An I Think I'm Back Weekly Link Round-Up

 

As my grandfather would say, I've been busier than a one-armed paperhanger with the hives. After spending over six weeks in hospital and rehab, Denis is finally home. We're still awaiting his second surgery that will build that artificial vertebra in his spine. 

For two weeks of this time, our niece Karen was here from the UK. It had been much too long since her last visit, and I'd forgotten just how well suited we are. We had so much to talk about that I swear I wore calluses on my vocal cords! We spent the two weeks visiting Denis, doing a bit of shopping, and visiting places like the Desert Botanical Garden and the Heard Museum. (Yes, photos will be shared in the future.) 

Here's my most cherished photo taken during this time.

Denis & Karen, two of my favorite people.

As I said, there will be more photos to come. Now it's time to thank friends for the Care Packages they sent and to share some links with all of you. Enjoy!

►Books & Other Interesting Tidbits◄

• On my grandfather's novel: F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby at 100.
• Rightwing groups across the U.S. push new bans to limit "obscene" books in libraries.
• How bubble wrap accidentally became a shipping necessity after failing as wallpaper.
• What an old dollhouse taught Elise Hooper about storytelling and family.
• "Reading builds empathy": the case for saving America's libraries.
• A lost bit of the story of Merlin and Arthur has been found at Cambridge.
• High net worth victims: Why we love our murderees to be filthy rich.

►Channeling My Inner Indiana Jones◄

• Archaeologists unearthed a rare reminder of Britain's brief reign over the "nation's oldest city."
• Archaeologists uncovered two nearly life-size statues carved into the wall of a tomb in ancient Pompeii.
• A three-year-old picked up a "beautiful stone" and discovered a 3,800-year-old scarab amulet in Israel.
• A gladiator's marble-etched epitaph was found in an ancient Roman necropolis.
• Tumaco-Tolita gold figurine: A 2,000-year-old statue with a "fancy nose ornament" from a vanished South American culture.
• An eagle-eyed man discovered a rare Viking arm ring that may have been lost in a marsh in Sweden 1,000 years ago.

►Channeling My Inner Elly May Clampett◄

• Meet the Chicago Cubs' newest feathered fan: a Canada goose that built her nest in their baseball stadium.
• A hurricane swept these tortoises across miles of ocean to a new home in Florida, and now they're thriving.
• At 97, this endangered tortoise becomes the oldest first-time mom of her species with four new hatchlings, and potentially more on the way.
• Meet the Asian small-clawed otter, an adorable and social carnivore.
• This octopus is using a beer bottle as a nursery.
• The New England Aquarium built a new "assisted living" retirement retreat for aging African penguins to live out their golden years.

►The Wanderer◄

• Fifteen photos that will remind you to appreciate the rain.
• Harrison Ford urges us all to listen to the quiet around us to celebrate the biodiversity of the natural world.
• The best states for birdwatching, mapped.
• The ten U.S. cities with the most green space.
• The demand for tiny plants is driving a poaching crisis in South Africa.
• Crime and the City: Port Moresby and Papua New Guinea.

►Fascinating Folk◄

• Khutulun, the Mongolian princess who challenged her suitors to a wrestling match-- and always won.
• Dorothea Dix, the compassionate crusader who revolutionized care for the mentally ill.
• Sixteen women environmentalists you should know.
• How Val Kilmer embodied the spirit of Jim Morrison in the Oliver Stone movie, The Doors.
• Rebecca Lee Crumpler, the nation's first Black female doctor, blazed a path for women in medicine, but she was left out of the story for decades.
• Indigenous artist DY Begay conjures the magic of nature with her tapestries.

►I ♥ Lists◄

• Ten haunted house novels full of atmosphere and secrets.
• Five thrillers about someone disappearing on a camping trip.
• The best mystery shows streaming now on AcornTV.
• Six mysteries and thrillers by Irish and Irish American women.
• Sixteen Scottish crime thrillers.
• Fifteen books about intergenerational friendships.

That's all for this week! No matter how busy you may be, don't forget that quality Me Time curled up with a good book!