Yeah, Yeah, I Know. Let's Talk Books Instead

I can't talk about the election results yet. I don't know when I'll be able to. We fight on, but for today at least, for my mental health (and my blood pressure), I'm pretending it didn't happen. 

I've read some good books recently, so I thought it was time to share them here! 

First up is a fantasy book I got an advance copy* of, Miss Amelia's List, by Mercedes Lackey. This is in her Elemental Masters series, which is the kind of series where the books are related but don't have to be read in sequence; I haven't read them all**, and this is book 17, but all you have to know is the basic principles. As her website describes them, the books "are a mix of historical fiction and fantasy, with a big scoop of fairy tales stirred in. Most of them are set in the late 1800s-early 1900s."
*Thank you to DAW for the ARC! #MissAmeliasList #NetGalley
**My favorite of those I have read is Reserved for the Cat

I really enjoyed this book; Amelia is a believable and realistic character, comfortable with her power while coping with her anxiety, and her cousin Serena, though less fully developed, is often unexpectedly competent. It was interesting to look at Regency England from the perspective of American characters, which I haven’t seen a lot of.

Looking back at the ending, it felt a bit rushed: reading an ebook, I’m not always aware of how close to the end I am, and it came as something of a surprise to realize we were there, at the climactic events and then the end. There is some implausibility to how things wrapped up, but I actually can see how it could have been even more so and wasn’t, so although that’s a backhand compliment, I do mean it well. A book I’m glad to have read, though not the one I would recommend for jumping into this series.

~~~~~

Next up is a different kind of fantasy book, basically a romantic comedy book with shapeshifters! I know, sounds implausible given how dark a lot of shifter stories are, but when you have a bunny shifter, it's hard not to make it cute, and that's Emmy! Somebunny to Love, by Zoe Chant, is in the Virtue Shifters series, which I will definitely be checking out more of. Light, fluffy, intelligent, happily-ever-after: what's not to love? I don't need dark and gloomy right now. Good silliness is called for.

~~~~~

Lost & Found by Jane Glatt is something that I find refreshing: a book with an older woman protagonist! While I do read books from younger perspectives (see my recent adoration for Prince of Fortune), there's something about putting an older woman front and center that pleases me. This book is mostly not a fantasy (rare for me these days, right?), with one twist. As the description starts out:

"Homeless. Broke. Shunned by friends and neighbours. This was not what sixty-two was supposed to look like for Barbara Baker.

As a member of Toronto's exclusive Rosedale society, Barb was a fixture on charity committees and an accomplished hostess whose dinner invitations were coveted by Toronto's elite. Her comfortable life ended when her husband's criminal activity was discovered—he'd been stealing from everyone for decades, using her exceptional hostess skills to reel in new victims."

As Barb starts to figure out where her life will go from here, with help from her best friend, something unexpected happens, which I won't spoil except to say that's where the fantastical element comes in. It may not be 100% plausible, but I found it very entertaining, on a night when that was just what I needed.

Note that while I didn't think of this as an advance read, according to Amazon, it's not out yet. I bought it as part of something called The Never Too Old to Save the World Bundle, which runs for another 15 days, according to the website. It includes 10 books, if you're willing to pay at least $20, which I was.

Read any good books lately?

Too Early for Christmas Music, But

I have no idea why this song came into my head this morning, but I have to share this silly Christmas song with you. Please forgive me.

Love it!

Powerful Words

I'm not someone who venerates actors as special or extra-important, but that doesn't mean that a person who is an actor can't say something that strikes me. And in this case, when Harrison Ford endorsed Kamala Harris, this is the part that hit me: "Kamala Harris will protect your right to disagree with her."

The election is almost here. Soon, soon, we will know soon. 

Although, as the Globe warned:

I appreciated this, in the Guardian the other day, in the "tell it like it is" sense of appreciation:

But most of all, this ad made me laugh.

Given the way the Bruins had been playing going into the weekend (short answer: very, very poorly), I was starting to worry about my election night plan of watching the Bruins game. But they won yesterday and again today, so I'm more comfortable with the idea. Certainly no guarantees, but at least if they play well, it will be entertaining. I'll just need to put down my phone and tablet, and keep my hands busy with knitting instead of doom-scrolling.

All right, having rousted her highness off my lap:

It's bedtime.

