Miscellaneous February 20, 2025

I  looked back a few years and find that I generally blog about the same things every year!  In February I write about what is blooming, the weather, and what I have been reading.  With being sick most of the month and unable to do much other than doctor myself and take care of KoKo, I have been reading with Kindle on my cell phone.   

One recent Book Group read was "The Kitchen Front" by Jennifer Ryan, which takes place in England during WWII and covers food rationing and food preparation.  Of course,  it has a romance and personality clashes, but I found the food part fascinating. Another Book Group selection was "The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife"  by Anna Johnston.   It is a fantastical tale of two men who look very much alike, one dead and the man who accidently takes his place in an elder care home.  Also in England.  I enjoyed this one a lot, although hard to believe the coincidences. 

On my own I have read several books about the late Queen Elizabeth II.  "The Other Side of the Coin:The Queen, The Dresser, and The Wardrobe"  Angela Kelly.  Interesting look into the Queen's closet by her long-time "dresser"  who manages all clothing and designs dresses  for special  occasions.  I followed that up with an autobiography by Elizabeth's cousin, Margaret Rhodes, "The Final Curtsey: A Royal Memoir".  Born between the wars she experienced the diminishing of the aristocracy, but led an exotic life.  Candid pictures of the Royal Family.  

I enjoyed "Doc" by R.E. Losee, a doctor starting in WWII and his continuing practice in a tiny town in Montana.  Very much an informal sort of ramble.  "Sisters in Science" by Olivia Campbell covers the troubles of European female scientists during and after the rule of the Nazies. 

Currently I am into "Life After Manzanar" by Heather C. Lindquist and  Naomi Hirahara.  Researches what happened to the Japanese detainees at Manzanar concentration camp in California's Owens Valley after they were released at the end of WWII.

I have read a lot of books since I stopped blogging last June.  Since I don't have TV my "down time" is usually reading time, although I do spend an excessive amount of time on Facebook, Instagram, and e-mail.  Hard to keep up with the news these days, it is confusing and oh-so-depressing. Where are we headed?

#   #   #

Cleaning out! 06-03-24

I have never  been  much of a housekeeper, not something I learned when I was growing  up.  But over the years I have read the articles and listened to the housecleaning gurus  and always  managed  to keep at  least a decent house.  But being a widow, living alone (KoKo doesn't care) everything has gotten away from me.  Now that I am feeling better and the bi-weekly  fitness is improving my strength, I will slowly start to clear out the piles and boxes of old papers and "stuff" in the office/library/computer room.  Last week the offices of my financial advisors held their annual shredding day so their clients could dispose of old files. I  took four full file boxes and hardly made a dent in my piles.  

 

Almost cleaned out one end of the room. I did not go through the files.  I haven't looked at those papers  in decades, nothing there I need. These empty boxes are available to fill with all the papers in the two four-drawer filing cabinets.   Those  I  will  need to sort through the papers -  groan.

And then there are the three bookcases crammed with books I have already read, photo albums of guild events and pictures of quilts, and a lot of doodads and whatnots from years gone by.    

I'm going to work at this when I have the energy and the will power.   I'll let you know when I have accomplished this goal.  Probably by the holiday season!!

And I will need someone to carry the boxes to the car.  Those four boxes nearly killed me. Good that the shredders unloaded them at the site.  

#    #   #

Book Group 12-15-23

Our Book Group meets  on the third Wednesday of the month, so the December meeting was this  past Wednesday.  In December we have lunch at a restaurant and exchange gifts.  In past distant years we met in the evening and someone would hostess an actual dinner  with contributions from everyone.  But when everyone had retired we switched to daytime meetings.  I  think mostly because we no longer enjoy driving after dark.   The gifts are always thoughtful and usually useful.  I did my usual gift cards for either Amazon or Barnes and  Noble.  It was a happy time and the food was okay. 

