reading — Page 31

Day Thirty-Nine

April 21, 2020 at 9:24 am by Claudia

The day dawned with sunshine all around and now it’s cloudy. Apparently, we’re getting thunderstorms this afternoon. Darn it. I was all set to do some work outside. I did get out yesterday afternoon to clear some more garden beds. I have a long list of things to do out there. I’ll run outside after I post this to try to get some of it done before the rains come.

Then it will be puzzle time.

The flowering quince is in bloom.

And the lilac buds are coming along. Some sun would help! I can see the peony shoots coming out of the ground, as well. And the clematis is leafing out.

Spring – you’ve been very slow this year. You seem to be taking your own sweet time. I can’t wait to smell those lilacs!

I worked a lot on the puzzle yesterday. I started A Gentleman in Moscow. And what a sweet sigh of happiness it brings. It’s such a joy to read Amor Towle’s words again. I’m taking my time, savoring each and every page. Maybe I should just read it over and over until this pandemic is no more?

One of the vintage Penguins I ordered arrived yesterday – it took three weeks to get here from England – as well as a John Prine T-shirt that Don ordered, but both things are currently inside the red bench in the kitchen where all mail sits for 24 hours. It forces us to delay gratification. Let’s hope it’s character building.

We also had to order coffee directly from Peet’s because it was inevitably out of stock on our grocery orders and we couldn’t risk running out. That arrived via UPS late in the afternoon. We had to wipe it down, of course, and then wash and rewash our hands. I know it’s the new normal and most days, I’m fine with it. Yesterday was not one of those days.

Once again, we fell asleep while watching Cheers – that makes three nights in a row. Lately, it seems we can’t make it past 9:30 pm!

Stay safe. Stay home.

Happy Tuesday.

Day Thirty-Seven

April 19, 2020 at 9:30 am by Claudia

The snow is gone and the temps will be in the low sixties today. What a crazy April it’s been! I’m happy to see the sun shining and I just might take the opportunity to do some porch cleaning, as well as wash the sheets, read, and FaceTime with Rick and Doug.

And this:

I finally started this puzzle yesterday, although late in the day. This was a gift from reader Vicki a year or so ago. She sent us two puzzles; one with Nancy Drew book covers, and one with The Hardy Boys book covers. They’re 1000 piece puzzles so they should take a while to complete which is just perfect for me. A project! I tend to get obsessed by jigsaw puzzles, but thankfully, I have other chores to take care of, so it will be something I do a little work on throughout the day. In fact, I added more pieces while waiting for the coffee to brew this morning.

Don has no interest a puzzle right now, though that may change (he was playing his guitar while I worked on it) so this will be my baby. Vicki, thank you again. You are saving my sanity!

Don made the drive to the grocery store yesterday to pick up our order. He said it worked beautifully. You pull into a special parking space for pickups, send a text indicating what spot number you are in, and your groceries are brought out to you. Don put them in the trunk and off he went. On the way home, since we had no more fresh produce, he stopped at our Farm Market. He had called ahead and was told there was hardly anyone there, so he figured it was a good time to go. While he was inside, a man and his teenage daughter were walking around without masks (remember, Governor Cuomo has issued an executive order saying we must have masks on when we’re out in public). While Don was at the checkout, the girl started to walk close to him. Don turned to her and told her to back off.

He was unnerved by the whole thing. What are these idiots thinking? Don had his mask and gloves on. He was observing all the rules, so were others in the store. Just as in the insane protests going on, I am reminded that we have a segment of our population that is self-absorbed to the exclusion of the greater good. Thankfully, the good far outweighs the bad, but it does make my blood boil. These people were clueless, deliberately so. So are the nitwits out there protesting with their rifles and guns and shouting with their mouths wide open and no social distancing being practiced. How many of them will come down with Covid-19 because of this stunt? How many others, including the police, are they endangering? Someone said it in the comments yesterday, “There’s no cure for stupid.”

End of rant.

Today is the first day in a long time that I feel Spring returning. That leaves me feeling hopeful. Whatever it takes to flatten the curve, we will do it. I’ll be very happy when I can expand our shelter-in-place to include the gardens and porch. That should be soon.

Still reading Modern Nature and watching Cheers, though we both fell asleep at 9 and missed two episodes. We were tuckered out last night.

Stay safe. Stay home.

Happy Sunday.

Day Thirty-One

April 13, 2020 at 9:59 am by Claudia

A very rainy day with high wind warnings. This weather event has hit a lot of people, some with snow, others with deadly tornadoes, and some – like us – with heavy rain and high winds. I hope you’re all safe. Heaven knows we don’t need this on top of everything else.

I’ll be glad when it’s over.

We had a quiet day yesterday. For us, there was really no difference in our Easter from last year to this year. We’re used to being far away from our families. It’s been that way for decades. We most likely would have spent some time with Rick and Doug. We miss them and we miss Sam, too. But otherwise, it’s usually just us.

Don managed to get a walk in this morning during a break in the rain.

Let’s see, what else? I’m still reading The Lost Pianos of Siberia. I got two packages in the mail on Saturday – one that I haven’t opened yet, from a bookseller on Etsy, and one from John Sandoe Books in London. You might remember how thrilled I was when I ordered a book from them last year. I was determined to order something from them during this crisis, as I’m trying to place orders with the independent bookshops that I know and love. The more we support them the better, especially now.

Unlike last time, however, I couldn’t bring the entire box inside and take pictures of the unveiling. I left the outer box on the porch and opened the books inside.

These are books that haven’t been published here in the States – although the Jarman may have been.

Modern Nature by Derek Jarman. I just read the book he wrote about his garden, so I’m eager to read this.

A Bite of the Apple by Lennie Goodings. All about her time working for Virago Press. I love books about books and publishing, and I have read many Virago editions over the years. Sounds fascinating to me.

Square Haunting by Francesca Wade. All about five writers who lived in London’s Mecklenburgh Square during the war; modernist poet H.D., detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, classicist Jane Harrison, economic historian Eileen Power, and author and publisher Virginia Woolf.

Looking forward to all three of these, which I learned about on IG. It really is a treasure trove of information about books, reading, and publishing, especially those books that are published across the pond.

We watched Annie Hall.

And that’s it for today. Wish us well. We’d rather not have our power go out as we have food in the freezer that we can’t immediately replace, nor do we have the funds to replace them.

Happy Monday.

Lambs Like to Party

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