Retirement Diaries 2023: First Frost

It got cold here suddenly in Minnesota.  Last week we had temperatures in the 50s, and then they plummeted on Friday to lows in the 20s and highs in the 30s.  There was a prediction for snow, but that hasn’t materialized.  Maybe today or tomorrow.

Before it got too cold, I was working on chinking.  You see, I own a log house, and chinking is a mortar-like sealant that fills the cracks between the logs.  Chinking needs to be redone periodically, or you end up with gaps between the logs that let in the cold, or the bugs!  You don’t want that!  I learned that chinking is an acquired talent, but I’m actually not too bad at it!  It’s too cold now, but we did make some progress on a few problem areas before the temperatures plummeted.  Work will continue when temps warm back up to something over 40 degrees, because the chinking should not be applied in temps below 40.

The garden gave an abundant harvest this year.  There were tons of cucumbers and tons of pumpkins.  So I sliced and froze a million cucumbers for soups, sauces and smoothies.  And, of course, the chickens.  Then I started in on pumpkins.  Separating out the seeds from the guts, cooking the pumpkins and scraping the pumpkin from the skin.  I have been bagging and freezing the pumpkin for soups, sauces and breads, and roasting the seeds.  The guts and the skins are bagged for chicken treats – they love pumpkins!  I have never been very domestic so it has been fun to learn new skills, and if you have recipes for pumpkin, send them my way!

I’ve been putting the garden to bed for the winter.  Pulling up all the weed barrier cloth, picking rocks and getting ready to rototill.  My property has a large garden area, and a lot to work goes into it!  When I’m not traveling and having fun, my life really is pretty mundane.

Yesterday I made banana bread for the first time, thanks to the local food pantry.  Minnesota has these things known as food pantries.  They aren’t necessarily a food bank, although some are.  But this one collects food that the major food producers are going to discard and redistributes it.  You get a variety of things, some that are close to their sell date, and others that are overstock.  There is no income eligibility; anyone can buy a share, or a couple, for $25 dollars a share. 

I’m learning that getting a share requires you to be creative; for example, this month’s share included about 14 pounds of bananas that were already at peak ripeness.  Bananas were eaten for the next several days, given to my mom, put into smoothies and strawberry/banana daiquiris, and finally, baked into 4 loaves of banana bread.  I’m proud to say that not one banana was wasted. 

Other items in the month’s share included ice cream sandwiches, tons of romaine lettuce, marshmallow cookies, bratwurst, chips, hot chocolate K-cups, Coke Zero, muffin mix, hard boiled eggs, frozen fruit and way more…  It’s a bit of an adventure to see if it can all be used, but it is so fascinating to me, since Washington doesn’t have a program like this that I’m aware of.

And because this has been on my mind lately, I just am going to say it.  The actions of others and the sense of entitlement I have experienced from one particular person lately is disappointing.  Yes, I’ve been successful in my life.  I have worked hard to get to where I’m at.  I appreciate my friends and family and think of myself as a helpful person.  But just like anybody else, I get to choose what I do with my time, my money and my energy.  I’m not obligated to use it on someone just because they think I should.  I didn’t feel that way when I was married and I don’t feel that way now.  My mantra these days has been decluttering the drama from my life.

So no, it isn’t my fault that you drink.  It isn’t my fault that you can’t stay sober, or afford your life, or pay your bills, or keep a job, or whatever other crap you are trying to play the victim about.  I’m responsible for me (and my animals).  My thoughts and actions.  No one else’s.  I’m not obligated to give you money or a place to live or anything else.  Especially if the kindness isn’t reciprocated, and you are just going to badmouth me behind my back.  Period.  My goal is a drama. free. life.  One where I know peace, and joy and strong friendships and family bonds.  I’ve had too many years where I let other people dump their issues on me and make it my problem, and I don’t do that anymore.  Amen.

So, now, back to my usual cheerful self!  That felt good to get off my chest!  It’s time to get outside, and pick rocks out of the garden!  Not my favorite chore, but I guess it needs to be done.  If only it would get above freezing!