This was our December selection which I  had to struggle through.  Four young women are recruited in the late 70s by an independent company, "The Museum", to be international  assassins to murder  "bad guys" identified by the company. They started out with Nazis, but once they had done all they could find they branched out to Mafia dons, drug cartels, human traffickers, and others who made money on the "common" people.   The story flips  back and forth from 70s to present day when the four ladies have retired after 40 years  of assassinations.   There are a few witty parts, but basically it is about imaginative ways to kill.  

This is our January selection which is promoted as

"If you liked 'A Man Called Ove' you will love this book."

For our group whoever is the hostess chooses the book for the following month.

So, we have read a great variety over the past 40+ years.

#    #    #

Reading 06-18-23

I'm not sure I can keep up with two book groups.  I was invited to join the "Lit Group" (as in Literary) which has been going for quite a few years, but has lost members until they were down to four!  So, now we are six - all old and seemingly have lots of reading time.  I do read every day, but already have a stack of TBR (to be read) books that  would  probably  last me the rest of my life!  

For the LIt Group's Friday meeting we read Lisa See's "Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" and everyone said they enjoyed it.  I made a brief  report on Lisa and her background.  We talked about  at least a dozen books we might read, but  no decision was made.  Plenty of time as this group doesn't meet in July and August.  I have started re-reading "On Gold Mountain", Lisa's first major book which traces her Chinese roots back four generations.  I enjoyed it so much when I first read it in 1997 that I have been a fan of her books ever since.  

My longtime Book Group is reading "The Enchanted April" by Elizabeth Von Arnim  Pub 1922 Movie 1991.  But I have not started it yet - I have 58 hours before the meeting on Wednesday.  I remember the 1991 movie which was wonderfully done and stays in my mind still.  Guess I had better get reading.  

The epidural seems to be working very well and I  have cut back on the Tylenol.  I  need to  make a follow up appointment with my new primary doctor.   I picked up my new glasses, but will need to go back for an adjustment on the focal distance.  It is way too close, I almost have to put my nose on the machine to see to sew.  Can't! 

#   #   #

Electricity Deprivation 04-28-23

Today was a serious lesson in how dependent I am on the electricity that comes into  my  house.  I don't think about it; I pay my monthly  bill  and the  power is just there.  I fondly remember Erma Bombeck's essay on her thought that the basement was just full of electricity and it came out those slots in the wall when she needed it.  Funny  bit.   About a week ago I (and presumably all my neighbors) received a notice in the mail saying that due to repairs power would be out on Friday, April 28th from 9am to 4pm.  I marked  my calendar  and stuck the notice in  an obvious  place  so I wouldn't forget.  This morning KoKo and I went for our walk, not needing any lights or anything electric before we started out, it was broad daylight and I suppose the power was still on since it was not yet 9am.  I wondered why so many of my neighbors had their car, or second car, parked in the driveway, but didn't make the connection.  I left my car in the garage.  When we returned home I thought I would have oatmeal for breakfast and I set up  the bowl to go in the microwave  Odd.  The microwave light did not go on.  The microwave did not respond to my command.  And then I remembered - no power today.  My life nearly stopped.  What doesn't work?   No recliner, reading lamp, garage door, toaster oven, microwave, microwave clock (all the others use  batteries), ignitors on the gas range top, iron, sewing machine, washer, dryer, dishwasher, garbage  disposal, bathroom heater, hot water heater, refrigerator (don't open)..... .  pretty  much  eliminating  anything I might  do with my time!  

I got  out a pan  and poured the oatmeal/water/salt  into  it and put it on the burner.  But no spark from the ignitor.  Where is a match?  I haven't used a match in at least a decade.  After  mulling it over for  what seemed  like a  very  long time, I remembered that there is a  small box of  restaurant  matches  in the guest bath with a scented candle (which has never been fired up)..  Ahhh, yes.   There  were three matches, might  put that on my grocery list.   Successfully cooked the oatmeal and ate it.  No toast.  What to do?  KoKo and I took a little nap for about an hour.  I sorted through some mail.  Then moved a chair closer to a window and read the new book group book, "Dinners with Ruth" (Bader Ginsburg) by Nina Totenberg.  The very beginning are Nina's comments of the value of friendship which I think I will send along to several of my friends.  Great thoughts.   But my eyes got tired so I thought I would take a shower.  Nope, no hot water.   I rolled a few small quilts for  storage.  I took KoKo out back three or four times, along with my coyote stick.  I noticed how quiet it was, although I don't usually play music or listen to the radio.  But the hum of the frig was missing.  Finally I hear it again!  Two o'clock and the frig was humming away.   I can now think of a few things I could have done with my day, but I guess my electric dependence stood in my way.  I do have flashlights for night time emergencies, but will now stock up on matches and some emergency candles.   Such an educational day

