Paper with a feathered edge is described as having a deckle edge, in contrast to a cut edge. Before the 19th century, the deckle edge was unavoidable, a natural artifact of the papermaking process in which sheets of paper were made individually on a deckle, a wooden frame. Today, machine-made paper may artificially have its edges produced with deckle edges.
Thursday, April 18, 2024
Ponder: Pony
Monday, April 1, 2024
Ponder: The Messy Life of Jane Tanner
When it comes to soap operas, I admit I am a bit of a snob and look down my nose at people who watch them religiously. Or watched I should say; soap operas have fazed out of popularity. Per Wikipedia
A soap opera, daytime drama, or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers.
But I certainly have experienced the allure of getting to know a slate of characters and following them through their often dramatic and occasionally tortured life decisions. So I must sheepishly admit that I am a fan of soap opera type books in print. They tend to come in a series with a common cast of characters who oddly become my literary friends. My most recent soap opera type book is The Messy Life of Jane Tanner ©2024. It is the third book in Brenda Novak's Coyote Canyon series.
In The Messy Life of Jane Tanner, thirty-five year old Jane owns a vintage gift shop in Coyote Canyon, cares for her grandfather with dementia, and longs for adventure and an escape from the small community of Coyote Canyon. She is single and reasons that if she has not met that special someone yet, she is not likely to do so. She is concerned that her biological clock is ticking and she wants to be a mother, even if she needs to raise that child as a single parent. Sperm banks are an option but since she would like to know about the child's father she asks Kurt, a long time friend of hers and five years her junior, if he will donate his sperm to do the job. Complications ensue. He stipulates he'd prefer to do the deed the old fashioned way and not merely hand her a vial of semen. She wonders if he has romantic feelings for her. He wonders if she has romantic feelings for him. He also wants to remain involved in the child's life, difficult to do if Jane does indeed move away from Coyote Canyon. The wavering thought processes of each make for a wry, interesting read. True, the dilemma has soap opera tendencies but that is part of the guilty pleasure.
In my defense, I think the series novels I read, although a written soap opera, are a step above stereotypical romance novels. To me, a romance novel is often - not always, but usually - a stand alone book, where the female lead is a ditz and the male lead is a chauvinist. I have read and enjoyed the previous two novels in the Coyote Canyon series: Talulah's Back in Town (my post for 9/29/23) and The Talk of Coyote Canyon (my post for 12/29/23) which I rated 4 stars and 2 stars respectively.
The female leads in both books are strong independent women. Talulah owns and runs a diner/bakery. In The Talk of Coyote Canyon Ellen runs drilling rigs in the rugged Montana terrain, providing sources of water for ranchers and home owners. Since Jane, too, is a strong, committed woman, and since the characters in The Messy Life of Jane Tanner are likable and interrelate with characters in earlier books in the series, I rate The Messy Life of Jane Tanner 3 stars.
"As the World Turns (often abbreviated as ATWT) is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. With 13,763 hours of cumulative narrative, As the World Turns has the longest total running time of any television show."
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Ponder: The Man Who Died Twice
The Man Who Died Twice ©2021 by Richard Osman is the second book in his Thursday Murder Club Mystery series. From my 2/25/24 post about the first book:
The club is made up of four septuagenarians -- Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim -- who live in a retirement village called Coopers Chase. They meet in the Jigsaw Room weekly to solve cold case murders.
Also cited in my 2/25/24 post is my opinion of the diary entries of Joyce in the first book:
Joyce, one of the four, keeps a diary. Her musings seem to run a bit astray sometimes and do not always advance the plot; but they certainly do evoke a chuckle or two from the reader. The diary entries are well worth including since they are a creative mechanism for not only providing a useful consolidation of facts but also delivering a delightful sprinkling of tongue-in-cheek views of the residents and suspects.Once again I have changed my opinion. It is possible to have too much of a good thing. The diary entries in The Man Who Died Twice are too rambling and too numerous. What was once endearing, morphed to become annoying. I plodded through the second book of the series. I did finish it, only because other friends with whom I share similar literary tastes liked it. I did not. I will not be pursuing the third and fourth books of the series. I rate The Man Who Died Twice two stars.
Sunday, March 17, 2024
CaliCeltic
Friday night, March 15th, Frank and I went to a performance of CaliCeltic at the Pleasanton Firehouse Arts Center. Publicity material for the group stated that "mandolin and electric guitars jangle and crunch alongside rock 'n roll drums, melodic piccolo and flute". I photographed the stage when we arrived and also noticed bells, a hand drum, a tambourine, and a banjo rounded out the eclectic and extensive array of instruments. Frank and I were in for a treat.
The song Hotaling's Whiskey, #5 at https://caliceltic.com/#the-music sets that poem to music and further tells the tale of the distillery's rescue. There was a last resort, but a successful one, after sea water failed to extinguish the flames. A bucket brigade filled buckets from the sewers and flung the muck upon the blaze. A verse cites that with cheers, "we saved Hotaling whisky with the product from our rears". Apparently, unbeknownst to Frank and me, Hotaling & Co. is famous to this day with a wide selection spirits.
