Thursday Thirteen: The Last 13 Books I Have Read
In reverse order:
1. Bleach volume 16 by Tite Kubo (almost done.)
2. The Unsung Hero by Suzanne Brockmann (also almost done.)
3. The Unicorn’s Secret: The Silver bracelet by Kathleen Duey (The villain has the same last name as one of my heroes. I thought I should check it out.)
4. Bleach Volume 15 by Tite Kubo (Read it today.)
5. Bleach Volume 14 by Tite Kubo (Also read today, the day I bought it. I’ve got the whole family hooked.)
6. Seduction in Death by J. D. Robb (I’m taking the series out of order. Oh well. Love them anyway.)
7. Confessions of a Viscount by Shirley Karr (Thumbs up.)
8. The Perfect Lover by Stephanie Laurens (Thumbs up.)
9. Bleach Volume 13 by Tite Kubo (Obnoxious isn’t it, the way I’m going through them.)
10. Bleach Volume 12 by Tite Kubo (But they’re so quick and easy to read!)
11. Bleach Volume 11 by Tite Kubo (Not to mention funny.)
12. For the Love of a Pirate by Edith Layton (Couldn’t get into.)
13. Bleach Volume 10. (Big surprise there.)
My greatest fear is that at this rate I will soon run out of Bleach.
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By George! Welcome to England, Highness-To-Be.
If Princess Caroline needs a moral compass which the dissolute Prince George isn’t able to provide, what is to become of her? Let’s see how she is greeted on arrival.
While Princess Caroline was underway, her reception was taking shape. The Princesses arrival would be a big deal, of course. It had to be done right, as befitting a new Princess of Wales. And not just the public functions. Her household had to be put in order. A million details needed attending to. How very fortunate for Princess Caroline that there was someone to take charge of these personal matters. Someone of accomplishment and rank, someone the Queen personally recommended for the job. Lady Jersey.
The Jupiter docked at Gravesend in early April 1795. The Princess had suffered some seasickness and had lost a tooth, but her un-stuffy manner and off-colour jokes made her a hit with the tars and officers alike. From Gravesend, her party proceeded to Greenwich, where an official delegation was supposed to be waiting to take her to London. There was no delegation. There would have been no one there to greet them at all had not the pensioners from a home for crippled veterans cut short their midday services and come pouring out of the chapel when word of her arrival spread.
The Princess thanked the men and shook hands, at least with those who had them, and commented; “What, is every Englishman without an arm or leg?” Eventually, the cause of the delay arrived in person. Lady Jersey. The Captain of the Jupiter had warned Lord Malmesbury that the word from London was that Lady Jersey was on a mission to humiliate the Princess at every opportunity. His Lordship was nearly powerless to stop it. He could only warn the Princess and hope for the best.
Lady Jersey wasted no time in exerting her authority. Right out of the gate, she told the Princess her dress was unbecoming and that she needed to change. As it happened, she had a spare dress that would suit the Princess much better than that tatty blue number she had on. The dress was white muslin and did nothing to improve her appearance. In fact, it served to accentuate the Princess’s somewhat pasty complexion.
Her Ladyship tried other tricks on the trip to London. Lord Malmesbury told her that if she made him pull over one more time…she’d be spending the rest of the trip on the luggage rack. Or words to that effect. At one point, Princess Caroline, perhaps feeling a bit intimidated by this beautiful, sophisticated older woman, tried to show that she was no country bumpkin by sharing a bit of her own love life.
This was one of the things that she had been warned not to do. It was one of the things she had been warned she especially should not do. German ways were not English ways. The Princess prattled on about a fellow of low birth she had given her heart, and other parts of her anatomy, to. When the Duke and Duchess found out, there was a scene and the romance was ended. Wasn’t that terribly sophisticated and sad? Lady Jersey filed it under “Pillow talk for the Prince.” And waited for more tidbits.
