This 'n' That

 It's now about 11 months into the COVID shutdown. I've adapted to many things and feel as if I can't stand one more minute of many others.

I've sort of gotten used to staying at home, though I sometimes find myself planning for a weekend and wondering which friends to invite. M and I used to go out just about every Friday or Saturday night depending on what was happening. Since we were more active than most of our friends, it was usually up to us to initiate a get together with another couple or two. Now, many of our friends are not going to any indoor venue and some of the rest are not meeting with people regardless of the location.

Perhaps I should feel grateful. The fewer people with whom I come in contact, the less my chance of contracting COVID or even the seasonal flu.

Right now (as I look out on the snow-covered yard) I'm (not so) patiently waiting for spring and warmer weather when we can entertain on the patio or screened in porch. At least the days are getting longer.

I now have a walking buddy. C, who also leads senior exercise classes in Hatfield, walks nearly every day. Since she lives near the center of town, she many routes from which to choose and they are all relatively flat. Where I live, there is only one place to walk and it's all downhill. Which means on my way back, when I'm getting tired, it's all uphill. C and I have been meeting about once a week and walking around town in different directions. We walk about 3-4 miles (which is much more than I would do on my own); once we did nearly 5 miles.

Walking is good especially because I seem to have lost interest in Yoga and Pilates. Suddenly, I just didn't want to do them anymore. Maybe I just need a break. Or need different CDs and DVDs.

Of course, I've been doing a lot of reading. I began the V.I. Warshawski mystery series by Sara Paretsky. I'd forgotten how much I like her books. When I first discovered them many years ago, I read all of them. But then, as always happens, I caught up to her and she doesn't write as fast as I read. At best, only one is published each year. The same thing happened with Louise Penny. But it's been so long since I read Paretsky's earliest books, they're all new again.

And on my alphabetical list of potential duplicates, I've reached The most ...

Today, I'll be going into the MLS office. It's the highlight of my week.

So Many Books!

There is a tall pile of books on my bedside table. There is usually a pile, but this one is taller than normal.

The reason is that I've spent the last two or so weeks reading just one LONG book. In the meantime, most of the other books I had on hold arrived.

The long book (which I just finished this morning) is Ahab's Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund. It was recommended to me by a friend and so I ordered it through my local public library. I didn't realize it was nearly 700 pages long. It's sort of ironic that I didn't notice the number of pages as I'm the person who fills in that part of the description when it is missing in the MassCat catalog.

This book is different from most of my reading. It's not a mystery, it's an historical novel. Despite the intriguing first line (Ahab was neither my first husband nor my last), it took several pages for me to get involved in the story. Once I did, however, I was hooked.

Before she becomes Ahab's wife, Una spends several years on an island as part of a lighthouse family. Then she dresses like a boy and goes to sea on a whaling ship. She has many other adventures and the names of some of the people she meets will be familiar.

This book sort or reminded me of Elizabeth Gilbert's The Signature of All Things. There is a strong female protagonist who is not limited by the expectations of others due to her gender. While there is an  emphasis on science in The Signature of All Things, philosophy is more of the guiding force in Ahab's Wife. 

Given Naslund's beautiful, melodious prose, I'm finding it difficult to describe her book - as if I'm trying to compete with her talent and finding myself woefully inadequate.

Now I'm looking forward to the much shorter mystery books waiting for me in that taller than normal pile on my bedside table.

Just One More Week

On  Monday, December 21 the Winter Solstice will occur at 5:02 a.m.

This is my favorite time of the year. Not because I like winter - which I don't. It's my favorite time because the days will start to get longer.

I will likely be awake for this event. I tend to wake up around 5 a.m. and then doze until I get up at 7. I usually get to see the sunrise between dozes as there is a sliding glass door that faces south east directly across the room from my bed.

I like being able to see what's happening outside first thing in the morning. I know if it's raining (though I can usually hear it before I see it) or cloudy.

So far, the "winter" (it's not officially winter yet) has not been too difficult, though our first storm is predicted for tomorrow. 

