Like so many others, We Cut the Cable a few years ago...

Just a scenic photo to accompany this post...seasonal.

Our metro-area, Chicago, has several broadcast TV options for local news. WGN-TV is especially good for weather forecasts and alerts in our region.  

We gave up on most "print-media" even before we dropped cable. I have not physically held a newspaper in years. (Books, yes. I still want a physical connection with the book I am reading.)

Much news and current events, etc. can be had on the internet, as we all know.

But my favorite "find" of the past few years is the amazing array of entertainment and instruction on You Tube. Instead of being spoon fed whatever nonsense the entertainment industry coughs out, I can find my own mindless chatter (if I want), or any other kind of programming I want!

I could only have dreamed of this luxury--even just a few years ago.

Current obsessions? I can't stop watching the videos produced by UK life-stylist Lisa Comfort, both on her channel and her "Sew Over It" brand. We love to listen to Jordan Peterson's talks, there is all kinds of news programs to choose from. Another sewing channel is "The Fold Line".  A family owned candy company in upstate New York, Hercules Candy, produces wacky, fun videos of the process and methods of making and marketing their extensive range of  treats. Mom, Dad and the grown kids banter and laugh as they work. Many other genres: travel, hobbies -- the world is your oyster.

I could have put links to the channels I mentioned--they are easy to find, anyway. But my "You Tube" galaxy will be different from yours.

Dad's 99th Birth Anniversary

Here, seen with Granddaughter Emma about 2005

"The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Recently, I took a break from my "body of work" reading of the novels of Alan Furst. I came upon the ...Potato Peel Pie novel in my favorite paperback exchange just after seeing a trailer of the Netflix film. I'm intrigued by the Channel Islands. I was already aware of the WW 2 German Occupation of the islands. It called to me.

Basically enjoyed the book: it introduces several vintage classic writers to modern young readers in a context they may appreciate; heartfully discussed the Occupation which lasted 5 years and involved suffering to the people of the islands.

The novel reminded me of the works of Rosamunde Pilcher in the subject; "The Shell Seekers", for example.

The novel is written in the form of letters between and among the various characters in the post-war year of 1946. This can be an interesting format: a good way to present this novel, since there are several plots threading through the story, and lots of characters.

The idea for the book was conceived by Mary Ann Shaffer, who started the book. When her health failed, the completion of the story was done by her much younger niece, Annie Barrows.

Any criticism I may have of the book are because I think this is a "younger" persons' story; probably a younger woman's book. For me, the novel did not successfully capture the zeitgeist of the late-and immediate post WW 2 period. I was always aware of reading words on the page, not seeing the visions of the story appearing in my mind.

I promptly went to You Tube and searched for videos about the Channel Islands and they are very lovely.

Stepping out of character

Monday in Montreal I walked all morning in drizzling rain ( on and off) till tired and hungry I found:

this place

and had lunch at the bar and talked to some local people.

Probably I will never visit here again, but it was fun. Different for me.

My Mother's 99th Birth Anniversary

Not well presented, but I plan to edit this later.

From my Grandmother's 100+ year old photo album, (at Aunt Betty's). Grandma arranged to show her new baby daughter (the top two photos): left, with her little sister Carolyn, herself and Baby Viv.

Right, Baby Vivian at about 1 year.

Below, a baby photo of Grandma (1897 or early 1898) to contrast.

Happy Birth Anniversary to Mom--sadly gone nearly 20 years now. Gone too soon.

Various favorite works from our visit to the Carnegie Mellon Museum or Art in Pittsburgh

Miscellaneous

Anomalies at the Autumn bird feeder:

A cute pair of Wood Thrushes have hopped around beneath the feeder for nearly two weeks. At some point they will surely continue their migration, but for now they appear to have amble food and warmth here.  Smile.

A few days ago, two very young baby Cardinals appeared. Maybe the late season young of some of our local residents. So young there was no hint of a crest, coloring, etc. At first, they merely sat on our crab apple tree, trying to eat LEAFS. We quickly refilled the sunflower seed feeder! After other birds--parents, maybe--showed example feeding behavior, the little pair learned.    Big Smiles.

