Hi Carmen: your observation about the Spy book cover is quite astute and I agree mostly — though the novel read a bit like a fictional memoir of this spy so I’m half & half on it. As for Stalin’s daughter I’d like to read more about her in the future and the autobiography would be a good place to start. I’m also interested in Rosemary Sullivan’s biography of her. I should see the movie satire you mention as well.

Thanks Judy for the link. I did not know about this pioneering woman of trees & plants. Wow the jacarandas are always so beautiful.

A reading group friend sent me this link yesterday. I thought you would enjoy learning this little piece of California history and about a great 19th/20th century woman.
https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/jacaranda-trees-la/?sfns=mo

Hey Ti, sorry to hear about the commencement weather delay, yikes what a mess. That’s tough. I’ll let you know how the ride goes in next week’s post, it is supposed to rain a bit so that worries me. We’ll see. I hope the end of school for your daughter goes as smoothly as possible. It’s a chaotic time I’m sure. I’ll stay tuned to your site for the update. all the best.

Hi Judy: I’m definitely growing impatient with rainy days here. It’s incredible your SoCal is still seeing some drops this late in May. I’m liking the Cold War genre and I wish you well with your research and writing. You’ve read a lot of spy stuff so I’ll be curious to see how you like this novel by Lauren Wilkinson. Cheers.

Hi Anne: Most of the multi-day bike trips we do are organized rides thru a bike group/company and they transport your luggage to your overnight destination while you cycle the route. Indeed May is a pretty dicey time to ride in the Canadian Rockies but if you bring & wear the right gear you can get away with it. We will see how it goes this weekend. There is supposed to be some rain, darn! Thx for stopping by.

Good luck on your ride this weekend. I do hope you get the weather you want. We had a freakish thunder storm here yesterday and actually, our commencement ceremonies, all 8 of them, were affected in some way by the weather. One had to be delayed by three hours due to lightning. It really affected everyone.

I’ve been quietly reading some good stuff but I have been so stressed about the end of the year school stuff for my daughter that I haven’t been all that chatty.

When you take bike trips how do you carry your gear? Or do you take your gear some place and then bike from that spot out each day? Seems dicey to plan a bike trip this time of year in the Pacific NW.