A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Hello everyone.  I hope your holiday season is going well.

Usually, I either talk about housewife stuff, hence the blog name, including broken dishwashers (now the new one is broken), vacuums or roasting the nine millionth chicken.  Or I tell you some absolutely delightful childhood story, that I know you just can't wait to read about and tell all your friends.  I'm picturing people standing around one of those old water coolers at an office all abuzz about my sister and I arguing over airspace in the backseat of the car. Yes, I know, I'm delusional, it's my next hobby down from reading.  Anyway, I can't tell you anything perfectly charming or recipe related today because I'm extra ticked off.  We have been avoiding society in general for the last two years.  We haven't even gone into the grocery store, doing pickup only.  Finally, last week, I really needed eggs for holiday baking, and I prodded my husband to go in.  He went early in the morning, wore a N95 mask, and stayed away from everyone.  Yep, you guessed it....ONE GROCERY STORE VISIT in two years gave us covid.  He's further along with it than I am, and it is heartbreaking listening to him cough, and frankly scares me for what is to come my way.  Anyway, I have stacks of books right here but cannot concentrate, making me behind on reviewing some recently released books.  Sorry, but it can't be helped....one time in two darn years!

I did want to talk about A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.  Everyone knows the story and the thought of reading a classic, well, compared to thrillers of today you might think it's dry or boring, perhaps you think it gets bogged down in the period's language.  It is wonderful.  The reading is easy, smooth, no running to the dictionary.  The story is quick, it doesn't doddle on any area too long.  After seeing endless movies of A Christmas Carol, there is something charming about holding good old Scrooge and Marley in your hand. If you wanted to start reading "the classics" this would be a great place to start, and it is just so Christmasy.  Obviously, it has gift written all over it, okay, not really but doodle as you see fit.

Given how we feel, roasting the chicken seems a lot better.  I should learn to be more grateful.

Monkey Temple by Peter Gelfan

Hello everyone.

Fall seems to be rushing towards us. It's my favorite season. My birthday is in the fall. Sadly, I don't enjoy my birthday. For years it seems like something terrible has happened on my special day, there has been physical issues, hurricanes, and to top it off a few years ago we had to put our dog down on that day. None of those occurrences are happy memories. My mom died when she was very young, this fall I turn the same age as she was when she passed away. I'm freaking out. Really freaking out, to the point of having nightmares. I have been forced to consider my own mortality.

It's not just the whole death issue on my mind lately, but it is aging in general. For you in your twenties, enjoy it. As you get older, you remain the same, well hopefully wiser and more emotionally mature, but you still feel like you. The problem is that your body starts to betray you. Suddenly when you sit for a while you are stiff when you get up. Why? Then one day there is knee pain, the pulled back just from sneezing, or that odd ache in your shoulder. It is like living in an alien that will not do what your brain instructs it to do. Very odd.

I recently read Monkey Temple by Peter Gelfan. This is the story of two older men, dear friends, who are on a quest to find a house. As the buddies head south from NYC they discover they are on more than one journey, learning more about each other and themselves along the way. The men end up in a house in a slightly inland area of coastal NC, where they are joined by people from their past and present. Not only did the story ring true with me as these people are confronting their own aging, but like the story I moved from NY (upstate) to coastal NC. In fact, the setting of this wonderful story is very close to me, making it extra special.

In a way this book made me sad, not because of the story but depressed that I will never write like this author.  Everything from school that I forgot, long ago, about sentence structure, Peter Gelfan remembered and improved on. Some people say if you actually notice the writing then it or the plot is no good. I completely disagree, this writing stood out because it is excellent. The story is wonderful and this book reads like a classic. I am jealous of this author's talent.

I read lots during the year, to avoid being crushed by books I give many of them to my family. Monkey Temple is not leaving. I have two all time favorite books, Tom Sawyer and Dandelion Wine, Monkey Temple is going on the shelf right next to them.

**While engrossed in this book, I read several small passages to my husband. Although it has now been approximately a week since I finished this story, he is still asking me about the main characters Jules and Rals,  he remembers them by name. Now THAT is high praise for a book!

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Hello everyone. I need you to join me for a bit of "mind traveling" today. Imagine you are in the northeastern US.  Parts of New England had a wind chill of -15 yesterday. The whole area has had snow and ice too, winter has arrived.  Okay, now get ready, we are going to slowly start going south for a vacation. Come on, pass the singing snowman that sounds like Burl Ives.  Ooops, try not to get run over by that sledding electric razor. Definitely ignore Buddy the Elf when he offers you some gum! Tune them out and think more like the Price is Right and "come on down". Pass NJ, wave to the Cape May Victorians. Careful of the speed traps in Maryland...hey, why are you speeding anyway? Be careful. Ah, hitting the eastern shore of Virginia now? Make sure you stop at Stuckey's and get some chocolate covered coconut patties. Now, get out your wallets and be prepared to be shocked at the $12 toll to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. At least it is picturesque and interesting if you are going to the bottom of the bay at the exact time a ship is going over. Keep going.

In North Carolina yet? Good, stick as closely as you can to the coast. Notice all those bridges? Why if you are driving close to the coast are there all those bridges? One word, marshes! Yep, all those places where the ocean tries to go inland, or rivers try to get to the ocean are marsh lands. Now you might ask what is the difference between a marsh and a swamp? Ahhh, that is using the old canoodle!  A swamp has more woody things like stumps and trees, but a marsh is more grasslands. Marshes are nutrient rich wetlands that support all kinds of animal and plant life. Now I know you think I'm more off my rocker than usual and about to break into some kind of song probably from School House Rock but no, I've just read a great book about a marsh in North Carolina.

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens is an amazing book, set in the marshes of coastal North Carolina. It is beautifully written, almost lyrical in parts, while still being an interesting, easy to read story. That story is epic in its journey following a little girl, abandoned in the marsh as she learns how to not only survive but live. The reader is witness to the hardships and bravery of little Kya Clark as she grows up and learns about the world and herself. There is a mystery in this book that is interesting but the strength of it is how enchanting the story is as a whole. This is not that much of a who-dun-it and definitely not a thriller. Amazing, and sweeping in scale, the pacing is excellent and writing superb. The way the author handles things like Kya's childhood innocence reminds me of Tom Sawyer, and I can think of no higher compliment than that.

As Christmas approaches, I keep saying books would make an excellent gift. Different books for everyone's taste. Where the Crawdads Sing would be an excellent gift for those that like a little emotion in their story, something quiet and thoughtful. Almost a classic. For the right person, this would even be a great hostess gift when you've forgotten that pricey bottle of wine. Where the Crawdads Sing is smoother, fuller bodied and will linger longer, too.