Month: April 2020

ACK! The A/C Just Came On!

This is what the forecast for the next ten days looks like:  Are you kidding me?!  101 ye-gadz degrees F on Star Wars Day!*  (That’s 38.3 C for the Celsius crowd.  Yeah.  I know!)  Sigh.  When I change my bed today, the blanket will be washed and put away until about November.  I’ve already turned the ceiling fan up to the Stiff Breeze setting. If wishes were horses*, that south-facing sliding glass door in my bedroom would be replaced with double French doors with between the glass shades.  (Frankly, if wishes were horses, we’d be knee-deep in horse poo, would we not?)

Here is this, because who doesn’t need to be thoroughly cheered up by baby pygmy Nigerian goats in pajamas?  (They’re tiny and live in Maine, where it gets durn cold!)

A bittersweet pleasure because their black cat reminds me of mine.

Today’s adulting should include changing my bed, doing laundry (possibly only one load) and taking out the trash.  How much of that will actually get done remains to be seen.  Afterward I will wash my hair and fold unmentionables while it dries.

Life in quarantine for me is not significantly different from the usual.  I’m pretty much a solitary WOL owing to my place on the spectrum.   The only major difference has been grocery shopping.  Since I only get paid once a month, I normally only grocery shop once a month.  However, I have felt a decided social pressure not to do that since I do not want to be mistaken for a hoarder.

I confess to having somewhat of a siege mentality when it comes to food and paper goods that come in a roll.  In the best possible world, I will always have at bare minimum a month’s supply of food (canned, frozen and boxed) on hand at any given time.  The more available space I see in my pantry and freezer, the less comfortable I feel.  Since I have not been able to replenish my pantry, I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable.   The irony of it is that since I cannot shop in once-a-month quantities, I must expose myself to COVD-19 more often.  What makes me feel even more uncomfortable is that we are moving into the A/C season when my electric bill will triple, and stretch my budget skin-tight.

I made a bowl of tuna salad the other day.  I like to eat it one of two ways — dolloped on crackers or in a sandwich.  I usually make 1-1/2 to 2 tuna salad sandwiches, wrap them in cling wrap and put them in the fridge to chill before eating them. It’s the only time I ever use cling wrap.  Really.  The roll of cling wrap I have has moved house with me twice now.  Seriously.

My tuna salad tends to be a little gooshy, and I do not stint when I make sandwiches with it, hence the cling wrap, which allows me to eat them without having to wash my hands (or shirt) afterward.  This time the sandwiches were made from artisanal “rustic” white bread of which I had three slices left.  Thus 1-1/2 sandwiches.  It was totally nums.  It had chopped green onions in (as well as diced Kosher dills, sliced black olives, chopped white onions and mayo.)

You will notice in the next to last photo a package of Pedros Tamales thawing in the fridge.  I am currently devouring them three at a time.  I put them in a shallow soup bowl, put a layer of refried beans on top, sprinkle with chopped green onions (in the plastic produce bag above), sliced black olives, and sprinkle cheese — Sargento’s Three Mexican Cheeses by choice — then zot them in the microwave.  A one-dish meal.

Cats and Threads did a post about working from home and about sharing what our at-home work stations look like.  When I did work from home, my work station looked pretty much like this.  The recliner is on casters.  It’s also almost 20 years old and is getting pretty shabby.   (I’m angling for a new recliner for my birthday . . .  hint! hint!) The table is also on casters.   I scoot the recliner up to the table, recline, then pull the table toward me.   The pegboards hold various cables, a box of stitch markers, a duster thingie and a clock.  I also still have a foot pedal mounted to the back pegboard, although I don’t use it anymore. The carryall at the bottom of the shot holds the shawl I have one more ball to knit onto.  I also have half of a 4′ x 8′ sheet of 3/4′ plywood on the floor underneath the setup so the desk and chair roll easily and don’t ruin my landlord’s carpet

Here’s the view from the command chair.  Note the bowl of knitting. And that’s all I’ve got for now.

*May the 4th be with you.
**FYI, the actual quote is, "If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride."

 

 

Getting a Handel on this Quarantine Business

Bored with quarantine yet?  Thought so.

This  is a video of a recording session for a very under-appreciated duet from one of Handel’s operas, “Giulio Cesare” first performed in 1724.  (Never heard of Handel?  Oh, I bet you’ve heard his greatest hit.)  I thought you might like to play a little mind game.   Position your mouse over the play arrow, but close your eyes before you click it.  Wait till after the harmony bit,  until they get to the bit where they sing individually.  Periodically see if you can guess who is singing, then open your eyes and see if you’re right.

Philippe Jaroussky is a French countertenor.  His voice falls within in the very highest male vocal range, the male equivalent of a soprano.   Nathalie Stutzmann, on the other hand, is a contralto.  She is singing in the very lowest female vocal range, the female equivalent of a bass.

