Friday, January 18, 2019

A Little Duckie Duddle Weekly Link Round-Up




Okay, so I'm strange. (Not exactly a news flash, is it?) It seems as though Phoenix has been averaging one storm system per week coming through and giving the desert gentle rain and the mountains snow. This is a wonderful thing, but when it rains often, the children's song "Little Duckie Duddle went wading in a puddle" keeps wandering through my mind, caught in an endless loop.

This should bode well for spring wildflowers, and since we get a lot of our water from snowmelt, that snow up north is a blessing, too. I do have some camera outings planned, so I'm hoping the rainstorms will cooperate a bit. I really don't want to wear wellies when I'm out and about trying to photograph flowers and critters!

We went to an author event at The Poisoned Pen on Tuesday night, and the attendance was much lighter than expected. Why? Because we had a pretty strong rainstorm move through. No lightning, strong winds, or horizontal rain... just good, steady water coming down from the sky for a while. But most Phoenicians have no clue how to drive in the rain. When we drove over there, it was in the midst of rush hour, and since winter is snowbird season, the weather and the much-increased traffic meant that it took about three times as long to get to The Poisoned Pen as normal. Coming home was a breeze. There was scarcely anyone on the road because the rain had scared everyone. Sheesh. Err... wait a second. I'd better clarify: I am not complaining. I really appreciated that swift drive home! (Just in case Murphy was listening because we'll be back over there next week.)

Today, the sun is out, Little Duckie Duddle's puddles are almost all gone, so I won't have to wear my wellies out to the link corral. Head 'em up! Mooooove 'em out!



►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄
  • Crime fiction of the 1920s: A look at the masters of mystery, then and now.
  • Once nicknamed "Garbage Island," Taiwan has now achieved one of the highest recycling rates in the world. 
  • How Edgar Allan Poe become our era's premier storyteller.
  • Why we are fascinated by miniature books.
  • It's important to remember that when we read a book-- especially one from a very different era to our own-- that we are the time traveler, not the author.
  • A look at interior book design with Jordan Wannemacher.
  • "Whom" is disappearing, and everyone needs to chill about it. 
  • Decluttering guru Marie Kondo's advice about tossing out books inspires funny Twitter responses.
  • A woman turned a 100-year-old dead tree into a Little Free Library for the neighborhood, and it looks magical.


►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄


►Channeling My Inner Elly Mae Clampett◄

►The Happy Wanderer◄
  • Those who own or stay at the 500-year-old allegedly cursed Palazzo Dario in Venice, Italy often meet terrible fates.
  • This secret library hidden in the woods in upstate New York is every bibliophile's dream come true.
  • A food tour through the New York City crime world. 
  • How to enjoy a medieval feast at Borthwick Castle, former refuge of Mary, Queen of Scots.
  • The crime fiction of Taipei.


►Fascinating Folk◄
  • How Zora Neale Hurston helped create the first realistic black baby doll. This article puzzled me a bit. I was born in 1955, and when I was five, a black baby doll named Alfleeta Mae was a member of my doll family. However, this article says they stopped production of the dolls in 1953. Either I received a doll that had been sitting on a shelf for a long time, or some other manufacturer was making them (probably the case). Wish I still had her to see if I could read the manufacturer's mark! The doll was named for a little black girl who was in the hospital ward with me when I had my tonsils removed.
  • After nearly forty years selling books in Butte, Montana, Jo Antonioli is still going strong.


►I ♥ Lists◄


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

Have a great weekend, and read something fabulous!



4 comments:

  1. Oh, my goodness, I'd forgotten about Little Duckie Duddle! Thanks for the reminder, Cathy. And I'll bet those spring flowers will be gorgeous. Now, it's off to look at that temple.

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    1. I thought you might be heading that way, Margot!

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  2. OK, I'll admit it - I've never heard of Little Duckie Duddle. Guess I missed out. Laughed about your area and the rain. I can imagine that. And I suspect you are spot on about the spring flowers. That's exactly how it is here. If we get sufficient rain in Jan/Feb/early Mar, we have gorgeous wildflowers in late Mar/April.

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    Replies
    1. Little Duckie Duddle might've been a regional thing. Who knows? LOL

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