tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60496268979359123662024-03-19T04:48:18.728-04:00Letters from a Hill FarmNanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.comBlogger3349125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-55162266350551505212024-02-29T12:35:00.000-05:002024-02-29T12:35:03.595-05:00Advice from a gardener 120 years ago<p> My local library recently purchased a book published in 1904, written by a woman about the garden at her summer home in my town. </p><p>Gardening is completely new to her, and she freely admits the mistakes she makes as well as delights in the successes. </p><p>I loved the following which I think is a lesson we all must learn over and over again. At least this is my experience.</p><p><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I have found it advisable, in buying plants from a florist, to buy from one whose nursery is either near by, or, at least, located where the conditions are similar to the climate. For they are more likely to fulfil the promises of the catalogue if they are raised in the same kind of climate as the one in which they will be expected to grow.</span></i></p><p>I have had gardens for a long time, and I <i>still</i> get wooed by a plant in a catalogue which grows perfectly the first year, or sometimes even the second, but then gives up the ghost!</p>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-24643589180389228202024-02-23T13:33:00.004-05:002024-02-23T21:48:30.830-05:00The loss of another young man<p> <span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">At my age, one might expect to go to funerals. In <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Tricks" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>New Tricks</b></span></a>, Jack Halford played by the excellent James Bolam says that he goes to a funeral every couple of weeks. Well, very, very sadly the last five funerals or Celebrations of Life Tom and I have been to have been young men. I’ve written about two of them <a href="https://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2008/03/death-of-soldier.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>here</b></span></a> and <a href="https://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2020/05/todays-songthe-dance-garth-brooks.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>here</b></span></a>. In between them there were two others, one a bit older than Margaret, and the other in Michael's class, and then last month was the fifth. This young man was a year, lacking two days, older than my daughter Margaret. He died on the local mountain he loved, doing what he loved to do, snowboarding. </span></p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">There were hundreds of people there. The place was up a hill, and we were early enough to park in one of the parking lots. When we came out, there were cars almost down to the main road. He was much loved in the community. I didn’t know him personally, but I know his mother, and his sister is one of Margaret’s best friends, and Tom taught him in school. There is something about the small Middle and Senior High School which all the young men, but one, attended that is very, very special. The kids were close, and they remain close. And many, many of them stay in the area. They love this place with the same passion that we have. Some move further away, but they they come back home and get together with all the friends they’ve known most of their lives. It is an amazing school and area that brings them all together for a lifetime. </span></p><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">And their parents were there, most of them old hippies like Tom and I. There were no women with dyed hair or facelifts. There was gray hair, and there were wrinkles, and there were a few with canes or walkers. Their “kids” are in their forties now and the parents in their sixties and seventies. Even if we don’t know everyone personally, we still “know” each other. We spent most of our time with the mother of a woman whose daughter was in Margaret’s class, and whose own son died almost a decade ago at whose Celebration of Life all of us were back then. </div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;"><br /></div><div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">The man who died was an early skateboarder when that sport was looked down on by much of society. There is a skateboarding park in town, but there hasn’t been enough money to really make something of it. His sister-in-law had the idea to give contributions in his name to the park, and would you believe that $52,000 dollars has been given thus far. It just makes me cry, and makes me feel so proud of this wonderful community.</div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-40691772139100819532024-02-13T22:24:00.008-05:002024-02-23T19:05:34.316-05:00What I watched in 2024<p><span style="color: #990000;">January into February:</span></p><div style="text-align: left;">Inspector George Gently</div><div style="text-align: left;">series on Acorn</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">February:</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">Keep on Burning: The Story of Northern Soul</div><div style="text-align: left;">My DVD</div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-22694534273503234142024-02-09T20:20:00.002-05:002024-02-09T20:20:43.454-05:00A new love at almost 76!