Hummingbirds continue to drift through, stopping to feed at the Zinnias and Cannas. I don't trust myself to have hummingbird nectar feeders: I could see me forgetting to re-fill it, doing it improperly, killing masses of humming birds!  Frown.  So I rely on my nectar flowers.

Miscellaneous books:

Rosamunde Pilcher's "The Empty House".  August Reading.  Vintage Pilcher, published in 1973.

Bill Bryson's "A Walk in the Woods". Once upon a time, I thought I wanted to hike the Appalachian Trail; I was about 20 then. The book is entertaining, for sure; funny. Does have some good tips for long hikes.  I read "At Home", it was a better quality read. I sense a "pot boiler" in "..Walk..". On our recent trip, we strolled a fraction of a mile of the AT at a Pennsylvania State Park near Gettysburg.

"A Perfect Spy" by John LeCarre. This is LeCarre run wild. Amazing analysis of the personality (disorders) of a high-functioning espionage agent and his ultimate ruin. I plan to read all of LeCarre's novels, if possible.

Sojourn in the East: Pittsburgh Deserved Better than This--too much rain!

The city's art museum shares facilities with the natural history museum--convenient shared entry price.  We enjoyed our day at these museums very much; then found a cute campus bar and restaurant, the Union Grill I believe, close by for a gooey dinner and shared bottle of wine. Then a nice long walk back to our Air B&B on Squirrel Hill! Cooler in the evening, a perfect day for me.

Due to weather related back wash from Hurricane Gordon, our second and third days in Pittsburgh were wet. On day 2, we walked in moderate rain to cover the downtown tourist areas, took the Incline up to the Grandview area.

Geographically stunning, with the formation of the Ohio River before us.

Then rode a second Incline down to river level. The Incline is a 19th Century-flavored experience. Or European.  One funny scene: as some passengers got off at the top, a tiny little girl about 5 exclaimed to her Dad "This is NOT Safe!"

Day 3 was a total wash-out. We went to Pamela's on Squirrel Hill for amazing breakfast, but it was soooooo wet with chilling rain. We spent the rest of the day in bed with our books. We never do that, so I guess it was OK for once.

Air B & B -- My new Enthusiasm!

Somewhere in the Eastern US

So far, our recreational travels took us exclusively in the US: National Parks, biking, camping, touring, visiting family, etc.

We camp sometimes, if weather, convenience and the activity suit. Or we stay in motels. Neither Hubsy nor I have any desire to tangle with RV's or trailer type camp-mobiles; one of the few things we completely agree about (along with not smoking). The price of on RV covers tons of motels, hotels and resorts, in my opinion.

Motels can be Heaven or Hell, like anything on the road. On the recent trip, we had two very nice ones and one Horror. And--gee, after all these years, motels are boring!

On a trip last May, we used a very economical Air B & B in NC-- we dipped our toes in the experience.  It worked very well, was novel and fun.

So this trip, we reserved rooms in both PA and NJ. Both were fun, safe and unique experiences.
We enjoyed vintage homes, nicely appointed and decorated by caring hosts. We met and enjoyed interacting with well-behaved pets. We met fellow-travelers from the US and India at one place.
The company (Air B&B) seems very good about vetting host and guests; the vigorous ratings of both parties seem to keep everyone on their best behavior--everyone wants a superior rating.

My goal was to select homes in neighborhoods similar to our own; the home above closely resembles our next door neighbors! We would rather go out for our own meals (breakfast), so I did not try to find that service. As a "senior citizen", I watch out for little irregular features, steps, minor hazards. (I can trip over my shadow). I'm pretty social, so can tend to get drawn into the hosts' worlds--that could be good or bad, I guess. 

Where has HE been all my life: The novels of Alan Furst!

Quite by chance, I stopped by a usually unexciting paperback exchange and found a copy of "Midnight in Europe" by Alan Furst. Even though the book cover advertised that admirers of John Le Carre would love this author, I tried the book anyway. I have found you can't believe this tribute, since no writer can live up to it.

