John Simpson - Back to the Normal Reads No 1

Looking forward to a healthy reading year without the Chunksters.

Hello everyone, this is my Ninth year being part of this wonderful group. I am John, 57years old and married to Karen for 36 years and counting. We have two lovely children, Rob and Amy. Rob lives with his Fiancee Louise, daughter Hannah who will be 10 in February. Amy married Andy in 2015 and they now have a cat called Combie and a first child due at the end of April.

Please come along and leave a message and let's see what fun we have.

I love books and currently have just over 2,650 books on my shelves and this doesn't include my Cricket collection which stands at about 430 books. While reading I do enjoy the odd pot or two of tea.

CURRENTLY READING

I just love Big Books, these are my 1000+page reads so far with more to add.

1.Shogun by James Clavell, 1243 pgs
2.Gai-Jin by James Clavell, 1578 pgs
3.Noble House by James Clavell, 1435 pgs
4.War & Remembrance by Herman Wouk, 1171 pgs
5.Whirlwind by James Clavell, 1343 pgs
6.Centennial by James A. Michener 1100 pgs
7.The Covenant by James A. Michener, 1080 pgs
8.Sarum by Edward Rutherfurd, 1344 pgs
9.Homeland by John Jakes, 1138 pgs
10.Russka by Edward Rutherfurd, 1007 pgs
11.A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth, 1474 pgs
12.Love and War by John Jakes, 1019 pgs
13.Texas by James A. Michener, 1508 pgs
14.My Life by Bill Clinton, 1000 pgs
15.Child of the Phoenix by Barbara Erskine, 1086 pgs
16.Voyager by Diana Gabaldon, 1059 pgs
17.The Journeyer by Gary Jennings, 1219 pgs
18.Pandora's Star by Peter F. Hamilton, 1144 pgs
19.Judas Unchained by Peter F. Hamilton, 1235 pgs
20.Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon, 1185 pgs
21.Wicked by Jilly Cooper, 1007 pgs
22.The Fiery Cross by Diana Gabaldon, 1412 pgs
23.London by Edward Rutherfurd, 1299 pgs
24.The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, 1076 pgs
25.A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon, 1391 pgs
26.World Without End by Ken Follett, 1111 pgs
27.Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey, 1,015 pgs
28.The Executioner's Song by Norman Mailer, 1,056 pgs
29.An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon, 1,065 pgs
30.New York by Edward Rutherfurd, 1017 pgs
31.Hawaii by James A.Michener, 1130 pgs
32.The Company by Robert Littell, 1281 pgs
33.The Reality Dysfunction by Peter F.Hamilton, 1225 pgs
34.Spangle by Gary Jennings, 1276 pgs
35.Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchell, 1024 pgs
36.Alaska by James A. Michener, 1073 pgs.
37.Memories of Ice by Steven Erikson, 1180 pgs.
38.Chesapeake by James A. Michener, 1132 pgs
39. 4 3 2 1 by Paul Auster, 1070 pgs.
40. The Wheel of Fortune by Susan Howatch, 1156 pgs.
41. The Neutronium Alchemist by Peter F. Hamilton, 1259 pgs.
42. The Naked God by Peter F. Hamilton, 1244 pgs.
43. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy, 1104 pgs.
44. The Source by James A. Michener, 1032 pgs.
45. Against The Day by Thomas Pynchon, 1220 pgs.
46. The Stand by Stephen King, 1325 pgs.
47. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, 1006 pgs.
48. Harlot's Ghost by Norman Mailer, 1401 pgs.

2020 Reading Stats

Books Read ----------- 24

Pages read ------------ 21,961

Authors ---------------- 22

New Authors ---------- 10

Male Authors ---------- 14

Female Authors ------- 8

Avg Book Length ------ 915.04

1st July 1995 to 31st December 2020 Stats

BOOKS READ ---------------- 1211

PAGES READ ----------------- 568,336

AVG BOOK LENGTH --------- 469.31

DAYS OF READING ---------- 9316

LONGEST BOOK ------------- 1578

SHORTEST BOOK ------------ 101

AUTHORS -------------------- 376

MALE AUTHORS ------------- 218

FEMALE AUTHORS ---------- 158

2020 Big Fat Books Breakdown

500 TO 599 PAGES ------- 5

600 TO 699 PAGES ------- 2

700 TO 799 PAGES ------- 3

800 TO 899 PAGES ------- 3

900 TO 999 PAGES ------- 0

1000 + PAGES ------------ 11

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY BY JOHN

1. Heavenly Dates and Other Flirtations by Alexander McCall Smith, PB - 200 pages.
2. The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich, PB - 249 pages.
3. The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman, PB - 275 pages.
4. Juror No.3 by James Patterson, PB - 331 pages.
5. Following On by Emma John, PB - 257 pages. Non-Fiction
6. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, HB - 377 pages.
7. The Strange Disappearance of the Bollywood Star by Vaseem Khan, PB - 356 pages.
8. Agatha Raisin and the Witches' Tree by M.C. Beaton, PB - 232 pages.

BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY BY JOHN

9. The Store by James Patterson, PB - 322 pages.
10. Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child, PB - 522 pages.
11. The Wandering Wombles by Elizabeth Beresford, PB - 169 pages.
12. Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase by Louise Walters, PB - 294 pages.
13. The Scent of the Night by Andrea Camilleri, PB - 228 pages.
14. Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer, PB - 322 pages.
15. Agatha Raisin and the Dead Ringer by M. C. Beaton, PB - 233 pages.
16. Resort to Murder by T.P. Fielden, PB - 310 pages.

BOOKS READ IN JANUARY BY KAREN
1. A Good Heart is Hard to Find by Trisha Ashley, PB. 4.5 Stars
2. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, HB. 5 Stars
3. Seven Kinds of People you find in Bookshops by Shaun Bythell, HB. 4 Stars
4. My Italian Bulldozer by Alexander McCall Smith, PB. 4 Stars
5. Confessions of a Bookseller by Shaun Bythell, HB. 4 Stars

BOOKS READ IN FEBRUARY BY KAREN

6. Things we left Unsaid by Emma Kennedy, PB. 5 Stars +
7. To the Land of Lost Friends by Alexander McCall Smith, PB. 4 Stars
8. The Wandering Wombles by Elizabeth Beresford, PB. 4 Stars
9. Under Gemini by Rosamunde Pilcher, PB. 4 Stars
10. Death in a Tunnel by Miles Barton, PB. 3.5 Stars
11. The Haunted Season by G. M. Malliet, PB. 5 Stars +
12. Devils Breath by G. M. Malliet, PB. 3.5 Stars
13. Hormones, Hexes and Exes by J. C. Blake, PB. 3.5 Stars

BOOKS BOUGHT IN 2021

JANUARY

1. 1st Case by James Patterson, PB.
2. Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Childs, PB.
3. A Cricketer and a Gentleman by Bob Willis, HB.
4. Seven Kinds of People You Find In Bookshops by Shaun Bythell, HB.
5. Hawk by James Patterson, PB.

FEBRUARY

6. Lessons by Jenny Colgan, PB.
7. 20th Victim by James Patterson, PB.
8. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, PB.
9. Hormones, Hexes & Exes by J.C. Blake, PB.
10. Inspector Singh investigates : A Curious Indian Cadaver by Shamini Flint, PB.

DECEMBER'S READING STATS

Books Read...................... 2

No of Authors.................... 2

New Authors...................... 1

Male Authors..................... 1

Female Authors.................. 1

Pages Read....................... 2,407

Daily Avg........................... 77.65

Book Length avg................. 1203.5

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-12-2020 - 2676
Books added in December - 6
Books read in December - 2

Revised book total - 2680

Pages to read at 1-12-2020 - 1,105,567
Pages added in December - 1,904
Pages read in December - 2,407

Revised total pages to read - 1,105,064

Open for business

Welcome back!

As I can see, you are already well prepared for the coming reading year.
Happy reading John.
After a 'crazy' year for all of us, I hope that in 2021 I will find more time to visit your thread.

Great that you'll be along again this year John. Here's to 100 books!

Love to Karen.

Welcome back John! Do you have any snow in your neck of the woods at the moment?

Welcome back, John! Hope your 2021 reads are outstanding.

Best wishes for a better 2021!

I wish you a Happy New Year. May it be better than the old one.

Hope you have a wonderful 2021!

Have a marvelous 2021, John!

Much love to you Karen, and the family.

Happy reading in 2021, John!

And keep up with my friends here, John. Have a great 2021.

Happy new year!

To smaller books and more tea!!! Happy New Year!

Happy new year!

Happy New Year!

Hi John, and Happy New Year!

I'm impressed with your chunksters in 2020, looking forward to a non-chunkster year this year.

I see you've already acquired 2 books in 2021 - good job!

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen and kitty skritches to Felix.

Happy New Year, to you and Karen, and family, John! And Felix of course.

Love your statistics. And it makes sense to count pages. Wishing you a good reading year.

I'm dropping off my star, and will have a look at how you are doing from time to time.

Hi John, happy 2021 to you and Karen. I've dropped my star and I'm looking forward to seeing you reading more books this year.

Three days and not one single tea report. Are you and Karen alright?

>32 quondame: We do expect those tea reports, don't we?

>14 drneutron:, Thanks Jim.

>15 Ameise1:, >20 Ameise1:, Thank you Barbara for your message and New Year picture, i also hope that 2021 will be a better year both healthwise and on the reading front.

>16 PaulCranswick:, >24 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, looking forward to hitting 100 books for the second time mate and keeping in touch with my many friends on here.

>17 SandDune:, Hi Rhian my dear, we had snow on the 29th December but by mid afternoon it had all but gone and then we had snow on 2nd January but by mid Sunday morning it had all but gone again.

>18 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, i have some good books to read, quite a number are the ones Karen read in 2020 and wanted to discuss with me but couldn't. I hope that you have a good reading year dear friend.

>19 DianaNL:, Thanks Diana my dear friend.

>21 ChelleBearss:, Thanks Chelle my dear friend.

>22 Matke:, Thanks Gail my dear friend.

>23 FAMeulstee:, Thanks Anita my dear friend.

>25 quondame:, Thank you Susan for your New Year wishes my dear friend.

>26 Berly:, Thank you Kim for your New Year wishes my dear friend.

>27 witchyrichy:, Thank you Karen for your New Year Wishes my dear friend.

>36 johnsimpson: I'll try to keep up with you this year, John...and maybe we can both hit 100 again.

My first book is one I think you or Karen might like: Look Back with Love: a Manchester Childhood by Dodie Smith. Smith is the author of I Capture the Castle and 101 Dalmations, among others. This first book is a memoir covering her childhood years up to age 14; what a memory she had! All her toys, games, friends, family, places in Manchester, plays, etc. So interesting--she was born in 1896, so it's a very detailed picture of life at the turn of the 20th century.

>28 figsfromthistle:, Thank you for the New Year wishes my dear friend.

>29 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, i enjoyed my Chunkster year and was impressed with myself for managing Eleven 1,000+ page Behemoths in the 24 books that i managed to read. I am looking forward to a nice relaxing year with normal sized books and i have some nice ones to read, some that i am desperate to read.

I was surprised that i added two books on the first day of the year and hope that is not an omen for the year, the idea is to reduce the TBR pile, not add to it, lol.

I hope you had a good new year and hope you have a really good reading year.

Love and hugs to you, Bill, Jenna and the give the kitties skritches from both of us my dear friend.

>30 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, a Happy New Year to you and Marc and hope that you have a good reading year and that it is a good year for Marc, health wise.

I do love my stats and there will be more for 2021 and i still look for other stat options to add to my portfolio, lol.

Looking forward to your visits my dear friend.

>31 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg my dear, looking forward to your visits my dear friend.

>32 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, we are both fine and tea reports will follow shortly, i don't want you to pine for too long, lol.

>33 thornton37814:, Hi Lori, tea reports will follow shortly, a new year takes me some time getting all the stats together and setting up the threads.

We had a quiet New Year's Eve and welcomed the new year in whilst reading in bed, shortly after we went to sleep as Karen was in work for 8am.

