Tuesday, November 29, 2022

72. Girl in Ice by Erica Ferencik

listened on Libby - borrowed from Library
2022
304pgs.
Contemporary Adult Mystery (scifi?)
Finished 11/29/2022 - took ages to finish
Goodreads rating: 3.70
My rating: 3.5
Setting: contemporary cold, cold, cold Greenland

My comments: Set in Greenland at a tiny science research station in October as the days are getting very short and 24-hour darkness is almost upon them.  Although Val has crippling anxiety, she drowns herself in pills and booze to embark on the journey there when she is asked, as an expert in languages, to come to try to figure out what an 8-year old girl is trying to say. This girl has been thawed from the ice....and speaks a language that has never been heard before. Of course, there are a lot of mysterious, unacceptable things going on, and that will include, but the end of the story, many deaths.  It was interesting to listen to the story unfold, to consider the possibilities that were suggested, and to commiserate with the protagonist's anxiety issues.  Could there really be some sort of enzyme in an eanimal (eels in this case) that could actually prologn/reactivate/regenerate life?  I would have rated this a 4, but it was very draggy in places, which made me shave off half a point.

Goodreads synopsis:  From the author of The River at Night and Into the Jungle comes a harrowing new thriller set in the unforgiving landscape of the Arctic Circle, as a brilliant linguist struggling to understand the apparent suicide of her twin brother ventures hundreds of miles north to try to communicate with a young girl who has been thawed from the ice alive.

Valerie “Val” Chesterfield is a linguist trained in the most esoteric of disciplines: dead Nordic languages. Despite her successful career, she leads a sheltered life and languishes in the shadow of her twin brother, Andy, an accomplished climate scientist stationed on a remote island off Greenland’s barren coast. But Andy is gone: a victim of suicide, having willfully ventured unprotected into 50 degree below zero weather. Val is inconsolable—and disbelieving. She suspects foul play.

When Wyatt, Andy’s fellow researcher in the Arctic, discovers a scientific impossibility­—a young girl frozen in the ice who thaws out alive, speaking a language no one understands—Val is his first call. Will she travel to the frozen North to meet this girl, and try to comprehend what she is so passionately trying to communicate? Under the auspices of helping Wyatt interpret the girl’s speech, Val musters every ounce of her courage and journeys to the Artic to solve the mystery of her brother’s death.

The moment she steps off the plane, her fear threatens to overwhelm her. The landscape is fierce, and Wyatt, brilliant but difficult, is an enigma. But the girl is special, and Val’s connection with her is profound. Only something is terribly wrong; the child is sick, maybe dying, and the key to saving her lies in discovering the truth about Wyatt’s research. Can his data be trusted? And does it have anything to do with how and why Val’s brother died? With time running out, Val embarks on an incredible frozen odyssey—led by the unlikeliest of guides—to rescue the new family she has found in the most unexpected of places.

Monday, November 28, 2022

Homeless Remembrance Blanket Project

2023
Pennsylvania Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA

My Donation for 2023
 0

Countdown to 12/21/23 - Harrisburg Capitol Building, PA
What I finished and donated
California - 2023 Blanket Project, Harrisburg
Elizabeth - 2023 Blanket Project, Harrisburg
Madeline - 2023 Blanket Project, Harrisburg
Novato - 2023 Blanket Project, Harrisburg
Odds & Ends - 2023 Blanket Project, Harrisburg
Pragmatic - 2023 Blanket Project, Harrisburg
Quatrain - 2023 Blanket Project, Harrisburg
Razzle-Dazzle - 2023 Blanket Project, Harrisburg

2022
United States Capitol
Washington, D. C.

Website:  https://memorialblanket.org/

Big DC Display will be December 21, 2022 - The shortest night of the year!

Sizes requested:  45 x 80 - or - 60 x 80

Well, I certainly jumped in with both feet!

             My donation for 2022.

Countdown to 12/21/22 - What I Finished and donated
Auspicious - 2022 Homeless Blanket Project, DC
Dolores - 2022 Homeless Blanket Project, DC
Frances - 2022 Homeless Blanket Project, DC
Georgina - 2022 Homeless Blanket Project, DC
Prince Harry - 2022 Homeless Blanket Project, DC
Isle of Deserted Mountains - Neveah, Xmas 2022
       5 donated, 1 gifted

           My Dolores Afghan is right there! Second one in the bottom row...