"Midnight.." is one of Furst's recent stories--his body of work seems to comprise a long discussion in the form of fictional adventures--of the efforts of individuals and groups to resist the Nazi and other Facist occupations of Europe in the late '30's and '40's of the last century.

Furst writes eloquently about the period, the culture, the general atmosphere, the ambiance, etc of the times and the places: Eastern Europe, Spain, France. Paris of the time comes alive under his hand.
There is suspense and a little bit of terror, but not too scary.

I have binge read nearly half a dozen of his titles--his earlier work seems more interesting than more recent. I'm on "The Polish Officer" currently. I can barely put it down.

A couple of updates: after reading all these books, I will add, love/sex scenes in these books are often like a trip to the GYN to get your PAP test!! Ick, sometimes! Seems a bit out of character for his handsome, worldly, sophisticated heroes. (Or I may not be a "target" audience member).

Furst is very good at depicting his chosen time setting: 1938-1942; (the time when Hitler was ascendant and many felt his victory in Europe forever was assured.) he is old enough to have known many people who knew this time well. His work is carefully researched from sources current at that time. He is also adapt at using weather to enhance his scenes; he always has a good European breed of dog somewhere in the story--entertaining.

Another novel I read (but have not mentioned) "The Velvet Hours" by Alyson Richman concerns Paris in exactly the same situation: the Nazi take-over of France. It is like two novels coiled into one.
First, a family story of a romance in the Belle Epoch which ultimately produced a young lady (our heroine) whose life evolves--second--into a daring escape of Jewish people with a romantic twist and a poignant reminder that sometimes life or death hinged on the tiniest events.

It is time for a "book round-up"! Part 1

Even though it has been a busy summer, I always have a book "going" along with whatever else I do. Isn't it that way with you?

With a couple of exceptions, I have a whole stack of "nothing too special" on my left as I compose this entry:

From my parents' old bookcase, I found P. D. James' first crime novel, "Cover Her Face"; it was like a Barbara Pym novel with a "warm, milky drinks murder"--well written, no doubt--but the world has changed from 1960 when people happily read these well composed, scripted crime novels.

Since one of our sets of kids will re-locate from LA to Princeton, NJ soon, I finally read a little old hard cover book,"The Fish-Shape Paumonok - Nature and Man on Long Island" by Robert Cushman Murphy. This is one of the exceptions to the disclaimers above. The book is the text, with photos and drawings, from the author's Penrose Memorial Lecture (1962) for the American Philosophical Society.  Murphy was a very old man in 1962 and remembered Long Island well, growing up there before the turn of the 20th Century. He was distressed at the changes due to over-building and over- population; the lecture/book was crafted toward the very dawn of the environmental movement, before it was heavily politicized.     Somehow, my copy is autographed by the author; I will give the book to my son.

"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien. The subject of the Vietnam War is one I have, sort of, avoided since I was a teenager. Until much later, I did not really know anybody who served there.
My nearest touch to the war, in those days: perhaps 1967, during a holiday home from college, my Father was taken to the emergency room at Great Lakes Naval Base hospital (suspected heart problem). During our time waiting, there was a virtual parade of wheeled stretchers along an extended hallway from an entrance bay to a bank of elevators far away; each stretcher with a wounded man--some blood visible--brought back from Vietnam for treatment at the military hospital.  That was a shock.  The book? Well written. Could any operation so ill-conceived and badly run as that war result in anything good? You can't enjoy a reading experience like this; like a holocaust book; but as part of an effort to understand the War? Yes.

Not a Book this Time: a short expedition: Muskegon, MI by Lake Ferry (and feet)

Milwaukee Skyline from ferry dock.

 Not exactly a "bucket list" item, but I have lived in the Great Lakes Region of NA for about 60 years and have never had occasion to cross Lake Michigan by boat. I'm not a nautically inclined person, neither is Hubsy. We are sort of "Meh" about boats. We drove to Milwaukee and took the Lake Express "Fast Ferry" across to Muskegon, MI. Like a wide-bodied plane that scooted across the water.

Outdoor park sculpture near Post Office, Muskegon, MI

 It was a couple of pretty days for our adventure. We walked and walked.

