TR.  Yes, that is the one. Purple Box. Just Blood Pressure on it.

Thanks JeanneP

Speaking of tea, a friend gave me a couple of tea bags of Red Bark tea. She got curious about the tea that Mma Ramotswe was always drinking in the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. She got curious and discovered that Amazon sells it. I really liked that show, but I never read any of the books.

Right now, the closest I get to family relationships in my reading are the Liaden Universe books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. They are chock full of family and clan ties as well as proper etiquette in family and business dealings. Proper etiquette is strictly adhered to in order to avoid or reduce potential misunderstandings and unintended insults. The books are a mixture of space opera, trade dealings, family sagas and some wizardry.

Oh gosh, I just nearly jumped out of my seat. An ambulance just went by and they saw fit to hit the siren just as they went by. 

MarsGal - Your mention of Mma Ramotswe's tea, reminded me again of how much I enjoyed reading The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.  It's the only series of books by Alexander McCall Smith, that I've ever read.  I also really enjoyed the HBO series, and thought it was so well done, with cast members that were perfectly matched to those in the book.   I've always intended to read some of his other books, but never have.  He's written so many, that it's overwhelming to decide which one you want to read!

Not much reading this week, except for an excellent memoir by Jennifer Weiner, called Hungry Heart.  She's written a lot of "chick-lit" novels over the years . . . most of them are very funny, some serious, and all very readable.  Two that I recall reading are All Fall Down, and Goodnight Nobody.  If you like her books, you will like her memoir.  Always fascinating to me, to read about the childhood/lives of different authors. 

I've been thinking of FlaJean.   It seems to me she would have been in the path of hurricane Irma. It seemed as though it had lessened in force by the time it got to the Fl. panhandle but still had quite a punch.    I can't recall how close Jean was to the Gulf but know that there was a lot of concern about the large number of tall pines up in that part of the state.   I hope she will be checking in here soon.   Our grandson lives in Savannah and he said that he was lucky to have power when so many were without.

I'm reading another one of Susan Elia MacNeal's books about Maggie Hope.  It is part of a series that I read a while back.   A friend had loaned them to me and since then she has purchased this one and another.   These are set in Eng during WWII.  It just came to me day or so ago that Maggie Hope is like a grown up Nancy Drew with just a little more thrill built in.

Maryc, I noticed that you did see my post in another forum.  Thanks for thinking of us.  We were not impacted by the storm at all.  No wind and a little rain which wasn't even connected to the storm.  The city (Ocala) we moved from did receive a visit from Irma and still has a lot of people without power according to their newspaper.

Marilyne, I really enjoy the No. 1 Detective Agency books and the HBO series.  McCall Smith's other books are entirely different.  His Sunday Philosphy Club with Isabel Dalhousie series I like but I don't think they are generally very popular.  It isn't a club but Isabel is a philosopher and edits a magazine.  It is a kind of slow and thoughtful book about Isabel.  I've read all the books including the latest which I bought from iBooks.

I think his Scotland series is also interesting about little Bertie and his home life  but I've only read a couple.  The library doesn't have them.  I've thought about buying them but I have so many other books to read that I haven't wanted to spend the money.  Our library is nice but small and limit their buys to the most in demand books.

FlaJean - So glad that you're way up North, and didn't get any grief from Irma.  On tonight's news, they showed a lot of aerial photos of the Keys, and it was shocking to see what looks like total devastation.  I just can't imagine how the area can recover, but I know it will, in time.

After reading No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, and watching the series on TV, I was looking forward to sampling other books by McCall Smith.  As I've said before, I'm not a big fan of series books, and seemed like all the books of his that I considered, were part of one series or another.

Today I picked up a couple of books from the library, that I'll start on tomorrow.  Until the Real Thing Comes Along, by Elizabeth Berg, and What She Left Behind, by Ellen Marie Wiseman.  The Wiseman book was recommended to me by someone, but I can't remember who?  Maybe it was from the website, Off The Shelf?  Lots of good book ideas posted there.

mary - I loved the Nancy Drew books, so maybe I would like the Maggie Hope series. . . especially since they take place during WWII.  As I've mentioned many times before, I enjoy books from that time in history.