 

 

 

Book Review: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.E. Schwab

I picked up this book because it was my book club’s pick for September.  I wasn’t able to make it to the meeting, as I was still traveling in the West, but it sounded interesting, so I reserved it from the library and managed to snag it shortly after I arrived home.

Addie LaRue is a young woman living in a small village in France in the year 1714.  She is getting to be an old maid at the age of 23, and her family decides that they need to find her a husband before it’s too late.  Before she knows it, it is a few hours before her wedding, and she is praying to any God who will listen to not force her into marriage.  She has been warned to never pray to the Gods who arrive after dark, but she realizes too late that the sun has set.

Her wish?  More time, and to be left alone to live as she sees fit.  Her curse?  To live forever, and to be forgotten by everyone she meets. 

The story flips back and forth between 1714 and 2014, with scenes from Addie’s life in between.  We follow her as she learns to live with her curse, and as she learns how to navigate in the world, forgotten every time she leaves someone’s sight.  It is a difficult existence, with no ability to keep possessions or friends, or even her relationships with her family.  We follow her as she lives through the events of history; the French Revolution, the World Wars, and any number of events in between.

But then, something happens that changes everything…

Victoria Schwab’s storyline is incredible, and Addie’s tenacity and courage is an inspiration for women everywhere.  The story is heartbreaking and funny, poignant and fascinating.  I loved every moment of this book, and cried at the climax…  It was hard to put down at night – wow.  Don’t miss it.

5 stars.

Circus Trip 2018: Bryce Canyon NP

Day 85, Monday, October 8, 2018
Bryce Canyon National Park, Bryce, Utah

My day in Bryce Canyon was incredible!  I stayed the night before at a little motel in Panguitch, Utah, because it was cold.  But I would stay in the Bryce Canyon Campground next time!

The first order of business upon arriving at the park that morning was to go to the Visitor’s Center.  I got some postcards, and had my National Parks passport stamped, and even bought a T-shirt.  It is a turquoise blue with a graphic of the hoodoos and it says “Hoodoo You Love?”  I still love that shirt, even five years later.

After the Visitor’s Center I went to the Sunrise area of the park and found the trailhead for Tower Bridge.  I got all bundled up, because it was cold and alternating between rain and snow; it really couldn’t decide what it wanted to do that day!  I hiked from the trailhead down to Queen’s Garden, among the hoodoos.  It was stunning, and so impressive to be at their level and see how tall they are!  I kept hiking until I got to the trail intersection with the Navajo Loop.  I hiked Navajo Loop back up through “Wall Street,” which has A LOT of switchbacks coming up the hill.  It was a really fun hike and the uphill portion ensured that I stayed warm – even warm enough to take off my hat!

The hike ended at Sunset Point, and I ending up meeting up with a ranger-led walk that was going on.  The ranger was explaining the geology of the park and talking about the animals who live there.  It was interesting, but I only ended up catching about half of the walk, because I got too cold at the slower pace of the walk and just standing there listening.

I ate lunch in the car, my leftover Subway sandwich from the night before and half of my pie from Fruita, at Capitol Reef National Park.  Man, that was some good pie!  I was still pretty cold at that point, so I hung out in my car for a bit with the heat blasting to warm up…  It was certainly fall and quickly headed towards winter that day!

I then drove the Scenic Drive through the park, checking out several of the viewpoints.  There was Inspiration Point, Rainbow Point (which is the highest point in the park at 9,115 feet), and Natural Bridge viewpoint.  These were photo opportunities, but I didn’t hike from any of them.  At Rainbow Point, I did find a little snowman that someone had made.  He was only about eight inches tall but he was very photogenic…

Natural Bridge is actually a misnomer, as natural bridges are formed by water cutting through rock; this feature is actually an arch, formed by ice expanding cracks in the rock,  and also by rain and wind erosion.  One day this arch will collapse, as all arches do, and leave hoodoos on either side.  Either way, it is a beautiful natural feature and fun to get photos of!  There are no trailheads here at this viewpoint, so you can’t hike down underneath this arch the way you can in some other parks.

After I completed the scenic drive, I went back to the Visitor’s Center to collect my “I Hiked the Hoodoos” prize.  That’s right, a prize!  I got a vinyl sticker for hiking more than three miles in the park.  A pretty good accomplishment for a cold day with a rain/snow mix! 