1st Jan - Karen was in work for 8 am so we were up for 6.45 am so that we could have a nice Pot of Tea. After taking Karen to work i got back and had breakfast and my meds and vitamins and then got on with book stats. The morning raced away although i did manage another couple of Pots of Tea before it was time to make Karen a Pot of Tea in the travel mug for when i picked her up from work.

Once back with Karen we had another Pot of Tea and then had a bite to eat, i spent the afternoon writing up my book notes from my last four Chunksters read, Karen got on with her knitting and once we were together we watched a bit of TV.

Friday night was a nice relaxing evening with Pots of Tea abounding.

Saturday started with a Pot of Tea in bed, Felix wanted to go out but it was a bit chilly and i was sure he would be back in after a couple of minutes, but no, he stayed out. Once we finished our Tea we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs to get things sorted out.

I got our meds and vitamins out and our juice poured and got the pots ready for a coffee, Karen sorted Felix out and then got breakfast ready. While Karen was doing this, i went to our local shop to pick up the papers for myself and Margaret. I delivered Margaret's paper on the way back and crossed the street to our house, i was frozen, it was bitterly cold out.

We had our coffee, meds and vitamins before having breakfast, once breakfast was finished we had a Pot of Tea and watched a bit of TV. Once the TV programme had finished we popped upstairs so that i could go in the loft to get the Christmas decoration boxes down. I went into the loft and passed them down to Karen ready to take the decorations down on Sunday. Once this was done we went into our bedroom to sort my Handkerchiefs out, while doing this it started to snow, just a few small flakes at first but within ten minutes it was blizzard like and was settling. Karen was hoping for six inches of snow in the next 75 minutes so that she wouldn't be able to get to work, lol.

Once the hankies were sorted we went downstairs and had a Pot of Tea and some cake before Karen got ready for work, I managed to get off the drive and out of the estate onto the main roads and slowly got Karen to work. It continued snowing until 3 pm. I got back from taking Karen to work and once i had a Pot of Tea in front of me, i picked up my book whilst listening to Final Score in the background. I had a steady afternoon and evening on my own until it was time to pick Karen up from work.

>45 johnsimpson: Pot of Tea, indeed!

>45 johnsimpson: Happy New Year, John, and does Karen get a week off for working on New Year's Day?!

Hello Dear John! It seems that you and I share the approximate amount of books owned. Last year I was successful in donating 300 books to a local library! I still have a long way to go in culling more.

>45 johnsimpson: I'm sorry Karen didn't get her desired snow day. At least she had a pot of tea to warm her up!

>45 johnsimpson: *happy sigh* I love reading through your day, John. But you left out the most important detail: what kind of cake was it?!

>46 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, you did ask for Pot of Tea references, lol.

>47 m.belljackson:, Hi Marianne my dear, sadly Karen doesn't get a week off for working New Year's Day. Karen said she would go in and do four hours and what she would earn would make up for what she lost on Boxing Day.

>48 Whisper1:, Hi Linda my dear, I hadn't realised that we had the same amount of books and i am impressed that you passed 300 onto your local library. We have a box in the spare bedroom and when we have read a book it goes into the box unless one or the other of us has not read it. Every so oft, Amy comes over and she has a look what is in the box and takes what she fancies, the rest go to the secondhand bookshop at Nostell Priory or to our local Hospice shop, i also buy books from both shops.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>49 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, sadly it started snowing too late and it didn't go on for long enough, when i pick her up from work i always take her a Pot of Tea (lol) in the travel mug, her colleagues can't believe i do this for her. When i pick her up she is always reading for a nice brew.

>50 scaifea:, Hi Amber my dear, i am glad you like my posts and i must admit i failed in mentioning the cake, to rectify this i can tell you it was Chocolate cake.

Sunday was a nice steady day, after a pot of tea in bed we got up and once ready came downstairs to sort Felix out and get everything ready, breakfast, coffee and meds and vitamins. We had our breakfast while listening to Steve Wright's Sunday love show and then Michael Ball's show.

Once breakfast was done with we brought some of the Christmas decoration boxes down and Karen started taking the baubles off the tree. I left Karen to do this and went outside to empty the water butt by two thirds, i had to leave this a couple of times as Karen couldn't reach some of the baubles. Once i had finished emptying the water butt i came inside and made us a pot of tea and then i helped Karen to take the decorations down. We had another tea break before we finally finished taking all the decorations down, we left the Christmas Cards up until Twelfth night.

I vacuumed the room and then we put the furniture back in place and then took all the boxes upstairs and then we put them back into the loft for 300 and some days until they come back out again. We had another pot of tea while listening to Johnnie Walker's 70's radio show and then we had something to eat.

The evening was spent relaxing watching a bit of TV even whilst i was on here and Karen was knitting.

Yesterday was a nice steady day, we were up with the alarm and once washed and dressed we came downstairs to get things sorted out, By the time we had finished breakfast we had time for another drink, we could have had a pot of tea in bed,

Before long it was time to take Karen to work and after dropping her off i went into Wakefield to do the banking. Once the banking was done i went to the post office to pay a bill and then i had a mooch around. I had a look in Debenhams to see what was left as they are closing down, it was sad to see how empty it was although there were some good buys if had needed them.

I made my way back towards the car and called into Waterstones bookshop, after a good look around i picked up two Hardback books, both at half price. Little did i know then that these would be the last purchases in a standard bookshop until at least the middle of February. I left the bookshop with my purchases and went and had a look around the antique centre and then went back to the car and made my way home.

Once home i made a pot of tea and picked up my book and that was me for the next two hours, tea and reading. I watched the lunchtime news both national and local, set the DVD recorder up and then got on with sorting out paperwork such as credit card bills, etc. I ended up with quite a pile for shredding and a pile for the recycle bin.

Once all the paperwork was done i had the sandwiches that Karen had left for me along with a couple of buns and then read until it was time to make Karen a pot of tea in the travel mug and then go and pick her up from work.

Once home with Karen we had a drink and then had something to eat and watched the news, national and local and then the One Show before a news special with Boris Johnson on at 8 pm to tell us we were going back into lockdown for a third time. Only essential shops can open until at least the middle of February, although today i have seen that it could be until the end of March.

Finished my first book of 2021, Heavenly Dates and Other Flirtations by Alexander McCall Smith, PB - 200 pages.
1-1-21 to 3-1-21.

>57 johnsimpson: I'm going to have a pile of shredding by the time my new paper shredder arrives. My old one bit the dust. I asked advice from some of my genealogist friends what they recommend for a home office. Several told me the ones they use, and one by Fellowes came out on top. It's a little pricy, but I think it will last longer based on what my friends told me.

Oh, chocolate cake sounds wonderful, John.

I'm sorry that you're on another lockdown, although I do think we should be doing the same here, but, well...

Happy New Year, John.

Two hours of tea and reading sounds mighty good. Congrats on finishing your first book of 2021. We've put our Christmas away, too, and the house is back to normal.

>59 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, i tend to have a good shredding session every couple of months but this time i think it will be over a few days or i will burnout the shredder. I am glad that you have got a decent shredder that will suffice for quite a good while. As i have got older i have realised that when it comes to certain items it is worth spending that bit more on a better brand and quality rather than getting something cheap that doesn't last long and you end up spending more in the long run.

Sending love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

>60 scaifea:, Hi Amber my dear, Karen's Chocolate cake is always nice and we still have another cake in the freezer plus i have my large Christmas cake to go at and then there are all the biscuits in the freezer plus those we bought. To maintain my svelte figure i will have to take my time getting through all this especially as we are now in lockdown again.

I think it will be the end of March rather than the middle of February when we start to slowly come out of lockdown but there are still idiots defying the lockdown but the police have more powers and a lot of fines have already been issued.

I think you are right that the US needs to have a lockdown or at the very least stronger measures until vaccinnated numbers increase, that is what it seems to be here.

Sending love and hugs to you, Tomm and Charlie from both of us dear friend.

>61 jnwelch:, Happy New Year Joe, i do seem to be having time on my hands to have lots of tea and reading, more so now we are in lockdown again. Since your message i have finished my second book of the year, i am going for it this year, lol.

I usually have to have a week or two to get used to the house being back to normal especially the living room but this year we tried the tree in a new position. After getting the new tree last year and having it in front of the living room window, we lost a lot of light and when the sofa was full, not all could see the TV. We still had to move an armchair but we put it where Karen usually sits, she ended up close to me and we had the light, everyone could see the TV and best of all, the tree looked good where it had been put. Now that it is all packed away and back in the loft, the room doesn't look as empty and i have soon got used to it being back to normal.

Sending love and hugs to you and Debbi mate from both of us dear friend.

Finished 2nd book of 2021 last night, The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich, PB - 249 pages.

3-1-21 to 5-1-21

Congrats on book #2! I am glued to the TV here in the US watching the debacle at our Capital in WA DC. Can not believe this is going on...

Yesterday was a good day, we were up with the alarm and once washed and dressed we came downstairs to sort Felix out and then get breakfast ready, meds and vitamins out and a pot of tea made.

Once breakfast was done with, it was time to take Karen to work, i dropped Karen off and then made my way home. Once home i made a pot of tea and then rang the credit card provider and paid this months payment off. Once that was done i got my book and started to read. The rest of the morning was spent reading and drinking tea.

After watching the lunchtime news both national and local, i set up the DVD to record a couple of programmes and then got the vacuum cleaner and duster out and went upstairs to do the upstairs housework. An hour later it was all done and came downstairs to have the sandwiches that Karen had made for me along with a couple of buns. After i had eaten i had time to read for a short while before making a pot of tea in the travel mug for Karen.

I went to collect Karen from work and then we made our way home, once home we had a drink of tea and then had something to eat before settling down to watch a bit of TV. I fired the laptop up and Karen did some knitting with the TV on in the background.

Bedtime beckoned and i made us a pot of tea and we went up to bed, Karen changed my Morphine patches and then we settled down to read and i managed to finish my second book of the year.

>66 Berly: Ditto

But, meanwhile, I am looking forward to adding more tea in my life in 2021. A friend sent me Harney & Sons A Midsummer Night's Tea...billed as a floral black tea. Had a cup today with a bit of milk and liked it.

But I am open to suggestions and forgive me if you have answered tea questions a million times.

Hi John! I hope that things are going well for you and Karen.

Two books read, four books acquired. Sounds about right to me.

Sending love and hugs to both of you and kitty skritches to Felix.

>66 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, i mean business this year, lol. We could not believe what was happening in Washington and Trump was the instigator of it all.

>68 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, i am glad you are enjoying drinking tea, i would say try a few teas until you find one that you really like. We drink a standard tea although alternate between Ty-Phoo and Yorkshire Tea and then i do like a nice cup of Earl Grey and Karen likes fruit teas and is partial to Peppermint and Liquorice tea.

I will try to answer any questions on tea as i can dear friend.

>69 karenmarie:, Hi Karenmarie my dear, we are both fine despite going into a third lockdown. The only thing that has upset Karen is that we won't be able to see much of Amy and how she progresses through her pregnancy but there is nothing we can do about it.

I have made a good start to 2021, two books read and four books bought and now that lockdown is in force i probably won't get anymore books until mid February at the earliest or more likely, the end of March.

I hope that you and Bill are having a good start to the year, after the machinations yesterday in Washington, i expect the 20th of January cannot come quick enough.

Sending love and hugs to you, Bill and Jenna from both of us dear friend.

>72 johnsimpson: Hi John. Two books read is a good start to the year!

I'm sorry about your lockdown. We have one in place as well, of course, but we are still allowed to visit people, provided the visit is limited to two people from outside of the household. And everybody can keep the required distance. So we could visit a friend for Christmas, who was alone as his son was ill. But we couldn't visit my mum. Are you not allowed to visit anyone at all?

>71 johnsimpson: Thanks for sharing your preferences. I am going to try *not* to buy a million different teas but stick with a couple for now.

>73 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, the new lockdown has tightened up restrictions so we can meet one person outside on a one to one basis and we are not supposed to travel to far unless it is for work, or a hospital appointment. This travel restriction means that we cannot go to Selby to see Amy and Andrew, even Rob and Louise's is really too far so at the moment we are not having Hannah over.

