Beautiful day: bright, sunny, warm. Made the trip to town, first time since before Thanksgiving. Twilight was wonderful ~~ all gold and pink streamers across the sky.
Re the kidney: I've heard of cases where one kidney simply takes over all the work. Not a problem in itself, since one kidney is enough. Only worry is that if at some point in life that kidyey fails she will not have a backup and will immediately need dialysis/tranasplant.
Gray, overcast day, but temps in the 40s. Snow is melting quickly, although the sidewalks on the way to the bank were very slippery where people (our neighbors in back), hadn't shoveled.
I'm happy to report that I have "finished" _City of Saints and Madmen_. "Finished" in quotes because I didn't read the whole book. The person who nominated the book and will therefore lead the discussion noted that the book is quite long and said we will only discuss the first four novellas. I don't think she noticed that all the stories and pieces in the second half of the book are part of the appendix to the fourth novella. I read some of them but not all.
"Happy" because if it weren't going to be discussed I would have given up much sooner. It is wierd for the sake of weirdness, clever for the sake of cleverness, and morbid for the sake of morbidity. As you may haave gathered from my previous comment. I actively disliked the first novella. The motiveless violence at the end of Festival was a real turn-off. To my surprise, I enjoyed the third. The fact that you knew from the beginning that the horrendous events turned Martin Lake into a great artist is undoubtedly what redemmed it. Especially since the somewhat off-base analyses of his famous paintings let you see how they related to the events. The rest, including the stories in the format of essays or endnotes to essays (did I say clever for the sake of cleverness?) are not acutely unpleasant but aren's worth the time spent reading them.
At least that's my story. Others obviously disagree.
Bill, good on you for getting as far as you did. From your description, I wouldn't have lasted nearly as long. I intensely dislike violence, and violence for its own sake is obscenity to my way of thinking.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is extraordinarily violent, its two sequels rather less so, but there the violence is an integral part of the story. So, one can cope with it. Though both I and one or two of Sis' friends have advised her not to read the trilogy. But, she's very sensitive as well as prone to nightmares. The books wouldn't be good for her. I enjoyed them very much though, which just goes to show something or other, maybe that there's an exception to every rule.
Today a dear friend had cancer surgery. In her younger days she was the proprietor of Desso's Store, the local general store ... the oldest continually running general store in Vermont. In addition to running a well stocked grocery with everything from penny candy to hardware to baked goods (including homemade pies) to books by local authors, mittens, kites, etc. ~ she answered the red (911) phone and roused then needed helpers, and ran a small post office (we had a P.O. Box there for many years) and you could even pick up your mail on Sunday! Each Hallowe'en they put on an elaborate Haunted House out back. Each Christmas they had a Christmas Room with really unique items, had Santa come, and had a book signing by local children's author/illustrator Tracey Campbell Pearson who lived across the town green from the store. We always received a tin of shortbread cookies. Plus, Desso's always made sure that the folks in town in need got their needs met for Christmas. We always got birthday cards from Desso's on our birthdays (still do, actually!). All the kids in town graduating from high school (including home schoolers) got graduation cards...sometimes with money in them. There was a 15 cent drawer filled with plastic animals and barrettes and such. Kids could put larger items on layaway, especially at Christmas. Once we saw the children pile into the store as school let out nearby, and a little boy came up to the counter with candy. "Did Mom say it's okay for you to have that?" "Yup." "Let's ask her." And without batting an eye she dialed the boy's home phone number from memory. :-) Ah, them was da days!
I sent her some homemade cards at Christmas and got a sweet thank-you note back this week, telling me of her surgery. It's good news because it means her bloodwork is up enough to allow it. We are hopeful.
The trilogy is quite popular at the Library. But I won't read them. I do not like reading violence. I'm not prone to nightmares but such images conjured up stay with me by day.
Just so there's no misunderstanding, the post-Festival violence looks a lot like the sort of rioting you see after, for example, a team wins the SuperBowl. Except instead of being limited to property destruction there is killing anad killing and killing. The killing itself is not explicitly described but the stacks of bodies are. I can imagine the whole book giving people nightmares if they are subject to that sort of thing. Precisely because it is in fact well written.