<p> I have developed a wild new passion for ... rugby! I have never seen it in my life. I am not a big sports person, other than the Red Sox but we haven't watched a game for years and years. Netflix had this offering of Six Nations Rugby, and I thought we could give it a try, neither of us knowing one thing about it. </p><p>We loved it. Absolutely loved it. There weren't whole games, just parts of the build up to the winner, which I will not give away in case any other Americans want to see it. Tonight was the last night we watched, finishing the series. Then we went looking to see if there was any way over here where we could watch the regular games. The results of a search said "Peacock". We read up on it and could get it for about six dollars a month. We signed up, and voila! So excited!</p>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-18881367125775098262024-02-05T21:32:00.002-05:002024-02-06T11:25:11.100-05:00Today's poem by Roger McGough<div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">Let Me Die A Youngman's Death</span></div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;"><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div>Let me die a youngman's death</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">not a clean and inbetween</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">the sheets holywater death</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">not a famous-last-words</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">peaceful out of breath death</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">When I'm 73</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">and in constant good tumour</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">may I be mown down at dawn</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">by a bright red sports car</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">on my way home</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">from an allnight party</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">Or when I'm 91</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">with silver hair</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">and sitting in a barber's chair</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">may rival gangsters</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">with hamfisted tommyguns burst in</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">and give me a short back and insides</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">Or when I'm 104</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">and banned from the Cavern</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">may my mistress</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">catching me in bed with her daughter</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">and fearing for her son</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">cut me up into little pieces</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">and throw away every piece but one</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">Let me die a youngman's death</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">not a free from sin tiptoe in</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">candle wax and waning death</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">not a curtains drawn by angels borne</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">'what a nice way to go' death</span><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">Roger McGough </span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">and I am happy to say that he is still alive!</span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">I first put up a Roger McGough poem ten years ago. <a href="https://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2014/02/todays-poem-by-roger-mcgough.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Here</b></span></a> is my post from then. You'll see that it was in this very month! I love things like that. I am watching the same series ten years to the month from when I first watched it, and I am watching it on Acorn TV as I was then. </span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">Anyhow, I think this is quite a wonderful poem. In the show a young boy recited part of it. He says about Mcgough, "He's a Scouser [from Liverpool] but he writes good poems." The boy lives in the North East of England.</span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">When I first read the title I thought it meant he wanted to die young, but no. His website is <a href="https://www.rogermcgough.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>here</b></span></a>, and so worth reading.</span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">I can't seem to find any definition of his use of "tumour". I thought it must be a misprint but I've found it the same word on many poetry sites. Maybe someone who is from England could explain? </span></div><div><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: #990000; font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 18px;">Please read Michelle Ann's comment!</span></div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-63355512366376564292024-01-12T12:50:00.000-05:002024-01-12T12:50:23.085-05:00Today's picture - Lucy in the sunshine<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAWHrtftk2yD9PQMlXZAX2SM8hbLexx8YSPdR6R2HOU-MelNBtH87mM0X9Qr5UplX9tihsILD6sXGaflh34JDtG_9_ZigEm1pXw5BUOgMHjmyjJygY8AVD6KxUH3ZDUgzs7eqzNw8Q-p2WN01SmKQCk_qRWiCQxzCDv8x3dkITbn1BWkMpvTswJLXVk4/s4032/IMG_4926.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdAWHrtftk2yD9PQMlXZAX2SM8hbLexx8YSPdR6R2HOU-MelNBtH87mM0X9Qr5UplX9tihsILD6sXGaflh34JDtG_9_ZigEm1pXw5BUOgMHjmyjJygY8AVD6KxUH3ZDUgzs7eqzNw8Q-p2WN01SmKQCk_qRWiCQxzCDv8x3dkITbn1BWkMpvTswJLXVk4/w640-h480/IMG_4926.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p></p>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-83351569793538575472024-01-08T13:35:00.000-05:002024-01-08T13:35:12.697-05:00Grace Kelly - Trying To Figure It OutI so love this.