I know there will be many challenges during the next few months. COVID-19 cases are increasing and there are fewer places to stay safe since it's too cold to spend much time outdoors. At the Council on Aging, we had hoped to begin offering indoor, in-person exercise classes to those seniors who do not own computers and therefore can't join the Zoom classes. That's not going to happen for a while.

This is the time of year that I send Christmas/Holiday cards to the people I do not see on any regular basis. For the last couple of weeks, I've been sending a card to just about everyone I know. I feel a real need to have some contact with people. I've always been sort of a loner and don't mind spending a lot of time by myself or only with my significant other. But I've reached my limit even though we haven't been totally isolated.

The positive side is that I've done lots of reading, lots of cooking, seen lots of DVDs and the U.S. Post Office is getting a little boost from all the stamps I've bought.

Old Favorites

 I've been reading a lot of new authors and I've enjoyed their books. 

But sometimes, I just want to read books by my old favorites: Marcia Muller (the Sharon McCone series), Carolyn Hart (the Death on Demand series with Annie Laurence Darling), Donna Leon (the Commisario Guido Brunetti series), J.A. Jance (currently reading the J.P. Beaumont series), Rhys Bowen (the Royal Spyness series), Faye Kellerman (Peter Decker/Rina Lazarus series). Janet Evanovich's latest book was just published and I'm now on the wait list. There are 297 holds on 122 copies, so it may be a while.

Actually, I'm getting less thrilled with Janet and her character Stephanie Plum with each book. It's as if she's trying too hard to be funny. But I keep reading them because there's a certain level of comfort with these old favorites. 

I'm seriously considering beginning the alphabet with Sue Grafton's books. I read A is for Alibi within the last couple of years; I'll probably start with B is for Burglar. I'm up-to-date on Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski series, though I may start back at the beginning with Indemnity Only. It's been a long time since I read that.

I have a list of my favorite authors and I'm dependent on the site Fantastic Fiction to keep abreast of their works (and to read them in order on my retrospective jaunts).

I've also borrowed about a zillion old movies on DVD that I've been watching: Birdcage, as well as the original La Cage aux Folles; Hannah and Her Sisters; 9 to 5; Cinema Paradiso; Amadeus. 

M. and I are spending more time at home because it's too cold to be outside in the evenings. That means less (maybe no) inviting a couple of friends over for dinner. Or being invited to others' homes. I'm mentally preparing myself for 6 months of "down-time".

One bright spot is being able to go into the MLS office one day each week. I get to talk with another person who is across the room. We don't spend much time talking, but at least she's there. And I get to see different walls and a different view out of the window. The computer is better, the monitor is bigger than the ones at home.

Today is a work at home day. Guess I'd better get to it. I'm now up to "The flight ..."

Split Pea Soup

Now that the weather is cooler, it's time to make soups. 

One of my favorites is this Split Pea Soup. While the recipe calls for a ham hock, I leave it out and make a vegetarian version using vegetable stock. I don't remember where I found this recipe, but I've had it for a long time. 

I like a lot of vegetables in my soups, so I often double the celery, onion, carrot and potato. I never peel the potato. I also don't bother to puree the soup as the split peas get pretty mushy on their own.

1 ½ c. green split peas

1 Tbsp. butter or oil

1 stock celery, small dice

1 onion, small dice

1 carrot, peeled, small dice

1 Tbsp. flour

5 c. chicken or vegetable stock

1 ham hock (optional)

2 bay leaves

½ tsp. dried savory

½ tsp. dried sage

Pinch ground cloves

1 large potato, peeled, medium dice

2 Tbsp. fresh parsley

Rinse peas well with cool water.  Heat butter or oil in a soup pot over medium heat, add onion, celery, and carrot.  Cook stirring occasionally for 2-3 minutes.  Add flour and cook another minute.  Add 1/3 of the stock and stir until there are no lumps of flour.  Add remaining stock and ham hock and stir well.  Add split peas, bay leaves, savory, sage, cloves, salt & pepper.  Bring soup to a full boil over high heat, then reduce the heat until a gentle simmer is established.  Simmer stirring frequently for 30 minutes.  Add the potato and continue to simmer until all of the ingredients are quite tender.  If desired, puree about 1/3 of the soup in a blender, then return puree to the remainder of the soup.  Stir in the parsley and adjust the seasonings with additional salt & pepper.

