Another Item to Check Off the Summer Fun List

Today Jeff and I went down to Ripka's Beach Cafe at Calf Pasture Beach. We had warm lobster rolls and beers. We sat at the railing and looked out at the water. Later I went for a walk and was tempted to join the kids on the Splash Pad. The cooling breeze had seemed to disappear.

Eating lobster rolls on the water was the number 4 item on my summer fun list. We've already taken one getaway, and I've gone to another art show. I haven't been to Merwinsville and thought about going tomorrow. Today I read that the hotel is also open Sundays in August, so I have more time to do that with a change of date.

I'm happy with my progress so far. 

Book 21: Manhunt The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson

I was glad to see this book at a May book sale (either Wilton or Westport) especially because I had read this book last November.

I feel as if I'm becoming a bit of an expert on the Booths based on recent books I've read. I resent Swanson's exaggeration of John Wilkes Booth's acting ability and fame. Edwin was the star of that generation. 

But that's a small quibble in a strong, well-researched book. There are several threads involving individuals who have their own fascinating stories:  

Dr. Samuel Mudd--part of Booth's plan to kidnap, not assassinate the President;

Laura Keene--the actress and former lover of Edwin Booth who starred in and re-wrote parts of the play Our American Cousin--and cradled Lincoln's head in her lap after he was shot; 

Thomas A. Jones--a Confederate agent and river boatmen who helped hide Booth and his accomplice David Herold and then cross the Potomac River into Virginia.

This is another book I would have loved to discuss with my father. 

This Week

It's been a good week for me. My story went over well in Monday's class, I helped out with the NCNC birds twice, I went to the gym four times. I went for a walk with a friend and discussed art, writing, and other things and went out to lunch with two other friends.

I've done the errands/chores I needed to do. 

Another good thing this week: the Mets are on a three-game winning streak; including a two-game sweep of the Yankees. That was awesome. I have to admit feeling uneasy in the first game when Aaron Judge and Anthony Rizzo hit back-to-back homers in the first inning. But by the end of the first, the Mets were up 4-2. The final score was 6-3.

There were scary moments in Wednesday night's game despite a great performance by Max Scherzer. Again the Mets prevailed, this time by 3-2 on a walk-off single by Starling Marte. Let's Go Mets!

Pequot Library Book Sale

Sunday morning, my friend Cynthia and I went to the summer book sale at Pequot Library--two tents of books, CDs, DVDs, and albums. I bought seven books and one DVD for $8.00.

I wasn't planning to even look at the DVDs but saw Nancy Drew...Reporter--my second favorite of the four film series. No other DVDs interested me. 

These are the books.

1. Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir: I have this already in paperback and bought the hardcover to replace it. 

2. Social Crimes by Jane Stanton Hitchcock: I recognized Hitchcock's name. I loved her book The Witches' Hammer; so I bought this one. 

3. She Walks These Hills by Sharyn McCrumb: I read another book by McCrumb: If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O and liked it. I also admired McCrumb for her article, "Of Time and the Writer."

4. Puzzled Heart by Amanda Cross: I thought I had read all of the Kate Fansler mysteries, but I don't remember this story. I just read the first few pages. They aren't familiar, but funny enough that I think I would remember them. 

5. Mystic River by Dennis Lehane: Last year I read a collection (ha) of Lehane's stories and liked them. I had picked up another Lehane book, but exchanged it for this.

6. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez: I had added this book to my TBR (to be read) list based on a recommendation from someone at Modern Mrs. Darcy.

7. The Alienist by Caleb Carr: I've heard good things about this book and the TV series. 

I looked for The Eight by Katherine Neville. I had read it years ago and liked it (but don't remember anything else.) At another Pequot Book Sale I bought The Fire, without realizing it was a sequel to The Eight. I saw several copies of The Eight at the earlier sale. 

I have about 15 books in house to read. I'm not hoarding books in fear of a new pandemic; I just wanted to make a rough count. In the early days of the pandemic, I counted 19 books (without Kindle and rereading.)

I'm rich in books.

Hot!

It rained off-and-on all day Monday. Since then, temps every day exceeded 90 degrees. Every time I complain about weather, I feel obligated to say that at least we are not dealing with 100 degree days. 

I went to the gym four times, to NCNC twice, the grocery store, and the farmer's market. Otherwise, I tried to stay inside.

It helped that HBO was marathoning eight seasons of Game of Thrones. I watched a few Season One episodes last month and found it again this week. I saw very little of Season Two and the last third of Season Three. I saw more episodes later in the week as I stayed inside longer. 

I also cleaned; it was the perfect opportunity. 

The heat has been enervating. I can't remember the last time we have a six-day heat wave (soon to add a seventh day.) Maybe I'm just too old. I think about it as I ponder where to move south of here. 

