An Interesting Times Weekly Link Round-Up

 

This has been a week I could've done without. Total disruption of my sleep patterns, meal times, and on and on. Why? Because I had to have a new electrical panel installed. Then the gas and water lines had to be relocated. Then the power outlets in the house needed to be brought up to code. Then a new water heater. And now something's wrong with the pool filter. I even thought my router had given up the ghost. But the coup de grâce? The air conditioner did give up the ghost, and it was only 110°F/44°C. 

Have I been having fun? You bet! Am I ever sarcastic? Never!

Now for something completely different. Remember the photos I posted of Suzanne and Daisy's visit where we'd set up an assembly line to make felt-lined needlepoint star baskets? I've shown you photos of two of the five baskets, and now I finally have a third done. Here it is--

When I first met my niece, Karen, who lives in the Manchester, UK area, she had two black and white cats named Bonnie and Clyde. When I saw those buttons on Etsy, I had to have them for this basket. The felt lining inside I'd had for years because I knew I'd do something with it eventually. The light pink yarn is left over from the afghan I made Karen. What do you think? Think she'll like it?

The electricians are at the other end of the house working on those outlets, so I'm going to head to the corral. Virtual hugs to you all, and enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• This man thinks we don't need hardback books.
• Huntington Beach (California) ordered to pay $1 million in legal fees after a library censorship defeat.
• A man has pled guilty to a $48 million national book publishing scam.
• Is learning to read in New York City schools getting in the way of reading whole books?
• Did you know there's an independent bookstore revival underway?
• How Substack became the new book tour.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• The Athena Bowl: A silver and gold vessel of the goddess and her owl, buried in a German forest 2,000 years ago.
• A 500-year-old dental bridge is the earliest known oral care of its kind in Scotland-- and it likely held a fake tooth.
• Here's what underwater robots are finding at France's deepest shipwreck, a 16th-century merchant vessel resting at the bottom of the Mediterranean.
• In the ancient world, this pigment was worth more than gold. Archaeologists discovered it buried with babies in Roman coffins.
• Archaeologists didn't expect to find anything at this site in England. Then they stumbled upon a Roman villa and a bronze artifact dubbed "Norfolk Nessie."
• This Vincent van Gogh painting was found wrapped in an Ikea bag and a blood-stained pillow. Now, the artwork has been restored to its former glory.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• The 15 deadliest animals on Earth.
• See 15 images that won the German Society for Nature Photography's annual contest.
• Atlantic puffins are returning to shore. Here's how to see the fleeting spring spectacle.
• A devoted dog walker converted an old school bus into the perfect vehicle to ferry canine clients to the park.
• One of the American West's most iconic birds-- the greater sage grouse-- is attempting to mate near a dangerous airport. Could robo-birds help save them?
• Octopus sex just got weirder. In addition to depositing sperm, males' specialized mating arm can "taste" female hormones. (This reminded me of the video taken of a female octopus throwing rocks at a male.)

►The Wanderer◄

• The Old Jewish Cemetery in Prague has around 100,000 bodies buried below medieval headstones, many of which mark graves with multiple bodies stacked up to 12 deep.
• This person visited the real-life homes behind beloved childhood books-- and found a new way to read them.
• Crime and the City: Ottawa, Canada.
• East Africa might break off from the continent sooner than scientists thought-- and a new ocean may fill the gap.
• 17 of the most charming small towns in the U.S.
• Five mountains that are totally off-limits-- and why.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• History remembers Mary Boleyn as the scandalous "other Boleyn girl." New research debunks the myths surrounding the Tudor mistress.
• High schooler Edward Kang developed an AI tool to diagnose autism and ADHD using the retina.
• A heartfelt tribute honoring Sir David Attenborough on his 100th birthday. (He's one of my heroes.)
• How Jane Austen influenced modern detective fiction.
• Meet Meenakshi Amma, the sword-wielding grandmother bringing women back to Indian martial arts.
• Anthony Horowitz says he uses ChatGPT in writing.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• These 27 new history books are enthralling.
• We need more geriatric heroines.
• 8 of the weirdest mystery and thriller movies of all time.
• 17 thrillers with unreliable narrators.
• These 14 books are perfect for Andy Weir fans.
• Explore Ireland  in these 22 books.

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!

Ear Defenders Should Be Included with Admission

When I was a child, my widowed mother raised me on a couple of paltry pensions and her job as the village librarian. Money was scarce, but Mom wanted to open the world to me, so she scraped up the money to subscribe to a couple of series of Time-Life books. I loved getting those books! They were beautifully illustrated and so informative. The volume on Pompeii fascinated me, and when I learned that Pompeii: The Exhibition was going to be at the Arizona Science Center while Suzanne and Daisy were here, I was hoping they would say yes when I asked them if they wanted to go. They did, so off we went.

