I'm happy to join Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday, with another photo of the current Hitchhiker in progress.
I finished a pre-publication book last week, The Secret Book of Flora Lea, but it wasn't as good as I hoped. This is the second book I've read about Operation Pied Piper in WWII, where children from London were sent to the countryside to keep them safe from Hitler's bombing. This is an interesting subject to me, but this particular book's fairy tales, dual timelines, multiple romances, and preposterous ending interfered with my enjoyment. I did appreciate the suggested non-fiction readings the author added in her afterword.
But I've started several other books, including Hang the Moon and most notably, The Covenant of Water. I haven't had a lot of time to just sit and read, but I'm expecting this one to be simply wonderful given how much I enjoyed the author's previous book, Cutting for Stone.
What are you making and reading this week?
If you took part in the Zoom and you’d like to share some of our discussion highlights in the comments, please feel free to do so. (That might make for a better wrap-up than trying to decipher my fragmented and scribbled notes!) Thanks so much for coming along and for choosing to Read With Us. Stay tuned as we’ll be announcing our spring selection next Tuesday!
“Curiosity is not a sin ... But we should exercise caution with our curiosity ... yes, indeed.”
-- Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
This month I've been questioning why I do things and behave the way I do, but I've also noticed that it's very easy for me to get bogged down in thinking and not move forward with action. How easy it is to wonder why I feel compelled to wash a few dirty dishes in the sink instead of waiting until there are more and doing the job efficiently, and why I often consider others' needs before my own (usually to my own detriment). The thing that aggravated me on Saturday was my own procrastination and wasting several hours when I needed to grocery shop, and then I was further irritated with myself because I ended up shopping when it was crowded, I had to carry the groceries inside in the pouring rain and then ended up having to mop the kitchen floor afterward because I tracked mud in while carrying groceries to the kitchen. It sounds silly now, but this put me in a poor mood for much of the rest of the day.
It's much harder to stop wondering why, even if I haven't arrived at an answer to the question, and simply take some definitive action. If I just do something different, I can evaluate my actions and sometimes it will even become a better habit (like not wasting water doing just a few dishes and instead doing them in two or three batches). I know why I procrastinate grocery shopping (it's a chore I really, really dislike) so my goal for the next month is to figure out ways to conquer my procrastination. This one is a bit tougher; wish me luck!
Just for the record, these are not my grape hyacinths blooming. I wanted a pretty spring picture and all I have is some grape hyacinth foliage barely beginning to show and minuscule buds on a few trees. But even though I'm impatiently waiting for spring, I haven't done a Right Now post for a while, so it's time for one today.
Looking Forward To - Getting some of my retirement money! In the 1980's I worked at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse. They were affiliated with the State University of New York system, so our retirement plan was a 403b with TIAA/CREF. I contributed money, it got matched by the hospital, and then I forgot about it for 30 years. It's grown quite a bit, and I've finished the somewhat lengthy withdrawal process. I should start to see money in my bank account soon, and that's always a good thing. Because of the way the 403b was set up I have to make my withdrawals over 10 years, so I figured I better get started.
Considering - Signing up for Social Security. I've been delaying it because my full retirement age is 66 years and 6 months and I won't reach that until December of this year. It makes a difference of < $100/month, but maybe I should just be a little bit patient and continue to wait. I could buy a couple of nice skeins of yarn with the difference!
Helping - John decide what he wants so he can sign up for Medicare. I signed up last June, but he is a year younger than I am and won't turn 65 until August. He's easily overwhelmed by all the choices but I think his choice should be based on more than "just sign me up for whatever you have". Enough old person stuff!
Enjoying - Using the many, many boxes and packages of tea that have filled up an entire drawer in my pantry. I love tea and often buy from Celestial Seasonings six boxes at a time. But I've reached the point of Way Too Much Tea, so it's time to use up what I've got. This will take a while but since I've stated it here publicly, I have a better chance of actually doing it.
Resisting - Jelly beans. I really like them and while I've resisted buying any so far, grocery stores aren't helping me at all by stocking more Easter candy than pasta or produce.
Wondering About - empty shelves at the grocery store. I've been doing most of my grocery shopping at Walmart and Aldi. Aldi doesn't carry everything that I use, but the prices and quality are generally good. I dislike Walmart a lot, but the prices there are ~20% less than at Stop and Shop. But Walmart is always out of something different every week. Sometimes it's spaghetti, other times it's cucumbers or tuna fish. It's not nearly as bad as the shortages at the beginning of the pandemic, but it's still aggravating and makes it difficult to plan meals.
