23, we’ve endured 107 mass shootings, 122 people dead, 325 people injured, for a total of 447 victims (that doesn’t count the families involved). The Boulder CO shooting was the 7th mass shooting in 7 days. Don’t bother to write your Senator. If s/he isn’t on the NRA welfare check system, s/he is already fighting to do something positive. If s/he is receiving welfare checks from the NRA, nothing you can say will change her or his mind. Your vote might, but your letter won’t. There are several lists of the welfare recipients online. If you wonder why we can’t get common sense gun control, check out some of the pages. Like Which Senators Have Taken the Most NRA money? and These lawmakers receive the most campaign money from gun-rights backers like the NRA. These sites may not be current, but they’ll give you a good idea. Want gun control? VOTE the illegitimates out of office.

So, I have an idea. I’m willing to change my mind, if someone gives me a better idea and or explains why mine won’t work. And is mine original to me? Probably not. Probably stole some of it from an episode of NCIS. 😉 But here it is. If you like my idea, please feel free to copy it and share with others who might care. In the meantime, perhaps our Courts can do something positive.

When someone is arrested as a suspect in a mass shooting (3 or more victims), do NOT release his name to the public. One thing these guys seem to have in common (and they do tend to be guys) is they love the notoriety that comes, the “hero” worship from other wannabees. So…

When arrested they are henceforth known as Defendant __ (first initial of last name). Their name will not be released to the public, under any circumstance. Their lawyer may know it but may not use it. No witnesses may use his name in court. IF he is found guilty, he will go straight to prison, will not pass Go, and will not collect his name. IF he is found not guilty, he may collect and use his name again. While in jail/prison prior to trial, he will be placed in solitary, not the punishment cells, but where he can’t really talk to other prisoners and give his real name, more like under suicide watch. 

Remember the old story, The Man Without A Country —by Edward Everett Hale? Well, I think these guys should become The Man Without A Name. They are entitled to a public trial, I believe, but they are not necessarily entitled to use their name. At least I don’t think they are. I may be wrong. I’d like to see them sent to Guantanamo, but that won’t happen. I’m sure there are all sorts of legal reasons why my idea won’t work. But maybe not. Maybe it could work. Records are sealed all the time. Those records that have his full name, etc., can be sealed. He doesn’t deserve to have his name on the tongues of newsmen/women, or anyone else. If found guilty, he will deserve to be forgotten by one and all.

And the public does not have a need to know the particulars of the shooting beyond the basics. The police, his lawyer, the courts have a need to know, but it doesn’t need to be broadcast on network or cable news. That he killed X number of people is all we really need to know, and the names of the victims. Be honest, it’s an almost prurient interest, not a genuine need to know. Knowing all the gruesome details will not bring the dead back to life. Will it? Or end the nightmares of those who survived?

Like I say, if you’ve got a better idea, I’d love to hear it. OK, read it. If you like my idea, feel free to share it. Anything that will help curb this madness is fine by me. And vote the gun lobby out of office! We are the only country in the world that has this problem.

An aside: Do you realize you really read with your ears? OK, you use your eyes or possibly fingers, to read the letters and words on the screen or paper, but as you read them, you hear them in your mind. That’s one reason why deaf people aren’t great readers. It’s like learning ancient Greek from a book and never hearing it. You recognize the letters, and eventually the words, but not the sounds. Very difficult to read and understand.

Entertainment:

Netflix: I’m back on my Korean kick — 100 Days My Prince. A RomCom. So far, I’m giving it a 3.5-4.0* rating. It’s pretty predictable, but the costumes are gorgeous. The young boy falls in love with the neighbor girl, who’s a tad bossy. But for her he will study. Then, he discovers his father has her whole family killed. Except she and her brother escape, are separated, and raised by other families away from each other. The boy never forgives his father, and then his father gives him to the King to raise as the crown prince. He’s married but has never slept with his (pregnant) wife. In an assassination attempt he escapes, is injured and develops amnesia. He’s taken in by peasants who don’t know how to deal with his noble-man’s speech and way of living. Kinda funny and I’m sure it will get better.

Books:  for complete reviews please see Rainy Day Reads at http://lenoragood.blogspot.com

I haven’t finished any books this week, but I am about ¾ of the way through The Reluctant Queen (Book Two of the Queens of Renthia) —by Sarah Beth Durst. I mentioned a couple weeks ago how much I enjoyed The Queen of Blood and told y’all not to be put off by the title. Well, I’m back. And loving it. Delaina is still Queen, but is dying, and they have found a most unwilling woman, with great and untrained power, to take her place to keep the realm safe. Delaina’s chum from school is Queen in another country and is about to make war. The Spirits know the queen is dying and can hardly wait so they can wreak havoc until another human of power steps into the void.