At least there are some kinds that respond to chemo and/or surgery. Be very thankful for that, listener, Barring unforeseen accidents, both your friend and your bro-in-law will recover. Some people don't. As hard as what you're going through is, you need to remember that.
Oh, I know that, Cat. I have several loved ones who are breast cancer survivors and an adult niece who is a leukemia survivor.
Well, I'm actually not sure what sort my friend has, so it's hard to say what the prognosis is.
My bro-in-law's sort is pancreatic cancer, which is right up there with ovarian cancer as regards its lethal nature. It looks like they caught it early. Yet the docs keep adding on more treatments, which makes us wonder what the test results came back as.
That said, I'm not feeling melancholic about it. I'd just like to hear of less cancer this year than last year. BTW, the niece who is a leukemia survivor is the youngest child of my bro-in-law with the new cancer. He is also Ally's great-uncle. I'd say the Family sure knows how to do this well.
Cutie Christmas kitties are first.
ReplyDeleteAren't they?! Lovely puss, listener, and lovely picture. (Howard is lovely, too, BTW.)
ReplyDeleteAnd, of course, Howard Dean is also first. Too bad we couldn't have a picture of him holding that oh-so-cute kitty-kat.
ReplyDeleteThe Ally news today is TOP NOTCH!! ♡ CLEAR SCANS!! ♡
ReplyDeleteThere's more, too, including a photo.
Dear puddle will be along shortly with the details. :-)
.Time for a Happy Dance!
ReplyDelete......................................... o ............ o
.....................*O* ...............\\.. O .. //
................"==||==" ............\\ .||. //
..................... || ........................||
...................//..\\ .............. == \\
..................//....// .............\\ ... \\
..................=.....= .............= .......=
:-) Well, kitty is in Maine, so that's not so easy.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful day: bright, sunny, warm. Made the trip to town, first time since before Thanksgiving. Twilight was wonderful ~~ all gold and pink streamers across the sky.
ReplyDeleteI used the word "couldn't" advisedly.
ReplyDeleteYah-HOO!!!
ReplyDeleteRe the kidney: I've heard of cases where one kidney simply takes over all the work. Not a problem in itself, since one kidney is enough. Only worry is that if at some point in life that kidyey fails she will not have a backup and will immediately need dialysis/tranasplant.
ReplyDeleteGray, overcast day, but temps in the 40s. Snow is melting quickly, although the sidewalks on the way to the bank were very slippery where people (our neighbors in back), hadn't shoveled.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to report that I have "finished" _City of Saints and Madmen_. "Finished" in quotes because I didn't read the whole book. The person who nominated the book and will therefore lead the discussion noted that the book is quite long and said we will only discuss the first four novellas. I don't think she noticed that all the stories and pieces in the second half of the book are part of the appendix to the fourth novella. I read some of them but not all.
"Happy" because if it weren't going to be discussed I would have given up much sooner. It is wierd for the sake of weirdness, clever for the sake of cleverness, and morbid for the sake of morbidity. As you may haave gathered from my previous comment. I actively disliked the first novella. The motiveless violence at the end of Festival was a real turn-off. To my surprise, I enjoyed the third. The fact that you knew from the beginning that the horrendous events turned Martin Lake into a great artist is undoubtedly what redemmed it. Especially since the somewhat off-base analyses of his famous paintings let you see how they related to the events. The rest, including the stories in the format of essays or endnotes to essays (did I say clever for the sake of cleverness?) are not acutely unpleasant but aren's worth the time spent reading them.
At least that's my story. Others obviously disagree.
That he is, Puddle.
ReplyDeleteHallelujah!
ReplyDeletelistener, this is the best news we could possibly have. It is indeed a happy Christmas season!
It was warm here too, all the way up to 40 degs. Sunny too.