Although the Prince had urged Lord Malmesbury to return to England with all haste, this at the time His Lordship was stuck in Brunswick due to circumstances beyond his control, now that he and the Princess were actually in England, the Prince seemed in no hurry whatsoever to meet her. No doubt this was due to Part Two of Lady Jersey’s plan. Now that the Prince was committed, in writing, to marry Caroline, she began letting him know there would be no “happily ever after.” God knows there were plenty of people in London, including mom, who could confirm everything she told him.
Finally, the date was set for them to meet. Lord Malmesbury was on hand to make the formal introductions. One version of this story has the Prince very drunk at this meeting. Lord Malmesbury says nothing of this. Which does not prove that he was or was not. His Lordship may have decided on discretion. Either way, drunk or sober, it was obvious the Prince was not looking forward to it.
When the Prince entered the room, Princess Caroline kneeled in obedience. The Prince then, “raised her up gracefully enough and embraced her.” His Lordship said nothing about the Princess needing a bath, but something caused the Prince to release her immediately, turn and cross the room, motioning to His Lordship to follow. Once in a far corner, he said, “Harris, I am not well. Get me a brandy.” To which his lordship replied “Sir had you better have a glass of water?” To which the Prince replied, with considerable heat, “No! I will go directly to the Queen.”
Which he did without so much as a nod in Caroline’s direction. Said his Lordship, “The Princess, left during this short moment alone, was in a state of astonishment.” Lord Malmesbury returned to her side and attempted to calm the waters. Gathering herself up, the Princess said, in French, since her English was not quite up to snuff. “My God! Does the Prince always act like that? I think he is very fat and he is nothing like as handsome as his portrait.”
Lord Malmesbury did not record his reply. He hardly need to. He was well aware that whatever bad things the Prince had heard were all over London. The only hope of countering this would be an iron resolve on the part of the Princess to behave impeccably. It was glaringly obvious that no such thing would happen. And they still had the Princess’s “Welcome to England” dinner to get through.
Have You Ever Procrastinated Your Way Into a Solution?
I’ve been procrastinating on my blog lately. Yeah, I know you can’t tell. I’m fairly good at hitting deadlines, even when they are only self imposed, and I consider midnight my blog deadline. This week I procrastinated myself into a bind, but it wasn’t my fault.
The problem was a lack of clouds.
This week’s PhotoHunt was clouds. I’d planned on doing this thing where I’d have Jack and Jill holding hands in front of a sun set. Evening after evening I would look to the West only to find there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.
Considering this is the dry season around here, the time right before forest fires become a major problem, the lack of clouds should be no surprise. I simply hadn’t planned around it. I thought I had a whole week. No problem. Doy.
Friday afternoon, there I am with the bendies on a clear jewel case, trying to capture the one and only cloud in the sky. Yes, I said one. One of the clouds in the picture was photoshopped in. The sunset thing was out the window.
So what do I see the next morning?
If I had only procrastinated a little longer I would still have ended up in the yard with a jewel case, but I wouldn’t have had to fake a cloud.
Oh well.
So my question is, do you ever benefit from procrastination? Do you trust everything will work out all right? Do you fall flat on your face if you do? Would you be out there with the jewel case the day before, or would you have gotten it done weeks before?
Capitol Reef National Park
I thought I was done with the vacation pictures, but noticed yesterday that I’d forgotten a whole set. So here it is.
Capitol Reef is close to Lake Powell. As the crow flies, you’re probably looking at ten miles. On the road between 276 and Notom the park is 30 miles from the lake. The road runs in and out of the park, but the whole area is red rock, so you aren’t likely to notice
These pictographs are right on the road.
There’s a little parking area, and a walk way built along the cliff. The walk way is about a quarter of a mile long, with pictographs visible every few feet. It’s the easiest way to see pictographs that I’ve ever had, and certainly beats my efforts to find them on Lake Powell.
Capitol Reef was named by early settlers who thought the rock structures looked like the domes you find on capitol buildings. You can see some of the old houses and equipment around the visitor’s center.
