Pub Day!

 

Happy Pub Day to my husband!! Whoohoo!

For more information about his latest book, Ship of Lost Souls, click here.

A Month in Summary - October 2024

Oxbow Bend

Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming

October 2024

How is everyone doing? Are you avoiding the news and headlines? More importantly, did you vote? This is such an anxious time for everyone in our country, and I'm trying to stay positive, trying (but failing) to stay away from the news. It helped to have the World Series as a distraction, but that's over now*, and although November 5th is election day, we may not feel relief for a very long time, no matter who we voted for.

My reading has fallen by the wayside this past week, but I'm hoping to get back to it soon. I have a book group discussion to lead and need to finish the book!

October's reading wasn't too bad, although my audiobook failed to hold my attention. It took me almost two full months to finish, and that was at a speed of 1.5. I did complete one novel that was fantastic (thank you, Stephen King!), one other that was very good (albeit disturbing for someone living on the Cascadia faultline), and another that was good, but easily forgotten. 

We got home from our big adventure to the Tetons in early October, got caught up on appointments and various things around the house for a couple of weeks, and then headed out for a trip down to Santa Rosa to visit my aunt. We will be home on Election Day, not that we expect any clear results by that night, but we don't really want to be traveling...

Books Read (click on the title for my review):

Watch Us Shine by Marisa de los Santos (3/5)

Tilt by Emma Pattee (4/5)

Holly by Stephen King (4.5/5)

Say Nothing by Patrick Radden Keefe (2/5)

Movies & TV Series:

Slow Horses (Season 4) - Such a great show. I'm glad there is more in store for us with at least one or two more seasons.

Shrinking (Season 1) - I love this show. It's funny and touching, and the acting is very good. I'm glad I have another season to watch. It's always a good thing to laugh out loud.

L.A. Dodgers - We watched a lot of baseball in October. We saw them beat the Mets in Game Six to win the NL pennant, and then the New York Yankees in Game Five to win the World Series Championship. What a thrilling season!!

Travel:

As I mentioned above, we are currently on another trip, visiting my aunt in Santa Rosa. We love traveling down Hwy 101, and we especially love spending time with Sue (and her dog, Cooper).

Wildlife:

Last month I shared some landscape photos from our great adventure to Wyoming. This month, I'll leave you with some of the birds & waterfowl we spotted along the way.

Bluebird

Clark's Nutcracker

Bottoms Up!

Ruffed Grouse in hiding

Mountain Quail

Take care of yourselves. Get outside and go for a walk. Read a book. Listen to music. Watch a comedy that will make you laugh. 

*Pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training on February 12th!

Say Nothing

Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe

Nonfiction

Narrated by Matthew Blaney

2019

Finished on October 28, 2024

Rating: 2/5 (OK)

Publisher's Blurb:

In December 1972, Jean McConville, a thirty-eight-year-old mother of ten, was dragged from her Belfast home by masked intruders, her children clinging to her legs. They never saw her again. Her abduction was one of the most notorious episodes of the vicious conflict known as The Troubles. Everyone in the neighborhood knew the I.R.A. was responsible. But in a climate of fear and paranoia, no one would speak of it. In 2003, five years after an accord brought an uneasy peace to Northern Ireland, a set of human bones was discovered on a beach. McConville's children knew it was their mother when they were told a blue safety pin was attached to the dress--with so many kids, she had always kept it handy for diapers or ripped clothes.

Patrick Radden Keefe's mesmerizing book on the bitter conflict in Northern Ireland and its aftermath uses the McConville case as a starting point for the tale of a society wracked by a violent guerrilla war, a war whose consequences have never been reckoned with. The brutal violence seared not only people like the McConville children, but also I.R.A. members embittered by a peace that fell far short of the goal of a united Ireland, and left them wondering whether the killings they committed were not justified acts of war, but simple murders.

Patrick Radden Keefe writes an intricate narrative about a notorious killing in Northern Ireland and its devastating repercussions.

I've been meaning to read Say Nothing since I first heard about it after its publication in 2018. Two friends recommended the book, but it wasn't until I learned that Hulu had adapted Keefe's book that I decided to try it on audio. Matthew Blaney's exceptional narration (and lovely Irish accent) should have held my attention, but this is a book that needs to be read in print, perhaps with a yellow highlighter in hand. I wound up listening at 1.50 speed (my usual is 1.0, but that was far too slow for this book), but it still felt excessively long. I lost track of several of the people mentioned, and the chronology was difficult to keep track of as I listened. I was expecting a more detailed story about Jean McConville's abduction (and ultimate execution) rather than an excruciatingly detailed account of the Troubles and the Price sisters' hunger strikes. I went into the book with very little knowledge of the Troubles, although I have vague memories of news reports of various bombings in Ireland. I was surprised to see (while looking up a list of "notable" bombings on Wikipedia) that there were at least 10,000 bomb attacks from 1968 to 1988, and there were additional attacks up until 2001.

Despite my lackluster response to the book, I still intend to watch the TV series. 

Golden Golf Club RV Park - Day One

Disclaimer: I am finally posting about our trip to Canada. Many of these photos were shared on Instagram & Facebook, so they may look familiar to you. Sorry for any confusion!