A Hearing Aid Hack: I bought a new phone the other day (see below) and then had to stop in at the Costco Hearing Center to get my hearing aids connected to my phone. The technician took my phone and my aids and tried. Nada. He removed the batteries and dropped them from about 12-18” to the counter. They bounced like crazy. He did it again. Then said I needed new batteries and got them. I asked what he was doing, and he said the less the charge, the higher the bounce, the proceeded to drop the new ones. NO BOUNCE. Now, why do you and I care? Because if you’ve ever taken out your old batteries and laid them down ‘right there’ and picked up you new batteries and removed the tape and set them down to answer the phone or whatever and then you don’t know which is which, drop ‘em. If they bounce, toss them into the recycle bin, if they don’t bounce put them in your aids 😉 If you don’t wear them (yet) remember this hack, because you’ll be asked at some point to help someone who does.

Education: I took my neighbor to the Verizon Store the other day to get her phone fixed. While she did that, I drooled over the new iPhones. Fortunately, they’re waterproof, at least against copious amounts of mental drool. Anyhow, when she was finished, the guy came over to sell me a new phone. Now, I really wanted one but had steeled myself to say NO, but when he made me an offer I couldn’t refuse… basically, with my old iPhone as trade in, I got 60+% off. I have gone full circle, from buying a phone with a camera, to buying a camera with a phone! A couple of my friends have the iPhone 11 Pro and raved about classes they were taking, so I signed on with iPhone Photo Academy. Like the rest of life, it’s all online, but it’s wonderful. Took me two days to go through Module 1 and I can’t believe all I’ve learned. The last lesson ended with an assignment on focusing and exposure. Alas we have severe winds and dusts outside, while that may not bother the camera, they certainly bother me. So, tomorrow, I hope to go out and do my homework. (Note, I wrote this on Sunday)

I know you all don’t have iPhones, but I have a feeling if you have androids, you can find the same sort of classes geared to your phones. I had no idea I was holding my phone wrong to take pictures, or that I could go in and change the auto-focus to manual, or change the exposure. My guess is, you can, too, if you only learn how.

A delighted old-dog-learning-new-tricks Auntie Lenora and a Happy Sammy Brave Dog wish you all a fantastically marvelous week. 

Lazy Days

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Weather for Monday in the Tries (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco WA):

Monday is supposed to be mostly sunny with a high near 57. SW wind around 16mph with gusts up to 22mph. Monday night is on schedule for a 40% change of rain after 8pm. Low around 43.  the rest of the week is basically more of the same, which highs in high 50s to low 60s with only one night low enough to freeze at 32F. In other words, it’s official, and it’s Spring 😉

Lazy Days:

Yeah, I know. Those are supposed to be in summer. But Anne Bishop’s new book, The Queen’s Weapons came out and I bought it. It really irks me to pay a high price for an electronic book that is really and truly only a long-term rental. If my account is closed for any reason, I lose all my electronic books. When I die, I can’t leave them to anyone. I guess I could leave my eReader to someone, with my passwords, etc. Bookstores charge higher prices because they have overhead, and staff that will dust the shelves, and use power to maintain heat and humidity. And have to cover for people who try to leave the stores with product and not pay for it.

But, I digress. On to the new book. The Queen’s Weapons is book 11 in the Dark Jewels series. I’ve read most of the book in this series, and all of her books in the realm of The Others (Written in Red is the first one of the 5-book series with two others in that world). Anne Bishop has a marvelous imagination and is one of the best world builders I’ve come across. There are lots of good builders out there, but Anne Bishop, Patricia Briggs, and Sara Beth Durst are three of the best. Honest. Trust me.

Jaenelle Satien has immatured into a spoiled and self-entitled adolescent. She is convinced she’s special, but not everyone likes her, and she can’t figure out why. She begins attending a private school for the aristo’s and is wooed into the wrong crowd, led by a bright, intelligent, scheming young woman who is sure she will be the next Queen, when she’s older, and to make it easier, she starts eliminating the potential rivals now, so when they’re all adults, she will be the “winner.” She’s sure she can handle Jaenelle’s father, Daemon Sadi, the High Lord of Hell, that she’s smarter than he is, more intelligent than he is, and, well, if you’ve ever been an angst-filled teen, or raised one, you shouldn’t have any trouble seeing that picture. 

The first time Daemon meets Delora, Jaenelle’s new friend, her psychic scent reminds him of Dorothea, and he even calls her that name. He does not like his daughter’s new friends. Not at all, and doesn’t see why Jaenelle Satien does.