Another catch tune that caught my fancy was The Mermaid. Typically, songs with a drinking theme can be slightly off-color at times. The Mermaid had a different theme, but managed to be off-color in the final verse. The Mermaid can be heard in its entirety at https://caliceltic.com/#the-music #18. The ditty was cute and entertaining, amusingly bawdy at the end when the mermaid's ugly sister swam by. The repeating refrain goes
The Mermaid
'Cause her hair was green as seaweed
Her skin was blue and pale
Her face it was a work of art
I loved that girl with all my heart
But I only liked the upper part
I did not like the tail.
CaliCeltic's jaunty leprechaun banner at the side of the stage was a fun decoration, adding a bit of gaiety to the evening. Frank and I had a good time. We were happy to have gone out to something nearby where the music was uplifting and even the audience itself seemed in good spirits.
Thursday, March 14, 2024
Ponder: Puzzle Purse Pair
Frank and I assembled a 500 piece puzzle Tuesday night. We had just bought it at Barnes and Noble because it caught my eye, mainly due to the color combination. I tend to like peach and aqua and coral and navy.
To my surprise this morning when I looked at the butcher block table where I had placed my purse, the color similarity struck me as uncanny. I had bought this purse nearly five years ago at Disneyland on Main Street during our visit there with Grandkids mid-September 2019.
- I like what I like, and I know it.
- Good taste never changes.
Sunday, February 25, 2024
Ponder: The Fragile Threads of Power
Although I claim I am not a fan of fantasy, I do like this author. I first read her stand alone book The Invisible Life of Addie Larue and rated it five stars in my 11/14/21 review of it. The Fragile Threads of Power ©2023 is the fifth book by V. E. Schwab I have read and greatly enjoyed. I seriously considered rating it five stars because of the plot intricacies, and the elaborate settings of three Londons (Red, Grey, and White) with various levels of magic, and the ambience of the markets (one even floating). In terms of plot intricacies, is one kingdom trying to take over another? Who is faithful and who is a traitor? Is vengeance the primary driver? Such is the basic Game of Thrones type undercurrent of the plot. Although, personally, I am notoriously politically ignorant, I could follow this scheming with relish and pleasure. The characters are plentiful and a delight (princes, kings, queens, magicians, pirates, priests, young adolescents) and the villains are dastardly.
Kell is part of the royal family in Red London; he is an Antari, a blood magician, but in The Fragile Threads of Power his magic has changed. An Antari can pass through portals between the Londons. Delila Bard is a streetwise thief with a thirst for adventure and a spunky, independent attitude to go with it. She has grown from adolescence and her magic has matured. When Kell and Lila's two paths initially crossed, the two formed a bond – a bond which both of them vehemently denied; but the vehemence of denial is beginning to fade in The Fragile Threads of Power. Alucard is a privateer and has become a consort of the no-longer-prince, but-now-king, Rhy. Rhy and Kell are brothers by adoption and also bonded to either other, in a disconcerting way, by a magic spell. These characters age and morph in The Fragile Threads of Power. There are new characters introduced from other Londons. Several are mere children such as the little queen Kosika and young tinkerer Tes with her owl Vares. New villains emerge.
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Three Redneck Tenors
What happens when you mix classically trained vocal artists from world opera stages with stand-up comedy and improv? The result is the 3 Redneck Tenors. This sensational trio will bring its one-of-a-kind musical comedy to the Bankhead Theater on February, 17, 2024 at 7:00pm for a special benefit performance. As these charismatic characters hit the stage, the audience will embark on a rollicking adventure filled with unexpected surprises, unforgettable tunes, and plenty of laughs. The 3 Redneck Tenors, with a down-home twist, combine their world-class vocal prowess with side-splitting comedy, performing music ranging from gospel, to country, to Broadway, pop and yes, classical.
Admittedly the first half was way more our speed, and the song choices were very recognizable. In fantastic harmonies and a bit of operatic style the trio started out with tunes from TV shows, Bonanza, Rawhide, The Jeffersons, among others I've already forgotten but enjoyed. They encouraged audience verbal participation with cheers and "Boo's" and "Aaw 's" and rhythmic accompaniment with clapping. They moved on to songs from musicals; Alone in the Universe from Seussical the Musical, the Impossible Dream from the Man of La Mancha, and Music of the Night from Phantom of the Opera are three I remember.
The second half had a bit more advertising and more operatic selections. They did sing the number they'd done on America Has Talent (and lost the competition). It was a version of Beethovens' Fifth. There were no words, just 🎶 buh, buh, buh buhs 🎶 , which were bemusing and funny but certainly not award winning. Overall Frank and I enjoyed the show, and liked being out. In keeping with the redneck tone, the lobby had Ho-Ho's, Ding Dongs, and Twinkies for snacks. I did cave and eat a Ding Dong to keep in the spirit of the event. (Actually, I ate two! I hadn't had one of these in years.)
