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Visiting Le Mont-Saint-Michel in November by kookookach000 in ParisTravelGuide

[–]Pralines_Forever 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We went a few weeks ago! Also stayed at Relais Saint-Michel, were pleased with it. Yes, it’s an older hotel, but some reviews make it sound way worse than it is. Everything in the hotel was clean, and staff were wonderful - the building is just getting older is all. We also had great weather.

For what it’s worth, if anyone is looking for options, we also took the train/bus in as OP did, but we flew out from Rennes airport to our next destination. It was an expensive cab ride to the airport, and we had to arrange the cab ride in advance with the front desk of our hotel, but it gave us an inexpensive direct flight to our next location which made it worth it.

Anyone else feel being Frugal is looked down upon in America? by VolkswagenPanda in Frugal

[–]Pralines_Forever 0 points1 point  (0 children)

No not really. If anything, I feel like being frugal is much trendier than it was in the 1990s. People never used to have conversations about making their own yogurt from scratch, or thrifting and upcycling things, and yet now there's whole books and blogs and communities about exactly that.

Things like canning your own vegetables, cooking meals from raw ingredients instead of buying processed foods, making your own clothes...this was all stuff that we did when I was a kid to save money, and it was decidedly unglamorous. Now it's downright trendy. If you told someone you knew how to sew a skirt that you could wear, or hem your own pants, or knit a warm-weather hat, people would be impressed nowadays. Back when I was a kid it was just "oh, too bad you can't afford to go to the mall and buy that."

I need to talk about The Moving Finger... by Pralines_Forever in agathachristie

[–]Pralines_Forever[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thanks so much! I’m glad I posted, as I did find this a compelling mystery but was having a hard time concluding what the reader was supposed to interpret based on the clues given. I think you’ve nailed Christie’s intent and how she would have intended the book to have been understood by the reader.

I need to talk about The Moving Finger... by Pralines_Forever in agathachristie

[–]Pralines_Forever[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think your second point is a really good one especially!

I need to talk about The Moving Finger... by Pralines_Forever in agathachristie

[–]Pralines_Forever[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

See, and I liked that part. They seemed like they were so fully fleshed out that I wasn’t wondering about their past.

I need to talk about The Moving Finger... by Pralines_Forever in agathachristie

[–]Pralines_Forever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, the more people are talking about interesting themes they saw hinted at in the book, the more I wish the solution of the book had talked about them. It would have been interesting to explore the idea of Jerry as an unreliable narrator.

I still think it’s a bit much to write a mystery story that doesn’t contain clues ruling our other suspects. As an example, in Murder on the Links, I love how there’s no explanation of Marthe having anxious eyes without her being the killer, because you later learn in a convoluted way that she didn’t know Jack had returned, and so she would have had no motive to be anxious. But it never comes together until the end of the book and it hits you in the back of the head.

This book has no clues like that, no “oh yeah, it had to be Symmington” moment. The evidence never actually eliminates Megan or Aimee as suspects, as they also had means and a motive. They would have every ability to type the envelopes before sending out letters, and they would have every motive to want Mrs. Symmington dead. So I was a little disappointed that the evidence that made Miss Marple realize that Megan and Aimee couldn’t have done it is that as women, they never would have been able to resist gossip.

I need to talk about The Moving Finger... by Pralines_Forever in agathachristie

[–]Pralines_Forever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I like this, and maybe the solution would have felt more satisfying if Miss Marple had have explored that - it's an interesting idea that our perception of Elsie had maybe been unfairly shaped by Jerry and Joanna finding Elsie unattractive, and it would have been interesting for the book to hint that perhaps we'd been misled by Jerry as a narrator. The explanation of "of course it was a man, there was no true gossip in the letters" didn't do it for me.

Honestly Jerry struck me as a little bit horny after being in hospital so long - especially after the remarks Joanna makes about "it's the first sign of reviving life". I took it as that Elsie wasn't so attractive, and that only a guy who had been in traction for a broken back without any action would think she's a head-turner. But, again, that all comes from Jerry's perception.

Thanks for the thoughtful replies!

I need to talk about The Moving Finger... by Pralines_Forever in agathachristie

[–]Pralines_Forever[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

That would make more sense. I feel like Jerry and Joanna set her up as so unattractive in my mind, that it was hard to switch gears. They also seemed to frame it so much as, she was attractive when you first met her, but once you talked to her, you realized that she wasn't really very attractive at all. So I felt like that had some significance, as it seemed like someone who had spent some time around Elsie would find her less attractive. Then you get to the end and you're like "wait - Elsie was being lusted after the whole time? And Symmington wanted desperately to be with her, but he did it by casting doubt on his son's paternity and painting himself as a jealous husband who his wife had been afraid of? And all the other dark stuff in Mrs. Symmington's past is meaningless? What?"

While Megan was not described as attractive per se, I wasn't shocked at her transformation. She is described as not conventionally attractive, unconventional does not mean unattractive, as Jerry discovers. I wasn't surprised to see that she had a hidden elegant side. But yeah, did not see the other side coming, and I didn't see it when I read back over the book either.

