Thing is… We’re “baby proofing”. 🤞🤞🤞The new fuzzy kiddos are coming up tomorrow. So we’re busy around here.😀
I’ll try to ‘stream’ the babies in if I can, tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Sammie doesn’t seem very worried.
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Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is my favorite Maisie Dobbs mystery yet. The addition of Orlaugh Cassidy as narrator brought this story to life. Also, the author brought more depth to Maisie Dobbs. Her past resurfaces, and her life is in constant danger.
Ms. Dobbs travels in this book. That’s where a narrator who can speak dialects and other languages comes in. I can’t imagine reading this with Kindle Text-to-Speech. Or even visually, as Orlaugh Cassidy helps you feel like you are watching the movie. The France trips were a great experience.
All the Maisie Dobbs are fun so far. Jacqueline Winspear puts a lot of research into her books to help readers feel they have fallen into that era and place.
Libby had this audiobook to loan. I am so happy to be able to read these books.
Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Need a laugh? Here’s a fun book. I didn’t get it at first. When I realized it was supposed to be funny, I grinned for most of the book. It is British humor, my favorite.
I had been reading the Maisie Dobbs series, so I expected a serious mystery or something.
This review isn’t working. Here’s the blurb from GoodReads:
When sensible, sophisticated Flora Poste is orphaned at nineteen, she decides her only choice is to descend upon relatives in deepest Sussex.
At the aptly named Cold Comfort Farm, she meets the doomed Starkadders: cousin Judith, heaving with remorse for unspoken wickedness; Amos, preaching fire and damnation; their sons, lustful Seth and despairing Reuben; child of nature Elfine; and crazed old Aunt Ada Doom, who has kept to her bedroom for the last twenty years.
But Flora loves nothing better than to organize other people. Armed with common sense and a strong will, she resolves to take each of the family in hand. A hilarious and merciless parody of rural melodramas, Cold Comfort Farm (1932) is one of the best-loved comic novels of all time.
I hear there’s a movie. I’ll have to look that up. I picked this edition up from Libby. I think it might have been even better as an audiobook.
*”Instead of having such faith that things will turn out badly, why don’t you try to believe that they will turn out just fine–no matter what we do or don’t do? Do you really think that whoever is up there in heaven cares if we dance and sing and drink crémant?”
“What you are doing is believing, not thinking. It’s a choice. The problem is that you do not believe in something that makes you happy, What’s the point of that?”
Okay, it’s a two-fer! Shoot, let me count again. A six-fer? I found that last quote by Laura Bradbury in *The Grape Series #6, My Grape Escape. Laura and her husband may actually be putting a bid on a house in France. She’s afraid she will jinx it by drinking to it.
I’m going to stick to Laura’s husband, Franck, and state the thing I’ve been afraid to jinx. The good news that my son gave me is that his girlfriend will bring us a dog and cat soon. The previous owners have to move and can’t take the animals. She asked if we wanted them, and without a beat, I said YES! <–That loud, too! And that, the day after, I colored these cuties (a coloring app on my Fire) and put the picture on my front door as a sort of vision board.
So, that’s my secret. I will be happy.
Revelations: A Novella by Martha Bourke
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I don’t know if it is because it has been years since I read books one and two of Jaguar Sun or what. I couldn’t understand or care about the characters in the book—so many loose ties and not enough to hold on to. If I have time, I may re-read these later. But for now, I’m glad it was just a novella as it was over before I had the chance to complain about how the young woman who promised her sister she’d write didn’t for a year or so. I just didn’t understand this book at all.
Do I think it’s pretty, yes. Am I sick of it? Well, yes and no. Ten minutes after Spring/Summer begins it’s hot, dusty or smokey. So I’ve decided to enjoy the moment. I took these yesterday and last night. But it was still snowing this morning. But it is n toearly melted away this evening.
So let’s embrace the moment. It’s still pretty.
Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a fun series so far. Each book is a quick read and not too deep, so great as a bedtime book. Orlagh Cassidy (Narrator) gave a bit of authenticity to the writing that simple text-to-speech could not. The British text-to-speech voice reads these stories well, but a human voice is better when it comes to different dialects. Granted, I don’t know one dialect from another, but Ms. Cassidy’s switching from formal to cockney or other voices helped keep the characters separated.
This mystery had me going. I couldn’t figure out who did it or why. But the author, Jacqueline Winspear, told the tale with intrigue. She builds the world to help readers feel they are in post-war English towns. The feathers were a curious touch. Why? Was it important? Eventually, it will all be solved by our Maisie Dobbs, who is graceful and respectful of her fellow humans and their psychological intricacies.
I was happy to find this audiobook on Libby. I think the series is quite enjoyable. I think you’ll like it, too.
Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “crackle.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
So, yeah. That snap, crackle, and pop and trio of groans are from my son, my brother, and I after rearranging Dar’s Dabbling Den. It was a LOT of work. But worth it.
Part of this is for the exciting thing I don’t want to jinx by speaking it.
Also, I wanted my keyboard to work on improv and composition for this year’s goal.
I’m going to be happy with this new room. My body is going to hate me. I’m so blessed to have David and Dana here to help out.
Can you hear the crackle of my bones?
The poor basket weave hat hasn’t progressed at all so, no pics. When it can show off on its own, it’ll share the limelight.
While Sammie is happy, we got a phone call from my son with good news for us. And I hope for Sammie. I’d tell but I don’t want to jinx it
Today I went back to Phantom of the Opera. I used to play and sing these. Thirty years ago. Not for an audience, just for fun. My friends and I gathered at the grand piano on stage after voice class and sang our hearts out with these. I was surprised at how much my fingers remember, though there was a lot of sight reading. I can’t sing at the same time, yet. Soon. I am doing daily vocal warmups now.
Anyone out there go through this? I find a saturation level on pieces and put them aside for other songs. Those seem to draw my passions and energy.
Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
My friend Kay recommended this series. She’s right. These are fun and engaging.
This first installment came from Libby and was in Kindle form. That meant that I could listen to it with text-to-speech. Since I have my Fire set to a British female voice (think Mary Poppins), it fits quite nicely with this story.
War is a horrid thing. This particular war in England and Europe was one of the worst. Yet, for women, it became a way to escape the housewife, childbearer, whore classification most women were forced into. With the men fighting, the jobs were open for women to learn and show their abilities. Sadly, when the men came home, most of the women lost that step up to being wholly human.
Some women did find careers to move on. Maisie Dobbs is one of the ones it worked for.
This first book lays the groundwork for Maisie’s history and sets up the world she’s in. She’s a woman of spirit that can solve mysteries and make friends with all classes of people.
I have already started book two. I am in for the ride!
Darswords 
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