Niles Antique Browsing

Saturday, February 7th. Frank, Alex, and I went to the Niles District in Fremont to stroll along Niles Blvd and browse in and around the antique shops there. The shops had lots of bunny bowls, dishes, statues, and knick-knacks, it being so close to Easter in early May. Alex delighted in noting them and repeatedly declaring "Rah" for rabbit. 

I Googled what was of interest along Niles Blvd and came up with the following list of antique stores and their locations. The Train Depot museum was not open on the day we went but we made a mental note to come back some other time.

Besides antique stores, there were classic vehicles parked along the main street. There was a red flatbed tow truck with a crane dated 1910.

A Ford Model A, most likely from 1930 or 1931 was configured as a fire department chief's car and parked on the main street, Niles Blvd.

At the far west end of Niles Blvd was Skillet'z where we had lunch: a tuna melt for Frank, grilled ham n' cheese for Alex, and a patty melt for me. Frank also indulged in a chocolate milk shake served in a canning jar. The food was comfort food and all tasted great. We will keep this restaurant in mind the next time we visit the area.

Besides, the allure of the antique shops, there is also a definite train vibe to the area. The rest room signage caries out the railroad theme. We will most definitely go back when the Niles Depot Museum is open. I took a photo of the near upcoming dates to remind us.

We also noted there will be a model train event on March 8th. Frank will most likely aim to check in on that. We also learned that is it held quarterly, so if March 8th does not pan out, there will be other opportunities.

The afternoon was pleasant and low key. Another bonus was that we did not buy anything to add to our own "antique" possessions at home. I did not ride home with a Singer treadle table crammed across my lap — since it did not fit in the trunk — as I did one other time, several years ago, from a small town about two hours away. The old fashioned typewriter is also from another antique fair visit. So. Success in Niles. We enjoyed our outing, and there was no "new" item to contend with when we got back home!

Ponder: Remain

It has been quite a while since I have read a book I truly enjoyed. Finally, my drought is broken! I give Remain five stars. Remain is co-authored by Nicholas Sparks and M. Night Shyamalan. Sparks is well known for this love stories, most notably The Notebook (1996).  Shyamalan's talent shines brightly in the 1999 movie The SixtheSense. I was beginning to lose interest in Nicholas Sparks but I am so glad I gave him yet another chance and read Remain, a love story with a supernatural twist.

Remain is the story of Tate Donovan, an adult man depressed at the death of his sister and tainted from an unaffectionate childhood. Remain has the classic features of a love story in Sparks' inimitable style, coupled with the tension and uncertainties of Shyamalan's talents. A successful architect, Tate comes to Cape Cod to design an elaborate summer home for a wealthy college friend. He stays at an old, ornate but deteriorating house, once a thriving bed and breakfast, but now closed. The setting can be quaint, but also eerie. A special relationship develops between Tate and a woman called Wren despite Tate's cold upbringing and polluted attitude about love. I hint at no spoilers here. Read it for yourself. I enjoyed it immensely.

Nicholas Sparks is a very prolific author and I have read all of his books and written a blog post about nearly half of them. I do not know if I grew tired of him, if each novel became too predictable, or if he changed his writing style, but never-the-less, he fell out of favor with me as a desirable author. However, I think I still persisted in reading his novels because of some pernicious obsession that once I had a perfect score going, I did not want to mess it up.  There is a psychological term for that feeling — loss aversion.

Here is a list of all Nicholas Sparks' novels in order of publication date. The ones with stars in front are novels I reviewed in my Wander Or Ponder blog. There are a clickable links to these posts at the end of each line.  The other ones, noted with a preceding series of asterisks, I read most likely before I started blogging. I published my first WanderOrPonder post on 8/20/13. Among the reviewed books, I noticed I gave only two or three stars. Although I have no proof, I believe I liked Sparks' earlier works better, hence my determination to read all his books. Sparks' first novel, The Notebook, though short, was great.

 1.   ************ The Notebook ©1996

 2.   ************ Message in a Bottle ©1998

 3.   ************ A Walk to Remember ©1999

 4.   ************ The Rescue ©2000

 5.   ************ A Bend in the Road ©2001

 6.   ************ Nights in Rodanthe ©2002

 7.   ************ The Guardian ©2003

 8.   ************ The Wedding ©2003

 9.  ★★★☆☆ Wokini ©2003 02/23/17

10. ★★☆☆☆ True Believer ©2005 10/23/22

11. ★★☆☆☆ At First Sight ©2005 10/23/22

12.  ************ Three Weeks with My Brother ©2004

13.  ************ Dear John ©2006

14.  ************ The Choice ©2007

15.  ************ The Lucky One ©2008

16.  ************ The Last Song ©2009

17.  ************ Safe Haven ©2010

18.  ************ The Best of Me ©2011

19.  ************ The Longest Ride ©2013

20. ★★★☆☆ See Me ©2015 04/01/16

21. ★★★☆☆ Two by Two ©2016 12/19/16

22. ★★★☆☆ Every Breath ©2018 11/18/18

23. ★★☆☆☆ The Return ©2020 12/27/20

24. ★★★☆☆ The Wish ©2021 10/18/21

25. ★★☆☆☆ Dreamland ©2022 11/22/22

26. ★★☆☆☆ Counting Miracles ©2024 10/06/24

27. ★★★★★ Remain ©2025 (this post, 2/13/26)

Remain, with five stars was a real winner for me. I will most likely read the next Nicholas Sparks book whenever it is published. Gotta maintain that streak!

