Ponder Post: At the Water's Edge

I enjoyed the book Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen even though it was dark and depressing. It had a twist in it that made for good fiction. I anticipated an equally good read in At the Water's Edge, also by Sara Gruen, because the premise had potential – an investigative party to prove the existence of the Loch Ness Monster.

The book was a huge disappointment. The tone was dark and depressing, similar to Water for Elephants, but without the circus setting and with little intrigue to compensate. The plot unveils a trio of spoiled socialites going off to Scotland to film the Loch Ness monster during the time period of World War II. The three main characters were unlikable at the beginning and two of them became worse, despicable, self-centered, and exceedingly worthless as the plot plodded on. The third character is portrayed to be a victim of her unloved upbringing. I continued reading on because the narrative was written as if something, hinted at only vaguely, were about to be revealed. I was awaiting a twist like the author had in Water for Elephants. Nope. Cloudy references were never clarified and unexplained euphemisms abounded. The supposedly superstition-inspired incidents fell flat. Budding romances were distorted and underdeveloped.

Apparently others had a different opinion so I might concede that for those who like period pieces, the setting of Scotland during World War II was well described at a grass roots level. Other than that, I thought there was nothing else redeeming about this book. Per Amazon:

Book Description
Publication Date: March 31, 2015
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In this thrilling new novel from the author of Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen again demonstrates her talent for creating spellbinding period pieces. At the Water’s Edge is a gripping and poignant love story about a privileged young woman’s awakening as she experiences the devastation of World War II in a tiny village in the Scottish Highlands.

The end was abrupt, maudlin, and unsatisfying and I seriously wonder if the person who reviewed the book knows what a "poignant love story" is. Read the other Amazon reviews if you must, but I would avoid wasting time reading the book itself. This author is off my radar for future novel selections.

Oklahoma City Visit - Part 3

Robin  and Jeremy went to work on Tuesday, May 5th, so Robin dropped Frank off at the airport and he rented a car for the two of us for one day. We drove to Bethany about 20 minutes away to browse the downtown area and some antique stores. This is what the streets of downtown Bethany look like.

We went into about four antique stores. Outside the first one was an adorable, child-sized needlepoint tapestry teddy bear chair. It would be just perfect for a little boy. We bought it of course. But we did tell Robin and Jeremy if they really did not like it they could donate it back. I did ask Robin to at least wait until I made a teddy bear quilt out of some fabric in my stash to see if she liked the quilt and chair as a coordinated set. A few days after we were home Jeremy texted us this photo. Somebody definitely liked the chair, boy-vibe and all. See the pink princess chair in the background? That is a favorite of their male cat Elliott. Whenever he had made himself quite at home curled up in that chair and Autumn wanted to sit in it she would say, in a voice imitating the intonation of her mom, "Scoot, scoot, Ell-well!"

The two cats, Emily and Elliott, were quite brazen about making themselves at home other places, too. They are litter mates. Emily on the left is gray and Elliott on the right is orange. The blue, cream, and yellow afghan was crocheted by Frank's mom.

But I digress - back to our outing to Bethany. As we were walking around the store where we bought the teddy bear chair, this chalkboard sign caught our eye. "What is Frankhoma?" we wondered.

Here is an example of a Frankoma Christmas plate. There was a picnic basketful, spanning several years. This particular one was from 1983.

Apparently the pottery is a semi-big deal since this was the sign in the front window advertising their availability. The Wikipedia article about it states that the pottery is made from Oklahoma clay locally dug and dates back to the company's beginning in 1933, started by a ceramics professor at the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, OK. Coincidentally, when Robin first moved to Oklahoma in 2003, she had an apartment in Norman. When I googled Frankoma pottery images, I found the pottery to be quite prolific and seemed to have a consistent, identifiable style. Frank and I did not buy any. But now - now that I know how famous it is... maybe next visit...? Nah - not my taste.



When we were paying for our purchases before leaving the store we found this amusing sign regarding the store's check cashing policy. We paid cash.

We stopped for lunch at the nearby Stray Dog Cafe.

Frank noticed their outdoor light fixtures. We thought they were very innovative, whimsical, and probably inexpensive, too.

Here are a couple closeup shots of the pail lights. We were not there at night so we cannot attest to if they were also "pale". I know. Two-thirds of a pun. P-U.

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We posed for mug shots with their hot dog poster board. I smiled for the photo.

Frank hung out his tongue in imitation of the dog. Do you see the resemblance? This is after we ate so Frank could not have been hungry. Maybe he was tired or thirsty? Nope - just plain silly.

We spent our last evening in Oklahoma City just relaxing at home. Robin sat quietly for a while on the couch (after reclaiming it from the cats), so I patiently waited and actually got to feel the baby scooting around. Leaving is a little sad but Frank and I will be back there in a bit for the birth.

Wednesday, May 6th
After seeing each Jeremy and Robin off to work, we left for a late morning flight under bright and sunny skies. Our trip home from Will Rogers World Airport was smooth sailing. I mentioned it in my post for Sunday, May 10th. That evening it began to rain heavily in Oklahoma City, a precursor to tornadoes later at night. But until then, Robin and Autumn enjoyed watching the rainfall on their deck and in their white-picket-fence-enclosed back yard from the cozy vantage point of their glassed-in sun room. I just love this silhouette of Mommy, daughter, and baby-to-be.

NOTE: Jeremy, Robin, and Autumn all fared well during the tornadoes. They hovered near their home's tornado shelter but never had to take refuge in it. For a meteorological map of just how widespread the severe weather was, see my DianeLoves2Quilt blog post for May 6th.