First Reads of 2012

So far this year I have only read two books, and one doesn't really count because I didn't finish it.

Our book group's selection for January was Chango's Beads and Two-Tone Shoes by William Kennedy, which came highly recommended by a bookstore employee.  This book also got lots of good reviews on Amazon. Our group is made up of 4 dedicated readers, so when only one person has actually read the whole book (and that member was trapped in the house recuperating from surgery with plenty of time on her hands), you could guess that it definitely wasn't our "cup of tea".  At first I thought it might be interesting:  Castro trying to overthrow Battista, a gorgeous dame, an investigative reporter, money, revolution, etc. but by page 100 I still didn't care about any of the characters, so I just gave up.  Doesn't sound like I missed anything!

Our group had read and been moved by Irene Nemirovsky's Suite Francaise, so I decided to read All Our Worldly Goods, which had recently been reviewed in the Wall Street Journal.  (A little background:  a Russian Jew whose family had relocated to France in 1918, Irene became a successful French author. As the Nazis came to power, her success could not help her--she was denied French citizenship in 1938, arrested in 1942 and shortly thereafter died in the gas chamber at Auschwitz.)

All Our Wordly Goods is the story of a French family between the world wars with its concerns about heritage, class, change, family ties.  Her writing style is descriptive without being sentimental, and I enjoyed her look at the "circle of life" in this book.  Perhaps being an outsider and a keen observer helped her to really see and understand the people about whose lives she wrote.

Men At Work

With Ross visiting for the weekend, Mark decided he could use some help cutting down the big oak tree over the well.

Several large branches had broken during the October snowstorm and the oak has not been too healthy the past few years.  Its leaves would turn brown and start to fall by the end of August but it seemed to fare better during wet summers.

No wonder it didn't look healthy--the center portion is rotted!  The tree is
about 24 inches in diameter where Mark cut.  Because it was leaning towards the greenhouse, Ross used the tree rope and the "comealong" to help guide its fall away from the house and between two other trees as Mark used the chainsaw.  So the men did work--I just can't bear to watch them and waited until the tree was on the ground to take photos.

This oak has also acted as a lightning rod for our well--a lightning strike blew out the pump controller two years ago, and last month another lightning strike not only fried the controller but also blew out the pump down in the well.  $3,000 in repairs later, we decided it was time to take down the damaged tree!

Mark is finally feeling better after being sick with an awful head cold all week, and Thursday morning I woke up with it.  I'm still feeling lousy today and frantically using disinfectant everywhere in hopes that Ross won't catch it. I guess it's that time of year--my 3 book group friends all had colds too.

Hope you are keeping warm and staying healthy!

PIP

I have a fun Project In Progress!  When Dawn was home over Chrismas, we stopped at a local fabric store to look for something appropriate to make covers for the pillows in her Paris apartment.  There was a cute tote bag on display and Dawn realized it was exactly what she needed.

We bought the pattern and the same exterior fabric but had to wait for the store to order more webbing for the handles.  Once I had all the components, I got started!  It's coming together pretty easily and sewing the thick cotton webbing was no problem at all.  Now I'm ready to sew the lining and hope to finish over the weekend.  Book group is coming here this evening and I'm making stuffed shells!

A Mild Day

With 5 inches of fresh powder on Saturday, I was hoping to get some photos of the snowy landscape at the reservoir this week.  Sunday's below-freezing daytime temperatures warmed up enough by Monday to bring drizzle, fog, and then rain.  When the sun came out on Tuesday, temperatures climbed into the mid 50s! 

By the time Kita and I headed out for our walk in the early afternoon, most of the snow had melted and the ice was covered with several inches of water.  I'm not complaining--it was wonderful to wear a light jacket and leave my gloves at home!

The Art of Theater Costumes

As head draper for The Hartford Stage, B. W. Sellers is tasked with making the costumes.  He selected a number of his favorite costumes from many different plays over the years for an exhibition at the theater.

With the costume designer's sketch in hand, Mr. Sellers starts by "making a muslin" which involves draping, cutting, and pinning muslin on a dress form to match the design sketch.  Then the muslin is used to make a pattern.  I was surprised to see that he uses brown kraft paper to actually make the pattern.

The mannequins were posed with their hands holding a description of the costume.  This beautiful gown worn by Lady Capulet in Romeo and Juliet looks like black velvet but is described as being made from black-green and black-yellow velvet. 

I was pleasantly surprised to see the color differences show up in the photo!  It really looks totally black when you see it on display, but I assume it shimmers under stage lights.

The workmanship is incredible, and the fabrics are gorgeous--a treat for the eyes!

"Boeing, Boeing"

To celebrate our anniversary, we bought tickets to see "Boeing, Boeing" at The Hartford Stage which included a luncheon, courtesy of the New England Air Museum. 

A French play first produced in English in 1962, "Boeing, Boeing" is enjoying a 21st century revival as a fond reminiscence of the "golden age" of air travel.  It's the story of an American bachelor in Paris who is engaged to three different stewardesses who work for different airlines, but chaos ensues when their flight schedules change and all converge on his apartment at the same time.  I hadn't realized it was made into a 1965 movie starring Jerry Lewis and Tony Curtis!

During intermission we had a nice chat with these three lovely ladies who came to the play wearing their original stewardess uniforms!  Back in the day, being a stewardess was quite a prestigious position.  The two women who worked for Pan Am said you had to be fluent in English and one other language to even apply for a stewardess job.  The third said her father allowed her to apply only after she finished her college degree.

In keeping with the 60s theme, I wore a boucle jacket and an above-the-knee pencil skirt with ankle boots as my "go-go" boots.

The theater had an exhibition of costumes made by their draper, B.W. Sellers.  Here Mark is trying to decide which one would suit him the best.  The fabrics are sumptuous and the attention to detail is exquisite--I'll share more of these photos tomorrow!

All in all, we had a wonderful time.  Hope your weekend was fun too!

Last Reads of 2011

I finished a couple of books in December and suddenly feel that I need a break from reading!

Lost Memory of Skin by Russell Banks got a lot of press from critics who generally raved about this book despite its uncomfortable subject matter. A young man who is a convicted sex offender tries to continue living his life while realistically exiled with other misfits to the one area of a city not within 2500 feet of schools, daycares, or anyplace children might be.  (Hint:  it's not pretty.) Kid was arrested when he went to meet a girl he met on the internet, who happened to be underage and whose father was home to call the police when he showed up. The professor who befriends and tries to help him is also an intriguing character with a shady past.  This books raises lots of interesting questions but sometimes tries to be too clever, especially in its depiction of the genius professor who ends up teaching at a community college.  I'd have to say it's better than some I've read recently but I'm glad I got it out of the library instead of buying it.

On Canaan's Side by Sebastian Barry was our book group's December selection.  I suppose I have in my head the stereotype of Irish authors as being such good storytellers who see the humor in any situation and the tragedy in our daily struggles.  Sebastian Barry doesn't disappoint!  The story unfolds so naturally as 89-year-old Lily reflects upon her life after her grandson's suicide.  How a male author can inhabit the soul of this character so authentically is just amazing.  It's not a cheerful read but it is beautifully written and worth reading.