The I've Been Dumped Weekly Link Round-Up

 

For quite awhile, someone at the agency responsible for sending a home health nurse to my house twice weekly to clean and bandage my leg has been wanting to get rid of me. I'm not quite sure why, other than having a leg that just does not want to heal completely, but that person had quite the bee in her bonnet. My home health nurse fought the good fight, but for every point he raised, she had a comeback. What kind of comeback? Let me tell you, she had some doozies. "She can either change the bandages herself [not limber enough] or she can pay someone to do it for her [when did I win the lottery?]." "She can sell her house and move into assisted living [not with a reverse mortgage, I can't]." 

See what I mean about doozies? Full of the milk of human kindness, she is. Of course, she's probably just trying to save the agency a penny or two, but...! Now I'm scrambling to find a replacement because she insisted on my discharge. Never fear, I shall persist and overcome. 😊

While this has been going on, the weather has been absolutely gorgeous, and I've been working on my Vitamin D levels... plus continuing my clear-out a shelf at a time. My mood is lighter, and I even have a bit of zip in my doodah. Nice, eh?

Now that I've got more zip, I'm thinking about how I want to decorate my house for the holidays. It's not going to be anything like the years when I had a forest of Christmas trees, but I'm finding that it can be fun to think small. And while I'm plotting, clearing out, knitting, and searching for a new home health nurse, I hope you're all doing well. Virtual hugs to you all!

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• The surprising endurance of Martha Stewart's Entertaining.
• The new Harry Potter audiobook has launched on Audible.
• In praise of librarians in dangerous times.
• Authors' class action lawsuit against OpenAI is moving ahead.
• What's with all the sheep on book covers?
• Grokipedia is the antithesis of everything that makes Wikipedia good.
• The election that defined what "real Americans" ate and drank.
• The forgotten medieval habit of "two sleeps."

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• French archaeologists have uncovered a "vast Roman burial area" with cremation graves "fed" by liquid offerings.
• Thieves stole more than 1,000 artifacts from a California museum's storage facility.
• A 5,000-year-old "cultic space" discovered in Iraq dates to the time of the world's first cities.
• Decapitator nose ornament: 1,500-year-old gold jewelry depicting a bloodthirsty South American god.
• This Inca building-- the only surviving structure of its kind-- might have been designed to amplify sound and music.
• Archaeologists in Pompeii discovered an ancient bench where hopeful clients waited to be seen by an elite Roman.
• An ancient Egyptian statue of "Messi" found at the Saqqara necropolis is the only known example of its kind from the Old Kingdom.
• Archaeologists found a 300-year-old shipwreck in what used to be "one of the baddest pirate lairs on Earth."

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• How El Jefe, the lone Arizona jaguar who captivated a nation in 2016, became a rock star.
• Chimpanzees "think about thinking" in order to weigh evidence and plan their actions.
• A rare, out-of-place cuckoo sends birders flocking to Long Island in hopes of a once-in-a-lifetime sighting.
• These bats glow green under UV light, joining a growing list of photoluminescent mammals.
• Bowhead whales live long lives. Do they hold the key to human longevity?
• From playful otters to pint-size owls, these eight awesome animals call the Chesapeake Bay home.
• Celebrate man's best friend with these 15 photographs of good dogs.
• Aye-ayes: the strange nocturnal lemurs with long, creepy fingers.

►The Wanderer◄

• Crime and the City: the Falkland Islands.
• The skyline of Paris is filled with zinc rooftops, but can they survive climate change?
• New York, the city of 700 languages.
• Why Oklahoma's Route 66 is the ultimate American road trip for 2026. (I think any part of Route 66 is the ultimate road trip.)
• These 15 photographs illustrate the ancient beauty of Japan.
• An object in a satellite image defies explanation. Could it solve one of aviation's greatest mysteries?
• Aruba: black gold and boas.
• What it takes to tend the world's deadliest garden.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Artist Marco Grassi crates hyperrealistic paintings teeming with microscopic details.
• Designer Vera West created iconic costumes for Bride of Frankenstein and other classic monster movies. Her mysterious life ended tragically.
• It's almost impossible for Tristan Gooley to get lost. That's one reason he has millions of followers.
• Sixteen-year-old Isaque Carvalho Borges invented an A.I. tool to help cool down the world's hottest cities.
• Jen Pawol became the first female umpire in major league baseball history.
• Maria Mitchell, America's first woman astronomer and mentor to women in science.
• See hundreds of garments that Elizabeth II wore throughout her seven-decade reign.
• Jim Lovell, the Apollo 13 commander who thrived under pressure, died in August at the age of 97.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• The Jewish cozy mystery series that will keep you turning pages.
• 20 non-fiction reads your book club will love.
• 21 twisty new thrillers.
• These atmospheric historical novels are spellbinding.
• Cozy mysteries featuring animals other than cats.
• 13 nature books perfect for Sy Montgomery readers.
• 7 intriguing mysteries set in British institutions.
• Librarians recommend 8 books that changed the shape of politics and reading in America.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!  

