Book Review Club - September 2021

 This month I will be reviewing Falling by T.J. Newman.  One of the things I want to point out about this book is that, like most of the books I've read in the last six months or so, it's one that was recommended (presumably) by GMA in one way or another.  What that means is a LOT of people sign up to check the book out of the library and if you wait to do that, you could be waiting six months or more for your turn to come.  And then when your turn pops up and you finally check the ebook out, you have two weeks to read it before it's electronically snatched back from you.

The reason this is important in this review is because the last book I read from this GMA list, I barely finished before it was snatched.  And to be honest, if they hadn't reminded me I only had three days left, I probably wouldn't have finished it.  The book before that I didn't finish before they snatched it back so now I'm at the back of the line waiting 6 months or so before I can read more of it, not that I'm that broken up about it or anxious to get it back from the library.

But with Falling, I had read the whole book within two days of checking it out - I didn't want to put it down!

Captain Bill Hoffman is a pilot scheduled to fly Flight 416 from Los Angeles to New York City.  His wife, Carrie, is not happy because Bill had promised their son that he would be at his game that day but accepted this flight anyway.  Bill is not happy either but wishes that Carrie would understand that his boss had asked him to take this flight as a personal favor and you can't say no to the boss.

Bill tried to call Carrie when he got to the airport but the call went to her voicemail so he couldn't communicate with her until the flight was well on its way.  Only, when he heard from her he found out that his family had been taken hostage. 

There was no ransom demand.  What the kidnapper wanted was for Bill to make a choice - crash the plane he was flying and kill all 149 souls onboard or his family would be killed.  What would he choose?  His family?  Or the 149 souls on the plane?  He couldn't tell anyone or his family would be killed.  He was told that there was a Plan B so that if he couldn't - or wouldn't - crash the plane, there was a backup onboard.  It seemed like a no win situation.  Who could he trust?  Did he kill 149 people on the plane or did he let his famiy be killed?  And how do you negotiate with someone where their only goal is to see people die?

It was a fascinating read and one I wondered how accurate some of the information was as it related to things on a plane - for example, in the book they said there was only enough oxygen in those masks that fall down to last for 12 minutes.  Is that true?  I don't know.  The author is a flight attendant and in her acknowledgements she said that she wanted it to be "accurate enough to be convincing but skewed enough so that it wasn't a training manual".   Regardless, I enjoyed the book.  It's a debut book by the author and one she said she got 42 rejections on before she sold it.

I'm glad she sold it and glad it got recommended.  I also recommend it.

For more reviews go to barriesummy.blogspot.com/index.html .

Book Review: Ace of Spades by Faridah Abike-lyimide

 

Ace of Spades is described by amazon as Gossip Girl meets Get Out.  Having never seen Gossip Girl, I can't say if that's how I would feel.  I kept thinking Carrie.  Well into the book I remembered the Get Out reference and I guess I can see why some might go there.

Anyway, the book tells the stories of Devon and Chiamaka (or Chi for short) as they relate to Niveus Private Academy, the school they both attend.

Devon comes from a poor family.  His father is MIA (you learn why late in the book so I won't spoil it here) and his mother works three jobs to make ends meet for Devon and his two younger brothers.  Devon is at Niveus through a scholarship.  It doesn't cover everything but it does allow him to be able to attend.  Niveus is considered a springboard for the top colleges.  Devon is a gifted musician and wants to attend Juilliard.  He will need another scholarship so he works hard at school and is constantly working on his audition.

Chi comes from a rich family.  Her father is Italian and her mother is Nigerian.  Chi has been working her entire life to be the top student at Niveus and has her sights set on Yale and med school.  You learn, very early on and from her own perspective, that she uses people.  She's been working her way up the ladder of success from a young age and she presents a confident, strong woman at school, but it's only an act that she uses to get what she wants - Yale and med school.  She wants to be the most popular.

On the first day of school their senior year, Devon is named as a prefect.  Chi is named head prefect, something she had been working for and expected.  Devon, on the other hand, has no idea why he was selected. He's taken completely off guard.  He doesn't like or want the attention it brings.

All seems good though, until an ominous text goes out to the student body from an unknown number and a "person" who identifies themselves as "Aces".  Aces threatens to divide and conquer, like any good tyrant would do.

There is also a new headmaster at the school.  There is speculation and gossip as to what happened to the previous headmaster and it seems to be a little unsettling to Chi because she has spent the past three years cultivating a relationship there as well.  Devon doesn't give it a whole lot of thought or consideration.

But after the first text that Aces sent out, more texts go out with private videos and pictures, rumors and innuendo about either Chi and Devon.  They're hurtful, embarrassing and they just keep coming.

Separately Devon and Chi go looking for answers as to who could be doing this, and why.  You learn (and maybe it was told earlier than I realized and picked up on) Devon and Chi are the only black students at Niveus.  They question if the attacks are racially motivated.

They turn to people they believe are their friends.  Things they've confided end up being sent out via text shortly thereafter.  They don't know who to trust.

Eventually they begin to work together and start coming up with some startling answers.  It starts to feel dangerous and they question how far they should push this, pursue this.

I loved this book.  I couldn't put it down.  When I tried to I would have to pick it right back up because I wanted to read more.  I wanted to know what was going on as much and Chi and Devon did.  It's told in first person POV by both Chi and Devon, in alternating chapters.

I would recommend this book - it may be the best one I've read so far this year!

Book Review: The Other Black Girl by Zakiya Dalila Harris

 

This was another GMA recommendation that I borrowed from my library.  I had read the a blurb on it and it was something along the lines about how one black woman (Nella) has been working away for a time and is relieved when a second black woman (Hazel) comes to work beside her because the first black woman had been the only black person to work for the company.  There was something about how when Hazel came to work, things started changing around the office - she was moving up very quickly, even though Nella had been there for two years and seemed to be going nowhere fast.

It's with that in mind that I sat down to read the book.

The company Nella works for is Wagner Publishing and Nella is an assistant to an editor, Vera.  Nella seems to be doing a good job and people seem to like her but she feels a bit invisible because she's black.