To add to the general angst of the situation, Surreal and Sadi are having marital problems. This is not 541 pages of teen angst. There are even some humorous scenes. I opened the book as my nighttime read and read one chapter then put the book down and turned out the light. I promised myself I’d read one chapter per night. One. Only one. That promise wasn’t even as long-lasting as an ice cube doing the tango on a hot griddle. I spent three hours or so the next day reading, and on day three, I spent more hours than I want to admit reading, but I finished the book. And the Scelties are back. Love those little dogs. Let me expand—I love the Scelties in the books, but I don’t want them in my home. They would upset Sammy Brave Dog.

I have thoroughly enjoyed all of the Dark Jewel books I’ve read. I’ve read most of them, but not all of them. They are a little more violent than many seriess, and sex plays a large role in the stories, but they are well written, and I think very enjoyable. If you haven’t read any of them, I suggest you read the first three, then you can probably skip around without getting too lost. You’ll know who the characters are, and the ‘back story’ will make sense.

Spring Plant. I haven’t a clue what it is, anyone have an idea? I think it might be cannibalistic, though. It seems to want to sprawl and ‘eat’ anything it comes in contact with. Or, maybe, that’s my imagination???

Atlanta:

I wasn’t going to say anything about the shootings in Atlanta, but damn! Those people who keep saying it wasn’t really a hate crime, that he just had a bad day (so, a guy has a bad day and women die?), are surely reading and watching different news sources than I am. It was a double double hate crime. It was a hate crime against Asians and a hate crime against Women. And his excuse that he was trying to eliminate temptation doesn’t fly, either. If he was really trying, he’d have gotten professional help for the problem. (Forgive me if I step on some toes here, but Pastors and their counselling do NOT qualify as professional counselling.) Or he could have followed the biblical injunction (good Southern Baptist that he was) to cut the offending member of his body off and cast it from him. Matthew 5:30 KJV. Bet his pastor didn’t counsel him on that one, misogynist that he is!

Entertainment:

TV? Who watched TV? I was reading a book, see above. /snark/

Books: for complete reviews please see Rainy Day Reads at http://lenoragood.blogspot.com

The Queen’s Weapons— by Anne Bishop. 

Zoom: 

I have been attending various talks, concerts, and poetry readings via Zoom. One of the regular meetings I attended in person before Covid, has been meeting on Zoom, and the moderator has stated she’d like to continue to meet via Zoom even when we can legally re-congregate as she doesn’t have to pack so much stuff; however, she said maybe we could meet for social gatherings. I’ll agree to that. Love the Zoom meetings. No commute time, why, I can even stay in my jammies if I want! And if I want a glass of wine during the meeting, I’m not driving home 😉 Today I attended a poetry meeting from London, in a couple weeks I’ll be in ABQ for some meeting (via zoom), not to mention Yakima. All from my computer. Love it.

CDC Guidelines: You can read them here. There are new relaxations, but best you read about them, and follow them, and still wear your masks in public and avoid large gatherings. If your Governor says one thing, and the CDC says something else, although the Governor’s words may sound like more fun, follow the CDC guidelines. Better a bit more irritation than one more death.

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog wish you a Fantastically Mahvelous day, and a super good week.

Mommas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To be…*

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Weather for Monday in the Tries (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco WA):

A slight chance of rain in the morning, then mostly cloudy with a high of 53F. The rest of the week looks to be some cloud, some sun, with highs up to 70 and lows down to 32, but higher temps prevailing. 

Mommas, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To be….*:

WARNING: Snark Alert!

This isn’t the blog I planned to write, but the subject came up and is too good to pass on.

I saw a 2-minute excerpt of Pastor Stewart Allen-Clark’s sermon the other day and haven’t been able to stop chuckling since. You know him, he’s the Baptist Minister who exhorted the women in his flock to model themselves after our former first lady, the one who has all those soft-porn nude pictures on the internet. (Oh, yeah, they are there.)

So, Pastor Stewart Allen-Clark stands before his congregation telling women they should not wear casual clothes, especially when their man is home. By the way, he was wearing casual trou, shoes, and a dark brown shirt. The shirt was buttoned, but designed to be worn casually, over the casual trou. Alas, it did not hide his beer gut.

Oh! Surely that’s not a beer gut on a Baptist minister! Surely, it’s just a flab gut from all the junk food he eats while in his office working on his exciting misogynistic sermons. Yes?

He goes on, from what I saw and what I read, exhorting the women of his flock to model themselves after the most spectacular, epic, trophy wife ever, Melania Trump. I noticed he did not exhort their husbands to fork over hard-earned cash to pay for personal trainers, or nannies, or household help to help their wives be able to spend the hours necessary getting their bodies into shape, size, and couture. 

