Vicki Lane's Blog, page 49

What a Beauty!

In some alternative life that didn't involve a 4WD road, I would adore this snazzy truck for my vehicle. 

I love the paintwork and the wood, and it even comes with a handsome dog. (Don't worry, Sandy--the temps were in the mid-seventies, and it was cloudy.)

 

Moonrise? Sunrise?

Who knows? Not I. Nor do I know who took the picture (below) that I painted from. It's from the coast of NC, where John used to keep a sailboat, so he probably took it. Or our friend Vic, who also has a boat there, and is an excellent photographer. 
I have always liked the composition and the serenity of the photo, so I tried to paint it. But it kept looking too pink and washed out. So I deepened the colors with some Pthalo Blue and set it aside. 
When I returned to it, I found some tiny paint smears in the sky. Not removeable.
Hence the addition of a bird (crow? hawk?) being harassed by some smaller fowl.



 

From the Porch

                                                                                       
 

The Joy of Bubbles...and a Sunday Surprise

This was meant to be a wordless post, but after President Biden's laudable and selfless withdrawal from the race, I must say I'm delighted that Kamala Harris has the support of so many. What a historic moment if we elect the first woman president! 


I'm with her. For the sake of Josie and all the other little girls who deserve to grow up in a world where they are not second-class citizens, valued only as baby-makers, a world where climate change is taken seriously, and the social safety net is preserved.


As I said before, I will vote for whomever the Democrat nominee is--anything other than the dark vision of Project 2025 and the incoherent rage of the MAGA candidate.


But I'd really like to see a woman as POTUS. And I'd LOVE to see Kamala debate the Big Orange Liar.

 

Manhattan Beach

                                                                  

A widely acclaimed author (Pulitzer Prize, National Book Critics Circle Award) turns her gaze to the US in the Thirties (Depression, Prohibition, gangsters) and Forties (WWII, Brooklyn Naval Yard, the Merchant Marine's important and dangerous role, and the sudden emergence of women as a vital part of the war effort.)
Eleven-year-old Anna Kerrigan is brave and clever beyond her years, but she doesn't know that her adored father is on the fringes of racketeering. She is devastated when one day, he simply doesn't return home.
Nineteen-year-old Anna takes a job as a parts inspector at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. She is good at her work but longs to become a diver--complete with 200-pound suit and helmet, working on repairing the big ships. 
The intricacies of diving--the dangers and the exhilaration-are beautifully portrayed as Anna fights to be prove herself. At the same time, she becomes involved with a dangerous but alluring man--a gangster with whom her father had dealings. 
All this plays out against a meticulously researched and beautifully evoked background of life as it was in these particular times and places. Wonderful complex characters, quietly beautiful writing, surprising plot--it's an absorbing read.

Josie (and Otter) in Recovery

 I had my tonsils out last week and I am still recovering. That means I get ice cream and special stuff and also get to watch more videos and rest. My voice still sounds a little funny, but I am okay and will go to dinosaur camp next week. I spent some time working on the hand puppets from the kit Meema gave me.

Also last week, Otter and Domino played fighting too hard.  Otter got a deep wound on her chest and had to go to the vet twice. She has a drain tube with a thing like a balloon in her chest and we have to keep her from jumping around. She has a stretchy little jacket to hold everything where it should be but it doesn't always work and the balloon thing falls out.

She also has to wear a cone-thing to keep from scratching at the wound. She doesn't mind too much but she is pretty bored with having to stay quiet and she still wants to play with Domino so Meema and I had to spend a lot of time taking care of her.



When all the dogs were settled down for a nap, I finally had time to play with the Castle People. I used my dump truck to move them out of the cabinet to the table.

What are they doing? Meema asked me. Is the knight on the horse attacking the Fairy Queen?
No! I told her, they are all getting to know each other. You see, there are two different kingdoms because the red and green king broke them apart and put all the fairy people in one and the other people in the other. But now they are getting to know each other and there is a party with music and singing and dancing.                                                  



I went and got musical instruments and started to sing the story of what had happened and how they were all friends now.

Carmen and Elsa are the best singers in the two kingdoms and they sang very well. It was a very fine party.

Later I built towers in the kitchen.



 

Seen Around

 

If, On a Hot Summer Evening. . .

Sometimes, nothing sounds better than a salad. A Salade Nicoise is pretty much a full meal. There's a little advance prep that, ideally, could be done in the morning before things heat up. Boil potatoes, hard cook eggs, steam green beans, make vinaigrette (fresh basil, thyme, oregano, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper,) and pour some on the cooked potatoes, then use it to marinate the thin sliced onions. 
Come evening, it's just a matter of assembling the ingredients--lettuce (or spinach,) a small can of tuna in oil, sliced cukes, tomato wedges, the potatoes, green beans, onions, hard-cooked egg, some olives--Kalamata if you don't have the little French ones, some capers, and the vinaigrette. 
And if, after a too hot day, a cooling thunderstorm moves in, it's nice to sit on the porch with coffee and, for Himself, perhaps a drop of something stronger. . .                                           

 

Baby Blues

I think these pretty little blooms are forget-me-nots. They are from a packet of seeds my SIL Fay sent me as a part of my birthday present back in February. I sowed them in seed trays and seem to have lost the empty packet.

They are in pots now, but I might have a go at making a permanent space for them. I like them nearby where I can see their tiny cheery faces. And can keep them well watered.

 

A Delightful Jigsaw Puzzle

                                                                           

Imagine a jigsaw puzzle composed of fascinating, intricate images, each so fully realized that it can be enjoyed for itself. But as you marvel at the individual pieces, you begin to notice tantalizing glimpses of how one might connect to another.
Kate Atkinson's Big Sky is just such a puzzle--though I didn't tin of it as such whilst reading. Her writing and characters are so compelling that I didn't slow down to ask question--too swept up in the stories.
Each puzzle piece has a story and each takes several turns as narrator. Foremost is Jackson Brodie--the protagonist of three or four earlier Atkinson novels. Ex-police detective, ex-husband, ex-lover, Brodie is a complex and endearing character, especially in his relationship with his son and his ex-lover's dog. 
But, wait! There're more. A pair of Polish girls, arriving in the UK in search of good jobs, only to fall prey to a sex-trafficking operation. A pair of diminutive and determined Detective Constables, following a very cold case dealing with a pedophile ring. There's Vince, and his golfing friends (not friend friends) Tommy, Andy, and dodgy lawyer Steve.
Crystal, Tommy's wife is a Barbie look-alike with a hidden past. Her stepson Harry is a lad of surprising depths. Throw in a third-rate comedian and a drag queen named Bunny and you've got the makings of a complex drama.
The shifts in point of view are so deftly done, one never gets lost. And seeing the same event through different eyes can lend great clarity.
As the pieces of the puzzle begin to click into place, the novel hurtles to a satisfying conclusion, with some of the most unlikely characters demonstrating surprising strength.
I stayed up till midnight to finish this one, unable to put it down.