Disappointed in Carl Hiaasen

About fifteen years ago, a friend recommended author Carl Hiaasen. I've been hooked ever since I read that first book, chuckling aloud through subsequent volumes. His satires on developers in Florida are witty and almost believable. This is fiction that educates.

I was eagerly anticipating his latest book Squeeze Me, but it's not his best work. I almost think a Carl Hiaasen clone or wannabe wrote it in his style. I found the prose blunt and heavy handed, devoid of subtlety and nuance.

Hiaasen pokes fun at our current POTUS and his followers. I'm certainly not a fan of 45 and am baffled by anyone who could support a narcissistic, vindictive bully. Perhaps Hiaasen is just too angry to camouflage his feelings. After the first couple of chapters, I actually considered not finishing the book; just returning it to the library where, I know, there is a waiting list.

But being the somewhat OCD person I am, I did read to the end. I found myself chuckling aloud despite my criticisms. Perhaps I became accustomed to the revised style.

One very bright spot was the return of the character Skink. He made a brief appearance toward the end with his typical shenanigans.

On the home front, not much has changed. I continue down the alphabetical list of potential duplicates. I've arrived at "The eighth ..." I'm enjoying being able to go into the office once a week. Perhaps I'll increase it to two days. 

As the weather gets cooler, all of the things I've been able to do outside will slowly come to an end: exercise class of Fridays, inviting friends here for dinner on the screened-in porch, eating outdoors at local restaurants, events on the Town Hall lawn. I'm trying to stay positive, though I've never been a winter person. Snow is okay as long as I don't have to shovel it or drive in it. 

It's still October and I'm already waiting for April.

Health, Wellness, and Nostalgia Television

 Breathe through your nose, not your mouth.

In my journey to learn more about my body and how I can improve it, I read Breath: the new science of a lost art by James Nestor. I learned a lot of things about one's breath, some of it quite unbelievable. According to Nestor, a few people have discovered how to cure their scoliosis; improve the performance of elite athletes; and spend time naked in sub-zero weather, yet melt the snow around them just by using different breathing techniques.

Nestor traveled to lots of different places, talked with lots of different people, read extensively and participated in multiple experiments concerning breathing. 

While this was somewhat interesting, much of what he describes is pretty extreme (he admits that), and limited as to the number of people it affects. Somehow, this book didn't excite me and I was not sure how useful it might be to me or the average person, though I wouldn't mind using my breath to keep warm instead of oil or electricity - much cheaper.

However, the Epilogue (which summarized his findings for the general public) and the Appendix (which summarized the different types of breathing and the purpose of each) were the best and most useful parts of the book. Here are his recommendations: Shut your mouth; Breathe through your nose; Exhale; Chew; Breathe more, on occasion; Hold your breath; How we breathe matters.

Very quickly: the nose filters and warms the air we breathe. Breathing through your mouth lets nasal passages deteriorate, helps raise blood pressure and promotes snoring. Exhaling completely helps clean out the lungs and allows more air in. Chewing helps strengthen the jaws. The other recommendations are more complicated to explain. You'll have to read the book.

Nestor also explains that acute problems often need the attention of a doctor or other medical professional, but good breathing techniques can alleviate the chronic problems from which so many people suffer.

Life has its lighter moments, as well. One of my favorite television shows was the Odd Couple with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall. I've just finished watching the fifth and final season. It ran from 1970 to 1975. Perhaps the best part of the show is seeing the fashions from the early 1970s. Egad! Wide ties, garish colors, short skirts. 

Sometimes it's hard to believe people actually dressed like that.