No, all Pastor Flab-Gut could talk about was how it’s the woman’s fault she’s home raising his kids, trying to clean house, do the shopping, cook, etc., all while taking care of her man. Eating on the go, because she doesn’t have time to eat properly, and he doesn’t have the income to pay for it, anyhow. And it’s all her fault he’s a victim because he hasn’t the intestinal fortitude to keep his pants zipped when out in the pasture fleecing the flock. And, while she’s at it, why doesn’t she get a real job and contribute to the household? OK, I added that sentence, but you could hear it in the longing of his voice. He’s such a victim.

I can’t help but wonder which photo of Melania he was seeing in his other mind’s eye as he thumped his bible and spouted his hate. Was it the one of her on the faux fur skin on the airline bed? Or one of her standing in nothing but a pair of high heeled shoes? Perhaps he envisioned the one where she was on her stomach, torso raised on her elbows, with her soft breasts hanging down and into his…oh, never mind.

And, Pastor Flab-Gut is, to a point, correct. It is her fault. She should have had better sense than to marry him and buy into all his God put man as head of the house, and then expect her to up with put all his el torro poo poo. 

I just think it’s hilarious that he expects her to look more like the soft porn star, while he looks more like Larry the Cable Guy, but isn’t nearly as funny or as intelligent. Do you think there is just a wee teensy bit of double standard here? And wouldn’t it be both proper and fun if men are going to control our bodies, we should be able to control theirs? Oh, well, I really don’t care, do you?

*Apologies to Waylon & Willie. 

If the World Seems a Tad Off-Axis: Did you set your clocks ahead? Did you Spring into a new time zone? Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a hoot in someplace hot what time we stay in, but that’s the operative word: STAY. There is NO valid reason to keep switching clocks. None. And I don’t buy that “it’s for the kids” that if we stay on DST they’ll have to stand at the bus stop in the dark. It’s an easy fix, start school later. Just, please, for the love of whatever Divine Being you follow, please pick a time and stick to it!

Entertainment:

Netflix: I gave up on Vincenzo, my K-dramedy series. It’s slowed down considerably from what I hoped it would be, but there are plenty of laughs, just not enough of the vengeance parts 😉 Auntie Lenora is warped! She’s also easily bored. There are 20 episodes to this series. No. Nada. Zip. Now watching something different that should have much more humor. More on the new series next week.

Books: for complete reviews please see Rainy Day Reads at http://lenoragood.blogspot.com

Queen of Blood: Book One of The Queens of Renthia —by Sara Beth Durst. Don’t be put off by the title, it’s one of the best fantasy books I’ve read in some time. I can hardly wait to dive into Book 2 😉

Allow me to harken back to last week and my extolling the AWP Conference. I mentioned I’d ordered a few books, two of them were plucked from the mail box yesterday. The Art of Voice, Poetic Principles and Practice —by Tony Hoagland with Kay Cosgrove. Oh, my goodness. Another collection of essays on poetry by the late master! Yes, I started it as soon as unwrapped. And exercises after each essay. A portable class by the late, great Tony Hoagland!

And then icing on the bookcake: When the Living Sing —by Yalie Kamara. I really enjoyed the panels I saw her on, and loved her poetry, so ordered her chapbook. What delightful poems. Yalie is Sierra Leonean-American and brings a shining voice to American poetry!

CDC Guidelines: Oh, joy! The new guidelines are out for those who have had their shots, and I’m one of them. I’ve passed the two-week mark and am considered immune. I still wear my masks in public, and socially distance in public, but contrary to what I said last week, I actually ate in a restaurant the other day. Seoul Fusion (Korean) was open, and there were few diners, and we were all socially distanced. It felt odd, but wonderful. And I had company yesterday, who had also passed their two-week mark, and we were maskless, inside. But socially distant from each other. Oh, it felt downright decadent!

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog ask you to please continue to observe the rules, wear your masks, socially distant yourselves, unless CDC approved to do otherwise. Let’s get through this and come out on the other side. See you next week 😉

The AWP Conference

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Weather today in the Tries (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco WA):

The forecast for Monday is 51 High and 32 Low, Mostly Cloudy all day. Light and variable winds becoming west 5 – 7 mph in the morning. It ain’t freezing and we don’t have to shovel it or scrape it. And the best thing is, I’m not having to wear my fingerless gloves to type so much anymore. Yahooooo!!!!!!

AWP Conference

AWP stands for Association of Writers and Writing Programs. It also stands for Arctic Warfare Police, and a few other things that probably won’t ever make it into my writing. Anyhow, I’m using the first definition, which should be obvious.