Although it was storming so badly when we first reached the park that we couldn’t see the road even with the wipers were running on high, we went down the arroyo infested Scenic Drive to Capitol Gorge. I really, really wish we’d stopped to take a picture of the car between the narrow cliffs, but when we got to the best spot for it, another car was already parked in the road and the owners were snapping away. You’ll have to settle for these two pictures instead.
What to do About a Gluten Allergy
I asked my mother what a friend should do about her gluten allergy. This is her answer:
1) Learn to love cornbread (without any flour in it). More egg and less milk will help control crumbling.
2) Enjoy corn tortilla and masa harina products. Masa harina is made from corn that has been lye or lime treated. It is the base ingredient in corn tortillas, tamales and gorditas. Be creative and see what cookies are like when made from it.
3) Buy rice cakes.
4) Try akara balls. This African fried bread is made from back-eyed pea flour.
5) If you really want to try making bread with rice flour, find a source for xanthan gum. It makes it a little more tolerable. Do not expect it to be just like wheat flour breads. One of our local grocery stores sells xanthan gum. It is located with the speciality grains and flours.
6) Join any local Celiac Disease organizations. They will have recipes to share and also may buy commercial size packages of xanthan gum and reselling it in reasonable size portions. (You only need a teaspoon or two per recipe. ) Ask a dietitian for information on organizations and for recipes he or she might have.
Jill in the Sky with Diamonds.
Jill: I see a bunny, and a mermaid, and a big diamond ring. What do you see, Jack?
Jack: I see a nap in my future. Hey, getting down from that window blind was hard work. All those clouds of dust….
Jill: If anyone should need a nap it’s me. I did all the work.
Jack: At least I got it clean.
Jill: dusting with your body? I’m not sure that counts.
Jack and Jill is an on-going series.
Previously in Jack and Jill: How Long Did You Say You’d Be Gone, Jill?
saturday photo scavenger hunt
The rules for Photohunt can be found here.
Today’s theme is cloud(s)
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Suzie’s House 78: In the Heat of the Moment
This is actually a direct continuation of the last two Suzie’s House episodes. If you haven’t read them yet, I recommend doing so before reading this. Suzie’s House 76: On Suzie’s Mind and Suzie’s House 77: Men!
Drew fought the urge to chase after Suzie for two eternal seconds. He stood in the kitchen, his back to Vin – who was being quiet the way someone who doesn’t want to get shot will be quiet during a bank robbery – and stared at the floor long enough to catch his breath. Then he broke. The urge to catch up with her rode him like the hunt took over a hungry wolf. One moment he had the best intentions, the next he was storming down the hall. He reached the base of the stairs at the same time she did.
“You can’t just ignore me.” He grabbed her arm, forcing her around.
“I’m not ignoring you.” She yanked free. “I’m trying very hard to not hit you.”
“You want to take a swing at me for keeping you safe?”
“No. For keeping me from my son.” She pivoted on her heel, then stalked up the steps.
“I’m not the one who sent him away.” He followed so close he could feel the motion of her legs, sense the risk of a kick to the shins.
“Maybe not, but you’re the one who keeps thwarting my attempts to fix it so I can bring him home. You won’t let me help.” At the top of the stairs, she turned to go around the banister, but he was in the way. Nor did he move out of the way. She glared at him. “Move.”
He wanted to lash out at her, tell her he wouldn’t move, would never move. Instead, he grabbed her head, and planted a long, demanding kiss on her startled lips.
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Thursday Thirteen :Things I Should Be Doing Right Now
1. Writing tomorrow’s episode of Suzie’s House. 
2. Revising Caroline’s Folly
3. NOT reading Seduction in Death by J.D. Robb
4. Going to the post office with a box of cookies.
5. Paying bills.
6. Dealing with the bank.
7. NOT shopping online.
8. Cleaning gerbil cages. Yeah, the kids are suppose to do it. Sure wish they did.
9. Dishes? What dishes? Oh. THOSE dishes.
10. Laundry.
11. Sewing. I’ve got a great skirt cut out.
12. More sewing. I need to catch up on a couple of quilts.
13. Making the kids get off their lazy buns and do something. Beside skateboarding.
It’s just one of those days.