A Few Images: Voting, Supporting Journalism, Maggie

I turned over the Sandra Boynton holiday calendar today, and had to laugh. First, for the overall sentiment.

But also for what's on next Tuesday and Wednesday:

Hoo boy, yeah. I feel that already. (Did you vote yet? Please do!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, with all the nonsense coming from journalism in the US these days (I almost want to say "journalism"), I decided to subscribe to The Guardian, to broaden my reading.

After I created my account, they offered me these newsletters:

My, that last one is ... specific, isn't it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Finally, Maggie needs to get her share of time. From the lap this morning:

She does know how to spread out.

Happy Halloween

I've probably put this up before, but this is from the last time I dressed up for Halloween, in 2014.

(I was trying not to laugh, which explains the face I was making.)

Honestly, I haven't worn the costume since, and it's on a shelf in the closet; I should probably pass that on to someone who wants it. It's good quality, but I think my dressing-up days are done.

Do you dress up? Have kids that do? Or celebrate by buying half-price candy on November 1?

A Friend Indeed

I'm going to put this on my posts until election day:
No shame if you haven't made a plan to vote yet, but today would be a great day to do it! Is there early voting in your state? (I learned today that almost all of them do! Just not in Alabama, Mississippi, and New Hampshire.) If you got a mail-in ballot, can you drop it at early voting instead of relying on the mail to get it there in time? Or do you want to go on the day itself? That's November 5, next Tuesday! Why not look at your schedule now and see what works best for you?

Actually, this is a story of two friends indeed! I mentioned recently that I was having trouble with a knitting project: I couldn't find where I had made a mistake, but the stitch count had gone wrong. Last night, my knitting group met in person again (yay!) after spending the summer on Zoom*, and I said that I wasn't sure what I was going to do about it, try again or just move to a different project. 
*Though actually, we had Zoom open too, for the sake of the people who aren't here yet.

A couple of people who are better than I am at 'reading' a piece of knitting* offered to look at it, and discovered that yeah, it was my mistake (I am not shocked). They suggested that I could run in a lifeline, rip back to it, and go on from there. Which is good advice, but I said that no, I could guarantee that if I tried it, I would mess up getting all the stitches from the same row, and end up flinging it across the room in a fit of fury (knitter, know thyself), so it was either frog the whole project and start over, or frog it and go with Plan B.
*I'm really not very good at that, especially in lace.

One of these friends actually loves straightening out tangles (seriously, her eyes light up when someone says "hey, I have something for you" and it's a tangled mess), and she offered to take it home, do it herself, and get it back to me. How awesome is that? I will report back on how it goes.

Ask the Blog: Smartphones When Traveling Overseas---Oh, Yes, I Am Doing That!

I'm going to put this on my posts until election day:
No shame if you haven't made a plan to vote yet, but today would be a great day to do it! Is there early voting in your state? If you got a mail-in ballot, can you drop it at early voting instead of relying on the mail to get it there in time? Or do you want to go on the day itself? That's November 5, a week from Tuesday! Why not look at your schedule now and see what works best for you?

A long while ago, back when she blogged frequently, I read something by the Yarn Harlot in which she mentioned that she was talking about something with her husband and he said, "Did you ask the blog?" Once in a while, I too "ask the blog" for suggestions--and sometimes, y'all know answers to something I'm just venting about, which is cool, too. So here I am.

I haven't been out of the US in recent years, which coincidentally means during the years I have owned a smartphone. It occurred to me that when I go to Curaçao next February---wait, did I mention that yet? No? Okay, back up!

Back in 2022, I took a trip with the Newcomers Club, to Sarasota, Florida. The club plans a "spring fling" trip every year, and as this is my last year in Newcomers*, I was interested to know what the destination would be. And the answer was, Curaçao!
*As a club designed for new people to meet other new people, you can only be a member for five years. My group and some others got an extra year because for a while during the pandemic, nothing much was happening. But we will "spin out" in April.

My experience in that part of the world is limited, especially if you don't count where we lived before Boston, which we moved to when I was about two and a half. That means I don't remember Brazil, Grenada, Guyana...we did go to Barbados twice when I was in high school, but I think that's it.

Gratuitous high-school-me photo, taken with my Kodak Disc camera in the mid-80s:

So I am excited to go to Curaçao, and I will add that if there isn't a planned trip to the ostrich farm, I will be going to that on my own, because how can you not?