First off, I love writerly conferences and have attended them for years. I especially liked attending the Science Fiction/Fantasy ones, they were short and not as pricey, and a lot of fun. When you factor in hotel rooms, transportation (I always went local), and food, they became pricey enough for my skinny wallet. I used to attend the local SF/F Con, as they are called, RadCon, as a pro so got my membership free. I usually stayed at the hotel and limited my paid meals to one a day, munching in the Green Room for the rest of the time. The panels were good (especially the ones I was on. ahem.) but the real fun came later, in the bar, schmoozing with the writers. And then I developed an allergy to the dry chemicals the hotel used to clean the carpets and decided breathing was more fun than the Con, so quit attending. Not just RadCon, but all Cons.

The “literary Cons” tended to be a tad pricier—they were also farther away, lasted longer, and I couldn’t attend as a ‘pro’. For a Litcon, I could easily drop a $1500.00 bill for a weekend. Uh, no. 

Then Covid came. And the AWP Conference went online. I looked at the cost ($60.00 for seniors), checked out the panels, and signed up. I think they were scheduled to hold it in Kansas City, but, obviously…. For a 5-day conference it would have been totally out of my league, thank you very much. But online? Oh, wow! And, oh joy of joys, it will be available on demand after for a month, so I can visit the panels I missed because two or more I wanted to see were on at the same time!

The panels were recorded earlier, but the panelists were live on Chat. So, there was some live interaction. I got to see one of my favorite poets read for 10 minutes! Now, he would have been one I’d like to have met in the bar later to share a beer with. Just to listen to his voice. Sigh. And before your mind goes there, he’s the same age as my son.

I heard lots of new poets, and writers. Or, new to me. I attended panels on memoir writing, poetry, a tribute to Tony Hoagland, and one on the difference between literary fabulism and sf/f. Learned lots of little interesting tidbits, and the scariest thing of all? All of this for only $60.00 because age has its perks, yes? Why is that scary? Because I also found a couple hundred dollars’ worth of books, I now need to buy 😉 Several of which have already been ordered. But that’s part of the fun of attending the Cons. Meeting new authors, buying and reading their works. 

I also attended the Keynote Speaker, our national poet laureate, Joy Harjo. What a delight. She has a small jazz band, and she wrote and performed a long poem with her band in the background, ending with a riff on the song Kansas City. 

Because I’m hard of hearing and my office is under my neighbor’s bedroom and they work shifts, I do all my zooming wearing headphones. they are not the most comfortable to wear for long periods of time, and it was a bit difficult to hear Harjo over some of the music, but what a joy to see her. By the time I was through for the day, my ears hurt from wearing the headphones for so many hours.

Many, perhaps all, of the panels had Handouts, which I didn’t tumble to until Saturday. They were listed in the Chat room under Files. However, I can go back to the panel and see what they had. 

I truly do like computers (except when I don’t) and I truly am thankful to AWP for putting the conference online. I hope there is a way they can do it for their next conference, even if it’s live, because for us old farts and fartesses on limited incomes, it’s the only way to attend far away and pricey conferences. Maybe record the panels and give them to us on demand? With no chat? I dunno, but I’m sure they can figure it out 😉

Entertainment:

Netflix: I’m still watching two episodes/week of Vincenzo, my K-dramedy series. I thought it was going to be a shoot-‘em-up-bang-bang gangster series, it’s got way too much humor in it for that, but oh, when the bad guy is bad, he’s marvelously bad! Wish I didn’t have to wait for the weekend and two new episodes!

Books: for complete reviews please see Rainy Day Reads at http://lenoragood.blogspot.com

Friday Night Bites, Book 2 of the Magic Market Mysteries —by Erin Johnson. I think this is the 3d of the books I’ve read. Great fun. Cozy mysteries with a twist. Great fun.

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog 

hope you all are still wearing your masks, socially distancing, staying safe, and staying healthy! And we’ll see you back here next week, same bat time, same bat channel.

This is my friend from Florida. Doesn’t he have a nice smile? I used him on a Winter Card one year with a bubble that said “Ho, ho, ho!” Auntie Lenora has a sick sense of humor, doesn’t she?

Write That Letter!

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Weather today in the Tries (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco WA):

I do believe Spring has sprung! The air feels different, the sun is out, the birds are noisy, and today’s high is on schedule for 58F and Mostly Sunny. Pack a lunch, head to the Columbia!       

Write That Letter!

You know how I’m always yammering at you to write a review, let an author know you liked his book, her poem, their song? Well….