With the problems in London and the South of England and increase in cases rising up the country i think we will be in this lockdown until the end of March.

Sending love and hugs to you and Marc from both of us dear friend.

>74 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, No problem about sharing tea preferences and nothing wrong with buying different teas as long as you don't buy them all at once. I would keep a note of those you like and if you end up with a few you can rotate your teas to suit your mood.

Sending love and hugs to you and Bob from both of us dear friend.

I'm sorry that you can't see your family, John. I know that's so hard. *hugs* to you and Karen.

Just a quick stop to wish you and Karen a wonderful weekend. I'm sorry to read that you can't see your children. You should make whatapp video call. That's what we're doing with our girls.

>75 johnsimpson: Hi John. I'm sorry you can't see your family. Necessary restrictions, but it is hard on you and Karen! Wishing you a good weekend.

>77 scaifea:, Hi Amber, it is sad but it is what it is and so many others are in the same position, quite a number worse than us with loved ones in care homes that may pass away before they can be seen.

The weeks will pass and we will be able to see Amy with a month to go hopefully.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>78 Ameise1:, Hi Barbara my dear, nice to see you here. We have had a pleasant weekend although Karen was working yesterday. We will have to Facetime Amy although Karen and Amy ring each other every day and hopefully we will see Amy with a month of her pregnancy to go.

Sending love and hugs to you all dear friend.

>79 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear. It is sad that we can't see Amy but it is the same for so many others. We have had a good weekend although Karen was working yesterday.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

The last few days have been fairly steady, Karen had an appointment at the mouth clinic on Wednesday as she has Lichen Planus and it had flared up recently. After checking her out the Consultant wants her to have a biopsy just to make sure it is just scarring and nothing else. Karen goes to the hospital this Wednesday at 9.15 am for the biopsy.

Thursday was a very steady day for both of us, i read and Karen got on with her knitting.

Friday and Karen was at work, after dropping her off i popped into store to pick up a few bits and then made my way home. Once the shopping was put away i made a pot of tea and read until lunchtime. After lunch i got on with the downstairs housework.

Yesterday was steady away, we had a relaxing morning until it was time to take Karen to work, after dropping her off i had to pop into Wakefield to pick up some nail glue and acetone for her. Once this was done i made my way home and made a drink and read while listening to the football final score programme. After having something to eat i spent the evening reading while listening to the radio until it was time to pick Karen up from work at 10 pm.

Today has been relaxing, we had breakfast before getting the veg prepared for Sunday lunch. We had a pot of tea or two before i watched the football, Mr Cranswick will not have been happy, and Karen put the Lamb in the oven. We had a nice Sunday lunch and then Rob rang me for some advice, he was fitting new door handles but they were bigger than what had been on. I got my tools together and popped over, between us we got it sorted and i then left and made my way home for a nice pot of tea.

We are having a nice evening watching a bit of TV and i am on the laptop on here.

I am so sorry for the continued battle with Covid! I've grown to appreciate more deeply, the company of my sheltie Lilly!

>84 Whisper1:, Hi Linda my dear, Covid is one of those things we are just having to deal with sadly, the main problem is the idiots that are ignoring it. Last night it was reported that the police raided a property not far from us and found a house party being held with 25 people there, no social distancing etc and they were all fined. It seems to be going on up and down the country, i just don't understand them.

We are both fine and have each others company, the only issue we have is that we cannot see Amy progress and bloom in the second half of her pregnancy.

Sadly it is what it is and we just have to get on with things, a lot more people are in a far worse position with loved ones in care homes and they cannot visit and sadly some will pass away before they can be seen.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the spring semester and so I will be back to work in my office on-campus. I enjoyed my time off and am thinking that retirement will be welcome when I am eligible. My reading so far this new year as not been exciting.

>83 johnsimpson: Hope Karen is OK, John.

Yes, I wasn't happy with Leeds. 3-0 at Crawley is abject and embarrassing isn't it? I don't think that Bielsa purposely takes the competition lightly but he still hasn't won an FA Cup game in three attempts.

Popping in to say Hi! and I hope the Wednesday appointment goes well for Karen. : )

>86 benitastrnad:, Hi Benita my dear, nice to see you here. I hope you had a good first day back at work, i am glad that you enjoyed the time off and so retirement will not be a shock to you as you know how to spend the time. Don't worry about the reading as it is still early in the year.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

P.S. I got your Christmas missive last Thursday and enjoyed reading it my dear.

>87 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, Karen is fine mate but not looking forward to the biopsy on Wednesday. I watched the game and thought that it was an even first half and that Crawley would have been pleased with how they had done. I think three changes at half time by Leeds disrupted their format and Crawley took advantage of this and it knocked Leeds off course and then the third goal killed the game off. I wonder if Bielsa will have another chance to break his FA Cup duck, not that he will be sacked but i think he may want another challenge.

Sending love and hugs to all of you dear friend.

>88 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, Karen hopes that everything goes well but she is not looking forward to the biopsy.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

Finished book three just before lunch today, The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted by Robert Hillman, 275 pages.

5-1-21 to 11-1-21

You are making good progress this year!

>93 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, things are going well at the moment and i will finish my 4th book later in the evening.

The last couple of days have been pretty good, i have managed to get some decent reading done. The days have been full of pot of tea, a bit of writing and reading and i have got on with my jobs.

This morning i took Karen for her biopsy at the mouth clinic, while Karen had her biopsy i was in the car with a large coffee and did a bit of reading. Once Karen got back to the car we popped along to the Aldi at Snowhill and Karen did the bit of shopping. Once she was done we made our way home and unpacked and put the shopping away.

Once the shopping was all sorted i made us a pot of tea and we settled down in the living room getting warm as it rained outside. After another pot of tea we had some lunch before watching a bit of TV. Karen spent a bit of time on the phone while i read, i supplied the tea during the afternoon.

Finished book 4 late on Wednesday night, Juror No.3 by James Patterson, 331 pages.

11-1-21 to 13-1-21

Yesterday we awoke to snowfall and it was snowing heavily, it had been raining the previous day and well into the night. I awoke at about 4 am and it had just started to snow but with it being wet i didn't think it would settle. As i made the pot of tea there was quite a covering and by the time i made us a second pot of tea to enjoy in bed it was coming down in big flakes.

Once the tea was finished and we were up and about it was a bit like a blizzard, we let Felix out, he didn't stay out too long, and then i got the meds and vitamins out while Karen got the breakfast out and i made us a pot of coffee. The snow continued coming down and we contented ourselves with hot drinks and a bit of TV.

The snow eased a little before coming down heavily again, we had some lunch and then watched more TV and then Karen got her knitting out and i picked my book up. At about 3 pm it eased again and i went out the clear a path from the back door to the garage. Once back inside i made us a pot of tea and we watched Escape to the Sun, while watching sunny climes the snow had picked up again.

More hot drinks followed before we had something to eat at around 6 pm and it was still snowing, it was supposed to stop at this time but carried on until 8 pm. The overnight forecast was for freezing temperatures and freezing fog.

We awoke with the alarm at 7 am and you could tell the temperature had dropped and the freezing fog was visible, the visibility was about 75 yards. We came downstairs once washed and dressed and again Felix wanted to go out. Karen set a load of washing going and sorted Felix's dishes out before putting fresh food and water down for him. I got our meds and vitamins out and made the pot of tea while Karen got breakfast out.

Once everything was done i went to the garage to get the broom out to clear the snow off the car and then turned the engine on to warm it up a bit. After a short while i went back inside to have my tea and meds before having my cereal. A short time later it was time to take Karen to work, we gingerly got off the drive and out of our estate and made our way to the Asda store.

I was disgusted with the Asda store as the car parks and roadways had not been cleared and it was a bit dangerous. I dropped Karen off and made my way to the disabled bay which was disgusting. I went into the store ro get the little bit of shopping required and then made my way home.

As i tried to get back onto our driveway i was caught with the ice and had to get out of the car and get my big Pit shovel out of the garage and clear a path so that i could park up. Once this was done i got the shopping out of the car and unpacked and put it all away before making a pot of tea to warm up. I put the radio on so i could listen to the Cricket commentary from Sri Lanka and then sent an email to Asda head office to register my disgust at the state of the car park.

The rest of the morning was spent with hot drinks, Cricket commentary and my book until rain stopped play at the Cricket. I watched the lunchtime news both national and local before setting up the DVD recorder and then getting on with the downstairs housework.

Once the housework was done i made a pot of tea and picked up my book, i had another pot of tea before it was time to make Karen a pot of tea in the travel mug and go and collect her from work. Once home with Karen i made us another drink before we had something to eat and watched the evening news. With the TV on in the background, i fired up the laptop and came on here while Karen set up the programmes i had recorded.

It is cold again outside and snow is forecast from midnight until 6 pm tomorrow, we could have a decent covering by then and i may have to do some clearing of the driveway to take Karen to work tomorrow afternoon.

With all that snow, you should have some good reading time! I wish we'd get a big one, although I fear the age of remote working in COVID probably caught up with us. I doubt educational snow days will ever be the same. They'll just be "work from home" or "education from home" days.

>90 johnsimpson: Personally John I don't think that there is a chance of Leeds voluntarily letting Bielsa go. They will always have the odd hiccough here and there with the way they approach games and he did rather make it hard for us by taking off Poveda (who looked most likely) and Struijk (who had the defence covered) so early.
I think if he stays we may even surprise people further and go on and win one of the cups next year.

Have a great weekend.

By the way it was great to see Root back to something like his old form yesterday and Lawrence looks like a good solid batsman too.

I was surprised that Bess took 5 in the first innings because I didn't think he would quite have the nous to take so many wickets on the sub-continent - it is good to not always be right!

>90 johnsimpson: Mr SandDune was not happy about that Leeds result at all!

>99 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, sadly the snow didn't last long, it stopped snowing by 8pm on Thursday night and by Sunday morning there was nothing to see. The reading is going well though and the weather for the next few days is not good, from midnight tonight until 6am on Thursday we could have up to 150mm of rain and then it has to turn to snow until Saturday morning. With all the snow melting up in the Dales and the rain to come, flooding is a high risk, the rivers around York and surrounding area have already broken their banks so things are not looking good.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>100 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, i agree with you that Leeds will not voluntarily let Bielsa go but he may think his time is up at Leeds, he is a character and a principled man so depending how results go and if they end up in a relegation fight he may decide to go especially if in these circumstances he keeps them up.

>101 PaulCranswick:, It was lovely to see Root back to some good form, he knows himself he has not contributed in the way he knows he should have, hopefully he keeps this form up with back to back series against India and then the big one next winter, The Ashes. It was good to see Dan Lawrence perform well, i am glad he didn't start with a debut ton, it seems to be a poisoned chalice lately for newbies to get a debut ton and then have a slow decline. As for Dom Bess, you should have known he would pull something out the bag now that he is a Yorkie, lol.

>102 SandDune:, Hi Rhian my dear, i can well understand Mr Sandune not being a happy bunny and then the loss to Brighton. Things will get better, i am sure.

Finished book 5 late last night, Following On by Emma John, 257 Pages. Non-Fiction.

13-1-21 to 18-1-21

We had a pleasant weekend although Karen was working on Saturday, yesterday was nice and relaxing and we went for a walk around the village to blow a few cobwebs off. Last night i ordered a Pilot Vanishing Point (Capless) fountain pen with my Christmas money and some added, i also ordered a Pilot Converter, a bottle of Pilot Iroshizuku ink and 100 A5 sheets of Tomoe River paper. All this plus the shipping from Japan and it was still £63 cheaper than the cost of the pen alone in the UK, hopefully it may be here by the weekend.

I am keeping up with my diary entries each day using a different pen and ink, i just hope i can keep it up along with my reading rate.

Hi John!

I'm sorry that the lockdown is preventing you from seeing Amy as she progresses in her pregnancy.

I hope Karen's biopsy results are good news.