We hadn't been to the Arizona Science Center before so we were eager to explore. Unfortunately, the place was heaving with children who all seemed to feel the need to scream at the tops of their lungs. The noise was deafening. Ear-splitting. Headache-inducing. Fortunately, the Pompeii exhibit was worth the pain.

At the beginning of the exhibit. It's mind-boggling to think of how old these pieces are.

Bronze keys, 1st century C.E.-- Found in one of Pompeii's largest and most luxurious homes, these keys opened complex locks adapted by Roman engineers from Egyptian pin locks. Although only able to open and lock from one side, these innovative locks secured the home and kept residents safe.

Money box and coins

Daisy's photo

Daisy's photo

Daisy's photo

Can you believe a loaf of bread survived?!?

Suzanne watching one of the videos.

Glirarium, terracotta, 1st century C.E.-- Dormice, considered a great delicacy by Roman gourmets who consumed them as savory snacks, were caged, raised, and fattened up in a glirarium. Its interior spiral shelves, two food tanks, and multiple air holes, encouraged captive dormice to eat, sleep, and eat some more.

Did you know that one of my favorite movies is Spartacus? (The Kirk Douglas version.)

The explanation for how the archaeologists were able to make these casts of victims was fascinating-- and this one even has his teeth!

Cast of a guard dog. I remember seeing a photo of this in one of those Time-Life books when I was about ten, so it was a bit of a thrill to see the actual cast. Looking at all those casts of victims was very sobering.

Once we were through the exhibit and could no longer stand the noise, there was still time before the Dial-a-Ride bus was due to pick us up, so we went for a wander. The Arizona Science Center is in the middle of downtown Phoenix.

The Rosson House was a short walk away in Heritage Square.

Daisy and Suzanne in front of the Rosson House. It wasn't open, so they couldn't go in.

From the Rosson House Memorial Rose Garden.

From the Rosson House Memorial Rose Garden.

We really did enjoy our outing-- so many fascinating and/or beautiful things to see-- even if the first thing we did when we got home was open a bottle of aspirin!

A Pinwheels and Smiles Weekly Link Round-Up

 

It's time to share a little secret with you: I love pinwheels. I've loved pinwheels since I was five years old. When I was five, I had the ring finger on my left hand shut and locked in a car door. (Don't ask me how. You wouldn't believe the things that happened to me when I was a kid.) Due to negligence on the local doctor's part, I had to go to the big city doctor for some rather unpleasant procedures. On one such trip, I was more reluctant than usual, so Mom promised me a present if I was good. I was, and the present I picked was a blue pinwheel. I stuck that thing out of the car window all the way home. It made me smile and forget about that doctor's visit.

I removed the headrest on my scooter and put a pinwheel in one of the holes. I love to hear that thing whirring behind my head when I'm out and about. What surprised me is other people's reactions to it. Talk about compliments and smiles! I guess pinwheels make many of us feel like children again, and those smiles certainly lift my own spirits.

I now seem to be collecting an assortment of them. Here's a photo of ones that I got while my nieces were here.

Do pinwheels make you smile, too? Virtual hugs to you all!

Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• How to make a book into a bestseller.
• How a university's censorship conference got censured.
• How some crime writers are finding a new path to publishing.
• The more young people use AI, the more they hate it.
• Publishers report sales boosts from Netflix adaptations.
• A school's removal of more than 100 books reflects "the pressure on librarians" to censor stock.
• Centuries-old Christian Nubian murals inspire gorgeous fashion reconstructions.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• See the largest Viking Age hoard ever found in Norway. At nearly 3,000 coins and counting, the cache is a once-in-a-lifetime find.
• This souvenir bowl may have commemorated an ancient Roman soldier's service at Hadrian's Wall. It was discovered on a Spanish farm 1,900 years later.
• This man fled Pompeii as Mount Vesuvius erupted. Archaeologists found him 2,000 years later, holding a bowl to protect his head and a lamp to light his way.
• Dead bodies filled a mass grave when the first plague pandemic struck this early medieval city. New research explores the identity of the victims.
• In a graveyard of shipwrecks between Europe and Africa, archaeologists discovered vessels doomed over thousands of years.
• Tudor Heart: a Renaissance gold necklace featuring a French-English pun on the love between Henry VIII and his first wife, Katherine of Aragon.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• City birds appear to like men more than women, but experts have no idea why.
• What did dogs mean to the ancient Maya? Scientists are unlocking new clues.
• Some polar bears are adapting to their melting habitat. Will it be enough to save the iconic species?
• The endangered proboscis monkey is easily identifiable by one physical trait: it's supersized schnoz.
• These rotund and "charmingly goofy" birds are delighting New Yorkers and dancing on social media. What is the American woodcock?
• Cinco the jaguar has expanded his territory across southern Arizona.