A - Auspicious
Finished
     8 rounds
     5 x 9 (quite long)
     golden beige
B - California
FINISHED 2023
     8 rounds
     putty
5 x 6 already sewn
17 waiting
could be 5 x 8 or 5 x 9
(A is 5 x 8) have enough for either
C - Carlisle
Finished 2023 for PA Capitol
     8 rounds
     soft taupe

D - Dolores
Finished
     7 rounds
     6 x 8
     aran
FINISHED 2023
     5 rounds
     aran

8 x 8 already sewn (46" wide - one more?)

I ended up leavng this at 8 x 10 which made it pretty short.

They changed the yarn color (aran)considerably between this year and last and it looked really awful, although the few that are scattered throughout the afghan don't look very good, actually.  Oh well, c'est la vie!

F - Francis
Finished (the fifth one, on 11/28/22)
     6 rounds
     7 x 10
     classic gray


G - Georgina
Finished
     7 rounds
     6 x 9
     aran
H - Prince Harry
Finished
     7 rounds
     6 x 9
     aran
I - Isle of Deserted Mountains
for Nevaeh Christmas 2022
FINISHED
     8 rounds
     putty

6 x 9 = 54  
should end up 48 x 72ish


J - Joshee
     7 rounds
     dark charcoal

49 completed
5 x 3 sewn together

probably need 6 x 8?  6 x 9?

K - Kandinsky
     8 rounds
     putty(2-round center, 2-row outer)
One skein of putty finished 11 two-round 
    outer rows.

     8 rounds
     soft taupe
have 5 completed squares (12/2)


FINISHED 8/26/23
10 rounds
4 x 6
Started at the Carlisle Expo Center at the start of the summer.
Pretty boring, but used up yarn I had.

Crocheted at Dede's July 2023
Finished at home December 2023
11 rounds with border (Loops & Threads 7 oz skein of mustard) took 2 skeins

FINISHED 2023
Crocheted in October 2023 when I wanted to use up the few colors I had left before buying more yarn....
Finished November 2023
4 x 6 blocks
11 rows including white border

FINISHED 2023

For this one I used 3-4 oz. skeins of variegated or striping yarn.  Never knew how they'd come out!   It actually looks pretty cool "in real life!"
Q -
Quatrain

FINISHED 12/1/23
Love the darker colors of this one.
Border is Impeccable Soft Taupe

10 rounds plus border
4 x 6

FINISHED 2023

4 x 7 blocks
10 rows, no border

S - Serendipity
Last one finished for 2023 

4 x 7 blocks (28 total)
10 rows plus light gray border)


Finished 2024
Using leftover scrappy yarns and dark brown
(2 shorter colored, 1 longer brown) tied together with firm double knots.

Size I hook.  Rows of double crochet.

Finished 2024
5 rounds of color
1 round of navy
1 round of green

V - Vivian
10 rounds of purples/greens/grays
1 round of Greige (Herschnerrs)

Saturday, November 26, 2022

Corn Casserole

One can regular corn
One can cream corn
1 cup sour cream
One jiffy corn muffin mix
One stick melted margarine
   (Another recipe calls for 1/2 cup sour cream and two eggs)

Creased 11x7 or 8x8 pan

350 for 45 -50 minutes

Wednesday, November 23, 2022

69. The Bookstore Sisters - a short story by Alice Hoffman,

read & listened on Kindle Unlimited/Audible
2022
36 pgs.
Adult CRF
Finished  11/23/2022
Goodreads rating: 4.18
My rating: 4
Setting: Contemporary small island off the Maine coast

My comments: A sweet story that takes place on a small island on the Maine coast.  Two sisters who haven't spoken in over a decade reconcile...slowly....  When their mother died, the youngest, Isabel, totally retreated into herself and left eh older sister, Sophie, to deal with everything on her own.  This included the tiny bookstore that their dad ran after their mom's death.  When Isabel does finally return to the island, she faces her past history and wakes up for the first time since she was 12.

Goodreads synopsis:  From New York Times bestselling author Alice Hoffman comes a heartfelt short story about family, independence, and finding your place in the world.
Isabel Gibson has all but perfected the art of forgetting. She’s a New Yorker now, with nothing left to tie her to Brinkley’s Island, Maine. Her parents are gone, the family bookstore is all but bankrupt, and her sister, Sophie, will probably never speak to her again.

