Blurt!Sben

Finished reading Golden Hill by Francis Spufford. Set in 1746 New York, it felt Austinesque like the best Aubrey/Maturin stories, though without the nautical adventure. It started out as a fun romp; by the end it became something else, very satisfying but more melancholy. It’s early in the year, but I bet this will be one of my favorite books.

Jan. 12, 2023, 8:26pm

Had Mom over for daube Provençal last night.

Jan. 8, 2023, 8:22am

Speaking of reading, I started Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock at the end of the year, but set it aside and am probably not returning to it any time soon. It’s part of a collection of Elric stories in order of fictional chronology, and I think this didn’t do the collection any favors: The first part (“Elric of Melniboné”) was pretty good, but I could not get interested in the next (“The Fortress of the Pearl”). In the third (“The Sailor on the Seas of Fate” — a badass title), Moorcock brings together several protagonists from his other stories, and seems to expect that I have read about and care about those protagonists, and then they smash together and become Voltron or something?, and I just had to put it down. I like the idea of Elric, but could not enjoy these stories.

Jan. 6, 2023, 9:44pm

Finished reading The Old Ways by Robert Macfarlane. This is a rambling look at walking, paths, and sailing, and is also (unexpectedly) a little biography of Edward Thomas. I lost momentum about three quarters of the way through, but managed to recover and finish. Maybe I would have preferred the book to be a little shorter, but on the other hand it resonated with me enough that I bought a copy to have on hand when the library loan ends.

Jan. 6, 2023, 9:29pm

Took advantage of the one day of good weather to walk from Pike Place to Fremont via Magnolia: approx. 20K steps, 9¼ miles.

Dec. 28, 2022, 3:05pm

Since Billie was over yesterday, Katie and her son came over for a little Christmas-lite. (The dude doesn’t have any defenses against enthusiastic kids, so escaped early.)

Dec. 28, 2022, 3:01pm

Billie lost power during this morning’s wind, so she came over here this afternoon.

Dec. 26, 2022, 10:28pm

Had Mom and Greg and Jocelyn and the kids over for Christmas. A very good day.

Dec. 25, 2022, 11:34pm

Yesterday, we woke to freezing rain, an icy glaze on everything. The city basically shut down. By evening, things were melting.

Dec. 24, 2022, 9:08am

It was 17°F when I got up this morning.

Dec. 22, 2022, 10:14am

Went to Billie’s for an early Christmas dinner with the Nash side of the family.

Dec. 21, 2022, 7:00pm

Went to the Johnstons’ last night for pizza and games. (Dan gave us a ride there and back because he’s a good snow driver and they have a better snow car.)

Dec. 21, 2022, 6:59pm

I don’t know if it stopped snowing overnight, but it’s been going all day so far, and we have several inches accumulation. The street has a hard-packed path in each direction.

Dec. 20, 2022, 11:23am

Had Mom over for beef Stroganoff.

Dec. 19, 2022, 8:24pm

It’s been snowing all day, anywhere from a few flakes to serious snowfall. Not much accumulation yet, though.

Dec. 19, 2022, 8:23pm