Anyway. My original point here is that I haven't been out of the US with a smartphone, so I need to find out if mine will function there the same way it does here. Before I do actual research, does anyone know offhand? Not Curaçao specifically, but in general? Or do I actually have to (ugh) call AT&T?

I don't plan to spend a lot of time using my phone, btw. I will take plenty of photos, guaranteed. I don't plan to be worrying about keeping on top of my email or reading blogs, etc. But based on previous trips, I will want/need to be able to text and/or chat, for meeting-up purposes, and perhaps will need the map feature, too. Completely unplugging won't work.

Fantasy Book Recs: Prince of Fortune and Swordcrossed

I'm going to put this on my posts until election day:
No shame if you haven't made a plan to vote yet, but today would be a great day to do it! Is there early voting in your state? If you got a mail-in ballot, can you drop it at early voting instead of relying on the mail to get it there in time? Or do you want to go on the day itself? That's November 5, a week from Tuesday! Why not look at your schedule now and see what works best for you?

I read two very different new fantasy books recently, and wanted to share in case anyone else is interested, because they were both really good! 

Prince of Fortune by Lisa Tirreno is actually billed as young adult, which I didn't realize before I read it, but I suppose that fits as the main characters are 16 at the start. Edmund and Aubrey are lovely, and well characterized, and the fantasy world and events are believable and logical without my in any way being able to predict what was going to happen. The boys are just so perfect for each other, and watching them overcome serious obstacles was very satisfying.

Content warnings: There is some violence (the fact that war is coming is a chapter-one reveal), and a romantic relationship of which the details are implied more than shown on the page: yearning and kisses yes, sex no, for those who wish to know that. 

I enjoyed this book so much that I wanted to be able to immediately read it again for the first time. I had bought the ebook, and promptly bought the audio so that I can listen to it as well. (So far, I like it, and the two narrators are doing a good job.) Frankly, it blows me away that this is her debut novel. 

The other book is the new one by Freya Marske, Swordcrossed.

This is the UK cover, BTW; I liked it better than the US cover, so I ordered a copy from Blackwell's, my favorite source for UK versions (though they often carry US versions as well). Free shipping to the US!

I loved A Marvellous Light by Marske, which is an alternate-universe Edwardian English setting with magic, and after she finished that trilogy, I was excited to see what came next. It's very different, but also very good!

When I started reading this, I found the first few pages somewhat confusing, but that was largely because my mother kept interrupting me so I couldn't concentrate very well. Once I settled into it, I enjoyed figuring out the way the world worked, with the different guilds and beliefs and rituals. 

Matti is getting married, for family-business-bond-strengthening reasons rather than love, and he needs to hire a swordsman to stand with him for the ceremony (to face any challengers---and wouldn't "speak now or forever hold your peace" have more layers if you had to bring a sword and duel someone?). He may not love his betrothed, but when he meets Luca, the swordsman, well, sparks fly! 

Matti has a lot of secrets, and it turns out that Luca does, too. As they work together to figure out what's going on and right a few serious wrongs, they get to know and trust each other, in ways that were both what I expected and complete surprises.

Content warning: If on-page sex bothers you (I suppose I should add, between two men), this isn't for you.

Of Postcards

I finished writing my 200* please-vote postcards Tuesday night:

Sadly, I need to put an asterisk after 200, because each of my bundles was one short. So, technically, I did 198 postcards. I dropped them in the mailbox last night after dinner, which means they'll be picked up today, which is the date I was given.

Someone asked if I had to write each postcard, and yes. Apparently the research shows that a hand-written message holds more weight than a printed one. This is what I wrote on mine:

Then I signed and addressed it. It was hard on my hands, as I mentioned, which is why I was working on this up to the deadline. I will contribute in other ways next time. But I'm not sorry I tried this. It feels like a worthy contribution. And I did have the time to do it, and the money for the stamps, which not everyone does. I wouldn't want anyone thinking I feel superior for my effort, based on that.

I actually received a postcard in the mail this week myself, but I'm not talking about a political one. A friend was in Paris and saw this, which made her think of me. Isn't it lovely?

If you click on it to see it larger, you can see that the cat is looking across at another cat. The details are amazing.

Herself

Can you believe I had to disturb this picture of serenity to start work this morning?