! #   #   #

Reading 02-22-23

Mostly I read instead of doing anything I SHOULD do or am SUPPOSED to do.  I decided at some point in the last 10 years that I wasn't going to do anything I didn't really want to do.   That was a mistake and I have been fighting that attitude ever since.  Covid didn't help because there was so much I couldn't do, although the first year I quilted up a storm.  Then along came sciatica which limited (and still limits) what I am physically able to do.   What I can do is read and so it goes!   I do enjoy actual paper books, even hard covers, but occasionally read with Kindle on my cell phone.  Lots of resources - books from friends, books from little street libraries, books from Amazon - and I tend to read different categories: anything but Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Romance, Manga or Anime.  There is always a book to read for the Book Group (of 40+ years) and now I have been invited to another group of long standing - the Lit Group (for literary).  They have lost members and need to find some new readers.  I went to their meeting last Friday and will give it a try.  I fear that they are too "literary" for me.  And the structure of their meetings is the opposite of my regular group.  The Lit Group has the hostess prepare a bio of the author and present a review of the book at the meeting.  In the Book Group we all read the book beforehand and then discuss it at the meeting.  Less formal, I think.  For March the selection for the Lit Group is "Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus.   The Book Group is reading "The Personal Librarian" by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.

                                        

             

I have been seeing ads for Beach Town Books in San Clemente, so while I was down in Dana Point for a meeting I took a box of used books and drove down to find the store.  It is very, very small and sells mostly used books, but also some current popular new volumes.  They had a copy of "Lessons in Chemistry" and I found a few other favorite author's books I haven't read.  So, I came home with about half the number of books I took down there.  Their system is like the other used book stores, they start an account and give credit for the books you take in and you draw on that credit for what you buy.  Some exceptions apply, new books are full price.  I am down in that area a couple times a month so I will keep taking books down and swing by to trade them in. 

#   #   # 

A reading addiction 01-24-23

What do I do all day?  Beside keeping KoKo walked, fed, excercised, and petted, I read.  It is a life long addiction, but much worse since Covid slowed the world down.  I have so many projects in progress or in my mind, but instead I read.  Other than Sci-Fi and fantasy I read just about anything.  There are some series that I especially enjoy, this is the latest in one of those.  . 

This is the sixteenth volume following Maisie Dobbs, an English investigator, from before WWI to 1942 in the midst of WWII.  I have missed the last two volumes, so I will have to read those.  I don't think Ms. Winspear is a terrific writer, sometimes she is wordy and sometimes simplistic, but she has a good story line and her research is valid as far as I can tell.   This book focuses on the ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) in which women piloted war planes from factories and air bases to the forward bases for the guys to fly into battle.  In the USA we had the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots) doing the same job.  [For Surfside QGuild readers this is the service that our late friend Bette Bradley participated in during WWII]

Not a series, but I recently re-read "The World According to Garp" by John Irving.  I had enjoyed reading it in 1979 and always remember that my husband asked me not to read it in bed at night because my laughing woke him up, so I always have that it was humorous.  WRONG!  It is rather a downer with only a very few funny bits.  One of them being the son who hear "undertow" at the beach as "under Toad" and thus look for the toad whenever they were at the shore.  But Irving is a very good writer and I think I have read all of his books sometime in the past. 

This month the Book Group is reading "REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES". By Shelby Van Pelt.  I understand it is about octopi and how smart they are.  I will wait to read it closer to the meeting the third Wednesday of February, so I can remember enough to participate in the discussion!  

