Doctor Who The Flux

 It seemed to me that there was no word about when the new season of Doctor Who would be on, then suddenly a few weeks ago, it's on Halloween and there are only six episodes. 

There will apparently be some specials, but it's all very fragmented and the thirteenth Doctor should get more respect, I feel.

The Flux was an absolute whirlwind of an episode. It begins with The Doctor and Yaz suspended upside down, in handcuffs, over a toxic green planet that they're about to be dropped into. As a backup should they survive that, small whirling weapons are trained on them, plus the planet is about to be destroyed.

They pick up a new companion this episode, Dan, a goodhearted wiseguy who has been caged and kidnapped by a dog.  When I saw the previews I thought the Karvanista was a wookiee!

There is a Weeping Angel and a Sontaran.

There's another new alien called Swarm, who, with his sister, may be behind the Flux (?).

It will be interesting to see if all six episodes have this pace.

Merlyn's Cipher Sunday Answer Key for the October 24, 2021 Puzzle

 Here are the opening lines of A Spell for Chameleon by Piers Anthony!

Click to enlarge!

Happy Halloween!

 

Overwintering Time

 I always vow I’m not bringing in plants from outside in the fall. Then I see some of the plants are still gorgeous and green and blooming. Next year, the heck with it, I’m bringing in anything that looks good and is a tender perennial, herb, or annual with a bit more time in its cycle.

8

Sunday Puzzles: A Halloween Double Puzzle

 It's the exciting return of the Double Puzzle to the rotation for week five.  Now that Discovery Education provides Answer Keys for their puzzle makers, we are in business.  When there were no keys, I was creating the Answer Key in Word, but that was ponderous.

All you need to do is unscramble the words provided.  The letters of those words that have a number beneath them go into the form below to spell out a phrase.

Librariandoa's Saturday Random Maze October 30, 2021

 Hi there Maze Meisters. This week's Maze is from Discovery Education.  Scroll down for the answer.

Too Soon

Sheesh. No Peeking.

Ok.

DOA's Fallen Phrase Answer Key for the October 24, 2021 Puzzle

 This week's puzzle is a quote from the ever dreamy Edgar Allan Poe.

Catalog Cards

 There was always something relaxing and satisfying about working with a paper card catalog. The nice little sound as you shuffled through the cards. The unexpectedly interesting topics found along the way to card you needed. 

I loved typing out the cards and getting the spacing of everything just right. I liked filing the cards.

The downside to these catalogs was that some people had no pen and paper or didn’t care to use them to find their book on the shelf. They just pulled the card out of the drawer and took it to the shelf. Perhaps the card became a bookmark next, because I don’t recall seeing any cards lying around in the stacks.

Also, I once volunteered evenings at a mental health facility, doing some cataloging, making new cards, and trying to keep the card files in order. A customer, fully known to staff, would spend quite a bit of time in the catalog drawers mixing cards around. They liked to do the same with books on the shelf. Discouraging!

First Line Friday October 29, 2021

 

The Blob!

 I can’t tell how you how scary this was to me as a kid, but it’s somehow my favorite horror film.

What's Cooking October 27, 2021

 Chocolate with Grace offers Cocoa Powder Brownies. There are optional directions for making it in mini-muffin tins as Brownie Bites or in an 8x8 pan, which I love.

https://chocolatewithgrace.com/how-to-make-brownies-with-cocoa-powder/

 

This is what I'm talking about.  When we visited Amsterdam, the public library (!) had a restaurant. There was a giant kettle of vegetable soup that was so wonderful.  I couldn't even have said what vegetables were in it, there seemed to be so many.  Cookie Rookie's Hearty Vegetable soup recipe is the closest thing I've ever seen to it.  Must try!

https://www.thecookierookie.com/hearty-vegetable-soup-recipe/

 Here's one of those recipes that sounds so good, but I wonder if I can 1) Find the ingredients such as candied lemon or orange peel, and whole nutmeg  2)  I'm pretty sure I've never made a custard of any kind, not being a particular fan.

 

Other than that!  It looks simple enough.

https://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/collections/hot-puddings/bread-and-butter-pudding

 

It isn't too early to be thinking of what you can make with your leftover turkey.   Here's a nice Turkey Noodle Soup Recipe from Spend With Pennies.

https://www.spendwithpennies.com/turkey-noodle-soup-with-broth/

 

The Kitchn suggests candy for you based on your zodiac sign.  I want to be a Capricorn :)