We're hanging in there here - so happy about the Inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris - there are now adults running the government!

We haven't seen Jenna in over a year now and it's depressing, but we talk almost every day and she's doing quite well in isolation except for her work. Both she and I are introverts and are faring better than a lot of people are.

Sending love and hugs to you both, and skritches for your kitty boy.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

>108 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, we are coping OK with the lockdown, Karen and Amy talk most days so that isn't too bad. Karen hasn't had the biopsy results yet but the last of the dissolvable stitches has come out from where they took the biopsy.

We watched the inauguration on TV and we loved it, it was very impressive but just a bit sad that they couldn't have the usual crowds. We are both hoping that the new President gets things back to normality instead of the spoilt child tantrums we have seen and you have had to suffer over the past four years.

I hadn't realised that you haven't seen Jenna for a year which must be awful for you,it seems that we are having to find new ways of keeping in touch with our loved ones.

Sending special Yorkshire love and hugs to you all and special Kitty skritches from both of us and Felix, my dear friend.

Karen has been off work all week taking some holiday time and we have got one or two jobs done along with the housework. Yesterday we did the little bit of shopping at the Aldi that we required and Karen also popped into the B&M store next door to pick up a couple of bits.

Today we went to the Costco store to pick up some bulk items, it has been quite a while since we visited with all the restrictions. We are now OK for a while with purchases we have and so we will stay at home and hope that with the increase in vaccinations we may be able to gradually come out of lockdown in a safe timescale.

>111 johnsimpson: I've noticed a sharp decline in numbers here. I'm not satisfied that COVID is declining that much. I think it's because testing is down. The same health department people give the vaccines and administer the tests. That's not good. There are a few private options for the tests, but testing is way down because of reduced hours and availability of persons to administer them.

>111 johnsimpson: We're all looking forward to getting our vaccinations! Have you had yours, or are you still waiting? The UK is really ahead of us, so I hope you will be in the clear soon!

>112 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, i think i would have to agree with you about Covid not declining, it is not good to administer vaccines and tests by the same people as it skews the figures. I am amazed that a lack of testing is down to reduced hours and staff, i would have thought it would have been imperative to get everyone tested. Over the last couple of weeks the total number of tests has not been shown but there was an increase in positive tests but that is now slowly coming down but the death figures are not declining sadly. The figures for vaccines given is increasing daily with now just over five million having the first dose.

>113 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, we haven't had our first vaccination yet, we are down the line on that, i think we will be in the fifth wave going by age. The latest figures for first dose vaccinations has hit five million with nearly half a million done yesterday. I think we may get our first vaccination sometime in February i hope.

Finished my Sixth book of 2021 this afternoon, The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman, HB - 377 pages.

18-1-21 to 23-1-21

>115 johnsimpson: Sometime february is not that far away John. The UK is doing good, far ahead of the EU. Fifth wave, Pff, feels like it doesn't it, but I hope it won't come to that! Wishing you and Karen a nice Sunday!

Congrats on reading 6 books already! >116 johnsimpson: and a good one too.

>118 figsfromthistle:, Thanks Anita my dear.

Found your Thread and starred it, John. Happy Sunday!

Hi John, just read your thread from top to bottom and read Karen had to have a biopsy. I hope the results are good and will come in soon. Give her all my best wishes!

>116 johnsimpson: I keep seeing that one come up on Instagram book posts. Would you recommend it? I've debated adding it to my list

>120 connie53:, >121 connie53:, Hi Connie my dear, nice to see you here, Karen is still waiting for the results but the wound has healed, the dissolvable stitches came away easily and she isn't too worried.

Sending love and hugs to you, Peet and the family my dear friend.

>122 ChelleBearss:, Hi Chelle my dear, I would definitely recommend The Thursday Murder Club, it is a slow burner as i think the author is enticing the reader in and wanting the next book in this series. When the book was up for a publishing deal there was a real battle with nine publishes all trying to get the book and it has sold massively over here in Hardback which has been a surprise for a debut novel.

We have had a good weekend and Karen's week off has raced by, she is not looking forward to tomorrow. Yesterday Karen made a homemade Rice Pudding in the slow cooker, it is really nice allowing for the fact that she forgot the Nutmeg and it was old Rice, if it was fresh and the Nutmeg added it would be awesome. Karen also made a Lemon and Lime traybake, i was drafted in to grate the Lemon and the two Limes, a job she doesn't like.

I finished my Sixth book of 2021 which was good and i hope to get two more in before month end.

Today we had a nice Sunday lunch followed quite a while later with some more rice pudding, Karen has finished a knitting job for a friend and i have read a little.

>125 johnsimpson: I haven't had rice pudding in a long time, but I like it (at least with nutmeg). After looking up the recipe for lemon and lime traybake, I decided I would like one. I found an award-winning British recipe, but I'll need to convert it to American measurements.

>125 johnsimpson: I am a huge fan of rice puddings and the memory of the odour of the rice, creamy milk and nutmeg wafting from the kitchen into the living area of our family home when I was a boy is still a vivid one.

Best wishes to you and Karen.

>125 johnsimpson: I mostly came by to say hello but now rice pudding in the slow cooker is on my to do list. I even have fresh rice and nutmeg. Any tips?

Now...hello, my friend! Hope you are well. Hugs and wells wishes to you and Karen.

>124 johnsimpson: Is that because the author is a bit of a celebrity there? I've seen mixed reviews on it, some love it and some say he only got published because he was known.
If you like it then I'll add it to my giant list! :)

>126 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, i hope you get to make the Lemon and Lime traybake, it is delicious dear friend.

>127 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, homemade Rice Pudding with Nutmeg is the best smell, and the taste is delicious.

>128 witchyrichy:, Hi Karen my dear, the Rice Pudding Karen made is quite simple in the slow cooker, she put in fresh Rice, Evaporated Milk, Double Cream and some butter, gave it a stir and put the lid on the slow cooker and set it off. Once done just grate some Nutmeg on and enjoy.

We are both well my dear, sending hugs to you and Bob dear friend.

>131 johnsimpson: Indeed John. Glad that Sibley showed some grit and helped see us home in Sri Lanka. Can't help thinking though that he will struggle terribly in India. Stays too far back in his crease and could have been out three times with close lbw calls.

>129 ChelleBearss:, Hi Chelle my dear, Richard Osman started out with a production company as a creative director and moved up to be the main Creative person at Endemol UK and has created many quiz shows, he has been script editor and then created and co-starred alongside his old friend Alexander Armstrong on Pointless which has been running since 2009. I was wrong in my earlier post, it was ten publishes that were after his book in a nine figure deal for two books. He has a good script writing track record and it is being sounded out to be made into a TV show and the film rights have been bought up by Steven Spielberg.

We both found it a nice pleasant read with one or two twists, i had no clue who had killed who and had ideas who it could be but i was wrong and had gone down the wrong track.

>133 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, Sibley did show some grit but as you say he could have been out a few times. Sadly we are going to have to give them a chance to play some of the best spinners in spin friendly conditions otherwise they will never learn as they don't get the chance in England.

>135 johnsimpson: He is selected, John, anyhow so I can only wish him all the best. I would choose him anyday of the week in England and on the faster tracks elsewhere but I think that the sub-continent is tough for him. At least he has application. Crawley's inability to score has surprised me though.

Finished book Seven late this afternoon, The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star by Vaseem Khan, PB - 356 pages.

23-1-21 to 26-1-21

>136 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, it is tough on Sibley but he has to learn and he will have learn't a lot from this two test series, as for Crawley i am as surprised as you are BUT he is our No.3, he should not be opening, we should have three openers in the squad. We need to have a settled batting order with backups in all positions rather than shifting players around the order if we are to be a top quality winning Test Team. You wouldn't put a midfielder up front in Football so stop doing this in Cricket.

Hi, John.

How did you like The Bookshop of the Broken-Hearted? Did I miss your comments on it? It looks pretty good. Novels with "Bookshop" in the title tend to draw me these days. :-)

>137 johnsimpson: That's my next Inspector Chopra. I love that series!

>132 johnsimpson: Rice pudding in the slow cooker, now there's an idea! And I still have some rice left. So double cream added and some butter, I think we will love it. Thanks John!

>139 jnwelch:, Hi Joe, mate, i loved The Bookshop of the Broken-Hearted, i have decided that this year i am not writing any comments as i mainly use the write-up on the back of the book anyway and this like many, many others, drew me in. To give you a little idea about the book, it is 1968, 24 years since Hannah Babel entered Auschwitz with her young son, and now she is in Hometown in the suburbs of Melbourne and she wants to open a Bookshop.

There are two stories, Hannah's and Tom's that then intertwine and throughout the book the author goes back and then back to the present which is 1968. I have another book that is on the pile to read, the back of the book grabbed me and i purchased it, The Stationery Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali, this may also grab your attention mate.

I hope you and Debbi are both well mate and we both send love and hugs to both of you, dear friend.

>140 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, we both love Inspector Chopra and this is another one that Karen read last year and has been badgering me to read so that she could talk to me about it along with many other books, lol. We have Book Four on the shelf and i will read that one soon.

We are also looking forward to his Malabar House series and the first book came out in 2020, Midnight at Malabar House and introduces the reader to India's first female police detective, Persis Wadia.

I hope all is well with you and send love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

>141 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, i think you will really love it and so will Marc if he likes Rice Pudding as well. Karen saw it on Facebook as she is part of the Mary Berry Cookery Group and thought what a good idea, it really does need fresh Pudding Rice as ours was a little old but it was still nice.

Hope all is well with you and Marc my dear, sending love and hugs to both of you from both of us dear friend.

After two cold and frosty days, today was quite mild in comparison and dry. We had a nice pot of tea to start the morning before we got up, washed and dressed and then came downstairs to get things sorted out. Karen got Felix's dishes clean and then put food and water down for him and i got our meds and vitamins out before Karen got breakfast ready. We decided to forego a drink as we wanted to get off to the Aldi and get the shopping done.

As soon as we had finished breakfast we set off to Featherstone and Karen went into the Aldi while i went next door into the B&M to pick up some Cat Soup. While i was in the B&M store i came across an old workmate who i haven't seen since the last Craftsmen's get together about 18 months ago. We had a good natter and then Susan his wife joined us, after a bit more chat we parted and i paid for the Cat Soup and got back in the car to wait for Karen. Karen joined me a short while later and we made our way home, after getting the shopping into the kitchen before i set off to the DIY store to look at some timber for shelving for Amy. Sadly they didn't have what i wanted but should have a delivery in a couple of days time.

I made my way home empty handed and ready for a pot of tea which i quickly made and then relaxed for a while. I got a notification to say my pen, ink and paper has left Tokyo and i should have a delivery on the 1st of February, i am really looking forward to the pen arriving.

We had a steady afternoon and had some lunch and more pots of tea.

Finished book 8 early yesterday afternoon, Agatha Raisin and the Witches' Tree by M.C. Beaton, PB - 232 pages.

26-1-21 to 29-1-21

My order from Pensachi in Japan came early, it came yesterday and i love the pen and the ink, haven't used the paper yet.

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Once back from dropping Karen at work i ordered this pen from Mr Pen, he is sadly closing down in April and stocks of the pens are diminishing rapidly so i thought i ought to order the Chaplain's Tankard with a Broad Cursive nib.

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>145 johnsimpson: Cat soup? I had to look it up. I don't think I've seen that in stores around here. I found some recipes online for it though.

Finished book 9 just before lunch today, The Store by James Patterson, PB - 322 pages.

29-1-21 to 1-2-21

JANUARY'S READING STATS

Books Read...................... 8

No of Authors.................... 8

New Authors...................... 3

Male Authors..................... 5

Female Authors.................. 3

Pages Read....................... 2,277

Daily Avg........................... 73.45

Book Length avg................. 284.63

Latest reading stats:

Books on shelves at 1-1-2021 - 2680
Books added in January - 5
Books read in January - 8

Revised book total - 2677

Pages to read at 1-1-2021- 1,105,064
Pages added in January - 1,660
Pages read in January - 2,277

Revised total pages to read - 1,104,447

>150 johnsimpson: You did well in January, John. Way more books than last year, when you went for the chunksters.