<iframe width="480" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/UOWRtNkr3cw?si=ukpg5p8xHbWONrJT" frameborder="0"></iframe>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-30977668550000975372024-01-04T15:35:00.001-05:002024-01-04T15:36:09.381-05:00Bank of Dave | Official Trailer HDI'm here with a movie recommendation. It is on Netflix in the US, but I would think it would be on Netflix in England also as it is an English movie, set in Burnley. I read that part of it was filmed there but it was mostly Bradford, Leeds, Wakefield, and London. I began watching knowing absolutely nothing about it. If you like to do that, you can skip the trailer! Anyhow, it is a wonderful movie.
<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/nBXsRgy_EtM?si=ApMCbMtLQXMY897Z" width="480"></iframe>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-79902606796698609002024-01-02T13:38:00.000-05:002024-01-02T13:38:21.481-05:00Today's pictures - sunshine<p>After about nine days of dark, cloudy weather we have sun today. The blog header picture was taken yesterday, and here is the same view today.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWHS_hXK8fn493maS2swR75k1ljz5zm6zxPZSyS_sYg7tUsRKXLqSozwvpQXs1TNccnyUYZfNo-9Z15qGiuvxvtvpL2lTr1Z-KgEANNNjMfiAt7ag20xzkIBX1BHXYw8zO6nmopiKIESev-5UoJZ5Jn2vszLFCHOW87tXxa6plS2Wt__16dgEfTu7otQ/s4032/IMG_4839.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVWHS_hXK8fn493maS2swR75k1ljz5zm6zxPZSyS_sYg7tUsRKXLqSozwvpQXs1TNccnyUYZfNo-9Z15qGiuvxvtvpL2lTr1Z-KgEANNNjMfiAt7ag20xzkIBX1BHXYw8zO6nmopiKIESev-5UoJZ5Jn2vszLFCHOW87tXxa6plS2Wt__16dgEfTu7otQ/w640-h480/IMG_4839.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><br /> And if you look closely, you may be able to see the smoke coming out of the chimney, against the blue, blue sky.<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBvGMqb259EpbFZviY1F53FGX_glg-mQpOw8XIu9R3NG0cmvqDoumpuYYEnIrbsP43uOZohoOk5BLLa8KVXyNNxmzkYcz82FfPCQDwK-C0vwcDEZ6dBIAnnG7SaA9_PxEYZwaKVKU8xt0J0OHhD9pSKuPmi6Ql8boUeSO0iNd3cb_dSCHiZ8sKqdDHfY/s4032/IMG_4843.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBBvGMqb259EpbFZviY1F53FGX_glg-mQpOw8XIu9R3NG0cmvqDoumpuYYEnIrbsP43uOZohoOk5BLLa8KVXyNNxmzkYcz82FfPCQDwK-C0vwcDEZ6dBIAnnG7SaA9_PxEYZwaKVKU8xt0J0OHhD9pSKuPmi6Ql8boUeSO0iNd3cb_dSCHiZ8sKqdDHfY/w640-h480/IMG_4843.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-19449007718073845732024-01-02T13:25:00.013-05:002024-03-18T14:58:39.861-04:00Book List 2024<p><span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-weight: bold;">January </span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>-</b></span></span><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b> 5</b></span></p><div style="text-align: left;">1. <span style="color: #990000;">The Murder at the Vicarage</span> - book 1 in the Miss Marple series</div><div style="text-align: left;">by Agatha Christie</div><div style="text-align: left;">mystery 1930</div><div style="text-align: left;">Kindle</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">2. <span style="color: #990000;">The Body in the Library</span> - book 2 in the Miss Marple series</div><div style="text-align: left;">by Agatha Christie</div><div style="text-align: left;">mystery 1942</div><div style="text-align: left;">Kindle</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">3. <span style="color: #990000;">Hilda and the Troll</span> - book 1 in the Hildafolk series</div><div style="text-align: left;">by Luke Pearson</div><div style="text-align: left;">children's graphic novel 2010</div><div style="text-align: left;">print</div><div style="text-align: left;">library book</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">4. <span style="color: #990000;">We Don't Know Ourselves</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">A Personal History of Modern Ireland</span></div><div style="text-align: left;">by Fintan O'Toole</div><div style="text-align: left;">nonfiction 2021</div><div style="text-align: left;">print</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">5. <span style="color: #990000;">Trouble in Triplicate</span> - book 14 in the Nero Wolfe series</div><div style="text-align: left;">by Rex Stout</div><div style="text-align: left;">mystery 1949</div><div style="text-align: left;">Kindle</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">February -</span><span style="color: #134f5c;"> 2</span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>6. <span style="color: #990000;">The Second Confession</span> - book 15 in the Nero Wolfe series</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>by Rex Stout</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>mystery 1949</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>Kindle</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>7. <span style="color: #990000;">Felsengarten</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #990000;">Our Mountain Garden</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>by Mrs. Theodore Thomas (Rose Fay)</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>nonfiction 1904</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>print</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span>library book</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394;"><b>March -</b> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;">8. <span style="color: #990000;">Three Doors To Death</span> - book 16 in the Nero Wolfe series</div><div style="text-align: left;">by Rex Stout</div><div style="text-align: left;">mystery 1950</div><div style="text-align: left;">Kindle</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">9. <span style="color: #990000;">Dead Presidents</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"> byBrady Carlson</div><div style="text-align: left;">nonfiction 2016</div><div style="text-align: left;">print</div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-63453002317904424602024-01-01T16:57:00.000-05:002024-01-01T16:57:18.912-05:00And a Happy New Year!