I enjoy series, Marilyne.  If the author is good, the stories are always different but many of the characters are familiar.  I feel comfortable with familiar people, places and things so I enjoy reading about familiar characters in different situations in the fictional stories.

I started my early reading habits with series books.  I loved "the Little House" books by Wilder, and later my favorites were Nancy Drew which were series with Nancy and her two friends.  In fact, I had a collection of them (the old ones when she was driving the car with the rumble seat). I passed them on to my oldest daughter who became a big fan.

FlaJean - Now that I'm thinking about it, I read lots of series style books when I was a girl.  Besides "Nancy Drew",  I liked the "Cherry Ames" books, "The Bobbsey Twins", and "The Dana Girls".  Lots of books from my favorite authors now, are almost like a series.  The Kent Haruf books, all take place in the small town of Holt, CO, and some of the same characters show up in most of his stories.  Also, the Elizabeth Berg novels are all similar.  I think she uses different characters, but there is a certain sameness that I like.   

I don't remember reading the "Little House on the Prairie" series when I was young, but I did read them to my daughters, and of course we all watched the TV show!  They both also read "Nancy Drew", "The Bobbsey Twins", (updated) and another series called "The Happy Hollisters".  My son wasn't a good reader when he was a boy, and only read a book when he had to write a book report for school.   Now he enjoys reading, and always has a book going on his iPad.

I was curious about the author Ellen Wiseman so checked with the library.  I was able to get the ebook right away.    The story is interesting and sad and now I'm anxious to see the ending.  She writes a good story so I will have to remember her for other books.   Thanks Marilyne for the tip.   I have another audio book under way at the same time.  It is The Best of Us by Joyce Maynard.   It seems to be a slow starter for me as she tells a lot about her online dating experiences before she met her second husband.   Perhaps I'm too slow with the book but we'll see.

mary - The minute I read your message, a little reminder bell went off in my head! (so to speak, ha ha) I remembered that my husband was to pick up, "What She Left Behind" by Wiseman, along with a bunch of other books from the library. I realized that I had never seen it, so I started looking around the house, and sure enough, I found it. It was stacked amongst his books, instead of mine. I had forgotten that I even ordered it!   Now I have something to read over the weekend. Let me know what you think of it when you finish?

Marilyne,   I did finish What She Left Behind last evening.   It was well written IMHO.   Some parts of the story were sad, sad, sad and others uplifting.   Good contrast.   The parts of the story about the treatment of mentally ill individuals and those "judged" to be made me upset.   This was in the 20s.    My late sister went through some shock treatments back in the 1950s and we will never know the effect that may have had on her physical health.   Several years ago we were traveling in W. Virginia and happened to stay overnight in a small town where there was a former  mental hospital.   As we observed the old abandoned facility I thought of people who might have been confined there maybe miles away from family and friends at a time when people didn't have the luxury of a car and good roads to be able to visit regularly.  An interesting side note here is that just recently a modern hotel was opened in the buildings of the Buffalo State Hospital.     I will try to copy and paste here the information about the restoration of an important landmark building in Buffalo.

https://richardson-olmsted.com/
The site I referred to in the  previous post.

Interesting article, Mary.

Marilyne, I think you or another of this group, mentioned a book titled "Brought To Our Senses" by Karen Wheeler.  Is it a novel or a collection of short stories?  Do I have the title and author correct.  Couldn't find anything similar in my libraries.

Tomereader,  I haven't read "Brought To Our Senses" but just did a search for the title and found that the author is Kathleen H. Wheeler.
It's a novel.

Thanks, Callie!  I'll try looking it up on line again at my library's site!

Obviously my library does not have it.  Boohoo!

Tome - My library didn't have it either, but they special ordered it for me.  I'm sure it will eventually be available for your Kindle,  from Amazon or other ebook sites. 

Has it really been quiet here in the bookshelves or am I out of touch?  About the time I finished What She Left Behind the library notified me that I had two books available that were on hold.    I really hit the jackpot!!   One of them was a newer Fanny Flagg book that I had just looked at in Barnes and Noble,   The Whole Town is Talking.    This is a happy read and is going fast.   The other was a later book of Jan Karon,  To Be Where You Are.  Debby took that one so we can switch and read them both in the two weeks.  After What She Left Behind,  this is like a sunny day after a storm.   