October 2025 at the Desert Botanical Garden

I took a trip to one of my favorite places, the Desert Botanical Garden, the week before Halloween. The weather was glorious, and for once the place wasn't heaving with people. In many of my favorite spots, I felt as though I had the place all to myself, which was quite nice. 

Here are some of the photos I took. I hope you enjoy your virtual visit.

Purple was the color of choice, with Texas sage, Mexican petunias, asters, lavender, and other beauties blooming like crazy. No place else on earth shows its appreciation for rain faster than the desert.

I love how light often gives the cactus a halo.

It's been years since I've seen these cardon cacti (which have been here at the Garden since 1938) so happy and swollen with water. Those storms we got at the end of September were badly needed.

The honeysuckle was blooming like mad.

Two women standing in front of one of the installations of the latest "draw" to the Garden: Desert Pulse. I wasn't that impressed, but I do think this would be much more impressive at night.

A male and female Gambel's quail.

I had almost three dozen quail surrounding me at the Patio Cafe. I always bring raw sunflower kernels to feed them, but this time I had a new treat: dried mealy worms, and they were quite the hit. I'll be bringing them more in the future.

This lizard was basking in the sun in a spot where it thought no one would see it. It didn't anticipate ole Eagle Eye here with my zoom lens!

Part of the Garden's Halloween display.

The Butterfly Pavilion has become so popular that it now has a nursery.

Monarch butterfly

This feeder was very popular.

The Butterfly Pavilion will be closing in a few days, but it will return in the spring.

It was nice to be outside in glorious weather and at one of my very favorite places, but I have to admit that I did miss Denis. Very much.

Return to Sender by Craig Johnson

 

First Line: "Nobody smiles anymore."

The longest postal route in the country is in the Red Desert of Wyoming, and it covers over three hundred miles a day. When Blair McGowan, the person responsible for that route, goes missing, there's a lot of territory to cover to try to find her. Who does the Postal Inspector for the State of Wyoming turn to? Sheriff Walt Longmire, who poses as a mail carrier to follow her trail. 

The trail eventually leads to a cult living out in the Red Desert, and Walt finds himself right up to his neck in intrigue.

~

I always enjoy any time that I spend with Walt Longmire, and Return to Sender is no exception-- especially since every time I picked up the book and looked at the cover, my favorite Elvis Presley song began playing in my mind.

Once again, author Craig Johnson brings another section of Wyoming to life. This time, the Red Desert, the largest living dune system in the United States. Walt is pretty much solo as he goes undercover as a mail carrier. Only Dog accompanies him in a rather unique mode of transport: an old Travelall.

Return to Sender is filled with Johnson's trademark humor ("Benny, the walking skid mark"), and Walt is carrying something with him that may shock longtime fans. As he works to find the missing Blair McGowan, he meets several characters that I wish I could see again, like World War II Polish Resistance fighter, Mrs. Wasserstein. The story is filled with twists and turns that kept me smiling.

Walt is still debating whether or not he should retire, and he's not helped any when he's put right in the middle of someone else's choice. What's he going to decide to do? I'm looking forward to finding out in the next book.

Return to Sender by Craig Johnson

ISBN:  9780593830703

Viking © 2025

Hardcover, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #21 Walt Longmire

Rating: A

Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

An Unplanned Treats Weekly Link Round-Up

 

This past Sunday was the first time in a long time that I've felt like "me." It's been so long that I was surprised when I realized it. Life does go on. 

