books — Page 135

Sunday

February 12, 2017 at 9:51 am by Claudia

It’s snowing again. 3 to 5 inches expected today, with the addition of sleet later in the day. Less than an inch overnight.

I have to get to NYC tomorrow. Non-negotiable. So, Don will be manning the snowblower, the car will get parked down at the end of the driveway, I’ll get up early and he will drive me to the train station. The train is better at moments like this because it’s more dependable. The bus travels on the thruway and goes through the Lincoln Tunnel, where there are often delays in bad weather. So, the train it is for tomorrow, which will take me to Grand Central Station with a quick shuttle ride to Times Square.

This snow has been nothing but a pain in the tush for yours truly, as it has fallen during key rehearsal days. But having said that, I’m grateful that the bulk of the snow is falling today, instead of tomorrow!

We watched Hannah And Her Sisters last night on TCM. It is one of our favorite movies. I think it’s Woody Allen at his very best. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen it, but I never grow tired of it. It was just as fresh last night as it was the first time I saw it in a movie theater. Wonderful performances by everyone but Dianne Wiest and Michael Caine are brilliant.

I miss Robert Osborne. TCM just isn’t the same without him. I know he’s had bouts of illness in the past, but this latest stretch without him at the helm of TCM has to have been a least a year. But every time I google the question “Where is Robert Osborne?” I’m referred to articles of 2 or 3 years ago. I assume he isn’t well. Do any of you TCM fans have an update?

As we’re stuck indoors today, I’ll do the usual Sunday chores: washing the sheets and towels, swiffering and vacuuming. I’ll go over my Russian pronunciations for tomorrow’s table work. And I’ll read, of course! The Sunday edition of New York Times and the Deborah Crombie – Garden of Lamentations.

What are you up to today?

Catching Up On Saturday

February 11, 2017 at 9:10 am by Claudia

There’s a lot of snow on the ground here at the cottage and a bit more came down during the night. This reminds me of – was it last year? – when December and January were relatively snow free, and then February came along, and pow! Snow, and lots of it.

Unfortunately, it’s coming at a time when I will need to get into the city fairly frequently. Ah, well.

My homeward bound bus arrived at our bus station around noon yesterday and Don whisked me home. We watched some episodes of our new favorite television series, Schitt’s Creek, last night. Have you seen it? The first two seasons are on Netflix and the third season is now airing on a cable station called Pop. It stars Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara (two of the funniest people on the planet) as well as Levy’s son Daniel and a host of other wonderfully talented actors. It’s filmed in Canada. We are completely besotted.

It was rather heavenly to be tucked into the sofa next to my husband once more. And I was only gone two days. What will we do when he’s on the West Coast for at least three months?

This life of ours is topsy-turvy sometimes. Long periods of togetherness and no separations and then, suddenly, I’m away. Then I’m back. Then I’m in NYC. Then Don goes away. Then I go away. And our heads are spinning.

I’m going to have to figure out how to post next week. I’ll be going back and forth to the city a lot, and those days usually end up being 12 hour days, so there won’t be time to post – only to eat, sleep, and repeat. I’m not sure yet how many days are involved, but I might pre-write some posts and schedule them.

This arrived in the mail yesterday. I pre-ordered it from Amazon. It should have arrived on Thursday but the snowfall was so intense that there was no mail delivery. That rarely happens. I started it last night. Crombie is a wonderful writer and I love her recurring cast of characters. But, it’s been at least two years since her last book and I’m having trouble remembering the details of that story – and she refers to it in this book. The fog is gradually lifting as chunks of it come back to me. I could pull that book off the shelf and re-read the ending, but I want to sort out this little puzzle for myself.

I missed my Peet’s French Roast while I was gone. There was a mini-Keurig in the room with some dark roast pods, which was helpful. But the creamer was that powdered stuff that comes in a packet that has – to me – an awful, almost chemical-like taste. Once I was able to grab breakfast downstairs, I had another cup with actual half and half. (My one vegan fail – I can’t give up half and half. I’ve tried vegan versions and I just don’t like the taste.)

