Bunny Sightings

I've been concerned because I haven't seen any rabbits this season. Without Lola, I'm not walking or going to the parks as often, but I figured I should have seen some. My supervisor at the New Canaan Nature Center said that populations ebb and flow; there were many rabbits last year. He had seen some rabbits around. 

Before dinner I went for a walk around the block and saw my first bunny of the season. It sat still just outside a wooded area--a prime spot for seeing rabbits last year. 

Later I saw a second bunny outside the kitchen window. I watched for a few minutes as it munched on some greens. I felt relieved to see both. 

I also saw my first lightning bug of the summer tonight. Hope these are good signs. 

Home Work

The painters are back today. They've already been here for about eight hours and are close to finishing up. Now I have to thoroughly clean the baths and rehang all the pictures. Then clean the living room. It had already gotten a bit dusty, but I didn't see any point in dusting the past few days--it would only get more dusty. 

Last week I returned to purging. I went through the closet in our second bedroom (primarily) and gathered up several things and took them to Goodwill today--about three boxes and five bags. I still have a box of books to donate to the library--I may have to may an appointment for that. 

It feels good to have the repair work and painting done and to get rid of things we no longer need. 

Book 18: Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

I enjoyed this book, but have my reservations.

Lilac Girls tells the story of the Ravensbruck Rabbits, a group of Polish teenagers imprisoned at the Nazi concentration camp for women. The Rabbits are subjected to a series of gruesome experiments: Nazi doctors cut into leg bones, muscles, and nerves and deliberately infected the patients with virulent bacteria and foreign objects such as glass and wood. Some of the patients died, some were executed, and the rest suffered permanent physical damage. 

The story is told by three narrators. Caroline Ferriday is a socialite, former Broadway actress, and volunteer at the French Embassy in New York City. 

Kasia Kuzmerick is a Polish teenager arrested as an underground courier and sent to Ravensbruck, a "reeducation" camp for women.

Herta Oberheuser is an ambitious but professionally frustrated doctor who answers an ad for a medical position at the camp. 

Both Caroline and Herta are real persons. Kasia is loosely based on one of the Rabbits.

Author Martha Hill Kelly was inspired to write the book after learning about Caroline Ferriday's love of lilacs and touring her home in Bethlehem Connecticut. During the tour, Kelly learned about the Rabbits and how Caroline helped them get reparations as well as treatment in the United States after the war.

Unfortunately, Kelly does the real Caroline a disservice by adding a fictional romance with a French actor. Kelly wanted to give Caroline more of a personal connection to France and to dramatize events happening there. It was unnecessary and actually weakened Caroline's story. Her involvement with the Rabbits seems to come more from wanting a distraction from her romantic problems than a sincere effort to help the women. 

I doubt the real Caroline Ferriday was so shallow. 

Revisiting Season One: Game of Thrones

After watching the Mets win last night, I found a marathon of Game of Thrones Season 1. We saw the last three episodes. It reminded me why this show was so special. Oh, by the way, I hated Shae from her second appearance. 

I saw the first season before I started to read the books. I've seen the episodes several times. I know the show much better than I know the books. Martin lost me in Book 4 and 5. He introduced too many characters, and I wanted to know what was going on with the core characters. I think he should have kept to his original trilogy idea--lengthwise--and then added/expanded on stories about peripheral characters in another series.

Back to Season One/Book One--The show did a good job casting. I especially liked how they aged the characters; it made much more sense. It was nice to see the (aged) young Arya, Bran, and Sansa. We saw them grow up on the show. 

I think Season One may have been the best of the series. Maybe I need to re-watch. 

Dismantling Rights: Our Supreme Court in Action

Today's decision--overruling Roe v. Wade--was a first--taking away constitutional rights previously granted to Americans. Of course, it's only women's rights to bodily autonomy; denying women rights is in the current Republican Party's DNA.

I've read opinions and analyses that are more thoughtful than my reaction, which is to curse the justices. Five of them are reactionary: out of touch with the American people on cases about gun safety and women's health/rights. 

Between this Supreme Court and insurrection attempts by Trump and company, I'm afraid for/of my country.

Thursday Surprise

I answered the doorbell at 8 AM to see Ray a painter and two assistants to work on the ceilings in our baths and the living room. Damage in the baths are caused by our upstairs neighbor. The living room damage is related to the outside of the building. We had the exterior bricks sealed last week. 

Back to this morning, I didn't expect to see Ray. The condo super coordinates these kinds of repairs, and he forgot to give me a head's up. Of course, this happens on the day that Jeff and I slept in; Jeff was still in bed when Ray showed. I had been up about 30 minutes and was still in my nightgown and hadn't even had coffee yet. Ray said he could work on another unit and come back in 45 minutes. 

Ray and his assistants were here till around 3 and replaced both bathroom ceilings. The last time we had ceiling repairs, the property manager went the cheap route. I didn't realize until after I talked with Ray and our super that the cheap route was inadequate. At least now we'll get the proper ceiling material.

Sigh. I guess it will all be worth it next week. Ray will return on Monday--maybe he'll need another visit after that. More cleaning for me after that. 