>151 johnsimpson: And doing well with more books read than added :-)

I should calculate my pages read for January, but I don't think it would be entirely accurate since I would just count the books as they were completed. I read LOTS OF PAGES from some anthologies that won't be completed until later. My numbers will look better when I add those in--and one of them will show up in February.

>152 FAMeulstee:, Thanks Anita my dear, i knew i would be able to up my game back on normal sized reads but i did enjoy my Chunkster year. I think i will leave it now for two or three years before i have another go as i still have a few 1,000+ page beauties to go at and a number of Classics that are over 700 pages.

The only books i can add are from the supermarket as everything else is closed, i could buy online but i do like to have a look around the shops be they new books, Antique and secondhand bookshops or Charity shops. When everything is back open i will end up having a big splurge especially when the Hospice shop opens, i think they are still taking donations so they will have lots of stock and at 50p per paperback i could spend just £10 and end up with 20 books, lol.

>153 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, my first finished book of February was begun on the 29th January but with one thing or another i still had 110 pages to finish when the month ended so it became a February book, that's how i do it so do not worry when you start a book, it is when you finish it that counts.

Book Series i have ongoing.

1. PC Peter Grant by Ben Aaronovitch 3 of 9
2. Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams 3 of 5
3. Lancashire by Trisha Ashley 4 of 6
4. Jackson Brodie by Kate Atkinson 2 of 5
5. Sean King and Michelle Maxwell by David Baldacci 2 of 6
6. Hamish Macbeth by M. C. Beaton 11 of 34
7. Agatha Raisin by M. C. Beaton 28 of 30
8. Tom Thorne by Mark Billingham 6 of 15
9. Ben Cooper and Diane Fry by Stephen Booth 1 of 18
10.Joe Pickett by C. J. Box 1 of 20
11. Jim Qwilleran Feline Whodunnit by Lilian Jackson Braun 7 of 29
12. Kate Shackleton by Frances Brody 1 of 11
13. Robert Langdon by Dan Brown 2 of 5
14. Heather Wells Mysteries by Meg Cabot 3 of 5
15. Inspector Montalbano by Andrea Camilleri 5 of 24
16. Kushiel's Legacy by Jacqueline Carey 1 of 9
17. Dales Detective Agency by Julia Chapman 4 of 5
18. Jack Reacher by Lee Child 11* of 32 Book 11 currently being read.
19. Jack Ryan by Tom Clancy 4 of 16
20. Myron Bolitar by Harlen Coben 3 of 11
21. Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer 6 of 8
22. Lucky Santangelo by Jackie Collins 1 of 8
23. Harry Bosch by Michael Connelly 13 of 24
24. Terry McCaleb by Michael Connelly 1 of 2
25. Mickey Haller by Michael Connelly 1 of 6
26. Rutshire Chronicles by Jilly Cooper 10 of 11
27. Kay Scarpetta by Patricia Cornwell 6 of 25
28. Maze Runner by James Dashner 1 of 5
29. Vicky Hill by Hannah Dennison 1 of 5
30. Winston Churchill by Michael Dobbs 1 of 4
31. Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson 3 of 10
32. Stephanie Plum by Janet Evanovich 21 of 26
33. Max Holt by Janet Evanovich 3 of 6
34. Stephanie Plum between the novels by Janet Evanovich 2 of 4
35. Barnaby & Hooker by Janet Evanovich 2 of 3
36. Miss Dimont Mystery by T. P. Fielden 1 of 3
37. Kingsbridge by Ken Follett 2 of 3
38. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 7 of 10
39. Cormoran Strike by Robert Galbraith 3 of 5
40. Luke Carlton Series by frank Gardner 1 of 2
41. Tavistock Family by Tess Gerritsen 1 of 2
42. Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles 6 of 14
43. Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind 1 of 17
44. Ruth Galloway Mystery by Elly Griffiths 2 of 13
45. Jake Brigance by John Grisham 1 of 3
46. Theodore Boone by John Grisham 6 of 7
47. Ty Hauck by Andrew Gross 2 of 4
48. Culver Valley Crime by Sophie Hannah 1 of 10
49. Morland Dynasty by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles 14 of 35
50. Jack Caffrey by Mo Hayder 1 of 7
51. Dwarves by Markus Heitz 1 of 5
52. Honeycote by Veronica Henry 1 of 3
53. Dalziel and Pascoe by Reginald Hill 8 of 24
54. Prior's Ford by Evelyn Hood/Houston 4 of 7
55. Book of Silence / Duncton Chronicles 3 of 6
56. Bellevue-Sur-Mer by Celia Imrie 1 of 3
57. Milton St.John Trilogy by Christina Jones 1 of 3
58. Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan 1 of 15
59. Alex Delaware by Jonathan Kellerman 2 of 35
60. Tina Boyd by Simon Kernick 6 of 7

The last few days have been pretty good, i managed to get the timber for Amy's shelves and i picked up the wooden brackets for her on Thursday. This was all part of a busy day for me, after breakfast i set off out to the Asda to do the little bit of shopping required and once done i made my way into Wakefield via the pharmacy to pick up some patches owed to me. Once i had got the patches i made my way to Sainsbury's supermarket to try and pick up the three items i couldn't get at Asda, i managed two out of three. I left Sainsbury's and made my way to Wickes DIY to pick up the timberboard for Amy's shelves and then onto B&Q DIY store to get the wooden shelf brackets and once done i made my way home.

I unpacked everything out of the car and put most of it away and then had a very welcome pot of tea or two. The rest of the day was spent relaxing.

>147 johnsimpson: It's always great to receive something before the actual delivery date isn't it?

>150 johnsimpson: Excellent stats!

Enjoy the rest of the week.

Hi John, You hit me with a BB: De boekwinkel voor gebroken harten is now on my digital shelves!

Hi John!

Rice pudding in the slower cooker sounds fabulous. I have made it in the Instant Pot and it came out beautifully, but Bill won’t eat it, so I really have to be in the mood for it or it goes to waste.

>145 johnsimpson: … i went next door into the B&M to pick up some Cat Soup. I can’t even imagine. What, pray tell, is Cat Soup?

>147 johnsimpson: Lovely Pen and supplies!

>150 johnsimpson: and >151 johnsimpson: Impressive stats, as always.

>156 johnsimpson: You have an amazing number of series going.

I hope you and Karen are doing well and that Amy is doing well in her pregnancy.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen and kitty skritches to Felix.

Book Series i have ongoing Part Two.

61.Walsh Family by Marian Keyes 4 of 5
62.Baby Ganesh Agency Investigations by Vaseem Khan 3 of 5
63. Patrik Hedstrom by Camilla Lackberg 1 of 10
64. Logan McRae by Stuart Macbride 5 of 12
65. Roderick Alleyn by Ngaio Marsh 6 of 32
66. No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith 18 of 20
67. Isabel Dalhousie by Alexander McCall Smith 11 of 15
68. Berrybender Narrative by Larry McMurtry 1 of 4
69. Paul Brenner by Nelson De Mille 1 of 2
70. John Corey by Nelson De Mille 2 of 8
71. Spellsong Cycle by L. E. Modesitt jr 1 of 5
72. Temeraire by Naomi Novik 3 of 9
73. Alex Cross by James Patterson 25 of 29
74. Women's Murder Club by James Patterson 19 of 22
75. Michael Bennett by James Patterson 12 of 14
76. Witch and Wizard by James Patterson 2 of 5
77. Private by James Patterson 8 of 17
78. Confessions by James Patterson 2 of 4
79. NYPD Red by James Patterson 4 of 6
80. Zoo by James Patterson 1 of 2
81. Invisible by James Patterson 1 of 2
82. Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine 1 of 3
83. School at the Top of the Dale by Gervase Phinn 1 of 2
84. His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman 1 of 3
85. Inspector Rebus by Ian Rankin 4 of 23
86. Temperance Brennan by Kathy Reichs 3 of 22
87. Liz Carlyle by Stella Rimington 1 of 10
88. DCI Banks by Peter Robinson 1 of 26
89. Jack Sheffield by Jack Sheffield 11 of 12
90. Kate Shugak by Dana Stabenow 1 of 22
91. Thea Osborne by Rebecca Tope 6 of 17
92. Trinity and Redemption by Leon Uris 1 of 2
93. Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks 3 of 4
94. Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear 6 of 15
95. Hope and Glory by Herman Wouk 1 of 2

>158 figsfromthistle:, Thanks Anita my dear, i was so pleased to get my Stationery items three days early and i love the pen and ink colour.

>159 connie53:, You will really enjoy it Connie my dear.

>160 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, the Rice Pudding cooked in the slow cooker was great, it's just a shame that only you like it and so you have to be in the mood for it.

Now Cat Soup is basically a meat or fish broth and we add it to existing food that Felix has picked at to spice it up a bit for him. The Felix Brand of Cat food do a meat selection pack which consists of 2 packets with Beef, with Chicken and with Lamb, the Fish selection is 2 packets with Cod, with Plaice and with Tuna.

The new pens and ink are lovely and i am glad you like my stats. As for the ongoing Series, i have added the remainder and so have 95 series ongoing at the moment.

We are both fine and we popped over to Selby to take the shelves and brackets and i put them up for them and we took over the Cot, safety gates, car seat and Carry Cot. This was done on Sunday as i am having Carpal Tunnel surgery on my left hand next week and wouldn't be able to get over to them to do the shelves until the beginning of April and we didn't want to leave it that late. Amy is blooming now and starting to feel the baby kick.

Hope that you, Bill and Jenna and the kitties are all well and send love and hugs to you all and please give Kitty Skritches to your lovely kitties.

Finished my Tenth book of 2021 late this afternoon, Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child, PB - 522 pages. It has taken me 36 days to finish my Tenth book of 2021, in 2020 it took me 152 days to reach this milestone although they were Chunksters, lol.

1-2-21 to 5-2-21

>150 johnsimpson: great stats!

I have read books from only 14 of your series, John. About to be 15 because I have started Peter Grant today.

Wonderful to see Joe Root playing so well and Bess taking wickets against top top players. I'm glad I was wrong about Sibley and he got to show his mettle against a very good opening attack.

I've dipped into several of the series, but I think I'm only actively pursuing about 5 of them--and one of those I'm not reading in any particular order (the Ngaio Marsh one).

>166 LovingLit:, Thanks Megan my dear.

>167 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, i have 39 completed series but one or two authors may add to their series in the next year or two and i have 152 series that i have yet to start. At least all this gives me something to aim at, lol.

Root is in fantastic form at the moment and he likes to make 'Daddy' hundreds, Sibley provides the glue for others to bat around and i was sad for him that he got out in the last over of the day. Bess bowled well and his confidence must have been sky high when he got Kohli out, sadly Pant took a good liking to Leach but credit to Root to keep giving Leach a go when he was taking such a mauling, it showed Leach that he had confidence in him which you can do with such a big score behind you.

The West Indies result was as magnificent as it was unexpected chasing down 395 with an inexperienced side, the one series that is interesting is Pakistan Vs South Africa, the SA boys are so disappointing but obviously the Pakistani boys are on home turf and utilising it well.

Have a good week ahead mate.

>168 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, with all of these series i am not surprised that you are only actively following 5 of them, some are probably more UK based and have not travelled over to you. Once again i think the amount of series i am following relates to my love of stats and Cricket possibly.

Finished my 11th book of 2021 just after midnight Sunday morning, The Wandering Wombles by Elizabeth Beresford, PB - 169 pages. This is one from my childhood and lovely to read again after so many years.

5-2-21 to 7-2-21

The last few days have been mixed on the weather front, On Thursday it rained heavily all day, i got soaked twice trying to empty the waterbutt to avoid it running out and pooling in an area i really didn't want water to be. On Friday we woke up to a small layer of snow but it quickly disappeared.

Karen woke up with a migraine and couldn't go into work, i made sure she was OK and had a drink and then went and did the small amount of shopping we needed. Once back i put it all away and then checked on Karen, i made us a drink and left Karen in peace and went downstairs to read. The rest of the afternoon was spent making sure Karen had a drink and Felix decided to keep her company for a good couple of hours.

