Notes from Colorado

I joke with my family that I've been practicing social distancing for years. My hobbies are reading and writing and gardening and birding and hiking, and I've had a home office for about ten years. My life right now is not a lot different from what it has been with the huge exception that I worry about my 96 year old Mom and my kids who are in NY and CA even more than before. I can't go to the library (I have some books that are due, so I need to check and see if they want me to drop them off), or the bookstore, or the grocery store, but I can walk the dog and pay it forward as much as possible.

I hope you all are well and being diligent about staying safe from harm's way.

I am happy to report that my time on Duolingo Italian is surging and I am leaping from level to level, though clitics and pronouns are my downfall. I now feel reasonably comfortable conversing in the present and present perfect tenses about sharks, dolphins, chickens, ducks, fish, dogs, and cats, as long as they are eating, coming and going, waiting, or traveling by train or bus. If any of you have attempted to learn a language via Duolingo, you'll know what I'm talking about :)

On the reading front, I just finished John Irving's Cider House Rules, and gave it a whopping 5 stars on Goodreads. Seriously, the books from the 70's and 80's are well worth visiting and revisiting. I picked this book because it is set in Maine, and we are still hoping to spend 3 weeks in Maine this summer...but like everything else, who knows whether that will be feasible.

Cider House Rules was multi-layered with complex, flawed, fascinating characters. It was also quirky and ironic and  the writing was sophisticated--reading it was like watching a master class on how to write. I especially loved how David Copperfield, Great Expectations, and Jane Eyre provided the structural and thematic framework for this 20th century tour de force.  I cannot wait to watch the movie, which was nominated for some Academy Awards and one won.

I also reread the first book in Donna Leon's Guido Brunetti mystery series, Death at La Fenice. I read with the backdrop of the virus that has paralyzed Italy and Venice providing an extra layer of pathos to the story. I love Guido and his family and hope they are safe, as well has his author, of course. I've been listening to Maurizio Marchini sing to his fellow quarantined Florentines, and now know the words to Nessun Dorma. I love Italy and dream of visiting again when we are through this nightmare.

I just finished watching Case Histories with the marvelous Jason Isaacs (Lucius Malfoy), which is based on Kate Atkinson's Jackson Brodie mystery series. I will be reading the first book in the series, titled Case Histories, in April. I don't usually watch the movie/TV before the book, but I did this time. It was great and I was disappointed that there were only 3 seasons with only a few episodes per season. It was great to spot Dawn Steele (Lexie from Monarch of the Glen) in season 3 as well as Gary Lewis (Colum Mackenzie from Outlander).

Speaking of Outlander, I have officially given up watching the series. I'm not sure why I started finding the series so oppressive since I've read the full book series  all the way through, but season 5 was just one over-the-top scene after another. I didn't like where they were going with the Murtagh/Jamie thread (Murtagh dies at Culloden in the books) and I was dreading Roger's story. It was bad enough to read it in the book, but I really decided I couldn't bear to watch it.

So, I just started rewatching White Collar, which is what my mood needs now!

I'm looking forward to getting into the garden. We had snow on Thursday and Friday, and so everything is muddy, slushy, and mucky right now...maybe I will find some spring flowers after it all melts. Please!!!!

Stay well--do what you need to do to get through these troubled, uncertain times--Read on!