Books, Fall

Fall Is Tapping on Our Shoulders; Reading Agatha Christie

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On Sunday evening, it was a little too chilly to sit comfortably in the screen house.

“Let’s have a fire,” I suggested.

For Christmas, Dee had bought us a new fire pit, and in early spring we had tested it once on the patio. We wanted to see if the fire pit worked properly—it did—and after that trial run, we set it to one side to be used come fall.

Fall, it seems, has come tapping on our shoulders. Both Clif and Dee agreed that a fire was a good idea, and soon we were having drinks around the fire pit.

I realize this fire looks out of control, but it really didn’t seem that way when we were sitting around it. I am happy to report that the fire stayed in the pit, and the only thing that burned was the wood that fed the fire.

As we chatted and had our drinks, the neighbor’s cat came for a visit.

Fortunately, he left without catching this little chipper.

Above us, the sky was a brilliant blue.

In Maine, September is surely one of the most beautiful months of the year—warm days, cool nights, and usually not too much rain. I probably should have saved this post as an item for Thankful Thursday, but here it is on Monday, a grateful way to begin  a week that supposedly will be filled with blue skies and sunshine.

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Reading

Agatha Christie: The Mirror Crack’d , A Caribbean Mystery, and Nemesis from Five Complete Miss Marple Novels

Confession Time: Until this past month, I had never read an Agatha Christie novel. Seems incredible, I know. I am nearly sixty-seven, and I hadn’t read the grande dame of mysteries.

My excuse? I am not a huge mystery fan. They are not the books I naturally gravitate toward. (That would be literary fiction and fantasy. Not the usual combination, I know, but there it is.)

So what changed my mind? Shane Malcom-Billings, a librarian extraordinaire who work at our town’s library. He has put together an Agatha Christie book club, and I thought, why not? Somehow, it sounded fun. Shane is a wonderful book club leader, and I’m looking forward to his take on Agatha Christie. Our first meeting is this Friday, and it will be one where we discuss Agatha Christie in general. After that, we’ll be reading specific books. I figured I should read a few novels so that I would have something to add at that first meeting.

I found a compendium of five Miss Marple novels—the three I read are listed above—and off I went, staring with The Mirror Crack’d.

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I started reading The Mirror Crack’d. Would I like it? Would the writing be full of clichés? Would the story come at the expense of the characters? Here are my answers: Yes, no, and somewhat.

The writing style is solid and is not loaded with hackneyed phrases. Miss Marple is a wonderfully sympathetic character, a woman who is dealing with aging and all that this brings yet who is still sharp enough to solve mysteries. If I were younger, I might not be as drawn to Miss Marple as I am, but as I approach my seventies—my, that sounds old!—I am completely sympathetic with her frailties.

There is also a fair amount of humor in the books, especially when Miss Marple puts on a doddering old-woman act to trick characters into revealing more than they want to.

The other characters, I’m afraid, are more one dimensional. They are there to commit crimes, to be suspected of having committed a crime, or to help Miss Marple. Not much nuance.

Never mind. I like Miss Marple so much that I’m willing to overlook the lack of depth in the other characters.

What will I think of Christie’s other protagonists?

I don’t know. Stay tuned.

 

Books, Food

Thankful Thursday: Mexican Food, Corn, and the Return of Interlibrary Loan

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This post is part of a series called Thankful Thursday, where I list some things to feel thankful for. To some extent, focusing on what is wrong appears to come naturally to most people, who often complain, complain, complain when they get together with family and friends. (I’m no exception, that’s for sure.) So focusing on things to feel thankful for seems like good spiritual practice, a way to counterbalance the tendency toward negative thinking.

Mexican Food

After going to see the movie Sing Sing, which I wrote about on Monday’s post,  Clif, Dee, our friend Joel, and I headed to Buen Apetito for Mexican Food. Along with the tasty food, one of the things I really like about Buen Apetito is how willing they are to let customers split a dish. Not only does this save money, but it also allows better portion control. While some things can be taken home for later, what we like to order doesn’t make for good leftovers.

