Book 23: Crooked River by Preston & Child

After I finished most of my books in house, I requested three books from the library. Crooked River was the first available. I really enjoyed it. It was mysterious, it had good characters: Pendergast, Constance Greene, Coldmoon, Roger Smithback (though I still miss Bill) and some new characters P.B. Perelman and Pamela Gladstone. 

This was a good mystery with a strong, devious enemy. Yet somehow Pendergast and his friends prevail, as always. 

This was a good read.

Lazy Days

When I had a normal Monday-to-Friday type job, I hated to go back to work the day after Christmas. Christmas on a Friday (like this year) was special. You had two days to extend celebrations or travel back home or just enjoy a buffer between the holiday and the work-a-day world. 

I have a list of things to do between Christmas and New Year's Day, but figured I could give myself Christmas weekend off. The problem is that it's too easy to extend that time off into the week. 

I made potato soup on Sunday. I had looked at several recipes and decided on one, and then I realized that I didn't have enough potatoes and I had forgotten to get sour cream. I adjusted the recipe and substituted cream cheese for sour cream. It worked out well. On Monday I pureed the soup. It was thick so I added some half-and-half and chicken broth. Then we added some grated cheddar. I kept adding spices and ultimately loved this soup. Pretty good for my first attempt. I'll definitely make it again. 

I thought of making a different soup today, but time got away from me. I'll make more soups and chili soon. Today I finished the grocery shopping list, sorted the laundry, get my second shingles shot, and picked up a book from the library. (I had requested three; I'm on hold for one, the other isn't available.) The book I got was Crimson River by Preston & Child. 

Tomorrow I'll try to be more productive.

Book 22: The Amber Room by Steve Berry

I originally bought this book back in 2014 after my mother broke her hip (the first time) and had lots of reading time. She said she didn't like it. I don't know if she really disliked it or whether she disliked it on principle because I gave it to her. She seemed to relish criticizing things I liked. 

The Amber Room was one of the books in the house that I listed here. I've read all of the books except for the science ones (Unveiling the Edge of Time Black Holes, White Holes, Wormholes; Cosmic Coincidences Dark Matter, Mankind, and Anthropic Cosmology; The Elegant Universe super strings, hidden dimensions and the quest for the ultimate theory) and The Sagas of Icelanders.

Despite a strong prologue, it seemed to take a while for The Amber Room to get going. (Looking back, it's only about 40 pages.) It seemed longer because I didn't care about the divorce of Rachel and Paul Cutler and the threat to Rachel's judgeship (which ends up being a non-issue by the end of the book.) Once things started rolling, I got into the story and finished the book in about five days. 

The Amber Room is real and the mysteries surrounding it are fascinating. Author Steve Berry traveled through Germany, Austria and Moscow and St. Petersburg in Russia to research this novel. Berry has written over 20 books and travels extensively to research them. In fact, Berry rewrote sections of The Amber Room after spending time with the chief restorer of the Amber Room; he realized he had gotten many details wrong. 

On to the critique. While I enjoyed the story, there were a few times I noticed the writing. It's hard to describe--the word choices seemed forced or designed to impress. There were several instances where it was unclear which character was speaking--a few more dialogue tags would have been helpful 

RIP Barbara Grafflin Cooper

My mother-in-law died this evening. She was in hospice care and had told us she didn't want to get well, but death is never easy even when you expect it. 

I've gone through something similar with my mother. Two days before she died, she told me "I want to go." My mother Miriam and Barbara were both widowed, in their nineties, and tired of being tired. Barbara had the added burden of dying in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, when family visits were difficult if not outright prohibited. Jeff and I hadn't seen her since last Christmas. 

I always said that I lucked out with Barbara as my mother-in-law. She accepted and welcomed me to the family, when others may have paused because I am seven years older than Jeff. Yes, there were times I found her annoying. I didn't always like how she treated Jeff--he was always her baby. We disagreed on pretty much everything politically. In one of our last conversations, she lamented that Joe Biden was being manipulated to appoint a diverse cabinet, but apologized because she didn't want to hurt my feelings. 

Barbara was thoughtful, loving, and caring. Every time I walk into our condo, I see the Raoul Dufy print she and Jim (my father-in-law) bought for us. I like to think that one reason they selected this print is because Barbara always remembered my love of calla lilies.

Barbara is the last of Jeff's and my parents to go. Her children, Jeff, Melissa, and Thea believe she held on because she didn't want to leave them on Christmas: her last thoughtful act. 

Christmas 2020

I knew this wouldn't be a good Christmas, but I wanted to make the best of it. We decorated for Christmas a few weeks ago and put up a tree for the first time in years. Last night I made filet mignon for dinner--it's a Cooper family tradition. I also made coconut creamed spinach and cheesy scalloped potatoes. I used a hot sesame oil to cook the spinach--it made an odd color but a spicy creamed spinach. I was bummed that I undercooked the potatoes. I'd made the dish many times before, but not recently. We had already finished watching our usual Christmas shows, and then watched some Simpsons Christmas episodes. 

Today we slept in. I made Christmas breakfast which I don't think I've made in 10 years. I made it as I remembered the original recipe and the changes I made to it. I googled "Christmas Breakfast" but didn't find the original recipe. First I crumbled some bread in the bottom of baking dishes, I added scrambled eggs with garlic, onions, peppers, bacon and cheddar cheese. Dinner was a turkey breast (that Jeff's mother gave us for Thanksgiving) stuffing, sweet potato, cranberry orange sauce, crescent rolls, and brussels sprouts with pepper, shallot, and garlic. 

We're dealing with some strange weather. Yesterday was warm in the 50's, but it was windy. Last night a rainstorm swept through, leaving many in Connecticut without power. Today Jeff, Lola, and I got caught in a downpour. It could have been much worse. It started pouring just as we were about to extend our walk. We got soaked anyway. Tonight it's going down to the mid-20's. With last week's snow melting, I'm concerned with everything freezing up again for tomorrow. 

We had a Skype call with Jeff's sisters and their families this afternoon. Jeff's mom is in bad shape so there was a pall over our conversation, as well as our whole Christmas. 

A Holiday for the Rest of Us

Yes, it's Festivus. In 2020, the airing of grievances may take so long, we might not get to the feats of strength. 

CNN gives the origin story here.

Five Years Ago...

...we said goodbye to Spike. It was time. We had kept him alive for a year after he appeared to fail. We gave him a good life (he came to us when he was just over one-year-old.) He gave us so much love and happiness. 

Spike was a wonderful dog and companion. We'll always love him.

Here's to Spike. 

Winter Solstice

Today is the first day of winter. The last week of fall brought the biggest snowstorm in years. Ironically, today was the nicest day in a week--sunny and 46 degrees.  

Usually people describe the winter solstice as the shortest day of the year. I think it's more accurate to call it the darkest day of the year. Going forward, each day will have more light (at least until the summer solstice.)

Getting more light is something to celebrate. 

Book 21: Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball

Wow, it's  been almost two months since I read Book 20 (The Pharoah Key.) I was reading several magazines and started Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. Full disclosure: I haven't picked up Whitman in a while. 