►The Wanderer◄

• Drone footage of the Solomon Islands' Kavachi volcano erupting underwater.
• Crime and the City: Riyadh and Saudi Arabia.
• This Greek volcano seemed quiet for 100,000 years. Then it erupted again. Should scientists take a second look at "extinct" volcanoes?
• These 15 photographs showcase the beauty of the Great Lakes.
• Experts are carefully restoring a 15th-century masterpiece by Giovani Bellini-- and you can watch them work.
• See the heart of Alaska on this 135-mile road trip along the Denali Highway.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• How a career in screenwriting prepared Tim Sullivan to write crime novels.
• The long, mysterious journey of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Brooks Brothers coat.
• Father and daughter Erwin and Karolina Bankowski forged more than 200 artworks by Warhol, Banksy, Picasso, and others-- and sold them for $2 million.
• Biruté Galdikas's life with orangutans-- and the iconic story that helped change their fate.
• Of the many types of Roman gladiator, some were definitely women.
• Mary Eliza Mahoney, the woman who defied the odds as the first Black nurse in the U.S.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• The 20 most addictive books of 2026 (so far) according to Kirkus.
• 7 high society mysteries.
• 35 books to read for Asian American and Pacific Islander Month.
• 15 books for Disability Book Week.
• 6 mystery novels with unorthodox settings and setups.
• Book Riot's best historical fiction of the century so far.
• 19 mysteries and thrillers set in the Midwest.
• The 5 best mysteries for Jane Austen lovers.

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!

The Teacher by Tim Sullivan

 

First Line: The victim's head was at a grotesque and unnatural angle to his body, which lay crumpled like a pile of laundry that had been thrown down the narrow staircase.

Others may think the dead man fell down the stairs and broke his neck, but Detective Sergeant George Cross thinks the stab wound on the elderly schoolteacher's body says differently.

As Cross investigates, he quickly learns that the victim, Alistair Moreton, made life hell for his neighbors and former pupils, so the suspect list is a long one. But every victim deserves justice, so Cross will not rest until he identifies the killer.

~

I may be reading much less than I have in previous years, but one thing is for certain: when the ones I do read are of the high quality of Tim Sullivan's George Cross series, I'm not going to complain. In The Teacher, Sullivan livens things up quite a bit by having Cross's usual partner, DS Josie Ottey, taking time off to move into her new house. He doesn't realize how much he's going to miss her until DI Warner joins the squad. Warner goes out of his way to aggravate Cross, and it's so much fun to watch Cross learn how to deal with him. Warner isn't much liked by anyone else in the squad either, one person even telling him, "He [Cross] is Sherlock Holmes to your Inspector Clouseau."

But Warner isn't the only worrisome item on George's list. His family life is steadily becoming more complicated, and he didn't realize how much he depended on DS Ottey to help guide him through the minefields of human interaction until she took this time off. This cast of characters is superb, and Sullivan certainly knows how to keep it fresh. Even DCI Carson-- normally a figure of fun-- is showing readers that he's not just a buffoon.

If you love strong mysteries that are fun to solve, and-- especially-- if you love characters who grow and begin to feel like friends and family, you simply have to start reading this series. Due to the character development, I urge you to start with the first book, The Dentist. You're in for such a treat that I'm almost jealous.

The Teacher by Tim Sullivan

eISBN: 9780802167767

Atlantic Crime © 2026

eBook, 387 pages

Police Procedural, #6 DS George Cross

Rating: A

Source: Net Galley

The Spending $ Like I Had It Weekly Link Round-Up

 

I've been having one of those spells that we all have: large expenses cropping up like weeds and all demanding attention RIGHT NOW. Loads of fun, aren't they? (I know I'm preaching to the choir.)

At the beginning of the year, it dawned on me to check on our homeowners' insurance. Denis had taken care of it since we were first married, and the last time I'd had anything to do with it, it had been included in the mortgage. Good thing I checked! 

The insurance company had me do a DIY home inspection and then demanded that I do two things. One, I'd already done. ($$$) This second one was even more expensive: a new electrical panel. ($$$$$) I know it needs to be done, but what entity informed the insurance company and all these other places that I just won an obscene amount of money in the lottery? I wish I had! Ah well... cope and adjust.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. I really need to plan a visit to the Desert Botanical Garden. But before I head to the link corral, I'll share this photo with you...