And what did we order? Buen Apetito’s delicious potato flautases, which are shells stuffed with mashed potatoes and fried until crisp. I suppose day-old potato flautases might be worth reheating, but Clif and I prefer them hot from Buen Apetito’s kitchen.

Over dinner we talked about Sing Sing and other movies we might be interested in. We also talked about politics and did our best to solve the world’s problem. As usual, we fell far short of the mark, but nonetheless, we try.

Corn, Corn, Corn

I know, I know. I’ve listed corn in a previous post, but I just can’t help featuring corn again. Yesterday we received eight ears from our own Farmer Kev, and my oh my they were good. Soon, the corn will be done for the season, but until then, we rejoice in those sweet ears slathered with salt and butter.

The Return of Interlibrary Loan

I’ve saved the best for last. Maine has a terrific interlibrary loan system where participating libraries can freely order requested books they don’t have from other libraries. We have a lovely but small library with both a limited budget, limited space, and thus a limited collection. For someone who is an eclectic reader who, say, particularly likes mid-twentieth century British women writers, interlibrary loan is a godsend. I go online, see if the book is available at other libraries—often it is—and order it. The book is then shipped directly to my library.

But a terrible thing happened at the beginning of summer. The interlibrary loan system, run by the Maine State Library, was temporarily suspended. Most of the routes are run by vans that are hired from a private company. Every few years, the Maine State Library has to get bids for this service, and this year they chose a different service that no doubt charged less. The incumbent company decided to appeal the decision and this shut down the interlibrary loan service until the court made its decision.

Readers, I am not one to complain, but I have to admit it was a dark three months without interlibrary loan. No longer did I have the larger world of books open to me, available with the click of a mouse. My only consolation was that I knew this interruption of service was temporary and that eventually the system would be up and running.

That happy day came on Thursday, and giddy with relief, I promptly ordered seven books not available at our library.

“Greedy,” Dee observed when I told her how many books I had ordered.

Guilty as charged. When it comes to books, I am indeed greedy.

Thankful Posts on Other Blogs

Cimple celebrates the return of fall and cool weather.

Debbie, from Musings by an ND Domer’s Mom, also celebrates cooler weather.

Ju-Lyn, of Touring My Backyard, writes, “With each sunrise, I give thanks for another day of possibilities.”

Barbara, of Thistles and Kiwis, features food, glorious food, some eaten at restaurants, some she cooked herself.

Carol Ann, of Fashioned for Joy, shares a week of delights, ranging from tea and scones at a tea house in Virginia to trips to a museum.

Movies

The Roles We Are Given: A Review of the Movie Sing Sing

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Last Saturday, at Maine Film Center in Waterville, I think I just might have seen the best movie of 2024. A bold statement, I know, as  many movies have yet to be released. But Sing Sing was such a good movie that it would take something really special to surpass it.

As the title suggests, Sing Sing takes place in the well-known prison on the banks of the Hudson River in New York. The story revolves around Divine G, played by the great and good Coleman Domingo, who has been imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. Along with other inmates, he belongs to a theater troupe that provides creativity and meaning in a place where these qualities are in short supply. The plot of this movie is based on the real-life story of theater in prison, made  possible by a  program called Rehabilitation Through the Arts (RTA).

A younger inmate, Divine Eye (Clarence Maclin), joins the group and challenges the authority of the men who are seasoned members of the troupe. With only a bit of grumbling, the other men give way to Divine Eye and his desire for comedy rather than the drama the men usually perform. Hence Breakin’ the Mummy’s Code is born. It soon becomes clear that the troupe members are doing this out of generosity, hoping that Divine Eye, a sullen young man and a drug dealer, will be nurtured by art the way they have.

As the movie progresses, a friendship develops between Divine G and Divine Eye. They talk about where they came from, the roles they were given, and how they were boxed in by them. Acting allows the two men to see that there might be different roles for them that were not clear (or available) when they were younger.