<p> I've always loved John and Yoko's Christmas song, and particularly these lyrics:</p><p>"And a happy New Year. Let's hope it's a good one, without any fear."</p><div style="text-align: left;">Why "fear"? Just because it rhymes with year? I don't think so. Artists are geniuses at coming up with just the right words. There is so much fear everywhere. Wars, climate, politics, and more personal fears about one's life. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">We have had some months of fears. Tom had a fall and had to go down to the hospital where Hazel was born ten years ago. They needed to check him out because of concussion and brain bleed (aren't those awful words). This happened on August 30th. He came home on September 1st. While he was there, it was discovered that he has a heart ailment called "a-fib" and then later found out he has high cholesterol. One wouldn't expect a vegetarian of 52 years to have such a thing, but the past few years he has eaten a lot of fat - cheese and butter particularly. Probably this is stress-related from issues dealing with his mother's old age. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I went online and found out how many grams of saturated fat he should have in a day. It was miles less than he had been eating. He began mindfully living by those grams, and has lost a lot of weight. We won't know for a while if it has done good with the cholesterol numbers. Apparently there are some kinds which are genetic, rather than caused by diet. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">He had a stress test for the a-fib and found that his arteries are not clogged. That is such a relief. He only has to take an aspirin a day to deal with it. The cholesterol medicine comes with warnings for most everything on earth, but I am ignoring them hoping the eating less fat will make a difference. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">He definitely has post-concussion stuff. The problem is that we think he had three before this, but he was never unconscious as he was in August, and we never thought much about them. Now, knowing what we know, there were side effects. He is working hard to rest more, and walk, do qigong, and meditate each day. Slow and steady wins the race, we hope. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">All this is why I have written even less lately than before. The days have been sometimes exhausting. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">I am really going to try to write more in 2024. I have continued to read your blogs, though not often commenting. I want to be a blogger again. </div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-8405942452889081792023-12-25T23:22:00.001-05:002023-12-25T23:22:22.231-05:00Quote du jour/Call the Midwife - 2023 Christmas special<p> Again, Vanessa Redgrave's voice.</p><p>We would give children anything at Christmas, their passing fancies or their heart's desires, their frenzied crazes or the things they yearn for. We want to fill their hands because it fills our hearts. That is the secret of grownups everywhere.</p>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-9421151701722175852023-12-16T16:25:00.003-05:002023-12-16T16:25:19.947-05:00Cher & Darlene Love - Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) | Christmas in R...This is SO great. November 29th THIS year! 60 years ago, Cher sang backup to Darlene Love! <iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/mieTId2uLOU?si=wCiU3qcorYN4471l" width="480"></iframe>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-91045634530986006772023-11-30T23:59:00.007-05:002023-12-01T21:06:01.496-05:00Movies for the Holidays<div style="text-align: left;"> Usually in late November and in all of December, I watch our DVDs of Thanksgiving and Christmas movies. But this has been a different last few months, which I have yet to write about, and I've found myself watching new-to-me holiday movies on Netflix. And they have done me a world of good. So far, I have watched <i>Holiday in the Wild</i>, <i>Christmas on Mistletoe Farm</i>, and <i>A Castle For Christmas</i>. Each one could be described as "schmaltzy" but you know what - they have been just the ticket for me. Escape? Yes, definitely. Enjoyable? Absolutely. Predictable? Well, yes, but still. </div><div style="text-align: left;">I loved all three of them, in different ways. And I highly recommend them.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">PS I just remembered the one I love most of all. <i>Dash and Lily</i>. Absolutely delightful. Bookish, great sights of NYC, and two wonderful characters. The rest of the cast is special, too. Very well-written series.</div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-32027178343729817692023-11-25T19:28:00.000-05:002023-11-25T19:28:45.735-05:00The Christmas tree<p> Margaret, Matthew, and Hazel brought us our tree yesterday. They have done this for the past few years, and we are so grateful. They get it from a local Christmas tree farm.</p><p>Last evening I thought how lovely the tree is, unadorned and waiting for the lights and ornaments. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ftnaHjwGvEM5izUinIPzfaeJpoX6Rl-wMGGwbb5K17mm8WbC8yXzpP7nrxz-JQn-CXLmb-n_RjqplCgXxmb0g-8T_iT1bx3fcqzVeUCpo7xMJa-5UqW4q_8sw8EkmlpyP_1DEmYYD8UgDzM98TtrdbH6C7SknO3foIsXE4aXa_DEp6gV_NDdKur3Psc/s4032/IMG_4529.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6ftnaHjwGvEM5izUinIPzfaeJpoX6Rl-wMGGwbb5K17mm8WbC8yXzpP7nrxz-JQn-CXLmb-n_RjqplCgXxmb0g-8T_iT1bx3fcqzVeUCpo7xMJa-5UqW4q_8sw8EkmlpyP_1DEmYYD8UgDzM98TtrdbH6C7SknO3foIsXE4aXa_DEp6gV_NDdKur3Psc/w480-h640/IMG_4529.HEIC" width="480" /></a></div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-49013681735446421992023-10-26T13:43:00.000-04:002023-10-26T13:43:04.249-04:00The Heavy Heavy - Go Down River (Live in Chicago)Until (if?) I find my writing self again, I’ll post something from a newish band whose work I love. You may read more about them <a href="https://www.theheavyheavy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #134f5c;"><b>here</b></span></a>.