#   #   #

 

Books 12-21-21

What is Christmas without new books?  In Iceland they celebrate "Jolabokaflod" or "Christmas Book Flood",  the tradition of giving and unwrapping new books on Christmas Eve, cozying up with family, and reading into the night.  (Google)   Not something I have ever experienced, but it sounds wonderful! As a child I could always expect a book or two from my paternal grandmother Ella.  I have two new books this year.  One I bought for myself:

Sue Benner has posted her photographs from walks along White Rock Lake in Dallas, Texas.  Many of her followers have encouraged her to publish a book of these enchanting images and now she has done so.  It is very calming and inspiring and covers every season of the year.  I'm loving it and so is KoKo.

The other book came in the mail today, a gift from a San Diego friend.

It is about 500 pages and 9" X 11" and has the most fabulous photography I have seen in a long time.  Whereas Sue's book has great images of out-of-doors, this book has unbelievable images of vegetables, fruits, and flowers, along with some history, small essays about many plants, recipes, planting instructions, and, of course, seeds for sale.  Just look at this  picture of Chinese String Eggplant.  WOW!  I'd like to try it and I am not all that crazy about eggplant!

So, I have a lot of "eye candy" to cherish over the holidays and all days beyond. 

In 2004 I copied this flower image from the Internet and never knew what it was.  Now I know it is the flower of the Chinese Python Snake Bean plant.  The beans look like giant green beans and can grow 60 inches long!  And isn't the flower amazing, I wonder if it has a fragrance.  

#   #   #

Sewing - Full Moon 06-23-21

A busy day!   I drove down to Anaheim with some books for the 2nd hand book shop - Bookman on Katella.  I already had five small boxes of books in the car and I added two more.  There are many more left in various rooms.  He only gave me credit for about half of them and said he could keep the others for his "dollar shelves", so I said "sure", because I didn't want to take them home and don't know if the library volunteer book shop is taking books now.  Trouble is, I already miss all those books I have already read, some of them twice.

Quite near the Bookman is the one remaining quilt shop in Orange County, that I know of anyway, - Orange Quilting Bee.  So, I stopped there for some batting.  I am about to quilt the little houses quilt I made last spring/summer and thought I had all the dimensions worked out.  WRONG!  The yardage for the backing is 42" and the quilt top is 45"!  I hadn't thought that I would need to add to the back, which is a directional pattern.  The best thing to do would be to construct some more house blocks and put them in a vertical row on the back.  Do I want to spend the time doing that?  Don't know.  

Also the Quilter's Dream batting I had set aside is neither long enough or wide enough!  Hence the stop at OQBee today.  They don't carry Quilter's Dream but JoAnn's does.  However, I want to support the quilt shop so I will use Warm and Natural. 

I was pleasantly surprised that the clerk put in a piece of the label - thoughtful. 

On our walk this evening about 8pm the almost full moon was so bright I had to take a picture.  It doesn't look bright here, however.  Can you even see it on the right side about a third of the way from the top?   Tomorrow night is the full moon, maybe I will try for a better image. 

#   #   #.

 

Mostly reading 06-05-21

Instead of doing the things I need to do, should do, must do, I have just been reading.  Escapism, I guess.   The Book Group selection for this month is "Miss Benson's Beetle" by Rachel Joyce.  A very good book, funny, sad, scary, well written.  I enjoyed it a lot and it reminds me to read her earlier book "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" which has been on my "To Read" list for a long time. 

I usually finish a book once I start, but sometimes I find one that is just too much for me.  This time it was "The Woman in the Window" by A.J. Finn.  About a woman who has a trauma in her life and becomes agoraphobic and, of course, paranoid.  Too heavy for me at this point in my life.  The writing is very good, but I can't take the story. 