I can’t wait to go back to Bryce Canyon, but I do hope it isn’t quite so cold!

Book Review: The Colony

The Colony, by Audrey Magee

The Colony was the October book club choice by my library book club, which is curated by one of the Library Assistants.  She always selects interesting books that might be overlooked, and this one is no different!

The Colony is set in the late 1970s, on an island off of the west coast of Ireland. Mr. Lloyd is an English painter who visits the island one summer to study the light and paint the cliffs that he once saw in a magazine.  He desires absolute solitude.  Also seeking solitude is Mr. Masson, a French linguist of Algerian descent who is writing his doctoral dissertation on the progression of dying languages.  He is studying the people of this remote island, as they speak Irish (also known as Gaelic), but their language is being corrupted by English over time. 

Both men have their own competing interests, and they fight over the island and its inhabitants as if these people have no say in their own lives or what they want.  Magee weaves their stories together well, making each character jump off the page as you see their strengths and weaknesses, and decide whether you like or dislike that character. 

The story is also juxtaposed with brief narratives of the violence occurring in the war between the Irish Republican Army and the British Army, in their attempt to end British rule in Northern Ireland.  There are themes of colonization throughout the book, with the IRA war going on, as well as the two men who are visitors to the island, but clearly believe that their presence gives some right to control the residents and their way of life. 

This historical novel is difficult to categorize and describe, with its two story lines connecting, but remaining separate as well.  Magee’s writing style is dark and morose, as one might imagine life on this tiny outcrop of rocks with no real hope for a better life.  Visitors come and go, effectively putting the residents and their primitive way of life on display.  In the end, both Lloyd and Masson take more than they give, both believing they know what is best for the island’s residents, while in truth, their actions are merely selfish and self-serving.  But the stories of the characters told along the way, make this novel a unique gem.

4 stars. 

Book Review: The Monuments Men

The Monuments Men, by Robert M. Edsel

I read this book several months ago; in fact, I finished it in May when I was in Washington working on my mom’s move.  Somehow, in the busyness of all that, I forgot to blog about it!

Maybe you know the story, or have seen the movie of the same name that is based on the story and this book.  It stars George Clooney. Matt Damon, Bill Murray, John Goodman and Cate Blanchett, so it has a lot of star power.  I haven’t seen the movie yet, because I had wanted to read the book first!

So anyway… 

The Monuments Men tells the story of the men (and a few women), who are assigned by the U.S. Army and their Allies to go into the war zones of Europe during World War II to assess, catalog and protect the art and artifacts of Europe.  The Nazis had embarked on a systematic plan of stealing art and relics that they believed had value, while intentionally destroying other art that they classified as unworthy or degenerate.  They had stockpiled thousands of artworks in hidden locations of Germany and German conquered areas, in an attempt to build the world’s largest collection of fine art to bring glory to the Third Reich.  Almost all of it was stolen. 

Once the Allies had regained territory and pushed back the Germans, the Monuments Men began their work.  They were a hodgepodge assortment of architects, museum curators, artists, archivists and historians who had a unique set of knowledge and skills to catalog and protect the art and buildings they found, as well as to research the locations where the Germans had hidden the stolen art.  They were racing against time as the Germans attempted to move the art further into Germany, and in some cases were willing to destroy it to keep it from being returned to its rightful owners. 

The Monuments Men had a passion for the work, but almost no resources or recognition for the work they were doing.  Some of their colleagues risked their lives to catalog art going through Nazi hands to try to keep a record of what had been stolen or where it might be.  The men interviewed citizens and Nazi collaborators, and followed up on rumors and tips to try to find the art.  In the end, despite unbelievable odds, they found thousands of stolen pieces and returned them to their owners.  Sadly, many of their owners had perished in the war and the Holocaust, or their provenance had been lost, but it can still be considered a success story amid the suffering of World War II.

Edsel pieces together the work of these men, as well as telling their personal stories through letters home to their families.  He explains the hardships they faced, the disappointments they experienced, and the dangers they were confronted by in their work.  His writing held my interest, and brought to life a true story that was previously largely lost to time.