Planning - A trip to Ricketts Glen State Park. It's a PA state park north of Allentown and a little less than three hours from home here in NJ. We're going with friends that have a cabin nearby and they seem anxious to go (like next week). The park is known for its 20+ waterfalls accessed by hiking trails. Right now the trails are closed because of ice, so I'm in favor of waiting until it warms a little and I don't have to face the prospect of hiking on ice.
Reading - Two pre-publication novels from NetGalley. I have to make myself finish one and review it before it gets published early in May. It's not that the book is bad, but I just received Abraham Verghese's new novel, The Covenant of Water, from NetGalley. I really want to start it but I'm making myself finish the other book first.
Sorry/Not Sorry - That I had to sit and read yesterday. John asked what I had planned and I told him about the loads of laundry I would be doing, making dinner, and the books I needed to read. He said, "So you have to sit and read all day on this rainy day? Poor you!" It was not all day, just all afternoon (and maybe much of the evening).
Possibly Overthinking - Easter dinner. Ryan and Justin are rarely both here for dinner at the same time, but I thought I might make something for Easter dinner. Easter is not a big holiday in our house, but it is just as good a reason to get together as any other weekend. Jess (Justin's girlfriend) and I don't like ham, and since I'm cooking, it won't be ham. I have a prime rib in the freezer, but Jess is also not a fan of that. Maybe lasagna? Hamburgers on the grill? How about egg salad sandwiches? We'll see what I feel like making as it gets a little closer.
Watching - The Detectorists Movie! I loved The Detectorists, a funny British comedy about metal detecting, but they only made three seasons and then stopped. The idea sounds a bit ridiculous but it's one of my favorite shows ever. When I heard they made a movie, I quickly signed up for Acorn TV just so I could watch it.
What's going on in your world right now?
I'm happy to join Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday, with a second completed Sophie shawl.
I took this photo on the gate to the park across from my house, and it turned into a small event. I heard quite a bit of yelling from middle schoolers walking home, and two of them had to stop dribbling their basketballs and ask, "Whatcha doin' lady?" When I explained that I was taking a picture of my knitting they must have decided I was a crazy old lady and kept on going. The crossing guard even had to walk over and wonder what I was doing. Who knew taking a picture of knitting would create such excitement? But I think I'm done knitting Sophies and glad to get back to neglected Hitchhikers.
I want to work more on my current Hitchhiker so I can possibly photograph it in the park when the flowering cherry trees are blooming in a few weeks. This is what it looks like now:
What are you making and reading this week?
Today is the day I've been looking forward to for almost 30 years - discussing The Shipping News. I can remember reading it with a newborn Justin in one arm and the book propped on my lap while two-year-old Ryan played nearby and wanted to know what I was reading. I remember reading a bit of it to him, but the only part he liked was that there was a girl called Bunny. I've read it twice more over the years under more relaxed circumstances and now I'm looking forward to hearing what all of you think about the book. Hopefully, you found a few things besides Bunny to enjoy.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, The Shipping News is a celebration of Annie Proulx’s genius for storytelling and her vigorous contribution to the art of the novel.
Quoyle, a third-rate newspaper hack, with a “head shaped like a crenshaw, no neck, reddish hair…features as bunched as kissed fingertips,” is wrenched violently out of his workaday life when his two-timing wife meets her just deserts. An aunt convinces Quoyle and his two emotionally disturbed daughters to return with her to the starkly beautiful coastal landscape of their ancestral home in Newfoundland. Here, on desolate Quoyle’s Point, in a house empty except for a few mementos of the family’s unsavory past, the battered members of three generations try to cobble up new lives.
Newfoundland is a country of coast and cove where the mercury rarely rises above 70 degrees, the local culinary delicacy is cod cheeks, and it’s easier to travel by boat and snowmobile than on anything with wheels. In this harsh place of cruel storms, a collapsing fishery, and chronic unemployment, the aunt sets up as a yacht upholsterer in nearby Killick-Claw, and Quoyle finds a job reporting the shipping news for the local weekly, the Gammy Bird (a paper that specializes in sexual-abuse stories and grisly photos of car accidents).
As the long winter closes its jaws of ice, each of the Quoyles confronts private demons, reels from catastrophe to minor triumph – in the company of the obsequious Mavis Bangs; Diddy Shovel the strongman; drowned Herald Prowse; cane-twirling Beety; Nutbeem, who steals foreign news from the radio; a demented cousin the aunt refuses to recognize; the much-zippered Alvin Yark; silent Wavey; and old Billy Pretty, with his bag of secrets. By the time of the spring storms, Quoyle has learned how to gut cod, to escape from a pickle jar, and to tie a true lover’s knot.
So the questions I'd like to pose are these:
What do you think? I can't wait to hear your thoughts!