I hope that all of our friends here ok  and just busy with other things.

Debby called my attention to the fact that Our Souls At Night is now on Netflix with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda.  I'll watch it soon to see how well they kept to the story.

maryc - So glad to see your recommendation for the Fannie Flagg book, The Whole Town Is Talking.  I can hardly wait to get it at my library and start reading!  It will be so nice to read something happy!  I've liked every book ever written by her, and I'm sure this will be no exception.  Have you ever read Standing in the Rainbow?  If not, I think you would really enjoy it.  Something about it, brought on a lot of nostalgia for me.  It takes place in a small town in the Midwest in the late 1940's. The story is very soothing and has that style of wit, that she does so well.

I began reading What She Left Behind, and after the first page, I realized that I had started it once before and never finished it.  The story itself looks to be good, but I think I'm going to return it to the library, and maybe check it out again in the future.  I'm just not in the right frame of mind for something that seems so sad and depressing. I probably didn't give it enough of a chance, which is why I will keep it on my book list for later.  I think I need something a little lighter right now, so I hope the Fannie Flagg book is in. 

Thanks for the good news, that Our Souls At Night,is now on Netflix.  I liked the book so much, and I'm looking forward to the movie.  My only problem, is that that quality of my Netflix reception has become very poor, in recent months, so I haven't been watching anything on it for a long time.  Netflix itself, is only about one mile from my house, so should call them and maybe they can figure out what's wrong.  Maybe they'll even send a tech worker over to my house to look at my picture and diagnose the problem! ha ha (I can dream, can't I?)

Marilyne,   I just checked in to see if I had read Standing in a Rainbow.   I don't believe so.  You however are in for a happy surprise.   I'll tell no more!   I've read a few of her books starting with Fried Green Tomatoes.  I think the last was The All Girls Filling Station's Last Reunion.   On the flyleaf of this book it tells how Fanny Flagg started writing as a young child and went on to write and produce some TV specials.  She wrote and appeared on Candid Camera a favorite show of mine.    She is an author that I fall back on when I need something happy to read.

maryc - I'm enjoying The Whole Town's Talking!  Imagine how pleased I was, after a few chapters, when I realized that it's a "prequel" to Standing in the Rainbow!  "Rainbow" takes place in Elmwood Springs, starting at around 1945 or 46?  So I suspect that "Talking" will end at about that time - after WWII??  Lots of the same people, and same names, in both books.  I'm only half way through, but I already don't want it to end.  Fortunately, I own a copy of "Rainbow", so when I finish, I plan to read it again, to get the full scope of Elmwood Springs, and all of it's citizens through the years.   So much warmth and wit in both books.  Wonderful and lovable characters. 

Marilyne,   Your post about The Whole Town's Talking sounded as though you had a smile on your face.     I can understand why.  Fanny Flagg's books just have that affect on me.   Even the sad things that happen don't seem so sad at all, just a matter of life happenings.

I've been reading the Jan Karon book that I picked up at the same time and it is a similar type of book.   The people just carry over from one to another with an addition of a character here and there,  just like real life.  I'm afraid that I'm going to have to return this one unfinished unless I have a marathon read between now and Saturday as it can't be renewed.....there is a waiting list.
 
My thoughts for today.
On Saturday I hope to be able to go to Niagara Falls for an open house of a new apartment building.  It was formerly a  Junior High School that I attended and has been refurbished for apartments.  It was just a couple blocks from our family home and I went there for four years due to the crowded conditions of Senior High classrooms.  Those were happy years!   This was just after WWII and the influx of families to the city finally caught up to the school system.   Since that time there have been many new schools built both in the city and in the nearby suburbs.  When our son and his family moved to Charlotte, NC about 25 years ago he commented that Charlotte was facing a shortage of school buildings because of the rapid population growth there.   It's interesting how these things happen.   I know that our own school district had quite a building program going on during the time I worked there and now one of the buildings has been turned into the Administration building as the census has once again shrunk.  At the rate that homes and apartments are being built in our district I have to wonder if that could change again.   Perhaps not because of the smaller families.

