Itty Bitty Book review

"The Most Cunning Heart" by Catherine Graham Another one of my Christmas books from Jim. I really enjoyed it. "In the early 1990’s, Caitlin Maharg, grieving the loss of her parents, leaves everything she knows in Canada for Northern Ireland to pursue her love of poetry while living in a cottage by the Irish Sea. Feeling like a child again in a distant land still affected by the Troubles, she is haunted by the secrets her parents’ deaths unearthed. In her longing for emotional closeness, she befriends Andy Evans, a well-known poet with a roguish charm. Their attraction soon leads to a love affair. Flouting the paisley headscarf of respectability, she plunges into a relationship that gives her an entry to the literary world, but at a price. Filled with insights into grief, longing and creativity, The Most Cunning Heart is a novel about how a quiet heroine learns to navigate deception, love and loss."

Itty bitty book review: "The Girl Who Was Saturday Night" by Heather O'Neill

This was one of my Christmas books Jim gave me.I really enjoyed it and all the crazy characters. I know it's a bit lazy to just post a summary someone else made up but it was a rather complex story. Summary from Kirkus Reviews. "Nouschka Tremblay's family ties are stronger than most; when she was young, her father, Étienne, a folk singer, catapulted her and her twin brother, Nicolas, into the small but intense spotlight of Montreal media by using them as props on late-night TV shows to help promote his music and the cause of French-Canadian separatism. At the start of the book, though she is now 19, she and Nicolas still sleep in the same bed and are still embedded in Montreal’s consciousness. When Nicolas dropped out of high school, she followed—no matter how many bad choices she makes about men, no one else is worthy of her devotion—but now she is starting to regret it. When a documentarian starts filming her family to see what has come of the famous Tremblays, Nouschka starts to imagine a life beyond her family, first going back to school for her diploma and then getting married to a man her brother loathes. The story is delightfully bizarre, flush with the free-form vacuity of early adulthood, but what really shines here is O’Neill’s writing. The author (Lullabies for Little Criminals, 2006) stuns with the vivid descriptions and metaphors that are studded throughout the book, such as “[h]e looked at me some days like I was a hostage that no one was paying the ransom for” and “[The swan] held its wings in front of it, like a naked girl with only her socks on, holding her hands over her privates.” As Nouschka begins to see herself as a separate person, O’Neill’s writing grows ever more distinct and direct. This vigorous writing makes the book; the story is surprising and satisfying, but the real star is Nouschka and how she tells it."

Blue cheese potato chips

I love everything blue cheese so I'm sure I would love these.One of the most pleasureable things I've done in my life is buy 100 grams of Roquefort cheese at the morning market in Paris and eat it all on the way home. And probably the next best tastiest things were the baguette bread still warm from the oven and croissants baked that morning.They did survive the walk home.I didn't tell Jim about the cheese. #1 NEW Cashel Blue Cheese Irish Potato Chips https://food52.com/recipes/36712-blue-cheese-potato-chips?srsltid=AfmBOorj4SubrqsH3RbULBHZk77EZJPc339oOVZXqRTOrv2GkPzRdzx-

Burger and a pint

at Oaks last night. It's a great deal and we always enjoy it.

More crazy weather

From: Morning Brew "The deep South was blasted with its worst snowstorm in 130 years this week, creating a rare opportunity for a snowball fight in the French Quarter of New Orleans and an even rarer chance to skate on the street. The snow was so heavy that the city’s famous St. Louis Cathedral was barely visible after the Big Easy received 10 inches of snow. In all, 5–10 inches of snow fell across the Gulf Coast. The blizzard snarled roadways, closed airports, and was the cause of at least 11 deaths.—DL"

Another super lunch

We had lunch at the Blue Crab at the Coast Victoria yesterday. Great view and great lunch!

Lord Peter Wimsey in "Have His Carcase"

We enjoyed seeing the dramatization. YouTube seems to have lots of this kind of old stuff we haven't seen or seen so long ago we've forgotten it. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Preceded by The Five Red Herrings Followed by Murder Must Advertise Have His Carcase is a 1932 locked-room mystery by Dorothy L. Sayers, her seventh novel featuring Lord Peter Wimsey and the second in which Harriet Vane appears. It is also included in the 1987 BBC TV series. The book marks a stage in the long drawn out courting of Harriet Vane by Wimsey. Though working closely with him on solving the book's mystery, she still refuses to marry him.

Itty bitty book review: "Gaudy Night"

"Gaudy Night" by Dorothy Sayers I always enjoy a good mystery and this didn't disappoint...another one of my Christmas books from Jim. It was 557 pages and when I first picked it up I thought I don't think I want to read anything this long but I started and before I knew it I finished it. Now, what to choose next? I think I'll try "The Girl who was Saturday Night" by Heather O'Neill. I see it was a Giller Prize finalist.

California wine

This doesn't really surprise me. I think it has a lot to do with the weather of California being more consistent. "California Wines Beat French Rivals in a Blind Taste Test In a legendary event dubbed “The Judgment of Paris,” held on May 24, 1976, French wine experts preferred upstart California wines to the finest French ones in a taste test. An English wine shop owner staged the event to drum up business, and everyone assumed a French victory was a foregone conclusion. The nine experts swirled, sniffed, and sipped a variety of reds and whites, then tallied the number of points they awarded to each sample; shockingly, a cabernet sauvignon and a chardonnay from Napa Valley won out, proving that countries besides France could produce the world’s finest wines. A bottle of each winning wine is now in the Smithsonian collection."

Chef James made chicken cacciatori

It was a great meal and our friends, Darryl and Bronwen, enjoyed it very much. We had a lot of fun talking about old times. Bronwen still teaches at Camosun.

Another lovely visit with an old friend

Fern came over for tea yesterday and so nice to see her. And she brought some yummy home-made cookies!

Dinner at White Spot last night

It's simple food but usually never disappoints.

Alexa...who knew?

Just one of those names of things I never really thought about From: Interesting Facts "Egypt's Library of Alexandria, possibly built around the fourth century BCE, was reputed to hold the wealth of humankind's accumulated knowledge in the ancient world. That makes "Alexa" an inspired choice for the name of the voice-activated virtual assistant that debuted with the Amazon Echo smart speaker in 2014. Yet this was hardly the only name strongly considered by Alexa's developers — nor even the favored choice of the company founder who pushed to bring the project to life. "

Another good time with old friends

We saw Derek and Mary and all enjoyed a visit and a drink of sherry.

New Year's Day lunch

We went to the Penny Farthing and ran into our old neighbours, Chris and Susan, from Dewdney Street. So fun to see them and their cute little dog.