Then when another editor hires Hazel, another black woman, to be her assistant, Nella is thrilled.  She feels an immediate bond with Hazel and confides things to her that she hasn't really confided to anyone else at work.  At times she feels she should hold back but Hazel encourages her to open up with "you can be real with me, sis" a line that seems to annoy Nella, at least in the beginning.

But, having the impression I did of the book, which is that someone sabotages Nella at work, I found myself willing Nella to hear me yell "don't trust her!  she's out to get you!"  She didn't hear me though.

Nella starts noticing that everyone seems to love Hazel and treating Nella as if she's been replaced.  She tries not to take it personally but when Vera starts sending manuscripts to Hazel instead of Nella, Nella starts getting concerned for her job.

Then she gets a note:  LEAVE WAGNER. NOW!  It was left on her desk and she has no idea who dropped it off, or who it's from.  She becomes suspicious of every one.  Who would want her to leave?  Her name on the envelope had been written in purple ink so she goes on a bit of a quest to find who has purple pens.  She doesn't know who to trust.  She doesn't even tell everything going on to her live in boyfriend or her best friend.  Not that she doesn't trust them but she believes they will give her advice she won't want to take, even though she knows she should follow it.

The story is told from several different view points so that you get a full picture of what's going on.  I will say, I thought I knew where things were going and who all was involved but I was wrong - I wasn't even close!  And the final twist, I never saw coming!  It was chilling.

You know how you hear about the "elevator pitch" where you try to sell your book and you say it's "this movie" meets "that movie" type of thing?  Well, I can only think of one movie to pitch this one with and if I told you what it was, it would be a huge spoiler.

But it was good.  I wanted to keep reading to get to the end to find out what all was going on and who all was involved.  It did not disappoint. 

I should mention that this is the author's debut book and it turns out she had left a publishing company (that she had worked at several years and explains her knowledge of working at a publishing company) to write this book.  In the acknowledgements she suggests that some of the things in the book were based on some of her own experiences.

I recommend this book.

Book Review: Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

I've just finished reading Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia.   It was a GMA Book Club book and I recall Robin Roberts commenting that "they" "always get it right".  I didn't know what that meant but figured she had to say that and I always request the ebook from my library, which I did with this book as well.

 

To be perfectly honest, I didn't expect to like this book.  I delayed the delivery of the book several times and when I did finally check out the book from the library, I immediately felt regret and figured it would likely go unread.

 

Then yesterday I checked to see if I still had it checked out (sometimes they warn me when the return date is close, sometimes they don't - and they don't ask before pulling it back when it's due!  they just take it!).  I had three days and four hours left!  If I was going to read it, I had to start right away.

 

Much to my surprise, it immediately drew me in.  I had been working around the house all day and was asleep by 8:30 but still managed to read almost half of the book yesterday - I didn't want to put it down!  And then, of course, I finished it today.  Such a good book!

 

In general, the story is about immigration.  Why people immigrate.  Why they don't.  There are two "families" followed.  One is a mother (Gloria) her daughter (Ana).  The other is a multi-generational  story about a daughter who comes to Florida from Cuba, her daughter and the family she's left behind and how their story integrates with Gloria and Ana, who have migrated from El Salvador.  

The stories are told from the perspective of each of the primary characters - sometimes in third person POV and other times in first person POV - all women.  It's not told in chronological order, which threw me at least once until I realized that part of the story happened before the other part of the story for that character.

So, while the story is about immigration - in general - for me the story is about relationships.  Relationships with family members, the general public and even with ourselves.  The secrets we keep, hoping they won't hurt us or anyone else anymore and how that impacts our relationships.  The things we do to cope and survive.  There's rape, murder, addiction, death and racism in their stories.  It's pretty powerful and complex.

I read the description from amazon and felt the first paragraph description misrepresented the story - there were things that were completely wrong about the characters but I did like the second paragraph:

From 19th-century cigar factories to present-day detention centers, from Cuba to Mexico, Gabriela Garcia's Of Women and Salt is a kaleidoscopic portrait of betrayals—personal and political, self-inflicted and those done by others—that have shaped the lives of these extraordinary women. A haunting meditation on the choices of mothers, the legacy of the memories they carry, and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their stories despite those who wish to silence them, this is more than a diaspora story; it is a story of America’s most tangled, honest, human roots.

 

It's that, and more.  I highly recommend it!

Misused Phrasing

 There's a line from Princess Bride that goes something like "I do not think that means what you think it means".  That's kind of how I feel about something I've been reading over the last couple of days.

 

My online news source is yahoo.  When I pulled it up yesterday the big story was about Chris Harrison leaving The Bachelor franchise.  According to the article, Chris was paid a "mid eight figure" (tens of millions of dollars!) payoff on the condition that he not talk about his leaving.  And for what it's worth, pay me a mid eight figure payoff and you wouldn't hear a peep from me again!  But I digress.

But here's the thing.  The first article came out first thing in the morning.  It was only a few hours later that the headline for another article was "Chris Harrison breaks his silence . . .".  The article goes on to say that Chris posted I think it was a tweet that basically said he's enjoyed what he did but it's time to move on, as if he had a choice in the matter and wasn't paid an obscene amount of money to leave.

Then this morning I see another headline that says "Rachel Lindsey breaks her silence . . ." and talks about Chris leaving the franchise.  It said she "spoke" yesterday on I think it was Extra.

Here's what I think they don't understand the meaning of "breaks *their* silence".  To me that means that people have been after them for a period of a time (usually a long time - more than later that same day!) and they've refused to comment.  Based on what I read it seemed to be a "we'll put out our statement and then you can say this and then anyone else that wants to can comment".  But I don't see how someone is "breaking a silence" when it's practically a run on sentence from the first article with no real "breaks" in between. And since Chris spoke, does he forfeit the money?  I mean, that was part of the deal, according to the first article.

I just think the phrasing was wrong.