And don't forget we will have an in-person Zoom discussion at 7:00 pm Eastern this evening. You can send me an email (the email address is in the upper right) to RSVP and I will make sure you get an invitation with the Zoom link if you haven't already. I've been looking forward to discussing this book for quite a while, and I don't know of a better bunch of people for a book discussion than all of you.
... is a day to plant seeds.
It's the third Thursday of the month so I'd like to welcome you to A Gathering of Poetry. I had some trouble finding a poem this month, but as soon as I came upon this one, I knew this was what I wanted to share. It made me laugh and conjured up some lovely imagery at the same time.
I'm happy to join Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday. Winter has made a reappearance and my yarn scale finally told me it was time to start decreasing, so I've been working on the Sophie shawl.
It snowed yesterday and the winds were gusting to 40 mph so I took a picture indoors. I'm wearing my blue alpaca Sophie shawl around my neck and this off-white one is on my lap while I knit, so I'm warm and happy.
Reading has slowed down a bit but I better get going because my pile is growing. I finished The Shipping News in preparation for our Read With Us discussion next week. I'm not a big re-reader, but this book has stood up to three readings for me, and I discover new things each time. I've started The Queen of Dirt Island by Donal Ryan (delightful so far), and have Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers ready to start and a pre-publication copy of The Secret Book of Flora Lea to finish. An embarrassment of riches in the book department!
What are you making and reading this week?
John likes company much of the time, even when he's just going to Home Depot, while I value my alone time. This can create a little bit of friction, especially because I see it as an opportunity to have some of that precious time to myself while he's out doing errands.
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| This is Skip's Outdoors. The "Live Bait & Tackle" machine out front and bow advertisements in the window are a giveaway. |
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| I contentedly knit on Sophie in the car while John was in Skip's. |
So while I didn't want to go to Skip's, I did propose a little give and take. I would drive and go along with John to Skip's but would stay in the car and knit. Then we could take a short walk down the street to Gabarelly's and have cheesesteaks for lunch. This way John would have the company he likes, I wouldn't have to be bored out of my mind with a bunch of old guys, and both John and I would have a good lunch.
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| Our reward! I even saved the second half of mine for dinner. |
I'm happy to join Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday, with something new and springy. I'm still knitting on the Sophie shawl, but to be honest, it's becoming a bit of a slog. There was my initial excitement when I got my yarn scale, but so far it has not yet told me that I've reached the halfway/decrease portion. I'll spare you another photo of an off-white shawl that looks fairly similar to what I showed you last week.
But my fingers have been almost itching to work on a Hitchhiker, so I looked through my stash, found a couple of skeins that I liked, and cast on.
I finished three books this week. The first was an advance reader copy of a lovely WWI story, Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash. In 1940, 11-year-old Beatrix Thompson's parents send her from London to the United States in hopes that she'll be safe from Hitler's bombings. Bea is lucky enough to end up in Boston with the Gregory family. She misses her family terribly and they miss her, but she quickly fits in with 13-year-old William and nine-year-old Gerald. Bea learns how to swim at the Gregory's island summer home, excels academically, and grows into a teenager. When the war ends, she is unsure about where she belongs and fearful about returning home to a different London and a much different family than the one she left. It was a wonderful four-star read told from a unique and different perspective. The book will be published on March 21.
I loved Wintering by Katherine May but I'm afraid I didn't quite get the point of the author's newest, Enchantment. She begins this short book with a good description of how I feel post-covid, and how I think many others feel - exhausted, disconnected, and isolated. The author then goes on to try and define and search for enchantment: “small wonder magnified through meaning, fascination caught in the web of fable and memory.” This book didn't speak to me, so it was 2.5 stars, rounded up.
But I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed Maame by Jessica George. Maddie Wright is a 20-something young woman who lives in London, the daughter of Ghanaian immigrants, has a father with Parkinson's Disease, a mother who spends most of her time in Ghana, and a brother who is no help at all. Maddie is struggling, emotionally and financially, but she is dutiful and intelligent, doing the best she can working and caring for her father, all while receiving criticism from her mother. Maddie has been forced to be a responsible woman throughout much of her life, but when her mother returns from Ghana, Maddie moves out of her father's home and begins to live her own life. She experiences plenty of pitfalls but Jessica George has written an engaging character that the reader is always rooting for. The book also deals with racism, family duty, grief, and depression, with both humor and pain. I was struck by how a seemingly simple nickname can sometimes be a cruel thing.
Now I'm re-reading The Shipping News to get ready for our Read With Us blog and Zoom book discussion on Tuesday, March 21st. I do hope you'll join us!
What are you making and reading this week?