ReplyDeleteBill, good on you for getting as far as you did. From your description, I wouldn't have lasted nearly as long. I intensely dislike violence, and violence for its own sake is obscenity to my way of thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is extraordinarily violent, its two sequels rather less so, but there the violence is an integral part of the story. So, one can cope with it. Though both I and one or two of Sis' friends have advised her not to read the trilogy. But, she's very sensitive as well as prone to nightmares. The books wouldn't be good for her. I enjoyed them very much though, which just goes to show something or other, maybe that there's an exception to every rule.
JC could have Photoshopped something...
ReplyDeleteTo absent friends.
Yeah, Bill, I was thinking the same thing. It's really a positive thing that Ally's docs are beginning to converse about something besides cancer.
ReplyDeleteToday a dear friend had cancer surgery. In her younger days she was the proprietor of Desso's Store, the local general store ... the oldest continually running general store in Vermont. In addition to running a well stocked grocery with everything from penny candy to hardware to baked goods (including homemade pies) to books by local authors, mittens, kites, etc. ~ she answered the red (911) phone and roused then needed helpers, and ran a small post office (we had a P.O. Box there for many years) and you could even pick up your mail on Sunday! Each Hallowe'en they put on an elaborate Haunted House out back. Each Christmas they had a Christmas Room with really unique items, had Santa come, and had a book signing by local children's author/illustrator Tracey Campbell Pearson who lived across the town green from the store. We always received a tin of shortbread cookies. Plus, Desso's always made sure that the folks in town in need got their needs met for Christmas. We always got birthday cards from Desso's on our birthdays (still do, actually!). All the kids in town graduating from high school (including home schoolers) got graduation cards...sometimes with money in them. There was a 15 cent drawer filled with plastic animals and barrettes and such. Kids could put larger items on layaway, especially at Christmas. Once we saw the children pile into the store as school let out nearby, and a little boy came up to the counter with candy. "Did Mom say it's okay for you to have that?" "Yup." "Let's ask her." And without batting an eye she dialed the boy's home phone number from memory. :-) Ah, them was da days!
ReplyDeleteI sent her some homemade cards at Christmas and got a sweet thank-you note back this week, telling me of her surgery. It's good news because it means her bloodwork is up enough to allow it. We are hopeful.
Hubby's older brother has his first chemo (for pancreatic cancer) on January 3rd.
ReplyDeleteCouldn't cancer just go on vacation this year?
The trilogy is quite popular at the Library. But I won't read them. I do not like reading violence.
ReplyDeleteI'm not prone to nightmares but such images conjured up stay with me by day.
~ ♥ ~
ReplyDeleteIt sure is!! :-)
ReplyDeleteSending good vibes to your friend, listener.
ReplyDeleteJust so there's no misunderstanding, the post-Festival violence looks a lot like the sort of rioting you see after, for example, a team wins the SuperBowl. Except instead of being limited to property destruction there is killing anad killing and killing. The killing itself is not explicitly described but the stacks of bodies are. I can imagine the whole book giving people nightmares if they are subject to that sort of thing. Precisely because it is in fact well written.
ReplyDeleteAt least there are some kinds that respond to chemo and/or surgery. Be very thankful for that, listener, Barring unforeseen accidents, both your friend and your bro-in-law will recover. Some people don't. As hard as what you're going through is, you need to remember that.
ReplyDeleteOh, I know that, Cat. I have several loved ones who are breast cancer survivors and an adult niece who is a leukemia survivor.
ReplyDeleteWell, I'm actually not sure what sort my friend has, so it's hard to say what the prognosis is.
My bro-in-law's sort is pancreatic cancer, which is right up there with ovarian cancer as regards its lethal nature. It looks like they caught it early. Yet the docs keep adding on more treatments, which makes us wonder what the test results came back as.
That said, I'm not feeling melancholic about it. I'd just like to hear of less cancer this year than last year. BTW, the niece who is a leukemia survivor is the youngest child of my bro-in-law with the new cancer. He is also Ally's great-uncle. I'd say the Family sure knows how to do this well.
Thanks, Cat! ♥
ReplyDelete