But speaking of Chris leaving the franchise.  I haven't watched it in years and started watching late in the game so it's not like it makes a big difference to me one way or the other but, personally, I think they're making a huge mistake in letting him go.  He's the face of the show and he handled it seamlessly through the years.  Last year they replaced Tom Bergeron on Dancing with the Stars and again, in my opinion, that was a disaster.  Nothing against Tyra Banks but I don't think she was a good fit for the show - and that is one I've watched from day one.  I think whoever they get to replace Chris will suffer the same way and hurt the show in a negative way.

That all said, as for the controversy that caused this "result" I want to say this:  In my opinion, Chris was in a no-win situation in that interview he did with Rachel Lindsey.  The show was still airing new episodes but had "wrapped" months before.  Chris knew how the season ended and who the bachelor picked in the end.  Was he supposed to (or expected to) trash her?  Would the end result (him getting tens of millions of dollars after being let go) be any different if he'd chosen that path?

I just think he was put in an impossible position and I think the result would've been the same either way.  And I think the show will suffer for his leaving, if it survives at all.  It's a bad situation all the way around and I think the way it's been handled only made it worse.  But that's just my opinion.

Brat: an 80s story by Andrew McCarthy

I borrowed brat: an 80s story by Andrew McCarthy from my library (ebook) and read it in two days time - this includes watching a couple of the movies he talks about in the book as well!  It's worth noting that I had just finished reading Julianna Margulies' book, which took me the entire two weeks the library allows for ebook checkouts because I just couldn't get into it but forced myself to finish so that I didn't have to wait months to borrow it again (since there were others waiting for it).  

 

With Julianna's book I felt like it started very slow.  The writing wasn't great and the stories she was telling weren't all that interesting - at least for the first 1/3 of the book.  And I like Julianna - a lot - but her book wasn't the best memoir I've ever read.  I didn't feel like I learned anything new about her or her work.  And that's okay.

 

But to follow it up with Andrew's book - an actor I wouldn't call myself a fan of and who I constantly confuse with George Newbern - that I didn't want to put down, says something.

I loved this book.  He gives insight into who he is, how he became who he is and where that took him.  And the behind the scenes stories about movies he has been in were great.  

Andrew's father was against him going into acting, that is until he booked Class with Jacqueline Bisset and his father wanted Andrew to invite her to dinner. Ha!  (Andrew declined.)  He spoke about his relationship with his father throughout the book and his father's response to things related to Andrew's acting and income really strained their relationship.  Andrew found some peace with his father before his death but I don't think anything was truly resolved.

I'll be honest, I'm sure I've watched Class before decades ago but I couldn't have told you Andrew was in it.  I had a vague idea of the plot but (spoiler alert!) I would've bet everything that Rob Lowe was the one who slept with his friend's mother.  Before I read the background behind the movie, I watched the movie on some platform (HBO Max maybe?).  I believed his acting and thought he did a good job.  It was his first film and he had to develop some mechanisms to deal with the process itself.  I wouldn't have guessed that by the performance.

I actually had recorded Pretty in Pink a few months back.  Several things - I had no idea Andrew was in it.  As with Class, I'm sure I watched it decades ago but couldn't have told you the plot to save my life.  I knew Jon Cryer and Molly Ringwald were in it but that's about all I could've said for certain.  I also had expected that I would delete the movie without watching it because it's not really on the list of movies I thought I would want to watch (I have a few others of those on my DVR still, but that's a whole other story / issue).  I read the chapter on Pretty in Pink (actually the book's longest chapter) before I watched the movie.

Again, I liked the movie and his performance - I definitely believed him.  Now, without intending to give away any spoilers, the ending the movie has was not the original movie ending.  They screened the movie before release and the ending was a problem so they re-did the ending.  The problem was that Andrew was already working on his next job (on an off-Broadway production) and had shaved his head for that role.  As a result, the final scenes of the movie were shot with him wearing a wig.  

I'm so glad I knew that going in because it made me pay attention to that, whereas I wouldn't have noticed.  But that's part of the point of this - if I hadn't known it was a wig I don't think I would've thought it was a wig.  Since I did know though, it stood out like a sore thumb!  hahaha

Those are the only movies I've watched so far but HBO Max has some others of his movies that I plan to check out, now that I know the backstories (and some I haven't seen).  (Some of Weekend at Bernie's were ad libbed moments.  He thinks the sequel was a mistake.  Also another movie I know I've seen but I wouldn't have said he was in.)

He's also open about his drug and alcohol abuse.  He talks about missing the signs that it would be a problem for him - in hindsight he sees it very clearly.

Bottom line, I enjoyed this book and like Andrew better for having read it and will be less likely to confuse him with George in the future.  

 

I don't feel differently about Julianna - even though I didn't find her book all that engaging (I have read books before that completely changed my mind about someone negatively - this wasn't that . . . I just don't think she's the best storyteller, at least not in word form.  just my opinion.)

So there you go.  Kind of a twofer in book reviews, one I highly recommend (Andrew's) and one I don't recommend so much (Julianna's).  

😁

Vaccinations

 I got my second covid vaccine shot this morning.  It was originally scheduled for this afternoon but I didn't like several things about it:  1) the timing would have me coming home in rush hour traffic and 2) storms were predicted for today and I didn't want to be driving in rush hour traffic during a storm.  So late last week I started looking for a different location to get the second shot.

 

It's worth mentioning here that I initially had wanted to wait as long as possible to get vaccinated because there are so many unknowns regarding the virus and the vaccine.  How long does it last?  Is it a one and done or will be have to be subjected to these shots annually - or even more frequently (I recently heard that the Pfizer vaccine may only be good for six months!).  Plus, side effects - how bad and how long?  I know of medications that can cause major health issues years later, even though everything was fine for all those years.  My point being, I didn't want to jump on the bandwagon without more history and knowledge behind the vaccines.

