All posts by verily sherrilee

Directionally challenged, crafty, reading mother of young adult
2026, books, Mysteries, pets, Technology

Rookie Mistake

35 Comments

I made a completely rookie mistake this week.

As you know, I have a highly curated library account.   My Holds list includes books that are on order still, that I am on the waitlist for and quite a few books that I have “paused”.  Every couple of weeks I go through all the paused holds, resume a few of them and then reset the pause date to some time in the future – usually three to four weeks out.  This has been my pattern for a couple of decades.

The past month my attention span has been fairly limited to the new dog.  Paperwork, initial vet intake, spay, the cone of shame, then the sleeve of shame (she got razor burn from where they inserted her IV and she just could not leave it alone).  Now we’re through all that and have started working on preliminary training and walkies every day.  Add the early morning potty breaks and the last in the evening journey outside as well and I feel consumed.  In a good way.

So it was shocking when I opened up my library account Monday night and saw that I have THIRTY books in transit.  THIRTY!  I completely forgot to check my Holds, so everything that had been set to July 27 is now on its way to me.  How could I do something this dumb?

I called my buddy who’s the manager of my library and he said there is really no way to circumvent this process short of calling the origin library for each book and asking if they can catch it.  I’m not doing that.  In addition to being a serious pain in the patoot for me, it would be an even bigger pain for the libraries and as my buddy said, probably wouldn’t work anyway.  Sigh.

So I guess I’ll have to seriously step up my reading for August.  For fun, here are some of the titles that are on the way to me right now!

  • And to My Nephew Albert I Leave the Island What I Won Off Fatty Hagan in a Poker Game (one of the long-titled books I found earlier in the month)
  • The Chinese Parrot (a Charlie Chan novel)
  • The Concord Quartet (Alcott, Emerson, Hawthorne & Thoreau)
  • Crock of Gold (people, gods, Irish fairies…)
  • Cursed Cocktails (blood mage tries to retire)
  • Doc Savage: His Apocalyptic Life (“biography”)
  • Elizabeth I, CEO (what you think)
  • Ex-Wife (1925 woman finds herself after divorce)
  • Illuminations in the Flatwoods (wild turkeys?)
  • In Seven Stages (Elizabeth Bisland side of the Around the World story)
  • Kipling Sahib (Rudyard Kipling bio)
  • The Last Moriarty (Sherlock Holmes knock-off)
  • Lost Believers (novel inspired by true story… we’ll see….)
  • Margaret Fuller: A New American Life (2013 Pulitzer Prize)
  • Marie of Romania (queen consort of Ferdinand, King of Romania)
  • Murder and the First Lady (Eleanor Roosevelt solves the murder)
  • No Matter How Much You Promise to Cook or Pay the Rent You Blew It Cauze Bill Bailey Ain’t Never Coming Home Again (another long and intriguing title)
  • A Short Bright Flash (lighthouses!)
  • Enuf is Enough (a book about English spelling – yeah, I know I lead an exciting life!)

What’s a rookie mistake you’ve made?  Any good books on your nightstand?

2026, Art, Science, space, Uncategorized

Nerdy Merch

40 Comments

Me being a bit of nerd is nothing new here.  At Blevins on Sunday we talked about Neil deGrasse Tyson and his book The Pluto Files.  I’ve always thought that he was one of the smartest folks out there but he’s funny about it, which makes him almost a hero in my eyes.

So I suppose it won’t surprise you that I have NdGT merch.  Of course not!   My first purchase was a t-shirt with a funny physics phrase (well, I think it’s funny anyway):

About a year after I got the t-shirt, I saw a solar system bracelet on an NdGT site and I really liked it a lot.  I don’t do a ton of jewelry but I do like to wear bracelets when I get “dressed up”.  But the bracelet had a $35 price tag on it and it didn’t have Pluto – two strikes are enough for an out in my world. 

So I did the next best thing – I made my own.  I started with a very cheap ($4) solar system bracelet that I found on line.  This had beads that I liked for most of the planets.

Then I supplemented it at my local Bead Hive and also used a coil bracelet wire (another $6).  I like the coil style because it’s comfortable, easy to put on and let’s you use way more beads!  It’s really hard to tell in the photo but I put all the planets in order after the sun and even put a star between Mars and Jupiter to represent the asteroid belt.  And, of course, I added Pluto.  Sorry to all the other dwarf planets for leaving them out.  I filled in the spaces between the planets with little black beads and more stars – not to scale obviously.

