My 13 things today are books I've read that have a number in their title, except for #11. I had to refer to my Goodreads list to come up with the titles. Some of the titles are from waaaaaay back, such as the one by Thurber, which I want to re-read.

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

A Tale of Two Cities
by Charles Dickens

Tres Pinos—Its Colorful Past
by Peter Frusetta 
(Tres is Spanish for three.)

Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing
by Judy Blume

Slaughterhouse-Five
by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

Now We are Six
by A.A. Milne

Seven Dials
by Anne Perry

Eight Cousins
by Louisa May Alcott

Nine Coaches Waiting
by Mary Stewart

Ten Little Indians (And Then There Were None)
by Agatha Christie

Index to Murder
by Jo Dereske
(This is #11 in the Miss Zukas series.)

The Twelve Clues of Christmas
by Rhys Bowen

The 13 Clocks
by James Thurber

What books have you read with numbers in their title?

Check out more lists of 13 at Thursday 13.

Zip, rip. Wrap. Zip, rip. Wrap.

"That looks like fun," said the Husband.

"Want to make one?"

See the yellow butterfly in the above photo mosaic. That's the Husband's creation.

I love it when the Husband plays artsy-crafty with me. Over the past few months, we transformed hangers and colored and patterned tape into four butterflies. The fourth butterfly was shy about getting its photo taken. We think it may be hiding near the back fence.

I thought it would be cool to hang butterflies around the backyard. I was done after making three. I still have a lot hangers. What to do with them? What to do?

A PLYWOOD BOARD
Who has made a desk by setting a solid piece of plywood (or door) over two file cabinets (or something like that)?

My canvas of a plywood board was once my desk top when the Husband and I lived in the big city area almost two decades ago. Pshew, wow. I wrote a whole bunch of good stuff on that desk. Before being my desk, the plywood board was the h…

This week Sunday Stealing, hosted by Bev Sykes, has participants musing over questions taken from Upstream Life.

1. Name 5 people you admire and why.
• Daddy. Family was important for him. He took his responsibilities seriously. He made sure his children got the opportunities for a good life.
• Mama was resolute, stoical, full of love and cheeriness, but oh so sad. Also full of spirit, spit, and vinegar, Mama didn't let her misery keep her down. She had more than her share, including living through war and losing two children. 
• The Husband. My gosh. I'm not an easy person to live with.
• Winifred, my mentor, my writing partner, my friend. She took a chance on me (#6). Winifred was an amazing, gifted, and giving person who taught me how to develop and create educational materials that respect and teach the learners.
• Kathy, a friend from grammar school days. I love her humor, her wit, her intelligence. For years, she went back and forth, several times a year to visit her pare…

I was seduced. To buy each of these 13 things, that is.  It may have been by a salesperson (live or in a commercial) or by someone who was with me. More than likely, it was I who persuaded myself into thinking I certainly wanted and needed something, thus bought it.

1. A mop with disposable cleaning pads and solution that sprays from the mop at a press of the button. It was ridiculous how many cleaning pads I used in one mopping.

2. A manual mini food chopper. It did not chop, mince, or dice for me like it did for the guy in the TV commercial.

3. A red woolen shawl made in Ireland. I wasn't thinking and washed it in the washing machine. Shrunk, it did. 30 years later, the threads have begun to loosen. I may still wear it yet.

4. A food dehydrator. One Christmas I desired a food dehydrator. So Mama gifted me one, as did the Husband. I returned one of them. Drying fruits and vegetables in the oven is far easier.

5. A pair of orthopedic sandals. They were the first pair of shoes that cos…

This week Sunday Stealing, hosted by Bev Sykes, is all about choosing a book and discussing it via a bunch of questions. My choice is Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.

1.  Why did you pick the book?
Jane Eyre is the #1 book on my list of all-time favorites, which I put on the top of the list after I read it 10 years ago, more or less. It kicked Pride & Prejudice to #2 after 40 or so years. Until I saw the movie adaption with Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens, I resisted reading Jane Eyre in full. I had no idea Jane had such gumption. In middle school, I read segments in our English textbook so I knew the main plot, but all the good stuff that would've got me to the read the book wasn' there. And, when I saw the movie adaption with Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine back then, I was definitely not interested in reading the book because the film portrayed Jane and Mr. Rochester as simpy, unlikeable characters.

2.  What did you think about the book?
Jane is an independent, strong-willed…

Earlier this month, I listed 13 of my more memorable jobs.  Today, it's a list of jobs (and, in most instances, careers) that interested me once upon a time, pretty much in this order, from teenage me to about 10-years-ago me.

1. High School English Teacher
2. Newspaper Reporter
3. Bookstore Owner
4. Street Vendor/Artist
5. Paralegal
6. California State Superintendent of Public Instruction
7. Heavy Equipment Operator
8. Gardening Service Co-Owner with Daddy
9. Mother of Five
10. Comedy Writer
11. Airport Shuttle Bus Driver
12. Background Investigator
13. Forensic Scientist

Check out other bloggers with lists of 13 for Thursday 13.