Book Sale Bonanza

This weekend both the Wilton Library and the Westport Library held book sales. Cynthia and I went to both. Having two book sales in one weekend was a first for us. 

Here are my purchases: 

CDs:

1. Sly and the Family Stone Greatest Hits. I used to have this as an album.

2. Joe Jackson Look Sharp. 

Books:

1. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle. I picked this up for a great niece.

2. White Fire by Preston & Child. This is one of my favorite Preston & Child books. I bought a hard cover to replace my paperback.

3. Educated by Tara Westover. This is a memoir by a women who grew up with her survivalist parents, but left to learn about the outside world. 

4. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Bette Smith. This is a classic coming-of-age story. I passed it by at an earlier book sale, but made sure to get it this time. 

5. The Entertainment Weekly Seinfeld Companion by Bruce Fretts. This is just for fun; I'm going to give it to my brother.

6. Go Dog, Go! Another for a great niece.

7. Love & Other Crimes by Sara Paretsky. This collection of 14 short stories includes VI Warshawski as a ten-year-old conducting her first investigation.

8. The Angel of Darkness by Caleb Carr. This is a sequel to The Alienist, which I recently read and liked.

9. Five Points The 19th-Century New York City Neighborhood That Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum by Tyler Anbinder. I've read several books that featured that infamous neighborhood, so I'm looking forward to reading a historical approach.

10. The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory. This is the story of Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII, and arguably the creator of the Tudor dynasty.

11. The White Princess by Philippa Gregory. The White Princess is Elizabeth of York daughter of King Edward IV and his wife Elizabeth Woodville. She married Henry VII and became the first Tudor queen.

A note on books 10 and 11: I don't respect Gregory as an historian, but I will enjoy these stories. 

I've got a lot of reading to do. 

Election Day and Spike's Birthday

It's been a long, exhausting election season. I'm appalled at the money spent on ads--we probably could have fed the whole country on the amounts spent on primarily negative ads. After today, the most annoying ads will will focus on the Medicare enrollment period.

I'm avoiding news about the election until later tonight. Lucky for me, I have something else to think about.

Today is also Spike's birthday. He was born in 2000 and lived with us from March 2002 until his death in December 2015. Spike was special--not just because he was our first dog, but also because he was such a great dog. 

We still love and miss him.

Hard to Believe...

 ...it's been a week since my last post, and I wanted to post before this, but...

The first half of the week was medically oriented--Jeff had four doctors' appointments, including follow-ups for his falls last week. We had our flu and Covid vaccine shots and also voted.

This is the first year there was early voting in Norwalk. I love it. There's no reason to make everyone vote on the same day and, in some cases, wait in line for hours. 

More to follow. 

2024 Mets Season

It's hard to believe it's only been a week since the Mets' season ended in Game Six of the NLCS. It feels more like a month. 

I needed a few days after the Game Six loss, but then I was preoccupied with Jeff's health issues.

Back to the Mets: Obviously, I wanted them to go further in the playoffs, but they had an incredible run. In May, no one could have expected their season to end in the NLCS. 

But that's what the Mets did, led by Francisco Lindor--the definition of a MVP.

It's weird. When your team is out of contention, early in the season, you have a long time to get used to it. When your team is in contention, it's harder and takes longer to get over its loss. I'm reminded of Tennyson---"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." I paraphrase, it's better to have a team in contention that lost than never to have a team in contention at all."

Already, reports are speculating about the next season for the Mets. Several players are eligible for free agency. I don't know how things will shake out for next season, but I hope the players will appreciate how special this year was and return.

It's Been A Long Week...

with a day still to go. It feels more like three weeks.  

On Wednesday morning, Jeff fell twice around 12:30 and again around 5:30 when getting up from bed to go to the bathroom. After the second fall, we headed to the emergency room. Bottom line: he broke his left pinky, but CT scans and MRI were clear. They kept him overnight, and he was home by Thursday evening

On Wednesday, I appreciated living across the street from the hospital. I went back and forth all day--something I couldn't easily do if we lived farther away. I could walk and feed Jace and get some food for myself, knowing the hospital would call me if necessary, and I could quickly return.

Now, I'm just trying to get back to normal.

Staying Alive: Met Head Back to LA

What a game! 

The Mets scored three in the first inning, courtesy of a Pete Alonso home run, and never looked back. They won 12-6 in this elimination game. 

In August I thought the Mets wouldn't make the playoffs. I'm happy to have been proven wrong. After last night's game, I wondered if there was any Mets magic left. I'm happy to say there is. 

Thursday Thoughts

Last Friday, we switched our Internet and TV providers. It was more complicated than the salespeople described. We had to move some furniture to allow for wiring (the salespeople said the tech only had to program the system.) Luckily, we had a great tech who helped me move furniture and disconnected the cable equipment. Jeff and I have a learning curve with the TV, but we'll save a lot of money. It's well worth it. 

On Saturday, I returned to the Merwinsville Hotel with Cynthia for their fall art show and sale. I only bought a few cards, though I was tempted by other things. I was happy to see the restored third floor ballroom and hope it will bring some writing inspiration.

This week's been busy. I feel like I've running the whole time. Jeff and I each had a doctor's appointment. I returned equipment to Cablevision, took a broken speaker and DVD player to be recycled, got quarters from the bank, went shopping for food, dogfood, beer and wine, socks, and a picture frame. Also, I cared for the birds. 

Yesterday was the exception: I was chilled and exhausted. I stayed home and concentrated on working through emails I've neglected and managed to sort the laundry. Back to running around today.

My father has been on my mind a lot lately. Today is his birthday; he would have been 100. Hard to believe that he's been gone for 14 years. 

I haven't made it to the gym since Sunday (which completed another three-visit week.) I'll see how I feel tomorrow. If all goes well, I can still make three visits this week. 

On Saturday, we're visiting a friend for her dog's birthday party. We haven't seen her for several months, and I'm really looking forward to that. 

With the exception of Game 2, the Mets have looked horrible in the LCS against the Dodgers. Just one example: tonight the Mets had the bases loaded and nobody out in the 6th inning and didn't score. They ended up losing 2-10. The Dodgers need only one more win to advance to the World Series. Unfortunately, they have no reason to think they won't close out the series tomorrow. 

Is there any Mets magic left?