Then I read "Still Me" a memoir by Christopher Reeve (Superman).  He wrote it in 1998, three years after the riding accident that paralyzed him.  There is a lot of detail about what happens when one is confined to a wheelchair and on a ventilator, more medical info that I can comprehend.  But he talks about his whole life, family, stage and films.  The title comes from his wife Dana who told him when he offered to release her from their marriage that "You are still you and I still love you".  He died in 2004 from a heart attack.   I'm glad I read it. 

A friend gave me a few books that she had read.  One is "The Keepsake Sisters" by Lori Wilde who is the author of 91 books of romantic fiction.  Not something I usually read, but it was there on my table and the subject of twins separated at birth who are reunited at age 35 sounded interesting.  This was REALLY escapism for me, interesting plot, but a little too goody-two-shoes.  (I think my friend's adult bunny tasted the cover of this book!)

From that to a real "downer", but I didn't find it so bad.  All during the pandemic when I drive on streets with no other moving cars I think of Nevil Shute's "On the Beach", a book about the end of human life on Earth due to nuclear war.  I had seen the movie sometime in the early 60's, but never read the book.  Now I would like to see the movie again.  As always, the movie changes things around, but the story remains pretty much the same.  Very well written.  Gripping, even if one knows the ending. 

My current read is "Samurai's Garden" by Gail Tsukiyama.  I've read most of her books, starting with "Women of the Silk", but somehow I missed this one from 1994.  She writes well and her research seems sound - I am enjoying it and will finish tonight.  

And then I think I need to get responsible and do the things that I keep avoiding.

Joan Hutter made a comment on yesterday's post that Sycamore trees are protected and can't be cut down.  But that applies to the California Sycamore (Plantanus racemosa) native to the area.  The trees in my neighborhood are Plantanus occidentalis, planted about 60 years ago too close to the sidewalk, which is badly lifted.  I hope they are not cut down, but I can understand the problems.  Thanks for your comment Joan. 

#   #   #

Books 05-11-21

It is so hard for me to give up books.  They are stacked on shelves and in the corners of almost every room in the house, except the bathrooms.  Those are reserved for magazines!  I have been saying for over a year that I will take some to the secondhand bookshop, but I just haven't done it.   Over the last few weeks I have put books in small boxes that I can actually lift and carry, and putting them in the car.  Today I had other errands and just drove to the Bookman (not far from Angel Stadium).  The very nice guys came out to the car and hauled the boxes in - they can carry two at a time, I can just manage one.  There are only 8 to 10 books in a box, but I still don't have the strength to do much carrying.   They sort through the books and put aside those they don't want and then tally up what the "keepers" are worth, adding that to my account.  I looked for a few books for the boys in the cul de sac.  I have no idea if they read them, but I like to give books for birthdays.  Maybe if the books are around the house the boys might get interested in reading them.  I also give them cash -  $1 per year.  They turn twelve and six this month so I need 18 crisp one dollar bills to include as "bookmarks".   

I am so proud of myself for getting those books out of the house.  Now to start filling more boxes and then take another drive to the Bookman.  Hurrah for me!

This bag is all the Anne Cleeves novels with Inspector Perez.  They are the basis of the television series "Shetland".  I numbered them on the bottom so that I could read them in order.  Haven't decided if I am willing to part with them yet.  I do re-read series, especially if I am struggling with bronchitis or some other affliction and have to spend a lot of time off my feet.   And this series is so very good.  

#   #   #

Flowers, again 05-07-21

This cactus grows on the next street close to the sidewalk and we see it almost every day when we walk.  But I hadn't noticed any buds or blooms previously.  There must be 20 or more "columns" and some have fallen over and grow almost horizontal.  The bed they are in is all yellow gazanias, rather unkept and scraggly.  I don't know if they get any water. 

 

Although the flower looks much like a Selenicereus (Queen of the night) it is not. These images were taken about 10am so it is not a night bloomer.   It might be an Echinopsis, but the ridges and spines seem too close together for that.   

You can see another bunch of the columns in the background.  

Whatever it is, it is very lovely and I hope more blossoms will appear, although I didn't see any buds growing.  However, I didn't see this until it was wide open.  

This is my reference book for this sort of plant.  Usually I can find an identity for the plants I photograph, but nit in this instance. 