Suzanne inadvertently left a pair of slippers behind. Every time I see them, I expect her to come walking through the kitchen door. *sigh*

Virtual hugs to you all. Enjoy the links!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• The US saw a record high of 5,668 books banned in libraries in 2025.
• Read a book, flip off a Nazi: when reading meant resistance-- in pictures.
• Does reading do us any good?
• What will it take to get A.I. out of schools?
• What are the routines of so-called super-readers?
• Why cookbooks are the next frontier for narrative writing.
• How America learned to love Barnes & Noble again.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• A collection of maps owned by England's first queen spent centuries overlooked in a family library. Now, the rare volume is on sale for $1.6 million.
• A 13-year-old boy found this bronze coin in a field. It turned out to be the first ancient Greek artifact discovered in Berlin.
• Stained by nicotine and cocoa powder, these Edvard Munch paintings hung in a chocolate factory for a century. Now, they're going on public display for the first time.
• A 1,900-year-old souvenir cup featuring Hadrian's Wall and Roman forts has been discovered in Spain.
• Archaeologists discovered an Egyptian mummy with part of the Iliad in its abdomen.
• These historic snuffboxes associated with 18th-century monarchs were stolen in a shocking heist. Now, they're back on public display.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• See the 1-in-50-million split-color lobster caught off the coast of Massachusetts. It's carrying two sets of genetic information.
• A rare "cloud jaguar" was spotted in the Honduran mountains for the first time in a decade, representing a win for conservationists.
• Gibraltar's famous monkeys are eating dirt, likely to alleviate stomach aches from munching on tourists' junk food.
• "Robo-bunnies" are the newest weapon in the fight against invasive Burmese pythons in Florida.
• Meet these delightful bookshop cats (and one dog).
• Platypus hair shares a puzzling feature with bird feathers, adding to the egg-laying mammal's list of unusual characteristics. 

►The Wanderer◄

• How to explore the Australian Outback by train.
• This dazzling Tiffany stained-glass window adorned a church for more than a century. Now it needs a new home.
• The long, strange trip of the Titanic victims whose remains surfaced hundreds of miles away, weeks after the ship sank.
• Visiting Arizona's tribal lands and celebrating Native heritage.
• The tallest building in every U.S. state.
• When America found itself ready to roll, Route 66, stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles, was the road of endless possibilities.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Lauren Weisberger's life after The Devil Wears Prada.
• Eccentric tycoon Charles Vance Miller left a fortune to the winner of a baby-making contest. The Great Stork Derby divided Canadians during the Great Depression.
• Just Wilde about hair.
• Meet entomologist and wildlife photographer Mark Moffett, zooming in on the weird and wonderful world of ants.
• Jeopardy! winner Tom Nissley champions books.
• Quaker Lydia Darragh eavesdropped on British soldiers plotting a surprise attack-- and surreptitiously warned George Washington.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• 7 novels about the secrets mothers keep.
• New mystery and thriller shows this spring.
• 6 flower shop cozy mystery books.
• Books set in libraries.
• 13 books that are perfect for Yellowstone fans.
• 16 historical novels about aviators and pilots.

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!

Family Treasures in the Desert

As promised, I'm starting to share some of the many photos I took while two of my UK nieces were visiting.

Let's begin with what I call day-to-day stuff.

Suzanne peeking around the corner to check on Windy the hummingbird.

This shed used to be stuffed to the gunwales until the three of us got to work!

They were in the pool every day.

In a local park. Denis's motto, "Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional" seems to run in the family. 😄

Waiting for me at the wound care clinic and delighting the receptionist with their accents. 

Waiting in line with me at the Social Security office. Not many tourists get to do these things. 😉

Hanging a small solar fountain that the hummingbirds have fallen in love with.

Installing solar wind spinners that were Christmas and birthday gifts.

A birthday milkshake.

Daisy completed the Moon Valley Park 5K Pirate Run.

We set up an assembly line to make needlepoint baskets.

Suzanne's basket

Daisy's basket. There are three more to come. I broke my needle midway through the third and had to wait for an emergency shipment-- and my fingers to recover!

Decorating the Cinco de Mayo tree.

Daisy did her second ride along with Fire Station 18. She's in the center wearing her NHS uniform.

This time she got to slide down the pole. 😊

On the plane back to the UK. 😭

Well, this is the first batch of pictures. You'll be seeing more in the near future!