Unlike most prison films, there are no scenes of brutality in Sing Sing.  Instead, there are scenes of everyday incarceration where the men’s cells are searched, and there are security checks.

Even more surprising, in Sing Sing there are moments of pure joy as the men rehearse and become friends with one another.

In the wrong hands, Sing Sing could have been a horribly sentimental movie with swelling music as the inmates are redeemed through art. However, the directing, the script, and the acting are so tight that the film never becomes maudlin. At the same time, Sing Sing has heart, and I was rooting for both of the Divines in this film.

As the credits roll, viewers learn that most of the actors in Sing Sing are men who were formerly incarcerated and members of the RTA program. This provides a note of poignancy and authenticity to this fine film.

Readers, if you have a chance, go see Sing Sing if it comes to a theater near you. If it doesn’t come to a theater near you, be sure to see it when it is available through streaming.

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: An old Friend, Basil, and a New Leaf Blower

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This post is part of a series called Thankful Thursday, where I list some things to feel thankful for. To some extent, focusing on what is wrong appears to come naturally to most people, who often complain, complain, complain when they get together with family and friends. (I’m no exception, that’s for sure.) So focusing on things to feel thankful for seems like good spiritual practice, a way to counterbalance the tendency toward negative thinking.

Getting Together With an Old Friend

Last Friday, on a most beautiful day, I got together with Doree, a friend I have known since grade school. Over the years, we had lost touch with each other, but thanks to Facebook, we reconnected a year so ago. As we both live within driving distance of each other, we decided it would be good to get together now and again.

And so we have. Usually, we meet at Barnes & Noble for tea and talk, but last Friday we went to Sully’s Tavern in downtown Winthrop. We both had something a little peppier than tea: pineapple and rum drinks, fries, and a delicious dessert of bananas with a salted caramel sauce.

Even without tea, there was still plenty of talk. How good it is to have a friend who has known me since childhood. Growing up in a small rural community in central Maine, we have so much shared history, and that means the world to me.

Basil

Our backyard is half sun and half shade, which means certain herbs, such as basil, don’t grow very well. But because I am a huge fan of basil, I plant it anyway, and I figure whatever I get will cost less than buying it at the grocery store.

But this year, the sun, the humidity, and the plentiful rain all came together to produce a crop that went beyond  my wildest dreams.

As a result, we’ve had basil with all kinds of dishes, and I will be sorry when the frost comes—probably sometime in October—and nips one of my favorite herbs. Until then, it’s basil, basil, basil.

Our New Leaf Blower

For forty years we have lived on the edge of the woods without feeling the need for a leaf blower. Sometimes Clif has chopped up the leaves with his lawnmower; sometimes we have raked them. (Our old tar driveway fell into the latter category.)

But then came our new driveway, a crushed-granite beauty that can neither be raked nor gone over with a lawn mower. We want those little stones, which cost us plenty, to stay in our driveway.

Enter the leaf blower. We ordered one that runs on a battery, and as we Mainers might put it, the leaf blower works like a chahm. It does a good job of blowing the leaves off our driveway and into the woods, and it does an equally good job of leaving the gravel in place.

Sometimes old dogs do learn new tricks.

Thankful Posts on Other Blogs

50 Happens: Thankful Thursday (sorry, vegans)

Cimple: Thankful Thursday

Each week on Monday, Barbara, of Thistles and Kiwis, posts a piece  featuring simple pleasures that are always a delight to read and are certainly things to be thankful for. Henceforth, Barbara’s posts will be included in  my Thankful Thursday links.

Electric Car, Flowers

The Season of Susans and Tesla Update

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In Maine, the end of August is one of the sweetest times of the year. For the most part, gone are the high heat and humidity. Instead, we have warm days and cool nights, which means an adjustment with the windows. Now they are open during the day and closed at night so that the house doesn’t get too cold.

