Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Less than three weeks from the US election day. If you are eligible voter in the US, please make plans and time to vote and have your vote counted. 

I for one can't wait until the onslaught of ads go away. We have a senate seat up for election along with some state legislative offices up for vote. I record my TV shows, then I can fast forward through the ads. Also means I am reading more to stay off the TV. Well, except for sports, got to watch that stuff live. Wisconsin is one of the swing states so ads, candidate visits etc. never ends.

More fall like weather has arrived. I have the furnace on and with a programmable thermostat it only runs if the house gets cooler than what I feel comfortable at. I don't keep the house that warm, I do put on long sleeves, pants and heavier clothes. 

Working on getting flower beds cut down and hauled off to the compost pile. Two loads done, six to eight loads to go!

Drawn Testimony author is a court room artist and has worked for over 40 years as such. It is a profession that is freelance and she has been hired to cover many of the major trials of the past 40 years. Gives insight into how and why she draws the principals, the limited artistic freedom she has to get vital moments of trials. Book includes some color pictures as well as numerous black and white reproductions.

Passionate Mothers, Powerful Sons is a dual biography of Jennie Jerome Churchill and Sara Delano Roosevelt, mother's of Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Both were born in 1854 as US citizens Jennie's life was intertwined with the British aristocracy, Sara was settled into the upper class in the US. Interesting contrast of the two women, their relationships with their spouses, money and children.

The Six in 1978 NASA selected a new batch of astronauts, including six women. Women who were highly educated, also wives and mothers. All would fly in at least one shuttle mission. One, Judith Resnik, would lose her life in the Challenger explosion.

Madly, Deeply are actor Alan Rickman's diaries over the years. I first remember seeing him act in Sense and Sensibility and loved his voice. Other major roles, in Love Actually and as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter movies. This was more of a skim the text looking for items of interest, making of movies. A look at his life, but not a memoir.

Scattershot is a memoir / autobiography of Bernie Taupin. Best known as the lyricist to many of Elton John's songs. Bernie admits in the intro that he does not have a linear mind which for me made it hard to read as I do have a linear mind. Much more than his music and relationship with Elton. 

Happy Reading.

Mini-ManCat Monday

It always gives me a shiver when I see a cat seeing what I can't see. - Eleanor Farjeon 

Autumn weather has hit. Mum got the heaty monster all tuned up for the year. The guy who comes to do it has been here before and he asked about me. Mum said I was hiding!

Me hanging with mum while she does a blankie. This will be the last one afore she takes them for donation. That will happen on Thursday. 

Likely the last use of the griller machine. No cheeseburger but steak! Yes, I got some tastes.
 

This is the foods that mum is giving me now for crunchies. I guess it it OK. I still get me wet foods too. 

Feetsball Report

The Pack - played really well and the red birds didn't stand a chance. It was an interesting game in wind and rain. JLove and company looked good. 

Other sports, mum's fav driver is out of the Crashcar championship. Mum isn't worrying about the baseball teams either. 

Stay warm and have a good week.

 

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

Hello.

Continuing wonderful fall weather, dry and warm enough. I really need to start cutting back my flower beds but then I won't be reading!

 

Disaster at the Vendome Theater as Marine and Antoine await the birth of their baby a double murder occurs at the local theater. The two killed knew each other from Paris ages ago, but there is a local twist that involves others at the theater.

The Last Bookshop in London set in early World War II, Grace and Viv head to London to get out of family issues in their small towns. Grace starts work as a shop assistant in a small bookstore, working for a curmudgeon. As things work out, the girls help with the war effort, surviving the blitz and even a hit on the bookshop itself. Happy endings!

A Deceptive Composition, the latest Lady Darby book. Kiera, Gage and Lord Gage travel to Cornwall where Lord Gage grew up. Family members have requested their help in figuring out who may have murdered Lord Gage's uncle. A supposed treasure, a hidden cove and false pretenses await and will they survive.

The Sisterhood is a recounting of the history of women within the CIA. Initially kept in clerical jobs as the years passed they moved into more senior and critical positions of case, director and executive positions. The analytic positions women were critical, in fact it was a group of three women who first identified that al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden was a rising threat to the United States. Also that currently the biggest threat to the US is likely to come from within.

Exit Interview is a recounting of the author's twelve years at Amazon. Years spent with 24/7/365 job with a culture driven by fear. I don't know how she lasted as long as she did. Plus she didn't actually didn't get a face to face exit interview!

And they keep writing more. So many books, not enough time.

Yeah, don't destroy books. If you don't want to read it, fine. Just leave it for those of us who do want to read it.

Happy Reading

Mini-ManCat Monday

You may own a cat, but cannot govern one. - Kate Sanborn 

Mum says she is my guardian, not my owner. A guardian is someone who cares for you even though you are not their biological child! That's mum!

A couple of pics from my vet visit. New lady vet is nice. She is supposed to call today with results from the blood they stole, but she called mum on Friday. Guess I am getting new foods to try. 

Plus my weight is just 6 pounds and 12 ounces but I have good muscle mass. Yeah, I do have good muscles!

Me and mum with the crow-shay. It is time she cleared out the closet and started a new pile! The closet is FULL.

Mum does this game thingy on the web and she got the first one right. Then she got the next groups correct too. Mum is so smart.

Sports report

Brew Crew blew it and are out of the playoffs. 

The Pack went to the left coast and played the LaLa Land Rams and won! JLove looked purrty good and so was the defense.

Mum did her last racy car day for the big national runoffs at Road American. One day and she was tired. Glad to be back home with me. 

Have a wonderful week everyone. 

Wonderful Wordy Wednesday

 

Made it to the first Wednesday of October. Fall has arrived, nice weather, minimal rain. Time for me to start getting the yard and flower beds cut back, but that can wait until next week to start that. 

Watching at least some of the baseball playoffs. Local team, Milwaukee Brewers, are playing in the first round against the New York Mets. My team lost the first game on Tuesday, second game is Wednesday. Watch

Ducky will have his semi-annual vet visit today. Another new vet as the last one left. I hope to get some continuity here. 

I skipped the political debate. No need to raise my blood pressure when there are lies and non-answers. 

My two library friends and I did a trivia night at a local establishment on Monday night. It was run by a group that goes from bar to bar on certain nights. Works out to 60 questions, plus a lightning round. We did OK, I think third place and it was fun to get out and exercise our brains. Our weak points were movie sequels and stuff about Taylor Swift. 

Good Bad Girl mothers and daughters, relationships over time. A stolen baby twenty years ago and a current murder. The crimes are related: three suspects, two murders and one victim. Lots of twists and turns, a pager turner.

Collision of Power author served as the executive editor of The Washington Post from January 2013 through February 2021. Significant happenings during this time included the purchase of the paper by Jeff Bezos and the Trump presidency. Resurgence of the paper during this time period and the increased on line presence. Interesting to read the behind the headlines of the Post, Bezos and Trump issues.

Broken Code relates our Facebook and other Meta apps said one thing, but did another. Were they actually keeping us safe or peddling hate and anger. Allowing the VIPs of the world to violate codes of standards, while the rest could not. Whistleblowers and others come to the public, congress and Wall Street to open our eyes. Interesting read, but something in the author's style of writing made it hard to read at times. 

 

Happy Reading.