Karen was fit enough to go to work on Saturday, we had a quiet morning but outside it was bitterly cold with high winds. I had a nice afternoon reading and had some lunch before reading again. After having a curry for tea i spent the evening listening to Radio Two and doing my diary. As i went to get Karen from work it was snowing and was like a blizzard, this was at 9.30am but by midnight it had changed to rain.

Sunday was quite dry after the rain during the night, Karen did some baking and made me a couple of bread and butter puddings using some of the Panettone. We prepared the vegetables ready to make Sunday lunch and then started to catch up with the back to back episodes of Death in Paradise. We put the Lamb in the oven and later put the vegetables on and not long after we had a nice Sunday lunch.

The rest of the afternoon and evening was nice and relaxing for both of us.

Today began bitterly cold with occasional snow showers and that has been the pattern for the rest of the day.

After breakfast i took Karen to work and after dropping her off i moved towards the re-cycling area and parked up and read with a coffee in the travel mug. It was pointless going back home as i needed to go into Wakefield to do some banking and i thought they opened at 10am. As it turned out they opened at 9.30am and by the time i got there it was 9.50am, i quickly did the banking that needed to be done and then picked up the 14 in 1 multi groomer trimmer from Boots so that Karen can give me a much needed haircut. Once i had the multi groomer i made my way home and made a pot of tea and settled down to watch the last hour of play in the Cricket.

As soon as the Cricket had finished i got on with my book notes, i had five books to write up and do the stats. Halfway through i had to pop out to Tanya's to pick up some wax melts that Karen had ordered from her. Once i was back from doing my errand i went back to my book work with a fresh pot of tea.

I watched the lunchtime news both national and local and then set the DVD recorder up and then made myself some lunch. Once lunch was finished i picked up my book and read for the rest of the afternoon until it was time to go and pick Karen up from work.
We had a pot of tea once we were home and then Karen made us some tea.

We are having a nice evening, i am on here and Karen is doing some knitting whilst watching Long Lost Family on TV.

>173 johnsimpson: >174 johnsimpson: Seems like you are having a lot of snow. Is this more than you normally receive this time of year -- or is it pretty normal?

I'm sorry to hear about Karen's migraine. I taught through a nasty headache yesterday, but it definitely wasn't migraine level (I would have had to call of classes then)! *hugs* to you both, friend.

Good afternoon, John! Have you had a lot of snow in Wakefield? I saw the photos that Jenny (lunacat) posted on Facebook, which were quite impressive!

I really enjoyed The Thursday Murder Club when I read it too, John. It must feel like the books are over so quickly after reading all those chunksters last year. Good luck with your surgery.

>175 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, the snow this year is the most we have had since 2018 when we had The Beast From The East. Over the last 30 years the amount of snow we have had around where we are has decreased with some years having no snow at all.

The last big snow event was 1981, this was the third year running when we had prolonged snow and very cold temperatures. We have the occasional three or four day snowfall but these are getting scarce, we are more likely to have prolonged rainfall leading to flooding than prolonged snowfall. A lot of this is down to global warming, i can remember foggy, frosty days from mid October through to the end of February, hard frosts and snow, all this in the 1970's and this is not happening as much nowadays

>176 scaifea:, Hi Amber my dear, it is not often that Karen gets a migraine but when she does it tends to mean a day in bed in the dark. Karen is fine now and back at work. *hugs* to you dear friend.

>177 kidzdoc:, Hi Darryl mate, this is the most snow we have had since The Beast from the East in 2018 but compared to where Jenny is it is not a lot. The bulk of the snow in Yorkshire is in the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors and towards the Pennines.

>178 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg my dear, i am glad that you liked The Thursday Murder Club as i did, the books do seem to be going quicker but i am enjoying it. I did like the Chunkster year and may do it again in three or four years time but i am going to enjoy all the books that Karen read last year and was annoyed with me that she couldn't talk about until i had read them.

The only problem now is that we cannot peruse bookshops be they new books, Charity shop books or Secondhand and antiquarian bookshops.

I had my Covid test today and if i hear nothing tomorrow then the surgery can go ahead, the left hand is not too bad but should be a lot better after surgery. Sadly surgery on my right hand has not gone well, everything was fine until the 26th December when i noticed that the first two fingers felt a bit stiff and numb but only from late evening, this has gradually got worse and at the moment i could chop my thumb off as it feels so tender and the first two fingers just feel like sausages and are numb.

>182 johnsimpson: Sorry to hear that your surgery has not gone as expected John. Are they able to do anything about this?

I have never lived anywhere where there has been much snow. I grew up very close to the sea and I only remember it snowing three times in all the time I lived there. (Two of those times were quite dramatic though, as we had severe blizzard conditions and the whole town was snowed in). And where we live now does get more snow, but usually not more than an inch or so and it rarely hangs around for more than a day or so.

>183 SandDune:, Hi Rhian my dear, i will chat with the Consultant on Friday to see what can be done next on the right hand.

Dropping in to say hello.

I am sorry to hear that the right hand is not doing well. Are there certain exercises that you were given to help with the swelling? I hope that your discomfort is temporary and that surgery on the left goes well.

>185 figsfromthistle:, Hi Anita my dear, i did the exercises that they told me to do and the hand and fingers felt good, just a little bit of tenderness around the wound area. At first i thought the pain which started around 6pm was due to the changeable weather and maybe i had done a bit much with the hand.

As January progressed the pain started getting earlier and earlier and the weather conditions didn't seem to make much difference and i wasn't really doing anything to cause any pain. By the end of January i was waking up with numb first two fingers and the thumb just ached and ached to the extent now that i could just chop it off. The thumb feels as if i have hit it with a big hammer.

Looking back now, i think that the pain i had in my hand and the aches i felt in my fingers about 18 months ago was not arthritis as i put it down to but the start of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The straw that broke the Camel's back, eg when i did the block paving drive should not have caused so much pain if there were not underlying issues as the previous Monday and the Monday the day before i finished it off i had no aches or pain in the hand or fingers but on the Tuesday night after i had finished the hand ached and the Wednesday morning, i was in agony from the elbow down. I will chat with Mr Tuson in the morning before he does my left hand and see what he thinks and hopefully recommends. I am hoping the left hand goes OK as it is not causing me any massive issues but he wants to catch it before it starts to develop problems, he like me thinks at the moment it is arthritis issues as i thought with the right hand.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

It has not been a bad Thursday, we awoke to another bitterly cold and frosty morning, i made us a pot of tea to enjoy in bed and for once Felix decided to join and stay with us, i didn't blame him.

We had our breakfast and after Felix had a feed he went out, we were just setting off out when Felix decided it was still a bit too cold and wanted to come in, Karen got out of the car and let him in and then we got off on our way.

First stop was the pharmacy to pick up our meds and then into Wakefield to do some banking and when that was done we went to the Aldi at Snowhill to pick up bits we couldn't get yesterday.

Once everything was done we made our way home and unpacked and put everything away and then had a pot of tea. Karen put the washing on the airers and after finishing our tea Karen gave me a haircut with the new grooming clippers, she made a good job of my hair and it feels so much better. Karen then went and washed her hair while i pottered about and then we had a pot of tea and watched Escape to the Country.

When EttC finished i popped out to pick up some patches that were owed to me by the pharmacy and then picked up a bag of Ericaceous Compost for the Camellia plant Karen picked up from the Aldi and after this i went and put some diesel in the car.

Once home we had a pot of tea and watched a bit of TV, i have heard nothing from Novus about my Covid test yesterday and so everything must be OK and i can have my Carpal Tunnel op on my left hand in the morning.

We have had a nice evening and will be going up to bed shortly, we will have a nice drink and read for a bit until lights out. Night, Night.

>186 johnsimpson: >187 johnsimpson: I wish you well on your carpal tunnel surgery. I have it in my wrists/hands, but fortunately when it flares, wearing a brace for a few days seems to do the trick. It usually flares up from a repetitive activity such as pulling books off shelves. I've learned to try to limit the amount I do, and I'm learning to do it two-handed instead of the natural way of grabbing them between the thumb and rest of the hand.

Good luck with the surgery!

>182 johnsimpson: Sorry about your right hand, John. I hope you will get good news about that on Friday.
Good luck with the next surgery!

>188 thornton37814:, Thanks Lori my dear, surgery seems to have gone well.

>189 drneutron:, Thanks Jim, mate.

>190 FAMeulstee:, Hi Anita my dear, surgery on my left hand seems to have gone well and the verdict on the right hand is that the fingers are arthritic, the inside of my thumb palm side is Tendonitis and the outside of my thumb is Arthritis. I have to monitor the situation and see what it is like with warmer weather to get a better handle on things and if still the same i could have an injection on the tendonitis side and see how that goes and if the outer pain stays the same or gets worse i would need surgery to take about an inch or so of bone out, this would have to be done in hospital rather than the clinic where i have had the Carpal Tunnel surgery done.

I had my Carpal Tunnel surgery done on my left hand this morning, all seems to have gone well and in the last hour the numbness in my fingers due to anaesthetic has worn off and now i can feel some pain and tenderness, which is to be expected.

The verdict on the right hand is that the fingers are arthritic, the inside of my thumb palm side is Tendonitis and the outside of my thumb is Arthritis. I have to monitor the situation and see what it is like with warmer weather to get a better handle on things and if still the same i could have an injection on the tendonitis side and see how that goes and if the outer pain stays the same or gets worse i would need surgery to take about an inch or so of bone out, this would have to be done in hospital rather than the clinic where i have had the Carpal Tunnel surgery done.

All in all i am fine and have coped on my own with Karen at work since 1.30pm, she is due home in about an hour.

Finished my Twelfth book of 2021 just before 5pm this evening, Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase by Louise Walters, PB - 294 pages.

7-2-21 to 12-2-21

>193 johnsimpson: Hi John. Good to hear that the surgery on your left hand went well. I hope it will heal fast and well. But I am sorry that your right hand is still bothering you. Arthritis and tendonitis. I hope they can help you with it.

Have a good weekend, and a good weekend to Karen, as well.

Hi John. Congrats on the left hand. I wonder if your issues with the right might be what I have, something I had never heard of until my physiotherapist identified it as De Quervain's. Google it yourself or check this site: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/de-quervains-tenosynovitis/sympto...

When I am having a flare up, it hurts like hell and I can barely move it or lift a piece of paper. I have a splint I wear and it does help a lot. Once it calms down, I can go a long time, months, between flare ups. It's something that will, apparently, always come and go but it helps to know what it is and to be able to treat it. I do go for physio sessions when it starts and that helps, too.

Hi John, good to hear the surgery went well. I hope the pain is bearable. Speedy recovery.

Glad that your surgery went well! Hope you aren't in any pain now

Hi John!

>164 johnsimpson: Thanks for the explanation of Cat Soup. You and Karen pamper Felix, which is as it should be.

>165 johnsimpson: That was my first Jack Reacher, suggested at one of the Friends of the Library book sales. I loved it, got all caught up, and have read each new one as it’s come out.

>193 johnsimpson: I’m glad to hear the surgery went well. I do hope that the pain in your right hand, due to tendonitis and arthritis, lessens soon.

Sending love and hugs to you and Karen. Kitty skritches for the pampered boy, of course!

Hi, John! I'm so glad to hear that the surgery went well!

I will chime in with my pleasure at your successful op, John.

Mixed day for England. Well done by Ali getting Kohli but I fear their score of 300 plus will be a tough one to match on this track. Stone and Leach bowled well.

Love to you and Karen by the way!

See that England have set an extraordinary record today. The highest total in test cricket without conceding any extra whatsoever. Well done to the team and especially the bowlers and Foakes.

Burns already gone and I think Crawley needs to come back in.

Good to see that your surgery went well, John. I hope for your sake that the weather warms up soon and that will be the solution for your right wrist and hand.

Hi John,
I hope your left hand is recovering well and your right isn't being as painful. And that you have good distractions from whatever pain remains.

