Just finished Kitamura’s AUDITION - very unsettling, but quite good. Also really liked SHOW DON’T TELL short story collection by Curtis Sittenfeld.

Yes! Gloves are very helpful.
Plus, please be aware of bees, hornets, and even birds in guardrails!
We came across a guardrail one time in the Spring that actually had birds nesting in there!
It was a surprise to both of us!
We didn't want to disturb them any further, so we never found that letterbox.

I recently finished The Gales of November by John U. Bacon about the sinking of the freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior 50 years ago tomorrow. Excellent read!

respectfully - calling him a human is inaccurate - he doesn't even rate being called pond scum...
He thrives at being cruel... my heart breaks for all marginalized folks as those are his targets. Next Nov cannot come fast enough...

We need to continue to punch back - make known that what he does is NOT okay...

Karma will produce justice and I'm in hopes it is sooner vs later.

I saw this awesome advice recently in a different thread. Now my tracker categories are Carved, Waiting, Need to carve, Ready to mail, Sent, Completed, Postal going around, and Blackholed. Yay!

Oh, Koalacat definitely has some Versafine onyx black - and every other color I carried in the shop, along with any inkers I had on hand as well. I'm sure she'd be happy to send some your way. :)

Edited to add: Although they're all kind of jumbled in boxes at the moment, so she's going to have to do some sorting!

Big hugs!

Webfoot

I’ve heard some people say that same-sex marriage “destroys” the institution of marriage. Well, I’m a cis woman who has been married to a cis man for 40+ years, and I gotta say that same-sex marriage has had ZERO impact on my marriage.

If you’re using the Bible as your reason for disapproving of same-sex marriage, doesn’t the Bible also say a few things about adultery? So why is the same crowd okay with a serial adulterer?

Just finished 'The Grotesque', by Patrick McGrath, a British author.

I'm starting my holiday reads early....right now I'm reading "The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year" by Ally Carter.

As I understand from what I see online, the Supreme Court is supposed to decide whether or not to hear an appeal from that court clerk who refused to perform a same sex marriage several years ago.

https://www.gladlaw.org/kim-davis-supreme-court-petition/

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/supreme-court-weighs-appeal-to-overturn-ruling-that-legalized-same-sex-marriage-nationwide


A President cannot overrule a court decision.

People have always picked and chosen what they want out of the bible and then they "interpret" it to fit their particular beliefs and opinions. Racists do it. Bigots do it.

I had just put that on my TBR list before seeing your post! My Mom's bookclub is reading it -- looks good.

Just started The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. Never read her books before, but enjoying so far!

Welcome!
I searched for a box hidden near the curvy part of a guardrail end and found several large pieces of broken glass, but no box. I even took pictures but couldn’t see the box…until later at home when I studied them and was barely able to make out a word on the side of what had to be the letterbox! Fortunately it was nearby and I was able to go back and retrieve it.
Strong echo on the warning about critters - one time I got a pretty painful sting from a wasp I surprised in a guardrail!

I'm in the middle of Book & Dagger (Elyse Graham)
I've also been working through the Murderbot books (Martha Wells)
And I've recently finished We could be Rats (Emily Austin), and Wrong Place Wrong Time (Gillian McAllister)

Woohoo! Congrats on your BOTW! I've had that one on my list to get when I come to NC again-can't wait!🥰

Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven...think Modern Lord of the Flies in an amusement park. Storyis told through interviews. Liking it WAY more than I expected

Just finished Maybe You Should Talk To Someone by Lori Gottlieb. Meh.

The news headline I see this morning says the Supreme Court declined to hear the challenge, so the law stands. 👍🏼

Good to know!

When I was googling yesterday that wasn’t news yet.

I still have six slabs of the original B grade pz cut if you ever need a piece to breakdown/analyze let me know

NO president has ever fully stopped SNAP benefits.
No Republican, no Democrat
Not Obama. Not Bush. Not even during shutdowns.

40% of SNAP participants are children
20% SNAP participants the elderly

Only Trump is threatening to literally take food off families' tables as a political stunt.

That's not leadership. That's cruelty.


Of course same sex marriage doesn't harm anyone. One of the most caring compassionate people I know, my daughter, is in a same sex marriage. Not only is she a teacher, but she teaches special needs children and loves it. She's a volunteer for various things, she works to make this a better country. It really pains me to see her hurt by all of this.

Trump is a monster.

I just finished Tress of the Emerald Sea, and I *thoroughly* enjoyed it! I heard about it through a LTC actually. It's has 'Princess Bride' vibes in a science fiction setting. It was a super fun, easy read.

Thank you! Those are gold. I have eight or ten of them that I've been using as my test base. :)

I have started rereading the Thieves World series. I read it the first time about 25 years ago. Still one of the best fantasy series ever (very dark though)

Is there any blue and white in the carving material?

I am devastated for you and for all of us!

In my own personal "bubble" of life, I can't think of a single same-sex marriage that has ended in divorce. I know plenty of men with their 3rd wives and also many women on their 2nd or 3rd husbands.

I was so glad to hear this. I wanted to believe that once it was established as a constitutional right, it would be hard to revoke. But after Roe v Wade, I was understandably nervous.

Yes, I will send you a message.

A little bonus to the Supreme Court refusing to hear the case - it was brought by Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In losing her appeal, she now has to pay the $360,000 in damages and legal fees from the original award that she was challenging. 😊👍🏼

Yes! I told Koalacat you'd be interested in that particular piece. There was only one sheet left. :)