I've been taking it easy with my clearing out and reorganizing things in the house. I overdid it to the point where my lower back was killing me and I could barely move my right arm. (I really don't want to check the odometer on my scooter either!) Life goes on, but some things never change... like the fact that I'm a goal-oriented person, and once I have a plan in mind, my common sense can get tossed out the window. A drawer at a time, a shelf at a time is my current mantra. 

Tucker, the woman who cuts my hair, is about to become a first-time grandma, and I told her to go through my stash of baby blankets and choose as many as she liked for her grandbaby. She chose two and gave them to her daughter Monday. It was a treat, and Taylor was thrilled, as you can see in the photo. 

Speaking of treats-- it is Halloween after all-- I received an unplanned one from a special person that made me smile. Unexpected acts of friendship and kindness can be such spirit lifters. May all of you receive some unplanned treats of your own. Virtual hugs to you all.

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Ellery Adams on the allure of psychics and mediums in crime fiction.
• Miami Vice is back-- again!
• Agatha Christie's first published work has been discovered after 120 years.
• The case for whole books. (I didn't realize the educational system was moving away from having students read entire books?!?)
• The Harry Potter full-cast audiobook adds Bill Nighy as Slughorn, with eleven others.
• Breastfeeding has long been linked to reducing cancer risk. Scientists may have just discovered why.
• AI models get brain rot, too.
• How the Hardy Boys book series cracked the case of getting kids hooked on reading. (Admission here. As a child, I much preferred the Hardy Boys to Nancy Drew.)

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• 900 years ago, Indigenous Americans dragged, carried, or floated a 5-ton tree more than 100 miles to North America's largest city north of Mexico. (And I've been there, and once was not enough.)
• A 2,000-year-old sarcophagus was unsealed-- and the mummy inside is mind-blowing.
• A family found these rare Tudor coins buried in their backyard. Now the trove is heading to the auction block.
• The Roos Carr figures: Creepy 2,600-year-old carvings with "removable genitalia" and eyes that may have symbolized Odin's soothsayer powers.
• A pair of "holy" islands in an eerily green African lake hold centuries-old relics and mummified emperors.
• A treasure trove of shipwrecks along China's coast reveals how East met West on the Maritime Silk Road.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Horseshoe crab blood has long helped us make safe medicines. Now alternatives that spare the ancient creatures might be breaking through.
• See this year's hilarious finalists from the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Awards, from gossiping leopards to breakdancing foxes.
• "Feisty" otters are once again hijacking surfboards in Santa Cruz.
• To hide from predators, some animals camouflage into their surroundings, while others display bright colors as a warning. What keeps them safest?
• Getting annoyed at your noisy neighbor? Spiders are, too. New research finds they'll build webs differently in loud conditions.
• Texas puma genes rescue Florida panthers from extinction-- for now.

►The Wanderer◄

• The Loch Ness Monster look-alike lurking beneath Lake Tahoe.
• A car backed up into the home where Shakespeare's daughter lived, causing serous damage.
• National Geographic's best places in the world to travel to in 2026.
• Why Paris designed its peculiarly popular grand graveyards to evoke a celebration of life amid all the death.
• Australian rainforests have become the first to emit more carbon than they absorb.
• One of Frank Lloyd Wright's rare Usonian automatic homes has achieved landmark status.
• Iceland is no longer mosquito free.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• See how Manet and Morisot's creative friendship influenced their artistic styles.
• The mystery Waterloo soldier depicted in a painting at London's National Army Museum has been identified.
• Thirteen-year-old painting prodigy Andres Valencia releases his first limited-edition print collection.
• Trailblazing dancer Misty Copeland performed one last time before retiring from the American Ballet Theater.
• The Amazon has been Peruvian artist Sara Flores' home, inspiration, and palette. Now the world is her gallery.
• Molly Young is the GOAT book recommender.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Halloween postcards, ca. 1900-1920.
• Seven supposedly haunted artworks.
• Esquire names its Best Books of 2025.
• Ten historic events that happened on Halloween.
• Ten novels featuring unabashedly unhinged female characters. 
• Twenty books that offer pure escapism, from Kirkus.
• Five delicious mysteries that focus on food and cooking.
• Stephen King thinks you should read these books.
• Twelve biographies of forgotten women of history.
• Thirteen mysteries and thrillers set on trains.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!  