 

Then the idiot governor decided to open the state 100% AND lift ALL mask mandates.  Up until that time I would periodically look for vaccine locations but could never find any with available appointments.  I didn't really want one but I couldn't find one if I had wanted one.  That continued after our governor made his stupid declarations and I decided that if I ever wanted to have things go back to any sort of normalcy, I was going to have to find - and get - a vaccine.  But I still wasn't having any luck.

 

A short time later I got an email from a hospital where I had been treated offering vaccines to their patients.  I signed right up. 

 

Then cancelled it after a panic attack.

 

I rescheduled it for a week later, this time getting the shot.  When I got home from getting that shot I had an email from the hospital informing me of today's afternoon appointment.  I went in to try to move it but that wasn't an option - only cancelling it was, which I didn't want to do.

 

Last week is when they started talking about the potential for bad weather today.  I did some searches to see if it was okay to get the second dose at a different location and everything indicated it would be okay.  Then I started looking for availability closer to home and found availability at the hospital five minutes from my house (versus one that is 30 MILES from my house!), so I booked it.

 

I kept my afternoon appointment until after I got the shot, just in case there were any issues and I couldn't get the shot closer to home - things like, I overslept or they ran out of stock or they refused to give me the shot, things like that.

 

Fortunately they were able to give it to me and it was done but here's the thing: I handed the lady my vaccine card and driver's license.  She handed me back my license saying she didn't need it.  Okay, fine, I put it back in my wallet.

 

She gave me a form to fill out and started entering things into the computer.  She says, "I need your ID."  Um, really?  I responded, "You need my ID? As in the ID I gave you when I sat down that you said you didn't need?  THAT ID?"  She said yes.  

 

Ooooooooooookay! 

When I got home and cancelled my appointment I got an email from that hospital informing me that I was required to get my second shot at the same place as the first one was given.  Um, kinda late for that now!  It was an automated email so I sent an email to a live person.  Long story short, it's fine that I got it somewhere else and - even without me asking - they even put it in writing!  So, shot done.

But interesting fact, they used the same baseball bat delivery system at both locations!  Weird how that works isn't it?  😜

Side note, the weather hit and I would've been driving in a storm during rush hour traffic if I hadn't scheduled it for the morning, closer to home!

Twenty for seven

 You may be reading the title and thinking "I think she meant twenty four seven, like 24/7" but it wasn't a typo.  It relates to the past seven days of the free watchathon my cable company just did.  Although, to be more accurate, it should be a fifteen for seven title but that's not as catchy, is it?

 

The cable company does this periodically.  I really have no idea how often because I don't generally join in but basically, for those that may not know, the cable company offers premium stations (and hulu) for free to their customers for seven days.  You can watch one thing or binge like crazy - your choice.

 

This time, I binged like crazy.  I think the only shows I watched that came on in the past week that weren't part of the watchathon were shows that I recorded but watched on demand in my bedroom because 1) I couldn't sleep but wanted to stay in bed and 2) I don't have any icloud capabilities on my cable box or tv in the bedroom.

 

My biggest binge was on a series that ended seven years or so ago.  I had watched it at the time it aired (on a regular cable station) but was interested in seeing it again.  I noticed a few years back that it was on - I believe - amazon prime.  I figured I had all the time in the world to watch it and then *poof* it was gone and no longer available.  The good news was it moved over to Starz, which I had.

Now, here's the thing about Starz, I've been with my cable company more than 22 years.  During that time I've always gotten Starz for free - it was included in my package.  So again I thought I had all the time in the world to watch the series, right?

Well, a few months ago (probably at the first of the year), I found that I no longer had Starz!  I called the cable company (although there were several issues with my cable company so I'm not sure that was the direct reason I called them at the time) and asked about it.  They said the "promotion" was no longer being offered by Starz but I could pay for a subscription if I still wanted it.

Previously if a service or "promotion" I was getting was discontinued, the cable company wouldn't cut me off, they'd just add the cost into my statement.  I would notice the increase and call them to see why my bill went up and that's when I'd learn something had changed in my service.

 

But that didn't happen here.  There was no rate change - at all - but I no longer had Starz (or hitz but that's a whole other issue!).  I tried to see if I could get it added back or work out a new plan that included it while keeping my monthly bill at least in the ballpark of what I currently pay (which is an obscene amount to begin with!) but they were either unwilling or unable to work something out, so I've been without Starz for several months now.  Which meant I couldn't watch this series that I had wanted to re-watch before it came to Starz but felt there was no rush, seeing as I had access to watch at my leisure.

 

So, the point is, since I had seven days to watch anything on Starz (and several other networks I don't have) I totally binged the entire series!  I thought I'd be fine watching a couple of the episodes but once I started, I wanted to finish it.  Which meant watching all day, every day for seven days.  Well, I guess technically watching the series didn't take that long (probably the better part of five of those days though) but I also got in a LOT of movies.  Since yesterday was the last day of the watchathon, I watched movies up until midnight last night!

 

Today I had to watch tv all day to catch up on what I recorded over the last seven days because my dvr was getting full!

 

Bottom line, I FINALLY watched this series and some movies I had lost when my dvr box got swapped out a couple of months ago (and I lost a LOT) that had been recorded from the networks I'd lost but not been warned about in advance. So, I watched a lot of tv - it's a tough job but someone's got to do it.  📺😜

Separation Anxiety

 I recently saw an alleged professional pet trainer (I say alleged because his own dog wasn't following his commands, so kind of suspicious if you ask me) talk about all the pets that have been adopted since the pandemic broke out and wanted to offer ways to make the transition from you being home 24/7 to you going back to work.  He suggested some things that I personally thought were cruel but that's kind of a sidebar to the point I want to make here.

 

I started watching Oreo just over two years ago and he's lived here full time almost a year and a half now.  Before I started watching him he was crated anywhere from 12-20 hours a day, if not more.  Before he came to live here full time I tried to plan all my activities for when he wasn't here so he rarely was crated here and rarer still for any length of time.  He came to live with me right before the pandemic hit.  I was sick for more than a month before the world shut down so I was home 24/7 then.  Then when the world shut down I couldn't volunteer, even when I recovered so more 24/7 "quality" time with Oreo.