I believe I told you way back in January that I’d broken down and made a New Year’s Resolution, something I never, EVER do. OK, if you forgot, I signed up for A Word A Day years ago, and every Monday through Friday I get a new word with the parts of speech, etymology, and lots of other good stuff in my inbox. And I started writing something each day it comes, using that word. Some things are silly, and some aren’t too bad, but I’ve been doing it.

The words each week are related, and each day the previous ones of the week are posted. So, on Friday, the word was body blow, for the week they were merchant prince, journeyman, gold-digger, roughhouse, and body blow. I got the first four written, but on Friday, I came up with

Oh, Woe, Woe, Woe…
the body blow
to the merchant prince
came shortly after he
and his journeymen
lost an easy election
to outright theft
and fraud that didn’t
exist. The gold digger,
forced to move
from his cushy
and protected home,
lost not only shelter
in his position,
but money, and now
must rely on others
as he prepares to
play roughhouse
in various courts
of law.

and thought it was kind of fun, so sent it off to Anu Garg, who is the Wordsmith of A Word A Day. On Sunday, he sends a compendium of all, or at least many, of the emails he receives, usually a lot of limericks (I couldn’t write a limerick if my life depended on it!). He actually published mine in his compendium (AWADmail Issue 973)

So, that was fun, a fun poem, and a fun publication, and today I received an email from Lisa, and print it here with her permission, “Hi Lenora, Really enjoyed your pangraph in last week’s AWADmail. I hope you continue! -Lisa”. A short note, but you know, I was down just a bit, had received another rejection, and in popped Lisa’s note. The sun got so excited, it banished the clouds, and joined in my happiness. I don’t know Lisa, but her short note meant a lot to me. (Anu publishes email addresses in the Compendium) So, because someone I don’t know took the time to write, I’m now doing a happy dance!

By the way, the poem is called a Pangraph for using all the words for that week.

So, when you read a book you like, leave a review (they are important) and for shorter pieces, drop a note to the author (they are important, too). Most authors have websites, or in the case of something this short, an email posted on site. 

Second Jab!

Easy peasey (for me). 😉 Again, kudos to our Governor Jay Inslee and the Washington Army National Guard medics! Hats off, you gals n guys! You’re marvelous.

Jab Day, by the time I went to bed I was aware that the cute Army medic assaulted my arm, but no pain.

Day 2, still no pain. By bedtime I was a little stuffy and my head hurt a little bit. The winds were really blowing, figured it was dust in the air, and my chronic headache. And I was really tired.

Day 3, rolled over to right side (I always get shot in dominate arm if possible) for a bit in the morning, and could definitely feel the shot. Still windy out, still stuffy head and mild headache. Neither of which are (I’m fairly certain) from the shot. Besides, the medic who gave it was tooooo cute to give me side effects, too 😉

Day 4, too boring to continue. But several friends have also reported being more tired than normal, so that might be part of it.

There is a lot of conflicting info out there, and I’m easily confused, so I have made up my own mind on the idea of restaurant dining. April. That’s when, all things being equal, I will consider dining in. In the meantime, if it’s sunny and not windy, I’m willing to dine out at a restaurant.

Entertainment:

Netflix: OMG. Too much going on in my life at the moment. I needed something to escape, and Netflix sent me an email about a series they thought I’d like, Vincenzo. “During a visit to his motherland, a Korean-Italian mafia lawyer gives an unrivaled conglomerate a taste of its own medicine with a side of justice.” Oh, yeah, baby. This is my kinda show. At least the first episode. Alas, I’m starting close to the beginning, so will have to content myself with one a day for a couple more days, and then wait until next weekend for new episodes. Great English subtitles, but it’s funny when the worst swear word is ‘gosh’ 😉

Books:

The Meaning of It All, Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist —Richard P. Feynman. In a word: disappointing. I believe this is a transcription (unedited) of three lectures. Live, they were probably very entertaining, but on the page they were flat. He rambled and never made a point. Read his other books. They’re marvelous.

Other Stuff:

“The world is a beautiful place

to be born into…

    …but then right in the middle of it

                                                       comes the smiling

mortician” 

—Lawrence Ferlinghetti, #11, Coney Island of the Mind

Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti

March 24, 1919 – February 22, 2021

I was introduced to Ferlinghetti’s poetry via Coney Island of the Mind, while in WAC Basic Training, and his poem, #11, (the second one, there was one earlier on) got me through Basic. He was 101 years old when he died, and like a lot of his fans, I was pretty sure he had figured it all out, and would be here for at least 101 more years. We were wrong. Sigh.

From my walk with friends the other day. Just thought the reflections were stunning. That’s “my” island in the background.