#   #   # 

Discovered Kindle 05-06-21

Well, I've known about Kindle for years and have contemplated using it.  But I do like the feel of REAL books and don't have trouble reading them.  My hands do sometimes ache and cramp up from holding hardbacks, but generally I prefer reading paper books - hard or soft!  But recently Kindle had a "deal" online so I signed up.  And I have read five Kindle books!  I think I have all the ins and outs figured out, but sometimes I put my finger in the wrong place and have to go back to "GO".  However, they make it very easy to find my place.  I don't have a tablet so just read on my cell phone.   Not something I want to do exclusively, but maybe when traveling (which I hope to do soon) it will be handy to have the current book at my finger tips.  One funny tale on myself...   When I go to stop reading and put the phone down I keep feeling around on the table for my book mark!!  A habit of at least 70 years is hard to break.  And I do have a huge drawer of bookmarks exchanged with the Book Group for about forty years.  

One of the first books I read was Nomadland by Jessica Bruger and I enjoyed it very much.  So many of the locations are familiar from travels over the years.  I have seen many of those people who live rough on the road, but don't think it is anything I could ever do.  I tend to be a "nester" and like having my space and my collections, even if I don't maintain it as I should.   I love being on the road, but just so long and I am ready to return to my "nest".  I suppose I may watch the movie at some time, but from what I have read it is very different from the book.  

#   #   #

Reading 04-12-21

April is the time of Literary Orange which is presented by the Orange County Library System.  It is usually a lovely one-day event held at a big hotel in Newport Beach, CA, and features several keynote speakers, authors all, and "breakout" rooms with panels of writers who cover different genre.  There is usually a mystery panel, a food panel, a humor panel, etc., a total of about thirty, I think. The registration fee usually includes a couple books by the presenting authors, but this year we received all four of the keynote speakers books, picking them up at the closest Orange County Library, in my case in Brea, CA.  In past years lunch was  served, not bad for a hotel meal, and there was lots of visiting and even a book sales room.  I especially enjoyed seeing the ladies (and a few guys) dressed in their going-to-lunch clothing.  Nice outfits and jewelry and even some behatted ladies, besides me!   Of course, Covid has changed all that.  This year's Literary Orange in via ZOOM and features interviews with four keynote speakers on consecutive Wednesday evenings.  No "break out rooms".  Last week I watched Harlan Coben talking about his book "Win".  I enjoyed the interview, and I had read the book.  Mr. Coben's books are a little too smart aleck for my taste.  The title character "Win" is a minor person in a long series of Coben's previous books.  

This week the book will be "Cilka's Journey" by Heather Morris, author of the best selling "The Tattooist of Auschwitz".  I will watch the interview, but I cannot read the book.  With all the turmoil of the past year it seems I cannot read anything about human's inhumanity to other humans or animals.   In the past I could, but no longer.  

However, I managed to read "The Book of Lost Friends" by Lisa Wingate.  It also deals with inhumanity, this one is about freed slaves in the 1870s trying to connect with their lost families from whom they were separated by their owners before the Civil War and emancipation. It is a well written book, but hard to read.  I also find I struggle with books that move back in forth in time, chapter by chapter.  Here the odd numbered chapters occur in 1875 and the even numbered chapters occur in 1987-88.  I did my usual modification by reading all the odd numbered chapters first and then leafed back to the beginning and read the even number chapters that take place in 1987-88.  Something I have done with this odd format in past books.  In this particular book I don't understand why the author used this format. 

The remaining book from the keynote speakers Is "Interior Chinatown" by Charles Yu, which is a National Book Award winner.  I will start reading it tomorrow! 

I have not been very creative during this past year.  I have three completed quilt tops, none larger than baby size, and none quilted.  And I have done half a dozen small projects - mug mats, fiber post cards, 12X12s and mending.  But I have read a ton of books and spent hundreds of hours on Facebook.  I regret that I have essentially "wasted" a whole year, but I just lost my "mojo" and could not be very creative.  No concentration, so even reading a book took maybe twice as long as normal.  Of course, the question is now "What is normal anyway?"