We have lost over an hour  of light since the Summer Solstice, and it is dark by 8:00 p.m. Even though this means winter is coming, we don’t mind. At the end of August, we can still sit in the screen house and listen to the song of the crickets. And, as Dee pointed out, soon it will be cool enough for fires in our fire pit. So cozy to sit in the dark with our mugs of tea and watch the fire.

The end of August is also the season of Susans, black-eyed Susans, that is.  How they brighten the gardens at our home by the edge of the woods.

In front

as well as in the backyard.

When the Susans are finally gone for the season—how long they last!—the gardens will definitely be past their best.

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Electric Car Update

Some of you were wondering just how much it would cost in electricity to run Dee’s electric car. We have had the car for a month, and although we aren’t gadabouts, we do go here and there. At least some of the time. However, we all work from home, which means much of the week, the cars sit in the driveway. Do we love our short commute? We certainly do.

Here are the statistics for Dee’s Tesla.

Total miles driven: 300

Electricity cost: $13 (78 Kwh)

Estimated gasoline cost (based on a national average) for the same mileage: $37

Obviously, the cost of electricity varies from place to place, but this was the cost of electricity in Maine. Also, all of our electricity comes from a local solar farm, so none of it was produced by coal or gas.

Step by step, we aim to reduce our carbon output. We are not perfect—we still use propane to heat our hot water—but we are trying.

Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: Screen house, Champlain Chocolates, and Music

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This post is part of a series called Thankful Thursday, where I list some things to feel thankful for. To some extent, focusing on what is wrong appears to come naturally to most people, who often complain, complain, complain when they get together with family and friends. (I’m no exception, that’s for sure.) So focusing on things to feel thankful for seems like good spiritual practice, a way to counterbalance the tendency toward negative thinking.

Our Screen House

In late spring, our daughter Dee clicked on an article with the title Ten Items That Will Really Make Your Summer Better. Or something like that. Dee was skeptical about what would be listed, but because she loves summer, she figured, what the heck. Why not click on the article?

As it turned out, Dee found something she liked, a screen house that fits over an umbrella. Dee is quite the mosquito magnet; for some reason they are just drawn to her.  She figured that a screen house would give her some protection, allowing us to sit on the patio in late afternoon when those little biters come out from the woods. Best of all, the screen house only cost $50.

I’m happy to report that the screen house has been a smashing success. Clif had a wee bit of trouble attaching it to the umbrella, and he might have said a few bad words. But in the end he succeeded, and what a wonder that screen house has been.

This summer, with all the rain and humidity, the mosquitos have been out in full force, but in the screen house, we were safe from attack. The screen house has become a second living room, where we have drinks and meals and can stay outside as late as we want.

Best $50 Dee ever spent.

This photo gives a good sense of how our backyard snugs up against the woods.

 

Lake Champlain Chocolates

Vermont is home to Lake Champlain Chocolates, which are utterly delicious. Our daughter Shannon and her husband Mike went to Vermont last week, where they visited the Lake Champlain Chocolate mother store. And they just happened to bring us back some chocolates.

Confession time: the path to my heart is paved with lovely chocolate, and wowsah, those chocolates were wicked good!

Music, Always Music: I’m With Her

Yet again, from NPR and their Tiny Desk Concerts. I accidentally came upon I’m With Her on YouTube, which loves to give me music suggestions based on what I’ve listened to. More often than not, YouTube hits the mark, and they certainly did with I’m With Her.

Not only are the three young women luminous performers, but their clear voices blend beautifully, and they play with snap and style.

More Thankful Thursdays

As more of my blogging friends are posting Thankful Thursday pieces, Thursday is fast becoming my favorite day of the week. On her recent Thankful Thursday post, my blogging friend Ju-lyn, of Touring My Backyard, linked to other blogging friends who had their own Thankful Thursday pieces. I have decided to follow suit. When I mentioned I would be borrowing her idea, Ju-Lyn noted, “like minds are we.” Yes we are.

Read and smile! In the comments, feel free to list what you are thankful for.