Wear your masks! Get your shots. Stay Healthy, Stay Safe

Happily Ever After (HEA)

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Weather today in the Tries (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco WA):

The weather person has scheduled a high of 59F. At 5am it was at 50, with 23mph winds and should be partly sunny later one, with SW breezes at 24-28mph and gusts as high as 28mph. A far cry from the past week of below freezing. 

Speaking of weather, I was introduced to a great weather app for my phone: WTF Weather . There are controls so you can control the language content, and the voice. But it’s fun. Check it out. And so far, it seems to be in sync with NOAA, just funnier.

Storm in Texasland and Elsewhere:

Like you, I have friends and family not only in Texas and the surrounding area, but throughout the South and the East Coast. Fortunately, they are all safe, though the ones in Texas got more than their share of cold. I hope Texas is now going to update and winterize their grids systems, and I hope the rest of the states will pay attention and do what updating they need to do to theirs to keep them going at optimum capacity. The absolute coldest winters I’ve ever spent were in the South, Texas, Alabama, Georgia. This wasn’t that much of an anomoly.

Friends in Portland OR lost power for three hours during the storm, but it came in the middle of the night, and they didn’t know until they got up the next morning and the clocks were blinking. Now, if you must lose power, do it right, do it while you’re sleeping and have it come back on while you’re still asleep.

Happy Ever After (HEA):

I’m no expert on publishing, but I’m pretty sure that stories/essays/et ceteras are accepted for publication weeks, if not months, prior to actual publication. As you may remember, I subscribe to Emergence Magazine (free) at https://emergencemagazine.org/explore/ and I heartily recommend it. One of the essays in the latest issue is Thirteen to One New Stories for an Age of Disaster by Marie Mutsuki Mocket.

Ms. Mocket had the foresight to be born to a Japanese mother and American father. She grew up bi-lingual. And in this essay, tells about Onamazu, the giant catfish who lives under the Japanese islands and is held in place by the Shinto god Takemikazuch. When the god dozes off, or drinks too much saki, or gets distracted, Onamazu moves, creating earthquakes.

While I found her essay and the story of Onamazu, riveting, the part that reached out and grabbed me was when she told of her mother reading her a nursery story that did not have a happy ending (Gon the Fox), and how she cried. She was raised in a culture that insisted she should aim for happy endings all the time. I’m one of those people, I want HEA in the stories I read. Especially fiction. I read enough nonfiction to take care of the sad endings. And I’m pretty sure I raised my kids like that, too. Did I do a disservice to them? Did I just take the easy way out?

This is a direct quote from the article: “Sometimes when I talk to audiences about the differences between Japanese and Western fairy tales, someone—usually a mother—will ask me, “How do you keep your child from being scared?” I always think back to my mother and her rage at Gon the dead fox, and for a long time, I wasn’t truly sure how to answer the question. Now I say, “You don’t.” Because I am now very clear: disaster is endemic to the structure of the world in which we live.

Things should scare us.”  

I’m too old to raise my kids again, and besides, I don’t think they’d appreciate my trying, but it is something to think about. A lot of ‘literary’ fiction has bummer endings, which are probably more true-to-life than my HEA stories, but at my age I’m going to pretty much stick to my HEA books. I get enough sadness in the nonfiction and poetry I read; I don’t need any more. 

Allen Point of Bateman Island. Notice the ice in the inlet. Taken a couple days ago.
Great Blue Heron sitting on patch of ice above.
Coots, gulls, and Great Blue on the ice and in the water.

Addendum to Last Week’s Addendum: I’m now being offered $50.00 to delete my bad review. Do I hear $60? Do I hear $70? The offer is still coming from Belinda, so apparently, she didn’t get fired. 

Entertainment:

No tv to speak of, barely even news. Was busy working on my stuff. Did spend a lot of time listening to Rocabilly on Pandora.

Books: Please go to Rainy Day Reads for more complete reviews.

I did get some books read, or perhaps I should say finished.

Occoquan —by Gary Worth Moody, historical poetry that takes place along, or in, the Occoquan river. 

Gone Astray —by Terry Korth Fischer. I actually read this a while back but had to wait until it was available to readers to post my review. A marvelous mystery!

the lost spells —by Robert MacFarlane and Jacki Morris. Loved this book! One of those books I deliberately read slowly, parsing out the poems and the art. 

Other Stuff:

Had hoped to give you an update on my second jab, but the freeze and snow delayed it from Saturday to Wednesday, so stay tuned for a follow-up on that one.

In the meantime, Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog wish you to stay safe, stay well, and stay socially distanced even though you’re wearing your mask and have had your shots. You can still spread it, even if you won’t catch it.

I Feel a Homesick Coming On

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Weather today in the Tries (Richland, Kennewick, Pasco): 

currently 21 and snowing, humidity is 100% (which makes it colder than a well-digger’s bottom), wind chill brings it down to 25. Under Hazardous weather conditions until noon. High today expected to be 30. See pictures at end of post.