>195 EllaTim:, Thank you Ella my dear.

>196 jessibud2:, Thank you Shelley my dear, i had a look at the link and it was very interesting. I will give the thumb a chance as the weather improves and see how it goes, if it is still the same i will get in touch with my doctor, hopefully by then more appointments will be available and i can discuss and show him the problem area.

>197 connie53:, Thank you Connie my dear, the pain isn't too bad and i can take the big bulky bandage off tomorrow and just have a dressing over the wound area.

>198 ChelleBearss:, Thank you Chelle my dear, the pain isn't too bad.

>207 johnsimpson: That will be nice to have less bulk!

Glad all went well with the surgery and that the pain is manageable.

>199 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, like most things the manufacturers want as much of our money as possible and it is the same with pets, i had never heard of Cat Soup before Karen found it and it has its uses. Felix can be a bit picky with his food and rather than waste some of his food that is still edible, half a packet of Cat Soup rejuvenates the food and he is conned into thinking it is fresh food.

I love Jack Reacher and like you i didn't start with the first book, mine was The Hard Way and now i have read the first Eleven with book 12 in the wings.

The big bulky bandage is now off and the pain has eased although if i put my hand down awkwardly i do get a shock of pain. Mr Tuson had a little bit of trouble parting the tendons and the hand and wrist is quite bruised compared to how my right hand looked once the bandage came off.

Sending love and hugs to both of you and Kitty Skritches.

>200 scaifea:, Thank you Amber my dear.

>201 PaulCranswick:, >202 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, it was so funny watching Kohli's reaction to being bowled, i thought he was going to review it, lol. As it turned out 300 for 6 wasn't too bad when they were eventually bowled out for 329 but then we were bamboozled and skittled out for 134 with only Foakes showing some determination.

The op has gone well so far, the big bandage is off and the wound looks nice and tidy despite him having problems parting the tendons which has led to a badly bruised hand and wrist but it is not too painful.

>203 PaulCranswick:, Foakes kept really well and not to concede any extras is great but we just did not perform on what was a shabby wicket BUT when they can score a combined total of 600, we should have done a bit better.

Burns is a liability and didn't seem to move his feet sufficiently to try and combat the spin of Ashwin and Axar, Lawrence is at the beginning of his Test career and will, i hope, have learnt something from his two knocks. Root apart, the others seem to have one good knock and then don't know how to knuckle down and graft.

Rant over and let's see what happens in Ahmedabad in the day/night test next week.

>204 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg my dear, the weather has started to pick up and i will see how this affects the right hand.

>205 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, it is nice to have the big bandage off and with the weather warming up it will be nice to see what happens to the right hand.

>204 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg my dear, the weather has started to pick up and i will see how this affects the right hand.

>205 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, it is nice to have the big bandage off and with the weather warming up it will be nice to see what happens to the right hand.

>208 thornton37814:, Hi Lori my dear, it is always nice to get the bulky bandage off and i can do a little bit more but i am more aware of being careful in what i do.

>209 figsfromthistle:, Thanks Anita my dear, i am being careful as it is still a bit tender.

Finished my 13th book of 2021 The Scent of the Night by Andrea Camilleri, PB - 228 pages, just after lunch on Monday.

12-2-21 to 15-2-21

>142 johnsimpson: I ended up loving The Bookshop of the Broken Hearted, too, John. Hannah and Tom - what great characters, and what a contrast between their personal histories and temperaments.

How did you like Bad Luck and Trouble? I've had a lot of Reacher books that I've liked a lot, and that certainly was one of them.

Same question re The Scent of Night? I'm a big Inspector Montalbano fan. We're going to get a couple of more translations from Italian, even though Camilleri, may he rest in peace, passed away.

The last few days have been pretty good with an unwanted but not unsurprising incident on Sunday morning.

I had my Carpal Tunnel operation on my Left hand on Friday morning, i asked about the issue with my Right hand and found out that the right Thumb has two issues, Tendonitis on the palm side of the Thumb and Arthritis on the outer lower part of the Thumb. The rest of Friday was spent on my own from 1.30pm as Karen had been asked to swap around her Friday and Saturday shifts.

Saturday we were up early as Karen was in work for 9am and a colleague was giving her a lift. I went and got the papers for myself and neighbour Margaret. Once Karen was home at 5.15pm we had a nice evening.

Sunday morning we awoke with the alarm and Karen went to make the pot of tea we enjoy in bed, it was a bit chilly and Karen thought she had put the heating thermostat too low. She turned the thermostat up and nothing happened, she thought the boiler had tripped off. When she got into the kitchen she found that their was nothing showing on the boiler, no power, nothing. The boiler had finally given up the ghost after 17 years, we were aware that the boiler needed changing and we had been waiting for a policy to mature, the policy had matured and been paid out and i had spoken to Tom, our Plumber to replace the boiler and we were going to look at doing this in the week beginning the 15th February.

I messaged Tom and twenty minutes later he replied to say that he and Graham would come to fit the new boiler on Tuesday afternoon. We borrowed a couple of heaters from Margaret and put the Electric fire on in the living room and shut both the doors to keep the heat in. Luckily from Monday the cold weather would disappear and it would be a lot warmer.

We made the best of Sunday knowing that we would be nice and warm from Tuesday teatime.

Monday was a steady day, Karen was at work and once she had gone i watched the Cricket, i had the Electric fire on and the living room was nice and toasty. Once the Cricket had finished i got on with my book and finished it just before 1pm, i selected my next book and after setting up the DVD recorder i made myself some lunch. The rest of the afternoon was spent reading and drinking tea, Karen finished at 5pm and did the shopping before getting herself and Rob a coffee, she waited in Rob's car while he did his bit of shopping and then he brought his mum home. By the time we had put the shopping away and had something to eat we had time to watch a couple of programmes and then it was time for bed.

Hi John. Since reading last, you had carpel tunnel surgery. I've had the surgery on both my hands. I blame near constant use of the computer for 36 years at the university. When not using power point, I had a lot of constant emails waiting when in my office.

It was awhile ago since I had the surgery, and within the first weeks, I was pain free!
I have scars on each wrists to prove my ability to heal and get through it!

Good luck. I hope you heal fast.

I love your descriptions of consuming tea. Do you have a favorite?

Tuesday morning we had breakfast before Dave the Taxi came to pick Karen up to take her to work, once Karen had gone i went to the shop to get a Euromillions lottery ticket for that night as the jackpot was £156 million.

Once back from the shop i cleared the cupboard under the boiler and under the sink ready for Tom and Graham to fit the boiler. I had a few pots of tea and read until Tom and Graham arrived just after 2pm. Karen got home at 5.15pm and by 5.45pm everything was up and running and we had heat.

Wednesday morning and while having breakfast i checked the lottery ticket and surprise surprise, i hadn't won anything, Friday's jackpot is now £176 million. We had a nice relaxing day.

Ah, well. You know if you do win, we’ll all expect visits! 😀

Yes, yes, Jim is right! We want to meet you and Karen.

Sounds like you are having a busy time of it, John, and not all good events seemingly. It is good to have heat though, isn't it. I had my furnace replaced this year all I was debating whether to do it or not since they will be pulling down these places in the next few years.

Hope you're having a good weekend!

If you win £176 million, John, would you mind terribly buying me the latest editions of Wisden and Rothmans as they are a bit pricey over here?!

Have a great weekend both of you.

>220 drneutron:, Hi Jim, if i win the big one, now £180 million on Tuesday i think we will be on a year long visit to all my/our LT friends.

>221 Whisper1:, Hi Linda my dear, if we get the chance, lottery win or not, we will come over and visit.

>222 Familyhistorian:, Hi Meg my dear, things have been a bit busy recently but hope all is settled down now. The hand surgery seems to have gone well and i have the stitches out on the 26th, the heating is working brilliantly and Amy is really blossoming with her pregnancy.

There has been talk of ground heating or air source heating coming in as the Government want to phase out gas and electric heating. At the moment both options are in their infancy and at £13,000 i am not surprised, the new boiler, fitted, was £1530, a big difference.

>223 ChelleBearss:, Hi Chelle my dear, not a bad start to the weekend but next week will be better as Karen is taking the last of this financial years holidays and she will be off all week. Sadly we can't really go anywhere but if the weather is good as it is supposed to be, then we should get one or two walks in.

>224 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, if i win the now £180 million on Tuesday i will get the for you, i have a subscription with Wisden and get it through the post on the day it goes on sale, i pay £25 for my copy as opposed to the full price of £55, it has been like this for the last three years and i have expected it to go up to say £30 but nothing has been said about it going up this year.

Karen is working today and due home in about an hour but she is off all next week so it should be good.

>218 Whisper1:, Hi Linda my dear, the surgery seems to have gone well and i have the stitches out on the 26th. As you rightly say i love my pots of tea, i do like a big pot/mug and have a pint pot as i used to have one when i worked at the Colliery. I usually have Ty-phoo tea and love Yorkshire tea and my specialty tea is Earl Grey with milk.

Thursday was a very relaxing day for both of us.

Friday Karen was at work, after she had gone i got on with my book and finished it before noon. After finishing my book i got on with book stats and notes and filled all my different notebooks and files and then selected my next book. I pottered about during the afternoon until Karen came home form work.

Today we had a pleasant morning, after breakfast we put the washing on the airers before having a pot of tea. Time passed nicely and soon it was time for Karen to go to work, after she left i played Freecell on my phone for 30 minutes before cleaning a couple of my pens in the ultrasonic cleaner that Karen got me for Christmas. Once clean i left them to dry. made a pot of tea and read for a while with Final Score on the TV in the background. Once the pens were dry i put Diamine Marine in the Jinhao x450 and Robert Oster Caffe Crema in the Jinhao x250, they both look lovely. A few pots of tea later and i warmed up my Curry and Indian bites for my tea before firing up the laptop to come on here.

Finished book 14 yesterday, Artemis Fowl and the Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer, PB - 322 pages.

15-2-21 to 19-2-21

I'm glad to know your hand is healing well.

>232 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, it seems to be healing nicely although if i catch it wrong it does hurt but then again it is only a week since surgery.

>230 johnsimpson: An ultrasonic cleaner, I must have missed that! Really nice and useful.
And then you can use all those wonderful colours in your pens. Do you write with those as well? Caffe Crema seems like a difficult colour to use for writing.
Have a nice weekend John, and to Karen as well. If you have similar weather as we are having going for a walk should be a nice option.

Hi John!

Well, I’m glad the Carpal Tunnel Surgery went well although all that bruising can’t have been fun. I’m glad Karen’s got time off and even though you can’t travel as you’re used to doing, I’m sure you’ll find things to keep you both happily occupied.

Sending hugs and love to you both. Give the pampered kitty skritches from his American friends.

>228 johnsimpson: Good man - it would be nice to see the lottery land in West Yorkshire!

Hello Stranger! Sorry I have been MIA. Glad to hear that the surgery went well. Hope they can help with the other hand as well. Hugs to you and Karen, and tell her no more migraines! Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Hugs.

Oh, Dio mio, I've missed a lot here. I'm glad to read that your surgery went well and here is hope for a speedy recovery.
You did some wonderful reading so far.
Sending lots of hugs and love to both of you xx

>234 EllaTim:, Hi Ella my dear, the Ultrasonic cleaner does a good job on cleaning pens out so that there is no colour residue left. I currently have 21 pens inked and have been writing in my A5 diary daily, this and my book notes is just about the only writing i am doing at the moment.

The Caffe Crema colour is nice to write with although it seems to be a bit wet which could be down to the nib but now it has been in for 24 hours it may have settled down. Writing to friends i would use colours to make it special.

I think you are right that we are having the same weather and so i think we will be able to go for a couple of nice walks. Hope you and Marc have had a nice weekend.

>235 karenmarie:, Hi Karen my dear, the hand is not too bad and the bruising has just about gone but i was surprised how much there was.

With the weather forecast for the week we should be able to get out for a couple of nice walks during the week. Tomorrow at 5pm the Prime Minister we reveal his 'roadmap' out of lockdown for us, hopefully in a month's time we will be able to go on one of our date days. I think most people are expecting it to be a gradual easing to make sure we don't have to go into lockdown again.

