Kelly's Thoughts & Ramblings

Posted by: Kelly | April 11, 2026

Frost damage

Remember when I mentioned here that we’d had a hard frost after many things had started blooming and leafing out? Turns out, it did a number on our azalea bushes. Below is a photo of “Hope’s azalea” that is always the first to bloom and, in my opinion, the most beautiful one we have.

Hopefully the damage isn’t permanent and all of our azaleas will come back next year.

The white ones and the pale pink also suffered damage. You can see blooms, but you can also see all the “burned” buds and leaves. Many buds that still bloomed have brown on the petals.

As I promised here, I have been watching the Sugarberry tree to see what its leaves (and anything else it might produce) look like. It had just starting putting out leaves when the frost hit. In this photo you can see the damaged leaves and new ones coming out to take their place.

I’ve learned in that past that with trees it just sets them back when something like this happens. After all, nature infamously likes to throw in unexpected weather here and there. The saw tooth oaks always leaf out early and you can see in this last photo that the entire tree got “freezer burned”, so to speak. It looks ugly right now, but will start over with new leaves before too long.

It remains to be seen how (or if) the hard frost affected the potential for fruit from our pears, peaches, and mayhaws.

I hate to end with an ugly photo, so here is a pale pink flower that came through relatively unscathed.

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Posted in flowers, iPhoneography, nature, trees, weather

Posted by: Kelly | April 6, 2026

Mornings at the pond

One of my favorite photography subjects is the morning sky over our pond. If you’ve read here or followed me on Instagram for any length of time, you’ve seen dozens of examples. I never cease to be awed by the beauty and find it interesting how quickly it can change from minute to minute. Literally!

The blue tone to this first photo fascinates me. Sometimes that brief time before the sun breaks over the horizon is called “the blue hour.” I think this illustrates it well.

Here’s another, but it has a bit more light (and fog) to it.

This one was taken the morning after a storm and cold front moved through. The receding clouds in the distance look a bit like mountains.

Clouds (which I also love) can always add more interest by capturing the color.

Isn’t this next one dramatic! A friend posted a very similar sky that day taken on her drive to work.

Here’s another filled with the color of sunrise.

I always enjoy seeing the reflections on the calm water. That was my whole purpose with this one.

Then there are the days that the fog/mist gives everything an ethereal look, almost like a painting.

Finally, here’s one I shared a long time ago. I love when I catch sunbeams streaming from behind the clouds. I entered it in the local photography show (and of course didn’t win anything) and now have it hanging on the wall in my home. I also use it as the background for my laptop.

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Posted in iPhoneography, nature

Posted by: Kelly | April 1, 2026

2026 Extras #3

Agnes Aubert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather Fawcett

First line: “I paused on the threshold of the shop to stamp the frost from my boots.”

It wasn’t so long ago that I would never have picked up a book like this. Fantasy (as opposed to science fiction) has never been my cup of tea. Evidently our tastes change, though. Or maybe it’s just that I’ve read some fantasy in book club that convinced me I do enjoy it. I first saw this recommended on Instagram then saw it pop up in Paula’s weekly post. The cover drew me in first and the blurb made it sound like fun. Come on, it’s about cats! I found it to be a delightful, magical adventure!

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

First line: “Anyone who watches even the slightest amount of TV is familiar with the scene: An agent knocks on the door of some seemingly ordinary home of office.”

Years ago my son was a big fan of David Sedaris. I never tried any of his books at the time and promptly forgot about him. I saw his name mentioned again recently and when a couple of his audiobooks (narrated by him) came up at Libby, I decided to give one a shot. I’m now a fan. I like to think I have a pretty broad sense of humor and his stuff fits right in with what i like. I will definitely listen to more!

Ulysses S. Cat by Scott Simon

First line: N/A (Advanced Reading Copy)

One of our book club members often brings ARCs to our meetings for those who want to read them. When I saw this one, I couldn’t resist. I nearly DNFed it several times. The subtitle “and Other Animals I Have Known” should have been my clue there would be more death than I wanted to read about. I stuck with it, however, and it did improve… turning more to cute anecdotes about the author’s pets than sad stories. At bookclub we rate the selections on a 1-5 scale (in any increment). This would get a solid 3 from me.