I delight in their sound which is reminiscent of older times, but also fresh and new. It is music that makes me feel uplifted and cheery. In the bio they make reference to some bands I love. "Peter Green - era Fleetwood Mac (my favorite period of that band), The Rolling Stones, British Invasion pop acts like The Hollies, and folk-blues Delaney and Bonnie." The last one is a group I was wild about, but they aren’t mentioned much anymore. I even bought Bonnie Bramlett’s album after Delaney died, and one by their daughter Bekka. And there were so many great British Invasion groups that I still listen to and get great joy from.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>
<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/afR_URkVir0?si=fz61M66CkWd9FE87" width="480"></iframe></div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-87941899607351236572023-10-01T15:40:00.002-04:002023-10-01T15:45:06.358-04:00Me and Miss Marple<p> I've just ILLed Agatha Christie's <i>The Mirror Crack'd</i> because I began reading a <a href="https://ahsweetmystery.com/2023/09/15/ranking-marple-9-the-mirror-crackd-from-side-to-side/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>terrific post </b></span></a>and saved it for a later time because I wanted to read the book before reading the blog post. </p><p>I was very struck right at the beginning because Miss Marple has been stopped in her tracks because of the ramifications of older age. I checked the publication date, and it is 1962 when Agatha was 72, three years younger than me. She was likely beginning to feel some of those things that seem to happen around 70. </p><p>Miss Marple has been warned off gardening by her doctor who comes by three times a week (think of that!), so she sits and looks out the window. She is resentful of the person she has hired to do the work, because he doesn't do that work. He is busy with his own garden. </p><p>And then she ponders:</p><p><span style="color: #134f5c;">One had to face the fact: St. Mary Mead was not the place it had been. You could blame the war (both the wars) or the younger generation, or women going out to work, or the atom bomb, or just the Government - but what one really meant was the simple fact that one was growing old. Miss Marple, who was a very sensible old lady, knew that quite well. It was just that, in a queer way, she felt it more in St. Mary Mead, because it had been her home for so long.</span></p><p>She goes on to note the changes that have come, and the one in particular - a "glittering new supermarket - anathema to the elderly ladies of St. Mary Mead".</p><p><span style="color: #134f5c;">"Packets of things one's never even heard of," exclaimed Miss Hartnell. "All those great packets of breakfast cereal instead of cooking a child a proper breakfast of bacon and eggs. And you're expected to take a basket yourself and go round looking for things - it takes a quarter of an hour sometimes to find what one wants - and usually made up in inconvenient sizes, too much or too little. And then a long queue waiting to pay as you go out. Most tiring."</span></p><p>I have always rather prided myself on being "modern" and accepting the world as it is, not the way it was in the "old days". But as I read the above in <i>The Mirror Crack'd</i>, I found it a bit too close for comfort. I have found myself bemoaning a bit about some trends that upset me. I, being a health food hippie from way back, am dismayed by how much candy and junk food children eat now. I have to keep such thoughts inside instead of passing them along to anyone because times do change, and of course, may well change back, but this is the new generation, not mine. The mothers and fathers do a lot of things way better than I did. Kids are busier than mine were. There are more activities available. It all feels too much to me, but I am also not in my thirties or forties. Seventy-five is much slower and quieter than my younger self. And I shall strive to be that "sensible old lady" like Jane Marple.</p>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-12942454792887522232023-09-24T12:50:00.001-04:002023-09-24T13:44:09.775-04:00My thoughts on the Rex Stout books many years ago<p> Before blogging, there were email groups online that I belonged to that talked about books. I have kept all my emails to those groups, and just came across the following, written about <i>Champagne For One</i>. The words are just what I would still say, and they were written in May 2006 a few months before I began my blog. The second words are from 2003.