On the downtown street, Muskegon, MI

 A historic and formerly wealthy, industrial harbor town nestled in a bay off the Lake, Muskegon has probably "seen better days", on the other hand those were very polluted days--a hundred and some years ago. The Industrial Magnate provided endowments for education and arts: our goal was to visit the Art Museum in the little city. That was well worth the entire trip.

I loved the design of their storm drain covers. I always notice these features. That and interesting fire plugs.

In a small public street corner garden, a Monet lily garden was crafted. That's a sweet idea for random scraps of urban land.

A gem of the restored homes in the historic residential district, associated with an area history museum.

Not our boat, but a retired antique, The Milwaukee Clipper, now a museum.

Two Faulkner Novels

Faulkner's Home: Rowan Oak, Oxford, MS

If I plan to read all of William Faulkner's work, at near 70, I better get moving! Though his books are for "sipping", not "gulping"!

His prose is more like a poetry of his own; he had a quote distilled for nearly every situation in human life, I find.

I read "The Town-A novel of the Snopes Family" (it is Vol. 2--"The Hamlet" is the first). The Snopes's slithered up to Jefferson from Frenchman's Bend like a Biblical Plague or a mess of snakes. A Snopes man is a "Son of a Bitch's Son of a Bitch", this trait is not passed to the Snopes women, but from father to son. The narrator is a little boy not born yet when the first Snopes arrives. 

The best of the Snopes family, Wallstreet Panic, learns that not all people live like Snopes's; he drops his family affiliation.

One of the very worst concocts a nasty scheme to sell mules from Memphis in Jefferson--then defraud the railroad.

Faulkner's African American characters are always so strong and memorable: in this story, we meet "Old Hett", formerly the nurse maid to all of Jefferson's wealthier matrons, now aged between 70-100, she sleeps in the county rest home but spends her days dropping in to the homes of all her former charges, where she is given food and clothing. She dispenses clever and funny wisdom. She is a gem; who was the model for this character?

Critics aren't kind to "The Unvanquished"; it was not one of Faulkner's Modernist novels, rather it was assembled from stories he wrote for nationwide publication in weekly magazines (and I bet that is where my Grandmother discovered him), 

similar to "Go Down Moses".  But I liked it.

Narrated by the little boy who would become the Grandfather and bank owner in Sartoris, it tells of the farm life for Southern people, black and white, toward the end of the Civil War and Reconstruction. It is a more serious novel, with violence and suspense. 

Again, there is a strong African-American: Marengo (called Ringo) the young slave, playmate and friend of Bayard (our narrator). Even Bayard's father says Ringo is smarter than Bayard; there is no indication that Ringo is a mixed-race child, but he is with Bayard every step of the way--a few beats ahead of him, loyal, helpful, questioning, funny--yet with a dignity; he serves without subservience (genius of Faulkner to convey this).

Faulkner was too young to remember all he reveals in this novel, but he certainly knew many people of an age who had lived though the times. This is not Scarlett O'Hara's or Hollywood's idea of the Civil War/Reconstruction. Feel the sweat, smell the smoke, experience the fear and exhaustion and grief, see the fires, hear the guns and the cries as if in real time.

The Last Butterfly of our Season was Freed Today...

He is a spunky male version of a Monarch--see those little black spots on the under wings--that means he's a Boy. He was anxious to be released and flew away immediately. Then he returned to the yard to sip nectar from the many flowers in the yard. Satisfied with his lunch, he joined the others that we have released in recent days. He needs to find mates to help create the next "flight" of the monarchs.

"The Butterfly Hotel" will soon close for the Season-nearly all have matured.

"First Flight #1: Black Swallowtail Butterfly, Glenview , IL"

"First Flight #2: Monarch Butterfly, Glenview, IL"

Black Swallowtail Butterflies:

Three summers ago, we noticed small "caterpillars" on the dill plants in our garden; Google images ID'd these the Black Swallowtail. But a day or so later we noticed the creatures were gone--eaten by birds or insects.  So I learned how to nurture eggs (little white specks) and small caterpillars in a large container (kept out of direct sunlight) indoors (on sprigs of cut dill I renewed each day). There are many YouTube and internet instructions for the procedure. But you need an ample supple of their food, fresh and on-hand, in this case dill.