The Winter Ghosts by Kate Mosse

First line: “He walked like a man recently returned to the world.”

I initially chose this audiobook (narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt) because of its short length. I recognized the author and the blurb sounded good. Two short roadtrips in one weekend seemed a good time to listen to it. It’s quite slowly paced and the music used in it is rather melodramatic and atmospheric. Despite this, I really enjoyed the time (interwar period), the setting (southern France), and the storyline. It was good for me as an audiobook since I wouldn’t have done well with the French names and places.

The Briar Club by Kate Quinn

First line: (Prologue): “If these walls could talk.”

I requested this as our May book club selection and I’m really glad I did. I absolutely loved it and think it will provide so much opportunity for discussion! I just hope others enjoy it as much as I did. I listened to the audiobook narrated by Saskia Maarleveld which included a Q & A session with the author and narrator at the end. It’s a story that takes place in a boarding house in Washington DC between 1950 and 1954 and is filled with historical significance. There are great historical notes for the book, but don’t read them first since they include spoilers. And because of spoilers I can’t tell you anymore about the book. I highly recommend it!

Sex and Sexuality in Tudor England by Carol McGrath

First line: (Introduction) “On a Monday morning of 13 February 1542, Katherine Howard, fifth wife of Henry VIII, first cousin to Anne Boleyn, young, vivacious, and captivating stepped, assisted, onto the scaffold, pale and terrified.”

This is the fifth “sex and sexuality in history” book I’ve read. As I explained in my review of the Medieval book, they are an excellent source for social history, especially about women and families. Until this point, my favorite had been the one on Ancient Rome, but this one is right on par with it. It covered a very wide range of topics and never seemed too dry or academic. I think a problem today is that people try to apply current norms to the past, or take ancient writings (such as the Bible) and apply them to today’s society. It just doesn’t work that way. I still have Sex and Sexuality in Georgian Britain on my Kindle and have found two others at Amazon, both of which are too pricy to consider getting at this point.

Ordinary People Don’t Carry Machine Guns by Artem Chapeye

First line: “The French public intellectuals of the mid-twentieth century made a profound impression on me as a teenager.”

Anca recommended this on her book blog and I’m glad I took her advice to read it. Translated by Zenia Tompkins, it’s a very short book, yet very powerful. It gives the reader a moving, inside look at the war in Ukraine. There’s really not a lot I can say about it other than I highly recommend it! Thanks, Anca, for being my “link” to learning so much about Ukraine and its history.

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Posted in "C" authors, "F" authors, "M" authors, "Q" authors, "S" authors, book club, books, cats, historical fiction, history, humor/satire, non-fiction, sci-fi/fantasy/horror

Posted by: Kelly | March 28, 2026

Bird Crochet

Poor photography, as usual, but hopefully you can appreciate how pretty this puzzle is! It was a loaner from one of my book club buddies and I really enjoyed working it despite it being challenging.

Bird Crochet
by Jessica White

(click photo to enlarge)

1000 pieces
24″ x 30″
(61cm x 76cm)

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Posted in puzzles

Posted by: Kelly | March 24, 2026

Sticky notes

I would have titled this entry Post-it® Notes, but despite my habit of calling all sticky notes that name, they’re not all that brand. It’s like tissues and Kleenex® or JELL-O and gelatin. Anyway….. I love sticky notes. I keep them in most rooms of my house.

I have lots of traditional Post-it® Notes, mostly in the minis and the 3×3″ pads, as well as the little strips handy for flagging book pages (you’ll see a yellow one in a photo), but I also have plenty of other types of sticky notes.

It was these kitty notes I got for Christmas that inspired this post.

The same friend gave me this set a few years ago. I’ve had great fun using them! I like the fold up case they’re in.

Sometimes they are freebies from places.

Some have inspirational messages.

Some are just cute. The happy faces are actually the name brand.

These are the types I use for marking book pages. I’ve gone through a lot of varieties over the years.

Finally, here are a couple of the holders I have for them. They both fit the 3×3″ type. The photo of the camellia is one I took and inserted in the holder.