</p><p>I am so enjoying my visits to Wolfe and Archie as I read them all again in publication order, though as I have said, they really don't have to be read that way. </p><p><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I go on and on to anyone who'll listen about the greatness of the Nero Wolfe/Archie Goodwin books. Some in the series are stellar, like this one, and others not so perfect, but I don't really look at them individually. They are all of a piece about the life. It's like checking in to see what Wolfe and Archie are up to. I love the old familiar words and descriptions of how many steps up to the door of the old brownstone, what Archie is having for breakfast, how the office is arranged, what Wolfe is reading, and of course the mystery he must work on to pay for his gourmet food and his thousands of orchids. Wonderful, wonderful books.</span></span></p><p><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;"> I love </span><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;">the way Archie repeats details in each book, in case the reader is on his</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;">first Nero Wolfe story. "I climbed the seven steps up to the old</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;">brownstone". "Cramer sat in the red chair". I love the house</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;">descriptions. The plots are really secondary. Each book is a portion of</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;">the lives of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. I think between the Stout</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;">books, and P.G. Wodehouse books, I really could survive without any other</span><br style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;" /><span style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: ComicSansMS; font-size: 18px;">reading material.</span></span></p>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-70493858210135423912023-09-23T15:52:00.000-04:002023-09-23T15:52:14.121-04:00Diana Krall - Autumn In New York (Official Video)The sun went into Libra at 2:50 am today so it is now autumn. And here is Diana Krall singing and playing piano so very beautifully to help celebrate the season. Such a great video, too.
<iframe frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://youtube.com/embed/v5FVmJKPSrY?si=KRGF0uvc0VPUhSwH" width="480"></iframe>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-15230805917117395092023-09-18T18:10:00.001-04:002023-09-18T18:12:02.561-04:00Today's poem by WH Auden<p>I am currently watching <a href="https://www.britbox.com/us/show/The_Last_Detective_p04p7k8g" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>The Last Detective on Britbox</b></span></a>. A character called Mod played by the late Sean Hughes quoted the last two lines of this poem. It is the eighth of Auden's Twelve Songs - April 1936. </p><header class="entry-header ast-no-thumbnail" style="box-sizing: inherit; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin-bottom: 2em; overflow-wrap: break-word; text-align: center;"><h1 class="entry-title" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; clear: both; color: #ca4e3a; font-size: 2.22222rem; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px 0px 10px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At Last the Secret is Out<small style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #666666; display: block; font-family: "Libre Baskerville", serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 15px 0px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">by <span style="box-sizing: inherit; font-weight: 700; text-transform: uppercase;"><a href="https://englishliterature.net/wystan-hugh-auden" rel="author" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #444444; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 400; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; transition: all 0.2s linear 0s; vertical-align: baseline;">WYSTAN HUGH AUDEN</a></span></small></h1></header><div class="entry-content clear" itemprop="text" style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; color: #444444; font-family: Georgia, Times, serif; font-size: 18px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At last the secret is out, as it always must come in the end,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />The delicious story is ripe to tell to tell to the intimate friend;<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Over the tea-cups and in the square the tongue has its desire;<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />still waters run deep, my dear, there’s never smoke without fire.</p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Behind the corpse in the reservoir, behind the ghost on the links,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Behind the lady who dances and the man who madly drinks,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />Under the look of fatigue the attack of migraine and the sigh<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />There is always another story, there is more than meets the eye.</p><p style="border: 0px; box-sizing: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px 0px 1.6em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">For the clear voice suddenly singing, high up in the convent wall,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />The scent of the elder bushes, the sporting prints in the hall,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />The croquet matches in summer, the handshake, the cough, the kiss,<br style="box-sizing: inherit;" />There is always a wicked secret, a private reason for this.</p></div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-20613747937480178662023-09-11T13:04:00.003-04:002023-09-11T13:11:14.491-04:00Come Monday - Jimmy Buffett<div>We have a radio in the barn, and it is set to an independent <a href="https://pointfm.