Touring My Backyard: Tea Time

50 Happens: Thankful Thursday

Musings by an ND Domer’s Mom: Thankful Thursday (4)

Cimple: Thankful Thursday

Movies, summer

Late Summer on Our One Acre; And a Movie Review of Ballad of a Soldier

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We have a little piece of land, one acre, on the edge of the woods. Those woods are part of a watershed of 2,729 acres—over 4 square miles—that drains to the Upper Narrows Pond, and this means they are safe from development. In the woods are many wild animals, including foxes, deer, porcupines, bears, fishers, raccoons, coyotes, and skunks. (I know that people need homes, but so do wild creatures. Getting the mix right is often difficult.)

One acre compared to 2, 729 isn’t very much, but at times it seems like the world to me, always changing, never static, variable with each season.  Our home, the driveway, lawn, and gardens all sit on this one acre. When I was younger, I would have liked more land to grow more food. But nowadays, with my creaky knees, our one acre seems exactly right: big enough for some gardens, enough space for our patio, close enough to the road, but not too close.

And what is mid-August bringing to our acre by the woods?

First of all, mushrooms. The opening picture is a close-up of them, and they remind me of little pancakes. When the focus is farther out, not so much. And note how green the grass is. This summer, we have had a perfect amount of rain, enough to keep things green and growing, but not too much to make things soggy and rotten.

The bee balm has passed, and I like the way the seed head looks against this hydrangea, which is starting to pass.

Bee balm doesn’t exactly thrive in my back garden, and I think this plant, normally a spreader, doesn’t get enough sun. I’m thinking of planting more hydrangeas in its place, but the hummingbirds love what does grow, and I like the bee balm’s splash of red, however thin. We shall see.

My own tomatoes are beginning to ripen, and yesterday I used a few in a sandwich. Because I was feeling bold, I also added some cucumbers. As my Yankee husband would say, pretty darned good.

Even though it’s still August, there are signs that fall is just around the corner.

And who is this in our backyard? Why, it’s the divine Miss Holly.

She belongs to our daughter Shannon and our son-in-law Mike, and we took care of Holly while they celebrated their fourteenth wedding anniversary in Vermont. (Happy, happy!)

Our backyard, completely fenced in, is perfect for dogs. Holly had a fun weekend of lots of treats as well as sniffing and patrolling the backyard. She’s wonderful company, bright and alert. Shannon and Mike picked her up yesterday, and we miss her.

There are still more weeks of August before we edge into September. More time for sitting on the patio by the edge of the deep green woods as we listen to the finches, the nuthatches, the chickadees, and the occasional haunting call of the bard barred owl.

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Watching: World Cinema

From the Janus Collection

Ballad of a Soldier, 1959
Directed by Grigory Chukhray

Warning: this review contains minor spoilers

Ballad of a Soldier, a Russian film set in World War II, came out at a propitious time, a few years after Stalin died, when there was a period of thaw during Khrushchev’s regime. This thaw gave Russian filmmakers a little more latitude, a chance to focus on the individual rather than the collective.

And focus director Grigory Chukhray certainly did, on beautiful nineteen-year-old Private Alyosha Skvortsov (Vladimir Ivashov). For his bravery in battle, Alyosha has been given a six-day leave to go home to visit his mother.

Two things get in Alyosha’s way: the chaos of war, which extends well into Russia, away from the front line, and Alyosha’s tendency to get sidetracked.

First he helps a wounded veteran, then he meets a lovely young woman, Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko). Mishaps ensue. Alyosha misses a train as he goes to get water. He delivers a bar of soap to a soldier’s family, which delays him further. Hitchhiking and muddy roads slow him down even more. On a more serious note, the bombing of a train brings panic and death.

In one sense, this could be the story of any soldier in any war, but in another sense, this is the story of Alyosha, a nineteen-year-old who is easily distracted as young men (and women) often are.

Does Alyosha make it home to see his mother? I am not going spoil the ending. This movie, directed by a great humanist, is very much worth seeing and is available on Amazon to rent or buy. It is also available on Turner Movie Classics.

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