Dia de los Muertos 2025 at Casa Kittling

 I put up my ofrenda for Dia de los Muertos early this year, probably because I'm rattling around in Casa Kittling solo and missing a few special people. However, it just dawned on me that it really doesn't matter when I do things. For example, if I want to have Christmas decorations up year round, there's nothing to stop me, right?  😉

By the way, it just occurred to me that some of you may not be familiar with Dia de los Muertos and what an ofrenda is. Here's what Google says: 

"An ofrenda is a traditional altar or offering set up in homes during Mexico's Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration to honor deceased loved ones. Families create them to welcome the spirits of the dead back to the world of the living for the holiday, decorating them with photos, favorite foods and drinks, candles, and personal belongings to create a welcoming and celebratory space. The ofrenda is intended to welcome the spirits of deceased relatives back to visit their families. It is a place of joyous recollection and celebration, not sorrow, meant to remember the cherished moments shared with the deceased."

I've never been a fan of Halloween. When I was growing up, it seemed to be a time of tricks and not treats. Toilet paper strung everywhere, drive-by rotten tomato throwers, and the like. When I moved to Phoenix, I found Dia de los Muertos much more my style. I love the colors and the meaning of the celebration even though I don't have a traditional ofrenda. (For example, I don't put food on my ofrenda.)

Here are a few photos of my Dia de los Muertos ofrenda.

This table has the family photos.

This table holds some of the Dia de los Muertos items I've collected over the years.

The large photo is of my mother and me. Mom was incredibly camera-shy, but the last time we visited my grandparents/her parents, she insisted on being included in a couple of photos. It's almost as if she knew this would be the last time we'd all be together. The Donald Duck figure is in honor of my dad's (small photo-- the one Mom carried in her wallet) spot-on imitation of the Disney quacker. He liked to sit in the movie theater and give Donald x-rated dialogue during the cartoons.

Top photo: my grandfather. Next one down: my grandmother. Lower left: my aunt and uncle. Lower right: my great-grandparents. The chicken is for my mother (it wouldn't fit on the other stand). She had a long-standing feud with one of my great-grandmother's chickens. The little sewing machine is for my grandmother, who made most of my clothes when I was a child. She even made my prom dress.

I couldn't forget to show my Dia de los Muertos playing cards. Growing up, winter Saturday nights were spent at my grandparents' playing pinochle and canasta.

Denis's digital photo frame that cycles through many photos taken over the years we were together. The Kodak truck is for his work at Kodak. The yellow submarine is for his years as a submariner and also for his love of the Beatles. This photo was taken at the Oath Ceremony when he became an American citizen.

If any of you noticed the knitted runners on the tables, yes, I made them. Like I said at the beginning, I love the bright colors of Dia de los Muertos. They are an immediate sign that this is not a sad time but a time to celebrate.

Contesting the Wool by Diane Vallere

 

First Line: The reading of Reginald Villamere's will was the event of the season, and until last week, I didn't know the man existed.

It was a shock when Poly Monroe learned she was going to inherit something from millionaire Reginald Villamere. She never knew the man who preserved San Ladron's historic movie theater, but her relatives did. Since Villamere's thirty-year-old will named them and they were both dead, Poly inherited in their place. When she goes to the theater to see her inheritance, she finds one of Villamere's lawyers dead in a storage room.

Townspeople are more interested in "who got what" in Villamere's will than they are in the murder of a stranger, so it's up to Poly to unravel all the clues and button down the killer.

~

The more books I read by Diane Vallere, the more I find we have in common, like believing that one of life's great experiences is watching a movie in an empty theater. In Contesting the Wool, readers follow Poly in and out of a historic theater, and I enjoyed every minute.

One of the things I love about this Material Witness series is the creativity with which Vallere imbues her main character. In this sixth entry, Poly is inspired by her inheritance, and I loved watching her brainstorm a new idea to grow her business. 

I also admit I had to smile when I learned that the plot revolved around a thirty-year-old will that raised no questions, especially since the will was a millionaire's. You see, I recently had problems getting a thirteen-year-old will accepted by various businesses. ("There could be others floating around!" one person said.) I guess that's one of the perks of being a millionaire? But that will really keeps the plot hopping from named beneficiaries to those who thought they should have been included-- and weren't. 