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By George! What's an Escort to Do?
Lord Malmesbury was sent to Germany to fetch Princess Caroline for Prince George. Imagine his plight when he got to know her.
His Lordship was able to observe the Princess at close quarters on a number of occasions. Her behavior was uniform throughout. Uniformly bad. This is what His Lordship wrote in his diary. “No judgment! Caught by the first impression, led by the first impulse…loving to talk, and prone to confide and make missish friendships that last twenty-four hours. Some natural, but no acquired morality, and no strong innate notions of it’s value and necessity; warm feelings and nothing to counter-balance them… fond of gossiping, and this is strengthened greatly by her mother who is all curiosity and inquisitiveness, and who has no notion of not satisfying the desire at any price.”
If this was the reaction of Lord Malmesbury, how would the Prince react? As far as his Lordship was concerned, Princess Caroline’s suitability was not an issue he need bother himself with. His orders were to travel to Brunswick, ask for her hand, get her hand and bring it, and the rest of her, back to England so the Prince of Wales could marry her.
It didn’t affect the letter of His Lordships orders wither he had been told to bring back a Princess or a stripe-assed baboon. Orders were orders. The spirit of his orders however…should he be the one to inform His Highness about…? His Lordship had no intention of going there. The Prince expected Princess Caroline. He was a big boy; he could make up his own mind. His Lordship did not feel that it was his place to turn progress bulletins into editorials.
In one typical report he wrote that upon receiving a miniature portrait of His Highness, Princess Caroline “fastened it around her neck and has not taken it off since” In another, “She has received a box from England with English dresses and it is amazing how much they become her.” Nor would he report his discovery, while cooped up in the port of Stadt, waiting for the warship that would take them to England, that her soon-to-be Royal Highness stank like a fishmonger.
At least there was entertainment. The Duchess had accompanied them to Stadt. Once there, she told His Lordship that she didn’t wish to risk being captured by the French, who, to the Duchesses certain knowledge, were somewhere in the western portion of the European peninsula. Practically in their laps. She was sure His Lordship and the Princess would find some way to amuse themselves while waiting for their ship.
His Lordship prevailed upon the Duchess to stay. The Princess had no female attendants yet. There would not be any until the ship arrived. Did the Duchess REALLY want to leave her daughter in the care of His Lordship and his MALE servants? Apparently the answer was yes because His Lordship practically had to sit on the Duchess to get her to stay and “guard” her daughters virtue. Both the Princess and Lord Malmesbury would have been much happier had the Duchess gone home.
She immediately began to whine about nearly everything. The Duchess was “very disagreeable about the cold, peevish and ill-mannered…troublesome about choosing her apartment.” To kill the time she would tell amusing family anecdotes about King George when he was a boy. Like the one about how dad, the late Frederick, Prince of Wales, would make his son wear a chamber pot around his neck to let everyone know he was a bedwetter.
The Duchess knew he was a bedwetter because they had to share a bed together until they were WAY past the age when such things were acceptable. She told stories about the Queen, none of them complementary because the Duchess couldn’t stand her. A feeling warmly reciprocated by the Queen. His Lordship was also obliged to run interference between the Duchess and her daughter. So much so that at one point he had to take the Princess aside and reprimand her for being so openly disrespectful of her mum. Laughing in her face, making rude noises behind her back, what a family! And the Prince was going to MARRY this girl!
Things improved once the ship, the HMS Jupiter, arrived with the Princesses English Ladies to take her in hand. Mum went home and the ship got under way. The trip was relatively uneventful. His Lordship was obliged to ask one of the ladies to speak to the Princess about her personal hygiene. He was very gratified when the Princess showed up the next day “well washed all over.” The Princess really and truly did wish to do the right thing by everyone.
