Happy Halloween

It was a quiet Halloween for us--no parties, no trick or treaters. Jeff got tickets for A Haunting at Mill Hill for the late show last night. But I didn't want to walk around a muddy cemetery in the rain. Sigh.

At least we watched two Dracula movies (both Hammer films) today. I also have six other scary movies recorded. Lately, we've been watching baseball. The season will end tonight with an Atlanta Braves win. 

Moving on, we'll end Daylight Saving Time next weekend and transition to the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. 

Time hurries on. 

Opening Reception: When Caged Birds Sing

Tonight, Jeff, our friend Cynthia, and I went to the opening reception at MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art) in Westport.

I'm on the MOCA mailing list and learned about the reception yesterday. I like to go to opening receptions. It sounded like an exhibit I want to see about women's rights advocates. And, I have to admit, complimentary cocktails were another draw. (Drinks are expensive at MOCA: beer for $10, cocktails for $14.)

The first room displayed Maya Angelou's poem Caged Bird, along with books written by or about the subjects of the exhibit. 

The exhibit was powerful, focusing on individual survivors: child marriage, honor-based violence, Talibanization (no education for girls) female genital mutilation, kidnapping as a child soldier, transphobia, sex trafficking, and domestic violence. All of the survivors depicted escaped their abusers and became activists. After seeing the exhibits which included a brief description of the trauma suffered by each woman, we watched a video with all of the women describing their ordeals. 

After that we did another loop around the room to take a second look at the exhibits. 

Powerful and thought provoking.

Book 25: Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House by Eric Hodgins

This was a book sale purchase; I bought it because I like the movie. 

The book is good. It includes a few more household problems than occurred in the movie, including window installation snafus, damaged bathtubs that can't be easily removed without tearing out doors, and painters showing up before the walls are finished. 

The film adds two subplots. The first involves the Blandings' attorney Bill Cole. He is no longer simply a friend and lawyer, but an old flame of Muriel (Mrs. B.) The two end up staying overnight alone in the house during a storm, making Jim (Mr. B) suspicious and jealous. It adds nothing to the story.

The second subplot involves adman Jim coming up with a slogan for Wham ham. Luckily for him, the maid Gussie saves the day when she says: "If you ain't eating Wham, you ain't eating  ham." That becomes the slogan Jim is searching for.

Fun fact: the novel is based on the author's experience buying property and building a house in New Milford, Connecticut.

Note on reading goals: With a goal of reading 30 books, I'm in pretty good shape with a little over two months remaining in the year. When I select my next book, it will be one of the shorter ones to make it easier to reach my goal. No War and Peace for a while. 

Book 24: Fear Itself by Bette Bono

I was too tired to finish this book last night, so I did it this morning. I enjoyed it. Here the time travelers investigate two groups active in the United States in the 1930s: America First and the German American Bund at the request of a woman who escaped Nazi Germany via the Kindertransport. 

This book is a sequel to Bette's first book The Better Angels, although you don't have to read that beforehand. She does a good job of weaving in the information needed from the first book without giving an info dump. 

I don't particularly care about the romantic subplot; it seems a bit too much, too soon for me 

Bette is now researching the Progressive Era for her next book. I'm looking forward to reading it.

Author Speak: Fear Itself by Bette Bono

I have 50 pages to read in this book before I can count it as Book 25. I should finish it tonight unless I stay up late to watch the Braves/Dodgers NLCS Game 6. (The score is currently 4-1 Atlanta.)

Bette's presentation was great. She read two short pieces from her book. The first selection dealt with the way seniors are depicted in the media. The second selection described a rally in the 1930's. She also gave an overview of happenings in both the United States and Germany in the 1930's. 

Her presentation was similar to this one from her first book. Since this once was on Zoom her family members in other parts of the country could participate. I was happy to see other writing friends. I've been in writing classes with Bette for a few years and love her work. 

Food Snob

Yesterday a friend jokingly asked another friend if she thought I was a food snob because I only buy fish from Pagano's and not Trader Joe's. I know she was kidding, but it got me thinking about my food purchases and frugality. 

I'm willing to spend more on food than the minimum. I buy some organic, I especially try to get organic, humanely raised meat and chickens. I spend more on things I really like: a local salad dressing that costs around $6, good vinegars, ravioli, and pesto from the farmer's market. As for ravioli, I'll continue to buy them. A friend thinks they are too expensive ($12 to $18 for a box of 36.) I focus on the fact that you get at least four meals from a box (depending on how many raviolis of course.)