#   #   #

Reading 11-19-20

Reading has been a huge part of my life for at least 77 Years, but somehow this illness interrupted that. I have had a hard time concentrating on anything, much less following a story in a book. I suppose sever pain can do that.  Finally I tried re-reading the Anne Perry books about Thomas and Charlotte Pitt. Success!  Maybe because the characters are familiar to me and I didn't have to concentrate on keeping them separate.  I read through #6 in the series.  Then I tried " Wolf Hall" by Hilary Mantell, the first of a trilogy about Thomas Cromwell.  That proved to be too heavy.  So, I pulled out "Euphoria" by Lilly King.  It is fiction based on the early explorations of anthropologist Margaret Mead and her fellow workers Reo Fortune and Gregory Bateson, In real life she was marred to each of them.  The book was a best seller in 2015 and won a number of prestigious awards.  I am enjoying it.  I also started reading Mary Trump's "Too Much and Never Enough" about her uncle Donald Trump and her disfunctional family that created him.  I had to remove the cover since I can't bear to look at his picture. I think I will need to take it in small sections. I'm sure it will raise my blood pressure, but I am curious what made such a vile creature and how he gets away with his tricks.

I am feeling better, but am very weak from spending so much time off my feet for the last month and a half.  KoKo and I are walking twice a day as we did in the past.  Not as far and I use a walker because my legs sort of give out on me periodically and I have to sit down for a few minutes.  But we both need the exercise, so we try to add a few "house lengths" each time.  Tonight it was down six house, cross the street, bac toward home and around the cul de sac, cross the street and home.  For a little rest before dinner time.  So far, so good.  

#   #   #

Too much enthusiasm. 10-18-20

Yesterday still seems like the turning point, but maybe I over did things a bit!  Today I was pretty much off my feet again, trying to find a position that didn't hurt.  Cutting back on the Norco didn't seem to be a problem, so I enjoyed no woozie brain and being able to read without going to sleep over my book.  So, I have read two whole books since about September 28th.  VERY strange for me as I read about two a week over the year.  And just think of all the "down time" I have had in the past two weeks!  Sad.  

Why these two?  Guess they were at the top of the shopping bag full of "books yet to be read".

I took a stitch or two on my fish, but didn't get get it half way finished.  There is tomorrow!   After I have my doctor's appointment, I will probably need a nap, however, I anticipate feeling much better each day.  And I have a ZOOM guild meeting for Canyon Quilters to attend in the evening.  

I'd love to snuggle with the KoKo dog, but I think he would be better off not seeing me until he can come home.  Soon, I hope. 

#   #   #

Friday Food 08-14-20

I almost always eat meals with a book.  If I am alone.  And, of course, since I live alone I inevitably eat alone - KoKo doesn't count.  He is usually asleep on my feet. Anyway, this was lunch yesterday - peaches, blueberries, cream, and a slice of buttered toast.

The first time I ate this combination was at the home of one of Floyd's college friends in Charleston, SC.  Decades ago, but the combination had never occurred to me before and it was such a delicious selection for breakfast, I have enjoyed it ever since.  Of course, those Georgia peaches made it extra special and the blueberries were twice the size of those available in the markets here.  

The book is "The Year 1000" by Valerie Hansen.  And the map was drawn in 1590 by an Icelandic school teacher to show the Vikings' understanding of the Americas in the year 1000.  The author's premise is that globalization started in 1000 when different populations discovered routes to connect with each other around the world.  Fascinating. 

#   #   #

ZOOMING 05-11-20

The Book Group I have belonged to for about 40 years had a meeting on ZOOM today.  It was fun to see everyone and hear what they have been reading.  We ran out of time before we got into what else we have been doing, but we plan to meet more frequently in the future.  Who could have known in 1978 or so how our world would be changed by electronic developments.  Meetings online might have been in someone's plans, but none of us even had a computer back then.  I don't usually remember my dreams, but one horrifying one that reoccurs is that everything electronic stops working - all over the world.  Fortunately, I wake up before all the dystopian disaster begins.