It touched His Lordship that the Princess was so obliging. He realized that, with the right guy to keep her on the right path, the Princess would make a great wife. She didn’t do bad things because she was bad, she did them because she was so easily manipulated and she had no one in her life to serve as a moral compass. If she fell in with the wrong crowd, she was obliging in the worst sense of that word. And here she was, on her way to England to get hitched to one of the most debauched princes in British history.
His Lordship was under no illusions as to the Prince of Wales true nature. He had seen enough of the Princess to realize that no good would come of their union. What he couldn’t know was just how horrendous it would get. One good point, Their story would sell a lot of newspapers.
How Do You Feel About Guns?
I mean toy guns.
I live in a place where any kind of weapon in the school, even a toy weapon, can get you kicked out but deer heads are proudly displayed by everyone from real estate agents to bankers. Don’t get me started on some of the restaurants around here.
This same subtle conflict runs through me personally. On the one hand I spent years hanging out with the peace, love, pass the granola folks. On the other my grandfather was a gun smith and avid hunter.
So when I wander through my own living room to find a cherished cartoon character holding a machine gun… I’m not sure how to react.
Do you think Tommy holding a gun really means anything? Should he be banned from my home as well as everywhere but the National Forests during hunting season? Should I quietly slip the gun under the tire of my car where it can no longer make so much noise when my son gets a hold of it? For what it’s worth, I’m fairly sure it was Mr. Al who put the gun in Tommy’s hands, but I wasn’t around when it happened, so I can’t be sure.
And the Winner Is….
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Sasha wins the Tagalongs and the All Abouts with an even 20 comments posted in the course of this week. Lara Lee had 31, but specifically said she wasn’t entering the contest. My next runner up was Kelly with 10.
Sasha, contact me at Alice Audrey Write @ aol . com with your snail mail address and I’ll get those right out to you.
My thanks to everyone who played. Please, feel free to continue commenting anywhere on my blog that you wish.
Birthday Cake Candles
The girl had a birthday a little while back. She saw these squiggly looking candles in the store and had to have them. I thought sure, why not?
Well now I know.
See how short the one on the right is compared to the one on the left? That’s how much it burned down in the time it took me to light the candles. She blew them out as soon as I could get the last one lit, and still, we almost ran out of time. What’s more, they dripped wax all over the cake.
All I can say is you won’t see this kind of candle on MY cake.
How Long Did You Say You'd Be Gone, Jill?
While Jill was out shopping, Jack decided to fix the window blind. Maybe he should have waited.
This is part of a continuous story done in photograph for Photo Hunt. Jack and Jill are Bendie dolls. If you’ve never seen any of it before, you might want to check out a previous week.
Previously in Jack and Jill: That Better Not Be What I Think It Is
saturday photo scavenger hunt
The rules for Photohunt can be found here.
Today’s theme is hanging
Be sure to visit the home page.
Suzie’s House 77: Men!
We resume the story from where it left off last week with Suzie and Drew together in the kitchen.
It had been so long since anyone had comforted Suzie. Thinking back, Suzie couldn’t remember anyone comforting her quite this way, ever. Drew’s arms around her were strong and firm, but held her loosely enough that if she really wanted free, she could simply stand. Instead, she curled up in his lap like a cat.
Thursday Thirteen 37: Things I Can See From Where I'm Sitting.
Can I see the mountains from here? Don’t I wish. Nope, my view is a bit more humble.
1. Curtains
2. My web browser window, and MS Word with a file open to a book I’m writing.
3. Seduction in Death by J.D. Robb
4. What Price Love? by Stephanie Laurens
5. A CD I tried to save something on. What’s with my burner, anyway?
6. Inu-Yahsa: The Movie 3: Swords of an Honorable Ruler in a NetFlix sleeve
7. Dental floss
8. The neighbor’s roof. 
9. The neighbor’s tree
10. Leaves from a different neighbor’s tree
11. A bunch of cassette tapes I haven’t listened too in years.
12. A wall clock that says I should be cooking now.
13. A weird globe thing made of aluminum.
In other words, nothing special. Good thing I work well that way.
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