My mother-in-law gave me Slaves in the Family as she was packing to move to North Carolina. Edward Ball researches two-hundred years of his family papers, state and national governmental records, and works of historians. He also tracks down descendants of persons his family enslaved and uses their oral histories to build upon his research. 

Ball is a good writer and an excellent researcher. His work illuminates an important part of US history that many prefer to ignore or dismiss.

In an epilogue, he travels to Bunce Island in Sierra Leone and meets descendants of some slave sellers. Ball and some of the descendants take part in a ceremony to ask forgiveness of the dead. According to the traditions of the ritual, their prayers were accepted.  

Today at Sherwood Island

For the last few days after the snowstorm, we walked Lola around the neighborhood. Today we went to Sherwood Island.

I took a picture of this sky around 3:30.

Sweet Lola

Yesterday, I saw Lola resting with her beanie baby Chocolate the Moose. She looked so adorable, I had to snap a few pictures. 

Roller Games Revisited

Last Saturday my brother called to tell that Roller Games was on TV. 

In the late 60's and early 70's, I was a big fan of Roller Games. My father took the family to a Philadelphia Warriors game, and I was hooked. I watched games on TV every Sunday night and soon was attending games in person every Wednesday night. 

I also watched Roller Derby with the San Francisco Bay Area Bombers on TV, but the Philadelphia Warriors of Roller Games were my team. I was most interested in the Roller Derby when they showed old games with Buddy Atkinson, Dru Scott, Mike Gammon and Judi McGuire on the New York Chiefs. At the time, they were all Warriors, and Mike Gammon was my favorite skater. 

This article gives a good description of roller derby vs. roller games. (I didn't know any of this at the time--just figured there were two leagues.)

The games this weekend was from the Roller Games of 1989-1990 season--my least favorite era. These games included a "Wall of Death" and an alligator pit (apparently the alligators were only used once.) The only skaters I remembered from my day were Little Richard Brown (another fave from the Warriors--I loved when he and Mike were on a jam together) and the Living Legend Ralphie Valladares. Annoyingly, "jams" were called "scoring cycles" and "jammers" were called "jetters."

Then there was Roller Jam in 1991-2001. I liked seeing Richard Brown again as well as the third generation skater Sean Atkinson (son of Buddy and Dru,) I remember seeing him as a child at a game at the Cherry Hill (NJ) Arena. Jeff and I got a kick of out of Roller Jam (I guess I corrupted him.)

We watched the A&E series Roller Girls that aired in 2006. There wasn't much skating shown, but it was interesting to compare the on- and off-track lives of the skaters. After watching the Roller Games last weekend, I found a documentary about the revival of Roller Derby in Austin called Hell on Wheels. 

A few years ago, Jeff and I saw a bout of the Connecticut Roller Derby. CTRD is a flat track league and it was kind of boring. I guess I'm old school.

Snow

We're not easing into winter weather. The biggest storm in years is here now. We had taken Lola for a long walk from Mathews to Oyster Shell Parks around 10:30. Later we walked up to the corner around 4:30 just as it started to snow. 

We're predicted to get at least a foot of snow through tomorrow afternoon. I'm not happy about it, especially as the first snowfall of the season. At least, we don't have to go anywhere except to take Lola out. 

We're stocked up on food. We probably would have been okay, but I shopped Monday morning anyway. I bought a bit too much, and it's hard to close the freezer. I took lunch from it today and will make dinner from something in the freezer tomorrow. That will free up room for the ice cube trays.

Tomorrow is a good day to make soups.

This Week

We had a lot going on this week. Monday morning, the plumbers came: we had two slow draining bathroom sinks. I called them on Thursday; this was the longest wait we ever had with them. One plumber told me they were finding kids' toys down drains. At least Jeff and I don't have that problem. The painter Ray showed up unexpectedly on Friday. I had run into him earlier this week and reminded him that we had some issues in our bedroom and half bath (presumably from the neighbor above us.) Unfortunately, Ray arrived as we were getting ready to take Lola to the vet. He waited until we returned and patched up both ceiling areas. He'll be back tomorrow to finish up.

We finished decorating for Christmas and presents are trickling in. I shopped for every gift except one online. I still need some stocking stuffers. I'd also like to get Lola some kind of light raincoat. 

It's been just under two weeks since my last writing class. Since then I listened to a session from the Westport Writers' Workshop about how to keep writing during the holidays. I need this kind of advice year-round. I wrote a 722-word story. I'm proud of that, but it's not enough--not nearly enough. 

I had my penultimate Mixed Media and Collage class on Tuesday. The instructor is offering another session. But I don't plan to take it. There is a Gelli Plate Printmaking Workshop that I think I'll take instead. As part of the workshop, I'll get some supplies. I think it will be fun to try some new techniques. 

Since I've been in two classes, I can submit two pieces in the next Student/Teacher Show at Rowayton Arts Center. I have to frame my submissions, and I wondered if the cost was worth it for a vanity project. A classmate mentioned the framing requirement, and Mari the instructor said something like get frames from Michael's that can be reused. So I guess I'll check that out. It will be fun to say that I have work displayed in an art show. Maybe I can start to think of myself as a artist after all. 

Lola seems back to her normal self today. We took her for a long walk on the Wilton branch of the Norwalk River Valley Trail. It was about 60 degrees today, but rain and snow are predicted in the next few days. Ugh. 

To close out the weekend, we discovered a new leak in our full bath ceiling. It's not a bad leak, so--plumbers will come tomorrow morning. Oh joy. At least the painter will already be here to help. 

$428 of Dirt and Sand: Poor Lola

Two days ago, we noticed Lola eating dirt; this was a new thing. Yesterday at Sherwood Island beach, she was eating sand. We stopped her whenever we saw her. 

Last night around 10, she vomited. She woke around 4-4:30 and was sick another four or five times. She was also shaking. It was rough.

I cooked her some chicken and rice in chicken broth his morning; she was totally uninterested, and she threw up twice more. 

We took her to the vet this morning, authorized an x-ray to confirm that she's eaten a bunch of dirt and sand. She's uncomfortable, but not in pain. We just have to wait for it to pass through her system. 

The best thing is that she finally ate a little food about 15 minutes ago. 

We had just been to the vet earlier this week to get a blood test. Lola has had some kidney issues and has been on a special kidney diet for about six months. The vet said she wouldn't need another blood test until her annual check-up in May. I was happy for her health as well as our wallet. 

But then, there we were back today; another $428. The most frustrating part is that Lola did this to herself. 

Christmas Decorating

Tonight Jeff and I finished decorating for Christmas tonight after about a week. I just have to move the empty ornaments and decoration boxes back into the bin. I usually just stow them in the second bedroom, but I don't want to add to the disorder in there.

I really like the look of the tree on the coffee table, and we have a poinsettia that I bought today.  From my seat on the couch, I see the tree, the poinsettia, our Festivus pole, photos, candles, and other decorations. This will be our first Christmas alone, and it has to look nice. 

What We've Been Watching on TV

Fargo Season Four: I have mixed feelings about this season. I was intrigued by the set-up of the two reigning crime families exchanging their youngest sons as collateral. There were interesting characters: Doctor Senator, Ethelrida Smutny, and Rabbi Milligan. It was hard to keep track of the many characters, and I didn't like the focus on Oraetta Mayflower. The character didn't really work as a big bad villain, and her quirkiness wasn't entertaining. 