OK.  So, in this next  blast from the past (1791*), the lady with the spikey crown is The Queen of the Night (Diana Damrau), and she is not a happy camper.  Her  little rant, “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen,” is one of those virtuoso,  blow-the-dust-off-the-chandeliers numbers.  What it is, actually, is Mozart’s take on a royal hissy fit.  In German.

In the interest of equal time, lets have some pyrotechnics from the men.  This is a little number called “Vo solcando un mar crudele” from the opera “Artaserse” by Leonardo Vinci (no, not that one) first performed in 1730** The role of Arbace is being wrestled to the ground here by countertenor Franco Fagioli.  This 2012 French production is remarkable for its period accuracy:  All the female roles (that would have been sung by castrati back in the day) were sung by male countertenors in drag, and the singers’ costumes are period accurate.  Seriously.  Grown men used to walk around in public, in broad daylight dressed just like this guy, makeup and all.  (Both men and women wore heavy, clown-white make up in those days.  Mostly to cover up small pox scars.)

Yeah, they make faces when they sing. They’re using their mouths and faces to focus and project their voices in much the same way a traditional stage actor does.  If you’ll notice, these singers don’t use mikes for performances.  This is opera.  You’d better put on your big boy knee breeches, because if you can’t hit those high C’s up into the nosebleed seats, you might as well take your ball and bat and go home.

One more by Handel.  “Addio, mio caro bene” from the opera “Teseo” first performed in 1713.*** This time with mezzo soprano Natalia Kawałek countertenor  Jakub Józef Orliński.  This duet is about lovers saying goodbye as he goes off to war.

I’m throwing this next one in because I have the whole opera on CD with Natalie Dessay in the title role.  Lakme was first performed in 1883*#.  Listen to the echoes she gets in the concert hall. You’ve probably heard something else from this opera on a movie soundtrack or two (like the love scene between Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve in The Hunger, and more recently, in films such as Meet the Parents and True Romance).  But this is the aria that brings home the bacon.

Ballet is serious, highbrow stuff.  Right? Um, no. . .


*1791 -- the French have been revolting since 1789, Louis XVI is still on the throne, but not for long.  The Americans have won their revolution (1783) but are still trying to figure out this states thing and which end is up.  Geo. Washington is in the third year of his first term as President. 

**1730  The year the city of Baltimore, Maryland was founded.  A year before  Benjamin Franklin founds the first  public library in America in Philadelphia.  Geo. Washington will not be born for another two years. 

***1713 In America the first of the French and Indian wars begins.  The treaty of Utrecht ends the war of the Spanish Succession and puts this guy on the Spanish throne. 

#*1883  Chester A. Arthur is President.  The Brooklyn Bridge is finished and opened for traffic.  The first Rodeo takes place in Pecos, Texas.  Americans began raising funds to build a base for the Statue of Liberty a year ago. My maternal great great grandmother, who immigrated to Texas from Saxony (Germany) at age 6, died two years ago, as did her youngest child, a daughter, aged 2. My maternal grandmother will not be born for another three years. 

Touching Base

Tuesday’s high was 47 F(8.3 C).  The low was 32 F (0 C).  Wednesday’s high was 67 F (19.4 C).  Thursday’s high is predicted to be 81 F (27.2 C) .  Tell you what.  Tuesday and Wednesday I got up to make finger food and hot tea, brought it back to the bedroom and just got back into bed where it was warm! Spent most of both days lying in the bed reading cheap trashy (and poorly written) novels.  (There were a couple that read as though they’d been edited by Google Translate.)   The sad thing about it is that these books have supposedly gone through a copy editor before being published.  Well, you get what you pay for.

However, I also read the latest Sebastian St. Cyr novel, Who Speaks for the Damned, by C. S. Harris.  If you like the Regency period in England, and you like whodunits, has C. S. Harris got about 15 books for you.  The earlier books are more angsty, but gripping reads.  This last one was Jarvis lite, and a little bit “going through the motions,” but it was — as are all her books — well written, insightful and historically accurate  (Harris has a Ph.D. in European history). The books are stand-alone and can be read in any order, but if you want all the juicy backstory,  publication order is best.  You get to watch Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin, (the sleuth) wrestle his demons and come to terms with his past.  The first murder he solves is the one he is being framed for!  His first love is an actress named Cat.  His nemesis is Lord Jarvis, the Regent’s cousin, but it’s Jarvis’ daughter, Hero who will go on to loom large in his legend.  (This happens in my favorite books of the series, What Remains of Heaven, Where Shadows Dance, and When Maidens Mourn.)

