At the Corner of Sweet and Sweet

Note to self: Don't judge a book by your impression of it as you fall asleep listening. Most nights I fall asleep listening to something. And then I lie in bed in the morning catching up on all the stuff I slept through. But when I listened to Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet I was not at all impressed. So I never went back to it - until late last week. Ya' know what? This is a pretty good book. Chinese boy, Japanese girl, Seattle, very early 1942, late 1986. It's all about that; and all that Seattle jazz. I really enjoyed most of this. I had problems with the internment camp segment because I remembered how pained my mother had been about losing her school chum to Manzanar. There's a lot of good stuff in here, including communications between fathers and sons. Or miscommunications. Good. I'd recommend this to my friends who liked The Help because this too is a story about people and feelings.

Went to The Times on Friday and saw a mess o' folks. It was a lot of fun. Per and I had lunch. He gave me a bunch of dried vegetables to try. Per loves to cook as we do in this house. He mail ordered tons of different kinds of veggies. How sweet of him to share. I look forward to experimenting. I saw Harriet again for the first time in a long time. She's now VP of Tribune Technology. Good on her. She is so capable, not always a recognized thing. In this case, it means she gets to spend 3 weeks in Chicago.

All my Times friends are traveling fiends. Per just got back a week ago from Chicago; Manny, Alexander and Dianne just got back from a management meeting; Tom is in Florida or Chicago every other week. Tribune has decided that it's better to fly than to hire. That's probably true. I guess that's like Cindy in Arlington. Only she's never in Arlington. They're all becoming George Clooney!

Saturday was a trip to the farmers' market. It was raining buckets in the early a.m. I'm usually there at 7:30, but it didn't look like it would ever stop. Then it did. Almost everyone was there vendor-wise. I hope the buyers came by. I thanked all the vendors for showing up. At that point, it looked like it was going to be another beautiful day in the neighborhood. When I got home it started to pour again. Poor vendors. Lucky Peggy. My timing was perfect.

Watch Out

Not everyone is lucky enough to own a Watch Camel. Some people have dogs to watch the doors, we have a camel. We've had the camel since Adrian was young. So was Julie. When she decided that a camel would be a perfect gift for Aunt Peggy, the aunt was curious. It became clear over the years that the camel is here to make sure nothing bad happens to us. This apartment has the perfect look out spot. Some may say it's a 50's design feature. The camel calls it home.

Just behind the camel, the needlepoint has progressed. At one point there was still a lot of blank spaces.

Now I'm writing words and outlining owl's eyes. My punny friends and families would like the catcentric titles of these books: Tale of Two Kitties, Three Wined Mice, and Caterbury Tales. Oh my, almost too silly even for me. I'm almost half way through the finish work.

As I needle, I listen. One of the things I've been doing is re-reading books in my Audible library. I'm very happy that I decided to listen to Legends again. This book won the Times' Book Award for Mysteries a few years ago. Littell did not leave his home in the south of France to pick up his prize. How smart of him. He would have had a huge admirer gushing all over him all evening. This book is probably too brutal for squeamish souls because it starts with a man being buried alive. It's hard to say those people shouldn't worry, because ... Because I can't tell you why. And besides, bad stuff happens all through the book.

It's about a CIA agent who can't remember who he is, he just remembers the legends that were created for him when he took on other persona for his missions. I really love the complexity and language of this book. I may have to read it in another three years.
Audible had a sale on first books in series. They were just $5.00 each. What avid reader of series could resist? First was the beginning of the Kurt Wallender series, Faceless Killers. Good for a $5.00 book. Stuff happens, mysteries are resolved. These are plodding stories. I wonder if the cold has something to do with that.
Harry Bosch is never plodding. I'm sure I read The Black Echo when it came out. Michael Connelly had just left The Times. It was fun to have a guy I knew from afar as a best selling author. The book is rich with the feeling of Los Angeles. Good book, nicely unraveled solution to the mystery.
Red Hot Lies as brought to you by Harlequin. In other words, chick-lit with a mystery twist. OK. Nice look at corporate culture.
Baltimore Blues is about the city of Baltimore and the ever shrinking newspaper world. It's not the Baltimore Sun, but some made up newspaper (I think) that has let the protagonist go. This leaves her at loose ends to pursue her rowing and amateur sleuthing. It was fun to know a bit of the city, she talks about the baseball park and the nearby Lexington Market. Adrian and I got to explore a bit of each. The mystery was OK.Rain Fall takes place in Tokyo. Never been there, probably never will. I have a friend who goes there a couple of times a year. I think he's 75. I kept trying to picture him in this very crowded and fast moving city. Maybe he knows some quiet spots.

John Rain, not my friend, is a middle-aged assassin. He's one of my favorite type heroes who can kick anyone's ass at any time. Do these people really exist? I liked this book so much I read the second in the series, Hard Rain. Why is this so much more satisfying than the Baltimore lady detective? I don't think it is gender. Maybe it's cluelessness. Maybe it's because she could possibly be a real person and John Rain could never be. It is fiction, after all.

Happy Birthday, Louise

Today is Mom's 90th birthday. She would have loved that. We celebrated her 80th birthday in San Francisco. Everyone who could be there was there. Eric and his new wife, Cindy flew in for the occasion. We had dinner in a lovely restaurant. She had a wonderful time. This woman LOVED birthdays, especially hers. She loved getting older and still looking younger than her age. Now you know where I got it. I also learned from her that it catches up with you, so enjoy the genetics while you can.