By the end of the season, all I wanted was for Ethelrita and Satchel Cannon (the last exchanged son--who was from the black mob) to be safe. They were. The show revealed that Satchel ended up as Mike Milligan from Season Two (my favorite season.) It was unclear what Ethelrita's fate would be, though I'm sure she would be successful.

I enjoyed the show, though Seasons One and Two were far superior to Seasons Three and Four. Season Two is my favorite. 

The Haunting of Bly Manor: This was billed as a sequel to The Haunting of Hill House, which we liked. It's not a sequel as much as an anthology. The story was loosely based on The Turn of the Screw, which I read in college. In college, we discussed whether the ghosts were real or a figment of the imagination of the governess. We discussed how the film The Turn of the Screw aka The Innocents played it as the innocent governess plagued by ghosts, as did this version. I liked the non-linear story telling though it was a bit confusing.

Tonight we watched The Turning. The ending was so abrupt, I thought I missed something. I had to read comments on IMDB and the Wikipedia entry to figure out what happened--not good story telling. 

Time and Christmases Past and Present

Last week was odd, because it passed so quickly. I felt like I missed a day. Usually on Wednesday, I think it's Thursday. Last week, I thought it was Wednesday, when it was Thursday. I brought up all the Christmas decorations, except for one of the artificial trees (I think on Thursday.) As I went through the boxes of materials (ornaments, wrapping papers, bags, gift tags, and other decorations) Jeff put together the Christmas tree and placed it on the coffee table. We later moved the coffee table next to the window. It's a good height for the tree.

Yesterday, I put out some of the other decorations out (trees, photos. candles. miscellaneous.) We still have more decorating to do, including finishing the tree.

This will be the first Christmas with just Jeff and me (and Lola.) We had always spent at least part of the day with family members. Sometimes we stayed overnight with relatives in Hilton Head, Saint Simons, Ridgefield, Waccabuc, and Cornelius. Two years ago, I wrote that Jeff and I will have to make new traditions.

The time is now. 

We'll resurrect our tradition from our first few Christmases together: Christmas breakfast. It's scrambled eggs with cheese, vegetables, and bacon, over crumbled bread baked in the oven. I think I added the veggies and cheese. One version of the recipe was with eggnog. I tried that once, and it was horrible. 

One of Jeff's family traditions was a steak dinner on Christmas Eve. (That beats the Coll tradition of decorating the Christmas tree and eating pancakes for dinner.) Jeff and I will have steak, creamed spinach, and au gratin potatoes. We haven't decided about Christmas day dinner, but I don't think pancakes is a viable option.

Hawks

Jeff, Lola, and I went for a walk from Mathews to Oyster Shell on Friday mid-morning before it started to rain. It was a surprisingly nice day, hard to believe that two days of rain were forecast.

As we walked a loop around Oyster Shell, I thought how nice it would be to see a hawk. A few seconds later, I thought I saw one in a tree. I knew I was right when it flew to another tree. I took a few pictures but they weren't any good.

We walked through Sono as Lola lead us through Iron Works. She remembers that we've eaten at The Spread and El Segundo and always hopes we'll return for a meal--not likely in this colder weather. As we walked back through Oyster Shell, I saw a hawk on a lamppost up on the hill. 

I walked up and took several pictures. then I saw another hawk. I didn't quite get what I wanted, but here they are. 

One hawk was a Red-tailed hawk; the other looked similar but I didn't get a good look at its tail. 

The Spanish Princess: An Addendum

In a previous post, I wrote about The Spanish Princess and complained about historical inaccuracies. I want to add some comments about Lina and Oviedo. Although Lina was based on a real person, she was more of a composite than a well-known person. I loved the story line about Lina and Oviedo finding a better life for themselves even if the real Lina stayed with Catherine for many more years.

Bring Back Bartolo!

According to this article, Bartolo Colon wants to return to the New York Mets. I say bring him on. We should have resigned him in 2017. Bartolo is the workhorse we need on our pitching staff. Plus we may see more moments like this.

Bonus: This game was one of the Mets Classics and aired on SNY this afternoon. I turned the channel just in time to see the homer.

The Spanish Princess

The series conclusion of The Spanish Princess aired last night. Actually I had a bit of a Tudor weekend, watching parts of The White Princess on Friday, season one of The Spanish Princess on Saturday and the second season on Sunday.

Overall, I've enjoyed The Spanish Princess, but the finale annoyed me. Anne and Mary Boleyn make their appearances, and Mary had dark hair. I don't think Mary had a line, so I'm being petty. But Mary Boleyn was a traditional blonde beauty of that time: Anne was not. Many thought Anne was unattractive, except for her dark eyes, her style, and her engaging personality. It should have been easy to cast a blonde actress as Mary.

I hated the scene where Anne meets Henry and bears her breasts, but this show is based on Philippa Gregory's books. We're back to Anne Boleyn the brazen slut. 

More importantly, I didn't like the end of Catherine's story--it was inaccurate--she did not leave the court on her own terms. The writers said that Catherine had been maligned by history--I don't believe this is true. Catherine is admired for fighting for her rights and most importantly for the rights of her daughter. Catherine's mother Isabel of Castile and daughter Bloody Mary were maligned, not Catherine. Apparently it would be boring and lazy to tell the truth; a 21st century female audience wouldn't want to see it. 

We're not so fragile. 

A historically accurate description of Catherine leaving the ecclesiastical court convened by Wolsey would have a better way to show her strength. 

Thoughts about Leslie Van Houten

Today I read the news that California Governor Gavin Newsom has reversed parole for Leslie Van Houten. This is the fourth time a governor has blocked her release

It's strange that I read this just after I watched Charlie Says the other night, which focuses on Leslie.  It's been a while since I read about the murders, but the movie seemed to downplay her role in the LaBianca murders. It appears that Leslie stabs Rosemary Labianca after she is already dead, although she does so with glee.

There's a scene in the movie when Charlie rebukes Leslie because she slept with a visiting biker without his permission. The biker later returns with a few friends to give Leslie a way out. She refuses to go, but later in prison imagines that she left with him. A poignant moment, but she stayed after all. 

Leslie Van Houten along with other members of the Manson Family was sentenced to death. Her sentence was overturned when California abolished the death penalty. I don't believe in the death penalty, but I believe in sentencing people to life without parole or life and a day. No one who had previously been sentenced to death should be able to get parole. 

I don't believe that Van Houten poses an unreasonable danger to society if she is released from prison, but I believe she should remain in prison for the rest of her life. I don't believe she will ever be granted parole and should just honor the victims' families by not making them relive the horror once again with every parole hearing.

A Different Kind of Black Friday

I was never a part of the Black Friday shopping routine. The big difference this year is that I'm not hearing/reading stories about the lines, the crowds, the fights. Some stores even decided to close on Thanksgiving, stopping the last few years' sales creep into the holiday.