No matter how strong the plots are, this series shines because of its cast of characters. Not just Poly, but her friend, Charlie, who has the best auto repair shop in San Ladron and relishes her reputation as the town's bad girl. Charlie lives life on her own terms, and her character grows with each book. By the way, so does Poly's. For one thing, she's learning that she can't keep expecting her parents to fill in whenever she needs help in her fabric shop. But it's not just Charlie and Poly. There's Sheriff Clark, Tiki Tom, Duke, Poly's old boss Giovanni... the list goes on. 

If you haven't given the Material Witness series a try, I hope you'll change that. A great cast, humor, good mysteries to solve, and watching creativity in action. What's not to like?

Contesting the Wool by Diane Vallere

eISBN: 9781954579231

Polyester Press © 2025

eBook, 277 pages

Cozy Mystery, #6 Material Witness

Rating: B+

Source: Net Galley

A Tempus Fugit Weekly Link Round-Up

 

I've got lots going on today, and if all goes well, I'll be boarding Dial-a-Ride for a trip to the Desert Botanical Garden tomorrow morning. Since my attention is being pulled in multiple directions, I wanted to make sure I got this link round-up posted because I know I won't have time in the next two days.

So...very little chatter before the links. I'll just share a sneak peek at something I'll be sharing next week...

...and add that, as I was reading in bed last night, a fight scene in Lee Goldberg's Killer Thriller made me laugh so loud that I woke up the neighbors' grumpy dog! I hope you are well and happy and have plenty of good books to read. Virtual hugs to you all!

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Why you should think twice before using shorthand like "thx" and "k" in your texts.
• Barf, funk, tug, and other etymological mysteries.
• On creating the quintessential murder village in cozy mysteries.
• Wyoming lawmakers advance a bill banning "sexually explicit" books in school and public libraries.
• Bibliomania, the dark desire for books that infected Europe in the 1800s.
• Why an elderly woman character is the perfect serial killer.
• Over 50% of new online articles are being cranked out by AI.
• We're in a book affordability crisis.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A 3,500-year-old Egyptian military fortress with ancient ovens and fossilized dough has been discovered in the Sinai Desert.
• Easter Island statues may have "walked" thanks to "pendulum dynamics" and with as few as fifteen people. 
• 5,000-year-old skeleton masks and skull cups made from human bones have been discovered in China.
• Miniature skeleton: a ghostly 2,000-year-old party favor from a Roman banquet.
• Archaeologists have discovered mysterious earthwork circles built 6,500 years ago-- nearly 2,000 years before Stonehenge.
• This rare Fabergé egg might set a world record at auction for the third time in its history.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Sea otters may be small marine mammals, but their effect on an ecosystem can be huge.
• Does your dog love chasing a ball? A study suggests that dog toy "addiction" is real.
• The Asian Golden Cat: the "Feline of many costumes" that plucks birds before eating them.
• Indian Relay may just be America's most extreme sport.
• Birds make an alarm call that spans species and continents-- and may offer insight into the evolution of human language.
• U.S. whale entanglements are on the rise.

►The Wanderer◄

• You can see the Parthenon without scaffolding for the first time in decades.
• After the L.A. fires, locals turn to native plants to help shield homes from flames and clean contaminated soil. (Personal Pet Peeve: People who move here to the desert and proceed to turn their property into a clone of where they moved from. This is the desert, not the bleedin' Midwest!)
• Seven ways to see the world come alive at sunrise.
• Step away from Peru's Inca Trail to these five lesser-known wonders.
• Chainsaw-wielding robbers flee the Louvre with priceless jewelry.
• Get an eyeful of Iceland in these twenty photos that capture its natural beauty.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Zelia Nuttall, the globe-trotting scholar who unlocked the secrets of the Aztecs.
• Artist Iris Scott uses finger painting to evoke a rush of emotion with her fantasy-inspired compositions. (Definitely not your run-of-the-mill finger painting!)
• William Dampier, the pirate who penned the first English-language guacamole recipe.
• "You think me a bold cheat" -- Mary Carleton, counterfeit princess.
• Dan Pelzer kept a meticulous list of all 3,599 books he'd read since 1962. When he died, his family published it online.
• Martin Couney, the man who ran a carnival attraction that saved thousands of premature babies, wasn't a doctor at all.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Kirkus' 20 Best Books to Read in November.
• Five essential books for understanding Haitian history.
• Seven historical horror novels inspired by true events.
• Fourteen novels set in the scenic Carolinas.
• Six firefighter mystery and thriller books to spark your interest.
• The best historical fiction of the second half of 2025.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!