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 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.