We had a quiet day. I spent most of it doing laundry: I had an extra few days' more laundry than usual, plus sheets I had forgotten about when I reorganized the linen closet. I also needed to wash the bathroom rug.  I walked Lola around the neighborhood his morning, then Jeff and I walked her at Oyster Shell Park and through South Norwalk this afternoon

I was happy with our Thanksgiving meal from Whole Foods yesterday. The only issue is that it forgot my order of lobster bisque. I made salad because I thought the green beans with scallions would be overcooked, but they were deliciously crunchy. I've never been a fan of gravy, but this gravy was good. I probably had crappy gravy for most of my life and only thought I didn't like it. 

We had leftover turkey sandwiches for lunch today, leftover green beans with salmon for dinner, and still have much more leftovers. But that's how we planned it: lots of leftovers. 

Last night we watched a film Charlie Says--not the usual Thanksgiving Day fare. It's a different take on the Manson family focused on Leslie Van Houten, Susan Atkins, and Patricia Krenwinkel after they've been in prison for three years. The acting was good especially Matt Smith as Manson (although he was too tall) and Hannah Murray as Leslie Van Houten. 

  

Thankful

I'm thankful for/that

• Jeff
• Lola
• our health
• we're financially secure through this hard time
• Biden defeated Trump and will be our next President
• we had a good dinner tonight
• my writing class on Zoom
• my in-person collage class
• being able to meet on Zoom
• it didn't rain all day as predicted; we got in two walks with Lola--one was a bit rainy, but the other was beautiful 
• The IRS has resolved my mother's tax mix-up from 2017 and will return some money.

I may think of more things to be thankful for later. 

Thanksgiving Memories

In my last post, I wrote about a Thanksgiving writing prompt. It got me thinking that I don't have many strong memories of early Thanksgivings. We used to have turkey on both Thanksgivings and Christmases, and I might be confusing the memories. My cousin Cindy mentioned spending Thanksgivings at our house in Audubon.

After my parents divorced and my mother remarried, she went to my stepfather's parents' house while they were still alive. I don't remember resenting it at the time (I was 20, not some little kid) but I used it years later to rationalize spending Thanksgiving with Jeff's family. 

Jeff and I spent several years going to this sister's house and a few times at her country club. The last several years found us at retirement communities with our parents. Sometimes we've pet sit for Jeff's sister's dog. We spent a Thanksgiving apart so each of us could be with his/her mother when there was no one else.   

As I wrote in my essay for my memoir class Saturday: Ultimately the number of people doesn't matter. It's the love that counts. 

The Extra Leaves in the Table

Last year, I read and blogged about Stephen King's book On Writing. I quoted the following:

"For me good description usually consists of a few well-chosen details that will stand for everything else."

Yesterday, I participated in a Memoir Workshop given by the Bridgeport History Center at the Bridgeport Library. We looked at this Norman Rockwell painting Freedom From Want as our prompt. As usual, I'm alone in my dislike of Rockwell, though this painting didn't annoy me as much as others do. 

I wrote a fictional piece based on the painting, but ended with a few paragraphs that were based on my life. In the fictional part, I wrote about Grampa putting extra leaves in the table. That was the detail that resonated with people in this class. I didn't think it was important; I just wanted to give Grandpa something to do. You never know.

I often focus on details in others' writings: Scott's grandmother's never used door that rattled and John's grandmother in her wheelchair mixing sugar cookies. I also remember how a teacher focused on spilled lime juice on the counter in a story I wrote that the class trashed.

Details are crucial to a story. So are realistic breaks in dialogues. I often wrote about smoking just to give my characters something to do. In my latest story, it was drinking coffee and wine. I need more work.

More Movies

Here are some movies I've watched recently.

The Trial of the Chicago Seven: When I was in college, I read the book The Tales of Hoffman based on transcripts of the actual trial. I loved the TV movie, Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8  (Bobby Seale was Number 8.) I also loved the latest film, The Trial of the Chicago 7. It was a circus of a trial, not because of the presence of Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin. It was a farce from the beginning.

Repeat Performance: I hadn't seen this movie in years. I remembered the premise and the end (I'm cursed with remembering the ends of films but forgetting the middles.) The film begins with a woman shooting her husband off screen, and she wishes that she could live the year over. She gets her wish, but she is thwarted with every step she takes to avoid her husband's murder. 

The Witch: I've heard about this story and looked forward to watching it, but was disappointed. I thought it would be more about the fear of witchcraft than actual witchcraft. The acting was good, especially Anya Taylor-Joy as Thomasin. Thomasin's parents were portrayed by memorable actors from Game of Thrones. 

Racket Busters: In this 1938 Warner Brothers crime/social drama, Humphrey Bogart tries to corner the produce market, starting with the truckers. But George Brent, miscast as the leader of the truckers, foils him. The film includes some horrible police protection. Cops let one guy go back to his apartment alone where he is brutally beaten. Pop identifies the bad guys in a lineup right in front of them who threaten him. Soon someone pushes poor Pop in front of a subway train. 

San Quentin: Humphrey Bogart (in a 1937 Warner Brothers film) is arrested and sent to San Quentin. The new Captain of the Guard is Pat O'Brien who coincidentally saw his arrest after watching Humphrey's sister Ann Sheridan sing in a nightclub. In a key plot line, Humphrey learns that Pat is seeing his sister and that's why he's getting preferential treatment. He's convinced to break out to save his sister's honor. OK, the break out to save your sister's honor worked in Crime School, but the target was only a Dead End Kid. Here Humphrey is manipulated by Joseph Sawyer, his subordinate in The Petrified Forest and Barton MacLane as a guard who wants to discredit Pat O'Brien's prison reforms.

Art Work

I had a good mixed media and collage class today. Before class, I reviewed what's in my bag. I have more clippings, postcards, etc. than I can comfortably carry, so I selected files of images to work with today. I remember our instructor Mari talking about wax, so I threw some colorful candles into my bag. I was in the kitchen a few minutes later and grabbed some aluminum foil.

I guess I can say I painted my first two abstract paintings today. First I played with gesso, wax, acrylic paint, and imitation gold foil. I used a paintbrush with the gesso, then later used toothpicks, Q-tips, and the outer edge of the Jerry's Artarama frequent buyer card with acrylic paint. I added some images to one painting. On a fourth page, I used the aluminum foil to make a mirror. I framed it with an arch from a theater and a string of Egyptian hieroglyphics. I glued an image of Nefertiti to the "mirror" and used a pastel pencil to fill in the background. I'll add something else to it, but ran out of time.

We don't have class next week. I'll try to do some work on my own. 

More Photos

I took a photo of prayer flags at Schenck's Island yesterday.

It reminded me that I haven't posted photos I took at Taylor Farm about a week and a half ago.

Finally I took this picture of a Red-Shouldered Hawk during out last visit to the New Canaan Nature Center a few months ago (I think.) For some reason my phone dated this photo 02-11-01, long before I got this phone. I had thought there was a problem with the light and the photo didn't "take."

Here's a shot of the hawk from Oyster Shell Park. 

On the Homefront

I've been in a bit of a cleaning mode. These are few and far between, so I need to take advantage of them. Unfortunately, I didn't finish cleaning the living room. By the time I do, the kitchen and bathrooms will need to be cleaned again. That's the thing I hate most about cleaning: it never ends. 