Anyway we were to read any book by Alexander McCall Smith and I read a small book of short stories "Chance Developments" which is about all of his writing I can handle.  He is a very popular author, just not one of mine!  

I'm still sewing LIttle Houses. Is anyone that reads this blog doing those?  Just curious.  

#   #   #

Friday Food 04-17-20

Seems that everyone I know is sick and tired of thinking of something to fix for dinner and we all want to go out to our favorite restaurants.  I just finished a novel "Home Front Girls" that consists of fictitious letters sent back and forth between two women whose husbands are in WWII.  The two authors set up their exchange of letters as if they were the two 1944 women.  It is an interesting way of writing a novel, but I found it irritating to jump back and forth with letters.  Anyway, they included some wartime recipes including Welsh Rarebit which I made as a child and back in the 60s and 70s, but somehow dropped it from my mealtime repertoire.  It sounded so good that when I last went to the market I made sure I had the ingredients, although the one can of beer has been in my refrigerator for a decade or so.  I made it tonight and thoroughly enjoyed it and will enjoy the leftover tomorrow night with some fresh broccoli from the farmer's market.  One thing I forgot that I used to do is cut up the toast into bite sized pieces instead of having to saw through the toast and the sauce on my plate.  It also distributes the cheese sauce better.  I didn't take a picture of my plate, but borrowed this one from the Internet.   My blue/white plates are different!

The receipe from the book is as follows, although I'm sure you can find one in your old printed cookbook or, of course, online.  

One pound grated cheddar cheese [Tillamook is best]

One Tablespoon butter

One cup of beer

Two egg yolks [large eggs] beaten

Hot buttered toast or crackers [ick!]

Paprika that you bought within the last year. 

Using a double boiler melt the butter and cheese over medium heat, stir continuously until about one fourth of the cheese has melted.  Then add half of the beer and continue stirring.  Mix the remaining beer with the beaten egg yolks,  pour slowly into the cheese and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and thickened.  Serve immediately over toast.  Sprinkle with paprika. 

Unfortunately the weather is just getting hotter and this seems like a cold weather dish, so I probably won't make it again until next fall.  And then I will be busy going out to my favorite restaurants.  

#   #   # 

Looking to the future 03-30-20

Now that we have another month of isolation I am thinking I need to get myself on a schedule.  Of course, we have a daily schedule for KoKo and, therefore, for me.  Out for our walk sometime between 7am and 10am, breakfast, play with Froggy, sometime between 1pm and 2pm out to backyard to piddle and look for dogs in the park behind us, 5pm dinner, 7pm out for our evening walk.  In between we have Froggy on demand and lots of petting, brushing, and massaging.  

Guess I don't really have time to do anything else, eh?  

Today I hauled the step ladder in to change the light bulb over the sink, which I use a lot.  I don't do ladders any more, but I felt more secure on it than on a step stool with nothing much to hold on to.  It worked okay and I was glad I had a new bulb I could put up there.  

I also finished reading "The Pelican Brief" (John Grisham's third book published in 1992) which I had not read before, but I remember the movie very well, it was a great one.  It is interesting to see what changes were made in the plot and I wonder why they were necessary.  One thing that isn't in the book is the chase and explosion in the parking garage.  Those scenes have stayed with me and I am always a little apprehensive when I park in one of those structures.  Of course, the characters in the movie give faces to the characters, even if they do not resemble the descriptions in the book.   I have been borrowing books from my friend Carol's little library structure on the sidewalk in front of her house.  There are half a dozen of these handy libraries around my area, offering a selection of books that you can borrow and return, or replace with a book donation of your own, or just borrow.  In a pinch I could visit them in the middle of the night when I have an attack of insomnia. 

In keeping with everyone's recommendation I talk to someone everyday; today the girl in the window at Starbucks and my friend Liz on the phone.  A pause in the isolationitis. 

Stay well.  Stay home.  Stay in touch.  Love, Del & KoKo

#   #   #