Book 17: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

My friend lent me this book just after I had abandoned War and Peace. I really enjoyed it. I loved the main characters Marie-Laure and Werner. The secondary characters were layered and memorable. 

I loved reading a blind person's POV. Marie-Laure's descriptions evoked rich images. 

A nitpick: the nonlinear timeline. I usually like a nonlinear timeline, but not this time. It worked at the beginning of the book. Later I didn't get why it was done. 

I realized that I haven't read much on the World War II era. The next book I read is also about WWII.

P.S. Apparently a Netflix film of the novel is in the works. I'll look for it. 

Happy Summer

I didn't realize today was the Summer Solstice; I thought it was the 22nd. We've had nice weather, avoiding the 100+ degree weather that ravaged other parts of the country. 

Now that it's officially summer, I have to work on my summer fun list. 

*  1 and 2 (maybe 3?) are mini getaways. We've already talked about Salem and Rehoboth Beach/Lewes. 

*  3 Go to art shows. I've already been to two; I know of at least one more in Norwalk. 

*  4 An oldie but goodie, eat lobster roll by the water. 

(True confession--I remember "oldie but goodie" from M*A*S*H.  Henry was reading through all of Klinger's excuses for a leave: "Here's an oldie but goodie, half the family dying, the other half pregnant.")

* 5  Go antiquing with Chris and Roberta.

* 6  Visit Merwinsville Hotel one Sunday in July.

It's a doable list. I don't want to go crazy with plans. Plus there's also autumn to do fun things. Hey, I should do fun things all year round.

Dreaming Up a Plot

Last night I dreamed of a story set in a dorm of some sorts. A friend wakes a young woman who had been sleeping all day. Later the woman orders a drink on credit. There's some discussion with the bartender, and it's clear that the woman can't just pay for the drink and settle the bill. Somehow she has got herself into debt with a company store-like entity.  

Okay, I didn't say it was a good story. I doubt if I will use this concept. Wait, it could be a part of an idea I had back in 2017. I wrote 750 words and named the file "water." It had a dorm like setting and the company store concept could work well. I just reread the piece. It's not bad; it needs work, but it's not too bad. I wonder if it can possibly be a part of my Temporals world. 

Just the other day I was reading about the International Women's Writing Guild summer conference. One of the seminars was "Exploring the Realm of Dreams for Inspiration, Motivation and Creative Problem Solving." 

Did just reading the description of the seminar trigger me to remember my dream and think about using it in my writing? Could this be synchronicity? 

I have to be open to the possibilities.

Friday Miscellanea

I've been thinking a lot about time, focus, and priorities lately.

I looked at a time tracking sheet from earlier this year to see how much time I allocated to Lola. It came out to 1.5 hour/day (10.5/week.) Of course, a good chunk of this time was walking. I am trying to walk at least 20 minutes a day to get out in the sun. Without Lola, I don't have the daily incentive. Sometimes I forget to walk; other times it's too hot, humid, wet, dry, or whatever. 

I guess I should track my time again to see what I've been doing with those 10.5 hours. I suspect some hours are allocated to the gym. I've been going four times a week for the last few weeks and feel great. 

For me the most important thing is that I've done more research on Sylvanus Merwin. Mostly, I'm organizing what I've read, adding to my bibliography, working on a timetable. I have lots of bits and pieces that I need to weave or string into something. 

I need to start drafting something--an intro or background information about trains. Or I can revise the piece I wrote for class about finding the hotel. 

Just start. 

More on Art Journaling

About two weeks ago, I brought my box of art journal supplies into the living room to file new clippings I had made. I didn't put the box back into the second bedroom closet; last night I finally worked on the journal again. 

While I didn't create any new pages, I added to some, mostly using some leftover contact paper I found while cleaning the closet. It was too folded to work well on a window, but it was perfect for my art journal. 

This is my third art journal. When I first started, I didn't really know what I was doing. In many ways, I still don't. I lost my second art journal for awhile; it's sitting in the closet now. I think I did a few pages on Casablanca and Bette Davis.

In my third and current journal, I prepared some pages for the first time with a variety with gesso, acrylic paint, watercolor, stamps, and miscellaneous collage elements. Some pages are blank. 

I recently mentioned that I had two pages I especially liked. Looking through the journal last night, I found many pages that I liked. That was unusual.  I experimented with different materials--I even used a short, narrow piece of tile (?) that I found in the elevator. 

I just stopped writing because I decided my pages of Nicholas II and his family needed some religious medals. It just so happens that I have a grab bag of religious charms and added a few to that page. 

It's weird, but as I work in a page, I sometimes think about what I can do in my next journal. Maybe I should appreciate this one. 

Return of Pride in the Park

After a two year Covid absence, Pride in the Park returned to Mathews Park. It was a perfect late spring Saturday. There was a "beer garden" that should have been a lot nicer and larger. There were many food trucks, organizations, and companies, and drag performers. 

The performers' costumes were bright and colorful; the crowd was happy and cheering. I looked around and in all the happiness, I felt a little wistful. The same people who've worked so hard to get Roe v. Wade overruled will move against contraception and gay and trans rights next. 

