@nutsaboutplants

A long time ago, a question was posted as to what author would you love to spend a day with. I would certainly pick Bill Bryson. He must be an incredibly interesting person to write as fascinating as he does. Often laugh out loud hilarious too.

Three Apples Fell From the Sky by Narine Abgaryan ; translated by Lisa C. Hayden. Originally published in Russian, this is the loveliest novel I've read in a long while. I read it almost in one sitting and hated to leave its world when I had finished. The story takes place in a remote Armenian mountain village where both good and bad events occur, as in any society. But the main characters are very endearing and have an optimism despite their many trials. Winner of an English Pen Award and the Leo Tolstoy Vasnaya Polyana Award. It is ironic that the book received this last award considering the opinion of one of the characters. 5 out of 5 stars.

The Disappearers is not an easy read, both for language and plot. But it is compelling and monumental. Some of it is in Jamaican dialect; some in stream of consciousness. I have it for 2 weeks, but this might be the first time one of my books goes overdue. Even though my library doesn't charge fines, I feel sad, because I know that people are waiting for it.

@Allison0704 - me? Hide things? LOL! The bridge was the first thing we saw when looking at this property and to borrow a phrase, it had me at hello. It looks like a stone bridge but there's a steel under structure that sits on bedrock.

Your sweet pup will be 18? That's amazing. Wishing you only good days with her. I wouldn't call those cats feral - they have obviously figured out the best of both worlds! Footloose and fancy free yet totally imbued with the good life for the cost of submitting to occasional belly rubs. Clever little things ;-)

Adding a photo of my kids awaiting treats.

Yesterday midday I left the house to pick up DS from the airport after his 3-week European adventure. We made our way to the city, where he filled me in on all the details over lunch (amazing goat birria tacos) and a grocery run to fill his fridge now that he’s back home. I spent far too long in traffic due to an overlooked afternoon Cubs game, to arrive home to this… SO spent the day completing demo on my mudroom, removing old tile, pulling up screws from the floorboard, etc. My blank slate, thanks to his labor.

RGB was my hero too. And I too was devastated when she passed. Selfishly the timing could not have been worse for all women.

RIP Gloria. Another icon gone.

I was devoted to RBG for years but find I cannot forgive her for not stepping down so Obama could nominate another Supreme Court justice. She was a great legal mind but she did not know when to quit and the entire country will suffer for decades because of her.

That’s ironic Dani, because I love abstract art and am much too intimidated to produce it. It’s hard enough to make something look like itself, I cannot even begin to paint just the idea of it. That is a completely different process and much more difficult!

Well done! I instantly saw frida Kahlo.🌼🌼🌼

Jojo, it was actually this woman

with added jewelry, lol.

I’ve painted Kahlo before and it only worked bc stern is her default expression!

What a sweet, sweet stroy! And those pups!!

During COVID we adopted our boy from a GSD rescue in Beaumont, Texas. It was facilitated through a group very much like Bestyears described. He came on a bus to just this side of the Canadian border and we picked him up there.

When we applied to adopt we specified we wanted a GSD, and they put us in touch with the woman who ran the rescue in Texas. We followed her on FB and watched all of her videos, etc. until we found the boy that clicked for us. Then she worked with the transporter to get him to us.

What we learned along the way about conditions in Texas echos what Bestyears & Lascatx have said. It's very sad. At the time the rescue was overcapacity, and she was getting calls everyday for owner surrenders, strays picked up and taken to the shelter, on and on. I remember at the time we met her, she was in the process of taking in a group of dogs - including several puppies and a male thought to be aggressive, from a "breeder" that had died and left his disabled wife with all of these dogs she couldn't take care of. They were basically starving in the yard. The male turned out not to be so aggressive once he was untied, fed a few good meals and treated kindly. A few of those dogs came to Canada with our boy.

I don't know how she handled it emotionally.

This is our Waylon. He loves his pool.

Blessings to you Bestyears! They are all adorable and you have really set them up for the best possible life.

Waylon is incredibly handsome! And I love his name. What a great story.

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride. It's fascinating, getting to know the residents of Chicken Hill.

@sushipup2 I loved that book!

LOVE James McBride. I was turned on by President Obama, who put Deacon King Kong on his reading lisrt. I had read The Color of Water years ago, but didn't connect the two. I hope against hope that he is writing something soon. My DD1 met him at the NYPL Library Lion event and thought he was so friendly and kind.