I wonder how I'll feel this winter. 

Birds of NCNC

I went to the New Canaan Nature Center twice this week; they are down a volunteer or two. On Wednesday, I decided to take a few photos.

This is Ralph, a turkey vulture who has been at NCC for about 18 years. She has a partial left wing amputation.

Next up is Glory, an American Bald Eagle. Glory has also been at NCNC for 18 years. She cannot fly  because she was born with fused joints in each of her wings. Glory looks like she didn't want her picture taken.

This is Tupelo, a red-shouldered hawk. He's been at NCNC for 12 years. His right wing is partially amputated, so he's incapable of full flight. Tupelo seems annoyed that I disturbed his meal. 

There are also three owls at NCNC. On Wednesday, one was at some kind of educational event, another hid in his house, and the third was in shadows, so I didn't get a good shot. 

In other news, I need to write a story from an animal's point of view, observing humans. The homework was assigned on Monday, and I wrote most of the story that afternoon. That hasn't happened in quite a while, and I was happy to feel inspired. 

Another Photo Post

Here are some recent photos I've taken. 

First, here's a picture of Dylan. I always enjoy seeing him when I go on neighborhood walks.

 

Two adult swans and a cygnet swim on the Norwalk River at Oyster Shell Park. I haven't been to the park very often in the past three months. This was my first young swan sighting. 

I had these mini panzerottis when we stopped for lunch on our return from Lewes, Delaware.  I had recently been talking about panzerottis with my brother and was happy to see these on the menu. 

Book 20: Laura by Vera Caspary

I bought this book for $.50 at the Norwalk Library the day I borrowed Booth. It's another book purchase inspired by films (others are Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, All This and Heaven Too, Julie and Julia, and Dragonwyck.)

I love the film, Laura. It's one of my favorites. I liked the book. The film begins with a voiceover by Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb.) The book has three narrators: Waldo, Mark, and Laura. I liked the multiple PoVs. 

Book Waldo is fat, but I can't imagine anyone other than slender Clifton Webb as Waldo. Similarly, Vincent Price doesn't strike me as the hunky, handsome Shelby, but I did mention in my other post that he was more broad-shouldered than I had remembered. As it often happens, I read the book while visualizing the film's actors. 

Back to the book: I loved Caspary's choice of murder weapon--much more elegant and unusual than the movie's. Caspary apparently researched this. I didn't care for all the "Mark is a man" commentary, but I guess it's true to the time.

I just checked our cable channel guide. Laura is available on TCM on Demand. I hope to add more later. 

Edit 1 7.24.22: I had bookmarked a phrase in Laura that I liked. I'm not sure why I didn't include it. 

Narrated by Waldo Lydecker: 

 The moon had lost its battle with the clouds and retreated, leaving no trace of copper brilliance in the ominous sky. The air had grown heavier.

Edit 2 7.24.22: I watched Laura on TCM last week. I didn't mind the minor changes such as Waldo's weight, where Laura first approached Waldo for his endorsement of a pen, and the police tail of Shelby. 

I still think the book murder weapon and finale are better than the film's. The second entrance to Laura's apartment in the film hadn't been established beforehand. It was awkward (and too easily broken into.)

Thoughts for a Thursday

I was ready for a new start on Monday morning. I was going to get up early and hit the gym and be ready for my summer writing class at 10. I turned off the alarm a few weeks ago, I was waking up on my own anyway. Of course, this time I overslept. Then the coffeemaker wouldn't work. I could have gone to the gym even with sleeping late, but I didn't want to go without coffee. I spent an hour working on the coffeemaker. I had to go out to Dunkin' to get coffee. Luckily the coffeemaker was reincarnated when I checked it again Monday afternoon.

In our first class, we wrote about favorite summer foods. For homework, we're going to write a story  based on a photograph of four seniors sitting on a bench at Coney Island looking out at the beach. It's a cool picture. I have an idea, but have no idea where to take it.

I've made it to the gym twice this week. I'd prefer to have three visits by a Thursday. I didn't exercise at all yesterday, except to walk around Calf Pasture and Shady Beaches. Jeff and I sat at Ripka's--there was a private function in the tent next to the restaurant--and listened to the band. It was a 90 degree day, but there was a nice shore breeze.

I need to clean, but procrastinate. I did finally get my car washed; I also got my emissions test. It's something, right?

I made plans to go to an art festival Sunday--an item on my summer fun list.  Speaking about my list, I can also get my lobster roll on the water at Ripka's some time. 

I need to work on my story. 

Book 19: Booth by Karen Joy Fowler

I knew I would read this book as soon as I heard about it. It's a work of fiction covering much of the same material as the nonfiction book My Thoughts Be Bloody that I read earlier this year. I really enjoyed it.