★★★★★ Great! Read it!

O Gauge Train Show

On Sunday Feb 1st, Frank, Alex and I went to a model train show in Mountain View, CA, about 50 miles south of Alex's home. This show featured hobbyists who specialize in O gauge. The gauge of Frank's model railroad layout at home is HO but, he still enjoys the vendors and layouts at this show of a larger scale. O scale is 1:48 and HO scale is 1:87.  HO informally stands for Half O.

The show is held inside the I.F.E.S. Hall. I wondered what the initials stood for and if it related to trains. It does not. Also, if this is Hall No. 1, just out of curiosity are there others? A quick Google search tells me no. But perhaps, in the future...? Per the ifes website

Many people ask us what IFES stands for. It stands for Irmindade da Festa do Divino Espirito Santo, which translates to Brotherhood of the Feast of the Divine Holy Spirit. Located in Mountain View, California, we are a Portuguese organization that has been carrying on the traditions of the Azorean Islands and serving the local communities since 1926.

At least the sign pointed us to the correct direction to enter. At the check-in table Alex got a hand stamp which made him grin, quite pleased with himself. Once inside there were tables upon tables of model railroad O-gauge paraphernalia. Frank bought two power supplies, a killer deal at about 90% off the retail price. But even in a hall as humble as this, there is room for elegance. There were several chandeliers scattered about, gracing the acoustic tile ceiling.

We enjoyed a large train layout assembled by the members. It is modular and specification are decreed for the edges of each segment so that, once in the hall, the various contributions of the members Golden Gate Lionel Railroad Club can be joined into one continuous set of tracks. Alex liked watching the moving trains, peeking in to anticipated when each would emerge from the tunnel.

We got Alex a blister pack card of tiny barnyard animals that he carried around with him, pointing out each animal and telling us the sound it makes. He got a bag of chips which always puts a smile on his face and orange dust on his fingers. But by far, Alex's favorite part of the show was the high-powered blower hand dryer in the bathroom. It was so LOUD!! and he laughed gleefully as he held his hands under it for way longer than was necessary. The sound reverberated throughout the entire hall, extending way beyond the boundaries of the bathroom walls. It is heart-warming to see such great pleasure coming from from such mundane items.

After the show we all went to dinner at Clementines, a Cajun-themed restaurant in San Raman. Alex loves their Jambalaya and practically inhales it. Note that he is wearing a shirt his sister Robin made for him. The card of barnyard animals is also visible in the foreground. Sunday had a been a low-key, enjoyable day.

The Wiz

Frank and I went to a matinee performance of The Wiz at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts Saturday, January 31st. The colorful stage debut we viewed while we were awaiting the opening was intriguing. It bode of good things to come. We had our usual vantage point from Row 12.

As usual at this venue, the staging was impressive and the costuming was flamboyant. The dancers were amazing with the amount of flexibility and limberness they demonstrated. I did not know a body could bend in the way the scarecrow did. The tin man really was stuck in certain locations of this body as if those joints were indeed welded and his movement truly reflected the constraints.

The music was loud, I mean really LOUD. The power, range, and modulation skills of the singers was positively awesome. The songs were impassioned. They were pulsating. They got lots of thunderous applause. I could be impressed the with talent of the singers but not with the indecipherable finished product. If we could have understood more than 10% of the lyrics perhaps we would have gleaned more from the plot. Simply put, the soulful screaming of songs, with scatting to enhance the notes, was not my cup of tea. I recognized only one of the songs from the production, "Ease On Down The Road". The others I cannot even tell you what they were about. 

My expectations were that this production was a jazzed up reinterpretation of the Wizard of Oz and I knew it had an all-black cast. There were long dance scenes that, although lively and raucous, seemed to slow down the pace of the show to me. I acknowledge that they are to be enjoyed for an entity unto themselves. The connection to the Frank Baum tale was far looser than I had anticipated. The return from the Emerald City was anticlimactic with no joyful reunion with Auntie Em and a tieback to the farm hands. There were no munchkins. There was not even a yellow brick road! Ok, we did "Ease On Down the Road" several times but that was not the same ambience. I even missed Toto ... there was no dog sadly. 

I am glad Frank and I got out of the house. We were in a bit of a funk, not looking forward to this outing and therefore having low expectations. We have a theory that low expectations generally means higher enjoyment — because when something exceeds expectations, happiness often follows. That theory did not pan out for this show. On a positive note, taking at face value the colorful costuming, energetic dancing, and boisterous singing, and looking beyond the context of relaying a story, there was entertainment to be had. The entertainment was beyond the realm of what we were expecting, I guess. It was more in the land of "Aahs" rather than "Oz".