This morning? Back to Peet’s, with the first cup served by my husband, bless his heart.

Happy Saturday.

Books and Records

February 6, 2017 at 10:30 am by Claudia

On our little excursion Saturday, we stopped at the used record shop and the bookshop. Since I’ve written several posts about how much I love records and books, you will immediately realize how happy that made me.

At the bookshop, I found this:

I remembered hearing about this book. It’s absolutely charming. Bob Eckstein is a cartoonist for the New Yorker. I’ll quote from the back of the book: “Bob Eckstein has gathered the greatest untold stories from seventy-five of the world’s most renowned bookstores (both past and present) and paired them with evocative color illustrations of each shop.”

Right after my love for books, especially novels, comes my love for books about books and books about bookstores.

A glimpse inside:

I’ve read this profile, but only this one, as I’m looking forward to sitting down with a cup of hot chocolate and this lovely book in the not-too-distant future.

Also:

I bought this – a book that’s been on my radar for a while. While I was chatting with the young women about the March and about books, I noticed that one of the women was holding this. Ah, I thought, a message that it’s time to buy it. It’s only about $7 or so and a quick read.

In my favorite record shop, a shop that is meticulous about documenting the condition of the records they sell, I found an album of music by Ravel that was in near mint condition and an album by Pat Metheny – Still Life (Talking) – that includes my all-time favorite by him; Last Train Home. Now, I have it on CD and on my playlist, but records sound different. In my humble opinion, they sound better, much more live, much richer. So I grabbed it. And then, when I got home, I played Last Train Home for Don. I’d played it for him before but this time, for some reason, he really got it. And then he made me play it for him about seven times.

I’ve won him over.

But the best, the best is this:

Eeeek!

You are entitled to a little back story. When I was 12 and The Beatles made their radio debut here in the States, I, like every other young girl I knew, went nuts. I distinctly remember listening to them on the big radio in our living room and thinking that I had never, never heard anything like that sound coming from the speaker before. (I’ve had this feeling a few times in my life. That’s another post.) The sound of their voices, their harmonies, the guitars – all of it – was strange and wondrous and I was immediately and completely entranced.

We didn’t have much money when I was a girl, but somehow, whether it was from my parents or from babysitting, I managed to come up with the money to buy this 45. What was the cost in those days? Maybe a dollar?

It had the exact same cover and I held onto it for years. But, as with many things I loved, when I moved on to college and then life on my own, my mother got rid of it in some cleaning frenzy. (Let’s not talk about my Tiny Tears doll with clothes handmade by my grandmother – I can’t even go there. Or my piano, passed down through the family, that she was about to give away until my aunt stepped in to save it.)

I never saw that 45 again. I cannot tell you how many times I have thought of it – remembering every detail on that record jacket – and mourned its loss.

And there it was. In VG+ condition (very good +) and, yes, $20. I looked at Don. I had to have it. So I bought it and I came home and put the 45 adaptor on the turntable and, oh my heavens, it’s in perfect condition! No skips, no scratches.

Interestingly, Mr. Beatles Fan, otherwise known as my husband, had no desire to acquire it for himself. I was the one who wanted it.

But he sure liked hearing it!

Side note (from Don): This cover has Paul holding a cigarette. Eventually, in some later printing, the cigarette was excised from the photo. I don’t remember whether the record I had years ago included the cigarette. But this one does! I sort of love that.

Oh, Paul. What a crush I had on you! I so wanted to see the Beatles in concert when I was young, but again, not enough money to do that. And I’m sure the tickets sold out in a flash.

But now, years later, we have a good friend who plays in Paul’s band and tours with him all over the world and we got to see Paul at CitiField a few years back, with a VIP pass and comp seats in the sixth row. That was a night we will never forget!

Happy Monday.

Sunday

Catching Up On Saturday

Books and Records

Lambs Like to Party

A Note

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