 

I'm immunocompromised and have underlying health issues that put me in a high risk category so I've continued to live in my bubble.  I'm quite comfortable with curbside grocery delivery now.  I don't have to leave home often or for very long which suits me just fine.  I thought it also suited Oreo just fine . . . until recently.

Up until recently Oreo tolerated me cooking or cleaning (although less so cleaning - no healthy snacks when I clean!) but literally had to be touching me when he was resting, napping or full on sleeping.  He likes to burrow under blankets or throws and snuggle.  If I move, he moves. 

 

But recently I have woken up in the morning several times to find he's not next to me.  I'll find him at the foot of the bed (under the covers) on the other side of the bed.  I thought maybe it was that I was tossing and turning in bed but now I don't know.

 

He started napping on the dog bed in the living room.  I recently opened the bedroom door and he's been going in there to rest and nap during the day.  Earlier today he left my side to go nap on the other sofa. When I sat down next to him (so I could work on my laptop), I swear there was an audible sigh and he got up and moved!

 

So, bottom line, there is some serious separation anxiety going on at my house but it seems to be being experienced by ME and NOT Oreo!  

 

Where's the professional trainer for THAT?????

 

 

Recipe Modifications

 For those of you that don't know (and why would you?) I have another blog where I post recipes I've created or in some cases modified an existing recipe to meet my dietary "desires" or based on what I have available in my kitchen and pantry!

 

Anyway, I have this cookbook that has a ton of scrumptious recipes and one of my favorites is one called "Edamame-Avo Pasta".  In this recipe the pasta isn't clearly defined so I've always used spaghetti noodles for it.  The edamame and avocado (along with some other ingredients blended with them) make the "sauce".

 

Well, I had some black beans and a bell pepper I needed to use so I "tweaked" the recipe accordingly.  As for the bell pepper, there's a reason it wasn't included in the original recipe.  It wasn't horrible but I definitely won't be making that adjustment again!

But then there comes the black beans.  The taste of the sauce was still quite good, I didn't really notice much (if any) difference from the edamame sauce.  However, this combination for the sauce resulted in the sauce looking like something you mind find in a baby's diaper.  Yeah, not at all appetizing to look at!  So again, not likely a change I will make in the recipe going forward!  Still good, just not appetizing to look at.

I did also change out the pasta and used elbow macaroni just to mix it up.  I have spaghetti noodles on hand but opted not to use them this time around.  There was no issue there - I might do that again when I make it in the future.

But I guess the moral of the story is, when creating (or modifying) a recipe, it's always good to consider how the finished product might look.  🥘

Leave the World Behind - Book Review

I mentioned this book a few posts ago and finished the book that night.

 

Despite the fact that the "action" ramped up after I made the post, my overall opinion did not change.  In my opinion it was very poorly written.  I didn't find a single character sympathetic.  Things were happening and the characters were theorizing what may be causing those things to happen and none of them ended well and the thing was, I didn't care if they all died.  I just didn't care.

So the story, Amanda, Clay and their two children, Archie and Rose are going on vacation.  They've rented a perfectly lovely home that's basically isolated from society.  They spend their first day enjoying the pool and buying enough groceries for their two week stay.

That night an older black couple (Amanda and her family are white) show up at the door claiming to be the owners and asking to stay there because there is a power outage in New York and they live on the fourteenth floor and couldn't do the stairs.  Amanda is suspicious but Clay invites them in.  Despite them having keys to desks and knowing where things are in the house, Amanda continues to be suspicious.

Here's the thing, they decided that the New York blackout had to be something nefarious - it couldn't be anything else because no one ever loses power anywhere (if you couldn't hear it, that was heavy sarcasm with an eyeroll!).

The next day they lose cable and internet, which clearly means terrorists were involved (more sarcasm and eyerolling).  Plus, none of them trust each other.

Oh, and I have to mention the dynamic of the two women Amanda and Ruth (the black woman).  Amanda felt that Ruth and George (her husband) were intruding on their turf (Amanda was already thinking of the home as hers, even though she'd been there less than 24 hours!), while Ruth was put out that they left dishes in the sink and didn't make the beds, being disrespectful of her, since it was her house.  Amanda had paid to stay there and if Ruth had issues with how they'd treat the house, why rent it out?  

Plus, it comes out that George has tens of thousands of dollars in the house - you know, in case of an apocalypse or something (sarcasm / eyeroll).  Why would someone leave that kind of cash in a house they're renting out?  Why would they expect it would still be there when the guests leave?  I had a hard time suspending disbelief with this - and many other things.

 

What I've just told you takes up two-thirds of the book.  Right after that, there is a loud boom that is described as being so loud it can't be described (seriously, that was the description!).  At that point a bunch of odd things start happening to the point that if the terrorist talk started there, I might be buying into it but it started WAY earlier.

 

One of the reviews I pointed to in the previous post said that the author doesn't answer all the questions you may have.  Um, he didn't answer any of them but I didn't care because I didn't care who lived or died from fairly early on because the author did not develop the characters or make them sympathetic or even likeable.

 

And he head hopped constantly. And it wasn't just head hopping - he scene hopped constantly - within a since scene!  Very poorly written - very poorly written!

 

Bottom line, I thought it was a bad book and wouldn't recommend it.  The person whose review said it was the best book they'd read in 2020 - well, all I can say is it must've been the ONLY book they read or else they need to share the drugs they took while they read it.

 

I give it a minus eight stars!!!!

Royal Dreams

 I usually don't remember my dreams so that I'm remembering so many lately isn't typical.  But I had an interesting one last night.

 

I dreamed I was at some event.  It was somewhat casual - not jeans and t-shirt casual but also not designer gown either.  I was walking through areas that looked to be under construction and decided to sit at a dining table.  I didn't sit at the head of the table but I sat next to the head of the table seat.  No one else was at the table yet.

