The Reading Stack

59°f/15°C, clear. It has warmed up quickly, now at 1:30pm it is 76. Rain is expected, and hoped for, tomorrow, as it is very dry now. Leaves are coming down very quickly--they went from green to colors for a very brief time this year 

I am struggling once again to read a full book. I am halfway through the nonfiction story of the first two women to complete a journey through the Grand Canyon on a raft expedition; it's a great read, but I haven't touched it in 2 weeks. I can't really say why, but perhaps it is because there are so many ends to tie up these days---garden work, the booth change-up from Fall to Christmas,  doctor appointments, lining up featured artists for the open mic, and so on. My mind is so busy thinking about what needs to be done that I can't seem to sink into a long story.

But there is my reading stack. I delve into these almost daily, just reading the short entries for each day. It really is pleasurable, since I don't feel like I need to commit big blocks of time to them.

I have been reading The Assassin's Cloak since the beginning of this year and still enjoying the diary excerpts very much. Everything from Madame Pepys' rant on November 1st about her husband's sexual misconduct and demands, to Noel Coward's musings on the afterlife, or lack thereof, and heartbreaking entries by people like Captain Charles Mansel, held in a German POW camp, or Polish Jews stranded in their country with no way to escape what is coming. 

Lighter reading is welcome in my favorite poet Ted Kooser's book of prose poems, The Wheeling Year. Now, I am not a fan of prose poetry, but these poems pull me right in, just as all of his work does.

I was sorting books on my shelves last month and came upon The Gardener's Quotation Book, which I had forgotten I had. This slim little book offers delightful bits of wisdom, lore, and humor from many writers and gardeners, spread out month by month. 

And of course the Book of Days, another I have been reading most of this year, enjoying the daily entries, and the lovely artwork of Kate Greenaway.

None of these are new books, but all still have relevance today, the last three especially resonating with those of us who live in the country. I think, though, that even an urban dweller would find them intriguing just for the history, folklore and imagery. 

I am trying to read Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner. It is very good, and I will keep plugging away until it (hopefully) seepulls me totally in. The story is based in post-WWII England, following 3 women who work in a bookshop. I am only 60 pages in and still not sure where the book is going, but it's interesting enough to keep me reading, if only for a few pages a day.

Today I planted tulip and Japanese iris bulbs. I have another 5 packages of bulbs to get in the ground. Every year I buy bulbs, then groan at the thought of planting them! But I will get it done this week, and then I can mark that job off the list. 

Larry and I worked together to get out the Christmas totes. What a job! Eight are for the house, and 5 for the booths. I won't be decorating the house just yet, but since we were getting the others out it made sense to bring the house ones in too. My goal is to downsize by at least 2 house totes and 2 booth totes, but we will see. I just like Christmas decorations so much! I took down all the Halloween things, just making a few adjustments to keep a Fall look. 

Well, enough for today. Tonight is open mic so I need to get dinner made early. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Fall-ish

This is the old homeplace of a family on our road. No one has lived in the house for years, but some family members still maintain the land around it. I love to take photos of this place.

Here is my first photo on this gray day. The colors were much brighter than they showed in my photo.

So I used a filter to get back to the colors I saw without the camera. But I didn't like those power lines, or the blue tarp and blue barrel. They jarred.

And the photo was crooked.

So a little editing, and I got the photo I was looking for, that captures the real essence of the place.

I took this last week, along our little watershed lake.

At home, flowers are hanging in there. Here we are in November, and no killing frost. The lantana is so colorful this time of year.

Zinnias are still blooming brightly too.

And the canna keeps blooming and blooming.

Little pinks, planted late, are bright spots of color still.

And snapdragons I planted in the Spring are hanging in there. I wish these were perennials!

Hydrangeas in hairnets! At least the deer didn't eat them. They did eat most of the leaves, and some blooms before I put the nets on. These beauties are fading now.

One big begonia is still thriving. I may bring this one inside this winter.

Things are looking pretty tidy in the cellar. This is just one small section. It is nice to go in there and see all these neat rows of good food.

Tomorrow is election day, and we'll be going in to cast our votes, then wait to see what the results will be. In this deep red state, I don't expect any changes on the local level unfortunately.  But I am hopeful that other, more forward-looking states, will vote for a change.

And after voting, it's open mic night! A lady is stopping by to drop off a quart of sorghum molasses made by her father, a rare thing these days. I am thankful to see some of the old ways still survive.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

Of Cryptids and a Play

50°f/10°C, overcast. Showers expected. 

The newest West Virginia license plate! It features 9 cryptids supposedly seen in our state. I could see the Braxton County Monster, Mothman, Bigfoot, the Yeti, and the giant turtle whose name I forget,  but there are 4 more.  Can you spot them? My license plate expires this month, so hopefully I can get one of these to put on my van. Fingers crossed!

The plate is the design of the late Jesse Corliss, who we had the pleasure of meeting one day while he was painting the mural on the Museum of American Glass in Weston, WV. Jesse worked for the state, but painted many murals across West Virginia on his time off. His untimely death from a seizure was so sad, but his legacy lives on. You can read his beautiful obituary here. I feel very fortunate to have met him, and to see how much he loved his work. 

Yesterday was a fun day. We drove to Clarksburg, WV, about 2 1/2 hours away, to see a play at the restored Robinson Grand Theater. I had bought tickets back in August to see this play based on the Sherlock Holmes story, Hound of the Baskervilles. This play, however, was a comedic version. How could that possibly be, I wondered?

The play was presented with a cast of just 4 actors, and it was fantastic fun. There was much audience involvement, and the actors were impressive. Obviously dancers as well as actors, they managed to play about a dozen roles, even down to a most extraordinary "hound".

Our son Aaron and his wife joined us for the play. We met for lunch first at the oddly named Whiskey Biscuit restaurant, which featured an extensive breakfast and lunch menu, along with beer and liquor (but no wine, very odd).

As we walked to the theater, we passed this surprising sight: a cannon made in Spain in 1795!

The carved stone plaque gave a brief overview of the cannon's history, but really didn't explain why it came ro be in Clarksburg. 

It was a fun day, well worth the long drive.

Today we must take Pip to the vet to see about meds for these two itchy scritchy dogs. I am sure they have some kind of mite, because they don't have fleas. I think Pip may have had them when he came from the animal shelter a year ago, and shared them with poor Buddy.  Luckily, this vet treats the shelter animals, and has Pip's records. I hope we can get this resolved. 

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.