Five On Friday: Where I've Been, What I've Been Doing And Reading, and Always Abraham Lincoln

 

found here

Goodness! June is practically over and I'm just now showing up here. Absolutely ridiculous. Let's jump right in and get caught up.

1. We just returned from a 3.5 day jaunt up to Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. It had been over a year since we had last been, and our wine cellar showed it. The drive up was...difficult. I was in some pain and had had no meaningful sleep the night before. I admit that I was worried about taking the trip and how I'd do on a ride that long. Luckily, we always seemed to find a stop just when I needed one to stretch. As usual, we stayed in the same little inn and visited our favourite winery where we bought So. Much. Wine. I fretted about getting it all across the border--I always worry about being pulled over and put in jail or something--but it was fine. Will we try it with 7 cases again? Probably not. 

Our tasting there with my Canadian husband was, as usual, wonderful. We are wine nerds, and he goes into great depth talking about his wines, how he makes them, how they are aged (in oak [French, American, Slovenian], steel, terracotta, even concrete!), and lots of other oenological tidbits. Nothing makes me happier as I sip than to hear terms like sur lees, malolactic fermentation, terroir, and residual sugar. 

We ended up meeting another couple at the inn who were there during our stay once before, and the wife is an avid reader. We talked books, books, and more books at breakfast every morning. What a delight. And a movie is being filmed in downtown NotL--a screen version of the book Beach Read. It was fascinating to see all the cameras and crew members and to note what locations were being used. I was glad, however, to get back home--to my own bed, my own routine, my porch and patio, my herb garden, and my orange cat. Which leads me to...

2.  Piper, the aforementioned orange cat. He is 16 now, and he has started to show it more and more. He crackles when he stretches; he won't get up onto the couch or anything without help; he is yowling at absolutely nothing, even in the middle of the night. He was never this vocal when Marlowe, his sister, was still with us. I'm pretty sure he's lost some of his hearing as well. We do everything we must to keep him comfortable, including this:

Nothing like a backyard nap beside the pond

"Do NOT mow my spot!"

He loves being outdoors, and he especially likes the pond. Sam took care of him while we were in NotL, and Piper was fine. He continues to eat well and demand ice in his water. I was worried he'd be standoffish or accusatory when I got home, but 

That evening

I was forgiven. Clearly, though, he's letting me know that I'm not going anywhere anytime soon.

3. And that's very true. Unfortunately, Jared has to have yet another operation on his foot. Back in February he had lisfranc surgery, but now a ruptured tendon has been discovered, one that has made it impossible for him to move his toes or lift his foot while resting on the heel. Surgery is soon, and we will be needed a great deal for childcare. Fingers crossed that this is The Last One and that his recovery is uneventful and speedy. Caring for Theo is always fun, usually very easy, but often very tiring for me. He is a busy, smart, and verbal toddler, and keeping up with him can be a lot. Do I love it? Yes! He recently has taken to calling me My Friend Nana. And hearing him recite passages from his favourite books is almost alarming. His memory is scary. I try to remember that and do what I can to make sure all his memories with me are good ones.

4. Speaking of Good Ones, I just finished reading Here, There, And Everywhere:  My Life Recording the Music of The Beatles by Geoff Emerick. Yes, I was on a bit of a Beatles nostalgia run there for a time. The writer was The Beatles sound engineer for the bulk of their albums and singles. Not only does he provide a great deal of insight into the band's (and its members') personality, creative process, rise and breakup, he also explains the whole inner workings of making recordings--the sound, the special effects they requested, the process, and how he came to be a sound engineer. I love books like this, ones that teach me something I have no idea about. Even the technical stuff was never dry or boring because he always explained it in the context of making The Beatles music their own. (Julie, I think Ted would enjoy this book very much.) I've since gotten three more books, Whistler by Ann Patchett, Land by Maggie O'Farrell, and the one I'm reading now, The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout. I think I was sort of warned off of the Strout book by a blogfriend because it wasn't very uplifting or fun and it does deal with our current politics (pre-2024 election); however, I'm enjoying its thoughtful and perceptive tone and story. My Favourites Shelf is two deep with some stacked in front now. 

5. I also have a shelf devoted solely to books about President Lincoln/Mary Lincoln/the Civil War. Recently, Jared recommended a Netflix docu-series to me entitled simply Lincoln. It has three episodes and a cadre of elite historians including Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of the excellent Lincoln book Team of Rivals. The actor who plays Pres. Lincoln looks astonishingly like him, and the entire series is superbly acted and presented. Also included are many photos, some of which I hadn't seen before and found extremely moving. (And those of you that have been reading me here forever know how I get about photographs of some people.) Highly recommend.

Okay! I feel like I've caught you up. And on a Lot Of Stuff! But we can always talk some more in Comments.