Canada Road Trip (Summer 2023)

June 25-27, 2023

Celista to Golden, British Columbia

Daily Mileage: 203

Golden Golf Club RV Park

Site: 14

Duration: 3 nights

Cost: $53/night

Weather: Sunny and hot

Cell Coverage: 2-3 bars Verizon & 1 bar TMobile

Day One

It was a pretty warm day for our drive, but we enjoyed the beautiful scenery on Hwy 1 along Shuswap Lake. We stopped at the "Last Spike" in Craigellachie, which was interesting to learn about. The Rockies were stunning during the last hour or so of the drive. 

The RV park was a little rustic for a fancy golf club. We had electric hookups, but no water. (There was potable water at a spigot near the entrance, but we had a full tank, so it wasn't a problem.) Despite the dusty, gravel roads, our site was woodsy and peaceful. There were notices about black bears & grizzlies, but we never saw any.

We joined Lou & Shannon for drinks at White Tooth Brewing Co and had a good flight with generous pours! We were hungry, so we drove over to Riverhouse Tavern and enjoyed our dinner on the patio. It was hot in the sun, but the food was very good. Beef dip and salad for me, smash burger and salad for Rod, and a couple of refreshing Pilsners.   

Kicking Horse River

Holly

Holly by Stephen King

Holly Gibney #3

Fiction/Thriller

2023

Finished on October 24, 2024

Rating: 4.5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

Holly Gibney, one of Stephen King’s most compelling and ingeniously resourceful characters, returns in this thrilling novel to solve the gruesome truth behind multiple disappearances in a midwestern town.

“Sometimes the universe throws you a rope.” — BILL HODGES

Stephen King’s Holly marks the triumphant return of beloved King character Holly Gibney. Readers have witnessed Holly’s gradual transformation from a shy (but also brave and ethical) recluse in Mr. Mercedes to Bill Hodges’s partner in Finders Keepers to a full-fledged, smart, and occasionally tough private detective in The Outsider. In King’s new novel, Holly is on her own, and up against a pair of unimaginably depraved and brilliantly disguised adversaries.

When Penny Dahl calls the Finders Keepers detective agency hoping for help locating her missing daughter, Holly is reluctant to accept the case. Her partner, Pete, has Covid. Her (very complicated) mother has just died. And Holly is meant to be on leave. But something in Penny Dahl’s desperate voice makes it impossible for Holly to turn her down.

Mere blocks from where Bonnie Dahl disappeared live Professors Rodney and Emily Harris. They are the picture of bourgeois respectability: married octogenarians, devoted to each other, and semi-retired lifelong academics. But they are harboring an unholy secret in the basement of their well-kept, book-lined home, one that may be related to Bonnie’s disappearance. And it will prove nearly impossible to discover what they are up to: they are savvy, they are patient, and they are ruthless.

Holly must summon all her formidable talents to outthink and outmaneuver the shockingly twisted professors in this chilling new masterwork from Stephen King.

Fantastic! Another winner by King. Holly is less of a mystery (the reader is privy to all that is going on while Holly is trying to find out if there's a serial killer at large), and definitely not horror (at least not in the supernatural sense), so I'd categorize this one as a thriller. I couldn't put it down! Each night I would read a few chapters before falling asleep, only to wake up an hour later, eager to read more. I knocked off half a point due to the heavy-handed commentary about Covid. I don't mind revisiting the pandemic in my reading, and King doesn't shy away from opportunities to voice his opinion (which I share) about Trump and antivaxxers. However, it's a bit on the nose for over 400 pages. 

I enjoyed meeting Holly Gibney in The Outsider and If It Bleeds, and I'm looking forward to reading the Bill Hodges' trilogy (in which she first appears) that I somehow overlooked when they were first released starting back in 2014. I may even reread Holly once I've finished those three. 

I've said it more than once, but I'll say it again. Stephen King is a master storyteller. He is on my list of all-time favorite authors, and easily in the top ten. Highly recommend!

Celista Estate Winery - Celista, BC

Disclaimer: I am finally posting about our trip to Canada. Many of these photos were shared on Instagram & Facebook, so they may look familiar to you. Sorry for any confusion!

Canada Road Trip (Summer 2023)

June 24, 2023

Barriere to Celista, British Columbia

Daily Mileage: 103

Celista Estate Winery

Site: open field

Duration: 1 nights

Cost: Free (Harvest Host)

Weather: Overcast & rainy

Cell Coverage: 1-2 bars Verizon & TMobile

We had an uneventful drive to Celista Estate Winery, stopping for groceries in Barriere. We followed our GPS rather than Google Maps, and wound up driving through Kamloops rather than the muddy road that Lou & Shannon took. Thank goodness! Lou said it was a pretty stressful drive. Our route was about 20 minutes longer, but stress-free.

The winery was quite nice with views of the mountains and Shuswap Lake. We parked in a large, grassy field with three other RVs, but had a quiet evening. The wine tasting was surprisingly good since it was mostly white wines, something I don't typically care for. We both enjoyed the Cuvee, which was crisp and refreshing. We bought a couple of bottles of that, as well as some port. It was sunny and warm sitting on the patio, enjoying snacks and wine, but as soon as we returned to the RV, it began to rain.

We love Harvest Hosts!

At first glance, I thought she 

was looking at her cell phone!

Lou couldn't resist buying this clock!

It's a little bit off the beaten path (as are many Harvest Host locations), but we'd return!