Elizabeth Strout

Note - this link contains “if you liked Elizabeth Strout, consider these” suggestions.

https://lititzlibrary.org/elizabeth-strout-read-alikes/

When my niece read Harry Potter, she had a big chart in her room where she made notes of all the characters. 

As I read the Elizabeth Strout books, I kept thinking I should have done the same. The characters are intertwined, reoccurring, and related. 

Reading the books one right after the other is probably enough for the average person. The books definitely need to be read in order. 

In the fall of 2020, I listened to the Olive books.

Olive Kitteridge (2008)
Olive, Again (2019)

I enjoyed them very much. 

Then over the summer of 2023, I listened to the four Lucy books, one right after the other, and really loved them. I was very sad to finish this series.

There are three additional books also - 

I listened to The Burgess Boys before I started on the Lucy series this summer. This was smart. Some of the Burgess characters are mentioned in the Lucy books, one character overlaps predominately. 

After I finished the Lucy series, I read Amy and Isabelle and then Abide by Me. And discovered these had mentions of overlapping stories/characters too. 

In my opinion: 

Read the stand alone books first, in publication order. 

Olive series should be second, in publication order.

And then read the Lucy series last, also in publication order.

Rabbit fencing

I have a terrible problem with rabbits eating my plants. If I were to use rabbit fence to keep them out of everything, I would have to build a fortress. 

So my rabbit fencing actually serves another purpose. I use it to hold up plants where the blooms are too large and stems/stalks fall.

I buy mine from Mennards -

My first effort was mid August to support my Joe Pye Weed. 

This is what the Joe Pye Weed looked like on its own. Stems were breaking, it was hard to get to the water spigot, it was a sad mess. 

Here is another example, small pieces of rabbit fencing support the aster in my fall plantings.

Hijack

This was mentioned in the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast. I still listen to that podcast regularly, I get good ideas from it. 

I loved Hijack. Perfectly cast. I liked the pace. 

I just went with it, realistic or not, I did not care. This was a point made in podcast. 

I enjoyed the whole thing, in one go. Seven hours, start early if you like to watch things all together. 

Looking up Idris Elba for this post, I realized there is a new Luther on Netflix. 

I loved the very gritty Luther series. I will rewatch the original series before I watch the new one. 

Cross body solution

I use a very small crossbody as my purse/phone holder. I use it all day, every day. I have worn out a couple of these. Oldest found the original one, they are perfect for me.

I ordered a new one (Etsy) this summer, but when it came, it was quite snug trying to get my phone in and out. My old ones were probably stretched out from constant use. My hands have gotten worse. The new one (below) was unusable to me. This was both sad and a real problem.

The top zipper had broken on the old cross body I had been using for several years. This was on the upper section where I store my phone.  I realized that the broken zipper was probably part of the reason my phone fit in and out so easily. 

I took the old cross body apart, removed what was left of the zipper, and put it back together, no problems. That was my trial run. 

I then had confidence to do the same operation on my brand new cross body, removing the zipper, which enlarged the top opening for my phone (pictures taken with my current phone, old phone in the holder, if you are wondering).

It is now very easy for me to use! 

I do lots of projects. I normally am pleased with them. This one I was absolutely thrilled at my cleverness.