I have no pictures on my computer before 2007, so I can't show you her. It would be fun to have one of her as the perky young bride with her large family. It's in my head, that will have to do.

Happy Birthday, Mom.

I Heart Family

Adrian and I drove up to Albany by Berkeley to visit our family. Our trailblazer in life, Peter, just turned 70. Yes. An amazing age. But shouldn't he be old? He goes sailing in San Francisco bay whenever he can. He and my sister travel because they can't stop. He did finally retire from his real estate business last month. Don't you agree that a celebration was called for?

My brother Jeff and his wife, Sandi, flew up from San Diego. They are the new grandparents of the adorable Aydin. It was amazing to see them there. Family is very important, so anyone who could be there was there. In fact, Julie flew down from Eugene OR to celebrate her dad's birthday. She had to leave her boys because they had just been down the month before. Julie and I don't usually get to visit this much because she has had two little boys to watch out for. Her husband, Adam, is wonderful with the boys and tries to keep them entertained so Julie can visit, but it really does take two parents most of the time. I loved this time together.

Adrian is on a new regimen that has been building up to a full month without carbs. This month. And he was our chief chef for Saturday's dinner. Karen requested the pizza that I had raved about. Adrian is a trooper and baked 4 of them. They were good again, even though he didn't get to taste any of it. I'm not sure what he ate that night because I made the pear in chocolate dessert mentioned before. Not on Adrian's diet. Julie was going to help me peel pears, but was deep in conversation, so Tara helped me. Tara is now working as a lawyer for the immigration courts and is loving her job. She has a newish boyfriend who she adores. So LIG there. Francisco is teaching her how to cook. Cool. I thought I would get to do that when I moved up north. So I got a more experienced cook to help me.

Speaking of helping and amazing things, Chris and Gabriella were the first to arrive on Saturday. Chris is always late. I'd say "Brava, Gabriella." I don't know what magic she worked to get him there early, but I think it could have included a request to help her prepare fabulous cheese rolls. I'm not sure what all was in them, but they had to roll them into balls when they got there. Chris did a great job of rolling and the results were delicious.

Mark and Trina hosted Jeff and Sandi for the weekend. Mark hasn't had a moments rest because he's been traveling to Pittsburgh every week on a new project. You may have heard of it. They shoot objects from space with their air-to-air system. But it is wearing. He is gone Monday through late Friday. It makes a lonely house for Trina. I'm so glad they were there. I'm sure they would have loved to spend the time alone, reconnecting.

We did have one little one at the party. Our little Maggie brought her parents. She is a delight and I love to see her with Karen. They enjoy each other so much.

We went to her house the next day for a Valentine's day lunch. Natalie fixed a pink delight of a meal. She didn't know about Adrian's new diet when she was shopping and planning, but was able to regroup with ease. Karen and Peter took Julie to the airport after lunch and took Maggie home with them to spend the night. Kevin and Natalie were going on a swing dance date for Valentine's Day. But before they left, we four played a new game. It's Apples to Apples. They have the children's game to play with Maggie. I hear there is an adult version. Can't wait to play it because we had a lot of fun with the kid's version.

Good weekend. Good people. I am so glad they are my family.

Art for Art's Sake

No, this is not a story about my Dad, Arthur. That is despite the fact that any mention of art brings him to mind. He built houses that were works of Art. Yes, I came by stupid jokes honestly.

My first planned trip to France was a failure. A friend, Shawn, and I were going to go together, but somehow she decided not to go. While I was thinking about what to do about travel, I decided to do something about enjoying the stuff here that I would have enjoyed in France. Food was easy because I'd never eaten real French food before and I did have Mastering The Art of French Cooking. That one was easy. But what to do about the art?

That's when I started to go to the Norton Simon Museum. You see it every year as the starting point of the Rose Parade. It's filled with my favorite art, the Impressionists and beyond. It also has Asian art and a whole wing of earlier European Art that I don't usually visit. Norton Simon had his favorites. There are many Degas and Moore statues. And he has a lot of Degas paintings. But there are many other artists as well.

I know I have been spending too much time at home, working on my needlepoint, so I went to the Simon today. It only costs $4.00 for seniors and there is lots of parking. How nice to see my old friends. This time I walked around with my iPod plugged into my ears so I got to hear Bohemian Rhapsody while looking at Matisse. The first time I ever heard that song was in France. I listened to I Am Not The Boy Next Door while looking at Van Gogh. Speaking of Van Gogh, there was an article in The New Yorker about Van Gogh. There is talk that Gauguin may have cut off that ear. He had a sword for emergencies and Van Gogh was starting to be a little crazy at the time. Stuff happens.

Anyway, had a great time at the Simon and will be going back there soon to look at the other side of the building.

The needlepoint is almost done. I am just correcting some major mistakes like the cat's face and the laying down book. And doing all the black. That is so hard on black material. The light has to be just right and there is a ton of black to do. Also, I may be running out of some colors. We'll see how this ends up.

Hopefully better than my resolve not to buy any more Audible books. They had a sale this week of first books in series for only $4.95. So I bought six of them. Sigh.