Thinking about this later, I realize that I am privileged to be able to buy the expensive pasta, vinegar, and salad dressing. I'm also willing to spend more on food that I really enjoy. Some things aren't worth skimping on.

Swan Sighting

I took Lola to Winslow Park in Westport this afternoon--another beautiful sunny day in the mid-70s. After a few minutes, she pooped, turned around, and headed to the car. We didn't even make it to the off-leash part of the park. 

I stopped at Pagano's Seafood for Coho salmon, bay scallops, and stuffed clams casino. Because Lola's Winslow outing was so short, I stopped at Oyster Shell Park on the way home. Lola was much more into walking there--we did a full loop. 

As we approached the bend in the trail, I saw the seven swans on the other side of the Norwalk River. The "babies" were hard to distinguish from their parents. All were about the same size. The parents may have been a little whiter. They were too far away to get a decent picture. 

Here are some flower photos from an earlier visit to Oyster Shell. I love the colors. 

Book 23: The More the Terrier A Pet Rescue Mystery by Linda O. Johnston

I bought this book because I was intrigued by the idea of a pet rescue mystery. I've been playing with a murder mystery set at a dog park for a few years. 

The book was meh. I didn't really care about any of the characters and wasn't invested in the mystery at all. 

While I appreciated Johnston's attempt to show how a caring pet owner/parent acts, the detail was too much. I felt as if I knew Zooey the dog's routine better than I knew Lola's. 

Overall, a disappointment. 

The Danbury Railway Museum or Searching for Sylvanus Part Two

Last Saturday, I visited the Danbury Railway Museum. I didn't have any reason to believe that it might have information on Sylvanus Merwin, but it would be negligent not to check out a place within 45 minutes of Norwalk. If it didn't have specific information on Merwin, it might help me become more familiar with local railroads. 

The trip was disappointing. Most of the display materials and paraphernalia were from the 20th Century. I did see a map listing Merwinsville as a destination on the rail line. A small exhibit covered how the rail and telegraph industries were related. (Fun Fact: Samuel Morse built a telegraph in 1843--the same year the Merwinsville Hotel opened.)

I happened to visit during the autumn fundraising. The usual $7 admission was raised to $15, but included a train ride to the Pumpkin Patch (usually priced at $15.) I could have walked two minutes to get to the destination of the 10-minute train ride, but I did get cider and cookies. Also the engineer showed me the Railway Post Office Car. That was interesting.

Book 22: Orange is the New Black My Year in a Women's Prison A Memoir by Piper Kerman

This was a purchase from the Wilton Library Book Sale last month and is the basis for the Netflix TV series of the same name. I loved the show, so bought the book. 

The basic plot line is the same, but there were several differences between the book and the show. Both Piper Kerman (book Piper) and Piper Chapman (show Piper) are sentenced to 15 months in a minimum security prison for delivering drug money ten years earlier. Book Piper marries her boyfriend Larry and has minimum contact with her ex-girlfriend, drug smuggler Nora. Show Piper is imprisoned with her ex-girlfriend Alex and eventually marries her.  

Prison protocol keeps book Piper from asking her fellow inmates what they did to be sentenced to prison, although they freely talk about the length of their sentences. The TV show did a great job delving into the past of most of the characters and dramatizing their crimes. The TV show also featured more sex and violence. 

Book Piper was much more likeable, thoughtful, and self aware than show Piper, recognizing how her crime had ruined the lives of people like her inmate friends. These inmate friends were the ones who helped Piper going through her sentence, the humiliations, arbitrary rules, and customs. 

A Good Dream...For a Change

Usually when I write about my dreams, I am talking about frustration or anxiety dreams. They involve me being unable to do something, such as making a phone call.

Last night I saved a dog from a teenager hunting it with a bow and arrow. All I had to do was get the dog on private property. 

There were many other weird things in the dream, but I want to focus on something good. They are few and far between in my dreams. 

Thursday Thoughts

Thursday night feels like the end of the week even though I'm not working, and if you think of the week as running from Monday to Sunday, it's really mid-week. 

Whatever. I'm feeling like another week went by with minimal accomplishments on my part. For one thing, I'm committed to driving Jeff for treatments for his foot twice a week. While he can drive himself, we feel more comfortable with me driving. Sometimes his foot burns afterward and it's a 45 minute drive. I use the 45 minute appointment time reading, playing Spelling Bee, doing New York Times crossword puzzles, and occasionally journaling. 

Lola still has toxins in her kidneys, so she is getting fluid injections three times a week. Usually Jeff and I both take her, although either of us can do it alone. For the past week, we've scheduled Lola's appointments at 9 on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and Jeff's for 10:45 on Tuesday and Thursday. It's easier to plan around the appointments when they are consistent. This is still a work in progress. Jeff's been on this schedule for two weeks, and Lola for one.