Today I was in a cooking mode. First, Jeff and I tag-teamed brunch--a difficult undertaking in our small kitchen. We had scrambled eggs with vegetables and cheese, bacon, toast, and a fruit cup. 

I've been talking about making chili all week. I finally made a big batch in the crockpot today with ground beef and ground bison. I needed to use two ripe avocados, so I made a salad with them and tomatoes, peppers, onion, and garlic. 

I tried a new recipe for dinner: French Onion Chicken. It was good and fairly easy to make with chicken thighs, onion, chicken broth, and thyme. I'll tweak it a bit, add garlic, maybe less chicken broth, and add it to our meal rotation. 

We had two nice walks in Wilton this weekend at the NRVT yesterday and Schenck's Island today. Both days it was nicer than I expected. I probably wouldn't have gone out except for Lola. Thank you Lola. 

The End of Indian Summer and What's On Deck

We've enjoyed a week of beautiful Indian Summer weather, with temperatures ranging from the mid 60's to the mid 70's. Today is still warm, but rainy. For the next few weeks, temperatures will range from the mid-40's through the mid-50's. 

I can't complain about these temps in November, but I will miss the balmy weather. 

In the past week, I've met a friend at Calf Pasture Beach, met others at the dog park and Sedona Tap House for its charity steak dinner. Jeff and I took several walks with Lola: around the neighborhood, Taylor Farm, Sherwood Island, and the Norwalk River Valley Trail (NRVT.)

A few houses in the neighborhood that favored plastic blow-up Halloween decorations now have giant blow-up turkeys in their yards. Another house jumpstarted its Christmas decor--way too early for me. 

Jeff and I are planning to spend our holidays alone this year. This will be the second consecutive year having Thanksgiving alone. The previous year I had bronchitis and had to stay home. We are checking out places to get pre-cooked meals. We've found two that sound good. 

I guess we'll bring out the Christmas decorations Thanksgiving weekend (or the week after.) We didn't decorate at all last year because we went down to North Carolina.

This will be the first Christmas ever with just the two of us. (Sorry Lola, there will be three of us.) For many years we spent time with both sides of the family. Sometimes we traveled to South Carolina and Georgia. I regret we didn't make it down to spend a Christmas with my father in Florida. We haven't started to talk about Christmas yet. We still need to figure that out. 

I have three more writing classes this session. Then we're off until sometime in January. My mixed media and collage class has four more sessions, but that will be it. The instructor will be teaching a silk painting class and that's beyond my skills.

I need to find a way to keep writing and doing collages. 

The Week That Was

It was a long time between Tuesday and Saturday.  On Wednesday,  I knew it would happen, even when friends were scared. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris did it--they won the Presidency and the Vice-Presidency.  I watched their speeches Saturday night and cried. 

John King said something the other night: Math and Democracy. That's what we're talking about. 

Of course Trump is unwilling to accept the will of the people and do the right thing. We'll keep watching.

Do's and Don'ts

I've recently realized that many of my "to-do's" are turning into "don'ts" as in they don't get done. There are many reasons for this:

• I don't want to do them
• I get distracted
• Other things come up
• I forget
• the weather is nice, let's go out
• I don't feel good/I'm tired

These are all pretty crappy excuses. Only "other things come up" could possibly be legitimate, but frankly I can't think of any legitimate "other things come up" that came up recently.

What should I do? I know. Plan, schedule, prioritize. My own PSP. The key is to not just PSP the required things (cleaning, laundry, etc.) but also fun and creative things. 

I can do this. 

Happy Birthday Spike

Spike's been gone for almost five years, but he is still often in our thoughts. We will never forget him. He would have been 20 today. 

Jeff suggested we honor him and Lola (this is her designated half-way day) with a steak dinner. That works for me.

Here are a few of my favorite photos of Spike.

Here's one of Lola.

Election Hangover

 I went to bed last night around 11:40. I had fallen asleep on the couch again, and there wouldn't be any determination of the presidency any time soon. I went to bed earlier than I did four years ago, and it was less certain who would win last night. Four years ago, I woke up in the morning wishing that CNN would report that some horrible mistake had been made.  

This morning I woke up almost afraid to turn on the TV. As the day went on, things looked brighter for Biden.

I don't understand how any rational, reasonable person could have voted for Trump in 2016. This year it's even more incomprehensible given Trump's disregard for people, institutions, and the truth. Then there's Trump's criminally negligent response to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

If we re-elect Trump, we deserve all the hell he'll unleash. 

Today's Voting

Jeff and I usually vote in the morning. We did so again today. The polls opened at 6; we arrived around 7:15. We had never seen a line outside the polling place until today. After we got in line, I walked over to Dunkin Donuts to get us some lattes while we waited. 

It was a chilly morning, but not too bad. I was glad it wasn't rainy and windy as it was earlier in the week, but it would have been nice to have temperatures in the mid-60's as forecast for later this week.  Oh well, I was glad to see the turnout. I live in a diverse voting district and I hope that we all voted for Joe Biden.

Watching the election results on CNN is tense. My shoulders are tight.

I can only hope.

Hawk Sightings

On Sunday, Jeff, Lola, and I went for a walk at Oyster Shell Park in a light rain. We were finishing our first loop when I saw a hawk. I turned over Lola's leash to Jeff.

Then I saw a second hawk! The first landed on a disc golf target; the second on a lamp pole. Both landing sites were relatively close to me. 

By the time I fished out my phone, the first bird was gone. Then the second bird took flight. I blindly tried to get a photo of it flying. No luck there. 

At least I saw two hawks: the second one appeared to be a Red-Tailed Hawk. 

I'll keep looking for them when we return. 

A Hollow Halloween

Like most things this year, Halloween is different. Our friend Jenn lamented that this is the first time in 25 years, she and her husband John haven't had a party. With Norwalk in the red zone, normal trick and treating is discouraged. 

We haven't had trick or treaters in years. Jenn and John normally get about 400. Jenn is rigging a contraption to distribute treats without contact. I wonder how it will go. She estimated they would get 100 trick or treaters. But that was before we hit the red zone.

For the past few years, we've gone to A Haunting at Mill Hill; it's a fundraiser for the Norwalk Historical Society. This year it was done as a movie. It was a good movie, but not as effective as wondering the Mill Hill cemetery at night and having the actors perform in front of you.

We've been watching lots of horror movies this month--many courtesy of TCM. Some are classics such as  Dracula, Mark of the Vampire, The Creature from the Black Lagoon, Diabolique, and William Castle's The House on Haunted Hill.

We saw two Hammer films: Horror of Dracula--good and The Satanic Rites of Dracula--boring--not enough vampires but Joanna Lumley appeared (Patsy from Absolutely Fabulous.)

Other films include 13 Ghosts, Friday the 13th, Halloween H20, Eye of the Devil, and Night of Dark Shadows

Some are so bad, they're almost good: The Killer Shrews with collies appearing as shrews and From Hell It Came in which a martyred tribal leader is reborn as a walking tree trunk.

Two more films of note. We watched The Beast Must Die based on a recommendation from Screen Rant. It had a good set-up: a man invites eight people to a secluded island to discover which one is a werewolf. The first half of the film was so horribly dubbed, it was hard to pay attention. 

