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.

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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.