Then, yesterday evening I ran across a pearl among the swine.  Wyrde and Wayward by Charlotte E. English.  It’s the first book of a duology, and  I bought the second book before I’d even gotten three chapters into the first one.   Yep.  It’s that good.  It’s a cross between Georgette Heyer‘s Regency romances and The Addams Family.  It starts out like any other Regency novel, and you think you know what it’s going to be like, but then you begin to realize that it’s started to wander off in a totally strange direction.  The main character is an unmarried spinster of six and twenty, Augusta Werth.  We see her world from her point of view  — but it’s written in 3rd person ( he did, she said, they saw, etc) —  NOT 1st person (as though she herself was telling it to someone).  (I hate 1st person books!)  The thing that makes it work is that the author has played it straight.  No nudge-nudge, wink-wink.  Gussie’s world is perfectly normal to her and that’s the way the author shows it to us.  Plus, she’s witty, droll, and just a teensy bit snarky — but every inch a proper Regency Lady!   She lives with her governess in a cottage on her uncle’s (Viscount Werth) estate (a single lady would never live alone!).  Her married sister communes with ghosts, and worries about the effect of their presence on her children.  One cousin is as likely as not to have his head in a book, and fresh blood on his cravat.  Another cousin turned into something strange on her third birthday.  Two fun books for $7 is a great deal.

 

Books Read in 2020

58. Wyrde and Wayward, English, Charlotte E.
57. Who Speaks For The Damned, Harris, C. S.
56. Tangled in Blues, Peterson, Connor
55. Concealed in Sage, Peterson, Connor
54. Temptation in Neon, Peterson, Connor
53. A Light Amongst The Shadows, York, Kelly, and Attwood, Rowan
52. A Month in the Country, Carr, J. L.
51. The Hob’s Bargain, Briggs, Patricia
50. Wolfsbane, Briggs, Patricia (re-read)
49. Masques, Briggs, Patricia (re-read) (novelette)
48. Deriving Life, Bear, Elizabeth (re-read)
47. The Flowers of Vashnoi, Bujold, Lois McMaster
46. *Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Bujold, Lois McMaster
45. *Rescued by Bears, MacKinnon, Skye
44. *Beast of All, McKenzie, J. C.
43. *Shift Work, McKenzie, J. C.
42. *Beast Coast, McKenzie, J. C.
41. *Carpe Demon, McKenzie, J. C.
40. *Shift Happens, McKenzie, J. C.
39. *Meow: Catnip Assassins #1, MacKinnon, Skye
38. *The Omega Objection, Carriger, G. L. (re-read)
37. *The Sumage Solution, Carriger, G. L. (re-read)
36. *Marine Biology, Carriger, G. L. (re-read) (novelette)
36. *A Gentleman’s Position, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
35. *A Seditious Affair, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
34. *A Fashionable Indulgence, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
33. *The Ruin of Gabriel Ashley, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)(novelette)
32. *Unnatural, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
31. *The Gate That Locked The Tree, Miller, Steve and Lee, Sharon (short story)
30. *Meat Cute, Carriger, Gail (Novellette)
29. *Enlightened, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
28. *Beguiled, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
27. *Provoked, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
26. *Introducing Mr. Winterbourne, Chambers, Joanna (re-read) (novelette)
25. *A Closed and Common Orbit, Chambers, Becky
24. Resurgence, Cherryh, C. J.
23. Emergence, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
22. *Rogue Protocol, Wells, Martha
21. *Artificial Conditions, Wells, Martha
20. Convergence, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
19. Visitor, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
18. Tracker, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
17. *The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Chambers, Becky (reread)
16. Peacemaker, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-read)
15. Protector, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-read)
14. Intruder, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
13. Betrayer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
12. *The Finder, Lorin, J. E.
11. Deceiver, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
10. Conspirator, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
9. Deliverer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
8. *All Systems Red, Wells, Martha
7. Pretender, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
6. Destroyer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
5. *The Stonecutter Earl’s First Christmas, Harris, Adella J.
4. Explorer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
3. *The Mystery of Nevermore, Poe, C. S.
2. *The Ghost of Ellwood, Osborn, Jacklyn
1. Defender, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)

*ebook

“Go to the Limits of Your Longing”

God speaks to each of us as he makes us,
then walks with us silently out of the night.
These are the words we dimly hear:
You, sent out beyond your recall,
go to the limits of your longing.
Embody me.
Flare up like a flame
and make big shadows I can move in.
Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror.
Just keep going. No feeling is final.
Don’t let yourself lose me.
Nearby is the country they call life.
You will know it by its seriousness.
Give me your hand.

Poem by Rainer Maria Rilke from The Book of Hours, I 59

Doing the Social Distance Dance

So, I supported my local small businesses last night and called in a pizza strike (an expression I appropriated from a guy I used to date who had done two tours in Vietnam (which dates both of us!).  It’s the same idea as a unit in the field calling command on the radio and requesting an air strike or artillery fire on an enemy position, only much better.).