For sale in the lobby were also 3 Redneck Tenors cook books. The entire first chapter specialized in dishes made with Velveeta. I did not buy the cookbook. There were T-shirts for sale too. The back had a picture of a camper type trailer and read MOBILE HOME SCHOOLED. I did not buy the shirt either.
Monday, February 19, 2024
Encanto and Frozen Disney on Ice
Sunday, February 11th, Frank and I took Alex to see Disney on Ice, Frozen & Encanto. Yes, that was Super Bowl Sunday. I realized the conflict just a few hours after hitting that BUY tickets button on the Ticketmaster site. We recorded the game and just hoped that no one we sat by at the show would give away the score or the progress. We were safe. No one seemed to be following the football game during the show. The stadium seats were not full occupied probably because those interested in the Super Bowl were not in attendance.
We bought Alex his program as usual, and he loved thumbing through it, even, to our dismay, when the show was in full progress. But he did engage on and off and we were pleased we'd decided to come. We had not done these Disney on Ice performances in quite a few years.
The ring of fire cast on the ice during the Encanto portion was impressive.[KRISTOFF]
Reindeers are better than people
Sven, don't you think that's true?
(As Sven)
Yeah, people will beat you
And curse you and cheat you
Every one of them's bad except you
(As himself)
Oh, thanks buddy
But people smell better than reindeers
Sven, don't you think I'm right?
(As Sven)
That's once again true
For all except you
(As himself)
You got me, let's call it a night
(As Sven)
Good night
(As himself)
Don't let the frostbite
Bite...
Sunday, February 18, 2024
Legally Blonde Musical
Saturday, January 27th, Frank and I went to the musical Legally Blonde at our local theatre, the Bankhead. The performance was fun and high energy. We couldn't understand a fair amount of the lyrics for songs sung by the company, but the emotions and intensity came across and made us smile. Individual solos were much clearer and more distinct. Full lyrics can be found on line, for those curious enough to look at them. The plot of the musical followed the movie closely and the songs furthered the plot line and defined character roles.
Monday, February 5, 2024
Ponder: The Thursday Murder Club
The Thursday Murder Club ©2020 by Richard Osman is a humorous delight to read. The club is made up of four septuagenarians -- Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim -- who live in a retirement village called Coopers Chase. They meet in the Jigsaw Room weekly to solve cold case murders. Amongst themselves, they possess a variety of special talents from before they retired that work together amazingly well, enabling them solve murders. Add in the skill sets of their grown children, or all the unique connections of the contacts they'd cultivated during their careers, and they are an amazingly efficient sleuth force to be reckoned with. Not all the crimes are cold cases such as the stabbing one they initially explore from the past. Recently and currently, there is a bludgeoning, a shooting, and a poisoning that the quartet analyze with calm aplomb.
Beside the swimming pool is a small "arthritis therapy pool" which looks like a Jacuzzi largely for the reason it is a Jacuzzi. ...Take the lift up to the recreation rooms next -- the gym and the exercise studio, where residents could happily Zumba among the ghosts of the single beds. Then there's the Jigsaw Room for gentler activities and associations. There's the library, and the lounge for the bigger and more controversial committee meetings, or for football on the big flat-screen TV. Then down again to the ground floor where the long low tables of the convent refractory are now the "contemporary upscale restaurant."
The Thursday Murder Club is the first in a series of four books. I am definitely going to seek out the other three to read. Per https://books.org/blog/richard-osman-books-in-order/
I enjoyed this book and have put myself on the library waitlist for the second one, The Man Who Died Twice. And there is indeed a waitlist.
Saturday, January 20, 2024
Ponder: Mother-Daughter Murder Night
Mother-Daughter Murder Night © 2023 by Nina Simon is a sleuth tale worth investigating. The three generations of female characters and the unique setting were the best parts for me. There is 15 year old Jacqueline, her mother Beth, and Beth's mother Lana. Beth and her daughter live in the sloughs of Monterey County, CA and Lana comes to join them when she becomes ill. Jack calls her grandmother Prima, and Lana is indeed a bit of a prima donna. A prima donna and a shack in the middle of a marsh are not an ideal mix, but the combination does make for an amusing side interest.
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Ponder: Visions of Christmas 2023
Sign posts at the corners to direct:
On overview of the living room from the dining room with Simple Gifts quilt draped over a chair, and the stairway to the second floor with metal house filled with balls and trinkets:
The light fixture over the dining room table trimmed with Mickey Mouse ornaments, the vintage candy tin village on the table, a newly acquired train set journeying around the village, and the three stockings for Frank, Diane, and Alex on the chair backs.
Three nativities and Santas on the piano:
Stuffed ornaments scattered all over the house:
Alex and Frank operating the train on Christmas Eve:
Opening gifts on Christmas Day: Alex with his two banks, Frank with one of his puzzles, Diane with a Winnie the Pooh denim shirt:
Christmas night on our visit to Deacon Dave's ... a very festive and bright way to end the day.