Then I realize, the Queen of England is headed right towards me and sits at the head of the table next to me!  I greet her saying something with the "your royal highness" or something in it.  At first I wasn't going to say anything else because I didn't think we were allowed to speak to her unless spoken to first but I couldn't stand it and I finally leaned in and said I was so sorry to hear about Phillip.  It was loud in the room so she indicated she wanted me to repeat what I'd said.  She leaned in and put her arm around my back.  I brought my arm around her and then remembered how Michelle Obama got ripped apart for doing something similar during a visit so I pulled my hand back.

I repeated what I'd said and she started to ask something that I interpreted as her asking if I'd lost anyone and I started rambling about how I was married for eight years but got a divorce and how it wasn't exactly the same thing.  She was kind and said it was still a loss.

She spent a good while amiably chatting with me - very kind, very present.  When we got up to leave the table, I asked for a hug!  And she hugged me!

I woke up thinking I had violated so many protocols!  But also that she seemed just so kind and giving.  It was a nice type of dream.

There was another part of the dream with a man who reminded me of Chris Noth as Mr. Big in Sex and the City.  He was kind of detached and left me wondering why he was in my life.  That's all I really remember about his role in the dream.  

Clearly the Queen leaves a better impression.  👑

Miscellaneous

 I was looking at my blog and the number of posts I've made recently.  It's been a goal of mine to get back into blogging for a while now.  So, what I noticed is that I've posted more entries this year than I have each year - for the whole year - for the last ten years!  So, blogging more?  Check!  ✅

 

I thought today was national pet day but apparently that was yesterday.  I may have missed the day to recognize or celebrate it but if you knew how things are in my house, you'd know that every day is pet day.  Ha!  🐶

I recently discovered a new show.  It's actually one I watched early on when it first started airing.  At the time I didn't care for it so was surprised when it kept being picked up for new seasons.  But recently they started airing the shows on Nick At Nite and so I would catch episodes unintentionally.  Next thing you know, I'm binge watching the show on HBO Max.  The show?  Young Sheldon!  I'm not sure what I saw to make me think it wouldn't be good but I think it's hysterical!  Gotta love that family!  

And speaking of Sheldon, I dreamed last night that he got elected president.  There's an episode where he runs for class president and (spoiler alert!) he wins.  I guess it's possible that was on in the background while I was sleeping and it seeped into my dream.  I don't recall anything else from the dream other than he ran and won, but it seems like dogs were involved, I just don't remember how.  😕

I'm reading a book that was reviewed here (and includes another review of the same book that can be found here).  The name of the book is Leave the World Behind.  I borrowed an e-copy of the book from my library and am slightly more than fifty percent of the way through, it's due in a couple of days and I'm not sure I'm going to be finished reading it by then.  The problem is, I'm personally not liking it.  I don't think it's well written.  I don't think the conclusions that are being jumped to are realistic.  The writing is bothering me more than anything.  In one chapter I noted that in five paragraphs the author had jumped into four of the character's heads.  The character that got two paragraphs didn't have consecutive paragraphs either.  And not all the characters were in the same room or area of the head hopping incident.  And that occurs a lot in this book!  The author even jumps into heads of unnamed, not part of the storyline, character's heads.  I keep reading because I keep thinking it's got to get better, particularly if it's been reviewed twice on a platform I frequent and reviews are typically positive.  I also want to see how it ends.  I want to see what the author does to finish this story. Although, in fairness, making the reader want to see what happens next is part of the plan, right?  But this author is making that very challenging for me and making me unsure I will finish before the library calls it back!  📖

And lastly, I'm scheduled to get the first shot of the vaccine this weekend.  I've been nervous about getting the vaccine but I'm so ready to have things return to some sort of normalcy and I hope this gives me some confidence that it can. One thing I do know, I will continue to wear a mask, probably for a long time to come!  😷💉

Emotional Walks

 As I've mentioned here, I walk Oreo every day.  Several months ago I took him for two walks a day for two or three days - and then he decided that was our new routine so I was walking him twice a day for a while.  It's hot here so I've been trying to "re-train" him to only be walked once a day.  When I was walking him twice a day he would occasionally ask for a third walk but the ask was half-hearted.  If I didn't immediately respond, he would give up.  But during that time, he would not give up for that second walk - no matter what!

 

So, I've been working on getting him to give up on the second walk ask recently.  It's getting better but he hangs on longer with the ask than he did when he asked for the third walk but less than he was asking for the second walk, when it was part of our routine.

 

But, it's very touchy.  One second walk and suddenly the asks get longer.  Truth told, he usually gives up right before I would've given in if he hadn't given up.  But don't tell him that - it's a secret!  😁

Anyway, I did something yesterday that made me a little anxious and I needed to burn off some nervous energy.  I was pacing the floor in my living room and decided I'd give Oreo that second walk, even though he hadn't asked for it yet.

And the thing with Oreo is, he doesn't look that gift horse in the mouth, he's just like "do I want to go on a walk?  are you kidding me?  Let's do this baby!" and he's good to go.

So I took him on this extended walk.  He enjoyed it, I burned off some anxious energy and we were both happier than we had been before the walk.

But it reminded me of a time before he was living here full time.  Oreo came from my neighbors.  I offered to start watching him two years ago - as soon as I learned of his existence.  I fell in love almost instantly and I think the feeling was mutual.  He's been here full time for almost a year and a half now.  But, before that happened, I would have to be up, dressed and ready to get him at a time they specified (and rarely met themselves), and have him until they got home.  Thing was, if she decided to go out after work, she did and she wouldn't mention anything to me at all.  Then fairly frequently, I'd get texts late at night asking if Oreo could spend the night.  Sometimes I wouldn't hear from her at all, although that was less frequent.  She never considered how that impacted me.  What if I had plans?  What if I wanted to go somewhere?  I really couldn't plan because I never knew when she'd get home and want her dog.  It became an issue and we talked about it on multiple occasions but it still continued to happen.  I was happy to keep Oreo here and make him mine but let me know that's what's going on, don't just leave him here holding me hostage.  It drove me nuts.