This is probably my favorite bracelet – I can wear it with just about everything except maybe an outfit all of pale pink and it only cost me $10 to make to my exact specifications.   Luckily I don’t have any all pale pink outfits, so I’m good on all fronts?

Do you wear t-shirts?  Any good slogans?  Ever made jewelry for yourself?

2026, Food, History, Mysteries, TV, Uncategorized

Let’s Cook?

36 Comments

I blame Survivor.

It came out in 2000 on CBS and for reasons that I don’t understand, although it’s been 26 years, there have been 51 seasons.  I never watched it; it just didn’t pique my interest.  There was some reality tv prior to that, but I think of Survivor as the true onset of what is still just a bleak landscape to me. 

Technically I had watched reality tv for years – all in the form of cooking shows.  After Survivor, slowly competitive cooking shows began to make an appearance. Not like any competition of the past in which a few folks cooked and there was one winner.  That was it.  No throwing someone off, week after week until just one is left standing.  I hate this.  Truly hate this.  If I see any of the following words in a cooking show title, I’m not watching – bake-off, cook-off, battle, class, contender, wars.  There are probably others but this is what I can think of off the top of my head.  I did make an exception awhile back; so many folks assured me that The Great British Bake Off was “different” that I watched a couple of episodes (the season with Nadiya Hussain).  It wasn’t different enough for me.  The whole “throwing one person off” is just too brutal for me. 

What this means is that I don’t watch much Food Network or Cooking Channel these days – almost everything seems to be some sort of competition.  Throwing someone off still seems to be all the rage.  What’s left?  Shows like Carnival Eats, Pioneer Woman, Girl Meets Farm and a small handful of “how is it made” types of shows like Food Factory and “where should I eat” shows like Cheap Eats. 

I was kind of hoping that there would be a swing away from these competitive shows after two+ decades, but it doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.  I’d even watch Julia Child’s French Chef if I could find it!

Do you watch any cooking shows?  (It’s ok if you like The Great British Bake-Off – I know I’m in the minority).  Do you ever try out anything you see?

2026, books, Food, Gatherings, Travel

Lazy Daze

19 Comments

Every summer I spend a long weekend with one of my besties, who lives in Madison.  We always have a great time but I’m always amazed at how different these trips are from other trips, especially the ones I take with YA.

On Friday night we went to Susan’s favorite Mexican restaurant.  I’ve been there before with her and it’s nice.  On Saturday we went up to the capital building early for the Dane County Farmers Market.  I got my five loaves of Chili Cheese bread, a bunch of corn, a slice of purple yam pie, squeaky cheese curds, a massive cinnamon roll and a dozen peanut coconut donut holes.  Sunday night we went to her favorite pizza place – I got a tomato pie (similar to a margarita) – yummy.

That’s the most active we were.  The entire remainder of weekend was reading, doing jigsaw puzzles, yakking and then more reading and yakking.  I probably spent 10 hours sitting in a big comfy chair with my books.  I finished two books, well actually three if you count the CD that I listened to in the car on the way there and back.

Compared to my usual travels, it was a lazy lazy trip.  And I loved it.  No to-do list, no normal daily stuff.  Just relaxing.  As I was doing some errands Tuesday morning, I was already missing that comfy chair!

Where do you like to read? 

2026, Family, Food, Gatherings, home, pets

ADOPTED!!!

25 Comments

If you remember, the organization that rescued Freya would not let us adopt her until her spay was done; it’s an inviolable rule of theirs.  So technically for the last four weeks we’ve been fostering her. The rescue calls it “Foster to Adopt” and they are very serious about it.  You can’t believe how much paperwork there was.  Oh, and I got to pay the entire adoption fee right up front. 

Anyway, her spay is done and the four-day wait (to make sure there are no complications) is done.  We filled out yet one more piece of paper and coughed up one more fee of $5.00 and SHE IS OURS!

In classic fashion around here, we decided to have a little family celebration.  In case you can’t read it, the banner says “Freya’s Fur-Ever Home”.  I made a little cake (some dog food loaf iced with whipped cream cheese).  The #1 candle is because we are her #1 fur-ever home.  We put her rabies tag and her new name tag on her collar. 

Collar & Cake

She thought the little cake was just yummy; we only let her eat about a quarter of it so she doesn’t get an upset tummy.  The rest is in the fridge to be doled out over the next few days.

