Books I Read in January, 2023

 

Books I read in January, 2023

The Puppetmaker’s Daughter by Karla M. Jay⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Complete Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️(JMM read aloud)

Katie, Up and Down the Hall by Glen Plaskin⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Me Before You by JoJo Moyes (audio) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Life Around OakMeadows in January,2023

 

Life Around OakMeadows in January, 2023

Birds

Bluejays 

Crows

Goldfinches 

Cardinals

Turkey Vulture

Black Vulture 

Caracaras 

Red-tailed Hawk

Mourning Doves

Collared Doves

Blue-headed Vireo <<== New addition to Life List!!

Red-bellied Woodpecker 

Carolina Wren

Meadowlarks 

Mammals 

Raccoons 

Squirrels 

Around OakMeadows

 

 

Angie

Our sweet Angie has been sick. JMM took her to the vet Monday. She has an infection which the vet says probably started in her gums or teeth. From there it moved into her throat and ears. She’s been on Augmentin since Monday and is noticeably better. Even though we had her teeth cleaned last April, in a couple of weeks after the infection clears up, we’ll have her teeth cleaned again. 

We had a terrific rainstorm yesterday. For the first time in our 50+ years of marriage, JMM headed us all to the closet because of tornado warnings. The storm didn’t last long but the wind and rain was terrible. We didn’t have any damage but I see from the news that there were several tornadoes in the Deer Park/Pasadena area. Today has been beautifully clear, sunny, and crisp.  

I’m taking a week off from my Tovala dinners to cook for JMM. We made the Shrimp Chowder this evening and toasted some sourdough bread. Very good. Yesterday we made a loaf of banana nut bread for JMM. 

Still cutting out pieces for the next quilt. I love French General fabrics that I’m using.  After I get it all cut out, I have to take the sewing machine in for a cleaning and adjusting the tension. It’s not a difficult pattern to cut out but I don’t have the energy to do much at the time. 

Life Around OakMeadows - December, 2022

 

Life Around OakMeadows in December, 2022

Birds

Cardinals 

Bluejays 

Mockingbirds 

Chickadees 

Goldfinches 

Black Vulture 

Killdeer 

Crow

Meadowlarks 

Barred Owl

Grackles 

Caracara 

Red-tailed Hawk

Great Egret

Laughing Gull (Galveston)

White-winged Dove

Mourning Dove 

Collared Dove

Carolina Wren

Insects

Cloudless Sulphur 

Gulf Fritillaries 

Monarchs 

Queens

Longtailed Skippers 

Common Buckeyes 

Little Sulphurs 

Giant Swallowtail 

Mammals 

Raccoons 

Deer

Armadillo 

Squirrels 

Around OakMeadows

 

Journal

Went to the optometrist today. I’ve been having some burning sensation in my eyes.and blurring of vision. I’ve put off going for months but finally decided it must be done. I must say that eye exams are much more thorough than they used to be. I had my eye pressure measured, my retinas photographed, the usual “which is clearer #1 or #2” (when they really don’t look all that different): and several other tests. Anyway, the burning situation is age related dry eyes—>Refresh eye drops at least twice a day. The blurring vision—>cataract surgery probably in a year or two. New fancy pants lenses—>trifocals, transition lenses to slow cataract progression. An last but not least new frames for to replace my 20 year old ones. $600 after discount and insurance. Whew!

I’ve started cutting the pieces for my next quilt. I ordered the fabric directly from French General. I have too much trouble finding quality fabric that I like in the quilt stores or Hobby Lobby so now that I know how to order directly from FG, getting fabric is so much simpler. I washed, dried, and pressed the fabric to get it ready to cut. I also ordered a new Olfa 60 mm rotary cutter. It is such a pleasure to cut with a brand new blade. Today I cut the 30 center pieces for the 30 blocks. 

I am watching #4 on my list of 100 best movies, Gone with the Wind. So far I have watched The Godfather, the Shawshank Redemption, and Schindler’s List.  All excellent. Between Netflix, Prime, and my list of 100 best movies, there is always something good to watch.  

That’s about all the news from OakMeadows. 

The Ten Best Books I read in 2022

 

Ten Best Books I Read in 2022:

Nonfiction 

Passage of Power by Robert Caro

Hamilton by Ron Chernow

Cuba: An American History by Ada Ferrer

The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan

Fiction 

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

Girl with the Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

Apples Never Fall by Lianne Moriarty

The Displacements by Bruce Holsinger

The Thornbirds by Colleen McCullough 

As always it was difficult to choose only 10 as there were several others that could easily have been included.  Usually I prefer Nonfiction over Fiction but this year I read some really good fiction. 

Poetry

My work is loving the world.

Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird —

equal seekers of sweetness.

Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.

Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.

Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?

Am I no longer young, and still half-perfect? Let me

keep my mind on what matters,

which is my work,

which is mostly standing still and learning to be

astonished.

The phoebe, the delphinium.

The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.

Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,

which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart

and these body-clothes,

a mouth with which to give shouts of joy

to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,

telling them all, over and over, how it is

that we live forever.”

~ Mary Oliver