Revisiting Dark Shadows

As I've written before, I was a big fan of Dark Shadows and proud to be an early adopter (watching pre-Barnabas.)  The Barnabas vampire story made the show a hit. When videos and DVDs became available, it was hard to find the earliest episodes. I remember a video that condensed some storylines to a few narrated scenes and stills.

Recently Jeff and I were exploring some of the new TV channels we got when we upgraded our cellphones. Jeff found a Dark Shadows channel on Pluto, and we watched the episode when Victoria Winters is found guilty of witchcraft in 1795. (We couldn't select what episodes to watch. )

Yesterday, I couldn't find the Dark Shadows channel on Pluto, so I searched for Dark Shadows and found a listing of Dark Shadows episodes and films through Prime and Tubi. We watched the storyline about Vicki being held prisoner by Matthew Morgan (associated with the Burke Devlin revenge and the murder of Bill Malloy--right hand man at Collins Cannery--storylines.) That leads into the Laura Collins Phoenix storyline. When I started watching Dark Shadows in the 60s, it was at the tail end of this story. For the record, we skipped some episodes. 

Wikipedia helpfully lists the major storylines and the episodes covering each story. That will help me watch future episodes.

Abandoning War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy

I haven't abandoned a book since February 2019. I guess I just chose my books well. I had thought about reading War and Peace back in February.  Instead, I read another 11 books. 

I realized I had been avoiding War and Peace. After I finished Ragtime, I returned to War and Peace and read the first two chapters, then I let it sit for several days. Apparently I was avoiding the book again. I made an effort to continue. I read 19 chapters up to page 72.

I give up. There are too many princes and princesses; I can't keep them straight. I have to keep going back to previous pages to review who the characters are. At least there's only one Pierre. 

I used to feel guilty about not finishing books, especially a classic such as War and Peace. But even Laura Vanderkam and Anne Bogel--both big readers--agree it's fine to give up a book. I can't find the post now, but one of them suggested that reading 10 percent of a book should be enough to decide if you want to continue. I did that. 

I haven't decided on my next book yet. I have many choices. 

Thursday Thoughts

I've been going through feelings of self-doubt recently. It's funny how fast it hits. 

It's focused on my writing. I haven't been happy with my last two class assignments. They're not terrible; they're just okay. I haven't felt inspiration. I know I can't wait for inspiration--at least not if I'm a real writer. You/I have to write whether you are/I am in the mood or not. 

 

Recently, I did some newspaper searches for Sylvanus Merwin. I was psyched to find information. But in the 20 something articles I found, only one or two were minimally helpful. The two local books I read didn't add much to my understanding (and were pretty badly written.) I actually haven't done any writing. At least I could work on some background. 

I attended a good conference on Saturday--specifically the lunchtime seminar. Desmond Hall the instructor inscribed his book to me, "You were great in the seminar! Look forward to reading the story you come up with!" I felt so proud. 

Where did those good feelings go? Why does self-doubt take over so easily? Why does the question of "am I really a writer?" resurface so often? Am I too old to be able to write something?

My self-doubt extends to other areas.  Sometimes, I wake up in the morning stressing about what to make for dinner. I worry about wasting time, managing my time. Why am I such an inefficient cleaner?

Why does it take me so long to finish things?

Lots of questions, but I don't have answers. I'm going to keep writing and try not to sweat the other things. 

CrimeCONN Mystery Lovers' Conference

Today I attended the CrimeConn Conference at the Ferguson Library in Stamford. I had previously gome physically in 2018 and then virtually in 2020 and 2021. This year's theme was The End of the World As We Know It.

I signed up early to get the Early Bird Discount (one frugal thing.) Later I learned that the New Canaan Nature Center had a Bird Bonanza today. I'm sorry I missed that. I hope there will be one in the fall. 

The conference was great. I enjoyed the panel discussions and the interview. 

Desmond Hall's lunchtime seminar was worth the price of admission alone. In under an hour, he summarized steps needed to create a main character. We had five minutes to work on our own character. Desmond asked for volunteers to share what they wrote; I raised my hand. Why not get some professional advice?

I came home full of thoughts and ideas, and feeling optimistic.

Searching for Sylvanus: Third in a Series

I was recently berating myself for not working on my research into Sylvanus Merwin recently. I picked up a book on New Milford and skimmed through it. I had previously read the chapter on the Merwinsville Hotel. It gave me some background but wasn't very helpful. I worked on my bibliography so far, looked through some articles I had saved on my computer. I have 12 sources listed and more to add. 

I am also using a newspaper search site to find articles from the 1840's through the 1890's. I found 17 articles so far. I haven't found anything earthshaking, but I have found some good background information. I've got to keep searching.

An Anniversary

Today was the 20th anniversary of Johan Santana's no-hitter.

I was hopeful at the beginning of the year; it didn't last. But at least R.A. Dickey won the 2012  Cy Young Award.

Earlier this year, the Mets threw a combined no-hitter and have mounted great comebacks. They swept their latest home stand, winning six games in a row. 

Not fade away.