My 10 Best Reads for 2021

 

10 Best Books that I read in 2021:

OK, I never have been able to keep it to 10. The * marks the really good fiction that I enjoyed this year; mostly I read nonfiction.

The Speckled Beauty by Rick Bragg

Master of the Senate by Robert Caro

The Mosquito by Timothy Winegard

Being the Change by Peter Kalmus

Owls of the Eastern Ice by Jonathan Slaght

The Premonition by Michael Lewis

Refuge by Terry Tempest Williams

*What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty 

*The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

*The Consequences of Fear by Jacqueline Winspear

*The Paris Library by Janet Charles

The Plague Cycle by Charles Kenny

Saving Freedom by Joe Scarborough 

The Fifties by David Halberstam 

I Worried by Mary Oliver

 

I Worried by Mary Oliver

I worried a lot, will the garden grow, will the rivers

flow in the right direction, will the earth turn 

as it was taught, and if not, how shall

I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,

Can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows

can do it, and I am, well, 

hopeless.

Is my eyesight fading, or am I just imagining it,

am I going to get rheumatism,

lockjaw, dementia.

Finally I saw that worrying had come to nothing.

And it gave up. And took my old body

and went out into the morning

and sang.

December Menu

 

December Menu

1. HB Patties, GMP, GB

2. Leftover

3. Out

4. Bacon Sandwiches, Oven Fries 

5. Schwan’s 

6. Tuna Salad, Veggie Tray

7. Oven BBQ Chicken, Beans, Coleslaw 

8. HB Pie, Salad

9. Leftovers

10. Out

11.  Macaroni & Cheese, Corn, Salad

12. Slow Cooker Old Fashioned Beef and Noodle Soup

13. Baked Fish, Potatoes, GB

14. Schwan’s Chicken Pot Pie

15. Pizza

16. Leftovers

17. Out

18. Scrambled Eggs, Canadian Bacon, Toast 

19. Schwan’s

20. Spaghetti and Meatballs, Salad

21. Schwan’s 

22. Ham, Sweet Potatoes, GB

23. Leftovers

24. Out

25. Ham, Sweet potatoes, Fruit Salad, Dressing 

27. Leftovers 

28. Schwan’s 

29. Burgers

30. Leftovers 

31. Out

 

Around OakMeadows

 

A beautiful sunrise

I am watching (again) Simon Schama’s History of Britain. What an excellent series!  We have it on a a set of DVDs. Tonight’s DVD starts with Skara Brae, on to Iron Age Britain, the Romans coming and going, Anglo Saxons, and the Vikings. So interesting.

Today I tracked down and actually talked to the manager of our Neverending Bathroom Remodel. I brooked no nonsense and pinned him down to starting the Redo December 6. They need to take out and replace the tile on the shower walls and floor, install the grab bar and towel racks, and paint. Now considering that it took them 4 months to get it wrong, I’m not optimistic as to how long getting it right will take. To be continued…

Gradually, I am adjusting to the time change. Like most everyone, I wish we could just stay on one time and not switch back and forth between Standard and Daylight Savings time. The cats are not pleased with any change in their morning feeding time. Such is life.

Still lots of butterflies in the garden. Lots of Gulf Fritillaries.

I’ve been ruminating on Goals for 2022. However, since 2020 and 2021 were so disrupted that much was put on hold, I think my Goals for 2022 will be mostly a combination of undone goals from 2020 and 2021. We shall see. 

That’s about all for today.

Butterfly List for November

 

Mexican Blue Wing

OakMeadows Butterfly List - October-November

These are not in any order but all have been seen in our butterfly beds. 

Monarchs

Queens

Gulf Fritillaries 

Longtailed Skippers 

Fiery Skippers

Common Buckeyes 

Funereal Duskywings 

Dusky-Blue Groundstreak 

American Snout

American Lady

Red Admiral

Gray Hairstreak

Great Purple Hairstreak 

Cloudless Sulphur 

Little Sulphurs 

Pearl Crescents 

Mexican Blue Wing (This was the first time I’d ever seen one. I was at the NBC in Mission, TX.)

Giant Swallowtail 

Hackberry Emperor 

White Peacock

Autumn Butterflies

 Autumn butterflies have been spectacular this year. We have had a couple of cold/cool fronts that have pushed the Monarchs our way. 

Not my photo because he was too small and too fast for me to get a photo.

Around OakMeadows

 

My sweet Angie

I think that my sweet Angie picked up an intestinal virus when we boarded her overnight at Camp Bow Wow while we went to the National Butterfly Center. Within 2 days she was throwing up and had diarrhea. So off to the vet we went for metronidazole, kaopectate, and an anti-nauseant.  JMM is the official animal medication administrator and with the help of Greenie Pill Pockets for pills and an oral syringe for liquids, he does an admirable job of it. And best of all Angie is recovering nicely, no diarrhea, no vomiting. I’ve put her on Hill’s Prescription I/D dog food and she loves it. 

My insomnia has gotten really bad. (Last night I was awake from 11pm until after 3am.) So I finally agreed to a sleep study. My Family Medicine doctor sent a referral and now I am waiting for clearance from my insurance. In the meantime, she has me taking trazodone at bedtime but I don’t see that it is helping at all.  I’m not looking forward to the overnight sleep study but I really need to be able to get more uninterrupted sleep. To be continued.

We went to our daughter’s house for burgers & fries (made by our son-in-law).  Then we settled in to watch Dune.  SciFi is not my favorite and I had trouble following the dialogue but I thought it was well done. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

We are so enjoying all the butterflies on the blooming crucita. We worried that the Freezepocalypse last February had killed all the crucita and milkweed. Fortunately, enough of the milkweed came back to attract the Monarchs and the crucita simply exploded, taking over the world if it could. Butterfly List and photos to follow.

That’s about all the news from OakMeadows.