About a week later, the creatures grow large: they eat-eat-eat and they poop a lot (you have to clean the container frequently!) Then they purge---it's as messy as it sounds---and go into a cocoon-like form on a small branch you supply in the container. About 10 days after that: Bingo! You have a lovely Butterfly. Give him a couple of hours to fill out and you are ready for the "Release Ceremony"! Small children go giddy over these shows! My neighbor and I each have a super abundant source of nectar for them: practically wall-to-wall flowers in our modest suburban lots.

Monarchs

Years ago, a friend supplied me with a few Milkweed seeds which I planted in a sunny area. Finally we had enough plants and started noticing Monarchs around; we started nurturing their eggs as well. The procedure is quite similar, the results the same; Monarchs are a little less messy, since they do not purge. A generous supply of Milkweed, or variety of, is essential!

The most interesting thing to me was observing that individuals among our "guests" had individual traits (even though members of each species looks alike). As caterpillars, some are more active, aggressive, etc; as butterflies some are more or less tolerant of the human hostess. For the past two weeks we have seen one Monarch "Patrol The Yard" in regular patterns to run off any other butterflies--yet I can get quite near to it, even offer to pick it up.

Census this year: 13 Monarchs and 20 Black Swallowtails released to pollinate  and reproduce.

The Biggest "little book" Around! An Important and Entertaining Memoir...

"How to Make a Life - A Tibetan Refugee Family and the Midwestern Woman They Adopted" by Madeline Uraneck.

 When I learned from my cousin, Madeline Uraneck, that she planned a career shift: writing for publication, (she is a dedicated, hard worker, an educator, communicator: an "idea person" who cares equally about the welfare of humanity.) I knew she would produce high quality, unique and prolific books. "How to Make a Life.." is her first. And she does.

I've read it and I'm excited about it!

Madeline explains early in the book that she and her two siblings, David and Susan, lost their Mother, Anne, (to a sudden and shocking illness in the early 1950's). Anne was a younger sister of my Mom; the sibling that my Mother had the greatest affinity for: they were both quieter and loved to read. Their idea of a nice summer day, in the 1930's, was to walk to the public library, browse for books (adult books) and try to check them out on their kids' library cards, so Mom told me. How proud they would be of Madeline's book!

It is a memoir of her friendship with Tenzin Kalsang, a brave Tibetan lady and her family: Migmar Dorjee, her equally brave husband, and four kids. Migmar was born in Tibet; he was a little boy when the Chinese invaded and stole his country (1950). He was a bit older during his harrowing escape to one of India's Tibetan refugee camps! Tenzin was born in the refugee camp (1962); maybe we would think he robbed the cradle in marrying young Tenzin, but her mother wanted her to marry a man who had already shown he could take care of a wife and kids.

Eventually, he had to take care of the kids (with help from grandparents), because Tenzin won a place in a resettlement effort for Tibetans from the US government! It was a family decision to send her; they were separated for several years before Migmar and the children arrived in Madison, WI. (1998)

Tenzin worked as much as she could at the typical "menial" but necessary service jobs to send funds home to the family, etc. Tenzin earned her way! She met Madeline when she was cleaning offices; she must have sensed "a friend", since Madeline gives off smiling, bubbly charm--the face of her intellect and determination to help, if possible; acquaintance matured to friendship.

Much time has passed. US citizenship achieved, children grown and married. The second half of the book is awash in entertaining and enriching travel experiences when Madeline, Susan and the kids travel the US and the world to meet families, chaperone to help facilitate the semi-arranged marriages for the kids and visit important religious centers.

An important point of the book: Tenzin, Migmar and family helped fill a void felt by Madeline; each of us has our "empty rooms, dark cellars or monsters under the bed" or whatever; we cope with these as well as we individually can.