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>radio station</b></span></a> in Montpelier, Vermont. There is a daily segment of what is called 33 1/3, when the DJ plays a cut from a record. Because it was Labor Day Weekend, the DJ played Jimmy Buffett's <i>Come Monday</i>. The DJ said it is the best song about traveling and missing your loved ones. It had been a while since I'd heard it, and I was so, so happy. I have been a fan for as long as he has been recording. And I have a delightful, and really unexplainable Jimmy Buffett story. In 1980, we flew to Houston to be Godparents to my childhood friend's baby daughter. We got off the plane, and my friend's husband asked what we would like to do in Houston. The words popped right out of my mouth, "see Jimmy Buffett". He said that there was a show. We got tickets, and saw the most wonderful concert. It was the first show I had been to that sold cocktails, obviously margaritas!<div><br /></div><div>Why on earth would I have said that? Who knows, but it sure was amazing. </div><div><br /></div><div>I'm quite sure that the DJ played the song on September 1. And so very sadly, he died that night. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://youtube.com/embed/XKGw_hrlaOY?si=mXgKhishTBMtyspM" style="background-image: url(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XKGw_hrlaOY/hqdefault.jpg);" width="480"></iframe>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-20091315514186874362023-09-08T17:20:00.001-04:002023-09-08T17:20:45.309-04:00Quote du jour - Shaun Bythell<p> I've just finished Shaun Bythell's second book in his Diary of a Bookseller series, and I loved it so much! </p><p>Toward the end, the internet was down because of a storm and he started reading a book.</p><p>"This is more like the old days, before the tyranny of the Internet, and it was an enormous pleasure to spend the entire day reading, with a few interruptions."</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAvy4NDyIbROovN8ViU4QprEU5jPEbosvK59LhtvYj69lnApzF9ym9s8HrqkXDaBZXuli31cAQfDdBM3FJtqkSwhVJJbSEA9UvqOuVvglyLNSm4m3U3s20T-w5XGvMbAKHyq8vUZAJGGKLr6QIDr_aNoM0D850nVOGV26qoE4QeNeVgxTxhOU_paXAss/s463/Screenshot-2019-10-23-at-17.31.15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="299" data-original-width="463" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAvy4NDyIbROovN8ViU4QprEU5jPEbosvK59LhtvYj69lnApzF9ym9s8HrqkXDaBZXuli31cAQfDdBM3FJtqkSwhVJJbSEA9UvqOuVvglyLNSm4m3U3s20T-w5XGvMbAKHyq8vUZAJGGKLr6QIDr_aNoM0D850nVOGV26qoE4QeNeVgxTxhOU_paXAss/w400-h259/Screenshot-2019-10-23-at-17.31.15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-82596214458235202052023-08-30T09:42:00.001-04:002023-08-30T09:42:29.400-04:00Quote du jour - from Wodehouse to Stout<p>I have just finished re-reading <i>Some Buried Caesar</i>, book 6 in the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout. After it ended there was, on the Kindle version, a 1969 letter from P.G. Wodehouse to Rex Stout upon reading this book for the second time. The letter is actually a copy of the typewritten one. Be still my reader's heart - to think of two of my most favorite writers actually being friends, and respecting one another's work.</p><p>"What a good story Buried Caesar is. I had read it before, of course, but had completely forgotten what happened after the adventure with the bull. I find I can re-read Rex Stout indefinitely, which shows the importance of atmosphere."</p><p>Atmosphere is what I recall when I think of Nero Wolfe and Archie Goodwin. The house, "the old brownstone on West 35th Street", I feel I know as well as my own. When I walk through the door, it is a bit like coming home. And the places visited when Wolfe has to leave, which he abhors doing! I, too, had forgotten all the details in <i>Some Buried Caesar</i>, but the bull in the field was as clear in my mind as could be.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOge8x161gJVjkIR36Ebw9e1iWDdki4MWRzCk0-vCgvcUCmDTTwauXIKcQMTRc3Erfy0wqYUeWKoV0oyZ4jrxuPVPGb74Y8WUEzdaXojsxUriz34dZr8gIo1UVc1i22Ily8lgO9DDpMtCppC09iTgC0sdfT9lOmIxBbJ6R6PDIKgxn08B-gPDyyZFE0iY/s240/1001775326-rex_stout.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="240" data-original-width="240" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOge8x161gJVjkIR36Ebw9e1iWDdki4MWRzCk0-vCgvcUCmDTTwauXIKcQMTRc3Erfy0wqYUeWKoV0oyZ4jrxuPVPGb74Y8WUEzdaXojsxUriz34dZr8gIo1UVc1i22Ily8lgO9DDpMtCppC09iTgC0sdfT9lOmIxBbJ6R6PDIKgxn08B-gPDyyZFE0iY/w400-h400/1001775326-rex_stout.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"> Rex Stout</div></blockquote><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxcRxWLH00QVngJ6kzygnWZaKrST4vQuDab3y3d5JfEBbvqtFoxtMuhJqpz78zybWcFuq2k-zhwBatLtBP0PVjgrQTVXNuoUccTvVaxSKB_FqpyM0PjiNYsKgkQeHhMrEp3SSrLL8ClmiWAdcpZODc4B3j-jNJ6NdM_MUdBKNKadWRZMB52Hi31hL-88/s976/_115638890_woodehouse3_bbc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="976" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMxcRxWLH00QVngJ6kzygnWZaKrST4vQuDab3y3d5JfEBbvqtFoxtMuhJqpz78zybWcFuq2k-zhwBatLtBP0PVjgrQTVXNuoUccTvVaxSKB_FqpyM0PjiNYsKgkQeHhMrEp3SSrLL8ClmiWAdcpZODc4B3j-jNJ6NdM_MUdBKNKadWRZMB52Hi31hL-88/w400-h308/_115638890_woodehouse3_bbc.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0 0 0 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"> P.G. Wodehouse</div></blockquote></blockquote><div><p> </p></div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-75912585883444444452023-08-20T16:07:00.001-04:002023-08-20T16:07:44.857-04:00Chickens, and ...<p> The ... in the blog title means roosters!! Only once in all the years of getting chickens has there been a rooster. I may have mentioned that we gave it away to a fellow, after warning him that he was not kindly toward the kids. He was fine with that, until the rooster went after his daughters. The man shot the rooster. </p><p>The chicken people always warn buyers that they aim for just hens, if that is what the customer orders, but there is always a 10% chance of roosters. 