But when a mysterious letter arrives in her mailbox, Isabel feels herself drawn to the past. After years of fighting for her independence, she dreads the thought of going back to the island. What she finds there may forever alter her path—and change everything she thought she knew about her family, her home, and herself.

Tuesday, November 22, 2022

68. The Chalk Pit (#9 Ruth Galloway) by Elly Griffiths

listened on Audible
2017
374 pgs.
Adult mystery series
Finished 11/22/22
Goodreads rating: 4.14
My rating:  3.5
Setting: Contemporary King's Lynn, England

My comments: So many characters it was hard to keep them straight, but an interesting story about the possibility of (homeless) people living underground.  Somehow, though, much that happened was at least one step away from believability....and it ended with a huge question mark.  Michelle is pregnant.  Ruth and Nelson just happened to fall into bed together once again.  Very little build up for that.  I think too much was left for the imagination in this one, but my fullest attention wasn't on the story.  I kept listening when I got into bed and falling asleep....over and over again.  So this may have impacted some of my enjoyment.

Goodreads synopsis:  Boiled human bones have been found in Norwich's web of underground tunnels. When Dr Ruth Galloway discovers they are recent - the boiling not the medieval curiosity she thought - DCI Nelson has a murder enquiry on his hands.

Meanwhile, DS Judy Johnson is investigating the disappearance of a local rough sleeper. The only trace of her is the rumour that she's gone 'underground'. This might be a figure of speech, but with the discovery of the bones and the rumours both Ruth and the police have heard of a vast network of old chalk-mining tunnels under King's Lynn, home to a vast community of rough sleepers, the clues point in only one direction. Local academic Martin Kellerman knows all about the tunnels and their history - but can his assertions of cannibalism and ritual killing possibly be true?

As the weather gets hotter, tensions rise. A local woman goes missing and the police are under attack. Ruth and Nelson must unravel the dark secrets of The Underground and discover just what gruesome secrets lurk at its heart - before it claims another victim.

Homeless Afghan/Blanket #11 - The Kandinsky

I was "on the road" and only had bits of yarn and some light gray.  So I started crocheting 2-rounds of light gray, adding small balls (to use them up) of colors, 2 rows, then 2 more rows,

Decided I didn't want to finish with gray, I'd replace with putty, which I think I like a bit better.  The rest of the squares will have putty centers.  Oh well, won't be very noticeable, I'm thinking....

Michael's Putty

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Lots of Old Movie Reviews to Clear My iPhone!

 3/24/19  Capernaum (6)
     This was one incredible movie.  So many pictures I can't get out of my head after seeing it - the birds-eye-view of Beirut, tall buildings with tire-covered roofs going on for miles and miles.  Slums.  Poverty, unimaginable poverty.  Refugees from Syria and Ethiopia who end up here.  Real eye-opening, almost documentary-type information.  Directed by a female.  Gritty.  The young man who played Zail, whose real name was also Zail, was truly amazing.  Wow.  Got to give it a 6.

6/9/19 ??  Wonder Park (2.5)
     With Tristan.  Another one of those cute, animated stupid movies the kids seem to enjoy.  Not me.  When I asked Tristan what he would rate it, one being not very good at all and five being the best, he said he would rate it a 4......  2.5 for me.

5/3/2019 Long Shot (4)
     It's fun to see a funny, feel-good movie once in awhile, and there haven't been many appearing lately.  I totally enjoyed the story - a female Secretary of State and a male journalist, very strong in their convictions (similar to mine, which is a plus) as they fall in love.  It was cleverly pulled together without either one of them having to let go of too much.  The 10-minute ending/happily ever after/aftermath was just wonderful to see.  I'm so glad there was an ending that actually worked! Yep, I do indeed like HEA.  Both main actors were wonderful, Seth Rogen was certainly Seth Rogen-y, and Charlene Therizon showed more than I've seen before.  Pretty cool.

4/28/19  After (4)
     Mechanicsburg on the Carlisle Pike with Ella on a Sunday afternoon after a picnic in the car.  This was a very sweet teenage romantic flick without a sad ending...just a feel good movie with some decent acting and storytelling.  No complaints from me here!  Ella rated it a 5.5.  I'll go for a 4.

6/9/19  Dark Phoenix (3)
     Well, stupid me.  I did not realize that this was an X-Men movie.  Even though I had no background, I was able to follow it pretty well.  It was interesting until it came to the end scenes that were just those crazy (boring) battle scenes that make me roll my eyes.  Lots of big names in this one, but for the life of me I couldn't warm to the main character, Jean Grey.  Didn't care what happened to her, which unfortunately was exactly what the entire movie was about.   Oh well, an early summer rainy Monday evening entertainment.