As a self appointed Family Historian, I will add this: A gift that Madeline  provided to this family is a detailed record of the experiences, hardships and triumphs of their First Immigrant Family to the US. (Perhaps someday, family members may be able to return to Tibet?) But years from now descendants of Tenzin and Migmar will be able read the book, along with Family Stories they will be told. I wish someone had written a book about my early ancestors from a perspective like this.

Madeline does a wonderful job explaining the traditional way Tibetans are named, what the names mean, their faith and some customs. She explains how India ended up with many thousands of Tibetan refugees and how the US began the process of accepting a few Tibetan refugees (early 1990's), tying up the loose ends, etc.

As I read the book, I Googled and You Tubed around the 'net. I located enough information, photos and even a vintage American Military production of life in Tibet in the early 1940's to add a visual perspective to the book. I was entertained, educated and informed by this great "little book".

Books Books Books..

Too busy to keep up "reading" reports: I'll catch up now.

"The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien" by George Simenon. (Translation by Linda Coverdale). The prolific Belgian crime fiction writer of the early and mid-20th Century. His signature character is Inspector Maigret. This novel of written in 1930.

I am always aware when I read a translation that I am not actually reading the original work. If I read another translator's product on this same novel, it would be a different book.

The cover photo on the Penguin Classic paperback cover (by Harry Gruyaert/Magnum Photos) compelled me to read the novel. In my late teens, I read another of Simenon's Maigret novels, but I can't remember the title.

In this novel, Maigret (out of his district of authority and nation, even) notices suspicious activity of a fellow traveler on the train; his illegal pursuit drives the man to suicide. Shocking. But a crime network is uncovered, etc.) Mainly, I admire the evocative settings his author presents; very pre-WW2  Noire. But likely this is not enough to make me read another of these works. Too much else to read, too little time.

C. S. Forester's "Hornblower and the Atropos". A solid swashbuckler adventure of the British sailor's first encounter with Sea Captaincy in the British Navy in the 18th Century. Interesting information about heavy masted sailing ships along with an entertaining little plot.

Also, I have discovered the writings of Winston Churchill in the form of " A History of the English Speaking Peoples  Volume One  The Birth of Britain". I plan to read the 2nd Volume soon.  Churchill, like Teddy Roosevelt, was a politician and statesman who was able to support his family with fine quality and prolific published works through his live. I can't wait to read more!

The History is a solid survey from the earliest days of Britain, the invasion of the Romans and so on. This volume ends with the assent of Henry VII. Churchill had a staff of researchers, naturally, but he presented the material in a style so you feel he is speaking to you and a small group--perhaps with drinks and snacks available. Much of the work was completed before WW2, but shelved till the mid-1950's for publication; but the writing still feels modern and fresh.

The Butterfly Hotel is open for business--and packed!

We started, several years ago, to assist the butterfly population by nurturing the young specimens indoors. It was slow going.

But this year, the first wave of butterflies (black swallowtails and monarchs) came through and deposited many eggs on our dill and milkweed plants. I rescued as many as I could find. There is hardly any room at "the hotel" now.  That is called "success", I believe.

Very Busy Now

Tending to the chores that make these kinds of flowers happen

Walkabout in the American South in Early May

In Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky. Just enough camping, some relaxing in hotels. We discovered the site of ancient family history above.

Once upon a time, over 400 years ago, this was the view from the coast at Jamestown.

We visited the Jamestown Rediscovery site, complete with lectures on archeology and history in the original location of the settlement by the English beginning in 1607. The brick church was added much later.

The investigation has expanded to include the nearby "Newtown" area.

 We visited Yorktown, across the peninsula from Jamestown. Perhaps the home above is old enough to have survived the decisive battle.

Enjoyed the free ferry boat ride from Jamestown to Scotland, VA and got this photo of old Jamestown from the boat.

On a visit to family in North Carolina, we took a hike up the Morrow Mountain, site of extensive tribal stone mining (to obtain material of projectile points). While in NC, we had lunch at the Chapel Hill soul food place, Mama Dips. Best food on the trip. Perfect fried chicken--so good.

Finished up at the Red River Gorge in east central Kentucky. Now I am home doing all the yard work that waited while we enjoyed our trip.