I'm doing most of the walking with Lola (sometimes both Jeff and I go.) It's frustrating because she no longer will walk around the neighborhood--I can't explain it. It's also frustrating to take her somewhere such as the Norwalk River Valley Trail--a 30 to 40 minute roundtrip--and she walks for barely 20-25 minutes. I've been trying to enjoy our walks more while the weather is nice. We've had a string of beautiful, unseasonably warm days, and I know they won't last. I'm letting Lola off-leash more. So far, so good. She runs a bit and seems to enjoy herself more. I just realized that I can now take her to Westport beaches (as of October 1.)

I've really fallen behind in cleaning and writing. Both areas will require more planning and scheduling to get back on track. I can't wait for convenient times or moods. One good thing is I've gotten back into a gym routine the last two weeks. 

I'm continuing to try new recipes usually from the New York Times. Last night it was Skillet Chicken with Black Beans, Rice and Chiles. It got rave reviews. We were disappointed. I was also annoyed that it was billed as a one-pot dish, when you needed two. It took about an hour to cook, which can be too much on a weeknight for most. 

Throwback Thursday. I finally backed up my computer and looked through some old photos. I found this of Spike from our New Year's visit to Daufuskie Island around 2005? He is in his element with a favorite squeaky ball, taking a rest from chasing it down the beach. As much as I love Lola, I still miss Spike.

Re-read: Nancy Drew Number Four: The Mystery at Lilac Inn

After I finished Bloodless, I picked this book up; I knew it would be a quick read. 

Nancy's friend Emily is coming into an inheritance of the Crandall family jewels. Unfortunately, the jewels are stolen when Emily's careless guardian stops at Lilac Inn for lunch with the jewels in her handbag.

Of course, Nancy solves the mystery and recovers the jewels, but she solves it more through her prejudice and snobbery than by following clues. 

Racism alert: Nancy is interviewing potential servants, a colored woman, an Irish woman, a Scottish lassie, and a dark-complexioned girl who stared at Nancy almost impudently.

Book 21: Bloodless by Preston & Child

I loved this book. 

After a challenging case in Florida, Agents Pendergast and Coldmoon are diverted to Savannah, Georgia to investigate a case in which persons were completely drained of blood. Could it be the work of the infamous Savannah Vampire of legend?

The authors skillfully weave the eerie setting of Savannah graveyards, city history, police procedurals, the legend of D.B. Cooper, and quantum physics into an incredible story. It even has a bit of romance. Once again, I loved this book. 

It's one of the best of the Pendergast series, and that's saying a lot.

Searching for Sylvanus

On Saturday I had an appointment with the New Milford Historical Society to do some research on Sylvanus Merwin. The results were disappointing. There was information, mostly promotional materials about the renovation of the Merwinsville Hotel. I did get some tidbits of information that the researcher kindly copied for me. I had wanted to buy a book on the history of New Milford, but the gift shop was unexpectedly locked. I could have bought the book online, but preferred to give the sale to the Historical Society. 

I had expected to do research for a few hours, but was done in about a half hour. I headed up to Merwinsville Hotel for an art show. I talked to a few people there about my research and then found two books that could be helpful to me in the museum. I had expected more from one book; it only had about three pages about the hotel. The second was a tome of the Merwins in America. I found the entry for Sylvanus, and I think my best bet may be to find his descendants. I just didn't have to time or inclination to research further. I had opened the book on a display case, and it was just not conducive for research.

I need to carefully review the material I have on hand and make plans.

Westport Library Book Sale

Yesterday my friend Cynthia reminded me of the Westport Library Book Sale this weekend; we went today.

I bought seven books:

1. The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene (1930.)This is the fourth in the Nancy Drew series. I couldn't resist. I almost also bought The Secret of the Golden Pavilion; I regret not picking it up now. I remember liking it.

2. The More the Terrier A Pet Rescue Mystery by Linda O. Johnston. This looks like fun; I may give it to my terrier loving friends after I read it, of course. The author also wrote Beaglemania, which I have to read.

3. Wherever I Wind Up by R.A. Dickey with Wayne Coffey. When Dickey wrote this book, he was a New York Met, where he won a Cy Young award. I still have a Dickey t-shirt and have heard good things about this book. 

4. Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson. I just noticed this version is written especially for young people. Whoops. I'm not sure that that means, but will find out.  

5. Coronado by Dennis Lehane. This is a collection of short stories. Last year I read a collection of stories Lehane edited.