Indestructible Man is another TCM selection.The Brute (Lon Chaney Junior) is executed, but a scientist reanimates his body and he's out for revenge. Max Showalter plays a police lieutenant who questions a burlesque dancer. At the end of the film, he proposes by telling her he got her fired. He figured she'd be too busy being his wife. How romantic.

I've also recorded The Wicker Man, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Haunting, and Haxan to watch later.

Happy movie Halloween. 

Book 20: The Pharaoh Key by Preston and Child

This is the last of the Gideon Crew series to date (perhaps forever as it's implied Gideon went home to his New Mexico cabin to die.)

Gideon Crew and co-worker Manual Garza are shocked that the company they have been working for, Effective Engineering Solutions has suddenly closed. As Crew and Garza clear their personal belongings from the office, they discover a code-breaking machine has translated an ancient tablet. Crew and Garza are sure the translation will lead them to treasure, and they are determined to find it. 

I liked that the hunt took place in Egypt, and I liked Garza's story. 

Overall, I liked the second book in the series Gideon's Corpse the best, though I still prefer the Pendergast stories.

Curried Chicken Soup

Monday I went grocery shopping and got two rotisserie chickens. Tuesday I made broth. Thursday I made this soup. Usually when I make a recipe for the first time, I follow it closely. This time, I made a few changes: red onion instead of yellow, a mix of spinach and kale instead of just spinach. I put in half of the the amount of greens called for. The recipe serves four; there are only two us. I didn't want extra wilted greens. I also added garlic because we love it. I'll definitely make it again--probably a bigger batch so I can freeze some. 

Soup was a good choice yesterday as we were hit with the remnants of Hurricane Zeta. Today temperatures plunged, we even got some wet snow and sleet. Hot chocolate helped with the chill. 

Tomorrow we'll finish the vodka sauce I made a few weeks ago. I need to decide what to make next. 

Murky Morning; Dreary Day

Murky morning is how a WCBS--radio anchor described today. It's been a murky week or so. Many mornings have been both foggy and soggy. I wondered if we had suddenly been relocated to the Pacific Northwest or even London. Unfortunately, none of these soggy days gave us the rain we desperately need, but tomorrow and Friday may bring that.

I listened to the radio on my trip to the dentist (not like Veronica's.) It was my first visit in a year. I had postponed my six month checkup when I thought the Covid-19 shutdown would only last for a month. 

I've never talked politics with my dentist before, but today he said something like there was an agenda to shut down New York City. He turned on a video in which a doctor said kids needed to go to school without mitigating factors such as masks and social distancing. He didn't even start to look at my teeth. I told him I didn't want to watch the video. Later we had a more normal conversation for us about the Mets. 

It got me thinking about how murky the whole world is now. I can't understand how people can deny the Covid-19 virus. I don't like wearing masks, but can't understand how it violates someone's civil rights. 

It's one week until the election. I haven't voted because I had volunteered to be a poll worker. They don't need me, and I tossed my mail-in ballot. Oh well, we'll go early. One article suggested you should carry your own pen. Our polling place uses another kind of marker; I don't want to chance a pen. I can carry disinfectant wipes or wear gloves. That should work. 

Another Look at Deep Space Nine's Take Me Out to the Holosuite

I was happy to come across this article last week, written on the 22nd anniversary of the first airing of the episode. I love Deep Space Nine and have previously listed Take Me Out to the Holosuite as one of my favorite episodes.

I love baseball and I love that Benjamin Sisko loves baseball. He keeps a baseball on his desk, even when the Federation is forced to abandon the station to the Dominion. Gul Dukat knows it's Sisko's message that he will return. 

When his Vulcan nemesis Solok challenges Sisko to a baseball game, Sisko is obsessed with redeeming himself. Of course only Sisko and his son Jake have any knowledge of the game. Team practice does not go well. Neither does the game itself. 

After Sisko's been kicked out of the game by Umpire Odo, he convinces Acting Manager O'Brien to have Rom pinch-hit for Jake. Sisko had previously cut Rom for his bad play. But Rom has stayed in the stands to cheer on his teammates.  

Rom's inadvertent bunt helps the team score a run, and the Niners manage a moral victory. 

The Niners' postgame celebration perplexes and seemingly annoys Solok. That is another kind of victory.

Book 19: Return to the Ice Limit by Preston & Child

I read The Ice Limit in June 2018. Apparently fans wanted to know what happened after the book ended. I wanted more of Eli Glinn myself. I finished Beyond the Ice Limit over the weekend. 

In The Ice Limit, Eli Glinn and his company Effective Engineering Solutions are on a mission to recover the largest meteorite ever found. The mission was a complete failure resulting in over 100 deaths, grieveous injuries, and the loss of the meteorite itself to the bottom of the ocean.

The worst thing is the meterorite is not a real meteorite, but some kind of organism from outer space, and it's growing. 

Some Preston and Child books require suspension of disbelief--they sound strange when I try to describe the plotlines. This was one of those, but it was so well plotted, I didn't care.

I'm still ambivalent about Gideon Crew as a character. There's only one more book in Gideon series, so I'll read that. Actually, I already started. It seemed easier to just pick it up, than to chose among other books.

NYC Museum Visit

Yesterday I went into NYC to see an exhibit at the Whitney Museum of Mexican Art: Viva Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art 1925 to 1945. It was originally scheduled to run sometime from January through May. I had been waiting for the weather to warm up a bit before I went, but then Covid-19 shut the city down. 

The show has been extended through January 2021. Last week, I figured I better go soon if I wanted a nice day to visit. I did get a nice day--mid 60's through 70 degrees. 

I loved the exhibit.  It was interesting to see how Diego Rivera's work changed from his first works in Mexico to works in the US, including those under the WPA. His first works celebrated revolution and condemned capitalism. His US works focused more on industries and workers. I learned about his commission for Rockefeller Center Man at the Crossroads. The fresco included an image of Lenin. Rivera refused Rockefeller's request to remove the Lenin image, and Rockefeller had the mural plastered over. Luckily, Rivera recreated the mural as Man, Controller of the Universe in Mexico. 

I learned about Jose Clemente Orozco--I had never heard of him--and his mural Prometheus among others. I was surprised to see Jackson Pollack's work in the exhibit: he had worked with Orozco.

After I left the museum, I had lunch at Pastis. It was around 1:20 and the sidewalk dining area was packed, so I decided to try it. I didn't realize it was such an "in" place: Lorne Michaels, Nicole Miller, Juliana Margulies, Jay McInerney, Salman Rushdie, Lynne Coll.

I also walked The High Line on my way back to Grand Central. One entrance is next to the Whitney, and only northward traffic is permitted right now. I loved walking through the gardens and getting a different view of the city. Unfortunately, food and drink vendors are closed. (Of course, if they had been open, I would have missed Pastis.)

Here are some photos I took from the High Line: 

It was a wonderful day--I miss days like this.