10% of 18 is 1.8, and we have 2! We began to notice maybe a week ago that a couple had red combs. Female Speckled Sussex do not have any red on their heads. Well, this morning, Tom went into the barn early and sure enough a rooster crowed! We are actually quite excited. The Sussex is a mellow breed so fingers crossed the roosters will be as well. </p><p>See those red combs!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsM8AQtXZJbyU9iUwPOHcUo7nTqiMF2oCu9k4IqygvOih8BpqZhHhH8TQyLWABiMhi5OPdsWYNqEWXBZ6DV2H0N84xDiyMWSUJyG9dJDzDbJ-g9npycB_xY0pkhDmeYsp_uQTFz6MXNN5vQUtOc2F5Zn4cea4eIsgioNCJuuShOCsrCZ39_ndIXkW7_j8/s4032/IMG_3668.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsM8AQtXZJbyU9iUwPOHcUo7nTqiMF2oCu9k4IqygvOih8BpqZhHhH8TQyLWABiMhi5OPdsWYNqEWXBZ6DV2H0N84xDiyMWSUJyG9dJDzDbJ-g9npycB_xY0pkhDmeYsp_uQTFz6MXNN5vQUtOc2F5Zn4cea4eIsgioNCJuuShOCsrCZ39_ndIXkW7_j8/w640-h480/IMG_3668.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The dividing wire between the young Sussex and the older Dominiques will stay up until the little ones are about the same size.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxKlc0NmvcwuBpsceX4x9fTdyyg_9kZk6oOVEqfjrrRinPbYqgcqNY9-U57N3Wu6yOnfWNhRa4ZLohKvagLVDElBzuRHAEUcSHYMEa7Zajikm__trGXRnopXj6WIZRZnz5NqYEXHK1UjmH7AzFjrQIkXdt-XdOakjLBM2Q4fG1WVYCEpT3r7BDzytHNI/s4032/IMG_3674.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYxKlc0NmvcwuBpsceX4x9fTdyyg_9kZk6oOVEqfjrrRinPbYqgcqNY9-U57N3Wu6yOnfWNhRa4ZLohKvagLVDElBzuRHAEUcSHYMEa7Zajikm__trGXRnopXj6WIZRZnz5NqYEXHK1UjmH7AzFjrQIkXdt-XdOakjLBM2Q4fG1WVYCEpT3r7BDzytHNI/w640-h480/IMG_3674.HEIC" width="640" /></a></div>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6049626897935912366.post-35704403185096647752023-08-19T18:24:00.000-04:002023-08-19T18:24:51.324-04:00Anniversary Brownies<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pQs5KrRA1GkD83-beiWxYZNKPThhX4HFscE1zKUA4zug9Igg1_28dZj10Q6Xml7coJjp-yGJGl592mzoFOkeKo2OfMpl-x0ytcmoltDyxj7R6U1WINMW56YHD-lG4ROL3MBDDsADUQw1FhU68eSBDCdcGsdi_UAUFm8xyBD_R4RYDhOO5cz0q5s-KGE/s4032/IMG_3653.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5pQs5KrRA1GkD83-beiWxYZNKPThhX4HFscE1zKUA4zug9Igg1_28dZj10Q6Xml7coJjp-yGJGl592mzoFOkeKo2OfMpl-x0ytcmoltDyxj7R6U1WINMW56YHD-lG4ROL3MBDDsADUQw1FhU68eSBDCdcGsdi_UAUFm8xyBD_R4RYDhOO5cz0q5s-KGE/w480-h640/IMG_3653.HEIC" width="480" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>You can see these are not called "anniversary brownies". I call them that because today I made them for Margaret and Matthew for a belated anniversary of the date they got together, and the date they got engaged. I have probably noted over the years that they had known each other practically their whole lives though not in a romantic way. But one evening they re-met at a party, and the rest, so they say, is history. Matt wanted to give her a ring on the date they met, but Margaret had to work so he asked her the next day. </p><p>I made a recipe out of a book I've used before <a href="https://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2018/12/chocolate-nut-drop-cookies.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>here</b></span></a>. I put in softened butter and 1 teaspoon vanilla and no nuts.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOh9zDAcjv209UklXovUZF17AR3ln0e93ZVQiWGL6CyAvljqxFO-Lep4HIQmKb65qLPQOvqVBaH4ZPL2579RqrqwDd0lHOKqQt4qXSTEPkC0rFCPwsYYWIO2GnPqoTv_8j2e7sBMIsTMTveYNsI8CpiHHxCPDHoThfgC9muOUWvq5aPNOOQTYw6ioslE/s4032/IMG_3656.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoOh9zDAcjv209UklXovUZF17AR3ln0e93ZVQiWGL6CyAvljqxFO-Lep4HIQmKb65qLPQOvqVBaH4ZPL2579RqrqwDd0lHOKqQt4qXSTEPkC0rFCPwsYYWIO2GnPqoTv_8j2e7sBMIsTMTveYNsI8CpiHHxCPDHoThfgC9muOUWvq5aPNOOQTYw6ioslE/w480-h640/IMG_3656.HEIC" width="480" /></a></div><p>The brownies tasted very delicious, but looked quite a mess!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYClr7mBGox9-2Vg4YJGX1OGv8Cdz9eW0o2TvpbZa53Ek_6jUhQrFXx1_NXJPuj3ABF__mc787Qn-whHSeSSmjqgIItMwQHhfid5yeDRXu31t5BfMa62D-65aoz2w50QNz51CJxd5XCT3Lelk28zShyNAdkjKOzio6QiABq5VIl_s-piImSbZJdam-wo/s4032/IMG_3657.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYClr7mBGox9-2Vg4YJGX1OGv8Cdz9eW0o2TvpbZa53Ek_6jUhQrFXx1_NXJPuj3ABF__mc787Qn-whHSeSSmjqgIItMwQHhfid5yeDRXu31t5BfMa62D-65aoz2w50QNz51CJxd5XCT3Lelk28zShyNAdkjKOzio6QiABq5VIl_s-piImSbZJdam-wo/w480-h640/IMG_3657.HEIC" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4tWcZKnOYjwgyZJtpKDxqhDBAmmqMiDEU-xB6TOpRl0xz5O-Rup5-yX-1tcnChk0NXaIRbuy7cdMCMKluSWUOh-ailM2aX5ooAmEL-i6Rfzy4fmqbfFPUUsb8rdWQSTVCk4nRvN7NT90rQy54wxuTGfF330gPeOsB7YRKRNq0b7T2AyredWuKPY-jYY/s4032/IMG_3659.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ4tWcZKnOYjwgyZJtpKDxqhDBAmmqMiDEU-xB6TOpRl0xz5O-Rup5-yX-1tcnChk0NXaIRbuy7cdMCMKluSWUOh-ailM2aX5ooAmEL-i6Rfzy4fmqbfFPUUsb8rdWQSTVCk4nRvN7NT90rQy54wxuTGfF330gPeOsB7YRKRNq0b7T2AyredWuKPY-jYY/w480-h640/IMG_3659.HEIC" width="480" /></a></div><p>I have a feeling about what the problem is. I've recently been reading about how baking pans aren't all the same sizes. A 7x11 or a 9x13 may not be exactly those dimensions. I have had a few problems since I bought these stainless steel pans after the "<a href="https://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2020/11/as-if-we-needed-something-else-to-worry.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: #990000;"><b>glass breaking episode</b></span></a>". I need to measure all the ones I have and see about getting new ones if they aren't right. </p>Nanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15547916206007733970noreply@blogger.com11