6. The Six Wives of Henry VIII by Alison Weir. I bought this book even though I wasn't sure if I had already read it. It's not on my bookshelf or mentioned in my blog, so I assume no.

7. The Family Romanov Murder, Rebellion, & The Fall of Imperial Russia by Candace Fleming. I love reading about Nicholas II and his family

To update my recent library sale books: I have three Russian themed books, three British royal themed books, two TV themed books, two books by early 20th Century Black women authors, three classics, others harder to catalog.

I like having many reading choices close at hand. 

Rally for Abortion Justice

Last Saturday October 2, I participated in a rally for abortion justice. We met on a bridge heading into the main shopping area of Westport, CT. We waved our signs, chanted "My body, my choice," "Mister, Mister, keep your laws off my sister," and "We won't go back," and cheered as passing motorists beeped at us. We were most encouraged by truck and bus drivers beeping to show their support. 

At first, I was annoyed that the organizers expected us to bring banners. Then I figured out what would work for me. I played around with sizes and fonts on my pc and printed out two 8.5 x 11 pages: one read "Abortion is Healthcare," and the second read "Keep Abortion Legal." I glued them on 9 x 12 mixed media pages. Next I taped them to a yardstick, so I had a two sided sign. My sign (not me) made the local News 12 telecast.

Here are two of my favorite signs from the rally.  I cropped out the people because I don't have permission to use them in my blog.

                "When government controls decisions for her, she is being treated as 

           less than a fully adult human, responsible for her own choices."

Other favorites:

"Hey GOP I'm only three but I already know it's my body."

"Nevertheless, she persisted."

There were a few signs with coat hanger imagery, "I Stand with Planned Parenthood" (I had this on a bumper sticker on my last car) and "My body my choice." I think I was the only one with "Abortion is Healthcare."

I only saw three people in cars who gave us a thumbs down. Many cars just drove by, but many beeped in support or waved. 

Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal showed up with a local candidate I didn't know (I don't live in Westport.)

I hope the politicians paid attention to us and all of the rallies across the nation.

Keep Abortion Legal.

Abortion is Healthcare. 

On Writing and Not Writing

Eight days ago, I pulled up my blog and saw that I hadn't posted that week. Not only that, but I hadn't written anything for the two books I've committed to writing, and I only wrote one sentence for a story due for my class on Monday. 

That got me thinking. It took me a long time to think of myself as a writer. Do you have to be published be a writer? What do you have to produce to be a writer?

I remember a writing instructor said: A writer is someone who writes. My mother scoffed at that, but she didn't understand the self-doubt. 

This week I wondered can I be a writer if I only wrote one sentence this week? I don't want to know the answer. I can say I did 1.5 hours research on one book. I can say I scribbled about three pages of journaling to work through a blog post about schedules and planning. But I never wrote that post. 

On Monday, I read this from a daily email I get from A.Word.A.Day:

”Working” has a different meaning for writers. If you are a writer, writing doesn’t necessarily mean typing away on a keyboard or scribbling on a piece of paper. Writing happens when you are walking or taking a shower or pulling weeds in the backyard. Simply staring out a window also works. Once your writing is done, you just need to dump it on a sheet of paper or into a computer.

I don't agree with that. Yes, I get several ideas when walking Lola. In fact, I've written almost full stories on our walks. I've also thought about stories, gotten ideas, and worked out problems while doing chores, or staring out windows. That's great, but these things don't really count if they don't get dumped on a sheet of paper or into a computer.

I need to actually write, or it doesn't count. 

Book 20: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I didn't particularly like this book, but I didn't particularly dislike it either. That's why I finished it. Plus, it's considered a classic and a selection for Oprah's book club. I haven't abandoned a book since 2019. I guess I'm choosing my books well. 

The book contains some beautiful images and writing. I loved the description of the family's discovery of ice. I also learned some Columbian history from Wikipedia's entry on the book. 

Overall, not a book for me. 

Requiem for the Mets

Today was the last game of the regular baseball season. Unfortunately, it was also the last game of the whole season for the Mets.  

As a Mets fan, I'm used to losing seasons. But it seemed like this would be a winning season. The Mets were in first place for several months this year. The beginning of the end was an early August series with the Phillies. 

Today I wore my favorite Mets t-shirt. It's a blue v-neck with 2015 World Series, Destiny: the NY in Destiny is the Mets logo. I also wore a pair of my Mets earrings. If only I remembered my Mets shorts, it would have been a Mets trifecta.

I watched most of the Mets final game. They couldn't even manage a run in a 5-0 loss to the Atlanta Braves.  

Wait until next year.