6/21/19  Pets II  (4)
      I took the kids, a really cute movie, very humorous, very much better than most of the animated movies I see - don't like many of them.  I've got to give this one a two thumbs up.  Really loved the humor.  

6/30/19  The Dead Don't Die  (4)
     2 o'clock at the Majestic in Gettysburg.  Note: It's so much fun going to this theater!   What a funny, ridiculous, creepy, random movie.  I guffawed through all the creepiness and violence of killing the poor zombies, I hate to admit.  Bill Murray and Adam Driver played off each other so perfectly, I loved them.  And to throw in the OMG-what's-this-all-about funeral director was so random and bizarre and added to the WTF format.  The entire movie was a  WTF!!!  It was also really fun to watch.  

8/11/19  Dora  (2.5)
     With the kids on a Sunday afternoon.  Kids really enjoyed it, I expected more.  There were some really cute touches, heralding back to the TV series, but otherwise it was just a little too silly/stupid.  I've been looking forward to it, so was disappointed.

8/17/19  Where'd You Go Bernadette (4)
     Camp Hill.  The movie certainly kept the integrity of the book, not changing information but giving it at different times and different ways, which was kind of fun because it kept you on your toes.  I loved the book and very much enjoyed the movie.  It was good, but not great.

8/29/19  Peanut Butter Falcon (5)
     Saw at Camp Hill, but it's not being shown in a lot of the major theaters.
     Clever and very different story of a Down Syndrome young man, a down-and-out Outer Banks fisherman, and a young woman whose mission in life seems to be to help others.  Zach, also the real name of the actor who plays the part, is 20-years old, his family has apparently abandoned him, and the state has placed him in an old folk's retirement home so he can be "watched over."  He wants to get out and live his life.  So one night he sneaks out (soaping his body to wriggle between barely opened bars on his window) and all he has as he runs away are his tightie whities.  He hides and falls asleep in a decrepit fishing boat under a tarp, and that's how he meets Tyler.  The two go on the run together and it's pretty darn heartwarming how they make friends and fulfill promises.  It was a wonderful movie...good guys and bad guys, people caring about other people, scraping by by the seat of your pants.  Definitely liked this one a lot. Shia LaBeouf and Dakota Johnson starred, Shia LaBeouf particularly did a really good job.

9/14/19  The Goldfinch (5)
     I think this was a wonderful adaptation of the book, all the same information and facts but told in a bit of a different way.  Instead of telling the story this happened, then this happened, then this, and this is how it ends.....they started near the end and told much of the story in flashbacks.  I think it was quite cleverly done, actually.  Loved the actors.  I wonder what people who have never read the book think.  I've read so many books that I only remember the general gist of most of them, but nothing specific.  For some reason I didn't forget most of this story, and it's been years since I listened to it on audio.  I wonder why that is.  Other than it being particularly long - I guess it had to be - I really liked it.  Well done.  It cracks me up that the reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes only gave it a 25%!  I'll have to go read why, but it's probably all technical stuff that I could care less about.

12/13/19 Jumanji: The Next Level (3.5)
     With Laura, Tristan and friend, Ella and friend.  Funny, funny, funny and clever.  Great actors taking on the affectations of others extremely well!

1/23/20  Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (3.5)
     The first 45 minutes were so incredibly boring that I wanted to leave and almost did.  It picked up after that.  It had the requisite flying crazily through the galaxy, saber sword fights, and running and jumping around.  Carrie Fisher was in quite a bit of it, they used outtakes from the previous movies of her face and speech, working it into the dialogue.  Interesting.  I DO love Adam Driver!

2/13/20  Downhill (2, and that's stretching it)
     A complete waste of time.  Over-acting.  Looks like it should be a comedy with two major comedians and it wasn't a comedy at all, just a sad story with of lot of pissing me off.  I can't believed it actually made it to the big screen.  And it opened on Valentine's Day - absolutely ridiculous.  This is so not a Valentine's Day movie!  When is a decent movie going to arrive?

2/25/20  Sonic the Hedgehog (3.5)
     Saw with Tristan, of course.  Surprisingly, a really fun movie!  Didn't realize James Marsden or Jim Carrey were in it, so that made it an added treat.