The last lines of the book struck me hard, especially in light of world events going on now.  It is about a photograph taken of a painting that was found deep underground in a salt mine, hidden away with scores of other stolen artwork. 

“The caption simply said, ‘American soldiers with a Rembrandt.’  No one seemed interested in the fact that the painting was the Rembrandt from the museum in Karlsruhe, and that the nineteen-year-old soldier standing next to it was a German Jew who had grown up three blocks from that museum, and by chance had descended seven hundred feet into a mine to behold, for the first time, a painting he had always heard about, but never had the right to see.”

#NeverForget

5 stars.

Bryce Canyon National Park History

Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southwest Utah, and preserves unique geological structures called hoodoos that formed in several natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaungunt Plateau.  The largest of the amphitheaters is Bryce Amphitheater, which is over 800 feet deep, twelve miles long and 3 miles wide.  The area is high in elevation, from 8,000 to 9,000 feet along the rim. 

Technically it isn’t a canyon, which are formed by erosion along the length a stream or river.  Instead, Bryce Canyon’s erosion was caused by headward erosion, which is erosion at the head of a stream or river that moves backwards, lengthening the stream.  At the same time, the sedimentary layers in the rock are softer underneath here, which causes faster erosion of the lower layers, leaving the pinnacle structures we call hoodoos.  Pretty cool isn’t it!?

The area’s human habitation is believed to have begun approximately 10,000 years ago, but no direct evidence has been found, and little is known about the people who traveled and perhaps lived here.  The Basketmaker Anasazi left artifacts in the area just south of the park, which are several thousand years old.  In about 1200 A.D., the Paiute people began to use the plateau for hunting and gathering, but are not believed to have established permanent settlements.

White men began traveling through the area in 1826, but it wasn’t until the 1870s that Mormon settlers moved in and established a few sparse settlements.  This area is remote now and would have been very remote back then.  Ebenezer Bryce and his family were some of the first Mormon settlers here.  He established his cattle ranch and farm at the base of Bryce Amphitheater, and he built a logging road into the amphitheaters to make it easier to harvest the timber.  His neighbors began calling it Bryce’s Canyon, and the name stuck, even though Bryce and his family moved to Arizona in 1880. It was a difficult life for these pioneers, who grazed sheep and cattle here, and had to contend with overgrazing of the area’s grasses, harsh winters and flash flooding.  It’s no surprise that it didn’t become a thriving metropolis.

In 1915, a Forest Service Supervisor named J.W. Humphrey was assigned to this area of Utah and he relocated to the nearby town of Panguitch.  Humphrey was stunned by the natural beauty of the hoodoos and sent photographs and movies to officials in Washington.  Magazine articles began appearing, featuring his photos.  Bryce Canyon began to get visitors! 

Concerns about overgrazing, timber depletion and the effects of tourism on the fragile hoodoos led to the establishment of Bryce Canyon National Monument by President Warren G. Harding in 1923.  Conservation efforts continued, land was acquired, and after a brief period where the park was renamed to Utah National Park, Bryce Canyon was officially created on February 25, 1928, by Congress, and President Calvin Coolidge. 

In 1930 the Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel was completed, which made for a much easier route between Zion National Park, Cedar Breaks National Monument, and Bryce Canyon.  Some additional land was acquired in 1931 and 1942, bringing the park to its current size of 35,835 acres, one of the smaller National Parks.

Visitors to the park can drive the scenic rim road, stopping at 13 viewpoints in the park, which give views of the amphitheaters, hoodoos, and natural arches within the park.  The views are stunning.  There are also several hiking trails into the canyons, some of which intersect with each other.  In winter, visitors can ski and snowshoe.  There is also a nice campground! In 2022, 2,354,660 people visited the park. 

I visited Bryce Canyon in October 2018, and I will tell you about my visit in an upcoming post!

Book Review: Harlem Shuffle

Harlem Shuffle, by Colson Whitehead

I gotta say, this is the second book I’ve read by Colson Whitehead, and I’m just not seeing what the fuss is all about.