"Wool dryer balls have been around for at least a decade, and that's not counting all the years people have used tennis balls instead—which historically were covered in wool felt. But I'm always interested to see someone discover wool dryer balls for the first time and write about the experience. This author tested some wool dryer balls made in Nepal from New Zealand wool and came away a big fan. She noted:
These dryer balls have eradicated chemicals from my life painlessly. No sacrifice, no discomfort and a huge financial savings — because at $15 for six, these balls do cost more than a large box of my (now former) favorite dryer sheets. But where that box gets me through 244 loads, my wool dryer balls promise more than 1,000 loads each — that’s more than five years’ worth of laundry! And because they cut drying time by two-thirds, I’m saving a bundle on my energy bill. And they don’t add garbage to the planet — because if and when they lose their magic powers, my cat will make great use of them forever and ever."
That started me wondering if wool dryer balls might work for me. I don't use fabric softener, often hang clothes on the line indoors by the furnace, and when it's nice outside I almost always hang things to dry outdoors, so obviously, they wouldn't help in any of these situations. But I do use my dryer a couple of times each week in the winter, mostly for towels and bedding. The dryer balls might be useful if they helped to keep my sheets from just getting tangled up in one big mass in the dryer, and I'm all for saving electricity. I've seen claims that they can cut drying time from 25 - 66%, and while I'm inclined to believe that it's somewhere near the lower number, that is still a savings in drying time and electricity.
So, wool people, do any of you use wool dryer balls? Do they work to keep clothing from getting tangled in a mass in the dryer? Do you think they cut drying time at all? I would appreciate any pros or cons you can offer. Otherwise, I might have to get a cat to play with them if I order them and they don't work. :-) Thanks in advance!
I was the recipient of some good repair juju earlier this week, and it feels like I need to express my thanks to the universe for how easy and cheap this turned out to be.
John was in the basement doing something manly and came up to ask me how to reset the water softener. It's a bit finicky, losing all of its programmed settings every time the electricity even flickers. It's always been my job to reset things (not difficult, especially because I have all the settings written down in the manual on the appropriate page), so I sighed, put down my knitting, and trudged down to the basement.
John went to get his multi-meter and I got to see how to test the electrical output from the end that plugged into the water softener. There was no output, so John figured that we could order a new power supply from Amazon for $21.98, have it in two days, and be back in business softening water.
I'm happy to join Kat and fellow Unravelers for Unraveled Wednesday, with some actual unraveling.
I'm going to keep increasing for a while, but Amazon is delivering a kitchen yarn scale tomorrow so I can accurately determine when I've used half of my yarn and can start decreasing.
I finished two books this week, and they were both surprises. I eagerly started I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai shortly after I got the hold notice. I hoped for good things because I loved The Great Believers by the same author. About 50 pages in, it became clear that these are very different books. Questions was a combination of literary fiction, mystery, thriller, coming of age, dark academia, a story about podcasts, feminism, #metoo, a courtroom novel, a critique of true crime, or some combination of genres. I don't expect authors to keep writing the same book as they have previously, but by writing this odd combination, I think Rebecca Makkai has diluted all of them and written a novel that is far less than the sum of its parts.
One thing I liked about the book was how the author addressed memories. Too often in murder mysteries and crime shows, people seem to have total recall of what happened years ago, with little or no confusion and exquisite detail. The memories that Makkai has written in this book are much more nebulous and recalled with some confusion and gray areas. It seems that we might all be unreliable narrators when it comes to relying on memory, but I don't know that that works well in a novel. By the end, the reader has a fairly good idea of who murdered Thalia, but there are no Columbo or Hercule Poirot moments.
I wish this was a better book for me, mainly because I know Makkai can write a better book. Two and a half stars rounded up.
While that was a slightly surprising disappointment, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed The Revenant. Justin told me a couple of weeks ago that The Revenant was probably the best movie he's ever seen, and encouraged me to watch it. I was skeptical and thought that it might be too gory for me but decided to try it. While I waited for Amazon to deliver my DVD, I got the audiobook from the library. I was impressed by Michael Punke's writing, on the edge of my seat with anticipation to find out what happened next in this epic tale, and grateful for heat, food, modern medicine, and all the comforts of our modern-day life. Punke tells the fictionalized story of real-life trapper Hugh Glass, his mauling by a grizzly bear, and how he survived and traveled hundreds of miles after being abandoned by the men that had agreed to stay and give him a decent burial after he died. It's a novel about revenge, the American frontier, hardship, brutality, and perseverance, but it's much more of a study of human nature.
I enjoyed reading about a time that I knew little about, Anstadt rifles, trapping, Native Americans, and exploration in this adventure novel. The author's notes at the end provide a more complete historical perspective. I did end up watching the movie, and while it differed from the book (they always do), it was very good in its own right, and not gory as I feared. The settings and musical score make it a beautiful movie in many ways.What are you making and reading this week?