books — Page 115

Notes from the Infirmary

February 7, 2019 at 9:59 am by Claudia

Notes from the infirmary:

At least that’s what it feels like here. Poor Don! He’s really miserable. I feel so badly for him.

I’m still coughing and blowing my nose, but I’m definitely on the mend. It’s taking a bit too long for my taste, but it is what it is.

The soundtrack here at the cottage is the sound of coughs and sneezes and blowing noses and the occasional moan. And then, sick of that particular soundtrack, we put on some Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.

Much better.

I should finish up Lee Child’s latest today. I love the Jack Reacher series but this one doesn’t seem quite as compelling to me. I can see the plot twists way before they happen. Usually that isn’t the case. There’s been a wee bit of disappointment this winter in the newest releases from Lee Child, Louise Penny, and Susan Hill.

I’m going to be reviewing the occasional book on the blog. Nothing like it was in the past, but here and there. When I had both the book blog and this blog and I was reviewing books right and left (hundreds of them) I reached burnout. One day, I simply deleted the book blog. And I stopped reviewing. I wanted to read for pleasure once again. And I have. It makes an enormous difference in the reading experience.

I contacted TLC Book Tours a month or so ago and asked to be put back on their list of reviewers. Right now, it looks like I’ll review one book in March and one in April, which is perfectly doable.

Oh, by the way, I also deleted my Mockingbird Hill Cottage Facebook page. I never post there. It’s just taking up virtual space. I doubt whether you’re looking for it, but if you are…it’s gone or just about to be gone. I think it stays up for 30 days after you delete it.

Cleaning house. I’m also just about done with cleaning out the office. I need to throw a few things in a trash bag and we’ll be good to go. Just haven’t had the energy to lug the trash bag outside!

I still plan to write about the movies we’ve seen, however, that takes a kind of mental energy that I’ve been lacking during this illness. But soon!

Happy Thursday.

Sunday Thoughts

January 27, 2019 at 11:03 am by Claudia

• I promised to show you this ornament up close and completely forgot about it until now:

This is it. Don gave me this for Christmas. The lovebirds reminded him of our mourning doves. The egg is a real egg – ostrich egg, I think? – and it’s absolutely lovely.

• I finished Something Of His Art: Walking To Lübeck With J. S. Bach yesterday. It’s absolutely charming. It’s also short, about 91 pages or so. The author manages to weave together both journeys, past and present, beautifully. He shares a lot of information about the young Bach and what the journey would have been like in his day; what he would have seen, where he might have stayed, the flora and the fauna that would have surrounded him. The text is so evocative. At the end, I felt like I had taken two journeys – one with J. S. Bach hundreds of years ago, and one with the author and his BBC crew in the present. I recommend it highly. I’m interested in reading more of Horatio Clare’s work.

Now I’m reading Wrecked by Joe Ide, the third in his IQ series. I picked up Lee Child’s latest from the library yesterday so that will be next up in the queue. And I think I’m about ready to continue my cleaning and sorting in the office.

• Can I say that I’m over reading captions like, “I Marie Kondo-ed this room” (or closet, or panty, or…) on Instagram? In other words, you cleaned and got rid of stuff? Is this a new concept? Haven’t we been doing this for hundreds, even thousands, of years? We get in the mood, we sort through everything, making piles to donate or throw away and we clean out the clutter? And then we feel better.

And the whole get rid of anything that doesn’t ‘spark joy?’ My toilet plunger doesn’t ‘spark joy,’ but I need it nonetheless.

Okay. End of rant. It’s just driving me a wee bit crazy.

It’s a gray day today. And cold. But not nearly as cold as the wind chills in the Midwest! Stay warm, my friends. Stay inside!

Happy Sunday.

A Toy

January 26, 2019 at 10:25 am by Claudia

The past week has been a roller coaster of crazy. We realized that yesterday as we navigated NYC (for me, the second time this week) and couldn’t wait to get back home again. I don’t think we really grasped how exhausted we were until we started to watch Rachel Maddow – given the events of the day, we had said repeatedly, “We have to watch Rachel tonight.” – and we fell asleep within the first few minutes of the show.

The storm, the delay in getting our oil delivered, hacking away for hours to try to shovel the ice and snow, winds, winds, and more winds, running out of propane because of a missed delivery, waiting that out, running into Manhattan to work on Anastasia, torrential rains which caused more ice when the temperatures plummeted, running back into the city yesterday, the crap going on daily in Washington, DC…we’re beyond tuckered out.

I can imagine nothing more wonderful than staying put all weekend. And that is exactly what I’ll be doing, save for a trip to the library to return an overdue book.

It was very windy and cold in the city yesterday, the kind of wind you had to walk against. Luckily, we met up after our individual chores were finished and managed to catch an earlier bus home. Our little cottage never looked more welcoming.

In the city, I wandered around for a bit after I picked up my ring, heading toward the bookstore and then, just a few blocks away, Rockefeller Center, where I watched the ice skaters and stopped in at FAO Schwartz. I though I might find some miniatures. I did see all sorts of delightful toys – it’s really magical there – but when my eyes lit on a little display from Maileg, I was a happy camper. Maileg is a Danish company that makes the most magical toys for children (and adults). I’ve long been a fan. The display had a little house for mice that was enchanting. There were little mice in tins and boxes, ballerinas, all sorts of wonderful creations. Everything is so whimsical and beautifully made.

I am, as you know, a kid at heart, so I had to get this. I’ll unveil it for you.