Ha! I have to admit, that's another one that I did not finish. This thread is starting to make me worry a bit about my attention span and ability to see things through. I have given up on a LOT of books!

That fourth book definitely took a nosedive, didn't it? So much so that for me it ruined the entire series, because it hadn't been that great to begin with. But obviously most people still like it overall.

Well, that's . . . interesting. I can see why you gave up.

I really enjoyed the first three books in that series. The fourth one was just so-so. The fifth one . . . when I was about 2/3 of the way through the book I realized only one day had gone by in the story and I had a hard time finishing it. When that last one came out, my s-i-l, who also loved the series, told me not to read it. She said it made her so mad that she wished she'd never read it, so she wanted to save me from the same fate! :) I took her advice. I guess I just don't usually have the patience to continue with a book that I'm not enjoying. I read one sentence of The Hunger Games. That's by far the fastest I've ever given up on a book, but I wasn't interested in reading a book written in the present tense, so I ditched it. I can think of other books that I've given up on, but not ones that I finished but didn't like. Oh, no wait, I got it! One that I read and despised and which everyone else on the planet apparently loves: Game of Thrones. I read the first three in that series, but didn't even finish the first chapter of the fourth one. The first book had some promise but some problems. I kept expecting the promise to be fulfilled and the problems to be solved. But the author had different plans. I don't think anyone else has mentioned it, and judging by how popular and successful it is, I'm sure that I'm alone in my hatred. But I truly hate it. Hate it. There are good fantasy novels out there that deserved that level of success and didn't get it. Why that one. WHY?? Several people have mentioned The Red Tent and this came highly recommended to me by a friend. Now I must admit that while this friend has admirable qualities, I have reason to distrust her taste in books. :lol: But I'd like to know why this one is hated, if anyone would care to say more.

That is a really good quote, and I like your response to it too. Yes, that pain does sometimes come back, uninvited. Maintaining clarity and self-control in the midst of it. . . . Well, all I can say is that I hope to develop that skill some day! :)

This is where my thoughts went too! :) Thank you for explaining, Asmaa.

:( What does that mean? My husband told me he saw a car with the standard two adults, two kids, and a dog in the left-hand corner of the rear window of the car, and two more kids way over in the right hand corner by themselves. WHAT does that mean???

:grouphug: That changes everything, doesn't it? This particular issue has not been a problem in my marriage at all, but of course we have had problems in our marriage. And in those problem areas I am super sensitive, and an innocent comment on his part can be very hurtful. I too wish that I could flip a switch, or just somehow let go of all that baggage. But it's slow and difficult. Two steps forward and one step back. I wish that forgiveness could be an event, but it seems to be a process. Plus, not only do I have to forgive him for the pain, I have to forgive myself for my reactions to it. And that might be just as hard. I have no wisdom to offer you, only sympathy.

Same here. A delay wouldn't bother me, but a cancellation would.

Very interesting - thanks! I particularly like the idea of the Five Plant Garden. Do you know if that book has any information for dry climates like the southwest? My library doesn't have it, but I'd be happy to buy it if it does.

Thank you, ladies! So many great suggestions. :)

Absolutely. This is a form of sexual agression, and the harassers want the woman to be shocked, embarrassed, and scared when they do it. This is the reaction that they are hoping for, not that she'll be flattered, though they may use that as an excuse for their inexcusable behavior. When women stand up for themselves, when the harassers don't get the reaction they were looking for, they will escalate things to try to put her in her place. In this video, one said she was "lucky" that she wasn't being physically harassed. I've seen similar things in videos of street harassment. When a woman doesn't respond with the fear and timidity they are hoping for, when she doesn't bow before the awesomeness of their masculinity, they take it up a notch and get more aggressive. It's disgusting.

I'm glad to know that I'm not the only one who thinks this. I'm certainly not glad that it's true! Just glad to know I'm not crazy for thinking it. I often hear people brushing it off by saying, "oh, we're just more aware of it now, it gets more attention", etc. I'm pretty sure that the reason I wasn't aware of men doing things like this when I was a kid is because they weren't doing it! Another example: violent crimes against women are on the rise where I live. Some people want to dismiss that as simply being reported more, not actually happening more. I don't buy it.

