Saturday, December 31, 2022

Sunday Salon time
{ books, kitchen stuff and water drama}

This has been an interesting week. We lost water in the early morning hours of Christmas day.  First it merely trickled from the faucet so we were able to fill a few containers for drinking/coffee purposes.  Then it just flat went out. We missed getting a shower, doing laundry, cleaning dishes, getting a glass of water and brushing our teeth without pouring bottled water over the brush. Three days without water was very unpleasant.

As the dishes piled up we placed what could be stored in the dishwasher so we could have counter space. Eventually we heated bottled water to wash what was absolutely needed. Finally water was restored late Tuesday. A shower never felt so good!

Anyway, this past week we walked a little as temps permitted.  Here's the round up.

Watching / We liked Martin Clunes in the Doc Martin series and were pleased to see he headlines the TV show Manhunt. Clunes plays DI Colin Sutton and it's based on real life events. The real life Sutton was part of the murder investigations in London's Twickenham Green back in 2004.  Season one only has three episodes and season two has four featuring a different case. 


Loki is quite taken with his Christmas Pickle and woe betide anyone who tries to take it from him. 



He carries this toy around everywhere.  In the car, walking in the field and even barking at squirrels.  Of course the bark is muffled and what is more fearsome than a barking dog with a pickle wearing a santa hat? 🤣



In the kitchen / Pineapple Chicken, Rib Roast for Christmas dinner, Vegetable soup and a vegetarian pasta dish made with spinach, garlic and butter. I'll have that recipe/link up soon.


Books / I haven't read as much as I planned but I did start  Not Dark Yet,  the last published book by Peter Robinson.  His final novel comes out in 2023 and that's the end of the series.  RIP Peter Robinson.  Coming up I have Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro and The Survivors by Jane Harper.

Happy New Year!!!

Linking up with








39 comments:

  1. Aww! Love that Loki loves his Christmas present! The food looks good too.

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    1. Thank you, Harvee. I hope you have a happy and safe new year!

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  2. Oh dear, I’m sorry about the water situation but I’m happy it’s been resolved now!
    Wishing you and yours a happy new year!

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    1. Thank you, Shelleyrae. The water issue was certainly a pain as we couldn't get ahold of anyone. Happy new year to you!

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  3. Loki is really cute, with his toy. As I’ve said before, he’s a lucky dog to own you! I hope you and your family have a great year in 2023 — no utility outages, good health, and all that.

    best… mae at maefood.blogspot.com

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    1. And best wishes to you and Len, Mae! I have enjoyed seeing photos of your travels. Loki agrees with you :-)

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  4. Being without water would be quite unpleasant. Glad it didn't last too long! Your dog is adorable - I love the pickle! Wishing you a Happy New Year!

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    1. Thanks much, Gretchen. Happy new year to you.

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  5. No water is no fun!! Will check out Manhunt.
    Happy New Year!

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    1. Jackie, I hope you like Manhunt and I wish there was another season out.

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  6. pineapple chicken sounds good! Happy New Year- sorry about your water.

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    1. Thank you, Judee. You never realize how often you use water just for a drink or whatever until it goes out!

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  7. Fabulous Christmas pickle!

    We had water problems over Christmas, too. Glad you got yours restored.

    And a poem for the New Year:

    "Ring out the old, ring in the new,
    Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
    The year is going, let him go;
    Ring out the false, ring in the true...

    Ring out a slowly dying cause,
    And ancient forms of party strife;
    Ring in the nobler modes of life,
    With sweeter manners, purer laws...

    Ring out false pride in place and blood,
    The civic slander and the spite;
    Ring in the love of truth and right,
    Ring in the common love of good."

    A toast:

    And here's to a year of nothing but good books!

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    1. Deb, I hope your water issues are solved. Love the poem - thank you!

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  8. As usual, the food looks delish. The books sound interesting and your two upcoming ones are both already on my TBR so I'll be curious to see what you think. Thanks for the visit and Happy New Year.
    Terrie @ Bookshelf Journeys

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    1. Terrie, I had a haul from the library so I'm not sure what order I will tackle my new books. Probably a mystery. Happy new year to you!

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  9. Loki and his pickle!!!! I can't stand the cuteness!

    Being without water for that long must've been awful!!!! So sorry you had to deal with that.

    Give me all that yummy food!

    Happy New Year, Tina!

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    1. Jinjer, you are quite welcome to enjoy some meals with us. I love that pasta and need ot get the recipe up soon. Ugh, the water issue was one for the books.