This novel was the October pick for one of the book clubs I belong to, and I was able to get it from my hometown library when I was on vacation in August.  It is a quick read, taking me less than a week, so I guess that is a positive.  Otherwise…

Harlem Shuffle tells the story of Ray Carney, a resident of Harlem, New York.  He toes the line between straight and crooked, owning a furniture store that sells both new and used furniture, while also dealing in stolen goods on the side.  Carney has a wife and two kids, and is trying to make a better life for himself and his family in the 1950s and 1960s.

The premise of the story is an interesting one.  Carney is a man whose mother died young, and whose father was a two-bit criminal who never really paid much attention to his son.  He lived for a time with his aunt growing up, which was the most stability he had ever had.  Despite that upbringing, he tries to stay on the straight and narrow, and is trying to build an above-board life for his  family.  But he just can’t seem to help getting sucked into illegal crime when his cousin comes by needing another favor… 

The character development is lacking.  The characters seem hollow and one-dimensional, never really drawing the reader into the story.  Carney claims that his family is all important to him, but there is almost no development of his wife, and she and his kids seem to play a minor role in his life.  The other characters blend together, petty criminals with sad stories but who never seem relatable.  Carney moves from small-time dealing in stolen goods to helping plan and execute a major heist of the most prominent hotel in Harlem. 

The major issue of the book was it just wasn’t believable.  I know from reading the Underground Railroad that suspension of disbelief is a requirement for Whitehead’s novels, but there was nothing to really tie me to the story.  The heists are too elaborate to be dreamed up and executed by this band of petty thieves, and the police have to either be complete morons, or absolutely uninterested in even investigating the crimes.  Gunshot wounds that leave no trail of blood, witnesses that never tell what they saw, and people in high places that are easily bested by men with little education and no resources.  It just didn’t seem like something that could happen in real life.

Carney is someone who could easily go down the right path, building up his business and staying on the straight and narrow.  He says that’s what he wants.  But he just doesn’t do it…  And I just don’t have a lot of patience for people like that.

Like I said, it seemed that the only thing going for this book was the fact that it was a quick read, and an easy one, since I wasn’t invested enough in any of the characters to worry about what happened to them.

2 stars.

 

Retirement Diaries 2023: Rearranging

It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been back from my travels, and I’m nesting here at home.

After a year of having my computer on a cramped, uncomfortable desk that didn’t really fit me and wasn’t designed for a desktop computer, I upgraded!  A very, nice, solid wood computer desk from Facebook Marketplace came home – and the best part was it was free!  It has dedicated space for the tower and the printer, a keyboard tray, drawers, nooks and cubbies for files and office supplies.  I’m ecstatic!  I also painted the walls in my new office; bye bye ugly pinky beige and hello to  a light gray sage.  The room is doubling as a second guest space with a twin bed too!  

 

There’s something deeply rewarding and cathartic about being surrounded by things that bring you joy.  I know it’s not popular lately to be attached to stuff, but I’m not, and probably never will be, a minimalist.  I have assembled my happy little collections over the years, and they bring me joy!  So now that there is a lot more space in my home, I have been working on arranging things the way I want them, so I can unpack things that have been tucked away in boxes for over a year.  It’s like a little treasure hunt each day when I can unbox something and smile! 

A historic theatre in Little Falls, Minnesota had their grand reopening on October 6.  The theatre originally opened in 1933, so after a year of historic preservation, the opening featured the first movie ever played there.  The Nuisance was a fun comedy about a shady personal injury lawyer/ambulance chaser pitted against the streetcar company.  Tickets were just fifty cents, which was the price back in 1933.  Mom and I went and enjoyed the evening’s festivities.  It’s nice to see that people still care about our past.

My Aunt, Uncle and Cousin drove out to see Mom and I last week too, so we had a fun visit.  It was pretty low key, with some days helping Mom work on unpacking and organizing her things, and some days doing a little bit of shopping and/or sightseeing. 

My cousin and I went to Mill Park, which has the ruins of the Hennepin Paper Company, a paper mill that once supplied the papers that wrap around Crayola crayons.  We also checked out the local Pioneer Cemetery, which has graves dating back to 1825.  Many of the grave markers have been lost to time, so the earliest grave I saw was 1864, I believe.  The most recent marker I saw had a date of 1883. 