Sending love and hugs and kitty skritches from their English friend.

>236 PaulCranswick:, Hi Paul, fingers crossed for Wednesday morning when i check my ticket to see if the money is coming my way. If i was lucky to win the big one i would have to wait to start travelling around to see all my LT friends, we should find out tomorrow how we start to come out of lockdown.

>237 Berly:, Hi Kim my dear, lovely to see you here, things have been quite busy for you over the last few weeks and so any visit, however far apart is always welcome as far as i am concerned.

The surgery has gone well although with the amount of bruising i had, i am not surprised that it is still a bit tender at times and the fact that he had a bit of a struggle to part the tendons. Karen has been a bit surprised with the migraines as she hasn't had anything that used to trigger them in the past. We had a nice weekend and are making the most of her week off.

Sending love and hugs to you and the family and i will have to pop along to your thread for a good catch-up.

>238 Ameise1:, Hi Barbara my dear, the surgery has gone well, the amount of bruising was a bit of a surprise but he did say that he had trouble parting the tendons. I am still getting some pain and i think it is because of the tendon issue.

I am really enjoying my reading this year being back on the regular sized books and series'.

Sunday was a relaxing day mainly due in part to neither of us having much sleep, Karen woke up suffering from trapped wind and as much as me patting her back and then she tried Deflatine, Milk of Magnesia and a small pot of Liquorice and Peppermint tea. I joined Karen in a pot of tea and gradually i dropped off to sleep but Karen didn't get settled back to sleep until 6.20am from 2.30am.

We had a pot of tea in bed when the alarm went off at 8.30am but after our tea we dropped back off to sleep and finally got up at 10.15am.

We had breakfast and then pottered about until we decided to make Sunday lunch, after a nice lunch we listened to Johnnie Walkers 70's show on radio 2 and Karen fell asleep in the armchair. I made sure she didn't sleep too long so as not to spoil her nighttime sleep.

Monday was a good day, the weather was nice and bright. We had a pot of tea in bed and then once washed and dressed we came downstairs to get everything sorted out. We had breakfast and then got on with a few jobs, I did some pruning in the back garden and tidied up the leaves that had collected in the area where Karen's veg plot is going to be. Karen decided to clean up the two high chairs we have, the one we kept from when Hannah was little and one that Amy's friend Danni delivered to us on Saturday morning. While Karen did this i went for a walk to the post box to post a letter. Once back i made us a pot of tea before we got on with the next job.

Karen sorted her cupboards out where she stores all her knitting while i rang Yorkshire Water to ask to be put on a water meter. We got our annual water and sewerage bill which is £726.87 for the year, payable in ten instalments. We looked at the online water meter checker and it would reduce our bill to around £460. They gave me a date of 13th of May but if there is a cancellation we may get it done sooner. I also rang the doctors to make an appointment with the practice nurse to have my stitches out, i will have them out on Friday at 10.20am.

When we had finished our relative tasks we had a pot of tea and then decided to have some lunch before watching a bit of TV.

The rest of the day was nice and steady.

Today has been another good day and we got some more jobs done. We had a pot of tea in bed when the alarm went off and once finished we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs to get everything sorted out.

As Felix wouldn't go out when i made the pot of tea in bed, he decided to go out while Karen cleaned his dishes and then put fresh food and water down. I got our meds and vitamins out and made a pot of coffee while Karen got breakfast ready. When we had finished breakfast Karen went upstairs to clean the bathroom while i cleaned the bedrooms. We had a pot of tea when we had finished and then we repaired the high chair cover of the chair we had been given, it was just a split at the seam and was easily done. I then repaired the wall clock that had either fallen down of its own accord (unlikely after being there for about 15 years) or more likely when Felix tried to jump from the small unit to the large display cabinet ( he looked sheepish when we shot downstairs last night when we heard a bang).

After this i rang the vets in answer to an email as Felix is due his healthcheck and vaccinations as it is one year since we registered with the vets. Once this call was done i rang a monumental mason about re-siteing my mum and dad's gravestone. He wasn't in but his wife took my details for him to ring me back.

After i had finished with the calls we had some lunch and a pot of tea and then we watched some TV.

The rest of the day has been nice and steady, we had something to eat around 6pm and then watched some more TV before i fired up the laptop to come on here.

Finished book 15, late yesterday afternoon, Agatha Raisin and the Dead Ringer by M. C. Beaton, PB - 233pages.

19-2-21 to 22-2-21

Hi John (and Karen)

Like you, we don't get much sleep here, some nights just 4 or 5 hours. Peet is slowly getting better but his depression is still an ongoing thing. He is following therapy for the last four weeks and that seems to help, but he sleeps during daytime and in the evening. So when he goes to bed he has had 4 hours of sleep on the couch. Doesn't help very much for sleeping at night. And when he wakes up at 3 in the morning he starts to move around the house and that wakes me up. Luckily I don't need 8 or 9 hours of sleep per day, I can do with 6 or 7. He now has new sleeping medication and I hope that's going to work.

>247 connie53:, Hi Connie my dear, it would seem that eating certain foods too late in the evening are the cause of the problem which then leads to a lack of sleep. During the various lockdowns Karen has reverted to her stress reliever which is baking and although it is very very good for me, it is not good for Karen. Over the last 15 months she has gradually added a little extra weight, she is fully aware of this and has now said enough is enough and from Monday she is going to be strict with herself.

She knows the extra weight is not good for her joints and has identified the foods that are causing the gastro issues, by being strict with herself she will be able to cure both of these issues and she will be able to enjoy the walks we like.

I am sorry about Peet's depression and i hope that his new sleeping medication will work and you both end up with a better sleep pattern.

Sending love and hugs to you all from both of us dear friend.

Yesterday was a decent day for us, we had a pot of tea in bed before getting up, Karen was all done before me and got downstairs to start sorting things out. The phone rang and Karen took the call, it was the Monumental Mason, he was just ringing for details of the plot number and the details on the stone, i was brushing my teeth as she shouted up to me for the plot number, he then told Karen that he would go and have a look at the plot later that day or the following day.

We got the meds and vitamins out, Karen sorted Felix's dishes out and then made us both a bowl of porridge and i made a pot of coffee. We had our breakfast while i watched the Test Match on Channel Four, not good for the digestion sadly with England's performance.

After breakfast Karen decided to do a little bit of baking while i went outside and potted up the Camellia that Karen got from the Aldi. After potting up the Camellia i went into the front garden and did a bit of pruning and tidying up. We had a pot of tea when i had finished and i watched the Cricket until Karen had finished. We had a pleasant afternoon and evening.

We awoke with the alarm and it was a bright, sunny morning. I went and made us a pot of tea to enjoy in bed, i was surprised that Felix didn't want to go out, he joined us on the bed and eventually i had to get up, put my dressing gown on and let out of Amy's old room so he could go onto the extension and from there he wandered across the garage and into next door's garden.

Once we had finished our tea we got up, washed and dressed and came downstairs, i brought the washing basket down and Karen set a load of washing going and then we emptied the dishwasher. As soon as the dishwasher was empty, Karen put in a dishwasher cleaner and set it off to do its stuff. Karen then cleaned and re-filled Felix's dishes and i got our meds and vitamins out before making our pots of coffee, Karen got the cereal out.

I put the Cricket on and for once we were doing well, this would not last and before the end of the second days play, England would have lost the game by ten wickets, sheeesh.

My mobile rang and it was the Monumental Mason, he had visited the cemetary and looked at the stone and plot, he told me what needed doing and told me the cost, i told him to go ahead and how do i pay him. Mr George Hill is old school and told me he would have it done by the end of next week and then he would let me know how to pay, he sounds like a really nice chap. Sadly the ground at the cemetary has moved a little, probably due to old mine workings and it suffers when very windy and quite a number of gravestones have had to be laid down as they were dangerous. I found out about this chap on the Sharlston residents group, past and present as a lady had contacted the Council and was shocked at what they wanted to charge to do the job and she must have found out about Mr Hill and was very pleased with him and the price he charged and so posted his details if anyone else needed this type of work doing, i am so glad she did.

After we had finished breakfast we were just waiting for the washer to finish and when it did a few minutes later we put the washing on the airers and Karen put a washing machine cleaner into the washer and set it off to do its stuff. After this we decided to go for a walk around the village, we set off and although it was sunny, there was a sneaky wind and in the shade it was quite cool. Halfway around out walk we got to the Coffee shop that had opened just a few months before Covid-19 struck, they took over the old Post Office/ newsagents that had been closed for nearly two years. At this time they can only do takeaway coffee, tea and cakes, Karen went in and ordered two latte's and we stood outside while they got it ready and then they came to the door to give us our coffee's. We continued on our walk with a nice warm drink in our hands.

We had a nice walk and had just got back home when Karen realised that she had lost a glove, she said it must have been from where we passed the old Police station house and so i said i would go and have a look for it. I had hoped it would be nearer to home but she was right, it was on the pavement quite near to the old Police station house. I had a nice stroll back home and a drink of tea was waiting for me.

Not long after Karen suggested that i have a drive in the car to see how my hand felt and along the way pick up some eggs from Tanya's farm. I set off and collected the eggs and decided to have a little bit of a drive to test my hand going around corners, junctions and changing up and down the gears, the hand was fine and so i will drive myself to the doctors in the morning to see the nurse and have my stitches out.

We have had a nice afternoon and evening and this week has been quite productive, we have put things in place to save money, sorted out some appointments and finally got mum and dad's gravestone sorted out. The weather is picking up and i hope to start doing some small jobs in the garden ready to start building the veg beds for Karen and sorting out some screening for the compost bins and water butts.

Hi Friend, I'm stopping by to see how your recovery from carpel tunnel syndrome is coming along. I remember having residual pain. The surgeon mentioned to use a nail file and rub in gently on the area. This helped.

Your most recent post indicates a very busy list of to do items. Good Luck!

It sounds like your hand has healed well. How nice.

Hi John. Thanks for the well wishing. Peet is doing better, but his sleeping pattern did not change. I hope he will soon see the problem. My sleeping has been better. Peets depression had been on and off for the last 6 years. And the lockdown does not help at all. We miss the kids and the grandkids. Jeroen is doing some of the groceries for us when he is doing his own in a supermarket that's not really close to us. He brings the stuff that are sold with a reduction. Like 2 for the price of 1. And I do the other regular ones in a shop nearby. I have to use my bike and can bring only so much in my bike bags. We sold the car because Peet had several accidents and we decided it was not safe anymore to let him drive. I don't have a license so no need to keep the car.

>251 Whisper1:, Hi Linda my dear, i had the stitches out on Friday morning and the hand seems to be getting better by the day, i will use the nail file you mentioned to see how it goes.

I am using the present time to sort out what needs to be done this year to complete the back garden and there are some things i can do at the moment until the weather picks up so i can get on with the bigger things.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>252 quondame:, Hi Susan my dear, the hand is healing well and more so since the stitches came out on Friday morning.

Sending love and hugs dear friend.

>253 connie53:, Hi Connie my dear, glad to see that Peet is doing better even though his sleep pattern has not altered but i am glad that your sleep has improved. I am sure he will see that his sleep pattern is a problem and will not help his depression. I agree that the lockdowns have not helped our mental health and that needs to be fully recognised as much as Covid has.

Our lives have moved with the technological times and then bang, a lot of that has gone as has the everyday wandering around towns and cities and although we have the tech we can only do things within closed walls and it is not of our own free will, we have to do it to carry on. I think this is the biggest issue, we are sociable people and it has been cut down.

I hope that you all have a good week my dear and send love and hugs from both of us dear friend.

Finished book 16 on Saturday afternoon, Resort to Murder by T. P. Fielden, PB - 310 pages.

22-2-21 to 27-2-21

A new month and i think it is time for a new thread, please join me on thread 2 in about 20 minutes time.

>256 johnsimpson: Thanks John. You so right, but vaccination is maybe the thing that will show us a light at the end of the tunnel.

Now going to follow you to thread 2.