Addams Family Musical

On the afternoon of January 18th, Frank and I took Alex to see the Addams Family Musical at our local Bankhead Theatre. An amusing quirk was that the back stage and other support personnel wore these black shirts. The lobby also had an eerie full-moon scene displayed to set the mood.

Alex loved the show and clapped throughout. Frank and I were surprised, but surmised that because there were so many musical numbers, Alex remained entertained. Frank enhanced the mood by periodically making an appearance of Thing at Alex. Thing also periodically peeked out from under the stage curtains during the pre-show announcements. Right before intermission Cousin Itt made an appearance dashing across the stage in front of the curtain.

The cast did a good job but I must maintain, this is not one of my favorite musicals. I kept waiting for the theme song from the 1964 classic TV show but it was not part of the musical. The audience did do some finger snapping as part of a pre-show participation.

Once in the lobby, Alex and Frank posed in front of the sinister-looking backdrop. In his stance, it appears that Frank has introduced a partner for Thing. Our outing was a success due mostly to Alex's response. Alex's enjoyment outweighed my disappointment that more fond memories from the TV series were not incorporated into the musical. Obviously those omissions did not matter to Alex since those features occurred over twenty years before he was born! I am glad we went on this outing.

A Beautiful Noise

Saturday, January 3rd, Frank and I went to a matinee performance of the Neil Diamond Musical A Beautiful Noise. We had our usual season ticket holder seats in Row12, a bit off to the side. The pre-show staging (a solid colored curtain) was underwhelming but the show itself way more made up for that blah-ness while waiting for the show to begin.

I do not view myself as an avid Neil Diamond fan but I was familiar with his name. The song list in the program included many songs I did not recognize but those I did, I really knew. The ones that hit most for me are highlighted in yellow. I'm a Believer and Look Out Here Comes Tomorrow were big hits with The Monkees and I was a big fan of them at their peak. The audience sang along to Sweet Caroline. Sweet Caroline was also made famous by baseball games held in Fenway Park in Boston, home of the Boston Red Sox. Begun in 1997, the tradition of singing along to that song at the bottom of the eight inning, officially became a fan ritual in 2002.

One particular song, Forever In Blue Jeans, highlighted in blue (of course) was not familiar to me but the performer who danced it was phenomenal and had a fantastic figure to go with the jeans. She was a real knockout with a curvaceous trim figure certainly worthy of a "10". Watching her was awesome, even with me not being a guy. The lyrics to this song also have a sweet sentiment.

Money talks

But it don't sing and dance and it don't walk

And long as I can have you here with me

I'd much rather be forever in blue jeans

Frank and I learned of the humble beginnings of Neil Diamond and his rise to stardom. He truly, truly loved touring; it gave him confidence and a sense of well being that was instrumental in helping him overcome his innate shyness as a child, adolescent, and early adulthood. A Letter from Neil in the program stated:

The singing and dancing of the musical was energetic. Frank and I had a great time and are glad we went. Our limited knowledge of Neil Diamond and his songs did not matter at all.

Ponder: The Black Wolf

My first read of 2026, The Black Wolf ©2025 by Louise Penny, was unfortunately a real loser for me. Goodreads rated this novel 4.2 stars (23,1776 ratings) and Amazon readers rated it 4.4 stars (13,076 ratings), so I expected my enjoyment to be commensurate. Nevertheless, I rate The Black Wolf a dismal one star. What a bummer of a way to start the new year!

Louise Penny has been a favorite author of mine and I have read all her novels. I revel in the serenity and the characters in the secluded village of Three Pines. Although these characters did make cameo appearances and lead detective Armand Gamache seemed to work remotely from the village as much as possible, the local people and setting seemed to be only a feeble homage to satisfy readers' desire for these features. This was not a murder mystery with precisely developed characters, motives, clues, and alibis but rather a huge, impersonal, international plot of a politically motivated power grab.

There were too many people with titles and political positions for me to follow. Even if I had created a chart or list as I progressed through the book, none of these persons were assigned a personality in depth. Each identity was not sufficient enough for me to align myself with either rooting for them or loathing them. Also the plot was too expansive and disjointed. I do admit I was very biased by my present disgust of the Trump administration's tactics in promoting domestic and international turmoil. This novel, rather than engage me, upset me, and was the opposite extreme of providing an enjoyable reading experience. I completed The Black Wolf but I rate it only one star.

★☆☆☆☆ Awful but I read most or maybe even all of it

I am rethinking my intention of reading all of Louise Penny's books. I realize an author needs to grow and not churn out the same story over and over. But I am also learning that I prefer a "whodunnit" with quirky characters and a plot I can follow. If that makes me an immature, politically ignorant reader, so be it. Reading should be for pleasure. I still prefer dessert over the main course. I suspect this author is "growing" in a direction that diverges from my preferences. Here is a quick review of my rating of her past books. Near the end of my 1/28/25 post on The Grey Wolf  are the blog post links for my review of each of these novels.