Such a hard life she leads.

In "Just Do One Thing" Mode

I've been feeling overwhelmed lately by All The Things that need doing, so today I tried my best to shift into Just One Thing mode. Yes, I have so many things to do! Indeed! So many!

Do one of them.

Did one? Yay! Now do another.

Yes, putting that in the trash counts.

Or the other thing where it belongs in the bathroom.

Any. Thing.

It isn't much, but some things are getting done. Which is how Just One Thing works, eventually.

I did my absentee ballot yesterday! And will drop it off at early voting at the library tomorrow. It's so nice to delete messages without even looking at them. Too late! I voted!

And the postcards are almost done, which is good because am I ever sick of them they have to be mailed on Thursday. Turns out 200 is a lot, who knew*. And the arthritis in my hands is gently suggesting that maybe next election, we could instead put some money where our hands are, hmm? Ow.
*I wrote before that I signed up for 100, and I thought I had; that's how many postcards stamps I ordered...but the original email from them doesn't say, and I definitely got 200.

In other news, I started back to work today, after being off for hurricane and then vacation. This morning, my alarm woke me from a dream that my alarm hadn't gone off and I was late for work...I was very confused for a moment. The day wasn't too crazy, fortunately, although starting out by sorting through 325 emails was not the most entertaining thing ever.

Argh (knitting edition)

Somehow, somehow, I have messed this up.

The overall stitch count is correct, but! The stitches in the center section, the lace part, well, there are two more there than there should be.

Argh, argh, argh.

I love knitting...it's so relaxing...most of the time.

To-Do Lists and Deadlines

I have so much on my mind right now, so many things to do, that I need to get it all* out and try to organize it, because the pile of thoughts bouncing around my brain are making me feel a little like panicking. Being on vacation this week has somewhat helped, but also there is always a false sense of how much I will get done when I'm not working, and as the week winds down, my stress levels go back up.
*I would settle for some of it, honestly

Have to do today:

• undo the cold brew coffee; I set it up yesterday, so it's the only absolute must-do today

Ought to do today, or at least soon:

• write more postcards: I'm only halfway through my list, and have to mail them next Thursday, so I need to do some each day
• tidy up the office at least somewhat before the cleaners come on Wednesday
• look over the ballot and decide who to vote for---obviously the top of the ballot is simple, ahem, but there are a lot of other races and ballot questions to go over, and I want to get this done and drop off our ballots at early voting, which starts next week
• clean out the litter box, then take the trash downstairs
• turn my work alarm back on before Monday done, tragically
• trim the cat's claws done!
• cut my fingernails

Before my brother comes for Thanksgiving, aka, he arrives in five weeks, ulp:

• clear out space in the office for the airbed etc. Just one thing, but made up of dozens of small things.

To do sometime:

• weed-whack my email inbox back under control. I am not an inbox-zero person, but I usually get it under 50 messages. Right now it's over 200. Hurricane Milton really threw me off stride in so many ways.
• photograph and put away recent yarn purchases
• reschedule the bloodwork that was cancelled by Milton, and the follow-up doctor's appointment (routine, but I still should do it)

All right, I'm going to do the coffee now, and then write some postcards. Vote, people! People in the US, that is. Make a plan, and vote!

It's Good, Post-Bug-Out Experience

I didn't mean to leave you hanging since my last update. Thank you all for all the good wishes! It's been a sort of weird period here, with a palpable drop-off in energy both physically and mentally since hurricane Milton blew through last week and upset all my plans (I know, I know: you plan, god laughs). 

Friday night I was in bed before 8:30--I was so far past exhausted that I couldn't even see it in the rear view mirror--and I was not awake very much in the night before getting up around 11 hours later. It hasn't been as bad since then, but I have felt rather foggy since then. More so than usual, I mean!

Although my trip up north didn't end up working (sad trombone), I still took my vacation this week, which has been very pleasant. Yesterday I went to the yarn store to meet some of my friends for knitting, and then went to lunch! I wish I could join them for that every week. Retirement is going to be so excellent, when I can afford to do it.