Homesickness is coming:

One of the absolute bestest things about the time I lived in Florida was Swarm X of the cicadas. My first summer there, Swarm X emerged. OMG. I loved it. There were loud, but wonderful. I slept most nights with my window open just to hear them.

Swarm X is the largest of the swarms, and it will emerge again this year. And oh, boy, do I feel a homesick coming on. Frankly, if I spent 17 years underground and finally came out, I think I’d be pretty loud, too! Whoopeeee. Free at last. Free at last!!!

I’m no expert, but I believe all cicadas are underground for that period of time, fortunately, they are on different cycles so those fortunate enough to live in cicada country get to hear their mating songs every year, just not in the same numbers.

If any of you live in Swarm X country, send me a tape of their singing, will you? Please. Pretty please.

There are lots of things I miss about Florida. All the friends I made, and all the wildlife. Cicadas, birds (fortunately, we have several same or similar birds here on the Columbia River), even the reptiles—especially the alligators. The spiders, not so much. I wasn’t at all tempted to bring any of them back. 😉

Atlas Obscura, one of my favorite sites, has a short article on The 17-year Cicada Swarms of Brood X here.

Speaking of a homesick coming on, I realize I’m remiss in keeping the Entertainment Section current and up-to-date. I just know at least one of you cares. Don’t you?

Addendum to last week’s post: This past week, I was offered $40.00—again—and begged to delete or the poor thing is going to be fired by her boss in this time of covid. Last week she made it sound like she was one of the owners. Alas, I have not heart strings for her to pull. Actually, I’ve been told I have no heart. I contacted Amazon and filed another complaint and was assured they would be investigated. I wasn’t sure the first complaint went through, but one of my Amazonian friends checked, and this one went through.

Entertainment:

Hallmark Movies and Mysteries. Yes, I like some of them. And I tumbled to a new, to me, Gourmet Detectiveepisode the other night. I actually like most of the mystery series they have except the one about the flower shop. And the reruns of old network shows. I don’t care for most of those, now that Columbo and Perry Mason are off the schedule.

Books: Please go to Rainy Day Reads for more complete reviews.

River Hoard —by Neil Leadbeater. Poems of Scotland. A mini vacation to Scotland.

The Cup (The Moroccan Empire Book 1) —by Melissa Addey. This is a fascinating novella to lead us into the series I have not yet read but intend to. An excellent historical adventure.

The Consorts (Forbidden City Book 1) —by Melissa Addey. Another novella to lead us into another historical adventure of the Forbidden City in the 1700s. I can hardly wait to read the rest.

Death Retires (Death Retired Mysteries Book 1) —by Cate Lawley. What a hoot! One of the deaths (who knew there was/is more than one?) retires to a nice, quiet neighborhood with his ‘pet’ bobcat, Clarence who steals every scene he’s in. Laughed all the way through it.

The Cooking Gene —by Michael W. Twitty. Second read, second review. That should tell you something, eh?

Cozy Up to Death: a novel about a bookstore, a cat, knitting, and blood (The Cozy Up Series Book 1) —by Colin Conway. All I can say is to buckle up, Buttercup. This ain’t your standard Granny-owns-a-bookstore cozy! A one-sit read and I’ll get the rest in the series. (First clue it’s different: the author is male!)

Twenty Poems That Could Save America and other essays —by Tony Hoagland. A collection of 12 of Mr. Hoagland’s essays about poets and poetry. Loved it!

Other stuff

I ain’t goin’ out any more than the dog demands! Fortunately, he isn’t very demanding 😉 We got another few inches last night, and it’s still coming down.

We’ve been in the midst of a cold spell, really cold. Here are a few snaps I took to give you an idea of how cold. By the time Tuesday (tomorrow) rolls around, I believe it will be a week of never getting above freezing.

Me in my double mask and double had (the outer had is merino wool, the inner hat is really just an ear warmer)
That’s not fog / twixt the far shore and me / Tis morning snow / through which I cannot see
Inlet between Bateman Island and where I live. Those are gulls walking on the ice. The Columbia River is beyond the island.

I subscribe to Rafael Jesús González blog. He is bi-lingual and writes in both Spanish and English. His post of yesterday was on Valentine’s Day, and it is here for your enjoyment.

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog want you to stay safe, stay warm, and keep wearing yur mask, even after you get your vaccination!

Auntie Lenora and Sammy Brave Dog (who sees no socially redeeming quality to snow!) want you to stay safe, stay warm, and keep wearing your masks even after you get your vaccination!