YUM-O!

Been to any good parties/gatherings recently?

2026, Food, Gatherings, home, Mysteries, Uncategorized

Let’s Grill

33 Comments

According to New of the Weird this week, in some parts of Russia, men are running personal ads.  Not those kind of personal ads!  They are running ads are “barbecue companions”.   Apparently it’s exactly what it says – someone to come over to your house for barbecue, beer and conversation.   The men are charging anywhere between $13 and $65.  They higher end companions can include preparing the grill, grilling the meat, setting up a tend and acting as a buddy.  One such ad said “I’ll help you organize barbecues and camping, keep you company, and grill some meat. Jokes and anecdotes are also included,” This seems to be on the up and up.  Only marketing to men and are meant to be one-time services – not an invitation to friendship.  If someone wants to hire the barbecue buddy’s services again, they have to pay for it.  Russian restaurateur Evgeny Demchenko said “From a business perspective, this is absolutely natural: if there’s an unmet need, a service will emerge.” 

It feels a little sad to me.  Don’t Russian men have any friends?  If I volunteered to grill, I’m pretty sure I’d have folks lining up.  Especially if the weather is nice.

Does having a barbecue companion hold any allure for you?   What do you like to grill?

2026, Business, Computers, Family, Mysteries, Technology

Let’s Chat

25 Comments

Two of the drive-throughs that YA and I frequent (especially in the summer) are Taco Bell and Dairy Queen.  About eight months ago Taco Bell installed a chat bot to ask people if they are checking in using their Taco Bell app.  I do have the app (it occasionally rewards me with a free burrito or fiesta potatoes) so the chat bot has actually been a good reminder to me to have the phone handy so I can give them the check-in code.  At that point the system switches over to a live person to take your order.  

About four months back, Dairy Queen went to a fully automated ordering system at their drive-through. I bristled at the idea but not enough to boycott my Dilly bars.  Since YA and I are creatures of habit at Dairy Queen, it’s pretty simple and we haven’t had any ordering disasters.

Then two weeks ago I was by myself, getting my Dilly bar, and the automated voice had a southern drawl.  I kid you not.  It threw me for a loop and I spent the next hour or so trying to think back; had I completely missed that before?  Then the following week when we were there, it was a male voice with a midwestern accent.  I breathed a sigh of relief – I wasn’t going crazy.  Then yesterday, it was a woman’s voice, but not the southern woman.   

Of course, this leaves me with a bunch of questions.  How many automated voice options are there?  Who chooses which voice for the day (the manager, the person who opens, corporate office)?   Or does the computer randomly pick voices during the course of the day?  If a particular voice gets complaints, can they change it at the store level?  Are the voices patterned after particular people or just AI-generated? What happens if you don’t want to order from a chat bot?  Can you simply repeat “representative” until the computer gives up?

Any chat bots/automated systems driving you crazy?  Or that you’ve made peace with?

2026, animals, education, Family, Nature, Travel

It Was Wild!

29 Comments

About 90 miles outside of Columbus is The Wilds, a wildlife conservation center developed on reclaimed land that had been mined for coal for four decades.  Starting in the late 70s, the Ohio Zoological Commission began developing a plan for using that land for a special wildlife conservation area.  They began in 1984 with 9,154 acres and the first animals, the Przewalski Horse, an endangered wild species, were introduced.  Two years later, The Wilds opened to the public.  Today there are close to 500 animals, representing 19 species, that roam the acres of The Wilds.

YA and I learned about The Wilds through the same tv show that introduced us to the Columbus Zoo (Secrets of the Zoo) and we knew that if we visited Columbus, we had to include it in our plans.

The only way to see the animals is on a safari tour; we took the medium-tour so there were 14 of us in the back of a Ford pick-up (there were seats).  The tour was a bit over 3 hours and it was amazing.  We were fairly up close and personal with Persian Onagers, Pere David Deer, Grevy’s Zebras, the famous Przewalski Horses (called P Horses) and two kinds of Oryx – Fringe Eared and Scimitar-Horned. 

One of the youngest Bactrian Camels had been hand-raised after his mother rejected him.  Named Latte, he was more than willing to come right up to the truck to get scritches under his chin.  The Sichuan Takin was not as big or golden as the takin we have at the MN Zoo but The Wilds does have the largest breeding takin herd in North America. 