The TV was off, and I was sitting and knitting, so I heard the pizza delivery guy drive up.  I opened the (actual) door (but not the glass storm door), and here he comes up the walk carrying his delivery pouch in one hand and one of those shower stools for the elderly like you can buy in drug stores in the other hand.  The stool has a rubber band around the seat.   He put my delivery on the stool and backed away to the end of the porch.  I took my order off the stool and set it on the floor.  Then I slid my pair of Andrew Jacksons under the rubber band, told him to give me a Lincoln in change and stepped back behind my storm door.  He replaced my Jacksons with the requested Lincoln and stepped away from the stool.  I retrieved my Lincoln, wished him a good night, and he took his stool and left.

I carried my food items into the kitchen and opened the cartons up so I could get at the food AFTER I did the 20-second hand wash thing.  THEN, without touching the cartons, I put slices on a plate and chowed down, all the while expecting at any moment to hear that music . . . .

They tell us social distancing is working, though.  This is why.   Let’s say the ping pong ball is the corona virus . . .

Oddly enough, the first part of this video is the same one they use to illustrate nuclear fission with the ping pong balls representing neutrons (bang is how it goes. . .).

Had to share this truly beautiful, truly human picture.  These medical professionals have taped pictures of their faces to their isolation gear to, quite literally, put a human face on their care.  Cue the Bowie song . . .

My part in the MTV generation was  a bit vicarious, but be that as it may.  Today’s earworm is a rather relevant blast from the past . . .  We’re all having to do the safety dance these days.

We can do this.

Random Bounces Off The Wall

OK.  Microwave controls vs. food package instructions.  If you cook something in the microwave for 1 minute, the microwave timer counts down from 60. So, if the food package says to cook something for, say, 4-1/2 minutes, do you set the timer for 4.50 (half a minute = 0.50 minute) or 4.30 (half of 1 minute (60 seconds) = 30 seconds)?  Somebody in the food industry (or the microwave industry, not sure which) has really dropped the ball here.  You’d think they’d put the microwave times on the package directions the way you should punch them in on the microwave controls, for crying out loud!

Had to share this because priceless.

 

 

Books Read in 2020

52. A Month in the Country, Carr, J. L.
51. The Hob’s Bargain, Briggs, Patricia
50. Wolfsbane, Briggs, Patricia (re-read)
49. Masques, Briggs, Patricia (re-read) (novelette)
48. Deriving Life, Bear, Elizabeth (re-read)
47. The Flowers of Vashnoi, Bujold, Lois McMaster
46. *Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance, Bujold, Lois McMaster
45. *Rescued by Bears, MacKinnon, Skye
44. *Beast of All, McKenzie, J. C.
43. *Shift Work, McKenzie, J. C.
42. *Beast Coast, McKenzie, J. C.
41. *Carpe Demon, McKenzie, J. C.
40. *Shift Happens, McKenzie, J. C.
39. *Meow: Catnip Assassins #1, MacKinnon, Skye
38. *The Omega Objection, Carriger, G. L. (re-read)
37. *The Sumage Solution, Carriger, G. L. (re-read)
36. *Marine Biology, Carriger, G. L. (re-read) (novelette)
36. *A Gentleman’s Position, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
35. *A Seditious Affair, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
34. *A Fashionable Indulgence, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
33. *The Ruin of Gabriel Ashley, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)(novelette)
32. *Unnatural, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
31. *The Gate That Locked The Tree, Miller, Steve and Lee, Sharon (short story)
30. *Meat Cute, Carriger, Gail (Novellette)
29. *Enlightened, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
28. *Beguiled, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
27. *Provoked, Chambers, Joanna (re-read)
26. *Introducing Mr. Winterbourne, Chambers, Joanna (re-read) (novelette)
25. *A Closed and Common Orbit, Chambers, Becky
24. Resurgence, Cherryh, C. J.
23. Emergence, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
22. *Rogue Protocol, Wells, Martha
21. *Artificial Conditions, Wells, Martha
20. Convergence, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
19. Visitor, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
18. Tracker, Cherryh, C. J. (re-read)
17. *The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, Chambers, Becky (reread)
16. Peacemaker, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-read)
15. Protector, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-read)
14. Intruder, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
13. Betrayer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
12. *The Finder, Lorin, J. E.
11. Deceiver, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
10. Conspirator, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
9. Deliverer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
8. *All Systems Red, Wells, Martha
7. Pretender, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
6. Destroyer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
5. *The Stonecutter Earl’s First Christmas, Harris, Adella J.
4. Explorer, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)
3. *The Mystery of Nevermore, Poe, C. S.
2. *The Ghost of Ellwood, Osborn, Jacklyn
1. Defender, Cherryh, C. J. (re-re-re-read)

*ebook