On one such occasion I was livid when she contacted me.  I needed to burn some energy so I decided I'd take Oreo on a walk.  And Oreo was game, as always.  The difference was, I was walking angry and for probably the only time ever, I was basically dragging him behind me.  I wasn't interested in a leisurely walk where he stopped and sniffed every tree, branch, pole or whatever else might have a scent he wanted to check out - I needed to get this energy OUT!  

 

Thinking about that yesterday made me laugh.  Poor little guy was happy to be being walk but also I'm sure he was confused.

So I guess emotional walking should be done with care, if you're walking with your four legged friend.  🦮

Book Review Club - April 2021

This month I will be reviewing Black Widows by Cate Quinn.  I have a confession to make, I have NO idea where I heard about this book.  I thought it might be another GMA book club recommendation but a quick look at their page for that and I don't see it there.  I looked to see if it another reviewer had recommended the book but I don't see it there either, so I really have no idea.  I just know that I apparently requested it from my library and checked it out when it became available.  So, wherever the recommendation came from, I'm glad it came.

 

With that said, Black Widows is a story about Blake Nelson and the sister wives he has as part of his belief that polygamy is acceptable, according to the Latter Day Saints religion.  

The book is written from the perspective of Blake's three wives, Rachel, Emily and Tina.  Blake has been found murdered and his body mutilated and the police suspect one of his wives of committing the crime.  There's always been a bit of jealousy and distrust among the wives, and Blake has seemed to encourage that - he seemed to like them fighting over him - and that is perceived as motive.

When the police focus in on the women, they pull together - to an extent - but still don't trust each other.  They're each wondering if they're trusting / protecting a killer or if maybe they've blocked the event from their memory because maybe they're actually the killer.

I loved the way the author told the story and revealed the characters, kind of like peeling away the layers of an onion, as they say.  The story itself was a bit intense and I have to say, I took the story with me to bed and had a weird dream about it while I was still reading the book but I still enjoyed the book.  I didn't want to put it down.  I did reach a point where I had a suspicion of who the killer was and it turned out I was right.  That very rarely happens and I will say, even after I reached that point, there were points where I was thinking it had to be someone else.

Something else I found interesting is that at the end of the book, there was a link to find out just how much of the book was based on fact.  As it turns out, a lot was based on Warren Jeffs and the Yearning for Zion Ranch raid from 2008.  The author apparently toned a few things down from that because she didn't think it would be believable or authentic in her story.  Kind of fascinating.  

Anyway, to whoever made this book show up in my library requests - thank you! - I enjoyed it and recommend it!

Now, for more reviews go to https://barriesummy.blogspot.com/index.html .

More Dreams

 I had another odd dream last night.  My mother was alive in this dream and I had a relationship with at least one of my sisters.

 

I have a step brother whose first wife remained friends with our family up until my mother's death.  It's not like we wrote her off then, we just lost touch.  But, she had been in my wedding - which occurred only a few weeks after her ex-husband married his second wife - my step brother didn't attend my wedding.  That's a little background on the players of the dream.

In the dream, my mother, sister and I were all at my mother's house.  Nancy (the first wife of the step brother) would (in the dream - not real life, as far as I know) do estate sale type of organization, mostly with clothes, for a percentage of the take of items sold.  She was good at it.

Well Vanessa Marcil decided to clean her closets (which weirdly were in my mother's house) and my mother asked Nancy to help out.  She said she couldn't help but still wanted a cut of the sales.  I thought that was nuts.  I tried to work it out with my sister and suggested that we do the work and tell Nancy that there wasn't anything to sell but my mother wouldn't allow us to "cheat" Nancy.

Nancy showed up - before we'd done any work - and I told her I didn't think it was fair that we do the work and she expected a cut.  She was sitting in an armchair with her legs hanging over the arm and eating ice cream or something like that and after some thought responded, "tough!"  I was just stunned by her position and behavior on the matter and I think that's when I woke up.  It was weird.

I think I had another dream that involved dogs but I just told you everything I remember from it.  😆

Dreams

 Last night I had a dream that I believe was inspired by a book I'm reading - Black Widows by Cate Quinn.

 

In the book a man named Blake Nelson is part of the Latter Day Saints and believes polygamy is not only allowed, but expected.  In the book, Blake has been killed and the police believe one of his wives killed him.

 

In my dream, Blake is still very much alive.  In fact, he's trying to recruit me to be one of his wives.  He's promised me that I can be the "head wife" if I marry him.  I'm not interested in being one of many wives but the police believe he has done some bad things so they want me to play along to try to get some dirt on him they can use against him.  But they tell me to be very careful because if he realizes what I'm doing, he will kill me.

 

I also get warned that if I string him along and then reject him and people know I've rejected him, he could also kill me for that.  Real incentive type stuff to make me want to go along with their plans, right?  Uh, NO!

 

But along comes another woman who desperately wants to become one of Blake's wives and she's trying to persuade me to use my influence on him to marry her as well.  She's not interested in being the head wife or anything, just one of the many.  I try to explain I don't really have any influence over him but she keeps begging me so I tell her I'll do what I can, just to get rid of her.

Meanwhile, I get word that the other sister wives are upset that Blake has promised me the role of head wife if I agree to marry him.  They're plotting my murder in case I agree to marry him and take that role.

The police have promised to place me in a witness relocation program if I go along with them but I'm worried how safe I will be with so many people plotting my death.

As I'm thinking about all of this, another male from the Latter Day Saints approaches me.  He's intrigued that I might not want to marry Blake, who he has on a pedestal.  To him, that makes me all the more appealing.  He asks if I don't agree to marry Blake, will I consider marrying him?  I would be his first wife so that would make me the head wife, should he decide to take other wives in the future.  I'm not interested but I don't want to say that outright so I just say I'll consider it and walk away.

All this was weighing on me and I woke up.

So, the book is a bit intense and apparently carried over to my dreams, in a very weird way.  But it's interesting too.  I'd say more about it but it likely will be my book pick for our next book review club meeting, which I think is next week! 