mary - I finished The Whole Town's Talking, and loved every minute of it.  Yes, I have a smile on my face right now, just thinking about the story and the characters. As I said in my last post - so much warmth and humor!  It's a book that would be enjoyed most, by those of us who are now old, and who remember what life was like when we were growing up - before progress and technology stepped in and changed everything. The closeness of the neighbors, and the whole community, is what I miss most. I think you likely still have some of that left in the town where you live, but here in California, it's gone, and is just a memory.

I hope you follow up, and read Standing in the Rainbow, which also takes place in Elmwood Springs, and has a few of the same characters. Two that I remember who were also in Rainbow, are Aunt Elner and Tot.  I think Mackie and Norma, are also in the story, but it's been a while since I've read it, so not sure.  The main characters are different in Rainbow, but just as likable and unique, as the ones in TWTT. 

P.S. Don't you wish you could someday, go to Still Meadows?  I do!

    Yes Marilyne, Still Meadows sounded like a nice place to "catch up" on all of the news about friends and family.   Don't we just hope for that kind of place someday?    It's funny you should be reminiscing about the good old days when you knew your neighbors both next door and around the block.  Just this morning over the second cup of coffee Al was doing a little of grieving about those days when our neighbors and ourselves sat on our front porches and visited across the way or if you should take a stroll down the block you could stop and pass the time of day.  We weren't so busy rushing off here and there or staying indoors to watch TV.  We moved to the suburbs to give our children and ourselves space and out here there is a busy road, no sidewalks and neighbors who like  ourselves have busy lives and not much time for neighboring.  When our children rode the school bus they knew all the children up and down our road and we got to know many of them through the children.   Not so any more.   Families move in and out and we recognize people by their autos that we see parked by one house or another but that's about it.  We do have some folks in our immediate neighborhood who have been here for many years and we have speaking acquaintance and our next door neighbor takes care of our lawn and snow since Al was sick......can't complain there!  Life is just different.

We did go to visit my old Junior High School on Saturday when they had an open house for the renovation to loft apartments and commercial use.    That was a walk down memory lane.     I couldn't live there but it was interesting to see what they have done with the old building.  (built in 1923)

I know that the Jan Karon books are not for everyone but they are a comfortable read and the characters carry along from one book to another and you have that small town community feeling running through it. Debby and I have read all of them and enjoyed each one.

I loved the Elmwood Springs novels.   

maryc, I was reading along about the WAFs in The All Girls Filling Station's Last Reunion"  and came across "Bea, who grew up on a ranch in Wapanucka, Oklahoma."  What?   
I grew up in the first town east of Wapanucka (yes, it's a real place) and went to school with a Bea who lived on a ranch between the two.   The more I read, the more I realized that the character must have been based on this person, although the character's personality and life style was very different from the girl who was three years ahead of me in high school.  The Bea I knew married three millionaires and has had a building named in her honor at a state university.
Would love to know the connection (if any).

Still waiting on the latest Jan Karon book.
However, "A Column of Fire" by Ken Follett appeared on my e-book list this week.  I'm alternating between that and reading through the Lakeshore Chronicles series by Susan Wiggs.   

Callie - That's pretty remarkable, that the Bea, in "Filling Station", could likely be the girl you went to school with?  Fannie Flagg, probably bases her characters loosely, on people she once knew from long ago.  I haven't looked up FF's biography, but now I'm wondering if she's from Oklahoma? 

I started Standing in the Rainbow, once again.  Now that I can connect some of the characters to those that I just read about in The Whole Town is Talking, I'm enjoying it more than ever! 

Marilyne,  No,  Fannie Flagg isn't from Oklahoma and didn't go to the same private school or college that Bea attended.  The character is definitely "loosely" based on the Bea I knew. 
Wish she'd do a book signing in OKC.  I'd ask her!!

I think Fannie Flagg might be from some southern state.  I'm not sure, but am thinking Alabama or Georgia.  Just a guess.

Sue