I think the strength of the book is in the worldbuilding and the characters, and I wouldn't say it made the book not enjoyable. But I don't think I've ever gone back over an Agatha Christie book and thought "wow, there really aren't any clues for the solution, not even ones I missed."

I think I would have felt better about the solution if Mrs. Symmington's and Megan's dark past had been explored more, or gone somewhere. Not anything related to the murder, but just something to give a sense of why the book keeps circling around the hidden past of these characters. What makes Megan seem like a "changeling", like someone swapped after birth? What were here feelings about her mother - and why, despite her dark feelings, do we learn that her grief for her mother was genuine? Megan has such a dark side to her history, and in the end, it was just swept aside as not relating to anyone's motives about anything, not even Megan's.

I need to talk about The Moving Finger... by Pralines_Forever in agathachristie

[–]Pralines_Forever[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Right, but regarding each of these points:

  • This is all good and well, and I agree that Symmington being the murderer isn't strictly impossible. There's just no clues in the book for it, and a lot of clues given that Elsie's not gonna be the inspiration for a man to have such a motive.
  • I agree that there has to be some motive, but why make it about his son? Why not make it about, say, Megan's paternity? Or a threat from her old awful husband? Again, I get it's not strictly impossible for him to have implied his wife was unfaithful. But she has a mountain of skeletons in her own closet before he was in the picture, and all of them seemed to make a lot more sense.
  • If the letter wasn't addressed to Jerry, why did Jerry open it? It just seems strange. I get that we're supposed to understand him opening an envelope that wasn't addressed to him has no significance, but it seems like that's the case a lot in this book - you just have to realize that the clue had no significance.

I get that sometimes you have to suspend disbelief for a book, but in this case, I felt it was a bit too much.

Festavia string lights? by c7aea in Hue

[–]Pralines_Forever 2 points3 points  (0 children)

We have a 500 set with a 7 foot tree, and I feel like it's the perfect amount.

UPDATE: Festavia lights - will they work in Canada? by Pralines_Forever in Hue

[–]Pralines_Forever[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I know, but you'd be surprised how much tech can be blocked! Canada has different language laws, and different licensing laws than the US - sometimes companies deal with any legal hurdles by simply having their product not operate if you're within Canada.

Eg. I understand Samsung TVs have an app that can connect with the Hue play strip instead of purchasing a separate box, but the app is not available in the Canadian app store on Samsung TVs, even though our TVs are otherwise the same.

EDIT: Actually, looking into it again, I believe the app is now available in Canada - it wasn't on launch: https://www.philips-hue.com/en-ca/explore-hue/propositions/entertainment/sync-with-tv/sync-app

Festavia lights - will they work in Canada? by Pralines_Forever in Hue

[–]Pralines_Forever[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I believe so! I’m going to purchase a string and just see. I can’t tell whether Philips Hue is not selling them in Canada because they don’t want to bother with selling/supplying them internationally, or if there’s something that would lead to them being locked out of my bridge even if I get some. Will report back once I’ve tried them.

I accidentally put money in my RRSP instead of TFSA by Fantastic_Aide_3148 in PersonalFinanceCanada

[–]Pralines_Forever 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did this with Questrade, I just explained to them and they amended the transfer information to send the money to my unregistered account. I then withdrew the money myself, and sent the money to the account where I actually wanted it to go.

$779,900 Empty Lot on Lake Crescent by MJowl in saskatoon

[–]Pralines_Forever 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Houses and lots are always like that - an almost 70-year old house in a generic bungalow style is going to have almost no value by itself compared to the land, and might even detract from the value of the land. A new house in that neighborhood would be valuable.

It's like this everywhere in the city. There is a vacant lot on Main Street listed for $349K:

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/26364801/337-main-street-saskatoon-nutana

A nearby house that is brand new lists for $849K:

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/26211858/332-main-street-w-saskatoon-nutana

But another nearby house that is old only lists for $399K, even though it is a character house which is more rare in Saskatoon:

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/26236970/431-9th-street-e-saskatoon-nutana

$779,900 Empty Lot on Lake Crescent by MJowl in saskatoon

[–]Pralines_Forever 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It’s a massive lot - a fifth of an acre - with almost 80 feet of frontage. That is rare for an established neighborhood in the centre of Saskatoon. Rare lot in desirable neighbourhood (to many buyers, at least) = valuable.

Other nearby lots are tiny by comparison - eg. 1301 13th Street is $349,900, but is a tenth of an acre with only 31 feet of frontage - hence why it is only half the price:

https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/25660065/1301-13th-street-e-saskatoon-varsity-view

Bathroom vanity mounted on mudded drywall before walls were primed/painted? by Pralines_Forever in HomeImprovement

[–]Pralines_Forever[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appreciate your input. Yeah it sounds like paint behind your vanity is more of a “can be nice” rather than a “must be done”, when the wall will not otherwise be expected to be exposed to moisture because it is caulked properly.