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  10. Loki and his pickle?! Oh my how cute is that. Yep love Martin Clunes; always a fave. Awful without water. We had a power outage but only for about an hour and our wifi which had been acting up, fixed itself after!:=) Love jane harper and a good aussie mystery. cheers sherry x

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    1. Sherry, I'm very excited about Harper's upcoming book as she is brining Aaron Falk back - yea! Glad your power outage didn't last long. It's even worse during a holiday if you plan to have people over.

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  11. Sorry you were without water for so long. That would indeed be hard. But glad it is back! Happy 2023!

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    1. Mark, thank youa nd happy 2023 to you are well. I hope you have an enjoyable year of reading good books!

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  12. Vicki, thank you and happy new year! Loki loves that toy and uses it as a pillow when he sits outside. Hope you like Manhunt.

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  13. Loki with the Christmas Pickle is priceless!! We got some fun toys for Winnie (the grandpup) and I think we all enjoyed watching her as much as she enjoyed playing with them. So sorry you were without water for so long - especially at Christmas. That's awful. Will be curious to hear what you think of Klara and the Sun... I keep circling around it, but have yet to give it a try. Happy New Year, Tina!

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    1. JoAnn, any time he gets a new toy it becomes "the one" and he carries it around everywhere. This one was too cute and we got it at Lowe's of all places! I bet Winnie would love that toy. She sounds very cute.

      Klara and the Sun has an interesting plot but I thgink I'd be happier with a different Ishiguro novel such as Remain of the Day. But I'll let you know.

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  14. Love Loki's toy! Our Max has so many toys! Maybe too many!

    Happy New Year to you!

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    1. Max deserves many toys! I could recommend that squeaky pickle for him :-)

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  15. Loki is adorable with his pickle! Glad you got your water back on, ugh! three days is long. I gave my husband Klara & the Sun for Christmas and he is liking it. I hope you enjoy it too. I liked it. Happy 2023.

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    1. Thank you CueCard, I agree about 3 days without water being too long. On the upside we have loads of bottled water availble for hurricane season :-)

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  16. Happy New Year! Nothing like going without something to make you appreciate it all the more! Also, we often seem to have plumbing problems just before major holidays! I've wanted to read Klara & the Sun and also to try Jane Harper's books. I've got the new Robert Galbraith on audio to listen to as soon as I finish my current audio.

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    1. Laurie, happy new year to you as well! Have not tried the Galbraith book yet.

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  17. Loki looks absolutely adorable with the Christmas Pickle! Rover takes out plush toys pretty quickly so I try not to buy them but I would have had a hard time resisting that one! I'm so sorry to hear about the water. How frustrating! I'm glad it came back on after a few days. We've lost water a few times thanks to tornados and nothing feels better than that first shower!

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    1. Katherine, he is indeed cute wandering around with it clamped in his mouth. He sleeps with it too, using as a pillow.

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  18. Ugh. I can't imagine going without water for three days. When we camp, we don't shower every day, but we certainly use water for dishes, brushing teeth, toilet, etc. We lost power for 6 hours, but to be without water for as long as you would be a challenge!

    We have watched and enjoyed Manhunt, and wish there were more seasons. We've been watching Blue Murder, which is ok, but we're ready for a new series. Just haven't landed on anything that we love.

    I'll be interested to hear what you think of Klara and the Sun. My book group read it this past year and there were mixed reactions.

    Happy New Year!

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    1. Les, it was beyond irritating as we couldn't reach anyone at the utility company. At least if we know WHY the water was out we could think about what repairs may be needed, our end or theirs.
      We are in a rural area and never had neighbors for 30 years then all of sudden, a big land owner sold off 2 acre lots. The result being a few houses went up and with it loads of big lights and zero interaction with one another. Not like the neighborhood experience I was used to growing. As I tried to approach people outside one house the teenager saw me wave and hustled into the house. The mom looked at me like I was going to beg for something and all I wanted was to see if she had water. Maybe it was just us?! It ended friendly but seriously, why so suspicious? MORE than you wanted to know!!

      Klara and the Sun was ok but I realize I'm not much of a dystopian reader. Our next series to try is Unforgotten.

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    2. What a shame that your neighborhood has gone through such a drastic change. It must be difficult to have neighbors (especially those who aren't terribly friendly) after being secluded for so many years.

      I'm not much of a dystopian reader, either.

      Hope you enjoy Unforgotten. We loved it. Great cast!!

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    3. Loving Unforgotten and I get many ideas for series from your posts! Thanks for the thoughts about our "neighborhood" :-)

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  19. That's an impressive Christmas dinner to make without running water! I'm glad that you finally got that fixed.

    Manhunt sounds interesting -- especially that it's based in real life.

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    1. Thank you, Joy. As the rib roast was put in the oven I had to make do with bottled water for anything else...especially the washing up!

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