                                                                            ***

Covid-19 Note: On Tuesday, I heard that Covid-19 cases in Connecticut (as well as New Jersey) had increased enough to trigger the New York State quarantine. Governor Cuomo said it would be impossible to enforce this quarantine because of all the people who have to cross state lines for their jobs. Non-essential travel was discouraged, but I decided to go anyway. I socially distanced myself on the train, took a taxi to the Museum, wore a mask all day except when I had lunch or sipped some water on the train. It was hard to stay socially distanced at the Museum, but we all wore masks. Today I learned Norwalk is a red zone with more than 15 daily cases per 100,000 population over a two-week period. 

I'll be staying close to home for awhile. 

Another Week

Last week we didn't have writing class. I took my time on my assignment due yesterday, finished my first draft of my essay on Thursday and left it for awhile. I revisited it Sunday.

We tried a new technique in collage class which was fun. We used spray glue and pressed some kind of glitter paper on our work, and then quickly pulled it off. It left splotches of glitter on the page. It looked good but too much glitter landed on my text. I want to try it again.

I went to Jerry's Artarama's Sunday, but the person working didn't know about the paper. I got spray glue, mixed media paper, and a mixed media notebook. It's a fun store, but Jeff and Lola were waiting in the car for me, so I didn't linger.

I participated in a Zoom memoir writing workshop on Saturday. I didn't like that the session started 10 minutes after the start time. I think things should start as scheduled, and latecomers should deal with that. I didn't like the prompt. We had a half hour to write, and I wrote something rambling. The instructor was positive in his comments, but I felt that I missed the mark. 

We've been in a warm spell and we're taking advantage of it: taking Lola for long walks and sitting outside for drinks and dinner. Tonight we went to Sedona Tap House for charity steak night; it will probably be our last time this year. We also only have two potential DPF's left before Daylight Saving Time ends. Last Friday, it rained most of the day. 

On Monday I started another week with my writing class. My last collage day of this session was today. I'm getting my hair done on Wednesday. Thursday I'm starting a zoom CrimeCONN Express 2020. I'm most excited about my visit to the Whitney Museum to see the Mexican Muralists exhibit. I had planned to make a day of it in the spring when it warmed up. Well, that didn't happen because of Covid-19. The Museum re-opened, and I figured I better go before it gets cold again. 

I'm still struggling with getting all my exercise and cleaning in. There's no good reason for it. It must just be my lack of prioritizing. Time to try again.

Beach Days

Now that October is here, many of the local beaches are open to dogs. Alas, not Norwalk. (The exception is Bradley Beach in Rowayton--pets are allowed from November 1 through March 31--but I'm not sure if I'm ever allowed. I'm not a resident of 6TD.)

This month, we've taken Lola to Cove Island Beach in Stamford, and Compo and Sherwood Island Beaches in Westport. Today was our second visit to Sherwood Island, Connecticut's first state park that covers 235 acres (compared to Compo's 29 acres.)

Lola's been going to Sherwood Island for about two years. In a cold winter, I started going there because the access roads were always paved. This was after a few tough times getting around Oyster Shell and Taylor Farm parks in Norwalk. Plus Sherwood Island has many different areas for Lola to explore. 

It hit the 70's today; I know those days are numbered. We have to enjoy them when we can. 

A Guilt Post

A few minutes ago, Jeff asked if I was writing a post. I said no; I didn't have anything to write about. Then he asked if I was doing NaBloPoMo in November. I said no. He seemed surprised. I said I had trouble writing a post every day in November last year and didn't want to force it. I wrote 28 posts in August without feeling forced, so I will see how it goes.

But here I am writing about something. But what?

The weather was nice this weekend, so we took advantage of it. It's rained for much of the last two days. It was badly needed: we're in a drought. But it got suddenly cold yesterday which was a bit of a shock.

My writing class was postponed for this week--Columbus Day. Our prompt for homework is periwinkle blue. I'm working on an essay about shades of colors and how men don't know the various shades. I've got a good beginning using dialogue from Mr. Blandings Builds his Dream House, but I have a lot of work to do from there.

Today was the fifth of six mixed media and collage classes. I would be bummed, but I got an email that there's another class for six weeks beginning November 3. I'm going to continue. 

I just looked at an email from the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County. There are many events coming up--some virtual and some live.

Despite fears of additional cases of Covid-19, I have things to look forward to. 

Sono Arts Festival--The Gallery Walk

One of the things I've missed most in these Covid months was going to art shows and festivals. Luckily the Sono Arts Festival was re-imagined as a gallery walk--basically a pop-up event in empty storefronts. 

We were lucky enough to have warm weather and took advantage of it. We walked down to Sono and had  lunch at O'Neill's. Our friend John had recommended the curry French fries which were very good. In the shops, we saw some artists that we had seen at previous shows as well as artists that were new to us. One used mixed media and collage. We discussed his techniques, and I told him about my class.

I also saw the woman who has made several of my pocketbooks. I showed her the one I was carrying, and at first she thought I was buying it today. I was tempted, but refrained from buying another. 

On the way home, we did a loop around Oyster Shell Park. 

Tomorrow will be another nice day: we'll take advantage of it while we can.

Self Image

I'm not sure why I haven't written since Monday. I had an idea to write about laundry woes, but the subject was too trivial--instead I journaled about it. I have a corona journal in which I write about every day issues and gripe a lot. 

I wasn't pleased with my last writing assignment for my class. I tried for whimsical and failed. My work for this week's assignment was much better and was well-received. 

The instructor for my collage and multi-media class said I had really advanced in just a few weeks. I was dumbfounded and pleased. She is very encouraging, but I thought it was just because I was the least trained in the class. Then she asked me and another student if we had Instagram accounts. It never occurred to me to have an Instagram account.

This got me thinking: am I an artist? I've never really thought of myself that way. It took me a long time to think of myself as a writer and as a writer, an artist. Can I be a legit artist? That seems beyond me. 

Book 18: The Lost Island by Preston & Child

This is the third entry in the Gideon Crew series. I remain ambivalent about him. This time around he's recruited to steal a page from the Book of Kells. But what his employer really wants is a map hidden beneath the image. After the map is unearthed, Gideon is off with a new partner Amy to the Caribbean following a series of obscure clues.

A page turner with lots of action that reminds me a bit of their earlier works, Relic and Still Life with Crows (though nowhere near as good as the latter.)

Thank You Lola

It was a cold morning and I was in slow mode. I would have gladly spent the day inside watching old movies. But Lola needed to go out. Friday night our friends, John and Jen, reminded us that Westport beaches are open to dogs again (as of October 1.) 

We went to Sherwood Island, and it was a beautiful afternoon. I even saw another egret (but my photo is lousy so not posted here.)

Thanks Lola for getting us out. 

A Fall Saturday

Today was a beautiful fall day. I walked down the hill to Allora with my friend and neighbor Cynthia. We had Mocha Lattes and shared Avocado Toast and Smoked Salmon Toast.  A few hours later, Jeff, Lola, and I headed out to Bruce Park. I took these photos of an egret there.

Afterwards, I got crab cakes from Bon Ton Fish Market, and Jeff got a steak and creamed spinach from Greenwich Prime. We picked up hot dogs from Nik's for a late lunch. Jeff cooked dinner: steak, creamed spinach, and mashed sweet potatoes. Crab cakes tomorrow.

