Friday, March 27, 2015

The Survivor Weekly Link Round-Up




It wasn't easy, but I did survive spring cleaning. Well, I did manage to spray myself in the face with furniture polish and had a couple of other small mishaps that didn't amount to much compared to what else had happened earlier. I never did care for housework, and as I get older, the more I hate it. I'm seriously thinking about hiring someone else to do it while I sit outside with a cold drink and a good book. Wonder if I could find someone who would clean for books?

Last week Denis and I went to see "The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," and we loved it. In fact... even if the rest of the movie had been truly awful, there was one line of dialogue that was well worth the price of admission. And who better to deliver it than Maggie Smith? I howled with laughter then, and thinking about it now puts a huge smile on my face.

Denis and I are also busily planning our next trip to the UK. It won't happen for quite some time yet, but that won't keep us from planning. There will be several new experiences for me this time around: a direct flight to London (we've always flown into Manchester), the overnight train to Inverness, a week in a lovely little cottage overlooking a gorgeous beach in remote northwestern Scotland, and spending two days in London before returning home. I do not like crowds, traffic congestion, or anything of that ilk, so I've avoided London. (My heart's in the Highlands!) But I've found that even though I'm dreading the crowds, a part of me is excited about being in London. I'm busy looking at the London A-Z, bus routes, hotel locations....

Oh. You came here for some links? Well, I've got plenty of those. Let me round 'em up for you!
 

Books, Movies & Other Interesting Tidbits

Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones
  • 25 years after the art heist, empty frames still hang in Boston's Gardner Museum.
  • It's been an amazing month for archaeology. Here are 7 of the most exciting discoveries.
  • A huge tomb complex has been uncovered in Beijing.
  • Italy shows off a restored Pompeii villa.
  • A gem engraved with a goddess's image has been found near King Herod's mausoleum.
  • I might have shared this link about some 2,200-year-old mosaics discovered in an ancient Greek city, but I thought I'd share it again because the mosaics are fabulous. I also found a video about the archaeological work being done in the ancient city of Zeugma. More fascinating stuff!
  • Fun facts about the real Downton Abbey
  • The Neanderthals appear to be the globe's first jewelers. 
  • Meet one of the women who helped Alan Turing break the Enigma Code in World War II.
  • After more than 500 years, England's King Richard III finally gets some respect-- and Benedict Cumberbatch is to read a poem at the king's reburial.
  • After finding so many "worthless" Roman coins at a dig in Navenby, an archaeologist is speculating that there was a McDonald's-style eatery on the site. (I wonder how much a Big Mac cost back then?)
  • An El Greco painting seized by the Nazis has been returned to the owner's family.

Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett
  • Alaska prepares for the return of wood bison after a century's absence.
  • This very cute endangered mammal hasn't been photographed in twenty years. 
  • When I saw this link to a chart listing the longest-lived animals on earth, I had to click on it-- but the list in my head didn't come close to what was on the chart!
  • Why is this little girl getting gifts from crows
  • Meet Biddy the traveling hedgehog.
  • Just what I always wanted to see: a cockroach wearing a backpack. The why of it all is interesting, though.

The Happy Wanderer

I  ♥  Lists

Book Candy
  • This house on Camano Island in Washington is a book lover's dream!
  • If you drooled over the Camano Island link, you're going to drool over how an upstairs landing became a book lover's library!


That's all for now. Don't forget to stop  by next weekend when I'll be sharing a freshly selected batch of links for your surfing pleasure!

Have a great weekend, and-- Read something fabulous!



6 comments:

  1. Really, Cathy? A McDonald's-style eatery? I always find it fascinating how similar our ancestors were to us in some ways... And as far as trading housework for books? There are definitely chores I'd do for books. Housework, though? Not so sure. I have enough dust bunnies of my own to contend with...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Somehow I didn't think real readers would fall for that cleaning for books schtick!

      Delete
  2. Wonderful links this week especially the ones in the Hebrides. Sigh. So, so lovely and I'd likely freeze to death if I lived there. LOL

    Enjoy your trip planning. That sounds like fun. Cleaning for books? Honestly, I hate house cleaning and there might not be enough books ever to get me to do it for anyone else. Now, doing laundry? That I would do as I don't actually mind that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I couldn't live there permanently because the climate is too damp and I wouldn't be able to move-- joint lock!

      I can see that I'm going to have to come up with another idea to get someone to clean my house! LOL

      Delete
  3. Lots of links I'm going to have to explore, thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You're very welcome! I hope you find some that really appeal to you!

      Delete

Thank you for taking the time to make a comment. I really appreciate it!