Latte

We fed giraffes from the truck – two of the herd really like this and one in particular, Tuffy, lets folks give him little pets on his necks.  (I bought a tee-shirt w/ Tuffy on it.)   At that same stop, the two female ostriches approached and one of them clearly didn’t like the look of me.  Before I realized how far into the truck she could reach, she gave me a nip on the hand.  For the rest of the stop, she repeatedly tried to get me.  Nobody else on the truck, just me.

Sadie

In a shaded copse we found five banteng, a species of wild cow.  They have 1 male and 4 females.  Apparently they are working on a program to determine if they can breed the current herd – the male banteng is quite elderly and if the females are still fertile, they will bring in a new male to help with reproduction.  When I asked what would happen to Elvis, the male, our tour guide said that he would relocate to a pasture where a few other elderly animals reside – a cushy banteng retirement home, as it were.  For some reason I thought this was really funny.

Elvis

The highlight of the tour was when we were taken down to the winter barn area – some of the animals over-winter there since the Ohio climate isn’t that great for African animals.  There, in one of the rhino barns was Bernard.  He is living a cushy rhino retirement and one of the things he enjoys is getting pets and scritches.  Our group was happy to oblige.  Bernard is a Southern White Rhino so he is sporting some serious horn.  We didn’t pet that part!  This was a thrilling experience.  I know I’ve said in the past that I’ve never had a Bucket List, but I’m thinking about doing one now so that I can write “petting a rhino” on it and then checking it off.

Bernard

What a fabulous day – after the safari ride, we had veggie burgers at the little café and then did some damage at the gift shop.  I am seriously recommending this to anybody who gets anywhere near Columbus.  Just an amazing way to spend a day.  The Wilds has a few ways that you can stay on the property overnight (yurts, little lodge and a new set of rooms attached to the giraffe barn.  YA and I talked about maybe going back one day and doing that. 

Ever had the chance to pet a wild animal?  Would you stay overnight in a giraffe barn?

2026, Art, books, dreams, Fantasy, Stories

Library Art

39 Comments

My local library might as well be my second home; I’m there on average twice a week.  I was hoping they’d have some adjunct program this summer to the Library Passport but alas, they’re just running it the same as last summer.

Two weeks ago, they broke out the chalk for one of the Reading Hour programs and the pavement all around the entrance was decorated with colorful artwork.  The photo above that says “Pippa was here” is my favorite.  Yesterday I noticed that it’s still there, albeit a little faded after two weeks.  I love the idea that some kid planted a metaphorical discovery stake at the library.  Or maybe creating their version of a Hollywood Walk of Fame star?

Whatever the reason, I adore that my library is used and treasured!

OK, fantasy day.  I’ve giving you each a box of chalk.  What artwork will YOU leave in front of the library?   Will you use all the colors, or do you have favorites?

2026, animals, education, Family, Nature, Travel

Columbus Zoo Day

29 Comments

One of the highlights of our Columbus weekend was a day at The Columbus Zoo.  We got there right at opening and got a nice discount for being Minnesota Zoo members.  We did not really have much of a plan for the day – just wanted to see everything.

Not in any particular order…

  • Saw the tiger feeding and met a staff member who had been part of the Secrets of the Zoo show!
  • Watched a training session with two gorgeous cheetahs.
  • Walked through Adventure Cove (glass tube with water on all sides so you can see the various sealife swim above you and below you.
  • Watched the lion feeding.  I had the BEST spot of anyone… I kid you not.
  • YA walked through the Lorikeet Aviary
  • Lots of kangaroos in the Kangaroo WalkAbout
  • Extraordinarily expensive pizza lunch
  • Spent a LONG LONG time at Stingray Bay. YA is besotted with petting stingrays and little sharks.
  • Petted some goats at The Barn
  • Gorgeous polar bears
  • Visited the manatees and got to see “Stubby”, who can’t be released to a boatstrike injury but has acted as a mom to many young rescue manatees over the years.  Even found a cool manatee t-shirt!

I’ve talked about Jack Hanna running the Zoo for many years, basically turning it around and creating the fabulous experience that it is today.  Up near the Africa area, there is a great bench/sculpture of Jack and his wife, Suzi.  I couldn’t resist the photo op!

We were at the zoo for almost 8 hours and I can truthfully say that I slept like a rock that night!

Do you have a favorite animal?