It seems like a very logcial choice to me, but it does not seem to have caught on here for whatever reason. I still talk to the agent who sold us this house sometimes, so I might ask her how it is perceived here. Thanks for the idea!

I appreciate the correction. I had no idea!

I like your name! :)

Yes, good point! I was kind of picturing some designated paths with either flagstones or a different (finer) kind of gravel to walk on, and then having some pretty things planted here and there: ornamental grasses, sage, cacti, whatever. I'm not good at designing things like that, but my daughter is! Thanks, I appreciate the suggestions! It wouldn't let me like your post for some reason, so just know that I do in fact like it. :)

Izabella I absolutely destest creative/modernized spellings, so that z really irks me. (No offense meant to those who like them, it doesn't irk me for other people, it's just not my thing at all and I wouldn't want it for my name or my child's name.) Isabella is a beautiful name, far prettier than my own, but it's too formal to fit me, so I'd end up as an Izzie or Bella or something. Which isn't so bad. Still better than Gretchen. :(

Kari, you and your family remain in my prayers. :grouphug:

I think it's actually getting worse.

I guess I wasn't very clear, was I? Me too! It's fun to think about all of the different environments that our fellow boardies inhabit. Thanks for this link. Hubby definitely prefers to do things ourselves when we can. This might be outside of our capabilities, though. I'll check into it and try to find out. Thanks, I think we'll need it! :D

I have a teency tiny garden area set aside that has two tomato plants and three herbs in it. That's as ambitious as I'm going to get with growing edibles, at least for the foreseeable future. We actually don't have a lawn. Lawns require a lot of water and work here (desert) so the front yard was rocks and shrubs when we moved in, and we've left it. And it looks fine. The back did have a lawn, which my husband HATED trying to maintain, so we have let it die. The plan is to replace it either with rocks, like in the front, or with that stamped and painted concrete that looks like tile or stone, to make a huge patio area. Then we'll put in a pergola for some shade (plus whatever other features would make it nice - I think we're going to need the help of someone who knows how to landscape!) Obviously this is a major project that is going to require a great deal of expense and/or work. I'm not looking forward to it. So that's the central area of the backyard, and then there are raised beds at the perimeter of the backyard: one level on the sides and two levels in the back. The raised beds have smallish trees and shrubs and such. The higher level at the back has some grape vines, which unfortunately are being taken over by the pyracantha behind them. We have an impenetrable wall of pyracantha that is 6 feet deep, the entire width of the property (probably 60-70 feet?) and 25 feet high. It's horrible and I hate it, because it grows like crazy and has these thorns that are really more like spikes, that are sharp and strong enough to pierce through the soles of your shoes and into your foot. It's the only thing in our yard that seems to actually thrive on neglect! It is really difficult to control. Trees: we have several pine trees, a pomegranate, an ornamental plum, a desert willow, and a locust of some sort (the locust is always trying to propagate through the roots - we are always having to chop down tiny little locust trees all over the property!). The ornamental plum is really struggling and needs help. We also have a mostly-dead Russian Olive that simply needs to be removed, but my husband doesn't want to admit that it's gone! Shrubs: we have lots of evergreens shrubbery in the front, which I have to admit I don't care for, and photinia, and something else which I don't know the name, but it doesn't require much care or water. In the back I have a few rose bushes, a large rosemary bush (those are easy to grow if even I can keep one alive!), honeysuckle, llilac, and wisteria. And a few desert things like cholla and yucca. I don't really bother with annuals, and I've tried tulips and a few other bulbs but they require so much water that they just don't do well here. I'd really prefer to keep it as close to xeriscaped as possible. So things we could add would be more cacti, yucca, desert sage/salvia, and probably tons of other things that I don't even know about. Well, that was a lot more information than you asked for!

I didn't think about a radio show. I did look into the Master Gardeners classes, but I've already missed them for this year. Might try next year, though!

I could see myself doing something like that. The difference is, I never would have admitted it! :lol:

Thank you all so much! I know I've seen that Sunset book at my favorite local bookstore, so I may go pick it up today. I'll watch those videos over my lunch break, too (or start them, at least).