A bad historical novel can be cringe-inducing and cause anger for some people, and I've seen some pretty lousy attempts. While you must remember you are reading fiction, the facts and details must be absolutely historically accurate, an extremely difficult trick to pull off. Hilary Mantel's current books can be readily found on shelves now, as well as on best-seller lists. "Wolf Hall" and "Bring up the Bodies" are excellent reads about the reign...
Most everyone that reads this knows that I don't watch TV, instead burning up the hours reading. Very seldom (ever?) have I mentioned what I read, or why. That's partly because I think a lot of folks aren't avid readers and don't care, and partly because I regard my reading tastes are my own and you probably don't want to hear about it. This post is not about books or authors but about what I read and why, which I hope will prepare you for...
I finally did a walk-on and went to the Public Market in Seattle the other day, my favorite place to visit there. There are about a half-dozen eateries that I count as favorites, so when I only have a day it's a tough decision for lunch. It was a nice trip. Dave and Kathy moved to an RV park on nearby Marrowstone Island, a place with more comfortable accommodations than the Escapee park, given they plan on staying for a month. She made us an...
By now it should be obvious that I enjoy life on the Peninsula. The combination of blue water, high mountains, historic towns, the islands and ferry boats, old friends and family makes it all too perfect. For as many years as I've spent here during the summers, there's always something new to see, or maybe a concert or festival will break out in some tiny village somewhere. Dave and Kathy and I are parked here in the Escapee park and are...
Boy, I sure hated to leave my spot at Point Hudson. We had a great time wandering around town, trying out restaurants and shops, but mainly just sitting on the shore watching boats and animals and people. Our mutual friends Steve and Sandy took the ferry over from Whidbey Island and we did some sight-seeing and lunch on the bay. A nice visit. It was dicey whether Dave and Kathy would get a parking spot at Chimacum, but they did. After a week...
Point Hudson is a small marina and RV park in downtown Port Townsend, and is a very pretty and interesting place. I arrived yesterday and Dave and Kathy followed me in. We'll be here for the week. We couldn't ask for better weather.
Couldn't miss this one on the hard at Port Townsend Boat Haven today, it looked like it had been been brought up from the bottom after a few years. It's an interesting story: It's known as the Western Flyer, used by John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts out of Monterey and in the Sea of Cortez. It was just recently pulled up from the bottom in Anacortes, Washington and towed to Port Townsend. Passionate literary historians have dreams of "restoring"...
The specialist homed in a my vascular complaint today. While I have a problem developing, the fix is worse than the issue right now. So we are on a watch until next year. Not my preference, but the alternative did seem a tad aggressive in this case. Those chores done I've still got some truck work to do, but since I'm not planning on moving for a while, there's plenty of time to get ready for the winter.
From long experience I say that more often than not the weather on the Fourth around Puget Sound is crappy. Meteorologists call this a myth, saying it only rains about 1 in 5 years. Fine, but I said "crappy", not "rainy". When it's better to keep the beer outside rather in the refrigerator, the grill won't stay lit, and the rockets' red glare is seen only by astronauts, it's little matter that my down-filled coat is staying dry. But tomorrow...
I got in to the vascular specialist today for an initial assessment, which means I have to start all over again with health history, family history, and current complaint. Traci was very good; after a few neat tricks she localized an artery restriction south of the heart and north of the knees on the left. Which was enough for one day so I'd have to come back next week for a ride on their machine to identify the exact place and nature of the...