Off to read more of the book so I have something to review!  😉

Security Measures

 A week or two ago I went to take Oreo for a walk.  We go out through the garage when we walk, this is our routine.

 

When I opened the door into the garage, the garage door was open.  This was kind of alarming to me because the last time I'd gone through it had been about eighteen hours before, meaning it was likely open overnight.  My last garage door opener would randomly open the garage door.  I'd come home from work and it would be open.  I'd get up in the morning, it would be open.  My dogs would run to the door to greet me when they heard the garage door open.  One night I was sitting in the living room and suddenly the garage door opened and the dogs perked up, looked at me, then each other and decided to run to the door - even though I was home - because apparently we were having an unexpected guest.  After that incident, I would shut off the power to the garage door opener when I was home.  (My new garage door opener has a battery back up so I don't think that would help in this situation.)

 

Then two years ago it wouldn't close and started smoking so I replaced it.  The guy who installed the new one said when the engine goes out, that's what happens - it will open randomly.  So there is a part of me that worries that's what happened recently (a few days later I went to close it and it stopped halfway through and opened up again).  The day this happened though, I can see where I would've been distracted and forgotten to close the garage door and my hope is that's all it was.

 

But here's the deal:

 

The door hinges to the door leading to the garage are on the garage side of the door.  This has actually come in handy before, when I've locked myself out of the house (more than a few times, unfortunately).  So that's always a concern when the garage door is left open.  But, because I have locked myself out so many times, I started keeping a key in my garage.  It was in plain view of the door.  If someone had decided to try to get in, the key was right there. 

But it gets even better.  The door wasn't even locked!  All anyone had to do was walk into my garage and walk right into my house.

What I'm saying here is, it's lucky I guess I'm still alive! It's not the opportunity wasn't there for someone!  Ha!

Garage Sale

The other day I was walking Oreo and saw that someone in my neighborhood was advertising for a garage sale to occur this past Saturday.  I made a mental note that I wanted to stop by and check it out and then promptly forgot about.

 

Then Saturday I was walking Oreo again and we had taken a path that took us right by that house.  As I walked by, aside from a pair of gorgeous high heel shoes, nothing jumped out at me.  I don't wear heels anymore so I didn't even slow down my walk.  

 

But someone called out to me and asked me to stop by, so I did.  They were talking fast and really trying to sell me some stuff.  

 

They got my attention when they said they had a bike.  I've been considering buying a bike to ride around the neighborhood.  I can't remember if I asked or if she just told me what they were asking but it was higher than I thought a garage sale bike should sell for.  (It's worth noting that a look online after I got home proved that I could buy a new bike for only slightly more than they were asking for a used one.)

Then she said she had a stationary bike.  Again, something I've considered buying myself.  They were only asking $10 less than the bike but wanted to be sure I knew, the part of the stationary bike that times you, clocks how far and how fast you're pedaling was broken.  Hard pass on that one!

She showed me some "cabinets" that were basically painted boxes with drawers.  Not what I was looking for.

Next, she offered me a flat screen TV.  It doesn't work but she suggested I could sell it for parts.  Seriously?  Why would I buy something from her just so I could sell it? And for parts, no less.  She pointed out what she said were laptops (by this point I was just trying to get away so I didn't really look to confirm what they were).  She said they all worked - except for the monitors.  Really?

But the thing that took the cake for me was when she offered to sell me a used dog bone for Oreo.  A used dog bone!  Not a toy.  One of those chew bones.

Wow.  Just wow!

I left without being interested in anything but the shoes I wouldn't wear and annoyed that they were doing such a hard sales pitch on items that were broken or would only be good if I could sell them for parts.  Oh, and she actually had shoes out that only had one of the shoes available.  I thought I was only seeing one shoe on a few pairs but I hadn't looked that hard but she told me some were missing the pair - if I were interested, they'd try to find its match!

But after I thought about it, the fact that they were selling things that were literally of no value to anyone on the planet (not even them) and doing so so "enthusiastically", I have to wonder if they are experiencing financial hardships.  Times are tough right now for everyone and sometimes you just have to do things you wouldn't normally otherwise do.  It made me want to go back and make some sort of donation to their cause.  

No, I didn't go back but they said things that suggested they may be holding the sale for an extended period of time so it's possible I could still buy something.  I could always get those gorgeous shoes and keep them with other pairs I have, that I also never wear.  They were that pretty.

Buying a new car

My next door neighbor moved in roughly fifteen years ago.  Over the years she's driven a few different cars.  In the past, when it's come up in conversation I've found that she's swapped cars with a family member - she's rarely in her own car, which my understanding has been what her mother drives.  They each make payments on the vehicle they own but they drive each other's car.  It's weird.  She's also driven her sister's cars at times.

 

Anyway, a month or two ago (who knows what day it is anymore?) I noticed she had been driving a new car again.  Not sure if it was another family member's car or not, I asked if she had gotten a new car.  She said she had.  (It wasn't a Bentley, I just like this picture but if I ever have the single winning lottery ticket paying out a billion or more dollars, I will own one!) 

She tells me that her engine died or something to that effect and says they wanted something like $9,000 to repair the car.  Now mind you, I don't know if her car died or if it was the car she was driving (which was her mother's) that died but she got a new car out of it.  And I have to say, with that costly of repairs looking at me, I probably would do the same thing.

But then she tells me her boyfriend also bought a new car recently.  I knew this because her boyfriend lives right down the street from us and I had noticed him driving a different car.  I didn't ask about him and I didn't ask why he got a new car but she offered the information anyway.  Are you ready for this?

His battery died and he didn't want to replace it!  I'm not even kidding!  Who buys a whole new car when their battery dies?  Seriously, I want names because that's just NUTS!

But after having some time to think about this, I realize that it really has nothing to do with his battery dying.  I think it has to do with his girlfriend getting a new car and him being too macho to drive in a vehicle older than hers.  I seriously believe that because, in my opinion, anyone who would buy a new car just because the battery died is someone who is too stupid to have a driver's license, much less drive a car.

Am I wrong?