I feel like there are wisps of thoughts in my head about evacuating that I would like to be in one place for future reference (hopefully far, far in the future), though I haven't organized my thoughts on it. Let me see what comes to mind:

• Bringing my own pillow to the hotel was an excellent idea. Hotel beds are always far too firm for me, but having my own pillow made it much easier. I also have a smaller pillow that goes under my neck, and a small blanket to put over my head, as well as the eye mask, and they all helped me sleep better than usual in a hotel.
• Similarly, bringing a few throw blankets, although the initial idea was that they would comfort the cat, made me feel more comfortable too.
• I brought a jar of my cold-brew coffee, and my favorite creamer flavor, with me, and having that little touch of normalcy in the mornings was very comforting. I am not someone who NEEDS coffee in the morning, but I like it, and was glad to have it. 10/10, would do again.
• I also brought a few small bags of ice, which stayed pretty well frozen even in the mini-fridge, and it was handy to have without having to track down the ice maker in the hotel.
• Snacks. So many snacks. Snacks are good if, like me, you eat your feelings in times of stress.
• I should note that I hardly did any knitting. It was like my brain didn't want to focus on it. I read a little, but concentration was just in short supply.
• I don't know if this is true of every Hampton Inn, but they had a really good breakfast, including hot food every day. Cheese omelet and sausage one day, scrambled eggs and bacon another, oatmeal, waffles, cold cereal, bagels and toast and little muffins, fruit and yogurt and juice...highly recommend.
• I bring paper towels and cleaning spray mostly in case there are cat accidents, but the paper towels got used anyway. I also bring a whole box of real Kleenex, as anyone with allergies does not want to spend days using hotel tissues. I brought some ziploc bags and chip clips that we didn't end up needing, but I would still bring them next time.
• What is up with hotels not having towel racks in the bathroom? Is it a holdover from the days when you got all new towels every day? There were two hooks, so kind of useless for letting towels actually dry, and two small racks for hanging up a hand towel, except one of them was in front of the toilet paper dispenser...why? 
• They also need to have more grab bars in the shower. Next time I think I should try to get an accessible room, so that it would be easier for Mom.

All right, that's all the random I can come up with right now. Here, have a cute Maggie photo:

She paused in her bath to listen for something.

Home. Safe. Exhausted.

We drove home from the east coast on Friday. Our neighbor, who stayed through the storm, had told us on Thursday night that the power was back on (so it was out for about 20 hours in total), and added Friday morning that it was flickering now and then, but staying on.

The drive was fine, two and a half hours instead of more than four going over. There was some bad rain at the start, which I could have done without on the crazy east coast highways (I don't think there are any interchanges near me where the GPS has to tell you which of the eight lanes you should be in, but if there are, I never drive on them), but soon enough we were heading west and it was just busy, not crazy, from there. 

We got home before 2 pm, and thankfully, the elevator worked to 1) get Mom and Maggie upstairs and inside, and 2) let me load up the big hotel-size luggage cart with most of the stuff from the car and get it upstairs. Then I took the cart back down and the elevator wouldn't go back up. Sigh. I texted the building manager, and he had the elevator repair person there in just a few minutes. 

Side note, I wouldn't want his job.

(He sent the elevator up and then got in the shaft, yikes.)

He stopped working on it long enough to let me take it up, bless him, and we didn't try to use it again yesterday. This morning, our neighbor let me know that it wasn't working when she went to walk the dog; we've been having lots of power fluctuations, and our elevator is so sensitive, sigh. I'm hoping it will work today, but who knows.

More to come, but that's the basics for now. Hope you all are well, from the hurricane or just in general!

Still Waiting

We are still in the hotel, and doing fine when all things are considered. When I made the reservation on Monday, the forecast had effing Milton crossing over land on Wednesday, so I was hoping we would be able to head home on Thursday. But it slowed down, and now is supposed to hit overnight tonight (Wed late/Thurs early), so it looks like we may not be able to get home until Friday. Or, of course, later, depending on how hard-hit home is.

Sigh. Stress and uncertainty.

Anyway! We are here, safe, and that counts for a lot. Have some photos, mostly of Maggie exploring:

Starving.

We got to watch the Bruins game! (Unfortunately they lost; I expect they'll win Thursday night, since I don't think we'll be able to see it from here.)

I ran out today to do a load of laundry (Maggie peed in the carrier on the way here, poor thing).

I was not excited that it was open-air, considering the temperature at the time. I feel very lucky that I don't usually have to do laundry this way. 

Cat? What cat?

What cat?

No cat here. Obviously.