A Swedish Solo Weekly Link Round-Up

 

I have always been someone who loves organizing, whether it's my bookshelves or my closets. Storage bins and my label maker are very good friends of mine. However, I can't say that I do it all the time or that everything in this house is perfectly in its place. Years can go by before I'll get a wild hair to start ripping things apart and putting them back together.

I've been under the influence of my latest wild hair for the past couple of weeks. I guess some people would call it Swedish death cleaning, especially since this mood struck after Denis's death. My beloved family group I refer to as KaDaSuMi (you know who you are) helped me with the lion's share of clearing out so many things that I could not have done by myself. What's left are things that I can handle with occasional help from my visiting nurse, Alex.

I've had to clean up after my grandparents' and mother's deaths, and all three of them were packrats. (For example, I found 116 single socks squirreled away in my grandparents' house.) Denis was a semi-reformed packrat, and I'm just about ready to go through the last of his stash areas. 

While I do this, I'm also working through my own stuff as well as all the cupboards, drawers, and anyplace else where things are stored. If something hasn't been touched in years, out it goes to be recycled or donated. I've been moving furniture to make the house easier for me to navigate, and I've set up an area where I can get some of the crafting done that has been piling up. I don't want KaDaSuMi to go through what I have. (Which means that I must have a plan for all my books.)

Labeling my finished knitting projects before putting them back on the shelves.

The weather is finally beginning to cool a bit, and I've been thinking of trips to the Desert Botanical Garden and The Poisoned Pen. I know I need to get out and about. It's good for my physical and mental health, but... part of me dreads going because I'll be solo. Denis has been my beloved companion for so many years that going back to traveling everywhere alone is depressing. Yes, he'll be with me in spirit, but it really isn't the same. I know many of you have already experienced exactly what I'm talking about. However, I lived a good part of my life alone, so I know I can do it again. 

Virtual hugs to you all! Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• Proving that insanity is worldwide, the Taliban has banned books written by women from Afghan universities.
• Why is Barnes & Noble buying up another indie chain?
• Anti-book ban legislation and additional free speech protections are now law in Delaware.
• Richard Osman horrified after scrolling on Amazon to find his books.
• Before drinking coffee, people washed their hands with it.
• Not just a fashion statement: How purses are used as political tools.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A documentary entitled Cleopatra's Final Secret reveals hundreds of coins and port found in Egypt. But does that mean Cleopatra was buried there?
• 15 archaeological sites revealed by climate change.
• A 3,000-year-old bracelet belonging to an ancient Egyptian pharaoh has been stolen, sold, and melted down for gold.
• Archaeologists have unearthed a treasure-filled tomb belonging to the first known ruler of a Maya city in Belize.
• A boy found a shipwreck on a Scottish beach. It turned out to be a 250-year-old warship from the American Revolution.
• Newly discovered Pompeii frescoes reveal a different-- wild-- side of ancient Roman women.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Fish are spawning in the Chicago River, another sign the once-contaminated waterway is rebounding.
• Could beavers be the secret to winning the fight against wildfires?
• A jaguar in Brazil has smashed the record for the species' longest documented swim.
• Scientists are mapping the ways octopuses use their complex arms, revealing preferences for certain tasks.
• See 15 breathtaking bird images from the 16th annual Audubon Photography Awards.
• Five astounding ways humans are driving animal evolution, including causing lizards to grow longer legs and leading moth populations to become darker.

►The Wanderer◄

• By counting growth rings, researchers solve the mystery of the Sycamore Gap tree's age.
• This tiny museum in coastal Denmark just surpassed the Louvre in one big way.
• In Greece, where ancient history meets tourist fantasy, the climate crisis is accelerating faster than almost anywhere else in the global north.
• Abandoning daylight saving time could prevent over 300,000 stroke cases a year in the U.S. 
• Is AI good for the planet?
• Set sail on the Erie Canal 200 years after its inaugural voyage.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Before Stephen Shore became famous, the was a 12-year-old photographer capturing stunning scenes of 1960s New York.
• LeVar Burton has been named the ABA's indie bookstore ambassador.
• Joseph Yoon, the chef cooking a cicada recipe for every palate.
• Activist and writer Mary Church Terrell led the charge for desegregation.
• Four famous American women who were also prolific letter writers.
• The fierce women of Sparta wrestled, danced, and drank.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• The 25 greatest children's books of the past 25 years.
• The six best pet parents in crime fiction.
• The best historical fiction of fall.
• 13 British TV shows Americans like more than British people do.
• An ultimate list of classic mystery books.
• A Collection of Old English Customs, and Curious Bequests and Charities (1842).

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!