Goodbye Aspen

We found her almost two weeks ago. She had seemed to be  recovering. A person from the veterinary hospital had taken her home and was probably going to adopt her. They called her Aspen. 

Unfortunately, she crashed on Wednesday, some kind of congenital liver problem, and she had to be put down.

The Animal Control Officer told me she probably would have froze to death that Sunday night if Jeff hadn't seen her: she was in that bad of shape.

At least she got a chance and had a few days of love and care. 

Thursday Thoughts

My writing class was suspended this week. We are on the Norwalk Public Library calendar even though we are meeting on Zoom. It's just as well because I didn't write much last week. I wasn't happy with my story last week. I tried for whimsical and failed. Our next assignment due next Monday is based on this photo.

I rejected my first idea and played around with a second. I think I wrote a few paragraphs on Wednesday, then finished a first draft on Monday. I like this story much better than last week's.

I'm halfway done with my collage/mixed media class. I'm really enjoying it. As I said before, I'm the least trained and experienced artist in the class, but I am learning new techniques, getting new ideas, and having fun. I used acrylic paint for the first time; it's nothing earth-shaking, but it is new for me.

I like (most of) the pieces I've worked on, and the instructor is encouraging and praising me. This week I painted an old cigar box I've had for years with cerulean blue--I need to paint one more side and the bottom to complete the paint job.  I'll look through clippings, photos, etc. to try to figure out my next steps.

Last night was the last session of the suffrage series. Overall, I'm disappointed. The first session was excellent. In the second, the speaker (same as the first) wasn't as focused. The third sessions featured two guest speakers who personally knew suffragist Alice Paul (who had been a Ridgefield resident at one time.) Both were interesting, The first had limited knowledge of Alice--she had met her as a 16-year old. The second speaker had more information but kept repeating the same things over and over. The last session was a discussion. It was supposed to be about the movie, Iron Jawed Angels, but that is currently only available on HBO Max. Instead the discussion was about various prejudices some of the participants faced as women. Again, it was interesting, but unfocused. Still worthwhile. 

Donna Parker Remembered

In August, I wrote about books I read as a child and teenager. I neglected to mention the Donna Parker series. I was reminded of her when I picked up my copy of Leaves of Grass the other night (so old it set me back $.75) and read "I Hear America Singing." It may be Donna Parker who first exposed me to Walt Whitman.

I read three of the seven books in the series: Donna Parker at Cherrydale, Donna Parker: A Spring to Remember, and Donna Parker in Hollywood. As with other books I read as a teenager, these books belonged to my sister. 

While I'm unsure if A Spring to Remember was my first exposure to Walt Whitman. I know that I first learned about the Hindu god Ganesh (or Ganesha) in Donna Parker in Hollywood. Ganesh is known as the remover of obstacles and patron of letters and learning during writing sessions. As I write this post, Ganesh sits on a table beside me. 

Evening at Taylor Farm

Friday was Jeff's birthday. We walked down the hill and had lunch at Sedona Tap House. Later we went to Taylor Farm for DPF. Our DPF's are winding down--maybe three or four more. 

 As we were getting ready to leave, someone mentioned how beautiful the sky looked. I took these photographs. 

Then, home for a dinner of penne a la vodka, per Jeff's request. 

More from Writing Women's Lives: Part Two

More passages.

Nikki Giovanni: 

        It's lonely. Writing. But so is practicing tennis or football runs. So is studying. So is waxing the floor and changing the baby. So is life. We are less lonely when we connect. Art is a connection. I like being a link. I hope the chain will hold. 

Dorothy Allison:

        One time, twice, once in a while again, I get it right. Once in a while, I can make the world I know real on a page. 

bell hooks:

        As I wrote, I felt that I was not as concerned with accuracy of detail as I was with evoking in writing the state of mind, the spirit of a particular moment.

Natalie Kusz:

        A song began with one voice--Mom's or Dad's opening out for two notes. By the third, the rest of us had it and added our parts, Mom switching to alto and taking me sometimes with her, the children's voices and the adults' mixing and widening out, a cappella. My father's head dipped side to side, like a swimmer leaning into his strokes, bellowing out tenor and baritone from the deep, ringing taverns of himself. Mom lifted up her face, taking in air, moving back into the melody, and from her we children learned our own sopranos, the true and unmuffled phrasings, the tones directed by breath and sustained until our very bones and their hollows resonated and increased with the joy of them.

Personal Archaeology

I believe that Julia Cameron used the term archaeology in The Artist's Way about finding things in your past that hampered your creativity. I also remember the concept of mining your journals. A few weeks ago, I wrote that I found a box of things to go to Goodwill. I also found a small duffel bag of notebooks. I had previously found a matching bag (both giveaways from an Arizona Diamondbacks/Atlanta Braves game that Jeff and I attended back in 1998) with stories and pieces of novels that I had written. I had skimmed through those notebooks, tossed a few, but kept those with things that I thought I could use. 

In the latest bag, I found some journals of morning pages, as well as notebooks from various retreats and courses. I found some old poems that I typed up (including Ode to a Nike Commercial or Why I Love Tom Glavine.) I also found some phrases in exercises that I used to write poems. One was: the arm around my waist became a chain.

I've gone through over half of the notebooks. Some, I tossed outright. Some, I threw away pages and now have smaller notebooks. I'll type up some poems or use found phrases to generate new poems.

A few things are consistent in my pages. There is never enough time. Which means I have to find, make the time. I also need other writers around me--retreats have inspired and supported me. I guess my class gives me some support. I need to find more.

This Week in the Time of Covid

Time has always been elastic. That's why we have expressions such as "time flies when you're having fun" and "a watched pot never boils."

Covid-19 has warped our nature of time more. Since I worked part-time with a sporadic schedule, I probably had the easier time adapting to sheltering at home than many. I also had reasons to go outside with Lola. When Jeff was working from home, I had a feeling of separation of the week from the weekend. 

But mostly everything is off-kilter. It's hard for me to believe that it will be October by the end of the week. Despite the string of hot, humid days, I feel that we've somehow missed the summer. I miss art shows, book sales, and concerts.

Even each week seems longer. It seems like months since my last writing class: it was Monday.

Melissa my sister-in-law recently said something along the lines that we only go one place a day rather than going to several different places. 

With that idea in mind, here is a summary of my past week.

Monday: writing class

Tuesday: grocery shopping and collage/mixed media class

Wednesday: laundry and virtual suffrage lecture

Thursday: made a double patch of vodka sauce for Jeff's birthday, painter/repairman came over to fix leak in living room ceiling

Friday: miscellaneous cleaning, get dessert for Jeff's birthday, dog park Friday.

Imagine all the other things I might have done.

Update: The Husky Puppy

The Animal Control Officer called me today to find out if I had any additional information about the puppy we found Sunday. She was in bad shape, and he was concerned there could be more puppies. Unfortunately, I couldn't help him.

She is 9-10 weeks old, infested with fleas, and suffering from two types of worms. She is currently being treated by a vet. 

The ACO thanked me for calling the police. I am thankful that Jeff saw her.

Although we don't know details, Lola clearly had a bad beginning to her life. I hope the puppy will end up with people who will love her as much as we love our Lola.