Fowler choses to tell much of her story through Rosalie Booth, older sister to Edwin and John Wilkes. Fowler describes Rosalie as leaving "only a slight mark on the world" and as "the most fictional."

The Booths are a fascinating family. Talk about dysfunctioanl: their stories could create a long running soap opera containing genius, demons, eccentricity, and scandal with settings in London, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Panama, and Gold Rush California. And that's without John Wilkes Booth's assassination of President Lincoln. 

It would be fitting if someone could create some kind of dramatization of their stories--maybe a limited series--I would love to see it. 

More on Dark Shadows

In the month since I discovered the early episodes of Dark Shadows on Prime, I've watched the Laura Collins Phoenix storyline. I skipped some episodes, but realized I missed Sam's hands catching on fire. After that, I went back and pretty much watched each episode. 

I had only watched the end of this storyline back in 1966. It was not subtle; Laura told the Phoenix rising from the ashes story in her first or second scene with Maggie at the Collinsport Hotel. But it was definitely cool to see how she could just stare into the fire to vanquish her foes. 

I mentioned to Jeff that you could see why I was so into this show as an 11-year-old. Hey, I'm still into it.

Yes, there is a lot of repetition--it was 1960's soap opera pacing, after all. Yes, there are inconsistencies. If the whole Laura Murdock deaths by fire took place every hundred years on a specific date, why did Laura also die in a fire in Phoenix? And just when did the bodies disappear anyway? The Phoenix death didn't quite line up with the Collinsport deaths. 

I liked that after the finale, there are two episodes to sum things up. But in that second episode, Jason McGuire makes his first appearance. Jason will blackmail Elizabeth Collins Stoddard and make her life hell for about four months.

The appearance of Jason means Barnabas is not too far behind.  

Delaware Getaway Part Two

Wednesday was much better than Tuesday. I got up early and moved my car about a block farther up the road--parking was free there. I walked around a few blocks to see how I could drive back to the hotel among one-way streets and check out some stores and restaurants. 

The Hotel Rodney had a great location--at one end of a retail and restaurant district. I did a little morning shopping. Later we visited a winery and distillery and then got some lunch at a restaurant at the Harbor. We drove around the beach and went to a multi-vendor antique market. 

Returning to the hotel, I was psyched when I snagged one of the four hotel parking spaces behind the building. We had a good dinner at Agave, right across the street from the hotel and then dessert from King's Ice Cream (also right across from the hotel.)

After breakfast at Eggcellent on Thursday morning, we headed home. 

I would definitely return. 

Congratulations Keith Hernandez!

The Mets just unveiled the latest retired number at Citi Field--number 17 Keith Hernandez. Now they're driving him around the warning track in a golf cart--a victory lap. 

It's been fun to watch the highlights of his career and hear what his old teammates have to say. Another cool moment was after Keith saluted the 2022 Mets team: the current players lined up along the walkway as Keith left the field. 

Delaware Getaway

I completed one item on my summer fun list. We went on a mini--two day--getaway to Lewes, Delaware. We talked about it for a while. June was over before it started (or so it seemed) Jeff's starting a new work project next Monday, and we wanted to avoid the 4th of July weekend. So it was now or September.

Tuesday wasn't so good. Half of it was just driving. We hit a ridiculous amount of traffic in Rehoboth Beach returning from Dogfish. 

Parking at the hotel was a problem. Whoever took Jeff's reservation gave him wrong parking information. The room was smaller than we expected. At least we got settled before it started pouring. So much for exploring the block. 

Wednesday was much better. 

To be continued. 

Happy Independence Day!

 

Here is patriot Lola at the grave of  Revolutionary War Captain Henry Chichester in Historic Pine Island Cemetery. I took this photo in 2016 when Lola had been with us for about 10 weeks. 

We still miss her, but right now I'm glad I don't have to comfort a dog upset about fireworks. 

Mid-Year Check In

I figured it would be a good time to take a look at my goals for 2022. I was disappointed in the minimal goals I had set. 

Stop drinking for six weeks: done.

Go to the gym 150 times (roughly three times a week): 63 visits through June 30.  That number would be 75 if I were on track. Despite that, I'm happy with my status. There were a few weeks earlier in the year when my neck and back were too sore for me to go to the gym. One week I was sick. Another week I was too upset about Lola to bother to go. I've been good about doing some exercise at home on days I don't make it to the gym. I've also taken several walks. 

Read 35 books: I've read 18 books through the end of June, so I'm good here.

Write 200 blog posts: I published 98 posts through June. So I'm in pretty good shape here. 

Now onto lack of goals. I mentioned The New York Times' Eat Well Challenge. I didn't really get into it and never made any specific goals. That never works.

Even worse, I never made any writing goals, and I'm struggling. I've barely written. I wrote 12 blog posts but does that even count?

I need to find some answers.