I made my first angel food cake from scratch, using egg whites from my chickens.  It turned out really well for a beginner, I thought!  We had it as a berry shortcake with homemade whipped cream.  All made possible because I was able to dig out my hand mixer and springform pan and use them for the first time in a long time, and it now they have their own space in the cupboard!

Cora and Yellow are both happy and healthy, and enjoy snuggling with each other and eating.  It’s a rough life for them.  I have been processing the last of the garden veggies.  I pulled in some unripe tomatoes and pumpkins and we’ll see if they will ripen in the sun indoors. 

The fall here in Minnesota seems to be quickly slipping into winter.  Temperatures have been in the 30s overnight and getting up to the 50s during the day.  Friday it rained all day long.  Saturday was overcast but dry and Mom and I had the chance to go to a small rock show about 40 miles away.  I picked up a few new treasures for my rock collection, and we did a little shopping afterwards too.  We checked out a new-to-us used book store, and I didn’t even buy anything!  They had an amazing history collection, so when I’m ready for some new history books, I know where I’ll go.

That’s what’s happening in my world.  It’s been pretty low key around here, but I feel like there is progress on home based projects.  How are things with you?

 

 

Book Review: Locked On

Locked On, by Tom Clancy with Mark Greaney

I’m not really a Tom Clancy reader, but this book was in my dad’s collection of audiobooks, which I’ve been working my way through for the last couple of years…  Mom and I recently drove to Knoxville, Tennessee for a jewelry making workshop, and I brought along a couple of dad’s audiobooks for the drive.

I’ve seen some of the Tom Clancy movies, so I do know some of the characters, but this one takes place when Jack Ryan has already been President and is no longer working for the CIA.  It is his son who is working now for the clandestine operative organization Hendley Associates, aka The Campus, when they learn of a plot by a Pakistani general to start a war with India by launching a nuclear bomb.

Meanwhile Paul Laska, a liberal billionaire who wants to discredit Jack Ryan and keep him from being reelected, uncovers a decades old assassination by one of Jack’s colleagues that he worked with in the CIA.  Laska believes that if he can bring the story to light, Ryan’s campaign will be destroyed.  Jack Ryan’s colleague must go dark in order to clear his name and find out who is trying to blackmail him, while the other operatives of The Campus race against time to stop the detonation of the nuclear bomb.

The novel is fast paced with lots of twists and turns, but it lacks the cohesiveness of the early Jack Ryan stories.  This may be because I watched them as films rather than read them, but I wasn’t fully invested in the plotline and it seemed overly complicated.  That said, for thriller fans and Jack Ryan fans, there is certainly enough to hold your interest, and it would be worth a read.  Even better if you got the book for free.

3 stars.

 

 

Book Review: A Death in Vienna

A Death in Vienna, by Daniel Silva

This novel was an audiobook version that I got from my father’s collection; he loved thrillers.

Gabriel Allon is the son of German born Jews and survivors of the Holocaust who emigrated to Israel after the War.  Allon becomes an operative and spy for “The Office,” a secretive Israeli spy ring that is begun in order to seek vengeance against the terrorists responsible for the murder of eleven Jewish athletes and coaches at the 1972 Berlin Olympics.  After that operation, Allon adopts a new identity as an art restorer and sometimes gets pulled back into missions with “The Office.”

This was the fourth book in the series, and Allon agrees to a mission after fellow operative and friend Eli Lazon is severely injured in Vienna while working as the head of the Bureau of Wartime Claims, an agency that researches and attempts to bring to justice perpetrators of the Holocaust.

Once he lands in Vienna, Allon learns that Lazon was on the trail of a man named Erich Radak, who was present and responsible for horrific murders both at the concentration camps and during the Birkenau Death March at the end of the war.

What follows is an exciting trip through Europe and to Argentina, to discover the identity of a suspected Nazi and bring him to justice.  Of course, that man does not want to be caught, and he will stop at nothing to eliminate those who are attempting to expose him.

Silva’s story is fast paced and interesting, and I enjoyed the historical details that Silva weaves into the story.  Although fictionalized, his characters and events are based on real people and events.  For those who like thrillers with a historical tie in, this is a book for you.

4 stars.